Since there was more of us going, we decided to take the Argo. We left a rowboat for the boys staying behind on the small island just in case. I had to wake Dodger up; he had been snoozing on my bed since sunset. Of course he was horrified when I told him everything and did his best to dissuaded me. When that failed, he anxiously relented and got off the boat. We hugged each other; everyone was hugging everyone by now.
Ben and Jay came over to me as I was releasing Dodger. Ben's hand took mine and he helped me straighten up. "You don't have to do this, Mal," Ben pressed. "Yes, I do," I replied without a hint of hesitation. "Then let me come with you. I can help." "No, Ben. Pleasure Island was created for the sole reason of turning boys into donkeys. It's plain old not safe for you." He didn't say much after that. Instead he pulled me into a tight hug, which caught me off guard. But I platonically hugged him back. Then he let me go and Jay came in to embrace me. "Be careful," he whispered into my ear. After he retracted his arms, he went back over to Lonnie- who, I should add, had a ton of swords ready to bring with her. Ben gave me one last nod and my hand one last squeeze before going back to join the others.
While everyone who was going was preparing to board the ship, I went to a private area to finally see Harry. This was the part we were both dreading. We merely stared at each other for a minute before Harry grabbed my arm; he tugged me into him where he coiled his arms securely around me. While I buried my head into his chest, he placed his hand on the back of my head. Gently rocking me back and forth, we stayed like that for at least two minutes. At the end of it, he told me: "You better come back in one piece." Then he showered my cheeks and forehead with a thousand kisses. It took every inch of his willpower to let me leave his arms. He didn't say another word as we girls boarded the Argo and sailed away from the island. We all waved until the land was out of sight, and we were on our way to the infamous Pleasure Island.
Sailing was a very frightening experience. Everyone was eerily quiet, but I could tell we were all thinking the same thing. Unlike me, they had the fortune never to see the coachman or any of his donkeys before. So on the one hand, they had no idea what to expect. Until tonight, the coachman was a myth, a legend- nothing tangible and dangerous. But I knew…. I'm not sure if that was better or not; at least right now.
I sat on the floor of the deck beside Evie. Uma was at the helm, and Jane was with Freddie watching over the side of the ship. Lonnie was on the floor opposite us; she occupied herself by sharpening her blades. At some point, I had been watching her for a while and she gazed up at me. Neither of us said anything; the dread was palpable. But I smiled- or rather forced a sad, scared smile. I think it was a show of solidarity more than anything. Lonnie matched my awkward smile, which we kept until she continued to work on her swords.
To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect when we finally arrived at Pleasure Island. I know it was supposed to be a young delinquent's dream land- whatever that would be like- but wasn't quite sure what we were in for. What I secretly hoped, though wasn't too hopeful for, was that we would not run into the coachman while there. If all went well, we'd find Peter Pan and the lost boys- still in human form- and get the hell off the island before anyone notices. But the moment the island came into view, all hope I had begun to deplete.
Pleasure Island from the outside was not at all what I expected- not at all. It looked like a normal, albeit deserted place. The amusement park was nowhere to be seen from the exterior, and my heart sank into my stomach as the Argo carried us through this creepy hole into a gigantic, high-dome cave. It suddenly dawned on me why Pinocchio said he had no sense of time on the island- the park was inside a cave! No sunlight could reach inside, not that it was sunny out now anyway. That was a terrifying discovery; it really gave a sense of separation from the rest of the world and imprisonment. No one dared say anything as the ship docked.
Beside us was a paddle steamer; my guess is that's how the coachmen brought the sea of boys to the island, and donkeys off the island. It looked like it hadn't been in operation for quite some time. Despite being inside the cave and at the dock, the park was still nowhere to be seen. There was only the paddle steamer and a set of two large, heavy wood doors at the end of the dock. The doors were actually bolded into the walls of the cave. We all looked at each other and nervously stepped off the boat.
I was willing to bet that the actual park was behind those solid-looking doors, which is the direction I started at. Evie pulled me back behind the side of the paddle steamer when she suddenly heard something. We froze as a new male voice echoed through our section of the cave. He was laughing; a deep, hardy, true laugh- the kind that comes from your chest. "See? What'd I tell ya?! Easy money, that!" He choked out in between laughs. I summoned up my courage to peak behind the edge to see who it was.
A human-sized fox and his small companion, a brown cat, were walking across the way. They were both in beat-up, patchy, ugly suits, with the fox sporting a dishevelled top hat. Boy, did they look happy about something. I'd never seen them in real life before but based on their appearance and cocky demeanour, I figured out who they were. "Honest John….." I muttered to myself in a whisper. He kept on laughing and laughing, though the cat merely smiled along. "Yes, nothing brings the gold in like stupid, little boys. Ha, you'd think those blokes would have moved after Hook found their hideaway." Honest John gave his kitty chum a nudge with his elbow. "Lucky for us, Pan didn't think twice about living in Hangman's Tree, hey kitty?" Pan! My eyes instinctively widened at hearing this. My friends wore horrified expressions when I rather suddenly and unpredictably straightened up and turned the bend with intension. Honest John and the cat didn't have time to react before I ran up to them.
Honest John let out a shriek as I practically body-slammed him into the ground. He landed with a thud on his back; I landed overtop of him, pinning him down with all my strength. For someone who was acting so confident minutes before, he was shocked and defensive now. My hands gripped his disgusting, dirty shirt so intensely. My friends ran out from the hiding place, coming to stand behind me. The mute cat looked like didn't know what to do; certainly not pry me off his friend which should have been natural. Honest John raised his hands up in front of him afraid. I gave him a furious little shake.
"Where's Peter Pan?! Where is he?!" I demanded, not holding back the loudness of my voice. "I'd tell her if I were you, lest you want to be skinned alive," Uma threatened, and Lonnie showed her sword for emphasis. Honest John's lips trembled terribly. "I-Inside… H-He's inside the park, I swear!" He sounded as frightened as you can imagine. "How did you get him here?! Peter would never willingly come to this hellhole!" "W-We drugged him; him and the lost boys! We left some cake outside their house for them to find!" He exposited. I considered for a second, still holding him in place. Then I shot him another intimidating glare.
"Why didn't you disappear like the other adults?" Granted, they are technically animals, but they seemed humanoid enough to count. Honest John sputtered. "T-The coachman- he paid the Horned King off! He said we'd supply his empire with labour donkeys each year if he didn't put us in the cauldron with the rest! That's the truth, honest!" My friends glanced at each other in sheer shock while my eyes wandered off into space thoughtfully. He's telling the truth…. I can tell somewhere deep inside of me that he is. Sensing my grip slipping, the fox began to squirm under me. This grabbed my attention and I gave him one final warning glower. "Get out!" I commanded getting off of him. He scrambled to his feet and immediately took off, followed by the cat. They vanished into the darkness, never to be seen again.
We waited until they were out of sight before spinning our heads back to the doors. Freddie looked at Jane, who looked at Lonnie, who looked at Uma, who looked at Evie, who looked at me. After taking in a deep breath, I took her hand; we all linked hands and headed towards the set of doors. They weren't open fully but they weren't locked either; good thing too cause they were too heavy for us to move by ourselves. We slipped in one-by-one until we were all officially inside the park. And what a park it was.
The first thing that hit me was the sheer size of the place. It was enormous! And not in a good way. It felt crushing, like walking into an execution ring. It was dark, it was humid, and it smelt revolting. Beer and tobacco and food leftovers that no one had bothered to clean up. It truly assaulted the senses. It assaulted the mind too. Lots of still rides and these terrifying clown heads and balloons. Eerily quiet for an amusement park, which only added to the terror.
For the first ten minutes, no one made a sound. I don't know why but it felt like we were constantly being watched no matter where we went. I was so sure we'd see someone or something slither in the shadows. But nothing came out to us; we seemed to be the only living beings in the area. Eventually after ten minutes, I thought it safe enough to finally make some noise.
"Peter! Peter Pan!" The dome ceiling made my yell echo all throughout the park. While my friends were initially horrified by the sudden noise, they didn't hesitate to join in when nothing bad happened. "Peter!" "Peter! Lost Boys!" "Where are you, Peter Pan?!" The only sounds in this god forsaken place were the sounds of our voices, which wasn't encouraging at all. We passed this particularly disturbing stall with this scary wooden gangster puppet outside it; it was called "The Rough House". Another attraction nearby was "Tobacco Row", with these insidious caricatures lining both sides up and down. What stuck out the most to me was the "Model Home: Open for Destruction". I prayed the other girls didn't see it. This place was downright sick.
My friends seemed to be of the same persuasion of all this as I was. Even Uma and Freddie were appalled. "What kind of place is this?" Evie asked no one in particular. "An island of vice; that's for sure," Lonnie said with disapproval. "Who would want to come here? It's disgusting!" Jane remarked. "It's supposed to be a paradise for bad boys, so I guess we wouldn't understand. It wasn't designed for us," I responded still scanning around for any sign of movement. "That's obvious," Uma agreed with a tisk.
We reached this large eight-ball, which was the pool hall I assumed. Inside was nothing but a mess. Knocked over poker tables, spilled mugs of beer, a tear in the pool table, and a broken mirror. Seeing that there was nobody in here, we were about to leave until…. I caught sight of something on the floor- a hat. Wide-eyed and broken-hearted, my hand plucked up the poor piece of fabric; I pressed it up against my chest over my heart for a moment. I'm not sure how I knew who's hat this was, but I did. My eyes had to shut so to not shed a tear. Lampwick…..
The six of us searched the park with no success for a long time. Eventually we were nearing the back of the park. Evie blinked to me worried. "What are we going to do, Mal? We're almost at the end." As destiny would have it, before I could answer the slightest motion grabbed the corner of my eye. My head darted to the side, where there was a corner concealed in a shadow. My feet ground to a halt, and my friends followed suit. I eyed the corner so closely, trying to distinguish any silhouette of anything. Soon enough, my lips parted a sliver. "Peter….." I didn't holler this time.
Nothing happened for a minute. Then my eyes grew progressively larger and my jaw dropped lower as an entity reluctantly emerged from the shadow. I think I had started crying before I even realized…. One donkey came out, trailed by six other donkeys. The lead one had Peter Pan's clothes on, while the rest wore animal furs. The first donkey approached me with a very sad and sullen expression. "P-Peter…" My mouth stammered unconsciously. I collapsed onto my kneecaps with my arms dinging lifelessly at my sides. All I could do was stare at him….. Stare at his donkey face. My vision was becoming blurry through the tears swelling up all throughout my eyes. No….. No, this can't be happening; it isn't true. First I lost my father, then my oldest friend transforms into a donkey… No. Please gods, no. Anything but this…
As if to be reading my mind, Peter trotted over so I could throw both my arms around his neck. I forgot myself, letting go of all mental constrains, and just let myself weep uncontrollably. The other girls and donkeys could only look on sadly as I cried my heart out clinging to my dear friend. I was crying so hard that I actually started to heave; not that I cared. I wanted to help Peter- I wanted to save my friend- and there was nothing I could. I don't know for how long we stayed like that, but I remember crying without restraint for a while. This was a pain I hadn't felt since the day Daddy disappeared into thin air…..
My emotions flipped on a dime, however….. Everyone flinched and turned at another, much older voice joining the space. "There you are. Heard you lot got in." That voice…. A voice I'd never heard before. And I didn't have to hear it. My crying instantly stopped, and my eyes grew sharper than they ever had in my life. I retracted my arms from Peter and stood up straight. Wearing an emotionless expression, I spun around where I was standing to face the coachman.
The coachman…. The man who terrorized my childhood. He was here; he was right here in front of me. I stared at him, giving myself over to a different emotion. I suddenly felt nothing but the purest, strongest anger- rage. It was an experience I've never had before; it was new…. and powerful. The air between us was so thick, you could slice it with a steak knife. While everyone on my end was appropriately alarmed and afraid, the coachman scoffed dismissively.
"The boat belongs to you, don't it? What do you think you are doing here, stupid girl?" My hands balled into such tight fists, I wouldn't be surprised if my fingers broke. I glared at the coachman with more hatred than I'd ever exulted before. "Change him back," my voice was dangerously low and very, very threatening. The coachman blinked at me taken aback. "What? Who do you think you are? You trespass onto my island and dare to make demands of me?" "Change him back now," I growled through my gritted teeth; I don't think my jaw could have been more clenched.
This bastard didn't react right away, watching me and weighing his next words. Soon enough though, his gross, fat mouth opened again. "This boy a mate of yours, is he? Well, too bad; he's mine now." Oh that…. that was the wrong thing to say. My friends all gulped as my hair stood up on its ends. Peter himself looked apprehensive of what was coming next. I bared my teeth at him, breathing very heavily.
"You don't know me. Daughter of Hades, princess of the entire underworld- I am a demigod! I'm more powerful than anyone you've ever faced before! And I swear to god! If you don't change Peter and the lost boys back, I was turn into a dragon and burn down this whole god forsaken place!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
Now this grabbed his undivided attention. The smug look on his face morphed into one of contemplation and hesitation. He thought to himself for a moment, shifting his hands at his sides. Then the monster met my stare again. "You…. You're Maleficent's kid, aren't ya?" "You're damn right I am. And I got a hella lot of Greek gods and goddesses on my side too," I added fuel to the fire. The coachman considered to himself once more, his eyes rolling from side to side. He shuffled a bit uncomfortably, eventually huffing to himself.
"Look, kid. Even if I wanted to turn him back, I couldn't. All I can do is turn boys into donkeys; not donkeys into boys," he finally admitted. It felt as if someone punched me right in the gut again. My jaw dropped open, but nothing came out. He can't do it….. He can't turn Peter back. Seeing my resolve start to crumble, the coachman saw this as a good time to make his escape. He pointed my way before leaving. "This isn't over, girl. I remember my enemies too." With that, he went off into the darkness somewhere. Meanwhile, I stood there with my bottom lip shaking again. Peter's a donkey… He's a donkey, and the coachman can't change him back…. It was like something flipped inside my mind. No, he can't remain this way. I have to save him; I have to…..
Jane flinched as I rapidly spun in her direction. "Jane! Can you use your mother's wand to change Peter and the other boys back?!" My voice was full of sheer desperation. Jane gazed at me gloomily. "I'm sorry, Mal. I only know how to cast spells with it; not reverse spells cast by other people," she admitted, and I was growing ever more frantic. My eyes moved back onto Peter and I literally thought over everything in my mind. It was in that hopeless instance that I remembered something. So to confirm, my hand slipped into my father's coat pocket to feel for it.
My eyes lit up when I found it there, waiting patiently for me. Hades's Ember! That's right; I'm a demi-god, so it won't work fully for me. But….. "For you, it can reverse minor spells casted by other mortals." I pulled it out from my pocket, holding it in the palm of my hand. My lips parted a sliver. Could this…..? Could it really…..? The coachman is mortal, and I suppose the spell changing humans into animals could count as a minor spell. Only one way to find out. My feet shifted me around so I was facing Peter and the other boys now. I raised up my hand holding the ember and shut my eyes. Come on, ember; do this for me. Grant me what I desire- give me back my dear friend.
Everyone held their breaths as a blue stream of magic abruptly shot from the stone. I didn't see it, but I could sense something was happening. It grew in intensity by the second, becoming ever more forceful. By the time my arm couldn't take it anymore, I opened my eyes to peer forward. Right in front of me was no longer a donkey, but a boy- an immortal boy in Peter Pan's clothing. My jaw dropped slightly as my eyes grew. He gazed over himself astonished, then glanced back at me. "Mal….." Peter uttered. "Peter….." I also whispered bewildered. It worked…. It actually worked! Peter's expression altered to one of amazement and joy. My arms were already outstretched for him when Peter ran into me. He wrapped his arms around me so sincerely, holding me as near to him as possible. The lost boys didn't hesitate to join in, circling me in a communal hug.
Our reunion was short-lived, though. As Peter and I were embracing, these black figures with glowing yellow eyes began to appear in the distance. They didn't look like humans; their forms were sort of shapeless and undefined. It was terrifying to see them show up, however. It was evident that the coachman had sent them, and they were there for us. I'm guessing these shadow men are the ones who make individuals who upset the coachmen vanish in the night. All our heads shot to them as they begun to show up and grow ever closer. I clung to Peter scared.
"Run…." My lips spat. Everyone blinked to me, but I didn't take my eyes off the fearful entities. "Run! Get off the island! Go!" I yelled clearly terrified. That was all the prompting they needed. Peter swooped me up into his arms and started flying for the exit. Meanwhile the others ran as fast as they could through the doors. They all clambered onto the Argo, which left the dock as soon as the last kid jumped onboard. It carried them back to the unnamed island while Peter flew with me the whole way.
We all arrived at around the same time. The boys had been waiting for us for some time now. They perked up upon spotting us in the distance, along with Tinker Bell. Wide-eyed, they simply watched as the boat docked and Peter arrived with me. Peter landed and set me down onto my feet, holding me until I was steady. Then, after a moment and without warning, he once again threw his arms around me; I was lifted up off the ground and spun around in the air. Peter was laughing when he finally stopped, gently pulling his head back so to look at me. We simultaneously closed our eyes as we pressed our foreheads together. Peter moved his hands so to hold both my cheeks in his palms. My hands lifted up to cover his. With both us smiling greatly, Peter let out a deep, relieved breath. "I knew you could do it."
Everyone was both stunned and excited to meet the famous Peter Pan and lost boys. I introduced Peter, who in turn introduced the lost boys. He told us all about how Honest John and the cat drugged and kidnapped them from Neverland; apparently those cads were going to go to the Isle of the Lost next. Peter then informed me that he and the others would be returning to Neverland and asked if I would like to join him. I thanked him for the offer but said I had other business to finish.
Peter understood this, staying with me until he left that morning. Before he went, he gave me one last embrace. "Good luck with your journey, Mal," he encouraged before retracting his arms. Harry came up to my side, wrapping his arm around my waist; I rested my head against him. Peter flashed him and me a smile. "But don't worry too much. If anyone can rescue your parents, it's you," he told me. Then the corners of his smile deepened; his eyes shown down onto me. "And thank you, Mal, for everything… Thank you." We watched as he, the lost boys, and Tinker Bell all started off towards home. They merged into the millions of other stars into the sky. And I watched, contently standing there with my beloved's arm safely around me. That's how I overcame all fear of the coachman.