Inside the compound, Pan and Felix are watching as Avia practices with her sword, holding a determined look upon her face.
"What is it?" Felix asks, seeing the scowl upon his leader's face.
"Someone is leaving Neverland." Pan tells him.
"Where? How shall we stop them?"
"It's too late." Pan says, looking back at Avia. Felix, however, looks concerned. "Don't worry, Felix. We simply need to get word to our friends on the ground."
"In Storybrooke?" Felix asks, unconvinced.
"They can handle this." Pan assures him. "All it does is move up our timetable a touch. We need to get Avia ready." He stands, watching as Avia continues to wave her sword. "And I need to have a chat with our friend in the other cage." He adds, looking behind him at the wooden cage hanging in the trees.
Storybrooke…
Two men in a red convertible drive through the isolated road near town. One is wearing glasses and the other one, the driver, is holding a teddy bear keychain around his finger as he clutches the steering wheel.
Down in the mines, the dwarves along with Belle, Archie, and Blue are walking through.
"Who exactly does Gold think is coming?" Leroy asks Belle.
"He didn't say specifically." Belle tells them.
Each of the dwarves grab their axes that are hanging on the rock wall. "Well, let's not panic." Archie urges. "I mean, for all we know, it's a precaution. Right?"
"Well, he did say they're working with the people who tried to destroy the town."
"Can we panic now?" Leroy asks.
Archie looks away, worried. "Yeah. Sure. Maybe just a little."
"We'll be fine as long as we get this up in time." Belle assures them, showing them the cloaking spell that Rumple gave to her before he left.
They continue to make their way through the mines. "Careful, sister." Leroy warns Belle who is looking down at the spell as she follows. "Mines are a dangerous place."
"Fairy dust." Belle reads.
"It runs through the walls." Blue tells them. "We just need to open up a vein, and that'll carry the magic through town."
"No time for whistlin', boys." Leroy says to his brothers. "Let's get swingin'." The dwarves begin to axe through the mines to retrieve the fairy dust.
Outside of town, the convertible is still on its way. The man in the passenger seat is holding a map on his lap with a black trail to Storybrooke lined out.
Inside the mines, the dwarves are still swinging their axes until they see fairy dust fly out. "Halt!" Leroy shouts.
They stop mining and Belle walks up to the rock and opens the vial Rumple provided to her, pouring out its contents over the fairy dust. Suddenly a ray of glowing, bright magic bursts out of the rock and passes through them, making its way out of the mines, shooting into the sky of Storybrooke, cloaking a dome around the town.
But the red convertible speeds through, and the man behind the wheel notices the magic. He revs the engine, speeding just in time through the town line before the spell is able to stop them from entering.
He comes to a sudden halt, and both men look behind them, seeing the sign that says 'Leaving Storybrooke.' But they don't seem too surprised by what just happened and proceed to drive off, resuming their journey.
Neverland / Present…
"Pan's shadow?" Emma asks as she sits beside Neal in their compound. "That's your way off this island?"
"Unfortunately, it's the only way." Neal says, looking over at David and Snow who are standing in front of them.
"We thought you learned how to navigate the stars." David says, perplexed.
"I know how to navigate the stars, but I can't fly."
"I'm guessing that's where the shadow comes in." Snow assumes.
"That's why we have to capture it."
"Capture it?" Emma questions. "We've never been within ten feet of Pan unless he wanted us to be. Sneaking up on him to steal his shadow? That sounds insane."
"Except Pan's shadow is rarely with him." Hook clarifies, walking up. "It's an entity unto itself. It can carry out his will from miles away."
"What does that mean for us?" David asks.
"It means we can get his shadow without having to be anywhere near Pan – as long as we know where to look." Neal explains. "I know where to look."
"Okay." Emma says, standing up. "You and I are on shadow duty."
"As am I." Hook offers, though, he really just doesn't want to leave Emma and Neal alone together. "This trek won't be easy. You could use another veteran of this island."
"Thanks, man." Neal says, appreciatively.
"Well, in the meantime, we'll give Tinkerbell a heads up, see if she can make good on her promise to get us into Pan's camp." David tells them. Snow looks down apparently unhappy by this, considering she's still upset with her husband.
"Okay, we meet back at Tink's." Emma tells them. "Then we get Avia and get the hell back to Storybrooke." They each walk away. David offers his hand to his wife, to help her up, but Snow stands on her own, ignoring David, and walks past him, hurting him purposely in the process.
Storybrooke…
The seven dwarves are having lunch by the beach. Leroy is sitting alone, eating a sandwich, while Sleepy sits on another log behind him. The remaining five are sitting together on a bench eating their own lunch.
"Gotta say something, boys." Happy announces. "You know I love Snow and Charming, but can I be honest? It's kinda nice not having them around."
"Happy." Leroy shakes his head.
"No, really. It's only been five days, but it's the first five days with no killing." Happy explains.
"No wraiths." Sneezy adds.
"No giants stepping on my Miata." Doc says.
"It has been peaceful." Sleepy agrees.
"Enough!" Grumpy bellows. "I don't want to hear any more of this. Snow and Charming are coming back, and everything will remain normal." This said, Grumpy's attention is caught by a fin slapping the ocean waves. His eyes widen just as Ariel emerges.
"Hi!" Ariel calls out to the dwarves. "I'm Ariel." Still in shock, the dwarves walk down towards the ocean just as Ariel places the bracelet around her wrist, giving herself legs so that she can meet them up on the beach. "Do you know where I could find someone named Belle?" Arial asks once they meet.
In the distance, the two men that made their way into Storybrooke, are looking through binoculars at Ariel and the dwarves. "The home office was right." The man with the keychain says in a British accent. "She's here. What now?"
The man with the glasses steps up next to the other. "We follow our orders. We find out why she came. Then we make sure she never leaves this town again."
At Granny's Diner, Granny places a plate of burger and fries in front of Belle, who is sitting at the counter. She looks sadly at the food.
"What's the matter?" Granny asks. "Too many pickles? Not enough pickles?"
Belle sighs, amused. "No." She shakes her head. "I guess I'm just not hungry."
Granny narrows her eyes at Archie, who is sitting next to Belle, silently asking for assistance as she walks away. Archie slides over into the stool next to Belle. "Alright, so that's the fourth cheeseburger you've turned down this week." He tells her. "It's about Gold, isn't it?"
"Certainly not my cooking." Granny says as she walks past them.
"You miss him." Archie adds.
"Yeah." Belle confirms. "And it's just he said he was going off to his death. And I just – I wish I was – I wish I was able to help him, help save Avia and Nick."
"But you protected Storybrooke. I mean, that's just as important."
Belle scoffs. "All I did was pour a potion over some rocks. The dwarfs did all the hard work."
"Hey, you wanted to be a hero. Sounds like you were. And you kept the bad guys out."
"What bad guys? Come on, face it. Nobody's coming here. I wasn't on that ship because he doesn't need me."
"But Karley needs you." Archie points out, seeing that Regina trusts the woman to take care of her new-found daughter.
The bell above the door rings. "Belle." Belle turns around, finding Karley walking through with Leroy and Ariel.
Belle jumps from seat, looking confused. "Karley, what are you doing here? Who is – "
"This is Ariel." Karley says, smiling up at the wet mermaid. "Regina and Mr. Gold sent her."
"She swam a mighty long ways to get to you, sister." Leroy adds.
"He's alive?" Belle asks, hopeful.
"Yes." Ariel confirms. She takes a sand dollar from her satchel, giving it to Belle. "And he wanted me to give you this."
Belle looks curiously at it. "A sand dollar?" Karley asks, confused.
Inside Gold's shop, Ariel is getting dressed in more normal clothes while Karley and Belle are still looking rather perplexed at the sand dollar Belle is still holding.
"What am I supposed to do with it?" Belle asks.
"Don't ask me." Ariel says, just as confused. "I'm just the delivery girl."
Belle notices a magnifying glass on the counter and picks it up, examining the sand dollar. While she is doing this, Karley looks back up at Ariel. "Did you happen to see my brother?" She asks, hopeful.
Ariel smiles. "Is that the boy?" Karley nods with a smile. "I did." Ariel smiles. "He's the one who actually talked me into helping. He can be quite persuasive."
Karley chuckles. "Yes, he can." Suddenly the sand dollar begins to glow. "Looks like you figured it out." She says to Belle.
Ariel walks over, standing next to Karley as the three of them look at the image of Rumple who appears. Belle sighs with happiness. "Belle." Rumple says. "I hope you raised the cloaking spell. The people headed for town are far more dangerous than even I first believed. They're unwitting pawns in Pan's game." He explains. "I told you I was going to my death. I found another way." He assures her. "I can defeat Pan and live, but only if you get me something from the shop. The object I need is hidden. But I know that with the strength of our love, you'll find it." The hologram disappears, and Belle is left anxious.
"He's really into being cryptic, isn't he?" Ariel frowns.
"You have no idea." Karley tells her.
"He wants my help." Belle says, excitingly. "He wants me to save him, Avia, everyone."
Neverland / Present…
Snow is hurriedly putting away her arrows into her backpack. David walks up.
"Hey, you need help?" He asks.
"No, I can handle my pack." Snow says, abruptly.
"Snow – "
But Snow walks away, ignoring him, as she walks over to her daughter. "How long is this gonna go on?" Emma asks, noticing the cold shoulder her mother is giving her father.
"What?" Snow asks, as she continues to pack.
"The whole not-talking-to-each-other thing. Don't you think it's been long enough?" Emma wonders. "He didn't tell you about his illness because he wanted to keep the focus on the mission – the mission to find Avia. I get that."
"It's good to see you've inherited his tunnel vision." Snow says sarcastically.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing."
"You say a lot with nothing."
Snow lets out a long sigh as she looks at her daughter. She was not up to getting into an argument with Emma while she was still upset with David. "Be careful with Hook and Neal."
"The one we need to be careful with is the shadow." Emma says.
"The fact that they both have feelings for you is dangerous, too." Snow explains.
Emma looks at the two before turning back to her mother. "None of that matters. All I care about is getting Avia back."
At Pan's compound, Avia is still practicing with her sword when Pan walks up.
"You're looking better." Pan comments.
Avia swings her sword toward Pan, nearly missing him. Yet, he finds this amusing. "Yeah, well, my energy is back now that that cuff is off."
"You care to take a stroll?" Avia sets her sword down, intrigued by his offer. "There's someplace special I'd like to show you."
"And why should I go anywhere with you?" Avia asks. "You tricked me by showing me my family in that compact mirror." Pan furrows his brows in confusion. "You were trying to make me believe they were here to save me. How do I know this isn't just one of your other tricks?"
"I would never trick you, Avia." Pan says, sounding almost honest. Although, he really didn't trick Avia in believing her family was really on the island. But he was proud that she made herself believe it wasn't true. "Whatever you saw in that mirror was not because of me. But I can promise you if your family was here, I would not be keeping them from you. I would have given them every sort of passageway to you. But – " The boy sighs. " – unfortunately, it looks like they are not willing to take it. You're still here for a reason, Avia."
Avia rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Trick or no trick, I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm not stupid." She glares at Pan. "I'm really good at reading people. And from what I can read of you, you're hiding something. I may be some sort of Savior to you, or whatever, but I'm not doing any sort of saving until you can be truthful to me."
Avia turns her back on Pan and continues to practice with her sword. Pan simply nods and walks back over to Felix. "Shall I bring the cage here?" Felix asks him.
"No." Pan says, looking back at Avia. "I have another idea."
Back inside Baelfire's hideout, Hook sets the lantern down, watching as Neal looks for something.
"Something tells me we won't find Pan's shadow in here, Mate." Hook says with uncertainty.
"Yeah, well, we're looking for something else." Neal says. "It's a coconut. It's carved in two. One part holds a candle. The other part goes on top of it."
"Yeah, your star map." Emma remembers. "We hid it. I'll go grab it." Emma runs out of the cave to retrieve the coconut.
"I owe you thanks, for being so understanding." Hook says to Neal.
After a long pause while he grabs something from the chest, he looks back at Hook. "Understanding about what?"
"Emma and me."
"Emma and you?" Neal questions, confused.
"Our dalliance." Hook says, but he still gets no reaction from Neal. "You don't know, do you? Well, this is awkward. The two of us shared a kiss. Apologies. I assumed she told you."
Neal stays silent, obviously upset. "Honestly, it probably slipped her mind." He finally says. "We're kinda focused on getting her sister back."
"Of course."
Emma walks back inside, holding the coconut. She notices the awkward tension between the two. "Everything alright?"
"Couldn't be better." Neal says, taking the coconut from her, placing it inside the bag he found in his chest. "So, this is what we're gonna use to trap Pan's shadow."
"A coconut?" Hook asks. "Are you daft?"
"You came to Neverland on a pirate ship through a portal." Neal reminds the pirate. "But you draw the line at a magic coconut?"
"Fair enough. What's our next stop on this mission?"
Emma looks inquisitively at Neal. "Dark Hollow." He answers, provoking a reaction in Hook.
"Really?" Emma says, anxiously, not noticing the reaction between the two men. "Why couldn't it be called something like Sunshine Valley or Rainbow Cove? What exactly is it?"
"Just what it sounds like – " Hook tells her. " – the darkest spot on the entire island. Any light that makes its way in is snuffed out by the shadows that call it home. Even I managed to avoid it."
"Well, time to break tradition. Dark Hollow it is. That's where we're gonna find Pan's shadow, right?" She asks Neal.
"Yeah." Neal confirms, dismayed. "It's the only way we'll ever get back to Storybrooke." Neal walks away, confusing Emma by his sudden odd demeanor towards her.
Hook lets out a sigh as he grabs his lantern and follows the two out of the cave.
Storybrooke…
"Look at this stuff." Ariel says with excitement as she helps Belle and Karley look around Gold's shop, trying to find whatever he was referring to that could help them.
Belle chuckles. "Yeah, he's a bit of a collector."
Ariel looks curiously at an object. "This is a – "
"Corkscrew." Karley smirks.
"And it's not what Rumple needs." Belle says, surely.
Ariel finds a button and gasps happily. "It's a – "
"A button." Karley tells her.
"Also not what he needs." Belle adds.
"No, I know." Ariel acknowledges. "But Eric, he had one just like it on his jacket when I rescued him."
Belle and Karley look at one another in confusion. "And Eric is – "
"He's a Prince. The kind with legs." Karley and Belle laugh. "I fell in love with him a long time ago, but – it didn't work out." Ariel says sadly.
"Because you're a mermaid?" Karley assumes.
"Something like that." Ariel says, storing the button inside her sweater pocket.
"Well, that's just one more reason that we need to succeed." Belle smiles. "So, Rumple said I'd find the hiding space with the strength of our love." She retells. They begin their search again until Belle spots something. "There's only one thing he could've been talking about." Belle picks up the chipped tea cup.
"That's a – "
"Teacup." Belle finishes.
"It's chipped."
"I know." Belle smiles bashfully down at it.
Ariel gives Karley a confused look. Karley rolls her eyes, playfully. "It's kind of their thing."
"And no matter how much this thing has been through, it's survived. Just like our love." Belle explains.
"So, what now?" Ariel wonders. "Do we make tea?"
Belle frowns. "I'm not sure." Belle begins to look around again. "Rumple used to keep it in here." Ariel and Karley watch in anticipation as Belle opens one of the cabinets and finds the teacup's dish. She gently places the cup on top and a ray of yellow magic suddenly appears, moving towards the floor, uncovering a small hidden door. "He enchanted it. It's a key." Belle removes the lid from the floor and finds a box hidden inside. She picks it up with amazement.
"It's just a box." Karley says.
"I've read about this in my books, but I didn't realize it was real, or that Rumple had it."
"Not that we should be surprised." Karley says, arching her brow. Rumple had several things people around town have 'misplaced.'
"What is it?" Ariel asks.
"It's Pandora's Box. Legend says it contains the world's darkest evil." Belle explains.
"Shouldn't you be wearing gloves or something?" Ariel grimaces.
"No, no. As long as we don't open it, we're fine." Belle says, but that doesn't ease Ariel's worries.
"So, what do you think's inside it?" Karley asks.
"Well, whatever it is, it's what Rumple's gonna use to defeat Pan."
Suddenly a handgun is heard being cocked from behind them. The girls turn around to find the two strangers pointing their guns at them. Belle quickly pushes Karley behind her. "All that trouble for a box?" The man in glasses asks.
"Who are you?" Ariel asks.
"The people you tried to keep out of Storybrooke." The man with the keychain tells her.
Belle, Karley, and Ariel are seated back to back to one another as the man with the keychain ties a rope around them. Belle struggles to break free but fails.
"Stay still." The man in the glasses orders her.
"I don't understand. Why do we keep doing what he tells us?" Ariel asks, confused.
"Because he has a gun." Karley tells her.
"What's a gun?"
"Trust me, you don't want to find out." The man in glasses tells her.
Belle watches helplessly as the man with the teddy bear keychain picks up the box that's going to save Rumple and her friends. He walks over to Ariel, crouching in front of her. "What did Rumplestiltskin tell you about this thing?"
"I'm not afraid of you or your gun – " Ariel says furiously at the men. " – and not because I don't know what it is."
"Shall we demonstrate?" The man in glasses asks.
Belle glares up at him. "You'd kill an innocent child?"
"I'll do what I have to. Now, the box – what is it?"
Belle rolls her eyes. "It's magic, which you're only gonna destroy anyway. So, why do you even care?"
"Because our boss wants to know." The man with the keychain tells her.
"Your boss?" Belle questions, amused. "You don't even know what this is all about, or who you're really working for."
"Peter Pan." The man in glasses says, surprising them.
"We know exactly who we're working for." The other man says.
"But Rumple said that – "
"Greg and Tamara didn't know." The man in glasses interrupts. "They were patsies. We, on the other hand, are aware of our real mission."
"Which is what?"
"Seeing that your Rumple fails, and that this thing never makes it back to Neverland." The man with the keychain explains.
Neverland / Present…
Pan and Felix are walking through the jungle. "Head to the other side of the island and deliver the supplies." Pan orders his lackey.
"Understood. Anything else?" Felix asks before he departs.
"Just be certain that Avia doesn't find out what you're up to. She's quite perceptive."
Felix walks away as Pan leaves. Avia walks up from inside one of the bushes, quietly placing her sword back into the sheath. She watches as Pan walks farther away before she follows Felix.
On another part of the island, while they are on their way to find Tinkerbell, David takes a sip from his canteen before offering it to Snow.
"I'm okay." Snow says, walking past him.
"Are you?!" David asks, seeing that Snow had barely said two words to him since finding out his secret. "Look, I know you're upset I didn't tell you I was poisoned. And even though it might seem like it wasn't fair, that's all I was trying to do – be fair."
"I think Tinkerbell's is that way." She says, ignoring him, pointing to a direction before heading towards it. David lets out a defeated sigh as he follows his wife.
Neal, Hook, and Emma are walking through the jungle, trying to find Dark Hollow. Neal suddenly stops. "We're gonna have to cut our way through." He says, looking at the passage that is blocked by heavy leaves.
Emma promptly unsheathes her sword, nearly hitting Hook with it. "Here, use this." She says, handing it to Neal.
Neal recognizes it as his own. "My cutlass. You find it in the cave?"
"No. Actually, Hook gave it to me."
"Since when are you sentimental?" Neal asks Hook.
"I thought Emma would wish to have something to remember you by." Hook explains.
"Oh, thanks." Neal says sarcastically. "She's got me now." He begins to cut through a passageway for them as Emma furrows her brows at the pirate.
"What was that about?" She asks, stopping Hook from following.
Hook exhales heavily. "I assumed he'd heard my secret. And I also assumed that you've told him of our shared moment."
"Why would you assume that?"
"Because I was hoping it meant something."
"What meant something was that you told us Neal was still alive. Thank you." Emma says gratefully. "I realized you could've kept Pan's information to yourself."
"Why would I have done that?"
"I don't know. Maybe Pan offered you a deal? Why else would he tell you?"
"It was a test. He wanted to see if I'd leave an old friend to die – even if that old friend happens to be vying for the same woman that I am."
"And you chose your friend." Emma says.
Hook grins. "Does that surprise you?"
"You are a pirate."
"Yeah, that I am. But I also believe in good form." Hook steps closer to Emma, taking her off guard. "So, when I win your heart, Emma – and I will win it – " He state confidently. " – it will not be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me."
"This is not a contest, Hook." Emma whispers.
"Isn't it? You're gonna have to choose, Emma. You realize that, don't you? Because neither one of us is gonna give up."
"The only thing I have to choose is the best way to get my sister back. She comes first. She always has, and she always will."
"And you will." Hook assures her.
"You think so?"
"I have yet to see you fail. And when you do succeed, well, that's when the fun begins."
"Guys!" Neal shouts as he walks back over to the two, seeing that he has interrupted a moment between them. "I think I found it." He hands Emma back his blade before turning back around and walking back to where he came from. Emma and Hook share a look before they follow. They follow Neal through the plants, entering a dark area that consists of naked tree stumps and trunks – the only light seen is a dark orange illuminating, and a sudden gust of wind blows through, impeding Emma. "Dark Hollow." Neal confirms.
"So, this is where the victims of Pan's shadow reside." Hook says.
"Yeah. Forced to spend eternity in this darkness. Come on." Neal urges. "Let's be sure not to join them."
Storybrooke…
Back at Gold's shop, Belle and Karley are still struggling against the ropes, but they are way too tight.
"We'll find a way out." Ariel assures them.
Belle rolls her eyes, doubtfully. "What make you so sure?"
"Because – " Ariel smiles. " – I'm an optimist."
"Great." Karley mutters. "Another one."
"I'm sorry you won't be able to be with Eric." Belle says somberly to Ariel.
With tearful eyes, Ariel puts on a smile. "Don't worry about me. Even after the magic wears off this bracelet, I'll find him, and I will tell him how I feel – " Belle furrows her brows at something Ariel says. " – as long as he lives near the beach."
"Bracelet?" Belle questions. "Is that what turned your tail into legs?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Karley gasps, knowing what Belle's thinking. "Because you, little mermaid, are going to get us out of here." She smirks.
"How?"
"By stretching your fins." Belle tells her. "Can you get that bracelet off?"
Ariel tries to reach with her other hand but she's too far. "No, I can't reach it."
"I'm closer." Karley says. "Maybe I can." Karley reaches the best way that she can with the ropes attached to her, and grabs onto the bracelet.
"You got it!"
Karley rips the bracelet off Ariel's wrist and Ariel's legs turn back into a tail, causing them to scream as they tumble over in their chairs. Karley groans. "Okay. We didn't think this through."
They soon exit out of the shop and begin walking down the street – Ariel back in human form.
"Where did they go?" Ariel wonders.
"Well, the protection spell's still up, so they can't leave Storybrooke." Belle points out.
"Then what are they gonna do with the box?" Karley asks, panicked. "If Ariel doesn't get it back to Neverland then we'll never see our friends again."
Belle sighs. "Well, if I wanted to make sure it doesn't end up in Neverland, I'd destroy it."
"How do you destroy something so powerful?" Ariel asks.
"If I've learned anything from Regina, it's you need something just as strong." Karley says.
"Like what? More magic?"
"No." Belle stops walking, reminding herself of something. "A dwarf's pickax. The kind that can smash a diamond." She explains. "The kind that their friends who took Avia used to start all this trouble. Come on. Hurry."
Neverland / Present…
David and Snow are still on their journey towards Tinkerbell's shelter.
"I think we're almost at Tink's." David tells his wife, recognizing his surroundings. "I see why she picked this area. Nice quiet jungle. Might make a good spot for a hut, don't you think? Or a tree house, if you prefer." He continues, annoyed by the fact that his wife was still ignoring him. "Snow." But Snow keeps walking. "Snow! When are you gonna start talking to me again? When we're storming Pan's camp? When we're grabbing Avia? When!? You need to say something!"
A furious Snow turns around and storms back towards her husband. "Why!? You didn't." She accuses. "You didn't tell me anything!"
"At first, I was hoping that I could find a cure for the poison." David explains calmly. "And if I could, then I figured there was no reason to worry you."
"Okay. But then you did find a cure, and you still didn't tell me." She says in frustration.
"I know."
"So what, afraid of worrying me again?" She assumes.
"No. I didn't think – "
"No, you didn't – you didn't think? You didn't think I had a right to know you could never leave this island!? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared!" David finally admits.
"Did you think I wouldn't stay here with you? After everything we've been through? Did you think I would ever leave your side?"
"No, I knew you wouldn't. That's what scared me. And I didn't want that for you. I didn't want you to be stuck on this island with me. The price of this cure was something I didn't want to force on you – something I didn't want to force on our daughters."
Snow shakes her head. "Love means being together."
"I know. It also mean sacrifice. And protecting the person you love. How could a part of me not want you to leave this place?" He asks with tears in his eyes.
"I would happily build a tree house and spend the rest of my days dodging poison arrows and Lost Boys, as long as I had you by my side." Snow says, disheartened. David stares longingly at his wife. "But you should have told me."
"I know." David whispers. "I'm sorry."
Snow then moves into David, bringing him into a firm embrace. "You didn't believe, David." She mumbles into his shoulder. "You needed to believe in us."
David closes his eyes as he kisses his wife's temple.
Back in Dark Hollow, Emma, Neal, and Hook reach a clearing in the cave.
"So, we just wait for Pan's shadow to show up?" Emma asks.
"Yeah." Neal confirms. "And when it does, we'll be prepared." He takes the coconut from out his bag.
"You wanna tell me how that coconut works?"
"We light the candle, and the shadow is drawn to it." He explains, placing the coconut onto a fallen tree. "It gets close enough, the flame will suck it in. Put the lid on, then it's trapped inside this bad boy."
"Sounds like a fine plan, except for one thing – " Hook places the lantern down. " – our lanterns went out. So, how the devil are we gonna ignite the bloody thing?"
Neal pulls out his lighter. "Welcome to the 21st Century." He says smugly. He starts to light the flame from the lighter, but the wind continues to blow it out.
"How's it coming over there, guys?" Emma asks, impatiently.
"Hang on." Neal says.
"Here, let me help." Hook reaches for it, but Neal pulls away.
"I got it."
"Well, I've only got one hand. I can do better than that."
"You know what? Now's not the time to try to impress Emma." Neal argues with the pirate.
"Oh, you think that's what I'm doing?"
Emma walks back over to them. "Really? You're doing this now?"
"You heard her. Are we gonna stand here and argue or are we gonna get the candle it?" Hook snatches the lighter from Neal and attempts to the light a flame inside the coconut.
"Harder than it looks, huh, pal?" Neal asks sarcastically. "Let me see it." Neal reaches for the lighter and the two start to fight over it, causing the lighter to fly out of Hook's hand.
"Guys, we don't have time for this." Emma reprimands. Hook and Neal walk away to retrieve the lighter while Emma picks up both halves of the coconut shell. "Ugh!" In the distance, an ominous sound is heard, frightening Emma. She quickly unsheathes her sword as a shadow descends from above. "We really don't have time for this!" She yells. "Is that Pan's shadow?"
"Yeah, it's Pan's shadow!" Neal shouts, confirming, but then two other shadows appear alongside the main one.
"What about the other two?!" Hook asks, unsheathing his own sword.
The shadows start swimming around them, disorienting them, as they try to evade. A shadow starts to taunt Emma, who cowards against a tree, while another shadow pins Hook against another tree. "Hook!" Emma screams.
"Emma!" Neal yells as the other shadow pins him against the opposite tree.
Emma crouches down as Pan's shadow soars right next to her.
Holding the coconut close to her chest, a terrified Emma is still coward against a tree stump while Pan's shadow flies by. It soars down, ready to attack her, but Emma fights it off, waving her sword towards it. The other shadows are attacking both men, starting to rip their shadows from them as they scream out in agony.
"Emma, get out of here!" Neal yells. But Emma refuses to leave them. She opens the top half of the coconut and tries hard to concentrate, using her magical abilities to ignite the candle. The men continue to scream as their shadows are almost ripped from their bodies. Emma flicks her hand and the candle is set ablaze. She gasps, surprised that she actually did it. The flame grabs Pan's shadow's attention as Emma holds out the coconut, and the shadow is unwillingly sucked inside. Emma closes the lid, and the other two shadows disappear, dropping Neal and Hook to the ground – their shadows still attached. Neal looks up at Emma, who is panting, stunned by what just happened. "How did you do that?" He asks her.
With the coconut locked tight in her hands, Emma sits up. "Regina." She says, simply.
"She's teaching you magic?"
"Yeah. I guess she is."
Meanwhile, Avia is still following Felix through the jungle. She accidentally steps on a twig, snapping it. Felix stops and turns around, but Avia is nowhere to be seen. So, Felix continues walking and Avia comes out from behind a tree, continuing to follow the Lost Boy.
Storybrooke…
Belle, who is holding a flashlight, is walking down in the mines with Ariel and Karley following closely behind.
"They're probably just ahead." Belle tells them.
"Shouldn't we wait for the dwarfs?" Ariel asks, worried.
"We don't have time."
"Belle!" Karley points towards the men who have already made their way to the dwarfs' axes.
Belle gasps. "You can't do that." She tells them as one of them points his gun at them. Belle quickly pushes Karley behind her, away from the barrel of the man's gun. "You destroy that box, people we really care about will die."
"Then we have something in common." The man in the glasses tells her. "Because if we don't, someone we care about will die."
"What are you talking about?"
"None of your concern." The other man with the gun tells her. "Now stay back. We don't want to hurt you."
"But we will." The man in the glasses adds. "You should know when to walk away."
"No!" Karley pulls on a lever that sets off the mining cart, bringing it into motion towards the men. It hits them right before they are able to swing the pickaxe.
Belle runs over and grabs Pandora's Box, kicking the gun away from their reach. "Please." The man in the glasses begs as he and the other man stand back on their feet. "You're making a terrible error. There is too much at stake."
"Destroying magic?" Karley asks as she and Ariel run to Belle's side.
"That's not it. We don't care about magic."
"Then what were you trying to do?" Belle asks.
"We're trying to save our sister."
"Your sister?" Ariel questions, confused.
"She's been Pan's prisoner for a long time."
"Over a century." The other man adds.
"That's impossible. You'd be – "
"Dead." The man in the glasses finishes Belle's sentence. "We're well aware. Pan has kept us alive to do his bidding. And as long as we do, she lives."
"And then when we're done, he'll free her and us." The other man says. "But now – "
"Now is your best chance." Belle interrupts. "We can defeat Pan, and your sister can finally be set free."
"Pan has my best friend and my brother on his island." Karley tells them. "We can get them back with this." She points to the box.
"You think you're the first people who thought they could beat him?" The man in the glasses asks.
"Why?" Belle asks. "Have you tried?"
"Yes, but we failed. It's how our sister ended up his prisoner in the first place."
"We tried to be heroes, but it just made things worse." The other man states, dreadfully.
"And now? Now that we've failed. He'll kill her."
"We get this back to Neverland, - " Belle says, showing them the box. " – Pan is gonna have much bigger things to worry about."
"Can you really stop him?"
"Yes." Belle nods, confidently. "I believe we can. And if what you're saying is true, we will save your sister."
"Who is she?" Ariel asks.
The brothers share a look before responding. "Her name is Wendy." The man with the teddy bear keychain tells them. "Wendy Darling."
Karley's eyes widen. "No way." She smiles.
"You know of her?" Ariel wonders, looking down at the girl.
Karley shakes her head. "Well, no. Well, sort of." She looks back at the men. "If you let Ariel take this box back to Neverland, I can promise you my brother will save your sister. He'll know who to look for." They all look confused. "Trust me." She laughs. "You are after all John and Michael, right?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Michael asks, perplexed.
Karley smiles. "Just trust us. We'll get her back." Belle nods, smiling confidently at the boys as she pulls Karley into her.
Neverland / Present…
Peter Pan unlocks the wooden cage and reveals his prisoner, Wendy Darling, who hasn't aged one bit – still as a child.
"Am I – " She shutters anxiously. "Am I free?"
"Not yet, Wendy." Pan says, reaching his hand out to her. She takes his hand and he pulls her out of the cage. "But that doesn't mean you can't come out and play."
Storybrooke…
Belle, Karley, and Ariel are back on the seashore. Ariel is back in her mermaid attire, ready to swim back to Neverland to deliver Pandora's Box to Rumple and Regina.
"So, remember what I told you." Belle tells her.
"Don't worry." Ariel assures her. "I'll deliver your message to Gold." She smiles down at Karley. "And yours to your brother."
Karley hugs Ariel, making her giggle. "Thanks, Ariel."
"Good luck." Belle smiles.
Karley pulls away from Ariel and stands in front Belle as they watch the mermaid walk close to the waters. Ariel slips the bracelet from her wrist and earns back her fin, swimming further into the ocean. "Do you think she'll make it?" Karley asks.
Belle wraps her arms around the girl's shoulders, smiling. "I do. We'll get our family back in no time, Karley."
Neverland / Present…
Felix continues walking through the jungle, and not so subtly drops his bag as he continues to walk away from it. Avia peeks behind a tree and notices the hideout with stairs leading up to it. She places her sword back into the sheath that is on her back and runs to the bag. She crouches down and grimaces when she sees the apples.
Avia puts the bag over her shoulder when she suddenly hears coughing coming from up inside the hideout. With curiosity getting the best of her, Avia walks closer to the ladder and begins to climb up, finding a small bedroom and blonde girl lying in a bed, coughing.
Avia grabs her sword from her sheath and points it at the girl. "Who are you?"
"You're not supposed to be here." Wendy tells her, weakly.
"Answer the question." Avia demands sternly. "Who are you?"
"My name's Wendy."
Avia furrows her brows, recognizing the name. "Darling? Wendy Darling?"
The girl nods. "How did you know?"
Avia places her sword back in her sheath and drops the bag of apples on the side of the bed. "Doesn't matter. These must be for you then. Why are you up here by yourself?"
"I'm sick. And Pan is afraid someone might catch it." Wendy explains. "Who are you?"
"Avia. Avia Swan."
"I've heard of you. Pan speaks about you all the time." Wendy says. "You're the one who is supposed to save magic. Right?"
"So I've been told." Avia sighs.
"Well, if it's true, then you should go." Wendy urges. "I don't want you to catch what I have. Pan is already doing everything that he can, but the magic here I fear it is not enough. So, please go, before you, too, become ill."
Avia starts to walk towards the ladder. She hated to leave the girl behind, knowing her parents and her sister would have figured out a way to save her, but she lingered too far from the camp already. "I'll come back." She promises. "It doesn't seem as if Pan is taking good care of you anyway. I'll figure out a way to heal you." Avia climbs down the ladder and makes her way back to the compound.
"Well done." Pan steps out from his hiding spot, praising Wendy. "I couldn't have played the part better myself." Wendy sits up, looking annoyed. "Excellent job."
"I don't like lying to her." Wendy says.
"Well, don't think of it as lying. Think of it as… providing motivation."
"Motivation for what?"
"Doing what needs to be done, for all of us. See, Avia is the most powerful form of true love. She has magic. And she needs to believe." He adds. "And then I can have control of that belief."
"What do you need her to believe in?" Wendy asks.
"Me. Now back to your cage."
Back at the shore of Neverland, Nick, who was absolutely exhausted, has fallen asleep with his head on Regina's lap. Regina brushes her finger through her boy's hair, relieved to have him back in her arms, as they wait for Ariel's arrival.
"You really believe Belle can succeed?" She asks Rumple.
"Yes, I do." Rumple answers assuredly.
"Are you sure it's not your feelings blinding you?"
"Or perhaps it's my feelings illuminating me."
"You really love her." Regina deduces, as though she is realizing this for the first time.
"Is that jealousy?" Rumple grins at the Queen.
"Of Belle?" Regina laughs. "I think not."
"No, no. Of having someone."
Regina narrows her eyes at the imp. "I have what I need right here." She says, looking down at her son. "Not to mention a little girl waiting for us back home."
Rumple chuckles. "I think you know what I mean."
Before Regina could respond, Ariel pops up from the waters. Regina gasps, waking up Nick. "Sorry I'm late." Ariel apologizes. Regina helps her groggy son up as they follow Rumple close to the waters. "We ran into a few complications."
"Did you get it?" Rumple asks her.
Ariel swims closer and opens up her satchel. She pulls out Pandora's Box and places it on the rock in front of Rumple. "Excellent." Regina says. "You fulfilled your end of the bargain." Ariel holds out the bracelet and Regina waves her hand, enchanting it. "Now you can have legs whenever you want. Or a fin. Whatever Eric's into these days."
"Thank you." Ariel says.
"When you return to Storybrooke, seek him out." Rumple tells her. "The rest is up to you."
"Before I go, Belle wanted me to let you know that Pan has a prisoner on this island – a girl named Wendy."
Nick furrows his brows. "Darling? Wendy Darling?"
Ariel smiles at the boy. "Karley said you'd know exactly who that is. Her brothers are back in Storybrooke. Belle doesn't wanna let them down. She wants you to make sure that Wendy's okay."
Regina looks unsure. "All that matters right now is Avia." She says, wrapping her arm around her son.
"And now you have a chance to save her, thanks to me, Karley, and Belle. So rescuing that girl is the least that you can do. Plus, Karley kind of promised them that you would."
Regina rolls her eyes, shaking her head, amused. "Of course she did."
Nick grins. "We'll do it." He promises.
"Look, when you return, tell Belle I love her, and that she was right." Rumple says to the mermaid. "I will see her again."
Ariel leaves them with a smile before she swims away, returning back to Storybrooke.
In the jungle, Emma, who looks rather annoyed, is leading the way back to meet her parents.
"Hey, hey. I'm sorry." Neal says. "I know I screwed up."
Emma stops walking, turning to the two men. "Yes, you did. You both did. We almost lost our shot at trapping the shadow because you two were fighting over a lighter."
"It wasn't the lighter that we were fighting over, love." Hook grins.
"Okay, let me be very clear about something. If I had to choose someone, I choose Avia. Like I said before, she comes first. She always had and always will. She is my sister. And right now, she is the only love I have room for in my life. My sister's safety comes before anything else on this island." Emma states firmly as she walks away.
Over at Tinkerbell's hideout, the fairy shows up, carrying a bag of supplies in her hands, surprised to see Snow and David waiting for her.
"I was wondering if I'd see you again." She tells them. "But if you've come to talk to me into helping you before you've found a way off this island, I still – "
"We found one – or we're about to." David interrupts her.
"I'm not sure I like the sound of 'about to.'"
"Pan's shadow." Snow says, cheerful. "Emma went with Hook and Neal to capture it. That's our way off the island."
"Capture Pan's shadow?" Tinkerbell shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm not lifting a finger until I see some proof that you've actually succeeded."
And with that, Emma, Neal, and Hook show up, holding out the coconut that has Pan's shadow inside. "Hey." Neal greets them. "Here's all the proof you need. It's been a long time, Tink." He smiles down at the fairy.
"Bae?" Tinkerbell smiles. "Is it really you?"
"Yeah. Most people call me Neal now."
"We did it." Hook says, slightly annoyed. "Are you finally ready to do your part, Tink?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Tink says, determined.
They start to follow Tinkerbell into the jungle, but Neal stops Emma. "Emma?"
"Neal…" Emma sighs.
"Listen. I just wanna say that you're right… about Avia. She is all that matters. I won't forget that again. I won't let what happened last time ever happen again."
Emma nods. "Yeah. Now, let's go get my sister back – together this time."
Neal smiles, nodding, as he follows Emma towards the rest of the group.
Avia is making her way back to Pan's compound when she is stopped by the boy himself.
"Why so glum, chum?" Pan teases. Avia quickly draws her sword and points it at Pan. Pan chuckles. "Whoa. Just me."
Avia rolls her eyes, putting down her sword. "How am I supposed to trust you when you have a girl hiding away? Wendy." Avia glares angrily at the boy.
"Avia, I can explain."
"She's dying!" Avia shouts.
Pan sighs. "She is. Like much of the island, because the magic here is slipping away. I would've told you, but – I didn't want you to have that weight on your shoulders, knowing that a young girl's life depends on you."
"So, instead you'd rather me know that every realm that depends on magic, including my family's, depends on me? Why is she even here? Let her go back home to her family and maybe she'll survive."
"I can't, Avia. Don't you think I've tried?" Pan exclaims. "The only way to send her back is through magic, and there is not enough."
"So, I'm the only one who can save it." Avia rolls her eyes. "Of course."
"I told you, I hate to put this burden on you, but you're our only way, Avia. You're our Savior."
Avia exhales heavily. "Fine." She glares up at the boy. "How do I do it?"
"The question isn't how, Avia. It's where." Pan smiles. "Follow me." Pan walks past Avia. Avia looks down at her sword before she follows Pan, meeting him at the edge of a rocky cliff. "See that?" Pan points into the distance.
"Is that Skull Rock?" Avia asks, remembering it from the stories she heard when she was little.
"Yes. Inside is where our salvation awaits – a salvation that only the most powerful can bring."
"Me?" Avia assumes.
"That's right, Avia. But I won't lie to you. I'd never lie to you. So, I'm telling you it won't be easy. It will require heroism and sacrifice." Avia looks back at Pan. "The only question is, are you up to the task?"
Avia looks back over at Skull Rock, pondering, assuming her family no longer wants her anyway. This is her only way to use what was given to her in the first place – to prove that she is more than a Lost Girl. "Yes."
Enchanted Forest…
A young boy is watching his father, Malcolm, rearrange cards on a stall with strangers.
"Follow the Lady, gents. A shilling returns two." Malcolm requests to the man, should he pick the wrong card. He continues to rearrange the cards, making it obvious to where the right one is. When he's finished doing so, the man places a shilling down beside the middle card. Malcolm turns the card over revealing that in fact a Joker – the wrong card.
The other men around them laugh, causing the man playing to grow angry. "What?"
"Don't feel too bad. You're not the only one who's been spurned by the lady tonight. She's been quite shy all evening." Malcolm chuckles.
Spotting something inside Malcolm's sleeve, the man realizes he's be tricked, seeing the hidden card. The man punches Malcolm in the face and pins him against the wall by his throat. The young boy runs up to his father right before the man can throw a second punch. "Please, don't hurt him!" He begs. "He's my father!"
"You'd be better off without him." The man punches the boy's father in his stomach as the boy watches, horrified, as his father falls to the ground.
The man bends down, digging inside Malcolm's pocket. "No, no." But the man grabs his shilling back and walks away.
"Are you okay?" The boy asks his father.
"The cost of the game." Malcolm tells him. "He didn't even leave me a shilling for a pint. How rude." He jokes.
"He took all our money."
"Yes, but I'll figure something out. I always do… " Malcolm brushes his hand down the boy's face. "Rumple." He says, before standing to his feet, and getting back to 'work.'
Young Rumplestiltskin looks down, glumly, watching his father pack away his stall.
Neverland / Present…
Pan lays a 'sick' Wendy down on a bed inside his compound in front of Avia.
"How is she?" Avia asks.
"I fear she's getting worse, Avia." Pan lies.
"But if I save magic she'll live, right?"
"Yes. But more than that, Avia. If you save magic, you'll save us all, including your family."
Avia shakes her head, looking down at Wendy. "I'm not doing it for them, and honestly, I'm not even doing it for you." Pan furrows his brows, confused. Avia looks bravely up at Pan. "I'm doing for me. I need to prove to myself that I am more than what those make me out to be."
"A Lost Girl." Pan assumes.
Avia nods. "Exactly."
"Okay. We don't have much time. Follow me." Avia takes another look at Wendy before following Pan into the camp. "My brothers! Tonight, the dream of Neverland will awaken from its slumber. Tonight, the most powerful of all the realms shall fulfill its destiny." Pan announces to the Lost Boys. "And with it our destiny. Tonight, Avia Swan saves magic!"
The Lost Boys cheer for Avia, as Pan smiles triumphantly.
With Pandora's Box in his hand, Rumple is walking through the jungle with Regina and Nick following closely behind.
"You know, despite our differences, I can always count on you to get things done, unlike the rest of them." Regina says to Rumple.
"Mom." Nick rolls his eyes.
"I'm just saying. Rumple, you were right. They're just a liability." She repeats what he said on the ship before he disappeared from them.
"And where are they?" Rumple asks.
"Pan told them Neal was alive and, of course, Emma took the bait. But now that I know it's true, I feel bad now for doubting them. So, they are looking for him. They believe that he might have a way off the island."
"Let's worry about the travel plans once we find Avia." Rumple says, moving on.
Regina turns to her son. "And how are you feeling?"
Nick exhales, heavily. "I just want to find Avia and go back home. I'm assuming you left Karley with Belle?"
Regina smirks. "Of course I did."
"Good. Belle will keep her safe. I'm just glad you didn't bring her along."
"And risk putting her in danger in the wrath of an evil little boy?" Regina scoffs. "I guess not. I couldn't risk possibly losing the both of you."
"You wouldn't have lost me, Mom. I've learned from the best. I would have figured out a way to survive."
Regina smiles, lightly tapping her son's chin. "I know."
"And, Mom…"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry for how I acted towards you back home. I shouldn't – "
"No, no." Regina stops him. "None of that. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I have a lot of making up to do."
Nick shakes his head. "No. You being here, willing to deal with Avia's family just to help rescue her, is enough. I know whether I would have jumped into the portal or not, you would have come here to save her."
"I'm only doing it for you and Karley."
Nick nods. "I know. And that's okay. As long as you're doing it."
Regina wraps her arm around Nick, pulling him close as they continue to follow Rumple.
Enchanted Forest…
"Where are we?" Young Rumple asks his father once they knock on the front door of someplace.
Malcolm opens the unlocked door, leading his son inside where two spinsters are spinning at the wheel. "These nice ladies are going to look after you for a little while."
"You must be the boy… " One spinster says.
"Rumplestiltskin." The other spinster finishes.
"Do you know how to spin?"
"We can teach you."
"I don't want to stay here." Rumple says to his father. "I'll be good. Please."
"This will give me time to get a real job, so we can be together." Malcolm tells him.
"We can be together right now. Papa, please." He begs, wrapping his arms around his father. "Don't leave me here."
Malcolm hugs his crying son. "Don't be scared now. Hey, I got you a present." He pulls out the straw doll from his pocket. "A friend. Someone to be at your side when I'm away." Rumple takes the doll, admiring it. "It will be with you when I cannot."
"It will?"
"Give it a name." Malcolm encourages. "Names always make things better. They make them real. Trust me." He carefully pushes his son towards the spinsters. "It will protect you. And I'll be back before you know it. I promise."
Malcolm nods to the spinsters before patting his son on the back and walking out. Rumple looks towards the door and begins to cry.
Neverland / Present…
Tinkerbell, Hook, David, Snow, Neal, and Emma are trekking through the jungle.
"I'm gonna ask Tink how close we are to Pan's compound." David says. "I don't want to be surprised by any Lost Boys on patrol."
"Good idea." Snow says as David walks ahead.
Emma walks up to her mother. "Looks like you two buried the hatchet."
"Buried?" Snow says, unsure. "I don't know. We've at least put it away for now."
"So, you're really gonna stay here with him?"
Snow looks at her daughter, feeling confounded. "The thought of leaving you and Avia, Emma, it kills me." Emma looks away. "But there's nothing we can do. If David leaves the island, he'll die."
"So, you're just giving up?" Emma points out, surprising Snow. "Family means being together, all of us."
"But there's no other way." Snow woefully exclaims.
"Maybe this is just you rubbing off on me, but I don't believe that. There's always a way. But, if you're so determined to give up, again, - " Emma stresses, remembering the last time she was separated from her parents. " – then you're explaining why you're leaving her this time. Not me."
Before Snow could respond, rustling in the bushes are heard, and they all draw out their weapons. But they are relieved to see that it's merely Regina, Rumple, and Nick, who rolls his eyes. "Will I ever not be greeted by swords pointing at me?"
"If this is your version of a rescue party, we got here just in time." Regina grins.
"What are you three doing here?" Snow asks.
"Well, same as you, except we actually have a chance." She points to the box Rumple is holding. "Pandora's Box. It could trap Pan for eternity simply by opening the lid." She explains.
"You didn't tell me my father was with her." Neal whispers to Emma.
"I didn't know." Emma whispers back.
"Wait, your father is the Dark One?" Tinkerbell asks, surprised.
"Yeah, and he's not getting anywhere near Avia." Neal says, this time loud enough for Rumple to hear.
"Bae…" Rumple frowns.
Emma looks confused. "Why? What are you talking about?"
"There's a prophecy that says Avia will be his undoing." Neal explains. "He didn't come here to protect her. He came here to kill her."
Everyone steps back, shocked by the news. "That's why you didn't want to find Neal before you got Avia back." Nick realizes, glaring up at the imp. "You knew he'd tell everyone the real reason why you're here."
"Everything I did was to protect Avia, Nicholas, to rescue her from Pan." Rumple says, assuring the boy and the rest of the group.
"It all makes sense." Emma exclaims. "You left before we even made shore."
Snow aims her arrow at Rumple. "You wanted to get to my daughter first – "
David points his sword at Rumple, standing by his oldest daughter, who is doing just the same. " – to be on his own – "
Hook points his sword at his enemy. " – so no one could stop you – "
"So, you can kill her." Regina grimaces.
"It's not gonna happen, - " Emma says. " – not unless you go through all of us first."
Enchanted Forest…
Young Rumple is spinning at the wheel while the two spinsters watch, amazed that someone so young could learn to spin so well in such a short time.
"Look at him – " One of the spinsters says.
" – he could spin for Kings and Queens one day." Both spinsters say in unison.
"I didn't think I had any talent." Rumple says, happily.
"More than talent. A gift!" The spinster exclaims. "You could apprentice with anyone in the land."
"If I can get money, - " Rumple says, mauling this idea over. " – then my father and I can be together."
"Rumple – " The spinster steps forward, stopping the wheel from spinning as she frowns sympathetically at the boy. " – even with your talent, too many people know your father is a cheat."
"And a coward." The other spinster adds.
"If you are to have a happy life, you must go somewhere where your father's name cannot follow you."
Rumple drops his head, saddened. "You mean alone?" He asks, looking back up at the ladies.
One of the spinsters pulls out something from her pocket. "This bean can open a portal. Take you far away from this land."
"Even this realm." The other spinster adds.
"You could start a new life. But it cannot be with your father."
"But he's coming back for me as soon as he gets a job." Rumple says, confused.
"The truth is, he's at the pub. He doesn't want a job."
"Or real responsibility." The other spinster adds.
"Family can be a strength, but it can also be a burden. And your father will always be your burden, Rumplestiltskin."
Young Rumple takes the bean from the spinster hands, inspecting it closely.
Neverland / Present…
"You're making a mistake." Rumple tells them. "I don't care if the girl is destined to be my undoing. I won't hurt her."
"Because that sounds just like you." Regina sarcastically states.
"Without me, you will fail. I'm the most powerful amongst us."
"That's why we can't trust you." Neal tells him.
"If I could give you my dagger, I would. But I can't."
"But you can give me Pandora's Box." Rumple looks down at the box in his hands. "I don't have to trust you if I could stop you."
"Son…" Rumple reluctantly agrees, knowing there's no other way to make them believe in him, so he slowly hands over the box to Neal.
"Look at me, you so much as lift a finger to perform magic, you're gonna spend an eternity in this box." Neal threatens his father.
"Let's go." Emma says as they all put away their weapons, walking away.
"Look – " Rumple steps in front of his son, stopping him. " – you may think you know who you're up against, but you don't." He stresses.
"Then tell me. What really happened between you two?" Neal asks.
"Peter Pan destroyed my father."
Enchanted Forest…
Malcolm is running another game of 'Find the Lady' in the market place as Young Rumplestiltskin watches from afar. He walks closer, grabbing his father's attention.
"They were right." Rumple says, referring to the spinsters. "You're here."
"Hey, laddie." Malcolm greets his son. "My dogs were barking after hitting the cobblestones all morning looking for work." He lies. "Then these fellas told me that they never played 'Find the Lady.'" With a look of disappointment on his face, Rumple walks away. "Rumple." Malcolm follows his son. "Come on. Rumple!" He catches up with Rumple from behind one of the buildings, grabbing his son, stopping him from walking any further.
"You said you were finding a job!"
"No one in this town would hire me."
"Because no one trusts you." Rumple points out furiously.
"But you do. Don't you, son?"
Rumple hesitates. "I want to. What if there was someplace we could start over?" He asks his father. "Somewhere where no one knew you?"
"How?" Malcolm asks, intrigued.
Rumple shows Malcolm the bean the spinster gave to him. "With this."
"Where'd you get that? Do you know how much money a bean like that would fetch?"
Malcolm goes to take it from Rumple, but the boy pulls his hand back. "No, it's mine! I won't let you gamble it away."
"Rumple, you don't understand."
"I understand this bean can take us someplace where no one knows us. Where we can be a family."
"A real fresh start." Malcolm utters.
"Yes." Rumple agrees. He holds out the bean to his father. "I trust you."
"Then where should we go?" Malcolm asks, excitingly.
Rumple smiles. "There must be someplace special to you."
Malcolm rubs his hand down his forehead, repeatedly, as he ponders this decision. "Think lovely thoughts." He says once an idea comes to mind. "That's it."
"What?"
"When I was a boy, my father sold me to a blacksmith. All day in front of hot coals, the sweat and the grime. But every night I would say to myself, 'think lovely thoughts.' And in my sleep, I would travel to the most wonderful place."
"What was it called?"
Malcolm leans closer to his son. "Neverland."
"Then that's where we should go." Rumple hands his father the bean, who throws it on the ground, opening a portal.
"I don't even know if this place is real." Malcolm tells his son.
Rumple and Malcolm share a look, joining hands, and the two of them jump through the portal together, on their way to Neverland.
Neverland / Present…
As the group continues through the jungle, Emma runs up behind Hook.
"We need to talk." She tells him.
"I've found when a woman says that, I'm rarely in for pleasant conversation." Hook says.
"There has to be a way for my father to leave the island."
"Well, there isn't."
"He told me about your brother, what happened. I know it can't be easy to talk about, but – "
"Well, then let's not, shall we?" Hook interrupts. "The water that cured David from Dreamshade has connected him to the island. If he leaves, the connection is broken. The poison will kill him."
"What if we take some of the water with us?" Emma suggests. "That way he stays connected. He can stay alive in Storybrooke."
"For how long?" Hook questions. "Once the water runs out, the Dreamshade will take his life."
"Unless there was another cure." Rumple says, standing alongside Neal, overhearing Emma and Hook's conversation. "You suddenly interested in what I have to say?" He asks a shocked Emma. "Thought I wasn't to be trusted."
"You're not, but I'll take my chances." Emma tells him.
"Well, if you remember, I, too, was poisoned with Dreamshade by a cowardly pirate." He says, eyeing Hook. "And yet, - "
"Yes, and we know how you cured yourself – with a candle that takes another person's life. My father is not that selfish."
"Oh, how noble." Rumple grins. "The point is, after my near-death experience, I discovered much about the poison. I believe I could create an elixir back in my shop."
"What's your price?" Emma questions, knowingly.
"Well, this is quite the favor. I'd expect one of equal weight in return."
"No." Neal refuses. "When we get back to Storybrooke, you're gonna save David because it's the right thing to do. No deal, no favors, understand?"
Rumple nods. "Fine." He reluctantly agrees, desperate to earn his son's trust. "I'll do as you ask."
"I'll go tell David." Emma starts for the others, but they step out of the plants meeting her instead.
"We're here." Tinkerbell informs them. "Pan's perimeter."
"It's time. Tink will sneak us in the back like we planned. We grab Avia. In and out, simple. You good with Pan patrol?" Emma asks Neal.
"Lock and loaded." Neal confirms, tapping Pandora's Box that's hidden in his satchel.
Rumple approaches Hook. "You mind if I – " He unsheathes Hook's sword. " – borrow this?" He looks at his son. "You said no magic, I agreed. But I'm not walking in there with nothing but my good looks."
"Now I, on the other hand – " Hook glares at Rumple as the imp walks past him without a care.
"Here." David tosses Hook his own sword. "In case your good looks fail you."
"Thanks, Mate."
Emma looks at her parents. "Let's get Avia."
They approach the Lost Boys' camp, stationing around the perimeter, waiting for their cue.
"Can I at least use magic on these boys?" Rumple asks Neal as they watch the Lost Boys.
"No." Neal tells him.
Regina rolls her eyes. "I'll do it." She looks at Nick before doing so, though.
Nick sighs, nodding. "Do it."
"You remember the spell?" Rumple asks her.
Regina gives Rumple a snide look before waving her hand, causing a blue light to emanate through the boys, which makes them all fall to the ground, unconscious.
They all emerge from their hiding places, holding out their weapons. "Avia?" Emma calls out to her sister.
"Where's Pan?" Neal asks, looking around the unconscious boys.
"I don't know."
"She's gotta be somewhere." David says.
"Where?" Snow exclaims in frustration.
"Well, she shouldn't be hard to find. She's the only girl." Regina states.
"She's not here." Nick tells them.
"Help!" Wendy shouts out. Thinking it's Avia, Emma runs out to the isolated camp, only to find Wendy Darling locked inside a wooden cage. Emma crouches down in front of the girl, who looks astonished to see her. "You're an adult."
"My name's Emma. I'm looking for my sister." Emma tells her just as Neal runs over.
"Wendy?" Neal asks, shocked.
"Do I know you?" Wendy asks, confused.
Rumple walks out behind his son. "It's Baelfire." Neal says.
Emma stands up. "Do you know each other?"
"Bae!" Wendy gasps.
Neal crouches down in front of the cage. "Yeah, we do."
"Can it really be you?" Neal grabs a rock and begins hitting the cage, unlocking it. Once the door breaks opens, Wendy is free and jumps into Neal's arms, hugging him. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"What are you doing here?" Neal asks, pulling away to look at her.
"Well, 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." Wendy explains.
"You told her I was dead?" Rumple asks, appearing hurt.
"It was easier than telling the truth – " Neal says, narrowing his eyes at his father. " – my own father abandoned me."
Neverland…
Young Rumplestiltskin and his father Malcolm land on the beach of Neverland. Rumple looks around excitingly, and Malcolm is astounded that the place he's always dreamed about actually exist.
"We actually did it." Malcolm says. "We made it! It's just as I remember in my dreams. Hasn't changed at all."
"It's beautiful." Rumple adds.
"No, it's more than that. Neverland is special. You can do anything here. Just think it, and it can happen. What would you like to eat?" Rumple frowns, unsure. "Go on." Malcolm encourages. "Just think it." Rumple closes his eyes and holds out his hand. Malcolm laughs as a piece of cake magically appears in his son's hand. "You can eat cake all day and not get a stomachache. Or swing on a vine through a waterfall. But best of all, you can fly."
Still amazed, Rumple sets the cake down on a rock, looking back at his father. "Flying is impossible."
"Neverland is where the impossible is possible, if you believe it." He runs past his son. "I'll show you." Rumple watches as his father stands on top of a rock, and leaps into the air, attempting to fly. But, instead, he falls face first into the ground. Malcolm gets up, looking confused. "I don't understand. I could always fly when I visited as a boy."
"Maybe you can't fly because you're not a boy anymore." Rumple suggests.
"How could I have forgotten?" Malcolm asks himself. "Of course. Pixie dust. Even as a boy, you needed pixie dust if you wanted to fly."
Rumple begins walking across a log in the sand. "Where do we get some?"
"Oh, I'll show you." Malcolm laughs as he lifts his son in the air and spins him around, causing them both to laugh.
They then join hands and run off into the jungle, not knowing the shadow is flying over the sea, watching them.
Neverland / Present…
Rumple and the rest of the group watches as Neal kneels down in front of Wendy, who is wrapped in a blanket in Pan's compound.
"Hey, Wendy, since you've been here, have you seen another little girl? Her name is Avia." Neal tells her. "Pan needs her heart.
"Has he said anything about the heart of the most powerful being that comes from true love?" Emma asks.
Wendy looks at Emma and her parents, who are looking down at her with hope in their eyes. "No." She says, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. He never mentioned anything about a heart."
Rumple, however, is unconvinced. "She's lying." Rumple approaches the girl, pointing Hook's sword at her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." David says as he and Neal push Rumple away. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I've carried enough lies in my life to recognize their burden." Rumple explains, glaring at the girl. "She knows where Avia is."
Neal looks back at Wendy. "Is that true?"
"You don't understand." Wendy tells them.
"You're helping Pan?" Snow asks in disbelief.
"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." Rumple assures her.
"And why should I trust a man who abandoned his own son?" Wendy asks.
"Because your brothers did." Nick tells her.
"That's right." Regina confirms. "They trusted a woman named Belle."
"And my sister Karley."
Snow and Emma share confused looks with one another. "They helped her get this box so we can defeat Pan." Regina says, pointing to the box Neal is holding.
"Your brothers are back at our home waiting for you." Nick tells her.
"So, they're okay?" Wendy asks, relieved.
"For now, and only if we succeed." Rumple tells her.
"Wendy – " Neal crouches back down in front of the frightened girl. " – we will save John and Michael. I promise. But right now, we really need your help. Please."
Wendy looks away, pondering for a moment. "Pan told Avia that he needs her heart to save magic. But it's a lie. He needs it to save himself. And Avia is willing to do what it takes to prove that she isn't a Lost Girl." She explains.
"What do you mean?" Hook asks.
"Pan's dying. He needs the heart of the most powerful of all the realms – to absorb all the magic in Neverland. And once he does, he will be immortal, all powerful."
"And what happens to Avia?" Snow asks.
"Well, it's a trade." Snow exhales at the thought of losing her daughter. "When Pan lives, Avia will die."
Emma then stands up, worried for her sister's life.
Nearing Skull Rock, Pan is rowing a boat that contains himself and Avia. Avia is holding her sword in her hand, staring darkly at their destination.
"It's been a long time since I stepped foot on this shore." Pan says once they are inside, tying up the boat. Avia places her sword back in her sheath as she follows Pan to the steps, but not before watching as Pan draws a line in the sand.
"What's that for?" She asks him.
Pan waves his hand. "It's a protection spell. Now let's go. It's time."
Avia continues to follow Pan to another section of the skull-shaped rock.
Back at the compound, Snow and Emma are pacing, worried about Avia.
"How do we stop Pan?" David asks Wendy.
"Pan took Avia to Skull Rock." Wendy tells them. "But you haven't got much time."
"Then we stay behind. Someone needs to guard the Lost Boys for when they wake up."
"You don't need to stay behind." Emma frowns, displeased.
"David's right." Snow says to her daughter, knowing it'll be too hard to say goodbye to her daughters again. "You get Avia home, tell her we love her."
"Tell her yourself, when you get back from Deadman's Peak." Snow and David look confused. "Gold can cure you back in Storybrooke." Emma explains. "We just need to bring some of the water with us."
Snow rushes forward, bringing her daughter into her arms. "You didn't give up." Snow looks at Rumple. "Thank you."
"Well, apparently, that's the only thanks I need these days." Rumple says, discontentedly.
"Tink and I will take care of things here." Hook says. "Meet you back at the Jolly Roger when you find Avia."
Snow looks back at her daughter. "Promise me if your father and I don't make it home, you get Avia home."
"We're all going back home." Emma tells her, firmly. "We're not losing you guys again."
"You should go with David and Snow." Regina says to Nick. She didn't want her son to get in the crossfire of whatever may come between them and Pan.
Nick shakes his head, refusing. "No. I'm going with you."
"Nicholas…"
"Mom, I started this with her. I'm going to finished it with her, too." He says, determined.
Regina exhales. "Fine."
David kisses Emma on the forehead. "Be careful." He whispers in her ear, though he wished he was going with her to save his daughter. But for him to be their father he had to stay alive to do so.
Emma closes her eyes, nodding, wishing her parents were going along with her, too.
Neverland…
Malcolm is leading young Rumple through the woods. "I'm tired." The boy complains.
"We're almost there." Malcolm assures him. "We can rest all we want after we get the pixie dust, do whatever your heart desires. Just wait. You'll see."
"What does it look like?" Rumple asks.
"Oh. It's just like dust." Malcolm blows air over his hand. "You never know the power it contains just by looking at it. But when you believe in its power, it glows with magic and becomes something very special indeed." He looks up at the tall trees. "We're here."
Rumple looks uncertain, though. "All I see are trees."
"That's because it's made in the flowers that grow on the highest of the branches. Where they're closest to the stars." Malcolm explains. "The flowers bloom at night, soak in the starlight, that's how the pixie dust gets its magic." He giggles. "I haven't felt this excited in years, since I was about to climb one of those trees in my dreams." He turns around, noticing that his boy has stopped following him. "Come on, Rumple. It'll be fun." But Rumple looks on in fear. "Hey. You wanna fly, you can't be afraid of heights."
"But I don't want to fly." Rumple argues. "You do."
"But you will, son, once you see how it feels." Malcolm giggles. "The wind whipping in your hair, the world below you." He explains as they begin to walk again. "Like you've not got a care in the world. You're all alone. You're free." He stops walking and smiles up at the tall trees before looking back at Rumple. He kneels down. "Come on, I'll give you a boost."
"But what if I fall?" Rumple asks, nervously.
"I promise you won't, hey." Malcolm says, standing back up.
"Don't make me, Papa. Please. I'm scared."
"I'm sorry, Rumple." Malcolm steps forward and cradles his son's sad face with his hands. "I just get excited. Why don't you wait here, and I'll go get the pixie dust for the both of us, hm?"
Rumple looks around the empty woods. "You promise not to be long?" He asks his father.
"Aye." Malcolm giggles. "I'll be as quick as a whip. Back before you know it. And then you'll see how wonderful Neverland can really be."
Rumple watches with apprehension as his father begins to climb the tall tree.
Once Malcolm is high enough, the flowers containing the pixie dust come into his sight. He attempts to grab one, but he is too low to do so. He then sees another one on a branch much nearer and smiles, reaching for it. He puts his hand inside the flower and grabs a handful of pixie dust, pouring it over himself.
"I want to fly." He whispers. But before he can try to do so, the shadow circles the tree Malcolm is clinging onto, growling into the wind. "Hello?" He calls out, frightened. "Is someone there?" The shadow stops beside him, hovering in the air. "Who are you?"
"I am the sole inhabitant of Neverland." The shadow tells him.
"Then can you tell me what's wrong? Why can't I fly?"
"You have to believe."
"I'm trying, but it doesn't work."
"Because you don't belong." The shadow flies away.
At the bottom of the tree Rumple is sitting at, his father's shoe falls next to him. "Papa?!" Rumple looks up into the tree, but he doesn't see his father. "Papa!?"
Neverland / Present…
Neal is rowing a boat towards Skull Rock, that contains himself, Rumple, Emma, Nick, and Regina
Inside, they make their way off the boat while Emma notices the tracks in the sand.
"These are Avia's shoes. Wendy was right. They're here." Emma tries to walk up the steps, where the footprints lead, but thanks to Pan's protection spell, she is sent flying backwards, almost face planting into the ground.
"Are you okay?" Neal exclaims, dropping to her side.
"I think so." Emma groans as she slowly stands back up.
"What was that?"
"Pan cast a protection spell." Rumple tells them.
"There has to be a way to break it." Regina forms a fireball in her hands and throws it at the invisible wall, only causing the fire to rebound towards them, making them duck as it does so.
"Mom!" Nick shouts.
"Try all you want, but Pan's magic is too powerful." Rumple says, pointing at Regina. "At least for you." Rumple walks forward, and they watch as he easily steps through the wall.
"How did you do that?" Emma asks.
"The spell is designed to keep anyone who casts a shadow from entering." Rumple explains.
"And you don't have one." Neal says, remembering his father telling him so. "You were telling the truth about ripping you 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 Avia." Neal realizes.
"I gave you my trust with that box." Rumple tells his son. "Now I need you to give it back."
Neal starts to hand it to his father, but Regina grabs it instead. "Hey!"
Regina looks suspiciously at the imp before stepping forward. "You better come through, Gold. Or, I'll make whatever plan Pan has for you look lie child's play." She warns him. "You understand me?"
Rumple smiles. "I wasn't aware you cared so much about the girl."
"My son cares." Regina clarifies.
Rumple takes the box from Regina. "Well, a simple 'good luck' would've sufficed." He turns around and makes his way up to the next level of Skull Rock.
Emma, Regina, Nick, and Neal are still waiting impatiently at the entrance.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Regina asks.
"What about the spell my father used to rip off his shadow?" Neal suggests.
"You think if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't have done it already?"
Emma looks intently up at the sky. "The moon."
"The moon?" Nick questions.
"The moon is what causes our shadows, right? What if there was a way to block it out using magic?"
"You mean, like an eclipse?" Neal asks. "Is that even possible?"
"Maybe." Regina says, intrigued. "But I need help." She glances at Emma.
"With magic?" Emma asks.
"It requires a lot. I guess we're about to find out how much those lessons I gave you paid off." Nick stands back near Neal. "Follow my lead." She says to Emma.
Regina instructs Emma and they both raise their hands to the moon as a purple light emanates from both their hands, causing a shadow to cast over the full moon. "Cool." Nick smiles, amazed.
Upstairs, in the main part of the cave, Pan and Avia enter.
"This is it." Pan tells her. "The place where you're going to save magic."
"Why does it have to be here?" Avia asks, curiously.
"Well, because this is the location from which Neverland's magic emanates."
The two approach an hourglass. "What's the hourglass for?"
"Marks how much time we have left before Neverland and all the other realms magic runs out."
Avia looks at Pan. "It's almost empty." Suddenly, Pan hears a disturbance that it seems only he can hear. "What's wrong?" Avia asks him.
Pan forces a smile. "Come with me." Pan grabs Avia's hand and leads her into another section of the cave. "There's something I need to take care of before we get started, okay? Just sit there and wait for me."
Avia sits down on a rock, looking rather suspiciously at Pan who walks away. She grabs her sword and stabs it into the sand.
Down at the lower level of the cave, Rumple ascends the stairs with Pandora's Box in hand. He uses his free hand and digs into his pockets, taking out the straw doll given to him by his father.
Neverland…
Young Rumple is sitting at the bottom of the tree, holding his straw doll, and crying into his hands when suddenly his father appears.
"What's wrong?" Malcolm asks him. "Rumple?"
"Papa!" Rumple jumps up, hugging his father. "I thought something terrible had happened to you."
"No." Malcolm says, kissing his son's forehead. "I'm fine, son. You don't have to worry about me."
Rumple hugs his father again before pulling away. "Did you get pixie dust?"
"Yes. But when I tried using it, it didn't work."
"Why not?"
Malcolm scoffs. "I'm not a boy anymore. You were right. Neverland is just for children. Adults don't belong here."
"Then we'll leave and go somewhere else." Rumple says, disappointed. "All that matters is that we're together."
"I wish it was that easy. But we both know wherever we go, I'll go back to my old ways. I can never be the father you need me to be. I'm too weak."
"I don't understand. What are you trying to say?"
"That there is a way that I can stay here, a way that I can get the pixie dust to work so I can fly again – just like I was when I was a boy."
"How?" Rumple asks, curiously.
"By letting go of the thing that is holding me back – you." Malcolm stares coldly down at his son.
The shadow then growls from above and descends down, grabbing Rumple by the hood of his shawl. "Help!" Rumple shouts. "A monster!" He grabs onto his father's arm, struggling to get away from the shadow.
"It's not a monster, Rumple." Malcolm assures his son. "It's a friend. It's part of the island. And after I do what it tells me – I let you go – it will become part of me, too."
"Don't let him take me!"
"I don't have a choice. To stay here, I have to believe that I'm young again. And with you here to remind me, I can't."
"No, Papa, please!" Rumple begs. "Help me!"
"A child can't have a child, Rumple! I'm sorry but it's true. Don't fight it. We both know that you're better off without me. I was never meant to be a father." Malcolm lets go of Rumple, allowing the shadow to take him.
"No!" Rumple shouts, dropping his straw doll as the shadow flies him away from his father, who he watches transform back into a boy. "No!"
Peter Pan now stands in his place, watching with tears in his eyes as his son is exiled from Neverland.
Neverland / Present…
Pan stands in the middle level of Skull Rock as his son Rumplestiltskin approaches slowly from behind.
"Hello, laddie. Oh, I see you've come bearing gifts." He says, seeing the box in Rumple's hand.
"Where's Avia?" Rumple demands.
"Oh, you mean your undoing? You still haven't told the others who I really am, have you?" Pan scoffs. "Not even your own son. Why?"
"Because you're nothing but a coward to me."
"We both know if that were true, I'd already be in that box."
"You don't think I can do it?" Rumple asks. "You let me inside just to taunt me?"
"No." Pan shakes his head. "To see you again, to give you one last chance. Stay with me. Let this go." He points to the box. "Let's start over."
"Do you think I want to be with you?" Rumple scowls. "That I could ever forgive you after you abandoned me?"
"I'm disappointed, Rumple. After all these years, I thought you'd be more understanding, considering you did the same thing to your son." Pan reminds him. "You traded Baelfire for the power of a dagger, and I traded you for youth. We're a lot more alike than you care to admit."
"We are nothing alike." Rumple growls.
"Oh, of course we are. And it's nothing to be ashamed of. Neither one of us was cut out to be a father."
"I regretted leaving my son the moment I let him go. I spent my life trying to find him, to get him back. And what did you do? Your forgot about me."
"I never forgot about you!" Pan shouts. "Why do you think I call myself 'Peter Pan'?"
"Don't think for a moment I believe it's because you care for me."
"But I do." Pan assures him. "All you have to do is put down that box, and you'll see it's true. We can make the fresh start you always wanted, together, just as we planned."
"Oh, I'm gonna make a fresh start." Rumple says without a doubt. "Just not with you." He waves his hand over the box, attempting to open it, but nothing happens. Pan starts to laugh. "I don't understand."
"Cause you don't have it." Pan pulls out the real Pandora's Box from behind his back, showing Rumple.
"You switched them?"
"'Follow the Lady.' Still having trouble believing." Pan accuses his son. "In Neverland, all you have to do is think of something to have it. Even something fake." He chuckles. "But the real one, well, let's see what it can do."
"No!"
Pan waves his hand over the box which lights up the jewel on top, releasing a red vapor that envelops Rumple. "I'm sorry, Rumple. You had your chance. The choice was yours." The jewel clicks back into the box, locking Rumple inside.
Enchanted Forest…
Young Rumple knocks on the door of the two spinsters he used to work for. They quickly answer and are surprised to find the boy, crying, and move in to hug him.
Inside their home, they lay the exhausted and heartbroken boy down in bed, tucking him in. "What happened to the bean?" One of the spinsters asks.
"He used it." Rumple tells them. "He left me and he's never coming back."
"Oh, it's for the best, Rumple." The other spinster assures him.
"I'm alone now."
"No, you have us – " The spinster tells him.
"And a wheel." The other spinster adds.
"You always have a home here. Now, get some rest – "
" – and you'll feel better."
"Later we'll spin, hm? Where's your doll?"
"I lost him." Rumple says defeated.
"Oh. Well, we'll make you another one." The spinster shrugs. "You can give it the same name."
"No." Rumple sighs. "Peter Pan is gone forever."
Neverland…
Peter Pan, previously known as Malcolm, picks up his son's straw doll and is soon engulfed by green magic, sending him up, flying in the sky.
He is amazed by Neverland's landscape and continues to fly until he comes across Skull Rock. He flies through the eye and lands in front of an hourglass. The shadow appears, flying out from behind it.
"What is this place?" Pan asks. "I don't remember seeing it from my dreams."
"That's because it didn't exist." The shadow informs him. "It was created when you made the decision to stay here."
Pan laughs. "A giant skull? It's glorious! What's the hourglass for?"
"It represents the magic fueling your youth, the magic allowing you to stay here, to stay young."
"And what happens when it runs out?"
"Your youth will be taken and you will die." The shadow tells him.
Pan looks confused. "But I thought I was going to stay young forever."
"Neverland is a place for children to visit in their dreams, not a place for them to live. You are the first to try to stay." The shadow explains. "And in doing so, you're breaking the rules."
"Any rule can be broken, especially here. I made this place without even thinking about it. There has to be a way."
"Perhaps."
"Then I will find it." Pan says, determined. "I will find a way. I believe."
Neverland / Present…
Avia is standing in front of the hourglass, her sword held firmly in her hand. Pan walks in and places Pandora's Box on a rock before turning back to Avia.
"It's time, Avia." Pan smiles at the girl. "Time to save magic."
Avia exhales, dropping her sword and sheath on the ground, before turning to Pan. "What do I have to do?"
"You must give me your heart, Avia – the heart of the most powerful of all the realms – the product of true love."
"And what will happen to me?" Avia asks, anxiously.
"You'll become the Savior, of course."
Avia furrows her brows, staring intently at the boy. "I know all magic comes with a price. Saving it must come with a price, too."
"The price is never being alone again, Avia. You'll would have proved to those who are frightened of you that you are truly indeed a hero. You will no longer be considered as a timid and weak Lost Girl." Pan tells her. "You'll no longer have to hide behind your sister, or fear of your parents abandoning you again. You will have all control of all the realms, just as you were made to be."
"And how am I supposed to do that without my heart?" Avia wonders.
Pan grins. "Don't you worry about that. Once the blood from your heart does its job, I will place your heart back inside of you. I know this is a huge sacrifice, but isn't worth it knowing that you are coming out of this as a hero, without anyone telling you can't do it? Here's your chance, Avia. Prove them all wrong. Save magic. Save yourself."
Avia looks at the hourglass, knowing Pan's right. "Okay." She exhales, looking back at Pan. "Let's do this."
"Then let me help you." Pan grabs Avia's hand and waves his own over it. "You have control over your magic, Avia. You just need to believe you can do it."
Avia stares at her hand, contemplating. "I will not be a Lost Girl anymore." She growls as she plunges her hand into her chest, ripping her heart out.
Emma, Neal, Regina, and Nick run in just in time to see Avia holding her own heart out. "Avia, wait!" Nick yells.
Avia turns towards them, shocked to see them. "Avia, whatever Pan's telling you to do, don't do it." Neal tells her.
Avia furrows her brows, looking confused. "Wait." She looks at Pan. "This isn't real. You're dead." She says to Neal.
Neal shakes his head. "No, Avia. I'm alive. I made it out of the portal. I came back here to save you."
But Avia shakes her head, unconvinced. She looks back up at Pan. "Why are you doing this?"
"He's not, Avia." Emma stresses. "We're real. I swear. We are here to save you, Avia."
"Emma." Avia exhales, locking eyes with her big sister.
"Pan is lying to you, Avia." Neal says.
"Pleasure to see you, too, Baelfire." Pan says sarcastically. "Not to mention the Savior. And the Evil Queen. Oh, and Nicholas. Glad to see you found your mum."
"No thanks to you." Nick glares.
Avia looks on in confusion. "Avia, you need to get away from him now." Emma says calmly. "He's trying to hurt you."
"No. My heart is going to save magic and I'm going to prove to everyone that I am not a Lost Girl anymore." Avia says firmly. "I'm going to save everyone, including myself."
"No, it's not." Regina tells her. "This was never about magic, Avia. Pan doesn't care about you. He only cares about himself. He only wants to save himself."
Avia shakes her head that is currently throbbing from the stress they are causing. "No! Stop it! You're not really here right now! You can't come on the island. You're just another hallucination."
"Avia, I promise it's true." Emma tells her desperately. "Hook came back. We used the extra bean to find you. And our parents are waiting on the ship for me to bring you back to them."
"If they really wanted you, Avia, they would be here." Pan scoffs.
Avia narrows her eyes at Emma, knowing that's true. "They wanted to be here, Avia." Emma says, desperately. "But David's life was in danger. And, now, so is yours."
"Pan can't live without you dying." Neal adds. "If you give him your heart, it's gonna kill you."
"They're trying to get inside your head, Avia." Pan says quietly to her. "They're afraid of you."
"We're not afraid of you, Avia." Avia looks past Nick, who is looking back at her. "You are good. We know that. We believe in you. You just need to believe in us."
Avia looks back at the group, who she still believes is just a hallucination. "Avia…" Emma calls out to her sister, who looks at her with uncertainty in her green eyes. "… I know what being a hero looks like, and this isn't it."
Pan rolls his eyes. "She just doesn't want you to be like her. They believe only one Savior is good enough, and they believe Emma is it."
Avia looks down at her heart in her hand, then back up at the group staring desperately back at her. She looks up at Pan. "But you wouldn't lie."
Pan shakes his head. "Never to you, Avia. Trust me, I know how it feels to be lied to. And so do you. Adults have been lying to you your whole life." Avia looks at Emma, knowing that's true. "Your parents don't care about you, Avia, which is why they aren't here to save you – proving they never wanted you in the first place. They are going to start over with a new baby and forget all about you." Emma grits her teeth at the boy. "So, here's your chance, to prove to them that you never needed them in the first place."
"Avia, you have to trust us." Emma begs.
"Trust?" Pan exclaims. "I'm the only one who has ever been honest with you. I'm the only one who ever believed in you. This is your choice. Not theirs." Pan looks anxiously up at the hourglass. "You have to choose now. We're running out of time."
"We believe in you, Avia." Nick tells her.
"Because we love you." Emma says, tearfully. "Our parents love you, Avs."
Avia turns away, saddened. She looks up at Pan. "They're only here because I want to believe that they are here, aren't they?"
Pan nods, faking sympathy. "I'm sorry, Avia. But they'll never understand you for who you are. We all want to believe we have family out there who really loves us, but we can't, because we get our hopes up."
"Don't listen to him, Avia!" Nick shouts, wanting to run forward to stop Pan, but Regina stops him.
"No one is going to save me." Avia realizes. "I have to save myself!"
"No!" They all yell as Avia plunges her heart into Pan's chest, causing a burst of green energy to ensue from the demon child, knocking Emma, Neal, Regina, Nick, and even Avia, off their feet.
Hook and Tinkerbell, who are tying up the lost boys back at Pan's compound, are hit by the green energy, as are Snow and David, who are trekking up Dead Man's Peak in search of the magic water. The parents grabs at the chest, sensing something is terribly wrong.
As Avia lies unconscious on the ground, Pan smiles, his new source of magic allowing him to hover above the ground.
"Avia!" Emma exclaims as she runs towards her sister. Regina, Neal, and Nick run up, attempting to wake Avia up as well.
Pan continues to hover above, pulsing with the most powerful magic that is now running through his veins, smiling down at them from above.
