I didn't know how long I was in Neverland. Time stood still there. I couldn't imagine what these poor lost boys on that island must have felt like. They seemed to have been there for centuries.

My dad once mentioned that Neverland was not what I thought it was. I wondered if my dad was ever in Neverland, and if he was, how did he get out?

Peter Pan wanted me to save magic. I was on the way to Skull Rock with him. He thought that I believed a word he said, but I could see right through the lying manipulator! I just didn't know what to do about it. He scared me. I had to pretend that I was falling for his antics, because everyone fell for his antics. I couldn't blame them of course, he was RALLY good at manipulation.

For example, Pan tried to convince me that no one loved me, because he wanted me to be able to hear his depressing music. He was very mad that I couldn't hear it. This is how he gets his boys to follow him. First he convinces them that they have no home with their parents, and then he becomes their only hope. When I woke up to a scuffle and heard my dad, Pan almost made me believe it was just a dream, and I almost lost hope. Then I remembered my book. Good always wins. My dad was good; of course he wouldn't just die because Tamara shot him.

My dad was there, I just knew it! I also knew that my moms were there, now that I saw them through the mirror they sent me. I was sorry I had to step on it and break it, but I couldn't let Peter Pan know that I was not totally his.

Now, there I was, on a rowboat with Peter Pan on the way to Skull Rock. I thought that my parents better hurry up.

AAAAA

AAAAAA

"What is this, amateur hour?" Regina couldn't believe how gullible and stupid her all powerful Dark One friend became. This island can have this effect on even the most powerful man she'd ever known, there's no hope for the rest of them!

"Did you really think that was Belle?"

Rumple looked uncharacteristically distracted and very annoyed. "Why are you here?" He demanded.

"Well, for starters, it appears I'm saving your ass. You were about to be Pan's lunch!"

Rumple had the decency to look embarrassed, "oh, what do you care," he mumbled.

"I care," Regina said, "because I've been camping with the Charmings for a week. We're getting nowhere. If I want to save Henry, I need you. I need Rumplestiltskin."

"Well, the problem, dearie" Rumple said, walking away from Regina and looking like he's been having a bad week, "is that Rumplestiltskin can only stop Pan by dying"

Regina thought this was a really funny joke. "We're the two most powerful people that ever lived!" she said incredulously, "the Evil Queen and the Dark One? I'm sure we could handle one smug teenager."

Rumple was getting REALLY annoyed. He turned to her angrily and shouted, "you've never faced him! I have! And I know what killing him requires. My life."

Regina looked at him and saw the truth in his eyes. She realized that this was no joke. Whoever this teenager is, he is much more powerful than he looks.

"Well," Regina sighed, "if that's the case, maybe we don't have to kill him. Maybe we can just take away his magic? Did you being that cuff? The one Greg and Tamara used on me."

"It's back in my shop," Rumple said regretfully.

"Why didn't you bring it?" Regina asked slapping him playfully on his shoulder.

"Because I came here to kill him,"Rumple admitted, "and die in the process."

Regina scoffed, "I could have told you that wasn't going to happen. I know you and your survival instincts."

"Some of them just kicked in." Gold mumbled.

"Good," Regina said, relieved. He was really starting to worry her with his unusual doom and gloom attitude, "now all we have to do is go back to your shop, pick up that cuff and all our problems will be solved."

"Travel between realms. Is that all," Gold asked sarcastically.

Regina led him to the water where she called Ariel for help.

AAAAAAA

AAAAAAAA

We reached the cave and went inside. I saw Pan enchanting the entrance and hoped my moms could find a way to get through in time. I could see rowboats approaching from far. It could be my family coming to save me. Pan saw it too, I guess, because he told me to wait by the big rock. He said he had to do something. Right. He probably had to stop my family from saving me. He is scary, but he's just a kid. I hoped the adults in the party would overcome him.

Pan has a way of blocking people out from one another. His magic is really powerful. So when he made me wait by the rock I thought I'd be able to follow him and see what he does. Somehow, he managed to disappear while walking towards the entrance of the cave.

I didn't give up, though. I strained my ears and wished with all my might that I could see what's going on. And then I saw them. Mr. Gold came for me. I was really surprised, but I guessed that my moms made him come with them.

Mr. Gold was holding the magic cuff that my mom had on, the one that took away her magic. He also held a straw doll. I thought it was weird. But Mr. Gold looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but here. His face looked like he was about to meet the principal after causing trouble in school. He looked scared and also very sad.

Suddenly I got worried. I remembered something that I thought was a dream. Before waking up to that sound of my dad yelling for me, I heard a conversation between my dad and Mr. Gold. Something about a prophacy, my dad was afraid that Mr. Gold wanted to kill me. I wasn't sure that it was so serious. I mean, I've known Mr. Gold my whole life, and he never looked like he wanted to kill ME. He seemed to like me. I kind of liked him too.

It could be that Pan just manipulated my dad to believe that. It seems that Pan really likes it when parents and children don't get along.

"Hello, Laddie," Pan greeted Mr. Gold.

laddie? why is this teen calling Mr. Gold laddie?

Mr. Gold did not waste any time. He snapped the cuff on Pan's wrist before Pan could blink.

"Aw, you took away my magic," Pan mocked.

"Where's Henry?" Mr. Gold asked. He didn't seem to want to talk to Pan.

"Henry," Pan sneered, "oh, he wants to be a hero, but he is just like you. A snivelling coward."

"He is nothing like me. Henry is brave and smart and good like his parents. He has a whole family who loves him." Mr. Gold advanced towards Pan. "Where is he?" He demanded.

"All in good time," Pan taunted, "I see you didn't tell anyone that I'm your father."

'you're his what?' I thought. I couldn't believe my ears. How could this, this kid be anyone's father?

"I didn't want Baelfire to know." Mr. Gold looked flustered.

"You didn't want them to know how alike the two of us are, did you?" Pan helped.

Mr. Gold looked down, ashamed.

"Neither of us were cut out to be a father, you know. You traded your son for the power of the dagger, and I traded you for youth." Pan jeered.

"I regretted it the second I let go of his hand!" Mr. Gold said angrily, "I spent every moment of my life since to try and find him. You just forgot about me."

I was shell shocked. I couldn't believe they were father and son! In the back of my mind I understood that this makes Pan my great grandfather, but at the time I didn't even want to think about that. It was all so awful, and I just kept watching them, listening.

"I didn't forget about you," Pan laughed, "Why do you think I call myself Peter Pan?"

That was it. I HAD to know more about this.

Just as I WISHED I knew something more about all of it, I could suddenly see Mr. Gold's thoughts. I saw a memory that he was reliving at that moment, and I suddenly knew the whole story. I knew about the doll that his papa gave him, I knew he named it Peter Pan, I knew how he lost it when it dropped on the Neverland ground because his papa shook little baby Rumple off of his sleeve and sent him with the monstrous shadow. I also knew about how my own dad was pulling Mr. Gold into the portal - the same kind of portal he used with his father to get to Neverland. I knew that it was Mr. Gold holding onto Baelfire's hand, and I wondered if he noticed the difference between these two memories.

Why did he feel that he was exactly like his father? I knew he felt it because I could still read his mind.

"So you took away my magic, now you're standing around, not trying to kill me because you want to hear what I think about you? you want me to look at my son and think about what might have been?"

Peter Pan knew Mr. Gold too well. I felt sorry for Mr. Gold because he looked so pathetic, waiting for his papa to acknowledge him. I almost came out of my hiding place and stopped Pan. I was scared for Mr. Gold, because he was only going to be hurt more by this.

"I remember looking at you... the littlest babe. Helpless and all mine. Those big, big eyes full of tears... pulling at me... pulling away my name, my money, my time. Pulling away any hope of making my life into something better for myself." Pan said Vehemently, "This pink, naked, squirming little larva that wanted to eat my dreams alive and never stop! How old are you now? A couple hundred? Can't I be free of you?"

I never saw this much hate on anyone's face. I never knew a father could hate his son so much.

Mr. Gold looked as sad as I expected when he made a ball of fire in his hand and said, "oh, you will."

Mr. Gold didn't seem to want to throw that fire on Pan. He took too long just pointing the fire at him.

Suddenly Pan smiled the most unnerving smile that made Mr. Gold step backwards.

"Then, one last lesson, son. Never make a cage you can't get out of." Peter Pan ripped off the cuff from his wrist as easily as if it were just a bracelet. Mr. Gold looked shocked, but he didn't move. "I made this thing, you know. Doesn't work on me. But on you..." Pan magically put the cuff on Mr. Gold's wrist,and Mr. Gold's face broke into the most fearful expression I ever saw on anyone.

I suddenly had a terrible feeling of doom as Pan threw Mr. Gold across the cave, saying, "down, boy," I couldn't believe how a father could talk to his son that way; like he's a dog. Mr. Gold tried to stand up but Pan kicked him down again and sniped at him, "let's see how you do without magic."

Mr. Gold tried to pull the cuff off of his wrist as Pan advanced on him, spitting, "You're nothing but a useless coward. Everyone hates you. Your family will never forgive you for all the horrible things you've done." Pan emphasized the word horrible like a bully talking to a gullible child, who thinks he did something horrible by mistakenly breaking a cheap toy or something. I started to wonder what kind of horrible things the dark one could have done. Nothing worse than what Pan was doing right at that moment, I was sure.

"Belle doesn't hate me," Gold whimpered as Pan kicked him down again.

Pan scoffed, "Belle? It's too late. because of their special meaning to you, I'm going to kill Belle and your son! Right after Henry gives me his heart, and you," Pan hissed, "You'll just watch helplessly, because you're back to where you always were: the village coward."

A part of me wanted to move in to help my grandpa Gold, but I was rooted to the ground by shock and fear.

I watched Pan walk away and I knew he was going to find me and talk me into giving him my heart.

He came around towards me and his face looked so calm and his voice so sweet and innocent when he told me it was time, that I almost believed that what I saw back at the giant hourglass was just my imagination. Pan looked like the nicest boy who only wants to help me be a hero.

He waved his hand over mine and made it glow, telling me that now I'd be able to take my heart out and give it to him. I knew that there was no way anyone could come and save me. I almost did as I was told, when my grandpa Gold slapped his hand hard on Pan's shoulder and shoved him away from me.

"Stay away from him," my grandpa said harshly.

Peter Pan literally laughed in his face. I agreed with Pan, as much as I hated to. My grandpa Gold was powerless. He couldn't do anything about any of this.

"The worm has teeth," Pan joked, "are you here to pwotect your gwand son?"

"Henry, you'd better run. your parents are here. All of them. They will take you home."

"Why would Henry want to run?" Pan laughed, "We're friends, aren't we?" Pan looked at me and smiled.

I looked back at Pan. The image of innocence. Then I turned to grandpa Gold, "why didn't you tell my dad who Peter Pan is?"

Mr. Gold looked confused for a second and then when realization hit him, that I must have seen what happened, he looked extremely embarrassed. "Tell your father that I used the curse to find him; to tell him that I made a mistake; and to make sure that he has a chance at happiness."

Mr. Gold didn't answer my question, but I felt like it wouldn't be polite to insist he talk about something that caused him so much distress. I looked at Mr. Gold, "Tell him yourself," I said.

"Also," my grandpa Gold took a scroll out of his pocket, "I meant to give this to Emma. this is the recipe that I made for the elixir that will heal your grandpa Charming from the dreamshade."

I took it. "Keep it safe," he said, "and tell Bae that I love him. And Belle... Tell her I love her, and that she made me stronger."

I did not like where this was going, but Pan seemed to find it all very funny.

"Now, run, Henry. you'll get home, I promise. Run and don't look back."

the urgency in his voice and body language made me realize that whatever he thought he was doing, It depended on me running to my parents. I started running. I heard Peter Pan's laughter echo through the cave and decided to look back for just a second.

I saw a shadow fly towards My grandfather and Pan, but it wasn't the regular shadow. this one looked different, and it was holding the Dark One's dagger. It attached itself to my grandfather and Pan. For the first time, Pan looked fearful.

"Henry can't run too far. This is my island. I immobilized everyone in it, so they're all mine, as long as I'm alive, and I know you can't kill me." Pan said.

I tried to move, and when I couldn't, I realized that Pan was telling the truth.

Grandpa Gold did not answer. He held Pan and lifted his dagger.

"What are you doing?" Pan looked really scared, now.

"You see, the only way for you to die, is if we both die. And now, I'm ready."

My grandpa stabbed Pan and himself with the dagger and Pan panicked.

"No, you can't do that!" He shouted at a black cloud turned him back into an adult. I recognized this adult from the memories I saw.

Grandpa Gold said, "Hello, papa."

His father looked terrified. Please, Rumple," he begged, "You're the dark one. you can't end the darkness. Do you know what will happen to you?"

"I'm sure that I do," My grandfather said, pointing to his head.

I understood what he meant. All the former dark Ones were probably giving him the same warning. When I saw into his thoughts I understood the struggle that he was constantly having with the darkness.

Pan did not give up. "You will be in the underworld! Not just the underworld, but a special place in there - where you will wish the stories of fire and brimstone were true! You will wish for death and then the realization will hit that you are already dead and that this fresh torture is all you'll have left!"

"It's the price I am finally willing to pay." My grandfather said fiercely.

"Just remove the dagger! You can live! We can have a happy ending -"

"Oh, but I'm a villain," my grandpa said to Pan sadly, "and villains don't get happy endings."

He twisted the dagger deeper into himself and a brilliant light shone out of him. His father was shaking with fear, and I saw my grandpa kiss his father right before they both exploded into a million shiny pieces. During the explosion, I saw the dagger fall to the ground.

A sudden wind blew and I knew instinctively that I had less than a second to grab onto the fallen dagger before Neverland would disappear and I'll be at home. It was still warm from my grandpa Gold's hand.

A second later, I was standing with my whole family in the middle of Storybrooke.