** When a wish brings devastating consequences, Pan must join forces with a fallen star to stop the walking dead before Neverland sinks into eternal darkness. **
"We can sail away tonight on a sea of pure moonlight
We can navigate the stars to b...
Peter clung to the beautiful thought. He sank into the depths with the star, feeling the free fall and the girl's arms clinging tighter to his shoulders in fear, with a stifled cry. But then warm tingles, like a glowing sparkle of invisible fairy dust, coursed through his veins and carried him aloft.
Peter trundled the first few meters; then shots thundered in the darkness. His muscles tensed automatically, but he would fail today as he might gain altitude to bring them to safety above the clouds. 'Damn Titania, you deceitful witch!' thought Peter bitterly. Because of the Fairy Queen, he was now in this state and could feel the imaginary stones the years had stuffed into his pockets. Heavy thoughts of growing up, which he still wanted to fight tooth and nail ... and yet could not prevent.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought was haunting him, reminding him that he had forgotten something important ... but as often, he didn't give it much thought. Usually, this feeling disappeared quickly, for what had long preoccupied adults had vanished promptly from children's attention. This time, however, muzzle flashes on the forest floor drove the threads away before he could reach for them.
Peter had to strain to escape the popping shots of the guns quickly. Once again, no star could save their lives, and it was better to distance themselves and the pirate pack as soon as possible. The wind propelled them forward, seeming to want to help Peter, and he carried them over the dark tops of the trees that stretched like a black sea of leaves below them.
"Where are we flying?" the star called against the roar of the wind.
"To the tribe of the Ipixkih(*)! We need to warn them about Mater and figure out what to do now that the star is gone...!" replied Peter, watching the blue hair flutter in the wind around the star's features. The wind visibly found pleasure in grabbing the long strands repeatedly and playing with them. The ripples jumped around her shoulders and made the little lights in them dance like fireflies zigzagging against the blue night sky.
Suddenly, a loud noise rolled over the island. It sounded like a gigantic beast's dark, angry growl in a deep cave. Birds startled and flew up from the trees despite the night. Like a black cloud, they suddenly rose from all directions at once, and the screeching and wild flapping was mixed with hissing, cracking, and rumbling.
"What ... ?" Peter gasped breathlessly as cracking cracks ran through the mountain as if it were nothing more than a nut bursting under too much pressure. Gigantic chunks came loose from the mountain's rock and rolled into the depths, roaring and rumbling. Beneath them, a picture of sheer catastrophe opened up from one moment to the next.
Cracks stretched out from the mountain across the land, opening up substantial black chasms. Hissing like snakes, scorching steam poured out of the crevices, and at the latest, when a foul smell filled the air, every island inhabitant knew something was wrong. The summit of Never Peak Mountain was enveloped in a thick cloud of ash and smoke, and a deep rumble could be heard throughout the land. Their eyes burned, and their noses stung from the smoke and fumes. Coughing, Peter was rapidly losing altitude. But at least he had enough self-control not to let his passenger fall. He tried to pick up speed, and he had to fly quickly around the mountain in an arc to avoid getting caught in the cloud of dust and smoke rolling outwards from the mountain.
Peter's face had turned worried and sallow. Below him, his beloved Neverland was crumbling and turning into a field of rubble.
"The decay has begun..." Sitara said seriously, looking up at the gigantic colossus of the Never Peak mountain, which stretched up to the sky like a spearhead from the island's heart. Thick black clouds hung like a black crown around its top and completely engulfed its peak. Then her gaze slid up to the sky where the remaining star flickered as if fighting for every extra minute.
"We must hurry or the stars will be swallowed by darkness, the island will become one nightmare ... and all the sinister creatures will escape through the veils to the other worlds."
☆
A strange shiver ran down Sitara's spine as they reached the mountain's shadow, and the last moonlight sank into the coolness of shadow tones. A chill stretched down her arms, tickling her neck like a breath ... and then she was aware of a sound- somewhere from ... above? Following a reflex, she put her eyes to the back of her neck. For a moment, she felt as if there was something there - and with a lapse of her heart, she realized that she was not mistaken.
"Peter!"
An all too familiar haunting hum snapped Peter out of his buzzing thoughts. The star suddenly let out an "Ouch!". A strand was roughly yanked into the air, then another.
"STOP!" he barked towards the sky after hastily straightening up and stretching out the flat of his hand.
(*) Ipixkih = Grob „Wächter" in Aztec
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