The Prophecy of Auradon: A Descendants Story

Seven: The Secrets of Peter Pan

Harry and I follow the cackling sounds. As we get closer we realize that what we thought was cackling is actually someone having a coughing fit. We approach cautiously. I see huts. Six exactly. They appear to be in a circle around a fire pit. The coughing continues. As we get closer I make a shocking discovery.
"Uncle Nibs?!" I ask.
"Pandora! You've returned" he coughs. He approaches us. His clothes were tattered and filthy. His body was skin and bones. The ears on his clothing were torn, and his lips were cracked. He had aged tremendously. He can't be much younger than Hades but he looks older than Lady Tremaine.
"Uncle Nibs What the hell happened?" I ask.
"Nothing dear. This is just the way we live." Nibs says sitting back down. We sit next to him on a log.
"We?" Harry asks. Nibs whistles weakly. Slightly, Cubby, Tootles, and the twins, as well as their kids and wives come out from the huts.
"The lost boys ended up here? Why not the isle?" I ask.
"Peter told us the isle would destroy us." Nibs says.
"He was mistaken." I say.
"We know that now, but King Beast And now King Ben refuses to grant us passage to the isle. Told us we were too friendly with Peter. Even though we haven't seen him in years." Nibs says.
"Years?" Harry asks.
"We came here to find him." I say.
"He was unable to leave Neverland as well. So if he's anywhere it's here. He just hasn't shown his face to us. I like to think he's sorry for what he's done, but I know better." He says.
"I'll get you all to the isle. I promise." I say.
"I always knew you didn't belong here." He says. I frown slightly.
"We need to go find my dad. We'll be back." I say.
"I have no doubt of that." Nibs says.
"Come on Harry." I say. He nods and we walk into the forest. Everything is dead. This isn't the Neverland I was born in. Harry takes my hand and we walk up a hill. When we reach the top, I get a better view of what has become of neverland. There are dead trees and plants every where. Nothing is green like I remember it. The life appears to have been drained out. Even though Neverland is supposed to be a part of Auradon, King Beast deemed it unsafe and placed the same barrier around it, rendering the magic that kept the land alive useless and trapping the lost boys there forever. That also meant my dad was stuck there. We walk for another couple hours through the forest. We decide to stop and rest near the river, which has since run dry. I notice the dirt has been tampered with.
"Hey that's weird," I say.
"What?" Harry asks.
"Look at the dirt. It looks like someone dug here recently," I say. Harry kneels beside me and picks at the dirt with his hook.
"Yeah it's soft," he says. I start to move the dirt with my hands when I hit something soft.
"Oh my god," I say covering my mouth.
"What???" Harry asks.
"It's my father's hat..." I say. I feel the tears well up in my eyes.
"What's it doing buried?" Harry asks. He pokes the ground with his hook again.
"What's this?" He asks looking at his hook which now has paper attached to it.
"It's a note of some sort," I say. I take it and open it.
"Dear daughter,
If you found this note it means I'm no longer among the living. I guess even immortality doesn't last forever. This means you've returned home. You can finally take your place as the queen of Neverland. Maybe you can even persuade that imbecile of a king to take the barrier down. Your reading this also means your ready to hear the truth. When you were born I gave you the immortality curse that Tinkerbell once gave me. One of my line has to survive and stay here in Neverland. I left because I wanted you to have a better life. I didn't want you to be attached to me. Then again, I did nothing wrong. Make daddy proud. -Peter." I fall to the ground in disbelief.
"He....he's dead," I say. Harry looks up at something then back down.
"That's what Ben saw..." he says.
"What?" I ask. I look up and notice the sparkles around me.
"My dad gave me the immortality curse...." I say.
"That's what Ben saw. He must've seen the pixie dust rubbing off of you. But why?" Harry says.
"Harry I don't want to live forever," I say starting to cry.
"Why not? I think everyone wishes they could live forever at some point," Harry says taking my hand.
"Because then I have to live without you," I say wrapping my arms around him. He smiles.
"Well I'll make sure you don't have to live without me for a very long time. I love you," he says.
"I love you too Hooky," I say. He puts his hand on my cheek. We both smile and our foreheads touch. Just then a loud crash echoes through the forest.
"What was that?" I ask. Harry looks around.
"I'm not sure," he says. We head in the direction of the sound. We come upon a fallen tree in our path.
"That's what it was!" I say. Harry taps the trunk and it dissolves into dust.
"Neverland is dying," I say.
"We should leave," Harry says.
"We can't just leave the lost boys here. They'll die," I say.
"They can't get through the barrier, only we can" Harry says.
"Stupid Auradon magic," I say.
"How do we reverse this?" Harry asks.
"Neverland was kept alive by pixiedust and the people who believed in it. Since my dad disappeared, no one cares about Neverland and the magic barrier keeps the pixiedust from working. We'd have to take the barrier down and show people that Neverland isn't bad just because my dad was," I say.
"Then we have to go back to Auradon," Harry says. I nod. We head back to the boat and sail back to the isle. When we arrive Uma is waiting on the shore.
"Hey girl, did you find him?" She asks. I show her the hat and note.
"He's dead Uma, and Neverland is in trouble. That's where are the lost boys are. We have to help them," I say.
"What do we do?" Uma asks.
"We have to find a way to bring the barrier down," I say. Uma nods.
"Let's go meet up with the others at Hades' lair," she says. We walk in and everyone is sitting around. Mal and Evie hug me.
"We're so sorry Panda," Mal says.
"We have to save the lost boys," I say.
"How are we going to do that if our magic doesn't work here?" Celia asks.
"We have to figure out how to go back to Auradon," Evie says. Suddenly we hear rumbling.
"What's that?" Dizzy asks. Jay and Gil walk in with their motorcycle helmets.
"Guys bad news," Jay says looking at Gil.
"What?" Mal asks.
"It's Harry. He's gone," Gil says. He holds up a note. He hands it to me.
"What do you mean gone?" I ask. I open the note and read it.
"Panda,
I had to go. I don't belong anywhere, and I'm only slowing you down. Save the lost boys. I know you can. I'm sorry. - H.H" I start to cry.
"Why would he leave?" I ask.
"We don't know. He took the boat," Jay says. I spend the night with the girls at Hades' place.
"Boys are stupid," Celia says.
"Agreed," Uma says.
"Well we're all single so," Mal says.
"Wait what? What about Jay?" I ask.
"I think he changed his mind about me," Mal says looking down.
"What makes you think that?" Uma asks.
"Well, he's been distant lately. After you left he started distancing himself. I don't know Carlos probably knows," Mal says.
"Gil says he wishes you picked him instead of Harry. He's been busy like crazy trying to 'improve himself' because he thinks you'll change your mind," Uma says to me.
"Tonka was nice..." Dizzy says trying to sound happy.
The next morning we hear an engine outside. We walk out and the big purple limo was parked in front of the lair.
"What the?" Mal says. Chad and Doug hop out of the car.
"Someone call for knights in shining armor?" Chad asks.
"EEEEEP!" Dizzy squeals and jumps into his arms. Evie runs over to Doug.
"What are you guys doing here?" She asks.
"Ben changed his mind about you guys. We don't know why though. Anyway he sent us to pick you up," Doug says. Jane jumps out of the back seat. Carlos and Jay arrive minutes later.
"Jane!" Carlos smiles and scoops her up.
"Forgetting someone?" Dude jumps out from the car too.
"Hey boy," carlos smiles. Gil shows up behind Jay.
"Let's go home," Chad says. We all hop in the limo and head back to Auradon. Ben is standing in front of the fountain again. Mal goes up to him, and Jay gets a sour look on his face.
"What changed your mind?" Mal asks.
"Just the assurance that none of you would harm Auradon, and I missed you," he says. Mal cracks a halfhearted smile.
"Ben I-" she says. Jay walks off. I follow him.
"Jay what's wrong?" I ask following him to the lake.
"Of course that's his motive, and of course she'd rather date a king over a pickpocket," Jay says. He starts to cry, something I'd never seen him do.
"Jay you don't know she wants to go back to him," I say.
"I shouldn't have spent so much time away from her," he says.
"Why did you?" I ask. He takes a purple box out of his pocket and opens it to reveal an amethyst ring.
"I was going to ask her to marry me," he says.
"Jay..." I say.
"I know it's stupid," he says.
"It's not, you should still propose," I say.
"You think?" He says.
"I know," I say. Jay hugs me. I have to talk to Ben if I want to save the lost boys, but I don't know if he's really changed. I head back to my dorm room and see Uma staring out the window.
"What's up?" I ask her.
"Twinkle is all over Gil, and he's really uncomfortable. It's funny," she laughs.
"Wow," I say. I look and see them outside.
"And Mal totally shut Ben down earlier," Uma says.
"Nice, I just hope he's not in a bad mood," I say.
"Right, lets go talk to him," Uma says. We head to his room.
"Ben?" Uma asks.
"Oh it's you," he says looking at me.
"Ben I need to ask you something," I say. He looks at me. He looks different somehow, weaker almost.
"Yeah?" He says.
"I was hoping you could give fairy godmother orders to take down the barrier around Neverland. It's dying and the lost boys need help," I say.
"What about your father?" He asks.
"He's dead," I say. I show him the note.
"If I bring the barrier down you have to get the lost boys to denounce your father. I know they were loyal to him," he winces and twitches in an odd manor. Uma notices too.
"I can do that," I say.
"Fine, I'll give the order," he says. He twitches again and his eyes turn red.
"You honestly thought this lousy king is capable of such evil?" He says in a voice that is far too familiar, and too heinous to even exist. Uma and I both freeze in horror. The lights go out, and a dark cloud forms above the campus. We are out of options, and all at once, the world goes black.