This is a fan fiction based on Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates, in turn based upon J.M. Barries Peter and Wendy. I do not own the characters of this beloved classic… with the exclusions of Mau, Tsekani, Menkaura, Hondo and Khalid. They are my characters who I worked hard to create, don't take them from me.

All comments and constructive criticisms are welcome. But don't flame me, it's not nice and they are pretty useless, I'll probably just delete them. If you have something to say, please, think before you type.


101 REASONS NOT TO TAKE A DARE
SPIDER, SPIDER (Part Two)

*****
An invisible disturbance startled Neverland's creatures, and they fled from
the woods. Hidden in the forest were a band of blatant, disorderly men. In
the opening of the grove was the crew of the Jolly Roger, making quite the
spectacle. They were busy hustling to Captain Hook's booming orders.
"Hurry up with that rope Smee!" he hollered to his bosun, "Those vile brats
should be coming through here any moment."
"Hurrying up, that we are sir," Smee feebly told the Captain as he tripped
over the bundle of ropes he held in his arms. Just as clumsily as he fell, he
picked himself back up along with the rope.
Captain James Hook watched his men run about like headless chickens, his arms
folded and his expression rather indignant. His boot tapped against the green
grass, rather impatiently.
The small Irish man scurried up to a large tree and knelt down in the tall
grass. Concealed in the tall green, was a net that Smee fumbled to attach to
the loose end. After he tightened the line he connected it to three other
strips of rope.
A young voice from above called, "Throw it up Smee." He peered up into the
leaves at Billy Jukes, who was straddled over a branch. He reached down,
ready to catch the line.
After collecting the rope in a ball, he tossed up the bundle. It didn't even
come near Jukes fingers and landed right back at Smee's feet.
Billy made an awkward face as he let his body hang on the branch. He waited
for Smee to gather up the rope again, before composing himself to catch it
again. Not surprisingly to anyone, Smee miss-threw the line and it spilt
right on top of his head.
"Dear lord," Starkey's perky voice ridiculed from the next tree, "This could
take all day."
Hook rubbed the bridge of his nose, a headache stirring under his skull. He
couldn't believe the inanity of his men and slowly stalked away from the
scene.
"The gum bean thing just won't stay airborne!" Smee blamed the inanimate
object and he aggressively picked it up. This time he jumped up into the air
with the rope to get it higher in the air. It collided into the underside of
the bark and this time, Juke's let it slip through his fingers, nearly
sliding off the branch.
He dangled a moment while Smee informed him, "Yer supposed to catch the rope
now Mr. Jukes. We've been through this."
"Cartridge, shot and powder!" Billy grumbled to himself, trying not to burst
out at the bosun, no matter how much he wanted to.
Starkey swung down the tree and motioned to Smee, "By King George, just give
it here Smee. Before you go and hurt yourself."
"I'm doing fine," Smee protested, pulling the rope out of Starkey's reach.
The remaining pirates revealed themselves from their hiding places. Billy
rhythmically smacked his head against the bark thinking he may very well be
stuck up in that tree all day long.
The two men continued to argue over the rope and Starkey made a comment
about, "Smee, you couldn't see daylight through those spectacles."
Their voices draw a visitor towards them, or perhaps they were simply in his
path. The carpenter, Alf Mason, became heedful when he heard the grasses
rustle. Visible first was the familiar parrot cap and Mason quickly gestured
to the other men. He backed up behind a tree, to surprise the lost boy when
he entered the clearing.
A boys hand pushed the grasses aside, but the boy they expected did not exit.
Tsekani gave a cold glance to Mason, who was looming over him. The large man
wasn't sure whether to attack anyway or back down.
"What trickery is this?" Mullins questioned, raising his blade to the boy.
Robert's voice alerted Billy that something was up and he looked down to see
the strange dark youth. His eyes narrowed when he saw this mysterious boy in
Slightly's hat. "Who is that?" the mere expression on his confused face
asked."You're not one of Pan's! Who are you cully?" Mullin's demanded.
Tsekani did not reply and just stared down the other pirates.
"Cat got your tongue boy?"
"I hate cats." Tsekani spat and all of the pirates laughed.
"Yeah, well, I like cats!" Mullins grinned widely, "In fact, we've got a cat
ourselves." He chuckled some more, referring to Long Tom. "Eats up little
birdies like you."
Tsekani was visibly not amused by the pirates, being locked up in a tomb for
centuries didn't help his sense of humor either.
Still concealed in the tree, Billy quietly mouthed, "Where's Slightly? Ask
him what he did with Slightly."
"Buck up lad, you take things too seriously," Starkey told him. Like with
Slightly, Tsekani was unmoving, calm and emotionless. Well not completely
emotionless, anger was reeking from the boy.
Billy couldn't stand the suspense any longer and began to climb down. He
paused for a moment when he noticed something odd about his eyes. They seemed
to glow afire with a red light, something dangerous and terrifying. Gut
instinct told Billy, "Close your eyes! Close them tight! Now!"
The other pirates saw Tsekani's eyes glow as well, and each of them stared
into his eyes. Slowly, their defenses fell and there own eyes became hazy,
dim and empty. A powerful hypnosis was one magical gift that Tsekani had
received. If you can make people believe whatever you say to be truth, then
that is a mighty gift. The effects only lasted a moment and the pirates
resumed doing what they could remember last.
"'Tis one of those blessed lost boys!" Smee blurted, reaching for Johnny
Corkscrew.
"Grab him lads!" Starkey ordered and the men quickly encircled Tsekani. It
was like he had just arrived, the pirates were so puzzled to see the boy.
From up in the tree, Billy's eyes flew open. He saw the men dive at the boy,
who took to the sky like a falcon. "What in the seven seas?" Billy slowly
breathed, watching him fly circles around the other pirates. Tsekani's mood
greatly changed and he mocked the pirates like a playful child. In that
moment Billy closed his eyes, everything changed. The pirate boy climbed back
up into the tree, staying as quiet as he could.
"You couldn't catch a cold!" Tsekani laughed, staying just out of their
reach. The echoing laughter alerted Hook to return and he came charging out.
"Gall and brimstone! What fatuity is this? Can you blithering imbeciles do
nothing but make outright mockeries of yourselves?"
At Hook's entrance, Tsekani decided it was time to exit. Let the Captain of
the pirates have at his men.
"It was one of Pan's Lost Boys." Mason quickly pointed to the fleeing lad.
Hook watched the unfamiliar boy soar high into the air and growled to
himself."He sprung an attack on us!" Smee next tried to explain.
"Is very sneaky!" Cookson agreed. Captain Hook felt another headache
approaching as they dished out their moronic excuses for their own
inadequacies.
"Sprung an attack? What are you talking about?" Billy discredited as he leapt
down from his hiding place.
"Indeed, explain yourselves," Hook towered over his men, waiting to hear of
this "attack".
"Well now, let's see," Smee struggled to remember what had only happened a
few seconds ago. Hook grew quickly impatient and let them know.
"We were setting up the trap for Pan like you said sir," Mullins picked up
the story, "when this whippersnapper came down and sported with us. Thought
it was all some game. We tried our best to knock him out of the air Captain.
Little bugger was just too quick fer us."
Hook and Jukes shared the same dumbfounded expression.
"Inconceivable."
"You can say that again sir."
"And where were you this whole time, Mr. Jukes?" Hook looked down at his
gunner. Jukes shrunk under the man and more timidly replied, "Up in the
tree... sir. But that wasn't one of the Lost Boys. He came," Billy pointed to
where Tsekani had first appeared, "walking right out from that hiding."
"Not a lost boy?" Hook questioned, looking directly at the other men.
"Have you lost yer wits boy?" Mullins scolded Jukes immediately, "You saw it
with yer own eyes, same as us. Ye trying to make fools of yer shipmates?"
Billy was speechless for the moment, why didn't anyone remember... was it a
trick?
"Oh, I see now," Billy and Mullins said practically at the same time. The boy
kept quiet to let his elder friend speak first.
"'Tis bewitchment...." Mullin's concludes and Billy's jaw falls open. "That's
why he cannot remember what happened."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," Billy murmurs under his breath.
He knew that what he saw was the truth and somehow, this boy diluted it from
the other pirates memories. More accurately he altered their memories to suit
better whatever purpose he had.
"Makes perfect sense to me," Starkey agreed supported by Smee, "Tis the
logical answer."
"Forgive Billy Captain, it's not his fault." Mullins apologized on behalf of
his crewmate. The boy raised his eyebrows in doubt, and Hook began to tap his
foot again.
"I should flog you all for the simple accident of your meager existence."
Hook threatened and another idea quickly formed in Billy's head.
"All right, I've been bewitched. I don't remember a thing. So tell me, who
was it? Which lost boy was it?"
James Hook seemed rather intrigued by this question that none of his men
seemed to be able to readily answer. They all looked at each other for the
answer, though that didn't help either.
"The names on the tip of me tongue," Smee struggled to remember.
"It was one of the lost boys though, sir," Starkey repeated the obvious for
the billionth time it seemed.
"You dim witted ninnycocks, you don't know what you saw." Hook threw his hook
up into the air as he ran his good hand across his face. He took a moment to
collect his nerves, "Never the less, the mischievous sprite was airborne."
"Aye sir, the boy was flying indeed." Smee repeated as if it were a new
thought.
"Sure in now he'll go tell Pan what we're up to." Mullins submitted, still
convinced of the nameless boy's identity.
"Yes, a most acute observation," Hook at least agreed with that. The boy had
seen them toiling about in the woods. If he were truly one of Pan's Lost
Boys, he would clue them in to the trap they had set. Hook was very
aggravated by this set back and he harshly ordered, "Gather up the gears men.
We will return and regroup aboard the Jolly Roger." They collected up the
rope and worked their way back out of the forest. One last time, Billy looked
at where that mysterious boy had appeared. He couldn't shake the feeling of
dread in his stomach. Something was terribly amiss, something had happened to
his friend and he couldn't do anything about it.
*****
"Slightly! Slightly can you hear me?" a young girl's voice called out through
the forest in such a terribly distressed voice.
"Slightly answer us!" a second, young boy's voice called out next in anger.
Wendy and Nibs were flying briskly through the woods, back towards the cave
where they'd last seen the boy. In Wendy's arms she tightly clenched a ball
of yarn. They planned to take the ball as a guide, to find their way back out
of the cave. Peter was surprisingly absent from their search party, still off
on his own adventure. Though this adventure was one neither children desired
to be a part of. And the daylight was steadily fading into the sea, which
would make the search more difficult still.
"He couldn't have gotten that far, this is Neverland." Wendy noted to Nibs,
who looked just as worried as she did.
"But he could have left just after we did, he could be anywhere. Or he could
still be in that cave, he might be hurt." Nibs looked away from his pretend
mother, afraid to look in her eyes. He reproached himself, "This is all my
fault."
"Don't blame yourself Nibs," the girl neared him for comfort, "You made a bad
decision, yes, but now we're going to solve it together."
"If Peter were here..." Nibs began but a doubtful glance from Wendy told him
to stop. Indeed, if Peter were there, they would have all been in that cave.
"We'll find him," Wendy assured, for both of them, "We have to."
As the two children flew in one direction, another young boy was in flight
the opposite direction. The familiar cap caught Wendy's eye and she reached
out for Nib's shoulder, "Look! It's Slightly!" She joyfully directed back as
she pulled on the boy.
Nibs had trouble stopping as he flipped around to see the boy fly past.
"Slightly!" He beckoned loudly and succeeded in attracting the youth's
attention. As he landed next to the children, their elated expressions
quickly sank. Tsekani watched with his dark, foreboding eyes as Nibs stepped
boldly in front of Wendy.
"You're not Slightly" Wendy obviously stated, still trying to be considerate
to the stranger.
"Who are you?" Nibs demanded of Tsekani while drawing his dirk.
"Tsekani, just a lost boy." He cryptically explained as his eyes began to
shimmer again. They stared him straight on as his hypnotic glare pierced
their young minds.
"What are you talking about?" Nibs inquired blinking harshly, trying to avoid
the gaze.
"But you were looking for me," he smoothly suggested. Wendy had already
fallen deep into the spell, her eyes empty of any comprehension. Nibs too
began to loose himself, until he firmly closed his eyes and drew his blade up
again.
"No we weren't!" he shouted firmly, "Where's Slightly?"
Tsekani's lip snarled at the boy's will, and held his gaze at them even
stronger. Still just as serene he repeated, "You were looking for me."
This time his hypnosis was successful and Nibs let the knife slip away from
his fingers. Wendy stepped out from behind Nibs' protective stance and tears
filled her eyes.
"Tsekani," Wendy embraced the boy as if she'd known him forever, "where have
you been? We were so worried."
He petted her hair gently and with a kind smile lied, "I was on my way home
my dear lady. There are no need for tears, everything will be all right now."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you like I did," Nibs looked at the grass
in guilt as he apologizes. "It was irresponsible of me."
Tsekani firmly took Nibs' hand, "I got out, so don't beat yourself up over
it. We're only boys after all."
Nibs grinned widely as did Tsekani, who's smile seemed less malicious now.
Wendy took a hand of each boy into her own and lifted off the ground.
"Let's go home now, the others are waiting." she suggested as they joined her
in the sky.
"Yes, let's go home." Tsekani agreed.
****End Part Two*****