Jack stood near the helm with his arms folded, frowning down at Ash on the main deck. Most of the crew had scurried below deck when she announced what she was about to do. Jack, Jahir, Renzo, and Mr. Gibbs had all stayed to watch. Ash put black candles at four different points within a large circle she'd drawn on the deck with a stick of charcoal. At first when he saw the markings, Jack had protested, but Ash reassured him that it could be scrubbed off. It was quite a large circle, he had insisted, but Ash reasoned that she didn't know exactly what to expect, so better to give Death some room.

Now, she sat in the circle, legs folded, eyes closed. For some time, she sat motionless and silent. The few spectators began to shift their weight from foot to foot and exchange glances, but no one spoke. At last, Ash began to chant in a language none of them understood. The wind went up, as did the hairs on the backs of Jack's neck. It happened out of no where. No smoke, no noise, no light, nothing announced the arrival of the visitor. One second, Ash was the only one in the circle. The next second, a tall, black robed skeleton stood there with her. Jack saw Mr. Gibbs make some religious cross sign on his chest, but he personally didn't see the point.

"I do so hate having to appear like this," Death groused, in a man's light, educated voice, "But at this point, I feel almost contractually obligated to look like this."

"Thank you for coming," Ash said formally, apparently unruffled by the fact that she was actually speaking to Death itself, "I am – "

"I know who you are, and what you want. You want to defeat Captain Steele, who can't be harmed. Very annoying. You need the cards."

"I've heard something about cards," Ash said carefully, thinking that part of the equation had already been dealt with, but obviously not, "What do they have to do with Steele?"

"Captain Steele challenged me to a card game while he was dying," Death began.

Ash's brows lifted. She was starting to see a connection between undead pirates and gambling. Maybe it was time for her to stop playing cards, lest she fall into some similar nasty trap... Death, seeing her expression, continued.

"Yes, I know. I have a gambling problem. I'm getting help, alright? I don't have to answer to you, it's not your business anyway."

Ash raised her empty palms to shoulder height. She hadn't said anything. And she wasn't about to interrupt now.

"Anyway, we were playing cards for Captain Steele's immortal soul. And then he cheated. He said he wanted a last meal in case this didn't work out, so he went to get food. He never returned, and he took his cards with him! So, I can't collect on his soul, because the game's not over, his hand remains un played. He hasn't lost yet, you see? It's a rotten loophole, and I've changed the rules by now, but I'm afraid it doesn't work in reverse. He cannot be killed until the game is over. Captain Steele's cards must be played, by his own hand, on the table where my cards are still waiting. If you need his key, the only way to get it is to pry it from his cold, dead fingers, which seems dreadfully improbable by now. So good luck with that."

"Wonderful," Ash grumbled.

"Take heart," Death told her, "Your destiny is tied to Cibola. And your Captain's is tied to yours now."

Ash blinked.

"Wait, what? Now?"

"Yes. It was always in your destiny to meet him, but not necessarily to fall in love with him or stay with him. Now that you've made that choice, his destiny is bound to yours."

"Does that mean I'll live to see Cibola?"

Death shrugged.

"I have no idea. Anything can happen between here and now. Could have happened before too. Nearly did, several times."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jack interrupted, coming down the stairs, "You have a ridiculously loose definition of fate."

"That's not what he's talking about," Ash frowned, a puzzle unraveling itself behind her blue-green eyes, "Fate is predetermined and there's nothing you can do to change it. Destiny, however, requires your active participation, and can change according to the decisions one makes. So...what you're saying is...the moment I chose to stay with Jack on this ship after dealing with Jolly Roger's zombie army, I bound his fate to mine? But before then, we weren't necessarily supposed to stay together?"

"Indeed," Death confirmed, "You were supposed to meet and separate at a crucial point. Nothing was ever mentioned to me about the two of you reuniting."

"Someone mentioned our destinies to you?" Jack said, "Who?"

But Death ignored him. Ash got a look that Jack was very familiar with. She had realized something.

"Woah. Hold on. It was in Tortuga after Jack whipped me that I found out about the map and decided to pursue it. So he was supposed to do that?"

"You tell me. What if he hadn't done that?"

Ash looked away as her mind whirred.

"I wouldn't have been in Tortuga and built the reputation that I did. The Rogue wouldn't have asked me to negotiate that deal for him, I wouldn't have found out about the map. That was supposed to be the end of our road. But he came back, he came to find me. He asked me for my help but... I was so angry. I know, I would have told him no if I didn't owe his father a favor. Even then, our reunion was only supposed to be temporary. I only agreed to stay permanently when..."

Ash looked up at Death, stunned.

"Indeed. That moment was critical. Your decision to remain with him altered his path in life. You could have continued on the quest of the map alone, you could have done it without him. But you chose otherwise. Both of you did."

And yet, there was nothing saying she would actually reach Cibola. She could be killed along the way. He could be too. Maybe she'd made a mistake in staying with him, she shouldn't drag him into her mess. But didn't he have the right to have a say in that? He was a grown man, not a boy. If he wanted out, he could speak up and tell her.

His visit over, Death vanished. Ash was surprised he could do that without her to send him back the way he came, but then again, it was Death. Ash began the post ritual and the cleanup, her hands working without her mind really paying attention. Jack had to call her name several times before she took notice. Ash blinked and looked up at him, a distance in her eyes that he knew well.

"What is it?" Jack asked softly.

"Well, I was just thinking..." Ash began.

Jack smiled.

"I gathered as much," he said gently.

"What Death said... the wording he used..." she hesitated, the mist still in her eyes, and Jack knew she was replaying the conversation word for word in her head.

He waited for a few moments.

"'Captain Steele's cards must be played, by his own hand, on the table where my cards are still waiting'," Ash recited, "Not by him. Just by his hand."

"What are you thinking, love?"

"I'm wondering, if we can find these cards, we might not necessarily need Steele's help in finishing that game. What if I just cut off his hand, put the cards in it, and put the hand down on the table? Wherever the table is, wherever the cards are."

Jack was nodding.

"Details," he said, "It's a good plan."

"Only three questions. One, where is the table they played at? And two, where can I find Steele's cards? Three, who knows the answers to question one and two?"

They looked at each other for a few minutes.

"Sal was the one that mentioned us needing 'the cards'. Stands to reason he knows more than what he got out."

"Too bad he's dead now," Jack interjected.

"Mmmm," Ash frowned.

"If only we knew someone that could get around such trifles," Jack mused.

Ash scowled at him.

"It...what if it doesn't work?"

"It will."

Ash looked up at the sky, then shrugged.

"Rotten time of the month, moon's not in the ideal position. But I might be able to offset that by time of the night and force of will alone."

With a determined nod, Ash took her things below deck to her little room. While she was down there, the remainder of the crew emerged on deck again, muttering to each other and casting uneasy glances at the charcoal circle still etched onto the deck. After a few seconds of this, Jack ordered the entire deck to be scrubbed. Best to keep them busy, and bonus points for getting his ship cleaned at the same time. They went to sleep after that, except for those scheduled to stand watch. When Ash finally entered their cabin that night, it was late.

"Do we have a heading?" Jack wanted to know when she walked in.

Rubbing her eyes, Ash nodded. She looked completely exhausted. Jack wondered how much talking to the dead took out of her, and if summoning Death itself was even worse. As he thought these things, she yawned. Jack rose and went to her. He peeled her clothes off and trailed kisses over her skin as he did so. Ash made an appreciative noise, and Jack maneuvered her over to the bed, where he had her lay face down.

"What are you – " Ash began, attempting to lift her head.

"Shhhh, love. Relax."

When his hand began to knead her shoulders, she let out a moan and dropped her head, instantly giving in. Jack smiled to himself as he worked on her neck, shoulders, and back. She was asleep in minutes. He slept beside her, and in the morning while she was in the galley dealing with breakfast, he was looking over his maps, wondering at their heading. When she came up with two portions, they discussed the heading as they ate.

"Sal said he hid the cards under the floorboards of his room. We've got to go back to that town, Jack. And hope Captain Steele isn't there."

"As you say, love."

It was night again by the time they reached the town where they'd fled from Captain Steele. Ash was constantly on edge, but this time, it appeared to be only nerves, because there was no visit from the undead pirate.

"This is it," Ash said, relieved, "We're so close. We've just got to get to Málaga."

"Shouldn't take long," Jack said.

Ash wanted to go back to the ship immediately, but Jack cautioned that they both needed their sleep and should resume travel in the morning. Ash grudgingly bowed to his wisdom, and tosses and turned all night beside him. Though some small part of him was exasperated at her restless nature, the larger part of him couldn't help but smile. She reminded him of a terrier, relentless and fearless in pursuit of her prey. He almost pitied Captain Steele. Almost.

They made it back to the ship the next day and set sail down the coast. Ash approached him almost shyly sometime after mid day and mentioned she thought it might be a good idea to resume her sword lessons. Jack was more than happy to oblige, and they both went down to their cabin while Mr. Gibbs manned the helm. Ash only got in just under two days of practice before they made port. They asked for volunteers for a shore party to go with them, with the usual results. Ash settled into a calm, eerie sort of quiet, with one hand on the hilt of her sword that she'd attached to her belt, her eyes constantly shifting.

"Where is everyone?" Renzo asked, clearly spooked, "It is like a ghost town here."

Ash's mouth set in a firm line.

"Let's hope not," she said grimly.

Jack and Jahir exchanged alarmed glances. Ash went to the tavern, where they were greeted by a pale, lanky man wearing a top hat. A set of cards already lay on the table before them.

"I'm sorry, but there's a game in session at the moment," Top Hat told them.

"I know. I've come to help finish it," Ash smiled, holding up the missing cards.

She could see why Captain Steele cheated and ran off. The cards made a shit hand.

"I see," Top Hat said blandly, "All we need now are the players."

"One is here," a light male voice said.

A skeleton dressed in black robes appeared sitting at the table where one set of cards had already been laid down.

"The other will be here presently," Death said.

If Ash didn't know any better, she would say he sounded rather smug. Before anyone could move, a puff of smoke appeared in the corner, and out of it stepped Captain Steele, brandishing his sword in his fury.

"What's this nonsense?" he boomed.

Seeing Death at the table, and Ash standing nearby, Steele sneered at her.

"So, it's you again. You think you can kill me? Fah! I am immortal, you little fool!"

"For now," Jack said calmly, stepping in front of Ash and drawing his cutlass.

"Jack," Ash said quietly.

"Let me get this one, love."

"He's right. He can't die."

"I know. Stick to the plan, aye?"

Ash wanted to argue, but she nodded instead. He was a better swordsman than her. His chances of lopping off Steele's hand and not getting run through for it was much higher than hers. Still, Death was right there. One misstep, one mistake, and it was over.

"Don't do anything stupid," Ash told him.

Jack flashed her a rogue-ish grin, but didn't have time for a witty retort before he and Steele were exchanging blows. While the few of the crew that came with them hurled insults and jeered at Steele, Ash's eyes narrowed and followed the fight closely, completely silent as she observed. She watched every foot shift, every sword stroke. Normally, fights were short. The combatants usually only lasted a couple seconds, no more than a minute if they were good. This duel seemed to last an eternity.

Just one good stroke, Ash thought desperately, Just one.

Steele was focused. There was no distracting him, though the crew certainly tried their best. Ash began chewing on her lower lip, growing more and more anxious with each second that passed. Then, with a roll of his wrist, Jack reversed the direction of his sword, striking as if he was aiming for Steele's side. Instead, he sliced off his opponent's left hand, a hair faster than the other captain. Steele howled with pain and fury as his hand dropped to the floor. Jack caught it and tossed it to Ash just in time before Steele began a flurry of attacks, his sword moving so fast it was a blurr in the air. Jack was forced to retreat and could barely keep up. Ash sprinted to the table, digging out the cards from her inside pocket. She jammed them into Steele's hand as she ran, and threw the hand onto the table as she reached it.

"Two pair, Captain Steele," Top Hat announced, "Death's flush wins."

"I'm not dead yet!" the pirate spat, "And I'll be blasted if – "

There was a loud, sudden bang. Captain Steele was cut off in mid sentence, his eyes wide, mouth gaping. He fell to the floor with a dull thud, where he lay in a spreading pool of blood, unmoving. Jack grimly tucked his pistol back into his belt and sheathed his sword.

"Poor choice of words, mate," Jack said.

"Finally, that's dealt with," Death drawled, "Why people think they can cheat me and get away with it, I'll never comprehend. Well done, Captain. You've done me another favor. And now you're free to claim your prize, so off you go. We'll meet again, don't worry. Take your time."

On that cheerful note, Death vanished. Ash first went to Jack to make sure he was alright, and once she was reassured on that score, she rifled through Captain Steele's pockets. With all the misdirects and false leads so far in this endeavor, she half expected she wouldn't find it. But he had a silver key on a chain around his neck, which she took. Now, it was onto the mine. As they made their way along the road, the clouds rolled in, darkening as they came. Rain started to sprinkle the earth below, then it worsened into an outright deluge.

"Bad juju," Jahir muttered.

"Hey, they sky's already decided to piss on us, we don't need your foul attitude to add to it," Renzo snapped.

As they began to argue, Mr. Gibbs squinted up at the sky, then looked ahead and jogged forward to speak to Ash.

"He does raise a fair point," he said, "Can't ye...you know?"

He raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, brows lifting as he looked at her expectantly. Ash arched one eyebrow and looked back at him, bemused. She knew what he was asking, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"Can't I what, Mr. Gibbs?"

"Well...make this stop?"

"I could," Ash nodded amiably, "But it will take a while, and we're already soaked, so what's the point? Besides, I don't like to mess with weather patterns too much if I can avoid it."

"Oh," Mr. Gibbs said, visibly deflating, "I just thought..."

Ash threw back her head and laughed.

"You thought since this is the second undead pirate I've had a hand in killing, I should be able to do whatever I want with a snap of my fingers?" she asked when she got her breath back.

Mr. Gibbs shrugged, looking embarrassed.

"Well...aye."

Ash only shook her head and smiled. One day, they'd figure out that she was human just like everyone else. She hoped they wouldn't be too disappointed at the discovery. Besides, it was really Jack that did most of the work this time, and it was his compass they were following now. They were stopped in their tracks by a massive pair of doors sealed shut with a large rusty padlock. When Ash unlocked the doors and the crew pushed them open, they were greeted by silence and dusty, stale air.

Jahir grimaced, while Mr. Gibbs made a cross sign on his chest. Renzo rolled his eyes. They went into the mine carefully, watching for booby traps or enemies that lay in wait. The tunnels were narrow and dark, and the further they went, the gloomier the atmosphere became. Jack looked around and frowned.

"Should have brought lamps," he said under his breath.

Ash shrugged. Nothing they could do now. She wasn't leaving this place now without what she came for. The silence pressed in on all sides, and they began to imagine the shadows moving, eager to turn into enemies that would leap out and stab them in the backs.

Someone sneezed.

Jack and Ash both spun, weapons drawn, only to find Renzo with a hand up to his face. He blushed when their eyes met.

"Sorry," he said.

Ash rolled her eyes, shaking her head. Jack glared at the other man as he sheathed his sword. Without another word, they continued. A distant rushing noise reached their ears after another minute, and after exchanging glances, they all raced forward and emerged in a vast open chamber. There was a river in here, with a small dock. Anchored to the dock was a ship, the design of which Ash was very familiar with. Jack seemed to know what it was too.

"What the blazes is a Japanese ship doing in here?" he asked.

Ash shrugged. She'd never seen this ship specifically before. She had no idea what it was doing here. She was wondering how on earth it got out of Japan when a voice behind them made them all freeze.

"Stop! Stand where you are, pirate! You're trapped! There will be no escape for you this time."

Author's Note: I deeply apologize for the long wait on this chapter, but hopefully it was worth the wait. I won't lie, this one gave me a rather hard time. The next one will be up shortly.