"Gotcha, bonehead!"

The chubby Lost Boy that went by the name of Prego stumbled backwards, as a blotch of yellow paint shot to his chest made him lose balance.

His slayer, a skinny redhead with a gap between his teeth, came out from behind a tree with a wicked smile on his face, only to realize he had just been hit in the back himself.

"Peter!" Sprint exclaimed, quickly spotting another Lost Boy up the tree. "I'm in your team!"

The other boy was laughing out loud, and chuckles could be heard coming from all different places.

"There are no teams!" Peter yelled back, climbing down the tree as his eyes darted around the forest. "Baelfire, you're next!"

On top of another tree, Baelfire and the leader of that gang, Big Deal, a teenage boy with tanned skin and a Mohican haircut, just looked down at the other kid, and chuckled again.

"You'd better surrender!" the brown eyed, brown haired boy screamed, smiling mischievously as the Lost Boy by his side slowly climbed down the tree to surprise the last standing member of the other team with a coup de main. "Unless you want to have a very sticky purple death!"

"Ha!" Peter screamed back, with a gloat of triumph as he finally pinpointed Baelfire's location and aimed at him. "Famous last words, lad…"

But then, before he knew it, his face was shoved onto a pile of dried leaves, as Big Deal jumped over him and was now pointing his own marker at the other boy's back.

"Game over, Pan!" he said, pulling the trigger and coloring the other Lost Boy's back with a blotch of purple.

All around them, boys covered in yellow paint ran and celebrated their victory.

Baelfire watched them, with a smile on his face, and his mind wondered for a moment. He had no idea as to how or why he had ended up in Neverland, of all places… He thought he would be taken to a land with no magic? Maybe he had gotten that part wrong, because clearly that place was loaded with magic. No one grew old. He could be a boy forever.

Then something dawned on him, and his throat felt awfully tight.

That also meant that the last thing he would see before sleep would be his Papa opening his grip on his hand…forever.

"Well, I want a rematch," muttered Peter, as he stood to his feet spitting dirt and a dried leaf off his mouth.

Baelfire blinked that thought away, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. Sooner or later he would forget. His father, his life at the Enchanted Forest, all of that was gone. He now had a new life. New friends. More than that, even. He looked at the Lost Boys below him, and smiled again.

He had a new family.

"Now I'll be dammed," muttered Tinkerbell, as she saw the familiar shape of the Jolly Roger approaching. "What the heck is this man doing here, again?"

In a matter of instants, Captain Hook and his crew had reached the shore, only to be received by a handful of very angry-looking Lost Boys who had already unsheathed their swords.

"Easy, boys," Killian Jones said as he stepped out of his ship, with a sneer on his lips. "Let's put away those toys, shall we? I've just cleaned my boots, so I'm not having your blood spill on me as I slit your throats," he continued, walking towards the leader of the gang, and stopping a mere inch from Big Deal's face. "At least, not yet."

"I thought I had told you what happens to people who drop by without an invitation?"

Behind them, a female voice drew everyone's attention.

"Tinkerbell!" Hook hissed, casting a daring glance towards the fairy. "The person I was looking for."

"Sorry, mate," the redhead fairy replied. "I only meet upon appointment, and you don't have one."

She returned the glance with the same amount of defiance. She might look like a harmless boyish girl with nothing but a bad attitude and funky combat boots, but if Killian Jones was really as smart as he thought, he would watch out. Otherwise, he would soon join the lists of pirates who thought he could deal with her, only to find out they were wrong a couple of minutes before their ships went up in flames.

Hook, however, let a smile curl his lips as he got closer to the fairy.

"How about making an exception?" he whispered in her ear. "This time, I really think you should, for your own sake."

Her eyes darted around the shore, evaluating the situation. The pirates at the Jolly Roger were ready to fight, and so were Big Deal and his crowd.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said, and the boy nodded as he unsheathed a knife and motioned to Peter, the second-in-command, to do the same.

The leader of the Lost Boys then turned his head to look at Baelfire, and the two of them glanced at Tinkerbell, then back at each other. They nodded in silent agreement - maybe they should keep an eye on her and Hook. That pirate was bad news.

Big Deal quickly moved into the forest, with Baelfire and two other Lost Boys right behind him.

"Walk and talk," Tinkerbell told Hook, as she checked the weapons fastened at her belt, and set off on a brisk walk into the forest. "What do you want?"

"Give me the boy," he hissed, making sure to match her stride.

She rolled her eyes. That talk, again.

"I have no idea what boy you're talking about, but the answer is no."

"You know exactly what boy I'm talking about," Hook said, as he stopped walking. They were already out of hearing distance, so there was no point in jogging anymore.

Tinkerbell kept walking, but when she realized the man was not following her, she finally stopped as well.

"I've said the answer is no," she hissed, turning to look at him with nothing but contempt in her eyes.

"Why would you want him here, anyway?" Hook asked, taking a step closer to the fairy. "That man will end up finding out, and when he does, he will come for him. And he will kill you."

Tinkerbell snorted.

"How kind of you to worry about my safety!" she crossed her arms, and also took a step closer to the pirate. "But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What are you going to do?"

"If you give me Rumplestiltskin's son, nothing."

Behind one of the trees, Baelfire felt his heart was trying to jump from his mouth. So he was the boy Hook was looking for! He had been the bargaining chip all the times the pirate had dropped by to negotiate with Tinkerbell, only for the fairy to send him away every single time.

"I'll leave, and you'll never hear word of me again," Hook concluded.

"And if I don't?" she asked.

"Then I'll burn this place of yours to the ground," he said, and his eyes were murderous as he spoke.

"You're not here to ask, are you?" she said, with a sneer. "This time… you're here for war."

"I like you, fairy," the pirate whispered, taking one step closer and pressing the tip of his hook against Tinkerbell's chin, eyeing her from head to toe with a dangerous spark in his eyes. "You catch on quickly."

"I guess you should go and get your men ready," she replied, holding his glance, and feeling her own eyes were shining brighter with adrenaline. "Tell them they're about to get their asses kicked."

Baelfire made to move forward, but Big Deal grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, behind the tree.

"Wait," he whispered.

They silently watched as Tinkerbell and Hook went their separate ways, and only then did Baelfire rise to his feet to approach the fairy, who was now rushing towards the shore.

"Tinkerbell!" he called out.

The fairy stopped, and walked back a few steps.

"Bae?"

"I heard you talking to Hook."

A momentary wrinkle of concern creased the fairy's brow. Baelfire now wished he had stayed with the others by the shore; now that he knew what Hook's intentions were, there was no way he could pretend it had nothing to do with him.

"I'll go with him," he said, gathering all the courage he had. Once, he was supposed to fight in a war and he didn't – look where it had gotten him. Now, he would be brave to do the right thing. He would face Hook himself, even if it meant he would get killed even before he had time to regret his decision.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I thought you liked it in here!"

"I do," he was quickly to reply. For the first time after his father had become the Dark One, he finally had friends, and it felt good not to be alone anymore. "But… if I don't go, he'll…"

"Hey now," Tinkerbell interrupted. "You're giving that man far too much credit."

She looked at his concerned face for a long moment before speaking again.

"It is not the first time Hook will try to bring us down…" she continued, trying to offer him some kind of reassurance. "The only difference is that this time he might have brought more ammunition."

"Still," Baelfire responded. "If I go, there is no war. Then you can all be safe. He wants me, right? Not the others."

The boy stopped speaking and his eyes moved to the ground. Tinkerbell had the feeling those words burdened him enormously, especially because after Hook brought Rumplestiltskin into the conversation, Baelfire knew exactly why the captain of the Jolly Rogers wanted him, not the others.

"You are a very special kid, Baelfire," she said, smiling at him as she arranged the scarf around his neck and shuffled his hair, playfully. "But let me tell you one thing."

She paused for a moment, as the sound of a branch cracking not far from them caught her attention.

"Big Deal, Prego, Sprint, come out," she announced. "I know you're there."

"Idiot," Big Deal whispered to the redhead boy by his side. "I told you to watch your step!"

When the four Lost Boys stood before her, she continued.

"If one of you ever decides to leave Neverland, I won't stop you," she said, as her eyes moved from face to face. "But if you want to stay, then I won't let anyone take you away."

Behind him, Baelfire felt Big Deal pat him on the shoulder, with a brotherly grin.

"I won't, either," said the leader of the Lost Boys.

"So the question is," the fairy spoke again, and her blue eyes pierced brown ones. "Do you want to stay, Baelfire?"

The boy looked from the fairy to the other boys around him, and his heart raced. They wanted him to stay. It felt good to know he was cared for, somehow.

"Yes," he replied, and Tinkerbell let out a hearty smile when his eyes met hers again.

"Then you will," she said. "Boys, let's go back to the shore!" Tinkerbell exclaimed, unsheathing her sword and raising it to the air. "We'll have pirates for breakfast, arrr!"

Baelfire unsheathed his sword as well, and ran with the others feeling he had never been so alive in his entire life.

When the group got to the shore, Killian Jones had already started to unleash hell upon that land, and they could spot casualties on both sides. There was no time to tend to the injured or mourn the dead, however. As soon as they got to the battle, each of them got surrounded by two or three pirates, and any distraction would be fatal.

Big Deal had such remarkable flair with the sword that his blade danced from pirate to pirate so quickly, and his movements were so acutely precise, that by the time the other three Lost Boys near him got rid of their first opponent, their leader had already defeated at least other six.

Baelfire was not doing a bad job himself, although he clearly lacked the experience and the refined skills of his friend. One way or another, the important thing was that he was standing, and kept the ball going while hordes of pirates of the Jolly Roger kept coming at him and the group.

"Bae, watch out!" he heard Sprint scream.

He quickly turned his head around to see one of Hook's goons charge at him, but in his attempt to dodge the attack, the knife the man was holding cut through his left arm.

There wasn't much time to stare at the blood that was now gushing from his wound, because as fast as lightning, Hook had sprung out of nowhere, as his eyes were dark and wrathful when he finally caught up with the group.

In one swift motion, the Captain of the Jolly Roger had slit the other pirate's throat.

"Bae!"

Taking his chance now that Hook was busy getting rid of the limp body of his former goon, Big Deal rushed to Baelfire's side, to check on his injury. "You should not stay here, go into the forest and hide!" he whispered.

"No! I'll stay and fight with the others!" Baelfire responded, wiping away some of the blood in his own clothes and looking around for a brief second to take in the battle scene and evaluate the situation.

That second was all that it took.

Big Deal shook his head, tightening his grip on his sword as he prepared to turn around and go after Hook. However, before he could do so, all the air disappeared from his lungs as they filled with blood.

When Baelfire turned to look at Big Deal again, he saw a streak of blood running down the corner of his mouth.

"Big Deal?" he muttered, as panic rushed through his veins.

And then, his eyes fell upon Hook's sword coming out of the boy's chest.

"No," he whispered. "No!"

Hook pulled back his sword, and the body of the leader of the Lost Boys fell to the ground.

Baelfire's eyes darted from Big Deal to Hook, who was now moving towards him after sheathing his sword.

"You coward!" Baelfire tightened his grip on his sword, but his hands were shaking too much for him to do it right. "You attacked him from behind!"

"Desperate times, desperate measures," the man replied with nothing but coldness in his voice. "He was at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Baelfire was on the verge of charging at Hook when Peter stepped up and punched the pirate in the face, knocking him down. In a matter of minutes, the two of them were engaged in a fierce battle, and Baelfire took that chance to kneel next to Big Deal, who appeared to be in deep pain.

"Tinkerbell!" Bae screamed as he held the other boy's hand. "Tinkerbell, please!"

His tears were making it hard for him to see as he looked around in search for the fairy.

"I… I… never… wanted…" he heard Big Deal's weak voice, and lowered his head to hear him better, "…to die…alone."

"You're not going to die, hang on," Bae said, feeling tears pouring down his face. "Tinkerbell!" he screamed again.

"It's ok," Big Deal's voice was nothing but a faint whisper. "I'm glad… you're here."

Baelfire felt the boy's grip on his hand loosen, and his own heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Big Deal?" Baelfire whispered, shaking his hand. "Big Deal?"

Big Deal, however, was now staring into another distant land, where no one would be able to reach him again.

Baelfire kept holding his friend's hand, as he lifted his head and looked around. The battle was going from bad to worse, with bodies scattered everywhere, and fires going up in different spots of the battlefield. More tears ran down his face as the undeniable truth crashed upon him.

He couldn't afford to have a family, not if that was the price. He had to do what was right, and at the moment, it didn't feel right to see people dying because of him. It had to stop.

He pressed the tips of his fingers to Big Deal's eyelids to close the boy's eyes, and then took off his scarf and put it around his friend's neck. After wiping away his tears, he stood up, took a last look at the place that had just started to feel like home, and made his way to the Jolly Roger, ignoring Sprint's screams behind him.

Soon after that, on the opposite side of the battlefield, Prego threw another merciless punch on a downed pirate. Much to his surprise, when he got to his feet, he realized that Hook and his goons were heading back to the ship.

"Ha!" he exclaimed. "They're retreating! They're leaving! We won!"

Around him, the Lost Boys that still stood yelled in triumph, but Tinkerbell's eyes simply darted around in a panic.

"Where's Bae?" she asked.

Her eyes caught Peter walking towards her from the other side of the battlefield, helping an injured Sprint to stay on his feet.

"Peter…" she said, as soon as the two boys reached her and the rest of the group. "Where is Baelfire?"

The boy was slightly out of breath, and there were cuts in his arms and on his face.

"He went with Hook," he muttered. "Big Deal is dead."

Tinkerbell threw her hands over her head and looked up to the sky.

"Dammit!" she finally exploded, shoving her sword on the sand under their feet.

Without another word, the fairy headed to the other side of the battlefield, from where Peter had just come, and soon spotted Big Deal's body lying in the sand. She kneeled next to him, and saw Baelfire's scarf around his neck.

"We should give him a nice funeral," she said, after taking the scarf off the boy's neck and handing it to Sprint. She then looked over her shoulder to speak to the other Lost Boys who were behind her. "Do you remember what his favorite candy was?"

"Marshmallows…" Prego whispered.

"And his favorite song?"

"Shiver my Timbers," answered Peter.

"Then he shall sail away…" the fairy whispered, as she took a handful of fairy dust from her pouch, closed her eyes, and placed a small bag of marshmallows under Big Deal's cold hands, which were now crossed over his chest. "…with two of his favorite things."

"Shiver my Timbers… shiver my soul," she started singing, picking up the boy's arms as Peter lifted his feet, and the two of them dragged him to a small boat by the shore.

"Yo Ho He Ho," the other boys started singing along, although their voices were not much louder than a whisper. "There are men whose hearts are as black as coal…"

Peter and Tinkerbell then gently rocked the boat on to the ocean, and with a wave of the fairy's hands, it soon started picking up speed, rocking up and down the waves.

"And they sailed their ship across the ocean blue, a blood thirsty captain and a cut throat crew..." they sang, watching the little boat disappear into the horizon. "It's a darker tale as was ever told… of a lust for treasure and a love of gold..."

When the boat could no longer be seen from the shore, Tinkerbell picked up Big Deal's sword from the sand, right were his body had been lying, and walked towards Peter.

"Peter, you are now in charge," she said, handing him the sword of the former leader of the Lost Boys. "And I want you to promise me, that the day we come across Hook again, we will not let him win."

He picked up the sword, and nodded in silence.

"Bae left us his scarf," Sprint said.

"Yes, he did," the fairy replied, and all of them fell silent again. "That means we have something to take to the Farewell Woods. You guys come with me?"

The group followed Tinkerbell as she headed to the part of Neverland where all Lost Boys that had left were remembered. There were trees of all kinds, and around their trunks and branches, a variety of objects had been hung as a little tribute to every single one of the Lost Boys that were no more: shoestrings, ribbons, hats, bracelets, toys.

"Now… where shall we hang it?" she asked, as she held Bae's scarf.

"I like the oak," said Prego. "That big tree over there. When there is a storm, it is the tree that gets hit the most by lightning… but it still stays strong," he paused, and looked at the others. "I like that."

The fairy nodded with a smile.

"Good choice, Prego," she whispered. "The oak it is, then."

Peter took the scarf from her hands and wrapped a rope around it, so that they could tie it to the oak's trunk. When it was done, they spent a long moment looking at it as it swayed with the wind.

They could only hope Baelfire would be fine, wherever it was he was headed.

Two years had passed since Baelfire became part of the crew of the Jolly Roger.

He was now second-in-command, and stood by the rail in the deck watching the waves as they sailed to yet another unknown destination.

"Bae?"

He heard Hook's voice behind him, but didn't bother to look.

"I just wanted to let you know," Killian Jones said, as he leaned against the rail to take a look at the young man's face, "…that I have decided to change the course of the ship."

"You are the Captain," Bae dryly remarked, still looking at the ocean. "You don't need to explain your decisions."

"I know I don't. But I wanted to."

Baelfire finally shifted his glance to the man by his side.

"We are now heading to… wherever you want to," Hook said, now turning to look at the ocean himself.

For one moment, Baelfire didn't know what to say. He despised that man with all his heart, and the image of him murdering his best friend in Neverland still haunted him. On the other hand, since he had become part of the crew, Hook had done nothing but treat him like a son. Of course he had. As Baelfire had found out soon after his arrival at the Jolly Roger, Hook and his mother had been in love somewhere in the past, so it was somehow understandable he wanted to fulfill the role of loving father to him, despite the absurdity of that thought. Bae hated to admit that there were times when he almost accepted that role, but much to his luck, he could still come to his senses in those dire moments of extreme loneliness and sorrow, and view Killian Jones as nothing more than what he truly was: a coward and a heartless murderer, just like his real Papa.

Talk about irony.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Baelfire asked, and his voice remained void of emotion.

"No," was the curt reply.

"For two years you have kept me chained to this ship," Baelfire said. "Now, I can simply go wherever I want?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Hook let a cryptic smile curl his lips.

"Because I have been selfish," the pirate finally said. "You remind me so much of your mother, that I simply wanted you to stay… But now I realize she wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

Baelfire tried not to let the man's words get to him.

"It's a beautiful story," he said, and his face was still clouded with indifference. "Too bad I don't believe it."

"Look," Hook said, turning around to look at him. "I am sorry about your friend, back in Neverland."

Baelfire snorted. If there was another thing he knew about Hook, was that he never regretted killing people. On the very contrary: gloating about it seemed to be one of his favorite pastimes.

"No. You're not."

"You're right," Hook answered. "I'm not sorry I killed him, but I am sorry he was your friend."

"Doesn't matter," Baelfire whispered, as he made to walk away from the deck.

"Baelfire."

"What?" he asked, still not turning around.

"Long ago, you said you wanted to go to a land with no magic."

Yes, that was exactly what he had wanted that first time, with that stupid bean. But magic, and any kind of magic, as he had quickly come to realize, was nowhere as reliable as he one day believed it was.

"That's where we're headed."

Baelfire whipped his head around to look at the Captain of the Jolly Roger.

"You're lying," he muttered.

"I'm not. See for yourself."

When Baelfire looked at the ocean again, he saw that they were going through a cloud, and when the mist was finally gone, his eyes fell upon a shore that was different from everything he had ever seen in his life.

It was really happening.

"But why?" he asked, still unable to believe he would finally be able to start a new life far from everything else. Except that now he realized how scary those prospects were. He would be alone in that strange new world, after all.

"Because," Hook replied, as his eyes grew vacant. "It's the least I can do."

Baelfire looked at his own feet and tried to stay indifferent, even when his feelings were tying a knot in his heart. He shouldn't feel grateful. He shouldn't feel anything towards Hook but hatred.

Yet, he had been the closest thing he had had to a family in those two years. The only person who seemed to care, in his own delusional way.

"I want you to have something, before you go," Hook said, taking a little portrait from his pocket.

"What is this?" Baelfire asked.

"Your mother."

He bit his lip and looked at the ocean, hoping he would be strong enough not to humiliate himself in front of that man. He wouldn't cry. He could take it.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked, after taking a long breath to steady his voice.

It was Hook's turn to look at the sea, in silence.

"She never stopped loving you," he said, and when those words registered in Baelfire's brain, it was just too much.

He walked away from the rail, so that the other man wouldn't see him burst into tears, and stood on the opposite side of the deck, letting all his hurt wash over him for a long minute as he held his mother's portrait between his fingers with all the strength he had.

He was glad Hook respectfully looked away the entire time, grabbing the rail as his gaze rested on the waves ahead, looking at them without really seeing anything.

They had reached the shore.

Neal Cassidy stood at one of the terminals of the Port of Portland, and his mind took him back to the day when he first got to that land, in a shore many miles from where he now stood, so many years in the past.

He had hoped that getting away from magic would put his mind at ease.

It hadn't.

The nightmares hadn't stopped either, and he wondered if he would ever get rid of the ghosts of his past. More than that, he wondered if he should even keep trying.

As he looked at the day's haul – two cans of soup, three bars of chocolate and a stick of jerked beef –he realized there was very little point in living those days. He lacked a sense of purpose, and the idea of simply driving over a bridge and ending it all was becoming alarmingly attractive.

The only reason why he hadn't done so yet was because he refused to go down as a coward, but lately not even that seemed to matter that much.

He made his way back to his home, a stolen yellow bug, and headed to the back seat, where his blanket was waiting for him, inviting him for a nap. As he munched on a bar of chocolate, he picked up one of the cans and realized he had no can opener.

He burst into a fit of laughter, and covered his head with his hood, surprised at how stupid he had been. So much for lunch, and dinner! He was definitely losing his edge as a thief if that was the best he could pull off, given all his experience in those matters as a pirate.

Neal let the can fall to the floor, where it joined the jerked beef and the other stuff. He should just take a nap and hope his stomach would stop complaining.

As he covered himself with the blanket, he took out his mother's little portrait from his pocket.

"You know what?" he said, looking at the woman's eyes. "I'm going to kill myself tomorrow."

'Nonsense,' his mind quickly said, and he knew it was right. If he really was intent on doing it, why wait? Nah. He would not kill himself, not today, not tomorrow, not later, and probably even his dead mother knew that by now.

Actually, what he truly expected when he said those words was to urge some sort of force into action. Destiny, fate, spirits, good vibes, gods… He just wanted whoever was in charge of his luck to know that they were doing a crappy job, and that he deserved a break. He just needed a reason to go on. One reason. He wouldn't mind eating chocolate bars for meals and living in a stolen car if he at least felt there was some kind of purpose in all of that.

He put the portrait back into his pocket, and pulled the blanket further up his forehead, hoping that maybe tomorrow would be a better day.

Except that destiny had other plans.

He heard someone fumbling with the bug's lock by the driver's seat, but remained still.

Then, whoever was planning to open the door finally managed to do so, and he only raised his eyebrows as he heard the engine start.

And then they were on the move.

He let the blanket slide down his face and cast a quick glance at the person on the driver's seat. A girl. His heart raced, but that could be partially due to the fact that girl was actually stealing his stolen car. More than that: his house!

For some reason, however, he was not angry. Amused would be a better word.

"Impressive," he said, and he couldn't help but chuckle at her shock as he leaned forward. "But really, you could've just asked me for the keys."

He held up the keys, and kept looking at her shocked face.

At that moment, something remarkable happened.

For the first time in many years, he felt genuinely happy as he let out a smile.