Chapter 26

*******

The world seemed to slow to a crippled crawl as Teaken's eyes took in everything around him. A movement at the edge of the clearing caught his attention and his eyes flashed up to see the other pirates had arrived, and that they were spreading out along the outer edges of the clearing, intent on cutting off all escape routes for Pan and his Boys.

Teaken shifted his eyes back to the Twins who were still holding a shaking Grinz to the ground, though Grinz was no longer fighting back. Teaken felt his eyes narrowed in pain as he saw how Grinz lay still, but his shoulders shook as he tried desperately to keep his cries quiet.

He couldn't bear to see his happy-go-lucky comrade reduced to that, so he turned back to the main stage action, where Hook—no, Blackblood—had stepped closer to Pan, drawn in with a curious look on his dark, twisted face.

Peter still crouched on the ground, and the area he touched was quickly becoming a dry wasteland. All the grass was gone, dead and turned to dust. Beetles who had wandered to close immediately shriveled and lay on their backs, destroyed. And it was only spreading. Pan's back was heaving up and down now, as if he'd just run miles as fast as he could. His skin was oozing perspiration, and his very joints seemed to swell and bulge with each breath.

God, Teaken was terrified. Pan looked like he was boiling from the inside out, and would burst from the pressure any second.

When Blackblood took that final step forward, and placed his new right hand on Pan's shoulder, it happened.

Peter Pan exploded.

He shot up suddenly into the air, his arms away from his body and his hands wide open and every muscle tensed. He threw his head back and released a shrieking roar that seemed to rip the atmosphere itself wide open. The skies over Neverland bruised to a deep purple, then tore into stripes of green, black, and finally, the entire sky bled slowly to a dark, thick red.

As amazing and terrifying as that spectacle was, Teaken only saw it out of the corner of his eyes, as he was unable to remove his attention from his leader.

Pan was changing. Rapidly and grotesquely. As the boys, Blackblood, and the pirates watched, Pan grew. He grew in height, and in mass. The muscles in his chest, legs, and arms bunched and swelled. They seemed to fill faster the louder and longer he shrieked. The tendons in his neck were pulled painfully taut, and Teaken feared they would snap under the strain.

Pan's shriek reached a height and an octave that hurt Teaken's ears. He winced and clapped his hands over them, his mouth dropping open as a shockwave seemed to burst from Pan's body and sweep the clearing above the boys' and the pirates' heads. It leveled the Sequoia tree the boys had been hiding in earlier, reducing it to a pile of splinters and shredded greenery. The wave continued to grow, like a ripple in a pond, but infinitely more violent. It destroyed whatever it touched, and with every tree that fell, every flower, animal, or faerie that fell to its wrath, Pan screamed louder, and grew bigger. Teaken didn't know how long this could go on, he felt helpless and so, so afraid.

Teaken closed his eyes, pressed his ears closed harder, and whispered "Mary," as he fell to his knees.

*******

"I'm no doctor, but I'm sure that it can't be good for you or the little tyke you're brewing to be so upset all the time," Paul was kneeling in front of me, and gently peeling my hands from my tear soaked face.

I hadn't heard him come in. I hadn't heard anything for the past fifteen seconds. I'd only felt, and hurt. My eyes and mouth were frozen wide open.

Paul startled a little at my expression, poor guy. He probably thought I'd finally snapped and gone catatonic. "Mary?" he asked cautiously. "Mary, what is it? Are you, I mean, are you in pain? Do you need to go to the hos-"

"Yes," I hissed suddenly, and bolted to my feet. "I have to go."

Paul paled a little, but fumbled immediately in his pocket for his cell phone. "I'll call an ambulance. There's no way I can get you to the hospital fast enough on my bike, and getting a taxi at this time of day will be a nightmare."

I pulled his phone away from his ear and pushed the 'end call' button. He stared at me again. "Mary, what-?"

"I have to go, Paul. I have to go. But not to the hospital. They need me. He needs me." Another pulse of phantom pain sliced up my spine. I shivered and closed my eyes. "God, it's so painful."

"Mary you have to go to the hospital. You shouldn't be in pain. What if you're losing the baby?"

I was slowly working my way out of my trance like state. "No. It's not my pain, Paul." I explained as I tried to walk past him.

Paul grabbed my arms and held me still. He peered into my face. "Mary, you're talking like a fucking psychotic right now, ok? It's creeping me the shit out. Not your pain? What the hell are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes. "Did you take something? I didn't think you had anything else on you after what I found in your jeans, but you should know that you can't take that shit if you're pregnant for fuck's sake-OW!"

My hands clamped around Paul's face, my fingernails digging into his hairline as I stared at him. "What did you do with them? Where are they?!"

"Mary, God, stop it, I don't want anymore piercings on my face, thanks so much-"

I shook his head once, tightening my grip. "The pills, Paul, where are they?"

Looking back, I can totally understand why Paul looked like he was wishing for a stun gun. I must have sounded like a cracked out junkie on her last leg. But I didn't care. All I knew was that something was terribly wrong in Neverland. I had felt it. The life inside me had felt it, and I knew I had to get there. I winced to call it motherly instinct, but there it was. Something was threatening the future of my child, and I would not allow it. Unfortunately for Paul, he was standing in my way.

"Mary, no. You can't. Your baby-" Paul stammered, while wincing and trying not to move and indent my nails into his skin any further.

"Paul, it's not what you think. It's not drugs, it's not bad for the baby," I paused at that. Actually, come to think of it, I had no idea if pixie dust was bad for babies. But I figured logically it couldn't be. After all, this kid had been conceived in Neverland, surely it was natural for it to be around the stuff, right? "It's a way to get to Teaken. To get to where he is and help him. I need to get there. Where is it, Paul?"

"Mary, you aren't making any sense. Who is Teaken? And you are clawing my face off," Paul finally shouted and pulled my hands away from his face.

I sighed, and relaxed my hands. I patted him on the arm. "I'm sorry, but this is important. Please, just trust me on this, all right? If you've ever trusted me about anything, then trust me now. Paul, would I do anything to hurt a kid? Especially my child?"

He looked into my wide eyes, and I tried to push as much truth into them as I could, if that were a possible feat. It must have worked, or at least I had cleared the crazy out of my eyes, because Paul relaxed a little and sighed. "I mean, if you had asked me that before today, I would have said hell no, of course not. But, you've been so upset all day, not yourself, acting weird, sorry but you are," he said, a small smile on his face as I tsked and placed my hands on my hips. "I don't know what to expect next from you."

"Paul," I said, trying my very best to sound normal and calm. "You know me. You may not think you do right now, but you know me. You know when I'm being honest, and you know when I'm being serious. I am both right now. I am so both right now and I need you to tell me where the pills are. Please."

"Have you been to see your brother?"

The complete change in subject threw me. "I-what?"

"Your brother." Paul said slowly. He raised a hand to his waste and held it there. "'Bout this tall, dark hair, bonded for life to his video games-"

"Paul, stop it. Why are you asking about Michael?"

"Have you seen him? Does he know you're ok?" Paul crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't have time to play catch-up right now, ok? Just give me the-"

"Not until you see him." Paul's voice took on a hard edge that I'd known he had, but he'd never used it with me before.

"What is this?" I asked, staring up at him.

"He's a mess, you know. I went to see him a few days back. The kid's lost without you, Mar. He doesn't sleep, doesn't talk, he doesn't even look half the time, you know? I mean, his eyes are open, but he isn't looking. Not really."

I swallowed hard. I had seen him, and I knew all that already. It didn't make it any easier to hear.

"I do know you, Mary. And if you say what you're doing is important and that you have to get back there, I believe you. But I also believe that family is more important. And it's not fair what you're doing to that kid. If you can't see him, that's one thing, but for God's sake, give him a phone call! Hell, write him a letter! Just do something, ok? Because I can't stand to see him like that and if you saw him you'd hurt too." Paul put his hands on my shoulder. "You're all he has, Mar, and he thinks he's lost you too, now. He's too small for those kinds of feelings, but he's feeling them anyway and it's wrecking him."

I took a shaking breath and let it out. Paul took my silence as a refusal.

"Christ, Mar, c'mon! He's your brother! Now, I can understand if you don't want to see your Aunt, I mean she's a senile bitch most of the time, but-"

"Paul," I laughed weakly, placing a hand on his chest to stop his tirade. "I've seen Mike, I saw him. I was there before I came to you. Of course I was with him. I don't want him to worry any more than you do." I took a breath. "Everything's fine." Tiny truths, tiny lies.

Paul nodded. "Ok. Good. I mean, I just needed to make sure, you know? So that's good. Ok."

"The pills?" I smiled up at him.

"Right," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. He finally sighed in defeat and turned, heading to his bedroom. He opened the drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a plastic bag. My heart nearly melted out of my chest as hot relief flooded me. "I didn't toss it, you know, in case it was prescription or something," he said, then held the bag up to the light. "It's weird, though, nothing I've seen before. Look how sparkly it is-"

"Yes, really pretty. Gimme." I said, snatching it from his hands.

"So-"

I put my hands over his mouth as lovingly as I could. And it's hard to shut someone up lovingly, I'll have you all know, but I had to go. I had to get to Teaken.

"Paul, I love you and thank you for doing everything you've ever done for me. I'll tell you everything someday, and you'll probably have me shipped off to a loony bin for it, but I'll tell you. That's a promise. But I can't tell you now, ok? I have to go." I kissed his cheek and released his mouth. "I have to go," I said again, hoping he'd understand.

"You'll be all right, though, right? Mary!" He called after me as I spun to go. He caught my wrist. "I won't ask if you promise me that, ok?" Paul looked at me with near desperation in his eyes. How did I get lucky enough to have a friend like him?

"I'll be better than ok," I promised, smiling. "I'll be perfect. But I have to go." I said, tugging at my wrist.

"I'll walk you to the elevator," Paul said, following me out of his bedroom. I got to the front door first.

"Not necessary. I'll be fine. And you know how I hate long goodbyes," I said with a wave.

His eyebrows lowered in confusion. "Goodbyes?" He asked quietly. I shut the door behind me. I didn't let my mind linger on the sadness on Paul's face as I ran to the elevator and punched the up button. I didn't let myself remember the broken sadness in Michael's voice as he resigned himself to believing my visit had been nothing but a dream. With thoughts like that I'd plummet out of the sky faster than a 747 with a cargo hold full of stampeding elephants.

I pushed the button for the roof instead, and let thoughts of Neverland and Teaken trickle through my head.

With my head and heart full of Teaken, my feet nearly left the floor before the pixie dust had even touched my tongue.

******

The pressure stopped suddenly, and Teaken dared to crack open his eyes. The force, or whatever it had been, seemed to have stopped, and everything was deathly quiet. Pan had stopped shrieking. Teaken slowly raised his eyes and looked up at Peter. He nearly passed out when he saw him.

Pan was still in the air, but he seemed to be unconscious. His head lolled limply against his chest, and his arms dangled at his sides. His skin looked…wrong. It seemed to hang on his body like a strange material. Like a suit that had been made two sizes too big.

Teaken carefully stood to get a closer look.

The muscles and width that Teaken has seen boiling up in Pan had diminished, but seemed to have left his skin stretched and loose.

The air around Pan still simmered and sparked, and Neverland's sky still rolled and was stained red. None of the pirates had moved, but Blackblood stood below Pan, a speculative look on his newly younger face. He seemed unmoved, almost unsurprised by the phenomenon that had just rocked Neverland.

Teaken tore his eyes from Pan and Blackblood and allowed himself a slow circle. As far as he could see in every direction, all the trees had been leveled. He would bet his three best daggers that if he were to fly straight up in the air about two hundred feet or so, he would see a perfect circle of destruction spread out for miles with Pan at its center.

He didn't want to see it.

"Blimey,"

Teaken jumped when he heard Nibs's amazed epithet. The Lost Boy was staring up at Pan, and Teaken's eyes jumped back to his leader.

Pan's body was descending slowly, seemingly under its own power. Pan landed softly and his body folded under him until he was horizontal on the ground.

Laying right in front of Blackblood.

Teaken tensed, ready to spring to Pan's side if Blackblood made a move. He hesitated, his weight balanced forward on the balls of his feet, but he didn't want to cause a violent reaction by surprising the pirate.

Blackblood didn't make a move towards Pan, instead he just tipped his head to the side, causing his long black curls to spill over his shoulder. He seemed just as flummoxed as everyone else present. Teaken saw an opportunity and took it as fast as he could. He darted forward and scooped up Pan's body. He grimaced at the feel of the loose flesh under his hands, but didn't have time to think about the chunks of it that fell to the ground as he tossed Pan's body over his shoulder and backpedaled quickly, never taking his eyes away from the pirates.

"It's no use taking him away," Blackblood said calmly. "You can't help him. You don't understand his affliction." The dark pirate continued.

Teaken paused mid step, and locked eyes with Blackblood. A chill tore up his spine as a cruel smile curved the pirate's mouth.

"How could you? After all, you're only a boy."

"Teak, c'mon. C'mon," The Twins surrounded Teaken and each took one of Pan's arms. "You get his legs,"

"And we'll get the rest. Let's fly, Teak,"

"Before they come out of their stupor-"

"and remember that they out number us-"

"And have guns," one Twin finished in an urgent whisper.

"Go on," Grinz said, his face an ashy pallor. "I'll cover our backs."

"I'll help Grinz. Go now." Nibs ordered.

Teaken nodded, then turned around and looked at where Slightly's body lay crumpled in a pool of sticky red and by debris that was all that remained of the Sequoia tree. "What about-?"

"No time," Grinz ground out. "Get out of here."

"But, we can't just-"Teaken argued.

Grinz pulled out one of his curved blades and curved his arm behind his head. "I'm letting this blade fly whether you're still on the ground or not, Teak. Go."

With that, Teaken was yanked from the ground as the Twins took off with Peter's sagging body between them. He caught up and supported his leader's legs, then looked down just as Grinz pulled back his arm and snapped his blade forward like a boomerang. The wicked edge curved around the clearing towards the pirates, causing them all to drop to their bellies if they wanted their heads to remain attached to their necks. As soon as Grinz caught the blade, he launched himself into the air. Nibs followed closely.

Teaken gritted his teeth and tried not to notice the heavy pieces of flesh that were pulling away from Pan's body as they were caught in the rip stream of air flowing past the flying boys. It was enough to make him want to sick up everything he'd eaten in the past week. He could feel his fingers sinking into the loosed flesh around Pan's ankles and behind his knees where Teaken was holding him. It felt like the inside of a cantanana fruit after the Twins were done playing dodge ball with it.

When they at last reached the Tree, it seemed to understand the direness of the situation before a single Lost Boy even touched down. The Tree pulled back all of its gigantic branches and cleared a perfect opening to Pan's window. Its branches creaked and groaned in protest against the unnatural angle and force; it almost seemed as if it was opening its arms to Pan and the Boys as they flew toward it. They made straight for Pan's window, and carried him gently inside.

They laid him gently on his hammock, and all stood back in a semi-circle around him.

"What do you guys reckon?" Grin asked quietly. "Should we try to save it? Put it back on him? The skin, I mean," Grinz added unnecessarily. They all knew what he meant. It was impossible to think of anything else while looking at Pan. He seemed to almost be decomposing right before their eyes. Yet he lived still, they could see his chest rise and fall in short, shallow breaths.

Teaken took a step forward, and touched Pan's hand. The entire back of it slid off and hit the floor with a truly sickening slopping sound. Teaken and the Boys jumped back, alarmed. The flesh beneath the ruined skin was-

"Green," Nibs whispered. "He's…underneath it…it's…"

"Do you suppose-"

"It's like that-"

"Beneath the rest of him?" The Twins enquired, inching closer in sick fascination.

"I don't think there's any hope of saving it, or keeping it on him," Teaken said, stepping forward again and pulling another strip off of Pan's forearm. It revealed the same green sheen underneath as shown on Pan's hand.

Pan suddenly became restless, and tossed his head in the hammock. His shifting caused more flesh to fall to the floor, and uncovered most of his midsection. Still green, shining like a new spring leaf.

Grinz knelt on the floor and stretched out his curved blade. He tried to scoop up a section of Pan's discarded flesh, but it simply fell into crumbles and ashes as soon as he touched it. Soon it broke down into granules so small they were blown away by the slightest movement of atmosphere. Grinz looked up at Teaken, his eyes wide. "What does it mean?"

Teaken shook his head, at a loss.

Pan gave a small moan, and shook again, this time clearing his legs and back of the old flesh. Nibs gave a small cry and stepped back. "His ears! Look at them! They're like…"

Teaken quickly stepped up to his leader's head and looked. Pan's ears, the same green shade as the rest of his new body, had developed points. Pixie points.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Teaken whispered to himself.

A quiet tinkling of bells answered him from across the room.

The Boys turned as one, spreading out and making room around Pan as a small bright light flew towards Peter's face. Tinkerbell landed lightly on Peter's new green shoulder, and laid her tiny hand against his cheekbone. Her hand glowed against his new skin, showing that Pan still retained a sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks; only now they were a deep forest green color against the fresh sage color of his face. Her delicate neck bent forward as she rested her small forehead against Pan's face.

"Tink," Nibs whispered. "Do you know what's happened to him?"

"Why's he all, pixie-fied?" Grinz asked. "He's like you now, only big. And no wings."

"And a boy," One Twin felt compelled to point out. The other Twin punched his arm.

As Tink turned away from Peter, she seemed to dim. Her petite shoulders were rounded and her arms wings drooped listlessly behind her. She tipped her face up to look at the Boys and sparkling tears rolled down her tiny cheeks.

"Tink, what is it?" Teaken whispered, kneeling in front of her.

Tink gave a sniff and her legs went out from under her.

"Tink!" Grinz gasped, and dropped to his knees beside Teaken. Soon all the Boys had knelt next to their leader's side and were gazing at Tinkerbell with alarm.

"Tinkerbell! What's happening? What's happening to you and Peter? You have to tell us what to do. How to stop it!" Teaken begged.

Tinkerbell motioned out the window with a sluggish wave of her hand, and then pointed to herself and to Peter.

"The air?" One twin guessed.

"The sun?" the other asked.

"The forest?" Grinz tried.

Tink weakly shook her head and pointed out the window again, making a large sweeping gesture.

"Neverland," Teaken whispered, suddenly understanding. "Neverland, the island. The whole island is doing this to you."

Tink dropped her arm and nodded.

"What?" Nibs demanded. "That doesn't make any sense! Ask her again. You have to be wrong!" Tink winced at the noise of Nibs shouting so close to her.

Grinz shoved Nibs back. "Don't scream at her, you idiot! Can't you see she's not well? And if she says it's the island that's doing this to them then it is!"

Nibs stood and shoved Grinz back, pushing down on his back. "So you're the pixie language expert all of a sudden? You don't understand her any better than the rest of us! The only one who knows every word she says is Pan!"

"Pan's not fucking here right now if you haven't noticed! We've got some slimy green bugger laying in his place!" Grinz shouted back, gesturing angrily at their leader's body.

"Hey!" Teaken shouted, standing up. "Watch your mouth, and check the attitudes! Pan is here. He's right in front of you, and he's hurt. He's in danger and he needs us right now, all right? It's all right to be scared," Teaken continued, looking at Grinz. "But understand that we are all scared, so it does no good to take it out on each other in idiotic displays of ego and violence. And it's ok to be frustrated," Teaken turned to Nibs. "I know you aren't used to having an enemy you can't physically fight. This is taking a toll on all of us. So pull yourselves together. Right now. Pan needs us. All of us. As a unit."

The Boys all gave Teaken a silent nod. Grinz and Nibs lowered their heads in quiet shame. Teaken turned back to Tinkerbell.

"Why is the island doing this, Tink? What will happen?"

Tink opened her eyes wearily, and placed a hand against her chest. Her fingers gently sparkled, and she moved the glimmering digits to Pan's face. Teaken watched in amazement as the shimmers disappeared from Tink's fingers and were absorbed into Peter's skin. His color, strange as it was, seemed to improve, and he moaned in his sleep, twitching and sloughing more skin off of his new body.

"He's absorbing your magic," Teaken whispered. He stopped as a horrific thought came to him slowly. "He's absorbing Neverland's magic," Teaken covered his mouth.

Tinkerbell nodded, her face pained.

Teaken moved to pick Tinkerbell up. "You've got to get away from him, then. He's taking your magic away too quickly-OW!"

Teaken yanked his hand back. He looked at the other Boys who were looking at him curiously. "She bit me."

"She what?" Grinz asked, snickering a bit.

"But, Tink-"

"Doesn't bite. It's far too-"

"Below her station." The Twins stated.

"You want to see the fucking tooth marks?" Teaken groused, holding his thumb in the palm of his other hand. He turned back to Tink. "You'll go out," he warned.

Tink determinedly curled up between Pan's chin and chest, stroking his neck softly with her tiny hands. Her eyes were closed, and it was clear she'd hear no more arguments.

Teaken sighed and sadly shook his head as he stood.

"So what do we do?" Grinz asked. "How do we stop it?"

"I don't know," Teaken whispered, staring at his leader, twitching and green on the hammock. He turned away, unable to look at Peter anymore. Teaken headed for the door. He'd never felt so helpless in his life.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nibs demanded, moving to stand between Teaken and the door.

"Away, Nibs. I just, I have to get out of here." Teaken said.

"You'd abandon Pan at his greatest hour of need?" Nibs said incredulously. He narrowed his eyes. "Some second in command you are."

Teaken didn't even think, he simply reacted. Nibs was laid out on the floor of the room, blood running from both nostrils before Teaken had even realized he'd pulled his arm back. He stared down at Nibs, rage, hurt, confusion, frustration, and sadness warring in his eyes.

He looked up, away from Nibs' face and at the other Boys, all whom were looking at him in surprise. Teaken knew they looked to him when Pan was gone. He knew they looked to him for guidance, for answers, for directions…for comfort.

He also knew he had none to give. He walked out the door without a word, and climbed down the side of the Tree. His feet and hands led him unconsciously towards what he needed: comfort. He couldn't be the leader right now, he needed to be held and told that there was still hope.

He needed Mary.