Chapter 23: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust
Far out in the Never Seas, with no land visible for miles around, a thunderstorm raged over the open ocean. Waves crashed and rolled down below, while up above black clouds rumbled and lightning flashed. The rain fell so hard that it hurt. But at the center of it all, an otherworldly ship sat utterly still despite the tumultuous ocean. It was unaffected by the storm; in fact, it commanded it.
The crew moved across the deck, but it was no ordinary group of men – they had been ordinary once, but not anymore. An otherworldly ship called for an otherworldly crew, after all, and what could be more otherworldly than Nobodies? Dusks and Creepers moved this way and that across the deck, wordlessly ordered around by Ninjas as they adjusted sails and checking the navigation. At the helm of the ship, beside the Dancer which tightly gripped the wheel, was a figure in that telltale black coat.
It was a coat with bad memories that she wanted to be rid of, but with no Keyblade Armor or clothing made by those goody two-shoes fairies, there wasn't any other option to keep safe while using the corridors of darkness. She was slender beneath that coat, some would even go as far as to say dainty – though anyone who did would soon find themselves skewered by throwing knives. Elrena may have gotten her heart back, but that didn't mean her temper had disappeared.
Elrena's vivid teal eyes scanned the cloudy horizon as the Nobody crew continued their work. The pirate ship had been Lauriam's idea; since pirate crews were so numerous in this world, no one would notice she was an offworlder, they'd see just another pirate. Only there's nothing "just another pirate" about a ship manned by empty husks, and soon enough rumors had started about a ghost ship captained by a Pirate Queen. Never one to turn down being called a queen, she'd added the storms as some flair. And as a bonus, it kept people away while she looked for the Keyhole.
It's not that she needed to find the Keyhole per se, but rather that she needed to intercept the two brats who would also be searching for it. That was Lauriam's plan: seven worlds needed to be put to sleep. The Flood of Light wasn't the only way that could happen, but Xehanort had triggered one anyway by pushing light to the brink, and so now Lauriam was taking advantage of that. But Roxas and Xion had interfered too many times to be let go. Elrena wasn't about to seriously hurt them – she wasn't heartless, and least not anymore – but that didn't mean they could be allowed to continue what they were doing. So she'd come to Neverland to make sure this time the Flood would succeed, and Lauriam's plan could continue.
Elrena but down on the tip of her thumb as that thought crossed her mind. Lauriam's plan.
Frankly, she wasn't sure how this sleeping world stuff worked, or even how Lauriam had learned of it in the first place. It must have been when they were with the seekers of darkness, but like Marluxia had said back then, Xehanort hadn't cared about them, he'd only wanted vessels for his darkness. So he probably wouldn't have gone around blabbing about the Flood to Marluxia.
How Lauriam learned about it didn't concern her as much as the possible consequences, though. She didn't know what would happen when Lauriam went to the Final World, but she knew the price that Sora had payed to save his friends from there – all of Xehanort's vessels had known of that. She didn't want the same thing to happen to him. She couldn't understand why he was so dead-set on a plan that seemed so suicidal, especially when she couldn't even remember the reason Lauriam insisted it was so important. For all his talk, Lauriam himself didn't even seem to really remember either. Their hearts had returned, but their memories were still a jumbled mess.
Despite her misgivings, Elrena couldn't help but let out a scoff. Worry was an almost alien concept to her. As Larxene all she had ever felt was spite, even if she told herself at the time that she was just imagining it. And she couldn't recall much of anything from before she lost her heart, so there wasn't a lot to go off of for emotions from back then. Now that she had feelings again, they were so new, so unfamiliar, especially worry. She hated it. And moreover, she hated that this plan made her feel it.
Oh well. None of it mattered anyway.
"Set sail for Neverland," Elrena commanded the Nobodies, her voice raising above the rumble of the storm. "Let's stop those kids before they reach the Keyhole."
If Lauriam wanted it, that was what mattered. She was really just along for the ride, after all.
x-x-x
Confetti rained down from the flying red ship as three spotlights raised up high into the orange sky. Roxas and Xion stood absolutely dumbfounded as they watched the tiny figures posing above the figurehead.
"Um, hello? Cat got your tongue?" The little yellow pixie broke formation from the other two and put her hands on her hips in a huff. "Oh wait, I get it! You're so starstruck that words have left you, right?!" Her voice was amplified by some sort of magic so Roxas and Xion could hear even as the ship hovered in the air.
"Uh…"
Three pixie pirates who had appeared out of nowhere… Were they the ones Peter had sent Tink to get? It certainly hadn't been what they'd expected!
The black-clad pixie let out a hmph. "If they're not gonna say something, then why waste time? Ready the cannons!" The ship rumbled beneath the Gullwings as it began to turn again, the starboard side slowly moving in position as cannons took aim at Roxas and Xion once more.
The brown-haired Gullwing, their apparent leader, gasped and grabbed her grumpy friend by the arm. "Paine, hold on, we can't just–"
"FIIIRRE!" The blonde cut her off with a shout.
Smoke and fire filled the air at Mermaid Lagoon as the first volley was launched. Her vision clouded and ears ringing, Xion felt Roxas grab her by the wrist and pull her aside before the earth beneath her erupted when a cannonball made contact. That had been close! "Thanks, Roxas."
Through the smoke she saw Roxas give a nod. "Keep on your feet, we can take a ship easy!"
Right, compared to some of the Heartless they'd fought this really wasn't a challenge – it was just a really weird sight. The blonde pixie continued to pump her fists in the air while shouting, the brunette was trying to calm her down, and the grey-haired one kept ordering round after round of cannon fire. If these were Tink's friends, then they were really getting off on the wrong foot!
They ran along the perimeter of the lagoon, explosions at their heels as the cannons fired again and again. Then the Gullwings started mixing it up: a cannon shot at where Roxas and Xion would be, instead of where they'd been. Xion spun out of the way and Roxas dodged with a roll, but then another blast in between the two of them sent them flying away from each other.
Roxas grit his teeth as he climbed back up to his feet. "Xion, cover for me!"
"Okay!" Xion responded without a second thought. Cover for him while he did what, though? The cannons fired again, and this time Xion took aim with her Keyblade. Blue-white light sparkled at the tip of Sign of Innocence.
"Freeze!"
Three Blizzard spells shot out in rapid succession and met the cannonballs head-on. The spell stopped their trajectory and froze them solid, and the exact moment they were frozen, the instant before they fell into the lagoon, Roxas tossed Oathkeeper at one. It pierced into the ice and Roxas vanished in a flurry of light before reappearing beside the falling, frozen cannonball, gripping tightly onto Oathkeeper's hilt and suspended in the air. Before hitting the water he threw Oblivion from this position and it pierced into the ship's hull, making the pixies jump in surprise. Once more Roxas broke into particles of light and warped to his thrown Keyblade, then pulled it free of the ship and flipped up onto the deck.
"W-W-What are you doing here?!" the blonde shouted. She dashed behind the one they'd heard be called Paine earlier, who with a brief burst of light brandished a pixie-sized sword in her hand. She held it with both hands, but to Roxas it may as well have been a twig
"Stop hiding. Rikku, Yuna, we can take him!"
"Wait, why are we fighting?"
Yuna's question was drowned out by Riku's- er, Rikku's cheerful shout, as twin points of light flashed in her tiny hands and formed into twin red daggers. "The treasure's mine!"
Rikku charged forward – not at Roxas, but at the sack hanging from his belt. Roxas sidestepped, a simple motion but enough for the tiny pixie to miss her mark completely. Unfortunately with his focus on Rikku, Roxas completely missed as Paine darted at him and struck across his cheek with her sword. It was a weak, shallow cut, but enough for him to wince slightly. He swung back at her with his Keyblade but may as well have been a clumsy, lumbering giant since she had absolutely no trouble avoiding the swing.
"Stand still!" Roxas snapped. From down below Xion watched him recklessly swing his Keyblades this way and that trying to hit them, so that if she didn't know any better she'd think he had lost his mind.
"We're not after him, we're after the treasure!" As Rikku and Paine started swarming around him, slashing like stinging bees, Yuna continued to protest in the back. "Oh, for the love of… Fine!"
She thrust her hands forward and a burst of light magic accompanied by pixie dust slammed into Roxas's chest, making him stumble backward. It also stung way more than the tiny slashes has! Roxas hissed between clenched teeth as he held his hand over his chest. Okay, they may not be physically powerful but their magic sure packed a punch.
"Gotcha!" Rikku grabbed hold on the bag, but it was even larger than she was. Brandishing one of her daggers, she started sawing at the thin rope keeping it tied to him.
"Hey, get off!" Roxas starting kicking his leg out again and again as if he'd just stepped in something gross, filling the air with Rikku's screams as she held on for dear life. Another bolt of magic from Yuna threw off his balance and knocked him onto his rear, and then Paine swooped in and sliced the rest of the rope keeping the sack tethered to Roxas, dropping both it and Rikku onto the deck.
"Owie…" Rikku muttered as she rubbed the newly-formed bump on her head.
"Stop muttering and help me out!" Paine gripped the rope, but the sack was much too heavy for one pixie to carry alone. Rikku snapped to attention and flew over to Paine's side, but even with two of them they could only just slowly drag it along behind them.
"Hrrng…" Rikku let out a strained grunt before looking to the front of the ship. "Yunie, you help too!"
"O-Oh! Yes! I'm coming!"
Unfortunately for the Gullwings, by this time Roxas had climbed back up to his feet. And well, they were still only pixies. In two steps Roxas reached the sack before the flying Yuna could reach it, picked it up, and shook it until Rikku and Paine lost their grip.
"No fair!" Rikku shouted, slamming her fists repeatedly into Roxas's shoe.
Roxas watched the pixies in bewilderment. "What is with you guys?"
Yuna put her hands on her hips and floated up to eye level with him. "We already introduced ourselves! We're Neverland's greatest crew of treasure-hunters, your friendly neighborhood Gullwings!" She held her hand out. "And we're here for the treasure Tinker Bell promised us."
Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Right…" So they were the ones Tink called after all. But why were they here so early? Peter's plan was for them to ambush Hook, not him and Xion. Then again, Peter had said they'd be eager… "What a mess," Roxas muttered.
"Are you gonna give us the treasure or not?" Paine snapped.
Before Roxas could answer (and of course it would have been a 'no', they needed this bait so they'd attack Hook), a ruckus came up from the lagoon below them. A pang of worry struck him, his immediate thought being something had happened to Xion, and he hurried over to the edge of the ship to look down. But Xion was just standing there watching him and the Gullwings. The commotion he'd heard had been about a dozen footfalls as another group arrived.
"Come back! Thieves! We got you, baddies– oh. You're still here?" Peter, Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys all halted on a dime and Peter scratched his head as he looked at Xion. "I thought you'd be on Hook's ship by now. Wasn't that the plan? And wait a sec, where's Roxas?"
Xion pointed up at the flying ship. "Uh, with them."
The crowd's gaze followed her finger, and Peter slapped his hand on his forehead while Tinker Bell let out a startled jingle. "The Celsius?! Yuna! Rikku, Paine! You weren't supposed to attack until after Hook led them to their goal!"
Yuna waved at him before cheerfully responding. "It's easier to get the treasure if there's less people we need to fight!"
"Oh, jeez… Eager beavers, huh?" Peter crossed his arms. "Sorry about this, Roxas!"
"Peter…" Roxas shook his head, tied the sack back to his belt, and then took a running leap off the side of the ship – the Celsius, as Peter had identified it. Xion visibly freaked out for a moment before casting Aero to slow his fall, and he landed beside her and Peter with a roll to soften the impact.
"So these are the crew you had Tinker Bell go get?"
"Right. I knew they'd be early, but I didn't think they'd be this early. My bad for not telling Tink to give them an arrival time."
Xion shook her head and let out a breath. What a hectic introduction this had been. "It's fine. They clearly want the treasure pretty bad, so as long as we get it to Hook they're sure to follow."
"Hel-looo, we're still here you know!" Rikku shouted from above, her voiced still carried by that sound-amplifying magic.
"Aye, you're here alright! You're here right where I can get you, you interlopers!"
It was another voice carried artificially across a distance, but this one sounded like it was some old-timey megaphone instead of magic. It was coming from…out to sea! All eyes turned to the horizon as a familiar ship made its way toward Mermaid Lagoon. The Jolly Roger was fast approaching to pick up Roxas and Xion with the treasure, as Hook had arranged when he dropped them off on the island.
"There's only room for one pirate crew in these seas!" Hook continued. "Fire at will, men!"
The cannons on the side of the Jolly Roger took aim and exploded in bursts of smoke and heat, sending cannonballs flying toward the Celsius. "Evasive maneuvers!" Rikku shouted, and their flying ship hastily turned to fire on Hook, the earlier conflict over treasure forgotten for the time being.
As the battle commenced, a nasally voice called from below the cliff, in the water of Mermaid Lagoon. "Ahoy! Oh pirates, we need to– good heavens, Pan has caught you already?!" Roxas and Xion looked over the edge to see Smee in a skiff, hastily beckoning the two of them toward him. From his perspective it must have looked like Pan's crew had cornered them. "Hurry! Hurry! Get down here to safety!"
Xion gripped Roxas's hand. "That's our cue. Ready?"
Roxas double-checked to make sure the sack was secure, then nodded. "Let's go!"
Peter made a halfhearted attempt to swipe at them with his dagger, and Tiger Lily intentionally missed a shot with her arrow, though Xion was sure she secretly wanted it to hit its mark. Still it was convincing enough for Smee, who cried out in terror and already started to row back toward the Jolly Roger. Taking a running leap, Roxas and Xion jumped off the cliffside and landed on the boat just before it got out of range, making their way back to Hook just as Peter had planned.
The cannonballs sailing overhead and crashing into the water around them meant that it was a pretty hectic ride back to the ship. Good thing too, or else Smee would probably question why Peter wasn't pursuing the 'thieves' any further. Even as they left Mermaid Lagoon and reached open water, the battle between the Celsius and Jolly Roger didn't let up. Despite all the danger and despite them being just about to trick a dangerous pirate, Roxas had to admit there was a part of him that was really enjoying being in the middle of a naval battle.
Smee pulled the skiff up to the Jolly Roger and called for the crew, who dropped a rope ladder down for the three of them to climb up on deck. When they reached solid footing, they saw a ship that was just as chaotic as the sky above. Pirates were running this way and that, constantly moving between above and below deck as Hook gave orders over the sound of cannon fire.
"He might not be in the best of moods right now," Smee noted.
"Even so, we had a deal." Roxas untied the sack and bounced it in his hand. "Captain! We got you your treasure, as promised!" He held the faintly glowing sack up to Hook, but the captain didn't respond at first, opting instead to shout in the face of one of the crew.
"What do you mean we're out of ammo?! Then load up whatever else we have, darn you! I want those pixies pulverized!" He swiped his hook at the pirate's face, narrowly missing him as the pirate stumbled backwards with a nervous salute and then ran to the cannons with a box full of silverware.
"Um, Captain?"
"WHAT?! Ah!" In an instant Hook's anger disappeared; or perhaps more accurately, was covered up with a mask. "Roxas, Xion! My newest recruits, welcome back! And I see you retrieved my treasure! Well done, you two!"
Xion stepped up beside Roxas, dodging another crewman who ran past the group to stuff some shards of wood into a cannon. "We helped you, so now you'll take use to the Keyhole, right, Captain?"
"Aye, that was our deal, and I'll never go back on me word. But I do have my priorities, you see." Hook waved his good hand back toward the Celsius. "Those blasted usurpers were warned there is only one crew that sails the Never Seas, but they refused to heed my warning, and so I'm keeping a promise I made to them as well!"
Behind Hook's back, Xion bit her lip and exchanged a look with Roxas. This wasn't good at all. If something happened to the Celsius before Hook took them to their prize, then Peter would have no way to follow them and get his treasure back. When Hook turned back to them and moved to take the bag, Roxas pulled it closer to his chest.
"We held up our end of the bargain, Hook."
"And I shall hold up mine – after those pixies are taken care of!" He reached for the treasure again, but Roxas moved a few steps backward then when Smee tried to grab it Roxas held it up over his head.
"Roxas…" Xion began as a warning. This was dangerous water he was treading.
Hook snarled. "Now boy, I know you aren't trying to get your captain angry."
"I'm not. Just think of it as…insurance. I'm making sure you keep your word."
A low growl came from the back of Hook's throat…and then slowly faded out as a familiar sound slowly rose up around them. It was faint and quiet, muted under the cannon fire, but it was steadily growing in volume as its source down in the water came closer and closer to the ship.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Hook's mustache moved in time to the sound of that familiar clock. Eyes wide and body stiff, he slowly turned to look over the edge of the ship where the crocodile was waiting, its tail wagging in sync with his mustache and the ticking. The crocodile licked its lips at the sight of him, which seemed to flip a switch in the captain.
"SMEEEEEEEEE!" Hook let out a high pitch and darted behind his first mate, his entire body shaking. "G-G-Get us out o-of here, Mr. S-Smee!"
"But Cap'n, what about the Gullwings?"
"FORGET THE FAIRIES!" He gabbed Smee by the collar and shook him vigorously. "That croc wants me other hand, Smee! Get us OUT OF HERE!"
"Oh, okay, um…" Smee cupped his hands and called out over the deck. "Stop the attack and get ready to set sail! We're retreating back to open water!" Immediately the crew dropped all the makeshift ammo they were running around with and turned toward the masts and anchor, making ready for the Jolly Roger to shove off. Smee turned to Roxas and Xion. "Xion, could you take the wheel?"
Xion jumped. "Me?! I don't know how to drive a ship! I-Is driving even the right word for it?!"
Smee wrapped an arm around Hook's abdomen and held his hand. "Well I have to take the Cap'n back to his cabin to calm him down." He reached up and patted Hook on the cheek before directing him to the nearest door. "There, there, Cap'n. We're getting' away from that old croc, now."
"Mr. Smee!" Xion called after him as they passed through the doorway, but all he was concerned with at the moment was handling Captain Hook. The door shut behind the two pirates without them acknowledging Xion and Roxas any further. Xion puffed her cheeks out in a huff before crossing her arms. "What are we going to do now, Roxas? Hook can't lead us to the Keyhole like that!"
Roxas rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to calm down." He put a hand on her shoulder and motioned toward the ship's helm. "Come on, I'll help you at the wheel. The two of us together can figure it out."
Xion chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before relenting. A minute later, with its anchor raised and sails unfurled, the Jolly Roger began making its way back into the open ocean, away from Neverland and the crocodile.
x-x-x
Rikku squinted as she peered into a spyglass and watched Captain Hook flee with his tail between his legs. How weird! Even if he was resorting to makeshift ammo, Shinra had sent word from below deck that their own supplies had also run out. If Hook had stuck around any longer he'd have sunk the Celsius for sure.
Yuna pressed a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Well, thank our lucky stars for that."
"I don't know," Paine said with a grimace painting her voice. "Where are they off to now with our treasure?"
"Your treasure? You mean my treasure!"
The Gullwings turned as Peter Pan flew up from the cliffs below and set down on the deck of their ship, followed soon after by his crew of Lost Boys and a girl who looked to be from the Indian Village.
Rikku's hands balled into fists. "Your treasure?! Tinker Bell said we could have it!" Tink's response was a series of jingling from her position floating above Peter's shoulder, to which Rikku put her hands on her hips and gave a smug nod. "Yeah! Just like she said – you told us to come steal the treasure from Hook and make a big spectacular naval battle! She said they were your orders, Pan!"
Behind Peter, a Lost Boy dressed in bear pajamas scratched the top of his head before whispering to his fox-clad companion. "Uh, why can I understand these pixies but not Tink?"
"How am I supposed to know!" the fox whispered back.
Peter crossed his arms and met Rikku in the eyes. "I did tell Tink to deliver that message, but not that early! Our friends Roxas and Xion need to use the treasure as bait first so Hook will take them somewhere they need to be. They can't do that if you take it!"
Paine rolled her eyes. "Then you should have made that clear. We can't read your mind."
"Well that's not my fault you can't."
Yuna pinched the bridge of her nose. This kid was such a– well, such a kid. The boy who would never grow up indeed. She wondered how Tinker Bell put up with him. "Well then if that's settled, let's get following them before we lose their trail. We'll wait until he leads your friends to wherever it is they're going, but I'm still not about to lose out on treasure!"
Without waiting from comment from Peter, Paine turned to Rikku. "Go tell Brother and Buddy to set sail. We're tailing Hook – from a distance, without letting him know."
Rikku gave a salute. "Aye aye!"
"One second," the girl from the Indian Village said, cutting Rikku's dash below decks short. "We need to pursue Hook, yes. But first I want to know: given pirates' reputation in Neverland, what prompted you pixies to become ones yourselves?"
Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all glanced at each other before breaking into a fit of giggles (well okay, Paine lightly chuckled). Once they had quieted back down, Yuna turned toward her. "The reputation is part of the fun! Though we prefer the term 'treasure hunters'. But if you must know, the Gullwings formed because we were inspired by another pirate fairy named Zarina who was around years ago."
"You should ask Tink about her if you want to know more," Rikku added. "But this was back before Tink was such a witch with a capital B!" Tinker Bell proceeded to kick Rikku in the leg, toppling her over before Tink crossed her arms and turned away in a huff.
Peter laughed. "Really? I can't imagine a time when Tink was nice. Oh!" He planted his fist in his palm as something occurred to him. "I thought I recognize the name! Tink, that's the pixie who you told me experimented with pixie dust, right?"
With Tinker Bell still fuming from Rikku's comment, Paine answered for her. "Right. Back in Pixie Hollow we have a special blue pixie dust that's used to create the gold dust you're familiar with. Zarina would experiment with it to make supercharged dust: super-flying dust, plant-growing dust, water-manipulating, and more."
"The others at Pixie Hollow didn't like that because pixie dust was too important to mess with, so she ran off and became a pirate," Yuna added. "That was a long time ago now. Tink eventually got her to come back, but her story inspired our little circle of friends to go off on an adventure too."
"Well makes sense to me! Does that answer your question, Tiger Lily?" Peter asked.
Tiger Lily tapped her fist against her cheek as she thought it over. "I suppose so. I do have one more question for you, though."
Paine grimaced. "Ugh, what now?"
"Why is it that we can understand you? Every other pixie I've ever met only speaks in jingles to humans."
The Gullwings all laughed again. "Oh, that one's easy!" Yuna said. "A while back we met a witch named Maleficent, and she cast a spell to let us speak to humans so we could help her out. But our job with her is long done." She turned to Rikku and pointed to the door below decks. "Now like I said, Rikku, go tell Brother and Buddy to set sail. Hook's ship must be pretty far out at sea by now."
"You got it, captain!" And with that Rikku darted off, not stopped by anyone this time.
A moment later the Celsius suddenly lurched forward and then began to move through the air at surprising speed. Yuna and Paine lifted up into the sky and began scattering more pixie dust over the red ship, refreshing the dust that had been used to keep it aloft until now. The Lost Boys let out cries of joy and surprise, running to the edge of the ship and looking out at the water below them, waving goodbye to Neverland behind them.
Peter let out a crow's cry – and then stopped when he heard a ticking sound. Looking down at the water rather far below the ship at this point, he saw the crocodile looking up at him with its eyes bouncing in time with its clock. "Hey there! You want to go after Captain Hook with us?"
The crocodile splashed its paws and wagged its tail, and Peter laughed. "Come on then! Let's go show that old codfish a good time!"
x-x-x
The Jolly Roger continued to travel across the Never Seas for quite a ways yet, not stopping until sunset gave way to night. Although storm clouds were gathering on the horizon the area the ship dropped anchor had nothing but calm waters and clear skies. Xion and Roxas rested against mast admiring the stars, with Mr. Smee beside them peering into a telescope.
"Lookie here," Smee said. He handed the telescope over to Xion then pointed toward the sky. "See those bright stars over there? Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning – that's where Hook'll be taking you."
"Is that why we had to wait until dark?" Even once they were sure to have been out of the crocodile's range, Hook still didn't take him up on their offer. Roxas hadn't been happy about that to say the least.
Xion peered into the telescope, indeed catching sight of two particularly bright points of light up there in the sky. The larger of the two, the one on the right, almost seemed to be surrounded by a rainbow. She handed the telescope to Roxas for him to get a look before turning to Smee. "But how's he plan to do that?"
Smee laughed. "Why, with the treasure you brought him of course!"
Roxas bounced the sack up and down in his palm, admiring the faint blue glow beneath it. "Right. If he ever actually does what he promised."
The door to Hook's cabin slammed open. "Enough complaining, boy! As Mr. Smee said, the second star has appeared. That means the time is nigh!" Captain Hook marched out onto the deck while adjusting his hat, carrying himself every bit like a proper captain and not at all like a coward who only an hour or so ago had been screaming at the top of his lungs at the sight of a crocodile.
Roxas and Xion climbed up to their feet, though didn't salute as Smee beside them did. "Are we finally moving then?" Xion asked. She couldn't deny that she was just as annoyed by all this delay as Roxas had been. And the more they waited the more she was worried the Gullwings and Peter would attack too early a second time.
Hook held out his hand toward Roxas. "Indeed. Now, if you please: return my treasure that the wicked Peter Pan stole from me."
'Stole', right. Roxas visibly fought not to roll his eyes, which Hook only didn't notice because he was riding high on his victory. But he did as Hook asked and handed the sack over to him – though when Hook pulled away, Roxas kept his hand on it. "We had a deal."
"That we did, boy. Now let go so that I may see our deal through."
Slowly, Roxas let go of the sack and stepped back. With his hook, the captain tore at the string keeping the sack tied shut; as it opened and he peered, a blue glow illuminated his face. Hook grinned and twirled his mustache with his hook. "My, my, what a sight for sore eyes."
"What's in there anyway?" Xion asked.
"Pixie dust!" Hook exclaimed, directing his grin from the treasure to the children. "Pixie dust enhanced with a special resource from Pixie Hollow, letting those who use it fly much faster than the normal variety allows. I've only seen its like once in my life, years ago, and I've been after it ever since." Then after a pause, he hastily added, "A-And once I found it, Peter Pan stole it from me, yes."
Right, totally. But as Xion outwardly nodded along with the captain, inside her head was filling with questions. This whole time all they were after was pixie dust? Even if it was some super blue dust, what did he even plan on doing with that?
"Mr. Smee! It is time for a demonstration." He handed the sack to his first mate, then retrieved a simple leaf from his pocket and dipped it inside. As he pulled it out it was coated in pixie dust, not just the gold that they had seen coming from Tinker Bell, but blue dust was mixed in there as well, its glow overpowering the golden sort. All Hook did was simply flick his wrist and let the leaf go, and it didn't fall...but neither did it simply float as the Gullwings' dust-coated ship had. No, instead the leaf swiftly shot off in the direction Hook had flicked it.
Rather uncharacteristically, Hook let out a victorious cackle and pumped a fist into the air. "I've done it! It may have taken decades, but I came out on top in the end, Zarina! Oh, entrusting your super dust to Tinker Bell was a foolish mistake. With this, no one will ever catch us. Mr. Smee!"
"Aye!" Smee saluted, nearly dropping the sack while doing so, then quickly fumbling to keep it from spilling out everywhere.
"Begin coating the ship with the pixie dust. Every inch! We'll soar through the skies faster than Pan can ever keep up!" Smee immediately scampered up the mast's ladder to do just that, and Hook turned to Roxas and Xion. "As I was saying, I never back out of a deal. Roxas, Xion, as promised, I shall lead you to the Keyhole."
Roxas and Xion could only nod quietly, still trying to process everything, and that seemed to be enough for Hook. The captain left them behind just as quickly as the leaf had flown off, marching up to the wheel and gripping it tightly. Up in the crow's nest Smee let the pixie dust loose, blue and gold sparkles raining down over the Jolly Roger.
"Hoist up the sail! Set course for the sun!" Captain Hook spun the wheel and the ship began turning, but there was no resistance from the water below. How could there be, when the ship and sea made no contract with each other? Already the Jolly Roger had begun floating several feet above the waves. "When you've got wings, no wicked deed cannot be done."
Down at the foot of the mast, Roxas and Xion watched their shimmering surroundings with a mixture of awe and growing fear. They needed Hook to take them to the Keyhole, sure, but they had also just let loose a flying, super-fast pirate crew on the world. If Peter didn't arrive before Hook was done fulfilling their bargain, then a very dangerous man would be free to sail the skies uncontested – uncatchable.
