Andrew's Reason

Foreword/Author's First Note:

Firstly, as this is a fanfic, all characters, names, locations, and so forth that appeared in the movie Treasure Planet belong to Disney, and technically, Robert Louis Stevenson. The characters Ravenna Calls, Andrew Calls, Simon, Admiral LeighArc, and the name Micha Kendalyn* and the planet Capernaeuma belong to Raine Ishida, the author of the fanfic Jim's Folly. All others belong to me.

Consider this a fanfic of a fanfic, and the fanfic I speak of is, as mentioned, Jim's Folly by Raine Ishida, "a tale of love, drugs, and stardom." It has quite an interesting storyline and even more interesting characters; I suggest you read it before you continue with my story.

Jim's Folly inspired me to write this little tale - when the author took the story one way, my mind took it in another. Simon snatched Andrew out of Raven's life one day, believing that he was the seven-year-old boy's rightful guardian. How did it change Andrew? What lies did Simon tell? When will both resurface, and why?

The more I toyed with the idea, the more I wanted to write it down, and at the expense of my other fanfic. Yes, I took a break from what was supposed to be my first opus and wrote Andrew's Reason. Here it is.

*Micha Kendalyn was the name given to Raven's daughter in Jim's Folly, but she wasn't given a chance to fully develop into a character. Though I'll be using her name, I have designed her personality and background slightly differently.

1: Trust

Andrew Calls looked up at the four-story building poised on the edge of the cliff. He stood at the foot of the path that led up to it, hesitating. Finally, after a long month of travel and preparation, he was looking up at the Benbow Inn... why was he suddenly unable to move?

He scowled. The last of Simon's money had gone into this, and he didn't have much of his own left. He didn't have enough to go all the way back to Capernaeuma to withdraw some more. He couldn't let any of it - money, time, or effort - go to waste. I gotta do what I came here to do, he thought, trying to steel his resolve. And he set up the path.

But the truth was that at that moment, Andrew Calls felt all of sixteen years old. As he trudged under the hot Montressor sun, thoughts of uncertainty entered his mind: What if something goes wrong? What if I can't find him? What if I can't do it?

He stopped at a rock under a shady yellow blossom tree and sighed, looking at the inn. It wasn't far now; he could see a little family enjoying breakfast - he could hear how raucous they were at the table. He sat on the rock and buried his face in his hands, confused, trying not to recall all the times he'd wished he had a family like that...

"Hello," chirped a little voice above him. Startled, he searched the branches of the tree. There was a chorus of giggles, and a little impish creature swung out and hung upside down. Beside it, two bare feet dangled, and Andrew realized that there were two of them in the tree.

The owner of the dangling feet parted the branches and poked out its face. "What's your name?" she asked.

Andrew was stunned. "A - Andrew," he stuttered.

The little upside down boy laughed and righted himself. "That's my name, too!" he said.

"My name's Micha!" said the girl. She giggled and stood upon the branch. "Guess what I wanna be when I grow up!"

When Andrew didn't answer, she proclaimed, "I wanna be a spacer!" and leaped out of the tree. In horror, Andrew reached up and caught her. Instead of acting scared or relieved, she sat in his lap with an arm around his neck and continued, unperturbed. "Like Daddy! Then I'll go out and find our other brother..."

"His name's Andrew, too," said the little Andrew, dropping out of the tree. He scrambled onto the rock and sat next to big Andrew, smiling. "We'll both be spacers and get our own ships to find him. I bet I'll find him first. Then I'll make Mama really happy!"

Andrew's brows furrowed, and he looked at the little girl in his lap. "How'd you know I'd catch you?" he asked quietly.

She smiled serenely at him and answered, "I trusted you."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "What does a squirt like you know about trust?"

Little Andrew tugged on his sleeve and piped up, "Daddy says that when you trust someone, you know they'll keep all your secrets and watch out for you. People you trust won't hurt you."

"And what if I couldn't be trusted? What if I wouldn've caught your sister?"

Micha shrugged. "I wouldn've jumped," she said simply.

"Well," Andrew said firmly, "you shouldn't trust people just like that. I don't trust anybody..."

Little Andrew stared up at him with big, solemn eyes... "You must have lived a sad life," he said softly.

Andrew started. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

Micha answered, "Mama says that when you don't trust anyone, you're a lonely, sad person with a lonely, sad life. You have to trust somebody."

Andrew gazed at her intently. "Who are you?" he whispered.

Micha took a deep breath and began rattling off in a singsong voice: "My name is Micha Kendalyn Hawkins and I am four years old. My brother's name is Andrew Aldebaran Hawkins. I also have a brother named Andrew Calls, but we don't know where he is. My father is James Pleiades Hawkins, Captain of the RLS Ravenna, and my mother is Ravenna C. Hawkins, owner and instructor of the Ravenna Calls Hawkins School of Dance. We live on the fourth floor of the Benbow Inn in Montressor. If I am telling you this now, then I am either lost or have been asked by a nosy old person." Then she added, "You're not a nosy old person, though. Daddy taught us that last part."

"It made Mama laugh, though," little Andrew said. "You wanna hear me say it?"

Andrew shook his head. "That's okay... Just play. I'll watch you."

He wondered - How could he have missed it? Micha had someone else's face, but the long, dark, glossy mane was unmistakable. And little Andrew - spit and image! His tiny face had his mother's features; they even smiled the same way. It couldn't be... what were the truths in his past, and what were the lies? Seeing the twins, flesh and blood before him, contradicted everything he'd been told...

"Why are you here?" Micha asked. Andrew was pulled abruptly out of his thoughts, and he found the twins sitting on either side of him. Two pairs of eyes, one blue and one brown, were fixed on him in anticipation.

"Mama says everything has a reason," she continued. "Maybe yours is to come play with us!"

Andrew smiled in spite of himself. "Don't you two have friends?"

"Yes," said little Andrew solemnly, "but they live far away and we can't go by ourselves."

Micha nodded. "The Dopplers are going to school at the Academy, so they don't come over anymore." Then she brightened. "You'll be our friend, won't you, Andrew? You'll stay in our home and play with us, won't you? That's your reason, isn't it?" Little Andrew nodded at him just as hopefully.

Andrew sighed and closed his eyes. "I have a reason," he said softly. Can those eyes get any bigger? he added to himself.

Suddenly, there was a shocked outburst behind them.

"Andrew!"