Disclaimer: Still love Treasure Planet…. Still don't have any of its rights.
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On a desolate patch of ground, the crew's bodies laid strewn across. The ropes had all been torn as they had been tossed about in the vortex, and glass shards were found amongst them, as the little pink blob moved about, to check all of his friends, whimpering at the sight. It was only then that a groan was heard from the doctor, as he slowly sat up and adjusted what was left of his glasses to observe his surroundings.
His eyes slowly moved back and forth, as he took a deep breath and slowly stood up. It felt as though a quake had gone off, as his legs were still trying to keep from wobbling and throwing him off his balance. Only after a few moments of fighting the distortion, did Doppler finally regain his composure. The movement of his eyes finally stopped, as they rested on the form of his wife, and he hurried over to her aid. "Amelia? Amelia, are you alright?" he asked as he shook her.
Slowly her eyes began to open up to see her husband standing over her, with a worried expression and most of his glasses torn to bits. "Yes… Yes, I'm fine," she began as she started to sit up with Doppler's help. "Nothing more than a slight bruising."
"That's what you always say," he responded with a smile, and one came to her lips.
"How are the others?" asked Amelia.
Doppler took a look around to see the cyborg was a pile of mess and that the robot was not too far off from him, with his wires all crossed around him. It would take a little while, but he could manage to fix B.E.N. to the point of bringing most life back to him, thanks to Jim for showing him a little bit of the skills that he knew mechanically. "It appears B.E.N. could be fixed up a bit, but Silver… we need to find an expert that knows how to handle delicate situations like his," Doppler began to explain, as Morph flew passed the two and brushed up against Silver's cheek, whimpering.
"What of Miss. Dames?" the former captain inquired, as she stood up.
Frantically the doctor began looking around. Could it be that she had managed to stay on the ship with Jim and Taran? Or maybe she had been thrown out onto another planet or adrift in the Etherium, all by herself. If that had happened, none of the crew could ever forgive themselves. It would have been that they had let down their captain and comrade. Sadly, they had let him down once by not being able to save him in his time of need, but with him gone, deep down they knew that they had to protect the ones he loved more than life itself.
His focus then finally narrowed in on the young girl's body lying incredibly still on the ground, separated from the rest of the group. He hurried over to her, with Amelia slowly following him. "Miss. Dames…" he called, as he gently shook her, to get no reaction. "Gweneth, if you can hear me, please do something!"
Amelia then looked over to see a tear slowly roll down Jen's face and hit the dusty ground. "Miss. Dames…"
"Please… leave me alone…" Jen quietly spoke through tears.
The former captain took a seat next to the young woman and rested her hand upon her arm. "I understand what you're going through, truly. Mr. Hawkins meant a great deal to us all. He was a…" she began, before clearing her throat as the words got caught up in it. "… a fine young man… who…"
"You don't understand," cried out Jen, as she sat up to look at Amelia. "He was all that was left of my world! First my parents… and just when I am starting to move on with my life, because he came into it… He's gone!" and her quiet tears became sobs.
Doppler looked over to meet Amelia's eyes for a moment, before she closed them then turned to focus her attention back on Jen. "I do understand… I have lost many exceptional crew mates, but the final blow was dealt when I lost my right hand man and first mate," she started to explain, while trying not to get chocked up, and Doppler put his arm around her, knowing she was talking about Mr. Arrow. "Life presents us with obstacles that we must overcome…"
Jen stood up and faced them with her tear stained face, interrupting the wiser Amelia. "I don't want to overcome any more obstacles! I want to live the life I've dreamed of since I was on the SS Audacity!" and she paused in her crying to wipe her face. "That dream is now over… I will never be able to go back to it, and now I have to return to tell Mrs. Hawkins that her son is gone and it's my fault."
"Now, Miss. Dames, you know that is not true," spoke up Doppler.
"No. That is the only amount of truth that is left that I will believe," she quietly started and then looked away from her shipmates. "If I hadn't been blinded then maybe my memories would have reminded me of just exactly who Taran was."
"I take it you knew the young man," stated Amelia, standing up.
The young girl tightly closed her eyes, more tears threatening to fall, but this time from anger. "We were childhood friends, only… I believed him dead. Had I known he was alive and had every intention of going to the extremes of making true what are parents wanted of us…" and her voice cut off. The very idea was too painful to bring out.
"Ah… yes. I remember reading in the HaloNews about the announced betrothal amongst you and… I believe his name was Terrance Opulent. But, he died," explained Doppler.
"That was what his family wanted everyone to believe," Jen said, looking down.
"But, why come forward after all of these years?" wondered the doctor.
All Jen could do was wrap her arms around herself, scared to state anymore than she had. Her stomach had been twisted into knots and her heart ached at all of the events and new found knowledge that had come to her in the past day. All she wanted to do at this point was bottle up about everything she knew, and it was becoming apparent to the others, as she heard Amelia whisper to Doppler, "Come now. We will continue this chat another time, for now, we need to find a way home," and then their footsteps slowly walking away from her.
All alone, the memories filled her mind from everything that Taran had said to her and the look on Jim's face as he tried desperately to save her while coming face to face with his own demise. A chill ran up her spine, as she clutched even more at her body, almost pinching herself to wake her up from this terrible nightmare. Why could it not just be one? Of course, it was only going to continue. All she could do was look towards the future of that one visit to the Benbow Inn and giving the worst news possible.
Her eyes then shut tight and the memories hit harder and harder until she could no longer remember how to take in oxygen and her body finally gave out, coming crashing to the ground.
Feeling a wet cloth against her forehead, Jen slowly began to move her head, and she could barely make out words that sounded like several others were standing around her. The words seemed to be filled with shock and surprise that only would be uttered if someone had come back from the dead.
"Gwen, can you hear me?"
That voice was so familiar. Jen tried hard to place it, but could not. She then attempted to open her eyes with much difficulty. It was as if she had been asleep most of her life, and this very notion of living was all new to her. Every muscle ached with a slight movement, because it had been frozen for so long. However, how long that was, was still un-known to the young girl. All she knew was that it hurt to be alive, and she much rather enjoyed the peace that she seemed to experience when she was in the death like state.
"Sarah, try once more. She seems to be coming out of it," stated a voice with authority.
All of the owners of the voices seemed to be coming clearer in Jen's mind, although it was still a bit fuzzy to her. Of course, now that she made a motion, it was too late to retreat back into the comatose state. She once again attempted to open her eyes, with a little more ease, but still found it too hard to do such a simple task.
"Gwen, please speak to us…."
"Mrs. Hawkins….?" Jen barely whispered. Her lips faintly moved, but it was easier than opening her eyes or moving another part of her body. What surprised her the most was being able to put a name to the voice that she had not heard in months.
A sigh of relief came from the inn owner as she gently padded the young girl's face with the cool cloth. "Thank goodness. We were beginning to think you had left us too…" Sarah started.
"Too?" Jen questioned and finally opened up her eyes, to try to see who was there. Standing beside Sarah was Dr. Doppler with his arms around Amelia. B.E.N. was quietly waiting to the side, which was very unusual for him. Finally there was Silver, sitting in a chair, with his eye fixated sadly on her, as Morph finally left his side and flew over to brush against Jen's cheek. She could finally pull her memory together enough to realize that she was in one of the room's of the Benbow Inn.
"Gweneth, do you not remember?" asked Doppler, finally breaking her concentration to respond to her question.
Jen tried to search her mind, which had gone to sleep when she had. Most everything was a blur to her. Even remembering the faces of those around her was a struggle. However, deep down in her heart, she knew someone was missing. Someone who was very important to her. Who could it be? Her eyes then widened as the memories started flooding back to her and all she could remember was screaming out Jim's name. "Mrs. Hawkins, Jim…."
"I know," Sarah started, cutting her off. "I know, Gwen," she continued, trying to not let tears fall.
Everyone could tell that Sarah had spent many an hour sobbing, and it showed in her tired, red eyes. The last of her family was gone, and she was all alone in the world, just like Jen. In fact, it was amazing how much these two women shared in common, aside from their love of Jim. Now, it is that common bond that they both will hold onto so dearly, as Jen reached out her hand to take Sarah's hand. "I'm so sorry… I wish I could have stopped him."
Sarah just swallowed a pocketful of air, as she tried to keep from weeping again. "I… I'm sure you did."
The young girl could see that she was of no help, and slowly pulled her hand back, as she struggled and fought the pain to sit up. If Jim was no longer with her, she wanted nothing more to do with any of this. All of these things… these people… brought back memories of him. Memories that she wished she could just forget. All she needed to do was bite her lip to keep from screaming and manage to walk home.
As she crawled out of bed, which seemed to have been much easier than she thought, as most everyone was trying to comfort Sarah, a mechanical hand grabbed her shoulder, and she attempted to stifle a scream. "And where do ya t'ink yer goin, lass?" questioned the old cyborg.
Jen turned her head up to look at her friend, the desperation coming thru her eyes. "Please… I just need to go home."
Silver looked deep into her eyes to try to understand just what was going through her mind. After a moment, he knew it would be best for her to just have a bit of time to grieve in solitude. Although he was incapacitated while Taran was committing mutiny aboard the ship and was not able to see Jim and Jen make up in their final moments together, he always knew deep down that they still loved each other. He then slowly removed his hand from her shoulder and spoke quietly, "Take care of yerself, lass."
All she could do was draw a deep breath to keep herself from crying and turned to walk out of the room, when she was stopped by a voice calling her name. "Gwen…." At that sound, Jen turned her head to face Sarah, who was coming over to her and hugged her. "Please, don't be a stranger here. No matter what happens, you will always be like the daughter I never had," she whispered to her.
The young girl became more choked up, as she slowly returned the embrace. She wanted to utter "thank you" or " you'll always be a mother to me" or a thousand other things, but found when she opened her mouth all she wanted to do was sob. So, she quickly turned out of the embrace and fled the Benbow Inn, not stopping until she reached the solitude of her own home.
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What will become of everyone as they now start to accept that that Jim just might actually be gone? And if Taran survived, where is he and what is he up to? Stay tuned to find out.
Don't forget about reviews.
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TinyDancer365- I'm so glad you love this story. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
