I do not own the rights to anything Disney. Next update is April 7th.

Planning for the Future

Captain James Tiberius Hook paced back and forth on the deck of his ship. Time passed differently in Neverland, sometimes slow, sometimes fast... sometimes barely at all. He had become accustomed to the slow march of time, but that didn't mean he was a patient man. If it was up to him, time would move faster than one could blink.

As soon as Shan Yu had received word via his falcon, Hayabusa, from Maleficent that the girl was at her castle, Hook had given the orders to abandon the air strike on the Forbidden City and to return to the mountains at once. They had done enough damage to the Chinese army to slow them down for the time being, preventing them from coming to the other kingdoms aid in the future. What was important was seeing to the girl, and that she did her part.

Shan Yu was just one of the many villains on Hook's ship in addition to his regular crew. There was Jafar who was in charge of all magical defenses and attacks, and Gaston who made up for his inability to keep his mouth shut with his sharpshooting skills. Besides communicating with Maleficient, Shan Yu was in charge of the Huns on the ground, sending his falcon with orders from his advantage point on Hook's ship, looking down onto the vast land below.

Ratcliffe was also on the ship, but having tried to commandeer the ship from Hook's command, he had been confined to a holding cell in one of the ship's lower levels. Hook had originally planned to throw him overboard to rid the villains of the nuisance, but then he found a use for Ratcliffe- a new obsession for Mim.

For some unknown reason, Mad Madam Mim had attached herself to Hook, even going as far as stowing away on his ship. Since she had magic and was actually useful to the villains, Hook couldn't simply chuck over the side of the ship and be done with her like he could Ratcliffe. So instead he introduced her to Ratcliffe hoping she would transfer her unhealthy obsession from Hook to him, which worked rather well. Hook may have been a captain, but Ratcliffe shared her love of wearing purple, which made him more desirable than Hook in her eyes. Of course, Ratcliffe didn't recipocate her affections, loudly demanding to be freed from his cell, but none of the villains really cared. His own real use seemed to be keeping Mim out of their hair with her crazy schemes that more often than not would only backfire on the villains or set them back.

Jafar sidled up to Hook, joining him at his spot at the rail. In the distance mountain peaks were gradually coming into view. Starting out as blurry images that were becoming clearer and clearer. Soon Hook would have to give the order to increase altitude to avoid crashing, but for the time being the ship's position was fine.

"Somebody's anxious. You've been out here all morning, your stash of alcohol must be getting rather lonely by now."

"With Smee keeping it company, I'm sure it'll manage without me somehow," responded Hook dryly, causing Jafar to chuckle.

Jafar's light tone then turned more serious. "How sure are we about this girl? Hades and Maleficent have been going on for years that she's the key to our future, but how do we know it's true? The last time I was told my fate was in the hands of some child, the results were disastrous- an experience I do not care to repeat."

"Please," snorted Hook. "While your concerns are not unfounded, Lindsey is no mere street rat. She'll play her role and will lead us to victory."

"Lindsey?" asked Jafar, raising an eyebrow. "Since when are you on a first name basis with the girl?"

"Since she used to cavort with that boy and sneak onto my ship all the time as a child," retorted Hook. "The number of times I caught her lurking around trying to steal my treasure and denying she was a Lost Boy led to me becoming well acquainted with her."

"Trying to steal your treasure as a child?" laughed Jafar. "Perhaps she is a proper villain after all."

A smile made it's way across Hook's face. "Oh yes. So proper that once everything is over, I'll be rid of Pan once and for all thanks to her. No more crowing, no more tick-tocking, no more flying and no more bothering me. I'll be free of him- for good."

"Now that's something worth celebrating," smirked Jafar.

"Indeed."

Peter had never had ice cream before, but he was becoming really fond of it. The way it slid down his throat all cool and refreshing, the way he could shape it with his tongue as he licked it off of the cone. Even the way it made his head hurt and its stickiness didn't bother him. If anything, he just loved it more.

The ice cream had been Lindsey's treat for Peter's successful, albeit crazy, plan.

Realizing that there was no way to advance forward without being noticed, Peter decided the best tactic was a distraction. Grabbing Cubby, Peter pulled him aside and told him his idea, and both boys managed to slip away from the group without being noticed.

The playground the older children were on was situated in the northeast corner of the park. To the north, east, and west were clusters of trees and bushes, while to the south was a road. Lindsey and the others were hiding out of sight in the bushes and trees to the west, so Peter made his way to the north, while Cubby moved to the east.

He positioned himself up high in a tree, using the leaves and branches as cover. From his spot he could see the kids below him, but unless they looked up, they wouldn't be able to see him. Peter brought his hands to mouth, and ever so softly, began to make bird calls. Hearing Peter, Cubby then joined in.

The noises themselves weren't anything suspicious. They were in a park with trees, so birds were common and the kids on the jungle gym didn't really notice. Peter gradually increased the noise with Cubby, creating a crescendo, with other birds in the park adding their vocals.

It was by this point the kids started to notice the ever increasing noise around them. Birds were loud, but not that loud. Raising their balloons above their heads, a few started to bravely venture away from their safe haven, curious as to what was going on. They even managed to get close to Peter's tree and Cubby's tree, failing to spot the source of the noise above them.

With their backs turned to the west, Lindsey and her group seized the opportunity and quietly snuck across park. Several other children and adults watched the spectacle unfold- a small group of kids skulking about as if they were in a spy movie, before yelling their heads off and charging wildly, throwing their balloons at anybody who got in their way.

By the time the older kids had noticed the surprise attack it was too late. They were drenched and their perch on the jungle gym had been taken over. Their water balloon supply had been depleted easily since many had dropped the balloons in their arms in surprise at the screaming children who were running toward them. Others had thrown their balloons, but quickly had ran out of ammo while Lindsey and her friends still had plenty.

Peter dropped down to the ground once he saw Lindsey was in sight, and she soon spotted him. "That was brilliant. At first we weren't too sure what you were doing, but then we realized it was a distraction."

Lindsey's praise caused Peter to smile, and if he had been in Neverland he would have been zipping around in the air due to the hugeness of the happiness that was quickly filling every corner and niche of him.

The ice cream just topped it off.

Lindsey surveyed the group of villains before her.

Instead of going to the tavern, Anastasia had ushered Lindsey back to the castle, much to Lindsey's disappointment. Lindsey had never been to an actual tavern that served actual all- the closest she had ever gotten was the one that served butterbeer in the Harry Potter village at Universal Studios when she was eighteen, during her first spring break- and she had been looking forward to it.

Anastasia's explanation was that with Hook back, Jafar, Gaston, and other villains on his ship would be gathering with the villains at the castle and in the village to discuss what the next part of their plan was now that Lindsey was here. Such a gathering hadn't happened in years, and Lindsey would be at the center of it.

With so much attention on her, it was vital that she get her point across that she was not going to be their puppet. She was going to do things her way.

Now she just had to get through her speech without looking like an idiot. She grabbed a nearby glass of wine to calm her nerve and took in her surroundings.

The room they were gathered in was large, but seldom used, judging by the dust and cobwebs in the dark corners. Either that or Maleficent really enjoyed the creepy haunted house vibe the room was giving off, which Lindsey could believe.

At the far end of the room was a long, large oak table that had gouges and notches dotting it, showing signs of extreme physical abuse. The villains were seated in chairs around it, with Maleficent on the tallest and grandest chair that appeared to be more of a throne in the middle. Hades was to her right, helping himself to a leg of some kind of roast that was before him on the table. He looked at it before setting it on fire for a couple seconds and then taking a bite out of it.

To her left was Captain Hook who was in some sort of a discussion with Jafar. Also present, Lindsey recognized Ursula in her Vanessa form who was cuddled up against Gaston. The evil queen from Snow White seemed to be in argument of some sort with the woman Lindsey had learned was Mother Gothel, while Cinderella's step-mother watched on in amusement next to Frollo. The creepy guy from Mulan was stroking his falcon, while Yzma tried in vain to get his attention. Kronk was going in out of the room with platters full of delicious looking food, delighted that he had been asked to cater the event. There was a woman with wild purple hair who was attempting to pull out the villain from Pocahontas out from under the table where he was hiding. Anastasia was present with her husband and both were off to the side of the room talking to some of the lesser known villains and their sidekicks.

Lindsey cleared her voice loudly, hoping to direct the attention to her and to shut up the chatty villains. She hadn't been there for that long, but she had already picked up on the fact that villains seemed to gossip worse than a bunch of high school girls.

"I'm not an idiot, I know all of you manipulated me into being here and feeling sorry for you. I can't blame you for that since I would have done the same thing in your situation. What we need to talk now is of the future and where we go from here. Before I tell you my plan, I'd like to hear any that you have."

There, straight and to the point. No beating around the bush, no smooth talking, but straight and to the point which was who Lindsey was. The villains all looked amused at her, as if they hadn't expected her to already have a plan.

"The plan is," said Maleficent, "for you to receive instructions in sword fighting from Captain Hook, a basic understanding of our history and geography from Frollo, and magic from myself and several others similar to how the heroes are preparing your sister."

"And then what?" asked Lindsey, who had already guessed at the lessons but had just been waiting for confirmation. "Have some sort of epic battle showdown between us and them, the winner being the last one standing? Sorry, but look how well that turned out for all of you. If I remember right, the majority of you died when you went against your heroes... wait, how are you alive anyway?"

"That would be me, sweet cheeks," said Hades raising a hand. "With so many powerful villains kaput, it was going to be hell fighting the goody two-shoes. As the god of the dead I thought to myself, hey, why not give them a get out of the Underworld free card?"

Lindsey's face lit up at that information. Perhaps she had been going about this all wrong, perhaps there was a chance that both her and Sidney would make it through this alive after all, perhaps...

Her hopes were dashed when Hades opened his mouth again, no doubt guessing correctly where her next line of questioning was about to go. Waving a finger at her he said, "Sorry, no can do kiddo. If you or your sister kicks the bucket here, you're gone for good. You're not from this world, so you won't go to the Underworld."

Lindsey should have known there wasn't such a thing as an easy way out; life just wasn't that fair.

Her shoulders sagged, but Lindsey was determined to move forward with her plan. "Okay, forget that then. As I was saying, the whole direct attack approach hasn't worked for you in the past. Even if I do the lessons, that doesn't change all the years of experience Sidney has on me."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked Maleficent.

"Taking a different approach. From what I can tell, all you really want is some respect, for the heroes to stop invading your lands and territories, for them to stop bothering you and letting you leave in peace. You need to go after them in a legitimate way, something that they can't label as a villainous act. Otherwise, they'll rise up and say they have to fight you because you're the villains and need to be punished, and then they'll win. In my world it's possible to rule the world without breaking a single law."

The villains murmured among themselves, taking in what she had said and discussing its merit.

"Alright girl," said Hook, "What exactly does this plan of yours involve?"

"Well, first, there are a couple things I need to know about this world. Tell me, how does the economy of this world work?"

The Great Water Balloon War had just been the start of that summer. There was the night when Peter and Cubby joined Lindsey at Dead Man's Creek, trying to see the ghost of the little boy who had supposedly vanished there years ago, slipping into the waters never to be seen again- at least, that's how the story went. The trio searched for bury treasure, only ever finding arrow heads. Peter managed to further impress Lindsey with his impersonation skills by imitating her parents on several occasions. They also had lots and lots of ice cream, and other cold treats called Popsicles.

When Peter returned to Neverland, he was happier than he had been in a long time. There was an extra zip as he flew around the island, an extra sparkle of mischief in his eye. Hook noticed the difference immediately, commenting that he was glad Peter had found the girl for it meant Hook could kill Peter without feeling any guilt. Peter's response was to tear a hole in his pants, revealing his underwear to the whole crew, just like the old times.

More summers passed. Lindsey believed that Peter and Cubby, or Teddy as she knew him, came to town every summer to be with their grandparents who didn't like strangers and were rather strict, explaining why Lindsey had never met them.

Other adventures included the summer when the nearby river had flooded and they snuck onto the levee to see it, before being chased away by the police. Then there was the summer Lindsey took the keys to her parent's car in order to teach Peter how to drive, despite not knowing how to drive herself. The following summer, when she could legally drive, they went racing down the back roads and hills in such a way that Peter had never been more grateful to be on the ground. After that, he refused to ever ride in a car that Lindsey was driving again. That was a level of fun that was too much, even for him.

It was the third summer with her, when she was twelve, did he notice that he and Cubby were growing older. He hadn't noticed it at first, and probably wouldn't have noticed if his voice hadn't squeaked one day. Confused, Andrew, one of Lindsey and Peter's friends pulled him aside to explain something called puberty, which left Peter even more confused. Puberty meant growing up, becoming an adult. He was Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. So how was it possible?

Tink, who had noticed the changes as well, went to the fairies for an answer. When she returned, she explained that because of the lack of magic in Lindsey's world, he had started to age with each visit. If he continued to visit her, he would eventually grow up.

The look on Tinker Bell's face as she relayed the message nearly broke Peter's heart. She had been with him since he first came to Neverland, and didn't want Peter to grow up.

But, Peter couldn't stop visiting Lindsey. Lindsey was his friend, just as much as Tink was. Choosing between the two was impossible, so he decided to choose both. He limited his visits to Lindsey to just a couple visits each summer, slowing down his growth.

Yet he still grew, as much as he hated it. Convincing the royals that it was Neverland's magic in order to increase his chances against the villains, allowed him to continue staying with the Lost Boys at Neverland despite not being a boy for a very long time. Even Cubby was still more of a boy, than he was. Hook's only comment was that Peter had turned into a gangily-looking chicken that provided Hook with more surface area to hit.

After seeing Lindsey at the castle, Peter realized that an even harder choice was coming for him, one that he couldn't weasel his way out of easily as he had the growing up choice. He wouldn't be able to avoid making a choice this time.

It was apparent to him that the heroes underestimated Lindsey. After all the summers he had spent with her, he knew she was more than capable of leading the villains to victory just like she had that afternoon on the playground.

Peter was going to have to choose between fighting with his allies, the heroes, or fighting against Lindsey and the villains.

It was a choice he would never be ready to make, and might just kill him when the time came.

Why did growing up have to be so hard?

**Author's Note**

A huge thanks goes to my reviewers. Going from one review to twelve reviews from six different people is awesome and made my week. So I'd like to thank The Invisible Enchantress, Pearl Bramble of Willowbottom, Daydreamer747, civilwarrose, pjgarlach, and Deathstroke Terminator for reviews. Keep them coming.

Daydreamer747: I believe that all villains have a backstory, and they're not as evil as Disney portrays them. As for the prophecy, that's something which is still very far away from being dealt with.

A couple notes on this chapter: I don't know where Tiberius came from, but it popped into my head for Hook. Hayabusa, according to the Disney Wikia is the actual name for Shan Yu's falcon. Also according to the Disney Wikia, Disney at one point depicted Madam Mim being obsessed with Hook in comics, so I decided to go with that idea.

Lindsey's plan for the villains comes from an unused plot for a Loki and Avengers fic I never wrote which was about how Loki, being as smart as he is, should have taken over Earth in a completely legit way that would have rendered the Avengers unable to stop him. I never got around to writing it, but I still love the idea behind it, so it'll be seen here.

I'm surprised nobody called me on it before, but the whole dying in Disney for real fact is something I've had plan for a while. There's a reason why a lot of the former dead villains walking around, and why it can't be that simple for Lindsey and Sidney.

The Peter and Lindsey backstory is finished at last. When he first started visiting Lindsey, he was around 11-12, and she was 10. Now he's 18-19 and she's 21. He's grown-up, but she still has a couple years on him.

Next chapter will have a better explanation of Lindsey's plan, and she begins villain lessons which features a slight magical mishap that I've planned for such a long time, I'm really looking forward to revealing.

Thanks for reading, and if possible, please leave a review!