Neverlander

by t.j.guard

Peter Pan is the symbol of eternal youth and childhood fantasies-and he's completely crazy. Only Captain Hook, his pirates, and those working for him stand between Peter and his control of the world beyond Neverland. As Emma works the case of the break-in at Rumpelstiltskin's pawn shop, what she doesn't know may come back to bite her, if she doesn't figure it out first.

1. Prologue

Neverlander

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or Peter Pan and related works.

A/N: Spin-off of Wraith and Love.
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Prologue

The captain glanced at the pawn shop. He'd heard on both sides of the bridge that if there was anything he needed to get back, this was the place to go, but he felt no desire to cut a deal with Rumpelstiltskin just to get back what was by all accounts a rather trivial item. That man priced much to high for the captain's tastes.

So the captain had a better idea.

He picked the lock with his dagger, thinking to himself that Rumpelstiltskin needed a stronger one if there was anything here he wanted to protect, and eased his way inside. He scanned the shop slowly, and then he saw it, catching some of the stray moonlight from outside. It was in the glass case that served as the counter. Rumpelstiltskin must've been proud of the objects in and on that case, though the captain couldn't figure out why and didn't have the time to.

He went to the case and then spotted the clock. What an ideal weapon at that time, he thought. The instrument of his fear could gain him his power back. The captain smiled at the irony of it as he grabbed the clock and smashed it straight through the top of the glass countertop. He set the clock aside, grabbed his hook from its stand, and reattached it, sparing only a moment to study his completion of himself.

It'd been so long since he had both hands that he hardly remembered it. The hook was his other hand now.

He turned and walked out of the pawn shop. The town was utterly silent, so he walked out to the Troll Bridge unnoticed and at ease. The anchor was embedded in the dirt some twenty feet beyond the bridge. He tested the strength of the rope before climbing up to the ship, floating some fifty feet in the air with traces of pixie dust visible in the moonlight.

A short while later, he swung his legs over the railing and onto the deck of the Jolly Roger. "Raise the anchor and set sail," he called. "Head for the bridge. The dust won't last long here." A chorus of "Aye, captain" and a rush to obey was his response.

The captain walked over to the wheel and stood next to a black-clad crewmember who waited for the anchor before turning the ship town-ward and pulling up slightly. Any steeper of an angle could damage the ship. "Mate," the captain said.

"Captain," the pirate replied.

"When we cross the bridge, set a course for Starcatcher Island."

"Aye. I've got it."

"Good work, Mate." The captain clapped the boy, for that was what the mate was, on the shoulder and then walked to the stern and his quarters. The mate straightened the ship out as they approached the bridge between the Enchanted Forest and the real world, their mission there officially complete.