Leading to Conflict

The newly formed alliance, though still skeptical of each other's trust, had managed to trek a good few miles without any incident. While Sora and Riku scouted around with Delbert, Silver, and Jim, Goofy, Mickey, and Donald coordinated the giant gummi ship, Leviathan just above their heads.

"Any sign of those two?" Riku said, transmitting his message to Mickey in the cockpit of the Leviathan.

"Nothing yet." Mickey replied.

"Without any real tracking system, we won't be able to pinpoint their exact location." said Donald. "We can only go by heat sensors. And as you can see, this planet has its own well established eco system. There's definitely a lot of life down there with warm blood."

"Without any real location, it would be a while before we find Lu Bu and Osiris." said Sora.

It was then that there was a sudden ruffle in the bushes which caught the eyes of the team.

"Did you see that!" asked Delbert.

"What was that?" added Jim.

"Whatever it was, it was certainly big." Silver replied. He drew his cutlass and neared the bush. "Be on your guard."

Sora and Riku drew their blades, making ready to take down whatever it was that was beating around the bush.

"What's going on down there?" asked Mickey. "Why'd you stop?"

"There's something down here." Riku replied. "Whatever it is, it has a large body. Can you get a heat signature."

"We're analyzing now." But the reader could not pick up a large body of heat in the bushed. "The readings say nothing."

"Then what is it that could possibly be down here?"-

"If it accumulates no heat, it must be cold-blooded." Delbert explained.

"I'll take a look." said Jim. "Riku, Sora, back me up."

"Right." Sora replied. The three neared the underbrush where the large body was moving about. But suddenly something pounced out of the bushes, landing upon Jim. It was a rickety old robot, slightly rusted, and a few fray wires and loose bolts popping out of his metal frame.

"Oh boy!" he cried. "Living organisms of an intellectual level coming to save me at last."

"Who are you?" asked Jim.

"My name is...is..." the robot strained to remember. "B.E.N! Yes, my name is B.E.N! Biological Enhancement Navigator, or something like that!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Sora.

"You might say that I was stranded here a long time ago and..."-

"We don't have time to converse with a screw loose robot!" Jim stated. "We still have those pirates, Osiris and Lu Bu, to find!"

"Pirates!" B.E.N. interrupted. "Did you say pirates! Don't get me started on pirates! Why I remember Captain Flint! This guy had such a short temper and I..."

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Did you say you knew Captain Flint!"-

"I'd have to say that he was emotionally distressed to say the least! Well anyway, he..."

"No! No! I mean about his treasure! Flint's Trove! The loot of a thousand worlds! Any of this ringing a bell?"-

"Wait a minute." said B.E.N, pondering on the question delivered. "I remember! Treasure! Lots and lots of Treasure! Mountains of treasure! And a big door opening and closing, opening and closing! And then Flint told me we couldn't have any witnesses! So I helped him...!" B.E.N's system began to fail again and the robot went haywire. "Reboot! Reboot! Reboot! Re...!"

"That's enough!" shouted Jim, slapping the robot in the face.

"And you are..." said B.E.N. as if his mind had gone blank.

"What about the treasure!"-

"I wanna say Larry!"-

"No! The treasure! What about the treasure!"-

"I'm sorry. My memory is a little bit fuzzy lately. You, by any chance, wouldn't have happened to stumble on my piece did you?"-

"Piece?"-

"My missing piece." B.E.N. turned his head around to reveal a small gap of frayed wires, as if something was attached to the back of his head before. "My main memory bank."

"If it's not too much trouble..." Sora uttered. "Don't you think we've hung around here long enough?"

"You in a hurry, Sora?" asked Jim.

"As a matter of fact, we are." replied Riku. "As far as we know, Lu Bu and Osiris have already gotten their hands on the treasure."

"What's going on down there?" asked Donald. "Why have you stopped?"

"Just a little situation at hand."-

"Listen, you bucket of bolts!" shouted Silver. "If you know about Flint's Trove then where is it!"

"Calm down, Silver!" said Jim. "He has no memory of where it is! He can only remember...!"

"I think I see my entire life flash before my eyes!" B.E.N. blathered out. "Was I ever dancing with an android named Lupe!"

"Shut your trap!"-

"Now gentlemen, this is no time to quarrel!" Delbert insisted.

Their mindless bickering continued, not aware that something was coming. Only Sora and Riku realized what was happening.

"Do you hear that?" asked Riku.

"Yeah." replied Sora. "Something is coming this way."

"Quiet you guys!" Silver, Jim, and Delbert stopped their chatter. Riku drew his sword and held it to his side. "Something is coming this way."-

"How can you tell?" asked Jim.

"Can't you hear that?"-

They opened their ears to what Riku had pointed out and could hear what sounded like a rumble of jets in the distance.

"Fellers!" shouted Goofy, from the cockpit. "Something's smashing through the trees, moving towards ya!"

"We've detected a large heat source coming this way!" added Donald. "Two large heat sources to be precise!"

"Thank you for pointing that out!" said Sora. "We can see them from our level!"

"They've come back for more then." said Riku.

"Who is it?" asked Delbert.

"Lu Bu and Osiris!"-

"Oh no!" said Jim. "Those two again!"

"They'll pay for what they've done to me crew!" shouted Silver.

"Here they come!" Sora hollered.

The two warriors swooped down onto the ground, causing great clouds of dust to bellow into the air. They landed softly on their feet, side by side.

"Well, what do you guys want now?" said Riku.

"We've come for that boy!" Lu Bu replied. "The one who carried the map before!"

"What do you need him for?"-

"We came to a dilemma." said Osiris. "The map is armed with an access code which can only be opened if the figures are placed in the right order. And since Jim Hawkins is the only one who can open it, we've returned to implore him."

"So you couldn't open it without my help then could you." said Jim, smirking.

"I wouldn't laugh it I were you, boy!" said Lu Bu, angrily. Lu Bu gave the ball of Jim. "Open it!"

"Why that..." Sora uttered, reaching for his sword, but Riku held him back.

"Can you feel that?" he asked. "Lu Bu and Osiris haven't dropped their guard. They know that if we try anything, they'll unleash their full strength." Sora quickly backed down.

"What are you waiting for, boy!" shouted Lu Bu. "Open it!"

"Do as we say, Jim." Osiris pleaded. "Otherwise, I have no other choice, but to step in. You don't want to see Lu Bu angry." The wind began to accelerate around them. Jim glared at the two as he unlocked the maps code. Within seconds, the area was covered by a holographic image of the entire galaxy. But immediately, the galactic format regressed to a simple line, which led to the precise location of the treasure.

"Excellent." said Lu Bu. "Alright boy! You've served your purpose! Now, let me have that map!"

But Jim retracted the map back into its secure little sphere.

"You want the map, you take me with you." Jim uttered.

"Very well!" Lu Bu using the back of his Maelstrom pike, slugged Jim in the gut. The boy, having the wind knocked out of him, was rendered unconscious and fell to the ground. Lu Bu picked him up. "We have what we want!"

"You bastard!" cried Sora, lunging forth with his sword unsheathed. But Osiris only used his gust of wind to blow the attackers away.

"You won't be going anywhere!" chuckled Lu Bu. "Osiris, now that we have what we want, I leave you to take care of these fools!"

"Understood." Osiris replied. Taking Jim in one arm, Lu Bu departed from the area, leaving the KH team to deal with Osiris.