Chapter Seven – Never-Neverland

Wendy could scarcely breath.

Soaring at an incredible speed, they flew over the rides, booths, buildings, and people of Never-Neverland. The lights twinkled like the stars. In the distance, she could make out the tops of trees, a sort of jungle-like forest surrounding an artificial volcano. The Ferris wheel slowly churned, looking like a clock ticking the time away. Off to the North was a secluded area filled with waterfalls and lagoons, the water shining with the moon's reflection.

"What do you think?" Peter asked, drawing her attention away from the land.

Gazing up at his eager, excited face, she smiled. "It's beautiful here," she responded.

"You should see the real thing," Peter chuckled, leaving her perplexed. "Why didn't you leave with the Twins?" he asked, swerving against the wind. The corners of his mouth tugged up as Wendy, startled by the sudden movement, tightened her hold around his neck.

"I…I don't know," she admitted. "I wasn't thinking…that was pretty stupid of me." She hung her head in shame, unable to believe she'd actually tried to help in a fight. Her father would've had a heart attack, had he looked away from his phone long enough.

"I thought that was pretty cool, actually."

Ruff came into view, winking at Wendy. "Smee deserved that bump on the head. I say you did great."

Wendy blushed, her hair falling over her eyes.

Laughing, Peter said, "Wendy, meet Ruff. Ruff, Wendy."

The two boys exchanged glances, Peter answering Ruff with a twinkle in his eyes. Ruff nodded, grinning. Casting his eyes back to the ground, he jerked his head. "C'mon, Pete! They're waiting!"

Wendy felt his hold on her tighten just a smidge, as though he was trying to carefully but securely hold a porcelain doll. "Hang on," he told her, dipping after Ruff. She sensed how he would've liked to dive down with the same velocity Ruff had but refrained, most likely because of her. She buried her face into his neck for a moment, feeling safer than she had all night. "Thank you, Peter," she whispered.

He didn't answer, but she heard a rumble in his throat, a chuckle escaping his mouth.

The Indian Village was full of teepee and longhouse structures, corrals, fires, and totem poles scattered in between. At one particular longhouse stood the gang, waving and cheering as Peter and Ruff landed.

"Ya made it!" a boy with wispy blonde hair laughed, wearing an old hoodie with plenty of tears and holes in it. He was rather tubby but he wore a beaming smile as he gazed upon his leader.

"'Course we made it," Ruff smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is Pan the Man we're talking about!"

"Wendy!" Mikey exclaimed, running for the girl as Peter set her down. "Are you hurt?!"

"No, Mikey," she smiled, scooping him into her arms and squeezing him tightly. "I'm alright…"

Nana bounded over, licking the girl's face, Jon huffing as he allowed the dog to drag him over. "Are you crazy, Wendy?!" he frowned. "When we saw that you weren't there, we panicked!"

"I know. I'm sorry," she said sincerely, hugging him in turn.

"Wendy!" Fred cried, rushing to her. "You sure you're ok?" He glanced over at Peter dubiously, the two exchanging curious, disapproving looks.

"I'm fine, thanks to Peter," she said, looking over at the strange boy.

Peter waved his hand at them. "It's what I do," he shrugged.

A gasp from Wendy caught their attention. "Oh!" she cried, setting Mikey on the ground. "Your hand!"

"Huh?" Peter looked at his hand, the memory of the pirate striking filling his mind once more. "Oh, this?" he laughed as the blood continued to trickle down his arm. "I almost ended up like Hook, huh?"

"PETER!" a shrill voice screeched. A lime, sparkling ball of light zoomed towards him, expanding until a woman appeared. Wendy gawked as she realized it was the young lady at the front gate. "Peter Pan, one of these days you'll get yourself killed!" she scolded him, her high pitch sounding like a banshee's.

"To die would be an awfully big adventure, Tink," Peter smiled nonchalantly.

"Don't joke!" she spat. "I swear, Peter, I-!"

"Like, what the hell is going on?!" Mandy cut in, crossing her arms over her cleavage. "We get like attacked by pirates because of like you Wendy, and like just now we were like flying! Then like, these weird looking like Indians came and like these boys told us to like just wait until you like came, and then-"

"You talk too much," Peter said aloud, crinkling his nose at her.

Her jaw dropped at him, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets.

Moving up to him, Wendy took his bleeding hand in hers, her stomach twisting. "Peter…" Biting her lip, she raised her eyes, seeing his emerald orbs wide in bewilderment at her actions. "I'm sorry…they're right. This is my fault."

Gripping her hand in his, Peter's lips stretched into a heartwarming smile, his free hand moving towards her cheek, where a guilty tear had escaped. "Don't cry, Wendy lady," he said softly.

Blush rushing to her cheeks, she looked away, feeling everyone's eyes on them.

"Somehow, I knew you'd be bleeding."

At the sound of the new voice, all heads turned to see who had joined them. Making her way through the crowd was a beautiful Indian girl. She couldn't have been much older than twelve or thirteen, however, she had an air of grace that made her appear older. She wore an embellished buckskin dress with boots to match. Her dark hair flowed freely around her brown face, her dirt-brown eyes locked on Peter's injury. Shaking her head, the feathers on her headband swayed as she took out a piece of gauze and wrapped it around the boy's hand. "Honestly. Will you ever learn?"

"Never," he grinned. Flexing his fingers, he nodded, satisfied. "Thanks." Turning to Wendy, he said, "Wendy, this is a friend of mine, Tiger Lily."

"Lily for short," she quipped, smiling at Wendy. "Hi. We've been expecting you." Motioning for everyone to follow, she led them into the nearest longhouse.

Full of fragrant smoke and pounding of drums, Wendy could see tourists inside the structure, eating as they enjoyed a show from several braves and squaws dancing around a colorful fire. Ushering them to a corner, Tiger Lily promised she would return, taking off to another part of the longhouse.

"She's…nice," Jon noted, his eyes following her from behind his glasses.

Violet rolled her eyes but a smile graced her face. Embracing Wendy, she said, "I'm glad you're ok."

"Vi…this is all so strange," Wendy whispered, watching the dancers prance about. "But the strangest and scariest part of all this is…I'm not terrified or worried. It's like…it's part of me, or I was expecting these people." Looking back at her friend, her eyes searching for answers, she gripped her arm. "Am I crazy?"

"Doubt it," Violet shook her head, laughing softly. "I don't know why this is happening, or why you're not too surprised by this, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough…"

Leaning back against the wall of the structure, Peter looked to Wendy once more. "Hey, Wendy. I wanna introduce you to the boys." Once the girls were focused on him, he pointed out each one. "You've already met Ruff and the Twins," he said, nodding to the boys. Ruff, hearing his name, turned to look when he noticed Violet. His lips parted into a hesitant smile as he grinned as waved at them. Violet felt her skin flush, her own lips parting as she whispered, "Whoa." Wendy looked from her to Ruff and back, the message clicking in her head. Holding back a giggle, she asked Peter, "And the others?"

"That's Skipper," Peter said, pointing at a dirty blond child missing an arm.

Wendy felt her heart wrench as she saw him. "What happened?" she gasped.

"He was born that way," Peter responded, gazing at the child. "His parents didn't want him…I found him in an alley way one night."

"Oh, that poor boy," she whispered, clutching at her acorn button necklace.

"He's alright," Peter reassured her, squeezing her hand. When she smiled at him, he returned the gesture before continuing. "That one's Lump," he pointed to the portly boy. "You remember Mouse, don't you?" he chuckled, seeing her face light up as she saw the child chattering with Mikey and the others. "That's Partly," he added, motioning to the black-skinned child of the group, thin and tall. "And he's Len," he said at last, jerking his head at the last boy who appeared to be Japanese.

"Where did they all come from?" she asked, astonished by the unique faces and personalities shining through in each child.

"All over the place," Peter informed her, sitting criss-cross before them. "Oh! And I almost forgot Gip!"

"Who's Gip?" Fred interrupted them, edging his way to Wendy, Violet, and Peter.

"One of my Lost Boys," Peter explained simply, noticing Tiger Lily returning with a bundle in her arms.

"…Lost Boys?" Fred asked, a scoff hinting at his disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Peter huffed, playing with the gauze around his hand.

"Next thing I'm gonna hear is fairies are real," Fred joked, stopping when Tink gave him a filthy look.

Peter glared at him, crossing his arms over his chest. "How else did you think you were able to fly here? That was fairy dust that was sprinkled on you."

Fred sat there, stupefied, staring at Peter, while Peter, in turn, stared angrily back at Fred. It wasn't until Tiger Lily stepped in that they broke their staring contest.

"Here, Peter," the Indian girl sighed, handing over the bundle. "He's been crying for you since you dropped him off."

Brows furrowing, Wendy craned her neck to see what the fuss was about. Her cerulean eyes grew large at the sight of a chubby little face, another pair of bright blue eyes staring back at her. A cheerful little mouth smiled at her, bubbles of saliva sputtering out over his chin. A wisp of midnight hair had begun to grow on his forehead, and his little hands reached out to grab her.

"Wendy, meet Gip," Peter introduced them with a smile. "Gip, this is the Wendy lady."

"You've got a baby in your group?" Violet asked, surprised. This whole situation was a bit weird, but this took the cake! "Why'd you name him Gip anyway?"

"Why not?" Peter shrugged. He chuckled as Gip grabbed one of Wendy's fingers. "He likes you. Wanna hold him?"

"May I?" she asked, her eyes shining. Carefully, she took the infant from the boy, cradling him tenderly in her arms. "Aren't you the sweetest thing…?" she cooed. Rocking him back and forth, she hummed a lullaby she remembered from her childhood, watching the baby's eyes droop until he was sound asleep.

"Mammie Apples, anybody?" Tiger Lily asked, returning with a tray of food.

"What's that?" Fred asked, picking up the pale red and yellow fruit.

"It's a mix between an apple and mango," the girl responded. "Try it."

Taking a bite, the boy chewed, his eyes growing huge as he swallowed. "Whoa! Talk about cross-breeding fruit! Where'd it come from?"

"Neverland," answered Peter, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, they grow them here?" Violet asked, taking one for herself.

"No," Peter shook his head. "Neverland. Not Never-Neverland."

"What's the difference?" Fred asked, taking another bite.

"Neverland is our home," Tink answered primly, checking her nails. "Never-Neverland is the theme park based on our home."

"…that makes no sense whatsoever." Fred shook his head at them. "You mean to tell me you're really Peter Pan?"

"You're awfully slow, aren't you?" Peter responded curtly.

Fred frowned, grumbling at the ridiculousness of it call. When he looked back to answer Asher, Peter made a face at him, causing Violet and Tink to snicker. Wendy bit her lip, striving not to giggle.

"Say, how about we explore?" Jon's voice was heard from nearby, startling his sister.

"Explore what?" she asked him, peering over the children's heads.

"Can we look around the place, Wendy?" Mikey piped up. "Pleeeeeease?!"

"I don't know," she shook her head, holding Gip to her chest. "It's dangerous out there. You saw what happened with those pirates…"

"Aw, they're not so bad," Peter waved it off. "Yeah, keep away from them, but they're not the real problem right now." Wendy was about to ask what the "real problem now" was but Peter continued, "Tiger Lily can escort you, and Ruff'll be in charge. Tink, stick with 'em, won't you?"

"ME?!" she fumed.

"Alright, those with me, follow the leader," Ruff called, getting to his feet and starting out.

Violet glanced at Wendy, winked, and said, "I think I'll join him. When should we meet back?"

The thought struck Wendy like a lightning bolt. "Uh-oh. We need to be back by ten!"

"We'll getcha home," Peter promised, his eyes glimmering. "Trust me."

The worry in her stomach and chest seemed to vanish with his words, her heart racing faster. "…ok. But we have to meet back here with time to spare." Looking back at Violet, she said, "Let's meet here by 9:40. No later!"

"Got it," she nodded, hopping up and joining Ruff, Partly, the Twins, Mouse, and Mikey.

"Those with me, come here," Tiger Lily announced. Skipper, Len, and Asher came to her side, along with Jon, who was now pulling Nana into the group.

"I'm sticking with you, Peter," Tink insisted.

"Don't be silly," Peter laughed. "You have to stay and watch Gip."

"That's not fair!" she whined.

"C'mon, Tink, it's your turn," Peter chuckled. "Besides, Blue Falls agreed to stay with you."

"Blue Falls?!" she gasped, her cheeks brightening, her glow intensifying. "He's coming?! Why didn't you say so sooner?!" Running her fingers through her hair and checking her wings, she preened herself before taking Gip from Wendy, scanning the entrance for her friend.

Grinning, Peter offered Wendy a hand. "C'mon. I'll show you Mermaid Lagoon."

Slipping her hand into his, she felt a flicker of excitement at the mention of mermaids. "Real mermaids? I've always wanted to see one…" She shivered as he gripped her fingers gently, helping her to her feet. He himself was floating an inch or two off the ground, his body inclined towards hers.

"Count me in," Fred interrupted them, straightening his jacket and speaking a little too loudly. "Sounds interesting!"

"Like, real mermaids? OMG, whoa. Like, no way!" Mandy squealed, ecstatic as the thought of seeing real mermaids.

Peter sighed, pouting at Wendy. "Do they have to come along?!" he whispered.

Wendy sigh sympathetically, giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I can't just leave them now. Please…?"

He gave her a smile that looked more like a grimace, muttering under his breath how they would scare the mermaids away before leading them out of the longhouse and back into the night.

He hoped that Fred and Mandy would get lost, and soon.