Peter Pan

Untamed Heart

Summary: Why did Peter Pan not follow Wendy? There are secrets one must keep even if it is at the cost of one's own heart. But when Hook returns, does the price become too high?

Disclaimer: WAH! I don't own Peter Pan.

Author: Amyfushigiyugi

Co-author: Azul Bloom

Edited by: LadyOrion and Azul Bloom

Chapter 2 "Greatest Pretend"

Tinker Bell dodged Peter Pan's hand as he swiped at her, annoyed by her incessant jittering. She looked up at the bright blue sky peeking out through the parting clouds. She smiled lightly, for she knew he couldn't be in such a truly bad mood, so she tugged on his hair again with, a determination in her face. Narrowing her eyes after once again being ignored, Tinker Bell landed on an outstretched tree limb, blocking his view of the crashing waves.

Wondering why he stared across so intently, Tink looked out at the Jolly Roger as it bobbed in the harbor. Peter Pan had given the ship back to the remainder of the pirates, just to keep them out of his forest, or so he said. In truth, Tink wondered if he didn't harbor a sort of secret grudge against the wooden vessel. Glancing back at Peter Pan, she noticed the gleam of mischief twinkling in the amber-azure of his iris. She smiled wider, for she rather liked that look and had missed it terribly.

Tinker Bell cocked her head and stomped her foot, sending showers of glowing fairy dust everywhere as she chattered at Peter, demanding to be let in on the plan. This time, Peter Pan turned and graced her with his fugitive smile, making her heart soar in joy, and her body followed in suit. She flew around him a couple times. Tink couldn't help her excitement. Peter hardly ever smiled like that anymore, but she could have sworn she saw this smile reached his eyes, before he turned back to stare across the water. She finally landed in the tree to his right and leaned forward, wanting to hear what he was up to.

Peter - eyes locked on the pirate ship - watched the wind whip through the sails, rippling the skull and crossbones that emblazoned the canvas, deforming the hollow-eyed black symbols of piracy. "I know they are there somewhere, Tink, and today they are mine." His eyes took on the blinding pale blue of the sky, both of which changed so easily at the whim of his moods.

Tink's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up, noticing the tint of the sky as the clouds parted in the whistling winds. She turned her gaze back to his, and watched as his iris sparkled with golden flecks that danced across the field of blue, returning the life and laughter into them. 'What could he want from the Jolly Roger?' she thought. What was making him so happy? Tink wanted to know so desperately, so she could make her friend smile more often.

New lost boys had shown up over the last couple of years, giving Peter Pan new adventures as he taught them to spy on the Indians and play such devious pranks. Pranks, they more often than not, caught themselves in. Peter taught them to terrorize the pirates but there was always something missing. Often he took off without the others, seeking his own adventures and searching for a thrill he knew was missing but could not find.

"Hooks, Tink." He told her. "Captain Hook's hooks. He wore a different hook every time I saw him. I know they are still there on that ship." His smile completely disappeared and for a moment, his eyes became sullen. "I want them." Peter could feel the adrenaline begin to rush through him, at the thought of getting even with Hook. Even after his death.

Maybe, by taking something of Hook's, from under the noses of the pirates of the Jolly Roger, Peter could finally banish the very memory of Hook, which continued to linger in Neverland. As if running from his thoughts, Peter took flight. Pushing off the bank, he shot straight up into the heights of the sky, and arched directly forward, free falling with his arms stretched out to his sides. Peter tumbled towards his goal, the Jolly Roger.

Rolling in the air, he descended to float right behind the pock faced pirate standing watch in the swaying crow's nest. The scabby pirate stood there, twirling a telescope around in his hands and whistling, never once realizing he was being watched. Peter's lips thinned in disappointment. Without Hook here to growl them into form, the pirates had become lazy and off guard.

With an arrogant smirk, Peter decided to scare some alertness into the careless pirate. Sliding close to the overly dirty man and cupping his hands around his mouth to form a megaphone, Peter lowered his voice and began to mimic the echoing of a clock. "Tic Toc, Tic Toc."

Hearing the dreaded sound, that signaled the second most feared creature in all of Neverland so near him, the pirate screamed and spun around, struggling to draw his sword. The cry of their comrade above them startled the crew, who spun around trying to determine its cause.

Peter burst out laughing, hands resting on his hips as he watched the man before him spin around so fast that he tripped in the small space and toppled over the edge of the railing. The pirate's legs caught and tangled in the rigging, jerking him up to hang head first, and three feet from the deck.

Peter smiled, his eyes filled with excitement that had been absent for so long. The hand on the hilt of his sword tightened happily when the upside down pirate's eyes widened as they finally locked on him. Filling his lungs, he let out the high piercing crow that was his trademark, throughout the land. The echoing "Cock'a Doodle Do!" ricocheted cross the deck, snapping the deckhands' attention to him and away from their fallen crewmate.

"'Tis Peter Pan!" the pirate screamed at the top of his lungs, trying in vain to free him self.

Peter's shoulders shook in laughter as he watched the deck come to life. Two pirates dashed towards Long Tom and slammed into one another, for their eyes were still glued to him. Peter's hand loosened on the hilt of his blade seeing he would not need it. Another pirate, splashed into the tossing waves when his crewmate swung around while holding a still dripping mop, knocking him overboard. Swooping down across the starboard side, he wove between the mazes of rigging, knocking the men in the water as they tried to dodge him.

"What have you got to offer?" A hard voice from the past slithered into his ear, distracting him from his fun. "Your heart is incomplete."

Peter's eyes darted up to where he and Hook had fought that day three years ago. The thrill surging through Peter began to vanish as he lashed out at one of the pirates trying to flee, knocking him overboard as he headed for the ships cabin. There, before its doors, Peter Pan came to a sudden stop. His lips pressed together as he held himself ridged, not daring to look at the deck behind him. Peter Pan had secretly watched Wendy for over a year before bringing her to Neverland.

It was here that he had known so many conflicting emotions. Right here on this very ship, he had faced his greatest fear, and the only man he truly hated. Right here, was where he had known his only kiss, from the only girl he had ever even thought of bringing to his Neverland. And although it was in this vessel where such a kiss had allowed him the power to defeat Captain James Hook, it was also this ship that had taken her back to London, away from him.

"She will forget you." That had been Hook's greatest taunt. Just as Peter looked at the deck, where he and Wendy had lain under the deadly glare of Hook's rage, a shadow of clouds blocked out the light, hiding the phantom image he sought.

Peter jerked his head up, looking at the now empty deck. They could not even offer him a decent fight. With several angry strides, he approached the cabin and kicked the doors wide open, allowing them to crash against the walls and startling Smee into dropping a handful of golden treasure he had been hurriedly stuffing into his pockets.

"OUT!" Peter Pan screamed in a cracking voice. Smee flinched again and quickly skirted the wall, heading for the door.

Tinker bell flittered outside the glass window of the captain's cabin, wanting to keep an eye on Peter, but careful not to be seen. Peter was her best friend and she could tell he was in pain. She watched his face fall as Smee ran without a fight and knew better than anyone, the sadness Peter hid. This was the first time he had stepped foot on the Jolly Roger, since he had taken Wendy back across the barrier. She may have been jealous of Wendy at first, but when the girl had saved Peter's life, it all changed. Even Tinker Bell knew true love when she saw it.

Peter raised his eyes from the wooden planks of the floor and looked around the room slowly, taking in every single item of the dark and richly adorned room.

"Old." Peter whispered, and walked towards a large table with maps thrown about it.

"Alone." His voice raised a notch as he reached his hand out for the golden case that sat in the middle, clicking the lever that opened it, to prove he had been right. There, hollowed out, were five spaces with all but one of them filled.

"Done for!" He nearly yelled.

Peter swallowed as he reached out to trace his finger across the different hooks, stopping just short of actually touching them. His eyes lingered on the aperture that lacked the shinning cruel instrument. He traced the shape of the missing hook; the hook that had been at Wendy's throat. Peter's lips parted, as his eyes seemed to glaze over, lost in his own memories.

Tinker Bell leaned away from the window and looked up at the sky as dark clouds came swirling in, bring with them wind and lightening. It was a sure sign of Peter Pan's tormented emotions. She could hear voices from within, and Tinker Bell placed her tiny ear to the glass, her eyes lighting up. One of the voices did not belong to Peter. The voice was that of James T. Hook, and he was telling Peter that Wendy was even lovelier now than she had been when here in Neverland. "As beautiful as stardust." The voice taunted.

"How do you know!" Peter screamed into the empty room. He didn't want to believe the voice from the past, but he also couldn't deny the chill that began crawling its way up his spine.

"I watched you die!" his head whipped around in rage. "Done for!" Peter screamed into the empty space.

"Because," the deep voice trailed on, "although here I am nothing but a ghost, thanks to you, in her world … oh Peter… in her world, I am very real, dear boy." The callous voice nearly purred in Peter's ear. "Even you can feel it Pan", it continued. "Every day I become more alive."

Peter turned in a half circle, trying to keep up with the trustless voice that had haunted him for over three years now. "How could you have gone there?" He whispered. "You lie, Hook." Peter clinched his fist as he heard the pirate's mocking laughter fill the cabin of the Jolly Roger.

"You were drawn to her, were you not? You told her you would never forget her, and you haven't. Your thoughts have kept the path open, and Wendy; Wendy is keeping the stories alive… keeping me alive." The voice seemed to engulf the room, surrounding him from all sides, but Peter did not turn to look, for he knew that if he did so, nothing but an empty cabin would meet his eyes.

"How can the fair Wendy tell her stories of you, Peter Pan, without telling of … Captain James Hook!" His voice rose as he spoke his own name.

With that, the lid on the golden box snapped shut; the latch falling into place as if touched by some unseen hand. Peter's teeth clinched and the mussels in his jaw flexed as he felt a breath close to his ear, accompanied with the words that stabbed him as sharp as a blade.

"You have waited too long, Peter. You may be older than she, but you are trapped inside a child's body. Wendy has grown into a beautiful woman-child." He gasped softly. "No sitting on the verge of becoming a woman… yet still clinging to the spirit of a girl. Soon, she will no longer need or want the help of a boy." His eyes watered lightly. "What Wendy needs, you cannot give her." His breathing shallowed. "What she needs is a man, Peter." His chest heaved in a stifled snivel. "And that is the one thing you can never be."

A quick breeze blew through the room, leaving a feel of emptiness, and Peter Pan knew he was once again alone. He shook his head, his eyes pressed shut and his fists clenched, with his nails digging so hard into his palms that tiny droplets of blood formed and dripped to the floor.

Tinker bell watched as Peter shot out of the cabin and into the sky, heading in the direction of his underground lair. Peter Pan did not know his own power and was unknowingly creating this new adventure, an adventure that would lead him to the one place he longed so desperately to go.

Without wasting another second on such truths, Tinker Bell took off in his wake. Now that she knew the truth of what was disturbing Peter Pan and the Neverland, she would help him, in any way she could. As she made her way through the tunnels of Peter's new hidden home, the sight that met her would forever be burned within her tiny memory.

Standing in front of the roaring fireplace, Peter drew his sword from its holster and casually leaned it against the wall, beside the fire. Turning his now dark and sullen eyes up, he gazed for a moment at the unusual crest that lay mounted atop the mantle. Two swords, crossed at the hand guards. One was his own sword; the long, thin and sturdy blade he held when Hook finally drowned into the belly of the beast. The other was the top part of a broken sword; the sword that Wendy had wielded at the Black Castle. Its steel lay down the middle of the crest, where the swords met at the cross. Just as his hand rose into the air to take the complete sword, he stalled, for his eyes caught sight of his own arm and traveled up to his reaching hand.

"The arm of a boy." He whispered. Heaving a determined breath, he reached for the sword and this time took it.

Peter Pan jumped back a step when Tinker Bell flew in front of him, rambling on a mile a minute.

"You think you know a way to stop Hook?" Peter asked sliding his chosen sword into the holster at his side. Following Tink with his eyes and listening intently to her every chatter, suddenly he inhaled sharply, looking at her with widened eyes. "Bring Hook back to life? Tink are you crazy?" Peter's jaw dropped, and then snapped shut, as Tink suddenly made perfect sense. How could Hook be in Wendy's world if they bring him back to life here, in Neverland?

"Tink can you really do that?" Peter's shoulders slumped at her reply and his eyes hardened. "Then while you are trying to figure that out, I will go to Wendy and make sure she is safe. If I have to, I will bring her back here."

Tink watched sadness fill Peter's eyes. She flew in front of his face jingling her answer to this. Peter frowned at her words, not completely understanding. "What do you mean my greatest pretend?"

Before Peter could take a step back from her Tinker Bell rushed forward and did something she would have never done. She kissed him once on the forehead, then turned and flew away, to see if she could do what needed to be done and that was to bring Hook back to Neverland. She would need the light of the other fairies, and also, the darkness of the mermaids.

Peter watched Tinker Bell leave and shook his head at her nonsense. 'Greatest pretend? What had she meant by that?' Stepping over to the underground hot spring that lay in the corner of the room, he reached down to wash his face and hands, but just as his finger tips where about to plunge into the water, he stalled. Pulling his fingers back, he leaned over even further, gawking at his own reflection on the water's surface.

He looked exactly the same but different. He stared, wide eyed, and then his cocky and pleased smile rushed across his face. It was now as it should be, thanks to his little fairy, Tink. He had seemed maybe a year older than Wendy when they had first met and now it would be the same.

"I'll pretend" Peter smiled. "My greatest pretend." His eyes sparkled as blue as the cloudless sky, as he splashed water onto his face. Washed and ready, he took off for the boarder of Neverland, taking the same path that always called to him. The path that would lead him back to his Wendy.