I had to do a bit of research to get these sequences right. Listening to the commentary on my Treasure Planet DVD, I discovered a few things I never really knew about. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Lose

Five years was a long time to test food, guard bathroom doors, and bunk with the captain. That was including having to witness the destruction of about a thousand ships after they were raided. By then, the ship's hold was chuck-full of stolen loot. As I had said before, nothing really changed routine wise. It was actually kind of boring. The only thing B.E.N. found truly exciting on the Kraken was having the privilege to see the farthest reaches of the galaxy, especially on this day after five years.

The lookout yelled in alert to Captain Flint, saying that there was something large and green off the fort bow. The entire crew on deck turned in that direction, catching sight of a great deal of misty, green clouds of dust and a slew of giant asteroids in addition. The large, green thing off the fort bow seemed to be hidden behind these clouds. A pair of rings circled the mass in an "X" formation. This intrigued Captain Flint, who had been gazing at the thing through his own pair of binoculars. He grabbed a startled B.E.N., pulling the robot close to the edge of the fort bow.

"B.E.N.! Look out yonder," Flint ordered, pointing. "Use your eyes and tell me. What do you see?"

B.E.N. leaned over the bow with a gulp. He then tapped into his ocular functions. When he closed his eyes and opened them again they became dark, like the thick lenses of two telescopes, and they extended forward. His vision zoomed in on the huge, green mass ahead. Clearly, his vision was far more advanced than Flint's binoculars. B.E.N.'s eyebrows created a confused expression and he pulled his eyes back to his face, having them return to normal.

"What did you see?" Captain Flint wanted to know.

"Well, it appears to be a planet that no one's ever seen before. My history knowledge indicates that it was a planet built a long time ago by a group of way smart scientists." He shrugged nervously. "But…ya know, it could be something else entirely. Who knows? Heh-heh."

"Hm. In any case…let us set course for this 'planet.' All ahead full! We're going to get a closer look."

"Aye, Cap'n!" the crew affirmed and the Kraken zoomed forward all ahead full, fast approaching the unknown planet.

The closer they got to the planet, the more they could make out its alien atmosphere. The entire surface appeared to have been overgrown with distinguishable species of fungi. Only a few minor manta birds harbored near the atmosphere. Many of the trees looked like mushroom balloons. The heads of these trees swayed idly, tethered to the mossy floor by the roots.

"What are these things?" demanded Flint.

"Uh, helium trees, sir," B.E.N. identified the tall plant. "And at the roots are some cagefungi and loads of trumpet plants." The Kraken loomed closer at some of the other vegetation. One of them resembled a giant centipede made of roots and topped with flourishing branches. B.E.N. pointed up and identified them. "And these giant things are called centipede trees."

The Kraken traveled a bit further, cruising over the surface, until there came a clearing. In the very middle was a tall tower forged of a type of metal similar to that of B.E.N. When asked about the tower, B.E.N. identified that as well. "Well, it appears to be a maintenance tower for the group of scientists. See, they were studying other civilizations with their advanced technology. And unfortunately, there is no trace of them whatsoever."

"Really…" mused Captain Flint. "And why is that?"

"Well, they kinda evolved beyond physicality and merged into energy, which drifted away thousands of years ago. At least, that's what my historical and anthropological knowledge tell me."

"What sort of technology did they use?"

"Oh, the only thing they could use: a portal."

"A portal, you say?"

B.E.N. felt now as if he'd told Flint something he shouldn't have. "Um, yeah…"

"Show us. Guide us to this portal…now…"

"Uh, aye, Captain."

Under B.E.N.'s reluctant guidance, the Kraken made its way over more exotic species of fungi. In a few mere minutes, the crew stopped at a tall, thick wall of foliage in front of them. Captain Flint took B.E.N. by the arm, pulling him along, leading the rest of the crew through the foliage. Using his saber, Flint sliced a pathway through the underbrush. Soon, the crew came upon another clearing with a cliff up ahead. The cliff dropped into a vast, endless valley. But it wasn't the valley that captured the crew's eye.

"What is this thing?" Flint demanded.

"Uh…this would be the portal, sir," B.E.N. uneasily replied.

In front of them stood a hundred-foot-tall triangular window, framed with a pulsing green energy. In front of it was a small, holographic, green globe showing latitude and longitude. It was dotted with many different shapes and seemed to rotate in a hover about a foot or two off the ground, supported by a circle of beams shining up from the ground. The window allowed a viewing of a location everyone recognized.

Captain Flint grinned malevolently and turned to B.E.N. "Touch it."

"Huh?"

"Touch one of the shapes on the hologram, dolt. Now."

"Oh, okay." B.E.N. hesitated, but stepped toward the hologram and reached out his right index finger. His finger then touched one of the holographic shapes. The shape beeped and pulsed simultaneously. In an instant, the portal closed for a split second and opened again, showing an entirely different location. B.E.N. relaxed. "It's a controller. See?" he explained. "And these shape thingies are pointers. Heh-heh, kinda like a map…only holographic."

"It allows one to travel instantaneously from one location to another," said Flint, intrigued by the idea. "Yes…we can use this portal to raid more merchant ships faster than any other pirate in the galaxy!"

"Uh…well, see, the group of scientists actually used this portal for research."

"Then perhaps they wouldn't mind if we borrowed it for a little while." Then Flint caught sight of something in the center of the controller. It resembled this very planet. "Touch the middle pointer, B.E.N."

"Uh, okay." B.E.N. did as he was told and touched the center planet in the controller. The pointer glowed for a moment and the portal closed and opened again. This time, the window showed what appeared to be somewhere underground. The space was entirely built from metal and was filled with what looked to be giant prongs jetting energy into holes in the floor. The energy seemed to be comprised of an alien language. The sight of it all fascinated B.E.N. "Wow. This looks like the centroid of the mechanism."

"The center of this planet…yes…perhaps we could utilize this space to store all of our loot…it's brilliant…"

"Oh, boy. Why do I feel like this isn't gonna go so well?" And of course, B.E.N. was referring to the innocent victims that would fall in the destructive wake of Captain Nathaniel Flint.

—

And yet another five years went by.

Using the power of the portal, Captain Flint and his crew of cutthroats raided ship after ship, stealing different kinds of loot. And, of course, who better to operate the controller than B.E.N.? He, after all, was the only one who knew exactly how it was supposed to work as soon as he had figured it out. He knew just where the Kraken was going when she would disappear through the portal. Now it was only during the evenings that B.E.N. had to take on the tasks he was originally assigned. Still, it wasn't any better than when this whole "personal navigator" thing started.

Billy Bones was now 22 years old and still the Kraken's cabin boy. He wasn't much better at all. He had become quite grumpy over the years. He was the only one other than B.E.N. who still dreamed of freedom.

The more Captain Flint stole, the fuller the centroid became, and the greedier Flint was becoming. In these five more years, he soon became consumed by his own greed and his own power. No one would stand in his way, not that anyone wanted to now. In these five more years, he had robbed a thousand worlds of their precious goods and Flint's infinite amount of ill-gotten gains soon became legendary. And the planet had become known as Treasure Planet.

—

Captain Flint could be seen perched in his golden throne, playing with a golden, jeweled goblet in his clawed hands. He was chuckling maliciously to himself. It was clear now that he had been consumed with greed. B.E.N. and Billy Bones were the only two out of the twenty members of the crew who were disinterested in indulging with Flint in the pile of gold the Kraken now stood atop. They were only concerned about their captain, about how crazy he had gotten. Then, one crewmember made a grave and foolish mistake.

"Captain Flint, sir?" said the arachnian B.E.N. had met up with ten years ago. "May we—?" But he was cut short.

Captain Flint turned sharply to the arachnian, snarling long and deep. Then, he pulled out his laser flintlock and shot a laser at the arachnian, who quickly jumped out of the way, snarling. "This loot of a thousand worlds is mine and mine alone! Do you hear?"

The crewmembers drew their own weapons and Captain Flint stood and pulled out another flintlock, continuing to fire. At this, B.E.N. quickly hid behind a chest, peeking his eyes up over the top to watch the terrifying gun fight from a safe distance. Back and forth, laser shots were fired. One missed the captain and was in the path of B.E.N.'s hiding place. B.E.N. quickly evaded it by scurrying behind another chest just before the laser shot reached the other chest. Flint was easily overpowering the rest of his crew, able to take out their weapons with only his two. "Get out! Be gone! All of you! Get out! Now!" The crew decided then to turn tail and run towards the open portal that led to the outside. B.E.N. thought of sneaking away to join them, but Flint stopped him. "Not you, B.E.N. You'll remain with me."

Outside, Billy Bones lingered behind for a moment. He then glanced down at the sphere under the controller. It was the key sphere, the only thing keeping this portal open. Looking through the portal at the Kraken inside the centroid, Billy saw B.E.N., his one and only friend, stand with a saddened expression next to the monster that Captain Flint had become. Giving a long sigh, Billy hung his head in shame. "Forgive me, B.E.N." And he yanked the key sphere from its holding place. The ground surrounding the spot for the controller pulsed with a green energy…and the portal and the controller itself vanished into thin air.

In the centroid, B.E.N. saw the portal disappear before his eyes. He gasped worriedly and panicked. "C-Captain Flint! W-we're trapped inside! We're trapped inside!"

"I know…" Flint replied.

"Huh?"

"I must protect my hoard. I must see to it that whoever comes in here shall meet their demise. B.E.N., you're the only one I can trust now. You will help me."

"Uh…okay. Um…what do I do?"

"You will help me build a booby trap."

B.E.N. shuddered at the very idea. "A booby trap?"

"Yes. I must rig the planet to self-destruct should any unwelcome visitors decide to come in here to steal my loot. And these prongs should do the trick. You say that these prongs transfer codes of information from the surface to the core and back. Tell me, B.E.N. What should happen if one of these prongs were to fall?"

"Well, the centroid would implode horribly and then the whole planet would blow higher than a Kalypsian kite, which flies pretty darn high, by the way."

"I like the sound of that."

Captain Flint took the helm and directed the Kraken upward to one of the above giant prongs, commanding B.E.N. to fetch five kegs of the ship's explosives. B.E.N. reluctantly obeyed. Flint placed the five kegs of explosives along one of the pipes lining the side of the prong. Then, they flew back down to the metal platform where the portal always appeared. B.E.N. was told to place two sensors at both ends of the platform. Flint activated the sensors. Between them appeared a thin infrared beam.

Flint's plan was for an unsuspecting someone to step through the beam, setting off the explosives to weaken the prong, which would plummet to the floor and tear apart the centroid. There would only be a 5-minute time limit before the entire planet would go up in smoke.

Just after the infrared beam was placed, Captain Flint suddenly doubled over with a grunt. B.E.N. took note of this. Naturally, he was concerned.

"Back to the ship," Flint ordered, weakly making his way back toward the Kraken. B.E.N. obey his order to follow. On deck, the pirate captain slumped down in his golden throne, breathing raggedly and heavily. "My trap is set…" He paused for a breath. "B.E.N.…do you know…what is happening with me?"

"Uh…" B.E.N. wasn't sure how to answer that question. "You're…tired?" he guessed.

"I'm dying, metal mouth."

"Oh."

"There is one last task that you must take on for me, B.E.N. First, I need you to come closer." The uneasy robot obeyed, inching close enough to Captain Flint with a gulp. "Good. Now…turn from me." B.E.N. obeyed.

"Uh…wh-what are ya gonna do? You're not gonna hurt me, are ya?"

"No. But I mustn't allow you to reveal the location of the booby trap to anyone who comes to this planetoid. If they know of it, they will not come here. I want them to fry along with me and the loot of a thousand worlds."

"Oh, well, I-I'm good at keeping secrets."

"I cannot risk it. The only way for you not to reveal the booby trap is for you to forget about it."

"Uh-oh…" B.E.N. could almost see where this was going.

"I am going to erase your memories by pulling your primary memory circuit. It is the only way for you not to tell anyone of the booby trap. Is that clear?"

B.E.N. held his head in shock. "My-my-my-my primary memory circuit?! B-b-but I-I can't live without it! I mean it's one of my most important pieces! It's practically my whole brain! How am I supposed to remember stuff? Oh!" he wailed miserably. "I just can't imagine all my memories gone!"

"Too bad, my friend. Now do as I say!"

B.E.N. gulped. "O-okay."

"Now hold still."

"A-aye, sir." To B.E.N., this whole thing felt like a death sentence. He shuddered as soon as he felt Flint's chilling talons grip the back of his head and sink in between the crease separating his head from his memory circuit. B.E.N. squintched his eyes tightly shut with a wince, preparing for the worst. "You're-you're hands are very…cold back there, sir."

"I bid you a fond farewell, B.E.N. Now you must bid farewell…to me…and…to all…of your precious memories."

Finally…it happened.

Captain Flint yanked the circuit out of the robot's head…and…finally…his last breath escaping from his body…expired…with B.E.N.'s memory circuit clutched in a taloned fist. The light that once shined from the circuitry faded…like a once blazing fire that finally fizzled out after twenty long years of life. In B.E.N.'s case, this was not a good thing.

To be continued…

—

So? Soooooooo? How am I doing so far? It's taking me a little while, but I'm doing the best I can. And I still cannot wait for those pictures to come up once this is done. Send me a review! Please?