"So it seems that we're not rid of our little nuisances yet," Silver growled. He and a handful of his crew, AnaMaria included, had spotted the wreckage easily enough and were currently standing in front of the now useless long boat. Jim, Captain Amelia, and Dr. Doppler were nowhere to be seen but their foot trails led off deeper into the mushroom wilderness. Upon seeing the wreckage and no lifeless bodies, AnaMaria allowed herself a small hope that the three were still alright.

"Which means that the cabin boy still holds the treasure map!" the pirate who fired the attacked that sent the long boat down exclaimed. Silver smiled humorlessly at the relief found in the creature's voice.

"That means you get to keep your life…for now." His former smile was replaced with one of malicious humor as he barked for the search to continue. His crew, not wanting to invoke his wrath, hurriedly followed the trail of footprints, leaving Silver and AnaMaria to catch up.

The cyborg gave a passing glance towards the now hopeful girl. "Don't expect too much, lass. The little whelp won't last for much longer. Once we find where he's hiding it'll be the end of him."

The girl simply shook her head. "You didn't kill him back on the ship, you won't kill him now."

Silver was irritated at the tone of confidence in the girl's voice and tugged abruptly on the ropes tied to her wrists. "Enough of yer talk!" And without another word, he began to stalk off after his crew, pulling a smirking AnaMaria behind him.

….

The trail led to a strange dome like structure covered over the years by moss and vines then disappeared. Many of the crew thought to over look the ruined oddity but when a voice cried out from inside, they reacted on instinct and began to fire. Silver and AnaMaria who were bringing up the back of the party quickly rushed forward to see what the commotion was about.

"Hold your fire!" Silver barked. His crew immediately followed his orders, still fearful of his wrath as he shooed them away and grabbed a hanky from the depths of his pockets. Grumbling under his breath about the idiocy of his crew, he quickly made a flag of surrender and waved it high, calling for the refugees within the structure to listen.

"If it's alright with the captain, I'd like to have a word with ye, Jim-bo! No tricks!" The cyborg moved to where the boy could see that he was unarmed, forcing AnaMaria into the arms of a burly crew member.

The girl struggled viciously in the creatures grasp, determined to free herself from her bounds. When the moment presented itself she yelled out loudly for the inhabitants of the structure to hear. "Don't listen to him! Take the map and –," A swift fist to her abdomen cut the words from her mouth and ripped the breath from her body. She was reduced to gasping for breath as around her the crew giggled.

"Alright!" shouted Jim's undeniable voice. Another round of giggles erupted at the gullibility of the boy. Sending his crew a warning glance, the old cyborg limped off to meet with his former cabin boy.

"Yer little boyfriend is in for it now!" one of the crew member cackled. A sudden push to her back sent AnaMaria stumbling forward, landing face first with the ground. Her cheek scraped against the pebbles beneath the flesh but she gritted her teeth and bit back her pain.

"Once Silver has the treasure map in his hands, yer little Jim is as good as dead!" another roared. They all burst into a fit of laughter, each one taking a sick delight in the certain end of Jim, the captain and the doctor.

But AnaMaria knew better. She knew Jim wouldn't fall for the silver-tongued cyborg or play into Silver's hands. She knew that he would do whatever it took to make sure the greedy old pirate never saw one corner Flint's trove, even if it meant his own life.

So when the old cyborg came limping back towards the crew, his mechanical eye red as a ruby AnaMaria knew that Jim hadn't given in, and that there was still hope, no matter how minuet.

"We make camp here tonight, they have no where left to run; that map is as good as ours!" Silver growled. The crew shared a greedy smile before rushing off to find supplies to make camp for the night.