Chapter 8

Still a pirate

Jim woke up to a throbbing headache. A sharp, electric-like shock went through his skull as he tried to open his eyes, making him groan and slam a hand on his face to keep the brightness away. His body sank deeper into the soft mattress, and he was ready to lie there for a week. Or maybe a year. Hell, he could lie there forever if it meant not having to open his eyes ever again.

Footsteps, which sounded like someone playing a trumpet with a loudspeaker attached to it next to his ears, approached him, and someone with an awful familiar voice, whose owner Jim couldn't recall, said 'here, drink this' and put a cup against his mouth. The liquid was thick and so sticky it stuck to his dry throat, and he was sure he would choke until the stranger gave him another cup filled with water.

"Thanks," Jim rasped, still not opening his eyes. The pain started fading, and finally he was able to crack his eyes open. First everything around him was blurry, like looking his surroundings through a glass; he could see colors, but he couldn't form the shapes they belonged to. He had to focus hard to get his vision back, which was enough to make him have a coughing fit and taste blood in his mouth.

"Don't try too hard, my boy, you've been out of it for two days," John Silver laughed, and Jim was so shocked to see him again he couldn't say a word. Silver was standing his back towards him, doing something on the table, and when he turned around, he was holding a tray with a bowl of soup, a piece of bread and a cup of water on it. Jim's stomach growled as the tray was placed on his lap, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Silver.

"Where's Sinbad?" was the first question that came out of his mouth. He remembered the unbearable heat; the sweating, the pain, the hopelessness; but after that there was just blankness, and then he woke up here and had apparently been unconscious for three days. His stomach dropped when a thought occurred to him: what if Sinbad had taken the map and left without him?

Silver watched Jim's face go pale, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a reassuring smile as he said: "Oh, that beardy fella? I sent him back to his crew this morning. Had been sittin' next to your bed since you came here, I tell you! I thought he could use a break, so I said 'don't you worry about Jimbo here, this old Cap'n will take care of him 'til you come back!'. Said he wouldn't be gone for long; just check that his crew was okay."

Jim sighed in relief and grabbed the spoon on the tray, starting to stuff his mouth with the soup. It was probably cooked by Silver: it looked like something that came out of the sewers, but once you got past the looks it wasn't half bad, and truth to be told, Jim had missed his cooking.

Silver sat on the nearest stool, starting to polish his cyborg arm with a handkerchief. "So, a military boy, eh?"

Jim slowed down his eating. "How did you know?"

"You've been all over the newspapers! And boy, was I proud when I saw a photo of you in that white uniform! I knew you'd become something great."

A smile tugged at Jim's lips, and he had to blink a couple times to stop tears welling up in his eyes. "Yeah, well. It was nice to see my mom smile genuinely for the first time since forever when I showed up at home in my uniform." He glanced around the cabin. It was much different from Sinbad's: Sinbad's cabin was full of small accessories and stolen things from all over the world, while Silver liked much more simple yet antique stuff. "And you're still a pirate?"

Silver chortled, maybe a little bit embarrassed. "I tried to live like an honest man would, but let's just say t'was not for me. Freedom's what I can't live without, you see. But how come you're working with a pirate? The last I heard this Sinbad lad was quite a big deal."

"It's not that simple." He tried to come up with a nice way to say he was kidnapped, but there really wasn't any, so he continued: "I was forced to stay with his crew. But right now it's – "

"You mean he KIDNAPPED you?"

"Well, yes – "

"That bloody bastard, I ain't gonna let him near you or me ship anymore!"

"Listen – "

"And here I was, thinkin' you two were close when he carried you out of that temple and was ready to give the sphere to save yer life!"

"He did what?" Jim was dumbfounded. So Sinbad had actually saved him. And he had been ready to give up the map for him? "Did you take the sphere?"

Silver had stood up with a furious face, but after glancing at Jim again his features softened. "No, of course not. Not after I realized t'was you. And he didn't have the map anyway."

Jim decided he would have to have a serious talk with Sinbad after he came back. He wanted to know what exactly had happened and why he hadn't got the map. A feeling of guilt washed over him because he hadn't thought about Kida and Milo until now. "Were there two other people with him? A woman with white hair and blue tattoos and a man with round eyeglasses?"

The old pirate had calmed down at this point, and he had sat back on the stool. "Now that you ask, there was a man with him. He was very upset about something, and as soon as we arrived to me ship he told he was goin' to go to Thebes. Don't know what for, though. Gave him some food and then he left."

What the hell had happened down in the Underworld?

"How did you know about us trying to get the map anyway? Did you follow us?"

There was a strong knock on the door, saving Silver from embarrassing himself by answering to the question. After getting a permission to enter, a woman, who was a cross between a lion and a human, came in, and when her eyes met with Jim's, an unpleasant shiver ran through him. The eyes were cold and harsh.

"Ah, Vitani. What is it?" Silver asked.

"The pirate is back, Captain," the lioness informed. Jim guessed he meant Sinbad, so he quickly pushed the tray away and jumped off the bed. He hardly noticed that his sweaty uniform had been changed to a new pair of clothes, consisting of brown pants and a natural white cotton shirt, because he was in a hurry to get to the deck before John Silver could carry out his threat of not letting Sinbad near him again. He pushed past the lioness and was out of the door before either of them could stop him.

Sinbad was talking to one of Silver's crewmates, but when he saw Jim running out of the captain's cabin, he stopped talking in mid-sentence with his mouth wide open. Jim couldn't stop a grin forming on his face as he walked in front of Sinbad and they both stood there, staring at each other.

"I thought I'd never see that smug grin again," Sinbad breathed and dropped the bag in his hand to pull Jim into a tight hug. Jim was taken aback by the sudden closeness, but after recovering from the shock he wrapped his arms around the other man too, closing his eyes. Sinbad smelled like the sea; salty water with a hint of waves; and musky cologne that was probably stolen from some poor salesman.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Silver stated with a raised eyebrow, making Sinbad and Jim separate from each other like they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to. "Relax, Jimbo. I ain't gonna do anything to him," he continued, and the stubborn look on Jim's face faded.

"Thank you for taking care of him, Captain Silver," said Sinbad. "I'll continue from now on." They exchanged a look, and Silver nodded after a while.

"You should stay for a day or two. Jim's in no condition to travel back to the harbor yet," the old pirate said.

Jim was about to argue that he felt perfectly fine, but a rush of nausea made him shut his mouth. Sinbad noticed the wobble in his step and hurried to support him, grabbing his arm and wrapping a hand around his back. He walked him back to the cabin with Silver's worrying look following them, sat him down on the bed and filled a cup with water. Jim glugged it down, feeling slightly better.

"Tell me what happened in the Underworld."

Sinbad sat next to Jim, leaning against his knees. He started explaining the events as best as he could, and when he got to the part where Kida had stayed behind, Jim gritted his teeth.

"Hades tricked us! How are we even supposed to go back to save Kida? Milo is gone to God knows where, the path to the altar has been destroyed and I can't even be up for more than 5 minutes because otherwise I'll throw up or faint! This is just great."

The captain listened to Jim's ranting, wanting to comfort him somehow but ending up only patting his leg. "Milo told me he's going to get help from Hercules."

"How is a hero, who probably is an imposter anyway, going to help us? Hades is a god."

"I don't know," Sinbad admitted. "And why are you getting so worked up over this? It's not like it's your loss if we don't get the map."

Jim didn't know the answer to Sinbad's question. Why was he indeed getting so upset about all of this? If the map was unreachable, Sinbad would probably let him go on his own way and not bother him anymore.

"It doesn't matter," he said. An uncomfortable silence landed between them until Jim finally asked the question that had been bothering him (or 'interesting' him as he told himself) since they had left the harbor: "Did you meet up with Marina the other day?"

Sinbad's eyes widened. "And how exactly – ? No, wait. It was Rat, wasn't it?"

Jim shrugged his shoulders, making the captain take a deep breath.

"Yes, I did meet up with her. I saw her ship in the harbor and figured she had come to a business meeting here. But she's just a friend."

"I heard you were in love with her," Jim turned his eyes to the floor.

Sinbad sighed. "What do you want me to say?"

A lump in Jim's throat made it hard for him to swallow. He clenched his fists around the blanket under him so hard his knuckles were white, and he felt incredibly stupid for asking that question. "I just wanted to know."

"Why, are you jealous?" Sinbad laughed.

"Why would I be jealous?" Jim scoffed.

"Don't answer a question with a question."

"Already did."

The conversation was going nowhere, so Sinbad threw his arms up and flopped down on the bed on his back. "Alright then. What are we going to do about John Silver and his crew? If we ever get the map back, we're not going to give it to them. And there's already my crew and Kida's crew sharing the treasure. We could be left with nothing if another pirate crew joins us. And three captains trying to make decisions together? It's not going to be pretty."

Jim smiled at the mental image despite the aching in his heart, and he had to agree with him. He followed Sinbad's example and flopped down next to him, turning to his side to look at him. "If the map leads us to a similar planet or place as the previous one, there will be enough for all of us, believe me. Who knows: maybe this map also belonged to Captain Flint? A wise man would separate the treasure to at least two different places so that if the first one is found, the second will still remain a secret."

"I have never heard a rumor about Captain Flint having two different maps, but you could be right," Sinbad said. "Hey, are you alright?"

Jim's lids drooped as he tried to stay awake. "All this serious talk is making me tired."

"You should rest then." Sinbad got up, helping Jim get under the blanket and tucking him in. He was about to leave when he felt a hand grab his arm and heard Jim mumble 'stay', so he sat back on the edge of the bed, making it squeak. "Please don't tell me you want me to sing you to sleep."

The man laughed shortly. "I'd rather not hear you sing."

Sinbad smiled and watched him fall asleep, and when he was sure he wasn't awake anymore, he brushed the strands of hair off the man's forehead, letting his hand linger there for a while. His smile faltered as the realization of what he was doing, and how he liked the soft structure of Jim's hair, struck him, and he bit the inside of his lip.

The streets were busy with people running off to work or trying to sell newspapers and fruits or just walking around with important look on their faces as Milo tried to ask instructions to Hercules' palace. Most blatantly ignored him when they realized he wasn't going to buy anything, and the rest laughed him off as if he had been stupid.

Milo pushed his glasses up angrily as an elder woman almost shoved him to the ground on her way, but when he had gathered up enough courage to say snap at her, she had disappeared into the crowd. He sighed and stopped to cool himself under the shade of a high building and drink some water. His back was wet from the heat and he had to push up his glasses every two minutes because the sweat kept sliding them down his nose.

It had taken him two days to get to Thebes by hitching a ride on donkey-drawn carts and on foot. There were bags under his eyes and many times he had thought of giving up, but just the thought of Kida having to stay in the Underworld forever had made him continue his journey. And when he had finally arrived in Thebes and had thought of finally getting some help, no one had even spared a second glance at him when he had tried to ask about Hercules' whereabouts. Only the Hercules merchandise he saw on sale in the stalls convinced him that he was not just a legend.

"You look lost," someone with an overly cheerful voice said from the alley behind him, startling him and making him drop the water bottle. It never hit the ground, however, because it had stopped falling and was now floating in air. "Whoops, gotta be more careful with that! It might have been my fault for scaring you though. Sorry, pal! Here, why don't I make it up for ya by giving you a free lemonade?"

A glass filled with lemonade and decorated with a straw and a green cocktail umbrella appeared in Milo's hand, and he turned around dumbfounded. His eyes met with a person who was very blue, very cheerful and very… not human.

"Uh, w-who – ?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Milo was pulled into the alley, and a top hat appeared on the blue man's head. He took the hat off dramatically, and a big puff of confetti flew out of it, raining on both of them. "I'm no one but the Genie himself – Genie of the Lamp! No wait, forget the lamp part! I'm my own master nowadays! Anyway, I was on my way to Athens when I noticed a person looking very lost – which was you! – and I though I might be of help. And who might you be and where might you be going, my friend? I'm only a tourist myself, but if I can help, I will!"

"A – a genie?" Milo pushed his glasses up again nervously. "My name is, uh, Milo – " Genie shook his hand, hard, " – T-thatch. Is there any way you could bring back my friend from the Underworld?"

Genie's face fell, and he shook his head. "Sorry, pal, but I can't bring back the dead."

"She's not dead, she's trapped!"

The blue man furrowed his brows, pulled an ancient-looking book out of thin air and put glasses on to read something. "I still can't help you. I'm truly sorry. This lady we're talking about – she's gotten involved with Hades? We genies aren't allowed to intervene in the gods' business. There are limits to our powers too. Anything else?" Genie offered him a sad smile, closing the book.

"Oh, okay… Then I guess Hercules is my only hope," Milo sighed and took his glasses off to rub his temples.

"Hercules? The wonderboy who has beaten many monsters and is the top hero of this country? Why didn't you say so! I can arrange you to his place immediately!" Genie leaned closer, changing his voice to a whisper: "He's quite a handsome fellow, just so you know!"

Milo felt his cheeks burning, and he wasn't sure if it was from the embarrassment or from the heat. "Um, thank you, but – "

Genie took his hand, pulling him through time and space and right back to the Earth into the garden of a palace surrounded by tall, sturdy wall. Milo's feet wobbled, and he had to sit down on the edge of a fountain.

"Here we are! It's really hard to pass through the gates of the wall and there are guards securing it, so I thought it would be the best if I brought you inside already. Now you can just walk into the palace and impress the hero with your good looks! I can also give advice on some pick up lines if you want to," Genie blabbered, flying around the fountain until he stopped in front of Milo. "Although, first we must do something to your appearance!"

The blue man snapped his fingers, and Milo's worn-out, sweaty tank top and muddy trousers were changed into new ones, a cloud of sweet-smelling cologne was sprayed on him, his hair was stylized and even his glasses were cleaned up.

"Now we're talking! You're all set."

"I'm flattered by your help, but I'm only doing this to save my friend," Milo tried to explain, but Genie just smiled.

"Of course. But who says you couldn't have some romance to its side?"

It was no use of trying to convince the genie otherwise, so Milo just nodded. "Thanks for everything. I couldn't have found here without you."

"I'm always glad to be of help! I have to go back to Agrabah tomorrow – wouldn't miss my friend Al's birthday party for the world! – but I'm sure we'll meet again, Milo. Maybe when I do my third round the world trip," Genie said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "I hope you'll be able to save your friend!"

"Me too, Genie. Me too," Milo answered and watched as the man waved his goodbyes and flew into the sky like a blue rocket. Their meeting had been very short, but Milo was missing the genie already. He had been very lucky to meet him, though. His colleagues back in his home city wouldn't believe what he had seen!

"Okay, time to meet the hero himself, Milo Thatch," he said to himself, turning to look at the white palace that made him feel like an ant in comparison. He should probably use the front door and try to look like he belonged there. He could almost feel the white statue of a small and round satyr in the middle of the fountain mocking his thoughts.

A/N: I feel like I'm always starting my A/N with an apology for not updating in a long time... And this time is not going to be any different, haha. I've been really busy with exams and school stuff and life in general, so my time for writing has been quite limited.

On the other hand, this fic has gotten a lot of new readers, so thanks for that! I love reading your comments, and even just knowing you're there makes me so, so happy. I might try to finish this fic during my summer vacation (which will start in June and last until the beginning of August), but we'll see.

Sometimes I wonder if there are too many characters in this, but... I just love them all, you know. ;_; Please bear with me. I'll see you in the next chapter!

kairi102: Haha, I know right! Writing cliffhangers is much more fun than reading them. :D

silvery crimson moon: Thank you! I'm glad to hear you're liking this fic so far.