Scurvy addressed the crew for what would possibly be the last time. The six Toons lined up, all trying to keep brave faces for their Captain. "Aye mateys. This be it. I been waitin' for this day for many years. No matter what be happenin' to me, I want you to know that you all be the best crew I ever had the good fortunes of workin' with. You all be a real treasure. Whatever happens to me ain't have nothin' to do with you. This be my decision. Be prepared to set off in case things go south. If I be meetin' Davey Jones, than that be my fate. I don't want any of you to be gettin' involved. This fight between me and Steel-Beard. This be my revenge." gripping their sword, Scurvy took a deep breath and hugged each of the members, giving one last goodbye. The cogs had aligned a long, wide plank as a walkway between the two ships. Scurvy did the Toon Salute before stepping onto the wobbly board. Slowly crossing, they kept their eye on Steel-Beard, the flame of hatred burned inside of them. The vision of their ship sinking, the families of all the crew who no longer got to see their loved ones, the maniacal laughter on that Raider's disgusting face as he watched. It all roared inside of the furious cat. They would not hold back. This Raider was going to be in for one hell of a fight.
"Guess ye be good to yer word, Toon." Steel-Beard chuckled. Ditching his short cutlass for a longer, thinner blade, the large Raider winked at Scurvy. "Words ain't meanin' much out here though. Yer gonna be fish food, Captain." Unrobing, the Raider undonned his robes and revealed a skin-tight black tank top. Several tattoos lined the cog's revealed body, something the Toons were surprised by. Generally cogs looked down on things such as tattoos, but these cogs were certainly different than anything they had ever seen to begin with. The middle of the ship emptied out and created a wide circle arena for the two combatants to take their place. There would be no escape for the loser. This was it. A fight to the death. A pair of bloodthirsty growls broke the silence. As customary, both fighters sheathed their weapons as to not start with an unfair advantage. Eyes locked onto eye, hands shook with anticipation. Scurvy as the challenger had the privilege to start the duel. Wiggling their fingers over their sword, they stared down the Raider. Taking a deep breath, they waited for their chance.
"Draw!" Scurvy screamed out. Almost immediately after, both Toon and Cog had unsheathed their weapons and had charged forward. Scurvy swung out their sword and was immediately caught by their opponents own blade. The clings and clangs of metal on metal, steel sharpening steel. Sweat flew off Scurvy's head. For the first time in their life they had finally met a match worthy of their skills. In a way it was a relief. Killing a pathetic weakling would not feel very good, even in a revenge fueled fury. Stepping back, Scurvy avoided several quick jabs from the surprisingly swift cog. "Is that all you got Briny-Beard. I thought ye were a captain? I would expect this kind of fightin' from a newborn!"
This drew the ire of the Captain, who began hacking and slashing with an unprecedented speed. Scurvy's heart sped up, trying to keep up with their hands which were like a flash of lightning as they defended themself from the onslaught of swipes. "Arrrgh. Yer head will look mighty nice as a warning to other ships not to disobey me, Toon!" the cog grinned as he landed a slice into Scurvy's left arm, causing the blue cat to wince in pain. Unfortunately for him, his moment of gloating was interrupted by a quick retaliation from Scurvy who broke through the cog's long range defense to get two slashes to the cog's chest.
The Crew of the Melville watched in horror and shock at their Captain. The usually quiet, nurturing captain was in full on fight-or-die mode. It was something none of the Toons had ever witnessed. Even for John and Calypso who had fought cogs, or the recent fighting that had just taken place were nowhere near as intense as what was occurring on the other side. Horsenado planted his hands over his eyes, peering through the gaps in his fingers before withdrawing to the safety of his own mind. Edmund and Mariner called out words of encouragement. Calypso stared not at the Raider who was swinging the sword, but the ones who were gathered around his captain. "Hey Cross, do we still have those ropes?"
Unable to keep her eyes off of the action, the yellow mouse spoke from the side of her mouth. "Um yeah. They're over there." she pointed without looking to a pile of balled up rope. "Why? You thinking of going over and whacking some cogs? I thought Scurvy said they didn't want any help?"
"Hmm. I'm not so sure yet. Something seems off. I mean, the cogs still outnumber Captain. I know there is some kind of code of honor, but I'm feeling uneasy about all of this. Do you think that they would just let their captain go down and do nothing?" the light blue duck rubbed their beak. "Mariner, Edmund. Come with me, you guys have good arms. I am gonna need some help here."
Both Scurvy and and Steel-Beard stood back. Several minutes of intense fighting had led to little break-through. It appeared neither had the upper hand, and a stalemate seemed likely. Scurvy ignored the burning pain in their shoulder as they quietly stared at their foe. Looking for an opening, they scanned the deck. There was little chance of getting behind the large Raider, both due to their size and the crowd of cogs surrounding the pair. Scurvy still didn't completely trust these scoundrels to stay true to the code of the sea. After all, they had routinely broken their own rules, why would they follow ethical and moral conditions. In the end it didn't matter. The Captain had come with the expectation that they were on borrowed time. However as long as they could pay their debts to Steel-Beard, it would all be worth it. The crew was prepared for a quick escape, and they had already given Calypso and Horsenado a crash course on steering the ship. John and Edmund could easily handle the anchor and sails, and Mariner and Cross were excellent crew. Thinking about it, it really was the best crew they had worked with. For the first time since Melville's untimely demise, the blue cat felt like they truly had a family. Sucking in air, the blue cat charged forward, not giving the large pirate any opportunity to strike back. Swinging as fast as their arm was physically capable of moving, Scurvy fought with the anger of someone who knew that they were given a death sentence.
"You cheap shottin' scum!" Steel-Beard taunted out angrily. Grabbing the blade of his sword, he held it out horizontally, narrowly blocking a strike from above as the Raider fell to one knee. Pushing back, he soon overpowered the blue cat, l sending Scurvy stumbling backwards, and giving himself the crucial moments needed to gather themselves. Unfortunately this Toon was relentless and was quickly pushing Steel-Beard to his limits. Another breakthrough had gone low, chopping the Raider's leg and sending him sprawling to the ground as a robotic foot went flying across the deck and landing with a thud. Scurvy had the upper hand. Steel-Beard flipped around onto his back, scooching away as the blue cat slowly walked towards him, looming over their prey. Unable to run away, the demented captain knew that this was going to be the end. Swinging one last time, he was quickly deflected by an expertly timed chop from Scurvy, literally disarming the cog.
"Captain Steel-Beard. You scum-sucking tyrant. You have always gone after the weak and defenseless! Yer terrorizing of the seas will be no more! Any last words before I send ye to Davey Jones' locker?"
The Raider snickered and raised their remaining arm to the back of their head. "See ye in Hell, matey!" the cog pushed a button on the back of their head and with a loud explosion, sent Scurvy and several other cogs flying backwards. Black smoke filled the air for a moment as confusion before the cogs re-grouped. The realization that their leader was dead was beginning to dawn on them. Unbeheld to the rules issued by their former captain, the cruel pirates took the opportunity to run and capture Scurvy who was still dazed after flying back and hitting their head.
"Get yer hands off me, you slimy seaweed suckers! I be winnin' that duel fair and square! Now get yer hands off me!" two pairs of large pink hands clenched the cat's arms and legs and picked them up. The new captain, a shorter, but chunkier Raider stepped forward. Picking up Steel-Beard's decapitated head, they ripped off a broach from the deceased cog, and tossed the empty husk into the water, with a splash.
"Fair and square? Must be forgettin' who you're dealin' with Toon. Steel-Beard were weak. I'm the new captain now. I ain't givin' no mercy to a Toon. Ain't that right mateys!" The Raider turned to his newly received crew and bowed among a roar of cheers. "I will honor the agreement not to take yer shop though. However, ye boarded our ship with means you be our prisoner. Best say goodbye to those weaklings over there!" with a nod, the Raider signaled his crew to break free of their restraints. Sailing off, Scurvy watched as the Melville II began to fade into the distance. Letting out one last angry scream Scurvy struggled to break free. They had found a fate worse then death, becoming the slave to a ship of evil cogs.
The elated feeling of seeing Scurvy's victory quickly deflated among the crew as the blue cat was snatched by a group of Raiders and dragged away. The new apparent leader, as Calypso had feared, broken the agreement between the two Captains. Even worse, the ship had opened their sails and begun to break free. The plank that had connected the two ships had snapped in half, offering little resistance against the two large ships pulling apart. Quickly springing into action, the blue duck took charge. "Edmund, let loose those sails! Horsenado, I'm gonna need you to handle the ship! John! Up on the lookout! You have to be out eyes! Mariner! Ready those ropes! Mariner, come with me we're getting our captain back!"
With an unspoken urgency, the Toons broke their shock to take action. None leaving a single wasted effort. The sails broke free, and the ship was off. While the Clipper-On Tie was quicker, the Toons had one thing on their side, and that was an unparalleled will. Mariner and Calypso had jumped on each side of the ship and rowed with all of their might. Fortunately for the Toons, the wind was on their side, as it blew at an angle that allowed them to cut diagonally. They weren't going to win a straight race, they would have to cut the cogs off. Fortunately for them they had not been too bar behind and were able to keep their enemy in view. Horsenado had little experience on the wheel, only a few minutes practice when Scurvy had shown him a bit the previous night. The multi-colored horse followed orders from John. Changing courses every few minutes to a different direction, the fine planning seemed to be working. The distance between the two ships was narrowing, and they could see the cogs on board who were beginning to panic. "Everybody prepare yourselves! We're almost to these cheaters!" John screamed out.
"What's the plan?" Mariner screamed out across the deck to Calypso, who with both hands gripped the thick wooden oar and pulled like his life depended on it.
"You remember those ropes?" Calypso nodded to the swinging rope hanging from the outlook just below John. "We're going to need to get on board somehow, right?"
Cross screamed out as she calculated Calypso's plan. "You want us to jump onto a moving ship? That's a death sentence!"
"We can't leave Captain to defend themselves! We have to do something! If you don't think you can do it, you stay behind! I'm going! Just get me close enough! Anything happens to me and I'll figure it out! I'm not leaving Captain!"
"I'm with you Calypso!" Horsenado screamed out, keeping his eyes focused.
Calypso shook his head. "Sorry Five-o, I need you to keep this ship sailing!"
"I'll go with you, Calypso!" Edmund called out. "You guys all saved me, I think I should be re-paying the favor!"
"Me too! I'm going with you guys!" Mariner added in.
Pride welled inside of the make-shift captain. "Alright. I think we're close enough. Cross, you and John can you guys take the oars! Mariner, Edmund, get to the ropes. We're going to need to jump from the barriers! Grab a rope and hold on tight!" ditching his spot, the duck was joined by the pair of dogs. Each grabbing the balled end of the rope, the three clambored on top of the barrier. The shorter ship was now in sight and was mere meters apart. "Everybody get ready! On my mark! 3...2...1!" closing his eyes, Calypso took a deep breath. "Jump!"