Hello! ::waves:: Thank you Kailira for reviewing, and yea, Duo's with Jack- I thought that it was a very appropriate (though obvious) choice. Those two will get along quite well.

A message to everyone reading: this quick update is due to the fact that I have written more then one chapter before uploading. Future updates will have about a week in between them, and even if this story isn't updated, SOMETHING of mine will be updated at least once a week. Okay, on with the story!

Last Chapter:

"Good day," Will called after the departing carriage. "Dorothy," he added, under his breath. Only Heero was close enough to hear it.

Now Heero finally spoke. "Stupid."

"What?" Will asked. "Not offending a man who could ruin our business, or not saying what I wished to?"

"Hn," was his only response, as Heero started back to the town and their shop. Heero, the younger of the two smiths, barely old enough to be called a man now, had been brought to the blacksmith's as a foundling shortly after Will, and the two had grown up together. They knew everything about each other except their pasts- that was the one thing that they didn't talk about. So Will knew full well that the grunt was merely a filler answer. Heero thought that Will knew exactly what was stupid.

And he did. A blacksmith could never aspire to marry the Governor's daughter- no matter how much or how long he loved her. With a sigh, Will started after Heero.

End Chapter

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Those two were not the only pair heading for Port Royal, however, and this new one was a good deal closer then they. Not to mention moving faster. Out on the bay, two pairs of eyes were looking over the port. They belonged to two men- well, one man and one older boy, about Heero's age- who were perched on a mast top. The apparent leader of the two had black hair past his shoulders with beads strung in it, a dark red bandanna, raggedy cloths, a beat up hat, and a pistol and sword in his belt. He was standing tall on the uppermost mast, holding the crow's nest with one hand and holding the other on his waist. Despite his ragged image, he somehow managed to appear valiant, true, brave... everything a sailor should be. Until the humor behind the black eyes became apparent.

At first glance, his companion was nearly a polar opposite. The younger of the two was sitting on the mast, grinning in what could only be described as mad anticipation, and leaning into the wind. While his cloths were not quite as ragged as the first man's, they were all black, with random strips of material hanging off and pockets in odd places. He carried neither sword nor pistol, though a single knife could be seen in his belt. His hair was a cinnamon color, and pulled back in a long braid that looked like it could pass his hips, but was currently whipping behind him in the wind. The most notable things about him, however, were his eyes. They were large, expressive, full of more mischief then most felt truly legal, and were a shade of violet that stunned everyone who got a looked into them. If it hadn't been for the impish expression that he wore, he might have passed for a sweet young man. Might. He, too, was looking over the port.

Between the air of determination on one, and the look of mischief on the other, the two looked to be the most interesting thing that had happened to the town in years.

But that noble, adventurous mood was rather spoiled when the black haired one looked down with a start, and motioned to something below him. The other looked down too, and gave a surprised shout of laughter. As one, they grabbed handy ropes and swung down. They landed ankle deep in water- there seemed to be a leak somewhere. The mood, already spoiled, was ground into the dirt when one realized that their 'ship' was merely a small fishing boat that rather badly needed repairs.

After each finding a bucket, the two quickly began bailing. But a sight ahead stopped them. Hanging in a stone arch that the tides had carved were the bodies of three men... still in the nooses that had taken their lives. Next to them was a forth noose, empty, with a sign hung on it: Pirates, Ye Be Warned.

Both men reacted to this- the first by sweeping off his hat respectfully and giving an almost apologetic look, and the second with an incredibly solemn salute. They then continued in their work, leaving the dead behind them.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

There was a lot of activity in the bay. Everything from whisky to animals was being loaded onto the ships, and everyone had a job to do. But, as one, every sailor and worker there stopped and stared at the sight that was- sailing? drifting? Was there a word for what they were doing?- into the bay.

Both of the small dingy's passengers had abandoned any bailing, and were now perched on the railing of the crows nest as the boat glided to the dock. And glided was the word for it- it certainly wasn't sailing. For a ship to sail, it had to be above the water. The only parts of it that fulfilled that requirement were the mast and sail. And even those were disappearing quickly. Though the boat continued towards the dock, it was sinking steadily as it went.

The black haired man looked supremely unconcerned with this, and rode the nest like he did it everyday. He paid no attention whatsoever to the stares of those around him. His partner, while no less at ease, waved cheerfully to everyone, obviously taking great delight in the show they were causing.

The boat reached the dock and the bottom at the same moment, and both of its passengers stepped off onto the boards that were so conveniently at foot level. They then sauntered off as if they hadn't a care in the world.

A rather officious looking man with a ledger stopped them. "'Old up, there you!" he snapped. The two newcomers glanced at each other, then went over to him. "It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock!" he informed them. "And I shall need to know your names."

After sharing another glance with his companion, and then casting an amused look at the boat at the end of the dock- or the only bit of it that could be seen- the elder of the two gave his answer: three silver coins on the ledger. "What do you say to three shillings- only forget the names?" he offered.

The bureaucrat considered this- then snapped the ledger shut on the coins. "Welcome to Port Royal, Misters Smith and Jones," he said in what probably was as cheerful a voice as he could muster. He then went off, without another word to them.

While this exchange was happening, the other half of the pair had spotted a small bag on the podium where the newly bribed man had been standing. Picking it up proved it was heavy and jingling with collected coins. A small grin later, it had disappeared into a pocket.

"Hey, Jack, your name must be growing. Is it 'Captain Jack Sparrow Smith' now?" chuckled the braided half of the pair as they walked.

"Only when yours is 'Duo Shinigami Maxwell Jones,'" was the amused reply.

The two knew just where they wanted to go: the docks by the fort that they had seen on the way in. Where the best ships were kept for military use.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Meanwhile, at the fort, the British arms men were going through the drill work that was an integral part of any promotion ceremony, while the local aristocrats watched. In the end, there was a corridor between two rows of bayonets that led to the Governor. The new Commodore Norington walked through it, to receive the sword that symbolized his new command. After accepting it, he began to do test passes and swings to judge the blade's quality. Dorothy paid very little attention to all of this, as the day was hot and it was getting harder to breath, thanks to that blasted torture devise of a corset.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

The fifes and drums from the ceremony were audible from the dock where Murray and Jacob, two bored arms men, stood guard over a ship. They were so bored that it took them a long moment to notice that the two people who had just walked past them were not authorized personnel.

The two redcoats quickly ran to place themselves in front of the interlopers, who blinked in surprise. "This dock is off limits to civilians," snapped Jacob in his best 'guardsman' voice.

"I'm terribly sorry, we didn't know," Jack deadpanned. "If we see one, we shall inform you immediately." He and Duo started to walk toward the ship again, but Jacob and Murray performed a rather ungainly shuffle sideways that kept themselves between the intruders and the ship. After studying them for a moment, Duo spoke up.

"Apparently there's some sort of high-toned and fancy-pants-to-do up at the fort, ay?" he asked with a winning grin. "How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?"

Jacob was confused by this, and said the first thing that came into his mind. "Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to civilians."

Jack took up the thread. "It's a fine goal to be sure. But it seems to me that a ship like that-" here he strolled over and pointed to a ship that was anchored closer to the mouth of the bay. Duo followed him, and the guards did the crab walk to keep in front of them again. Jack ignored all the movement around him and finished his sentence. "- makes this one here seem a bit superfluous, really."

Jacob reacted with the pride of any male whose team has just be complemented- and started bragging. "Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough," he agreed. "But there's no ship that can match the Interceptor for speed."

"I've heard of one," Duo piped up. "Supposed to be very fast, nigh uncatchable. The Black Pearl."

Both guards missed the tones that he spoke it in- in fact, Murray was to busy laughing to notice much at all. "There's not a real ship that can match the Interceptor," he chuckled, laughing at how common sailors always believed silly superstitions.

"The Black Pearl is a real ship," said Jacob nervously. Both Duo and Jack looked at him in surprise- they hadn't expected anyone to do their job for them!

"No it's not," Murray denied, still laughing.

"Yes it is- I've seen it."

"You've seen it?" sneered Murray.

"Yes," Jacob claimed. He was sticking with his story.

"You haven't seen it!"

"Yes, I have!" By this time, the sailors were paying more attention to each other then to Jack and Duo. The two would-be boat thieves exchanged a glance.

"You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned, and captained by a man so evil, that Hell itself spat him back out?"

"No," said Jacob calmly.

"No," agreed Murray, starting to turn back to the two in front of them.

"But I have seen a ship with black sails," Jacob insisted before his partner could complete the turn.

"Oh," jeered Murray, "and no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails, and therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship then the Black Pearl, is that what you're saying?" It completely escaped both men's notice that the two they were supposed to be watching had slipped away and were now boarding the ship they were supposed to be guarding.

After Jacob sorted through Murray's sentence, he gave his answer. "No," he said, nodding cheerfully.

"Like I said," Murray said smugly. "There's no real ship that can match the Intercept-" Right at this point, the guardsmen noticed just where their two guardees were- behind the helm of said Interceptor.

"Hey!" they bellowed, racing onto the ship. "You two!"

"Get away from there," Jacob warned, reaching them first and pointing his rifle at them.

"You don't have permission to be aboard there, mates," Murray added, joining Jacob and raising his rifle, too.

"Sorry, it's just, it's such a pretty boat," Jack said innocently. "Ship," he corrected himself quickly.

"What's your names?" Jacob demanded suspiciously.

"We're called Smith and Jones, or Smithy and Joe, if you like," Duo said impishly.

"And what's you purpose in Port Royal, Mr. Jones?" Murray said in a highly skeptical tone of voice. He obviously didn't believe a word of it. That meant he was either smarter then he appeared, or a seasoned guard. Judging from his easy distraction, both options were equally unlikely.

"Yeah, and no lies," Jacob added. Definite newbie there.

"All right then," Duo said, standing up with a grand gesture and a grin. "We confess. It is our intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer our weasly black guts out."

"I said no lies," grumbled Jacob.

"I think he's telling the truth," Murray muttered.

"If he's telling the truth, he wouldn't 've told us!" Jacob replied with absolute certainty

Now Jack stuck his two cents in. "Unless he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told it to you."

Both the redcoats frowned at this, trying to figure out just who meant what. Duo sat back and grinned, knowing that inside of ten minutes, Jack would have these two so turned around they wouldn't be able to fire their rifles with instruction manuals. Watching this would provide almost endless amusement, to say nothing of yet another tale of their cleverness and prowess at the next drinking match...

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Back at the fort, the guests were mingling on the upper walls. In an attempt to catch enough breeze to get good breath, Dorothy stood on the highest point, next to the old bell tower. She didn't get too close to the edge, as it was only a rise in the stones that was just low enough to trip over, but she was the furthest from the group. Until Commodore Norington approached, that is.

"May I have a moment?" he asked. Completely focused on trying to get enough oxygen to her lungs, Dorothy nodded agreement. If he proposed, she could always shove him over the edge.

Unaware of her thoughts, Norington was trying to make conversation. "Ah, your look lovely," he complimented.

Now in considerable pain, Dorothy managed something like a smile in thanks. Norington didn't notice how strained it was- he had moved away from her to look out over the water. "I ah, apologize if I seem forward, but I... I must speak my mind," he began in a rather wavering tone. At any other time, in any other place, Dorothy would have recognized the warning signs and immediately caused some kind of havoc designed to remove her immediately from Norington's presence- with the second objective of making her look completely unsuitable. But here and now, the only thing she could think of was trying to get enough oxygen into her body. It was a losing battle, but she couldn't give up. Dorothy leaned on the stone bell tower beside her to help support herself. Completely oblivious, Norington blathered on.

"This promotion throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved." Now he looked up at Dorothy. "A marriage to a fine woman."

Dorothy hadn't heard a word he said, beyond the basic gist of it. The only thing she could do was nod vaguely as her eyesight was slowly closed in with black edges.

"You have become a fine woman, Dorothy." That idiot Norington was still talking...

With her final few gasps of air, Dorothy choked out "I can't breath," hoping that he would understand. What she heard as she began to pass out was him saying, "Yes, I'm feeling a bit nervous myself." She would have cursed, if she had had the breath to. Her last conscious thought before she completely blacked out was: Freaking, bloody idiot!

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Dorothy's faint carried her over the edge of both the fort and the cliff, leaving Norington standing on the tower, thoroughly clueless, as he had been looking the other way. But the splash she made as she reached the water wasn't unnoticed.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Jack was winding up a rather long-winded tale to Jacob and Murray, who had put down their guns five minutes ago. ".... and then they made me their chief," he dramatized. Duo was leaning on the helm, and trying not to laugh too loudly. When the noise of the splash reached them, all four were quickly at the railing, wanting to know what was going on. A rather loud shout from above told them.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

As Dorothy hit the water, Norington turned round, to find himself proposing to thin air. "Dorothy?" he asked in bewilderment. Then he looked down, and saw the telltale splash rings below, at the bottom of the cliff that the fort was perched on. "Dorothy!" he bellowed (this being the cry the four on the ship heard), and yanked off his jacket to try and dive in after her.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your view of the man) his junior officers reached him before he reached the edge.

"The rocks!" one of them cried, grabbing his arm. "Sir, it's a miracle she missed them!" Norington jerked his jacket back on and ran for the stairs.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Dorothy hit the water and sank, weighed down by the layers of petticoats and the heavy material of the dress itself. But the impact had loosened the medallion she still wore, the medallion she had put on as a whim from a dream that morning...

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

"Will you be saving the lady?" Jack asked Murray politely.

"I can't swim!" the guardsman replied, giving him a frightened look.

Jack looked at Jacob, who was still staring at where Dorothy had fallen, stunned. "Pearls of the King's Navy, you two are," Jack muttered. He grabbed his hat and shoved it at Murray, then yanked off his gun and sword belt. "Do not lose these," he hissed at Jacob. Duo was down on the docks already, waiting for when Jack brought her in. Pausing only to shove his jacket to Murray, Jack swan dived off the ship, and swam at top speed for where Dorothy had fallen into the water.

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Dorothy was still sinking. As she did so, the current tugged on her, pulling the medallion free. As it drifted loosely in the salty water, an odd pulse emerged from it, and traveled out to sea. The skull in the center seemed to grin more madly then ever... as if this was exactly the day and chance it had been waiting for...

(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Above the water, Jacob, Murray and Duo were the only ones to see the pulse. Those in the bay and town were too focused on their own tasks, everyone in the fort was busy running around because Dorothy had fallen, and Jack was under the water. "What was that?" asked Jacob, turning to Murray. Murray shrugged. But Duo went pale. He knew what that meant, and who that call was for... so Duo alone was unsurprised when the wind suddenly came in from the sea, threatening to blow off the hats and scarves of the unprepared, and bringing in clouds that blocked the sun, to cast a chill on the previously bright day.

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This is a replacement chapter, 'cause ff.n pulled a vanishing act with all the little stars that mean scene changes in here, and it was too confusing without them- I hope this makes things clearer for everyone! The next chapter (4) will be out Friday (10/1/04). Read and Review- I wanna know everyone's opions and suggestions. Flames will be printed out and laughed over, before being posted in bathrooms for public amusement.