Author: Tanith Lilitu
Rating/Warning: I'm gonna go with K+ for character death and angst.
Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, Hook, or any part of this universe in the least.
Summary: A sinister ticking interrupts a duel in Neverland.
20...
19...
A sense of triumph and glee had filled the boy to the brim when he first heard the ticking. It was a sound akin to that one his enemy feared above all else; considering they were standing two swords lengths apart at the time, it was most certainly cause for celebration.
18...
17...
Never did it occur to the boy that this sound could ever be anything that he himself should dread as well. In his mind, it was an enemy of his enemy, and therefore, as the saying went, this sound must be his friend.
16...
15...
This sound however, was not what it had been anticipated to be. This knowledge was acquired when the captain leaned ever so slightly over the edge of his ship, his good hand still aiming his sword. He was expecting to see the beast he loathed even more, if this was possible, than the boy who was currently standing in front of him. The man saw neither hide nor hair or more accurately, scale, of the beast approaching; he stopped for a moment to consider the nature of this ticking.
14...
13...
Although he had failed time and time again against a mere child, the captain was not a fool, and on further consideration of the noise he realized quickly that this was a far more sinister thing than a crocodile. He could see how the true nature of the sound – device, if he was to be specific – had evaded the boy, and himself as well, for a time. It had been quite some time since he had encountered such a deadly implement; he doubted if the boy had ever had the misfortune to run across such a thing in his short life.
12...
11...
Of course Peter, for this was what the boy was called, had never run across such a thing. This device was an adult notion through and through, children could play games and have malicious intent to an extent, but no child would dream of going this far against his enemy.
10...
9...
Then again, the dreams of some children could most certainly include this ticking device, though dreams would be as far as this notion got. What child would be knowledgeable about matters such as these, and where would he get the components he required? Especially in an isolated fantasy land such as this place.
8...
7...
Peter's naïveté allowed him to now look on with confusion as the captain, whose first priority a moment ago was to run his opponent through with a sharpened blade, darted about the ship looking for the source of the ticking. It also allowed him to laugh at the hook-handed man's seemingly unexplainable actions.
6...
5...
"If you're too much of a coward to fight me, be a man about it! Or better yet, don't run away, come back and fight me!"
This was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Peter was rewarded with a glare that could kill, and a harsh bark of a laugh.
"Foolish boy, no one will be fighting in a moment. In a moment, everyone here will be dead."
"Ha!" Peter crowed, "Who's a fool now, you're the only one that crocodile's after! I can hear the ticking of the clock as well as you can!"
4...
3...
"Listen closely, boy. That ticking is not from the crocodile, that ticking is from a bomb. It is somewhere on this ship, and most likely about to go off any second. Say your goodbyes."
All action on one side of the ship stilled, all the pirates knew exactly what their fate was now. The children, on the other hand, merely appeared puzzled.
"A what? What are you talking about, Hook? I'm not going to die anyway, I'm not a grownup like you." A cheer rose from the children at this statement.
2...
1...
Hook merely looked at the ragtag group with pity, an emotion never before seen by anyone present on the pirate's face. His opponent would finally be gone, done with; but his absence came with a sacrifice, that of the demise of the captain, along with his faithful crew.
The children were still cheering and laughing at the end, and that is what is perhaps the saddest of all. As for Hook, he muttered one final thing as the ship he had called home for all these years went up in flames...
"Farewell, Pan."
0.