Author's Note:
Wow… just, moving along the movie's original plot now aren't we?
Ahem, anyways… thanks for the lovely reviews and thanks for betaing, Whisperwings!
Chapter 27: Revelations
After returning to Captain Amelia and Doctor Doppler's position -to explain the whereabouts of the newfound location- BEN, Ariah, Jim, Morph and the aforementioned hybrids tenaciously journeyed through the thick jungle towards their destination.
Captain Amelia could only walk so far through the jungle before her condition worsened.
Doctor Doppler offered to carry her in his arms.
While the feline woman refused the offer up front -stating that it was too femme fatale- it soon became clear to the party that they weren't going to get far with the captain collapsing from pain every couple of steps… and so the captain finally complied.
They climbed the steep hill up towards the entrance of the cavern. Ariah, Morph and Jim followed BEN, who was leading all of them into his hovel. Doctor Doppler -carrying Captain Amelia- took his time and kept a few steps behind the troop.
"Uh, pardon the mess, people…" BEN chuckled, embarrassed of the chaotic state of his humble abode. "You'd think in a hundred years..." He kicked aside a few random objects that had been scattered on the rock-hard floor. "I would've dusted a little more often..."
It was evident that the ancient cavern needed a little more than dusting.
The rusty robot gently picked up a random pair of heart-decorated underwear. "But, you know, when you're batchin' it... you tend to, uh, let things go." BEN set the underwear down on a table as if it were a tablecloth.
Doctor Doppler climbed through the entrance to the ancient fortress and gently placed Captain Amelia down upon the ground.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" BEN sighed softly. "I find old-fashioned romance so touching, don't you?" He stated amorously to no one in particular. "How about drinks for the happy couple?" BEN randomly located a tray of drinks -that were, to say the least, much more suitable for machinery- and he offered them to the hybrids.
"Oh, uh, ooh. Uh, no." Doctor Doppler stated politely to the robot. "Thank you, we don't drink..." The canine-human peeled off his overcoat and laid it over Captain Amelia's injured torso. "And, uh, we're not a couple." He added softly.
Captain Amelia weakly smiled up at the doctor while Ariah and Jim snickered at the two hybrids. Neither could decipher which was more ironic; the fact that Doctor Doppler had out-drunken almost the entirety of the pirate crew the previous night, or that there was some obvious chemistry between the captain and the doctor.
"Ahem." Doctor Doppler cleared his throat and he looked around the cavern. "Look at these markings." He observed the rune covered walls and ceiling of BEN's home and tapped his chin in thought. "They're identical to the ones on the map." The dog-man retrieved a spare handkerchief from one of his vest's pockets and he polished each of the lenses of his spectacles. "I suspect these are the hieroglyphic remnants... of an ancient culture."
"The Forefathers…" Ariah whispered softly.
"Hmm?" Doctor Doppler looked up at the young woman.
"The ancient race that once inhabited this place, were called the Forefathers…" Ariah explained. "Flint stole this planet from the Forefathers, after slaughtering the race, to use it as a place to store his treasure."
"But why in the Etherium would Flint choose this specific planet?" The canine enquired.
Ariah simply shrugged as Jim glanced nervously over the waist-high wall separating the cavern from its steep entrance; he kept himself armed with Captain Amelia's laser pistol.
"Mister Hawkins…" Captain Amelia ordered feebly, trying to sit up against the rune-covered wall. "Stop anyone who tries to approach. Oh!" She winced in pain.
"Yes, yes." Doctor Doppler turned to his stricken patient. "Now listen to me..." He stated firmly. "Stop giving orders for a few milliseconds and lie still."
"Very forceful, Doctor." Captain Amelia smiled, impressed by the doctor's slight change in attitude. "Go on. Say something else."
"Hey, look!" BEN exclaimed loudly, detracting from the interactions of the captain and the doctor. The robot looked over the wall. "There's some more of your buddies!"
The short robot pointed to a group of approaching pirates, whom were slowly climbing up the base of the steep hill.
"Hey, fellas! We're over here, fellas!" He yelled at the top of his voice, waving his rusty arms around.
The pirates immediately fired proton shoots at the android.
"Oh! Uh! Ooh! Oh!" BEN effectively dodged each shot, either using a surprising amount of finesse or he had astounding luck to avoid getting hit.
Jim shoved BEN out of the range of fire and began aimlessly shooting at the pirates.
"Stop wastin' yer fire!" Silver ordered to the pirates.
A quick plan formed in his head and he gathered his necessary effects.
"Hello, up there!" Silver waved a pitiful makeshift white surrender flag. "Jimbo?" He stepped into view as he climbed the steep hill. "If it's all right with the captain... I'd like a short word with yeh." Silver's mechanical arm was shifted into a crutch to accommodate his damaged leg. "No tricks," The cyborg reassured. "Just a little palaver."
Captain Amelia's ears folded back as she narrowed her light blue eyes in anger. "Come to bargain for the map, doubtless." The feline hissed angrily. "Pestilential... Ugh!" Captain Amelia groaned numbly in pain as she sank back down against the wall.
"Captain." Doctor Doppler's voice had a warning undertone in it. He glanced nervously at the brunette teenager.
"That means..." Jim sighed and smirked minutely. "That he thinks we still have it." His pale blue eyes lit up at the opportunity. Jim stood from his place and looked out down the hill where Silver stood.
"I'm going with you." Ariah stated firmly.
Jim nodded slightly. "You want answers, don't you?"
Ariah sighed gratefully, happy that Jim understood. "More than ever."
Jim placed his hands on the top of the waist-high wall and glanced at Ariah. "Let's go…"
Ariah and Jim half-heartedly walked down the hill to meet at its halfway point, where Silver stood. Morph decided to follow them on the side trip. He was eager to see his master once again and had a general attachment to following the two teenagers.
"Ah, Morphy!" The old cyborg chuckled. "I wondered where yeh was off teh." Silver smiled as the carefree morph zoomed around him.
Jim and Ariah stood together, a few feet from the cyborg.
Silver groaned as he leaned against his mechanical crutch. "Ooh." He sat down on a nearby rock and placed his human hand on his mechanical knee tenderly. "Oh, this poor old leg's downright snarky... since that game attack we 'ad in the galley." The man chuckled weakly, but his smile faded as he met the glares of Ariah and Jim.
The two teenagers gave the old pirate an identical look, one that told John Silver that they both hated that he had brought up the subject –though it had occurred only hours before- at a time like this.
"Ahh." Silver sighed. "Whatever yeh heard back there..." He started. "At least the part concerning yeh, Jimbo... I didn't mean a word of it." Silver admitted plainly. He glanced at his crew, who stood at the base of the hill.
Jim and Ariah stepped closer; ready to listen to what the cyborg had to say.
"'Ad that bloodthirsty lot thought I'd gone soft... they'd 'ave gutted us all." Silver sighed.
Ariah's gasped inwardly, as she now came to realize that her life was on the line too.
"Of course I'd doubt they'd do anythin' teh yeh, darling." Silver looked up at Ariah admiringly. "Yeh seem teh 'ave some sort of charm on the crew." He shrugged. "An' I can guarantee that a few of the crew would protect yeh, no matter what."
Ariah sighed forlornly. "Yeah…" She nodded. "A few." Her voice broke sadly.
There was one, who wasn't currently present amongst the quartet, that she knew would protect her, regardless of the cost…
"Spider Psycho…" Morph giggled, breaking the tension between the three humans with his kooky caricature of the arachnid.
Ariah narrowed her copper-brown eyes at the transformer and clapped her hands over him, silencing his antics for the moment.
Morph chirruped, shifting back to normal and sliding out from the spaces between Ariah's fingers with another fit of childish giggles.
Silver cleared his throat and leaned towards the teenagers. "Listen teh me." He formed a new plan. "If we play our cards right... we can all walk away from this, rich as kings."
"Yeah?" Jim forced a smirk, feigning interest in the topic.
Silver chuckled, friendlily nudging Jim on the shoulder. "Yeh get me that map, Jimbo... an', uh... An even portion of the treasure is yers." He offered with a wink.
Jim scoffed tastelessly. "Boy." He shook his head. "You are really, something." He looked down at the cyborg coldly. "All that talk, of greatness... light coming off my sails..." Jim chuckled once more with the same uncharacteristic bitterness. "What a joke."
"Now, just see 'ere, Jimbo-" Silver interjected angrily.
"I mean, at least you taught me one thing." Jim angrily turned to the pirate captain. "Stick to it, right?" He narrowed his pale blue eyes and scowled. "Well, that's just what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna make sure that you never see... one drabloon of my treasure!"
Silver stood immediately from the rock. "That treasure is owed me, by t'under!" The pirate shouted furiously, his cyborg eye flaring to a bright red from anger.
"Well, try to find it without my map, by t'under!" Jim shouted back at the cyborg.
There was a lengthy pause between the two men. All Ariah could do was stand helplessly on the sidelines, waiting to see what would come out of the ordeal.
"Oh," Silver glowered angrily at the brunette teenager.
His voice was dangerously low with the same alpha undertones that had scared the crew into obeying him.
"Yeh still don't know how teh pick yer fights, do yeh, boy?" He growled severely. "Now, mark me." Silver narrowed his eyes. "Either I get that map by dawn tomorrow... or so help me, I'll use the ship's cannons... teh blast yeh all teh kingdom come!"
Ariah and Morph watched the cyborg with absolute shock while Jim glowered furiously at the pirate captain.
"Morph, hop teh it." Silver commanded. The transformer whined a bit. "Now!" John Silver yelled at the top of his voice.
Morph yelped frightfully and huddled behind Jim's shoulder. Ariah immediately snapped from her uselessness in Morph's defence.
"Leave him alone!" The young woman shouted angrily at the pirate. "Morph didn't do anything to deserve to be yelled at." She stepped in front of John Silver and gave him a firm glare.
"Watch yer mouth, Miss Clarke." Silver forcefully shoved Ariah aside -until she fell to her knees onto the ground- and then the half-mechanical man continued to hobble down the hill with the support of his crutch.
The old pirate didn't notice a small compass-like object fall from one of the outer pockets of his billowing jacket as he furiously left the trio on the hillside.
Ariah blankly stared forwards, thinking over what had just happened. Then she noticed the silver compass-shaped object. She reached for it and gently picked it up.
The compass-like thing turned out to be a silver pendant strung onto a thin metal chain, likely worn around the neck. But it didn't appear to just be a normal compass or any sort of decorative necklace.
The curious teenager turned the pendant over in her hand. After clearing away a bit of dirt, she noticed a small family crest on the pendant's lid.
Ariah sighed, recognizing the coat of arms from Silver's old family heirloom ship that she had once sailed on long ago: the HMS Aurora.
"You okay?" Jim placed a hand on Ariah's shoulder.
"Yeah…" Ariah concentrated on the silver object.
"What is it?" Jim looked over the pendant.
"I don't know." Ariah shook her head and examined the pendant. "Maybe it contains the answers I've been looking for." She cleared her throat. "But…" Ariah bit her bottom lip nervously. "I'm not sure if I should open it." She sighed, trying desperately to decide, and gave the pendant a meaningful stare.
"Um…" Jim stuffed a hand into the outer pocket of his trousers. "You want some time, uh, alone?" He offered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly with his other hand.
Ariah inhaled deeply and exhaled. "I'd like that…" She looked up at the young man. "I won't be too long." Ariah stated with a weak smile. "Thank you, Jim."
Jim nodded in respect. "C'mon Morph." He gently motioned to the frightened morph to follow him back up the hill to BEN's home.
Ariah exhaled and gently pressed the buttons at the edges of the pendant, opening it.
The mechanisms within the pendant whirred to life, and a small globe of light appeared from the pendant. The orb began to morph into a familiar face as Ariah looked closer into its depths.
"She's lucky enough teh 'ave survived out there in the Etherium." Silver's voice reverberated through the orb. "So, I suppose I should thank yeh for swing that boom back an' saving her life, again… Scroop."
There was no answer from the arachnid standing beside him.
The two sailors were on the main deck of the RLS Legacy, leaning against the railing along the port side of the bow.
Silver sighed. "I just wish she'd wake up…" He cleared his throat. "It's already been a day, an' we haven't ever 'ad anythin' like this happen teh her before." Silver nervously wiped his forehead with the back of his organic hand.
"With that much exposure to the cold," Scroop's levelheaded voice growled as he stared emptily into the mass of stars outside the ship's boundaries. "I'm surprised she didn't freeze to death."
There was a silence.
"I assume I'm not yet off the hook for killing Mister Arrow." Scroop digressed bluntly.
Silver's hearty chuckle followed.
"Now, yeh listen teh me, James Hawkins."
Silver's voice echoed slightly as he placed his hands onto Jim's shoulders.
"Yeh got the makings of greatness in yeh... but yeh gotta take the helm an' chart yer own course."
Jim faced the cyborg, listening to his advice.
"Stick teh it, no matter the squalls..."
Silver looked at the brunette teenager standing before him.
"An' when the time comes yeh get the chance... teh really test the cut of yer sails... an' show what yeh are made of, well…"
Silver smiled proudly down at the young man.
"I hope I'm there... catchin' some of the light comin' off yeh that day."
"That was the greatest birthday present, ever!" Ariah cheered, despite shivering from the cold of the comet that she, Scroop and Silver had recently watched up close from one of the ship's longboat.
"That's great, darling…" Silver lashed the longboat into place. He and Scroop had only just shaken the comet's snow from themselves. Ariah and the longboat were both soaked with the melting snow.
"I mean," Ariah leapt from the longboat and smiled. "It was just so amazing!" She hopped around on the spot, buzzing with energy. "I wonder if we can still see it from the main deck."
The sixteen-year-old stopped hopping on the spot and speedily bolted out of the longboat's dock house towards the upper decks.
Scroop and Silver simultaneously sighed.
"We should probably get her before she freezes from the cold." Scroop stated. The arachnid cleared his throat. "By the way. Happy Birthday Old Man…"
"'Alf true, Scroop." Silver sighed, joining the crimson arachnid in the walk towards the upper deck. "I'm afraid each of me forty-one years are catchin' up teh me." He chuckled half-heartedly. "Does make me feel old, from time teh time…"
"Do you want me to tell her about you or at least your name?" A woman's exhausted voice asked with a shaky sigh. "When she's old enough?"
"No…" John Silver turned to face his lover. "I'll come back for her, in a few years, an' I'll tell her then."
"Promise?" The woman asked.
"On me life …" The half-mechanical man swore loyally. "Keep her on this planet an' I'll find her; on me life."
The black-haired woman smiled weakly after a moment's pause. "I guess I should wish you a Happy Birthday, John." She chuckled. "Twenty five years…"
The cyborg smiled back half-heartedly. "Thank yeh…" Silver sighed quietly and his smile grew. "An' thank yeh for givin' me the greatest birthday gift anyone could ever give teh me…" His eyes watered proudly as he gently smoothed his human hand over his newborn child's soft forehead.
Then John Silver turned away and pulled on his overcoat; the right sleeve had been torn off to accommodate his mechanical arm.
The woman sighed sadly. "So… you're leaving already?" Her voice broke slightly, as she tried to force back her inevitable tears.
"Aye…" Silver sighed, feeling a harsh sadness well up in himself. "Crew's waitin'." He looked towards the door, unable to meet the light green eyes of his lover.
"Aren't you at least going to name your daughter?"
There was another unnerving pause between them as John Silver stopped in the doorframe with his mechanical hand on the brass doorknob.
"Ariah…" Silver stated clearly. "Her name's Ariah."
The door slammed shut behind him, echoing and dispersing the orb's image.
Author's Note:
Read and Review so I can write some more!
MG#6