A/N:
Another long chapter…
Disclaimer: How many times does it take to get the point across? I don't own Treasure Planet. If I did then this would have been an original and not a fan fiction :)
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The landscape was one of a kind for sure. The trees, at least they resembled trees, looked more like some sort of giant mushrooms. Scattered all around the ground were other fungus like plants too foreign and alien to even begin to describe. One could surely get lost in the many shades of green of the forest.
With the clouds turning a soft peach color, it was nearing the end of the planet's day. Then again, with time being different on many planets, it was hard to tell. A particularly large cloud drifted overhead a large valley, and in the center of this valley lay a large egg-shaped building. It had protrusions coming off of it, probably some kind of air vents or windows or even rooms. In the middle of this odd building was a circled opening. The entire place had moss or some type of growth making its way up the sides and hanging off of the opening.
Jim gazed out of this opening, across the field, and up into the sky where the Legacy stayed motionless. Behind his back, he could hear the mindless ranting of B.E.N. His first impression of the crazy copper-colored robot stranded here was that he was… well, crazy. But now, at least when he remembered things, he didn't seem so bad. He had helped them out by letting them hide in his home… but Jim knew that deep inside that robot's mind was more help than he could imagine. This unlucky fellow had been stranded here for 100 years, he had even met Captain Flint, and yet he remembered only bits and pieces. When Jim had mentioned the treasure, B.E.N. had said something about it being buried in the Centroid of the Mechanism. But, if only the robot had remembered it all…
He heard Doppler make some comment about the marking at the top of the dome. "Look at these markings; they're identical to the ones on the map. I suspect they are hieroglyphic remnants of an ancient culture."
Amelia cut him off before he could continue. "Mr. Hawkins, stop anyone who tries to approach." She then winced as the wound in her side caused her pain when she tried to sit up.
"Yes, yes, now you listen to me." Said Doppler. "Stop giving orders for a few milliseconds, and lie still."
"Very forceful, Doctor." She said with a smile. "Go on say something else."
It was at this moment that Jim felt like gagging. He nearly jumped when, behind him, B.E.N. jumped up and down on the edge of the entrance. "Hey, look, there's some more of your buddies! Hey fellas we're over here!"
He could hardly believe it, that stupid robot was going to be the death of all of them! Bullets, aimed at B.E.N., were shot without much aim, as Jim pulled him out of the way. He shot a few himself, yet his aim wasn't much better.
"Stop wastin' your fire!" He could hear Silver shout. Jim reloaded the gun and could hear it powering up as Silver shouted once more. He took a deep breath, fully realizing he had seen Sora down there. Oddly enough, her good aim had somehow failed. "Hello up there! Jimbo?"
He took a chance and glanced outside where Silver, with a bit of trouble, climbed up a small hill and came into plain view. "If it's alright with the captain, I'd like a short word with yeh. No tricks, just a little palaver."
The young man turned back towards the captain and Doctor Doppler. "Come to bargain for the map." She said, trying to sit up. "Doubtless, pestilential…"
"Captain…" Doppler said in a warning tone as she lay back down.
"Wait, that means…" Jim said, smiling. "…that he thinks we still have it."
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Just before He had gone to talk to the boy, Silver had whispered quite clearly his orders to go back to the longboat. Despite that though, behind a large vine, and when I say large I mean thicker than the masts of the Legacy, stood Sora. She tried to balance on the many roots underneath her feet, and kept a close eye on the former cabin boy and cook. The shadows cloaked her figure and made it impossible for anyone to see her. She was scared, and she knew it. She was afraid Silver might pull something… and Jim would suffer for it. And because of this thought, her eyes never left the two of them…
As Jim stepped close, Morph flew past him and nuzzled up against Silver's cheek. "Ah, Morphy! I wondered where you went off to." Morph darted between his fingers as Silver sat down upon a large moss covered rock. He inspected his mechanical leg for a moment. "This poor old leg's been downright snarky since that game attack we had in the galley, eh?" He said with a smile, though in return he received only a glare from the boy.
Silver sighed. "Whatever you heard back there… at least the part concerning you, I didn't mean a word of it." Jim remained expressionless. "Why, if that bloodthirsty lot had thought I'd gone soft, they'd have gutted us both."
"Listen," He said, putting an arm around Jim's shoulders. "If we play our cards right, we can both walk away from this… rich as kings." A smile grew upon his lips as Jim put a hand on his chin in thought.
"Yea?" Jim, too, smiled.
"You get me that map and, uh… an even portion of the treasure is yours." Silver finished, holding out his hand.
Jim sighed, his smile fading. "Boy, you are really… something." He said, walking around him. "All that talk of greatness, of light comin' off of my sails… what a joke."
"Wh- Now see here, Jimbo-"
"Well, at least you taught me one thing. Stick to it, right?" He cut Silver off. "Well that's just what I'm gonna do. I going to make sure you never see one droubloon of my treasure."
"That treasure is owed me, by thunder!" Silver shouted.
"Well try and find it without my map, by thunder!" Jim retorted, his voice also growing.
"So, you still don't know how to pick your fights, do ya boy? Now, mark me, either I get that map by dawn tomorrow or so help me… I use the ship's cannons to blast ya all to kingdom come!"
He turned to leave, only to glance back at Morph. "Morph, hop to it." When the small pink blob quivered and shook above Jim's shoulder, Silver shouted. "Now!" Giving a small terrified shriek, he hid behind the scowling young man.
Though parts of the conversation were too quiet to hear, Sora could at least see them. But, what really surprised her was, as Silver was walking away, he had such a look on his face that suggested that he didn't plan or even want things to go that way.
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The nighttime's darkness crept in through the entrance of B.E.N.'s home. B.E.N. stood gazing outside, whilst the captain behind him was in a positively sorry state. "Gentlemen," She said, her eyes looked clouded as if she couldn't focus. "We must stick together and… and-" She fell silent and closed her eyes, as if asleep.
"What?" Doppler asked franticly. "We must stick together and what?"
"Doctor," Amelia's voice sounded weary. "You have the most… wonderful eyes."
"She's lost her mind!" He shouted.
"Well, we- you gotta help her." Jim said.
"Dangit, Jim, I'm an astronomer not a doctor. Well, I am a doctor but not that kind of doctor. I have a doctorate, it's not the same thing, you can't help people with a doctorate! You just sit there and you're useless!" He put his head in his hands after his rambling.
"It's ok, Doc." Jim put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be alright."
"Yea, Doc." B.E.N. said. "Jimmy knows exactly how to get out of this. It's just- Jimmy has this knowledge of things…"
He stepped away from Doppler slowly and turned to Jim, who was staring up at the Legacy. "Jim," He whispered. "Any thoughts at all?"
"With out the map we're dead." His gaze lowered to the small orange glow of the pirates' campfire, almost hidden in the trees. "If we try to leave we're dead." He stepped away from the opening, thinking hard. "If we stay here…"
"We're dead!" Morph squeaked, wearing a cute little smile. "We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!"
"Well," B.E.N. said quietly. "I think um, Jimmy could use a little 'quiet time'." He laughed nervously. "So I'll just… slip out the back door."
Jim's head jerked up. "Back door?" He quickly followed the robot to the back of the room to where a large sphere lay in the ground. Halfway exposed, it could roll around to where a circular opening was revealed.
"Oh- Yah…" B.E.N. was saying. "I get this delightful breeze through here." He continued speaking, yet Jim couldn't concentrate. A dim light had shown through the hole, but he now realized the light was coming from machinery inside the planet. Flickering lights could be seen deep down and catwalks were on different levels. Wires ran along the oddly marked walls. Some walls looked like they had round doors on them, which might possibly lead to somewhere else on the planet.
"Whoa, what is all this stuff?" He asked, spellbound.
"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Not a clue!"
"Hey, Doc," Jim called. "Doc, I think I found a way out of here!" He started to climb atop of it.
"No, no, Jim. Wait!" Doppler said. With one foot on each side of the opening, he stood above it. There was still the faint light coming from down below, accompanied by a wind. "Hang on, the captain ordered us to stay toge-"
"I'll be back." He assured him, and, without warning, jumped down.
B.E.N. followed him, shouting. "Cannonball!"
Doppler's face was filled with an irritated expression. "Woof." He said in monotone.
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Gathered around the eerie light of the campfire, the pirates slept soundly. Each and every one was unaware that at that very moment, a young man and a robot were walking in the underground walkways beneath them. A round metal hatch on the ground opened only a few feet from the camp. A moment later, a copper colored robot sprang up, on the verge of shouting. "So, what's the plan?"
Some of the pirates stirred in their sleep, but none awoke. Jim put his hands on B.E.N.'s jaw, not allowing him to make a sound. "Shh! Ok, here it is," He started in a whisper. "We sneak back to the Legacy, disable the laser cannons and bring back the map."
B.E.N. nodded. "That's a good plan. I like that plan, the only thing is I'm wondering, how do we get there?"
"I thought we could-" He fell silent as one of the pirates sat up. They rubbed their eyes and stood up, and that was when Jim got a better look at them. It was Sora. They quickly closed the hatch until only a sliver of light came through.
"This might be harder than I thought." Jim muttered.
He closed the hatch completely, the faint glow from the machinery in the tunnels being their only light. "Hmmm…" B.E.N. said, rubbing his chin. "Yah know, it's like there's something I'm forgetting…"
Jim rolled his eyes while Morph snickered. Suddenly B.E.N. jumped up in the air. "Ha! I remembered it!"
"What now?" Jim asked, growing irritated.
"Ugh… darn, I lost it." The young man sighed. "Oh wait! I just remembered! It was a longboat, I saw one not to long ago!"
"That's impossible, no one's been here for a hundred years. It would be in ruins by now."
"Come on, Jimmy!" The robot said, getting overly excited. "Let me show ya!"
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Down in the walkways surrounded by the mysterious machinery, Jim and B.E.N. stood near another hatch. "Are you sure this will work, Jimmy? 'Cause I- I don't know if she'll-"
"B.E.N., be quiet." Jim put his hands on the hatch. "Is this the right one?"
"No clue." B.E.N. said with his robotic smile.
Jim shook his head, sighing. Pushing the metal covering, he climbed out quickly. Around the two of them was only forest, but the nighttime sky could be seen through the trees up ahead. "Come on." Jim was about to walk through some bushes when he stopped abruptly. There was a clearing just in front of them, yet neither dared to move.
The edge of the clearing ended in a precipice-like cliff, though it was only about ten feet down to the ground. All other sides of the clearing were walled in by thick trees and other foliage. But, what stopped them was sitting on a rock in the middle of the clearing.
Sora starred out into the valley past the clearing, in it was the robot's home. Her eyes looked clouded, and she seemed distant. Her elbows rested on her knees, and Jim strained to hear what she now said. "This wasn't supposed to happen." She somehow looked close to tears, which was what confused him. "I'm sorry, Jim."
B.E.N. turned to look at him, as he was confused beyond belief. Though his puzzled face only met another. The bushes on another side of the clearing rustled, yet Sora didn't turn around. Grant emerged, looking tired. He sat down beside her, and after a while, he spoke up.
"You're not going to tell me to get lost or anything?" He asked with a chuckle.
"No." She did not look at him. "I'm just wonderin' why you haven't been acting like a pervert in the past few… days, actually."
"People can change, Sora." His face was serious.
"Yes, Grant. People can change," She turned to him. "But not you."
"What?" He stood up, trying to look hurt. "Why can't I change?"
"Because, you're…" She stood also, turning to leave. "Well, 'cause you're you."
He stepped in her way before she could go back to the camp. "What, like that boy is any better?" He gestured across the green valley to where the robot's home was.
This was getting crazy; He had sounded almost… jealous. Grant was a heartless, cold man. She knew he had no feelings for anyone else unless it was just hate… right? She rubbed her temples; this was giving her such a headache. Just the idea that he might be able to care about someone seemed unreal.
"What are you trying to say?" Surprisingly, she looked quite calm.
"Don't you see it?" He asked, astonished that she did not notice it. "It's the way you look at him… everyone can tell."
She grew frightened for a moment before shrugging it aside. He couldn't possibly know, could he? "You're daft, Grant. Stop this."
She tried to push past him but he put his hands on her shoulders, holding her there. "How can you say you don't know this? You must've noticed that he's the only one that you can't hate."
Sora was speechless. How could Grant, of all people, have seen this when she, herself, could not? Could that really have been true? Jim had seemed more like just a friend to her, at least, at first. She wondered if she even had feelings like that for him. Perhaps there was a vast space between the two of them from the start, and it had only grown from this mutiny. Maybe they were enemies now…
She cast her gaze down, growing more weary than angry. "Please –just stop." She turned away from him and walked back to the edge of the clearing, keeping her back to him. It was then that the cabin boy in the bushes saw a sinister smile upon the reptilian's face. Walking over to the young woman, the grin dissolved into a face masked with seriousness.
"Well," he said, walking around her. "I suppose if that's the way you feel then, it's… best."
She glared at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, suppose you stop and think about it a moment." Her feline eyes were on him, watching his every move. "If you were to be with him, to go to his side… would you really plan on being with him forever? To go with him and stay on some God-forsaken mining planet for the rest of your days?"
He stopped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You've said before that you hate being grounded. You hate that feeling of being kept down… and being held back." His hands fell and he continued to walk around her. "Don't you think he'd… hold you back, Sora? You don't want that life, do you?"
"No." The answer came out too quickly –and too easily.
"You have to admit, you want to be different from your father. You want to stay here, you want to keep this life… you don't want to give up an exciting life of piracy like your father, do you? Sora…" Grant stood behind her, wrapping his fingers around the sides of her arms and whispering in her ear. "You don't want that. And you don't want that boy. You want someone… someone more like you."
She turned her face to him, only to find his green skinned face and a menacing smile. She looked away again, his words and her own thoughts eating away at her mind. "You know," He hissed, his tail creeping around her waist and holding her close. "I doubt that boy has any type of feelings for you anyway. And perhaps, was just mesmerized by a…" His fingers brushed her chin, causing her to look at him. "…a pretty face."
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Jim saw as Sora made no attempt to keep him away, she just let him get close to her! He couldn't watch this. In an instant he was walking away from the clearing, from them. B.E.N. struggled to keep up and spoke once they were out of earshot. Hey, the robot could learn, couldn't he?
"Hey, Jimmy!" He said. "Where are you going? I thought you said we need her help with the-"
"I know what I said!" Jim lashed out. "I know, okay? We'll just have to figure something out."
"But-"
"Look, just go back, okay B.E.N.? I'll," He sighed. "I'll talk to her."
"But I thought you-" The robot stopped when Jim gave him a terrifying look. "Alrighty, Jimmy."
Morph flew in front of his face. "You too, Morph."
The shape-shifter gave the boy one last look before heading off with B.E.N. Jim sighed once more, knowing this wasn't going to be easy.
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Sora could feel his breath on her neck, and had only a moment to make a choice. Grabbing her gun from her belt, she raised it at Grant. His tail slipped from her waist and he backed up, almost tripping in the process. He could clearly see that she was angry with him, yet he dared to speak. "Sora, stop." He said. "Don't make the same mistake your father made."
Her grip on the gun faltered for a moment and it lowered a bit. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "What the devil did you say?" She said, unable to hide the astonishment in her voice.
"Don't make the mistake he did, Sora." He took a step closer, but stopped when she raised the gun once more.
"He didn't make a mistake." She stared him down.
He placed his hands behind his back showing he wouldn't try and knock the gun from her hands. "Yes, he did. He gave it all up. You know that he was a great pirate, not as great as Flint or even Silver, but still widely known." He kept his gaze on her, his eyes not leaving her for a moment. "He gave up this life… and for what? That wretch of a woman you call your mother?"
She didn't even flinch. If Grant's intent had been that she should get mad at him for that… well, he failed then. Had she really fallen so far that she no longer cared about that woman? Sora felt close to breaking down, and just agreeing with him so he'd leave. To be away from this planet, to get away from everything was the only thing on her mind. But, then again, she had been running away from everything in her life. Maybe it was time for her to face something for once.
"Decide whose side you're on, luv. At least before it's too late." He pleaded.
She narrowed her eyes at him and in a trembling voice said, "I already have."
When she didn't lower the gun, he left, disappearing into the shadowed jungle and accepting her choice. Her arm was limp at her side and her eyes were cast down. She couldn't just go back to the camp, not that she wanted to or anything. If Grant spoke one word about this then she was dead. If the others were to know…
Even if it came to that, would she still have done that? If she could have gone back could she be sure that it would play out no differently? Somehow it seemed that even if a decision was made, her inner turmoil was far from over. She wasn't sure what to do now.
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Shadowed by the trees, the path Jim took was dark. Not that you could really call it a path. With his hands in his pockets, he kept his head down. His mind was clouded in thought, and he hardly paid any attention to his surroundings.
He could hardly understand anything anymore. Why had Sora let Grant get so close? It made absolutely no sense. She had made it seem like she hated that man -which only made the answer harder to pick out. But when he saw them standing so close –He couldn't even explain the feeling he got. Then again, maybe there was no denying it. Perhaps it was jealousy. Perhaps he wanted to be the one standing close to her –and not get killed for it either. He nearly stumbled when he came out into the clearing. Surprisingly, no one was there. Where had she gone? He glanced around once again, but still the place was empty. Sighing, he turned, only to have a knife pressing into his neck. Angry eyes stared back at him. There was something about those eyes, the depth, and the rebelliousness behind them. "What are you doing he-" Those same eyes were suddenly filled with realization.
The knife was pulled back, but Jim couldn't relax yet. Sora stepped back, clearly shocked to see him. "I- I didn't know it was you." She said, Jim however, said nothing and kept the old angry look he was used to.
"I didn't think… I had the feeling I wouldn't see you here." She noticed that his hand had grabbed his pistol when she had a knife to his neck, and that it still stayed there.
"The feeling's mutual." He muttered. "So, Grant left then?"
She opened her mouth to say something, and then shut it quickly. Taking a deep breath, she answered him. "Hmm… so, exactly how long have you been lurking 'round here?"
"Long enough." He said. She doubted this, though. If he had, then he wouldn't be acting like this, right? Somehow her gaze found its way to the ground, and there it stayed as she slipped the knife back to her belt. She walked past him into the clearing; she knew, as she walked by, that he gripped the gun tighter. Just that small action had brought forth the fact that he thought she'd hurt him, that he was a bit fearful of her. Not to long ago that was what she strived to achieve, that was what she wanted. But now, it hurt so badly. It felt as if she had truly lost her friend.
She picked up her coat, slipping it on quickly. The thin gray jacket was not enough to shelter her from the coldness she felt now. Shivers ran up and down her spin, making her shiver. It wasn't even a cold night, she was, more or less, just afraid. Or just disappointed that things had gone so badly and that there was now dangerous tension between the two of them.
"Why are you here?" Her face held no emotion, yet it carried some kind of seriousness about it.
Suddenly, he couldn't come up with an answer and his real reason seemed insignificant. His mind automatically came out with an answer, though he dared not speak it aloud. He wanted to see her; he wanted to be sure she was alright. Enemies or not, he cared deeply about her. Now thoughts and feelings shot through his mind. In one way, he was compelled to let out the anger he now felt. He did have reason to be angry, right? All that time… he had trusted her, after all! These feelings of betrayal urged him to yell, shout, something… yet he didn't want to. For things to be right between them was the one thing he wanted.
"What does it matter?" He spat out. Ok, so much for that.
She looked away from him for a moment. "I didn't want this to happen, you know. I didn't want… I didn't want you to become my enemy." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
His frustration came out in his words. "What do you mean you didn't want this to happen?" She wouldn't look at him. "You're one of them, Sora. You were a part of all this!"
"Don't you think I know that?" She said. Her voice was cold, fueled by bitterness. "I was a part of it, okay? But, it wasn't as if I could've gotten out of it! I didn't want this to happen because I didn't want you to get hurt." Her hands curled into fists, and her voice shook.
Her hands fell to her sides as she turned to him. "You can't begin to imagine the countless nights, -days I would lay awake trying figure out a way I could prevent my best friend from being killed." She took a step towards him, and he didn't move away. "I couldn't think of anything, not one thing, Jim. But, I knew that even if things were ok for you, we would end up like this."
He could no longer look her in the eyes. "It sounds like you actually want to change." His gaze cast down, he answered her. "Yeah, right."
"What?" She shouted. "What makes me incapable of it anyway? Why can't I change if I want to?" She almost gasped… is this what Grant had felt?
"Because, Sora," His eyes seemed to see into her soul, and she could tell he meant what he said. "I may not know everything, But I know that your father changed, didn't he?" He paused.
"So why can't you?" His voice softened, yet her face remained emotionless as he spoke. "Sora…" She turned away. "Please just look at me."
He walked closer, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why did your father give it up?"
She crossed her arms over her chest once more. "He gave it up for my mother. He loved her. But I don't see…" She turned her head a bit, and looked into his deep blue eyes. She found she couldn't look away. "…I don't s-see how that… how that even relates."
His hand slid from her shoulder. "So give it up for yourself, Sora! This life isn't for you. Can't you tell that this just isn't where you're supposed to be?"
"How would you know anything?"
He hung his head, shaking it. "Jim, I didn't… I-" The sound of her voice faded and gave way to a new sound. Even her ears strained to hear it, but it remained and grew louder. It was the distinct sound of voices, muffled by the covering of thick plants. Her ears twitched as she could hear the sound of the foliage being cut down or pushed aside.
The sound increased, and Sora realized they were coming from behind her. Her braids whipped over her shoulders as she turned. Fear shooting through her mind, it paralyzed her. She knew they were coming, yet, she knew of no way out.
Jim knew this too, and he also knew he wouldn't stand by and let her get hurt. "Come on!" He said, grabbing her pale hand and pulling her away.
"What?"
Her question was left unanswered, as were the many questions running through her head in that moment. Why would he be helping her? It wasn't as if she deserved it, anyway. Both, running through the thick growth, began to grow weary. He would not stop, he would not answer her either, he merely lead her down an impenetrable path of which only he knew the end of. It seemed to take forever, yet in reality was only a few minutes, until they emerged into a large clearing. Their ragged breathing chased the silence away. The clearing opened unto a large valley, barren and desolate save for a few fungus-like plants.
Jim, meanwhile, had disappeared behind some bushes, the shadows swallowing him whole. Her questions remained unanswered and her mind, as well as her heart, was racing. She followed him. "Alright, I want an explanation for once!" She glanced behind her to the clearing, but he had gone. But, to where was the question.
"Hawkins! Where the heck-" Her curses were cut off, as she couldn't speak.
His hand over her mouth, he whispered to her. "Shh! Get down."
She wrapped her hands around his wrist. He had no doubt that she could break it if she wanted to. Instead, she only pulled his hand away. "What are you doing? Why are you helping me?" She almost was shouting.
He put a hand over her mouth to quiet her just as shadowed figures burst from the forest and into the clearing where they had stood only moments before. She immediately refrained from pulling his hand away, and backed up –Only to back up into Jim, who backed up into the tree behind him. They were hidden now, in the shadows of course, though this did not help the feeling that the pirates in front of them might just look into the trees. They could hear each other's breathing, yet it was not heard by the pirates who were already in deep conversation. Sora could feel the warmth of his body as he stood behind her, but this was barely the reason that her heart was beating so fast.
"They're gone by now," Swenson said in his deep voice. "No use in catchin' her now. If she has joined them then they'll all be dead by morning."
"I don't believe it." Mr. Onus said quietly.
"Well, I do!" Another man said. "That little wretch was never fit to be one of us."
Jim had to grab Sora's arms to keep her from going out there and trying to kill him. She struggled for a bit before realizing his grip was surprisingly strong. He held her close, determined to keep her from getting killed. Truth be told, his arms hurt from holding her there. Why'd she have to be so strong for a woman?
"She's soft, just like that father of hers."
Jim's arms ached more than ever after that. "She never had the heart for a life like this." Mr. Collins hissed.
"No," Said one. "The problem was she had a heart. The fact remains Scroop saw it, but we didn't believe him."
Back in the bushes, Sora's temper grew short. "Let me go!" She whispered sharply. He shook his head, yet remained silent. When she realized his grip couldn't be shaken, she stopped. Slowly, his hands slid from her arms. He took her hand and led her away.
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In the sheer darkness they walked, neither of them speaking until it was clear that they were out of earshot. "Are you an idiot? You could've gotten yourself killed!"
"No I wouldn't have!" Sora retorted as she pulled her hand away from his. The silence befell the forest. "Why did you help me?" Her voice was soft now. "Why did you do that? You could've just left, you know."
He remained silent as he walked on, her following at his heels. "Please, Jim." He stopped. She never called him by his first name; it was still a bit weird when he heard it. "Please tell me." She pleaded.
"I- I don't know." He lied and began to walk again.
"Yes you do!" She ran ahead of him and stopped in front of him so he couldn't go any farther. "Why won't you just tell me?"
"I-" He sighed. "I just didn't-"
He was interrupted when Morph flew from the trees and zipped around his head and then did the same around Sora. "What the- What are you doing here, Morph?" The shape-shifter gave a happy squeak before turning into an arrow and pointing up to the tops of the trees from whence he came. Only seconds passed before B.E.N. came crashing down, branch and all.
"Whoa," He shouted. "You'd think a couple hundred year old tree would hold me up. Go figure." Jim shook his head at him.
"Hey there!" B.E.N. said in his excited voice. "I'm B.E.N. Bio Electronic Navigator, at your service. You must be that pirate girl Jimmy keeps talkin' about. I swear, you'd think he'd shut up but no, he just keeps talking and talking and- oof." Jim hit him over the head while Sora tried to ignore the fact she was blushing. "So, are you gonna help us?"
"What?"
"Yea, that's why Jimmy here went to talk to you, right? So you could help us with that longboat thing."
She remained silent for a moment. "So…" She shook her head, as if angry. Her voice grew louder with each word. "That's why you came to talk to me? Because you wanted me to help you fix some engine?" She turned away from them both and stormed off into the forest.
"B.E.N.!"
"What?" The robot asked. "What'd I do?"
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"Sora!" His shouts behind her were ignored. Sora waked until she reached what seemed like the edge of the forest whereupon she stopped. She was at the top of some rocky hill, below was just more forest. There was nothing out there, and she knew that, she didn't really care.
"Sora, wait!" She tried to block out his shouts. I was so stupid. They just wanted me to help them, he didn't care if I was on his side or not. He doesn't care.
She climbed down as carefully as she could, yet she more or less just slid down. Stumbling, she dusted herself off… unfortunately for her this gave Jim a chance to catch up. "Sora, please just wait for a moment!"
"No!" She said, turning to him. "I don't care anymore, Hawkins. Do whatever you want, I won't interfere. I won't go tell Silver and the others or anything. Do what you want, just leave me alone!"
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? I thought you came to talk to me because… It- It doesn't matter." She cast her gaze down to the ground.
"Sora, I came to see you. I came because I was worried about you." He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Can't that be enough?"
"I don't believe you, nor do I care." She turned away, trying to get out of there. "I was so stupid to think you cared; I was stupid to think we were actually friends!"
"How are we not friends?" He answered.
"You all were just going to use me! Just so I'd fix whatever the heck it was…" She grew angrier when she realized he was still following her. Her ran in front of her, like she'd done to him, and forced her to stay put by putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I care more than you think, Sora." He said softly. "I always have…" She looked down at her feet once more. His grip on her shoulders softened and he took her hands in his. He stepped so close he could hear her quiet breathing, so close his face was only inches from hers, yet her eyes were cast down.
"So, what now?" She whispered. "The trust we had was broken. Of course, if there was any trust to begin with." She looked up at him, her deep green eyes shining in the faint light.
Jim rested his forehead against hers and spoke almost inaudibly. "We can rebuild it, that is, if you want to."
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A/N:
Oh sweet fluff, thank God you exist!
The Coracle. Has Sora really chosen a side? Or is she just toying with Jim's emotions? Trust has lost its meaning as relationships took terrible twists and turns from which they may not have been able to recover.