"Oh my goodness! Remy! Are you okay?"

I groaned, unsure of where exactly I was.

"Remy!" The voice was directly above me now. "Tootles! Over here!"

"Remy!" I heard a voice in the distance. Soon there were running steps crunching the leaves on the ground before finally settling beside me.

"Oh God…Remy, can you hear me?"

I felt a warm hand on my forehead, fingers gently smoothing my hair.

"She's freezing."

"Peter'll have a FIT."

"Tell him to bog off then" , I moaned. My eyelids gave in and they fluttered open. Aaya was leaning over me, her hand on my forehead. Tootles was across from her, also leaning over me.

"Oh! Phew! You alright Remy?" , Tootles said. "You gave us a fright!"

"Where am I?"

"In the woods, Remy" , Aaya said gently. "Can you remember what happened?"

I frowned as blurred images came into mind…Peter, my phone, the text, the crying…I pieced it all together to make sense.

I nodded at her. "I…er…didn't feel well, so I just lay down. Must've fallen asleep."

I could tell that Aaya didn't buy my weak story, but Tootles seemed at ease.

"Silly" , he said, shaking his head. "Everybody's been going mental. The rest of us have been looking for you for hours."

"Didn't cross your mind I'd be here then?"

"Not exactly. You're pretty deep in the woods, we did do a check, but we just didn't go in far enough. Peter was well and truly convinced that Hook was holding you captive or something."

I rolled my eyes. "Course he did."

"He went to check and everything."

I sat up and they darted back to avoid a head butting. I shrugged back a bit so I could face them both.

"Peter went to Hook's ship to see if he had me?" , I asked incredulously.

Aaya nodded gravely. "Yes. But I'm afraid it was a terrible mistake."

"Why?"

Tootles sighed. "Hook knows you're here now. He doesn't know why, but with the knowledge that you're of importance to Peter will most certainly make him want to have a chat with you anyways."

My insides fired up with bitter hatrid. Peter had just gone up and asked Hook if he had me? The twit!

"Well" , I said coolly. "Time to have a small chat with Hook."

I stood up and brushed myself down, ignoring the gaping looks I was receiving from Aaya and Tootles.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I looked at them. "I really appreciate all that you've done for me, but it's time to face Hook. What's the point in waiting? We'll have to sooner or later."

"But you don't have to!" , Aaya exclaimed. "You've got nothing to do with Hook! He just thinks that you might be useful for playing Peter, and now you're walking straight into his grasp!"

I realized in dismay that nobody but Peter, Raybha and me knew of what I really had to do with Hook. What he most definitely intended to do once he found out who I am and what I'm hopefully capable of doing to him.

I looked pleadingly at them. "Just let me try? Please?"

They looked at each other. Aaya sighed and Tootles grunted.

I smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Peter will KILL us" , Tootles said.

"But you're still doing it, buddy."

I turned away from them and retraced my steps until I reached the village. I was just passing the stream when I heard my name.

"REMY!" , Curly yelled gleefully. He ran towards me, a wide grin stretched across his face.

"Shush, Curly!" , I pleaded.

He didn't hear me and continued running. He yanked me into a huge hug.

"Curly" , I gasped in shock. "Can't – breathe –"

He laughed and set me back on the ground.

"Where've you been then?" , he asked ecstatically. "You've been gone ages!"

"I –"

"C'mon, let's get Peter, now that I've got proof that you haven't been murdered by Hook!"

He grabbed my hand and tore off with me towards the cliff top before I could object.

"Peter!" , he yelled wildly as we reached the cliff top. "Yoo hoo!"

I could make out a brown blob sitting on the cliff top. It jumped up and faced us.

"Look at who's safe and sound, like I SAID!"

Curly was dragging me towards the brown blob whom I obviously recognised as Peter. I could see his facial features as we came closer, finally stopping before him. He stared at me in plain shock, mouth wide open. I stared straight back at him, hoping my eyes would show him the hurt I endured. I wanted him to suffer. I could vaguely hear Curly going on and on enthusiastically in the background, jumping around and yelling in victory.

"So.." , Peter said after what seemed like forever. "You're back."

"Yup" , I said, without much effort at enthusiasm. "I'm back."

Curly immediately stopped jumping around. "Peter's been super-worried 'bout you, eh Peter?" , he said grinning. "Dead worried. Looked EVERYWHERE we've ever been to. Even took a sneaky peek at Hook's ship, didn't ya?"

Peter opened his mouth to speak and I interrupted before the first word could come out.

"Oh, I heard that alright. Told him all about me, didn't ya?"

Curly stopped teasing and looked a little tense. Peter wouldn't meet my eyes.

"So what?", Curly said, a little too at ease. "Hook can live with it."

I nodded. "Mm. In fact, I'm afraid I have a little meeting with him to attend to. So, how do I get down to that ship?"

"You're not going to that ship" , Peter said suddenly.

I glared at him. "Guess I'll have to jump off of the cliff then, won't I? Don't worry, I know how to swim."

Curly looked fearful. "Not a good idea Remy. The impact alone will kill you. How come you need to talk to Hook anyways?"

"Business I need to attend to", I said.

"What sort of business?"

"Important business."

"About what?"

"Go on then Peter, why don't you tell him? Spare us all the questions" , I said to Peter. He glared at me and looked at Curly.

"Thing is, mate, um…Remy has got something to do with Hook."

Curly frowned. "How'd you mean? What does he want?"

Peter looked hesitant. I sighed.

"I'll explain the basics. It turns out Hook's my ancestor and I've got to get rid of him if this place ever comes back to normal. Wala."

Curly looked gobsmacked and his eyes swivelled to Peter and me, back and forth.

"You – Hook – related?" , he barely managed.

I nodded. "Yup. Pretty much."

"Curly, you remember Hook had a sister, Maria?" , Peter said calmly.

He nodded.

"Well, Maria is Remy's great great great Grandmother."

"But how do you know?"

"Raybha", I said. "And my name, it's hardly a coincidence she'd get it wrong. Grandmother : Maria. Hook's sister : Maria. Raybha saying I'm related to him. My name, Remy Maria Kingsley."

"She still could've gotten it wrong" , Peter muttered.

"Didn't I ask you that?" , I shot at him. "Back home? And what did you say? Oh yeah, something like Shaman's are accurate? Gimme a break."

"And what if it doesn't work?" ,Curly stuttered. "What if -?"

"I die?",I finished for him. "Well if I'm killed, you guys are all screwed. So I've got to make it my priority, don't I? But it's not helping when I'm being fought all the way by Peter."

Curly looked nervously at Peter. "Mate, maybe you should let her give it a go. I mean, she's proved to be good at talking her way out of things, and….um….she's smart. What could be better?"

"I'm strong too" , I pointed out. "Lads back home underestimated my strength. Made fun of me. They regretted it later."

Curly swallowed. "Yeah."

Peter turned towards the edge of the cliff. "Curly, make sure everybody knows Remy's back. Tell them we've gone on important business, and that we'll be back soon."

I raised my eyebrows. "We?" , I said as Curly hurried away.

"I'm not dumb enough to let you go on your own. You'll be shot, possibly tortured if they catch you."

"You really have lot of faith in me, don't ya?"

He said nothing.

"Should know how to trust a girl" , I continued.

"I've never had to until now" , he snapped.

"Well then! You must think us girlies are as weak as ragdolls. But lemme tell you something. The world has changed since you've been away, Pete. There's girl boxers, wrestlers, weight lifters, sports champions….and so on."

"Really?" , he asked incredulously.

I made my way and stood beside him. "Really."

"Wow."

"Yup. Anyways, enough about that. How're we getting down there?"

"Flying."

"Brilliant idea! Except I don't exactly have the magical properties you have. So what am I going to do?"

He retrieved a small leather pouch from his jacket pocket. "Tip this over your head. The faeries have kindly given some of the Mineral Dust to you, seeing as they know of the situation we are in."

"Mineral Dust?"

"The stuff to make you fly."

"Oh…I knew that."

I loosened the rope on the pouch and pulled it open. There was a big handful of stuff at the bottom of it, all silvery and shiny.

"It's okay. It's not going to hurt. Just tip it over, and you won't feel a thing."

I tipped it over my head doubtfully, shaking it a bit. He wasn't lying, I didn't feel a thing. But I heard something.

In my ears, loud thundering voices were singing. There was at least two or three of them, all saying stuff I couldn't understand. I frowned, trying to listen.

"You're done."

I jumped. "Oh. Yeah." I tossed the pouch back to him, and he shoved it back into his pocket.

I examined my head, tapping my hand along it. Then cautiously I drew it back to look at it, and was bewildered.

The silver stuff from the pouch was glittering on my hand.

"This is so cool" , I whispered.

Peter smiled. "Yeah."

"But…who was singing? The voices?"

He shrugged. "Faeries are around somewhere. They had to sing this song in order for you to have received the dust the right way."

"And what happens if it goes the wrong way?"

"You blow up."

"Awesome."

"So…are we going?"

I winced at the thought of flying around in the sky. I wasn't what you'd call 'a brilliant fan of heights' . "Yeah" , I muttered. "Can't wait."

"Okay. The only things you need to know are, number one. Try not to freak out, otherwise you'll be falling to an early death. Number two. You have to be the wind. Don't fight against it. Number three. Be extremely careful and quiet. It's going to be hard being secretive when there's screaming."

"Got it."

"Great. Remember, be calm and follow me. Here." He took my hand. "I guess I'll guide you down, seeing as you're a first timer and everything. We'll have time to practice after."

I felt insulted at the thought of being guided. Although it made me feel like a toddler, I wasn't keen on having to do it by myself.

"Fine" , I grunted. "Time to go meet great malicious, twisted and mad in the head Uncle Hook."

He laughed and pulled me towards the very edge of the cliff. I hesitated but allowed it.

"Keeping calm is the key" , Peter said.

"So you keep saying."

"Ready?"

"Yep" , I lied. "Totally and truly."

And without another word, Peter drifted effortlessly into the sky. I snapped my eyes shut and focused on breathing properly. I felt myself levitating and squinted, keeping my eyes shut even tighter.

"Remy."

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna need my hand after this."

I realized I was gripping his hand for dear life.

"Oops" , I said blindly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. But I think you should open your eyes. It makes it kind of easier."

"Yeah? You know, I think I'm just fine being blind."

"Please? It's a bit hard holding you and me up."

I bit my lip. "Fine" , I heard myself say. "Fine."

I opened my eyes slowly, squirming as I did so. I saw a bit of blue which I presumed was the sky, not allowing myself to open my eyes wider enough than a small gap. I saw a bit of brown, which I knew in an instant was Peter's hair.

"Oh God.." , I whispered.

I forced myself to open my eyes wide. I stared blankly into space for two seconds, making sure they didn't close. Peter laughed.

"Relax" , he said.

"Easy for you to say. Would you believe I've actually never flown before?"

"Oh!" , Peter said in fake surprise. "Really?"

I turned my head to face him and poked my tongue out at him. He looked thoughtful.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" , he asked me.

I sighed. "Well, I really don't know….oh, fine, I suppose. But you knew that already."

He grinned. "Yeah."

I nodded. "Well, how long are we just gonna hang around here then? Come on, let's get a move on."

"Okay. Just lean forward, and maybe sticking your arms out would help. And just –"

"Keep calm" , I finished for him. "I know. Superman mode it is."

He didn't hear me. "I'm gonna need my hand, unless you prefer…?" He sort of gestured awkwardly towards our linked hands.

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine."

I took my hand out of his carefully.

"Let's go."

He swooped down to the ship like a pro. I gazed at him. How on earth was I meant to do that? He was just under the side of the ship facing me, beckoning. I swallowed.

"Here goes nothing, Remy" , I whispered to myself.

I stuck out my arms first, like Superman. I leaned forward slightly, then more and more. Soon I was moving slowly down, focusing my eyes on Peter and nothing else.

I could not look down.

I was edging bit by bit until I finally came within three metre's length of Peter.

"Brilliant!" , he whispered. "You made it!"

"Half an hour later" , I whispered back to him. "But yeah, I guess I didn't die. That's something."

He chuckled. "Come on then."

I slowly drifted towards Peter until finally I was right beside him.

"There's nobody on deck" , I told him. "I didn't see anyone."

He nodded. "Best to call Hook out then. Wait here. You'll know when to come out."

He left me within a second and I looked up. He was standing on the sill of the crow's nest of the ship, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Captain James Hook!" , he said in a goofy voice. "Come out!"

I bit my hand to stop myself laughing.

"James Hook!" , he said again. "Scared of me?"

I was just about to bite my hand again when I heard a door open. My eyes widened in surprise and I made myself completely soundless, breathing lightly through my nose. I wanted to listen.

"Peter" , a sly voice said. I shivered. The voice was creepy.

"Hook" , Peter said goofily. "Dreaming 'bout poor old Bonnie, are we?"

"Don't chance it, Pan", Hook said menacingly. "Sooner or later I'll have your dear girlfriend in my trap."

He was NOT talking about me.

Peter said nothing. I guessed this was my cue.

"Well" , I called out. "I wouldn't exactly call me his girlfriend, Hook."

I gently raised up to face the shocked face of Captain Hook.

I gasped and lost focus. He looked so like me.

The very same browny-grey eyes, the same mouth. The same hair colour.

Seriously?! I inherited all this, from him, not my actual Grandmother?

Peter gaped at us. He realized the similarities too.

"Well – I – er" , Hook said, struggling for words.

"Hello!" , I said sweetly. "Lovely to see you. What were you saying about a trap? All for me? You shouldn't have!"

Peter sniggered. I joined him on the crow's nest, laughing at the gobsmacked Hook.

"You" , he finally said. "Maria…"

"Oh! That's the best part!", I said happily. "Maria was my dear Grandmother! Well…make that Great Great Great Grandmother, but even so!"

He took this in, and then his unpleasant scowl returned to his lined face. He reminded me of a lion, because his hair was wild and he just seemed…dangerous.

He looked at Peter. "Well done, Pan" , he said sneering. "You brought me a relative. So what? I can whip her out of sight without your noticing."

I pretended to be puzzled. "Why, Hook? What have I ever done to you?"

He sneered at me then. "You were brought here."

"Oh, I get it. Believe me, I very much despise being in your company, don't worry" , I said, smiling.

He yelled in frustration.

"Well" , I said. "You're just a big bag of sunshine, aren't you?"

"I will kill you" , he spat.

"Oh!" , I clapped my hand to my forehead. "I almost forgot! You can't do that!"

"And why not?" , he roared.

I jumped but quickly settled again. "I'm afraid I'll have to kill you, Hook. Terribly sorry about that."

Peter looked serious. "Count your days, Hook. You don't have much left."

Hook smiled a crooked crazy smile. "Is that so?"

"Yes" , I said firmly, losing the happy tone. "Make the most of your calendar."

"You wait" , Hook said to me. "Your days are numbered, not mine. I will find you. Then you won't have long left."

"Not gonna happen."

"We'll see."

I glared at him. "You must be feeling pretty lucky today."

He held his arms out. "My child, I'm lucky everyday. You will lose."

"You wish" , Peter said suddenly. "Since when has anything ever actually worked out for you? Poor Bonnie, such a shame…"

"SHUT UP!" , Hook screamed.

"Who's Bonnie?"

Peter sighed and looked at me. "His 'dear' girlfriend. What a shame she blew up…"

I registered this. "She had the Mineral Dust."

He nodded.

"Oh" , I said, turning my head to face an angry and insane Hook. "Allow me to introduce myself."

I drifted forward into the air and curtseyed without much effort.

"Remy Maria Kingsley. Most unpleasant to meet you."

Hook stared at me through gritted teeth. "James Hook."

"I already knew that, unfortunately. Well, this has been quite an extraordinary meeting, but I'm afraid Peter and I must be getting off now. See you when I kill you!"

Peter cracked up laughing and followed me as we flew away from the ship.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" , Hook yelled.

"You forgot to take your angry pills today!" , I shouted back at him.

"That was brilliant!" , Peter yelled.

I shrugged. "Nothing to be afraid of. Piece of cake."

He nudged my shoulder.

"What?"

"Don't be reckless" , he said quickly. "Try not to misjudge the power Hook has to terminate you. Just be on your guard when you're alone."

I slowed. "Where did all this come from?"

"You just need to know. No harm in telling you."

I thought.

"Okay" , I said as we neared the cliff's edge. "There's two conditions."

"What would they be?"

"Well….I'd like to spend more time with you."

He raised his eyebrows at me.

"No!" , I quickly said, feeling my cheeks flush red. "Meaning I need to talk to you about stuff. We could make a plan to catch out Hook, right?"

He looked thoughtful. "Yeah" , he said. "Good idea."

We lowered down onto the cliff's soft grass.

"Great" ,I said. "So it's a deal."

He nodded but then frowned. "What was condition two?"

"Condition two? Oh. Well, you have to promise me that you'll help me."

"Help you with what?"

I groaned. "Help me get through having to defeat an evil pirate? And staying in an Indian camp? And…the fairy thing. It still freaks me out. Oh. And the flying. I need lessons."

He laughed. "Okay, I promise."

He opened his mouth to say something else but it was silenced by a load of yells.

"THEY'VE RETURNED!" , Tootles yelled running towards us with Curly on his tail.

"Yay! My personal stalkers!" , I said, grinning. "I'm telling you, nobody's been so happy to see me in my entire life."

Peter smiled a soft smile. "Don't think that's true."

Confusion overpowered my mind. "What?"

"Oh…" , he muttered. "The Indians. They were delighted to see you, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah" , I mumbled.

Peter raced forward to meet up with Tootles and Curly, avoiding the rest of the conversation. I grumpily followed him.

This boy was so confusing. On a completely different level.