Hello there my adorable readers! How fare thee today! Or tonight? Or whenever it is you finally get to reading this. Although many of you will probably hate me for it; want to burn and maul me for it, but THIS is the last chapter of 'An Unexpected Journey'. The final official chapter of Neera and Mike's adventures in the world that is Treasure Planet. It is extra long so hopefully that will appease some of my readers because let's face it; I haven't exactly been updating as often as I should.
Even though I have looked through this chapter several times, I am sure there are a few spelling and grammatical errors somewhere. I am not perfect and often overlook the stupidest mistakes. Just bear with me.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form. I do own my strange OC's though. Those are mine to corrupt as I please.
Enjoy!
~oO0Oo~
"Are there any lights on it at all?" Jim called from under the control panel. He'd been fiddling with the sparking wires for a few mind-numbing seconds before Neera's cry of joy alerted him of power in the ancient ship.
"Yes! Yes, the lights are on!" Neera squealed happily at the sign of progress. Every second counted as the purple lasers cut through more and more of the core's surface. Every second was a chance of survival. Every wasted second was a lost chance, one they would not be getting back. Neera spared a precious second to thank her lucky star - she was fairly certain she had one at this point in time – that Jim was a genius and could work the wires of the ship. Had she been on her own, she'd already be dead. Neera didn't want to admit it but it was hard fact. She couldn't even hotwire a car back in her own world, so there was no way in hell she'd be able to figure something as complicated as a ship's engine in a mere matter of seconds. Add to the fact that she'd never been good at working under pressure in a normal situation, when this was easily ten times worse. Where each second ticked by like a death bell, sounding off each failed attempt, each second a moment of life wasted, each second a moment of life she'd never get back, each second bringing Death closer and closer to the point where you could feel his cold and clammy breath at the back of your neck….yeah, that was something Neera would never have been able to do.
Jim jumped up from the floor and began punching buttons and pulling levers to bring the old machine back to life. So they could live, Neera thought dryly. Man, this whole 'sucked into another world for a life of adventure' was overrated. She wanted nothing more than to go back to her normal boring life, hanging out at the normal boring park with her semi-normal boring brother in a normal boring house with her not-really-normal but boring parents. She'd had enough adventure for several lifetimes.
Suddenly, she felt like they were being watched. Her head shot up from watching Jim at the control panel to meet with the golden gleam of Silver's mechanical eye. She watched as his face morphed into one of surprised shock – probably because she'd caught him watching them – before breaking out into a smile that sent chills down Neera's spine.
~oO0Oo~
Meanwhile, back on the longboat where Doppler, Amelia and Mike still sat, tied up and useless. Even though they were floating in the air thanks to their longboat, they still felt the tremors that shook the ground.
"All my life I've dreamed of an adventure like this," Doppler confessed, staring off into the woods that surrounded them, "I'm just sorry I couldn't have been…more helpful to you."
Amelia would have none of the pity-apologies. She might be tied up but she still had her pride. But something about the doctor, something she didn't quite know what, made her order to 'man up' come out as more of; dare she say it; a compliment?
"Don't be daft. You've been very helpful. Truly," she added, knowing Doppler wouldn't believe her kind words.
Her words struck a chord in Doppler. Amelia, the strong-willed woman who never shared a kind word with him on the entire trip, was tied up beside him, encouraging him that he in fact was not a useless lump of flesh on this voyage.
"I feel like such a useless weakling!" he cried, cradling his head in his hands. Wait. His hands? He stared at them for a short moment, "With abnormally thin wrists."
He hid his untied hands quickly behind his back, squeezing Amelia's softly, as to not alarm her of what he was about to do. He had a plan, a very simple plan but an effective one none-the-less.
"Excuse me, brutish pirate!" he called as condescendingly as he could. The fat, pierced pirate burped disgustingly as he scratched his armpit, "Yes, you. I have a question! Is it that your body is too massive for your teeny-tiny head or is it that your head is too teeny-tiny for your big fat body?"
The pierced pirate looked dumfounded for a second before looking down at himself. Finally figuring out that the doctor was making fun of him, the pirate growled and waddled across the longboat to grasp Doppler by the collar of his shirt. Mike smiled knowingly and scooted closer to Amelia.
"I pummel you good!" he exclaimed in a thick Russian accent. Doppler cringed away from the pirate's breath. Dear God! Did he ever brush? But he ignored it as 'Step 2' of his plan was now in action.
"Yes! I'm sure you will," Doppler squeaked weakly, "But I have one more question! Is this yours?" he added innocently, pointing the laser pistol he'd swiped from the pirate's belt not a moment ago, at his gigantic, flabby belly. The pirate stared dumbly at the weapon aimed at his belly.
"Uuuuh."
Mike giggled.
~oO0Oo~
"Yes!" Neera cried. She was leaning over the side of the ship, watching as the engine sparked to life, lifting the ancient vessel off the ground just as the once-solid ground fell to pieces. She ran to Jim standing at the wheel and hugged him from behind.
"Yes! You did it! We're not gonna die!" she squealed happily into Jim's shoulder. Jim didn't bother trying to hide the violent blush that crept to his face. He had more important things to do; like saving their hides. But the way Neera's body was pressed up against his was distracting to say the least, so instead he focused on her excitement and let it fuel his own.
"Yes! We are so outta here!"
Morph laughed manically as he flew between Jim and Neera.
"Aah Jimbo!" a call came from behind them. Neera and Jim both turned to see Silver jump down onto their ship, "Aren't yeh the seventh wonder of the universe!"
Jim chanced a quick glance around, for anything he could use to fend Silver off. There! Darting forward, he grabbed a sword that had been sticking out of a pile of gold and stabbing it threateningly in Silver's direction. The cyborg stopped his advance and stared down at the blade.
"Get! Back!" Jim ordered, silently thanking whatever god out there that his voice didn't crack or waver, despite his nerves. Silver looked up slowly, glaring at Jim from under his hat.
"I like yeh lad. But," his mechanical arm shot forward and grasped Neera's arm, pulling her to him in one quick movement. Jim didn't even have time to swing his sword. Neera cried out in pain and struggled against the cyborg uselessly. It was only after she'd stomped on his normal foot really hard that Silver grunted in pain and brought out a small knife - well, even though it was small, the blade was still about the length of Jim's hand – and held it against Neera's throat.
"But, I've come too far to let you stand between me and meh treasure."
Silver pressed the blade against Neera's throat threateningly, earning a quiet whimper from the girl.
This was so not fair! It seemed that no matter how hard Neera tried to keep her involvement in the movie to a minimum, life just dragged her kicking and screaming right into the thick of things. Jim was still standing in front of the steering wheel holding his sword but he was too scared to move; too scared to attack. Because of her. Because Neera had gotten indirectly involved again. And now Silver was holding a knife to her throat. Somewhere deep in her little black heart, Neera knew he would have no qualms in slitting her throat to get what he wanted. This just wasn't fair.
"Let her go, Silver," Jim ordered, keeping his sword raised in Silver's direction. The cyborg smirked; at least Neera thought he smirked, she couldn't really see his face, and pressed the blade harder into her throat. Neera bit back a hiss as a small drop of blood oozed its way past the knife and down her neck. Jim's eyes widened and he lowered his sword a little. The cyborg's smirk grew and he took a step forward, dragging Neera along with him.
Neera winced as the knife moved along her skin with the movement and another drop of the crimson liquid ran down her throat to join its predecessor. Despite everything going on, a small part of Neera's mind whispered: 'Wasn't something supposed to happen right about now?'
Just as Silver came within striking distance of Jim, a large purple beam of heat and fire struck the side of the ancient ship knocking everyone flying over the edge of the railing. Silver managed to grab the railing's edge and Neera had been lucky enough to grab a hold of his coat to prevent herself from being flung into the molten pool below. Jim hadn't been as lucky and had fallen way beyond the surface of the ledge to the opposite wall, clawing madly at the unyielding metal for a handhold. After a few terrifying moments of grasping at nothing but air and slick metal, Jim caught on a small ledge.
However, in the sudden jolt of the laser hitting the ship, Silver's knife had accidentally sliced clean through the skin on Neera's collarbone, narrowly missing her neck and major arteries. Neera grasped at Silver's coat and screamed in agony as the pain registered in her adrenaline-fueled mind. Silver glanced down at her and both his normal and mechanical eye widened at the sight of the blood pooling steadily down the girl's front. A heated buzzing alerted him to the purple laser eating through the ship and all her golden treasures. Stealing another quick glance at Neera, telling himself over and over that she'd be fine, he turned his attention back to the ship with the gold.
"Oh no, you don't!" Silver grunted heavily, pulling the ship towards himself and out of the laser's deadly fire.
Neera felt the world swimming in and out of focus. This was bad; this was very, very bad. She was loosing too mush blood. She would have cried out to Silver but her tongue felt swollen and glued to the roof of her mouth. Morph's blurred pink form darted back and forth in front of her, squealing madly in panic. Neera felt the rough fabric of Silver's coat slip from her grip and she collapsed in the small chunk of surviving floor.
The mad cyborg was still fighting to keep the ship out of the laser's way. Why wasn't he helping her? Couldn't her see she was in pain? Jim would already have her halfway down to the medical ward if he were here. Jim…Jim? Where was he anyway? They were supposed to swab the decks together. If he'd run out on the chores, she'd give him a piece of her mind.
BAM!
The loud sound of a ship crashing into the small pillar of floor that remained shocked Neera out of her blood-loss induced daydreams. She could hear Morph's panicked gurgling and babbling, telling the cyborg about Jim's predicament. Neera grit her teeth and forced herself off the floor. Dying would just have to wait a little while longer. Dragging herself to her knees was harder than it should have been.
"Silver!" Neera groaned as pain flared from her wound, "Silver!" she called louder, hoping that she caught his attention.
The cyborg turned his head and she saw his eyes widen. She must really look like a mess.
"Where's Jim?" she struggled to get to her feet but the dizziness in her head would have none of it and she fell to her knees. The cyborg glanced around, finally spotting the young man struggling to remain alive on the wall right across from them.
"Jimbo!" Silver cried.
Exchanging his hand attachment for an extending vice, Silver grasped the ship in one hand and stretched out for Jim with the other. Jim was still scrambling to hold onto his little ledge.
"Reach for me now!" Silver called, extending his mechanical attachment for all it was worth. Only inches remained between the cyborg's hand and Jim's. Jim reached out for it as far as he could but anymore and he'd fall. Jumping was out of the question; there was nowhere to put his feet and he didn't have a good enough handhold to even attempt such a daring maneuver.
"I-I can't!" Jim exclaimed. He was bordering on panic now, he could feel it. The intense heat from below was not helping to calm him in any way and the muscles in his arms were starting to burn with the effort of holding him up.
"Silver, you can't reach him! Let go of the ship!" Jim heard Neera scream over the sound of the explosions. The small ledge he held onto crackled ominously and disappeared into the wall. Jim felt his heart in his throat as he slipped farther down the slick metal wall, only to grasp another small ledge. He struggled for a firmer grip and ignored the burning in his arms.
Silver was conflicted, looking between Jim and the ship full of precious gold. The gold in the ship sparkled and winked at him. Silver looked down at where Jim still hung for his life. He tried stretching his mechanical arm a little more but he'd already stretched it to the limit. While he waged his internal war, Neera it seemed, had grown tired of his severe lack of decision making.
"SILVER! You drop that ship RIGHT NOW or so help me, I will THROW YOU OVER THE EDGE!"
Neera's piercing scream made the decision for the conflicted pirate. With a loud growl and a curse, Silver released the ship loaded with gold and rushed to Jim's rescue. And not a moment too soon; the ledge Jim hung onto disappeared into the wall and Jim felt the weightless sensation of falling. The cyborg's fleshy hand closed around Jim's and the young man felt a sharp tug as his shoulder took the brunt of the sudden stop. Silver hauled Jim up to the edge of the floor with a chuckle as Neera helped drag him up by his shirt.
As soon as he was on the solid floor, Neera threw her arms around him, pulling him in close and squeezing him.
"You're alive!" she cried into his shirt, "You're ok!"
With those words, the adrenaline faded from her system and she collapsed against the young man. Jim shook her shoulder worriedly, gasping in shock when his hands came away red and sticky. Flipping her so that she was on her back, Jim eyed the damage with wide eyes.
The front of her shirt was covered in blood, matted and sticky with the crimson liquid. A large cut on her collarbone was oozing steadily, showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Jim cast a confused glance at Silver beside him.
"What in the world-" Jim never got to finish his question as the ship filled with gold floated directly into the laser's path and exploded in a ball of fire and half-melted gold. The half-molten gold rained down on the men, burning their skin on contact. Silver scooped up a small handful of the heated coins with his mechanical hand and pressed them carefully to Neera's still-bleeding wound.
The barely-conscious girl snapped at attention and screamed as the metal seared her flesh closed.
"Hold her down lad! I need to stop the bleedin'!" Silver ordered and Jim complied. Holding Neera down was harder that it looked but soon the smell of burning flesh permeated the air around them. Halfway through the closing of her wound, Neera shoved her fist in her mouth to keep from crying out. It wasn't long before a small trickle of blood ran down her clenched fist that alerted Jim to the fact that Neera had broken through the skin. A few agonizing minutes later, the cut on Neera's collarbone was red and raw but no longer bleeding.
"C'mon lad, we've got to get out of here!" Silver hefted the half-conscious Neera in his arms and began trotting towards the exit. It took them a while to dance around the purple lasers and the giant cracks leading toward a fiery doom but somehow they managed without a hitch.
They jumped through the red haze of the portal door leading to the surface, gasping and clutching their sides as they each took breath after breath of blessedly cool air. Jim turned to the cyborg at a sudden realization.
"Silver, you gave up the-"
"Tis a life-long obsession, Jimbo. I'll get over it," Silver reassured, readjusting his grip on Neera as Morph cuddled up against the girl's face reassuringly.
"Aloha Jimmy!" BEN called from above, getting their attentions. The RLS Legacy descended rapidly in front of them with BEN hanging haphazardly over the side pointing at ticking clock: "Hurry people! We got exactly 2 minutes and 34 seconds till PLANET DESCTRUCTION!"
Up on the steering platform, Jim could see Doppler working the wheel.
"Alright now, you're doing fine!" the injured Amelia encouraged Doppler who was frantic at the wheel, "Alright, now ease her over gently-GENTLY!"
The RLS Legacy smashed into the side of the cliff, knocking several rocks from their places.
Jim crawled aboard and Silver handed Neera over to him before following suit. As soon as Silver's mechanical foot left the ground, Doppler steered the ship up and away.
"Take us out of here, Metal Man!" Amelia ordered BEN who obediently turned and begin on the task at hand.
"Aye, Captain!"
They zoomed over the disintegrating ground; purple lasers broke through the miles and miles of machinery to pierce the air around them as explosions racked the surface, throwing high columns of fire and intense heat into the air.
Silver ran halfway up the stairs to the steering platform before turning to Amelia peeling off his hat in a sad sign of respect for the woman whose ship he'd commandeered right out from under her nose, "Captain, yeh dropped from the heavens in the nick o' ti-"
"Save your clap-trap for the judge, Silver," she spat venomously before turning to help Doppler steer the ship in her place.
Silver's chuckle trailed off awkwardly.
"Mike!" Neera called, stumbling along the hallway that led to her and her brother's room. Hopefully he'd done everything she told him to do and was in there waiting for her. He had to be, Neera wouldn't accept it any other way.
"Nee-nee?" the voice was muffled but Neera heard it and sped up her pace a little. When she finally reached their room, she slammed the door open and fell back into the opposite wall as a blond-haired blur rammed into her. Mike wrapped his little arms around her waist and buried his face in her blood-soaked shirt. They sat like that for what felt like an eternity, Mike muffling his sobs in her shirt and Neera cooing softly. After a while, Mike finally looked up at his sister, snot and tears still leaking down his face.
"I-I hid j-just like - sniff - just like you a-asked," he whimpered and buried his face in her shirt again and wiping his nose in it. Neera ignored her initial disgust and hugged her brother closer to her.
"Yeah you did. I'm so proud of you Mike," she cooed quietly, petting his hair softly. Another few minutes passed and when Mike's sobs quieted into hiccups, the little boy looked up at his sister, staring in horror at the blood that covered her front. He opened his mouth but when no words came out, he closed it again. He tried again.
"I…I don't like this movie anymore, Nee. I wanna go home!" Tears threatened to fall again and Neera hugged her brother tightly.
"Shhh, it's ok Mike. We'll go home soon; I promise."
In truth, Neera had absolutely no clue on how they could get home. They'd gotten here by complete accident; and through a TV no less, so how in the world had they managed to get sucked into it. This was a movie; a world that didn't really exist, a cartoon, but everything looked normal. 'Well as far as normal goes anyway,' Neera internally scoffed. The characters didn't look like cartoons; more like real people, the kind you see in action movies like 'Die Hard' or 'James Bond'.
"C'mon now," Neera peeled her brother off of her and struggled to stand. The loss of blood had made her quite dizzy and she hated the way the ship lurched and rocked under her. Mike didn't seem too feel it so she figured it was just her, "Let's get to the Captain and see if there's anything we can do to help."
Mike looked like he was about to protest, suggesting that staying in their room under a mound of blankets sounded like a better idea but followed her out onto the deck.
It looked like hell had been let loose.
The planet's ground was coming apart at the seams, the innermost explosions lifting the puzzle-like pieces into the air. Fire leaked out of every available crack or hole and the purple lasers were still tearing the interior of the planet to bits.
Neera found Jim hunched over a broken slab of metal and a sparking engine piece near the railing.
"Mike, go up and stay with Amelia and Doppler now," Neera ordered and steadily made her way over the deck to Jim.
She knew what was happening. She could remember seeing this part of the movie. The main sail had been taken out by a flying chunk of rock and something about the thrusters not being at full capacity. They wouldn't clear the explosion in time. Neera allowed herself a second to curse Captain Flint's greed, even after death.
'Stupid Flint with his stupid greed and his stupid treasure with his stupid explosions!' Neera cursed.
"Pardon me Jim, but didn't that portal open onto a raging inferno?!" Doppler screeched over the sounds of explosions from said inferno.
"Yes," Jim, pulled the slab of metal out of the pile with a grunt, "But I'm gonna change that! I'm gonna open a different door!" he explained to both the Captain and Doppler. Neera could see the gears working in Silver's head as he used his mechanical eye to spy the glowing green sphere of planets near the base of the portal.
Doppler however didn't seem to be following Jim or Silver's line of thought.
"Captain, really, I don't see how any of this can possibly-"
"Listen to the boy!" Silver interrupted, making his way past Neera and towards Jim who was struggling with the engine piece.
"One minute and 29 seconds until planet destruction!" BEN called out above the squabble, fingers flying over the keys on his mini-computer.
"What do you need Jim?" Silver hunched over the slab of metal and the engine with Neera in tow.
"Just some way to attach this," Jim threw a rope over the engine and began to tie it down when Silver shoved it out of the way holding his mechanical arm-turned welder.
"Alright, stand back! Stand back now!" he warned before he set to work. A cascade of blue sparks issued from the melding metal before Silver finished. It wasn't the greatest work ever but it would do the job. "Here you go!" he grunted as he helped Jim heft the crudely made board onto the railing's side. Morph even helped a little, squeaking 'Here you go!' before floating up to Silver's face.
Jim jumped up on the board, settling his feet in a secure position before turning to Neera and Silver, "Ok now, no matter what happens, keep the ship heading straight for that portal!"
Silver stared worriedly at the young man before him for a second but didn't say anything.
"58 seconds!" BEN called frantically from his spot near the steering deck and Jim spared a glance in the robot's direction. Turning back to Silver and Neera, Jim was not expecting the girl to reach up and grasp his shirt, pulling him down to her level and planting her lips firmly on his. He was bent awkwardly over the board but for that moment, Jim couldn't care less. Neera was kissing him, trying to express all of her feelings through that one kiss. For a second, Jim thought the Seer was only kissing him because he was going to die. That thought was brought crumbling down when she broke the kiss.
"When you fall, look to the wall. It'll save you," she gasped, still breathless from the kiss.
Jim's gaze hardened and he nodded curtly before kick-starting the engine and lurching into the heated air of the exploding planet. As he rounded about the RLS Legacy, he heard Neera shouting after him.
"You better come back to me!"
Despite the dire situation, Jim couldn't help but smile. With a new sense of hope, Jim set off to the portal to hopefully save everyone's lives.
Silver eyed Neera as she slumped against the railing. The blood-loss and the large amounts of adrenaline coursing through her system was not going easy on her body. One moment she felt fine and dandy, then the next she felt so dizzy and faint she thought she would keel over. Neera felt Silver's gaze on her and looked up at the cyborg.
"What?" she asked, wiping her sweat-covered face with her sleeve. The cyborg smiled almost knowingly as he scratched his chin.
"Come back to yeh, eh?" he chuckled as Neera's face turned beet-red in a second. Instead of teasing the girl further, Silver turned to where Amelia and Doppler commanded the wheel; "Well, you heard him!" he yelled up at them, "Get this blasted heap turned 'round!"
Amelia's eyes widened and if she noticed the sudden change in Silver's actions, she didn't comment. Instead she turned to Doppler.
"Doctor, head us back to the portal."
"Aye Captain," Doppler answered unsurely but complying with the Captain's orders and turned the wheel. The ship made a sharp U-turn, narrowly missing several flying bits of rock and laser beams.
Jim sped through the air like a bullet. It was like riding his solar-surfer again, only more dangerous, fiery and he had more than just his own life at stake. The puzzle-like pieces of the planet were rising faster now, sending Jim veering hard to the left and right to avoid crashing.
Left, right, over, under, left again. Jim weaved and ducked through the chaos. The engine sputtered and died but a quick stomp on the starter-pedal brought it back to life. Left, left, over, right. A sudden pillar rose directly in front of Jim and he twisted his way past it, just narrowly missing the edge by the skin of his teeth.
Back on the RLS Legacy Doppler was having a harder time dodging the rising pillars. A pillar appeared suddenly and Doppler threw his weight into the steering wheel, forcing the ship to turn away from it. While he narrowly missed the pillar, it clipped the ship and broke off one of the balancers that kept the ship steady. Amelia was leaning against the railing of the steering platform barking out orders for Doppler to follow but the constant commands was beginning to wear on the good doctor.
"Now to the right- THE RIGHT!" Amelia growled, her short fuse growing shorter by the minute as Doppler continued steering the ship horribly.
"I know! I know! Will you just let me drive!" Doppler snarled back. He was so focused on not steering them into a fiery death that he completely missed the look of complete and utter shock that painted Amelia's face. It wasn't every day the calm, timid and usually tongue-tied Doctor lost his cool and barked out orders and commands like a captain.
The ship continued to swerve out of the way of several exploding pillars. BEN was still standing hunched over his post, monitoring the count-down to planet destruction.
"25 seconds!" he screamed frantically, fingers flying about on the keypads. His eyes had long since taken a red hue as the clocks counted down.
The engine sputtered and died again. Jim cursed his luck; this had been the fourth time already. He stomped on the starter-pedal again. The engine turned but no fire came out. He stomped on it again; the engine turned again but remained dead to him.
"No! No!" Jim stomped on the starter-pedal again and again, hoping; praying that it would start. His acceleration died and Jim could feel himself start to plummet. But instead of hitting the ground like he thought he would, he continued falling. A quick look at his surroundings showed a deep chasm forged from a laser; a deep chasm leading to the molten center of the exploding planet. And he was falling down it. Jim continued stomping on the starter-pedal as the heat from the molten pool below him rushed up to meet him.
"C'mon lad!" Silver hissed under his breath, heart beating frantically in his chest. The boy he'd grown so fond of was falling to his death. A death that awaited them all if Jim didn't make it in time. Neera leaned precariously over the edge of the railing, wounds be damned, and screamed.
"The wall, you idiot! THE WALL!"
Jim continued slamming his foot down on the starter-pedal as hard as he could. Nothing was working! Panic edged its way into his heart. Was this really how he was going to die?
"17 seconds!" BEN screamed as the clocks continued counting down.
Jim slammed his foot down on the blasted starter-pedal one last time with a frustrated cry. No! This was not how he wanted to die!
'When you fall, look to the wall. It'll save you.' Neera's voice echoed in his head. Well, he was definitely falling. Jim glared at the wall not a few meters away from him. The wall? What could the wall possibly do for him- Jim's eyes widened in realization and he lunged his way over to it. Kick-flipping the crude board so that the engine faced the wall, Jim shoved the tail end into it. Sparks flew as metal scraped against metal. But Jim continued to fall. And fall. And fall. And-
BOOM!
The metal from the engine began glowing a hot, cherry-red as the friction from the metal-on-metal brought the damnable engine to life with a resounding bang. Jim's rapid descent was halted abruptly and Jim had to hang onto the edge of the board as to not be thrown off. Shooting up from his would-be death of molten gold like a rocket, Jim steered his board towards the top of the chasm. As he neared the top of the chasm he saw the belly of the RLS Legacy pass overhead and his heart lurched. He was supposed to be in front of them! He finally reached the top edge of the chasm and lowered his body closer to his board so that he was nothing more than a blur as he sped towards the glowing green orb that promised their freedom from this madness. He had to reach the orb before the ship did.
"Seven!" BEN read aloud, hope dwindling with each number he read, "Six!"
Jim had to reach the orb. He just had to!
"Five!"
Only less than a hundred meters left.
"Four!"
Jim willed his board to go faster.
"Three!"
Only a few meters left.
"TWO!"
Jim's fingers closed in on the glowing green orb for the last time and pushed the symbol of a crescent moon.
DUN DUN DAAAAH!
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The End!
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Or is it? Since I love you all so very, very much, I decided not to end the chapter here and make it more than an even 10 chapters (Even numbers are amazing!). So here is a little more love from your favorite author, White Wolf Writers.
~oO0Oo~
It was a beautiful day at the Montressor Space Port. The winds were steady; the port was alive with sounds and smells as people went about their usual business. The Etherium was calm as swirls blues and purples swirled peacefully-
The golden-edged portal opened up to the peaceful blue expanse of Montressor Space Port. The RLS Legacy shot out of it like a cork in a pressurized bottle as the planet behind it exploded, raining down enormous waves of metal, fire and debris. With one final explosion that dwarfed all the previous ones, Treasure Planet destroyed the portal mechanism and the golden-edged portal closed in on itself, thus limiting the amount of fire and debris that shot towards the ship like a hand reaching out to destroy the vessel that brought about its downfall.
Jim steered his board around the charred and damaged ship, cheering at their victory, their survival, their success.
"Wooha!" Jim let loose a wild cry as the feeling of pure accomplishment and relief flooded his system. They were alive! Alive! He could hear Silver yelling and cheering from the deck, as Neera jumped up and down, screaming with joy Mike dashed to where his sister was to hug her fiercely. Maneuvering the board, Jim zoomed over where Silver was leaning over the railing, still cheering.
"Yeh done it, boy! Ah ha ha ha!" Silver laughed heartily as Jim came zooming in and high-fived the boy as he sped past. Morph screamed happily before exploding in a multitude of fireworks and confetti.
"AH! Didn't I say the lad had greatness in him?!" Silver boomed proudly over the sounds of Morph's explosions. From below, Jim could hear the captured pirates yelling and cheering happily as well.
Jim maneuvered the board to the side of the ship and kicked off it to land the deck where Neera promptly crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a fierce hug. Morph came up and began licking his face animatedly like a dog welcoming home its owner, gurgling and giggling all the while. Mike joined his sister in the hug and wrapped himself around Jim's leg, crying and laughing into his pants.
"Oh gods Jim, please don't ever do something like that again!" Neera cried into his neck. Jim laughed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. As if he'd ever do something that crazy again. Neera loosened her grip on Jim to look up at his face with a wide grin; "I'm just happy you're safe!"
He didn't know what drove him to do it; it could have been the way he held her that made it feel so right or the way those chocolate brown eyes of hers sparkled when she looked at him, but nevertheless, Jim leaned down and pulled the girl in his arms in for a kiss. He could feel Neera smile into the kiss but it didn't bother him as he deepened it. He could feel Mike let go of his leg and could hear the boy say 'yuck' as they kissed but Jim couldn't care less. Neera twined her fingers through his hair pulling him closer before they broke the kiss, leaving them both gasping for air and red-faced.
"I'm glad you're safe too," he panted, a feeling of pride blooming somewhere in his stomach as Neera's blush deepened.
Captain Amelia and Doppler walked up to them, clearing their throats. If it was even possible, Neera's blush deepened and she retracted her arms from around Jim's neck. But before she could shy away, Jim wrapped an arm around her shoulder, keeping her with him for just a little while longer. Neera didn't bother struggling, instead nuzzling up against his chest.
"Unorthodox, but ludicrously effective," Amelia praised as Morph flew off to find Silver standing not far from the stairs leading to the steering platform, "I'd be proud to recommend you to the Interstellar Academy. They could use a man like you."
Morph settled himself on the cyborg's shoulder, sighing happily. Silver was so proud of Jim. When the boy had first come down in the galley, he'd been a trouble-making nobody with no direction in life. And now, he was a young man with a future. With a good-looking lass on his arm at that.
"Just wait until your mother hears about this!" Doppler exclaimed excitedly, "First we may downplay the life-threatening parts," the doctor added hastily as he imagined the terrifying look on Sarah's face if they didn't edit some parts out. Jim held back a chuckle and Doppler went to go stand beside Amelia, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder with a smile. Neera slipped out of Jim's arms with a smile and held her brother's hand as they stood beside Amelia and Doppler while Ben crept up to Jim.
"Jimmy?" BEN stepped up carefully looking like a kicked puppy, "That was," the robot paused for only a millisecond before exploding, "UNFORGETTABLE! I know you don't like touching but; get ready for a hug big guy, 'cause I gotta hug ya!" The deranged robot flung himself at Jim, wrapping his arms around the young man and laughing manically. Jim rolled his eyes before he hugged BEN back, swinging him around before putting him back on the ground. BEN stared at Jim in shock.
"Hey! You hugged me back!" he exclaimed happily before he began sniffling, "Oh, I promised myself I wouldn't cry!" and the sad little robot was reduced to loud awkward sobs.
Neera smiled. Now that all the danger and explosions were over with, she found it tons more enjoyable. Here people actually wanted to spend time with her and her brother, unlike her parents. Neera briefly wondered if they had even noticed their children were missing; after all, several weeks had gone by since she and Mike got sucked into the movie. 'Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad,' Neera thought to herself with a small smile.
"Nee-nee! You're glowing!"
Mike's voice broke the calm on the group as everyone turned to stare at Neera who was indeed glowing with a faint white light, as was her brother.
"What's going on?" Neera stared at her glowing hands. This wasn't right. Was it some form of radiation from the explosion?
Mike let out a yelp as he began floating slowly upwards. Doppler grabbed the floating boy, successfully keeping him grounded on deck.
"Neera!" Jim grabbed the girl just as her feet left the ground. Neera clutched at Jim's shirt fearfully. What the hell was going on?!
"Neera, lass, what's goin' on?" Silver boomed as he strode over where the group huddled around the glowing, floating siblings. He'd planned on making a quiet getaway in the last remaining longboat but after Mike's initial cry of fear, he'd turned back and seen the little fellow begin to glow.
"I-I don't know," Neera choked as the upward pull strengthened and Jim strengthened his grip on her.
"Neera!" Mike cried out fearfully and Doppler hugged the boy closer to himself to calm him. The upward pull strengthened some more and Jim's grip slipped but he managed to grab Neera's arms almost painfully. Deep in his gut, Jim had a feeling that if he let go, he would loose Neera forever. No! He was not going to let go; he was not going to loose her.
Neera's shoulder-length red-brown hair began floating, almost as if she were underwater. She was scared, he could tell. There were tears in her eyes that threatened to spill and she grasped at Jim's forearms almost as tightly as he held her.
"Don't let me go," Neera pleaded as the pull got stronger and Jim struggled to retain his hold on her, "Please; please don't let me go."
Jim grunted as he tried pulling her down towards him but to no avail, "I won't, I promise."
The weightless sensation increased and Neera felt Jim's grip on her falter as he struggled. It was getting harder and harder to hold her down; Neera knew it, Jim knew it, Doppler and Mike knew it, everyone knew it.
'…home…' a voice whispered softly in Neera's head.
Home? Were they going home? But the movie wasn't over yet, not by a long shot. And Neera had just finally come to terms with being stuck here in the world of Treasure Planet; with Mike and Jim and Doppler and Amelia. She wanted to stay here with Jim. She wanted to stay here where she was loved. She wanted to stay.
Whatever brought them to this world wanted to take them home now? After everything that had happened, it wanted to take Neera and Mike home now that they wanted to stay?
"No! I don't wanna go home!" Neera whimpered as the tears she'd held at bay finally fell. But instead of falling to the deck, they began floating upwards, towards the rigging and Solar Sails and the vest expanse of the Etherium. Mike screamed frantically as Doppler finally lost his grip on the boy and he floated up to hover amongst the rigging. Once he finally stopped moving upward, the pale white glow that surrounded him seemed to strengthen, giving him an angelic look if not for the fear that marked his features.
"Neera," Jim grunted as the pull grew more and more intense, "I don't know if I can hold on much longer!"
Neera's heart lurched into her throat, "No! Please! Please, don't let me go! I don't wanna go home! I wanna stay here with you!" the tears fell harder and continued floating up to where Mike hovered in the air. Jim's eyes widened.
"You're…going home?" he asked, shock marring his features. Neera was going home? Glowing white like an angel sent from heaven and floating towards the sky; that was going home? Jim couldn't help a small grin from spreading in understanding.
"You really are an angel, aren't you, Neera?"
Neera stared at him flabbergasted and gave a small choked laugh, "God, you are so cheesy!"
The upward pull lessened somewhat and Neera tentatively reached down and held Jim's face in her hands, staring deep into his blue-gray eyes. This might be the last time she sees them like this.
"Neera," Jim whispered, gently stroking her face and wiping away the tears that still stained her face. God, even while crying she was just the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Especially now; her hair floated about her peacefully as if she were underwater and her eyes sparkled with remnant tears.
Neera closed the gap between the two of them and kissed Jim for all that she was worth. She loved him, he loved her. There was nothing else. She ran her fingers through his hair one last time, tasted his lips one last time, felt his warmth one last time.
They broke apart gasping for breath and before Jim could even give her one last hug goodbye, she floated up to join her brother. She was crying silently, tears running down her face as she grinned one last time; one last heart-breaking smile. The white glow grew brighter and brighter and just before Jim shut his eyes to block out the bright light, Neera mouthed something.
The white glow intensified and with a flash, she was gone. Neera and Mike were gone; vanished. Jim felt something warm and wet slide down his face and he reached up to find out what it was. A single tear slid down his face. Jim felt a large hand on his shoulder and looked up in time to see Silver pull him into a hug.
Jim heard Amelia and Doppler speaking to him but it was as if they had been muffled. All he could hear was Neera's last words to him. Even though he hadn't heard her speak it out loud, he knew what she meant. He knew what she said those precious moments before she disappeared. He was a genius after all.
'I love you.'
~oO0Oo~
It was dark; dark and warm. Neera floated in the darkness, oblivious to everything. She was happy here. She didn't know why, but here in the darkness, she was happy.
"Nee-nee!" Mike's voice echoed in the darkness.
Neera smiled. Her little brother; she loved her little brother. Where was he? They were going to go to the park today. Or was that yesterday?
"Nee-nee!" Mike called again, less echo-y this time.
Neera's back hurt. Why did it hurt? Had she slept wrong? Had Mike pushed her off the bed again?
"Nee-nee!" Mike urged, louder this time and much less echo-y; it sounded like he was right next to her.
Neera grumbled. It was still dark; she could sleep a little while longer. What did Mike want so early in the morning?
"Nee-nee!" Neera felt a small hand smack her cheek.
"Ow, Mike! What the hell?" Neera shot up from her place on the floor. Her initial anger gave way to surprised shock as she realized where she was.
She was home. More specifically, she was lying in front of the TV in the living room, snacks and ice cream still laid out on the table.
"Wha…" Neera gaped at the scene. Mike, who had been crouched in front of her poking her to wake her up, walked back to the couch and began snacking on the candy and still-frozen ice-cream. Everything was just as they'd left it. Had they really been sucked into a movie? Neera glanced at the TV. It was dark and blank and black smoke was coming out of the DVD player.
"Holy shit!" Neera yelped as she ran for the nearest fire extinguisher as flames began shooting out of the device.
After a few hectic moments of battling with the fire extinguisher to make it work and putting out the flames before they spread, Neera collapsed on the couch exhausted. Mike just sat and stared at her. This worried Neera. The only times he'd ever been this quiet was when he'd done something really bad or accidentally glued his mouth shut with superglue.
"What did you do?"
Mike giggled and Neera felt her stomach drop. Okay, he'd done something really, really bad. Before she could catch him to interrogate him, Mike jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs to his sister's room.
"Mike! Tell me! What did you do?" Neera jumped over the back of the couch and ran to catch her brother. She had just reached the top of the stairs when she heard her bedroom door slam shut. Sneaking up to the door, Neera pressed an ear to the wood. She couldn't exactly hear what was going on but she could hear Mike's voice saying something in there. Neera's heart stopped when she heard another voice, deep and unfamiliar and most definitely not her brother's, answer the little blond boy.
Neera wasted no time kicking her bedroom door open to engage the intruder and throw him out of her house, but what she saw halted her in her tracks.
There, on her bed, sat a 20-year old man with short brown hair and piercing blue-gray eyes, in a white and gold-trimmed uniform. The young man looked up abruptly at Neera's sudden entrance and his shocked expression melted into a loving gaze that rooted her to the spot unable to breathe.
"Hey Neera, glad to see you finally woke up."
…
…
…
"Jim?"
Aaaaaaand CLIFFHANGER!
Oh my God! I surprise myself with how utterly evil I am! MWAHAHAHA! Like I stated at the top, this will be the last OFFICIAL chapter of 'An Unexpected Journey' and I am leaving myself with a little material to work with if I ever want to write an unofficial add-on to this story. I write fan fiction as a hobby and sometimes even as a stress reliever or just to get some smut off my chest.
I may or may not make something more of this but we'll see.
Firstly, regarding the unofficial chapter idea: How many would actually read a 'sequel' of this story if I made one? If no one's interested that's fine because I do have other fan fics to play with. I am just wondering because I have had some lovely reviews and PM's regarding this story. PM me if you have any ideas, comments or reviews.