A bearded, glasses-wearing man, stepped out and looked around while the boys worked with the pirates. "Sam Smiegel, supervisor." the man then introduced himself.
"Sam Smiegel?" The group wondered.
"SMEE!" Lionel suddenly exclaimed in a cartoony pirate voice.
"Ohh." Thor whispered to himself.
"So that's who that is." Jack whispered.
"Then again what other pirate wears glasses?" Jill whispered back.
"Eh... Smee's not so much of a pirate, more of a goofy sidekick if you ask me," Lionel remarked. "Sorta like the Greasepit to his Limburger."
"Oh, yeah... Totally..." Mo nodded, though she felt confused.
"Biker Mice from Mars." Cherry told Mo.
"...I knew that." Mo replied, though it seemed to be a lie.
"Excuse me," Peter spoke up as he approached Smiegal curiously. "What for is we digging."
"Did no one explain?" Smiegal replied.
"I'm afraid not," Cherry said. "We don't know much either."
"We are mining for these little chaps," Smiegal explained as he took out a tiny box and unwrapped it before taking out some sort of mineral to show them. "Fairy dust, otherwise known as Pixum."
"Huh... Well, I'll be," Lionel remarked. "Fairies are real."
"Aunt Cinderella's fairy godmother gave her magic." Jill commented.
"Well, that explains her powers from the first Avengers Grimm adventure." Lionel then said.
"They were real. Yeah," Smiegal clarified. "There were millions of them all over the island."
"What happened to them?" Cherry asked as she fiddled with her glasses.
"Blackbeard hunted them into extinction." Smiegal replied.
"Why?" Peter then asked.
"For the fairy dust," Smiegal then informed. "You know. The old Pixum."
"What does he want with it?" Jack asked, though he sounded angry.
"I do not have any idea," Smiegal replied. "No one knows. No one has allowed to know."
Peter frowned a little bit, feeling concerned.
"Well! You best not dwell on it. Just... Get and move on!" Smiegal suggested before he walking away to make the other kids get to work so that they wouldn't get into trouble.
"Real fairies are actually real." Peter said.
"Well, that would explain how the pirate ship flew all the way from here to London." Thor replied.
"Hey! You kids!" A male voice spoke up.
The Toon Force, Jack, Jill, and Peter soon looked over to a man who was mining.
"That fat kid is right," The man replied as he continued to strike with his pic-ax. "You just got here on a flying pirate ship. 'Real' should be a very fluid concept for you right now. Get to digging." he then told them while working.
"I'm not fat, I'm big-boned." Thor pouted.
And so, everybody got to work for a while, and it began to become a real pain in the hands.
"Ooh... I think I got a splinter." Jill pouted and winced.
"BACK TO WORK!" Blackbeard shouted.
"If this is Blackbeard, then I'm terrified of what this Captain Hook you speak of must be like." Jill whispered to The Toon Force.
"We'll have to worry about that later." Thor whispered back.
"Agreed." Lionel nodded quietly.
"This Pixium sure is hard to find." Jack said.
The others kept working while they still could, though Mo stopped to tend to Jill's splinter, giving her a pair of tweezers, then gently and carefully plucked the splinter out.
"I just hope all of the pixies aren't dead." Jack remarked.
"Oh, I don't think so." Lionel said knowingly as he thought of possibly one pixie that they would meet since this was Peter Pan's origin story.
The group kept going until they had to stop and Peter frowned at the scars and injuries he had in the palm of his hand.
Give me your pic. Kid," A man demanded as he was lying there before he took his hand to take the pic part of the pic-axe before Mo bandaged Peter's hand. "Your hand has all messed up. Because your blade is blunted," he then began to sharpen the pic-axe for Peter, using what looked like a hook. "If you keep swinging like that, you are going to break your wrist."
Peter and the Toon Force and the twins then introduced themselves as Peter held out his hand to be shaken.
"How long have you been here?" Peter then asked the strange man.
"Forever." The man replied as he didn't shake Peter's hand before he finished what he had to do.
"Do you know why they want it so badly?" Peter then asked as he dropped his hand. "The Pixum?"
"You ask too many questions, kid," The man replied, shaking his head as he put his hat back on, over his eyes. "They kill for it. We die for it. End of the story."
Peter shrugged before smiling. "Thank you very much." he then said.
"Do not thank me," The man scoffed. "I do not care about you, I am not your friend, and, I do not have your back. Simple as that. Shoo, kids!" he then demanded as he leaned back, looking like he was about to take a nap.
"By any chance is your name James?" Lionel asked.
'Is he asking this guy who he thinks he is?' Jill thought to herself.
'Please let Lionel be right.' Thor thought to himself.
"What's it to ya?" The man scoffed.
"Someone got kicked out of charm school," Lionel snorted to himself. "Please just tell me?"
"Fine," The man rolled his eyes. "But yes, the name is Hook... James Hook."
"No way!" The group gasped at him.
Peter and Hook just looked confused.
"So you're gonna end up becoming Peter's sworn ene-" Jill began to say until Jack covered his twin sister's mouth as she muffled.
"Huh?" Peter asked.
"You two are very interesting," Hook scoffed as he looked at Jack and Jill. "I'm surprised they let a girl in whatever orphanage you came from since they usually separate boys and girls like at Old Lady Hannigan's place."
"Let's just say we're from somewhere very far away." Thor said.
"Whatever you say." Hook said.
A while later, they were back to work and where it seemed they still had a hard time trying to find Pixium until Peter saw something as he was mining and began to mine faster.
"Ugh..." Cherry groaned as she wiped her forehead. "I'm sweaty and I hate sweating."
Lionel brought out a portable fan for her.
"Ah... Thank you~..." Cherry sighed, accepting it as she used it for a little while.
"Fairy dust..." Peter gasped with wide eyes in excitement before he took a glowing chunk out that he found.
"I found some of it." A man said, taking the chunk away from Peter, stealing it instantly.
"It's mine! Now!" Peter cried out.
"Why that no good dirty baloney sandwich head!" Thor sneered.
"I found some!" The man called out as he came out of the caves to show the others, taking the credit away from Peter.
"That is mine!" Peter glared as he ran over beside the man. "Thief, I found it!"
The man then glared back at Peter and elbowed him in the stomach, making him fall on the ground. "Hey, Small Fry, button it!" he then scoffed at Peter.
"Why, that no good!" Jill glared.
Another man soon came into the crowd to collect the Pixium while facing Peter. Atticus soon helped Peter onto his feet before glaring at the man who stole the credit for finding the pixium.
"Give it to me." The other man demanded.
"It was mine!" Peter cried out in defense. "I found the fairy pixium! This bogey stole it. He said he found it."
"That means he found it," The second man sneered in Peter's face. "Clear?"
"Clear as the scar on your ugly face!" Lionel retorted.
"Ooh! Burn!" Thor called out before laughing.
Peter laughed along with the others as the scarred man sneered and growled at the group as Smeigal appeared to check on the situation.
"Take them to the Captain!" The second man demanded. "Disorder and verbal."
"Move out of the way. Move it," A third pirate growled as he grabbed Peter, carrying the boy over his shoulders while other pirates began to shove and push The Toon Force and the twins to go along with Peter. "Get out of the way!"
Peter glared at the scarred pirate and flipped him a V sign which was London's way of flipping someone off with their middle finger.
"We're going, we're going," Jack glared. "No need to get mad."
"Sheesh! These guys can be so impatient." Mo said.
"No argument about that." Thor agreed.
'This can't be the end.' Jill thought to herself.
'I just know this can't be the end.' Patch thought to himself.
"There... There is a procedure for this. You know," Smegial spoke up nervously. "You have not supposed to-"
"Shut it, Mr. Clipboard," The scarred pirate scoffed at him. "Let us see what Blackbeard makes of these nasty little thieves."
"Thieves?!" Mo glared. "We didn't do anything, especially us!"
"Who the Shell do you guys think you are?!" Lionel added.
Unfortunately for them, the pirates continued to ignore them as they were being escorted away with Peter.
Meanwhile, Blackbeard was being tended to by a couple of his minions. One was dressing him by the mirror while a muscular one stood in the back, looking like he had something to say.
"Did you find the natives' camp?" Blackbeard demanded to the muscular pirate.
"They found us, sir. They sprang from the trees," The muscular pirate informed. "And, laid waste to 40 of our most formidable men. Then they disappeared back into the forest. As if, they were never there."
Blackbeard began to look very unhappy about that idea.
"We will get them, Captain," The muscular pirate then quickly covered up. "Given the proper time."
"Time?" Blackbeard sneered. "I have sucked these mines dry. There is almost nothing left. I must have their lands," he then said as he left the mirrors and approached his work table with a map and model ships. "However, these savages continue to ambush my ships. Operating from some hidden camp. Which no one can seem to find yet you assure me all will be given the proper time. THERE IS NO TIME! NONE!" he then suddenly shouted.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and out came a sickly pirate. "Excuse me, Captain?"
"Hey! Ho. The show must go on," Blackbeard then smirked before looking at him. "How do the miners seem?"
"Dirty, feverish, on the brink of collapse, sir." The sickly pirate informed.
"Why must it be so hard?" Blackbeard sighed at the others before looking back. "So... Whom are we making an example today?" he then asked with a smirk as he came to meet the "insubordinates".
The pirates were all heard chanting again and where soon Peter and the others were soon shown being brought up there for their punishment.
"What's going on?" Peter asked.
"What do you think?" One of the pirates asked him as he shoved him to the plank.
'Okay, there must be something we can do to stop this.' Jill thought to herself.
"He goes first and the rest of you follow!" The pirate cackled at the group.
"Walking the plank? You must be pulling my leg!" Lionel glared.
Peter soon walked onto the plank before looking at all the way down as it would be a rather long and painful way down if he were to fall.
"Any clearer now?" The pirate smirked and mocked Peter.
"I should not have come here," Cherry groaned. "I have severe vertigo."
The pirates continued to chant as Blackbeard walked across the deck to see what was going on without him.
Peter wasn't the only one on a plank though as he saw a couple of other boys on other ships beside him about to go down too.
"Brave heroes of Neverland! Behold these traitors!" Blackbeard announced to his people. "I entrust their fate to your gracious whim. This barbarian and his cronies," he then began, talking about Peter as someone whispered to him the details. "Was caught squealing? From the grain store."
"Stealing." The minion corrected.
"Stealing." Blackbeard then corrected himself.
"Twice." The minion then added.
"Twice!" Blackbeard then added before asking, "Will you spare them?"
"NO!" The crowd yelled out in response.
"Or, do you lust for justice?" Blackbeard then asked.
"Justice!" The crowd replied.
"Yes!" Blackbeard beamed before hopping down on one plank, making the boy on it fly up in the air and soon fall to the ground below.
"Do they ever have mercy?" Peter whispered to the pirate behind him nervously.
"Yes! They do." The pirate nodded with a sinister grin.
"...Often?" Peter then asked hopefully.
The pirate shrugged from that question.
"That's very reassuring." Patch deadpanned.
"No kidding." Atticus added.
Blackbeard soon jumped right over to Peter's plank.
'Whatever he says next can't be good.' Thor though to himself.
"This group has been in our mines but one day, and, one of them has already proven himself to be a thief," Blackbeard soon spoke as Peter looked scared to death. "A rabble sourer and a Pixum fraudster."
"I never-" Peter spoke up nervously.
"I ask... Shall you have mercy for the willful children and their miserable mutt?" Blackbeard soon asked the crowd.
"NO!" The group called out before they all gave thumbs up to the group.
"Or, do you be nasty?" Blackbeard then grinned darkly.
"Nasty! Nasty! Nasty! Nasty!" The group chanted.
"What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Cherry spoke up sharply.
"You'll get your turn, little lady!" Blackbeard sneered at her before looking back at Peter. "Alack! The people have spoken. Think a happy thought. I will have be darned." he then added before stomping on the plank.
Peter yelped as he wobbled and fell right off, falling right for the ground while Jack and Jill panicked, not knowing what could possibly happen next.
"Who's next?!" Blackbeard glared at the group before grabbing Cherry. "How about you with the silver tongue in her mouth?"
"Uh, no thank you, I'm good," Cherry said before getting forced onto the plank. "I was gonna be next either way, wasn't I?"
"Aye." Blackbeard smirked.
Peter kept screaming as he kept falling, but then all of a sudden he stopped falling as he floated in the air which surprised everyone as they couldn't believe their eyes. Jack and Jill hugged each other as Jill was crying her eyes out since Peter had gone down first and was probably dead... As far as they knew. Peter blinked before looking around and began to look wide-eyed once he saw that he was floating.
"Jack! Jill! You've gotta see this!" Patch told the twins.
Jack glanced over curiously before looking over to the side and gasped before he patted Jill. Jill sniffled as she faced him before looking over as well and her eyes grew wide.
"Whoo!" Peter cheered as this was the best feeling ever for him.
"Well, I guess he didn't need faith, trust, and pixie dust." Cherry remarked.
"Or to think happy thoughts for that matter." Thor added.
"Amazing." Jill smiled.
Blackbeard turned to where he had thrown Peter overboard. Peter began to do some flips in the air while cheering. Jill wiped her eyes with a small sniffle as she smiled fondly at Peter.
"I do not believe it!" Peter beamed as he had fun with his brand new ability. "I can fly!"
"So how is he flying without pixie dust?" Jack asked the group.
"Uh... I'm not sure..." Cherry replied thoughtfully. "I don't think the story we grew up with ever explained it."
"I think this might be what his mother meant by him being special or possibly one of the reasons." Atticus said.
"You just might be right." Jack nodded.
"How long do you think he'll stay flying?" Jill asked.
"No idea." Mo shrugged.
Peter kept flying around before he suddenly hit his head and was knocked out.
"PETER!" The group panicked.
"You know that boy pretty well, huh?" Blackbeard grinned at the group.
"What's it to ya?" Lionel glared.
"I think I'd like to speak with you all and him in private." Blackbeard then said.
"Yes, Captain." Atticus said with a salute.
'Well, at least we're not getting thrown overboard,' Cherry thought to herself. 'Then again if we did, then this adventure would have a short but sad ending.'
"All right," Lionel rolled his eyes before groaning. "We'll talk with ya, but I got a feelin' that I ain't gonna like it."
"Come now, you can trust me." Blackbeard grinned.
"No, I don't think we can." Thor mumbled.
"You said it, big guy." Lionel agreed.
Jill bit her nails nervously since Peter was still knocked out.
"Ah, don't worry, girly," Blackbeard smirked at her fear. "Your little boyfriend will be okay, especially after I talk to him."
"B-Boyfriend?" Jill blushed.
"We'll see." Jack whispered to himself.
A while later, they were soon seen in a room on the ship as Peter woke up. The group was shown to be hanging out there.
"So you know why Peter Pan never gets grounded?" Lionel asked. "Because he 'never lands'!"
There was then a random rimshot as Thor laughed out loud while the others looked awkward.
"...Yeah, not my best joke," Lionel shrugged before looking at Jack and Jill. "I'll tell ya more later."
"Guys...?" Peter spoke up softly.
"Oh, look. Our new friend is awake." Cherry soon said.
"...Where are we?" Peter asked them.
"I think this is probably Blackbeard's office," Atticus guessed. "He said he wanted to talk with us in private."
"Erm... Are you okay, Peter?" Jill asked as the boy got up on his feet and came to explore the room.
"Yeah... I'm okay..." Peter said as he explored. "I'm not sure if being in this room is a good idea though."
"Trust us, being in here with that guy isn't exactly what I'd call a good idea." Cherry said.
"Who would?" Thor asked.
"So why are we around here for?" Peter scoffed.
"We might as well see what he wants." Cherry shrugged.
"But if he tries anything, I've got a couple of plans," Lionel spoke up before smirking. "Especially with giving him a makeover."
"He looks like Snow White's step-mother, The Evil Queen, from the book." Jack said before taking out the book that he and Jill had found in Snow White and King Charming's libary.
The others looked over before chuckling at how The Evil Queen looked and how similar she looked to Blackbeard's current outfit.
"Neverland is a dream from which you never wake. Ever had that one?" Blackbeard spoke as he came towards the group, wearing a coat that looked more professional than what he was wearing from when everyone had first met him. "A dreadful nightmare you know is not real. However, your sleep is so heavy... So, deep, so delicious… That you just cannot wake up. Drowning in sleep. Slow dream. Drowning in the soft, Black Sea... Do you know that sea, children?" he then asked them rhetorically.
"You're just describing my life before I moved away from my parents, buddy." Cherry replied cynically.
"Charming..." Blackbeard chuckled. "It is death, children. Murmuring to you. It is where we end. Most of us." he then added darkly.
Jill shivered and whimpered nervously before Jack carefully hugged her to comfort her.
"Would you all like some chocolate?" Blackbeard then offered.
Peter soon looked over to the chocolates before looking back to Blackbeard who simply gestured for Peter and the kids to go and each take a piece of chocolate.
'Well, it has been a while since we ate.' Jill thought to herself.
Lionel shrugged before he decided to take some chocolate anyway, though he wasn't much of a candy eater.
"Well... At least it's not cod liver oil." Thor chuckled bashfully.
Cherry coughed a little since she ate a lot of chocolates. "Can I get a glass of water?" she then asked as eating chocolate always made her thirsty.
"Perhaps... But you should learn a lesson..." Blackbeard smirked before a "ZING!" sound was heard as he then drew out a sword right behind their backs. "Childhood is not so jolly. In fact, it is rather frightening... Agree?"
Peter sharply turned around before his eyes widened as Blackbeard pointed his sword right at him, lifting up his panpipe necklace slightly, luckily his blade not touching the boy's flesh.
"Whoa! Buddy... Put down the sword and maybe we can talk about this..." Thor said nervously.
"Are you brave, Peter?" Blackbeard asked. "Are your friends brave?"
"We try to be." Mo spoke up as bravely as possible.
The others simply nodded in silent agreement.
"Yes! Of course!" Blackbeard agreed before looking Peter dead in the eyes. "...Are you scared?"
"...Yes." Peter admitted nervously.
Blackbeard gave him another look while the others watched closely in case something bad had happened. "Have you ever flown before?" he then asked the boy.
"No." Peter then shook his head.
Blackbeard eyed the group and soon simply held out his sword in front of Peter.
'Wait, is he wanting Peter to accept his sword?' Jill thought to herself.
Peter soon accepted the sword from Blackbeard who looked a little soft before walking over to one of the windows.
'This just became more interesting.' Patch thought to himself.
"Beyond that wall, there are savage people. They have an ancient prophecy," Blackbeard informed Peter and the others before glancing out the window into the far off horizon. "From when the fairy kingdoms reigned on this island, the prophecy tells of a boy born of the love, between a fairy prince and a human girl. A boy who would be disappeared from this world until he was old enough to return and lead an uprising against me. A boy, so says the prophecy-"
"Who could fly?" Peter guessed.
Blackbeard then looked back at Peter before nodding, looking at him quizzically. "Have you come to kill me, Peter?" he then asked.
"I do not believe in bedtime stories." Peter simply stated.
"But fairy tales are real." Jill frowned because of where she and Jack had come from.
"No, they aren't." Peter told her, not knowing the truth.
"Oh, you'll change your mind later on." Jack said.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Peter muttered.
'Once he sees a real fairy, he'll change his mind.' Atticus thought to himself.
"My brother and I were adopted and raised by Snow White and Prince Charming, we've faced Rumplestiltskin, and we're part of a group called The Avengers Grimm!" Jill told Peter sharply.
"Fairy Tales..." Peter rolled his eyes. "You need to learn how to grow up."
Jill glared, nearly growling.
"Perhaps you all need a lesson in learning how to grow up," Blackbeard said before grinning darkly. "Behind bars~"
"Oh, trust us. We've learned about growing up," Atticus told him. "After all, we've faced many dangers."
"Yeah and we've seen many things some fantastic and some dangerous, but most importantly we've learned things growing up." Mo said.
'That's right.' Patch thought to himself.
"Don't... FUSS with me." Blackbeard told them sternly.
And so, the group was suddenly behind bars. Peter took something out from his pocket which was his estranged birth mother's letter and he was struggling a bit.
"Peter... Forgive me for asking, but can you not read?" Atticus asked.
"Not very well." Peter frowned.
"Well, we'd be more than happy to teach to read." Mo smiled.
"Thanks." Peter replied.
"What are friends for?" Jill asked.
"Well... I guess you should know," Peter said before sighing. "I can read a little, but sometimes... Letters get mixed up and all over the place."
"Ah... You have something called dyslexia," Atticus then said. "I figured you couldn't read very well when you asked Nibs to read your mother's letter to you."
"Yeah..." Peter nodded. "The letters get mixed up and I get confused. I can't help it though, so don't blame me."
"We're not blaming you, Peter," Mo coaxed. "Not everyone can do everything, though it helps to have someone to help you out to at least do better than you were before."
"Yeah... Atticus helps me out with Math most of the time," Cherry remarked. "So we'll at least try to help you how to read a little better. Whatya got so far?" she then asked.
"One of the shredded pieces from Mother Barnabus." Peter said, showing the remains of his mother's letter.
"Hmm..." Thor paused as he leaned over a bit to see the note. "Looks like that says 'or another' based on what I'm seeing."
"I wonder what she meant by that?" Peter said.
"Well, I think she might have meant here or Heaven." Jill replied.
Peter gave her a look.
"Or... It might not be Heaven..." Jill said sheepishly. "I... Uh... I wouldn't worry about it too much."
A group of men were soon shown to be walking past the prison cell before one was thrown into another cell. The others just sat there as that probably didn't concern them until the wall right behind Peter began to crumble apart as a hole was being carved into the wall.
"Hey! Fly Boy and friends!" A voice called from the hole in the wall before showing his face.
"Hook? Is that you?" Thor asked as he peeked into the hole a bit.
"Yeah, it's me," Hook replied. "That was some little airshow your flying friend put on out there. Could he do that again?" he then asked them.
"Uh... Maybe..." Jack said. "Whatya think, Peter?"
"Of course I can fly!" Peter defended. "You saw me."
"Good," Hook nodded then. "Put your ear to that wall over there."
Peter looked curious before he soon did what was asked of him before he heard something.
"Now that is the sound of a blast cap," Hook then instructed. "I stuck to the other side... Set to go off in 30 seconds."
"If I fly, you help me and my friends find my mother," Peter began to tell Hook. "I have a feeling she's here on the island."
"It's no negotiation, kid," Hook replied. "Without me, you and your friends are stuck in these cells."
"Without him, you're stuck behind these walls." Jill told Hook.
"I hate to admit it, but I think Hook might be onto something," Jack added. "He could be our only way out of this dump."
Peter was still pausing thoughtfully while the others relied on him and what his own final, confirmed answer would be.
"Okay! Then we' will talk about it. Just move away from that wall before, you get yourself blown up," Hook told Peter urgently then. "All right?"
"So, what is it going to be?" Peter asked Hook then.
"Quit stalling!" Cherry called out. "I don't think we have much of a choice in waiting much longer!"
"I just need to think about this and see if I can trust him." Peter retorted.
"Kid!" Hook cried out.
"Tick... Tock..." Peter then began to say slowly.
"Okay! We have a deal, just-" Hook began to tell him.
Then suddenly, the wall burst and exploded, pushing Peter right off of the wall and slamming into the cell bars instantly.
"...Fly Boy?" Hook asked, a bit concerned.
They soon left the prison and ran right out before Cherry yelped and nearly slid off the cliff before coming right back, looking incredibly nervous from her vertigo and fear of heights.