Catherine's POV
(A few minutes earlier.)
I feel adrenaline coarse through me when I think of what we are about to do. Hook's pirate ship floats silently on the surface of the water, and in the sky above, dark clouds are beginning to form.
"Storm's brewing," Collin declares from where he is crouched next to me.
"In more ways than one," I reply and he nods solemnly in silent agreement.
We then watch silently as Ethan and the rest of the Lost Boys silently emerge from the tree line and slink stealthily beneath the surface of the lagoon. I placed a Sea Dweller Charm on them earlier so that they would have the ability to breath under water and therefore be able to get to the floating vessel undetected. They are the primary force and the distraction that Collin and I are going to use to board the ship without being noticed.
I hear a bird call in the distance that I recognize as the signal Tiger Lily said she'd use to alert us of her troops arrival.
Before even attempting this rescue, I knew that we would need some reinforcements, so I went to Chief Great Big Little Panther and asked if he would help. Considering his history with Peter, I believed that he would turn me away. However, I was happily surprised when he said, "Peter Pan may have wronged us many times, but you have been nothing but kind to us. My men and I shall follow you into battle, Catherine."
I had gratefully accepted his help and now, after hearing Tiger Lily's call, I am reassured of the outcome of today's battle.
"Thank you for coming with me, Collin," I whisper to the boy next to me.
"Is not a problem, lass," he replies. "Besides, I knew yer brother woul' not be easy 'til someone agreed to go with you."
I chuckle at the truth of his words. "Yeah. He did seem a bit tense when I told him my roll in Peter's rescue."
"Don' worry, Cat. We'll get him back," he reassures, placing his hand on my shoulder.
I nod to him and give him a small smile. "With you all at my side, we can't fail," I say.
"Tha's the spirit, lass," he says and we both fall silent once more.
I allow a few more minutes to pass before I motion to Collin that its time for us to go. I also placed the Sea Dweller Charm upon the two of us as well so that we may move along under water without detection.
We silently move to the beach and quickly sink beneath the surface. We walk along the ocean floor until we find ourselves directly beneath the Jolly Roger. Only then do we begin to rise.
When our heads break the surface, I can hear a discussion taking place on deck. It's Ethan attempting to negotiate Peter's release with Hook, even though we already know what the answer will be.
I look to Collin and gesture for him to start climbing. When we get about halfway up the ships helm, shouting can be heard and the clanging of metal-on-metal signals the beginning of battle.
Collin and I stealthily slink over the rail of the ship and duck behind a stack of barrels that stink of rum. I curl my nose at the smell, never having been very fond of the smell of alcohol.
I then proceed to scan the deck for any trace of a door that could lead us below. Collin taps my shoulder and points towards a small hatch just a few feet away in the floor next to wall. He takes a step forward, but I grab hold of his shirt to pull him back.
"I haven't found my mother yet. After I locate her, then we move," I whisper into his ear and he nods.
I scan the deck once again, this time searching for any sign of Mother, but she is no where to be seen. This means that she is probably below decks with Peter.
I groan inwardly at this realization. Collin senses my annoyance and shoots me a questioning look. I point to the area below our feet and he understands what I mean. A frown forms on his face and I know he is just as annoyed with this recent development as I am.
He beckons me to lean towards him, and after I do, he whispers, "I say we 'ead on down, an' if we run into the old lady, then so be it. At least we can then say we tried instea' of sittin' up here like a couple of ducks."
I weigh the consequences that could come with his idea against the odds of us getting caught if we just sat here and after a moment, and I nod to him in agreement. If we got caught now, everything we've accomplished thus far would have been or nothing and Peter would most certainly be killed.
We manage to get to the hatch safely and quietly descend the set of stairs that lead to the brig. I can hear Mother talking and I motion for Collin to stay silent.
"See you in a little while, Pan," she says and I start to panic.
I look wildly around for a place to hide and see a small hole in the wall. Without explaining anything to Collin, I grab his hand and wave my free one over both of us, whispering, "Abhorreo."
We immediately begin to shrink. Once we are the size of mice, I push him into the crack in the wall and follow after him. I then peek outside our hiding place and watch Mother exit the middle cell. Collin tries to speak, but I clamp my hand over his mouth before he gets the chance to. Mother then walks right past us and ascends the stairs with a broad smile on her face.
We wait in our hiding place for what feels like ages until I'm sure she's gone. We then exit the hole in the wall and I whisper, "Auctus," causing us to return to our normal size.
I beckon for Collin to follow me and we both head towards the middle cell. There is a strange blue light coming from inside, but I'm too focused on getting to Peter that I don't stop to think about what it could be. I place my hand on the door nob and nearly cry out in pain as a shock of electricity jolts through me.
I snatch my arm back and wince at the pain in my hand. Collin asks if I'm alright and I nod. A new sense of determination swells up inside me and I motion for Collin to stand back. My eyes narrow in concentration as I stretch my arms out in front of me. A huge blast jets out from my hands and the door explodes.
Collin and I then hurry into the room. Relief floods through me when I see Peter and I rush to his side.
Before I can reach out to him, however, he says, "Don't touch me!"
I look at him confused, and he glances towards his bonds. There are large electrical coils wrapped around both of his arms and I understand why he said what he did.
I curse under my breath. Someone had to have heard the explosion up on deck which means I only have a limited amount of time to figure out how to free Peter before someone shows up.
"Collin, keep a look out," I order.
"Yes, ma'am," he replies and walks outside the door.
My brow furrows in thought as I wrack my brain for any spell that could get him out of this. Then it comes to me. Before Peter has a chance to protest, I place my hands on his shoulders and immediately feel the electricity coursing through me.
I squeeze my eyes shut and tears stream down my cheeks. Then the pain disappears just as quickly as it started. I slump to the floor, suddenly feeling very drained. I then feel strong arms wrap themselves around me.
"Catherine, are you okay?" I hear Peter say close to my ear and I nod weakly.
"Yep. Never better," I say unconvincingly.
He sighs. "You shouldn't have done that," he says.
"Well, I did, so get over it," I reply, turning around to face him. Before he can say another word I place my lips on his and pull him close.
"Catherine, you-" he starts again, but I quickly cut him off with another kiss.
When I pull back I say, "The first one was supposed to be your cue to shut up."
He chuckles and replies, "Next time, I'll know better then."
I smile up at him, happy that he is okay and that we're together again.
It's then that Collin hurries into the room. "We gotta go, lass," he says as Peter pulls me to my feet.
"Alright then. Let's get to work," I say and take Peter's hand in mine.
The three of us then dash out of the cell and up the stairs, taking out a pirate along the way. When we reach the deck, we see that the Indians have joined the battle and it looks as if we'll win.
I look around for my mother, but she is no where to be seen which worries me.
"Look out!" Peter yells, pushing me out of the way. I hit the deck hard and quickly scramble back to my feet only to find Peter engaged in a fight with another pirate. I look around for Collin and find him in a similar situation.
I then turn around and see yet another pirate barreling towards me. I glare at the charging pirate and stand firmly in place. I then point to the ground directly in front of me and shout, "Adtonitus."
Lighting strikes the deck just in front of the pirate causing him to scream and run in the opposite direction. I smirk and continue to search for any sign of my mother.
It doesn't take long for me to find her because only seconds after my lightning strike, a huge blast is emitted from the center of the deck, sending pirates, boys, and indians all flying backwards.
I make my way forward to stand directly in front of Mother who is grinning broadly. "Hello Cathy," she greets.
"Mother," I reply.
"Sweetheart, you didn't really believe that this little plan of yours would work, did you?" Mother asks with overly-stressed concern.
I almost reply 'yes,' but quickly realize that it would be a lie. Instead I say, "I was hoping it would, but no, I didn't think it could end so easily."
"Hmm. Well, at least now I know you have a small amount of brain inside that pretty little head of yours," she says and I roll my eyes.
"I'm not going to go with you, Mother, so can we please just cut to the chase and get this over with?" I ask.
"Of course, dear. You know I've never been one for idle prattle," she says and I roll my eyes again at this statement.
"Just shut it, Mom," I say and deliver the first blow with a bolt of plasma. She easily deflects the blow and shakes her head at me.
"You're very strong, Cathy," she states as a staff appears in her right hand. "But you still have a great deal to learn."
She then slams her staff against the deck and a wave forms in the floorboards. My eyes widen and in an effort to protect myself and everyone behind me, I place my arms in front of me and push back the wave with a wall of magic. The floor boards slide back into place and I throw my mother a somewhat cocky smile.
"That's what you think," I say and leap into the air. While I'm up, I grab a loose rope from the mast. When I reach the ground, I spin the rope and drop it onto the deck. It turns into a very large diamond-back rattle snake.
It's my mother's turn to look surprised as the snake advances on her. She takes a couple steps back and it strikes at her. After it recoils, she points at it's mid-section and it erupts in flames. It completely engulfs the snake, leaving only ashes behind. I use this to my advantage and create a sort of dust storm that only surrounds Mother.
She shuts her eyes tight, clenches her fists, and when she unclenches them all the ashes disappear. She then performs a spell that gives her the ability to breath fire. I douse the flames as fast as I can with water for a few seconds, and once I realize that it really wasn't working, I summon a strong wind to fully put out the the flames. She then readies herself to perform another spell, but an idea comes to me and I beat her to it.
I wave my hand over the floor directly in front of her and two electric pulses jet out from it, wrapping themselves around her arms. Her new restraints then pull her to her knees and I raise my head confidently, breathing a silent sigh of relief.
I then pick up a sword that had probably been dropped earlier during the battle and approach my restrained mother. I point the sword at her throat and she looks up at me with a large smile.
"I'm impressed," she states.
"Don't be. I had a good teacher," I say and glance back at Peter who looks at me with pride. "Now," I continue, turning my attention back to her. "I am going to give you a choice to make. Either I cut you down right now with this sword."
"Or?" she asks.
"Or you can promise to leave this island and never return to harm anyone here ever again."
She contemplates my offer for a moment and then answers, "Fine, I will leave Neverland and never return."
I nod and wave my hand over her, releasing her from her bonds. She rises and says, "Until we meet again, Cathy." A cloud of smoke then surrounds her and she's gone.
I turn around to now address the pirates, "Would anyone else like to test my patience?"
They all shake their heads at me and I look to the captain. "Good, now if I find out that you or any other member of your crew ever brings her back, I swear that it will be the last thing you will ever do. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," James replies.
"Oh, and one more thing," I say and walk into Hook's cabin. It doesn't take me long to find what I'm looking for and I quickly bring it outside.
"I am officially freeing your leverage over me, Captain," I exclaim as I raise up the lantern that holds captive a tiny fairy. I lift the small latch, open the door, and the pixie darts out. She nods to me in thanks and then whizzes off.
"Now boys, I do believe our work here is done," I finish and then walk over to Peter.
"Shall we?" he asks, extending his arm to me.
"Why thank you, sir. And yes, we shall," I reply while waving my hand towards the rest of the Lost Boys. The Indians are no where to be seen, so I assume that they left once their part was done.
Peter and I then take to the air, the boys right on our heels as we zoom towards camp. By the time we arrive, everyone is in a celebratory mood so Peter goes to fetch his pipe.
I follow him into his tent and when he notices my presence, he turns and smiles at me.
"Thank you, love, for saving my skin," he says, pulling me into his arms.
"Well, at least now I can say we're even," I reply and he chuckles.
"Yeah. Guess so," he says and kisses me.
I pull his closer, returning his kiss. Even if our separation wasn't that long, it still felt like a lifetime, and I realize that I have no idea what I would do without him. When he finally pulls back, I whisper, "I love you, Peter."
"I love you too, Catherine," he replies and kisses my nose.
I smile up at him and take his hand in mine. "They are probably getting impatient," I say.
Peter sighs. "Now I wish I hadn't agreed to play. All I really want to do is have a relaxing evening with you," he says.
"Who ever said that it'd be relaxing?" I say and wink at him.
He smiles dangerously and moves in to kiss me again but I quickly escape his grasp and hurry out through the tent flap.
We get settled on our usual log and he begins to play. We celebrate our victory for hours on end and at one point, Ethan pulls me up to join the dancing. I silently wish to myself that it could be this way all the time.
Then suddenly, Peter's pipe stops playing. I look over to him and see that he is clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain.
"Peter!" I shriek and dash over to him. I sit down next to him and attempt to move his hands away from his chest so that I can try and see what's wrong. All he does is clutch my hands, though. I gasp at how cold they are and I can see the color slowly draining from his face. He then slowly sinks to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Crap," Ethan says from behind me.
I turn to look at my brother. "What's happening? What's wrong with him?" I cry, desperately trying to think of anything that could take away Peter's pain.
"The Shift. It's started," Ethan states quietly.
I remember hearing that word somewhere, but can't seem to remember what it was. I then think back to the conversation I had with Peter inside Hangman's tree.
As the Shift approaches, my powers begin to weaken and it will eventually kill me if its not performed in time.
His words hit me like a punch to the stomach and I feel panic rise inside of me. I look back at Peter and see that he's fallen unconscious. I feel tears flood my eyes as I stroke his cheek softly.
"We have to get him to Skull Rock," Ethan states authoritatively.
"Why?" I ask, trying to get past the lump in my throat.
"Because that's where Pan usually takes the people he brings to the island to perform the Rejuvenation Spell which counteracts the Shift."
"How will that help us?" I ask.
"We might be able to find something there that can help us save him. Catey, it's his only hope," he explains.
I look back down at Peter's pain-stricken features and make up my mind.
"Meet us there," I order and the boys all nod in acknowledgement.
I then wrap my arms around Peter and transport the two of us to Skull Rock, where hopefully we can find a way to save him before I lose him again, this time forever.