Chapter Thirty
Peter had been flying around the outside of the ship when he heard a pirate shout,
"It's that Wendy girl!"
Peter froze where he was and slowly looked onto the ship. He saw Hook holding Wendy an arm's length away from him. Peter scowled at Hook and was forced to watch Hook make Wendy tell a story. If Peter went to get her, the plan would be ruined.
Peter hung onto the side while simultaneously shooting Hook murderous looks. The fact that Wendy got caught provided Tiger Lily with the time she needed to free the Lost Boys, but it was slow work and she only had three of them cut free.
A pirate looked in Peter's direction and he dropped down, loosing track of the conversation. When he looked up again, Hook was holding Wendy in front of him, hook raised, about to kill her.
To hell with the plan, Peter thought but at the same time, Tootles shouted,
"Fairy dust!"
"Tootles!" Wendy yelled. "I said not to!"
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Fairy dust," Hook repeated. "Brilliant. Now, this Peter, in your story, what would make him unhappy so gravity would have something to pull at?"
Peter made a fist and it took all his control not to go rushing onto the deck.
"Nothing," Wendy smirked. "Nothing can make him unhappy."
"Well, in that case, if you're not going to openly admit it, we'll just have you walk the plank."
Hook knew. He had to. He knew what Peter's weakness was, his rope that gravity could pull him down with.
Hook tied Wendy's hands behind her and shoved her over to the plank. Peter's eyes went wide and he hurriedly flew to the other side of the boat. The Lost Boys screamed and Peter knew she had jumped. He reached the other side, expecting to see her drowning in the water, but she wasn't. Wendy was flying, hovering above the water.
She grinned at him and shook her arm, motioning for him to cut her free. Peter zoomed over, taking out his sword and slicing her free. She flew over to the side of the ship and held onto a rope.
"You okay?" Peter whispered.
She smiled at him with her cute dimpled smile. "Never been better."
There was a cry from the deck. "How'd those boys get free?"
Wendy winked at Peter and drew her sword.
"Catch ya later," she grinned and flew onto the deck.
There were the sounds of clashing swords and a pirate was kicked off the deck and fell with a splash into the water. Peter suspected it was Tiger Lily, she had a tendency to overdo it. Peter drew his sword and flew onto the deck just in time to see Hook charge Wendy.
Peter jumped in front of Hook and locked their blades.
"That's not very nice," Peter frowned, shaking his head.
Hook roared and chopped his sword at Peter. Peter spun and caught the strike with his sword. Hook swung again and Peter flew over him, stepping on his head before landing.
Hook spun around and huffed before swinging again. Peter flew above it, lazily knocking Hook's blade away.
"Not bad," Hook snarled. "For a boy."
"Careful, old man, you might give yourself a heart attack," Peter warned, swiping Hook's hat off his head. "Nice hat."
Peter tossed it into the water and ducked a slice from Hook. Hook caught the tip of his sword on Peter's swords hilt and twisted it out of his grip. It flew into the air and Peter flew up and caught it. A pirate grabbed Peter's ankle.
"Let's fly," Peter laughed at the pirate and took off.
The pirate yelped and let go, falling to the ground. Peter flew back to Hook and saw him grinning, clutching something in his hand. Hook opened his hand and Tink fell to the floor, coughing.
"No," Peter whispered.
"Yes," Hook cackled. "I can fly!"
Hook flew off the ground and Peter followed him into the air. Hook swung at Peter and their blades locked. Hook put his hook around the swords and Peter struggled to break his away.
"Poor Peter," Hook crooned. "Your one advantage is no longer an advantage."
Peter kicked Hook in the gut and he somersaulted backwards, crashing into a canvas sail. Peter swung his sword at him, grinning wildly. Hook caught it with his sword and locked them in place with his hook.
"That's not the only way were the same, Peter," Hook said. "We're alike in many ways."
Peter laughed, shoving Hook into the sail again. "The same? You're old, I'm young. I'm pretty damn attractive, you're ugly. You're stupid, I'm smart."
Peter laughed again and cut a rope, sending a metal hook towards Hook. Hook flew out of the way and swung his sword at Peter, who spun and blocked it, their swords locked again.
"But we are," Hook continued. "I'm a pirate, you're a jailer."
Peter looked at him confused and Hook slid his hook around the two swords. "You're keeping her prisoner here, Peter," Hook said. "She doesn't want to be here, your Wendy wants to leave you."
Peter shook his head and Hook threw him into a sail. Peter hit it and then fell limply onto the crow's nest.
"Ouch," Peter muttered, but he wasn't talking about the hit.
He grabbed his sword tightly and slowly sat up. Hook stabbed at him and Peter narrowly blocked it, arm shaking as he held the lock.
"She has a family at home, Peter," Hook sneered. "She doesn't need you, she never did. You were just a tool. A replaceable one."
"Liar!" Peter shouted, desperation clinging to every syllable.
Peter shoved Hook away and flew away behind a sail, hanging onto a rope. His heart was breaking, shattering as he thought of Wendy leaving. Hook was doing it, breaking him down, providing gravity the anchor it needed to pull him down.
Peter looked at the deck below and saw Wendy fighting three pirates, ducking as two of them swung at her, stabbing each other instead of her. Hook flew behind the sail, slowly advancing towards Peter.
"Look at her, Pan," Hook leered. "She's fine without you, a perfectly capable young woman."
"She's not a young woman," Peter said weakly, drifting slowly from Hook. "She's a girl."
"She's growing up," Hook noticed, raising an eyebrow at Peter. "She'd rather go home and grow up than stay with you. She'd rather grow old and die than stay young forever with you."
Hook lunged forwards and grabbed Peter by the hair. Peter was too broken to protest. He was breathing shakily and heavily, the sword feeling like a led weight.
"You are more like me than you realize," Hook hissed in Peter's ear. "Now you know how it feels to be unloved."
Hook raised his sword and Peter used all his energy to block it with his. The second the swords hit was when Peter Pan finally fell out of the air. Hook's face lit with triumph and he let go of Peter's hair.
He fell to the deck and hit with a thump. Nobody moved. Peter laid on the deck, coughing and breathing heavily. He had fallen out of the air, Hook had done it. Hook landed and put the tip of his sword under Peter's chin.
"On your feet, Pan." Peter took a shaky breath and slowly got to his feet.
Hook kept his sword under Peter's chin and triumph gleamed in his eyes.
"Peter," he heard Wendy whisper, but it was like she was in a distant world.
In fact, everything seemed distant to Peter. The Lost Boys baffled looks and Tiger Lily's bewildered stare. Most of all Wendy seemed distant. Hook was right, she wanted to leave him, she would rather grow old.
"Hold the children," Hook yelled to his crew and the pirates rushed to contain them. It wasn't hard seeing as all of them were frozen in shock. Only Wendy protested. She sliced at them with her sword, but the pirates eventually took her sword and held her down.
Hook lowered his sword and put his hand around Peter's throat. Peter stared into Hook's eyes, blank and not protesting.
"You will die unloved, Pan," Hook hissed in a low voice. "There's another reason why we're alike for you."
Hook sliced his hook across Peter's head, then throwing him into the ship's railing. Wendy screamed and Hook turned to her.
"Bring the young lady by me," he commanded.
A pirate dragged Wendy up beside Hook.
"I'm not a young lady, idiot," she snarled. "I'm a girl."
Hook sneered and turned back to Peter. Wendy bit her lip, looking at Peter, a tear slithering down her cheek. He was slumped against the railing with a bloody cut on the side of his forehead, which was dripping down the side of his face. Peter looked at her blankly, un-responding. She pulled at the man holding her, struggling to get to Peter.
"Peter," she whispered. "Please, don't-" She didn't finish her sentence, she couldn't. Words failed her. The tears running down her face said it all. But Peter still couldn't bring himself to stand up and fight. He was broken inside. Peter knew he was going to die, but he didn't care.
The air started to frost and it grew chilly. The green forest turned brown and the leaves started to slowly fall to the ground. A thin layer of ice spread across the ocean top and spread down to the ocean floor, crackling as it went. The sails stopped blowing in the breeze and stood stiff, frozen by frost. Hook breathed in the air and sighed, his breath visible in the cold air.
"Feel that chill?" Hook asked Wendy, eyes glinting and smiling crookedly. "See the leaves falling? It marks the end of Peter Pan, the death of the life of this damned island. Let the life of this tragic boy end and the reign of Captain Hook begin!"
Hook drew his sword and plunged it towards the unmoving Peter. Peter gave a half smile to Wendy and watched the approaching sword.
To die, thought Peter, would be an awfully big adventure.