A/N- FINALLY!!! This chapter's been a bugger... Firstly, I started it, got about 4 pages through and then decided I didn't like it so started again. Then, I've been having writer's block, I think... As it's the last chapter I really wanted it to be good. Anyways, I hope you find it okay! And thanks, you've all been awesome!

Chapter 15

Over the next few hours, I wander aimlessly around the ship, trying to decide what to do next.

My first plan is to make absolutely sure that there is no-one left alive who could help me. I search behind every door I come across, finding many small dark rooms storing food and other supplies, but no other living soul. It is strange- the food seems to be dry and unspoiled, despite the fact that the wave seems to have washed through every other part of the ship and wiped out every man aboard. Indeed, I soon start to notice other things that have not been affected- one time I come across a beautiful painting depicting a mother with her child, which hangs on the wall looking as fresh as the day it was painted, while over in another corner there are the few remaining pieces of a chest of drawers which has been completely smashed. There seems, to me, to be no obvious difference between what the wave did hit, and what it missed- the pieces of art left mostly seem to be small and inexpensive, of no particular value to anyone, and yet they have remained perfect while other objects of much more significance have been completely wiped out.

One door I do stay away from, however, is the door that I had locked Chalmes behind. I do not want to risk looking there, for fear of what I might see- I know he would probably not have been able to escape the wave anyway, but part of me feel liked I trapped him and made his death inevitable. Feelings of guilt, born from having him as the only father I knew, fester inside me as I partly blame myself for Chalmes' demise. If I stay away from the room I last saw him in, then perhaps I will be able to push the thoughts back. I am not even eager to see if the treasure survived- it was the root of all the problems and responsible for throwing my life into disarray, and I suspect I would not be unhappy if I saw it had gone.

My wanderings around the ship finally lead me down a corridor in which I had run the opposite direction, not so long ago. At the end, I walk through a now door-less opening and into Serpiente's quarters, shuddering slightly as I try to suppress flashbacks.

The room has completely changed from when I was last in here, looking like something of a battlefield. The glass windows have all been smashed, leaving only shards desperately hanging onto the frames and looking like sets of jagged teeth, while other pieces are scattered around the room. As I slowly step across the floor, avoiding some of the numerous obstacles such as pieces of splinted wood, dented silverware and shreds of materials, it crunches slightly as I stand on pieces of glass.

Sighing, I wonder if anything such as a map may have survived so I can try and determine the ship's position, but it seems that I am out of luck. Anything small that did not get entangled in any larger object has been swept into the sea- and in any case, the parchment would probably have been reduced to a soggy mess within a matter of seconds.

I do find a few things of use amongst the wreckage, however. Draped across what was once a table leg, I find a shirt- made from a hard wearing material, it may be completely soaked but only has a few rips and tears, and is certainly better than the dress I have on at the moment. My luck holds out as I find a pair of trousers half-hidden behind a smashed chest of drawers.

Not being able to stand the dress any longer, I begin to take off the bodice to get changed, not worrying about any privacy in particular as I am under the impression that I am alone.

After having pulled the shirt and trousers on, I set about searching for some sort of footwear to complete my new outfit. Once again I am fortunate, as the wave has left behind a pair of well-worn, but still good quality, boots, which I find hidden in one corner. As I pull them onto my feet, I consider what to do next.

My stomach is the deciding factor- as I stand back up, it growls ominously, reminding me that I have not eaten since the meal I had with Serpiente the night before, in this very cabin. I decide to try and find the galley, and see if there is any food in there or if I will have to use some from the store cupboard that I had discovered previously.

Walking out and into the corridor, I find it strange how it is now completely deserted, remembering back to the previous day when this place was packed with scared crewmembers. As I head towards the top decks, I come across pieces to remind me of this panic- a shoe lies discarded in a corner and another time I find a small pocket knife embedded in the floor. All these everyday objects just serve to remind me that the men that lost their lives were all just normal people who happened to choose the wrong captain. Now they are dead, swept out to sea like one of the pieces of furniture, all for the sake of one man's determination to take revenge on the other.

Sometimes I do not understand what goes on in the minds of men… I think to myself. To kill so many for the sake of one seems so cruel and unnecessary to me, while my father seemed to find it completely acceptable.

Shuddering, I pick up my pace so I can leave this depressing area below decks and use the sun I can see shining down to try and distract me. I almost run up the steps and onto the main deck, bursting into the light so fast I am temporarily blinded.

Looking round the deck with my eyes half squeezed shut, for one moment I think I can see a person standing to one side of me. However, the image wavers and dips in and out of existence, so I start to believe it is nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Shaking my head, I try to make my eyes adjust to the change in the level of light so I can actually see properly.

As my vision clears, I realise that there is another person aboard this ship.

Despite being slightly confused as to why I had not seen this person in my scouring of the ship earlier, nevertheless I am overjoyed to find I am not the only person still alive. I hurry over towards them.

"Excuse me!"

The man, silhouetted against the sun behind him, turns around to look at me. I see his long hair swing round, causing an all-too familiar jingle from beads I catch glinting in the light. I stop in my tracks as my thoughts connect and tell me who I am seeing, although I do not believe them.

Jack smiles, making teeth glint in the sun.

"Hello, luv…"

Smiling, I slowly saunter over to him.

"Jack… Fancy seeing you here…"

His smile widens for a split second. However, his facial expression changes quickly when I deliver a stinging blow across his cheek with such force his head is knocked sideways and his hair whips wildly across his face.

He pauses, and if it weren't for that ever-present gleam of mischief in his eyes, I could almost believe the look of regret he is trying to get away with.

"I may have deserved that…" He says, to himself more than anyone.

I give a short disbelieving laugh, replying whether that statement was aimed at me or not.

"May have deserved that, Jack? May?! When you deserted me on that island for Chalmes and Serpiente, left me here to face complete hell, and now when the coast is clear, have just come swaggering back in- for your share of the profits, I presume?"

"Well… When you phrase it like that…"

"How did you get here anyway, Jack?" I look around desperately for his means of travel, hoping I can push him back into it as soon as possible. At the moment, I would prefer to be stuck in the middle of the ocean on a ship all by myself than have the possibility of an escape with Sparrow.

Jack looks pointedly of my shoulder. I whirl around and, to my slight embarrassment, see the large black profile of the Pearl, riding at anchor not half a mile away.

"Oh…" I say, turning back around to face the pirate.

"Oh…" Jack mimics my speech in a teasing way, still acting as though this whole incident is some sort of game. "Not in one of our more observant moves then, Sierra?"

"Don't joke with me, Jack! I'm really not in the mood at this moment in time, mainly thanks to you reappearing now that it suits you…" I turn away, crossing my arms like some small child in a temper which makes me curse silently to myself for being so petty and stupid.

"Now, don't be like that, luv…" Jack reappears in front of me, gently placing his hands on my upper arms. "Did you honestly think that I'd desert you?

Despite a stirring of hope that starts to build inside me I say nothing, simply staring at him pointedly while shaking loose from his grip- flashes of another occasion where a man had held onto me flicker at the corner of my mind, but I push them away. Jack's eyes slide sideways momentarily as he grits his teeth, making his bottom jaw jut out slightly in a most unusual expression. Then, he raises his gaze and looks at me apologetically.

"Alright… I admit that you may not have been told the entire truth here, Sierra…"

I snort in disbelief. "I suppose I should have guessed?"

"In actual fact, I was hoping you wouldn't." Sparrow replies. "Because then, you might not have cooperated so readily as you did without knowing everything…"

I narrow my eyes, trying to work out the reasons behind Jack's explanation.

"I had told you the tale of Falcon's death." Jack begins. "That was all true… But there is a little more to it as well, which even I had not discovered until recently. You see, it appears that Serpiente did manage to finally best your father at something- after Falcon's hanging Serpiente convinced the authorities to give him his ship in return for his services as a privateer for England. He renamed it as the Serpent, and was quite content with his life… until he discovered a scroll on board that had some mention to do with Falcon's fortune. From then one he was obsessed with finding the treasure of his former rival, but had no knowledge of how he might have gone about finding it.

"It was not until several years later that he fell into luck- he met Chalmes at some party or gathering of some sort- the location is not important- and they began talking about the legend of Falcon. Somehow, they managed to piece together the facts that they had separately gathered…Chalmes also had a long-seated interest in Falcon, it seems. He would have been overjoyed if he had known originally you were the daughter of the pirate he had heard so many tales about, but he did not discover this until his meeting with Serpiente, it appears.

"They combined, despite their separate motives for finding the treasure, and hatched an elaborate plan which revolved entirely around the key- you.

"And you found out all this how exactly?..." I ask

Jack holds his hand up to stop me from continuing any further.

"I was just getting there… It looks as though Serpiente did not have the only scroll in existence. I stumbled across another when I was on one of my… transactions… in a back alley of Tortuga. However, mine was more complete than anything Serpiente may have had- revealing facts about the treasure, Falcon's tomb, the nature of the lock on the cave and the chest, and a further part of Falcon's legend, which concerns you."

I listen in more closely, interested to see where this is heading.

"I won't bore you with the details, luv… But basically…" Jack shifts his position slightly, "the scroll showed how to awake Falcon, if ever the need should arise- that is, if one of his own flesh and blood, his family, fell into grave danger… Something along the lines of what you experienced, as was made apparent. When he was summoned then he would… dispose… of whatever was causing the problem, using some great power. Of what, or where this power comes from, I'm not sure… that part was omitted from the text I read it states that anyone of Falcon's flesh and blood- his family- cannot be harmed by him when he does unleash his power."

"Jack…" Biting my lip, I try and believe what he is saying to me- I want to, but considering his previous record, I am not sure if I can. "Are you telling me the truth?..."

"Every word, luv…" He steps closer to me. "After all, have I ever given you reason not to trust me?..."

Even as these words leave his mouth, I see he has realised how stupid the question was. Once again, his eyes drop, and he manages to look despondent for a moment, while I simply cross my arms.

"Perhaps that did not sound so good as I would have hoped…But just give me a chance to finish…

Jack takes the lack of response from me as a hint to carry on

"Shortly after discovering the scroll, there was the strangest coincidence… I overheard a conversation in one of the taverns that Serpiente was looking for a crew, to escort some rich merchant with a mind to go after the treasure of Falcon. There was also some mention of a key… And then…" Sparrow spreads his hands wide. "It occurred to me what this 'key' was exactly, and I realised I had to do something to stop what I knew would happen. Namely, some girl getting caught up in what she has nothing to do with."

"Well, that was heroic of you, Jack… bravo, really." I reply.

Jack looks hurt.

"Sarcasm is never the way to go now, is it luv?…"

"Well, to be honest, I'm still not convinced I believe this version of the events, compared to the much simpler one that you simply came back for the rewards when it suited you. Let me try and get straight what you have told me…"

"Fire away…" Sparrow answers.

"So… you overheard some conversation in some tavern… Somewhere… That Serpiente needed a crew to go after my father's treasure. Using your newly-founded expertise on the subject of Falcon, you realised that I was in danger and so hatched an elaborate plan involving getting into Chalmes' house, drugging me and anyone else there and then taking me back to your ship, where you proceeded to take me to the island on which Falcon's treasure was buried. You knew that once the drugs wore off, Serpiente and Chalmes would follow us to the island, determined to recapture me. Once we arrived at the island, you would lead the way down into the caves, using me to open any barrier we came across as it is only one of Falcon's own blood who can do so. You would also leave said obstacles open, so that Chalmes and Serpiente could follow without hindrance. Then, you would leave me in a convenient place under the pretence you were going to get some crewmembers to help move the treasure, while actually you were leaving me to be picked up by Chalmes and Serpiente in order to buy you time to get to the tomb of my father, raise him and then set him loose on those holding me. Finally, you knew that neither me nor the ship I was on was going to be harmed, due to Falcon' curse, and so you would be able to come back when Falcon had got rid of Serpiente and everyone else, to find me and the treasure. Then you would sail off, considerably richer than you were. Is that it?" I look at Jack quizzically.

He flashes a quick smile it return, then cocks his head and spreads his hands wide.

"Pretty much, luv…"

"There are just a few things that I don't quite understand, Jack… Firstly, how did you manage to raise my father…?"

"Ah, well… that's one of the great things…" Jack takes a pause to step even closer, so I have to look upwards slightly in order to maintain eye contact. He grins, and I see the familiar glint of gold in his mouth. Swallowing slightly, I try not to let my gaze linger on his mouth for too long, forcing my eyes back up again.

Jack's own stare flickers around my face slightly before he continues.

"I'm surprised that something so small could have been so powerful…"

"Jack…" I warn.

He looks surprised, and feigns innocence.

"Hmmm?... Don't get touchy, luv. I was merely taking about this…"

My eyes go crossed in an attempt to focus on what Jack has shoved in front of my face. Then, when I see what it is, I frown slightly.

"My locket…How did you get hold of that?"

Captain Sparrow pulls the locket away as I attempt to reach out for it.

"Well, you left it lying on the deck, so I…"

I cut him short.

"No! I mean, how did you get hold of it in when we were on the island?"

"Ah… well," Jack replies "You have to be more careful… You see, when you get distracted, you tend to let your guard down… Say, when you're hanging over a hole in the ground, and then get saved by a dashing, handsome pirate…?"

"You stole it from me, on that bloody island?!" I shriek.

He winces slightly.

"Not stole, as such… More, borrowed… commandeered…" He replies, then, seeing my blank expression, adds "…Nautical term."

"But… But…" I stutter hopelessly.

"You'll have to keep a better eye on your effects than that, luv… It's so easy to sneak things out of people's pockets…" Jack presses the locket into one of my hands.

For a moment I remain speechless. Then, I remember what my other query was.

"What are we going to do now?"

Jack points one finger at me lightly.

"That's a very good question, Sierra. Fortunately, one which I have an answer for."

He looks deep into my eyes, a smile playing around his mouth. After a pause, which I suspects he times to perfection, he says something unexpected.

"The ship is yours."

I jerk back slightly to look at him better and see if he is joking. However, as I see no deceit in his eyes the only thing that I can think to say is a simple, one word phrase.

"Pardon?"

Sparrow gives a low chuckle.

"The ship, Sierra… The one we are standing on right this instance." He points at the deck as if to emphasise his point. "She was your father's, and so I think it is only right she becomes yours."

I laugh, walking away from Jack in disbelief. Then, I turn back round to face him, still smiling with incredulity.

"Jack… I don't know the first thing about how to sail a ship, and you know that. I only learnt the very basics of how to get along on a ship, and that was with a full crew supporting me, showing me what to do, and correcting me whenever I did something wrong… which, if I remember, wasn't exactly uncommon…"

Jack laughs again.

"Never fear, luv… You won't be on your own. Very far from it…"

He looks up and whistles, and, hearing the flap of wings I gaze at the sky as well, in time to see a flash of blue and yellow disappearing towards the Black Pearl.

"Cotton's parrot?" I inquire.

"Aye. He's gone to summon the crew to bring the Pearl over here, upon which half will disembark onto your ship, and half will stay with me… Will that be enough help for you?"

Smiling, I wordlessly walk over to the rail to watch the Pearl sail to join us.

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In a remarkably short while, the crew has been sorted, with a large proportion leaving the Pearl and joining me. I am delighted to see the familiar face of Alex amongst those Jack has picked to be my closest men. He flashes me a quick grin of recognition, then sets about checking that there are enough supplies to last us at least until the next port.

I stand looking out over the water, biting my lip as I attempt to decide what to do next. Part of me is excited- I have complete freedom to do whatever I like, go wherever I wish… But part of me is fearful that it will all end badly.

I hardly hear the footsteps behind me until Jack appears right next to me.

"So… what are you going to name her?" He says, leaning casually on the helm.

"Who?" Some part of what he has said doesn't quite register in my mind.

Sparrow rolls his eyes.

"The ship, Sierra… If I were you, I'm not sure I would want to keep a name such as the Serpent… reminds me too much of that slimy creep of a pirate who had hold of her beforehand."

"Oh…" I had not even considered that the name of the ship might be a problem, but now Jack has mentioned it I realise that I want nothing less than to keep the current name. I think deeply about it for a moment, then a smile slowly appears on my face. Quietly, I speak two words.

"Falcon's Flight"

Looking at Jack, I see him return my smile.

"Perfect."

He gently reaches out, and cups my chin in his hand.

"I can't think of anything that could be better, luv…"

His eyes slide over my head slightly, and I know he is looking towards his own beloved ship. A slightly distressed expression crosses his face, and he looks down into my eyes.

"Sierra… I'm afraid it's time for me to go… You don't need me here any longer."

I smile sadly, looking down, but Jack gently pushes my head back up.

"We'll meet again, I'm sure of it… Although I hope it's in better circumstances than this time."

He lets go of my chin, then turns around and starts to walk away.

However, he does not get far.

"Jack!" I call after him, making him pause and spin back round.

I see surprise on his face as a hurry towards him, his eyes widening. Looking down at me, his mouth starts to open as he thinks of something to say, then he pauses as he must see the moment of indecisiveness that crosses my face.

I pause, looking into his eyes. Then, I stretch up and press my lips on his in a parting kiss.

At first he leans back slightly in surprise, but then responds to my touch on his lips, pulling me closer to him. His scent, a tantalising mixture of rum, sea salt and sweat, envelops me as I breathe in deeply.

I do not know how long we stay like this for- time itself seems to stand still- but finally I pull back, my eyes searching his face.

He appears to consider me for a second, looking down at my face. Then, to my relief he cracks a beaming smile.

"Now… That was the right time, Sierra."

Leaning forwards, he gently gives me one quick and light kiss, before winking roguishly at me. Then, he turns back round and heads back to the Black Pearl, without a backwards glance towards me.

I watch as he gives orders to his crew to cast off. The gangplank between our ships is removed, and the sails are set. Soon, the Pearl is moving away, towards the horizon.

Jack chooses this moment to look back at me. From the helm of his ship, I see his head turn, various trinkets glinting in the sun. From this distance his eyes look black, heavily ringed by the trademark kohl, although I can imagine the roguish twinkle that is ever-present in his gaze.

He removes one hand from the helm, and lifts it up to his head, sweeping his hat off. Then, continuing in one smooth move, he drops into a gracious, sweeping bow, almost touching his hat on the floor. Then, he stands back up straight and places his hat back on his head, giving one last smile before he turns back to face the tiller, and the open sea.

I laugh quietly to myself, shaking my head slowly. I then turn back to my own ship, and my own crew.

Anticipating my commands, the crew set the sails and weigh anchor. All that is left for me to do is set the course, in a different direction to the one Sparrow sailed in.

Turning the helm, I gently hum a song that Jack taught me to myself.

"And really bad eggs..."

I am surprised to hear another voice joining in. Turning around, I see Alex standing next to me, laughing gently. Together, we finish off the song as Falcon's Flight, formerly my father's ship and now my own, sails off towards the sun.

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Second Star to the Left- Well, it's Christmas today!!!! Yipee!! Jeez, was it over 2 weeks ago I updated?! Sorrry!

iluvDraco93- Here ya go!

Chocolat Pirate- Okay, this update perhaps wasn't as soon as you would have hoped... But it's extra long, to make up for it!!! 10 pages on Word! (Oooo!)

ilovejacksparrow121- Was this chapter any good?

RumQueen- Well, if there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my descriptive skills. They always got me the best marks in English... You may not think that counts for much, but meh... Hehe

PhantomFreak1215- Yeah, I realise Jack was a bit OOC in parts. He's so goddamn hard to do!! Probably because he isn't my own character so I can't play around with him as much (evil grin). He wasn't too bad though, was he?