Chapter 13: The Jolly Roger
The Mad Doctor tapped his fingers on the velvet covering the armrests of his throne. Two days. He thought. Two fucking days and the goddamn toons still refuse to cooperate.
He got up and began pacing back and forth in the ample room. He didn't know who Ortensia thought she was fooling with this charade. He was too smart to even ponder the possibility that his Sleeping Serum could have made all those wretched toons go into a coma. He knew very well what the serum could do. They were clearly faking it; those walking drawings must have thought they would be safe for as long as they kept this up.
But they couldn't do this forever; they'd starve to death. They would have to 'wake up' eventually, and when they did, he'd make sure their punishment would be memorable. Especially Ortensia's. He was sure it had been her idea to keep him waiting, so she would pay dearly for it. Actually, he almost wished the goddamn rabbit was still alive so he could make him watch his dear wife suffer.
He frowned as he took a glimpse at the door ajar and saw Big Bad Pete and Small Pete walking down the aisle, chattering away about something or another. The Petes were starting to piss the Doctor off at a quick rate as well. Every time he sent them to check on the prisoners, they would come back empty handed. Was it so darn difficult to make those retarded toons cooperate?
They'll pay for their stupidity-
His thoughts were interrupted as a loud, terrified yelp sounded. The Doctor turned to a large thinner caldron in the middle of the room and smirked, watching the toons that had decided to cooperate squirming against the ropes that sustained their weight above the death trap, whimpering and begging to be released.
He would make these pathetic beings' punishment lighter than the refugees'. They coped, therefore deserved a reward. He still considered himself a righteous man, above all else.
As he kept watching the poor bastards' every move, he decided he could wait for Ortensia and that gremlin Gus a while longer. These toons right here provided great entertainment.
:::
"Distract those damn inksplots and we'll get the boat. I don't give two shits about how you do it; just drive them away from us. Think ye can do that? Good. Then leave your transport to us. Ye still owe us though, rabbit."
With Billy's last words still fresh in his mind, Oswald scanned the large beach from behind a rock. His team was scattered around the area, waiting for his signal to attack. There were less Blurs over here, which was good. He hoped.
Starkey and Billy were hidden somewhere with Prescott, waiting for Oswald and the others to start fighting and drive the inkblots away from the seashore. Apparently, there was some broken boat over there that could be fixed and used to get to the Jolly Roger. Oswald didn't know how they intended to fix it, since everything that was broken in that seashore seemed irreparable, but he didn't question.
Prescott had somehow wiggled his way out of the fight by deciding to go help the pirates with the boat. He said it was to make sure the 'Senile and Buddy' didn't try anything funny, but Oswald knew better. Sneaky bastard.
He shook his thoughts off as he remembered that he still had to take part in a bloodbath with the Blurs so that the two pirates and gremlin could build their transport safely, in order to lead the Hunters to a possibly even bloodier battle with Captain Hook. This just kept getting better and better.
He turned to look at Mickey on the rock next to him and nodded at the mouse. Mickey nodded back, and turned around to give the others the signal.
Oswald rose from his hiding, clutching his whip in one hand and his pistol in the other. He knew he'd get the inksplots' attention any minute, so he'd have to be slick.
And as he had predicted, a tall and muscled Blur snarled at him the second he stepped foot in the sand. Shoot.
"Now!" the rabbit commanded. His team instantly jumped from their hidings and their enemies huddled together, snarling and ready for a fight.
And soon, the Blotling Hunters were engaged in a battle with the inky monsters. It consisted mostly of dodging attacks while trying to strike some blows as well, but apparently the Blurs had received several amazing upgrades. Oswald could barely swing his whip without having at least three monsters breathing down his neck. He vaguely wondered where the Doc had found time to make these modifications.
He briefly caught the two pirates and Prescott running towards the seashore from the corner of his eye. Their luck was that Hook's minions were too focused on Oswald and his team to notice them, or else they would have already been captured. Seriously, didn't they know what being discreet meant?
Oswald focused his attention right back to the battle as he was almost squashed by a growling, giant Blur. He didn't know where so many monsters were coming from, but they seemed to be multiplying by the minute. The Hunters were being engulfed by so many of them that he was sure they'd drown in ink if more kept coming. Knew it couldn't be that easy. He looked over at Mickey.
"We gotta drive them away from here!" Oswald yelled, though he wasn't sure if Mickey would understand; the inkblots' noise could be heard in China it was so loud.
However, Mickey did understand, much to the rabbit's relief, and they started to back up some steps away from the seashore, the Blurs advancing towards them at the same pace.
"Looks like we pissed them off." Jack mused.
"Now what?" Ginny asked as she hit the ground again, pushing her brother behind her.
"Now we have to get out of here while keeping their attention on us." Oswald replied.
"Oh, perfect. We'll have to be their supper, too?" Horace snapped irritably.
"Less talking and more running!" Mickey cut in as the Blurs growled and clawed at them. The Hunters instantly ran away from the beach, the growls and snarls from Hook's minions echoing after them.
:::
Prescott raised an eyebrow as he arrived at the seashore of broken material. "You have got to be shitting me." he stated whilst gazing at a broken piece of wood the old bat and his comrade called a boat.
"Neat, huh?" Billy chuckled, stepping his foot on a clapboard. Prescott wasn't really surprised when it broke apart.
"How exactly do you intend to fix this junk?" the gremlin asked impatiently.
"'This junk' has been my boat for a long time, mate!" Starkey snapped defensively. "Sails like wonders. Ye won't find anything like it."
"I'm sure I won't." Prescott mused, still eyeing the poor excuse of a transport. Dammit, would they all even fit in that thing? "How long has it been since you last used it?"
"Why's that important?" Starkey asked, moving the ripped flag out of the way.
"Well, I don't know, since my life's already on the line, it would be nice to know how much longer I'll live." the blue gremlin started approaching the broken parts, hearing the growls of the Walking Inkblots slowly dying out. Oswald and the others must have already led them away. He wondered how they intended to come back without alerting the authorities again.
"Ye're that smarty-pants gremlin, aren't ya?" Billy asked, squinting at him. Prescott raised an eyebrow.
"Why's that important?" he mimicked Starkey's response, getting a sneer from the old pirate.
"Look, this's the best ye'll get, so stop complaining." Starkey sentenced in an almost exasperated fashion as he began lifting large wooden boards.
Prescott sighed and began picking up some pieces. He asked again, how did they intend to fix this junk? Yes, there was no other word to describe the material. It barely stuck together and seemed awfully unstable. The boats needed some strong consistence against thinner and Prescott would betted this would melt the second it contacted with the green sea in front of them.
"Will ye be starin' at the wood all day or do ye wanna help building your ride?" Billy snarled at him, making Prescott look up at the old man. He and Starkey were lifting a rather large piece of wood that seemed about to break apart the moment it hit the sand.
"Goddammit!" Starkey spat as the fragile material suddenly split in two, making the two pirates stagger backwards slightly. Prescott had to bite back a laugh at the irony.
"It sails like wonders, you said?" he uttered with a cocky smile, making the two toons glare at him.
"Cram it, gremlin, nobody asked for yer opinion!" Billy snapped.
"Yeah, whatever, let's just see what we can do." Prescott responded, picking up more pieces and analyzing them. If he had a salary, he'd demand a raise. Maybe I should mention it to Gus when-
He stopped himself, suddenly freezing in place with a blank expression. He would never admit it out loud, but he was actually worried about his… acquaintance. Or should he say friend? It seemed like such a foreign concept to him; he had never considered Gus as his friend before, but perhaps he should…
He suddenly heard a loud curse and looked up at Starkey, bursting out laughing the moment he saw how the pirate managed to tear yet another wooden board apart.
"If ye value yer life, you'll stop laughin' this instant…" Starkey hissed warningly and Prescott had to make a huge effort to stifle his laughs.
"Sorry. Just wondering where you got such a helpful talent as shredding to pieces everything in your sight."
"No comments from the peanut gallery, all right?" the pirate snarled at him, clenching his fist tightly.
"With me, you'll get them anyway."
"Just shut up before I decide to throw you at the thinner."
:::
"You have got to be shitting me." Ginny said bluntly with a bemused expression. Albeit Mickey would've opted for a different kind of language, it had been his thoughts exactly.
The boat Prescott and the pirates were supposed to have been fixing was nothing more than a plank of wood with a mast stuck in the middle. Oh, and it had a ripped flag as well. How was that supposed to carry them all to the Jolly Roger?
"Quite the contrary, girl. According to ole Starkey here, it sails like wonders." Prescott said with a sarcastic yet amused expression. Mickey just couldn't fathom how the gremlin found this situation funny. "I mean, can't you tell?"
"I swear gremlin, if ye say one more word, I'll rip that fucking mouth off yer face. Capiche?" Starkey snarled.
"I'm just sharing my point of view."
"No one asked for it, so shut up." Billy spat, inhaling from a cigar.
"Well, fellas, thanks a lot, ha-ha!" Mickey intervened before Prescott could say something in return. He swore it, sometimes he didn't know who was worse in this group.
"Don't forget about our deal, rabbit." Billy reminded yet again. Mickey had to wonder why the pirate was so eager for Oswald to fulfill his end of the bargain. It was just making Mickey suspicious; what could the pirate possibly want with such urgency?
"I won't." Oswald assured in a bored tone. "Thanks again. C'mon, guys-"
"No way in hell am I stepping foot in that piece of junk!" Horace snapped. Mickey rolled his eyes. Horace was really starting to piss him off with all of his complaints.
"What did you say, horse?!" Starkey demanded, balling his hands into fists.
"Bad move. He loves his boat-"
"Shut the fuck up, gremlin!"
"Let's just go, fellas." Mickey sighed, making his way to the boat. He just hoped they'd get to the end of this alive.
:::
Much to Mickey's surprise, the boat not only floated but it also sailed decently. Who knew? Maybe they wouldn't drown in thinner after all.
As they moved further away from the coast, Mickey began searching for any sign of the Captain's big and extremely hard to miss ship. He felt a sensation of déjà vu invade him as he remembered the last time he got aboard the Jolly Roger. He wished Pete Pan was still on their side, even if they didn't intend to fight Hook. Or did they?
Actually, he hadn't given much thought to what they would do once they got aboard the ship. They just needed to know where the Doc was and it would be nice if his sidekick didn't warn him about their not-so-dead state.
"Hey, are we going to fight Hook, or…" Mickey decided to ask Oswald.
"Only if necessary." his brother replied after some moments. "Which I'm sure will be."
"Yeah, the Captain's not exactly known for being easily persuaded." Ginny added from Mickey's other side.
"Like all the other pirates." Prescott agreed in a bored tone.
"Except Smee." Jack chimed.
"Smee's a special case." Ginny said.
"Special my ass. He couldn't defend himself for the world." Horace said.
"Yeah, Starkey was probably the one who saved his neck." Jack stated.
They stopped talking as soon as the large shape of the Jolly Roger came into view. It still looked as majestic as last time, the fog surrounding it giving the ship a mysterious atmosphere.
"We're here." Oswald declared.
The Hunters stared up at the magnificent ship for a few moments as Oswald dropped the anchor, stopping the boat altogether.
"Should we ring?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow at the rabbit.
"How about we make Hook a surprise?" Mickey urged, smirking.
"Yeah, I'm sure he'd be absolutely delighted to see us." Horace added.
"Then let's get on this ship, folks." Oswald said. They jumped to one of the lifeboats and pushed the rope sustaining it, the distance between the Jolly Roger's deck and the toons decreasing with each tug. Mickey wondered if the Captain's crew was up there as well.
He looked down at their poorly built boat, a bit surprised to see it sinking and, therefore, melting. It had been sustaining itself fairly well before. It must have been because of the anchor. Well, no way back now.
With a final tug, the lifeboat finally got to the deck's level and so they were able to jump off of it. Mickey snapped his head up as he heard the snarls and bubbling he was so accustomed to and grimaced at Hook's inky and monstrous crew. Oswald wasn't kidding when he told Mickey about how the Doc had abducted the pirates.
"Well, well, well. Look who's back from the dead." a familiar male voice mused above them and before Mickey knew it, the robotic version of Captain Hook was in front of them with a devilish smile on its face. "What's up, mateys? Missed me that much?"
Seeing the amused look in the Captain's eyes and the bloodthirsty expressions on the Pirate-Blurs' faces, Mickey was sure they wouldn't be able to leave this ship without a fight.
.:END OF CHAPTER 13:.