Hey guys! So it's been what 2 months? So sorry! Lots of crazy stuff going on consisting of the holidays, I broke off my engagement so no wedding bells for this girl any day soon, moved out, and gah! And then I lost my muse.

Life...but anywho, I appreciate the reviews that people have still posted. You guys are awesome and after actually reading through the last couple of chapters I wrote and your reviews, I felt inspired enough to post something. And it's a bit longer than usual to make up for lost time.

Anywho, hope you enjoy it! I also hope you all had a fantastic holiday season :)

Emma swat at the foliage that reached for her face, the heat of the jungle giving her cause to shed her long sleeve and toss it onto the jungle floor. The only noise she could hear was the sound of her own breathing and for the first time in a week she felt completely and utterly alone. Picking up the pace again she broke into a sprint, not completely sure where she was headed but she kept following that gut feeling directing her where to go.

It was eerie how very much like this was to her dream and she had to mentally push aside the dread that kept trying to pull itself to the forefront of her mind. That dream wouldn't determine her future, their future.

The jungle thinned out into a clearing just then and she slowed down a bit choosing to ignore just how fast her heart was beating. Coming to the center she looked around trying to look for some sort of sign or clue as to where it was she should be heading but nothing came to her.

"Seriously?" she muttered under her breath swallowing down the sharp pain that began to burn in her throat. "There couldn't be a neon sign or something?"

Several long seconds ticked by that felt like excruciatingly slow minutes as she tried to figure out what to do when a twig snapped somewhere in the trees. She instantly froze in place, not willing her body to move and tightened her grip around the hilt of her sword. It hadn't occurred to her that perhaps all the Lost Ones that she had faced just moments prior weren't the only ones and she couldn't help but anticipate the grim moment when twenty boys would enter the clearing where she stood on her own.

The silence seemed even more stifling and she was tempted to just call out for whoever it was she was sure was hiding in the trees when there was another snap behind her. She whirled around with her sword held out in front of her just in time to see two figures duck behind the trees.

"I know you're there," she called, summoning her courage and taking a few steps in their direction. "You may as well just come out and face me because a confrontation is more than likely gonna happen."

She was met with silence and just when she was beginning to wonder if this particular clearing had the magical quality to project hallucinations, a small boy was pushed out from his hiding place right into plain sight several feet in front of her.

Raising her eyebrows she nearly lowered her sword in suprise when he lifted a cherubic smile toward her before shooting an irritated glare at who she could only assume was the friend who had exposed him. Shockingly that was all he did before meeting her gaze and lifting his hands in surrender. She wordlessly stared at him, not quite sure how to take control over the situation considering he was surrendering. Was there a code or something for one who surrendered but then again he could be playing at some sick trick.

The boy seemed to sense her hesitation and dared to widen his smile as if trying to comfort her.

"I can only assume you're looking for Henry?" he asked and just like that, at the mention of her son's name, Emma snapped out of her indecision and before the boy could cry "mother" she had him by the lapels of his tattered tunic with her sword at his throat.

"What do you know about my son?"

The boy's eyes dimmed from the prior friendly, hopeful spark into a look of panic but he never took his eyes off of her. She watched as he swallowed the lump that had more than likely jumped into his throat at Emma's quick restraint and she allowed herself a second to glance around them. Whoever was a friend to this kid still hadn't revealed themselves and she thought the idea somewhat unsettling but found she could comfort herself with the fact that if she was in any danger she would already have had a knife at her throat.

"I know that Pan is using him; for what I don't know but I wash my hands of it. Did Liam make it to you?"

Emma tilted her head at the use of Liam's name and she wondered exactly what had all transpired when the Lost One had gone back to camp to save Rumpelstiltskin, Neal, and Regina.

"How do you know Liam?"
"Other than the fact that he obviously used to be a Lost One? A whole hell of a lot," the boy said quietly and Emma found herself slowly loosening her hold. "We were there when he freed the three members of your crew. We couldn't come along really, he didn't want to put us in any danger but I say off with it. If I'm with Pan I die, if I'm with you, I may die. I'd rather take my chances helping you."

Emma studied the boy for a moment, his blue eyes looking at her with wide eyed innocence. She didn't detect a single lie coming from him but she couldn't release him until his partner exposed himself.

"You said 'we'. Who's your partner?"
"Are you going to harm us?"

Emma scrutinized the boy once again and finally let out a sigh.

"No, I just need to be sure that I'm not going to have a knife sticking out of my back."
"Ah, understood," the boy nodded before letting out a small shrill whistle that sounded so much like a bird Emma could only stare back in amazement. "Not too much trust to give I sense," he suddenly spoke again to Emma and before she could respond to his nosey statement he changed on her. "I can do more than whistle you know."

She had to hold back the smile that threatened to spread across her lips when he raised his brows at her in a way that reminded her so much of Killian she was sure the captain himself would slap the boy on the back with approval.

"I'm Nate by the way," he said, sticking out his hand for her to shake while motioning with his other hand to somewhere behind her. "And this guy who was too chicken to do the negotiations himself is Thomas. You're lucky, though. He's not quite as charming as myself."

Emma looked from the younger boy to the new boy who looked to be about thirteen years old at the most as he shuffled from the tree he had been hiding himself behind.

"Now that he's come out would you be so kind as to let me go? It would be appreciated," Nate said as Emma and Thomas continued to stare each other down as if deciding just how much trust to put in the other.

When she was satisfied that Thomas wasn't going to do her in, Emma released her hold, an action which visibly put Thomas more at ease. A pang shot through Emma as she was reminded of her days in the system. She had worn that same look that covered Thomas' face on her own face numerous times when some of the other kids she'd developed a kinship with were spared an abuse from a foster parent. It was the look of relief that they were well but also a deep relief that you wouldn't be alone.

"So how can we help you? You seem lost," Nate brought her back into the present moment and she shook the haunting memories from her head. No time for reflection now.
"The map shows Henry is in Shadow Cove. Can you take me there?"
"Shadow Cove?" Thomas questioned and Emma was shocked at just how deep his voice was. "That isn't a place for anybody. The only person who can come and go as they please is Peter."
"Well, Peter took Henry in there and I'm bound and determined to get him out."
"You won't make it, though," Nate argued, crossing his arms over his chest as a look of resolve came over his face. "You'll have your shadow ripped from you before you can say 'hey-ho'."
"Not necessarily. I have a bit of magic. Just enough I'm sure to keep them from touching me," Emma stumbled over her words, "It's worked as a shield on the island thus far."
"But if it doesn't?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders and raised her gaze from the boys to the tree's branches that fanned out overhead. The sun still hung high in the sky, courtesy of Pan, and she found herself realizing that this was probably the longest day she'd ever lived. Just that morning she'd woken up talking with Ariel and setting traps for the Lost Ones. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"If it doesn't then at least Henry could hopefully see that someone here loves him," she answered as she allowed her eyes to shift back to the boys. "At least I could imprint the memories he has here on the island and maybe, just maybe his beliefs will be his own and not Pan's. I'm not asking you to take me through. I'm just asking you to point me in the right direction."

There was a hesitation before Nate let out a deep sigh and walked past Emma, Thomas giving him a look that was answered with an expression from Nate that Emma didn't get to see.

"We'll take you as far as the border," Nate finally exhaled before turning on his heel to fix Emma with his boyish grin. "Just don't come crashing through the jungle like you were earlier. All of Neverland in a five mile radius will hear you coming otherwise."

Emma didn't know whether to be relieved or offended but before she could decide on which emotion the boys wordlessly started to run leaving her with no choice but to follow.

"Are we clear?"
"Clear up here," Regina called from the top of the heap of boulders everyone was slowly coming down from, wincing as she leaned against one of the taller rocks.

She looked toward where David was already tearing into Mary-Margaret's satchel for the herbal remedy they were given for the Dreamshade poisoning. Mary-Margaret sat close by, leaning back against a boulder with her eyes winced closed in pain as red continued to stain across her chest.

"We're all clear this direction," Neal announced as he came into view with Liam coming up behind him with a grim look.

Their clothes were smattered with blood and several bruises were already blooming dark flowers across their exposed skin. Regina knew just looking at them she had to be a wreck and the burning sensation crawling up her arm confirmed her suspicion.

"You're hurt," Liam quietly said and she turned her gaze to see that he had come close to her, a fact she found somewhat surprising since no one had managed to sneak up on her quite that easily before.
"It's nothing."
"Regina, your arm is bleeding. I wouldn't exactly call that nothing."

She watched as he set his mouth in a firm line before glancing over at David who was already smothering the exposed part of Mary-Margaret's wound with herbal leaves.

"Don't tell them."
"You need help."
"I'll be fine. She needs them more than I do," Regina grit out, more irritated with him and his determination than she was with the idea that she was hurt. "And if you tell them I swear to whatever gods there are that I will tear you limb from limb and make your life a living hell."

It was an empty threat and she had a feeling Liam knew it but his silence sealed his surrender.

"Where's Emma?"

Neal's question turned Liam's attention from her toward another pressing matter at hand and Regina couldn't be more grateful for the timing. She looked toward her son's father who wore a troubled look across his face and she frowned as she looked at the lot of them or at least the few that were left.

"She's tracking Pan to Henry. I guess he paid her a visit in the middle of this chaos," David answered, worry creasing his brow as he wrapped the medicine over his wife's chest. "As soon as we recover we need to get going."
"No kidding," Ariel huffed as she came into view, observing the knife she held in her hand before glancing up at the sky. "I'd like to get off this cursed island as soon as is humanly possible."
"So I'm guessing that's why Hook, Tink, and my father are missing as well," Neal stated, irritation seeping into his voice as he addressed David once again, ultimately dismissing Ariel's little tangent.
"Yes, it is," David sighed, leaning back from Mary-Margaret who buttoned the top buttons of her blouse back up again. "We need Tink to recover Henry's memories, your father is sacrificing himself to lift the curse, Killian is the executioner and my daughter," he paused as he glanced up at Neal with intense concentration, "is their shield. Anymore questions as to why you're here and they're not?"

David wore a combative expression on his face as if challenging Neal to continue but the man surprisingly stood down, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Well, let's get going," Mary-Margaret interrupted as she stood to her feet and bent over to retrieve the satchel David had managed to pack back up. "We don't have any time to waste. For all we know Pan already has Henry's heart but on the off chance he doesn't I'd like to be there to interrupt that ceremony."

Regina smiled the kind of smile that could curdle blood and being careful of her arm, she pushed herself off of the rock she was leaning against, eager to get on with the chase. Pan was going to rue the day he crossed her, crossed Henry's family, and crossed the borderlines between his world and theirs.

"So exactly what kind of sacrifice is it that you're thinking of?" Henry asked Peter, not at all comfortable with how quiet it had been between them since he'd been recovered by the Lost Ones' ring leader.
"When we get somewhere safe I'll share with you exactly what it is I am thinking," Peter answered, turning his face toward him only partway before looking forward again. "Neverland is full of prying eyes and ears."

Henry frowned at that little fact and raised a brow as he ducked under a low hanging branch. "But I thought Neverland was under your control. It all answers to your wish so why don't you just-"
"Henry, I may be the most powerful one here but there are still those who don't align themselves with my will. I can't just wish them away."
"I wasn't saying that, I was just asking why you don't-"
"Because I don't want to," Peter all but hissed at him.

The air suddenly seemed so much thinner and Henry felt a chill crawl up his spine. He was beginning to wonder exactly what it was he should do since running away didn't seem to be an option considering he had no idea where he was when Peter suddenly came to a halt. Henry stopped several strides behind him and watched as the older boy seemed to take a deep breath which then caused his shoulders to relax some before he finally faced Henry.

"I am sorry, Henry," he said in a low voice, his dark eyes latching onto Henry's green brown ones. "I just feel so weighted down. The stress of this day I suppose is getting to me." Henry watched as he ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair before swinging his arms down to his sides. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to protect you, to keep you safe and now we have these magic stealing adults coming to tear your heart away and I can only think of one thing to do to save your heart. That is until I figure out how to secure an end to their chase. But still, can you forgive me? I didn't mean to lose it."

Henry studied him for a moment as if weighing out just how sane Peter really was before he finally let out a sigh.

"We all have bad days," he relented and Peter gave him a relieved smile.
"Thank you, Henry. Really it means a lot and if it helps I can put an end to your curiosity to this sacrifice I keep speaking of."

Peter ducked under a low hanging branch and pulled back some creeping moss that provided a curtain, gesturing for Henry to enter before him. Henry paused for a second, trying not to show just how reluctant he really was when he saw a glimpse of sunlight peek through the curtain toward him. That was enough encouragement to will his legs forward.

He noted Pan's smile as he ducked through the curtain and almost instantly he had to close his eyes from just how bright the sun was compared to the darkness he'd been enveloped in. He gave himself a moment to adjust to the sudden light, not fond of possibly going blind and instead soaked in the warmth that the day had to give. It was such a contrast to the chill of Shadow Cove but it was a welcome one.

The sound of waves crashing sounded in his ears and he dared to open his eyes again, this time only having to blink several times before he could take in his surroundings.

He stood on a cliff side with the Neverland ocean outstretched before him, the dark trees of Shadow Cove hanging to his left and behind him before merging with the less eerie branches of the trees that made up the jungle. A long sand beach stretched below the cliff along the length of the tree line and in spite of how beautiful it was in comparison to the forest he'd just been in, he felt a sense of dread build up inside of him. Like he'd been here before and had witnessed something terrible.

"You all right?"
"Yeah, it's just nice to be out of there," Henry exhaled before turning to face Peter who had come to stand beside him. "It feels like I can breathe again."

Peter smiled and relaxed his posture, resting a fist on his hip as he stared up at the sun that was now beginning to slowly sink in the sky.

"So about this sacrifice…we need to keep your heart safe."
"Okay, you've said that several times now," Henry acknowledged trying to keep the curiosity and agitiation out of his voice.
"I think to fool them, we need to switch hearts. Just for awhile…until they leave."

Henry shook his head and narrowed his eyes in disbelief, the ocean before him becoming blurry as his eyelashes blocked his view.

"What? Excuse me?"
"I take your heart and you take mine so when they come and if they capture you, the heart they'll have is not the heart they have come for. It will be mine."
"But what if they crush it? You'll die then."
"And that, Henry, is the sacrifice I'm willing to make," Peter said slowly and deliberately, taking his eyes from Henry's face to look into the distance.

Henry stared at him for a long moment, digesting all it was Pan was saying and finding himself completely bewildered that Pan would sacrifice himself as a way to save Henry. If that was what he was really doing. On the off chance it was, however, the last thing he needed was someone taking his heart for terrible purposes.

"So your heart will be my heart for awhile and vice versa?"
"Exactly."
"Wow, that's…that's a lot to take in."
"It requires a great amount of trust," Pan added, his tone just a bit slow before he turned to Henry, a small smile forming across his mouth. "I trust you, though, Henry. You're just, you're fair, and you're rather courageous. The only question that remains, can you trust me?"

Henry sealed his lips closed and scrutinized Pan, the boy who had supposedly saved him, taken him in, had captured those who had been hunting for him and when he'd gone missing had come to find him. Sure he was little off but Henry supposed being on an island and growing up as he had could do that to one's spirit.

After another slow minute Henry finally stuck out his hand toward Peter and gave him a small smile.

"Fine, you have a deal. My heart for yours and when they leave, we switch back."

Peter gave him a wide smile, the kind that one would probably deem a bit on the devilish side before slipping his hand into Henry's.

"Henry, you've got yourself a deal," he promised as he shook hands and brought his free hand to the air and closed it into a fist.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't have my heart with me, Henry," Peter explained, "Many have sought for it, have hunted me down for it as well because it contains magic as well. Not as powerful as yours, but powerful nonetheless. I had to send my Shadow to hide it and now I call for my Shadow to recover it, otherwise you'll be nothing more than a corpse."

No sooner had Peter finished his explanation when a shadow shot up from the trees they had just escaped and slowly drifted toward them, its presence something dark and eerie that made Henry's skin crawl. He watched as Pan approached the shadow a distance a ways from him and he couldn't help but feel uneasy as Pan instructed his shadow in a few mumbled words that he couldn't understand.

When he was finished, the shadow departed leaving Pan to Henry who gave him a weak smile when the boy turned to face him.

"It is done but we have no time to waste. The adults are closing in on us so we must do the switch now before they catch us otherwise they'll know."

Henry nodded and uncrossed his arms and let them hang at his sides, widening his feet apart before he exhaled a breath as if air was all he needed for strength.

"Okay, go ahead. Do it."
"I can't do it, Henry. You have to give it willingly."
"Wait," Henry couldn't help but stammer. "I have to tear my own heart out?"
"Yes, yes, you do."
"I've never done that before."
"Uh, I wouldn't imagine so," Peter deadpanned before grasping Henry's shoulders and staring at him rather intently. "You just have to feel it, Henry. Will your emotions, whether that be fear or anger, to do what it is you imagine."

Henry felt Pan's fingers gingerly wrap around his wrist and raise his hand to his own chest before letting go.

"Just feel it, Henry," he whispered and took a step back, leaving Henry to his own devices.

Henry closed his eyes in concentration, laying his hand heavily on his chest as he thought over what Pan said, allowing himself to feel the confusion that was constantly running in his mind, the familiarity he felt when he saw the dark haired woman, the blonde woman who haunted him in his dream, the conflicting feelings he felt toward Pan and the uncertainty of not knowing a truth from a lie.

"Henry, you've done it," Peter whispered causing Henry to open his eyes and then widen them in disbelief.

His heart glowed in his hand, perfectly red without a blemish to it.

"Are you ready for this?" Peter asked, excitement flickering in his eyes and Henry felt something twist his gut; like something wasn't right.
"And you promise to make good on your end of the deal? Your heart will be my heart?"

Peter raised a brow but gave him a nod in the affirmative before giving him a smile as if to reassure him it was all going to work out. Henry finally let out a breath and braced himself to insert his heart into Peter's chest when there was a crashing sound coming from beside them. He didn't have to look over to see who it was because the look of dread on Pan's face said it all but still he looked and he felt his heart in his hand give an extra strong beat.

There she stood. The woman from his dream with the blonde hair that curled around her face frantically looked from left to right, shielding her face from the sun with her arm until her body stilled. That's how Henry knew she recognized them from the way she just stood there as if frozen in disbelief and even from the distance he stood from her, he could sense the relief flashing across her face.

"Henry, we have to go," Pan muttered from beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder just as the woman seemed to sense Peter's desire to flee and began to run toward them.

"Henry! Henry! Don't go! I don't know what he's said but he's lying! He's lying to you, kid!"

Kid.

There it was again, those memories…her red dress, her calling him kid as he walked down a hallway to a kitchen, finding juice, something about a storybook, there was a town, there was the brunette woman he'd seen before, a man he played swords with and a woman with short hair who stood in the middle of a room with tons of other children. He knew them. He'd lived with them. And the fact that got him most was they knew his name which meant they knew him, too.

Peter began to pull him away but Henry pulled back, his heart still beating in his hand as he watched the blonde come up closer, just several feet away now at the bottom of the slight hill he stood at the top of.

"Henry," she called again, her voice pleading and she met his searching gaze, her familiar green eyes clashing with his brown-green ones.
"Emma," he whispered and even though he knew his memories were altered, even though he couldn't remember exactly who he had been before or where he'd come from he was sure of this; her name was Emma.

And that's it for now! Thank you guys!

Have a great day!