Violet stood on the deck of the Black Pearl, her eyes on the dark horizon which would soon be filled with rows of enemy ships. It was close to two in the morning, and she hadn't been able to sleep for even a minute. The ship was eerily quiet considering the amount of snoring pirates that were sleeping below the deck, and she ran a hand along the railing of the ship.

This ship had once meant nothing but pain to her, and now, standing here on the deck, it was like coming home. Teague's words still hummed through her head, haunting every thought that crossed her mind. I never like to go to battle while in love. It'd be a terrible business if one of you didn't make it.

She had never thought about what it would be like to lose Jack, but it now seemed to be the only thing on her mind. Where would she go? What would she do? She'd have to get her ship back, certainly, the vessel that she'd lost all those years ago, but who would crew it, and to where?

She wasn't naive enough to ignore the fact that Jack was eyeing the heart of Davy Jones. Immortality appealed to him, she knew that, and yet, the thought of seeing her captain only once every ten years made her sick. Their destinies were now far too intertwined for that.

"Can't sleep, love?"

For a moment, Violet was certain that his voice was part of her thoughts, but then she felt his hand on her shoulder, and she turned to him, the darkness of the night settling on the ridges of his face.

"No," she admitted, sighing heavily. "And I suppose you can't either?"

"I had a hand in the boy's betrayal, you know." Jack said the words so nonchalantly that it took Violet a minute to register them, but when she did, her face fell. She'd known it, of course she had. Jack was a man of his word.

"I know." She didn't want to fight him, didn't want to have a shouting match, not when the biggest battle of their lives lay only hours away. "But Will has always followed his heart. I doubt even you could have stopped him, had you wanted to."

"A nasty business, following your heart," Jack said, his teeth glinting in the moonlight. "Gets you into all sorts of trouble." At this, he grinned at Violet, taking her hand in his.

"And where is your heart leading you? To that of Davy Jones?" She held his hand as tightly as she could, the thought of losing him still very prevalent in her mind. Maybe it was the night and the darkness and the wind, but something in the words made her want to cry.

Jack didn't answer right away, and Violet knew from years of standing at his side that this meant she was right.

"Before the Locker, I didn't care who had to pay for it, as long as I came out the other side alive and kicking," Jack said, his voice low against the night air. "I won't lie to you, love, I know you're far too smart for that. To roam the seas as captain of the Dutchman, to live forever, well, it sounded like a better fate than dying at the hands of some measly land-lubber just because I wasn't able to weasel my way out of some battle or two."

"Where is your heart leading you, Jack?" Violet stared at him, her gaze unwavering, and Jack looked up to meet it.

"My heart belongs only to you, love. It always has." Jack stepped forward and took Violet in his arms, embracing her tightly, and Violet willed the tears to leave her eyes. "And I'll follow you to the ends of the world. Wherever we go, we'll go."

Violet couldn't speak, could barely even breathe, and she buried her face against the shoulder of his jacket, her arms around his neck. His answer had scourged her mind of doubt, had drowned her in a state of almost-calm, and she wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time. To think that barely a year ago, she'd despised him. Now, she couldn't live without him.

"No matter what happens tomorrow, know that all of it has been for you," Violet whispered finally, her voice thick with tears. "I love you, Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"

Jack pulled back for a second to stare at her, a bemused grin on his face, and Violet smirked at him, raising an eyebrow. She'd waited her whole life to say those words.

"And I think I have never been as bewitched by anyone as I am by you, love," Jack said, and she kissed him before he could say another word, the two of them locked in an embrace under the stars as both the sun and the war slipped over the horizon to meet them.

As the morning dawned, more and more pirates found their way on deck, and the neighboring pirate ships lit their own lanterns one by one, their dim lights flickering against the cloudy morning sky. Pirates milled about on deck, preparing the sails and drudging around in a dreamlike state, when suddenly, the Endeavour emerged from the mist, sending the customary jolt of excitement and anticipation through every pirate's blood.

At first, Violet and the rest of the crew brandished their cutlasses and pistols, cheering and preparing to fight in what looked like an easy battle. Suddenly, however, what seemed like a hundred other ships began to slip through the fog, an armada of huge cannons and clipped white sails that silenced any shouts of a simple fight.

Violet's heart dropped. This really was a war, and suddenly, she wasn't sure whether or not they'd make it out the other side the victors. In all her time as a pirate, she'd never faced such an obstacle. But somewhere, standing mockingly on the deck of that yellow ship, was Cutler Beckett, and the very thought of his face sent a stab of fury through her bones.

This was where she would end him, she realized, and without a doubt, Violet knew at that moment that the world was no longer big enough to hold both her and Beckett. By the time this battle was through, one of them would be dead by the other's blade.

"Are you still prepared to fight?"

Violet turned to see a glimpse of a red uniform and a head of tousled brown hair and she sighed. She would know that cynical voice anywhere.

"I think the better question is what are you still doing here?" Violet shook her head, taking in Norrington's bedraggled appearance. "I would have thought you'd escape long ago."

"Did you forget that I owe you a life-debt, Charles?" Norrington raised an eyebrow at her, his expression almost light-hearted. "Besides, I don't think I could escape this war even if I wanted to."

"So whose side will you fight for, then?" Violet asked.

"I will fight with you," Norrington said, his gaze on the horizon. "I will fight by your side for as long as this war wages, Charles, because you and I have an understanding that I share with no one else in this whole world."

"Say it," Violet said suddenly, unable to keep herself from smiling at his words. To think of how far the two of them had come was unbearable, so she just focused on the moment, on the way he threw back his head and laughed at her words. "Say what you are, Norrington."

"I'm a pirate." Norrington grinned at her, a real, pirate grin, and Violet laughed despite herself. "As I recall, you were to be the first to know if I turned."

"That I was, mate," Violet said, holding out a hand, and Norrington took it, shaking it once, twice, and with just one gesture the two former enemies forged a bond that was unbreakable, the kind formed by years of hatred and jests and blood and tears that can only come from two people who are on opposite sides of the same coin. "That I was."

Violet watched Elizabeth pace the deck, a determined look on her face, as Jack muttered 'Parlay' under his breath. Finally, the Pirate King stopped in front of Violet and Jack, shouting for Barbossa to join them.

"We'll meet Beckett on that spit of land over there," she said, pointing to a thin strip of sand leading out from Shipwreck Cove, and Jack gave her a lazy grin, one hand on his sword.

"Are you saying that you're taking my advice, King Swann? I am truly honored," Jack said, dipping into a bow, and Elizabeth shook her head as if reprimanding a petulant child.

"This is no time for joking, Jack. You, Barbossa, Violet, and I will meet them and negotiate the terms of this fight. If they will not surrender, then we go to war. There can be no backing down now, not when the very lifeblood of the sea is at stake." Elizabeth had such a look of pained fierceness on her face that Violet was moved by her expression alone. This woman, Violet realized, had lost so much to the sea, and yet she was still fighting for it. That showed unmatchable courage.

"And what of me?" The pirates turned to see Norrington striding up to their tight-knit group, his brow furrowed. "You can't possibly expect me to wait here, biding my time while you confront the man who once wanted me killed."

"I'm certain that Beckett thinks you dead, James," Elizabeth said, her expression softening slightly. "It's better for you to remain here. Proving you alive would lose one of the few aces we have up our sleeve."

"I suppose you have a point," Norrington said reluctantly. "But if one of you does not come back alive, I hope you will consider adding me to your little circle here."

"Oh, not to worry, mate, you're first on the waiting list," Jack said, his tone mocking, and Norrington rolled his eyes, striding back off across the deck.

"Let's be off, then." Elizabeth stared off at the sandbar, her mind obviously a million miles away. "To Beckett."

And to Will, Violet wanted to say, but she didn't. She could only imagine the toll being away from her love for so long was taking on Elizabeth, even if the boy was a traitor.

Barbossa, Violet, Elizabeth, and Jack strode across the sand, the tension thick in the air, From the other side of the spit of land, Violet could make out three figures, one short, one tall, and one standing in a bucket of water. It wasn't hard to guess who'd be meeting them there.

"You be the cur who led these wolves to our door." Barbossa spat the words the second they got into close enough range of the three men, and Violet tensed at the sight of the receiver of them. Will looked horrible, his face haunted and his clothes ragged around his form. Evidently the strained nature of his relationship with Elizabeth was not only affecting the Pirate King.

"Don't blame Turner, he was merely the tool of your betrayal." Violet's blood boiled at Beckett's voice, this demon, this monster, who was daring to tear away everything she knew. "If you wish to see its grand architect, look to your left."

Violet looked to her left, and sure enough, there was Jack, looking away to his own left in a laughable attempt at confusion.

"My hands are clean in this," Jack said, holding up his hands in mock surrender and then quickly putting them down at the sight of his dirty fingernails and rusting rings. "Figuratively, that is."

"My actions were my own and to my own purpose. Jack had nothing to do with it." Will's voice was raw, but Violet couldn't help but hide a smile at the fact that he was still the same stubborn boy she'd met on the Pearl all that time ago. He hadn't changed, she realized. A little less innocent, sure, but maybe he'd always been meant for the sea. Will had pirate in his blood, after all.

"Will, we've been aboard the Dutchman." Elizabeth's voice was kind, but there was a tremor of fear underneath it, and Violet realized that in the cell next to hers, that night in the brig of the Dutchman, Elizabeth had met Bootstrap Bill. "I understand the burden you bear, but I fear that cause is lost."

"No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it," Will said, staring determinedly at Elizabeth.

"If Turner was not acting on your behalf, Jack, then how did he come to give me this?" Beckett grinned, holding up Jack's damned compass. "You made a deal with me, Jack, to deliver the pirates, and here they are. Don't be bashful, step up, claim your reward."

"You really believe Jack is clever enough to puppeteer William in such a way?" Violet scoffed as Beckett tossed Jack his compass, but she knew Beckett was right. Jack was smarter than all of them, and she could only hope he'd known what he was doing.

"Ah, good morning, Violet. I see you didn't hold up your end of our little bargain, now did you?" Beckett grinned at her surprise. "Yes, I know that Lieutenant Norrington is alive. Have you moved on from Jack so quickly?" Violet's heart sank. So he did know.

"You might consider washing that wig of yours, Beckett. You're starting to look like our good friend Norrington back in his drunken pirate days." Violet glared at the man, but his jibes had had their desired effect, and hers, undoubtedly, had not.

"Sparrow, your debt to me is still to be satisfied. One hundred years in service aboard the Dutchman. As a start." This time, it was the tentacled creature who spoke up, and Violet had to admit that Davy Jones looked far less menacing standing in a bucket.

"That debt was paid, mate," Jack said, folding his arms. "Surely you haven't forgotten that Violet's and my stay in your godforsaken Locker."

"You escaped!" Jones shouted, the sound startling Violet, and Jack waved his hands around in regular Jack fashion.

"We died, Jones. What more could you possibly want?" Violet was getting angrier by the minute as the reality of their disadvantaged position grew clearer and clearer. Jack's debt was the one thing that controlled him, Violet was certain of that. As long as he was in debt, there'd be no freedom for either of them.

"I propose an exchange!" Elizabeth interjected Violet's thoughts, stepping forward. "Will leaves with us, and you can have Jack."

"Done," Will said, before Violet could say anything. What was she doing?

"Undone!" Violet threw a hand in front of Jack, glaring at Elizabeth. "You'd really hand him over to Beckett, Elizabeth, when you know he's our best shot at winning this war?" Violet searched her friend's face for some kind of remorse, but Elizabeth's face was hard, only a flicker of sadness glinting in her eyes. "For heaven's sake, he's a pirate lord! I know you love Will, but-"

"I want Charles, too." Beckett's cold voice cut over Violet's frantic arguments, and Elizabeth looked calculatingly from Jack to Beckett to Violet and back again.

"Done," Elizabeth finally said, but this time, there was pain in her gaze, and Violet narrowed her eyes.

"Undone." Jack shot Elizabeth a pointed glance. "Violet has no part in this."

"Done," Beckett said, his gaze cool and serene as he turned his eyes on Violet. "Welcome back, Charles."

Violet was about to fight back, to pull out her own sword and start slashing, but something in Elizabeth's eyes made her stop, and she glanced swiftly at Jack. There was a higher plan, she realized then, and everything slowly began to fall into place. Jack's offer with Beckett, the compass, Will's betrayal. They'd all been moves, pieces on a chessboard, all leading to this one moment. If only people would tell her about the plans instead of being so secretive, maybe she wouldn't accidentally ruin them.

"Fine," she said, folding her arms as Barbossa snatched one of Jack's beaded chains from his hair. His piece of eight. "As the Pirate King commands."

With one last look at Elizabeth, Violet and Jack slowly switched places with Will, and as they passed, Violet could have sworn the boy, that stubborn, idiotic boy, looked sorry.

"You'd better know what you're doing," Violet hissed in Jack's ear as they took their new place on the opposite side of the sand, and she watched as he smiled.

"Give me a little credit, love," Jack said, turning his brown eyes onto her blue ones. "I'm a pirate lord, after all."

"Well, now that that's settled, advise your brethren, you can fight and all of you will die," Beckett said, turning back to Elizabeth, "or you can not fight, in which case only most of you will die."

"You murdered my father," Elizabeth spat, venom in her eyes, and Violet felt another stab of pride. They'd all been changed on these seas, but no one so much as Elizabeth. It seemed so long ago that she'd was a dress-wearing, rum-burning governor's daughter when now, she was as much a pirate as any of them.

"He chose his own fate." Beckett was nonchalant, speaking of Elizabeth's only relative as if he was nothing, and Violet's fingers curled into a fist. She hated him more than anything else in the entire seas.

"And you have chosen yours," Elizabeth said. "We will fight, and you will die."

"So be it," Beckett said mockingly, and Elizabeth began to turn to leave, but before she did, she shot one last glance at Violet, obviously trying to put in everything she'd never said with words. Lead them well, Violet thought, her heart constricting as Elizabeth turned away and set off down the beach, Will and Barbossa at her side. You have the heart of a pirate. If anyone can save the seas, it's you.

"Now, I suppose the question is, what will we do with the two of you?" Beckett pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow at Violet. "We certainly can't leave you free to fight. You always seem to cause such trouble when not kept in a cell."

"I want Sparrow." Davy Jones gestured to Jack with a tentacle, and the captain beside Violet recoiled uncomfortably. "We've unfinished business."

"Well, that works nicely," Beckett said, turning promptly on his heel and beginning to march off across the sand. "Lock them in the brig of the Dutchman. Do not let them escape."

"Is this part of your plan?" Violet demanded, acid in her tone at the look of delight on Davy Jones' face.

"Of course," Jack said, and Violet groaned at the look of naked fear on his face. "It's all part of the plan."

"This was not part of the plan." Jack slammed his shoulder into the bars of the cell for what must have been the hundredth time, and Violet rolled her eyes, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Oh, was it not?" Violet spat, shaking the bars in front of her. "And here I was thinking that getting locked up in a cell was an excellent way to win this war."

"You don't happen to have a metal rod, do you?" Jack asked, turning back to her, and she laughed darkly, the sound swallowed by the emptiness of the brig. It was only two days since she'd last been in this very cell, and she couldn't say she was excited to be back.

"Last time you said that we were locked up in the Pearl," Violet said, smirking at the memory. "How far we've come."

"Oh, don't be like that, love," Jack said, panting as he slumped to the floor, a hand on his forehead. "We've got to think like… like the whelp!"

"You mean Will?" Violet scoffed, wondering what exactly the little traitor was doing at that very moment. "Let's see… Then we should betray someone, preferably someone we trust, go on some crazy search for our beloved, and do anything we can to save our father."

"I liked you better when you missed me," Jack said, giving her a petulant look, at this time she smiled, a genuine grin. For heaven's sake, why was he always able to make her smile like that?

"I liked you better when we weren't locked in a brig." Violet moved to sit next to him against the bars, putting her head in her hands. Think like Will? She could do that, couldn't she? She racked her brain, trying to think of what the boy would do, but the only thing turning up in her mind was a memory of the first time she'd seen the boy, standing inside The Faithful Bride in Tortuga. "Remember when you were going to use Will for leverage against Barbossa? I wonder if he really thought that-"

"Leverage! That's it!" Jack sprang to his feet and grabbed Violet's hand, pulling her up to stand next to him. "You're a genius, love."

Before Violet could say another word, Jack planted a kiss on her lips before snatching up a huge piece of discarded wood and sticking it by the hinges of the cell door. With one big heave, he pushed downwards on one end of the board and with a loud creak, the door fell to the floor with a crash, the hinges splintering.

"Half-barrel hinges, love!" Jack crowed, and Violet grinned at him, shaking her head in disbelief. "Looks like William was good for something after all."

"I guess he was," Violet agreed, and without a second thought, Jack took her hand, and the two of them headed to the deck of the Dutchman, and straight into the war.

A/N: I can't believe there are only a few more chapters of this story. :( As much as i don't want it to end, I can't wait to give you the ending, and to thank you all for reading this far! I hope all of you are doing well, and that you enjoyed this chapter. As always, thank you so much for your kind reviews! Sending my love!

-Ev