Buffy X-overs 1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline: **Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some _probably major_ spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary: **From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Well, I'm back in the realm of PotC/BtVS crossovers, although I'm really hoping that it will go far better off than my last one, even though its got great reviews. Here's to hoping that _Greek Fire_ will have an even greater chance of actually seeing the light of completion. Without further ado—here you go!

**xxxx**

Chapter One—A Rescue

**xxxx**

Throughout her slayer life, not once did Buffy Summers truly have a moment of such clarity until now. Not even when she speared that sword into Angel's chest; not when she realized she couldn't deal with her actions so she ran away; not even when she realized that she was taking care of more than herself when her mother died. But this—realizing her purpose in the world—lifted up some weight off her shoulders that she must have been carrying it for a long time. It gave her some sort of peace of mind.

Even if it was through an ironic sacrifice and during in a most inopportune moment.

"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave… live...For me." Hugging her for the last time almost broke her heart, but Buffy knew things had to end this way—Death was her Gift after all wasn't it?

She couldn't bear to see Dawnie falling apart like that anymore, so after that one last kiss to her forehead, a compensation for not saying 'goodbye' out loud, she turned around and sprinted. Buffy ran towards what would surely and undoubtedly cause her death.

Which was her gift. To them.

_I love you._

Buffy jumped, spreading her arms into a perfect swan dive. She failed to see the irony until much later when she dared to open her eyes after several long seconds. The most peculiar thing about her jump was that she didn't feel any pain—not even a sting or a spark—and so, the last thing she saw was something big and blue, before it engulfed her in a massive white foam, knocking her out completely.

Oh…and did she mention it was wet too?

---

"For the last time, Char! There's nothing going to happen in these waters! We're in the middle of the bloody Caribbean," a boy of thirteen years moaned to his little sister, her freckled face pouting unladylike at him.

"What do you think they all say before they get attacked by those sea creatures who live beneath the crushing depths? Or before those sirens came and lured sailors off their ship then eating them alive as a result? Or—"

"Those are all stories made to scare little girls like you!"

"I'm not scared! Or little—I'm nine and a half Thomas!"

"Well then, you're just an imaginative—"

"Children please!" a stern looking lady came out of the lower deck of the _St. Louis _before her face broke out into a tired, worn-out smile, "I know we're all getting a little stir-crazy, having been on this ship for more than when we were supposed to be, but it's no excuse to go arguing like there's nobody else listening."

Both Char—or Charlotte—and Thomas had the decency to look ashamed, when they realized they were causing a scene. "Sorry Mother."

"Good. Now I have some great news. The captain just said that we'll be arriving in Port Royal—"

"Mother look!"

"Charlotte, how many times do I have to tell—" Mrs. Lamburg started before getting interrupted again when a loud splash that came from the starboard side of the ship.

In a frenzy, all of the sailors and passengers as well as the Lamburg family rushed towards the starboard side, all hoping to take a peek at what exactly caused that splash. People were whispering to each other, predicting what happened.

"It's a ghost, I tell you!"

"The heavens is falling on us…"

"Davy Jones has come to curse us his'self!"

"Armageddon!"

A few more rumors of the like, and it was to be sure that it got all of the people onboard crying hysterically, spreading their own thoughts and thus causing even more of a panic amongst them.

"Alright! What's all the fuss about?" Captain Burns came out of his quarters once he realized something was wrong. The unrestrained screams were a dead giveaway.

"Captain! Something splashed the water, sir! Something cursed…something dangerous," Daniel, one of the more superstitious-believer out of his crewmembers, whispered.

With a dry look, "You sure it isn't just the dolphins playing about there, sailor?"

"Yes sir. Besides, dolphins travel in groups, Captain. It's awful bad omen to see just one of 'em swimming these waters."

Rolling his gray eyes, Captain Burns huffed with annoyance before ordering his subordinates to move aside and let him take a peek at the cause of all the hubbub. "Fine you paranoid lot! Let me see what's coming around 'ere."

By the time he came around to the railings of _St. Louis, _the bubbles that indicated where the disturbance in the waters occurred were almost done settling back to their normal state. He squinted his eyes curiously, as if it would help him distinguish the rising white figure from the blue waters.

A strong wave later and the figure was turned around, only to show—

"A woman! There's a woman overboard!" Two of his men quickly jumped over while two others threw rope at them. Several seconds later, three wet figures came out of the water with one suiting an abnormally bluish parlor; the girl.

Now that he was able to look at her clearly, Captain Burns realized that she was just that—a girl; young and petite and quite very frail. "Stand aside!" he yelled as he too rushed over to the unmoving figure on his deck.

"Is she dead?" a girl whispered amongst the crowd.

"I don't know," someone else replied.

The captain looked calmly at the figure for a second before deciding to slam his big fist right on her chest. The crowd didn't even have time to response in outrage because the girl suddenly vomited gulps-full of seawater while frantically trying to get some air, her eyes full of fear and confusion as her body shook uncontrollably. She finally fell back down after her convulsions stopped, exhausted and unable to keep her eyes open any longer. But while she almost resembled her state awhile ago, her face was now changing back into a healthy pink, and her chest was rising up and down rather rhythmically.

Everybody was still too stunned to do anything so when Captain Burns barked out an order to open one of the rooms down below, everybody jumped in surprise before a hum of excitement started.

And amongst them, a smirking little English girl was looking at her brother defiantly, "'Nothing's going to happen,' eh?"

"Oh, do shut up."

---

"…and really bad eggs."

"Uh, sorry Captain?"

The dark haired pirate looked at the one questioning him as if he was surprised he even heard him. "What are you doing here?" after a moment of trying to answer that very same answer himself. Obviously, he didn't succeed.

Gibbs looked at him exasperated, "_You_ called me here, remember?"

"Did I?"

"Yes, Captain, you did."

It took Sparrow another couple of seconds before nodding in remembrance of his simple request just a few moments before. "Oh, right…I did. Well, Mr. Gibbs," walking off slightly to the side while dragging his first mate along with him. "Since your person is already here and said person is waiting for the being waited to tell your person what the being waited wanted to tell who was waiting for him, the person who was being waited will tell what your person wanted to hear. Aye?"

Gibbs thought for a moment at his odd way of talking, before smiling and nodding his head in agreement, proud to have deciphered his short speech in just…ten seconds, "Aye."

"Good. You see Mr. Gibbs…I don't particularly, _like_ our new…_mate_ although he has a…rather lovely accomplicehere," he grinned perversely for a second before dropping his smile when he saw Gibbs's look. "Point being, I would like you to keep a closer eye on them, without being too…conspicuous, savvy?"

"Savvy."

"Good. Now head way for Port Royal. I've got a newlywed to visit," a small, almost twisted sort of a grin, grew.

"Aye captain!"

Good thing nobody else saw it.

---

Buffy stirred uncomfortably in her bed.

_Wait…bed? Wasn't I supposed to be dead? We fought off Glory, I said my goodbyes…I jumped off the portal…and then…_

"Oh god."

"Look, Char! She's waking up!"

In a flash, Buffy was up and ready tackle down that son-of-a…"Kid," she said bluntly, after holding him a second or two up in the air with one hand, blinking owlishly for a couple more.

The boy squeaked, frightened at the sudden turn of events, "I'm so sorry miss! I didn't mean to wake you up…please, please let me go! I'll do anything! I…"

"Oh sorry!" Buffy let him go, unceremoniously dropping him down his bottom on the floor, just when the door opened to reveal another girl dressed in a little cute—although _waay_ outdated—dress. "I'm just kinda surprised to see you is all. Or anyone for that matter," she muttered to herself.

"It's alright Miss. I mean you have been through quite a traumatic situation," the girl who just entered soothed her, "Right _Thomas_?"

The once frightened 'Thomas' picked himself up from the ground and dusted off some imaginary dust out of his equally outdated clothes with dignity. "Of course, _Charlotte._"

Their wardrobes took her by amusement. Then, looking back and forth between them once more, and then looked around at the cramped room she was staying in, Buffy suddenly got a horrible sinking feeling when she added in the fact that her luck nowadays was nowhere near close to being meager. "Uhm…do you happen to know what year it is?" _Crap no…_

"1679. June 15th, 1679," Thomas said huffily, but she took no notice.

"1679! Are you sure? Spike didn't set you up with this, did he? Where did…where the hell am I? Who are you people?" Buffy asked frantically. _Oh god! This can't happen to me! I was supposed to die for crying out loud! Can't a kid do something for the world without getting some messed up result afterwards?_

Although surprised at her sudden outburst, the little girl tried her best to help calm her down, "My name is Charlotte Lamburg and this is my older brother, Thomas Lamburg. You're on a ship…the _St. Louis,_ on its way to Port Royal where we'll see our relatives and where _St. Louis _will drop off its cargo; cotton and a shipment of clothes, I think. Uhm…we don't know who this Spike is, and he most certainly did not 'set us up' with this. You were floating—half drowned near our ship. Which was quite peculiar 'cos if you were drowning you'd be sinking, not floating…"

"Charlotte!"

She blushed, and Buffy had to smile at that, in spite of the situation. But she did have a point…bah. Must be those pesky Powers that Be or whoever who is 'trying' to keep her slaying days as long as possible.

"Well, anyways…where was I? Oh! And it is most certainly 1679. I remember, 'cos its four more months until my tenth birthday."

_Shit. Damn all those Higher Powers screwing up my life…as if it doesn't need to be screwed over anymore._ "Congratulations. How long have I been asleep?" she asked after a moment.

"Hm, so today's Friday…that would mean…"

"Three days, Miss," Thomas said quickly, "and if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

"It's Buffy," she answered distractedly, "My name's Buffy Summers."

Mmhm. Damn them all to— 

"Hey, where'd my clothes go?"

**xxxx**

Reviews appreciated!

_(unedited version)_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline: **Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some _probably major_ spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary: **Instead of dying when she jumped off the tower to close the portal, Buffy lands…in the middle of the 17th century-Caribbean?

**Notes: **Thanks for all the warm reviews! It really made my day..s. To _Amber Penglass_—I suddenly realized one crucial detail that would've answered your point: Charlotte points out she saw a figure falling. Although I didn't really wrote it out, it still shows that my character saw Buffy as she fell.

**xxxx**

Chapter Two—Pirates

**xxxx**

"Her name is Miss Buffy Summers, Captain," Thomas reported back to the portly man after he left her room. "My mum's right there now trying to ah…calm her down."

"I see. Womanly troubles then, eh?"

"Uhm…"

Captain Burns gave a chuckle underneath all that beard, saving him from the conversation, "Anything else you'd like to add Mister Lamburg?"

Thomas cocked his head to the side, "She doesn't seem to know what year it was, Captain. She seemed almost…perplexed that its 1679; as if it isn't supposed to _be _1679."

The captain nodded, "She must've landed on the water harder than we thought. Tell your mother I want an audience with Miss Summers."

"Aye, captain!"

---

Buffy was starting to get really pissed off.

Okay, so this woman—Mrs. Lamburg was it?—was being more than incredibly nice and her daughter was nothing but polite and helpful with a little side of innocent spunk in her, and she should probably be a little bit thankful for all what they've been doing to her little self…

But oh man, was she really getting ticked.

"Miss Summers, are you alright? You seem awfully…flustered," the mother asked after several moments of seeing the blonde woman glare at one of the walls in silence.

Buffy would've snorted but she might've given them the wrong impression, so instead, she coughed. Uncomfortably. "Hard to say. Can't really breathe enough to say much." She pressed her palm on her tightened chest.

Sure, the dress Mrs. Lamburg bought from the large stock in the cargo looked flattering and adorably…old fashioned…and it looked great on her figure, despite the many layers of fabric and clothing that was between her skin and the actual dress, but the thing was, it was a corset. A really fricking tight corset. God, she would've given anything to have her leathered pants and white top along with her sweet boots she got for half-price last month back.

"Do you know where my clothes went?"

Mrs. Lamburg smiled before unveiling her folded clothes. "It's dry now, but it really was a bother to take all that saltwater out of them. Your boots are still slightly wet, but they fared better than your clothes. And don't worry, it was only me that changed you out of your clothes, so your dignity and reputation is upheld."

She could really careless about her reputation right about now once she saw that her pants was completely ruined. The saltwater did its damage, and it shrunk quite considerably. _And those were my favorite pair too…_Her top was no better. Its once white color was suddenly turned…mushy and the fabric gritty, instead of being nice and soft. "Thanks."

Sighing sadly at her loss of clothes, Buffy stood up and gave her new set a quick test run. Her chest was still trying to adjust to the abuse and every now and then she'd step on one of its many layers, but it'll have to do. "You wouldn't have some pants around here do you?"

Mrs. Lamburg looked positively aghast at her question, which really didn't bode well for Buffy. "A proper lady never wears breeches, my dear! Only pirates and lowly commoners wear them."

"Is that what you thought when you first saw me?"

She had the graces to look slightly flustered, "Heavens no, Miss Summers. I thought you were in some kind of trouble—a poor soul almost claimed by the sea! Although it _was _odd to see you wearing breeches, I just thought it was a matter of circumstance, if you don't mind me saying."

Although slightly annoyed, she still replied with a forced yes. A knock on the door interrupted any more niceties either party could deliver, and young Thomas's head poked out of the wooden door, "Mother, the captain wants an audience with Miss Summers."

"Well, we best not keep the captain waiting," Mrs. Lamburg said decisively before standing up and leaving the room. "It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Miss Summers."

Buffy stood up as well when the she was gone and was suddenly stopped by Charlotte. "I can find some breeches for you if you want, Miss Summers. There's bound to be one somewhere."

"Thanks," she smiled at the eager child, "and just call me Buffy."

---

She entered the more spacious room with a slight bit of trepidation. Talking to the leader of whatever group never really led to anything good—even if it was with a bunch of sailors. As a seasoned warrior, her instincts told her that although she clearly had the upper hand when it came to brute strength, she was in no position to _demand_ anything.

Her stubborn personality and pride however, thought so otherwise.

"Miss Summers."

Buffy smiled winningly at the captain. It would be next apocalypse before she showed her concern about her position right now…which hopefully wouldn't be for a while. "Captain."

"It's a darn right miracle that we found you when we did, lass. You could've been eaten by sharks; lost to Davy Jones; or worse…landed near pirates! You're lucky is what you are."

Buffy smiled wryly. _Right. Absolutely freaking lucky. _"I have my days."

He smiled for a second before continuing on, "But…I'm in a predicament here, you see," he said as he walked away from his desk. "For the past three days, I've been spending my resources on you—resources that I could have spent on my men, Miss Summers. Especially since we have been longer at sea than originally predicted. Now, I am not a heartless sailor, lass, so don't worry yourself about being stranded on a beach with nothing but yourself. But neither am I a saint. I do expect something in return."

_Ah…so here's the catch. _"What exactly do you expect. Captain?" Buffy said calmly, but she was pretty sure that there was an underlying warning within her tone. There had to be, after all, a limit to what she was willing to do to stay on this ship.

Captain Burns chuckled before saying, "If you are able to pay for passage—including the time spent recuperating—I wouldn't hold you to much else and you will be dropped off in Port Royal. However, if unable, you _will _become under my service, working on the _St. Louis _until your debt is paid. It will take at least a month to pay it off, after which you can go on your own way to whatever land you may be…dropped off."

She frowned. "And if I don't do both?"

"Then you'll be sent to the brig and be charged under British law."

_Damn._ _One month of servitude is really not what I'm hoping for here…_"What if I paid you when we get to Port Royal?" Captain Burns looked at her skeptically, to which Buffy took as a cue to hurry on as an idea started to form. "I'll work on your boat—ship, haha sorry—and then the rest, I'll pay it back in Port Loyal."

"Port _Royal_. The town is Port _Royal_."

"That's what I said."

Frowning but unwilling to argue over a simple matter, the captain continued on, "Miss Summers, I really don't think—"

"You'll get me out of your ship earlier," she said, perhaps a little too eagerly. "No unwanted sailors here. Besides, I really suck at driving so there's a high chance of crashing your ship if I'm here."

"Well…sailors are a superstitious lot when it comes to women working on board, I suppose," Captain Burns mused over, fingering his beard. "Alright there, missy. You've got yourself a deal."

"Sweet." Pause. "Do I get a change of clothes? Say 'argh' as a one-liner? Swab ye decks?"

"…No. You'll be working in the galley. A woman's place in a ship is the kitchen if she ain't a passenger."

His chauvinistic attitude hit her pride and it took all she had to prevent her from sneering something she would've probably regretted sooner than later. Besides! A slayer _so_ does NOT do cooking. Even just simple Buffy doesn't do cooking. "Captain, unless you want you and your crew to have accidental food poisoning, you should keep me from even coming near to the kitchen. I'm more suited for manual work."

He laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. "Oh I think we'll manage, lass."

Buffy crossed her hand over her corset, "Fine. But don't say I didn't tell you so."

---

"Captain Sparrow."

"Yes…" he drawled out, before turning to look at the black haired 'linguist' he had on his ship. He looked at her curvy figure with a leer before pointedly looking up at her face, which was smiling appreciatively at his attention, "Miss Espinosa?"

"My father…he's not a very patient man, you see."

"I do see."

"And he is most, ill-pleased, at the little detour your taking to…?"

"The newlyweds. Gotta spread horror and me best wishes and all that rot to dear William," he finished with a decisive nod.

"Of course. But it also takes time away from our trip. A trip _you_ are being paid well-over for," Elena, or Miss Espinosa, said; her painted lips enunciating every single word seductively. Her kohl-rimmed eyes batted against her pale features as she came in closer to Jack. "So you'll have to pardon dear Father's feelings of being…cheated of his money."

Jack stared at her lips (and something far lower) a couple of seconds too long to be a mere glance before grabbing her shoulders to slightly move her away from him, "This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean, luv; we'll make berth in your little island in due time. And unless your father isn't insulting my ship and my crew and my ability to bring you there, you can find yourself another willing pirate to sail you in these waters."

He moved passed her pointedly before saying over his shoulder distractedly, "I don't like being subjected to other's employment, Miss Elena. Find another ship if you're not satisfied with meself."

A pause. "Then why did you take our offer, Mister Sparrow?"

He turned around with a slightly mad-twinkle in his eyes, "Deals benefit both parties, darling. And I think I was a tad bit too drunk at that time." Jack frowned before walking back to his helm, reprimanding himself about no such thing as ever being too drunk.

Behind him, Elena was frowning at his retreating form.

"And it's _Captain _Sparrow to you!"

---

"I _told_ him so," Buffy muttered huffily as she soaked the mop into the bucket of…something, before moping it on the deck. "But _no_…he just had to taste for himself how masterful a cook I am."

After quickly learning that Buffy was indeed telling the truth about her lack of abilities in the kitchen, Captain Burns sent her to dish duty, cleaning up her own mess and the mess on other sailors' plates. Which just happened to include her brown blob of an excuse for food and the rest of the half-eaten slime—_ugh_, Buffy shuddered. The whole experience was just truly disgusting.

So, she devised a little plan. Okay, so it wasn't little. It involved several broken plates, a semi-wet dress (which just made the whole damn thing heavier to wear), pruned fingers, and a long and loud reprimand of being one of the clumsiest woman Captain Burns had ever met. Which was apparently, a long list.

All in all, she was now stuck mopping the whole damn ship from top to bottom and with an increase of debt to pay back. Oh well, as long she wasn't stuck in a cramped kitchen with poor lighting, she was actually going to do her job.

"You do realize that's the shadow of the pole you're mopping."

Buffy looked up from that little black spot she's been on for the past minute, only to see the Charlotte girl standing there with a look, "Uh…no. Actually I didn't." She pouted. So much for doing the job right.

"Well, there you go. Anyways, I found some breeches and a shirt for you. I don't know about the fitting, but you can just use some rope or a piece of clothe to tighten the breeches," she said with a shrug, offering the clothes to a grateful slayer.

"Thanks."

"A pity though, the dress looked pretty on you."

"Too bad it's like a torture device in here. Anyways, I have boots to compensate the loss."

Charlotte laughed, "Mother does tighten the corset a bit too snug sometimes. Anyways, I should go…Thomas will be vexed to find if I'm not in my studies and instead out here in this fine day. Goodbye Miss Summers."

"I thought I told you to call me Buffy?" Flustered, Charlotte merely shrugged before leaving without a response. All alone now, Buffy managed to tuck in her clothes by rolling it in her skirt before continuing her mop. "I like her."

Several hours passed by without her knowing, and she still haven't finished her three-quarter mark on the deck. Holy crap this was a big ship! But those hours did give her some time to sort out what she was feeling about this whole 'being-dropped-at-another-freakin'-time-after-sacrificing-herself-to-save-the-world.' In a place where these people don't even realize who she was!

She was a freaking warrior. Girl with the strength of ten men! She fought off a god for crying out loud and all they see was a low-life, ex-scullery maid turned janitor since she was lucky enough to wash aboard the _St. Louis_ without any means of paying her savior. In money.

What. The. Heck.

Okay, so she was still fuming inside—not pissed off, but definitely fuming. And no amount of mopping this germ-covered ship was ever going to get her to sort that one out. Maybe a good beating on something…preferably Whistler since he was the closest connection to the Powers.

Other than being ticked at her current situation, she was beyond confused. Why was she here? She got the when, the where, the how, and probably 'the who' down to their basic facts, but she still doesn't understand why the hell she was here. And why now? She got herself ready and all about her choice that this seems like a very anticlimactic end.

Oh. And totally damn that Glory-bitch for opening up that portal anyways. Geeze! Did she even know that she opened a time-dimension as well? This really sucks ass.

"Stupid Glory," she glared at a spot, before suddenly hearing her mop crack and snap. "Goddammit!"

When Buffy walked down the stairs, looking for one of the crewmembers to replace her mop, she suddenly happened to see a small dot on the horizon trailing behind the _St. Louis._ Squinting and trying to ignore the harsh glare of the sunlight bouncing off the waters, she walked closer to the rails and she suddenly realized that it was a ship. One that was sailing pretty darn fast for something that should just happen to be sailing around the limitless big blue.

So she grabbed the clueless sailor carrying a crate to down below. "Should that thing be sailing that fast?" Buffy pointed at the now recognizable black ship. Kinda spooky.

The sailor's eyes grew wide with fright as he realized just who that ship was, "Captain! Captain!" He quickly caught the attention of Captain Burns as well as the rest of the ship. "It's the Black Pearl, Captain! Pirates!" His last word caused everyone into a frenzy; yelling and screaming and rushing to protect their valuables.

Buffy just looked at the lot with a frown. "I take it this isn't good."

A couple more moments of hysteria before the captain finally bellowed, "Silence!" And the crowd stopped going wild. "I want every woman and child down the deck and hidden away safely. Men, lock up the cargo and put the wind behind these sails. Open every single mast we have. We're gonna try to outrun these bastards."

Before Buffy could volunteer to stay up here—hiding after all, wasn't her greatest suit—, she was quickly ushered by one of the men down to decks before she could even say 'shiver-me-timbers' and locked her into room where five other women were hiding.

"All hope is lost! This the end of us!"

"You don't know that Cecile. Don't lose hope," a calmer woman said soothingly.

"Didn't you hear what the man said? It's the Black Pearl that's going to plunder this ship!" If possible, the women became even more frightened. "I heard fearsome tales about her sails and her crew. Nefarious men…cursed men! So evil that the devil himself won't have them. Why," Cecile whispered quietly, "I even heard they don't even leave any survivors!" All around, the females gasped with fright and one actually fainted.

But all Buffy did was frown, "Huh. I wonder how the rumors started then…"

"You might not have heard about them, Miss Summers," started another woman, "but they are cursed men who sail these waters. Why, I shudder to think at the tales at what they have done! Unspeakable things. Things that no decent human being should ever know. Or do."

"They are vile men…"

"Horrible! Despicable! Ruthless!"

"They're…" the ship gave a sudden lurch and the feeling of the ship riding the waves stopped.

Buffy glanced up at the sound of hurried footsteps from above, "…aboard the ship." The women gave another gasp and suddenly, Buffy realized what she was holding—two pieces of the mop she just recently broke—and began formulating a plan. "Oh screw it, I'll play it by ear." Without another word, she kicked the door open and ran upstairs, steeling herself for the likely fight that was about to ensue.

"Miss Summers!"

---

"Mr. Gibbs!" Jack hollered out from his standing point.

"Aye, sir?" his first mate came up from behind him, startling Jack.

Shaking off the feeling and fixing his look to make himself look unperturbed, Jack said, "I'm sensing a plunder in these waters, says I."

"You see a ship, captain?"

Jack turned him towards the ship he saw and gave him his telescope, "Over there. A merchant ship from what I gather. English. Hopefully, a proper rum-bearer."

Gibbs looked through it for a couple more moments before handing him his telescope back. "I'll carry out the orders then," Gibbs left Sparrow as he began spouting orders to hasten the _Pearl _and head for the merchant ship.

Below him, a man near his thirties came out with a huge frown on his face before stalking up to the captain. "What is the meaning of this? I'm already permitting you to sail towards Port Royal and now I hear we are _plundering_ a ship? Am I not paying you enough? Am I—"

"Not shutting your bloody trap is what you're NOT doing."

"Why…!"

"First of all, I did not ask for permission to sail towards Port Royal from the likes of you, Sir _Duke_," he drawled out sarcastically before continuing his rant, "so you can't really say that you gave me permission when I didn't need it to begin with. Second, I already told your daughter to tell you that _I _command my ship and you are just passengers here, not the other way around. Third, I'm a pirate, so my beastly black greedy heart has never heard of having too much money to spend for its beastly black greedy content, savvy?"

The snotty duke huffed and puffed for several minutes, turning from bright red to purple in a matter of seconds, unable to form any comprehendible words to reprimand the grinning pirate. "Now, run along, Dukey, I have a merchant ship to plunder to me heart's content."

Much to the Duke's displeasure, he did turn around and walk back to down below without so much as another word, leaving a maniac on the wheel of the ship.

Before Jack knew it, they were aboard the _St. ouis_—one of its letters too sea-washed to see—and was now drawing out their guns and swords and making all such piratey ruckus. "Nobody moves or we'll have our ways with ye!"

Unfortunately, the sailors weren't willing to give up that easy, and pretty soon, every pirate was having his own sailor to trade swords with. Rolling his eyes at the lack of compliance, Sparrow quickly spotted the captain of the ship who was fighting one of his men.

"I'll take it from here, thank you," Sparrow cut in the fight, surprising the captain. But he was still able to keep himself from tripping. However, in a few short strokes from Jack, and the other captain was out of weapon and down on his knees. "OI! Sailors of the ah…_St. ouis! _Move and your captain…gets it!" he threatened, waving his sword around while he tried to find his word.

However, before any of the crew can surrender, the door that led down below opened up with a loud thud, revealing a small blonde girl with a stick on each hand. "Miss Summers!" the captain called out fearfully.

She cocked her head to the side and said, "I prefer Buffy." Then threw one of the sticks straight at them.

**xxxx**

Revieewwwws!

Please.

_(unedited version)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **And the reviews keeps coming in! I'm thrilled to see so many people liking this story. Thank you so much to those who reviewed! Without furthur ado…here is Chapter Three.

**xxxx**

Chapter Three—Negotiations

**xxxx**

"Miss Summers!"

She cocked her head to the side and said, "I prefer Buffy." Then threw one of the sticks straight at them.

Jack barely had time to react before the same stick knocked off his sword with a loud 'zing,' forcing it to skitter towards the end of the stern. "Oh bugger." After knocking out the other captain, he ran towards his weapon as it continued through its motions, and then lunged, landing on his stomach just as he saw his sword take a dive in the Caribbean. "Double bugger."

As soon as Buffy threw her makeshift weapon at the pirate holding down Captain Burns, she wasted no time on starting to knock out the other pirates that were fighting the sailors. She prepared to land a good one on the first guy she saw when her arm was abruptly stopped midway.

"What the—" a long ripping sound came from her side and her arm suddenly continued its motion and punched the pirate she was aiming for. Buffy frowned as she twisted herself to see what happened and cried out when she realized she just created a huge rip going halfway down her side. "First my pants, and now this! Oof!"

She quickly ducked when one of the men tried to grab her. Right as the man missed her, Buffy elbowed his back and was surprised to realized she could move more freely than before. Still, a ripped dress was a damaged dress and she only had such a limited wardrobe here. With a sigh, Buffy decided to mourn over her rotten luck later and focus on her fight now.

From then on, the fight became more fluid and she didn't even rip another part of her dress (except when it got snagged on a piece of wood). A punch right here, an upper cut there…even a blow from the end of the mop or an empty barrel of tar tossed at a screaming pirate knocked them all out. They maybe 'scums of the sea,' but they were still human—and that alone was why Buffy was holding back most of her strengths in her attacks.

She quickly reached the side where the ridiculous looking pirate once held _St. Louis's _captain hostage. Using the momentum of her run, she tackled down the scowling man who just stood up not a moment ago.

Taken by surprise, Jack landed with a thud. However, his fall was unable to shake the delighted twinkle in his eyes when he saw who was pinning him down with the end of a mop. "Easy on the goods there, darling."

Her hazel eyes narrowed with disgust, "Pig."

"Actually, you're the one who tackled me down, so I should be the one entitled to calling you that…although you are hardly but," he said with a smirk, somehow completely comfortable with his position. Buffy groaned internally, _Great. Another perverted prick._

"However…" the pirate buckled his hips unexpectedly, catching Buffy off-guard. He took his chance and quickly flipped them over, managing to pin himself between her many-layered legs. "I do like being on top." He held her arms above her head, further limiting her movement.

She knew she could've just tossed him off her easily, but that would just lead to questions she didn't even want to think right now. So instead, Buffy stopped struggling and allowed him to think she was subdued. Still sneering, Buffy studied his overly done eyeliner that surrounded his brown eyes and the odd looking trinkets that entangled his hair. "Really?"

Leaning forward with that same grin, the pirate huskily agreed, "Really really." He looked at her lips intently, while the rise and fall of her chest distracted him at the same time. So, it was suffice to say that he never really saw that headbutt coming at him—though he denies that fact later on. "Ow! Bloody hell, I think you broke it! I think you broke my nose!"

Buffy took this as her chance to push him off her. "I'll break more than that if you don't get off this ship. And stop whining. I didn't hit you that hard."

"Its _my_ nose. I'll tell you how hard you hit it," he glared. "And that wasn't very nice."

"So says the pirate ransacking this ship," she countered back. "Now get off."

"I don't think so."

Buffy started to throw him the end of the mop until she heard a recognizable 'click' of a gun's safety being unlocked. She dropped her stance with a cold stare when she saw him holding out his pistol. Being a slayer enhanced her reflexes, but there's no way she can dodge a bullet at this close a range. And she didn't care to try.

"Cheater."

He merely shrugged and smirked as he pointed to himself, "Pirate." Slightly turning so that the rest of the people aboard _St. Louis _could see their position, Jack noted that everybody this tiny girl somehow knocked out had already gained consciousness. "Anyone else trying to be all noble and of the like, will be guilty of killing our lovely lass," he paused as he saw the sailors lower their makeshift weapons. "Good. Now men, search through the boat. There's bound to be more than a pretty girl _dying_ to jump on ol' Jack 'round here."

Buffy's eyes widened. _Charlotte! _"Wait! Stop!"

Sparrow's crew hesitated at her outburst, and Jack raised an eyebrow, "I didn't think you had a death wish, luv."

Ignoring his threat, all she could think about was the defenseless children and the women. "Look, all there is in this boat is cotton and a shipment of clothes. Nothing really shiny in here that would interest pirates."

"Well maybe I have forgotten to do me laundry." His crew laughed at his flippant remark. "Go on, men."

Buffy stepped forward. "Hold on." Once again, the pirates stopped.

The pirate in front of her sighed with frustration. "What now?"

She couldn't let them go inside where the women where hiding. Especially to Charlotte; the poor kid doesn't deserve this horrific experience of being witness to a meager pirate plunder. The only thing she could do now was… "Take me instead."

All of the pirates gave a pause at her sudden request, including the one with the gun. "What?'

Rolling her eyes, Buffy crossed her arms over her corset in an annoyed matter. "Are you deaf? I said: take me."

Locking his pistol, the pirate lowered it down while giving her that same smirk he gave when he pinned her down, "You're lovely darling, you truly are, but I didn't think you wanted to be common goods amongst us pirates. Although…_that_ would be truly lovely."

Taking a breath to cool her rising temper about the insinuations these perverts just made, Buffy opted for scowling menacingly, "I was talking about making me a part of your crew."

Every pirate laughed. "Sorry luv. I can do many things but turning _you _into a pirate? Highly unlikely."

"I never said I wanted to be turned into a pirate," she said huffily. Really though! What was so damn hard about searching for lost treasure and saying 'argh' all the time? "I can still do mopping duty," she waved the end of the mop then grinned, "and I heard I was a terrific cook. Besides, your crew? Wow, call it blind luck if you want, but they were still taken down by little ol' me. In a dress."

Everybody stopped laughing, and the men she took down had the graces to look at each other shamefully. Jack just looked at her closer. The expensive caramel-colored dress gave way to her status in society, but her unkempt hair, quick wit, and the fact that she did some odd jobs in this merchant ship contradicted that thought. Add in her ability to fight and knock out his crew and still have enough time to catch him off guard…well, she's a walking mystery begging to be solved.

And who said Captain Jack Sparrow didn't like mysteries?

Even though he put his pistol back in his belt, he still didn't drop his guard. "I suppose in exchange for your courageous, or dare I say foolish, sacrifice for these men you don't want us to be going down the decks and having a bit of a looksie?"

"Yes."

"Well now see," he said, waving his hands as he started walking towards Buffy. "That tells me that there's more than to just clothes and cotton down below, so why should I listen to you and stop my somewhat successful plunder, eh?" He cupped her chin with his calloused fingers and Buffy couldn't help but feel a shiver of disgust when she took a whiff of his alcoholic breath.

Grabbing his wrist, Buffy applied a little bit of pressure that was enough to get him off her with a twinge of pain. "Because, there's more to me than meets the eye," she said in a whisper, surprised at herself for hinting who she was. Buffy silently pleaded for him not to push the subject any further, although she was having doubts about the Powers answering this little request.

Sparrow nursed his wrist with a surprised expression before dropping his hands down to his hips and taking a cocky stance. _How very interesting…_"Would there be a name to the person making this request, young missy?"

She sighed with relief. "Its Buffy Summers."

"Buh-ffy," he tried out with a frown. "Peculiar name—odd name actually. Never heard of it," he pointedly ignored her scowl. "Well then Miss Buffy, will you be able to sail underneath a pirate flag, be associated with pirate figures, and possibly be hanged on the noose when the men of law finds that you have been with our company as well as taken orders from the largely acclaimed _Captain_ Jack Sparrow? Or will we have problems?"

"No problems here. Captain," she answered curtly. She may not like becoming a fugitive—especially in this day and age—but really, what else can she do? The bottom line was, she really had nothing for her here. Her future was left behind her.

Besides, she could always run away afterwards.

"Miss Summers no!" Captain Burns cried out. "Our cargo is not worth being condemned for."

She smiled at him, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Just call it as my payment for my debt." He was unable to say anything else and merely nodded reluctantly at her decision.

Sparrow looked at their exchange with unhidden interest, though he just simply smiled reassuringly—at least, what he thought was reassuring—at Buffy when she turned to him with a frown. "Well that's it then. Welcome to the _Black Pearl_."

"Great."

---

Buffy watched _St. Louis _fading away in the horizon with an unemotional face. Yes, once again she had just sacrificed herself for the lives of the people she didn't know…and for what exactly? Although they had saved her from a very wet death and they've provided shelter, food, and clothes, the fact that she still had to pay for their 'hospitality' in spite of her near death experience miffed her a little. Call her ungrateful, but did they really expect her to pay them then and there?

But… 

She looked down at the clothes Charlotte had given to her, and smiled, again mentally thanking the kid for her help especially. That kid _was_ quite adorable as well as helpful on getting her these…

Sighing, Buffy was suddenly startled out of her thoughts when she felt an arm drape over her shoulders casually. Without thinking, she dropped her wardrobe and quickly twisted said arm, pinning it against the person's back.

Jack grunted. "That's the second time today you had me restrained, Miss Summers. Are you sure you don't want to take this back to my quarters?"

"Again, pig." Buffy released Jack's arm, rolling her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Only to show my fair lady's quarters. And it would be wise if said fair lady gave some bit of respect to her captain."

Buffy stared at him long and hard for a moment. How can this man demand respect from her when he walked like a drunk, smelled like a drunk, talked like a drunk, and pretty much looked like he hadn't had a shower for a good amount of days? Really!

But there was something about him, she had to admit, that was just simply off. His tanned face and dark brown eyes stared back at her with a look and she suddenly had the impression that he was more than sober, suddenly confusing her. Why would he act like a drunk if he really wasn't?

She picked up her clothes with a shrug and give him a half-forced smirk, "Only if said captain and the rest of his crew will stop looking at the fair lady like a piece of meat."

Sparrow grinned and that lazy, half-drunken look was back again. "You're dress is ripped," he suddenly answered. Then grinned, "I have a dress up in my cabin…of course, we would have to look for it, stark naked and of the like before we could get you in it. It's really pretty. Quite sheen…it'll look lovely on your figure."

Buffy couldn't help herself but snort at his audacity. He's freaking nuts! "I already have clothes here. Thanks."

Jack looked them over with a frown before shaking his head. "This absolutely won't do. It has to be a dress or nothing…though I really would have to vouch for the nothing. Besides, its only fair I get to choose your clothing since your lovely little stunt back in _St. ouis _cost me my sword. And I was rather fond of that thing."

"Uh…I could get you another one?"

"Right. Or you can go stark naked."

"Mister Sparrow," someone suddenly said.

Jack's lecherous grin fell before he turned around. "Captain. It's _Captain _Sparrow. Please luv, you really have to stop forgetting it."

The lady gave a small laugh before shamelessly, and much to Buffy's mouth-dropping surprise, pressed herself up to Sparrow's side. And Jack undoubtedly noticed it when he peered down at her. "Please forgive me, _Captain _Sparrow, I always seem to forget all thoughts of propriety when I'm around you," she said. She flickered her eyes towards Buffy, "So? Who's she?"

What the f— 

"Her name's Buffy Summers, my new mopping—"

"Oh. Another crewmember? How nice," she extended her hand towards her then quickly taking it back when she gave her that _look. _"Sorry, I'm afraid I just washed my hands, see?"

Buffy only smiled coldly before pointedly turning to Jack who was still looking at the woman at his side. "So how about showing me that room?"

Buffy had to admit, she almost had to bite her cheek to prevent herself from laughing when she saw the other woman's face with shock then quickly changed to flushed anger. Especially when Jack untagled himself from her and began leading Buffy to the door. Man! If looks could kill, Buffy would've been frying into a crisp with that look from Miss-Lack-of-Propriety.

"Later," she called out with a smirk.

Jack looked at her, confused at her change of behavior, "Did I miss something?"

"Nah."

---

"You're kidding me."

"No."

A humongously huge cockroach came from a hole on a side of the wall and ran across the room before exiting into another hole on the opposite wall. "Yes, you are."

"Miss Buffy—"

"Its just Buffy."

He paused suddenly before continuing, "Buffy, unless you really want to sleep and spend the rest of your time not spent doing your mopping duties, this is the only place other than the brig you can stay in." Then he thought for a moment, "Unless this is your way of saying yes on my offer about looking for that dress."

"You can take that offer and shove it up—"

"Ah-ah-ah…" he waggled a finger, "I thought we had a chat about the little thing called respect between captain and mopping…person."

She sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "Respect is earned, not given, _Jack._"

"Funny, I thought that was trust," not bothering to correct her about his title.

"Whatever. Can I at least have more light in here?" Jack brought the candle in the room even more, and Buffy nearly had shivers of disgust going up and down her spine when she caught sight of her room. _Geeze, and I thought Sunnydale sewage was bad._ "On second thought, I think I'll sleep easier without it."

"Alright then. Suit yourself, luv," Sparrow said with a shrug before turning around.

"Wait, so you're really not kidding?"

He chuckled. "You know where to find me."

**xxxx**

Thanks for the reviews! More please?

_(unedited version)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Sorry for the delay, it took a while for my brain to warm up and start this.

**xxxx**

Chapter 4—Troubles

**xxxx**

Sparrow stared at his crew with a slightly amused look. "Do you have something to say or are we having a staring contest?"

They shuffled on their feet until someone finally spoke up. "This is a mistake, captain. Ye shouldn't've brought that gerl to the ship."

"The lad's right, Jack," Gibbs spoke out. "What bloody good will a girl like her do in the _Black Pearl_?"

"For starters, I recall she did knock-out more than a few of you awhile back."

"It's a fluke and yeh know it."

"And if it wasn't, which I'm not saying if it is or if it isn't, then she's another able-body ready to do the mopping and the sailing of the ship who can throw a punch here and there."

"She looks like she's never sailed before. And besides—she's a _girl_."

"So was Ana Maria," Jack frowned at the pointed looks his crew gave him. "Oh right; she doesn't count." The female pirate had left the crew after demanding the promised 'better-boat' from Jack after the cursed gold fiasco several months ago. They haven't heard from her since.

Mr. Cotton's parrot suddenly squawked, "Bad luck, me hearties! Bad luck!"

Everyone looked at it. "Ye 'eard the bird. Bad luck to 'ave a woman on board, its a curse to be sailin' with two."

"Aye!"

"Nonetheless, she still managed to knock you mangy dogs out—"

"Making her a threat."

"Or an opportunity waiting to happen."

That caught their attention. "And what sort of 'opportunity' would it be this time?"

He gave them a look. "It hasn't risen yet; but one can't assume that it never will. Now, if you lot are done doing…whatever it is you're doing, I have ship to sail and a bottle of rum to keep me company."

---

The duke pursed his lips and glared at the opposite wall. It wasn't the limited amount of space of their cabin—even if its one the biggest private ones in the ship, second only to the captain's—or the smell of…_human _that permeated off the very wood of the ship that's got him vexed. No, what had gotten him irritated was the very _captain_ that sailed this ship. That man was infuriating!

His thoughts were interrupted when Elena came barging in the door with a huff, and the sight only caused him raise a curious brow.

"Well it seems I'm not the only one who's irritable on this hour."

"That girl has some nerve—"

"A girl?" he sat up, "what girl?"

"Haven't you heard, dear _father_? Our lovely captain has picked up another crewmember."

The frown came back to his face. "Shall we need to be worried?"

Despite her annoyance, Elena shook her head, sitting down on a padded chair. "A witty tongue, maybe. But she's small enough to be looked over." She chuckled to herself at the double meaning. "You'll see what I mean when you see her."

"Then why the indignation?"

She sat up a bit straighter. "A woman has pride."

"Ah, so what has the poor girl said then?"

"Nothing other than stealing my time with the captain."

And it was back to that blasted pirate again. "I really hate that man, you know."

"I know, father, but _I _need him."

"Is that why you're jealous, my dear?"

"Hardly. Just protective of what is mine."

"The girl better watch herself—by the way, what _is_ her name?"

Elena chuckled. "Oh you'll just love this—_Buffy _Summers."

---

Buffy surveyed the damage of her clothes. After a long half hour of shimmying her way out of that dress—all the while thanking that Halloween incident for giving her some sort of sense on what they were—she finally got to see the long rip on the seams. Apparently, the seamstress missed the memo of making dresses flexible enough to swing arms with. Really!

"Well, another one bites the dust."

But somehow, she didn't have the heart to throw it away just yet. So instead, she reluctantly folded it—all four layers—and set them aside on a pile of dry hay on the corner of her 'room.' She didn't have a mirror to look at her new set of clothes on her, but she didn't need it to know that it was a whole less flattering than the dress was.

Oh well, that corset was really digging into her sides anyways.

Buffy thumbed the coarse fabric. Though there was a large enough shipment of cotton in _St. Louis_, Mrs. Lamburg only managed to get her the 'simpler' stuff. She let go of the off-white long sleeves and proceeded to button up the shirt. My, she looks spiffy! The whole look was completed with her pants held together by a miscellaneous, dark-green sash tied tightly around her waist. Because of the length of the gray pants, she decided to just stuff it in her boots instead of cutting it off.

Now all she needed was an eye patch, a parrot, and a sword. "Which I am definitely lacking," Buffy groused. Without any sort of actual weaponry on her, she truly felt naked. And not that her stick hadn't proven effective, something nice and pointy and preferably shiny was infinitely much better.

A sudden lurch of the boat sent her stumbling on her hammock, and a small puddle of dark water splashing on her new set of clothes. "And that's my cue to go."

She retraced her steps, weaving through some poorly lit corridors and up a set of stairs until she finally got the scent of salty air. Though the air was something to be desired after spending a long time below deck, Buffy was still wary of going outside and facing a crew that would most likely throw her overboard than make lewd comments. Probably because of that whole 'hurting their pride' thing.

…It wasn't her fault they knocked out easily.

Suddenly, the door that led outside seemed too close for her comfort, and Buffy chastised herself for being such a wuss. _Throw me a hell-god and I'll kill it no prob. Throw me in a bunch of cagey, hormonally charged, pirates who are sadly human…and I have problems entering an open space full of them._

_This is ridiculous, _she thought. "Besides, what's the worst they could do?" Then she became horror-struck that she just jinxed herself. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

---

Everybody looked at the blonde girl that came out of the door. "Aye, ain't she a pretty one?" a guy sneered.

She narrowed her eyes at their sight, and seemed to square-off her shoulders and scan the crowd for something or someone.

"I'd like a bit of a toss and rumble with her before the night's over," another said.

Someone laughed. "If she didn't already you the other kind of toss and rumble."

"Or maybe we could toss her overboard—save us the situation of being repeated."

"Aye, Jack's a fool to bring her aboard."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but didn't deny that the new girl was both a beauty and a bit frightening. But heaven forbid! She looks young enough to be his daughter…and that's just wrong. He does have some sort of decency after all. "Quit your yappin', you bunch o' idiots. Don't be forgetting what happened to the lot of yeh back in the other ship now."

The murmurs paused. "And who's side would be you, Master Gibbs? Ours or the gerl's?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'd be in no one's side but Jack's side. If he wants the lass to stay, then the lass stays; so stop being a bloody coward and get back to work. Lest you be wanting to defy the captain's orders?"

The threat in his voice was unmistakable and the small crowd dispersed.

"I could've handled it, you know."

Gibbs turned around with a start, only to realize that the girl—_woman_, he corrected himself—was standing a few feet to his side. "I wouldn't doubt that lass, but putting out the flames early would save you a lot of trouble. Even if it's bad luck to have women onboard."

_Too bad trouble seem to have luck finding me, _she thought, but saying it out loud seemed like a bad idea. "They're more like small embers," she snorted instead, "but thanks anyways."

He gave a small nod, "Take care of yourself, Miss Summers. A pirate ship is no place for young girls. How old are you? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

Buffy gave a grin. "I'll be twenty-one in a few months…at least I think I will. And like I've said: I can handle it. You should've seen what I have to face with back at home; these guys? They'll hardly make the 'grr-factor." Buffy stopped babbling when she saw his confused look. "Anyways, am I swabbing the decks anytime soon?"

"The decks were mopped before we came to your ship, Miss, so you'd be puttin' on the tar," he pointed at a bucket full of the black substance and a brush. "Ye'd better start soon…the sun's about to set in a few hours and Jack ain't keen on putting on much lights up on the ship. Safety precautions and all."

She nodded. "Speaking of the bird, where is that guy?"

Gibbs frowned in thought. "He's…sailing the ship; doing his captainly duties."

"He's not on the wheel steering the boat…unless he suddenly turned into a scrawny old guy. Where did he get that parrot by the way?"

"It's a _ship_, Miss. Not a meager little ship."

"Same diff. But seriously, what's with the bird?"

"Ah, Mr. Cotton lost his tongue so we trained a parrot to talk for him. We figure out what he's saying most of the times."

She cringed. _Ouch. _

"Well, ye best be getting started on that tar; I be going and have a word with the captain."

"Wait, I didn't get your name."

The old man turned around and simply said. "I'd be Gibbs, Miss Buffy."

"Then it's simply Buffy, Gibbs—none of that title stuff before the name. I'm just…one of the crew now."

Gibbs gave her a look before nodding his head and walking away. "Right."

Buffy looked towards the other pirates with some sense of dread. "Yessiree…one of the damn crew."

---

It's been over an hour ago when the sun dipped below the horizon, and still, Jack was drinking away at his leisure before being rudely interrupted by Gibbs. "I've been looking all over for you."

"And so are the rest of the Royal Navy and the other half of the world's population that doesn't include men…yet they don't seem to have very much luck there, aye?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I would've thought you'd be in the captain's quarters being it yours and all," he continued, "yet all I found was an empty room with empty bottles of rum rolling all over the floor."

Jack chuckled drunkenly.

"Then I looked down in rum cellar down below, and I was in deed even more surprised not to find you there but not so much to have one or two bottles of our liquor missing. And since you were neither on the wheel, the deck, or in the galley and all other sorts of places…I found myself wondering where the hell could that blasted man be until I bothered to look in here."

"Your point?"

"Why are you here Jack?"

"I had a presence of mind to realize that someone—which just happened to be you—would be looking for me in all these places so I said to meself, where would the last thing anyone would think to look for Captain Jack Sparrow in his own ship?"

"But the brig?"

"Ah. The last thing a man of the sea would ever want to be in, mate: caged," his captain looked at him directly before clanking his bottle against the metal walls. "So what do you want? I'm sure you're not here just to play a bit of the hide an' seek game in which case you obviously won and I'm gonna have to seek you out in me own ship."

Gibbs shook his head at Jack's behavior but told him about the crew's instead. "The men are starting to have some doubts, captain—about the girl, I mean."

"Again, Mister Gibbs: your point?"

"They're are starting to get unsettled, Jack. Especially with your sudden abort of our supposed plunder and our roundabout pit stop at Port Royal…" Gibbs sighed, "…they'd be needin' some release. And I can't be saying I blame them since I too am wondering why you brought her here."

"I have a feeling about her, Gibbs. And you know how I love to listen to them."

He sighed. "Aye, I do."

Jack frowned thoughtfully though. "Tortuga, mate?"

His first mate's worried glance turned into an appreciativegrin, "Aye. Tortuga it is then."

"Don't tell the three—it'd take out the surprise."

"Aye, captain. And where'd be you going?"

"To have my own game of seeking out the hider. Only this one doesn't know she's hiding."

---

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Jack looked up from Buffy's hammock and gave a disappointed pout under the dim light of a hanging lantern he brought, "And here I was hoping to find you stark naked from your previous clothes. What a shame."

She rolled her eyes. "You've really got to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Trying to get me naked! Hello? Can we say: against work environment ethics? Female Rights? Sexual harassment?"

Jack looked at her before offering her his bottle, "I promise you won't think like that after a spot of drink."

Buffy nearly growled, "Do you do this to every female that come aboard?" She held up her hand at Jack's look. "Never mind. Don't answer that. So, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you."

"Really? Cos I thought 'looking' would involve you moving and not lying down on my hammock."

He shrugged and drank again. "It's a matter of relevance. For example, when a person is looking for something but doesn't really know what it is he's looking for, it is in his best interest to just wait for that something to fall on his lap and realize that _that_ is what he is really looking for—which is considered looking—rather than searching all over for it and never even come close to realizing what that something is." He paused. "Of course, in this case, I know what I am looking for and you didn't exactly fall on my lap—though it can be arranged."

"…How drunk are you?"

Jack looked at his drink with a puzzled frown. "Not enough I'm afraid. I was rather hoping you'd keep me company."

"Ah…no. If you want to kill off your kidney…or liver, be my guest. Just don't expect me to be there," she said, with a frown.

"Tomorrow night then."

"So…" she started after a long pause, "now that you found me, what next?"

"When we were doing our bargaining speech back in your ship, you said that there was more to you than meets the eye. So tell me, darling, what is it? I've been trying to figure it out and I'd rather hear it from you than…say, jump into conclusions."

"That's what your doing here? Trying to figure out something I said?"

"I'm a curious fellow," he shrugged again.

Buffy raised her eyebrow. "No."

"No?"

"No."

"Well, now. That leaves me into an interesting situation and admittedly more curiouser than before. What would it take you to say it? I've only got a limited supply of rum in me ship, but something tells me it would take less than half of it for you to be spilling out your secrets."

"That's pathetic," she snorted, grabbing Jack's shoulders to push him out of her room. "And it'll be nearing close to never for me to drink another bottle again."

"Never say never darling."

"Never my ass, Sparrow."

**xxxx**

Okay, so nothing much happened, but it did give a start to some plausible problems in the future. Up next: Port Royal, me hearties!

_(unedited)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **I'm so sorry for the lack of goodness last chapter, I really wouldn't put it against the readers if they did not…enjoy chapter four. As a result, I'm putting a pretty long chapter up to make up for last time.

Oh, and uh…I don't sail a ship or a boat, so if anyone knows what they're talking about when it comes to sailing, feel free to correct my mistakes.

**xxxx**

Chapter Five—Port Royal I

**xxxx**

Buffy sighed peacefully. She was finally at peace—no duties, no lives to save, no demons to kill…the continuous dance of death had finally ended, and she loved every minute of it. The warm sun heated the sand pleasantly, while the soft waves of some body of water lapped her toes.

She felt…complete.

A smile broke out on her face when a soft breeze came and caressed her locks. Everything felt perfect. Then she frowned; the wind became stronger, suddenly pulling her, gripping her clothes, and sucking out her very breath. Her eyes widened at the unexpected change, but the wind still grew into a full-blown gale while dark, ominous-looking clouds rolled in from the horizon; the once calm waters turning into an angry sea.

The grip on her chest tightened, freezing her, frightening her, and blocking out the cry that tore in her throat…

Then Buffy woke up with a strangled gurgle of a scream. _Oh god…its just a dream._ But it felt so real! She held up her hands and noticed them shaking visibly. She whimpered and laid back down on her swinging hammock. Buffy felt the familiar pinprick of tears in the corner of her eyes and it took all of what's left of her from letting it go.

_Damn it, I'm the Slayer. I'm not gonna cry of some stupid dream._

But she couldn't help releasing a struggled breath as bits and pieces of her nightmare flashed through her mind. So instead, she closed her eyes and blocked out the fading images from her mind as she began tuning her senses on the soft creaking of the _Black Pearl_; the swinging of her 'bed' punctuated by the rise and fall of waves; she even allowed the sea air mixed with her sweat and the scent of her room assault her nose.

Anything to focus her mind on.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes again only to meet some stray sunlight peeking through the cracks on one side of the wall. When Buffy was finally calm enough to think clearly, she finally wondered where the hell that dream came from. It certainly hadn't happen to her before…so could it be something in the future for her?

She shuddered. She could almost feel the fear she felt during the dream again and Buffy suppressed the feeling. It took another couple of deep breaths before she finally got out of her hammock and head for the deck.

"Stupid Slayer package."

---

Jack grinned with delight when his new crewmember came from below. Without a second thought, he threw an apple towards her, not bothering to warn her at all of his actions. His grin grew wider as his curiosity about Buffy mounted when she easily caught the fruit with a glare.

"Wanna tell me what was that for?"

With a leap from a barrel that held miscellaneous items, Jack answered, "Breakfast, but that was a very nice trick."

Buffy covered her surprise by biting on the fruit. "So what now, you're just gonna start throwing fruits at random, unsuspecting people on your ship?"

He cocked his head and smiled mysteriously, "Only to those who can catch it." Then he walked towards the other end of the ship, forcing Buffy to follow him.

"Hey Jack…"

A silence pause.

"Jack?" Silence, but they continued to walk, or rather, Buffy was forced to follow him. "Jack. Jack Sparrow."

"My, what a wonderful empty breeze!"

She narrowed her eyes, "Fine. _Captain _Jack Sparrow."

"Yes?"

She sighed. "Where are we going?"

"To Port Royal, young missy, to see me ol' friend…or a distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed and his lovely but rum-murdering wife, Elizabeth Swann."

_That's the second time I'm heading to Port Royal. _"Oh. Is Port Royal some kind of hotspot or something?"

Jack stopped what he was doing and looked at her with interest, "And why would you say that?"

"Nothing much," Buffy forced herself to shrug nonchalantly and searched for another topic. "Where's your girlfriend?" A blank face. "You know, Miss Wannabe Cordelia of the 17th Century? The girl that was all over you yesterday?"

"Oh," he frowned, "Elena Espinosa?"

"Uh…sure."

"She's not any of my girls."

Buffy's eyes widened. _Girls?_

"And I doubt you really want to know what it is I plan to do with—"

"Nope!" she all but screeched. "I've had enough info on other people's sex life thanks to Anya." Buffy suddenly become a little bit withdrawn when she mentioned her friend's name—her memories before the 'jump' came flooding back and she flinched momentarily.

Oblivious to her new state, Jack suddenly asked out loud, "She sounds like a lovely lass. Pray tell, who is she?"

"Anya?" she bit her apple again. "She's a friend back home."

"Which is in?"

"Sunnydale," she said, before she could stop herself.

"Sunnydale? I've never heard of such place."

_Whoops. _"Uh…its back in the colonies," Buffy fabricated a bit hesitantly, but she could see that Jack was satisfied with her answer. "Small town, big issues."

"Is that why you're out here in the Caribbean, luv? 'Big Issues'?"

"Partly," she shrugged, then shook her head with bewilderment. "What is this, let's play twenty-questions?"

"What can I say, Buffy? You're an interesting creature."

"And you're an annoying pest."

Jack shrugged and made waving motions with his hands. "Then off you go and start loosening up those sails before I become an actual parasite, eh? We'd be needing to catch up on lost time from our rather failed plunder yesterday."

"Hello? I only do mopping."

"Well, now your resume just expanded. Now up you go," he suddenly pointed at one of the bigger masts of the _Black Pearl _and Buffy had to crane her neck to even see the uppermost sails.

It was a long way up there, but she'd be damned if she let them know she's more than a little hesitant on climbing on some rope to release a massive black sheet. Buffy looked at his amused stare then frowned, "Fine. But if I catch you staring, I promise there'd be more than just a finished apple thrown down at your head."

"Your breeches aren't nearly enough snug for that, darling. Don't worry," but that didn't stop him from taking a look when she began climbing up the ratlines anyways. Suddenly, an apple core was thrown from above, and Jack barely had time to dodge it.

"I can feel you staring!"

"Was not! You had dirt on your breeches…Besides, you're out of apples!"

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, but felt slightly flushed. _Has to be the wind. _"I can still throw down my shoe!"

"And if I don't stop, you'll eventually be forced to go naked up on those masts if you intend to follow your promise!"

She bit her reply when she finally reached the first beam and saw the lines of rope that held up the mast. Hoisting herself up, Buffy began walking towards the lines and untying them to release the sails. All of the sudden, each level of the mast released its sails, startling Buffy for a second. She managed to catch her balance just in time before she could fall.

It wasn't really a huge drop, but it still looked like it could hurt if they landed the wrong way. She sighed with relief and was about to turn back towards the ratlines when a monkey—of all things—appeared behind one of the beams from above and started screeching at her. Buffy cried out in surprise and lost her footing on the beam fast. She fell with another cry and started to brace herself for the impact as images of the ship came passing her…

But the wooden deck never came. Instead, she was caught by the one person who was eying her a while ago—Captain Sparrow.

_Talk about a lucky catch._

Buffy looked up from her fetal position, expecting Jack to make some lewd comment or other, only to see him glaring at the still shrieking animal. "Get that bloody monkey!" Buffy had no doubt that he would've reached for the pistol that was digging on her side had she not been on the way. The men tried several times catching it unsuccessfully, but the monkey only continued to taunt them before going below deck to bid its time once more.

"Someday I'm gonna get you Jack."

Buffy chuckled. "You named the monkey 'Jack?'"

"I didn't name the monkey," he glared, "that would be credited to my lying, mutinying, dead ex-first mate bastard otherwise known as Barbossa."

"Oh." _Mutinied? _A long pause followed. "You uh…can let go of me now."

Jack's response was to hold her tighter suggestively. "But Buffy! I can now easily get you into my room and—ow ow ow ow! Alright, I'm letting go!"

Buffy stopped pinching his exposed chest and smiled at him in spite of her actions, "Thanks for the catch though. I would've been a squashed Buffy if it wasn't for you."

"Then maybe as some form of gratitude you can—"

She gave him a look, already knowing what he was thinking about. "Maybe not _that _grateful…"

"You didn't tell me you had a new crewmember aboard, Captain Sparrow," a voice mused out loud behind them. When they both turned, the man politely bowed down in front of Buffy and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Buffy."

She would've held out her hand had he not surprised her by knowing her name. "How did you—?"

He retracted his hand, not a least bit miffed at her actions. "You met my daughter yesterday. She told me about you."

_Ah…Elena. _"Did she now? What did she say?"

The man shrugged. "Nothing that gave you much justice, I'm afraid. She can be quite…presumptuous you see."

"Somehow I can."

He chuckled. "So, Captain Sparrow, how successful was your 'plunder' yesterday?"

Jack gave a forced smile. "Well, I got a new member to me crew willing to serve under me—" Buffy glared at his choice of words, "—so methinks it was at some point, a success."

"Funny, I didn't think plundering ships for willing pirates was part of your agenda."

Jack was cut off by Buffy. "I'm not a pirate; wasn't, isn't, not ever." It was Jack's turn to glare at Buffy.

"No?"

"No," Jack pitched in, "but she was very willing. Now off you go Sir Duke to whatever it is you do, and you—" he turned to Buffy, "—start mopping."

Buffy smirked at him. Apparently she said something to annoy the guy. "Aye, _captain._"

---

Several long hours, a mopped deck, and a stomach unable to take the hard bread offered during lunch later, Buffy was edgy. They were about half an hour away from Port Royal, but the ship had to dock at least a mile away from the actual town so that the Royal Navy wouldn't spot them. Just the fact that she was actually hiding from the police was enough to get her twitching.

_I'm one of the good guys! How come I have to hide from the freaking navy?_

Buffy frowned. Why _did_ she have to hide from them? After all, given the circumstances…they'd understand right? She was just trying to protect _St. Louis_'s passengers, and in order to do that, she had to exchange herself and follow some crummy orders from pirates. And its not like she killed anybody, stole property, or any other possible charges of misdemeanor.

Then she grinned. This could be the perfect opportunity to escape! Once Sparrow goes away to visit his…uh, distant relatives, she could just maybe have a teeny distraction (maybe something that'd get these guys spooked, she thought with a smirk), giving her enough time to jump off the _Pearl _and swim away. _And I don't have to go to the authorities right away…_She could lay low and even try to get a job. Something that will let her settle in for a while before making some kind of decent sense out of the whole situation.

If one of the crew of _St. Louis_ recognizes her and reports her to the police…then she'd just give them her story and sort everything out. After all, a batted eyelash right here, the right pout there, and a convincing tale can get her almost anything.

Yes, it was a perfect plan.

"Buffy!"

She whipped her head around to see Jack calling her. "Yeah?"

"Get over here; we're going."

_We? Where?…oh crap. _"Hey, this is your reunion!"

"Me crew doesn't exactly trust you, luv—so you're coming."

Buffy looked at the wary crew with an annoyed huff. _Waay to ruin a girl's escape plan._ But she wasn't gonna give up that easily—didn't Giles tell her she was one of the most ingenious slayers in history? So, she'll do what she did best: improvise.

Giving a noncommittal shrug, she consented. "Fine, but I didn't bring any wedding presents."

---

It was only Buffy and Jack who rode on the small boat, with the captain rowing it after Buffy showed him she didn't have any experience rowing the thing. In return, she was left clutching a small lantern and watching the dark waters warily as they rowed passed it.

"So how do you really know these people, Jack?" Buffy started, deciding to break the silence. Might as well act normal before the get away.

Surprisingly, Jack gave her a straight answer. Or near to one. "William Turner is the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner—he was a good man and a good pirate. 'Round eight months ago, Barbossa—my lying, mutinying, dead ex-first mate, who wasn't dead at the time—captured dear William's beloved Elizabeth causing the once goody-goody blacksmith to ally himself to yours truly and was on the road to becoming a pirate himself, had he not have his blind-sighted feelings towards pirates.

"However, by the end of our escapade and when all was nearly said and done, I was captured by the bloody Royal Navy even after all what I've done to save the governor's daughter and was sent to the gallows, then swiftly to be hanged at the noose. Will, despite the pardon granted to him by Governor Swann for associating himself with pirates, helped me escape my hanging and once again elude the British Navy." He paused. "They really need to work on their quota."

Buffy blinked at him. "So…they were going to put him to jail for getting his girl back."

"Aye."

_What! _She pouted. "That's not fair."

He shrugged. "Apparently, trying to save the damsel was enough to warrant a death sentence if one associated himself with pirates."

"Even if he had no record of being with you guys before?"

Jack looked at her hard, as if trying to figure out what she was thinking, then nodded. "Even if."

Buffy shifted slightly but tried to make light of how Jack was looking at her. "That really sucks." _For me!_ The boat gave a jolt, signaling that they were too close to the sand to row any further and it stopped their conversation. However, Buffy was still determined to find a way to get out of this situation. Jack's story wasn't going to stop her from trying.

"So this is Port Royal?" she noted the very 17th century feel of the town. Somehow, looking at this place only reinforced the fact that she was long away from home and made her even more determined to get out of the 'bargain' she had with Jack.

"Aye—home to one of the largest Royal Navy base, as it were," he said, totally non-pulsed about their presence. "And leave the light."

Though they stuck near the shadows, often hiding in an alley when they heard footsteps coming, Jack still carried himself aloofly, swaggering his way out of candlelights and ducking under windows. Buffy however, was trying to her best to fall behind and actually blend into the shadows so that she could finally escape, though confident that the half-drunk pirate a few yards in front of her would be completely oblivious to her actions.

A few more feet…then he turned into a corner and she was finally free! Buffy had to keep herself from cheering out loud as Jack showed no signs of coming back. _Operation: Lose The Bird has commenced. Over! _With a slight new bounce to her stride, Buffy turned around and started to look for an inn. She probably couldn't pay for her room right away, but she figured she could work to pay it off like in _St. Louis_.

Still keeping close to the shadows, Buffy turned to a corner just in case Sparrow made a U-turn and looked for her. She began checking over her cover story once more, even going as far as to making an alias if the need rises. Buffy turned to another corner. After a suitable amount of money, she'd probably get some better clothes than these—something with a little bit more fit to her. Then weaponry. _God I hope there's an armory in here._

Jack said there was the navy stationed in Port Royal, so it was very likely that there'd be a place to keep them in tip-top shape. She walked through an alley. Soon, she'll try to buy a passage that'll take her to the colonies…or maybe London? Hm…London equals Watcher's Council which might go bad but they still have loads of info on how she can get back home.

Colonies: no info, but yay for lack of stuffy British guys trying to control her life. What to choose, what to choose? _I suppose I can go to the colonies first and…wait a minute, this looks familiar…_She walked out of the alley she was in…and back to where she started.

"Congratulations, Miss Summers, you just found your way back to where you started," the familiar voice of a pirate spoke from a wall.

Buffy's eyes widened but wasted no time on high-tailing herself from there. She had no problem taking the man down …if he didn't have a pistol or the fact that she was still trying to keep her cover of being a normal, 17th century gal. However, the person gripping her arm had different ideas. "Jack, let go."

He somehow found her 'I'm-gonna-hurt-you-if-you-don't-do-as-I-say' look amusing. "Sorry, Buffy, but I would have to deny your request," Jack said as he began pulling her towards the Turners' place.

"It wasn't a request!"

"Semantics."

"Look," Buffy pulled her arm from Jack. "You and I both know I don't belong to your little boat and I don't do whatever it is you pirates do. Pillaging and plundering? Yeah, kinda goes against this little thing called conscience in my head. I'm not about to start turning into a criminal." She started walking away again.

"Fine. Your honor."

That made her stop. "What are you talking about?"

"You see, unlike you," Jack walked away, making her follow him, "I've kept to my end of the bargain we had back when we first met, and if you do go ahead with your plan of escape, it'd be on your conscience that you have broken an oath you'd swore on that fateful day and forever mark your record. Which is completely hypocritical to your 'conscience-speech' if you ask me."

She glared. "I didn't ask and I don't care."

"Then why should you care that you'd be associating yourself with a devilishly, good-looking pirate such as meself?"

"'Cause I can be hanged for just talking to you!"

"I'm afraid that it's a bit far too late for that."

"And why is that exactly?"

"Because not only have you talked to me and my crew, you have also followed my orders and is more than willing to keep me company in my bed."

"I never said that!" Buffy said, aghast.

"I could. Remember luv, I've got credibility here."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Pirate," he shrugged, before stopping in front of a gate. "We're here."

Buffy huffed, angry that her attempts to lose Jack and get her freedom was spoiled and that he was more than willing to get dirty to get her to stay. "I really don't like you."

"It's only a matter of time before you fall all over me," he said confidently. "Now tell me, do you fancy a bit of a climb?"

She had to shake her head with amazement at how quickly he seemed to change subjects. "What?"

"A climb," then pointed at the fifteen-foot wall right next to them, covered with vines. "Up there."

"I thought you said we were going to visit your friend, not breaking and entering," she frowned at him.

"It's only breaking and entering if they don't want us to come, and I know Elizabeth would be more than happy to see me, despite her being married. We have a history, you see," Jack said with more than a dejected sigh, as he started grabbing the plants and hoisting himself up.

_I feel like a teenager all over again,_ she grouched, but she started climbing nonetheless. In less than five minutes and after some grunting and pointless bickering, Buffy and Jack finally jumped off on the other side, trying to land as quietly as possible. However, just before they stood up from their crouching positions, the unmistakable sound of swords being released from its scabbards was heard and Buffy instinctively tackled the one closest to her and pinned him down to the ground before he could get close enough.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to fight defenseless girls?" she taunted.

"Release him or I'll have your friend at my mercy," a woman threatened near Jack before the man could answer, and Buffy saw the clear outline of a sword.

Before she can retort to go right ahead, Jack interrupted her. "Now, now, Elizabeth, you really need to work on how to treat your guests."

Both the girl and the guy Buffy tackled cried out in surprise. "Jack?"

---

Elena was fed up with looking for Captain Sparrow and finally decided to ask one of the crewmembers where he was. His answer, however, was something she wasn't entirely happy with.

"He'd be in Port Royal, Miss Elena, visiting the Turners with the new girl."

She screamed with anger that that Buffy-girl managed to get to Jack once again before her! Well this wouldn't do, something had to happen to completely erase that girl out of the picture. But it can't be traced back to her…so she couldn't personally do it. Then it came to her. Port Royal was renowned for its numerous amount of militia in the Caribbean. They could do the work for her!

With a maniacal glint in her eye, Elena began her plan to get that dratted girl out of the picture once and for all.

**xxxx**

Yay! Eleven-freaking pages…and that's just Part I of Port Royal…so there'd be plenty more to come with Will and Elizabeth! Please Review!

_(unedited version)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes (Important):** I know Chapter Four had been completely boring. So boring in fact, that I'm beginning to get the feeling that many people are bored with the story. But I know for a fact that that's not true because more and more people are still putting this story on 'story-alert' and its still getting counts for 'clicking' the story as I update. So where are you guys?

Please, reviewing any story is one of _the _greatest satisfaction an author can get since they are basically updating it for you: the reviewers and fans. So if you've got something to say, comment, criticize (professionally!), and heck, even have suggestions of what I can do to these characters, you guys are more than welcome!

It is to you I update and get my kicks from. Please don't take that away!

**xxxx**

Chapter 6—Port Royal II

**xxxx**

"Jack?"

Buffy took this as her cue to get off the guy. "You uh…wouldn't be William Turner…would you?"

"Actually I am," he said a bit indignantly as he dusted off his front.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry…It's just you were there with a sword, so I got wiggy and jumped and tackled!" Buffy babbled before she pointed a finger to Jack, "see? This is what happens when you sneak into other people's houses!"

"You jump them?" he sniggered.

"Shut up."

"Jack!" the woman…presumably Elizabeth said again more enthusiastically, before stopping immediately. "What have you done now?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"She has a point, Jack," Will pointed out as he walked towards Elizabeth. "You're not exactly the bringer of good news when you're around."

"Well! I see where I am not wanted," the pirate said a bit huffily. "Buffy, pack up the bags—we're leaving."

"Ex_cuse_ me?" Buffy started the same time the couple began protesting and apologizing. Jack waited for a few more moments to look at their bickering with amusement before rolling his eyes.

"If you don't mind, might we take this debate of ours inside; it seems that your neighbors are not too fond of a midnight social hour in the middle of your front yard, dear William."

Will hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Alright. But you better tell me what happened."

Jack only grinned widely. "Aye."

---

Once they entered the living room—or the drawing room as the others called it—Buffy took a spot that was inconspicuously the farthest away from the group of friends as she was uncomfortable of the whole thing. It was in this moment that she felt she was truly alone and away from where she belonged—no family, no ties…heck, no purpose! At least in the _Pearl _she had her own room she could get away into.

Add in the fact that the happy couple was an added salt to her own love life…and runaway-Buffy just turned into broody-Buffy. Wouldn't Angel be proud?

"…know Jack, Miss Summers?" Will asked and she was suddenly aware of three pairs of eyes that were on her. Apparently Jack had already introduced her awhile ago.

Blinking owlishly, she felt even more uneasy when she just realized how clean the other two looked—other than the grass stains on Will—under the light of the candles and moon. _I want a bath! _"Its just Buffy. And uhm, a bargain. Big ol' bargaining thing between the merchant ship I was in and Jack's crew…," Buffy stopped with a frown when she saw Jack waving his hands to do so.

"Wait. You're not a pirate?" Elizabeth quickly turned her attention to Sparrow who was suddenly looking anywhere but them when Buffy hesitated to give her an answer. "Jack, did you take Buffy out of her ship against her will?"

"Oh she was very willing—jumped on me and everything. In fact, she was the one who started the bargaining thing."

Will rolled his eyes. "And I'm sure she did that willingly too."

Jack glared at him. "I would've been perfectly happy to leave Miss Summers in that merchant ship after properly plundering it, if you must know. Though admittedly, I would've missed the view."

Both William and Elizabeth gave him a withering stare before she asked Buffy again. "So you're really not a pirate?"

Buffy shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

"Jack Sparrow! How could you do that to this poor girl?" At his look, Elizabeth knew she wouldn't get anything more from him and sighed in frustration. "Feel free to maim him anytime."

Summers grinned, quickly unnerving Jack. "Oh don't worry; I'm just bidding my time."

The couple chuckled at them. "So what do you do in the ship Buffy?"

She shrugged again, though she can tell the woman was genuinely interested in her and not just to make some pointless conversation. "Odd quirks here and there. Not much into sailing the actual thing…I figured if I can't dri—_ride_ a horse," she quickly corrected, "sailing a ship is the same." Jack didn't miss her slip of tongue.

Quickly trying to keep Jack from commenting about it, Buffy quickly changed the subject. "You've got a lovely home Eli…I mean, Miss Swann. Nice swords," she pointed at a couple of blades that hung on the wall, although miffed that they were only used as a decoration. _Coulda used that thing…_

"Please, its just Elizabeth. And those are merely just for show; they're nothing compared to the swords Will makes," Elizabeth turned to smile at him before taking the sword she was holding and handing it to Buffy who was practically drooling. "This is just one of them."

She drew out the weapon with practiced ease and stared at it appreciatively. "You made this?"

"Y-yes," he stuttered, unused to open admiration anyone gave his work. "I'm afraid its not really the best out there—its merely just for practicing."

"Oh hush—you really need to give yourself more credit, my dear. Do not forget: you do own your own business now and no one can make a business out of mediocre craftsmanship!"

"Now, now dear William…don't tell me you're back to wasting your energy again into practicing three hours a day? You've already gotten yourself a girl, mate," then Jack looked at them with a growing grin. "Or perhaps the reason you're still wasting your energy is because you are unable to—"

"Actually, _Jack_," Will glared, despite the flush caused by where his words were heading, "I was teaching Elizabeth how to fight with swords; the only time we can do it without disturbance is at this hour…usually."

"Ah! Foreplay…"

Choosing to ignore that comment, Elizabeth pondered sarcastically out loud, "Yes, why is it that you have come to grace us with your presence, Mister Sparrow? And why did you choose, of all things, to climb over our gate?"

"What? A man can't stop by his happily wed friends for no reason?"

"One, Jack…you're not a man, you're a _pirate_."

"And two," Elizabeth continued with a tinge of embarrassment, "the wedding is not for another couple of months. In our rush to set the date, we forgot that the hurricane season was just about to start, and no man or lady or _priest _would brave the season with us."

"Yes, and you were also reluctant to get your dress wet," her fiancé teased, making her mockingly pout.

Though Jack frowned with annoyance at their flirt, Buffy couldn't help but sigh with envy. _They have the looks, a normal life, and the weapons…life was so not fair._ Despite her feelings, however, she didn't put it much against the couple in love. Besides, there was an indefinite spark in their attitude that spoke more than just being the average couple in Port Royal.

Plus they know Sparrow in a friendly-basis; which was enough to make them the more than your run-of-the-mill people.

"So how about it, Jack? Why did you come here?"

He shifted on his seat before shrugging nonchalantly, "There's been some…annoying pests that I can't really get rid off easily in me ship, and I just merely wanted to give them a tic or two under their skin so—"

"You've got to be kidding me," Buffy scowled when the implications of his words sunk in.

"Wait, you used us as an excuse to annoy these people?"

"I don't know whether to be insulted or…insulted."

"Well, you don't be needing to be insulted now, dear William. I'd be needing a sword from your never-ending famous work it would seem. Thanks to Summers here, I am lack of much needed weaponry."

"Yeah, well, I'm don't exactly have anything nice and pointy on me either so you're not the only one lacking weapons."

"What happened?" Will asked, trying to keep a smile off his face when he saw Jack scowling at the young woman.

"Long story," Buffy rolled her eyes, but didn't stop the smirk. "Bottom line is, I had his sword taking a permanent dive down the Caribbean. Hence lack of swords."

Elizabeth regarded her with new respect—apparently, the small woman can take down the infamous pirate and still managed to rub it in. "Well, Buffy, I'm impressed you even got Sparrow to make a bargain with you."

"Must be my good looks," she replied cheekily, warming up to the other woman's attitude.

"Yes, that might have something to do with it. So how 'bout it Will?" the pirate steered the conversation back on its track.

"I suppose I won't be receiving payment from this?" at Jack's well-knowing grin and Buffy's embarrassed face, Will sighed. "Come on, I'll see what I can do."

---

If she was drooling before, Buffy was positive she was gawking now. It was an impressive amount of armory down here—enough to efficiently equip ten people at the least. But weaponry was not all the blacksmith limited himself to—from rows of beautifully detailed metal work to simple objects like doorknobs and horseshoes.

"Why William, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you were compensating for something."

Will pretended he didn't hear that comment and directed them to a cabinet. "Here's some spare weaponry. You can have a pick on anything you want; they already have scabbards with them so you don't have to worry about—" a loud banging on the front door interrupted him.

"Open up! Miss Swann, Mister Turner?" Everybody looked at each other, surprise and horror written all over their place. However, it took only a second for the would-be Turners to react.

While Will went off to see what they want-slash-stall them, Elizabeth showed them where the door was located and some directions of the easiest escape back to shore. "Take care of yourself Buffy," she hugged the smaller woman; an odd scene since Elizabeth was taller than Summers, but Buffy was still touched by the gesture. "Oh and Jack? Next time just knock," before hurrying up to the front door.

Buffy, though annoyed that she actually had to play fugitive now, followed the pirate as they hightailed themselves out of there after they had their pick of swords. They could still hear the shouts of the guards as they stated their reasons for being here. Apparently they were tipped that the infamous Captain Sparrow was in town with an accomplice.

"You know, this was _so_ not in the memo."

Jack merely chuckled at her as they sneaked passed several houses. "Welcome to the Caribbean, darling."

"Yay-freaking-me…oh crap!"

Several soldiers saw their skulking forms and called the others. "Pirates! Stop right there!"

"I'm not a pirate!" Buffy whined, but still kept on running.

"Following pirates' orders? Sneaking into houses? Even stealing that dagger from old Will?" Jack pointed at the visible bulge in Buffy's boot. "If you're not a pirate now, luv, you're right on your way to becoming one."

"Ack! You are _such_ a bad influence!" she grouched as a couple more shots rang out from behind, miraculously dogging the bullets. "And just so you know, I was gonna pay him back…eventually."

They kept on weaving in and out of alleys and ducking under trees, but ten or so soldiers who came from nowhere suddenly blocked them off. Changing track with expert ease, Buffy and Jack neared into what looked like the beginnings of the town square.

"Seize them!"

"Oh bugger."

Not only did that serve to call in more soldiers, but it also roused the civilians out of their beds who were always tensed and ready to react if there was another pirate attack. Now, the numbers that were hunting down the two increased too fast for comfort and they were suddenly surrounded in a fort that faced the open waters. Buffy looked down at the black sea with a shiver when the waters crashed to some huge rocks, creating huge foams.

_Talk about a long drop with a sudden stop._

"Now why does this look familiar?"

"Probably because this was where you were supposed to be hanged a few months back, Mister Sparrow," a soldier in a blue uniform came through the crowd, obviously of higher rank. "Though through some rather incompetent leadership, you missed that appointment."

"Ah," Jack said, obviously now remembering the incident. "And who might you be, eh? Last time I checked, ol' Commodore Norrington was the one gunning for my hide."

Buffy looked at him incredulously. They were surrounded by shiny bayonets pointed at their faces, an eighty-plus foot drop was behind them, while a smug officer that would be more than happy to send them to the noose smirked at them…and he chooses to ask _now_ for somebody who was also willing to kill them?_ Gah!_

"Unfortunately, he had an early retirement: caused by you apparently," he said with a sneer. "And it's Lieutenant Perkins—_Commodore_ Perkins after your hanging."

With an all-knowing smirk, Jack pointed at him. "Ah…so you're the replacement."

Perkins' eyes flared for a moment before saying, "And you will be another pirate hanging off the noose."

"Wait! I'm not a pirate," Buffy suddenly interrupted, causing Jack to look at her with a raised brow. "I'm a total victim of circumstance! You can even ask Captain Burns—he's the captain of the _St. Louis_; I'm sure he'll tell you I'm telling the truth!"

"And who might you be?"

Beside her, Jack whispered, "Don't do anything stupid" like a mantra but she failed to see how telling them her name was idiotic. "Buffy Summers." She looked at Jack in puzzlement when he sighed in defeat.

The lieutenant nodded. "Buffy Summers—" she was taken aback at the lack of title before her name, purely because he was one of the first ones to do it, "—another name on the growing list of female pirates. Take note of that if you will, Mister Hors."

She gasped. "But I told you I'm not a _pirate_!"

"Then you'll be an additional tally mark on the quota for the day," Perkins snapped. "Take them away."

"Told you they wouldn't believe you," Sparrow rubbed in, before he quickly grabbed her and his pistol and aimed at her neck, causing the redcoats to look at him with surprise. "You really should've believed her when you had the chance, Lieutenant. Miss Summers here is a…favorite niece of the Queen's third cousin. Remarkably well-off apparently."

"You bastard," Buffy hissed lowly, struggling in his grasp, but afraid that they might fall in the abyss below. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Saving our skins, luv; now stop moving," he hissed back, but his answer remarkably comforted her somewhat. Louder, he said, "Now what will it be, Lieutenant? That other tally mark on your belt, or a probable handsome reward by the Queen herself?"

_Oh. Oh! Ohh…_Buffy took this as an opportunity to practice some of that acting lessons during drama class. "Please! Don't let him kill me!" _Hah! Take that Mrs. Harvey!_

She could feel her faux captor startle at her act, but he continued tightening his grip on her and looked back at Perkins. Walking further backwards, Jack said, "_Lieutenant_…your decision, if you please."

Perkins pursed his lips, but he was clearly interested at what he was saying. "And I suppose in return, you want us to look away as you sail from Port Royal?"

"Oh, you don't have to look away, Lieutenant. After all, this will be remembered as the day that you _almost_ caught, Captain Jack—" he never finished that sentence since he quickly fell from the fort, bringing the Queen's third cousin's niece with him down below.

Perkins, already aware of his previous disappearing act, only snarled at the fact he didn't bring any soldiers down there and turned around to his men. "Get down there and get me that pirate!"

---

It seemed like they were falling for hours before they suddenly crashed into the cold waters. Buffy would've been panicked around this time, if it wasn't for Jack who still held her and helped her swim back up to the surface. With a gasp of much needed air, Buffy swirled to Jack.

"You could've warned me before you jumped!"

"And where is the theatrics in that?" before she could give a retort, he quickly pointed out that the navy would be on their hides in no time if they didn't start swimming soon.

Following suit, Buffy muttered dryly, "At least I got that bath I wanted."

However, despite her strong strokes and confident mask, Buffy concentrated on Jack's form and clamped down her squeamish shivers as if her life depended on it. She already knew that he wouldn't let her drown—helping her up awhile ago just proved that, but it still didn't stop her from having a little phobia with the waters. Ever since her first death (her jump being her 'supposed' second death), she never liked…no, scratch that, completely _detested _huge amounts of water that had the potential of drowning her again…like a lake or a pond or something.

But now, she was swimming in far deeper waters than she ever thought she would've even considered. Which was somewhat ironic that she'd never thought about the Pacific—or in this case, the Caribbean—, because she never even thought she'd go swimming in the beach, hence the irony; _she _used to live in southern California: land of hundred beaches.

Thankfully, the crew apparently noticed the commotion within the city and brought the ship far closer than where it originally was before. A few more strokes, and with a lit lamp from the deck, they saw the crew toss a couple of ropes at them. With practiced ease (more on Jack's side than hers), they were both quickly hoisted up on the deck with a big wet thud.

"Well that was a bucket of fun."

Before Jack could give a respond, he was quickly doted upon by Elena who sent a quick glare over to Buffy. "Oh, Jack! What happened?"

Buffy rolled her eyes as the other woman came fluttering about the pirate, which he clearly enjoyed. _Give me a break._ With a huff, she stood up with as much grace as she could put on her slightly wobbly legs and headed back to her own cabin. Her thoughts of living pirate-free might have been destroyed tonight, but if there was one good thing that came out of this trip, it was her new toys.

And that was enough to satisfy her. At least for the time being.

Grabbing a lantern from one of the beams, she entered her room with a sigh. _Guess its official—I'll be here for a while. _A drop of cold seawater dropped on her hand, reminding her she was still wet from the swim. Tentatively, she touched her hair, and then suddenly growled at its grainy feel and the loss of its Pantene-induced goodness.

"Okay, _this_ sucks."

Quickly, Buffy began stripping off her clothes, hanging them on one of the exposed beams above her and changing into the last layer of the previous dress. Her Victorian memories reminded her that this was the 'unmentionables' of the era and hoped that her other clothes would quickly dry off.

She really didn't plan on working with leering pirates all around her when she's out there even though she had worn far revealing clothes than this before.

Lying down on her hammock, Buffy drew out her sword and inspected it; turning it this way and that as a satisfied smile graced her lips. Elizabeth wasn't kidding—for a spare sword, this was far from mediocre. The dagger was the same, though it wasn't as wicked as her own back home.

She twirled it experimentally, appreciating the weight of the dagger before sheathing it back. "Sweet."

**xxxx**

Please, please, _please_ review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Okay, I know its been an agonizingly long 4-5 months of no update, so I'm just gonna shut up and let you read. Please review though!!!

**xxxx**

Chapter Seven—Smart Man

**xxxx**

"You're _un_believable."

"The many features of being myself, I suppose," he frowned with confusion when he heard an odd sound coming from Buffy. Jack looked up from his hooded gaze only to see an infuriated woman. He grinned as if he never said a thing, "You were saying, Miss Summers?"

"This is harassment! Complete and total harassment! How can you do this?"

"Pirate," then paused, "What are we talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me." _Did she just growl? _"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"Then there lies your problem, Buffy: I don't."

"Oh, and I suppose what Gibbs just told me to do had nothing to do with you?"

"Ah."

"Yes. Ah," she sneered. "Gibbs gives out orders. _Your _orders."

"Mmm, yes. I suppose that is how the chain of command works, doesn't it?"

Buffy felt the itch to take out the dagger hidden in her person. "Is this you sick way of punishment?"

"'Punishment' is such a harsh way to put it…I prefer 'expanding your resume' in case you decide to ask another ship to take you in. Now off with you: the kitchen and the brig isn't gonna clean itself, nor will the torn sails sew itself."

"But I don't even know _how_ to sew!"

"Improvise," he said shortly before making shooing-movements with his hands. "Now move, you're blocking my light."

Buffy shot him one last glare before huffily taking the buckets and mop down to her assigned locations. It took her a moment to hear his low chuckle but by then, she was too far in her stomping to do anything. Instead, she vowed to get him back soon.

---

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow and I can do whatever I want," Buffy mocked in a high voice as she sewed a torn sail. "I'm drunk as hell but I can still cope a fee—_ow_! Stupid thing." She sucked her pricked thumb before returning back to sail with a proud grin. Years of slayage deemed it necessary for both Giles and Willow to make Buffy learn how to stitch her own wounds…she just never realized that sewing and stitching wounds were basically the same.

"There: good as new," she aired the black sail…only to feel her proud grin turn into a grimace when she saw the puckered linings of where she sewed the holes together. She might know how to sew, but she was a far cry from being skilled.

A sharp knock from the door brought her from her grimace. "It's off to the kitchens with you!"

She scowled. "_Pirates_."

The knocking became more rapid. "Come on! Hop to it!"

"I'm coming!" Buffy stood up and cracked her back, sore from having to bend down from both mopping the brig and sewing the sails. She opened the door to the sneering pirate who led her down to the galley.

"'ere you go, _princess_—ow! Fuckin' 'ell!" A well aimed kick to shin got the man hopping up and down, while an innocent looking Buffy just looked at him amusedly. "Why you little bi—"

A wooden spoon came from nowhere and smacked the infuriated pirate from making any more words. "Now I know you're not about to go insulting Miss Summers now, are yeh Kiffer?"

Kiffer stiffened, but glared at the person the wooden spoon belonged to indignantly, "The girl just bleedin' 'it me, Quinn!"

"Now, now, you're a grown man Kiffer. And yeh'd be growing better if yeh eat yer beets and…"

The cook never got to finish since Kiffer made an about-turn and quickly fled the galley, muttering something suspiciously like "Crazy ol' bat," leaving a chuckling pair behind him.

"Smart man. My mom used to do that to end our arguments," Buffy said lowly, mood slightly growing darker at the mention of her mother, but Quinn took no note.

"Ah, when you get to be my age Miss Summers, it is best to leave the brawns where they're actually needed, which is far from my kitchen," a slightly hunched old man came out from the shadows of the kitchen and smiled at her in a grandfatherly way. Buffy began to seriously wonder why Kiffer evolved from an angry rogue to almost an indignant man, but she raised her eyebrow amusedly.

"And the spoon?"

Quinn looked down at it in surprise, before chuckling at her. "A simple incentive my dear, nothing more. Now," he clapped his hands together in a business-like manner, and began to walk to a corner of his kitchen, a cane helping him along. "I won't be tolerating any breaking of my utilities Miss Summers, so you be careful with my plates."

"Who said I was going to break them?"

He shook his head. "Nevertheless, I'm just gonna be warning you now. I may be an old man, but I can assure you wholeheartedly that the pirate in me hasn't grown old as I look; there be a good reason Kiffer and the others have a right to fear me."

Buffy's eyes widened slightly, not doubting his quiet threat. But mockingly, she retorted, "Aye aye. So what be this lowly wench be doin' then, oh masterful Quinn?"

He snorted. "Cheeky, Miss Summers."

"Why do you insist on calling me Miss Summers?"

Quinn shrugged, "Old habits I suppose. Now, why don't you help an old man clean his kitchen by sweeping the floor, my dear."

Using his cane to point out where the mop was, Quinn began to conduct Buffy's chores with a swift remark here and there. He watched over her with a sharp eye, despite the fact that it was a slightly dim room. Pots were put away, spices put back in shelves, and the floor swept and mopped. All the while, he taught several aspects about certain spices when she cared to listen it, how oranges were especially vital to a sailor's life at sea, and where he specifically wanted the plates to be put away. He was especially meticulous where things were organized, but Buffy found she didn't mind being told those little facts.

It was during in one of his rants about the medicinal advantages of peppers when she came across a tray holding several empty vials. With a puzzled frown, she brought it to his attention and asked what it was.

"It's food-coloring, Miss Summers. Back in the days when I bothered to give some of the gruel a bit of…lightening up, I put a couple of drops of the liquid to the food. But I soon ran out, and I don't be having the heart to ask the captain to stop by a proper store, and all I have left is the black one," he paused, and then chuckled. "And I don't think the food would be looking any better if I did."

Buffy smiled, then smirked, a plan formulating in her head. "Say Quinn, can I borrow it then?"

Quinn grew slightly wary at her, but nodded in approval.

_Smart man._

---

It was a few hours before sundown when Jack finally saw Buffy emerging from the galley, looking slightly worn but as calm as ever. He cocked his head to the side when he saw her bend down curiously, then felt a grin spread to his features when he saw it to be a bottle of rum.

An almost empty bottle of rum, but a bottle of rum nonetheless.

Without wasting a moment, Jack walked, or rather, swaggered, his way to the young blond, pleased to have her finally dropping her strong front. He frowned though, when he saw her visibly stiffen when she felt him come closer. Oh well, can't be all winners.

"My sources tell me that something's bothering you, fair lady."

Surprisingly, Buffy chuckled instead of snapping back at him. _My, what wonders we are having. _"I am having a bitch of a headache, and I was kinda hoping this would work. That is, until I realized that I'd have an even bigger one by tomorrow."

He paused, then leaned over to the railings as well to get a better look at his newest crewmember. "I have a remedy for that, luv."

She looked at him, surprised. "Oh?"

Jack smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth, several capped in gold. "Never stop drinking it!"

Buffy snorted, but laughed all the same. "You're only postponing the inevitable," but offered the opened bottle of rum to him. At his look, she shrugged carelessly before making the motions of emptying the bottle.

"No!" Jack quickly snatched the bottle, and gave her a wounded look. "One must never empty a good spot of rum in such a barbaric way, Miss Summers." And with several gulps and a slightly dramatic sway of his hands, he downed the rum, and handed her back the bottle.

Buffy smiled, and bit her lip amusedly, and Jack decided inwardly that she should do it more often. Before the thought could go any further, Gibbs interrupted his musings, unknowingly irritating the captain.

However, whatever Gibbs was about to say was quickly replaced by a horrified look and a gasp, "Mother's love, Jack! What happened to you?"

Sparrow looked utterly puzzled, and glanced at Buffy, who was wearing a frown, and gave a shrug, indicating she didn't know what he was talking about either. "What _are_ you talking about Master Gibbs?"

His first mate made a face, and pointed at his teeth. Wondering what had gotten into him, and if being crazy was an infectious disease, Sparrow nonetheless walked up to one of the lanterns where he could see his reflection, and smiled…only to give a horrified gurgle of a sound when saw his white teeth stained in black.

"Bugger it all!" he quickly turned and was about to start screaming at Buffy, who was surely the one to cause such misery to him, but found her sashaying away back to her room, twirling the empty bottle of rum skillfully in one hand. He made a face, and muttered another angry "Bugger," but couldn't help a small part of himself leering at her swaying hips.

Jack snapped back to reality and realized a couple of his crewmembers were looking at him oddly. "What are you looking at?" he snarled impatiently, and the men shuffled away, not wishing to direct his sudden ire at them. Sparrow's hand itched.

Summers might have unknowingly given him a little show, but bloody hell did he want to shoot something.

---

"That was an incredibly risky thing for you to do."

Elena rolled her eyes, but remained sitting stiffly as she read over some parchment. "Yes, I know."

"Then why do it? You know as well as I do that without the Captain—"

"You don't need to recite the plans, Duke. I'm perfectly capable of remembering what I made."

The Duke stomped his foot angrily. "Clearly you don't, _Elena._ You're 'attachment' to Sparrow is jeopardizing everything we've been working for the last five years. I will not have you risking all of that for—"

"Have you gone completely daft or did you just miss your afternoon tea?" Elena interrupted coolly, finally turning around to look at him. Her calm tone warred against the anger that burned in her eyes.

He stiffened, but held his ground. "Do not talk to me that way. You forget—"

"And _you _forget that Sparrow has something we need, and his newest…crewmember, cannot distract him from what we need to do," Elena took the few steps needed to cross the room and face the duke directly. To his credit, the duke barely flinched and managed to stop himself from taking a step back. "See to it that you remember that in order for _my _plan to work, we need his complete compliance…" Elena mindlessly fixed his suit and he relaxed, before suddenly feeling a dagger poking at his side, "…and you're remembrance of what your place is. Do not ever forget that, Jonathan, or there will be dire consequences heading your way."

Suddenly realizing his mistake, Jonathan bowed his head as much as he can in compliancy before replying, "Of course. My apologies."

Elena held on to him for a little while longer before finally releasing him, her dagger slipping back into the many folds of her dress. "Smart man."

**xxxx**

Well, I guess it could be said that it was a slight filler with an actual twist in the end…Please Review!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **I be spotting Tortuga on the horizon, maties!

**xxxx**

Chapter 8—Honey

**xxxx**

Jack smiled at his reflection and tried not to grimace horribly. Summers surely did a number on him, yet he couldn't help but feel some sort of respect towards her. Oh, of course, he'll extract his revenge in due time, but there was a form of respect nonetheless. Tentatively, he tried to rub off the stain for the fifth time with his finger, but only achieved the same results as his previous tries: nothing.

The stains on his gold-capped teeth rubbed of rather easily, unlike the uncapped ones. However, the result looked like he was missing the majority of his teeth. Which, suffice it was to say, was not pretty. Putting down the mirror with an annoyed huff, he swiped his lonesome bottle from the floor and brought it to his mouth. Jack suddenly stopped himself from doing so, and checked if there were any other foreign agents slipped into his beloved drink, before actually drinking it when he was satisfied he found none.

Relishing at the slight burn at the back of his throat, Jack once again, began his ritual of examining his teeth. His light suddenly became blocked, and interestedly, he narrowed his eyes at the rich colored frocks of the form. _Ah, Elena. _With slow and deliberate movements, he took in her voluptuous form before finally settling on her face. Not wishing to reveal his embarrassing state at the present, he raised his eyebrow and waited for her to talk.

"Would you fancy to take a walk with me, Captain Sparrow?"

Although he fancied nothing more than to remove the horrendous stain in his mouth, he just nodded stiffly before putting down his feet from the railings and stood up from the chair. At her expected look, he offered his arm with slight reluctance, but if Elena noticed it, she didn't show it.

"My, what wonderful weather we're having!" she started conversationally. "Perfect for sailing, I do declare."

Actually, the winds were barely stirring and Tortuga never seemed so far away. But Jack couldn't bring himself to point that out to her for doing so would mean he'd have to actually open his mouth. So instead, he made a none-committal sound as a response, and it worked perfectly.

"Can you believe I actually thought this trip be filled with those dreadful sea storms, leaving me cooped up in my cabin? Think how awful that would have been!"

Jack gave her a look, one that he hoped clearly said 'Quite terrible. If it had, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?' Although, he did have to wonder where she was going with this conversation, but shrugged it off as another mindless babble women seemed to come up with; at least, women outside of Tortuga anyways.

Elena gave him a look. "Are you alright, Jack? You don't seem to be yourself today."

Knowing that she wouldn't let this go if he didn't actually answer her, he pretended to check the ropes disinterestedly, and said, "I'm quite fine, luv." Jack smiled at her, mouth-closed, and made a movement with his arm, continuing their walk.

"If you insist, Captain. By the way, what is it that made you want to become a captain in the first place, Jack? And a _pirate_ captain at that?"

He stiffened and almost panicked, searching his mind on what he should do next, but was saved by a loud scream that came from below the deck. Puzzled, both looked at the door that led below deck slam open, revealing a figure covered in some white colored slime.

"Where the _hell _is he? And don't even pretend you don't know who I'm talking about!" a distinct feminine voice growled at an unsuspecting pirate, who pointed out his captain with obvious fear.

_Traitor._

Beside him, Elena chuckled at the blond mess and said lowly, "What do we have here Captain—_what_ happened to your teeth?!"

Startled, Jack just suddenly realized that he was grinning delightedly at Buffy's form, which he could tell was positively seething at him, even from several feet away from them. He opened his mouth, but no words formed, and from some reason, wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to give her a lie or a truth.

Jack was once again saved from saying anything to Elena when Buffy finally closed the distance between them and stabbed him with his finger threateningly. "You bastard!"

"Stick and stones, luv. You stained my teeth, I covered you in…gunk. We're square," he smiled at her, which only caused her to growl even more frustratingly.

"It's gonna take me forever to get this _mess_ out of my hair." And to prove her point, she waved her once healthy, clean hair, and another chunk of Jack's concoction fell off.

Instead of laughing aloud, he only frowned and pointed at his teeth, sending a quiet but clear message at what he thought about that. "And do you know long I've been trying to take the bloody stain off my teeth?"

"You deserved it, you prick."

"Then call this your payment. Truthfully, I'd like to call it revenge."

Buffy glared, and Jack knew if looks could kill, he'd be in the bottom of Davy Jones's locker. "This isn't over," she swore ominously.

Not wanting to let her have the last word, Jack answered equally in the same manner, "I would be disappointed if it was, Miss Summers."

Buffy's eyes flickered over to the disgusted woman who was next to him, finally realizing Elena's presence. However, it only made her even angrier, and with a huff she stormed off menacingly, only to have it ruined when she slid on the deck because of the slime.

Unable to hold it any longer, Sparrow laughed at her expense, only to yelp n a rather unmanly manner when a glob full of the same slime hit him squarely at the chest, the cold mixture already seeping through his clothes. "Bugger it woman!"

_This means war._

And unbeknownst to him, Elena was thinking along the same lines.

---

For the next several days, the Black Pearl could have been indeed called a war zone. Both Buffy and Jack began a series of pranks, and it quickly became clear that in no circumstance was the crew to interfere if they didn't wish either party's ire to be directed at them. And at this point, Buffy pulled too much impressive stunts for the crew to take her lightly anymore.

Unknown to both either of them, Elena was doing her own plotting. She took this as her opportunity to increase Buffy and Jack's animosity between them. However, unbeknownst to the plotting Espinosa, both parties found some odd thrill of the continuous cycle of 'revenge, argue, plot, and repeat' they had between them—her efforts passed off by the other's assumption that the other did it.

Nonetheless, the tension between was heightening with each prank and it would have been foolish to say that what happened one afternoon was not bound to happen.

Buffy painted the railings with another set of varnish, plotting her next revenge silently. Jack's treatment to her one and only shirt will soon find him with a hat full of sticky honey. It was entirely his fault that she was now forced to wear one of the undergarments of her previous set of clothes. She had to rip the better half of the cloth to prevent her from snagging on some of the rough edges of the Pearl, and make it look like it was meant to be a shirt.

Moving a few feet to apply a new coat of varnish there, Buffy suddenly heard the door of the Captain's cabin fling open, revealing the undoubtedly sticky Captain Jack. It only took a few seconds to spot her innocently varnishing the ship, and even less than that to run up to her with an almost frightening scowl.

Buffy smirked, pleased to have another one of her stunts affect him so. With an expected raise of her eyebrow, she braced herself for their usual argument to ensue. It was the only place where the agitation of being placed back in time can be vented out.

"Where did you put the rum?"

A drop of honey fell onto his nose, but he was still more engrossed at his missing drink. She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"You know bloody well fine what I'm talking about Summers. Where. Is. The. Rum?"

"Look, I didn't touch your rum, okay? I have no idea where it is and the next time you go accusing me, actually have proof that I did it, and not just your paranoia talking."

She turned away from him, thoroughly annoyed that Jack would be idiotic enough to go accusing her with something she did not do. An unmistakably unsheathing of a sword clearly showed how Sparrow felt about their conversation, and Buffy stiffened—the slayer in her putting her on the edge.

"Put the sword away, Jack. Unless you want a repeat of last time."

"Who said there will be a repeat?"

The dark undertones of his voice should have sent warnings, but Buffy was now starting become indignant at Jack's rash behavior. In a flash, Buffy drew her own sword, effectively blocking the jab he suddenly made. Her eyes narrowed.

"Attacking behind people's back?"

"_You_ turned your back away in this fight, luv."

Both stared at each other for a few tense movements, before they became a flurry of swords. A constant 'ping pang cling!' resonated every time their swords touched. Buffy quickly realized that she was a tad rusty, and her reaction was slower than it was when she fought Glory, putting her into a slight disadvantage.

A wave of familiar emotions threatened to engulf her, and Jack saw her distraction as an opportunity to land a particular hard hit, and Buffy barely managed to block it, before she rolled it off and pushed an empty barrel over to stall some time.

"So is this how it's gonna be from now on? You start losing your rum so you attack me?" she sneered, using her familiar tactic of 'infuriate-the-enemy-then-win.' "Really pathetic, if you ask me."

A dark glint passed over her eyes. "Oh its more than just the rum, luv," he grunted, before sidestepping to evade Buffy's blow and attacked her opened side, only to have his sword meet air when she ducked and rolled away from it. "Insubordination? Endangerment of the crew? Lying? I have more than enough reason for a fair captain to send you to the brig. Or maroon you on an island."

She snorted, and ran up the stairs before turning around to meet him head-on in their fight. "Have you not looked at where you are, _Captain_? You're in a pirate ship. I thought it was pretty much expected to lie and cheat amongst thieves."

He grinned, but Buffy knew it lost its usual sarcasm and wit. "Even us men have codes to live by, Miss Summers. Unlike you, apparently."

She glared. "I was never a thief."

"The dagger in your boot says otherwise."

Suddenly, both lost themselves in the motions and with each and every strike of the blade, a small spark of emotion awoke inside of them; the more primal parts in them relished in their fight and the release of the accumulated tension. For Buffy, it was her first fight in _days _and she was surprised to find that Jack was a pretty darn good match; where he lacks in strength, he makes up for the difficult and various forms he did. Jack on the other hand, became increasingly curious everything about her and just _where the hell_ she learned how to fight like that.

All too quickly, Buffy and Jack found themselves at a draw, sword clashed with sword, both clearly surprised as the other. "Well, well. I'm impressed Miss Summers. Just where exactly did you learn how to fight like that?" It took everything of Jack's to keep his voice calm. Surprisingly, he could barely hold himself against Buffy, and he stored that fact away to be reexamined at a better time.

"Around," Buffy grinned flippantly, and Jack was delighted to learn that she found the same enjoyment he felt when they fought. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

"About what?"

"If you can block this," the sweep of his feet was unexpected, and Buffy fell down with a thud, surprise clear on her face. Jack kept his sword pointed at her neck, even as she glared indignantly. "I told you there won't be a repeat." A drop of honey fell on his nose.

"You cheated."

"We're in a pirate's ship, luv. Cheating goes within the boundaries," he mocked her earlier words.

"Screw you," she retorted, but didn't feel the usual bite in her reply.

Jack thought so as well, for he only smirked at her response…before suddenly landing with a similar loud thud when Buffy kicked his knees under him. However, Buffy made a severe miscalculation on the pirate's position, and Jack fell right on top of her, his sword skittering away beside them.

"If you wanted me on top, you could have just said so in the first place."

_Damn it._

Buffy stared defiantly at his dark eyes, trying to act non-pulsed. "And you said there won't be a repeat?" _Oh god. _She mentally cringed at the lower tones of her voice, and Buffy blamed it all on the lack of oxygen and enclosed space.

Jack's eyes quirked with amusement when the honey Buffy so graciously slipped in his beloved hat dripped right on her nose. "I didn't think you meant about this particular event," he continued right on, not bothering to move from his position. His _comfortable _position. "If I had, I wouldn't have said what I said awhile ago."

She glared back at him, slightly flushed. "Bastard."

"Pirate." He grinned wider, and for some odd reason Buffy couldn't fathom, her heart skipped a beat when he looked down at her in a hooded gaze. Still, she raised her delicate eyebrow at him, trying to remain her composure and ignore just how much effort she was putting into remaining indifferent.

"Never."

But whatever retort he had was quickly erased when a bucket of water was tossed at both of them, catching both of their attentions. Simultaneously, they looked up to the source of where the water came from, and saw Gibbs with the bucket, the rest of the crew looking at them in quiet awe behind him.

"The hell was that for?" Buffy tried to hide her embarrassment and at being caught at such a…compromising position. _Ack!_

Gibbs cocked his head lower at Buffy, his amusement clearly showing. "We'd be near Tortuga, Miss."

Unexpectedly, Jack scrambled up to his feet, his anger from earlier now gone. Taking out a telescope, Jack saw with a satisfied smile that they were indeed nearing the bloody best island in all of Tortuga. He shook his head, _no_, in all of the Spanish Main. Without missing a beat, he turned around to help Buffy stand, only to find his grin growing wider at the almost second skin appearance of her shirt.

He really needs to thank Gibbs sometime.

"Ah, not a moment now, dear Summers, will you be having the time of your life." Jack held out his hand, hoisted Buffy's small frame, and shook off some dust. His efforts were rewarded with an affronted glower and a stinging slap on the hand, when he decided to cope a feel.

"Can you _not_?"

He grinned. "Tortuga Buffy."

**xxxx**

Okay, I know its going in such a slow pace, but I swear that Buffy's life is going to get some more oddities, Jack's gonna get hella drunk, and the plot will thicken wherever Elena and Jonathon goes.

I'm sorry if it seems a tad boring right now, but I hope the little sword fight between Buffy and Jack was worth it.

Please REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes:** Thank you so much for the reviews! You're continuous support kicked me back to writing, even though I am writing this during my finals week.

**xxxx**

Chapter 9—Lose Yourself

**xxxx**

It had already grown dark when they finally ported Tortuga, and Buffy cringed at the smell that assaulted her sensitive nose, _in spite_ the fact that the winds headed towards land. And the sight was not better off. Underneath the cloudless night, Tortuga proved to be a stark contrast from Port Royal—the drunks and the prostitutes loitered around town, even at the docks. Barrels and kegs stacked up as high as buildings, while gunshots and obnoxiously loud music became the background noises.

It was as if the whole town was a huge nightclub. On crack.

And then she felt it. That familiar tingly-sense that the Powers have granted her to seek out the demons. Narrowing her eyes, she searched for the source, and was surprised to see that it almost thrummed from the very soil of Tortuga, and she found herself berating at her shock. Tortuga was the _perfect_ place to lose yourself into, and the constant supply of rum and whores was enough to make any man forget they even had a life outside of this. Much less later.

The slayer inside of her woke with a feral growl, and Buffy was only slightly hesitant to give her release. Buffy clutched her sword and smiled. _I guess the bath will have to wait._

"Ah, so you approve."

Buffy sighed. "Has anyone ever told you have bad timing?"

"I can think of a few." A pause. "But you approve then, aye?"

"I've seen better towns. And cleaner trash." She could feel the wounded look that must have been on his face, and she had to bite her cheek from laughing.

"Which only goes to show your hypocritical tastes again, Buffy," he huffed. "A man has not lived a full life if he hasn't stepped foot and received the luxuries offered by Tortuga."

Buffy stared at a running prostitute who was giggling madly at the chasing man behind her. To Jack she retorted, "Pig."

"I'm only a man, darlin'."

Buffy looked at him archly, then narrowed her eyes suddenly when her senses focused down to a figure several feet away from them. He was staring straight at her with a look that sent up the flaming red flag. The African man quickly jerked his head, and Buffy got the distinct impression that she was to follow him.

"…and it seems I'm not the only one."

Her attention snapped back to him and gave him an innocent look. "One what?"

"You know what I'm—"

"Jack Sparrow!" They both looked to see Elena and her father standing off on the side, a dark look clearly showing what they feel about their current location.

Taking this as her cue to leave, Buffy just airily said, "And that's the sign that says 'leave.'"

By the time Jack realized she left his side, Buffy was already trying to find the eerie man, her usual feminine gait turned into a predatory pace. Had she bothered turning back, she would've seen an unreadable expression on Jack's face before he turned to deal with Elena.

---

"It's an ambush!" A vampire cursed with a snarl.

"You and me both. But hey, I'm liking my odds," Buffy cheerily quipped before giving the vampire a swift uppercut. She slightly berated herself earlier for falling into such an easy scam, but the fight had already began releasing some tension in her back. Another snarling vampire ran towards her and she used his momentum to flip him over and kick him in the stomach.

Although she could've easily dusted either of them, or the next three surrounding her, she refrained from using her sword or any other weapon other than her fists and legs as she pummeled out her problems physically. Jack may have abated her tension somewhat, but it didn't change the fact she was screwed over by the Powers by saving the world. Again.

Ducking from a sloppy punch, Buffy easily knocked of a third vampire and sent him flying over a few feet. "C'mon guys. Aren't you supposed to be all 'gifted' with the extra-heightened senses? Don't take me lightly just 'cause I'm a girl."

One of them finally realized who she was. "You're the slayer!"

"Comma, The!"

The vampire next to him suddenly dropped his defensive stance, a puzzled look on his face, contorting his features even more. "I thought she'd be a bit…bigger." A murmur of agreement rang amongst them, "And quieter."

Buffy quickly became affronted. "Hey! Can we get back to me kicking your butt then poofing you into dust?"

The one with the bloodied lip laughed mockingly. "If you can even kick that hi—aah!" A slight breeze carried his remains away.

"You know, I really wasn't a fan of people making fun of my height."

It seemed that that was all it took for the vampires to remember who they were dealing with before they finally launched back into action. "I will feast on your blood tonight, slayer!"

"Blah blah blah. Can't you see me yawn, dick-face?" She elbowed another vampire on the nose before performing a roundhouse kick to his side. "I mean seriously, no matter what century, you guys will _always _have the lame one-liners, won't you?"

"You forget your place, wench!" another growled menacingly, and Buffy saw that the others began to pick themselves up, anger and blood-lust thrumming in their veins.

"Says the walking corpse." _Time to end this. _

The five vampires gave a simultaneous scream of aggravated fury and circled her with a few quick strides. With a single leap, Buffy jumped and tucked over their heads, and swung out her sword in one graceful move. Before the vampires realized what happened, she decapitated two in a sweep, then leaped into air when a vampire tried to kick her.

A shot suddenly rang out and Buffy gave a loud yelp when the bullet grazed her shoulder. _Not good._ With a few more rapid moves, Buffy decapitated the other one before the last vampire could even reload his pistol, and Buffy was on him in a flash.

"That was really rude," Buffy mockingly scolded, before she sliced his head off and he was nothing more than dust in the air. "Jerk." Satisfied that she dusted every single vampire, Buffy regretfully tore her shirt open to see the damage. She hissed when she prodded her broken flesh. It was a lucky thing that the bullet merely grazed her arm, but she still never had a bullet that close to her before.

Someone applauded behind the crates, and Buffy immediately went into fighting stance, bullet-grazed arm or not. For a second, her heart lurched at the painful memory of meeting Spike so many years ago, but she quickly came into her senses. It was the same man as before, with the same eeriness about him that put her instincts into alert.

"Who are you?"

"I am no one of great importance," he started with a thick Jamaican accent. Then he smiled, revealing several white teeth, "It is you, who holds great significance out of all of us, Slayer."

She put her fists down, but she remained even more alert. "And who exactly is 'us'?"

"Me. My lord. The island."

"You mean the rest of the whores and pirates of Tortuga?"

"Yes. And no. But enough questions, Slayer, you are hurt and my lord wishes to see you," he held out his hand, but Buffy remained determinedly unmoved.

"And lead me to another ambush? No thank you."

He chuckled, sending shivers down her spine. "I am sorry if it raised your suspicions. Or caused you pain. But it was only a test, something to make sure that you were Her."

"Yeah, yeah. The slayer, I get that part, but why does your 'lord' want to see me."

"To keep Tortuga alive, and of that I can say no more. If you wish to learn more, Slayer, then you are to follow me," without waiting for her response, he turned around and left.

Buffy sighed, and forced her feet to follow. "Why do I always get stuck with the weirdoes?"

---

Jack tried to lose himself into the booze and good company as soon as he got into _The Unfaithful_, he really did. But that blissful headiness he could only get from rum always seemed a bottle or two away. And he indeed got those next two bottles, sometimes even three, but it never seems to be quite there.

Finally fed up with his lack of success, he took his remaining bottle, gave one last cope to a pouting redhead, and stepped outside _The Unfaithful_. He took a deep breath, savoring the distinct smell that could only be found in Tortuga. There were several strong contenders of course, but none so distinct as his favored island.

"Are we there yet?" A familiar voice whined, and Jack snapped his eyes open, the moment lost.

"We will be there soon enough," a thickly accented voice commanded quietly but strongly. Jack stiffened visibly, but dove towards a pile of barrels before the two could see him. He watched the larger man turn to Buffy. "It will be worth it."

And they kept on walking.

How very interesting… 

For some reason, Jack didn't press the raging curiosity that coursed through him, and instead, forced himself to walk back towards the tavern. Had he waited a moment awhile longer, he would've seen Buffy's glance towards his direction, and the bloodied sleeve of her left arm.

With a purposeful gait, Jack slammed his hand on the table and called loudly, "Get me the strongest rum in the house!" while he grabbed an attractive brunette, who saddled his lap with much enthusiasm.

He was gonna drink himself to sleep tonight, and by god was he _not_ gonna do it alone.

---

Jack woke up from a loud slam, a deep pounding in his head signaled his activities last night. He hissed loudly when a flash of light pervaded his sensitive senses, and he had to blink several times before he could finally focus on his surroundings. Although still confused, he managed to make out the form standing at the door. He licked his lips.

""uffy?"

"The next time you'd like to fuck a whore, Captain Sparrow, kindly refrain from using my room," she greeted coldly, and Jack took several moments to process what she just said.

And then he heard _her_.

"Jack?"

Next to him, Elena was curled up to his side, dress barely covering her in the least decent of manners. Then he felt a breeze, and Jack looked down at himself, with some surprise, without a shirt and sporting an unbuckled belt. When the pieces finally clicked into place, Jack turned towards Buffy but groaned when a bout of dizziness hit him like a canon.

Just the same, she left the room with quick and angry steps before Jack could say anything comprehensible. But one word repeated itself in his head without stopping anyways.

_Fuck._

**xxxx**

BWAHAHA. How's that for an ending? Please review, and don't hate.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes:** Sorry for the delay. It's once again for the usual reasons. I'm hoping to get this baby at least ¾ finished by the end of this year. Hahaa. That's the most I can promise. But for now, here's chapter 10 of Greek Fire.

**xxxx**

Chapter 10—Truths

**xxxx**

It took him nearly ten minutes to shake off the morning haze when it would normally take him just mere seconds. Another five minutes to convince and dismiss Elena from the room, who unfortunately did not have as much experience in being drunk as much as he was and had to be literally shoved out the room. Her curses and swears and irregular stagger would've normally made him smirk—as was as was customary with most nights like this—but he only frowned and continued to dress himself. Which took another ten minutes. _Must've been a night_.

He tried to piece back the night but found that he could only go as far as when he grabbed that brunette to his lap and ordered the best rum of the house. Which was incredibly shitty, if he must recall, but it still did a number on him.

As the last traces of the alcohol from last night finally began to dim, he finally managed to leave Buffy's room. Jack tried to erase the last pangs of guilt that held him minutes before, and only succeeded in pushing it back to the recesses of his mind. Unable to deal with such feelings—as he had done more ungentlemanly things to women before—he ignored any implications as to why he was having problems erasing his guilt.

He coughed and smacked his lips together, annoyed at the cotton-like feeling he got from the rum, but it was also ignored and he promised himself to deal with it once he was in the privacy of his own room.

"'lo captain," a lone pirate greeted him. Mark? Marcus?…Mikey? Jack seriously couldn't recall, and he became slightly annoyed as he was forced to nod his head to him or mumble something incoherent under his breath.

He suddenly lurched over but managed to catch himself just in time when his foot got caught on something. Looking down, he found Elena's prone form curled at the bottom of the stairs, still suffering from the alcohol from last night.

"Take 'er to 'er—oom, and nothin' else. Savveh?" he ordered the pirate. His obvious slur gave way to his activities last night, but his more obvious irate behavior and darkened glower wiped any inspirations of a lewd comment in the other pirate's throat.

"Aye. Savvy."

Jack left the pirate to carry out his orders and entered the deck, hoping that Buffy calmed her now infamous temper enough so he could get to his cabin in peace. Going up to the deck where she surely was would have inspired another argument, and he in all honesty—as he _was_ an honest man—was not in the mood to defend his actions last night. After all, even he didn't recall what truly happened, but based on his and Elena's disposition last night, such activities pointed to something _happening. _But he knew that staying in her own room would just worsen the situation even more.

In spite of himself, he searched out the crew for her after allowing his eyes to adjust to the sun. Her blonde hair, now tied into a messy but tightly bound bun, was easy to spot. He looked her over, and raised his eyebrow at her change of clothes.

A fitting olive coat donned her petite figure, and a pair of dark brown trousers held by a black belt replaced the old gown he was used to seeing her in. It's a wonder she could give a powerful kick with those legs of hers, but he had put it off as one of the things about her she was not telling. A pair of black boots reached up to her knee.

She suddenly turned, tying up a lone rope from one of the lower beams of the mast. She wore a white shirt underneath her coat with a purple vest on top of the shirt. In spite of her masculine clothes, Jack could still see her feminine figure even without the old dress. Buffy looked every bit of a wealthy sailor with brand new clothes—as was seen by the still white shirt and un-scuffed boots.

And then he remembered.

"_Are we there yet?"_

"_We will be there soon enough. It will be worth it." _

Jack stiffened and narrowed his eyes at her. She finally noticed his presence, and the short surprise gave way to cold indifference as she glared right back at him. _The nerve…! _But even if his indignant anger and need to get a good argument was there, his body had other ideas and he already knew he wouldn't win this round. He was just too bloody tired to do anything.

And so, he did next best—and most childish—thing he could have done. He snorted and rolled his eyes at her before visibly turning around and walking towards his cabin. Jack saw her shocked face before he turned and for now, it was enough.

---

_"What am I suppose to be looking at?" Buffy glared at the man smiling at her enigmatically. Her shoulder was starting to throb, and him smirking at her was not helping her mood._

"_Look closer."_

_And she did, and the air did a funny shiver thing and a large door appeared at the once vacant wall. Huh, no wonder everything else was displaced to the sides. "Neat."_

_The man said nothing and only began to walk forward, once again forcing her to move forward. A long open corridor led them to an open chamber that clearly contrasted from Tortuga outside. The walls were opalescent, furnished together with drapes and rugs of rich reds and deep blues. A pile of pillows surrounded an onyx-black table and was centered in the room. This was clearly a meeting place of some kind._

_But the man led her away from the room and into another corridor before finally stopping in front of a door. _

"_There are new clothes gathered for you to choose from. A bath has already been prepared for your arrival and a servant will take you to meet my lord after you are done."_

"_Wait what?"_

_But he already left._

"_He really needs to spare me the disappearing act," but she entered the room anyways. True to his word, a proper bath had already been prepared for her, and none of the water was contained in a splinter-prone tub. And by the looks of it too…yup, it was still warm. A set of towels were gathered to the side, just near enough to reach, but far enough not to get wet from accidental splashes. _

_She looked back at the closed door, worried for a second, but then she suddenly couldn't take off her clothes fast enough. She hissed and sighed at the water's contact and she all but melted into a Buffy-soup. Picking up a bar of current-day soup, she began the much needed task of cleaning herself._

---

Buffy felt as if she had just been slapped in the face. Whatever excuse, whatever scenario, whatever _anything _she made up about what happened last night just went straight down through the proverbial toilet. _He _was pissed at _her_?! For what exactly! For intruding in their private time? For telling him calmly—given the circumstances—to leave _her _room? For ordering him to get out?

She sneered and seethed at every thought. That self-righteous _bastard! _Buffy accepted his position as the captain, but hell would freeze first if he thought she was just going to turn over and pretend she didn't have dignity or a sense of pride.

But perhaps worst of it all, was that she cared that Jack did that. Hadn't he been the one who always showed her he was nothing but a pirate? That every single deed he did has been in the name of showing her just who the resident badass was in this ship? She should just place this as another one of her growing list of 'Ten Things I Despise About Jack Sparrow.' She should but she _just—_

"Uh, Buffy?"

"_What?_"

Gibbs flinched at her harsh tone but coolly replied, "I think you've made enough knots."

She looked at the rope she was tying for the past minute and saw several knots made one over the over. Slightly flushed and embarrassed, Buffy managed to retort, "Well, it needed it."

"Ahuh…" The older man raised his eyebrow at her, before frowning over Buffy's soldier. Puzzled, she too looked over, only to have her previous mood come back, and then everything just seemed too much deal with and Buffy began to storm off. "Where are yeh goin'?"

Gibbs heard her mutter under her breath that suspiciously sounded like '…kill something.' He puzzled over it, but shrugged it off as another odd thing about Miss Summers. He looked back at Elena's form, wondering what caused her to look under the weather this morning.

She stalked off the _Black Pearl _determined to get away from anything that reminded her of anything as quickly as possible. Which was, suffice it to say, relatively easy when the sights and sounds around her contrasted from last night. Tortuga seemed to lose that alluring mysteriousness and vibrant nightlife it had when sun fell and instead, drunks loitered around each quiet tavern, nursing their drunken haze for another round tonight. The bright Caribbean sun gave Tortuga a harsher look and every crevice and crack was revealed. It looked like the buildings themselves could barely hold together.

"I can't wait to leave this place." Buffy stuck her hand into new coat, and was surprise to pull out a piece of parchment. She read it over again, and her wondering gait suddenly turned into a purposeful one. These addresses from last night will be enough of a distraction.

---

_A knock broke her out of her thoughts, and she was forced to look away from her reflection._

"_Come in!"_

_A servant, meek and small, entered the room. "Are you ready Miss?"_

_Buffy glanced one more time at the mirror, and saw her new attire. She looked every bit of a 17__th__ century woman-boarding-a-pirate-ship should look like, and the transformation unnerved her a bit. But at least the sword next to her hip was a comfortable weight. "Yeah, take me to your leader…ugh. Never thought I'd say those words."_

_If the servant thought it was amusing, she didn't say a thing, but only led her back to the previous chamber. This time however, a man was waiting for her across the round table. Several mean looking guards, all of whom she doubted were human, glared at her, daring her to do something incredibly stupid._

"_Sit down, Miss Summers."_

_Her name brought her out of her observations. "You know my name, and I don't know yours. That doesn't seem fair," but she took the offered seat anyways. _

_He chuckled. "My line of work needs a certain…ambiguity. But you can call me Sunny."_

"_Sunny?" But it was less of a question and more of an incredulous snort. _

"_Yes," apparently not hearing her tone, or choosing to ignore such voice. "May I offer you anything? Tea? Coffee? Some cocoa perhaps?"_

_Tempted as she was, Buffy was not in the mood. "Look, Sunny. You can cut the pleasantries and just say what you want. I mean, thanks for the hospitality, but being ambushed by a bunch of vampires as a test and practically dragged here is not my idea of a perfect night. So yeah thanks, you got me curious, but if a tea party is all I'm here for, then no thanks."_

_Still he did nothing. Just did the whole snotty-upper class thing and sipped his drink. But Buffy wouldn't let his attitude get to her. Except maybe fidgeting. And the tapping of the nails. And the occasional—_

"_Miss Summers," Sunny started, finally finished with his drink. "I have a small proposal with you to make."_

_She snorted. "And what makes you think I'd say 'yes'?"_

"_You got new clothes."_

"…_Damn."_

_He laughed. "It just concerns your stay here, Miss Summers. Nothing more."_

---

Buffy kicked the barn door open. "Wakey, wakey! The sun's shining, the birds are singing, and the slayer's here to do the dusting!" She actually felt kinda bad for the surprise attack. Then she saw several dead bodies casually thrown around the floor, and any feelings resembling guilt were erased. Vampires. Evil. Dust.

Several of the vampires hissed as soon as the door open and most of them jumped in shock. "Aww. Did I miss the party?"

"'ooh the bloody 'ell ah yoo?" a woman, a prostitute most likely, sneered at her in her game-face.

"Hm, I thought I covered that already in my little introduction? No? I could've sworn I did." The woman was the first one to go and the man next to her met the pointy blade of the sword. "Anyone else having problems remembering?" A momentary pause and some of the vampires actually tried to flee from the site, but most of them stayed and tried to fight her.

She dusted another three in a few minutes, her previous wound from last night now completely healed. And then finally, a solitary vampire was left, and the death—well, undead death—of his brethren drove him mad with rage, instead of alarm. But in spite of that, Buffy just toyed with him and just started to pummel him with one hit after the other, never letting him have the satisfaction of meeting the dusty end.

"Oh come on, all that partyin' last night wiped you out?"

"Shove off, bitch!"

"What? You think _you're_ having a crappy morning?"

He tried to land a punch, but she sidestep his punch, pulled his arm, then broke his nose with the heel of her hand. "I mean, its not like _you _were just given the cold shoulder without doing anything to deserve it."

She punched, ducked, then gave a roundhouse kick.

"If anything else, it should be _me _that should be giving the cold shouldery-ness. Was _I _the who slept with a whore? _No_. Was I found doing anything freaky-dicky with anyone in _his _room? Hell no! I've never even been to his room before. How in the hell does he get the balls to get all pissed at me as if I'm the one who ruined his day Mister-I'm-A-Pirate-So-I-Can-Do—"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Buffy stopped her fist in mid-air, and looked at the bloodied vamp. She rolled her eyes before decapitating him, and turning him to dust.

"Men!!"

---

"Women!!" Jack just about yelled to thin air. His headache has now been replaced with that pleasant alcohol-induced numbness that follows every time he touched rum. "Manipulative, capricious li'l twits."

"Oh I'm sure we're not all that bad."

He stiffened, and drank some more. "Aye. Some of yeh lot are damn worse." She chuckled. "What are yeh doin' 'ere Miss Espinosa?"

Elena took the liberty of sitting across the desk from Sparrow. "Mister Sparrow—"

"I was too drunk to 'member anything last night and I apologize most sincerely, but if its any consolation, I already know that you had a good time, so you're welcome."

She stiffened with annoyance, but Elena managed to plaster an amused smile. _Cocky bastard. _"I wasn't going to talk about last night."

"No?"

"No. I was just going to inquire when we're leaving Tortuga. Pressing matters, and deadlines, you see."

"And what, pray tell, is the rush?"

"Jon—my _father's_ temper, Captain Sparrow. He may have outgrown his more youthful size when he was younger, but he can still display quite the mood given the chance."

Jack looked at her seemingly-pristine appearance. Though her hair was clipped and groomed back to its usual way, the bags under her eyes and her rigid form told him she was still suffering from the drinks from last night. "We'll be leavin' by first light next morn."

"Thank you," she got up and headed towards the door. "Oh, and Sparrow?"

"Aye?"

"I actually did have a good time…" she exited the room with an obvious sway to her hips. She didn't see the look of the guilt-stricken pirate, as if she had just told him of an unwanted fate. Elena closed the door behind her.

"…if something _actually_ happened," she muttered lowly.

**xxxx**

Please Review! I've been planning out the rest of this story, and to my rough estimates, the story will be finished around the 20th chapter, give or take 2. However, there's a great and probable chance of continuing this into a three part series. For more information, visit my profile and please send some feedback.

Up next: Sparrow gets discovers an interesting fact about Buffy.

(unedited version)


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Once again, if you have any feedback or suggestions for the possible upcoming series—or trilogy, I should say—of the continuation of _Greek Fire_, please do so. I would like to hear what you think! And like as usual, please review, as reviews always inspire authors to write more.

**xxxx**

Chapter 11—Surprise?

**xxxx**

Dusk was already falling, and loath was he to admit it, Jack was slightly worried about Buffy's whereabouts. He had already half expected her to storm into his cabin several hours ago, bringing brimstone and hellfire with her, and be given the talking and the yelling of his life. And he'd argue back, claiming her not-so-innocent late night activities either and how dare _she _be a complete hypocrite, when quietly, he was still nursing that horrid guilt of his.

It's actually quite amazing that he still had that guilt.

She had got to be one of the most self-righteous, cheeky, mercurial, and mysterious little chits that he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. What with her impossibly shiny blond hair and sarcastic comments, it's enough to drive a man mad with annoyance. He frowned. Well, mad_der _in any case.

He should probably just leave her here in Tortuga; she was already getting herself acquainted with it anyways. And far too soon for his liking. But still, a crewmember was a crewmember, and though he had the Code to support him if he chose to leave her in this island, he knew he truly couldn't bring himself to do it.

Which quite bloody well irritating he had to admit.

"Gibbs! Where be our young Buffy?"

"Haven't seen her since this mornin', Cap'n. Stormed right off the ship, muttered somethin' when I asked her where she was goin', and she hasn't been back to the Pearl e'er since," Gibbs paused his work. "D'you think somethin' happened?"

"One cannot be too sure with that girl, mate. Do you remember what she nuttered on about?"

His first mate hummed a few notes before frowning slightly. "I think she mentioned killin' somethin', but I can't be too sure."

"Aye," it was Jack's turn to frown. He drummed his fingers against his chin, before directing several orders. "Make ready the Pearl, we leave at sunrise."

"Yes, Cap'n."

Off to kill something, eh? "That girl is getting odder by the day," he swears to himself. Swaggering off the Pearl, he grabbed a nameless lad. "You. Have you seen a bonnie lass 'bout nigh-high, quite unpredictable, and likes things point an' sharp?"

---

Jack had to confess, he was impressed. It only took a couple of men before he could actually get some answers to where Buffy could possibly be. Well, at the very least, a Buffy-look alike. She must've done something quite impressive to leave such an impression on the usually ignorant Tortuga-natives. Natives being the ones always carrying a bottle on their persons and smelled perpetually like rum. However, it was already well into the night and he still hadn't spot hair nor hide of Buffy even with all the directions he received.

"You are looking for the blonde-one, Mister Sparrow?" a somehow familiar voice asked from behind him.

"It's _Captain_ Sparrow, mate, and why yes I am. So if you have any information about the whereabouts of the _'blonde-one,'_ now is the good time to give it," he snapped. It was the same man from last night and Jack felt he had all the rights to be short-tempered with him. But even his unwelcoming attitude did not affect the man in front of him. Instead, he gave a knowing smile, before simply turning around and walking away.

"What?! Hey! Don't you walk away from me! You! I'm talking you!" but for all his screaming, he didn't get the man to stop and tell him where Buffy was. Pretty soon, he was forced into a half-jog, half-trot as he tried to keep up with the other person's strides.

Winding in and out of streets and alleys, both of them soon entered a quieter part of town—one that even Sparrow himself hadn't ventured into, and he was amazed at its very existence. A loud brawl broke him out of his reverie, and he quickly realized he had lost his guide.

"Bugger."

Then another familiar voice started its equally familiar taunting.

"Oh come _on!_ You seriously don't know who I am?"

"Would you just shut _up_?!"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh met his own ears, and Jack instinctively ran towards where the sound was coming from, only to be given a sight that he never expected. He knew she can hold her own, but to see her against five other men bigger and bulkier than her own frame took him by complete surprise.

"Buffy?!"

Her head snapped towards him with surprise, and the distraction was enough to give one of the men—who had an oddly distorted face—to throw himself at her. Jack almost slapped himself, but he wasted no time in joining in the fight. With a huge arc and a punch to his left, he managed to give Buffy and himself a wide enough space to give her time to gather her bearings.

"Jack? What are you doing? You shouldn't be here."

"Uh, perhaps you can ask that a bit later? You know, right after this mess?"

"Yeah. Sure. _Duh_," but he could tell that she was slightly disappointed.

And then the fight was on. Two of these men launched themselves at him, giving the most inhumane growl that he had ever encountered. It was slightly difficult having to fight one with a club and the other only with his fists, as Jack had to constantly readjust his own steps to parry against both of them.

"Wait, aren't you tha' man Jack Sparrow?" the one with the club stated with surprise, causing the other one to pause his attack.

"Hey! It is him!"

"You know me?"

"Yeah, _yeah_! How could we not? I heard about that thing with the East India Company, the one when you disappeared right in front of their eyes? How the bloody hell did you do that?"

"Oh! And how did yeh get off that island? Last I heard yeh were marooned by Barbossa."

"Sea turtles mate. And that thing with the East India—"

Buffy must've heard the conversation since she gave an annoyed huff. "I can't believe this! How could you know him and not know me?"

The two looked at each other before shrugging. "We're fans."

Jack practically puffed his chest with pride. "They seem quite friendly. Do I have to fight them, Summers?"

"Uh, that would be nice," she grunted when one of the men she was fighting kicked her in the stomach. She gave a vicious push to that very same leg before kicking his knees. "And I don't know about you Sparrow, but kicking girls in the stomach doesn't exactly rate high on the friendly scale."

"Well, maybe not those three, but these two are all right."

The said two grinned at each other, pleased to have the famous Sparrow approve of them.

"Jack, either fight them, or leave," she gave a roundhouse kick, then gave him a glare once she had enough space. "We are so not discussing this now."

Jack turned to them. "You heard the lady."

"Yeah, she's bossy one, ain't she mate?"

"It's part of her charm, I think," Jack shrugged.

One of the men gave a painful yowl, but Buffy indignantly replied over it, "I heard that!"

"I guess we better get back to it then, yeah?" the man twirled his club experimentally. "But seriously, mate, it's a pleasure to have met you. No hard feelings though."

"Yeah, it's just business," the other man shrugged then snarled, all traces of awe gone; Jack suddenly found himself yelping at the sight of his demonic yellow eyes, and sharpened teeth.

And just like that, the fight was back on. Any form of admiration from them evaporated and Jack realized that these _were_ dangerous men as he fought back fiercely. He suddenly elbowed one of the men in the face, forcing him to stagger back, and then with a quick jab, he thrust his sword into the other man's chest.

He growled loudly in pain, but much to Jack's surprise and horror, he just took out the sword protruding from his chest with a loud grunt and with a maniacal laugh, hit him square in the chest. The next thing Jack knew, he landed on a pile of crates, ten feet away from where he originally stood. _How the hell—?_

"Oi you! 'Slayer's what you call yehself, yeah?" The man now towered over him, but he was calling out to Buffy.

_Slayer?_

"Actually, it's more of like the job title they gave me," her voice quipped, and Jack looked up just in time to see the sword decapitate the man before he turned to dust.

He blinked several times. "Well that was convenient." The same must've happened to the others.

"Wait until they get into your hair. Or your nails," Buffy sulked, before she held out her hand to help him. "You alright?"

Jack rubbed his aching chest, but tried not to flinch when he stood up. It felt like he cracked a rib"M'fine." Or a cart ran over him. Again.

"Good…Now what the hell did you think you were doing?! You could've gotten yourself killed tonight! I had everything under control and I was doing my thing, but _noo _you just had to get yourself in that fight when I was making with the jokes—"

"Oh is that what you were doin'? Makin' jokes with these…men?" Jack snapped, angry with her for her lack of gratitude. Not that he did anything, but a little appreciation for being there would've been nice.

"Uh, _yeah_," she shook her head. "Look. The point is, you had no idea what you were getting yourself into—"

"And I suppose you did?"

"Double _yeah_. I'm not the one who got thrown ten feet into the air."

He rolled his eyes. "I had him. He just…didn't stay dead. How did he do that anyways?" But before Buffy could find a response, Jack ran over a pile of the broke crates, jostling his injured rib. His painful hiss quickly got Buffy over to his side, her small hands running over his chest and checking for injury.

He tried not to shiver at the contact.

"You're 'fine', huh?" she snorted, but it didn't have her usual bite. Then her voice turned softer, "I don't think you broke anything, so it's either a fracture or a bruise, but I can't tell for sure. Let's hope for latter." She withdrew her hands, almost hesitantly.

If it wasn't for the lack of light, Buffy swore he would've seen her blushing, 'cause damn he felt good. _I'm still angry, I'm still angry, I'm still angry…_Licking her dried lips, Buffy avoided his eyes, and instead wrapped her arm around his waist and began helping him walk. Which was slightly awkward with their height difference, but Jack mercifully decided not to say a thing.

"C'mon, let's get you fixed. I know a place."

"They wouldn't happen to have rum, would they?"

She found herself chuckling in spite of herself. Oh, she was still pissed at him for this morning, but injuries call for top priority at the moment. "I'd be more surprised if they didn't. This is Tortuga after all, right?"

---

"I don't see anything."

"You kinda have to squint and turn your head to the side. What? I'm serious," she added when he gave her a look.

A few seconds later, Jack gave a delighted grin. "Oh there it is. How ever did you find this place?" They walked towards the magic door and knocked.

"This guy showed me where it was last night. It's where I got the new clothes. Pretty neat though right?" She felt him stiffen next to her, but Buffy ignored it as the man who was apt at appearing and disappearing in the most inappropriate times opened the door. "Hey. Got room for two?"

"It has already been prepared."

"Sweet," Buffy began leading the still silent pirate in. "You gotta love their service. You alright, Jack?"

He looks like he just swallowed something foul. "Yeah."

They entered a different room from what she used last night, this one having a huge four-poster bed and a night table that had what looked like the 17th century version of a first aid kit. She carefully unwound her arm around him after he sat on the bed.

She turned around to close the door. "Take off your shirt."

"You're not taking advantage of ol' Jack now, are yeh?"

Buffy tried not to blush at the mental image he just gave. Bad Buffy. "The only taking advantage I'd be doing is poking you to death if you don't follow what I say."

"Sorry, darling. I thought I was the one who should be doin' the poking." His rakish grin only deepened her blush.

Then the memories of this morning came back at her and chased the flirtatious mood right out of the window. "Jack, please just do it."

Jack gave her a look, and Buffy suddenly realized that he was just trying to make light of things. But the mood was broken, and Buffy found herself in that awkward silence that basically choked the room. Forcing herself to act nonchalant, she took off her new coat and folded it over a chair.

And then she saw him. Well, his chest more specifically, but _him _nonetheless. Bullet wounds that she didn't feel awhile ago now became apparent and faint old scars that he gained from reckless behaviors and life-threatening situations grazed his torso. Underneath that envious tan of his were muscles that tensed and shifted with every movement he made.

I'm still angry, I'm still angry, I'm still angry… 

His muffled grunt brought her back. She swiftly turned back into the nursing mode, and began to roll up her sleeves as she walked back towards him. With forcibly steady hands, she ran them over his ribs again, trying to find any abnormal bumps that she might have missed from before. In her concentration, she failed to see his heated gaze and shiver that came from her touch.

Then he gave another hiss of pain, and she promptly withdrew her hand.

"Sorry. But it's definitely a fracture. I need to tie you up—I mean, _bandage _you up." She blushed again, and quickly took the long piece of cloth from the table and began to wrap it around his torso as a form of distraction.

"Buffy."

"Mmm?"

"Those were vampires out there, weren't they?"

Surprised, Buffy accidentally tightened the bandages and Jack gave an unmanly squeak. "Oh sorry." Then she began to unwind it and wrap it back again. "But uh, what makes you say that?"

"Once you travel as much as I do, or seen as much as I have, luv, word gets around," a slightly cocky note entered his voice, but she didn't have the strength to say anything about it. "'Course, I've never actually met one before, especially one that knew of me."

With that, she gave a disgusted note. "Which was totally unfair by the way."

"And why is that, Miss Summers?" and at this, Jack managed to hold in that squeak. He gave her a dark scowl. "I'd appreciate it if you don't bloody squeeze me to death."

"I'll squeeze you whenever I want."

"Is that a promise?"

Buffy felt her face turn red again but tightened the bandages again, this time purposefully and began tying the ends.

"Ow! You ninny, that _hurt_."

"Oh, well I guess that was a 'yes' then. And I can't believe you just called me a 'ninny.' What are you five?"

He glared. "Wench."

"Perv."

"Twit."

"Wuss."

"And you're trying to change the subject."

"I am not!"

"Was too."

"Was _not_."

"Hah! There you go again."

"Ugh! I don't have time for this," Buffy said, frustrated. She got up to leave, but the strong grip on her hand promptly stopped her. "Let go."

"Not until you tell me."

"It's complicated."

"I'm a complicated man," he countered back, as if it was the most obvious answer. "Try me."

Buffy looked at him, long and hard, trying to figure out if she should or shouldn't tell him. Then her eyes strayed down to his bandaged ribs, and she quickly knew her answer. "Fine," with a sigh, Buffy let her arm go limp and looked back at Jack. She owed him that much. "Where do I even start?"

Jack didn't let go of her until she sat down on the bed next to him. "That man called you a 'slayer.' You can start with that one—and no lies."

"Fine; no lies, but I have the right to withhold information you don't need to know."

"To a certain extent, darling."

She nodded, still slightly hesitant about what she was about to tell him. "Right. So a slayer, well…it goes like this. Into every generation, a slayer is born…"

---

"Elena! You cannot possibly do this."

"Oh I really beg to differ."

Jonathan grabbed her arm, trying to stop her adding the unknown liquid. "You've done enough to secure Jack's heart, you don't need to harm the girl."

"How could I have possibly secured it? Sparrow only _thinks _that something happened last night, but even if he had, I could tell it was only a brief loss of control," she snorted bitterly, but not because of hurt feelings. "Bloody idiot actually thinks I had good time when he just passed out properly drunk like any other pirate."

"And you think poisoning Miss Summers is going to help us secure his cooperation?" the duke shook his head incredulously. "Is this really for the sake of finding the island, or an ill-conceive plot for the fact that you can't keep a leash on Sparrow?"

Elena kept her rising annoyance out of her voice. "Do you even know what would happen if Jack starts to pursuit that little whore?" At his silent reply, a gruesome smile appeared at her face. "His compass, Duke! From the way things are looking, he is going to be too preoccupied panting after Summers to get to his head around the so-called payment you promised him. In fact, I think the only reason we haven't gotten to that island sooner is that his compass hadn't shown him."

"Wait, his compass…?"

"…shows where your heart most desire. And though he is a pirate true to blood, he is a man first," she finally added the finally ingredient to the green liquid, and began mixing it. "So I asked myself, why fight it? All we really need is for him to fix his priorities once something drastically ill happens to dear Buffy. Oh, dry up those tears, Jonathan. The poison will take at least a week to reach its full potency; plenty of time for Buffy to enjoy her last days."

He shook his head; still not happy with this new turn, but he was completely unable to do anything about it. "I do hope you know what you're doing, Elena. I had not planned to kill anyone for this voyage, especially one innocent of even the life of piracy."

"If you ever want anything out of this life, Duke, you need to start thinking about getting your hands a little bit dirty."

And as if it was a final statement, she closed the vial with a soft 'pop.'

**xxxx **

Holy moley! That's probably the longest chapter for this story! I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed with the speed of how it began, but I think it evolved to something a bit more engaging, yes?

Please Review!!

_(unedited)_


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Once again, if you have any feedback or suggestions for the possible upcoming series—or trilogy, I should say—of the continuation of _Greek Fire_, please do so. I would like to hear what you think! And like as usual, please review, as reviews always inspire authors to write more. Btw, sorry for the wait. Had problems writing this story.

**xxxx**

Chapter 12—Revelations

**xxxx**

"You don't believe me."

He paused at the bottom lip sticking out. "Luv, you have to admit this is a tad big to take in. Vampires I get, one girl to kill them all? Highly impractical, if you ask me."

"Yeah, well, who likes practicality anyways? It didn't seem to come into mind when they made the First Slayer," she sniped back, and then cocked her head as if listening to a thought. "Hit me."

"What?" Jack looked up from his nail with surprise.

"I said: hit me. C'mon. As hard and fast as you can, right here on the cheek. Hit me."

"I'm not gonna hurt you just so you can prove a point, Summers. And where was that rum you said they'd have?"

"Ach. Don't be such a sissy. Besides, you wouldn't be able to hit me anyways, which is going to prove _my_ point. And I'm not gonna get you piss-assed drunk," she snorted, crossing her arms.

"_We, _we are gonna get piss-assed drunk, as you so eloquently put it. And I'm not a sissy. Asking me to hit you—and predict that I'll miss—just takes the bloody fun out it."

"So what if it's a cheap sho—_ohh_ you're tricky," Buffy smirked when she caught Jack's fist right before it hit her. "See? I told you you couldn't hit me."

Jack, however, was unwilling to admit defeat so quickly. "One thing, darling: I'm in the bandages here. And even if you are what you say you are, what are you doing on a merchant ship?"

Buffy paused, and then averted her slightly widened eyes. "That's for another time." For some reason, a terrible pang of guilt hit her right then, just when she realized that she hadn't even thought of home for awhile now.

With her stiffened figure and complete lack of willingness to answer, Jack shrugged in compliance before asking _the_ question. The one that he just knew would…_do _something to him. "Well, then what were you doing _here_?"

"Oh," Buffy shrugged nonchalantly, now glad to be out of the unwanted question. "The guy, the one who opened the inviso-door? Well, he brought me here and I talked to Sunny, who is apparently the 'lord' of Tortuga, and he gave me a list of places where there's been some major vamp activity. In return for their lack of interference in my slayage and the new set of clothes, I just couldn't hit the rest of the demon population. I was literally just a 'vampire slayer' for the night. Did you know at least half of the taverns here are owned by demons?"

Jack forced his voice to remain steady. "No. I didn't."

"Well, they are. It actually makes some kind of sense in a weird and totally—"

A knock interrupted Buffy's ramblings, and both of their heads swung towards the opening door. It was the same man who opened the door for them previously.

"My Master would like to see you, Miss Summers."

"What for?" But he already left and closed the door. Buffy scowled at the door, while Jack stared after it amusedly.

"Is he always that…off?"

"As far as I can tell, being a slayer comes hand in hand with the odd and wacky company," Buffy grinned slyly.

"Oh I see...HEY!"

---

"You wanted to see me?"

But Sunny became all too interested at the companion beside her. "Captain Jack Sparrow," he sniffed with disdain.

The person in question was already looking around the room with what Buffy thought was wicked fascination. It was as if he was already planning the easy picks in the room in case they had to make a quick get away. Because of his studies, Jack didn't hear the tone in the man's voice, and it wasn't until the man gave an impatient cough that he finally snapped back to attention.

_I swear this man has ADD._

"Nice place, mate." The pirate took the liberty of sitting down, legs spread lazily apart, on one of the plushy cushions, near a small desk.

"Quite," Sunny half-sneered, before he forced his attention with a decided air back to Buffy. "What is he doing here?"

"Oh. Did I mention I was one of the crew of the Black Pearl?"

Sunny's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "No, you did not. That makes him your captain then. He is aware of our business?"

Buffy's eyes darted slightly towards Sparrow's direction, before nodding in agreement. "I told him about slaying vampires, yes." But Jack didn't miss her eyes shift towards him.

"Of which I am still reluctant to believe," he added in. At the look he received from Sunny, Jack just waved them back to their own conversation.

"Good. Your ignorance will make it easier then. My men have given me reports about—" Sunny started before one of his men, slightly haggard, came into the room and whispered something into his ear, glancing briefly at Buffy.

A small tingle of suspicion ran through Buffy's spine, but it was enough to slowly place her hand over the hilt of her sword. Her action was again not missed by Sparrow, who by now had nicked several pieces of silver from Sunny. Acting oblivious to their conversation, Jack casually placed his hand over his pistol, while examining a particularly extravagant piece, before pocketing it in his coat.

Sunny nodded back to the man, tensing with every word whispered, before he replied a command back to his messenger's ear. Finally, he turned back towards Buffy and gave a smile. His stony eyes gave away his intentions, however. "Miss Summers, it just occurred to me that I never asked what you were doing in Tortuga."

She gave a startled pause at the new topic, but this did not stop her from answering, or ceasing the grip on her weapon. "Uh…sorry?"

His eyes narrowed and any evidence of a polite conversation had now vanished. "Don't be ridiculous, it's a justified question. How is it that the so-called champion of the Powers ishere on a pirate-filled island, and not guarding and protecting the hellmouth? I've asked myself this many times since hearing of your arrival, but the vampire infestation has been growing dire, and I took what I could get. But even then, slayers are supposed to be protecting the hellmouth and _not_ gallivanting around scum, such as Jack Sparrow."

Jack made an affronted face. "I take offense to that, thank you! Just because I haven't paid any of my tabs as of late—"

"Jack just shut up for sec," Buffy snapped. Then to Sunny, "What are you talking about?"

Sunny finally stood up to his impressive height, and both Buffy and Jack suddenly noticed the men that surrounded them. "Don't play me for a fool. I know you are not the slayer. All I want to know is what you are doing here on my island? Rallying up an army of vampires? What?"

"Okay, now I know you're talking crazy. I AM the slayer," Buffy stood up, and accidentally allowed Sunny and the rest of his men see where her hand rested. Immediately, swords and pistols and other weaponry were drawn out.

Nervously, Jack smiled at the nearest man, as if the pistol in his own hand was nonexistent.

"You can stop this act now. My men just informed me that the current slayer lives in Madrid. And the one before that was in Cape Town. And I know, Miss Summers, there is only one Slayer called, and not two. So again, what _are _you doing here?"

Buffy knew she would be shot if she even mentioned being from the future, so she knew the full truth was not an option. "You sent me to slay vampires remember?"

"Yes, on the pretense of thinking you were the Slayer. But I was clearly deceived, and I do not like deception, Miss Summers. Now again, what are you doing here?"

"Look. I was rescued by a merchant ship before Jack's crew decided to raid the_ St. Louis. _In exchange for the passengers' safety, I offered to be part of his crew and Sparrow decided to port in Tortuga! Then you and your men came along, and suddenly I was slaying vampires during my stay. That's what happened."

She wanted him to believe her—she truly did—for believing in her would make her feel less lonesome. However, Buffy had the sinking feeling her truth but not the whole truth would get her into trouble. And she was right. "A humorous tale, Miss Summers," he turned to his men after giving her a hard look. "Kill them." Then he vanished with a loud hiss.

Several things seemed to happened all at once after he vanished. From her left, a dagger was thrown in Buffy's direction while at the same time a shot rang out from behind her. Jack had to quickly dodge the swipe aimed for his neck and roll on the floor before he shot the man. A loud thud from his left told him that Buffy managed to evade the dagger but when he glanced over her to make a witty remark, he saw blood coming out profusely right on her shoulder.

"Ah shit," Buffy groaned, but she wasted no time in grabbing her sword with her good arm and getting back up to her feet. "Probably should've gone to my right."

Jack quickly went over to her position to give her cover. "So, this happens a lot to you, yeah?"

"Well, it's my first time getting shot with a bullet. I never really saw the hype," she quipped right back, although he could tell that it was a painful wound. She scanned any possible escape routes. Threatened or not, she refused to take out a human—or at least, what appeared to be human since she couldn't sense demon in any of them. "Believe me yet?"

He shrugged. "It's getting there. Now, can you tell me all those goody little details that you seem to keep on forgetting to tell your captain about when we get back at the Pearl?"

"We'll see."

Then the surrounding men jumped into action all in one movement, ending their conversation and forcing them into action. For Jack, when he was able to, he had never seen Buffy moved with such speed and accuracy when she punched and knocked out the men. Hell, he had never seen anyone moved like her, especially with a bleeding wound. And even with such a wound, all of her hits were meant to stun and put them unconscious.

One of the men managed to put a heavy blow on Jack's arm, and he gave a loud yell before hitting him swiftly with the butt of his pistol. He fell down to the floor. Quickly, the ten men that surrounded them were all unconscious, just like Jack's most recent victim. However, their victory was short lived when they heard heavy footsteps running from above them and through the several corridors that led to their room.

"You're starting to become more trouble than you're worth, Summers," Jack growled good-naturally. Unfortunately, Buffy didn't see his half-grin, and the horrible feeling of guilt just got even deeper. She pressed her head on her bullet wound to get some pressure, and gave Jack a weak smile. "Right. To the Pearl?"

"Sounds good, Captain."

The two managed to stumble out of winding hallways and out of the invisible the door, and quickly set out to find the docks. Dawn was nearly upon them, and although they could always count on the perpetual oblivious state of Tortuga, they still didn't risk the chance of being seen. But Buffy's bleeding wound and Jack's throbbing arm along with his fractured rib made their speedy getaway…not so speedy. They both had to rely on each other's support, which made them look like they were trying to push each other over using their shoulders.

At last, they see the Pearl only a few yards away, and Jack valiantly tried to speed up their slow pace. That is, until he realized that Buffy was barely conscious and his right shoulder was soaked with her blood.

"Bugger this." As much as he wanted to just simply carry her, his rib prevented him from even raising up his arm at a decent height, much less carrying anything. Then, to make matters worse, the men they were trying to evade finally seemed to catch up to them, forcing Jack to yelp at their sight. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Raise anchor and let down those sails."

Gibbs, who had fallen asleep while waiting all night for the two to return, gave a startled snort and gaped at the sight. A hundred yards behind Jack and Buffy was what looked like a small militia, running towards them. Wasting no time, he called up the rest of the men and the sails soon dropped and the anchor hoisted. "C'mon captain!"

"Keep this quiet, Gibbs." Jack commanded before he allowed Gibbs to take Buffy from his arms and directed him to take her to his cabin. He turned around to face Sunny's men who were nearing the docks. "Gentlemen! You will remember this to be the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"

They snarled and gave several responding shots to Jack's proclamations. The loud bangs caused the Duke to run out from his cabin, eyes moving wildly looking for the source. "What's this? What's happening? Are we under attack?" Elena came following her father soon after.

Both Jack and Elena caught sight of each other before looking away in embarrassment; Jack, for his rather baseless act, and Elena, for her inability to fully seduce Sparrow. He cleared his throat and pretended his body didn't ache from his recent encounters. "It's just an unusual standing ovation, mate. Cheer up."

They both glared at him as if he was the cause of all their problems, before decidedly turning around and going back to their rooms. Finally out of sight, Jack quickly headed towards his cabin. The ship's doctor was already there, sterilizing a pair of tweezers with a bottle of whiskey. He sighed, glad that his own stash of rum was not discovered. Pulling one out from his bureau, he took several, well-deserved long gulps before he finally asked how Buffy was doing.

"Buffy is weaaallly dwunk wight now, please leave a message," Buffy gave a delirious giggle when she heard his question. She gave small burp before laughing loudly, even though a pair of tweezers was half an inch deep in her shoulder.

She was lying across his bed so that she was parallel to the headboard while the doctor sat on a chair beside her. The doctor gave a nervous chuckle before addressing his captain. "Other than being obviously drunk, Miss Summers had lost a lot of blood tonight. Had you came minutes longer, I'm afraid she would've been lost. That being said, it's a downright miracle she's even conscious for this and—ahah! Got it!" He pulled a lead ball out of her shoulder and dropped it on a tin can.

"Ooh, can I keep it?"

"I'll answer that when you're finally sober, Buffy. And why didn't you tell me you'd act like this when you get drunk?" Jack grinned down at her flushed figure. "I like you better this way."

Buffy gave another giggle while the doctor started to sew her wound. "Mmhm. Me too. Very numbing," Jack somehow got the feeling that she wasn't talking about her physical wounds. "I heard it let's you forget things," she looked at the bottle curiously, as if it would talk back. After a few moments, she finally took another long gulp from the bottle, and made a disgusted face. "God, I'm starting to act like one of Jack."

"Here," Jack took off his hat and placed it on Buffy's head awkwardly, "now you look like one of me."

The doctor looked at him curiously for a moment before returning his attention back to Buffy. He made a knot before cutting the thread then bandaging her wound and placing

her arm in a sling. He and Jack shifted her so that her head was finally on the pillows. "And how goes you, Captain?" he asked after he was finished with Buffy.

Sparrow only waved him off and told him he was fine. When the doctor took his leave, Jack gave the very drunk Buffy a calculating look. Had he not had the strong desire of gaining her trust, he would've already asked and gotten much needed answers from her. But as it was, she was already beginning to look too drowsy to get any straight answers anyway.

He decided to take pity on the poor girl. After all, she had just been sorta-ambushed and shot all in one night. In spite of her state however, she still managed to look indecently ravishing. The fact that her shirt was hastily pushed off her shoulder probably had something to do with it. "You know Summers, if it weren't for your shoulder, I'd be doing things to you illegal in most countries right about now," he muttered huskily when he tipped his hat up from her face.

She gave him a drunken smile and much to his surprise, leaned so close to him that their noses were actually touching. "Will it make me forget?"

"Forget what, darling?"

Her eyes darted back and forth from his and down to his lips then back again, and before he could even ask her again, she leaned in further and lips met lips.

It was clumsy at first, due to Buffy's drunkenness and Jack's imminent surprise, but like most kisses, it quickly grew stronger and less awkward. This act was so brazen of Buffy, so unlike the woman he had known—the one who sneered and scoffed whenever he made a pass on her—that Jack truly had to wonder if he even knew her at all. Then her hand came up to clutch his shirt, and much to his dismay, she stopped doing that wonderful thing with her tongue.

"Wha--?" He opened his closed eyes, only to see hers still closed. And she wasn't moving. "Figures." The bloody girl fell asleep.

A knock from the door drew his attention away from her. With one last look at Buffy, Jack took his off his bloody coat and grabbed hers before leaving his room. Talking to her would have to happen later.

---

The sun already set hours ago before Jack saw a glimpse of Buffy. She was standing by the railway looking out to the dark seas, her face equally dark and still. In her hand, was his beloved hat. Without wasting a moment longer, Jack calmly walked up to her and positioned himself beside her. It was time.

"I was called when I was fifteen, like any other slayer," she started quietly, and Jack nodded for her to continue. "No matter what Sunny said about me not being one, he was wrong. I am, and I've got a lifetime of stories and several scars to prove it. But he did get one thing right, there's only supposed to be one slayer called at a time. Once a slayer dies, the other is called to take her place."

"Then how--?"

"Well, that's the big one-million dollar question, isn't it? About three days before you marooned the _St. Louis, _I was fighting a hell-god. Stupid bitch opened a portal with my sister's blood to get back to her own hell-dimension. But my sister's blood didn't only open her own gateway to hell, but all of the other doors and portals to other dimensions, bringing hell and chaos and major apocalypto. Which would've been just another Tuesday, but…the only way to close that portal was when her blood ran out, when she died," Buffy's voice became strained for a second, but she quickly steeled it. "And I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Dawn, my sister, was actually the Key, and in order to protect her from Glory - the bitch god, the monks that protected that Key figured it was best to turn her human and send her to the one person who would die protecting the world: me. They made fake memories so that it'd look like she was there all that time. They made her out of me, Jack and so, her blood is my blood."

"So you took her place," Jack finished her tale, his eyes showed the clear respect for the sacrifice she had just made. "But that doesn't answer my question."

For the first time, Buffy shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, I was getting to that. I did take her place and I jumped into the portal that was supposed to kill me. But funny thing was, it just dropped me in the middle of the effing Caribbean…," her eyes darted to his figure, "…about four hundred years back in time."

It took several seconds…maybe even minutes for what Buffy had just said to sink in. All he could do at the moment was stare at her.

"Look! I left my entire life—my friends, my family, my _future_—back there, or to there, or whatever and I've been living in a time where I don't even have a clue of what to do. I can't go the Watcher's Council since I'm pretty damned sure they'd do wacky experiments on me, _after_ I get past the fact that they've already tried to kill me before. And ever since you found out about who I am, all it's done was get you hurt. So I'm really sorry about your arm and your shoulder but that tends to happen very often to people around me and who know what I am.

"All I ever wanted was to have a normal life, a normal everything, but instead, I am destined to die at young age, protecting the world and then getting dropped into another time when I finally accepted my death. A time when any modern conveniences haven't been invented yet and where I don't know what the hell I'm doing!

"But you know what's even worse? The fact that I don't even know if they're safe. If what I had done saved them or didn't even do anything. She said that 'death was my gift,' but I didn't _die_ Sparrow. I landed here. Alive and having a wild goose chase with the British Navy and getting drunk and kissing pirates!" Buffy's voice reached near hysteria, and Jack was taken aback at her state.

"You remember?"

She nodded, looking every bit as guilty and stricken. Jack finally understood why she asked if it would let her forget.

"I just…I just can't do it anymore." And with that, she shoved his hat onto his hands and fled downstairs.

Jack looked at the closed door for a moment, before he put his hat on and had another lonesome drink.

**xxxx**

Review as always, mateys!

_Special thanks to vargamor, who took the time to edit this chapter._


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Warning: Bitchy Buffy right up ahead..

**xxxx**

Chapter 13—Overboard

**xxxx**

Buffy's confession that night did not feel like it had 'set her free,' as the truth was supposed to do, but rather, led her to a depressing funk that she didn't seem to get out of. Or even manage the energy to try. She began spending her time brooding in her cabin and pointedly avoiding any contact with Jack. Moreover, if any contact was made, a cold remark or a hard shove made it clear how she felt.

_---_

_A short knock drew her out of her dark thoughts. Jack never bothered with knocking ever since she got on board, and none of the crew dared to even enter her quarters—a rule she made very clear when some tried to catch her off guard. However, she wasn't in the mood for visitors, so she simply ignored the knocking._

_"I know you're in there, Summers."_

_Buffy became startled. However, surprise turned to exasperated annoyance, as she was darn sure that she made it clear to leave her well alone. She was currently Miss Brooding and no one could get her out of it. "Piss off, Jack."_

"_My ship, Buffy. I'll 'piss off' whenever I want."_

"_Damn it! Go AWAY." _

"_Luv, you need to talk about this. You haven't bloody eaten in three days—since we left Tortuga."_

"_If I was hungry, I'd eat. And why do you care anyways?"_

"_I…" There was a pause, but she heard Jack thud his head impatiently against her door. "I'm responsible for the welfare of the crew. You're part of the crew and you're unsettling the rest of the men. They think you'll bloody explode next time you step on deck."_

_His remark only further angered her. "I'll take care of myself—alone—Sparrow. As in, without your help. As in, leave. Now."_

_But she only angered Jack. He opened the door loudly and glared right down at the most infuriating, stubborn blond. Even more so than Elizabeth. "If you just stop being such prissy bi—"_

_Buffy shoved him against the wall. Hard. "Jack, I am not in the mood for this little spat. I will deal with this alone. I'll get over THIS alone. Now pardon me if I'm not Little Miss Sunshine right now, but I didn't exactly just take a walk across the park. I'll complete my duties on deck sure enough, but I don't need anybody 'helping' me. Especially not from you."_

_They glared at each other for several minutes, and Jack recognized the hurt and the confusion mixed along with her anger in her eyes. Buffy had bottled up most of her emotions inside, and with her confession that made her situation ever more real, as well as the events in Tortuga…she was about ready to crack. And it didn't help either that he didn't exactly have a very supportive response to her confession. _

_He and his men were wrong. She's already exploding._

"_Buffy—" _

"_Go away, Jack." Then sneered, "Maybe you can screw Miss Espinosa in your quarters this time." It was a low blow, but he didn't exactly apologized out loud about that incident either. She shoved him out of her quarters when she saw the guilt in his eyes before she slammed the door._

_---_

Needless to say, Jack began avoiding her presence. However, Buffy could still feel his own pair of eyes watching her do her duties whenever he could and it made her slightly uneasy at his attention. But even his scrutiny was soon ignored, along with that uneasy feeling.

His crew soon learned after him to stay well away from her path whenever she came up from her cabin. A couple of jeering insults resulted in bruised jaws and egos, and the still lingering remarks about her abilities to sail a ship were painfully recalled back. After all, who could keep their jaws shut when she scaled the biggest mast of the _Pearl _in record time, then shoot an empty bottle of rum on the deck with a borrowed pistol?

It was because of her show of marksmanship that she earned a position amongst the sharpshooters of the crew, kept the rest of men quiet about their doubts of her skill, and was offered her very own pistol. And although she believed Buffy and guns were like oil and water, she kept the pistol—for to refuse it was to deny the olive branch extended by the crew.

But the crew still knew better than to become 'buddies' with her.

However, it wasn't only weaponry and respect that she gained that day. A shot of adrenaline had coursed through her when she scaled the mast, and though it wasn't part of her intention, Buffy soon became addicted to doing the riskier jobs of the ship. It didn't cure her of that miserable state, but it did give her a moment's peace from her troubled mind; climbing up and down the masts and jumping to and fro across them became a distraction from what happened to her.

She soon left her closed-quarters for the openness of the deck. The bright sun and her new found adrenaline-crave chased away her almost sickly color she got from staying inside too much. Buffy quickly regained her tanned features and took to performing a considerable amount of chores around the _Pearl,_ and Jack—silently—became pleased at her progress. However, when he caught sight of her glazed eyes and her continuous solitary confinement as well as her lack of appetite, he knew that no real progress was made.

Buffy was working her body well into exhaustion, and even she didn't recognize her body's signs. Though she gained muscle from working so hard, her features thinned out and she was attacked with nausea from time to time. She ate as little as before, with an occasional fruit or a pitiful amount of water. Nothing of nutritional value, and most of the calories she gained—what little of it anyways—were quickly burned by her fast metabolism and duties around the ship.

Even her attitude was affected by her diet. Any help offered was rebutted at first with a wicked tongue, but was later just simply ignored or given a cold look.

She was suffering through her own stubbornness, and the crew could do nothing to stop it.

---

Buffy gave a final grunt before she managed to hoist herself up on the mast. It was hot that day, and only the slightest breeze could provide any relief from the sun when out on the deck. This was exactly why she was up on the masts again, with her feet dangling precariously over the beam she was sitting on.

She had long left her olive coat below deck, preferring not to sweat underneath all that leather. She brushed her hand over her cutlass, and shifted the pistol so that it didn't dig onto her side. To anyone else, she looked like any other pirate, or at the very least, a dirty sailor. Buffy leaned her head back against the mast, and allowed herself to forget. It was easy when she was up here, with nothing but the sea surrounding them.

Oh she was still deathly afraid of the possibility of suddenly being thrown off the boat and drowning in all that water, but the view was simply breathtaking.

She knew there were other, safer ways to forget. One wrong move up here and it was 'sayonara sweet world,' and even at her state, Buffy was not willing to get that close to death. However, nicking a couple bottles of rum for herself, were against 'ship-rules'—as she had come to learn from the other pirates—and she didn't care for the nasty hangover the following morning and the dreadful cottonmouth.

Besides, she was actually growing fond of that incredible feeling when it came to being on top of the masts.

It was…nice.

---

Jack snapped his telescope away from the seemingly peaceful blond and opened his compass. "Bugger." The needle pointed towards her direction, and just to make sure, he angled it in such a way that it was in pure denial if he brushed such an idea off. However, he did manage to convince himself that the compass only pointed to her because of his concern. After all, a captain was to look over the well being of his men, was he not?

He looked down at his compass again, needle still unmoving. Jack sighed, closed his eyes and began his mantra, "I want gold. I want to find gold. I want to _swim _in gold! I want a statue of _me_ made in gold!!" Several of his crewmembers looked at him oddly. Jack opened his eyes and gave a sheepish look before he frowned and barked an order. "Back to your stations!"

He turned around away from his men, and looked at his compass. It swirled around for several seconds before it stopped and pointed. Towards her. "Bugger it all!"

"Navigational problems, Mister Sparrow?"

Jack turned and gave Jonathan a suspicious look. "And what makes you say that?"

The man shrugged in return. "Quite possibly because you haven't given any heading to the rest of the crew ever since we left days ago."

"Well perhaps I lack a bit of persuasion to go find your very own treasure chest," he huffed. _The nerve of some men!_

Had Jack not turned around that moment, he would've seen the sly smirk that came over Jonathan's face. "If persuasion was all you needed Sparrow, then maybe I can show you what exactly my daughter and I are trying to find." Jack stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "That is, if it would help your navigational problems."

If Jonathan made the biggest slip of his life, that was it, but Jack gave no indication that he knew the duke knew about the workings of his compass. Instead, he gave an innocent look—as innocent as they came—and wrapped an arm around the man's shoulder. "You know? That actually might be useful, Duke."

Red flags should've gone up in his head, but too distracted by his assumed victory, Jonathan simply smiled and led him to his cabin. He only mildly noted Elena's absence before he headed towards a mounted shelf and picked out what looked like an old book. "Please, sit down Captain Sparrow."

Jack was lazily, but carefully, scrutinizing their room, running over knick-knacks that disappeared under his deft hands. "Ah! A chair. How lovely." The zealous passenger missed the slight jingle inside his captain's pockets.

Jonathan carefully placed what he was holding in front of Sparrow. Upon closer inspection, the book wasn't actually a book. Rather, it was like a pile of crusty old parchments, bound together by twine. "What am I looking at?"

He heard the duke sigh exasperatedly behind him, before he flipped it open. "This, is what Elena and I are looking for. Discovered in the 11th century by a group of who thought of themselves as 'treasure hunters,' this pretty trinket proved to be more than what it seemed. Whoever wore the ring became impervious to anything that would kill a normal being. Drowning, fire, decapitation, poisoning…you name it, and this ring will make sure you live through it."

"So it's a magical ring then, aye?" This was beginning to sound very interesting.

"It's a priceless gem, my Captain. And overtime, that gem became collected with other treasures," the duke began flipping the manuscript and listing off the names and 'special abilities' of this trinket or that. "The Eye of Rha. Morpheus's Dagger. The Statue of Janus…this collection of priceless and powerful pieces of antiquity has been left untouched and unmanned ever since that group of treasure hunters realized the power each item had. They turned against each other, and in so doing, erased any evidence of a collection ever mentioned."

"Until this," Jack muttered to himself, but Jonathan heard it anyways. Oh, he was completely interested now. He carefully flipped through the pages. Every single item had their own unique abilities, something that made them special, but none of them captured his attention the way the Gem of Amara did. An estimated sketch was made and if it was any indication at all, it was a pretty, little trinket indeed.

"Yes," Jonathan agreed, but smiled at the almost enraptured look Sparrow had on his face. Soon, his attentions will focus on these treasures instead of the rather depressing blond outside. "Which is why I am paying you an incredible amount to get us there. Part of that treasure will also be yours, Captain Sparrow."

"Now hold on there, duke," Jack now smirked right up to Jonathan. "You haven't given me the heading to this li'l island of yours. How do you expect me to sail there and reap such profits if I don't even know where we're going?"

The duke was speechless. "Wha—?"

However, he was spared from answering when Gibbs opened the door, a worried look plastered on his face. "Jack. The navy's on our tail and were about to sail right in to a hurricane!"

"Oh for…! Buggerin' hell."

---

Buffy noted with interest how everybody below started to scurry to and fro on the deck. Masts were opened to gain maximum speed, and the lines were tightened and tied down. It wasn't until she saw the ship fast approaching them, that she realized why everyone's trying to make the _Pearl_ sail as fast as she can. The ship was sailing under Royal Navy colors, and their intentions were as clear as day.

Speaking of which, Buffy gasped as a particularly strong gust almost knocked her over. After regaining her balance, she grimly noted that they were sailing right into some heavy clouds—a sure sign of a storm right up ahead. Another wind almost blew her out of the lines before she finally decided to get herself down the masts.

She could barely hear what the rest of the men were saying, so she decided to look for the captain himself. Buffy was not going to sit this one out—she wouldn't be able to bear the guilt if anything should happen because of her lack of trying.

"Sparrow," she croaked, a side effect of keeping her silence. "Jack! What's going on?"

He turned at her, clearly surprised by her attention. But now was not the time; he needed every able man on deck to sail through this weather, and lose the navy. Already, pellets of rain began hitting against them. "Navy bastards are on our tail, luv!" He shouted loudly, in spite the fact that they were less than two feet apart. The hurricane gusts were making it impossible to hear one another, and pretty soon, no one will have the energy to even shout through Mother Nature. "We're gonna have to lose them in the storm!"

"Aye," Gibbs suddenly appeared, drenched to the bone and looked like a wet dog. Buffy suspected that she looked like one too. "But we need to be getting out of this storm as soon as we can, Jack! The winds will be too rough for sailing soon!"

He shook his head. "She can hold a bit longer Gibbs. Tie down anything loose, Miss Summers. Including yourself!"

"Aye!" Buffy found herself shouting back at him. This was his turf right now, and the slayer had never found herself sailing through 100 mile-per-hour winds. The familiar rush of adrenaline coursed through her, and she ran across the deck to look for a rope long enough to tether herself to the _Pearl._

The waves got rougher with each second, and Buffy was beginning to doubt Jack's intentions. Walls of water pounded and pounded on the sides of the ship, and Buffy swore it almost went topside once. They needed to get out of these waters fast, and when a bolt of lightening clasped overhead, she could barely make out Jack and Gibbs arguing about their course.

Finally Jack nodded, and pointed his finger towards the main mast. She looked up and Buffy was dismayed to see one of the lines flaying wildly; the rope was torn apart. And with the winds becoming stronger and stronger with each second, it'll only be a matter of time before its sails will be next. Thus, unless they want to be sitting ducks once they get out of this storm, the line needs to be tied down.

Gibbs suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of her. "Buffy!" He hollered out, but it might as well just had been a whisper. However, she nodded in reassurance that she could hear him. He pointed helplessly at the rope.

She nodded. "I know! What do you want me to do?!"

"It'll be faster and easier to cut off that line before it rips out the sail! You're the fastest climber out of the whole crew! You need to do it before we go topside!"

Buffy nodded and blinked out the rain. "Okay!" She lurched into the first set of ratlines and began climbing. Several times, she had to tighten her hold as a particularly nasty gust of wind nearly swept her away. And the higher up she got, the stronger those winds were.

Finally she got to the top sail and her small sense of victory was wiped out when the line suddenly whipped towards her, and instinctively, she covered her face with her hands. Buffy cried when the ends of the rope whipped against her hands, causing tiny rivulets of blood to come out. Steeling herself stubbornly, she grasped the rope and made a knot on its base so that when she cut it off, the rest won't start thrash around like before. Just when she tied the knot, another gust of wind and rain attacked her.

When she regained her balance, she frantically took out her dagger to cut the line before her luck runs out with the winds. But it was too late. Just when she was about the cut the rope, a wind—stronger than the previous ones—caused her to swing wildly, and her dagger cut the lines, including hers.

Before she could utter a single word, a wall of water crashed into the _Pearl_, and she lost her grip.

A second later, she was plunged into darkness.

---

Someone was calling her name, but it sounded too muffled for her to be sure. She was shaking, but she knew that she wasn't doing it. Someone else was shaking her.

But she couldn't breath.

She was suffocating and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Then someone was pounding on her chest, and then she threw up mouthfuls of water. One right after the other.

_Oh God. Where did all of this come from?_

Then the water stopped coming out, but she continued to cough dry heaves. She shook so much, but this time, it wasn't because someone was shaking her. Her body was going into shock and she was so cold. Almost freezing. She suddenly felt like someone was holding her, but even their heat couldn't overcome the uncontrollable spasms she was having. Yet, her back felt oddly warm, and the contrasting temperatures confused her.

She might as well had been delirious throughout the whole ordeal.

She had no control of her body. Fatigue overcame her senses, and for the second time that night, Buffy succumbed into blackness.

---

"How is she, Quinn?" Jack nearly growled out, not because of anger, but because of exhaustion from the hurricane. The resident doctor of the ship was already taking care of the rest of the crew, making sure that none of their cuts would be infected, so he requested that the old cook to be here.

Besides, Jack trusted Quinn more than he trusted the actual doctor. At least he didn't bring a sterilized scalpel with him everywhere.

The old man, one of the select few who couldn't help out in the storm, looked up from his patient and back at the captain. "For now? She'll live. But Miss Summers had gone too far long without proper nourishment, Captain. Had she been healthier, she would've quickly recovered from this ordeal, with only a scar or two. But as it is, she scraped her back against the barnacles from the ship, when she was down under, and who knows how much seawater she actually drank? She went too far long without oxygen and…" Quinn sighed and shook his head. "I've cleaned and stitched up the wounds on her back, but with her lack of food from this week, she will have a tough time keeping her body from going into shock again, much less heal her wounds in the back.

"She never should've been up there, Jack."

Sparrow looked up from his bottle of rum, a brief moment of surprise flitting across his face. Quinn never used a person's first name unless he was extremely short tempered with them. Surprise turned into a grimace, however, when he looked back at the bandaged, but sleeping slayer.

"You know how stubborn she is. Worse than 'Lizabeth and Turner combined. She would've found a way to stay up on deck."

"Well, let's hope she is stubborn enough to get through this, aye?" Quinn stood up from the bed with the help of his cane. "In the mean time, get some rest, Captain. It'll do the crew no good with you looking like a drenched rat."

Jack snorted. "Always with the compliments."

Quinn simply chuckled before leaving the room. When he was finally gone, Jack brought his chair closer to the slayer. The cook was right. Buffy was entirely too gaunt and thin, and she had clearly over worked herself. But it was his own fault too.

He didn't do enough.

He didn't make her stop.

He didn't become an annoying prat that manage to manipulate people into doing his will without them realizing it.

He…he didn't apologize.

Jack briefly brushed his fingers over her hand, before he took his back. He took another swig before he settled down his chair to watch her throughout the night.

**xxxx**

Please review!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl. All of the characters, settings, themes, movie, show, titles, witches, slayers, creation, references, ships, and basic gist of the two fantasy worlds all belong Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Warner Bros., Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, and Walt Disney. All rights reserved.

**Timeline:** Post Season 5 for BtVS—takes place right after the Gift. As for Pirates, although containing some probably major spoilers for Dead Man's Chest, I'm gonna have to go off-canon from that movie on this one. Although it takes place after the Curse of the Black Pearl.

**Summary:** From some stroke of fate, Buffy lands in 17th century-Caribbean; smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Piracy. From whence she meets the infamous Captain Sparrow, along with the never-ending headache he seems to bring.

**Notes: **Thanks for the reviews, guys! Hope this wasn't too late for yah!

**xxxx**

Chapter 14—Let's Get Some Cheese

**xxxx**

Buffy sighed in mild content. Her back was infinitely sore, and she was pretty sure she had cuts and bruises where there shouldn't be any. Her throat hurt too, and for some reason, she felt pinned to an admittedly soft floor. But she somehow felt…content.

A feeling she hadn't had for a long while.

She moaned when the pressure on her navel shifted quite nicely. Then the pressure muttered her name.

"_Buffy."_

If she hadn't been so shocked at Jack's position and her recent attitude towards him, his husky voice would've sent her to a pile of mush, but as it was, it nearly sent her to a panic attack. _What happened?_

She tried to shove him off, but her back screamed in protest. _Oh yeah. _She realized that the soft floor was mercifully a bed, but how she got there was the question. Buffy closed her eyes. The last thing she remembered was accidentally cutting the rope that held her down, then blackness. A shudder coursed through her. Suddenly, flashes of images flooded her mind.

Her hand helplessly reaching up to grab the robe as the angry sea surrounded her.

A loud crash and then the distinct muffled sounds when she went down the Caribbean.

Her back hitting the _Pearl's_ hull, with oversized barnacles cutting through her shirt like hundreds of little daggers.

Then pressure. So much pressure.

In seconds, she was reduced to a sobbing mess, with the pirate looking around bewilderedly when his warm pillow moved quite suddenly under him. Jack saw the woman in front of him cry hysterically. Without thinking, he took her in his arms, and was slightly surprised when she allowed him to hold her.

She held onto his shirt, her unnoticed bandaged fingers curling around with surprising strength. Awkwardly, he patted her shoulders, but it only brought her more into tears. He never did care much for comforting women like this—more often than not, he tries to escape such a situation. However, he knew well enough that patting their shoulders, in what was supposed to be a comforting manner, was not supposed to make them cry more.

For several long minutes, Buffy continued to cry hysterically. Soon, she began gasping out gurgled words. "Couldn't…can't...I can't…stop it. I…I—"

"What is it, Summers?"

Finally, she looked at him, face flushed from her tears, but she continued to sob. "Can't stop…I can't stop…_crying_!"

They looked at each other, bewildered and shocked at her confession, before they both laughed. And for a moment the tension was broken. However, Buffy could only emit a small gurgled laughter, before she was once again reduced into bawling her eyes out. No matter how much she wanted to stop crying, her body simply wouldn't listen.

Somehow, Jack knew that she wasn't just crying for her near death experience. She was finally beginning to let go of her anger and depression. Buffy was at last, accepting her new place in life, and Jack understood that she needed this release. He wasn't going to be the one to stop her from getting that.

All he did was rub her shoulders as awkwardly as before.

It took a good few more minutes before Buffy eventually cried herself to exhaustion. When she calmed down enough to sleep, Jack looked at her back and wasn't surprised to see she pulled out several of her stitches and bloodied the bandages from all that crying. He carefully placed her on her front so he could clean and re-stitch her back.

This was going to be a long night.

---

"And she's awake!"

Buffy found herself looking into a too chipper-of-a-mood pirate. She groaned, and rubbed her eyes, only to see her fingers in bandages. She frowned and looked down at herself, only to grimace when she saw her chest wrapped in torn linen. "What…happened?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Jack turned around incredulously, before grabbing a bowl full of soup and walking—no, swaggering—back to her. "None of the cutting of the rope, nearly drownin' in sea, cryin' your heart out?"

Buffy almost gagged at the sight of food combined with the images of her 'accident'. "Thanks for reminding me," though her tone clearly said otherwise. Jack snorted at her response as he came closer with the soup. "No thank you."

He took of the sip of the stew Quinn made for her. "It tastes fine, brat. Now open up."

"Jack, I will gag all over your sheets if you bring that any closer to me. I swear."

He sighed. She was stubborn as ever, but at least she didn't push him away. "Then at least drink your water."

She pursed her lips in pure determination. "No."

"Don't be bloody ridiculous, Summers! You're not going to get any better if you don't start eating anything. That dizzying spell you have is not entirely caused by your injuries, you know. You haven't eaten in the two days you've been incapacitated, and before the hurricane even came, food became like a plague to you. So bloody eat something, woman, or I will force it down on you!"

They both glared right each other, neither one wanting to submit. Unfortunately for Buffy, Jack was right. Her lack of food, along with her injuries, had severely weakened her, and she soon found herself unable to find the strength to argue any further.

"I…I can't."

"You can't what?"

Buffy sighed. She took some small comfort that the sheets covered part of her body—even if they were Jack's—for they provided a distraction for her bandaged hand. "This wasn't the first time I drowned."

"So? Half the pirates here don't know how to swim."

She glared right at him. "It's not that I don't know _how, _idiot. I swam from Port Royal back to the _Pearl_ remember? And I will hit you the next time you interrupt."

He gave a mocking look, but didn't say anything.

"There was this prophecy that said that I was going to die. But as much as I tried not to, I died that night. Drowned in a small pool of water in one of Sunnydale's many caves. My friend luckily brought me back, and it took me forever to get over that night. But even when I did, I avoided any large bodies of water. Death by drowning is still the worst way to go, I think." A small shiver ran through her. "Sometimes I feel like such an idiot.

"Then…the hurricane happened. And I…I just don't think I can handle anything connected with the word that starts with a 's' and rhymes with 'see'."

Jack looked at her squarely in the eyes. He was sympathetic to her traumatic experiences, but he was still determined to help her through her recovery. "It's not stupid to fear the ocean, luv, but I think we can both agree a sip or two, ain't life threatenin'. More like, life savin'." He held up a glass of water, and gave her his most charming smile.

Buffy stared at him defiantly for a few seconds, before caving in. She took the glass almost petulantly, and took a small sip. "Happy?"

"No. Finish the glass, but drink as little as you can at a time."

She scowled back at him, but followed his instructions anyways.

"For what it's worth, Summers, I _am_ sorry."

She nearly snorted out the water. "What for?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably. Not once had he had to apologize for his affairs, but he was truly sorry for this one. It didn't mean that it would be easy to say it out loud, however. "For sleeping with Elena in your room. We…shouldn't—"

"No," Buffy cut him off firmly. "I'm actually the one who should be sorry. I…" she looked away and tried not to shift around so much. "It was none of my business, and what I said before was out of line. I made it personal when I shouldn't have. What you do…or _who _you do, is something that I shouldn't be concerned with. I'm sorry."

He looked at her for several minutes, before exclaiming incredulously, "Bloody hell, that was easy. I even got you to apologize."

But Buffy saw his guilty eyes, even though his teasing grin made her roll her eyes. "Shut up. Just try not to do it in my room anymore. Doesn't bode well for the stomach," her easy remark didn't match her guarded eyes. "How are you two anyways?"

Jack gave her an odd look. "It was just a one time affair, Summers."

"Oh." Buffy had nothing else to say, so she continued sipping her water. It did make her frown at him, however.

Determined to keep her from falling into her old routine, Jack finally asked her _the_ question. "So…the future, eh? How's it like?"

Buffy gave him a small but genuine smile, before she started talking.

She finished her water along with the bowl of soup that day.

---

Elena gave a sincere smile to the old chef, before turning around and carrying the tray of food with a disgusted grimace. She never did much care for the working class, and to be forced in closed areas—much less _pretend _to help—them always made her want to throttle herself. But, she reminded herself, it was part of the plan.

Especially with Jonathan…incapacitated indefinitely, she had to do everything herself.

Once she was out of view, Elena quickly took out the vial of poison that had been gaining potency this past week and a half and poured part of it in Buffy's lunch. It gave a light hiss and an unnatural purple smoke puffed out of the soup, but after a few seconds, her lunch seemed normal. Finally, it seems as if this terribly dull trip was going somewhere. She placed the vial back in her person before ascending the steps and headed towards Jack's room.

Fortunately for her, the crewmembers ignored her business and let her do what she wanted. They all shared a certain disinterest in the brunette after the first few days of her arrival in their ship. She did not inspire the crew to know her better, and Elena shared the same feelings. In the end, it worked out for both parties.

Espinosa eyed the captain carefully, even though he looked like he was in his own world. He didn't even seem to notice her carrying Buffy's next meal to his cabin, or the very motive behind it. After all, she made her feelings clear about the other female on this boat, and it was a tad suspicious that she was bringing the girl food.

Then again, she thought to herself, they are all idiots and probably think that I've grown fond of the girl.

She snorted. If that was the case, the whole lot of them were fools, and they were in for a very big surprise. Buffy was like an annoying itch she simply wanted to scratch out.

Anyone—who wanted to know of Buffy—knew that she finally woke up yesterday. However, Elena was unable to make her move since that dratted Sparrow kept himself locked in that room with her, and made sure she wasn't slipping back to her almost self-destructive path.

He was disgustingly whipped, but it was going to make her plan ever more successful.

She finally slipped into his room and quietly walked towards the table by the sleeping blonde. With some luck, Buffy would be famished when she wakes up, and see the soup Elena carefully placed beside her. Then, just to make sure she actually takes the poison, Elena poured the rest of the liquid and mixed it with a glass of water. The same little hiss, and purple smoke erupted from the drink.

Satisfied with her work, she turned around and left as quietly she came.

Yes. This was almost too easy.

---

Sparrow was entirely too astounded to do anything else other than reflect the future Buffy had told him. Horseless carriages. Film theaters. Ice boxes that made its own ice. His head nearly throbbed of the endless possibilities for such a future, and for a brief moment, he almost didn't believe her. But then he'd remember the wistful gaze that Buffy had every time she mentioned something unbelievable, and then Jack would realize that these weren't impossible. She was honest to god telling the truth.

And Jack knows a little something about lies and honesty.

Jack rubbed his head furiously. It was three hours 'til dusk, and all Jack had done was ponder over his last conversation. "I need more rum," he muttered to himself. Finally deciding it was also time to check on Buffy's progress, Jack left his post and entered his quarters…

Only to see Buffy's form convulsing all over his bed.

Jack cursed and quickly ran to Buffy, accidentally kicking the glass and bowl that fell on the ground. He tried to wake her up but only received a healthy slap in the face that nearly knocked him out. "What is it with women and hitting me on the face," Jack growled with annoyance, before trying to wake her up from her fit. He avoided several kicks and wild, swinging arms, but before he could actually touch her, Buffy's convulsions suddenly stopped.

"Buffy?"

She groaned, but there were no actual answers.

"Luv?" he touched her face, and was surprised to feel it so hot. She was suddenly shivering as if exposed to a biting chill and she was sweating profusely. And if he squinted just so, he could actually see an unnatural yellow tint to her skin. "Bloody hell."

Even with his limited medical knowledge, Jack knew this was no ordinary situation. Something had happened to Buffy, and only one who had more experience with this would be able to help her and tell him what happened. Jack ran towards the door and began frantically calling out for the old man.

"QUINN!"

He opened the door and almost ran into Elena's smirking form.

"Problems with your girl, Sparrow?"

That stopped him dead on his tracks.

_What the hell was going on here?_

---

As soon as Buffy opened her eyes, she knew that she that was in a dream. Why else would the _Black Pearl's_ resident monkey be looking at her oddly on top of the cheese-man's shoulder?

"Cheese?"

Buffy sighed. "No thank you."

That's when she realized she was lying down on a deserted beach, with just the monkey and the cheese-man to accompany her. She stood up and dusted off her clothes. They were the same ones as when she jumped into the portal. _Thank god for cashmere._

She tried remembering what happened before she fell into this place. There was pain, that much she recalled. It was like the burning and twisting of the insides kind of pain. Almost like she was melting from the inside out, only it was accompanied by intense cramps that sent her silently screaming. Then uncontrollable spasms followed soon after, and then she woke up here.

Wherever 'here' was.

"At least the First Slayer isn't here."

"Yeah. You got me instead."

A familiar voice came from behind her, and Buffy was annoyed to see who it was. "That's not much of an improvement."

"Always the charmer, eh Buff?"

"Always the messenger soon to be mauled, eh Whistler?"

He chuckled nervously as he clutched his bowler hat. He waved his hands formally. "Hi kid."

The monkey suddenly screeched loudly at both of them, attracting their attention. He was waving a piece of cheese, and the cheese-man cocked his head and repeated, "Cheese?"

**xxxx**

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_(unedited)_


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Buffy X-overs, Adventure, Humor