<span style="font-style: italic">"Since I know you have never used your own, I give you my heart. Not my actual heart, obviously, but I did technically own it prior to giving it to you, so it still counts.<br/><br/>- Rotter, captain of the ship up there."</span><br/><br/>Yagos had carved the heart from a Phoenician trader the day before and Rotter had given it to Efer. He intended it as a peace offering, though some sense of mischief might also have been on his mind, who could tell with him, anymore?<br/>The second gift - whatever it may have been - had also been procured from the Phoenician trade ship, and had certainly not been removed from between Rotter's own legs. He could live with missing a hand, but there was no hook or peg leg to replace<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>.<br/><br/>And now, despite Rotter having given her two fancy gifts, the Andalusian starling called him a bastard in Efer's very voice. He felt more rejected than insulted, but it still caused a bitterness that festered rapidly.<br/><br/>Perhaps he should not have included that final line in his letter to the Queen:<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">P.S. Ironically, I will be taking your doctor, Maiden, so I have no idea how you will insert the heart. I suggest rectally."</span><br/><br/>Well, if the queen did not respond to his charm, his wit or his dubious sense of humor then he would need to go into action.<br/>He did not actually need Maiden this badly, but he had announced to Pirate Queen Efer that he was taking her doctor, and he did not want to look weak by flying off again with his tail between his stern. He had a doctor's apprentice sick with scurvy, and a pirate with a wounded foot still well enough to swab the pooping deck, and that was all the illness there was to treat. He might have left to find a suitable narwhal, but his crew would be damned if he gave Efer another story to tell of how she had scared off the legendary Captain Rotter of the Flying Rotsman with naught but words.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Action.</span><br/><br/>The word kept lingering, as the feeling of rejection grew. He'd show her. He'd show the bitch that he had more manhood than whatever was in the second box he sent. He'd get the Crow back and he'd snatch Maiden, and if it came right down to it, he'd snatch Efer and her whole damn ship up in the air, as well, with his bare hands, because he was not some juvenile delinquent playing pirate games, no, he was 269 years into the business, and his was the only ship to ever sail the skies. He was mythical, grand and inspired fear from Hammerfest to Dakar, or so he imagined.<br/><br/>Just because Rotter could never leave the Rotsman did not mean he could not show that schoolgirl princess what he was made of.<br/><br/>"Hold my coat!" He bellowed and practically tossed it in the nearest pirate's face, then proceeded to remove another of the four coats, hand that to the same pirate, and in quick, bold moves he put back on the first coat he'd thrown, moving as if he imagined an orchestra of music was playing, powering up for the most foolish thing he'd done in years.<br/><br/>"Yaargos!" He bellowed and his first mate walked up to him lackadaisically, not hearing Rotterâ€™s imaginary power chords. Rotter was breathing very deeply, and his heart was pumping very fast. He unwrapped a long line of the bandage that always covered him beneath the coats, and handed it to Yagos. "Tie this to yourself," and with a grim look on his face, and his breath speeding up frantically he added:<br/><br/>"We're going overboard."<br/>--------<br/><br/><br/>Except someone beat him to it. There was a clanging of metal, which Rotter had missed because he was lost in his own determination, and his pulse was pounding loudly inside his skull, telling him not to jump. He looked to the left and was just in time to see Aris get knocked down from behind and picked up like a sack of potatoes. Also like a sack of potatoes she was thrown off the ship before Rotter had time to do much, because on the Rotsman potatoes were deadly weapons.<br/><br/>Rotter knew what was coming, even before they threw her out, and the anger, which the confusion had subdued, flared again, stronger than before. He rushed to the pirates, who did not react to his shouts, and was just too late to save Aris. With as much speed as he could muster Rotter swooped up her two fallen scimitars and launched after her, off the side of the ship. If he was going overboard he might as well look heroic in her eyes. He wanted desperately to gut the insubordinate bastards who threw her, but there was no time. He did not even think of Yagos as he left the ship, and he could only hope the first mate had managed to tie a proper knot before the bandage tightened and pulled him off the side.<br/><br/>Crow, Rotter, Aris and Yagos all in free fall. The Crow was not the only one with wings.<br/><br/>He got a good dozen feet below the Rotsman, seconds of free fall enough to fear he'd made a mistake, and just enough time to grasp Aris' scimitar with his teeth and draw his own gilded cutlass to wield three swords at once. A dozen or more feet below his ship his curse set in.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Rotter would never touch Heaven.</span><br/><br/>The bandages that wrapped his body from the neck to wrists came alive, slowly, like drowsy snakes.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Rotter would never touch the ocean.</span><br/><br/>And they gained speed faster than gravity could pull at Rotter, shooting upwards towards the Rotsman where they wrapped themselves around any object they touched, intending to forcefully pull Rotter back before he touched another solid surface than his own ship's deck. Rotter counteracted the curse by slashing the bandages with his three swords before they reached the ship, although the sword in his mouth was completely ineffective, except that it muffled his cries for Yagos to cut the bandages, and he only hoped his first mate could figure it out on his own.<br/><br/>Rotter twisted around in the air to fall feet-down to get himself into a position more suited for cutting the treacherous bandages, slashing like a madman, and providing a more aerodynamic form than Aris, who fell like a tiny block a little below him, outstretched and catching as much wind as her clothes could, and even further below them, the Crow was still falling in a barely controlled fashion. Rotter did not have time to consider this as a good sign for him, he was too busy not being dragged back to his ship, and he absolutely refused to return before he had<span style="font-style: italic">someone</span>to bring back with him, if not Maiden, then Aris as a small patch on the wound to make him not look like a clown.<br/><br/>He felt a hand grasp his leg, and was so startled he kicked down hard with his other boot, before realizing it was Aris, awake enough to have fear in her eyes, and awake enough to wield swords and cut bandages for him.<br/><br/>He had to let the bandages live while he turned in the air and handed Aris her scimitar, spitting out the one he held in his mouth as well so she could grab it, and with his mouth free he wasted no time in screaming "Cut! Cut them, damn you!" The delay was enough for some bandages to reach the ship and drag them all upwards again, before Aris, having caught his meaning, cut through the strands and they began a fall at a new starting velocity. Rotter himself grabbed hold of a rogue bandage and tied it to Aris.<br/><br/>It was not until this point, when there was a tiny measure of control that Rotter saw his ship fly closer towards Efer. He had forgotten about that, his ship had not been circling straight above her, and he was happy that whoever had taken the helm understood that Rotter wanted to get closer.<br/><br/>He was still filled with anger, but in the face of falling down and the swords that swung besides him, his own cutlass flashing as well, Rotter was scared. He knew â€“<span style="font-style: italic">he knew!</span>- he could never touch the ocean. The closer he got to it, the more bandages he spawned, as if there was no end to them, and no matter how many he cut, they would never let him reach the water. He knew this, but that knowledge was not quite preventing his instinctive terror from affecting him. He was still falling towards the far-below surface, and he was also falling towards the Pervy Freedom. He had to keep cutting the strands that occasionally reached the Rotsman and pulled them all a little upwards, before he or Yagos or Aris could cut themselves free and fall just a little but, only for new bandages to reach the Rotsman and repeat the process. Their fall was like a slowly descending yo-yo, and Rotter refused to let the bandages drag him back yet and make him look like a weakling, if not to his own crew, then to the bitch queen Efer, whom he wanted to slap in the face with his figurative manhood. But worst of all, Yagos, and particularly Aris, had no such desire, and it was in their best interest to not cut the bandages and in wild, panicked fury Rotter kept roaring at them to cut, cut the strings, "- or Oi gut yer from arse t' ears. Cut 'em o' Oi'll gut ye, lass!" the last part roared directly into Aris' ears which put him too close to her blades and a piece of his hat was lost.<br/><br/>The further the fall, the more insistent the bandages. They seemed to get a mind of their own, and not only spawned in greater numbers, but tried new tactics, wrapping up the piratesâ€™ hands or attempting to take their swords away, restricting their movements, and in one case, that might have been coincidental, they tried strangling Aris. The three falling shapes were fighting inside a cloud of white bandages and had to work together to free each other when Rotter's curse locked their limbs. From the Pervy Freedom Rotter was only barely recognizable, despite him being very close to their ship. He was a giant white ball of moving parts, shooting out in all directions. They were closer to the waterline than Rotter had been for decades, but that did not worry him. He would not reach the water, no way, but the water was not his goal. He just needed to get a little closer to the Freedom, to grasp the woman standing over the Crow, and, if at all possible, the Crow as well.<br/>That was another thing Rotter had not thought about when he launched himself headfirst over the side of the ship; he had no idea what the fabled doctor looked like. In the back of his mind he imagined a woman covered in scalpels and syringes as the Crow was covered in knives, all dressed in white with a good dozen white, square hats on, all with a red cross smack in the middle, so everyone knew this was a famous doctor, but in the complete absence of any such person, Rotter had to assume the one tending to the wounded was the shipâ€™s doctor.<br/><br/>He reached out for her. His slow fall had practically stopped, and instead of falling he was closer to hovering in midair. No doubt, if not for Yagos, who above Rotter was a whirlwind of blades, Rotter would have been pulled to his ship much sooner, but it seemed that no matter how much the bandages intensified their effort, so did Yagos, and both were without known upper limits. As Yagos slashed a bandage Rotter fell a foot before he was dragged back a foot by a tricky bandage reattaching itself to the one just cut, only for Yagos to cut it again, and when two bandages reattached themselves Yagos simply cut twice as fast. If he swirled those blades much faster there would be no need for a flying ship, heâ€™d be a tiny helicopter of his own â€“ whatever such a thing was. It seemed they could do no wrong with such a warrior to control the descent.<br/><br/>And it was not Yagos who ruined it.<br/><br/>Rotter was closer to the deck of the Pervy Freedom than he had ever been to any other surface since he was bound to the Rotsman, and it was a temptation he could not resist. He knew he could not stay on Eferâ€™s ship, but he could taunt the Ancient Sea God Nick, mock him, even, if he could just touch the deck heâ€™d have proven the sea godâ€™s impotence. The gigantic ball of flowing bandages came swinging towards the Pervy Freedom like a wrecking ball, missed Maiden and Crow by a hair, and instead got entangled with some poor, random pirate, who got lifted into the air as Rotter ascended again before Yagos or Aris managed to cut the bandages and suddenly Rotter was hovering right next to Maiden, Queen Efer and the Crow, and Rotter forgot all of them as he saw the deck was within his reach. Without even realizing it, his left foot shot out towards the deck as he stretched himself silly trying to poke the other ship with a toe.<br/><br/>It was an insult and his bandages reacted. To all sides they exploded, catching every surface on the Freedom and then they desperately yanked Rotterâ€™s leg backwards, so he spun around midair. Defiantly Rotter reached out and his finger was so, so close to the deck when a bandage whirled around his outstretched finger and pulled it back at a sickening angle, resulting in a distinctive<span style="font-style: italic">crack</span>, and a roar of pain from Rotter. The bandages that covered his arm had taken hold of Maiden and as they pulled her closer his arm was twisted painfully away from the deck. The Crow was partially entwined, but his assorted daggers cut most of the bandages as they tried to pull around him tightly. Queen Efer herself was not outside the reach of Rotterâ€™s living bandages, and as Rotter called through gritted teeth to Aris and Yagos to stop cutting, she was lifted up into the air along with the rest. The Crow was hanging below with only a single bandage wrapped loosely around his leg, and some shredded rags clung weakly to his bladed coat. He made a weak movement, as if waking up from a deep slumber, and that small wiggle was enough. The bandage around his foot relinquished its hold and his â€œfeathersâ€ did the rest, and for the second time of the day the Crow was falling.<br/><br/>His finger hurt, but Rotter roared with laughter now, as he looked at Queen Eferâ€™s face, as he stole her doctor, and as he abducted her too, it was the perfect victory. If Rotter could take the pirate Queen it would be all he could ever want. His tale of this day alone would be told world-over by her captain-less crew, and he would never, ever let her leave his ship. Rotter laughed in her face as she cut at him or the bandages holding him, and he laughed right up until she disentangled her left arm and pulled forth a pistol.<br/><br/>Rotterâ€™s roar turned from laughter to pain, as the bullet tore through his coats, his bandages and his muscles, and seemed unstoppable until it collided with his collarbone. Rotterâ€™s arm instantly lost feeling below the shoulder and he dropped his gilded sword. Tears formed in his eyes, but he was sure he saw Efer smirking, before she swung her sword in a wide arc and cut herself free of the last bandage holding her, and somehow she had worked herself close enough to Rotter to sweep her blade through his leg in the same motion. Rotterâ€™s vision blurred and he saw double as Efer fell from him, back towards her ship like two lithe bodies soaring in the air, more elegant than the Crow had managed even with his parachute.<br/><br/>And then with a gasp the remaining pirates landed on board the Rotsman, which was unrecognizable. Through Rotterâ€™s blurred vision it looked like a snow landscape and he had to wipe his eyes before realizing the ship was almost entirely covered in bandages, more than half the crew trapped somewhere beneath the white threads, and unable to assist him to his feet. On a better day Rotter would have relished this sight, and enjoyed his cushioned landing, but now he only lay down and winced as he touched his bullet wound. If she had shot just an a little higher she would have missed him, but if she had shot a little higher and a little to his left she would have shot him in the throat and there would have been no more Captain Rotter. His own bandages had instantly wrapped around his wound tightly, stopped his external bleeding, but he was weakened. Perhaps he was dying; Rotter had no way of knowing. He could not remember what dying felt like. It was too long since he had been properly hurt.<br/>He was in pain, but somehow the pain was not yet unendurable, and he was scared to let his pulse slow down because it would make him painfully aware of his wounds. Then again, he had kidnapped a doctor. She was supposed to fix exactly these things. Against his better judgment he steadied his breath and looked over his haul, which felt oddly small. He had the doctor he wanted, but he had lost his useless, but treasured Crow. Rotterâ€™s head was starting to feel dizzy. Was he allowed to faint from his wounds? Was it captain-like? The right side of his body felt dead, except for a dawning sensation of pain near his shoulder. Yagos sat on the deck looking insane, which was good, but Efer was missing. He wanted his queen back; he wanted to keep her onboard. He had had her, and if he had caught her his possibly mortal injuries would be far more tolerable, but now his catch did not look as impressive as he felt it should. He closed his eyes and saw her delightful smirk as she shot him, and he saw her two bodies falling back to her ship, away from him, and it was odd because in his mindâ€™s eye her two bodies looked nothing alike.<br/><br/>It was a shame one of them had been Arisâ€™.