(A/N: I am so, so sorry for the very late update. Not only was I busy with college work, but this chapter has been so hard to write. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Again, I'm really sorry for being late, but I will try to get the next chapter ready as soon as I can! Thank You!)
The Battle of the Jolly Roger
Margaret had made it to the beach and quickly wished away the gills so that she could breath above water again.
Despite escaping Hook's grasp again, Margaret was left with the worst wound yet: Tinker Bell's death.
It had happened too fast and Margaret couldn't help but blame herself, cuddling the fairy's body close to her sobbing face. If she hadn't attacked Hook, Tinker Bell would be alive and they would have escaped with the Egg, unharmed. If she hadn't lost control of her anger, then none of this would have happened.
It was all her fault.
But, on the bright side, she has the Egg now, where Hook can no longer use It for his own, evil purposes.
Margaret caught an idea in her head. The Egg! The Egg that grants wishes! This could grant her a wish and resurrect Tinker Bell!
She gently took the Egg out of her wet pocket and held it close to her face. The Egg looks nothing special; just an ordinary egg. But that did not fool her from the hidden magic on the Egg.
Desperately, she whispered to the Egg, "I wish Tinker Bell was alive again."
Margaret looked down at the tiny fairy in her other hand, expecting the fairy to light up and dance above her palm.
But, as a moment passed, there was still no life, nor light, on the fairy.
Margaret was greatly puzzled. Why hasn't it worked? She looked at the Egg and noticed that it had not change at all; it had remained the same as if she had not made a wish.
She tried again. "I wish Tinker Bell was alive."
There was nothing.
Her heart was now shaking. Why isn't it working? "I wish Tinker Bell was alive!"
Again, nothing.
Is it broken, Margaret thought to herself. She decided to test It by wishing for her cut to heal (it was still bleeding, but not too much).
This time, the Egg shines brightly with glittering lights. Pixie Dusts rose out from the Egg and splashed into her cut. It did not hurt her. Before she knew it, her cut was healed, the pixie dust disappearing into the now thin scar on her arm, and the Egg's light dimmed until the Egg was back to normal.
Well, the Egg was obviously not broken. Then why won't it revive Tinker Bell?
Margaret tried to make her wish again. "I wish Tinker Bell was alive."
Instead of doing what it had done before, the Egg remained normal.
"I wish Tinker Bell was alive!" She shouted at the Egg with a desperate and quivering voice.
And again, nothing.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" Margaret screamed at the Egg, shaking it as if trying to make the Egg work. "WHY CAN'T YOU GRANT ME THIS WISH?!"
The Egg did not answer her.
"DO SOMETHING! BRING HER BACK! PLEASE!"
But the Egg stayed as plain as any regular egg.
Margaret repeated her wish again and again and again, her eyes tearing up in her almost hopeless eyes.
At last, after several tries, the fairy was still dead as a pebble and the Egg would not even shine in glittering pixie dust.
With that, Margaret broke down into a sob, weeping over her fallen fairy companion. Unlike her crying from before, this crying was a combination of despair and guilt. In less than 24 hours, she had completely forgotten her past life, hurt Peter Pan, lost her chance to save him, the Lost Boys, and her own puppy, and caused Tinker Bell to die. She was terribly cold and wet and her scar still shines under empty light. Everything had become a giant mess and even the tiny victory of rescuing the Egg from Hook could not cheer her up.
She had hurt everyone that she had adored. She had failed her dearest pet, Little. She had failed everyone.
Now Neverland no longer felt like a beautiful, magical place anymore. And, what's worst, she couldn't go back to her original home because she can no longer remember her old home and how to get there.
Margaret silently wished she had never came to Neverland.
After a long moment of crying her heart out until her eyes were dry of tears, she looked down at the fairy's body, already thinking of where to bury it.
She looked to the Egg and would have cracked it then and there out of anger. But, out of misery, she began thinking of wishing for it to turn back the clock to a time when she was back at her old home, with her old family and her old memories, and to stay with them, never journeying to Neverland, where she would not hurt Peter Pan or cause Tinker Bell to die.
But then, she wouldn't have met them at all, and Margaret could not give up those memories with them and of Neverland.
It wouldn't be right.
So, without really thinking, she whispered her tiny voice to the Egg.
"I wish I knew what to do with you."
Margaret was sort of expecting for the Egg to remain the same as before. But what happened next shocked her out of her miserable state.
The Egg glowed and a trail of pixie dust floated out of the Egg. It flew high above her head and entered into the forest. Margaret could see the trail of pixie dust now floating still in midair, as if waiting for her to follow it.
Very slowly, Margaret stood up, her eyes never leaving the pixie dust trail, and walked up to it.
Her dried eyes became fixated on the sparkling lights of the pixie dusts, like tiny stars dancing right before her and not up in the sky.
Margaret slowly reached out her hand to touch it, wondering what it would feel like.
However, when her fingertips were inches from the pixie dusts, the pixie dusts flashed at her, causing her to step back.
As if realizing what the pixie dusts were trying to tell her, Margaret looked down at the trail. She did not know where they will lead her, but Margaret held one last piece of hope that it will lead her to a way to fix everything.
Gently placing the Egg in one pocket and Tinker Bell's body in another pocket, Margaret began her journey, following the pixie dust trail.
She didn't really focus on where she was going. Her eyes were on the pixie dusts the entire trip. She did not see the forest she was crossing, nor the clearings, nor the river, not even passing by a mountain. Margaret just followed the pixie dusts; believing on them and trusting them as she had before.
At last, the pixie dusts trial stopped and so did Margaret. She finally looked away from the trail to see where it had led her.
There was another clearing, but it was filled with flowers and grasses and, in the middle of the entire clearing, there was a tree that was a few feet above her.
But what she saw before her was the worst yet to see.
All over the ground were dead fairies. Not just female fairies, but there were male ones as well. All dead. Just like Tinker Bell.
Margaret was horrified. How did this happen?
Then she remembered Hook wishing for Tinker Bell, and everyone like her, to be dead.
And that's exactly what happened.
Margaret never knew there was a whole population of fairies. Margaret would have liked to have seen them when they were alive. They were probably very beautiful.
She wondered if Peter knew about this, or if Tinker Bell had told him about them. Or even if Tinker Bell lived here at all.
Either way, all the fairies were now dead before her feet.
This made Margaret feel even worse.
She turned to the pixie dusts trail next to her, wondering why they would lead her to this place. And what was the purpose? How was this supposed to help her?
Then, the pixie dusts trail extended across the field and entered into the branches of the tree in the middle of the clearing.
Margaret didn't understand any of this. She felt like questioning it, but decided that that won't solve anything. Maybe the pixie dusts have a plan.
She was about to step forward, but held back. There were dead fairies everywhere. She didn't want to step on them, even by accident. She wanted to ask the pixie dusts, or the Egg, to help her be able to fly over them. But she had no happy thoughts to keep her off the ground. So, Margaret will have to tip toe over them.
Now her eyes were focused on the ground, making sure she doesn't step on the dead fairies. She knew where she was going (straight toward the tree), all she needed to do was to cross the ground full of winged corpses.
Finally, her eyes spotted the tree roots and she looked up to see the tree before her.
The tree too looked lifeless, as if it was killed by Hook's wish along with the fairies. It wasn't incredibly huge, but Margaret could tell that this was supposed to be an important tree to the fairies.
She looked up into the branches, where the pixie dusts trail had ended. Curious, Margaret stood on her tip toes and slowly pulled the branch aside, looking inside.
There, nestling on another branch, was a nest. And, in the nest, was the most beautiful bird she had ever seen. The bird was a dove with beautiful white feathers. It seemed slightly and unusually bigger than what other birds are like (then again, Margaret hadn't seen many birds here in Neverland). What made this bird very special was the slight golden glitter on its feathers. This bird must be a favorite to the fairies.
The bird's head was bowed down and Margaret looked closer at the bird's face.
There were tiny tears rolling down the bird's face.
This broke Margaret's heart even more.
The bird was silently weeping to itself. Margaret couldn't understand why, until Margaret saw more fairies hanging over branches on the tree, all dead.
Margaret looked back at the bird, feeling very sorry for it. This bird had seen all its friends fall dead right before its eyes. That must have been terrible for the unfortunate bird.
"You poor bird," Margaret softly said to herself.
The bird shook at Margaret's voice in surprise. It turned to her and gave a frightened noise, waving away from her.
"No, no, calm down," Margaret said to the bird. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I promise."
The bird became still, staring at Margaret with uncertain eyes. They were still wet with tears of sorrow.
Gently, Margaret held out her fingers to the bird. The bird slightly pulled back, but remained still. Margaret's finger came closer until it touched the bird's soft feathers.
When the bird did not move, her finger stroked down its feathery head and neck as soft as she could. The bird slowly closed her eyes and rubbed its head against her finger, cooing.
Margaret smiled. This was the first time in a while that she had felt happy. And the first time she felt like she could help someone.
Tenderly, she took the bird into her hands, slowly so she wouldn't scare it away, and brought the bird close to her body in comfort.
Feeling the closeness of another being, the bird snuggled to her heart.
For a long while, Margaret looked down at the bird, feeling very peaceful. "Shhh, it's all right," she whispered to the bird. "I'll take care of you."
The bird looked up at her with her tiny eyes. Now that the bird was close to her, Margaret could see the bird's eyes very closely.
And that was when she noticed something in the bird's eyes.
They were not the eyes she had seen before, but felt as if she knew a long time ago. They were of great care and love, almost motherly.
No. It was motherly. But it was also of great pain and lost. Like she had lost something very important to her. Or someone.
And that was when Margaret realized something, feeling one of her pockets heavy.
With her free hand, she slid down her pocket and pulled out the Egg. "Does this belong to you," Margaret asked the bird.
When the bird saw the Egg, it was like pure joy had entered into her bright eyes. She gave out a jubilant chirp, flapping her wings in joy. Now tears of happiness were falling down her small face.
Smiling radiantly, Margaret slowly sat down on her knees and, as soft as she could, lay the bird and her Egg down on the ground.
The bird quickly flew to her Egg and embraced it, kissing all over It as she would do to her child that had come back to her. It was the most beautiful sight Margaret had seen yet.
Then, the bird carefully settled her Egg down on the ground and nestled herself on top of her Egg.
Now that this bird is reunited with her Egg . . . what's next?
Margaret looked back at all the dead fairies behind her, waiting for them to come back to life, as if the spell has been broken.
But nothing happened.
Confused, Margaret took out Tinker Bell's body out of her other pocket and studied the tiny body closely. There has to be some sign that she was alive; that there was one speck of pixie dust appearing on that body. Anything!
But, when she saw nothing, Margaret let out a sigh of defeat. Nothing changed. Tinker Bell was still dead. The Egg did nothing.
The bird gave Margaret a patient look, but Margaret was so wrapped up in misery that she could not see.
"I thought . . ." Margaret paused, unable to say what she was thinking: she thought that returning the Egg would fix everything.
But it didn't. It did nothing.
And Margaret was still all alone with no hope left in her.
She gently placed the tiny body on the ground and wrapped herself in a fetal position, burying her head in her arms.
It's over.
All of a sudden, Margaret heard the bird chirping. Margaret looked up to see the bird chirping happily at whatever was behind her. What else could the bird find happiness?
Margaret turned around and her face widened with shock at what she saw.
There, one single fairy, amongst the corpses of fairies, was slowly being lifted up into the air, her body slightly glittering with golden dusts.
Pixie Dusts.
Once the fairy was high up into the air, her body exploded with pixie dusts and her body, which had been dead still, was now stretching and yawning, as if she had just woken up from a dead sleep.
Margaret froze at what she just saw, unable to think.
That fairy was alive!
Spotting Margaret, the smiling fairy flew to Margaret, up close to her face, and then kissed her on her nose. She then flew down and hugged the bird, who hugged back.
Margaret could not comprehend what just happened. But the bird kept on chirping at something behind Margaret, only this time more joyful.
Margaret turned around again and, in disbelief, she slowly stood up as she witnessed something so incredible.
One by one, the fairies of both genders rose up into the air and their bodies exploded with more pixie dusts. And, one by one, the fairies were resurrected.
Margaret's smile was so huge, it hurt her cheeks. But she didn't care. It was all so beautiful.
They were all alive.
Once all fairies came to life, their voices rejoiced in jingling bells, like the bells on a sleigh ride.
They flew all over the place. They covered the sky, the ground, the trees, the flowers, everywhere.
Margaret had never seen so many fairies in her life, but they were the most beautiful beings she had ever seen.
Some of them flew around Margaret, studying her and smiling at her. They seem to be speaking to her, but all Margaret could hear were more bells. Few of them were even touching her robe and her hair. And, all the while, Margaret just laughed in pure happiness.
It felt as if her broken heart had been mended thanks to these fairies. Her beaming eyes looked at all of the fairies from the sky, to the trees, to the ground . . .
But, when she turned at the ground, her smile dropped.
Tinker Bell was still dead on the ground.
Few of the fairies, more of them females and three of them males, came down to Tinker Bell's body in despair and confusion. And Margaret was sure she was feeling just the same.
She reached down to gently pick up Tinker Bell's small body, and that was when she noticed that there were tiny, golden sparkles on the body.
There was still hope.
"Come on, Tinker Bell," Margaret pleaded to the fairy in her hands. "Come on, you can do it! Please, you've got to come back! Please!"
The light on Tinker Bell's body was slowly enhancing, as if Tinker Bell's body was fighting to come back alive.
Margaret could hear bells of encouragement around her, but she was too focused on Tinker Bell.
"You've got to wake up, Tinker Bell! You just have to!" Margaret's voice was getting more desperate at every word.
"Please, Tinker Bell! Look, these fairies need you! I need you! Peter Pan needs you! You're stronger; you can fight back! Come on, Tinker Bell, Come on!"
The light was starting to shine all over Tinker Bell's body, but still, her eyes remained closed.
"That's it! You're getting there! Wake up, Tinker Bell! Please, you must wake up! Come on! Come one!"
And, at that moment, Margaret gasped.
Tinker Bell opened her eyes.
She looked up at Margaret and smiled.
"Oh, Tinker Bell," Margaret cried. "You're alive!"
In jubilation, Margaret threw Tinker Bell up into the air and watched as Tinker Bell soared into the sky in pure bliss.
All the fairies cheered in lovely chimes.
Tinker Bell flew down until she came up to Margaret's face.
"Oh, Tinker Bell," Margaret quickly said. "I'm so sorry I got you killed. I didn't mean to-"
Tinker Bell stopped Margaret by wrapping her arms around Margaret's cheek and embracing her. Trying not to cry (so she wouldn't get the fairy wet) Margaret placed her hand on Tinker Bell and hugged her back.
This may be the first time she and Tinker Bell had ever hugged each other.
Once they pull back, all the fairies have gathered around Margaret. Some fairies (who seem to be wearing brown and orange colored clothing) carefully carried the bird and her Egg up to the tree. Probably to put her back on her nest.
And then, there was a blast of pixie dusts high above Margaret. The huge amount of pixie dusts then transformed into another fairy. But this fairy seemed to be more important than the other fairies. For she had a golden crown on her blond hair, huge golden wings, and a dress made of pixie dusts.
Not to mention that almost all of the fairies were bowing their heads to her.
Margaret's eyes were fastened on the golden fairy.
She must be the queen.
Now Margaret wasn't sure if she should bow to the fairy queen or not.
The fairy queen flew up to Margaret and began to speak to her.
However, all Margaret could hear were bells; she could not tell what the fairy queen was saying. It seemed important, but Margaret didn't want to interrupt her. That would be rude.
When the fairy queen had finish talking, she began looking at Margaret as if expecting an answer to her unknown question.
I guess now it's time to confess, Margaret thought.
She bowed her head first, feeling that she must.
"I'm sorry, your majesty, but I don't speak fairies. I don't understand anything you said to me. Though, I wish I could."
As if Margaret had answered correctly, the fairy queen nodded and then looked up into the tree.
Tinker Bell raised her hands as if to stop the fairy queen from something, speaking to her in her bell language. But it must have been ignored when the fairy queen did nothing.
Suddenly, pixie dusts appeared out of the tree and flew right into Margaret's ears. She felt her ears stretching and tingling.
And then, she no longer heard bells.
She heard words. Actual words. From the crowd of fairies.
What?
Margaret looked around the fairies and, when they spoke, Margaret could actually hear words she knew coming out of their mouths instead of the usual bells.
But how can that be?
What did those pixie dusts do to her ears?
She felt both her ears and gasped in shock. She could feel the tip of her ears pointed. Like the ears of the fairies. Like Peter's ears.
Margaret was in complete shock and she flinched back to reality when the fairy queen spoke again to her.
Only this time, Margaret could understand what she was saying.
"Now, you're wish has been granted. Now, you can hear the tongue of the fairies."
Margaret looked at the fairy queen in puzzlement. "My wish has been granted?"
The fairy queen nodded. "Yes, it has. I have told you that, because you have returned Mother Dove's precious Egg to her, I will allow you to make one last wish to make, so that we may reward you by granting your wish."
Margaret could hear the fairies agree with the fairy queen.
"I am Queen Clarion. And we welcome you to Pixie Hollow."
Pixie Hollow. What a lovely name for a home of the fairies. That would make a wonderful story to tell someday.
But then, Margaret thought of something.
"Wait, I can understand what fairies are saying?" Queen Clarion nodded. "Then that means . . ."
Margaret slowly turned to Tinker Bell, who had her arms crossed and an amused look on her face.
And, when she spoke, Margaret could clearly hear her voice for the first time ever.
"Not bad for a Clumsy."
Margaret's smile widened even more.
"Oh, Tinker Bell! You have such a lovely voice . . . hey, what do you mean by Clumsy?"
Tinker Bell only smirked at her and Margaret couldn't help but smile back.
However, another thought troubled Margaret. "There's one thing I don't understand. I wished for Tinker Bell to be alive before I came to Pixie Hollow, but it didn't work. And then, all of a sudden, everyone came back to life. What exactly happened, and why?"
"I'm afraid it's more complicated that you think," Queen Clarion began. "You see, when a wish has been made, then it cannot be reversed, no matter how evil the wish is. The only way to reverse evil wishes was to overcome it with happy thoughts from Mother Dove. Among her many powers here in Neverland, reversing evil wishes is one of them. Once she had been reunited with her Egg, all happy thoughts have returned to her and, all of the evil wishes, including the wish of killing all fairies, have been undone."
"So, does that mean all of Hook's wishes have been reversed too?"
"I'm sure not all of his wishes were evil," Queen Clarion answered positively.
"The Jolly Roger," Tinker Bell spoke up. "He just wished for his ship back. That's not evil much . . . except for the weapons there." She seemed to darken at those last words.
"And his wish for hurting Peter was evil-"
That was when Margaret and Tinker Bell remembered someone very important to them.
"PETER!"
"Oh my gosh, how could we have forgotten him," Margaret exclaimed. "And Little! And the Lost Boys!"
"Peter?" said a blond fairy boy, who was looking at Tinker Bell with his sparkling eyes.
Tinker Bell looked out into the distance to see the sun rising. "It's too early for Hook to have Peter walk the plank. There's still some time left!"
"Wait, what is going on," asked a black fairy in yellow clothing.
"Thank you so much for everything," Margaret started.
"But we really need to leave now," Tinker Bell finished.
"Why is that," Queen Clarion curiously asked.
"Our friends have been taken captured by Hook and his pirates," Tinker Bell said. Some of the fairies gasped in horror. "And we need to go rescue them before it's too late!"
"I'll go with you," announced the same blond fairy boy.
"No, Terence," Tinker Bell said to him. "You don't know these pirates like I do."
"But I want to come too," said an Asian fairy in blue clothing with determination in her voice.
"Me too, sugar," said a red-haired girl, wearing red clothing, in a strange but delightful voice.
"And me," shouted a blond fairy who was riding on a different bird. Margaret did a double take to see that the fairy had no wings.
Tinker Bell tried to tell them all no, but more fairies volunteered to come along. All Margaret did was stay silent.
Queen Clarion raised her hand and everyone's voices quieted down.
"Tinker Bell," she began. "You and your friend will need as much help as you can get."
"But I did all right before without anyone's help."
"That may be true, but nothing can be accomplished without a friend. You may bring a small party of friends with you. I insist."
Tinker Bell hesitated. Margaret could only look on.
Finally, Tinker Bell said, "Oh, all right. I guess it would be more fun if you fairies would come along."
In the end, Tinker Bell had chosen nine of her friends to join them. Five female fairies: Silvermist, Rosetta, Iridessa, Fawn, Rani (accompanied with her bird (named Brother Dove)), and three male fairies: Terence, Bobble, and Clank.
Instantly, Margaret loved all of these fairies and was confident that they can bring down Hook and his pirates before this day is over.
She just hoped that Peter, Little, and the Lost Boys were all right.
Hang in there, Peter, she thought to herself. Help is on the way.
*PPIII*
Peter groaned when he was, once again, thrown down on the deck. Before he knew it, he was pulled back up by the pirates.
The pirates had spent the entire early morning playing with and beating up Peter, with the Lost Boys tied up to the mast (again) and shouting at Peter to fight back.
But how can he when his hands were tied behind his back and having no happy thoughts in him.
He could hear Little barking from the mast, where her collar was tied to a rope on one end and the other end tied to the ropes on the mast.
The weird thing was that Hook wasn't even participating, nor was he watching the entertainment. Though, he was the one that ordered the pirates to do whatever they want with Peter earlier.
Hook was currently staring over the rails of his ship, where he had previous sent two pirates down into the ocean to search for the Egg. He was so focused on the ocean that he paid little attention to Peter for once in his lifetime.
So the pirates spent their time with Peter by mocking him, throwing him around, and hitting him once in a while.
This was harsher and more violent than Peter's last capture.
As much as Hook wanted to join in the fun, Hook was more anxious on getting the Egg back and finding the girl who stole It.
"Don't you worry about a thing, cap'n," Smee assured Hook as he wrapped Hook's chest with bandages. Hook was still wounded from last night's event. The worst looking was his face, where it got the most beating. He gained a shiner on one eye, small scars on his nose and the corner of his mouth, and a nasty bruise on his chin. His pirate mates couldn't help but stare at Hook's face and questioning him about it, only for Hook to threaten that, if anyone even stares at his face, they will be shark bait.
"I'm sure that Egg will turn up soon," Smee continued on, only to accidentally touch Hook's wounded chest, causing him to wince and groan painfully.
"Oh, dear, sorry cap'n," Smee quickly said after Hook gave him a death glare. Once Smee was finished on Hook's chest, he took Hook's coat (that was hanging over the rails) and carefully placed it on Hook.
Just then, the two pirates resurfaced, catching Hook's eyes.
"Quick, Smee! Bring them out!" Hook hurriedly ordered.
"Aye, aye, cap'n," Smee saluted and threw a rope down to the two pirates. Once they both grabbed on to the rope, Smee heaved the rope with all of his might and was able to pull the two pirates back on the ship.
The two pirates fell flat on board, soaking wet and breathing heavily, as if they had been underwater for hours.
"Well," Hook demanded, desperate for good news. "Did you find them?"
One of them, a skinny pirate with missing teeth, spoke first, only in between gasps of air. "We . . . We couldn't . . . find anything . . . Cap'n."
"What?!" Hook shouted in fury. "Are you sure? That girl and my Egg has got to be down there!" He grabbed the toothless pirate's shirt and forcibly pulled him close. "Did you search every single places down there?"
"W-well . . . We couldn't really look down there-"
"You imbecile!" Hook threw the pirate down. "Why not? That's what you were suppose to do!"
"The octopus!" the other pirate (who had a bandana over one eye) piped suddenly, shivering violently in fear. "It was down there! Waiting for us!"
Hook's eyes widened in terror. "The octopus! And you managed to escape that beast? It could have killed you, eaten you . . ." A thought suddenly made its way into his head. "Like it did to that poor girl and the Egg," he mumbled to himself.
The two pirates exchanged odd looks.
"Cap'n?" Smee looked curiously at Hook.
Ignoring Smee and the two pirates, Hook turned around just in time to see one of the pirates throw Peter across the deck and a tall, fat pirate jumping onto Peter, crushing him. Peter winced in pain, gritting his teeth to avoid screaming.
An evil smile slowly made its way to Hook's bruised chin. "Seems like I don't need that Egg to make my final wish come true after all."
Smee and the two pirates looked at their captain in confusion, but Hook ignored them. He slowly walked up to the other pirates, who had just picked Peter up and spun him around like a ballerina.
"That'll be all, gents," Hook raised his voice at them, catching all of their attention. "Put him down."
The pirates moaned, wanting to continue the fun. But they obeyed their captain and threw Peter to the deck.
Peter landed hard on his knees, his upper body falling over them. He was in so much pain, he could hardly breath well. He felt like daggers were stabbing all over his body, especially his face. He felt something wet at one corner of his lips, knowing full well that it was not water.
Silence fell over the crew and Peter could feel Hook's eyes narrowed on him. Putting on an arrogant mask (his signature look), so he wouldn't give in to Hook's enjoyment, he slowly raised his head up and looked right back at Hook.
Both Peter and Hook stared at each other in a silent battle, waiting for the other to speak first.
Peter gave a lopsided grin at Hook (acting like it didn't hurt his lips). "Nice face, Hook."
Hook smirked at him. "Same to you, boy."
Peter didn't argue back; he couldn't tell if his face was as bad as Hook's or not.
His only response was, "At least, on me, I make it work. You . . . you just look uglier."
Hook chuckled under breath. "Laugh all you want, boy. But I know you won't be laughing after I tell you the tale of how I got this way."
Peter shrugged. "Try me."
Hook paused for a moment to draw a suspenseful tension, before he started his tale.
"You see," Hook began, gently smoothing his hook. "Last night, I had been visited by an unexpected guest. Someone I'm sure you will know very well."
"Yeah," Peter said lightheartedly. "And who would that be?"
Hook paused again, then glanced a wicked look at Peter. "A young girl named Miss Benson. Or, as you call her, Margaret."
Peter's confident face suddenly dropped, replaced by pure shock.
"Oh yes," Hook continued, pleased at what he was getting so far. "Miss Benson was here last night, in my cabin."
"She was here" Peter asked softly.
"Why, yes, she was. And she was the one who did this to my face."
Peter slightly chuckled. "You must have really made her mad for her to do that on your face."
Hook frowned at him for a second before he returned to his confident smile. "Yes, well, whatever the reason may be, she deserved what came to her afterward."
Peter's eyebrows crossed in puzzlement. But he couldn't help feeling the horror rising in his heart. "What are you talking about, Hook? Where is she?"
"Why, in the belly of the octopus, of course."
Peter fell into a stunned silence. Even the Lost Boys and Little (who were able to listen in on the conversation), fell into dead silence.
"What," Peter was able to speak, just barely.
"You see, as we fought, I quickly got the upper hand and was about to strike her down. But she decided that, to die in my hand would be a terrible crime. So, she jumped out of my window and into the mouth of the octopus, taking your dear little fairy friend with her."
The Lost Boys screamed out disbelief words like, "No! You liar! She's not dead! I'm gonna get you for that! Margaret!"
But Peter, even Little, was frozen still with horror and doubt.
"No," Peter mumbled, and then shouted, "That's not true! You're lying!"
"Oh, am I?" Hook used his hand to dig into his pocket, never leaving Peter's face. "Perhaps this will prove it to you."
He took out an object and threw it in front of Peter.
There, before him, was Margaret's Peter Pan doll.
She was here. Which means . . . Hook was telling the truth.
She's dead.
His eyes became teary the longer he stared at the doll, unable to really believe that Margaret was gone. He bowed his head, feeling his heart break, overshadowed by darkness of depression.
A silent tear fell down his cheek.
He looked up at Hook, pure rage filling up his body.
"You," Peter shouted in fury. He jumped up onto his feet and charged after Hook. "You killed her!"
Unfortunately, the pirates held him back before he could touch Hook.
Hook merely laughed, fuming Peter's anger more. "Oh, the boy is being silly today, isn't he mates?"
Peter attempted to shrug off the pirates' grips on him, but their grip was too strong on him.
"But you gave your word!" Peter suddenly reminded Hook. "You swore you wouldn't hurt her!"
"I swore I wouldn't hunt down and harm Miss Benson," Hook reminded him. "However, it was she who came to me and attacked me, which led to her death. If you wish to blame anyone for her death, blame Miss Benson herself."
Finally, Peter's strength left him, leaving him to fall back on his knees, with the pirates grip still on him, and bowed his head away from public's eyes. Before he knew it, tears were falling out from his eyes.
He had lost Margaret forever. He may have already lost her after all the things she said to him. But she could have come to him and apologized. And now, she will never return to him and do just that. Peter didn't even know if Margaret was going to apologize to him.
But, why else would she come to the Jolly Roger. Peter was sure she came here to rescue him and his boys, only to fail. So, in a way, it was his fault that Margaret died.
He then remembered something else. Hook also said Tinker Bell was dead too. That only stabbed his heart even more. Now he had lost two of the closest friends he ever had, all in one night.
All because of him.
He felt his enemy's hook lay under his chin and pulled his face up, forcing him to face Captain Hook, whom Peter now hated with all of his heart.
"Oh, dear boy," Hook taunted him. "I've never realized this news would hurt you so badly."
Peter growled at him, glaring at him with the most hated look in Neverland.
"Well," Hook said, smiling wickedly. "I'm sure you will thank me when I end your life once and for all-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!
Just then, Hook jumped up in pain, shocking everyone on board, even Peter and the Lost Boys.
Hook had his arms on his bottom. He bounced around, shouting and whimpering.
Peter would have laughed at this if he was in a happier mood.
"SMEEE, SMEEE!" Hook shouted. "THERE"S SOMETHING ON MY BOTTOM! GET IT OUT NOW!"
"Don't worry, cap'n," Smee replied, following Hook as he continued bouncing around. "I'm coming!"
All the other pirates just watched in bewilderment.
"GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OOOOOOOFF!"
Finally, Smee caught up to Hook, seizing the coat tail. But Hook was moving too much and the coat tail was slightly tearing off.
"Cap'n! Cap't, stop! Hold still! Let me see what's the trouble!"
With great effort, Hook stood still and bent over, biting his lip in terrible pain from his behind.
Smee held the coat tail high up and, all of a sudden, chuckled after seeing Hook's bottom.
"Well, here's the problem, cap'n! There's a puppy biting on your behind! Oh, isn't that cute!"
Peter's head popped up. Puppy?
He looked behind him and, through the pirate crowd, he could see the mast where the Lost Boys were being tied up to. The rope that was tied to Little was now lying down on the deck.
Little had escaped.
Peter looked back and saw Hook's behind clearly. Little was now biting hard on Hook's bottom, her small body dangling above the ground.
"WELL, GET THAT BLASTED BEAST OFF OF ME!" Hook shouted, still feeling the pain Little was causing.
"All right there, little fellow," Smee kindly said to Little, reaching out his hands to her. "Let's get you off of there and-"
But Little had just released its grip on Hook's behind and fell on deck. Hook released a long sigh of sweet relief from the pain.
Only to scream again when Little bit his leg.
"GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!" Hook shouted, shaking his leg violently, attempting to knock Little out. It only dragged the miniature puppy around with the leg. Smee tried to pull Little back, but because Hook's leg was moving too fast, Smee couldn't touch the puppy.
At last, after many harsh kicks from the bitten leg, Little finally released her grip and flew to the other side of the ship, bumping against its wall hard.
She landed on the floor, shaking her head, and looked up to see pirates staring menacingly at her. But Little only growled back at them.
Peter had never seen the adorable Little scary before. But, under a gleam of light, Peter noticed that Little's eyes and cheeks were wet.
That was when Peter realized that Little was acting out of rage over the loss of Margaret.
Little was fighting back in revenge for her dear friend and owner.
Little barked unkindly at the pirates and scratched their hands when they made an attempt to grab her.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hook swooped in and slid under Little's collar, picking her up out of the fight with the pirates.
Hook raised Little close to him, but not too close, for Little was growling and waving her small paws at him, trying to scratch him.
"Perhaps you would like to be the first to walk the plank and join Miss Benson, hmm?" Hook snarled at Little, who only barked furiously at him. "Your choice."
He threw Little to the plank, which was already loaded up over the ocean below. However, Little was too fast and instantly ran off the plank back on the ship before the pirates could stop her. The Lost Boys cheered at her and shouted for her to go.
Little ran toward Hook, but Smee blocked Hook, holding his arms out to catch her. Little rapidly looked around, seeing pirates come toward her. She was surrounded.
Desperately, she ran to Peter, who had not moved from his spot on the deck (even when the pirates left him). Little jumped on Peter's lap and buried herself into him, trying to hide herself from the pirates. Peter was surprised for a second, but does his best to protect Little by covering her up with his upper body.
Margaret would have wanted for him to protect her puppy.
Unfortunately, it was all in vain. The pirates tore Little away from Peter, who would have reached out for her if his arms weren't still tied together. Peter struggled to escape his bond, but few of the pirates came and held him down, forcing him to continue watching.
The other pirates held Little tight, tying all of her four paws together and her mouth shut. Now, all Little could do was whimper in fear.
The pirates brought Little back to Hook, who used his hand to grab on her collar, dangling her before him.
"So, the plank's not good enough for you? Fine! Then you can take the easy way off!"
Hook walked to the side of the ship. Little's whimper increased, her tiny eyes widening in terror.
The Lost Boys' shouting increased even more, pleading for Hook to let Little go. Poor Tootles struggled as hard as he could, his eyes getting teary.
Peter struggled again, frantic to stop Hook. "No, Hook, please don't!"
Hook didn't hear Peter. Instead, he brought Little close to his face and whispered to her, "Be sure to give my regards to Ms. Benson."
With that, he swung Little out and over the rails of the ship. Little whimpered loudly as she disappeared to her watery grave.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Peter and the Lost Boys. They could do nothing as they lose another dear friend of theirs. Tootles screamed, tears falling down his chubby cheeks.
A tear fell down Peter's cheek, looking back at the doll still in front of him. He wanted to ignore everything; he didn't think he could take any more loss. He craved to hold the doll in his hands, just to see if he could feel Margaret's hands on it. But his hands were still tied and Peter had no strength to try. It would just be a waste.
All the pirates laughed cruelly at the captive boys. But Hook was still. His face turning pale as he quickly looked at his crew.
"QUIET!" Hook shouted. Slowly, the pirates obeyed and silence fell over the ship. Peter looked at Hook curiously, as the captain looked at the top of the rails, where Little disappeared over.
"Cap'n, what's wrong," Smee spoke to Hook.
"You all heard a splash, right," Hook asked Smee and his crew. The pirates didn't reply. They all looked at each other in confusion.
"Well, I don't think I would have heard a splash from all the noises we made," Smee answered.
Peter looked down, thinking of what this meant. How could they have heard Little's splash over all the noises? Or was there a splash at all?
Peter's eyes slowly widened, remembering an event so long ago that was similar to this situation.
Could it be?
Hook looked carefully at the rails, very suspicious and afraid. He slowly walked over to the rails and looked over it.
His eyes widened at what he saw. Then he slowly backed away.
There, flying up into view, was Margaret holding an unbounded Little in her arms.
And Margaret was mad.
"No one throws my puppy overboard."
She threw Little at Hook. Little scratched Hook's face and jumped off. Then, Margaret kicked Hook so hard, he fell flat on his back.
Margaret landed on the rails and eight balls of light (four on one side of Margaret and four on her other side) flew up from over the rails.
One of them was Tinker Bell.
Peter was shocked frozen, unable to move or speak.
Margaret's alive. Tinker Bell was alive. Little was still alive.
Margaret stood there with the fairies' light surrounding her, making her look like an angel. Her eyes turned to Peter's and they stayed attached, refusing to look away.
The Lost Boys cheered at seeing Margaret, Tinker Bell, and Little okay. All the pirates, including Smee, were shocked.
Hook had turned from stunned to complete anger. He sat up and pointed at Margaret and the fairies.
"ATTACK!"
The battle had begun.
*PPIII*
Margaret jumped down onto the deck, her eyes still on Peter. But her view was blocked by the approaching, angry pirates, waving their swords at her.
Margaret quickly took out Peter's dagger from her pocket and blocked one of the pirates sword. She then kicked him hard on the stomach, causing him to fall back onto some of the pirates behind him.
She caught a glance from Tinker Bell and the fairy immediately flew after Peter.
At least she will take care of Peter, Margaret thought as she went back to fighting the pirates.
*PPIII*
Iridessa used her sunlight to blind the pirates, causing few of them to fall overboard and others to hit against themselves, knocking them unconscious. All the while, Iridessa repeatedly said, "Sorry," to each of them.
Silvermist and Rani flew on Brother Dove, firing water balls at the pirates. They threw them on the deck in front of some of them, causing them to slip on them. When the two water fairies ran out of water balls, Brother Dove flew back over the ocean, so the two fairies could gather more water, and then returned to the battle, continuing to attack the pirates with their water balls.
Rosetta and Fawn carried both ends of a vine and used it to cause pirates to trip on them, wrap it around a pirate and swung him around so that he would be too dizzy to fight, swung small objects at the pirate and hitting them square on the face, etc.
Just then, Rosetta spotted Smee walking around, not knowing what to do. Recognizing his description of the one that destroyed her home, Rosetta saw red and flew straight after Smee.
Before Smee knew it, Rosetta punched him across his face. Hard. More than once.
Fawn watched this in shock.
At last, Smee became dizzy, mumbling, "Yes mama, I do want a cookie please," before falling flat on his belly, unconscious.
"And that's for crushing my house," Rosetta shouted at Smee.
"Calm down, Rosetta," Fawn said, laying a comforting hand on Rosetta's shoulder. "Are you all right?"
Rosetta sighed as she gave Fawn a satisfied smile. "Oh, I feel much better." She took the vine. "Come on, sugar! Let's go kick some pirate booty!"
Rosetta flew back into battle and Fawn followed her.
Bobbles was holding a contraption that was a mix of spoons and an egg beater, another brilliant invention courtesy of Tinker Bell. Clank was carrying a large bag of nuts. While Bobbles turned the handle around repeatedly, Clank placed a nut on each spoon. The spoons then threw the nuts at the pirates, hitting each of them.
"Ha, ha," Bobbles cheerfully exclaimed at their success on beating the pirates. "We're knocking them out at precise aim!" He turned his head over to Clank. "More nuts, Clank!"
"More nuts, coming," Clank replied, refilling the spoons with nuts as they strike their victims again and again.
*PPIII*
Little immediately runs after the Lost Boys, avoiding the pirates and their swords. One of them caught Little's tail, but Fawn flew by him and kicked his nose hard. The pirate screamed in pain and released Little.
"Go, little one," Fawn said to Little, flying close to the puppy. Little quickly licks Fawn in appreciation (causing Fawn to giggle). "You're welcome," she said before she flew back to Rosetta.
Little finally arrived to the Lost Boys, who were distracted by the battle and the new fairies they had never seen before. Only Tootles saw Little coming and he beamed at his friend.
Little used her teeth to tear the ropes binding the boys apart. It was then that the other Lost Boys noticed Little and starts helping by tearing the rope off of them.
Finally, the ropes fell loose and the Lost Boys are free. Little happily jumped into Tootles' arms and hugged her tight.
"Let's get em," Slightly exclaimed and the other Lost Boys hollowed as they all charged after the pirates, picking up what weapons they could find and joined the battle.
Tootles set Little down and they both followed the Lost Boys into battle.
*PPIII*
Tinker Bell finally made it to Peter.
Peter beamed at the sight of her. "Tinker Bell!"
Tinker Bell opened her mouth to speak, but she was suddenly slapped so hard, she flew and hit against the cabin's wall.
"Tink!" Peter shouted.
He then felt a sharp point under his chin. He looked beside him to see Hook holding his sword at him.
"At least I can finish you off," Hook said.
Frowning, Peter swiftly kicked Hook's leg (the one Little bit earlier) and Hook winched, lowering his sword. Then, Peter jumped up and used his body to push Hook harshly to the floor.
"At least I can fight back," Peter retorted.
He turned to see big pirates charging after him. Peter jumped up in the air, but only to fall down.
Peter was shocked. He still couldn't fly.
Before he knew it, the two big pirates pushed Peter up against the cabin wall. Peter struggled to escape, but their hold on him was too strong. One of them pulled out a dagger and held it close to Peter's face.
Just then, Terence appeared and, as quick as the wind, he threw small pixie dusts on the pirates' eyes, blinding them. The big pirates screamed in pain and stepped away from Peter, covering their eyes.
Peter turned to Terence. "Thanks."
Terence didn't hear him. He had noticed Tinker Bell on the floor close by. However, Tinker Bell had just recovered and flew up to join the two males.
"Quick, Tink, untie me," Peter said.
Immediately, Tink flew to Peter's bounded hands and pulls on one end of the rope, pulling on it to untie him.
But, after few strong tugs on the rope, Peter's hands remained tied.
"I can't," Tink exclaimed to Peter. "It's too tight!"
"Here, let me help," Terence offered as he flew to grab another end of the rope. Tink smiled at his offered hand and they both pulled on the ropes as hard as they could.
But the rope was still too tight for both of them.
"Peter," Margaret's voice called to Peter. He turned around to see Margaret making her way over to Peter, all the while sword fighting with pirates coming at her.
Peter froze at the sight of Margaret. He did not know what to think. He was joyful to see her again, safe and well. But he was also still hurt from the memory of her verbally attack on him just yesterday.
He wasn't sure whether to hug her or to hit her.
These emotions were so new to him.
Before he knew it, Margaret appeared behind him, using his dagger to cut the ropes on Peter's wrists. Peter rubbed his red ringed wrists as Tink and Terence flew up beside Peter and Margaret.
Margaret, smiling shyly, holds out Peter's dagger to him. "This belongs to you."
Peter hesitantly took his dagger back, unsure of what to say to her. They both stared at each other, wondering if they were still friends or not.
"Your ears," was all Peter could come up with, just noticing Margaret's pointed ears.
"I'll explain later," Margaret quickly replied, hiding her ears under her hair.
"Look out!" Terence and Tink shouted, causing Peter and Margaret to jump back into action when two ugly looking pirates charged after them, raising their swords high in the sky.
Unfortunately, now that Margaret had no sword of her own, she was left completely defenseless. It was at that notice that Peter pushed Margaret behind him and blocked the pirates' swords with his dagger.
He and the pirates share few strikes, blocks, and misses, but, considering that Peter was better at fighting while flying, and Peter, at the moment, couldn't fly anymore, he was slowly losing the fight.
Luckily, Margaret threw a stray cannonball on one of the pirate's foot. The pirate screamed like a girl and accidentally punched the other pirate.
"Peter, why can't you fly," Tink asked him.
Peter didn't want to answer. He didn't want to be embarrassed by the fact that he's useless now.
Studying Peter, as if reading his mind, Margaret rushed to Peter and pulled him as far away from the battle as they could (which was far on the other side of the ship). Tink followed them and Terence was about to join them, when Tink told him to go help the other fairies.
Once they were far, they hid behind some barrels. Instantly, Margaret wrapped her arms around Peter and hugged him as tight as she could. Peter was very confused. But then, he heard her talking to his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Peter. I never wanted to say all those things to you. And I know it's because of me you can't fly."
Peter had an urged to retort that that wasn't the reason and that she was just making it all about herself. But, Peter couldn't help but admit a little that he couldn't fly with all those hateful words in his head.
Margaret pulled back and did something that she hadn't done for a long while now.
She kissed him on the cheek.
"But I hope that makes you feel better," Margaret finished with a smile.
That kiss brought so many good memories of her in his head. Memories of their first meeting, their many flights together, them having fun, dancing in the night sky . . .
He suddenly heard a happy gasp from Margaret. He looked down to discover that he was finally floating above the ground.
*PPIII*
"Quick, get the weapons," Hook shouted at the pirates. Few of the pirates went below deck, while the others stayed on deck to fight against their enemies.
But the few of those pirates came back up with no weapons Hook had wished for.
"Well, where are they," Hook demanded.
"Sorry, cap'n," one of the pirates answered nervously. "But none of the weap'ns work anymore!"
"Not even the explosives ones?!"
The pirate shook his head. "No, cap'n."
Hook's blood boiled like mad. His face turned to a deep shade of livid red. Now there was no way he could fight back and overtake his enemies.
There was only one thing left to do.
"PETER PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN," Hook shouted to the sky. "COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, BOY!"
*PPIII*
Suddenly, Peter, Margaret, and Tink heard Hook calling for Peter, and he sounded extremely angry.
Peter turned back to Margaret. "You need to get out of here."
"No, I want to fight!"
"But you don't have a sword to fight with!"
Margaret fell silent, knowing this to be true.
But then, she said, "If I find my own sword, I'm joining in the fight."
Peter wanted so much to say no. But it's Margaret. It's like asking Peter to stop having fun.
It's just not possible.
"Fine," Peter said at last. He turned to Tink, who had a blank face. "Watch over Margaret."
It took a while for Tink to finally agree. Even though she was still friends with Margaret, she still loved Peter.
Peter was about to jump up and go after Hook, when Margaret unexpectedly stopped him.
"Wait!" Margaret had a very hesitant expression before she spoke again. "There's something you might need to know about Hook. It's hard to explain, but Hook found some magic to make me say all those hurtful things to you. He wanted me to say all that so you could be weakened."
Peter took a moment to let this news sink in. So it was all Hook's fault that Margaret hurt him.
Actually, now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Hook would go whatever lengths to hurt and weaken him. Using Margaret was the perfect tool for his plan. And it all worked.
Peter felt his body burn with anger. This was a new low for Captain Hook. And he was going to pay for it.
Without another word, Peter jumped up high into the sky and hunted down for Hook.
"I hope that wasn't a mistake," Margaret said to Tink, both looking worriedly at the flying boy.
*PPIII*
Suddenly, Little spotted Margaret's Peter Pan doll on deck and being stepped over by pirates.
She ran toward the doll and, using her teeth, she clutched onto the doll before another pirate could step on it.
With the doll in her mouth, Little desperately searched the ship, looking for Margaret.
Finally, she saw Margaret with Tinker Bell from afar, just barely hidden behind some barrels. At once, she ran for her owner, trying to bark with the doll still in her mouth.
"Little," Margaret exclaimed once she saw Little. She kneeled down and caught Little in her arms. Little dropped the doll on Margaret's lap, shaking her tail and barking at her.
"Thanks, Little," Margaret said as she placed her doll inside one of her robe pocket. "Listen, I need a sword. Can you help me find one?"
Little barked as if to say, "Sure," and quickly jumped off of Margaret's arms.
Little ran to the nearest pirate and bit his leg as hard as she could.
The pirate shrieked, dropping his sword. Little released him and the pirate clutched on his bitten leg, hopping around and moaning in pain.
Quickly, Margaret ran in and took the sword, pushing the wounded pirate to the floor.
"Thanks, Little!"
Little replied with another bark.
Margaret turned to Tinker Bell. "Go help your friends. I'll take it from here."
Tinker Bell shook her head and spoke in jingling bells. But, to Little's surprise, Margaret responded to Tinker Bell as if Margaret understood the fairy.
"I know you promised Peter to take care of me, but I can take care of myself. And, if he gets mad, I'll take the blame. Now go!"
Tinker Bell hesitated, but finally flew off.
Margaret looked down to see Little's surprised and confused look on her small face.
"Umm, I'll explain later," Margaret said. Trusting her friend, Little accepted it.
Now that Margaret has a sword, she and Little went back into battle, joining the Lost Boys on fighting against the pirates.
*PPIII*
"HOOOOOK," Peter shouted once he's over Hook. His enemy looked up and his face fell in shock. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"
Peter swooped down, his dagger ready to strike at Hook.
But Hook's sword met Peter's dagger as their blades hit against each other with a clang.
Both Peter Pan and Captain Hook glared at each other with fuming eyes.
Then Peter hit Hook's stomach by using his feet, pushing Hook back several feet.
He had hit just under Hook's wounded chest, but the impact caused Hook to bend over in slight pain, clutching his stomach.
Hook looked up at Peter, who was still hovering above deck. "Come on," the boy shouted at Hook. "Fight like a man! You are a man, right?"
Hook roared in anger as he charged after Peter, waving his sword at the boy.
But, thanks to Peter's recovered flying ability, he was able to swiftly avoid Hook's attack.
Both of them fought by colliding their blades against each other and missing their strike.
But it was pretty clear that Peter was superior in the battle.
"Face it, Codfish," Peter mocked. "You can't beat me! You just can't reach to my height!" As if to make a point, Peter flew higher above Hook.
Hook's blazing eyes stared at Peter with extreme hate. But he silently and regretfully agreed with the boy. Hook couldn't beat a flying boy while standing on the floor. They had to be evenly matched in order to make this battle fair on both side.
Which brought Hook an idea.
He grabbed the nearest fairy (which was poor Clank) and shook the fairy, causing Clank's pixie dust to fall onto Hook's head.
Once he had some pixie dust, and a happy thought in mind, Hook threw Clank away and started floating up above the ship.
Clank became dizzy from the shaking, landing onto the floor.
"Clank," Bobbles flew down to his friend. He held the contraption over his shoulder. "Are ye all right?"
"I'll let you know in a minute," Clank answered before falling on Bobbles, unconscious. Unfortunately, since Clank was big and heavy, Bobbles fell flat on the ground, with Clank's body on top of him. The contraption fell off of Bobbles and landed on the floor next to them.
Bobbles tried to push Clank off of him. "Get off, Clank!"
Peter's arrogant smirk quickly turned to complete surprise when he saw Hook flying up until they were now facing each other.
"Hey, no fair," Peter exclaimed. "I thought you didn't have any happy thoughts!"
"Oh, the only happy thought I have is you lying dead at my feet," Hook replied with an evil grin.
"Yeah, keep dreaming," Peter said nonchalantly. "Fine, if you wanna play my game, then let's go!"
And so they did.
For the rest of their battle, Peter and Hook flew all over the ship, sword fighting as well as kicking each other as hard as they could. However, because Peter's flying ability was better and more experienced, while Hook was just getting use to his new flying ability, even higher above the ship, Peter was still superior.
And Hook noticed this too.
He knew that, eventually, Peter will defeat him, again, and Hook will be beaten, as usual.
But Hook didn't want to be defeated again. Not again.
There has to be some way to beat Peter Pan once and for all.
But how?
Peter suddenly knocked Hook's back and Hook fell on top of a mast. Hook's body was facing the deck below him.
There, his eyes caught sight of Margaret sword fighting a pirate with no teeth and wearing a bandana.
That's when Hook caught another idea.
He jumped off of the mast just before Peter could stab him from behind.
"Come on, boy," Hook shouted at Peter. "Let's see which of our flying skills is greater!"
Hook quickly went flying off and Peter followed him.
They flew all over the ship, with Peter chasing Hook. They flew around the masts, around the surface of the ocean, and then over the decks (carefully avoiding the pirates, the Lost Boys, and the Fairies).
Finally, Hook headed straight for Margaret and caught her surprised by grabbing her and forcing her front body to face the coming Peter. From behind her, he gripped her arm on his hand and hovered his hook under her neck.
Peter suddenly froze in midair, right in front of them.
Margaret froze too, under Hook's hold and hook.
"THIS BATTLE IS MINE," Hook shouted to everyone in the entire ship deck. "SURRENDER OR I WILL CUT HER THROAT!"
Everyone stopped fighting and all the good guys looked in horror at the position Margaret was in.
Margaret struggled to escape out of Hook's grasp on her. But his grip was too strong and it only caused the sharp point of the hook to give her a little cut on her neck.
Margaret gasp in pain, feeling drops of blood falling down her neck.
"No," Peter exclaimed, seeing the blood on Margaret's neck. His feet landed on the deck, but Peter paid no attention to it.
Before all the fairies could do anything, the pirates took the distracted fairies and are now trapped in the pirates' fists. They tried to struggle, but their captors were too strong. Brother Dove barely escaped from the pirates and he quickly flew away.
Bobbles had finally come out from under Clank, who was just waking up.
Clank rubbed his head, groaning. "Did we win?"
A pirate suddenly wrapped his hands tight around Bobbles and Clank, raising them up to face everyone.
"No, Clank," Bobbles answered in disappointment. "We didn't."
"Oh," Clank said, looking at the other trapped fairies.
The Lost Boys, in anger, started charging after Hook to save Margaret. Unfortunately, they were caught by other pirates. They struggle like mad, but the pirates refused to release them.
Little charged after Margaret, but she too was caught by another pirate. Although the pirate was gripping on Little's neck, he was still frightened of the puppy and kept her at arms length from him.
All the good guys have been captured, leaving Peter all alone.
His eyes were only on Margaret's fearful eyes.
"Drop your weapon, boy," Hook ordered Peter. "Or the girl dies."
Margaret tried to shake her head in an attempt to convince Peter not to, but the hook's sharp end came even closer to her throat and Margaret was forced to stay very still.
Peter couldn't hear anything. He couldn't feel anything. All he could see was Margaret close to death.
He didn't want to give up so easily. He didn't want to lose. He didn't want to be defeated by his longtime enemy. He didn't want Hook to win. He didn't want to give up at all.
But he also didn't want to lose Margaret.
Peter sighed as he closed his eyes and bowed his head. Without a second thought, he dropped his dagger. The sound of his dagger hitting against the deck shook his heart.
"Peter," Margaret tearfully whispered to Peter. He looked up at her and returned with a carefree, lopsided grin. But even he knew it was fake.
"Hold him," Hook gleefully ordered to his pirate.
Two pirates came on either side of Peter and grabbed both his arms. They pulled the depressed boy to the main mast and held him there.
"Thank you, Miss Benson," Hook whispered cruelly to Margaret, who couldn't look away from Peter. "It's because of you that my final wish will come true."
Margaret gasped. Hook had used her again. And, if Hook does kill Peter, it will be her entire fault. No matter what she did, she would make things worse. And she wasn't sure if she could handle Peter's death at all. Tinker Bell's death was hard enough. But Peter's?
Tears flowed down her cheeks. Hook pulled his hook away from Margaret's throat and harshly pushed her to the floor. He stepped over the weeping girl and headed straight for Peter.
"Well," Hook said to Peter with a wicked smile. "I could have you lying at my feet, but here is good." He held his hand out at his side. "Pistol!"
Smee, who was now conscious, came up to Hook's side and handed him a pistol.
All the Lost Boys shouted at Hook, begging him to not kill Peter. All the fairies said the same, only in their fairy bell language. And Little howled, struggling to escape.
Peter raised his heavy head up and glared at Hook. Hook only grinned as he raised the pistol up until its muzzle was right in front of Peter, very close to Peter's face.
"Well, Mr. Pan, it seems that you have reached to the end of your grand adventure. Any last words, boy," Hook asked mockingly.
Peter only glared at Hook and said, "To die would be a great adventure."
Hook didn't understand Peter, nor did he really care. He was finally going to win this never-ending battle.
However, before he could say anything, he heard a scream from behind him.
"Cap'n, look," piped Smee. Hook turned his head to see Margaret, now with a new sword, coming after him to stab him.
But another pirate caught her just in time, ripping the sword from her hand and ruthlessly holding her. Margaret tried to struggle, but because of her emotional state and the pirate's strong arms, it was useless; she was trapped.
"Now, now," Hook spoke. "Perhaps Miss Benson here would like a few words for the boy before he dies. Bring her to him and let her speak to him."
The strong pirate obediently pushed Margaret so hard, she fell on top of Peter.
"Silence now," Hook commanded. "And let them have their last moment together."
Realizing the meaning of Hook's words, Margaret wrapped her arms around Peter's neck. Peter would have held her if those two pirates weren't still holding both his arms.
But, right now, just feeling Margaret hold him was good enough.
"I'm so sorry," Margaret whispered tearfully to him.
"It wasn't your fault," Peter whispered back, burying his face in Margaret's shoulder. He couldn't help but feel his eyes getting wet.
"Yes it is! It was all my fault! If I never came here, none of this would have-"
"Don't," Peter said in what's left of his strong voice. "Just don't."
Margaret nodded, clutching onto Peter more.
After a long moment of feeling each other's closeness, Margaret pulled back, silently weeping.
She gave him one last kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Peter Pan."
Peter may never understand love, but hearing Margaret confessing her love for him finally brought a tear to his eyes and down his kissed cheek.
All too soon, Margaret was roughly pulled back and now Hook again stood before Peter.
He held the pistol right back in front of Peter's face, his finger wrapped around its trigger.
All the pirates looked on in eagerness. The fairies looked away. The Lost Boys were crying and weakly pleading for Hook not to kill Peter. Little howled in despair and covered her eyes with her miniature paws.
Tinker Bell was crying so hard that her head fell on the pirate's finger wrapped around her.
Margaret's sobbing eyes stayed on Peter.
And Peter . . . He raised his head up and smiled, waiting for the next adventure to come.
Hook pulled the pistol's hammer and put pressure on the trigger. His smile was evil and victorious.
"At long last, Peter Pan. You will die."