Hook : Rufio's Return

A very quick little story I'm writing with a friend for the fun of it. It's a fanfiction based on the 1991 film Hook. This story is not finished and it's just for fun, not for serious critques.

Hook
Rufio's Return

 

Peter's voice rang out in mid-air and the world went still. Hook's blade slid free, wet with Rufio's blood. Every Lost Boy stood frozen in their tracks, blades still raised against that of the pirates. All eyes, young and old, were glued to the upper deck of Hook's ship. Up the red-carpeted steps of dark wood stood Captain James Hook, his red suit embroidered with gold shining in the sunlight of the Neverland sun. The massive ship, the Jolly Roger, bobbed with the gentle waves while docked to the pirates land. The smell of fish and tobacco in the air so far away from the vast flowers and crawling vies of the forests.

And now, the smell of blood.

"Hook! No!" Peter's shrill cry halted every fight between the ancient foes of Lost Boy and pirate. Hooked backed away a few steps as Peter landed on the deck, catching Rufio, his comrade Lost Boy so powerfully once in charge before Peter's return to Neverland. He carefully lowered the young man to the wooden panel boards, Peter's arm cradling Rufio's neck gently. The black shirt and wooden armor chest piece were wet and stained red. Hook's sharp blade had done much damage in a single blow. Rufio's breathing was labored and harsh in his throat, sounding wet and thick. Peter stared at Hook in shock before turning his attention to the wounded boy. He watched the boy, his face lightly painted over his eyes for the war they'd prepared for. Bones stuck out of Rufio's attire as a war suit. His black hair was spiked up with three painted red like fins. His dark brown eyes stared up at Peter far away and full of fear.

His voice was ragged and quiet as Peter clung to him. "Do you know what I wish?" he asked, barely more than a whisper.

Peter softly shook his head, speechless.

Rufio licked his dried lips, "I wish I had a dad, like you." His eyes gazed off past Peter's face and rolled back before closing.

Behind Hook, Peter's son, Jack, dressed in Hooks attire stared with wet eyes at his father and his father's newly found friend in his arms. "Oh dad," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

Peter's eyes filled with a dark vengeance as he carefully lowered Rufio to the deck and looked up at Hook, rising to his feet slowly. Hook stared at his foe, unsure what he was to do now that Hook had crossed a line. It had always been games when Peter was a boy, teasing and fights that never drew more than scars. But Rufio was the line crossed and now Peter had to have Hook's life for it.

"Are you ready for me Peter?" Hook asked, still unsure just what lay behind Peter's dark eyes.

Don't Ask, one of the Lost Boys closest on the deck stared at Rufio's still form. He wasn't moving. He was still and Don't Ask could swear he felt the creeping of something cold and chilling sliding near Rufio. No one in Neverland could help him, no one knew how to mend a wound where a blade had run them through. They were used to scratches and thorns caught in their skin or knicks from a pirate's blade. Not a wound so severe. Rufio wouldn't make it if he stayed there on the deck.

He watched Hook and Peter pose, ready to fight, staring down one another with hate that lasted back so many years. They spoke and suddenly clashed swords, starting in on a sword dual that was as vicious as Hook himself. Meanwhile, Rufio lay still on the deck. Don't Ask drew his brows together and turned to elbow a couple of the boys near him staring up in awe at Peter.

"Boys!" they blinked and turned to stare at him in question. "Rufio is up there, he's not going to get better in Neverland."

The boys, Slightly, Brumble and Tibbs, frowned in confusion.

Don't Ask shook his head and gestured up at the deck, "Well what are you waiting for, boys? Grab Rufio, take him back to the other world and take him to a hospital. Be quick about it!" the boys nodded and slid amongst the fights taking place on the ship deck and up the stairs to their fallen former leader.

Slightly leaned over Rufio's fallen body, watching for any sign of life from Rufio. For several moments, there was nothing. Rufio was still and seemingly very deep in sleep. Then suddenly, his chest, wet with blood, rose slightly and fell again. He was breathing. Rufio was alive. But just barely.

 Brumble touched Rufio's skin and jerked his hand back as if he'd been shocked. He stared down at the pale boy and realized just how far gone he was.

"What are you waitin' for, Brum?" Slightly asked, taking hold of one arm. "Grab an arm, we don't have time!"

Brumble nodded, ignoring how cold Rufio's skin was to the touch. They grabbed hold of him and found each of their happy thoughts, lifting themselves and Rufio in their arms into the air and out away from the ship. The clangs and clatter of swords echoed at them from behind as they soared higher and higher up into the clouds and beyond. The sky rushed by and clouds whisped away from their speeding forms as they made their way faster than they'd ever flown in all their lives. Rufio was limp and cold to their grasp and there was no promise that he was even going to survive the flight over to the other world. But if it was a chance, then it was one worth taking.

Their hair whipped against their faces harshly like little welts on their skin. As they neared the edges of Neverland, the colors turned to wild rainbows splattered with stars. The skies meshed together into a blaze of startling shades of hues that didn't exist anywhere else. Clouds thickened and blinded them until they were surrounded in a thick fog. The air was cool and misty like rain that hadn't formed into drops.

Slightly stared down at Rufio in his grasp, he was paler somehow, nearly as white as the clouds they were surrounded by. He wasn't stirring even a little and Slightly's hands and sleeves were stained in his blood. No one had seen this coming, not when Peter had returned to Neverland and when Rufio had knelt to give Peter back his sword. No one knew that the war between the Lost Boys and the pirates was to be so devastating.

"Slightly?" Tibbs asked from behind, holding Rufio's legs. Slightly turned, holding tightly to Rufio's arm and shoulder. "What if he-"

"He's a Lost Boy, Tibbs, we don't give up on a Lost Boy." Slightly's voice was stern and harsh. No one had ever died in Neverland. There were close calls, but nothing like this. Hook wasn't playing by the rules anymore. He didn't play with good form in their dual and now Rufio was paying the price.

"I bet Peter's giving Hook a whipping. He deserves to be eaten by that Croc if he hadn't turned it into a big clock." Brumble said, voice filled with vigor.

"Yeah," Tibbs agreed. "Peter's gonna give it to 'em good now."

Slightly sure hoped so, because if they lost Rufio, Hook was going to be under seige and there would be no more playing games after this.

The boys flew into England in the later hours of the night when the lights along the streets of London were lit and the headlights of cars were few along some of the older roads still in their brick form. Slightly led the boys over the buildings, scanning the tops and streets for any sign of where the Hospital might be. The buildings all seeming to blend together for the boys, whom had not seen buildings in quite some time.

"There!" Bramble pointed down at one of the streets near a very large building and an equally large parking lot full of parked cars. He was pointing at the collection of ambulances on the side of the parking lot. "I recognize those, they got those red crosses on 'em, means they help you."

Slightly nodded and the lowered down in the darker shade of the parking lot, laying Rufio down on the asphalt carefully. Tibbs ran across the lot to the doors where an ambulance was parked and men were standing around talking. He shouted at them, yelling for their help. They started after him with three more men from the Hospital having heard his call. They followed his lead back over to Rufio and the boys. The men pushed the boys to the side as they called for a stretcher from the ambulance.

The man looked to the three boys, clothed in tattered, dirty clothes. They clearly hadn't been washed in weeks and had obviously not been eating their vegetables. They were a scrawny little trio but they looked fierce on their own somehow. "How did this happen? What happened to him, do you know?"

The boys looked at one another, knowing they couldn't very well explain that he had been stabbed by Captain Hook.

"Where are your parents?" the man asked, feeling more and more suspicious with the boys' silence.

Slightly stepped forward, "He was run through, sir. It was a sword. He's our...brother. He needs help."

The man stared at the boys for a moment and looked back down at the boy on the asphalt. The wound did look to be from a blade, but the boy had lost a lot of blood and his pulse was nearly nonexistent. The stretcher arrived and they scooped him up onto it. The men rushed him inside while one of the medics led the boys into the waiting room while Rufio was taken to a room in the ER. While the boys waited, the medic propped them for answers about how they'd gotten there and where their parents were, but the boys seemed to deviate from any answers to be given. The medic finally gave in and found a set of coloring books for them to pass the time with a handful of crayons. The boys drew pictures over the pictures of pirates and swords and strange plants.

 

"Mom, what do you say about chinese tomorrow night?" Kat slipped her book into her saddle bag and fixed the strap on her shoulder as her mother sighed and penned in her work on the counter at the Nurses Station. Her mother smiled and sneaked a look at her from her work,

"You've had a hankering for chinese all week, haven't you?" she laughed at her teenage daughter and shook her head.

Kat smirked and leaned against the counter, "Well can you blaim me? Reading in the Children's Wing makes sure I'm stuck on Nurse food all week and let's face it mom, whatever is in the salad, it's not lettuce."

Her mother laughed and the ER doors swung open with a stretcher being rushed through. "Code 41!" One of the men shouted as they wheeled the stretcher with a boy in black and strange armor into one of the curtained sections. Kat's mother leapt to her feet and joined them, checking his pulse and calling for an IV. Kat followed behind out of the way, standing just near the curtains to watch her mother at work. She took a pair of scissors and cut the armor straps to pull away the stick-lined armor. They tossed the armor into the large bin next to Kat and began stripping away his shirt. Tossing the scraps of fabric at the bin, a large chunk missed and fell to the floor. Kat leaned down and scooped it up, opening the bin and pausing, staring at the dark fabric in her hand. It was infused with something sparkling, gold and glittery but so fine her eyes couldn't fixate on.

Her mother shouted out orders and nurses and medics aided her in setting up a drip and hooking the boy up to an EKG machine. As the slow, dull beat of the boys heart beeped on the machine, Kat slipped a scrap of the glittery fabric into her bag and threw the rest in the trash. She slid closer to watch her mother at work, knowing that thin knit in her brow. Her mother wasn't sure he was going to make it. They set up a drip and attached a blood transfusion.

"What caused the wound?" she demanded of the medic that led in the stretcher.

He shook his head, "A few kids brought him here, we don't know their names and we can't find any ID on him, the boys said his name was Ralphie or something. They said he got stabbed."

She nodded and gently tapped the boy's face, "Ralphie, can you hear me? Let me know if you can hear me." Nothing. She shook her head. "Unresponsive, call in a crash cart, we're about to lose his pulse. He's lost too much blood."

Two nurses rushed past Kat with the crash cart and began preparing the paddles. One of them shut the curtain, closing Kat off from the scene. She knew that her mother wasn't going to be off duty for awhile now after this so she made her way to the waiting room to read her books. The room was empty save for a couple of people due to the late hours. But there were the three boys the medic had mentioned that brought in the boy. She smiled softly at them but they stared at her, their faces full of grief and fear. Kat curled up in the chair to read, watching the boys color in the books on the table and talk quietly amongst themselves. She thought of the boy in the other room, the one she knew was someone close to them. She thought of his dark hair spiked up and his strange clothes and the weird glitter in the fabric that sat tucked away in her bag. She didn't know why she had kept it, but it had just seemed so mystical and different. She'd never seen clothes glitter like that before and they smelled strange, like a far away place full of happiness and adventure. Now she was just being silly, too many years of reading fantasy novels and imagining fantastic places.

She dozed off and woke slightly when one of the nurses her mother worked with came out to speak to the boys. She listened as much as she could, though she was still halfway asleep. Able to make out every few words, she gathered that their friend was going to make it, but that he was going to need a lot of time healing. When the nurse asked for their parents, they seemed to stumble their way through excuses and explained that their parents would be there soon. The nurse left and the boys knelt to the table to whisper quietly.

"What are we gonna do? Wait?" one of them asked.

"The boys don't know where we are and we don't know how the fight ended. They could still use our help." The other argued.

"Boys," the third thought it over slowly. "You two go back, tell them where we are and what happened, I'll stay and wait for him to get better, at least tonight." the boys nodded and the other two left while the third stayed and seemed uninterested in his coloring book. Kat wanted to say something, but felt like it wasn't her place. She let her heavy eye lids slide back down and she fell back under the soft blanket of a deep sleep. Vaguely, she was aware that someone was carrying her and then later that she was in a moving car. Her mother woke her up in their drive way and she somehow dragged herself sleepily into her bed and clutched at her bag full of her books and the strange fabric of a strangely dressed boy that still lay in the hospital just minutes away.

Kat awoke some time later, though she wasn't sure when because the sky was still dark and the stars were bright and sparkling, something more than usual. She rubbed her green eyes and slid across the room to the window sill. Her usual reading place, she sat against the window pane and stared up at the sky. She opened up her bag and pulled out her books, all ranging between mermaids and fairies. And her favorite of all, Peter Pan. How many times had she wished Peter would show up on her window and ask her to have an adventure? How many times had she dressed up in her room and pretended to fight pirates and talk to mermaids? Her mother had been very open to her hopes and dreams, but always reminded her that as long as Kat understood that there was reality and fiction, she didn't care what she did, just as long as the line was drawn. But Kat still dreamed, still hoped and made wishes. And tonight, a wish would have been so easy. The stars were bright and seemed closer than usual, like she might just reach out and touch them.

She found the piece of fabric on her bag and held it close, breathing in that strange smell and wishing it meant more than just some boy's clothing. She looked up and found the brightest star in the sky, the one she always wished on, second to the right. But just before she focused her wish, something bright and glittering streaked across the sky with a tale of gold. A shooting star, the first she'd seen in so many years. Kat smiled up at the star and made her wish.

She wished she could belong to someplace far away and full of adventure. Someplace that had mermaids and fairies and nothing could ever go wrong.

Kat found sleep again, curled up against the cool glass, clutching the scrap of fabric and her book.

The night went on and she slept soundly, dreaming as usual of other worlds and beautiful places. The fabric in her fingers sparkled brightly with a gold hue. The gold rubbed off onto her fingertips and made her skin glow for just a moment. And slowly, the sparkles and glittering glow spread over her hand, glowing along her arm and up through her neck and hair. As she slept, her body slowly began to lift off the window sill. She limply floated higher and higher, the gold sparkling around the edges of her body. Kat floated up to the ceiling until her head thumped the roof. She blinked and rubbed her head, staring at the ceiling right against her nose.

"What the..." she blinked groggily and stared at the cracks in the plaster up close. Yes, she was definately looking at the ceiling, but it was so close. She scanned the room, so much lower around her. Her bed with her tossed sheets and her bag on the floor by the window sill. The moon's light illuminated the room in a pale silver light. She lowered slightly as her fear got the better of her. As her mind tried to understand just what was going on, her mind raced to think of possibilities. She didn't see herself in her bed below, so she wasn't having some sort of out of body dream, and yet, it was night and she was floating in her room. People didn't just float when they woke up.

She stared at the plaster and tried to understand why she was above the surfaces she was supposed to be laying on. "This is what I get for reading too many books before bed." She said aloud, deciding she must be dreaming. "But if this is my dream, then I control where it goes." She smiled to herself. Kat knew just what to do with a dream where she was flying. Her green eyes ventured out the window at the stars outside. Neverland was just a flight away. Where else was she to go in a dream? She wanted to be where she always thought she'd be welcome. Where she knew there was no rules and no one to tell her that her dreams were stupid.

And if she were flying, then she could control it with her thoughts. The moment she imagined herself in Neverland at last, she soared up and thumped the ceiling again.

"Ow!" she mumbled. "I'm starting to think that ceilings were a bad invention." She focused on aiming her thoughts and learning to control how to move one way or another before she lowered to grab up her bag, her books, the fabric she's fallen asleep with and a spare few things before she unlatched the window and slipped out into the night.

The night seemed to welcome her as if she had always belonged to it. The wing rose with her and flowed her hair around her face like it was giving her little kisses. Every star seemed to shine a little brighter for her, every cloud seemed to beckon her to run with them. Flying was magic all on its own, and Kat had never felt so much like she belonged. She smiled and laughed aloud, spinning in the breeze and flying high before letting herself drop several feet and catching herself again to soar up and do it all over again.

After taking her time to play with the wind and dance with the clouds, she took her attention to the stars, in particular, one star. She knew the way, everyone knew "second star to the right and straight on til morning." But it couldn't be that easy, could it? How did planes fly that way and never catch up to it? Why didn't thy go into Neverland?

But she couldn't think like that, Neverland was something of magic and belief. Science and rationality didn't belong with it. If she wanted to get there, she needed to be able to fly, check. And she needed to know the way, check. But could she make it there?

Kat glared at the sky ahead of her, fixing her bag behind her back to keep it from falling away. She stared at that star, her only goal. She wanted it, needed it. Neverland belonged to someone like her, someone who believed and understood what it meant. Neverland was hers for the taking and she would have it.

Hovering in the air, she began to shake and shiver, vibrating with all her focus, all her energy and hopes of Neverland. In the sky so far away, the colors began to change to light hues of pink and lavender. The sun was rising, morning was close.

She fixed her gaze ahead to the star that mattered, the one she wanted the most out of the blanket of twinkling jewels. "Second star to the right," she muttered, crouching, gathering all her focus and her hopes. "And straight on til morning." She pushed off and blasted away from London, soaring faster than the falling star she'd seen before. The wind screamed in her ear and the sky blurred all around her. The second star drew closer and closer as the sun's light spread over the horizon behind her and the blanket of night hovered before her. For a moment, the wind screamed to a pitch so high that it rang loud in her ears. The ringing turned to a scream of a whistle and suddenly, there was no sound. Silence fell over the world around her and it was like time stopped, like every clock in the world had frozen in place.

And then it all let go.

The stars streaked away from those two that were ever so important, shooting away to leave only those two in the sky ahead. The colors of the morning's light rippled around her in a wave, turning the sky to a rainbow stream of clouds that spun and swirled like she was in a giant blender. The Second Star blinked and suddenly enveloped her in a white light that was warm and smelled of spring. Colors whirred past her too fast for her mind to decide which they were before the next came buzzing by. The colors held her like a cloak and suddenly snapped, letting her go and spitting her out into the sky that was mid-day with a sun bright and hot and clouds that looked more like cotton candy.

Neverland.

Kat soared in from the layers of clouds, seeing nothing but whispy white cotton candy until the clouds broke away, and the island of Neverland lay before her. It was just as she'd imagined, but so much bigger and so much more grand. The water was so blue and clear, sparkling in the bright sunlight. The green of the forests was thick and beautiful. Flowers and birds with colors so vibrant and beautiful, they stole her breath away. She could see the smoke from the Indian territory up on the cliffs, the stones of the Mermaid Lagoon jutting out from beautiful sea. She could see the Skull Rock so large it swallowed half a mountain. And she could see the floating ships of the pirates and Hook's land docked by the forests.

She'd made it, she was here. All she'd ever dreamt of was here before her and she couldn't feel any more elated than she did now. Oh, but as she soared over the wonderful place she couldn't decide what to do first. Should she fight the pirates? Maybe take Hook's hook and crow like Pan. Or maybe she should go visit the mermaids and play in the lagoon. But Peter, oh, she wanted to finally meet Peter Pan.

Having made her decision she headed for the center of the island where she knew Pan would have his hide out someplace with the Lost Boys. Scouring the land was one thing, but she'd not realized how easy it was to get caught up in the beauty of Neverland. The birds, the flowers, the massive trees and the strange creatures. There was so much to find and so much to learn, it was hard to remember that Peter was her goal.

 

 

"Where do you think Hook went?" asked one of the boys, carving down his stick to a point to work as an arrow. He checked the level of the arrow to ensure it was still straight and kept at it.

The others shrugged, all had their opinions and all had already gotten into a quarrel about whose idea was stupid and whose was worth looking into.

"I'm telling you boys, he's dead. When Peter stuck his hook into that croc and it fell on him, that croc finally got what he'd been hungerin' for." he picked up an acorn and tossed it at the first, messing up his arrow and setting the arrow crooked. The boy made a noise of anger and tossed another acorn at him, smacking him clear in the eye.

"Would you two stop," Ace threw an acorn at both of them and when they glared at him, he continued. "We all have our ideas but we'll never know until he comes back."

The second boy shook his head, "He ain't comin' back, Ace. I'm tellin' ya, Peter got him for good this time."

The first used his arrow to point at the two of them, "You're both wrong on account a we didn't see him in the croc and we didn't see him leave. I'm bettin' he ran away when all that dust went flyin' up and we never saw it, so it seemed like a magic trick ya see."

Ace grabbed the arrow out of his hand and pointed it back at him, "If we fight all day about if he's alive-"

"He ain't." the second interrupted.

Ace ignored him and went on, "Then we ain't focusin' on what's important, see? Peter saved his kids, he left. I don't think he's comin' back this time. It's our turn to take care of Neverland and if we spend the time fighting, nothing will be looked after."

The boys sobered, looking sad and forlorn as they hunched over. "Yeah, no Peter, Hook killed Rufio and who does Peter leave in charge?"

"Thud Butt can't even look after his plate of food, how's he supposed to lead Neverland?" he tapped his arrow on the ground. "And where's Tink? She left to take back Pan's kids and she ain't back yet? Somethin' ain't right."

"Yeah," they agreed. "And where's Tibbs, Brumble and Slightly?"

Don't Ask sat up in his bed tent above the boys, listening to their talk. He'd kept his mouth shut about Rufio and his attempts to keep their former leader alive. The boys didn't need to have false hope about something that might not work out. He'd had no sign of the boys coming back and as of yet, he couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But they were right, Tink wasn't back yet from taking Peter's kids back and that didn't leave much to understanding.

The war between the pirates and the Lost Boys had ended when Peter had taken care of Hook. The pirates and the boys had called it a truce and the boys went back to the island while the pirates retreated to their docks. But Hook was missing since the croc incident and Thud Butt had done nothing but eat and show off Pan's sword. Things in Neverland weren't as they always had been and right now, it was all up in the air until word came back about Rufio.

Don't Ask sighed and climbed out of his tent bed and down the vine onto the wooden bridge to lead out onto the tree rafters. He roamed the forest to find some peace from all the problems running around his head. But once he got as far as the red cockatoos that perched near the daisies, a shadow flew over him.

He gasped and snapped his attention to the sky, but no one was there. Yet he knew the sound of a friend in the wind, and he heard that subtle moan as the breeze flowed with a body in the air. Had Pan come back? Unlikely, but it may have been one of the boys with word on Rufio. Although, Don't Ask wasn't sure he wanted to know the news. And yet, he followed the sound in the breeze, soft and gentle.

The shadow flew slowly, like it was looking for something or someone. Perhaps it was Slightly looking for him, looking to deliver the news that Rufio was no more. And now that his imagination was all awhirl with the possibilities, Don't Ask had to find out if his fears were right or not before they got away with him. The ground gave way from forest to a soft layer of soil and with the sun behind, the shadow sprawled across the soil like it was spreading it's wings, although it had none.

That's when all of Don't Ask's ideas slipped into a halt. That wasn't Pan's shadow. He knew it well. And it wasn't Slightly's, nor was it Brumble or Tibbs. And it certainly wasn't Rufio's, although it was as big as his, bigger than that of any Lost Boy. A stranger that could fly?

Don't Ask snatched up his dagger from its sheath on his belt and he crouched behind the forest's shrubs. Smaller than a pirate, bigger than a Lost Boy and it looked different too. He was perplexed, and every guess he had, from the strange birds of Neverland, to every pirate's shape he knew and every Lost Boy he knew intimately, none matched up. So he watched with every focus and thought as the shadow slowed and grew darker, getting closer to the ground as it landed and was once again tied to its host at the bank of the lake.

Don't Ask stared wide-eyed ahead.

The person was someone more like the size of Rufio, slightly bigger than the other boys. But this one was a bit smaller than Rufio at the same time and much smaller than Pan. They carried a bag with a long strap hanging off their shoulder and they knelt, slipping the bag to the ground and scooping up the water to sip from their smaller, delicate hands. They're clothes weren't torn or tattered like the Boys or the pirates, they were nice and clean and not a speck of dirt on them. Long, blue pants tucked into little black boots that weren't made of leather. A long green shirt with a hood that was hidden under a thick layer of red curls, they sipped the water and sighed, looking up at the cotton clouds.

Don't Ask took no chances, he crept forward, silent from the bushes and across the quiet soil. As he got closer, the person's shadow moved, though they did not. The shadow peeked their head up to look at him and moved to the side to avoid his foot. How strange, only Pan's shadow had ever found the ability to be something on its own. No Lost Boy had ever found his shadow to be a living thing no matter how hard they tried. It made no sense. But Don't Ask couldn't be stopped here.

He stuck his blade to their side, "Don't move see, lest you have a blade in your gullet."

They gasped and reached back, wrapping an arm around his neck and upper arm, picking him up over them and hurling him into the lake. The water splashed high and the lake swallowed him deep. He snapped up to the surface and gasped for air, more surprised than angry. He coughed up a mouthful of water and stared at the person with a strange shadow.

It was a girl!

She stared back at him, her bag in her hand as she slowly backed away from the lake's bank. Her eyes held some glint of recognition, though they'd never laid eyes on him before and she offered out her hand over the water, ready to pull him up as if they were friends. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were a...well, I didn't know." her hand was still outstretched to him as he waded in the water. She had long, thin fingers, delicate and pristine looking. Her nails were colored the shade of her hair, a brilliant crimson. And her eyes, the most brilliant green this side of Neverland. Like the massive ferns that crawled along the forest floor or the drapery of vines that lay with the mermaids on their lagoon stones. They were awe inspiring and had him speechless to her as she offered her hand.

He stared longer and she thinned her lips before leaving the ground and flying behind him to take him up from under the shoulders, lifting him from the water and landing him back on the bank, his clothes dripping wet. The dagger in his hand felt useless somehow and he put it away in its wet sheath. She landed in front of him and looked apologetic.

As he stared at her, stunned, she licked her pink lips and spoke softly. "I'm sorry that I threw you into the lake, I took some self defense classes and have a response time that bested most." She was from London, her accent ensured that. "I'm Kat, which one are...I mean, what's your name?" it was like she was excited to meet him, which hadn't made much sense because no one was excited to meet anybody in Neverland, and she certainly had nothing to be excited about in his eyes.

His eyes watched the every ringlet of her bright red hair as they hung low off her shoulders, framing her face, a layer of freckles just under the green of her eyes. Pan had freckles just like she did, in just such the same placement. What a queer thing, with eyes green as ferns, hair red like a mermaid, a shadow that had a life of its own and freckles like little kisses from the sun along her pale cheeks.

Don't Ask realized his mouth was gaping and he snapped it shut, straightening up and folding at the waist low to her. "Where's my manners, Miss? My name is Don't Ask, I'm dreadfully sorry about trying to hostage you, mum." He sounded like a proper English gentleman, and looked the part as well when he'd straightened up as he was taught to do to a lady.

Kat blinked and shook her head. "Why are you bowing? I'm not royalty." she laughed and set her bag back down to attempt a curtsie in return. Though it felt awkward and not at all her.

"I was taught right, mum. You bow to a lady and assist her in any way." He picked up her bag at once. "Where to, Miss?"

She reached for the bag but he stepped out of reach, "Oh come on, I'm not a lady. I used to play in the mud with the boys after school, I don't wear dresses and I'm not in need of assistance. Now hand me my bag."

He shook his head, "Not til I done my mum proud and delivered you where you headed to."

Kat made a face, "I can see my grammar nazism is going to have a hard time here." she sighed. "Alright, I'm looking for Peter Pan and the Lost Boys."

Don't Ask frowned, "How long you been here, Miss?"

"Well, first off, you can stop calling me 'Miss' because I have a name and it's Kat as I told you before. Secondly, I've only been here...well I just flew in really."

"Flew in? Yeah, that don't make no sense if you pardon my askin', but how do you manage to fly? Tink wouldn't have given you the time of day, let alone dust for a thought."

Kat chewed her lip, "I haven't met Tink yet, but I couldn't tell you how I'm managing to fly, because I don't have any dust. But a happy thought? Those I've got plenty of." she smiled and it was like the sun felt warmer and the sky was bluer.

He shrugged, the mystery still unsolved. But she seemed to know the gist of things in Neverland. "Well, it just so happens you've met your first Lost Boy and the rest are just a few oaks that way." he pointed where he's left the camp. "And Peter well..." his face fell. "Some things have changed a bit. Pan has grown up see, he left awhile ago and had kids. We just fought a war against the pirate scum and Pan saved his kids and defeated Hook!" he hollered with excitement and crowed loudly. Kat giggled and frowned quickly after.

"Peter is gone? But...Neverland isn't Neverland without Peter Pan." she seemed to chew over the problem in her mind and didn't like the outcome. "But without Peter Pan. . ." she frowned on and Don't Ask felt he should comfort her.

"It's alright, Miss, erm, I mean Kat. Neverland survived without Pan before, we're doing it again."

She seemed unbelieving but nodded. "Okay, Don't Ask, lead away. I'd love to meet the rest of the boys." and the gleam in her eyes told him she was more excited than he would ever understand.

"Alright then, this way!" he tore off into the forest with Kat close at his heels. It became a race and a challenge, how good was she at running in the forest? Could she keep up with a Lost Boy?

He tore off through the brush, swinging from low branches and weeding through massive leaf plants big enough to scoop up a child. They hopped over logs and dove through hanging vines and Kat was still hot on his trail. She kept up easily, actually laughing in between jumps. She was quick and limber, slipping through the small spaces between jutting rocks with him and hopping from stone to stone through the muddy trail.

Don't Ask laughed with her and neared the edge of the camp. "Alright, you stay here, let me warn the boys."

"Warn them?" she asked, looking confused.

He nodded, "Yeah, we ain't never had a girl here before, save for -"

"Wendy?"

He paused. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

She smiled. "In my bag you're holding hostage, you'll find several books, one of which has all the stories of Peter and you boys and Captain Hook. I'm a scholar when it comes to your history here." she looked proud.

Like Wendy, she could read and liked stories. She was perfect! "Alright Kat, stay here, I'll come for you in a minute." He took off through the brush and out of sight with her bag on his shoulder. Kat sighed, excited. She pulled her hoodie back into place from running, straightening her attire to look her best. She fluffed her red hair and swooped her long bangs out of the way. But how could she wait here? She lifted off the ground and slipped into the tall trees to get a view of the camp for herself.

It took hours of fights and choosing sides between the Lost Boys at the camp. The more boys that were told, the bigger the argument got. Don't Ask and half the boys were for Kat being part of the group, that she was like one of them. She was able to run and had fighting moves that the boys could learn to fight the pirates better. She knew how to run and keep up and she could fly. But the rest of the boys wouldn't have it. She was a girl, and no girl was a Lost Boy. She knew about Peter and all the history, yet that could mean she was a spy sent by the pirates. And when Don't Ask said he's seen her shadow move and look at him, the boys said he was full of it.

When Kat had had enough of the fights, she slipped into sight, floating over the boys. "Boys! You're all on the same side! Stop fighting and at least hear me out."

"A girl!"

"She's flying!"

Kat crossed her arms, becoming a Lost Girl was proving to be harder than she thought. Her shadow cast over the boys, arms folded and somehow looking disapproving.

The boys stared at it in wonder, Don't Ask was right, it seemed like it had a life of its own. The shadow's arms bent and placed its fists on her hips.

"Pan!"

They looked up in the sky and only found Kat, her arms folded and her green eyes staring them down. "Now if you boys can't agree to feeling okay with me around, that's fine I guess. I can find a place of my own." She lowered and took her bag from Don't Ask her offered it kindly. "Thanks again, Don't Ask, it was a pleasure to meet you." she gave a last look to the boys and flew away from the camp and over the forests of Neverland. She sighed to herself and spent the day searching the island for the best place to set up her own camp. Just because the Boys didn't want her in their camp didn't mean she was going to leave her hopes of being a part of Neverland.

She found a good spot near the beach on the other side of the island from the pirates and somewhat near the mermaid's lagoon. She used her skills from Survival class and built a small tree loft up in the branches of a massive tree with low hanging vines. For awhile, she spent her days eating the fish she caught and exploring Neverland. But one day, the boys found her and explained that they'd changed their minds. They wanted her to be a part of their camp.

And that was all it took. She learned to run with the boys through the brush, to swim in the ocean with the mermaids. She fought the pirates with them and played games with the Indians. She was just as rough and rowdy and twice as clever as the Lost Boys. Some of them began to nickname her LG for Lost Girl. Wendy had never really counted as one, but Kat had absolutely managed the title among the boys.

It was like Peter himself had come back like he'd used to be back before he'd left and grown up. The boys were rallied like when Rufio had them screaming "Bangarang!" and when Peter had them treasure hunting. The adventures were back and it was just like old times. And then, it was all back to normal when the day came that four of the boys came back from their mission Kat had sent them on to bring back Smee's hat. It was a great challenge and the boys had set off with excitement, but now they were coming back empty-handed.

Kat lay across her throne they'd once stolen from Hook's personal keep on the ship. It was made of gold and embedded with jewels. And at this point, Kat had collected swords of different shape and size and decorated the throne with them. Now, she had a crown crooked over her red hair and was tossing stones across the bridge, bouncing them off tree branches and landing them in a pot two levels down in the massive tree camp.

"Kat! He's back!" they shouted over one another, climbing the vines to get to her level up in the trees. Her keep was seperate from the other levels in the tree camp. It was a massive level with soft moss as carpet and hand assembled planks of wood to form her walls and ceiling which was pitched high in the middle. Drapes of beautiful material stolen from the ship lined the walls and furniture she'd taken from the Captain's very own quarters.

The boys landed on her door step and stumbled in, ruining her shot of the tree branches. "Did you get it!?" she demanded, floating up out of the chair to them. "Tell me you got Smee's hat, what did he yell at you from the deck?" she laughed and imagined the scene.

They looked empty handed.

"LG, we didn't get the hat."

She frowned and shrugged, "Ah well, it was worth a shot, we can get him tomorrow."

"No, we have a bigger problem."

Kat looked confused, "Well spit it out."

They looked at one another and pushed one of the boys forth to deliver the news. He scratched the back of his head and sent his dark hair in every direction. "We snuck onto the ship to get Smee's hat, and all the ship was abuzz."

The others tried to chip in their parts. "We thought they'd found the treasure we hid."

"Or that they were leaving the docks."

"But everyone was crowded up by the top deck and then...we saw him."

She looked confused and waited.

"Hook is back."

Kat gasped and tossed her crown into the throne, taking flight and grabbing her best sword. "Finally! Where was the coward hiding? Is he still in shape?"

They all crowded her at once, "No! LG, he's worse than ever."

"He wants revenge against Pan and the boys."

"He blames us for the croc incident."

"And he's ordered every pirate to kill any Lost Boy they find!"

She laughed and checked the sharpness of her sword. "I'll get the codfish back into place. Ready the boys!"

The boys looked at one another, their faces unsure. The last time they'd seen Hook, he'd killed Rufio and three Lost Boys had gone missing. Tink still hadn't been back and no one could find the boys, or Rufio's body. It was assumed that the pirates had taken Rufio's body and left it to the sea and somehow the boys had lost in the fight. The island had been searched a thousand times plus and no one could find any of them. Tink was assumed to be on business of some kind though no one really knew what it could be.

"Well what are you waiting for, an invitation from Hook himself?" she asked, sliding her sword into its sheath. "Get the boys and let's start the siege!" The boys conceded and got the rest of the team ready.

Kat checked the mirror against the far wall near her bed. She'd long ago left her clothes from her world aside and made an outfit all her own. The leaves of the softest trees strung together with the fine silk of a spider's web and decorated with the little things she found in Neverland. There were tiny shells from the shore and flowered vines to cross her chest. The outfit was all one piece, it opened up at her collar bone and down low on her chest to swoop around hung on one shoulder. It was laced down the back with a leather tie, a brown leather belt around her hips. The lower portion was a skirt that left ragged leaves at her mid-thighs. Vines wrapped up her ankles and shins to about her thighs. She'd kept her boots though they were tattered and faded now from so long in Neverland's terrain.

It had been three months in Neverland since she'd arrived for the first time. And she'd nearly completely forgotten when and how she'd gotten there, and anything before her flight over was lost to her deeper consciousness. This was her home now, every boy her family, the mermaids and fairies her friends, the pirates her enemies. She belonged there, felt it as her home and looked after it as her home. And now Hook was back to challenge that.

She would finally get to meet the great villain she'd always read about and she was going to run him through.

It didn't take long for the boys to rally and they headed for the pirate's corner of the island. The pirates were in for a surprise.

 

The crowd of pirates chanted loud and proud, their index fingers curled in the air as they roared for their captain. Every pirate on the island was gathered to see the remerging of their beloved Captain Hook. The sails were pulled free and were billowing in the Neverland breeze. There were bottles of mead and whiskey being passed around happily in celebration. The clang of steel tankards were drowned away by the sound of one silver one.

"Men!" Smee called out loud from the top deck. "We've all waited long and searched hard for our beloved captain and found nothing." the audience listened carefully, captivated and ready to see if the tales they all heard were true. No pirate knew what had happened to Hook when the croc had fallen and no one had heard anything of his whereabouts besides rumors that he was a deserter. Some even said he had gone with Pan back to his world to escape Neverland. Some said he stayed at the Skull Canyon and other said they'd seen his bones near mermaid lagoon. No one was sure what had happened, but if he was back, that was all that mattered.

"You flea-bitten scoundrels couldn't bring him back, but he's back now. And not a one of ya's to ask where he went, or how he got back." Smee's voice hinted that there was to be punishment if someone were to ask. "Any one who had the thoughts of mutiny will walk the plank where sharks swim hungry, you hear?" all the men roared in acceptance, eager to see the Captain again. "So without any further adieu, I give you, the man of the hour, the man who defeated that old croc twice!" the men roared. "Captain James Hook!" the door to the Captain's quarters opened and the man in red stepped forth into the sunlight. He looked like he always had. The deep red of his coat embroidered with gold, the black shine of his boots and the tight black curls to his wig. His mustache was freshly cut and the bright of his cold blue eyes was filled with true hatred. He raised his left hand and there shined the infamous hook, glinting in the sunlight.

The crowd roared with excitement and hoots and hollers from the men displayed their appeasement of their Captain restored. But among the cheers of grown men, a shrill voice rang out in a crow that shook the clouds and quieted the crowd. Their eyes searched around the ship, no one knew where it had come from and no one seemed to have an idea. Peter Pan was gone and Rufio was dead, but no Lost Boy sounded like that.

Hook stepped to the edge of the carpeted stairs, "Sound again, who dares to crow in the presence of -"

"Of a codfish?" the feminine voice cut him off and every man gasped. Their eyes stared up above and a shadow fell over the ship. Every pirate moved to avoid the shadow cast over them as if it were a plague they'd all die from. The shadow landed on the limb of the rigging holding the billowing sail. Hook stared up at the first young woman they'd seen in Neverland. The women of the pirates were few and grown, old and a far cry from beautiful. Yet here was a red-haird vixen with bright green eyes clad in leaves and vines.

Kat sat with one leg crossed over the other, bouncing her tiny feet while she smiled down at Hook. The sun favored her skin and the breeze favored her hair, making it flow and sway. "What's the matter, boys?" her voice was strong and full of power all its own, a confidence that couldn't be shattered. "Haven't you seen a girl before? I guess the mermaids flee when they see your ugly faces before you get too close huh?" She laughed and it was like Neverland itself gave birth to the creature above him.

Hook glared and sneered, "Who be you, little lady?"

The girl made a face, "I'm not a lady, you remember that or we'll have problems, Codfish."

Hook smiled something wicked, "Then do grace us with your presence and your name and we'll know you better."

She laughed aloud, "So the men haven't told you yet, huh?" she hoped up on her heels to the rigging and swung around it effortlessly before hovering lower to slow near Hook so he could get a better look at her. "That's a shame, I was counting on you bildgrats to give me a good name when the Codfish got in." Hook glared at Smee.

"You know her?"

Smee looked ashamed and fumbled for words. "Well I, I mean we, well she..."

The girl laughed again and that sound began to grade on Hook's nerves, much like Peter's laugh had. She lay on the air as if it were a couch, on her stomach and her chin propped on her hands. "I've got quite the collection of your pretties on my loft, Hook. Your throne sits nicely near your four poster bed and those lovely satin and silk sheets. Oh, and the boys and I want to thank you for the treasure you left unguarded on your ship, they look lovely hanging around the camp."

Hook's face filled with flames and he snapped his glare at Smee again. "Smee! You lying, thieving little dog! You told me you melted it all down to made a deal with the mermaids!" Smee looked sheepish and backed against the Captains door like he might escape.

The girl's laughter rang out loud and Hook turned back to her, "So tell me, girl, you seem to know us so well. What's your name?"

She soared up and posed, shoulders slanted and hips to match. "I am the very first Lost Girl, the name's Kat. The new leader of the Lost Boys and Queen of Neverland, although I left my crown at home." she slipped her sword from its sheath and flew at Hook who had just enough time to draw up his own sword in time to catch hers. She pressed her face to his, green eyes challenging his blue ones. "Where'd you go, Hook? The world wants to know. I bet you cowered in a cave someplace, rocking back and forth like a little child because you just can't find the power to win, can you?"

Hook let out a roar and pushed his strength into his sword and her away form him. She tumbled backwards in the air and raised her sword again. The boys broke through from every crevice of the ship and began their seige against the pirates. Hook tossed a dagger Kat's way, she dodged and it stuck into the wooden mast. By the time she looked back, Hook was gone and the pirates were all fighting. Hook and Smee were gone, probably locked away inside his quarters. Kat let it go and joined the fight happily.

The fight lasted all day and by evening, all of Neverland had heard of Hook's return and their fight against Kat and the boys. The mermaids were singing songs and the parrots mocked the pirates with their caws. The Indians were setting up roaring fires and congratulating the Lost Boys on their fight against the coward that was the Captain.

The parties went on and each day or so, Kat would go back with a few boys and fight the pirates, hoping to get back to Hook. She managed a dual now and again, eager to train herself better against the better swordsman. Hook seemed to hate Kat with all the more vigor than he had Peter and Rufio combined. Each day they would fight and each night, they would celebrate.

Until one day, it all turned for the worse. Kat went alone just after noon, dancing in the clouds and swaying with the breeze. She arrived at the ship from the side, far off in the ocean so she could spot Hook. The boom of the cannons blasted off and she dodged the ball. They were heavy and slow and loud, easy to avoid. She heard three more booms and dodged each. Two sounded off close to one another and she dodged the first, going to the left to move from its path. And just as she spotted the next close to her, it split into four halves of the ball and opened up into a thick netting. She gasped and was too slow to dodge the massive net, the weighted cannon edges pulling downwards to the sea. The netting tangled around her and wrapped her up, the weights pulling down.

Kat went splashing hard into water, the cool waves swallowing her whole quickly. She focused and tried to fly, pushing upward and making it just barely away from the water before the weight of cannon ball dragged her back into the waves. Hook's ship moved fast with the wind her way, the waves crashing up high from its wake, sending her deeper and making it harder to try and get any lift. Hook ordered the ladders rolled down and they lowered the hooks. Pirates crawled down the rope ladders along the ship's side and grabbed hold of the large hooks, linking them into the netting surrounding Kat and hoisting her up out of the water. She gasped for air and choked out water as they swung the net around and lowered her in front of Hook. Her red hair was slick and hung in her eyes, dripping wet with ocean. He pulled her close as the men pulled her sword free through the netting before she could get untangled to it. Hook slipped his namesake under her chin and stared deep into her eyes.

"You've called me names for the last time, girl. It's time you learned who runs things around here." His cold blue eyes frosted over and he laughed. "Bind her, take her to the bowls of the ship, I'd like to play a few of my own games with the little mouse." The men called out and roared and did as he ordered, ensuring that they were as rough with the girl in the netting as they could. They dropped the net and she slammed to the deck hard. Dragging her across the ship, every pirate got a kick and poke at her, leaving welts from their belts and scrapes from their swords, bruises from their fists and boots. They dragged her down the steps to the deepest bowls of the ship, letting every step make her thud again and again. When at the bottom level, surrounded in their pickle barrels and crates, the men hauled her up and bound her tightly at the elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. Tying the rope at her wrists and pulling up hard so that her arms were raised nearly above her head painfully.

She faced the back wall in the darkness, candles lighting the dark bowls of the ship. The room smelled of mold and wet wood and pickles, it was dark and moist as the ship bobbed this way and that. She was left in the room with a handful of the pirates who all had their own ideas of what to do to her before Hook got there.

"Cute little minx, isn't she?" one commented, holding up her face to the light. His breath was hot and disgusting against her cheek.

"Yeah, much better a sight than Pan." they roared in agreement.

The pirate slapped her face hard and she let out a yelp. A second pirate tried his hand to her other cheek a little harder.

"Nah, you're slapping her like a lady. She's not a lady, remember boys? So don't treat her like one." he raised his hand back and his fingers curled into a tight fist. Kat braced herself and stiffened, holding her jaw tight just before the fist collided with it. There was a hard slap of flesh against flesh as he hit her and black star bloomed across her vision. Kat gasped and tried to focus to breathe to keep the stars from pulling her under unconsciousness.

"Boys!" Hook's voice called out and the men stilled, backing away from her guiltily. "I want her awake for it all until she's to be put to sleep. Get out." the men rushed out like they'd been whipped and the door shut. Kat heard the black boots echo as Hook took his every step to cross the room. The steps made her heart soar and pound hard in her chest. She licked her lips and tasted blood, probably from the fist she'd just received.

He came into view and had a brown wrap tied together, tools tucked inside. It was tucked up under his arm as he stared at her, taking off his hat and laying it on a barrel. "Pan may have beaten me at a lot of battles, and even saved his little rugrats." He lay the satchel on the barrels and unrolled it, revealing the sharp and shinning tools. Hook lay his fingertips over each one lovingly and finally selected a small scalpel like tool. He pulled it free of the leather and let it shine in the candle light between them. "But you made a big mistake coming here, girl." he placed the tip of the knife against her shoulder and pressed in slowly, allowing a fresh bead of blood to push free. The cold, harsh gaze of those blue eyes burned deep in Kat as she stared back with falling green ones. "You're not Pan."

He dragged the knife down hard along her soft skin, Kat cried out and her shoulder bled down her arm wet and hot. He took his hook and dragged it hard down her other shoulder and her scream let out loud over the ship.

Kat's screams echoed loud over the crashing of waves, the Indian's chants, over the mermaid's singing and right through the Boys' camp. All night long, every person and creature heard her cries, for days on end. They paraded her around the ship, bound to a log, the crew had their own goes at her with whatever weapons they could find. They tied her to the anchor and dropped her into the waters, pulled her up and did it all over again.

The Lost Boys were kept at bay by the pirates, unable to get to Hook's ship and free Kat. And one day, they didn't have to fight to get to her. Hook came in finally one afternoon with a look in his eye that set her heart to sink somehow further than before, however that was possible. In his hand, there was a small, glass vial, filled with a strange, black liquid. Three pirates followed him in and grabbed her by the chin and head, holding her back and opening her mouth despite her efforts to fight them.

"We've had some fun these past few days, little mouse. And I'll cherish those memories every night." he laughed darkly and the pirates echoed him. He popped the cork out of the vial and held it up to her lips. "But I want to know that you'll suffer slowly, more slowly than our lovely torture time here. This is a rare concotion I have here, it's derived from the venom of a black mamba, the ink of an squid from the deepest depths of the ocean, a mermaid's tear, the sap from a Jumba tree and a drop of fresh rain fallen into an Illati flower and drained off its petals."

He smiled at his creating, "It took more time to concoct than I care to explain. But all those months I was missing were well spent I assure you. I wanted it for Pan, but I think this will do just perfectly. Now, the entire vial will surely kill its victim within seconds, but a single drop will bring the longest, most agonizingly slow death one can think of." He pressed the vial against her bottom lip, cracked and bleeding and cut from different torture one day after the other. Tipping the vial up ever so slowly, carefully, carefully, a single black drop of shining liquid slipped from the lip of the vial and onto her tongue where it immediately burned and hissed angrily. The pirates forced her mouth shut and plugged her nose, ensuring she swallowed and choked on the terrible taste of the poison.

Once they were sure she'd had it, they cut her loose and dragged her limp, broken body back up the flights of stairs and up over the edge of the ship into the water. Her body hurt everywhere, a pain that was beyond words and one beyond the ability to heal easily. Every muscle burned and her bones screamed for something soft and full of cushions. Her arms were out of their sockets from the way they'd tied her up and her legs were a mess from their terrible afflictions. Her skin was marred and marked, blood both dry and wet and bruises of every color.

Her body hit the water hard and barely stayed afloat as the ship sailed on, leaving her in the dark, the moonlight dancing on the waves. Kat didn't have the strength to open her eyes more than a slit and when she did, the burn of the sea salt made her eyes water and burn, which was a gentle pain in comparison to what she had gone through. For several minutes, she watched the ship sail away between bleary eyes and moving waves before something swam near her. Sharks. Oh good, something quick compared to the poison Hook had so sweetly explained to her. If his poison had worked, she'd rather be eaten by sharks now.

A fin tipped up out of the waves but wasn't grey and it wasn't a shark. It was blue and sparkling and looked shiny. The mermaids swam around her gently, careful not to touch her where she might be in more pain. One caressed her forehead to scoop the hair from her face gently, the mermaid's eyes peering into Kat's with sorrow. They let out ghostly moans that reached a shrill pitch over the waves. They pulled seaweed to the surface and carefully wrapped it around Kat's waist, caring to avoid her broken ribs. With the greatest of ease, the mermaids swam her to shore and called to the birds who flew to get the Lost Boys.

The mermaids spent the time laying with her in the sand and water on the shore. They stroked her hair and sang to her, lovely, soft tunes of sorrow and pain. Beautiful, haunting melodies that drew her attention away from the pain and brokenness in her body. She smiled lightly and closed her eyes, drifting off finally into a sleep that she could rest in.

In her dreams, she heard the Boys talking, a blinding light that had a trail of gold dust, and memories of what Hook and the pirates did to her on the ship. Somewhere, far off, she could still hear the mermaids' song to her, keeping her from waking and feeling more pain.

"What did they do to her?"

"Everything's broken."

"Everything's black and blue."

"She doesn't look the right color."

"Careful men, lay her down gentle like."

Disembodied voices swam around her and now and again lights blazed around her. There were shadows and something wet running over her skin. Bells were ringing quietly around her with a bright light.

"Tink says we have to pop her shoulders back into place while the mermaids sing, they'll keep her from feeling it."

"And the mermaids say put this on her broken bones, they'll be fixed overnight."

Kat lost track of time and space, she heard the beautiful song of the mermaids with the waters crashing against the shore. The stars and moon dancing lights on the waves and her body felt like it floated with the waves.

Author's Note

This story is NOT a finished product, and I don't know if it will be. This is just a fun story I'm working on with a friend for the hell of it. We were inspired by the 1991 film Hook and began to write a fanfiction just because we can. Please, no serious critiques, this is merely for fun.