Here is the third chapter! Hurray!XD hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3: Thunder

Thunder rumbled overhead as the menacing black clouds rolled across the sky.

Jess climbed onto the roof and saw Jim sitting there, throwing stones with an annoyed look on his face. She sat down beside her brother with her arms wrapped around her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

"You Ok?" she whispered, afraid to break the silence that hovered over them like the dark clouds above.

"What do you think?" he snapped, grabbing another stone and throwing it into the air with more force than necessary.

Jess jumped back slightly at the harshness in her brother's voice. She had never seen him this angry before, and when he was angry he never took it out on her. It hurt.

She forced back the tears and turned to face him once again.

"Look Jim, maybe mom's right. I'm sure she understands and that she's just upset. What if we go talk to her then-"

The voices of Delbert and their mother interrupted Jess in her attempt to set things right.

"I really don't know how you manage it, Sarah. Trying to run a business while raising a couple of felons like felon...fellow... fellows like Jim and Jess."

Jess heard her mother sigh at Delbert's words.

"Managing it? I'm at the end of my rope. Ever since their father left, well. They've just never recovered, especially Jim."

There was a clash of dishes before she continued.

"And you know how smart they are. Both of them built their first solar surfers when they were eight! And yet they're failing at school, both are constantly in trouble and when I try to talk to them they're like strangers to me. I don't know, Delbert I've tried everything..."

Their voices were cut off when a strong gust of wind slammed the window shut. Jess sat there frozen for a moment.

"You were saying sis?" Jim growled, throwing another stone into the air.

"Who am I kidding?" she whimpered as the tears she tried to force back flowed down her cheeks. She hid her face in her knees the tears became rivers.

Jim looked at his sister with a guilty expression. He'd never snapped at his sister before and the one time he did it was when she was trying to help.

He threw the stones over the edge of the roof and put his arm around Jess. She instantly snuggled into his side just like when they were little.

"I'm sorry Jessie," he murmured in her hair, using her nickname, "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"its fine, you were upset," she sniffled, raising her head to look at her brother.

They had always been inseparable, her and Jim. Wherever they went or whatever they did they would always be together.

Jim placed a small kiss on her forehead before they snuggled up together and sat there, staring up into the sky wishing they still had their solar surfers.

Suddenly, the sound of machines failing and metal creaking was heard and a ship zoomed past them towards the dock. It crashed at the edge of the dock with a cloud of smoke and sparks surrounding it.

Jim and Jess jumped off the roof and ran towards the damaged ship.

"Hey, Mister?" yelled Jess, hoping that the pilot was alright.

"Mister, you're OK in there, right?" Jim yelled as he banged his fist on the door. Both of them screamed and jumped back when a large claw emerged from the smoke and pushed the door open. Out of the door stumbled an old man coughing and spluttering, an old chest clutched tightly in his hand.

"He's a-comin'." He croaked moving towards Jim. "Can you hear him? Those gears and gyros clickin' and whirrin' like the devil himself!"

"Uh, hit your head there pretty hard, didn't ya?"

Jess elbowed her brother in the ribs before moving slowly towards the old man.

"He's after me chest, that fiendish cyborg and his band of cutthroats. But they'll have to pry it from old Billy Bones' cold, dead fingers afore I- argh!" he coughed loudly before falling to the ground.

"Oh, my- Uh, come on, give me your arm. Jess, you take the other side." Said Jim as he lifted the old man off the ground then began to move towards the inn.

"Gotcha," mumbled Jess as she placed his other arm over her shoulders.

"That's it. Good lad. Good lass." He muttered as the twins dragged him through the rain that had begun to fall.

"By the way," huffed Jess, "you're explaining this to mom."

Jim chuckled as they moved closer to the building, balancing the chest under his other arm.

"She's gonna love this."

The door opened when they got there and both Delbert and Sarah jumped when they saw the three soaked figures standing in the doorway.

"James and Jessica Hawkins!" Sarah cried as the twins set the old man down on the floor.

"Mom, he's hurt!" explained Jim, placing the chest down on the floor and moved to where Jess was kneeling.

"bad!" muttered Jess as she listened to the old man's hoarse breathing get worse. He reached out his clawed hand towards Jim and muttered, "Me chest, lad."

Jim pushed the chest across the floor and towards him.

"He'll be comin' soon. Can't let them find this."

He typed in the combination and pulled out a sphere shaped package.

"Who's coming?" asked Jess. He then grabbed Jim and pulled him closer.

"The cyborg!" he whispered, "Beware the cyborg!"

He coughed and spluttered before releasing Jim and collapsing on the floor, dead.

Jim and Jess looked at each other as their mother gasped, but the moment was short-lived as the sound of engines broke the silence.

A bright light shined through the window as the ship outside landed. Jim jumped towards the window and opened the screen just an inch so he could see outside. There, in the rain were silhouettes holding guns and swords. Pirates.

"Quick! We gotta go!" cried Jim as he grabbed his mother and sister's arms and dragged them up the stairs.

Delbert went to open the door but was stopped by the door handle being blown off. He ran after them up the stairs as he shouted, "I believe I'm with Jim on this one!"

Zaps and bangs were heard from below them as they sprinted across the hallway upstairs until they reached the large window at the end and pushed it open.

"Delilah! Hallelujah!" cried Delbert as he looked down to see the cart with Delilah jumping up and down happily.

"Stay! Don't move!" he yelled. Jim and Jess both looked back to hear the cries of the pirates from below.

"Where is it? Find it!"

The twins looked at each other as shadows crawled along the wall and up the stairs.

"Don't worry. Sarah," said Delbert as he took her hand and stepped on the ledge. "I'm an expert in the laws of physical science. On the count of three. One-"

The twins held hands tightly

"Three!" they yelled before shoving them out of the window and onto the cart below. Delbert took the reins and urged Delilah forward.

"Go, Delilah! Go! Go! That's it! That's it! Go!"

Sarah turned back to see her home, her life burst into flames right before her eyes. After a moment of staring, she turned away. It hurt too much to look any longer.

Jim and Jess looked at their mother with sorrow in their eyes. With their hands still clasped tightly together Jess watched her brother as he removed the cloth that was wrapped around the object that Billy Bones had given him. Cloth fell away to reveal a gleaming sphere covered in strange markings and symbols.

The twins looked at each other in awe before returning their gazes back to the sphere, confusion and curiosity gleaming in their eyes.

The large fire crackled and the clock chimed through the silence of the night as they all sat in Delbert's house.

"I just spoke with the constabulary," said Delbert as he kneeled down in front of Sarah who shivered in the large armchair.

"Those blaggard pirates have fled without a trace. I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm afraid the old Benbow inn has burned to the ground."

Jess put a blanket around her mother and rubbed her shoulders tenderly. Jim stood there with his mouth open as if he were about to say something but decided against it and closed his mouth.

He trudged away to lean against a desk on the other side of the room. Jess gave her mother's shoulders a gentle squeeze before moving to stand by her brother.

She gave him a small smile as she wrapped her arm around his waist and dropped her head onto his shoulder.

Jim sighed as he picked up the sphere and began to mess around with it, pressing buttons and twisting it.

"Ahem. Well, certainly a lot of trouble over that odd little sphere. Those markings baffle me, unlike anything I've ever encountered. Even with my vast experience and superior intellect it would take me years to unlock it's-hey!" cried Delbert as Jim twisted the sphere and a bright green light burst out it. A giant swirl of light filled the room forming holograms of stars and planets that glowed in the dark.

"Why, it's a map!" Delbert gasped as he stumbled round the room, studying the holograms surrounding them.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait!" he cried as he studied one of the planets. "This is us, the planet Montressor."

He pressed the hologram and green light burst out as the map began to move around them.

"That's the Magellanic Cloud! Whoo! The Coral Galaxy! That's the Cygnus Cross and that's the Kerian Abyss."

The map stopped and the planet in the centre grew until it illuminated the entire room. Delbert stared at it and gasped.

"Wait. What's this? What's this? Why, it-it's..."

"Treasure Planet" gasped Jess. She recognised the two rings that orbited the great planet from the story she and Jim used to read when they were younger.

"No!" cried Delbert, his face full of disbelief and awe.

"That's Treasure Planet" A large grin formed on Jim's face and his eyes sparkled as he stared at the glowing planet.

"Flint's trove? The loot of a thousand worlds? You know what this means?" gasped Delbert, his eyes the size of golf balls.

"It means that all that treasure is only a boat ride away," answered Jim, his voice full of excitement as he tossed the map in his hand.

"Whoever brings it back would hold an eternal place atop the pantheon of explorers! He'd be able to experience-"

Delbert jumped when the map disappeared and the room returned to its original light.

"Whoo! What just happened?"

Jim held the map towards Sarah, his face held an expression of adventure and excitement.

"Mom, this is it. This is the answer to all our problems."

Sarah looked at her son in disbelief.

"Jim, there is absolutely no way-"

"But mom, don't you remember all those stories?" cried Jess, her expression matching her brother's. Sarah turned to her other child, giving her the same look.

"That's all they were Jess, stories!"

"Oh come on mom!" The twins groaned.

"With that treasure we could rebuild the Benbow a hundred times over!"

Sarah stared at her children as if they both had two heads. She could not believe her own ears.

"Well, this is- it's just-oh, my. Delbert, would you please explain to these two how ridiculous this is?" she sighed, turning to her friend for some back up.

"It's totally preposterous," stated Delbert, a look of disapproval on his face. "Traversing the entire galaxy alone."

Jim and Jess glared at him while their mother smiled in victory.

"Now at last we hear some sense!"

"That's why I'm going with you."

The twins' glare turned into a joyous smile while their mother's grin turned into a frown of disbelief.

"Delbert!"

Delbert grinned with joy as he picked up his bag and began running round the room, collecting useful items such as papers and clothes and shoving them into his bag.

"I'll use my savings to finance the expedition. I'll commission a ship. Hire a captain and a crew."

Sarah stared at him as he climbed a large mountain of books to reach his toothbrush.

"You're not serious."

Delbert slid back down the pile and threw his bag on the ground. He looked just like a giddy little schoolboy.

"All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this and here it is screaming,"

He began to dance, chanting ''Go, Delbert! Go, Delbert!''

"OK. OK! You're all three of you are grounded!" yelled Sarah, throwing her arms up in the air. She sighed and began to rub her neck, a thing she always did when she was thinking.

"Mom, look. I know that we keep messing everything up," sighed Jim. Jess moved to stand by her brother and put her hand on his shoulder.

"And I know that we let you down."

The twins looked at each other guiltily before returning their gazes to their mother.

"But this is our chance to make it up to you," cried Jess, her eyes beginning to sting with tears. Jim took his sister's hand in his and squeezed gently.

"We're gonna set things right," he said, determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Sarah?" mumbled Delbert, "If I may?"

Sarah moved towards her friend.

"You said yourself, you've tried everything. There are much worse remedies than a few character-building months in space," he whispered.

Sarah looked at him with a suspicious glint in her eye.

"Are you saying this because it's the right thing or because you really want to go?"

"I really, really, really, really want to go," pleaded Delbert, pouting. Sarah chuckled quietly as she dropped her gaze. Delbert placed his hand under her chin and raised her head. "And it's the right thing."

Sarah turned her worried gaze towards her children and sighed heavily.

"Jim, Jess. I don't want to lose you," she croaked, stroking their cheeks. The twins chuckled as they grabbed their mother's hands.

"Mom...you won't."

"We'll make you proud."

Sarah smiled at them. She had never seen them look so grown up before.

"Well. Uh, ahem. There we are then. We'll begin preparations at once."

Delbert patted Jim and Jess on the back, "Twins, soon we'll be off to the spaceport."

A loud clap of thunder made Jess jump and hit her head on the roof of the car. She looked around and realised that she was in the front seat of her car, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.

She let out a heavy sigh and let her forehead rest on the top of the steering wheel.

A knock on the window made her jump again.

"Jess? You still alive in there?"

Her head snapped up and came face to face with Connor who was standing there, shivering in the heavy rain. She fumbled for the lock on the door before letting Connor in. He slammed the door shut and sighed, his boots squeaking against the leather seats.

"I am so sorry Connor, I had no idea you were there, I... sorry," she rambled.

Connor smiled at her and raised his hands.

I'm fine. A little rain never hurt anybody," he chuckled. But then his face grew concerned.

"What about you? Are you alright?"

Jess forced a smile on her face and nodded. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Spacing out again?"

"Yeah," she sighed as she picked up her phone and tried to look preoccupied while they waited for Abby. Connor's expression became confused as he watched her.

"You seem to be doing that a lot recently. Everything ok?" he asked.

Jess turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

Connor didn't look convinced let it go anyway. It was most likely something to do with Becker or something only a girl would understand.

Abby jumped into the car and shook drips out of her blonde locks.

"Sorry, got held up with Matt about something," she said giving Connor a quick kiss and Jess an apologetic smile.

Jess smiled back at her before turning the Key and drove out of the car park, thoughts of Jim, her mother, Delbert and her home, Montressor swirling around in her head.

End of chapter 3! Please review because I've only had one . But at least it's better than none at all. I will try and get chapter 4 up as soon as possible. xx