Chapter 1

24 hours ago, they had been shrouded in a cloud of bilious green smoke. When his sight had cleared again, Hook had been standing somewhere in the middle of the Dark Jungle. Alone.

Oh how much he truly hated Neverland and this ill-mannered boy.

He had been calling out for Emma, Charming and Snow and, yes, even for the Evil Queen for hours. But after a while he had to admit to himself that Pan and his bloody smoky spell had certainly made sure the Henry-Rescue-Team would have a tough job to find each other again.

Luckily, this island was not unfamiliar to him. After having climbed up a hill nearby, he was easily able to locate his position. Apparently, Pan had transported Hook to the north-east of Neverland, somewhere near the coast. Which was – how could it be otherwise – exactly at the other end of the island than the point he had been spirited away.

Great.

Before they had been separated, the team had been heading towards the heart of Neverland, to find the Hollowed Tree. Tinkerbel had told them that this would the place to find Pan's base. And Henry.

Best thing to do would probably be to stick to the plan and go there. The others would certainly do the same – from whatever place Pan had transported them to.

Being a pirate to the core, Hook knew that it wouldn't be clever to set out precipitately. One too easily loses the way in Neverland. He needed orientation, he needed a plan.

He decided to take some time to draw a sketchy map, first. Therefore, he had built himself a provisional camp. The camp was situated near to the shore, but still well-hidden in the thicket of the Dark Jungle. The place he had chosen was perfect. Due to the thickness of the Jungle, he couldn't be easily tracked down by some bumbling Lost Boys, but could on the other hand quickly rescue himself to the water if serious danger from the forest might occur. Furthermore, he was surrounded by some big hills, which were quite helpful while sketching. In addition to that, Hook had spent some years (actually about one century – thank you again bloody Crocodile) on that island, so he still remembered this hell of a place well enough to draw a more or less accurate map by heart.

After nearly one day of work, Hook sat by the fire and regarded the result. Though he had spent some years to urgently forget about Neverland and its hideous secrets and places, he had surprisingly remembered quite a lot. From the latest point of view, this was in fact quite useful. It was all there on his map: the Mermaid Bay, the Enchanted Springs, the Skull Caves, the River of Broken Tears, the Meadow of Lovely Thoughts, the ….

Crack!

A cracking sound from the deep of the forest immediately woke him from his thoughts.

Damn, they've already found me!

But on second thoughts, "they" could be anybody.

Worst case: Lost Boys or even Pan (but the latter wouldn't be so stupid to announce his appearance by careless walking), best case: someone from the rescue-team (preferably Emma, but hopefully not an ugly old Crocodile).

Hook quickly grabbed the map and climbed on a tall tree nearby. When he reached the lowest perch that was thick enough to carry his weight, he sat on it, quietly observing his camp from above. Due to the darkness, his matching clothing and some leafage, Hook was pretty much invisible though he was only about 10 feet above the ground. He sat there for a few minutes, waiting. Nothing happened. When he already wanted to climb down, cursing himself for his oversensitive imagination, a small, hooded figure appeared.

Ah, so my senses are still intact. A Lost Boy has found me.

Hook eyed the figure from his hiding place. The hooded person slowly circled the fireplace, cautiously looking into the darkness of the forest with each step. Obviously, the figure was not yet aware of Hook's presence. The unknown person even made the impression of being quite confused by the camp's abandonment.

Such a bloody beginner – this is going to be quite easy!

The cloaked person didn't call out for the rest of the Lost Boys, so Hook mused that this had certainly been a one-man-mission. The figure was probably one of Pan's spies. And a badly-skilled at that. Hook felt a little offended that Pan hadn't even chosen his best men to track him down. He sighed quietly. At least, that would make things much easier.

He waited until the small figure had reached the side of the camp, where Hook's tree was standing. The figure turned to face the fireplace again, apparently indecisive what to do next.

Now that's what I call a perfect initial situation for an unexpected attack.

Blurting out a vigorous, loud battle cry, Hook jumped down from the perch and landed hard on his feet, right next to the hooded figure. Startled by the unexpected attack, the figure let out a sharp gasp and started to run, but Hook was faster. With his hand, he grabbed the figure's shoulder and forcefully whirled the person around. At the same time, Hook shoved one leg behind the figure's right foot and pulled it away from the ground so that the opponent lost balance. Pressing his body against the other, both crashed noisily to the ground. The pirate lay above, hook vigorously pressed against a white, silken throat. In the heat of the moment, the hood had come off the figure's head, finally revealing the face.

Hook's eyes widened from confusion when he recognized the familiar blue eyes. Frozen in shock, the woman beneath him stared at him. Her rosy mouth was ajar from a silent scream, some of her normally neatly arranged chestnut curls where now all over her face and her oh so blue eyes opened wide.

"Belle?!" was the only thing Hook managed to croak out.