"You could get banished for this, you know." Tink sniffed from her perch on Peter's shoulder.
"Not a chance," Peter replied cockily. "I'm too integral to the games and inventions. It would take them forever to rebuild that stuff."
"Well, I still don't think the others are going to be too happy about this."
"Why not? What's not to love about her?"
Tink growled and dimmed her light. Peter couldn't figure out why she was acting so strange. Usually she agreed with him about everything.
They had made decent progress through the night, considering that Peter was carrying extra cargo. He had cradled Wendy in his arms, and while this slowed him down significantly, he didn't mind carrying the unconscious girl at all. However, a pain was developing in is lower back, and he thought he had better change her position. They stopped outside of a pub where a bit of light illuminated the street, and he carefully hoisted Wendy over his shoulder. There were several curious glances from the beleaguered patrons in the pub, but they didn't say anything. Peter straightened up and continued walking down the street.
"You were supposed to turn back there," Tink said, a little too triumphantly.
"I know," Peter lied, "I just wanted to see what this sculpture was. He feigned interest in a large fountain featuring a winged baby and then doubled back to the street that smelled like ginger. He must have been really distracted thinking about the girl on his shoulder to have missed it.
"What are you going to do with her?" Tink asked.
"What do you mean?"
"She'll have to do something when we get there, she can't just be idle."
"I don't know, she can tell stories or something."
Tink snorted. "Tell stories? Wow, that will really win us points against the pirates."
Peter ignored her. He admired the red lanterns strung overhead and then took a right at the second tunnel. They descended underground and the air became damp. He thought about Wendy as he walked, only slightly aware of how much he liked the way her hand bumped against his back with every stride. He knew it was wrong to have just taken her like he did, but she didn't know what she was missing. Once she saw how wonderful and exciting Neverland was, she would be grateful that he had forced her to come with him. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw the lagoon, or climbed the zebra trees in the forest, or saw the view from the top of the silver mountains.
Tink did have a point, though. She couldn't play the games. She didn't have the right gear, plus it would take forever to explain the rules. Maybe she could just observe them and then point out better strategies. Or, he could make up new games that she'd be able to take part in. He was confident that everyone would be okay sharing their resources with her until she learned enough to start gaining her own points.
After navigating through the maze of tunnels, they came to a spot where the earth was raised along the side of the stone walls, creating a small ledge. Peter decided it'd be a good idea for him to stop and rest. He'd like to get a little sleep since he knew he had at least two or three more hours until they got there.
"What are you doing?" Tink inquired.
"I just want to rest for a little bit. I'll pass out if I don't."
"Well, it wouldn't be so bad if you weren't carrying that hag on your shoulder," Tink whined. "Plus, my battery is at 9 percent. I don't want to die before we get there."
"You can go on without me," Peter suggested.
"No! I don't want to go back alone!"
"You came through here alone."
"Well, yeah, but that was when I had full power and it was daytime. Plus, I don't want to leave you alone with this wench. What if she clubs you over the head again? Or worse, what if she kisses you?"
"What's a kiss?"
"Hopefully you won't find out until I'm ready to give you one."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're an idiot," Tink spat, kicking her tiny foot at his earlobe.
"Okay, we'll only rest for a few minutes then."
"Fine."
Peter set Wendy down on the ledge. He sat down beside her and positioned her head against his leg. Tink growled again. After he was sure that the sleeping Wendy looked comfortable, he rested his head against the wall. He dozed for a few minutes, but then he felt Wendy stirring next to him.
He got a little nervous. Waking up in Neverland would be one thing, but waking up in a cold and dark tunnel would probably frighten and anger her even more. He could spray more Insta-sleep on her, but he knew that using too much of that solution in too short a time would make you have hallucinations. They weren't as bad as Drunken Vapor, but they were still unsettling. Sometimes the twins would overdose on purpose because they liked those effects.
"What happened?" Wendy murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She focused on Peter and a range of emotions fluttered across her face. "You did something to me," she said lazily, although there was a slight severity in her voice. "What was that stuff?"
"Well, it wasn't a kiss," Peter answered, not sure if what he said even made sense. He was really just hoping that Wendy would explain what a kiss was. She didn't. Instead, she nodded her head twice and then rested it on Peter's shoulder. He glanced down at her. She had fallen asleep again. Peter watched her and smiled. He was intrigued by the way her long eyelashes fluttered every few seconds.
He was just starting to feel something curiously pleasant when all at once she gasped and sat upright.
"What did you do? Where am I? Take me back right now!"
The words all rushed together as she stood and stumbled about. Getting her bearings, she bolted down the dark tunnel, out of sight. But then he heard her footsteps stop. There was some shuffling, and then she appeared again, her eyes flashing with indignation.
"How do I get out of here?" She breathed out, every word laced with barely controlled rage.
"I'll tell you!" Tink sang, flying over to Wendy and shining light into her eyes.
"Tink, please don't," Peter called, but the fairy ignored him.
"You're going to walk 35 paces and then take a right," she explained happily, "then a quick left. Then you're going to walk until you see a ring of stones, and you'll have to climb ... turn around and go ... flowers on the left ..." Tink's light and audio were sputtering on and off. Peter guessed that her battery was almost dead. "... tunnel widens ... about 20 paces ... left ... Kung pao chicken …"
The metal fairy clunked to the ground, leaving them in dark silence. Peter pulled a small cylinder off of his left shoe and twisted it until it flooded the tunnel with light. He walked forward and picked up the lifeless Tink, carefully securing the fairy in his pocket. Then he lifted his eyes to Wendy. She stood motionless, but there was a look of desperation about her.
"I'm sorry," he began. "I just really think..."
"No, you don't think!" Wendy exploded. "You-you can't do this to people! This is illegal! You've kidnapped me!"
"Wendy, please-"
"Don't call me Wendy! I am not your friend! I hate you!"
Her last words somehow stung him more than getting pierced with a pirate sword. His face fell, and Wendy must have noticed because her expression softened a little.
"Look, if you take me back right now, I promise I won't report you to the police," she said hopefully.
Peter stared at her. He didn't know what she meant by police, but apparently she was offering him some kind of deal. He could play this game too.
"Neverland is only a few more hours down these tunnels," he explained. "If we get there and you don't like it, I promise I will take you home immediately."
She stood silent for a long time, her face pained with indecision. Then she dropped her head and covered her face with her hands.
"Fine, take me to this Neverland," she conceded, the words muffled behind her fingers.
Peter broke into a broad smile. "Great!" He exclaimed. "Let's hurry and we might get there in time for breakfast!"