The Sea Devil shot through the Second Star to the Right and halted all travel once it was clear. The oxygen shield was not completely depleted. Hook and Starkey, along with the rest of his men, stormed the deck expecting a battle. They had expected whomever disabled their landing gear and shield to be waiting for them, but there wasn’t a being or a fleet waiting for them.
Winter pushed through, hoping to find the Lost Boys, but she was just as disappointed as the crew.
“Has anyone found anything? Starkey?” Hook shouted impatiently.
“The crew is on it sir, but so far they’ve found nothing. Their only discovery is that our landing gear was destroyed and our oxygen shield was tampered with.”
“We already bloody knew that you idiot!” Hook looked onto the stars with a wild look in his eye trying to find any hint of the saboteur. “Who could do such a thing. They would have to have a vast knowledge on how starships worked to do it so fast and efficient. Have the Lost Boys come back?”
“Possible sir, but unlikely. We would have detected their fleet and last our intel checked, they don’t have any ways of breathing without oxygen. Never needed it.”
“Who knew we were going to Earth? Smee?” Hook questioned grasping at straws. “Perhaps Peter paid him off to protect his precious Earth?” Not sure what to do with himself as Hook pondered, Starkey looked toward the star sky for any sign of answers. What he saw amongst the stars made his whole body go cold and stiff. It was not possible. “That slime ball would do anything for money! Such a disloyal pirate! It must have been him!” Hook continued.
“Ummm, sir?” Starkey questioned as he thought he was going mad. He stared up at the being and weighed every option. It matched the stature and size, but it couldn’t possibly be.
“But how could Pan anticipate this? He’s not that smart!”
“Sir?” Starkey pleaded.
“Unless that scoundrel told him all our plans! Of course, he would do that! He would sell out his own mother for a weekly bonus!”
“Sir, please!” Starkey said desperately.
“What!?” Hook asked as he turned to Starkey. Starkey held a look that Hook had never seen before. There was sheer terror in his eyes and he was clearly shaken to his core. “What is it, Starkey,” Hook asked with a genuine concern. Starkey held up his arm and pointed up toward the sky, his whole arm shaking in the process.
He produced a loud gulp, “I think you should see this, sir,” he said weakly as the words barely came out. Hook turned slowly with caution, not sure what to expect when he looked up. Perhaps it was an entire fleet, perhaps it was a dreaded monster waiting to swallow them up. But nothing in Hook’s wildest imaginations could prepare him for this.
His eyes fleeted up, and his terror matched Starkey as he gazed at the being with piercing purple eyes. He didn’t know how it was possible, but Peter Pan had somehow come back from the dead. “How is this possible?” Hook asked himself. “Peter Pan?”
Hearing Hook off in the distance, Winter turned to discover a living and breathing Peter floating near the Sea Devil. “Peter!” she shouted in disbelief, causing the whole crew to turn and discover that Neverland’s hero had returned.
The entire crew blabbered among themselves in terror. They all had heard various legends about Peter Pan, but they shrugged it off, thinking they were just rumors. But now, they thought they might be true. The technology of Neverland was vast, but none of it was advanced enough to bring anyone back to life. Somehow the legendary Peter Pan had cheated death.
“Peter! It was you?” Hook asked. Had Peter cared about embarrassing Hook in front of his men, he would have confirmed that everything that had just happened was because of him. The Sea Devil’s defenses were down so they were not expecting anyone to come in and plant several small, but precise bombs to their mechanics. The old Peter would have loved to taunt Hook with this information. But none of that mattered anymore.
Winter flew off the Sea Devil, aiming toward Peter. “Peter! How did you do this!” she questioned excitedly. But as she got closer, something seemed off. Peter didn’t show a single form of emotion toward her, but instead kept staring down at Hook. “Peter,” she said with concern. “What happened?”
Meanwhile, Starkey approached a petrified Hook. “Umm, sir, the men are quite terrified.”
“As they should be,” Hook said in a hushed voice. “How the blast did he survive that?”
“It’s unclear, sir. But we need to do something. The crew are terrified and are murmuring about fleeing. They need to think we can still win.”
“Yes…yes Starkey you’re right,” Hook said with a deranged look in his eyes. Starkey knew Hook was absolutely terrified when he didn’t take credit for Starkey’s idea. Hook eyed Peter and Winter in the stars, trying to think of a plan quick.
“Peter,” Winter uttered, but Peter continued to ignore her with all of his attention on Hook. “Peter talk to me!”
Their conversation was cut short when Hook barked out, “I don’t know how you did it, Peter. But…nothing’s changed! The Krag are still on my payroll and I’ll…” Hook lost his train of thought unable to remember where he was going with that threat until he saw Winter. “The girl! I’ll kill the girl! Did it once...will do it again.” Hook was trembling and twitching like a mad man. “Starkey! Call them out! Quickly!”
“Yes sir!” Starkey yelped as he hobbled away.
“And you don’t even have your precious Lost Boys with you!” Hook was finally starting to regain his confidence. At least it looked like he confident, even though deep in his mind he was still terrified. “Face it! You’re done!” Peter kept silent and continually stared at him, making Hook extremely uncomfortable, having never seen this side of Peter. “I’ve still outmatched you!” he yelled hoping that Peter would stand down.
Peter remained quiet and still. “It’s time, sir,” he heard Tink radio to him. Peter took out his sword and activated it. It was time to fight. Hook didn’t know Peter’s endgame, but as it looked, Hook still had the upper hand.
“It’s a fight you want then? You may be skilled, Peter, but you’re no match for my entire fleet!”
Peter shook his head as fleets of ships appeared behind him! The Lost Boys had come back with their strong armada. Nibs, now sitting in Slightly’s old captain’s chair, manned the throttle. He was clearly still rattled and hurt by the actions of Slightly, but sat poised and confident. A feeling he hadn’t felt since his brother was alive.
“Like Tink said, boys. Protect Winter at all costs. That’s all Hook has now! And don’t be afraid to take them out. We will not have a repeat performance,” he radioed over. “And please, act like any of Hook’s men is Slightly if ya need to get your rage out,” he said hoping to boost morale after it had been completely drained of them. He looked over to his men aboard the Dodger and they all gave a slight nod and grin, approving of their new interim captain. “And Grottowians, give the Krags everything you’ve got! They’re ruthless and will do whatever is necessary to complete their mission. I’m wiring over to you their tactics on our last two battles so you can understand how they act.”
The Grottowians fleet were not far behind the Lost Boys. Their ships shined and stood out against the Lost Boys. They were spherical pure white orbs with a blue light shining from the middle. June stood at command of her ship with poise and precision. The interior of the spheres was an exact match to their base on Grottowia. “Affirmative, Captain Nibs. As much as we would like vengeance on Captain Hook for his crimes against the great Grottowian race, we will acknowledge the need to destroy the Krag. Grottowians!” she messaged out to her fleet. “Obey every one of Captain Nibs’s orders. Even though we all agree, this battle would end much faster and more efficient with a Grottowian strategizing the attack.”
“What did Peter ever see in this broad?” Nibs asked the nearby men.
“Your radio is still on, Captain,” June boiled out.
“Crap!” he said quickly as he shut off the radio.
Hook terror intensified as he saw the immense fleet arrive behind Peter. Behind him, the Krag had finally come back. But even with the Krag, Peter still greatly outmatched him. He looked back to Peter, who was now twirling his blade, taunting him to come join him. “Is that how you want things then?” he yelled out. “Alright, then,” he gulped. He had faced Pan many times before, there wouldn’t be anything different this time. “Men, same tactic as last time! It worked before and I intend for it to happen again!” He transformed his hook into a sword and snatched a second one from one of his men. If he was going to face Peter, he was at least going to have the upper hand. He flew off toward Peter. “Don’t disappoint me,” he called out to his men as he left.
Hook’s men flew toward Winter’s direction with the intent to kill her. Flashes of her last battle with them flew through her head as she became short of breath. She barely survived last time and would have died without Peter’s sacrifice. How would she be able to do it again in her current condition. She was about to take off and run for it, when an army of the Lost Boys flew out to her aid and blocked them from attacking.
A breath of relief came to her. She knew she could take on Hook’s men one at a time. She could actually helpful to this fight! Her hopes were cut short when she saw the Krag closing in on the Lost Boys ships. The Krag were repeating their last tactic and flying out from their ships to attack the Lost Boys. They were quickly squashed however, when the Grottowians flew in to their aid. Bright blue lasers shot from their tiny canons with such perfect precision that they blasted the Krag right out of the sky into oblivion. Soon the Krag would only have their ships. If they sent out any men, it would be a suicide mission.
Winter grinned and flew into battle! She cocked her head to the side and noticed Hook was closing in on Peter, who was still patiently waiting for him. His actions still worried her. Whether it was his death or resurrection, something had changed him. She decided to keep close to him, knowing he may need her.
Hook flew a few feet apart from Peter. “I don’t know how you did it, Peter. But you’re going to wish you left that sword in your chest.”
“This time is different,” Peter said ominously. Hook was taken back a little from his statement.
“Are you sure you want to do this-” Hook started to say, but was cut short when Peter head butted him in a cheap move. Hook flew back in a retreat, having never seen this kind of behavior from Peter.
“Bad form, Peter,” he said a tad frightened. He felt something warm at the base of his lip and lifted his hand to remove it. When he looked down at his hand, he saw his red blood. Hook gritted his teeth. “Well, then. If you insist, Peter.”
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Hook charged toward him as Peter charged back. Their swords clashed together making a sound that dampened throughout the entire battlefield. Even with his dual swords, Hook could barely shake Peter. Peter’s slashes were faster and more aggressive than he or Peter himself had ever seen. With every clash of their swords, Peter flew back and gave another devastatingly harsh blow, with revenge being the only thing on his mind.
Winter looked off from a distance, worrying about Peter. Her worrying was cut short when one of Hook’s men ambushed her. She heard his battle cry and swooped away. She flew toward him with her sword drawn. A Lost Boy noticed she was being attacked and started to head towards her way to aid her. She clashed with the pirate and then flew back utilizing a flip. Winter flew down and cut the pirate’s rocket boots. They wildly malfunctioned and sent him soaring away. She looked over and saw the Lost Boy suddenly stop, astonished and impressed. She nodded toward him and started looking for her next target. As she flew towards her next victim, she glanced back at Peter, still as aggressive and dangerous as he had been previously.
As Winter flew, she found a Krag ship was zooming right toward her. She started planning her escape strategy when the Krag ship blew up inches before she reached her! A Grottowian ship emerged from the explosion, flying past winter.
“Yes!” June yelled at command. “I want them dead! Get them all! When they discuss why you should never engage with the Grottowians, I want them to point to this battle as an example!” June’s eyes fluttered red as she growled.
A Krag ship set their sights on the Grottowian vessel as June finished her speech of decay. “Blast them!” she yelled. But before they were able to fire, the Krag ship exploded, with the Dodger flying past them.
“Don’t worry June! Even the Grottowians need help sometimes!” Nibs shouted as he piloted the Dodger.
“We were about to fire! You had no right-” June fired back, but Nibs cut off the communications channel. He grinned and looked over to his men.
“I think I understand what Peter saw in her now.” Nibs was heading toward a group of three Krag ships. “Let’s go,” he whispered to himself. “Keep it up, boys!” he yelled out in a battle cry as he made the Dodger fly in a corkscrew motion toward the Krags. He blasted every single one out of the sky as they flew by the Sea Devil, where Starkey was trying to command the ship in Hook’s absence.
“Squadron 1 are you still there!” he shouted over his com link.
“All good sir-AH!” they yelled as Starkey saw a blast in the sky.
“Oh, not good,” he said to himself as he switched channels over to the Krag. “Krag! How are you doing? Is everything all right?” Starkey asked as if he was asking how their day was, trying to keep an appearance of being calm. “Krag?” he asked again as there was no response. He looked up to the stars and saw all the Krags at once had started a retreat. “Oh, not good, not good at all. Captain!” he radioed to Hook. “We have to retreat! The Krag have fled and we’re losing more men than I can count!”
“That’s because you’re an idiot Starkey!” Hook shouted as he deflected another one of Peter’s parries. “We’re not giving up!” He shoved Peter away using the strength of both his swords. “This one’s till the end!”
Hook changed his sword to a blaster and fired at Peter. Peter flew in a corkscrew motion toward him, but was unable to dodge one of the laser blasts. He yelped in pain and retreated back. He put his hand to his shoulder to cover the wound. When he pulled back his hand it was covered in blood.
Peter reactivated his sword and flew back toward Hook using the same corkscrew motion. Hook fired again, but this time unlucky with every shot. Peter came closer with his blade. Hook reacted quickly and dodged to the side and watched as Peter flew by. Before he got out of sword’s length, Hook slashed at him, slicing into Peter’s calf.
Peter yelled again and repositioned himself so he was eye level with Hook. His aggression was making him sloppy, but he couldn’t control his emotions. He eyed Hook with a dark vengeance.
“You’ll die again, Peter. And this time, I’ll make sure it sticks.”
Peter and Hook charged at one another, clashing their swords together. Hook took his blaster and fired it at Peter as they were at a standstill. Peter broke their swords and twirled away, leaving his back completely vulnerable. Hook took the opportunity and cut into it. Peter growled in pain. He was fed up that he was doing so poorly. He had never lost to Hook before and he wasn’t about to start now. His breathing was heavier, from both anger and exhaustion.
“Face it Peter, you’re stuck in your own loop! It will all happen again. Your death,” Hook said as he fired at Peter. Peter brought his sword up to deflect the shot. After his success, he was surprised with Hook charging at him with his sword. Peter brought his blade up just in time to block. “Your friends will betray you, again,” Hook mocked as he fired and shot Peter in the side!
Peter produced a yell that echoed throughout the battlefield that caught Winter’s attention. “Peter!” she yelled as she rocketed towards his way.
Peter had no choice but to fly away. Hook laughed as he chased Peter throughout the stars. Hook quickly changed his blaster arm back to a sword, returning to duel blades. He yelled as he brought his swords toward Peter. Peter turned around and caught Hook’s blades with his sword, just in time. “And the girl,” Hook said as he used his strength to bring his blades closer to Peter’s neck, “will die.” Peter’s guard was trembling as Hook’s sword got closer to him. “Just like your beloved Wendy,” he snarled at him. Hook’s face looked more demented than ever with the illumination of the twin blades.
Peter’s hands were trembling and vibrating more than ever. But right as he heard Wendy’s name, it went away as anger and terror filed his mind. The blades stopped heading toward Peter. Hook noticed and tried pressing harder, but Peter, using his newfound strength, pressed their blades closer to Hook’s neck.
Winter stopped flying toward them, now that Peter had the upper hand. She ignored every instinct she had to fly up and help him, but knew Peter wouldn’t want that.
The blades continued to get closer to Hook. Peter let out a battle scream and broke off their standstill. Hook’s arms flew back from the strength of Peter, leaving him wide open.
Hook tried to bring his swords back but was cut short when Peter sliced toward Hook and cut off his cybernetic arm! Hook yelled in pain and surprise. Peter wasted no time and hit Hook’s other hand with the hilt of his sword. Hook had no choice but to let go of the sword, causing it to fly away. Hook quickly turned around to reach for it, but Peter was quicker! He flew underneath Hook and grabbed his flailing sword. He activated it and crossed both swords together and set them at Hook’s throat, now utterly defenseless!
Peter’s breathing was now heavier than ever. His armored helmet retracted back into his suit, allowing them to have eye contact. Without the glaring purple lights and helmet shadowing Peter’s actual face, Hook was able to see the person that Peter had become.
In the reflection of Hook’s eyes, Peter saw it himself too. He saw a broken man on the verge of collapse. Tears fell down his face, his hair was mangled and his face was red. Peter saw that his own eyes had a look of vengeance in them, wanting Hook’s throat for all the pain and suffering he caused him. Hook saw the intensity in Peter and knew this was it. “Go on, boy. You’ve earned this,” he said in solidarity, welcoming the death Peter was about to bring him. As Peter drew the blades closer, he stopped when a voice called out to him.
“Peter!” Winter shouted, not able to stay out of the battle any longer. Peter looked over and saw Winter who seemed to be on the verge of tears herself. “Is this the boy I read about?” she said through gasps of air. “Is this who you are now? Is this who you thought you would grow up to be!” Winter did her best to get Peter back. Peter felt the blades coming closer to Hook, almost as if he had no control over them. “What would Wendy want! What would your younger self want!” she pleaded out desperately.
Winter’s last words hit Peter differently. He turned back toward Hook and once again looked into his reflection coming from Hook’s eyes. Full of malice and aggression as he gritted his teeth. His expression matched what’s Hook’s usually was. He was becoming old, bitter, and regretful. Peter’s face slowly morphed into one of sadness and sorrow, ashamed of who he became. But as if by magic, Peter looked into Hook’s eyes and didn’t see himself, but rather saw himself when he was a young boy. His younger self had a massive smile and so much wonder in his eyes. Peter gave a tearful cry and then reflected his younger self, gaining a smile and glee in his entire body.
“Avast ye Hook!” he shrieked with a happy tone as he put down the swords and flew over Hook. Hook turned to him, prepared for the worst when Peter tossed Hook’s sword at him. Hook caught it with a baffled look. “Bet you can’t beat me in a fair fight, old man,” he teased at him. Peter twirled around in place with his sword, showing sheer glee in his movements. “Come on!”
As confused as Hook was, he still believed Peter to be dumber than dirt, giving him back his sword. Hook flew toward him with his blade aiming at Peter’s chest. Peter stayed put, looking as if he was about to allow the blade to slice right into him, when at the last second, he flew off to the side. “Almost got me!” he yelled playfully.
Peter dashed towards him as Hook recomposed himself. Peter’s blade was aiming right for his abdomen. Hook brought his blade up to block it, but was too slow. He saw the blade coming at him and he thought this was the end. Hook heard a slicing sound, but didn’t feel any pain. He looked down toward the sound and discovered that Peter had sliced directly into his pants causing them to fall down, revealing his pink boxers with parrots on them. Hook gave a high-pitched yelp as he scrambled to bring his pants back up. “Really Peter? Quite childish, don’t you think?” he grunted as he fixed them.
“What? You’re the one who took off their pants in the middle of a battle!” he laughed. “Now tell me, were those originally pink or did you wash them with your uniform?” Hook gritted his teeth together. “Your silence tells me you washed them,” he teased at Hook.
Peter proceeded to fly forward with his sword pointed towards Hook. Hook had just finished re-fastening his pants and dodged out of the way just in time. But stabbing Hook was never the objective. As Hook dodged, Peter grabbed a hold of his arm, then accelerated his boots to max speed, dragging Hook throughout the stars. “Peter! Stop this blasted nonsense!” Hook grunted. Hook’s typically pale face turned into a soft green. “Peter! Stop!” he repeated aggressively. He had enough and swung his sword toward Peter’s boots. However, Peter anticipated this and flew around in a tight circle.
Hook could hardly bare the momentum. “I’m sorry! Did you want to be released?” Peter said with a smirk. “Well okay then!” Peter shouted as he abruptly stopped flying around and flung Hook away.
Hook spun around in circles, unable to stop himself. Just as he felt his brain spinning inside his own skull, he was able to control and reposition himself. Hook took a moment to try and end the battle going on in his skull when he felt something come up his throat. His whole body seized and shivered as he did whatever possible to not hurl his lunch. His cheeks inflated, but he successfully kept it down.
“Getting space sickness, old man? What an amateur!” Peter taunted him. Gritting his teeth, Hook grunted and took a flying leap toward Peter, aiming directly at his head! Peter pretended to be afraid, but then dropped down away from the blade. He returned to his position with a backflip and his blade coming down towards Hook’s. As he completed the flip, his blade chopped down at Hook’s sword hilt and destroyed it. Peter quickly lifted his blade to Hook’s throat, he got him, again.
“Well done, Peter,” he said with a swallow.
Peter leaned into Hook’s ear. “If you ever try something like this again,” he whispered. “I will gut you like a codfish.” Hook grinned, it was their favorite line to deliver to one another. His smile disappeared when Peter pushed the blade slightly closer to his throat, causing his whole body to seize up and go stiff. “I mean it, Hook. If you ever try to get to me, by killing one of my friends, I will destroy everything you have. Whatever is left of your hopes and dreams. And then, when you somehow become an even sadder, pathetic, old man, I’ll do you the honor of giving you a mercy killing.”
Hook moved his head back so he could look into Peter’s eyes. There was a dark look in them. He wasn’t smiling or having fun. If Hook didn’t comply, there was no doubt that Peter’s blade would go right through his throat.
Hook gave a hesitated and broken nod. All of this planning, and he was still defeated by Peter Pan, in front of his whole crew nonetheless. Peter quickly changed his expression back into a happy go lucky smile. “Sounds good!” he shouted as he took away the sword and turned toward the Sea Devil. He found he had an entire audience, consisting of Hook’s men, the Lost Boys, and the Grottowians. “Hook’s men!” he shouted with glee. “Retreat!” he exclaimed as he threw up his sword in victory.
Hook’s men were baffled, not sure exactly what to do with themselves. Hook calmly, but embarrassed, flew over to the deck of the Sea Devil. “Yes,” he pouted as he arrived. “Begin the retreat.” Hook’s men waited a beat, as they weren’t sure if he was serious. “Well, on with it!” he barked. They quickly complied and toward the ship to man the controls. He looked on his men, knowing they had lost respect for him. By the time he got down to the deck, he had already heard whispers of ‘knew he didn’t have it in him,’ and ‘we need to find a way off this crew.’ This mission, this last mission, was supposed to put him back on top. And it had utterly shaken his reputation even more than Peter already had. Would it be possible to return to the old Captain Hook, he pondered.
“Ship should be ready to go soon, Captain,” Hook heard Starkey say to him. As his doubts filled his mind of his men leaving and his reputation crumbling, he looked over and saw the ever-loyal Starkey. He let out a tiny smirk, and put his real hand on Starkey’s shoulder. Starkey shuttered as he did, expecting to be met with violence, but instead, discovered it to be a friendly gesture.
“Thank you, Starkey. Tell the crew to take off when ready.” Hook turned back to the star sky and saw Peter, still looking down on him, waiting for them to take off. He once told Peter that history would repeat itself, and today it did. Peter still bested the old man. Hook couldn’t help but produce a grin, “Well done old friend,” he said in a hushed voice toward himself. History may have been repeated, but this time, he broke Pan even further than he had before. It was only a matter of time until he broke him beyond repair and then, only then, will he be able to stop the cycle of history, and get his revenge. “Till next time,” he said in a sinister tone.