Wild Star
by Samantha
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Joss owns who he owns, lyrics are from "Dive right it" by story of the year.
Notes: Yeah I hadn't planned to go Peter Pan with this, but everytime I see the movie I become obsessed for a while, and this just seemed like such fun, let's see how it goes.
::so here I go I'll dive right it break through the waves straight to the ocean floor::
I kinda just let the whole Peter Pan thing sink in as we walk back to my apartment. I don't doubt he's telling the truth, but at the same time how could it be true? It's just a story. Yeah, yeah, I know and vampires are just horror movie stuff. That blows a big whole in my 'just a story' argument.
Todd, I mean Peter, and Braden (Who the fuck is he really anyway? Tinkerbell?) are following behind B and I, none of us saying anything as we trudge up the stairs, and onto the balcony that runs along all the apartments. I open the door and leave it open for the others to follow. Maria jumps up as we walk in.
"Where have you been? It's been hours since you left, I thought something had happened."
"No, well we did run into one of those ubervamps," I answered sitting hard on the couch.
"And?" She asked, sitting next to me.
"Got our asses fairly well beat, but came out on top." I told her. B sat on the other side of me, and Braden and Peter nervously sat in front of us.
"Barely on top," B added, just for that bit of team moral I suppose. She isn't lying though.
"Oh, and Todd has informed us he is Peter Pan. Did I mention that yet? No I don't think I did." Maria raises an eyebrow at me. "That's what I said." I nodded.
"As in fly around and hang with fairies?" She asked.
"And not the gay kind," I confirm, she looks at Peter, who gives her a half-cocked smile.
"Fly," she orders, not wasting any kind words. He looked back at her for a moment, then at Buffy and me. I looked over at B and shrugged.
"Go on, get," I waved a hand at him, motioning him to show us what he's got. He seems to think about it for a minute, then stands up and promptly floats up to hover a foot off the ground. Okay, I admit it, that's pretty freaky. But also wicked cool. I look over at Braden. "And you?"
Braden gives me a grin and floats up, legs still crossed Indian style, Peter looks over at him and smiles. Together they float back to land on the ground again. Peter looks up at me expectantly, as if only waiting for my reaction.
"Holy shit," is all I can give him right now.
"So you gonna explain this to us kid?" Maria asks.
"It's a long story," he stalls.
"Out with it," B commands, Peter sighs.
"Alright, but I am hungry, let me get something to eat first."
He comes back to the living room with a box of half empty cold pizza. I wouldn't have thought I was hungry, but as soon as I saw it I dug in. Faith just seems more and more right about the whole hungry and horny thing. Settled back with a piece of pizza, Peter starts the story.
"Okay, I am assuming you guys know the basic story."
"Sure, boy never grows up, fairies, pirates, Indians, Wendy." Maria nods.
"Wendy," Peter says with a faint smile. "She's the reason you know anything about this. The reason anyone does. Only her name wasn't really Wendy, it was Sylvia, Sylvia Llewelyn Davies's, she's the one who told Barrie to write the story."
"Barrie?" I frowned, knowing I knew something about that name. "J.M. Barrie?"
"Yeah, I know everyone thinks it's just a story he made up for her kids, but that's not true. The truth is they were both in Neverland, but we called him slightly, on account of him being so small. And her husband was Nibs. Truth is her little brothers never made it back to England, John was killed, and Michael just refused to leave. Her parents were heartbroken, and she couldn't really explain what happened to them."
"But Nibs and Slightly went back with her? I thought all the lost boys did," Faith asks, and I nod in agreement, that was the way I heard the story too.
"That was just how they changed it, they wanted it to be a happy story, truth was both Nibs and Slightly fell in love with her, and when we found a way to get her out safely, they followed her. Nibs was the one she fell in love with though, and Slightly never got over it. When they came back to try to help us again, he was too scared, and stayed behind, Sylvia and Nibs never made it back to England that second time. And after that Slightly made a point to raise their boys to know about us, and to try to help, because they were a part of it whether they wanted to be or not. Three of them eventually gave their lives trying to help us."
He paused taking a bite of his pizza, and I made a conscious effort to release the tension in my shoulders, I hadn't realized how involved I was with the story. I looked over at the other two and they were hunched forward as well. Peter began again and I turned back to him.
"You see the only way to get to Neverland is to fly. And to fly, you need to be changed just a little bit. And it's not by fairy dust. See me, Nibs, Hobbs and Tootles were the ones from there, Neverland I mean. At least the only ones mentioned in the book, and so to be able to fly we need to mix a little of our blood with yours, and that makes you part what we are."
"And you are?" Faith asks raising an eyebrow expectantly.
"Kindkriegers. There used to be thousands of us, but now with the Orpomho's it's hard to keep more than ten or twelve of us alive at a time, and most of those aren't even from there anymore. That's why we got Sylvia, we needed to breed I have to say. But once we got to know her we realized we couldn't use her like that. But one of her sons, and Slightly's older adopted brother both came to join us. But we keep getting killed, and six months ago seven of us left, we were trying to trap the Orpomho's out here, but with me out of us all out of Neverland, they were just able to move in and out of there more freely. And now Braden and I are the only ones left on this side. Two others went back, but all the other three were killed over here."
I stare hard at Peter, not sure what to say. I had only thought he lost his parents, which, sure, woulda been bad. But to constantly be loosing people you loved? That was unbearable. We needed to fix this somehow. I look at B and she is looking at me, I have a feeling probably thinking the same thing I am.
"So what are you going to do now?" I ask, reaching for a second piece of pizza.
"We have to go back. The plan didn't work, and if we go back they will be sucked back with us, which will at least keep everyone here safe. They are tied to us for some reason."
"You can't leave right now, it's almost dawn," I point out. Peter looks to the window looking a little shocked to see the first signs of morning approaching.
"We just have to hurry," he stands as if to go, Braden looks up at him frowning. "If it gets light we'll be lost Peter." Peter sighed and sat down again.
"I guess one more day will be okay."
"Let's get some sleep then," B says standing.
"I guess I oughta go home then," Maria adds, as she stands.
"Oh no," B tells her, placing a hand on her chest, and pushing her back to the couch. "It is not safe out there and none of us are going out until tomorrow night when we leave for Neverland, and we are stopping in Brazil on the way to pick up Willow and Kennedy. Another slayer and a kick ass Wicca are just what this mission needs. Now everyone off to bed, Peter, Braden is with you, Maria you got the couch, and Faith, I'm with you."
I look up at her in awe, and I know Maria and they boys are too, way to take charge Buffy. I mean that was what I was thinking, but I was gonna run it by her first. Apparently she is okay with the plan. A smile starts to spread across my face; we are in for one hell of an adventure, and sharing a bed won't be half bad either.
Disclaimer: Joss owns them, lyrics to Take My Breath Away, the Jessica Simpsons version, cause I don't know who sang it before.
Notes: This is some more teasing for Tera, I know she loves it=)
::Turning and returning to some secret place inside watching in slow motion as you turn around and say my love take my breath away::
An hour after I lay down I feel Faith crawl into the bed. She's trying to be quiet, but I've been awake the whole time, by now I can pale fingers of light pushing around the curtains and into the room. I roll over to face her once she is settled in the bed.
"Peter okay?" I ask.
"Yeah," she answers, sounding a little startled that I am awake. "Just eager to get this whole thing started."
"That makes sense," I nod, it's still pretty dark but I know she can see me, just like I can see her. "He's pretty strong to have been through what he's gone through."
"No shit. I broke down over less than that." She laughs a little, and I see her wince.
"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting up on my elbow.
"Just definitely tore some healing tissue in the fight tonight. I had to bandage up my stomach again."
"Are you alright?" I ask, placing a hand on her stomach near the bandage. She doesn't answer, and I know we have both become hyper aware of my hand on her stomach, skin to bare skin, my thumb resting on the hem of her thin tank top. Every inch of my body is tingling, and I feel like there's a storm in the room, I almost jump as her hand touches mine.
"I'm fine, B," her hand runs up my arm and to my face, and she leans forward to kiss my forehead. I shut my eyes letting my body do the thinking, and simply enjoy the sensation for the second before she pulls away, and my half of the bed seems awfully lonely. "Anyway, he stood a lot more than I could," she continues our conversation.
"Why do you always talk down about yourself like that?" I ask, feeling angry with her, both for what she is saying, and the fact that she isn't touching me anymore.
"What?" She sounds genuinely confused.
"You always talk like you're a big asshole."
"I am B. If I remember correctly you once told me that if I apologized you would 'beat me to death'. People don't say that unless you're an asshole. You guys didn't ever want me to be a part of your thing."
"You pushed us away Faith. Just as much as I pushed you away," I say angrily, sighing when she doesn't reply. "You were this cool new slayer, and I was jealous."
"I was a fucked up kid who didn't know anything, B, there was nothing to be jealous of. And I don't think you realize how hard it was for me to be with you guys. You were all best friends forever, and I never felt like I could fit in with you, I felt so alone with all of you."
"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask, all the anger gone from my voice.
"I don't know. I only ever felt comfortable when it was just you and me, and I didn't want to ruin that."
"Oh," I don't really know what else to say to that.
She's quiet for a few minutes, and I shut my eyes to sleep, figuring she's passed out. I didn't mean to make her feel bad, it's just the truth about how I felt back then. It was better last time I was in Sunnydale, but I still feel best when it's just me and her, even if she is trying to kill me. I feel her roll over and snake an arm high across my stomach, nuzzling her head into my shoulder, and I freeze for a moment, wondering if she is asleep.
Finally I figure she is, and maneuver enough to slide an arm under and around her, she lifts herself up to let me, and at the same time leans up to kiss my lower jaw, feelings explode through me and I can't help bend my head to meet her lips. I hold back though and don't ravage her the way my body wants me too, I keep the kiss gentle, but even that makes me light headed. She pulls away from the kiss, but only enough to lie back down.
Fuck, did I just fuck up? I don't think so; she wouldn't still be sleeping with me like this if I had flipped her out. Plus she was the one who kissed me first; she was the one who snuggled up to me. I don't need to freak out, I need to relax and get some sleep. Right, because relaxing, and sleeping is so easy with her warm body pressed against me.
It's almost dark when I wake up, and she is still pressed against me, possibly even more tangled into me. I am surprised I was able to fall asleep at all; it was definitely fully morning by the time I passed out. I smile down at her, loving the weight of her against me, and I would stay in bed forever if it wasn't for the desperate need to pee.
Slowly I remove myself from her grip, amazingly without waking her, I make my way quietly into the bathroom. After using the toilet, and brushing my teeth I go quietly back through my room, slipping on a short pair of sleep shorts, and heading out the sliding door onto my tiny balcony.
I open the jar on the table and pull out my cigarettes, lighting one I put the rest back, and lean on the railing to think in the near darkness.
She is never in bed when I wake up. And honestly I don't know how she got out without waking me; I was pretty well on top of her. I don't know how I ever fell asleep last night after that kiss. All I wanted was for her to kiss me again, but I knew we shouldn't, we needed sleep.
I pull myself out of the bed and notice the curtain blowing in from the sliding door; apparently she is out on the balcony. I step through the door and she's leaning on the railing, looking miles away from here, I sneak up behind her and slide my arms around her waist.
"Hey there," she says nonchalantly, but I can feel her pulse speeding up, especially when she turns and her eyes take me in. I hadn't really considered that I was still only wearing a black tank top that ended an inch above my recently pierced belly button, and lace boy short panties that started a couple inches below it. I stand there enjoying the feeling of her eyes all over me as she takes another long drag of her cigarette before putting it out. Her fingers reach out, brushing over my stomach as she runs her thumb over the piercing.
"When did you get this?"
"A couple months ago. Dawn talked me into it one afternoon."
"She talked you into it? You of the 'by the hand of god I will never put another hole in my body that's not in my ears'?"
"She's pretty persuasive," I shrug. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," she grins, and I know she is telling the truth; she likes everything in front of her right now.
Holy fuck, B. Never in a million years would I expect to be standing with a partially clad Buffy standing way to close on my balcony. I know she knows what she is doing to me, because the same thing is happening to her. I can feel the heat radiating of her, and her pulse quickening as I run my hand over her toned stomach, it seems unconscious as she pushes herself closer to me so we're touching from the waist down. I let my hand run upwards, brushing teasingly against her breast as it passes, her breath catches a little and she shuts her eyes as I do this, and I have to smile. In the back of my mind I quickly consider the show any curious neighbor is getting, and then decide I don't care as one of her fingers hooks into the waist of my shorts pulling me closer to her as she presses harder against me, and it's my turn to catch my breath.
"What are you doing, B?" I ask, biting my lip as I try to keep my eyes open when she slowly starts to grind against me.
"I have no fucking clue," she answers, green eyes opening to bore into mine, her voice so thick it's barely recognizable. I slide a hand around her back, trying to pull her closer, which seems to be a physical impossibility.
"Hate to interrupt," comes Maria's voice from the doorway. Buffy tries to spin, and pull away from me, but I hold her tight where she is. I lean my head over to see Maria, who is standing, eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah?" Is all I give her, and she rolls her eyes.
"Peter says we have to get going if you want to get Willow and Kennedy."
"We'll be right there," I answer. She stands there for a minute waiting, then shakes her head and walks away.
"Shit," B says, again trying to pull away. I hold her tight and spin us so she is the one pressed against the railing. This time I kiss her roughly, making sure every inch of our bodies are touching. When I pull away she is looking at me somewhat dazed.
"This isn't over," I smile at her and head back into the bedroom to get dressed.
Disclaimer: Joss owns some of them, lyrics to By Myself, by Linkin Park.
::I can't hold on to what I want when I'm stretched so thin I can't hold on to anything watching everything spin::
It took me a few minutes to catch my breath, and by the time I was dressed and in the living room Faith and the others were already helping themselves to yet more cold pizza. Faith caught my eyes and raised her eyebrows at me, smiling promisingly. Just that little thing made me blush, and I quickly dived into eating my own piece of pizza.
"So Peter figures that if we leave as soon as it's full dark we will be able to swing by to get Red and her little woman, no problem," Faith informs me.
"Sounds good," I nod, not wanting to meet her eyes again. I glanced outside instead, noticing that we only had maybe a half hour till it was full dark. "That's not too long though."
"Well while you two were doing....whatever...in there, the rest of us took advantage of the time we had to pack a few bags of snacks," Maria said, not trying very hard not to mention we were making out. I glared over at her, and she gave me a sweet smile. "Don't worry princess, Peter said we didn't need to bring many other clothes, there wouldn't be a point in Neverland."
"I wasn't really worried about that Maria. Your little skank of the Amazon bikini top should work just fine there huh?" Collectively all eyes in the room turned to ogle her barely covered breasts. It was as if they had all just been waiting for a reason. To her credit she placed her hands on her hips and thrust her breasts out towards me.
"Peter said it was hot there. Not to mention the heat from your bedroom made sleeping in this top a necessity." I looked at Faith for support, she was grinning wildly, and I wanted to smack the grin right off her face. She apparently noticed this and the smile disappeared.
"Maria, lay off. B...eat your pizza so we can go."
Okay, so it wasn't much of a defense of me, but I'll take what I can get. It doesn't take me too long to finish the pizza, and soon the five of us are waiting on the balcony in front of Faith's front door as the sun sets.
"So why do we have to wait for the sun to set?" Faith asks, not turning from the view.
"I dunno, just doesn't work here in the sun." Peter shrugged. "Works fine back home whenever."
"Long as you got fairy dust," grinned Braden.
"Yeah, so how's that gonna work with us?" Maria asked, bringing up a point the rest of us had forgotten. "I haven't seen any fairies flitting about you. If I had I may have guessed the whole Peter Pan thing way earlier."
"Yeah where is Tink?" Faith asked.
"Tink was killed years ago. Hook got to her," it was clear from his voice that Peter wasn't giving any more details than that. "I just carry fairy dust now, it's easier."
I watched as he pulled out a small vial, its contents shimmering vaguely in the streetlights. With the sun almost set he poured some out into his hand, and handed the vial to Braden to close up.
"Now this isn't going to feel very good," he admitted. "My blood is already mixed in with the dust, and it's going to burn at first, just breath it in deep and wait it out. Thinking happy thoughts does seem to numb you to it a little bit."
And with that he threw pinches of the dust into each of our faces. I didn't even have to think about breathing in deep, it was like the dust was forcing its way into me, it was something like I am sure inhaling glass would be, I could actually feel the little cuts forming in my lungs and throat. I doubled over coughing, then tried to breath in deeper. Happy thoughts have to think happy thoughts. I thought about kissing Faith, and for a split second it all seemed real, I knew it was in my head, but I could feel her hands on me, my lips pressed against her, me pulling her closer.
I let out another racking cough and it was all over. I found myself on the ground, still coughing a little. I wiped my mouth and the hand came away bloody, I glanced around at the other two, who were also on the ground, and then around at the world. It was darker now than it had been, but in my eyes everything seemed clearer, and as I pulled myself up I realized I could feel the wind cooler against me, and hear the waves crashing on the beach.
"Fuck," Faith said as she pulled herself up. I reached over to help her up and almost let go of her hand when we touched, that little touch made my body feel on fire, and from the way she was looking at me I knew she felt it too. "Fuck." She muttered again.
"That's some good shit," Maria nodded, leaning against the railing, eyes closed, looking practically edible in the small top she had put on over her bathing suit. I had to tear my eyes away, I realized Faith's hand was still in mine, she moved it slightly and my knees got weak.
"Fuck," I swore. "Is this how you guys really sense things?" I asked with my eyes shut, hardly able to take in everything.
"It calms down," Peter smiled. "It's thick in your blood right now. In a few minutes it will seep into the rest of you and the effects will dilute some. You'll still have heightened senses, but you'll be able to open your eyes."
I opened my eyes then, smiling at him for noticing how overwhelmed I was. I realized that it was calming down, Faith's hand wasn't near as warm in mine, and the waves weren't so loud.
Can't say I won't miss having B wiggle her finger be about enough to send me off, but I don't think I could truly function that way. She's looking around now and I know things are calming down inside her same as they are for me.
"Time to get Red then?" I ask.
"Yeah," B nods. "You ready?" She glances over at Maria, and I look too, seems she is taking a little longer than us, which can only be expected since she isn't a slayer. She takes a deep breath and pushes herself away from the railing.
"I'm good. But fuck man if we could bottle that stuff." She wipes the sweat from her forehead, and smiles at me. "Good stuff."
"So Brazil?" Peter asks.
"Haven't been there in a while," Braden adds.
"Let's go," I pick up the backpack and slung it over my shoulders. "How do we do this?"
"Just the same as you pick up that backpack. Just tell yourself to fly." Peter explained. I did what he said and nothing seemed to happen, but glancing down I saw I was hovering about a foot off the balcony. All the others are hovering right with me. "Follow me," Peter grins, and suddenly wonder how I missed the famous Peter Pan grin all along. He flies off the balcony and shoots straight up into the night, quickly we follow him, and the feeling is amazing.
I hardly blink and we are far above the tallest building in sight, Peter is hovering, waiting for the rest of us to catch up. I reach him first, and return the huge smile he's giving me.
"You like it?" He asks.
"Hell yeah," I nod.
"I knew you would. I wanted to tell you so many times."
"Thanks," I smile as the others catch up. Braden is taking up the back, apparently making sure none of us smile. B comes to a stop next to me, and wraps her fingers in mine. I smiles over at her, squeezing her hand.
"Got the hang of it?" Peter asks, B and Maria both nod. "Good, we're gonna go higher, and then straight on till Brazil. Let's go."
He's off again in a flash, the rest of us struggling to keep up. Actually once I get going it's not hard for me to be as fast as him, but B is still holding my hand. I never thought I would want her to let go of my hand. God knows I spent enough time thinking about it before, and wishing she would hold it. But now all I want is to be flying free with Peter. Still I stay back with her, looking only somewhat longingly up ahead at Peter, then at Maria as she flies faster after him.
"You want me to wait back here with you?" Braden asks, flying next to me.
"Nah, we got the hang of it, go ahead."
He takes off spinning wildly and catching up to Peter in no time, both of them goofing, and showing off. Now the lights of the earth below are mere specks and I realize that we shouldn't be able to breath this high, apparently another bonus of having a little of Peter's blood in us.
"We should catch up, B." I tell her, looking longingly ahead to where the boys are teaching Maria to flip in the air, their laughter comes floating back to me.
"Okay, a little bit, but I just kinda want to be with you," she answers, giving me a big-eyed look that I can't resist. We fly a little closer, but after that look I can't help but stay back with her for the rest of the trip. After another hour or I see Peter slow down and fall back to be even with us.
"We're just above them now, a little dive and we'll be there alright?"
"Sounds good," B answers.
"Do they know we're coming?" I asked.
"No, I couldn't really figure out how to explain it to them except in person," she smiled.
"Alright then, big surprise entrance here we come," with a grin I pull B into a dive behind the others.
Disclaimer: Joss owns them, lyrics belong to MXPX "first day of the rest of our lives".
::Not a lot right now makes sense to me and I won't go quietly not a lot right now makes sense to me and I won't wait patiently::
Okay so maybe I didn't think this totally through. The exact amount that Willow is gonna be freaked by this comes rushing into my head as the five of us look in the living room window of their third floor apartment. I mean Will has seen a lot in her day, but this? This is something special. Taking a deep breath I lift my hand and knock sharply twice on the window.
Their heads snap toward us immediately, and Willow's eyes go comically wide before she rushes over, throwing up the window. She looks out at us for a second in awe, then looks down as if confirming that we have not hijacked one of those window washer things to stand on.
"This is interesting," is all she says. "Um..wanna come in?" She backed away from the window and I lead the others in, all of us landing silently on the rug. Kennedy is leaning against the arm of the sofa smirking at us.
"Slayers, always gotta make an entrance don't you?" She asks. I ignore her for the moment, turning to hug Willow.
"God I missed you," I tell her, and she hugs me warmly back.
"Me too. Now, you want to tell me what is going on here?"
"Sure," Faith volunteers, "This is Peter Pan, this is a lost boy, and this is the hot girl I work with." She points to each of them in turn, and I see Kennedy giving Maria an appreciative once over.
"Peter Pan?" Will arches an eyebrow. "Is she back on the crazy train?" She asks, turning to me.
"Nope, just a one way flight to Neverland, wanted to know if you were up for the trip," I grin, I can't help it, this whole situation is just insane.
"You're Peter?" Willow asks, turning to Peter, who nods, crossing his arms proudly over his chest.
"You are a powerful witch? Buffy says you are. We need your help to fight the Orpomho's. Well you know them as pirates."
"Wow, Buffy." Willow shook her head.
"What?" I asked.
"You just end up with the weirdest people."
"I'm ready for a little flight of fancy," Kennedy chimed in, walking cockily towards Peter. "Gonna dust me up big guy?"
"Think you can handle it? After all you are just a girl," Peter shot back.
"Just a girl who can kick your ass from now till doomsday little boy." Kennedy answered, standing her ground, Peter grinned up at her.
"I like you," he told her.
"Most guys do, but I play for the other team if you know what I mean," Kennedy winked at him, giving him a peck on the cheek, behind her Braden starting laughing hysterically at Peter's face.
"Hate to bust up the party kids, but we got a time limit here don't we?" Faith asked, looking like she didn't really care about the limit at all.
"Yeah, we have to hurry," Peter answered, looking cautiously out the window.
"Are you going to help?" I asked Willow.
"Of course we are, you heard my girlfriend. Dust us up," she grinned, and things felt like old times.
Peter went through the ritual again, covering them in the dust. It was kinda neat to see the whole thing from this side, for a few seconds after they inhaled the fairy dust their entire skin glowed a pale blue that seemed to almost pulsate. Both of them collapsed to the floor, only to stand up seconds later, eyes wide as they looked around the apartment.
"Oh, shit," Willow said as she stared around the room.
"It calms down Red, don't worry," Faith put a comforting hand on Willow's arm, and for a moment Willow clung to her, eyes shut tight until the overwhelming feelings past.
"That was like. It was like before when I," she didn't finish the sentence, she didn't need to, we knew. I saw Maria give Faith a quizzical look, but Faith just shook her head.
"You alright baby?" Kennedy asked, reaching to pull her girlfriend to her.
"Yeah," Willow nodded. "Fine now. I'll pack some supplies and we can go. Alright?"
"Hurry," Peter answered, all joking gone from his voice as he stared up into the night sky.
Gotta love friends whose windows you can show up floating outside in the middle of the night, who are not only still up, but require very little convincing to get them to fly away to another world with you. I smirked at my own thoughts and B threw me a questioning look. I shook my head at her, not wanting her to worry.
Red, and Kennedy were ready in a few minutes and soon we were off again. Kennedy's eyes lit up as we first took off, and I couldn't help but watch in awe as she quickly got the hang of it and was looping all over the sky.
Soon the novelty of flying started to wear off a bit and we fell into a line, all of us following Peter to a place we had only read about, or seen in movies. Let me tell you, they do nothing to prepare you for what it really was like. Sure maybe they had the Orpomho's, but the island itself made Hawaii look like a joke. The sun was just rising over the far side of the island as we swooped towards it. Mountains lined the far side, while the rest was pure tropical paradise, flowers and trees visible already.
Peter didn't lead us too low, but pointed out the pirate ship down below in the harbor. It was huge, bigger than I had ever expected it to be, looking almost like some sort of ancient marine tanker. Which I guess in a way it kinda was.
"That's where they are," he said grimly. "With me back here they will all be pulled back within the day." I didn't have to ask to know he meant the Orpomho's.
"So who is Captain Hook?" I heard Kennedy ask as we started downwards into Neverland.
"That part's true, they do fancy themselves pirates, and they are in a way. Pirates stole from ships, right? Took them over? That's what the Orpomho's do. That's why Sylvia called them pirates. We can call them that too, it's easier for you. They have been trying to take over Neverland for years, and years. My father cast a spell so that they have to be here as long as I am."
"How come they can't beat you? Cast you out?" B asks.
"As long as me and the others are alive it can't happen, we all have to be dead."
"This is just sounding funner and funner," I quipped, pulling back a little to land safely on my feet in a clearing, B didn't land quite so gracefully, and stumbled a little, falling into me. I grabbed her, holding her up for a moment, and again was overwhelmed by the contact. She took her time moving away from me and I saw Red and Kennedy exchange a look.
"Come on, you have to meet the others," Peter took off into the forest, followed by Braden, both boys running faster than I thought possible. I figured Red and Maria would have some trouble keeping up, not being slayers and all that, but obviously the fairy dust had changed them. Soon all of us ground to a halt in front of a large tree, the trunk was easily ten feet across. Peter was staring at it.
"What's up?" I asked, looking worriedly at him, then I looked at the trunk. The writing was almost the same color as the tree now, not recent. It have obviously been blood, and enough blood that whoever had lost it was now not with us.
"Hook," I heard Peter say under his breath.
'Run little boys run,' was all the writing said, but it was enough to send chills down my spine. Somehow I knew it had been a little boy whose blood had been used for this wicked note.
"Peter," we turned as one to the small voice that came from the woods.
"Noah?" Peter ran to meet the small boy who tumbled out of the woods. And I mean small, kid couldn't have been more than seven or eight, and not very big for his age. "What happened?" Peter asked, catching Noah.
"It was Hobbs, Peter. They got in while we were sleeping," Noah sniffled a little, B took my hand, looking sadly up at me, I pulled her close.
"Hobbs," Peter spoke quietly, looking lost in himself.
"Not just Hobbs either, they just used him," Noah took a deep breath, "used him to write that. They got Holland, Bailey, Fair, Thomas, and Ian too."
"Where are Aden and Thai?" Peter asked, taking charge once again.
"In the caves," Noah answered, trying to straighten up, maybe to match Peter's bravery. God I felt bad for the kid.
"Then we'll go to the caves. You guys ready?" Peter asked over his shoulder, we all nodded as one.
"Five more dead before we even got here, great start," I thought sarcastically. I was angry, and from the set of Faith's jaw I knew she was too. Noah is so little; it's hard to imagine him fighting anything. Peter's letting him lead right now, and we're all following him. The poor kid's dirty, and his white t-shirt has definitely seen whiter days, as have his cargo pants, which looks a size or so too big anyway. This can't be an easy life, and I wonder what happened to him before to make him think this was a better alternative.
"Just a little farther, Peter," Noah gave him a smile; I could tell the kid looked up to him. "We hid out real good to wait for you. Knew you'd be back soon."
"Couldn't leave you kiddo," Braden gave him a brotherly slug on the arm, and Noah absolutely beamed with pride, curly hair falling adorably over his eye. We came to the top of a rise and Noah cut to the right. Fifteen or twenty feet later and we came to a cave.
"This the place?" Faith asked, looking dubiously at it.
"We're far in it," Noah explained. "It's real dark, so be careful."
"No problem," Willow smiled. She said something I couldn't hear and a glowing orb appeared by Noah's shoulder.
"Cool," he beamed looking at it.
"You lead and it will stay with you. Okay?" Willow smiled at him.
"Okay," he nodded, leading us into the darkness.
We were winding through the caves for a good ten minutes before we finally came into a fairly large cavern, Noah went to a boulder on the far side of the room, shoving it aside to reveal a small tunnel, we all filed in, Braden last pulling the boulder back over the hole. Another similar boulder sat at the end of the tunnel, past that and we were finally in their hideout.
"Peter!" Two boys jumped at him as we entered, both looked around his age, one maybe younger, one maybe older, it was hard to tell.
"Nice pad," Kennedy said, looking around.
"Tight," Maria agreed, nodding. It really was nice, beds carved into the walls, soft pads on top of them, makeshift couches, a table, flowers and vines decorating the whole place. Not what you expect from a cave.
"Who are they?" The blonde boy asked.
"Friends from the other world. They are going to help us," Peter said proudly. I have to say neither the blonde boy, or his darker haired friend looked too impressed.
"They're girls," the dark haired boy said distain fully; all of us 'girls' exchanged smirks.
"They are more than that, Thai," Braden assured him.
"If you say so," the blonde, who I assumed was Aden, shrugged.
"So where have you been Peter? What adventures did you have," Noah asked excitedly, falling back onto one of the couches. Peter smiled at him, lifting himself up to the highest bed.
"I will tell you everything," and he started the story.
...to be continued...