A/N: Hello, everyone! Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed the last chapter, it really makes my day to read feedback! Also, I was glad to see that a couple of you liked that Gibbs was the one to save Cass - I know that it would have been totally cliche for Jack to save her, so I wanted to mix things up a bit. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy chapter four!

Chapter IV

As I followed Gibbs and Sparrow down to the main deck, the elder man narrowed his eyes and commented, "What's wrong with yer leg, lassie?"

"I – I twisted my ankle earlier today," I stuttered nervously. "I should be fine by tomorrow, though – I'm feeling better already," I assured them with a fake smile.

"Better not be a liability," Gibbs said darkly.

Sparrow simply looked squarely at my legs, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. He then turned away and looked down at the dock below.

His mannerisms were so unusual that I couldn't help but wonder whether he was mad, drunk, or both. Whatever the case, it was apparent that he was well known, at least in the pirating world. I looked forward to learning more about him, as he was currently proving to be a very difficult man to read. Usually I was a pretty good judge of character, but Sparrow had a wall up around him so thick that I didn't think I'd ever be able to see what lay on the other side.

Soon, just like Gibbs had predicted, others started arriving. The first to show up (after me, of course) was a man who appeared to be about Sparrow's age – although, that wasn't saying much, seeing as it was almost impossible to gauge how old either of them were. Fairly young, was the only guess I could wager.

"Is this the Poseidon's Jewel?" he asked timidly upon ascending the ladder. His behavior suggested that he was younger than I'd previously thought – probably in his mid twenties or so.

"Aye, 'tis," Gibbs answered.

"I've come to join Captain Jack Sparrow's crew," he announced somewhat more confidently, his eyes darting from me, to Gibbs, to Sparrow.

"What do you call yourself, mate?" Sparrow demanded.

"Peter Wentworth, sir," he answered, removing his hat and bowing his head.

"Know how to use a sword?" the captain asked.

"Aye, sir. Quite well, in fact. Used to be a naval officer."

"Welcome aboard the Poseidon's Jewel, then," he said, sticking out his unsanitary-looking hand. The other man shook it enthusiastically, before walking towards me.

"Are you part of the crew as well?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Yes, I am," I replied, raising my head haughtily. I was only mildly offended by his confusion, but I wanted to make him feel guilty for slighting me.

He seemed to catch on to my displeasure, and rectified, "I'm sorry – I didn't mean anything – it's just, it's very rare to see a woman aboard a ship, you see."

I softened my gaze and responded, "It's all right, you are forgiven. But don't underestimate me, my friend. I'm tougher than I look." If only he could appreciate the truth in my statement, I thought wryly.

Just then, two other people arrived: a dwarf and an aged man with a parrot on his shoulder.

"Well damn me eyes – if it ain't Cotton and Marty – and Cotton's parrot!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Aye, mate, it's us," the dwarf replied with a grin.

"Come to join me motley crew once again?" Sparrow commented cheerily, waving his hands about in a very strange fashion.

"Yessir. 'Eard there were treasure to be found," the dwarf, presumably Marty, answered again fondly.

"Well, in fact, you have heard correctly," he replied with a golden-flecked grin.

"And who're these two?" he remarked, "New additions, I presume."

"Indeed they are. Say hello to our dreadfully ferocious swordsman, formally a member of the King's Navy, Peter Wentworth, and the vicious red-haired tempest that is Cassiopeia," he introduced with absurd solemnity.

"Tempest?" Marty began with a lewd smirk, "I think you mean 'temptress'."

Sparrow laughed, but turned to Peter and me and said, "Oi, you two. This here's Marty and Mr. Cotton. Don't bother trying to talk to Cotton, 'e's a mute. Had 'is tongue cut out."

Peter winced at this, but I just stared at him curiously. I wondered why he'd had his tongue cut out… He looked pretty unassuming...

About ten minutes later, another two men arrived up with ladder. "This be the crew o' Cap'n Jack Sparrow?" one asked abruptly.

"It is indeed, my good man. Who be you pair?" he asked.

"Name's Schmitty," said one. He had thick black hair peeking out from his tricorn hat and looked as if he hadn't shaved in weeks. He was clearly drunk and smelled absolutely dreadful, even from where I was standing.

"Schmitty?" Sparrow repeated abruptly. "Right then, Schmitty, welcome aboard me ship. And you?"

"Em'ry, sir," slurred the other, who appeared to be equally intoxicated. He was shorter and stouter than his companion, with sandy-blonde hair and a sanguine complexion.

"Wonderful. Only two more to go, Gibbs!" the captain said excitedly.

I couldn't believe Sparrow's luck; about a half hour later, two more tall, lanky boys – identical twins, evidently – began to climb up the ladder.

"We've come to join your crew, Captain Sparrow," one announced enthusiastically immediately upon hitting the deck. They both appeared to be in their late teens, with curly mops of brown hair atop their heads.

"Names?"

"Tim and Tom Spritely, sir," said the other.

"Well," he paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to address them, "Spritelies," he finished finally, "do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true even in the face of danger and almost certain death?" he blurted out quickly. At this, Gibbs grinned nostalgically.

The boys blinked slowly, struggling to comprehend what he had asked them. "Aye, sir…?" they both eventually answered in tentative unison.

"Excellent!"

"When do we set sail, Captain," Wentworth piped in.

He stroked his goatee thoughtfully, before replying, "I'd say now's as good a time as any... Men! … And woman – All hands on deck! Get to your places, ye filthy dogs!"

"Wind in your sails, wind in your sails!" Cotton's parrot harped.

Everyone began scrambling about immediately, and I came to the quick conclusion that I ought to be doing something, too. The only problem was, I had no idea how to work on a ship.

Now, it had struck me earlier that this might eventually be a problem, but I hadn't really paid much attention to it – I'd been too swept up in the events of the evening to give my circumstances much thought.

Gibbs seemed to sense my uncertainty, and looked at me with begrudging sympathy. "You'd best start swabin' the deck," he instructed. I could tell that the poor man was struggling with his instincts and his logic – he didn't exactly want do help me, but he felt obligated to by some subconscious paternal aspect of his personality. It was quite interesting to watch the two conflicting instincts war with one another.

However, while I was hesitant, Emery and Schmitty were faring even worse: they could hardly walk straight, and pulling the lines seemed to be a task much to monumental for them to tackle.

The Spritelies, on the other hand, were putting everyone to shame with their youthful eagerness and it made me suspect that they might have been even younger than they appeared.

Cotton and Marty, on the other hand, did as they were told at a leisurely pace, like the old seadogs they were. Sparrow, meanwhile, took his place at the helm, compass in hand. Several minutes after leaving the harbor, Marty approached him.

"Cap'n, I didn' want to ask you this in front o' everyone, but knowing yous I expect that we are not sailin' directly to the treasure, am I right?" he asked.

"You are correct in presuming that there are obstacles which we must overcome before we reach said treasure, yes."

"So just where're we going, exactly?"

"Our quest requires us to pay an old friend of mine a brief albeit extremely necessary visit."

"An old friend o' yours? The only 'old friends' you've got are dead-set on killin' you."

Sparrow grinned at him, "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"This friend don't happen to be Tia Dalma, do it?"

"No, 'fraid not. Don't expect we'll be seeing her anytime soon, after the whole Davy Jones incident..."

"And is this friend of yours, well, friendly?"

"Yes, of course! Well, most times, at least," he paused contemplatively for a moment, "Sometimes. Usually."

Marty gave him a knowing look, but went back to work instead of pressing the matter.

"Cap'n," Gibbs started cautiously after witnessing this exchange, "is our destination a 'moving target,' as it were?"

"Isn't it always, Mr. Gibbs?" he replied ambiguously.

"If we're indeed goin' where I think we're goin', I don' think we're to be received kindly…"

"My good fellow, surely you've learned by now that things are hardly ever what you think. 'Specially when it comes to me. And I appreciate your concern, but just leave it in my entirely capable hands. When have I ever failed you?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to speak, but Sparrow interrupted, "On second thought, don't answer that. But the point is, everything is going to be right as rain, don't you fret."

However, this response only seemed to further worry Mr. Gibbs, who shakily took out his flask and pressed the mouth to his chapped lips.

"I would rather like to know where we're goin'," he grumbled.

"Rest assuredly, I'd tell you if I knew."

"Ye do know! You're the one leadin' us, ye daft fool."

"Technically, the compass is leading us…"

"And you're leading the compass."

"Touché," Sparrow allowed with a smirk, "But it's really just sort of a chicken and the egg thing, innit mate?"

Suddenly, Wentworth broke me out of my fascinated trance. He'd been working by my side, and turned to me and whispered, "You shouldn't be eavesdropping; if they catch you, they could give you the captain's daughter..."

I hadn't the slightest idea to what he was referring. "The captain has a daughter?" I asked stupidly.

He seemed to understand my dilemma and clarified, "No, what I mean is the cat o' nine tails. You know what that is, right? It's a whip."

I looked at him in shock; "I don't think they would do that…?" I murmured, wide-eyed.

"Y'never know. I've heard pirates are a bit more lax, but, if we were on a ship o' the Fleet, they wouldn't even think twice."

"I'll keep that in mind," I assured him fearfully.

A few hours later, we arrived off the coast of a miniscule island and dropped anchor.

"Now, you've all got an hour to rest," Sparrow announced, "I realize that we've sailed through the night and you're probably all… fatigued. 'Specially you two disgraces," he said to Emery and Schmitty, "try to sleep off that drunken stupor. Now, if any of you pitiful cads needs me, I'll be in me captain's quarters." With that, he disappeared into the cabin below the helm.

I was in fact tired beyond belief, and was therefore extremely thankful for the opportunity to rest. I also really needed to get out of the beating sun (which had only just risen – I would have a lot more this to look forward to, it seemed), so I climbed below deck and planted myself in one of the several canvas hammocks situated there.

Before I drifted into a deep, much-needed sleep, my head swam with thoughts of what awaited us on this "moving target" we were trying to reach. Why were we going there? Who were we going to see? Would we run into danger on the way? I had the nagging suspicion that we weren't even sailing for treasure at all, in which case I feared for how the rest of the crew might respond. I didn't particularly care where we were going, I was just happy to be a part of it. However, I doubted the others felt the same way.

What was infinitely clear, though, was that I was most definitely an outsider in this new world of piracy. Why Captain Sparrow had allowed me to stay remained a mystery, along with almost everything else about him. However, I'd come to this world to unravel the mysteries of human nature, and I could assure you that he was indeed one mystery I intended to solve.

A/N: Hope you all liked it! And I hope everyone's in character... Please review! :)