AN: Haha, while I was writing this chapter they were showing the pirate episode on Mythbusters. XD I've been dying to write this part for a while now so I got it all done in one go. Hope you enjoy it!

.oOo.

Near held the delicate dart between his thumb and forefinger, dipping its sharp tip into the little bottle of poison Brown had supplied him with. Blowing on it gently, he watched the liquid dry, then lined it up in a row with the others and picked up new one.

"How many of those is he going to make?" Turtle whispered loudly. "He's like a dart-making machine!"

Near was sitting apart from the rest of them, sitting on a large flat rock on the edge of the stream as sedately as though he were working on his little models in the Wammy playroom.

"Is he ok?" Cinder asked.

Matt was not exactly the world's greatest expert on Near (actually, he reconsidered, no one really seemed to understand the boy, so perhaps he was as qualified as anyone) but this at least was a situation he was familiar with. "This is pretty normal for him."

"Really?" said Turtle incredulously. "He doesn't seem ok to me. Is he…" he lowered his voice and tapped his head meaningfully. "You know…ok?"

The redhead opened his mouth, then paused and frowned. Everyone at Wammy's was, he supposed, messed up in their own special way. Near was just another head case among many, so it had never struck Matt as particularly weird. That was just how he was. But these kids were so…concerned. It surprised Matt to find that he appreciated that difference from the cold observation and acceptance of the Wammy students. "Well he's not crazy, if that's what you mean. But…I honestly don't know."

Near was thinking. Eventually Mello would come back. There was a small chance he would decide to stay. The other possibilities were that he would try again to convince Matt and Near to leave with him, or that he would leave himself. Near had no idea what the ratio of that probability was. Mello was so predictable at times, and so hard to understand at others. He flicked the soft yellow feathers bound to the end of the dart, staring at it and trying to decide what the optimal situation was.

They were the top three at Wammy's, he thought calculatingly. The fourth place contender was no competition to Matt. He didn't think their places were threatened if they stayed here, say, a month or so, and he frankly didn't care very much if Roger was worried. If they were going to build institutions designed to train children to act nothing like children, they would just have to deal with the complications those children presented. Neverland was intriguing, and he was actually enjoying himself for the most part. But Mello….

Near brushed the feathered end of the dart against his chin, gazing at the sparkling water. Mello wasn't happy here. Maybe it was best that he go back, Near thought unhappily. But what about Pan's question? Why did Mello care so much that he and Matt came too? Of course Matt was his friend, so he supposed that made sense, but shouldn't he be glad to be rid of Near? Especially since he claimed…Near's chest grew tight, but he forced himself to follow the thought through objectively. If he hated Near so much, Mello should be delighted to not have him around. Shouldn't he? Was he lying because they were rivals for L's position?

Did it really matter whether it was true or not as long as Mello stuck to the claim?

He sighed.

"Hey."

Near looked up, surprised. Pan was poised on a nearby rock, looking like some kind of wood nymph with his smudged face and the feathers sticking jauntily in his wild hair. The younger boy hadn't even heard him approach.

Pan crouched, examining the neat row of poisoned darts. "Don't worry about Mello. He'll come around. They always do." He looked up, grinning through his long hair.

Near wanted to believe he was right, but was dubious. It must have shown on his face, because Pan laughed. "Believe me. I've seen it happen."

"How long have you been here?" Near asked curiously.

Pan shrugged. "I don't know. Who cares? Kids don't grow up here. Time doesn't matter like it does in the other world."

Near wondered briefly where in the world Pan had gotten this laidback, confident attitude. He wished he could be as relaxed about things as this boy seemed to be. Pan just seemed to take it for granted that everything would always be ok, that nothing could happen that he couldn't handle.

"He'll come crashing back through the jungle sometime soon, and we can work this all out," Pan told him, his voice filled with that confidence. For a moment Near almost believed him, and then suddenly there was a faint jingling whizzing past his head and Cherry lit on Pan's shoulder, gesturing madly. Near looked around for Mello, but the blonde was nowhere in sight. Matt saw the fairy too, and stood in surprise.

"Cherry," said Pan, letting her step into his palm, "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to stay—" he stopped, listening to her high-pitched chatter. His face darkened and he bit his thumb. "Is that so," he muttered.

"What?" Near asked, as Matt and the Lost Boys started heading toward them to find out what was going on.

Pan stared at him for a moment, then broke into his fiendish grin. "Mello's been captured by pirates."

The bottom dropped out from Near's stomach. "He what?"

"Pan!" called Matt, coming up to them. "What's going on? Wasn't she supposed to be with Mello?"

"Captain Kira's captured him!" Pan repeated, leaping lightly to his feet and hopping over the water to the bank.

Despite the hot sun Matt suddenly felt cold all over. "What—we have to do something!"

"We're going to!" Pan shouted over his shoulder as he strode into the trees in the direction of the treehouse. "Come on boys, we're going to go play with the pirates! Brown, lead them on ahead once you've gathered what you need, I'll catch up with you."

"All right, yeah!" yelled Cinder enthusiastically, running to find her bow and arrows. Turtle jumped about excitedly. "A rescue mission! Awesome!"

Matt gaped at them. "This isn't just a game—our friend is in danger!"

"It's gonna be ok, Matt," Turtle told him, bubbling. "Don't worry, we'll save him!"

"Better grab those darts," Brown told Near, who was still sitting looking stunned. "You're probably gonna need them."

.oOo.

Adrenaline and worry sped their feet. Pan caught up with them soon carrying a large cloth bundle and brought up the rear, encouraging them brightly whenever their energy flagged. "Don't worry," he kept saying. "This'll be fun, you'll see."

Matt couldn't help but worry. What would the pirates do to Mello? This was Neverland, after all—was this just a game, like Pan and the Lost Boys seemed to see it, or was Captain Kira more serious about his fight with the wild boys? Mello wasn't one to be kidnapped quietly—what might they have resorted to to restrain him?

It seemed to take forever to reach the lagoon. Instead of taking to the beach they slipped through the jungle to keep the cover of the trees. The ground began to climb, rising in a ridge that overlooked the lagoon. They kept low on the slope, where they could see the ship through the trees.

Now they were almost even with it, and had stopped to hack out a plan. Pan and Turtle had scrambled up a large, vine-covered tree to see better and were consulting in low tones over how they might approach it.

"There must be about thirty there on the beach," Matt whispered, sizing up the situation. He and Near were crouched together, peering through the leaves at the pirates on the beach. "There's no way we could beat our way through them even if we were properly armed, but we have darts and dye arrows and they have swords and pistols. We'll have to sneak aboard. But then how do we avoid being seen?"

Near half-listened, twirling his hair. His mind was troubled by an entirely different problem.

"Matt," he said finally, "Don't you think this is…weird?"

"Yeah, no kidding," Matt said fervently. "Sitting here in the jungle, planning to rescue Mel from pirates? It's like we're living in a game."

"No, not that," Near said, and his brow knotted. "I mean Mello getting captured like this."

Matt looked sidelong at Near. "Well now that you've cleared that up..."

The younger boy tugged on a lock of hair. "Think about it. Mello's smart, and thinks fast in a tight situation. He can fly and Cherry's there to help engineer an escape if necessary. Not to mention he can kick pretty hard."

"What are you saying, Near?" Matt said tightly.

Near's dark eyes met his. "Mello can be rash. He stormed off, angry. Is it entirely implausible that if he happened to run across the pirates, he might have gone with them voluntarily, to oppose Pan?"

Matt stared at him for a long moment, then turned angrily back to the beach. "And did it ever occur to you that perhaps he was in a condition where struggling was impossible?"

"…No. That is also possible." He wound the hair even tighter around his finger, gazing at the shore.

Matt resisted the urge to hit him. "Look, Near, I understand that you and Mello don't get along very well, and I know he might have upset you earlier" (Near shifted uncomfortably but didn't attempt to deny it, confirming Matt's suspicion) "but just because he says careless things sometimes doesn't make him a traitor."

"I wasn't trying to say he betrayed anyone," Near pointed out quietly. "I'm just saying he can be reckless. You know him. Sometimes he acts without thinking through the full implications of his actions first."

"So what's your point then, you don't think we should try to help him?" Matt demanded.

"I—no, that's not what I—" Near started, but before he could finish Pan dropped out of the tree right behind them.

"You two ready for some action?" he whispered, eyes ablaze.

"Yeah, we just want to get him out of there," Matt said with a meaningful glare at Near.

"Do you have a plan?" Near asked.

"Sure do! Here's what I'm thinking. Cinder, Turtle, Brown and I will cause some distractions so you two can go aboard and look for Mello."

They stared at him. "What," said Near, "That's it? We're just going to walk right on up there? Don't you think we'll be a little…conspicuous?"

"Not at all," Pan replied with a diabolical grin, and showed them the contents of the bundle.

.oOo.

"This is insane," Near was muttering to himself as he and Matt sneaked through the trees toward the pirates. "No one would possibly mistake us for adults. We're going to be captured and then where will we be? What are we supposed to do if something goes wrong?"

Matt didn't respond, half because he agreed but had no better plan to save Mello, and half because despite his misgivings, Near had nonetheless reluctantly assented to the plan. Besides, if they were captured, then they would be with Mello and the three of them could work out something together provided Mello and Near didn't kill each other. He was beginning to get that tingly feeling in his fingers that he got right before charging a boss in a video game. He had to admit he actually felt like quite the swashbuckler in his borrowed costume.

Pan hadn't said how they had gotten a hold of the motley assortment of pirate clothing, but Matt assumed it was probably stolen. The two of them were decked out quite impressively in sailcloth shirts, brightly colored sashes, and broad-brimmed, floppy hats.

"None of the pirates would have boots as small as your feet. You'll just have to go barefoot and hopefully no one'll notice," Pan had said, but he had directed them to rub dirt on their faces to disguise their young, smooth skin and bound up Near's rather noticeable white curls in a scarlet bandanna before plopping the hat over top of it. "Don't worry so much. It'll be fine," he had told them. "It always is."

They stopped behind a huge mossy tree, peeking around its edge at the beach. A clump of pirates were lounging about on the sand a stone's throw away, laughing raucously at something that had been said and swigging heartily from a large brown bottle they were passing around.

"All right," Matt whispered. "There are pirates just sort of scattered around…I think I see one or two on the main deck too…we should probably be sort of into the group before Brown and Turtle and Cinder start their distraction. That way when people start running around it'll be easier to mingle in."

Near took a deep breath and adjusted his frock coat primly, an action that was so typically Near but so at odds with his appearance that Matt had to stifle a nervous giggle. "Ok," he said tightly. "Let's go."

They walked out of the trees and onto the sand. None of the pirates paid them any special attention. Matt's fear that they would be instantly noticed before they even got partway across the sand eased a little.

"Stop shuffling your feet," Matt muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "Pirates don't walk like that."

"Well how do you suggest I walk?" Near hissed, tense as a strung wire.

"Take bigger steps. Swagger a bit."

They were now a third of the way across the beach, and to Matt's surprise, they still didn't seem to have been noticed. Were these people blind? Trying not to appear too purposeful, the boys took a slightly wandering path, not getting too close to any of the pirates but not obviously avoiding them.

Suddenly there were shouts from the ship, and drums thundered out over the lagoon. Matt's insides froze. Had they been discovered? But none of the pirates seemed to be looking at them—they were shouting to each other, kicking sand over their fires and grabbing their bottles.

"Is this part of the distraction?" Near said, looking alarmed and bewildered.

"I don't know, but they're all running for the ship—let's go, this is our chance!"

"But then the ship will be packed with pirates!"

"Do you want to save Mello or not?! We might not get another chance—"

"Ok ok, quick then—"

They raced across the white sand, baggy clothes flapping, joining the line pounding down the dock and up the gangplank. Cries of "Monster!" and "He's back, boys!" rang through the air through the drumming and pounding of boots on wood. A man with dreadlocks standing at the rail was yelling "Man your guns!" at the top of his lungs. Guns? thought Matt wildly, that hadn't been part of the plan—

Matt ducked out of the stream of pirates running for the ladder to get below to the gundeck. People were scattered everywhere, climbing into the rigging, running about in every direction and shouting. He dodged about randomly, hoping he was blending into the mayhem, taking stock of the ship. A man in a red coat and a large hat with a sweeping white feather stood on the sterncastle deck with two women, gazing intently out into the lagoon through a telescope. Automatically Matt looked out to the water. A dark shape was weaving rapidly through the gleaming turquoise water, approaching the ship at a terrifying rate. So that's why they're going crazy—we couldn't have asked for a better distraction—but that means we have to find Mello and get out of here fast, before—

Abruptly Matt realized that Near wasn't with him.

.oOo.

Near gritted his teeth, clamping down on his instinct to panic and trying to think of nothing but that they needed to find Mello. The rattling and pounding and shouting that clamored through the hot air and the dirty rushing bodies pressed around him made him feel like he had been strapped into a tight iron jacket, unable to breathe. He stumbled along, terrified of tripping and being trampled, almost falling when he reached the steep stairs.

The noise was even worse on the gundeck, where pirates were furiously loading the port side cannons, ramming the wads and hefting in the huge heavy balls. Near felt dizzy. This was not where he should be. Mello would be…well that depended, didn't it? If he were a prisoner he would be held somewhere secure, and if not…then this was all pointless anyway. The rumbling of the ship rattled his bones as the wooden gun carriages were shoved up to the gunports.

The dreadlocked pirate clattered down the stairs, jostling Near out of his frozen state. "Don't stand there like a beached fish, idiot, go below and get more powder!" he barked without really looking at him. Near took the command as an escape route, noticing the second ladderstair that must lead down to the cargo hold and scrambling down before anyone else noticed him and took a closer look at the tiny pirate.

"Fire!" came the order from above, and the air shattered as the 24-pounders crashed, the heavy carriages leaping back and the ship rocking from the force of the broadside. Crying out in pain, Near tripped down the last two stairs, covering his ears.

Staggering back to his feet, he leaned against a crate, gasping and letting his eyes adjust to the dark hold, waiting for his head to stop ringing. The thundering of the guns and feet overhead was still horrible, but not as overwhelming as it was in the midst of it all. At least Near wasn't in imminent danger of being crushed. And a creepy dark hold was a pretty good place to keep prisoners. Through the narrow corridor between stacks of crates he could see a sort of grate in the bow end of the hold. Trying to breathe as quietly as he could, he padded cautiously toward it, hoping there were no more pirates down here and that none were about to come crashing down the stairs behind him.

There were no pirates, but in the corner of the barred-off bow, a dark figure with blonde hair was huddled with his hands clamped over his ears.

"Mello!" Near cried, caution forgotten, running forward and clasping the bars. So he was a prisoner—had Matt been right then? What had the pirates done to force him to come?

Mello looked up in shock. It hadn't yet occurred to him yet that anyone would come to help him so soon, and especially not— "Near?"

"Yes, it's me, Mello, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I—no, I'm not hurt—" Mello scrambled to his feet, wondering if he were hallucinating. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Near sagged against the bars in relief. "Oh, thank goodness, Matt was wrong—"

"Wrong? What are you talking about? Where's everyone?"

Near was babbling. "I'm sorry Mello, it was just a theory, it's not that I thought you were a traitor—"

"What?" Mello said, grabbing the bars, feeling suddenly cold inside.

Near pulled away a little, his eyes wide.

"What are you saying, Near? You thought I was trying to side with Captain Kira?" Mello demanded.

Near looked a little rueful, but said defensively, "It was not entirely unreasonable—"

Mello, still burning with shame at the way Kira had played with him, felt an irrational surge of anger. His rival understood him far too well. There was no way he was going to admit to Near how badly his plan had gone. "Thanks for that, Near," he snapped. "Did you come here to just to make accusations, or were you going to gloat over how I got kidnapped so easily?"

Near stared at him, speechless. Apparently even breaking into a pirate ship to try to save him didn't redeem him in Mello's eyes. "No," he said finally, and looked as though he would go on. The cannons crashed again overhead, and their small hands clenched the bars as the ship bucked and rolled. Near swallowed, glanced up and said, "Do you know where the key is?"

"The first mate has it," Mello said coldly, dropping his hands from the bars. "On a ring. Lady in a corset. She's got long blond hair."

"Right," said Near, his face pale beneath the dirt. "Right. I'll—I'll be back." Turning away, he stumbled back to the ladder and disappeared.

.oOo.

Matt struggled to stay standing upright as the deck tossed wildly under his feet, shaken by the incredible force of the cannons. Where would a prisoner be kept on a ship? The stern cabin looked promising, with its sturdy wooden door and solid iron lock. Hoping he didn't look too suspicious, Matt kept his head down and hurried through the chaos across the deck, glancing around to see if Pan and the Lost Boys were still backing them up or if they had inadvertently dashed the plan. Controlling a character in a high-pressure situation was not remotely like actually being in it!

He tried the door automatically, expecting it to be locked, but to his surprise it was not, and he practically fell inside. Stumbling back to his feet, he looked around quickly, but he didn't see Mello anywhere. He must be below—

"What do you think you're doing?" squealed an irritating voice. Matt whirled around. A blond woman in a corset and flounced skirt was standing in the doorway, holding a cutlass. She gasped in surprise when she saw that he wasn't a pirate.

Matt backed into the desk, scanning the walls desperately for something he might use as a weapon—could he wrest the sword from her hand? He had to do something before she called out, she'd have the whole ship on top of him –when suddenly she slapped at the back of her neck, went cross-eyed and collapsed forward.

The redhead gaped down at the pile of curls and ruffles at his feet, then recovered quickly, looking up. Near dashed into the room with the blowpipe in his hand and stunned expression stamped on his face. Snapping the door shut behind him, he leaned against it panting, staring wide-eyed at first at the lady, and then at Matt. A little tuft of blue feathers was sticking up at the back of her neck.

"I think maybe this sort of thing takes getting used to," Near whispered with an expression that clearly said he didn't think he was getting used to raiding pirate ships any time soon.

"Hell, Near, I dunno, that was pretty awesome—"

Near shook it off. "I think someone might have heard her—we need to get Mello, someone might be coming—but we need the—"

"Did you find Mel?" Matt asked, kneeling down, he pulled the dart out of the woman's neck. "Help me flip her over, pirate or no we can't just leave a lady like this, it's not right—"

"Since when are you a gentleman?" Near said with an edge of hysteria to his voice as he helped him heave her onto her back. Something jangled at her hip. "You've got to be kidding me—this place really IS magic—this must be the first mate!"

"How do you know?" Matt asked, noting that the pirate was quite pretty as Near pulled a ring of keys off her belt. He picked up her dropped cutlass just in case.

"I found Mello, he's in the cargo hold—he said the first mate had the keys!"

"Is he hurt or—"

"No, he's fine—"

"Whoa, this would be the easiest game ever—what are the odds? You gotta start leaving me something to do, Near—"

"Where did Misa go?" came a voice outside the door. "Didn't she say she was going to—"

Near froze, his hand clenched around the keys, dark eyes round with terror as he stared at Matt over the pirate's unconscious body. What do we do? he mouthed, apparently having reached the limit of his initiative.

Matt's mind raced. Standing slowly and silently, he pointed to himself and the door, and waved his hands wildly, then he pointed to Near, the keys, and the deck. Near opened his mouth as though to protest, but stood abruptly as the doorknob began to turn, nodding once.

"Coming through!" Matt whooped loudly, charging through the door and crashing into a woman with black hair and a gold hoop in one ear. She stumbled back, understandably unprepared to have small boys suddenly bursting out of the captain's cabin and knocking her over. On impulse Matt snatched the purple bandanna off her head and dashed across the deck like his feet were on fire, the cutlass in his other hand and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Hey!" Taki screeched, regaining her balance and running after him. "Captain! There are Lost Boys aboard the ship!" she cried, her voice lost in the explosion of another broadside.

Near darted out the door as soon as the pirate's back was to him, slipping down the ladder quickly and just hoping that no one would notice him, that Matt wouldn't be caught, that they would all somehow get out of this ok and in the same number of pieces they had come in. The smoke from the guns was thick on the lower deck, effectively disguising him. It was in a daze that he stumbled back to the grate, his chest tight with fear.

Mello clung to the bars. He would never have admitted it but he had been waiting impatiently, the inability to even know, let alone affect what was going on scaring him more than being caught in the middle of it would have. He had hoped that Matt would come this time but Near was better than no one. "It's that one," he said quickly, pointing to the key, and seized it from the other boy as Near's shaking hands almost dropped them. "Is Matt ok?"

"I don't know, I don't know, he went to draw her out," Near said half-coherently, yanking on the grate. It screeched as it swung open and Mello swung out. "Here, quick, they know we're on board—" Near clapped his floppy black hat onto Mello's head and ripped off his frock coat, dancing with nervousness as Mello pulled on the sketchy disguise.

They raced in the dark under the thundering deck to the ladder, scampering up into the light, coughing in the smoky haze.

"Hey!" Teru shouted through the din and smoke, "isn't that—"

And then they were in the bright sun again, scampering across the main deck to the gangplank—

The guns roared furiously and the deck bucked, both boys went tumbling and Captain Kira screeched over the clamor, "It's a hit, we've got the damn worm!"

Something fell out of Mello's pocket as he tried to get back up; it was the sock with the red jewel in it. It began to roll across the sloping deck and he dove after it.

"Captain!" Taki screamed. Matt was flying just out of her reach, taunting her with the bandanna as Teru burst onto the main deck, "They're helping him escape!"

The one-eyed captain whirled around, ripping his attention from the wounded sea monster for the first time. "What—"

"Mello, come on!" Near cried as Teru ran toward them, drawing his scimitar.

"Wait, I have to get—"

Near snatched the sock and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. "I've got it, come on, we gotta go now!"

Mello began to stumble after him, and Teru seized him by the arm. "I've got one, captain! What—argh!"

Matt dropped onto his head as Mello kicked him in the ankle, the double impact knocking him to the deck. "Mel!" yelled the redhead, who had lost his hat in the fray. He dropped to his feet and clapped his friend on the back. "I was so worried—"

"Come on," Near yelled, loading a green-tufted dart into his blowpipe and trying to simultaneously watch all the pirates converging on the little group. Kira had drawn a rapier and was dashing down the stairs, Teru recovering quickly and Taki running at them with her sword in the air. He aimed at her but she ducked, weaving forward.

"Where the hell is Pan?" Matt cried as pirates began to come up from the stern deck to see where all the officers had gone.

As though saying his name summoned him, Pan shot down through the rigging. "I thought you were doing so swell on your own, I'd let you have a good run of it!" the wild boy crowed, diving to the deck like a rocket. "But look at this, you've roused the whole ship!" He laughed with delight.

"Pan!" Near cried in relief.

Taki dodged back as Captain Kira cried, "Don't touch him! Pan is mine!" Mello, Matt, and Near finally reached the gangplank, their way cleared by Pan's sudden appearance.

Pan laughed riotously. "I'd love to play, Kira, but we were actually just leaving! Thanks for the invite though—maybe we'll come back another time!" Grinning wildly, he zipped after the boys.

"Get them!" Kira screamed, "Bring Pan to me!"

They ran like hell, Pan laughing as though it was the most fun he'd had in his life.

Down the gangplank, across the dock, up the beach, into the trees. Mello let the floppy hat fly off; it was only in his way. Pan led the way through the jungle, slipping lightly through tangles of vines and branches, and the pirates bushwhacked behind them, making up what they lost in speed as they slashed through the flora in fright factor. Matt thought his heart would stop every time he heard the whistling schwings and heavy chops behind them.

Near was by far the worst off. He sobbed for breath as they climbed through the ever steeper jungle. Finally Mello seized the younger boy by the hand and yanked him along, ignoring his gasping pleas to just leave him behind. Lungs burning and muscles aching and sweating madly, they stumbled on.

Suddenly they broke out of the flickering shade of the trees out into the sun. "Haha, catch us now!" Pan crowed joyfully, dashing across a short bare expanse of rock and flinging himself into the blue.

"Whoa!" Matt cried, and then his momentum carried him over the edge and he was gliding after Pan over the sparkling sea.

Near dug in his heels, dragging his bare feet on the rock. "No Mello no, no please I can't—"

Mello was stronger, hauling him up to the cliff's edge. He glanced down and wished he hadn't; it was a long way down, and the waves crashed and foamed around the rocks at the bottom.

"No!" Near cried in a blind panic, his fingers biting into Mello's arm. "Mello, NO—"

Taki and Teru burst out of the trees behind him, Teru pointing his pistol and aiming. No time. And Near had always proven that he was more than capable than Mello, could best him at almost everything, and see right through everything he did. He could certainly handle this.

"Don't be a wimp, Near!" Mello shouted, shoving his rival over the edge and jumping after him.

The shot whistled past his ear as he clung to the first happy thought that popped into his head: Near's expression of blatant envy that morning as Mello beat him at something important for the first time in his life. Spreading his arms, he soared after Matt and Pan.

"Mellooooo!" Near screamed, plummeting.

AN: O noes, cliffhanger! /pun