Author's Note: It's been a long time…I've had stuff to do. You understand, don't you? Well, I'm back on track now. Hopefully. I hope this chapter is up to par with the rest of them.

Only In Your Wildest Neverdreams

* * *

Chapter Ten

* * *

"What do you mean, he's not here?" demanded Ellie.

"They said he's not here," repeated Sky. "And they were very rude about it."

Ellie stared and her, along with Clear, in disbelief. They had flown all that way to the redskin village just to find that Peter was not there. And she could not even fly very well.

Serves me right, she thought to herself. Inks told me not to come here. Ellie had gone against Inks warning, though. She had asked Sky and Clear to come along with her to the village (Ta-Ta did not want to come) and they had agreed, having nothing better to do. But it was not worth it. Actually, it turned out to be a waste of time.

"But," continued Sky, "they did say where he is."

Ah, now they were getting somewhere.

"Dead Man's Bluff."

Ellie saw a smile emerge on Clear's face. She could not read it. "Dead Man's Bluff?" The place had a dangerous ring to it. "What's Dead Man's Bluff?"

Clear answered her, but did not answer her question. "My favorite place to play with pirates," she said, unsheathing her small sword and flying into the air. "Come on," she called, looking down at the two girls. When they did not immediately fly after her, she went on without them.

Sky glanced at Ellie, who gave her a quizzical look in return.

"Yes, I know," said Sky. "She's fought in a lot of battles there. After her brother died, she's been after pirates' blood. It is terrible. She is a good fighter; don't get me wrong, but her hate…I think it's consuming her. She does not talk nearly as much as she used to and all she thinks about is killing pirates. And she hates Oliver especially."

Sky flew into the air and waited for Ellie to lift off, who did with some difficulty. They began to fly, slowly, for Ellie's sake. "Why Oliver especially?" she asked. What did Oliver have to do with anything?

"He betrayed us, betrayed her," Sky answered. "I am going to fly a little faster so that I can keep Clear in my eyesight, okay? I want us all to be together when we get there. Try to keep up."

With that, she sped off, going slow enough just so that Ellie could see her. Ellie continued to wonder about what Sky had said about Oliver.

There they are, thought Peter. Before him was Hook, Smee, the two princesses, three other pirates that Peter did not recognize…and Oliver. He could feel the hate building up but pushed it aside for the time being. He had to concentrate. He had to think of a plan to rescue the princesses from Dead Man's Bluff.

Dead Man's Bluff was a very tall and steep cliff with a rock overhanging a vast amount of water. The Bluff sometimes produced a waterfall, but only when it decided to. At the moment, a waterfall spilled over the side. It was quite extraordinary actually, because there was no water source from which it spilled. It just did. The protruding rock was bare with no vegetation, unlike what one would come across during the climb up (grass and trees and anything else imaginable).

On this hard rock was where the two princesses sat, tied back to back amidst the pirates, minus two. Oliver sat along the side, legs dangling and looking over the distance, head in his hands. Hook, on the other hand, was pacing in a slow circle, muttering to himself. Peter could not make out what he was saying.

Peter sighed, ducking down as he impatiently continued to wait for Wild Horse and Tinkerbell as he had been doing for the past ten minutes. Where were they? There was only so long a boy could wait. Maybe it was a bad idea to let Wild Horse ride. He should have demanded that he fly.

But wait. Why did he even need Wild Horse and Tinkerbell? Wild Horse was taking his sweet time and Tinkerbell was not as reliable as he thought her to be. In addition to this, Peter had saved Tiger Lily countless times. He could definitely save two at a time if he could save one. It would be no different except for the fact that he would have to fend off the pirates for a longer period of time, but that would only allow for more fun to occur.

Although he was disappointed in Tinkerbell, her voice rang through his head.

"Wait for us, Peter. You remember what the Chief said. You will need help."

Peter shook his head, annoyed. Why did he have to care what she thought? She was not his mother. There was only one person who filled that position and she was dead now. Sighing heavily, he discarded his thoughts of Wendy out of his head. Now was not the time to obsess over her. He had a job to do.

Then, Peter decided to fly to the bottom of the Bluff to wait for Wild Horse and Tinkerbell. It was a wise decision, for shortly after, the two arrived.

"Where have you been?" Peter asked.

"It is a far ride, Peter Pan," Wild Horse answered simply. "If Tinkerbell had not been with me, I would still be riding."

Tinkerbell landed on Peter's shoulder. He did not respond, just ignored her. "Well, I have a plan," he said, looking at Wild Horse. "Why don't you go first, diverting their attention? Then, when they're focusing on you, I'll untie the princesses."

Wild Horse thought for a moment. "Are you sure?" he finally asked. "Perhaps the Captain and his men will not react the way you think."

"Trust me," assured Peter. "I know them well enough. Just play with them a little. Keep them talking. You can even lie a bit. I know! Say that the Chief is here, at the bottom of the Bluff and he wants to negotiate with Hook. Then, when you lead them to the bottom, I'll get the princesses."

After some time, Wild Horse finally nodded. "I hope you are right, Peter Pan," he said before making his way up the Bluff.

"Be careful, Peter," cautioned Tinkerbell as he flew around the cliff.

I will, he thought. Of course.

Ellie landed, relieved and proud of herself. "I think I finally have the hang of this flying thing."

"This is it!" exclaimed Clear. "Come on!" She began to trek up the Bluff.

Ellie looked at Sky. "Is it me, or does she seem a bit enthusiastic?"

"She's more than a bit enthusiastic," said Sky, following after Clear, who had already cleared a portion of the Bluff far from the ground. "She's ecstatic."

Sky and Ellie climbed in silence for a time, concentrating on stepping in the right spots and reaching for the right places.

Looking up again, Ellie noticed that Clear was far ahead of them. She had reached a portion where she could stand on level ground. Just before rounding a corner, Clear called, "Hurry up!"

Sky just shook her head. After a time, the two girls also reached the ground where they had last seen Clear. They rounded the corner.

Ellie immediately jumped, surprised. Before her was the man from her dream, the Captain himself. Beside him, Clear struggled in the arms of another pirate who had placed his hand over her mouth. "Ow!" cried the pirate, wrenching his hand from her mouth and shaking it. "She bit me! She bit me! The lit'l wench bit me! You're goin' ta pay fer that, you lit'l bitch!"

"Language, Jennings, she's a lady," Hook said.

Sky, who was in shock, backed right into Ellie. Instantly, she was grabbed by another pirate and was thrown over his shoulder. The same was done to Ellie. "Put me down!" demanded Ellie, pounding on her capturer's back. "I can stand on my own, you know!"

"Put them down," ordered Hook. "But not that one," he added, referring to Clear, who was still struggling.

When Sky reached the ground, she gave the pirate who had set her down a hasty kick in this shin.

"Shit!" he yelped, grabbing his shin and hopping up and down.

There was a slight laugh and then a round of coughing. It was as if the owner of the laugh was trying to hide it. Ellie looked to see Oliver, covering his mouth. He glanced at her, winked, and looked away. For some reason, Ellie found herself looking away in embarrassment.

"Shall we continue down, Cap'n?"

"No, Smee. We seem to have a few extras to add to our little kidnapping party. We will wait for Peter Pan  at the top of the Bluff as originally planned. Our little envoy, Wild Horse, can relay the message to the Chief at the bottom of the cliff," answered Hook. He clapped a hand on the shoulder of a redskin.

What's he doing here, wondered Ellie. Who is he?

"But in order to do that," he continued. "The Chief would have to be at the bottom of the Bluff, correct, Wild Horse?" His eyes burned into the young redskin's.

Wild Horse contained himself, keeping a straight face. "I do not know what you are talking about, Captain Hook."

Hook gave a small laugh. "Oh, come now. You and I both know that the Chief is not really waiting for us at the bottom. It is some scheme that you have concocted. I only meant to go to amuse you with whatever plan you have decided to spring upon me. Why do you think I left one of my men at the top of the Bluff?" Before Wild Horse could answer again, Captain Hook began to walk back up, which was an easier walk from that point. The rest followed him.

Upon reaching the top, they found that the princesses had been untied and Peter Pan was happily engaged in a sword fight with the pirate that Hook had left behind. It was unfair, really. Peter was a much better fighter than he.

"Oh, hello, Captain," he greeted cheerily without missing a step. Then, he saw the two Lost Girls and Ellie. "What are you doing with those three?" He flew away from the pirate and landed in front of the princesses, who were near the edge of the cliff.

Hook sneered. "We collected them on the way down," he replied. "I am willing to trade."

"Let them go, Hook!" demanded Peter. "This has nothing to do with them."

"Jennings, Mason," said the Captain, ignoring Peter. "Take care of Master Pan." He knew what he requested was impossible, but as long as Peter was busy dodging his men, it would give time for West, another one of his men, to grab the princesses. He would trust Smee and Oliver to keep the three Lost Girls under control. 

"Come now, Miss," said Smee, holding on to Sky's leg, who was trying to fly away. Meanwhile, Clear, who was tucked in his other arm, was elbowing him repeatedly. "Don't fight," he grunted between hits.

Ellie was thrown over Oliver's back and was not enjoying it one bit. "Put me down, Oliver!" she demanded. "Right now!"

He smirked. "Why? I rather like this view," he remarked, referring to her back side.

Her eyes burned with anger and she shrieked, twisting so that she could bite his ear. It was his turn to scream in pain, all the while dropping her in the process. Ellie took this opportunity to run. But where?

Peter and the redskin were fighting three pirates at once, the princesses behind them. Hook was trying to help Smee get control of Sky and Clear, and Oliver—

Ellie just barely jumped out of his grasp, falling backwards in the process. He advanced upon her. Come on, fly, fly, she thought furiously. It was in vain and the only thing she obtained was a headache, not flight. She backed away, eyes flittering about, surveying her surroundings. But the only thing that surrounded her was the sides of the cliff; she was nearing the very edge, the drop.

"Careful," warned Oliver. "You don't want to fa—" His warning was cut short as he fell forward, bumped by Mason, who had been trying to dodge an attack. In the process of falling forward, Oliver startled Ellie. She stepped backwards too quickly and slipped.

"No!" Ellie screamed, grabbing a hold of the edge of the rock. As she dangled over the edge, she could hear water rushing below her, scaring her even more. She tried to pull herself up, but only lost grip of the rock and began to fall.

 Oliver, seeing this, rushed forward to help her. He caught three of her fingers and Ellie cried out in pain. "Don't let me fall, don't let me fall!" she yelled. A few tears ran down her face.

He could not hold her. Oliver tried to reach down with his other arm, but could not do it. "Help!" he called behind him, feeling Ellie's fingers slipping.

But it was too late. Ellie fell to the water below. And she could not swim.

So, what do you think? I would really love to know. Oh, and thank you for all the reviews.

March 9, 2003

Copyright, theMuse