Dead Reckoning
Chapter Eight
Centuries earlier…
After Malcolm abandoned his son to regain his youth and to become Peter Pan, he used his newfound powers as he flew throughout Neverland in exploration until he came upon a large cave forged in the shape of a skull. Out of awe and curiosity, the boy flew down to enter inside as the wind surrounding him whistled and the dark shadow appeared before him again.
"What is this place?" Peter asked the entity while he looked all around him with wonderment. "I don't remember seeing it from my dreams."
"That's because it didn't exist," his shadow answered quietly as it flew around the boy it was now a part of. "It was created when you made the decision to stay here."
Pan continued, "A giant skull? It's glorious! What's the hourglass for?"
The entity and the boy both turned to the giant timepiece mounted atop a pile of human skulls before them as the shadow replied, "It represents the magic fueling your youth, the magic allowing you to stay here, to stay young."
"And what happens when it runs out?" Peter asked worryingly.
"Your youth will be taken and you will die," his shadow callously responded.
Pan stared at the entity with confusion while he questioned. "But I thought I was going to stay young forever."
It continued to fly around him as it answered, "Neverland is a place for children to visit in their dreams, not a place for them to live. You are the first to try to stay. And in doing so, you're breaking the rules."
"Any rule can be broken, especially here," Peter retorted out of disbelief. "I made this place without even thinking about it. There has to be a way."
"Perhaps," the entity stated.
Finally, the man who was now a boy turned back to face the hourglass while he spoke up again defiantly saying, "Then I will find it. I will find a way. I believe."
Days before Hook's final departure from Neverland…
A small group of Lost Boys gathered together within another of the island's many caves after being sent out by Pan to scout and hunt for food so they could rest before heading back to their camp where they were due to return soon. However, as most of the boys stood to continue their trek back, one of the oldest and by far the largest in stature stayed where he stood against the far wall and called out to them to stop.
They all stared at him strangely until one of them asked curtly, "Why did you ask us all to stop? We can't take any more time in here. We need to get back before we're late. You heard what Pan told us before we left the camp. What's been going on with you, Badrick? You've been even more of a brute over the last few days than ever before."
"I am not a brute!" the biggest of them snapped angrily. "The next one of you to call me one again, will get my axe through their chest. As for what Pan said… I don't care anymore. I no longer believe in him. He is not the revered leader we all thought he was. Pan claims to be a hero. He claims to believe in us and in our loyalty. He says he's loyal to this island, but all he cares about is himself!"
"You speak lies," another of the Lost Boys, who went by the name of Devin, replied crossly. "Pan cares about us. He saved us when our parents abandoned us. When no one else cared whether we lived or died. Pan would never betray us!"
Badrick stepped away from the wall as he moved to stand before the one speaking out against him, easily towering above him while he forcefully responded, "I heard it for myself! I followed him late nights ago to Skull Rock and heard him talking to his shadow. The shadow warned Pan that time was drawing nearer and he was growing closer to his death unless Pan finds the child with the heart of the truest believer."
Devin shrugged in confusion as he said, "We all know he's been looking for this other boy. That's no secret. And it doesn't prove any disloyalty. This kid is going to save us all and all of Neverland."
"That kid is only going to save Pan himself," the brute answered as he suddenly shoved Devin down to the ground without hardly any force at all because it didn't take much due to his size, then turned to the rest of the Lost Boys who were more inclined to listen to what their friend was saying, rather than argue. "There is nothing I can say to will convince you I am right, but I am. I say that we rise against Pan. All of us together and there will be nothing he can do to stop us."
"You want to mutiny against our leader like a pirate?" another of the boys questioned in disbelief.
Badrick glared over at him as he replied, "Call it an uprising. If we destroy the hourglass I saw within Skull Rock, it will end Peter Pan once and for all and then I can lead you. Up until now, I have been the most loyal to Pan and I am the most loyal to this world. I've fought against Hook and his band of pirates, as well as the Indian Braves, and even mermaids. I would die before I abandon Neverland to a ruler undeserving of its full power. What do you say? Will you join me?"
Devin scoffed and then responded, "We've all been loyal to Pan, but no one more so than Felix. You doubted him and you think yourself a better ruler. We won't help you turn against Pan."
The others all nodded their heads in agreement with Devin, then turned to leave the cave without another word to the fifteen year old brute who tried to start an uprising against the boy who brought them all together. While Badrick had been denied his chance to become Neverland's new ruler, he wasn't going to give up trying to rid the island of its traitor, even if he had to do so on his own.
After the Lost Boys were gone, a green glow appeared from within the back of the cave that was cast in darkness and Pan slowly walked out of the shadows until he stood within what little light lit up the dark skies. His shadow then flew out above his head and turned to face its chosen one.
"I let down my guard and failed to see that one of my own is seeking to destroy," Peter uttered coldly as he looked into the entity's eyes. "Badrick never should have been able to follow me the other night."
"Even despite the power within out possession, we cannot see everything that goes on within this realm, all the time," the boy's shadow answered. "What shall we do? Will you have him killed?"
Pan though for a moment until he smiled and then replied smugly, "Actually, I have an even better idea and we have Badrick himself to thank for it. He said he would rather die than to abandon Neverland to me. I know of a way that I can force him out of this world for good and his banishment will be of his own making. Unfortunately, if this is going to work, I will have to make good on a deal that I never had any intention of honoring… until now. Go out to find Hook. Tell him he will want to come to my camp for what I'm about to offer him."
The entity responded, "A chance to leave Neverland for good so he can finally have his revenge against his Crocodile."