Title: "More of a Mascot"
Author: Kat Lee, the author formerly known as Pirate Turner
Rating: G
Summary: He was more like a mascot, any way.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
The Captain, his would-be successor, and all the Pirates astride the Pearl stared at the man who had come onto her bow untouched. The stranger's robes whirled around him like an omnipotent cloud. He held not a sword. He needed no weapon save the wand he clutched in one beefy hand. His eyes met the Captain's wide, kohl-rimmed orbs.
"Well?!" Jack snapped to his men. "What are ye waiting for?! Take him!"
Pintel and Ragetti muttered gibberish and started backing up. They had seen what the other Captain who flew under a strange, cat flag could do and wanted no part of his magic. Cotton's parrot squawked; the mute himself carefully made no movement. "Jack," Gibbs started, but Barbossa strode boldly forward.
"I told ye ye were Captainin' a bunch o' cowards, Jackie," the older Pirate snarled, his blackened teeth gleaming mysteriously in the mist-shrouded light. He drew his sword. "Now watch how a real Pirate fights."
He had drawn his blade first but had no chance to use it as, with a single swipe of his wand, the Sorcerer turned Captain Jack's greatest enemy, up until that point, into a mouse who squeaked and raced away to hide in the darkest corners of the ship. Jack's big, dark eyes darted calculatingly between the fleeing mouse and the Sorcerer who threatened them only because they'd been fool enough to attack his ship first. "He was more like a mascot, any way, but there's only one Wizard on the seas ye could be," Jack spoke, stepping before his men. "Captain Salem Saberhagen, it's a pleasure to meet ye, though I wish it were under better circumstances. Perhaps we can strike a deal?" He flashed his gold tooth as he bowed. A deal would be made; it would change Jack's life forever.
The End