Hi. I know I said we'd be done by now and we still have 3-4 chapters left (I promise I mean it this time). I also said I'd update more recently but uhm...a lot of off-screen (off document?) problems going on here and it's just been a horrible week, but thankfully I got this chapter done! So enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Nine
To Out-Switch A Witch
Jake POV
As everybody in the cavern of the Forever Tree locks eyes with each other, a cacophony of voices erupts, bouncing off the cavern walls like a chaotic symphony. Ria's voice, high-pitched and frantic, merges with the shrill cry of the little boy and Peter's deep, booming shout, creating a whirlwind of confusion and alarm.
"NIKKI!?"
"MOTHER!?"
"MORGAN!?"
"HOLD IT!" I shout, trying to draw attention from everybody. Though the wound on my face is still burning, it doesn't hurt as much anymore. I lock eyes with the Mistress, a cold, steely glare in my eyes. "You have a son!?"
"Darn right she does!" the little boy at the top calls, an angry look on his face, his small fists clenched tightly. "And she's got three more back at home along with three daughters!" His voice echoes through the cavern, filled with a mix of defiance and sorrow.
Ria's eyes are aflame with rage as she glares up at the boy. She motions for Morgan to bring him, Cubby, and Skully down deeper into the cavern. My mind races, trying to comprehend how they're going to manage that, considering they're perched all the way at the top of the entrance. Peter and I are down here, the only way to descend being through flight. Yet, to my amazement, Morgan reaches into a pocket of her frilly black skirt, her hand emerging with a shimmering sprinkle of pixie dust. With a deft flick of her wrist, she dusts herself and the two boys, and they immediately start to float downwards. Ria must've given her a portion of the pixie dust she stole from Izzy, I realize.
As the group lands, the tension in the air is palpable, like the charged atmosphere before a storm.
"Nikolai WHAT are you doing here!?" Ria shouts at her supposed son, her voice cracking with a mix of anger and dsperation. She storms up to him, her face contorted in a fearsome scowl. The boy, though, seeming to be fueled by anger and hurt, does not cower away from the imposing figure before him.
"I should be asking YOU the same question!" Nikki spits right back, his eyes blazing with a mix of betrayal and disbelief. "So THIS is where you disappeared to all those nights ago!" he shouts, his voice echoing through the cavern. "You used to be my mother, but then you abandoned me! You abandoned me and you came here to Neverland! And now you're a witch, I hear?"
"The Mistress of the Mountains, they call me." Ria says with a veneer of pride, though it's clear her heart is not in it.
"I don't care what you're called! You aren't my mother anymore, that's all that matters! But now what? You're gonna destroy Neverland?"
"Holy coconuts!" Cubby exclaims, stepping forward with an angry stride. He notices three big slashes in the Forever Tree's thick bark, his eyes widening in shock. "You cut the Forever Tree! You evil witch!" he exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"No, I didn't," Ria says with feigned innocence, her eyes narrowing. "Jake did. He very willingly gave the Forever Tree the axe, quite literally." she says, making me fume as she once again tries to pin the blame on me.
Cubby doesn't look convinced, his brows furrowing in skepticism.
"Really? Did that happen?" the blonde boy mutters, his mouth barely open and his arms crossed. "That's a very bizarre thing to happen."
"Um, no, Cubby…," I squeak, looking down at the ground, the weight of guilt pressing heavily on my shoulders. Cubby looks at me and gasps at the wounds on the left side of my face, but I continue. "I actually did cut it." I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Are you kidding me!?" Cubby exclaims, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Jake, what could this witch have possibly leveraged that would make you do a stupid thing like this!?"
"Your life! That's what!" I shout with a stomp of my foot, my fists clenched tight at my sides. The cavern falls silent, the echo of my words hanging in the air like a dark cloud.
"Oh…" Cubby squeaks, suddenly timid. "I stand corrected." he mutters, his voice small and filled with regret.
Peter Pan steps forward, his eyes darting between me and the new present company.
"Cubby! Skully! Nikki! What are you doing here?" he shouts. "I told you to stay back at the hideout—."
"Ah, so it seems you've already met my son, Peter." Ria notes, a sly smile spreading across her face.
"Yeah, I have. I found him washed up on a beach about a week ago. Now lemme guess, you're the one who brought him here to Neverland?" Peter interrogates, his voice sharp and accusing.
"Actually no," Ria says, her tone dripping with mockery. "That would be the fault of someone who snuck out of Neverland every night for the past two months to go to the mainland and visit my son whom they'd befriended. And that someone is noticeably not present right now." she explains, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Izzy?" Nikki whispers, his face a mix of hope and fear.
"Ding ding ding! And we have a winner!" the Mistress giggles mockingly, her laughter echoing through the cavern.
"Coconuts, where is she anyway?" Cubby asks, his eyes suddenly widening with worry. "Is she—?"
"No no, she's not dead." Ria assures, but I can't help but scoff.
"Pfff. Not yet." I mutter, crossing my arms. Ria seems to take this as an opportunity to bring on the guilt once again as she steps closer to me.
"What was that?" she asks, leaning in with a smirk. "Is that bitterness I see in you? Oh, I get it, you're still fuming about the little heated interaction you and Izzy had with each other while in my temple's dungeon!"
"Temple's dungeon?" Cubby repeats, his voice rising in alarm. He finally catches on. "You've got Izzy too!?" he exclaims, his face pale.
"That I do, lad, and I'm gonna keep her. Because it's not like she'd want to see any one of you idiots' faces after the fight that went down between her and Jake here!" Ria cackles, pointing an accusatory finger at me.
"But Jake…you and Izzy would never fight," Cubby says, his blue eyes wide with disbelief. "Er…fight again." he quickly adds, remembering the whole ordeal that went down seven or so months ago.
"Might wanna rethink that, Cubby lad," Ria snickers. "This is, after all, the leader who abandoned you and left you to live on the deserted Pirate Island all alone, all ties to Neverland completely cut. You lived like a hermit while you were practically about to starve to death if not for the scraps and leftovers tossed your way," she said, pointing at me."But the honor of being a horrendous leader does not just go to you, bud," Ria says before turning to Peter, the teen dressed in green. "I think you can equally split that tribute with the self-proclaimed Neverland Guardian who stands right before me," she says, getting in Peter's face. "Though I am not precisely sure why you even bother to call yourself that. This is what? The third time the Forever Tree has been in danger while under your guardianship?" Peter doesn't answer, simply continuing to glare at her. Ria begins to pace, her arms clasped together behind her back.
"Please tell me, Peter Pan—and I was even having this conversation with Jake earlier, although he appeared to be a bit naive on the subject for some strange reason—but what exactly makes HIM so much more important, so much more worthy of respect, so much more deserving of your attention as a mentor-pupil relationship between you and him, and altogether so much greater in your eyes than Cubby or Izzy?" Ria asks. "Is it because he's the oldest? The most mature out of the three? But when you think about it, it's kind of ironic that the boy who never grows up and is obsessed with staying a child forever would choose the most grown-up of his three choices to be his successor, isn't it?"
"No, it is NOT," Peter states, irritated. "I love all three of them and I don't play favorites—."
"You don't play favorites!?" Ria repeats. "HAH!" she exclaims before bursting out in mock laughter. You could just tell it was fake and on purpose to make us feel bad. Well, on my part, it was working. Ria finally stops cackling. "Let's see about that." she says, making her way to Cubby.
"Hey, back off!" Peter snaps.
"Get away from him!" I order, but both attempts are hopeless.
"Now, Cubby, my dear boy, tell me and all I ask is for you to be completely honest," she says, placing an arm around his shoulder, making the blonde boy chill a bit. "In all your years or even decades in Neverland, when it came to your supposed tightly knit crew's relationship with Peter Pan, did you nor Izzy nor Skully not ever feel a little, what's that one word…um, pushed aside!?" she exclaims, really wanting to drill in her point. Cubby flinches at her shout and clamps his hands over his ears.
"That's two words!" he hisses.
"Answer the question!" Ria presses, her patience wearing thin. Cubby removes his hands from his ears.
"Alright! Alright! No need to shout!" Cubby sneers, yet still doesn't answer the question.
"Well?" Ria says, tapping her foot. "We're waiting." The little blonde boy looks around, everyone staring him down, waiting to hear the answer out of him, especially me. Cubby lets out a heavy sigh.
"Yes, a little bit." he blurts out, barely audible. Ria raises an eyebrow.
"Really? A little bit?" she mumbles slyly.
"Okay, A LOT!" he finally exclaims.
"Cubby!" Peter says. "Why would you think that?"
"Oh Peter, you could ask anybody in Neverland which of the three of us is your favorite and you'd hear the same answer from them that you just heard from me," Cubby says. "JAKE is your favorite. Izzy, Skully, and I are just…are just…not your favorite. 'We're a team no matter what,' you say? 'We're all equals,' you say? Well, that certainly didn't seem to be the case when Neverland started disappearing."
"But Cubby, you guys encouraged me to do the quest!" I let out. Not frustrated or angry, but just plain hurt.
"Of course we did. Think of it, Jake, how stupid would it look if not the leader and hero of the team went on a quest to save Neverland, but instead, one of his sidekicks who never get the spotlight, who are deemed too cowardly to do anything on their own and whose names aren't even in our well-known title around here," Cubby pauses to exhale loudly. "I'm not mad at you, Jake, or you, Peter. It's the way things have just always been, and I've come to accept it."
Ria steps forward.
"Well, there you have it, my good sirs. You, Peter Pan, are a favoriting imbecile, and you, Jake, are willing to do anything life-threatening just so that this brat continues to shower you in attention and glory, which would mean absolutely nothing if he were not the boy who never grows up." Ria says.
"I knew it." I mutter as I hang my head.
"Knew what?" Cubby asks.
"I knew you guys still hated me even after I came back," I say, my heart breaking. "I've had the confirmation from Izzy first, and now you."
"Jake, I don't hate you," Cubby says, shocked.
"Oh really?" I ask. "Not even after that speech you just gave expressing how horribly unfair Peter and I are to you?"
"Alright, I'll admit, there was some crazy partiality between us and Peter all those years ago. But after all that, after you went exploring and came back, I admit that maybe I wanted to kill you for even daring to show your face on Pirate Island again after the outright torture you left me, Izzy, and Skully to suffer for seven painful years," he added, the pain seeping through his words. His eyes were hard. I hung my head lower, feeling a hot flush of shame. It was like getting slapped in the face, but worse because I saw it coming and couldn't dodge it. Cubby continued, though, and his next words made me look up, my heart pounding.
"But," he said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Believe it or not I've forgiven you for all that."
"You have?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper. Half of me was hopeful, the other half still swimming in doubt. Cubby cocked his head and squinted at me like I'd just said something ridiculous.
"You got coconut oil in your ear or something? Of course, I forgive you!" he said, almost laughing.
"But, Cubby… well, it's just like you said… I left you guys here to suffer an—"
"And you came back. That's all that matters," Cubby interrupted. "Sure, it took me a while to realize it and it wasn't easy, but it's better you came back a bit late than not at all. Without you, Pirate Island would still be a pile of ashes. Without you, I'd still be a bitter hungry hermit. Without you, Izzy would still be possessed by a certain somebody who was about to attack Neverland." He shot a glance at Morgan, who was standing with her arms crossed, scowling.
"What?" Morgan snapped. "You guys beat me anyway." she muttered.
"You really mean that, Cubby?" I squeaked, feeling like a kid again.
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, genuine confusion in his eyes.
"Well, I dunno. You're just so confident and well... brave now. And it's not like you never were before, it's just... it kinda makes me feel like you don't need me anymore." I admitted, feeling smaller with each word.
"Oh, why would you think a stupid thing like that?" Cubby asked, shaking his head. "You saw how bad it was here without you. The whole crew fell apart!"
"Crackers! Cubby's right, matey!" Skully squawked, flapping his wings. "You're practically the glue that holds us all together!"
A grin spread across my face. All that overthinking, all that paranoia, and all that hopelessness that almost let me submit to death—for nothing! They forgive me, they still need me, and I still need them. Nothing can ever change that.
"You really forgive me." I repeated, feeling a warmth spread through me. Cubby looked exasperated but amused.
"Look, Jake, I don't know how many times I have to repeat myself, but yes! I forgive you! Skully forgives you! And I know Izzy just has to forgive you! Now would you just take it like a pirate and let bygones be bygones, because we've got more important issues to deal with!"
"I'll say you do!" Ria shouted, suddenly swinging her blade at Cubby. He barely dodged it, stumbling back. It was like she and the others had disappeared while we reconciled, only to reappear as if teleported back into the fray. "Now get back there! You're not the star of the show here!" she snarled, advancing on us with her weapon raised.
"But you gotta admit, Ria, this is peak comedy!" Morgan snickers, her laugh echoing off the cavern walls, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she revels in the chaos.
"Hold it right there, you cackling hyena!" Peter exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at Morgan, his face flushed with frustration. His eyes blaze with indignation, reflecting the glow from the Forever Tree. Last time I checked, you met your demise in a volcano after the title of 'Forever Quester' went to your head! Now what gives!?"
Morgan swipes the air in his direction, rolling her eyes with a scoff.
"Oh please! Forever Quester my foot! All you did was have me stop the stupid tree from dying. I got no special medallion or sword like he did!" She points at me with a sneer, her finger trembling with barely contained fury. "If you ask me, I didn't stop Neverland from fading away at all, I just stopped YOU from getting old!" Morgan snaps, her voice rising in pitch as her anger mounts.
"Say it, sister!" Ria sings, stepping in front of Peter with a smug look. Her eyes glint maliciously as she sizes him up, the corners of her mouth curling into a sinister smile. "You can call yourself a hero when you act like one, my good sir," she lectures, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she speaks her words mockingly. "And that does not mean secretly being a one hundred or even thousand-year-old living in a fifteen-year-old's body, flying around all day, running away from your problems, and hyperventilating when the source of magic that keeps you young is at risk. Take note of this, Jake," she says, turning to face me. "That is NOT what makes a hero."
"Yeah, well I wouldn't expect you to know," I snap back, feeling a surge of defiance. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I glared at her. "Now if you're done delivering monologues about which one of us is the absolute worst person in the universe, I say it's time you hand over Izzy's medicine!"
"And I say it's not." Ria says sinisterly, picking up her robe from the ground. She pulls out a vial of purple glowing liquid, flipping it in the air and catching it like a coin. The liquid inside sloshes ominously as it catches the light. Nikki runs forward, his face contorted in desperation, his voice breaking as he pleads.
"Mother—pff, if I can even call you that, you've got to! Izzy will die if you don't give her that cure for her snake bite!"
"I'm okay with that," Ria utters, throwing her robe back on the ground with a dismissive gesture. "Brat deserves it. I mean, seriously, just when you think you know a person, they go and get Peter Pan to stop you from saving Neverland!" she says with fake disbelief, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm.
"Saving it!?" Cubby shouts, his voice cracking with disbelief and anger. "You're trying to destroy it!"
"Enough out of you, little boy!" Ria shouts, holding her blade inches away from Cubby's neck. The boy gives a nervous laugh and backs away shakily, his eyes wide with fear. "That's what I thought," she growls, the menace in her voice unmistakable. As Ria and Morgan's attentions are both on Cubby and Nikki, I notice something. Ria's dark robe is on the ground where she had thrown it, and peeking out of it, though barely, is a small golden pouch—Izzy's pixie dust pouch. That's it!
As Ria's back is turned while she shouts at Cubby and her son, I very quietly creep over to the robe and immediately grab the pouch of pixie dust. Peter watches as I do so, an overjoyed smirk spreading across his fair face.
"What about you kid, Ria?" Morgan asks. Pushing a stern Nikki forward. The Mistress rubs her chin as she looks at him as if he were some little lost kitty.
"Kill him." Ria says nonchalantly, like she's ordering a coffee.
"WHAT!?" Nikki screams, his face paling faster than a ghost in daylight.
"Alright, that's it! You've gone too far!" Peter exclaims, launching himself towards Nikki. But Ria's faster. She whips out her blade, stopping Peter mid-flight, the tip just inches from his chest. Peter freezes, his eyes wide with shock and fury.
Cubby and Skully dart forward, trying to reach the scared little boy, but it's already too late. Morgan seizes Nikki tightly, her grip like an iron vice. Nikki struggles, his body thrashing against her hold, desperation etched on his face.
"How can you kill me!" Nikki exclaims, his voice breaking as he fights against the pale young adult's grip. "I'm your SON!" he shouts, his voice echoing through the cavern.
"Actually, no, you're not." Ria corrects, her voice dripping with cold indifference. Nikki's big blue eyes widened in shock, the fight momentarily draining from his body.
"Wha-what!?" he stammers, still struggling but now more out of disbelief than defiance.
"Well, I guess it's time I unveil my own dirty secret. About ten or eleven years ago in the Caribbean, my husband Hector brought home a baby boy who'd been abandoned in an alleyway," Ria says, her voice almost nostalgic. "He looked just like all my other children I had at the time, only he had the most beautiful pair of bright blue eyes I had ever seen. One thing led to another, and he became my fourth son. In other words, he became you." Ria explains, her gaze locking onto Nikki's stunned face.
Nikki's eyes are wide, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He's speechless, and I can't blame him. That's a heck of a revelation to drop in the middle of a life-or-death situation.
"So, to make a long story short," Ria continues, her tone shifting back to its icy demeanor, "If you are not my blood, then you are not my family. And therefore, I don't give a damn about what happens to you, especially if you have anything to do with Peter Pan! So, Morgan, take him back to the Temple and dispose of him!" Ria orders.
Morgan doesn't waste a second. She sprinkles the remaining pixie dust over herself and, with Nikki locked in her grip, they both start to lift off the ground. Nikki's eyes are wide with panic as he's pulled away, his screams echoing in the cavern.
"Oh, crackers! No you don't!" Skully squawks, flapping his little green parrot wings to follow her, his beady eyes narrowing in determination.
"Skully, wait!" Cubby cries, holding a hand up in desperation, his voice cracking.
I quickly run over to Cubby and sprinkle some of Izzy's pixie dust on him.
"Go with him, matey!" I say, as the golden sparkles begin to surround Cubby. "Fly as fast as you can and help Nikki!"
"Got it, Jake!" Cubby says, determination replacing the fear in his eyes. He soars out of the tunnel after Skully to chase Moragn. I look at Ria, who is absolutely fuming. Good.
"You go with 'em too, Peter." I say. The redhead's jaw drops in shock.
"Jake, are you kidding me!? I'm not gonna leave you here alone with HER!" Peter shouts, pointing at the Mistress. I put my hand up to calm him.
"Don't worry, Peter, I've got everything under control." I assure him, a sly and confident tone in my voice.
"Yeah, tell that to your face!" the redhead exclaims, gesturing at the cuts and wounded skin on my face, concern mixed with frustration in his eyes.
"Just go, Peter. I got this," I say with a sly smile, my plan all coming quickly together in my head. "Go help Cubby and Skully." I push my voice firm.
"Oh…—WOAH!" the timeless boy shouts as the Mistress takes a swing at him again but misses by a hair's breadth.
"Get outta here!" Ria screams, her voice full of venom.
"Alright, alright, I'm goin'!" Peter shouts.
"But first," Peter says as he plucks the small purple vial out of Ria's hand. "I'll take that!" he says cockily.
"NO!" Ria shouts as she tries to slice at Peter again, but it was useless. He was too quick for her, darting out of reach with a flourish.
"Alright Peter!" I exclaim, relieved that the cure was now in my friend's hands. Peter somersaults his way up to the door of the Forever Tree. When he reaches the top, he gives a victorious rooster crow before launching into the air to join the chase.
It was just me and the Mistress now. The cavern feels strangely quiet after the chaos, tension thick in the air between us. Ria glares at me, her eyes narrowed with malice. I square my shoulders, trying to ignore the burning pain on my face from the wounds she inflicted.
"You think you're very clever, don't you?" Ria sneers, her voice dripping with disdain.
"Maybe," I admit with a shrug. "And that's because I've got something you don't."
"And what's that?" Ria asks, her voice laced with curiosity and arrogance.
I smile slyly, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the small yellow pouch of pixie dust. Ria's eyes widen slightly, a flicker of uncertainty crossing her face.
"You good for nothing thief…." she can't even finish her sentence.
"You know what they say about pixie dust. It can do just about anything, if you know how to use it."
"You wouldn't," she says, her voice quieter now, a hint of fear beneath the bravado.
"Oh, I would," I reply, my voice steady. "But I won't."
"What?"
"I'm not gonna fly away and leave you here to destroy Neverland. No ma'am I'm gonna fight you like a man!" I say, jokingly, although part of that was true.
"You're really brave to test me after I just played arts and crafts with your face," Ria sneers, her sword slicing through the air with a menacing whoosh. The blade catches the dim light, glinting wickedly. I bend down, my hand closing around the rough wooden handle of the ax once again, praying this'll be the last time I have to pick it up.
"Well, the good thing is I like arts and crafts," I say, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her. "Let's play again."
"What's going on in that crazy hormonal mind of yours?" she asks, her voice dripping with sinister amusement.
"Oh, nothin'." I reply, trying to sound as innocent as possible, even throwing in a little smile for effect.
"Come now, I can see those wheels going around in your head from a mile away." Ria says, narrowing her eyes.
"Well then, you should know what I'm thinking. Does your magic give you mind-reading powers too now?" I mock, lifting the ax in a casual but ready stance.
"I don't have the patience to find out!" she shouts, her face twisting with rage. "Now less talking, more annihilating!" She lunges at me, her sword aimed straight for my chest, but I dodge it, the movement almost instinctual.
"Uh, I was a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. You sure you wanna do this?" I joke, my cocky grin never fading.
"You were not!" Ria snaps, her frustration boiling over as she charges at me. Her sword and my ax clash, the metallic clang echoing through the clearing. She's furious, her movements wild and desperate, while I can't help but treat this like a game. The adrenaline is pumping through me, my earlier exhaustion forgotten.
The fight drags on, each minute stretching into an eternity. Our blades meet again and again, sparks flying with each impact. I can tell she's getting tired, her breath coming in ragged gasps. I grin, knowing she's about to use the Heart of the Viper necklace to cheat. But before she can even reach for it, I snatch it right off her neck, the chain snapping with a satisfying 's eyes go wide with horror, glowing an angry red.
"You-terrible-self-centered-bastard!" she roars. "Give that back!" She lunges at me, but without her magic, she's just a regular human, weak and desperate.
"What's the matter there, Ria?" I taunt. "Ya getting tired?"
"NO!" she screams, her voice breaking. "NOW GIVE THAT BACK BEFORE I KILL YOU, PAN, YOUR FRIENDS, AND—-"
Before she can finish, I thrust the ax deep into her side. She stumbles back, her mouth dropping open in shock. Her hand reaches for the gushing wound, her breaths becoming shaky and uneven. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of rage and bitter defeat.
"They'll never r-really forgive y-you….." she gasps out, her last words barely a whisper before she collapses.
I drop the Heart of the Viper to the ground and smash it with the ax. The stone glows a fierce red for a split second before shattering into a million pieces. With the magical stone destroyed, I watch as Ria's body begins to fade away, dissolving into thin air, leaving only her robe and dark clothing laying limp on the ground. The Mistress of the Mountains was no more. I let out a long breath, feeling the weight of the battle lift off my shoulders. Finally, it's over.
Well, sorta.
To Be Continued….