A Trip To Neverland

I fall on the hard floor with a grunt. I get up, dusting myself off while glancing around, trying to make sure that no one was there.

“Okay, great. Now I’m here, but what the heck am I supposed to do now? There isn’t any building that looks like the “Pan” out here!” I complain out loud, aware that I may look crazy to any passerby that might be. But I’m all alone.

I decide to walk around, looking for clues. I can’t even name the place I’m in right now, it’s not like anything I’ve seen before. Tall trees of unknown species surround me, so I thought at first that I’m in a forest. But then again, I can clearly see the bright blue sky and the ground is only slightly uneven, with many rocks of different sizes seemingly following a certain path…

“I wonder where I am. It doesn’t seem like there’s an end to any of this,” I breathe before climbing a tall rock.

But while I’m climbing, I stop all of a sudden when another searing pain roars in my skull. I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe hard while series of images flash quickly before my eyes.

I run away from something, someone that is clearly a danger for me. My panic rises up as I see that my direct path is cut off by an immense rock. I look behind, trying to see where my opponent is, but everything’s blurred. I decide not to take a chance and start to climb the hindrance in front of me. It’s harder than I thought because only a few parts are caved in, but they still allow me to make my way up to the top. Not wasting a minute, I jump to the other side and…
The flashback, along with the pain, stops there.I glance at the rock in front of me and recreate the same movements I had done in the flashback. Surprisingly enough, there are many handles I can reach and my climbing is easily done with. I look forward and there. It finally is there. The “Pan”. The shack-like building stands proud some meters away from me and I feel obligated to go there. My feet suddenly have a mind of their own and they jump off the rock to quickly reach the front door. Without hesitation, I open it and immediately, my nose is attacked by many different odors, some more pleasant than others. The smells of sweat, alcohol, perfume and… apple pie? Why the heck does it smell like apple pie in a bar like this? I shake my head and head straight towards the barman, like Wendy had told me. He glances up at me and frowns, most probably because he’s never seen me before.

“Hi lad, what can I do for you?” he asks nonetheless.

“I, uhm…I need a crew. If you know what I mean,” I answer, quite awkwardly.

He frowns even more and I feel panic rise slowly in my stomach.

“Wendy and Jacob sent me,” I continue, hoping he would get the message already.

He stills in his place and glances up and down at me.

“Wendy and Jacob? I don’t know these lads. Are you messing with me?” the barman asks threateningly, inching slowly towards me.

I gulp and shake my head, too afraid to talk. Great going Sehun, really. 100% percent on blowing this up from the beginning. And now, you’re going to die because you’re too stupid. Sorry Gramps, I really tried my-

“Marcus, enough. I know the people he is talking about. You said you needed a crew, correct?” a deep, authoritarian voice interrupts.

I look in its direction and find myself looking at a very tall and very wide man, with a beard covering most of face. However, I can easily decipher the piercing blue eyes that look at me like a father would his son. I nod and he gestures me to follow him at the back. I notice that the place is much wider than how it appeared outside and I shudder a bit in apprehension and anticipation.

“So you’re Sehun, am I right? Or would you prefer Peter?” the intimidating man asks.

“Oh, well… I’m going to be called Peter much more than Sehun here so… Peter is better, I guess,” I try to answer casually to hide my nervousness.

“Okay,” he says simply before going back to silence, but I can feel there’s something else.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?” I encourage him to speak.

He jumps up slightly and looks down at me before looking forward again.

“That...” he clears his throat. “I was, and I hope I still am, a good friend of Jacob’s and I was wondering if, you know… Is he doing well?”

My eyes go down as I recall our wrecked house.

“He did before, but now… I have no idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was taken by Hook, or something like that. They broke into our house and destroyed it, while taking him back here. I came here to save him. Oh, and the Black Pearl, whoever she is. I don’t even know.”

He looks at me again, stricken.

“You don’t know who she is? Unbelievable. Nobody told you?”

I shake my head again negatively.

“I might not know the whole story, but I know a lot. So let me tell you some important things about her you might want to know if you can save her. First of all, in your past lifetime, she was your best friend and your lover. She is mixed-blooded, her mother being a fairy and her father being a human brought to Neverland. She holds tremendously powerful powers and Hook desires her to make Neverland his own and reign over it. You might wonder how bad this can be, since you don’t remember him I believe, but… He is going to ruin this world ten thousand times worse than what he did to your house. And you, your job is to reach the Black Pearl and save Neverland by being with her.”

“But why is she called like that? Surely she has a real name!”

“She’s called like that because her powers are too dangerously dark and she’s very mysterious. Some say she practiced dark magic before meeting you. And we don’t say her real name because it’s disrespectful. After all, she is the most powerful being that has been in here in centuries!”

“Then why couldn’t she save herself, if she’s so powerful?” I ask blankly.

Silence. He looks at me, blinks a couple of times before seemingly searching in his memories to find the answer.

“Ah!” he snaps his fingers. “That’s because when you left, a part of her powers went along with you because she helped you get away from Hook. And now, rumor has it that she’s somewhere past the Mermaid Bay. Some courageous fellows who went there for a short time claim we can hear her sing during the night, calling for you, Peter.”

“The Mermaid Bay? Where is that? Is it far from here?”

“It’s right after the Calixa Ocean, which isn’t too far from here. With a ship, it should take us a day to reach it.”

I frown at his words.

“With a ship? Excuse me, but we’re definitely not in a zone where a boat can simply navigate its way around.”

Now it’s his time to frown.

“What do you mean? Oh! Right, you don’t remember… Ships fly, too!”

I only stare at him, processing the information.

“Oh, there we are,” he continues as we step out of the big tunnel we had been in for what seemed like ages.

“And there’s your crew,” he says proudly as he yells for the guys to come out.

My eyes go round as I see that about 20 men come out of the ship and greet the man next to me, apparently called Jasmin.

“You’ll see, you’ll fit right in,” he encourages me with a pat on the back. “If I remember correctly, 4 or 5 men are also Korean. Just your luck, am I right?” he winks before going ahead to tell them about the situation.

“What did I just get myself into?” I wonder to myself, looking at the wooden ship in front of me. “This is going to be just great, I can already feel it.”

Notes

Heya! I'm sorry for the almost two weeks-long hiatus, but a lot of things have been happening and you know. Yeah, great excuses am I right?
Okay so I know that this chapter is weird and all but I swear it's going to get better, I have many ideas for the next ones ;)
Thank you so much for reading this, your support means a lot to me! Please don't hesitate to comment or vote as well!
As always,
Saranghae :) <3<3<3<3