"Release me, you insolent curs, or I'll keel-haul ya 'till your bones have barnacles!" Hook roared, fighting the three men that were pinning him to the mast. Mason, Mullins and Cookson strained as hard as they could, but Hook was gaining ground on them.

"God damn it, Cap'n!" Mullins snarled, "ain't none of us gonna stand fer watchin' ya do any more to Jason. If yer gonna kill 'em, do it and be done!"

"Billy! We got the key!" Mason yelled and tossed it backwards. "Take the lad to th' brig!" Starkey caught the key and squatted beside Jukes.

"I'm scared to touch 'im," Billy sobbed, looking down at his friend.

Starkey removed his cape and draped it over the bleeding boy. "I know it looks bad and it hurts him, but he'll live," he reassured his mate. I hope I'm right. "But we've got to get him locked away, or the Cap'n'll finish him." Gingerly, Starkey lifted Slightly up. Though his eyes were open, Slightly only groaned from the pain as he was moved. I think the lad's in shock. He may die on us after all. Together, Starkey and Jukes ran to the brig and laid Slightly in the middle of the cell, out of reach.

Billy stayed within and shut the door when Starkey stepped out. "Lock it and give me the key!" They could hear shouts and curses and knew Hook was loose again. Starkey didn't argue; he did as Billy ordered and took off, not wanting to be trapped in the brig with Hook when the man found his prey was safe.

Moments later, Hook strode within the brig. He went straight to the cell door and shook the bars angrily. "Open this cage, Jukes, and I'll kill you quickly."

Billy sat in the middle of the cell and held Slightly against his chest. "No, sir, Cap'n. Not till you calm down. Yer in a rage. I'll kill Slightly myself first." With tears coursing down his cheeks, Billy put his dagger to his friend's throat.

"Lemme die," Slightly moaned. "Please lemme die."

Billy began sobbing and rocked the boy gently. "I hate you, Cap'n."

Hook held onto the bars for support as the red haze left his mind and he truly saw the two children in the cage. He saw Jason lying in Billy's arms, begging the boy to kill him. His shirt was shredded, only a few tatters of cloth hanging together, and those were spotted with blood. His chest and arms were crisscrossed with dozens of whip cuts. Blood streaked his skin and the boy seemed to have difficulty breathing.

Hook looked down at the cat he was holding. Its tassels were red with the boy's blood. "What have I done?" he whispered, alarmed. "How many times did I hit him?"

"You gave 'im more than Flint gave me," Billy sobbed.

"I didn't tell," Jason suddenly cried staring at Hook wildly. "Daddy, I didn't tell our secret! Please stop!" He writhed in Billy's arms and screamed. "MOMMY! Please don't hurt my mommy!" Blood frothed his lips.

"Happy?" Billy shouted. "He screamed for you! You said you'd keep whipping and kicking him until he screamed."

Hook stared in shock. He remembered when he'd started flogging the boy, but everything was vague after that. He didn't remember kicking him, or making that awful promise.

Slightly calmed and his eyes began to focus again. "I'm tired, Billy. Let me go."

"Jason..." Hook called.

Slightly looked at the man and felt nothing. "Jason's daddy killed him. Killed him and his mommy. Put us in sacks and threw us in the river." He closed his eyes, remembering everything now. "Peter Pan went fishing and caught me. The Indians and the fairies fixed me and made me forget, but now you broke me again and I remember."

"Why did your father try to kill you?" Hook asked, horrified.

Slightly began to shake, "I can't tell. Daddy made me promise. Mommy saw and he killed her. Peter saw and that's why Peter killed my Daddy." It doesn't matter. I don't care, he repeated to himself until it all slowly began to go away. He relaxed and let himself fade away.

"Lost Boys!" came a call from above. Hook glanced up, but his appetite for fighting these children was gone. I'm not hurting Jason anymore. I think I finally understand his undying loyalty to Pan. I will not punish him further, and I wish to God I'd let him drown that day. He looked at Jukes regretfully, "Let them take him, if that's what they came for." When Billy nodded, he left and went on deck.

"That's enough!" he yelled, bringing the battle to a halt. "My men will stand down. I want Jason off my ship!" Ignoring the shocked expressions from man and boy alike, Hook went to his cabin and slammed his door. Nibs looked at Mason in wonder.

"He's in th' brig," the man said and turned away.

"Thanks," Nibs replied and flew below, followed by his boys. When they reached the brig, the stared at the two boys in the cell. Billy still held Slightly, and he kept the blade pressed to his neck.

"Don't, Mr. Jukes," Curly said softly. "Please don't kill him."

"He wants me to," Billy answered. He looked at the Lost Boys angrily, "Why do you care? If you ever really cared about him, you'd do it, too."

"He needs help. We'll take him to the Indians and the Chief will fix him," Nibs reasoned. "Please Billy. We were wrong about him, and we've all hurt him. Give us a chance to make it up to him. Don't let him die thinking that we hate him."

"Don't you?" Billy snapped.

"NO!" the boys replied at once.

"How could you treat him like that?" Billy growled, pressing the knife harder. "Every time you came, you killed another piece of his heart. Do you have any idea how much you hurt him?"

"We thought he'd turned on us," Nibs answered. "Do you know how much it hurt us to hear him and Hook talking like friends? To think he'd gone so far to your side that he'd give us up? The he'd let Hook kill us?" He watched nervously as a drop of blood rolled down the blade as it slightly pierced the skin.

"He didn't. Hook set him up and you fell for it," Billy snapped. "You abandoned Slightly so fast he didn't even have time to realize what had happened before the Cap'n caught him. And then he didn't have a choice about coming here."

"We know, Hook told us this morning," Nibs said sadly. "Slightly's acting wrong. He needs help. Let us fix him."

Billy stared at the boys outside the bars. "Fix him?" he whispered. What could possibly fix this? Even if he heals, he'll never be the same. "You really don't understand, do you," he said softly, shaking his head. He looked back down at Slightly's sleeping face. "I'll let ya go, cully. I couldn't help you before, but I will now." He braced himself to slide the blade across his friend's throat, but he couldn't follow through and do it. In frustration and anger, he threw the knife away and kissed his friend on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Slightly," he whispered as he laid him down. He went to the door and unlocked it. "Take him. If someone can help him, I'll give him the chance to get better."

The boys entered the cell. Nibs gasped when he got a better view of Slightly's wounds. "Hook did this?"

"Try not to touch him," Billy suggested, wiping his eyes. "If one of you each grabs a corner, you can carry him in that blanket." He pointed to the cot where Peter had lain. Working carefully, the Lost Boys made the sling and put Slightly within. When he was settled, they lifted him up and carried him away from the ship.