Lying on his back Jefferson gazed into the inky blackness above, ruminating the vast and delicate mysterious of his hat – the axis mundi of the multiverse by any other name – and imagined with a soft smile showing his daughter the doors to all creation when she was old enough. Her mother would argue but it was Grace's birthright. With these thoughts chasing through his mind he bolted upright when his strange guests struggled back through the window from Neverland.

"GET OFF ME! PETER! PETER!" a girl screamed, struggling in Michael's arms as John slammed the window closed. Michael had a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her, but he yelled in pain when she bit him and he dropped her.

Jefferson stared at them in bewilderment, taking in the brothers present state. John was doubled over, trying to breathe and he had claw marks on his cheek. Michael was a dreadful sight, his face pouring with blood but he ignored the head wound and focused on the girl now crouched on the floor. Her stance was low, poised to attack and her eyes blazed. He had thought for a second that Pan had done this to them but it was the girl. There was something unmistakably feral about her and despite her size he could believe she had inflicted so much damage on two grown men. She was with Pan, what else could he expect?

"This is your sister?"

"Yes..." Michael said but he hesitated before answering, eyes flicking to his brother. They shared a brief look of uncertainty.

"You're not my brothers!" she hissed, wavering on her feet. She was sweating, breathing heavily but then they all were. She started to back away towards the window but John lunged forward and threw her out into the centre of the Realm Room. She skidded on the shiny dark floor and Jefferson could see her eyes taking in the doors around her in confusion. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head hard once, as if to shake off a dream.

"Wendy it's us," Michael reasoned, a handkerchief to his forehead. "I know it's hard to believe, I know we don't appear as we should, but I swear on our parents graves that we're telling the truth."

Wendy blinked, licking her lips, and her eyes flicked from one brother to the other. "Don't swear on them, don't swear on dead things," she croaked with a grimace. "You're from the Home Office, you're – you're Peter's enemy."

"Yes, we are," John explained, circling her slowly, coming closer but she backed away every time, still poised to attack. "Everything we've done has been for you, everything we've worked towards has been to save you," he said softly and began to smile, a flickering thing that suddenly bloomed beatifically over his face. Michael smiled too, his face a gruesome red mess, but joy beamed off him in waves.

Wendy shook her head, hand fisting her hair. "You said you wanted to destroy him..." she narrowed her eyes dangerously, suddenly very still and Jefferson shifted, uneasy.

"We won't rest until he's dead at our feet," Michael said quietly, eyes like steel and the Hatter could see the solider in him, the one willing to kill.

"To avenge you and our family!" John added passionately and then held out a hand in supplication. "We will make him pay and then you can put this whole awful business behind you. You can move on, we all can," he finished gently. If he and Michael thought their promises to kill Peter Pan would ease their sister – if she even was – than they were surely mistaken.

"I don't know what game you're playing but - but I won't be part of it," she whispered, struggling to speak. "Your words mean nothing...you all mean nothing to me," she uttered in a calm, cold tone and the men stiffened. "If you try to hurt Peter I will stand in your way. You'll have to kill me first."

At this heavy proclamation there was a ringing silence, both brothers staring at the young woman – but no girl has eyes like those, too knowing – with a dawning horror, aghast. John was the first to speak, the words bursting out of him.

"WHAT?! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" he shouted but then his anger flicked instantly into dread. "God, I think you must have," he breathed, almost close to tears. Michael just stared at Wendy with a strange miserable understanding.

"We're sorry Wendy, we left you there too long."

"Not long enough," she muttered, wavering on her feet. Her eyes darted feverishly around the room, no longer confused but cunning. Jefferson knew what she was about to do the moment she spun on her heel but by the time he shouted she had already run through one of the doors.

"WENDY!" the brothers yelled and ran after her, not bothering to enquire what strange world they were about to burst into. Jefferson sighed and followed them; they wouldn't get far.

The arched door was framed by two stone sphinxes, giving the impression that they were standing guard and set above the arch was a round talisman: two snakes entwined, an ouroboros and below that these words inscribed: Do What You Wish. None of these objects made an impression on the Darling's but when they crashed through into the world beyond all conflict and torment was momentarily forgotten.

They were standing on a rock floating in space, a vast stretch of dark matter that was littered with other rocks and debris. It was as if they had appeared after some terrible cosmic cataclysm and the ruins drifting past were all that was left.

"Welcome to Fantasia, or what's left of it," Jefferson said behind them and they all turned. He was leaning casually against tone of the stone sphinxes, apparently pleased by their awed expressions. Wendy was the first to break out of the spell the devastated realm had settled over them. She was shaking, in shock and felt like her head was about to split open.

"You – you have to take...take me...back," she struggled to get the words out, her mouth suddenly very dry. Her vision swam and she felt incredibly light headed, nausea rising, and with a groan she lifted an arm to her kidnappers. The dot of poison on her skin, once no more then a pinprick, was spreading but she could not speak, could not warn them. Her teeth clamped shut as bouts of pain roared through her and her legs buckled.

John caught her quickly, staring at her pale and sweaty face in concern. "Wendy? Wendy?"

"What's wrong with her?" Michael asked as John picked Wendy up into his arms. "She needs medical attention." He reached for his hip but the bag filled with portal beans was missing. "Damn it! I must have dropped them."

Wendy's eyes rolled under the lids and she breathed raggedly, like her throat was restricted. The awful sound filled up the unnatural silence of the place and they could not bare it. Michael looked at Jefferson desperately.

"Help us."

"I'm not a doctor!"

"The spinsters!" John shouted and Michael nodded vigorously. Without a backwards glance they hurried back through the arch, into the Realm Room. Jefferson lead them quickly back to the window to Neverland but tapped on the side of the window that depicted London. It was dark, just a faint glow illuminated, unlike the scene that depicted the island which was vibrant with light and colour.

"I can only travel to worlds that have magic."

"What good is that to us?" John fumed before staring down at Wendy's face. He was terrified.

"Your land once had magic, that's why there's two sides to the window, it's always been connected. Now there's no magic but once..." he tapped the glass and the dull glow pulsed like a heartbeat, steadily growing brighter until the window shone. It was not as bright as Neverland – even that was losing it's gleam - but it was shining.

"Take us back three hundred years, take us back to a time before that demon boy ever set foot in Neverland," Michael said through his teeth and John stared at him with a harsh determination as the window was opened and the brothers rushed through it. Michael turned before it was closed and grasped Jefferson's hand, handing over the rest of his wages.

"What are you planning to do?"

"Kill him before he has the chance to destroy lives, kill him and undo everything that has happened. If we succeed no one will have heard the name Peter Pan, it will be like he never existed," with that said he inclined his bloody head and walked away and Jefferson closed the window. He stepped back, sack of money forgotten in his hand.

Meddling with time was something that he had the power to do and something that, for the right price, he would consider but in the shut off, neglected part of himself that listened to reason he knew what they planned was terrible. The repercussions, the ripple effects that spanned over three centuries would be felt in all worlds. No amount of money was worth that. Jefferson sighed and looked down, debating whether he should follow and stop them, when a noise made him turn. Something was cracking and his gaze swept over the Neverland window. He froze, blood running cold before solidifying into ice.

Fine hairline splinters were shooting through the glass and on the other side was a dark figure. He had his hands pressed against the window, fingers sprayed over the image of the island, and the stained glass was cracking from the pressure. Peter Pan was trying to break into the Realm Room and that was impossible.

The dog barked ferociously, straining on her leash towards them, dragging the heavy bed but they ignored her. A strange nursery window was fading from the wall but Peter lifted a hand and made a tight fist, stopping the window from disappearing. Felix could see the effort on his face; magic was fading and large shows of it was something that Peter avoided but now he was channelling everything he had.

Felix could still hear her scream ringing in his ears, a shrill panicked sound that made him shiver and his heart race. But his discomfort was nothing next to Peter's. His shoulders were hunched, his back muscles tense and stiff and every time he clenched his fists the ground trembled. Felix had known Peter for a long time, had been on the island almost as long as he had but he had never seen him so anxious, so close to snapping.

"What – what happened?" Felix asked, noting that a small draw string bag was beside his foot and he leaned down for it. Inside magic beans slid together.

"They've taken her, her brothers," Peter snarled through his teeth and the massive tree shuddered. Felix had once seen the Thinking Tree from a distance but had never been inside, knowing that it was something too personal for Peter to share. He thought Wendy as part of that excluded group but a lot had changed over the years. Peter snatched the beans from Felix but the taller boy stopped him, hand on his wrist, and Peter's eyes flashed dangerously. Peter was controlled but he was also mercurial and at that second balancing on a knife edge. Felix inhaled, calming himself, and dropped his hand.

"I'll go. They probably want to lure you out, using her as bait. They won't expect me. I'll get her back." Felix stared into his leader's feral green eyes and saw a confusing flash of rage, jealousy, uncertainty and finally denial.

"She's mine, I have to get her back. Do you understand? She'll die," he choked on the words and the sky outside flickered with white hot bolts of lightning and rumbling groans of thunder went on and on, never abating.

"I'll save her. I know what she means to you but...but your place is here," he stated softly and Peter's eyes flashed as his presumption but Felix pressed ahead. He had seen the damage that had been inflicted when Peter left Neverland for Wendy Darling once before and he would not see it happen again. "Most of the boys here are loyal but we both know that there is unrest. If you leave I fear they'll be another mutiny."

"What do I care for them?" he shrugged, pacing up and down, careful to avoid the growling dog. Felix, usually so calm and reasonable because he's had to be, felt a flare of indignation.

"The Lost Boys are family, the only one that matters, that's what we've always said," he whispered and something cruel and dismissive appeared in Peter's eyes. His mouth curled, his jaw working from side to side as if he was tasting the hurtful words that wanted to come of his mouth. But then he looked at the night gown that Wendy had placed over the bed and he paled.

"Her life is at stake, do you understand? There is no room for failure."

"I won't fail you."

"You better not. You talked me out of getting the cure, if she dies this rests on your head, do you understand?" he was no longer Peter, no longer his leader or even his friend but something else, something wicked and heartless. He had talked Peter out of taking a fairy heart because to do so comes with a terrible curse. But Felix knew that truly Peter was talked out of nothing. He wanted Wendy Darling on the island by any means necessary and so trapped her like a bird in a cage, the poison in her veins the bars. It was only now that his selfishness, his ruthless possessive nature had come back to hurt him and he needed someone to blame. He never considered that Peter could feel guilt over anything or anyone but then he never believed him capable of love.

"I did it to protect you, it's all I've ever done."

"Not at her expense, not any more. The only reason that a threat of mutiny exists it because of you! You turned those boys against her, poisoned them as surely as Slightly did Wendy. This is down to you," he was furious and for the first time in centuries Felix feared for his life. Felix had created a propaganda against Wendy because he had no other option. With Peter in London the boys had started to feel abandoned and that had quickly turned into resentment. Felix had directed their ire at Wendy rather than Peter. Most of those Lost Boys were either dead now or forgotten but the resentment against Wendy was still a latent undercurrent that ran through the group.

"I'll make this right, you have my word. I'll save her and I'll stop them," he stressed, pouring what little feeling he had for the bird girl and was surprised at the deep but hidden affection that suddenly rose in him. Peter stared intensely at him, judging harshly but he could not hide his fear. Peter was always in control but Wendy's fate was no longer in his hands and the uncertainty was unravelling him.

"First we have to find her," he looked at the window and he snarled. "Hatter..."

"Stop!" Jefferson shouted in panic as the window started to flex and the circular walls surrounding him rippled like water. Peter lifted his hand from the glass and beckoned Jefferson to come closer. Feeling like he was approaching his own gallows the Hatter did so until he was standing opposite the window. Pan was faint, almost ghostlike, but Jefferson could feel the malevolence rolling off him. His features were distorted by the coloured glass but his eyes shone like green flame as he spoke.

"Where is she?" his voice was quiet, like was he was whispering from the other end of a ballroom. He should not be able to see him, let alone speak to him and Jefferson suspected that a lot of magic was being used to accomplish what should be impossible.

"She's gone, they took her back to their world," he was not without honour and well, he was not strictly lying. On the other side of the window Pan banged his fist against the glass and the entire Realm Room shuddered. He had heard once that this cruel, tyrannical boy had once imagined an entire realm into being and now he believed it. If he destroyed the hat the reoccupations would be unthinkable.

"You're lying! If you don't tell me where she is I'll break through and make you tell me," he threatened and Jefferson paled.

"Fine! They have taken her back to their world but back in time. They're taking her to the seer sisters. She looked sick."

"Why back in time?" he asked but his voice sounded oddly weak.

"To a time when there was magic...they – they're planning to murder you."

"I gathered," Pan answered offhandedly and then turned away from the window. Jefferson could not hear what he was saying but he could make out a second shadowy figure standing behind Pan. Finally he turned back to Jefferson and his gaze was so viciously predatory that the Hatter felt his legs grow weak. Pan gazed on him thoughtfully, tilting his head before speaking.

"You're a father now, aren't you? I've kept my eye on you Jeff, there's no point denying it," he said and moved closer to the window. "For your part in this I'm going to make it my mission to ensure that your child knows no mother or father. When I'm finished she'll be an orphan just like you."

He vanished from the window and it started to fade away and the hat almost seemed to sigh with relief. Jefferson stood unmoving, staring vacantly at the space where the window had been. The money bag in his slack grasp fell to his feet and with a sudden roar he kicked it and the coins spilled out and rolled over the swirling gold and black patterned floor.

a.n:

Felix to the rescue!