A/N: Hey, everyone. This is my first fanfic about Peter Pan, so it's something different for me, but I had a lot of fun writing it. There are two parts to this story. This is the first part, and the second part will be posted fairly soon after. This story is based on the 1953 animated Disney version of "Peter Pan". It takes place sometime between "Peter Pan" and "Return to Never Land".
Smee barged out from below deck with a fresh tray of chocolate raspberry cupcakes in hand. Nothing cheered up Captain Hook more than Smee's homemade cupcakes. Smee always considered himself a pirate in the field, but a baker at heart. He arrived at the door to the Captain's cabin and knocked. No response. Smee cracked open the door. "Captain? Everything all right?" He pushed the door open even more and entered the cabin.
Captain Hook was at his desk, amongst a sea of scattered papers and scrolls. He was muttering to himself, "What if we set a trap outside of Hangman's Tree? No, no, he'll see that coming from a mile away. Poison his food? Oh, nonsense! How will we ever do that?"
"I made you a fresh batch of cupcakes, sir." Smee set the tray down on Hook's desk.
"Ah, yes, thank you," Hook said, not even lifting his gaze from the clutter of failed and rejected plans. Hook never dismissed Smee's cupcakes like that. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Captain, you seem a bit stressed," Smee said. "Might I suggest you take a bit of a break from your scheming?"
"A break?" Hook jolted up in his seat. "Do you think Peter Pan ever takes a break when it comes to foiling my plots against him?"
"There will be plenty of opportunities to get back at Pan in the future, Captain. But for now, I think it's important you get some proper rest and relaxation."
"Oh, that blasted Peter Pan has tormented me for so long I don't even remember how to relax anymore."
"Well, I can tell you the first step is to get rid of all this junk," Smee said, collecting all the papers scattered across Hook's desk.
"Yes, it is all junk, Smee. Every single plan written there is completely useless. You can burn everything for all I care."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Captain. Every idea here is a testament to how tenacious and hard-working of a man you are." Smee slipped the papers into a drawer in the desk. "I'll get a nice, warm bath for you going. Perhaps we can do something fun tomorrow, like a game of Neverland golf out in the fields."
"Neverland golf." Hook chuckled. "It has been quite some time since we last played, hasn't it?" Hook picked up one of the cupcakes with his hand, pulled down the wrapper with his hook, and took a bite. "Okay, let's do it, Smee. We'll leave first thing in the morning."
"Oh, Captain!" Smee clapped like a giddy schoolboy. "I can't wait! It's been so long since we've had a proper good time!" He left the Captain's quarters to go fetch some hot water for Hook's bath.
The following day, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys set out for a fun day in Neverland's wilderness. After some time trekking through the exotic jungles, Peter stopped in his tracks, and the boys all gathered around him. "What do you guys wanna do today?" he asked.
"Let's play tag!" Slightly said.
"Naw, let's go huntin'," Cubby said.
"Let's go find some Indians," Nibs said.
"Hide-and-seek!" the Twins said in unison.
"Tootles, looks like you're the tiebreaker," Peter said to the small boy in the skunk costume.
Tootles pondered for a moment, then he pointed to the two boys in the raccoon pajamas.
"Hide-and-seek it is!" Peter said.
The Twins cheered while there were a couple groans from the other Lost Boys. But their disappointment was only short-lived, as hide-and-seek was a favorite game of everyone in the group.
"Onetwothree, not 'It!'" said Slightly.
"Not 'It!'" said Peter.
"Not 'It!'" said the Twins.
"Not 'It!'" said Nibs.
"Uhh, not 'It!'" said Cubby.
That left Tootles, the quiet one, to be "It," as he so often was. The downside for everyone else was that they could never hear him say, "Ready or not, here I come," so it would be anyone's guess when exactly he would pop up to find them.
Peter and the Lost Boys all scattered to find a hiding place in the jungle as Tootles counted to ten silently. Slightly, a tall boy dressed in fox clothes, hid inside the mouth of a hippo in a nearby pond. Nibs, who wore a rabbit suit, climbed up into the treetops with the monkeys. Cubby, a fat boy dressed in a bear costume, hid inside a large flower. Peter hid behind a waterfall with Tink by his side. He thought they had the best hiding spot of them all.
The Twins scurried around the jungle looking for a hiding place. They had wandered so far into the jungle that they eventually reached the edge of it, leading to a wide, grassy field. Being the all-curious children they were, the Twins momentarily forgot about their game of hide-and-seek and began to explore the field.
"Look at this!" one twin said to the other. He reached down to pick up a small, white spherical object with little dents all along the surface.
"What is it?" the other twin asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it's an egg of some sort."
"I'm sure Peter will know!" The Twins rushed back into the jungle to find Peter themselves so they could show him their amazing discovery.
As this was taking place, Captain Hook and Smee were out in the grassy fields of Neverland playing a game of Neverland golf. It's quite similar to regular golf, with the main distinction being that it's played in Neverland. The Pirates had converted a portion of the fields on the island into a golf course for recreation several years ago. Hook had hit his ball with his driver, so he and Smee were now riding in their golf cart to the spot where the ball had landed. When they arrived, though, they couldn't find the ball anywhere.
"Captain, there's no ball in sight!" Smee said.
"Drat! I must've hit it all the way into the jungle," Hook said. "Ah, no matter. We have plenty more where that came from." Hook pulled out a new golf ball from a bag in the cart and dropped it on the ground.
Back in the jungle, the Twins searched for Peter, even though they weren't the ones who were "It." They bumped into Tootles, who pointed at the Twins victoriously.
"You didn't 'find' us, Tootles," one twin said.
"Yeah, we weren't even hiding," the other twin said. "We're looking for Peter."
The three Lost Boys then began searching for Peter and the other boys. They found Cubby in the giant flower, then they found Nibs in the trees. They moved their search party to the jungle pond. Nibs dove underwater, but nobody was hiding down there. Cubby checked the insides of all the hippos' mouths until he found the one that had Slightly in it. Tootles thought to check behind the waterfall, which was where Peter and Tink were hiding.
"You found us!" Peter said. "And we were the last ones left! I knew that was a good hiding place!" The boys all waded back through the pond to reach dry land again.
"Peter, Peter! Look what we found!" the Twins said, showing off their mysterious object.
"What is it?" Peter asked. He grabbed the strange sphere to take a close look at it.
"We don't know. We thought you would know."
"Hmm. It looks like it could be an egg," Peter said.
"A dragon egg?" the Twins said.
"There aren't any dragons in Neverland," Slightly said. "Besides, a dragon egg would be way bigger! Right, Peter?"
"Oh, sure. Nah, this couldn't be a dragon egg. But maybe—"
"Maybe it's a dodo egg!" Cubby said.
"A platypus egg?" Nibs said.
"Platypuses don't hatch from eggs, you dingus!" Slightly said. "Uh, Peter, what's a platypus, again?"
"Never mind that," Peter said. "I know what this is—it's the egg of the legendary Never Bird!"
"Never Bird?" Cubby said.
"It's a mysterious bird that only lives here in Neverland," Peter said. "Nobody's ever seen it with their own eyes before, but I think this is plain proof of its existence right here. People say their eggs are worth as much as gold. Some people even say their eggs are made of gold—on the inside. If you know how to break them, that is."
"Well, we just found this one lying around in the field," one twin said.
"There's probably more where that came from. Never Bird eggs for all!" the other twin said.
The other Lost Boys cheered at the idea of searching for more Never Bird eggs.
"Come on, then. Let's go!" Peter flew toward the fields, leading the way for the Lost Boys.
Meanwhile, Captain Hook pulled out his nine iron, got into position, and focused on the ball down in front of him.
"Easy, Captain. Easy. Concentrate. Keep your eye on the ball," Smee said. "And make sure to stay in position. Feet apart, knees bent, arms straight. But above all, stay focused. Just concentrate."
Hook turned to him. "Smee…" he began.
"Yes, Captain?"
Hook instantly exploded with anger and lunged toward Smee. "Did you ever consider that I can't very well concentrate when you keep blabbering on like that?" he yelled.
"Sorry, Captain. My apologies, sir. Lips sealed. Mouth shut," Smee said as he fumbled to straighten the glasses on his face.
"Thank you." Hook's composure immediately returned. "Now, where was I?" He resumed the proper position, kept his focus on the ball, and swung. There was a loud clack sound as the ball flew into the air and arced back down many yards away.
"Nice shot, Captain!" Smee said, clapping.
"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" Hook said with a smug grin.
After Smee took his swing, he and the Captain got back into the golf cart to head toward their balls. As Smee started up the cart, however, Hook placed his hook on Smee's chest.
"Shh, shh, stop the car, Smee," Hook whispered.
"What is it, Captain?" Smee said as he turned off the engine.
"Look." The Captain pointed ahead in the distance, where Peter and the Lost Boys emerged from the jungle.
"Pan!" Smee said, a little too loudly.
"Shhh! Be quiet, you idiot! Now, what is it that they're up to?"
Hook and Smee watched as the Lost Boys split up and began searching the fields for something. Eventually, Slightly picked up one of their balls. Soon after, Tootles picked up the other one. They came back together as a group to look at what they had just found. Then they ran back into the jungle.
"So that's why I couldn't find my ball! They're stealing them! Why, those scurvy brats!"
"Now, Captain, remember, we're on vacation. Why don't we just let boys be boys—"
"Blast our vacation! After them, Smee!"
"Yes, Captain. Right away, Captain." Smee started up the engine and sped after them as fast as the golf cart could manage.