Hase - Before Ever After

Chapter 16 - Trust issues

"Yo-ho, mateys. What took you so long?".

Hook asked rhetorically with a wide smirk printed on his face.

"Hook!". Peter shouted while staring with a serious look at the pirate.

"How did you know we were coming?". He asked.

"Tsk, tsk... You really don't know? Poor, innocent Peter. You should be more careful who you trust to help you out". Hook replied and shook his head.

Peter immediately understood what he meant. Disappointment covered his face as he sunk in the information.

The worst part is that he wasn't disappointed in the mermaids, he knew exactly how they acted towards strangers, and that they could be ruthless when jealous, and that's why he was disappointed in himself. He should've known better, he got too excited about helping a certain princess on her mission and acted recklessly, now look what it got them.

"Really? Wooden cages? What do you think we are? Animals?". Hawk asked and nodded his head to Travis, signaling for him to manage the situation.

Travis grabbed the cage and lifted it up like a feather, throwing it far away from them.

Had he had not been too worried about his revenge on Peter, the captain would be impressed by how easily they got away from his trap, but as soon as they freed themselves, he ordered the crew to attack.

The heroes split up and started to fight the pirates, taking them down easily by using their magic, after all, the weapons that the pirates disposed of were not really effective against magic.

Noticing their efforts weren't paying off, they changed the strategy. In a blink of an eye, all the pirates regrouped and focused on their initial target: Rose.

When the others noticed, it was too late. They had already ambushed Rose, and she was now being held by the neck by one of the pirates, who had a knife pointed to her in the other hand.

"Let her go". Hawk and Peter shouted in unison, immediately turning to each other with an annoyed look.

Peter turned his gaze to Hook, who was standing a little far from the crew with a satisfied grin on his face.

"So, you care about her, Peter?". Hook asked, rhetorically, clearly seeing Peter's anger raising as he clenched his fists and teeth.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, I'm not gonna do your friend any harm... As long as you're willing to switch places with her. Surrender and I'll let your friend go".

As soon as Hook finished his terms, a shout was heard from the lake inside the cave that was connected to the ocean by submarine tunnels.

"NO!".

The mermaid shouted and brought everyone's attention to her.

"We had a deal. You're not supposed to do Peter any harm". She continued.

"Dear, dear... Has nobody ever told you not to trust a pirate? You kids are all so easily fooled by empty words". Hook asked, rolling his eyes at the naiveness of the mermaid.

Tears started to form in her eyes as she looked at Peter with a remorseful expression.

"Peter...". She started.

"Don't". Peter promptly interrupted her in a cold tone. Her tears started to run down her cheeks but weren't even noticed, being mixed up with the drops of water in her face.

He set his gaze upon the terrified blonde girl who was standing within the pirates grip and knew he had no choice, he wouldn't let her be hurt because of his stupid decision to trust the mermaids.

"I accept it! I'll switch places with Rose." He stated.

"Peter, you can't..." Rose started, but the pirate tightened his grip around her neck and brought the knife close to her face, making her shut up.

Peter watched it with a painful face, but tried to keep his calm to handle the situation.

"I'll do it, but don't think I'll be stupid enough to trust you, Hook. You have to let her and the others go, and just then, I'll surrender". He said, dropping a hint to the mermaid, who was still there.

"Pirates, let the kids go!". Hook ordered immediately, not taking his eyes off his prey, caring about nothing else than finally defeating his nemesis.

The pirate holding Rose let go of her with a strong push, making her stumble towards her friends. Hawk promptly stepped in and held her in his embrace.

Cupping her cheek, he brought her eyes up to meet with his own, a serious and worried look painted his face as he checked to see if she was ok.

"Are you hurt?". Hawk asked.

"No, I'm okay, thank you...". She gave him a reassuring smile and turned her gaze to Peter.

Hawk watched as she looked at the brunette boy with watery eyes. It was painful to see just how much she cared for him in such a short amount of time they spent together. Jealousy took over him and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved they wouldn't be seeing that boy any time soon.

Meanwhile, Peter landed on the ground and walked towards the crew. They grabbed his arms and kicked the back of his knees, making him fall over them brutally. A wave of shock runned up his bones from the strong hit.

"Finally! You're mine now, Pan". Hook said victoriously.

"Peter, you can't do that. Come on, fight back". Rose shouted.

But he didn't answer. He didn't say anything. He just lowered his head and stared at the ground. He had been defeated. Worst of all, he had been defeated for himself.

"He accepted his fate, my dear. Now I strongly suggest you go away before I decide to change yours". Hook threatened.

"No, you won't..." Peter finally said something.

"Rose, please, just go and be safe". He continued in a low tone, sounding almost like a whisper.

Tears flowed down her face as she looked back at him while being pulled by her friends. She followed them to the exit, but as she entered the dark tunnel, she looked back at the defeated boy.

We'll save you, Peter...