Curly froze as the astonished guard alternated pointing his gun at Curly's face and feet, the only two parts of him that were visible in the chameleon suit. Curly put his hands in the air, but realized the action was unnecessary. The guard took a few shaky steps forward.
"Tink," Curly whispered, "do you have a plan?"
"Do you know the way back?"
"I think so."
"Stop that!" The guard commanded, still looking bewildered. "Don't talk! Don't move!"
"Get out of here," Tink urged. "I'll take care of the guard."
"No! I'm not leaving you here!"
"Stop talking! I'll shoot!"
"Curly, Go now!" Tink yelled and launched herself at the guard's face. The guard stumbled back and fell to the floor. Curly took off running towards the door, but looked back when he heard a strangled yell. Tink was stabbing at the guard's neck and he kept slapping himself in an attempt to get the fairy. Suddenly, the guard's hand collided with Tink and she smacked into a rack of servers, then ricocheted back to the guard's chest and caught fire. Curly cried out in dismay, but had to remind himself that the real Tink was safe back in central control. The robotic fairy was just an extension of her, but he still felt a sense of loss, as if a part of her was gone. He rushed out of the room as the guard was trying to put out the flames on his uniform.
The lasers had been shut off, so Curly passed easily through that room, but when he got out into the hallway, two guards were there to meet him.
"What the-?"
"It's the face again! I told you I saw a floating face!"
The guards trained their guns on him and blocked the hallway. Curly pulled out some tripping beads and threw them at the guards. Their feet snapped together and they fell to the ground while Curly jumped over them and ran outside. The dogs had woken up but were lazily playing with one another and didn't pay Curly much attention. He made a dash for the walls and the last guard fired off a few shots at him, but with only his feet showing the guard wasn't very accurate. Curly heard alarms going off just as he jumped back down into the sewer.
*****
Curly was completely out of breath by the time he reached Tink's house at central control. He hesitated at her door, a little nervous about how she would be feeling after losing her avatar. As he was trying to figure out what he was going to say, the door flew open and Tink pulled him inside, then threw her arms around him and held him tight.
"I'm so glad you're okay! That guard smashed me and I haven't been able to see anything and you have no idea how worried I've been!"
All the words ran together and were muffled as she spoke them into his shoulder, but Curly treasured every one.
"Wow, you really stink. I guess that's what happens when you go through a sewer twice. But I'm so glad you're back safe! I don't know what I would have done if I lost you out there!"
Tink finally pulled away and Curly looked at her in wonder. She returned his stare for a moment, and then shrank back and cleared her throat.
"I...I mean, if something had happened to you it would have been my fault and I couldn't handle having that on my conscience," she said, waving her hand dismissively.
Curly was a little put off by her sudden change in mood, but he still couldn't help smiling. Even though she tried to hide it, he knew she cared about him.
"I'm sorry about your avatar," Curly said carefully.
Tink shrugged. "I needed an upgrade anyway."
"You were brilliant up there. Thanks for having my back."
"You mean your backside," Tink said, winking. "I had to protect your best feature."
Curly flushed. Somehow it was a lot more embarrassing when she was joking about it face to face. Tink laughed as she fell into her rolling chair. "I'm just glad it's over. Now I can focus on figuring out the Essentia."
"You still haven't found out what's wrong?"
Tink blew her hair out of her face. "No. If there was some kind of order to it, a pattern of some sort, I might be able to fix it. But it seems completely random. Almost as if Neverland is just breaking down."
Their conversation was interrupted by a light knock on the door. Curly opened it and saw Captain Hook standing outside, looking pale and expectant. He shuffled past Curly, nervously stroking his beard, and addressed Tink.
"Is it done?"
Tink sat silent for a few moments before she answered him, apparently enjoying Hook's distress.
"Yes," she said finally. "Your criminal record is permanently destroyed. You're as innocent as a newborn baby."
Captain Hook's lip began to tremble, and then he rushed forward and hugged Tink so hard it looked like she might suffocate.
"Thank you, thank you! You wonderful girl! You are the brightest star in the Neverland sky!"
"Thanks?" Tink wheezed out.
Captain Hook released her and turned to Curly. Before he could stop him, the pirate had wrapped his relentless arms around him. "Curly, my marvelous boy! Thank you! You're not as spineless as they all say."
"Wait, what?"
Captain Hook stood back and smiled at both of them. "Oh, you miraculous youths! You have engineered my freedom! You have done me a service I'll never be able to repay, so I won't even try! I promise I will never bother you again! Goodbye!"
And with a dramatic bow, the gleeful pirate turned and skipped down the path until he was out of sight.