The Warrior of Neverland

Time Stops

Tigerlily drew back the sword. Her heart was thumping inside of her. She didn't know exactly what would happen if she thrust it through Wendy's heart. She still didn't know what death was. She'd certainly never inflicted it.

Her hands trembled. Wendy looked away, her sobs cutting through the air.

"Tigerlily!" Pan screamed from behind her. "No!"

The battle was ended when the leader of one army thrust his sword into the ground, and the land split in two.

One side crumbled into nothingness and disappeared, but the other... 

Tigerlily's grip tightened on the sword. She yelled out a battle cry and smashed the tip of the sword into the deck, sending splinters in every direction.

An explosion of light burst from the sword, blowing her off her feet. Tigerlily felt herself collide into the mast of the ship, and she slumped to the ground. She threw her hands up over her ears- something was incredibly loud, and she thought her ears might burst if it didn't stop soon.

A great force was pushing her against the mast, and she could hardly fill her lungs with her, but she looked up at the sword. The ship was breaking apart beneath it, and light exploded from every crack.

And green. Something was growing. Vines, leaves, ivy- it all erupted from the sword, crushing the wood underneath it. Tigerlily felt the ship tilting, twisting, breaking. Water spouted from underneath, showering like a geyser into the air. Above the deafening noise, a great crack split the air, and the floor beneath her jolted. She was thrown from where she was, and water encompassed her.

Her eyes were wide against the water, and she pushed through it, towards the debris of the falling ship. The Lost Boys had been on that ship- and they couldn't fly. Only Pan could fly. She had to find them.

She had to get air, too, she realized a second later. Her feet kicked to get her to surface, and she grabbed a plank of wood, gasping as she broke free of the water. She coughed, gulped in a few deep breaths, and dove back under.

Wood and other pieces of the ship were falling through the water now, and she had to dodge them as she swam. She couldn't see any of the Lost Boys. The sun was being blocked by the rest of the ship, directly above her now.

There was a muffled thump, and Tigerlily pushed her hands through the water, turning her head up to see a fracture on the bottom of the ship. It split in two as she watched, and something silver spun in an angled dive towards the bottomless blue.

Her lungs ached, but she kicked forward. The sword spiraled down, disappearing from sight. Tigerlily ignored it and kept swimming. Then she saw a limp form in the water ahead. Tigerlily kicked harder. The limp form wasn't one of the Lost Boys. It was Wendy.

She clenched her jaw, grabbing Wendy's wrist, and pushing to surface. She gasped of the air, choking on water. Wendy wasn't awake, and even though Tigerlily considered her an enemy, her stomach was tight with fear. The beach seemed miles away. Water kept splashing in Tigerlily's eyes, and the ship was causing a pull that was hard to swim against. Her arms were aching.

Then someone scooped her up from the water- Pan. She dangled tiredly by her wrist, but she didn't care. She let him carry her and Wendy to the beach.

He let go and she fell a few feet, face first into the sand. She jerked up, coughing and spitting, and saw Peter gently laying Wendy down.

Tigerlily was hesitant to join him, but she forced herself to move anyway. She crouched beside Pan. Wendy was pale and still, but her chest moved up and down with breaths. Tigerlily sat back on her heels, but Pan leaned forward and fingered a thin metal chain around her neck. He pulled on it, revealing the token dangling from the chain. Tigerlily didn't recognize it, but Pan inhaled sharply.

It was round and mostly flat, with numbers scratched in a circle on the surface. It seemed vaguely familiar... Pan had told her about these before. But what were they?

"You were right," he murmured. Tigerlily blinked and looked over at him. He held up the round thing. "She... she brought time to Neverland."

"That's time?" she wondered, grabbing the clock from his hand. She turned it over curiously, running her fingers over it.

"It's a watch. It's how they keep time."

"How do they keep it inside there?"

"No," Pan rubbed his forehead. "Time just is. And I brought it here."

Tigerlily didn't think she understood time at all, but before she could ask any more questions, Wendy started coughing. Peter dropped the chain into Tigerlily's hand and leaned over Wendy's face.

Tigerlily scooted back and let the watch sway back and forth on the chain. The glass surface reflected the sun into her eyes, and she squinted.

"Peter," Wendy gasped. "What happened?"

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Tigerlily glanced over at them. Wendy began crying.

"Peter, I didn't do anything. I don't know what's wrong with your island, but I didn't do anything! It's not my fault, is it?"

"No, Wendy, you didn't do anything," Pan assured her. He sighed sadly. "It's my fault."

"But- what? What did you do?"

"I brought you here." Peter Pan leaned back and grabbed the watch from Tigerlily. He stared at Wendy for a second, gripping it in his hands. "I'm sorry, Wendy," he whispered. He stood abruptly and ran to a thick tree trunk on the edge of the beach. With one last glance at Wendy, who was watching with wide eyes, he smashed the watch against the bark of the tree.

Wendy fell back onto the beach, unconscious. Tigerlily gasped and jumped forward.

"Pan!" she exclaimed, kneeling next to Tigerlily. "What happened?"

Pan got on his knees and scooped Wendy up in his arms. "She can't live in a world without time." His eyes were full of sadness. "I have to take her back... and all of this will just be a dream to her."

Tigerlily put her hand on Pan's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Pan."

He looked up at Tigerlily. "I should have listened to you. It's my fault this happened."

"I think it would have happened whether or not you brought Wendy here. It was the prophecy." She took a deep breath, and she knew something in the air was different. "The prophecy has been fulfilled now." 

Pan took a deep breath and looked up at the second star. "You'll be a good daughter of Neverland," he said, staring at the sky. "Goodbye." Then he rocketed away, Wendy in his arms.

Tigerlily creased her brow, watching him leave. Daughter of Neverland. It made her feel nervous. She thought of the sword, lying at the bottom of the ocean. Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe someone else would pick it up and wield it...

She swallowed and ran into the forest, heading back towards her camp.

She immediately knew that Time really was gone. She picked up the pace, running faster, without any aches or pains or heavy breathing. A glimmer of magic was sitting in the treetops. Things felt almost completely normal.

But Pan was gone. And she wasn't sure if he was coming back.