The eruption of cheering rang in her ears; the smiles that surrounded her all a blur in her mind. This was the birthday she had dreaded the most, the birthday that would rid her of her childish dreams. It was her sixteenth birthday, the day Lucy Heartfilia would be seen as more than just a child.

As the cheers died down and the cake was cut Lucy sped through the formalities and thanked everyone who had attended her party, hoping that they would soon leave. Lucy hadn't even wanted the party in the first place; it had been her mother's idea.

"Lucy," he mother called from the kitchen. "Please go and see that your aunt gets to the train station safely. You know how awful she is at directions!"

Lucy, who was just about to head upstairs, groaned as she made her way back down the stairs and towards the front door where her aunt Livia was waiting. "I'm sorry to be trouble," her aunt apologized.

Lucy smiled, "Oh it's no big deal, I want to get out of the house for a bit anyway," Lucy put her coat on and opened the door. "Shall we then?"

As they made their way down the streets of London Lucy made small talk with her aunt, thanking her for coming and for the gift she had given her.

"You know," her aunt suddenly spoke. "The locket I gave to you is no ordinary locket."

Livia's sudden statement caught Lucy's attention, her curiosity beginning to take over. "And why is that?"

"It holds something very powerful, something that only those that believe can use. Do you know what that is?" Her aunt's face lit up, it was like she was a child receiving a piece of their favorite candy.

Lucy thought for a moment, very unsure of what her aunt could be implying, but alas, she came up empty handed. She shook her head. "I honestly haven't the slightest idea."

"Fairy dust!" Livia whispered excitedly.

Lucy paused for a moment, extremely unsure of how to respond. She knew her aunt was eccentric, she had been for as long as she could remember, but this was taking it to a whole new level. When she was a child her aunt had told her all sorts of stories about fairies and pirates, and a certain pink haired boy that all lived in a place called Neverland. As a child Lucy had loved the stories, hoping that one day she could go just as her aunt had claimed she did. Now, walking down the chilly streets of London, Lucy couldn't possibly feel any further from those childish dreams.

"I see," Lucy simply stated. "I'll make sure I take good care of it!"

Finally they reached the train station, Lucy slightly relieved to get rid of her aunt, but before she walked off she said one last thing that left Lucy perplexed. "Lucy, my dear, whatever you do, do not open that locket unless you need to. If you are in need, if you are in trouble, or if you simply need to get away, that is when you can open it. Keep it close to you, it means so much more than you think it does."

With one last smile and a wave Livia made her way onto the train, Lucy watching her departure as she tried to put together what she had just been told. Dazed and confused Lucy began to make her way back to her house, the words her aunt spoke weighing heavily on her mind.

Lucy was so occupied with her thoughts that she hadn't even realized that the sun had said its last goodbyes for the day and that the street lights had managed to flicker on. "I really need to get home," she whispered. "Mother is probably going crazy."

As she quickened her pace Lucy suddenly began to feel uneasy, as if she was being followed. Her anxiety grew as she heard footsteps other than her own making their way down the stone sidewalk, sounding too heavy to have been a woman's steps.

Slightly beginning to panic she abruptly turned down an alley way, thinking it was the alley way she usually used as a short cut home. The further she walked, the quicker she realized that she had gone down the wrong alley, and that soon she would reach a dead end.

With the dead end in sight the sound of the footsteps began to grow louder, the sound of her racing heart also filling her ears. She was terrified, wishing she hadn't spaced out after she had left her aunt at the train station. Quickly she checked her pockets, looking for something, anything that could help her defend herself. Upon reaching into her right pocket she felt something cold and round. Lucy pulled it out only to find that it was the locket her aunt had given her.

Without realizing it a tall dark shadow was beginning to close in on her, the feeling in the air far from a safe one. She helplessly looked around, but there was nothing other than her and the locket resting in her palm. "Please," she whispered as she placed her fingers on the clamp of the necklace. "Please help me!" she shouted as she flipped the locket open and the shadow grabbed her all at once.

Lucy's eyes were glued shut, her body expecting the worst but the hand that had grabbed her arm was absent now, a loud thud filling her ears. Even though she wanted to keep her eyes closed, to scream out and cry, she knew she had to do something other than just stand there. After mustering up the courage she quickly pried her eyes open only to see something that completely shocked her.

Before her stood a boy, seemingly about her age, wearing very peculiar clothes. He sported an elbow length beige shirt with a green vest resting over it. His pants were a dark brown and looked very worn out, the same for his shoes. What shocked her the most was his hair, the hair that her aunt had described in countless stories. Its pink color was unnatural, yet it seemed natural on the boy that stood protectively in front of her.

"This can't be real," Lucy whispered. "They were just stories."

The boy with the pink hair turned toward her, his dark brown eyes locking with hers. "You called?" he asked. "Don't worry, I'll take you away," he grinned a big toothy grin, one that seemed to chase off all of Lucy's previous fears. He reached his hand out towards her, wanting her to take it. "Come with me," he spoke softly.

Lucy stared at the boy, her nerves seeming to disappear altogether. "And where are we going?" she asked softly.

His grin only grew, the creases next to his mouth growing more noticeable. "To Neverland of course!"