Start The Game

'Would you like a cup of tea?' Jefferson asked.

'What?' Wendy had zoned out but his question snapped her attention back to him.

'Tea?' Jefferson held up the kettle and tipped in back and forth in a bizarre way of demonstrating his offer.

'Oh, yes please.' Wendy said staring back down at the open book in her lap.

A cup of hot tea was immediately placed beside her. She picked up the cup and sipped from it, hissing as the hot liquid burned her mouth. She hastily placed it back down.

'What are you working on?' He asked. His voice echoed around the room. Without looking up, Wendy sighed.

'I'm trying to get to Neverland.' She answered. She frowned as the words on the page in front of her stretched out into a language she didn't understand. Wendy squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds.

She reopened them to find herself in a forest, a large long table stretched out in front of her. Her books were piled up on the table and on chairs beside her. Jefferson was sat at the far end of the table. His elbows were resting on the table, his head resting on his hands as he stared at her. Jefferson was wearing a manic grin, his top hat balanced precariously on his head.

'How did I…..?' Wendy started to ask. 'I'm dreaming.' She concluded. Jefferson nodded his head.

'I've always said it's remarkable how one so young can wander and yet never be lost.' He said pouring himself a cup of tea.

'You've said that to me before.' Wendy frowned as she watched him take a sip of his tea and then throw the liquid over his shoulder before refilling his now empty cup.

'How did you find Wonderland?' Jefferson asked with the tilt of his head. Wendy picked up her own cup and stared at her reflection in the tea. Her reflection was much clearer than if she'd been looking into a real cup of tea. She could see herself perfectly as though she was staring into a red stained mirror.

'I suppose it was like a feeling.' Wendy mumbled. 'It was although something was calling out to me.'

'And why do you think that is?' Jefferson voice seemed to echo around her. Wendy watched as her reflection smiled at her. She didn't think she was smiling and so she raised her hand to her mouth and found that indeed she was not.

'Little bird?' Wendy snapped her head up. That wasn't Hatter's voice.

'Peter?' She asked looking around her in search of him. He wasn't there. She sprung out her chair and started gathering her books frantically.

'I need to get to Neverland.' She said. Wendy tried to balance as many books as possible before turning the leave, although she didn't know where she was heading.

Jefferson was suddenly in front of her. He removed a couple of books off the top of her pile so that she see.

'Listen.' Jefferson hissed. 'They are calling you.'

'Who are?' Wendy asked. 'What are you trying to tell me?' She let out a sudden yawn. Jefferson placed the books he was holding onto the table and then reached for the rest in her arms.

She could feel the tug of sleep pulling at her, her whole body suddenly feeling heavy.

'You should sleep.' Jefferson said.

'I have to get to Neverland.' She muttered under her breath, she closed her eyes and found that they wouldn't open again, her breathing deepened as she started drifted off.

'Why is a raven like a writing desk?' His voice rang through her head, jolting her awake.

'What?' She asked, her eyes fluttering open. She found herself lying on her side. Using one hand to push herself up, she sat up confused.

'I didn't say anything.' Felix said frowning. 'You were sleeping.'

They were in Peter's old apartment. Wendy was on the sofa while Felix was sat on the floor with the coffee table in between them. The coffee table was littered in open books, a cup of tea delicately placed on the edge of the table.

Frowning, Wendy gingerly reached out and touched the cup. It was still hot.

'You made me tea?' She asked. Felix shook his head, he attention still on the book he was holding.

'You made that hours ago.' He stated.

She stared at the cup confused for a second before she remembered her dream more clearly. It was like something had clicked into place. Wendy jumped up and went in search of her trainers.

'Where are you going?' Felix asked in alarm at the sudden movement.

'I know what I need to do!' She declared. Felix didn't react nor make any sign to follow.

Wendy halted abruptly in the doorway, she hand resting on the door frame.

'Are you coming?' She asked before leaving and letting him scramble to follow her.


She lead them straight to the woods, found a clearing and shushed Felix when he tried to ask her what she was doing.

Wendy closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

Felix stood grumpily next to her, waiting for her to do something. He folded his arms and looked at anything and everything that wasn't her. Eventually he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She'd scrunched her nose and was wearing a light frown. She let out a frustrated noise that Felix refused to think of as cute and as she opened her eyes, Felix looked away, his face feeling warmer.

'Maybe I just need to wander around.' She muttered to herself. She started to walk off in what Felix presumed was a random direction.

They walked in silence, Felix knowing better than to interrupt her again when she was doing something that didn't appear to make any sense. He noticed that they were making a beeline for Hatter's mansion but didn't want to distract her.

He was surprised that the house had remained untouched by the relocation efforts. It would have suited a large family easily, maybe several if they spilt the house into sections, it certainly had enough rooms.

Wendy slowed down as she approached the house, probably debating whether or not to go inside. She started to chew on her bottom lip anxiously before quickly shaking her head to rid herself of whatever thought she was mulling over, took a deep breath and then with a determined glare, marched towards the front door.

Felix gave a small sigh of his own and followed after her.

Wendy didn't get far. She hovered awkwardly in the hallway, staring at the staircase in front of her.

Before Felix could say something, Wendy took a sharp left and continued to make her way through the house, inspecting the occasional object and then putting it back down.

'I don't understand.' Felix finally said after they'd been through every room on the ground floor and she was making her way up the stairs.

She didn't immediately answer, instead she traced her fingers along a large painting of a raven. Felix followed her as she made her way to another door.

'It would need to be somewhere he couldn't find or couldn't get to on his own.' She mumbled opening a door that lead to a bedroom. She only scanned the room before closing the door again and carried on walking down the corridor.

'That doesn't make any sense.' Felix grumbled as he trailed behind her.

'Portals! Here, in this house. There has to be.' Wendy said a little frantically. Ducking under a table, she examined the underneath. Sighing, she jumped back up and turned so quickly she nearly collided with Felix who had followed her a bit too closely.

'Sorry.' They both mumbled and both moved to allow more space between them.

When they went into the next room, she began to lightly tap various items of furniture.

'So why would a portal be here? Wouldn't Hatter has known it was here and used it?' Felix asked. Wendy lifted up a vase with some dead flowers in it. She tipped it upside down to look at the bottom, seemingly unaware of the flowers that fell and crumped to the floor.

'That's the thing. He would have found it.' Wendy said. 'It would have driven him mad.'

'This is a waste of time.' Felix muttered. 'There is no way that there just happens to be a portal in Hatter's house, or that it would happen to take us to Neverland.'

'Did you know that I have successfully made three portal journeys? Two of which I found in my neighbourhood alone.' Wendy said idly as she wandered around the edge of the room.

'Yeah, but that was in England, this is Storybrooke. The whole point of this place is that you can't just leave.' Felix said. Wendy halted and put her arm out to grab Felix.

'Shhh.' She whispered urgently. 'Do you hear that?'

Felix shook his head. Wendy closed her eyes again, listening for something. Felix reluctantly did the same but he couldn't hear anything.

'I don't…' He started say but Wendy opened her eyes and grabbing his hand pulled at him to follow her.

'This way.' She said dragging him into the corridor. She started to her right and then stopped. 'No, that way.' She said and began walking quickly to their left, back the way they'd come.

'We've been through here already.' Felix grumbled as he stamped on the dead flowers that littered the floor.

'I know why Jefferson couldn't get to his portal.' She whispered as if afraid to speak any louder in case the volume made it disappear.

She pointed to the skirting board. Towards the far corner of the room there appeared to be a tiny door, no bigger than a hand. Wendy rushed over to investigate, dragging Felix with her. She dropped his hand with no indication she'd even been aware she'd been holding it.

Felix rubbed the hand subconsciously as he watched her.

Wendy knelt to the floor and grabbed the door knob carefully twisting it. Her face fell when it wouldn't open.

'It's locked.' She muttered grumpily. She rocked back and looked up at Felix with an earnest expression. He pinched the bridge of his nose to try and stop the smile threatening to spill across his face.

'I'll ring Tink.' He said shaking his head in amusement.


In Neverland

Henry and Pan ran through the jungle as fast as they could. Henry let Pan lead, stumbling as branches hit him in the face and chest while stones and roots threatened to send him hurling to the ground.

They took a sharp left and Pan stopped, holding up his index finger to his lips. Henry nodded and waited as a few lost boys ran by without seeing them.

'I think we lost them' Pan announced after a few minutes.

'Can we rest for a moment?' Henry panted. Pan nodded and watched as Henry sat down on a boulder.

Henry watched as his friend looked openly concerned. He took the chance to look at him properly. He suited the Neverland attire but he didn't have the same cockiness that Henry was used to.

'So how come the lost boys didn't listen to you?' Henry asked.

'Looks like they have a new leader now.' He replied shrugging. Henry considered that maybe his confidence had simply been knocked. The older boy did look worried, scared almost. That thought made Henry frown. Something was wrong.

'Why do you suddenly want to help me?' Henry asked trying to read his expression.

'I was always on your side Henry.' Pan said with a small smile that somehow looked more sinister than genuine.

'Where is Tigerlilly?' Henry asked him again while getting to his feet. Pan shrugged his shoulders.

'What's with the third degree?' Pan asked, his voice rising. His hand moved to play with something that was hanging around his neck.

'What's that?' Henry said without even missing a beat. Pan was twisting a vial between his fingers.

'Dead pixie dust.' Pan said sighing. 'I took it from a lost boy thinking I could get it to work, but without my magic,' he left a dramatic pause and held up his wrist with the bracelet. 'It's impossible.'

'It's going to be ok.' Henry took a step towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'I promise. Don't lose hope. All we need is time. Is there a place where we could hide from the lost boys?'

'There's a place they can't track us. The echo caves, but it's far.' Pan scrunched his face.

Rustling in the trees made both boys jump.

'What are we waiting for? Lead the way.' Henry whispered gesturing for Pan to move.


Storybrooke

Tink wasn't too thrilled at the discovery. She kept muttering under her breath as she knelt in front of the little door.

'How did you even find this?' She asked looking up at them. Wendy gave her a sheepish look.

'I just sort of, did.' She said. Tink glared at her unimpressed.

'Well, we need a key.' Tink announced, standing up. 'And, a shrink ray.'

'I could probably pick the lock if I was small enough.' Felix offered. Tink rolled her eyes.

'Great, one problem solved.' She replied dryly.

'Couldn't you use magic?' Wendy asked. Tink snorted and folded her arms.

'I don't have any magic anymore, the only people left in town with any are the fairies and they won't be willing to help.' She said.

Wendy collapsed into the nearest chair in a huff. Felix had been stood leaning against the wall next to the door. He made no move to stop the fairy as she exited the room. Left alone, the two teens stayed silent, lost in their own thoughts.

It wasn't more than ten minutes before Tink came charging back in.

'Unless, we raided Gold's store.' She announced and then stalked back out. Wendy jumped at Tink's loud statement and then shared a look with Felix before they both ran out after her.

Tink was already out the house before they caught up with her.

'Is anyone running the store while Gold is away?' Wendy asked quietly as they fell in step, slightly behind Tink. Felix shrugged.

'Doesn't matter, we will take what we need regardless.' He answered.

Turned out Belle was at the store with her nose in a book.

Tink didn't spare her friend a glance before rooting through the nearest stand of odd looking merchandise and not finding what she was looking for, began rifling through the next available stand.

'Hi.' Wendy said nervously, giving Belle a small wave. Belle did nothing but raise an eyebrow and moved to place a bookmark in her book and close it, leaving it on the side.

Belle glanced over at the fairy and then back to Wendy. 'Can I help you?'

'We need something to make us smaller.' Tink piped up. 'Rumpelstiltskin must have some trinket or potion that can help us.'

Belle moved from behind the counter to where Tink had picked up a snow globe, Wendy darted out of the way and went to the other side of the store.

'Why?' Belle asked defensively as she put her hands on her hips.

While Tink was explaining their predicament with a clipped tone, Wendy idly looked at the items on display. A butterfly made her jump as it landed on a hat stand. She watched as it flapped it's wings and flew off again. Without thinking Wendy moved around the side of the counter and followed the butterfly into the back room.

Felix watched as she walked into the back room without the two women noticing. Tink and Belle were engaged in a heated debate about trying to find a way to Neverland. With Belle's attention entirely on the fairy, Felix casually walked further into the store, pretending to be interested in the objects around him until finally ducking into the back.

He found her stood in front of a large ornate mirror.

Wendy was staring at it, completely unaware he'd walked in. She slowly reached out but didn't quite touch the glass. She only noticed him when Felix came to stand next to her.

'The butterfly.' She whispered. 'It went through.'

Felix watched as she tilted her head to the side and took a step forwards, through the mirror. He let out a sharp noise in alarm and quickly glanced at the doorway leading into the shop and then back to the mirror.

'Wendy?' He hissed. He couldn't see her on the other side, just a reflection of himself. A hand shot out of the glass making him jump. Her hand stayed there outstretched, waiting expectingly for him to take it. Felix gave another quick look at the doorway before making a split second decision, took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled through.

He couldn't help but shut his eyes and hold his breath, the sensation was very much like jumping into a pool of cold water. It was Wendy's giggle that made him crack open an eye and realise he was through.

He was standing in a room that looked very much like Gold's back room, except it looked odd in a way he couldn't work out. Wendy was beaming at him.

'Welcome to Wonderland.' She said.

'Impossible.' Felix breathed out. 'This is impossible, there is no way you found two ways out of Storybrooke in less than a day!'


Neverland

Henry and Pan were running as fast as they could through the trees.

'Come on we're nearly at the caves.' Pan said urging the smaller boy to run faster. 'Follow me.'

Henry instinctively pulled Pan back, saving him from an arrow that had now burrowed deep into the tree beside him.

'They've cut us off, they must know about the caves.' Henry said. He looked to a dirt path to the left of him. 'We'll have to go this way.'

The boys started running down the beaten path, Henry leading the way. Pan was a little behind, constantly looking over his shoulder for signs that they were still being followed. He turned round just in time to stop himself running off the cliff edge.

'What do we do? Is there any other way to the echo caves?' Henry asked.

'No, we're done for.' Pan let out a defeated sigh. He pulled out the vial hanging from round his neck and starting fiddling with it again.

'You want to give up?' Henry asked in disbelief.

'We don't have a choice. They got us, game over.' Pan said, a little too dramatically.

'Wait, no it's not.' Henry said spotting the vial of pixie dust and grabbing it from Pan's fingers. Pan pulled the cord off from round his neck and let Henry have it.

'This is our way out.' Henry pulled at Pan's shirt, pulling him back a few paces.

'What are you doing?' Pan asked.

'Getting a running start.' Henry said eagerly.

'For what?' Pan looked confused. Henry gave him a weird look.

'Everyone knows that pixie dust is for flying!' Henry stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'Don't you remember? The dust doesn't work.' Pan pointed out.

'That's because you have to believe.' Henry prepared to make a run.

'I definitely do not believe.' Pan shook his head. Henry frowned.

'That's ok,' Henry said and took a deep breath. He took off the lid of the vial.

'Because I do.' He ran as fast as he could, holding onto Pan's shirt as tight as possible, dragging him with him.

The moment their feet left the ground, the pixie dust floated out of the vial, turning a bright green. Together, the two boys floated through the air. Henry looked over at Pan and saw the amazement on his face. Henry frowned again and quickly shook a niggling thought to the back of his mind and tried to focus on flying.

'Over there.' Pan shouted after a few minutes and pointed at the caves below. They started their descent, coming in too fast and hit the ground with a hard thud causing both boys to grunt.

'See if you believe, anything is possible.' Henry said getting to his feet. 'But you already knew that.' Henry picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at Pan's head.

The sudden movement should have caught Pan off guard but he managed to hold his left hand up in time to stop the rock from smashing into his face. The stone hung midair surrounded by green magic.

'I knew it, your magic still works.' Henry spat as Pan plucked the rock out of the air and casually threw it on the ground. 'You wanted me to use the pixie dust. Why?'

'You're a smart boy Henry, I'll give you that.' He laughed. 'Lets make it game, a puzzle to solve.'

Henry started to back away. Pan smirked and walked over to the entrance of the echo caves.

'You need me for something.' Henry guessed. Pan smirk widened and he gave Henry a slow clap.

'Well done Henry.' He said while leaning against the rocky wall.

'Why?' Henry tried to discreetly scan the area. There was no point to running through the caves, he had no idea if there was only one way in or out. They were stood in a small clearing, surrounded by foliage with no clear sign of any paths.

'For quite some time, I've sought something extremely important, something more elusive than the greatest of all mysteries.' Pan said indulging him.

'And what is that?' Henry took a small step to his left, calculating how fast he would need to move to avoid being hit with magic.

'The heart of the truest believer.' Pan pushed himself off the wall and gave the surface a quick tap with his knuckles.

'When you took than pixie dust Henry, and jumped off that cliff…' He started to walk towards him on his left side, forcing Henry to move back to his original spot. 'You proved yourself. You are the lucky owner of that very special heart.'

'But, why now?' Henry said, still trying to buy himself some time. 'You've known me since I was born. Why go to all this trouble of bringing me here if I might not have been the truest believer? You could have tested me in Storybrooke first.'

The look on Pan's face confirmed Henry's earlier suspicions. He struggled to take a take a breath and the truth washed over him.

'You're not Peter Pan.'


Author's Notes

I really hope everyone is staying safe in these strange times. I hope you like this chapter. I'm sorry if things don't make sense yet, I'm trying to build up to something and I really hope you'll like where I'm heading with this….

As always, please review and let me know what you think.

Please stay safe, if anyone is feeling really down or struggling at the minute and needs someone to talk to, my inbox is always open x