Chapter 8: Home at Last

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is it. The last chapter. This story has been quite a ride. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this story. I don't think I'll be writing a sequel to this one. Other than that, if you haven't already, check out my page for a poll on which story I should write next. I do not own Danny Phantom or any other characters I use in this story. R&R and Enjoy.

***Off the Coast of Cuba***

The sun was high in the sky as The Specter sailed towards Cuba. The island itself was but a speck on the horizon currently. The crew was busy aboard the ship, checking the sails, inspecting lines, and other various tasks. Near the wheel, Danny, Ember, Youngblood, and Jack were having a friendly chat as they neared their destination. Currently, he was explaining his miraculous escaped after he had been marooned on a desert island.

"So for three days, you did nothing but lay on a beach and drink rum?" Youngblood asked, unable to believe how lucky the pirate had been.

"Aye." Jack replied.

"That sounds perfect." Danny said, taking time to imagine himself on an island beach, relaxing on a chair in a pair of swim trunks with a drink in his hand while Ember lay next to him in a bikini.

"So why let people believe you escaped by making a raft out of sea turtles you roped together with your back hair?" Ember asked amusedly.

"Who am I to dispel such a good story?" Jack answered.

The ghostly trio shrugged.

Their journey to Cuba had been fairly short, only taking two days. During that time, they had gotten to know the strange pirate that was currently regaling him many adventures to them. While their early prediction that he was a perpetual drunk turned out to be true, Jack Sparrow did have a sense of honor. He detested the slave trade which was what earned him his pirate brand from the East India Company. He was desperate to get his ship back from his mutinous crew. For what reason, he would not say, muttering about a debt that would eventually be called in.

Deciding to check their heading, Danny brought out the Compass of Destiny. The needle swiveled for a moment before pointing towards the growing island of Cuba. Suddenly, the air ahead of the ship began to distort. The image of the island, the sky, and the sea began to merge together in a whirl of color before shinning a vibrant ecto green and expanding into a giant portal.

"Full stop!" Danny ordered. The crew was quick to obey, furling the sails and allowing the ship to gently drift towards the portal. Through the portal, Danny, Ember, Youngblood, and the rest of the ship could see a bird's eye view over the central park of Amity. From the view they had, it appeared to be mid afternoon in Amity, only a few hours after they had unknowingly been thrown into the past.

"Well, that's interesting." Jack said, breaking the silence that had formed. The pirate turned to look at Danny and Ember before continuing. "Is it safe for me to assume that this is your destination?"

"Yup." Ember replied. "We aren't really sure how to explain it but we don't really belong here."

"Ah." he answered. Jack glanced at the portal again, taking in the foreign landscape he was able to view. "If that is your destination, it seems that this is where we part ways."

It was strange for Danny, Ember, and Youngblood. They had only spent a few days at sea with him yet it seemed like they had known him for a lifetime. In the day, he would regale them with tales of his exploits and ask them about theirs. In the night, he was the life of the party. He could drink the entire crew under, despite him acting perpetually drunk all the time. There had only been one embarrassing moment with Jack and that was when he had accidentally walked in on Danny and Ember making love. He had opened the door, had seen Ember riding reverse cowgirl on Danny, blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing an alcohol induced illusion, then gave the two a cheeky grin before exiting the room. He had been kind enough not to bring it up again, simply leaving it be.

Danny had the crew prepare a dinghy for Jack, complete with oars, provisions, some gold, and even a small cask of rum. Once everything was prepared, The small group came together to say their goodbyes.

"Keep out of trouble, lad." Jack said to Youngblood, pushing the brim of his hat over his eyes. The little pirate mumbled complaints but his smile betrayed his amusement.

The elder pirate then turned to the two teenagers. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He said cheekily.

Ember chuckled before replying. "There isn't much you wouldn't do in the first place."

"Exactly." Jack responded before stepping into the dinghy.

The boat was carefully lowered down to the water. After finding a comfortable sitting position, Jack briskly took his hat off to the trio.

"This is the day you will always remember as the day you assisted Captain Jack Sparrow." He said with much grandeur.

The three chuckled and waved goodbye as the pirate began to row towards Cuba. With any luck, he should be able to reach land by nightfall.

"Hope he finds his ship." Ember said as his boat drifted further and further away.

"I have a feeling he will." Danny said before turning back towards the portal.

"Hoist the sails!" He commanded, ready to return home.

The crew hurried to comply with his order. Moments later, the sails caught the wind and pushed the ship towards the portal. As they slowly passed through, the weightlessness of the ship kicked in as it left the Caribbean Sea and entered the skies above Amity. As soon as they had passed through, the portal behind them shrank until it was no more.

"We made it home." Ember sighed as she gazed upon the town.

"Indeed we did." Danny said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"After this little adventure, I think I'm done playing pirate for a while." Youngblood said, surprising the two teenagers.

"Really? What are you going to do now?" Ember asked.

"That's easy." He replied before snapping his fingers. A puff of smoke engulfed the youthful ghost. When it dissipated, Youngblood was now dressed as Captain Kirk. "Space! The Final Frontier! Beam me up, Scotty!"

He stood there for a few seconds while Danny and Ember looked at him, trying to hold in their laughter.

After a full minute had passed, Youngblood looked at the two with an exasperated expression.

"That was your cue to open a portal the Ghost Zone for me." He said.

This time, the two teenagers burst into laughter, much to the annoyance of the ghost. He waited for their giggle fit to subside before Danny opened the Compass of Destiny and asking for a portal to the Ghost Zone. Seconds later, a portal opened up a few yards off the starboard bow of the ship. Nodding his head in gratitude, Youngblood quickly flew through the portal.

"Star Wars is better." Danny said once he was sure the little ghost was out of earshot.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Babypop." Ember replied. "I guess the question now is what are we going to do with a ship full of rum and gold?"

A mischievous grin crossed his face as he turned to Ember. "Have a party, of course."

"I was hoping you would say that." She replied before grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him into a passionate kiss. He happily accepted, allowing her tongue entrance into his mouth and beginning a playful duel for dominance.

Unfortunately for the two, their fun was cut short when they heard an explosion go off above them, turning back towards the still open portal, they saw Skulker floating in front of it, a scowl on his face and his missiles ready.

"So, you made it back, I see." He growled at the couple.

"So, your aim is still terrible, we see." Ember retorted.

"I hope you two had fun ruining my life in the past. I'll be sure to return the favor right now." Skulker spat before firing off a salvo of missiles.

Yawning, Danny casually had the ship turn intangible, allowing the explosive projectiles to pass harmlessly through and explode on the other side

"Our turn." Danny said before the broadside cannons fired at the ghostly hunter. Thinking fast, Skulker also went intangible. The cannonballs sailed through his body and impacted the park below. Fortunately for them, nobody was in that particular portion of the park at the moment.

"Ha! We could play this game all day, whelp. Why don't you and your bitch make things easy for yourselves and surrender?" Skulker asked, brimming with confidence.

Danny pretended to look like he was giving the offer serious thought before he replied.

"Nah. I think we'll just send you back to the Ghost Zone. Beaten, suit-less, and defeated."

"How do you plan on accomplishing that?" the hunter inquired.

As if on cue, Ember, who had quietly and invisibly gone behind Skulker, became visible before charging her fist, punched into the mechanical head, grabbed the true form of Skulker, and then pulled him out. Needless to say, the little, green blob of a ghost was surprised by the turn of events. He struggled to break free but Ember simply gripped tighter and increased the amount of energy she was channeling into her fist.

"Like that, dumb ass." She answered before punting his suit through the portal to the Ghost Zone.

"Let me go, you stupid whore! I'll make you regret this." Skulker said as he continued to resist.

Ember simply laughed at his attempts as she made her way back to the ship.

"Like I said, Babypop. His true form is as big as his cock was in life. Pitiful and disappointing." Ember said.

The two enjoyed moment of laughter, ignoring the death threats coming from their tiny opponent. Once they had calmed down, Danny decided to allow Skulker time to cool off by freezing him in a block of ice and tossing him through the portal.

"Why don't we sail through the portal ourselves and have some alone time?" Ember asked, giving Danny a seductive smile.

Now it was Danny's turn to pull her into a kiss, allowing the ship to pass through the portal before it closed behind them.

Below, on the sidewalk in the park, looking up at where the ship had been seconds before, Tucker and Sam had looks of confusion and surprise on their faces."

"Did we just see Ember and Danny dressed as pirates work together to defeat Skulker?" Sam asked, breaking the silence that had formed between the two.

"Yup." Tucker replied.

"And did we also see Danny and Ember make out before the entered the natural portal into the Ghost Zone?"

"Uh huh."

Sam's look of confusion turned to one of frustration.

"What is going on? Earlier today, he said he had to meet up with Clockwork about some anomaly in the past. Now we find him several hours later, dressed like a pirate, commanding a 17th century ship, and making out with one of his enemies."

"That's what it looks like." Tucker replied.

"Aren't you bothered by any of this?" She asked.

"Not anymore." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "All I know is that he has one awesome story to tell when we see him next."

Sam simply sighed in frustration at Tucker's reaction, or lack there of, at their friend's most recent misadventure.

***Meanwhile, Back in the Past***

Things did not seem to be looking up for Jack Sparrow. It had been over a year, since Danny and Ember had disappeared through the mysterious gateway. Though the tales of their exploits soon faded out from the pubs and brothels, he would always remember the kindness and generosity they had given him. Unfortunately for him, he had gotten no new leads as to the location of his beloved Black Pearl. The supplies he had been given were long gone, the gold had been spent, the rum had been consumed, and the dinghy had been stolen. Incidentally, he was now dozing in a similar boat he had recently stolen from someone else.

Suddenly, a small portal opened above him and dropped a small object onto the snoozing pirate. Jack was startled from his slumber, looking for the cause of this disturbance. Looking up, he saw the small portal for a brief second before it closed. Having a vague idea on what this might mean, he looked around the boat until he discovered the object the portal had deposited. He was shocked to see that it was the strange compass the boy and his lass had used, the famed, Compass of Destiny.

Opening it, he found a folded up piece of paper in the lid. Taking it out and unfolding it, he read what the message said.

Dear Jack,

Thought you might find this useful in your quest to find your ship if you haven't found it already. We no longer need it, so use it however you will. Simply think of the thing you desire most and it will point in the direction it is located.

From,

Danny and Ember

A smile graced Jack's face as he folded the letter back up and placed it in one of the pockets of his coat. Turning his attention back to the Compass of Destiny, he saw that the needle was spinning around not pointing in any particular direction. Concentrating, he thought about finding his ship. The needle slowed down before pointing Eastward, towards Jamaica and the newly rebuilt Port Royal.

"Well, I'll be damned." He chuckled as he grabbed the oars of his boat and began the slow and steady paddle towards his ship. After a while, he reached down between his legs and grabbed the last bottle of rum he possessed. Lifting it to his lips, he was disappointed that it was completely empty. He always hated when the rum was gone. What he wouldn't do for a good drink, he thought.

As if to answer his pleas, the compass swiveled again, this time pointing towards the island of Tortuga, which he was just now passing. Pondering his choices, a mischievous grin crossed Jack's face as he turned the boat towards the island. He could always make his way back to Port Royal after a quick drink or two...or three...or twelve.

"Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!"