CHAPTER 10
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Suddenly a loud noise sounded from below decks, followed by a quick jolt to the entire ship as it began to propel forward.
"What in the blazes was that?" asked a startled Blackjack.
"Yo ho! Quicksail's gotten the ship movin' again!" shouted Zigzag in delight from behind Rottenbeard's legs.
"Shiver me timbers! Ye be right Zigzag, the lad's finally done it!" Rottenbeard laughed out loud, and quickly ducked to avoid the ghosts that had begun to zip by overhead.
As the ship picked up more and more speed, the pirate ghosts found themselves being left behind, and had to float along to keep up.
"ROTTENBEARD!" roared Blackjack as he soared after them, absolutely furious with this turn of events.
Light began to peek out from behind the grey clouds, as the ship made it's way through the fog, towards the clear blue sky on the other side.
"It looks like they don't like the light." observed One, as Blackjack's ghost crew began to back away and abandon the chase when the amount of light increased.
"You're right, but I don't think that's going to stop Blackjack." exclaimed Leena, and pointed behind them. "He's still coming!"
Sure enough, Blackjack was still in hot pursuit, holding out his sword and gritting his teeth.
"I ain't gonna letcha get away with this Rottenbeard!"
"I'm afraid ye've lost to me again, cap'n Blackjack." taunted Rottenbeard, waving to his enraged and determined ex-captain.
Just then, the ship cleared the fog completely, and entered into the open sea. The bright sunlight was a shock to them all, but no one more so than Blackjack.
"What be happenin' to me?" he cried, when he emerged from his fog prison and instantly began to evaporate in the air.
"Good riddance!" stated Zigzag sternly, wrinkling his brow while he peered over the railing.
"Noooooooo!" echoed Blackjack's disembodied voice across the sky, as he faded out of existence.
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The foursome stood on the now empty deck, staring at the bright sunny sky as they caught their breath.
Leena nudged One, and motioned at Rottenbeard with her eyes.
He shook his head. He knew what she wanted to do, and he agreed that this was the probably the best chance they'd have to apprehend Rottenbeard, but he wasn't willing to risk it. He or Leena could be hurt, and he had promised Leena's father that he would get her home safely. He was going to keep his word.
Quicksail and Tricks suddenly emerged from below decks, hooting and hollering over their saving of the ship.
Rottenbeard hurried over, and threw his arms around the both of them. "Great work mateys! Ye came through right in the nick of time! Ye've made yer cap'n proud!"
Quicksail beamed. He loved when his ideas worked out like he planned, and even though the Captain was a noisy brute, he had to admit he did appreciate the compliments. Tricks, on the other hand, made a face of disgust. She was happy they had survived, she just hated when a fuss was made over her. Not to mention she hated being touched, especially by Rottenbeard. The man was disgusting.
Pinchpenny appeared several minutes later, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.
"Pinchpenny! How's our treasure lad?" inquired an over excited Rottenbeard.
"It's all there Captain, but some good for nothin' ghosts tried to make off with it!" snorted Pinchpenny in annoyance. "I chased 'em away of course, then I counted every last jewel just to be sure!"
"That's me boy!" hollered Rottenbeard, grinning a toothy grin, and rubbing a hand across Pinchpenny's head, messing up his neatly combed hair. "I'd say we be problem free once again!"
Tricks sneered, and shook her head.
"There still be a few problems that need dealin' with, cap'n."
"And what be they, Tricks?" Rottenbeard asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Them." stated Tricks, pointing to One and Leena.
"Aye I'd almost forgotten!" exclaimed Rottenbeard, smacking a hand against his forehead. "Whaddaya reckon we do with these landlubbers, mateys?"
"WALK THE PLANK! WALK THE PLANK!" chanted the crew in unison.
Rottenbeard smiled and turned to face One and Leena.
"Well ya heard em, lubbers! Yer goin overboard!"
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"One saved your life Rottenbeard, why are you doing this?" asked Leena from the edge of the plank, where she and One stood back to back, tied together at the wrists by a thick rope.
"Ah, because, lassie! I be Rottenbeard, the rottenest pirate that sails the seven seas." he replied from safe on the deck of the ship, surrounded by his crew. "Imagine what it'd do to me reputation if I let ye go!"
"Plus ye've seen and heard to much." continued Quicksail, as he crossed his arms.
"Aye, and dead men tell no tales!" added Tricks, drawing an imaginary line across her throat with her finger.
Pinchpenny stepped out, extending a long stick with which to push them off.
"Any last words?" he asked, smugly.
"I'll see you later, Rottenbeard!" said One, and hopped backward off of the plank, pulling Leena along with him.
Rottenbeard's crew watched in astonishment as One and Leena plunged into the ocean below, disappearing beneath the waves.
After several moments, the whole crew suddenly burst into roaring laughter. The thought of someone jumping off of the plank willingly was such an absurd concept, that they couldn't restrain themselves.
After several minutes, Rottenbeard wiped the tears from his eye, and took a deep breath before issuing his next orders.
"Alright mateys! Turn the ship full to starboard, we head for the southern sea!"
"Aye aye Captain!" responded his crew, hurrying to their positions. They were incredibly eager to get back to work and leave the events of the past few days behind them.
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As the crew prepared the ship for a change in direction, two heads surfaced below, from underneath the waves.
One and Leena gasped for air, as they kicked with their legs to keep themselves afloat.
"What do we do now?" asked Leena, coughing on a mouth full of salt water.
"Can you reach the back of my belt?" One asked her, answering her question with another. "There should be a small knife in there."
"I'll try!" she replied hopefully, and maneuvered her hand to his belt.
Leena felt around for a moment or two or until she had a firm grasp around the hilt of the dagger.
"Got it." she informed him, and wasted no time in slicing away at the rope that was restricting their arms.
One began to feel the rope weakening, and with all of his strength, pulled his arms apart, tearing the rope at it's weak point.
"Alright, now follow me." he instructed. Leena nodded, and One began to swim ahead toward the back end of Rottenbeard's ship.
Leena rubbed the rope burn on her now-free wrists, and swam after him.
"Boy he's fast!" she thought to herself, watching in amazement as One reached the back of the pirate ship in record time, and disappeared around the side.
When she finally arrived, One was already onboard a smaller vessel, hacking away at a rope connecting it to the back of Rottenbeard's ship.
Leena was out of breath, barely able to keep herself up above water. She felt her strength give out, and the ocean currents began to pull her down.
As she went under, she could faintly hear a familiar beeping sound, followed by a splash as One immediately dove in after her. Before she knew it, One had pulled her onto his ship, and was back to cutting the rope between the two ships. The pirate ship suddenly began to turn to the south, just as One severed the connecting rope. Then, without warning, Rottenbeard's ship tore across the ocean, utilizing it's Quicksailer technology, and leaving One and Leena in it's wake.
When the waves had finally calmed and his ship was steady, One hurried over to the steering wheel, motioning for Leena to come and join him.
"Welcome aboard my ship, the S.S Infinity! What do you think?" he asked, as Leena approached.
"I don't understand." said Leena, ignoring the question. "Why did you let them throw us overboard?"
One looked over his shoulder at her as he began turned the wheel.
"I figured it was the easiest way to get off of their ship in one piece." he explained. "They had no idea that my ship was attached to theirs. As far as they know, we're down at the bottom of the ocean."
Leena nodded in understanding, and smiled. Her smile quickly turned into a frown however, when she realized that One was turning his ship in the opposite direction of where Rottenbeard was going.
"Aren't we going after him?" she asked in dismay.
"No, we're going to go back to Oceantown." One told her bluntly.
"But what about Rottenbeard? We can't just let him go!" exclaimed Leena. "Not after all he's done!
"It's alright." One assured her. "For now, I've got a promise to keep, by bringing you home to your father."
Leena was not pleased in the slightest, and crossed her arms in disapproval.