I do not own any of the characters from POTC, but all the original ones are mine.

I hope you enjoy my first Pirates fic. :)

Prologue: The Beginning of the End

If I had known that this was where my adventures would end, I just might have accepted my father's mandate and settled down with a wealthy, puffed up lord. But then again, who would pick a life of leisure and comfort over living from day to day never knowing when your luck would run out and your life would be stolen by the hard thrust of a cold piece of sharpened metal?

Ok, so I can admit I'm not the most intelligent person out there, but honestly, wealth, leisure, and the certainty of your life's continuation is vastly overrated.

It all started easily enough. We had boarded his ship with little fuss and my three chosen mates and I stood facing him and Mr. Gibbs. I could tell by the grim smile on his face that he wasn't too happy to see me though. "Jack Sparrow," I declared loudly, "I've come to negotiate the terms of your surrender."

It was while Mr. Gibbs was shouting at me, "That's Captain Jack Sparrow!" That he lunged towards me and unceremoniously hefted me up, draping me over his shoulder and beginning to weave a path towards his cabin. Who knew that he could move so fast while being that drunk?

Two of my mates started forward, but the third, Mr. Andrews my first mate, held them off. "Eh Cap'n?" He asked tentatively.

I was trying to brace myself against the randomly swaying form of the one I was draped over. Looking to my men I sniffed delicately, or as delicately as one can sniff while hanging over a drunken pirate captains shoulder and being only a few inches away from said pirate captain's bottom. "Don't worry lads," I called out pompously, "I'm sure the Captain wishes for a private parley. He'll soon be raising the white flag."

It wasn't until I saw their giant leering grins that I realized how what I had said could be misinterpreted and I sighed internally. A sudden hard dip had me squirming in fear and I hissed out, "Don't you dare drop me Jack!"

A large firm hand descended with a swift slap against my backside and I gave an impotent shriek of outrage. "Its Captain Jack love," his smooth and only slightly slurred voice whispered to me. "Try hard to remember, I'd hate to have to do that again." He paused outside his cabin door, swaying in time with the gently rocking ship and fumbling with the door knob.

"If you dare to touch me like that again, Captain, I'll be sure to cut that hand off!" It's hard to issue threats and sound menacing with a stinging butt and a blood filled brain, but I made a valiant effort. I watched dispassionately as he strolled through the door, somehow managing to kick it closed behind us with out teetering over.

He grunted somewhat as he shrugged me off his shoulders and for the first time I got to see his wide grin. "Now love, don't be so cross. It was no more than what you deserved for boarding me ship with out an invite."

I crossed my arms over my chest, giving in to my urge to huff. "You gave me no choice Jack! What else was I suppose to do with you firing on my ship!"

The broad grin on his face slipped slightly at my declaration and he leaned in close to me. "That was just a warning shot love. I would never hit the Pearl, seeing as it's my ship and all."

I smirked at him and said, "We can argue about the ownership of the Peal later Jack. Right now we have bigger fish to fry."

He swaggered over to a large desk on the far wall, opening drawers until he came upon a large bottle filled with liquid. "Agreed love, just don't forget whose plan it was!" He tipped his head back and enjoyed a large swallow, a slow trickle escaping and rolling down his chin. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing by now that it was pointless to try and berate him over his rum drinking, even in the middle of a complicated operation.

With an uncharacteristic show of generosity he offered the bottle to me. "Care for a drink?"

I intended to decline the offer, but something made me stop. What we had planned, though brilliant, had a snow ball's chance in hell of actually working; only a sense of desperation had forced me into going along with it. And if we did fail, why not insure that I went out with a happy drunken smile on my face? "Ah hell," I said, grabbing up the bottle. I toasted him mockingly, causing him to smile and tossed down half of the remaining contents in a few large gulps.

As I gasped for air with the slow burn of the alcohol making its way down my throat he reclaimed the bottle from my slack fingers. "Bit of liquid courage might just do you a world of good love," he told me as he stored the remainder. "And it might serve as to loosen you up a tad."

I had oftentimes paused to enjoy the roguish gleam that would fill his eyes when he turned the full wattage of his suggestive smirk on me. The dark brown orbs would lighten, his teeth would gleam out against his darkened skin, and my heart would beat just a little faster in my chest. But this was not one of those times. "Knock it off Jack; let's just get this over with."

"As you wish," he said with a poorly executed debonair bow. Once he had straightened, he asked me quite seriously, "Shall I get naked first, or you love?"

Oh yes, this was a plan doomed to fail.

Well, that's one way to start a story off with a bang! (Umm, no pun intended.)

Hello one and all! This is something new for me, since all of my other fics have been set in a fantasy universe. What will I do without my Goblin King and fun magical creatures?

Just so you know, I have NO idea where this story is going! Isn't that fun? The truth is, most of this scene was part of a dream I had very early this morning. (Booze induced? Quite possibly!) When I was fully awake I lay there for a moment and let my mind wander the better parts, imaging what a fun story it could be, if only there was a plot to go along with it. But, I told myself sternly, you already have two fics going, and many more that need a lot of work before they can be posted. You have no time to devote to a crazy crack dream that has no plot in sight.

Well, my muses didn't take kindly to that declaration, and until I sat down at the computer they wouldn't leave me alone. Who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Better I satisfy them than have them abadon me completely.

So here we are, me with one small prolgue, a handful of ideas for the first few chapters rattling around in my head, rambling on about nothing, and YOU the ever kind reader who is scratching your head and wondering why you're still reading this drivel. :) I can't promise that this will be good, but I CAN promise it will be. I love Captain Jack, and it will be a hoot writing him, so I will not be abandoning this fic. Now if only I could come up with a plot...

If you're still reading, bless your heart. If you would continue to be so kind, perhaps you would like to leave me a review, telling me what you thought so far. Any suggestions you might have would be wonderful as well, although I can't promise they'll be used. Who knows what my muses will demand of me next?

Happy New Year's everyone! I hope it's started out great for you. :)