"Jump!" Calypso screamed out. Using the momentum from the makeshift pendulum, the blue duck flew through the air momentarily, before landing feet first on the opposite craft. Right behind him, two more loud thuds roared out as Mariner and Edmund had also successfully completed the jump. Now that they were here, their previous boldness seemed to disappear as a dozen Corporate Raiders stared at them with bloodthirsty grins. "Everyone stay together!" Calypso yelled to his crew. Standing in a triangle, the three all armed themselves with whatever they had left in their pockets. A few cream pies, a seltzer bottle, and some marbles, Hardly a tour de force against such a heavy crowd. The three fought valiantly, launching everything they had. Unfortunately for the three it was proving inconsequential to their chances of winning.
"I have an idea!" Mariner nudged Edmund and pointed to some barrels to their left labeled "oil."
Edmund smiled, in-sync with his friend. The two ran over and grabbed the barrels. Tilting them on their side, they began to push together with all their strength, causing the cylindrical containers to roll with momentum towards on the oncoming attackers. The plan was working brilliantly, as unexpected by Mariner. Not only did the barrels provide a distraction, they also managed to roll into a few of the cogs, causing them to fall over. The oil from the barrels had begun to spill out onto the ship, creating a slippery and unstable ground for anybody. Calypso who had been unaware of the plan, had narrowly avoided being squished by a bouncing barrel. "Watch where you're tossing those!" he yelled to his comrades. Taking advantage of the chaos, the blue duck rolled between the legs of a Raider who had gotten perilously close to him. Scurvy was tied up towards the other side of the deck unattended. Wriggling around and trying to break free from the ropes, they beamed with pride at their crew. They were risking their lives to save their old Captain.
"Arrrgh Calypso, watch out behind ye!" Scurvy screamed as a Raider who had slipped on the oil fell backwards, nearly crushing Calypso for a second time. Scurvy rolled onto their side. While they couldn't fight, they could at least be a nuisance. The dark blue pirate rolled their way into the legs of an inattentive Raider who was gathering themselves after being flattened by a barrel. Biting into the hard metal, Scurvy was like a rabid dog as the cog screamed in terror. Breaking free, the pirate flew off elsewhere on the ship. "Who else want a piece of me!" Mariner and Edmund had finally run out of ammo from their plan. The entire ship was a cataclysm of bunched up barrels, slicked and oiled wood panels, and piles of confused bodies trying their best to get a grip on the situation. Calypso, feet stinging from walking in oil, finally reached Scurvy and had quickly untied them. Fortunately the cogs were not very good when it came to THESE kind of knots. Scurvy was even more determined now that they were free. They were going to bring an end to the Clipper-On Tie, and they had just the plan. Pointing to a rope ladder that was hanging from the outlook tower, Scurvy barked out orders to the pair of dogs who were laughing at the helpless cogs destroying their perfectly ironed pirate costumes with unshakable oil. "Use that to be gettin' across to the Melville. We gonna torch this ship!"
Grabbing a lid from a barrel nearby, Edmund took a running start and surfed the oily waves of the ship, bypassing the outstretched hands of Raiders who had tried to grab the brown dog, before slipping as their momentum was carried in two different directions. Leaping from the safety of his improvised surfboard, Edmund grabbed ontp the rope ladder. Pulling as hard as he could, the brown dog was able to break the restraints and pulled the ladder down to him. Mariner stayed behind and was continuing to fight the cogs. He had used Edmund's idea of using barrel lids as heavy frisbees, side-arming them and even scoring a critical hit, knocking a cog in the chest, sending them flying off the side into the depths of blue where they would never be seen again. "I got it! Watch my back, I'm going to connect ships!"
Horsenado shook nervously. The red horse was doing his best to focus on steering and keeping pace with the unmanned Clipper-on Tie. The masquerading mariner would take a quick glance over at the action, before anxiously turning away. Hearing Edmund's triumphant cries brought him back to a reality where there was a chance of success. Gripping the wooden wheel tighter, Horsenado ignored the pain in his hands, keeping course and yelling out encouragement. Meanwhile, Cross and John had both began preparing themselves to bring the others onboard. The ship was sailing fine and had no need for the oars. Both Toons had run over to the edge of the ship and called out for Edmund to throw the line over. The brown dog had managed to avoid any unnecessary contact with the enemy and had did a spinning circle, launching the long rope ladder up onto the higher, taller ship. "He did it!" Cross screamed out proudly. The curved hooks from the ladder reached over the deck and were quickly corralled by John who securely connected them to the long, metal pole that made up the barrier. Having Edmund tug for sureness, both sides were ready. Calypso and Scurvy were still on the opposite side, fighting off cogs.
"Matey, you go first. I will distract them!" Scurvy patted Calypso's back.
"Captain, I'm not leaving you again!" pleading with his eyes, the blue duck knew that Scurvy was not going to have any of it.
Before Calypso could argue his points, Scurvy pushed him, causing the duck to go sliding across the oil neatly to the other side where he joined Edmund and Mariner who were bracing themselves for a leap of faith. While there was only a small gap between the two boats, it was enough that a fall would likely lead to certain death as none of the Toons would be able to swim fast enough to catch up to the ship, and had no land in sight to look forward to. Mariner stepped up onto the Clipper-On Tie's barrier. held steady by Edmund and Calypso he closed his eyes. This could be the last time he saw anybody. "For the Melville!" was his battle cry as he leapt forward. Reaching out, he easily grabbed onto the rungs of the ladder and began to pull himself up. Four hands reached out and pulled the blue dog to the safety of the Melville.
Next up was Edmund, at the behest of Calypso who basically forced him to go. Legs shaking, the brown dog clambored up onto the railing. Ducking down to keep his body's center of balance as stable as possible, he stared across the four feet of potential death. The three Toons on the other side not steering the ship called for him. Closing his eyes, he said a small prayer to himself. Slowly lifting himself, his jello legs clenched down one last time. Readying himself, Edmund jumped and screamed. Reaching out with one hand, he caught the last rung of the ladder. Dangling like a booger from a nose, the brown dog tumbled back and forth, thrown around like a rag doll that had outlived its usefulness. "Pull him up!" John yelled. The now six hands grabbed the ropes and began to pull upwards, dragging the horrified dog up. Once he was high enough, he used his free hand to grab hold of the metal bar, and felt as hands clenched the back of his shirt and yanked him onboard. Two down, two to go.
"Yer up, matey!" Scurvy cried out to Calypso. The old Captain had found their sword and was now slashing and hacking at hesitant Raiders who had no means to defend themselves against such a weapon. Pink slips were chopped in half, and aluminum cans were easily punctured and thrown aside. Unfortunately the warning had caught the attention of two Raiders who were determined to stop Calypso from escaping. Propelling forward, the large cogs flew over the oil, drawing in on their enemy.
"Quick Calypso, jump!" Mariner stared frightened as the Raiders came ever closer. Before they could get too close, they found themselves being dashed by a well thrown birthday cake to the face from Cross.
"Glad I always keep at least one of these with me!" the yellow mouse squeaked with pleasure. Calypso took no hesitation. He had some experience with gymnastics, and the jump was quite easy for him. Using his dad strength, he quickly ascended the latter and hugged the crew. Unfortunately the Toon they had left to save was still over there fighting. "I'll go get more gags!" Cross screamed, running over to the crates on the back side of the deck.
Scurvy fought ferociously. Compared to their former captain, these cogs had little chance. Dismembered arms and legs releasted electric discharge as they were quickly dispatched. Cogs bold enough to try and move in quickly jumped back as sharp metal nearly connected with them. The new captain was hiding behind his crew, barking out orders. "Hold on buccos! I be on me way!" grabbing their sword blade with their teeth, Scurvy ran and slid on their butt across the oil. Pulling their sword out, they slashed one last Raider, causing them to fall over. They were not feet away from safety. Yet there was still one last thing to take care of. Cross had come back with several more birthday cakes and was ready to throw when Scurvy waved their hands up in the air. "Hold on! Don't hit them cogs, hand me that cake!" Cross gently tossed the pastry down into Scurvy's outstretched hands, barely saving it from a soggy plunge into the water.
"Wait there, Captain!" the new captain of the Clipper-On Tie fell to his knees and began to beg pathetically. "Please dont be killin' me. I was just followin' orders! I would have set ya free, really!"
Scurvy had other thoughts in mind. Stepping up onto the metal barrier, the blue cat flashed their fangs and chuckled. "Dont be worryin' matey. I won't be hittin' ya with this. Removing three lit candles, the other captain's eyes widened with the knowledge of what was going to happen. Unfortunately for him, he was too late. Scurvy flicked the candles into the drenches of oil soaking the ship, immediately lighting a blaze that could be seen from miles. Saluting his adversaries, Scurvy pounced from the smoldering ship onto the safety of the Melville. Slowly but surely the Toons pulled away. Cogs fought valiantly to extinguish the flame, before succumbing to the boiling heat and exploding. In the now distance, black smoke filled the air, letting all know that the Clipper-On Tie had finally been defeated.
Boxer strode confidently into the studio, script in hand. The purple dog had spent the entire night reading and re-reading the script for his character. Hundreds of lines had been drilled in his head. He had barely even managed to get to sleep. Whenever he would try, his brain would let him know that he could still be studying. After all, this was his best chance yet and he could NOT afford to mess this up! Tyler had promised to meet him here later in the day, as he was attending to other matters. He had assured Boxer though that he was confident that Boxer would get the part. As promised, the studio was mostly empty as the cast and crew had gone for lunch. For many it was more having a reprieve away from their director rather than a chance to eat. Quentin sat on his director's chair, biting into an apple and reading over what appeared to be a script. "Good afternoon, Mr. Tarintoono. I'm here for my audition?"
The black cat hardly looked up, unbothered by the young actor standing right beside him. "Do you want a reward? I said noon and it is noon. Good job I guess for not wasting my time. Let's hurry up and get this over with, I have an apple to eat. I'll read you in." clearing his throat, Quentin began to recite a line. "Oh, Cobby. I just don't know what to do. I mean, you're a werewolf! How could I tell my family I'm in love with a werewolf? After all, they are all werewolf hunters!"
"Uh.." Boxer stared confused. He didn't remember this line from the script? He was sure of it. Quickly flipping through the pages, he scanned for a line. "Um. Um."
"It's what I figured you're unprepared. I told you to be ready with any line."
Rubbing his arm anxiously, Boxer stared at the ground. "Sir I read the entire script front to back several times. I don't remember seeing that line at all. Could you please give me another one?"
"That's because it is not in the script, kid. It's from the book. How could you expect to portray a character if you're ignorant of the source material? Reading the novel is just as paramount to success as the script. You'll find that out in time. Best of luck to you, kid. I'm a director, not a babysitter. I can't spend my time teaching you the job on the fly.
"But Anastasia! I am only a werewolf due to the curse that was placed on me by the Headless Horse! Your self-professed love would save my life! Please, just one kiss is all it takes!" Boxer improvised a line, hoping to capture the director's attention. He had to do SOMETHING.
Quentin scratched his chin. "That's actually not too bad. A Headless Horse placing a curse on the main character... I like it. It's certainly more interesting than the character BEING a werewolf. Alright kid, let me read you one more. I'll see how you do, I guess. it's not like I'm doing very much right now anyways." tossing aside his half-eaten fruit, the cat stood up. "Cobby you scummy dirtbag. You know that I am in love with Anastasia. How do you think a Toon like her could ever love a beast like you!"
"Victor, you're a Bloodsucker! I could say the same thing! Why she's even given you the time of day is a joke. I should kill you where you stand!"
"Very well, bring it on furball!" Quentin yelled out theatrically.
Feeling his confidence rising from his overpreperation, Boxer continued. Acting like his life depended on it, he felt himself morphing into Cobby. "No! This is not the way! I am a peaceful Toon, not some beast! I will win Anastasia's love because I am worthy! Plus I have incredible abs! You're just a hunk of metal! I am off!" pretending to run away, Boxer stopped and turned around, breathing heavily, waiting for a response.
Moments passed as Quentin pondered what he had just seen. "Pretty good there kid. I guess I underestimated you a tad. Plus I am too busy to try and seek out other actors. Fine, you got the part! But remember two things. First is you are a second string. You likely won't ever show up in the movie and won't get any credit. Second is that you won't be paid until after filming is done. I expect you to be here on time, ready to go. We cannot have any delays just in case Jacob is unable to go! When the cast comes back I will introduce you to everybody. Don't get too close to them though. One mistake and I promise you that you will be immediately let go for somebody else. Understood?'
"Thank you sir!" Boxer exclaimed. Ignoring the cockiness and arrogance of Quentin, he reveled in his own excitement. After months of disappointment and failure, he finally had a foot in the door. He was going to be the backup for a major movie!