Their costume was absolutely divine. Perhaps their best work even, especially given the amount of time Naldo gave them to make it. Instead of the usual Peter Pan green tights, they gave Peter green lace pants that puffed out and tied tight at the ankles with golden ribbons. The green lace had a slit down the side of their legs and underneath the lace, they wore sparkly golden shorts. On their feet, they wore buskins, ankle leather boots from the Elizabethan era. They wore no shirt, instead vines wrapped in their hair like a crown and snaked down the back of their neck, wrapping around their chest and stomach. The vines were identical to the ones that lined the natural hallway leading to the front black gates. They had discovered more in the garden outside the castle. The vines in their hair were even dotted with the small glowing blue flowers. At their waist, they fastened a leather belt with Kali's dagger hanging at their hip. From the vines at their shoulders, they attached more green lace that flowed down their arms and secured at their wrists by a gold ribbon.

Justin viewed their self in a large mirror backstage in a small dressing room. They placed their hands on their hips, pulled their shoulders back, and puffed out their chest. They reminded themselves of a fairy from the wood realm mixed with a lost boy. They loved it.

The door to backstage swung open and Naldo raced in. He opened his mouth to speak and stopped when his eyes landed on Justin's costume.

"It's Peter!" he exclaimed. "You look perfect."

"Thank you," said Justin.

"The play starts in ten minutes."

Justin frowned. "We haven't rehearsed or learned any lines."

"That isn't the point. Have you seen Peter Pan?"

Justin nodded.

"Good. Just use your imagination. It's pure imagination that will set your magic off. Also, the whole perimeter fence is surrounded by trackers. This whole place will swarm with evil magicians in thirty minutes tops."

Naldo spun on his toes, pulled his wand from his pocket, and waved it at the door. Nothing happened. He sighed. "With the crystal restored, I will get my magic back." He pushed the door open and left.

Justin stepped onto the stage and into a flurry of activity. Niccolo, with the help of Legolas, worked on building an actual mini pirate ship that sat floating in an actual pool of water. Thunderbolt, tied to the front of the ship, supervised and barked orders.

"No, a pirate flag is not checkered, that is a racing flag," she said.

"It's the only flag I know," grumbled Legolas as he raised a skull and crossbones flag back dropped by black and white checkers. He was in his usual racecar driver form except that he had on actual cloth pants ripped at the bottom and a white flowy cotton shirt. Across one eye he had wrapped a leather patch. Niccolo, who was tying ropes around the ship, wore a similar outfit except that he also had a red bandanna tied in his curly brown hair.

From the water, a green creature with a long spiky green tail emerged. It looked at Justin and smiled. Justin realized it was Niraj in a green bodysuit and a fake green tail attached at his waist.

Justin returned the smile. "A perfect crocodile."

Niraj nodded and slipped back under the water.

Something sparkled in front of Justin. Glitter rained down onto the stage. They looked up. A fairy flew above, pouring fairy dust upon him.

"I'm not familiar with Peter Pan," said Nitara.

"Tinker Bell flies around causing mischief for the Pirates, also you have to help Peter fly."

She smiled. "I can do that."

Nitara looked like she belonged in the sky. She wore a green leotard, and blue strips of shimmering lace hung from her waist, flowing around her bare legs. Attached to the back of her leotard was a pair of golden wings made of actual golden feathers. The wings hung down below her feet and rustled in the air as she moved.

She noticed Justin inspecting her wings. "There were no fairy wings."

"That's okay, this is our Peter Pan. You are beautiful."

She twirled in the air.

"We have to perform in ten minutes," said Justin. "Can you help me get everyone together?"

Nitara nodded and flew out into the audience where Li Jing and Eleu sat. Li Jing sat in her ten-year-old boy form, wearing a long trench coat and top hat. She would play John. Eleu looked straight out of the musical Newsies, complete with dirt smeared onto his face. He would play their one and only lost boy.

"Justin!" shouted a voice from the side of the stage.

Justin turned to see Erla standing next to the stage with a panicked look in her eyes. They rushed over to her. She wore a beautiful blue silk nightgown with puffed blue lace sleeves. She was the perfect Wendy.

"It's Bastian. He is taking Itai and leaving."

Panic overwhelmed Justin. "Taking him where? Trackers surround the place!"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I tried to stop him, but he said he didn't trust this place."

Justin raced to the middle of the stage where the trapdoor lay. He looked up. Naldo stood on the catwalk above the stage, playing a flute to the crystal. One long crystal vein snaked out and down, wrapping itself around the jack-in-the-box.

Naldo noticed Justin watching him and paused from his flute playing.

"This will allow the crystal to give the jack-in-the-box power and, in turn, give your brother enough power to return to his human form. Are you ready?"

Justin shook his head. "Bastian is trying to leave with Itai. Give me five more minutes."

There was a pause before Naldo said, "Okay, but only five. Hurry."

Justin tapped his foot on the trapdoor, and it swung open. They jumped, landing back on the zebra carpet. They looked around at infinite space until their eyes locked on the large blue planet and they ran towards it.

Back in the stone stairwell, Justin took the stairs two at a time.

"Bastian! Itai!" they shouted as they went.

They passed the diamond-shaped window, the star-shaped window, their own hobbit hole room, and a hexagon-shaped window.

"Bastian!"

"Right here!" came a voice through an open door shaped like a boulder. On the other side, Justin expected to find a cave-like room and not the magical forest that awaited him. An actual creek with actual water wove its way through the room and out onto a small balcony, where it cascaded off the edge. An actual pine tree grew up out of the balcony with a swing tied to a low branch that hung over the ledge. Four trees grew out of the floor, making up the posts of a massive bed. Above the bed, the branches wove together into a canopy. The trunks of the trees were carved, creating bookshelves. On an actual small hill of grass overlooking the balcony stood a desk made from rock.

"Bastian?" Justin called as they stepped onto a small boulder in the stream.

"Out here," came Bastian's voice from the balcony. Justin followed a series of stones on the stream out onto the balcony. There he found Itai sitting with his feet in the stream. The boy looked up and waved at Justin. Justin waved back.

"Where's..." Justin started to say but stopped as Itai pointed up into the pine tree. There, up in its branches, sat Bastian, tying a rope around a branch. The rope looked suspiciously like the ones that Niccolo was using for the pirate ship.

"I'm guessing Erla tattled on me," said Bastian as he pulled on the rope.

"What are you doing?"

"Couldn't find the front door in the David Bowie space hallway, so finding another way out."

"I haven't found the front door either."

Bastian dropped the rope so that it dangled from the branch.

"Doesn't that seem suspicious?"

Justin shrugged. "I haven't asked where it is. Bastian, you can't leave. Naldo says there are trackers swarming the perimeter fence. They will be here in twenty minutes or less."

"We aren't going there. We will go through one of the houses."

Bastian carefully swung his legs over the branch. Using only his arm's strength, he lowered himself until he hung over the ledge of the balcony.

Justin ran forward until they stood near the branch Bastian hung from. "But you need me to open the door and I can't right now. I have to perform."

Slowly, Bastian lifted one hand, grabbed onto the rope, and tugged. Satisfied, he grabbed onto the rope with both hands. It held his weight.

"We will wait for you to finish then."

Bastian swung his legs until the rope started to sway. Justin took a step back as Bastian let go of the rope and landed on the balcony.

"But..." A loud boom sounded in the distance. Itai jumped to his feet and ran to Bastian. Out in the pine forest, a billowing cloud of black smoke rose into the air.

"But," they continued, "Naldo said he needs all of us to repair the castle and properly restore its defenses."

"I am not giving my magic to a magician," said Bastian, his face going red, "and I'm not letting an innocent four-year-old give his away either."

"But..."

"I had to leave my family because of magicians. None of them are good."

"So you're just going to leave and leave us to the trackers? Naldo isn't bad, he lost his brother because of magicians. His brother became the castle to protect wizards like us, and Naldo only wants to protect this castle. Let's use our magic for good. There are hundreds more houses down there. Hundreds more children need our help, but if the trackers come in now, there is no hope. Please, Bastian, help us."

Bastian looked down at Itai, who grabbed his hand and tugged on it as if he wanted Bastian to go back inside. Bastian didn't move. He looked Justin straight in the eyes with an intensity that made Justin stumble back.

"Our magic is going to only help the castle and keep the trackers out?"

Justin swallowed, Naldo's voice entering their head. With the crystal restored, I will get my magic back.

They nodded. "Of course, only for the castle and its defenses."

Bastian continued to stare at Justin, and then he grinned.

"Well, let's put on a play then!"

He raced back into the room and a minute later came back out wearing a long red coat with golden buttons, and silver buckle shoes. He tucked one hand into his sleeve, holding on to a large golden hook.