Author's Notes: This story idea has been in my head since after I saw PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL for the first time, and I do have another fan fiction going on right now, but I just couldn't put this one off any longer.

Oh yeah…

Disclaimer : I don't own Pirates of The Caribbean, or Johnny Depp (but I do own a lot of stuff that has Captain jack Sparrow's face on it…including 2 t – shirts, 3 pillowcases, a little action figure my sister gave me, a folder, not to mention the DVD's…). So please don't sue me, Mr. Bruckheimer or Mr. Verbinski.

Background: This takes place after Pirates Of The Caribbean : At World's End. Originally, when I was first planning it, the story included Will and Elizabeth, but after seeing the "…At World's End", I changed my mind. But anyway, in this story, Captain Jack Sparrow has already gotten back his beloved Black Pearl, and Barbossa, though he did betray Jack AGAIN, is still a member of the crew (He's mostly included as a treat for my friend Sarah who's a huge Barbossa fan).

Prologue: The Cave Of Wonders

"Cap'n!" Ragetti shouted from the front of the ship. "We're approaching the cave!"

Gibbs, who had been skimming over a map, below deck in the captain's cabin, turned to said captain and grinned.

"Cap'n! We're approachin' the cave!" he exclaimed.

Captain Jack Sparrow turned away from the window and started to saunter across the cabin.

"There must be an echo in here, because I heard that already," he replied, heading for the deck.

Above deck, the whole crew was getting excited, as they were quickly approaching the mouth of the mysterious cave.

The cave that was hiding vast amounts of gold and jewels, just waiting to be taken…

Jack went up to the quarter deck, where he had a good view of the cave through his spy glass.

"Mr. Gibbs!" he barked, "my map, if you please!"

"Aye, here ya go, cap'n!" Gibbs replied, handing Jack the small map.

Hector Barbossa suddenly appeared at Jack's left shoulder.

"Well, Jack…? Be this the cave that we've been lookin' for?" he inquired.

Jack looked up from the map, over at the cave, and smiled.

"Aye, mate," he replied. "This is it."

Jack had to admit (not to others, of course, only to himself), he had been a bit skeptical of the map that had led them here. Not only because it was smaller than most of the treasure maps he's ever come across, but also because it had been years since he had first tried to look for it, he had been worried that it might not still be there.

When Jack had first become captain of the Black Pearl, he and the crew had begun to follow the map, but it seemed that they kept getting…sidetracked.

…Women and rum did that to a man.

Then there was that small matter of Jack getting thrown off of his ship and stranded on an island that also caused a slight distraction from his original plan…

But now there were no distractions left, and he was finally going to get his treasure.

The man who had given it to him was a trustworthy man, which is an unusual trait in pirates these days…he of all people should know.

Captain Horatio Marcellis had been a good friend of his, up until his death, nearly twenty years ago. He had been first mate to Jack's father. But when Captain's Teague's ship was attacked one day by a Navy vessel, though the pirates had won the battle, many of the crew members lost their lives, Marcellis included. But right before he died, Marcellis handed Jack the map that he was now holding, sixteen years later.

Marcellis was also one of the only people who knew of Jack's…little secret.

But any doubts that Jack had were washed away with waves. Marcellis' map had been right so far, and led Jack and his crew to the cave that had been drawn right on the bottom corner of the map, with a small red 'X' next to it.

The ship entered the cave, the main topmast just barely touching the stone ceiling.

The anchor was thrown down, and Jack, Barbossa, and the others all climbed off the ship and treaded through the shallow water, looking around for glimmer of gold, or any shiny objects whatsoever.

"I don't see anything, Jack," said Barbossa.

Jack suddenly smiled.

" I do," he said.

Barbossa followed his gaze and his eyes fell upon a small hill of rocks, in the corner of the cave, and on top of the rocks was a large wooden chest.

"That's it?" Barbossa snarled. "One lousy wooden chest?"

"Don't be discouraged, mate," Jack told him. "Looks can be deceiving, after all."

With that, Jack headed across the cave.

Barbossa rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the crew.

"Well, come on, then!" he roared, waving them forward.

With shouts of excitement, the crew of pirates ran across the cave to join their captain, who was nearly at the foot of the large rock pile.

Jack then began to climb up the rocks, knocking a few loose "accidentally", that just happened to get in the way of Barbossa, who was unfortunately hit by them.

Ignoring Barbossa's grumbling, Jack finally reached the top and knelt down in front of the chest.

"Won'tcha be needin' a key to get that open, Jack?" Gibbs asked, from behind Barbossa.

"Oddly, enough, no…" Jack answered, looking puzzled as he fingered the metal lock attached to the chest, which was, oddly, unlocked.

"An unlocked treasure chest don't exactly prove that there be treaure inside Jack," said Barbossa. "In fact it kinda proves the opposite, don'tcha think?"

"It can't be proven until it's opened up, mate," Jack replied.

"Well, then, open it!" Barbossa demanded.

Waving him off, Jack then turned back to the chest, unhooked the lock, and opened the lid.

Peering inside, Jack quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, now," he muttered, "that's interesting…."

Looking over Jack's shoulder, Barbossa scowled.

"Empty, Jack!" he cried. "Ya drug us all this way for an empty chest!"

A murmer of surprise and frustration went through the crowd of pirates.

"Not empty, mate…" Jack replied, pulling out a piece of paper, yellowed with age "…just a bit lacking is all."

"Oh…?"Barbossa asked, angry, but still curious. "And what do ya mean by that?"

Jack didn't answer, he just gazed at the piece of paper, reading it.

Ya came this far, mate

I commend ye,

Bravo!

But unfortunately for ye,

This not where the treasure be,

No

There is a treasure,

I promise ye that

But you're only halfway boy,

So use the brain under your hat

And seek out the other part of the map

It may be right under your nose

Or land right in your lap

I'm not puttin' ya on mate,

A lie I've never told,

So believe me when I tell ye,

That my treasure can only be found

By two birds bonded by gold.

Barbossa snatched the paper out of Jack's hands and read it over.

"…Birds bonded by gold…?" He read aloud. "What in the blazes does that mean?"

"Maybe it doesn't mean anything!" Pintel fumed. "Maybe there is no treasure, and we've just been on a wild goose chase this whole time!"

Most of the other pirates agreed, loudly voicing their anger.

Suddenly, Jack stepped in front of Barbossa and looked down upon his crew, at the bottom of the rock pile.

"Just a moment, mates!" he began, raising his voice above the ruckus. "I have some good news and some bad news."

"Well, we already know the bad news, Jack," Barbossa told him, "now what good could there possibly be in all this?"

"Well, my fine…feathery friend," said Jack, patting the feather in Barbossa's hat. "The bad news is, of course, that there is no treasure here. This – " he held up the map " – is actually only half of the map that leads to the treasure which we desire. However..." he then smiled.

"…I know where the other half is."

Ooh, I'm excited, are you excited?

Hopefully you're excited enough to review for me.

And yes, i know it's only a prologue, so it's not much to review on, but I prmise I'll have the next chapter up in a couple days.

- Ace's Buddy