A/N: Um… I guess… Spoilers and dialogue from about 3x02 Lost Girl until 3x04 Nasty Habits. Sorry about the lateness of the chapter. Had some internet issues that prevented me from finishing on time. Also, this is still mostly in draft/unpolished form, and I apologize. It's basically stuff I had to push through to get to where I want to be, and I knew I'd made you all wait too long already. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ON SUNDAY, I PROMISE.
"Up here," David calls back to Emma and Hook, who've fallen behind; he assumes the pirate is the reason for this, as Emma has been entirely concentrated on Henry, "We made it."
"Pan's lair should be just right…" the pirate starts, when he reaches the ledge.
"Where?" Regina interrupts, "All I see is jungle."
"Aye. Dark Jungle," Hook confirms, pulling out a telescope, "It's, uh, grown somewhat since I last stepped foot in Neverland."
"So this nature hike was for nothing," Regina complains.
"Hook may have led us astray, but… At least we're in a good position to start combing the jungle," David decides to look on the bright side.
"Not exactly," Hook says, "The Dark Jungle's the last place you want to set foot. We'll have to go around it. In order to do that we're gonna need our strength. I suggest we make camp."
"You want to sleep while my son is out there suffering?" Regina protests.
"If you want to live long enough to save your boy… Yes."
The pirate has a point; they'll be no use to Henry dead of exhaustion. Reluctantly, David sheathes his sword and follows.
…
They've been walking for quite some time now, and it strikes Will how impressively Graham can track. Better than the Lost Boys, apparently, because Henry's trail had split from theirs a while back. According to the former Sheriff, the boy had fallen, and someone else, not one of the pursuers, had helped him to a parallel trail.
That worried all of them, when they found out. That there was someone, not a member of either rescue party, yet not among the Lost Boys, just roaming the island, seemed too good to be true.
Will can't help but wonder if it'd been a Lost Boy waiting in some sort of trap. Instead of just chasing the kid, gain his trust and then deliver him to Pan. He is sure the others share that opinion, even if none of them have said it.
"No…" Graham says. They're at a cliff, overlooking the water… It's a pretty high cliff, and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else to escape to.
"What?" Alice asks, "Did the Lost Boys catch up to him?"
"No," Graham stands, his expression pained, "He and the other person he was with took a running leap."
"He jumped off a cliff? Into the water? From this height?" Will completely understands why Graham is unhappy. The odds of survival had to be miniscule.
"If it helps," Cyrus interrupts, "Someone used pixie dust around here recently. It's still in the air."
"So, what, they bloody flew away?" Will asks.
"And if the stories back home are anything to go by… He was with Pan. Who else would just have a handful of pixie dust?" Graham says.
…
Emma tries to sleep, Loup curled into her side, but she can't. She hears the most awful crying. It sounds like children. If it wasn't for Hook's stories about how bad Pan's followers are, she would assume it was the Lost Boys. But it's so loud and it's not disturbing the others for whatever reason, so… She guesses it's magic.
She pulls out the sword she was given and heads towards the noise. Even Loup is out cold, and she's alone for the moment.
"You hear that too?" a boy's voice comes from behind, startling her. She jumps, turning.
"You're Emma, right?" he asks. He's a teenager… Probably one of the Lost Boys.
"I wonder why they can't hear the crying," he continues.
"Who are you?" she asks him.
"Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? I'm Peter. Peter Pan."
She turns her sword and rushes him, pinning him to the tree he's standing in front of. This is the little bastard who took her son.
"Where's Henry?" she asks.
"You've got fire," Pan smiles, "I like fire"
"Where's my son?" she demands again.
"Henry's still alive, if that's what you're worried about."
"Why the hell'd you take him?"
"He's a very special boy, Emma."
"I know. That doesn't answer my question. What do you want with him?"
"I came here to see who I was up against. The Savior. Gotta say, I'm not disappointed," he's infuriatingly calm despite the fact that her sword is shoved up against his throat. She knows that she's not going to use it – yet, at least, but that's because he has Henry and if she kills Pan she's a little worried she'll never find him – but no one should be so calm when they're so threatened.
"What do you say now? You gonna tell me how I'm never gonna see Henry again?"
"No. I'm going to help you find him. I'll give you a map," Pan offers.
He's not lying. She lets him down so that he can get this map or whatever out.
"A map that will lead you straight to your son," he continues, holding up a parchment.
"If this is some kind of trap," she warns. Pan laughs at that.
"I may not be the most… Well-behaved boy on the island, but I always keep my promises. The path to finding Henry is on this parchment."
She lowers her sword the rest of the way.
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"See, it's not about finding Henry," Pan says, "It's about how you find him. And, Emma? You're the only one who can."
She takes the offered parchment and unfolds it. It's entirely blank. There is definitely not a map on it.
"It's blank."
"You will only be able to read that map when you stop denying who you really are."
That's… Confusing. She looks back down at the map for a moment, and when she looks up again, Pan is gone.
…
They come across a small clearing, but there is a large fire going within. Graham puts out a hand, warning the others to stay back, then draws his bow, silently entering the glade. They can take care of themselves, he knows, but if it's an enemy, he wants the element of surprise on their side.
He lowers the bow upon his realization that it's Rumplestiltskin.
"Rumplestiltskin," he greets. There's something off about the man, something he can't quite put his finger on. Something besides the clothing change and lack of cane, which is, in itself, jarring. He looks like the man from Storybrooke combined with the imp from the Enchanted Forest. Graham supposes that's less unsettling than if the man looked entirely like the imp again. Just seeing him around Regina's palace had been bad enough back then.
"Huntsman," the Dark One turns around, greeting him with a toothy smile, "I wondered what had gone wrong. Have you been in Neverland all this time?"
"What are you talking about, 'gone wrong'?" Graham asks, shaking his head. He studies the man. Something is off…
"You died. Under the Queen's curse. You remember, don't you, dearie? Being Sheriff of Storybrooke?"
"I remember," Graham affirms.
"The curse had a little… Proviso. Anyone who died while it was still in place should have been revived back in our home world," Gold explains, "When Snow White and Miss Swan came back from accidentally being trapped there, and you were not with them, I thought something must have gone terribly wrong. So I'll ask again. Have you been in Neverland all this time?"
"No," Graham answers, filing the fact that Emma and Snow had accidentally been trapped back in the Enchanted Forest somehow away for later; he'll get the story eventually, and it certainly doesn't matter at the moment, "I was in Wonderland."
"Annoying little world," the Dark One shudders, before a thoughtful expression appears on his face, "But then, however did you get here?"
"I returned to Storybrooke, first, with a little help from some people I met over there," Graham explains, "When I heard Henry had been taken, I found a way to figure out where, and a way to get here." He doesn't specifically mention Alice, Cyrus, or Jack coming with him, or how they'd helped him find out what world to go to, for a reason. The Dark One loved gaining power, and he won't be responsible for the man knowing about the presence of a Genie.
"You found a way to cross worlds that quickly?"
"A portal maker owed me," Graham shrugs, leaving most of the details out; it's not as though they matter, "Where are Emma and the others?"
"I left them all aboard the Jolly Roger, dearie."
"Why?" Graham can't see a reason that Gold would leave the rest of the rescue party behind. He doesn't know who's in it, but he assumes at least Emma, Regina, Snow, and James, all of whom are more than adept at what they do (much as he hates Regina, he can't deny her skill at magic, or at least at using magic to get what she wants).
"Because they can't do what needs to be done," Gold says, "I'm here to lay down my life for the boy. They'll just get in my way."
"That's why Belle was so upset when I arrived in Storybrooke," Graham realizes, "You said goodbye to her."
Gold nods.
"There was a prophecy. The boy will be my undoing. The only way to save him is for me to die."
"Undoing doesn't have to mean death, Gold," Graham points out, "It could just be the loss of your powers."
"Optimistic, are we, Sheriff?"
"I only care for Belle's sake. Losing you would devastate her."
"She would come to see the monster eventually if she doesn't, and then she would leave me."
"No. I know her well, from when she was prisoner. She sees the monster. But she also sees past it. To the man you could be, given time. She would not leave you."
Graham knows he is ignoring the implications of the fact that Gold is willing to lie down his life for Henry; that that dream he had, with Emma, somehow it must have been real, since she'd said Henry's father was Gold's son. That's the only reason he can think that the Dark One would care so much about the boy.
"Perhaps you're right. But it doesn't change anything. I must do this, for the boy."
"For your son's sake?" Graham asks. He might as well test the theory.
"Now how do you know that?" the fire flares up and the Dark One suddenly looks rather menacing and Graham realizes what he hadn't been able to put his finger on; the man's shadow is gone.
"I had a dream," Graham backs away a little, "I talked to Emma, she told me."
"Baelfire's gone," Gold says, calming, "Saving his son – I have to. No matter the cost."
"Doesn't mean you have to do it alone."
"Yes, it does. You want to help? Find the others and help them, dearie."
…
Regina grabs the map out of Emma's hands. The wolf growls at her action, but she quite obviously ignores it.
"There's not a map on here," the former Queen insists. David doesn't like wherever it is she's going with things, "That doesn't mean it can't lead us to Henry."
"I thought we decided that using magic was a bad idea," he reminds her. He doesn't know why he expects her to listen, but it's worth a shot.
"For once I agree with the prince," Hook says. He turns to look at the other man.
"Well I told you we were getting along," the pirate offers as an explanation. He rolls his eyes and turns away.
"What the hell are you doing?" Emma asks.
"A locator spell," Regina explains, "This parchment belonged to Pan. It'll lead us to him."
She waves her hand over the parchment and it starts to glow, and float away. They watch as it heads towards the Dark Jungle.
"So it appears that we will be venturing into the Dark Jungle after all," Hook says.
"You mean the place you told us never to set foot?" Emma asks, her voice flat.
"That's the one!" Hook confirms cheerily.
"Well Emma," Regina starts, "You said you wanted to be the leader. Lead."
David looks at his daughter. She doesn't say a thing, just starting into the jungle. The wolf whines, and for once doesn't follow her, lying on the ground, head on its paws. This doesn't seem like a good omen, not in the least.
Still, he doesn't have the luxury to choose the way the wolf does.
They follow the map for an hour or two – time is hard to judge here on the island – when Emma and Regina come to a stop at the head of the group.
"Wait," Regina says, "He's there. Pan. I can feel his smugness."
David pushes past the former Queen and draws his sword.
"Shall we?" he asks, though it's not really a question, "While we still have the element of surprise on our side."
Pan's camp appears deserted when they enter, and David gets a feeling that something is wrong.
"There's no one here," Snow points out, "Maybe your spell was wrong, Regina."
"Yes, blame me. Again," Regina spits bitterly.
They walk further into the camp. David is checking an oddly placed blanket to see if anything is under it, like a trap or something, when Emma speaks.
"Guys," he turns to look at his daughter when she says this, "Hold on. Is that…" she's looking up the next ridge within the camp, where someone is standing, back to them, "Henry!" The clothes are right but something isn't and David knows what when, as Emma runs towards the figure, the rest of their group following her, the figure turns around, revealing himself to be Pan.
"Hi Emma," Pan says. They all come to a halt.
"Where the hell is Henry?" Emma demands.
"You broke the rules," Pan says, "That's not fair," he's walking around on the ridge, above them. They're in a small valley, David realizes. This is bad, if the Lost Boys attack, they'll have the high ground, the advantage…
"Bad form," Pan continues, "I expect more from you Captain."
"Aye," Hook says, "And you'll get it."
"Give Henry to me," Emma orders. She may be a natural leader but dealing with enemies is clearly not her strong suit, David sees. Right now, Pan has every advantage except numbers, and how far can the Lost Boys be?
"Can't," Pan says, "Don't you know? Cheaters never win."
He stops circling them with that. A bunch of boys with torches, arrows, spears – they appear from nowhere. He knew it. He readies his stance to defend, and behind him he hears Snow ready her bow.
"Watch out for their arrows. They're laced with dreamshade," Hook warns.
The boys attack, and David deflects several arrows aimed at himself easily. One of the boys takes aim at Snow, and he reacts on instinct.
"Mary Margaret!" he yells, pushing her out of the way. The arrow glances past his side and he grips it in pain.
"David?" she asks, obviously concerned.
"I'm good," he tells her. He's not actually sure if he's good right now, but there's more important things to worry about.
"Behind you," he warns, and his wife quickly turns and uses an arrow to pin the offending Lost Boy, about to fire on them, to a tree.
He gets back into the fight, defending but not harming, when suddenly Emma has a Lost Boy pinned nearby.
"Where's Henry? WHERE IS HE?" she yells. There's a moment of dead silence, the fighting stopped, and then she releases the boy. She looks like she's in shock.
"Emma, are you alright?" Snow asks her.
Again, for a moment all is silence, and then Pan gives a piercing whistle.
The boys all dash to his side.
"Remember what I told you," Pan says, looking to Emma, "That map will show you where Henry is only when you stop denying who you really are. I'll make sure to send Henry your regards."
Pan and the other boys run from them.
…
Alice sits next to Cyrus, leaning her head on his shoulder, relaxing for a moment, as Graham starts the fire and the Knave tries to crack open the coconuts they'd managed to get out of one of the trees.
"Pan wants to know what brings you to the island," a voice comes from behind them. She turns to see the source.
The speaker is a teenaged boy, blond, with a scar on his face and a dark brown cloak he's trying to hide in the shadows of. He carries a club and she knows that Wendy mentioned him in the letter but she can't think of his name.
"I don't think that's any of Pan's business," Graham snarls at the boy.
"Everything on this island is Pan's business," the boy replies, startlingly calm, a chilling grin on his face, "This is Pan's island."
"We're just passing through," Alice lies quickly.
"No one just 'passes through' Neverland," the boy says, "But I'll give you a tip. If you're here to go against Pan… Don't bother."
"Why not?" the Knave asks.
"Because Peter Pan never fails," the boy says, then fades back into the forest.
"Well that was comforting," the Knave mutters.
"It was just a mind game," Cyrus says, "'Peter Pan never fails'? It's obvious that Pan is a little full of himself, but I don't think we have reason to worry, not until we're facing him directly."
"We're probably going to face him directly," Alice points out. If, as they suspect, he took the boy… There's not likely to be a way around it.
"True," Graham says, "But that's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it."
…
Emma is back to trying to figure out the map, leaning against a tree as the others work around the camp. Loup is lying over by the fire. She wonders if the reason the wolf didn't come with them when Regina used the tracking spell on the map is because he knew that they were walking into trouble, or if he just didn't want to follow Regina, since she murdered his brother.
Mary Margaret and David come up to her. Just like on the ship, she senses a conversation that she has no interest in coming her way.
"Don't let him shake your confidence. We all have moments where we think we couldn't prevail," Mary Margaret says.
"She's right," David agrees.
"Guys. Not now. Please," Emma says. She needs to put a stop to this. She needs to focus on the map. She needs to get Henry.
"Emma, wait," David says as she starts to walk away, but he doesn't really follow her as she goes over to a log to sit.
She's looking at the map and Mary Margaret does approach her, without David this time.
"Please talk to me," Mary Margaret says.
"There's nothing to talk about. We had our chance and we lost, I lost," Emma tries to brush her mother off. This is such a bad time for all this bonding that Mary Margaret is trying to do.
"Then you have to keep fighting," Mary Margaret says.
"You heard what Hook said, Pan is a… Demon."
"And you are a-" Mary Margaret starts to yell.
"I'm what, a savior?" she interrupts, "'Cause if that were true this map would've shown us the way already!"
Mary Margaret appears stunned at this. They're both silent.
"Maybe who you think you are isn't who you really are," Mary Margaret says softly after a moment.
"What do you mean?" she asks. She's still a bit angry, but this almost sounds like something that could lead to unlocking the map.
"Sometimes we think we know ourselves, but… We need a push to show us the reality," Mary Margaret says, "That boy with the knife. You stopped fighting him, why?"
The question hurts. That boy… He had reminded her of herself and it had been all too painful. And now Mary Margaret wants her to revisit that?
"'Cause he was… just a boy," she tries to shrug it off. Play it like it's because he was a kid. He was barely older than Henry, anyway, the excuse should work.
"No," Mary Margaret says, "It was something else. I saw it in your eyes. Why did you stop? Why?"
"Because when I looked at his face I saw me," Emma says. She knows Mary Margaret won't drop it until she hears the truth. She has to get it over with.
"Go on."
"That look in his eyes. The despair. I had it. Back when I was in the Foster System. Just a lost little girl. Who didn't matter. And didn't think she ever would. A little girl who cried herself to sleep at night 'cause she wanted her parents so bad," Emma is starting to cry now and Loup gets up from his place by the fire, coming over and resting his head on her legs. The truth is, even after Henry came and got her, she still didn't feel like she mattered, not until Graham… Not until he'd chosen himself and her at the same time… Not until he looked at her with so much love and thanked her, even if she hadn't understood why… Then, in that moment, she'd realized that she mattered to him and it was so perfect – and then he'd been ripped away from her.
"And could never understand," she continues, "Why they gave her up."
"And then you found us," Mary Margaret says, "And it was too late."
"It's just," Emma tries to explain, "On this island… I- I don't feel like- A hero or a savior. I just feel like- What I've always been. An orphan."
"Emma."
"What?"
"Look."
She turns to see that the map is appearing on the parchment. She grabs it, not understanding.
"What happened?" she asks.
"You accepted who you are," Mary Margaret says. Her voice is sad.
"I'm sorry," Emma says. She knows that hearing what she felt, that she felt like an orphan, had to hurt this woman who is technically her mother.
"It's okay. It's the truth," Mary Margaret says, "You were an orphan. It's my job to change that."
…
He's lying at the base of a large tree in the camp, trying to sleep. He's been depressed ever since Pan tricked him.
Still, he has faith that his moms are coming and a feeling of something else, too; he's heard a wolf's howl a few times and he knows that it's Loup, with Emma, but there's something about hearing it that makes him feel better in a different way.
He can't put his finger on it, though. Just a feeling that he's gonna be safe.
Pan makes a cawing sound, like a crow, and though Henry tries to ignore it, he's apparently not allowed to.
"Wake up," Pan says, "Catch." The older boy tosses an apple at Henry as he sits.
"I don't like apples," he tells the older boy.
"Who doesn't like apples?"
"It's a family thing."
"Well don't worry," Pan bends down, so that they're level, "They're not for eating. It's for a kind of game. A really fun game," Pan points the crossbow in his hands at Henry, "I call it target practice."
He wants to run when Pan explains the game to him. He, Henry Mills, is supposed to shoot an apple off of Felix's head? With an arrow – already a deadly enough weapon – that's dipped in poison? He's never done archery before. He's only even used wooden swords.
But if he runs, he'll just get dragged back again. He can't escape. He has to be rescued. That means he has to play along.
His Grandma is a good archer, but he's never gotten the chance to see her in action. He needs to think harder, figure something out. A crossbow… Granny uses a crossbow, right? He's seen that.
For some reason, a memory pops into his head. Sitting at Granny's one day, long before the curse was broken. Watching Sheriff Graham play darts and wishing that he could ask him to teach him. His mom never would've let it happen, though, so he'd stuck to watching. Sheriff Graham had always hit the bullseye. Every time. It made sense once Henry figured out that Graham was the Huntsman; he was the best in the Enchanted Forest. He never missed.
That's exactly what Henry's got to do now. Emulate the father-figure he always wanted and not miss.
Everyone is chanting at him to shoot, and he starts to aim. An idea quickly pops into his head, though, and he turns his aim from Felix to Pan, letting the arrow fly.
Pan catches it just before it hits him.
…
"Emma," Regina hurries up from behind her; Hook is leading the way to Tinker Bell, and Regina has been pretty vehemently against this plan for no obvious reason, "There is another way."
"Is there?"
"Magic."
"Didn't we just go through this?" God, it seems like Regina can't listen for anything!
"I'm not talking about my magic. I'm talking about our magic."
"I am not interested," Emma stops, turning to the former Mayor. She did magic with her at the trigger only as a last resort. She's not going to do magic with Graham's murderer again. Not unless it's the only option she has left and right now, it's not.
"One thing I learned is it always comes with a price," she continues.
"Well… Sometimes not using it comes with a price too!" Regina protests, "I bet you and I combined are strong enough to overpower Pan."
"What if we're not? I'm not gonna take a chance on that. We're talking about Henry's life," as she speaks, Mary Margaret comes up next to her.
"I'm aware of that."
"I know you don't like this plan. Let's just see it through. Let's at least see if we can find… Tinker Bell," Emma says. She's not crazy about the plan herself – the fact that they're looking for such a well-known fictional character, and one that is portrayed as Peter Pan's best friend, at that, is still pretty hard for her to wrap her head around – but it's the best they've got.
"Oh, you think it's the best plan because your boyfriend came up with it?" Regina scoffs.
"My boyfriend?" Emma is confused for a moment, she doesn't have a boyfriend, her heart is Graham's, and he's definitely not here to have come up with the plan – and then she realizes what Regina means, "Hook? What's your problem?"
"She just lost Neal," Mary Margaret adds. She's grateful for the defense, even if it assumes her feelings for Neal are a lot stronger than they actually are.
"Sorry, I'm," Regina actually apologizes, though there's no sincerity in her tone, "I'm just worried about Henry."
…
"No one's home. Come on up," Hook calls down the ladder. David rushes to get up there. If Tinker Bell has pixie dust… Pixie Dust can do about anything. Hopefully it can heal him from the dreamshade poisoning that arrow inflicted on him.
"Where would it be?" he asks the pirate, looking around the treehouse. They have to be discreet about this, since Snow and Emma don't know he's hurt, but they have to find it.
"She wouldn't leave dust just lying around, mate," Hook scoffs. David starts checking around.
"It's not here, I promise," the pirate says, "I'm sorry."
David refuses to accept that, crossing the room to some shelves and starting to dig around as Emma arrives at the top of the ladder.
"It's pretty bare," she says, "Reminds me of someplace."
"You'd think a treehouse would be more cheery," Snow says as her head pokes in.
"Where I used to live, that's it," Emma says. She walks outside.
David continues searching for the pixie dust. He needs it; it's his only option.
"Because it's just a place to sleep," Snow says.
"What would you know about that?" Emma asks, coming back inside. David continues his search. At the very least, there might be a clue to where the fairy is.
"I didn't always have a canopy bed in a palace," Snow informs their daughter, "I had a place like this too once."
"You did?" Emma sounds genuinely interested in Snow's story and David smiles to himself as he searches. His girls are bonding. It's a glimmer of good in this God-awful place.
"A tree stump," Snow confirms, "When I was running from the Queen. Believe it or not I understand this Tinker Bell. The real question is why does she have a ladder? Fairies can fly."
He comes across a handkerchief that looks oddly familiar.
"Guys, I found something," he turns to the others and holds it out, "It's a handkerchief."
"That's Regina's!" Snow grabs it out of his hand, "How did it get here?"
"She was tracking us, watching Regina," Emma says, matter-of-fact. It is the only explanation.
"But if she's been watching her…" Snow says.
"Then we're in the wrong place," Hook finishes.
"Regina," David realizes. Tinker Bell will be wherever the former Queen is. They have to find them. He knows where Regina stayed behind, but if Tinker Bell was tracking her, she might be in trouble; and much as he hates the woman, she does care about Henry, who in turn cares about her. For his grandson's sake, he has to worry.
…
"We can't just keep going through the bloody island with a fine-tooth comb," Will says, "It'll take us forever to find the boy that way. We need a plan."
"You're right," Graham agrees with him, "I think… We should try and find the other rescue party. Go along the shore until we find where they're anchored and then track them down from there."
…
They had finally found Tinker Bell, and Regina said she was fine. Which left one question.
"Is she going to help us?" Hook is the one to ask it, as Emma lowers the sword she's been given. She's not really a fan of the weapon, though, and secretly wishes that… Well, shortly after getting her to use the magic dream-catcher on Pongo, Gold had taken her aside and offered her a dagger, saying it had been the Huntsman's – Graham's. Just like the rest of his things, back before the curse was broken, she'd refused it at the time. Now she sorely wishes she had that instead of Neal's old sword. She's used swords before and of course she can, but they always feel unwieldy and unnatural to her.
"Well, look who the Queen dragged in. Hello, Hook," the fairy says, looking the pirate over.
"Lady Bell," he smiles.
"She's not gonna help us," Regina answers.
"Why not?" Emma wants a reason.
"Tink," Hook says, his tone clearly trying to appeal to the fairy, "After all we've been through together? A little assistance?"
"She doesn't have any magic," Regina explains.
"No… Pixie dust?" David asks. He seems nervous. It's odd, it's not like the plan hinged on the dust. That was just a thought Hook had about flying in.
"Not even her wings."
"How?" Emma asks. She's never heard of a fairy losing their wings before.
"I guess people just stopped believing in me," Tinker Bell says, "And even if I wanted to help you, he's too powerful."
"But you know where Pan is," Mary Margaret points out.
"Sure. But it won't do you a bit of good."
"Let us be the judge of that. Does he trust you?"
"Can you get us inside his compound?" Emma asks, seeing where Mary Margaret is going with this.
"Maybe," the fairy crosses her arms, "Why should I help you?"
"Because I believe in you," Mary Margaret says.
"Just get us inside and we'll take care of things from there," Emma adds.
"And what's in it for me? Other than a death sentence from Pan when you're gone, with your boy."
"You can come with us," Emma offers.
"That's right. Home," Mary Margaret confirms, "That is what you want, isn't it?"
"Okay. Listen closely. Pan trusts me, he'll let me in. And maybe, just maybe, I'll leave a way open for you. But you've only got one shot. So you better have a good plan."
"Thank you. We will."
…
She sits at the fire, Mary Margaret next to her. They've made a small diagram on the ground, and it's time to go over the plan.
"This is where they're keeping Henry. Pan's compound," Emma says, using a long stick as a pointer, "According to, uh-"
"Tinker Bell."
"Yeah, I know. Still weird to say."
"Tink is fine."
"Not sure that's any better," Emma shakes her head; she'll never get used to this fairytale thing, "Anyway, she says that there are sentries positioned across the front, which is why we're gonna come in through the back entrance here. She's gonna talk her way in, once she makes sure the coast is clear then we are going to sneak on in."
"You'll still have to deal with any Lost Boys once you're inside."
"I think we can handle a few children with pointy sticks," Regina says.
"It's not the sticks you need to worry about. It's the poison they're dipped in."
"Dreamshade, Hook warned us," Mary Margaret tells the fairy.
"Good. Because one nick, and you'll spend the last-"
"Poison sticks equal death, we got it," David interrupts. His tone surprises Emma. He sounds almost eager to change the subject.
"Now, when can we put this rescue mission into action?" he continues.
"I'm ready to go," Tinker Bell says, "Just as soon as you tell me the exit plan."
Emma looks around to the others. That is something she didn't think about. Did any of them?
"You do have an escape plan, don't you?"
"It was more of a… Last minute trip," Mary Margaret says nervously.
"If you don't have a way off this island then none of this matters!"
"We'll figure it out," Regina defends.
"You'll figure it out? No one comes and goes from this place unless he allows it. This is a waste of time."
"When it comes to family, we always find a way," David asserts.
"You don't get it. Here, let me show you something," Tinker Bell reaches into her bag and pulls out a watch, "You know what this is?"
"Yeah, a watch," Emma answers. How is it important?
"I got it from the people who brought your son here for Pan."
That triggers Emma.
"Greg and Tamara? Where are they, why'd they give you that?" she asks, angry, standing, ready to hurt someone – preferably that bitch Tamara for making everyone think she was being a crazy jealous ex.
"I got it off the girl's body. Spent half the night cleaning the blood off it. And the other guy? Well, there wasn't enough left of him to find anything useful. This is what Pan does to people he employs, what do you think he's gonna do to you? I'm not sticking my neck on Pan's chopping block without a way off this island. You figure that out, you know where I live," the fairy stalks off.
"Where the hell is she going?" Mary Margaret asks.
"I'll get her, bring her back," David starts to follow.
"Don't. She's right," Emma says, "If there's one thing I've learned, you never break in somewhere unless you know the way out."
"And where'd you get that, in bail-bondsperson school?" Regina asks, voice laced with sarcasm.
"Neal taught me that," Emma says, feeling oddly defensive of the skill.
"What about you, Hook?" David turns to the pirate, "You got off this island before."
"Yes," Hook admits, "Aboard my ship. Which would require some form of magic to create a portal, which… I got from Pan. In a deal I don't think he's ready to repeat."
"So no one's ever left the island without Pan's permission?" Regina asks.
"One man," Hook says, "Her partner in crime, Neal."
"How?" Emma asks. Maybe, just maybe, it's something they can use.
"Maybe we can find out," Hook says.
He heads off, and they gather up a few of their things to follow. Loup, as he has been lately, stays behind, guarding the camp.
…
When they come across the lifeboat on the Neverland shore, Will sees real hope in Graham's eyes for the first time since they arrived on the island. The footprints, at least here on the beach, are clear, and Will understands that the other man is looking forward to seeing Emma after so long.
The former Sheriff has gotten the least sleep out of the whole group, taking the most guard shifts when they've tried to camp, his worries about the boy obviously eating away at him. Will is hoping that getting him to Emma will soothe him somewhat; the man is far too stressed for his own good.
"I'm coming, Emma. Just like I promised," Graham whispers, so low that Will almost doesn't hear it. Promised? How could Graham have promised Emma he was coming?
Graham leads the way back into the forest, determination in his stride.
…
"Hook," Emma calls back to the pirate, who is still outside of the cave, "What is this place? What are we doing here?"
He walks over to a torch on the wall that she can just barely see – even with Mary Margaret's lantern, it's far too dark in this cave – and begins trying to light it. After a few unsuccessful attempts by the pirate trying to strike up sparks on his hook, David joins him and uses a lighter on it.
There are drawings all over the walls and a little bit of furniture and Emma realizes why the pirate led them here.
"Neal. This is where he lived," she says.
"Aye," Hook confirms, "Baelfire spent some time in Neverland as a boy. This was his home."
"So… You think he may have left a clue as to how he escaped from here?" Mary Margaret asks.
"Well, let's hope so. Or we'll be lost just like he was."
…
David stares up at the star map that Emma had found. The pinpricks of light on the ceiling are almost eerie.
"How can you be so sure it's a map?" Snow asks Hook.
"There was a short time in Neverland when Baelfire was aboard my ship," the pirate explains, "I taught him to navigate using the stars. What you're looking at is the fruit of my labors." The pirate sounds almost proud of Neal – Baelfire – whichever. Hook seems to flip-flop on which to call him, Emma and Snow stick to Neal, and Regina tends to call him Baelfire. He's not sure which he's leaning towards.
"Then you can read it," the former Queen says hopefully.
"Sadly, no," Hook surprises him.
"I thought you just said you taught him how?" David asks. If Hook taught – Neal. He's going with Neal – if Hook taught Neal how to make the map, then shouldn't Hook be able to read the map?
"Yes, but I also taught Neal something else. The key to being a pirate. Secrecy. The best captains conceal their maps in code. He was an apt pupil."
"So you're saying the only person who can read this map is Neal," Snow asks for clarification.
"Which means the only person who can read it is dead," Emma says, obviously disappointed, turning and leaving the cave.
She's running, and Snow follows her, and he follows Snow.
"Emma, wait!" he calls.
"Now is not the time," she says, but she comes to a stop. There's desperation in her eyes and it hurts him to see her in so much pain.
"I can't even imagine the sadness you must be feeling," Snow says to her.
"I'm not sad," Emma corrects her mother; David wonders briefly what's going to happen here. She'd made him swear not to tell Snow the truth, about her love for Graham, to let Snow live in a little bit of a fantasy world where Emma's happy ending was still out there, but now Neal is dead as well and he knows they would communicate better if Snow knew.
"I'm pissed," Emma continues, "Yes, Neal just died. But I lost him years ago. All that time… Thinking that he didn't love me, only to find out that he did, and it was too late," – she's starting to cry, and he knows that she's bending the truth and it hurts him that she would lie just because Snow wants to comfort her over this – "I can't even tell him how angry that makes me. Or how much it hurt when he left. Or how terrified I was when he came back because… I knew, the moment that I saw him that I never… I never stopped loving him."
Emma starts to run, with that, and David needs to follow – she had explained, to him, after her dream, that Neal had been her first love and she still had traces of feelings for him, and he understands that, but now she's acting like her love for Graham, for the Huntsman, which he knows is stronger, never existed at all.
He turns to Snow for a moment. His wife looks upset by this turn of events, and he wants to comfort her too – but he's dying. When Snow loses him, she's going to need Emma. And if Emma doesn't tell Snow the truth, she's going to resent her mother for going on about her loss of Neal, for being blind to her actual feelings. So he needs to go after Emma.
"Let me talk to her alone," he says, "I'll be back in a minute."
He catches up to Emma quickly, finding her on a fallen log.
"Why are you still pretending like this?" he asks, sitting next to her. She swipes at the tears she'd forced herself to shed, "Mary Margaret deserves to know that she's hurting you worse by the way she assumes you and Neal were… You know. True Love. 'Never stopped loving him'? Emma, you're making it sound like Graham never even existed."
"Because I have to," she says.
"Emma, if something happens to me on this island, Mary Margaret is going to need you. And if she tries to compare your situations, you're going to get angry with her eventually for not knowing enough about you to realize that Neal wasn't it for you."
"Nothing's happened to you yet," Emma shakes her head, "and I can't… If I correct her now, she's going to lose focus. We have to stay focused on Henry. So I am going to deal with this until we're all home safe, and then I will tell her."
"Emma…"
"She should know anyway! If she'd just bother to think about it, she'd know. She's the one who dragged me away from the hospital, she stood next to me at the funeral, hell, she's the one who convinced me to try letting him in. But, no, just like everyone else, she's completely forgotten about him. I told her what he kept saying about remembering after we kissed!"
He lets Emma rant. She's upset, and he gets that. He's sure she'd feel a lot better if she just told Snow the truth, but she's already ruled that out, apparently.
"I'm going back to Mary Margaret now, she was pretty upset too," he says, after Emma's rant is over and she's silent for a moment, "I won't tell her, because it's your decision. But please, think about it."
…
There is a rustling in the brush, and Graham readies his bow. Something is coming. Alice and Will have their swords, and not for the first time he wonders if they maybe should've taken Belle's advice and gone to Gold's to get a weapon for Cyrus.
Still, they're ready for-
It is his wolf brother, stepping from the woods and giving him a canine grin.
"Brother," he puts his weapon away and kneels down, scratching the wolf's ears, "Why aren't you with the rest of the pack?"
He had expected the wolf to stay by Emma's side. She was their pack's alpha female, after all, and it had no way of knowing he was even alive, let alone in Neverland.
It licks his hand then whines.
"I appreciate that you missed me, but why aren't you with Emma?"
The wolf lets out a series of barks, which Graham does his best to try and understand.
"You were guarding their camp when… Henry's father… Showed up at camp with Henry… And then Pan came and took them both away?"
His brother licks his hand again, which he takes as a confirmation of his translation.
"That's impossible, Gold talked like his son was dead," he shakes his head at the wolf.
"You can talk to wolves?" Alice asks.
"Somewhat," Graham shrugs. He doesn't have time to get into the story now and if she wasn't listening when he told Belle about his upbringing, well, he doesn't see a need to get into it. But it would've been pretty hard growing up if he hadn't been able to communicate with his family.
The wolf nips at his wrist, a sign of impatience.
"How did you even know I was here?" he asks it. The wolf whines, a small one, and as far as he can tell, it just means "instinct." There's nothing he can say to argue against that.
"He can lead us to the others," Graham informs his companions, standing, "Let's go."