Chapter 11- Deathly charms.

The air rushing past Lloyd's body was freezing, clawing at his face and eyes as his body accelerated downwards. The water moved closer and closer towards him, and Lloyd tried his best to keep his body straight. Landing face first into the water was be the last thing he wanted to do.

Whoosh!

His body plummeted into the sea, momentum pulling him deeper and deeper inside. The pressure made his ears pop, and Lloyd gasped involuntarily, water rushing in to fill the emptiness in his lungs. The young man struggled, waving his arms uselessly, trying to find the surface. But he didn't even know which way was up.

Lloyd's eyes were burning now, and it was hard to keep them open. He kicked his legs, pushing his body towards what he hoped was the surface. Between being torn to shreds and drowning in the immense ocean, Lloyd wondered whether he should have taken his chances with the crocodile. He knew how to fight didn't he? So why had he followed the girl?

Black dots began to crawl around the edge of his vision. Lloyd continued to struggle, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to fight against the water. The pressure on his chest continued to increase by the second, and there was a forceful pounding on his head. His legs stopped obeying him, and soon, Lloyd lost control of his arms as well.

He couldn't move his own body. And yet, it seemed to be gliding closer and closer to a bright yellow circle in the sky. Muscular arms had been wrapped around his waist, a tight yet gentle grip that kept him from losing consciousness.

Lloyd and his savior broke through the surface of the water.

The green ninja gasped for air, coughing and vomiting the water out of his lungs, creating space for the sweet oxygen flowing around him. Whoever had saved him still had their arms around Lloyd's body, clearly not trusting the young man to stay afloat on his own. He turned, pushing his wet blonde hair away from his eyes, ready to thank his savior.

Lloyd's mouth dropped open.

Now, Lloyd was still young, and he held a small grudge against girls. He had never been attracted to one before, and had never had any desire to kiss or embrace one. But the girl before him changed his opinion of everything. She was gorgeous. Long blonde hair flowed around her, perfectly framing her small face. The girl's eyes were wide and blue, with long beautiful eyelashes. She smiled at Lloyd, her well-shaped lips causing the boy's face to turn a deep shade of red.

Looks like you almost drowned beautiful boy. It would have been such a waste.

The girl had spoken, but she hadn't opened her mouth. Her musical voice rung in Lloyd's mind, as if it was for him and him only. He opened his mouth, spitting more water out in the process, making the red tint on his cheeks grow stronger.

"Thanks for saving me," Lloyd's cheeks were hurting now, but his smile refused to go away. "I thought I was done for. S-so thanks. A lot. I like living. . . yeah. . ."

Let's get you back to land.

"Yeah!" Lloyd nodded. "That would be nice. Thank you. Again. But uh. . . there was a girl with me. Did, did you see her?"

The girl's face changed dramatically. Her sweet features turned darker, eyes shining with annoyance. Lloyd wished he could take the words back. He wanted the girl to smile again. Needed the girl to smile again.

Yes. We found her. We took her to our cave.

"Is that where we're going now?" Lloyd didn't want to upset the girl again, but he couldn't leave Naomi behind.

If you'd like. Our cave is nice. Maybe you'll like it. Maybe you can stay with us.

Lloyd nodded, barely aware of what the girl was saying. All he could focus on were her striking appealing features. They began to move forward, the girl guiding Lloyd forward through the water with very little effort. She was a very good swimmer. A little too good. A sharp feeling of warning shoot up from Lloyd's stomach, and he looked down into the water.

Instead of legs, the girl was skimming through the sea with the tail of a fish.

Mermaids were dangerous. Lloyd knew that. They were incredibly seductive, and they loved to lure men into their hideouts, keeping them until the withered away from hunger and thirst. But this was Neverland. The rules were different. Or so the young man told himself.

She can't mean any harm Lloyd thought as the mermaid continued to guide him through the open sea. She's so beautiful. And her eyes. . . She truly cares about me. Or else she would have let me to drown.

They arrived at the cave, and the mermaid allowed Lloyd to climb out of the water and onto the slippery surface. Jewels, junk and debris were scattered all about, and multiple mermaids, each more beautiful than the last, lounged about lazily, sitting up only when Lloyd approached them. They all gave him sweet honest smiles; ones that made his heart flutter excitedly.

Footsteps ran towards him, and Lloyd moved his attention away from the mermaids. For a brief second at least. Naomi looked up at him, her hair wild and tangled, then pointed to the outside of the cave.

Lloyd turned to look, his eyes connecting with those of the mermaid that had saved him. He waved, and was gifted with one of the mermaid's divine smiles. "Yeah, she's the one that saved me. She's beautiful isn't she? Well they're all beautiful actually. . . How long do you think we could stay here. . .?"

Naomi rolled her eyes, wishing now more than ever that she had a voice. She had to get Lloyd out of here. She tugged on his sleeve, trying to pull him towards the outside. Lloyd snatched his arm back, causing Naomi to slip forward, straight into the cave's pool. The mermaids giggled wildly, and Lloyd smirked, feeling a bubble of happiness swelling at having made them laugh. Naomi kicked her body up towards the surface, an irritated look on her face.

Well he asked for it, Naomi thought to herself, reaching out of the water for Lloyd's leg, pulling him inside with a rough tug.

Lloyd fell inside, and the mermaids hurried to help him back up. He coughed, reaching for the edge of the cave's floor, pulling himself up beside Naomi. "What the heck was that for?"

The girl gave him a look, then shrugged her shoulders, a satisfied smirk lifting the edge of her lips. Then once again, she pointed to the outside of the cave.

"I get it I get it you want us to go," Lloyd grumbled, slowly standing. He coughed again, more seawater rising from his lungs. "We have to rescue. . . Zane or whatever."

Naomi nodded, glad at finally being understood. She was going to have to teach Lloyd sign language eventually. The communication barrier that stood between them was beginning to get on her last nerve.

You can't go so soon beautiful boy

Lloyd looked at the mermaids, his savior looking at him with sorrowful blue eyes. She swam closer towards him, placing her tender hand upon his leg. Lloyd bent down, a sudden desire to entwine his hand with hers nudging him forward. Her skin was soft, raising goose bumps along his arm. He didn't want to go.

You could stay with us. Forever. We love you.

"I could stay. . ." The green ninja felt a tug on his shirt and he turned, Naomi's frustrated eyes reminding him of what had to be done. He shook his head. He had to save Zane. "But I can't. Someone needs my help."

The mermaid's features darkened. She was no longer beautiful. Her eyes were flooded by darkness, and her perfect teeth turned into crooked fangs. The illusion was broken.

You will stay! Forever!

"No!" Lloyd tried to pull back but the mermaid's grip was too strong. The others were helping her now, trying to pull Lloyd straight into the water. Trying to drown him. But something held him.

The green ninja turned, spotting Naomi, who had taken hold of his other hand and was pulling him back with all the weight of her body. Lloyd leaned back too, and the mermaid's grip finally slipped. The two of them fell , backs slamming against the cave's floor. The mermaids hissed, clawing at each other while trying to reach Lloyd. The young man shook his head, getting to his feet along with Naomi.

They ran out of the cave.

Back in his ship, Dillon watched everything from a small crystal ball that rested above the palm of his hand. As the two kids ran out of the cave, Dillon scowled, closing his fist around the ball, crushing it beneath his fingers. Blood ran down the sides of his closed hand, but Dillon didn't seem at all bothered by it.

He shook away the broken glass, turning to face Zane. "That little buddy of yours is lucky you know. If it hadn't been for that girl, he would have fallen prey to the mermaids. But no, no. The girl had to be there. Remind him of what the right thing to do is. And she doesn't even have a voice!"

Dillon shook his head, pacing back and forth. Zane watched the man, surprised at how quickly Dillon's annoyance turned into amusement. He ripped a bit of fabric from Zane's suit, absent mindedly wrapping it around his wounds.

"You know, actually, this is just fine." Dillon laughed. "Yeah! I do like a good challenge don't I? I suppose it would have been boring if the mermaids had so easily taken care of Lloyd. This way, I get to play around a little longer. New toys don't come around too often. And they tend to break so easily. . ."

"But this little boy is different," He rummaged through the room's cabinets, finally pulling out a small jar. Within it, sat a small faerie. Her hair was short and spiked, tinted a light shade of yellow. The faerie looked up at Dillon, her eyes a brilliant shade of crimson. "He's a bit reluctant to be destroyed. No matter no matter. I always find a way. Something's bound to break him. Until then, the spell of Neverland will keep him from doing anything important."

"Now Zane! Here's a bit of a trivia for you, my robotic friend." Dillon walked closer towards the nindroid, holding the jar up to his icy blue eyes. "Where do faeries come from?"

Zane stayed silent.

"You're such a terrible prisoner you know that? You have no manners. At all." The grey eyed man shook his head. "Faeries are born from the first time a baby decides to laugh. From there, their laughter travels here, to Neverland, where they are given a body. Well, that's usually the case at least."

"But I've learned to do something very special." Dillon's eyes were wide with excitement now. "If you trap the laughter before it reaches Neverland, and you give it a body from darkness instead of light. . . "

Dillon opened the lid of the jar, allowing the small crimson eyes faerie to flutter out towards freedom. It circled around Dillon's head for a couple of seconds, until finally resting on the tip of his finger.

"Then you get an demon,"

Zane looked at the faerie. She turned towards him as well, a mild curiosity in her eyes. Then the fairy smiled, and Zane jolted back. Instead of tiny little teeth, the demon faerie had a rows of sharpened fangs.

"They're vicious little creatures." Dillon smiled. "And they're extremely possessive. Once they find someone they like, they'll do anything to keep him or her to themselves. "

"Now," Dillon walked towards the window, releasing the small demon into Neverland's skies. "Now we wait. Soon enough she'll find your little blonde haired friend. And then the stupid little girl who decided to walk into my playground will get ripped to shreds."