Chapter 21: Meeting B.E.N.
Jim and Rose began to trek through the jungle, sliding down on a large branch that went downhill with Morph following them. The teenagers walked and looked around the strange desolate planet. The tall, thin trees were in the shape of giant mushrooms, and the ground was covered with moss and mini fungi bushes.
The auburn-redhead felt the moss tickle on the soles of her bare feet as she took each step. Walking along, her mind traveled back to the months she and Jim were with Silver, and now he betrayed them. She was filled with a lot of doubt of fighting back the pirates, finding the treasure, and going back home.
Her thoughts clouded her mind that she didn't notice that she walked into a tree, crashed into it, and fell back. After landing on her rear, she started to have a meltdown and released her emotions.
Artemis perched on her shoulder and turned blue, feeling sad for her mistress.
Jim stopped walking and turned around. When he saw the girl on the ground sobbing, he ran towards her and knelt next to her.
"Rose, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"Unbelievable!" she said, looking up at the boy. "I trusted Silver. I thought he was our friend! But he kept secrets and betrayed us! He knew that it was Scroop who killed Mr. Arrow, and didn't even defend you. If only he spoke up for you, then I wouldn't have blamed you. Now we're in such a mess!"
"I know. I trusted him too," Jim admitted.
"I'm so worried, Jim," she blubbered. "What will become of us? What if we can't find the treasure or our way home? Those pirates won't quit until they catch and kill us!"
The brunette boy hugged the petite girl, stroking her back, and shushed her.
"It's gonna be okay Rose. You'll see, we're gonna get out of this alive."
"Really?"
"Really, really," He pulled her up to her feet. "Come on, we have to find a place to hide."
"Okay, Jim." Rose took a deep breath to calm her mind down.
The teens continued to walk and looked up at the trees, towering above them.
Within the bushes, a telescope popped out and examined the unsuspecting Jim and Rose crawling over roots and walking forward.
The teenagers stopped and heard a mechanical sound as the telescope hid in the bushes. They turned around to see the bushes rattling and realized that they were being watched.
"What was that?" Rose asked, nervously.
The boy brought a finger to his lips and shushed, warning her and Morph to be quiet. He took out his pistol, powered it up, and cautiously walked towards the bushes, with the girl and blob behind him.
Jim peered down in the bushes, wanting to see if there was something hiding in them.
Suddenly, a robot jumped out of them and yelled.
This caused Jim and Rose to scream in fright as the robot pounced on the them, making them both land on the ground.
The robot was made of copper and skinny. It had long, spindly arms and legs, large green eyes, and a compass on its' chest. It was covered in moss and rust and had colored wires sticking out from behind its' head.
"Oh, this is fantastic!" the robot yelled. "Carbon-based life forms coming to rescue me at last!" He opened Jim's mouth and used his eyes to magnify it. The robot got onto its' knees and Jim and Rose slowly sat up. "I just wanna hug ya and squeeze ya, and hold you close to me!"
Then, the robot wrapped his arms around Jim's waist and pulled him up. The girl slowly got up onto her feet and brushed the dust off from her skirt. She nervously held her fists up and prepared to defend herself.
"All right, okay," the boy attempted to push the robot off, but he latched onto the boy again. "Would you just let go of me?!"
The robot released his grip on Jim and attached himself to Rose. The pressure from the robot's hug made the girl feel uneasy.
"Um, would you please get off me?" she asked, nervously.
The robot realized that he made the girl uncomfortable and let go of her.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry," he apologized.
Rose hurried behind Jim and stared at the robot. Artemis stood on top of the girl's head, turned red, and hissed at him.
The robot wrapped his arm around Jim's shoulders and said, "It's just I've been marooned for so long. I mean, solitude's fine, don't get me wrong. For Heaven's sakes after a hundred years… YOU GO A LITTLE NUTS!" He shouted, spazzing electricity, and laughed like a maniac. This caused Morph to dissolve in multiple pieces, but he regenerated himself.
Rose yelped and jumped back from his shout. She regained her composure and looked at the robot curiously.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
The robot looked back and noticed that he still had his arm wrapped on Jim, and he stepped back.
"I'm sorry, am I… I am, uh… my name is… uh…." He stumbled on his words, placed his fingers on his head and struggled to remember his name.
Jim and Rose stared at the robot in confusion. Morph, perched on the boy's shoulder, transformed into a miniature version of the robot, and released a cuckoo bird from his head.
Rose noticed and giggled at the blob's antic.
Jim glanced at Morph and smirked, he gave a pat on the head, turning Morph back to his original form.
"B.E.N.!" The robot exclaimed, now remembering. "Of course, I'm B.E.N! Bio-Electronic Navigator." He clicked his compass and fell off from his chest. "Oops!" B.E.N. placed it back on, as Jim bent down to the ground to pick up his pistol. "And you are?"
"Jim," the boy answered.
"I'm Rose," the girl introduced herself.
B.E.N. took their hands and shook them vigorously. "Oh, what a pleasure to meet you Jimmy and Rose Budders!"
"It's Jim," the boy stated firmly, gently pushing the robot's hand away.
"Just Rose."
"Anyway," B.E.N. said, leaning on Jim.
"Look we're kind of in hurry, okay?" the boy put his gun back on his belt and took the auburn-redhead's hand. "Rose and I got to find a place to hide and there's pirates chasing us."
"Oh, pirates!" B.E.N. exclaimed. "Don't get me started on pirates! I don't like them." The teens walked pass the robot. "I remember Captain Flint! This guy had such a temper!"
Jim and Rose halted when the robot mentioned the infamous pirate captain and turned back to him in shock. They walked back to B.E.N.
"Wait, wait, wait, you knew Captain Flint?" Jim asked.
"Not the infamous Captain Flint?" Rose added.
"I think he suffered from mood swings, personally," B.E.N. sat down and crossed his legs. This made Jim roll his eyes in annoyance and Rose sighed, exasperated. "I'm not a therapist in any way. But I… You let me know when I'm rambling!"
"But that means… but wait. But then you gotta know about the treasure?" Jim asked, grinning in anticipation.
"Treasure?" the robot asked, unsure of his answer.
"Yeah, Flint's trove? You know, loot of a thousand worlds," Jim explained.
To make the boy's point clear, Morph transformed himself into a treasure chest full of gold coins.
"You know when I lose something I always try to retrace my steps," Rose advised. "So, where and when was the last time, you saw the treasure?"
"It's… well, it's… it's all a little… little… little fuzzy. Wait. I… I remember. I do. I… treasure! Lots of treasure buried in the centroid… centroid… centroid of the mechanism." Jim and Rose stepped back, becoming freaked out. "And there was this big door opening and closing… and opening and closing… and Captain Flint wanted to make sure… nobody could ever get to his treasure… so I helped him…" B.E.N. sputtered, the back of his head created sparks and started to malfunction. "Aah! Data inaccessible! Reboot!"
"B.E.N.?" Jim asked, trying to get his attention.
"REBOOT!" B.E.N. yelled.
"B.E.N?"
"REBOOT!"
"B.E.N.!"
"REBOOT!"
Jim slapped B.E.N. across the face to make him snap out of it. The sparks died down and B.E.N. looked back at the teenagers confused. "And you are?"
"Wait, wait, wait, what about the treasure?!" Jim asked, waving his arms.
"I want to say Larry."
"The - the centroid of the mechanism, or –" Jim stammered to the robot.
"I'm sorry. My memory isn't what it used to be," B.E.N. stammered, making the boy frustrated. "I-I've lost my mind." He laughed. "I've lost my mind. You guys haven't found it, have you?" The robot pushed the teens over to a tree and patted their backs down.
"Uh…" Jim was confused.
"Found what?" the girl asked.
"My missing piece?" B.E.N. said. He turned back to show the wires sticking out from behind his head and a piece was missing. "My primary memory circuit?"
"No, B.E.N.," the auburn-redhead answered, shaking her head. "I'm afraid we haven't seen it."
"Look, B.E.N., Rose and I…" Jim said, making a point. "Really need to find a place to hide, okay? So we're just gonna be, you know, moving on."
The robot's cheerful expression turned to disappointment.
"Oh, uh...so, well, then...I guess, uh...this is good-bye, huh? I'm sorry that I'm so dysfunctional," B.E.N. turned away and got to his knees, making the teens look back. "So, uh, go ahead and...I do understand. I do. Bye-bye."
B.E.N. started to leave and the two watched him. Despite the robot being talkative and strange, Rose couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Jim glanced at Morph and the little blob whined at him.
The girl looked over at the boy and whispered, "Jim, I get that B.E.N. might be irritating. But, who knows? Maybe he can help us. Let's just give him a chance."
Jim sighed, and looked back at the robot. "Look, if you're gonna come along, you're gonna have to stop talking," he said.
B.E.N. looked back and his depressed mood turned to joy and excitement. "Huzzah! Ha ha ha! Oh, this is fantastic!" The robot ran towards the teens and jumped into Jim's arms. "Me and my best buddies are lookin' for a..." B.E.N. stopped talking as Jim looked at him sternly.
The robot cleared his throat. "Being quiet," he cleared his throat, zipped his lips, and hugged Jim's face.
"And you have to stop touching me," the boy added. "Even Rose."
"Touching and talking," B.E.N. leaped out from his arms. "That's my two big no-nos."
"Okay. Now, I think that we should…" Jim started, ready to go back on his task, until B.E.N. interrupted.
"Say, listen, before we go out on our big search... um, would you mind if we made a quick pit stop at my place?" B.E.N. chuckled nervously, clenched his legs and pulled aside some bushes. "Kind of urgent."
In the distance was a small metallic tower sitting in the middle of a field. It was in the shape of an egg and covered in moss and had a large round window.
Jim and Rose smiled at the sight. B.E.N.'s house would a safe place for them, Captain Amelia, and Delbert to hide.
"B.E.N., I think you just solved our problem," Jim said happily, as he glanced at Rose.
