The small boat was brought back to the ship, the two hoisting the boat with cables. Jim pulled his side a little faster, causing both Silver and Ari to stagger. "You having a little trouble there?" He asked them innocently.
"Jim!" Ari squealed out, pouting a little.
"Get away from me," Silver playfully replied, laughing as they pulled up evenly. "Oh, Jimbo. If I could maneuver a skiff like that when I was your age, they'd be bowing in the streets when I walked in today," He tied off the boat and sat down.
Morph turned into a little Silver. "Bowing in the streets," He mimicked, sitting like Silver even. Ari dusted herself off, glancing at her friend.
"I don't know," Jim grunted as he tied off his end. "They weren't exactly singing my praises when I left home." He flopped down and Ari sat between the two. Silver wiped off his forehead with a rag, both him and Morph sighing.
Jim let out a smirk. "But I'm gonna change all that."
"Are you now?" Silver patted Morph's head. "How so?"
Ari glanced at Jim with a raised brow, wondering what exactly he'd tell the cook. "Uh...I got some plans," He revealed, clearing his throat. "Gonna make people see me a little different," He leaned back, hands behind his back. "Especially-" His eyes widened as he realized he was about to mention Ari and then backtracked. "T-The people on Montressor!"
Silver smirked at him knowingly as well as did Morph. The two glanced at each other as they could see it from a mile away.
"Okay..." She murmured, a bit confused, since Jim didn't really seem to mention them unless he meant his mother...but that was the only person she could think of that he'd want to impress.
Silver's face then fell a little. "Ooh..." He sadly looked to Morph. "Sometimes...plans go astray."
"I know how that feels," Ari muttered in agreement, looking away as she thought about her father.
"Not this time," Jim replied eagerly, smiling to himself.
Silver hummed a little, looking away sadly. He lifted up his leg and removed the pant leg. "Ooh..." Morph looked on in concern and turned into a wrench. "Oh. Thank you, Morphy," He grabbed the shape-shifter and tried turning the screw.
Ari turned to Jim, who had a curious look, same as her. She then looked back to his robotic limbs. "So, uh...how'd that happen anyway?"
"Jim!" She turned to him in disbelief that he'd ask out loud.
Silver only paused, looking down at his palm. He opened it up. "You give up a few things...chasing a dream."
"...Was it worth it?" Jim asked softly.
He smirked at the two. "Heh," He sat next to Jim, beckoning Ari over. She sat down next to him and he put an arm around them. "I'm hoping it is, Jimbo and Lass. I most surely am."
"...You know," Ari spoke up as she looked away, hugging her knees. "I've always wanted to see the world. Have a ship like the Legacy, always being free, seeing what was out there. It's been my dream for as long as I can remember. Or at least...it was," Her eyes turned sad.
"Well, that sounds wonderful, lass-" Silver faltered as he saw her expression. "But you don't agree?"
"I...wanted it to happen, but then...that my father died and that killed it..." She hid her face in her knee. "And what's worse is that I know who did it, but I can't prove it."
"What? How do you know?" Jim asked in concern for her.
Ari slowly brought her head up, not looking at them with a forlorn face. "The day of the fire, I remember seeing a shadow before I escaped. And when I laid eyes on Scroop before my injury, well...I recognized him immediately. He...he was in my house when the fire was getting stronger...he was standing over my father's..." She bit her lip as she tried not to cry, as she didn't want to finish that sentence. She simply took a deep breath. "But I knew it was him because he had the same shadow I saw on the wall when I was escaping..."
Silver's eyes widened at her explanation, growing a bit pale because...he was actually there. When they ransacked the house, he ordered for his crew to leave no survivors, therefore starting the fire, but...it seemed no one noticed her getting away. And it seemed as if Scroop had finished the job himself instead of letting the flames do it, but...it didn't change the fact that he himself was responsible in some form...and just when he thought that Ari wasn't the same girl that he ordered killed.
"Oh no..." He murmured to himself, feeling bad as he had essentially left Ari an orphan.
"Wait...you're saying that Scroop killed Oliver?" Jim moved to get closer to her, a serious look on his face. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but it was him!" She insisted, turning to the boy. "I could tell by his body because I saw his entire shadow when I was sneaking past the back door. And now I'm on the same ship as the same alien who killed my dad, and I don't even have proof..."
Jim narrowed his eyes as he felt like he couldn't just let Scroop get away with that. "We could tell the Captain, she'd believe you."
"And tell her what?" Ari asked him in disbelief. "That I saw a shadow that could've been anybody? Especially when smoke inhalation could've gotten to my head? She'll give me extra work if I accuse a crew member without evidence. Just let it go."
Amelia might seem close with the girl now, but she wasn't stupid either.
"Let it go?!" Jim flinched in anger. "He killed your dad!"
"Jim, please..." Ari gave him a pleading look. "My father is dead. My dream is dead. If he could see me now...he'd be disappointed."
"That's not true, Ari," Jim clenched a fist. "He'd want you to stand up for him. To fight for your dream. Are you really going to let that bug get away with that? Ask yourself what he would want."
She didn't answer, looking away sadly. To her, it didn't feel like he was supporting her decision...
"Er...it might be best to let the girl have some rest, Jimbo," Silver finally spoke up, and Jim realized what that must've sounded like.
"...Ari, I didn't mean it like that-"
"I know," She interrupted and jumped out of the ship. "Goodnight, Jim," She started to walk back to get to the sleeping bunks and Jim groaned, hiding his face into his hands.
"Man...she must hate me now for saying that..." He murmured into his palms.
"She'll forgive ya, Jimbo."
"How?! That's her dad I was talking about, and...she really...loved him," He bit his lip, looking away. While he didn't know what a father's love could be like, he could still see that Oliver loved his daughter given that he basically worked himself to the bone to provide for her. And yet Jim himself basically pressured her to do something she couldn't do for her father.
A large crash then occurred, shaking the whole ship as the boat swerved around. Morph shrieked as he was turned into tiny blobs. Meanwhile, Ari slipped as she hadn't left the area yet and fell. She screamed and then grabbed the bars to stop herself from falling. However, she was right above the hole, causing her to pale. She looked up and tried to pull her body, but she couldn't get her legs up. Her hands started to slip as she tried not to look down, failing to do so. Morph saw her and shrieked, flying over to her.
He turned into Mr. Arrow and tried to pull her up by her finger, but it just made it slip off. Eventually, both hands slipped and she screamed. That is, until two hands grabbed hers, and she looked up to see Silver and Jim. The two pulled her back up safely.
"Oh, thank you, guys," She sighed in relief, Jim feeling a bit awkward. "Come on, we gotta get to the deck!"
They rushed up the stairs. "What the devil?" Silver demanded as he reached the top.
Delbert, who had finally changed out of his scuba suit, looked out to the sky. "Good heavens. The star Pelusa," He took out his telescope to examine further. "It's gone supernova!" In the distance was a huge explosion.
"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" Amelia shouted as she ran up the staircase.
"Aye aye, Captain!" He yelled back, trying to turn the ship around.
"All hands, fasten your lifelines!" Mr. Arrow called out, the crew rushing over to do so. Jim and Ari tightened their knots as the blast was reaching the ship. Ari looked out and gasped in horror. Windows started to shatter from the explosion, and it started to damage the sails.
"Mr. Arrow, secure those sails!" Amelia yelled to him.
"Secure all sails!" Arrow declared. "Reef them down, men!"
Jim and Ari stepped carefully onto the mast as an alien was blasting meteorites using a blaster gun. "Yeah, baby! Ba-boom!" He cheered as he watched the meteorites explode into tiny pieces. The other crew members pulled the ropes to tie up the sails, Jim, Ari, and Silver helping to do so. However, a stray meteorite piece struck his hand, causing him to fall off because his lifeline wasn't tied in.
"Silver!" The two teens shouted, Ari quickly grabbing a rope and swinging down towards him, sort of like Amelia would. She flipped as she reached Silver, just as Jim grabbed his lifeline. She tied off his lifeline while still swinging and then grabbed his hand, bringing him back up. They both landed in front of Jim, who sighed in relief.
"Whoa. Thanks, lad, my dear," He breathed out in relief, smiling softly at them. Amelia smiled at Ari from her spot.
"We're even for life-saving now, Silver," Ari smirked a bit, causing him to chuckle.
Just then, a very large meteorite flew over their way, with the firepower doing nothing to it. Ari looked up in horror, her hair flying past her. Several aliens started running while Jim and Silver had the same expressions as the girl. They could literally touch it with the proximity it was coming towards...only for it to fly backwards, to their confusion. Ari squinted and saw what was behind it.
"Oh no," She murmured, turning around.
"Amelia! It's no longer a star, it's-"
Delbert joined Amelia's side. "A black hole!" He finished for her.
"We're being pulled in!" Turnbuckle was thrown from the wheel trying to steer it.
Amelia quickly grabbed the wheel, straining to pull it. "No, you don't, you..." A wave occurred from the black hole, knocking Jim, Ari, and Silver back. "Blast these waves! They're so deucedly erratic!" Amelia grumbled at this.
"No, Captain," Delbert called out. "They're not erratic at all," He was looking at a radar for the storm. "There'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"
"Of course!" Amelia gasped, her eyes dilating. "Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here."
"All sails secured, Captain!" Mr. Arrow informed her.
"Good man! Now release them immediately!"
He blinked in bewilderment, but decided not to question her order. "Aye, Captain. You heard her, men. Unfurl those sails."
"What?!"
"But we just finished-"
"Tying 'em down!"
"Make up your blooming minds!"
They started to climb back up, Arrow climbing up the net, followed by Ari, Jim, and Silver.
"Mr. Hawkins!" Amelia called out to him. "Make sure all lifelines are secured good and tight!"
"Aye aye, Captain!" He saluted to the woman, jumping off the rope and racing across the deck. She then saw Ari jumping up to climb faster, reaching the mast and balancing herself to get to a sail. She jumped down once she reached it and untied the knot holding it, releasing the sail.
Jim pulled on the lifeline ropes. "Lifelines secured, Captain!" He hollered to her.
"Very good!" Amelia focused on the black hole, but another wave knocked her back. It also knocked Mr. Arrow off the ship.
"Mr. Arrow!" Ari shouted from her spot, running across the mast. She glanced down and saw him being saved by his lifeline, earning a sigh of relief. She quickly jumped down the beams, wanting to reach the lifeline station. He gripped the rope and started to climb back up. Scroop slithered out of hiding from behind a sail, holding up his claw. The First Mate gasped and then Scroop cut it off, sending Arrow flying backwards into the black hole...
Scroop grinned at his action.
"Captain, the last wave! Here it comes!" Delbert cried out as Ari reached the lifeline, confused to not see Silver's. She then looked out to the black hole, unable to see him or any ropes.
"Hold on to your lifelines, gents and lady!" Amelia called out. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
"Ari!" Jim grabbed her hand before she could wonder about Mr. Arrow's disappearance further, pulling her away to Silver. Morph turned into a rope and fastened himself, his eyes full of fear. Silver hugged the two teens, Jim hugging Ari close. They all squeezed their eyes shut as they hugged the pillar.
And then there was silence and darkness...