Sequel to Treasure Planet: The Real Treasure.
Raphaelle is living happily with Jim. That is, until someone kidnaps her and steals her away from him. A dark figure from her past has mysteriously appeared, and decided to take a sudden interest in her...
"I'm going after her," Jim said as he pulled on his jacket and hoisted his bag over his shoulder.
The police had just left after hours of gathering eyewitness reports from everyone who had been at the Inn during the kidnapping. They informed Jim that they would immediately send out a bulletin across the galaxy for people to be on the lookout for Raphaelle or the pirate everyone had described. They promised they would do everything they could to find her and bring her home. But Jim couldn't just leave her fate in the hands of the law.
"Jim, wait a minute. You need to think this through," Sarah advised, trying to stop her son.
"Yeah, Jimmy. Your mom's right, you shouldn't rush into this," B.E.N. added.
"I don't need to think about it. I'm going," he said curtly, walking past them towards the door.
"And how are you going to find her? You don't even know where to look!" she pointed out.
This made him stop, his hand grasping the doorknob. He sighed as he realized he didn't know where to start. He dropped his bag and plopped down into a chair, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"I'll call Delbert and Amelia," Mrs. Hawkins offered.
Twenty minutes later, Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler were at the BenBow Inn, discussing what had happened and what they were going to do. Everyone was in the dining room, which was deserted since it was very late at night and most of the guests had left after the pirate fiasco.
"This pirate, what did he look like?" Amelia asked as she paced back and forth.
"He was about my height, blond, green eyes, maybe one or two years older than me. He wore all black," Jim said, repeating everything he could remember. Hearing the description, Morph transformed into a miniature version of the pirate in question.
Amelia thought for a moment longer before replying.
"I believe that Raphaelle has been taken by the pirate Captain Alex Blackmore. He is notorious for being the youngest pirate captain in the universe," Amelia explained.
"What did he want with Raphaelle? Did she seem to recognize him in any way?" Delbert asked, turning to Jim.
He shook his head.
"Do you know where they might have gone?" Mrs. Hawkins asked.
"I'm not sure, but I believe we should start by going to Kinapis. He wouldn't dare go to the spaceport; he knows that an alert to be on the lookout for him or Raphaelle would be sent out before he could make it there. It would be far too risky to go there since that will be the first place police will search, but he might go to a nearby planet," Amelia deduced.
"Normally I would leave something like this up to the police, but I must agree with young Mr. Hawkins that Raphaelle is possibly in great danger and it would be prudent to have as many people as possible searching for her," Captain Amelia continued. "Therefore, we shall set sail immediately."
Jim felt a great sense of relief that he would actually be able to do something to help find her, but his face remained expressionless.
"How are we going to find a crew at such short notice?" Delbert inquired.
"I believe I have a few favors I can call in with some friends of mine," Amelia replied. "I should be able to get them here by tomorrow."
"Mr. Hawkins, I expect you to be ready to depart in the morning," Amelia prompted.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
"Mrs. Hawkins, if I may ask you a favor; while we are away, could you watch our children?" Amelia asked, referring to her and Delbert's kids.
"Of course," Sarah replied. She absolutely loved children, especially Delbert's. They were at the age that she found the most adorable. They would be in good hands while their parents were away, though they might get spoiled a little.
Delbert and Amelia left shortly after finishing the arrangements, and Mrs. Hawkins headed off to bed. B.E.N. didn't really sleep, but he powered down at night. He didn't even need a bedroom, he just settled himself in the broom closet every night.
Unfortunately, Jim couldn't quiet his thoughts enough to fall asleep. His mind was too preoccupied, so he got up and went to Raphaelle's room. Sometimes he would go in there at night and watch her sleep. Her still form gently rising and falling, her hair fanned out around her head on the pillow. She always seemed to be smiling in her sleep. He remembered the image so perfectly that he half expected to find her there.
But her room was empty. He stared at her vacant bed in longing before wandering towards her dresser and the various objects that decorated it. There was a large, colorful conch shell that she had found in a secret cave on the beach, and a small jewelry box filled with earrings. She had yet to add many personal touches to her room, other than painting the walls to look like the Etherium. The little stars were twinkling in the dark at the moment, bathing the room in a soft glow.
On one of the walls were two framed portraits. One was of her. She was smiling softly and her eyes were gazing at something off in the distance. He stared at it for a while before his eyes shifted to the portrait beside it. It was of the both of them together. Jim was looking straight ahead, and Raphaelle's head was turned slightly to look up at him, a loving smile on her face. The artist was amazing and had portrayed her perfectly in both portraits.
He tore his gaze away from the portrait to glance around the room. His attention was drawn to her night table. It was almost bare, except for two things. One was the bottle of comet dust that she had collected when he had flown the longboat through the tail of the comet that day on the Legacy. It also seemed to give off a bluish glow.
The other item was one he had never seen before. It was a plain black book. He picked it up and looked for a title on the spine, but found none. He opened it up and found it was filled with sketches; sketches of himself.
As he flipped through the pages, he felt his throat getting tight, the way it does when you want to cry but are trying to keep yourself from doing so. He felt guilty and blamed himself for letting her get taken. He pounded his fist on the wall in frustration. It was the only thing he could think to do to let out some of his emotions without breaking down into tears.
He closed the book and set it back on the table before walking out of the room. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at her empty bed. The image of her sleeping form was so clear in his mind that, for a moment, he actually did see her there, sleeping peaceful. But the ghostly image faded all too quickly, and he was left staring at nothing.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I'll find you," he whispered. "And when I do, I'll never leave your side again."
