The climactic part!

Enjoy!

Jim was rudely awakened by what was quite possibly the worst bunkmate in the Etherium. He swatted at the creature and clumsily flipped his hammock.

"Ugh…" he groaned as he raised himself of the floor and pulled on his shoe. He was exhausted. Sleeping in the day before had kept him awake most of the night. He reached for his second shoe, only to have it hop away from him.

"Morph – " he sighed, rubbing his face to help wake up. He followed the boot across the room. "Morph, knock it off. It's too early for this," Jim said irritated as he peered around the chest it was now hiding behind. The "boot" sneaked up behind him and kicked him in the butt. "Ow! Hey, Morph!"

"What's all the yelling?" Tabitha mumbled as she sat up and pulled the curtain away from her bed.

"Morph's got my boot!" Jim whined. The "boot" blew a raspberry at Jim and transformed back into its normal pink blob state. Giggling, it grabbed the real boot from the spot it had hidden it and zoomed away.

"Hey! Come back here!" Jim shouted.

"Come back here!" Morph mocked. Then he managed to smack Tabitha in the head with the boot as he flew around the room.

"Ow, Morph! Cut it out!" Tabitha complained as she started to pull her own shoes on, now intent on catching the mischievous blob herself.

"Cut it out! Cut it out!" Morph mocked as he refused quit.

Jim continued to chase him as he weaved under and around the hammocks of fellow crew members. Tabitha watched the entertainment until Morph flew up to the deck, with Jim close behind, and the chase continued there. Tabitha got up to follow, but at a much more leisurely pace – it was too early to run.

"…just don't understand why we can't do it now."

Tabitha heard the whisper as she stepped onto deck. Looking around, she saw several crew members standing on the fo'c'sle.

"Our orders are to wait. He knows what he's doin'. Just stick to the plans," another voice whispered. Tabitha scooted closer to hear better, keeping her head below the edge to assure that they couldn't see her.

"Who caressss what the plansss are? Thingsss need to be done sssooon." Scroop's voice drew Tabitha even closer. She hid herself behind some barrels, leaving her just enough room to see what was going on.

"What's the hurry? We can't do anything until we get to Treasure Planet anyway!" So some of the crew knew they were going to Treasure Planet too… that didn't sound good.

"Of courssse we can. We jusssst get the otherssss out of the way early."

"Fine. We'll talk to him about it." Tabitha listened as their footsteps drifted away.

Fear struck her. She couldn't be sure of what was going on, but none of the options that came to her mind were good…

She raced down to the galley and found Jim peering into one of the barrels.

"Busted!" Jim laughed as he discovered Morph's hiding spot.

"Jim!" He turned to face her and immediately noticed the panic on her face.

"What? What is it?" He rushed over to her.

"It's the crew. Something's going on. They know – " she stopped at the sound of approaching footsteps. "Hide!" She squealed and ran to hide in a chest on the other side of the room.

"What?" Jim asked her, still confused about what was going on.

"Just do it! Now!"

Jim didn't argue with the uneasiness in her voice. He jumped into the purp barrel that Morph had been hiding in and peered out through a hole in the side. Tabitha had been right, the crew was up to something; several of them were now gathered here, talking in hushed voices, and none of them looked happy.

"All we're sayin' is we're sick of all this waiting!"

"There's only four of 'em left!"

"We are wanting to move!"

"We don't move 'till we got the treasure in hand!"

Jim froze as he recognized that voice all too well – Silver. He had known that this was coming, he had known since the first day, but it still hit him as a shock.

Tabitha's was heartbroken. The 'him' they had been referring to was Silver. She tried to tell herself not to be surprised, she'd known something like this was going to happen, but she couldn't fight the sinking feeling that overwhelmed her.

"I sssay we kill 'em all now." Scroop suggested menacingly.

"I say what's to say! Disobey my orders again, like that stunt ya pulled wit' Mr. Arrow, and you'll be joinin' 'im!" Silver threw Scroop against the barrel Jim was in. Tabitha watched warily as the barrel rocked precariously before finally stabilizing itself.

"Ssstrong talk, but I know otherwissse…" Scroop said dauntingly as he stuck a claw into the barrel. Tabitha held her breath as he waited for him to discover Jim, but miraculously enough, he raised his claw back out with nothing but a purp.

"Ya got somethin' to say, Scroop?"

"It'sss thossse kidsss," he whispered menacingly. "Methinks you have a sssoft," he punctured a whole into the purp, "ssspot for 'em."

Silver's resolution wavered for a half second, but then he continued, just as severe as before.

"Now mark me, the lot o' ya!" He growled. "I care 'bout one thing and one thing only – Flint's Trove."

Tabitha bit her lip and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

"Ya think I'd risk it all for the sake o' some nose-wiping little whelps?"

Jim shoulders sagged as he took it all in.

"What wasss it now? Oh, 'You got the makin'sss o' greatnesss in ya!'" Scroop said in a mocking, sickly sweet voice. "And we've all ssseen how you treat the girl, like sssshe was your own daughter instead of sssome orphan you sssaved."

Tabitha's released a shuddering breath.

"Shut yer yap!" Silver shouted. "I cozied up to those kids to keep 'em off our scent. But I ain't gone soft!"

"Land ho!"

A cry interrupted the argument. Everyone rushed up to the deck, leaving Tabitha and Jim alone. Slowly they both climbed out of their hiding places and stared blankly at each other. Neither had any idea where to even begin.

"Scroop killed Arrow?" Jim sounded slightly stunned.

"Yeah. I thought you already knew that. You said Silver talked to you that night…"

"He did, but he didn't tell me that… he just gave me that 'makings of greatness' speech," he sighed in frustration and leaned against the table where his hand bumped into Silver's spyglass. They stared at it for a moment, then at each other, then made a mad dash about halfway up the stairs, only be stopped by Silver at the top of them. They froze, not knowing what to expect next.

"Jimbo, Tabby…" he looked around, as if he was checking to see if there were any witnesses, and then stepped down, forcing them back into the kitchen. "Playin' games, are we?"

Jim stepped back, but Tabitha didn't. She was frozen in place, too perplexed and frightened to moved. Jim put his arms in front of her defensively and pushed her behind him.

"Yeah…yeah we're playing games," he said darkly. Jim had backed them against the table. He discretely reached around behind her, feeling around for something…

"Oh, I see. Well, I was never much good at games," the click of mechanics from behind his back could be heard as he changed the attachment on his robotic arm to who knows what, "always hated to lose."

"Hmm…" Jim had grasped onto something on the table, "Me too!" He shouted as he stabbed the makeshift weapon into the cyborg's leg. Tabitha gasped as Silver stumbled back as his leg leaked pressurized air. Jim grabbed her hand and ran across the deck and burst into the captain's cabin, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Mr. Hawkins! What is the meaning of – " Captain Amelia started as she jumped up from her desk, but stopped when she saw how distraught the two teenagers appeared. "What's happened?"

"The crew… mutiny… pirates…" Jim said between breaths. Shouting and banging on the deck soon interpreted his statement.

"Change in plan, lads! We move now!" Silver's orders were hailed by the rest of the crew.

The color had drained from Tabitha's face and she didn't appear to even be breathing.

"Throw up our colors, Mr. Onus!" Silver shouted.

Jim grabbed Tabitha's shoulder in concern and she snapped out of it. By this time, Amelia was out from behind her desk and opening the cabinet that held the map.

"Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang!" she stated calmly as she loaded a gun.

Tabitha gasped audibly. Amelia shot her a look of compunction, but quickly got back to business.

"Doctor – familiar with these?" She said, tossing Doppler the gun.

"Oh, I've seen…uh, well I've read – " he was cut off as a laser suddenly shot from it, causing a glass globe on the wall to explode. "Uh, no. No, I'm not."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "How about you, Ms. Alexander?" she asked. Tabitha tried to shake off her confusion and nodded. Amelia tossed her a gun and grabbed the map out of the cabinet. Morph, attracted to the shiny gold object, flew over to it, squeaking in awe.

An odd noise made Jim turn towards the door to see the solid steel of it melting as the crew tried to break in. They were trapped.

"Mr. Hawkins – defend this with your life," Amelia said, tossing the sphere to Jim. Morph took the opportunity to grab it mid air and try to escape.

"Morph! Give me that!" Jim snatched it away and the pink blob whimpered sadly.

Tabitha took a couple of steps back from the door as it got dangerously close to dissolving completely.

"Oh, you're takin' all day about it!" Silver shouted angrily from beyond the door.

Amelia shot a hole into the floor. "This way! Now!"

They all jumped through the whole into the mechanics of the ship. A loud explosion followed shortly behind them. The four raced through a maze of metal, sharply taking turn after turn before finally exiting through a door. Doppler fell, and they turned around to see the crew nearing them quickly. Amelia tossed Doppler out of the way and melded the door with her laser gun.

"To the longboats quickly!" she yelled.

"Come on!" Jim grabbed Tabitha's hand and they jumped into the boat, followed by Dr. Doppler. Amelia pulled the lever to release the hatch and performed a stylish series of intricate flips into the boat, landing gracefully on her feet. The hatch seemed to be taking forever to open as the door was once again being melted by pirates.

Jim took this brief opportunity to talk to Tabitha. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better," she said grumpily. She felt stupid. She'd known this would happened – Jim had told her – and yet she still felt hurt and abandoned.

"Just lay low for now. I don't want you to get hurt." He said grabbing her shoulders and pushing her to sit down.

"Lay low?" She said in disbelief. Did he honestly expect her to just sit back and watch?

"Just stay here. I – " he was interrupted by Morph snatching the golden map out of his pocket. "Morph, no!" Jim reached for the blob, but missed. He jumped after him to the edge of the dock.

"Jim!" Tabitha shouted.

The door fell to the floor with a thud as the crew finally managed to break through. The captain shouted insults as she shot at them repeatedly. Dr. Doppler suddenly stood up, fired one shot, and managed to hit a piece of the machinery, which crashed through the wooden dock, and sent the pirates falling through space.

"Did you actually aim for that?" Amelia asked him, stunned.

"You know, actually I did!" They quickly ducked again as Silver fired a couple of shots.

Tabitha looked around confusedly. Silver was closing the hatch, Jim was still chasing after Morph, Amelia and Doppler were protecting the long boat… and what was she doing? Laying low, like a coward. She had to do something.

"Morph! Here! Morph!"

"Morph! Morphy, come here!" Silver whistled to the creature.

Morph wavered back and forth, weighing the options and looking just as confused as Tabitha felt. Morph did the only thing he could think of to do – he didn't choose. He dove into a bundle of rope and allowed Jim and Silver to race for him. Jim got there a split second before Silver and grabbed the map. Silver glared at him, and Jim turned and ran to the longboat. Tabitha saw Silver raise his gun…

"NO!" she shouted. She jumped in front of Silver just as he put his weapon down.

All four of the observers shouted her name in unified shock. "Tabby!"

"What are you – " she asked Silver as she landed in front of him.

"Now!" A shout interrupted. Jim jumped down to the longboat as Amelia and Doppler shot the cables holding it loose.

"Just go, lass!" Silver said worriedly.

"But – "

Silver stopped her with a shove that sent her falling off the edge.

"Tabitha!" Jim shouted in terror.

She screamed, but thankfully hit the longboat hard, but safely.

Amelia released the solar sail and started the boat. "Parameters met, hydraulics engaged…" They shot off quickly.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked her as he tried to pull her up into a sitting position.

"What do you think?" she asked bitterly, shaking off his hands and pulling herself up. She knew it wasn't right to take her anger out on him, but she was a bit overwhelmed at the moment, to say the least.

"Captain! Laser ball at twelve o'clock!" Dr. Doppler shouted in panic.

Amelia pulled harshly on the rudder, but it was too late. The ball hit their sail and the tail end of the boat. It burst into flame and they began their free-fall.

They braced themselves for the inevitable crash. They bounded through the strange foliage of the planet and flipped as they hit the rocky surface.

They skidded to a halt just as Tabitha's world went black.

Ooh... bit a of a cliff hanger.
Good news: I've planned out the rest of the story, so it won't take me long to write.
Bad news: I have to have free time to write it, and that may be hard to find in the next few days.
I'll be posting as soon as I can, but I can't say when that will be!

Thank you so much for the comments you guys have been leaving!
Keep it up - they make me happy :]

And remember to check out the art for this story at www . garrenn . deviantart . com

Thanks everyone!
-Emily