Assistance

(Narrator's POV)

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum." Joshamee Gibbs paced the deck of The Black Pearl while it rocked roughly, singing a shanty and drinking from his bottle. The floorboards creaked, someone was sneaking up behind him.

"Drink and the devil had done for the rest. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum." A husked woman's voice sang quietly, joining him.

Mr. Gibbs jumped at the sound, "Curse ya Miss Ashley! Scared the devil right outta me."

She laughed lightly as she approached him, "My apologies Mr. Gibbs, I did not intend to!"

"Why are ye awake miss?"

"Argh, I wasn't able to fall asleep. Might be due to these choppy waves and strong winds. Will the Captain be back anytime soon?" Ashley Lane leaned against the railing, staring down at the dark waters below.

"Within the quarter I presume. Shouldn't be taking 'im this long." He took a swig from his bottle.

Loud church bells tolled as black crows flew past overhead. They croaked and crowed as they passed the top of the fluttering sails. Ten or so minutes had passed as Ashley and Gibbs watched the waters.

"Look there." Ashley pointed out, "Coffins are floating nearby. The Captain must be close."

"You sure 'bout that?" Gibbs questioned.

Right in time, the lookout shouted from the crow's nest, "Captain Ahoy!"

Ashley reached out over the railing as far as she possibly could to get a closer view. She spotted a man sitting in a casket, rowing this way. She gave a slight grin, as she always did when seeing him. She then ran over and stood behind the rest of the crew as they all came topside.

As the coffin reached the side of the ship, the cunning rogue climbed up the ladder. As he reached the deck, he handed Mr. Gibbs the decaying limb he used to row with.

"Not quite accordin' to plan." Joshamee flustered, staring down at the disgusting skeleton leg in his hand.

Captain Jack Sparrow elaborated with his gruff voice as Cotton placed his brown trench coat over his shoulders. "Complications arose, ensued, were overcome." He tried to walk over to the helm as Gibbs followed.

"Ya got what you went in for then?"

Jack waved around a rolled up piece of cloth, "Mm-hm!" He faced away from Mr. Gibbs and was met by the remainder of his crew, who seemed very frustrated.

"Captain, I think the crew- meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more..." Joshamee shook his hands, "Shiny. What with the Isla De Muerta going all pear-shaped, reclaimed by the sea and the treasure with it..."

A crew member with an accent growled, "And the Royal Navy chasing us all around the Atlantic."

"And the hurricane!" Marty shouted in. The crew all voiced their agreement.

Gibbs concluded, "All in all, it seems some time since we did a speck of honest pirating."

Jack paused, then raised an eyebrow, "Shiny?"

"Aye, shiny."

"Is that how you're all feeling, then? Perhaps dear ol' Jack is not serving your best interests as Captain?!" He sarcastically distressed.

The men went silent. Ashley nervously raised her hand, "If it lightens the matter, I don't feel that way." The men stepped way to create a view so Jack could see who spoke.

"Ah, Miss Ashley," he waltzed over to where she stood, "Quite sympathetic you are, as a woman is. Unfortunately, the rest of the crew is not so kind."

"I reckon you are a good leader, you know what you are doing, for the most part." She grinned.

Cotton's parrot squawked loudly, "AWK, walk the plank!"

Jack was enraged as he cocked his pistol and aimed, "What did the bird say?!"

The man with the accent, named Leech, spoke again. "Do not listen to the bird. Show us, what is on that piece of cloth there."

Jack's facial expression was glowering. Out of nowhere, Barbossa's undead monkey hung from a rope and screeched in Jack's face. He shouted in fear as he pulled the trigger of his handgun. To his dismay, it wasn't loaded. The Capuchin jumped down, took the piece of cloth and made a run for it. Jack snatched the pistol from Leech's belt and shot the monkey. It dropped the cloth and scattered off.

"You know that don't do no good." Gibbs shook his head.

Jack placed the gun back. "Does me!"

Marty walked over to the cloth and unraveled it, "It's a key!"

"No." Jack took it from him and showed the rest of the crew. "Much more better. It is a drawing of a key." The crew all examined the ink drawing.

Ashley lively stepped forward with a sense of wonder. "May I see it?"

Jack handed it to her then asked the crew, "Gentlemen, and m'lady, what do keys do?"

Leech answered with uncertainty. "Keys...unlock things?"

"And whatever this key unlocks, inside there's something valuable. So, we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Jack grinned and opened his mouth, "No!" Mr. Gibbs's face changed from happy to confused.

"We don't have the key, nor do we know what said key goes to." Ashley traced her fingers around the drawing, wondering who drew it.

"Precisely! The lass got it." Jack nodded at her. Gibbs shook his head at the Captian still not quite following along. "We don't have the key; we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?"

"So," Gibbs puzzled, "We're going after this key?"

Jack stared him down, "You're not making any sense at all. Any more questions?"

Marty asked, "So...do we have a heading?"

"Ah! A heading." Jack pulled out his compass from his pocket, "Set sail in a general..." The compass's arrow spun 'round and 'round, then stopped. Jack followed the arrow with his eyes and lifted his head. It seemed to be pointing to his right, where Ashley stood. She glimpsed over his shoulder to take a glance at the compass, but Jack snapped it shut and shoved it back into his pocket. He pointed the opposite way of the arrow and shouted, "That way direction!"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea..." Ashley frowned.

Gibbs mumbled, "Capt'n?"

"Come on, snap to and make sail, you know how this works." He shooed away the crew with the cloth drawing in his hand.

"Have you noticed lately," Marty held onto the railing, "the Captain seems to be acting a bit strange, er?" Ashley stood nearby, overhearing the conversation.

Mr. Gibbs looked dramatically out to sea, "Settin' sail without knowin' his own heading? Somethin's got Jack vexed. Mark my words, what bodes ill for Jack Sparrow bodes ill for us all."

Ashley thought about what the men had to say. Does he have in mind of where to go? I wonder if he's aware that Davy Jones will be coming back for his soul. Does he know that his time is up? She shuddered at the thought and ran after him. "Jack." She was right on his feet. He ignored her. "Captain?" She sighed, "Captain Sparrow!"

"If you have a complaint, I am sure someone else would love to hear it." He reached the door to his cabin.

"Captain." She spoke firmly as he finally faced her. She tilted her head towards the ground, "I'm...concerned about setting sail. Do you have in mind where we are heading?"

"I thought you trusted my navigational skills. Tell me, dearest Ashley, who is the Captain?"

"You are, but-"

Jack opened the door, "And who decides where our heading is?"

"You do, but I know that-"

"If you would like to become the Quartermaster, you're not on your way to becoming it, Luv. Find some task to complete, I heard the deck needs to be scrubbed once more." Jack walked into his cabin and shut the door behind him. Ashley was outraged, she threw her fists down at her side, and stormed across the deck into her room.

(Ashley's POV)

Slammed the door. In. My. Face. Unacceptable. I don't give a rat's ass if he's too busy figuring out where to go. He has no right to do that to me, Captain or not. I was only trying to help, but nooo, he had to be a complete dick and not even listen to a word I said. At least I can get away without doing a single task since he's drunk most of the time. He doesn't treat me like a normal member of the crew because I'm a woman. I paced my room until I fell back onto the bed. Since I've started my new life here, everything has been flipped upside down. I went into this thinking it was going to be like a dream, but I was wrong. It could be worse, but it's not what I was expecting. This era was so unusual to me and it took me some time to get used to it. No running water or electricity, no toilets, no good entertainment, and no delicious food. On top of that, I missed my family. The scenery was gorgeous, although Jack was the best view by far. Sadly, he hasn't flirted with me much, only a few times out of all the days I've been here so far. How many days have I been living here? I thought to myself. Okay, today's date is June 13th, and I got here on April 20th I believe. So that's, 54 days? Wait...today's June 13th...that means tomorrow's my birthday. I'm going to be 18. I completely forgot! Do they even celebrate, let alone acknowledge birthday's in this time yet? One way to find out I suppose. Alright, what happens next? Jack meets Bootstrap, then does he head to the island of cannibals? Or meet Tia Dalma? You'd think after seeing the movies so many times a girl could remember. I shrugged, stood back up, and walked over to my suitcases that were beside the vanity. I pulled out my brown leather jacket and slid it over my white cotton blouse. I studied my figure in the mirror and frowned at my hair. Since I could not easily curl it, my long brown locks became dull and straight. Luckily I did bring all of the makeup I owned so that was a bonus. I was a little worried about what if I ran out, but I reckoned that they did have some makeup products in this time period. Like the kohl that they use for eyeliner, I could borrow some from Jack if it came to it. I chuckled and brushed my tangled hair.

Three loud knocks were heard at my door. "Yes?" I called to the intruder.

"Capt'n would like ya in his quarters, Miss Ashley." Mr. Gibbs released a yawn as he opened the door. I glanced outside and noticed how dark it was, it must be pretty late. What does he want? I followed Mr. Gibbs out. He yawned once more, "Tell the Capt'n that if he needs me, I'll be in me hammock." Joshamee trudged off below deck.

"Will do," I mumbled. I took a deep breath in, puffed out, then knocked on Jack's door.

"Who goes there?" He grumbled.

"It's Ashley, you requested to see me?"

"You may enter."

I twisted the knob and entered. Rum bottles were sprawled everywhere. I looked at his desk in the center of the room and saw his eyes fixated on something. He held a metal pronged compass in his right hand, using it to measure some distance on the map. He tapped his compass that didn't point North with his left hand, seeming distressed.

I coughed and cleared my throat to catch his attention. His gaze moved from the map to the floor, to my boots, all the way up to my face. We held eye contact for a split of a second, till he looked back down at his work.

"…did you need me by any chance?" I puzzled.

"That's why yer here, isn't it? Unless you perhaps desired to get another glimpse of my captivating looks?" He glanced up at me and smirked.

About 20 minutes ago he was being rude to me and now he's flirting with me, what is up with him? "Besides your attempt of flattery, why did you really ask for my presence?"

He took a long sigh and set down his measuring compass. "I am having some…troubles."

I laughed lightly, paced towards him, and sat in a red velvet armchair that rested against the left side bulkhead. "You, having troubles? Seems so unlike you." I teased.

"I could manage them effortlessly if I so chose. Although I was being ever so considerate as to ask for your...advice." He propped his felt brown boots on the desk and moved his index finger and thumb over his scruffy mustache.

"Well how very thoughtful of you, what is the issue?"

"If I recall correctly, you have some sort of peculiarity, power, to foretell what will happen soon. How far into this immense future can you perceive?"

I thought hard for a few seconds before answering, "You'd be...overwhelmed, to say the least. I can see far enough, why?"

"I am unsure where our next heading is, err, shall be. Would you care to tell me where we head to?" His eyes held a look of dismay, almost desperate.

I knew that changing huge events to the story could be treacherous, but maybe I could change some minor details without causing too much havoc, right? I sighed, "You've changed your mind and have chosen to listen to me, have you? I cannot help too much; I can only assist you so much, perhaps guide you in the right direction. An example would be," I glanced across the room, till I spotted his bottle on his desk. "More rum may help you decide."

"On the contrary, I have some rum left." He lifted his feet off the desk, picked up the bottle, and emptied the remnants into his mouth, which were only droplets. "Why is the rum always gone?" he asked himself and stood. He stumbled a bit as the ship rocked fairly. "Oh. That's why." I giggled at him. He glared at me with his dark, enlivened eyes. He stood in front of my chair, his tall figure towering over mine. He outstretched his hand, offering to help me stand. "Have you been to the cellar down below in the bilge yet Luv?"

I smiled seeing his hand, thinking how even though he was, well himself, he still could maintain a sense of formalities and become a gentleman when he saw fit. I placed my small hand in his much larger, rough hand and stood. I looked down at his boots, seeing how similar they looked to mine. My view made its way up to his masculine body, my head was about level with his chest. His cotton, beige-colored shirt was ripped, creating a large V-neck. On the left side of his chest, I saw his two bullet wounds, I felt sorrow for that pain he went through some time ago. My wandering eyes finally met with his coal ones. I could strongly feel this instant connection, this spark, every single time my eyes stared into his. It was although it was, magic. I felt a bond like if I were to never see him again, I'd lose my sanity, everything. Like I not only wanted him, but I needed him. What if he feels nothing? What if he sees me as another piece in his seduction game, nothing more? My heart sank as I released his hand and coughed lightly into my arm, averting his stare. "I'm afraid not, I haven't gotten the chance to yet. Don't forget your hat and coat."

"I never forget my affects" He spun on his heels and walked behind his desk to grab his hat. He placed it on his crown and motioned his hand for me to walk out of his cabin. I swayed my hips lightly as I frequently did in an attempt to catch his attention, and walked onto the deck after he opened the door. I waited patiently outside as I pulled the hood up over my head. Can't get too wet or I'll change into a mermaid. I reminded myself as I watched him slide his long brown coat over his arms and shut the door. He marched out into the rain and headed over to the stairs that led below deck.

Leech called Jack from the helm, "Do we have a heading Captain?"

"Steady as she goes!" Jack waved his hand and walked down the steps, I right on his tail.

As we made it down to the berth, I grabbed a hold of a lantern that was hanging on a hook. We passed most of the crew, dreaming away in their hammocks.

I heard Cotton snore loudly and Jack nodded, "As you were gents." I chuckled softly. We headed down another set of stairs, and the small amount of light was fading fast.

"Hold the lantern up higher will you dear? Can't see a bloody thing." He motioned his hand upwards. I held our source of light as high as I could. With the tiny bit of brightness coming from the wick, it was only enough to show us very few objects in our path. I could hear clucks from cages hanging on the ceiling and bleats coming from near my legs, knowing this was a part of a deleted scene in the second film.

All of a sudden, one of the hens made a loud crow. It about scared the living daylights out of Jack, as he pulled out and cocked his pistol, questioning, "What?!" The chicken softly clucked.

I emitted a kind sigh, "It's not going to answer you." I stepped around him and walked ahead on the path, petting a goat or two along the way.

"I knew that!" He called and placed his gun away. "Ladies." He called the rest of the farm animals. "See, you're not the only female creature here." I heard Jack say behind me as I reached a door.

"Yes, I'll go communicate with the chickens and goats. From what I've just previously heard, it sounds like that is something you do in your spare time, or perhaps when you're drunk." I rolled my eyes.

Jack glared at me as he passed around me, pulling his set of keys out. "Do not. I like to spend my time sailing, plundering, and especially drinking. I especially prefer physical interaction with a female such as yourself." He moved his head back just enough so I could see his huge grin on his face from his suggestive innuendo. I scoffed since I was blushing and I couldn't come up with a good reply. He jiggled one of the keys in the lock and turned the knob to the left. He swung the door open and stepped inside with curious eyes. He placed the keys on a hook that hung on a wooden frame. I continued to follow behind him, knowing who he was about to meet. We walked down a narrow path on the left, as Jack knocked on the barrels of alcohol. One of the barrels that he knocked on, something from inside knocked back twice!

"Bloody hell-what do you suppose is in there?" I was taken aback. Jack shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. I shook my head and caught up with him. He spied into the alcohol rack, and in one of the cubbies, he spotted some barnacles and other odd sea creatures.

"The lantern Luv." He demanded. I handed it to him and he held it up to the rack. He gave it a funny look, then continued on with his search for more rum. "Ah!" he smiled, spotting a bottle closer to the floor. He pulled it out, but to his luck, it was filled with sand. He dumped it all on the ground, as a croaked voice warned,

"Time's run out Jack."

The sound startled him and he dropped the bottle. It shattered, the glass shards spread across the floor. His eyes were wide as he held up the lantern and stepped slowly to where he heard the man. I whispered into his ear, "Only an old friend, but he's not in the friendliest of moods." Jack shivered to what I had said and walked slower to the back of the bilge. Alas, we spied the wet sailor, sitting on a barrel.

"Bootstrap…Bill Turner?" Jack was perplexed.

Bootstrap held his head up, as roaches crawled across his face. We both dropped our jaw as water spilled out of his mouth when he spoke. "You look good Jack." I know he does. Jack did not respond, only held his jaw open and tilted his head to the side like a confused dog. "Who is this Jack? You have a lass now?" Bill Turner lightly smiled.

I stuttered nervously. "My name is Ashlyn, and I'm not his…yeah," I mumbled.

Jack stood up straight and thought, "Is this a dream?"

"No."

"I thought not. If it were there'd be rum."

Bootstrap held the bottle in his hand up to Jack, and he twisted it out of his grip. "You've got the Pearl back I see."

"I had some help retrieving the Pearl by the way," Jack side glanced at me then pointed to Bootstrap, "Your son."

"…William? He ended up a pirate after all."

"A good man though none the less, he's an acquaintance of ours," I assured him.

Jack glared at me before asking, "And to what do we owe the pleasure of your carbuncle?"

"He sent me." Jack arched his eyebrow at Bootstrap's answer, clearly not understanding who he was speaking of. "Davy Jones."

"Ah…so it's you, then." He sat down on a barrel beside him, "He shanghaied you into service, aye?"

"I chose it. I'm sorry for the part I played in the mutiny against you, Jack." Bootstrap snatched the small crab that crawled near his hand. "Stood up for ya. Everything went wrong after that." He shoved the crab in his mouth and chomped it down. Jack stuck his tongue out in disgust, and I couldn't help but do the same. Bootstrap Bill continued, "They strapped me to a cannon, I ended up on the bottom of the ocean. The weight of the water crushing down on me."

Jack took a swig from the bottle then handed it to me, this was the first time he's done this! He's sharing his rum with me! I smiled and took a sip from the bottle. The strong alcohol burned my throat as it went down, I handed it back to him.

"Unable to move, unable to die Jack. I thought that even the tiniest hope of escaping this fate, I would take it. I would trade anythin' for it." Jack handed the bottle back to Bootstrap, his eyes watered a bit.

Jack stood up and walked past me, I again followed behind. "It's funny what a man will do to forestall his final judgment."

Bootstrap snuck around a wooden pole and faced Jack, very close to his personal space. "You made a deal with him too, Jack. He raised the Pearl from the depths for you. 13 years you've been her captain."

"Technically,-" Jack stepped backward, bumping into me.

"Jack… won't be able to talk yourself out of this. The terms what applied to me apply to you as well. One soul bound to the crew 100 years upon his ship."

"Yes but the Flying Dutchman already has a captain, so there's really-"

Bootstrap raised his voice, "Then it's the locker for you! Jones's terrible Leviathan will find you and drag the Pearl back to the depths and you along with it."

I chimed in, "And we're not going to allow that to happen! I assure you, Jack is-"

Bootstrap glowered at me, "Jack must now repay Jones, nothing he can do to abstain it."

"…any idea when Jones might release said terrible beastie?" Jack timidly asked.

Will's father shook his head and took a step back. "I've already told ya, Jack, your time is up." He lifted Jack's wrist and pressed into his palm. He freed his hold and stomped towards the back of the cellar, where we found him. "He comes now, drawn with ravenous hunger, to the man what bears the black spot."

Jack's emotions changed like the weather, as he slowly lifted his shaking hand to the light. I stared at it, seeing the ominous black spot on his palm. I saw his gaze move up from his hand, and we both were appalled. Bootstrap Bill Turner, had disappeared.

I placed my hands on Jack's shoulder, knowing too well what he was about to do. "Captain, please try to remain-"

Jack held his fist high in the air and made a run to the helm, shouting. "ON DECK, ALL HANDS! MAKE FAST THE BUNT GASKET! ON DECK SCURRY!"

"Calm. Great, just, perfect. Men never do listen, do they? Only to what they want to hear." I spoke to myself, hearing screaming calls from Jack, as I gradually made my way out of the dark bilge alone.

As I made it back on deck, I saw Jack run behind the mast, tying a cloth scarf around his hand. Mr. Gibbs ran after him, as did I.

"Do we have a heading?" Joshamee questioned with concern, I stood just behind him.

Jack jumped, "Ahh! Run! Land." He ducked back down again and waddled over the other side of the mast. He slowly lifted his head and was frightened again. "Ahh!"

"Ah!" He scared Mr. Gibbs, "Which port?"

"I didn't say port! I said land, any land! AH!" Barbossa's monkey swung on a rope and stole his hat right off his head. The monkey landed on the rope ladder and screeched, Jack hissed back. The mischievous Capuchin gracefully tossed the brown weathered tricorn into the sea.

Joshamee and the remainder of the crew ran to the rail. "Jack's hat! Bring her about!"

I jogged over to the railing, gripped onto it and placed my right leg over, "I'll jump in and retrieve it!"

"NO!" Jack rushed over to me and tugged on my arm. I pulled my leg back over and faced him. He's most likely thinking that the Kraken is in the waters nearby and he doesn't want me eaten alive. Awww.

"But I can easily-" I knew I was a half mermaid now, so the task was effortless.

"Leave it!" Jack interrupted me and ordered. The crew fell silent, gaping at what he just said, for they knew how much he adored his hat. "Run." He let go of my forearm and sprinted to the helm.

"Back to yer stations, the lot of ya!" I heard Mr. Gibbs order as I searched behind the ladder, seeing Jack standing still against the bulkhead on the outside of his cabin.

"Captain?"

"Shhh!" He shushed me.

Mr. Gibbs stood beside me, "For the love of mother and child Jack, what's coming after us?"

He gazed into his first mate's eyes with fear, then stared to the overhead. "Nothing."

Joshamee Gibbs shook his head, knowing quite well that he wasn't going to tell us, so he walked off to join the crew in their tasks.

"Captain, please." I stayed and took a step closer. "There's no need to fear, the beast isn't nearby yet."

"…yet?" He made eye contact, his pupils dilated.

"I'm certain, you won't meet it anytime soon."

He peered at the ground for a moment, then made his way towards his cabin. He opened his door and took a step in the room.

I clasped onto his sleeve, "No, Captain please, you must listen to me, I'm only trying to-"

He roughly pulled his bicep away and inquired frankly. "Tell me this, if you can only, as you say, give small pieces of advice, then how are you ever so capable enough to save me from my regrettable fate? If you knew who we were going to meet in the bilge, you did not tell who before the encounter. Do us a favor, and keep to yourself." His scowl was humorless and his remark was vicious. With a loud thud, he slammed the wooden door in my face...again.
This is going to be a looonnggg day. I sullenly returned to my cabin.