I know, I know it's late AGAIN. Sorry about that y'all. I got a tad bit of pink eye and that just mixed perfectly with all the stress of stupid exams coming up. I couldn't do anything.
Also, may I just say that the views for this story and the last have absolutely sky rocketed! Within the month of may IATPP has gotten 700 more views and this story has gotten 300! WOW!
But enough of my yapping, let's get on where we left off.
Chapter Twenty Six
Torn Decisions
Jake POV
As the vision fades, I'm jolted back into reality, sprawled on the ground, staring up at Ria. She stands there, arms folded, a sinister smile playing on her lips. The moonlight casts eerie shadows around her figure, adding to the ominous atmosphere.
"Now you see? Had you not left that night, your friends wouldn't have been pressured to make such an unfortunate decision. I almost feel sorry for poor little Izzy." she says with a chilling tone. Her words hang in the air like a heavy fog, suffocating any hope of escape.
"What'd you do to her!?" I demand, struggling to push myself up from the ground. My hands tremble with anger and fear, fists clenched tight.
"She has been beyond punished. Now I shall hear no more of her if you don't want Cubby to suffer the same horrific fate!" Ria's voice drips with malice, echoing through the clearing.
"Is she dead?" I press, my heart pounding with fear. Every fiber of my being screams for answers, for a glimpse of hope in this dark abyss.
"Why-do-you-care!?" she demanded, her voice laced with irritation, a flicker of annoyance dancing in her eyes. Her gaze pierces through me like a dagger, daring me to defy her.
"Because she is my responsibility!" I retort fiercely, desperation clawing at my throat, threatening to choke me.
"Your responsibility? Oh yes, that would perfectly explain the little scene you just witnessed as well as the heated fight that just went down between the two of you. Seriously, after all the things she's said to you, you still want to help her?" Ria mocks, her voice dripping with disdain. The darkness seems to close in around us, swallowing any flicker of hope that dares to surface.
"Look I said some things I definitely know I shouldn't have and so did she. But it doesn't matter how mad she makes me or what stupid things she does. She's still my first mate and therefore, she's still my responsibility." I assert firmly, determination burning like a beacon in the night.
"Well then I'm afraid I'll have to dub you as very irresponsible. But I can always change that, you know. If you help me flee Neverland of magic, maybe I will spare her and the rest of your petty friends." Ria offers with a twisted smile, her words hanging in the air like a poisoned apple, tempting yet deadly.
"What do you mean spare? From what I hear, you've already taken care of her and Cubby and Skully are out and running. How are you gonna find them?" I challenge, desperation clawing at my throat, threatening to choke me.
"Boy, I have the power to see hundreds of years into the past and break down the door that guards the very heart of Neverland. You don't think I can find a little boy and a bird?" Ria responded confidently, her voice dripping with arrogance.
"I don't care what you can and can't do. I'm not stripping Neverland of its magic for you." I declare defiantly, every word a battle cry against the darkness that threatens to consume us all.
She rolled her eyes and huffed, a sneer twisting her lips into a cruel mockery of a smile. "Why must you be so unnecessarily hard to please? Not only do I offer you the chance to erase the biggest mistake of your life from the minds of everybody in Neverland, but also offer to vanquish your friend's memories of their suffering and torment as well as spare their lives and yet that is still not enough for you! Well then, I guess I'll just have to raise my bid," she says before reaching into her black robes and then revealing a small glass bottle with a glowing purple liquid in it. "What do you think this is?" Ria challenges, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, a twisted dance of shadows and light playing across her face.
"I don't know." I falter, feeling the weight of her words bearing down on me.
"I'll give you a hint, it'll cure a certain someone's snake bite and stop them from dying at five o'clock in the morning." Ria hints.
"Is that…" I start, realization dawning.
"The cure? Indeed boy. You catch on quick." Ria confirms.
"After all the trouble you've gone through to get rid of Izzy, you're just now contemplating on taking that all back?" I question incredulously.
"If it gets your lazy self to stand up and start chopping, yes sir." Ria retorts sharply.
"How do I know that's even the actual cure?" I challenge skeptically.
"You've just said it yourself. I've gone through so much trouble so far to exterminate the cockroach, why would I be taking it all back if I knew it wouldn't strike a chord in you?" Ria counters.
"I…" I hesitate, torn between my loyalty to my friend and the desperate need to save her life.
"Time is running out boy. As I said, she has till five in the morning-that's three hours from now and no later." Ria urges, her voice commanding. My mind races as I weigh the options.
Izzy, my first mate, my friend who would (well, until now that it is) stand by me through thick and thin, who would never back down from a challenge, now lies at death's door. But yet, Neverland, my home, the place where countless adventures have been had and are still waiting to be had, where dreams came true and magic danced in the air, hangs in the balance. If I save Izzy, I may lose everything Neverland stands for, and hundreds would lose their home and their sanctuary. But if I sacrifice her and save Neverland...could I even live with my decision afterward? Can I accept the fact that the last memory I'll have of her was us impulsively expressing how much we hate each other? None of the hateful things I said were true, but if I deny the offer of the cure, I'll never get the chance to tell that to her. And Cubby...what would he think if I told him I gave our friend up so easily? He'd never speak to me again! It would be just like how it was when I returned to Pirate Island. Can I really lose a matey knowing that I had the opportunity to help her?
"Make your choice now lad, if you really want this cure, you'll start cutting away." Ria says.
The Mistress reaches out the glowing purple vile of a cure to me and I was about to take it.
But then…..Neverland….it's a whole world full of innocent lives and magic. If I strike the Forever Tree down it would be the end of the world. Literally. I think of the magic of the enchanted forests, the magical creatures, the fiery volcanoes, the mermaids in the lagoon, the Lost Boys in their hideout, the many captains and crews that roam about the Neverseas, and of course, what or who is still left to be found in the unexplored places of Neverland. They all need me too. I feel the weight of responsibility pressing down on me, heavier than ever before. My mental clock ticks away, each second bringing me closer to a decision I'm not sure I can make.
Reluctantly, painfully, I know what I must choose. I cannot risk my life and the lives of countless others for one person, even if that one person means the world to me. The weight of this decision settles heavily in my heart.
I lower my hand and hang my head, looking down at the ground in shame, for I had just given up the only cure, and therefore, the life of my friend.
"I…I can't do it." I finally admit, my heart heavy with guilt.
Ria shakes her head mockingly and then hides the cure in her robes again.
"Sad. You chose a tree over the life of your friend. Well, I'll make sure to write something nice on her grave so you don't have to." she sneers cruelly.
"You're acting like striking the forever tree won't come with any consequences! If it goes, then all of Neverland goes! And us along with it!" I protest desperately.
"For the millionth time, taking the magic away from the tree will not make the whole Island vanish!" Ria insists.
"Ok. Then tell me why it started to vanish when the forever tree was dying before I saved it!?" I demand, frustration boiling inside me.
"Only in due time shall I address that answer." Ria replies cryptically.
"Yeah, because you don't know it! This is all a hoax and I'm not falling for it!" I declare defiantly.
"You already have, how do you think we got here? Now for the last time, take those strong arms of yours, pick up that ax and just thrust it into the tree!"Ria orders, her voice rising with anger. "Do it!"
"No!" I refused, adamantly.
"NOW!" Ria's voice echoes with fury.
"NEVER!" I shout back, my resolve firm as stone.
Ria's frustration erupted like a volcano, a growl escaping her lips as she struggled to comprehend my steadfast refusal.
"You are truly prepared to sacrifice your friend's life for the sake of a mere tree? I repeat, a TREE?" Her words pierce the air with a mixture of disbelief and fury. Silence is my only reply. Izzy was the last thing I wanted to trade for Neverand, but still, I could not deny Ria's words.
"I'm not gonna do it." I declare firmly, though the words taste bitter on my tongue, as if each syllable tearing at my heartstrings.
With a sinister edge to her voice, Ria's lips curl into a scornful sneer as she places her hands defiantly on her hips, The tendrils of her curly hair seem to writhe with malice as she produces Izzy's stolen pouch of pixie dust from out of her robes.
"Wanna bet?" she growls I can muster a response, a sense of dread coils in the pit of my stomach as she hints at her next move. She sprinkled the golden powder all over herself and began to ascend in the air. "I'll be back."
"Where are you going?"
"Oh nowhere. I'm just going to pay a little visit to a certain blonde boy and parrot." she taunts, her words a sinister melody that chills me to the bone. The mention of Cubby and Skully sends a shiver down my spine.
Ria quickly vanished out of Mount Destiny, into the night sky, her parting words echoing in my ears like and leaving me alone with the Forever Tree. I let out one heavy long sigh before dropping to my knees, wishing I never existed. A few minutes later I gazed up at the heavens, at the brightest object in the sky, the Neverstar. I then decide to summon the only ally I can think of at this point. And so, I sat up, cupping my hands around my mouth even though I wasn't going to shout. And then with what little amount of hope I had left, I kept my eyes focused on the Neverstar and gently whispered,
"Cock-a-doodle-doo...Peter Pan, I need you."
Cubby POV
I stared up at the towering temple, its ancient stones casting eerie shadows in the Neverland moonlight. The air felt heavy with mystery, a palpable tension hanging over us like a shroud. Nikki had collapsed on a nearby rock, his fatigue mirroring my own inner turmoil. His bright flowered shirt seemed out of place in this somber setting, a burst of color against the backdrop of looming darkness. Skully perched above us on a gnarled tree branch, his feathers ruffled with unease, his eyes never straying from the ominous structure before us. Why did Izzy's footprints lead here, out of all places in Neverland? How did she even get here? And when? Questions swirled in my mind like a tempest, each one adding to the knot of confusion tightening in my stomach.
"Maybe it's us," I blurted out, desperation creeping into my voice as I grasped for an explanation. "Maybe we're just imagining it, and those footprints aren't even Izzy's."
"Maybe," Skully chirped back, his tone betraying his uncertainty. "But how do you explain the pink shred of her shirt we found caught in the fence?"
"It could belong to someone else," I weakly suggested, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. "I don't know, Skully. Why can't things ever just be black or white?"
"I'm green." Skully quipped, a feeble attempt at levity in the face of our mounting fears.
"What I'm trying to say is, why? Why would Izzy be at the Temple in the Hills!?" I exclaimed, frustration lacing my words.
"What's the big deal about this place anyway?" Nikki's voice pierced the heavy silence, drawing our attention to him as he sat perched on a rock, his expression a mix of curiosity and exhaustion. "It just looks like an old, haunted, abandoned castle to me." Nikki continued, his voice tinged with skepticism.
"Okay, old: yes. Haunted: probably. Abandoned: no!" I corrected him, my words tinged with a sense of foreboding.
"Who lives there?" Nikki asked, his curiosity undimmed by the ominous atmosphere surrounding us.
"A big redheaded ex-circus clown named Titan, a strange creepy girl who apparently knows us and a witch calleId the Mistress of the Mountains, but her name is actually Ri–" Skully attempted to explain, his voice tinged with caution.
"Forget her name, Skully. She's caused us too much trouble to deserve politeness." I interjected, my frustration with our predicament boiling over.
"So... what now?" Nikki queried, his voice laden with uncertainty.
"Well, one thing's for sure. The footprints lead AWAY from the temple, so following them was probably dumb," I muttered, my frustration giving way to resignation. "But at least we know Izzy isn't here."
"Are you saying we are just going to wander aimlessly until we find her again?" Nikki moaned, his weariness evident in every word. I fell into thought again, weighing our options against the pressing need to find Izzy.
"You know what we're gonna do boys?" I asked, determination creeping into my voice.
"Go back home?" Skully suggested cheerfully, his optimism a stark contrast to the uncertainty surrounding us.
"No," I said firmly, my resolve hardening with each passing moment. "We're going to go help Jake and Peter!"
"Are you crazy!?" Skully screeched, his panic palpable. "Cubby, that's exactly what Peter said NOT to do! Do you want to end up with his dagger in your chest!?"
"He won't be able to if he finds the Mistress' sword in his!" I retorted, my voice steady despite the turmoil raging within me.
"Hold on," Nikki interjected, his voice a calming presence in the midst of our chaos. "We're just going to stop looking for Izzy like that? She needs our help!"
"And she'll get it. The sooner we help Peter and Jake, the sooner they can help us find Izzy." I explained, my determination unwavering.
"Swell." Nikki uttered, his resignation echoing my own doubts, before I turned back to him, my grip tightening on the collar of his shirt.
"Oh, and one little thing, Nikki." I said, my voice firm with conviction.
"What's that?" he asked, his eyes meeting mine, filled with uncertainty.
"Uh, don't die."
The three of us slowly ascended the stairs to the temple, with Skully fluttering ahead of us, the rhythmic flapping of his wings adding an eerie soundtrack to our journey. My heart pounded in my chest as fear clawed at my insides, each step feeling heavier than the last under the weight of uncertainty.
"Cubby, are you sure this is a good idea?" Nikki's voice trembled behind me, his words barely audible over the thumping of my heart. I glanced back at him, trying to muster some confidence, but the doubt lingered in his big blue eyes, mirroring my own.
"No, I'm not sure of anything right now," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper, each word feeling like a confession of my own vulnerability. "But it's not like that's ever stopped me." Nikki's anxiousness bubbled up like a pot left too long on the stove, his voice cracking with worry.
"When we finally get to the top of all these darn stairs, suppose we see this witchy-lady you've been talking about. What then? Do you got a plan of what we're gonna do?" I scratched my head, feeling the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me like a boulder.
"Well... no."
"No!?" Nikki's voice rose in panic, the sound echoing off the stone walls of the temple. "Well, what if she does to us what she's done to Peter!"
"Which is nothing," I replied, trying to reassure him, though the doubt lingered in my own mind like a shadow in the dark. "Er... probably," My confidence wavered, but I pressed on, grasping for any semblance of reassurance. "I dunno, you've got the bow and arrow, you think of something!"
But Nikki was resolute, his voice tinged with desperation.
"I already have thought of something, we turn back and find Izzy!"
"Yatayatayata..." I mocked, though the words tasted bitter on my tongue, a bitter reminder of our dire situation. But then I heard it—the footsteps, too loud to belong to just the two of us, each one echoing like a drumbeat. "Stop walking," I hissed to Nikki, my heart hammering in my chest like a prisoner against its cage. The footsteps persisted, despite our stillness, until they suddenly ceased, leaving behind a suffocating silence that seemed to swallow us whole.
I froze, and didn't even turn back to look at Nikki, who was also frozen in silence.
"Why'd we stop?" I heard him whisper from behind me, his voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart.
"SHHHH!" I hushed him, my senses on high alert, every nerve in my body screaming for caution. Skully, perched on my shoulder, echoed my concern with a soft chirp, his eyes darting around our surroundings like a sentry on watch.
"Crackers, what is it matey?" he squawked softly.
"I... I thought I heard something." I confessed, the words tumbling out in a rush of breath as I only scanned what was in front of me-not behind yet-for any signs of danger.
"Like what?" Nikki whispered, his voice barely more than a whisper, his eyes darting around the temple as if expecting danger to leap out from the shadows at any moment.
I quickly spun around to find none other than Ria's assistant, her tall, pale figure looming only a few feet behind us like a specter from a nightmare, her presence suffocating in its intensity.
"Like someone following us!" I exclaimed, pulling Nikki close and hidning him behind me.
"Took you long enough to realize." the assistant sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm like poison from a viper's fangs, sending a shiver down my spine.
"I am a little hard of hearing." I snapped back defensively, though the words felt feeble in the face of her menacing presence. The teen girl smirked, her lips curling into a mocking grin.
"I realized that. I was walking like an elephant and still you didn't notice me until now," she giggled evilly. "Though I must thank you for returning. You don't know how much you've saved my neck. Ria was practically about to return me to my fiery volcanic grave when she heard you escaped. What are you doing back here though?"
"We came for Jake!" I declared, my voice trembling with determination, though the uncertainty still lingered like a specter in the back of my mind.
"Well, you certainly won't find him here." she stated matter-of-factly, her words landing like a heavy blow, each one driving the breath from my lungs.
"Why not?" Skully interjected, his voice sharp with curiosity, though the tension in the air seemed to stifle even his usual bravado.
"Because he's gone to Mount Destiny with Ria to destroy the Forever Tree!" she announced proudly, her words like a dagger to the heart, each one plunging deeper into the depths of despair.
"WHAT!?" Skully and I exclaimed together, leaving Nikki fairly heart sank and I could feel a cold knot of dread forming in the pit of my stomach.
"No..." I whispered, disbelief washing over me like a tidal wave, threatening to drown me in despair.
"That's right! He's joined our side!" she boasted, her voice ringing with triumph, like a conqueror claiming victory over a fallen foe.
"He... he couldn't have!" I protested, my voice barely a whisper, though the words felt feeble in the face of her overwhelming certainty.
"Well, he did. And when I catch the two of you... you're next!" she threatened, her words hanging in the air like a dark omen, each one sending a chill down my spine.
"Cubby, let's get out of here!" Nikki hissed worriedly through teeth. I grab his wrist, stopping him from bolting, my fingers tight around his wrist. My gaze locks with the assistant's.
"Who are you!?" I demand. "What's your name!?" She chuckles softly, her expression teasing, and places her hands on her hips, adding a note of nonchalance.
"I suppose after all this time, you deserve to know," she says confidently, her voice carrying a hint of mystery. "You may know me as... the Psycho Pirate's other half." My heart sinks as her words sink in. It took a while to figure out what she meant, but then it hit me.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Skully squawks beside me, his feathers ruffling with agitation.
"It can't be," I mumble, feeling a wave of disbelief wash over me. "Morgan?" I blurt out, the name escaping my lips before I can fully process it.
"In the non-burnt-to-a crisp flesh!" the girl proudly confirms with a smirk as she then bows politely.
"You're Morgan!?" I exclaim once more.
"But... HOW!?" I shriek, my mind racing with questions.
"Oh, the Mistress just happened to have a little magic that could resurrect me from my volcanic grave and reunite my spirit with my rebuilt corpse." Morgan explains casually, as if discussing the weather, her tone betraying a nonchalant air. Nikki pleads for us to flee, his voice tinged with urgency, but I refuse to yield.
"No. We're sticking together." I declare firmly, my voice unwavering. Morgan scoffs at our unity, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Oh how sweet," she mocks. "The little group that couldn't." The realization of the imminent danger sinks in, I sense the threat closing in around us.
"On second thought," I say, my voice edged with urgency, readying myself to run, "RUN!" I push Nikki ahead of me, Skully taking flight above us, and Morgan hot on our heels. We sprint through Neverland, our surroundings a blur as we navigate obstacles with urgency until we reach a high cliff overlooking the vast expanse of the Neverseas. Panic sets in like a heavy weight on my chest. What now? Jump about two hundred feet and meet the ocean with a death slap, or be captured and brought before the Mistress of the Mountains who will meet us with even harder death slaps?
We just stand trapped on the cliff, overlooking the eerie glow of the Neverseas. My heart races, pounding against my chest like a drum. Nikki and Skully huddle close, their fear mirroring my own. And then, to our horror, Morgan catches up to us, her smile sending shivers down my spine as she realizes she's got us cornered.
"Now," Morgan says, her voice dripping with malice, "Have you anything to say for yourselves?" Her tone is mocking, a cruel edge to her words that sends a chill through me.
"Frankly, yes." I reply, summoning all the courage I have left.
"Now what would that be?"
With a deep breath, I throw my hands up in the air and like the coward I actually am, shout,
"We surrender!"
To Be Continued….
Hey, If you reread Chapter sixteen (creepy caper) you'll see that it's Izzy's birthday today! (May 11). She'd be 124! Wow!
Oh and don't forget to review or follow the story so you know when I update it since my schedule for posting new chapters has gone out the window!