From 2002 to Neverland with Riio -- Chapter 6
By Riio
                       “There’s summat not right tonight, Cap’n.”
                        “Odds fish, there’s nothing wrong, man.”
                        “I’m tellin’ ya…”
                        “Mullins! Get back to wherever you’re supposed to be!”
                        Mullins slunk back to the long table where the other men were sat. Billy was
                        perched on an edge, looking slightly embarrassed at seeing Riio serving these
                        men in her low cut blouse. Riio placed a mug of some disgusting concoction
                        before Mason and Billy blanched as the broadset man slipped an arm around
                        her waist, trying to pull her onto his lap. She growled at him, and fortunately,
                        he didn’t take this as an invitation and let her slip away again. Mason looked
                        at the Captain’s iron claw, which was tapping gently on the doorframe, in a
                        warning.
                        “Might I warn you, Mr Mason, that the girl is an employee of mine, and that I
                        choose her roles on this vessel?”
                        The two culprits that this statement was aimed at both looked abruptly at
                        the floor. Hook cleared his throat softly and strode back to his cabin.
                        Starkey looked directly at Riio as soon as they heard the door of Hook’s
                        cabin slam shut. “You can leave if you wish, dear girl.”
                        Riio looked surprised, but not before muttering something about “I’ll dear girl
                        you.” Starkey stood up. “Escort her to Mr Jukes’ cabin, Mason.”
                        Mullins stood up just as quickly. “I’ll think I’ll take that job, Starkey.” There
                        was a dangerous glint in his eye, which suggested both “don’t mess with
                        me”, and “I know what you’re up to”. The problem was, he didn’t know what
                        they were up to. Mullins thought he did, but he didn’t. Billy was, once again,
                        too late in realising the situation at hand.
                        As Mullins took Riio safely out of the crew’s clutches, the three remaining
                        advanced on Billy, who stared up at them with the terrified eyes of a
                        cornered child. Smee uttered a small, “Oh dear, oh dear,” and scuttled out of
                        the chamber, fearing he was too old to see the partaking of this nature.
                        Cookson gripped the boy’s bandanna and held him high with one ham-sized
                        fist.
                        “Get us done in trouble by the Cap’n will ya?” Mason snarled into his face.
                        Starkey turned his nose up and looked down its length at the squirming
                        cabin boy.
                        “Never liked him. He’ll get his just desserts. If he believes he can tattle on us
                        like he did last night, he’ll have second thoughts next time, won’t he boys?”
                        Mason drove a fist into Billy’s stomach, while Starkey held his arms behind
                        him. Cookson clamped a hand over Billy’s mouth before he could cry out –
                        not that he would have. The pain after the third blow was too great for him
                        to even have attempted sound. Eventually he was dropped to the floor where
                        he doubled up, then arched as two different feet snapped quickly into the
                        base of his back. Billy tried to sit up, but a knee caught him in the chin and
                        fist was brought down once again into his midsection. The tears were
                        streaming down him face, and he thought he tasted blood, but he may have
                        been wrong. The agony in his middle was blinding, and he let out a small
                        squeak before he received an uppercut from the gentleman by his side.
                        This is it, he thought, They’re finally going to do me in…all those threats of
                        Davey Jones…here it comes…
                        “Billy boy!” Mullins gasped as he walked in on the scene before him. Billy was
                        half-slumped to the floor, held under the arms by Cookson and Starkey, who
                        promptly dropped him when they saw the hunched father-figure in the
                        shadows. Mason backed off, surprisingly, possibly as he knew how protecting
                        Robert was of Jukes.
                        Mullins was too shocked even to draw his blade. He walked towards the
                        group and the elder pirates scattered to their various dwellings. He pulled
                        Billy to what should have been his feet, but resorted to picking him up,
                        cradle-style and moved away with him. Mullins glanced back over him
                        shoulder and the pirates had no idea what burnt in those eyes. Mullins had
                        clammed up, and was taking the battered boy to be tended to.
                        Billy tried in vain to focus for a second, and when he did, he saw a familiar
                        face, shadowed eyes, stare at him for a second from the far end of the boat.
                        It took off, something flapping behind it, accompanied by another figure. Billy
                        looked up into Mullin’s face for a moment before fainting.

                        ***

                        “Riio!” Peter rapped on the glass. “It’s me!”
                        “Peter?”
                        Peter Pan nodded, his eyes visibly glinting through the hole in the cabin door.
                        “Can you let me in?”
                        “The latch is on the outside…” The bolt sprang and Peter pulled the door
                        open. He grabbed Riio’s arm and led her outside.
                        “Quick, we’ve got to go!”
                        She pulled away. “Wait! Aren’t you going to fight them?”
                        Peter considered it for a moment. There was a scuffling sound and a cry of
                        pain from the pirate’s drinking section.
                        “Sounds like they’re going to finish each other off, doesn’t it? I’ll take you
                        home – I’ll come back later and see what damage they’ve done to one
                        another – come on this is my amazing rescue! I steal you away in the dead of
                        the night, the pirates find you missing and start a bloodthirsty search for the
                        Lost Boys…don’t spoil my moment, Riio…”
                        “That’s Billy!”
                        Peter gestured into the shadows and the Lost Boys took off from them one
                        by one, and headed back to the hideout of Peter’s signed orders. There was
                        to be no fight tonight. Peter tugged her to the end of the boat. Riio glanced
                        back in angst.
                        “We can’t leave him – they’re beating him up!”
                        “Come on! We’ll be back tomorrow! You can check on you new ‘friend’
                        then…”
                        With a final glance back, Riio swore Billy looked directly at her. With a pang of
                        guilt, and a solemn promise to return to him soon, she took off after Peter.

                        ***

                        Riio missed Billy terribly. She didn’t sleep a wink the first night away from the
                        Jolly Rodger, worrying about what they were doing to him. She was offered a
                        small amount of consolation in comforting Peter, who cried out in his sleep,
                        haunted by some awful boyish nightmare. She held him in her arms, as she
                        knew Wendy had all those years before and muttered softly to him to take
                        both his and her minds off the horrible thoughts that plagued them both.
                        Little did they each know, that they both saw the same thing in their minds’
                        eyes – the darker side they wished the pirates didn’t have. Riio dared not tell
                        Peter how good the friendship had become between her and Billy, since they
                        saw each other as the enemy. Peter had asked her what had happened while
                        the Lost Boys were out of the way and out of earshot, and eventually got it
                        out of her. Though things could have been worse, he cried a little, shocking
                        Nibs. Nibs valued his commander in staying strong, but fought back tears
                        himself as he heard the oldest boy’s sobs through the bearskin curtain.

                        ***

                        Billy had been laid on his hard bed of floor and blanket, and Mullins was
                        ordered to leave him. Hook checked him over and declared that he needed
                        rest, before forbidding any other to see the boy – Robert had snuck in
                        anyway while the others were sleeping off the effects of the lashes they had
                        received for their efforts. Hook, surprisingly, also checked up on the boy, but
                        didn’t speak to him as Mullins did.
                        “Don’t worry, Billy Boy,” murmured Mullins, “you be right as rain in the
                        morning, just you see. The Cap’n lashed ‘em all for it…”
                        He paused as Billy stirred but didn’t speak – it pained him too much.
                        “Ye see what happens when a woman get put on board? Pirates get broken
                        up, see…people get hurt. They bewitch ya Billy – see what it did ta Starkey
                        and Mason. See what they did ta you.”
                        Mullins sighed and stood.
                        “I’ll leave ya to sleep, Billy – don’t you worry, I’ll be back in the morning.
                        You’ll pull through – you always do, laddy.”
                        Robert left Billy in the dark.

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