A/N: This chapter only focuses on Peter Pan, to honour a certain bond that you will understand as your read further. It's also shorter than usual, so I do apologise, but if I have written any more, it wouldn't have a great impact as it would leaving it at that.
Enjoy! 💖

Peter was not loyal in his nature. He was conniving, deceiving, and manipulative. Loyalty did not come very often to him, so when it did, Pan tended to make it worthwhile. He could feel his insides twisting, a truly discomforting sensation he rarely ever got to endure. Peter dreaded his walk towards the centre point of Neverland this time, for this was no agreement nor a friendly conversation.

This was a hostile attack.

Usually, Peter would be squirming in delight with the exquisite thought of an unexpected betrayal, but certainly not this time. Not when the person he was about to betray was one which Peter truly, genuinely respected. He held a grim face as his dull, green eyes landed on the magnificent Pixie Hollow tree looming over him in all its glorious pride, buzzing with raw, pure magic and glowing with an endless flow of pixie dust.

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing with his actions, before he set his sight on the fairies guarding the entrance of their division, and just as he always did, Peter demanded, "Take me to your queen."

Who would soon no longer be your leader. He thought bitterly.

There was still time for Peter to change his mind, but it was never the case when he'd made a decision. It was cast in stone to him. Queen Clarion and Peter Pan always knew that the day would come for them to battle, bringing their alliance to an end - but they both expected the other to show the decency and respect of a warning in advance, to have a proper chance to win. Peter was disrespecting his honour and his word, and betraying a lifelong friend.

And he felt absolutely wretched.

Peter set foot onto the enchanting division, purposely avoiding everyone's gaze so as to not deepen the unforgiving claws his guilt further. He cast his vision on the ground beneath him, trekking cautiously and deliberately slow. He wished to delay this for as long as he possibly could. Metanoia offered her companionship in this tough journey, but Peter was inclined to gently turn her down. This was a delicate matter he had to attend to by himself. He at least owed that to Queen Clarion.

As he set foot into the throne room the fairies' queen usually met him in, his heart furiously tugged at his veins, screaming at him to not follow through with his twisted mind's plan, the moment he was met with Queen Clarion's smiling, compassionate face.

Beaming at him warmly, she greeted him. "Peter, my dear. Do have a seat!"

Pan warily eyed the chair she was gesturing to, feeling much worse for her friendly attitude.

"I think I prefer to stand this time, your Majesty." He replied, a cold edge to his tone, instantly grabbing the queen's attention.

"Oh? Well if you won't sit, then I won't either." She regarded him calmly, concern eminent on the soft creases forming on her forehead. "What's gotten you in this state, Peter? Is it because of the loss of one of your people?"

Peter gulped in frustration, and wiped his palms flat against the fabric of his pants. "It's a little more than that."

"Well, what is it?" She frowned.

Peter tentatively took a step around the chair he was meant to take a seat on, and his slender fingers gripped the wood unforgivingly. It took everything in him not to break it as a result of his intolerable nerves eating away at his insides. Pan loathed feeling the way he did - and he wished he never built a connection with the queen. It would have made this whole ordeal far easier.

"Do you remember the day we initiated our alliance?" He asked her cautiously, watching as Queen Clarion's smile brightened her beautiful facial features as she recalled the day in question.

"I remember it as though it were only yesterday that you have come to me with that offer." Her eyes flashed in remembrance. "I must say, you were very convincing."

"I still am." He shrugged with a meek smile of his own, and she hummed in agreement.

"It's possibly one of my best decisions made during my reign over the fairies - to be on your side." She admitted thoughtfully, and Pan tilted his head to the side curiously.

"Why so?" He wondered.

"I know a winning side when I see one." She smiled coyly, and Peter huffed out a laugh, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Of course I'd win ..." As silence fell between them, Pan added snidely, "I always win."

Queen Clarion stared at him quietly for a few moments, before she stated observingly. "You're not here to dwell on the past and have a pleasant conversation with me, are you?"

Peter inhaled sharply, before admitting, "No, I'm not."

"And what, may I ask, is the purpose of your visit?" She questioned, but Pan knew she was well aware now. Her face said it all. He deliberately brought up their alliance for a reason - to hint to the fact that he was about to break it and render it null and void.

"Peter." She spoke with disappointment dripping off her tongue like an awfully bitter poison. "Are you ambushing me? After all these years, you think I don't at least deserve a proper warning for battle?"

Pan clenched his jaw stressfully, and stated monotonously, "Queen Clarion, we both knew this had to end someda-"

"Oh, I'm perfectly aware of that, Peter." The Queen smoothly interrupted him, wringing her hands together in front of her as she stared down at him with a slightly arched brow and a down-turned pair of lips. "Although I'm not quite sure why it would have to be brought to an end, unless you are finally choosing to act upon your ridiculous greed and attempting to dethrone me."

"It isn't like that-" Pan started, but Queen Clarion interrupted him once again.

"You didn't even give me the respect of initiating a proper war." She was seething, but only Pan could tell by hearing her alarming heart rate in her chest. Otherwise, she appeared to be immaculately calm. "It's because you know your Lost Boys would lose."

Pan's eyes narrowed, his pride wounded. "Lose? Were you not listening to yourself earlier? I'm always on the winning side."

Queen Clarion simpered hostilely. "You would win, but your boys don't stand a chance against my army of fairies, Peter. And whether you'd like to admit it or not, you cannot protect all of your Lost Boys. History had proven so."

Peter's gaze darkened insultingly, before he lifted his chin and arrogantly stated, "Perhaps not then, but on solid ground, with Metanoia's incredible demigod power, you and your people do not stand a chance. Not even your entire division could face my wrath alone, let alone mine and Metanoia's."

The queen's nostrils flared. "Well, since you will not be civil about this, then neither shall I."

The queen made the first attack. Peter had to admit, she was strong, but was she stronger than him? Never. Peter was swarmed with pixie dust, blinding him entirely as it infiltrated his eyes. He laughed wildly, shaking his head as he sharpened his hearing.

"You really think temporarily blinding me will give you the upper hand?" He called out exasperatedly. "My old friend, please don't make this harder than it should be. It brings me no joy in dueling with you."

Queen Clarion used the wind current to blow his feet off the ground and pummel him to the floor. He grunted, allowing her to hurt him as she applied pressure to his spine with the wind she harnessed. His vision was slowly returning, but everything was impossibly hazy and he could not discern a thing.

"Get up." Queen Clarion demanded. "If I am to fight you, then I shall fight you fairly."

Slowly, Pan pushed himself up off the ground and blinked towards her to focus his vision. "If I play fairly, your Majesty, you will not survive for a second."

She sniffed. "So be it." She watched as he finally regained his sense of sight. "Without me, Pixie Hollow would dull out to blend with the rest of Neverland, Peter. You'd have achieved nothing."

Pan shook his head slowly as he truly, genuinely pitied her. "You've known me for centuries. Did you really think I wouldn't find a loophole to preserve the magic woven into Pixie Hollow through you?"

Queen Clarion's angered face paled in fear, her lower lips slightly trembled, before she fiercely diverted the light she harnessed straight for his eyes, but Pan was quick to shield himself this time, creating a barrier and rendering her spell useless.

"Don't make this harder for yourself, your Majesty." Pan pleaded her. "It hurts me too."

The Queen laughed in sheer disbelief, pointing at him accusingly. "You? You know nothing about pain."

"I AM ABOUT TO LOSE A LIFELONG COMPANION!" Peter roared in anguish. "Don't you think that would hurt me?!"

He bounded her through his invisible chains, and she gasped in pain as the grip on her tightened, keeping her in place. Pan stepped closer to her, the frustration leaking out of him like poisonous tar.

"The only person who truly respected me. Who knew me for who I am yet trusted me enough to stand by my side for centuries." Peter's voice was strangled as he fought the emotional waves washing over him. "You risked everything for this alliance. You became a friend."

"Then I suggest you wake up and realise that you're making a grave mistake." Queen Clarion hissed as she attempted to lift her hands to use her magic to break through the chains, but Pan immediately gripped both her wrists, clasping two magic-expelling bracelets onto them swiftly. The Queen's betrayed face gazed painfully up at Pan's face as he forced his magic onto her so she'd be on her knees.

"My people will never bow down to you." The Queen stated firmly, keeping her back and posture straight, and lifting her chin up defiantly, masking her hurt and heart wrenching betrayal. "I have always thought of you like a son, and that has kept my fairies at bay all these years. The moment you kill their queen, you will never have their love, nor their loyalty."

Peter sniffled, his gut churning at the mention of being a son, and he shoved it to the deepest, darkest pit of his mind. "That's alright. I'm not seeking either from them. I'm here for their powers, and yours."

Queen Clarion's eyes widened. "Please. Please don't ruin a legacy that has been set even before your arrival to Neverland, Peter. I beseech you to reconsider."

"Believe me," Peter clenched his jaw, his cruel gaze lingering on her pleading eyes, and it took everything in him not to let the tears slip past his eyelids. "If there was another way, I'd have taken it. It's either you or me, and I choose me."

Queen Clarion let out a soft cry as she shut her eyes, tears of gold spilling from her eyes, and Peter couldn't stop the tears from spilling past his own eyes as well.

"I'm truly sorry." He whispered hoarsely as he placed his left hand onto the queen's forehead. "I promise, it will be painless."

The Queen cried quietly, not for her limited moments left in the land of the living, but for the doomed fate of her people and what was to become of them. Peter began the spell to drain the queen of her powers, ultimately bound to her soul and therefore killing her in the process.

The Queen, as she came to realise, could tell that Pan hadn't lied. It was a painless process, simply putting her to an eternal, peaceful sleep. But the agonising pain and fear for her fairies was overpowering, and she desperately clutched onto Peter's forearms as he performed the spell. Tears brimming her eyes as she gazed up at him, while he cried too, Queen Clarion felt truly sympathetic towards him. A boy who had lost so much to become who he is today, is a tragedy no one should ever be forced to endure. For him to believe that the only way he could get what he wants from her is to kill her, is proof enough of his past life's embedded trauma.

"Please, Peter -" she spoke softly as she felt herself slowly lose consciousness. "If you are to kill me, then at least honour my dying wish."

Peter let out a soft sob, shaking his head slightly, and whispered, "Anything."

"Protect my fairies." She requested. "Please. Don't harm them, my dear. Protect my fairies."

Peter held her with one arm as he gazed down at her, heartbroken. "What if they resist me? What do I do?"

"Please Peter." She repeated, and Pan cried softly.

"I'm so sorry." He sniffled. "So, so sorry."

The Queen gave out one last short breath, before she shut her eyes, and was gone from the world. Peter wrapped his other arm around her, and lowered himself to the floor with her as he cried into her shoulder. He'd lost the dearest friend he ever held close to his heart, no matter how many times he simply referred to her as a strategic alliance. He could feel her powers pumping through his blackened bloodstream, and it irked him even more knowing that a part of her still lives on within him.

Peter didn't feel like he deserved that honour.

He'd stolen it. And he hated himself far more than he already did. He couldn't stand himself, and as he cried while holding onto her, he vowed to never let himself get close again with anyone.

But it was too late to make that promise, for he had already fallen prey to another attachment to a certain demigod who has become a lot more like him than he'd care to admit.

Metanoia would potentially become his undoing, and the thought brought terrors into his mind unforgivingly.

A/N: First time seeing Pan like this ... are we okay? How we doin'? 👀
We like portraying Peter Pan as a cruel, psychotic demon, and while that may be true, it's also important to note that every villain has a backstory that explains why they are the way they are. That is not restricted to how they choose to mask their emotions. This chapter reveals Peter's accidental attachment to Queen Clarion, something he didn't want to feel, but he does.
Does that make him any less of a villain? No. It does not. Peter's done heinous, horrendous things to those that face his wrath as we've previously seen with the Indian Chief, Tiger Lily, King Trident etc. But he still remains a living being with emotions, and while he is not a good person, he also truly cherishes those he cares about.
Anyyyywaaaayy, THANK YOU FOR READING THIS CHAPTER MY BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS!! I hope you enjoyed it and I'm sorry it's so emotional, I teared up writing it. 🥲
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, and please vote!! 💖💖💖 There are approximately 7 chapters left, give or take, AND IM NERVOUSSSSS!!!
Please take care, love you all!
See you next chapter! ☺️
- lucidreamshade