Okay, so the last time we were with Jim, he was wallowing in self-pity over losing his race against Carren. Luckily, it's now time to cheer him up!

Jim and Treasure Planet (c) Disney/Robert Lewis Stevenson

Dolphy (c) Dolphy (Thanks for the review! Made my day!)

Story (c) ME!!

Aaaand... roll it!

Consolation Prize

As the sun set on the planet of Imeria, it left behind the peace and beauty of the night sky. When the light of the day had begun to fade, one could see the heavens for what they truly were: a masterpiece. Hundreds of millions of stars took their places upon the dark indigo expanse, shimmering and shining for all to see. On any other night, Jim could have just laid back and stared at them until the sun rose again. This evening, though, they held no brilliance for him. Tonight, all he could think about was the bygone race, and his own stupid mistakes.

The boy sat upon a thick, strong branch hanging several feet above the ground, arms crossed over his knees and chin resting on his wrist, gazing blankly into the far-off sunset. He'd been sitting there for at least a few hours now, and had no intentions of leaving until everyone at the academy was asleep. He may not be able to avoid the ridicule from his classmates completely, but at least he could evade it until morning. After that, though, Jim would be an open target for mockery and contempt.

What had possessed him to make that stupid bet in the first place, anyway? He knew one part of it was because he'd wanted to show Carren up at his own game, and another was to prove that he really did have a right to be at the academy. But there was another reason that he'd challenged the older student. Something that he hadn't even recalled until after the race had ended.

Part of him had done it… just for Dolphy.

When Carren had said those things about her, Jim simply couldn't just sit there and let her be insulted like that. She'd been so kind and open towards him, and seeing her hurt in any way killed him. So he made a bet with Carren that would keep him from tormenting her ever again.

Jim sighed. So much for that brilliant plan, he thought bitterly. The bet completely backfired and now we're both fair game for that jerk. I'll be lucky if Dolphy ever wants to look at me again, let alone keep hanging out with me.

My first real friend here besides my roommate, and I lose her after one stinking day.

Jim scarcely reacted as a pink blur flew past his line of vision. Morph popped up in front of him, grinning playfully, and shifted into a bright yellow smiley face. Jim looked up for only a moment before sighing and turning his gaze back to the darkening horizon. The shape-shifter made a second attempt, this time changing into a small firecracker and bursting into a shower of confetti. Again, the teenager's sullen mood refused to change. Trying the form that had always lifted his spirits before, the protoplasm morphed into a humorously exaggerated replica of a certain arachnid-like pirate from the voyage to Treasure Planet. "Spider psycho!" Even this failed to return the boy's smile. Finally giving up, Morph changed back into his original form, pouting in defeat.

"Sorry, buddy," Jim apologized quietly. "I guess I'm just not in the mood to be cheered up." He took the little blob into his hands and stroked him gently, offering a small, sad smile.

"I forgot to tell you, students aren't allowed to keep pets here. You'd better keep an eye on him."

Jim glanced over his shoulder, towards the direction that the voice had come from. He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Dolphy climbing up to join him. Now she sat on another limb just to his right. Morph zipped over to greet her, cuddling against her face affectionately.

Sighing, Jim leaned back against the trunk and stared out into the void. "Look, if you're here to say 'I told you so', or yell at me for losing…"

"Actually," she interrupted almost shyly, "I'm here because I never got a chance to thank you."

Jim looked up at her, surprised. "Thank me? For what? I lost in my own challenge and gave that pompous jerk the ability to torture us until graduation day. I completely blew it in front of the entire school! Not to mention that I must have acted like a complete idiot since lunch."

"Well, yeah, but you defended me. Not many people have the nerve to stand up to Carren, especially not for someone they don't really know. So… thanks."

Jim scoffed quietly. "Well, didn't exactly work out according to plan. I could didn't even finish the race."

"That's because you got too careless," Dolphy stated matter-of-factly. "Next time you come to a sharp turn, here's what you do: cut the engine, lean onto your back foot, swing the front of the board around, and then accelerate. You'll have to slow down for a few milliseconds, but at least you'll get around the bend."

The teenager next to her raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You really think that would work?"

"I told you before; where I'm from, there are a lot of variations of solar surfing. It works for wave surfing, so I figured this has some of the same basic principles."

Jim gave another dry, humorless laugh. "I wished I'd known that before I went and made a fool of myself." He stared up at the stars that were beginning to appear, feeling farther away from them than ever. "So much for there being greatness in me."

Dolphy looked over at him. "My mom always used to say that some of the greatest people in history were faced with some of the biggest challenges imaginable. What made them great was the fact that they never gave up."

Jim grinned slightly, grudgingly seeing the wisdom in her words. "Well then, I guess I should stop moping around if I ever want to do great things."

"From what I heard, you already have," Dolphy said, grinning. "What was it like?"

"What?"

"Finding Treasure Planet."

Jim blinked, taken aback by her question. "You believe me?"

"Should I not?"

"No, no, you should, it was the truth. I just wasn't sure if you'd thought I was lying or not. After all, it does sound a little, you know… far-fetched?"

"Maybe a bit," Dolphy admitted, chuckling. "So, what was like? I want to hear everything."

Jim hesitated. "It's kind of a long story."

Dolphy leaned back against the tree trunk, getting herself comfortable. "Well, then, I guess you'd better get started."

Jim smiled at her, his first real smile since the race. "Alright. I guess the whole thing started one night after I got in trouble with the police…"

With those words, Jim launched into the story of his journey to Flint's trove, beginning on the night when he was first entrusted with the map. He told her everything that had happened; how he'd met John Silver, how the ship had almost been destroyed in a supernova, their quick getaway when the mutiny ensued, sneaking back onboard the Legacy to find the map, discovering the portal and the entrance to the treasure cavern, and the risky escape from the exploding world. Morph served as a visual aide whenever he saw fit, which was fairly often. Dolphy listened in amazement, mesmerized by every word of the tale. By the time Jim had finished, the sun had vanished completely and the moon hung high above.

"Wow," Dolphy uttered, still wide-eyed. Other than that she was at a loss for words.

Jim couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. "Yeah, no kidding."

Dolphy laughed, shaking her head in wonder. "If Carren had heard that, he'd think twice before messing with you from now on."

Jim's smile faded at the mention of the older student. "Look, Dolphy, I'm really sorry I made that bet. I wanted to keep you out of the whole thing with Carren, but I ended up doing the exact opposite instead."

"Eh, don't beat yourself up about it. That vacuum-brain probably wouldn't have stopped anyway. If there's one thing I know about Carren, it's taken he never plays fair. Besides, your heart was in the right place."

The teenaged boy's grinned returned, matching the one on his friend's face. "Just to set the record straight, though, I'm not completely hopeless on a solar surfer. I'm just not too great on the school's track, that's all."

"Well, that's the understatement of the millennium," Dolphy sniggered. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "You know, there's a pretty huge canyon not far from here. Maybe you could ride you surfer there. No sharp turns, no obnoxious competition, just five square miles of open sky."

The brown-haired boy grinned even wider. Just imagining riding in a place like that lifted his heart. "Honestly, that sounds completely awesome."

"We can check it out tomorrow after classes. But right now," she said as she started climbing down from the branch she'd been sitting, "I think we'd better head back to the dorms. It's gotta be close to midnight, and I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to hit the hay."

"Me too," Jim admitted, following her to the ground. "Crashing into a tree at high speed and embarrassing yourself in front of hundreds of students tends to do that to you," he added good-naturedly.

The two reached the bottom of the tree in seconds, and Jim began walking off. He'd gone a couple of yards before realizing that Dolphy wasn't following him. When he looked back, he saw her leaning against the base of the tree, smirking. Jim sighed and smiled, taking a guess as to what was going on.

"The Academy's the other way, huh?"

"Yep," she answered cheerfully.

Jim chuckled to himself and walked back over to his friend. "Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out how to navigate this place."

"Don't worry, dude. You'll get used to it in a few days. In the meantime, you'd better stick with me so you don't end up locked in another broom closet."

The teenager couldn't help but join his companion in laughter at the comment. After all, she was probably right. Once again, Dolphy led the way as Jim followed behind.

Believe me; I have no problem with that.

Awww, cute fluffy ending! Everyone needs somebody to talk to every once in a while.

I know the story isn't very, well, 'adventury' at this point, but it'll get there. Just bare with me.

Also, I just HAD to put in Morph pretending to be Scroop. That's one of my favorite scenes in the movie!

Anyway, thanks to those willing to read this! Please review! Aloha! (in the 'good-bye' sense)