Tink must have flown her clunky avatar prototype into at least a dozen obstacles before she finally arrived at Wendy's flat in the Grey World. The rusted fairy flew lopsided and the vision sensor was narrow and would cut out every few seconds. But somehow she had made it past violently swaying trees, falling sky arch panels, and speeding cars to get to the ledge of Wendy's open window. She scanned the room and found Wendy sitting at the table with a tall blonde boy who smiled too much. He was talking on and on about all the different cars he had owned.
"Wendy!" Tink whispered urgently through the avatar.
Wendy turned her head, then shrugged and looked back at the blonde boy.
"Wendy!" Tink said a bit louder, but her voice was drowned out by the boy who wouldn't shut up.
Tink groaned. She was going to have to try something more drastic to get the girl's attention. There wasn't time to be discreet. She flew the large avatar into the middle of the room and in front of Wendy's face.
"Wendy! It's Tink! I need you to-"
"HUAAAHHHH!" The blood-curdling scream erupted from the boy just before he smacked the fairy with a broom. The avatar went sailing back to the window and landed at the bottom of the curtains.
"Ow!" Yelled Tink, even though she technically couldn't feel anything. Her vision sensor had been crushed and her battery had partially dislodged. Her power was draining fast.
"What kind of flying demon was that?" The boy shouted. "Holy epiglottis! Was that thing talking?"
"I'll go see what it was," Wendy responded quickly.
"Do you want some help?" The boy asked, sounding as if he hoped she would say no.
"It's alright. I think you killed it, whatever it was."
Tink heard some shuffling, and then Wendy's voice.
"Tink! Is that you?" She whispered.
"Yes! It's me!"
"What happened to your fairy?"
"It's a long story. Right now I need you to come to Neverland. The Crocodile messed with the Essentia system and Neverland is self destructing and everyone is going to die unless I get your blood to override the Crocodile's Essentia."
"What? Could you explain all that again?"
"No! I can't! I need you to come see me in Neverland right now!"
"How long-?"
But Wendy's question was cut off as the battery died completely. Tink sat back in her chair and strangely found herself hoping that Wendy still cared about Peter, at least enough to bring her back to Neverland to help him.
The next minutes were agony as Tink watched the entrance from the Grey World and waited as the quaking and destruction intensified. Finally, after the longest 20 minutes of Tink's life, the hole opened and the Neverbird flew up to get Wendy. Tink nearly jumped up and down with happiness as the Neverbird headed over to the Silver Mountains. But as they were flying over the jungle, the Neverbird suddenly turned and started heading towards the edge of the forest.
"No!" Tink screamed. She pulled up the Neverbird's system and tried to redirect it, but something stronger than its programming was pulling it away. Tink watched in horror as the bird crashed into the gnarled black tree that had been created from Wendy's Essentia. The tree opened its branches as if welcoming Wendy, and then wrapped itself tightly around her.
Tink wanted to curl up on the floor and cry. Instead, she grabbed one more syringe needle and Curly's glasses and headed back outside. The ground shook violently and all kinds of rubble fell in her path, but Tink focused on putting one foot in front of the other. When she got to the tree, the Neverbird was crushed at the base of it and she could barely see Wendy. She picked her way through the branches until she found a portion of Wendy's arm exposed.
"Tink!" Wendy wheezed. "I can't breathe. Please help me out of here."
For the first time, Tink felt pity for the girl. This wasn't her world, she hardly even knew the Crocodile. Yet she was thrown into it and this mess because Peter had been selfish and headstrong.
"As soon as I get this in the system the tree will release you," Tink assured her, securing the blood sample in her bag. Wendy nodded, but tears were streaming down her face. Determined to get back to central control as quickly as possible, Tink turned and began to run through the forest. She was almost at the Silver Mountains when she tripped over a tree root. She lurched forward and hit the ground hard, rolling a couple times until she came to a stop. Her glasses had fallen off and she couldn't see them anywhere. She covered her face with her hands, trying to shut out everything around her.
"I have to do this!" She cried. "I have to get back to central control!" She pushed herself up and continued towards the mountains, focusing only on the ground in front of her. Her heart was pounding and her vision was starting to blur, but she kept walking steadily forward. At last she was at the path that led her back up to her house. She took two steps and then a kangarabbit bounded into her, knocking her to the ground again. Tink tried to get up, but she couldn't. Her breathing was erratic and she was starting to black out. Just before the world around her disappeared, she felt strong hands lift her off the ground and carry her up the mountain.
*****
Tink woke up in her bed to the faint smell of pancakes. She sat up quickly and was overcome with dizziness, so she fell back on her pillow. She heard footsteps, and a moment later Curly's face appeared around her partition.
"The princess awakes."
"Don't call me a princess," Tink grumbled, even as the corners of her mouth twitched up. She sat up slowly this time, gritting her teeth to keep her head from spinning. "What happened?"
"You restored the balance of the Essentia," Curly said simply. "You saved Neverland."
Tink furrowed her brows, searching through her muddled thoughts to remember the events of the night before.
"But I passed out before I got back here."
Curly smiled sheepishly. "Well, somebody might have carried you the rest of the way and processed the last blood sample."
Tink started at Curly. "Thank you."
"It was what anyone would have done."
"I'm not so sure about that." Tink looked absently around the room and then back at Curly. "How did you get past all the attacking Essentia?"
Curly's expression clouded a bit. "I used my portable zipline to stay off the ground as much as possible, and even that was a little treacherous. But when I reached the mountains, nothing bothered me."
Tink let that fact sink in for a while. She knew most of the Silver Mountains were made from her Essentia.
"And everybody else?"
"Everyone is safe, although there were some broken bones. Wendy made it back to the Grey World. Neverland looks like a disaster, but everyone's alive, thanks to you."
Tink exhaled slowly, trying to process everything. She had ventured all over Neverland last night. The Essentia was back to normal, and everyone was safe. Suddenly overcome with relief, Tink sank back into her bed.
"Well, I'll let you get some rest," Curly said softly, heading towards the door.
Tink sat up again. "Curly, wait. I-"
Curly turned back so quick he almost fell over. "Tink, before you say anything else, I want to apologize. I'm sorry for the things I said, and I'm sorry about the glasses. Maybe I was being selfish. I thought it might be fun to have you out in Neverland every once in a while. But Tink, you have to believe me. I would rather spend every day in this room with you than anywhere else without you."
A slow smile spread across Tink's face. She jumped out of her bed, ignoring the various aches in her body, and ran into Curly's arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and this time, when she kissed him, she didn't want it to be anyone else.