Chapter 18: Return of the Croc

The Lost Children were taking their delayed picnic trip to Mermaid Lagoon. The picnic with the mermaids had been postponed, due to the hatching of Marzi's magic egg into the child's very own pixie.

Now, they were spending the day with the mermaids. The children were all dressed in their swimsuits, swimming and having fun with the fish girls, before they were to eat. Peter and Amy were in the water at the moment, giving Marzi her very first swimming lesson. The little girl kicked her legs as she attempted to move through the water.

"That's it, Marzi!" Peter smiled encouragingly. "You're doin' it!"

Marzi giggled as she splashed about, moving through the water of the lagoon. Peter and Amy stayed beside her, watching over her, and making sure nothing happened to the child.

From nearby rocks, the mermaids watched the three of them, mixed feelings stirring inside. Like Tinkerbell, their hearts melted when they looked at Marzi. Such a small child, who clung to Peter at every little fright. No threat there, they decided.

Amy, however, was another story. The girl seemed to share more than just friendship with the Eternal Youth. Much more. And --just like with Wendy, Jane, and the countless other "mothers" before and after them-- the mermaids burned with jealously over Amy Rhines.

"I tired," Marzi said, swimming over to Peter and Amy. She threw her arms around Peter's neck and hugged him in the water, trusting that he would hold her and take her back to land.

"Okay, Marzi," Peter smiled. "Enough of a lesson for now." The three of them swam back to the bank, where the picnic was waiting for them. Tink, Dusty, and Eos was busy keeping the insects away from the food while the humans played in the water. Tiger was curled up on a bed of moss, sound asleep.

Nearby, also in the lagoon, Petra and the Lost Boys were swimming and playing in the water. They played ball with bubbles, and dived for underwater treasure.

"Time to eat!" Amy yelled from the bank. At the shout, Petra and the boys cheered and swam back to shore, their games forgotten. In seconds, they were all seated around the cloth, ready to eat.

The mermaids had their own feast, of food that they could eat. But they shared the children's company, talking with them as they would friends.

From out of narrowed eyes, they watched as Peter prepared Amy's plate, while the girl was busy with plates for the boys. When she turned to fix her own food, Amy recieved a surprise. She thanked Peter with a smile and a kiss to the cheek.

"He acts as if he's married to her!" the blonde mermaid whispered to the others.

"How do we know they aren't?" the redhead whispered back.

"They're too young!" the burnette replied.

"Since when has that ever stopped Peter?" the blonde whispered enviously.

While the mermaids continued to speak friendily with the children, they whispered and gossiped among themselves about Peter and Amy.

When the food was done, the boys started running back to the water. Amy quickly stopped them.

"Sorry, guys," she said. "But it's not safe to go back into the water after eatting. You need to wait an hour or two. Then you can go back in."

"Awww...." the boys pouted, hoping she would allow them to go swimming anyway. No such luck.

"Amy's right, men!" Peter added. "Just come on back."

"How about a short nap?" Amy suggested. "Rest for awhile after that big lunch."

"Good idea!" Peter grinned. "Besides," he added, looking at a yawning Marzi, "I think Marzi wants to take a nap."

With a little coaxing, the boys redressed themselves in their fur clothes, so that they could keep warm while laying in the grass. Slightly, Tootles, and the Twins balanced themselves on the bushy tails of their animal pelts. Nibs and Cubby --with short tails-- made do on their stomachs. The Lost Boys formed a ring around the picnic cloth, which served as a sleeping blanket for Peter, Petra, Marzi, and Amy. The pixies flew to Tiger and used the cat for a soft, furry bed.

The mermaids gasped, scandalized, when they saw Peter and Amy lying together, even though little Marzi was right between them. The children, oblivous to the mermaids' outrage, fell right to sleep.

*~*~*

On the Jolly Roger, other eyes were watching the children. Very sinister eyes, gazing through the spyglass.

"Odd bobkins'!" Captain Hook exclaimed. "That brash rake and brazen strumpet are actually laying abed with each other!"

"A...a...are you s...s...sure, Cap'n?" Smee asked. The bo'sun looked worriedly in the same direction, although unable to see what the man with the hook was seeing.

"As sure as you're a bumbling fool, Smee!" Hook growled. "At least there seems to be something between them."

"What is it, Cap'n?" Smee asked. He seemed relieved that the boy and girl was not in physical contact with one another.

"It's a..." Hook focused the spyglass to get a clearer veiw, "...a...little girl," he finished in wonder.

"A gittle lirl...uh...little girl?!?" the bo'sun stammered.

"Yesss..." Hook hissed. "Could it be that the child is the offspring of Pan and that Rhines girl?"

"I don't see how, Cap'n," Smee replied. "Peter and Amy don't look like they're old enough for it. And besides," the bo'sun added, "Peter doesn't know what romance is. He barely knows what a 'kiss' is."

"That's true," Hook thought aloud. "But then why are they lying together as if they were lovers?"

Captain Hook and the pirates pondered this strange discovery, unware that things were about the change in Neverland.

*~*~*

The figure moved through the water toward Neverland, intent on reaching the magical island. It was long, and green, with eyes floating above the water to watch where it was going. It sustained itself on fish as it traveled. Aside from these little fishing trips for food, the creature kept right on course.

The creature was a large crocodile, bigger then most, with an appetite for most living things smaller than itself. It also had a desire for one piece of meat in particular: The pirate captain, James Hook.

There was one thing that seperated this crocodile from all others. From within the creature's stomach came a sound muffled by layers of muscle, skin, and scales, but still identifible, nevertheless.

It was the tick-tock of a clock.

*~*~*

The air of Mermaid's Lagoon became chill, the sky, dark. The mermaids recognized the change as the warning sign of the coming of Captain Hook. With cries of, "Hook!", the mermaids dived into the water, leaving Peter and the others to deal with the pirate threat.

Peter felt a shadow fall over them, and immedantly sprang to his feet, his dagger in his hand, a warning crow waking the others. Instantly, the children were up and armed.

Hook was even more outraged when he saw that the four humans in the center of the Lost Boys were in their swimclothes. Peter was only in a pair of shorts, his bare chest still wet with sea water.

"Get outta here, Codfish!" Peter growled. He hated being caught off guard, especially when he was so undressed, as he was.

"Explain something to me, Pan," Hook said evenly. "Explain that child," he gestured with his hook at Marzi, who clung to Amy. Petra was beside them, her katana blade drawn. "And why you and the Rhines girl were sleeping together."

"Petra and I found Marzi on the beach. We took her in to live with us. Later, Tink and I went and got Amy to be a mother for us. Amy has no parents, now, and she's here to stay. As for what we were doing: That's our business, not yours."

Hook nearly backhanded Peter with his hook-hand, if the boy handed backed out of the way, leaving the iron hand to cleave empty air. The pirate captain growled and was about to press the issue further, when a familier sound reached their ears. A sound they had not heard for many years.

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..."

Hook turned white with fear when he heard that hated sound. He began to shake in his boots, his sword and hook forgotten. And the sound was coming closer.

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..."

"S...s...s...meeeeeee....?" Hook's teeth chattered in fright.

"The Crocodile!" Peter shouted the warning. Intantly grabbing Tiger, he took to the air, followed by the rest of the children.

"But how?" Amy asked. "I thought Hook killed it!"

"N...n...n...no," Smee answered. "The Cap'n o...o...only lost 'em out a s...s...sea. W...w...when we f...f...found our w...w...way back to...to...to Never...land, we thought we w...w...were rid o' the...the...the Croc!"

"Apparently not!" Slighty answered.

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..."

Now, the dreaded animal showed itself. The Croc was just and huge, just and frightening as Hook remembered. And the sound of the clock was just as heartstopping. As soon as the beast saw the pirate captain, it licked its lips, gave a big grin, and made a bee-line toward the frightened pirate.

Hook and his pirates could not leave fast enough. It took one second to reach the longboat, another second to start rowwing. In giant leaps and bounds over the water, the pirates reached the great ship, and was aboard before five minutes were up. And right behind them came the crocodile, ready to continue its stalking of Captain Hook that it had left off so long ago.

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..." the sound of the ticking clock faded as the crocodile followed the pirates.

"I wonder how the Croc found its way back to Neverland," Petra said aloud.

"It's a creature of Neverland," Peter explained. "No being of Neverland can lose its way. There is always a way for a Neverlander to return home. It just took a little time for the Croc to find its way."

"A 'little time'?" Slightly laughed. "When did we last see it? Before what Jane called 'World War Two', I think."

"Let's get back home," Amy said.

"Okay," Peter agreed. "Let's gather up our stuff and go."

The children swooped down and cleaned up their picnic. Then, they headed toward the hidden, underground home.

"I wonder what the Octopuss is going to make of the Croc," Peter said aloud.

"That's right!" Petra grinned. "The Octopuss is after Hook for lunch, too."

"The food fight of the century!" Amy laughed. The children joined in the laughter as the continued on.

*~*~*

On the Jolly Roger, Captain Hook shivered under the covers of his bed, his terror plain. Now, not only did he have to worry about that eight-legged monstrocity that loved to hug him every chance it got, but that saw-toothed amphibian had returned to make his life miserable all over again.

All Hook could hear all night was the sound of a clock, circling around and around the ship, waiting for him to make a wrong move.

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock..."


Next: Neverland Christmas. The Lost Children share the Holidays together. The "Christmas Episode", as it were. ^_^