Edited From Neverland to the Fading Lands

by Sara K M

Edited (Hopefully). This can be read as a Neverland one - shot. However, the rest of the chapters are a crossover with C. L. Wilson's Tairen Soul miniseries. Since it is written entirely from Emma and Charming/David's POV, I any Once fan could follow it. Therefore, I am marketing it as a regular fic. Parings: Swanfire, Snowing. Edited - map of the Fading Lands and other kingdoms.

1. Chapter 1

From Neverland to the Fading Lands

Disclaimers: I do not own Once Upon a Time or C. L. Wilson's Tairen Soul quintet.

Several Author's Notes: First of all, although this story starts out in Neverland, it is actually a crossover with C. L. Wilson's book miniseries, Tairen Soul. As such, I will understand if some of you only wish to read the first chapter. However, as I intend to write this story entirely from Emma and David/Charming's POV, I think anyone who is familiar with Once could follow it. To that end, I would appreciate help from readers if you believe anything in the Fading Lands chapters need clarification. Please feedback or PM me at anytime with such concerns.

Also, if you haven't read the Tairen Soul quintet, but would like to, I highly recommend it for people who like to read fantasy/romance. It is also very easy to understand. However, I will warn you that I am setting the Tairen Soul part of this story after the quintet is finished, so you may run into spoilers for the miniseries.

Finally, as far as the Neverland chapter goes, this story is going to be rather AU.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX is POV change.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO is time change.

Emma looked at the island as they approached the harbor. Neverland, she supposed. In some ways, it looked exactly how she pictured Neverland to look. An island covered with jungle, just like in the movies. In other ways, it was different. Emma couldn't put her finger on it, but the island reeked of evil magic. It reminded her of Cora.

At the same time, it was seductive. There was a part of her that longed to stay here forever. Not because of Henry, either. A voice inside of her whispered that here, Emma, could stay without the responsibilities of being a mother, a daughter to her long-lost parents, a sheriff to an entire town, possessing magic, and still trying to deal with Neal's death. None of those things mattered in Neverland. She knew right away she would have to work hard to remember why she here: to rescue Henry, not to live forever in an evil land where nothing and no one she cared about mattered.

"Does anyone think this might be harder than we thought?" Emma asked the group, wondering if anyone else was already fighting the island's evil, seductive magic.

Hook gave her a smug grin that was somehow lustful at the same time. "Did you really think we'd just sail to Neverland, waltz in and pick up the boy? Sorry lass, but not everything is that easy. Now, if you want me to show you easy, we could below deck, and I'd show you how to scream."

Emma groaned. Why did they have to deal with this guy? If it wasn't for the fact that he was the only one with a ship to get Henry, she'd toss him overboard! Instead, Emma dealt with him the way she usually dealt with such people. She got up in the pirate's face. "I know it wouldn't be that easy, idiot. And would you kindly leave you suggestive comments to yourself? I just meant that Neverland seems to be influencing my thinking and I was wondering if was affecting anyone else." Once again, she fought the urge to throw the whole mission in the towel, so to speak. She had to keep reminding herself that Henry was worth the trouble.

Hook smiled, all smug again. "Oh, that. Did I forget to mention Neverland has a power on its own?"

Regina looked over at him and grinned ironically. "You know for a guy who hates the Dark One so much, you sound an awful lot like him. All you'd need is the "dearie", and I'd think that was him, back in the Enchanted Forest again." Despite the tension of the situation, almost everyone laughed.

Hook, on the other hand, was appalled to be the butt of everyone else's joke. "I am nothing like that crocodile!" He looked around obviously trying to decide which of the idiots he should punch first. Finally, her predictably pushed his fist into Gold's.

"Hey," David (or was it Dad, now Emma wondered) said calmly coming in between the two old enemies. "This won't solve anything. We're here for Henry, not for old feuds. We need to start thinking about how we are going to find him."

"I think we should go in small groups. From my experience, and I think we can all save I've had a lot, a big group like ours will attract too much attention," Mr. Gold said reasonably.

"Sounds good. I can't wait to get on this island. It looks like it has a lot of potential," Regina said, almost hungrily.

Emma eyed Regina suspiciously. "Potential? I thought this was about rescuing Henry! If this is only about anything else, you can stay on the ship!"

David appeared to have had enough of Regina's games. He grabbed her shirt and put his fist in her face. "If this is just another one of your schemes, Regina, I'm going to put my fist down your throat! We saved you yesterday because we thought you were finally willing understand sacrifice. And because of Henry. But if you're not here for Henry at all, then I'm done giving you chances!"

Regina sighed in righteous anger. "I'll never be vindicated to you no matter what I do! Of course, I want Henry back, it's not that! It's just…there's no way you'd ever understand!"

David obviously didn't believe any of that. He appeared to be trying to decide whether to shove his fist down her throat, as he said he would, or grab his favorite weapon from the Enchanted Forest and cut her head off.

Mary Margaret (or was she Mom now?) placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Charming, this isn't the way. But Regina, you better explain what you said earlier."

Regina sighed. "I think Miss Swan", she said Emma's name like it tasted bad, "said it best if you had paid any attention to your dear daughter. Something's influencing our thinking. And it was influencing me to be more interested in Neverland's magic than in finding Henry. So there you have it! I'm always more interested in magic than Henry!"

But it was Emma, surprisingly, who came to Regina's defense this time. At least she knew she wasn't the only one who was fighting Neverland's evil seduction. "No, Regina, that's not true. I think we're all going to have weaknesses this land is going to tempt us with. We're just going to have to keep reminding ourselves why we're here and who matters the most: Henry."

"Good, good, very good," commented Hook from the background. "I've got the anchor down, so we can go ashore, two at a time."

"Good, good, very good," commented Hook from the background. "I've got the anchor down, so we can go ashore, two at a time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After they all went ashore, they agreed to search in small groups within sight of each other. After all, this land was unknown to all of them. Even Hook, who spent many years sailing its cost line, had never actually set foot on the island. They needed to make sure none of them became lost, especially in a land full of seductive thoughts. Still, they also needed to cover as much ground possible. Who knew what was happening to Henry right now?

Therefore, David and Snow had taken the bushes, Emma and Gold had taken the beach, and Regina and the pirate had taken the rock pile. All locations could be seen from a distance. David was relieved that none of his family was working with Regina. Despite the fact that they had saved her recently and Regina herself had helped save Storybrooke, he had a very hard time trusting Regina. He had always had a harder time forgiving Regina than Snow did. In some ways, it was ironic, he supposed, since Regina's attacks were all focused on Snow and yet Snow could still forgive. But that was the problem. Charming had always had a much harder time forgiving attacks on his loved ones than attacks made to him specially.

David took a deep breath and knelt between two bushes, trying to look without rustling any of the leaves. They had all agreed they needed to look for Henry without attracting a lot of attention from whatever and whoever controlled the island. That meant, among other things, making as little noise as possible. He shook his head. They still weren't any closer to finding Henry. Should they continue further in the bushes or -

That train of thought was interrupted with two eager hands squeezing his bottom. "Snow!" he squealed.

"I love it when your butt is exposed like this, you know that? It's so sexy." Snow gave it another squeeze and a couple of good rubs.

David turned around and pulled her into his lap, giggling. He gave Snow's rear a good sized squeeze as well. "Really? Because I think yours is even sexier. Of course, you have so many other sexy parts. Let's see there are your breasts." He ran his hands over them accordingly, squeezing them gently. "And then there are you legs." He laid her down on the jungle floor so he could easily caress them as well. "Oh and let's not forget about your neck." He rubbed his hands gently on her neck, then exchanged hands for his lips as he covered neckline with butterfly kisses.

As soon as David's lips touched her, Snow began to moan and groan loudly. There was a reason why they weren't supposed to be making a lot of noise, right? It was something to do with Henry, right? Yeah, they were supposed to be looking for Henry. But that didn't really matter with Snow wrapped in his arms like this. They had plenty of people looking for Henry all ready.

"Oh and then of course, there's your mouth," David said as he continued mapping all of the wonderful sexy parts on his wife. Then he put his lips on hers and gave Snow a deep, wonderful kiss. She wrapped her arms around his back and slid one of her hands down to his bottom again. He made a mental note to show it off a little more for her if this was the reaction he got.

Finally breaking off for air, David grinned at Snow again as he began taking off her shirt. He almost had it off when Hook was suddenly right behind him. "So we've decided to move on…"the pirate began before noticing he had a nice view of Snow's breasts. "But I see you've got something a lot more interesting in front of you, mate. Carry on."

With that, their romantic moment was over and was replaced with so many different emotions David didn't know where to begin. Embarrassment at being caught in a private moment with his wife by a near stranger. Anger at the lustful pirate for daring to stare at his wife's breasts, even if David had made it easier by almost removing her shirt. And shame because they were supposed to be looking for Henry. Why had Henry suddenly not been that important?

David shook his head as he quickly helped Snow put her shirt back on. "No we're all set. And 'mate'? he added sarcastically as he got up. "Don't ever let me see you looking at her like that again." With that, he gave Hook a good punch in the jaw.

Hook got up, not appearing the least bit remorseful, and walked away. "We're heading up this way," he pointed to a hilly area of the island. "If you're still interested in joining us." He laughed.

David took a deep breath. Now he needed to fight the urge to cut off the pirate's head. The man expected to give all the orders, didn't take anything seriously, and wasn't even sorry for staring at Snow's breasts! Exactly why was it a bad idea to kill him, again?

But as he reached for his sword he saw Snow's face. Something was really bothering her. Figuring out her problem and helping her solve them would always be more important than dealing with a pirate. Or Regina, for that matter.

"Hey," he said softly as they walked toward the hills, alone but within sight of everyone else. "What's the matter?," taking her hand as they walked.

"Charming what happened back there?" she asked in a panicked voice. "How could we just…not care about finding Henry? I mean…not that it wasn't enjoyable," Snow added quickly. "But we both know there is a time and a place for that…and this isn't it!"

"I think, as much as I hate to admit it, that Regina was right. Neverland seems to have seductive magic that temps you not to care about what we all know we should. For us, that's obviously giving into…activities that are inappropriate right now. I seem to also be tempted to use my sword on people that are supposed to be allies right now. We'll be okay. We'll just have to fight the temptation harder, now that we know it exists and what ours are." He squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her everything would be okay.

But Snow was not so easily convinced. "But what if it's not that easy? What about my blackening heart, Charming? What if this makes it worse? What if Regina was right and I do drive our family apart, starting with Henry!"

David shook his head. "Okay, as far as driving Henry away, that's Not. Going to. Happen. Because we are going to find him and he's going to be overjoyed to see us. Second of all, you saved Regina's life twice in Storybrooke! Your heart must be getting better. Heck, I'm the one resisting the urge to kill our allies, not you! And any time you need my support to get through this, you've got it okay?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked, hoping it would give her more comfort.

Snow was quiet for rather a long time as they continued to head for the hills. As they appeared the bottom of them, she finally smiled. "Okay. You're right, as usual. Always the one to restore my hope and confidence." She gave him what was meant to be a peck on the lips, but wound up lasting several minutes.

When they brook apart, they grinned at each other. "This is probably the kind of thing we should be careful about, so it doesn't get out of hand again, huh?" Snow said, a little guiltily

"Yeah," David agreed, resisting the urge to give her another deep kiss. "I think we should take this one," he added, pointing to the hill to the left of them. She nodded and they headed toward it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XXXXXXXXX

It was almost nightfall in Neverland and there was still no sign of Henry. They had spent all day searching beaches, parts of the bushes, rock piles, and hills. It didn't help that all of them had to resist their temptations to forget about Henry.

Gold and Regina kept showing off how much better their magic worked in Neverland. Gold caused a tidal wave while he and Emma searched the beach and he laughed in triumph, saying how much higher and stronger it was than any he could create in Strorybrooke. Regina busted a least ten large rocks to smithereens from what Emma could see and then cackled, much as she would assume the evil queen would.

Meanwhile Emma's parents were apparently trying to resist simply jumping each other in a lust-filled frenzy every minute. David (Dad? She was trying to get used to that.) also threatened to kill Hook and Regina more times than she could count. Hook, despite agreeing to "be a part of something", when they left, didn't seem to care about anything at all except making fun of the rest of them. He also enjoyed making innuendo comments to both Emma and Mary (Mom? She was still working on that, too.). That, of course, only made David even more tempted to cut off Hook's head. The man already had several flesh wounds, curtsey of David.

Finally, there was Emma, who was tempted to spend all of her time lounging on the beach and eating local berries. Everything in her life was overwhelming right now. So why should she even bother? The Neverland berries she had found in the hills were very good. In fact, while Gold and Regina had their "self-levitation contest", Emma had been lying on the ground, munching on berries for close to an hour!

All of them, however, agreed that searching for Henry in the dark in a strange land with evil magic was unwise. So they decided to camp for the night at the foot of the hills they had been searching. Emma was perfectly happy sharing all of the delicious berries.

Just as they finished eating, however, someone, or rather some people found them.

"YOU…ARE…NOT…WECOME…HERE! Voices bellowed from all around them. Everyone immediately went on offensive. David and Hook grabbed swords, Mary Margaret fitted her bow and arrow, Gold and Regina summoned magic, and Emma pointed her gun while preparing to summon magic as well.

Six figures stepped into the light from their fire. All wore black hoods and evil, lost faces. The tallest one seemed to be in charge, as he directly the others with gestures. Hook's eyes widened as he exclaimed "The Lost Boys!"

"Ah, so you've heard of us," the leader barked. "Then I think you should know Neverland is no place for adults. The Shadow will not be pleased. We will have to kill you."

Everything happened at once. Emma and Mary Margaret shot their gun and arrows, Gold and Regina let loose fires of magic, and David and Hook tried slashing the boys with swords. However, the Lost Boys also possessed magic and were able to dodge balls of fire, bullet, arrow, and swords by flying. As soon as they realized this, Gold and Regina automatically began levitating. Emma, recognizing that she also possessed magic, attempted to levitate as well. But just as all three became airborne and ready to attack, the Lost Boys landed back on the ground.

Unfortunately for the Lost Boys, however, the landed quite close to two men with swords and very fast reflexes. Hook and David began slashing at them immediately. Since they had just dodged magical attacks, the boys were not quite so quick. All of them went down, injured, within a couple of minutes.

While they were recovering, Emma thought this might be the best time to discuss Henry. There were still conscious but shouldn't be able to fight back, right? And these guys probably knew something.

David obviously agreed, although his approach was more subtle than the one Emma had in mind. "So we're looking for a boy, about ten years old. He may have been brought in by two adults, a man and a woman?"

But Emma never liked subtle. She wanted to know where her son was now. "Where. Is. Henry?" the blonde demanded.

One of the Lost Boys laughed as he stood up. His wounds had been completely healed. "I'm right here…Mom!" he mocked. Then he pulled down his hood and looked directly at Emma. Staring back at her, looking just as evil and lost as the rest of them, was Henry.

The rest of the boys had also recovered from their injuries. Apparently if you were a Lost Boy on Neverland, magic would simply restore injuries after a few minutes. After they all looked the faces of the group, the boys decided they had done enough for a day. They flew off cackling more evilly than the sounds Regina made as Evil Queen.

And Emma, although they all agreed to stay together, couldn't take it anymore. Rescuing Henry was hard. Harder than she had ever thought it would be. Not only were they in a strange land with questionable allies, but they were all battling their own temptations constantly. Still, Emma had been willing to do all of that, if it meant rescuing Henry. But it never occurred to her that Henry might not want to be rescued.

So Emma ran to the beach where they had docked, crying. It was official. She had lost her son for good. Maybe they would let her spend the rest of her life here, lounging on the beach and eating wild berries. She'd make sure the Lost Boys understood she wouldn't get in their way. At least that way, she'd still be able to see Henry, sometimes, even if he wasn't really Henry anymore.

Causally, Emma took off her shoes and rubbed her feet in the sand. That felt good. Yes, at least this land had a beach. But Emma shook her head. Despite what the island's seductions tried to tell her, a beach was no substitute for having the real Henry in her life. First Neal, now Henry, would it ever stop? She buried her face in her hands and began crying again.

Suddenly Emma felt David (or maybe it was Dad? Seriously, she was trying.) put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, this isn't over, you know."

"What do you mean?" Emma snapped. "He's a Lost Boy now! He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. He doesn't want any of us! He's got magic now, brothers, and adventure! What more could he want?"

"How about a mother?" David replied "Or a family? Isn't that what you wanted for twenty-eight years, no matter how much you told yourself otherwise?"

He had a point. No matter how much Emma had told herself she was better off alone, at the end of the day, Emma desperately wanted to find her family. Still…"But if that were true, why did he fly off with the Lost Boys?"

David (she really needed to work on calling him Dad) sighed. "I have a theory about that. We've all discovered Neverland is full of temptations designed to seduce you away from what's important, right?"

Emma nodded.

"So, isn't that probably what Henry's going through? We just need to help him fight it!"

Emma shook her head. He always seemed to have so much confidence in everything. That's not the way her life worked. "But even if that was true, he should still be able to resist joining them permanently! And did you hear that laugh? No, he's gone for good." She sighed. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I sent him away as a baby, so I never had much influence on him. Regina raised him, so it was only a matter of time before he turned dark."

Suddenly, she looked at David, her father as she realized what she had said. I sent him away as a baby, so I never had much influence on him. Was she implying sending a child away was a direct result of turning to the dark side? Like her parents did? "Oh…um…I didn't mean…." She tried to apologize.

He waved her off. "Don't worry I know what you meant. But if that were true, he would have been evil when you met him, not the boy who wanted you to come to Storybrooke to break the curse. As far as why Henry appears to be "on the dark side," now, I don't know. It might be because he's still a child. Neverland is supposed to be a place for children, after all."

Emma nodded skeptically. "Okay, but even if that's true, how does that help us get him to be our Henry again?"

David (Dad! She needed to try to call him Dad!) smiled at him. "I've had experience with bring a person on the "dark side" back to who they really are. You need to show that person that you love them, even if they don't want hear it. You need to tell him you love him, even though he won't want to hear it. We all do. Let's find him and talk to him. We'll all show him love."

Emma thought the theory sounded a little far-fetched, but it was still better than accepting Henry would never be Henry again. And hadn't they beaten impossible odds before? She stood up. "Hey, thanks…Dad." She smiled at him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

David agreed with the others that looking for the Lost Boys was pointless, now that they knew Henry was among them. Henry would see it as an attack. And they had to be very careful not to attack any of the boys this time. Henry would never learn to trust his family again if they kept attacking him and his…brothers. They would wait until the Lost Boys found them again, figuring they would find their group at night, as the boys had before.

So they waited. And waited. And waited. All the while, they tried to resist temptations of power of magic competitions, killing each other, and the like. At least if he and Snow wanted to be intimate (which they did all the time), they were able do so privately today, as they were not required to look for Henry. However, David and Snow eventually ran out of stamina for that. They spent the rest of the day attached at the lip and tongue, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

Now, however it was night. Supper was done, so where were those Lost Boys? What if they didn't come tonight after all?

Suddenly they heard that evil cackling again in the distance. All of them stood up slowly. They needed to be careful. While they wanted to stand their ground, they didn't want to make Henry mistrust them more than he apparently already did.

The Lost Boys slowly came into view, talking amongst themselves. "Shadow says they must be gone by tonight or else," David heard from the leader. The others nodded. Interesting, he thought to himself. The leader of these "Lost Boys" still answered to someone else. That could be important to know later.

As the Lost Boys flew into full view, David and everyone in their group made a big show of dropping their weapons and holding their empty hands up. "We're not here to hurt you, Henry…or you're…friends."

"Great!" the Lost Boys replied. "Then we'll have even less trouble killing you then!" With that all the Lost Boys flew straight at the group with swords. All of them were stabbed. Some were hit in the shoulder, some in the leg, and Hook was hit in the foot.

As Gold moved to use magic to heal his injuries, Charming grabbed him and shook his head. "You can't do that. We have to appear as non-threatening as possible!" he whispered. "That means making sure Henry and the rest of the Lost Boys know we are willing to be attacked and not fight back."

Gold shook his head. "I'm not fighting back, Prince" he whispered back sarcastically. "I'm just healing myself!" He moved to heal with magic again.

But David stopped him again, as he hissed in pain. "No! Any use of magic, even just healing, will be seen as a potential for attack to them… To Henry," he added. "This has to be done very carefully," and under his breath he added, "I've done this before, thanks to you." Gold sighed, looking disgusted, but eventually put his hand down.

As the Lost Boys prepared to stab them again, Charming called out, "You're getting really good with a sword, Henry! I remember all the times we practiced together!" Talking about their pasts hadn't worked with Snow at all, but he figured it was worth a shot with Henry. After all, if he remembered Emma as his mother, he must remember other things, right?"

For a second, something seemed to flash in Henry's eyes. It was working! Then Henry's face turned evil again. "Yeah, and I remember all the times you wanted to kill my adoptive mother, too!" Henry raised his sword again and aimed it at his grandfather's head.

Charming gulped but remembered his advice to Gold. They could not appear on the offensive at all. That meant letting his grandson slice off his head if he had to, just as he had been prepared for Snow's arrow to kill him.

Snow looked horrified at the situation. Charming knew she wanted a way to save him and Henry, at the same time. She called out, "You were right Henry. We never should have tried to kill Regina. That's not the way good people behave. And you knew how we were supposed to behave, didn't you? Because of the book I gave you? You know Henry, you're the one who figured out what was going on in Storybrooke under the curse. You saved us, just as much as Emma did."

Something in Henry's eyes flashed again for a second. This was working! Henry was going to be Henry again! They just had to keep reminding him of whom he was and ways they showed their love for him. Then Henry aimed his sword at Regina. "Oh yes, the curse. I remember that. I was the only one who knew what was going on. And you made sure no one listened to me!"

Regina looked scarred. Several times she seemed ready to use magic but seemed to think better of it. "You were right Henry; I never should have made everyone think you were crazy. But you know what? You make me want to be good again. I'm not attacking your grandparents or the rest of the town, because of you." She glanced at the gash on her leg. Oh that hurt! Would it really be a problem to heal herself? Since when had Regina actually listened to the Prince, anyway? She looked at Henry. Since it was about getting Henry back, of course.

Something in Henry's eyes flashed again, this time battling for control. Then he aimed his sword at Emma. "What about you, Mom?" He said the word mockingly again, as he had the night before.

You tried to kill my other Mom too! And you lied to me about my father!"

Emma appeared to understand what she was supposed to do, now. She stood up as she moaned in pain, gosh standing after being stabbed in the foot really hurt! But she needed to allow Henry to have a good shot at hitting her, but talked to him so maybe he wouldn't attack her. "I know Henry, and I'm sorry about that. But I saved your other Mom, too by helping her with the failsafe. I let you spend time with your father before he…was gone. And I tried to save him, Henry! I did!" Her voice almost broke as she thought about Neal. But then she seemed to remember saving Henry.

"But Henry, what about all the good times we've had? We read the book together; we got ice cream, we shared a room! Because I love you, Henry. And that means I want to spend time with you. You know what? I'd even spend time with you if you wanted to stay here."

This time, Henry seemed to really struggle with his dark side. Several times he almost put down his sword. As he was doing so, Gold spoke up. "You know, you're my grandson, now too Henry. I know I have a dark past, but I'd like to think I can get past that, too because of you. I lost Bae because of the dark side, so maybe I can make that I up with you. I hope so, but you'll have to help me. Can you do that?"

At that, Henry finally put down the sword landed among them. Among his family. He took off his black hooded outfit and gave them all hugs. "Thank you for bringing me back!"

The rest of the Lost Boys, however were less than pleased with this result. "You were supposed to dispose of them, newcomer," they snarled. "You belong to Shadow now, which means you're one of us. You can't leave!"

The rest of the Lost Boys moved to attack the group again. The group raised weapons the best they could despite their wounds now that they had Henry back. The Leader of the Lost Boys, however, seemed to be struggling with something himself as he moved to attack. He focused on Gold, with his sword out. "Papa!" he snarled.

Gold was so shocked he fainted, whispering "Bae!" as he hit the ground.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emma was close to fainting herself. The shocks just kept coming. First Henry had been one of the Lost Boys, now Neal too? How was that even possible? Even though he looked a little older than the others, he obviously wasn't an adult. Still, one thing was certain. If the leader of the Lost Boys really was Neal, there was no way she could kill him. She put down the sword and the gun again.

However, the rest of their allies continued to aim their weapons at the Lost Boys. The Lost Boys also continued to attack with swords and magic. The battle was getting bloodier by the minute on both sides. How was she going to prevent Neal from getting killed? Was it even worth it?

Emma recalled what her parents had encouraged her to save Regina in Storybrooke. She recalled what they had just done for Henry. That's what she needed now. The strength, the belief her parents had that things would be okay if she made the right decision. Could she really do this? She took a deep breath and yelled, "No! That's Neal up there! I don't know how or why but it's him! Henry's father! I thought I lost him before but I won't lose him again!"

Everyone paused for a minute, thinking about this. Regina shook her head. "But that doesn't change the fact that they're still trying to kill us. We're just defending ourselves." Everyone else nodded in agreement, although David and Mary Margaret did some more reluctantly.

But Henry screamed, "No! How many times do I have to tell you guys not to kill people in my family? That's my father! If you brought me back, couldn't you bring him back, too?"

Emma had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. Whatever magic was controlling Neal was stronger, since it also changed him back into a child. But she still couldn't see him killed. Still, Henry's pleas seemed to work, as the rest of the group put down their weapons as well.

Still, Henry was right. Talking had worked on Henry. What could it hurt to try? "Neal! Come back to us! Your son needs you! I need you! I…love you, Neal."

Neal, the leader of the Lost Boys, looked at her in confusion. "Who's Neal! You must be trying to trick me like you did that other boy! To take me away from my family! The Shadow will not be pleased." Then he aimed his sword directly at Emma. Fortunately, she was able to dodge it that time. Well, that was the end of that idea. She knew it probably wouldn't work anyway. But why did she have to keep realizing she loved Neal only to lose him all over again?

Hook tried to get up and moaned in pain. "We should probably try to – ouch – get back to the Jolly Roger. If we can make it before tomorrow night, we should be safe." Everyone else nodded in agreement, including Emma. While she couldn't kill or watch Neal be killed, she didn't think they could save him without risking Henry. That was not something she was willing to do. And that was if they could save Neal in the first place, which she doubted.

Just then, Gold finally woke up. "Bae! That was Bae!"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I heard. I still don't understand how, but...Anyway we agreed not to kill him, but we have to get off this island before him and the rest of the Lost Boys come back tomorrow night to kill us and Henry."

Gold nodded, still apparently recovering from shock.

David (Dad! He was Dad!) announced, "Okay, but if we're going to get back to the Jolly Roger we all need to have these wounds treated first. Gold, can you heal?"

He shook his head. "I'm not strong enough yet."

Reluctantly, David (Dad! Dad! Dad!) looked at Regina, who also shook her head. "Then we need to find some materials here. Anyone got alcohol on them?"

Everyone was quiet for a second. Just when Emma was going to ask what other options they had in Neverland, Hook sighed and held up a small bottle. "I don't think it will be enough for everyone, though mate. Maybe I should use it first, considering more than half of mine are from you, mate!"

David (No, Dad!) sighed. "Listen, this isn't really the time to get into this, 'mate.' None of us are going to be able to get back to your ship in time without proper treatment, okay? Everyone, just use a little on their biggest cuts and we should have enough."

They all did so, then Mary Margaret and David (Mom and Dad! Could she get used to that?) showed everyone how to bandage wounds with leaves and their own clothing. Regrettably, by then, everyone was exhausted. Though they needed to return to the Jolly Roger as soon as possible, they all agreed they needed sleep more.

The next day, they all got up and ate some more berries, eager to be on their way. The good news was that Gold, Regina, and even Emma were able to heal everyone's wounds with magic. Unfortunately, the temptations they all faced in Neverland returned, now that they were no longer fighting the Lost Boys. Gold and Regina continued their magical competitions. Hook still didn't seem to care about anything except ridicule and lusting after the women. Emma's parents continued making out every time she turned around and did more than that sometimes as well. Her father still bruised Hook and Regina on a regular basis. Emma still became overwhelmed and depressed and wanted to give up, especially after losing Neal all over again.

To make matters worse, now Henry was with them and under Neverland's evil spell, too. They constantly had to reassure him they did love him, that they were sorry for trying to kill each other, for lying to him, and for leaving Neal behind. Several times he threatened to return to the Lost Boys that night. Once he even tried to run away.

The result was they were not able to get to the Jolly Roger by nightfall. They considered making a run for it, but decided since they didn't know the land well, that could be disastrous. What if they got lost? Maybe they could hide from the Lost Boys, or at least hide Henry.

Gold, however, was having second thoughts about leaving without trying to talk to his son again. "I waited centuries to find my son! Centuries! And I got what, a month with him when he wouldn't even talk to me? Why couldn't we try again?"

Emma shook her head. "I tried that last night. He doesn't remember anything. I don't want to leave him, either but I'm not putting Henry in the middle of a battle again!" Then she added, thoughtfully, "What I don't understand is why he's suddenly a child again. I mean, I know he fell through a portal, so he could've come here that way, but how does that make him a kid?"

Everyone shrugged. Henry's inquisitive mind however, contemplated it for a few minutes. "He's been here before! Remember how he was able to steer the ship, Mom? And he told me 'Neverland isn't what you think it is.' So if he's been here before, maybe that's what caused him to change into a kid?"

Everyone nodded. Henry's theory made as much sense as anything else. "But if that's the case, he left once before, too. Couldn't he do the same thing again?" Gold asked, pleading.

David shook his head. "He's forgotten his memories. That's more complicated. He won't turn back into an adult and leave until he remembers. And the only one who could restore them would be..." He took a deep breath. "Emma."

Emma shook her head, "Why? Because of the whole 'savior' thing again? Well, like I said. I tried that last night, and it didn't work. I'm not happy about it, but there's nothing we can do."

David shook his head again, "No, Emma that's not what I meant. It's just…last night you told Neal you loved him. Did you mean it or were you just trying to get him to stop attacking?"

"Yes, I meant it," Emma stared at the ground, hating to admit that fact. "But it still didn't help, remember?"

David took a deep breath, "No there is a way you can restore him. But you see it has to be you. And actually Gold, or ratherRumpelstiltskin would know that, wouldn't you? Because what restores memories, Rumplestiltskin especially when someone has darkness?" He was speaking with increasing hostility towards Gold. Emma had a feeling that there was a specific memory he was referring to that involved him Gold, and her mother. And not a pleasant one.

Gold nodded understanding and replied, "true love's kiss."

Emma nodded. "You have to be kidding. How am I supposed to kiss someone who flies around with a sword trying to kill me?"

"You have to get him to see the person he fell in love with, Emma," Gold replied. "And then he'll come back to us."

"Although, word of warning," Mary Margaret added, "Don't try to kiss him. It'll just make him angrier. Make him want to kiss you." She glanced at David and smirked as she said that, and he smiled back at her. There was a story in there about them. She wondered if it was in Henry's book. Maybe she'd read it when she got home.

In the meantime, could she do this? Convince Neal to kiss her? The price for failing meant her death, and possibly the death of the rest of the group. Still what was the price for not trying? Gold would be angry, and he could be scary when he was angry. Henry would lose a father. And she would lose the only man she ever loved, all over again. Besides, they were stuck on the island again. Who was to say the Lost Boys wouldn't find them again. If she did it this way, they could hide Henry while the boys concentrated on her.

"Okay," she agreed. "How does this work again?"

"Well" David said slowly, "How did it happen the first time?" He appeared to be uncomfortable with the question. Emma realized this was still her father talking. And her Dad didn't really want to think about her his little girl involved in romances, although he was big enough to put that aside to help her get Neal back. She smiled at him.

However, Emma's past with Neal wasn't something she necessarily wanted to share with her parents. They had been thieves who ripped off convince stores, for goodness sakes! "Well..." she replied slowly. "It was sort of a partnership. We tried to take care of each other when no one else would."

Her Dad nodded. "Then that's what you need to do here."

Was he forgetting something? "Here, Neal is the leader of the Lost Boys. The only partnership he'd be interested in is how to kill my family. That's definitely not something I want."

"Well, we appreciate that, but there has to be something else you can help with. Talk to him, Emma. Find a new partnership," David said.

"Bae doesn't like magic, Emma. He never did. If you can get him to understand what Neverland's magic is…maybe that's your partnership. He must have left the island once. You can get him to do it again. For me…and for you," Gold added.

Emma took a deep breath and nodded. "We have to make sure we hide Henry, though."

Regina nodded. "I'll take care of him."

David (Dad! Hadn't she established this already?) bristled at Regina but nodded.

So they selected an area to wait for the Lost Boys, figuring they would find their group, just as they had the last two nights. Then they selected a part of the forest that was hidden by a ravine for Regina and Henry to hide.

Just as they predicted the Lost Boys, including their leader, soon appeared with swords outstretched toward their group. "This is it! Now you die!" They all exclaimed. "In the name of Shadow!" With that they attacked and everyone including Emma received another wound.

Emma stared at her arm. Gosh that hurt. Was she going to be able to finish her task before she bled to death? She knew she couldn't use magic to heal herself, even rudimentarily. Neal would never accept her if she did that.

As he and the Lost Boys flew up, getting ready to attack again, Emma knew this was her cue. She looked right at the one she knew was Neal and said, "Why are you using magic? I know you don't like magic. That's why your father left you, magic right?"

Just has Henry had the night before, Neal's eyes flashed for an instant. Then his face turned evil again. "That maybe now I work for Shadow, and he wants all of you dead!" He and the other Lost Boys slashed through all their skin again. This time Emma ended up with a wound on her other arm, although it wasn't quite so deep.

She sighed. This was never going to work. Who was Shadow, anyway? Maybe whoever controls all the seductive magic on the island? Could she get this Neal to understand that?

"Listen", she tried again. "This Shadow is controlling your thoughts. Making you believe you want to be here when I know you really don't. It's powerful, just like your father was. Is that really something you want to work for? Help me find a way off this island before your Shadow comes!"

Neal struggled with this idea for a minute. He looked at her. Then he looked at the rest of the Lost Boys. Finally he said, "Okay I'll try but we have to make it quick. If Shadow finds out I'm trying to leave, especially since I'm also working with you…I don't want to think about it." Then he took Emma's hand.

And with that, Neal and Emma were partners again.

"So what are we looking for and how can we find it in the dark?" Neal asked.

Good question. "Um…well, I've heard of enchanted trees being used as portals" Emma replied, thinking about the wardrobe from Fairy Tale Land. "Or maybe beans? I guess we'll just have to try our best."

"Okay, but how do we find an enchanted tree? Is it going to walk up and say hello?" Neal joked.

Emma laughed too. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed. Before Henry was kidnapped, definitely. But even before that, her life was so intense…did she laugh?

She walked around quietly, so not to call attention to the other Lost Boys or this "Shadow." Then she began feeling some of the trees. "I don't know. Maybe it's made out of silver or something?"

Neal grinned, feeling around the trees as well. "If it was made out of silver, maybe we could use it as a mirror! Just think, a vanity right in the middle of Neverland!"

Emma laughed at that, too doubling over, right on top of Neal. Gosh, he was so close. She looked at his face. Should she? But she remembered her mother's advice, "Let him kiss you." She supposed her mother was something of an expert on the whole True Love's Kiss thing. So she waited. And waited. Would he?

But Neal got up, saying "We need to get going. We've still got to find this portal before Shadow finds us."

She nodded. He was right.

So they continued looking for more enchanted trees, although neither had any idea what they would look like. There were beans, too, Emma knew, but they were so small she figured those would be impossible to find.

Then as Emma took another step, she tripped on a big root and hit the ground. "Ouch!" Then everything went black.

When she came to, Neal was cradling her in his arms. "Are you okay? Is it your arm? I'm sorry I did that! I can't believe I attacked you!" He was almost sobbing.

"Hey", she replied, "It's okay. I just got the wind knocked out of me when I hit that big root. My arm…well it still hurts, but I stopped the bleeding, so I think it'll be fine."

"Still," he caressed her arm softly, "It's hurting because of something I did. How can I make it up to you?"

"By finding that portal," Emma replied dryly.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But how about this?" With that, he kissed her.

As soon as they broke the kiss, Neal exclaimed "Emma!" and gave her a hug and another kiss.

Emma stared at Neal in disbelief. It had actually worked? She knew her father had said it would but…Emma had a hard time trusting thing like magic and True Love's Kiss. Still, now she had Neal back, and Henry had a Dad again.

"So, how's Henry?"

"Okay, I guess. Last night he was one of your 'Lost Boys' oddly enough, but we got him back, too. Regina's watching him well the others are dealing with the rest of the Lost Boys."

Neal nodded. "Can I see him?"

"Well…yes, but we've still got to find a way home! How did you get home when you were here before? You were here before, right?"

"Uh – huh", he replied, "but that was a long time ago. I don't know if I can remember…Beans! That's what it was! Beans!"

"Okay, do you remember where they were? Hopefully there's still some there."

"At the foot of one of these trees…" He looked around all of the trees they had just searched when they were looking for enchanted trees. Emma joined him.

"I don't know" Neal said much later. "I really can't remember. But I'm tired."

"Wait" Emma said. "What's that noise?" Yelling and screaming and cries of extreme pain could be heard in the distance. "Maybe the others could use some help.'

Neal nodded. "Come on. Let's go. Wait first," he paused and took of his dark "Lost Boy" cloak, which come to think of it, had shrunk considerably since he was an adult again.

Then they ran towards the battle. The Lost Boys had everyone beaten down by fatigue and injury, although the group still tried to attack anyway.

Emma and Neal were tired to, but at least they hadn't been fighting a battle. So Emma held out a sword and a gun, and took out some of the Lost Boys. Neal also tired to help by using a sword. As the Lost Boys paused to rejuvenate themselves again, they happened to look at the foot of a nearby tree. Beans!

Neal raced across the ground to grab one as Emma continued to battle the Lost Boys. She was almost able to declare victory when a presence appeared, darker than the Lost Boys, and Cora combined. This must be Shadow. Emma gulped. It wasn't human! How was she supposed to fight it? With magic? She didn't know how!

As Emma tried to summon her magic, Henry suddenly appeared. "I can help! I can! And you need help!" He had obviously run away from Regina.

Under the circumstances, Neal decided there was only one thing to do. He threw one of the magic beans on the ground and grabbed Henry. Then he jumped in. The rest of the party were able to make it to the portal as well, despite their flesh wounds as well as Regina, who came out of their hiding place screaming, "Henry!"

Except David and Mary Margaret that is. David was unconscious, and Mary Margaret wouldn't leave him. "Why is this always happening to us?" she sobbed over his body.

Emma eyed the Shadow as it came closer. "Listen, I think I can heal him with magic, but you've got to get out of here before the portal closes, okay? I need you to help me protect Henry."

"But then you'll both be stuck here Emma!" Mary Margaret shrieked.

"No! There are more beans! Now go! What happened to that faith you're always talking about?

Mary Margaret looked at Emma and David again, with her face broken. Then she ran off to the portal and jumped in just before it closed.

Okay, so how was she supposed to defeat Shadow on her own? She was the least experienced in magic among their group. Still, she had defeated Cora on her own back in the Enchanted Forest. How did she do that? She thought about how she had to protect David, who was unconscious. Because she had promised her mother. Because she couldn't let her father die. Because he had showed her how to get Neal back.

Then she raised her hands and aimed them at the Shadow.

Nothing happened except the Shadow came closer. Now what? The Shadow looked at her with deadly eyes. She thought about how much she loved her family again, and how they all gave her strength. Now she needed to be that strength. She shoved her hands at Shadow and it disappeared!

For now anyway. Cora had come back, so how soon would Shadow be back? What if she brought it to Storybrooke by mistake? She should get a portal open for her and David right away. But she had promised her mother she would heal him first! What if he died before they got home? Horrified, she tried healing him.

Nothing happened.

She thought about how much she loved her family and how much they loved David. She thought about how much she loved her Dad.

The healing began. Dad woke up, saying "Huh? Snow?"

"You'll see her in a minute. Can you get up? That Shadow may be coming back."

Dad did get up, although with difficulty. Apparently she hadn't healed all of his injuries. She grabbed a bean and they went through, although it was not easy, as Dad couldn't really jump.