AN: Hi again lovelies! Neverland actually makes a appearance and many important things are happening! There will be some major timeline deviation in the future, just a warning. And if Peter has seemed a little OOC in the past two chapters that will be all cleared up in Chapters Three and Four.

Special thanks to ZeldaHildaSabrina for following! Happy reading!

~Luna

Chapter 3

That morning, I was giddy, I was ready and packed in record time, bringing only a small backpack full of necessities. I was a boy that day, deciding that being make was easier for traveling. And for the umpteenth time I thanked the maker that a childhood injury had left me unable to menstruate. Just one more thing I wouldn't have to worry about.

Peter was waiting outside the inn and my heart beat faster at the sight of him. He was my true love and I his, even if he had no idea yet. He would eventually but once we reached Neverland, I had an eternity to get there. Locking hands the two of us ran out of the city. The forest stretched all around us, but it was strangely quiet, as if it knew something grand was going to happen. The entire world seemed to hold a collective breath as Peter took the bean out of its vial and threw it upon the ground. At first it sat there, but with a gust of air the bean turned into a large, spinning portal. The one that would take us exactly where we needed to go.

"To Neverland?" He asked, smirk playing upon his lips.

"Neverland," I whispered in agreement and with that we jumped into the portal.

The roar of the portal was deafening and seemed to last forever. For a brief moment I felt my hand slipping from his and I began to panic. What if we lost each other? What only one of us landed in Neverland and the other in an even stranger land? Despite my panic, I felt Peter grab onto both my hands, the constant pressure reminding me that he was there and it was silly to think that he would leave me.

We were dumped onto a beach on an island. Instead of sand, the shore was made of rocks and bits of smoothed over glass, complete with a jungle about twenty feet from where I lay. It was then I realized Peter was nowhere near me.

"Peter?! Peter!" I shouted, popping up to a sitting position.

A second of silence followed before I picked up an anguished "Nibs!" coming from the tree line. I grabbed a heavy tree branch and ran towards the shouting.

The jungle was unforgiving. The brush thick and tree canopy letting in absolutely no light. It was like a human had never stepped foot in the jungle and it wanted to keep it that way. I found Peter under a tree with glowing flowers. That wasn't even the strangest thing. Peter's shadow was being ripped out by another. And I thought the Enchanted Forest was weird.

Raising my stick up high, I charged the shadow, but the club went right through it. I nearly gasped but in its confusion, I stood between him and Peter. No way was I going to let this thing kill my best friend.

"Call off your pet," it sneered. It didn't have a face, but it looked angered.

"They're not-" Peter began but placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nibs it's alright. We were working out a little trade."

I lowered my club, but still kept a wary eye on the shadow. I didn't like it. Neverland was our home now, and anyone that tried to kick us out would have to deal with my fury.

The shadow crossed it's arms, and began again in its gravelly voice, "You know the rest of the details. A child cannot have a child, no adults. Do you still want to make a deal?"

"Yes," Peter breathed out, stepping towards the shadow.

It began to pull at his back, making him double over in pain. I ran to help, but was restrained by two other shadows. I couldn't do anything but watch Peter's shadow be ripped from his body, my best friend crumpling in a heap. The shadow that spoke consumed Peter's and then flew into his body. I still didn't see any breathing.

Anguished, I ran to his side. The two guards had disappeared, leaving me with a lifeless body and a screaming heart. I rolled him onto his back, where he coughed up, life flowing back into his body. There was blood on his lips, but he wiped it off with his shirt sleeve.

"Peter Pan!" I shouted, smacking his chest. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Owww," he groaned. I helped him sit up, because I'm nice like that. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you actually cared."

"What? Are you stupid?" I lied. "I just didn't want to be on a strange island with murderous shadows!"

"Mm-hm," he hummed and I sensed sarcasm in his voice.

I waited before asking, "What... What did you do? With the shadow?"

"You're looking at the new King of Neverland," he stated proudly, standing up like he just hadn't died and been revived. "I'll show you the island."

I got up as well, wondering how much of Peter that shadow had changed. He seemed normal, as he walked in front of me, pointing out minute things. But his gait was strange. It was longer and each leg seemed to hang in the air for seconds before returning to the earth.

"... And of course we'll have to watch out for the Picannys, they're the local tribe. And there are pirates," he added with a grin. Peter then picked me up bridal style, making me blush. "It's all ours. King and Queen of Neverland. We can do whatever we want here."

I blushed even deeper at the "Queen of Neverland ". He shook his head suddenly, before smiling at me. "Sorry, King and Royal?"

I smiled, my arms wrapping around his neck for more support. "Queen is perfectly fine."

"Good," he laughed. "I only say I'm King because I've got magic."

"You liar," I accused with a smile on my face.

He just smirked. Before I knew it, green magic clouds surrounded his legs and we left the ground. I clung tighter to Peter, trying to scramble up him like a cat up a tree. I did not take kindly to flying without warning or any teaching or even any magic of my own to keep me from falling to my doom. The bastard just laughed, clearly enjoying this.

"Too high?" The idiot asked.

I fixed him with a death glare. "Put me down. Now."

He immediately complied. I had perfected the glare since we were children, but even then I had a certain way of getting things done with that glare. I personalized for each person. For Peter it was "Do whatever I say or you will wake up with a colony of fire ants in your bed".

I was happy to be on the ground. He tugged me along through the jungle, my threat seemingly forgotten. Again he pointed out things, like the smoke of the Picannys' campfire and the tracks of the Neverbeast. Surely the shadow had endowed him with knowledge of this place and the fact that there was a Neverbeast, an animal we had created, had made me suspicious. Of course the island was fueled on belief and where children went in their dreams but why were we the only two children smart enough to find it. Had the shadow been waiting for Peter and I? Or had there been some other reason?

I followed him into the clearing, where the shadow detached from his body. They shared a few words I couldn't hear and then the shadow flew off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

Peter looked startled but calmed as I approached. "It's safer for the shadow to transport the boys. So it will go get them while we set up camp."

I nodded, a little disappointed that we wouldn't be getting the boys ourselves. "I see..."

"Oh don't be sad!" He said, taking my hands in his. "You can name us. Every band needs a proper name and ours shall be..."

"The Lost Boys," I said. "We've all lost our families. Why not?"

"It's absolutely perfect!" He declared.

I smiled as he began to describe what he wanted the camp to look like. We began to set it up and eventually fell into a comfortable silence. As I gathered stones for a fire pit, I smiled to myself. What could possibly be better than this?