(TINKER)BELLE RETURNS TO NEVERLAND
CHAPTER III
by chuckiboo
TinkerBell and all related characters ©Disney.
In the afternoon sun, a boat, with navigator, crawls across the water, its destination, not too far away. On the western coast of Never Land, a ship lies anchored, waiting for something to happen. As the boat approaches, a rope is tossed overboard, and pulling close to its starboard side, ties the little boat up, and allows it to be hoisted to deck level. The figure, short and stubby, with a pair of spectacles near the edge of his nose, hurries off the boat, and to the door just aft of the bridge. Knocking on it, a voice calls out.
"Who is it?" the voice asks.
"It's me, captain," says the figure in a continuously flustered vocal, "and I have interesting news."
"Enter, Mr. Smee," it says, as the one known as the ship's first mate, enters the quarters of the captain. The figure, sitting in a chair behind a desk, swivels around to face his first mate. The male sitting in the chair, appears to be quite young, about mid-twenties, and handsome, was dressed in the same coat and clothes his predecessor donned years before.
"What have you found out?" he asked, in his youthful voice. Mr. Smee approached the desk.
"Very surprising news," the first mate started, as he told all he saw at the coast east of Pixie Hollow. The young man stroked his chin, having no beard, or no mustache for that matter, taking it all in.
"Hmmm," he hummed, "so my father's nemesis no longer resides in Never Land, very interesting," as he stood up. "But you say his son is here, with who?"
"The fairy, formerly known as TinkerBell, captain," he answered.
"Formerly known?"
"Yes," he nodded rapidly, "from what we were told long ago by that other fairy, TinkerBell was striken by an ailment that nearly killed her, yet she was saved by Peter Pan. It changed her into a human, but she still has her fairy powers."
"Which makes it more interesting," he said as he walked around the room, "we may be able to accomplish what my father failed to do." A grin, albeit sinister, appeared on his face. "And take revenge for my father's demise, at the hands of Peter Pan..."
A giggle was heard, then a laugh, as the plan to get back at the nemesis of Captain Hook, started to form in his head.
Going through the jungle of wood that separates the coast from Pixie Hollow, the human male and magical muscle girl make their way back to the crossroads of the four seasons. Sitting in the luscious field surrounding the pixie dust tree, Belle and Mike conversed with the fairies, as many came from far and wide to meet the one known as the most innovative fairy to grace the realm in over a century. Her six fairy friends, including Clank and Bobble, and surprisingly, Terence, were allowed to be around them.
"So that's how we came to know Dr. Griffiths," Vidia told Mike, as she sat on his knee. Belle knew she was trying to take some of the glory for what became known as the Great Fairy Rescue. "If it wasn't for me getting caught, we'd never would've known how nice they were."
"Mmmm hmmm," hummed Rosetta in her southern drawl, "we all learned a lesson that day."
"Yeah," said Iridessa, "never let a tinker fairy teach a human to fly in a closed space."
Everyone laughed at that. Belle thought back to that time with Lilly, her first human friend. It was so long ago, near the turn of the twentieth century, but it felt like just yesterday. given the fact that she remained immortal, meeting Mike and being his has changed her, more than the adventures that made up her very long life.
"Man," Mike thought out loud, "my short life doesn't compare to what you all have been through." He shook his head at the thought.
"And because of Tink, uh, Belle," added Fawn, "it's been a lot easier with her creative inventions. Pixie Hollow has never had a tinker fairy like her, ever. She's missed, that's for sure."
That brought a tear to Belle's eye, as she wiped it away. "I miss you guys too," she said, as she felt Mike's hand on her hard, round shoulder.
"Don't worry," he said, "if you guys have time after the changing of the seasons, you can always fly to the States and visit. Or we can come here to London and the cottage for vacations."
The fairies smiled in excitement. But one fairy was not smiling. Belle knew who it was.
"If you don't mind," she said as she stood up, "Terence," she suggested to the head of the dust fairies. She went off with him to a corner of the field. There, she put her hands on her hips, and gave a stern look.
"Terence," she started, "what's your problem?"
"What?" he said incrediously, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know very well what I'm talking about," she said in disbelief, "you've been acting rude to Mike since I brought him here. What is your problem? He's trying to be nice to you."
As much as he wanted to be angry, Belle could see right through Terence. He is her best fairy friend, after all. The male fairy sighed.
"I...I just...miss you," he said slowly, "it's just...not the same without you here."
Belle's expression softened. "Are you...jealous?"
The head of the dust fairies turned his head away, flustered, knowing what she said was true, yet he didn't want to admit it.
"No," he said bluntly, "maybe...a little..." Belle smiled a bit.
"I know you had a little crush on me while I was here..." Terence's eyes piqued.
"Huh?!" he stammered, "but...how-"
"Since my lost treasure adventure, I've been noticing it."
He hung his head down, slightly blushing. She huffed a sigh.
"Terence, I appreciate how you feel. But you need to realize, that sometimes, destiny works in ways that we don't always agree with. And I didn't realize that my destiny lies with being with Mike, until his father healed me of that disease. Mike has been through a lot more than you realize, and lost his left eye, because he defended my honor. I know you'd do the same thing. I forever respect you as a friend, but he needs me, and now, I need him. Besides," whispering lower, "haven't you noticed Silvermist checking you out?"
He gave her another incredulous look. "Silvermist? Why?"
Belle smiled. "She thinks the world of you. And as lightheaded she might be, she's coming around about wanting to know someone closer."
Terence gave a thoughtful look. "Is that so..."
"But ease into it slowly," she warned, "let her make the first move, okay?"
"Okay," he relented to say, as he paused, "sorry to give your boyfriend the cold shoulder, I'll apologize to him."
"Thanks," she replied, as they returned to the group. and just as she told him, Silvermist was gazing at him, as she sat on Mike's shoulder.
He acted as if he didn't know anything about her admiration of him. Being a dust fairy has it's benefits, he thought.
As the sun slowly set, Mike and Belle were preparing to fly back to the cottage on the mainland, in the countryside just outside London, until Queen Clarion showed up unexpectedly.
"Michael, Belle," she said, "I'm not letting you go back alone," as two of her fairies followed her, "I'm sending Vidia and Zarina with you, they will be at the fairy camp not too far from the cottage. With their combined talents, anything that the pirates have planned, can be thwarted quickly." The fast-flying fairy and pixie dust alchemist smiled and nodded.
"We want to go," Vidia said, "our experiences with Hook and his crew will help out a lot."
"You know what I can do," added Zarina, "I can set up my lab, and come up with protective dust types to keep you safe." She winked.
"And I still owe you a favor."
"Hmm?" she hummed quizzically.
"I'll tell you about it later," she quickly chimed, "I can have Clank and Bobble bring some of my equipment over tomorrow."
"Okay," she slightly relented, though she doesn't know why, "come on, dusk is setting in." with that, she turned to her boyfriend.
"You ready, Mike?"
"Yep." With that, she extended her arms, and with a wiggle of her fingers, sparkling dust surrounded his slim figure, as he began to lift off the ground. Transforming into her human fairy form, her huge wings fluttered with gusto. As she lifted off beside Mike, the wings shimmered and glowed, which meant only one thing.
"I think we might have to see Periwinkle before we go," she giggled, "do you mind?"
Mike smiled. "Nope, not at all, I wanna get back in time to fix dinner though."
"Okay," as the two humans and the two fairies took off towards the Winter Woods.
At the border, Belle's fairy twin sister was waiting. She was giddy. The shimmering wings gave it away.
"Belle," she called as her twin came up to meet them, along with her friends Glist and Spyke, still under the protection of the cold. She told her of the queen's plan, and their stay for the next two weeks.
"I wanna go too," she said eagerly.
"No, Peri," she said, "even though winter is coming to the mainland, it's not cold enough for you to fly right now, and you might not survive the flight."
Periwinkle looked crestfallen, she wanted to be part of this special duty, not only because it's her sister, but also, she had developed a secret crush on the mortal human male. Twins' feelings do indeed mirror each other.
Surprisingly, Mike floated over to the frost fairy. "Peri," he said, "we appreciate your concern, but if it gets cold enough, we'd like for you to stay with us, until we leave on New Year's Day, okay?"
Periwinkle blushed a heavy red and acted like a girl getting a first date with the coolest guy in school. "Uh, o-okay, if you say so," as she floated up to his cheek and kissed it. It too gave the human a nice blush. Belle knew, and didn't mind it. She had that feeling anyway.
"Well," she interrupted, "we need to be on our way," as both, along with the two fairies, took off towards the second star, back to the mainland. The frost fairy couldn't help but look and think.
"He's so dreamy," she sighed, as she and her friends flew back to the frost forest, knowing she'd be with them, rather him, soon.
As the quartet flew over the eastern part of Never Land, it didn't go unnoticed. For far under them, the infamous pirate ship Jolly Roger lied in wait. And one person stood outside, observing the development. Looking through binoculars, he saw his intended targets. He grinned evilly.
"My revenge, will be sweet," the man muttered, "very sweet. Mr. Smee!"
The short man rushed out on deck at the command of his captain. "Yes sir!"
"Did you find a way to get to the pixie dust tree in Pirate's Cove?"
"Yes," he nodded rapidly, "we'll have to go underwater to bypass the magical barrier."
"Then you best prepare to dive," he replied, "we're going flying soon."
"Yes sir," as the short man hurried under deck to prepare. going back to his sight, the four just passed the second star, out of his sight range.
"We'll be ready when you return, son of Peter Pan," he said as he went back to his quarters.
Now entering United Kingdom airspace, the four conversated, mainly Vidia with Mike, telling him of his girlfriend's exploits.
"Did Belle tell you that she broke her wing?"
"No, what happened?'
"When the freeze hit Pixie Hollow, she struggled to get to the Winter Woods to warn the fairies of the plight of the pixie dust tree. The cold froze her wings and one cracked nearly all the way through. She didn't tell no one until the freeze stopped."
"Man, that must've been hard."
"Yeah, if it hadn't been for Periwinkle, she'd be the second fairy to never fly again."
"Who was the first?"
"Lord Milori," she said, "you see why he rides a snow owl, right?"
"Yeah," he said thoughtfully.
"So what happened to your eye?" Vidia, for the first time, was showing interest in more than her own abilities.
"Some guy in school tried to split me and Belle up, and when she didn't give in, he punched me to where my eye socket was destroyed, and I lost sight on the left side of my face. Took one surgery to fix what he did, but I won't be able to see out of this eye ever again. He went to jail for aggravated assault in the end."
Vidia went quiet for a minute, taking in what he said. Slowly, she began to understand why Tink was made human.
"It's not easy being misunderstood, is it?" asked Zarina.
"Been like that since that encounter with Hook," he said, recalling the memory, "he nearly took me away from my family. After that, things weren't the same. I was shunned, locked myself away, didn't know what to do, until Tink came to stay with us," gazing with a soft loving smile, "and helped break me out of the shell I made."
A tear escaped his eye, as Belle took her finger and wiped it away. "It's alright," she said, "in the process, we found each other, and he helped me develop my powers too."
The two fairies smiled, as they gazed down in the encompassing darkness.
"There's the cottage," said Vidia, " and the fairy camp is not too far from here, right at that tree in the meadow."
"We'll come see you in the morning," called Zarina, as they split off.
"Okay," called Belle, "see you then," as she and Mike headed to the cottage. Landing, she changed back to her regular form, and entered the house behind him. As he went into the kitchen, she stayed in the doorway, staring at him.
"What's on your mind?" she asked.
"What did Zarina mean when she said that?"
Belle sighed. "Well, before Zarina became what she is now, she, just like me, had a strong curiosity for unseen things, with her, it was different uses for pixie dust. It was that same curiosity that nearly destroyed the pixie dust depot, and half of Tinkers' Nook. After that, she went away, not having been seen in a year."
"So she was misunderstood, just like me, and just just like you," he replied, as he started frying some chicken in a skillet.
"Yeah," she continued, "it took me and the girls to bring her around, but it was the younger pirate, before he became Hook, that exploited her abilities, just so they could get their ship to fly, and reach the mainland, so they could plunder the mortal world."
"So, this isn't your first time contending with Hook, huh?"
"No, even before I met your father," as she wrapped her large arms around his torso, "he always had that goal to plunder the world outside Never Land. If that had happened, I wouldn't have known him, and you would've never been." She kissed the side of his neck.
"Well," he said as he turned over the chicken, "things did work out in the end, somewhat."
"Somewhat?"
"Yeah, from what dad told us long time ago, you were pretty jealous of Wendy, because of your crush on him," saying with a smirk. Belle blushed.
"If only I had've been human, it would have been different," she giggled, "but we are who we are."
"And I'm glad that you are what you are now, with me," as she kissed him on the neck again, before letting him go.
"I'm going to get washed up for dinner," she said, leaving the kitchen.
"Okay," he called, "it'll be ready in a few minutes," as the oil popped while the chicken finished cooking. Mentally, he never gave any thought about his girlfriend's previous jealousy with his father's friend. It must have been something, considering they all resided in a realm sealed off from the mortal world, which only those who believe in such far-fetched things can enter. He wouldn't call it far-fetched; obviously, he and Ashley firmly believe in it, when they were kids. And it eventually contributed to his mental incapacitation, and ultimate shutoff from the rest of the world. Though he has a good ways to go before he's completely back to normal, he knows that Belle will help him in every way she can. And it's because of her love for him, that he survived not losing more than an eye.
As morning dawned on the English countryside, Mike was the first to step foot outside the quaint cottage. Stretching and allowing his eye to get used to the light of the sun, a little voice called to him.
"Mike," the voice said, as he looked around, to see Vidia hovering in front of him.
"Oh," he stammered, "good morning, Vidia," readjusting to the presence of the fast flying fairy, "Belle's not out yet, she's taking a shower."
"It's cool," she said, "come on over to the tree where we're staying, Zarina's working on some new pixie dust types."
"Oh," he said, as he started walking, "I wanna see what this pixie dust alchemy is about," walking through the field, towards the large tree at the edge of the meadow.
Having traveled all night and settling just aft of the actual location of Pirate's Cove, the Jolly Roger cast anchor. Walking out on deck, the young captain gazed towards the enormus cave entrance.
"So this is it," he said as he stared. He can feel the magic eminating from the location. "How long has it been protected like this?"
"Oh for quite some time," Mr. Smee answered, "when your father was a tad younger, he pulled a manipulation on a fairy, and talked her into doing this."
"How did he do it?"
Mr. Smee giggled his stifled giggle. "He made her think that she was made captain of our ship. It was quite the stunt."
From that vantage point, the alternate pixie dust tree could be seen, glistening in all its glory, the gold-colored dust flowing from its trunk like a waterfall. Zarina did a terrific job in this venture, though it came at the cost of seeming rejection by her fairy peers. It was actually the exact opposite.
"And you say that the magic can't work underwater?" he asked.
"No sir," the first mate answered, "it only covers the topside visible entrance."
"Then I suggest you get to diving, Mr. Smee," the captain said, as Mr. Smee put on his diving helmet. Having already dressed for the task, with the hose hooked up to the helmet, and grabbing a pair of special made waterproof bags, he walked over to the rails on the starboard side, sat on them, and inclined backwards, going over and into the water. Watching the man swim underwater and into the cave, the captain waited with pregnant anticipation. Within minutes, he emerged on the opposite side of the magical barrier. Waving with success, he headed towards the land, where the pixie dust tree resided. The captain grinned, knowing that dominance, and revenge, were all within his grasp.