"Well that was fun," Regina muttered, once the ship at steadied itself, "Now then, how long until we get to Neverland?"

"Don't be so quick to jump into the fray You Majesty," Rumplestiltskin muttered

"Excuse me? My son is trapped on that island, and I'll do whatever I have to get him back," Regain bit back savagely

"He's right Regina," Hood said from the helm, "Neverland's nothing like you've ever encountered before, you run in there head first and no amount of magic will save you."

"Then how about you tell us what we're up against," Emma interjected, "You've been here before, you managed to get out somehow."

"Aye I managed to leave, but that was only with Pan's consent, no one has ever left this island without Pan's say so…well, except one person, a young man by the name of Baelfire."

"Bae?" Rumple said, grief in his voice, "Bae came to this island."

"Aye, he was part of my crew for a while, before the Lost Boys came for him. Then he was one of them for a while," Hook's face darkened, "I remember the day that he escaped, Pan's rage fuelled a storm like I'd never seen before, waves reached over fifty feet."

"Sounds like fun," Snow muttered sarcastically, "So, once we get there, we figure out how he got off, and that's our escape plan. But, to go back to Regina's first question, how long until we get there?"

"Not too much longer," David said quietly.

Everyone followed her gaze to the sight of a single island in the distance. There was something…off about it, for brief moments it seemed to flicker in and out of existence. Then suddenly, it stopped, and they all got a clear look at it. There was a mountain at the island's center, one that reached up towards the sky itself, and all around it was jungle.

"Oh, that's not good," Hook groaned

"Why not?" Emma asked

"That flickering was one of the island's defenses," Rumple answered, "Pan's lowered them…in expectation of guests."

"He knows we're coming," David said, still staring at the island

"Good," Regina said, "Let him sweat."

"David," Snow said, walking up to her husband, "Are you alright?"

"I-yes, it's just…I feel like I've been here before."

"You probably have," Rumple said, "Young boys find their way to this island in their dreams. Here they play, they dance, and they go wild until the dawn comes, and they return to the waking world, with naught but a smile on their face to tell them of their adventures."

"Sounds like you've had some experience as well," David noted.

"Of a sorts," Rumple said in response, his tone making it clear he didn't want to discuss it further, "If Peter Pan knows we're coming, we'd best be prepared, we'll be meeting his welcome party soon."

As if in response to that, the boat lurched to the side, as if something was pushing at it from bellow the ship.

"Mermaids!" Hook hollered, "They're trying to sink us!"

David ran over and grabbed a harpoon, looking for something to hit. He saw a face pop out of the water, a young woman who winked at him, before opening her mouth and beginning to sing, just loud enough for David to hear.

Everything began to fade away, like the threads that formed the tapestry of his life had all been cut. Nothing seemed to matter, not the fight, the ship, not even Snow, Emma, Henry. Just the song, the beautiful, haunting song. He had to get closer to it, its source. He began moving forward, preparing to jump off of the ship and into the ocean when a fireball flew overhead and lit the surface of the ocean alight.

David fell to the ground, feeling disoriented, "What?" He asked quietly

"Don't yourself hear their songs!" Rumple yelled, "They'll draw you into the deep and drown you!"

The air around the Dark One cracked with power as he called on his powers. He was not going to lose here, he had put this off for too long, he would see it through.

Rumple thrust his hands into the sky and a ball of flame flew into the sky and then stopped, hovering several feel above the ship. Then fire began to rain into the waters. Shooting forth from the first fireball, they fell into the ocean, exploding as they touched the surface.

Screams ripped through the night as the mermaids retreated, swimming away from the flame.

Once they were gone, the fires died.

Everyone looked toward Rumplestiltskin, of all of them, only Regina had seen a true display of his power before, and even then, she had never seen him use it in such anger and…fear?

Rumple walked forward, facing the island, and bit out the words "Not enough,"

There was a slight breeze, and a sound of a slight chuckle accompanying it.

"He's laughing at us," Emma said, anger on her face, "This is what, a game to him?"

"Everything is a game to him," Both Hook and Rumple said at the same time.

"So I take it," David said after a few moments, lifting himself up, "that that was our welcome party?"

Hook nodded, "The mermaids in these parts…they fancy Peter Pan, they wouldn't mind performing a few favours for him."

"So he asked them to try to kill us"

"No," Hook said, a grim smile on his lips, "He asked them not to. They enjoy dragging ships under."

"We're wasting time," Regina said, "Every second we waste here is a second more he has his hands on Henry."

"Agreed," Emma said, "Hook, can you get more speed out of this thing."

Hook nodded.


The Frontlands 588 BDC

Malcolm downed his drink in one gulp, staring at a drawing of his dead wife.

He heard crying from the other room, crying that belonged to his four year old son; Rumplestiltskin.

"Quiet boy!" Malcolm bellowed drunkenly, "No one has time for your sobs!"

In his bedroom, Rumple did his best to silence himself, but he still shivered, reeling from the nightmare. The door to his room opened, and his big brother came walking in.

Peter Pan sat on the bed, and pulled Rumple into a hug.

"What happened Rumple?" Peter asked, holding his brother close.

"I had a nightmare," Rumple whispered

"Well, we'll just have to make that nightmare go away, won't we?
Peter thought for a few moments, before an idea came to his mind, "I'll tell you a story, about a place where imagination runs wild, and everyone has fun all day and night, a place for only kids like you and me, where they are no grownups."

"What's it called?" Rumple asked, turning to face his brother.

Peter Pan thought for a few moments, before a name came to him, "Neverland."