Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings.

Author's Note:OH MY GOD IT'S JACK. Yes, darlings, our dear captain makes his first appearance in this chapter. Jack not to your liking? Well, perhaps the healthy dose of pretty commodore featured in the next chapter shall sate you. ;)

Chapter Three: In Which Cross-dressing Flourishes

Genesis really lucked out in swiping the gentleman's bag, finding that it was mainly filled with clothes. He wasn't an overly large man, so most of the garments fit relatively well on Gen's tall frame. The pair of slightly loose tan breeches, a loose white dress shirt, and a black waistcoat suited her quite well, actually. As did the small amount of coins she found in a small leather purse she happened to find as well. She felt fairly bad for stealing the bag, truth be told, but its previous owner was much better off than she was at the moment. Besides, it was only some clothes and a bit of cash, nothing that was obviously a personal memento.

Genesis tied the coin purse to her belt, which she slipped on along with her still soggy black boots, and stepped tentatively out of the small lean-to she had been hiding in. Heaving the stolen leather bag onto her shoulder, having stuffed her own clothes into it, she fell into a casual step. She smoothed her formerly straightened hair back, the natural waves coming through now that it had gotten wet, and tied it in a low ponytail with some twine from the shed. She was suddenly glad she had recently dyed her hair brown; the red and blonde streaks she had previously put in it would have definitely attracted unwanted attention.

As she wandered somewhat aimlessly, taking it all in, she saw a familiar, peculiar sight; the mast of a submerged boat sticking out of the water at the end of a pier. Her eyes scanned the dock until seeing a pompous-looking man, his slave boy, and a recognizable swaying figure.

Genesis hid behind some barrels, watching through the cracks between them as the Captain Jack Sparrow deposited three shillings onto the harbormaster's report book, sauntering past and casually swiping the man's purse from the pedestal. As he swaggered past her barrel, she silently fell into step a few yards behind him, on the opposite side of the road. She kept a casual eye on him, until he turned around, swinging dangerously, as if his torso could spin full circle. Her gaze quickly fell into a merchant's booth, and she acted as if she were simply browsing the wares there. She chanced a peek while pretending to examine a bolt of calico, and he was still watching her warily, dark eyes sizing her up. She gave him a friendly smile and inclination of the head, and continued browsing the booth. He apparently decided she was just a civilian on a shopping spree, albeit in men's clothing, and continued on his swaying, fanciful way. Gen smiled at the merchant and continued her "wandering," noticing Jack swing towards the gangplank of the Interceptor. She ducked behind some crates, watching Jack head towards the sleek ship, only to be cut off by two British soldiers. Genesis smirked as Murtogg and Mullroy soon began arguing amongst themselves over the existence of the Black Pearl, allowing Jack to sweep by, relatively unseen.

He didn't remain unnoticed, of course, and the soldiers quickly boarded the ship behind him, bayonets at the ready. Genesis used their turned backs as an opportunity to get closer, finally able to make out their words.

"You don't have permission to be aboard there, mate," Murtogg said, his voice a bit shaky.

"I'm sorry," Jack said apologetically. "It's just…it's such a pretty boat. Ship."

Mullroy eyed him warily. "What's your name?"

At this point, Genesis was just sneaking behind another large crate, and she caught Jack's eye as he glanced past the soldiers' heads. He opened his mouth to say something about her presence, and suddenly realized Mullroy had spoken.

"Pardon?"

"Your name," Mullroy repeated. "What is it?"

As Jack paused, seemingly hesitating at the question, Gen gave up her hiding routine, since a cheesy and rather annoying rendition of the Mission Impossible theme had just popped into her head, and stepped out from her hiding place.

"Smith!"

The soldiers turned around, and all three men looked at this young woman, who, in men's clothing no less, was climbing up the inclined plank onto the ship.

"Where have you been?" she asked Jack scoldingly, pimping a false accent fantastically well. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Smith?" Murtogg asked, giving Jack a disbelieving look.

"Smithy, if you like," Jack said with a friendly smile. He gave Genesis a quick glance as Murtogg trained his bayonet on her.

"And who are you?" he asked, his eyes momentarily raking up and down her body suspiciously.

"Why, his sister, o' course," she said, turning to straighten and smooth the lapels of Jack's dingy coat in a maternal fashion. She gave him a secretive wink and looked back at the soldiers, placing a finger on the side of the blade aimed at her heart and pushing it gently aside. "He wandered away from me a near half-hour ago. I hope he hasn't been too much of a bother, gentlemen." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "He ain't right in the head, you know," she said, leaning towards the soldiers. "Mum dropped him a lot as a baby."

Jack frowned as Gen shook her head tragically. Mullroy didn't look convinced.

"What's your business in Port Royal, Mister…and Miss…Smith?"

"Yeah," Murtogg added. "And no lies!"

Jack sighed theatrically, throwing a companionable arm around Gen's shoulders. "Well, then, I confess. It is my…our…intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my…our…weasely black guts out." Gen smiled sweetly, tilting her head a bit.

"Nice imagery, innit?" she asked.

"I said no lies!" Murtogg said, eyes wide.

"I think he's telling the truth," Mullroy replied, not look away from Jack and Genesis, apparently unable to choose whom to aim his weapon at.

"If he were telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us," Murtogg explained in a slightly impatient tone.

"Unless of course," Jack offered, "he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told it to you."

The soldiers looked utterly and completely lost.

"Yeah," Gen said, nodding sympathetically. "Try living with him."

Rosalyn, meanwhile, was also in the process of gender-bending. Her man-clothes of choice, however, were a bit more…stand-out-ish. The marine was rather small, and rather alone. A brick near some crumbling masonry had turned out to be an excellent tool in the art of garment theft, and one bonk to the head knocked the guy out cold. At first she panicked, believing she had killed the poor guy, then realized he was breathing, and actually mumbling something about kumquats in his sleep. She took this as a hint that he would not be out for long, and quickly began ridding him of his uniform. She ducked into a niche behind a merchant's shop and took to pulling on the uniform, growling impatiently at the many buckles and buttons the damned thing possessed, calling it many unkind things before finally making it look presentable.

Hiding her auburn bob beneath her black tri-corner hat, she hid in a small alley until a troop of soldiers marched by, and she fell into step behind them. Marching band had finally proven itself useful in real life. The soldiers moved into the fort, where Captain Norrington, undoubtedly, was becoming a commodore.