Keeping Fantasia: The Third Book of the Fantasia Series

Chapter 17: Neverland Misadventures - Well Crap.

Chapter 17: Neverland Misadventures – Well Crap.

(When: 15 Years Ago)

Once the Fantasians were reasonably conscious (a.k.a, awake and not drooling), Queen Illysa read them their rights (a.k.a, her orders). Three years ago they had vowed to defend the Etherium against pirates, and Illysa was forcing them to honor that bargain with a disturbing rumor.

"Captain Flint escaped the Black Hole. He's been tracking you across light-years, captaining a vessel called the Jolly Roger."

Queen Illysa thought this would shock the Fantasians. But they shocked her.

"Flint may have escaped." Jim answered. "But he's not the one tracking us." Jim touched the red scar on his right hand. It tingled as he spoke. "That would be Captain Hook."

"A Fantasian villain." Wendy softly explained.

"And undead pirate." Ariel added.

Peter sneered. "The true captain of The Jolly Roger."

Illysa remained poised . "Well," she said, noting the guardian's dismay. "Then your promise to fight Captain Flint is now personal...because it includes Captain Hook."

The guardians were quiet. Then Peter (little Gwendolyn in his lap) summarized their feelings with two words.

"Well crap."

Needless to say, the guardians did not return to Fantasia that year. Jim and Ariel did not have another baby. They had agreed to protect the Etherium against Captain Flint should he ever survive the Black Hole, and now they were bound to that promise.

Moreover, Captain Hook had resurrected (again) from his magical death. It was a gamble to guess, but other undead villains (Facilier, Pitch Black, Lana) may have survived. Regardless, one thing was clear: Fantasia was no longer safe. The guardians had to protect their home.

More importantly Jim, Wendy, Ariel, and Peter wanted to keep Fantasia's realms open. They wanted to return home, free from the magical boundaries of Outerworld, Underworld, Seaworld, and Skyworld, their respective realms. In order to achieve this happily ever after, they had to convince King Arthur that Neverland was not a threat to Fantasia. If they failed, King Arthur would close the realms, particularly Outerworld, to suction-off Fantasia from outer space.

In all likelihood, the guardians would never see each other again.

So, they remained in Neverland. The Second Star plunged into space. She soared over nebulas, tunneled through wormholes, and snuck between the stars...searching for The Jolly Roger.

Three more years passed. And what happened? Nothing. They had no encounters with The Jolly Roger, only snippets from aliens that may-or-may-not have spotted a pirate galleon amongst the stars. 

So the guardians kept searching. And through their travels, they lived their lives, watching their children, Jon and Gwendolyn, grow.

A few stories come to mind...