Treasure Planet 2, Chapter One

Treasure Planet 2, Chapter One

On the clearest of nights, when the winds of the Etherium were calm and peaceful, the great merchant ships, with their cargoes of Acturian sura crystals, felt safe and secure. Little did they suspect that they were pursued by pirates! And, the most feared of all these pirates, was the the notorious Captain Nathaniel Flint.

With his six eyes, sharp teeth, and orange-ish/brown skin, he was very easy to indentify... If he wanted you to see him. But, when he called out, "Fire!" to his band of renegades, you would know that disaster was about to strike, no matter where you were. Their canons would blast the merchant ship, mercilessly destroying them...

Suddenly, a young girl's face rose up, staring at all the comotion. She had beautiful brunette hair that reached down her back, but there was something about her that wasn't right. But, that was only because she was huge, maybe twenty or fourty times the size of the little people fighting on the ships but this was because... She was reading a story from one of her books. These books, unlike the ones of the far past, would show the picture like one was watching a movie. The girl watched with fascination as the pirates attacked the poor people on the merchant ship, as she lay on her bed. The book continued, "Like a Candarian zap-wing overtaking its prey..."

But, the book was cut off by a door opening and a woman saying, "Ashton Lorenzo Hawkins." The young girl, supposedly named Ashton, quickly closed the book, knowing she was in trouble. She set the book down and, laying on her belly like she had when reading, held her head up with her hands, as she looked at her at the woman innocently. Putting her hands on her hips, the blonde-haired woman said, "I thought you were asleep an hour ago."

Ashton was now looking down, at her book, the one with a red cover and golden pages. The room around her had pictures of pirates, books, little action figures, toy ships, and plastic swords. Ashton turned around on her bed and leaned against her large pillow. "Mom..." She said, "I was just getting to the best part." Winry, the mother, walked over to her brunette child's bed, her irritated frown now replaced with a gentle smile. Holding the book close to her, Ashton looked up at her mother with large blue eyes. "Please?"

"Oh, can those eyes get any bigger?" The woman said, "Alright. Scootch over, Ashe." So, she did, and her mother sat down on the bed beside her.

Ashe opened her book again, and it continued, "...like a Candarian zap-wing overtaking its prey, Flint and his band of renegades swooped in out of nowhere." As the book was read, the story came to life once again, "Then, the captain would get his treasure and hold it in his hands, laughing at the merchants' defeat. And then, gathering up their spoils, they vanished, without a trace."

The mother and daughter made 'ooh'ing noises, as they looked at each other. Then, the story's page was turned, and it said, "Flint's secret trove was never found, but stories have persisted that it remains hidden, somewhere in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, stowed with riches beyond imagination, the loot of a thousand worlds: Treasure Planet." When the name of the planet was said, Ashe said it too, showing that she obviously had heard this story many times before.

Of course, this book was far smaller than the one that belonged to a man named James Hawkins. This book, from the looks of it, only contained the story of Treasure Planet. It looked like it had like three to five pages left, when Winry shut it. "Okay. Blow your nose." The blonde said, holding out a handkerchief for her daughter. And, as told, Ashe blew.

"How do you think Captain Flint did it, Mom?" Ashe asked, as she got up to the headboard of her bed, when her mother turned away. "How he swooped in from nowhere..." As she said this, she jumped from her headboard, despite her mother trying to catch her and failing, and then the brunette girl hid under her blankts, as she continued, "...and vanished without a trace?"

"I have no idea..." She said, as she pulled the girl out from her blankets, and then slurped her daughter's belly. "Now, it's time for this little spacer to go to sleep." Winry told Ashe, as she tucked the girl in.

"You think somebody'll ever find Treasure Planet?" Ashton asked, as Winry reached behind her pillow, pulling out a little pirate action figure.

"Honey... I think it's more... like a legend."

"You're wrong. I know it's real." Ashton replied, almost upset that someone would think that Treasure Planet wasn't real.

"You win, Ashey. It's real."

"G'night, Mom..." She said, closing her eyes, as her mother finished tucking her in.

"G'night, sweetheart. I love you." Winry walked away and closed the door.

"I love you too." The brunette whispered back.

The girl then got on her belly, under the covers on the center of her bed, and the room was illuminated with the storybook's light again. "There are nights when the winds of the Etherium, so inviting in their promise of flight and freedom, that it makes one's spirit soar..." The book ended abruptly, and Ashe noticed a page that was stuck to the back of the book.

"Weird..." She said, "I never noticed that this page was stuck before..." Then, after managing to get it unstuck without tearing it, she turned the page.

The book, continued, "Rumor has it that there was another planet, where Flint hid much more of his treasure on. The TRUE Treasure Planet. This planet really could make one's spirit soar, with it's true promise of freedom!" And, of course, Ashe was inspired...