'Thank you's: Thank you to Kalira, Phoenix halfbreed, and Kiora Maxwell for reviewing! It's a really good boost to my author's ego. And thank you to the many who put me on their author alert lists. It's REALLY flattering. Oh, and I'm sorry if the last chapter was a little confusing- I hadn't realized that had obliterated my little stars that signified scene changes. I've fixed that little flaw (I hope) in this chapter. Enjoy!

Last Chapter:

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 and cast a chill on the previously bright day.

Chapter End

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Dorothy sank further, hitting the bottom and settling. Jack reached her a few seconds later, and grabbed her to start pulling her up. But it was harder then he expected- the heavy dress caused as much problems for him as it had for Dorothy. He had barely reached the surface and taken a breath before the weight dragged them both back down.

Under the water again, Jack grabbed the front of the dress and pulled, yanking it off of Dorothy's body and leaving it drifting in the water. Grabbing Dorothy again, he headed for the docks, where three people were now waiting for him.

As Jacob and Murray helped Jack pull Dorothy onto the wooden slats, Duo spotted soldiers led by Norington heading their way. They needed to get going, fast...

"She's not breathing-!" Murray cried, when they had her up.

"Move!" snarled Duo. He had a knife out- not the one in his belt, where had he gotten it from? He quickly slashed the bindings on Dorothy's corset, yanked it off, and handed it to Jacob. Dorothy immediately started to gasp and cough up the water she had taken in.

"I never would have thought 'o that," muttered Murray.

"Clearly you've never been to Singapore," gasped Jack from where he had hauled himself onto the dock. He then went over to check on the girl whose life he had saved.

Duo glanced at the approaching soldiers- no way that they could be avoided now. Shit. Oh, well. It wasn't like they hadn't been in worse spots...

Jack, meanwhile, had noticed the medallion that Dorothy was wearing. It was now in the open, with nothing to hide it. He picked it up, stared at it, then focused an intense gaze on Dorothy. "Where did you get that?" he demanded. She didn't answer- and Commodore Norington chose that moment to show up. In a few seconds, the Commodore's new sword was pointed at Jack's throat, and half-a dozen guns each were aimed at Jack and Duo. "On your feet," he ordered them.

"Dorothy!" Governor Swan gasped, catching up to the soldiers. He quickly placed his coat around his daughter, then glared over at the group who had saved her while she said she was fine. Jacob, realizing he was still holding the corset, quickly dropped it and pointed at Duo, passing the guilt along.

"Shoot them!" the Governor ordered, but Dorothy cut in.

"Father!" she snapped. When he turned to look at her in confusion, Dorothy transferred her attention to Norington. "Commodore," she hissed, "do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"

She watched as Norington debated her words, and then hesitantly put his sword away. Honestly, men could be so stupid!

As the sword was sheathed and the guns lowered, Jack turned and gave Dorothy a small and fervently thankful bow.

Norington held out his hand, though he was still glaring. "I believe thanks are in order," he snapped, sounding anything but grateful.

Dorothy, Duo, and Jack were all suspicious of this move. Dorothy knew that Norington was quite like her father: pompous, and a bit of a fool about things like tradition, but very shrewd when it came to his business. Duo was suspicious out of habit- one doesn't get to be a successful pirate- read, a live pirate- by trusting officers of the British Royal Navy. And Jack was naturally wary of anyone who had so recently been holding a sword to his throat. Good reasons, all of them. But it would be kind of impossible to get out of shaking the hand... so Jack reached out and took it.

And instantly realized his mistake as Norington jerked his hand forward and his sleeve up, getting a look at the 'P' burned there from the time that trading ship had caught him. Though escape from that had been rather fun....

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirates?" Norington snapped. He included Duo in that- only pirates would keep each other company, after all.

"Hang them," the Governor ordered.

... who knew just how easy it was to pass yourself off as a light skirt? Though, granted, the agents that he'd fooled had been more then slightly drunk at the time...

"Keep your guns on them, men," Norington ordered. "Gillette," he called to one of his subordinates, "fetch some irons."

... Ah, but back to the here and now. Norington had also uncovered his tattoo, a sparrow over a sunset at sea.

"Well, well. Jack Sparrow, isn't it," the Commodore gloated. "That would make you his famous assistant, Maxwell," he added, not leaving Duo out.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please sir," Jack corrected cheerfully. "And my mate prefers 'Shinigami' from the law-enforcin' sort, such as yourself."

"Well, I don't see your ship, Captain," sneered Norington in reply. He completely ignored the second remark- he understood its meaning, but he refused to dignify even the idea of calling a braided, insolent youth 'god of death' with so much as a response.

"I'm in the market, as it were," admitted Jack. He let the matter of Duo's name drop- it would be best if the youth was ignored or dismissed until too late. By the time people realized just how skilled he was, it was generally far too late.

At this point, Jacob and Murray started to add their opinions. "They said they'd come to commandeer one," piped up Jacob.

"I told you he was tellin' the truth," hissed Murray. "These are his, sir," he added in a louder tone of voice, handing over everything Jack had shoved at the guards before jumping in after Dorothy. Norington paused to confiscate the knife at Duo's belt, then did a spot inspection on their weapons.

He checked the gun,- "No additional shot, nor powder,-" the knife,- "no edge to speak of, and badly balanced,-" a compass that had been hanging off the sword's bandolier,- "a compass that doesn't point North,-" and the sword itself. "And I half expected it to be made of wood," he jeered, after sliding it out of its sheath. He then regarded the pair of them as if they were something he needed to scrape of the bottom of his boot after he had walked through a highly populated horse pasture. "You are without doubt the worst pirates I've ever heard of," he laughed, rounding off the insults.

Duo merely grinned, and made a 'wait a moment' gesture. "But you have heard of us..." he drawled suggestively. Needling overbearing authority figures was his specialty, and this Commodore was such an easy mark.

The Commodore didn't reply, but from the way he shoved them towards Gillette and the irons, the barb had struck home.

Dorothy didn't like this. While she carried no personal affection for either pirate, neither of them had struck her as a particularly harmful person. Besides, the older one, Jack, had saved her life, and she never let a debt of that magnitude go unpaid. Unpaid debts had ways of coming back to haunt you, generally at the worst possible times.

"Commodore," she proclaimed, stepping between them and the gunmen while irons were being fastened around the pair's wrists, "I really must protest. Pirates or not, these men saved my life."

"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness!" the Commodore returned hotly.

"Though it seems enough to condemn him," Jack commented idly from behind Dorothy. Duo snickered.

"Indeed," Norington replied coldly. His voice seemed to be experiencing hot flashes.

In the next few moments, an interesting thing happened. The Lieutenants who had been fastening the cuffs to the two prisoners finished, and because they both thought that the other one would remain to hold the pair, they both turned away. This left Jack and Duo, with chains on their wrists, standing alone on one side of Dorothy, and the entire military force that had come to the dock on the other. It is probably noteworthy that all of the said military men were on the side of Dorothy that was closest to the water- leaving the pirates with an essentially clear run to the beach, if they wanted to take it. Of course, had they tried to run, they would have been shot within 15 seconds. Jack had a solution to this, however.

"Finally," he muttered as the chains were locked. With a quick turn and flip, he had the chain connecting his wrists around Dorothy's neck, and gained a shield for himself and Duo against shooters. After all, what law-abiding army man would shoot a lady? At least, with that many witnesses around?

The guns had come up instinctively at Jack's movement, but no one fired. The Governor's cry of "NO! No, don't shoot!" was unnecessary.

Jack and Duo quickly backed up the pier, taking Dorothy with them. "I knew you'd warm up to me," Jack hissed cheerfully in her ear. He then called out louder "Commodore Norington, our effects, please! And my hat," he added as an after thought. "Commodore!" he called more insistently, when his first request failed to bring about a response.

Visibly seething, the Commodore snatched their weapons and belongings from the ever-helpful Murray's extended hands. While he dealt with the psychological turmoil of handing them over, Jack turned his attention back to Dorothy. "So is it Dotty or Dorothy?" he asked.

"It's Miss Swan," she all but snarled.

"Miss Swan then, if you'd be so kind," he said, motioning to the items that Norington was holding out. Looking like someone had stuck starch in his undershirts, Norington placed the items in her hand. Jack quickly grabbed the gun and pointed it at Dorothy's head, to ensure her continued good behavior. He then turned her in his arms so she was facing him. "And now if you'll be very kind," he murmured, motioning her to help him put the items on.

If looks could kill, Dorothy could have stood duty for an entire deck of cannons. She worked an arm up and jammed the hat on Jack's head, never ceasing her glare. She then reached around him to fasten the bandolier. At this point, Jack couldn't resist throwing a wink at Norington- the man was starting look rather constipated. It was just as well that Duo was unable to comment on this, as that probably would have triggered Norington into firing, Dorothy or no Dorothy.

The reason Duo didn't comment was the he was currently around the corner of a stone pillar that was used for loading heavy things- like cannons- onto ships. He'd ducked there when Jack had snared them a champion cum shield. Had Duo remained, he would merely have been another target for the trigger-happy gunmen to aim at. Like this, he could keep an eye out for reinforcements, and look for an escape route. And as it turned out, there was a very likely one right in front of him...

Meanwhile, Dorothy was yanking the belt as tight as she possibly could, with a feeling of rather vengeful satisfaction.

"Easy on the goods, darling," Jack grunted after one of the more violent jerks.

Dorothy finished her job and continued to glare. "You're despicable," she hissed.

"Sticks and stones, love," Jack returned without batting an eye. "I saved your life, you saved mine. We're square." He whipped her around so she was facing the men again.

"Gentlemen," he announced, "Milady," he added politely. "You will always remember this as the day you almost caught... Shinigami and Captain... Jack... Sparrow!" On the last word, he whipped the chain over Dorothy's head and shoved her into the men. It took them several seconds to sort that out, and Jack began running the moment Dorothy took her first propelled step. Before they could follow, he was around the corner and with the waiting Duo.

Duo was not wasting his time. He had recognized Jack's exit line, and was holding his own in his hands. When Jack came around that corner, he recognized just what Duo was holding and latched on to it, too. He needed no insrtuctions- they'd used this little trick before. Then Duo reached out and kicked a certain pin loose.

You see, what Duo- and now Jack- were holding was a rope that went up through a pulley and attached to a 900 lb cannon. Said cannon was waiting to be loaded onto a ship, and as such was hanging some 100 ft. off the dock.

The pin was all that was keeping it that way.

Without it, the laws of physics and gravity took over. Jack and Duo went up, and the cannon came down... right in front of the first gunmen to come racing around the corner. The first few couldn't stop, and blundered into the hole the cannon made when it crashed through the wooden planks that made up the dock. The rest were disorganized and confused by the unorthodox move.

Jack and Duo, meanwhile, had no desire to be dragged through the pulley with the rope they were holding. So, upon reaching the upper edges of their arc, the two quickly grabbed at any other rope within reach. They luckily latched on to a hanging rope that was tied to a loose spar higher up. This meant that the escaping pair could swing on it. And swing they did, for the spar started to rotate under the suddenly added weight and momentum. The two pirates now resembled nothing so much as a very odd piñata that somebody had started whirling.

And the military apparently had very odd rules to go with the very odd party game.

"Now will you shoot him?" snapped the Governor, having regained both his daughter and his courage. It is the way of a politician to blame everyone else, after all.

Norington needed no encouragement. "OPEN FIRE!" he bellowed.

Fortunately, old riffles are notoriously hard to aim, and swinging targets are equally hard to hit. Shinigami and Sparrow managed to swing onto the last pulley board the dock had- which happened to have a rope tied to its top ring- a rope that sloped down to the shore.

Neither pirate needed instructions for this ploy. They had used this exact trick to escape a pair of slavers who had been rather too interested in how much a pair of pirates might be worth on the black market. Without pause, they each swung a loop of their chains over the rope and pushed off. This makeshift zip-line carried them much farther and faster then the soldier's feet, bringing them nearly to the end of the dock before they dropped to the boards.

With twin thumps, they hit the ground running. Realizing they wouldn't catch the pair, the riffle men stopped at the dock end and began merely trying to shoot them. All they managed to do, however, was chip the rather picturesque stone bridge their targets were running over before they made it out of range.

Norington was not going to let this pass. "Gillette," he snapped. "Misters Sparrow and Maxwell have a dawn appointment with the gallows- I would hate for them to miss it." The young Lieutenant nodded and ran off to start the search.

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A/N: Well? Well? Reviews, please! I need 'em to live!

The next chapter is the fight scene in the smith- fun! Oh, and I'm sorry I took so long updating this- My chruch did a retreat over the weekend, and I didn't get back until late Sunday night. ::tearful gaze:: Forgive me? If you do, next chapter I'll introduce you to my muses. See ya!