Summary: After the second movie, could consider after the third as well. But this was written before it came out. The Sparrows have a family secret. One that has come back to haunt the current members. Will they be able to defeat the evil that haunts them?

Standard disclaimer applies.

The stars twinkled in the night sky reflecting clearly in the deep waters off the shore of Tortuga. From a distance the warm glow of lamplights signaled the location of the infamous pirate port city. If one listened close enough, they could even hear the ruckus that came with the fall of night in said city limits. An inviting place to any free man with hopes of an …interesting evening. However, for once the lively city was not the destination of one Captain Jack Sparrow.

Sparrow had his eyes on the lone ship, anchored just off the shores of the free island, hidden by one of the alcoves to keep more daring men from even pondering its liberation. Had Sparrow not known said ship would dock in said location, he too would have never had a second thought. But as he was in need of this particular ship, which he had searched for in order to find what he ultimately wanted, this was the best place to look.

Carefully the pirate maneuvered the rowboat through the water, making as little noise as possible. No lights came from the grand ship floating in the alcove; only a low glow from the moon that hung high in the sky gave any indication the ship was there at all. An eerie sight for any to gaze upon, yet beautiful all the same. With luck, which he seemed to have in abundance, no guards would be on watch this night. Knowing the Captain of this particular ship, he highly doubted his luck would hold.

Careful not to hit the ship with his own boat, thus alerting any potential guards to his presence, Sparrow tied his dingy off to one of the cast lines and hauled himself up the ladder, pausing every now and again to listen for any signs of people aboard the ship. Surprisingly he found none. This revelation only increased his sense of foreboding that he tried to push to the back of his mind and desperately ignore. Once aboard he managed to acclimate himself to the gentle sway of the ship with practiced ease. Swinging his head back and forth in a drunkenly manner to make sure the coast held no obstacles, i.e. guards; he swaggered towards the helm and the Captain's quarters. At the sound of squeaking boards he jumped into the shadows, dread locks flying, as he looked left and right before he stilled completely. After minutes of silence he let out the breath he was holding and eased forward towards the door, his eyes searching for more disturbances. Gaining confidence he moseyed over to the door, casually checking the lock.

Smirking as the door gave way to his gentle prodding, he swung the door open just enough to slip through into the main cabin of the Captain's quarters. He frowned at the darkness within the quarters, having hoped the large window usually situated in the back of the Captain's quarter's on all ships, would have allowed sufficient light for him to see by. Lighting a candle could alert someone, who may or may not be there, to his position, which he was not supposed to be in. Yet without light he would have a harder time of finding the object he had come here to find in the first place. So now Sparrow found himself at an impasse. A situation he rarely enjoyed.

Deciding to try his luck he felt around the room until he came in contact with a candlestick. Using one of the matches he carried with him for such situations, he lit the said candle, careful to keep his hand close to at least dim the light a bit. Once more he checked for any possible on seers that could ruin his good fortune. Deciding finally that no one else occupied the ship along with him, he searched the cabin thoroughly, starting with the series of bookshelves that lined the walls.

"Well, that's interesting," he murmured to himself as he read some of the titles. He never figured the Captain as a literary lover.

He made his way around the room, poking here and there, occasionally slipping an odd piece of jewelry or trinket into the ever-eager pockets of his blue over coat. As of yet he had not found the item he searched for, and his movements took a more frantic pace. Suddenly a chill went down his spine forcing him to straighten up immediately, his dark eyes searching for the cause. His eyes then grew incrediably wide as he heard the faint click of a gunflint locking into place directly behind him.

"Parley!"

"Bloody…" came the hissed curse at his sudden exclamation.

"Now, now luv, no need to curse, we're all friends, aye."

"You know, one of these days I will shoot you before you can utter that blasted word," a soft feminine voice reached his ears bringing a grin to his face. "What do you want Sparrow, and it better be good, otherwise I'll hang the code and shoot your arse on principle."

"Now what would ol' Captain Teague think if he heard you saying something like that," Jack slurred out, his tone full of amusement.

"He'd probably let me slide since he likes me better than you."

Jack frowned and turned to her, his eyes taking it what little features he can see from the light in his hand. "Does not," he replied petulantly. Though he could not see it too well, he knew she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Sparrow," she sighed in irritation.

"Captain, Captain Sparrow," he corrected.

"Not on MY ship you're not," she snorted. "Besides, I heard you lost "your" ship three, four times now?"

"Did not," he frowned again. "On purpose anyway. And that's not what I'm here about."

"Right, thanks for reminding me," she smirked holding her gun up towards his face. "You never did tell me why you're here."

Holding his hands up in a calming gesture, Jack took a slight step back from her. "Surely we can talk this over like civilized pirates," he bargained.

"Do you even know what that word means?" Huffing at his rather indignant look, she dropped her hand holding the pistol, snapping the safety into place. "Fine, let's get this parley over with already."

"Wonderful! You wouldn't happen to have rum would you," he sashayed jovially over to the main table in the cabin. As she moved to light more lanterns he fiddled with the various maps and compasses on the table. Now that more light filled the room, he peaked over at his hostess getting a much better look at her.

She stood about average height, with shoulder length brown hair that had almost as many trinkets as his own, though lacking his dreds. Her figure was not overly large nor small, again just average. Her tanned skin told of long days in the sun, just as her ragged pants and tunic told of hard labor with little reward. The drawn and worn look about her face bothered him the most. Though not telling at all when it came to her age, she looked older than he knew she should. Not at all the twenty odd years that she had actually lived. Granted the life of a pirate never came easy, especially to captains who had to keep order over a group of unruly men. From what rumors and hearsay he had managed to catch over the years, she had one of the most loyal crews around, a rare and valuable gift. So he found it disturbing that she would look so…tired.

He managed to hide his frown when she turned back to him two large jugs of rum in her hands. He let a smirk grow across his face at the sight of the welcomed beverage. Taking a swig he waited for her to sit before he started to explain himself. Not that he wanted to, however he could not let this opportunity slip. Having her help may make the search far easier than if he went alone. Not to mention he needed her portion of the key to begin with…

"So why are you sneaking on my ship in the middle of the night, when I'm more than sure you'd rather be in the city of Tortuga right now living it up with the tart of the evening," she threw her feet up on the table, her eyes on Jack.

"As I'm sure you've gathered Luv, I'm looking for something," Jack smirked.

"Yes, I got that, and you will be returning the items you "borrowed" from my shelves," she stated matter-of-factly. "But what is it exactly you are looking for?"

"What are we all looking for, Luv," Jack waved his hands in an exaggerated fashion. "I'm am looking for what all pirates want."

"Treasure," she nodded in understanding. "Well that's all well and good, however I have no treasure on my ship. Not any that I won't fight for in any case."

Jack tried to find an answer for her, one that would not get him in more trouble than he could possibly be in already. As he fumbled with his reply, his counter part had already found the answer.

"Ah… you're looking for THAT," she smirked evilly making Jack shift nervously across from her. "But what I don't understand is where you got the idea that I would even have it, let alone allow you to get it if I did."

"Now Lynn, I'm hurt that you would think so poorly of me," he pouted.

"Right, I'm sure your heart is just broken," she raised a disbelieving brow at him. "And it's Captain Raven to you, mate."

"Since when?"

"Since always, and your avoiding the subject," she snapped. " Why now? Why are you going after it? It never seemed all that important to you before. And if I'm not mistaken, which I'm not, you don't have a ship in which to look for it. "

"Trifles," he waved her statements off. "And perhaps I was simply waiting for the opportune moment."

"And I suppose coming back from the locker, fighting Davy Jones, loosing your ship, and being unable to find the fountain of youth has absolutely nothing to do with this?"

Jack gave her an annoyed look before taking a swig of rum.

"Really I see no profit in it for me. And really it's just a stupid legend anyway," her voice grew softer as her gaze turned to the giant window behind her, as if looking at something far away. " No truth to it at all. Nothing but stupid…"

Jack narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as she trailed off. Suddenly it occurred to him what she had spoken of, his eyes grew wide at the implications. "You've had the dreams," he accused suddenly.

"Have not," Lynn snapped out of her thoughts, glaring at the man before her.

"Yes you have," Jack stood before making his way unsteadily towards her. Lynn tried to move, but he leaned down trapping her in her seat, his dark brown eyes locking with her own dark orbs. His voice took a serious edge that Lynn rarely heard from him. "There's no lying to me Luv. You've had the dreams, that means you know as well as I do that the Sparrow curse is coming into play, and there's only one way to stop it."

"This is ridiculous," she growled, pushing up, forcing him to let her out of the chair. She glared at him, looking very intimidating despite the fact he had a good foot over her in height. "I am NOT a Sparrow," she spat. "I am Captain Lynn Raven! A title, I might add, that I earned! Without making any deals! If you want to find the treasure and stop the curse go to one of your other children! They would be far more willing to help the 'Great Captain Jack Sparrow' than I. Oh wait," she drawled sarcastically. "You can't can you, because god forbid you bring trouble to their door steps. But far be it from you to drag me into one of your messes! Well I'm tired of it! I'm not just some get-out-of-jail-free card that you people can use whenever you're in trouble! I have a life too you know! And I'll be damned if it'll be dragged to hell simply because I'm 'convenient'!"

SMACK

Lynn's tirade stopped as the pain from the hit shocked her senses. "I'm… I'm not sure I deserved that…" She flinched when she looked back at Jack, his eyes dark with a fury she had never before experienced.

"I'm thinking you did. I don't care if you don't like me much, but I AM your father and you will not take that tone with me, Savvy," his voice lashed out like hard steel. "And whether you like it or not, you are a Sparrow. In fact you are the only Sparrow in the lot of them. So no, I won't be going to any of my 'other children', as you so delicately put it. That's also why I know that you have IT. Because you're the only one Da could have given IT to. Savvy."

He waited until she gave him a nod before he slipped back into his jovial mask. "Good! Now where's your part of the key?"

Sighing heavily Lynn sank down into her seat once more, eyes gazing sadly out the window. Idly she waved her hand towards the bookshelf that was slightly hidden to her right, a bookshelf Jack had not had a chance to search.

"Ah!" He made his way over to the shelf searching for the item he sought. Sure enough hanging off a nail on the side, just inside the top shelf hung a strange looking piece of metal that looked more like a piece of junk than the treasure it truly was. Smiling broadly Jack liberated the item from the shelf, bringing a second item form his deep coat pockets. He fiddled with the pieces for a moment before they snapped together with a click. He watched in fascination as the pieces glowed and morphed into what one would call a map. However, a part of the map was missing, the very part that he needed most. He grimaced as the realization hit him on just who had the last piece of this puzzle.

"You have IT so you can leave now," Lynn's voice reached him.

"Actually," He turned to her, frowning as he noticed she still had her attention towards the window. "I need a slight favor, Luv. If you and your crew would see fit to drop me off at Ship Wreck Cove, I'd be more than happy to get out of your hair," he gave her what he thought was a charming smile, though it did little good as she refused to look his way. In fact, he noted that her presence seemed to sag more at his words. "Luv?"

"You need six men at least to sail a ship this size. You know that as well as I do, having captained the Pearl and all," the soft tones of her voice held a deeper sadness. "I no longer have a crew to sail my ship, so I'm afraid you'll need to look elsewhere for passage."

"Why not? Did you finally get tired of them and throw the lot of them overboard?"

He had meant it in jest, however the dry laugh that escaped her told him that she found no humor in the situation.

"No, they left. Donavan, my first mate decided he wanted to captain his own ship," she took a long swig of rum. "So he saved his share of the loot until he had enough to buy a ship. I figured it wouldn't be a problem; at least he wasn't leading a mutiny, right? But I did not expect every man to jump ship with him. A few yeah, but not every last one." A derisive laugh echoed in the cabin. "I guess that just shows how horrible a captain I really am. The men were never loyal to me, only to Donavan. Then again, I was a right witch to them most of the time. But I had to be. Women don't captain ships usually, and the ones who do have to be tougher than nails. Yet, I thought they knew I cared. That almost everything I did, I did for their benefit," she looked down at the rum bottle she idly played with, trying hard to fight back the tears. "I really did think of them as family…"

For a moment she lapsed into silence, then just as quickly she shook herself out of her thoughts, her face as apathetic as she could make. "So as you can see, I can't take you anywhere without a crew. I'm afraid the Sea Hawk has lost her wings."

Jack studied her silently for a moment. " I know how you feel Luv, though admittedly I felt a lot more anger, seeing as those mutinous dogs stole my precious Pearl from me. However, the Sea Hawk still has her wings," he came over to her, kneeling down until his eyes met hers on the same level. "She just needs to get her confidence back is all."

"And how does she do that?"

Jack smiled knowingly, "By moving on, and finding a new crew to fly with. And maybe learning to let herself be herself."

Lynn took a deep breath, letting his words sink in. "So…where do we find this new crew?"

"Where else Luv," Jack grinned fully now, the excitement clear in his eyes. "Tortuga!"