Alright, after a long and tiresome week, I think we all just need a little fanfiction to unwind and relax while all those sore loser yahoos go and throw their little tantrums. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own OUaT or its characters.
The next morning, everyone readied themselves for the final battle against Pan and hopefully save Henry. With Nicholas leading, he took a moment to stop and sniff out two familiar scents ahead; Regina and Gold's.
"Well, if this is your version of a rescue party, we got here just in time." Regina remarked.
"Impeccable timing as always, sister dear." Nicholas said dryly. "What are you two doing here?" asked Snow.
"Well, same as you, except we actually have a chance." Regina said gesturing to the small cube in Gold's hands, "Pandora's Box. It could trap Pan for eternity simply by opening the lid."
"You didn't tell me my father was with her." Neal said to Emma.
"I didn't know." she replied.
"Wait, your father is the dark one?" Tink asked.
"Yeah, and he's not getting anywhere near Henry."
"Bae." Gold pleaded.
"Why? What are you talking about?" Nicholas asked.
"There's a prophecy that says that Henry will be his undoing. He didn't come here to protect him. He came here to kill him."
"That's why you didn't want to find Neal before you got Henry back." Regina realized, "Because you knew he'd spill your secret."
"Everything I did was to protect Henry, to rescue him from Pan." Gold defended.
"It all makes sense." Emma deduced, "You left before we even made shore."
"You wanted to get to Henry first." Snow continued as she readied her bow.
"To be on his own." David said as he and Hook drew their swords.
"So no one could stop you." Hook added.
"So you could kill him." Nicholas finished as he hardened his shield and drew his sword.
"It's not gonna happen." Emma denied, "Not unless you go through all of us first."
"You're making a mistake. I don't care if the boy is destined to be my undoing. I won't hurt him." Gold calmly informed.
"Because that sounds just like you." Regina said sarcastically.
"Without me, you will fail. I'm the most powerful amongst us."
"Magic wise." Nicholas muttered.
"That's why we can't trust you." Neal glared.
"If I could give you my dagger, I would. But I can't."
"But you can give me Pandora's Box. I don't have to trust you if I could stop you."
"Son." Gold pleaded, but the look on Neal's face proved he wasn't going to change his mind. So, in order to gain at least some trust with his son, Gold gave him the box.
"Hey, you so much as lift a finger to perform magic, you're gonna spend an eternity in this box." he warned.
"Let's go." said Emma. About an hour of walking later, Tink informed the group they arrived.
"We're here. Pan's perimeter." she confirmed.
"It's time. Tink will sneak us in the back like we planned. We grab Henry. In and out, simple." Emma explained before asking Neal, "You good with Pan patrol?"
"Locked and loaded." he nodded.
"You mind if I borrow this?" Gold as taking Hook's sword, "You said no magic, I agreed. But I'm not walking in there with nothing but my good looks."
"Here." Nicholas said giving Hook his own sword, "In case your good looks fail you."
"Thanks, mate."
"Let's get Henry." Emma said.
As everyone peered through the bushes and branches at the camp, they waited for the opportune moment to strike. "Can I at least use magic on these boys?" Gold asked.
"No." Neal answered.
"I'll do it." Regina offered.
"You remember the spell?" Rumple asked causing Regina to glare at him before rendering the teens unconscious.
"Where's Pan?" Nicholas asked.
"I don't know." Emma responded, "Henry!"
"He's gotta be somewhere." David said.
"Where?" Snow asked.
"Help!" a girl cried. Emma ran towards the voice and found a blonde girl in a nightgown held in a cage similar to Neal's, "You-you're an adult."
"My name's Emma. I'm looking for my son." Emma said as the others caught up.
"Wendy?" Neal asked.
"Of course, why not?" Nicholas asked bluntly.
"Do I know you?"
"It's Baelfire." he laughed.
"You two know each other?" Emma asked.
"Bae!" Wendy gasped.
"Yeah. Yeah, we do."
"Can it really be you?" she asked as he opened the cage and pulled her into a hug, "I thought I'd never see you again."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, I-I came back to save you."
"You did that for me?"
"Well, I couldn't bear for you to be without a family, not after you told us that your mother and father were both dead."
"You told her I was dead?" Gold asked.
"It was easier than telling the truth, my own father abandoned me."
"Okay," Nicholas carried impatiently, "Can we get back on track to finding my nephew?"
"Right." Neal nodded, "Wendy, since you've been here, have you seen my son? His name's Henry."
"You have a son?"
"Yeah. Pan needs his heart."
"Has he said anything about the Heart of the Truest Believer?" Emma asked.
"No. I'm sorry, he never mentioned anything about a heart."
"She's lying." Gold accused pointing his sword at the girl, "Where is he?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell are you doing?" David asked getting between them.
"I've carried enough lies in my life to recognize their burden."
"For once, I agree with the imp." Nicholas admitted, "She knows where Henry is."
"Is that true?" Neal asked.
"You don't understand." Wendy admitted.
"You're helping Pan?" Snow asked.
"He's keeping John and Michael alive, only if I do as he says."
"Trust me, whatever he's promised, he will go back on his word." Gold informed.
"And why should I trust a man who abandoned his own son?" Wendy sneered.
"Because your brothers did." Regina replied, "They trusted a woman named Belle. They helped her get this box so we can defeat Pan."
"They're okay?" Wendy asked in hope.
"For now, and only if we succeed." Gold stressed.
"Wendy, we will save John and Michael, I swear to God." Neal promised, "But right now, I really need your help. Please."
"…Pan told Henry that he needs his heart to save magic." Wendy explained, "But it's a lie. He needs it to save himself."
"What do you mean?" Hook asked.
"Pan's dying. He needs the Heart of the Truest Believer to absorb all the magic in Neverland. And once he does…he will be immortal, all powerful."
"And what happens to Henry?" Snow asked.
"Equivalent Exchange." Nicholas said aloud, "Pan lives and Henry dies. Is that right?"
"Yes." Wendy nodded causing everyone to pause for a moment.
"How do we stop Pan?" David asked.
"Pan took Henry to Skull Rock. But you haven't got much time."
"Then we stay behind. Someone needs to be here to guard the Lost Boys when they wake up." he decided.
"You don't need to stay behind." Emma argued.
"David's right." Snow agreed, "You get him home, tell him we love him."
"Tell him yourself when you get back from Deadman's Peak." Emma corrected, "Gold can cure you back in Storybrooke. We just need to bring some of the water with us."
Hearing this, Snow rushed up and gave her daughter a tight hug. "You didn't give up." she whispered before looking to Gold, "Thank you."
"Well, apparently, that's the only thanks I need these days." he replied dryly.
"Tink and I will take care of things here." Hook added, "Meet you back at the Jolly Roger when you find Henry."
"Promise me if your father and I don't make it back, you get him home." Snow pleaded.
"We're all going back home." Emma corrected, "Together."
Soon the group went their separate ways, Emma, Gold, Nicholas, Regina and Neal sailed over to Skull Rock as fast as they could. When they arrived, Nicholas inspected the ground.
"They're here." he informed, "Those are footprints are Henry's."
"Wendy was right. They're here." Emma said as she tried to climb the nearest stairs but was thrown back by a barrier; thankfully, Nicholas caught her before she could hit the ground.
"I got you." he whispered, "Mind telling us what that was, Rumple?"
"Pan cast a protection spell." he answered simply.
"There has to be a way to break it." Regina said as she threw a fireball at it. Unfortunately, it bounced right back.
"Careful with that!" Neal shouted.
"Try all you want, but Pan's magic is too powerful. At least for you." lectured the dark one as he crossed over with ease.
"How did you do that?" Emma asked.
"The spell is designed to keep anyone who casts a shadow from entering." he explained.
"And you don't have one." Neal observed, "You were telling the truth about ripping your shadow off."
"And Pan knows it. That's why he cast the spell he did. This isn't about keeping you out. It's about drawing me in. He knows I won't give up the chance to finish what I came here to do."
"You really did come here to save Henry."
"I gave you my trust with that box. Now I need you to give it back."
As Neal was about to give it to his father, Regina snatched it from him and held it close to Rumple's face threateningly. "You better come through, Gold. Or Nicholas and I will make whatever Pan has planned for you look like child's play. You understand me?"
"Well, a simple 'good luck' would've sufficed." joked Rumple as he marched up the stairs.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Nicholas asked.
"What about the spell my father used to rip off his shadow?" Neal suggested.
"You think if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't have done it already?"
"The moon." Emma said out of the blue.
"The moon?" Regina asked.
"The moon is what causes our shadows, right? What if there was a way to block it out using magic?" she offered.
"If you were able to make an eclipse last long enough for us to cross over, it could work." Nicholas speculated.
"So?" Emma asked her teacher.
"I need help."
"With magic?" Emma asked in surprise.
"It requires a lot. I guess we're about to find out how much those lessons I gave you paid off. Follow my lead." Regina instructed as they raised their hands and looked to the moon.
"Just make it quick, okay?" Nicholas asked nervously before thinking, "Last thing I need is to speed up his plans."
As the moon became as dark as night, everyone rushed past the barrier line and ran up the stairs as fast as they could. One they reached the top of the skull, they saw Pan with Henry who was taking his own heart out.
"Henry, wait!" Neal shouted.
"Kiddo, whatever Pan's telling you to do, don't do it." Nicholas pleaded.
"Dad?" Henry asked, "You're alive?"
"I am, buddy. And I need you to listen to us. Pan is lying to you."
"Oh, pleasure to see you, too, Baelfire, not to mention the Savior, her boyfriend the Immortal Alchemist, and the Evil Queen." Pan greeted in distaste.
"Boyfriend?" Regina asked.
"Later." Nicholas waved off.
"Henry, you need to get away from him now." Emma warned, "He's trying to hurt you."
"No." Henry argued, "The Heart of the Truest Believer. It's what's gonna save magic. It's gonna save all of you."
"No, it's not." said Regina, "This was never about magic, Henry. You have to believe us."
"The only person Pan's interested in saving is himself." Nicholas added.
"That's not true!" Henry debated.
"Of course it isn't." Pan defended.
"Yes, it is!" Neal shot back, "Pan can't live without you dying. If you give him your heart, it's gonna kill you."
"They're trying to stem your belief, Henry. But don't let them." Pan lied, "Remember, every hero gets tested."
"Henry," Emma said seeing her son's confliction, "I know what being a hero looks like, and this isn't it."
"Why would they lie?" Henry asked Pan.
"Because that's what adults do, Henry. You know that better than anyone." Pan replied.
"Henry, you have to believe us." Regina pleaded.
"Your family doesn't care about Neverland, Henry. They know if you give your heart to save it, then you'll have to stay. They're being selfish because they don't wanna lose you."
"Henry, you have to trust us." Emma begged.
"Trust?" Pan scoffed hotly, "I'm the only one who's ever been honest with you, Henry. The only one who ever believed in you. This is your choice, not theirs. You have to choose now. We're running out of time."
"We believe in you, Henry." Neal said with honesty and love.
"Because we love you." Emma added.
"More than anything." Regina said sincerely.
"That's always been the truth." Nicholas nodded.
"I love you, too." Henry said with a sad smile, "But I have to save magic."
"Henry, don't." Nicholas pleaded.
"I'm sorry." he apologized as he slammed his heart into Pan's chest.
"NO!" they all cried as a shock wave of magic erupted from Pan and engulfed Neverland. Pan rose into the air triumphantly while Henry laid motionless on the ground. Everyone went over to him and looked up to see the smug teenager grinning at the maniacally.
OUaT