DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything in this chapter other than...well, my plot...so that counts for something in this world.
Chapter 31
Shinin' in the Stars
"Look, a star's goin' out!"
-Goofy
There was a collective silence at the words spoken by Mr. Scroop that their beloved first mate had indeed been lost. But Jim was as fidgety as could be.
"No, I checked them all!" Jim yelled and he rushed over to the lifelines and saw that Mr. Arrow's was indeed missing. "I checked them…"
"And I secured them with magic!" Sora yelled. "There was no way Mr. Arrow could have flown away…unless Scroop cut his lifeline!" Riku and Kairi both wheeled on Scroop, believing their best friend's words over those of a low life bug.
"Mr. Scroop, is what this fine, young gentleman is saying true?" the captain asked and the insect shifted around a bit. He put on his face, as much of a smile as he could muster.
"Captain, why would an upstanding crew man like myself harm our good Mr. Arrow?" Scroop said with mock sincerity dripping all over. Sora stepped forward his Keyblade held out and it took every bit of Riku and Kairi holding him back for him to not slice Scroop to ribbons.
"Oh, I don't know…because you were still really angry with him for breaking up that fight a week ago?!" Sora screamed and Scroop attempted to look as innocent as possible. The two seemed about ready to bite each other's heads off when the captain spoke up.
"Mr. Arrow was a fine spacer…finer than most of us could ever hope to be." the captain said with sadness in every part of her heart. "But he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts. We carry on." The captain walked away and up to her cabin, followed by Doppler, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The rest of the crew went their own way after that. Sora banged his fist on one of the walls.
"Sora…just let it go." Riku said with a pat on Sora's back. Sora knew he couldn't do anything about it…but it didn't make him any happier. Jim ambled away from them and sat climbed up to the mast. Sora wanted to follow him and encourage him that everything was going to be okay but right now he was angry. He knew that Scroop had killed Arrow…al that mattered though was the case of proving it. Suddenly he heard Silver's voice.
"It wasn't your fault you know…Why, half the crew would be spinning in the black abyss-" Silver began to say to him, but Jim's voice cut across louder than anything.
"Look, don't you get it! I screwed up! For two seconds I thought that maybe I could do something right but-aaargh!" Jim screamed and Sora could almost feel the pain he was feeling. "Just forget it! Forget it!" Jim slipped down from the mast and onto the deck, but Silver followed so quickly after him, Sora could have sworn he moved like thunder. He grabbed onto Jim.
"Now you listen to me James Hawkins." Silver began to say. "You got the makings of greatness in ya but you gotta take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls and when the time comes you get the chance…to really test the cut of your sails and show what you're made of…well, I hope I'm there catching some of the light coming off ya that day." Silver smiled at Jim and Jim just broke down and began to cry into Silver's shoulder. Sora soon felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Riku beckoning to him. He took a last glimpse at Silver comforting Jim before walking away and following Riku to a slightly smaller cabin.
"What's wrong Riku?" Sora asked his best friend and Kairi was also sharing Sora's look of concern.
"While you were listening to that total sap talk of Silver's I was sniffing around at your bug-eyed friend Scroop." Riku said simply, attempting a jab at Sora that was just passed off. Sora looked at him expectantly. Riku took a breath in and out and began. "I don't trust this crew…and I don't trust Silver…I say we don't sleep below deck tonight. Scroop's onto you and that bodes ill for all of us."
"How thick is their darkness?" Kairi asked Riku, worried that perhaps these men might actually be working with Maleficent. Riku looked at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking.
"Just a shadow really, they're just really greedy I would think and…Sora, you may not like this, but Silver's got it too. I'd almost say that he's the architect behind it all." Riku said, but Sora was no longer listening, his mind already wandering.
"Pelusa…" he mumbled out and they looked at him with confused glances. "How could a world just…" He brought his hands together and then broke them apart. "…explode?"
"I don't know…but let's get some sleep. It won't do us any good if we're not well rested." Riku said and Sora nodded, trying to drag his thoughts away from the day's events and the anger that was festering in his heart.
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The next day Sora woke up a bit more cheerful than he had the day before. Kairi and Riku were still sleeping a bit but he saw them stirring slightly and knew that they would both be up soon. He stretched out a bit and walked outside onto the deck. He smiled as he saw Jim playing with Morph, who it seemed had taken his shoe. Jim quickly ran below into the galley chasing after Morph. Sora then heard a rumble in his stomach and decided that he too, needed some manner of food. He strode off toward the galley, looking around at the space that almost seemed to be making its way towards an atmosphere, but stopped when he heard voices down below.
"We don't move 'till we got the treasure in hand!" came the booming voice of Silver and Sora stopped short, not wanting to be caught here.
"I say we kill them all now." Scroop said in a delicate voice before there was a big emotion and it seemed that Silver had grabbed Scroop.
"I say what's to say!" Silver yelled. "Disobey my orders again-like that stunt you pulled with Mr. Arrow, and so help me, you'll be joining him!" Sora almost snapped his fingers. He knew he had seen correctly, he knew Scroop had killed Arrow the night before.
"Strong talk, but I know otherwise." Scroop said, his voice becoming more sinister with every syllable.
"You got something to say, Scroop?" Silver seemed to be getting angrier by the second.
"It's that boy…Methinks you have a soft spot for him…" Scroop said, and an eerie chuckle came forth from him.
"Look, I care about one thing and one thing only: Flint's trove. I won't let some kid stop me from getting it either!" Silver yelled in an attempt to convince his men of something.
"What was it you said? 'You got the makings of greatness in ya', was it?" Scroop said, trying to plant a seed of doubt in his companions' minds.
"I cozied up to those kids to keep them off our scent." Sora snorted slightly but regretted his action. Thankfully none of them had heard him. Riku couldn't be thrown off their scent, not with his powers…and he had found the truth last night. "But I ain't goin' soft!" Suddenly a whistle was blown and Sora looked up to see Goofy leaning out of the crow's nest.
"Land ho!" Goofy yelled and Sora ran over.
"Goofy, get down here now! Grab Donald and go to the captain's cabin, hurry!" Sora commanded. Goofy saluted him and Goofy slid down as Sora rushed off to the cabin he had slept in last night. He arrived to find Riku and Kairi sitting up, if still trying to wake up. Sora snapped the door shut. "Come on you guys, we've hit Treasure Planet and there are complications, get moving!" Riku rubbed his eyes and attempted to stifle a yawn.
"What are you talking about Sora?" Riku asked and Sora grabbed both him and Kairi and dragged them out of the cabin as he saw Jim quickly run out of the galley. "What the heck is going on?!"
"Come on, Sora!" Jim yelled as he ran past them. Sora followed immediately after Jim and Riku and Kairi were right behind him. They quickly slid into the captain's cabin and shut the door right before they heard Silver yelling: "Change in plan, lads! We move now!" Sora whipped around and saw Mickey summon his Keyblade and Amelia took out a gun and handed one to Doppler and one to herself while tossing the map to Jim, who after a struggle with Morph managed to place it in his pocket.
"Pirates on my ship!" said Amelia distastefully. "I'll see they all hang! We need to get onto the planet's surface, and Mr. Hawkins, keep that map safe!"
"How do we get out of here?!" Donald asked, slightly worried. Sora smirked and stabbed his Keyblade into the ground, muttering an incantation as he did so. A small circle of ice stemmed out from the Keyblade and Sora pulled his Keyblade out. He nodded to Riku who aimed a dark aura at the floor and broke the ice, and the floor. All nine of the companions jumped down through the hole, just as the door to the cabin was blasted open.
"Get to the longboats and hurry. Mister Sora, Mister Riku, I'll need you to hold them off as long as you can. Miss Kairi and Your Majesty if you could please help me and the doctor with the longboat." Mickey bowed to her and Kairi nodded while Sora and Riku stood defensively at the entrance to the hall they were in.
"Just like old times, huh?" Riku said with a smirk and Sora chortled a bit.
"Only, last time we were facing the Superior of Organization XIII and this time we're just facing an inept band of greedy pirates." Sora said with one of his trademark grins. A shot from a gun was fired off in their direction but missed them.
"Who are you calling inept?" yelled a gruff voice and the pirates came bounding down the stairs. Sora and Riku looked at each other. Riku then sent of a large barrage of Dark Aura shots at the pirates while Sora summoned a wave of water over them. They heard a shout for their return over by the long boats. Sora summoned a quick reflect shield and the two began running back to the longboats.
"Well…at least the don't use Heartless." Sora said with a chuckle as they leapt in the longboat, Jim joining them shortly after.
"Just hope they don't." Riku responded with a stern glance. He looked at Jim. "Do you have the map?" Jim nodded and the captain and Doppler fired shots at the cables above them. The boat dropped and they slipped out of the ship. Amelia began piloting the longboat quickly but soon there was the sound of a projectile being fired through the area and a laser ball came hurtling at the ship. Thankfully, it only hit the tail end of the ship but the captain was thrown forward in the process. Mickey stepped forward and from his Keyblade rained a great barrage of lightning bolts at the nearest laser cannon. It connected and set enough shock through it, to make it dysfunctional for a while.
But that victory was short lived for soon after that the ship crashed onto the surface of Treasure Planet. The boat skidded along and Sora jumped out at a moment's notice to avoid being crushed under the weight of the boat. He rolled out of its way and leapt back up immediately, running over to his companions. Most of them were completely fine but the captain seemed to be in a bad condition.
"Oh, don't worry about me, a cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." the captain insisted before she keeled over. Doppler laid her down. "Hawkins, do you have the map?"
"Right here." Jim said, bringing out the map. But soon the map floated into the air, jiggled around a bit and reformed itself into the shape of Morph. "Morph! Where's the map?!" Suddenly, Morph was showing Jim exactly what he did with the map just as a new skiff entered the horizon.
"Stand low everybody." Mickey said, taking over in the captain's absence. "We've got company…Jim, Sora, Riku, go scout ahead. The rest of us will keep watch here and take care of the captain." All three of the companions nodded and set off into the wilderness.
"Riku, you think you can use your scent thing to find a hiding spot?" Sora asked sincerely and Riku laughed sourly, shaking his head. But then they heard a rustle and all four of them (the fourth being Morph) stopped. Sora looked at Riku who began to sniff around…but strangely came up with nothing. Both he and Sora were confused by this strange notion until a great form of whirling circuitry came flying out of nowhere and latched onto Jim who struggled to get away.
"Carbon-based life forms come to rescue me at last!" the whirring robot said and both Sora and Riku ran over and pulled him off of Jim. "Oh, I just wanna hug ya and squeeze ya and hold ya close to me!" Thus it proceeded to hug Riku who was already annoyed more than enough at this…thing. Riku wrenched it off of him and took a step back. "I'm sorry…I-I-I've been marooned for so long, I mean solitude's fine but after a hundred years…you go a little NUTS!!!" Sora and Riku shared a glance that indicated this was clearly what they thought this robot was. "My name is…B.E.N., of course, B.E.N. or Bioelectronic Navigator!"
"That's great B.E.N., I'm Jim, this is Sora and Riku." Jim said, clearly trying to get away from this strange and freaky android. "But look, we've gotta find a place to hide. We're being hunted by pirates and-"
"Pirates! Oh, don't get me started on pirates! I mean, I remember Captain Flint, nasty old temper." Sora and Riku were starting to lose it with B.E.N.'s incessant rambling, but Jim suddenly seemed very interested in the subject.
"Flint? You knew Captain Flint?" Jim yelled and he hurriedly ran up to B.E.N. "So you know where the treasure is? Come on B.E.N., tell me that you know where the treasure is?!"
"Wait, I-I r-r-remember. Treasure, a big treasure buried in the centroid-centroid-centroid of the mechanism." B.E.N. managed to stutter out. Sora laughed at the mention of so much treasure. Better keep Donald away from it… "And there was this big door, opening and closing and 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….and…" Suddenly BE.N. seemed to shut down. The trio looked at him for a moment before it seemed that he was able to start up again. "I'm sorry…who are you…I want to say Larry."
"But B.E.N., what about the treasure?!" Jim yelled loudly and at last it hit Sora that if they found the treasure then all of their problems would be solved.
"I've lost my mind!" The android rambled on, ignoring Jim's statement. "You haven't seen it, have you? Maybe it's back at my place…"
"Your place?" Sora asked curiously and B.E.N. walked over to a line of bushes. He pushed aside the bushes to reveal in the distance a great towering structure that would be the perfect place to hide in. Riku smirked.
"I think B.E.N. just solved our problem." Riku said and Sora smiled.
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About an hour later, the group that had now expanded itself to ten (not including Morph) was holed up in B.E.N.'s home comfortably. The doctor had carried the captain in and laid her down to rest. Then Mickey wasted no time in taking command from her once again and telling Sora, Riku, and Jim to keep watch for anything that may be coming in the distance. Kairi and Donald both tended to the captain's wounds as best as they could but she refused to allow them to heal it completely and Goofy just stood by and watched them, occasionally examining and remarking about the strange symbols on the walls and ceilings. Sora, Riku and Jim took up defensive positions against the wall, their backs leaning to the side of the great big hole. After about ten minutes, Kairi took a break while Donald finished up his job and joined the three young men, sliding down next to Sora.
"You okay, Kairi?" Sora asked his fiancée concernedly. "You look a little tired…" Kairi merely smiled at him. She took a look at Doppler and Amelia.
"You know…I would say that the doctor is falling in love with the captain." she stated coyly. Sora grinned at her and gave a small chuckle.
"Yeah, well then, I would say that the captain is falling in love with the doctor." Sora said, almost defiantly. He glanced over at the couple as Donald finished his work. "Either that or she's gone delusional." Kairi playfully smacked his arm and Sora laughed a bit. Then Kairi leaned her head onto Sora's shoulder.
"Oh Sora…what have we gotten ourselves into here?" Kairi asked and Sora proceeded to start stroking her hair. He didn't answer her but the action he was taking spoke volumes. That was when the thought hit him again…the thought of children…looking at Jim, he weighed his options. Like Jim's father, wouldn't Sora have to leave…and couldn't Sora possibly die and scar his children for life? He shook those thoughts from his head the moment that B.E.N. yelled something out.
"Hey look! There's some more of your buddies!" B.E.N. yelled and everybody immediately sprang up to see the pirate encroaching on the hill, carrying laser guns. "Over here fellas! We're over here!" Instantly, the pirates began to fire at B.E.N. Jim groaned and grabbed the annoying android down from the spot so that he couldn't get hit and Sora cast a reflect spell on the hole. The fire bounced off and it didn't even make a dent in Sora's energy.
"Stop wasting your fire!" Silver's voice yelled out and the shots ceased their bombardment. After a few minutes, Sora felt it was safe to lower the shield and as soon as he did so he saw a white flag rise in the distance. Sora glared at it for a moment before Silver's voice rang out again. "Jimbo! Sora! If it's okay with the captain and king, I'd like a short word with ya both. No tricks, just a little palaver."
"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless." Amelia gasped out and they all shot a look to her as Doppler eased her back down. They all stood there a moment and Riku voiced what they were all thinking.
"That means that he thinks we still have it." Riku said with a smirk. Sora smirked back to him.
"Then let's go and, uh, 'bargain' with it, shall we?" Sora said to Jim and Jim nodded slowly. Together the two climbed out of the hole and headed down the slopes to meet with Silver who sat down and started tinkering with his leg.
"Oh, ever since our little game in the galley, me leg's not the same, Jimbo." Silver said, trying to get his leg to relax. Suddenly, Morph flew out and cuddled up to Silver's face for a moment. "Oh, Morphy, I missed ya."
"Well, you got what you deserved Silver." Sora said with defiance and Silver looked at him innocently. "Not only did you lead a mutiny, but you betrayed a king. You're committing treason in a certain sense." Silver just waved it off before he saw Jim glaring at him.
"Whatever you heard back there, Jimbo, at least the part concerning you, I didn't mean a word of it." Silver said and Sora resisted the urge to snort at this statement. "Had that bloodthirsty lot thought I'd gone soft, they'd have gutted us both." Silver slid a finger across his throat as if to indicate that they would have been killed. Then he leaned in towards both Sora and Jim. "Listen to me you two, if we play our cards right, we can walk away from this rich as kings!"
"Yeah?" Jim said, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Sora looked at Jim, almost surprised that he would agree with Silver. Silver put an arm around Jim's shoulder.
"You get me that treasure map, and an even portion of the treasure is yours!" Silver proclaimed kindly. Jim scoffed a bit.
"Boy, you are really something." Jim started to walk away but seemed to turn around started pacing around Silver. "All that talk of greatness, light coming off my sails…what a joke. At least you taught me one thing: stick to it! Well, that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure that you never see one drabloon or piece of munny of MY treasure!"
"That treasure is owed me, by thunder!" Silver yelled loudly and it almost seemed like a thunderclap as it echoed around the space.
"Well, try to find it without my map, by thunder!" Jim yelled with ferocity and this time, Sora stepped in.
"And then you can try and take it from us, by thunder!" Sora yelled and at last Silver stood up and stepped back a bit.
"Oh, you still don't know how to pick your fights, do you boys?" Silver said while shaking his head and Sora scoffed loudly.
"Oh, I've been in plenty of fights and for the most part, I've come out of them victorious. So don't tell me that I don't know how to pick my fights!" Sora yelled, his Keyblade springing forth into his hand. Silver's face now took on a sudden beastly complexion.
"Mark me, either I get that map by dawn tomorrow or so help me, I'll use the ship's cannons to blast you all to kingdom come!" Silver yelled but neither wavered, though Morph did squeal a bit in fright. The duo just stood there resolutely and Silver turned around. "Morph, move out…NOW!!!" But Morph remained, cowering behind Jim. Silver just gave a grunt and walked off in the direction of the strange forest they had landed in before while Sora and Jim headed back to B.E.N.'s home.
"How'd it go out there?" Riku asked and Sora shrugged, indicating that it wasn't that bad.
"How's the captain?" Sora asked and Kairi pointed at both her and Doppler with a "take a look for yourself" kind of look. He walked over as Jim took to looking at the stars.
"You have wonderful eyes, doctor…" Amelia breathed out and Sora chuckled, despite the circumstances.
"She's losing her mind!" Doppler yelled loudly. "And I can't do anything! I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! Well, I am a doctor, but not that kind of doctor…I mean, I have a doctorate but you can't help people with a doctorate…you just sit there and you're useless." Doppler almost started sobbing but Sora walked up to him and slapped him across the face. Everyone in the room gasped.
"Get a grip, doc!" Sora yelled loudly. "We're all in a tight position here but we need to HOLD IT TOGETHER!!"
"Exactly!" B.E.N. exclaimed. "After all, my buddies Jimmy and Sora have this all figured out!" B.E.N. then waltzed over to Jim and asked, "Got any ideas, buddy?"
"Ha, we try to leave we're dead…we stay here we're dead…and without the map…" Jim began to muse and Morph suddenly popped out.
"We're dead! We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!" Morph exclaimed and B.E.N. shifted away from them.
"Well, it seems like we all need a little quiet time so I'll just slip out the back door…" B.E.N. said quietly and all three of Sora, Riku and Jim snapped him a look.
"Back door?" They all said simultaneously as the android led them over to a strange semi-sphere. B.E.N. opened it while mentioning something about ventilation and the three looked down and saw tons of machinery coursing through it.
"What do you guys see?" Kairi asked from next to the captain, as she was taking care of her now.
"What is this stuff?" Sora asked the android.
"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that courses through the planet? Not a clue!" B.E.N. exclaimed, but the trio shared a look.
"Your Majesty, Captain, Doc, we'll be right back!" Sora said with a bright smile. Mickey leapt up.
"No, Sora, it's too dangerous out there, I order you to stay put!" Mickey exclaimed but Sora briefly uttered an apology and jumped into the hole, followed by Jim, Morph, Riku and B.E.N. who entered with a cry of "Cannonball!" Mickey just sighed.
"Aw, don't you worry none Your Majesty…" Goofy said with compassion. "Remember what happened the last time he disobeyed you?"
"Yeah! We destroyed that weirdo from Organization XIII!" Donald said triumphantly. Mickey nodded. Sora had certainly been in many difficult situations before and this time was no different. Besides, if anyone could get that map back, it was Sora.
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The back door, unfortunately, led them straight to where the pirates were making camp. When they emerged from it they glanced around before B.E.N. came up spouting a bunch of garbage from his mouth and they had to stifle him so that he wouldn't wake up anybody else. That was when they made the plan: they would sneak back aboard the R.L.S. Legacy and grab the map while also shutting off the laser cannons at the same time so Silver could not make good on his earlier promise.
"Just one question." B.E.N. stated sheepishly. "How are we gonna get there?" And Jim silently pointed to the longboat that Silver had used to get there. They climbed aboard quietly and set the skiff for a silent running, Jim taking the helm and flying it up to the ship, where they got on.
"Okay, I'm gonna go look for the map with Sora." Jim said, taking command of the situation which Sora, surprisingly, found no problem with. "Riku, I need you to disable the laser cannons and B.E.N…just stay here."
"Disable the laser cannons, got it!" B.E.N. exclaimed, and before any of them could stop him, he ran off. Sora cocked his head to Riku and Riku took off in the androids direction mumbling what sounded to be "I'll shut up the stupid android…" Jim then led the way to where they had made their escape, Sora right behind him. They moved quietly and stealthily and soon enough, Jim reached a coil of rope and put his hand in the middle of it, grabbing the orb that contained the treasure map.
"Got it!" he said in a hushed, yet triumphant, whisper. Then the alarms went off. Sora rolled his eyes and groaned; clearly Riku had been unsuccessful. "Stupid robot, he's gonna get us all killed!" Jim said, dashing back to the deck, Sora right behind him. They were about to emerge onto deck when they came face to face with the spidery face of Scroop, who snapped his claws.
"Cabin boys…" Jim took out his gun and Sora summoned his Keyblade as Scroop leapt at them. Sora looked around and figured that it was too dangerous to be fighting in such close quarters, and so he and Jim began to run, Scroop following immediately after them. As Sora ran he decided to run backwards as best as he could while firing shards of ice at Scroop in order to slow him down. It was working…but only slightly.
"Sora, I'm ready!" Jim yelled and Sora wasn't sure what that meant but he didn't stop to think and instead turned around and ran full pelt down the walkway. He raced past Jim and stopped to see him holding the laser gun pointed directly at Scroop. Then the lights shut off and Sora once more groaned. There was a time space of ten seconds during which it was dark before the lights turned on and the both of them discovered that Scroop was gone. They looked around before Sora looked up, and at the same time Morph screamed.
"Above you Jim!" Sora yelled and Jim glanced up, only to be knocked to the floor by Scroop, losing his laser gun in the process. Sora leapt forward and aimed a kick at Scroop while bashing him in his stomach with the blunt side of his Keyblade. That gave Jim enough time to get up and the two immediately began running to the deck. They had just set foot on the deck, Scroop not too far behind them, when suddenly Sora felt himself begin to float. "What the-"
"Don't tell me he turned the artificial gravity off, too?!" Jim groaned but Sora guessed that was exactly what happened. Sora whipped around in mid-air and saw Scroop floating up to them. Jim dodged out of his way but Scroop had been aiming straight for Sora, and, with a simple hit that Sora didn't have the chance to avoid, he was smacked into the top portion of the mast. He groaned…usually he was good at flying…but there was always gravity in those situations for the most part anyway. But Sora still found himself to be slipping upward and soon he was caught in the flag. Scroop held onto the mast and opened his claw, placing it near the rope that held the flag to the ship. Sora attempted to extricate himself from the flag.
"Do say hello to Mr. Arrow…" Scroop said sinisterly. At last Sora was able to untangle himself and he grabbed onto the mast, just as the flag was cut loose. In anger, Scroop jumped at him but Sora dodged it and kicked Scroop into the flag.
"Tell him yourself! Wind!" Sora yelled, and with his free hand he held his Keyblade that produced a gust of wind that blew Scroop away, screaming and yowling. "Burn in the underworld, Mr. Scroop!" He waved his Keyblade again and sent a torrent of fire at the insect-like humanoid who screamed and yowled in pain…and was heard from no more. Then Sora felt a shudder as the gravity was restored and he fell next to Jim below on the deck. He rubbed his sides a bit, but otherwise felt no pain. B.E.N. soon emerged from another spot that led below deck as Riku sauntered up to them.
"Laser cannons disabled sir!" the android happily announced, but Sora saw the Keyblade was in his Riku's hands.
"Yeah…all I had to due was break them with a couple swipes of the Keyblade…" Riku mumbled under his breath and Sora chuckled. Soon after, all five of them were on the boat…or in the case of Morph, floating above the boat. They piloted it back down to the pirates' camp where they happily found that all the pirates were still sleeping and they crept back into the hole that would lead back to B.E.N.'s place. The trip took a little bit longer this time to make it back, but after about a half an hour they had emerged back into B.E.N.'s place, Jim going first. Sora was about to follow but Riku put a hand onto Sora's shoulder to hold him back.
"There's a faint smell of darkness in this place, now." Riku said and Sora looked at him, but he brushed it off, not too worried about Riku's strange vibe. He climbed out of the hole as Jim ran forward.
"Doc, I got it! I got the map!" Jim yelled, running up to the lump that resembled and looked like the doctor sleeping. Suddenly, the mechanical arm of John Silver came forward and grabbed the map from Jim.
"Why thank you, Jimbo…" Silver said ominously and suddenly the pirates all moved in and circled around the arriving group. Sora looked around and saw that all of their friends were being held captive.
"They snuck up on us from behind…quiet little sneaks!" Kairi spat as she wrenched her arm free. The pirates didn't care that she broke free as she went to join Sora. Sora snapped a look to Silver who seemed to be trying to open the map…but his attempts were proving unsuccessful. Jim chuckled a bit at his mentor's discomfort and Silver foisted the map rather forcefully into Jim's hands.
"Open it!" Silver commanded. Jim looked to the captain who shook her head and to the doctor who at first nodded but then shook his head. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were standing there rather impassively and Sora just gave a shrug. Jim looked down at the orb in his hands and began pushing buttons on the side of the orb and then spinning the top half. Suddenly the map glowed a brilliant green and a blue and green trail of what looked to be holographic images emerged from the map. Both Sora and Kairi gasped, technology was clearly quite low on the islands. All the pirates were stupefied by the glow but Silver got a greedy glint in his cyborg eye. He turned to his crew.
"Tie em all up and leave 'em!" Silver commanded, but just as soon as he said that the blue and green trail vanished back into the map. Silver turned to Jim with a look of rage and Jim just smirked.
"You want the map, you're gonna have to take me, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and B.E.N. too…" Jim said demandingly. Silver chuckled.
"We'll take 'em all!" Silver proclaimed and the pirates began moving along their captives to the longboat back at camp. The trip to the longboat didn't take too long and only when they were there did Jim open the map again. One of the pirates started up the skiff and immediately they began humming along after the trail of green and blue. When they at last saw that the pulses that ran along the line were starting to go faster, they figured they were getting close and a great number of them disembarked. The pirate with a massive head and teeny-tiny body remained behind to guard Doppler, Amelia, and the members of the Disney Castle Court. Therefore, all the wielders of the Keyblade were kept on close watch as they strode forward.
"Jimmy, I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see my life flash before my eyes!" B.E.N. began to exclaim and Sora saw Riku twitch out of the corner of his eye. "WAS I EVER DANCING WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPE?!!!" Riku summoned his Keyblade and bonked the droid on the head.
"Shut up!" Riku hissed. "This isn't over yet…but if you keep talking I will give you such a huge dent you won't even remember you exist!" That shut B.E.N. up for certain as they strode forward, out onto the very precipice of a cliff where there was…
Nothing. The light just stopped and the map in Jim's hands closed. There was no treasure, no cave, no anything that could remotely relate to a treasure. Silver rounded on Jim, angering more and more by the second.
"What's goin' on?!" Silver roared and Jim was trying desperately to try and get the map open again but to no avail.
"I don't know…it's not opening…" Jim said, his voice reaching into the strains of panic. One of the pirates lost their temper and knocked Jim to the ground. Suddenly they all started arguing about killing the Keyblade wielders as well as Jim. But in the meantime, Jim was looking at the ground. He cleared away a patch of moss and without a moment's notice, he plunged the orb into a small socket. They all felt a tiny lurch as lights appeared in the distance and coalesced to a single point right in front of them, forming a great big door shaped like a triangle. Directly in front of them a holographic stand that was circular opened up and Sora saw that it looked exactly like the star mp he so often looked at when departing for a world. All of them looked into the door and gasped.
"Th-that's Twilight Town…" Sora stammered out as he looked upon the sunlit streets of Twilight Town. Kairi looked at it closer and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly.
"But that's halfway across the galaxy!" Kairi commented. Jim stood up and looked at it. He strode up to it and pressed a small dot that, upon closer inspection, was shaped in the form of a crescent moon. The triangle in front of them closed for a second before it opened upon a new location that was foreign to Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"Montressor Spaceport…" Jim breathed out and Sora stepped forward. He bent down to the map and pressed one of the planets. The process was repeated and soon he saw the sandy beaches of Destiny Islands. He pressed another one and Radiant Garden appeared, then another as he saw Agrabah. He pressed a strange looking shape and the interior of the mouth of Monstro even appeared.
"Even Monstro is here…" Jiminy said, nearly leaping out of Sora's hood. "This is going in the journal for sure." Sora smiled, but he didn't want Jiminy hurt so he pushed him back in his hood. He pressed one last button and the clean pristine halls of Disney Castle appeared before him. Next to him, Jim chuckled slightly.
"A big door…" he breathed out and Sora tried to remember where he had heard that before. Then he remembered that it was what B.E.N. had told them when they first met him. "So that's how Flint did it. He used this portal to roam the universe, stealing treasure."
"But where'd he stash it all?!" Silver roared out and he pushed Jim out of the way. Instantly he began pushing multiple buttons. Sora thought he saw a glimpse of Beast's Castle and Olympus Coliseum as he flashed by…and even a shot of Port Royal. But never once did they look upon a great heap of gold. But B.E.N., who was only a short distance away, was staring to remember something.
"I remember something about a…a…treasure. It was buried in the…" B.E.N. began but Jim was able to finish up the tail end of it.
"The centroid of the mechanism…" Jim said in awe before realization his Riku.
"What if the planet is the mechanism…I mean, there is all that machinery." Riku said and the point hit home to all of them. The pirates even began to try and dig their way down but Silver was not to have his patience tested.
"How in blue blazes are we supposed to get there?!" Silver screamed as spit flew from his mouth. Jim strode over to the holographic image of the galaxy.
"Open the right door…" Jim said, and he pressed the button that resembled Treasure Planet itself. The door closed, and when it at last opened they saw before them mounting piles of gold and silver and jewels the likes of which Sora had never seen…even in the Cave of Wonders. Jim put his hand through the portal and attempted to step through but Silver pushed him back and pushed through himself. But Riku's hand held him back.
"Watch out, there's a laser there…it's probably a trap to stop us if we trigger it." Riku said and Silver nodded at him in thanks. Riku would have loved to see him captured but he knew that it would probably involve them as well. So they made sure to be extra careful that nobody touched the laser as they stepped into the centroid of the mechanism. Soon, all of them were inside, admiring the beauty of the treasure that was there. Many of the pirates ran off to collect a lot of treasure and one even yelled that they were going to need a bigger boat. Silver walked off with happiness etched even in his cyborg eye. But B.E.N. seemed to feel uneasy.
"You know guys, I-I-I'm starting to remember a lot of things and I definitely remember something about this place." B.E.N. said but nobody was paying attention to him. Instead they were all looking in the distance to where a great ship was perched atop the mountain of gold.
"Come on guys…we're getting out of here." Jim said with a grim determination. "But we're not leaving empty handed." So Jim led the way onto the ship. Riku felt a slight twinge in his senses as they climbed aboard the ship but he decided to ignore it. As soon as they stepped aboard the boat they were met with the visage of the decaying and decomposing Captain Nathaniel Flint.
"Captain Flint!" B.E.N. yelled out in shock. "In the living flesh…I mean, not that he has anything that even remotely resembles flesh in any way or organs that could make him living…" All four of the companions ignored the android's ramblings and sought to check out every corner of the ship. Sora took the time to examine Flint's body and saw something there in Flint's dead and decomposed hand. "It's so odd," B.E.N. continued on, despite the fact that nobody was listening. "I remember there was something horrible Flint didn't want anyone else to know but I-I just can't remember what it was. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose!" Sora ripped away the bones from the object Flint was holding and the bones broke into dust. Sora picked up the object and saw it was a slightly rusty bronze color with red and blue wires sticking out of it. He turned towards the android and it hit him.
"B.E.N., I think I just found your mind!" Sora brought the chip near B.E.N.'s head and in a single moment, like a magnet it attached itself.
"I think…" the robot began before it overloaded him for a moment…and then he realized something. "Wait, I'm thinking…my memories! It's all flooding back to me, up until the time Flint pulled my memory circuit so I could never tell anybody about his booby trap!" All four of them snapped a look to him and then there was a large explosion. Kairi looked up in shock.
"But…didn't that laser thing probably activate the booby trap?" Kairi asked in absolute confusion. "We never even touched that thing!" But Riku then realized his previous twinge for what it was and he leapt off the ship, staring towards the entrance. His eyes narrowed and he stared at the form of a boy dressed in black clothing with brown hair, standing at the entrance.
"Gentai!" Riku yelled and Sora and Kairi jumped off the ship. As they jumped down they heard B.E.N. say one last thing that frightened and chilled them to the bone.
"Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever steal his treasure so he rigged this whole planet to blow higher than a Kalepsian kite!" B.E.N. screamed. Many of the pirates rushed past Sora, Riku, and Kairi even as they strode towards Gentai. Gentai let the pirates past but the Keyblade wielders saw he had the most wicked smile on this place.
"You…" Sora seethed in anger as he summoned his Keyblade. "You were the one that destroyed Pelusa!"
"That was an accident." Gentai countered calmly. "I was just trying to raze the planet…is it my fault that the world was so old and weak that it decided to die?"
"What are you doing this for?" Kairi screamed, angry with Gentai beyond any imagination. "This planet never did anything to you. Why are you destroying it?"
"There's no one living on this world…not really, so why does it matter?" Gentai said calmly and with a simple shrug.
"Because it doesn't matter if there are people or not, no world deserves to be destroyed!" Kairi screamed in rage.
"Oh, like my world didn't?" Gentai gave a disturbing chuckle. Behind all of them there was a large blast from a laser cannon that began to sever the orb of treasure in half. "If one thing happened to my world such as it did, so should all worlds have the same fate mete out to them!"
"You're insane!" Riku yelled, not wanting to believe how far Gentai had fallen, yet having his blood coursing with hatred towards the young boy he had once called a traveling companion. Gentai let off a snicker.
"Maybe…but I'd be more worried about you and all your friends getting out of here alive. You only have five more minutes." All three of the friends looked at each other and then back towards the ship. There was a burst of light and when they looked back, Gentai was gone. There was a clatter of gold and jewels and when they looked back at the ship, they saw B.E.N. running straight towards them.
"We gotta get goin' fellas!" Without another word they fled after B.E.N. Nobody stopped to think about anything until they ran just outside the portal. There was a great gust of wind around them as the R.L.S. Legacy floated down with Doppler driving the wheel and Goofy sighting ahead. Mickey helped them up.
"How did you guys get out?" Riku asked with a touch of humor.
"I found out that I have abnormally thin wrists, that's how!" Doppler said and Kairi and Sora noticed that behind him, Amelia smiled. Mickey turned to them with all seriousness.
"What's going on?" Mickey asked with concern.
"Flint rigged this whole planet to blow and Gentai set the trap off." Sora said very quickly as if convincing himself that by spitting it all out it would be gone forever. Mickey looked taken aback but Sora looked around as Mickey and Riku began talking. "Where're Jim and Silver?" Nobody spoke and Sora realized where they were. He turned around.
"No, Sora, don't you dare!" Kairi demanded, knowing exactly what Sora was planning to do.
"Don't worry Kairi, I'll be okay." Sora said, giving her a peck on the cheek in order to reassure her. "Goofy, I need your shield!" Goofy looked at him confusedly for a moment but obliged, handing him his shield. Sora ran to the edge of the ship. He gave them all a thumbs up and ran off the ship. He ran forward, carrying both the shield and his Keyblade until he stepped through the portal.
In the distance he saw Silver grabbing the ship that was about to get sawed in half while also trying to reach for Jim, who was hanging from a ledge…and nearly slipping. Sora tossed the shield onto the treasure heap that remained where its momentum carried it farther. Sora jumped forward and landed on the shield, riding it forward like a skateboard. They weren't going to have much time so he had to hurry. But a ridge shot up unexpectedly. He shot up into the air, heading straight for one of the cannons. He rose his Keyblade before him, and with a mighty cry, severed the cannon in two. Then he landed on the shield and rode it up to silver.
"Silver!" Sora yelled and Silver took a moment to look at him.
"Ah, Sora, help a lad, won't you?" Silver said in a strained voice. Sora shook his head.
"No, you've got to grab Jim!" Sora said and Silver looked at him as though he were mad. "Is a treasure really worth another man's life? I can help you both but you have to reach for Jim!" Silver seemed caught between the treasure and the boy who regarded him as a father. He looked back and forth.
"Oh, blast me for a fool!" Silver yelled just as Jim dropped. But Silver's hand shot out and caught Jim and pulled him up, just as the cannon that threatened to destroy the ship did so. Sora extended his hand and grabbed both Silver and Jim up to his level.
"We've got only one chance out of here." Sora said. He held the tip of his Keyblade to Goofy's shield. Merlin's magic, don't fail me now… "Grow!" Instantly, the shield grew to triple its size. Sora indicated to the other two to get on and they obeyed. He sat behind both of them. "Let's go…Propel!" A jet of very strong wind and gas flew from the tip of the Keyblade immediately shot them over the heaping piles of treasure. They rode along fairly smoothly as all of the treasure broke apart.
"Sora!" Silver yelled and he indicated a ridge they were about to go over. But just past that ridge was another ridge that Sora knew they would hit the edge and topple down into the abyss. He stood up and as soon as the shield flew over the first ridge, he jumped from the shield and angled his Keyblade downward, striking the ridge and breaking it apart. The shield landed safely and without a hitch and Sora proceeded to propel them forward until they had at last reached the gate to the portal. Sora muttered the spell "Mini" as they ran out and the shield shrunk to normal size. At last they broke through the portal.
"Silver, you gave up!" Jim exclaimed, shocked over what Silver had done.
"Just a lifelong obsession Jim, I'll get over it." Silver told him as the Legacy floated down.
"Two minutes and thirty four seconds to planet's destruction!!" B.E.N. cried and Sora leapt up on the ship, helping both Jim and Silver up with the aid of Riku. Silver saw the captain.
"Captain, Your Majesty, you dropped from the heavens in the nick of-" Silver began to say but the captain cut cleanly across him.
"Save your claptrap fro the judge Silver." the captain said before turning to both B.E.N. and Doppler. "Doctor, metal man, take us out of here."
"Aye aye, captain!" B.E.N. exclaimed enthusiastically as the ship turned around and started shooting away from the portal. Kairi hugged Sora right away, relieved to know he was safe. But their reunion was cut short when they heard a large crunching noise and saw one of the sails rip away. "Uh, thrusters are at only 30 percent captain."
"But that means…we'll never clear the planet's destruction in time." Doppler said with worry but Jim already seemed to have the cogs in his head whirring.
"We have to turn back." Jim said. Sora was shocked for a moment but soon realized exactly what Jim had in mind. "There's a portal back there that can take us out of there."
"Great idea Jim…" Riku said. "Except for one thing: that portal opens onto a raging inferno."
"He's gonna change that Riku!" Sora said as he ran up to Jim who was gathering materials. Many of the people onboard the ship were shocked and couldn't think of anything to say but they most surely didn't want to turn the ship around.
"Listen to the boy!" Silver yelled and he joined Sora and Jim in assembling a solar surfer.
"Since when did Sora become smarter than me?" Riku asked Kairi who shrugged with a small chuckle, despite the current circumstance.
"I heard that Riku, and this is NOT the time for hurtful sarcasm." At last Jim just needed something attached and Silver was happy enough to oblige. The group of three then hoisted the surfer onto the railing where Jim leapt up.
"No matter what happens to me, keep the ship moving towards that portal." Jim instructed them and they nodded. Then Sora grasped Jim's hand.
"When you reach the portal, hit the icon for Disney Castle, do you know it?" Sora asked, making sure Jim understood his instructions.
"I saw you touch it earlier." Jim said with conviction and Sora nodded with a smile.
"Fifty eight seconds!!!" B.E.N. yelled. Sora then pushed Jim off as he activated his solar surfer. All of the members ran to the railing to watch Jim flying off towards the portal. Silver whipped around.
"You heard him! Get this blasted heap turned around!" Silver yelled and Doppler reluctantly obeyed him. They all held fast as the ship turned and started heading for the portal. Sora looked on as Jim flew towards the portal. He was pretty good at flying, Sora remarked to himself. But in a few seconds he saw that Jim's surfer nearly went out of power. They all gasped, all hope almost gone. But suddenly Jim shifted the surfer around, and using the friction force that came from the wall, ignited the engine again and shot off towards the portal. But now, Sora could only hear B.E.N.'s countdown in his head.
"Ten…nine…eight…" Sora was hoping Jim would make it there in time. "Seven…six…five…" Kairi was biting her nails almost, fearing they would never make it out alive…that she could never marry Sora… "Four…three…" Riku's face was set. If death was coming his way so be it. "Two…one…" And then there was a bright, white light.
Author's Note: Whoo!!! That was a VERY long chapter wasn't it. I tried to make it as exciting as possible however and I hope you enjoyed it. Gentai's a little nuts though isn't he? I guess I left you with a tiny cliffhanger but not too bad. Next chapter is a chapter I've been building towards since Chapter 11…so you can probably figure out what it will pertain to. In the meantime, we are coming very close to the Sky High portion of the story so watch that movie if you wish to be up to speed. Regardless, please review and Dare to Be Silly.