Treasure Planet: The Real Treasure

Chapter 23

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.

I couldn't believe my eyes. We had actually found the loot of Captain Flint. I rushed forward and fell to my knees in the glinting treasure, taking my drawstring bag off my back. I filled it with gold and jewels until I could barely close it. Jim walked up to me and helped me stand up before pulling me off in a different direction.

"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 hoisted my bag onto my back and followed Jim.

"But-but, Jimmy! Ralphie!" 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 Jim's 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, Ralphie, 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.