AN: If you read the one shot I published at the beginning of the month don't worry. You haven't spoiled anything. I know I said I wouldn't get this out till like October but this is just chapter 1. How many people are reading this? Probably like 2 but I don't mind. I just need to get better at writing and remember that good cartoons once existed in the process. I'm kinda glad they canceled it before Disney got a chance to ruin it. Anyway, enjoy.
February 10 - Seven Years Later
Jake POV
I didn't know how long Peter and I had been exploring the lands beyond the neverseas, but it had to be about a couple of years by now. I could tell because rather strange things had been happening to me. I had gotten taller, broader, my voice became squeaky and cracky, and these weird red spots started to appear on my face. When Peter started to notice these odd changes, he looked horrified. And then he told me those dreaded words that no child in Neverland ever wanted to hear.
"You're growing up."
But how!? This was Neverland, nobody ever grew up here! Either A) it must be happening because I was not magical like Peter and this had been happening all my life and I never realized until now, or B) we were so far away from Neverland that some of its magic was wearing off.
After that, exploring with him had become less fun. To me, Peter became rather snooty and childish. I was about the same exact size as him, maybe just a little taller. Lately I've been having horrible mood swings and was getting a little bored of seeing nothing but constant ocean and sky and stumbling upon a new island every month or so, only for it to be completely deserted or for there to be absolutely nothing special about it. This was not worth leaving my home and my crewmates behind. Sure it was great for one year (and even that year wasn't exactly spectacular) but now it stunk. I wanted to go home. I wanted to see my friends, the only true family I had…or wanted. I often wondered about them. Oh let's be real, I wondered about them everyday. Especially Izzy. My mind flashed back to the night Peter and I had departed, and what a night it was I could never forget that night. It was the best and worst moment of my life. I couldn't help but notice though that both Cubby and Skully were smiling, but Izzy was frowning as she looked up at me numbly. What I wouldn't give to know what was going on in her head at that time. Gosh, if I'm correct I've had to have been gone for about...seven years!? What would my crew think!? I missed them all so badly that I would bore Peter to death about it as we flew over the seas. I didn't think he was actually listening. One night, we had gotten into a big fat argument about my getting older and we parted ways. That's when I realized this adventure was over and it was time to go home. Finally.
Peter told me that I would not know the way back home for we had probably traveled hundreds if not thousands of miles away from Neverland, but he was just an immature little kid. What did he know? I had to be about fourteen or fifteen years old now, which meant I had wisdom far beyond his years…..I think. And though it took me about two months at the very least to do so, I had finally made it back to the familiar coast of Neverland. Unfortunately I did not turn back into a little boy like how I had thought I would do. It looks like I would be stuck as an adolescent for a while.
As I hovered above the magical world, it all looked the same with the lush greenery, the colorful flowers, and the lagoons. But something was off. I didn't know what. But it was nagging at me. The Neverland I remembered was full of laughter and joy, but now it felt silent, as if a shadow had fallen over the land. It was so….quiet. It was like a ghost town. Did something happen? Oh, I must be having another mood swing! I'm sure everything's fine! I changed my destination to Pirate Island. Neverland was Peter's problem. My problem was that I was flying too slow to see my crew. With a racing heart, I soared towards Pirate island, my home. But as I got closer, my heart sank and I froze in the air. The once lively island lay in ruins, nearly burnt to a crisp. The hideout was still standing, only it was slowly starting to turn into charcoal. The palm trees were dead looking skeletons and the hills were starting to decay at the top. Panic gripped me as I landed on the scorched ground. Like Neverland it was dead quiet here. But unlike Neverland, the place was deserted. What happened? I started panicking when I thought about Skuly, Cubby and….Izzy. What happened to them? Where were they!? What if they ended up like Pirate Island!?
As I cautiously stepped through the jungle of charcoal that my home had become, I couldn't help but feel like…..like I was being watched. But there was no sign of life here. But still…..I felt a pair of eyes on me. Every time I took a step too fast or I crunched on a dead plant, my heart wanted to jump out of my chest. But none of this would prepare me for what I was about to see. I gasped as a figure emerged from the wall of black plants, pointing a makeshift staff at me. Similar to me, the figure was that of a teenage male, however he looked to be two years younger at the very most. He was a little shorter than me, but that didn't stop how fierce and threatening he looked. He had light blonde hair, a tan complexion, a slim, yet broad figure and bright piercing blue eyes. He was dressed in an old dirty white pirate like shirt and tattered red board shorts that were wide over his stick-like legs. He wore nothing more though. No shoes or hat or jacket or anything. Who in the world was this guy? And what was he doing on my island- er, what was left of it that was. I looked into the lad's eyes deeply and studied his facial features…..until it hit me.
"C-cubby?"
To Be Continued...
