Locks, Keys and Portals
By MsBrooklyn@aol.com
Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em and they still won't leave.....
Part I – Ship of Fools
"Dawn, what the hell is going on here?!"
"An apocalypse," Dawn sputtered. "Glory....we went through a portal and Captain Jack helped me but Glory's trying to end the world."
"Again?"
Captain Jack Sparrow barely had time to recover from the small, blond lass's last attempt to choke the life out of him when she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air. The murderous gleam in her eye would have done Ana proud. "Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!"
To her credit, young Dawn grabbed her sister's arm. "I told you, Buffy, that's Captain Jack and he needs our help."
"Dawn, there are no pirates in Cleveland, honey."
"Sure there are, Buff. They play the Indians – whoa!" A young whelp strode into the room, stopping short as he took in the scene and the players. The whelp was large, muscular and sporting a patch where his left eye should have been. "Who's Captain Hook and what does he want?"
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow to ye, lad."
Ignoring Jack, the whelp took his place at Buffy's elbow. "Demon?"
She shook her head. "Dawn says she knows him."
"Where'd he come from?"
"Just appeared in the living room." Buffy threw her sister a look. "What did I say about playing with talismans?"
"B-but, I didn't. This isn't –"
"Xander, did you conjure a smelly pirate?"
"Nope. Buff?"
"Not me. Sorry, Dawnie, that leaves you."
"Buffy! Xander!" Dawn was practically hopping with impatience, trying to get their attention. "Listen to me!"
As the pair turned their eyes to the young lass, Jack realized with a shock that while she was still a girl-child, Dawn was not nearly so young as when she was on the Pearl. How in the blazes...
"I was sucked through a portal. With Glory. Captain Jack was trying to help us get home."
Buffy shook Jack, the way a terrier shakes a rat. "You were helping Glory!? Why?"
"I'm asking meself the same question, love." Just then, his shirt gave way and Jack crashed to the floor. He had a fraction of a second to realize that it was covered in some kind of fabric and marvel at its softness before the frightening blonde was leaning over him. He peeked around her. "Dawn? Pet? Is this the future ye were tellin' me about?"
"Yes! Exactly!" Dawn was fairly bouncing now. "Buffy, would you stop trying to hurt Captain Jack? He's a good man."
"Pirate," Jack muttered, getting to his feet.
Buffy blocked his way once more, arms folded across her chest. "Slayer."
As Jack looked down into the lass's fearsome countenance, and yes, something that small and pretty was indeed fearsome, he had the sinking feeling that it was going to be a long day.
*************************
"I don't get this. Dawn's been right here, with us." Buffy rested her gaze on Willow. If anyone had an answer, Willow would be the one. Besides, it would give Will something to do, rather than moping about Kennedy, who was off helping Giles, Faith and Robin round up new slayers.
"We've never really explored what Dawnie's being the Key means," Willow said, softly, waving her hand slowly over the pirate and then over Dawn. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Dawnie, your aura....."
"What about her aura?"
"It's....I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. And him," Willow indicated Jack with a nod, "I don't know what you've been into, Captain, but you've been playing with some serious mojo."
"He mentioned cursed treasure," Dawn put in. "Captain Jack? What kind of curse?"
"Did he summon Dawn," Buffy demanded, her hands curling into fists. "Is he responsible for this?"
The pirate got to his feet, the very image of indignation. "I most certainly did not summon Miss Dawn nor did I summon Glory. I do, however, rue the day I laid eyes on them and their leper."
"Leper? What leper?"
"He means one of Glory's minions."
"Blasted wench and her bloody minions," the pirate spat. "Aye, Miss Dawn, I should have let ye kill her when ye asked."
"Popcorn?"
Buffy stifled the urge to snarl as Andrew placed a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. "Not now, Andrew. We're interrogating Captain Seagull here –"
"Sparrow, love. It's Captain Jack Sparr ---"
"No way!" Andrew whirled, his mouth dropping open in amazement. "THE Capain Jack Sparrow? The Black-Pearl-Captain-Jack-Sparrow?"
Sparrow shot a triumphant glance at Buffy, along with a golden smile that nearly made her cringe. She made a mental note to book dental appointments for herself and Dawn at the earliest opportunity. "Ye've heard of me, then."
"We haven't," Xander said, draping an arm around the geek. "Wanna clue us in, Andy?"
"I'm surprised you don't know about this." Andrew was hamming it up now and Buffy had to grab the sofa arm to keep from throwing him across the room. "It's right there in the Watcher Diaries, the early 17th Century volumes. Captain Sparrow successfully defeated the curse of Wacoatzl and the crew of undead pirates who took over his ship and marooned him on a deserted island. Legend has it he escaped on the backs of giant sea turtles. Great story, really. They should make a movie out of it."
Buffy nearly choked on her popcorn. She recovered quickly. "It still doesn't explain why he summoned Dawn or Glory."
"I didn't –"
"I don't think he did," Willow cut in, smoothly. "Dawnie, what happened exactly?"
Buffy pulled the bowl of popcorn into her lap and waited. This was going to be good.
********************************************
"And the next thing I knew, I was here, with Buffy yelling at me ---"
"I was not yelling," Buffy snapped. "I was just telling you that your geometry grade was unacceptable."
"Like I said, yelling." Dawn snatched the bowl of popcorn from her sister and stuffed a piece into her mouth. "Except, the totally weird thing was –"
"Getting sucked into a portal to a pirate ship with Glory wasn't weird enough for you," Xander interrupted.
Dawn shot him a look and gritted her teeth as she continued. "The weird thing was, that I remember being on Captain Jack's ship and I remember everything that happened here since Buffy....since I went through the portal."
Buffy and Willow exchanged looks.
"I remember Buffy dying and coming back, and Tara and the First and going to school and just about everything in between, but I also know that what happened on Captain Jack's ship was real."
"'Course it was, love. An' didn't ye bring ol' Jack back wi' ye?" He patted her knee and then jerked his hand back as Buffy fixed him with another pissed off stare. "Except ye are more grown up now than when ye were on the Pearl. And yer clothes are....strange. Not like the pretty dress ye had on when I found ye. I' fact, all o' yer clothes are a might strange."
"This from He of the Puffy Shirt?"
"Xander!"
"Back to Jack's point." Willow shot all of them a quelling stare. "Jack –"
"That's Captain Sparrow, love."
"Captain...How old was Dawn on your ship?"
"She said she were fi'teen."
"She was almost fifteen when we beat Glory and she's almost seventeen now."
"Ye've grown up right nice, Miss Dawn."
"Thanks, Captain Jack."
Willow cleared her throat again. "Dawnie, I think it's time we learned about the source of your power."
***********************************
Jack tugged at the strange material of the clothing that the Xander whelp loaned him. The bath itself had been well near an adventure. Imagine, he mused, an entire room devoted to one's personal hygiene. Hot water at a whim. The future was a luxurious place indeed.
The entire home was filled with items that caught his attention, but the Andrew boy and the Xander whelp hovered over him, giving him no chance to satisfy his curiosity.
"We need to be careful how much we show him," Andrew commented gravely to Xander. "We wouldn't want to violate the Prime Directive or alter the time- space continuum."
"You mean worse than it already is?" Xander lifted Jack's clothes between thumb and forefinger. "Jack, man, how can you stand wearing this stuff?"
"Pirate ships," Jack explained through clenched teeth, as he snatched his clothing back, "do not have the amenities you seem to enjoy, boy. And I believe I warned ye' to be careful wi' these."
"They can practically stand up on their own. Andy, go put 'em in the wash, will ya?"
The boy took the clothes with a grim expression on his face. "Remember. Prime Directive."
"Just go beam yourself to the laundry room and let me worry about Long John Silver, will you?"
"All right, I'm going. There's no need to be mean about it."
Jack perched delicately on the bed and watched the blond lad disappear with his clothes. "Prime Directive?"
"No interference with primitive cultures – uh, never mind." Xander shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. He leveled his gaze at Jack. "Andy's not quite right in the head, if you know what I mean."
"Long John Silver's jus' a fairy tale, ye know."
"Yeah, I get that."
"So, you an' the lass, Buffy, are ye...involved? Or the fetching red-head?"
A look passed over the boy's face and Jack realized he'd struck a nerve of some kind. "We're just friends. All of us. And forget about Willow. She's....y'know, just forget about all of them. They wouldn't be interested."
"Ye forget, boy, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Yes, definitely struck a nerve. "All those lovely lasses an' yer jus' friends? You some kind of eunuch, boy?"
Xander moved more quickly than Jack expected, grabbing him by the shirt.
That seemed to be happening a lot today, Jack mused.
"You may be a pirate, but this carpenter can kick your ass all the way to the nearest Hellmouth and back."
Hellmouth? Carpenter? Jack sighed loudly. Always the tradesmen and their fiery tempers. "Easy, lad, jus' passin' time."
"Try passing it with your mouth shut."
"Xander!"
Jack repressed a smile as an outraged Dawn strode into the room and smacked the lad smartly on the arm.
"Stop picking on Captain Jack."
"He called me a eunuch."
The girl tried her hardest, it was clear, but she lost her battle and erupted in giggles.
"I am not a eunuch." Xander drew himself up. "I just happen to have bad luck with women. Most of them turn out to be giant insects or demons or --- y'know, never mind. You baby-sit him for a while, Dawnster. I'm going to see what Will's come up with."
"I do believe I could learn to enjoy this century," Jack smiled.
**************************************
Part II – The Guestage
Buffy had been prepared for many things, when she went in to check on Dawn and Captain Sparrow, but she couldn't have been prepared for this.
The two were sitting on Xander's bed, watching Beyonce strutting around on MTV.
"Dawn!"
Her sister's head shot up, deer-in-headlights expression in full force.
"Homework. Now."
"But –"
"Go!"
Grumbling, Dawn brushed past, leaving Buffy alone with the pirate.
"She's not much of one for chores," Sparrow commented, idly.
"My mother let her get away with murder after my dad left." Did she really just say that? To this pirate? Shaking her head, she shut off the television.
Sparrow's eyes were a warm, liquid brown that were tracking her every move. "I thought she was no more'n six months of this earth."
"She told you that?"
"Aye." He leaned forward, tilting his head, eyes sparkling. "So, how long am I to be yer prisoner, darling?"
"You're not a prisoner---"
"Nor am I a guest."
"A guestage."
"What?!"
"Sort of a guest-hostage – never mind, it's something Andrew came up with, which means it's stupid anyway."
"The boy's not nearly so daft as ye think."
"You haven't seen him with a rocket-pack."
"Eh?"
Buffy waved her hand. "Look, we're in full research mode. I've got some friends looking into that deal with the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart –"
"Angel?"
"Is there anything she didn't tell you?!"
"What can I say, love? We spent well nigh a month together on the Pearl. Not so many secrets on a ship."
"Right." Time to bring the subject back to the reason she came here. "I have some questions about Wacoatzl's curse."
The pirate grinned at her. "Who?"
"The cursed treasure."
Sparrow's grin grew even broader. "Tis quite a tale, lass –"
"I've read the Cliff Notes. What I want to know is where this Isla de la Muerta is on a modern map." She thrust a map under the pirate's nose. "I'm thinking our problems might be linked to whatever primal forces you and Vinnie Barbarino triggered."
"Ye mean Barbossa."
"That's what I said."
"Isla de la Muerta isn't on any map, missy."
"Then how did you find it?"
The pirate hesitated.
"What kind of magic did you use to get there?"
Another hesitation. Finally, Sparrow heaved a sigh. "Twas a compass that didn't point north."
"Which you got where?"
Sparrow smiled again. "Stole it, of course. Pirate, remember?"
"Willow's right. You played with some serious dark forces. You're lucky you still have your soul." At his flabbergasted expression, Buffy shot him a grin of her own. "Yeah, we checked."
"I didn't know ye cared, love."
"Slayer, remember?"
************************************
Part III – The Prick
"It's a mystery inside a conundrum inside a --- it's a big mess," Willow sighed to Xander. Tapping her pencil against her teeth, she studied the web search results again. "Yurga and the Yurgas-plural don't do dimensional shifts."
"Maybe not, but our Captain Jack's no stranger to it." Buffy smiled wryly. "Turns out he got to the island with the cursed gold with a compass that didn't point north."
"See? He's so cool!"
Buffy turned to Dawn. "He's a thief and a liar and a pirate. And aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?"
"I wanted a snack. And I thought Captain Jack might like something, too." Dawn smiled innocently. "Figure it's been like four hundred years since he ate."
"Fine," Buffy relented. "Give him something to eat and then go do your homework."
"Uh, actually, I'd like to get a sample of Dawnie's blood."
All eyes turned to Willow.
"It's the only common denominator. She bled and went through a portal with Glory. She bled again and went through another portal with Jack. Blood is power and I'm thinking Dawnie's got more power than most in hers."
Dawn colored slightly. "Guess I'd better not get any paper cuts."
"If you do, don't bleed on anything magical, " Willow warned. "Because that's the other common denominator."
Buffy's eyes narrowed slightly. "But she has. I remember –"
"Those memories aren't real," Willow reminded her. "They feel real, but....you know, they could be real. The Key is supposed to be all about dimensions and universes and it could be that those memories are an alternate reality that merged with our own."
"Okay, am I the only one who's having a wiggins now,"Xander asked. "Will, these theories are really interesting, but –"
"I've already got a call in to Giles."
"Okay, so all that's left to do is..." Buffy trailed off.
"I hate needles," Dawn protested.
"It's just a little prick. You won't feel a thing." Willow held up a syringe. "Trust me. I used to do this in lab all the time. None of the bunnies ever even said ouch."
"B-but what if I bleed on you? You're a powerful witch."
Willow held up pair of latex gloves. "See? Relax, Dawnie. Nothing's going to happen."
*************************************
Jack had nearly fallen asleep when he heard a loud yelp and instantly recognized it as Dawn's. Leaping to his feet, he tried the door. And it wasn't locked. As he made it to the foot of the stairs, he was stopped in his tracks by four pairs of eyes.
"I heard the lass cry out."
"See? I told you not to be such a baby." Buffy gave her sister a playful shove. "We just took a little blood to run some tests. She's a major wuss."
"Am not." Dawn rubbed her arm. "That was a lot of blood."
Jack hesitated. Domestic situations were unfamiliar to him and he wasn't sure whether he was a prisoner or, what was the word, guestage.
The redhead smiled up at him. "It's okay. You can come down."
"Thank ye, love."
She held out a tablet and a pencil to him. At least, it seemed to be a pencil, but much fancier than he was used to. "That compass you were telling Buffy about....I think it would be very helpful if we could examine it."
"It's back on the Pearl, darlin'. In the past." The past was just a couple of hours ago. It was very confusing...
"I might be able to retrieve it for you, but I need your help. Can you draw it for me?"
"Aye. I can, at that." Taking the tablet and the fancy pencil, he began to sketch. "Don't suppose ye'd have a drink, would ye?"
"Sure, what would you like? We have orange, grapefruit, milk –"
"Rum?"
"Sorry, buddy," Xander clapped a hand on his back. "No booze. Beer bad, right, Buff?"
Buffy shot the whelp a look that made even Jack cringe. "Just go make him a sandwich and some juice. Dawnie, go help Xander and then go upstairs and finish that homework."
Chuckling softly, Jack handed his sketch to the lovely Willow.
She studied it. "Nice detail."
"Attention to detail is one of me finer traits, pet." Their eyes met and Jack gave her his most roguish grin. It was his trademark, never-fail grin. Except....this time, it failed.
"Uh, I appreciate the flirtage, really, but I'm kinda gay...well, more than kind of...gay. Really." At his confused expression, she continued. "I'm involved. With another woman. Not so much into the men."
Rum. Rum would have been nice.
Instead.....
"Well, shiver me timbers, Jackie, but I do believe your lunch is ready."
"That's Captain Sparrow to ye, boy." Jack fixed the Xander whelp with a stare. "An' don' try speakin' pirate. Yer butcherin' the blazes ou' of it."
Yeah, rum would have been good. Lots of it.
*******************************************************
Part IV – A Pirate's Life for Me (Or Not)
"Captain, sir, your clothes?" Andrew held the folded bundle out to Captain Sparrow for inspection. "Um, I sewed your shirt back together and everything. It kind of had a disagreement with the spin cycle."
Sparrow took the clothes and sniffed them suspiciously. "Smells all girly- like."
"Wildflower fresh, actually, with bleach alternative." Wow. Wowowowow! He was having an actual conversation with a real pirate. Well, not really a whole conversation, because there was no talking or anything. More like staring. Unless Captain Sparrow could read his mind, which would be so cool –
"Boy!"
"Yessir, Captain?"
The pirate regarded him critically. "Ye're starin'. Ain' polite."
"It's just that...y'know, you're a legend. "
"Let me guess," Captain Sparrow said, softly, "ye wanna be a pirate."
"Uh, no...I get seasick." Oh, great answer. Mental head slap. Try it again, Andrew and maybe less like a dork this time. "But, y'know, they make pills and stuff and maybe you could use somebody like me because I'm good at taking orders. I like taking orders."
"You want an order, Andrew?'
Uh-oh. Buffy. Andrew could feel himself turning colors. "H-hi, Buffy –"
"Get out."
"Yes, Buffy."
"Now."
****************************************
Buffy ran a hand through her hair and let loose an exasperated sigh. "Sorry about that. He's like one of those annoying little dogs that humps your leg."
"And yet ye haven't gotten rid of him."
"He's trying to do the right thing, make up for some of the bad he's done."
"And what about you, love?"
"What about me?" Oh lord. Was he leering at her? Yes! That was a leer. "Look, Jack, women now aren't like what you're used to."
"And what is it ye think I'm used to?" Sparrow was all wide-eyed innocence.
Quick. Change the subject. "Dawn tells me you're pretty good with a sword."
"Aye."
"Feel like showing me?"
"Aye!"
**************************************
Jack barely deflected Buffy's attack. Who'd have thought such a tiny lass could fight like a man twice her size? And who'd have thought that this was what she meant when she asked him to show her his technique?
Fair was fair, but then again, he was a pirate. It was time to cheat. He kicked one of the small metal weights towards her, but to his surprise, she leaped over it easily.
"Are you trying to cheat?"
"Pirate."
"Slayer."
Look at that. She was smiling. "Ye should smile more, pet. It becomes ye."
"I'll keep that in mind." With that, Buffy kicked the weight back at him and it crashed painfully into his shin.
"Ye cheated."
"Sue me." Another powerful lunge and to Jack's dismay, his sword was gone. "Surrender, evil pirate."
"I'm bad, but I ain' evil, darlin'." Jack raised his hands in mock- surrender. "I'm at your mercy."
Buffy tossed him her sword. "Let's go again."
Jack couldn't help but appreciate the view as she bent down and picked up the sword she'd taken from him.
"And, Jack?"
"Yes, pet?"
"Stop staring at my ass."
He lowered his sword. "I'm doin' what I can to not go out o' me mind with worry about me crew an' me ship."
"That's fine, but my ass is off-limits."
"Ye know, ye could be a bit more concerned about me crew, since if Glory has her way, the entire bloody world is going to end."
The Slayer contemplated the blade in her hand. "I haven't lost the world to an apocalypse yet. Besides, it's four centuries later and the world is still here, so I'm thinking Glory's apocalypse was not so much with the success."
"But the Pearl –"
"It's been four hundred years," Buffy said, gently.
"It's been less than a day."
She met his eyes and he saw a flicker of sympathy pass across her face. "Oh, all right. You can stare at my ass, but don't be so obvious about it."
Jack grinned. "Shall we go again, then, love?"
********************************
Part V – One Hand Into the Past
"Now what?" Captain Sparrow barely turned his head in Willow's direction. "Let me guess, darlin', ye wan' me to show ye how to tie knots or some such nonsense."
"Knots?"
"Buffy wanted to play wi' swords an' daft young Andrew wants to be me cabin boy, so, Miss Willow, what can ol' Jack do fer ye?" Sparrow sat up and stretched. "These modern beds are a wonder."
"Rosenberg."
"Eh?"
"Willow Rosenberg – uh, never mind." She held up a pair of chicken feet. "Feel like making magic?"
"Chicken feet ain' exactly one o' those aphrodisiacs ---"
"They have their uses. Like getting your compass." She began preparing the circle, taking her eyes off him. As she expected, curiosity got the better of him and he sat on the floor next to her.
"You're jus' goin' to reach back some four hundred years and pluck the thing off me desk?"
"No, but you are." Willow set the plain white china plate with her copy of Jack's sketch in the center of the circle. "Don't be nervous. I've done this spell before, which, come to think of it, let an evil vampire me loose, but hey, that was years ago and I'm better now. No poofs for my spells these days, although still stinky ---"
"That ain' very reassuring."
Willow looked up at him and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "At least you're not thinking of burning me at the stake. It's very progressive of you."
"Jus' been through some stuff, is all." He met her eyes and Willow could swear he was trying to take her measure. "But I suspect you know all abou' it, bein' it's ancient history an' all."
"We know a little, yes." And then she realized where he was going with this. "I can't tell you what's supposed to happen to you and your ship. One, because that could change what you do and two, because, well, we don't know everything about you. Including how you're supposed to die."
"But I am supposed to be dead."
"It'd be a kind of easy guess. Four hundred years and all –"
"Aztec curse offered eternal life."
"With the added bonuses of unquenchable thirst and hunger."
"And lust. Don' forget lust."
"With you involved? Unlikely."
Okay, he was definitely up to something, all brown-eyed innocence and a who- me look. "Maybe ye could do one o' those locator spells an' see if ye can find the Pearl."
"Jack...." She sprinkled the powder around the circle. "Four hundred years. Ships, no matter how special, either end up at the bottom of the sea or in museums. Do you really want to know that about the Black Pearl?"
"I reckon not."
He looked so crestfallen that Willow's natural Jewish guilt began to ping in a very uncomfortable way. "Jack, it's four hundred years later and Andrew recognized you in a second. Can you say the same about people that lived four hundred years before you?"
A shiny, golden smile was her reward.
"Good. Let's make magick."
*******************************
There was a time, Jack recalled, when women offered to make magick with him that did not involve chicken feet. Or chanting. Or strange-smelling smoke.
"When the portal opens, reach through and take your compass." Willow's gaze hardened slightly. "And I mean ONLY your compass. Anything else and I don't even want to think about what can go wrong."
"Aye, miss." Wait a second. Portal? "Did you jus' say portal?"
"Yes. Don't worry. It's just a little one."
Before he could argue further, the plate began to shimmer and glow. "I see it."
"Good. Reach in and take it." At his hesitation, she added. "Now, Jack! Hurry. Glory's going to feel this little disruption."
Jack gritted his teeth and reached in. His arm felt strange. Don't concentrate on the strange, he told himself, concentrate on the -- "Got it."
"Good. Bring it through."
When he pulled his arm back out, the portal closed with a 'poof' that he barely noticed because he was staring in wonder at the compass in his hand. He only got to admire it for a second before Willow snatched it from his grasp. "Hey!"
She turned it over in her hand. "I'm going to borrow this for a while, see what I can find out."
Jack folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze at her. "So far, ye be testin' Miss Dawn's blood, researchin' the evil lawyer an' now ye wish to play wi' me compass. When, pray tell, do we see the results o' all this industriousness?"
"We're all working on it, Jack. This is what we do." The strength of her words surprised him and then her tone softened slightly. "Think of it as a big puzzle. Dawn's time-tripping is one piece, what Wolfram and Hart want out of it is another, and your involvement is the final piece. You're not in this by accident."
"Didn' think I was, love. Though I rather hoped it might be."
Willow favored him with another gentle smile. "We should have some answers tomorrow."
"It's barely after sunset now."
Her smile broadened into a grin. "You know how everyone keeps finding little things to keep you busy?"
"Aye...."
"Exactly."
And suddenly, Jack realized it was going to be a long night.
*************************************
Part VI –Really Bad Eggs
"The heart, Jack! Stake it in the heart!"
"Hold it still, ye bloody whelp!"
"Stake it now, dammit!"
Jack drove the stake home and to his surprise and utter relief, the snarling vampire exploded in a cloud of dust. Catching his breath, he turned to the whelp, Xander. "Ye could have warned me ---"
"And you would have believed me." The boy leaned perched on a tombstone and wiped his forehead. "It wasn't my idea to bring you along, anyway."
"I don't believe," Jack said, slowly, circling the boy, "that I've done ye any harm, being that four centuries separated our existence 'til now, so maybe ye wouldn't mind tellin' me what it is that's crawled up yer arse an' died."
"You helped Glory."
"Aye, that I did. And Dawn, too. Now, I know ye're thinkin' ol' Jack's a pirate, and pirates ain't known to rescue damsels in distress ---"
"Yeah, you're a real hero."
"In case ye haven't been payin' attention, boy, my crew an' my ship are in that madwoman's hands!" Jack caught himself and lowered his voice. "But that ain't what's bothering ye and somehow, I don't think it's me, either."
Xander raised his head and looked Jack in the eyes. "Glory hurt a lot of people the last time we faced her. She slaughtered an entire army in less than a minute. She drove Tara crazy and Buffy...It was the first time I've ever seen Buffy run from a fight. And it was the second time Buffy died. I'm not ready to lose any more friends."
"It's part of life, boy." Jack took a seat on the tombstone opposite the whelp. "Especially if the life ye chose is one that involves fightin' vampires an' such like. Believe me, if I had any idea how much trouble Glory was, I'd have let young Dawn run her through. She seemed harmless enough, a bit daft, mind you, but certainly as fetching a lass as I'd seen in a while."
The boy's mouth dropped open. "You didn't...."
"Nay, though there were a few moments when I thought abou' it." Jack grinned. "Pirate, remember?"
Xander's mouth worked, but no words came out.
"Aye, pirate and a man, above all else. Tell me ye could resist a helpless lass battin' her eyes at ye, askin' fer help. Ye couldn't, until she called ye a mealworm or some such and spoilt the mood."
"You know," Xander said, slowly, getting to his feet, "I'm thinking a drink might not be such a bad idea."
"Good lad."
"Hey!" The boy turned to him. "Enough with the 'whelps' and the 'boys' and the 'lads.' It's Xander or Harris, got it?"
Jack raised his hands in supplication. "Good man."
"Right."
*******************************
It was the off-key singing that woke Buffy.
"A pirate's life for me....yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!"
Xander and Jack staggered in the door, stopping in front of the couch where she'd fallen asleep waiting for them, still singing, "...and really bad eggs!"
Wiping the drool from her chin, Buffy glanced at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Somewhere after last call but before breakfast," Xander slurred.
"Oh my god, you've been drinking!"
"Just a few. Well, a lot, really. Jack can really slam 'em down. It was hard keeping up."
"'S a talent." Jack collapsed onto the couch next to Buffy and draped his arm around her. "Ye missed it, love. I slayed me a vampire."
Slipping out from his grasp, Buffy sighed. "That's great. Really. I think it's time for bed, boys."
Jack favored her with a drunken leer. "Your bed or mine, darling?"
"How about the couch?" She pushed him down. "Say goodnight, Jack."
"Goodnight, Jack."
Taking Xander's arm, she led him towards the stairs. "You, too, Xand."
"Wanna hear the cool song Jack taught me?"
"Maybe later."
"He made me an honorary crewmember."
"That's nice."
"And a really bad egg."
"Say goodnight, Xander."
"Goodnight, Xander."
***************************************
Part VII – The Key, the Chosen and the Compass
"I see you've finished your homework."
"Yeah, but that's the special thing about high school, there's always more. How's the hangover?"
"Pirates don't get hangovers."
Willow cleared her throat. "Dawnie. Jack. Shhh. I'm ready to begin."
"I still don't get why Buffy's not here." Dawn shifted uncomfortably on the floor, reaching for one of the dried herbs.
Willow took it from her before the girl could damage it. "Remember the spell I did with the scythe? This is very similar, except we're trying to tap into your essence."
"That still doesn't explain why I'm here." Jack arched an eyebrow at the witch. "Nor what me compass has to do wi' this."
"Okay." Willow drew a deep breath and prepared to launch into the explanation that she was still having trouble accepting. "Remember I mentioned that your aura was kind of strange, Dawn?"
"Yes?"
"This compass seems to be infused with some of your aura."
"What?!"
"Exactly, which is why we're doing this spell. So if you'll join hands and hold the compass, I'm going to light the candles and start the spell." And Goddess help her if anything went wrong....
********************************
The chanting seemed to go on forever and the smell of the burning herbs was starting to make Jack's eyes water. A glance at Dawn confirmed that she was growing bored as well.
Just as his eyes started to close, the compass in his hand started to vibrate and the light from the candles began to glow green. The glow grew and filled the room until Jack felt as though he was trapped alone in the glowing green place.
And suddenly there was music, but nothing like he'd ever heard before. It reminded him of whale song, but somehow, Jack recognized the voice as Dawn's. It wasn't the voice of the child beside him, but a song that was older than time.
The strangest thing was that he knew he'd heard that song somewhere before.
***************************************
"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet."
Buffy continued pacing outside Willow's room. "How long has it been?"
"About two minutes since you asked last and a grand total of ten." Xander put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "The chanting's stopped."
"You think they're okay in there?"
As if response, the door swung open and a dazed-looking Dawn stood blinking at them.
"Dawn?" Buffy could feel her heart climb into her throat. "Is everything all right?"
"Mom was right, Buffy."
"Dawn? What? What was Mom right about?"
Her sister, the Key, looked at her, and suddenly seemed much older than her almost-seventeen years. "When she came to me, last year, she said that you wouldn't choose me. Now I know what she meant. Buffy, I chose you."
**************************************
"This where it starts to get interesting," Andrew was explaining to Jack, as they took their seats in the living room. "Buffy gathers the Scoobies and fills us in –"
"The what?!" Sparrow narrowed his eyes. "Boy, I'm beginning to understand why the others believe you to be daft."
Xander elbowed Jack. "Shhh."
Buffy swallowed hard and braced herself. "Will?"
Her best friend gave her a reassuring-Willow-smile. "Well, Jack, you asked yesterday when all my industriousness would pay off. I think we're there, thanks to you and Dawnie. Wesley called this morning to confirm that Wolfram and Hart never intended to let the Black Pearl reach Africa. The Dutch merchant vessel, the Verwoerd, was hired to Wolfram and Hart on behalf of a client to transport the Yurgas. We can assume this client intended Glory to ascend back to godhood and trigger an apocalypse."
"But she fails, right?" Xander leaned forward. "I mean, the world's still here."
"Dawn, I think you can pick it up from here."
Buffy watched her sister stand up and start pacing. "I have to stop her."
"You mean we have to stop her," Buffy corrected.
Her sister shook her head. "No. I mean me. I have to go back. I know what I am now."
"Dawn ---"
"No, Buffy, this isn't your fight. It's mine. I've been keeping her in check for eternity. I was the one who made her mortal the first time and trapped her in Ben's body. And then the monks made me mortal. But we weren't meant to be human, either of us. When Ben died, Glory was set free to wander the dimensions and when Doc used my blood to open the portal, I was set free to stop her."
"But you never left," Buffy protested.
"But I did." Dawn took Buffy's hand. "I'm traveling through time and the dimensions right now. I'm back in time, choosing you as the Slayer and I'm further back, creating your scythe and I'm creating Isla de la Muerta and I'm choosing Jack as my champion. I'm in the future, doing things, too, things that I can't see clearly because right now, right here, is my center, and I can't see ahead but I know I'm doing these things."
Jack's eyes grew wide. "You created Isla de la Muerta?"
"And chose him as you champion?" Xander stared at Jack in disbelief. "No offense, Dawnster, but why him?"
"Isla de la Muerta is meant to be a prison for Glory. It exists between dimensions, which is why the compass is the only way of finding. Its location is constantly changing." Dawn smiled gently at Jack. "I created that compass for you. Glory came to your time because of the forces set into motion by the Aztec curse. I followed when you stopped the curse."
"I still don't understand this," Buffy said, brushing Dawn's hair from her face. "You chose me as Slayer?"
"The Key," Willow put in, "is older than the power of the Slayer. It's the balance between good and evil."
"But I'm moving through time and space, which means there are things I should know, but don't or I will, but just not yet, like geometry."
"And that explains how ye could speak Dutch –"
"Exactly." Dawn smiled at all of them. "The knowledge is there, but since this is where the monks sent me after they made me human, I can't reach all of it. Yet."
Buffy's heart ached. How was she supposed to protect this?
"I think," Dawn said, answering Buffy's unspoken question, "that this is where we start protecting each other."
"Fine, but you're still going to have to improve your geometry grade and clean your room."
Disclaimer: Still don't own 'em and they still won't leave.....
Part I – Ship of Fools
"Dawn, what the hell is going on here?!"
"An apocalypse," Dawn sputtered. "Glory....we went through a portal and Captain Jack helped me but Glory's trying to end the world."
"Again?"
Captain Jack Sparrow barely had time to recover from the small, blond lass's last attempt to choke the life out of him when she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air. The murderous gleam in her eye would have done Ana proud. "Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!"
To her credit, young Dawn grabbed her sister's arm. "I told you, Buffy, that's Captain Jack and he needs our help."
"Dawn, there are no pirates in Cleveland, honey."
"Sure there are, Buff. They play the Indians – whoa!" A young whelp strode into the room, stopping short as he took in the scene and the players. The whelp was large, muscular and sporting a patch where his left eye should have been. "Who's Captain Hook and what does he want?"
"That's Captain Jack Sparrow to ye, lad."
Ignoring Jack, the whelp took his place at Buffy's elbow. "Demon?"
She shook her head. "Dawn says she knows him."
"Where'd he come from?"
"Just appeared in the living room." Buffy threw her sister a look. "What did I say about playing with talismans?"
"B-but, I didn't. This isn't –"
"Xander, did you conjure a smelly pirate?"
"Nope. Buff?"
"Not me. Sorry, Dawnie, that leaves you."
"Buffy! Xander!" Dawn was practically hopping with impatience, trying to get their attention. "Listen to me!"
As the pair turned their eyes to the young lass, Jack realized with a shock that while she was still a girl-child, Dawn was not nearly so young as when she was on the Pearl. How in the blazes...
"I was sucked through a portal. With Glory. Captain Jack was trying to help us get home."
Buffy shook Jack, the way a terrier shakes a rat. "You were helping Glory!? Why?"
"I'm asking meself the same question, love." Just then, his shirt gave way and Jack crashed to the floor. He had a fraction of a second to realize that it was covered in some kind of fabric and marvel at its softness before the frightening blonde was leaning over him. He peeked around her. "Dawn? Pet? Is this the future ye were tellin' me about?"
"Yes! Exactly!" Dawn was fairly bouncing now. "Buffy, would you stop trying to hurt Captain Jack? He's a good man."
"Pirate," Jack muttered, getting to his feet.
Buffy blocked his way once more, arms folded across her chest. "Slayer."
As Jack looked down into the lass's fearsome countenance, and yes, something that small and pretty was indeed fearsome, he had the sinking feeling that it was going to be a long day.
*************************
"I don't get this. Dawn's been right here, with us." Buffy rested her gaze on Willow. If anyone had an answer, Willow would be the one. Besides, it would give Will something to do, rather than moping about Kennedy, who was off helping Giles, Faith and Robin round up new slayers.
"We've never really explored what Dawnie's being the Key means," Willow said, softly, waving her hand slowly over the pirate and then over Dawn. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Dawnie, your aura....."
"What about her aura?"
"It's....I don't know. I've never seen anything like this. And him," Willow indicated Jack with a nod, "I don't know what you've been into, Captain, but you've been playing with some serious mojo."
"He mentioned cursed treasure," Dawn put in. "Captain Jack? What kind of curse?"
"Did he summon Dawn," Buffy demanded, her hands curling into fists. "Is he responsible for this?"
The pirate got to his feet, the very image of indignation. "I most certainly did not summon Miss Dawn nor did I summon Glory. I do, however, rue the day I laid eyes on them and their leper."
"Leper? What leper?"
"He means one of Glory's minions."
"Blasted wench and her bloody minions," the pirate spat. "Aye, Miss Dawn, I should have let ye kill her when ye asked."
"Popcorn?"
Buffy stifled the urge to snarl as Andrew placed a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. "Not now, Andrew. We're interrogating Captain Seagull here –"
"Sparrow, love. It's Captain Jack Sparr ---"
"No way!" Andrew whirled, his mouth dropping open in amazement. "THE Capain Jack Sparrow? The Black-Pearl-Captain-Jack-Sparrow?"
Sparrow shot a triumphant glance at Buffy, along with a golden smile that nearly made her cringe. She made a mental note to book dental appointments for herself and Dawn at the earliest opportunity. "Ye've heard of me, then."
"We haven't," Xander said, draping an arm around the geek. "Wanna clue us in, Andy?"
"I'm surprised you don't know about this." Andrew was hamming it up now and Buffy had to grab the sofa arm to keep from throwing him across the room. "It's right there in the Watcher Diaries, the early 17th Century volumes. Captain Sparrow successfully defeated the curse of Wacoatzl and the crew of undead pirates who took over his ship and marooned him on a deserted island. Legend has it he escaped on the backs of giant sea turtles. Great story, really. They should make a movie out of it."
Buffy nearly choked on her popcorn. She recovered quickly. "It still doesn't explain why he summoned Dawn or Glory."
"I didn't –"
"I don't think he did," Willow cut in, smoothly. "Dawnie, what happened exactly?"
Buffy pulled the bowl of popcorn into her lap and waited. This was going to be good.
********************************************
"And the next thing I knew, I was here, with Buffy yelling at me ---"
"I was not yelling," Buffy snapped. "I was just telling you that your geometry grade was unacceptable."
"Like I said, yelling." Dawn snatched the bowl of popcorn from her sister and stuffed a piece into her mouth. "Except, the totally weird thing was –"
"Getting sucked into a portal to a pirate ship with Glory wasn't weird enough for you," Xander interrupted.
Dawn shot him a look and gritted her teeth as she continued. "The weird thing was, that I remember being on Captain Jack's ship and I remember everything that happened here since Buffy....since I went through the portal."
Buffy and Willow exchanged looks.
"I remember Buffy dying and coming back, and Tara and the First and going to school and just about everything in between, but I also know that what happened on Captain Jack's ship was real."
"'Course it was, love. An' didn't ye bring ol' Jack back wi' ye?" He patted her knee and then jerked his hand back as Buffy fixed him with another pissed off stare. "Except ye are more grown up now than when ye were on the Pearl. And yer clothes are....strange. Not like the pretty dress ye had on when I found ye. I' fact, all o' yer clothes are a might strange."
"This from He of the Puffy Shirt?"
"Xander!"
"Back to Jack's point." Willow shot all of them a quelling stare. "Jack –"
"That's Captain Sparrow, love."
"Captain...How old was Dawn on your ship?"
"She said she were fi'teen."
"She was almost fifteen when we beat Glory and she's almost seventeen now."
"Ye've grown up right nice, Miss Dawn."
"Thanks, Captain Jack."
Willow cleared her throat again. "Dawnie, I think it's time we learned about the source of your power."
***********************************
Jack tugged at the strange material of the clothing that the Xander whelp loaned him. The bath itself had been well near an adventure. Imagine, he mused, an entire room devoted to one's personal hygiene. Hot water at a whim. The future was a luxurious place indeed.
The entire home was filled with items that caught his attention, but the Andrew boy and the Xander whelp hovered over him, giving him no chance to satisfy his curiosity.
"We need to be careful how much we show him," Andrew commented gravely to Xander. "We wouldn't want to violate the Prime Directive or alter the time- space continuum."
"You mean worse than it already is?" Xander lifted Jack's clothes between thumb and forefinger. "Jack, man, how can you stand wearing this stuff?"
"Pirate ships," Jack explained through clenched teeth, as he snatched his clothing back, "do not have the amenities you seem to enjoy, boy. And I believe I warned ye' to be careful wi' these."
"They can practically stand up on their own. Andy, go put 'em in the wash, will ya?"
The boy took the clothes with a grim expression on his face. "Remember. Prime Directive."
"Just go beam yourself to the laundry room and let me worry about Long John Silver, will you?"
"All right, I'm going. There's no need to be mean about it."
Jack perched delicately on the bed and watched the blond lad disappear with his clothes. "Prime Directive?"
"No interference with primitive cultures – uh, never mind." Xander shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. He leveled his gaze at Jack. "Andy's not quite right in the head, if you know what I mean."
"Long John Silver's jus' a fairy tale, ye know."
"Yeah, I get that."
"So, you an' the lass, Buffy, are ye...involved? Or the fetching red-head?"
A look passed over the boy's face and Jack realized he'd struck a nerve of some kind. "We're just friends. All of us. And forget about Willow. She's....y'know, just forget about all of them. They wouldn't be interested."
"Ye forget, boy, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Yes, definitely struck a nerve. "All those lovely lasses an' yer jus' friends? You some kind of eunuch, boy?"
Xander moved more quickly than Jack expected, grabbing him by the shirt.
That seemed to be happening a lot today, Jack mused.
"You may be a pirate, but this carpenter can kick your ass all the way to the nearest Hellmouth and back."
Hellmouth? Carpenter? Jack sighed loudly. Always the tradesmen and their fiery tempers. "Easy, lad, jus' passin' time."
"Try passing it with your mouth shut."
"Xander!"
Jack repressed a smile as an outraged Dawn strode into the room and smacked the lad smartly on the arm.
"Stop picking on Captain Jack."
"He called me a eunuch."
The girl tried her hardest, it was clear, but she lost her battle and erupted in giggles.
"I am not a eunuch." Xander drew himself up. "I just happen to have bad luck with women. Most of them turn out to be giant insects or demons or --- y'know, never mind. You baby-sit him for a while, Dawnster. I'm going to see what Will's come up with."
"I do believe I could learn to enjoy this century," Jack smiled.
**************************************
Part II – The Guestage
Buffy had been prepared for many things, when she went in to check on Dawn and Captain Sparrow, but she couldn't have been prepared for this.
The two were sitting on Xander's bed, watching Beyonce strutting around on MTV.
"Dawn!"
Her sister's head shot up, deer-in-headlights expression in full force.
"Homework. Now."
"But –"
"Go!"
Grumbling, Dawn brushed past, leaving Buffy alone with the pirate.
"She's not much of one for chores," Sparrow commented, idly.
"My mother let her get away with murder after my dad left." Did she really just say that? To this pirate? Shaking her head, she shut off the television.
Sparrow's eyes were a warm, liquid brown that were tracking her every move. "I thought she was no more'n six months of this earth."
"She told you that?"
"Aye." He leaned forward, tilting his head, eyes sparkling. "So, how long am I to be yer prisoner, darling?"
"You're not a prisoner---"
"Nor am I a guest."
"A guestage."
"What?!"
"Sort of a guest-hostage – never mind, it's something Andrew came up with, which means it's stupid anyway."
"The boy's not nearly so daft as ye think."
"You haven't seen him with a rocket-pack."
"Eh?"
Buffy waved her hand. "Look, we're in full research mode. I've got some friends looking into that deal with the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart –"
"Angel?"
"Is there anything she didn't tell you?!"
"What can I say, love? We spent well nigh a month together on the Pearl. Not so many secrets on a ship."
"Right." Time to bring the subject back to the reason she came here. "I have some questions about Wacoatzl's curse."
The pirate grinned at her. "Who?"
"The cursed treasure."
Sparrow's grin grew even broader. "Tis quite a tale, lass –"
"I've read the Cliff Notes. What I want to know is where this Isla de la Muerta is on a modern map." She thrust a map under the pirate's nose. "I'm thinking our problems might be linked to whatever primal forces you and Vinnie Barbarino triggered."
"Ye mean Barbossa."
"That's what I said."
"Isla de la Muerta isn't on any map, missy."
"Then how did you find it?"
The pirate hesitated.
"What kind of magic did you use to get there?"
Another hesitation. Finally, Sparrow heaved a sigh. "Twas a compass that didn't point north."
"Which you got where?"
Sparrow smiled again. "Stole it, of course. Pirate, remember?"
"Willow's right. You played with some serious dark forces. You're lucky you still have your soul." At his flabbergasted expression, Buffy shot him a grin of her own. "Yeah, we checked."
"I didn't know ye cared, love."
"Slayer, remember?"
************************************
Part III – The Prick
"It's a mystery inside a conundrum inside a --- it's a big mess," Willow sighed to Xander. Tapping her pencil against her teeth, she studied the web search results again. "Yurga and the Yurgas-plural don't do dimensional shifts."
"Maybe not, but our Captain Jack's no stranger to it." Buffy smiled wryly. "Turns out he got to the island with the cursed gold with a compass that didn't point north."
"See? He's so cool!"
Buffy turned to Dawn. "He's a thief and a liar and a pirate. And aren't you supposed to be doing your homework?"
"I wanted a snack. And I thought Captain Jack might like something, too." Dawn smiled innocently. "Figure it's been like four hundred years since he ate."
"Fine," Buffy relented. "Give him something to eat and then go do your homework."
"Uh, actually, I'd like to get a sample of Dawnie's blood."
All eyes turned to Willow.
"It's the only common denominator. She bled and went through a portal with Glory. She bled again and went through another portal with Jack. Blood is power and I'm thinking Dawnie's got more power than most in hers."
Dawn colored slightly. "Guess I'd better not get any paper cuts."
"If you do, don't bleed on anything magical, " Willow warned. "Because that's the other common denominator."
Buffy's eyes narrowed slightly. "But she has. I remember –"
"Those memories aren't real," Willow reminded her. "They feel real, but....you know, they could be real. The Key is supposed to be all about dimensions and universes and it could be that those memories are an alternate reality that merged with our own."
"Okay, am I the only one who's having a wiggins now,"Xander asked. "Will, these theories are really interesting, but –"
"I've already got a call in to Giles."
"Okay, so all that's left to do is..." Buffy trailed off.
"I hate needles," Dawn protested.
"It's just a little prick. You won't feel a thing." Willow held up a syringe. "Trust me. I used to do this in lab all the time. None of the bunnies ever even said ouch."
"B-but what if I bleed on you? You're a powerful witch."
Willow held up pair of latex gloves. "See? Relax, Dawnie. Nothing's going to happen."
*************************************
Jack had nearly fallen asleep when he heard a loud yelp and instantly recognized it as Dawn's. Leaping to his feet, he tried the door. And it wasn't locked. As he made it to the foot of the stairs, he was stopped in his tracks by four pairs of eyes.
"I heard the lass cry out."
"See? I told you not to be such a baby." Buffy gave her sister a playful shove. "We just took a little blood to run some tests. She's a major wuss."
"Am not." Dawn rubbed her arm. "That was a lot of blood."
Jack hesitated. Domestic situations were unfamiliar to him and he wasn't sure whether he was a prisoner or, what was the word, guestage.
The redhead smiled up at him. "It's okay. You can come down."
"Thank ye, love."
She held out a tablet and a pencil to him. At least, it seemed to be a pencil, but much fancier than he was used to. "That compass you were telling Buffy about....I think it would be very helpful if we could examine it."
"It's back on the Pearl, darlin'. In the past." The past was just a couple of hours ago. It was very confusing...
"I might be able to retrieve it for you, but I need your help. Can you draw it for me?"
"Aye. I can, at that." Taking the tablet and the fancy pencil, he began to sketch. "Don't suppose ye'd have a drink, would ye?"
"Sure, what would you like? We have orange, grapefruit, milk –"
"Rum?"
"Sorry, buddy," Xander clapped a hand on his back. "No booze. Beer bad, right, Buff?"
Buffy shot the whelp a look that made even Jack cringe. "Just go make him a sandwich and some juice. Dawnie, go help Xander and then go upstairs and finish that homework."
Chuckling softly, Jack handed his sketch to the lovely Willow.
She studied it. "Nice detail."
"Attention to detail is one of me finer traits, pet." Their eyes met and Jack gave her his most roguish grin. It was his trademark, never-fail grin. Except....this time, it failed.
"Uh, I appreciate the flirtage, really, but I'm kinda gay...well, more than kind of...gay. Really." At his confused expression, she continued. "I'm involved. With another woman. Not so much into the men."
Rum. Rum would have been nice.
Instead.....
"Well, shiver me timbers, Jackie, but I do believe your lunch is ready."
"That's Captain Sparrow to ye, boy." Jack fixed the Xander whelp with a stare. "An' don' try speakin' pirate. Yer butcherin' the blazes ou' of it."
Yeah, rum would have been good. Lots of it.
*******************************************************
Part IV – A Pirate's Life for Me (Or Not)
"Captain, sir, your clothes?" Andrew held the folded bundle out to Captain Sparrow for inspection. "Um, I sewed your shirt back together and everything. It kind of had a disagreement with the spin cycle."
Sparrow took the clothes and sniffed them suspiciously. "Smells all girly- like."
"Wildflower fresh, actually, with bleach alternative." Wow. Wowowowow! He was having an actual conversation with a real pirate. Well, not really a whole conversation, because there was no talking or anything. More like staring. Unless Captain Sparrow could read his mind, which would be so cool –
"Boy!"
"Yessir, Captain?"
The pirate regarded him critically. "Ye're starin'. Ain' polite."
"It's just that...y'know, you're a legend. "
"Let me guess," Captain Sparrow said, softly, "ye wanna be a pirate."
"Uh, no...I get seasick." Oh, great answer. Mental head slap. Try it again, Andrew and maybe less like a dork this time. "But, y'know, they make pills and stuff and maybe you could use somebody like me because I'm good at taking orders. I like taking orders."
"You want an order, Andrew?'
Uh-oh. Buffy. Andrew could feel himself turning colors. "H-hi, Buffy –"
"Get out."
"Yes, Buffy."
"Now."
****************************************
Buffy ran a hand through her hair and let loose an exasperated sigh. "Sorry about that. He's like one of those annoying little dogs that humps your leg."
"And yet ye haven't gotten rid of him."
"He's trying to do the right thing, make up for some of the bad he's done."
"And what about you, love?"
"What about me?" Oh lord. Was he leering at her? Yes! That was a leer. "Look, Jack, women now aren't like what you're used to."
"And what is it ye think I'm used to?" Sparrow was all wide-eyed innocence.
Quick. Change the subject. "Dawn tells me you're pretty good with a sword."
"Aye."
"Feel like showing me?"
"Aye!"
**************************************
Jack barely deflected Buffy's attack. Who'd have thought such a tiny lass could fight like a man twice her size? And who'd have thought that this was what she meant when she asked him to show her his technique?
Fair was fair, but then again, he was a pirate. It was time to cheat. He kicked one of the small metal weights towards her, but to his surprise, she leaped over it easily.
"Are you trying to cheat?"
"Pirate."
"Slayer."
Look at that. She was smiling. "Ye should smile more, pet. It becomes ye."
"I'll keep that in mind." With that, Buffy kicked the weight back at him and it crashed painfully into his shin.
"Ye cheated."
"Sue me." Another powerful lunge and to Jack's dismay, his sword was gone. "Surrender, evil pirate."
"I'm bad, but I ain' evil, darlin'." Jack raised his hands in mock- surrender. "I'm at your mercy."
Buffy tossed him her sword. "Let's go again."
Jack couldn't help but appreciate the view as she bent down and picked up the sword she'd taken from him.
"And, Jack?"
"Yes, pet?"
"Stop staring at my ass."
He lowered his sword. "I'm doin' what I can to not go out o' me mind with worry about me crew an' me ship."
"That's fine, but my ass is off-limits."
"Ye know, ye could be a bit more concerned about me crew, since if Glory has her way, the entire bloody world is going to end."
The Slayer contemplated the blade in her hand. "I haven't lost the world to an apocalypse yet. Besides, it's four centuries later and the world is still here, so I'm thinking Glory's apocalypse was not so much with the success."
"But the Pearl –"
"It's been four hundred years," Buffy said, gently.
"It's been less than a day."
She met his eyes and he saw a flicker of sympathy pass across her face. "Oh, all right. You can stare at my ass, but don't be so obvious about it."
Jack grinned. "Shall we go again, then, love?"
********************************
Part V – One Hand Into the Past
"Now what?" Captain Sparrow barely turned his head in Willow's direction. "Let me guess, darlin', ye wan' me to show ye how to tie knots or some such nonsense."
"Knots?"
"Buffy wanted to play wi' swords an' daft young Andrew wants to be me cabin boy, so, Miss Willow, what can ol' Jack do fer ye?" Sparrow sat up and stretched. "These modern beds are a wonder."
"Rosenberg."
"Eh?"
"Willow Rosenberg – uh, never mind." She held up a pair of chicken feet. "Feel like making magic?"
"Chicken feet ain' exactly one o' those aphrodisiacs ---"
"They have their uses. Like getting your compass." She began preparing the circle, taking her eyes off him. As she expected, curiosity got the better of him and he sat on the floor next to her.
"You're jus' goin' to reach back some four hundred years and pluck the thing off me desk?"
"No, but you are." Willow set the plain white china plate with her copy of Jack's sketch in the center of the circle. "Don't be nervous. I've done this spell before, which, come to think of it, let an evil vampire me loose, but hey, that was years ago and I'm better now. No poofs for my spells these days, although still stinky ---"
"That ain' very reassuring."
Willow looked up at him and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "At least you're not thinking of burning me at the stake. It's very progressive of you."
"Jus' been through some stuff, is all." He met her eyes and Willow could swear he was trying to take her measure. "But I suspect you know all abou' it, bein' it's ancient history an' all."
"We know a little, yes." And then she realized where he was going with this. "I can't tell you what's supposed to happen to you and your ship. One, because that could change what you do and two, because, well, we don't know everything about you. Including how you're supposed to die."
"But I am supposed to be dead."
"It'd be a kind of easy guess. Four hundred years and all –"
"Aztec curse offered eternal life."
"With the added bonuses of unquenchable thirst and hunger."
"And lust. Don' forget lust."
"With you involved? Unlikely."
Okay, he was definitely up to something, all brown-eyed innocence and a who- me look. "Maybe ye could do one o' those locator spells an' see if ye can find the Pearl."
"Jack...." She sprinkled the powder around the circle. "Four hundred years. Ships, no matter how special, either end up at the bottom of the sea or in museums. Do you really want to know that about the Black Pearl?"
"I reckon not."
He looked so crestfallen that Willow's natural Jewish guilt began to ping in a very uncomfortable way. "Jack, it's four hundred years later and Andrew recognized you in a second. Can you say the same about people that lived four hundred years before you?"
A shiny, golden smile was her reward.
"Good. Let's make magick."
*******************************
There was a time, Jack recalled, when women offered to make magick with him that did not involve chicken feet. Or chanting. Or strange-smelling smoke.
"When the portal opens, reach through and take your compass." Willow's gaze hardened slightly. "And I mean ONLY your compass. Anything else and I don't even want to think about what can go wrong."
"Aye, miss." Wait a second. Portal? "Did you jus' say portal?"
"Yes. Don't worry. It's just a little one."
Before he could argue further, the plate began to shimmer and glow. "I see it."
"Good. Reach in and take it." At his hesitation, she added. "Now, Jack! Hurry. Glory's going to feel this little disruption."
Jack gritted his teeth and reached in. His arm felt strange. Don't concentrate on the strange, he told himself, concentrate on the -- "Got it."
"Good. Bring it through."
When he pulled his arm back out, the portal closed with a 'poof' that he barely noticed because he was staring in wonder at the compass in his hand. He only got to admire it for a second before Willow snatched it from his grasp. "Hey!"
She turned it over in her hand. "I'm going to borrow this for a while, see what I can find out."
Jack folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze at her. "So far, ye be testin' Miss Dawn's blood, researchin' the evil lawyer an' now ye wish to play wi' me compass. When, pray tell, do we see the results o' all this industriousness?"
"We're all working on it, Jack. This is what we do." The strength of her words surprised him and then her tone softened slightly. "Think of it as a big puzzle. Dawn's time-tripping is one piece, what Wolfram and Hart want out of it is another, and your involvement is the final piece. You're not in this by accident."
"Didn' think I was, love. Though I rather hoped it might be."
Willow favored him with another gentle smile. "We should have some answers tomorrow."
"It's barely after sunset now."
Her smile broadened into a grin. "You know how everyone keeps finding little things to keep you busy?"
"Aye...."
"Exactly."
And suddenly, Jack realized it was going to be a long night.
*************************************
Part VI –Really Bad Eggs
"The heart, Jack! Stake it in the heart!"
"Hold it still, ye bloody whelp!"
"Stake it now, dammit!"
Jack drove the stake home and to his surprise and utter relief, the snarling vampire exploded in a cloud of dust. Catching his breath, he turned to the whelp, Xander. "Ye could have warned me ---"
"And you would have believed me." The boy leaned perched on a tombstone and wiped his forehead. "It wasn't my idea to bring you along, anyway."
"I don't believe," Jack said, slowly, circling the boy, "that I've done ye any harm, being that four centuries separated our existence 'til now, so maybe ye wouldn't mind tellin' me what it is that's crawled up yer arse an' died."
"You helped Glory."
"Aye, that I did. And Dawn, too. Now, I know ye're thinkin' ol' Jack's a pirate, and pirates ain't known to rescue damsels in distress ---"
"Yeah, you're a real hero."
"In case ye haven't been payin' attention, boy, my crew an' my ship are in that madwoman's hands!" Jack caught himself and lowered his voice. "But that ain't what's bothering ye and somehow, I don't think it's me, either."
Xander raised his head and looked Jack in the eyes. "Glory hurt a lot of people the last time we faced her. She slaughtered an entire army in less than a minute. She drove Tara crazy and Buffy...It was the first time I've ever seen Buffy run from a fight. And it was the second time Buffy died. I'm not ready to lose any more friends."
"It's part of life, boy." Jack took a seat on the tombstone opposite the whelp. "Especially if the life ye chose is one that involves fightin' vampires an' such like. Believe me, if I had any idea how much trouble Glory was, I'd have let young Dawn run her through. She seemed harmless enough, a bit daft, mind you, but certainly as fetching a lass as I'd seen in a while."
The boy's mouth dropped open. "You didn't...."
"Nay, though there were a few moments when I thought abou' it." Jack grinned. "Pirate, remember?"
Xander's mouth worked, but no words came out.
"Aye, pirate and a man, above all else. Tell me ye could resist a helpless lass battin' her eyes at ye, askin' fer help. Ye couldn't, until she called ye a mealworm or some such and spoilt the mood."
"You know," Xander said, slowly, getting to his feet, "I'm thinking a drink might not be such a bad idea."
"Good lad."
"Hey!" The boy turned to him. "Enough with the 'whelps' and the 'boys' and the 'lads.' It's Xander or Harris, got it?"
Jack raised his hands in supplication. "Good man."
"Right."
*******************************
It was the off-key singing that woke Buffy.
"A pirate's life for me....yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!"
Xander and Jack staggered in the door, stopping in front of the couch where she'd fallen asleep waiting for them, still singing, "...and really bad eggs!"
Wiping the drool from her chin, Buffy glanced at the clock. It was a little after four in the morning. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Somewhere after last call but before breakfast," Xander slurred.
"Oh my god, you've been drinking!"
"Just a few. Well, a lot, really. Jack can really slam 'em down. It was hard keeping up."
"'S a talent." Jack collapsed onto the couch next to Buffy and draped his arm around her. "Ye missed it, love. I slayed me a vampire."
Slipping out from his grasp, Buffy sighed. "That's great. Really. I think it's time for bed, boys."
Jack favored her with a drunken leer. "Your bed or mine, darling?"
"How about the couch?" She pushed him down. "Say goodnight, Jack."
"Goodnight, Jack."
Taking Xander's arm, she led him towards the stairs. "You, too, Xand."
"Wanna hear the cool song Jack taught me?"
"Maybe later."
"He made me an honorary crewmember."
"That's nice."
"And a really bad egg."
"Say goodnight, Xander."
"Goodnight, Xander."
***************************************
Part VII – The Key, the Chosen and the Compass
"I see you've finished your homework."
"Yeah, but that's the special thing about high school, there's always more. How's the hangover?"
"Pirates don't get hangovers."
Willow cleared her throat. "Dawnie. Jack. Shhh. I'm ready to begin."
"I still don't get why Buffy's not here." Dawn shifted uncomfortably on the floor, reaching for one of the dried herbs.
Willow took it from her before the girl could damage it. "Remember the spell I did with the scythe? This is very similar, except we're trying to tap into your essence."
"That still doesn't explain why I'm here." Jack arched an eyebrow at the witch. "Nor what me compass has to do wi' this."
"Okay." Willow drew a deep breath and prepared to launch into the explanation that she was still having trouble accepting. "Remember I mentioned that your aura was kind of strange, Dawn?"
"Yes?"
"This compass seems to be infused with some of your aura."
"What?!"
"Exactly, which is why we're doing this spell. So if you'll join hands and hold the compass, I'm going to light the candles and start the spell." And Goddess help her if anything went wrong....
********************************
The chanting seemed to go on forever and the smell of the burning herbs was starting to make Jack's eyes water. A glance at Dawn confirmed that she was growing bored as well.
Just as his eyes started to close, the compass in his hand started to vibrate and the light from the candles began to glow green. The glow grew and filled the room until Jack felt as though he was trapped alone in the glowing green place.
And suddenly there was music, but nothing like he'd ever heard before. It reminded him of whale song, but somehow, Jack recognized the voice as Dawn's. It wasn't the voice of the child beside him, but a song that was older than time.
The strangest thing was that he knew he'd heard that song somewhere before.
***************************************
"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet."
Buffy continued pacing outside Willow's room. "How long has it been?"
"About two minutes since you asked last and a grand total of ten." Xander put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "The chanting's stopped."
"You think they're okay in there?"
As if response, the door swung open and a dazed-looking Dawn stood blinking at them.
"Dawn?" Buffy could feel her heart climb into her throat. "Is everything all right?"
"Mom was right, Buffy."
"Dawn? What? What was Mom right about?"
Her sister, the Key, looked at her, and suddenly seemed much older than her almost-seventeen years. "When she came to me, last year, she said that you wouldn't choose me. Now I know what she meant. Buffy, I chose you."
**************************************
"This where it starts to get interesting," Andrew was explaining to Jack, as they took their seats in the living room. "Buffy gathers the Scoobies and fills us in –"
"The what?!" Sparrow narrowed his eyes. "Boy, I'm beginning to understand why the others believe you to be daft."
Xander elbowed Jack. "Shhh."
Buffy swallowed hard and braced herself. "Will?"
Her best friend gave her a reassuring-Willow-smile. "Well, Jack, you asked yesterday when all my industriousness would pay off. I think we're there, thanks to you and Dawnie. Wesley called this morning to confirm that Wolfram and Hart never intended to let the Black Pearl reach Africa. The Dutch merchant vessel, the Verwoerd, was hired to Wolfram and Hart on behalf of a client to transport the Yurgas. We can assume this client intended Glory to ascend back to godhood and trigger an apocalypse."
"But she fails, right?" Xander leaned forward. "I mean, the world's still here."
"Dawn, I think you can pick it up from here."
Buffy watched her sister stand up and start pacing. "I have to stop her."
"You mean we have to stop her," Buffy corrected.
Her sister shook her head. "No. I mean me. I have to go back. I know what I am now."
"Dawn ---"
"No, Buffy, this isn't your fight. It's mine. I've been keeping her in check for eternity. I was the one who made her mortal the first time and trapped her in Ben's body. And then the monks made me mortal. But we weren't meant to be human, either of us. When Ben died, Glory was set free to wander the dimensions and when Doc used my blood to open the portal, I was set free to stop her."
"But you never left," Buffy protested.
"But I did." Dawn took Buffy's hand. "I'm traveling through time and the dimensions right now. I'm back in time, choosing you as the Slayer and I'm further back, creating your scythe and I'm creating Isla de la Muerta and I'm choosing Jack as my champion. I'm in the future, doing things, too, things that I can't see clearly because right now, right here, is my center, and I can't see ahead but I know I'm doing these things."
Jack's eyes grew wide. "You created Isla de la Muerta?"
"And chose him as you champion?" Xander stared at Jack in disbelief. "No offense, Dawnster, but why him?"
"Isla de la Muerta is meant to be a prison for Glory. It exists between dimensions, which is why the compass is the only way of finding. Its location is constantly changing." Dawn smiled gently at Jack. "I created that compass for you. Glory came to your time because of the forces set into motion by the Aztec curse. I followed when you stopped the curse."
"I still don't understand this," Buffy said, brushing Dawn's hair from her face. "You chose me as Slayer?"
"The Key," Willow put in, "is older than the power of the Slayer. It's the balance between good and evil."
"But I'm moving through time and space, which means there are things I should know, but don't or I will, but just not yet, like geometry."
"And that explains how ye could speak Dutch –"
"Exactly." Dawn smiled at all of them. "The knowledge is there, but since this is where the monks sent me after they made me human, I can't reach all of it. Yet."
Buffy's heart ached. How was she supposed to protect this?
"I think," Dawn said, answering Buffy's unspoken question, "that this is where we start protecting each other."
"Fine, but you're still going to have to improve your geometry grade and clean your room."