TEAKEN
Teaken flew faster than he could ever remember flying. The wind whipped across his face and pulled at his shoulders as he tried to push further, faster still. His heart felt as if half of it had been ripped out and was dragging behind him, where he'd left a terrified Mary alone with the Indian clan. His flight slowed for just a moment as his happy thoughts were drenched in guilt, but he shook it off and pushed forward again, determined to get to the Tree and protect Peter and the other Boys before the pirates got there.
He saw the Tree in the distance, taller than anything in the forest surrounding it. He put on one last burst of speed and stretched out his hand, grasping for the top branches as he used his momentum to spin his body up and over the top of the tree, and down onto the highest decking. He grabbed onto the nearest vine and leapt over the side, expecting the vine to take his weight and lower him down towards Peter's room.
The vine snapped.
Teaken wheeled his arms with a surprised yelp. He managed to grab on to a branch he was falling past and hauled himself up on to the nearest limb. He lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the Tree. "What the hell was that?!" he called. He glanced at the broken piece of vine still clutched in his hand, and his stomach dropped. The inside of the vine was blackened, rotted through.
"No, oh no," he whispered as he frantically looked up at the Tree to find Peter's room. If the Tree was losing its magic, then the end was nearer than Teaken had feared.
He tossed the rotten vine down and scrambled up and over the limbs in front of him, making his way towards the window that led into Pan's suite. He pulled himself over the windowsill, and his knees nearly buckled at what he saw.
Peter, or what used to be Peter, stood over a crumpled body on the floor. The body was larger than the Boys and so Teaken immediately thought the pirates had beaten him to the Tree and the battle was in motion. But, it was quiet. Dreadfully so. If there was a battle, he'd have heard it happening long before he'd gotten to the Tree.
Something was terribly wrong.
"Peter?" Teaken asked carefully. "Are you all right? What happened here, who-"
Teaken cut off abruptly and nearly swallowed his tongue as Peter….or the thing that had been him, turned towards him.
His skin was still the new leaf green that Teaken had seen before he'd left with Mary, and his eyes remained completely black. But he'd grown larger in the interim, and there were branch-like antlers growing from either side of his head, tangled with leaves and vines that seemed to move with a breeze that Teaken didn't feel. Vines and leaves were swirling around his arms and up his legs, and he was….hovering above the floor.
"Peter?" Teaken tried again, swallowing against the fear and heartbreak he was feeling.
"Your Peter is here, with us." A hollow, echoing voice came from Peter's mouth, and Teaken took an instinctive step back at the wrongness of it.
"Us?" He asked after he'd gotten his breath back. "Who…who is 'us'?"
"All who have created and guarded the magic of this place," the voice continued, seeming to grow stronger and lighter like a passing wind.
"What have you done to Peter? Can you bring him back? Can you make him better again?" Teaken demanded.
"The Pan is a position, not a person. Many have come before your Peter, and with the believer's help, more will come after. The guardians all have a time, and your Peter's time to be the Pan has come to an end. We need his magic to protect this place. To continue its reign, we need more." The echoes said, and Pan's eyes sharped in on Teaken.
It was then that Teaken's eyes slid to the body in the corner, and ice crept up his insides.
That was no pirate. It was Nibs.
He was older, his hair white and his face wrinkled, but Teaken recognized his clothing. He'd aged about 60 years, and his body had become frail.
Teaken snapped his wide eyes back up to the creature, his eyes narrowing and his lips pulling back over his teeth. "What have you done?" he growled.
"In order to protect the island's existence, we need all of the magic within us." The creature echoed, slowly floating closer to Teaken.
"You didn't just take his magic, you took his life!" Teaken shouted.
"His life was tied to the magic. It was not his to keep," the creature came towards him. "Nor is yours."
Teaken leaped back up onto the window sill, baring his teeth at the thing that had taken Peter and now Nibs. "Yeah? Well I'm fucking keeping it."
Teaken jumped and pulled himself up onto the top of the window frame and jumped to the nearest limb. He looked down and saw the creature's black eyes looking up at him from the window. "Tree!" He called, still climbing as fast as he could. "You still there?"
He heard a low, barely audible groan, and felt the lightest brush of a vine against his leg. "Shit," he cursed, placing his hand against the trunk. "I'm sorry this is happening to you. I'm going to stop it, I swear I'll fix everything. I just need to find-"
"Teak!"
"Up here!"
Teaken jerked his head up and saw two identical sets of eyes looking down at him. "Twins!"
"Quiet!" One hissed while the other gestured wildly with his hand for Teaken to come up.
Teaken grunted as he hauled himself up the branches as quickly as he could. He swung himself into the room and crouched below the window.
"Mate!" Grinz called as he ran towards Teaken and fell to his knees and threw an arm around Teaken's shoulder. "Couldn't be happier to see ya!"
"What the hell-"
"Is happening down there?!" the Twins demanded quietly.
"We heard a commotion, then screaming," Grinz supplied. "But it didn't sound like Peter this time."
"We think-"
"It was Nibs," the Twins cut in.
"But he didn't-"
"Sound right either." They finished.
Teaken wiped his hand down his face. How was he supposed to explain when he didn't have a clue what was really happening?
"Nibs is dead," he finally sighed, cutting straight to the point. "And Peter is gone, too."
"WHAT?!" The Twins gasped together as Grinz whispered "No."
"Listen to me," Teaken hissed, pulling them closer to him. "The island, or the magic, or" he growled in frustration as he tried to explain. "Something has taken Peter's magic, and it's…it's…living in him now. It's the reason he's growing bigger and changing. It looks like some forest nightmare and it's taking the magic from everything it can get near. That's what happened to Nibs, I think. It…sucked his life out of him."
"How-"
"I can't begin to tell you, I have no fucking clue but it's up there, and it wants your magic and mine too." Teaken said, bending his head to look out of the window for the creature.
"Fuck that," Grinz said, pulling one of his curved blades from the scabbard on his back. "Let it try."
"Yeah, let it-"
"Fucking try." The Twins agreed grimly.
"It will," Teaken said. "So don't let it get close to you, I don't know how it works, but it couldn't take mine from across the room, so just don't let it get any closer to you than that. Also," Teaken suddenly stood up straighter. "The pirates are on their way to us and we have no idea what shape Hook is in with all this affecting him as well."
"Shit." Grinz spat. "How the hell are we supposed to deal with the fucking pirates while the island itself is trying to suck out our life blood at the same time?!"
"Maybe we should-"
"Go hide out with the worlders-"
"For a while." the Twins suggested, twisting their hands anxiously.
"No." Teaken shot them a look. "We're not abandoning Neverland now, and we're not abandoning Mary. She's with the Indians, and the baby is coming. We just have to hold off the pirates long enough for the baby to be born, laugh its first laugh, and then the magic will right itself and everything will go back to normal."
Grinz and the Twins looked at him.
"How long-"
"Does it take to have a baby?" the Twins asked quickly.
"I don't-" Teaken started.
"How far away are the pirates?" Grinz asked.
"I'm not-" Teaken tried again, turning to look out the window.
"And do babies-"
"Even laugh?" the Twins wondered.
"Doesn't that-"
"Take a long time to happen? Like weeks?"
"Or months?"
"How many pirates are we talking about, anyway?" Grinz demanded. "There's only four of us left. How long do we have to-"
"GUYS!" Teaken roared, his hands on either side of his head. "You just-" he sighed. "You just need to have a little faith, ok? I need you with me. I need you to believe in this. I can't do this alone." He looked at the Twins and Grinz pleadingly. "Please."
The Twins looked at each other, then at Teaken, and grinned their identical grins. "We're with you." they said in unison.
Grinz agreed, slapping Teaken on the back. "Lead the way, Teak. We'll follow."
Teaken blew out a relieved breath, and pulled all three of them into a hug. "Thank you," he pulled back and looked each of them in the eye. "I mean it." They all nodded in response and continued to hold his gaze, waiting for instructions.
"First things first," Teaken said, rubbing his chin. "Pirates. This will be different from our other battles," he warned. "We don't know what to expect. Hook has been changing right along with Peter, and if Pete's latest transformation tells us anything, we can expect that a completely different Captain is headed our way."
"Should we-"
"Set the usual traps?" the Twins suggested.
Teaken nodded slowly. "It can't hurt. Should slow them down at least. You guys get the ones in the surrounding forest ready to spring, and Grinz and I will get all our weapons ready here."
"Copy that." the Twins confirmed together.
"Meet back at the trap door room under the tree in-" Teaken broke off as the ground shuddered violently and the tree groaned beneath them, its anguish accompanied by several loud cracking and snapping sounds. "What the-"
Grinz was already at the window with his head out, trying to get a bead on what had happened.
"Are they here already?" Teaken asked incredulously.
"No, mate, it ain't the pirates." Grinz said slowly. "You're not going to believe this but…"
Teaken and the Twins all ran to the window and shoved their heads out, looking up where Grinz directed them.
"What in the-"
"Holy hell is he doing?" the Twins gaped.
"No!" Teaken shouted. "Peter, STOP!"
"That ain't Pete anymore, mate." Grinz said, his face grim. He climbed out of the window and up towards the top of the Tree to get a better look. Teaken and the Twins followed him up. They stopped just below the highest deck, seeking cover in some of the branches that still held leaves. Teaken carefully pulled back a small branch while Grinz and the Twins gathered beside him to look.
Hovering above the Tree, the creature had its arms thrown out to its sides and its head thrown back. The branchlike antlers on his head were growing larger, twisting around each other as greenery burst to life upon them. Streams of glittering magic were flowing into both of its hands, coming from all directions in the forest. Crashes and snapping as well as pained groans and cries could be heard from near and far as it summoned all the island's magic to it at once.
Teaken snapped his head around at the sudden screams he heard coming from the direction of the lagoon. "Oh no," he said as he realized what was happening.
"What? Who is it?" Grinz asked, squinting in that direction.
"The mermaids," Teaken said softly.
"Shit! How do we-"
"Stop it?" cried the Twins.
The earth was shaking as trees in the forest crumbled and fell to the rotting forest floor. The cacophony of cries and pained howls coming from the forest was tearing at Teaken's ears as well as his heart. He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head at the Twins. "I don't think we can."
He turned to look in the direction of the Indians' encampment. "Hurry, Mary," he whispered, and then cried out as the Tree tilted harshly to the side, and began to fall out from beneath him. He latched onto the brand nearest him and held on as the Tree tipped towards the ground. He called out to Grinz and the Twins as the movement slowed, and he could loosen his death grip on the branch. "You guys still with me?"
"We're here!" Grinz called down to Teaken. "You ok?"
"I'm all right," Teaken called, regaining his footing and peering below to find a path to safety as the Tree continued to list. "Hang on, I'm making my way up to you now."
Teaken grabbed the branches that were still intact and hauled himself up towards where Grinz and the Twins sat on branches close to the Tree's trunk. As his head cleared the highest branches still remaining, he winced as he saw the destruction the Tree had caused by tipping towards the ground. He saw the crack in the trunk that had caused the tree to tip, and winced at all the black rot he saw running through the middle of it. They were running out of time.
Movement above him snapped his head up, and he came face to face with the creature. Its antlers slithered with vines and shaking leaves as its black eyes met Teaken's. Teaken instinctively pulled his head back and held up his hands in front of him.
The creature tilted its head, and spoke in its strange echoing voice. "The time is near. Fate will soon choose a side. I go to ensure the beginning."
Teaken blinked, then blinked again. "What…what the hell does that mean?"
The creature shifted its eyes towards the edge of the forest, and rose into the air before shooting off quickly through the sky.
"Well that's a fucking relief," Grinz sighed, watching the creature go. "Good riddance."
"It said…something strange," Teaken said slowly, trying to understand the creature's departing message.
"Pretty sure that thing-"
"Is permanently off its rocker." the Twins pointed out.
"Yeah but…." Teaken knew they were right, but something about what the creature had said was pulling at the edge of his memory, trying to fall into a place where those words made sense. He pulled himself up onto a higher fallen branch to see which direction the creature had flown in to see if that would give him any other clues.
"You ok, mate?" Grinz called from below him.
"Yeah, no I'm fine. I just…" Teaken trailed off as he looked in the direction the creature had flown in, and felt the blood drain from his face. "No…NO!"
"What is it? Teak, what's happening?" Grinz called frantically.
Teaken frantically searched his pockets for pixie dust pills. "The pirates aren't coming here, they're going for the Indians!"
"Why would they-"
"Attack the Indians?" the Twins asked, confused.
"He knows, he fucking knows. That's what the creature meant." Teaken hissed as he pulled the pouch out of his pocket at last and secured his throwing knives in their holsters across his chest.
Grinz grabbed his shoulders to stop Teaken's frantic movements. "Speak English, man! What the fuck is going on?!"
"Mary is having the baby right now," Teaken breathed. "And Blackblood knows. He's going there to-" Teaken swallowed thickly. "He's going to kill them both."
Grinz blinked once, then released Teaken's shoulders and snagged the pixie dust pill pouch out of Teaken's hands. He pulled a tablet out for himself and tossed the pouch to the Twins. "Then what the fuck are we standing here for?!"
Teaken's tablet was already dissolving on his tongue as he reached deep for a happy memory and ran for the edge of the branch, launching himself into the air.
MARY
I was not going to scream again. I refused. This was ridiculous and I was not about to make a fool of myself in front of these strangers who, might I add, had very judgy faces on as they watched me struggle through another contraction.
Yes, to add more fun to the shit storm I was currently battling through I now had an entire audience of strange women in this teepee with me while I tried to stay somewhat sane through childbirth.
I screamed again.
Damnit.
"Try to drink some water," the Chief's wife, River Blossom, held a water skin out to me.
"I can't-even-breathe right now," I gasped, trying to keep a consistent flow of oxygen into my lungs. "How do-you expect-me to drink something?!" I shrieked.
She smiled kindly at me, and sat back, still holding out the water skin to me. Ugh, the kindness and understanding on her face was really pissing me off.
"Don't you have something I can take? Or can one of you over there who are just watching me suffer just smack me over the head with something hard and solid? If you're not too busy." I snapped.
"You're doing fine," River Blossom smiled at me and used a soft cloth to wipe the sweat from my face. "Won't be long now."
"You said that like an hour ago!" I gritted, breathing through my clenched teeth.
"Deep breaths in, remember? Slowly out." She said again…still freaking smiling. I looked around me for something to throw at her happy face, but there was nothing in my immediate reach. Lucky for her.
Suddenly the flap in the tent was thrown open, and the Chief walked in.
"No men!" an older woman said, flapping her hands at him. "Out, out!"
He side stepped her and looked at his wife, his eyes serious. "Pirates. They are circling our camp. I have sent my warriors to intercept them. We will need to fight. How long until the child is here?"
"What?" I gasped. "The pirates are coming here? I thought-" my words cut off as another contraction clawed across my belly and all the air was stolen from my lungs as I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut.
"The child will be here soon, but she is fighting the transition." River Blossom said. "She is afraid."
The Chief's eyes slid to mine, and I looked down. She was right, I was terrified. I was scared to death and I didn't want to be here.
He took a step closer to me, never breaking eye contact. "My warriors will fight for you, to protect you, to protect your child. Your Lost Boys will fight for you, to protect you, to protect this island. My wife will fight with you to help this child come." He leaned closer, his eyes a dark, fiery blaze of determination. "Will you fight for us, Mary of the Worlders?"
My breaths slowed as I stared up at him, his words curling around my brain and breaking through the pain. He was right. This entire island was fighting to keep me and the life that was currently trying to get out of me, alive. At the cost of their lives, they were standing up in front of me to ensure I could do my job. That I could do my part to save their entire world.
I was being a selfish coward, and that was not on brand for me.
I sat up a little taller and lifted my chin, meeting his eyes as I drew in a deep breath and nodded. "I will."
I saw River Blossom smile at me from the corner of my eye as the Chief nodded at me, and placed his hand to his heart. He stood, nodded at his wife, and left the tent again. As the tent flap lifted, I could hear distant sounds of fighting and shouting as the pirates and the Indians clashed in the trees surrounding the camp.
River Blossom moved to check my progress beneath the blanket, and nodded as she looked back up at me. "It's time. You must push."
I squeezed my eyes shut and pictured everything I was fighting for. The incredible island of Neverland, the Lost Boys, childhood joy for young worlders everywhere, Peter's easy smile, Teaken's eyes as he told me he loved me. I thought of Michael, my sweet brother waiting for me at home, wrapped in a blanket of memories and faith. Paul, my friend who literally saw me go crazy in front of him but still supported me through it. I thought of my Aunt Heidi, and hell, even missed her frown-lined face a little.
For all these people and all these reasons, I could do this. I would do this.
I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and pushed.
And yes, I screamed again.
PIRATES
"C-c-cap'n, sir?" Smee's voice trembled as he approached the youth who was leading the march through the forest. The captain had set a punishing pace, and the crew were struggling to keep up. They were confused as well as to the direction that they were heading in, and so as usual had bullied Smee into pumping the Captain for information.
"Yes, Mr. Smee?" Blackblood responded in his falsetto voice, neither looking at the bumbling pirate nor slowing his cadence.
"Sir, we was, well, that is, the crew was wondering, sir, uh, what your heading was, sir?" Smee stuttered as he skipped and half jogged to keep by his captain's side.
"The crew is wondering, are they?" Blackblood sneered, sounding bratty and petulant with his new, younger voice. "You can inform the crew, Mr. Smee, that any member who questions my orders will be considered a mutineer and executed on the spot." He came to an abrupt stop, and grabbed the front of Smee's shirt to stop him from stumbling ahead. He focused those dark red eyes directly on Smee's and yanked him down an inch so they were face to face. "Does that satisfy your queries, Mr. Smee?"
Smee's body immediately broke into a cold sweat as he felt the blood drain from his face. "Oh, y-yes, Cap'n sir. Yes indeed it surely does, sir. Th-thank you, sir!"
Blackblood rolled his eyes and shoved Smee away from him, taking off into the forest once more. He pushed up the sleeves of his long, red coat, now too large for him by at least three sizes, while a manic smile tore across his mouth. Pan was gone now, he could feel it. Absorbed back into the magic of the Island. The same magic that was pulling his soul backwards through time, rewinding his life and un-creating him piece by piece.
Blackblood still had his memories though, and his rage. He was so close to a decisive victory over that bloody crowing cockroach of a boy that he could taste the tang of it in his mouth, and he would be damned if this cursed child came into this world and ruined everything for him. He would have his absolution, his triumph, his supremacy; even if he had to slaughter every other soul on this island to get it.
Blackblood's newly returned hand tightened around the pommel of the cutlass at his side as his eyes glowed red with a vision of the island's shores drenched red with blood, and tides foaming and churning with the bodies of those who dared stand in his way.
His senses sharpened, and he stilled, holding his hand up to stop the progress of his crew behind him. He narrowed his eyes, and took a deep, slow breath in through his nose.
There. Body odor, hickory smoke, and leather. He could smell the Indian encampment. They were here.
He held up a single finger and made a circle in the air before pointing one finger to the right and two fingers to the left. They'd split from here, and circle the camp, hemming the Indians in and gaining the upper hands of both surprise and position.
The crew, galvanized by the adrenaline of imminent battle, moved quickly and quietly to fulfill Blackblood's orders.
Blackblood waited until his crew was in position, then drew his sword from his scabbard and marched directly into the Indian encampment, in full view of its populace.
As the natives took notice and began to react, Blackblood held up his sword, and slathered on his most charming smile. "I'm here for the child, and that is all. There is no need for anyone here to be hurt if my simple demand is met."
The Indians looked at each other, and then narrowed their eyes on Blackblood. No one moved, and no one spoke.
Blackblood's smile grew excited and deranged. Grand. He'd so hoped that they would refuse to cooperate. "Though my sword longs to take your heads, so by all means, stay where you are."
"You're just a child," one warrior scoffed, folding his arms over his broad chest as he smirked at Blackblood. "Who are you to make demands of our strong tribe?"
Blackblood's eyes flared red just as dark clouds gathered in front of the sun. They glowed a sickly deep red as they bled the day into dusk.
"I am the deepest darkness of nightmares. I am your destruction. I am despair. None shall walk away from my wrath," the boy Blackblood spoke, his teeth gritted tightly in a snarl. "That is who makes demands of your doomed tribe, you stupid savage."
The warrior's eyes widened at the slur and his brethren came to their feet at once, knives, spears, and slings in their hands.
The Indian Chief stepped out in front of his warriors. "He is beyond reason, brothers. There will be no peace here tonight."
Blackblood's snarl twisted into a grin as he bared his teeth at the Chief. "Well look at that. One of you has at least one brain cell to spare."
The Chief's eyebrows dropped over his eyes as he frowned darkly at Blackblood. "Though he looks like a child, remember that he is not. He is a demon of darkness who will destroy our island and our lives if we let him. Protect your tribe. Protect this land. Protect your brothers. Protect the child. That is what matters now."
"Where is the child?" Blackblood demanded, stamping his foot childishly.
In answer, the warriors advanced on him, weapons drawn. The pirates chose that moment to reveal themselves from the trees, circling the encampment and drawing swords, pistols, and knives into their hands.
A burly pirate moved quickly and got the drop on the Chief who stiffened as he felt the cold metal of a pistol pressed into the back of his head. "One move and your lovely leader gets lead through his thick skull!" he shouted, eyes wild as he looked around at the warriors who immediately turned to him.
Blackblood pointed his cutlass at the Chief. "Tell me where the mother and child are now, or let your braves see your brains blown from here to the stars."
Lightning ripped across the sky above them, and thunder shook the ground beneath their feet, but the Chief's lips remained sealed as he held his head up high.
Just then, a woman's scream pierced the tension, and Blackblood's head swiveled towards a teepee to his right. He saw a light burning and movement within it. "There!" He shouted, and everyone moved at once as the battle exploded into motion.