So this is what it feels like.... huh? La la la.... I watch the as the pretty blusih glow from the machinery danced across the ceiling... I wished I could be that pretty.... just like light, so feathery and faint and carefree.... I smiled hysterically. I had heard my watch beep thirteen times since I'd been locked inside of this little room. Thirteen, my lucky number...Thirteen hours? Thirteen days? Thirteen months? Thirteen years? It felt like forever, locked up with only the whir of mechanisms to keep me company.
La la la.... I missed Jim, I thought suddenly. I made him mad, didn't I? How did I make him mad? Oh yeah... I told him something... something that made him real mad at me.... I didn't like it when he was mad at me.... What had I said to him that was so awful? '....Silver planned a mutiny... and he's been using you...' So that was how I got in this hellish little room. I curled up into a tiny little ball and tried to sleep, but a voice kept screaming in my head... make the voice shut up.... Make it go away.
Thunk. Thump. I heard noises --or did I?-- just outside. I smiled. It was either smile or scream, and I really didn't want to do either. I just wanted the little voice in my head to stop talking. I closed my eyes, and as my smile faded I bit back a scream. The noises were louder this time, muffled, and I couldn't hold my scream any longer. I screamed and tried to curl myself up so I could attempt to sleep.
"Whozzaire?!" I heard someone exclaim. "Jimmy! Jimmy!" There was a creaking of wheels and all was silent.
Would talking to myself be as good as having company?
".....I am a question to the world.... not an answer to be heard.... or a moment that's held in your arms.... and what did you think you'd ever say... oh, what next? Blast it... That's... Jim's song... It's deep.... and a little confusing... yet wonderful.... just like him... I wonder--"
"Hello? Hello, who's there?" I heard the oh-so-familliar voice tinged with fear.
"JIM!" I screamed.
"Sasha?" he sounded surprised. "......what the...."
There was a blasting sound, then several more in quick succession, and there was a patch of soft etherial light. I had never been so happy to see anything in my life. I squirmed, trying to break lose from my restraints. I blinked, surprised, and saw the dark, ominous figure sillouetted against the pale light.... right behind Jim. In horror, I saw a red claw coming behind Jim's neck.
"Behind you!" I shouted, and Jim ducked and spun around.
"Cabin boy...." an evil smirk spread across the bug-like face I so hated.
Jim shot at Scroop frantically with his flintlock. Scroop scurried into a more defensible position. A strange robot thingy came in and untied me, and I flexed my wrists for a minute, then dashed forward and popped Scroop a good one. I grinnned. Boy, did that feel good! I watched the robot with a peice missing out of his head roll off, humming 'a pirate's life for me'.
Scroop scowled and snapped one of his claws open. Jim bolted back through the hull of the Legacy. Scroop gave chase, and I trailed behind them. Scroop caught up to Morph, who squealed and suddenly turned himself into a pie, splattering all over Scroop's face. Scroop growled angrily, grabbed Morph, and threw him into a suction pipe. Morph pulled a face and was sucked up.
Jim continued running down the narrow walkway, Scroop following Jim and I following Scroop. Jim quickly turned to his right. Morph banged around in the tube, and Jim quickly pulled out his flintlock... but Scroop had disappeared. &($(&#!!! Scroop suddenly reappeared, looking shocked at the flintlock. Suddenly the lights all went out. It must have been that blasted robot...
A minute later the lights suddenly flipped on again. Jim whirled around, staring ahead of him, expecting to see Scroop, but Scroop was gone again. Jim whirled once more, then started backing up, looking around as he did so. That spider had more trickery up his dirty rotten sleeve.... Then I saw it.... Jim didn't notice as Scroop's claws moved around him. Suddenly I ran forward and tried to knock Scroop away from Jim. He picked me up my my hurt wrist. I cried out
"So.... Yeh still haven't learned yer lesson, have you?"
Morph suddenly shot out of one of the suction tubes next to Scroop's head. Morph screamed in shock, and Scroop turned to look at him. Morph suddenly turned into a hand, pointed two fingers out, and poked Scroop in the eyes, then flew back into the suction tube. Scroop cried out and clutched his eyes. Served the creep right! Jim whirled around and attempted again to shoot at Scroop, but Scroop swung his claw and knocked Jim to the side. The flintlock was knocked out of Jim's reach. He scrambled to grab it, but it had suddenly started floating. What the hell did that robot think he was doing?!
Jim and Scroop looked around, and Jim knocked Scroop through a grate, smashing it. They
both fell out of the hole and to the deck. Scroop grabbed onto the mast to keep from falling into space. Jim fell past him, knocking into the crow's nest, then grabbing onto the flag with the Jolly Roger on it. Scroop began to climb toward Jim. The flintlock floated past Jim, who reached for it.
"Come on, come on, come on--" The flintlock sailed just past his reach. Damnit, this was our luck, wasn't it?! "Come on.... NO!" Jim shouted, exhasperated and grim. He looked down in horror at Scroop. Scroop grinned and opened a claw.
"Oh-ho-ho, yesss. . . ." Scroop began sawing at the rope holding the flag down, and I panicked.
I allowed myself to float just under Scroop, who'd apparently forgotten about me.
"Hey brighteyes..." I yelled, feeling fury and hatred burning strong inside me. "Whatcha think of this? Look familliar, Scroopy?" I pulled out a flintlock I had filched from Amelia's state room and shot not at him, but the peice of the mast he was holding.
Jim clutched the part of the mast that was still attached to the ship. Scroop looked about himself for a second, and then realized what had happened and screamed. Jim and I fell to the deck. He rubbed his head, breathing heavily. Morph suddenly shot out of a tube next to him. Morph, covered in soot, coughed and shook himself off. Jim smiled wearily. Goodness, I love his smile....
"Morph?"
Morph looked tired, but smiled and chirped at Jim.
"Sasha...."
"Yeah, Jim?" I cocked my head slightly.
"....I'm sorry. I should have believed you... I got so defensive, I acted like a jerk. And I apologize. There any way I can make it up to you?"
"....Just like this." I went over to him and kissed him on the cheek, laying my head on his shoulder. He hugged me, but I saw his face was red. I grinned.
"Er... Uh...."
"Sometimes," I smiled, putting my finger to his lips, "Words... just aren't needed."
He nodded, smiling. I heard Morph burbble and glanced up. He was cackling and had formed a tiny pink heart above our heads. Jim laughed and I rolled my eyes. Jim waited a minute, then reached over and put his hand in mine. It was my turn to be speechless.
"....What are we gonna do, Sasha?"
"Whaddya mean?" I asked, confused.
"...I mean, can I come and see you sometimes? I mean, ya can't live that far away.... I just... Don't wanna just walk away and forget all that's happened, y'know?"
"Yeah..." I nodded.
He was right... If we didn't plan this out, then surely we would drift apart, find more important things... And I didn't want that. No... what I felt for Jim was special, I think. I really like him... I looked over at him. He stared up at the etherium thoughtfully. I closed my eyes and squeezed his hand.
"...So what can we do?"
"I dunno if we go to the same school or not..."
"VHS?"
"Yeah."
"Then... maybe sometime I'll see you there?"
"Hopefully."
"Till then..." he slipped something into my hand. "...Keep this. If we don't... y'know... stick together... then I want you at least to remember me."
I openned my hand to find a tiny carved wooden box with a rose engraved onto the top. The seemed to actually catch the light, and it looked shimmery and pretty. I beamed over at him. It appeared to have been hand carved, and I knew Jim well enough to figure that he had made it. I smiled and slipped it into my pocket.
"Thankyou, Jim." I beamed.
He blinked, remembering something. "We gotta get back to the captain and Doppler. C'mon."
I nodded, cursing myself for wasting so much time. "Yeah."
"Laser cannons disconnected, Captain Jimmy, sir!" The crazed robot said, tangled in wires and smoking mysteriously. I chose not to ask. "See? That wasn't so tough!"
Jim held up the map, then looked up, preparing himself to go back down to the planet. We hopped into the longboat, which to my surprise appeared untouched by the pirates.
"How'd you--"
"Stole it back from the pirates." Jim answered, grinning. He knew me to well.
I smiled, couldn't hold back a laugh, and held on tightly to the side of the longboat. "...I've learned how you manuver this thing."
He chuckled. "Hold on tight, Sasha."
We were off, quickly but stealthilly. I marveled at the sheer bizarreness of the place. Giant mushroom-like plants grew everywhere, and there was a huge, odd-looking building. We entered through a weird little hole, climing ladders up through hundreds of miles of machinery. It was kind of amazing, really. We entered through another hole, and Jim called, "Doc! Doc, wake up! I got the map!"
As we walked closer, Jim's face was filled with horror. I looked at him, puzzled, then, after squinting, I saw exactly why. Someone sat there, but it was not Doctor Doppler. We had most definetly blown it.