CHAPTER XXII

A CRANKY FOE, A CLANKY FRIEND

Sora, Jim, Goofy and Sora exited the bog and were now in a slightly less damp, more worn out sector of Treasure Planet – large, sandy dunes were stretching out in all directions, punctuated by the rubble of ships and plenty of disgusting, swampy muck tying the whole motif of 'dilapidated forest world' together. Jim moved up ahead, Morph poking out of his pocket and zooming around the debris like a curious hummingbird.

All of a sudden, one of the piles of debris started to shift, as a slender bronze robot popped out from beneath it. The robot had several spots of dirty rust all over its body. The awkward way in which it walked was due to its design – it had gears for wheels on its knees and feet, but large ball joints connecting its knees and torso. Spindly arms reached out from the rust covered body, and on top sat a strange looking flying-saucer like head. Two eyes like telescopes popped out, blinking green and black lights for the pupils. On top of its head was a large indent with wires coming out in all directions.

"People! Oh, you wouldn't believe how good it is to see people! I've been stranded here for YEARS! The first couple of years are nice for a while…but after four hundred or so…it gets a little tedious!" he cried, rushing up to Jim and shaking his hand vigorously. "The name is Ben! Uh…yeah…oh yeah! B.E.N. – short for Bio-Electronic Navigator!"

They realized the final strange component of B.E.N. was the large, rustic compass popping from the center of his chest. As he pushed it back into place, he moved down the line, shaking everyone's hand firmly.

"It's nice to meet you, B.E.N. I'm Jim Hawkins, and these are my friends Sora, Goofy and Kairi. Hey, listen…have you seen any pirates go by here, recently?"

"Oh yeah, long time ago…"

Jim's eyes widened. "Really? When?"

"I…don't…remember!" he pronounced with difficulty, staring at the ground, deep in concentration. When he looked up at Jim and his friends, he smiled wide.

"Hey! It's great to see humans! Oh, I've been stranded here…"

Sora interrupted. "You…already said all that."

"Did I?" the robot sounded sheepish. "Sorry…my main memory unit is missing, and I have no short term memory without it," he pointed at the hole in his head.

Jim let out an exasperated sigh. "Pirates? You seen any?"

"Yeah…I used to be…part of…" he started to shake and shimmy, his memory units overloaded. "…part of…Captain Flint's crew!"

"Flint? Like Nathaniel Flint, the famous pirate you were telling us stories about, Jim?" Kairi asked.

"The very same!" B.E.N. proclaimed. "And his treasure is on this planet! The treasure…in the planet's…the planet's…core!" His circuits fried, his eyes blinked off, then on again and he smiled at everyone.

"Humans!" he cried. The friends all groaned and started walking down the dusty path between the rubble. B.E.N. followed them, though for the life of him, he couldn't remember why.

Finally, they reached a small valley of rock and mold. Jim halted the party – up ahead, at least a mile out – he could clearly see two longboats parked recklessly on the ground.

"The pirates! They're down the valley this way!" Jim pointed excitedly.

Jim, Sora, Kairi, Goofy and B.E.N. all ran at a full clip down the deserted valley. Unfortunately, the valley didn't stay deserted for long – from all the walls around them, heartless started digging out. The small, green mole heartless with the drills on their faces, the flower heartless that could attack from underground with their roots, and the small bomb heartless that detonated after you attacked them. They started pouring out from every hole in the wall – whether it existed already or they were making it themselves – and soon were swarming all around the heroes. Sora heard a familiar cackle from above and looked up. Sure enough, at the top of the valley was the Unsmiling Man, ready to enter a portal already summoned to his right.

"Good luck with the rescue attempt – if the heartless don't get you, the landslide they cause certainly will," he sneered, casually walking through the portal, leaving Sora, Kairi, Goofy, Jim and B.E.N. in a quite the tight situation.