(A/N: Here we go, the final chapter. Well, epilogue. This was a funs tory to write, IU just wish I had gotten to it sooner, maybe when POTC was more popular. But oh well. Let's check in one final time to see what shenanigans our favorite crew is planning on getting into.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Epilogue

It was funny how things worked out. A few months ago, Jolene had never expected her life to take this turn. After her mother died, she had thought that she could track down her father and get him to help her bring her mother back, and then things could go back to normal, but things had obviously not turned out that way.

Now Jolene found herself as part of the legendary Black Pearl's crew, wandering the streets of the pirate port, Tortuga, as they got ready for another adventure. Hopefully, one just as exciting, but less dangerous.

As Jolene made her way to the dock to meet up with the others, she wondered what the future held. It had been… interesting getting to know her father. And although he was different from what she had expected, despite all the things her mother had told her about him, she was still glad to have gotten to know him, and she hoped they could become closer. He could never replace her mother, but it was still nice to finally have him in her life, even if he still refused to acknowledge her as his daughter.

She wondered what this next adventure of his was. He had been vague about it while recruiting more crewmembers, but had promised that the payoff would be beyond anything they could imagine, that it was more valuable than any other treasure. Jolene wasn't so sure about that though. After discovering, and losing, Midas' remains, which could turn anything to gold, she wasn't sure there was a treasure more valuable. Or did he simply mean the current most valuable treasure now that Midas' remains were now unavailable?

That gave Jolene pause as her thoughts turned to another valuable treasure. The one Hook had told her about. He had said that there was a chest that had been stolen from him by that Pan boy that contained a seemingly unlimited number of gold coins and jewels inside it. It was hidden away on that timeless island where tomorrow never came, but he had never been able to find it after it had been stolen.

She wondered if they would be able to find it. That had been Hook's plan, to use the compass to first find and kill Pan, then use it to find the treasure once he had taken his revenge. Of course, that was considering they would even be able to find the island. Hook had said something about following a certain star until morning in order to make the island appear. She didn't know which star they needed to follow, but she wondered if her father's compass would be able to point them in the right direction.

Deciding that she would tell him about it once they finished this latest treasure hunt, Jolene walked out onto the pier and began looking for the Black Pearl. She frowned when she didn't see it anywhere and looked around, making sure she was in the right place. But yes, this was definitely the place where they had tied the ship. The Pearl had been docked right here, she was sure of it.

Then she spotted it. It was a thousand or so feet out, sailing away. But why was it sailing away without her? There was still time before Jack had said they would head out. Did they leave early and not realize that she wasn't there?

Jolene's mouth dropped open as she suddenly realized what was happening. They hadn't forgotten her, they were leaving without her!

"Jack!" she bellowed furiously. She charged forward, running to the end of the dock, and began shouting and shaking her fist at the retreating ship. "Jack! Jack! Father! Get back here! Get back here right now! Gibbs! Scrum! Marty! Cotton! Anyone! You are not leaving me behind like this, damn it! Get back here, JACK SPARROW!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jack stared through his new telescope as he watched Jolene rage at him on the dock. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but it was easy enough to guess, and the punches and kicks she threw in his direction made it all the more obvious. She was furious.

He lowered the telescope as he pushed aside the guilt he felt at leaving her behind the way he did. It was a dirty thing to do, but, truth be told, he thought it was for the best. As much as he loved the life of a pirate, it was not the kind of life he wanted for her.

Not that he didn't think a woman couldn't be a pirate; he knew many female pirates, even female captains, who had proven time and time again that women were perfectly capable of being pirates. But he wanted something better for her than being a low-life scallywag who spent their life pillaging and plundering. She could go back to whatever honest life she had been living before she had sought him out, or make a new life for herself and live however she saw fit.

Whatever she decided to do, it was far better than what he could offer her. She would be much better off without him. Not that he would ever admit any of that though. And while it may have seemed low of him to just abandon her like this, he had the utmost confidence in her. She had been fine without him before, and she would be fine now.

Gibbs came up to him, squinting so he could just make out the angry speck that was Jolene on the dock, then glanced at Jack uncertainly. "Are you sure about leavin' her behind like this, Jack?"

The captain turned to him, smiling a little too broadly. "Course I'm sure. In fact, it's a relief to finally be rid of her. There's always enough tomfoolery on my ship enough as it is without the like of her further complicating things."

Gibbs sighed. "If you insist. Just remember, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn, and I've no doubt that you've gone and made Miss Jolene good and mad with this little stunt."

"Then it's a good thing I plan to never see her again," Jack replied simply as he strolled past his first mate.

Letting out another sigh, Gibbs followed after him. "You can try, but she's obviously a stubborn thing. She'll probably still be waitin' for ya when you return."

"I doubt it, Gibbs," Jack said dismissively, not even looking at him. "Knowing her, she'll move on to bigger and better things. She is her mother's daughter after all."

Ragetti, whom Jack just walked past, leaned over to whisper to Pintel. "And her father's daughter."

Jack overheard this and whirled around, pointing at him. "Allegedly. Still allegedly. And I'll have no more of that talk. We've got more important things to worry about other than who that girl is the spawn of."

Murtogg and Mullroy exchanged a look before the latter raised a hand. "Sir, speaking of more important things, could you tell us what it is we're searching for?"

Scrum crossed his arms. "And hopefully we'll actually get some payment out of it this time."

Jack's face lit up. "Yes, I suppose now would be as good a time as any to tell you. I reframed from doing so earlier so as not to have anyone overhear us since this be a treasure even more valuable than Midas' cursed corpse."

Marty looked doubtful. "Considering Midas' remains could turn anything to gold, that seems unlikely," he commented, having been filed in on what had happened back in Midas' tomb.

Jack smiled knowingly. "Ah, but it is. The ultimate treasure. Endless gold is indeed valuable, but there are other things of worth." He raised his voice, calling out to the rest of the crew. "My friends, we once sought out to find the Fountain of Youth so that we might gain eternal life. We recently sought the golden touch so that we might turn anything to gold." He paused for dramatic affect. "Now we shall seek out something that can do both."

"Rawk! More myths," Cotton's parrot squawked. "More legends."

"They are not," Jack objected, and reached into his jacket. "I came across this when I was searching that museum for clues to the location of Midas' tomb. Thought it would serve as a good backup in case nothing came from our search for the tomb."

Gibbs stood with his arms crossed. "Which it did."

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it again as he wobbled his head. "Technically, yes, but we did find the tomb, and the treasure within; we merely lost what we had obtained. But not this time. This time the ultimate treasure will be ours, and we shall have it all. Eternal life, ultimate wealth, the greatest prize a man could possibly discover."

"Yes?" Marty asked, now looking eager, as did the rest of the crew. "What is it?"

Jack smiled as he pulled an ancient rolled up cloth out of his jacket. "The most valuable jewel in the world. The producer of the elixir of life. The power to turn any metal to gold." He opened the cloth, upon which was a bunch of ancient writing surrounding the image of a bright red rock. "Gentlemen, I give to you, the Philosopher's Stone."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jolene sat on the dock with her legs dangling over the side, staring out at the ocean. She had raged until she had exhausted herself, practically having screamed herself hoarse. Then she had sat down at the end of the dock and watched the Black Pearl sail further and further away.

It had long since disappeared, vanishing upon the horizon hours ago, off on a new adventure, without her. Jolene was still furious about that. She couldn't believe Jack had just left her behind like that. Why? Because he thought she was a burden and didn't want to deal with her? Because he didn't think she was strong enough or good enough to be a pirate? Because he wanted to protect her from the potentially hazardous life that a pirate had?

Whatever the reason, she didn't care, it still infuriated her, even if his intentions had been noble and he had simply wanted to protect her. She had lived her whole life without him, she didn't need him to start taking care of her now; especially since she was a grown woman. She could take care of herself just fine. True, he may have saved her life a few times on their little adventure, but she had saved his as well, so they were square in that regard.

Well, she wasn't about to run home like a good little girl and play house. She'd gotten a taste for the life of a pirate, and she had enjoyed it, despite all the dangers it presented. Pirating was in her blood after all, and now that she had sunk her teeth into it, she wanted more.

If Jack wouldn't let her be a part of his crew, then fine, she would find one of her own. She would get a ship of her own too, somehow, and make a name for herself just as he did. She would find Jack and prove herself. If she found him once, she could find him again. And when she did, she would show him that it had been a mistake to leave her behind, that she was just as capable of being a pirate as him. And she would do so without relying on her father's name. No one would have to know she was Jack Sparrow's daughter.

But how she was going to do all that, she wasn't sure, and that's what she needed to figure out. She could start out joining someone else's crew and work her way up the ladder until she built up a reputation of her own. That would take some time, but she was stubborn and patient, she could do it. She just wasn't looking forward to starting at the bottom of the barrel.

Letting out a sigh, she leaned against the dock post as she continued to stare out at the ocean. A few minutes later, a pair of boots stepped up next to her.

"You, girl," the person asked, speaking with a Spanish accent, "you were the one calling for Jack Sparrow earlier, were you not?"

Jolene looked up, seeing an older woman around her father's age standing over her. She was dressed as a pirate, and based on the way she spoke and held herself, Jolene could tell right away that she was a woman of authority, possibly the captain of her own ship.

Raising an eyebrow, Jolene started to get to her feet. "I am." She stood up as she looked the older woman over. "And you are?"

A smirk spread across the older woman's face. "Someone else who has been looking for Jack, and for quite some time now." She nodded at Jolene. "What happened between you and him?"

Sighing, Jolene rolled her eyes. "A lot of stuff, but in the end, he decided to ditch me." She shrugged. "It's complicated."

This seemed to amuse the woman. "It always is with Jack."

Jolene took a second look at the woman, and this time she noticed a small doll tied to a string that she wore around her neck. The doll looked an awful lot like Jack, and Jolene's mind suddenly jumped to the stories she'd heard of voodoo dolls.

Her eyebrows rose with interest at this. Just who was this woman? An old friend of her father's? A rival? A former lover? An enemy?

Jolene nodded at her. "Why are you looking for Jack?"

A light chuckle escaped the woman. "Let's just say that the two of us have some unfinished business. About many things." She gave Jolene a pointed look. "Like you said, it's complicated. To make a long story short though, there are a lot of mixed feelings between us that have been left unresolved."

Yes, Jolene could see that much for herself, and she could certainly relate. "Something tells me Jack's going to be in big trouble when you find him," she said with an amused smile.

The woman's own smile grew. "More than he's ever been in before. And you?"

"The same," Jolene replied, already imagining the look on his face when he saw her again.

The woman gave her a look as if to say that she had expected as much. "Well, I don't know if you're interested, but seeing as we have similar goals, would you like to join my crew?"

Jolene's eyebrows rose with interest. This was certainly unexpected. Was fortunate already beginning to favor her? Here she was trying to come up with a way to prove herself and get back to Jack, and an opportunity had quite literally fallen into her lap.

Jolene wasn't foolish though, and she wasn't going to just sign up for something without getting more information first. After all, this woman could very well be an enemy who wanted her father dead; she did have a voodoo doll of him after all, if that was indeed what that was. She might be furious with him right now, but she wasn't going to lead an enemy right to him.

"Are you going to kill him?" she asked seriously.

The woman looked surprised by the question, but then appeared to be thoughtful as she seriously considered the question before answering. "To be honest, I haven't decided yet. As I said, as we both said, it's complicated."

That pretty much seemed to be how things always were with Jack. According to her mother, everyone wanted to either kill Jack or be his friend, and where they stood on the matter changed regularly. That had been the case for some of his closest friends, and even some of his current crew.

Based on the way this woman was speaking about Jack, the two of them definitely had some major issues to work out, but as to whether or not she really would kill him when she saw him again, Jolene believed her when she said that she hadn't decided if she was going to kill him or not yet.

She could work with that.

"I think that's something everyone has in common with Jack," she told the woman. Smiling, she held out her hand. "I'm Jolene."

The woman returned the smile and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Jolene. I'm Angelica. I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."

THE END

(A/N: And that brings this story to a close. I know I left it open for a sequel, but that wasn't because I have plans for one, it's just because I felt that was the best way to end it. While the series had its ups and down, it really is a great franchise, and I'm glad I could write this, even if it seems like I missed the window. But I write primarily for me, and so I can share my imagination with all of you. So if you've got anything to say, here's your last chance to review. Not I can dedicate all my time to my other story. Don't forget to check it out if you're interested, and I'll see you next time.)