A/N: 02/18/2015 I AM SO SORRY! I NEVER meant for this story to get this far away from me! D:
Guest: Hey, thanks a ton! I'm definitely checking out that Batman/Harley fic! You're the bomb, hope you enjoy this update! :D
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Nichole: Thank you for both of your reviews! I'm EXTREMELY sorry I haven't updated sooner :( I hope you especially enjoy this chapter! :)
StarKiss666: Thank you! And thanks for your vote! And pfft! 'Have I heard Monster by Eminem'? HA! I LOVE that song! :D That's funny that you were listening to that as you read the chapter, I hope you enjoy this one just as much! :)
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readandwrite4evernever20: Thanks for your vote, I'm glad you think I write Regina's character so well :)
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HenriettaPotterLeFay7: Yes, Regina certainly has made a mess of things. Thanks for your votes, I think I already know what I'm going to do with the ending ;) Glad you enjoyed Henry, Snow, and Charming, and enjoy this update! It's been far too long!
BlackCatNeko999: Thanks for your thoughtful vote! Your logic is astounding! ;) Oh, and to answer your question: when I said they moved the discussion to the front yard I meant that they kicked everyone else (the townsfolk) out into the front yard to wait for Regina, Snow, and Charming's decision on what to do with him, so they were still in her office with Pan. Does that make sense? Anyway, enjoy the update :)
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Reading time: 12-13 mins.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time.
Chapter twenty-one: Fix~
Pan quietly landed on the forest floors of Neverland, his feet lightly crunching the fallen leaves as he crept up to the Hollow Tree to peek inside.
The lights were off, and everyone was still asleep, so he assumed that he must not have been gone that long by Neverland's time standards. Slowly, he snuck inside, keeping his back hunched and his footsteps light as he made his way back to his bunk. He couldn't even begin to describe how thankful he was that time moved so much slower here than it did in-
"Where the hell have you been?"
His head shot up at the harsh whisper, and as his eyes adjusted after having been in the daylight for so long back in Storybrooke, he was (unfortunately) able to make out the dimmed figure of Emma Swan and her not-so-happy face.
He swallowed, already coming up with a believable excuse as to why he wasn't in bed like the others as he straightened his back and stood back in his normal posture. She'd only asked a single question, yet he already knew that this wasn't going to be easy.
"Emma! What are you doing up?"
He couldn't see it very well, but he knew that she was rolling her eyes by the way she swayed her head.
"Me? What about you?! What are you doing up at this hour? That's what I'd like know!"
Deciding to take the easy way out, Pan lowered his voice into an innocent tone and said, "I was only gone for a minute."
Unfortunately for him, this only seemed to spark her anger further. "A minute? You've been gone all day! What are you talking about 'only gone for a minute'? What kind of bull is that?"
And then it hit him - an hour in Storybrooke was the equivilant of an entire day in Neverland. He hadn't been away for as long as he'd thought, he'd been away longer. He supposed he couldn't really blame himself for his forgetfulness; after all, it had been centuries since he'd been to the other side, so of course he wouldn't remember if it was hours ahead or behind in Storybrooke. Still, he doubted that it would be enough of an excuse to convince the fuming little Savior in front of him.
"Look," he said, deciding it was best to just come clean. "I'll admit, I've been away for awhile. I was...running an errand."
"An errand?" She echoed, uncrossing her arms in both suspicion and interest. "What do you mean?"
Crap.
He hadn't thought she'd be this nosy.
"Just...an errand, okay? It doesn't concern you."
She sensed his lie immediately, and he almost cursed all the time they'd spent together (for how could she possibly know when he was lying if not for all of opportunities she's had to study his face?) but he knew deep down that no matter how stressed things got between them, he could never wish to truly take back such wonderful memories.
"Like hell it doesn't!" She whispered, stepping closer to try and pry the truth out of him. "Now tell me what you were doing that was so important you had to leave for the whole day without so much as a word!"
He exhaled in irritation, clenching and unclenching his fists as he tried to decide within the next five seconds whether or not she could handle his answer. But in the end, he knew that she would get him to tell her eventually, and really, wouldn't it be better to just deal with it now rather than later? Sighing in defeat, Pan relaxed his shoulders and relented. Might as well get this over with.
"I went to see Henry," he said finally, bracing himself for her reaction.
Emma gasped, a tiny, small sound, but was otherwise silent.
He began to wonder if she'd say anything at all, worried that maybe he'd sent her into some kind of shock, but then-
"You...you went to Storybrooke?"
He froze, unsure of how to handle the gravity of her question. Surely whatever answer he gave would spur on a thousand more questions from her, and whatever answer he gave to those questions would only make her angrier and angrier, so really, what was the point? But at the same time, she'd always been honest with him (as far as he knew, anyway), so it was only fair that he be the same way with her. No matter how much it hurt.
"Yes." He said, tone blunt.
"Wha...why?" She asked, sounding as though she were out of breath.
"Because I knew you weren't happy," he said, contempt rising in his voice. "And I knew that no matter how much I tried, I'd never be good enough. You'd always miss your family."
She fell silent then, her lack of words only confirming the truth he'd tried to keep from believing for so long.
"That...that's not true..."
"Isn't it?" He scoffed, smiling despite the pain and anger he felt. "There's no use denying it, you know. You practically oozed unhappiness from the moment you got here. I was just too blind to see it."
"Stop talking like I don't care about you!" She snapped, voice rising.
"...Emma?"
They both turned their heads towards the sound, and found Tootles sitting up in his bed, tiredly rubbing his eyes. He had always been a light sleeper, so neither of them were really surprised, but it didn't lessen the sting they both felt at having woken one of them up because of their petty fight.
"Is that you?" The little boy asked, yawning.
Emma moved past Pan to the row of bunks lining the walls of the Hollow Tree, kneeling down to try and lull him back to sleep.
"Hey, little man," she cooed, tucking him in. "Go back to sleep, okay? It's late."
"But what are you doing?" He asked innocently, rubbing his eyes and pinching his brows together. "Is Pan back yet?"
Emma's shoulders tensed, and he could tell that she struggled to keep the calming tone in her voice as she answered. "Yeah. Yeah, he's back."
"Where'd he go?" He asked.
He couldn't see it because her back was to him, but Pan imagined her pursing her lips in distress.
"...He went back to the place where I'm from for a little while." She said finally, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Why?" Tootles asked, curious.
She hesitated, unsure how to reply. "Uh...well, he-"
"What's going on?"
Their heads turned to look at Felix, who was lighting one of the oil lamps by his bunk, and soon enough the others woke up as well.
Emma stood up and backed away towards Pan, and the others stared at the two of them in suspicion and confusion.
"None of your concern, Felix. Fo back to bed," Pan ordered, glaring at him.
Felix stared at him, wide-eyed, and the others seemed equally fearful of their leader as they sat up in their individual beds, all of them wishing they could've just stayed asleep.
Realizing he was quickly losing the upper hand, Pan rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of Sleeping Dust from his belt, wasting no time in hurling it at the unsuspecting boys. Their heads hit their pillows almost simultaneously, and Emma was quick to jump to the offensive at his rash behavior.
"What is wrong with you?!"
He nonchalantly crossed his arms. "Would you have rather I explained to them that we're in the middle of a heated debate that they have no way of truly understanding?"
The teen Savior pursed her lips and shook her hands in anger, knowing that she couldn't really rebutt him, but was far too stubborn to back down without the last word.
"What I'd 'rather' is for you to tell the truth instead of turning to magic every time you run into a problem!" She yelled, knowing full well that the Sleeping Dust would prevent the others from waking up for at least another few hours.
Pan glared at her, but the longer he stared the more he realized; she was right. He did run to magic every time he had a problem. And ever since they'd been together, it had only gotten worse. He'd had to use far more magic in the past week than he'd had to in the past decade just to ensure that there weren't any problems between them, and in truth it was just a temporary solution to a growing problem; Emma wasn't happy, and all he'd done was ignore it and cover it up with Pixie Dust rather than try and help her.
"...You're right, Emma," he said, softening his expression. "I do use magic every time there's a problem. And it's time to put an end to it."
He slowly reached for the vial of Pixie Dust hanging from his belt, and she stared at him in growing panic. "What are you doing?"
He looked up at her, truly sorry for what he was about to do. "What I should have done from the beginning."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"I'm sorry, Emma."
She opened her mouth to say something, but he was already throwing the magic-infused dust before she could get out another word. The golden dust splayed across her form from head to toe, and he was careful not to blink as she faded from view within mere nanoseconds.
It had been centuries since he'd ever experienced such a whirlwind of emotions, but he's suddenly overcome with them all at once. The shock and loathing and grief hit him like a tidal wave, and it suddenly feels like the room is spinning.
He stumbled back and leaned against the table for support, wondering what he was going to do now, how he was going to explain to the others once they woke up. Tootles would probably miss her the most, but he doubted that all of them combined could match just how much he would miss her. Heck, he already missed her.
But it was done now, and he couldn't just take it back. And the gaping hole he felt in his chest only proved to open his eyes even more to the ramifications of what he'd done; he never should have tampered with a Prophecy as powerful as the Savior's, never should have attempted to bend Fate. But he had, and now the only thing he could do was to try and make it better. It was too late to fix it completely, but maybe, just maybe, he could get things back on track to the way they were supposed to be.
Emma would be happy now, she was where she belonged.
It was better this way.
It had to be.
Emma squeezed her eyes shut, shielding her face and bracing herself for whatever effects the dust would have on her.
She felt it wash over her, cling to her skin and hair and clothes, and she stood there, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen, but she felt nothing; it was as if the dust had no effect at all, and she had panicked for no reason.
She opened her eyes, expecting to be face to face with Pan, but he wasn't there. Nothing was there - not Pan, not the Lost Boys, not the Hollow Tree...not anything.
Emma looked frantically around her, eyes hurting from the sudden change from night to day, freezing when her gaze landed on the road sign twenty feet away.
What she saw she just couldn't believe, and the sheer force of it all brought shallow gasps to her lungs and stinging tears to her eyes.
She was back in Storybrooke.
A/N: Don't worry, this WILL have a happy ending! Judging from the remaining plot points for me to hit, I've got about 3 more chapters to go before this thing is finished. I'd really like to write another Pemma fanfiction, but I'm pretty much sapped dry as far as ideas. Oh, well :P
Anyway, sorry again for taking so long to update, writer's block has been an absolute jerk to me lately :/
I'll try and update again soon!