Chapter 29
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"How's this possible?" the tall blond whispered in a low voice, wearing a somewhat baffled expression across his face.
Pan let out an angry snort. His eyes flashed back towards the dark night sky as he stared crossly at the empty spot where the Evening Star usually shone.
"I think you know exactly how this is possible." the young man finally spat out darkly. "Someone has called for her. A wish upon a star."
There was a long beat of silence between them, the air filled with a dangerous tension.
Pan had nis eyes glued on the dark night sky, his illuminated pale face taut with anger. Felix stared at him, careful to keep some distance between him and the enraged young man.
"Maybe it's just coincidence?" the tall blond offered after a while of tensed silence.
But Pan just rolled his eyes as he turned his head to give the other a scornful look.
"Coincidence?!" he repeated with a contemptuous but cheerless laugh. "Come on Felix, you can do better than that."
Pan stroked his boyish face with one hand and pressed his lips to a thin line.
Thinking.
"This has to do with Belle." he concluded quietly as he stared worriedly into space. "Someone has called for her mother's help."
He began to pace the small, glistering meadow where they were standing, shaking his head every now and then, obviously trying to figure out what was going on.
"The shaman?" Felix suggested with a shrug of his shoulders, but earned just a vehement head-shaking.
"Sahakawe is probably dead by now." Pan replied, a cruel smile toying around his lips.
Felix stared at him with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Destroying Pandora's Box and the Shadow within takes a lot more than her ridiculous magic." the young man explained with a long sigh. "Destroying something that powerful demands something powerful in return."
He turned his head and stared at the tall blond with raised brows.
"Sacrifice." he added with a knowing smirk.
"She destroyed the Shadow?" Felix asked with furrowed brows.
Pan shrugged his shoulders in response.
"And herself in the process."
He lifted his gaze to see the shocked expression on Felix's face.
"Don't you worry, Felix." Pan reassured with a crooked smile. "Now that we have Belle, we don't need the Shadow anymore. We no longer need more children to come to Neverland. Neverland will come to them."
Felix nodded, but the concerned look stayed plastered on his face. The Shadow had been a dangerous but useful weapon – the tall blond knew that. The Shadow was the reason why Neverland had existed for such a long time, had ensured its existence. Neverland had always been a magical place, was born from the dreams and beliefs of unloved children in other realms. They came to the island in their dreams, provided it with magic and power – known as the Lights of Neverland. As long as children believed in the place, Neverland would continue to exist. But times had changed – the children had changed. They no longer believed. Slowly but steady, Neverland would lose its power and magic and would have been soon buried in nonexistence – if it hadn't been for the Shadow.
Due to Pan's final sacrifice, he was not easily able to leave the island. The longer Pan was parted from the island, the weaker he became. Felix had seen it before, when Pan had left the island to look for the one child from the mysterious prophecy – when Pan had looked for Belle. Whenever he had returned to the island, he had been paler and weaker than before. It had required much of Neverland's magic to restore Pan's power again. The only creature that was able to leave the island was the Shadow. It was always in search of lonely children, would haunt and then fill their fantasies with thoughts of Neverland – and they would come here in their dreams, securing the island's existence and Pan's power and life for several more years.
And now, the Shadow was gone – destroyed and would never return.
"She's not ready. What if…" Felix protested carefully but stopped mid-sentence and averted his eyes as he met Pan's dark gaze. From the corners of his eyes, he noticed as Pan slowly moved closer until he was standing only inches away from him.
"Do you doubt me, Felix?" he heard Pan's dark voice challenge. For people who didn't know Pan as well as Felix did, it might have sounded like a casual, maybe even concerned question – friendly even. But Felix knew better. He recognized the challenge, the determination in Pan's voice.
"Of course not, Peter." Felix finally replied with a steady voice as he looked the other man straight into his eyes.
Pan searched Felix's eyes for several moments before his expression softened and he nodded.
"Good." he said and flashed a small smile at the other man and took several steps away. "I need to know that you're still on my side with this."
"Of course I am." Felix once again confirmed dutifully.
"I've got her." Pan continued after some more moments of silence. "Things are different from the last time, Felix. She trusts me already."
His eyes flickered once again towards the glistering night sky. The Evening Star was still gone – still down on earth.
"But we need to be careful." The young man added thoughtfully. "We need to find out who called upon her mother's star and why."
"Can't you just track them down?" Felix asked.
"The stardust is blocking my powers." Pan answered darkly through clenched teeth.
There was another long beat of silence between the young men, both staring up to the incomplete night-sky.
"Have you already found Hook?" Pan suddenly asked without looking at Felix.
The tall blond slowly shook his head.
"Not yet." he finally replied hesitantly.
"Take the Twins and go and find him, he's somewhere out there." Pan ordered, the calm in his voice betraying the burning feeling of hatred he was feeling inside. He moved his gaze away from the night-sky and looked at his companion with an evil look on his face. "The pirate should be dead already. We can't risk him finding Belle. Not yet."
Felix nodded dutifully.
"The pirate will be dead by sunrise." he promised with a dark smile toying around his thin lips.
Pan returned Felix's sinister grin and nodded his approval.
"What are we going to do about whoever called for Belle's mother?" Felix asked, the concerned look back on his face.
Pan let out a long sigh and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe it's not that problematic after all. Whoever called upon her, that won't change anything. I will tell Belle about her abilities and her origin sooner or later. Until then, they won't be able to find her."
A deep chuckle escaped his lips as a glimpse of dark mischief appeared in the depth of his brown eyes.
"Well and when they do, it'll be too late."
Felix nodded his satisfied agreement and was just about to turn to follow his given task, when another thought crossed his mind.
"What about our newly arrived guest?" he asked. "Maybe this is his doing?"
Pan stared at the other man for some more moments before he let out a long breath.
"Most things are." the young man finally agreed hesitantly. "Maybe it's just about time to pay our dear…" he let out a dark laugh before he spat "… guest … a visit."
Without another look at Felix, Pan wheeled around and vanished into the thicket of the forest.
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Tootles was standing behind a big tree near to the meadow, following the conversation between the young men with wide open eyes. Something was wrong, he knew that. Pan had never told them about Belle's mother – he had always told Tootles and the other Lost Boys that Belle's mother was dead after she had left the poor girl and that Belle didn't want to talk about her mother. Why should someone call her for help? And what kind of 'guest' had they been talking about who could have something to do with that?
Tootles furrowed his brows as his eyes followed Pan into the darkness of the woods.
Peter had always told them that he would never keep secrets from them as he needed the Lost Boys to believe and trust in him. But according to the conversation between Felix and him, there was much more behind the entire story than Pan had revealed. And Tootles was only too eager to find out.
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Tootles had followed Pan into the thicket of the forest, carefully keeping the distance to the leader and with his heart slamming hard against his rip-cage.
"I've brought you something." he heard Pan say with an almost soft voice.
The young man was standing in front of a large, wooden cage and pushed a plate with deliciously smelling eggs through the bars.
There was a dark figure sitting on the other side of the cage, but it didn't move.
Pan let out a long sigh.
"Come on, you need to eat something."
No answer.
Tootles slowly moved closer to get a better look at who exactly was locked up in the wooden prison.
But it was too dark to make out more than a slender form who was leaning against the thick bars of the cage.
"And here I made your favorite breakfast." Pan sighed once again. "But if you don't want them, I do."
With those words, he conjured another plate with steaming food on it, sat down in front of the cage and began to eat it.
"Delicious, really." he assured with full mouth and a broad grin. "Sure you don't want some?"
"What do you want." came an angry growl from inside the cage.
"I came to talk." Pan replied after some moments of silence.
The figure inside the cage let out a short, unamused laugh.
"Talk?" he taunted. "I'm not interested in anything you have to say."
A small, wicked smile appeared on the young man's face as he stood up and walked towards the cage.
"Can a father not simply talk to his son?" he asked innocently. "About common interests."
"We have nothing in common." the dark figure spat in return.
Even from the distance, Tootles could see the cruel expression that was darting over Pan's face.
"Is that so?" he chuckled darkly. "Not even our common interest in stars?"
As soon as the words had left Pan's mouth, the dark figure immediately jumped up and hurried towards the bars. Tootles peeked from behind the big tree and immediately recognized the trapped person.
His mouth fell open.
It was the Dark One.
He was free from scales and glistering skin and looked more human than he had ever seen him before. But he recognized him nonetheless.
"What have you done to her?" Rumpelstiltskin growled as he practically pressed his face through the gap between the wooden bars, his slender fingers firmly clenched around them.
Pan didn't back away, seemingly rather satisfied than impressed by the earned reaction.
He even leant a little bit closer towards the Dark One's face.
"I saved her." he replied with a sinister smile and with his eyes gleaming from self-satisfaction.
Tootles saw how the Dark One's human form almost trembled from tension and anger, his face taut with rage.
"The only one from whom she needs saving is you." he hissed in a quavering voice.
But Pan just let out an amused chuckle and cocked his head.
"Well I do doubt that, laddie." He laughed. "I'm the one who frees her from the ones that always kept her down. I'm the one who frees her from her childish believe in people that deserve neither her heart nor soul."
Rumeplstiltskin's arm snatched through the bars of the cage as his hand closed around Pan's throat. Tootle's eyes widened and he was just about to storm out of his hiding place when Pan's amused but cold chuckle made him stop in motion.
"You can't harm me." Pan taunted with glistering eyes. "You don't have that in you, Rumple."
His eyes flickered towards the leathern wristband that was closed around the Dark One's wrist.
"And with your magic bound, you couldn't even muster enough magic to even try."
The Dark One's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared as he stared at the young man with more hatred than Tootles had ever seen before.
"If you harm Belle, I will find a way to destroy you,Pan." he hissed but earned yet another dark chuckle from his opponent.
The younger one waved his hand through the air and a wave of magic made the Dark One go down on his knees. He screamed in pain and brought both hands up to hold his paining head. Suddenly, the screaming stopped and Rumpelstiltskin rested his head against the thick wooden bars, panting heavily.
The cruel smile on Pan's face broadened as he crouched down, eying the most feared sorcerer across the realms with a contemptuous expression on his face.
"There, there…" he chided with a shake of his head. "… is this a way how to address your father, Rumple? After everything I've done for you?"
The Dark One raised his gaze to give the young man in front of him a scornful look, but said nothing.
"I told you to leave, didn't I? I gave you a bean, I gave you a second chance." Pan sighed. "You didn't want to listen, laddie, just as it used to be, back then."
"Did you really expect me to leave after I had discovered the real purpose of Henry's abduction?" the Dark One spat. "Unlike you, I'd never leave the ones I hold most dear."
The expression on Pan's face darkened.
"And look where you are now." he retorted scornfully. "Caged, powerless … unloved."
A smile appeared on his lips as he continued.
"And Belle has found her way back to me. And this time, she'll stay as long as it is needed."
The Dark One's eyes widened.
"Oh you should have seen her, Rumple." Pan said with mock-pity in his voice. "Alone and frightened. Confused and oh so grateful that I was there to rescue her from her loneliness and broken heart."
"But Hook…" the Dark One began, but Pan immediately waved him off.
"Was quite a problem indeed." Pan confirmed. "Who would have thought that he'd fall for our dear little Belle, mh? Quite an interesting turn of events, and I have to admit that both of you made it pretty difficult for me to make Belle lose faith in you."
The young man sighed heavily and shrugged his shoulders.
"If you'd only killed him right away, Rumple. That would have made things so much easier."
"That's something you'll never understand." Rumpelstiltskin growled, but a pained expression was darting across his face.
There was a long moment of tensed silence between them as both men eyed the other with a hate-filled glimpse in their eyes.
"Well I guess that's no longer of importance." Pan finally stated and stood up.
The Dark One mirrored the young man's movement and stood up as well.
"Take me instead." he suddenly exclaimed and Pan cocked his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Pan asked warily.
"You can have the dagger, can become the Dark One. Just promise me you'll let Belle free and let her have the life she deserves."
Pan stared at the other man for some moments before his lips curled up into a sinister smile.
"Look at that." he taunted. "The Dark One wants to give his life for the woman he loves."
The Dark One swallowed hard but kept eye-contact and nodded.
Pan let out a shrill laugh and shook his head.
"But I'm not interested in becoming the Dark One, laddie." he said. "Not in the least."
Confused, Rumpelstiltskin shook his head in confusion and furrowed his brow.
"Then what is it that you want?" he asked.
A mischievous smile darted over Pan's face as he moved his face closer until it was hovering only inches before the Dark One's.
"Her heart." he whispered.
"Never!" Rumpelstiltskin yelled.
Suddenly, the Dark One's arm was buried deep inside Peter Pan's chest, his dark eyes never leaving his. Pan let out a surprised gasp and his eyes widened as a triumphant smile appeared on the other man's face.
But within milliseconds, the triumphant smile on Rumpelstiltskin's face turned into an unbelieving and then completely shocked expression.
Pan clutched his hand around Rumpelstiltskin's arm and leant in even closer, Rumpel's hand still buried in his chest and a haughty grin plastered on the younger man's face.
"Search as long as you want, laddie." he laughed and even dared to wink at the other man. "But I'm afraid you won't make a find."
Shocked and obviously puzzled, the Dark One pulled his hand out of Pan's chest and took several steps backwards.
"Where is it" he just gasped and stared at his former father with wide-open eyes.
Pan let out a low chuckle.
"Well I guess now you know why I need Belle's." he explained with a cruel grin.
But the Dark One just shook his head slowly, still staring utterly confused at the young man.
"I don't" he said, and he meant it.
Pan shook his head and smiled to himself.
"Well admittedly, it took some time to figure it out myself." He said.
He moved his gaze to look at the dark night-sky. The Evening Star was back on the firmament – the wish was obviously fulfilled and Rumple had not been the one who had called for her.
"A star's magic is an interesting thing, isn't it?" he then said and smiled calmly at his son. "Unlike our magic, it is bound to the heart, and it can turn to be good or bad. And…" he added with a satisfied grin. "… it is quite powerful."
"So you want to rip out her heart and eat it?" the Dark One concluded through gritted teeth, barely able to suppress the tremor in his voice.
"Gods, no!" Pan exclaimed and shook his head vehemently. "Do I look like one of those three witches who were stupid enough to waste a star's magic on beauty?"
"No…" he continued and stared back at the night-sky. "I was looking for something more … permanent."
The Dark One shook his head once again.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"My life… my magic is bound to Neverland, laddie." Pan explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "The moment I abandoned you here, I gave my heart to this place. Quite literally actually, as I had to rip it out from my own chest and buried it here."
"The Heart of Neverland" the Dark One whispered after a few moments with wide open eyes as understanding dawned and earned a somewhat sad smile from Pan.
"As long as children believe in Neverland and come here to visit in their dreams, my power is secured."
He let out a long sigh.
"Unfortunately…" he continued. "… children no longer visit this place. At least not as often as they had used to. Apart from this, I'm not really keen on leaving my life and power in the hands of some kids. You amongst all must know how I hate being dependent on unloved brats."
He let out a cheerful laugh, but earned just a hate-filled glare from his son.
"And as my heart and magic are bound to this place, my body is as well."
Pan let out another long, self-pitying sigh.
"But I've always craved for so much more. Being the king of an island with a horde of teenagers is not as satisfying as it might sound. I finally want to escape this place, want to haunt dreams and make people fear me beyond this realm. Well, and that's where Belle comes in."
"Belle is the most beautiful soul I've ever met. She won't help a monster like you." The Dark One growled.
Pan let out a cheerful, triumphant laugh.
"Ah, well she'll never know, laddie." The young man laughed. "You see, she's quite shattered at the moment – being left alone by the two men she loved most. It won't take me long to persuade her that feeling nothing at all is a better choice than feeling the constant pain of sorrow and betrayal in her heart."
Rumpelstiltskin's eyes widened.
"You want her heart as your own?" he gasped. "But that could kill her!"
Pan stared at him for some moments, but shook his head eventually.
"I have to admit that I have indeed considered that." he confessed with a crooked smile. "Even though I've grown quite fond of my Little Darling, this is a risk I'm quite willing to take. But no one knows what happens when a star gives her heart willingly to someone whose heart is still intact. Mine is not destroyed but simply buried after all. Maybe her magic is powerful enough to keep us both alive, maybe it's not. But one thing is certain: as soon as I have it, I can reach greatness beyond the borders of Neverland."
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"Well well, what do we have here?" said a hoarse voice from behind Tootles.
The young boy whirled around and stared with shocked and wide open eyes at Felix.
Without any effort, the tall blond grabbed the young boy and dragged him out of his hiding place.
As the two boys appeared, Pan's and the Dark One's eyes immediately moved towards the newcomers.
"Caught him spying, Peter." Felix explained as kept is iron hold on the wriggling Tootles.
Pan's eyes flashed darkly at the young boy.
"What are you doing here Tootles?" he asked with a sharp voice.
"You can't do this, Peter!" the young boy exclaimed heatedly, his eyes already filled with tears as he freed himself from Felix's hold. "You can't do this to Belle!"
Pan stared at him for a moment in tensed silence. Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"Oh my dear boy…" he said with a way too sweet voice. "You really shouldn't have come here. You must know... Spying among friends is never acceptable."
He then looked at Felix who nodded his agreement to a silent order. Tootles' eyes widened in shocked disbelief as Felix slowly came closer, raising his club dangerously.
"RUN!" the Dark One suddenly shouted.
For the slightest of seconds, the young boy moved his gaze to look at the infamous Dark One. When he met his eyes, he knew that there were two monsters standing right in front of him.
But the Dark One was none of them.
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"Hook!" he heard a sharp voice call.
He let out an annoyed groan. His head was throbbing vehemently and he was lying on his back, his eyes still closed.
"Hook!" the annoying voice exclaimed once again, this time accompanied by a rough shaking of his entire body.
Killian let out another moan, desperately trying to remember where he was, why his head hurt and how to open at least one eye.
"Maybe a fire-ball would help to lift his spirits." he heard another voice say.
"This is not helpful Regina!" the first voice hissed.
Fire-ball?!
Slowly, he started to lift his heavy eyelids.
First, he saw only blurred images of blond and dark hair above him.
"Look, he's opening his eyes!" the other voice exclaimed almost triumphantly. "Threat has always been the most powerful way to success."
"Speak for yourself." a male voice muttered.
Slowly, the images before Killian's eyes took shape.
"Swan?" he croaked out when he recognized the face above him.
"His mind seems to be still intact." Regina said somewhat annoyed. "Wonderful. Now can we finally go back to Henry?"
Killian shook his still throbbing head in confusion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a puzzled expression on his face as he first stared at Emma, then at the Evil Queen and finally at David who was standing a few steps away from them.
"Obviously saving your ass, Hook." Regina growled impatiently.
Emma rolled her eyes and helped him slowly back up on his feet.
"Tink was worried about you." she finally explained. "She told us to come here and look for you."
Suddenly, the images of the night came back to him like a sudden downpour.
"Belle" he exclaimed with wide open eyes. "I need to find her."
Emma furrowed her brow and stared at him with an unbelieving expression on her face.
"Belle?" she asked warily. "What the hell are you talking about?"
But Killian didn't listen. He had no time to listen. His eyes wandered up to the still glistering night-sky, his eyes firmly fixed on the brightest of them all.
"Evangeline" he whispered, remembering the name of the one who had told him what he had never expected.
"Wait – weren't we just talking about Belle?" Emma asked, the confusion plainly written across her face. "Who's this Evangeline?"
He suddenly whirled around and met three pairs of puzzled eyes.
"I need to rescue Belle." he said with a determination in his voice that made the others exchange more looks of confusion.
"He's gone mad." Regina finally sighed and kneaded her temple with her fingers.
"Hook…" Emma began with a unusual softness in her voice. "Belle is still in Storybrooke, right where we left her. And – above all – of Mr. Gold's concern, not yours. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Hook ran his good hand through his dark hair. He had no time for that. It was neither the time nor the place to tell them about what he had found out, let alone what had happened between him and Belle. They wouldn't believe him anyway – not without Tink's confirmation.
"We need to get back to Tink's home." he therefore finally ordered, his eyes carefully scanning their surroundings. "We're not safe here."
Without another word, he grabbed Tink's enchanted lamp that was still standing where he had left it, and made his way quickly down the hill.
"Hook, wait!" Emma called as she started to follow, but he didn't slow down.
Regina rolled her eyes.
"That must have been a rather painful blow on the head." she muttered.
"I don't know." David said with furrowed brows as he watched how the pirate hurriedly made his way down the hill. "He seemed earnestly concerned."
"Concerned?" Regina laughed. "Hook?"
She cocked her head and eyed the man in front of her, raising one of her perfectly shaped brows.
"The pirate is only concerned about his own well-being, Charming."
There was a long beat of silence between them before David finally answered.
"No." he finally said more to himself than to the Evil Queen. "Something's different. And completely amiss."
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NOTES
Guys, I'm absolutely stunned by your constant support and your lovely reviews :) Each one of them truly make my day ( same holds true for every follow and favourite) and keep me going!
We are slowly but steady approaching the big showdown! I hope you like my ideas of Pan's buried heart in Neverland and that he is thus not able to break through the borders of Neverland. And that is why he needs Belle's magic.
And I think it was just about time to introduce the rest of the Henry-Rescue-Team to the story!
Thank you so much to those who are still reading my little story :)
J
