And bad. So I’m bad. And I’m growing up. So I have to go.”
“And do all of you agree?” Wendy asked, shifting Tootles onto her hip so she could turn and look each one of the Lost Boys in the eye.
None of them met that look.
“No,” Skipper finally said, eyes to the ground.
“We love Slightly,” Tootles murmured.
“He’s all we got when Peter’s not around,” Cubby said.
“He’s a good…”
“…leader,” the twins said.
“Well, I don’t suppose it’s entirely up to Peter, then, is it?” Wendy said. “Is he the king of Never Land?”
“No! No one is!” Slightly swore. “That’s the whole point, right? No growing up and no rules and whatever you want and fun all the time. If you want fun,” he added thoughtfully. “I don’t always want fun. And don’t freedom mean you get to do what you want, at least sometimes?”
“Absolutely correct. Well, all right then. You will stay if you so desire,” Wendy said, carefully putting Tootles back down. “That’s sorted. No one is the boss of you here.”
“That’s it?” Cubby asked, surprised.
Wendy nodded. “Why not? It’s Never Land. Do as thou wilt—isn’t that the whole of the law here?”
“Huh,” Skipper said thoughtfully.
“I don’t think it’s quite that simple,” Slightly said. “At least not between Peter and me.”
“Well, I don’t think there’s much I can do there. The two of you will need to work things out on your own. Just as I need to apologize to him myself. Tinker Bell and I are actually here trying to find Peter and help him get his shadow back. Which may ameliorate his mood a bit, and tone down the tension in your little tête-à-tête.”
“Ameliorate… ? Tet-a-what? You memorize a dictionary or somethin’?” Slightly scoffed, waving his hand at her. “Aw, who would want to go back to London?”
“Who indeed,” Wendy said dryly. “But listen: besides having Peter’s shadow, Hook also has something terrible up his sleeve for all of Never Land. Deadly, and rather permanent, as he said.”
“What? Like destroying all of Never Land?” Skipper asked.
Tinker Bell nodded.
“But why?” Slightly demanded.
“I have some theories,” Wendy said, “but I think it’s mostly because he’s mad. Anyway, we need to stop him, and I don’t think we could defeat the pirates on our own, just the three of us, me and Tinker Bell and Peter. Even with Peter reunited with his shadow. Can we count on you?”
The fairy rolled her eyes and turned her head away with a sniff.
“Aye, of course,” Slightly said, sticking out his chin. “Whatever my beef with Peter is, a man needs his shadow. O’ course we’ll go with him to get the pirates and save Never Land!”
“That’s the spirit, Slightly!” Cubby cried.
“We’ll show those stupid pirates…”
“…and that stupid, stupid Captain Hook!” the twins crowed.
“Wonderful,” Wendy said warmly. Everything was coming together! She had met the Lost Boys, rallied them to her cause, and now they would come with her, and of course the fairy—Tinker Bell—couldn’t object. It would be like trying to resist a cheery force of nature, a good-willed waterfall, once they decided to come along. “So where do you think Peter is?”
“Sometimes when he’s down he goes to Mermaid Lagoon,” Cubby said, rolling his eyes. “Talks with the fishgirls.”
“Aye, I’d try there first,” Slightly said, nodding.
Wendy tried to quell the quick thumping of her heart. Mermaids! First she got to see her fairy—who admittedly was much more hostile than she had imagined, but Wendy was working on that—and now mermaids! With glittering scales and flowing hair! Everything was turning out so wonderfully.
“All right then, lead the way!” she cried.
“Ah…well…you go on ahead,” Slightly suggested. “We’ll just wait until you bring him up to speed. Once you tell him about what you did, and where his shadow is, and give him some time to…you know…react to that.”
“He might be very angry,” Cubby said, nodding.
“Or very happy,” one of the twins said.
“Too very happy,” the other one added.
“He might fly off and go by hisself,” Skipper mumbled. “Or fly off the handle—right at you, or Tink. Or Slightly, even.”
The fox boy nodded. “I don’t know how he’ll take all this news. You tell him, let him work it out for a bit. I don’t want him taking nothing out on me because he ain’t got his head on straight. He’s sore enough as it is.”
“But together we can convince him, or argue with him. And be ready to immediately go get the pirates!” Wendy said desperately. “Power in numbers!”
“‘Do as thou wilt,’” Slightly quoted back at