Riddle was absolutely horrified realizing that he was once again in his own personal hell. Memories of what he had endured after realizing that he would not be returned home in short order hit him hard.
He had never wanted to step foot in this cursed island again.
"Where are we?" asked Azul, pushing up his glasses.
"Neverland," said Riddle, his voice haunted. "Jade's stunt dropped us in the sealed realm of Neverland."
Jade had an unrepentant expression, but Floyd seemed to be picking up that something was terribly wrong.
"Wait...not that Neverland," said Lilia. He looked to Riddle with growing horror. Even he was aware of the dangers this place presented.
"Why do you two look like we've fallen into hell?" asked Azul with trepidation.
"In short, we pretty much have. It's going to be a nightmare getting out of here," said Riddle.
It was then that a small pixie flew past, paused and then promptly turned around and came to a stop in front of Riddle.
There was the sound of chimes, jingles and bells. Riddle had a soft, sad smile on his face as he began to speak in a low tone. The language was not something Azul or the twins recognized, but Lilia clearly recognized it.
"What are they saying?" asked Azul.
"Riddle is explaining to her that he had no intention of returning, and once we figure out how to leave he's absolutely not coming back. And that he might have a solution to the demon problem, but he has no guarantees," said Lilia absently. He looked to Riddle. "You have a way to deal with the demon?"
"I recently acquired some extinct seeds from an online friend. They were driven extinct because of one too many incidents," said Riddle.
Azul, the twins and Lilia followed Riddle's lead as he took them to a safe area to set up camp. It had no view of the nearby ocean, and it was far away from the only sign of potential habitation.
"Explain. Why are we not heading towards the camp?"
"Too close to the demon's base," said Riddle. "And the ocean is frequented by pirates who would likely expect us to fight against the demon and it's minions because we're not children."
The pixie hadn't left Riddle's side, and was sitting on Riddle's shoulder.
"So who is she?" asked Azul.
"Her name is Tinkerbell. She's the only remaining pixie at the ancestral hollow, which was taken over by a demon," explained Riddle.
Azul stared at him.
"Why do I have the feeling you've been here before?"
"I have," said Riddle tightly. "This place is the source of my phobia towards large bodies of water."
That had Floyd's undivided interest. One of the big roadblocks to him dating Riddle was his fear of open water. That and his dislike towards mermaids.
Setting up camp was easy, though Riddle was adamant about having a guard around at all times. Azul volunteered for that job, and took the warning to watch out for small children with a grain of salt. He had no idea that he should have taken the warning more seriously.
As they wandered around the island, with Jade keeping an eye out for any interesting mushrooms, Lilia observed how Riddle was handling this situation.
Riddle wasn't. He was clearly doing his best to keep it together, but he was absolutely terrified. It was obvious to Lilia that Riddle was afraid of the demon that ruled this sealed hollow, and for good reason.
"Whoa...who have we here?" said a voice. Riddle visibly flinched, before he looked up.
There was a teen, about thirteen or fourteen wearing a green shirt and a feathered cap, with old worn leggings and a pair of shoes that had gone out of fashion centuries ago. He had red hair and brown eyes, and a fair complexion.
"Friends of yours, Tink?" he asked in a cheerful tone.
Floyd kept a firm eye on the newcomer. Riddle's behavior made it clear he was terrified of this guy, and likely for good reason.
There was a darkness about him that Floyd did not like.
Later that night...
"So...that was the infamous demon of Neverland," mused Lilia. "No wonder he's tricked so many into thinking he's harmless."
"He plays off as having the attention span and memory of a squirrel, but he's still a heartless murderer," sighed Riddle. "He was not particularly pleased when Tinkerbell alerted me to his darker behavior and targeted me rather quickly once he figured out who had spotted him murdering an older Lost Boy."
Azul had an incredulous look, before he turned to the twins. While Jade had been on alert, Floyd had been observing the 'demon' known by all as Peter Pan.
"The flying piranha was putting on an act," said Floyd firmly. "He played off bein' all friendly, but he looked ready to bite if we let our guard down."
"Piranha is a good description of him," said Riddle in disgust. "If anything I would class the Lost Boys as part of his school."
"His dagger did look rather well used," said Jade. "And he was adept as a bird when it came to flying."
Hearing a light chime, Riddle perked up as Tinkerbell flew into the camp.
She spoke to Riddle, who looked to the others.
"Peter is mostly asleep for the night. So long as the pirates don't wake him up, it should be okay to explore. Most of the pirates generally hit the brothels by this time anyway."
"So where to first?" asked Lilia.
"We'll need our own supplies. Avoid the water, because I wouldn't eat anything that came out of that ocean," said Riddle firmly.
"Why?" asked Azul.
"Well unless you want to eat fish that have been feasting on countless corpses from a nearby cave..." said Riddle sourly.
"That bad?" said Azul.
"I'll show you in the morning...there's a cave nearby where Peter likes to dump his victims once he's killed them. And heaven only knows what the local fish have picked up. It's honestly safer to go vegetarian."
When morning came, Riddle had gotten barely any sleep. To be fair, just being here was a nightmare in itself for him.
Azul had an inscrutable expression when Riddle showed him the cave. It was partially underwater, but Azul was able to swim down below. There were a lot of dead bodies down there. It was clear that the place had been used as an unofficial burial ground for quite a long time for it to have accumulated to that extent.
He said nothing to Riddle, but there was a look of understanding as to why he called this "Peter Pan" a demon. Even in the semi-dark of the cave, Azul could clearly see the markings of a dagger or other sharp, but small blade on some of the bones.
A dagger that fit the description of the one Jade had seen Peter openly carrying on his belt.
~*~*~~*
It took all of three days to discover why Riddle was so terrified of the open water, and it was pure luck that Floyd was around to save him.
Finding out Neverland had some particularly vicious feral mermaids explained quite a bit, as Floyd didn't hesitate to dive into the water when he heard Riddle's terrified yell followed by a particularly loud splash.
The water below was murky, but Floyd was used to much darker areas and they were close enough to the surface that he could see well enough.
Riddle's bright red hair was rather captivating underwater, but any interest Floyd might have had in some fun died the second he registered the feral mermaids with their teeth and claws out, intent on dragging him down to the depths to feast.
"Hands off, that goldfish is mine," he snarled at them.
The lead mermaid barely cast a glance at him.
"Silence half-breed. The brat is ours!"
Oh she did not just say that to him.
"So you bitches want a good squeeze? I'll be happy to oblige," he sneered.
Their expressions when his features melted into his true mermaid form were rather pleasing. Riddle had a semi-terrified look on his face, as he had a rather justified fear of mermaids. Little wonder if his first exposure to them were this lot.
Floyd's tail whipped too fast for them to dodge, and the one keeping Riddle from swimming up yelped in pain and surprise. That swiftly turned to rage as their prey was taken by Floyd.
Before Riddle could do anything, Floyd pressed his mouth onto his own and breathed. It took Riddle a second to realize what Floyd was doing before he relaxed slightly.
Floyd got him up to the surface, and Riddle coughed up the remaining water in his lungs. Floyd, however, had business with these vermin. He found Riddle's description of the 'sea hags' very appropriate for this pack of ferals.
By the time Jade and Azul tracked them down, the water was downright bloody. Floyd had cheerfully thrown one of the hags into the rocks above, causing the lone exit to be blocked. Any attempts to escape was swiftly met with Floyd squeezing the life out of yet another feral.
"What in the name of the Seven is going on?" demanded Azul.
"Floyd's in a fight with the sea hags of the cove," said Riddle, his voice raspy. His eyes were locked onto the water which was getting bloodier by the minute.
"And he didn't think to invite me? For shame," said Jade with a smirk.
Azul didn't bother to join them. Riddle looked incredibly shaken up and his clothes were downright soaked.
"What happened?"
"That bastard Peter happened. I was attempting to reach some food from a tree and he pulled the branch down far enough that I lost my balance and fell into the cove. If Floyd hadn't been there, I'd be dead," growled Riddle.
He had thought himself safe because that particular tree wasn't too close to the outer edge of the cliff around the cove...he should have expected Peter to pull that trick. The grass had been too slick for him to get a proper hold and pull himself up, and his ribs were still hurting from the sudden crash into the unforgiving water. He was just lucky he hadn't hit any of the rocks below.
The water was starting to calm down now, though Riddle did his best not to look at the badly damaged sea hags that had traumatized him.
He was slowly beginning to go into shock when he felt someone pick him up in a princess hold. It took him several seconds to register the familiar and comforting presence of Floyd.
Lilia stood watch over him as the shock hit and hit hard. Floyd didn't leave his side once, crooning over him and assuring him that those "feral sea hags" were now well and truly dead.
He vaguely recalled Riddle mentioning they had stolen several things of his, and vowed to go looking in the cove once the water settled again. It hadn't taken much to open up an area for the fishes to have their unexpected treat of mermaid flesh.
He could have sworn he heard the sound of some sort of clock ticking nearby, which made very little sense as most clocks didn't do well underwater.
The next morning, Floyd made sure Riddle was in the capable hands of Lilia before going down into the cove.
The bodies had mostly sank into the depths, but he still found remnants of them. It would likely take some time for them to be turned into fish food, but there was evidence of something bigger taking more than a few bites out of them. Good riddance, though it was little wonder Riddle was terrified of open water if these sea hags had been around.
His pretty little goldfish would have been prime meat for hags like them. They would have attempted to drown him any chance they had, just for a taste.
Diving in, Floyd began looking around the usual areas one would hide things.
Most of the artifacts were too degraded, or broken to be of any real interest. He wanted a real prize to present to his little goldfish, mostly as a sign that he was a suitable mate.
Riddle had so far been ambivalent to his advances, but he wanted a real connection. Had he been back in the Coral Sea he would have scoured the countless wrecks on the ocean floor for something he knew Riddle would like. There was always some treasure or another in those things.
A glint caught his eye, and he knew he found it. It was a very pretty thing, very high class even to his inexpert eyes. Azul would likely know more about it.
It was clearly made of real gold, because there wasn't a hint of rust on it. It looked real fancy too, with a deep red gem the color of fresh blood in the center surrounded by some ornate carvings. The pendant looked old, likely an heirloom of some sort. Whatever it was, it had been down there for a considerable amount of time with all the growth around it.
It took Floyd a bit of careful work to dislodge the prize from it's resting place. He was sure his goldfishie would love it.
Riddle took one look at the pendant and nearly cried.
"How did you find it so quickly?" he asked. Floyd was a bit taken aback by the tears that were threatening to spill from his goldfishie's eyes.
"What is it?" asked Azul. It was clear the item was very important to the normally stoic Riddle.
"It's the pendant my mother gave me," said Riddle. "I had planned to ask Floyd or Jade to see if they could locate it, as those sea hags stole it from me a while back. I had tried to get it myself, but they had nearly drowned me if Tinkerbell hadn't stopped them."
Lilia looked at Riddle.
"So I take it there's no real reason for us to stick around here anymore, is there?"
"There is one last thing we need to do before we leave," said Riddle. He had carefully put the pendant around his neck by this point.
Tinkerbell had a look of defeat and knew that this had to happen. Peter Pan had caused enough damage, and the only way to put an end to it was to take out the source of his ability to fly. Without it, his ability to escape the island dropped drastically.
So long as Hook left the area, Peter wouldn't be able to leave Neverland ever again, and the source of his immortality would hopefully dry up in short order. Him and the rest of the Lost Boys.
It was time to end things.