DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.

Chapter Seven: You Can Fly

Riku tried his best not to be annoyed that Slighty and Cubby were happily floating above his head, competing with each other to see who can do the biggest midair loop-the-loop, not a care in the world despite the fact that Alice had run off to who knew were, and Peter was off somewhere duking it out with Hook. Oh, and he couldn't forget the fact that the worlds were melting together. Sora, Ariel and Kairi were out there somewhere, no doubt getting into all sorts of trouble, while he was here trying to keep all these flying kids from becoming heartless chow!

There was a soft pat on his head. Tinker Bell, who had been sitting in his hair, reached over and rubbed his forehead.

"You're worried about me? Pat twice for yes."

Pat. Pat.

"I've got a lot on my mind," Riku admitted.

Alice was first priority. The worlds melting together were bad enough; he didn't know what he would do if something happened to a princess of heart as well. Riku tried not to cringe when he remembered what he had done under Maleficent's influence. Kidnapping Jasmine, holding Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Show White and Alice hostage. He had believed his actions were justified, if it meant that he could bring Kairi's heart back. But instead, he had been playing right into Maleficient and Ansem's hands. If he didn't find Alice, finish her suit of armor thing, and get back to Disney Castle as soon as possible, then...

Slighty floated down in front of Riku's face. "Wow, you look mad. Is it an enemy?"

Cubby put up his fists, turning in the air, looking around. "Bring 'em on! I'll clobber them!"

"No," Riku scolded. "You two will stay out of danger while I do all the work."

The Lost boys whined.

"Aw come on," Slighty huffed. "We can fight! We've been with Pan through tons of battles!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm sure you can, but as long as I'm in charge, you two, and Tink, are staying out of danger. Peter would hate for something to happen to you. So, for his sake, listen to me. Okay?"

"Fine," Slighty grumbled, floating upward. "Pan never treats us like little kids."

Riku bit his tongue, stopping himself from saying, "but you are little kids." If he were alone, he would have let Peter handle Hook. If he could fly, he would have scoured the entire island for Alice. Sora and Kairi were strong. They could take care of themselves. But Slighty, Cubby, Tinker Belle and Alice were another story. Someone had to watch out for them, and without Peter around, Riku was the only one up to the task.

The distant clangs of battle reached Riku's ears, pulling him out of his thoughts. He raced through the clear air of Neverland's jungles, stopping in the clearing near Hang Man's Tree. Slighty and Cubby halted in the air behind him. Before they could join in the fight, Riku put up his hand, making the boys stay in place. Ahead of them, were Hook and Peter. The pirate and the leader of the Lost Boys were enthralled, blocking out everything but their duel. Captain Hook roared and growled, fury driving his lunges and slashes. Peter snickered and joked, his relaxed dodges and parries fueled entirely by the joy of egging on his opponent.

Slighty and Cubby cheered. "Get him, Pan!"

Riku ignored the fight and the kids. He stretched his senses, searching for Alice. He didn't hear her curious musings, or feel the boundless inquisitiveness of her light nearby. Instead, the distant pounding of explosions met his ears.

"Cannon fire."

Slighty and Cubby shrugged. "We don't hear nothing."

"No. I'm sure of it." Riku pointed. "That way."

"That way leads to the cove," Slighty explained.

Cubby snorted. "Dumb pirates. There's no way a cannon ball can get Peter from all the way over here."

"I don't think Peter is what they're aiming for."

Riku waved his hand in front of his hair, getting Tinker Bell's attention. She fluttered down in front of his face.

"I need a favor. Think you'll be okay to fly toward the cove and see what pirates are up to?"

Tink's jingling sounded half annoyed, half worried.

"She says she can do it. But she's worried about Peter getting hurt," Cubby translated.

"Hook can't take on the two of at the same time." Riku smirked. "At least, not for long."

"What about us?" Slighty balled his hands into fists. "We'll help him too, Tink. Whether Riku likes it or not."

Tinker Bell must have accepted the answers, because she flew like a comet toward the cove. Slighty and Cubby landed on the ground, and Riku could only guess, by the flaring of their auras, that they were both glaring at him.

"We're helping," they said. "Pan is our leader!"

Hook and Peter's duel didn't seem like it was slowing down. If Riku didn't jump in soon, he wondered if the two arch enemies would be at it forever. Hook's sword and Peter's knife flashed through the air, so fast that Riku worried they would cut through Hang Man's tree. He didn't have time to waste!

"Find someplace to hide until this is over," he told Slighty and Cubby.

But when he took a step forward, the Lost boys moved around him and stopped him in his tacks.

Slighty stomped his foot. "We've faced Hook before you came here. We can do it again."

"Aw, forget him, Slighty. Let's just go."

"Hold on!"

Riku reached out and grabbed the boys' hoods.

"Nothing I say is going to stop, is it?"

"That's right!"

"Okay. You win. Just give me a second." "Well, hurry up," whined Cubby.

Riku groaned, his mind racing to come with a good strategy, but all he could think about was how it was impossible to let the two kids fight without them somehow getting hurt. Those two couldn't even take on the heartless before! What made them think they could take on Hook? If Riku hadn't been so tied up back then...an evil smile spread on his face. There was one talent he knew the two boys had.

"How about we catch outselves a codfish?"

Now that was exactly what the Lost Boys had wanted to hear. Snickering, they huddled, listening to Riku whisper the plan in their ears.

"Got it?"

"Yes sir!"

The jungle foliage rustled as Slighty and Cubby flew into the bushes. A normal person would not be able to feel them moving about, nor could they hear the sounds of their breathing and footsteps as they inched closer to Peter and Hook, but Riku knew exactly where Slighty and Cubby were. Now all he needed to do, was wait for the right opportunity.

Summoning his soul eater, Riku walked around Hook and Peter, waiting for the captain to move in close enough. The second the old pirate's back was to him, Riku launched forward. The tip of the soul eater poked into Hook's behind and the pirate screeched, jumping an impressive fifteen feet into the air. Peter tipped backward till his feet pointed toward the sky, laughing at Hook's expense. By the time Captain Hook came back down to the ground, his face was boiling hot. He shook his hook at Riku.

"Scurvy brat! I'll teach you to sneak up on old Hook!"

"Old? Yeah that sounds about right."

Hook roared, slicing his metal hand through the air. Riku jumped back before the hook could skewer his neck. From behind Hook, Peter lunged.

"Don't forget about me, you old codfish!"

Peter swung his knife over Hook's shoulder. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Captain Hook caught Peter's knife. He shoved the boy back. Riku took the opening, charging. The captain threw out his hook, catching Riku's soul eater. He threw both boys back. Then he lunged at Riku, his sword blurring into a cyclone of quick jabs and thrusts. Peter and Riku were on the ropes, dodging and ducking away from Hook's sword hurricane in an attempt not to get hacked to pieces. Hook's attacks were so fast that nearly took of Peter's head. The boy somehow ducked, and the rapier poked into his hat instead.

Riku cartwheeled away, avoiding a deadly sword strike to his abdomen. He ran, putting distance between himself and the enraged captain that was charging toward him. Peter got in Hook's way, his expert knife skills parrying Hook's relentless attack. Riku was about to back up Peter, but then he heard a pair of sneaky giggles, felt rustling nearby, just a few feet away, in the bushes.

Standing straight, Riku put his hands around his mouth.

"Hey! Captain Crook!"

"It's Hook, boy! Or are ya blind?"

Riku pressed his lips together, trying to force down the snort that begging to escape from his mouth. In the split second it took him to grit his teeth so that he wouldn't keel over in laughter, the captain's hook sung down toward his head. Riku jumped back, feeling the hook swoosh through the air before him. He slipped into a pocket of nearby darkness, flashing to Hook's side, taking a swing at the pirate's legs. Hook stumbled backward, hopping on one foot, inching closer to the tree line. Peter took advantage of the pirate's off balance pose. He swooped down from above, knife slicing down toward Hook's head. The captain blocked the attack, but he was still pushed every so slightly toward the jungle trees. The rustling behind him was louder now, but the captain was too distracted by Peter to turn around and face it.

Riku put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth, whistling.

The bushes behind Hook roared.

"Let's get him!"

Cubby came rolling out from the underbrush. He grabbed Hook's trousers, sliding them down the pirate's legs. With his pants wrinkling around his ankles and the force of Peter's attack from above, Hook completely lost his balance, falling to the floor.

"Charge!"

Slightly jumped down from a tree, landing on Hook's shoulders. Hook struggled, resisting being pulled back, but when Peter clobbered him on the forehead with the handle of his knife, Hook's tongue flopped out of his mouth. His eyes rolling in his head, Hook collapsed, and the Lost Boys wasted no time in tying him up. By the time the old man came back to his senses, he was bound up to tight he could only wriggle like a caterpillar. Too bad he didn't get very far as a pair of scurvy brats sat down on his back, grinning ear to ear.

Riku reached out and patted Slighty and Cubby's heads.

"Nice job!"

"Indeed men," Peter saluted. "You've made me proud. So, what are we going to do with this here codfish?"

Hook thrashed. "I'll get you for this, Pan! Get off me, you brats! And you," he snarled at Riku. "You've not had the last laugh, boy! The next time we fight, I'll have your head as a trophy." Riku shrugged. "There's a lot of stuff I regret doing when I was under Maleficent's influence. Messing with you, on your own ship, is not one of them."

"WHY YOU!"

"Yeah, yeah, revenge and all that. Put a sock in it, Hook."

Slightly and Cubby giggled. "Now that's what we want to hear!"

Hook wouldn't shut up though, shouting curses even as the four boys laughed at his distress. The only thing that succeeded in silencing him, was when Tinker Bell flew down into the clearing. She buzzed around Peter's head, waving her arms and legs.

"Whoa! I can barely understand what you're saying, calm down!"

Tinker Bell grew hot, her light brightening.

Peter twitched in the air. "Wendy's on the pirate ship? How did she get there?"

A chunk of ice surrounded Riku's heart, but Tinker Bell wasn't done talking.

This time, Peter growled. "Heartless are attacking the ship!"

"THEY'RE WHAT," bellowed Hook.

"Having trouble hearing, old man," mocked Peter. "Monsters have taken over your ship. And you call yourself a captain."

"Silence boy! Those slobbery fools dare to attack my vessel? I'll turn them into soup!"

Slighty and Cubby puled on the captain's ropes. They forced him to lean against Hang Man's tree, looping his ropes around the trunk, making Hook's face press into the bark.

"That aught ta hold ya," said Slighty, giving Cubby a high five.

"No time to waste! We've got to rescue Wendy! To the ship!"

Riku was too slow to stop Slighty and Cubby from flying into the air. Peter zoomed off with his team. For a second, Riku was alone. He ran toward the road that led to the cove. Then Tinker Bell flew next to his ear, jingling angrily.

Riku froze. Flying to the ship would a lot faster, but... "Faith, trust, pixie dust," he whispered. "I can do this. Happy thoughts."

He closed his eyes, thinking of how funny it was to watch Slightly and Cubby tie up Hook like a hog. His feet left the ground. He thought about Peter and how exhilarating it was to flight at his side. He hovered up.

"Lean right, fly right."

Holding his breathe, Riku felt the floor move further and further away from his feet. He rose higher, slowly, without tipping forward like a knocked over bowling pin. A smile spread over his face. He was doing it! He was actually flying over the jungle below. For one glorious moment, he closed his eyes and let the wind caress his face. Up ahead, he could sense Peter and the Lost Boys passing over Neverland, flying over the water.

Pain gripped Riku's heart. He dropped in the air. Chains of darkness burst out of the jungle below, wrapping around his ankles. The darkness pulled on his legs, dragging him back down. All thoughts were whipped from his mind, all except for the terror from the surprise attack. He crashed through the trees, the only things breaking his fall, and landed in a heap onto the jungle floor. Tinker Bell flew down after him, pulling on his shoulder, trying to help him stand.

"I can't move," Riku croaked.

His cheek was pressed to the ground as dark, invisible chains pulled him into the dirt. Light faded around him. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure that he was now sitting in a pit of darkness so deep, that even a seeing person would feel blind. The only light nearby, was Tinker Bell's frightened glow. Shivering, she jingled weakly next to his ear.

"Go," Riku whispered.

She refused, tugging on his hood, trying to pull him back up to his feet.

Then, someone, something, spoke. The sounds weren't human. Tinker Bell covered her ears, flying under Riku's hair, hiding. What came next, wasn't a voice. It was as though words were being etched into Riku's head. There was a distorted echo in the air, like machinery grinding on metal.

I've seen you before. Once. In the darkness.

He didn't sense anyone nearby. A cloud of darkness pressed down on him from all sides. The pressure pounded on him, the air closing in, trying to crush him into a freshly block.

You were like me then. Lost. Anguished. What did you trade for your power?

Riku couldn't answer. Then, he heard, what he thought, was a laugh. An empty sad, gurgling sound.

It doesn't matter. I've traded much worse. But it will be over soon.

Riku forced his vocal cords to move, but all he could do was whisper. "Enough with the creepy words. Who are you? How did you escape from the realm of darkness? What do you want?"

The voice, sound, feeling, whatever it was, faded, but the darkness stayed. It jackhammered into Riku's back, crushing him. The same darkness that had rooted him in place, allowing Alice to escape, was now sucking the air out of the atmosphere, shutting down Riku's mind.

He couldn't hear, he couldn't smell. All he could do was feel. Something warm cut through the pain, tingling his ear. It was distant, like an echo, but Riku concentrated on it. The light shined brighter, its sweet breathe in his hair. It brightened, creating a pocket of air all around him. Riku gasped, feeling his lungs expand. The pressure around him eased as the light refused to burn out. Raising his hand, Riku opened his spread his fingers wide. The darkness resisted him. It was like pulling tar off him bones.

The warm light around him jingled, waking up Riku's ears. The air became hot with faith and trust. Tinker Bell shined, flying near Riku's shoulder. She glowed like a lantern, pushing away the shadows. The darkness skirted away from her, and that one moment of hesitation was all Riku needed to force it under his control. He pulled at the darkness, forcing the inky atmosphere to collapse and gather in his hand. The energy floated down toward him, turning into a dense black hole in his palm.

Riku's eyes burned. He hadn't handled that much dark power since rescuing Sora. This was different. This darkness, was more vile, and it took all of his concentration not to let it escape. The smells, tastes, and breezes of Neverland returned as the darkness faded away. Riku raised his arm to the sky.

"Dark Firaga!"

The black hole in his hand burst, flying toward the sun, where it exploded into dust, diffusing back into the world, rather then concentrating in one spot, completely harmless.

Riku collapsed. As he panted, a raindrop of light fell onto his head. It spread through his hair, easing his chest, pushing away his pain. Tinker Bell patted his nose. Another raindrop of light spread through his cheeks, pushing away his exhaustion.

"Thanks Tink. You really saved me."

She patted his nose twice.

"I guess that makes us even." Riku stood straight, stretching. "Thanks for healing me too."

Tinker Bell sat down on his shoulder, crossing her arms.

"You're worried about that...thing that spoke to us?"

Pat. Pat.

"Me too. But we don't have time to think about it. Peter and Alice need our help."

Tink flew around his head, sprinkling him with pixie dust.

Riku jumped up. And then fell to the ground.

"Not again. Why can't I fly?"

Tink shook her head. She shot across the sky, leaving Riku alone. He sat there for a second, stunned. Standing, he tried flying one more time, but his shoes were stuck to the ground. So he ran. Through the jungle and out toward the cove, guided by the scent of the sea. The bangs and shouts from the battle at the pirate ship thundered through the sky. Riku skid to a stop. He could run no more.

He was standing at the edge of a cliff. The ship, and the heartless surrounding it, were straight ahead, across a whole league of the sea. Riku focused, but no happy thoughts came. There was no way he could swim across the sea fast enough! The longer he stood there, the more danger Alice was, especially now that he knew there was some dark thing on the island.

Frustrated, Riku stomped his foot. He stepped on something. A rock? No. It wasn't smooth, cold, or earthy. Bending down, Riku picked something off the cliff floor. He ran his hands over it, realizing he was holding some kind charm. It was shaped like a star. The topmost corner of the star had a hole in it, in which a leather string went through. The end of the string had another star shaped charm. This one was much smaller, the size of a coin, compared to its palm sized glass and metal star counterpart.

Riku held up the charm by its string, letting the star dangle in front of his eyes. The charm felt both familiar and foreign, like a long lost memory from childhood. One that he could only remember in dreams. A faint feeling of light fluttered to him from the charm. Determination, loyalty, but there was a sting of darkness as well, a rage that was begging to be the charm belongs to, Riku guessed, must be powerful.

"Why are you just standing around?"

Slighty's voice.

Riku nearly dropped the charm. He managed to catch it before it fell off the cliff and disappeared into the ocean. Pocketing the star, he waved at Slighty and Cubby. The two boys floated down from the sky.

"Come on," Cubby waved his arms. "We have to get to the ship. Peter can't take on all those monsters alone."

"But I can't fly," Riku said.

Cubby crossed his arms. "That's all? Faith, trust and pixie dust. You got one already. What about the other two?"

A spec of light flashed by Riku's ear. Tink put her hand on his cheek.

"I can't," Riku sighed. "Whenever I try, I keep falling."

Tinker Bell stomped her feet on his shoulder.

"Ouch!" Riku wrung his hands. "I tried, okay! I thought happy thoughts and then some dark thing pulled me back down! You think I want to be on this cliff? That I don't want to get to that ship and help Peter? Or Alice? Or my friends that are out there somewhere?"

The Lost Boys groaned.

"Gross! You sound like an adult," huffed Slighty.

"You'll never fly at this rate. You got to relax," added Cubby.

"How can I relax? You just said Peter needed my help."

Slighty reached out and flicked Riku's nose. "Are you a Lost Boy or not?"

Still rubbing his nose, all Riku could say was, "Huh?"

"You said you're not an adult yet. Prove it! Act like a kid! Or did you forget how?"

Cubby shook his head, tsking. "If you can't then you really are a grown up after all."

"Act like a kid? You make it sound so easy."

"It is!" The Lost Boys all but screamed.

Riku suddenly remembered Alice's words. Neverland. A place where children never grew up. Alice may be a clever little girl, she was still, very much, a little girl. Only a child would walk up to a pirate captain and ask him a question without a single care for her own safety. Only a child would have the boundless confidence and not notice the romantic feelings of his pixie partner. Only a Lost Boy could fly. A boy like Sora, who still had the endless wonder and faith of a child.

Had he spent so long in the darkness, that he forgot what it felt like to goof off without worrying about worlds smashing together, the darkness, or all the other crazy stuff that had happened since he left Destiny Island for the first time. If it were Sora, he would be excited just to be in another world, with new friends. Maybe it was time to let go, and follow Sora's lead.

Riku didn't bother concentrating on happy thoughts. Kids didn't think. They acted. No more Mr. Responsible. Riku lifted his leg, and took a single step off the cliff. He tipped forward, falling headfirst toward the water below.

Tinker Bell shrieked and dove down next to him.

"You know, Tink," Riku shouted over the wind. "Sora doesn't always pick the brightest friends."

She tilted her head. Even though he couldn't see her face, he was sure she was looking at him like she was crazy.

"I really am just a bid, dumb, moron. Here I am trying to find a logical way to fly, when really I should be thinking," Riku spread his arms wide, "holy cow! I can fly!"

The ocean was a second away from pulverizing him, but Riku wasn't afraid. Instead, he laughed. And just like that, as though he had always known how, he floating above the water. He reached down, put his hand in the sea, feeling the fingers slice through the water as he flew through the air like a jet. The wind pressed against his face, the sky welcomed him as he flew upward. Tinker Bell rang like a church bell. She fluttered around Riku's chest, waving her arms.

Whooping met Riku's ears. He stopped in the air, letting Slighty and Cubby catch up to him. The boys cheered, screaming. "You did it!"

Riku pointed out into the sea, toward the pirate ship. "Ready to take down some monsters."

Cubby hoisted a heavy, wooden club over his shoulder. Slighty raised his slingshot. "You bet!"

Leading the charge, Riku shot across the sky. The closer he got to the ship, the more he felt the darkness itch on his cheeks. Just below them, there was a terrified snivel, and Riku smelled wood and desperation as Mr. Smee rowed away from the pirate ship.

"Oh, this is just terrible! Those creatures will destroy the ship, they will! I better find the Cap'n quick!"

If Peter and Alice hadn't needed his help, Riku would have turned around and stopped Smee, but there was no time for hesitation now. He could taste the bitter darkness in the air ahead. The crunching of a darkball, as it smacked its teeth, was getting louder. Riku flew toward it, head on. The darkball thrashed, moving out of his way. Riku felt pressure in the air, felt the darkness beating down on him. To his left! He made a quick turn in the air, just in time to let the darkball dive bomb past him. Not wasting any time, Riku zoomed toward it while it still had its back turned. He sliced it in half.

More pressurized points of darkness sizzled on his skin, a whole wave of darkballs were heading his way, rising out of Hook's ship in the distance, flying toward Riku like an army of wrecking balls. Riku pointed his soul eater ahead of him, and fired a volley of thunder spells. Sections of the incoming army were fried into nothing, but a few survivors got past Riku, flying toward the Lost Boys. Before Riku could turn around, Slighty aimed with his slingshot and hit a few of the heartless between the eyes. In the few seconds that the halted, confused, Cubby flew up from below and smashed them into nothing with his heavy club.

Cheering, Riku regrouped with the boys, letting them handle the few stragglers that got past his defenses. Drilling through the army of heartless, Riku and the boys got closer to the ship. Just before they could land on the deck, another swarm of darkballs attacked and Riku had to swerve quickly in the air before he could be pin-balled between thrashing heartless. Thousands of dark pressure points tingled on his skin. There were more heartless then his mental landscape could count. Worse, the darkballs went after easy prey.

Riku reached out, grabbed Slighty and Cubby's arms, pulling them out of the way, seconds before a darkball barreled through the air, nearly bitting off the boys' feet. Another attacker came from in front, and Riku swung Cubby toward it. The boy roared, using Riku's momentum, and his longer reach, to bonk the heartless right on its head, sending it down to crash into the ocean below.

Riku let Cubby go, and he sailed forward, barreling through heartless with childish excitement. His attack created a break in the heartless, and Slighty sailed into the free space, shooting stones left and right, keeping the heartless away, if only for a few seconds. Riku and Tinker Bell followed behind. The fairy fluttered near Riku, healing him periodically, pushing away his fatigue, while he cut through the heartless that got too close.

"It's worse then before!" Slighty called from ahead. "There's even more of them. Where are they coming from?"

When Riku neared the main mast, he nearly felt sick. The darkness was thick, like the smoke of a wildfire. He tried not to choke on the air as the dark pressure from all the heartless squeezed his lungs. The entire ship was coated in shadow and darkball heartless. They swarmed over the haul, the mizzen ropes, the rudder, the figurehead, the keel, like wasps on a hive. A whole wave of darkness was crawling up the crow's nest and Riku instantly knew why. A powerful light shined there, one of curiosity and wonder.

Alice stood in the crow's nest. Peter flew around her, deflecting heartless with his knife, cawing like a rooster at dawn as he gleefully watched the heartless pop with each quick jab. Riku dove, slicing through the darkballs until his feet stomped onto the wooden railing behind Alice. Up above, Slighty and Cubby flew down, providing Peter with backup and giving Riku enough time to reach out and grab Alice's shoulder.

When she turned around, the scent of camomile reached Riku's nose, and in complete and utter confusion, he said, "Are you having tea?"

After taking a sip, Alice lowered her china cup back on its saucer. "Well, the captain's stateroom was open you see, and I was quite thirsty."

A darkball flew at Alice's shoulder. Riku twitched, but wasn't as fast as Alice. Shrieking, she flung her teacup. Scalding liquid sprayed over the darkball's face. It reared back, trying to shake off the hot water, but Riku quickly stabbed it with his soul eater, making it disappear.

Alice huffed, crossing her arms. "Oh, I am getting rather tired of all this nonsense! The armor wasn't here and now I have to deal with this ridiculous infestation!" Suddenly, she gasped. "Riku! Behind you!"

Something sharp crashed into his back, knocking him off the crow's nest. He fell toward the deck. Quickly correcting himself before he could splat into a pancake, Riku flipped right side up. In the moment it had taken to stop himself, a shadow heartless had jumped onto his leg, clawing into his calf. Hissing, Riku sliced the small creature. But the heartless had done what it was supposed to. With his focus on the shadow and his pain, he wasn't able to feel for the darkball that had been zooming toward him from above.

A thick, heavy body slammed him down into the deck. Only his quick reflexes made him slap his hands down on the wood, stopping his face from smashing into the floor. His leg and back roared in pain as the heartless bounced on his spine. Worse, now that he was no longer airborne, he was at the mercy of all the shadow heartless on the ground.

Before the heartless could dog pile on top of him, Tinker Bell flew down and dropped a small glimmer of light on his leg. Riku's pain evaporated, and the darkball heartless hopped off his back, distracted by the buzzing pixie light that flew in front of its face. No time to thank Tink, Riku pushed himself back up into the air, zooming forward, cutting through whole squads of shadow heartless on the ground, before turning back around to get rid of the darkball that was chasing Tink. She high-fived his nose, keeping close to his side.

Riku moved to fly up the main mast, to get to the crows nest, but wave after wave of darkballs kept getting in his way. He kept fighting, slicing through hundreds of darkball and shadow heartless alike. Even Tink's constant healing ability couldn't protect him from too much exhaustion. If only the stupid heartless swarm would stop for one second so he could catch his breathe! As if things weren't bad enough, there was a furious roar from below, accompanied by the sharp scent of metal. Riku ducked seconds before a hook nearly cracked into his skull.

"Bilge rat! Come to bring more of these blasted heartless on me ship, eh?"

Riku flew backward as Hook barreled toward him, slicing his rapier through the air, cutting through heartless, his jabs so fast that he created a sphere of deadly cuts all around his body. If Riku got too close, he'd be sliced by the razor sharp tornado surrounding hook. Between ducking away from Hook's sword and trying not to get chewed up by heartless, Riku had no time to quip, fight back, or do anything other then try to keep his body in one piece.

"I've had enough of these filthy creatures! I've had enough of Pan! I've had enough trespassers on me ship! And I've especially had it with you!"

Tink flashed in front of Hook's face, shining so bright that the Captain yelped, squeezing his eyes shut. He swatted at Tink with his hook. Riku lunged forward, reaching for Tink. The hook was about to pierce through Tinker Bell's wings.

A metal clang, followed by an angry grunt from Peter made Riku stop in his tracks. Peter ground his knife against the hook, pushing it away from Tink. He pulled the pixie close to his chest, sparing a moment to ask her if she was all right. She jingled, signaling that she was okay.

"You've gone too far this time, Hook," Peter seethed. "Nobody hurts Tinker Bell as long as I'm around!"

With a light no longer blinding him, Hook was how free to raise his sword. "Then I'll just have to get rid of you first, boy!"

Peter ducked, avoiding the swing of Hook's sword. The two swordsmen froze for one moment, staring each other down. The surrounding heartless and chaos were completely ignored. In a split second, Peter flashed forward, re-starting his deadly duel with Hook. With Peter taking care of Hook, Riku was able to shift his attention to the heartless. Yet, try as he might, no amount of thunder magic, or cuts from his soul eater would thin their ranks. It was like the ship was sitting right on top of an invisible geyser that was spewing an endless stream of the monsters!

Peter's grunts reached Riku's ears. A darkball whizzed by Peter's ear, distracting him. There was a thump against the wall of that led to the captain's cabin and Riku realized that Hook had used his metal hand to slam Peter to the wall. He raised his sword. Slicing through heartless, Riku ran toward the Peter, but a yelp from above made him pause. Darkballs had surrounded the mast, surrounding Slighty and Cubby. Both boys had lost their weapons during the fight and Riku's distraction had cost his dearly.

In that single moment, the shadow heartless on the ground had grabbed his legs and were pulling him down. Riku tried slicing through them, but there were too many, and soon, more of them were piling up on top of his head. Trapped under dozens of biting, scratching, writhing shadows, Riku felt the darkness entering his lungs. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't sense anything, except for the sudden burst of warm air that came down from the sky. Light shined down on him, burning through the heartless.

A small hand reached in through the swarm, and Riku grasped the warm fingers without even thinking about it. A light so exciting and electric zinged up Riku's arm and tingled down his spine. All of his pain, his fear and confusion melted as he held on to the small hand. He was pulled out of the heartless, up to stand next to Alice's side. He stood next to the princess of heart, reeling, as some unstoppable, wonderful bit of lightning moved through his body. He wanted to fly, to scream, to run, to jump, to dance, anything to release the excitable potential within him.

Completely stunned by Alice's power, Riku didn't even sense the shadow heartless that were jumping at Alice. With her other hand, Alice threw her teacup, smashing it onto the heartless' head, stunning it.

"Oh poo! I'm not afraid of you! And I've quite enough of all this nonsense!"

The energy inside Riku's body intensified, reacting to Alice's spirit.

"Sir Captain! You will release Peter at once!"

"Oh, will I now?" Hook shouted back.

"Yes, you pompous, bad tempered old tyrant!"

Hot fury poured off Hook. He pulled back his rapier. "WELL THIS OLD TYRANT IS GOING TO HAVE PAN STEW TONIGHT!"

The rapier flew toward Peter's face. Tinker Bell jumped in front of Hook's eyes, shining, kicking him right in the eye. The captain fell back, roaring. Peter wasted no time, picking up his knife. But he was bombarded with heartless so quickly that he had no time to counterattack Hook.

Slighty and Cubby's whimpers fluttered down from above. The boys were trapped by darkballs. In the midst of all the chaos, Riku felt a righteous fury building up in his chest. Alice's light flared, hot and loud, like a solar flare. An invisible wind blew her hair away from her shoulders. The energy inside Riku swelled. He lifted his soul eater, pointing it upward. Alice lifted her free hand, pointing to the sky. The energy between the pair of them was boiling over, forcing them to shout.

"MINI!"

Rose scented wind fluttered around Riku's body. The current of air washed over the ship, the sky, the sea, any and all nearby heartless and those with ill intent. The heartless shrank, smaller and smaller, until the burn of darkness became an almost imperceptible itch. Alice's combined magic spell with Riku shrunk the heartless down to microscopic levels. It was over in second. All Riku could sense was a clean ship, and a pirate captain that was a lot smaller then before.

Above, Slighty and Cubby roared with laugher.

A tiny, high pitched voice shouted back at them. "Shut up, you fools! Blasted brats! When I get back to my real size I'll-"

Hook's voice was cut off as Cubby flew down and plucked the captain's tiny body off the floor. "Look what I got, Pan."

Peter snorted. "Why Cubby, that's the smallest codfish I've ever seen."

Tinker Bell hovered next to Hook, measuring him. He barely reached he shoulder. She kicked her legs, giggling.

Slighty raised his slingshot. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"No! Don't you dare," came Hook's whimpering voice.

Riku leaned against the mast, smirking as he listened to Hook scream revenge on Slighty. The boy didn't pay him any attention as he put the pirate in his slingshot. Twang. Hook shot through the sky, skipping on the water like a stone, vanishing into the horizon.

"And he's out of here!" Peter shouted.

A round of applause and whoops followed. Riku couldn't resist snickering with Alice. When her giggles subsided, she lowered her hands from her mouth.

"Well, I've had an adventure." She curtsied. "Thank you, Riku. I certainly couldn't have taken care of all the darkness without your help."

Riku opened and closed his palms. "Exactly, what did we do? I haven't felt that kind of power since Kairi unleashed her own heart to save Sora. Just what kind of power do princesses of heart have?"

Alice tapped a finger against her jaw. "Curious. I haven't the faintest idea. I simply wanted to rescue Peter and the Lost Boys is all. I thought you were the one supplying the strength I needed." Alice shook her head. "Well no matter. I say we find a way out of Neverland."

Riku blinked. "What about the armor you were looking for."

"It seems to be more trouble then its worth. And I seem to be attacking heartless like a garden attracts weeds."

"No kidding." Riku rotated his neck, stretching his sore muscles. "I haven't felt so many in one place before, not since the realm of darkness. Something must have happened there, something big."

"Then it would be wise to head to Disney Castle. But how to get there."

Peter walked by, blowing a raspberry. "What are you two whispering about?"

"Well, Peter, Riku and I need to head out to another world. The only problem is how." Peter clicked his teeth. "What are you talking about? We've got our own ship right here. Just tell Captain Pan where you want to go." He turned toward the Lost Boys. "All right, ya swabs! Hoist the sails! Raise the anchor!"

"Aye, sir!" Slightly and Cubby flew up the masts.

Peter whistled and Tinker Bell appeared by his shoulder. "Pixie dust. On the double!"

Tinker Bell saluted. Faster then a eagle, she raced around the ship. Magical mist sprinkled over the sails. Pixie dust covered the ship from rudder to keel, shining on the helm, making the entire ship twinkle with pixie light. The floor rumbled and the ship rose up, out of Neverland's oceans. The wind picked up, filling the sails, pushing the ship higher into the sky.

Riku ran to the helm, where Peter was already turning the wheel.

"Wait a minute," Riku reached out, grabbing the helm. "Do you even know we're you're going? Or what you're doing?"

"Don't need to," Peter answered, taking control of the wheel again, "Have some faith. We'll get you to where you need to go."

Riku opened his mouth to protect and then thought better of it. He had gotten this far by going with the flow. That just seemed to be the way of things in Neverland. And he liked it better that way, if he were being honest with himself. It was much more fun to be a kid, then the overinflated jerk he was the last time he was there, or the worrywart, responsible "adult" Slight and Cubby had accused him of being.

Alice walked up to the helm behind Riku. "Pardon me, Captain Pan, but would you mind if I rested in your ship's cabin? That last attack has left me quite tired."

"Of course, miss."

Alice curtsied. "Thank you."

"Oh, and Alice, do help yourself to some tea."

Alice jumped. She hovered in the air for a moment, clapping her hands, before she gently floated back down, her heels tapping the floor. "Why Peter, you finally learned my name."

Riku grinned. "Took you long enough."

Peter kicked Riku's leg.

"Hey! No mutiny on my ship, or I'll have ya walk the plank!"

Riku stopped rubbing his leg so he could summon his soul eater. When he spoke, his voice was low, gruff. "Argh, this be how you treat your crew, Captain?"

Peter let go of the helm, facing Riku, knife out. "Aye. You want to test me, boy?"

Riku made a slow, deliberate swing at Peter, one that the boy easily dodged.

"If I remember correctly, Captain, you stated that you wanted to cross blades with a new opponent."

"So," came Peter's excited response, "it's a duel you want, nay?"

Riku tsked. "We both know it won't be much of a duel, Captain. Over in a few seconds."

Peter threw his knife from one hand to the other. "Aye! It's about time I teach ya some proper respect!"

He lunged.

Sidestepping Peter's attack, Riku swung his soul eater at his opponent's head. "Then it's time for a new captain to take to the high sees! Have at ye, 'Captain' Peter!"

Peter's light brightened as he engaged Riku in their much awaited sparing match. The boys flews up toward the sails, happily grunting and throwing back and forth snide insults as they fought. Slighty, Cubby, and Tinker Bell cheered from the crow's nest, watching Riku and Peter fly around the mizzen and main mast.

Down blow, Alice waved from the door that led to the captain's quarters. "Do play nicely, you two!"

She entered the captain's cabin. Stretching, she sat down on the captain's bed and reached for the tea kettle on the nightstand. She was about to pour tea into the nearby china cup when something glimmered in the corner of the room. Alice's tea cup fell to the floor, shattering.

She stood. Her hand rose without any conscious thought put behind it, reaching out toward a bright mass that hovered across the room from her. She moved toward the light, her eyes wide, her smile full of wonder. The light shined on her face and dress. The room brightened, a white light engulfing everything. When the flash faded, Alice was gone.