The Land Never Lost

Chapter 30

As Leif channeled nemerald into Ramona, her eyes fluttered open. "Hawk." she said weakly, while trying to stand. Leif grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, "You must rest, Ramona. Leave Hawk to his brothers.". Just then, Trinkett flew through the doors of the tree house. Her green leather jacket was ripped and her clothes were dirty, but she had a big smile on her face. At least until she saw Ramona, "Is she okay?" the princess asked.

Leif explained what they witnessed in the map, and how Bear ran off to confront Hawk. Trinkett asked, "And Peter?", but Leif shook his head. "Locus Lotus deactivated before we could check if he made it back to Pan.". Trinkett brushed back her friend's silvery hair and told her that she would be fine.

"Can you try Locus Lotus again?" Trinkett asked Ramona.

"She needs rest, princess." Leif contested but Ramona nodded slowly. "I can try again. We need to see how the battle is going.". Trinkett and Leif walked Ramona back to her shield and she tried to call on the map. After a few unsuccessful attempts, Trinkett placed her hands on Ramona's back. Leif did the same, and they channeled their nemerald into her. With the sudden surge of power, the map sprung to life. What it showed was worse than they could imagine, and they were expecting something bad. Four green lights were surrounded by a sea of black dots. The lost boys were grossly outnumbered by the glooms. A few hundred feet away from the battle, two green lights were racing to help.

"Brutus and Blink." Leif said, as he watched the brothers speeding across the map. "That's still not enough. We have to go and help. All of us." Trinkett said, looking at her friend cautiously. Ramona wasn't much of a fighter, but the fairy slung her shield on her back. "Okay." Ramona said bravely.

"Go ahead. You can get there faster. I'll be right behind you." Brutus called out to Blink. In a sudden burst of light, Blink shot ahead of his brother. "Yeah. Right behind you." said Brutus. When he finally reached the battle, he saw hundreds of glooms. Blink and the lost boys were all spread across the field, each fighting a few dozen glooms.

In the sky Peter and Hawk traded blows. "You left me in the Shade!" Peter shouted as his fist connected with Hawk's face. "Well now you know how it feels!" Hawk responded by kicking Peter in the stomach. Peter doubled over, holding his gut, and Hawk moved in to strike. Peter flipped over Hawk and kicked him in the back. His white wings tucked tightly to his back, as Hawk fell to the floor. Peter chased after him but, before Hawk crashed, he spun around and landed on his feet. Hawk's wings stretched and he jumped to meet Peter in the air.

The sound of their clash reverberated through Pan. Peter and Hawk stared each other down, both breathing heavily. Peter said, "I don't understand how you changed this much. I would've never gone to Pan if I knew you would become this.". Peter shook his head, "What happened?" he shouted at his friend. Hawk let out a guttural yell and charged at Peter. Their energies clashed, causing shock waves that changed the light of the sky.

On the ground, a gloom rushed Scale from behind but Brutus intercepted the blow. He looked back at his student, "What have I told you about being on the defensive too often?". Scale grabbed the gloom by the foot and flung him towards Brutus, who punched it into nothingness. "I know. I know." Scale said, rolling his eyes. Brutus smirked and the two continued to make their way towards Fin and Blink. Fin moved through enemies so fluidly, it looked like a fish swimming in water. Blink grabbed one gloom by the head and jumped to another, smashing them into each other. "We aren't really making a dent in these guys." Fin said. Blink sighed in frustration, "I am not one to complain about a fight, but where does this end?".

Bear pushed his claw into the ground and a giant sphere of earth shot up, encasing five glooms. With a growl, Ursa jumped onto the sphere and squashed it, along with the glooms. Bear's face was beaded with sweat, and Ursa's form flickered. He was exerting too much energy. Ursa was meant to fight in the place of Bear, not alongside him. But the enemy was too abundant, and they stood no chance if he did not also fight. Bear moved to charge another gloom, but fell under the weight of exhaustion. Seeing Bear vulnerable, reinvigorated the enemy and they charged.