Hey everyone, I'm still alive :/ Sorry for the massive delay in updating; I will get around to updating The Worst Betrayal before the week is up. That's a promise!
*So this is my first OUAT fanfic and I felt so inspired to write it after seeing the promo - it really got me hyped for Pan's return! #PeterPanNeverFails This is my interpretation of what might happen during him and Rumple's reunion!
Rumple knew the second Emma and the heroes began devising a plan that it would be useless. They knew nothing of this nightmare of a realm that he'd had to endure for a brief amount of time before Zelena had yanked him right back. Th e Underworld was a grim void, full of lifeless gazes and whispers of memories dead and buried.
Hell was the only way to describe it.
He'd barely held on, finding himself slowly slipping away into the sea of lost souls, the ones that weren't strong enough to withstand their own existence. It didn't help that the constant fear of running into his father in the Underworld was always on his mind. How would he take it out on him for condemning them both to this fate? If Rumpelstiltskin knew one thing, it was that forgiveness would be the last thing his father was thinking of.
Now he was back, and that fear came back again all at once. The savior's voice cut through his thoughts, "We need to find Hook, and fast. The sooner we leave this place the better."
He heard Regina scoff, "What a shame. I was hoping we could wander around a bit, enjoy the sights."
Emma sighed loudly, "Regina, not now-"
The dark haired woman spun around, scowling at Emma, jaw clenched, "Don't tell me what to do, Swan. This was your choice to drag us all with you to the pits of Hell, and I have the right to complain as much as I want to. I didn't get us in this mess."
"Mum, we have to work together." Henry stepped forward, resting his hand on her shoulder. Rumple rolled his eyes. Heroes - always sacrificing everything for hope. It was a lovely sentiment but got tiresome very quickly.
Robin nodded, moving to stand beside Regina, "Henry's right. We all agreed to come here to save Hook, and sitting here squabbling isn't doing that." She smiled tightly at both of them, but the Dark One knew her heart wasn't in it. She didn't believe that finding Hook was their top priority because the only reason she'd come here in the first place was to accompany her son. Regina had scored her happy ending and putting it on the line wasn't bringing out the best in her. Rumple himself shared her inner struggle: all this for a pirate that had snatched his first love away from him. Emma had threatened him though, with the trust of his true love, her undying belief that he would do good. He wouldn't, even for his arch-nemesis' permanent death, let that trust disappear.
You already have. You've betrayed Belle, lied to her, and she doesn't even know it. It was a small burden, he told himself, something she'd never need to know and she could be happy with him nevertheless. It was worth it, having the power to protect her from all harm that would come their way. The captain's life was merely collateral damage. And here you are, working to bring him back. Now, that didn't sound so satisfying.
"Where would we even start?" Snow wondered aloud, her hand clasped in her prince's. David looked around, his eyes assessing their surroundings with peaked interest.
"In case you haven't noticed, the Underworld looks awfully familiar." The group instinctively looked around them, their eyes widening at what they saw. They were standing in the middle of a wide main road, a row of terraced buildings on either side of them. Rumple found himself remembering it with a pang of loathing: Hell was terribly mocking, reflecting what the land of the living was like, only a disturbing version of it.
"The clock tower," Henry whispered, "It's… destroyed." Sure enough, there lay the top of the famous clock tower of Storybrooke, once a symbol of new beginnings, now lying discarded and broken on the ashy ground.
"Fitting." Rumple mused, "Time doesn't matter anymore after death. It's useless and treated as such. This is our reality now." The whole group seemed to tense at the words 'after death' as if the situation they were in was finally realised. They were visiting the land of the dead, their very lives ebbing away the more time they spent there. Emma seemed to jump into action, her voice ringing clear through the eerie silence.
"All right, let's do this!" The heroes immediately began devising a plan, Robin getting his bow at the ready, David unsheathing his sword. Rumple edged further and further away, his absence lost in the heat of their discussion. You need to get to the shop. If everything in the Underworld reflects Storybrooke, the relics should be there. Maybe something that could actually help us.
Walking swiftly down the main road, he hid in the shadows of the shops, sidestepping shards of broken glass embedded in the cracked pavement. He only hoped his shop hadn't suffered greatly in Hell's destruction. Looking ahead, he saw outlines of wandering souls drifting through the air, and they passed through him, their shrill cries echoing in his ears. The Dark One shivered, keeping his pace as he saw the sign of his shop swaying in the wind. It's once golden letters now were a dusty brown, chipped and barely holding together. The sight made him internally wince.
His hand curled around the door handle and turned it, and the bell clanged, a hollow melancholy sound. Rumple walked inside, breathing hard against the stale smell that hung in the air; it reminded him of old books, their pages grown frail and dusty. Belle always loved them, old or new, and the look of wonder that lightened up her face each time she'd open one had always entranced him. The thought of his wife, somewhere in a world where he couldn't protect her hardened his resolve and he spotted the oil painting at the back of the shop. The one that concealed the steel safe that held his most darkest of magic. If anything were to help us in this land, that's the place it would be.
Without a second thought, the Dark One walked towards the painting, every ounce of his being striving to find something, anything, to get them all out of this wretched land before the ties of the past grabbed hold of him and refused to let go. His hand was there, reaching to brush the decorative frame when a painfully familiar voice made him freeze. His heart leapt wildly in his chest, and his breath hitched in his throat.
"Well, well, well. Looks who's back. Fancied paying a visit, laddie?" The harsh laugh that followed was worse than any number of lost souls drifting through him. It was as lethal as the Dark One's dagger itself, all-powerful - dangerous. Forcing himself to turn around, he came to face to face with the person that terrified him the most.
"I see you've salvaged that youthful glow. The Underworld does wonders for the skin, it looks like." His father sneered at him, wearing not the face of the older man he'd been expecting to see but the mask of Peter Pan. It was a punch to the gut, a reminder of everything he'd given him up for. Long ago, Rumple had accepted his abandonment but seeing his father flaunting it around in death brought all the misery back.
"And I see that you're just as selfish as ever." He backed away as Pan took a step forward, a wicked smirk twisting his lips. "Came running back here, for protection or to simply hide away, it doesn't matter. What delights me is the fact that you have the nerve to saunter back in here." The Dark One noticed with a jolt the rage in his father's bright eyes, the viciousness behind the playful smile. He was furious.
"I had no control when I was brought back to life, even you must know that." Rumple spoke calmly, working out numerous ways to get out of this situation. None came to mind in that moment.
"No, but it still happened, didn't it? You still got a second chance at life, at everything, and I was stuck down here to rot. And you know what, son?" Pan's teeth bared in a wolfish grin, "I'm not happy about that. I'm not happy at all." The Dark One's hand shook, urging his magic to come forward, but it was like a torch that refused to be lit. His new-found power was weak in the Underworld, and he instantly felt like the helpless cripple he'd once been.
"I wouldn't be if I were you. I wasn't when you left me to be young again. Think of this as returning the favor. Because after everything you've done, that's the one thing you truly deserve, Peter Pan." He watched as Pan's eyes narrowed, before a cold smile spread across his face, cool and calculating.
"You know, I've been looking in on you and everyone else in Storybrooke, just to brighten up my dreary existence. The lot of you have been through hell, no pun intended." Rumple waited tensely for what else he would say, willing him to keep on talking. "That whole phase with the Wicked Witch… she was a difficult one, I'll say that. A spiteful, twisted bitch. Whined a bit too much for my liking, but no one's perfect. Oh, and I'm sorry about Baelfire. Very tragic, but forgive me if I didn't get too upset." Pan added, leaning against the glass counter, cocking his head to the side. That soulless, insensitive bastard.
It was as if his father could read his thoughts because his grin grew wider. "Are you quite finished?"
"Not yet." He pretended to pout thoughtfully, "Her choice of color somewhat irked me. Green was my color, but then again, death's given me a new sense of style." He flourished to the black suit he was wearing, "I hope you don't mind me having a little look through your wardrobe. No handy clothes shops around here sadly."
"What a shame. I hope you don't mind me not sharing your burden." He swallowed as Pan chuckled, thinking back to when he'd stabbed the dagger straight into his back without any thought of remorse but the safety of his family. Bringing death to himself as well had been worth it, as long as he got rid of Pan once and for all.
"Don't get too cocky, my boy. You're forgetting that I've become quite accustomed to the Underworld. My powers are comfortable in this atmosphere, unlike yours." To prove his point, he raised his hand and a black plume of smoke shot from it to the wall behind Rumpelstiltskin. He didn't flinch, vowing to not show any signs of weakness in front of his father. "Do you remember when I woke to find you gloating about how you were going to kill me? Well, now it's my turn."
"You can't kill me while I'm in the Underworld-"
"No, but I can make you suffer." Pan stalked towards him, his hand shaking with the urge to unleash all his anger, his magic. "You're nothing but a soul passing through this realm, unable to die really, but pain is something you're not immune to. And trust me when I tell you I'll enjoy this immensely."
Rumple stood his ground, watching his father prowl forward, maddened eyes gleaming in the dim light. There was nothing he could do except stand strong and not beg for mercy. That would only give Pan what he wanted, and he wasn't going to do that anytime soon. "While living, you were a cunning force to be reckoned with. In death, you are nothing but a soul driven insane by your hunger for revenge. I would feel pity for you, but I'm enjoying the result of your downfall immensely."
Pan laughed, but there was no humor in his tone. There was a cruel edge to his sinister smile, a tense severity in the way his fist clenched. "Enjoy all you want, Dark One. We both know you'll return to the world of the living but then someday, you'll die and come down to here. And from there, I will torture you in every way I know how for all eternity, both of us already dead." A smile of pure happiness passed over Pan's face, and Rumple was unable to shake off how disturbed he felt at the look of bliss that came to his father at his own words. The dreamy look came and went, Pan now smirking at him, "What did you say before you stabbed me? 'Villains don't get happy endings'? Well, this is mine."
He raised his hand, a veil of green lacing his fingertips, "Think of this as a little teaser for what's to come. Pleasure doing business with you, Mr Gold."
The last thing Rumpelstiltskin saw was the look of utter triumph in his father's eyes before Pan's hand swept to the side and he felt his neck snap. Before he could cry out in pain, everything went black.
Hope you liked this little one shot! 17 days until OUAT returns...
~InfernoAlive