Chapter 31: never trust a pirate
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 arriving at the loot of a thousand worlds! if you guys ever played ratchet and clank: quest for booty you might enjoy this fanfic.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Anakin Skywalker sneaked stealthily through the desert village at night. He moved like a shadow along the small huts that made up the small community. He peeked around the side of one abode. In the village center, around a campfire, were many people, which he could only assume to be human as their faces were wrapped in bandages and goggles covered their eyes. Each carried either a rifle or a spear. The women and children of the men were also fully clothed but none carried weapons. The children played while the women worked and men kept watch over all. It was a generally peaceful community.
How he hated them.
Looking away, Anakin probed the village with his powers. At first, he only could feel the villagers. But soon he felt the presence he'd come here for. He grazed the surface of one of the huts. Inside. Silently, he ignited his blue lightsaber and drove it into the wall, cutting a hole in the strange material. He stepped inside once his hole was made.
The hut was lit by candles, making it hut glow a red and orange light. Skins and furs of many creatures were strewn about. No villagers were inside.
But that didn't mean the hut was empty.
A woman hung from a poll, strung up like a pig. Her middle-aged face was terribly beaten and her long black hair was caked with blood. Both her eyes were shut. Anakin had seen many frightening things during his training as a Jedi, but that woman hanging there was by far the scariest. He quickly rushed to her and cut her bonds free. Once done, he gently cradled her in his arms.
"Mom," he whispered, gently shaking her. "Mom...Mom."
Shmi Skywalker's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her dark orbs were filled with pain as she looked up to her son. "Annie...?" she whispered. "Is that you...?"
Anakin choked back a sob. He couldn't bear seeing his mother like this, in such pain. "I'm here, Mom. You're safe. Hold on. I'm going to get you out of here."
"Annie?" Shmi whispered again, her vision now beginning to focus. "Annie, you look so handsome." She reached out and touched his grown-up face and he took her hand in his. Her son, once small and cute now handsome and tall. "My son...my grown-up son. I'm so proud of you, Annie...so proud...I missed you so much...Now...I am complete."
Anakin panicked at her words. "No. Stay with me, Mom. I'm going to make you better. Everything's..." He choked back another sob. "...everything's going to be fine."
Shmi smiled warmly pressing Anakin's hand. "I...love..." Her eyes slowly began to close. "...you." The hand in Anakin's grip wilted and the last bit of life within her floated away. And so, in the arms of her loving son, Shmi Skywalker died in peace.
Anakin could no longer hold in his tears. He clutched his dead mother to his chest and cried freely. He had promised to come back to save her once he was a Jedi but that could never happen now. He had failed her. It was all his fault.
No.
The boy raised his head, eyes full of blazing fury, towards the doorway.
It was their fault.
He carefully set Shmi down, as if he could break what was already broken. A dark look came over his face and he set outside.
The villagers in the village centre were unaware until the first scream echoed through the night. Anakin's saber whizzed through them, cutting them to ribbons without mercy. The women and children ran in terror while the men rushed to stop the intruder. But nothing could stop the Jedi; he was filled with pain...pain and anger. He sliced through the men, showing no remorse as he did so, but he didn't stop there. The women, the children, even their pets weren't spared. He slaughtered them like animals.
It was a night that would have great influence on the boy for years to come.
KHKHKHKH
Sora panted heavily on his knees. That was not a side of Anakin he had wanted to see. Such anger, such pain, such...suffering. It was too much to possibly bear. Who was Anakin Skywalker? How was he connected to him? He sighed. No time to dwell on it now. Time to get up.
Except that he wasn't in his bed.
Sora looked around and realized that he was completely surrounded by blackness. Normally he would wake up by now, a little shaken and confused, but he was apparently still dreaming. Not a very vivid dream but a dream nonetheless.
"Is this how blank my mind is?" Sora joked to himself. "Hello! Anyone here?"
"Hello Sora."
A chill went down Sora's spine at the voice. Slowly he turned around at looked straight into the covered eyes of Darth Vader. "Vader!" Sora shouted. Even though it was a dream, he was somehow still able to summon the Keyblade. "Why are you here!? What have you done with Riku!?"
"The darkness is coming for you, Sora," Vader said.
Sora was confused. "What are you talking about?! What are you doing here!?"
'There is no stopping it." Sora rounded at the new voice. Standing on the other side of him was Maleficent, in all her dark glory.
"Maleficent!?" Sora gasped. "What-"
"It seeps into your heart." Now behind Sora was the Horned King, his rotting face as terrible as ever. Sora balked. What were all three of his arch-enemies doing here?
"The darkness drives us," Vader said.
"It binds us," Maleficent stated.
"It is darkness that consumes us," Horned King hissed.
"No one is safe from its influence."
"The Chasers weren't..."
"...and neither was that boy you saw."
"Join us, Sora."
"Become one with the shadows."
"Fulfill your destiny."
As Sora listened, something happened. Shadows began to wrap around his body, and he immediately panicked. He fought and struggled against them, but it was no use. Slowly he was dragged into the floor, completely consumed by the darkness. He couldn't breath, he couldn't see, he couldn't struggle. This was the end.
"Don't be afraid."
A bright light pierced the darkness and Sora could see again. It was so warm, so pure. The shadows were chased away from its radiance. Though the light was blinding he could make out someone reaching to him. He could swear it was a woman. A woman of unparalleled beauty and dressed completely in white. He reached out to her and grasped her hand, and a blinding light followed.
"Don't be afraid, Sora."
KHKHKHKH
"Wha!" Sora exclaimed, waking up. He and most of the crew slept in hammocks below deck. Many aliens still snoozed comfortably in their sacks, including Jim. Sora was waken from his sleep by Morph, who was giggling in his face. "Morph!" The bubble-headed ball of mischief tickled Sora's nose and flew to Jim's bed. He transformed into a miniature version of Sora and danced on Jim's head, waking the boy from his slumber.
"Hey!" Jim shouted falling out of bed. Morph laughed happily.
"Get him!" Sora exclaimed. Morph's little eyes widened as both boys jumped to catch him. He flew up between them causing them to crash into each other. Morph laughed even harder.
"You're dead!" Jim laughed. Morph few up the stairs leading to the deck and Sora and Jim took after him.
"Make sure it gets nice and clean, Jack," Kim instructed as Jack Sparrow mopped the deck of the Legacy, grumbling under his breath as he did. "Don't want to make the Captain any angrier than she already is."
"Spill rum on her uniform and regret it the rest off your life," the pirate said grumpily.
Suddenly, Morph zipped up to Jack and squeezed up into Jack's nostril. The pirate staggered around in a daze as Morph wiggled around in his head until finally emerging from his ear. Once out, he flew off again before Sora or Jim could catch him. The two boys ran past a still dazed Jack and after the morph.
"Are you okay?" Kim asked as his arms and legs seemed to fail him.
"I feel disoriented and violated," Jack slurred. "Normally, that would be a good thing." He fell face first onto the wet floor he had been mopping. Kim stared for awhile, then shrugged and went somewhere else.
The chase after Morph had brought Sora and Jim to the galley where they first met Silver. Strangely, the old cyborg wasn't in there. But the two boys were too focused on Morph at the time to notice. As they searched around the kitchen, the little blob was nowhere to be found. "Come out, Morph," Sora called. Out of nowhere he appeared, transformed into Scroop of all people. Sora was so startled that he stumbled backwards and bumped into the counter, causing the empty chamber pot above him to fall and cover him.
"Don't worry, Sora, I've got him!" Jim shouted. Morph zipped past him and into a barrel of fruit. Jim ran and dove in after him, catching the blob in his hands. "Gotcha!" Morph smiled sheepishly.
"I'm tired of waiting!" Jim heard a voice outside the barrel. He peeked out from a small hole and saw several alien crew members including, to his dread, Scroop. Sora peeked out from underneath his pot and watched as well. "There's only a few of them now!" An alien growled.
"We should move!" another shouted.
"We don't move until I say so!" Jim knew that voice and so did Sora. That same voice had been instructing them this whole journey. It belonged to Silver. "Not until I hold that treasure in my hands!" he said.
"I say, we kill them now," Scroop hissed. Silver gripped his metal hand around Scroop's long mouth.
"I say what's to say!" Silver growled, still holding him. "And if you disobey my orders again, like that stunt you pulled with Arrow, you'll be joining him!" Jim's eyes widened. Scroop killed Arrow? Silver threw Scroop across the room, next to the pot Sora was listening from.
Scroop growled low and glared at Silver. "Strong talk. But methinks you're going soft. What was it you said to that cabin boy? 'You got the makings of greatness in ya?' You don't have a soft spot for him..." He raked his claw across the pot producing painful noises that echoed on the inside. Sora ground his teeth as it reached his ears. "...do ya?" Silver gave Scroop the dirtiest look he could while his crew mumbled agreements, suddenly thinking Silver didn't look so tough anymore.
"Now you listen to me, the lot of ya!" He marched up to Scroop and stood beside Sora's pot. "I care about one thing, and one thing only! Flint's trove." He slammed his fist on the pot, creating a large dent in the metal. "You think I'd risk it all for the sake of some nose-wiping little whelp?" Jim winced and looked away. He couldn't mean that. "I cozied up to that kid to keep him off our scent. But I...ain't...gone...soft!" He emphasized each word with a slam on the pot, turning it into a crumpled mess.
"Planet ho!" came the shout from Ron. Silver and the crew faces turned upward, eyes gleaming with hope and greed. They all rushed up the stairs to be te first to see it. Jim stayed in the barrel, betrayed, sad and broken. Morph didn't understand what was happening but wondered why his friend was so sad.
"Planet ho!" Ron hollered again up from his place on the crow's nest. Rufus danced happily on his shoulder. "Clap your hands and stomp your feet if you got them!" Everyone on board looked out the side of the ship to gaze at the planet before them. It was a green planet circled by two rings. Patterns were seen from orbit that matched the ones on the map. Treasure Planet.
"There it is, Beasty!" Jack whispered, full of joy. "It's Treasure Planet! Flint's trove! More loot then you can shake your furry tail at! And I'll be the first pirate to ever find it!"
"I'm happy for you, Jack," Beast said, smiling ever so slightly.
"Why thank you! When I find it, we'll split it twenty-forty! And you my dear..." He pulled Mulan to him. "Well your just priceless, eh?" Mulan blushed lightly.
Silver's eye shone as looked at the planet. In his opinion, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He reached for his telescope so that he could get a closer look but found it was not on his person. He must have left it in the galley. As quick as he could, he went back down...
Jim, now out of the barrel, walked over to the crumpled pot where Sora still hadn't come out. He lifted it off and Sora collapsed on the floor.
"Not the best hiding place I could have chosen," he moaned. Once he shook himself straight, he recollected the events that happened. "I'm so sorry, Jim..."
"I can't believe it," Jim whispered. "It was all a lie. They're pirates. Every one of them. Even Silver. We've got to warn the Captain!" Sora nodded and stood up. Both made for the stairs but found it was blocked by Silver's large frame.
"Jimbo? Sora?" Silver said surprised. Jim and Sora stiffened and it didn't take a genius for Silver to realize the jig was up. "Playing games, are we?" He took a few steps towards them and they backed away.
"Yeah, we're playing games," Jim responded, eyes flickering to the door.
Silver slipped his cyborg arm behind his back. "Oh, I see. Well, I was never much good at games." The arm changed into a laser pistol which he silently charged. "Always hated to lose."
"Me too!" Sora shouted. He swiftly summoned the Keyblade and swung it at Silver's metal leg, breaking a coil and releasing steam. Silver cried out and collapsed giving enough time for Sora and Jim to slip past him up the stairs.
Kairi looked to her side and saw Sora and Jim running at her. "Sora? Is somethng-Ahhh!" Sora grabbed her wrist and pulled her along with them to the Amelia's stateroom with all the haste they could.
With only one leg to stand on, Silver crawled up out of the hold, eye glowing red, in just enough time to see them all run into the captain's quarters.
"Blast it all!" Silver growled. "Change in plan, lads!" The aliens all turned to him as his arm changed to a sword.. "We move now!" The crew let out a mighty and enthusiastic cheer, having waited to hear that for a long time. They immediately set to work, first by breaking into the weapons cache and arming themselves with lasers.
"I don't like where this is going," Ron whimpered as he watched from high above. Rufus looked behind the boy and panicked, urging Ron to look behind him and straight into Scroop's cruel smiling face. "Oh, poop."
"Pirates!? On my ship!? I'll see they all hang!" Amelia growled, drawing pistols from her cabinet. With her were Doppler, Jim, Sora, Kairi and Kim. Once Sora and Jim had told them the situation, she immediately set into action. She tossed a pistol to Doppler. "Ever use one of these, Doctor?"
The doctor eyed the pistol in his hands. "Well, I've, uh, I've read about..." The pistol suddenly went off, blowing apart a globe right beside Kim. "Uh, no. No I haven't." Amelia rolled her eyes. Out of the wardrobe she drew the golden sphere that was a map of the universe. She tossed it to Jim.
"Guard this with your life, Mister Hawkins!" she commanded. "We're getting out of here!"
"We can't go!" Kim exclaimed. "What about the others? Our friends are still out there!"
"We have no choice! We're out manned and horribly out gunned! What matters now is surviving!" She blasted a hole in the floor with her pistol. It lead down to the lower deck. "Everyone in!"
"Don't suppose you lads know what parlay is, eh?" Jack asked nervously as he, Mulan, Beast and sonic were surrounded on deck. All four had their Keyblades drawn. The aliens sneered and laughed as they closed in on the Keybladers with pistols in hand.
"I thought these guys were a little on the rough side," sonic growled, standing back to back with the others. "No time to dwell on it now!"
"Who cares?" Beast hissed. "We can take em'! They're just a bunch of no good pirates! A bunch of scum-ridden filth!"
"I'm standing right here, you know," Jack informed him.
"Hold the mutiny, boys!" The pirates parted ways for Silver to limp his way to the Keybladers. He looked at them all before turning his eye to Jack. "We don't turn on one another. Mister Sparrow. I invite you to join our little party!" The four stared at him with questionable looks.
"Excuse me?" Jack asked.
Silver laughed loudly. "Don't be so modest, Jack! Ya got the eyes of a pirate! I can see it clear as day! And as a pirate, no doubt you want Captain Flint's treasure, too. Ya belong with your own kind, man. What do you say boys? Do we let Jack in?" The aliens answered with a uproar of agreements. Jack stroked his chin in thought.
"You're not actually considering it!?" sonic shouted.
"Don't do it, Jack!" Mulan warned. "These guys are criminals. You don't belong with them! You're better than that!"
"No he's not," Beast muttered.
Jack mulled it over in his head a bit. It was either fight to the death or be filthy stinkin' rich. Fight to the death. Filthy rich. Fight to the death. Filthy rich. Fight to the death...
"Far be it from me not to be on the winning side!" Jack said after awhile.
"What!" his 'former' allies exclaimed. Silver grinned triumphantly.
"Why you dirty, rotten...!" sonic started. Jack rounded on them and swung his Keyblade, swiping them all up in a whirlwind that sent them high in the air. They crashed down to the deck, all unconscious after the fall.
Jack rested Follow the Wind on his shoulder and Silver put his hand on the other. "Pirate."
Meanwhile, below deck, Amelia lead Sora, Kairi, Jim, Doppler and Kim down to the hanger bay where the solar sailors were waiting for flight. "Quickly! Get on board!" the Captain shouted. Wasting no time they jumped inside one and prepared to take off.
But in a bout of misfortune, Morph, appearing all the sudden, snatched the map from Jim's pocket. "Morph! No!" Jim shouted. But the little blob was too set on having some fun to listen to Jim and flew out the boat with the map in his mouth. Jim jumped out after him. "Morph! Bring that back!"
"Hurry up, Jim!" Doppler shouted. "Those pirates could get here any minute!"
Morph stopped flying with the map and looked to Jim, thinking this was some kind of game, no doubt. "Morph! Come here! Come here, boy!" Morph started for Jim until another voice intervened.
"Morphy! Come here!" Silver called, emerging from the shadows on the other side of the room. Morph went for him.
"Morph! Come!"
"Come to daddy, Morph!"
"Morph!"
"Morph!"
Poor Morph, torn between two of his best friends couldn't decide who to go to. He could only fall down into a pile of rope in exhaustion. Jim ran for it and reached into the rope pile, pulling out the small golden sphere. As he did he looked straight into the angry eyes of Silver then took off back to the solar sailor and the cyborg, could not go after, still injured from Sora's Keyblade. Instead, he drew his arm-pistol and took aim at Jim's back. But...for some reason he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. Sighing, he lowered his gun.
"Hold the ship!" Silver looked back down the hallway he came to see Ron running like there was no tomorrow from his trigger-happy crew of pirates. "Don't leave without us! I have a thing about dying - I don't want too!"
"Run! Run! Run!" Rufus wailed from his pocket. Ron jumped and pushed off of Silver's head to land in the sailor.
"Now!" Amelia shouted. Sora and Kairi sliced through the lines supporting the ship with their Keyblades and the ship dropped from the hanger. The sail went up and they blasted out of there, with Silver watching them go, boiling with anger.
"I hope this won't affect our friendship," Jack asked. Mulan, Beast and sonic were all bound together using some kind of special rope that none of them could break out of. They all glared at Jack. "Hey, don't blame me just because it's my fault! Would you like to hear my 'fight to the death' or 'filthy rich' reasoning again?"
"I'll never forgive you for this, Jack," Mulan hissed. "How could you betray us? We're supposed to be Keybladers!"
"You know, the 'GOOD' guys!" Beast snapped.
Jack smiled wryly. "What's the point of having a big key that can open any lock, without having a little fun with it, savvy? Besides, what is 'good' really? Webster's Dictionary defines it as-"
"When I get out of this," sonic growled. "I'm gonna kill you, you no-good, stupid son-of-a-"
"Whoa! None of that now!" Jack slapped a piece of duct tape over the half-demon's mouth, muffling all his curse words.
Behind him, the alien on one of the gun platforms took aim at the solar sailor fleeing the Legacy. "That's right," he drawled, charging it up. "Come to papa!"
"No, you blubber butt!" Silver hollered running up to the cannon. "They have the map!" At the last second, he knocked the cannon off its aim but couldn't stop it from firing. The ball of energy hurtled for the ship, ready to collide head on.
"Incoming ball of death!" Kim shouted. A large explosion hit the sailor and they went down. As they broke through the clouds, they saw Treasure Planet was covered in huge fungal trees. They had no time to take it in since they were about to see it up close anyway.
"Brace yourselves!" Amelia shouted. Everyone held on tight. Violently they tore through the trees, breaking down many before finally coming to a stop on the ground below. The crew crawled out of their destroyed ship, dazed and shaken up.
"We seem to crash a lot, don't we?" Kairi groaned, holding her skull.
Amelia brushed off her uniform and stood up. "Well, then. Everyone oka-" Suddenly she doubled over in pain, clutching her right arm to her side.
"Captain!", everyone shouted. "You're hurt!" Doppler said, coming to her side.
"Oh, don't fuss!" she assured through gritted teeth. "Just a bruise, that's all. I'll be right as rain in no time!" She winced as she talked. "Mister Hawkins. The map if you please." Jim pulled the map from his pocket and showed it to everyone.
"This is the map of the universe?" Sora asked. "How does it work?" No sooner had he asked when the sphere started moving. Suddenly it rose from Jim's hand, spinning round until it transformed into the pink blobby form of Morph.
"Morph!?" Jim exclaimed. Morph giggled.
"So Morph is the map of the universe?" Ron intoned. Rufus slapped his forehead.
"Morph! Where's the map?" Sora asked urgently. Morph laughed and changed again, transforming into a coil of rope, the same rope that Morph had fallen into with the map.
"It's still on the ship!?" Kairi exclaimed. "How are we gonna get it now?" A low buzzing was heard overhead. Another solar sailor descended down to the planet's surface, loaded up with armed pirates. They all ducked low before they were spotted.
"We need a plan. We can't stay here," Amelia whispered. She looked to Sora, Kairi and Jim. "You three go find shelter, somewhere where we could make a stand."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" they saluted and they set off into the fungal forest.
"Now let's have a look at that," Doppler said, sitting Amelia down.
"Don't worry!" Kim assured. "We have a fully trained doctor to help you!" She stepped aside to show Rufus, now wearing a surgical mask and snapping on a pair of gloves. Amelia groaned.
Back with Sora, Kairi and Jim, the search continued. It was dark and quiet as they walked through the forest. Not a sound was to be heard other than the wind and Morph's chattering. The planet must not have been inhabited by any animals. At least there were no signs of any. The only life forms they could see were the trees that surrounded them.
"Hope we don't get lost," Kairi said suddenly. "This forest looks like it goes on for miles."
There was a rustle in the trees, causing Kairi to jump. Sora summoned his Keyblade and she did the same. Slowly, all three approached the brush. If it was the pirates, they could have a problem on their hands. They pulled the leaves apart but found nothing. They were confused for a moment but merely shrugged it off and turned back around.
"HELLO!"
"AAAHHHH!" Standing where there'd been no one before was a robot. It was bronze coloured with thin pipe-like limbs and a large flat head with bright blue eyes.
"Oh, this is great!" it exclaimed loudly, dancing around them. "Someone's come to rescue me! Three people in fact! I knew I wasn't forgotten even after a hundred years! Come here you guys! Big hugs!" He pulled all of them into large, uncomfortable group hug.
"SHHHHH!" They all hissed. "Keep it down!" Jim whispered.
"Oh, sorry! It's just that total and complete solitude for hundreds of years kinda gets a guy worked up, you know what I mean? He knows what I mean."
"Uh, who are you?" Kairi asked slowly.
The robot stopped rambling and faced them. "Of course where are my manners? I'm..." He didn't finish. He seemed to be trying to remember it. "I'm...uh ...I am..." They stared at him in disbelief. Morph transformed into a cuckoo clock. "B.E.N.! Of course, I'm B.E.N.! Bio-electronic Navigator! And you are?"
"I'm Sora."
"He's Sora!" B.E.N. exclaimed.
"I'm Kairi."
Kaaaaiiirrriiiii!" B.E.N. said, testing it.
"I'm Jim."
"Jimmy!" B.E.N. jumped into his arms.
"It's Jim." He promptly dropped the robot on the ground. "Come on, guys. We better get moving." He stepped over B.E.N. and walked on.
"Sorry, B.E.N.," Sora apologized. "It's just we need to find a place to hide right now."
"We're being chased by pirates," Kairi explained.
B.E.N. shot back up. "Pirates? Oh, don't even get me started on pirates! Pirates are the worst! I remember Captain Flint..." Jim stopped in his tracks at the mention of the captain. "...talk about bipolar! One minute he was mad, next he was really mad...you know I think all his moods actually rotated around mad."
"You knew Captain Flint?" Jim asked, running up to him.
"Oh, yeah! We go way, way, way, waaaayyyy back!"
"Then that means you know about the treasure!" Sora realized.
B.E.N. head spun. "Treasure!? Treasure...Flint's trove! Right! Well...let me think..." His eyes sparked and blinked as he recalled. "...it's all a little-little-little fuzzy. Wait. I r-r-remember! Lots of treasure buried in the centroid-centroid mechanism. And there was this big door opening and closing, opening and closing and...Captain Flint wanted to make sure...nobody could ever find his treasure...so I helped him..." He stiffened like a board and his head spun round on his thin neck. It looked like he was going to explode. "Data inaccessible! Reboot! Reboot!" Then he just stopped. "Well, that was weird. Who are you guys?" They all stared at him weirdly.
"What was that?" Jim stressed. "Centroid? What is that?"
"Sorry. Old memory isn't what it used to be. You see, I've lost my mind."
"Really?" Sora sighed.
"No, I mean I've literally, figuratively and mentally lost my mind!" He showed them the back of his head, revealing that a part was missing from his noggin. "You haven't found it have you? My memory circuit? I've looked all around my house!"
"House?" Kairi repeated.
"Yeah!" He ran to some trees and pushed them apart. Not far off in a clear field was a structure covered in vines. There was a doorway leading inside. "My stomping grounds! Chez B.E.N.!" The three teenagers looked at one another.
"B.E.N.," Kairi said. "Do you think we can stay in your house for awhile?"
B.E.N. shined with hope. "Y-you mean it!? You guys want to hang out with me?" The shared nervous glances but nodded none the lass. "HUZZAH! Oh, we're gonna have so much fun! I haven't had guests in...ever! We can play Monopoly! I call the thimble!"
Later, they congregated at B.E.N.'s house after picking up the others. The inside was also covered in plant life and many random objects which B.E.N. had collected over the years. "Make yourselves comfortable!" he called as put on a pink frilly apron. "Pardon the mess but eons of loneliness can make you tend to let things go. But be it ever so humble...ah who am I kidding! It's a dump!" Doppler walked in with Amelia, carrying her like a bride. "Aw, isn't that sweet!" B.E.N. gushed as he set her down. "I love old-fashioned romances, don't you? How about a drink for the happy couple?" He produced cups on a platter full of black, bubbling tar.
"Uh, no thanks," Doppler stammered. "And we're, uh, not a couple." Amelia smiled and he smiled back.
"Now what?" Sora asked out of the blue.
"We can't do much now," Amelia whispered. "We can only hide, keep watch and make sure no one finds us."
"Hey, look!" B.E.N. exclaimed from the doorway. "More of your friends are down there! Hey, fellas! We're over here!" Lasers then started bombarding the house from the direction of the pirates which the robot had now alerted.
"B.E.N.!" Everyone shouted. Sora and Kairi brought out their Keyblades and deflected some that got too close. But soon the pirates stopped firing and it was calm again.
"Hello up there!" came the unmistakable voice of Silver. They looked outside and saw him waving a white flag. "I'd like to have a word with ya, Jimbo! You, too, Sora!"
"Come to bargain for the map, no doubt," Amelia hissed in pain. Doppler gently shushed her.
Sora thought for a moment. "But...that means..."
"...he thinks we still have it." Jim finished smirking.
The two parties set out to meet each other. Sora and Jim to see Silver. Silver's arm had changed to a crutch to support his busted leg. Morph, who was following, rushed over to the cyborg and nuzzled against his cheek. "Morphy!" Silver laughed. "I wondered where you'd got too." He petted Morph one more time before turning to Jim and Sora, who didn't look too happy to see him. Silver sat himself down on a rock, placing a hand on his robotic leg.
"Old limb's been acting up ever since that...incident in galley. Guess I have you to thank for that, Sora. Oh, and Jack sends you his best."
"Jack?" Sora asked.
"Ahoy, Sora!" Standing with the pirate crew at the foot of the hill was Jack, waving with a grin. "You're gonna hear some crazy rumors about me betraying you guys. Just thought I'd let you know now and not later!" Sora's eye involuntarily twitched.
Silver rubbed the back of his neck. "Look...what ye heard back there...at least the part concerning you, Jim...it wasn't true." Jim didn't respond. "If that bloodthirsty lot thought I'd gone soft...they'd have gutted the lot of us!" Neither Sora nor Jim's expressions changed. "Look, if we play our cards right, we could walk away from here rich as kings!"
"Really?" Jim asked, intrigued. Sora looked to Jim alarmed.
"Aye. You get me that map and an even portion of that treasure is yours!" Jim looked down, and Silver knew he would go for it. That is until Jim began to chuckle.
"You are really something, you know that?" he asked. "All that talk of greatness? Man, you really had me fooled." Silver scowled. "At least you taught us one thing. You taught us to stick to it. And that's just what I'm gonna do: stick to it! And we're gonna make sure you don't get one bit of that treasure!"
Silver stood up to face him, eye glowing bright red. "Now you listen to me! That treasure is owed me, by thunder!"
"Well, try getting there without my map!" Jim replied angrily. "By thunder!"
Silver glared at him but Jim didn't back down. Sora was afraid to get between the two, though not as scared as Morph, who looked between them frightened. Silver finally looked away, turning his arm back into a crutch. "You have till dawn to get me that map or so help me I'll blow this place to kingdom come!" He turned away to limp back to the crew. "Morph! Come on!" The shape shifter was hesitant, floating by Jim's side. "NOW!" Silver snapped. Morph shrieked in fright and hid behind Sora. Silver growled and stalked away and Sora and Jim headed back to the house. But before they entered, Silver looked back over his shoulder, feelings of regret and guilt running through him.
KHKHKHKH
Soon, night had fallen on Treasure Planet. At the foot of B.E.N.'s house the pirates had set up camp, ensuring no escape from the front door. "What do we do?" Sora asked himself and the others. "We're trapped here!"
"Trapped like rats!" Ron whimpered. "We're rats in a trap! Trap rats! Rats that are trapped in..." Kim slapped him across the face. "Thanks. I needed that." She slapped him again. "Okay. Really, I'm fine!"
"I'll tell you when you're fine!" she declared, giving him yet another slap.
"Calm down...gentlemen," Amelia whispered. Her injuries were beginning to weaken her. "We must...stick...together."
"Hush," Doppler said. "No more giving orders. Rest now." Amelia sighed and laid back down.
"Well, this is obviously a inside problem," B.E.N. said, heading for the back of the house. "So I'm just gonna slip out the back door..." Everyone looked at him.
"Back door?" Kairi intoned. The robot slid open a hatch on the floor.
"Oh, yeah. I get a nice little breeze from here," he said. Everyone crowded around the hatch. "Doesn't do me much good since I have no skin, but you know." Everyone gasped at what was down there.
"B.E.N., what is this?" Sora asked in awe.
"You mean the miles and miles of machinery that run through the entire course of the inside of this planet?" Everyone nodded slowly. "Not a clue!"
"Great!" Jim said. "With this, we can steal their solar sailor and get back to the Legacy."
"And get the map back!" Sora realized. He ran to Kairi. "Kairi, you stay here with Kim and Ron. Protect Amelia and Doppler."
"Alright," Kairi said, determined. "Don't forget to look for Mulan, sonic and Beast. You guys be careful. And good luck!" Sora nodded and went for the hole.
"Wait a minute!" Doppler exclaimed. "Jim! The Captain ordered us to stay together!"
"Don't worry, Doc!" Sora grinned, jumping in.
"We'll be back!" Jim declared, following after.
"Cannonball!" B.E.N. shouted going down. Doppler sat there with the weary Amelia and sighed in defeat.
KHKHKHKH
After stealing the solar sailor from the sleeping pirate crew, Sora, Jim, B.E.N. and Morph were flying back to the R.L.S. Legacy. It floated not far off from the surface. They noticed as they came near the deck that a black flag had been raised, depicting a three-eyed skull and crossbones. They parked it just beside the ship and hopped on deck, making sure to be silent. There were probably guards on board. Silver wasn't stupid after all.
They snuck down to the hold and into the corridors. No sign of anyone yet. "Okay, here's the plan," Sora said. "I'll go find the map. Jim, you look for Beast, Mulan and sonic. B.E.N., you disable the laser cannons."
"Oh, that's a good plan!" B.E.N. said nodding. "You can count on me good buddies! Later gators!" He ran off down a hallway, humming to himself as he did.
Jim turned to Sora. "Good luck, man," he said. Sora smiled and they clasped hands before they split up.
Sora knew where the map was. Morph had already shown him. So as he reached the hanger, he immediately dug into the rope pile. There it was, shining brightly. He clasped it in his hands and grinned triumphantly.
Meanwhile, B.E.N. entered the ship's power controls. A large panel was before him. "Alright, B.E.N., this is it! Your time to shine! All you got to do is disable a few laser cannons. What's the big deal?" He opened the panel to see many different coloured wires intercrossing one another in a complex system. "Oh, mama. Okay, how about...this one!" When he pulled a wire, alarms began blaring through the ship. "Oops."
Sora ran through below deck as the alarms buzzed around him. "B.E.N...," he growled. He rushed up the stairs topside and ran into last person he wanted to see: Scroop.
"Spike-head," Scroop hissed, clicking his claws eagerly. Sora faced the crab without fear, summoning Kingdom Key. "No one to save you now."
"You either," Sora retorted.
Below deck, Jim sneaked and peeked around a corner of a doorway. Morph looked also. Mulan, Beast and sonic were tied up and gagged together in the middle of the room. Guarding them was a rather bored looking alien. He didn't even seem to care that just moments ago alarms had been going off. He just sat there with his rifle, barely keeping awake.
Mulan casually looked about and her eyes landed on Jim. She nudged the other two Keybladers and jerked her head toward him. Jim put a finger to his lips, motioning them not to give him away. They nodded resolutely.
sonic jerked his head to a door on the other side of the room. Jim smiled evilly, knowing exactly where that door lead. He looked away from them and took a deep breath. This was it. He turned the corner...right into the guard's chest. The alien smiled a sharp tooth smile as he looked down at Jim.
"Hello, mate," he said, aiming his rifle...
"How about...this one!" B.E.N. exclaimed, pulling another wire.
This time, every light in the ship went out, leaving the guard in total darkness. He couldn't see Jim, the prisoners or his own hands. The lights switched back on soon and the boy had disappeared. He rounded and found Jim standing with his hand on the knob of the door in the back, smiling smugly. "Hey, there," he said before opening the door.
"AAAHHHH!" the alien screamed when tentacles scooped him up. They pulled him in screaming and Jim slammed the door behind them. Wiping his forehead he grinned at the Keybladers, who grinned back despite the gags.
Back on deck, Sora and Scroop clashed. Scroop held the Keyblade in his vice grip claws, trying to push Sora back, but the young boy wasn't going down with out a fight. He broke the lock and knocked Scroop across the jaw, sending the crab skidding across the floor. Scroop immediately recovered and nailed Sora in the face, then pounced as he lay on the ground. Sora raised his feet and pushed him off.
"Okay, B.E.N., don't panic," the robot sighed. "And above all stop talking to yourself! This has got to be the right one!" Another wire came out with interesting results. B.E.N. rose to the air, gravity no longer sustaining him. "Maybe not!"
Jim and the now untied Keybladers were lifted off their feet, rising to the ceiling above them. "B.E.N.!" Jim growled, as he pressed against the roof. "That robot's gonna get us all killed!"
The situation was much more serious outside, with nothing to stop Sora and Scroop from being sucked into the depths of space. The crab had managed to clamp onto the ship's mast but Sora was not as successful. He rose up across along the mast, while desperately trying to grab something to stop himself. At highest point, he managed to grasp the black flag that hung from the crow's nest. Nothing was left between him and oblivion.
Now Scroop was crawling up the mast toward him, chuckling sadistically. He approached the rope that tied the flag down, running his claw up the line. Sora's eyes widened. "When you see Mister Arrow," he whispered, bringing a pincer over the rope. "Do tell him I said hello." Sora scowled, determination growing within him. He pushed off the flag and caught the wooden pole.
Scroop growled and charged for Sora. "Tell him yourself!" Sora declared, jumping over Scroop and kicking his back, sending him right into the flag. The Keyblade sliced through the rope, freeing it and Scroop from the ship. The crab screamed as he was sucked into the abyss, growing smaller and smaller until he was no longer visible to Sora.
"Back you go, you naughty plug!" B.E.N. exclaimed, swimming through the air to stick the wire back in. Gravity immediately returned and he crashed to the floor. "Oh, that hurt!"
Jim and the Keybladers, floating at the ceiling, suddenly all fell back down. sonic cried out in pain as Beast landed right on him, then Mulan landed on Beast and Jim topped them all off. "My ribs..."
Sora landed back in the crow's nest, panting from his brush with death. He looked to sky; Scroop was nowhere to be seen, which made Sora sigh in relief. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the map. Mission accomplished.
Meanwhile, further in space, a battered purple ship scorched with laser fire flew weakly towards the planet. "There it is!" Pete gushed. "Treasure Planet! It's just as the stories described it. Two rings, a planet, it all fits! We have arrived!"
"This better be worth it!" Gantu snarled, piloting as usual. "We were nearly ripped to shreds by those Imperials!"
"Ah, they're miles behind us! No need to worry. From here on out it's smooth sailing!"
SPLAT
"AAHHHH!" they both cried in surprise when a large crab alien hit their windshield. Scroop's dazed face slobbered over the glass before he was blown off, but as he passed by their hull, his claws snipped a wire. Gantu's ship lurched, one of its engines went offline and it dropped from flight.
"Oh, blitzsnack," Gantu sighed.
"Well, look at it this way," Pete said calmly even though they were falling. "At this rate we'll get there a lot quicker. So what do ya say? Scream like little girls?"
"Sounds good."
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" they both screamed as their ship plummeted like a comet towards Treasure Planet.
KHKHKHKH
Once again Sora, Jim and B.E.N. were flying back in the solar sailor, this time with sonic, Beast and Mulan. The sun would be up in a few hours and at that time Silver would want the map. "So Jack really sold us out?" Sora asked his friends.
"You're surprised?" Beast replied. "He's a pirate and so are they! I told you we couldn't trust him!"
While they were talking, Jim had been digging through the luggage. He pulled out two solar surfers. "Sora, let's go on ahead. I'm worried about Doppler. He...doesn't function well under stress. We'll be quieter on the surfers."
"We're going surfing!?" B.E.N. exclaimed. "Jimmy, I feel like we're bonding already!"
Sora agreed and grabbed a board. "You guys catch up later," he told the other Keybladers. "See you soon!" He, Jim and B.E.N., who was holding Jim's waist, jumped out of the sailor with their surfers. They glided through the air, heading for the secret tunnels.
Mulan, Beast and sonic watched them leave until Mulan popped a question. "Does anyone know how to drive this thing?"
Under the cover of darkness, Sora, Jim and B.E.N. sneaked back into the house. It was almost pitch black inside so they could barely see. "Doc!" Jim whispered to the dark. He slipped out of the tunnel and brought out the map. "We did it! We got the map!"
At first, there was no answer. Until a metal arm reached out from the darkness and grabbed the map. "Fine work, Jimbo," Silver complimented, revealing himself. "Fine work indeed." From the shadows came the pirate crew, smiling and laughing cruelly. Before they knew it they were surrounded.
"Jimmy, I'm not sure if I approve of your friends," B.E.N. said looking around. "They're seem kind of the cut-throat variety."
Sora whipped out the Keyblade when they came close. "Ah, ah, ah!" Silver said. "Let's not be too hasty now." He gestured off toward the side where, tied and gagged, sat Kairi, Amelia, Kim, Ron, and Doppler. Jack stood beside them, looking pretty smug. Sora growled in defeat and put his weapon away.
Jim glared at Silver but the cyborg only chuckled. "You're just like me, Jimbo," he said. "Ya hate to lose."
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!