A/N: The amazing cover for this story was graciously provided by my friend sonamy4eva210/RosemaryRainbow on deviantART. Go to my profile to check it out!

Vanessa took up the captain's offer and slept on a cot in an empty room in her quarters at night. Yet, despite the comfort and security this decision brought, she didn't sleep more than an hour. In the mornings she was awoken by the shout of the crew and heavy machinery being used. Every time she exited her room, Captain Amelia would be at her desk, charting their course, or out and about on the ship.

Vanessa would be given things to do every now and then, like passing notes and maps, and doing chores for Silver, but she was nowhere near as worked as Jim was. Unlike Jim, she had breaks every now and then. During those breaks she went about the ship to find places to hide, places where she could be alone. She often did this on The Twilight Horror in hopes to get away from the horrid crew. The only person who came to find her was Jim, who was sometimes accompanied by that floating blob she learned was called Morph.

Vanessa woke up one morning to the sound of growling, and discovered it was the captain who made that sound as she exited her room. She was muttering phrases like "blasted map" and "can't find a damn port anywhere." The ginger girl crept closer in a slow manner and leaned over slightly in order to view the map at a good angle. It was most definitely out of date; there were planets and asteroids she knew of that weren't even on the piece of parchment.

"Good morning, Ms. Kendrick,"

Vanessa jumped and backtracked a few feet. She should have known not to look at the map. They were top secret, and not for her eyes.

"Calm down, girl, you've done nothing wrong," Captain Amelia insisted beckoning for her charge to come closer, "Did you have something to say?"

Biting her lip against the words that desperately wanted to come, Vanessa shook her head and looked down at her shoes.

"Go on, you have my permission to speak,"

There was a pause before she finally made her suggestion, "Um . . . w-well, there's a p-port not very far f-f-from us . . . here," she reached over and quickly touched a blank spot like it was going to burn her.

"Ah, so she can speak," Captain Amelia commented. She looked at where Vanessa pointed and gave her a dubious look, "My dear, there is nothing there,"

"If you don't m-mind me saying so, Captain, this m-map is out d-d-dated. They recently b-built it next to the p-planet Mavinark,"

"And what is the catch?" she questioned, a slight tone of suspicion in her voice, "What company is kept there? You did, after all, come from a pirate ship. Did The Twilight Horror visit there often? Is it a hangout for pirates?"

Hanging her head in guilt, bangs falling over her eyes, Vanessa nodded in the slightest. Amelia's bright green eyes flicked between the map and the girl, rolling the new information and options in her head. When at last she made her decision, the captain sighed, "It seems we have no choice. Apparently some of our supplies were damaged and we do not have enough to rebuild," she marked a few things in the map before rolling it into a scroll, "Take this to Mr. Arrow and only Mr. Arrow. No one is to look at it but him, understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Vanessa took the scroll and tucked it under her arm.

"Then take this note to Silver," she slid a spare piece of paper in front of her and wrote a couple of words on it before folding it up and handing it to Vanessa, "He needs to list the supplies he needs for the rest of the journey. We can get them while we're docked,"

"Yes, ma'am,"

Captain Amelia sighed again and sank into her plush chair, "I hope you're right, Ms. Kendrick,"

Vanessa felt a small amount of pride swell inside her; she knew she was right.

"Off with you then,"

A FEW DAYS LATER

Jim's favorite places on the RLS Legacy were the shrouds and the crows next, the former of which he was currently climbing. It gave him a rush being up this high, so close to the color changing atmosphere that he could touch anything that passed over his head. There were stars, moons, planets, meteors that whizzed by. Everything out here took his breath away, and he couldn't wait to see more.

It was later that night, and most of the crew had gone to bed, with the exception of Mr. Turnbuckle, who stood at the wheel, Mr. Arrow, who stood at his side, and Doc and the captain making a slow trip below deck while arguing yet again on some insignificant subject.

Oh, and Vanessa Kendrick, who was strolling toward him.

This surprised Jim; not because she was on the deck, no. He noticed after a few days of her being here that she often hung around here when the captain, Mr. Arrow, Doc, or he himself were on the deck. Otherwise she was hiding. What surprised him was that she was approaching him. If he wanted to talk, he had to go to her, and normally he only got her to say three-word sentences before she shied away.

Jim slid down the ropes as she drew near, feeling the light burn on his palms. She had on the outfit she wore when he first saw her. While her clothes had several holes in them, they looked a thousand times better now that they were clean. He swung his legs over the edge of the boat so he could sit on it, "Hey,"

"H-Hi," she replied. A moment of silence passed between them. Vanessa's eyes were locked on her fingers as they twisted in and out of each other in a nervous fashion, "Um -"

"Yes?" Jim prompted.

"Uh – I – um – wanted to t-thank you for s-s-saving me twice,"

"Twice?"

"Yes," she lifted her gaze to his. She never noticed before how deep blue his eyes were, like pools of water impossible to get out of, "Once from T-T-Tromis, and on Manivark, r-remember?"

How could he forget? Secretly, Jim was ecstatic about it. For the first time he did something right . . . although they could have avoided the Mavinark situation altogether if he hadn't taunted those thugs in the first place.

EARLIER THAT DAY

The trip to the nearest space station was a few days' time, and within that time Jim had cleaned piles of dishes as high as the ceiling, prepared ingredients for meals, and swabbed the deck a hundred times over. Whoever's idea it was that made Silver in charge of him should go to hell – oh wait, it was the captain who made that decision.

The Manivark space port looked almost like the one in orbit of Montressor. It had the same crescent moon design and a pearly white glow, but the buildings were made of red brick instead of white plaster, and the whole place had a sort of dirty and dangerous vibe. Jim's nerves itched to get off this boat and explore as much as time would allow him.

Captain Amelia directed her crew as they entered the space port's atmosphere and pulled into an open dock. Jim noticed that their ship looked like a great merchant ship compared to the tiny, roughed up vessels around them. When the hatches were batten down and the ship had been tied up properly, she called for Jim to approach her.

"You and Ms. Kendrick are to go and buy the items on Silver's list," from a pocket in her long-tailed coat she produced a large, brown, leather pouch with a gold clasp, "Get her clothes cleaned while you're at it, and I don't want you staying out for too long, I don't like the looks of this place . . . where is Ms. Kendrick?"

Jim turned his back to her and took a quick look around the deck, finding her nowhere in sight, "Um – I'll go find her," and he walked away without being dismissed.

"Be back in three hours, or we leave without you!" the captain called after him.

After looking about the shrouds, masts, and decks, Jim figured Vanessa was in a new hiding spot below deck. Unless you were in the captain's quarters, the lower levels of the ship were quite dark. So when Jim strolled through a hall and found light streaming under the crack of a door that lead to the gun ports, curiosity ignited within and he looked inside. The wooden flaps that covered the openings of the cannons were pulled back, allowing the once dark room to brighten considerably. Vanessa sat beside one of the large cannons, peering out at their landing spot. When she heard the door creak open, she gasped and turned to stand against the wall, posture tense with fear. Jim halted and held up his hands defensively to show he meant no harm, "Whoa, relax, it's just me,"

She exhaled deeply and loosened from the tense pose, pressing a hand to her chest in an attempt to slow her pounding heart. Jim waited a minute before letting his hands fall back to his sides and approached her again, "You and I are supposed to go and get Sliver his stuff, and get your clothes cleaned,"

Oh God no. Why? Surely he was going to get them in trouble, whether intentional or by accident. No doubt the captain had ordered this, however, so Vanessa followed Jim to the cabin to get her garments, and then to the deck. Before they stepped off the ship, Silver called them back.

"What now?" Jim complained, "Got dishes for me to do or something?

"No back talkin' now, lad," Silver countered, "I want ye to take this," and in his hand he placed a laser pistol.

For a moment Jim looked eager, for a smile stretched across his lips, and Vanessa inwardly groaned – for God sakes, who would give this kid a gun?! But then his smile vanished and he stared shadily at the cyborg, "Why?"

"This place looks bad. Some'tin don't feel right 'bout it, so I want you to have protection,"

"If you really want us to have protection, wouldn't you come with us?"

"Well, if you want me to -"

"No, no!" Jim held up a hand to stop him, "We're fine, we got this. Let's go, Vanessa,"

They walked onto the cobblestone streets, which were coated in a layer of dust. From the look of the place, you would never be able to tell that it was built in the recent decade; thick smoke hung around them, making it harder to draw in the artificial air and adding a hazy quality to their vision. Every other building had a crumbling wall covered by spare blankets and sheets, and the red bricks that had fallen were left in piles along the edges of the streets. Scary looking people hung outside these places, wearing tattered clothing – some of them were missing a limb, and other had more than they should.

Jim's adventurous spirit diminished slightly the deeper they went into the city, but only slightly. He kept the laser pistol in his pocket and unceasingly checked over his shoulder to make sure Vanessa still followed him. Oddly, she stuck very close to him.

"Let's go in here," he pointed to a small building with a sign above it that read, Laundromat. The inside of this building had a mossy smell, which Jim preferred over the smoke. At the front counter stood a woman, similar looking to a human, only with two extra eyes on her forehead, reading a newspaper that dated back to yesterday. She didn't look up when they entered, or when Jim rang the bell that signaled they needed service. Only when he started to pound on the desk did Four-Eyes give them a fraction of her attention, and it was a frustrated grunt as she slammed the paper on her desk.

"Can I help you?" she retorted.

"We need a washer and dryer," Jim informed with just as much attitude as she had.

"You got money?"

He pulled the pouch the captain gave him from his pocket and took a couple gold coins, "This enough?"

She swiped the coins from him and ran her fingertips over the finish of each one before depositing them into the crease of her breasts. Then she reached under the desk and produced a plastic card, "Use this to lock the machine,"

Jim took the card and lead Vanessa to an empty machine. He opened the door to the washer and pushed the only outfit Vanessa had inside. He closed the door when they added the provided soap and fabric softener, then locked the door with a swipe of the card.

"That's taken care of," he muttered to himself, "We'll come back and check on them later. Let's get some of Silver's stuff while we're waiting,"

They left the little Laundromat and back into the smoke filled streets. There seemed to be more people in the streets than there was when they last walked them. Jim sent a glare to anyone that gave them a funny look. He was beginning to think Silver was right when he said something wasn't right on this space station. Vanessa could feel it too; her nerves were lit up with anxiety, and she had an inkling that something was going to happen, something bad. Her hunches were never this bad when she visited here.

"Stick close to me, Vanessa," he muttered, quickening his pace a bit. Vanessa, against inner judgment, followed the action so that she was almost stepping on his heels. A moment of silence passed as they navigated the roads. Every once in a while Jim would glance back at her and each time his curiosity of her grew more intense. He wanted to know what happened to Vanessa. She had always been quite when they were children, never talking to him, but she was never as nervous as this, and at least she had talked back then. What did they do to her to make her change?

That's a stupid question, he thought, The fact that she was kidnapped in the first place is enough.

"Vanessa, what happened?" he asked softly.

She knew exactly what he was talking about, and she didn't want to answer him. She didn't want to tell him, didn't want to tell anyone what happened. Just thinking about it was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"Well . . . everyone freaked out when you were gone," Jim stated, "You parents even put a reward out for you,"

At the mention of her parents, Vanessa's head snapped up, her eyes wide. She completely forgot her mother's rule, the only rule she was able to follow, and asked in a timid voice, "M-My parents?"

Hearing her voice, her actually saying something, was enough to make Jim stop and turn to face her. Vanessa had a worried expression on her face, and her breathing had suddenly quickened.

"W-What happened to my parents? Are th-they okay? Are they s-still on Montressor?"

"They're fine," Jim answered immediately, "As far as I know. After the third year of you gone missing, they moved to another planet," before she could ask which one, he said, "I'm not sure which one, I just know it was close to Montressor,"

Her heart sank a little with both worry and relief, and she continued to walk past him. Jim stood there for a second, completely shocked that she talked to him, before regaining his senses and running up to her. They walked in silence again, and after not finding anything that looked remotely like a store, he asked, "Do you see a market place anywhere?"

Vanessa looked up and down the sides of the streets and finding nothing. The signs of all the buildings told her nothing. She could make out few words as it was. The two reached a four-way street with street signs on each corner. Under one of them was an old woman with green skin and purple freckles. Jim knelt down beside her and gently tapped her shoulder, "Excuse me, ma'am? Is there a market place anywhere around here?"

The old woman lifted her head, a head that had two noses and three eyes. She pointed to a street ahead marked Saint Marks Street, "Go down that road and take a left. It will be the first building on the right,"

Jim smiled kindly at her and gave the woman a few coins for her time, and then he took Vanessa to the market. It was the same size as the Laundromat, but with fewer holes and without that molding smell. Even though the building was small, there were tons of shelves lined with items, some of them familiar to Jim, and the rest very foreign.

"It's a good thing the list is short," he said.

When they had paid for their groceries, they left the little market and went back to the Laundromat. Vanessa's clothing was clean and dry, so they put it in a bag and headed out.

Suddenly Jim ran into a brick wall, or what he thought was a brick wall. In fact it was a giant man with one eye and one arm. Behind this man were three other men, all of them looking brutish and unkempt. They towered over the teenagers, the mere size of them taking up the whole road. Jim took a step back, a gripe forming in his throat until a feeling in his gut took place. Something wasn't right about this.

"Um – sorry," Jim muttered under his breath, trying to maneuver around the man. However, he was stopped with a rough grab to his shoulder.

"Not so fast, kid. Where do you think you're going?" the man said, surveying the many bags Jim and Vanessa carried, and the bit of the pouch that stuck out of Jim's pocket, "Stay and chat with us,"

Okay, something was definitely wrong here, "Sorry, but we have to go. Why don't you prey on someone else, brick head," Jim reached back and took Vanessa's hand, whether she wanted him too or not, "Come on, let's go,"

"You little!" one of the men grabbed Vanessa's arm and dragged her back towards them, out of Jim's grasp. Vanessa gasped and struggled to get out of the guy's grip, but he was too strong, "I think we should keep your little girlfriend here until we get an apology,"

"Hey, let her go!" Jim shouted, somehow managing to keep a hold of his bags as he tried to pull her away.

"Not until you say you're sorry," he said, pulling Vanessa close enough to be chest to chest with her. Her cheeks heated up and she began to hyperventilate. She knew something like this would happen around Jim! He provoked them, and something terrible was going to happen to her now. Vanessa beat on the guy's chest, struggling with all her might.

"Oh look, she's scared," the man cackled, running a single finger down the side of her cheek and making her shudder with disgust, "Its okay, girly, I just wanna to play with ya a little,"

Jim couldn't explain the anger that boiled inside him. It made him grit his teeth and glare menacingly at the men that dared touch her. Couldn't they see she was terrified? Of course they could, that's why they were making fun of her like this. With a quick and practiced motion, he pulled out the pistol and clicked it into gear, "I said let her go!" he shouted.

"You think a pint-sized gun like that is going to intimidate us?" the four tall, burly men hooted and hollered at the pathetic excuse for a weapon, which indeed was pathetic. With another burst of anger, Jim pointed the gun at their feet and shot several times. Their laughter turned into annoyed shouts of pain, and in the commotion Vanessa was able to get away. Jim grabbed her hand and together they ran in the direction of the boat.

"Get them!" the leader shouted.

They ran like it was life or death. Their legs and lungs begged for a rest, but they wouldn't allow it, not until they got back to safety. At last the ship came into view, with Silver standing just before the ship's board. He gave them a funny look, "Whatcha running for? Ye've got plenty of time," and then he saw what they were running from. The men were extremely close to catching them, with Jim firing lasers at them every few feet. He fired at the one closest to them, managing to successfully make him stop and back up the group. As soon as they made it onto the ship, the two of them collapsed onto the ground with Jim on top of Vanessa like a shield.

Silver, with a menacing glare, stepped off the boat and walked up to the group. The men looked like they would have fought him to get to the teenagers, until they took a closer look and all of their anger was replaced with fear, "J-John Silver?"

"Who be ye yellow-bellied swines?" the cyborg demanded.

"We're -"

"And just what do you think ye be doing, chasin' me charges?" Silver growled.

"T-The kid made fun of us," said the guy with one eye and an arm.

"I don't give a shit what the kid did,"

"We didn't know they we're yours -"

"If I see you four nitwits around here again, you can be sure it's the last time you see the light of day," and with that he walked back onto the ship, leaving them to quake in their boots.

Stupid me, Jim mentally cursed himself.

He shrugged as he tried to play off his heroic and non-heroic deeds, "It was nothing,"

"It wasn't n-nothing," Vanessa shifted to his side so she could lean against the side of the boat, resting her arms on the top edge as she stared out into space, "No one w-would have done what you d-did,"

Jim raised an eyebrow, "You don't think someone would risk their life for you?"

She didn't answer, and this focused more of his attention on her. He didn't believe there was enough evil in the galaxy to completely lose her faith in . . . well, he couldn't call it humanity, could he? Jim might have closed himself off from the world, but he knew of kindness and compassion. Vanessa must have seen more atrocity than he had.

"Everyone in town went looking for you after you disappeared. You really think no one cares about you?"

It was her turn to shrug. She knew her parents cared for her, and maybe even a handful of friends, but that was it.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"I d-don't want to -" Vanessa couldn't even finish her sentence; it was so horrible to think about. She cast around for a better topic. She had to get used to talking to him, after this he wouldn't let her go silent again, "So-um-" her eyes scanned the heavens, and as a star she knew quite well passed overhead, she found one, "W-Where are we going?"

Oh that's right; she came on board a few days in. She didn't know. An immediate smile lit up his face at the very thought of their destination. After casting a quick look for eavesdroppers, he leaned down and whispered with as much excitement as he could muster, "Treasure Planet,"

He was met with a dubious look, "What?"

Jim leaned back and repeated a little louder, "Treasure Planet," but that expression didn't go away, "Oh come on, you gotta know Treasure Planet,"

Vanessa's expression failed to switch to one that matched his feeling, and it suddenly clicked, "Oh God, you've never heard about Treasure Planet? You don't know the stories?"

She shook her head, "S-Sorry, no,"

Jim stared at her a moment, wholly flabbergasted. She had to have heard about it, especially from the pirates that kidnapped her. It was the most popular myth in the galaxy. There was no way he could believe that someone had never heard of the loot of a thousand worlds. Well, if she was telling the truth, he'd just have to inform her.

"Lucky for you I know the story by heart," he jumped to his feet on the edge, grabbing the nearest rope to keep his balance. Vanessa relaxed into a comfortable standing position and stared at him, waiting for the story. Her nerves were already tingling.

You might wonder why Vanessa suddenly decided to talk to Jim, even if it was a very timid conversation. It was few hours after the horrible chase that she was able to think clearly and not panic. While Jim did provoke the men, which was a senseless thing to do, he did save her. And he saved her from Tromis, which ultimately made her forgive him for today. Maybe he couldn't have been the bad boy her mother talked about. Guys like that only looked out for themselves, and didn't care about anyone else. She wasn't sure if Jim cared for her in any way, but he didn't leave her.

Jim's voice became low and silky as he spoke, painting such a visual image that Vanessa couldn't help but smile, "On the clearest of nights, when the winds of etherium were calm and peaceful, the great merchant ships with their cargoes of Arcturian Sura Crystals felt safe and secure,"

As he drove further into the story, his voice turned harsh and raspy. He tried to make it just like the narrator in his story book, "Little did they know that they were being pursued by pirates! And the most feared of all these pirates was the notorious Captain Nathaniel Flint,"

Jim pulled himself onto the shrouds, and with one hand holding the ropes, he swooped at her, making Vanessa gasp, "Like a Candarian Zap-Wing overtaking its prey, Flint and his band of renegades swooped in out of nowhere, and then, gathering up their spoils," his words were now barely a whisper, like a mother cooing to a newborn babe so as not to scare it, only Jim's voice seemed to hold all the terror in the world, "vanished without a trace,"

The ginger female looked at the boy above her in a whole new way. Jim was so excited when he told the tale. He told the story with his whole body, and every word he said slammed trepidation into her heart. Vanessa believed now that this planet existed, just by hearing the myth once.

Jim hopped off the edge to stand beside her, relaxing from his active position, but eyes still sparkling, "Flint's secret trove was never found, but stories have persisted that it remains hidden somewhere at the farthest reaches of the galaxy, stowed with riches beyond imagination, the loot of a thousand worlds. Treasure Planet. There are nights when the winds of etherium, so inviting in their promise of flight and freedom, made one's spirit soar,"