A/N:

I really wanted to get this chapter up before Christmas, but we had family flying in for the holidays so things have been a bit crazy around here. I'm hoping I can get chapter 7 posted in about a week, maybe a little a bit longer.

I have the funniest feeling that there's a small bit o' fluff in this chapter…

Disclaimer: I don't own Treasure Planet, blah, blah… these get so boring… how about: I don't own the computer I'm typing on, I don't own the house I'm living in, I don't own my school books… Wow. Never felt so dependent on parents before…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tossing and turning, though she was asleep, her body could not find a comfortable position as her beautiful dream would soon turn to a nightmare. She never wanted this, to be plagued by these memories, good or bad. But as her dream shifted one to another, she had no control over it…

It seemed the shadows swallowed her up, and in complete darkness, she felt she was falling. Stumbling and tripping, she tried to stand, but not even remembering landing on any kind of surface. Dust and dirt flew onto her clothes as she tripped again.

Dusting herself off, one of the strangest noises reached her ears. It was the rustle of leaves, and the wind, too. Both of which now flew past in the darkness; when the leaves seemed to unstick themselves from some invisible wall, they left behind splashes of color. Sora continued watching as the 'splashes' formed the scenery –the distant trees, buildings, and even the people. This, again, was no dream, but a memory, and Sora recalled where she was.

She was on the planet, Mardella.

The place she stood resembled a train station, long lines of people waiting for tickets, mostly human, though (Mardella, being the planet it was). Many benches were lined up against an old brick building with a barred window and a ticket saleswoman. The rain was just starting to drizzle but the looming and dark clouds overhead foretold a massive thunderstorm. A little girl sat upon on of the benches, face wet with tears or rain –it was impossible to tell. She was tiny, at least it seemed that way, as she was wearing a dark black cloak with a hood. Hands wearing black, fingerless gloves reached up to wipe her eyes. Above her, on the wall of the building was a flashing sign with green letters reading 'next destinations -- Proteus 1, Tronacor, Wilc-' it cut off here as the message moved.

'That girl is becoming a nightmare, I just don't know how you can handle her…'

It seemed she could hear the young girl's thoughts, her thoughts, in fact, her younger self's memories…

'I'm not sure of what to do, it's like she won't listen to a word I say anymore!'

Then Sora remembered, those were the last things she heard from her mother and her friend downstairs before she left. Before she ran away, never even looking back. With her feline-like ears it would have been near impossible not to hear them talking about her, about her attitude, appearance everything… and how it had changed drastically in the last few months.

Sora stood in the midst of the crowds, remaining unseen. Looking back on this it seemed pretty stupid. Why did she think running away would be the answer? All it did was lead her to Proteus 1 and for what? Nothing. Her father moved long ago and then she ran into those blasted pirates. She was starting to doubt her choices, when the rain started to come down in torrents. To her younger self the rain was cold and cruel, but now, it seemed kind of nice despite the bleak mood in the air. Being in space all the time meant that there wasn't really any weather- besides the occasional meteor shower, of course.

Tilting her head back to look at the rain, a black abyss in the sky came to view. The rain fell down from these dark clouds, yet it seemed the drops just appeared seconds before falling on her face. Closing her eyes, she lost herself in her thoughts which would soon be forgotten when the dream would seem to slip through her fingers when she woke up.

Her former life gnawed at the back of her mind. In a way, she missed it –the guarantee of a place to sleep, a meal, and not even a threat of danger that a life of piracy would bring. Although, she loved her life now, the freedom of flight, seeing the open etherium before her, always feeling that sense of adventure present. Every which way her thoughts seemed to contradict themselves and she wished desperately to wake up.

The hammock swaying beneath her, she jerked awake suddenly. Taking a deep breath and sitting up straight, she finally relaxed. Already she could feel the dream slowly fading from memory, unable to be reached until sleep took her once more. The sun shined insistently and she considered trying to fall asleep again, after all, she did have watch tonight. Deciding against it, she pulled herself up and grabbed her coat, walking towards the entrance of the crew's quarters.

----------------------------------------

About midday it was exceptionally hot out as the Legacy drifted closer to a group of planets centered around a small white star; which was the reason these planets were mostly deserts. Small white dwarfs were hotter than some stars, but fairly faint.

Jim looked over his shoulder, expecting Silver to be standing there on the deck with a mile long list of chores for him to complete. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, taking a long deep breath. The kitchen, full of steam, was the last place he wanted to be working now… if only he could escape Silver for a while longer. The boy was absolutely sure he would collapse if he had to work any longer.

Peering over the side of the ship, he took in the full view. The clouds shifted slowly and the wind pushed his hair back caused by the motion of the ship. From the look that crossed his face anyone could tell he was deep in thought. Probably about Treasure Planet or perhaps Montresser…

Even thinking about his home planet made him feel a bit homesick. But being here now, feeling the wind, seeing the universe, just the feel of excitement every time he thought about their destination overclouded the matter.

He closed his eyes for a moment, only before opening them again, looking around for the odd noise that passed his ears. It sounded like… scraping? No, maybe it was some kind of rattling noise? Jim saw nothing but again the sound continued. Then he placed it! It sounded like metal; That is to say, metal banging loudly against metal. Like…a swordfight. That was it now, the same sound he had heard as a kid from his old storybooks, the ones about pirates and Treasure Planet and things.

He walked around the edge of the deck (Morph now following him with interest) his eyes trying desperately to find the source of the noise. He came around towards the crew's quarters. This was where it was coming from. Crouching low, he peered down, and what he saw surprised him.

Both holding cutlasses, both trying to catch their breath, were Grant and Sora. Locked in combat it seemed, the swords in their hands seemed restless, eager to tear at their opponent. She moved with quickness, and somehow grace, while he moved not nearly as quick. It was apparent that in a fight, Grant valued his strength more than anything else, but both were good opponents.

Jim, of course, didn't know this, but Grant had been involved in Piracy longer than Sora had, and therefore should have been the harder opponent. But Sora was a quick learner, and she was agile also, and sometimes she would have a winning streak, but otherwise they usually were evenly matched.

The teen silently and secretly watching the fight assumed that they were practicing, and Sora's temper hadn't gotten the better of her, yet. It was amazing how each of them seemed to foretell the other's next move, the fight was moving with a steady rhythm to it even though they had to avoid the poles of the hammocks.

"When you said you wanted to practice," He grunted as their swords collided. "I thought you were the one needing it."

Sora smirked as she tried to keep her concentration on their duel. "You're loosing your touch."

Just then her sword flew up, being knocked from her hands. Grant caught it swiftly with his tail before flashing one of the most sinister smiles. "Dare to accept a rematch?" Sora asked and they started once more.

----------------------------------------

She swung again, just missing the side of his arm. Sure, Grant was a bit too quick for her taste, but not quick enough. In less than seconds, his sword landed a few feet away with a rattling sound that made Sora's ears ring.

His tail camouflaged against the floorboards, and being invisible to her eyes, she saw it not when it creeped around her ankle. The pressure on her leg caused her to look down and when she looked back up at Grant, he held a gun in hand. It made her tense, though she knew it was just practice, and he wouldn't shoot her.

"Cheater." Sora crossed her arms over her chest.

With a quick tug of his tail, she fell. And judging by the horrifying look in her eyes, she didn't enjoy being tripped by him; especially in the direction she fell.

"Aren't we all?" His face held a large smirk, hers hovering only inches above his. Sora had had enough of him for one day, and she kicked him- hard. Grant doubled over on his side in pain, as she got up.

"Pervert." Sora muttered and sat down on a bench that was pushed up against the wall. After recovering, Grant sat down beside her, which wasn't the brightest of ideas.

"Oh, come on, you know yeh like me, eh, Sora?"

"You do realize there's an age difference by about six years, right?" She held up six fingers, probably knowing his tiny brain needed the extra visual aid. Grant rolled his eyes, and the room was drowned in silence.

Only moments later Sora pushed his green face away with the palm of her hand. "Look down my shirt one more time, and you'll find yourself one morning short a few limbs." Sora got up, wondering why she thought he would act civilized long enough so she could get some practice in. Grant stood also, about to say something, when she held up her hand to silence him. Whilst in the middle of the duel, she had pulled her hair behind her ears, to hear Grant if he cheated and blended in with the background. Now, her ears twitched as they strained to hear something inaudible to the young man standing next to her. Her hand fell to her side as her cat-like ears flattened against her head. A look of pure anger, which was seen often, came across her features.

Grant, too, listened and when she turned to him he was gone. Only the almost silent sound of his boots upon the wooden floor gave any indication that he was still in the room- at least, for the moment. One remarkable feat even he couldn't pull off was hiding his shadow. She suspected he hid himself along the shadows near the wall until he came to the entrance of the crew's quarters. Whereupon he moved quickly, throwing their audience off guard.

Morph, of course, flew away in seconds, startled by the sudden movement. Jim let out a yelp as he was pinned against the mast- again. He struggled to free himself but his captor held him fast. Though, not seeing anyone pinning him there, he believed not in ghosts or phantoms or any of the sort. Jim knew the 'invisible' reptile like alien nearly choking him was Grant, but knowing this didn't make the situation any better.

Sora rolled her eyes, let out an annoyed sigh, and made her way up the stairs. The light was blinding her, so she held her hand above her eyes. "Grant, why bother?"

Grant seemed to materialize out of thin air before her eyes; Oh! How she hated when he did that, it creeped her out so much! But she'd never let anyone know this; fear hadn't a place among pirates. "Why? Want to protect the lad? Methinks you've grown fond o' the little brat." He said, giving Jim another shove.

"Please, don't make me laugh," She said this rolling her eyes once more. "Besides, unless you want to 'spend the remainder of the voyage in the brig' then you'd better just leave the boy alone." She mimicked Mr. Arrow's voice.

Jim would have laughed at this, her impression being terrible but highly amusing, had his life not been in the hands of this man. Had he looked threatening before, it was increased with Jim's new knowledge of the two before him.

He pulled the boy away from the mast, and threw him down onto the deck roughly. He sent Sora a look before he walked away, knowing this boy had seen more than Silver would have liked. She too, knew that sooner or later Jim would piece it all together, but she hoped desperately at the time that it would be later… much later… like when the mutiny was underway, perhaps?

Jim looked up at Sora, no real words being able to make their way from his mouth. "I- Th-" He looked down and rubbed his neck where Grant had nearly choked him. "Th-" Jim looked up, but making not even a sound she had left, and he didn't get to finish his reply. The sun was warm on the back of his neck as he gazed up in wonder as she climbed swiftly and silently up the rigging.

----------------------------------------

A couple hours later, Sora climbed the swaying rigging towards the crow's nest. Her shift didn't start until after dinner, but she wasn't hungry, and needed some time alone to think anyway. She reached the top and Mr. Onus, acknowledging her presence, started to leave.

Sora placed her elbows on the edge and rested her chin on her palms. Gazing out to the sky was relaxing, watching the stars past by and everything. A star that was larger than the rest immediately caught her attention. It was Pelusa, a large star that was older than most in this part of the galaxy. Sure, it was expected to go Supernova soon, but it hadn't shown any other signs, other than that of being old and ready to go, so what was there to worry about?

Making her jump, it expanded about three times its size before her eyes, and that couldn't have been good. "Onus!"

He quickly scurried back up, and with a confused look, questioned her. "You should take a look at this." She replied.

"If it's only a small nova, then we've nothing to worry ab-" The star seemed to expand once again and several waves erupted from it. She heard him curse under his breath and then shout down to the captain who was about to retire to her stateroom.

Sora was suddenly thrown back, hitting her head against the hard wood as the first wave made contact with the hull of the ship. Groaning, she got up, noticing the sky was turning a deep orange color.

Her head still throbbing, she gazed downward to the deck where she saw Silver and Jim viewing the disaster unfolding before them. The sky was now full of deep and sinister looking reds and oranges; Ones that, unlike the lanterns in the galley, cast a horrible shadow that made one think the very ship was ablaze in flames.

Doppler commented on something to the captain, and the sound was carried up towards the crow's nest where Sora caught it, despite the noise around her. Her assumptions were correct, it was in fact Pelusa that had reached its catastrophic death.

"Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" Amelia shouted to the helmsman.

"All hands fasten your life lines!" You could always count on Mr. Arrow's booming voice over the chaos of the 'storm'. Every man brought a sturdy rope about himself with a simple, quick, but firm knot. Judging from the fact that Onus wasn't going to budge an inch, she knew he was going to stay here and keep his watch –that is if they would live through this. She watched him hang on tightly, but knew that she had to help somehow. We've come so far for that treasure…

Near the stern, Sora could hear the windows of the captain's room shatter. And as she looked above her, she saw the sails rip as what seemed like meteors of fire rained down upon them.In a matter seconds she was on the deck, tying her lifeline down. "Secure all sails!" Again, Mr. Arrow's voice sounded over the storm's noise and the crew's shouts. "Bring them down, men!"

Sora balanced on the yardarms with ease as she helped tie down the sails to prevent any further damage. It seemed her heart stopped… or perhaps sped up, she couldn't tell either way, as she saw Silver lose his footing on the bowsprit; ever since she met him, Silver had been like a father to her. The thought of losing him was unbearable, but his fate was not sealed yet.

Jim grabbed onto his lifeline at the last possible moment and pulled him back onto the bowsprit. She let out a sigh of relief, though this puzzled her. Jim was just a boy, and pulling up Silver must have been difficult, he could have fallen too. Not to mention if he hadn't tied his lifeline correctly he could have gotten himself lost in the weightless abyss that is outer space. Why would he risk it for a man he didn't trust? Then again, she had seen some sort of a bond between them lately; she'd been there when Jim and Silver talked on his first night here. It seemed Silver may have been able to relate to this boy, perhaps he saw a bit of his younger self in him.

The orange sky seemed to be shadowed a bit as a large piece of debris flew towards the starboard side, and had to have been more than ten times the size of the ship. The heat of it was almost unbearable as it almost hit the ship. Something behind it seemed to yank it back. As it shrank back to entire crew got a better view of what was behind it.

A black hole.

"Captain," Mr. Onus shouted, hanging on tightly as the ship was starting to be sucked in. "The star!"

"It's evolving into a black hole!" Sora rolled her eyes despite the chaos surrounding her; you could count on Doppler to state the obvious, and then give a ten-minute lecture on it, being a little too smart for his own good.

Looking towards the bridge, she saw Mr. Turnbuckle lose control of the wheel. "We're bein' pulled in!" He was knocked away but the Captain was a quick woman. She grabbed the wheel and turned hard to port, but it seemed like no use- the black hole was pulling the ship down into it.

Another wave came across the ship, knocking down Silver and Jim on the deck, and Sora nearly lost her footing while climbing down the shrouds. "Blast these waves!" She heard Captain Amelia say while struggling to keep the wheel steady. "They're so deucedly erratic."

"No, captain! They're not erratic at all!" Doppler stood by the gages; the screens were all a blaring blue color with orange waves across them. "There'll be one more in precisely 47.2 seconds, follow by the biggest wave of them all!" The whole time he made frantic gestures with his arms.

"Of course!" Amelia's face lit up. "We'll ride that last wave out of here!" Sora jumped the last bit down to the deck, her boots landing loudly. That was it! Now she was sure these two were completely insane! How in the world could this possibly work? She looked around for Silver and found him, along with the cabin boy, looking towards the black hole, all hope lost from their eyes.

She was shaken from her thoughts as she heard Arrow shout out another order from the captain. "You heard her, men! Unfurl those sails!" After some quick murmurs from the crew, they all made their way back up the shrouds to let loose the sails. Sora climbed quickly, the rough rope scraping against her skin, but she didn't pay much attention to it. All that was on her mind -all that was on anyone's mind was to get out of this alive. She fed the rope slowly, knowing if they just let it go it could damage the sails. The next wave came without warning, and Sora quickly grabbed onto one of the ropes. Behind her, Mr. Arrow had vanished… or fallen. His rope was tied nicely and it held fast as he fell. He started to climb up as his eyes widened in horror, as did Sora's; on the yardarm behind her stood Scroop, a menacing look in his eyes.

Scroop snipped Arrow's life line in one clean cut, feeling not a bit of guilt whatsoever about it. Sora wanted to make herself believe the reason why her throat was dry was that she was angry. Scroop had not followed Silver's orders, after all; but deep inside she knew it was more than that. Deep inside her inner mind she knew it, but refused to believe it, that she was afraid of death. Not afraid to die, but to see people without a fighting chance, afraid to watch others die with knowing that they couldn't even fight back or try and escape it.

"Captain!" Shouted Doppler. "The last wave- here it comes!" Sora didn't react, and wasn't even shaken from her thoughts; she still stood there on the yardarm, shocked.

"Hold on to your life lines gents! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" The captain seemed unafraid of this all as the ship was sucked even deeper into the black hole.

The rigging swayed more than usual with the winds and Sora lost her balance, stepping back onto the deck. Two rather small arms caught hers, just near the elbows. They helped her regain her balance and when she looked up she was surprised to see Jim's reassuring face looking at hers. His touch was warm but she pulled away. Something about it ran shivers up her spine. As the Legacy was thrown into almost complete darkness, she stumbled towards the fife rail, with the entire crew's lifelines trailing off of it. Silver put a protective arm around the two teens as they struggled to hang on. It was completely dark, and Sora could hear Silver and Jim's breathing from either side of her. A warm hand clasped her own and she nearly died of fright. "For luck." Jim's whisper was unheard by Silver.

And still startled she whispered back to him, holding his hand even tighter. "For luck." She repeated, though she felt it was a bit more than that.

The entire ship groaned and creaked as it seemed a large explosion came from behind the ship. It sounded similar to the burning of a bonfire, and perhaps the sound you hear when the wind is blowing directly in your ears. Warm air pushed the sails of the Legacy as far as they could possibly go, and the ship was thrust forward.

Her eyes had been kept shut tightly, but now Sora opened them slowly. Many of the crew cheered in pure joy that they had made it. Sora could still hear her heartbeat in her ears but she too smiled, realizing that the captain's plan had worked. It was then she realized she was still holding Jim's hand. Pulling her hand away quickly and refusing to look up at him, she hid her blush as she walked over and swiftly caught Morph as he turned to a pile of mush in her hands.

"All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?" Captain Amelia stood completely unfazed by everything, holding her hands behind her back. "Mr. Arrow?" She asked once again, but the First Mate was not present.

Scroop made his way slowly from the midst of the crew, wearing a saddened expression. "I'm afraid, Mr. Arrow has been lost… his life line was not secure." Sora recalled it was Jim's duty to make sure every lifeline was secure and soon felt anger boil inside her as she found out what Scroop was trying to do.

Jim now felt the gaze of everyone on board. "No! No, I checked them all!" He ran to the mast where Mr. Arrow's lifeline was –or should have been. "But I- I checked them all, I swear." He said, turning towards the captain, who now wore one of the most hurt looks he had ever seen.

"Mr. Arrow was-" Sora could see behind the captain's brave attitude, she was now trying best not to show any tears. "A fine spacer… finer than any of us… could ever hope to be. But he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts, we carry on."

Sora looked up at Jim, his eyes held a look that told her he believed it really was his fault. She wanted to say something to him, anything to comfort him now. "Jim, I-" She whispered, but he ran before she could finish. Inside, she knew he deserved to know it wasn't his fault, to know that he shouldn't blame himself for this, and judging from the look in Silver's eyes, he must have known this as well. But both of them knew that circumstances forced them not to speak of the real reason Mr. Arrow would not be seen keeping order on the ship again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N:

Sorry 'bout two A/N's, I had to put the other thing at the beginning and this at the end, so, whatever, it makes my brain hurt. Here you go:

Misleading. Jim still hasn't learned how to pick his fights and this time he might have some scars to prove it. As for Sora, she might have a heart, a bit of a caring side after all. Well, that would have to be a tiny 'bit' considering everything, but a 'bit' nonetheless. Also, we learn more of Sora's past, and past home planet, Mardella.