The ship was burning.
Maka slowly came to with the smell of acrid smoke in her nose. Her ears didn't seem to be working; the only thing she could hear was a strange, tinny ringing. The wood beneath her cheek felt oddly hot, and Maka clenched her fist against it. She had to get up.
There were shouts around her, strange sounds of smacking and creaking and breaking, and the constant sound of a roaring fire. It crackled and spit like a living animal, flickering at the edges of her sight.
Maka struggled to her hands and knees, her dinner threatening to make a reappearance as the floor spun below her. She focused on a single knot in the wood, like an eye staring up at her, until the darkness faded from the edges of her vision and everything stopping spinning.
Her brain was screaming at her to figure out what she needed. Something, something… she needed to find Stein. She needed to find Medusa. She needed to find the captain. She needed to get somewhere safe. She had the map.
Lurching forward, Maka tried to head towards the main part of the ship, but the smoke was too thick. She concentrated on staying low and moving forward, hand first to feel ahead of her. If the floor felt too warm to the touch, she changed course and went another way.
Slowly, she felt as her soul was returning to her body, becoming more and more aware of things and everything sharpening into focus. The smoke seemed to clear some and she struggled to her feet. Her boot kicked against something, and she stooped to grab it. It was a standard issue laser gun. Maka wasn't sure how it got there, but she wasn't going to look a gift cyberhorse in the gyrating incisors, and pocketed it.
There were shouts and bangs, but the smoke was still too thick to see much of anything. Maka knew the ship well enough at this point to move blindly towards the captain's quarters. She opened her mouth to call out for someone, to ask what was going on, when she slipped on something and hit the deck hard. Her head fell into something sticky, and as she gathered her wits again despite the newly doubled pounding in her head, she felt it seep into her clothes. Lifting a hand, Maka suddenly felt the urge to vomit again: her hand was coated in a deep red blood. She scrambled up with a yelp, and located the source only a few feet from her. The body of the first mate, Joe Buttataki, decorated and thick as a tree, lay in a pool of his own blood, surrounded by his medals and his sashes but missing his head.
Maka descended the hill to face the pirate Medusa.
Her spine was straight and her hands were in both pockets of her jacket, each wrapped around a laser pistol. She heard the uneven footsteps of Stein and Marie behind her, clumping closer. She knew Marie was leaning heavily on the doctor and could hear the ragged breathing; her wound was obviously paining her.
Maka stopped ten paces from the woman with the snakes for an arm. Medusa's face was no longer the warm, benevolent one Maka had come to know, but a cruel, hard smiling visage. Crona peeked out from under her jacket, large eyes luminous and sad; they seemed to know it was tense.
"Pirate," spat Marie, who Maka wasn't sure could still be called 'captain' after having lost control of her vessel. "Disgusting, filthy pirate."
"You flatter me, Mjolnir," said Medusa silkily. "But there's no need for that."
"How dare you commandeer my ship?"
"I 'dared' because your entire crew was made up of my men. But make no mistake; I could have taken this ship by myself."
Marie spat a string of swear words out in her native tongue, but Medusa only laughed. The effort seemed to drain her, and she fell silent after that.
Medusa cocked her head as she studied the three people in front of her. Maka did nothing but glare back. The snakes of Medusa's arm coiled tightly into the shape of a hand and she used it to tap lightly on her face.
"I have no desire to kill you three-"
"Why not? You di'nt have no trouble killin' your own sister."
Medusa turned sharply to stare at the man with auburn hair. His mouth was curled into a sneer as he stared at her. "Silence, Giriko," Medusa said icily.
"That's true, madam. You certainly seemed to have no issue with that," a small man with a long nose said. She whirled on him as well, her face growing grotesque with rage. About half of the crew standing behind them shifted uncomfortably.
"Hope you ain't… getting soft on that girl," said the first.
Without warning, Medusa shot her hand out and dozens of tiny snake heads imbedded themselves into Giriko's shoulder and neck. He bellowed in pain as the snakes pulsed poison into him.
"I said not to kill any of the worthless people on this ship because we may need hostages later on. Bartering chips are never something to throw away like a Flautian snorvak, and yet you deliberately beheaded the first mate. We now have twenty-five percent fewer hostages than we started with, and you can believe that percentage will be deducted from your cut of the treasure. Do you understand me?" Her tongue darted out between her lips, the most snakelike Maka had ever seen her. Giriko only gave another scream of pain, and she threw him bodily from her. "Stop whining," she said as he stumbled backwards, groaning loudly. "That poison will not kill you, but it will make your next few shits exceedingly painful. It will serve as a good reminder why you do not question me."
Maka tightened her hold on the guns within her pockets. Medusa seemed to notice the movement and turned back to her.
"Ah ah, I said I do not want to kill you, but I did not say I wouldn't. You are useful to me alive, but if you cause too much trouble, you will tip the scales out of your own favor. And we don't want that, do we?"
Stein spoke up at this point.
"There's not much more we can do for you. You have the ship-" Marie growled and jerked in his arms at the words "-and we are on the planet. There is nothing more that we have that you need."
"Ah, I beg to differ. You still have the map." She pointed a snake finger directly over Maka's heart.
"The map only lead to the planet," Maka said defiantly.
"I think you'll find that it does a bit more than that," said Medusa. "Why don't you open it up and see?"
She hesitated. Turning back to look at Stein and Marie, she searched their faces for an answer. Stein looked troubled as he gazed back at her, but Marie was still glaring daggers at the pirates.
There was the sound of a charging laser, and Maka turned around again to see the barrel of a gun between her eyes. "I have waited a very long time for this," breathed Medusa, who had stepped closer when Maka wasn't looking. "I do not want to wait much longer."
Maka stared into the older woman's slitted pupils. There was a hunger there, a raw desperation, and an anger bubbling just under the surface, but there was no glint of bloodlust; Medusa wanted the treasure, not Maka's life. If they played their cards right, perhaps they could make it out of this alive.
She pulled out the cube and quickly punched in the code. It opened with its usual flash of lights, but this time they formed into a single ball of energy. It streaked away from them, leaving a trail of light dust like a comet, and the pirates all exclaimed with wonder and excitement.
"Excellent," said Medusa almost reverently. "Now, lead the way, Maka, and we can settle this without any more bloodshed."
"Lies!" screamed Marie. Everyone turned to her. "I see you, Medusa, I see your blackened heart-" She was clawing at her eyepatch and it came away to reveal a cybernetic eye, whirling and focusing independently of her organic one. It landed on each pirate in turn, but narrowed in on Medusa's heart. "I've sacrificed too much to get here, been burned by too many pirates before, I don't trust you for a second-" Stein leaned his forehead against the side of her head and began to whisper in her ear. Maka couldn't make out what he was saying, but the captain fell silent at his words, though she was clearly still seething.
Maka turned back to Medusa. "Okay," she said quietly. "Okay."
"Perfect." She turned to her crew and snapped her fingers. "Eruka, Free, retrieve the ship and follow along behind us-"
With a whoosh, the comet tail was sucked back into Brew. Medusa whipped her head to look back at Maka.
"Let the captain ride in the ship with them."
"Excuse me?"
"She's been injured badly. You said yourself you're down a hostage, and if you force her to walk who-knows-how-long to get to the treasure, you might be down another. Let her back onto the ship and rest."
Medusa raised an eyebrow, sizing her up.
"Send as many of your men back to the ship with her as you need," said Maka exasperatedly. "But she's injured, she's not a threat. Otherwise I don't go anywhere."
"Who're you to make demands, you little bi-!" Giriko shouted from behind her, but Medusa held up her snake hand and everyone fell silent.
"Very well." She turned again. "Mizune, you and your sisters will also accompany them back to the ship and keep an eye on her."
"I'd like to go too," said Stein. "I am a doctor of science, not medicine, but I certainly pose no threat to any-"
"Fine!" screamed Medusa, her voice become more inhuman. "Go! Before I poison every one of you!"
Five identical aliens walked forward to escort Stein and Marie back to the ship. As soon as Maka saw them disappear into the undergrowth, she opened the map again. Not wanting to incite Medusa's ire further, she allowed it to recreate the trail leading away from their current location.
"Okay, follow me."
The going was tough.
The planet had clearly not been inhabited by any sentient life form for hundreds of years, if not ever, and it was overgrown with tangles of weeds and vines. Large bulbous plants gave off noxious fumes as they passed, and in the shadows scurried creatures that remained just out of sight. The jungle was thick and the ground loamy, and the rich scent of decay was thick upon the air.
Maka followed the trailing dust from the ball of light, but it wasn't easy to keep herself from tripping over the tangled roots and look up at the same time. The pirates all made their way behind her, cursing and grumbling and shoving each other. Medusa followed silently, striding like a queen through her domain.
It was clear that some of the aliens were not adapted for the climate of Treasure Planet. Some of them seemed to need to stop for a rest every few feet, panting and clutching at the various parts of their anatomy that housed their hearts. Some were covered in fur, not meant for the thick jungle heat, and some were covered in a thin skin, unable to withstand the grasping vines and piercing thorns. Medusa showed them no mercy, and pressed on, shoving Maka between the shoulder blades every once in a while if she stumbled or went too slowly. Maka's human body was doing all right in the forest, all things considered, but Medusa was a woman on a mission, and it was difficult to keep up to her single-minded standards.
Crona had flown over to nestle themselves into the back of Maka's collar, curled around her like a scared pup. Their cool skin was a small comfort in the oppressive heat of the jungle, and Maka reached up every now and again to give them a small pat on the head.
Every so often, there would be a break in the trees long enough to see the ship hovering overhead. It couldn't steer too close, lest it catch its hull against the canopy, but it was clear that Eruka, the crew member Medusa had sent to get it, was skilled enough at maneuvering to keep close enough to follow without crashing. Maka looked up at the wooden underbelly every time it came into view and sent up a small prayer to the two people in the ship she cared about; she hoped that Stein had been allowed to tend to Marie's wound.
Hours into their march, one of the pirates collapsed. It was a small, sickly looking alien, and Maka could see its frantically beating heart through its skin, pounding against its distorted ribcage. The alien's eyes rolled up into their head, and the heart gave a few more desperate beats before becoming totally still. A sickly yellow foam began to gurgle forth from the alien's open mouth, and a rank smell hit the air. "Keep moving," barked Medusa, and the circle of pirates surrounding the body broke apart, and they were on the trail once more.
Finally, Maka noticed the light particles left behind by the map's guide were growing more frequent. She turned around to meet Medusa's gaze, and by the sharp determination she saw there, Maka knew she had seen it too.
"Almost," Medusa breathed, more to herself than anyone else, but Maka felt her heart speed up in her chest. They must be getting close.
After a few more minutes, the pirates seemed to notice it took, and they began to whisper among themselves, their rough voices growing louder with excitement. With a renewed vigor, they began to barrel through the trees with little thought to the brambles. The trail grew thicker and thicker.
Maka pushed her way between two tall stalks and stumbled forward into a blinding light. For a moment, she was confused, but her eyes adjusted and her surroundings came into view. They had reached an outcropping of rock devoid of jungle, and floating right above the edge was the ball of light that the map had released. It pulsed as if with its own heartbeat, and as Maka straightened, it shot towards her, seeping back into Brew and growing dark.
"What?" demanded Medusa. "What happened? What does that mean?"
Maka did the combination to open the map again, but nothing happened. "I-I don't know," she said.
Something hit her square in the back and she fell forward. Her cheek cracked against the stone and for a moment her head swam dangerously and her vision erupted with spots of life. Slowly she became aware of Medusa shouting at Giriko for kicking her and Giriko shouting back that this had all been a waste of time. The voices of the other pirates joined in the argument as Maka lifted herself up. She stared down at the stone that her cheek had struck and realized that it was smooth and oddly warm to the touch. Pulling a few roots away, she could see that it was carved with intricate symbols. Following them brought her to a small depression in the stone in a perfect square.
The shouting behind her was drowned about by the sound of the ship emerging overhead, but she ignored it. She gazed into the small dip and noticed the markings. She held up Brew, and she knew what she had to do.
Maka slammed the cube into the depression. The ground gave a low groan, like a beast woken from a long slumber, and the pirates fell into silence. Beams of light spread from the cube and flowed along the symbols carved into the stone. With another loud rumble from beneath their feet, a small opening appeared at the edge of the rockface and a holographic image like the one created by the map appeared.
"We found it," Maka said, voice cracking.
"How?" demanded Medusa, striding forward. "What does this mean?" She stopped in front of the holographic projection. It was a map of the stars, even more detailed and intricate than Brew's, but Medusa did not seem intrigued. Instead, she stood looming over it, hands outstretched like claws. "Where is the treasure?"
"It's where it's always been," said Maka, leaning around her to gently tap the light projection of Treasure Planet. With a roar, the air molecules in front of them split apart, and in the space between them was the gaping maw of a door to the center of the planet.