Faith, Trust & Pixie dust.

Chapter 13

As the Jolly Roger passed the boundary into Neverland, Brook knew something was wrong. With Harry, now two, on her hip, she went up on deck and immediately wished she hadn’t. Neverland was broken. That was the only word for it. Half the island was covered in the dark of night, while the other half appeared to be stuck in the middle of the day. Every now and then a random bout of rain would hammer down on one particular area and then stop abruptly. Something appeared to be burning and there were deep cracks extending from the forest, down the beach and into the sea.

“What the…” Killian trailed off as they dropped the anchor, “What happened here?”

*

A shiver ran down Peter’s spine, “Someone’s here.” He grabbed Nyx’s hand and transported them both to the beach, narrowly avoiding the ravine that had formed.

“Nyx!” Brook shouted, splashing through the shallows, “What’s going on?”

Nyx ran out to meet her, sweeping her off her feet, “It’s a long story.”

“How long can it be? I mean it’s only been a few minutes for you guys since we last left?” Brook frowned, picking Harry up to stop him splashing water at her.

Nyx and Peter shared a look, “Actually it’s been a few weeks,” She paused, trying to collect her thoughts, “Time is moving on Neverland.”

*

Peter explained as best as he could, but since he didn’t know what was causing things, it was a very patchy explanation. Even so, it was terrifying. And the effects on the island weren’t even the worst part. Three Lost Boys were gone, time catching up to them all at once. The others had a slower but still noticeable effect. They had aged at least five years a piece. And there was nothing Peter could do to stop it.

“You should leave, it’s not safe for you and the twins,” Peter repeated, staring helplessly into the fire.

“What will you do?” Brook asked, clutching the twins close to her, her heart racing.

Peter shrugged, “I don’t know… I really don’t know.” Nyx pulled him into her arms and began stroking his hair calmingly, but it was clear it was taking a toll on her too.

“Would the fairies know something? They’ve always helped us pirates when we needed to get on the island,” Killian mused, staring around the camp warily.

Peter frowned at him, as if the thought didn’t occur to him.

“Maybe we should try?” Nyx suggested half-heartedly. Asking the mermaids for help didn’t exactly go well, she didn’t have high hopes.

Peter agreed, though with the same attitude as Nyx, and they laid out the plan. The Lost Boys would take the twins back to the Jolly Roger where they would take refuge with Killian’s crew. Brook and Killian were to go with Nyx and Peter to find the fairies. Brook kissed the twins goodbye, and said she would see them soon, but even so both cried relentless as the Lost Boys took them to safety. Peter sighed watching

them go, thinking of the promise he made to keep the twins safe. Truthfully, right now the safest thing for them was to be as far from Neverland as possible. He hated that something was out of his control. Neverland was his domain, and this should not have happened.

Pixie Hollow was on the far side of the island to the Lost Boy’s camp. Peter could transport them a portion of the way, but considering the fairies weren’t particularly fond of him, he figured it would be better to walk there instead of literally popping up unannounced. The four of them hiked the way to Pixie Hollow, alternating between sweating and freezing as the weather rapidly changed. Brook tried to keep the mood light by telling them how life was outside of Neverland. How they travelled between realms and explored new places, trading treasure and witty comebacks. The twins were walking and talking now, and the crew had followed in the Lost Boy’s lead and managed to teach them bad words behind Brook’s back. Killian found it hilarious though and nothing made him happier than to hear Harry or Harriett randomly shout curse words while they were playing. It was nice to hear that things were going so well for them, especially since Neverland had fallen into disarray.

The reached Pixie Hollow within three hours. Considering Killian was on good terms with the fairies, it was decided he should take the lead. Pixie Hollow was almost exactly what Nyx was expecting, and nothing like she expected. The ground sloped down into a deep bowl that was almost completely carpeted by moss, clover, and wildflowers. Trees, far taller than any she had seen yet, rose out of the ground. There were no low hanging branches though, they had been stripped away in favour of circular huts. Two or three were stacked on top of one another, hugging the trunks. Mostly they all look like giant acorns, but each had been decorated by it’s owner to be unique. This one had little stars and flowers painted on the outside, while another had painted theirs completely green. Some had actual flowers hung as garlands around windows, others had ivy growing and twisting up the sides. Everything was lit by a soft, unidentifiable glow that seemed to just resonate in the air around them. If anything on Neverland felt magical, it was this.

And then it wasn’t. The fairies caught sight of the group and were quickly whipped into a frenzy. They were hissing and shouting, telling them to leave. Leave. Leave! Get away from this place! They were furious and terrifying. Their faces alight with malice and fear.

“Enough!” Peter shouted, planting himself firmly in front of the group, “Bring me Tinkerbell! Now!”

The fairies quaked under his gaze, and shared a very terrified look between them, “She’s not here, Pan,” One of them sneered, clearly lying.

As with Alysia, Peter fumed. Staring down the fairy, he spoke slowly, quietly, dangerously, “Bring. Me. Tinkerbell.”

It was easy to see that they wanted to argue, maybe lie some more, but after a hushed and hurried conversation, they relented. Two fairies, one in a blue dress with similarly blue hair, the other a red head in orange, went to retrieve Tinkerbell. They returned quickly, both human sized this time, supporting a very obviously unwell Tinkerbell between them. She stumbled as she walked and clutched at her stomach like she was in pain. When they reached the group, she stood up straight.

Peter’s eyes went wide. Brook gasped. Both Killian and Nyx just stood in stunned silence. Tinkerbell was pregnant. Really pregnant. Ready to pop pregnant. She didn’t look at any of them, just tugged self consciously at the overly large t-shirt she was wearing. And suddenly there it was. The answers they had been looking for all along. Everything clicked together in Nyx’s mind like a puzzle that had been waiting

to be solved. In her mind she heard Peter tell Brook she couldn’t carry a baby to term on Neverland because time doesn’t move. Except time did start moving. And here was why.

“You did it. You tampered with Neverland’s time loop for her… for this?” Nyx whispered, too shocked to be angry.

Peter, however, was full of rage. His face was flushed, his nostrils flared, his hands clenched into fists, “You… you tampered with Neverland… You killed Lost Boys… Instead of leaving the island!” He started out quietly, but he was shouting by the end.

“We had to protect her!” One of the fairies shouted.

“You killed three of my Lost Boys! Who protects them while you fuck around with magic you know nothing about!” Peter fumed.

The fairies quivered under his gaze. Even Killian pulled Brook away, afraid she would get caught in the fire.

“Please, Peter,” Tink whispered, “They had to help me.”

Peter looked at Tink and his expression softened a little, “It changes nothing. People are dead Tink, because you. Because of them. You should have left the island, like these two did.” He gestured at Killian and Brook, who flinched.

“I couldn’t,” Tink cried, “I had to hide, it wasn’t safe.” She gasped, clutching her stomach, and dropped to her knees. At first, they thought she was simply crying but when she let out an ear-splitting scream, they realised it was something more. She was going into labour.