AN: Thanks so much for the feedback on the first chapter! It means a lot, and it's encouraged me to expand on what I'd already planned for this, what I'd intended to be much shorter than Isle of Thorns. It won't turn out being as long as twenty-something chapters, but maybe ten. Maybe a little less. We'll just have to see!

~Isle of the Lost~

Part II: The Labyrinth

It was nearly nightfall when Peter and Belle stopped to make camp within the shadow of large boulders, letting the thick trees and forest shrubs conceal them. Lumierre assisted them with building a small fire, and they ate what little Belle had been able to scrounge from the Dark One's castle before leaving that morning. They were still half a day's walk from Sherwood Forest, and it was all Peter could do not to shout in frustration at the near sedentary pace. He missed flying, missed being able to be anywhere upon his island with a mere thought.

There was a great deal he missed.

But there is a little of my power that yet exists, he mentally rationalized. It just needs to be…built up again.

He had felt it. And it was rejuvenating, that rush of cool water, that burst of light among hollow darkness that had momentarily filled him.

"What will you do now?" Belle asked, bringing him out of his thoughts and his silent vigil of the fire. He gave her a cursory glance.

"What concern is it of yours?" Her expression turned peeved at the brush off, and he restrained a smirk.

"Will you be coming with me, to see the others? I…they need to know what happened."

He raised a brow.

"To willingly address the Evil Queen and an entire town of people who would be so very happy to see my head on a stake?" Peter gave a patronizing look. "I am not so utterly stupid."

Belle fully glared at him now.

"And how do you expect to find Wendy?" she asked bluntly. He paused. As much as he would never admit it, this was a valid thought. No matter how appealing the idea, even if he managed to find the Witch, taking her on by himself was less than ideal. The odds of him surviving and getting the information he sought was…not particularly high.

"The Prince and Snow White would never condone killing you, not after the deal you made with Rumpelstiltskin," she said. More likely, it would be him no longer being a threat that would sway their decision. "They would not let Regina kill you."

"You want me to ask for their help," he said flatly. She gave him a pointed look.

"Right, because I suppose you have other plans." His silence was enough of an answer, but he inwardly cursed his own weakness, and this girl for exploiting it. He was already losing his touch by allowing it.

"Despite what you think of me, I'm not so naïve," she said, ignoring his raised brow of doubt, "I know of you, what you've done. What you are capable of. And they know it too."

Not were, are, he noted, and he involuntarily smirked a bit at the acknowledgment.

"But I also know that you need help," she continued. "And so do we if we are to defeat Zelena."

Realization made him regard her with new light.

"Ah, you think their Majesties and I will be able to come to an agreement."

"With the right push."

Peter took a moment to consider her words. He counted it a testament to how far he'd fallen. How weak he'd become, if he was seriously considering this.

"What did you have in mind?"

The "reunion" was everything he thought it would be.

Loud.

And predictably a pain in the ass.

Upon arriving in Sherwood Forest, with him concealed in a cloak he had…found, in the Vault, they were told by one of Robin Hood's associates that the Queen had taken back the castle from the Wicked Witch. It was another hour they trekked until finding the place, where the guards allowed Belle through, but not Peter unless he removed the hood and announced himself. Casting Belle an annoyed, knowing look, he obliged.

That was how he found himself being restrained by two guards and dragged across the main hall, into an open meeting room where Snow White, the Prince, Regina, Princess Aurora and Prince Philip stood talking near the balcony, but turned their attention to the sudden entrance of Belle and palace guards.

But predictably, it was Regina who caused the most ruckus, even as Belle began with, "He is not here to cause trouble, he came to talk. And I have news—"

"YOU!" Her outrage was nearly palpable, but he stood passively in spite of her fury.

"My, my, Regina. You look well, considering."

He heard Snow White call out a warning to Regina, but he couldn't pay attention to much else after the vicelike grip of her magic began choking the life out of him.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Pan," she spat, ignoring both Belle and Snow White's pressing for her to stop.

"Why are you here?" David asked sharply.

"I figured…I would try my luck," he grated out. "I hear…you want the Witch dead…well, so…do…I."

The pressure on his neck released fractionally, but her eyes were still hard and ablaze, even if the prospect of Peter Pan's help didn't fall on deaf ears.

"You're powerless," she said with a contemptuous smirk. "What help could you be?"

Then it was his turn to smirk, even as the edges of his vision began to fade.

"Because even now, as I am…I am still Peter Pan."

Regina regarded him through narrowed eyes and pursed lips. Everything in her screamed to finish it, squeeze until this boy was dust upon the wind. But there was a stray thought that kept digging itself up to the forefront of her mind—the fact that even without his magic, the ruthlessness centered so deeply in the fathoms of his gaze hadn't been removed.

He was still just as smart, just as cunning, just as dark and manipulative.

"Regina, you don't have to do this," Snow White practically begged. "He can still be useful to us."

She would be the one protecting such a twisted monster, she thought darkly.

It was an obvious struggle for her, but eventually…Regina relaxed her hand. It was enough that he could breathe freely, taking in gasps of air as he coughed, but the guards still restrained him by his arms.

"You want to help us?" David asked incredulously.

"It's obvious why he's here," Regina said when a thought hit her, a smirk spreading across her face in satisfaction. "And why he wants my dear sister's head on a plate."

Peter's brows rose to his hairline.

"That is your sister…truly," he asked incredulously after catching his breath. And he couldn't help but think,

But the bitch is green.

"You may need some verification on that."

Regina looked at him blankly, then back at the others who still seemed wary.

"He's here because my dear cousin is missing." She turned to him with a smirk and feigned sympathy. "Isn't that right?"

Peter glared icily, but shifted his attention to Snow and David to address them.

"Along with some friends of yours, if I'm not mistaken."

David nodded gravely, "Our search parties have found nothing."

"And they wouldn't. The Witch has made it a game of hide and seek," Peter returned.

"That isn't all," added Belle. She proceeded to explain the journey she and Neal had taken to find the Dark One, all the way down to summoning him in the Vault; how Rumpelstiltskin had somehow managed to save Neal, but had also lost himself in the process, including how Zelena had taken his dagger and now controlled him.

"Maybe now isn't the time to announce the pregnancy," Aurora said to Snow, and alerted Belle and Peter to the fact that she was pregnant. "Regina is right, it's too dangerous."

"No, if…if we don't we give into fear, but if we do, we give the kingdom what we need: hope," Snow countered.

"We don't even know what this Wicked Witch wants," David pointed out.

"Us distracted, for one thing," said Peter. "She's playing a game, revealing pieces of it at a time."

"What is it with you and games?" Regina said dryly.

"Actually, we do know what she wants," Aurora broke in before the Queen could continue, bringing in everyone's attention. She looked at Snow White earnestly, apologetically. "She wants your baby."

The other woman paled, and Philip explained, stepping closer to his wife, "She came to us while you were gone, threatened us and our unborn child unless we told her when you arrived in our land."

"She thinks your baby could be important," said Aurora, though her eyes pleaded with Snow to understand. "I'm so sorry, she said she'd hurt us."

Peter rolled his eyes, now knowing why his instincts spoke of something off between the couple. They may be noble of heart, but they were gentle, weak-willed, and no match for the Wicked Witch's power and the intelligence he perceived she had.

But a sudden chill brought him from these thoughts—a breeze he noted at once was unnatural. In that moment, none other than the Wicked Witch herself flew in from the balcony…on a broom.

"And I make good on my promises," she said silkily, and got off of the broom. With a wave of a hand, Aurora and Philip were transformed into flying monkeys, creatures that flew away at their mistress's command.

"What do you want with our baby," Snow White asked darkly as David drew his sword.

"Calm down, sweetie. You don't want to go into early labor." With another wave of a hand, Snow White was frozen, along with the Prince when he tried to interfere, and then Belle.

"Enough, sis, your fight is with me," said Regina with a smirk. She strode forward with the intention of making Zelena fly across the room, but was shocked when she became frozen like the rest.

Peter had fought his guards to let him go and watched when they tried to advance on the Witch, only to be frozen.

"You know, Zelena," he started. "I admire your style. You take command of a room, I'll give you that."

She smiled and raised a brow, an "oh really?" gesture.

"What I don't understand, is why you've captured Storybrook residents if you could have easily taken more of an advantage when we landed."

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, then said, "Well, I needed some way to lure Rumple away, didn't I? Give Belle and Baelfire a reason to look for him…and I suppose I got a cousin out of it too."

Her smile turned wicked and she froze him before he could give an angry reply.

"Now, let's see if this was all worth it." Zelena stepped toward Snow White, laid a hand on the woman's baby bump, and smiled in satisfaction. "Oh yes, yes it was. This child is going to do quite nicely."

She smiled at Snow's fearful gaze and continued, "So take good care of it for me. Don't forget to eat well…I will be back for your happy day…and what's yours, shall be mine."

After the Witch had left, her power over them lifted, the Prince immediately initiated a meeting to discuss what should be done to defeat Zelena. Grumpy was told to contact the fairies, have them scour the Forest for enchanted objects, spells, anything that would work against her. In the meantime, Regina posed the suggestion of asking Rumpelstiltskin for help, since he'd warned Snow White the last time of a calamity about to befall her kingdom.

The only problem was, he was being held captive, most likely in his own castle. Even Belle had no idea how to break in. Luckily, Robin Hood was particularly familiar with breaking into the Dark One's castle, after his ever so lovely stay there. Peter hadn't really noticed him altogether until he began to see how his mere presence grated on Regina. For this alone he would vouch to bring him along.

But any mirth he gathered over seeing the Evil Queen peeved melted away at seeing his son.

Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold as if his very life depended on it, the wheel spinning and spinning and spinning. He was caged within his own castle—a cage within a cage, and mostly speaking nonsensical riddles and rhymes when they tried to get through to him. Even in Peter's surprisingly gentle prodding of,

"Rumple…son, can you tell me if you were with her, with Wendy and the others?"

He was met with, "Rumple bumple isn't here. Rumple bumble does not hear."

It wasn't until Belle touched his hand, earnestly and slowly asking, "How do we find the ones she captured?"

It took him a moment to really see her, but eventually his words became more clear, giving them a riddle they actually had a prayer of answering.

"Round and round and round the bend, without a string you'll meet your end…"

With his other hand he continued spinning straw, slowly now, and more deliberate.

"A winding maze to spend your days…the Labyrinth of old."

"What the hell is he talking about?" demanded Regina. But recognition lit Belle's eyes. She smiled at him and let go of his hand gently.

"I think I have an idea."

They returned to the castle after Belle stole a book from the Dark One's library, her library, technically. But after about half an hour, she found what she was looking for.

"It's legendary, the Labyrinth he was talking about. It was created by a man named Daedalus, and said to be inescapable," she said, showing them a page of the book portraying drawings of people who had wandered the maze and died long before reaching their goal. "It was said to hold the treasure one sought at the center if they could defeat the creature imprisoned there, but most fell victim to its magical snares."

"What creature?" said Regina with her usual snark.

"It doesn't say exactly what it is," said Belle.

"But then what was all that about a string?" asked David. Belle flipped to the next page and skimmed a few lines to remind herself.

"It was also said that the only man who ever made it out alive possessed a ball of thread that he tied at the beginning door post, then got through the Labyrinth by travelling forwards, always down and never left or right."

"Where is this Labyrinth?" asked Peter. Regina gave him a sideways glance, and he returned with a mocking smile. "This is why I've come, after all."

Belle kept skimming, then bit her lip.

"Well…"

Apparently, there were different entrances to the ancient Labyrinth, spread out as far as other worlds, but one of which was at the western end of the Enchanted Forest. It was a far ride for Peter, Regina, the Prince, Robin of Locksley and four of his Merry Men as the castle was in the far east, nearly a week. Regina couldn't port them since she had never been there, and it was far too many people to do such a thing without help. But every step toward their goal was a step Peter drew closer to Wendy.

He still didn't have the answers he wanted, like where exactly she was in the Labyrinth, but reaching the center was most likely their best bet.

And finally, after a long week's travel, forest cleared away. Green grass met dirt and solid stone, and they came to an archway of stone etched with carved symbols. Beyond it lay a vast and gloomy desert of dust and fog.

"Is everyone ready?" asked David. When everyone expressed their consent, nodding or otherwise, he took out a ball of thread Granny had given him and tied one end around the right leg of the arch. "Keep close."

With that, they stepped through the entrance, and it was as if they'd stepped through a portal. Suddenly there were stone walls around them, tall and enclosing.

"Okay, forward and down if the path calls for it, but do not turn left or right," David reminded. Peter let out a long breath through his nose and followed onward, staying alert but as relaxed as he could.

They even made it fifteen minutes before someone did something stupid.

There was a wall that blocked the path, but how could this be possible if they were to always go forward? There was no way to turn right either, only left.

"Maybe there is a way to go around," said David.

"No, that would be turning left, and exactly what the book said not to do," Peter remarked.

"Perhaps there is a hidden passage within the wall, some kind of switch," suggested Robin. He stepped forward and hesitantly touched the wall. Though the stone was smooth, maybe there was a hollow spot that caved inward. Through all of this, however, Peter could see Regina was getting impatient.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous. Why don't I just blast our way through? It worked with my mother's garden maze," she said.

"This is a puzzle, Regina. Puzzles are made for strategy, a deftness of the mind and a subtle touch," Peter said coolly. "Such a brazen attempt is more likely to get us killed."

"What do you know about labyrinths? Other than that scramble that makes up your convoluted mind," she said tersely and lit a ball of fire in her hands. "Trust me, this'll be faster."

David turned back to look at her and his eyes widened.

"Regina, don't!" But he pulled Robin out of the way just in case she decided to do it anyway, which she did. The fire did little but bounce off a protective enchantment that glowed violet for a moment, then returned to transparency.

"Are you crazy? Don't you remember the last time you tried bulldozing your way through a magical riddle?" David gestured with a hand to where Peter stood, arms crossed.

It was then that the ground began to shake.

"What is that?" Robin asked.

"I don't know, but try and find that hidden switch, fast," said David, and both Robin and Little John worked to find anything in the wall out of the ordinary.

"Congratulations," David said to Regina coldly, "You've pissed it off."

"Don't say I didn't tell you so," Peter remarked.

"Oh, shut up," she seethed, but then had to fight for balance when the ground shook harder. A deep rumbling sounded behind them, and they turned to see several boulders larger than them rolling in their direction. At that speed, they would be crushed quite messily against the walls.

"Where do we go?" one of Robin's men asked.

"We're not going anywhere unless it's straight forward," Regina said, and pulled up a protective barrier around them that held against the rocks, but it was a heavy strain.

"Any luck?" David asked Robin.

"No, there aren't any lines in the stone…"

"Better hurry up," Regina grated out. Her arms were shaking and the boulders were pushing back. It was making her footing slip. David joined Robin's search, putting the ball of thread in his tunic and dusting off the stone parts of the ground for any kind of trap door.

Peter studied the barrier she had created. It was crumbling, and fast. He'd seen Wendy build one by whispered words into a handful of dust.

What are the words?

"Regina, what is the barrier spell?" Peter demanded.

"What?" she asked, though most of her concentration was on holding the spell.

"What is the incantation?" She said the words, Latin, most likely. Peter held up his hands, did his best to repeat them, and marveled when he was able to prop up her barrier with his added strength. She looked over at him, shock coloring her features.

It was just enough time Robin needed to find a small brick within the wall that slid inward, making a rectangular door appear in the wall. Peter and Regina were the last ones to come through, but when they did, the door closed behind them and both dropped the barrier spell.

"Well…we keep going," David said after everyone had caught their breath. He took out the ball of thread and led them on.

"I thought you said your magic was gone," Regina asked. Peter smirked.

"Is that disappointment I see in your eyes?" he taunted. "No, it appears I am not entirely powerless."

"Just perfect," she muttered sourly. "You take my son, curse my town, and get away with it."

"How is what I did any different from what you did?" he asked, referring to the Curse he'd tried to reenact. "I acted out of grief, grief that was fresh, and caused by you."

She looked over at him as they walked. Really looked, then shook her head, turning forward again.

"I finally see where Rumpelstiltskin gets it."

"What?"

"His flair for the dramatic."

"Oh, and you aren't?"

"…Fair enough."

"And as far as crimes unpunished go, you've earned that title far more than I have." She snorted at this, but he raised a brow and carried on, "Look at your own family. You tried killing both of your parents, succeeded with one. You trapped your uncle with blood magic. You're now scheming on how to destroy your own sister, and what you've done to Wendy…well, that's a laundry list, isn't it?"

She was silent, but her lips pursed in annoyance.

"I've been meaning to ask where you carried that book off to," he added casually. Her glare was venomous.

"Nowhere you would find it."

"I'm sure."

One Week Ago

"I…we're here."

She looked up and peered through the bars of her cell. Her eyes widened at seeing a young woman, dressed finely and holding the hand of a man in the adjacent cell to hers. Both were obviously royalty.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" The woman gave a small smile.

"I'm Cinderella. This is my husband, Thomas," she said. Thomas gave a sympathetic smile.

"We were beginning to worry you wouldn't wake up," he said.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"Nearly a day," spoke a new voice, thickly accented and belonging to an older man Wendy remembered as Geppetto. He sat in the cell beside Thomas.

"Wow." She looked down at her hands, then back up at how many of them were captured. She recognized Hansel and Gretel and their father, Geppetto and his son, and several others from the journey they had made to get here…wherever it was they were.

"What do we do then?"

An entire week passed and they were no closer to escape. The Witch was smart enough not to capture anyone with magic, except for Wendy, who was still too weak to be much of a threat in that regard. The only attempt of escape had gone terribly, ending with one of Zelena's creatures breaking Thomas's arm.

Geppetto reached through the bars separating their cells and was able to set the arm, but the man was obviously in tremendous pain. It made Wendy all the more guilty, considering it had been her escape plan. But in her heart she knew she couldn't give up, knew Peter was out there looking for her.

Her cousin couldn't keep her here forever.

"How long have we been walking?" asked Regina.

"Long enough to know the sun should be farther in the west by now," said David. It was still directly above them, as if it was noon.

"Time must run differently here," said Peter. "It seems the arch was a kind of portal."

"Well that's just perfect," Regina muttered. The dress she wore was getting hot, but with a flick of a wrist her magic regulated her body temperature.

"But it looks like we are getting somewhere," said David, looking at the ground, where dirt now met weathered brick.

"That in itself may be a warning. We should tread carefully here," said Robin. But when David stepped forward, the large brick sunk underfoot, and the sound of creaking met their ears.

"Watch out!" said Little John, running forward and ducking as he went. Robin stayed close to the Prince to usher him forward as both walls on either side unleashed poisoned darts hurtling toward them. Regina did her best to knock them away and curb their path with magic.

"What is this, Indiana Jones?" she shouted in exasperation, and followed the others down the curve of the path.

They didn't realize the curve veered left, breaking away from the true path.