Ch.7: The Final Hour-Jake saves the day

Authors note: The final chapter at long last. Jake has saved Izzy, no wait, he hasn't. He is torn now as time is already against him and Izzy's life is on the line. Cubby himself is faced with peril of a Hook who won't back down. Will all turn out alright?

Cubby felt the air fill with acrid smoke from the cannon fire and he coughed loudly. It was hard to not get any of this in his lungs and he was feeling himself fall to the deck. Bucky had taken all he could and now rested dead in the water. The Jolly Roger was astern and hopping onto the deck of Bucky was none other then Captain Hook himself. Smee followed behind him and looked about in worry at the state of the ever fast ship Bucky. "Captain Hook…get off…Bucky…"

"Bah, in your state you can do little puny pirate. I must say I've seen Bucky in better shape then this, have you been treating it right?" Hook kicked at the wooden rail and watched it fall into the water.

"I said get off!" Cubby charged forward and met Hook's blade. It stared him in the face and he faltered backward until his back was to the mast.

"You are in no position to kick Captain Hook off this pathetic vessel," Hook challenged, "as of now it belongs to me."

Cubby glowered at Hook but knew he didn't have the courage to take on Hook by himself. He could use the pixie dust to fly away, but he couldn't leave Bucky. He could not lose Bucky to Hook again, no, there had to be another solution. Though as he racked his brain it became most certain that Hook would come out the winner of this situation.

"Ahoy Cubby…rescue is coming!" Skully yelled down to his friend. Landing down on his shoulder he looked at Hook with as much hate as he could muster. "The fight is not over Hook, not in the final hour when we can still turn this around."

"Ha…you can't pull a rabbit out of your hat this time, you are my prisoners now. Nothing will…eh…what is that infernal ticking?"

Skully looked down at Cubby and winked as the ticking became louder. It was almost upon them till at last it leaped out of the water and onto the deck. Snapping his mouth shut the Tic Toc Croc advanced on Hook. "Looks like your out of time Hook!"

"S-Smee…it is that blasted croc who ate my hand! Why is it always following me?" Hook ran off the ship and Smee was right behind him. The croc sat there for a bit until Hook was readying the Jolly Roger for departure.

"Thank you Tic Toc," Skully smiled, "you pulled us out of a sticky situation there."

Tic Toc thumped his tail and then departed for the waters as he chased after the Jolly Roger.

"Now lets go rescue Jake and Izzy!" Cubby took to the helm and they limped along. He just hoped that Jake had made it out alive with Izzy.

Jake swam for what seemed forever, his arm growing tired and the feel of the water under him drawing his awareness of a watery grave should he tire. Izzy was still not moving and as he finally spotted land he hoped it was not all for naught. The sun was beating down on him and as he laid Izzy out on the beach sands he stared down at her wet form. "C'mon Izzzy…wake up…please."

Izzy remained perfectly still, her face was pale and her hands were at her side. All signs of life were lost and her lips were practically blue. The smile she always used in greeting her friends was mute, hardly any sunny personality to show.

Jake cried hard for the loss of his friend and looked for anything he could do to revive her. In this hour only one thing made sense, and, it was a long shot at that. Skully had flown along one day when he overheard Captain Hook talk of a method to bring someone back who stopped breathing after being in the water. Placing his hands above her chest he began to push down and counted under his breath. "One, two, three," he then repeated it.

Seeing no change he opted for the next step. It required putting his lips to hers and blowing down to her lungs. To do this however it would require their lips to meet. He had never kissed a girl and he found himself embarrassed. Still if he didn't do anything Izzy would surely remain like this and he would never hear her laugh or smile again. Taking a breath Jake leaned down and parted her lips slightly and blew into her. It was their first kiss…and she was not even breathing. Her breath was already taken away, so, sad to say his first experience didn't blow her mind away.

Pulling up he checked and still saw no change. So he continued to blow into her with their lips touching again and again. Applying pressure to her chest he felt an urgency to bring her back, nothing else mattered, all that mattered was her living. Staring down at her wet face he remembered how vibrant her face was and how those blushes of hers always made him feel happy, though, he never took them for signs of affection. Blowing into her mouth again he suddenly pulled up quickly as he heard a slight cough.

"Izzy?" Jake asked, uncertain whether it was his imagination or it was her. Izzy spat up water and rolled onto her side, her face seemed wrought with pain and her eyes were dry. Still Jake found himself excited as he saw the Izzy he knew and…liked alive again.

"J-Jake…is that you? Where is Cubby? What happened with Captain Hook?" Izzy looked around and noticed they were on some deserted beach. There was no sign of Bucky or the Jolly Roger and she was soaking wet to top.

"Yeah Izzy, its me alright. Cubby is probably out at sea where the Jolly Roger is likely harassing him. Still I know Cubby will come through and rescue us, he has hero in him after all."

"Jake…you brought me back…didn't you?" Izzy blushed and looked to the side. She had felt his lips near the time she woke up and suddenly reached up to touch her lips.

"W-Well…I kinda remembered something Skully told me…" Jake suddenly was aware of her eyes upon his and he tried to look away. Rubbing the back of his neck he knew he had to tell her now, if not now than when? "Izzy…there is something I've been wanting to tell you-."

"Yes Jake?" Izzy scooted closer to him so they were practically within kissing distance.

"You aren't making this easy…are you?" Jake laughed. Looking at how beautiful she was he just wanted to kiss her there and then. Of course doing so would defeat the purpose of his realization so he swallowed such urges. "Izzy, we've known each other for a bit now. In that time I have come to a realization, that what we are sharing is more than friendship, more than kinship; it is a sense of moving forward to a possible…relationship. What I am trying to tell you Izzy is that…I love you."

Izzy flung her arms around his neck and stared down into his wondrous eyes. "You do know I told you first right?"

Jake wore a smirk and moved her hair out of her eyes. "Yes well I wasn't me then…so…not sure that counts."

Izzy rolled her eyes and smiled. "Just kiss me Jake." Leaning in she met his lips and the two shared their first kiss.

Bucky came up on the island and Cubby had the anchor drop. Hurrying to the rail he found Skully gawking at something. "What's going on…is Jake there? Is Izzy alright?"

"Um, well, it looks like they are sleeping. Maybe we can come back later." Skully was happy to see his two friends well, however he felt this long coming romance needed some room to breathe. Cubby would only be disgusted by this show of affection as he had yet to truly realize what these feelings were.

"Aw Coconuts, I was hoping to celebrate with them." Cubby understood the need for sleep though and didn't say anymore. He pulled up the anchor and decided to circle the island to allow them their much needed sleep.

Jake kissed Izzy long and the two rolled around the sand entangled in one another's embrace. He couldn't believe he was making out with his friend. Still, looking back on his experience as James he understood what direction he would've been in had he sided with Hook instead of Peter Pan. Holding her to him he was quite content with who he was, Jake of the Neverland Pirates. He would sail the ocean true to his nature and along with his friends he would right the wrong and have fun in the process. Pulling back he looked down into Izzy's eyes and knew from here all would be great.

Skully heaved a sigh as night fell on the island. Cubby had joined Jake and Izzy when they had finished their alone time and he was here watching the trio laugh over old times. It seemed not that long ago that Jake had lost his memory and sent fear into their hearts that he might never resurface. Now that fear had long since subsided and Skully had one more thing to do before he joined his friends in their merriment. He had somewhere to be and to hold his end of a bargain made with Tic Toc the croc.

Flying off he knew the trio would be safe till morning and even from here he could still hear the screams from Captain Hook as Tic Toc gave him a run for his doubloons. Laughing at this he found the location where he was to meet Utilda. Loud as can be and looks that sent birds flying for cover, this is what he knew of Utilda. So as the hour approached for his date he thought of any excuse to head off and forever know the wrath of that dastardly croc. Pacing about on the branch he looked up at the moon and talked to himself. "Hold it together Skully, remember a bargain is a bargain, and without the Croc's help Hook would've had Bucky…again."

"Hello…am I late?" A sultry voice spoke from behind.

"Actually your right on…eh…t-time." Skully felt his beak fall as he saw her. Utilda was nothing like he had heard and she was nothing like he imagined. She was red in feathers and her eyes were so large he practically drowned in them.

"Oh good…I didn't want to miss our date. Its Skully right?"

Skully laughed nervously and saw her curious tilt of her head. "Um, yeah, the one and only."

"Great, for a minute I thought I had the wrong guy, what with your looks and all." She blushed and scooted towards him.

"T-Thanks…you know I wash twice a day." Skully felt embarrassed and yet she didn't fly away or look at him like he was a bad comedian.

"I had some plans tonight that might involve some long distance flying, you don't have anywhere else you have to be right?"

Is she giving me an out? Skully thought back to his earlier departure plans, but now that he saw her he felt he could fly the entire ocean to be with her. "None that cross my mind." He held out his wing and the two began to set off. Neverland was fast asleep and he knew morning come things would go back to their usual chaotic ways.

THE END

Authors note: Apologies on my end for having you wait this long. I hope you enjoyed my first Jake and the Neverland Pirates story. It was filled with suspense, drama, and above all else high flying adventure. Jake and Izzy are finally together and even Skully got a date in the end. So this completes the story, let me know what you think.