Along with a deep groan, Peter's eyelids fluttered. Dust and ash hung in the air, making his eyes burn, so he rubbed his hand over them to clear his blurred vision. Pain throbbed in his body, and his head throbbed horribly. As he stirred, metal clanged beside him, drawing his gaze to little fragments. The fairy blade and the star were broken - both shattered like glass and nothing more than the saber's handle was left.

The sound of a sob made Peter look up, and he spotted Smee in front of the pile of rubble, with only a tiny, red scrap of Hook's cloak peeking out from underneath.

"I'm sorry, Captain..." He rolled aside one of the small and angular rocks and sobbed quietly.

Peter had never felt anything like pity for pirates. At that moment, however, he felt a rock in his stomach. Not because of Hook - this would never happen! -but because of the boatman, the only one on the Jolly Roger who had not been a ruthless killer.
"I'm... sorry."

The tears had left marks in the dirt on the man's skin, making him look even more pathetic. Then he slowly shook his head.
"That wasn't my captain anymore..." he murmured huskily. "I wished for him to see the beauty of Neverland... but he didn't even look up once..." whispered Smee.
"Wasn't my captain... Smee had to do it..." A stone clacked as he pulled it away.
"You gotta go, Pan," Smee continued to mutter, nodding toward the abyss. "A star doesn't belong in the darkness..."

Peter looked to the edge of the stone where the abyss lurked. Smee was right, but he was afraid of what he would see or find, and Peter wasn't sure he could bear the sight of Sitara's shattered body. His heart beat painfully and restlessly in his chest. Was there any hope? Any that she could have survived?

Hesitantly, Peter stepped to the edge of the precipice. Below him, the dark maw opened up, and the water rumbled like a beast. Was that a glow down there? Peter squinted his eyes tighter and leaned forward a little.
Could it be true? Could it be Sitara? Or...
'If it were another star... I might be able to save her!' thought Peter, and the thought flooded his body like tingling sparks with fresh hope. A new rumble shook the grave as if to urge him to haste along with the wild pounding in his chest.

"Wait for me," Peter said softly as he stepped firmly to the edge and closed his eyes. "I'm coming, Sitara. I won't let you down, and I'll find a way to save Neverland and you."

Peter held on to this hopeful thought as he spread his arms and let himself fall forward as if jumping into a clear body of water instead of the lurking depths.

☆

Rocks, vines, and flowers passed him in a blur of colorful hues. Peter was falling numerous meters and feeling the cold wind on his face. His wild hair fluttered around his severe features, while his thoughts were the sole of his star and goal.

Lower and lower, his body fell until the damp mist of the waterfall rose to his face and engulfed him like a sea of its own. The surge crashed over him, and Peter slowed his fall. He trundled down a few more feet, it took longer than usual, but then he caught himself and spiraled downward. It should be dark here, and Peter wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't recognized a hand before his eyes.

Instead, his eyes widened in wonder as a giant crystal took up the cave's center. Like a beautiful finger of delicate glass, the stalagmite stretched from there toward the sky, catching the light and giving it a soft glow to the surrounding area. So Peter could intercept and brake the further fall just in time when a water surface appeared below him abruptly. Peter shot past above the water, spun in the air, and began a new swoop.

Deep in his heart, he had expected a gruesome sight. Peter had already seen one or two lost people who had fallen from a great height. Bent bodies on the ground, shattered torsos of flesh, blood, and bone.

Instead, the star's body floated on the cavern's water surface, as if Sitara belonged there and all this had been created for her. Like a water spirit, the silver fabric billowed around her legs, and the waves made her hair sway around her features like blue seaweed in a gentle surf. Leaves of fallen flowers floated in the water, seeming to pay their final respects to the beauty. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly open, and it almost seemed as if she was just asleep and waiting, as in one of Wendy's fairy tales, for the prince who might kiss her awake.

This sight was, in a heart-breaking way, simultaneously breathtakingly beautiful and indescribably cruel. For of the glow that had always surrounded the morning star, there was now no more than a barely discernible glimmer.

"Sitara..."

Peter lost his grasp on the beautiful thoughts and fell into the water, coldly crashing over his head. Coughing, Peter got back to his feet and found to his relief, that it barely reached his waist. But falling from the height of the platform, it must have been as hard as granite for her. And he wasn't there to catch her in time. Peter struggled to the floating body and pulled it into his arms without hesitation.

"Sitara! Sitara, can you hear me?!"

Peter's voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Her body was cold and heavy in his arms, the long lashes not fluttering. Immediately Peter leaned down and pressed his ear to her breast. He would have given ANYTHING at that moment for her to open her eyes and scold him for it.

"Please ...please open your eyes. I beg you ... I will do anything you ask, and I would wish it a thousand and a thousand times."

His fingers wiped her face, tenderly feeling over her cheeks, caressing her as if she might awaken while his vision blurred. A tear rolled down his cheek, dripped from his chin, and was lost forever.

"Her light is going to vanish," a voice sounded all at once, making Peterflinch and move around.

Above the surface of the water, out of the glimmer of light from the crystal and the dancing veil of the waterfall, stretched a silhouette. Flickering like a brief phantom of silvery white light, the moonlight caught in it as the unreal figure pulled out of ethereal threads.

Awestruck and filled with humility for a moment, Pan remained motionless, gazing at the silhouette of light.
"The ... Noonday Star?" Peter quietly whispered his guess, the only one that seemed conclusive.

The figure nodded slowly. He possessed fine, almost fragile-looking contours, with silver-white hair and eyes of mercury, while on translucent skin, the spots of stars seemed to shimmer. Yet everything about him appeared pale, as if he were nothing more than a ghost.

"But ... but you are-" Peter continued.

"Fallen," the shimmering star finished his words, smiling wanly. "Yes. I am."
He came closer, and his gaze was on his wet sister in the mortal's arms in a mixture of loving affection and sadness.
"She's dying," he reminded Peter. His voice seemed to echo from all sides, and a melodic murmur that had a sound of distance yet seemed so close.

"Please ... please save her!" pleaded Peter, wasting no time, and it was the first and only thing that came to his mind.

"Only a wish can save her," the noonday star declared.

"But I don't have a star anymore!" Peter stammered out and felt despair rising in his throat. It constricted her, and he pressed the delicate body close to him. As if he just had to hold her tight enough to keep her from slipping away. "If there's another star here ... tell me where! PLEASE!"

"There's one more star on Neverland. All by himself, only this one," the NoonStar replied, and Peter understood. His body became heavy and numb. Then... all would be lost.

The light figure leaned close, reached out, and wanted to touch his sister's cheek. But the formless fingers slid through the flowing hair of star-picked sky, unable to touch her.
"My time has long since passed. I gave my all once before in the battle for this world. Now my sacrifice shall not be in vain." He smiled, bowed, and breathed a fleeting kiss on the morning star's pale brow. "My magic is weak and nearly extinguished. But it will still be enough for one wish. One alone..." the voice sounded, and the silver eyes settled on Peter. "Do you know what you will wish for, son of the island? Have you thought it over carefully this time?"

Could he save Sitara and Neverland and keep his promise?

Peter swallowed hard, his heart overflowing with gratitude.

"Yes ... I know for sure this time," Peter whispered hoarsely.

Then he pulled the star close to his chest and gently kissed her cheek.

"I wish ..."

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