It was a great irony when, six years ago, a massive earthquake sent half of Port Royal into the deep sea only to be overrun by pirates as soon as it was over. The second best pirate haven. What an irony, indeed.

Jack Sparrow could only widely grin at the thought as he and his beloved Black Pearl magnificently sailed into the harbor. Who would have known that nearly fifteen years before, he had sailed here in only a small dinghy and had met Bootstrap Bill's son, William Turner, and his sweetheart, Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the then governor? And still nearly fifteen years when Jack narrowly escaped once more from becoming just another meal for the ravens had it not been for the same William Turner?

Jack's grin faded suddenly at that plural word: ravens. He eyed very old and mute Mr. Cotton standing hunchbacked in front of the great wooden steering wheel with his equally old and colorful parrot sitting on his right shoulder. It was a wonder to anyone on the Pearl why either Cotton or his parrot was still alive, but everyone still admired them. Jack wrinkled his nose and grunted. If he thought Cotton was very old, he couldn't begin to comprehend how growing older will affect him as being a pirate and sailor later on. Yet Jack wasn't one to worry too much on that. He knew, as he had shown many times before, that he was still at the top of his game.

And form, he couldn't help but think, and proudly at that. While older pirates might have all ready let themselves go by Jack's age, Jack still felt and looked as if he were still in his early twenties. Albeit, he did have a few grey hairs here and there and falling was more of a bother than before. Yet no woman could complain about these minor flaws.

Now Jack frowned. Yes, there had been other women, but none of them ever came as close to his guarded heart as she did. His ringed hand twitched at his side, but there was no longer the familiar golden necklace hanging around his neck to hold. The memory of their last departure was still imprinted clearly in his mind, always haunting him in his dreams. Emeila Kraven was never far from his thoughts.

The last few years had been very hard on Jack, what with having to run away to avoid capture and all. Not once in the last thirteen years had he heard news about Emelia Kraven's fate, and deep inside, this worried him most of all.

"Rawk! Land ho!"

Jack jumped in surprise and looked at the parrot. "Thank you, erm, Cotton's parrot," Jack gruffly said. He straightened his coat and cleared his throat. "All hands to their stations!" he yelled. "Prepare to dock!" Jack couldn't wait to get Joshamee Gibbs back on board his ship. All this yelling was making him sound hoarse.

After the ship was docked into the harbor and the men given their orders, Jack waltzed into town. Well-known prostitutes greeted him warmly, and fellow men of fortune tipped their hats at him as he passed. Jack smirked as he swaggered into a local bar. As his usual routine, Jack immediately ordered a large tankard of rum before he went around the bar, asking surreptitiously of any news on Emelia Kraven.

Like always, there were none.

"Alright-y lads, step lively now. The captain doesn't like to be kept waiting," Gibbs said over his shoulder as he hurriedly led the winding way towards the docks. "C'mon, c'mon! Don't wanna keep Jack waiting."

This last part he muttered to himself, but Robin heard it loud and clear and began to walk faster. Excitement bubbled in his gut and threatened to fill over. A wide grin spread across his dry, cracked lips. They stopped near the last of the loading docks in front of a ship that seemed to dwarf all the fishing boats bobbing around it.

"Here be the Black Pearl," Gibbs said proudly and opened his arms out.

Robin's grin instantly dropped and his heart sank as he beheld the ship in front of them. Yes, the ship was gigantic and majestic-looking from afar, but with a longer and closer look, Robin could plainly see some major flaws from the stories his mother use to tell him about his father's prized possession.

"Where are the black sails?" Robin asked aloud. He almost sounded accusing. The black sails that marked the Pearl from the rest were gone, replaced by yellowing canvases that badly needed patching up.

Gibbs shook his head and turned to the boy. "Lad, do you think Jack Sparrow is stupid to come into any port being recognizable like that?" he asked seriously.

Robin instantly felt embarrassed. "Of course not," he muttered. How dense was he? Of course Jack Sparrow would have to keep his ship and himself unrecognizable against pirate hunters. His face burned.

Gibbs patted Robin on his shoulder sympathetically. "It's alright, lad. I understand," he said reassuringly. He gestured to the plank leading up to the ship. "I'll quickly introduce you to the captain, and we'll see what jobs could be given to the two o' you," he said over his shoulder as he began to lead them once more.

Once they stepped onto the main deck, Gibbs was immediately merrily hailed by various members of the crew. The first mate lifted an arm and waved to them. "Ahoy maties, where be Jack?" he called as he and the two boys stopped just in front of the main mast.

A dwarf of a man with a shiny bald head and a small goatee walked up to them from the longboat he had been helping to tie down. He looked up at them with round, cloudy-blue eyes. "Ahoy, Mr. Gibbs," he greeted the first mate with a grin. His tone was a mix between raspy and squeaky, a comical sound.

"Ahoy, Marty. Good to be seeing you again," Gibbs replied. He repeated his question to the dwarf pirate.

Marty lifted a hand and pointed above them. "The captain's aloft," he replied.

As if on cue, all four of them heard a rough voice yell from above, "Good to see ye back in one piece, Mr. Gibbs!"

Robin, like everyone else, looked up along the main mast. When he spotted the infamous captain of the Black Pearl standing amongst the riggings and sails of the ship, his gut did a sort of excited flop. His father, Jack Sparrow, was looking down at their little group. Seeing him in the flesh was so much better than any story his mother had ever told him about this legendary pirate. The gold necklace and pendant around Robin's neck seemed to burn his flesh underneath his shirt as he gazed up admiringly at his father. Jack Sparrow seemed to be everything of what Robin always imagined him and more.

Robin now noticed that in Jack's hands was a coiled rope with on end tied to the main mast which Robin assumed his father was tying down the sails with. However, Robin was very wrong as Jack Sparrow threw the rope down, and then they all watched as he took the rope firmly with his hands. With a great leap, that made both Robin and Zanka gasp from shock, Jack sailed down the rope until he safely touched down the main deck right in the center of their little group. The two boys looked at each other for a moment before they broke out into applause.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Zanka exclaimed.

Jack turned on them, swept off his leather tricorn hat, and bowed. "Pleasure was all mine," Jack said proudly as he stood back straight and put his hat back on. He grinned widely again. This time, the boys could plainly see the few gold teeth in his mouth.

"So these are our new recruits, eh?" Jack said out loud as he first examined the tall Negro standing next to Gibbs. "What's your name, boy?" Jack demanded, taking on his commanding demeanor immediately.

Zanka saluted to him and puffed out his chest. "Me name be Zanka, Zanka Coffei, suh," he exclaimed loudly.

Jack took one step back and nodded crisply. "Welcome to the Black Pearl, Mr. Coffei." Jack gave Zanka a critical look before adding, "We've needed a new cook for a while now." He moved on to the second boy, not taking notice of the scandalized look Zanka gave him. When Jack looked into the eyes of this next boy, who looked much younger than the first, Jack felt as if he had been electrocuted. Those dark brown eyes staring nervously back at his were so familiar. Jack rocked back on his heels to get a better look at this boy's face. "You look very familiar," Jack concluded. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Have I ever threatened you before?"

Robin blinked. It took all his willpower to not look away from those hypnotic eyes. His mother had been definitely right about that fact. "I don't think so, sir," Robin replied steadily. His insides were screaming at him to tell this man that he was his son.

Jack leaned forward again until their faces were inches apart. Robin could now see every line, every wrinkle, and smell every odor in his father. If Robin hadn't already been used to these strong smells of mingled sweat, salt water, and musk, then he would have recoiled away.

Jack smiled suddenly. Although this boy looked as if he had a decent life before now, he proved he wasn't easily intimidated by him. Jack straightened up. "What's your name, lad?" he asked.

"Robin," he replied.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And yer last name?"

Robin shifted his eyes away now. "I have none," he muttered and blushed.

Jack took this all as embarrassment and shame. He nodded slightly and cleared his throat. "There's much work to be done around this ship," he said, proud of that fact. "It'll be nice to have a cabin boy fer once."

Robin now looked at him with wide disbelieving eyes. "Cabin boy?" he exclaimed.

Jack was taken aback. "What? Did ye think I'd let someone as young as you are be anythin' else?" he countered.

Robin only gaped at him like a fish out of water.

Jack smirked. "Thought so," he said.

"Captain."

"Ah," Jack exclaimed happily. He waved a ringed finger under Robin's nose. "I'd like ye to meet some friends of mine, Mr. Robin." Jack turned around and took the bucket and mop from Marty and pushed them into Robin. "Meet Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket!"

Robin held these two items with dislike written all over his face. "Yippee," he said flatly.

"Now get to work immediately. We set sail any moment now," Jack said amid his chuckles. He turned to Gibbs. "Jolly to have me first mate back. Please escort Mr. Coffei 'ere to the galley to start preparing dinner. Then come back up to meet me at the helm," he ordered.

Gibbs nodded with a smile. "Aye, captain," he said before gesturing for Zanka to follow him.

Zanka looked at Robin for a moment. "Latah, mon," he said before leaving Robin with his father.

Robin turned to Jack, now feeling his stomach squirm uncomfortably. They were by themselves now. It was now or never. "So, um-" he began, but Jack quickly cut him off.

"Get to work swabbing the decks now, lad. We set sail very soon, and I want this whole deck plus the helm spotless 'fore dinner," Jack told him sternly before he left Robin by himself.


The Black Pearl was still magnificent as ever. From the looks of it, the crew had just fixed on its signature black sails right now.

Where the city ended and the docks began, Michael Turnbull was mixed with wanting to stand and admire this grand ship (which he hadn't seen in a long time) and wanting to immediately tear it apart plank by plank in search for its two stowaways. He was very sure that Robin and Zanka were on the ship, right from the moment he heard tell that Jack was in town.

Now that he watched longer, he noticed that the activity around the ship was more rushed and chaotic. His sky blue eyes widened in realization, especially as the port anchor on the left side of the ship was being anchored in. The ship was taking off! Michael began to run.

"No!" he yelled. "Stop! Stop that ship!"

He was too late. When he finally got to the loading dock, the Pearl was all ready the size of a boulder, setting off towards the horizon.

Michael's hands hung limply at his sides. "Oh bugger," he muttered.


"Mr. Robin! I didn't keep you on me ship just for you to laze around! Mop those floorboards!" Jack shouted from the helm.

Robin shook his head slightly as if waking from a dream and stepped away from the port side. He had thought, as they were setting out, that he heard Michael's voice from the harbor. Robin put those thoughts away as he grudgingly took up the mop and began his duty. The first two hours were grueling. He had to be careful not to get into any of the crewmen's way or slip from the spots he had all ready cleaned. The former happened many more times than the latter.

"Arr! Watch where ye be goin', ye one-eyed cretin!" a rather thin pirate growled when Robin accidentally bumped into his back. The pirate swung around and Robin was met with a very familiar pair of dangerous yellowed eyes framed by a curtain of grey stringy hair. "You!" the pirate Adder shouted and pointed a skeletal dirty finger at Robin as he quickly backed away.

The mop dropped noiselessly to the ground.

Adder began to advance on Robin. Simultaneously, the pair pulled out their cutlasses and pointed them to the other as their fellow crewmembers around them stopped working and watched with either glee or concern.

"I'll cut ye from the knave to the chops, cabin boy!" Adder sneered as they began to slowly circle.

Robin stumbled over the bucket. His face burned as the men and Adder laughed at him. He quickly righted himself.

"Poor little bird," Adder jeered. "Fell outta 'is nest!" He swung his blade, but to all the onlookers' amazement, Robin blocked him and began to fight back. Unlike their audience, Adder all ready knew to an extent that this was no novice and began to parry and counterattack. However, it was very clear to everyone that Robin was very skilled. Despite his minor display with the bucket and his young looks, he was fighting as if he were a much older man.

When the men realized this, many of them began to cheer him on.

"Alrigh' laddie!"

"Ye get 'is bloody arse!"

"Give up?" Robin yelled over the noise as he swiftly spun away from Adder's oncoming onslaught.

Adder merely gritted his teeth in frustration and began fighting more aggressively. Robin stumbled over the bucket again, and this time, he slipped upon the spilled water. He hit the ground with a resounding thud that took the breath out of his lungs. His vision became blurry for only a moment. When it cleared, he was faced with the sharp point of Adder's cutlass and the pirate himself bearing menacingly down with him unarmed. It was as if someone had turned off the sound. He couldn't hear the crowd of pirates anymore; only Adder's haggard laugh reached his ears and then his voice. "I'm goin' to put ye outta yer misery," Adder growled and raised his blade.

Robin swiveled his head around until he found the hilt of his cutlass staring back at him on his left side. It was under someone's boot. Just as Adder was about to bring his blade crashing down on him, Robin grabbed his cutlass, yanked it from under the pirate's boot, and held it up in the air horizontally even as the pirate fell backwards. Their blades clanged loudly.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle noise blasted throughout the deck, washing away all the noises. When the whistling died away, one voice remained.

"So this is what I get by trustin' all o' you slimy dogs to do yer work?"

The men nearest to the helm made a pathway for Jack Sparrow as he slowly walked towards the fighting pair with his pistol pointed at them.

Adder immediately jumped off of Robin and exclaimed, "The cabin boy started it, cap'n."

Jack stopped in between Adder and Robin. He pointed his pistol at Adder's gut and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Mr. Adder, are you willingly confessing that a small boy purposefully insinuated a quarrel with a great, yet stick-like, brute like you on me deck?"

"I didn't!" yelled Robin amidst the laughter of the crewmen. He began to sit up, but Jack quickly put his boot on Robin's chest and pressed him back down on the deck. Robin blinked at the boot for a moment in confusion before he turned angry eyes on his father staring back at him.

"Don't want to be moving, lad. Ye might've injured yerself from that fall," Jack tersely told him. The look in his glinting eyes clearly warned Robin not to disobey him. Jack turned his head back to Adder. "And Mr. Adder," he continued, "Are you also tellin' me that you, a more experienced man of fortune filled with more wisdom than a small whelp, allowed yerself to engage in a brawl - when you already know that brawlin' on me ship is forbidden - by said whelp?"

Adder blinked stupidly at Jack, having not caught every word his captain had quickly uttered. Jack rolled his eyes and poked the end of his pistol in Adder's stomach to get his full attention again. He removed his boot from Robin and took a step closer to Adder so that their faces were only inches apart. "Let me put this as easily so that your peanut-brained head could comprehend," Jack said eloquently. "No fighting on me ship! The next time I catch you in a brawl or any other trouble on this trip, I'll send ye off to Tortuga and leave ye there! Savvy?"

Adder looked at Robin for only a moment, a dangerous glint in his eye, before he nodded. "Aye, cap'n," he muttered sullenly.

Jack stepped away from him and looked around. "Now what are ye all lookin' at? The entertainment's over! Get back to your jobs!" he yelled. Immediately, everyone began to clear the area. As men jostled back to their stations, Jack put away his pistol and turned to Robin, who still laid there on the deck. With a heavy sigh and rolled eyes, Jack leaned down, grabbed Robin by the arm, and helped him up.

It was when he was securely righted did Robin remember his voice. "Th-Thank you," he said hesitantly. Jack turned away from him and leaned on the side of the ship, looking out into the water with a contemplative look. Robin thought Jack had completely forgotten about him. He was about to walk away when Jack finally spoke.

"Remarkable skill you have, Master Robin."

Robin stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"

An annoyed look passed over Jack's features. "Isn't anyone listening to me today?" he muttered underneath his breath. He turned his head to Robin. "I said that you have remarkable skill," he repeated. When he saw that the young boy was taken aback, Jack cracked a small grin. "I said it was remarkable, but not something to awe about," he added.

The smile that had threatened to burst out from Robin quickly died when his father said those words. "Oh," he said. "I learned from my mother how to fight," he couldn't help saying. Somehow, saying this out loud reminded Robin that he came from a family of skilled fighters. He felt pride well up in his chest. "And she was the best fighter I knew."

Jack lifted his head in curiosity. He turned around so that he fully faced Robin but still leaned on the railing. "Is that so?" he said. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "And how did ye come by Port Royal, boy?"

Robin shifted nervously, preparing the first of many lies. "I ran away from home with Zanka," he said quietly as he averted his eyes.

Jack scrutinized the boy. He knew that he had no right to ask why he ran away. The boy didn't look like much, but appearances were always deceiving. From up at the helm where he saw part of the fight, Jack knew right away that this boy had the potential to be a great fighter. Indeed, he was already on his way.

And yet. . . .

"Didn't yer father ever teach you to pick yer battles better?" Jack asked him, this time with a little annoyance in his tone.

Robin walked towards the railing and leaned on it too. Jack also turned around to face the sea. As he looked at this boy, for a moment, Jack almost thought he could see something very familiar with him.

"My father left us."

Jack started out of his thoughts. "Pardon?"

Robin kept his eyes determinedly on the waves the ship passed. "My father. He left while my mum was with child; with me. He never came back," he finished with a cracked tone. It was mainly true. Robin blinked away the tears rimming his eyes. This, being right next to the said father and yet very afraid of telling him the truth, was almost too much for Robin. He pushed off the railing, turned his back on Jack, and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. He could feel the old map in his left pocket, reminding him of his main purpose of being away from home. Over his shoulder he said in tone that made him sound as if he didn't care (when in fact he did), "It's alright, though. I turned out just fine."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" Jack also pushed away from the railing. He grabbed Robin's shoulder and made him turn around to face him. "Well, from recent events, I've made me decision abou' you, boy," he said authoritatively.

"What decision?" Robin asked curiously.

Jack smirked mischievously. "I've decided that to keep you out of anymore trouble, I'm takin' you under me wing and teachin' you the lessons yer father never did."

"Wait, what?" Robin exclaimed. "No, wait-"

Jack clapped him hard on his shoulder. "You won't so much as eat, work, or think without me notice, Mr. Robin. You can be sure about that!" Jack said cheerfully. Jack soon left after this declaration, leaving Robin with a feeling of foreboding rather than excitement.