<div style="text-align: center"><b><u>Tiger Lily</u></b><br/>
<i>From one world into the other</i>​</div><br/>Hook believed he was the one who would save NeverLand from the changes Wendy Darling had wrought.  He believed he would have to convince Tiger Lily to accompany him on this grandiose task but there was much he did not know.  He would learn soon enough.<br/><br/>Tiger Lily’s expression did not change beyond the slightest upward twitch at the corner of her mouth and the bit of amusement that shone in her dark eyes.  Captain Hook was always a font of effusive praise and flowery language and tonight was no different.  She remained silent as he mused about their method of travel.  Expecting to travel on the Jolly Roger, Lily had just started to turn toward the direction the sea lay when she heard the distinct sound of tearing fabric.<br/><br/>She blanched.<br/><br/>Never before had anyone thought to tear the veil separating the two worlds.  She hoped no one ever would again.  Hook was far more determined to get to Wendy Darling than she’d ever expected.<br/><br/>One hand reached out, reached for Hook.  He was gone, disappearing through the rip, before any words could form.  The breeze kicked up, tossing her hair around her shoulders and sending a small cyclone of leaves blowing around her ankles.<br/><br/>Urged forward by the gentle wind, Tiger Lily followed Captain Hook through the veil.<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr bbc-hr--3"/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><b><u>Wendy Darling</u></b><br/>
<i>Through the streets to the Suds and Bubbles</i>​</div><br/>Booze and nicotine - he was offering two of her favorite vices.  Wendy took the proffered cigarette then took a deep drag before handing it back.  James had them on the move, adjusting his steps to hers but she was the one who took the lead using gentle nudges and pressure against his arm to lead him to the corner and turn them right down a street that had far fewer streetlights than the previous one did.<br/><br/>Something that could become a smile started to form as James began to speak.  His words, his<i>apology</i>, were warm as they washed over her... or maybe that was the tequila.  “I know the way, Mr. Dameron.  I’ve always known the way.”  She squeezed his arm in reassurance and offered a quick glance up at his face.<br/><br/>Then a voice rang out through the mist, a voice she’d last heard in her dreams.  This time when her arm tightened in his, she pressed her body tighter against his side.  Her father had hired him to keep her safe.  She just had to trust him.  So far, he had not let her down, protecting her both from her dreams and the wretched owner of the bar.  This time, when she offered a smile, it was nervous but it was there.  “Probably,” she replied, wanting so very badly to agree with him despite the sinking feeling deep in her gut.<br/><br/>“Let’s go get that drink I owe you.”  More tequila, more<i>anything</i>would help right now.  Putting distance between them and the Starstruck was feeling more and more like the right thing to do.  Wendy resumed walking, giving a little tug at his arm until he started moving again.<br/><br/>Through the streets they went, moving further and further away from the Starstruck.  There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the turns they took but whichever way they went, the mist and gloomy fog seemed to part before them.<br/><br/>Finally, she led them down an empty alleyway that opened onto a deserted street.  The streetlight in front of them wasn’t lit, more than likely a broken bulb but Wendy didn’t bother to look up to see.  The neon sign with its randomly flickering letters set above the laundromat nestled between two boarded-up retail spaces was more than enough light to guide them across the street.  “There it is,” she offered with a nod toward the large plate-glass windows of the laundromat across the street.  Stark white fluorescent light shone down on the cracked linoleum floor as two or three machines went through their cycles.  The room was empty except for a man sitting in a chair in the back corner.<br/><br/>“Come on, Mr. Dameron,” she urged as they stepped off the curb and crossed the street.  Wendy yanked the door open and headed inside.<br/><br/>The man in the plastic chair looked up from the book in his hands.<br/><br/>She smiled at him before looking up at James.  Her right hand rose, the fingers following his jaw like a feather until he looked down at her.  “No Neverland, no Hook, no Tinkerbell, no Finley.  Let’s enjoy our evening away from the Estate.”  Her lips parted as if she had more she wanted to say but closed again in careful reconsideration of what she said<i>out here</i>.  “Let us in, Gordon,” she requested sweetly as stormy blue eyes searched her bodyguard’s face for any sort of sign of what he might be feeling.<br/><br/>The man with the slicked-back dark hair stood up and grabbed the upper right-hand corner of the washing machine with the<b>Out of Order</b>sign taped crookedly to its front.  The entire machine swung away to reveal an opening in the wall.  Quiet jazz music wafted out from the hidden speakeasy behind the wall accompanied by the rich smell of leather and fragrant cigar smoke.<br/><br/>“Shall we, Mr. Dameron?”<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr bbc-hr--3"/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><b><u>Tinkerbell</u></b><br/>
<i>The Darling Estate</i>​</div><br/>She had done a very good job getting George to stop his stupid questions and actually tell something useful.  Tinkerbell knew this because Peter was happy with her.  He only draped himself across her shoulder when he was happy with her.  Her wings and her eyes turned gold.<br/><br/>Peter yelled, so so loud right in her ear, and she knew poor George was in for it.  She wasn’t worried though.  Peter had yelled louder and roared more ferociously at the Boys back home in their tree.  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Fable cringing against the wall.  He’d get used to Peter Pan soon enough.  Plus, the lure of Neverland was enough to make anyone forget being yelled at once or twice.<br/><br/>The warmth of his hands cupping her face shoved away all thoughts of Neverland.  The gentle press of his lips against her cheeks as he kissed her - he’d never kissed her before! - turned her face just as warm as his hands.  She looked up at his tattooed face with golden eyes that<i>sparkled</i>.  Her whole body felt like it was full of fireworks.  Tink laughed delightedly, the sound of bells filling George Darling’s study.<br/><br/>Questioning George Darling had made Peter Pan happy and she wanted nothing more than to make her Peter happy all the time.  Maybe she could<i>find</i>something else that would make him just as happy.  Maybe there was some clue in this gigantic house that could help her Peter and Neverland.<br/><br/>“Georgie!” she called out right after the walking stick clattered to the floor.  “Where does she sleep?”  She hated Wendy Moira Angela Darling more than anything but she loved Peter Pan far more than that.  If he wanted to find Wendy, Tinkerbell would be by his side.  She would be the one there when he realized that Wendy was all wrong and not at all what he, what Neverland, needed.<br/><br/>His hand rose, shaking, from his lap.  Most of his fingers curled into his palm but not the first one.  That one pointed down the hall.  “Her room is in the East Wing.  We thought it best --”<br/><br/>“Fable!”<br/><br/>The newest Lost Boy made a sound in the back of his throat, one that acknowledged that the fairy had called out his name.”<br/><br/>“Come with me!”  Tink was already halfway into the hallway and headed in the direction George Darling had pointed.  Fable glanced at Peter, worry knitting his brow as his eyes shifted to Mr. Darling but he said nothing as he headed after the winged woman.<br/><br/><hr class="bbc-hr bbc-hr--3"/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><b><u>Tiger Lily</u></b><br/>
<i>Starstruck on the Wright</i>​</div><br/>This strange place smelled.  Not of the crisp breezes that tumbled around Neverland carrying the scent of the salty sea and the warm richness of the forest on their backs but of the yeasty smell of beer and the sharp odor of a room that had recently been packed with people.  It was not an unpleasant smell, simply one she was unaccustomed to.<br/><br/>Lily paused to look around, to study this strange place Hook had led them into.  Dark eyes landed on a large man seated at a gleaming expanse of wood.  What trick had they used to make it so slick and so shiny she wondered as she stepped forward on carefully placed silent feet.  Stopping several feet in front of the man, she regarded him silently.<br/><br/>Finley’s eyes darted here and there, first taking in the swath of black paint that covered the middle of her face then the way her hair was swept back from her face then down to the well-worn soft-soled moccasins on her feet.  He blew out a deep breath.  “W-where did you lot come from?” His eyes shifted to Hook as the pirate dashed out into the night.<br/><br/>“Neverland,” was the calm reply.  “You have heard of it?” she asked as her gaze moved around the strange room, stopping here and there to linger on certain paintings and decorations in the room.<br/><br/>He gaped at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.<br/><br/>“Peter Pan, Tinkerbell.  Are these names familiar?”<br/><br/>“Of course they are,” sputtered Finley.  “Every child knows those names.  Ever since that Wendy showed up with her damn lies --”<br/><br/>“Wendy?”<br/><br/>He nodded, glad to finally have someone who would listen to his diatribe about the crazy woman spouting fairy tales and accusing him of stealing her story.  “Wendy!  What a detestable liar!  She made up all those stories and then had the nerve to call<i>me</i>me a liar!  I thought I’d washed my hands of her but then she showed up here tonight and now all my customers have --”<br/><br/>“She was here,” said the woman as she inclined her head in a half-nod.  It was starting to make sense now.  Hook had been able to tear through the veil because this was where Wendy had been.  They had to find the woman before the veil grew thin in other spots.<br/><br/>Outside, in the mist, she could hear Hook bellowing for the mischievous fairy.  If they found the fairy, they would find Peter but it seemed more important that they find Wendy first.  Without another word to the barman, because he simply did not matter anymore, Tiger Lily strode toward the door.  The bells jingled and jangled as she pulled it open -<i>it did sound like Tinkerbell</i>- then stepped out into the mist.<br/><br/>Hook had not gone far.  She could hear him a short distance ahead of her but she made no move to hurry and catch up.  There was no need to rush; the path they would take to save Neverland had already been laid.  They simply had to follow it.