In an alternate time, if the mutinous, cursed crew of the Black Pearl had found what they had been looking for 8 years earlier, when the ship that young Will Turner was on was destroyed in an accidental explosion.

Let's pretend for a moment. The medallion had slipped into the water, yes. It had called to the pirates, just as it would have in 8 years when Ms. Swann fell into the bay of Port Royal. But instead of Captain Norrington's ship rescuing Will Turner, instead of Elisabeth Swann finding Will and falling in love, the Black Pearl got to him first…

A/N: Title taken from "A Pirates Life for Me" from the Disney theme ride "Pirates of the Caribbean." No one in this fic, thus far, is even close to being my creation (though how I long to some day create a character as complex and wonderful as Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow. Sigh, some day.) Anyway, enjoy, and do tell me what you think. If enough people want more, I'll write more. But for now, this first chapter is it.

Until,

Ollie

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"Devils and Black Sheep"

By R.C. Carpenter

Chapter One

The ship was in flames. The explosion had blown apart the merchant ship in an instant. Will Turner, a young boy ten years of age, had been at the rail, watching the foggy sea, when all the fires of hell sprang forth from the belly of the cargo hold. He felt the cold of the water before he even knew what was going, that he had been thrown from his hopes, his dreams.

As he scrambled to climb atop a piece of the exploded bow, Will coughed and choked on the gray smoke billowing from the inferno. He thought of his poor dead mother back in England, and of his vows to himself to find his merchant father working hard somewhere out there in the Caribbean waters. Now, all that would be gone.

Soon, mama, he thought, clawing at the section of wood and trying to keep it aloft. Soon, I'll be back with you.

Another blast tossed Will away from the wreckage. He sank deep into the murky waters. Thrashing, weighed down by his soaked-through clothing, Will broke the surface, gasping. He swallowed the water as he tried helplessly to catch his breath. In a last effort, he caught hold of another piece of the debris. Using all of his remaining strength, Will climbed atop the thin boards and collapsed from the struggle.

Hours later, a ship broke through the haze, slicing the fog like a knife through thick, wet velvet. The Black Pearl lent an ominous presence to the scene of destruction. With her tattered remnants of once-proudly flown black sails, and her weeping mermaid of a figurehead, the Pearl looked like a scavenger bird as she slipped between the remains of the merchant ship.

Had the night been clear, the smoke that rose from the crackling, snapping blaze would have been seen for miles and filled the sky with a sweltering blackness. From aboard the Pearl, a man emerged from his quarters. Captain Barbossa surveyed the damage. An older man but not a gentleman, Barbossa let loose a toothy grin to his sneering, excited crew. "Load the boats, mates…" he said, a laugh lingering in his tone. "Let's find us a medallion."

The motley crew cheered their agreement and made haste to the rowboats. All manner of seafaring scum shaped the crew of the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Old, young, tattooed, painted, pierced, missing limbs and tongues and eyes and fingers. Snarling lips, and snaggled, rotting, missing teeth. Knives in hand, and boot, and mouth. Guns and swords haphazardly fastened to belts and pants.

If any survivors were found, the scurvy dogs would know how to handle them. But of the medallion they searched for, the one who wore it would receive their every kindness.

The men took what they could from the debris. They took what they could, rather, that was worth taking. Some rations, some goods, but little more than that. Barbossa was about to set the sails again, believing that the medallion and its owner had escaped the fires in a dinghy, when two of his men returned in their rowboat, shouting, "Captain! Captain!"

"Ay, what have ya got, boys?" the captain leaned over the rail as the boat was secured and the men climbed aboard.

The two men smiled their sinister grins, and lifted up a young half-drowned boy. Another pair of the crew took hold of the boy and dropped him on a table for the Captain to inspect. His brown hair was water-slicked to his pale face, and his merchant-class clothes were equally taught to his lithe frame.

Barbossa watched the young lad with a careful, scrutinizing eye. From behind him, clambering down the rigging, a shrilling cry went up through the air. "What says ye, Jack?" Barbossa turned to the monkey he kept as a pet.

The monkey hopped onto the table and stared at the opened shirt. There, Barbossa saw a finely crafted chain. He moved his hand towards the chain, and suddenly the young boy came gasping back to the conscious world.

He stared with wide eyes at the men surrounding him. Barbossa seemed especially unnerved to find that the boy wasn't going to die.

"I'll be takin' that chain from you, boy," Barbossa said before the young man could even find his thoughts.

At the words, Will found his head again. "No," he shouted. He would not be handing over his only connection he had left to his past, to his father.

"No?" Barbossa was amused, and the crew reflected his amusement. One of the men grabbed Will's arms and held the boy still. Barbossa reach long, spindly fingers to Will's neck, gripped the chain tightly, and snapped the necklace off.

The medallion on the end was made of solid gold. A skull's head decorated the middle. It hung from Barbossa's hand like a caught fish, one that was worth more than just money however. Salvation. Barbossa knew it. The crew knew it.

"The last piece of Cortez's treasure," Barbossa whispered airily.

The boy looked wildly from Barboss to the other faces. "Pirates?" he whispered to himself, his voice filled with dread.

"What's your name, lad?" he demanded. Will hesitated to answer. "Your name, boy. Out with it."

"W-Will Turner."

The sneaky grin on the Captain's face filled with delight. "Will Turner, eh?" he turned to the crew, smiling still, and they all chuckled. Barbossa turned back to the boy. "Well, Master Turner, you'll be sailing under my charge now."

"Sir?"

More hands descended upon Will's arms and hoisted the boy from the table.

"Lock him in the brig!" Barbossa decreed. With a final thought, he said to Will Turner, "Welcome to the Black Pearl!"