A/N: This is my final chapter of this fic. Sad, I know, but never fear! There will be another sequel. I don't know yet when 'Sparrow Spirit 3' will be up. At the earliest, it will be late 2007, early 2008. I'll do my special thanks to everyone now.

First, I have to thank those who will never know how much they've helped me. Johnny Depp, Gore Verbinski, Ted & Terry, and the rest of the PotC crew. I also must thank Belinda, Davide, Lady Shadiait and every one else who reviewed my fic for their support and encouragement. Extra special thanks to Jinxeh, who betaed this whole fic and was there for me at every turn. This fic's for you, Jinxeh!

Thanks once again everyone! I'll see you at the next fic.

As we rowed back to the Pearl, I explained Will's plan to use a cargo net full of the last remaining barrels of gun powder and rum as bait for the Kraken. Then, once the beast had it in its tentacles, or even better, if it had swallowed it, Elizabeth was to shoot the barrels, causing them to explode.

Jack nodded grimly. "Trust them to come up with a plan to use rum like that," he muttered.

I watched the action on the Pearl. Those aboard were unaware of Jack's return to the ship. Will was up on the swinging cargo net, but he had lost his sword and his boot had become stuck, leaving him vulnerable to the Kraken's waving tentacles. He drew his knife and began to saw at the thick ropes of the netting in a desperate attempt to free himself, but it was of no use. Men were being plucked off the deck, screaming, only to be hurled violently into the sea. Elizabeth was struggling to get a clear shot at the barrels. Will was still tangled in the net, and she was waiting for him to get clear despite his shouts at her to shoot.

Suddenly, series of smaller tentacles snaked their way through the ruins of Jack's cabin behind Elizabeth and the tip of one of them wrapped around her ankle. She dropped the gun and screamed as she was pulled backwards, facing almost certain doom. Luckily, she was saved by a well-aimed axe chop from none other than Ragetti, who severed the tip off the tentacle, releasing her from the creature's grip. As grateful as she probably was, Elizabeth didn't have time to thank her unexpected savior; she immediately ran back to the rifle.

The rifle had been picked up by another crew member, but the Kraken tossed him through the air and into the sea before he had a chance to shoot. By now, Jack and I had climbed back on board. We saw the rifle land on the quarterdeck by the staircase that led up to the helm. Elizabeth started up the stairs towards it, but a violent shudder from the ship caused her to stumble. She fell across the steps, but managed to put her hand on the gun.

However, Captain Jack had gotten to it first, stepping on the rifle with his boot. Elizabeth tried to pry his foot off before looking up and realising who it was. The bright sun illuminated Jack from behind, giving him an extremely grand heroic look from Elizabeth's angle. I couldn't help but grin, feeling proud for my assignment. Elizabeth smiled in relief and Jack bent down to pick up the gun.

I stood beside Jack and Elizabeth clutched his legs as he raised the rifle to point at the swinging cargo net. Will was still trying to cut himself free. I didn't need to remind Jack to wait until Will was clear of the net. At last, after a few seconds that stretched like an eternity, Will fell to the deck. Jack took careful aim as the tentacles wrapped around the cargo net. Some of the barrels began to fall through the air. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. I covered my ears as Jack fired…

… and hit the barrels. This caused the predicted result: a giant explosion. The tentacles were shredded, and bits of crispy Kraken flesh flew in every direction. The shock of the explosion tossed me to the deck, where I landed very hard on my bad knee. I cried out in intense pain as I clutched my knee; it felt as though I had injured it further, though I knew that now wasn't the time to worry about it. There was an almost eerie quiet before the sea monster let out an unearthly moan of pain, as if to echo my own. I let out a string of venomous curses under my breath as Jack looked down at me with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Elizabeth thought the question was directed at her. "I'm fine," she replied, though her voice was rather shaky. The Kraken's tentacles once again disappeared under the waves as the monster limped - or swam - away to recover.

Some tears spilled down my cheeks. "I'm not really okay. I hurt my knee again," I managed to say. I took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself. My heart was racing and I was shaking a bit. I couldn't really just think about myself, though. I still had a job to do. "Don't worry about me," I told Jack. "Get the survivors out of here. We're still not safe."

The surviving crew members were crawling out of the wreckage. Gibbs, Cotton and his parrot, Pintel, Ragetti, Marty and Will, along with Elizabeth and Jack were the only ones left. Marty and Gibbs went to the railing and peered cautiously at the water, searching for any signs of the Kraken.

"Did we kill it?" Marty asked, unable to hide the hope from his voice.

"No. We just made it angry," Gibbs replied fearfully. He moved away from the railing. "We're not out of this yet. Captain, orders!" he called to Jack.

Jack gave me another concerned look and went down the stairs to the main deck, the rifle still in his hand. He passed the gun to Gibbs. "Abandon ship. Into the longboat." There was nothing in his voice to suggest he had a problem with this plan, though he was abandoning the ship that he'd worked so hard to attain…he was cool and collected, though when he glanced over his shoulder at me once more, there was an almost unspeakable sadness written in those dark brown eyes. I bowed my head, unable to meet those eyes, and tried to figure out how badly my knee was injured.

The others scrambled to the side of the ship where Jack had tied the boat he'd used to try and make his escape. Miraculously, it had somehow remained undamaged. Gibbs looked horrified that Jack Sparrow had just told them to abandon the Black Pearl. He ran after him.

"Jack... the Pearl!" he said, as though he really had to remind his captain that this ship was his pride and joy. He didn't know the realization Jack had already come to; that the Black Pearl was no longer safe. It no longer meant Jack's freedom, and so it had lost much of its special meaning.

I struggled to rise into the air, still clutching my injured left knee. It was very difficult and painful, but I pushed myself because I knew Jack was still going to need me - and soon. This is about him, not me,' I thought. 'Just keep your mind on Jack; he needs you more right now.'

"She's only a ship, mate," Jack told Gibbs without looking at him. I knew those words where the hardest ones Jack Sparrow has ever had to say. To call the Black Pearl 'just a ship' was almost blasphemy, but unfortunately, that was just what she had become.

"He's right. We have to head for land," Elizabeth agreed. Jack gave her a curious look. It was odd to that she should agree with him.

"It's a lot of open water," Pintel pointed out, worried that they wouldn't be able to make it due to the Kraken.

"It's a lot of water," Ragetti echoed.

"We have to try," Will said, stubborn and optimistic as always. "We can get away as it takes down the Pearl."

Gibbs nodded, his own determination to survive setting in. "Abandon ship. Abandon ship or abandon hope."

Gibbs and Will grabbed some of the guns that were still on deck to take with them. The rest of the crew started to climb down to the row boat.

I finally managed to float up into the air, though my recovery was still ongoing. I only went high enough to clear the railing and float downwards. I landed as carefully as I could on the main deck, trying to avoid the carnage the Kraken left behind around me. I settled gently atop a cannon and watched as Jack looked sadly around what was left of the Black Pearl, the ship he had sold his soul to get. I wondered if he really was considering going down with his ship, but then I decided that that wasn't something Jack Sparrow would do willingly if he had another option. Unfortunately, that option was going to be taken away from him. Elizabeth was also watching Jack. I gave her a frown, knowing what was going to happen next, but unable to stop it.

Elizabeth approached my assignment. "Thank you, Jack."

He turned to face her. "We're not free yet, love."

"You came back." She looked him in the eyes and smiled. She took a few steps closer to him. "I always knew you were a good man."

Jack looked unusually solumn as he gazed into her eyes. Elizabeth hesitated, standing very close to him. Then... she slowly kissed him on the lips.

I sighed, closing my eyes and looking away. I knew Will was going to spot Elizabeth and Jack kissing, and the deep hurt and sense of betrayal it would then cause him. Gibbs blocked Will's view as he tried to climb down, shouting orders to the crew.

"Prepare to cast off. There no time to lose. Come on, Will. Step to!"

I heard Jack's slight grunt as Elizabeth pushed him against the main mast. Then there was the clink of chains. I looked back over at Elizabeth and Jack as she gave him a steely look. Jack smiled grimly, realizing what she had done. I saw his wrist had been shackled to the mast and I sighed angrily. This was the one of the worst parts of my job.

I found myself thinking about when Jack and Elizabeth first met. He had saved her life, only to use her to help himself escape after he had been shackled. It seemed amazing to me, how the world turned in such ways. I knew why Elizabeth had done what she did. This act served to slake her own, confusion-stimulated lust for Jack, save the man she really loved, and drown her own guilt for possibly liking Jack in the first place. Little did she know how the guilt for condemning Jack to death would eat at her soul.

"It's after you, not the ship," Elizabeth said to Jack, their faces still very close together. She shook her head. "It's not us. This is the only way, don't you see?" She looked as if she might kiss him again for a moment, but then she pulled back, forcing herself to sound unfeeling. "I'm not sorry."

Jack studied her with a grin. Then he gave her a label she would never be able to shake off. It would stay with her forever. "Pirate."

Elizabeth swallowed hard, then turned away and went down to join the others in the long boat, leaving myself and my assignment on the deck of the doomed ship. Jack, with a slight smile still on his face, examined his shackled left wrist. Then he looked to me.

"Now what?" he asked me quietly.

I sighed again and winced, still in pain. "You've got to get yourself out of there somehow. I can't help you right now…I'm not allowed. That, and…my knee. Sorry."

"You knew she was going to do that," Jack said. Again, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah," I confessed, somehow unable to meet his gaze.

Jack seemed to be over the fact that I knew these things were going to happen, but I couldn't stop them. "Are they coming back for me?"

I shook my head. "No. They're getting out of here. You've got to hurry, Jack. You don't have much time to escape."

Just then, we heard Elizabeth give a stern "go!" to the crew in the boat and the sound of them shoving off.

"Bugger," Jack muttered. He started to tug at the shackles, growing more and more frantic with each second that passed. He braced himself against the mast and tugged with all his strength, but it wasn't working. "Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!"

I managed to stand up, using the ship's railing to help me, but I couldn't put any weight on my leg just yet. The Pearl gave an ominous shudder and tilted slightly to starboard, away from me. Jack's eyes widened in alarm. He looked around and spotted a lantern lying amongst the wreckage.

"If you can reach it, use the oil to get yourself out," I recommended. It was just about all I could do. I grimaced in mild agony as I tested my left leg. My knee throbbed and a shot of pain went through my leg. "I've just got to recover a bit here before I can help you fight the Kraken..."

Jack drew his sword and stretched over to try to use the tip to hook on the ring of the lantern. I willed myself to recover faster. Time was quickly running out. I could sense it, like sand falling through an hourglass.

Jack finally managed to hook the lantern on his sword and smash it against the mast. He let the oil dribble onto the shackle, lubricating his wrist. Then he pulled on it some more. Slowly, his hand began to slip out. "Come on!" he urged it.

"Come on, come on!" I pleaded with him. I bit my lip, limping heavily closer to him.

Jack's hand was almost through. "Just got it. Come on," he grunted. Then, with one last mighty tug, his hand slipped free of the shackle. The two of us smiled in triumph.

Suddenly my eyes went wide. My hands flew to my mouth to stop a scream from escaping. Jack saw my expression and went pale. He turned around and saw what I saw - the mouth of the Kraken rising over the railing of the Pearl. There was just the smallest of pauses… and then it roared at Jack, blasting him with slime and the foul stench of its breath. I took after Jack and just closed my eyes. The two of us let ourselves be covered in the disgusting stuff.

All the while I was focusing my power. I felt it building in my arms, legs and chest. It lifted me into the air a few feet and caused me to temporarily forget the pain in my knee. It felt like a thundercloud was growing inside of me, just waiting to spit forth all the legendary lightning of Zeus. I put all my anger into that energy, and boy, was I mad.

I was mad at what had been done to Jack in the past and at what was happening to him now. I was angry at Barbossa for mutinying him all those years ago and so robbing Jack of his time with the Black Pearl. I was angry with Elizabeth and the others for leaving Jack, their friend and captain, here to die. It didn't matter right then that they would later volunteer to risk their lives to save him again. I was angry with Davy Jones, for holding Jack to that bloody promise he made thirteen years ago and for causing the deaths and torture of so many people. I was angry at Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company for their slaughter of pirates. It didn't matter to me right then not most pirates were not more or less good men like Jack. I was mad at Norrington for stealing Davy Jones' heart for himself - a truly selfish thing to do. He had turned pirate, after all. I was mad at myself for getting injured so often. It was limiting my ability to help my assignments, and that wasn't good for anyone. I was also mad at the world and the powers that be for not allowing me to actively do anything about all these problems. It just wasn't fair.

The Kraken's roar quieted. I opened my eyes. I could feel them shining with an incredible power. I had never felt this way before. I felt dangerous. It was fantastic, though almost unbearably frightening.

Jack pulled some of the sea monster's slime off his face. "Not that bad," he remarked of the fabled bad breath. I made a face. It was true that it was horrible, but I suppose there were worse smells.

Jack smiled in happy surprise as he spotted his old tricorn hat sitting on the deck. The Kraken had spat it out. Jack picked it up and swung it backwards to shake off as much slime as he could. He fit it on his head, feeling complete.

"You may not have been able to beat the devil, Jack, but he hasn't really won, either," I said. "Our story isn't over yet. Now, let's go down fighting, eh?"

I thought of Davy Jones discovering that his heart was still missing and Norrington's bargain with Cutler Beckett. I thought of the rest of Jack's crew making their way to Tia Delma's. I thought of her consoling them, Gibbs remarking how the world seemed a little less bright without Jack Sparrow in it and preposing a toast to him. I thought of Tia asking them that if they would be "willing to sail to the ends of the earth and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and him precious Pearl." I thought of them all agreeing to go, each for their own reasons. I thought of Barbossa's presence being revealed to them. The story had to continue, and so it would. I had to remind myself that this wasn't really the end, just the conclusion to one chapter of the tale.

Jack looked at me and nodded, with a determined smile. I smiled back.

"Let's do it," I said in a firm voice.

Jack grinned, flashing his gold teeth at the monster as he drew his cutlass. "Hello, beastie."

We roared and attacked the Kraken together just as it began to crush and devour the Black Pearl.

I heard Captain Jack Sparrow's yell, the snap of breaking wood, the splash of the sea and the rumble of the Kraken. I could see nothing but rows and rows of sharp, pointed teeth. I screamed and surged forward with all my strength and power.

Then I knew nothing but silence and darkness.