The Neverland

Archive Three







The last few days that Rafe was living were spent with Rafe and Hook in close proximity. Rafe had continued to work on things in his kiln, and continued to forge weapons, even as his strength weakened. He also spent his time telling Hook stories of the adventures he'd gone on when captaining the DreamCatcher, and showed him several more enchanted artifacts that would become his. But now, on the third and final day, Rafe lay in his bed on his back, his hands folded on his chest, and his breathing shallow and raspy. He often drifted in and out of sleep quite a bit, waking when he needed water, or was trapped beneath a fit of coughs. His room was dark, save for the soft glow from the forge against his far wall.

Odi breathed deeply as she sat beside Rafe's bed, dabbing his forehead with a cool, wet cloth and humming to him softly to help him relax. She watched his face. His eyes were closed, and his dark skin was pale compared to hers, looking almost ashen. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She had known this day was coming for a while now. She was prepared for it. She looked up at Hook and watched him as he paced the room, worried about him and how he was taking this. "Titus... you should come say goodbye." she whispered. "It's almost time."

Hook paused in his pacing when Odi spoke to him, standing in front of the forge and watching the glow of the embers inside as he chewed his lip so hard he could taste blood. He scratched the bridge of his nose with his hook before finally shaking his head and pacing again, resting the cold metal against his chin where it was before, "No. Its not time. He's not going to do this to me, not right now." he said, stopping at the bottom of the bed and looking up at him, "Right Rafe?" he asked softly, walking around his bed and looking down at him, "You are not going to do this to me, right? Not today.."

Odi frowned at Hook, disappointed with his behavior, but before she could open her mouth to object to his words, Rafe spoke. He raised a hand off of his chest, letting out a raspy grumble. "T-Titus..." His blind eyes opened only slightly, but unable to find Hook in the room. "Titus... come here..." he said gruffly, coughing slightly.

Hook gulped thickly before he shook his head and slumped down into the chair beside his bed, taking his hand with his hook and holding it against his own chest, cradling it, "Im here, Rafe, i'm right here" he frowned, reaching up with his free hand and placing it on the crown of his head.

Rafe coughed again, then closed his eyes a moment, his breathing strained before he opened his eyes again. He turned his head in the direction of Hook's voice and smiled a little. "It's time, Titus... Time for me... to move on and go higher than Neverland." He breathed deeply a few more times before continuing, "I'm leaving you everything I am, Titus. Everything I was is yours now." He then reached his other hand to his chest, coughing again thickly as he reached under his shirt and pulled up a thin, golden chain. At the end of it was a heavy-looking, golden key, the length spanning from the end of his middle finger to the heel of his palm. He snapped the chain from around his neck, then held it out to Hook. "Everything." he wheezed. Odi's eyes were trained on the key in awe, her lips parted as she held her breath.

Tears sprung to Hooks eyes, gulping hard and trying not to let the fall, "Cant I trade it all for you to stay?" he asked, already knowing he couldnt. He sighed and sniffed a little, moving his hand to take the key, "What is this for?" he asked before he shook his head and rested his forehead on Rafes hand that he was still clutching, closing his eyes, "Rafe, please. I-i...H-how am I supposed to know what to do without you? You tell me where I should be headed, what you want brought back, without you I have no mission" he said with a sniff, a tear falling and he quickly wiped it stubbornly, "I need you. You are the only man I can talk to, you know me. I need your advice, I need my father figure. I...I dont know if I can do all this without your guidance, Rafe, Im not strong enough"

Rafe gave a tired and breathless chuckle, resisting the urge to cough at the end. He shook his head, then rested his hand--now free of the key--on Hook's head of brown hair. "I'm still here, Titus. I-I'm... always here." he gulped thickly, his breathing slowing as if he was falling asleep. "You're... my boy... Titus. Take.. good care of.. my boy." His heart was slowing, Odi could feel it, and when it finally stopped beating and his hand went heavy on Titus' head, she gave a splutter and finally let her own tears fall.

"H-he's gone, Titus..." Odi whispered, quickly wiping her eyes, and not caring that her paint smeared.

Hook watched Rafe with wide searching eyes, looking over his face and clutching to his hand, holding a breath in wait for Rafe to take another. When it didnt come, he let his own out, shaking his head and scrambling to stand and dropping the key. He leaned over him and placed his hands on Rafes head, shaking him a little, "No..No, he's not. Rafe? Rafe, wake up, please wake up.." he said, whining a little. He left like a child. He gave a small hiccuping sob before he groaned, shaking him again. "Rafe dont fuck with me, please, wake up. You are immortal, dont do this to me! Please.." he sniffed, stroking his face and then leaning forward to kiss his forehead, bringing him up into his arms and cradling him, rocking him a little, "Its okay..."

Odi watched Hook, feeling even more concerned by his grieving process. She understood that Rafe was like a father figure to Titus, and had been for many years, but his reaction to Rafe's death was unsettling. She stood up from her place on the bed beside them and moved to lift the key from the floor, examining it in her hands. It was large, and heavy, and it made her wonder how the thin gold chain connected to it had managed to hold it aloft around his neck for so long. She also wondered what it went to. She looked it over for any sort of unique markings or words, but there were none. She looked back at Titus and Rafe's cold body again and sniffed, wiping at her eyes. But something stopped her: Rafe's body was glowing a soft and warm orange, like the fire. She gulped, glancing at the forge, as if to see if that was what was causing his coloring, but it wasn't. The flames danced... his glow did not. It rippled. She looked back, then moved to Titus and put her hand on his shoulder. "Titus, look!" she said, trying to get him to look at Rafe's warmly-illuminated body.

Hook hiccuped and looked to Odi, "What?" he asked, laying Rafe down again and sitting back a little before he looked down at Rafe, blinking widely. He wiped his cheeks and then jumped back to stand again, taking a step back, "Whats happening? Is he waking up? Whats going on?" he asked.

Odi shook her head, also unsure about what was happening before them. Then, before their eyes, Rafe's body turned to dust, falling apart slowly into a simple outline of his body on the bed. But the glow remained. It stayed the length of him at first, then slowly shrunk into the size of a melon-sized ball, rolling in the air above the dust on the bed. Odi was breathless, staring at it, then gasped as it began to float away from them and towards the forge. She gulped and gripped Titus' arm, and she felt an overwhelming urge to follow the orb. "I-I think it's Rafe..." she whispered, "It must be his soul." She pulled Titus to follow it, until it disappeared into a section of the wall beside the forge's large smelting basin. She studied the wall a moment, waiting for something else to happen, then reached out and knocked a hand on it. It made a hallow sound. She gasped. "There's something in there!"

Hook blinked, shaking his head with wide eyes before he followed her and watched the wall, "Im dreaming" he mumbled, holding his head in his hand. He finally dropped it again, walking to the wall and running his hand over it, "There must be a keyhole or something for that key, this must be what its for.."

Odi nodded, also searching the wall for a lever or a handle or something to open the section of wall that the orb disappeared into. She searched frantically, as if she feared losing Rafe's soul forever if they didn't move fast enough. Her movements ceased when she heard a click, and she looked up at Hook, and where his fingers had brushed a small switch. A compartment in the wall popped open and swung out on some loose and loud hinges, revealing a large keyhole. The tumblers were strange, but matched the grooves of the key in her hand perfectly. She gasped and offered the key to him. "Hurry!"

Hook gulped and took his hand back before he grabbed the key, hesitating. He reached to quickly put the key inside the keyhole and turned it, having to force it a little before it clicked and he shoved his shoulder against the wall, pushing it, "Rafe! Rafe im coming!"

Odi watched, wide-eyed. At first, the only sounds were of the tumblers turning within the wall. They sounded massive. But even as Hook was throwing his shoulder against the wall, it didn't budge. She whined, trying to think of something else, then jumped when there was a groan and a loud crunch from beside them. She looked at the forge, gripping to Titus, and watched as the molten fires in the forge's basin began to empty through a hole in the floor. It only took a few moments, then the basin hissed and split apart down a seam sliced through the iron and brick. It opened, and the wall behind it opened, revealing a doorway.

Hook stumbled back, standing in front of Odi a little and keeping his hand out to cover her just in case. "Everything is a Maze with you, Rafe.." he mumbled with wide eyes before he started forward, turning the handle of the door and shoving his shoulder against it, pushing as hard as he could.

The door gave in easily with a crack, having mildly been stuck to the frame due to the heat of the forge in front of it. Odi followed close behind Titus, keeping her eyes peeled as they stepped through the door. It opened up into a dark hallway, which led to a winding staircase made of iron that had a faint glow coming up from the bottom. It was that same warm orange. "There he is!" she gasped, pulling Hook inside and heading for the stairs. She had to pause when they reached them, taking careful steps as they creaked and groaned beneath her.

"Please be careful" Hook said, taking her hand and guiding her down the staircase gently, his eyes constantly searching for where Rafe went, "Im coming! Wait! Please wait!" he called as he guided her down, trying to look over the sides to see what was down there. He was so confused, and his emotions felt so raw. He didnt want to go on an adventure, he wanted to grieve, but he held onto hope that maybe, some how all this would come to some way he could get Rafe back.

Odi nodded and trekked down the steps carefully, holding his hand tightly and giving a small sigh of relief when her feet touched the floor. The floor was warm... and made of steel. She looked down, then around, gaping at their surroundings. They were surrounded by a room full of mechanisms, cogs, coils and other forms of mechanical wonder. Everything was so large. The room was warm and stuffy, and below the floor they stood on was a glass window that peered into a large round room full of molten rock and iron. She looked around again and took a few steps forward, before she realized something: "Titus... this is... this is Neverland. We're inside Neverland!" she yelped. "This is what he meant by he was giving you everything! This truly is everything!" she gasped, turning to face him.

Hook gulped, clutching the key in his hand and shaking his head, "I..I never wanted all this" he said breathlessly, looking around, "I dont know the first thing about maintaining this, what if I do something wrong? would neverland fall?" he asked, "I am not Rafe, I am not as brilliant as he is, I cant do this" he said, looking to her, "What do I do?"

Odi's expression fell to something more sympathetic, and she stepped towards him, pulling him into a tight hug and nuzzling him. "You are definitely as brilliant as he is. And I know for a fact that Rafe wouldn't have left this to you if he didn't think you could handle it. He trusts you." she whispered soothingly. She kissed his neck, then his lips lightly, before stepping back and looking around again. She gulped, her eyes finding the floating orb that was Rafe's soul just a few feet away, rippling in front of them. "There..." she breathed.

Hook turned around slowly to look at the orb, tears springing to his eyes again. He stumbled to it slowly and then sunk to his knees, the key falling out of his hands. "Please come back Rafe. I need you to explain all this to me, you never explained." he sniffed, looking down at the light. "Please. I need you"

The orb stayed silent, glowing and pulsing softly with the beat of the mechanics around them. Odi stood back from the scene, watching worriedly and shifting on her feet. Finally, the orb floated closer to Hook, approaching his chest slowly, then disappearing beneath his shirt and into the amulet he wore around his neck. It was the same amulet he used to grant the wishes of the crew on the DreamCatcher, and the same amulet that Rafe had given him when he'd first made him captain of his ship. The amulet glowed orange beneath his shirt, feeling warm against his skin, then Rafe's voice filtered into Titus' head playfully: "You didn't really think I'd leave you for good, did you?"

Hook spluttered, falling forward to lean on his hand and closing his eyes tightly, sniffing before he took a breath and smiled widely, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt, "I was hoping not, you son of a bitch. I was hoping you were just showing off.." he said, looking down to the glow at his chest, "Are you staying there? I can contact you?"

Rafe's laugh filled Titus' head, and it sounded young and full of life. "What else did you think I made this amulet for? I knew you wouldn't survive long without me, kid." he laughed. Odi was watching with wide-eyes, inching forward and looking uncertain. She couldn't hear Rafe's voice like Titus could. She was terrified that he'd finally lost it.

"Well you were right,and you are a bastard for making me cry. Captains dont cry." Hook chuckled with a sniff, biting his lip, "You sound good, Rafe. You sound real good" he nodded, sitting up on his knees and looking to Odi, blinking at her expression, "What? What are you looking at me like that for? You cant hear him?" he asked before he raised his eyebrow, "Rafe, I think Odi thinks I've lost my mind..." he smirked finishing drying his face.

"Well you have. I don't blame her for looking at you like that." Rafe chuckled. "Let her touch the amulet and she'll be able to hear me too."

"H-hear him..? You hear Rafe? Where is he?" Odi asked, looking around a little before looking back at Titus. "Are you alright..?"

Hook smirked and moved to stand, walking to her, "Yeah, im fine. I'm fine now. I am sorry I crumbled." he said, moving to take her hand. He pushed it up under his shirt and laid it on the amulet, pressing her palm against it gently.

Odi tensed a little, watching him as her fingers graced his chest and her palm cupped the amulet against his chest. "What are you-?" she started, then gasped and blinked when Rafe's voice filled her head too.

"Just proving that he isn't completely insane... yet." he chuckled. "Hello again, Odi."

Odi spluttered, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. "R-Rafe...? Is that really you...?" she sniffed. "You're really in there?"

"Yes, Odi, I'm really in here. I told you both that I would always be around, but you just never listen to me!"

Hook chuckled and shook his head, leaning in to kiss Odi's cheek, "I am going to have to hang you on a wall or something when we are in bed, arent I?" he smirked, giving Odi a wink and then looking around, "So, what am I supposed to do with this? What even is this, Rafe?"

"What do you mean 'what is this?' Odi was dead-on when she said you were standing within Neverland! You're currently standing on the first level of the inner mechanisms that keep Neverland afloat and alive. There are a total of three levels, and twenty-seven rooms and compartments. The second level is the main control room. But before you go touching--and breaking--things, you should grab the blueprints from that locker just to the right." Odi couldn't help but smile at Hook in an "I told you so" way at Rafe's words.

"Well I got that, Rafe, but I mean what do you expect me to do with this? Im no mechanic for hades sake, I dont even know how to work the stove on the dreamcatcher" Hook said with a roll of his eyes, walking to the locker and opening, grabbing the long rolled up papers.

"You will learn, Titus, because I will teach you. Besides, Neverland is pretty self-sustaining so long as the cogs are kept clear and the core stays hot." Rafe explained gently. "You can do this, Titus."

"I sure hope so, because if I can, Neverland is gunneh fall down, cradle and all" Hook frowned, "How often does this place need maintenance? What about when I am away on the Skyrider?" he asked with a frown. He couldnt not be captain, it was his life.

Rafe sighed a little within the amulet, making the glow strengthen for a few seconds with the act of contemplation, then he said, "I only serviced the cogs maybe once or twice a year. If you are really paranoid about it, perhaps once every six months. But as I said before, the city is self-sustaining. The only way it would fall from the sky is if all of these cogs stopped moving at the same time." he explained.

"Okay..twice a year, I can handle that.." Hook said, nodding slowly and looking to Odi, then down to the papers, "I guess I have some studying to do. What now?" he asked, biting his lip and looking around once more.

---

---

"Aarin, there's something wrong with the world below." Anaita told him seriously, watching him. "We must gather everyone here so that I may explain. You and Aveda fetch all of the sprites and your parents... and whoever else is willing to help in this battle. It will decide the fate of the world as we know it."

Aarin gaped at his grandmother, the color draining from his face. He had a horrible feeling in his gut all of a sudden. He nodded and turned, running through Odi's parents' house and collecting everyone he could find, instructing them to meet in the garden behind the house. Once everyone was there, right down to every sprite and even Hook, Anaita met them there, her crystal ball in her hands and Odi beside her.

"I have grave news," she began seriously to everyone. She looked around at her son and Samiya, their new baby girl and Aarin, Aveda and Hook, the four sprites and Eon. Their group was finally complete. She looked at Aarin and Aveda the most grimly. "Reise has recovered Scabbar from us."

"What?!" Eon blurted before Aarin could react. "How?! I brought him down! He's in his axe, contained in the house!"

Anaita shook her head, holding up a hand to silence Eon. "I'm afraid he is not. Not anymore. Reise located him and pulled him from us here in the sky." she said to him, making Eon press his lips in a thin, disappointed line. She then looked back at the two young warriors. "What's even worse is... he's absorbed Scabbar into his body."

This time it was Aarin's turn to react first. He let out a breath of disbelief, his body giving an unnerved quake. "H-he... that's... that's insane. Scabbar would take him over completely."

"No. Not completely." Odi stepped in, looking around at them all. "Scabbar is powerful, yes, but Reise is stronger. Instead, it merged their bodies into something completely dark and disastrous." She looked to her sisters, then back at Aarin and Aveda, nodding at the sword on Aarin's belt. "This is what we've been training for." Her eyes focused on Hook now, and they were sad and apologetic. "We have to leave Neverland as soon as possible... and prepare for battle."

"For some reason, I am finding I am doing a hell of a lot of things for a hell of a lot of nothing in return" Hook said, looking from Odi to everyone else in the room except for Aarin and Aveda. He didnt want to look at them right now after hearing about their advancements. "Regardless, the sooner we get away from Neverland the better" he mumbled, folding his arms and looking to his feet, "Just dont be shocked when my generosity runs dry"

Aveda listened solemnly to the words everyone spoke then looked to her brother when Odi addressed him. She noticed his refusal to look at either her or Aarin as he scanned over everyone in the room and her heart couldn't help but falter slightly. She couldn't bear the thought of him keeping her at a distance now that she and Aarin had made him aware of their future intent. Sighing lightly she returned her attention to Anaita. "How soon do we leave?"

Anaita looked at Aveda and said gently, "As soon as we can. If Captain Hook would be so kind as to lend us his ship for one more flight back to the kingdom... we'll leave as soon as the ship is ready." she nodded and looked to Hook expectantly, as if waiting for his approval or denial.

Hook rolled his eyes and sighed, looking up at the ceiling, "Whatever. Its not like I can leave you all here for Hades sake. This is the last trip I give you for nothing, and I want my sword back, so kill this guy already" he grumbled, walking away from them and slumping to sit down.

Odi frowned deeply at Hook's words. She moved towards him between the people and to his side, then abruptly smacked him upside the head. She glowered down at him. "Would it hurt you to show some kindness from the depths of your heart for once?" she asked sternly in a harsh whisper. She then turned and walked away, heading back into the house without another word to anyone.

Hook frowned deeply. She struck him? He stood roughly and walked after her taking her by the arm and pulling her to him when they were out of the room, "Excuse me?" he asked, his brow furrowed, "I think I have been very kind up till now, I have been their personal driver to this point for a piece of metal. I didnt ask to be pulled into a damn war" he said, letting her go, "This has been the most I have given anyone for such little bounty, and only because my sister has been with them, so dont push it" he said, shaking his head. He knew he was being bitter, but he couldnt help it. He was furious. "And do not strike me again"

Odi glared him down, even as he grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise it. She set her jaw and held his gaze, clearly unafraid of him. "No one is pulling you into this now, Hook, but if we do not help them, it will only be a matter of time until Reise finds Neverland and takes it too. He will destroy everything we have, everything we are, and everything we love. Everyone we love..." Her glare softened on him only a little, then her resolve returned. "Stop being so selfish and try to realize that your help is for a far bigger purpose than just being a chauffeur to some strangers. You'll still get your payment, Hook, they won't go back on their word." She then gave a small sniff. "But does it even faze you that I'm going with them to fight? Do you even care that I'm leaving to help them? You always think about your payment, your prize, what you get for being involved... but what about what you might lose? What you're letting go of?" she asked, trying not to give away the fact that her deep, brown eyes were brimming with tears. "You're so focused on getting paid, Hook, that you don't know what you have in front of you, and you never worry about what might happen if someone comes in and tries to destroy it."

Hook frowned deeply at her, wrinkling his nose a little, "That is what you think? That is what you think of me?" he asked, shaking his head and taking a step back from her, "Hell, you dont know me at all, do you? Why in hell do you think I dont want to be involved in this shit, hm? For a fucking sword? Really Odi? I have hundreds of swords on that ship, a some of them are just as enchanted as that one. Do you think I would be this stressed out over a piece of metal? I know you are fighting with them, Odi, but what can I do, hm? Ask you not to? Ask you to sit on the ship like some housewife? I cant do that, you would kill me in a heartbeat for suggesting it, and rightly so, because its not you. I cant make you want to stay there and be safe." he frowned, folding his arms again, "My crew is not going to understand why we keep letting these people rape our ship and services for nothing. They will think I have gone soft, they will have ideas of mutiny, is that what you want? Do you want me to be kind and endearing and lose my ship?" he asked, shaking his head, "Over my dead body"

"I think losing your ship is a hell of a lot better than losing your baby." Odi snapped back, her body tense. A tear fell free from her eye, down her cheek, streaking through the blue makeup on her face. She sniffed and wiped at it, then frowned at the smeared makeup on her hand. "I love you, Titus," she whispered, swallowing hard, "and if you think your crew would really do that to you, then you don't know your crew very well. They've been with us for a very long time... and seen and done things with us that most would call insane. And all this time, they stayed, and they could have thrown mutinies plenty of times. But they didn't." she mumbled. "Hell... they even know about the baby by now... and they know how you and I feel about one another. They're not stupid."

"I dont want that to happen!" Hook snapped, clenching his fists in frustration, "I dont want you out there to fight, to die, Odi. I dont want to die out there either, because I want to be here, that is why I dont want to be involved, why cant you understand that?! I just dont want my world ending because of someone elses battle." he frowned, "I thought you thought more of me than that. I do not value my things more than I do my world." he said, shaking his head, "I am trying to wrap my head around the idea that because of these people, I could potentially lose you, my child, my ship and my sister, so excuse me if I am not fucking thrilled"

Odi actually flinched this time. She blinked at him, seeming a little surprised by the fact that she'd actually shrunk back when he yelled. She blushed and sniffed, then looked down at the floor with tears free falling down her face. She sniffed and whispered, "I'm sorry..." she whispered. Odi never apologized for anything. She moved then, very gently leaning into him and sliding her arms around him. "But you're so dense. I told you I love you." she whispered. "Just say it back to me. Just once."

Hook frowned as he slipped his arms around her and rubbed her back, "I...do love you...Odi. I mean... You know that don't you? I wouldn't care for you like I do if I didn't. I wouldn't have been fine with you keeping this kid if I didn't" he said, sighing and resting his chin on her head, "we still need to tell your parents"

"I knew it... but it's nice to hear it." Odi whispered as she nuzzled his chest, just clinging to him. "And no... we can't tell them now. If we told them I was pregnant right as we were getting ready to head into war, my father would fight you to the death before he'd let me go." she whispered. "We cannot tell them."

"Odi, we promised we would. They have a right to know, I don't mind fighting them. I will fight him if I have to. It's not like he doesn't hate me already." Hook said with a smirk and rubbed her back again, "we said we would tell them, we promised. I will be there with you"

"I know we did," Odi sighed, hiding her face against him. "But I just want to enjoy this first. I want to enjoy being alone with you, and having you actually being compassionate for once." she said, her voice light and teasing now as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. Her blue makeup was smeared all over her face now, and some was on his shirt.

"Okay, well I will stay with you like this for as long as you want, but we can't leave on the ship till they know" Hook said, reaching to tickle her sides, "I think we should go to your room, and you should let me repaint your face. I am getting good at it"

Odi gave him a small, grateful smile, and nodded. "You have gotten good at it." she agreed, running a hand up his chest. "But not blue this time. Something... brighter." she whispered. She grabbed his hand then, pulling him upstairs and into her room, closing the door.



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