Chapter Four
As they all flew back to Pirate Island with a roughed-up Bucky sailing behind them, Jake and Peter exchanged thoughts about the two strangers they had encountered. The wind whipped through their hair as they soared above the Neverseas, Bucky bobbing along the waves below.
"Who were those guys, Peter?" Jake asked, a frown creasing his brow. "I've never seen them before."
Peter, trying to mask his weariness with humor, shrugged.
"Neither have I and I was perfectly fine with that. But I'll tell you one thing, the two jerks certainly weren't on the guest list for the Lost Boys' annual party." He forced a grin, though his eyes betrayed his fatigue.
Skully, flapping beside them, chimed in,
"They're new to Neverland. Arrived in either February or March, right after you two left."
Jake still looked puzzled but decided to leave questions for later.
Soon, Pirate Island came into view, and Jake's face lit up with a smile.
"Home sweet home." he murmured, a wave of nostalgia washing over him.
They entered the grotto, where they docked Bucky to rest and not go haywire again. Before the two boys went outside, Jake promised Bucky they'd get him fixed up as soon as possible, to which he dinged his bell at.
When out on the beach, Jake noticed his mates were still missing.
"Izzy and Cubby still aren't back yet," Jake said, concern creeping into his voice. "I hope they're okay."
Skully perched on Jake's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Jake. This isn't the first time Izzy and Cubby have been in trouble with those two. They can handle themselves. And besides, cleaning a ship as big as theirs is hard work."
Jake nodded, though he was still worried. He kept a watchful eye on Peter, who was clearly struggling to stay awake. It was then that he noticed the bags starting to form under Peter's eyes.
He let out a heavy sigh.
"Peter, I've held back the entire day, but I have to say it now. Is everything ok?"
Peter straightened up, forcing a cocky grin.
"Peter Pan is always ok!"
Jake sighed.
"Look..it's just the two of us now. If something's wrong, you can tell me."
"It's nothing Jake…really. I just think all this exploring has taken a bit out of me, that's all. I think I just need to rest."
They walked out onto the beach, where Peter prepared to leave.
"If you and your mateys need me, I'll be at Hangman's Tree." he said, trying to sound upbeat.
Peter attempted to fly but only managed to get a few feet off the ground before falling back down. He tried again, making it slightly higher, but fell once more. Frustration flickered in his eyes and Jake swore he heard him let out an irritated growl. Determined, he took a running start and jumped high, finally managing to stay aloft.
He waved a tired goodbye to Jake and Skully, wobbling as he flew off towards Neverland. Jake watched him go, concern etched on his face.
"Something's up with him, Skully." Jake muttered.
Skully nodded.
"Aye, he's not himself. But come on, Jake. Let's go check inside the hideout."
Jake followed Skully, his mind still on Peter's unusual exhaustion. But for now, he had to focus on his crew and the strange new pirates who had turned their reunion upside down.
Jake and Skully made their way back to the hideout, opening the door by pushing down on the wooden tiki's tongue. The pirate leader couldn't help but feel a wave of happiness wash over him as he saw that nothing had changed. The treasure room, the galley, the map room—it was all just as they had left it. He and his parrot companion walked around the hideout, talking and reminiscing as Jake revisited each and every room.
However, it was a different story when he reached the bedroom he shared with his mates. He opened the door to see three beds: one bunk bed with blue and red comforters, and one single bed with a simple lavender comforter. The floor was littered with open books, which wasn't unusual given how much his friends loved to read. But he didn't quite expect them to be reading a book about '101 Practical Pirate Pranks'. Climbing up the bunk onto Cubby's bed, he found several hand-drawn charts and lists scattered all over the boy's blue bedspread.
Jake picked up one of the lists and read:
Get Paint - Done
Find out where the Talstein's ship will be tomorrow night - Done
Paint the ship and steal their treasure - Done-ish
Lock the hideout - Done
Repeat all of the above, but with fireworks
He stopped reading and looked up at Skully, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Interesting bedtime reading," he mumbles. "Hey Skully, what's this all about?"
The parrot nervously fluttered his wings, trying to come up with an excuse.
"Uh, well, Jake, you'll have to let Izzy and Cubby explain that one."
Jake hopped off the bunk ladder and noticed something peculiar on the Izzy's bed. Gone were the teddy bear and soft pillows, replaced by several empty cans of spray paint, some of which were leaking and staining her pink sheets with blue, yellow, and red. There were also boxes of fireworks and dynamite—a very unusual thing to go to bed with.
He glanced out the window to see the sun starting to go down.
"Still not back yet."
Skully was about to reply when a familiar voice cut through the air. It was them! Cubby walked into the room, his clothes covered in paint and dirt. Oblivious to Jake's presence, he stood at the doorway, talking to someone in the hallway—presumably Izzy.
"I could've been relaxing in a hammock, studying a new map, with a coconut drink in my hand, but instead, I spent the whole day getting dragged around by Bucky and washing the paint off of an enormous ship, and it's all your fault!" Cubby complained.
"MY fault!?" replied the feisty voice of Izzy.
"Yeah! It was your idea to go paint all over their ship and try and steal their treasure!" Cubby snapped back.
"You thought it was funny too!" Izzy retorted as she walked into the room. "And besides, the jerks deserved it!"
Before either of them could say anything else, their eyes widened as they saw Jake standing in the bedroom. Panic set in as they realized he had seen the cans of spray paint, boxes of fireworks, and the book of pranks.
"I can explain!" Izzy said, her eyes wide and frozen in shock.
Jake crossed his arms and then began tapping his foot.
"Oh, this ought to be good."
Cubby looked at Izzy, whispering,
"I thought you said you put all this stuff away!"
"I told you to do it!" Izzy hissed back.
"Coconuts! I didn't know Jake was gonna come back today!"
Jake cleared his throat, drawing their attention back to him.
"So, you two have been pranking everybody? Is that what this is all about?"
"Not everybody, Jake," Izzy corrected. "Just those two know it all pirates you saw today."
Jake shook his head, still smiling but with a hint of sternness.
"It's never right to go off and ruin other people's stuff or steal their treasure, even if they are rude. You mates know that. Remember all the times we've been nice to Captain Hook, even after he steals from us? Now why would you wanna stoop down to his level?"
Izzy crossed her arms defiantly.
"You don't know them like we do. What you saw today was just a quick glimpse of what the Talstein toddlers do to us."
"Talstein?" Jake repeated, puzzled.
"It's their last name," Izzy explained. "They call themselves the 'The Great Talstein Pirates."
Jake's expression turned serious.
"Are there more of them?"
"Not that we've seen. Just Patrick and Maverick, but it sounds like they have another brother named Jack." Cubby chimed in.
"I see," Jake said before shaking his head. "Look, let's not talk about them anymore. I'm sure they'll leave us alone now that you guys have cleaned up their ship. Just promise me you'll get rid of all this stuff and no more pranking."
Izzy slumped her shoulders.
"Alright," she said, looking like it pained her to say so. "Now more pranking, we promise. Right guys?"
Cubby and Skully both nodded in agreement.
"We'll get rid of it all tomorrow morning, Jake."
Jake, leaning casually against the bunk bed, shook his head.
"Actually, it'll have to wait till tomorrow night. We've still got a ship covered in barnacles to deal with."
Cubby groaned.
"More scrubbing?"
"No Cubby," Jake replied with a grin. "We're gonna have to head over to Crimson Isle to see if Red Jessica can help us get another zebra rose somehow"
"Hey uh, Jake where'd Peter go?" Izzy asked.
"He said he was tired and just left," Jake answered, his tone turning a bit serious. "But he looked kinda strange though."
Skully, perched on Jake's shoulder, fluffed his feathers.
"That's just Peter's style, Jake. He's the king of being strange."
Jake laughed, nodding.
"True, Skully. But he did say something about the name of the Talstein's ship, the Delta. He said it sounded familiar to him but didn't know why."
Izzy, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe, shrugged.
"He must've been really tired. Peter's memory can be all over the place when he's exhausted."
"Yeah, all he needs is some sleep," Jake said reassuringly. "And so do you guys. We're all together again now, so don't worry about anything, alright?"
Cubby, already looking half-asleep in his striped nightgown, yawned.
"I guess a good night's sleep wouldn't hurt."
Izzy shot him a teasing look.
"What, can't handle a little adventure, Cubby?" she giggled.
Cubby stuck his tongue out at her, making Jake and Skully chuckle.
"Alright, you two," Jake said, still grinning. "Get some sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."
To Be Continued….
