Z/N: Movieverse Haunted Mansion, Leota visits an old friend...

Both story concepts belong to Disney, as the characters herein

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Some news travels extraordinarily fast.This was the case that Jack Sparrow came into. By the time he had actually reached Tartoga, the crew members who had already headed there had spared not the tiniest detail in the story of the Black Pearl. Jack was not surprised to find that everyone seemed to know a different version. It was good, being infamous. He reclined in a chair, basking in the glory of the retellings by other pirates. The door opened, and then Jack was surprised. The woman who entered he had only seen once before, but he recognized her voice.

"Hello, Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Leota! Madame Leota! You got the title right!" Jack's grin turned into a suspicious look. "You're not going to slap me are you?"

"No. I have no reason for that."
"Very good!"

"Yet."

Her smirk was making him a bit nervous. Women were the deadliest of creatures to be found. At least in his standards.

"So," He found curiosity too much to stay silent, "What happened to the ah," Jack made a motion with two fingers around his head. "Crystal thingie?"

"That's actually why I'm here Jack." Leota sat down, sighing. "You haven't been messing with any undead recently have you?"

"No! Not at all!" Jack grinned, taking a drink of his rum. "Well, maybe a teeny bit. A little."

Leota could always get to him somehow.

"So," She smiled smoothly, "You did not then, find your way back from an island to take revenge on Barbossa who was your first mate before he mutinied, sending you to said island,"

Jack swirled around the rum, aware that she was imitating him.

"With only a single shot in a pistol, and then you took revenge along with the son of Will Turner and a governer's daughter with most intents to revenge yourself upon the undead crew, and shoot Barbossa with the single shot left over from dreaded island?"

Jack sighed, giving in. "Well, maybe a bit of that then."

"But I don't believe that you summoned the seas themselves to bring Commodore Norrington to your aide, or that the pirates were not able to kill you from some intervention that had also kept you alive during the treacherous trip. Nor do I believe that you used only your vast strength to overturn the entire Royal Navy. But," Leota grinned even wider. "I do believe that you sold out Will Turner's son numerous times in order to reach your goal."

Jack gestured expansively toward her. "Oh come on, Leo! You know that I would have gotten him back. That's entirely an unfair opinion on my honor."

Leota leaned forward. "You have no honor, Jack. But I intend to borrow it anyway."

--

Jack Sparrow grinned across the table at Leota. She repeated the action, taking a large swill of rum.
"Well, it seems to me that you just can't stay away from undead. I see...quite a bit more of that in your future." She stopped, frowning, then shook her head lightly.

"It's just the rum, Leo. As a matter of fact, being a close personal friend I feel I have to tell you you are looking a bit green. It's probably all of those little wispy things."

Leota made a gesture of throwing the rum at him, but they both knew she wouldn't go through with it. "It's true. That's it, Jack. You're very perceptive."

"Such big words for someone wasted."
Leota frowned, taking another chug. "I- am not wasted yet. I can keep up with you."

"Ah, I like that in a woman. The Black Pearl is mine now. Don't you like a man with a big ship?"

"I like a man with a big-" She stopped gesturing, and took another swallow.

"So is your purpose to keep up with me in a drinking match, or is there some other reason you came all the way out here love?"

"I think that adventure with the former crew of the Black Pearl somehow affected my own curse. It's been too quiet around Gracey Manor. So I followed my instincts, and they led me here. Right here, to you." Leota smiled, leaning across the table.

"Well, if you've been led straight to me, it's not good luck to waste it." Jack responded, closing the distance between them. A shot rang out, disturbing the regular noise of the tavern. Leota whipped her head around. Jack silently cursed before looking in the direction it came.

Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Just a part of a brawl." Jack shrugged, leaning back. Against a particularly unhappy surface he was growing to be quite familiar with.

"Jack.." Leota whispered. Jack strained to look behind him without turning his head. The stranger spoke.

"Well. So this is where I find the infamous Jack Sparrow."

"Captain." Leota quipped before Jack had a chance to.

"It does not matter if he is a captain or not! He will die here like a dog."

"I wonder, if you could pardon my intrusion upon the death threat, but would you be so kind as to tell me why you want to kill me?" Jack spoke, wincing in preparation for a shot.

There was a moment of silence. Then, "No."

Jack heard the slight movement of finger to trigger.

"Move Jack!" Leota yelled, out of her seat at an incredible speed and pushing Jack down in case he didn't actually duck. The shot rang out. Jack stuck his head up again, horrified.

There was no way the man could have missed shooting Leota straight through the heart.

Jack scrambled up, anxious to do something, anything. Leota's eyes were wide, she was still on the table, was she paler than before? The man was watching with lessened apathy and growing apprehension. Jack stared now, noticing that there was no blood.

Leota seemed to come to her senses. "You shouldn't have done that."

The man fired again, and again, the tavern members watching in shock.

Jack ducked, but he was still firing at Leota.

"Leo? Just a question, but why aren't you bleeding and suchwise?" Jack muttered.

The man tried to reload, but he was out of bullets. At the sight of this, the tavern members rushed upon him, carrying him away. Leota slumped down, sighing.

"Care to explain what just happened here?" Jack asked, handing her the rum.

She grabbed it without even looking up. "Well, at some point in time I died, Jack. But I was cursed, so.."

"Ah. One of them then." Jack nodded. "Would have guessed, if my head hadn't gone out at the sight."
Leota smiled a bit. "You were worried? How nice of you."

"It's the same kind of nice that's going to make me say no I won't take you aboard the Pearl."

Leota's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because it's too dangerous for you. Did you even see what just happened here on land?"

"How could I not have?" Leota retorted, taking a swill of the rum.

"I'm still not used to that yet."
"And how many times have you been shot at so far?" Jack cried. "You just attract trouble."

"Well you do too, Captain Jack Sparrow. Maybe if we're both on board, our natural tendencies will cancel each other out."
Jack appeared to consider for a moment, then shook his head. "As much as I'd like a beautiful woman trailing me across the deck of the Black Pearl, no."

He began to walk out.

Leota sighed in exasperation. She got up and walked over to the bartender, pouring out a small sack of gold shillings.

-

"Jack, wait!"

Jack Sparrow continued to walk at the same slow pace he had been, ignoring the glances of his crew to Leota and back.

Leota caught up to him easily, even carrying her gift.

"Jack, Jack," She darted ahead of him, placing a hand on his chest to stop him. "I'd be an advantage to the crew. And an advantage to you."

She caught his eye, and brought the barrel of rum up. "I promise I'll be good."

Jack smiled, faced with two great pleasures.

"Very very good?"

"Very very good." Leota grinned.

Jack clapped his hands together. "Alright all of you! Listen up! We've got another undead wenchy joining us on the Pearl! And look, she's brought a gift!" He motioned to the barrel of rum.

Silence, then Cotton's parrot croaked, "Rum before food!"

Mr. Gibbs stepped forward as translator. "Captain, we've never had an undead woman on board. We've never even had an undead man in the crew."

Jack coughed, turning back to Leota. "Right! Well this is our first undead wenchy! The first, and only! Who will have special privledges aboard the Pearl! And, and will be highly respected!"

Each word was another step closer to the water as Leota advanced on him.

"The most feared wenchy pirate ever! A source of inspiration to us all!"
Finally she stopped, shoved the barrel of rum at him, and walked over to start boarding the Black Pearl.

Jack teetered on the edge of the water.

He had finally centered himself when Leota threw the contents of a bottle of rum down at him.

He couldn't help it. He looked up. "Why the r-" SPLASH.

Leota smiled from her perch on the rail. "Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"