Hey! I present you with Chapter 29. Next chapter we'll start with our action (yay!) this chapter is the one where Emma finds out Neal is alive and when Neal reveals that there is indeed a way for Henry to regain his memories because it happened to him during his stay on the island.
Thank you for the kind reviews :) I am always glad to hear from you!
Disclaimer: Don't own a thing.
"What the hell did you do to him? Why can't Henry remember who we are?"
Neal winced at the wild desperation in Regina's voice as she yelled her questions at the Lost One who had handed Henry over to Phillip. He should have known this was going to happen since it had happened to himself once long ago but a part of him had been holding onto the hope that Henry wouldn't be quite as vulnerable to Neverland's dark magic considering he was supposedly the Truest Believer.
The boys looked at each other, their faces forming twisted smiles that expressed just how much they were enjoying Regina's maternal suffering.
"Maybe Baelfire right here can fill you in on what's going on with Henry," the leader of the group said slowy as he stepped toward Neal, his dagger glinting in his hand. "After all, he used to be one of us."
Neal remained quiet and unwillingly still as the Lost One got in his personal space, the feeling of a cold blade soon against his throat following the sneer that colored the boy's face.
"Bae, go ahead and tell your friends here exactly what it is Neverland does to those who are lost," he hissed at the grown man who only swallowed in response.
Neal finally glanced toward Regina who gave him a questioning look and then toward Rumpelstiltskin who was more focused on the boy than himself with a murderous glint gleaming in his eyes. In that moment Neal was sure that if his father was mobile, the two boys would be dead in a minute, possibly mere seconds.
"Neal?" Regina asked, her voice pleading but her face full of dread like she really didn't want to know.
"Neverland has a curse," Neal finally breathed out as he focused back on the Lost One. "And this curse is aimed toward the boys that the Shadow brings onto the island. If we stay long enough, we begin to lose our memories…we forget where we came from, who our families are, and whether or not we were loved. In their place come the feelings that we were once abandoned or unwanted and Pan gave us a place to stay. We feel like he gave us a family."
"That's right," the Lost One confirmed, drawing his blade away but breaking Neal's skin and drawing blood for his own amusement before he did so. "So your boy Henry," he turned toward Regina just then, sharing a look with the other boy who had remained silent the entire time. "He doesn't remember you, he doesn't remember anything about you, whether it's good or bad. You may have been his family once before but now he's a part of our family. He doesn't belong with you anymore."
An angry look crossed over Regina's face and Neal smiled at the sight of it. The woman couldn't break. The moment she broke, the Lost Ones would feel the satisfaction of victory and that wasn't something he ever wanted the little demons to feel.
"That's where you are very, very wrong," Regina's voice broke across the clearing, cool and calculated like the woman herself. "If you really believe that you and your little gang of psychos with parental issues can just take my son and initiate him into your little family, then I'm afraid you're in for a shattering reality. Besides the fact that you're going to lose this upcoming battle, this idea of a family you have here isn't a family; it's a little army."
The boy's face fell just a fraction and his eyes flashed in white hot anger, seeming to propel him forward till his face was mere inches from Regina's with his hand reaching and grabbing her by the throat. Even with his hand wrapped around her neck she still gave him a satisfied smirk.
"We're a family."
"No, you're not," she managed the words between his grip. "Family doesn't kill each other when we don't get a job done," she said referring to the three guards prior to him who had been killed by Pan himself when they'd realized Tink had slipped away without their notice. There had been no hesitance, no remorse when he took their lives. Just anger and something else that Regina had seen in her own face a time or two when she'd studied herself in the mirror.
"What do you know? You don't understand what we've been through," he hissed as he tightened his grip.
"You're right. I don't," she admitted breathlessly as her throat closed. "But I can tell you that you deserve a lot more than this."
There was a moment when Neal feared the boy was actually going to strangle the woman Henry knew as his mother when the other boy slowly came behind him.
"Yonni. Let her go. We need her alive," he calmly said in a voice that was surprisingly soothing and after a moment his words seemed to make impact.
Yonni relaxed his grip around Regina's throat and after a long second, his hand fell from her completely. Regina slowly breathed air back into her lungs, doing her best not to gasp for it as the boy stepped away from her, his look full of disgust and loathing.
"I'm going to get some wood for the fire," he finally said before glancing toward the trees where Philip had disappeared with Henry. "Philip should be back soon."
The unnamed boy just gave a grim nod before settling into a stiff stance a ways from the adults, tightly gripping his spear in front of him in a vertical manner from the ground on up as Yonni disappeared from the clearing.
Regina glanced at Neal who gave her a small smile, approval shining in his face.
"Did you really lose your memories?" Rumpelstiltskin's voice came out strained and amazingly quiet compared to the boldness he usually articulated with. His face was worried, his brows knit together in concern as care reflected in his eyes.
Neal stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yes. Every single one of them."
It was silent between all three of the adults, Rumpelstiltskin looking pained as a series of ideas ran through his mind at what his son had possibly been through in Neverland while Regina herself appeared thoughtful.
"How did you get your memories back?" she finally asked.
"Tink," Neal answered as a small smile lit his features. "When she found me I was crying because I felt like something was missing, like something was gone completely and I didn't know what it was. She knew that I'd fallen under the curse and long story short she had a special spell for it."
"So if we find Tink…"
"She can restore Henry's memories," Rumpelstiltskin finished Regina's thought.
Hope once again reigned in the three adults as they each lost themselves in their own thoughts, the idea of Henry at the forefront of their minds. They were going to get Henry back-no matter the cost.
"So, what do you think?"
Liam leaned back on his heels as a smile broke out across his face. Despite the doubts he had at first, the plot that David and the captain had put together was indeed solid and something that his prior comrades would fall for. That fact alone impressed him but then again he shouldn't have been too surprised. Hook had spent three centuries fighting Pan and the Lost Ones meaning their habits were exposed and somewhat predictable to the pirate which in the end made him feel more secure in his choice to aid those who had come to save Henry.
"It is a solid plan but might I make one request?"
Hook raised a brow while David slowly nodded his head as an invitation for the boy to talk on.
"Might I suggest that instead of Ariel, Emma goes with Mary-Margaret?"
"Absolutely not," Hook and David both said in unison, not even caring to look at each other to confirm their agreement.
Liam let out a long breath knowing that was going to be their exact response and met Emma's gaze beyond the two men who were now fixing him with icy glares. She met his look without a hint of confusion clouding her features while Mary-Margaret scrutinized the boy, something very much resembling mistrust shining in her eyes.
"I don't know what you two are complaining about," Ariel shot at the two men as she studied her fingers, "I'm perfectly fine with it."
"Of course you are, love," Hook grit out. "You won't be getting chased to death by a pack of Lost Ones."
Ariel just shrugged while Liam was beginning to regret his decision to reveal his input. They didn't know him…they didn't trust him. Of course they weren't going to listen.
"Why do you suggest I go?" Emma finally asked him as if sensing his walls being thrown back up and Liam looked up to see her green eyes focused on him as if encouraging him to speak once again. She and Henry were so much alike in that way it was borderline mind staggering.
"Because the boys aren't going to believe for a second that Ariel would willingly go walking toward the place where she knows they camp and then run away for no reason. Several of them have been caught in her traps so they're going to suspect that you're baiting them," he explained, thankful for the break. "However, if you go with Mary-Margaret, it will look like nothing more than a mother and a daughter taking a walk together and having their morning plans thwarted."
Several moments passed before Hook finally exhaled a long breath.
"The lad's right," he finally confirmed much to David's dislike. It was obvious the prince wasn't fond of the plan but he knew that in spite of his firm dislike, that it was the way to go.
"I'll do it," Emma said without hesitation and Liam watched Hook throw her an amused smile from over his shoulder.
"Of course you will, love. You'll do anything for Henry even if it means being the bait that draws them in."
"Liam, how many boys are there? Just give us a rough estimate," Mary-Margaret's voice broke into the hanging silence that followed Hook's offhand compliment, her eyes darting toward Emma with a look that seemed to break the invisible spell churning between her daughter and the pirate.
"Eighty to ninety…roughly."
"Eighty to ninety?" Emma repeated, her voice and her face filling with a bit of rare hopelessness.
"That's a lot of boys to kill," Ariel muttered under her breath, causing Hook to shoot her a grin of admiration.
"There's only six of us, though. How are we going to get through that many?"
"Actually, there's seven of us."
Everyone turned at the sound of the voice that broke into their intimate clearing, their weapons drawn and ready only to see an exhausted Tinker Bell standing several feet away from them. Their relief was tangible as they lowered their weapons and Hook stood to his feet immediately in order to make his way to the pixie.
"You're hurt," he observed as he paused in front of her but she only waved him off.
"It's only cuts and bruises. I could have had worse," she answered, not wanting his pity or his concern. Her eyes lighted on Liam with surprise as she surveyed the group in front of her, studying him closely before allowing her expression to soften.
"Liam," she finally acknowledged, her head dipping toward him in acceptance.
"Hey, Tink."
She stepped toward them and settled onto the log beside Emma, smiling her thanks at Mary-Margaret who instantly handed her a canteen of water.
"So what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Rumpelstiltskin?"
"He sent me on an errand and there are several things you ought to know," she answered Emma as her eyes slid toward Hook.
He looked at her in confusion as her emerald green eyes communicated an apology toward him and he knit his brows together in concern as she took a deep breath. Whatever she was going to say next he had a feeling was going to wound him but he didn't know what it could possibly be.
"First off, Baelfire, also known as Neal, is alive."
The clearing grew quiet and it seemed as if the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere in that moment. Mary-Margaret's eyes grew wide as she threw a look toward David who met her gaze with a wide eyed stare of his own. Emma looked unaffected for a moment and Hook held his breath as he slowly watched her gradually absorb Tinker Bell's news. The emotions that flashed across her face were random and tale telling and as much as he wished he could embrace her and hold her close, he knew that was the last thing he should do. The last thing she needed was to feel confused by not only her feelings, but his. With that considered, he found he could only helplessly stand to the side and watch as confusion, then relief, then hurt, and then anger crossed into her features, one leaving as the other made its appearance.
Finally, Emma looked at her parents who only looked back at her with mirrored concern before allowing her gaze to slide toward Hook. He tried to give her a reassuring smile but he knew he failed. He didn't feel it in his heart. Sure, he was relieved and happy that Neal, Baelfire, was alive and well, he was after all Milah's son, but at the same time he felt as if everything he had gained since his losses was about to be ripped out from under him
"Where is he now?" Emma finally asked, directing her focus toward the pixie. Her voice sounded hollow and Mary-Margaret knew she was in shock. She did the only thing she could think to do as her mother and that was to slide her hand into Emma's and squeeze it tight.
"He's being held captive in one of Pan's camps with Rumpelstiltskin and Regina."
"Regina?"
"Yes," she confirmed with one word before glancing back at Hook again as she reached into her tunic. "Rumpelstiltskin sent me to get this," she said as she brought out a dagger and held it out for him to take.
He heard Mary-Margaret gasp as he uncrossed his arms from across his chest and took several steps toward the offered treasure, his heart rapidly beating as he realized that it indeed was what he thought it was. He glanced at Tinker Bell with a question in his eyes before allowing his good hand to wrap around the hilt, his blue eyes reflecting back in the blade that bore the name of his crocodile.
"You have to kill Rumpelstiltskin to lift the protection curse off of Pan," she explained and before he could say there was no bloody way he was going to become the Dark One she went on, "this isn't for you to kill him with. You can kill him how you've intended all along but he didn't think you'd believe me unless you had proof of his word. You'll have to hold out on the attack until Pan is most vulnerable under our advances and until we don't have need for Rumpelstiltskin's magic aiding us."
"Rumpelstiltskin is actually going to sacrifice himself?"
Emma's question came out disbelieving and incredulous and Tinker Bell gave a firm nod of her head, her emerald eyes somewhat sad at the truth of it all.
"That's the reason why he separated himself from you. He needed the time to sort through his inner thoughts and demons."
Emma took a deep breath as Tink's news ran through her mind like a cannon ball. First, Neal, her ex and Henry's father was alive, even after being shot and sent through a portal, and then the man she swore was her enemy who also happened to be Henry's grandfather was planning to sacrifice himself. Her head hurt from the reality of it all.
"We have to save them," David interrupted Emma's thoughts and she was grateful for the diversion.
Action. That's exactly what she needed. Some action and something other than sitting around and thinking. She was tired of sitting and thinking.
"Aye, that we do," Hook agreed and his eyes lighted on Liam, the look he sent the boy making the Lost One visibly uncomfortable. "And I know exactly how it is we're going to do that."
"I don't like that look on your face, captain," Liam said, feeling brave enough to say so.
Hook only gave him a half smile that didn't reach his eyes before glancing at Emma.
"Don't worry, love. We'll have your True Love rescued and safe in your arms soon enough."
Before Emma could open her mouth to refute Neal being her "True Love" or anything of that sort, Hook had stepped toward Liam and pulled him up by the arm before shuffling into the jungle with the boy, effectively disappearing from view.
"But Neal…I don't even know-"
"I'm going to see what Hook is up to," Tinker Bell interrupted not wanting to be part of the upcoming conversation at all and Ariel seemed to have the same mindset as she pushed herself from the tree trunk she was leaning against and fell into step beside the pixie as they marched in the same direction Hook had pulled Liam.
Mary-Margaret watched them disappear, grateful for the alone time she needed with Emma. The morning before when she'd attempted to talk with Emma had gone badly, mostly due to her judgment getting in the way of what was most important: her daughter's happiness.
She felt a strong, calloused hand slip into her left one and she looked up to see David giving her a soft, encouraging smile before they both focused their attention on Emma who looked so vulnerable sitting there beside them.
"Emma?"
Emma looked up from her hands lying in her lap toward them, the urge to run away showing in her features but there was something that slowly pushed that desire away. She'd been bearing all of her emotions and uncertainties alone for quite some time, save Hook, and she was wearing down under the burden of it all. She had to let it out, had to vent to someone or kill something.
She sat there, slowly remembering to breathe as she swallowed, deciding that maybe she should let her parents into her mind. Who knew what the day was going to bring and if Hook was putting together a plan to save Neal, Rumpelstiltskin, and Regina, her talking to her parents wasn't wasted time.
"If you two are ready to listen," she finally exhaled as she met their gazes, "I'm ready to talk."
Sorry if it seems rushed or oddly set. It's one a.m. my time but I wanted to pump one out :)
Let me know what you think or what you want to see in the upcoming chapters!
