Finally months after nothing from me on this story, I have returned with a new chapter. I want to apologize again for taking too long. I lost my muse for the story, and for that, I really am sorry. Luckily, I seem to have gotten it back and am trying to focus on getting a few chapters put out quickly to kind of fill the void of no updates.

As always, I would like to give a shout out to people who have reviewed/followed/favorited this story and the previous two. Those people are the following: Lost Lady of Time, SerahFalcon, billieshade, Kuramalover2006, QueenofConfusion13, Dreamer4life16, Momokeito, serenitylovegod, Ilovebahasa, youknowdoctorwho395, kawaiikisses, LisaPark, .142240, eamoose, and Las Nekos del Ying-Yang. You all are so awesome, and I am grateful you guys have been enjoying my fics. I would also like to thank anyone who took the time out to read my fics. It hasn't seemed like it lately, but they have truly been a labor of love for me. But enough of my babbling. Here's the new chapter!


Neverland – Present – Neal's Hut

It was as if she'd never left. Isabel led the group to Neal's old hideout with ease. Killian followed almost completely baffled by the part of the island that had remained hidden to him. His wife had done an excellent job at making sure he didn't know all the secrets of the island, but it saddened him to realize how much she needed to hide to keep everyone safe from him. As he ducked to miss a low hanging tree branch, he watched more unfamiliar landscape appear. He sighed. He really had been an absolute monster, and it wasn't just to Peter and Isabel. Killian remembered the boy who fell from the sky into the sea when the Darlings arrived. The boy was distrustful of Peter and his magical island, but he eventually had grown to trust Killian oddly enough. That is until Baelfire learned of their connection. Having a rather bratty moment, Killian released Baelfire back to the island. He could only guess afterward was when Peter banished him for being too grown up. They approached what looked like a tiny hut, not big enough to really house a child, but nothing on Neverland was what it seemed. Neal pushed open the door to reveal a staircase leading underground.

"Do you think Terence would bring the children here?" Snow asked.

"No, but he does have a base of operations of sorts somewhere on this island. We need the same thing." Isabel brought up a light so they could see. "Luckily, this place is so well hidden that he'll never guess to look here."

Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, Isabel spread her light to the lanterns attached to the walls. The hideout was more of a cavern, but it was homey enough for a child to live. It looked as if Neal just stepped out. No dust collected or anything out of place. It looked as though he would be right back. Sometimes Neverland paused. Isabel had to guess that was the case. Because she hadn't seen much of anyone else from Neverland in Storybrooke, Isabel had to guess that Regina's curse didn't reach that far. She remembered Snow and Emma talking about parts of the enchanted forest being destroyed by the curse. Neverland, like Neal's home, seemed mostly untouched. Everyone stood around for a moment taking in the room in front of them. Neal looked a little uncomfortable having anyone in there, as if he were still that young boy. Isabel supposed she understood his hesitation. For the longest time, he truly believed he was hidden from anyone on the island. Now it was like people were trespassing. She went up to him and laid a hopefully comforting hand on his shoulder. He glanced over at her, giving her an unconvincing smile.

Killian walked up to them. "So what's our next move, love?"

"Our next move is we figure out where all we can look on this island without Terence noticing. Right now, I am certain of only one thing," she told them. "He only cares where Killian and I are, which means he may only be watching us."

"You're thinking we can split up," David said.

"Exactly. If he's only watching the two of us, you five can start looking around this island. Once we start moving, he's not going to really care what the kids are doing. He knows Peter will watch after them for the most part. I'm pretty sure that's what he's banking on. The boys were just a distraction so we're going to use that to our advantage," she told them.

Killian chewed on the inside of the cheek. "So what are we going to do while everyone looks?"

"My guess is that he's going to keep setting up traps for us to fall into like he did with me. Or, he's going to find a way to make a confrontation happen. We do what he wants," she sighed.

"But you know what's going to happen, don't you?" Snow asked. "He's going to kill you both most likely. What about Peter?"

"My father is back in Storybrooke. If Terence allows Peter to leave this island, then my father will take care of him." Isabel didn't even want to think about what would happen to Peter should she not survive. Looking up at Killian, she took a deep breath. "If I die and he doesn't kill you..."

"No," he shook his head. "We're not going to think like that. We're going to get the kids back. We're going to get off this bloody island again with our son and without that bastard." They stared at each other for a second before Isabel nodded.

"So this is what we're going to do," she started. "I'm going to mark on a map all the places I know for a fact Peter might take the boys while exploring. As Tinkerbell, I went almost everywhere with him. Keep in mind, though, that Peter isn't one to just stop anywhere. He has his own little safe places around here. I'll mark those too."

The group stared back at her a little uneasy. What if her plan backfired and Terence decided he needed to harm the children to prove a point? What if he killed them all? Isabel knew what they were thinking, and she knew there was a bit of a risk in her plan. She needed to trust that Terence was incapable of harming the children. They needed to trust her. Besides, out of everyone in the group, Isabel probably did know the island much better. She prided herself a little in at least knowing more about the island and its magic than Terence did. Taking a deep breath, she took the map she'd conjured up earlier and started to work marking all the places they could possibly look for the children. Everyone dispersed around Neal's underground home while Isabel worked. Once again she felt as if they were all watching her carefully. She got it. All of this was primarily her fault, and they had every right to blame her. That included Killian. How he seemed so accepting of everything was a little beyond her. She wasn't going to kid herself into thinking all had been forgiven. It seemed like it had been. She knew better. The man could hold a grudge. That certainly was evident with his need for revenge. Looking over at him, she caught him staring at her.

"He watches you a lot," Emma told her as she sat down by the table.

"Probably wonders if I'm going to disappear again." Isabel went back to marking the map.

"Is that what happened? You just disappeared?" The blonde asked.

"Pretty much," Isabel nodded. "I didn't really have much of a choice. I had to leave."

Emma sat back in the chair. "I'm not judging you. We all do things that we think are in the best interest of others, right?"

She must have been referring to putting Henry up for adoption. Or maybe she was thinking along the line of her parents sending her to the non-magical world. "I honestly thought that was the case at the time."

"If he's still alive, isn't that what matters? He could have died still. Wouldn't you say everything worked out?" Emma asked.

"Are you trying to justify the fact that he became a villain for me?" Isabel chuckled. "Trust me. I spent centuries here trying to do so. Oh he's just a little bad. At least he's survived. Oh he's trying to murder our son because he's too clouded by his unfortunate need for revenge to realize it's him." She shook her head. "He would have had a much happier life if I had stayed. I realize that now."

"What are you going to do if this whole thing doesn't work out?" Well that was out of nowhere. "And none of that you'll find a way for it to bullshit. Realistically, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill Terence." Isabel said it without any hesitation. There was a chance that Killian would not survive a show down with Terence. She knew that it may come to killing Terence. She had to be honest with herself. She did not mind the prospect of that being how it turned out. If it meant saving her husband and son, she would do it.


Killian kept a close eye on Isabel. His wife was very good at pretending, much better than she had been before. He could tell she was only pretending to be confident with her plan, but he could tell things were not as they seemed. While everyone else seemed to be fooled, Killian certainly was not. There were only two people - maybe three now with Peter in the picture - who knew Isabel so well that they could always call her bluff. The other person being her father, of course. Even with centuries between them, Killian knew Isabel held very little hope that either of them would make it out of Neverland. The pirate had to admit to himself that he wasn't very confident either, but that was unimportant. The only thing he knew for certain about this return to Neverland was Terence definitely was not going to live to tell about any sort of victory. If Isabel didn't set him on fire, Killian was going to be sure to plunge his hook deep into the bastard. Honestly, the prospect of killing Terence was a little satisfying. He supposed it went back to his penchant to seek revenge. Unfortunately, that was something deep within Killian's being that he wasn't sure he would ever get rid of, and that caused a little worry for him.

He could tell himself and anyone else that he didn't need to finish his quest for revenge. Now that he had Isabel back in his life and he could get to know his son, he simply didn't need it. But then there was this ache in him. Most of the time, he could ignore it. Other times, it all but consumed him. Those were the times he'd spend in his room at Isabel's. He would hide away from the world because his anger was far too great, and the part of him that felt at least a little fatherly towards Peter did not want to expose him to that anger ever again. The boy had already seen so much ugliness from Killian; the type he would probably never forget. Killian wanted to be more of an example for his son, though he wasn't sure how well that would work out. The ache he felt was something he had no control over. He didn't want to lash out at Peter for any deeds done in Neverland.

A hand on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts. Glancing behind him, he saw Charming standing there with a disdainful look on his face. Killian's eyebrows rose at that, but he kept any comment to himself. The prince nodded towards the door where everyone else was gathering.

"We're heading out," Charming told him.

"Finally," Killian muttered as he started to head for the door.

Charming's hand held onto his shoulder firmer than before. "I know you're pretending to be here for admirable reasons, but I don't trust you. Neither do they."

"A fact I am well aware of." Not that he cared. As long as Isabel trusted him, everyone else didn't matter. "But in case you've forgotten or weren't paying attention, my family is in danger. So whatever plot you and the others think I have cooked up, you're wrong. I am here for Peter and Isabel. Not anyone else." He shrugged Charming's hand off. "Best you not get in the way of that. Worry more about the other children on this island. The longer they stay, the more they'll never want to leave. I hear forcing them to leave can be rather damaging. I doubt the parents in Storybrooke want their sons to return depressed."

"What do you mean?" Charming asked.

"This island, mate. It's a good place to go mad, especially for children who never felt like they had a home," Killian explained. "They feel at home here."

A worried look came over Charming's face, but he said nothing to Killian. The two men joined the others. Soon they were on their way to the Lost Boys' hideout. Killian knew where it was in the general sense, but he knew that was the best at the time. Isabel led them through the dark tunnel. She and Regina provided the light for everyone to see. It was too risky to travel in the dense forest of Neverland. Terence could have eyes everywhere. Isabel didn't want him to figure out where they were or what they were planning. It amazed Killian how the passageways were constructed. From the looks of them, they would have been hell to break into. Thick. Impenetrable. Isabel knew what she was doing it seemed. She never failed to impress him really. The people in their village always said she was too clever for her own good, and he adored that about her. She bested him in cleverness; much like she bested him in everything else. He'd almost call it unfair, but he needed someone who could beat him and keep him in line.

The tunnels were quiet aside from their footsteps. Killian felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. It was instinct for him to be suspicious of the silence. If the island was every quiet, it meant something was about to happen. The Lost Boys were up to something. The natives were about to attack. Quiet didn't sit well with Killian. He was happy to know that his usual suspicions would go unfounded. Things were very different in Neverland. It was rather evident not only because he finally knew the truth but because the island felt different as well.

The walk seemed to take ages. He guessed the tunnels and lack of sunlight made it so, but it really couldn't have been no more than ten minutes. Suddenly the party came to a halt. Isabel stepped up to what looked like an absolute dead end, but as she approached, the roots started to move away with a slight groan. A smile grew on her face, and Killian was in awe of what the roots revealed. It wasn't just a hideout. It was a fortress and a home; not at all what he expected. He always imagined it to be a grubby place where the boys plotted against him. It was something else entirely. It reminded him of their home. She started to rush inside, but Emma caught her by the wrist, causing Killian to frown for a moment.

"How do you know it isn't a trap?" the blonde asked.

Isabel looked mildly offended. "My magic is very strong, Emma. I can promise you that Terence is unable to break into the hideout."

"And if he's using Peter?" Regina asked.

"You get in with the right intentions," Killian muttered. They all turned to face him. "It's why my men and I could never find it."

"Exactly," Isabell nodded, pulling her hand away from Emma. She didn't even wait for anyone to ask another question. She entered the hideout, bringing the lights up as she did so.

They followed Isabel inside, not nearly as confident as she was. They trusted her judgment only so much. Killian's trust was implicit. If anyone knew anything about what kind of magic hid the hideout, Isabel would be that person. Stepping up to his wife, Killian took her hand in his.

"Every since I discovered the truth about you and Peter," he began quietly, I've tried to work out if I was as horrible as I seemed or it you were being selfish and keeping him to yourself. You weren't, were you? I was that bad, that callous."

"You were angry, crass, and vengeful, but you were still my husband. It wasn't really one or the other," she told him.

"Both then," he nodded.

"Peter deserved so much better." She looked down. "He needed us to be parents, and he didn't have that. You needed a wife who was honest."

"You had every reason not to be," he admitted.

"I want to show you something." She pulled him to a corner where a dollhouse sat.

He immediately recognized it. "Our home."

"Yes," she nodded. "It was part of my punishment after you arrived."

"You didn't need to punish yourself," he sighed.

"Trust me, love. I did." She opened it to show him how it perfectly matched their home. "Just as you left it."

Killian swallowed thickly. He hadn't seen it in so long that he scarcely remembered what it looked like before the fire. All he could see was the ash, the shawl, and himself on his hands and knees trying to find any other trace of his wife and unborn son. He couldn't bring himself to be angry. Not when it seemed as though she tortured herself. He found himself forgiving her more than he had before.

"I used to look out for you," she told him.

"Meaning?" he asked.

"So you wouldn't hurt Peter or yourself. He would get angry with me at times. I would retreat to a treehouse above this hideout. It helped me keep a watchful eye on both of you while keeping a safe distance." She opened her mouth to say something else, but her hand flew up to her heart. "He's been here."

"Pardon?" Killian was confused.

"Oh our son is clever!" she grinned. "He's been here."

"How can you be sure?" It didn't dawn on him that the connection between Peter and Isabel was much stronger than that of a mother and son.

"I'm his fairy." She started laughing. "And the island is working with us. That clever little boy. I know how we can all win now." Her outburst drew everyone's attention. "We can use the island against him," she explained. "All we have to do is rely on the goodness of this place. If it didn't want Killian here back in the day, it won't want Terence's malevolence here. Our intentions are pure enough to win. We just have to believe."