Angela held her breath as they swam out of the chamber, then remembered that she didn't need to. James had insisted that she wear the forever breathe mask first. It had taken him just a few minutes to find the mechanism that opened the outer door, and they had all filled their pockets with some treasure, but not enough to weigh them down, and now they were headed back up to the ship.
After about a minute the group paused to switch masks and let the detective catch up. It seemed he might have smuggled out a bit more treasure than the rest of them. Angela gave her mask to James and Jack Baker gave his mask to Nibs.
As they were setting off again, Angela saw a flash of pink out of the corner of her eye and froze. Seconds later all the mermaids came into view, swimming above and carrying something in between them. At the moment when Angela foolishly thought they might just swim on by, they dove down and covered all five of them with a fishing net. The mermaids continued swimming downward, dragging them all down with them. Everyone struggled to get free from the net, and they ended up in a jumble of limbs. Angela saw Nibs start to cut through the net, but the mermaid with the pink tail immediately went after him. Angela's ears were beginning to hurt from the pressure. She looked down and saw dozens of spindly, glass-like towers jutting up from the floor of the lagoon that she guessed they were all about to be impaled on.
Suddenly, the mermaids stopped. All around them were metallic, dazzling fish that darted through the water, and more seemed to be coming from above. Their luminescence was sometimes blinding, and for some reason the mermaids momentarily abandoned their murderous purposes and became intent on catching them. Angela and the others were still tangled in the net, but they managed to move upwards for a few moments while the mermaids were occupied with the fish.
Then all at once, the fish halted, flipped over, and floated up to the water's surface. Angela grabbed one that was within reach and saw that it was nothing but a shiny wind up toy. The mermaids must have realized this as well because they screeched angrily and dove for the net again. But before they had gone far, a boy appeared in the water.
All of the mermaids' demeanors changed as the boy swam down to them. They rose up to meet him, and instead of trying to kill him, they smiled and preened, almost as if they were flirting. Angela studied the boy. She was sure he hadn't been in Neverland before, and yet, he seemed familiar. He looked stern as he signed something to the mermaids. The mermaid with the pink tail pouted, but made a gesture with her head and swam away, with the other mermaids following close behind.
Angela's was beginning to get dizzy, and she realized she'd gone too long without the mask. She looked over at James, but he was furiously trying to get them untangled from the net. She saw the boy swim over to help, and just before she lost consciousness, she recognized him.
*****
"Mrs. Darling? Mrs. Darling? Are you okay?"
"Wait, you know this woman?"
"Yeah. This is Wendy's mother."
"Wendy...? Oh dear, that is quite a coincidence."
Angela groaned and opened her eyes. "Peter!" She exclaimed, sitting up too quickly and coughing out water. When she had regained her ability to speak, she glanced over at James, who was staring at her in concern, and then she looked up at Peter.
"Peter, what are you doing here?"
"I live here," he responded with a smile. "Well, usually. This past week I've been living in a park..."
Angela turned to James. "You know my daughter?"
"Yes, it appears that I do. She stayed in Neverland for several days."
"What?"
Hook appeared confused, so Peter cut in.
"That was my fault, Mrs. Darling, and I apologize. I persuaded Wendy to come to Neverland with me, and she stayed a bit longer than she had intended. It was while you were in a coma."
When Angela didn't respond, Peter spoke again. "Mrs. Darling, may I ask what you're doing in Neverland?"
"Oh. Well, I met James, and..." she trailed off, not sure how to explain.
Peter looked at James and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I see."
"No, it's not what you think," Angela blurted. "Well, it is, but... there's a lot to the story."
Peter's mouth twitched up into a smile. "Well, I better go help the twins sort out the fish," he said. "I'm glad you're alright, Mrs. Darling.
Angela watched him walk across the deck and join the other boys who were packing up the glittery fish that had distracted the mermaids just a few minutes ago. She shook her head. It was all too much. She had passed out in the water, so they must have carried her back up to the ship and now they were sailing back to the beach. She had found buried treasure and had almost been killed by mermaids. And then the boy who used to date her daughter had showed up and saved her life.
Angela remembered now that Peter had said he lived in Neverland when he had come to dinner. He had appeared so awkward then, but as she observed him helping the others, what she had supposed were oddities seemed right at home here. She was shocked to think that Wendy had spent several days in Neverland without her knowing, and while she felt some indignation, she was also grateful that Wendy had had such a wonderful adventure. Perhaps she had judged Peter too quickly and suddenly wished she hadn't steered her daughter away from him.
When they reached the shore and disembarked, she saw something tied to a rock and realized it was the purple-tailed mermaid who had saved them in the first attack. Jack Baker grabbed the miracle knife from Nibs and ran towards her. The mermaid stiffened and eyed Jack warily as he cut though her ropes. When he was finished, he stepped back and smiled. The mermaid was still for a moment, and then she swung her tail around and smacked him in the face, knocking him off of his feet.
"I don't need your help!" She exclaimed. When he didn't respond, she peered closer. "Oh no, I've killed him!" She cried, flipping down next to him on the sand.
James approached them and inspected Jack. "No, he's just unconscious," he reported. "Don't worry, dear Cora, he'll be fine. This is actually rather fortuitous."
The mermaid gave Jack one more look and then pushed herself into the water and swam away.
Detective Dugglesworth walked up behind James. "What's your plan for Mr. Baker? Are you going to kill him?"
James winced. "Certainly not."
"Oh." The detective seemed a bit disappointed.
"We'll deliver Mr. Baker to a hospital and spread the report that I have escaped and you are retiring. I believe Tink is prepared to hack into the news outlets as soon as you have your payment and are on your way."
"Yes, yes, fine," The detective said dismissively. "Where is my treasure?"
"Smee is bagging it up for you right now," James replied, pointing down the beach at a man filling a sack with jewels.
"Marvelous," Dugglesworth muttered, rubbing his hands together and making his way towards Smee.
James sighed and looked sheepishly at Angela. "I'm sure you think I'm a rotten person for handling things this way."
Angela stepped towards him. "I don't think you're rotten. I think you're rather charming." Hook beamed, until she added, "although I feel your most noble course of action would be to serve out your sentence."
James frowned. "Alas, Angela. It appears I'm not that noble. Nor am I that brave."
"Well, honesty is a type of bravery."
James gave her a longing look and then cleared his throat. "Angela, before you leave, I again would like to apologize for bringing you into all this danger. I acted selfishly, and I regret putting you in harm's way."
"That's alright, James. This has turned out to be an enlightening and invigorating experience.
"You are welcome here anytime, but in case I never see you again, may I give you something to remember me by?"
Angela looked at him curiously. "Of course."
James took a quick step forward and slid his arm around her back, then pulled her to him and kissed her. Shocked, she initially tried to pull away, but then melted into his embrace and enjoyed the moment. When he finally released her, she was breathless. It took a few seconds for her to regain her senses.
"Well, James, I don't think I'll ever forget you after that. Although, I hope you realize that we could never be together."
James nodded in acknowledgment. "Of course, of course, my dear. You are far too respectable for someone like me. I just wanted to fill my thoughts with the memory of your kiss."
Angela blushed and looked away, almost wishing that her morals weren't so important to her. She took James' arm as he walked her back to the makeshift elevator that would transport her back to London.