CHAPTER 4
After an hour or so had passed, Rottenbeard finally appeared from over the hill, carrying the mirror on his back. He was absolutely furious with his crew.
"Those bilge sucking blaggards! Those scurvy dogs! I'll have them swabbin' the deck for weeks for this, I'll keelhaul them all the way to the next town, I'll give em a good floggin' then make em kiss the gunners bloody daughter! How could me own crew leave me to carry this all by meself?"
He made his way to the ship, cursing and complaining with every step. When he finally arrived, he put down the mirror, and instantly discovered what was going on.
"Sink me!" Rottenbeard exclaimed. He couldn't believe his eye. There before him was his crew being held at the mercy of a dozen gunmen. And on his own ship no less. This was unacceptable!
"We've been set up cap'n! Run! Save Yerself!" screamed Zigzag.
Before Rottenbeard could even consider abandoning his crew, another group of men approached from his rear, surrounding him from all sides.
"Bugger." muttered Rottenbeard, acknowledging their capture, for now.
The men led Rottenbeard to where his crew were tied up, and pointed most of their guns at him.
Suddenly the door to the cabin swung open, and out stepped their pursuer from earlier; Captain John Harvey.
"Well well, if it isn't the infamous Rottenbeard." he taunted, straightening his red jacket, and swinging a sword at his side. "If I'm seeing things right, it would seem that the man who no one could catch, has just been caught."
"Captain Harvey, you old dog! How'd ye find us?" exclaimed Rottenbeard in delighted surprise.
"Come on Rottenbeard, didn't you find it the least bit suspicious how a map leading to a wide open pile of treasure just so conveniently came into your possession?"
Rottenbeard wrinkled his brow, as he tried to figure things out.
Captain Harvey shook his head. It seemed that Rottenbeard wasn't exactly the brightest pirate on the seas.
"We made the map, Rottenbeard! We paid a man to give it you, and that treasure you found was planted by us! All we had to do was wait until you arrived, and you'd be right where I wanted you." explained Captain Harvey making sure Rottenbeard knew he had fallen for their trap.
Before Rottenbeard could reply, the cabin door opened again.
"Let's send them straight to the bottom of the sea." suggested the woman who emerged from the cabin.
Rottenbeard put on a wide grin as he looked her over. She had long bright green hair, and was wearing a short sleeved white shirt, with a dark green vest over top. Her skirt was also a combination of green and white.
"Yo ho captain, who's the looker, and what have ye been up to in me cabin?" asked Rottenbeard deviously.
Captain Harvey was appalled at what Rottenbeard was suggesting.
"This is my daughter, Rottenbeard." said the Captain sternly. "She wants to see you punished just as much as I do. I wasn't about to deny her the pleasure."
"What's yer name lass?" Rottenbeard asked in the sweetest voice he could muster.
"I'm Leena."
"A lovely name, for such a lovely lady."
"Oh brother." Tricks scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
Captain John Harvey had heard enough. He cleared his throat, getting ready to speak.
"Men, bring these maggots onto our ship." he ordered, with a look of disgust directed towards Rottenbeard. "They're going to be put in jail for a very long time!"
Captain Harvey's men immediately rushed into action, pulling Rottenbeard and his crew to their feet. They were lead at gunpoint towards Harvey's ship, which had been conveniently anchored next to their own.
"There's no way out of this one Rottenbeard, your pirating days are over." taunted Captain Harvey.
As he spoke, a small vessel emerged suddenly from behind the island, and sailed directly towards Rottenbeard's ship. It wasn't slowing down either, and collided directly against the hull.
"What in the blazes was that?" Rottenbeard barked, feeling the impact beneath him.
Within a moment, a figure leapt up into view, landing on the edge of the ship.
"Hey, it's the guy from the tavern!" shouted Zigzag in surprise.
"Not you again!" moaned Tricks.
"Alright Rottenbeard, I want my crystal back right now!" demanded One, as he crossed his arms.
Everyone on board stopped what they were doing, and stared at him in complete silence.
Upon realizing what was going on here, One decided that his timing couldn't have been any worse.
"Who are you?" Captain Harvey asked, sounding incredibly annoyed.
One scratched the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.
"My names One, I just came to get back the crystal that was stolen from me."
"Well I don't think you could have picked a worse time if you tried!" barked Captain Harvey.
Rottenbeard didn't waste another minute, and used this distraction as an opportunity to snatch a gun from the hands of an unsuspecting guard. He then grabbed Leena from behind, holding the gun to her head.
"Avast ye swabs, nobody move or the lass gets it! Now free me crew, Harvey!"
Captain Harvey turned around from facing One, and cursed under his breath.
"Don't do it father, you can't let him go!" Leena pleaded. "He has to be stopped now!"
The armed men surrounded Rottenbeard, waiting for an order from their captain.
"Leena.." whispered Captain Harvey.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to his men, and sighed.
"Free his crew. Do it."
One hopped down to the deck as Harvey's men untied Rottenbeard's crew.
"If you free them, you may never find them again!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Captain Harvey retorted. "Right now all I'm concerned about is my daughters safety, understand?"
One nodded, and backed up out of the way.
"Blast it Rottenbeard, just don't hurt her." pleaded Captain Harvey when everyone had been untied.
Rottenbeard smirked from behind Leena, as he brought his bristly face up next to hers.
"Don't worry me bucko, she be fine so long as ye don't be tailin' us again. Who knows, ye might even see her again, but I ain't makin' no promises!"
"Rottenbeard!" screamed Captain Harvey, shaking with rage.
Suddenly, from behind Rottenbeard, a pellet flew from Tricks' hand and landed in the middle of the deck. Before anyone knew what had happened, the entire area filled with thick, blinding smoke.
One couldn't see a thing, and all he could hear was the sound of laughing from Rottenbeard and his crew. He desperately felt around for something to grab hold of, but before he could, he felt a quick shove from behind, and was soon plummeting downward over the edge of the ship. Within seconds he found himself sinking into the cold ocean below. It took a few moments to get over the initial surprise of what had just happened, but when he had his bearings, he began swimming towards the surface.
"Yo ho! Be seein ya cap'n!" shouted Rottenbeard from up on the ship, as several more men were thrown overboard.
"Weigh anchor lads, it's time we be off!" he then ordered to his crew.
One brought his head up out of the water, just in time to see the anchor rise, and two giant propellers appear from underneath the ship.
"Uh oh." he managed to mutter, as the propellers began to spin. If he got sucked into there, he'd be shredded to pieces for sure.
One swam with all of his might toward a nearby rock that was protruding from the water. He grabbed hold of it just as the propellers kicked into gear, spewing water in every direction as they pushed the ship forwards. Rottenbeard's ship then sped away from the island, and disappeared into the horizon.
- - - - - - - - - -
As soon as the waves had calmed down, One paddled his way to shore. Captain Harvey and his men appeared to have been thrown overboard as well, and were now drying off on the beach.
Captain Harvey suddenly spotted One pulling himself out of the water, and frowned. Without hesitation, John Harvey pulled up his sleeves, and stormed over to One, grabbing him by the collar of his vest.
"Darn it all, man!" he shouted, shaking him back and forth. "What did you think you were doing? We had Rottenbeard right where we wanted him, and then you showed up and ruined everything!"
"I'm sorry, I just wanted my crystal. I didn't know..." said One regretfully.
"Not only that, but you managed to get my daughter kidnapped as well!" Harvey continued. "I should have you hung for interfering!"
Upon hearing this, some of his men rushed over, ready to arrest One on the spot, but Captain Harvey raised his hand to stop them.
"No no, its alright." he told them, and took deep breath, calming himself down. "This man didn't know what was going on."
He then turned to One and lowered his head in shame.
"Please forgive me for blowing up like that. it's just.."
"It's alright." One assured him, placing a hand on the captain's shoulder.
"You're One, right?" asked Harvey, as he held out his hand. "I'm Captain John Harvey of Oceantown."
"Nice to meet you." One replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "I guess Rottenbeard stole from you as well?"
Captain Harvey slowly nodded.
"You guess right. He's been doing it to every town on the coast. We couldn't stand by and let him get away with it, so when he came to loot our town, we decided to set him up and catch him once and for all."
"And I came and completely foiled your plan." said One with a frown. "I'm truly sorry. I'd like to make it up to you."
Captain Harvey's raised his brow in wonder.
"Oh? And just how do you plan to do that?"
"I will rescue your daughter for you."
Harvey laughed. "You alone?"
One nodded once, and pointed his finger upward.
"I will get back my crystal, save your daughter, and bring Rottenbeard to justice." stated One with complete confidence. "What do you think?"
"I think you're crazy if you think you can stop Rottenbeard all by yourself, but by all means go ahead and try." offered a doubtful Captain Harvey.
Maybe he was crazy, but something deep down was telling One to do this.
'You have to help that man, you have to save his daughter.'
He hadn't been in this part of the sea for more than a few days, and already his necklace was missing, he had a person to rescue, and a pirate crew to catch. To most people all of these tasks combined would seem a little overwhelming, but One didn't feel that way. For him it was an adventure, and he was excited to get on with it!
After saying goodbye, One swam out to his small sailing ship; the S.S. Infinity, which was still floating out in the middle of the water. When he had gotten onboard, he waved to John Harvey and his soaking wet men, raised the sails, and steered himself out to sea in search of Rottenbeard.