The vast expanse of Skull Rock's cavern is quite extraordinary in the absence of Pan's evil spirit –with no Dark Faery to stir up desperate emotions. Still, the view from up top now is not one of awe.

Utter destruction awaits us at the bottom of the stone steps.

Rowboats are scattered in pieces across the black beach. Mermaids and crocodiles still float in the lake, wounded. The altar Pan used for his sacrifices no longer exists and parts of the platform are missing. It's spotted with deep craters blasted into the stone by the pirates' canon fire.

Half the lake seems to be on fire from the wreckage of a ship. Still, the physical damage pales in comparison to the psychological toll this entire ordeal has taken on the Lost Boys.

They still walk around dazed, unsure. They walk as though they once had direction, a destination, but have long since forgotten it.

Perhaps the greatest feeling of all is the one I get from seeing John and Michael run towards me –their tiny arms outstretched and their faces bright.

"John! Michael!" I cry, sinking to my knees before them.

"Wendy!" John shouts.

"Wen-dee!" Michael cries.

I scoop them both into hugs.

I feel the most carefree that I have in years. Suddenly I am laughing. Everything seems much more fantastical, more magical.

The Archer stands beside the faeries, murmuring fast. The pirates have retreated to their ships. Even Hook has bowed out, tipping his fringed hat in our direction.

"We did it," Salt says, smiling sideways. His silver blade is coated with a thin, sparkling layer of pixie dust.

"We did," I agree, beaming. The shock has only just begun to thin.

"Shall we leave this dreaded rock?" Salt asks, eyes wrinkling.

"Let's," I nod.

I look around and spot Tink and Dew by the lake's edge. I skirt over, brining John and Michael with me.

"I think we're ready to get off Skull Rock," I chirp. "Tink, can you do the honors?"

"Sure thing, Darling." Tink zooms away.

"Lost Boys!" I shout, rounding everyone up. "What you're feeling is faery dust. Close your eyes and think magical, happy thoughts."

Their faces brighten as they start to float in midair. Tink's faery dust has done the trick.

"Let's fly back to Neverland!"

We fly through the morning sky like some elongated luminous train. Tink and Dew showered the Lost Boys with enough faery dust to carry them across the entire island –enough to carry them home.

The wind peppers my face with misty sea drops. The pirate ships sail below us; the mermaids jump in and out of the water beside them. One by one, we touch down on top of the cliffs at Star Point.

The sun rises on the horizon, kissing the water with pink.

"Will you go back now –now that Pan's gone?" Salt asks, his throat tightening. He watches me, eyes falling on my tear-streaked cheeks.

I stand, still clasping my brothers' shoulders. "You know it's sort of an odd realization. I've spent so long trying to get my brothers back and go home. I just realized I don't have a home to go back to."

"Darling," Salt murmurs low. "Have you ever considered, maybe it's because you're already home."

"That reminds me." I bite my lip. My eyes bore into his sea-worthy green ones. I am fathoms deep. "I believe we have some dreams to discuss."

"I believe we do," Salt nods. He reaches around my waist and pulls me into him. "But first..."

Salt's lips touch mine and they taste every bit as intoxicating as faery dust. We break apart, but I reach for Salt's hand, taking his palm in mine. I let our fingers intertwine and so our futures.

As I stand on the cliff-side with Salt, admiring his face in the dawning light, I realize I've gotten so much more from this trip than I could have hoped for. Freeing all the Lost Boys from Pan and reuniting with my brothers are only two small parts of my reward.

"Wendy." John pulls on my sleeve. "Wendy where is Pan?"

"Yeh. Where's Pan?" The lost Boy nearest the edge asks. His brow is badly bleeding into his eye.

I look over his head and it seems only now am I realizing how many Lost Boys there are.

"Pan's going to be staying on Skull Rock from now on," I announce.

"For quite some time," Tink adds, twirling dust around my head.

"Forever, hopefully," Salt mumbles under his breath, smiling.

"Pan on Skull Rock?" Fox asks, his eyes narrowed on mine.

"That's right. And –er –we can't visit him. He doesn't want visitors." I tense, panic-stricken, and hope they do not feel some misguided allegiance to the Dark Faery.

"What now?" Fox hangs his head.

"I –Well," I stutter.

Beady, unblinking eyes stare at me expectantly from every direction. It dawns on me that they are waiting for the next move –waiting for my instruction.

"You're all free now!" I exclaim. "You don't have to stay here. You can go home!"

"Home?" Fox says the word as though he's never heard it before.

"To your parents –to your families –to your homes." I tell them. "You can fly home!"

"Tink, how does it work?" Salt asks. "Will they remember how to get home?"

"We can give them enough dust and if they think happy thoughts they will just need to fly. The magic will guide them home." Tink's opalescent wings flutter.

"Home? But what if we want to stay?" Rabb asks, head sideways.

"Yea!"

"STAY! STAY!"

The sentiments are echoed all around. Salt shrugs.

"Well, I suppose..." I look around. I hadn't counted on any of the Lost Boys actually choosing to stay on the island. "If you want to stay."

"We want to stay with you, Darling."

"If you want to stay of course you can!" I cry. "You are all free to come and go as you please."

"Yea, Dar-ling!" Dobo squeaks.

John and Michael stare at me in awe.

"DAR-LING!" Michael shouts, laughing.

"DARLING!" Fox calls.

"DARLING!"

My name rings all around Star Point as every Lost Boy chants in earnest.

My heart swells inside my chest.

Tink and Dew spiral around me, encasing me in a greenish-blue glow. The turquoise pixie dust fills my lungs and I feel my feet lift from the cliff. I am weightless, but in full control.

I float slowly at first, growing stronger with each chant of my name. 

Salt watches me, the dark waves of his hair spilling into his yes, his smile widening. John and Michael's faces are just as reverent.

I close my eyes, inhaling the faery's magic and reveling in my newfound peace. Perhaps Salt is right. Perhaps I am home.

This is a new beginning for all of us –my brothers, the Lost Boys, and even Salt.

Perhaps for now new beginnings are all that matters.

Pan isn't gone, not really. He's just contained, under eternal lock and key. As long as the spirit of Neverland lives and is one with its evil counterpart, then Peter Pan will be bound to Skull Rock.

Perhaps I shall visit him, in time, to discover what's become of him. An idea I believe once would have appealed most desirably to me, I do not care for it now.

I smile to myself, thinking, if nothing else, Pan got his last wish. I'm staying. I will be Mother.

The island of Neverland will live on, a beating heart inside every true believer.

Inside me.

The End
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