Chapter 30: pursuing a dream
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now all aboard the RLS legacy! I'm convinced that treasure planet is based on the novel Robert louis Stevenson's treasure island. I know Disney shows a special connection with it like how they did with the 1950 film and muppet treasure island.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Silver wasn't lying about keeping Sora and Jim busy. Captain Amelia made sure of it. Their first task, after taking off, was to mop the entire deck, top to bottom. It wouldn't have been so bad if Jack hadn't kept telling them they missed a spot every five minutes. They had a bit of help though. Morph had transformed into a miniature mop and scrubbed the floors along with them.
"This isn't exactly how I pictured ship life," Sora groaned. Jim could only chuckle. As the Keyblader mopped, the whisperings of several alien crew members caught his attention. Like the rest of the ship, they looked mean and ruthless. They noticed they were being watched and glowered at Sora, who turned back to the task at hand.
"You boys should mind your own business," a malicious voice hissed. Crawling down the rope ladders on all six legs was the crab creature from before. His large yellow eyes shone like light bulbs.
Sora narrowed his eyes at him. "We were. Why? What's it to you?" The alien growled and stood high on all his legs, sizing Sora up quite effectively.
"Watch your tongue, spike head," he hissed again. "Or you'll end up losing it." He clicked his claws for effect but Jim just smirked and stepped up.
"What's the matter?" Jim asked. "You got something to hide, bright eyes?" 'Bright eyes' had then had enough and clamped a claw around Jim's throat, lifting him off the ground. Jim choked and gripped at the pincer around his neck while his feet dangled.
"Hey!" Sora shouted, about to intervene, but the other crew members restrained him and crowded around the fight.
"Rip his head off!"
"Cut him up good!"
"Slice him and dice him!" Jack cried from the crowd.
"Jack!" Sora scolded from an aliens grasp. The pirate only shrugged.
The crab alien held Jim in the air with one claw and brought the other to the boy's nose. "Time to learn your place, cabin boy," he whispered. Before he could do anything, however, his arm was gripped in a robotic hand.
"Mister Scroop," Silver drawled as he held his claw. He now wore a hat not unlike Jack Sparrow's and a brown coat over his white shirt. "Let's not be losing our temper now. I mean, they're only children. Right?" His grip tightened on Scroop's claw, causing him to wince and drop Jim to the floor.
"What's going on here?" The crowd quickly dispersed as Mister Arrow, who was accompanied by Kairi, marched up to Scroop. "You know the rules. No fights, brawls and/or scuffles. Any offenders will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage. Am I clear, Mister Scroop?" Scroop growled low until he saw the red eyed glare he received from Silver.
"Yes...sir," the crab spat. Satisfied, Arrow turned round and headed off for his other duties. Scroop hissed yet again, glaring at the retreating back of the first officer before clattering away with the rest of the crew.
"You okay?" Kairi asked worriedly as she came to Sora. He shrugged offhandedly.
"I've had worse," he replied. She poked him in the ribs and smiled. Jim brushed himself off after the encounter and Silver marched up to him with his mop in hand.
"Now I gave you boys a job!" he shouted, shoving the mop into Jim's hands. "No more tomfoolery! I want this ship to sparkle with spit when I come back!"
"But...," Jim stammered.
"No buts! Morph!" The pink blob zipped to Silver's head. "Keep an eye on these two for me, eh?" Morph saluted and his eyes grew three times bigger, keeping them glued on Sora and Jim. The boys sighed and set back to mopping.
"I can help if you want," Kairi offered. "I've got nothing else to do. Captain Amelia's piloting the ship right now."
"No, no!" The cyborg cook intervened before Sora and Jim could say anything. "This is their work. It builds character, you see. Otherwise they'll end up a couple of vagabonds!"
Kairi tapped her chin. "I never thought of it that way before."
"What!" Sora exclaimed.
"Oh, well. See you, Sora!" Kairi walked off, leaving a betrayed Sora behind.
"You missed a spot!" Jack Sparrow said, appearing out of nowhere.
Down below in the ship's hold, most of the alien crew had assembled, including Scroop. They chatted amongst themselves until they heard the thump thump of someone coming down the stairs. Silver stepped down on his one robot leg, his expression unreadable. The aliens all turned to attention as he came among them.
"So, you're all here," he said, looking at them all. "Now gentlemen, if you pardon me asking, are you all...stark-raving, totally blinking daft!?" His arm switched to a sword and everyone backed away as he swung it about.
"After all my finagling, getting us hired as an upstanding crew...you want to blow the whole mutiny before it's time!?" He then got into Scroop's face, and they each glared at each other.
"They were snooping about," Scroop hissed.
"You just stick to the plan you bug-brained twit!" Silver growled. "As for the boys...I'll run them so ragged that they won't have time to think, let alone snoop." His eye glowed bright, and the crew laughed cruelly.
Meanwhile, on the ship's main deck, Captain Amelia stood behind the wheel with Arrow behind her shoulder. Flying along side of the ship were large blue beasts that largely resembled whales, emitting angelic calls to each other. She steered through a school of them on their course, making sure not to disturb their patterns. Dr. Doppler took pictures of them as they swam/flew by.
"Marvelous! Simply marvelous!" he gushed as his camera snapped away. "This is the adventure I've been craving! A chance to go where no researcher has gone before! Take that, Harvard! Turn down my application, will you?" Amelia smirked at his upbeat attitude.
As Doppler took shots, something caught his eye. "What the..."
"Something the matter, Doctor?" Amelia asked, not taking her eyes away from her course.
Doppler scratched his head in confusion. 'No. It's just...for a minute there I thought I saw a ship following us."
"It was probably your imagination," Arrow assured.
Doppler shrugged. "I suppose..." He went back to taking pictures. As the R.L.S Legacy flew through the large space whales, a purple ship emerged from its cover behind one of the beasts.
"This is it boys!" Pete hollered from his seat. His partner, Gantu, sat in the seat next to him piloting their ship. "This may be my greatest and easiest scheme yet! All we have to do is follow those losers straight to Treasure Planet! It's cake! Nice job on the spy work, 625!"
625 came into view...dressed as a vegetable and holding a sandwich, like always. "Disguising myself as a turnip wasn't the most glamorous job," he said truthfully. "But it did give me a chance to raid their kitchen!" He took a bite of his sandwich. "If you need me, I'll be in the food hold for six hours."
"Why are we doing this?" Gantu grumbled. "What we should be doing is trying to figure out how to capture Kairi. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like getting flambéd again. What's so special about Treasure Planet anyway?"
"What's so special!?" Pete exclaimed, shocked. "You've never heard of Treasure Planet?" Gantu shook his large head. "Well, let me tell you. You see, there was this guy named Captain Flint who stole treasure from over a thousand worlds! He stored it all on one world: Treasure Planet! The loot of a thousand worlds! I remember the stories Ma Pete used to read to me about Flint and his thievery. It's what inspired me to become a villain!"
"Wow. That's a lot of cash," Gantu gasped. "With that kind of munny, we wouldn't have to work for Maleficent any more!"
"We'd be livin' the good life!" Pete sighed.
"No more pain!"
"No more embarrassing defeats at the hands of kids!"
"No more psychos trying to take over the universe!"
"To Treasure Planet!" they both exclaimed. They both laughed loudly and followed the R.L.S Legacy in secret, with dreams of riches and happiness running through their heads.
KHKHKHKH
It had taken all day, but Jim and Sora were finally done mopping the deck. The skies had darkened, making it feel like night time. The two boys leaned against the rails of the ship, completely exhausted. Morph flew around, still full of energy, making them feel all the more tired.
"Well...," Sora groaned. "At least we survived."
"Barely," Jim whimpered. Morph changed into a tombstone and they laughed weakly.
"So, Jim," Sora started, trying to start a conversation. "What is this map you found? What's it a map of?"
Jim hesitated, but then decided that he could trust Sora. They were work buddies after all. "It's a map of the entire universe. Every world for millions of miles!" Sora gasped. A map of the universe? He couldn't believe it. That would come in real handy while they were traveling. "If we follow that map, we'll get straight to Treasure Planet."
"And what are you gonna do with the treasure?" Sora asked curiously.
Jim shrugged. "First thing I'm gonna do is fix my Mom's inn. It was burned down. By pirates."
"Wow. That's real nice of you!" Jim smiled at the compliment. Unbeknownst to both of them, Silver was walking up the steps from the hold. He noticed them talking and kept silent. "You never talked about your parents before. Your Mom owns an Inn, but what about your Dad? Is he the stern, commanding type?" Jim's smile dissolved to a scowl.
"No, he was more of the taking off and never coming back type," he replied bitterly. Sora choked. Behind them, Silver frowned, looking at Jim with utter contempt.
"Oh," Sora said quietly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," he sighed. "You wouldn't understand."
"You're wrong." Jim looked at Sora questionably. "We're kind of alike, I guess," Sora said, looking out into space. "Because...I never knew my father. Or my mother. Well, my real ones anyway. I was adopted. I grew up in an orphanage. One night they found me on their doorstep and took me in. It was awhile until the day came for me to be taken to a home. They were nice enough people. Average Dad, average Mom and I was just happy to be part of a family. But...to this day I still don't know who my real parents were, or what happened to them. Or why they abandoned me in the first place."
"I guess we're both a couple of cards, huh?" Jim chuckled.
Silver had heard enough of the conversation. "Good work today, boys!" he exclaimed, making his presence known. "Place is still in one piece! Not what I expected. Hehehe!"
"Thank's...for earlier," Jim said awkwardly.
"Oh, don't worry 'bout it," the cyborg replied. "But you have to learn to pick your battles. Or you'll find yourself in one you can't win. But just you boys wait till tomorrow. Since the Captain has put you in my charge, like it or not, I'll be pounding a few skills into your skulls to keep you both out of trouble!"
"Don't do us any favours," Sora groaned.
"Hey, Silver, my robot chum!" Jack Sparrow walked down the deck towards them. "What are ya doing up here, mate? We got food and rum down below! Hedgehog-boy actually hogtied the grub! Better hurry before Beasty gobbles it all down!"
"Sounds well and good, Mister Sparrow!" Silver laughed, putting an arm around Jack's shoulders. "We must sing a chantey as we feast! Do you know Dead Man's Chest?"
Jack coughed nervously. "Uh, I'd rather we didn't sing that one. Bad karma with that one! But, we'll think of something!" They both laughed heartily and proceeded down below.
In Amelia's stateroom, the cat captain was looking at charts and courses pinned up on her wall. Doctor Doppler and Mister Arrow were also present. "A fine first day if I do say so myself!", Doppler said happily. "Barely any problems at all! At this rate we'll be there in no time! Go Doppler! Go Doppler! Go Doppler!"
"Doctor, if you could zip your howling screamer for a minute," Amelia said, annoyed. Using several pins she plotted their current course on her charts...and scowled when she placed one on a large red spot. "According to the map, to get to Treasure Planet we must proceed through the Yuloonga Quadrant."
"So? What's wrong with that?" Doppler asked.
"That's straight through Imperial territory," Arrow growled. Doppler balked. The Empire? He hadn't expect to deal with them on this trip. The Imperials generally left his planet of Montressor alone. But they couldn't stop the routine visits or taxes to their families. Needless to say, Doppler wasn't fond of them.
"A-are you sure?" he stammered.
"The charts don't lie," Amelia answered. "And there's no way around them. I've dealt with the Empire before and I can tell you that they don't take kindly to trespassers. I didn't think of this earlier. So, we've a choice to make. We can call off this whole adventure..." She turned to face both of them. "...or we go at them head on."
Doppler swallowed nervously. "Captain, I don't want to put anyone on board this ship in danger."
"That's poetry, Doctor. Very noble. But in the end, it's my decision."
Arrow stood up straight. "I will follow you till the end, Captain!" Amelia smiled at her friend. She turned back to the chart, glaring at that red splotch between them and their destination. Doppler and Arrow waited patiently for her decision, though each was anxious. Finally, Amelia turned back to them, smiling.
"We go through."
KHKHKHKH
And so life progressed aboard the Legacy. The disguised Keybladers fit in as best they could. Beast was used for most of the grunt work on board, carrying or pulling anything that was too heavy for the other crew members. It wasn't hard for him to do and he didn't mind doing it. Ron spent most of his time in the crows nest, playing cards with Rufus when he should have been looking out.
Kairi, Mulan and Kim were the supervisors of the ship. It was their job to make sure everyone did their jobs correctly. Not many aliens took kindly to the fact that they were being told what to do by a women. sonic was an interesting case. While the creatures he attended to still occasionally attacked him, he refused to let them cook in the pots of the galley. He had apparently formed some kind of bond with them. The hedgehog was a strange one.
As for Jack, Jack was at home. Though not the captain, he was still happy to be on a ship again. He knew every basic part to the craft and was very helpful in keeping it going. But he wasn't allowed near the wheel. Amelia had made sure of that. Not only that, he was the only one to successfully get along with the alien crew. They joked together, drank together, and worked without problems. He related to them very well. Particularly with Silver. They were like two peas in pod, the best of pals.
Speaking of Silver, the old cyborg worked his two cabin boys to the bone. Sora and Jim found themselves peeling potatoes, mopping the deck, cleaning the hull of space barnacles, as well as many other back breaking chores, always under the watchful eyes of Morph. But Silver also taught them many things as he did, particularly Jim, who he had taken quite a shine to.
In their spare time, Jim taught Sora how to solar surf, a fantastic exercise that involved a jet powered board flying through the air. Before Jim left home, he made sure he packed some boards for the roads. Sora took to it instantly, calling it 'the next coolest thing to riding a magic carpet'.
"Faster! Faster!" Sora yelled as Jim piloted the flying life boat called the solar sailor. At amazing speeds, Jim, Sora, Silver and Morph zipped all around the area surrounding the ship, another one of Silver's many lessons. Jim, it turned out didn't need the lessons, driving the thing like he had been doing it all his life.
The solar sailor headed to the underside of the ship where the docking bay was located. They ascended into the hanger, laughing and chuckling as they did. "That was great!" Sora exclaimed once they were tied down. "You were incredible, Jim!"
"You're damn right, he was!" Silver laughed, pulling Jim into a robot noogie. "I've never seen such piloting skills! Something to be proud of, eh?"
Jim laughed and pushed Silver off him. "It was nothing. You should see me back home on my surfer!" He then sighed. "Too bad no one there can see it. But I'm gonna make them see it!"
That stuck in Silver's head. He looked at Jim, who put his hands behind his head and lounged, dreaming of his plans. He then sent Sora a silent message with a look. The Keyblader looked between the two and got it...after a while.
"I'm, uh, gonna go up top to find Kairi," he covered. "See you later, Jim!"
"Later," Jim sighed. Once Sora was gone, Silver looked at Jim with pity in his robot eye.
"You're...gonna make them see it?" Silver whispered. "Is that right?"
"Yeah," Jim replied, picturing it already. "I've got it all planned out."
Silver rubbed the back of his neck. "Some plans go astray."
"Not this one," said Jim. The cyborg frowned and looked at his robot leg. He hefted it up and tightened the nuts and bolts in the joints, making minor adjustments to permanent attachment. It almost looked unintentional and Jim couldn't help but watch. "So...how did that happen?" Jim finally asked. Silver stopped his work and looked at all the gears, wires and mechanics in his metal arm sadly.
"Sometimes you give up a few things...to pursue a dream," he whispered.
"Was it worth it?" Jim asked. Silver chuckled and placed his hat back atop his head.
"I hope so, Jimbo. I hope so."
Amelia paced the deck of her ship, keeping an eye on the crew as she did so. They were in Yuloonga Quadrant and had been flying through it for quite some time. They had not encountered any trouble so far but that could quickly change.
"Mister Stoppable!" she called up the crow's nest. Ron poked his blond head out to listen. "Keep a sharp eye out for Imperial ships. We're deep in their territory now."
"Aye, aye, sir/ma'am!" Ron shouted back. "Just one question!"
"What is it?"
"What the heck are those things?" He pointed out to the sky. Amelia squinted her green eyes to where he was pointing. She could barely make out several specks coming straight for them. They were growing larger now so see could see more clearly. They were grey, and in the shape of an H. And there were a lot of them. Amelia gasped when she realized what they were.
"Tie Fighters," she whispered. "Tie Fighters!" In they came, fast and deadly. The terrible ships of the Imperial Navy. The Legacy crew reacted immediately and ran about as they closed in. The fighters opened fire on the ship once in range. Their green lasered flurries were deflected off the ship's shield and they pulled off for another round.
Jim and Silver came up from the hold to see what the commotion was about. "What the devil!?" Silver gasped as the lasers rocked the ship.
"All hands to battle stations!" Arrow hollered. The gunmen and gunmole-rat all ran to their platforms and charged the cannons. "Tie down your life lines, gents!" Tied around every crewman's waist was a rope that was attached securely down to the mast lest someone be flung into space never to return.
"Evasive action!" Amelia shouted to the alien at the wheel. Several Ties passed overhead, firing their lasers and burning holes in the solar sails. "Secure those sails before we lose them!" Everyone rushed up the ropes to reach the sails. Once they did, they quickly hoisted the lines and furled up the sails, avoiding fire as they did so.
"Thank goodness!" Beast said as he tied himself. "You guys were right! We needed stuff to happen here! I was beginning to get bored!"
"Nothing cures boredom like a bunch of guys raining death on you!" Kim said humourlessly.
"Less talking, more fighting back!" Mulan She shot a jet of flame to the sky, blasting a Tie Fighter into oblivion. Jack's Keyblade produced a spiraling whirlwind, pulling one Fighter off its course and into a collision with another. Sora shot beams of pure light, as did Kairi. Rufus and the rest of the gunmen fired away on the gun platforms at the incoming Imperials, the naked mole-rat the best shot among them and enjoying every minute of it.
Out of the hold came sonic, looking quite irritated. "What's going on up here!? I just got the monsters to sleep!" he yelled. The shouts of the crew and roars of Tie engines stooped his scolding. His anger was replaced with battle lust and he smirked. He quickly leapt up the booms and sails with the strength of ten men to into the crows nest.
"AHH! I surrender!" Ron wailed when the half-demon landed in his post. sonic scowled at him and aimed his Keyblade out at space.
Just then with his sonic speed and his blade and over the ship, destroying every Tie in its path. Many were consumed in its power. Ron popped his head up from the floor and peeked outside. sonic smirked and he and Ron gave a thumbs up.
The battle raged on with no end to the Fighters in sight. Many were destroyed but more kept coming. The lasers pounded on their shields. Any more and the shields would fail, leaving them utterly defenseless against the Imperial assault.
"Shields at forty percent, Captain!" the piloting shouted with an odd Scottish accent. "We can't get around them! There's too many!"
"Give me that, you amateur!" Jack growled, kicking him out of the way and grasping the wheel. With the familiar feel of a ship's wheel, the Black Pearl's captain spun it round. His piloting skills were able to evade most of the Tie fire, swerving all over the space ways in an attempt to escape.
"This wasn't part of the plan!" Pete whined, as their ship was pelted with laser fire. Ties flew all around the purple ship, showing it no more mercy than the ship in front of them. "This was supposed to be an easy plan! Easy-peezy, lemon-squeezy!"
"Nothing's ever easy for us!", Gantu hissed as he frantically avoided the lasers. "There's only pain, suffering, and more pain! When am I gonna learn!?"
"Could you two blubber-butts keep the ship steady!", 625 said, walking on the bridge. "You made me spill the jam! So help me if there isn't another jar..."
"Shut up!" they both shouted. While both of them were preoccupied, a large battleship, loaded with fire power, rose up behind them. It was black in colour and had the insignia of the Empire on its hull, along with tally marks that obviously kept up to date with how many unlucky ships had crossed their path. The most terrible feature was the large intimidating cannon mounted on the front, pointed straight ahead at R.L.S Legacy. Unfortunately, Pete and Gantu were right between them.
"Oh, blitzsnack," Gantu gasped.
"Get us out of here!" Pete hollered, grabbing the steering wheel and jerking the ship out of the cannon's line of fire.
"Captain! Behind us!" Doppler shouted, pointing to the Imperial cruiser. Amelia tore herself away from the battle and looked behind in time to see the ship's cannon begin to glow. It was charging up to fire! The Tie fighters attacking suddenly broke away, not wanting to be in the way when that thing went off.
"Mister Sparrow! Hard to Port!" Amelia commanded urgently. Jack wasted no time and spun the wheel around, sharply turning the ship out f the cannon's path. A bright blast of glowing energy barely missed them, blasting from the Imperial ship to right beside their hull. The beam was so bright and hot that everyone was forced to look away. Though it didn't hit, the blast still rocked the ship and Silver, in the chaos, fell over the rail and overboard.
"Silver!" Jim cried. It's a good thing Silver's life line was tied, so Jim could grab hold of it and lift the old cyborg back on board. Silver breathed heavily and touched Jim on the shoulder.
"Thank ya, Jimbo," he gasped. Jim smiled despite the danger around them. Another bright blast whizzing past them brought them back to reality.
"That cannon will tear us to pieces!" Amelia growled. She desperately tried to think of a solution. She got them into this and she'll damn well get them out! Somehow...
"Captain!" Doppler called from the control panel. "We can get out of this! I have an idea! According to my readings, that cannon uses pure solar energy! It's like being attacked by the sun itself! If we can get into position..."
"Of course!" Amelia exclaimed. "We can ride it right out of this blasted quadrant! Brilliant, Doctor!"
Mister Arrow called down from the deck. "All solar sails secured, Captain!"
"Excellent, Mister Arrow! Now open them back up!" Arrow was confused for a split second, but his dedication to his captain saw him through.
"Aye, aye, Captain! Open up the sails!" he shouted to the crew who were just climbing back down from closing the them in the first place.
"What! But we just finished closing them!" Kim shouted.
"Make up your blooming minds!" the crab alien Scroop growled as they all climbed back up to undo their work.
"Mister Hawkins!" Amelia called to Jim. "Make sure all life lines are secure!" Jim nodded and set off to inspect the ropes on the mast that held all the men down. He tightened them all just in case.
"Lines secured, Captain!" he called back. Up on the booms were Sora, Arrow, Kim, Scroop and many other aliens that quickly unfurled the solar sails, making sure not to lose their balance.
"Mister Sparrow! Get us into position!"
"Already there, love!" Jack laughed, turning the wheel so they would blast out of there. But before he could get there, another blast rocked the ship and up above, Mister Arrow fell off the boon. He flew right out of the ship's gravitational pull and would have gone further if not for the rope around his waist. With a strong will to survive, he began to haul himself up the line, bit by bit, getting himself safely back on board.
But as he looked back to the ship, his eyes widened in horror.
Scroop looked down on Arrow, the only one who saw him hanging by a thread. Then he looked at the life line, the only thing that kept the first-officer from plummeting into space and smiled with cruel intent. Arrow breath caught in his throat as Scroop brought his pincer along the rope. He cut it.
Arrow fell into space with nothing left to save him. His screams went unheard in the chaos and confusion of the situation. Soon he was gone and Scroop was smiling like a demon.
The ship was now in position. All solar sails were up and everyone was back on deck. Nothing was between their backside and the Imperial ship. "Brace yourselves, everyone!" Amelia commanded. Everybody anchored themselves down with anything they could find. Kairi latched onto Sora, Beast clamped down to the deck, Mulan held on to his cloak as did sonic. Kim held down with some rope while Ron and Rufus held each on to her. Silver and Jim held to the ship's mast tightly and Morph tied himself down by turning into a piece of rope. The cannon charged up, preparing for one final shot at the unmoving target before them. After the longest charge yet, they fired.
The cannon's solar energy hit the sails right on. Every bit of energy was absorbed into those sails and was transferred straight into the engines, producing tremendous power that blasted their engines full throttle. Shooting off at a breakneck speed, the R.L.S Legacy left the Empire far behind it and rode the blast right out of the Yuloonga Quadrant. It was a while before the beam shimmered out and the ship came to a stop. Everyone slowly stood back up and looked around. No Imperials in sight.
"We did it!" Sora exclaimed. The crew answered his cry with a cheer of their own. They danced and laughed and called the Empire mean names. Sora and Kairi hugged in celebration and Rufus threw confetti that Morph had conveniently transformed into.
Amelia sighed in heavy relief. "Excellent work, Doctor" she said to Doppler. "You're creative expertise got us through a sticky situation."
"Uh, thank you," Doppler stammered, not expecting praise from her of all people. "I do what I can, which isn't really much!" Amelia smiled.
"And Mister Sparrow," she said to Jack who was wiping his brow tiredly. "That was some superb piloting back there. Very good work."
"Thank you, lass," Jack said grinning. "Does this mean I can steer the ship?"
"No." Jack crossed his arms and frowned. "All of you did good. Particularly you, Mister Hawkins. You did well securing those lines. Mister Silver, you sure worked him over." Both Jim and Silver grinned broadly. "Now then, all present and accounted for, Mister Arrow?" There was no answer for her. "Mister Arrow?" Everyone looked around but the first-officer was nowhere to be found, until Scroop approached, looking crestfallen and carrying something in his claws.
"I'm afraid," he whispered. "Mister Arrow has been lost to us." Amelia's green eyes widened and everyone either gasped or whispered. The crab then handed her what was in his pincers. It was Arrow's hat. Slowly, she took it in her hands, sadness and pain evident of her face. "It seems," Scroop continued, "that his life line was not secured." Amelia snapped out of it and she, along with everyone else, turned their eyes to Jim.
"N-no! That's impossible!" he shouted. "All the lines were secure! I'm sure they were!" He pushed past everyone to get to the where the ropes were. But to his horror, one of them was missing.
"Jim...," Sora whispered.
"Hate to be in his shoes," sonic stated. Jim stood there helplessly. Silver could only watch silently, but he was just as shocked.
"But...but I tied them all! I swear! I-" He stopped when Amelia gave him the coldest look he had ever seen.
"Mister Arrow was..." She cleared her throat, trying her best to stay strong in front of the crew. "Was a fine spacer. Finer than any of us...could ever hope to be." Rufus sniffed sadly on Ron's shoulder, Jack placed his hat over his chest and Sora bowed his head in respect. "But he knew the risks, as do we all. Return to your posts. We carry on." She walked off with Arrow's hat, preferring at that point to be alone. They all set back to their sailing journey.
Silver stayed where he was, trying to figure out what had happened. He taught Jim how to tie a knot so many times that it should have been second nature to him. As he looked to Scroop, he caught the evil grin on the alien's face and immediately figured it out.
Night had fallen on the ship once again. The mood on board was grim. Well, grim for some. The crew didn't really seem affected by the loss of Mister Arrow. They just wen't about their jobs. Amelia was hit the worst of all. Arrow wasn't just her first-officer, he was her friend. She felt what had happened was her fault. It was her decision to proceed through the quadrant and it had proved fatal. She had not come out from her quarters all day.
Jim kept to himself most of the time. He didn't speak to Sora or even Silver for the rest of the day. After the day's work was done, he stood leaning against the rail and staring out beyond. Sora chose this time to approach him, coming up from behind.
"It wasn't your fault," he said to his back. Jim didn't answer but just walked away. "Really! Half the crew would have been lost if you hadn't-"
"Look, I screwed up, alright!?" Jim snapped, startling the Key bearer. "For a minute, I thought that I could actually do something right, but someone ended up dying because of me!"
"But-"
"Just...leave me alone!" Sora frowned. He knew he shouldn't force anything on Jim. He silently left the boy and went below deck, leaving Jim alone to deal with his troubles. At least Jim thought he was alone until someone put a hand on his shoulder. A large metal hand to be precise.
"Now you listen to me, James Hawkins," Silver said smiling kindly. "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 them what you're made of," He tapped Jim on the chest, right where his heart was. "Well, I hope I'm there...catching some of the light coming off ya that day."
Tears flowed freely from Jim's eyes as he listened to the cyborg's words. He'd never heard such caring words like that other than from his mother. They were just like a father's. The boy hugged Silver round his large waist. Silver was startled at the display of affection and wasn't sure what to do. He awkwardly patted Jim on the back. "There, there. Alright, now, Jimbo. You can let go now. Seriously. This is uncomfortable." Jim let go of him wiped the tears from his face. "Now you best get some sleep, lad. Go on then!" Jim sniffled and smiled at Silver and went down below.
When he was gone, Silver released a pent up breath. Morph floated over with a question in his playful eyes. "Gettin' in too deep here, Morphy," he sighed. "Next thing they'll be saying I've gone soft." He shook his head clear and headed off to another part of the ship, oblivious of the bright eyes of Scroop watching him from above...
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!