Title: Whither By Moonlight

Author: Squeezynz

Chapter: Ten - Fly follows and Peter prepares.
Rating: PG

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Fly crouched in a small niche, hidden in the shadows. She had followed the bad men that stole her and Wendy away from the Indian camp until they stopped and put Wendy in the old smoke cabin, the men setting up a fire, obviously waiting for someone else to join them. Tired out from her tramp through the night, Fly curled up under a thick bush and rested her head on her arms, within seconds she was asleep.

Voices woke her, raising her head she saw another man had joined the two by the fire. They were arguing but she wasn't close enough to make out the words. As she watched one of the men entered the hut and emerged with Wendy slung over his shoulder. Him and the tall man started to walk away, the other man kicking out the fire before following. Fly waited a few seconds then set off after them. She was scared but determined not to lose sight of her new friend. Before too long the men had lead her to a maze of rocks below the towering bluff. Fly kept glancing up at the brooding rocks, imagining them to be evil spirits just waiting to fall down and crush her. Trembling, Fly crouched down and watched the men disappear behind a large rock. She waited but they didn't reemerge, so she crept forward. Behind the rock was a narrow entrance to a hidden cave. Fly paused, wiping her sweaty hands on her dress. It looked dark inside and Fly had nothing to light her way. She thought about turning back, of running back to her village, but that was many hours away and she didn't want to face Peter with the news that Wendy had been taken into the depths of the mountain with Fly too scared to follow. She edged closer to the opening and peered inside. There was nothing to see but a deep and consuming darkness, daylight barely reaching beyond the narrow archway. As she stared into the blackness, she saw a flickering light someway in. Swallowing hard, she screwed up her courage and, with one hand on the wall of the tunnel, she stepped into the darkness, her eyes firmly pinned on the wavering flames so far ahead of her.

Many times she faltered, her hand never leaving the dark rock wall that was her only comfort. Her eyes had quickly become accustomed to the gloomy conditions, a faint glow from florescent fungi growing on the damp rock faces keeping her company as she trod the dusty passageway further and further into the mountain. Every now and then she saw a flicker of yellow light far ahead of her, then it would disappear and she'd know a corner was somewhere in front of her. After several fraught hours she had to stop, too tired, hungry and thirsty to continue. As she lay slumped on the ground she stared up and saw a multitude of glittering lights far above her. Glow worms formed a sparkling night sky inside the tunnel, further adding to the meager light surrounding the little girl. Fly saw something glimmer on the wall a little further along, curious she went to investigate and found a tiny spring, the water running down the rock face to puddle on the floor before disappearing into a crack. Cupping her hands she scooped up the water and sipped. It was sweet and cold, as heady a honey wine and Fly sucked at it greedily, filling her stomach, splashing some on her dusty face as well. After that she felt renewed and ready to continue. With the glowing patches on the walls and the glow-worms above, Fly made-believe she was walking through an enchanted fairy cave, distracting her from the thought of the pirates up ahead.

Eventually her tired legs could carry her no further and Fly curled up on the hard floor, asleep as soon as she pillowed her head on her arm.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Peter waited impatiently for the Queen to appear. He chafed at having to wait to have his audience with her. The Indians were already out, had been since sun-up, scouring the forest and shoreline for any sign of the little girl Fly and his Wendy. Peter wanted to be with them, but knew he had to find out what he could from the Fairy Queen before setting off on his own quest to rescue Wendy as well as end Hook's hold on Neverland forever.

He was back in the fairy glade not far from the blasted oak, the sun disappearing behind the trees painting the sky in pinks and orange. He was armed and ready to go, two swords strapped to his back, his rapier in the scabbard on his hip, his stiletto blade sheathed on his other side, another knife in his boot, a quiver of short arrows secured to one forearm, the crossbow to use them hanging from his waist. The final piece of his personal armory was the brace of pistols tucked in holsters inside his leather vest, already primed and loaded. Peter shifted, feeing the weight of time passing, his mind uneasily avoiding thinking about what could be happening to his Wendy while he kicked his heels in the forest.
He was about to leave, the sun having sunk below the horizon, the sky turning black, when he heard the faintest chiming of fairy bells.

It was dark now beneath the trees, the shadows deep enough to hide whole armies of pirates. Between the trees he saw lights starting to thread their way, darting behind branches, hiding for a few seconds before flying forward again to hide behind another. At first there were only a handful of lights, the advance guard he surmised. They came close enough to circle his head several feet above him. Satisfied that he was alone, they formed a pattern in the air, a signal to those still hidden. At once the trees all around Peter were illuminated with pinpoints of light, the remnants of the fairy population gathered together to witness the meeting between their beleagued Queen and The Pan.

Peter stood quietly, relaxed and non-threatening as the fairy throng approached. A cluster of many fairies approached him, at their center hung a spider web and at the center of that sat the Fairy Queen. They carefully set her down on a mossy mound, still fluttering around her, her guard circling above. Peter knelt down before laying on his stomach to bring his face close to her. Light bathed his features as what remained of the Fairy Court arranged the Queen to their satisfaction. At last they stood aside, all of them turning to stare up at Peter.

The Fairy Queen raised her hand and spoke."Welcome, Peter Pan, to what is left of our home.....it has been too long since we saw you."

"Majesty.....I am sorry for what has happened here, for what took place without my knowledge....I....I...."

"We know you would have done all that you could if you had known...we do not blame you Peter.....we understand."

"You are more than generous Majesty.....I plan to find the men that did this a make sure they never have the chance to commit such carnage again."

"A bold statement, Peter Pan. You are but one....how can you defeat the forces of the dark alone?"

"I'm hoping to have help from the Indians, one of their children was kidnapped along with my Wendy."

"Kidnapped? Who has done this?"

"I believe the same men who destroyed your home Majesty...they are led by Hook, back from the dead and a man called Skinner."

Peter saw several of the courtiers exchange looks, a whisper running through the fairies gathered around the Queen. The Queen raised her hand again and the whispering ceased.

"Peter......there is something you should know about Hook and his men. Hook is not back from the dead.....he is still dead."

"Your pardon Majesty...I don't understand....what are you saying?"

"Hook died within the belly of the crocodile......it is not his earthly form that you ready yourself to do battle with. None of the men that make up his henchmen are from the land of the living."

"Dead?"

"Dead. They have no particular magic, that we know of, just a will to do irreparable damage to you and to Neverland in reparation for what they consider their untimely ends."

"If what you say is true, Majesty, how am I to find and fight this army of dead pirates?"

"Finding them is easy......they are holed up in the heart of the mountain, in the caverns and tunnels that riddle its center. As for fighting them......you can do nothing while they hide in their rock fortress....you must lure them out of there....preferably at night when the moon is full."

"Why then?"

"Once exposed to the moonlight you will have them at their weakest, then you can strike them down and they will not rise again."

"I understand......"

"Remember Peter.....while they are within the rock they are as strong as living men, you must draw them into the moonlight to have any hope of defeating them."

Peter chewed over all he'd heard, his eyes staring off into the distance while the fairy throng muttered amongst themselves, their lights flitting between the trees. Turning his head, Peter once more regarded the Queen.

"What if I fail....what if I'm killed?"

"Then Neverland will start to destroy itself, and everything within its shores....you are what keeps Neverland alive Peter.....not the fairies, or the mermaids or even the pirates.....you are what the island needs to survive."

"What of Wendy? If I don't succeed and Neverland succumbs....what of her?"

"She is not of this world Peter......if fate decides that Neverland is to be no more then she will be sent back from whence she came. Assuming that she is still alive when the end comes."

"Then I must defeat them.....and keep my head on my shoulders. Thank you Majesty for all your help....I am only sorry I couldn't have helped you when you needed me to."

"We will recover Peter....but only if you win this battle. If you lose and are not killed, Hook and his legion will scour this island of all its magic, they will destroy its forests and poison the water, there will be no hope for Neverland and its denizens if you fail. You will have to leave here.....forever." The Queen suddenly rose from her moss couch and flew up to Peter's face.

"We ask a lot of you Peter Pan.....you are but one against the evil that threatens us all....I would give you some gifts to aid you in this fight." She gestured to one of her courtiers who produced a slender wand, its point trailing fairy dust as he handed it to her.

Peter looked on as the Queen wove an intricate pattern in the air. Peter sat up and back on his heels, watching intently as the fairy dust coalesced into various shapes in the air.

"Take hold of this fairy sword Peter....it will protect the wielder of the blade against any other, whether it be cutlass or dagger. It will never break or shatter and can never been turned against its rightful owner."

Peter reached out and grasped the ornately carved hilt of the sword that appeared in the air, the blade almost glowing. As it touched the calloused palm of his hand, he felt a burning heat for an instant before it cooled, the handle fitting perfectly to his grip. The Queen was once more weaving her patterns in the air, the fairies swirling above his head in a wild dance, echoing her movements.

"This bottle holds the Tears of the Moon. Let one drop fall to the earth and the light from the full moon will shine brightly for the time it takes to draw a three breaths. Let two drops soak into a piece of cloth and while the cloth is damp the light of the full moon will shine and show you the way. Let a drop touch your skin and you will become invisible to all eyes until the drop dries like a tear."

Peter closed his fingers around the softly glowing bottle, its delicate shape as fragile as a dandelion seed, the liquid inside swirling like mist. After a few seconds the glow faded and he tucked it into his shirt where it sat against his skin.

"One last thing Peter......a bag of fairy dust. It will enable any that follow you to fly as you do."

Peter tied the soft cloth bag to his belt.

Clambering to his feet he stood as the swarm of fairies rose up into the air around him, the Queen once more within the safety of the spider's web and surrounded by her surviving court.

"Good luck Peter Pan.....the fate of Neverland and your own future rests in the strength of your arm and the courage in your heart. I will send my personal guard with you to guide you, and any that follow you, to the caves that hide Hook and his cohorts. They will stay and report back to me your success or your failure. Farewell Peter."

Raising his hand in an answering salute, Peter watched the Fairy Queen borne away through the trees, leaving behind a handful of her guard who bobbed in the air around his head. When the last of the fairy throng had vanished from sight, Peter held out his hand and one of the remaining fairy guards alighted.

"We'll return to the Indian village before we go hunting Hook."

"As you command Pan.....we are bound by the Queen's order to serve you until the end."

Checking that everything was still secured about his person, Peter launched himself into the air, the fairy guards taking up positions around him as they sped over the tree tops to the Indian village.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TBC........Merry Christmas to One and All....... 333