Showing no mercy, Fox and Beckett immediately threw Jim's bounded body onto the floor, marking their grand entrance onto the ship.
The commotion rang loud, prompting dozens to flood the ship parlor to catch the next exciting thing: the lost boy had returned.
"It's him! The Jim Hawkins!"
"Is that the boy Hawkins? Getting into trouble again?"
"All Montressorians are accounted for," Capt. Fox announced to the bewildered crowd. "No one is escaping on our watch," he warned. "Now, if you will excuse us..." He picked up Jim again with one hand, and dragged him to the next room: a black-walled, empty room with only one light bulb.
"Get me a chair!" Fox ordered Beckett. The one eyed alien quickly pulled one up from the outside and sat one in the middle of the room, right under the light bulb.
Jim continued to struggle, and once he saw the single chair, he knew what was gonna happen next. "I won't do it! You can't make me!" He would have kicked Fox if he could, but the captain was smart to tie his ankles up as well.
Taking Jim off of his feet, Fox threw him down onto the chair and gestured to Beckett to tie his hands behind the chair. "Don't forget the feet, too," he said sternly. Beckett did everything he was told to do without making sound. This helped build the suspense of what was to happen to Jim - Beckett broke the deadly silence by striking Jim in the face. "Seriously? I didn't do anything to ya!" Jim complained.
"That's what you get for striking out on the job!" Beckett yelled so loud that he caused the tiny room to reverberate. He struck Jim a second time. "And that's what you get for talking back at me!"
Jim fought back with a hateful glare at Beckett, and let out a deep huff to exhaust the fuel of temptation to talk back. His huff was so loud, that Beckett held up a finger at Jim to hush him up in advance.
"Don't speak until you're asked. Captain's orders." Fox then nodded his head toward the door, a gesture asking Beckett to leave. Once the alien exited, Fox locked the door. The only thing Jim could see in the dark room was the burly fox and the single light bulb.
"Hawkins, let me start by saying you have no idea the lengths we had to take to bring you back. I'm afraid your mother has been checked into the hospital wing once she realized you didn't come back. Now, I'm going to ask you, is it true you abandoned your IBA team because of a row you had?"
"Yes."
"And you decided to leave your team because they were giving you a hard time?"
"Well..." Jim paused, his mind going back to the state of his arm. Should I tell Fox about how the venom has been progressing?
"Well what?" Fox asked.
"I just thought I could do my job better if I were on my own," Jim answered.
"That doesn't explain why you were out on your own, playing with some girl and building a raft together?" Fox's voice gradually raised as he walked closer to Jim, peering him downward, dead in the eye. "You were planning to escape, weren't you? That explains the raft."
"Escape?! No way!" Jim protested. "I'm not abandoning ship here, Captain. I'm trying to help the cause." Though Jim was a bad liar, his determination to keep up the facade of being the good boy allowed him to firmly believe that his actions could be justified. "I was trying to find more answers, and the other guys were slowing me down."
"Then, who was the girl?"
Shoot. How do I lie about Wendy? Jim struggled to keep his eyes glued to the captain's, but his brainstorming caused him to scan the dark, empty room. Nothing?
"The girl? She... she was one of the mermaids. Well, she happened to have legs when you saw her, but I found her when I went looking for Mermaid Lagoon on my own." Jim had an idea of what to say next. It was brilliant! It would convince Fox that he was on his side. "I lied to her, saying I was trying to help her drive the invaders out. That's how she got on my side. And that's why she was upset to see I was one of you." Jim spoke with more clarity and resolve than he did before, having overcame the weight of the ropes tying him to the chair and limiting his mobility.
"Hmm..." Fox hummed. "Very clever what you did there, Mr. Hawkins," Fox said. "I'd applaud you if you hadn't walked out on the job." He chuckled.
"Well, then how about getting me out of this chair?" Jim asked. "Because clearly, I've been doing my job, with my own twist on it."
"I can't let you out just yet, Hawkins," Fox insisted. "Tell me what you learned during this time."
Realizing what he must say, Jim sat back. This was the most relaxed he had looked all day. "I'll tell ya the truth. And if I don't, you'll still have to let me out of this chair." Jim smiled slyly.
Fox raised his eyebrow, clearly confused by Jim's sudden change in manner. "Why you say that, boy?"
"Well, Fox, believe me or not, you're gonna have to check out of Neverland," Jim answered bluntly. "Even if you didn't drive out the natives, you simply being here is draining the island's powers. And once that power is completely drained, we'll all die. Every living thing here will die." This was by far, the most refined speech Jim had given. There was just so much power and weight to his words, that nothing could trump them, not even Fox's counter argument.
Fox sat back down on his chair. He didn't appear shaken by Jim's warning, only more curious. "You know something we don't know, boy." Great displeasure dripped from his tongue. "Tell me."
"The tree. The Great Tree of Pixie Hollow," Jim responded.
The captain let out a sudden burst of laughter that broke his stern face. "You have got to be joking! A tree that talks to you? Hahaha!" Fox slapped his knee. "That's a good one, Jim! Best story I ever heard!"
"You laugh now, Captain. We'll see who has the last laugh!" Jim warned.
This made the captain stop laughing, reverting back to his previously stern face. "Well, if you expect me to believe that, why don't you take us to the tree, so we can see it for ourselves?" Fox proposed.
But Jim shook his head immediately. "The tree won't reveal itself to just anyone. It only speaks when it has to. And since I've already told you what it has to say, the tree will just sit back and laugh at you internally."
Fox scoffed. "Seems like a lazy excuse to get us to retreat!" This greatly insulted Jim, which was the worst thing that could happen. His arm.
"Look man!" Jim's fists behind the chair began to clench unusually tightly. "I dunno why you doubt what I say! I want what's best for Montressor - and I'm saying we clear out!" He heard a loud snap, and looked down at his feet. The rope that tied his ankles broke free! The power of the venom was traveling down further his veins. No amount of external force was required to break free of his barriers. His blood harnessed enough power to overcome its obstacle.
Fox was taken aback by the surprising sight. "How did you do that?" he demanded.
"That's magic for you, Captain." Jim winked at him. "It's turning us evil, Captain. It's going to eat all of us. If you refuse to believe me, watch as you see the lot of us are slowly cut off from all life sources. It will creep up on us before we can act! That's why we gotta act fast!"
"And how do you expect us to tell Montressor we have to leave? You honestly think they are going to believe a stupid boy who talks to a tree?" Fox asked mockingly. His derogatory remarks only fueled his venom further. But Jim welcomed the insults, because of the immense power he was able to harness with all that negative energy.
"Go on, Captain! What more you got to say?" Jim challenged him. "I saved an entire crew from Treasure Planet's explosion. Doesn't that give me more credibility?"
Fox scoffed again. "You may have done a noble thing, Hawkins, but you've still got years to learn what's right and wrong. I've been in the business for more than 30 years boy; that's double your age. I'm not going to let some seedling challenge my decisions!"
"Oh yeah?!" Jim yelled. The rage had powered both his arms. As if lifting up two 20 lb dumbbells, Jim ripped through the ropes, which in turn ripped through the wooden chair he was tied to. He was free! "Thanks, by the way."
"Stupid boy! Get back in your chair!" Fox ordered. He took out a gun and held it up pointing to Jim. But Jim, unafraid, walked forward. Fox violently punched Jim in the chest, but the force was not enough to throw Jim off his path. Jim harnessed far too much power to be overcome. "It's the venom, Captain. The venom will kill me if I kill you, so I suggest you step aside."
Just when Jim was about to open the door, he heard a large BANG!
He felt hot fluid fall down from his chest, falling into his hands. Jim was now standing in his own puddle of blood. But the draining of his life source did not affect his soul. It only fueled his anger, giving him more power. In a fit of rage, Jim dug his hands into the wooden floor, splitting the wood and swiftly removing it from the ground to reveal a hole of onlookers from the level down. Fearful gasps could be heard as Jim's eyes flickered red with hate. He then swung the wooden disk he had just carved out toward Fox, but it was intercepted before it could strike him.
"If you leave, Hawkins, I have to kill you." Fox still held the gun pointed at Jim. He held the grip with both hands, visibly shaking. Perspiration made his head shine. As he spoke, Jim could hear the trembling in his voice. He knew the fox was afraid of his opponent. "I can't have you running around the island with that kind of power. You are now a threat to us all!" Suddenly, they could feel a loud rumble as an army of other members from the many IBA teams arrived to see the commotion for themselves.
"It's the Hawkins boy! He's been shot!"
"But, how is he still standing?"
Jim greeted the new arrivals with a snarl, causing some of the IBA men to withdraw back due to fear. Blood began to drip out of his mouth, as if he had just devoured an innocent animal.
He then faced the Captain again, wiping away the blood from his mouth, so that two gentlemen could be standing among each other as equals. "If you kill me, Captain, who will be the one to question if your decisions are really of help to us?" Jim asked, pointing to the IBA men. "If you kill me, you will die. If you weren't from Montressor I could care less about you, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to save Montressor from doom even if you try to stop me!"
"Where will you go? You have no where to hide. We will find you no matter what!"
"I've got a curse to solve." Jim turned on his heel and headed for the ship's exit door. Just as he turned the latch to open the door, Fox fired another shot at him, causing more blood to spill. The IBA men were visibly shaken once again, but Jim showed no regard. Without another look, he was out the door.