Trouble Approaching

When Margaret's eyes fluttered awake, her mind drifted away from dreams of dirty streets, dark and rainy clouds, smoking roofs, and numerous buildings in every sight, including a tall tower with a giant clock on it. What a strange and miserable place to live in.

Still feeling tired, she closed her eyes to return to slumber. But they popped open when she heard a roaster crow. A roaster crow? Margaret was pretty sure that the Indians did not own any roasters in their village.

Then where was the crow coming from?

She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes awake as she tried to think.

And then she suddenly recognized the young boyish voice crowing.

With a wide grin, she jumped out of her bed and rushed to the entrance of the tepee. Opening the entrance, she looked out of the tent and up into the sky.

There, she spotted Peter Pan, soaring across the sky and heading toward the Indian Village.

Her lips stretched into an overjoyed smile, her heart fluttering inside of her. She hadn't realized how much she missed him. And how angry she still was for keeping her in the village (though she had been promised sword fighting lessons, so it was worth it).

She turned around and saw that only Little and Tinker Bell were inside the tent with her. Tiger Lily must have left earlier.

Margaret hurried over to the sleeping Little and gently shook her puppy. "Wake up, Little! Peter's here!"

Little, wide awake, wagged her small tail with cheerfulness, a big grin pasted on her cute tiny face.

Margaret giggled, rubbing Little's head, before she made her way over to Tinker Bell, who was clutching a Peter Pan doll in her sleep.

"Tinker Bell," Margaret whispered, nudging her finger at her miniature body. "Tinker Bell, wake up." Tinker Bell only shook her head and buried her face onto the doll's chest, trying to ignore Margaret. "Tinker Bell, you've got to wake up. Peter's here!"

At the sound of Peter's name, Tinker Bell shot up awake, happiness overflowing her glowing body.

"Come on, then. Let's go see him," Margaret said excitedly as she ran out of the tepee with Little right behind her.

The minute Margaret stepped outside, she called out, "Peter!"

Peter had already landed and was currently in the middle of a conversation with the Indian Chief, with Tiger Lily standing close by. When he heard his name, Peter turned and beamed once he saw Margaret.

Without a second thought, Margaret ran toward Peter and into his open arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck. They clutched each other for a long while, never wanting to let go and not fully aware of what was happening around them, as well as who was watching their embrace. Margaret's eyes were closed in peace; it felt so good to be held by Peter.

"I missed you," Margaret mumbled to Peter's neck.

Peter chuckled, but he held her tighter. "Yeah, I can see that. Couldn't handle not seeing me for a whole night, huh?"

Margaret pulled back, scowling at him, and punched his arm. But she couldn't hold back a silly grin.

"Oww!" Peter rubbed his bruised arm. "What was that for?"

"You being cocky. If you keep that up, it will be the death of you."

Peter just grinned arrogantly at her. "Admit it, you like me cocky."

Margaret rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

They were interrupted by Little barking, who was jumping up excitedly at Peter. Peter laughed as he kneeled down and petted her.

"How's it goin', Little," Peter asked the puppy. Little responded by looking at him with her big, bright eyes, huffing, and letting out a woof twice. Both Peter and Margaret laughed.

Peter stood up and turned to Margaret. "Now, hold very still."

"Why?"

"So that I can check over you and see if Tinker Bell hurt you or anything."

Although she understood him, Margaret narrowed her eyes. "Why would you do that? She promised you that she would watch over me without harming me. Don't you trust her?"

"Sure I do," Peter answered. "I just don't trust her whenever she gets jealous."

"Right," Margaret nodded. She remembered last night when she gave Tinker Bell an opportunity to hurt her. But, thankfully, the fairy didn't and couldn't do it. Maybe that was a good thing, because, if Tinker Bell had stabbed the needle on Margaret's arm and Peter saw the wounded arm, then Peter might immediately blame the fairy, even if Margaret tried to put the blame on herself instead of Tinker Bell.

"Speaking of Tink, where is she," Peter asked, interrupting Margaret's thoughts.

Margaret turned around and was about to point at the tepee that she and the fairy had slept in, when she spotted Tinker Bell flying out of the tepee.

"Ah, there you are, Tink," Peter said once Tinker Bell came up to them. She waved at Peter in greeting, her face beaming, despite the pixie glow of her skin, at Peter.

"And now," Peter continued. "Let's start with the inspection."

Without warning, Peter gripped Margaret's chin and moved her face toward his. His eyes scanned her entire face, searching for any scars or bruises, and muttered a satisfied, "Mmm-hmmm," when he found none.

Then, his eyes moved down to her neck, checking over it, and nodded with another "Mmm-hmmm." Then he looked up and down Margaret's body and nodded. He raised one of her arms, pulling the robe sleeve back to check her bare arm, which was clear. He moved over to her other arm and, beside her bandaged arm, still wounded from yesterday, her arm was fine and well. And then, with a smirk, Peter lowered himself onto his knees and gripped on the bottom of Margaret's nightdress, preparing to pull it up so he could check her legs.

Before Peter pulled it up completely, Margaret shrieked, stepping away from Peter and kicked him away from her.

"Geesh, you're one, abusive lady," Peter commented as he rubbed his bruised stomach, where Margaret had kicked him. "I was just checking your legs!"

"Well, if my legs were injured, which they're not, I wouldn't be standing, would I?" Margaret retorted, clutching her nightdress; pulling it down and away from Peter.

"Fair enough," Peter said, as he stood up. He took one last look around her (much to Margaret's annoyance and insistence that she was fine) and finally nodded. "Well, you look clean." He turned to Tinker Bell. "Nice job, Tink. You kept your promise. I guess that means you're no longer banished." Tinker Bell smiled, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes like other times she smiled at Peter before. "Still doesn't excuse you from nearly killing Margaret, like you tried to kill Wendy."

"Wendy?" Margaret asked, a sudden, strong feeling as if she should very well know who Wendy was.

"Yeah. Tink got the Lost Boys to try to kill her, convincing them that I ordered them to shoot her down."

"Oh, I hope she was alright," Margaret said. She didn't notice Tinker Bell's shocked look at Margaret. "Speaking of the Lost Boys, where are they?"

"They have gone off hunting," the Chief answered her, reminding her of his presence. "Along with the young men of my tribe. Perhaps, they left together to play a sport on who can capture the most beasts."

"I'll bet you anything the Lost Boys will win," Peter said proudly.

"So, where have you been last night," Margaret suddenly asked Peter. She had been wanting and waiting to ask him since last night, wondering why he would miss a party that was all about him.

"Nowhere important," Peter shrugged off. "So, how was the festival? Was it fun?"

Margaret was caught off guard from Peter's quick change of topic. It only made her more suspicious.

"It was great, but Peter-"

"I'm sorry I missed it, then. So, you still want me to teach you sword fighting?"

Margaret frowned at him, extremely curious at what secret he was holding and was a little hurt that he's holding it from her. Instead, promising to ask him later, she nodded at him.

"Alright, then. Since, you've been a good, little girl," (he ignored Margaret's scowl). "I'll be happy to teach you on what I know."

Margaret beamed. She's finally going to learn sword fighting. This way, she will have a sure chance on defending herself from pirates. In addition, this teaching could be fun.

Little's barking interrupted Margaret's thoughts, having made her realize that her puppy was still there with her. She looked down at Little, who was staring at her with bright eyes and swishing her tiny tail.

Margaret turned to Peter. "What about Little?"

Peter looked down at Little, studying her. He kneeled down and rubbed his chin in deep thought. Finally, he said, "Nope, don't think I can teach a puppy to swordfight."

Margaret giggled, but stopped when she saw Little's face drop, a soft whimper escaping her. In pity, Margaret got down on her knees and petted her sad puppy. "Don't feel bad, Little. You would have been a great sword fighter." Little glanced up and Margaret could see her small smile, feeling a bit better.

"Hey, Little," Peter interrupted their moment. "Why don't you hang out with the Lost Boys? I'm sure they would love to have you with them!"

Little gave out a cheerful bark that must have meant yes.

"But we don't know where they are," Margaret pointed out. "How will we find them and bring Little to them?"

The Indian Chief, who had just finished a quick conversation with Tiger Lily, suddenly stepped forward and announced, "My daughter has volunteered to take your animal to the Lost Boys. She knows where they have gone; she knows the forest well. She will safely escort the Mate's dog to Flying Eagle's followers."

Shocked, Margaret turned to Tiger Lily, who grinned and nodded in confirmation. She was touched that the Indian princess wanted to do something nice for her, perhaps in return for her kindness to the princess last night. Delighted, Margaret picked up Little, walked over to Tiger Lily, and, after sharing a silent moment exchanging understanding and friendly looks, Margaret slowly held Little out to her. Tiger Lily gently took the puppy and cradled Little as if she was the princess' own baby. Little looked very unsure at Tiger Lily, but, after glancing at Margaret's assured face, Little cuddled against Tiger Lily. Without another word, Tiger Lily walked by a tent, obtained a spear that leaned against it, and disappeared into the forest, with Little in her arms.

Margaret paused for a moment, saddened that Little is gone once again. She wasn't sure if she could get use to this separation from her lifelong friend.

Peter, who watched the whole thing in disbelief, slowly asked Margaret, "Okay, what just happened between you two? Did you girls become friends?"

Margaret shrugged, not leaving her eyes from where Tiger Lily and Little once were. She still felt the pang of lost from the separation, only it was more of a feeling that she would not see Little for a long time. But that was ridicules; she will see Little soon enough.

"Don't know," she finally answered, slowly moving her eyes away from the forest to Peter, the Chief, and Tinker Bell, still flying beside Peter with a strange look as if she was trying to look inside Margaret's soul. "All I know is that we don't hate each other anymore."

Peter was silent for a moment, possibly not comprehending anything. But then he shrugged it off, as if it wasn't really important enough. "You girls are so strange." Margaret smirked at him. He held out his hand to her. "Shall we, then?"

Margaret gave him a warm smile and took his hand. "We shall."

Without leaving her eyes, Peter floated up to the sky, with his hands tightly clasping onto Margaret's.

*PPIII*

Tinker Bell had to look away, her blood boiling at the knowledge that Peter had completely ignoring her once again and it hurt her that he was definitely not ignoring Margaret, taking her far away with him so that they could spend more time together.

Suddenly, a thought ran into her brain. Her doll. Margaret's Peter Pan doll. It was still back at the tent. And Margaret never thought to retrieve it. Had she forgotten about it (maybe so, with Peter invading Margaret's mind, Tinker Bell thought angrily)?

But what about her asking if Wendy was alright? Didn't she know that Wendy, her grandmother, was obviously alright? Did she forget her own grandmother as well?

Tinker Bell shook her head. No, that was impossible. Margaret could never forget those things. Wendy and Jane didn't forget anything when they were in Neverland.

Then again, they've never stayed in Neverland for so long before. Could being here for a long period of time have an effect on anyone's memories? On Margaret's memories? Would they become permanent? Would she forget everything about London and end up staying in Neverland forever?

Refusing to believe so, she zoomed to the tent, took hold of the doll, and shot up into the sky in search of Peter and Margaret. There was only one way she would for sure know if Margaret was losing her memories: if Margaret didn't recognize her own doll, then there was something very wrong with her and her mind.

Tinker Bell searched the forest for the pair, avoiding a section where she could hear the Indian boys' and the Lost Boys' ululation and Little's barking. Along the way, she couldn't help but remember Margaret's kindness toward her, despite all the evil things Tink had done to her. If Margaret and Peter didn't like each other, there might have been a possibility that Tink and Margaret could be good friends. That only worsened her guilt toward Margaret. Not only that, but, ever since her conversation with Mother Dove, there seem to be a war going on in her head that kept shouting at her on what to do. One side reminds her that Peter really likes Margaret and Margaret must be disposed of in order to gain Peter's attention back to her. Another side, the voice that sounded a lot like Mother Dove, told her that Margaret adores Tink and that it was wrong for her to harm Margaret. Even last night, when Tink was given the opportunity to hurt Margaret, the war of voices raged in her head, telling her what to do, and Tink panicked like never before. The voices were so loud and pressured her so much that, in the end, Tink did the first thing her fairy instinct told her to do: throw away the needle. Her action and the voices in her head had a strong impact on Tink that she broke into crying afterward. She had never gone through such pressure before in her life and it really scared her.

Tink clutched onto the Peter Pan doll at the horrid thought. She never wanted to be scared at all. She was suppose to be the brave one, not the coward one. What was wrong with her?

Finally, she found Peter and Margaret down at a clearing, playfully and slowly sword fighting each other. Tink flew down and landed on a tree limb, watching the couple as Peter taught Margaret some techniques and examples in sword fighting, with Margaret listening to his every word. Tink scowled as Peter held Margaret's hands that were gripping on a sword and waved it around, showing her the correct movement. Both were smiling, having a very touching moment between each other, making Tink sick to her stomach.

She grabbed onto the doll's arm, completely ready to interrupt them.

"Tink!" A distant voice suddenly called out. Tink froze, glancing over at Peter, but he didn't appear to have called for her. Then who . . .

"Tinker Bell!" There it was again. Tink searched the forest, feeling as if she knew that voice.

"Terence?" Tink mumbled.

"Tink!" the voice called louder.

"Terence," she confirmed as she jumped up, flying toward the direction of the voice, leaving the doll behind. And, sure enough, there was Terence, the pixie dust fairy and one of her best friends from Pixie Hallows. But what was he doing outside of Pixie Hallows.

"Tink, there you are," Terence said once he saw her approaching to him. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"But why," Tink asked, noting his distressed and anxious face. "What's wrong?"

"Something happened last night," Terence explained as he pulled her down so both of them were standing on a tree branch. "And Queen Clarion is ordering all of the fairies to report to the Pixie Hallow Tree right now!"

"Right now," Tink asked as she turned her head to the direction of where Peter Pan was, worried about leaving him without telling him. Then she scowled, reminding herself that Margaret was there with him; she'll keep him company. "Alright, let's go!"

They floated up and zoomed across the forest together.

"Hey, Terence," Tinker Bell spoke as she flew alongside him. "How did you find me here, anyway?"

"Lucky guess," Terence replied. "I just thought you would be around here, looking for Lost Things."

"Oh, right," Tink looked away, feeling ashamed for lying to him.

Before they knew it, they made it to Pixie Hallows and Tink suddenly halted in shock at the sight before her.

There were obvious signs that there was an intruder here last night. Trails of giant footprints were found from the forest to the Pixie Hallow Tree, then another trail leading back to the forest. Among the footprints were crushed flowers, ruined homes of some garden fairies, who were able to escape just in time. Most of the fairies' creations have also been smashed by the footprints. Although not all Pixie Hallows was in shambles, it was still the worst sight Tinker Bell had ever seen.

Terence placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort. "No one got hurt, Tink," he assured her. "And we can always replace all this stuff."

Tink nodded. "Who could have done such a thing?"

"Well, let's find out. Come on."

They silently flew to the Pixie Hallow Tree, where all of the fairies, every different types of fairies, gathered in the Tree. Everyone of them was talking amongst each other at the same time, very loudly in fact. Tink then spotted some of her friends among the crowd together, including Silvermist, Fawn, and Iridessa. When her friends saw Tink, they waved to her, all wearing the exact same expression on their faces as Terence had before.

"What's going on," Tink immediately asked them after she greeted them.

"Oh, it was so terrible," Rosetta wailed, drying her eyes with her pink handkerchief. "There was some sort of strange earthquake and we Garden Fairies went out to see what it was! Then, before we knew it, our flower homes were crushed by that humongous monster!" She blew her nose and Silvermist rubbed her back soothingly in comfort.

Silvermist turned to Tink. "We don't know who the monster was; it was took dark to see anything. We were unprepared and, before we were ready to attack, the monster was gone."

"Just like that," Tink asked. They nodded. "But what did that monster want?"

"We don't know," Fawn answered. "But it sure scared Mother Dove." She pointed up at the nest of Mother Dove, where some of the Animal Fairies, including one of Tink's other friends, Beck, surrounded the bird as if to act as a wall around the bird.

Tink became worried for Mother Dove, wanting desperately to fly up and see if she was okay. But, before she could act, a bright light flashed and the fairy leader, Queen Clarion, appeared before them, silencing all of the fairies.

The only sound to be hear was crying from the nest. Was that Mother Dove?

"Fairies," Queen Clarion greeted with the most despairing look Tink had ever seen her. It must be very serious. "The most terrible thing has happened last night. Pixie Hallow was invaded by a human." There was a slight mumble amongst the fairies. "This human had crushed many homes of the Garden Fairies," she paused when some of the Garden Fairies wailed, including Rosetta. "And destroyed all of our handiwork that we worked so hard on accomplishing." Many of the fairies nodded in agreement. "But this human had done the worst of them all: stealing Mother Dove's Egg."

Everyone of the fairies gasped in horror. The weeping, which was now known to be Mother Dove's, cried louder and the Animal Fairies assisting her tried to comfort her.

"This may be, not only the most devastating, but the most dangerous occurrence that has ever happened here in Pixie Hallows. Now, I've had the Animal Fairies talk with dear Mother Dove and . . ."

She suddenly stopped, because a hand had popped up among the crowd. Tink recognized that hand belonging to another friend of hers: Prilla.

"Yes, Prilla," Queen Clarion kindly called for. Prilla flew out of the crowd and landed in front of the Queen.

"Um, I was wondering, why is terrible that the human stole an egg? Couldn't Mother Dove lay another egg?"

Another gasped fell into the crowd, as if Prilla had accidentally offended them. Then, the fairies started shouting at poor Prilla, saying things like, "How could you say such thing," and, "How could you hurt sweet Mother Dove like that!" Tink instantly flew to Prilla's aid, as well as her other fairy friend, Rani (though she ran to Prilla, for she had no wings). Prilla, now very scared, hid herself in the comfort of Tink and Rani.

"SILENCE!" Fairy Mary suddenly shrieked with a booming voice, instantaneously silencing the fairies. With a satisfied look, she returned to her Tinker Fairies.

"Thank you, Fairy Mary," Queen Clarion said. Addressing to the fairies, she said, "As you all should know, Prilla is still new to Pixie Hallow and does not know everything." All the fairies bowed their heads in shame. "So, we must tell her why this is extremely important to us." She turned to Prilla, who bravely stood forward, with both Tink and Rani behind her. "Prilla," Queen Clarion began in a gentle voice. "When we rescued Mother Dove and saved her life many years ago, we also helped her lay one very special Egg. However, Mother Dove's past scars had prevented her from laying any more eggs, so she is left with just one." Prilla looked down in sadness. "But that is not just why her Egg is so special. You see, her Egg contains very powerful pixie dusts, possibly from our dusts that had healed Mother Dove. And with these pixie dusts, it gives the Egg very powerful magic, one that must be careful and not be tampered on. You remember when the Egg cracked once, right? Well, it seems as if the Egg has a full connection to Neverland because of this magic, and, when the Egg cracked, Neverland slowly lost its magic. And, once the Egg healed, the magic of Neverland was saved. Now, we don't know exactly what would happen if humans have the Egg in their possessions, but it could be very dangerous, not just to us, but to Neverland itself."

Prilla was lost in thought and so was Tink. She thought of what would happened to Peter, Margaret, and the Lost Boys if something dreadful happened to them because of the Egg.

"Is there any way we can find the Egg," Prilla asked politely.

Queen Clarion smiled. "I'm sure we can find a way. But, right now, we need to know who exactly stole the Egg."

"Why don't we just fly all over Neverland to find it," shouted out Vidia, the fast-flying fairy.

"It would take too much time," answered the fairy queen. "Besides, it would be much wiser to find who stole the Egg, so we will know who to look for."

"What did the Animal Fairies say about Mother Dove," Rani came forward and asked.

Queen Clarion turned her head to the nest. "Beck, would you please come down?"

Beck flew down from Mother Dove's nest and landed next to Queen Clarion, smiling at Tink in greeting as Tink smiled back.

"How is Mother Dove," the Queen asked.

"She's still crying, Queen Clarion. She can't eat or sleep. She just kept begging for her Egg to come back. She's scared to death for her Egg."

"Did she say anything about the human that attacked her last night?"

"Well, it took us a while to calm her down, but I think we were able to get a general description."

"And what would that be?"

Beck paused for a moment before she spoke. "She couldn't really tell who it was; it was really dark. But, from the light of the pixies dusts from the Tree, she saw that the human was, in fact, a man, had a large nose, square glasses, and a red nightcap."

It was like a cannon fired in Tink's head at those extremely familiar descriptions. "Did this man wear a blue and white stripped shirt?"

All the fairies looked at Tink in surprise. "Yeah," Beck answered. "He did."

Tink felt as if blood was pouring out of her.

"Tinker Bell," Queen Clarion said, curiously looking at the tinker fairy. "Do you know this human that attacked Mother Dove?"

"Uh, yeah. I do. But I really doubt he would intentionally attack Mother Dove; he's really dim-witted."

"If you know who this human is, Tinker Bell, then please tell us about him."

Tinker Bell stepped forward in front of Prilla and Rani. "His name is Mr. Smee. He's a pirate and he works for Captain Hook, the most feared pirate of the seven seas. No doubt Smee would have taken the Egg to Hook right this minute."

All the fairies panicked at this information and they worriedly chatted amongst themselves, Mother Dove's cries had intensify, as if she had heard the news of the whereabouts of her baby.

All at once, Queen Clarion blinded everyone with a bright light of her scepter and there was again silence. She turned to Tink. "Tinker Bell, because of your knowledge on these humans, it seems fitting to have you go on this quest to find the Egg and bring it back safely to us before any danger falls before it."

Tink bowed to her Queen. "Don't worry; I'll bring the Egg back. It shouldn't take more than a day to retrieve it," she smirked arrogantly, knowing what she's doing.

"Would you like your friends to accompany you on your quest?"

"That's alright, they can stay here and help clean up the place. Besides, I've got other friends here in Neverland that can help."

"Very well. Just remember: if you need help, don't hesitate to come find us. And don't forget: the fate of Neverland rests in your hands."

Tink smiled a grin that Peter Pan would be proud of. "Isn't it always?"

*PPIII*

The sky was bright, clear, and sunny as Mr. Smee made his way to the captain's cabin, whistling happily. He was carrying a basket of eggs on one hand and a pile of logs tucked under his other arm.

With his hands full, he kicked the door open and walked right in, pushing the door closed with his foot.

"Good morning, Captain!" Mr. Smee exclaimed. Captain Hook ignored him. He was sitting on his desk, in deep thought. He was looking down at his map of Neverland, staring intensely at it.

Mr. Smee, humming cheerfully, walked over to an empty space by the corner of the cabin. There was a stone-made stove, heated up by a small furnace inside it.

"Don't mind me, Captain," Mr. Smee chirped a little too loud for Hook's pleasure. "I'm just here to cook your breakfast. The others don't want me using their stove anymore. So, I hope you don't mind, do you?"

Hook only grumbled, mentally planning on punishing those pirates that brought Smee to him.

"Now, let me get this thing started now." Mr. Smee set the basket of eggs down and put the logs inside the stove. "I know how much you like your hard boiled eggs for breakfast, and I made sure to get the best eggs I could find last night."

Hook glanced his eyes irritably at Smee, then moved back to his map.

"Although," Smee continued, lighting a match and throwing it in the furnace. "I did have to steal one egg from that poor, lovely dove. She sure was pretty protective of that egg of hers." He gently blew at a weak fire to give it strength. "Maybe I should return her egg." He turned to a basket full of identical eggs. "If only I knew which one it was."

"Smee," Hook pounded his fist against his desk. "Will you stop your useless jabber and just cook my breakfast, before I make you my breakfast?"

"Yes, Captain!" Smee jumped, saluting to Hook. "Of course, Captain! Right away, Captain!"

"And hurry it up!" Hook ordered once his back was to Smee.

"Yes, yes, yes, hurry, hurry!" Smee said frantically, afraid that he had upset his Captain, as he quickly pulled a saucepan out from a trunk, poured Hook's drinking water he found on Hook's desk into the saucepan, and settled it over the stove. He pulled the basket next to him and picked up the first egg in sight. This Egg was faintly shining with gold glitter, capturing Smee's eyes.

"My, aren't you a pretty, little egg," Smee muttered in awe.

"Smee!"

Smee flinched. "Oh, yes, sorry, sir!"

Smee was about to drop the Egg into the pot to cook it, when he noticed no smoke coming out of the stove. With the Egg in his hand, Smee looked inside the stove and saw that the fire had already died down.

"Oh dear, the fire's gone!" He reached in his pocket for another match to light, but found no more matches in his pocket. He sighed sadly. "And there's no way to start the fire."

Hook just rolled his eyes at the idiocy of his first mate.

Smee rested one hand on his cheek and lay the other hand, still holding the Egg, on his lap.

He sighed again and closed his eyes. "I sure wish the fire would start on its own."

As Smee was in his little world, he failed to see the Egg unexpectedly glowing. A small speck of pixie dusts rose from the Egg and flew straight to the burnt wood inside the stove. The entire wood was soon covered with pixie dusts. Then, the pixie dusts slowly turned into fire, burning the wood. The fire was stronger and fierce than the fire before. Once the fire started, the Egg faded back into a regular Egg, as if nothing magical had happened.

Smee's big nose suddenly picked up the smell of smoke coming from inside the stove. Smee opened his eyes and saw a fire flaming inside.

Smee's eyes brightened with joy and he jumped up, cheering. "Oh, it's a miracle, it's a miracle! A fire coming out of nowhere! Oh, how wonderful!"

Hook's head popped up at those words. He turned around to see Smee dancing very silly in front of the stove, with a healthy fire inside. How could that be, when Smee never set the wood on fire.

But his suspicious mind got distracted by Smee's very strange dancing, which was just him hopping and skipping and doing some ballet like a mad man. Hook was extremely grateful they were the only one in his cabin.

"Smee," Hook tried to get his first mate's attention. Smee was now twirling around. "SMEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Finally, Smee stopped, only to trip and fall down, but raised his Egg-carried hand high above the floor.

Hook narrowed his eyes at Smee. "First off, don't EVER do that again! It's just fire! Second, just start cooking my breakfast, or I'll feed you to the octopus!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" Smee said, saluting from the floor. He picked himself up and walked back to the stove. He looked over the water-filled saucepan, seeing it not boiling yet. He looked around the area, his eyes searching for something.

"Mmmmm," Smee muttered. "I thought I had that wooden spoon with me." He went back to the trunk and looked inside. When he didn't see the spoon, he dunk his head inside and searched for it beneath other materials, using his free hand to move or pull stuff out of the way.

Hook's eyes spotted a few stuff that flew out of the trunk and groaned in frustration. Having enough of it, he stood up and walked over to his cabinet, where he kept his "special" bottle of drinks in it. Perhaps one drink would make him forget Smee for a little while.

Finally, Smee's head pulled out from inside the trunk, his face covered with unhappiness. "I wonder where I put that spoon. I wish I had the spoon with me now."

Lost in misery for his missing spoon, Smee, once again, did not see the Egg, still in his hand, glowing again. The Egg glittered and released a cloud of pixie dust from it. The dust flew through the air and headed toward Hook. Just as Hook opened his cabinet, the golden pixie dusts entered inside the cabinet, revealing itself before Hook's wide eyes. Hook was so shocked at the strange sight that he froze and just stared as the pixie dust came out, gripping onto a wooden spoon. The sparkling dust brought the spoon over to Smee. Hook's eyes followed the pixie dusts' every move as the dust dropped the spoon in front of Smee and disappeared; the Egg's glow faded once again, returning normal as it was before.

Hook could not believe what he had just saw. Pixie dusts, from nowhere, appeared right before his eyes and brought the spoon to Smee, like he had wished it-

Wished.

"Ah, there you are, you little rascal," Smee happily said to the spoon. As if it was normal for spoons to appear out of nowhere, he picked up the spoon and made his way back to the stove, where the water was beginning to boil. Meanwhile, Hook stared at Smee in astonishment, unable to think. His beady eyes caught the Egg in Smee's hand, which got him thinking.

Smee finally placed the Egg on the spoon. "Well, get ready to dive," he said as he lowered the spoon into the boiling water, insuring the Egg of its upcoming death.

Suddenly, before the spoon could touch the surface of the boiling water, Hook grabbed Smee's wrist, stopping him. "Wait, Smee."

"Did you want me to add flavor on the egg, Captain?"

Hook's eyes were curiously on the Egg. "No." He pulled the arm up, causing Smee to look at him questionably.

"Captain?"

"Do that again?"

Smee was confused. "Do what again?"

Hook took the Egg and placed it on Smee's hand. "Wish for something. Now."

"Oh, uh, okay Captain. Let's see." He put his finger on his chin and lost himself in his mind. He did this for a while and Hook was getting very impatient.

"SMEEEE!"

Smee jumped, almost dropping the Egg. "Oh, oh, right, right, a wish, make a wish. Hmmm." His eyes brightened. "Oh, I know! I wish I had more matches in my pocket."

Hook raised his eyebrow in disbelief, but then a great distraction happened. The Egg in Smee's hand glowed once again and a speck of pixie dusts flew up from the Egg and soared over to Smee's pocket. Both Hook and Smee saw the whole thing and they were speechless. Then, the Egg's light dimmed back into normality. Slowly, Smee pulled out his matches case out of his pocket, which doesn't look like it was touched by pixie dusts, and opened it. There, a fresh new line of matches were found inside the case, as if Smee had never run out of them.

"Oh, how wonderful," Smee rejoiced. "My wish came true! Wonderful!"

"Yes," Hook mumbled, staring in awe at the Egg. "Wonderful." He took the Egg from Smee and ordered, "Now, wish for something else."

"Oh, alright then, uh, how bout a coconut cream pie! I've always wanted one myself! I wish I had one!" Smee held out his hands, as if expecting a pie to come out of thin air and land on his hands. However, after a minute waiting, no pie has appeared and Smee's face dropped in misery.

With his hand firmly but gently gripping on the Egg, Hook muttered, "I wish I had coconut cream pie." The Egg glowed and another cloud of pixie dusts left the Egg and, hovering over the two men, created a coconut cream pie out of thin air. Then, the pixie dusts disappeared, along with the glow of the Egg, and the pie fell straight down, only to be saved by Smee just in time.

"Why, thank you, Captain! But you know, we can't have dessert for breakfast; we'll have to wait until after lunch, or maybe after dinner!"

But Hook was no longer listening to Smee. His full attention was on the Egg that was in his hand. He slowly walked to his desk, silent in thought, until finally he spoke. "Smee. Do you know what this is?"

"Your breakfast?"

"This, Smee, could be the answer to our problems." The next thing Smee knew, Hook said out loud, "I wish my ship was fixed in its proper state."

The Egg glowed like the sun in the sky and pixie dusts came flying out of the Egg and out the cabin. Without a word, Hook and Smee followed it.

The pixie dusts zoomed right across the fort, attracting very perplexed pirates. With Hook in front, they all ran after it, running out of the fort. They followed the pixie dust all the way to the lagoon. They stopped once they've reached to the edge of the shore. However, the pixie dusts floated out over the waters, halting when it was out into the open ocean. Then, the cloud of pixie dusts broke apart into pieces and each flew off into different directions. One cloud of pixie dusts went straight down into the ocean, while the other cloud flew back to the shores, toward a pile of scraps from Hook's ship that the pirates were able to recover. All the pirates watched in shock and awe as the pixie dusts carried every one of the scraps out across the ocean.

"Look!" a pirate exclaimed, pointing out at the ocean. There, before their eyes, the cloud of pixie dusts that dove into the ocean resurfaced. But it was pulling something from the depths. It was large, wrecked, glittered from the pixie dusts, covered in seaweed and barnacles, and looked extremely familiar.

Hook's eyes widened. He knew what it was.

"Captain," Smee spoke in complete amazement. "It's the ship!"

Hook slowly nodded. It was the Jolly Roger. And the pixie dust was pulling his ship above to the surface.

When the ship was a few inches above the surface, the pixie dusts that carried the scraps flew straight to it and placed all the scraps on the holes of the ship. And then, the pixie dust cleaned the entire ship and settled it on the surface, where the ship did not sink back to the bottom of the ocean. Soon, the ship was repaired and the pixie dust faded into nothingness.

Hook and his crew were frozen for a moment, staring straight at what the pixie dusts had done right before their eyes.

The Jolly Roger sailed again.

"Well, don't just stand there," Hook finally shouted at his men. "Get to the longboats and onto the ship!"

As if a silent spell was broken, the pirates joyfully cheered for their ship's rebirth and they ran to their longboats, sailing off toward it. Hook and Smee equally ran excitedly to their longboat and led the way.

When they finally arrived to the ship, everyone got onboard and immediately explored the place, checking to see if it was the same ship they had sailed for years. Hook just stood there, taking it all in. This was his ship. His revived ship, back in its glory state. Just as he wished for it. He slowly glided his hand on the helm in peace, even though the helm felt wet and sticky from the ocean. His hand tightened onto the helm, a content smile on his face. He had a giant urge to embrace it as if hugging a long lost friend. His eyes scanned the ship, feeling like he had just returned home after a long departure.

"Captain," Smee called out to him from the main deck. "You must see your cabin; it hasn't changed at all!"

Hook wordlessly walked to the main deck and, after pausing to see his name pasted on the door, he entered his cabin that he had been longing to be in.

Just as Smee had said, his cabin had not changed a bit. His desk was the same, his window was the same, his piano was the same as well. It was more big and beautiful than his fort cabin. He slowly made his way over to his desk, where the map of Neverland laid (though it was very soggy). He looked up at his window, stepping toward it as if he was walking in a dream, which Hook felt he was in. As he stared outside, where he saw Skull Rock and beyond, Hook still could not believe his luck. He got his ship back after so long. He now felt complete again. Not even the blasted Peter Pan could spoil his happiness of that moment. He felt like he was on top of the world; he had regain ultimate power that had been taken away from him when his ship sank. And now he can do just about anything with his mighty ship, the Jolly Roger.

He took out the Egg he had in his pocket and stared at it. Wherever this Egg came from, it had given him back what he wanted most in this entire world. If this Egg had never been in his possessions, none of this would have been possible. He imagined how much power this Egg could give him; how much power Hook would have from this Egg. He thought of what he could wish for from the Egg. He could wish himself a new hand to replace his hook hand. He could wish for dominance over the world. He could wish to be the most powerful pirate in history. He could wish for Peter Pan's immediate death . . .

Hook smiled wickedly at that thought.

"Oh, captain," Smee cried, interrupting Hook's thoughts. He forgot Smee followed him inside. "Isn't this wonderful! We have the Jolly Roger back! And, of course, you must be feeling very happy too, aren't you?" He stopped when he saw Hook's evil grin. "Uh, Captain, what are you thinking about?"

Hook held the Egg out in Smee's viewpoint. "This Egg, Smee, is the ticket to complete power. It can grant any wish to anyone who holds it. Think of what I could wish for, Smee. I can wish for anything!"

"Like getting your ship back?"

"Yes, Smee." Hook moved the Egg close to his eyes. "Like getting my ship back."

"Are you going to wish your hand back then, Captain," Smee asked.

Hook glanced at his hook hand before answering. "I could wish for it back, but then I would have no reason to attack Peter Pan. Besides," Hook waved his hook hand. "It's been so long since I've had a real hand. I don't know if I can be myself if I don't have my hooked hand anymore."

"Oh yes, then we won't have to call you Captain Hook anymore, huh? We would have to call you Captain-"

"I much rather use this Egg to accomplish my greatest goal," Hook interrupted, an evil gleam shining on his eyes.

Smee gasped. "You're not going to wish Peter Pan's immediate death, are you?"

Hook paused, which made Smee nervous. Finally, Hook replied. "No, Smee. I much rather do the most civilized and proper way. I want to capture Peter Pan and kill him myself. But, all I need for this Egg to do is to make it easy to catch; make him too weak to escape."

"So, what are you going to do about Peter Pan?"

"What am I going to do, Mr. Smee?" Hook looked down on the Egg. "I'll make a simple wish, of course." He walked to his window, pushed it wide open, and said one evil wish to the Egg that could bring Peter Pan down once and for all.

"I wish Peter Pan was so heartbroken, that he will have no happy thoughts left to make him fly."