Okay! Originally, this was a really short chapter but I managed to come up with more than a measly few hundred words. I am in fact, very proud of myself at this moment. Anyway! Another chapter following Neera, her adorable little bro, Mike and the character we all know and love, JIM!
Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form.
~o0O0o~
Jim leaned against the railing fiddling with a length of rope; the nighttime stars his only companions. Memories of the accusing looks from Amelia; the awful truth that he had practically killed Mr. Arrow with his own hands, and the fact that Neera had pretty much proved her ability to see the future, floated through his brain. He gave a frustrated grunt and threw the piece of rope on the deck, near someone's feet. A certain someone actually.
Neera picked up the rope and wrapped it around her hand, before flopping down, careful of her back, next to him. He brought his knees up and buried his face in his arms, ignoring her.
"Go away," Jim murmured into his arms. Neera let a breath escape her.
"Rough day huh?" she fiddled with the rope. He didn't say anything and kept ignoring her. They sat like that in silence before Neera grew uncomfortable.
"Look it wasn't your fault," she burst out but Jim jumped up and walked away, "Hey!" she followed, grabbing his arm, ignoring the pain that shot through her back.
"It's not! It really isn't!" she cried when he tried pulling away from her, "Look at me dammit!"
He looked at her and she cringed. There was so much anger and hate in his eyes, it almost burned her.
"How is it NOT my fault huh? Arrow is dead and gone because I couldn't even secure a stupid lifeline! ARGH!" Jim seethed, turning away from Neera and running his hands through his hair roughly. He turned back on her so fast she thought his neck would break.
"How is it not my fault Neera? Huh? And if it's not my fault, then WHO'S IS IT?" Neera backed up, almost in tears. She'd never seen Jim like this before. He was breathing heavily from yelling and bearing over her like a wolf over a lamb.
"I-I can't tell you…" Neera's eyes fell to the ground. She really wished she could help him but she didn't know how much the storyline would change if she told him. She was afraid. Afraid of what would happen if they didn't follow the story line. Would they die? Would they go home? Would some strange space-time paradox cause the universe to collapse in on itself? What would happen to them? She was brought back to the present when hands seized her shoulders and jerked painfully.
"You know who it is don't you?! Who killed Arrow? I know you know! Why won't you tell me!?" Jim was yelling in her face now. Neera couldn't help it. The tears slid down her face before she could stop them. Jim hesitated. She pushed Jim away from her, giving her some space before yelling at him.
"You don't think I wanna tell you!?" the tears were relentless, streaming down her face now, "Huh!? You don't think I wanna give you the answers?! Well I'm sorry to say, Mr. Jim Hawkins!" Neera sneered and took a step forward causing Jim to take a step back, "This is a test and I'm not allowed to give out the answers!"
Jim looked her over. Her hair hung loose flowing in the wind, loose baggy shirt hanging off her shoulders revealing some of her bandages and tears running down her face. Her eyes reflected the lights from the stars. She looked like she was in agony. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna see the future. I don't wanna know what's gonna happen, but I do." And she began sobbing quietly.
Jim didn't know what else to do so he pulled her to him and threw his arms around her, arms brushing her back. She winced at the contact and buried her face in his shirt and cried. They stood like that for a while as Neera's sobs quieted and the hiccups began. She pulled away and gave a watery laugh.
"Sorry, I got your shirt all wet," she sniffed. Jim laughed and looked around. The deck was strangely empty.
"Hey where the little guy?" Neera looked around wiping her eyes.
"Oh I sent him to bed before I came up here. He's probably fast asleep by-umpf!"
Jim's mouth was on hers. It took a few seconds for her to realize what was happening as Jim wrapped his arms around her waist bringing her closer to him. His tongue slid across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Head gone completely blank, she acted without thought, closed her eyes and let him in. His tongue slid over every surface and his hand came up to cradle her head. His lips were warm and formed to hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Releasing her mouth for much needed air, Jim moved down, peppering kisses all along her neck and collarbone, causing her to moan. Jim smiled into her neck before leaving a trail of searing kisses up along her neck to nibble on her ear. Neera moaned again and held onto Jim who chuckled and kissed her again. They broke the kiss, breathing hard.
"W-wow! Oh wow!" Neera breathed, burying her face in Jim's shirt. He smiled. He realized then just how much shorter Neera was compared to him. She only came up to his chin. Closing his eyes he breathed her in. She smelled like morning dew and oranges. He sighed happily into her hair. Neera pushed away gently for air and giggled.
"So Jimbo? Is this how you comfort girls?" she teased wiping her face with her sleeve. He smiled warmly.
"Well if she has a little loudmouthed brother, can see the future and goes by the name of Neera, then yes. This is how I comfort girls," he joked kissing her forehead. "So how are your burns?" she moved her shoulder and winced.
"Still pretty bad. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to have super human healing. It's next on my list though! Right next to getting a time machine!" she and Jim laughed lightly, "Well I'd better head to bed now. You know it being all dark and…I'm just gonna go. See you tomorrow?"
Jim hesitated.
"Hey about the kiss? What does it mean? I-I mean to you- to us!" he corrected, his cheeks turning a violent shade of crimson. Neera smiled and took his hand gently.
"I like you Jim, I really do. You're a cool guy and I like hanging around with you even though you are a hot-head sometimes," he grinned innocently, "But!" he visibly cringed at the word.
"There's someone else though isn't there?" he asked, shoulders drooping. To his pleasure, she shook her head.
"No there isn't someone like that. It's Mike," he looked at her questionably, "He has my first priority at all times. We're all we've got. I'd love to…" Neera struggled for the right words since she didn't know how long she and Mike would be stuck in this world, "Have something with you. But he will always be first. Do you understand?" Jim thought for a second before nodding, Neera let out a breath smiling. "Alright then, I'm gonna head to bed now. You gonna stay out here for a bit?"
"Yeah," Neera kissed his cheek lightly before heading to her room where Mike would probably be taking up the whole bed. Jim sighed and looked out to the Etherium. It was calm and the stars shone brightly as if happy for him. He grinned to himself.
Neera was his girlfriend.
Neera was his.
Neera.
~o0O0o~
A few days later, the crew gathered in the mess hall, laughing loudly and hollering at each other. They silenced when Silver made his way down the stairs, his mechanical leg whizzing with the movement.
"So, how are you all enjoying your trip?" he smiled sickly sweet before banging a table sending a few crewmen flying back in their seats. They yelped and cowered.
"Are y'all stark bloomin' MAD?! You wanna blow the mutiny before it's time?" Silver hissed and pointed to Mr. Scroop, "And you, you lily-livered sack o' shit! Starting fights with the cabin boy on yer first bloomin' day? And that stunt with Mr. Arrow?!"
Mr. Scroop scowled.
"The boy wass ssniffing about," he hissed before Silver grabbed his shirt.
"Don't you worry 'bout little cabin kids. I'll take care o' them." The crew nodded in confirmation. Mr. Scroop smiled.
"Lasst night I wass up top amongst the rigging and heard the mosst interesting thing," he snickered, glaring at Silver who waited for him to continue, "It seems we have a Seer on board." The crew who had fallen silent, started throwing out suggestions, most of them including killing the Seer before they found out about the mutiny. Silver was shocked to say the least. Seers were about as rare as finding a pirate that stole from the rich only to give to the poor.
"Who's this Seer then? Do they know about the mutiny?"
Mr. Scroop's sneer should have been his first warning.
"It'ss that cabin girl, Neera."
Silver froze. Neera was the Seer? Suddenly he saw himself in the kitchen again, hearing Neera tell her brother about Morph's appearance. And then when Neera's brother had mentioned a ball that led to Treasure Planet. And again with the whole black hole situation. He'd heard from Doppler over the howling winds that the star had gone supernova. No signs of a black hole appeared till after the vortex had revealed itself.
"Well that explains a lot," he breathed. Mr. Scroop eyed him curiously, silently pressing him to continue, "Well, when they first came down to meh, Neera had mentioned Morph's appearance before he came out and she must have told her little brother 'bout the map to Treasure Planet 'cause he mentioned 'a ball to Treasure Planet.' He must have been talking 'bout the map! And she talked 'bout a black hole before it came to be! Even the good doctor didn't know what was happening!" the crowd hung silently waiting for what their leader would do. Silver turned to Mr. Scroop.
"What else did yeh find out 'bout the Seer?"
"Sshe ssaid she knowss who killed Mr. Arrow and mentioned knowing what would happen but iss not allowed to ssay or ssomething. But meh thinkss sshe knowss," Mr. Scroop finished, grinning evilly.
Silver thought hard. On the one hand, a Seer! A real honest-to-god Seer! She could easily tell them where Treasure Planet was and without the help of the map. And many other treasures if he so desired it. But on the other hand, he'd grown a liking to the girl and her little brother. If he gave the crew to go-ahead to use her, they'd threaten Mike to make her go along with whatever plans they could come up with. He saw the crew lean in on him, awaiting his decision. No! He couldn't let them think he'd gone soft.
"We'll move out just as planned, find out if she knows about the mutiny. But, when we do make our move, we'll be takin' that little brother o' hers hostage and she'll lead us to the treasure and the treasures beyond that!" the crew cheered. Happy with the outcome, Silver dismissed them all.
Moving onto the deck, he saw the cabin kids working at the railings, Mike humming something way off key but he didn't seem to care. Silver felt a stone drop in his heart. He was gonna betray that little happy ball of fire and use him to control his sister who had only just started healing from her fiery escapade with the black hole. Neera seemed awfully quiet this morning, and he didn't miss the accusing glances she cast at him. She knew. She knew what he was up to.
Jim saw Neera giving Silver the stink eye. It was really rather cute, with her red hair in a messy pony tail, white tank top with a nice loose brown shirt over it and a pair of his brown pants she had borrowed from him when hers had been ruined. They had been large on him and were huge on her. If she didn't have a belt, they would not have stayed up. But he could feel her body tense as Silver came up on deck. He knew something was going down and spoke up.
"Hey Neera what's up?" she glanced at Silver once more before she turned to him a smile on her face.
"It's nothing. Just got something on my mind," she shrugged, glanced at Silver again and continued her work.
'But we'll know if something bad's gonna happen and we'll run away from it ok?'
'Ok. Like when Silver takes over the ship?'
Jim heard Mike's words echo in his ears.
'Like when Silver takes over the ship?'
He watched as Neera shot a wary glance at Silver again. Then it clicked. Silver was planning a mutiny and Neera knew!
"Neera? You look really nervous. You're not getting sick are you?" her eyes met his and he sought the answers that lay hidden. She shook her head and laughed. It didn't have her usual ring, it was hollower. More nervous. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Is it about Silver?" her head shot up with so much force she clipped his head in the action. She ignored her pain, eyes wide in fear and hissed, louder than she would have liked.
"No! Even if there was I'm not allowed to say!"
Jim was taken aback at her forcefulness. Nearby, Silver was as well. His mechanical ear had heard every word and his eye had caught every single nervous movement Neera made. She knew. But for some reason, she wouldn't tell Jimbo. She couldn't tell him. Silver had always heard that Seers liked telling everyone everything, withholding nothing to show off their powers. But the chances that they were fakes were high and Neera, as the real deal, had to follow some rules that the universe had laid out.
High above him in the Crow's Nest, he heard the unmistakable call of 'Planet Ho!' everyone, including Neera, rushed to the railing to peer at the planet known to house the loot of a thousand worlds. He felt it before he saw Neera's glare on him. She whispered something hurriedly to Jim, who paled and nodded. Before Silver could stop her or grab her brother, she seized Mike and took off for the Captain's Quarters, Jim on her heels.
'Mutiny, Captain's office, now!' the only words Neera uttered before she took off holding her brother. As they reached the Captain's door, they heard Silver yell.
"Change o' plans lads! We. Move. Now!"
As soon as they crossed the threshold, Amelia shut and locked the door behind then and went about her office muttering about pirates. She threw a pistol-like weapon at Doppler.
"Doctor, familiar with one of these?" He mumbled a few things before he blasted part of the wall next to Amelia.
"Um, no, no I am not," he stated simply. Jim and Neera got a gun but Neera strapped an extra one to her calf under the baggy pants she'd borrowed from Jim. When Amelia passed the map to Jim, Morph interfered and Jim had to wrench the map out of the morph's mouth. The pirates were working on getting through the door when Amelia shot a hole in the floor and motioned everyone through. Jim had only just jumped through when a huge blast blew the door apart. Neera could hear Silver's frustrated howl through the hallways.
"He's gonna send some men through here and try to head us off at the long boats!" Neera panted, following Amelia at the head of the group and carrying Mike. The Captain was about to ask her something but the Seer had other ideas.
"Escape first, explanations later." Amelia gave a curt nod and the group made their way to the long boats hanger. Mike screamed and pointed to a place behind Neera, causing everyone to look. The pirates were gaining on them! Amelia shoved everyone through a door and used her gun to efficiently seal it off.
As soon as they made it to the long boats, Jim hopped in and took Mike from Neera. The Seer boosted Doppler up in the boat as Amelia pulled the lever to open the hatch, revealing the great greenish expanse of the planet below them. Mike clutched his sister around the middle, oblivious of the grimace of pain that crossed her features. His small hands were digging into her still-healing burns.
"Jim!" she screamed just as he felt Morph dig into his pocket and grab the map.
"Morph! No!"
Morph gurgled happily before flying to the catwalk. Jim followed and just as he landed, the door to the hanger blew open with an explosion. The pirates filed in and stared shooting madly at the long boat they currently occupied. Neera forced Mike down as far as he could go before peeking over the edge of the boat and taking aim at a few of the pirates.
"Chew on this you puss-filled boils!" Amelia hollered, firing at the approaching pirates. Doppler fumbled with his weapon before standing and firing at some metal disk thing, causing it to come crashing down on the catwalk the pirates were standing on and sending them the long way down to the planets surface. Amelia watched their decent before turning to Doppler.
"Did you actually aim for that?" she asked skeptically. Doppler stared at his weapon.
"You know, actually I did?" he was cut short as Amelia pushed him down and out of harms way as a barrage of laser shots were fired right were his head had been two seconds ago. Mike giggled and Neera was tempted to join his but a metallic hissing sound caused her stomach to drop. Silver had pulled the lever back up, closing the hatch. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Amelia growled deep in her throat.
"Ah blast it!" she turned to Doppler and revealed her plan but Neera was busy watching Jim. He was yelling at Morph and Silver had noticed them!
"Morph! Here, Morph!" the little pink blob ducked and dodged Jim's wildly waving arms grabbing for the map still in its mouth.
"Morph!" the blob turned to Silver who stepped on the same catwalk Jim was on, "Morphie, come here!" he began whistling encouragingly, like one would to a dog. Jim and Silver began a war of baby talk to persuade Morph to come to them. Neera took the chance and aimed her pistol for Silver's leg. She remembered that Jim was supposed to have injured the cyborg down in the galley after the pirates plan had been revealed to him. But he had been up top with her, efficiently straying from the main story line. And she was going to make things a little even.
Her finger kissed the trigger and the soft part of Silver's leg blew open causing him to fall. Jim didn't bother looking to see who'd done it. His eyes were glued to Morph, who jumped into a coil of rope lying nearby. Silver dragged himself forward towards the coil but Jim was faster. Grabbing the map and hurrying to the long boat where the other waited for him. Neera could see Silver taking aim at Jim but knew he wouldn't pull the trigger. Couldn't more like it.
"Now!" Amelia gave the order and she and Doppler blew out the cables holding the long boat in place, sending them with a jolt into the still closing hatch. Mike screamed as Jim crashed into the railing of the boat beside them as it tipped into the open space. Jim was still hanging off the edge of the falling boat and before she could stop him, her brother darted forward and began trying to pull him into the boat. She scurried to him and yanked Jim inside as Amelia released the solar sails.
An unsettling feeling pricked the back Neera's head as the hair on her neck rose.
"Laserball! Captain, dodge!" Neera screamed over the howling wind but it was a few seconds too late. The flaming sphere hit the engine exploding in an array of colors. Amelia cried out clutching her side as the long boat began its drastic decent into the world below. Mike screamed into Neera's shirt as everyone onboard felt their stomachs drop at the sudden drop in elevation.
When they reached tree level, Amelia grabbed the rudder and despite her pain, steered the worthless long boat in for a landing. The passengers grasped the sides of the boat. Mike clutched Neera and had hidden himself under her over shirt. They crashed against several trees and went clear through another before spinning out on the ground. The unfortunate boat caught on the rough terrain and flipped over, skidding to a stop.
Silence gripped the small clearing. Jim opened his eyes slowly and shook his head, clearing it. He lifted the boat off his companions who began stirring.
Neera stood leaning heavily against the boat, pupils dilated; the black almost consuming her chocolate brown. Mike was pulling at the mossy ground and showing it to her, grinning.
"Oh my goodness," Delbert breathed getting to his feet, "That was more fun than I ever want to have again!"
Amelia chuckled.
"It's not one of my gossamer landings," she straightened only to collapse in pain, clutching her side. Delbert and Jim both rushed to her aid.
"Oh don't fuss! Slight bruising, that's all. Cup of tea and I'll be right as rain," she fixed her hair to prove she was alright, "Mr. Hawkins?" she faced Delbert and squinted at him before turning to Jim, "The map, if you please."
Jim reached into his pocket and retrieved the sphere. He breathed a sigh of relief that it was still there but then it floated up and transformed into a laughing Morph.
"Morph? Morph! Where's the map?!" a sound came from behind him as Neera tried to straighten. She wobbled before she leaned against the boat for support. Mike stepped back in case she fell down.
"Nee-Nee?"
"Map…its back…where you left it. In that rope…thing," Neera struggled to form the words, her head still hazy and swimming. She didn't think those trees were smiling at her but she couldn't be too sure. At her words, the little shape-shifter turned into the coil of rope and the map. The real map was still in the rope coil on the ship.
"Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?!" Jim shouted at Neera while Morph made some sort of giggling burp. Mike shrunk back while Neera stepped forward wobbling dangerously.
"Yeah… it is. When you go get it-" her eyes rolled back in her head and she promptly collapsed. Jim stared as Morph hovered towards her and chirped sadly.
"Stifle that blob and get low," Amelia warned as Jim grabbed Morph and Delbert grabbed the unconscious Neera, "We've got company."
The group watched as another longboat headed towards a large column of black smoke.
"We need a more defensible position. Mr. Hawkins, scout ahead." Jim nodded firmly taking the gun the Captain offered.
"Wait! I'm coming with you," Neera stood, now more stable than before. Mike had managed to wake her in time to hear the order. Jim felt his cheeks burn slightly. He'd yelled at her after she had clearly hit her head. Hard, judging by the way her eyes were unfocused.
"No, Neera stay here with Mike and the rest, You'll be safe-"
"Excuse me but I'm going whether you like it or not," she huffed and placed her fists on her hips. Jim gulped. His mom made that pose sometimes and he knew he wouldn't ever be able to change the woman's mind. He sighed and she grinned knowing she'd won.
"Alright Mike c'mon! We're going exploring!" she whispered excitedly to the little boy who beamed and took out his pocketknife. Jim stood stunned.
"Um, he's not going," he crossed his arms and looked down at the short red-head. She gave him a look and straightened to her full height, still only coming up to his chin.
"He's. Going," she stated flatly, "Besides he'll be safer with me, trust me," she took the boy's hand and began walking. Jim huffed and followed her, leaving Delbert to take care of Amelia's wounds.
The three had walked for a while, leaving all signs of the crash sight behind them. Mike had grown tired a while back and was currently getting a piggyback ride from Jim. Morph was floating back and forth transforming into things for the boy's entertainment. Neera couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her 4-year old brother pulling on Jim's rat-tail calling him 'Horsy!' She stopped at the foot of a field of ankle-deep lichens shaped like tubes. Jim noticed her hesitation.
"What is it?" he slid Mike off his back and loaded his laser pistol. She didn't take her eyes off the field. It was Mike who responded.
"This is where we me-" Neera clapped a hand over the boy's mouth and smiled.
"This is where we meet a friend. You won't need your gun for this. Just a, uh….a lot of patience," she picked up Mike and settled the boy on her hip and took the first step into the lichen field.
'This girl is just strange,' Jim thought, 'But then again she's a Seer. There's no way she could be normal.'
The group was silent as they ventured forth. All of a sudden, there was a rustling sound behind them and Jim whirled around to face the danger. Neera rolled her eyes as he loaded the pistol and Mike tried to stifle a giggle. Jim leaned over a rather large tube lichen only to be flung back. He landed hard on his back with something on top of him.
"AHH! Oh this is fantastic! A carbon-based life form, come to rescue me AT LAST! I JUST WANNA hug ya an' squeeze ya and hold ya close to me!" the robot clung to Jim as Neera and Mike giggled at the scene. It really was quite funny to watch Jim try to get the poor robot off when it only came back to wrap itself around his legs.
"Alright, ok," Jim pried the rusty robot off of him for like the 5th time already, "Ugh would you just let go of me?" That seemed to knock some sense into the robot.
"Oh sorry, sorry," it threw a casual arm over Jim's shoulders, "I-it's just…I-I-I've been…marooned… for, uh, so long. I mean solitude's fine, don't get me wrong, for heavens sake a 100 years….YA GO A LITTLE NUTS!" it laughed nervously. It looked at Jim who eyed the metallic arm draped over his shoulders.
"I-I'm sorry…I uh…" the robot pulled his arm away from Jim's shoulders and held it out for him to shake, "I am…uummm…My name…is..uh…" it grabbed its head as if trying to remember. Jim watched Morph change into the robot with coo-koo clock noises. He glanced over at Neera and Mike who were trying no to burst with laughter.
"BEN! Of course! I'm BEN! Bio Electronic Navigator! And you are?" he motioned to Jim who was bending to retrieve the gun he'd dropped when BEN jumped him.
"I'm Jim and these are my friends, Neera and Mike," he motioned to the siblings sitting on a tree stump. BEN blinked at them for a few seconds before exploding.
"OH MY GOD! A FAMILY! Are you planning on settling down here? If so, I know some great places! And you little fella," he leaned over Mike and pinched his cheek, "You can call me UNCLE BEN! Oh Jimmy you are so lucky!" the robot embraced him again and Neera watched as an impressively red blush stained Jim's features all the way down to his neck.
"It's 'Jim', and these two are my friends and that's her brother," he stressed the words to make BEN understand. And surprisingly, he did.
"Oh, oops?" he laughed nervously, "Anyway!" he leaned on Jim who scowled.
"Look we're kinda in a hurry ok? We gotta find a place to hide and there's pirates-"
BEN straightened.
"PIRATES? Don't get me started on PIRATES! I don't like them!" Jim ignored the rambling robot and grabbed Neera's arm, forcing her to walk with him, Mike scurrying after.
"I remember Captain Flint," the robot continued, freezing Jim in place, "This guy, had such a temper!"
"Wa-wait, you knew Captain Flint?" Jim walked up to the robot shocked to say the least. This crazy, rusty robot knew Flint?
"I think he suffered from mood swings personally, I'm not a therapist. And anyway but I- YOU LET ME KNOW WHEN I'M RAMBLING!" BEN seemed happy that there was someone to talk to.
"Whoa but that means…But then you gotta know, about the treasure?" he asked, the excitement growing in his voice.
"Treasure?" BEN repeated nervously.
"Yeah, Flint's trove? You know, the loot of a thousand worlds?" Morph changed to a treasure chest spewing gold.
"It's, well, i-it's, i-i-i-it's alll-l-l-l-l," BEN stuttered and his voice sounded more mechanical than usual before everything turned back to normal, "Fuzzy. Wait! I r-r-remember! I-I do-TREASURE! Lots of treasure! Buried in the centroid-centroid-CENTROID OF THE MECHANISM! And there was this big door, opening and closing and opening and closing….And Captain Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever get to his treasure so…I helped him-aaaAAARGH! INACSECIBLE!" BEN's eyes turned red and green and black and his voice rose and fell dramatically screaming things Jim and Neera couldn't understand.
"REBOOT! REBOOT! REBOOT!" the robot screamed, head causing a shower of sparks behind him.
"BEN? BEN!" Jim slapped the robot whose head sparked once before he came back to himself. BEN looked at Jim confusedly.
"And you are?"
Neera stared and Mike giggled. This robot was much funnier in real life!
"Wait wait wait! What about the treasure?!" Jim said anxiously.
"I wanna say, Larry."
"The centroid of the mechanism, or um,"
"I-I'm sorry, my memory isn't what it used to be. I-I've lost my mind!" the robot laughed like something unbelievable just happened, "I've LOST MY MIND! You haven't found it have you?" Jim couldn't formulate any words as the robot spun him around and patted him down.
"My missing piece? My Primary Memory Circuit?" BEN pointed to the exposed wires at the back of his head. Jim rolled his eyes.
"Look BEN! I really need to find a place to hide, so I'm just gonna be uh…you know, moving on," Jim picked up Mike and motioned Neera to follow. BEN looked on looking like he was about to cry. Could robots even cry?
"Oh, uh…so well um…I guess uh…this is goodbye huh? I'm sorry that I'm so," he collapsed his legs, using his knees as wheels to drive with, "Dysfunctional. So uh, go ahead. I do understand, I do. It's just…byebye," and BEN slowly, ever so slowly began rolling away. Jim looked at Neera, one eyebrow raised questionably. She smiled and nodded. He sighed heavily.
"Look, if you're gonna come along, you're gonna have to stop talking." BEN hadn't even gone 4 inches from his spot when he shot up cheering.
"Huzzah!" WAHAHAHAHA! Aw this is FANTASTIC! ME AND MY BEST BUDDY out looking for a…." BEN had jumped into Jim's arms screaming and laughing but trailed off when he noticed the glare Jim was giving him. He chuckled nervously and whispered, "Being quiet."
"And you have to stop touching me," Jim declared dropping BEN to the ground.
"Right! Touching and talking! The two big no-noes!" BEN picked himself up happily.
"Kay, now I think that we should head-" Jim stared walking towards another clearing when a small tug at his collar stopped him. Neera was holding Mike in one arm and Jim in the other. Jim hated the smug smirk on her face.
"Say, listen! Before we go out on our big search," BEN made air quotes, "Um, would you mind if we made a quick pit-stop at my place? Kind of urgent," he pulled away some really tall tube lichens, revealing a large open field with a large building like mound in the middle. Jim looked from Neera to the building and back to Neera again who smiled and jerked her head in the direction of BEN's home and released his collar.
"BEN, I think you just solved out problem!"