Ashley had been blinded by rage when she had first spotted her mother. Betty took one look at the woman quickly moving toward her and decided to use that to her advantage. Giving a look of horror, Betty began climbing up the rigging, as if she was desperately trying to escape the wrath of her daughter.

If Jack had been with her, he would have held her back, and showed her that she was falling into a trap.

But Jack hadn't been there, and her senses had seemed to have taken a vacation as she pursued the woman.

~~** I'm going to tear her apart. Limb by limb. I'm going to make her scream and beg for mercy.**~~

Those thoughts fueled her more than anything else in her life. More than even killing Wesset. She wanted to see blood. And because she was thinking about her revenge, she didn't know that she was doing exactly what her mother wanted.

She had managed to get to the top of the mast, and was in on one of the sail's wooden supports. Warily she stepped forward, and almost lost her balance. It wasn't until now that she realized it was raining, and the wood was slippery. When she heard a chuckle, she knew had had been tricked.

"You really are stupid, Caroline. You let me beat you." And Betty appeared in front of Ashley, grinning broadly.

"You're not very graceful, you're going to plummet to your death very soon."

"Well, if yeh can hold off killin' me for a few more minutes, I'd like a few more questions answered."

Betty sighed, and then advanced. Ashley wobbled as she stepped backwards, a sword's tip jabbing at her chest.

"Let me guess. First you were going to catch me off guard, and then attack me while I was explaining whatever thing you could think of off the top of your head."

"No. I want to know more, about Isabella, about Wesset, about everything." Ashley glared as the sword prodded her more, forcing her back towards the edge of the wooden plank.

"What's there to know. I gave the keys to her, she gave the keys to someone else on Wesset's ship. They escaped, remained loyal to you died trying to save you. I took Isabella, and the two of us stole a smaller boat and rowed to the island nearby. Wesset followed us and all three of us tricked a ship into rescuing us. We figured out where you were headed. Then one day, Wesset betrayed us, left us on some port, and went after you. At first we planned to save you, until we realized that the stories were true, you were a whore of a captain. So in all fairness, you brought this upon yourself."

"And the treasure? Where did it come from?" She kept stepping backwards, her mother inching towards her, the sword continually prodding.

"From ships we ransacked, some of those things are 100 years old. We stole it from men, and kept it save, so if we ever died, they'd never find it."

"Your mad."

Betty laughed at that. A cold, dark laugh.

"Caroline, you've changed so much since I last saw you. You're still a wretched thing, you never could rely on your looks . . . too bad, your such a terrible captain, you could have made a whore. Nowadays, any ugly girl can become one, you should try it."

Ashley glared at that comment, but said nothing. She was being submissive, waiting for the moment to strike, wanting to pounce and rip her apart, bit by bit.

"Enough talk, let's make a deal."

Shaking her head, Ashley responded. "I'll never join you."

"I have a theory, Caroline, let me test it."

And saying that, she slashed at Ashley's stomach, grinning wickedly.

"After all, you did survive the last time . . ."

She felt dizzy and sick as she stumbled, trying to stand up. Her sword fell through her hands, and clattered below deck.

~~**~~

Jack had been fighting the woman near the edge, he had pushed her in, and had turned his attention to the deck when suddenly one of his crew members fell as if some invisible hand, had forced him down. Quickly scanning the man, he realized that a sword had been lodged into his head.

~~**But there's no one around him.**~~ Looking up, Jack, wondering how a sword could just magically fall from the sky, noticed something on the top of the sails. At first, he assumed he was simply hallucinating, or perhaps the rain pouring into his eyes had made his vision blurry.

Where his eyes had failed him, his ears had not, he heard a scream as one of the dots was pushed off of the wood, and barely managed to hang onto the edge of it. Feet kicking wildly, something fluttered down onto the deck, near his foot. Jack stooped over and recognized the bandanna.

"Jack! Ashley's up there!" Will cried, as the recognition of the small dots flooded through Jack's mind.

~~**Then Betty's up there, too**~~

~~**~~

She was barely hanging onto the wood. Her mother was leaning over her and cackling.

"So this is how it ends? It doesn't have to be this way." She lowered her face to Ashley's and whispered in her ear, "Beg if you want it." Extending her hand.

The water and rain and wind were not improving her situation, she was going to plummet to her death soon if she did not do something.

"Beg if you want it." The hand was still there, unwavering, and all Ashley had to do was ask for it. Her mother's words were swirling around her head and making it continually harder to concentrate.

~~**Beg if you want it. Beg if you want it. Beg Beg BEG!**~~

Something welled up inside her, an uncontrollable anger, bubbling like a hot spring, and now it had finally come to vent. It had finally been released, and she was going to burn the hell out of anyone who was in the way.

"NO!" She reached for the dagger on her mother's belt, and unsheathing it, slashed wildly, and hoped she hit something. The blade connected with a leg, then a thigh, and eventually, the other woman's ribcage. Betty began to fall in a graceful arc, and dropped off of the plank.

The next sequence of events was a blur.

Ashley had stabbed the dagger into the wood, panting heavily, hoping that she would manage the strength to climb up onto the solid plank. But before she could even properly catch her breath, she felt a rough tug, and more laughter. With an expression of horror, she looked down, and saw Betty grasping onto both of her ankles.

And that's when she knew it was over. If she didn't let go, then her mother would drag her down, and if that happened, that meant she would have died at the mercy of someone else.

~~**Now or never.**~~

~~**~~

All the while this was going on, Jack had grabbed for his pistol, preparing to ~~** blow that damn bitch's head off**~~ when something running to the opposite end of the ship caught his eye. Hesitating, Jack turned to see Wesset escaping into a small row boat.

The man who had blown up his ship. His Pearl. His freedom, was, going to escape if he didn't do something.

Jack looked up at the struggling figure of Ashley, and then to the receding figure of Wesset. He knew how Ashley's mind worked, she'd rather be the one to kill herself and her mother, than have her mother drag her down. If he didn't shoot soon, she'd let go, or be pulled down. Whichever woman gave up first.

~~**He's right there, shoot him.**~~

~~**She's part of your crew, YOU'RE the captain, you OWE her.**~~

~~**I lost my ship because of him**~~

~~**You're going to let her die?**~~

For once in his life, Jack Sparrow was indecisive, if only for a moment. A decision had to be made, and either one would not have a happy outcome.

A/N: Sorry this is so short, I'm working on a long one I swear! Meanwhile review please!