Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet or any of its characters.
Jim squinted against the harsh Montressor sun and scowled. For a day when everything felt like it was crashing down around him, the weather sure wasn't cooperating.
The day had finally arrived when Jim, Dilbert, Amelia and Silver were to be joining Tobi on her trip to Marias. She'd been relatively calm for the past few days but when Jim had tried to talk to her about how they planned to move the pirate, she'd just brushed him off and told him not to worry about it.
So it had come as a great surprise to him when he woke up this morning and found that Long John Silver was no longer in his bed. Well, he had known that they would be moving Silver to the ship, but he'd been convinced that he would be a part of it.
He'd searched the inn, but the pirate didn't turn up. And even stranger was neither his mother nor BEN had heard anything. Even Morph was at a loss. Jim knew Tobi could lug the pirate by herself, she'd proved that on the night she'd found him. But Silver could move on his own now, so she'd probably walked right out with him. Still, the fact that no one heard anything at all during the night was highly suspicious. Cyborgs weren't exactly known for their stealth.
Which was why Jim was in a hurry to find the ship and get to the bottom what exactly had happened the night before. He was genuinely curious to finally get to see the boat he'd be piloting but he was too preoccupied with other matters at the moment.
"Slow down, Jim. We've got plenty of time before we leave," Dilbert shouted. The space port was so crowded it was almost impossible to hear him over the din of the mass. But Jim didn't slow down. Tobi was three steps ahead of him and he didn't like how much leverage she was holding over his head.
A hand grasped his shoulder and it was only by the Creators grace he didn't flip the owner it startled him so much. Amelia looked at him worriedly, and for a panicked moment he thought she knew. But instead she thrust a thumb over her shoulder.
"You missed the dock," she said, indicating one of the bays. On first glance, they could only spot one large cargo ship. But as passed it, the Madame started coming into view.
Jim had to admit, it was something of an impressive vessel. Larger than the one they'd flown to Treasure Planet, it was still sleek in design and the young captain could see that whoever had commissioned it had speed in mind. As they got closer, however, the ships age became apparent. It was weathered and dinged and while old boards had been replaced over time, a lot of the ship was still using its original materials. He estimated that it was at least forty or fifty years old, which worried him a little.
A head popped out over the side and smiled. "Hey! Glad you're all here! Come on up and help me get ready!" Tobi yelled. They walked up the plank and found that the deck was, while weathered and old like the rest of the ship, clean and in working order. Jim looked over the side and saw men filling up the galley and storage with provisions. Since Jim had made it abundantly clear to Tobi that should Captain Amelia find out they were harboring a space fugitive she'd have everyone's hide on trial, the girl had indicated she'd find some way to hide the pirate on board the ship until it was too late. He made a mental note to see if that was where Silver was stashed.
"Welcome to the Madame!" Tobi cried. She seemed genuinely happy to have them all there, but he wasn't giving her the benefit of the doubt just yet.
"The Madame?" Dilbert asked.
"Yeah, it was a gift from my dad to my mom, and as a joke she named it the Madame in honor of her mother," Tobi told them. Dilbert and Amelia exchanged looks, which forced Jim to hide his laugh under a cough. "Grandma was a prostitute."
That got both their faces red and Jim coughed some more, although it wasn't fooling anybody. He finally managed to get himself under control and glanced over the deck.
"Uh, Tobi?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the rest of the crew?"
"You're looking at it," she said, hefting a box on her shoulder. The small group stared at her as she blew a stray hair out of her face. "I can't afford a crew. We're lucky I can afford the provisions we're getting. But you don't need to worry. I've sailed this bad boy many times before by myself. Go ahead and get settled below deck. Most of the rooms are empty, save for the Satellite and Rising Sun rooms," she told them before heading down to storage. They were all rather dumbfounded, since none of them really expected to…you know, 'work' on this quest.
Jim headed down into where the sleeping quarters were and was surprised to find a hallway with several doors leading off of it. Usually the majority of the crew slept in hammocks below deck and only the captain or a select few actually got quarters. But then this was more like a cruise liner than a star ship so he wasn't completely surprised. As he walked he heard the thrum of the galley and engines below them. It was settling to feel that humming reach down into his bones.
He picked the Nova room and was surprised when he opened the door at how large the room was. It had a regular sized bed, a small desk, some shelves and a small basin to wash up in. All of this and there was still plenty of room for him to move around and generally live comfortably. Even Silver would find this spacious considering the pirate's large bulk.
He threw his stuff on the bed before heading back up top. The first thing he saw as he ascended the stairs was Tobi's back. He was about to call out to her when he saw that her back was tensed up and it looked as if she'd locked her head to stand straight. This was quickly followed by what he would've liked to describe as cackling.
"God, this hunk of junk still floats?"
"You really are a disappointment, aren't you?" Two very large, feathery hats peeked over the ships rim but what followed after was…well, Jim couldn't find the appropriate words for it until they were halfway to Marias. What would later come to him was it looked like a couple of roaches had fallen into a vat of toxic waste and come out not only mutated but sprouting almost human features. But rather than beautifying the two…women it was just awkward and clumsy.
Tabitha would later tell them that her two cousins were actually quite beautiful by Resorian standards. He would just have to take her word for it.
But regardless of who or what they were, they were certainly decked out like they owned the place and then some. Tobi however, seemed less than happy to see them if her stiff posture was any indication.
"What are you two doing here?" she hissed, making Jim wince like she spat acid. The one decked out in blue flipped what looked like hair over her shoulder, which was a parroted movement because it was unnatural on the Resoran.
"Oh, you know. Mother still acts like she cares what you do, although I'm sure it's more contractual obligation and not real concern. But she wanted us to make the grandiose effort and try to persuade you to quit this nonsense and come home. You know, stop acting like a grease monkey and start acting like a lady of station. Although I highly doubt that that's even possible for you." Her sister burst out in a fit of giggles like it was the funniest thing in the world and Jim's wince morphed into a cringe. He thought Tobi would too but her face remained still as though it were etched in stone.
"Well, you wasted your time. Tell Auntie she can just leave me the hell alone from now on_"
"Oh," the blue one said suddenly, having caught sight of the young man. She… 'sashayed' her way over to him, her sister following right behind. A real vision in red, for all the good it did slimming her. "Emmy, darling. Where are your manners? Who is this handsome young fellow?" she cooed. It made Jim's skin crawl and he looked to Tobi for help. But she seemed hell bent on trying to cook those two with a look.
"That would be Captain James Hawkins. He'll be the captain on our voyage, along with Captain Amelia Doppler," she told them. But it was clear that all they heard was 'Captain.'
"Oh, a Captain. What a…glamorous profession," the taller girl said. She was pushing out her bosom, like that would do anything for him and unfortunately her companion was trying to mimic her.
"For crying out loud! Sapphire, Ruby, get off him! God, he goes anymore green and he's going to lose his lunch all over you! I need him in top shape to fly," Tobi said as she pried the two Resorans off him. Well it was nice to know she had her priorities straight. "For a couple of ladies, you're practically dry humping him. What would Aunties have to say about that?"
"They wouldn't have anything to say because they'd never know," the one called Sapphire said matter of factly, to which Tobi gave her a look that practically screamed, Do you know who you're talking to?For a moment the Resoran female looked nonplussed, trying to call bluff on Tabitha's argument. But when the young woman stood her ground, Sapphire started to panic. "You wouldn't?"
"And what makes you think so? You've known me all my life and you don't think I wouldn't tell your mom that you were throwing yourself around like some wanton hussie just to make your life miserable? If that's what you think, then you are far dumber than I thought," was Tobi's final reply.
"What do you want?" So she was going to try and bribe the girl to keep her quiet. Jim was suddenly glad that he didn't know his extended family.
"I want you to get the hell of my boat and leave me the fuck alone. Relay the message to Auntie, word-for-word." Sapphire scowled, looking like she was fighting with herself over the whole thing. Ruby looked on, terrified at what the outcome might be. But then the taller girl just heaved a big sigh and fixed her hat.
"Fine. I never wanted to come here any way. Come on Ruby, we've wasted enough time here," she threw at her partner and they sauntered their way over to the gang plank. But not before they both turned and blew him a final kiss. It took a lot of effort on Jim's part not to visibly shudder.
When the two were out of sight, he saw Tobi visibly relax. "Who were those two?" he asked.
"My cousins, Sapphire and Ruby. Their mothers are my aunts and you can see that they inherited more of Captain Flint's DNA than I did." They stood for a few moments watching the crowd, letting the moment drift away. Then Jim remembered something that Sapphire had said.
"She called you Emmy," he started but stopped when he noticed the tensing in her shoulders. "Um, sorry."
"No, it's fine. I just wish she hadn't brought it up. See, when my parents died I went to live with Sapphire and Ruby and their families. Both of my Aunts hated my mother, and so in a bid to erase her memory, they had my name changed to Emerald, to continue the asinine desire to name all of their offspring after gems. It wasn't until I turned eighteen, joined the Interstellar Academy and moved out that I changed my name back. But Sapphire and Ruby make it a point to call me that because they know I hate it. I swear they absorbed their mother's hatred by osmosis it's so uncanny. They find joy in making my life miserable. Hell, the whole family gets a kick out of it. Although thankfully they've found other endeavors to occupy their time since I left so I see less and less of them."
"But after you graduated, didn't you move back home?" he asked. She gave him an incredulous look.
"You've met them. Given a choice, do you really think I'd choose to move back in with my tormentors? No. I've been living here and stayed here whenever I had holidays off from the Academy." For a moment, he was confused by what 'here' was. Then it hit him.
"The boat's your home?"
"Yeah. It just makes sense that I would live in a house I owned, even if it is a boat."
"But don't you have, I don't know, a stationary home?"
"That burned down in the fire with my parents. This is all I have left of them, and I had to work during my study to keep it. Otherwise it would've gone to my Aunts and no doubt they would've sold or burnt it. Besides, I needed a place to stay after I graduated and I wasn't going to go back to that hellhole if I had anything to say about it. But enough chatting, we have work to do," she said and went back to inspecting ropes.
Jim was shocked. He loved sailing, but he was also really happy to have an actual house to come back to at the end of his missions. Of course, given the family she would've been forced to "inherit," he'd find a way to live comfortably, even in cramped quarters. Besides, this was a large enough boat for their motley crew, it was probably plenty big for just one person.
"So when you say you were heading home at night_"
"Sheesh, you're like a dog with a bone. Yes, this ship was up until last night parked at the Montressor dock. I moved it to the space port because I can acquire better gear out hereNow get to work, I want to leave early if it's possible. We have a long way to go." Which Jim was going to do until she mentioned having moved the ship last night.
"That reminds me, what happened?" She looked up at him with a blank expression.
"What?"
"You know. What happened?"
"…I don't know what you're talking about."
"Our guest just mysteriously disappeared last night without a sound and I know you had something to do with it so spill." She looked befuddled, but Jim wasn't fooled. He knew she was trying to play him.
"Dude, seriously. Now is not the time for this, there is a ship that needs readying. If you don't want to do this, you're welcome to back out. I still have Captain Amelia_"
"No, I'm doing this," he said in such a way that it broached no argument. For a split second, so fast he was almost sure he'd imagined it she grinned like a mad person. But then it was gone and she was invested in her ropes again.
Jim was certain now that he was going to have to watch his back with her.
AN: I wanted to skip directly to this chapter after I'd finished Chapter 3 but then I realized that I needed a reason for the Dopplers to be there and that's where Chapter 4 came into play and god it was such an awful chapter to write. Because it was hard to come up with a convincing scenario where they would willingly leave their children to go on an adventure. This chapter actually turned out harder than I'd wanted it to be, although I enjoyed writing Sapphire and Ruby. It's so easy to write mean characters. That probably says something about me but I won't think about it right now. Thank you for reading and reviewing!