Chapter Text
Internal Thoughts
Flashbacks/Memories
Writing
Foliage rustles around me, my breaths coming in ragged gasps, feet pounding on the ground behind me, accompanied by shouts. Fuck. I thought I had slipped away unnoticed.
“Lieutenant! Lieutenant Jones!” Mr Smee's voice echoes from behind. I halt, turning to face him, my bag dropping to the ground. “Where are you going?” he demands.
“Pan said there was only one way off the island,” I reply, hoisting my bag and slinging it over my quiver. “I'm getting The Jolly Roger out of here. My father and I made a promise. If we were stuck, we’d sacrifice ourselves for the other. I'm fulfilling that promise.” I wipe away tears. “Tell the tale of the Pirate Queen, will you?”
He nods solemnly. “I promise,” he murmurs. With that, I bolt into the same woods I fled just hours ago.
Sitting on a tree stump, I shed my coat and cram it into my pack. Surveying my surroundings, I realise there's nothing to start a fire with. "Shit." I use my pack as a makeshift pillow and lie down to rest.
I awaken to the crackling of a fire. Sitting up, I spot food cooking over the flames and a figure seated opposite. Flames. How could I be so stupid? Waving my hand, I quell the flames to mere embers before standing and grabbing my pack.
“You do not want food, love?” I hear, causing me to stop dead in my tracks.
I turn around and see those green eyes that have been watching me for weeks. “No. I want you to let my father and crew go. I’ll stay here.” His face breaks into a smile. “But, I won’t be one of you little minions. I can survive on my own, unlike some of you Lost Boys. I’m not lost, but chained.” I turn back to the forest.
“You will come to camp asking for help soon enough!” I ignore him, pulling my blade from its scabbard, and carefully avoiding the Dreamshade.
Once I finally stop, I look around and realise I’m on Dead Man’s Peak, where my Uncle Liam was poisoned. Looking out onto the ocean, I see the Jolly Roger fall into the portal. Out of the island. Away from Pan. Away from Neverland. Away from me. I sink to the edge of the cliff, tears streaming down my face. “Goodbye, Father. I’m sorry,” I whisper, gazing down. “I love you.”
«« Killian’s POV »»
“Captain,” Mr Smee strides over to the wheel, a sense of urgency in his voice. “I found this on one of the crates, sir.”
He extends a note to me, and as I read the words scrawled upon it, my heart skips a beat. “I have granted The Jolly Roger passage out of Neverland. The debt has been paid - Pan.”
A surge of relief floods through me, a smile spreading across my face. “We are finally free,” I announce to the deck, my voice ringing out with triumph. “All hands, prepare for sail!” The crew erupts into cheers, their excitement echoing across the deck as they eagerly set to their tasks.
Once we're underway, I relinquish control of the wheel to a capable crew member and make my way below deck to check on Echo. As I approach her room, I rap gently on the door. “Echo?” I call out, but there's no response. With a sinking feeling in my gut, I push open the door, only to find the room empty.
“The portal’s open, Captain!” One of the deckhands calls from above. “Have you awoken Echo?” I head back up to the deck and see Smee look scared. “Smee! Get over here!” My voice booms across the deck, commanding attention.
“Y-yes, Captain?” Smee stammers, his voice quivering.
I fix him with a steely glare. “Where is Echo?” My words carry a chilling edge. Before he can respond, the ship hurtles through the swirling portal, plunging us into the unknown.
The blinding light fades as we emerge into the Enchanted Forest. “Smee! Where is Echo!” My demand echoes across the silent deck.
He cowers, shrinking into himself. “She said th-that she was fulfilling her promise,” he stammers, avoiding my gaze. “She is still in Neverland.” The weight of his words hangs heavy over us, a suffocating realisation settling in. The Pirate Queen is missing.
I turn my gaze upon Smee, fury igniting within me. “And you didn't deem it necessary to inform me sooner?”
“I thought you already knew,” he mumbles, his voice barely audible.
“I'd never leave her with that demon,” I growl, releasing my grip on his arm. “You know the tales of Pan, yes?”
He nods, fear etched into his features. “Yes, sir,” he manages to whisper. “But Echo can handle it. She doesn’t need you to protect her. It doesn’t matter,” His words hang in the air, a bitter truth I refuse to accept.
“Then neither do you,” I declare, drawing my blade with a swift, decisive motion. “Goodbye, Mr. Smee.” With a single stroke, I sever his upper body from the rest, a grim testament to the price of betrayal. “Give him a burial.”
“A proper burial?” One of the deckhands asks.
“A burial,” I say. “I don’t care what type of burial he gets.”
I head to the crew's quarters and start to grab Echo’s stuff. As I’m sorting through everything to move into my quarters, I notice her diary is gone, as are all other important items. She took everything she’d want or need on that terrible island.
“Captain, would you like help?” One of Echo's friends, James, asks me tentatively.
“No. Please help the deckhands dock. We will be staying here for 3 days.”
He nods, “Yes, Captain.” he turns and leaves. A few moments later, he shouts out the order. “Prepare to dock! We will be staying here for 3 days!”