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"Tink, come down here and meet my friends! Girls, this is my friend Tink. No splashing her wings, though." Tink hovered over Peter and with a start, realized these weren't ordinary women; their bottoms were long scaly tails.
"Are these mermaids?" Tink asked Peter and he nodded.
"Welcome to Mermaid Lagoon. Have you never seen a mermaid before?"
"Not in Pixie Hollow. Silvermist talks about them all the time but I've never seen one before." Peter grinned.
"Guess what girls? You're the first mermaids Tink has ever met"
"What is she? Some kind of bug?" Tink went red and Peter laughed.
"She's a fairy. Her name is Tinkerbell. Now girls, I need a favor. Hook is heading this way and we have to stop him from disembarking his ship. Jake and his crew are heading here on Bucky but just in case we won't be able to stop them, can I count on you to keep them at bay?"
"Peter…Hook is deadly to mermaids. And fairies," one of the mermaids added and Peter glanced quickly at Tink before he replied, "I need your help, girls. Please."
"We'll do what we can," the blonde said, tossing her hair and looking at Tink as if this was all her fault.
"Thank you. Come on Tink." Tink landed on his shoulder and Peter was off again, soaring high into the sky, his eyes peeled for any sight of Hook's ship.
"Do you think he will tell Hook where to find the treasure?"
"No, he would never. That's why I know Hook will kill him if we don't—"
"We'll get him back, Tink. I promise," Peter cut her off and she felt like crying all over again. Feeling her emotions, he reached out and held Tink in both his hands.
"I wish I could give you a hug." Warmed by his sweetness, he flew up and kissed his cheek, quickly wiping her tears away. Peter cleared his throat loudly and pointed at something.
"Here comes Bucky."
"Bucky?"
"The Buccaneer. Jake's ship. Bucky kind of has a life of its own, he was built from the magical Never Tree many years ago. He's a trusty ship and he's raced against the Jolly Roger before. Come on, I think I see the Lost Boys too." Peter dove toward the ground and saw Nibs waving at him.
"Alright boys, any news?"
"Hook is sailing the Jolly Rogerdue east. He should be rounding the island any minute now." Peter ducked behind the bushes with the boys and nodded.
"Jake is coming from the west so he can counter Hook if need be. We are going aboard and will try to find where he's keeping the fairy—"
"His name is Terence," Tink chimed indignantly. Peter's brow raised but he gave her a pacifying look.
"We'll see if we can find Terence. Tink said he was put in a lantern and Hook most likely took him to his cabin. We have to be quick. Our mission is to save Terence, not fight with the pirates. Not today."
"I thought you always wanted to fight, Peter," Slightly said with a frown. Peter lifted his chin in the air and scowled.
"I just don't feel like fighting him today. What's it to you?"
Tink immediately understood what the boy was doing. Hook was much more dangerous now, with his steel appendage and could easily slice the boys' throats. Not that he couldn't do that before but the added hatred of what Peter had done to him, spurred him on even more. Peter wanted no reason for the boys to get hurt. He would face Hook if need be, to save Tink's mate, but he wasn't looking for a full- blown battle. The Lost Boys, however, seemed to want exactly that and Peter had to talk them down best he could.
"So we're distracting the pirates while you find Hook?"
"Exactly. Keep in mind, though, we have to move fast. I've heard of a lot of ways to murder fairies and some of them are pretty quick." He glanced uncomfortably at Tink for a moment before he continued. "If anyone sees the lantern, grab it immediately. We can't count on the fact that Terence can fly. They might have hurt his wings."
"Got it, Peter," Nibs said, his eyes on the setting sun.
Meanwhile, on the Jolly Roger, Hook was barking orders at his crew. He watched them rounding the island and Mister Smee , Hook's right hand man, appeared at his side.
"Begging your pardon, Cap'n, but you might want to take a look at this." Hook snatched the spyglass and brought it to his eye.
"What are those cursed popinjays up to now," he growled. Mister Smee hung over the edge of the ship and shook his head.
"They're sailing Bucky pretty fast and they're headed right this way. Might we alter course, Cap'n?"
"No you fool, we need to head to land so I can find this treasure." Smee's face lit up.
"You got the fairy to talk, did you?"
"No but I know a way to make it talk. The lava fields ought to loosen his tongue."
"The lava fields? But Cap'n, that will melt his wings right off!"
"Precisely. If it doesn't want to die in the fires, it will tell me how to find the treasure." Smee winced and took his hat off for the poor creature, feeling that this was the worst method of murder Hook had come up with so far. Smirking, Hook strode into his cabin and peered into the lantern that hung beside his desk. Terence glanced up at him, his face pale and lined with worry.
"So which would you rather protect, you wretched creature? Your treasure or your gift of flight? I will melt your wings right off so you had better start thinking of how you will live without wings. It won't be for long, though, I guarantee it. I shall throw you into the fires and watch you burn. Ponder that for awhile. I await your decision and shall be happy to release you once you show us the way to the treasure." Terence did his best to keep the tears out of his eyes. He considered himself a brave sparrowman but he was sure Queen Clarion herself would weep for her fate if she were in his shoes right now. He knew, though, she would never betray the fairy secrets. And neither would he. He would face death with his head held high. He looked up at the pirate who was glaring at him and he shook his head, his face defiant. For good measure, he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head. Hook was furious. He reached inside the lantern and held Terence tightly round the middle.
"I'll rip those wings from your body, you loathsome creature. Show me where the treasure is!" When Terence turned away from him, Hook's face went red. His fingers tightened around the tiny body and Terence gasped for breath. He started to see stars as Hook squeezed the life out of him. His acorn hat was knocked aside, his satchel fell to the floor, and his wings fluttered quickly. Hook took no notice of the falling satchel for it was like a tiny acorn had fallen out of the sky. But he did notice how the fairy's wing fluttered and an idea came to him. He brought his hook to one of his wings and smiled.
"What happens when a wing is destroyed by a hook? Can you still fly? I'd like to find out." He brought the dangerous weapon to Terence's delicate wings and scratched downwards. Terence cried out as the pain shot through his entire body, never having felt anything like it before. He didn't know a lot about Wingology and had no idea if he would still be able to fly after that. Hook moved to do the same to the other wing when they heard a voice pierce the air.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Hook?" Hook's eyes narrowed as he saw the hated boy floating outside the window.
"And why don't you fight on the ground instead of fly away like a cowardly sparrow?" Peter's face darkened.
"No one calls Pan a coward! Let him go, Hook, and come fight me. A man who tortures Neverland's creatures is not a man at all! You're a cowardly codfish!"
"Oh keep it up, Pan. I'll slice you from navel to nose. But first, I have to deal with this pathetic excuse for a fairy." Peter's eyes narrowed and he gripped the windowsill.
"Terence, can you still fly?" Terence stared at Peter in shock but fluttered his wings and shook his head.
"I have no idea, he cut my wing. I haven't tried." His heart raced as his eyes went past Peter, searching. "Is Tinkerbell with you?"
"I made her stay ashore. She's safe, don't worry." Terence sighed with relief and nodded in thanks. Hook let out a derisive laugh.
"So now you talk to the winged menaces, do you Pan? You're becoming a fairy yourself? Talking to them and flying like them? And…odd's fish. Your ears, Pan!" Peter frowned and saw that Hook was genuinely shocked.
"What about them?"
"You ARE becoming one of them!" Peter's fingers felt at his ears and his eyes widened. Terence, too, looked shocked. Peter obviously wasn't becoming a fairy, for he hadn't sprouted wings, but his ears were now pointed as the fairies' were. Terence had heard stories about how pixie dust could change humans. He imagined that Tink had given him a generous amount and that was what was happening to him. But were the effects permanent? He didn't know. He mentally kicked himself for not knowing more about pixie dust's affect on humans. After all, it was what Hook was after. The gift of flight. The gift of…well, whatever else it did for humans. That's what the pirates had been after for many years. Now Peter was suffering from its power. Peter looked horrified as his fingers traveled across his ears but he brought his hands back to his side and glared at Hook.
"I'm not a fairy, nor will I ever be one! But I am a friend to them! And you won't hurt any more of my friends!" Quick as a flash, Peter swooped into the cabin and kicked out at Hook, making him drop the lantern. It crashed to the floor and Terence was hurled across the room. He struggled to his feet and glanced back at his injured wings. He flitted and fluttered but he couldn't rise into the air. Above him, Peter hovered out of Hook's reach and glanced down at Terence.
"What's the matter? Can't you fly?"
"I don't think so," Terence called back sadly. His wings ached every time he tried.
"Terence, look out!" Terence gasped as he saw Hook's foot coming down toward him and he flung himself out of the way. He landed on his hands and knees and felt extremely weak. Hook let out a furious cry and started swatting at something around his face.
"Tink, no, get out of here!" Peter cried. Terence's eyes shot up and he saw an angry ball of light zooming around Hook's face, poking and prodding. Peter inched closer, hoping to grab Tink out of harm's way and he glanced down at Terence to see if he was still alright. Tink's light was red as she furiously taunted the pirate. Hook's hand flew through the air and finally it hit its mark. The fairy was knocked out of the air by the force of Hook's blow and she fell to the floor, dazed.
"Tink!" Both boys cried out as Hook searched for where she had landed. Peter swooped down and pulled Hook's feathered hat over his eyes, leaving him to stumble around the cabin blindly. Terence tried to jump into the air but found he still couldn't fly so he started to run to where his love was lying on the floor. Hook flailed all over the cabin and tripped over his own feet. He came crashing down to the floor, right on top of Tinkerbell's tiny body.