🪐Lucy's POV🪐

We climbed back onto the longboat and headed towards the pirates' camp. We could just barely make out their sleeping forms in the early morning light, but I found it odd that most of them were no longer snoring. I didn't think much on it though as we quietly snuck back to the entrance we had come through before.

We traversed back through the machinery and opened the door to B.E.N.'s house. Jim was the first to climb out, and he reached his hand down to pull me out before running over to the dark corner where he had left Mr. Delbert. "Doc! Doc wake up," Jim said, pulling the map out of his pocket. "I got the map."

A mechanical hand reached up out of the shadows and grabbed the map from Jim's hand. "Fine work, Jimbo. Fine work indeed," Mr. Silver said. My eyes widened and I immediately looked around, only to find that we were surrounded by pirates.

Captain Amelia and Mr. Delbert were tied up and gagged on the other side of the room. I tried to make a run for it, but there were too many pirates. They grabbed me and painfully pulled my hands behind my back.

I looked over and saw that two of the pirates had gotten ahold of Jim. One of them even had a knife against B.E.N.'s metal throat. Morph tried to help us out by biting the tail of one of the pirates. While Morph's bite did cause the pirate some pain, he was more annoyed than anything.

He used his tail to slap Morph against the ground, causing him to whimper and hide in my pocket. "Yer just like me; yeh hates ta lose," Mr. Silver said with a chuckle, smirking at Jim as he attempted to open the map. While Silver's mechanical hand was good for many things, none of his settings could get the map to open.

He struggled and looked over to see Jim smirk and shake his head. Silver thrust the map in front of Jim, which prompted the pirates holding him to let go of his arms, and placed it in his hand. "Open it," Mr. Silver ordered.

Jim just glared at Mr. Silver. Mr. Silver rotated his mechanical hand to his gun and pointed it at me. Jim's eyes widened. "Don't do it Jim," I said. One of the pirates slapped me hard across the face, completely turning my head to the side.

The pirate holding me forced my head back up, exposing the tears in my eyes and the angry red mark on my cheek. But I refused to show them weakness. Even with tears threatening to spill, I held my head high.

I looked at Jim, telling him with my eyes not to open the map. "I'd get busy," Mr. Silver warned, taking the safety off. Jim glared at Mr. Silver, but his hands began to move in a pattern he had learned all too well with practice.

Without even looking at it, Jim opened the map. Green light flooded from it and formed a holographic replica of Treasure Planet. "By teh powers t'at be would yeh look!" Mr. Silver exclaimed. The green light then formed a blinking path that most surely led straight to the treasure.

"Tie 'em up, and leave 'em with the others until we - what?" Mr. Silver asked when the beam disappeared. "You want the map, you're taking me too," Jim said, holding the now sealed map in his hands.

Silver considered Jim for a moment.
He had an angry expression, but then he chuckled. "We'll take 'em all," he stated. We were loaded onto the longboat and began following the blinking beam of light.

Silver let us remain untied, but poor Doc and Ms. Amelia remained tied up at the back of the boat, though their gags had been removed. Mr. Silver was at the front of the boat, with Jim and I right next to him. "Jim, I'm scared. What's gonna happen?" I asked, clutching him fearfully.

"We're gonna be alright," he reassured me, petting my head with the hand that wasn't currently holding the map. I hope you're right. I thought.

🪐☄️🪐☄️

The ride was silent until we reached a point where the longboat couldn't go any further. We would have to continue on foot. Everyone got out of the boat, except for Mr. Delbert, Ms. Amelia, and a pirate who stayed behind to guard them.

Jim kept me close to him as we walked as I firmly grasped his hand and keeping an eye on all the other pirates. Morph came out of his hiding place in my pocket, chattering fearfully. "It's okay, Morph. It's okay," I whispered, petting him.

B.E.N. then came walking up from behind us. "Guys," he said, "I-I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see my life pass in front of my eyes. At least, I think it's my life... WAS I EVER DANCING WITH AN ANDROID NAMED LUPÉ?"

"B.E.N., shh," Jim hissed. "This isn't over yet." Above, the green beam was pulsing faster, probably signaling that we were close to our destination. "We're gettin' close, lads. I smell treasure a-waitin'," Silver exclaimed and switched his hand out for a sword.

He grabbed Jim by the shirt and started dragging him along. Jim tried to resist, but it didn't do him much good. He refused to let go of my hand so I was stumbling a bit as I tried to keep up.

Silver used his sword to cut through the vegetation. Once through, we all gasped when we saw that the blinking light lead straight to a sheer cliff. "Where is it?" Silver demanded. "I see nothing. One great, big, stinking hunk of nothing," Mr. Onus, the lookout, yelled.

The green light beam then retracted into the map in Jim's hands. He tried pressing the buttons on the sphere, but it wouldn't reopen. "What's goin' on, Jimbo?" Silver asked, his hands on his hips. He probably thought Jim was trying to trick them or something.

"I don't know. I-I can't get it open," Jim said, struggling with the map. we saw that the blinking light lead straight to a sheer cliff. "Where is it?" Silver demanded. "I see nothing. One great, big, stinking hunk of nothing," Mr. Onus, the lookout, yelled.

The green light beam then retracted into the map in Jim's hands. He tried pressing the buttons on the sphere, but it wouldn't reopen. "What's goin' on, Jimbo?" Mr. Silver asked, his hands on his hips. He probably thought Jim was trying to trick them or something.

"I don't know. I-I can't get it open," Jim said, struggling with the map. "We should've never followed this boy," One of the pirates yelled, shoving Jim to the ground. I dropped down to Jim's side to make sure he was alright. He was examining something on the ground.

"I'd suggest yeh get dat gizmo going again, and fast!" Silver threatened.
Jim started brushing away the moss on the metal ground to reveal an indent that had the same markings as the map. "Let's rip his gizzard right out, right now," Mr. Turnbuckle growled.

"Throw him over cliff!" Mr. Onus added. I looked back fearfully at the crew as they began approaching us. I turned around to tell Jim we needed to get out of there, but before I could, Jim shoved the map into the indent on the ground. Light surged through the various markings in the ground around the map and everyone gasped in awe.

A holographic sphere rose into the air, depicting a smaller version of the gridded map of the universe. "Whoa," I whispered as Jim pulled me into a standing position and held my hand, keeping me close. We took a few startled steps back when beams of light shooting up from the cliff converged before us.

They formed an extraordinarily They formed an extraordinarily large triangular gateway. Through it, we could see gorgeous silver and blue dust clouds swirling. "Oh, have mercy," Mr. Silver mumbled.

"The Lagoon Nebula?" Jim inquired quietly. "But that's... halfway across teh galaxy," Silver stated in disbelief.
Jim looked down at the holographic map and scanned through the various markings. He pressed a couple, and each time the gateway closed briefly only to open back up to reveal a new location.

"A big door... opening and closing.
Let's see; Kinapis..."

"Montressor Spaceport," we smiled simultaneously.

He pressed the crescent moon to reveal the spaceport where we had begun our journey. Everyone's mouths dropped open in awe. It took months of travelling to get here, and we could get back in mere seconds with this device. I tentatively reached over and pressed a few other random locations.

"So that's how Flint did it," Jim excitedly deduced. "He used this portal to roam the universe, stealing treasure!" "But where'd he stash it all?" Silver demanded, shoving us back.

"Where's that blasted treasure?" He opened random locations, trying to find even the faintest glimmer of gold. "Treasure! Treasure! It's... buried in the-" B.E.N. started, his lost memory getting partially triggered.

"Buried in the centroid of the mechanism," I finished for him. "What if this whole planet is the mechanism?" I looked at Jim, hoping he was thinking the same thing I was. "And the treasure is buried in the center of this planet!" Jim finished with a grin.

We smiled at each other, the look in our eyes shouting Yes! We figured it out! We are so smart! Way to go us!' [*high five*] Upon hearing that the treasure was in the center of the planet, the other crew members dropped to the in the center of the planet, the other crew members dropped to the ground and started to dig, but were immediately stopped in their tracks when their tools broke or bent after hitting the solid metal ground.

"And how in blue blazes are we supposed ta get there?" Silver demanded, knowing there was no way we could dig our way to the center of the planet. Jim gently pushed Silver out of the way and said, "Just open the right door."

Jim pressed the tiny image of Treasure Planet, and the gateway closed for a moment before reopening. Instead of the jungle that surrounded us, we saw various spires slowly moving, a few of which were shooting some type of purple laser beam.

We stepped through the portal. After we had stepped fully inside, Silver grabbed our shoulders and walked ahead of us. The crew followed soon after and ran ahead, leaving B.E.N., Jim, and me trailing behind. Ahead, the pirates all stopped and stared straight forward.

As Jim and I got closer to them, we saw what had them so dumbstruck.
The sight before us was utterly breath-taking. My mouth hung slightly open in shock and awe. Just past the platform we were on was gold and jewels as far as the eye could see.

The planet's slowly rotating core was covered in treasure. The crew all started cheering and surged forward. I gazed in wonder. "Jim," I breathed, "This is it." "Teh loot of a thousand worlds," Silver whispered. "We are going to need a bigger boat!" Mr. Onus yelled.

"Come on," he whispered. "We're getting out of here and we're not leaving empty-handed." I looked back over my shoulder at Silver and saw he was distracted by all the treasure so I followed Jim.

"But-but, Jimmy! Lulu!" B.E.N. called in a whisper. I placed my finger to my lips, telling him to be silent. We soon made our way to a small and very old-looking ship that was covered in treasure. Jim climbed up onto the ship before reaching over the side to pull me and then B.E.N. up.

Morph had ventured out of the safety of my pocket and was now floating above my shoulder. "You know what's strange?" B.E.N. asked as we started to hoist him up. "I can't tell you how frustrating this is, Jimmy, but there's something that's nagging at the back of my mind."

He looked past us at something on the ship and screamed, falling the rest of the way in. Jim and I whipped our heads around to see what had scared B.E.N. so much. I gasped in shock at the sight before us. "Captain Flint?" Jim breathed, recognizing the shape of the skeleton from the stories.

It was sitting in a chair, still wearing a tattered captain's coat and hat. His boney left hand was clenched around something. "In the flesh!" B.E.N. exclaimed. "Well, s-sort of, except for skin, organs, or anything that-that-that resembles flesh. That's not there."

Jim walked forward to examine the skeleton while I took a step back, somewhat repulsed and creeped out by it. "And yet, it's so odd, you know? I remember there was something horrible Flint didn't want anyone else to know, but I-I just can't remember what it was. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose!" B.E.N. exclaimed.

I looked away from B.E.N. to see that Jim had something metallic in his hand. He had taken it from Flint, as the bones that had been his hand were now lying broken on the floor.
"B.E.N.," Jim said. "I think I just found your mind! Hold still."

He came up behind the robot and held its head in place with one hand.
I stared at him curiously. "Aah! Jimmy, your hands are very, very cold." When Jim brought it close to B.E.N.'s head, the wires reconnected themselves, reattaching the piece perfectly. His head spun around once, his eyes turning from green to blue.

"Whoa! Hello. You know, uh, Jimmy, Lulu, I was just thinking... I was just think-! It's all flooding back! All my memories! Right up until Flint pulled my memory circuits so I could never tell anyone about his booby trap!" B.E.N. shouted joyously.

There was a low rumble, followed by a crash. "Speaking of which..." The spires above began exploding in rows and my eyes widened in fear. A reddish tint began flooding the surrounding area. "Oh no," I gasped.

"Flint wanted to make sure that nobody could ever steal his treasure, so he rigged this whole planet to blow HIGHER THAN A KALEPSIAN KITE!" B.E.N. yelled. One of the larger spires broke free and plummeted into the core.

The treasure was scattered and the core split open as the spire made contact. Another laser began dragging across the surface, destroying everything in its path. The crew all ran screaming. B.E.N. grabbed my arm and pulled me to an exit. "Run, Lulu and Jimmy! Run for your lives!"

I slapped his face to get his
attention. "Go back and help Ms. Amelia and Mr. Delbert! Me and Jim will stay here and-" "No, Luc. You go with B.E.N. If I'm not there in 5 minutes, leave without me." He started fixing the control panel to operate the ship.

"I am not leaving my buddy Jimmy," the robot said, and pulled on Jim's legs. When he pulled Jim out, Jim gave him the death glare while fixing a wire. I would have chuckled if the circumstances were different. B.E.N. gulped. "Unless he looks at me like that. Bye, Jim!"

He dashed towards the exit, but I stayed put, rolling my eyes. I knelt to Jim so he could hear me. "As if you think getting rid of me will solve your problems. I'm here with you 'till the end." At first, he didn't even turn his head to look at me. "Go. I'll be fine."

After a few switching of wires and me staying put, he sat up, frustrated at my defiance. He held my shoulders, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Please. If I lose you, I'll be destroyed knowing I could have saved you."

"No."

We looked in each other eyes til he rolled his eyes. "Okay. Go get the sails ready, and I'll finish this. And Lucy?" I had started to rise again, but he pulled me into a firm hug and kissed my forehead hard. "I love you, too." I sniffed and laughed, hugging him once more, and dashed to the pillar that supported the sail masses.

☄️🪐☄️🪐

By the time I got the sails ready, Jim  got the ship running and took the wheel. Morph excitedly flew out of my pocket and over Jim's head as he began steering the ship. "Yes!" Jim exclaimed. "Morph, Luc, we are so out of here!"

I smiled at him proudly. We're gonna make it! I thought happily. But that didn't last long. "Ah, Jimbo, Lass," Mr. Silver called. Both our heads spun around to see Mr. Silver climbing on-deck. "Aren't yeh teh seventh wonder of teh universe?"

I glanced to my side and saw a sword buried in the treasure. I quickly reached for it and pointed it at Mr. Silver, anger in my eyes. I stood in front of Jim, who was holding the wheel. He glanced over his shoulder to look at me anxiously.

I'm done being scared.

"Stay back!" I yelled. Mr. Silver looked down at the blade before directing a hard look at me. "I like yeh both, but I've come too far ta let yeh stand between me and me treasure," Mr. Silver said as he stepped forward, pushing me back until I bumped into Jim.

I gasped in fear at the dark expression Silver was giving me. I was starting to regret pulling out the sword. [She didn't have any regrets😉] Suddenly, a laser tore into the side of the ship, throwing all of us off.
Silver was able to grab onto the edge of the ship, while Jim and I both landed on a nearby platform.

Jim landed solidly, but unfortunately my momentum drove me forward until I fell off. I was propelled into the wall opposite the platform, and began sliding down it until I was able to grab onto a small ledge that was jutting out of the wall.

I glanced down and saw a river of lava. I screamed and tried to pull myself up, but I didn't have the upper body strength. "Lucy!" Jim yelled, seeing my predicament. "Jim!" I screamed. "Reach for my hand!" he shouted, stretching his hand out to help me.

I reached out to try and grab it, but couldn't quite make it. "I can't!" I cried desperately. Suddenly, the ledge I was holding onto retracted into the wall. I screamed as I fell a few feet before grabbing onto another ledge. "Silver! Help!" I heard Jim holler.

I didn't have a good grip on the ledge, and my fingers were slowly slipping. Not only that, but this ledge was slowly beginning to retract into the wall as well. Tears filled my eyes as all hope of living left my mind. "Oh, Blast me for a fool!" I heard Silver shout.

I finally lost my grip and began to fall. I screamed, but then something caught me by the wrist. I looked up and saw Silver had grabbed onto me.
He swung me back towards the ledge where Jim was ready and waiting to pull me up before climbing back up himself.

I clung to Jim and hugged him fiercely, relieved to be alive and able to touch him again. Morph immediately started attacking me with licks and squealed in happiness and relief. We all looked up just in time to see the boat Jim had fixed explode when one of the lasers sliced through it. "Come on, we have to get out of here," Jim said. I nodded and let him go and held his hand, taking a deep breath and refocusing myself.

We ran towards the portal and away from the exploding core of Treasure
Planet.

phoebe has something to say!

that was...
amazing