sultal's note: Um yeah, HUGE enormous round of applause for my editor for this chapter Ladyanne23. Go check out her story "The Never Beginnings" if you are in the mood for really expert writing.

Also - I've got 2 huge stories down the pipe-line. I am going to post a writing schedule on my profile soon to keep all of you updated, because time is running out dudes. Will keep you notified.

keep writing.

Chapter 25: No Escape

"Lock up the humans. Throw them into the whale."

The merman hoisted Peter overhead. Peter wriggled and punched, trying to break free. The anger he had felt against Wendy and Brine turned to blind rage as the mer retaliated, preventing his escape. Furiously Peter fought, unconcerned to the approaching danger.

Suddenly Wendy cried. He voice was pitched and desperate. "Peter! Oh Peter behind you!"

Peter stopped. Automatically he twisted, looking for Wendy. But as he turned, a giant whale blocked his view. Peter shouted as the merman pushed him towards the whale's opening jaws.

"No!" Wendy struggled against the mer, begging them to stop. "Please don't hurt him! He hasn't done anything wrong! He was only trying to save me! Please – ask Brine! Prince Brine will tell you – "

"—NO!" Peter screamed. He clamped both hands over his ears. "STOP! STOP TALKING! NO MORE! NO MORE! IT HURTS! JUST STOP!"

Even the mer jumped. Startled by the reaction they stared as Peter raised bloodcurdling screams. The effort was taxing but Peter could not stop. When Wendy said Brine's name, it was as if dynamite had burst in each lung and exploded up his throat.

"Throw him in!" The mer urged, unnerved by Peter's screaming. "Throw him into the whale! Throw him in!"

Peter jolted as the merman covered his mouth and lifted him high. Then, they threw him into the whale's mouth.

Peter spun as the whale yawned, sucking him inside. It was slimy and dark, and Peter lost all sense of direction. Writhing, he slid helplessly down the whale's gullet.

Suddenly the whale burped. Peter gagged, but the force sent him tumbling from the whale's mouth, along with giant, slimy bubbles.

The bubbles surrounded Peter, bumping and bouncing in an effervescent storm. Peter floundered. Then one bubble landed on his shoulders. Peter lurched. The pressure inside the bubble acted like a suction, and Peter felt himself sinking inside. It was like quicksand; the faster he moved, the faster the bubble phagocytized his fins, tail, arms, and face.

"Peter!"

Peter gasped, trying to turn. But it was futile. The bubble swallowed him whole. And the last thing Peter saw before being sucked in, was Wendy.

The bubble froze as Peter passed into it, capturing him in a pressurized air pocket. The transition from water to air was abrupt. His mer form was unprepared for the change. After all, it had never occurred to Peter – a creature of the sky – that mer live in water. For a mer, being on land was…well…like being a fish out of water.

It hurt. The dryness of the air stung Peter's eyes and clouded his vision. His scales hardened to brittle points and felt like needles in his skin. Peter gasped. He cringed as air passed through his gills like fire.

Peter hacked. Panic hit him like a bullet and rebounded in the enclosed space, making Peter insane with fear. He clawed the bubble, trying to speak, trying to breathe, trying to escape. He had to escape! He had to be free! He had to break out into the cool waters, slay his captors, and rescue –

"Wendy."

Peter stopped fighting. Horrified, he pressed an ear to the bubble wall, listening. Nothing. All sounds were muted. Peter closed his eyes, concentrating. But the second he did, Peter thought of Wendy.

The mer would imprison her too. They would force her into a bubble, just like this one. Peter shook his head. He knew Wendy. He knew her better than his shadow, and he could imagine her now. Trapped in a bubble. Suffocating. Hurting. Wishing…wishing…

Peter froze. An unhappy thought, so paralyzing it numbed the physical pain, penetrated his mind.

Wendy would wish for Brine.

Peter stopped breathing. He felt weak. He felt lifeless. Peter tried to exhale. It came in broken breaths. Recoiling, he slid down the smooth crystal surface.

For a quiet moment Peter lay, curled in a ball and hands over his heart.

Then the feelings attacked.

Peter Pan had seen many terrible things. He had seen dreams broken. He had seen stars ripped in two. He had seen ships lost at sea. He had seen birds unable to fly. He had seen fairy lights go out. And he had seen wonderment die when children grow up.

But the most terrible thing Peter Pan had ever seen was the way Wendy looked at Brine. When she was happy. When she was sad. When she was safe. When she was scared.

The way Wendy use to look…when she looked at him.

Peter touched his chest. It ached. Feelings he could not identify and did not understand bled from his heart. Wendy was all he thought of, asleep or awake. When she was near him, he felt brave and afraid all at once. With her touch, Peter could crumple to the earth or fly over the stars. And when she was not with him, Peter wished for her company and longed for her safety. He wanted Wendy near him. Always. He did not know why, it was inexplicable. Peter only knew that when they were together, his life was all right.

But…when Wendy looked at Brine, she stirred agonizing feelings inside him. Peter squeezed his chest. The feelings exhausted him. The feelings confused him. The feelings made him crave Wendy. And that terrified Peter.

However, when Peter saw the way Brine looked at Wendy.

Peter felt a tear, hot on his cheek.

Brine wanted Wendy. 'Want' was the wrong word, and Peter knew a stronger one existed, but he did not know what it was, or what it could possibly mean. What he did know was that Brine wanted Wendy for himself. He wanted to steal her from Neverland. He wanted to take Wendy away. Forever.

And…Wendy…Wendy wanted to leave. She wanted to leave Neverland. She wanted to leave their adventures. She wanted to leave their stories. She wanted to leave him. She wanted to leave Peter Pan.

"No. No!" Peter's hands trembled violently over his chest. He squeezed, trying to stop the unbearable pain. "No – what –what is this? These unhappy thoughts? These – these – feelings?"

The unhappy thoughts slaughtered Peter. They burned up his compassion, diseased him with jealously, and exhumed his fears.

Peter had tried to fight it. But unlike Captain Hook, Peter's feelings were nameless enemies that could not be defeated with strength, weapons, or flying tricks.

So Peter had lashed out. Terrified of the feelings and mindless with misunderstanding, he had blamed Wendy…and her mysterious affections for Brine.

And now he was losing Wendy.

And Peter did not know how to stop it. He couldn't stop it anymore than he could stop his feelings.

"Tell me!" Peter screamed. "Tell me what is this? Please! Why does it hurt? Why is there pain? What is happening? What is happening to me?" Peter's screams broke apart into sobs. And the sobs formed into one word. "Wendy! Wendy! Wendy!"

Wendy could not hear Peter.

But, Brine, waiting for the guards to leave, did.