Stolen Treasure

Chapter 18

Jim and I gaped at the figure before us, completely dumbstruck. After regaining some of my wits, I was able to form a single word; more specifically, a name.

"Silver?" I asked incredulously.

"Aye lass, t'is me," Silver said, tipping his hat and giving me a smile. Morph shot out of my pocket and started licking Silver's face and chittering excitedly.

"Ah, Morphy, I missed yeh, ya little mischief-maker," Silver said, rubbing the buzzing pink blob.

"You have no business here, Silver," Alex said.

"I beg ta differ," he replied. "These here pups are me friends. When I heard Raphaelle was kidnapped by Cap'n Blackmore, I figured ya might come here. T'is my job ta protect 'em."

"How did you know he would come here?" Jim asked.

"Before I met ya, Alex was a part of me crew. One of teh fastest learners I'd ever met. He went from cabin boy ta first mate in two months! And then he mutinied us, stealing me ship and half me crew. So...I taught 'im everyt'ing he knows," Silver admitted, a little ashamed. My eyes widened at this, but I knew the cyborg had changed a lot since then. He was a different person now, and Alex was a master manipulator; there was no way Silver could have known.

"Well, I need Raphaelle to go back and take over the Earth," Alex explained.

"I can't let ya do that," Silver stated.

"And why not?" Alex asked.

"I told ya 'bout this here portal! I told ya what it requires! I know what ya need ta do ta open it, and I'm not about ta let ya harm Raphaelle," he replied, getting angrier and raising his voice with each statement.

"What does the portal need?" I asked, somewhat afraid to ask but doing so anyway.

Silver looked at me sadly before answering.

"It needs blood," he said. I felt like my veins turned to ice.

"Yes, I need the blood of someone from our world in order to open the portal," Alex admitted, sounding exasperated and annoyed.

"Why didn't you just use your own blood?" I asked angrily.

"Because I need to use someone else's blood in order to travel back and forth between the worlds. Mine can only go one way. So having an unlimited supply of your blood is necessary. While it would be very convenient to just drain you of your blood, eventually that supply will run out. So I decided that you were more useful to me alive than dead; very lucky for you. And besides, as King of the Earth, I'll need a queen. I'm not so sure you would make even a decent queen, but you'll make a wonderful mistress," he said, chuckling evilly.

Jim balled his hands into fists and started to lunge for Alex, but I grabbed his arm and held him back, shaking my head vigorously. He was unarmed and Alex had a gun and a dagger. Jim wouldn't last two seconds against him.

"Now, let's get this started so I can go," Alex said, pulling his dagger out of his belt and coming towards me.

"Oh no ya don't!" Silver shouted.

He switched out his mechanical hand for his sword and slashed through the rope connecting the crew together. Their bonds immediately fell apart and they were free to use their hands and move about. He reached back around the rock he had originally been hiding behind and pulled out at least a dozen swords. He tossed the swords in the air for the crew to catch before handing one to me and Jim. Everyone took a fighting stance while the pirates pulled out their weapons. Each side waited for someone to make a move.

The pirates made the first move, and before I knew it, everyone was fighting. Jim and I stayed back to back, protecting each other and teaming up to fight the same pirates. We had often practiced working together in combat exercises at the Interstellar Academy, so we had this down to a science.

The pirates had a weird system of fighting. They would always change opponents and keep us on our toes. Just as we had figured out the fighting style of one pirate, they switched around so we were fighting a new pirate with a totally different style. Unbeknownst to us, the pirates were slowly driving us in different directions. In all this chaos, Jim and I got separated.

My opponent changed once again, so I prepared myself to hold back for a minute and observe this new pirate's movements. Naturally I was shocked to find Alex in front of me, casually twirling his sword around. I was overcome with fury and immediately started swinging my sword trying to land a blow on him, but he kept deflecting me with little effort. When I stopped to re-evaluate my strategy, he swung towards me. I reflexively blocked him with my sword and we stood there, blades crossed, waiting for the other to back down first.

I saw Silver sneaking up behind Alex and our gazes locked. Silver bringing Alex down could tip the scales in our favor and we could win the battle. I tried to hold Alex for a moment longer, but he saw my gaze shift and threw me back before turning around to fight with Silver.

Jim was a few meters away, so I started making my way towards him, weaving around pirates. Our crew had subdued most of them. I glanced back at Silver and Alex and saw they were at a stalemate. Alex glanced around, taking in the situation as well. He was clearly frustrated, not expecting his pirates to be outmatched by our crew. He noticed I was watching him and shot me an evil smirk. He slashed at Silver's mechanical leg, sending him to the ground.

Alex pulled his pistol out of his belt and aimed it at Jim. My eyes widened to the size of saucers. I frantically thought of some way to stop him. What I came up with was crazy, but it was the only thing that I knew had even a remote chance of working. So I dropped my sword and immediately started bolting towards Jim as fast as I could.

"Jim! Move!" I screamed.

He turned to me and gave me a confused look. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it, so I jumped right as I heard the crack of the pistol and pushed him out of the way.

I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen just before I tumbled to the ground.