Well, Finals and Regents are quickly approaching, and I'm really not gonna have time to update next week. This chapter was supposed to be in two parts, but I decided to write it all out here, leave you with the worst cliff hanger to date, and let you all wait anxiously for two weeks instead, haha. Now I know that it may bug you guys, but trust me, I think the chapter will make up for it. Responses:

Janna: Buzz Lightyear, huh? Well, I've never seen the show, but if it works, why can't BEN do it too? Heh heh.

Pippin: Thanks for your defenses. I'm a full on supporter of free speech too!

Sarabi: Thanks. I know Morph wasn't with BEN, but I didn't need him for this coming scene, and the less characters I'm handling at a time the better.

Dekujama: Actually, this time I'm posting using Optimum Online, not AOL. I'm sneaky that way, :-)

Tally: Don't worry at all. I'm sure you'll like this chapter. I'm sure everyone will like this chapter, except of course, our good anonymous friend there. I guarantee she won't.

Dreaming: I know, I have a mess of work for school too, that I should be doing. But I'm not. I prioritize, heh heh.

TP-gurl: I'm glad to see there are people on this site who DO have taste. Thanks.

Fox Child: Timber shivering works, lol.

So here you go. Leading up to the crazy climax. I can't believe I'm almost finished! But that'll be good, I'll have the summer free to do other stuff. Once more, sry about any formatting problems.

Enjoy.

A cascading golden river spilled into the fiery chasm of the deteriorating core, jingling musically as it took a few unlucky pirates with it.

Silver was beside himself.

His dream was trickling away, slipping from his grasp. Years of hard work and frustration and searching all disappearing in an instant, while his minions raced for the exit, empty handed.

"Come back here, ya' blighters!" he roared.

How could he save any of it when those cowards ran like dogs?

Then, he remembered- Jim.

He turned and saw the boy. Skye was with him.

On a boat.

A treasure-laden boat.

Bingo.

The engine sputtered, then roared to life as the standard, though outdated characters on the instrument panels winked on.

"Yes!" Jim shouted, "Skye, we are so out of here!" He banked the craft sharply, heading for the enormous door.

Skye nudged his elbow, both grinning at their ingenuity, when a voice froze the smiles.

"Ah, Jimbo! Aren't you the seventh wonder of the universe?"

Silver climbed his way aboard the ship. Skye bristled, but Jim seized.

How...why? Silver...

One thought.

Silver.

Silver had betrayed him. For treasure. This treasure. His treasure.

He whirled, instinctive. Grabbing the nearest object, he pointed it at Silver- a rusted old sword.

"Get back," he warned, anger fuming hotly through his voice.

Silver's eyes darkened, lowered.

"I like you lad. But I've come too far to let you stand between me and me treasure." Silver advanced, slow, menacing.

Jim backed away, bumping into the hard wood of the helm.

He...he didn't know what to do. What could he do?

-frozen-

Skye screamed.

"Look out!"

A blast of energy from fallen machinery sliced sizzling through the air, blasting past the ship, rocking it full force, and sending them flying through the air.

Silver grabbed onto the ship's rail and pulled himself to a safe footing on a slanted metal platform beneath.

Skye landed with a thud on the platform and skidded to a stop.

Jim wasn't so lucky. He landed a few feet away, slid, bounced off the edge of platform, and collided with a steep opposite wall.

He grabbed hold of an outcropping of machinery with one hand, and dangled, struggling to keep a grip. He felt a rumbling, a slip under his fingers. In horror, he looked up.

The mechanism was retreating into the wall.

Silver was still holding onto the boat's edge. It started to drift away.

"Oh no, you don't!" Silver was amazingly strong- he pulled the boat back towards him. THIS treasure wasn't getting away.

Groaning, he strained his neck back, squinting. Through the shimmer of molten core heat, he could make out a figure...no, two...

...Jimbo!

Switching the mechanical hand to a clamping claw, he extended his arm as far as it would go and tried to reach Jim from there. Maybe he could...

...no!

Jim's hand grabbed air as the mechanism disappeared into its metal wall. He fell, dropping down, down-

-and felt a yanking on his arm.

Skye had grabbed him from her place on the ledge. Jim tightened his hand around her forearm, but she only had one extended...why?

"Give me your other hand!" he called.

Skye couldn't answer. All her energy was focused into holding Jim up, and he quickly saw- her left arm, the injured one, had started to bleed again from her fall. There was no way she could use both hands... but even with the other one, she wouldn't be strong enough...

Their arms slid apart inch by inch.

Silver looked from the boat, to Jim, and back. His arm was stretched as far as it would go, and he still was nowhere near the teens...

...but...

Treasure. Legends. Dreams.

...he...

Past. Present. Future.

A choice.

"Oh, blast me for a fool!"

Jim slipped.

And a rough pirate's hand grabbed his.

Silver swung Jim to the platform; they both climbed on.

There was a blast of heat and light, and the released ship exploded where it contacted with the constant energy beams. Gold rained down and vanished below them.

The last of Flint's trove was gone.

Jim, Silver, and Skye burst through the triangular portal. Jim turned to the pirate.

"Silver, you gave up?"

"Just a lifelong obsession, Jim," Silver sighed, "I'll get over it."

But Jim couldn't help thinking that it must have been harder than that.

Another voice floated down, that was, for once, welcome.

"Aloha, Skye and Jimmy!"

BEN!

"Hurry, people!" BEN called, brandishing what looked like a stopwatch, Morph hovering, "We've got exactly two minutes and thirty-four seconds till planet's destruction!"

The HMS Legacy lowered shakily, bumping against the ledge. Doppler was driving, Amelia giving words of encouragement and caution.

The pirates tied up below deck, however, expressed one thought as to Doppler's captaining skills.

"We were better off on exploding planet!"

Jim and Skye helped pull Silver into the Legacy. At Amelia's word, they lifted off. Silver swept off his hat to her.

"Captain! You dropped from the heavens in the nick of time to-"

"Save your claptrap for the judge, Silver."

Silver chuckled sheepishly. Amelia was back to her old self.

It was then some flying debris took off the topsail, breaking the main mast and crashing to the deck, breaking the laser cannon.

"Damage report, metal man!" Amelia barked.

"Missile tail demobilized, Captain. Thrusters at only 30% capacity."

"30%? That means...We'll never clear the planet's explosion in time!" Doppler breathed.

Amelia said nothing.

Jim looked back towards the portal through which they had emerged. His eye caught the sparking laser cannon engine on the deck, and a piece of thick sheet metal from the debris flickered in the electric glow.

He had an idea. Crazy. But it was an idea.

"We gotta turn around!"

"What?!"

"There's a portal back there. It can get us out of here," he explained, leaping the stairs and hurrying towards the parts.

"Pardon me, Jim," Doppler asked, "but didn't that portal open onto a raging inferno?!"

"Yes, but I'm gonna change that," Jim grunted, extricating the long narrow sheet metal. "I'm gonna open a different door."

Skye's eyes widened. Of course! The holographic map, it was brilliant!

Doppler tried to protest, but Silver interrupted.

"Listen to the boy!" He ignored BEN's countdown and leapt towards Jim.

"What do you need?"

"Some way to attach this!" Jim held up a rope and pointed to the laser cannon engine.

Silver pushed Jim well out of the way and his metal hand, always useful, swiveled a welding torch into place.

"This might take a few seconds," Silver cautioned, gritting his teeth, knowing by BEN's counting just how little time they had.

Jim backed away while the flame lit up, and stumbled into Skye. She reached out a hand to steady him, but he didn't get a chance to face her, for Silver called out, "There you go."

The three lifted the strange contraption onto the edge of the starboard rail, with even Morph helping out. Silver positioned it alone, however, because Jim had turned away, to Skye.

Jim's eyes darted over hers quickly, and he decided fast. Before either could think twice, Jim had seized Skye's wrist, pulled her roughly forward, and crushed her lips beneath his.

He turned away immediately. It was fast. It was brief.

But it was done. That was all he'd wanted.

He'd wanted it done at least once.

And right now, it looked like once was all it'd ever be.

It was enough.

Jim leapt up onto the makeshift solar surfer and positioned himself, refusing to dwell. He turned towards Silver, on the other side.

"OK, now no matter what happens, keep the ship heading straight for that portal."

Jim looked at Silver once more, and was met with a solemn nod.

Good luck, it said, and God speed.

Jim stepped down on the sparker lighter, and a cannonball blaze propelled him away from the Legacy.

Silver watched him zoom off, then turned to Doppler and Amelia above.

"Well, you heard him! Get this blasted heap turned round!"

Amelia said to Doppler, "Doctor, take us back to the portal."

"Aye, Captain."

Skye stared over the edge of the rail, half-dazed.

For once, she had more to worry about than Jim having all the fun.