Chapter 22: The Boy Who Would Never Grow Up

"So what do we have here?"

The boy, the one who had to be Peter Pan, hovered in the air above the jungle clearing with his arms crossed. He didn't look ready to attack, but his companion – the girl, Tiger Lily – already had her bow primed and another arrow aimed. And there were the kids too, but some toddlers in pajamas wouldn't be a threat even if some of them were armed with clubs.

"Intruders," snapped Tiger Lily. "Pirates!" Short and to the point. She reminded him of Fuu.

But despite that almost familiar way of speech, Roxas bit his tongue before snapping back at her. Backs against a tree, Keyblades out, stolen bag of glow-in-the-dark blue sand tied to Xion's belt. And oh yeah, let's not forget the little pirate costumes. Between their Keyblades and Tiger Lily's bow, it was like an Old West standoff without the Old West. They couldn't look more suspicious if they tried. Besides, they were guilty – as guilty as you could be when stealing back stolen goods, anyway.

…If that's what's really going on, Roxas thought, his mind going back to the childlike interior of Hangman's Tree.

Pan leaned forward in the air and cupped his chin while narrowing his eyes. His gaze was focused on Roxas in particular. "Well, they sure dress the part, but I haven't seen 'em with Hook before. And...besides…"

As Pan trailed off, a child dressed like a bear spoke up. "Uhh, maybe they're part of the Pirate Queen's crew!"

"Yeah, or with the pixie crew!" offered the synchronized voices of a pair twins in raccoon pajamas.

Roxas groaned under his breath before lowering his Keyblade ever so slightly; not entirely, but enough to show them he was trying to be nonthreatening. "Listen, we don't want to fight. I have some questions–" He took a step forward, but…

Fwick!

Tiger Lily's arrow narrowly avoided piercing him in the leg, landing in the grass beside him instead. But it didn't miss, that was very clearly intentional. A warning shot.

"Don't move." Another arrow was already nocked and aimed.

Roxas grit his teeth and looked from Tiger Lily to Pan. He had stood – er, floated – straight up again, with his arms crossed over his chest. And the possibility of Tiger Lily nearly skewering the two of them, depriving Pan of getting any answers, didn't seem to bother him one bit.

With some hesitation, Roxas lowered his hand completely to his side and then dismissed his Keyblade. Once more he stepped forward–

Fwi–BLAM!

Tiger Lily had launched the next arrow, but it was intercepted, shot out of the sky by Xion. And not with magic, either. Her Keyblade had been replaced with a pistol, the barrel of which was still smoking. Roxas did a double-take at the sight. When had she gotten that? Had she replicated it back on the pirates' island? Well wherever she had gotten it from, Pan and his crew recognized what it was just as much as Roxas did. Immediately the children were in an uproar.

"Xion?!" was all Roxas was able to croak out. Now any chance of talking this out was shot – no pun intended!

Xion bit her lip and looked to the side, but didn't lower the pistol. "Sorry, but I wasn't about to let you get shot." Her voice was apologetic, but quiet under the children's surprise and, strangely, excitement.

"That's a pirate's gun!"

"Wow, that was so cool!"

"Quiet!" Tiger Lily snapped, and the children complied immediately. She leaped down from the tree and marched up to Pan, keeping her eye on Roxas and Xion the entire time. Pan lowered down beside her. "All the proof we need, Peter."

Pan lowered to the ground and cupped his chin once again. Xion kept the pistol leveled at them, but her hand was shaking now. But even with Xion's obvious nervousness, Tiger Lily still recognized her as a threat and was already reaching for another arrow from her quiver. Pan, though, looked confused about something. "That's definitely a pirate's pistol, alright. But…"

As Tiger Lily nocked another arrow and prepared to fire, Pan held up his hand in front of her. She blinked once in confusion and then slowly lowered her bow. "Peter?"

Rather than address her, Pan turned his attention from Xion to Roxas. He shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing all dressed up as a pirate, Ven?"

What.

What?

"…What did you just call me?" Roxas asked, absolutely dumbfounded. Did he just say Ven? Peter Pan knew Ven? Beside him Xion suddenly started cracking up in nervous laughter. And he couldn't blame her! This was so absurd. Here they were worried they were about to get gutted by a dagger or become a pincushion of arrows, and suddenly Hook's enemy calls him Ven?

"I gotta say, Ven, I sure didn't expect you to pop up again after all this time. And as part of Hook's crew of all things? Well, I assume Hook's anyway. The Pirate Queen only has those weird husks with her, and the pixies wouldn't have guns that size."

As Pan continued to ramble on, Tiger Lily looked at him with a dumbfounded expression that perfectly matched how Roxas felt. "You know him?"

"Why, sure! Ven helped me and some of the Lost Boys find some of Hook's buried treasure a long time ago." He looked back over his shoulder at the crowd of kids. "Remember men?"

A boy in fox pajamas gasped. "Hey, that's right!"

"But what I don't understand is why you're part of his crew now, Ven?"

By now Xion's laughter had died down. She shook her head. "Sorry, but we kind of have a misunderstanding here. My name is Xion, and this isn't Ven. He's–"

A jingling chime rang out through the forest. Interrupted yet again, huh? But wait, why was that sound so familiar to Roxas? From within the trees came a small golden light that darted over the heads of the children, leaving golden dust behind it as it flew. It approached Pan and circled above his head. "Oh, hey there, Tink! I see you finally caught up. And look who's come to visit! Ven's finally back!"

The light paused its circling for a moment before it turned on a dime and shot over to Roxas, getting right up in his face. Xion jumped aside in surprise as the light obscuring the little creature faded just enough for them to finally make out the figure beneath.

Roxas gasped. "Hey, it's you!"

"Wait, you who?" Xion asked.

Roxas laughed as the little pixie swirled around him happily. "Xion, I met this girl when I came here before. She's the one I told you about who would help me fly!" He laughed, but then after only a moment, frowned. "Wait, you're a good person, so then what are you doing with…?"

Trailing off as realization dawned on him, Roxas looked over to Xion. She had clearly already put it together in her head, too. Just like they'd talked about inside Hangman's Tree, evidently things weren't as Hook had made them seem. Pan knowing Ven and Roxas's fairy friend being on Pan's side were the final nails in that coffin.

Leaving Roxas behind, the pixie turned back to Pan and began 'speaking' to him. What followed was a conversation that for Roxas and Xion was completely unintelligible, with one side only making jingling bell noises and the other only chiming in with the occasional "uh huh" or "really?". After a few back-and-forths of that, Peter Pan gasped and swiped at the pixie. "What?! Why didn't you say something about that sooner, Tink?!"

Clearly irritated at being out of the loop, Tiger Lily tugged on Pan's arm. "Peter, what did Tinker Bell say?"

"She says Ven came to Neverland a few months ago, too. And he even helped save her from Hook back then." Pan turned back to Roxas and Xion. "But if you were in the area, why didn't you visit? And are you ever gonna explain why you're dressed as pirates?"

Tinker Bell's eyes bulged out at that question, and she turned to look at Roxas and Xion in a new light. Had she really not noticed? As she looked Roxas and Xion up and down, taking in their appearance, she froze when she caught sight of the sack hanging at Xion's waist. Literally froze – she was so shocked that her wings stopped flapping for a moment and she fell about a foot before catching herself.

Uh oh.

To the surprise of both Peter Pan and Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell darted at Xion. Xion tried to jump back and avoid the tiny pixie flying right toward her, but she still had her back pressed up against the tree from the earlier confrontation. Cornered, she was unable to avoid Tinker Bell as the pixie unleashed her wrath…tugging violently at a few locks of Xion's hair.

"Ow! Hey! Cut it out!" Xion cried, swatting at Tinker Bell as if she were a buzzing fly.

Now it was Pan's turn to shoot forward. He grabbed Tinker Bell by the waist and tugged at her, but with Tink's iron grip on Xion's hair, Pan pulling just hurt the poor girl more. "Tinker Bell, what's gotten into you?! Stop! That's Ven's friend, Tink!"

"We're trying to tell you, I'm not– Oh this isn't the time for this!" Roxas hurried over to Xion's side as well, desperately trying to untangle Tink from her hair. It was an absolute mess as the three of them all tumbled over each other to get Tinker Bell to let go, with Tiger Lily and the Lost Boys looked on in silent fascination at the sight, like watching a train wreck.

As Pan, Roxas, and Xion's arms all entangled with each other trying to get rid of Tinker Bell, and with Xion crying out as her hair was tugged this way and that, it didn't take long for her to lose her balance. With one last yelp of pain Xion's feet slipped out from under her and she crashed into Roxas, knocking both to the ground in a pile. Pan yelled out in triumph as he pulled back into the air with the struggling Tinker Bell tightly in his grasp, then looked to the tangled mess in front of him and gasped as his eyes locked onto a certain something in particular.

"Hey, that's ours! Ven, are you trying to steal from us?"

"Ow…" Lying flat on top of Roxas, Xion muttered in pain while rubbing her scalp. Then, belatedly realizing what Pan had said, she gasped and desperately tried to cover the stolen sack with her hands. Not that it meant much at this point anyway.

"Alright, that's enough." Roxas grumbled. He pushed himself up onto his feet, causing Xion to tumble off of his back with another surprised yelp. After climbing to his feet he held out a hand to help Xion up, who was now holding Pan's treasure in her hands with an ashamed blush creeping up on her face. Roxas "Peter Pan, right? I think introductions are in order."

Tilting his head in confusion, Pan settled back down onto the grass beside Tiger Lily. Tinker Bell slipped out of his grasp and parked herself on top of his hat.

"I know I look like him, but I'm not Ventus. My name is Roxas. And this is my friend Xion."

"Not Ven? Well I guess you do come across as a bit gruffer than him, but that sure is weird. Are you his twin brother?"

Xion let out a nervous laugh. "He's not. Trust us, it's a long story. But we are friends of Ven's."

Pan broke into a wide smile. "Well whatever the story is, a friend of Ven's is a friend of mine! I'm Peter Pan. This is Tinker Bell, Tiger Lily, and the Lost Boys." After gesturing to each of them in turn, his brow furrowed. "But if you're friends, then why are you stealing our things?"

"That's…"

"Um…"

Xion and Roxas started to speak at the same time, before Tiger Lily held up a hand. "Not here. Better not to be in the open. Men, let's go in."

Pan frowned. "Tiger Lily, you know I give the orders around here–"

"C'mon, men! Like the commander said!"

The pitter-patter of little feet sounded across the clearing as all of the Lost Boys hurried past the older kids in a blur of colors, pulling on Hangman's Tree's vines and opening the any round doors into their hideout. As Pan stared after the last of the kids and Tink shook her fist at Tiger Lily, the archer gave the so-called leader of the Lost Boys a half-smile and slipped into Hangman's Tree as well.

Pan sighed. "Okay, I guess we'll continue inside."

x-x-x

Tiger Lily pulled back the bear skin rug hanging over the doorway, watching the Lost Boys as they all settled into their many makeshift beds. She let the rug fall back into place, putting the back room into a darkness illuminated by the twin glows of Tinker Bell and the stolen-and-returned sack that now sat in an open treasure chest.

Peter Pan fell back into that wood and animal hide chair that Roxas and Xion had seen earlier and crossed his arms. Tiger Lily moved beside him, and then Tink let out a silent huff and shoved her away as best she could before settling down on Peter's shoulder.

"Okay, let's try this again," Peter said, leaning forward with one hand on his knee. With the pose plus the dim light he almost looked like a crime boss. "You're not Ventus, you're Roxas, and this is your friend Xion. Now why were you trying to take our things, again?"

Xion rubbed her arm while Roxas scratched the back of his head. Boy, where to even begin? "Well, you're right about us working for Captain Hook," Roxas began to explain. When Tiger Lily raised an eyebrow, he hastily continued, "But the situation isn't as simple as just being part of his crew."

"We're looking for something," Xion added. "Hook promised to help us find it if we took back his treasure from you."

Roxas and Xion expected some outrage at that. And while Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell certainly didn't look pleased, to the surprise of not only the two Keyblade wielders but even Peter's own companions the leader of the Lost Boys suddenly burst into laughter.

"I took his treasure?" Peter repeated with a ridiculous grin on his place. He wrapped his arms around his belly and continued to laugh. "That sure is a hoot! Age must have finally caught up to him, he's going senile!"

The reaction wasn't really a surprise at this point, but Roxas and Xion couldn't help but look at each other with dread as Peter continued to laugh as if someone had just told the most hilarious joke in the world. It was clear by now that the impression Captain Hook and the rest of the crew had given them about Peter was far from the truth. Maybe he was a bit odd, but at his heart Peter Pan was just an immature kid, not some coldblooded monster who'd cut off a man's hand and feed it to a crocodile.

Eventually, Peter's laughter quieted down. He slumped forward with his hands on his knees. "Well anyway, it's probably true that Hook would keep his promise and help you find what you're looking for. If you brought the treasure to him, I mean. We're both men of our words in that way."

Roxas didn't fail to notice Tinker Bell roll her eyes at that, and Tiger Lily muttered under her breath, "Stick to the word maybe, but not the spirit."

"But the treasure isn't his to take in the first place. It belongs to us, and he's been trying to get it for a while."

"I think we've kind of figured that out by now," Xion said with a glance at the soft blue glow of the sack. "But even if you really think Hook will keep his word, I'm guessing it's too much for us to ask to have the treasure anyway?"

Peter lifted his cap slightly and scratched the top of his head. "Tiger Lily's right: he'd stick to the letter of his promise, but not the spirit of it. Oh he'd help you find what you're looking for all right, but who knows what he'd do to you after? Probably shoot you and throw you overboard before taking it for himself."

A pit was beginning to form in Roxas's gut now. How much had he underestimated the type of person Hook was? Sure he had known he was a pirate, but he had seemed so bumbling whenever Roxas would come by on missions for the Organization. "He'd really do that?"

As if someone flipped a switch on him, Peter swapped from jovial to deadly serious in a moment. "Listen to me. Captain Hook may be a goofy old codfish, but he's still a bad guy. A dangerous bad guy. He can and will hurt people to get what he wants. He's planted a bomb in Hangman's Tree and tried to drown Tiger Lily, just for a start."

The bit in Roxas's gut immediately opened into a full-blown crevasse as he felt the blood drain from his face. Joining this crew had been his idea, and Xion had warned him about it too. He'd led them right into a team up with a man who'd go as far as murder. At least it wasn't a magical binding like Hades had been, but he should have been more aware. He should have been able to recognize someone so unhinged after dealing with Xemnas for so long.

"Damn it…" Roxas hissed to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut banged his clenched fist against his forehead. Stupid! Stupid! And after they'd just finished their big talk with Lea, too. Now Xion was at risk a second time, and–

Xion's fingers slipped between his. She gently pulled his hand away from his forehead. "Roxas, stop beating yourself up over this. We're fine." Roxas opened his eyes to see her looking right at him, her soft features illuminated by the light of Tinker Bell's glow. "Now we know what he's like. We learned before anything happened, which means it's not going to be a repeat of Olympus. We're going to keep each other safe this time."

As she spoke, it was like the pit was being filled. Roxas let out a breath and put his free hand over hers, so he was holding onto her with both. "Yeah. You're right. Sorry Xion, I overreacted."

She shook her head. "Not at all. I understand the worry."

"Sheesh, and sometimes they say I'm dramatic." Looking away from his friend, Roxas now saw Peter back in 'goof mode' and lounging in his seat. Tiger Lily was looking away with an awkward flushing on her cheeks, while Tink was giving her a death glare.

Roxas chuckled and put his hands on his hips. "After that laughing fit? We've just met and I can definitely say they're right about that."

"What good is a life without laughter? It's better than being melancholy all day, which is why I pull pranks on Hook all the time." Peter's own words suddenly brought him to a pause, and after a moment he broke into a wide grin. "Hey, that gives me an idea!" He leaned over the side of his seat.

Tiger Lily turned to him. "Peter?"

Peter was reaching for the sack, just sitting there unguarded in the open treasure chest. And Tinker Bell, well, she didn't like that one bit. With an enraged expression that mirrored the one she'd worn when seeing Xion with the treasure outside, Tink charged at Peter and began to tug at his sleeve to pull his hand away.

"Hey Tink, what're ya doing?! Come on, let go of me!" Peter swatted at Tinker Bell, but she just moved from one sleeve to the other. "Tink, I swear, I'm just trying to mess with Hook a little! This stuff isn't even that big a deal anyway, is it?" Tinker Bell paused and gasped at those words before continuing her fight to keep Peter away from whatever it was that was even in the sack. And all the while, all Roxas, Xion, and Tiger Lily could do was watch in baffled fascination. Boy, what a weird sight this was.

Eventually Peter won their game of keep-away, as he grabbed Tink in one hand, nabbed the sack in the other, then tossed Tink into the empty chest and slammed it shut on her. Angry bells chimed from inside, but someone so little couldn't open it on her own. Roxas wanted to ask if that was too cruel, but Tiger Lily didn't even bat an eye at it. Maybe this was normal for them? Peter certainly moved on as if the whole exchange hadn't happened.

Peter stood up and lifted up from his chair, hovering just above it as he held the glowing sack up triumphantly. "I can never resist messing with that old codfish, and this whole conversation has given me a great new way to have some fun with it!" He tossed the sack Roxas's way, and having not expected that, Roxas fumbled to catch it.

Roxas stared at the sack, at the blue glow seeping through the worn fabric, and then looked back up at Peter with a baffled expression. "Wait, you're just giving this to us? After all the warnings?"

Peter pressed a finger to the side of his nose and winked. "Why sure! You two are gonna be a key part of this game after all. And besides, I do want to help you find what you're looking for. Any friends of Ventus are friends of mine."

Roxas looked down at the treasure again, quiet. Gosh, he didn't know what to say. Beside him, Xion spoke up. "So we're just going to give this to Hook after all? But I thought you said he'd betray us after helping."

"Oh, he will – but not if we betray him first!"

As Peter began to talk, Tinker Bell's chest prison stopped shaking. Her yellow glow grew brighter as she poked her head out of the keyhole, followed by her arms, all the while glaring daggers at Peter. But she only got as far as her waist before getting caught on something. Shifting her irritated look from Peter to the keyhole, Tink pressed against it again and again trying to fit her rear end through. After repeated failures to fit herself through the small opening, Tinker Bell slumped in disappointment, her upper body dangling uselessly from the keyhole.

"Tink, what're ya doing? Come on, I need your help!" With one finger Peter shoved Tinker Bell back inside the chest, then opened the lid to allow her to fly out. "Okay Tink, I need you to do me a favor! I need you to go to Pixie Hollow and tell those three pirate friends of yours that Hook's new crewmates are about to give him some real great treasure. And then when Hook collects it their crew will come to take it, and we'll surprise him with a big ol' sea battle!"

Tiger Lily buried her face in her hands, Xion gasped, and Roxas felt his jaw drop.

"That's your plan?!" Xion managed to choke out.

Roxas shook his head. "Peter, what happened to Hook being dangerous? If the other crew arrives too late, then–"

"Don't worry about it! Tink's pirate friends are super-focused treasure hunters, so they'll probably arrive early if anything. Besides, doesn't a ship-to-ship fight at sea sound great?"

Roxas bit his tongue. Okay, yeah, it kind of did. If they weren't going to get a full pirate adventure out of this, he at least would like a naval battle. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Sure I'm sure! We just need Tink to go and alert the pixie pirates. Once they catch a whiff of treasure, they'll be on Hook like that," Peter emphasized his point with a snap. "So what are ya waiting for Tink? Off you go!"

But Tinker Bell didn't budge.

"Tink?"

In fact, she turned away from Peter. Arms crossed and eyes clothes and everything. Roxas didn't need to be able to understand her to know she hated this plan. He just wasn't clear on why.

"Tink, come on! What's the problem?" Tinker Bell jingled something aggressively at Peter, and his brow furrowed. "It's not like this stuff is irreplaceable you know. It's not even really a treasure to me, it's just been taking up space." Jingle jingle. "I know it's special to you, but it's the only way this plan will work!" Jingle. "Well I don't want to think of a different plan because this one sounds like a lot of fun!"

Exasperated, Tinker Bell leaned her head back and buried her face in her hands. Roxas let out a breath. "Tink?" She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what this treasure is, but I can promise you that what Xion and I need to use it for is super important. It's the reason we came to Neverland in the first place, and if something goes wrong, well, you can take it all out on me. Okay?"

Tink stared at him for a long while…before visibly groaning, even if no sound came out of her mouth. Her shoulders slumped, but then she straightened out and gave a salute to Roxas – and notably not to Peter.

Peter grumbled at that, but nonetheless puffed his chest out and put his hand on his hips. "Alright, then we have a plan! You two will give Hook 'his' treasure, and Tink will alert the pixie pirate crew about it. In exchange for giving you the treasure, Hook will lead you to what you're after. And after finding it, before he can betray you, we ambush him with a rival pirate crew for an awesome battle at sea! It'll be a fight to remember!"

"Since I have the sack, here's Hook's map." Roxas pulled the parchment out of his pirate's coat and handed it to Xion before securing the sack to his belt.

Xion unfurled it and showed it to Peter. "Hook said he'll meet us at Mermaid Lagoon."

Peter cupped his chin as he examined the map. "Alright then. Tink, you heard her. Tell the crew that Mermaid Lagoon is where we'll start following Hook before we ambush him at the end of his trail!"

Tiger Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. "You and your games, Peter… I'll tell the Lost Boys about all of this." She slipped out the door behind the bear skin rug, back into the main room of the hideout. Before the rug fell back into place Tinker Bell darted out too, on her way to Pixie Hollow.

"And we can count on this crew to listen to what Tink has to say?" Xion asked.

"Of course! Tink is really respected back at Pixie Hollow. She's had her own share of adventures fixing their problems, you know."

"Cool. Then um… I do have one more question before we go, Peter." Xion awkwardly scratched her cheek. "I don't know how to word this exactly, but, um… Did you…really feed Hook's hand to a crocodile?"

"Sure did!"

Xion and Roxas both stared. He just blurted it out like that? Proudly, even?

Peter blinked. "Why the odd looks?"

"You don't…think that's kind of cruel?" Roxas asked.

Peter crossed his arms and tilted his head, a genuinely confused expression on his face. "Should I?"

What the heck was wrong with everyone in this world? "…Never mind. Xion, you ready to go?"

"Uh. Yeah. Okay Peter, see you later!"

x-x-x

The sun was beginning to set as Roxas and Xion made their way through the jungle and toward Mermaid Lagoon, the sack containing 'Hook's stolen treasure' tied firmly to Roxas's belt. The dense foliage never quite disappeared, but it did gradually fade away in favor of a rockier environment as the smell of the salty ocean breeze reached their noses. Soon enough Roxas and Xion stood on a cliff overlooking a natural harbor with various rock formations sticking out of the water. They didn't see any mermaids, but a glance at the map in Xion's hand confirmed it had to be Mermaid Lagoon.

Xion used her hands to shade her eyes while she scanned the horizon. "You see the Jolly Roger anywhere?" Roxas asked.

Xion squinted and slowly turned, taking in the horizon from every angle, then stopped and stretched her neck a little further out. "Maybe? I see…something…" She gasped and spun on her heel. "Roxas, look out!"

That was all the warning Roxas got before Xion tackled him to the ground and then an explosion sent the two of them flying and crashing into the cliffside. Smoke filled their vision, heat scorched their skin. Roxas coughed violently, while Xion, lying at his side with one arm still over him from when she had tackled him, hissed under her breath and cast Cure on a burn that had scorched her leg.

"Roxas…" Though the smoke was clearing, Xion still coughed. "Are you okay?"

"I…think so." Roxas coughed and rubbed at his eyes with his forearm. His ears were ringing from the explosion and the smoke had filled his vision with tears, so even with the area clear his vision still hadn't quite cleared up yet. He looked as best he could out at the lagoon, and as he blinked away the tears he slowly caught sight of their attacker – not in the lagoon, but above it.

"Is...that ship flying?!"

As bizarre a sight as it was, that was what Roxas and Xion were looking at without a doubt. It was a full-sized galleon, but it wasn't the Jolly Roger. Though it was red like Captain Hook's ship, that was where the similarities ended; and even then, it was a much more vibrant shade of red than Hook's was. The sails were a blue that would have blended in with the midday sky, and the flag atop the ship's mast featured a stylized seagull, with one wing stretching up toward the sky. But most striking of all was the way the ship glowed. A golden aura seemed to surround it, and golden dust fell from it as it hovered above Mermaid Lagoon. The similarities to the dust that Tinker Bell had used to make Roxas fly before were undeniable.

Three cannons peeking out along the ship's hull aimed at Roxas and Xion, but this time they were ready for it. As cannon balls were launched their way for the second time, the two swiftly called on their Keyblades and cast Fire together. Three Keyblades, three Fire spells, the flames hit each cannon ball and they exploded in midair, well away from Roxas and Xion.

"Who are they?" Roxas asked.

Xion shook her head. "I have no idea."

As if it had somehow heard them, a girl's voice called out from the ship, amplified by some sort of magic. "Who are we?!"

The ship begin to turn in the air, so that instead of the hull facing Roxas and Xion it was the bow pointed toward them instead. From here they got a good look at the ship's figurehead, a wooden seagull carving that resembled the one on the flag. But their attention quickly moved above the figurehead, to the point where the ship's bow and deck met. Three spotlights lit up on the deck, stretching high into the twilight sky: one pink, one purple, and one yellow.

"We're only the best pirate crew in all of Neverland, of course!" In a flash, a little pixie appeared in the yellow spotlight and struck a pose.

"We heard you had some treasure, so cough it up." Another flash, and another pixie appeared in the purple spotlight with her arms crossed.

"Oh, sorry. We haven't introduced ourselves." One more flash, one more pixie. Between the two others, in the pink spotlight, the girl who had spoken earlier appeared and winked at them. The other two flew over to her side and they all posed together, as if they got a kick out of putting on a show.

"Neverland's premiere treasure-hunting pixies! The Gullwings have arrived!"

The ending of this chapter is something I've been looking forward to for a long time, and it was a ton of fun to write. The Gullwings being from Neverland is an idea I've wanted to do ever since my previous story, Remember the Tides. I'm glad I finally found a place to fit it in.

How did you all enjoy Re Mind? KH3 was already in competition for my favorite game ever before, but the DLC put it firmly in that spot. But boy does the secret ending have me all sorts of confused. I feel like we're back in the pre-BBS days when no one understood KH2's secret ending – I love it!