Woohoo! We're finally in Neverland! And thanks again for all your support, hope everyone is still enjoying the story! Now on with the chapter...
Jane let out a little yelp as she was pulled through the portal and thrown immediately onto the ground.
"Sorry about that, it takes a lot of strength to pull people from different dimensions," said a boy with blond hair holding a club over his shoulder.
"By the way," he continued. "Welcome back to Neverland."
"Neverland?" Jane repeated, catching her breath as she lazily rested on the ground facing the stars above.
"Well we sure aren't in Wonderland," the boy - scratch that - Peter Pan replied. "And we definitely didn't bring you here to stargaze."
Two boys grabbed Jane's arms and brought her up on her feet.
"Resisting won't get you anywhere, Jane," Pan said to the squirming teen.
Jane eventually stopped squirming and the blond haired boy whispered something to Pan.
"Looks like I'm missing a sword fight. No matter, we'll see each other soon. Felix, you know where to go," with that Pan left and Felix ordered the two boys to bring Jane to a specific location.
The group walked further and further into the forest until they reached a clearing. The boy named Felix walked up to a tree and looked up. He knocked two times before turning around and instructing the two boys to release Jane. The two boys left and Jane gave Felix a curious look.
"You're not afraid I'm going to try to escape?" she asked.
"Well you are still here," Felix mentioned. "I'm not that worried."
"Why does Pan want me here?"
"He has his reasons," was Felix's answer.
"Can you tell me one?"
"Do you remember anything before Greg and Tamara adopted you?"
"Come to think of it, no," Jane realized.
"That's reason #1."
Felix knocked on the tree again, and this time a rope fell down with a round wooden platform at the end.
"How did you know I was adopted by Greg and Tamara?"
"We're the Home Office. We know a lot more than you think."
"You also said welcome back to Neverland. I don't believe I've ever been here before."
"Not that you remember."
Felix motioned for Jane to come over and had her step on the platform.
"Now don't let go of the rope and stand strong," he instructed.
"Don't let go? Why-" Jane started to say before Felix tugged the rope and it pulled her high up into the trees.
It was a few seconds before Jane found herself inside a room of a tree house. She stepped off the platform and watched as the rope fell and brought up Felix seconds later.
"What is this?" Jane asked amazed.
"It's your room," Felix replied.
"This is my room?" Jane said surprised. "I figured I'd be put in a cage or something."
"Cage is an alternative, but don't think of yourself as a prisoner. You're more than welcomed here on Neverland as our guest."
"Thanks," Jane said, a little suspicious of the Lost Boy's generosity. "How exactly do you get down from here?" Jane asked as she tested the comfortableness of the mattress, which was surprisingly soft.
"Simple. You step on the platform and you hold on tight." Felix grabbed the rope when Jane stopped him.
"Wait! You're leaving?"
"Don't worry, this rope is enchanted. You'll be safe up here," Felix assured.
"That's not what I meant..." Jane said as he stepped on the platform and disappeared from her view.
The rest of the day Jane spent exploring her massive room, which was part of a giant tree house. One room led to another before she finally reached the bedroom again. The sky remained dark the entire time, and Jane couldn't tell if it was morning, noon, or night, but her stomach told her it was snack time.
Out of the things Jane found in the tree house, not one was a refrigerator or a mini snack bar. She sighed as she slumped on her bed while her stomach kept up with plenty reminders.
Luckily, Felix came in time before Jane nearly died of starvation with a basket full of fruits and breads.
"Thanks," Jane said as she ripped a piece off a bread roll.
"No problem, wouldn't want you to starve to death," Felix joked. "How are you liking your room?"
"It's pretty cool," Jane said. "Probably even bigger than any of the apartments we lived in."
"Apartments?" Felix asked.
"Every year, we had to move to a different city," Jane explained. "Greg and Tamara said it was for 'business,' but that seemed to be their answer for everything."
Felix took a bite out of an apple before Jane spoke up again.
"Have you found them?" she asked. "Greg and Tamara?"
"We haven't exactly been in contact recently, nor have we seen them in quite a while," Felix said.
"Okay," Jane said as she got up and headed towards the rope.
"Wait, where are you going?" Felix asked.
"I'm going to find Greg and Tamara," Jane stated.
"You can't do that, you have to stay here," Felix ordered. "There are many dangers out there that can possibly kill you if you go alone."
"Then why don't you tag along with me?" Jane suggested. "You know the island pretty well, right?"
"I do, but I don't think Pan would approve," Felix said. "He's a stickler on visiting rules."
"I thought there were no rules?" Jane said, crossing her arms.
Felix, realizing he was beat, offered to go talk to Pan. He left the remainder of the food with Jane and left the room. Jane watched from her window until Felix was well out of view before going down the enchanted rope. Once she touched the grounds, a group of Lost Boys came out of nowhere from the bushes and surrounded her.
"How long were you guys there?" Jane asked as she clenched the area over her heart. The boys nearly gave her a heart attack.
"Since you got here," one of them said. "We had orders to keep an eye on you and not let you leave this area."
Jane was about to protest when Felix arrived and spoke. "It will save time if you don't ask. All your questions will be answered soon."
"What did Pan say?" Jane asked.
"He said he would think about it, but he might disregard your notion completely if you keep on trying to escape."
"Fine. I'll stay in my room," Jane said reluctantly. "For how long exactly?"
"Soon," Felix said.
"Right, soon," Jane repeated Felix's vague answer to herself as she was brought back up to the tree house.
"Keep an eye on her and don't let her escape," Felix ordered the leader of the group. "Surround the perimeter on the floor and the trees."
The boy nodded and everyone disappeared into the bushes and trees. Jane paced back and forth in her room, trying to figure out a way to escape. Front door was out of question with all those Lost Boys hidden in the bushes, and the only other way out was through the window. She looked out the window and noticed a branch that could support her weight. Her plan was to sneak out later in a few hours because right now was too soon, but then Jane noticed some of the trees shake. She looked closer and saw a Lost Boy climbing up and situating himself between branches, concealed by the leaves. Great, so now there's tree security, Jane thought. Down the rope or through the window were her only options. Eh, might as well try on some occasions.
A few hours went by and Jane spent those hours reading Henry's book. Once she thought the time was right, she pretended to go to sleep and turned off all the lights so that it was pitch black. Jane made a decoy under the covers, using a rolled up blanket and the usual soccer ball she found in one room. She made her way through a window in a different portion of the tree house and successfully stood onto a strong branch. She carefully walked from branch to branch high off the ground until she was further away.
"Hey!" a voice cried out causing Jane to lose her balance and plummet ten feet.
Jane thought she was a goner, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in Felix's arms.
"Nice catch," Jane said with a sigh a relief.
"Nice fall," Felix laughed as he set Jane back on her feet.
"Well I wouldn't have fell if you didn't yell at me," Jane argued.
"And I wouldn't have yelled at you if you would have stayed in your room," Felix argued back.
"And I would have stayed in my room if you only told me about everything that's going on," Jane said.
"I told you everything will make sense soon. You don't trust us?" Felix asked.
"What's the point of trust when there are secrets?" Jane said.
"You're going back," Felix concluded. "And how about this, if you stay in your room, I won't mention any of this to Pan."
Jane didn't make any promises as she walked back to her room.
Three days went by and all Jane could do was stay in her room and eat whatever the Lost Boys sent up. She tried to escape multiple times, but once she hit the ground or set a foot out the window, Lost Boys were already there to escort her back.
Meanwhile, Henry was convinced his family was on Neverland to save him and Pan needed a new plan. This time to get both Henry and Jane to believe in him. For Henry, he had it all played out. For Jane... He was still playing by ear.
Pan was with Felix sharpening spears when Felix noticed something was off with Pan.
"What is it?" Felix asked.
"Someone's leaving the island," Pan replied.
"How shall we stop them?"
"It's too late," Pan said. "Don't worry Felix, we simply need to get word to our friends on the ground."
"In Storybrooke?"
"They can handle this, all it does is move our timetable a touch. We need to get Henry ready." Pan sighed as he stood up. "And I need to have a chat with our friend in the other cage."
"What about our other friend?"
"I'll chat with her later, how's she holding up?"
"She's bored, very bored. She tried to escape on multiple occasions," Felix reported. Pan was about to say something, but Felix beat him to it. "I don't exactly know what your plan is with her, but I don't think keeping her locked up is a good first impression."
"She already knows me," Pan said to Felix.
"But she doesn't remember," Felix emphasized.
"We'll talk about this later," Pan concluded, not really knowing what to say or do about Jane's memory.
After briefing Wendy on her little skit, Pan met Felix just outside the camp to discuss matters with the knowledge that Henry was eavesdropping behind them.
"Head to the other side of the island and deliver the supplies," Pan instructed as he and Felix walked deeper into the jungle.
"Understood," Felix said. "Anything else?"
"Just be certain Henry doesn't find out what you're up to, and if you have the time, you can join in on our game we're going to play."
Felix left in one direction and Pan left in another. Henry came out from his hiding spot and followed Felix, seeing as whatever "game" Pan had in mind was most likely not a good thing.
Pan came up the enchanted rope and greeted a bored Jane. She was reading Henry's book, which she finished the day before, but needed something to pass the time. When Jane noticed him, she raised the book higher to block Pan from view.
"Here, eat this," Pan said as he threw an apple towards Jane, who quickly lowered the book and caught the apple midair while she casually laid in bed.
"I heard you tried to escape," Pan told her.
"Just a few times," Jane shrugged as she took a bite into the apple.
"Felix told me it was more like 5 times a day."
"Well Felix also said I was a guest, not a prisoner."
"And that's true."
"Why are you here?" Jane snapped as she sat up, closing the book and placing it on the nightstand.
"I told you we'd see each other soon."
"You said that three days ago."
"Things have been pretty hectic in the past few days," was his excuse.
"You could have at least given me the freedom to let me explore the forest or talk to Henry," Jane argued.
"Both I can't let you do, at least not alone. Come on," Pan said, motioning her to follow him.
"Where are we going?" Jane asked cautiously.
"Does it matter? I thought you wanted to explore."
Jane reluctantly hopped out of the bed and followed Pan down to ground level.
"You do realize I have about a million questions to ask you," Jane said as Pan led her to who knows where.
"And as you've probably heard this answer repeatedly, all of them will be answered, in time. Trust me, I'm working on getting your memory back."
"You'd really do that?"
"Of course, the worst thing that could happen is to not remember who your true friends and family are. Just enlighten me, how much can you remember of your life?"
"I remember everything after I was 8, starting when Greg and Tamara adopted me. Anything that happened before then is like a void, it's like I didn't even have a life back then."
"Don't worry, you had a life," Pan assured.
"How do you know?"
"Just because you lost your memory, doesn't mean other people forgot, too," Pan explained.
"So then you knew me?" Jane asked for confirmation.
"More than you know about yourself," Pan said matter of factly.
"Then why can't you tell me everything? 8 years couldn't be that long."
"Oh, it was much longer than 8 years," Pan said. Jane was confused how it could be longer than 8 years seeing as she was 15 now.
"Fine, if you won't say anything about my past, please explain to me where we're going."
"We're going to play a game."