Sorry it's taken long, been on holiday :) Thank you to people who reviewed the last chapter:
Rosealyn 'Flinx' Roth - Yeah haha I'm very much looking forward to bringing in my little plot twist (if I'm right, I think next chapter or the one after it will first come in? :D )
TakeMeToWonderland - Thank you :) Plot twist coming soooooon :D
Umeko - Yeah Will strikes me as only having eyes for Elizabeth really, so not seeing any Willelica or whatever you want to call it :p
IMissYellow - Thank you :)
Shawns-Lady-Forever - Thanks :) Won't be leaving it so long between updates this time!
Enjoy, R&R :)

It was dusk by the time we reached Tortuga, the lights within the town already glowing brightly. We anchored the Interceptor a little way out to sea and then lowered one of the longboats, Jack using the oars to row us to shore. Already, we could hear the smashing glass and gunshots that were so typical here in the evening.
"Welcome to Tortuga." I said, dryly, as we got out of the longboat. The lad was looking around with a somewhat shocked expression on his face.
"It's a bit different to Port Royal." He said at last, seeming to find no better words to describe the place.
"Aye, and it is full of opportunity." Jack joined us after tying up the longboat to the dock and we all began to walk through the town. "More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga. Savvy? What do you think?"
"It'll linger." The lad said, and I laughed. In time, he would grow accustomed to the smell, as all pirates did.
"I'll tell you, mate, if every town were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."
"Scarlett." Jack whispered, and I looked up to see a woman wearing a red dress with matching red hair and lips storming towards us. Jack reluctantly moved forwards to greet her, only to receive a sharp slap across his face from the woman, who immediately turned and left. "Not sure I deserved that." Jack frowned at Will. As he turned back round, the red woman's place had been taken by a blonde with a yellow dress, wearing sarcastic smirk on her face. "Giselle."
"Who was she?" The woman asked, although it was obvious she already knew.
"What?" Jack asked, feigning innocence. The words had hardly been spoken when he received another slap and the woman stalked away. "I may have deserved that." Jack admitted, turning to look at Will. Then he caught a glimpse of me, standing with my hands on my hips, eyebrows raised and lips pursed.
"Who were they?" I demanded. He laughed, clearly thinking I was joking. When he realised I was being serious, his laugh turned into a cough and he turned away quickly.
"Shall we?" He asked, walking on without waiting for an answer. "We should escape this wretched pit as quickly as possible." I rolled my eyes at this sudden change of mind, undoubtedly brought about by his reunion with the wenches.
"With a crew." Will reminded him.
"Ah yes." Jack nodded. "Well it just so happens, that you know the man, who knows the man who knows the finest sailors in all Tortuga."
"Gibbs?" I asked, a smile finding its way onto my face, replacing the frown I still wore.
"Aye." Jack grinned, and my own smile widened. Gibbs was a good man and had been a loyal friend to Jack and I for many years.

We found Gibbs asleep in a pigpen.
"Wait here." Jack whispered, a smirk on his face as he crept away. He returned a moment later, this time with a bucket of water in his hand. He threw the contents of the bucket upon the sleeping old man, who immediately woke up.
"Curse you for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot!" Gibbs spluttered as he sat up, pointing a knife at us. We started at him silently, Jack and I both smirking, then recognition crossed his face. He put the knife back down. "Mother's love! Jack! Angelica!" He grinned, and then frowned. "You twos should know better than to wake a man when he's sleepin'. It's bad luck."
"Ah, fortunately, I know how to counter it." Jack walked towards him, crouching down just in front of him. "The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking." Gibbs contemplated this for a moment, and then his grin returned.
"Aye, that'll about do it." He agreed, and Jack stood up before taking Gibbs' hand to help him to his feet. As Jack stepped back, a second bucket of water had its contents thrown over Gibbs. "Blast! I'm already awake!" He roared, as I looked quickly to my side to see Will holding a bucket. I frowned. I hadn't even heard him walk away!
"That was for the smell." He told Gibbs simply, and I felt my frown turning to a grin suppressing laughter as I looked from him to Gibbs, who shrugged as he realised that sleeping with pigs probably didn't leave a very good aroma about him.

Having been reunited with Gibbs, we made our way to the tavern known as the Faithful Bride. I had never quite understood why it would have this name, unless it was for reasons of irony; in Tortuga, it was very rare for any woman to be faithful to one man. And vice versa. Inside, Gibbs and I headed over to a table in the corner whilst Jack went to get us drinks. Will stood awkwardly by a post, not far from our table, glancing nervously around at the brawling men. As Jack came back, I saw him pause by the lad and say something quietly to him before he joined Gibbs and I at the table, passing us our drinks.
"Just the one." Jack told us.
"Best make it last then, eh?" We all took a sip, then placed the mugs down on the wooden surface. "Now, what's the nature of this venture of your'n?" Gibbs asked, keeping his voice low.
"We're going after the Black Pearl." Jack told him. Gibbs, who had just taken another sip of his drink, choked. "We know where it's going to be, and we're going to take it." Jack continued, ignoring Gibbs' reaction.
"Jack, it's a fool's errand!" Gibbs was shaking his head. "Why you twos know better than me the tales of the Black Pearl." His gaze flickered between the two of us.
"That's why we know what Barbossa is up to." I told him. Beside me, Jack nodded.
"Aye. All we need is a crew." He confirmed.
"From what I hear tell of Captain Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools nor strike a bargain with them."
"Well then I'd say it's a very good thing we're not fools then, eh?" Jack grinned, and Gibbs frowned.
"Prove me wrong. What makes you think Barbossa will give up his ship to you?"
"Let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?" Gibbs frowned, unsure of what I meant, so Jack nodded his head in the direction of the lad. Gibbs shook his head, still not following, and so Jack repeated the motion until Gibbs looked over and settled his gaze on Will. He turned back to us.
"The kid?" We nodded.
"That is the child of Bootstrap Bill Turner. His only child. Savvy?" Jack grinned.
"Is he now?" Gibbs looked back over to where Will was being harassed by a rather large lady who was then taken away by some frail man I assumed to be her partner. Gibbs watched for a moment, then looked back at us, grinning. "Leverage, says you. I think I feel a change in the wind, says I. I'll find us a crew. There's bound to be some sailors on this rock crazy as you."
"One can only hope." Jack said, then raised his mug. "Take what you can!"
"Give nothin' back!" Gibbs finished. We all grinned as we banged out mugs together and downed the last of their contents, slamming them back on the table. Suddenly there was a loud clatter and we looked over to where the lad had just pushed over a table and was pointing his sword at the people standing around. For once, the tavern was completely silent. He looked over at us, seemingly wondering why we were not joining him. "Kid's a bit of a stick isn't he?" Gibbs muttered quietly.
"You've no idea." I sighed, rolling my eyes, fervently hoping that he would not prove to be too much of a liability.

We followed through with Jack's plan to have 'just the one' drink that night, and so we were able to wake up early the next morning. Jack, the lad and I had spent the night on the Interceptor, and as we rowed back to the dock we could already see a fair-sized group of sailors lined up with Gibbs.
"Feast your eyes, Captains." Gibbs, now in the position of our first mate, addressed us as we stepped onto the wooden dock. "All of them, faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt, and crazy to boot." We walked down the line, mentally assessing each and every one of them. None of them looked particularly special.
"So this is your able-bodied crew?" Will muttered. I turned to him.
"Have you ever heard that you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover?" I asked him. He did not reply, but his facial expression told me that he had, indeed, heard that concept. Jack decided to answer the lad's question his own way, walking further down the line to stop in front of a man who had a parrot perched on his shoulder.
"You, sailor!"
"Cotton, sir." Gibbs informed him.
"Mr Cotton, do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" The man did not reply, instead glancing over to Gibbs. "Mr Cotton! Answer, man!" Jack growled, and Gibbs hastily stepped forwards.
"He's a mute, sir." He explained. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him."
"How?" I frowned, doing my best not to grimace at the sight of Cotton opening his mouth to show that he did, in fact, have no tongue.
"No one's yet figured how." Gibbs shook his head.
"Mr Cotton's parrot." Jack took a step further to place himself in front of the bird, who looked at him, seemingly standing to attention. "Same question."
"Wind in your sails! Wind in your sails!" The parrot squawked.
"Mostly, we figure that means 'yes'." Gibbs told us.
"Of course it does." I nodded, slowly, still wondering how the man had trained the parrot.
"Satisfied?" Jack turned to Will, who glanced quickly up and down the line with an exasperated look on his face.
"Well you've proved they're mad." He hissed. We looked at the sailors before us, until a familiar voice from further down the line called out.
"And what's the benefit for us?" Jack glanced at me, then walked down to where the voice had come from, Will and I following. The sailor one away from the end of the line wore a hat with a large rim which was pulled low over their face. Jack lifted the rim and then removed the hat.
"Anamaria!" He grinned, and she greeted him with a sharp slap across his face.
"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either." Will said, remembering the wenches from the previous night.
"No, that one I deserved." Jack nodded, somewhat sheepishly, as I grimaced, knowing full well why it was deserved.
"You stole my boat!" The woman shouted as Jack turned back to face her.
"Actually…" he started, but before he could utter another word she gave him another slap. "Borrowed. Borrowed without permission." He turned back to her. "But with every intention of bringing it back to you."
"But you didn't!"
"It would be kind of hard seeing as how it sank." She turned to glare at me. "But if you want it back all that much, feel free to go and get it. It's just underneath the dock in Port Royal." She raised her hand, but before she could bring it to my face, Jack grabbed her wrist.
"You'll get another one." He told her, trying to calm her. She turned her glare from me to him, freeing her wrist and pointing at him. Jack cowered, clearly anticipating another slap.
"I will." She spat.
"A better one." The lad stepped forwards, and Jack grinned.
"A better one!" He repeated.
"That one."
"What one?" Jack asked, and we both followed Will's gaze out to the Interceptor. "That one?" Jack turned back to face Will, frowning. The lad just looked at him, his eyes asking whether Jack had any better ideas. He didn't. Reluctantly, he turned back to Anamaria. "Aye. That one." He pointed out to the ship. "What say you?"
"Aye!" she cried, and the rest of the sailors voiced their agreement before turning to walk down the dock and pile into various longboats.
"Anchor's aweigh!" the parrot squawked as they went.
"No, no, no. It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir." Gibbs grinned nervously, then caught sight of my raised eyebrow. "A woman with a grudge." He hastily attempted to correct himself, and my lips twitched as I attempted to hold back a grin. He breathed out in relief as he realised that I wasn't annoyed at him.
"It'd be far worse not to have her." Jack told him, then put his arm around my shoulders and led me off to the longboats, Gibbs and Will following.

Once on the ship, we set the crew to work and set sail. As the sky darkened prematurely, I frowned and turned to Jack.
"There's a storm coming." I cast another look at the sky. "And not a little one either." If we had still had the Pearl I would not have worried, but the Interceptor was untested; we did not know how she would fare in such a storm. Jack followed my gaze up to the darkening sky, frowning, and I could see him thinking exactly the same.
"We'll keep going as long as we can. If it gets too dangerous we'll find somewhere to wait for it to pass." I nodded my agreement, knowing that it was the best we could do. Risky, but we couldn't afford to wait around if we had any chance of making it through the storm. The sooner we could reach the Isla de Muerta and bargain with Barbossa, the better.

By the time night came, the rain was lashing down, the thunder and lightning so loud you had to shout to talk to the person next to you, and the raging sea throwing the ship around. Jack had taken over from Gibbs at the helm to bring us through this, and I stood next to him, gripping onto the railings as a large wave crashed over us. As the water slipped back into the ocean, Gibbs clambered up the steps, staggering to keep his balance somewhat unsuccessfully.
"We should drop canvas!" He called out.
"She can hold a bit longer." Jack dismissed the notion.
"What's in your head as puts you in such a fine mood, Cap'n?" He asked Jack, who grinned, and I knew instantly what his next words would be.
"We're catching up."