A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long. I graduate from my 2 year college in a few days and it's been crazy hectic getting everything sorted. I've also gotten really into some awesome Bruce/Natasha (from the Avengers lol) fanfics so if things seem a little off, that's why! XD I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh yeah and there isn't much character background besides Delbert and Amelia in this one because I wanna delve into those more in future chapters.
Amelia squinted at the devolving star, her eyes narrowing further as her mind frantically searched for an escape from the endless void in front of them. She glanced up into the sails, irritated at the slightly dimmer glow that emanated from them, indicating that they were already using far more of their reserves than she originally wanted to.
They wouldn't be powering their way out of this one. Not unless they miraculously found another power source.
Delbert gulped, his eyes locked on the black hole currently trying to suck them into oblivion. His vision began to blur a bit, the adrenaline and fear he felt causing a black muck to creep in until all he could focus on was the void. He heard a frustrated grunt at his side, and turned to the fiery Captain standing next to him.
His vision cleared with such speed that he felt even more unsteady on his feet than before. He felt his stomach drop and his jaw went a bit slack as his mind finally registered who he was staring at. Amelia's red tresses seemed to have caught aflame in the harsh light of the star, fluttering about her head like the rays of a shining sun. Her ruby red lips had dropped into a slight frown, the only visible clue as to how irritated she currently was. But even in her severe irritation, Delbert had to admit she was… gorgeous. He swallowed thickly, his heart beginning to pound harder the longer he stared at her. His cardiac palpitations only increased the speed of their erratic rhythm when she glanced over at him and raised one perfect eyebrow at his dumbfounded expression. Delbert could read the confusion in those vibrant emerald eyes, he felt that same confusion deep in the pit of his stomach.
Why was this happening now? This was perhaps the worst time for a realization such as this, but he couldn't seem to shake himself from his sudden emotional stupor long enough to school his face back to its normal frantic state. The stereotypical man in him had taken over his mind and was prompting him to indulge in her appearance and admire her as simply a woman… who was currently snapping her fingers in his face.
"Doctor...? Doctor Doppler?" Amelia sighed, taking note of the idiotic grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Honestly, this man.
She hated resorting to violence when he had not wronged her, but the moment called for it. She had no plan of escape from the rapidly approaching black hole, and she had a feeling she would be needing Doctor Doppler's advice if they were to escape. And in order for him to give her advice, he needed to stop staring at her like a bloody 15-year-old schoolboy with a crush on his teacher.
"Doctor!" she shouted, giving him a swift slap across the face, steeling her features so no one could see the tiny flash of regret she felt the minute he came out of his daze and stared at her in shock. It was uncalled for, she knew that. But necessary. "If you'd like to kindly return to reality, Doctor, we have a bit of a situation on our hands, in case you forgot."
Delbert blinked rapidly, his face turning a very deep crimson and his mouth going dry as he struggled to speak.
"Er...I...i-it...u-uh…" he sighed, giving up on whatever he'd been about to say and simply managing to nod once at her. He hoped she understood what he meant, because he for sure wouldn't be able to explain himself right now.
Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about whether or not she caught the meaning in his nod, because Mr. Turnbuckle seemed to be fighting the Legacy's steering wheel and desperately needed help.
"We're bein' pulled in!" he groaned, grunting with the effort of fighting the current.
Amelia rushed to the wheel that had flung Mr. Turnbuckle across the bridge, grabbing it and forcefully course-correcting.
"Oh no you don't!"
Delbert took this moment to fully bring himself back to reality, turning away from the bridge and hurrying to the navigational dashboard to try and be of some use after acting like an idiot only moments ago. He searched it for any clue as to how they might escape their almost inevitable demise, and almost cursed when he found none. The Legacy continued to careen towards the black hole in no particular pattern or direction. The entire crew, including Delbert, were thrown to the deck when a wave from the black hole hit the ship with the solidity of a brick wall. Ignoring the sudden pounding in his head, Delbert got back to his feet.
"Blast these waves! They're so deucedly erratic!" Amelia grunted as she continued to clutch the wheel, grimacing and bracing herself for the next wave that would hit.
Delbert looked down at the dashboard again, noticing a pattern that somehow gave him hope.
"No, Captain! They're not erratic at all!" he shouted, his eyes widening as he relayed what he discovered. Surely there had to be something she could do with this information. "There'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"
And of course, there was.
"Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"
Delbert merely blinked at her for a moment before opening his mouth to question the logic behind her conclusion. But he was left staring silently as she shouted down to Mr. Arrow who had recaptured her attention.
"All sails secured, Captain!" he saluted, hunching down against the fierce winds.
"Good man!" she shouted back, grinning wildly. "Now, release them immediately!"
Arrow stared for a moment in shock. Had she hit her head after the first wave? He knew Amelia better than anyone on this ship, knew not to question her... but even he had a moment's pause. What would reopening the solar sails do besides burn more holes into them? But he saw the blazing fire in Amelia's eyes, and Arrow decided to simply trust his best friend and do as she ordered. Blindly following her orders had worked in the past, why would he stop trusting her now?
"Aye...Captain." he almost shrugged before turning to the crewmen descending the rigging. "You heard her men! Unfurl those sails!"
"What?"
"But we just finished-"
"-Tyin' em down!"
"Make up your bloomin' minds!"
Arrow simply ignored their cries of confusion and protest as he climbed the rigging on the other side of the ship, knowing it would go much quicker if he got up there and helped. He sighed, he would need to have a word with Amelia after this about relaying her plans to him. He hoisted himself up among the sails, getting his bearings before hurrying to untie the ropes.
Amelia chewed the inside of her lip as she waited for the next wave, running through a mental checklist of anything she might need to take care of before putting her plan into motion. The canons that had come loose slid around the deck haphazardly, and she mentally winced as one of the crew narrowly avoided being crushed by one.
Mr. Arrow was up among the sails, assisting the crew up there with unfurling the sails that would aid in their escape. His stony gaze met Amelia's, and he gave her a gentle smile before disappearing behind an already unfurled sail to reach the next one. Mr. Scroop followed closely behind Mr. Arrow, apparently to help undo the last of the ropes before they descended back onto the deck. Amelia sighed briefly. Perhaps she'd been too harsh on Mr. Scroop. He seemed to be much more cooperative than she had first thought. Perhaps he could eventually be trusted.
Delbert swallowed hard, running his eyes over the dashboard several times as he tracked each wave that battered the ship. He kept his head low, gripping the dashboard to keep himself upright as yet another wave hit them, more powerful than the last.
He turned his head so said wave wouldn't hit his face straight on, just in time to see Amelia be thrown into the mast behind her as the force of the wave caught her off guard and she lost her grip on the wheel.
She let out a pained cry as her back made contact, despite her efforts to simply grit her teeth and regain control of her ship. Her bottom hit the deck moments after her spine collided with the mast, and she fought back a groan as she struggled to blink away the white spots that clouded her vision. She felt oddly numb, her mind suddenly craving nothing more than the sweet release of sleep. Just a few moments of rest was all she needed.
Just a few...
"Captain!" Delbert cried, almost without realizing he'd done it. He reached out to her, unsure of what purpose there was in the action but feeling led to do so anyway.
The concern in Delbert's voice brought reality crashing down, and Amelia swallowed past the nausea she felt as she shakily got to her feet and made her way back to the wheel.
"I'm fine, Doctor. I need your eyes on the hole." she said stiffly, waving him off. "Track the magillas."
Delbert watched her for a moment, suddenly taking note of the lack of a lifeline around both he and Amelia's waists. But it wasn't himself he was most concerned about.
"C-Captain shouldn't you h-have…?"
Her sharp green eyes caught him off guard as they met his, her gaze hardening as his sentence trailed off. Sighing inwardly, he simply nodded once before turning back towards the navigational dashboard.
"A-Aye, Captain." he nearly grunted.
Amelia huffed when he finally turned away, allowing herself a brief moment to take stock of what was happening around her as she regained her bearings.
Doctor Doppler was working furiously at the dashboard, keeping a close eye on the timings of each magilla, calling out for everyone to brace themselves when another was about to hit.
The crew members that had been up among the sails had already dropped back down, doing what they could to avoid the sizzling rocks that fell onto the ship. Amelia quietly wondered where Arrow had gotten off to and if he were alright. But she knew him well, and knew that if something had gone wrong, she would've known.
Mr. Silver was down on the main deck with Mr. Hawkins, running about just the same as the rest of the crew.
"Mr. Hawkins!" she waited for the boy to cease his scrambling and turn to her. "Make sure all lifelines are secured, good and tight!"
The boy squared his shoulders, obviously pleased to finally have a unique way to assist. Amelia kept her eyes trained on the situation ahead, but had to force herself to remain stoic when Mr. Hawkins called out that all lifelines were secured. The look of determined pride on his face was endearing to say the least.
Amelia acknowledged him, then returned her gaze to the black hole. It seemed even more menacing and terrifying the closer they got.
"Captain!" Delbert shouted over the rushing wind that continued to batter the ship. "The last wave! Here it comes!"
Amelia stiffened, her grip on the wheel tightening as she braced herself. This was it. If they could pull this off, if the solar sails could capture the light energy from this last magilla , they would survive. But if not…
She shook her head to clear it of the negative thoughts. No time to wallow in dark what-ifs… They would make it. She was sure of it. Taking a deep breath, Amelia called out to her crew.
"Hold on to your lifelines, gents! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
Again, Delbert realized that neither he nor the Captain were tethered to anything. They could both very easily be knocked off of the ship and out into the Etherium when this last wave hit. He turned to her as he took a length of rope he found tied to the bridge in his hand, and was thoroughly surprised to find her already staring back at him. He glanced at her waist where her lifeline should have been, returning his gaze back to her eyes quickly. She gave him a knowing look and he felt his chest tighten. She knew what could happen, but her crew came first and she last.
One life in exchange for many.
He opened his mouth to say something to her...anything… but felt unable to when suddenly the space around the ship grew quiet. An uneasy lightheadedness encompassed his entire being and he fought back sudden wave of nausea. He turned to where the black hole had once been, realizing with a flood of terror that the black hole had begun to swallow the Legacy and its inhabitants whole.
Darkness creeped over the ship, and Delbert shut his eyes tightly to avoid watching what the void might do to the bodies of those aboard the ship. He was going to die via black hole. It was not the most pleasant way to go, he could tell that already from the dull ache in the back of his head that was quickly growing in intensity. He wondered if the Captain was as panicked and frightened as he was. He didn't think she would be. He wanted to open his eyes and see her one more time, try to memorize her features in case the worst did occur and she was lost to them in their escape. But he couldn't do it. It was almost as if he wasn't allowed to see her. His eyes refused to open, and he merely sank to his knees and squeezed his eyes closed even tighter. He began to see colorful spots in the darkness behind his eyelids, and he thought it fitting that the color that stood out most in the haze was emerald green.
Jim held onto Silver tightly, the only thing running through his mind was concern for his mother. She would have been right. She was losing him to a natural disaster that could only be encountered in space. Would she be alright without him? Without Doc? She would be alone again. Jim wished he could do something, wished he could send her a letter or something, anything to let her know he was thinking of her in these last moments…
Silver clutched the mast as tightly as his cyborg hand would allow. He hunched over the boy, shielding him from anything that might lurch out of the darkness. It was the first time he felt this protective over someone who wasn't holding a treasure chest. But Jim had saved his life. He owed it to the boy, and to the boy's mother who he has heard s decent amount about and now had a deep respect for, to at least attempt to protect James Hawkins the best he could in their last moments.
Amelia watched the ship and its inhabitants prepare themselves for either death of sudden salvation, and she felt her heart pound in her chest as she silently counted down in her head. Only a few more seconds…
She prayed Doctor Doppler knew what he was doing, timing was everything.
Seven more seconds…
Her eyes began to flutter shut as the darkness finally reached her.
Six more seconds…
She wondered where Arrow had gone. He hadn't checked in with her since unfurling the sails. She would much rather prefer spending her last moments with him at her side, but she supposed it was too late for that now. Especially since it was becoming harder to breathe as they fell further into the hole.
Five seconds…
Her grip loosened on the wheel as the artificial gravity shut off, and she contemplated simply letting herself float away as her feet began leaving the deck.
Four…
A mind numbing silence invaded her and she let her thoughts drift lazily through her head.
Three…
How long had they been falling? What did black holes do to matter that was sucked in? Would it hurt? What would happen afterwards?
Two…
A sort of peace encompassed her. If she were to perish at the hands of a black hole, that was fine. Her best friend and crew would survive, and that was enough for her to be at peace with whatever happened. She let go of the wheel and felt herself begin to drift.
One.
At the last minute, a shaky hand wrapped around her wrist tightly, pulling her back to the deck before a deafening boom sounded and all thoughts of peace left her.
A/N: Hola! Okay so this chapter was a bit of a pain in the butt to write. So if the order of events seems wonky or the lack of Jim, Arrow, and Silver is annoying, I sowwy. It is a Delbert/Amelia fic, so I tried to sort of focus on them a bit more. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!
