Treasure Planet: The Real Treasure

Chapter 22

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 Delbert, Amelia, and a pirate who stayed behind to guard them. Jim kept me close to him as we walked, firmly grasping my hand and keeping an eye on all the other pirates. Morph came out of his hiding place in Jim's pocket, chattering fearfully.

"It's okay, Morph. It's okay," Jim 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 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 put his arm around my waist protectively, 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 large triangular gateway. Through it, we could see gorgeous silver and blue dust clouds swirling.

"Oh, have mercy," 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," Jim grinned.

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!'

Upon hearing that the treasure was 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. Jim let go of my waist, but held onto my hand as we tentatively stepped through the portal.