Disclaimer: All characters, situations and destinations belong to Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), or Disney (creator of Pirates of the Caribbean). I do not claim to own anything other than the storyline.

Please note: this story takes place around fourteen years after the events in Worlds End.

Thankyou so much to Cylon One and Angel46 who have caught my mistakes and helped me improve my writing. They are both kind, amazing people!

Of Thieves and Vagabonds

Chapter One / Prologue: It Starts with a Sacrifice

"The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." Don Williams Jr

Crimson droplets of blood dropped through the air. She watched them. Her blue eyes widened in horror. Her body paralysed in fear. The sharp searing pain at her waist only heightened the disbelief that consumed her mind.

It wasn't meant to be like this.

This wasn't meant to happen.

The blood fell through the air fusing with the elements. Nitrogen exploded. Oxygen dissolved. Argon froze. And then the entire thing exploded into crackling vicious energy. Other worlds swarmed beneath the surface, millions of them the bombarded the entrance. A dragon broke free; its snarling jaws let loose a jet of fire as it soared into the open sky, crying out into the new air.

The end of the world was upon them. The end of all worlds.

Dawn looked down at the cut on her stomach and a lone tear fell from her eye as what she had to do became clear.

"Dawn!"

She couldn't look back. If she turned to see her sister's face, the anguish, the sorrow and the love, she wouldn't be able to do it. She would leave the world, all worlds, to die and rot if it meant that her sister wouldn't have to look at her that way.

"I love you," she said, "But the blood has to stop flowing."

And then she jumped.

The energy hit her body as a whole: it ground her bones together, twisted her muscles and yanked on her spin. Her blood boiled in her veins and her skin itched with vicious fever.

She didn't know how long the pain lasted until a new pain arrived and the darkness consumed her. Icy needles assaulted her flesh and the air changed: no longer breathable; she clutched at her throat in panic and twisted and turned in search of some kind of exit. Darkness surrounded her. Dark waves of nothingness lay in every direction. Her struggles lessened and soon the darkness seeped into her mind, shutting it down until all inside fell silent.

Captain Jack Sparrow turned and smirked at the lifeless men left upon the ship they had just recently looted. All that he saw were dying or dead. It had been a fine ship: filled with tobacco, sugar and -most importantly- rum.

The pillage had gone perfectly, except for the small matter that he was on this ship, and his crew were on the other. A slight distraction had taken place just as they were returning to the Black Pearl. Jack spotted a shiny little trinket: a diamond necklace as it were.

It lay in the hands of a filthy man wearing a cooking apron. Obviously the cook had decided to steal the trinket for himself and make away with it. The bullet hole through his head proved the man to be unsuccessful in his endeavour, and so Jack dropped his rope and swaggered over. He lifted the trinket up in his grubby hands and shoved it down into his deep pockets to join all the other manner of things he kept in them.

"My apologies mate, but I think you'll find it be not quite made for your colou…," he paused: his eyes had fallen upon a rolled slip of parchment in the chef's pocket. He reached out a hand and gently slipped out the roll. The parchment unravelled in his hands and opened to reveal a map with a large X marking a spot in the centre. Jack's eyes brightened: he knew that island; it lay not far from Port Royal.

"Ye be an abnormally advantageous dead chef," said Jack to the corpse as he tipped his hat. He then hopped up onto the main bloom and swung across to where his own dear ship awaited him.

Jack landed upon the railing at the rear of the ship and grinned down at Barbosa, who was stood as through waiting for him.

"I thought you be dead Jack. We were just about to set sail."

Jack took his hat from his head and bowed in a flourish, "A measly little boat like that couldn't stop Captain Jack Sparrow mate!" he said.

Barbosa grinned and tossed a rosy red apple in his hand, "Aye Jack. But I believe even Captain Jack Sparrow must go and feed the fishes. Savvy?"

Jack stared at Barbosa for a moment in confusion before Barbosa went on, "Goodbye Jack," and with a rough shove knocked Jack Sparrow down in the depths of Davy Jones locker.

"Ahoy me hearties!" Barbosa called out to his crew, "Jack be fallen behind. Set the sails! I hear Tortuga callin me name!"

Jack crossed his arms over his chest as he sank down in the frigid waters. One of these days he would kill Barbosa, and one of these days Barbosa would stay dead.

Jack kicked hard with his legs and swam up to the surface just in time to watch the Black Pearl sail away without him, Barbosa on the wheel.

"Me ship. Will he please stop taking me ship!"

Growling he looked around for anything that could serve as a boat. After a moment of surveying the wreckage his eyes fell upon a wooden crate bobbing up and down. He swam towards it and was just about to climb aboard when two large blue eyes staring blankly upwards from beneath the water caught his attention.

He frowned at the sight and crossed his hands over his chest before taking a look around in case anyone saw. It was as eerie sight: one that reminded him too much of worlds end. He'd seen death many times before, but it had been a while since he'd seen one so young lost at sea. As a rule sailors didn't let children aboard ships, and they especially didn't let young girls aboard. Not if they could help it.

Instinct took over and he dove for the body, lifting it up on the crate out of the water. Her skin was cold to touch and had a pale ethereal appearance to it. Jack frowned and brushed a strand of the wet matted hair from her face. His arm slipped and fell upon her undeveloped chest nearly knocking her body back into the water.

"Well shiver me timbers," Jack whispered as a slow rhythm was felt beneath his hands. His eyes widened and without another pause he leant down and breathed life into the child.

The girl's mouth opened of its own accord and her chest expanded. Her head turned to the side and salt water began bubbling out of her lungs as she coughed violently.

With life brought pain and Dawn's eyes closed as the ache of her body took over her senses. She didn't know where she was, but she was too scared to open her eyes. Tears began to well behind her lids and soon the dam broke letting hundred of silent tears fall.

"You alright luv?" was Jack's warm and compassionate response to the tears.

Dawn heard the voice clearly in her head, though was unable to place it. She didn't recognise is as one of her friends, nor of any of her enemies.

"Where are we going?" Dawn rasped. Her voice was hoarse and she winced at the sharp cutting pains in her throat.

"We ain't going nowhere luv." Jack said softly putting emphasis on the 'we'. "I be off to find me, me ship. You're going to stay right ere and wait for the Royal Navy to pick you up and carry you off to your 'ome. Savvy?"

And with that said Jack let go of the crate and swam off to another nearby, taking with him a lump of wood to use as a paddle.

Dawn felt him retreat and nervously opened her eyes. Her mouth dropped open in to a tiny o. She was surrounded by water as far as the eye could see, and not twenty yards away bobbed a magnificent wooden ship.

She surveyed her surroundings for a while, unable to move in fear of falling back into the water. She knew that she wouldn't be strong enough to swim; she wasn't even strong enough to lift up her head. She felt the darkness caving in once again, and the last thing she saw as her eyes drifted closed was the silhouette of a man on a raft sailing away, singing a song.

"...really bad eggs… Drink up me hearties yo ho!"

This is the shortest chapter of this story. The rest of the chapters average at around 3,500 words each.

I have already written three quarters of this story and will update either on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or a Thursday, so you have at least 12 weeks of regular updates, and I am pretty sure that in twelve weeks I will have this story completed. I have a sequel half formed in my head already, but I will not start to plan that until I have finished writing this. This story contains no romance, the sequel, however, will.

I am looking for a good BETA reader; if you are interested please send me a PM and I will get back to you.

I have based my theory on the Portal around Phillip Pullmans idea in His Dark Materials. Basically there are millions of worlds all within this one, each unaware that the other exists. Likes layers upon layers of fabric. The Portal Glory created sliced through the fabric of the worlds. When Dawn closes the portal she is flung into a different world, this different world is behind her own world, but happening at the same time, if you understand me. It is not an alternate universe. She has no ancestors roaming around, nothing. In this world no one from her own world has ever, or will ever, exist.

All feedback is greatly appreciated and I will take all comments on board.