Hey guys! Thanks you so much for being a part of this story, it means a lot to me!
If you want to see the trailer for the new Peter Pan movie (and I have seen it, so take my word on the subject – you do) then go rent Charlie's Angels 2. It's before the film. And frankly speaking, it rocked my world. I am so excited, and in a weird way humbled, and also kind of scared. This has been a fairly peaceful fandom, but after Christmas we can kiss that goodbye, which worries me a little. Also it should disturb me that I'm almost seventeen and so completely excited about the next Peter Pan film, but it doesn't. I guess I just need more wacky friends. ^_^ Like you guys.
That whole getting a plane and flying around to pick you all up for the Christmas premiere is sounding better and better. ^_^ If any of you have rich parents and would like to help make the dream a reality, just say the word, LOL!
Now the shout-outs!
Clips: Aw, you're no trouble! *Hug* Happy reviewers are never trouble! ^_^ Here's that chapter!
Katrina: You don't have to worry, I'm not stalking you. ^_^ At least, I don't think I am. (I would know if I were a stalker, right?) And you brought up a good point that made me think – I don't plan to describe Peter, at least not physically. I think that every girl knows what he looks like to her, if you see what I mean. Hope your mum's not too mad!
oi-oi-oi: Oh yes, Hook is coming up. ^_^ You can't have a Peter Pan story without Captain Hook, that would just be wrong! I actually don't know why Peter cut off Hook's hand . . .hmm. Does anybody know the actual story of how that happened? I mean, some canon motivation? I'd love to know.
ShadySmog: Ugg-a-Wugg Wa! ^_^ I was never in the play, but man, how I want to be! You check twice a day? *Gets teary-eyed* Now I feel so special! I'm sending you a virtual hug! *Hug* And an apology that the update has been so long in coming, I've kinda been sidetracked with my blasted real life.
Sugar High5: You're a twin? That's so cool! And a wild little toilet papering story, btw. ^_~ Spies? Now there's an interesting idea . . . I don't have any at the moment, but it sounds like fun!
Raven: YOU DREW BLOOD! LOL, another classic Raven review! The New York accent came from me seeing you hanging around the Newsies fanfiction area, I have a fic there and we've reviewed the same authors a few times. So it was just a Newsies insiders joke. ^_^
AnimegirlH: Yes, an Italian romance! Whee! And good luck finding the book. I actually don't remember if Peter has an entry in it. *Smacks self for badness of not remembering such a crucial detail* Here we go with another chappie!
The last minute boyfriend check: Okay, I've got Nora, Anna, Raven, Kaela, Katrina and Alicia.
Gracie Jane needs your help! I don't want to worry you, but I plan to make the next chapter a bit violent and somebody's going to get hurt – we're talking a bloody wound and screams of pain and such. (Don't worry, nobody dies in this story, they just get really big boo-boos! ^_^ Well some bad guys might die, but who cares about them?) Should I up the rating to PG-13?
Also, how should I spell Tinkerbell? TinkerBell, Tinkerbelle, or Tinker Bell like in the book?
Disclaimer: Peter Pan and all the characters, places, and etc. contained therein don't belong to me. You guys all belong to yourselves. Basically everything else is mine. I'm making no money from this, so please don't sue me!
"Girls, I keep telling you, stop kicking!" Peter laughs. "You're flying, you don't have to do anything with your feet."
"Force of habit?" Anna offers with a blush, trying to still her flailing legs without much success.
Charlie giggles – she's having similar problems. "Well, we've been using our legs to get around forever. A little flight shock is probably natural."
"It happens to almost everybody," Peter reassures. "You'll get better as you go. Now come on – I'll teach you how to jump on the wind's back!"
It need not be said that learning to jump on the wind's back is among the more fabulous experiences that the girls have ever had. Even Sallie is enjoying herself thoroughly, but of course will never admit it. Alicia, however, can tell and is happy that Sallie's having a good time.
Other than Peter, Katrina and Kaela are by far the best fliers of the group. Within the first hour they've started darting ahead to have adventures of their own while the others catch up. When asked what they've been doing they just exchange a glance and laugh hysterically.
"We invented a new game!" Katrina cries, circling back around the other orphans.
"What is it?" Peter asks, immediately interested.
"Cloud diving!" Kaela says excitedly. "You fly over a cloud, then do a fancy dive and come out underneath it! It's wild!"
"And your clothes get all wet!"
"Yupperdoodles!" Kaela bubbles, looking at her cloud-dampened sleeves with pride. "It's so much fun!"
Alicia is one of the first to pioneer this new sport; she surprises everyone with an acrobatic twist in mid-dive.
"What? You guys know that my family were performers. I learned a few things," she says with a self-satisfied smirk.
For the next twenty minutes everyone (with the exception of Sallie, who has been lagging behind for awhile and is becoming extremely irritable) takes a stab at cloud diving. Raven and Nora even go a step further with synchronized cloud diving, at which the others clap loudly.
When they surface Nora has something to say. "I saw an ocean down there!"
"What?"
"When I dived through the clouds – we're over an ocean!"
Sallie snorts. "Not likely. The orphanage was miles and miles from any oceans."
Nora's eyebrows snap together. "I know what an ocean looks like, Sallie."
"And I know what a map looks like," Sallie says patronizingly. Alicia shoots her friend a reproachful look. Sallie's either oblivious to it or is doing an excellent job of pretending that she is.
"What did you see, Raven?" Gracie asks tactfully, trying to defuse the situation.
"Nothing, I was looking up. But there's an ocean down there, believe me," she says with certainty.
"And you know this how?" Sallie prompts.
"Nora saw it!" Raven snaps, bristling. "Why would she make something like that up?"
While the girls are having this fight Peter displays some excellent sense by popping below the cloudline to check for himself. "Nora's right," he declares, bursting up again like a cannonball. "We're over an ocean."
"But how did that happen?" Charlie asks. "How fast are we flying?"
Peter grins knowingly. "Pretty fast." Abruptly the grin disappears and he sobers in that rare way of his. "Before we go any farther there is something that you must all promise me," he says seriously.
"Sure."
"Anything!"
"What is it?" Madeline asks.
"You must promise that if it comes to single combat, you'll leave Hook to me."
A heavy silence hangs in the air. The girls exchange troubled glances for a long moment. Many of them look at Peter's sword and think things that had not occurred to them before. "Defend your lives, but do not strike to kill," Peter continues. "Promise me that."
"I promise," Gracie says solemnly. Peter give a slight smile that's more serious than usual. Their eyes meet, and an understanding flashes between them.
"I promise," Anna says. Peter inclines his head to her in a slight bow.
"So do I," Kaela and Raven say as one. "It's always been Hook vs. Pan, Peter," Raven goes on. "We understand."
"I promise," Nora says.
"Me too!" Katrina adds.
Madeline looks at Peter with wide eyes. "Me three," she says in all seriousness. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
"I promise," Charlie says, managing to give the formal salute her father taught her.
"And me," Alicia affirms. "I promise too. That's one thing I'll give my word on. I don't want anywhere near Hook!"
"Thank you all," Peter says graciously, still continuing in a serious vein. "Now for Sallie."
Oh, drat, Sallie thinks. I was hoping that if I stayed quiet he wouldn't notice I hadn't gone. "But what if he attacks me?" she bursts.
"Protect your life, but spare his. Hook is mine."
Sallie is already sulking. "Done. I promise. Can we go now?" Only too late does she realize that she did not remember to cross her fingers. Stupid being stuck with my word, she fumes to herself.
"Now that that's out of the way," Peter says playfully, once again in his usual spirits, "let's go play tricks on some stars!"
*
*
*
Morning is nearing and the girls have a few last-minute questions.
"Is it true that it's different seasons all over the island?" Charlie asks.
Peter nods. "And they switch so quickly! You have to check outside each morning to see if you need a scarf or not," he adds with a laugh.
"What about the mermaids?" Anna puts in. "Are they as wicked as the stories make them seem?"
"Yes; quite. They would drown you in a moment," he says nonchalantly. Madeline pales at this piece of information and flies closer to Nora.
"But don't they sing to you and listen to your stories?" Anna asks.
"When I say they're wicked I mean at least to everybody else," Peter says uncomfortably. "Sometimes wicked creatures aren't so wicked to me. I'm not sure why, that's just the way it is. But don't worry, if I'm there the mermaids won't have enough cheek to harm you."
It's Nora's turn for a question. "Are there any lost boys now?"
"Of course!" Peter replies, rather put on his mettle. "What kind of leader would I be without followers?"
"Where do you live?" Kaela cuts in. "We know Hook discovered the Home Underground."
"We're living in a cave I found when I was playing hide-and-seek with the boys," Peter says, as if discovering caves and then moving into them is the most natural thing in the world.
"A cave?" Sallie asks with distaste. "All smelly and drippy?"
"No. It's sandy and dry," Peter says. "With three very well-hidden entrances."
"Oh no!" Nora cries, pausing in mid-air. The others pile up behind her like reverse dominoes. Peter circles back to see what's wrong.
"What, what is it?" Raven asks Nora.
"We are such dunces, Ravy," Nora says, making a pained expression.
"What did we do?"
"You won't believe this," Nora says with a sigh.
"Try me," Raven says through clenched teeth, her patience growing dangerously thin.
"You're gonna kick yourself," Nora says.
"Will you just tell me already!" Raven snaps.
"Fine! Gosh, bite my head off. We flew away in our pajamas," she says bitterly.
"No we- oh no!" Raven cries. "We did!"
"I told you that you'd kick yourself," Nora says calmly, watching Raven fly into a fit.
The other girls look at their pajamas and do some serious thinking about practicality. They all at least had the sense to get shoes on before flying out the window, with the exceptions of Raven and Gracie, who, if you'll recall, were flung into the cellar before they could do much of anything.
"Don't worry," Peter tells them comfortingly, "I never wear shoes. You'll be fine."
"Who cares about shoes, I'm in a nightdress for goodness sake!" Charlie bursts. "How am I supposed to fight pirates and go plunging through the underbrush in a nightgown?"
"It's pretty long," Anna says appraisingly, flying closer to Charlie and examining the fabric. "If we cut it off about here," she says, gesturing, "I could use the extra material to make you a pair of shorts."
"You'd do that?"
"Of course," Anna says with a sincere smile.
Charlie visibly relaxes. "Thanks."
"I'll do yours too," Anna tells Alicia, the only other girl in a nightdress instead of pajamas. Alicia thanks her warmly. (A/N: When I say "pajamas" I mean those little matching sets you get – you know, leggings and a top of some kind, be it tank top, old T-shirt, a button-up shirt that goes with the leggings, or whatever. Who wants to be wearing boxers? Somebody volunteer! ^_^)
In the distance something the blue-green color of a jewel flashes and smiles in the sun. Pale waters lap at its shores and a pirate ship is anchored menacingly near. Dark threads of smoke rise from the Indian encampment. Even this far away the girls can hear the calls of birds that have never seen the mainland.
Madeline's eyes go as big as saucers. "Look!"
Peter beams with pride. "That's it, that's Neverland!"
Please review, guys! ^_^ Your reviews are complete awesomeness, they make me feel so, so good! But no flames, flames are like when you're minding your own business and somebody throws a rotten banana at your head!