A/N:
I figured I'd ruffle a few feathers with that last chapter. =) *Shrug* It's nice to do something different - after all, this is fan fiction - anything can happen, right? In fact, I'm killing off Silver at the end of this chapter. Haha! No. I'm not.

I just think that showing a totally different side of Silver than the one showed to us in the movie (and it was just a tiny portion of his life - just happened to be a very pivotal one) makes his relationship with Jim all the more powerful. So I'm sorry if any of you didn't like my portrayal of Silver, but it was only my take, and I'm satisfied with the way I wrote him. To those of you who liked it - whew! Thanks! =)

As PallaPlease said - it's hard writing mean, nasty, scary pirate captain Silver!

And now for something completely different...

*****

XI. Reflection

*****

Aubrey Fletcher

 *****

I can't believe the nerve of that pirate.

I now have two reasons to get to the medical bay: not only to get this arm checked, but my flipping neck, too.

Bloody cyborg.

No one's ever bested me like he just did. Well, when I was a pup, certainly, but now's my prime. I really hope none of the lads saw...

Maybe I'm getting rusty. It has been a bit since my last scrap...

Yeah, that's probably what it was. Nothing to do with the fact that he has at least two more decades worth of experience under that rather large belt of his... That's it - he's older and larger than me... There's just no way he could simply be better than me... Right?

Heavens and ether, Fletcher: you got schooled by an old, fat cyborg.

Bloody cyborg.

Damn, my throat hurts. That spacer has a right powerful grip, even without those added mechanisms. Pirate, Fletcher. Not spacer - pirate. Consider him a spacer, and he suddenly becomes an equal. Perish that thought...

You don't like him, huh.

Heh. You are a sharp one, aren't you, Hawkins? Well, question is, Jim lad: why in the whole universe do you like him?

All he is is a wretched, old, mutinying, bloodthirsty, cyborg pirate.

He is my friend ... Give him a chance, Captain. He really is a good guy.

Really is a good guy? Ha! He kills and maims most of our crew, and then tries to kill the both of us, Jim...

Well, he did order his crew to stop firing on us after he saw Hawkins...

No! That was ... because... um... he... well... they were going to board us!

Right, Fletcher. Like you've ever boarded an enemy ship without crossfire.

Damn it.

Kills a third of my crew and expects to be treated like the flipping admiral...

Naow, lass, that's no way t' treat a guest...

Get out of my head, you blasted pirate! You killed them. I hate you! I want to flipping kill you!

Give him a chance, Captain.

No, Jim. The bastard tried to kill me.

With all due respect, Captain, you did start it.

I did no such thing!

Have ye come t' patronize me, Cap'n?

Blast.

And ye did point yer gun first, lass.

So what if I did? I had every right to! And get out of my bloody head!

Great. I'm having an imaginary argument with my first mate and his flipping pirate buddy. Aubrey girl, you really do need to get some sleep - try to get that pirate out of your head.

I can almost see that damn cyborg staring at me with those eyes... laughing at me...

Bloody cyborg.

Ah, Jim. How did you do it? Even if I did start that little scuffle - that he won, damn him - he's still a flipping pirate and mutineer. But somehow the two of you became fast friends... I don't get it. He betrayed you -

- And then saved my life -

- he mutinied! There's no worse crime on a ship! I'd rather have a crew that murders than mutinies - at least the murderers are honest with you... He's a flipping mutineer!

But, Fletcher - you knew that before you agreed to help me find him.

Is that so, lass? Had I but known, I wouldn't've set me crew on ye like I did.

Really, Fletcher. He didn't know that Jim was on your ship when they attacked...

And now my own conscience mutinies on me! I won't stand for this. I'm going to bed.

I just want to know - what is it about John Silver that scares Aubrey Fletcher?

Bloody hell! All right - whichever of you voices said that, let's get one thing straight: Nothing about that pirate scares me.

Give him a chance.

Bloody cyborg.

*****

John Silver

*****

What an... interesting captain.

A wee short on the temper, but isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

The lass has guts, I'll give her that much.

And she's certainly more fun to play with than the captain of the Legacy. I swear that one must've been on to me from the beginning.

Toying with this captain... Aubrey Fletcher of the Redemption... well, it's not something I live for - though I should be on the lookout for a new lot in life since the good captain has so kindly confiscated my ship and crew - but it is a fun way to pass the time here in this brig.

I might've killed the whelp today had it not been for her first mate - a lad I'd been wanting to see again since I left him standing in the longboat bay of the Legacy years ago.

My first view of him just happened to be through a well-trained set of cross hairs.

Thinking back on it now - I don't know what I would have done had we overtaken the Redemption and killed the last of her crew. It sure wouldn't be good for anyone to spot the captain of the Revenge - the most fearsome ship since Flint himself sailed the etherium - getting all soft over a dead first mate. Especially the first mate of the ship that'd been tracking us fairly well and some of the lads feared might overtake us.

I'm thrilled to see Jimbo again - for a good number of reasons.

That pup has better timing than the Feleskii Comet.

Saved his captain's hide, anyway.

Well, no. I wouldn't have killed Fletcher. Just wanted to see what her breaking point was. But she sure didn't look like she had one... And there was something else in her eyes as that cutlass of mine bore down on her pretty little neck... The way she seemed... well, blast it all. Damned if I want to say it, but I think that captain was ready to die.

If I ever get a chance to talk to that privateer without landing myself in a tussle, I'll have to ask her.

But back to Jimbo's timely arrival. I don't know what I would have done had he not shown up when he did. Maybe just gotten up, shook Fetcher's hand, and bid her a goodnight? Heh. I sure would've loved to see the look on her face...

I'll have to ask the lad how he came to be the first mate of a captain like Fletcher.

We got a lot to talk about, that pup and me.

*****

Jim Hawkins

*****

I've never seen Fletcher so pissed.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen her angry. Lucky me.

Even with her promise to not kill Silver outright, I think she might've killed the pirate had things gone differently.

I've never seen Silver look so frightening.

Even with the mutiny and everything that happened on Treasure Planet, there was always that knowledge that he wouldn't kill me. He might've killed Doppler, and likely Amelia, but not me. But seeing him and Fletcher - there wasn't a doubt in my mind that he would've killed her had I not shown up.

That probably contributed to Fletcher's foul mood - the fact that I saved her neck. She's got pride, and that scrap with Silver really injured it.

That really doesn't help his case.

After I talk with him, I'll have to go talk Fletcher into giving him another chance. That'll take a while.

It's good to see the old cyborg again. These definitely aren't the circumstances I would have chosen for a reunion, but things always seem to happen when you least expect them to.

We've got a lot to catch up on, and then I have to go fix things up between him and Fletcher.

It's going to be a long night.