Most of this chapter is kinda sad because at one point B.E.N. loses a bit of his precious memory. And I'm not talking about his losing his primary memory circuit. Not yet. Anyway, you'll see the kind of fear that is portrayed through his eyes, as with the rest of the story, and you should understand what he had to go through.

Chapter Five: Stolen

That same night, B.E.N. had a dream about Lupe. For some strange reason, he was seeing Lupe take off her hair as if it were a wig, revealing long, flowing, blue hair. Her solid white eyes changed color. The white shrunk into a pair of moonlit pupils with blue behind them. Her silver skin faded into a light blue color. She was changing into Luna5! But did that mean that Lupe wasn't who she said she was? B.E.N. wasn't allowed the chance to find out for sure; he was given a rude awakening the very next morning.

"All hands on deck!" a deep voice shouted. It was First Mate Nebula.

In minutes, B.E.N., moving frantically, was out on deck with the rest of the crew, wanting to know what was going on and what might be wrong.

"Mr. Crow! What do you see?" Captain Starling demanded of the lookout.

"Captain!" the lookout hollered in sheer terror from the crow's nest. "A pirate ship! It is black with red sails!"

"A pirate ship?" Starling questioned. "In this part of the galaxy?"

"Pirate ship?" B.E.N. repeated, rendered completely petrified.

"It's the Kraken! The ship of Captain Nathaniel Flint!" the lookout cried in horror. "He is gaining! And he's hot on our tail!"

"Oh, no! Captain Flint? The meanest, scariest pirate there ever was?" B.E.N. panicked. "Run, people! Run for you're lives!"

Almost immediately, panic and mayhem ensued throughout the whole of the S.S. Venture. Captain Starling jumped in and called for order. "Evasive action, gents!" she commanded. The crew hurriedly obeyed, but the members remained panicky. Turning to B.E.N., she told him, "B.E.N.! You have to hide yourself somewhere! I can't afford to lose you!"

"Uh, aye, captain!"

Frightened, B.E.N. dashed off to find a safe place to hide while the captain and her first mate stood to fight off the pirates. He stumbled as he went due to a fiery explosion that violently rocked the galleon. Flint's ship, the Kraken, had begun firing her laser balls upon the hull, deck, and sails of the S.S. Venture, ripping her to shreds. Various things were setting on fire, creating utter panic and confusion. B.E.N. stopped for a short moment in time to watch in horror as the Kraken approached the S.S. Venture and the Kraken gripped onto the bow with her vicious mechanical claws. Seeing the huge crew of Captain Flint grouped together on the deck of the Kraken, B.E.N. kept on running, panting as he went.

His heart pounded behind his chest the entire time of this pandemonium that was ensuing all over the ship. At last, he came to a door with a lock on it. For some odd reason it had been unlocked, but it was as good a place as any. B.E.N. hurriedly rushed inside, closed the door behind him, and locked it. "Whew!" The room was pitch-black. "Well, at least…it's safe," he panted to himself. He activated his flashlight feature and his eyes lit up in the room, emitting a pleasant, blue glow. Looking around, a golden glint reflected off of something and glared in his face. Squinting, he realized what it was. "Uh-oh. Not good. Definitely not good."

Just then, a loud metallic shatter from outside startled B.E.N. to pieces, causing him to jump and give a short scream. Turning sharply to the door, he thought he felt his heart stop. A bulky, six-eyed alien, whose head resembled that of a monstrous reptile, stood like a mountain before the terrified B.E.N. The alien was none other than Captain Nathaniel Flint himself! The sight of the pirate was so intimidating that B.E.N. couldn't scream, even while he tried. "Ca-Ca-Ca…" He could barely even speak.

"Out of my way, pathetic sack of metal," Flint snarled, grabbing the poor robot by his thin neck and throwing him off to the farthest side of the room. Other pirates stood ready behind Flint, who broke the locks on the chests, finding piles of precious loot inside. Laughing, he began to hand the chests to the other pirates. The loot would be carried and stored onto their ship.

B.E.N. attempted to sneak away from the greedy monster that was Captain Flint. However, the pirate captain noticed him trying to escape and pointed at the robot, stopping him in his tracks. "You! Robot! You will remain here! Not that you have a choice." Flint's voice was a deep growl, like a dangerous creature. He was just about to leave when he halted. He looked B.E.N. over with an intriguing grin. "Hmm. Actually, you'd make the perfect navigator for me."

"Huh? Me? A navigator?" He tried to lie to Flint. "Heh, maybe you're thinking of someone else. I don't see any navigators around here. I mean, if you're looking for a navigator, he'd have to have binoculars for eyes and a compass and a navigational system." Captain Flint wasn't the least bit fooled. He just stood there, grinning his toothy grin. "Oh, wait. I guess I…have…all…those…things. Heh."

"Nice try, metal mouth. You're coming with me."

"Huh? No! Wait! Can't we talk about this?" But Flint promptly picked B.E.N. up and lifted him over his massive left shoulder, carrying him out of the room and onto the deck, with a chest full of gold and jewels under his right arm. The entire scene was in fiery ruins. Innocent people were either captured, running for their lives, or fighting back and failing. B.E.N. was completely devastated by the horrible sight.

Just then, a familiar face showed itself in the midst of the chaos. Blue hair, beautiful face, moonlit eyes…was it…? "Luna5? Luna5, is that you?" B.E.N. called out loud enough for her to hear.

"B.E.N.?" Luna5 called back. She seemed to notice his predicament. "Oh, no. Wait! B.E.N.! No! Bring him back! B.E.N.!" she screamed, but she disappeared.

"Luna5!" B.E.N. wailed helplessly. "Hey, somebody help! Help me! I'm being stolen here! Help! Heeeeelllllllp!" But no one could.

Captain Flint leapt onto his ship, carried B.E.N. to a metal grating in the floor, opened it, and dropped the robot down inside. B.E.N. landed hard on his head. In the dark brig, he stood on his feet, dazed, seeing stars swirling about his head. "Ooogh…where'd we park the boat? Oh, look at the pretty stars tonight…" He moaned, tumbled to the floor, and passed out, unconsciousness.

That night, an important piece of B.E.N.'s precious memory was erased from his mind.

To be continued…

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So? So? Soooooo? What do you think? Please tell me what you think! The story is just getting good, so tell me! Don't you want to know what's going to happen next? I said this before and I'll say it again. Reviews are most appreciated! And please ask me about the piece of memory that B.E.N. lost! Or even about Luna5? Please?