A/N: Ok the last chapter may have been a bit confusing, sorry 'bout that. Basically she was at the helm and couldn't hold it, and it slipped just as Jack was coming, and that was bad because it kind of made the Pearl go a bit out of control on the waves, and while that happened the EITC ship nearly destroyed the Pearl, but then right after that the pirates killed just about all the EITC people, so now the EITC ship is theirs but the Pearl is wrecked, and Jack and Lizzie swung away when the mast fell but in midair someone somehow threw a dagger and... boohoo you know the rest. Now they are on the EITC ship. I know it's all very unrealistic and improbable, and I'm sorry, but I hope it clears things up. :)

Anyways... ta da! It's the last chappie!sniff I'm going to miss this terribly...

A huge thank you (with hugs!) to: Terrieluv, Florencia7, mrspatrickdempsey, arrabellasmith, crazibookwormi, DarkPirategirl, dextrinn, moovieluvverjs, Amanda601, Sassy Sparrow, BrokenHeart525, sparrabethlover08, Sarshysesshysisshysosshysushi, FreeSpritSprite, xInaxheartbeat, kcpiratey05, englishfreckle, MeganSparrow, vampout, teepirategirl, QueenofSparrabeth, freelke, Oceanana, ichliebepie, lena-hearts-jack, Queen Tigress, xStarlingx, -Aussiegirl'luvs'yooh-, howlongmustiwait, terrie, missrisa77, MiMiGallowicious, and if your name isn't there, you. (Yes, I'm talking to you:)

I can't express how grateful I am for writing a few lines of feedback or encouragement. For nearly four months, your reviews have fueled this story since the first chapter. So I am very sad to end this, but thank you once again for reading, for sailing with me. (And with Lizzie!) Have a great time sailing elsewhere! I might not write a sequel, school's starting soon and I'll be busy, but I will write more Pirates fanfiction. Please drop a last review before you go. Bon voyage!

Disclaimer: PotC still belongs to Disney.

Ok, after that incredibly long A/N, to the story!


When I woke up I found myself in one of the cabins of the ship, and I felt the pain in my heart. I felt broken.

I walked up the steps on deck and stood leaning on the railing, watching the silver lines of the water without interest.

Shattered… everything… gone…

I should have known. I should have known ever since I had first started singing that song that it would never happen. That even if I did meet a pirate, I would never be able to live happily aboard a pirate ship, that I would never be able to be with a man I truly loved. That it was all too good, too perfect, like in a fairy tale…

It's not fair, I thought bitterly, tears stinging my eyes. Why can't I have a fairy tale ending?

What was the use of crying? There was nothing I could do to bring him back.

And what's the use of being brave? Of holding back, of telling myself I can still have a 'happily ever after?'

My world was broken. I had no reason to live. I stared at the sea, imagining what could happen. Thinking of the rush of the air as I let go of life, of how the water would come up to meet me, of how easily it would be over. And then I could see him in the next world.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?" asked the twins, walking to me.

"Yes," I said. Another lie. They offered me a bottle of rum, and I took it and gulped down the brown liquid listlessly. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"A few hours," said one of them lightly, looking at the sky. It looked like the very early morning, still a bit dark.

All of a sudden I turned to them desperately.

"Can't you do anything?" I demanded.

"We've tried everything."

"I've ruined everything," I whispered. "I could have held on just a little longer…"

"It's not your fault."

"Stop lying to me," I snapped, and stared out at the water again.

"We've… fixed the Pearl," offered Aryza.

"That's impossible," I said simply, not paying attention, not caring. "You'd have to be mad to try."

She turned and pointed. The Black Pearl was secured to the other ship by ropes, looking as magnificent as ever before.

"We had to draw power from everything magical we could find. Including this."

She turned my palm up and dropped something cool and heavy into it. I looked down at the golden entwined-hearts necklace in my hand. The gold seemed to have lost some of its shine, and was now a more dull color.

"It has no magical power anymore," she said. "We're sorry."

My hand closed around the necklace as fresh tears welled in my eyes.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It's for lovers."

"He was a good man," said Emera quietly. "We didn't do anything to the compass."

"It doesn't matter anymore," I repeated, my voice hollow. Out of lack of something to do, I dropped the necklace in my pocket climbed to the Pearl.

Every board and plank was in place, and there wasn't a crack anywhere. The mast stood in its position, tall and sturdy, the black sails furled but looking perfectly repaired.

I had no more emotion left to be awed at how impeccably the Pearl had been reconstructed. I walked to the side, stroked the smooth wooden railing.

"One word, luv. Curiosity. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do, because you want to. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like. One day, you won't be able to resist."

I walked to the helm, trying to fight back the memories, but still seeing all those times I watched him standing there, turning the wheel, looking utterly happy…

"Oi!"

I looked up, and I didn't believe what I saw. I tried to restrain my excitement and the inevitable happiness and relief, telling myself it was all just a vision, that it wasn't real, that it couldn't be… that I would just be disappointed later, that it was just wishful thinking… But I abandoned those thoughts, because there was nothing I wanted to see more, and if it would disappear later, it didn't matter. I had to see it, if only for a few seconds.

"Why is my ship…" called Jack, gesturing to all the ropes from the stern of the East India Trading Company's ship.

"Jack—it's not—"

"Probable! Not probable." He dove into the water with a splash and resurfaced by the Pearl. I watched as he started to climb up the steps in the hull and stepped on deck.

"Oh, Jack, I'm so sorry—" I whispered, but he stopped me in his embrace, and I was lost in all the happiness and freedom his arms brought.

He raised my chin, brought his lips to mine ardently. For a long moment we stood there on deck with our lips locked together. I had my fingers entwined behind his neck, and he had one hand tangled in my hair and one on my back. It felt as if golden sunlight had broken through the clouds as we kissed with fiery passion. When our lips parted, I pulled him closer, and snuggled my face in his shoulder.

"How did you come back?" I whispered in his ear.

"Well," said Jack. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. And being Captain Jack Sparrow, there are a certain number of things I can do, that nobody else can. And using my knowledge of said things that I can do, I did something else, that even I couldn't do, which brought me back. Savvy?"

"You can't do something you can't," I said quizzically.

"Well then I suppose now I can do it."

I laughed and leaned against him, watching the horizon turn red and gold as the sun started to rise. Suddenly I remembered something, and from my pocket pulled out the gold necklace.

"It won't bring eternal happiness anymore."

"Darling," said Jack. "We don't need that."

"I know," I whispered.

"Cap'n!" shouted Mr. Gibbs from the other ship. "It's a miracle!"

"Aye, I like the sound of that."

The crew started to climb aboard the Pearl. Jack pulled out his pistol and shot down the ropes.

"Do we have a heading?" asked Mr. Gibbs. Jack pulled out the compass, opened it, and looked at me.

"No, we do not," announced Jack grandly. "But we will be needing more rum before we go after Merlow's treasure."

"Aye, captain!"

"Now..." said Jack, accompanying me to the bow. I smiled at him, endlessly happy, lost in his eyes.

We sailed toward freedom, toward the sunrise, under the billowing sails of black.

Fin.