"Tinker Bell is inside the working room," said the queen. We were marching down the hallway, except for Peter Pan, who was flying and checking the paintings out on the wall. "You know, for fairies who live in a tree, you guys are good at paintings," Peter commented.

"Why thank you, we used berries to make those. Anyway, if you are the new Dragonslayer, do you realize that the journey ahead of you will be fatal?" She looked at me with those concern-filled eyes.

"Yes, your majesty," I said. "And you're not gonna like it if this dragon somehow reached you, that's why we must stop it." Soon enough, we arrive at a room where textbooks, scrolls, and maps were on top of tables and bookshelves. Rushing and arguing inside the working room was a girl with blonde hair wearing a simple green dress, taking and arranging the books from a boy with black hair wearing a leafy, green sleeveless shirt, and a pair of perfectly round glasses. It looks like he's the one who caused such a mess.

"Tinker Bell, Stanley," Hearing Queen Clarion's voice made them freeze in place.

Stan immediately stood up straight as he rearranged his eyewear. "Your Highness, what a surprise!" he almost blurted.

"I know," she said. "There is no time for further explanations. Tinker Bell, you must help these young warriors. They need to go to the World of Battleships." The blonde girl, who must be Tinker Bell, exchanged looks between the queen and us. So was Stanley, who looked surprised as well because of his big round eyes. "Queen Clarion-" Tinker Bell stammered. Peter interrupted her, however. "Tink!" He exclaimed as he flew towards her and grabbed her arms. "Listen, I know this reunion is fun, but they need to go to the battleship thing- and find their friends."

Tink shrugged him off. "You left the lost boys?" 

Peter Pan scratched his head with a shy smile. "Well . . . I did leave a note on their beds."

"Peter, you can't write." Tinker Bell reminded him instantly. I scanned the fairy, taking her appearance in. Her blushed face was almost childlike. Her eyes were bright like Sean's, her blonde hair was slick and styled into a bun at the back of her head, a green leaf shape like a flower securing it. Pretty neat. She was dressed in a green dress with straps over her right shoulder. Chloriette loved her shoes too because they had white puffballs (Even Victor wanted to have those).

"I can't?" Peter Pan frowned. 

Not unkindly, Tinker Bell just sighed, "Never mind."

"Um, hello. Flash warriors over here," Victor called out.

"Tinker Bell, Stan, you need to help these humans. This boy," the queen pointed at me, "Is the Dragonslayer."

Those two words made Stan tensed. "Oh my wings, the prophecy is real."

"And we need to find our friends, please," I said.

"Tink, do you still remember where the World of Battleship is?" Peter asked Tink.

Chloriette pleaded, "Please if you do know, you must lead the way. Or else everything will be destroyed."

"Yeah, what she says," Victor supported.

"I think I have a crush on you," Lenard said quickly.

"I- I . . . I just followed the map we read when we first came there. Thanks to my head bumping to rock, I couldn't remember. But I still, however, remember what map it is. The only problem is I don't know where it is anymore. Ugh, this is too much pressure."

"Wait a minute, you're not talking about the scrolled map that says 'The eighth sea', are you?'" Stanley asked.

Tinker Bell turned to him. "How did you know?"

"Oh, you know me." He chuckled. "Reading every book and every-"

"Whatever, just . . . do you know where the map is?"

"Well, yes, certainly!" Stanley quickly answered.

"Stanley, will you please find the map? Head to the breezing room once you found it, we'll be there," Queen Clarion ordered. I guess Stanley knew what's going on right now, so without question, he immediately hurried outside after bowing. "Now that it is done and over with," she said. "Come, we will head to the breezing room, I must show you something. Including the both of you, Tinker Bell and Peter."

"Oh, come on! Me too, seriously?" Trust me on this one, boredom is not Peter Pan's best friend. Put that in mind.

The breezing room was not bad. It isn't a room though, but a balcony built on top of the Pixie Dust Tree. In front of us, we could still see the sun up in the sky. "Take a look." Queen Clarion gestured to the wooden railings. "I have a bad feeling about this." Lenard's shaky voice makes me want to not see what Queen Clarion wanted us to see.

Looking at the view before us, Pixie Hollow was like the biggest home of the fairies that I have ever seen. Unless you're big, of course. But something's not right. The fairies seemed very busy trying to reconstruct their home. Green fairies gathering planks, leaves, and strings to build what has been destroyed. Orange fairies guiding cute little animals as they deliver more supplies.

Helping the Green fairies, the pink fairies (Even the males are wearing pink too, like me when wearing my pajamas) grew small trees, tall plants, and flowers for support. The blue fairies controlled the water as the green fairies construct a canal before releasing it. The yellow fairies use the sunlight to help those who work in a dark area. I had no idea what the violet fairies were doing, they just flew around . . . fast.

"I'm gonna go say 'hi' to Vidia. You should say 'hi' to her, too!" Peter smiled at Tinker Bell. She just rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

"I love the bunnies, they look cuddly." Chloriette's eyes followed the little ones hopping around.

"As you can see, young warriors, Pixie Hollow looked normal and is in well condition, until there was a sudden change." Queen Clarion came nearer. "It was sixteen years ago, a war broke out of nowhere. Two groups fought, ending in total bloodshed. The Shadow knights, I doubt that you don't know them, destroying everything just to find our source of life."

"Not this story, again," Peter yawned, but Tinker bell shushed him.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is? To be awake day and night just to watch over my fairies." Queen Clarion's eyes didn't move, her gaze remaining towards her kingdom.

"Without reason, the Shadow knights hunted everything in sight when they arrived in Neverland. My fairy scouts knew that the knights were hunting for our Pixie dust. I was in shock back then, these conquerors were powerful and dangerous. They are a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, we had unexpected help. The Flash warriors fought in the name of light. However, they struggled to protect everyone and everything, especially Pixie Hollow. They kept the Shadow knights from destroying all of the living and non-living things. Suddenly, the war got worse and it reached Pixie Hollow. Even though the warriors were heroes, everyone in Neverland avoided them, saw them as threats, and so they were called dangerous people."

"Wow, so much for telling us that they are our big fans," I commented.

"Hey, except for me," Peter waved his hands. "I don't blame them having a job that is boring and risky . . . err, no offense guys. Really."

"Well, the good thing is we managed to work together again. We started making more durable structures, stronger houses, and wider space for the supplies," said Tinker Bell. It's true, the fairies were working hard and I noticed that Pixie Hollow would have a lot of changes.

"Oh, you mean those rare junk you found. Pff, please." Peter crossed his arms and sat on the railing.

"I could push you off the railing, you know." Tinker Bell threatened Peter.

Chloriette wondered, "But why didn't the Flash warriors put this in their history book? Surely, we have to know about the warriors' past." I didn't know what to say, but I wondered the same thing.

"For the record, if we have history lessons about this, I would not fall asleep." Victor stretched his arm.

"And now, we have a new threat." Queen Clarion looked us in the eye, then back to watch her fairy folk.

"We didn't trust any warriors back then until a prophecy has been spoken. 'He must go, to a place of hallow. He must choose, win or lose. He must find the destroyer, for it is hidden in a chamber. Life itself rests in his hands, or it will have disintegrated where it lands'. I heard the prophecy from my dream. At first, I didn't get it until Tinker Bell and Stanley figured out that it was a sign from the future."

"Stan thought the queen was daydreaming, which she isn't." Tink rolled her eyes.

"I don't know this 'daydreaming' thing, but it sounds like a person humiliating himself," Peter pouted.

"And now, the truth has spread across Pixie Hollow about a huge dragon with three heads that can breathe powerful magic, flying across places and destroying anything in sight at any moment. It filled me with fear until you and your friends came along with a mission. As queen, I must do anything to help my people, and that is to help you get to the . . . I'm sorry, what is it called again?"

"The World of Battleships, your highness," Lenard reminded.

"Ah, yes, thank you. As I was saying-" Queen Clarion was interrupted by Stan barging into the room, waving the map and beaming. "I found the map! I found the map!" We didn't react to Stan's arrival. He barged in as if he couldn't wait to get to the party. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

Tinker Bell had the honor to scan the map after opening it, placing it on top of a wooden table so she could see the map clearly, remembering the path to the World of Battleships again. I wonder why they went there. Is it for fun? For curiosity? Or they just wanted to get themselves into danger. What do you think? "Okay . . . uh-huh . . . got it . . . now I remember," she nodded with a snap of her finger.

"Just tell us already," Peter blurted impatiently.

"Remember the time you stole a key from Captain Hook?" Tinker Bell asked.

"Yeah, that was fun. The lost boys and I also stole his underwear."

"Well, it seems like inside a wrecked ship is a loop made out of stones. When we insert the key, a flash appears."

"You mean the portal!" Chloriette realized.

"Yes. Whatever you call it. Anyway, it'll be unlocked once you put the key in," said Tinker Bell.

"Captain Hook must've retrieved it. All he ever wanted was the key when he tried to chase us around. Good times!" Peter nodded.

"No, he doesn't have it because the crocodile swallowed it."

"Oh yeah, even better." Peter laughed at the thought.

"Wait, there's a crocodile in Neverland?" Lenard asked.

"There's a gigantic octopus, too." Tinker Bell added which made Lenard swallow hard.

"That means the key is digested. Ew," I said.

"It cannot be digested," Tinker Bell denied. "That key, from what I could tell, is made out of rare stone that cannot be dissolved. So we still have a chance of getting it."

"What does dissolve mean?" Ignoring the question from Peter Pan, Tinker Bell went on. "We'll be needing an animal fairy. They're great in tracking different sorts of animals."

"Magnificent! I didn't know fairies can be an animal tracker," Victor grinned (Victor told me in secret that he likes fairies so much, he couldn't help himself).

"And when you say animal tracker, you mean a much more experienced animal fairy," said the queen. Tinker Bell nodded in agreement. "And I know just the right animal fairy for the job," she grinned.

"I have no idea what's going on right now." I almost forgot that Stan was here beside us.

As Tinker Bell explained to her animal fairy friend, Fawn understood the problem and decided to help without hesitation at all. Like my hair, her long ponytail has a light brown color. Seriously, her hair was so long, it reached her lower back. Like her dress with one strap over her shoulder, her lively eyes were orange like the autumn leaves but her high boots were dark-dried orange. She's like half of Henrich and Mondrea. Very enthusiastic, aware, trying her best to do things seriously, and never shuts her mouth. "The crocodile is that way." Fawn pointed to a river. Over it was a cave, under the light from the reflection of the river.

Tinker Bell started teasing the crocodile inside the cave by calling it names. Peter Pan flew past us after a few moments. "Here he comes and he can't wait to eat you guys!" he yelled as he got closer.

"Lunch will not be served on my watch," Fawn said with confidence. The giant crocodile dashed towards us while snapping its jaws. The surprising part? You can hear ticking sounds from the reptile. "Do you guys hear that?" I asked.

"It sounds like a clock," Chloriette said.

"Yeah, but for the fairies, it sounded like a terrifying ticking sound." The rest of us backed away except for Fawn. She stood firmly, eyes on the predator. As Peter Pan flew above her, she quickly flew and stop in mid-air before lifting her hand, signaling the creature to stop. The crocodile's eyes seemed to dilate. It pushed its feet to the ground to stop itself. We thought that the crocodile would squash us into bits by its belly, but luckily for us, we didn't. "You can open your eyes now, you're still alive," Chloriette told Lenard.

"Phew, thank goodness." Lenard's forehead was all sweaty.

Fawn gently told the ticking crocodile to spit the key. "I know it's in there, Crocky."

"Great, she gave a name to a ticking crocodile," Peter said.

"Shut up." Tinker glared at him.

"I know you can do it. Now, try to spit the key." Fawn faced the crocodile.

"Is she gonna tell the crocodile to do it?" Lenard frowned.

"Well . . . an animal fairy's gonna do what an animal fairy's gonna do." Chloriette shrugged.

"It'll be sick and awesome at the same time." Victor shaking his fists.

"I have nothing to say," I said. The crocodile made a choking sound several times. Not even a minute passed, the saliva-covered key flew straight to Fawn's hands. She's not even bothered by the nasty substance. It was shiny and has the same size as her height. "Whoa, this one's heavy! Hey, do you guys have someone who can carry this?" she asked us from above. She dropped the key to Victor as we all pointed at him in response.

"Wow, thanks a lot guys," he winced as the key landed on his head before he caught it.

The crocodile returned to its place. "Poor thing." Fawn came down. "Even though he can spit the key out, he couldn't spit the clock out."

"Look on the bright side. Crocodile with ticking clock sounds means no pirates!" Peter Pan smiled.

A/N:

Phew, gladly the crocodile didn't even try to eat them still. With the key, they can finally open a portal, but they couldn't leave just yet as they still need to find Claes and Sean, which will be in the next chapter!