Chapter Seven

Dot and Buster raced along the ravine floor.

"Ha! Your pig fiance is too late." Buster said, directing Dot's attention to the group of riders in the distance. "A few more steps, and we'll be safe inside the Fire Swamp." He said.

"Safe inside the Fire Swamp..." Dot mused. "Momma always said I'd marry a nut." She added as they continued charging forward.

Entering the Fire Swamp, they found themselves in a darkened cave like world. Filled with vines, grotesquely twisted trees, and sounds right out of a horror movie.

"Not so bad." Buster said. "We should build a sumer home out here."

"I could see that." Dot said, looking around a bit. "The trees here are actually quite lovely." She commented. Buster stared.

"What?" Dot asked.

"I was joking about the summer house." Buster said with a deadpan expression.

"So we're not getting married?" Dot asked disappointedly.

"Married?!! That's not what we were talking about!" Buster exclaimed.

"Well you said we should build a place out here together, and I'm certainly not moving in with you without a ring on this finger. What would papa say?" Dot asked.

"Papa?" Buster asked.

"The one you had the fight with this morning." Dot elaborated, as if it was just the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yakko? I thought he was only your dad in that other fanfic." Buster said. Dot paused.

"Oh, right... never mind..." Dot said with a dismissive gesture. Buster sighed.

"Can we go now?" Buster asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Dot replied. Buster extended a hand and she took it. Then they were on their way.

As the pair continued further into the fire swamp, a strange popping sound appeared, causing them to pause and look around. When nothing seemed to happen, they continued, only to be halted by flames erupting from the ground and catching the foot of Dot's dress on fire. Buster quickly lowered her to the ground and proceeded to smother the fire within the folds of her skirt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He helped her back to her feet once the fire was out.

"Well, that was an adventure." Buster said. "Were you hurt?" He asked. Dot shook her head no in response.

"And you?" She asked. Buster responded in the same manner. They continued only a few steps further before the popping sound returned. Realizing the connection between the sound and the flames, Buster quickly moved Dot to his other side, just in time to prevent her from being scorched by another flame.

"I will say one thing, the fire swamp certainly keeps you on your toes." Buster said with an almost eager tone. He led the way as they continued deeper and deeper into the swamp, eventually taking up a much more casual pace.

------------------

"This will all soon be but a happy memory." Buster said as he slashed away at vines in their path with his sword. "For Rogers' ship 'Revenge' is anchored at the far end. And I, as you know, am Rogers." He said.

"About that..." Dot started. "Rogers has been in business for over twenty years, and you only left me five years ago, so how can that be?" She asked.

"I myself am often surprised by life's little quirks." Buster said, just before casually moving Dot away from an incoming flame spurt and continuing as if he had done nothing more than knock a piece of lint off her shoulder.

"What I told you before about saying please was true." Buster continued. "It intrigued Rogers, as did my description of your beauty." He said.

"Finally, Rogers decided something. He said,

"All right Buster, I've never had a valet. You can try for tonight. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

Three years he said that...

"Good night Buster, good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

"It was a great time for me. I was learning to fence, fight, anything anyone would teach me. And Rogers and I eventually became friends. And then it happened..." Buster said, trailing off a bit.

"What?" Dot asked.

"Well, Rogers had grown so rich, he wanted to retire. So he took me to his cabin, and told me his secret." Buster said, pausing to take Dot into his arms bridal style.

"I am not the Red Pirate Rogers." he said.

"My name is Ryan." Buster quoted as he started along some fairly treacherous terrain, continuing his story along the way.

"I inherited the ship from the previous Rogers, just as you will inherit it from me. The man I inherited it from wasn't the real Rogers either. His name was Cumberbund. The real Rogers has been retired fifteen years, and living like a king in Patagonia."

"Then he explained that the name was the important thing for inspiring the necessary fear. See, no one would surrender to the Red Pirate Buster." Buster said, just before setting Dot back on her feet.

"So we sailed ashore, took on an entirely new crew. And he stayed aboard for a while as first mate, all the time calling me Rogers. And once the crew believed, he left the ship, and I have been Rogers ever since. Except, now that we're together, I shall retire and hand the ship over to someone else. Is everything clear to you?" Buster asked.

"Nope." Dot replied, shaking her head. She snapped her fingers, causing everything in sight to become translucent. "Now everything's clear." She said.

"Dot... please don't make me the special friend. I realy don't think I could take it." Buster pleaded.

"Aww... don't worry. You're a different sort of special friend." Dot said, lightly stroking the back of his head. She then snapped her fingers a second time, bringing things back to normal. "Better?" She asked.

"Better." Buster replied, clearly relieved. Dot smiled and took a few steps ahead of him, suddenly sinking into the ground completely.

Buster's eyes darted about frantically as his mind went into overdrive. Quickly settling on a course of action, he drew his sword and sliced one of the many vines netted between the trees, taking one end of the vine and diving in after Dot. Only the sounds of the swamp remained as they lingered underground. A shadowy figure passed through the area, briefly inspecting the ground that had swallowed them up, then moving on.

Just as it seemed as if Dot and Buster had breathed their last, a hand breached the surface. Buster's hand. He gripped the exposed part of the vine and pulled, emerging from the sand with Dot on his back. They soon made their way back to solid ground, practically collapsing as they coughed and attempted to catch their breath. They drew closer together after a moment or so, tightly embracing each other. It was then that Buster happened to notice two shadowy figures skulking about in the trees behind Dot. His ears detected even more in the area, awaiting their chance to strike.

"Uh...Dot... I think we'd better be moving along." Buster said, attempting to conceal the nervous edge to his voice. Sensing his uneasiness, Dot opened her eyes and looked into his, then turned to see what was making him so nervous. The sinister looking figures in the trees stared back. She blinked a couple times, then turned back to Buster.

"I concur." She stated plainly.

"Good." Buster said. "Now run!!!" He exclaimed, taking Dot's hand and racing off. They hadn't made it very far when one of the figures hiding in the shadows suddenly jumped out and tackled Buster. A fight cloud erupted as the two traded blows. By the time it finally broke up, Buster was on the ground with his assailant on top of him. A toon mouse with black fur, round ears, white gloves, red shorts with two white dots on the front, and yellow shoes. The mouse gave an eerie high pitched chuckle in victory and drew a switch blade from it's back pocket.

"Got you now rabbit." The mouse said in an equally high pitched voice that didn't seem to match it's murderous intent. It raised the knife and was about to strike, when suddenly, a multicolored blur known as Dot Warner came crashing into his side with a furious cry, knocking him off Buster. The mouse suddenly found himself in the same position Buster had just been in, but with Dot's fists smacking his head from side to side as various threats and curses streamed from her mouth. After soundly beating him unconscious, Dot stood and turned to address the remaining figures in the shadows.

"And the rest of you! If you so much as get within an inch of my Buster, I will crawl so far up your little candy #$&, they'll think you're expecting! NOW SCRAM!!!" Dot shouted, finishing with earth shaking force that cleared the swamp for several miles in all directions. "You ok?" She asked, turning back to Buster with no trace of her previously furious demeanor.

"Uh...yeah." Buster replied as Dot returned to his side. He was completely at a loss for words after witnessing a display like that.

"Good, then let's go." Dot said cheerily, extending a hand. Buster took it and she helped him up. Then they were off once again. In time, they made their way to the outskirts of the Fire Swamp.

---------------

"Looks like we made it." Dot said.

"I guess so..." Buster said, lacking enthusiasm.

"Something wrong?" Dot asked.

"Nah, just thinking." Buster replied.

"About?" Dot asked.

"Well, that thing you said back there... the "My Buster" thing... Was that in the script?" Buster asked. However, before Dot could respond, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of horse hooves beating the ground. And what a funky beat it was! A rhythm that captured the hearts and imaginations of all who heard it! Yes, it was a fine Vegas night! Filled with wonder and intrigue! And... wait, that's a different story. Anyway, they were interrupted by Max and his troop of riders.

"Surrender vermin!" Max said in his usual coarse manner. Dot glared at him.

"You're late." Dot said, annoyed with the interruption.

"We stopped to pick up a few things." Max replied casually, signaling his men to draw their weapons with a snap of his fingers. The sound of numerous guns, rifles, and automatic weapons being cocked was heard. All weapons were trained on both Dot and Buster.

"Uhhhh... Monty! Dearest! Thank goodness you found me!" Dot said as she rushed to Max and wrapped her arms around him.

"What!!!!?" Buster exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hey, a girl's gotta have priorities. And living happens to be at the top of my list." Dot said, looking back at Buster.

"So you're just gonna abandon me!?" Buster asked.

"Well you are a trifling playboy who cheats on his girlfriend under the pretense of it just being acting and probably can't be trusted not to do the same to me... But no, I'm not gonna abandon you." Dot said, turning her attention to Max.

"Monty, dearest. This nice man was kind enough to save me from those awful kidnapers." Dot said sweetly, gesturing towards Buster. "Could you please see that he reaches his ship unharmed?" She asked. Max smirked.

"Sure toots, whatever you say." Max said with a devious edge to his voice. "Salazar! you know what to do!" He said before riding off with Dot.

"Indeed." Salazar said as the sound of Max's horse quickly faded with distance. "Come sir, we must get you to your ship." He said to Buster. Buster smirked and stepped forward to look him straight in the eye, ignoring all the weapons aimed directly at his vitals.

"We both know you're not taking me back to my ship. Don't insult my intelligence." Buster said.

"Very well then, I shall be direct. We intend to imprison you in the pit of despair, where you will be tortured in the most horrendous manner possible till your eventual death." Salazar stated bluntly. Buster failed to pay attention and simply stared, for something else had already caught his attention.

"What? What is it?" Salazar asked.

"You have six fingers on your right hand. Someone was looking for you." Buster said with a smirk. Annoyed, Salazar clubbed him over the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him unconscious.

(A.N) My apologies for not updating sooner. I've been busy dealing with some... issues. The situation is more or less contained at this point. Enough for me to get back to my writing at least.

On a separate note, Hampton Pig will be playing the roll of the albino in the following chapter.