"What was that?" Wendy exclaimed, trying to make sense of the beast that had nearly trampled her. It had been huge, with a furry, horned head, a round, feathery midsection, and two enormous legs that ended in clawed feet. And she couldn't be sure, the creature had run by so fast, but she thought she saw a long, green tail.
"That was the Buffalostrich Rex," Peter grunted as he got to his feet.
"Excuse me?"
"Slightly created him," Peter sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. "He got this wild idea that the combination of buffalo, ostrich, and dinosaur would make the perfect hunting animal. He convinced the twins to help him make it and train it, but obviously it turned out to be a huge mistake."
"Wow," Wendy responded, a mixture of fear and amusement in her voice. "So you just let him run free?"
"We tried to kill him a few times, but he's too big and too fast. We don't have anything that can bring him down. Plus, I think Slightly's still a bit fond of him."
Wendy laughed in spite of herself. The creature had, after all, nearly killed her. She looked up and saw that Peter was watching her again with that warmth in his eyes, and she quickly turned away.
She was fascinated with this new world, and Peter was becoming more and more appealing, but the fact remained that he had forced her to come here against her will. So however tempting his eyes or how strong his arms may be, she still held on to that feeling of indignation. She knew she had to go back home. She was abandoning her responsibilities, although she was having trouble remembering what those responsibilities were. They would flutter through her mind, something about her mother and some little boys, but then those thoughts would be eclipsed by some new plant to be discovered or some burning question to ask Peter. She figured she could stay here for a day, do some exploring, and then go back. Surely she wouldn't be missed for one day, would she?
"I think the Buffalostrich Rex might have taken your shoes with him," Peter observed, his eyes searching the ground. "You can wear mine until we make you some new ones."
Wendy would have protested, but then she remembered that he owed her some decency. She shrugged and once again pulled the too big shoes onto her feet.
"We better hurry," Peter said, studying the sky. "Once the tide rises, the pirates will take their ship to the other side of the lagoon."
Wendy suppressed a shudder. She didn't want to admit she was afraid of the pirates, but now that she knew they were real people and not fabricated characters in some game, she couldn't help feeling apprehensive.
They tromped on in silence for a while, Wendy dividing her thoughts between observing the forest, trying to remember her duties, and pushing down her dread of the pirates. Eventually they came to a bizarre tree. One section of it was full, leafy and green, another section was covered in blossoms, around the side she saw a portion where the leaves were yellow and orange, and in the last section the branches were completely bare.
"It's a Weather Tree," Peter stated, coming up beside her as she studied it. "Curly designed it, and I helped with the development."
"What does it do?" Wendy inquired, although she felt like she might already have a good idea.
"Look in here," Peter directed, opening up a panel in the bottom of the tree. There was a set of controls, some buttons, and several spigots. "You just decide which bit of weather you want, and the tree will produce it," he explained. "If you want it to be spring in all of Neverland, you turn the handle this way. But if you only want a small sample of spring, maybe to carry home with you for dinner, you push this button and it'll come out of this faucet. You just have to remember to bring a bucket or something."
"Curious," Wendy murmured.
"It's almost always summer in Neverland, although sometimes we'll turn it to spring or autumn."
"Never winter?"
"Only when we need snow."
Wendy grasped the handle and turned it to autumn, simultaneously pressing the small button below. Out of the spigot flowed some nuts and seeds, a few golden leaves, and a liquid that smelled of spices and something on the verge of dying. She quickly returned the handle to its summer position and stepped back, wiping the autumn liquid on her already soiled jeans.
"How does it manage to change the weather everywhere?"
"A system of pipes run underneath the tree, to the outer walls and up to the sky arch. It draws on the elements underneath, which are mixed and distilled throughout Neverland."
Wendy's head was spinning as they continued on. These boys were brilliant and the resources they had available to them were incredible. Why was it all being wasted in this singular, contained system?
"Aha! There it is!" Peter exclaimed. Wendy followed his gaze to a clearing where the beach appeared, and beyond that, a large vessel on the water. They slowed their pace and crouched down low when they arrived at the beach. The ship sat next to a large rock jutting out of the water. They stole behind the rock and peered around at the ship.
"I bet they've buried our tokens on the beach," Peter whispered, "but they could still have them on the ship. They wouldn't hide them anyplace too tricky because they'll want to have quick access to redeem them tomorrow."
Wendy studied the structure before them. It was constructed of wood and aluminum and had the appearance of a classic pirate ship, although she could discern a few modern touches. Like the lost boys' house, screens were built into the walls, and an elaborate control system was in the place where the helm would be.
Two men appeared and Wendy instinctively drew back, while Peter leaned forward.
"That's Bill Jukes and Smee," Peter observed, his eyes bright with mischief.
"It's too bad they got back in so soon," growled a muscular, red haired man that Peter mouthed was Bill Jukes, "but we'll be able to take a killing with all these tokens."
"True, but maybe we ought to leave a few out for them," mused the other, who Wendy deduced was Smee. "Otherwise they'll probably starve by the end of the week." He was short, with a full beard and a bald head, and his eyes were crossed behind large spectacles.
"Nah, I'm sure they've got some reserves. We need these tokens. It's about time we updated our tech."
Smee hefted a large bag over his shoulder, nearly buckling under its weight.
"Well then, the captain told us to hide this in the cove. That way the ship will be safe and the boys can't track them very well when they're insulated in the rocks."
The pirates began to descend down a ramp on the ship, heading straight towards their hiding place.
"Ah, this is perfect!" Peter cried, rubbing his hands together. Wendy, however, couldn't imagine anything less perfect. "Here, watch this," Peter whispered. He reached down to his shoes on Wendy's feet and plucked off a round dial with a tiny microphone and speaker sticking out of each end.
"Usually I only use this to play tricks on the twins, but we'll see how it works on them."
Wendy craned her neck to see the gadget Peter was fiddling with. A tiny screen lit up in the middle and as Peter turned the dial, different names appeared on the screen. Finally he stopped when the screen read Captain Hook. He quirked an eyebrow at her and raised the microphone to his lips. Wendy would have laughed if she wasn't so nervous.
"Jukes! Smee! Come help me with these wires!" Peter barked, but the voice that erupted from the speaker was distinctly lower and more gravely than his own.
"Captain?" Smee answered, glancing around. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the main cabin, you fool!" Came the deceitful reply.
"We thought you'd gone with the others to recharge the helm battery."
Peter faltered a bit before saying, "I was, but I remembered the navigation had to be reworked first."
Bill Jukes scratched his head.
"Come help me! I'm about to get electrocuted!"
"But the tokens ... ?"
"Rusted fish, man! I'm about to burn off my hand and you're worried about tokens! Leave them and get down here!"
Smee reluctantly dropped the bag on the deck and seconds later he and Bill Jukes had disappeared below.
"Fantastic!" Peter cried, emerging from their hiding place. He sloshed into the water and expertly climbed up the side of the ship. Dropping onto the deck he was lost from Wendy's sight, but after a few moments he reappeared.
"Wendy, take these!" He exclaimed, hefting the bag over the side. The sack made a large splash as it landed in the water. Wendy scurried out and dragged the tokens back behind the rock.
"That's the strangest thing," Smee's voice carried up from below. "You heard him, right?"
"Yeah, I heard him," Bill Jukes replied. "But he didn't sound like he was in the cabin."
The men's footsteps sounded on the deck and Peter leaped towards the main sail, his head once again disappearing from view.
"Captain, are you here?"
"Of course I am. I had to come up for some tools," Peter responded in Hook's voice.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm back in the cabin. Quick, come help me!"
Jukes and Smee exchanged bewildered looks. Wendy began to panic. Any moment they'd discover Peter or notice that the tokens were missing. The bag of tokens was heavy and awkward, and it'd be too dangerous for her to try and lug the thing back by herself out in the open. Plus, she didn't want to leave Peter alone on the ship, although she assumed he'd probably manage. She peered at the ground and had an idea.
She carefully dumped the tokens out of the bag and then began to refill it with the rocks and pebbles around her. When the sack was sufficiently full, she crept away from the rock and set the bag on the beach in plain sight. She'd just gotten behind the rock again when she heard Bill Jukes exclaim:
"Oy! Where are the tokens?"
There was some cursing and shuffling until Smee called out, "Look! On the shore! How in the name of faulty firewall did they get down there?"
Wendy didn't have time to dwell on the peculiarity of that statement. She was busy covering the tokens with sand and pebbles. She managed to slip around the side of the rock just as the two pirates arrived at the sack.
"It's got to be those boys," exclaimed Jukes.
"But why leave the tokens here? And where are they?"
Wendy heard their footsteps coming near her, and she continued to slide around the rock, keeping on the opposite side from the pirates, grateful that the gentle waves covered up the sound of her footsteps.
"Let's just get these to the cove before they do anything else," Smee announced after a few moments. Wendy exhaled as she spied them walking away, heading towards some cliffs and dragging the bag between them. Once they were out of sight, Peter climbed over the side of the ship and splashed through the water.
"Wendy! Are you okay?" He called, a look of relief crossing his face when he saw her.
She nodded, her lingering fear and adrenaline starting to turn to giddiness. "It's too bad you let them get the tokens," he said, frowning, "but probably best that we weren't discovered. That was good thinking, although the boys will be angry about it. But now that we know the tokens will be in the cove, we can go out tonight and-"
"Peter," Wendy blurted, "calm down!" She shuffled around the rock and uncovered the retrieved tokens. Peter stared at them for a moment, then looked over at Wendy with an amused half smile.
"Well, aren't you just marvelous?"