Neverland – Past

Cassandra came from below deck as she was in dire need of some fresh air. Soaking in her surroundings, she spotted an island completely covered in foliage off in the distance. It'd been days since she and her father's crew arrived in this land. Apparently, her father had journeyed to this realm in his past, long before she was ever born or he himself turned into a pirate. Neverland, he called it. A place where no man (or woman) shall ever age because in this world, time stood still.

But she didn't care about all that. All Cassandra cared was if her father would finally allow her to leave the ship and give her the chance to explore. However, she knew that would never happen, which was why she was going to take matters into her own hands.

Thankfully her father was still in his cabin below, and since there were only a few crew members on the main deck, she was able to sneak her way over to one of the row boats. She climbed into the small boat and began to loosen the ropes. She had gotten one of the ropes lose and was about to untie the other until a voice stopped her.

"Cassandra?"

"Mr. Smee," Cassandra gasped, "I uh… I thought were with my dad, discussing about… whatever it is that needs to be discussed" Cassandra said, fumbling with her words.

"What are you doing with the row boats?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, well I noticed some of the ropes were coming loose," she began, grabbing the rope she originally untied, but then re-tied it, "and so I thought I'd tighten them up. That's all," she lied.

"You weren't thinking of venturing off to the island, were you? You know how your father feels about you leaving the ship."

"Of course not," she laughed half-heartedly, "What kind of daughter would I be to go against my father's orders?" she mocked, "Besides, even if I were to go off and explore the island… what my father doesn't know, won't hurt him."

"Really, is that so?" Cassandra's eyes widen, as her father came into full view.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, with an awkward grin, "I was only looking at the island! I wasn't actually planning to –" Cassie started but then her father held up his hand, signaling her to stop talking.

"Mr. Smee will you be so kind and give us a moment? I'd like to have a word with my daughter," he ordered, his eyes never tearing away from his daughter.

"Of course, Cap'n," Smee stuttered, nodding his head in compliance.

Cassandra rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the boat and walked away, her father trailing behind her.

"How many times must I tell you Cassandra, you are not –"

"Not to leave the ship" Cassandra echoed in unison.

"Without asking me first," he finished, causing Cassandra to stop in her tracks and spin around.

"Would you have let me go if I did?" she challenged, only to be responded with silence, "That's what I thought," she scoffed.

"Try to understand me lass, I'm doing this to protect you. I- we already lost Milah, I can't lose you too," Killian spoke softly, his eyes pleading.

"And I need you to understand that I'm not a little girl anymore!" Cassandra argued back, "I'm a pirate for gods sakes; and a pirate shouldn't be seeing the world through a port window."

"I hear you lass, I do."

"Then for once just let me go out and explore. Starting with this island," she breathed out.

"No. Absolutely not" her father protested.

"What? Did you even listen to a word I just s –"

"Of course, I did Cassie" he interrupted, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders, "And I promise you, the next place we travel to, I'll let you come with me. But whilst we are in this realm, you are to remain on this ship. Do I make myself clear?"

Cassandra was about to argue back, but when she looked into her father's eyes, she saw a wave of fear in them. A type of fear she'd never seen before, not even when he lost Milah. So, she decided to the drop the conversation. For now, at least.

"Fine," she huffed. "Can you at least tell me more about this place? You only told me of its name and how time doesn't exist here. I mean, what is so dangerous about this island anyway?"

Before her father could even utter a word out, he was interrupted by one of his crew members.

"Cap'n!" the crew member called out.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"We spotted a boy. He landed in the water near the ship."

"Pull him up then," Killian ordered, "he could be of some use to us."

Immediately following their Captain's orders, they threw a rope into the water as one of the crew members managed to loop the rope around the boy's waist. As the boy was being pulled up by the other crew members, Cassandra left her father's side to grab a blanket and some dry clothes for the young boy.

By the time she returned with everything, the boy was seen laying on deck, coughing up water as he began to regain consciousness.

"Good lad. Get the sea out of your lungs" Killian commented.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, staring up at Cassandra and her father.

"The name's Hook, Captain Hook. Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger, my boy."

Neverland – Present

Cassie walked out of the shadows of the jungle sporting on a new set of clothes and re-entered the campsite. She grew tired of wearing the same filthy clothes, so she decided to change into the garments Pan offered earlier, much to her dismay.

Pan took notice of her wardrobe change and was delighted. She was beginning to look like the Lost Girl he used to know. He felt a twinge in his memory of the first time she stepped foot onto Neverland. At first, she despised him, but over time they became friends and soon later that friendship turned into something more.

As he kept a close eye on Cassie, he watched how the flames from the bonfire highlighted her face. Even covered in dirt, Pan still found her beautiful. Her long chestnut hair was pulled back in a messy half up-half down hairdo, with little strands that hung loosely in her face. And instead of seeing her cheeks filled with a rosy blush, they were smeared with patches of dirt. While he stared longingly at those pink plump lips of hers, he thought back to their first kiss. How perfectly their lips fitted together, and how the taste of salted sea water lingered afterwards. Oh, how he wished so much to have those same lips touch his again.

Becoming frustrated with himself, Pan stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards the girl.

"Still not joining the celebration?"

"I already told you, I don't feel like dancing" Cassie grumbled. "Besides, there's nothing worth celebrating."

"Nothing to celebrate… this whole party is for you!" Pan exclaimed.

"And what exactly are we celebrating?" Cassie asked sarcastically.

"Your homecoming of course," he responded, only to have Cassie arch her eyebrow questioningly, "And I for one, can't think of a better reason more deserving of a celebration than that."

Cassie turned her attention back to the roaring flames, wondering if Pan was telling the truth. Yet somehow deep down, she couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

"Dance with me," Pan said, holding his hand out.

"Yeah right, like I'll ever dance with you," she scoffed.

"Well I wasn't asking," Pan said, "And besides, if my memory serves me right, a certain someone owes me a favor" he mocked.

"Fine," Cassie huffed, "but just one dance."

Pan took Cassie's hand in his and pulled her up from the log. Placing his hand on Cassie's waist, Pan pulled her closer to him, making Cassie gasp from the sudden action. She felt a bit of heat creeping up her neck and ears. Pan noticed the blush forming on her face and found it amusing.

"Relax," Pan whispered, "There's no need to fight against it. Let the music flow through you," he coaxed smoothly.

With his hands resting on her hips, Pan felt Cassie's body become less tense. He noticed her eyes soften, as she watched everyone around her dancing and having fun. It reminded Pan of the girl he first met in the forest outside the village all those years ago. She looked so lost and in need of a friend. She held a desire for adventure; still does, but something was always preventing her from experiencing it.

Pan saw Cassie open her mouth as if she were to say something, but before she could, Pan felt a wave of magic rush through him, no doubt that Cassie felt it too. All around them, the Lost Boys dropped like flies. Cassie turned to face Henry, but when she did, he fell over and face planted into the ground.

"Henry!" Cassie gasped, kneeling beside him.

Cassie tried shaking him gently, but he wouldn't wake up; then it dawned on her. Sleeping spell. Pan stepped a few feet away from the two siblings to see who their party crashers were. "Seems we have a guest," he announced, his eyes darting through the trees, "You know how much I like guessing games."

Hoping it was her family, Cassie left Henry's side briefly to check it out herself, but Pan stopped her and pulled her against his chest.

"Who could it be?" he taunted, "Do you know Cassie?" Pan asked, his hot breath against her neck. Cassie cringed and tried to pull away, but Pan held onto her and chuckled, "I guess… the Dark One."

With a wave of his hand, Pan relit the bonfire revealing Rumpel standing amongst them.

"Come to save Henry have you laddie? How exciting" Pan stated sarcastically, "The Dark One ready to sacrifice his life for his family."

Even though Rumpel was technically Henry's grandfather by blood, Cassie would never consider him family. Not after everything he's done to her father and herself. From all the emotions that flooded through her, Cassie seemed unaware of her actions; she unconsciously tightened her grip around Pan's arm out of unknown fear. Pan noticed the little, and though he didn't show it, but on the inside, he was thrilled.

"Speaking of family, you can come out now Baelfire."

Cassie turned her attention back towards the jungle when she heard shuffling in the bushes. Her eyes widen at the sight of Neal – alive— walking out of the jungle with a loaded crossbow in his grasp.

"Name's Neal now," Neal corrected, aiming the crossbow at Pan.

"New name but the same old tricks. It's heartwarming to see father and son working together; especially after you abandoned him Rumpel," Pan mocked, "This is a real family reunion."

"What are you waiting for?" Rumpel hissed.

"I've got this" Neal mumbled; he raised the crossbow higher and not a second later the arrow flew right at Pan. Before it could hit Cassie, Pan pushed her out of the way causing her to fall to the ground. When she looked back at Pan, he was smirking as he held the arrow an inch away from his chest.

"Clever," Pan commented, "But we've been through this before Baelfire. Have you remembered nothing?"

"I remembered plenty," Neal said lowering his bow while Pan tossed the arrow to the side, "That's why I didn't coat the tip."

Pan froze as a stream of magic travelled up his arm. Neal dropped his bow and ran over to Cassie and Henry.

"Cassie," Neal breathed, pulling the young girl in for a hug, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Cassie said reassuringly, "Just grab Henry." Neal nodded in agreement and picked Henry up.

"Well how about that," Pan spoke, "I'm impressed. But are you sure you're really saving them Bae?"

"What could be worse than leaving them here with you?" Neal questioned, taking Cassie's hand into his.

"How about you ask your father?" Pan grinned, "Sometimes the people you should fear the most are the ones closest to us."

"What's he talking about?" Neal asked, turning his attention to Rumpel.

"Don't listen to him" Rumpel hissed.

"You mean you haven't told him?" Pan asked, with a smug look growing on his face.

"Told me what?" Neal asked, clearly losing his patience.

"Why, the prophecy of course," Pan replied, grinning darkly, "It says you've been tricked. Your father isn't here to save your son. He's here to murder him."

Neverland – Past

The next morning, Cassie was up bright and early sketching away in her journal. She couldn't stop thinking about the boy they fished out of the water the night before. Something about him seemed familiar to her. Closing her journal, Cassie looked over her shoulder to see her father chatting with Mr. Smee; no doubt it was about the boy who occupied one of their cabins below. She knew her father had gone down earlier to try talking with the lad, so she asked how everything went, but her father said the boy was still asleep. That was a lie; and Cassie knew it.

So, she took it upon herself to see who this boy really was.

Walking below deck, Cassie carried a small plate of grapefruit and boiled mackerel. Knocking on the cabin door, Cassie waited for a response.

"Go away! I have nothing more to say to you pirate!"

"You are mistaking me for someone else" Cassie scoffed, entering the room.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, standing up defensively.

"The name's Cassandra, but you can call me Cassie," she smiled, "Anyways, I figured you might be hungry, so I brought you breakfast," Cassie said, placing the food down in front of the boy.

Cautiously walking over to the plate, the boy looked down at the food in front of him and made a face.

"I know; it doesn't look very appetizing, if I were you, I'd stick with the grapefruit." Cassie joked.

The boy was about to dig into the grapefruit but paused when he realized something, "Wait, I saw you last night. Is that pirate keeping you a prisoner too?"

"If you call not being allowed to leave the ship without permission or a bodyguard than yes," Cassie said, "No, I'm the daughter of the pirate you speak so kindly of."

The young lad dropped the piece of fruit back onto the plate and pushed it away out of disgust. "I'm not very hungry anymore," he mumbled.

"If you're worried if the food is poisoned, it's not" Cassie reassured.

"Poisoned or not, I don't trust pirates. Especially the one pirate who destroyed my family," the boy spat. Cassie's expression softened upon hearing this, "Why am I even telling you this, not like you care or anything," the boy grumbled.

"Actually, I do," Cassie sighed as she took a seat near the bay window, "Because my family got hurt as well," she admitted, patting the spot next her. The boy was hesitant at first, but he sat next to the young female pirate and allowed her to continue.

"It's the whole reason why we're here in Neverland; to get revenge on the crocodile who destroyed my family."

"You're getting revenge on a crocodile?" the boy asked in disbelief.

Cassie let out a dry laugh, "Not an actual crocodile, just a nickname for the monster who killed my mother; well step-mother anyway," she corrected herself, "But she treated me as if I was her own. Unlike my real mother who abandoned me when I was a baby and left me on my father's ship."

"I… I didn't know," the boy said, clearly at loss for words.

"How could you? You were just pulled out of the sea not too long ago."

"Yes, but no one deserves to be abandoned. Not even a pirate… like you."

"You see? Not all of us pirates are terrible," she joked, "Now if you'll excuse me, I better head back up before my dad begins to wonder where I am," Cassie stated as she was halfway out the door, but stopped and turned around, "I almost forgot, I never got your name."

"It's Baelfire."

Cassie was caught off guard when she heard his name, but she made sure not to show it. Clearing her throat, she gave Baelfire a soft smile.

"Well, enjoy your breakfast Baelfire. You're welcome to come up deck whenever you feel like."

With that, Cassie excused herself and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once Baelfire was out of sight, her smile faltered. She glanced back over her shoulder, now knowing who sat behind the closed door. Cassie understood now why the boy looked so familiar; it was because she knew his mother.

"Father," Cassie growled, marching her way back up to the main deck.

Neverland – Present

After the whole trapping Pan with squid ink, Rumpel managed to teleport everyone to a different location on the island, away from Pan and his Lost Boys.

However, once they were in the clear of Pan, Neal blew up at his father. Questioning what Pan meant by his father wanting to get rid of Henry. The two men argued for a bit until Neal finally pushed it out of his father. Rumpel confirmed Pan's words explaining how there was a seer and she told him of a prophecy. That a boy would unite him and Neal, yet the boy would also be his undoing.

To say Neal was outraged would be an understatement; yet Rumpel claimed he didn't know the boy would be his grandson. Not until he found Neal was in New York and Neal was his father.

Not wanting to take any risks, Neal clasped hands with his father and the Dark One stood frozen, concealed by a blue aura of magic. With that, Neal picked up Henry and grabbed Cassie's hand, making the choice of abandoning his father once again.

Now here they were, trudging through Neverland while Cassie used her magic to conceal Neal, Henry and herself from anyone finding them.

"Feeling okay Cass?" Neal asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. She wasn't, in fact the magic she was using for the last few hours drained her. But she didn't want to tell Neal because then he would worry and tell her to stop.

She couldn't though, especially if it kept the three of them hidden from Pan. The two continued walking in silence and for the next few minutes everything seemed okay until Cassie felt her knees buckle and she collapsed.

"Cassie!" Neal yelled as he tried to catch her.

Setting his son down, Neal guided Cassie towards a boulder and had her sit down.

"Cass," Neal whispered, his eyes filled with concern.

Cassie groaned in response as she held head, "I'm sorry. I thought I could…"

"No," Neal said, "It's not your fault, I shouldn't have asked you to keep us hidden. I knew how much you hated using magic, and yet I still made you."

"You didn't make me," Cassie said, taking slow big breaths, "I guess from keeping my magic bottled up, I'm just not used to using it for an extended time."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm going keep letting you use it."

"But if I don't than Pan will find us!" Cassie argued.

"But if I keep letting you use magic while you're weak, who knows what will happen. And frankly, I don't want to see my sister getting hurt," Neal said, as if stating the obvious.

Cassie looked up surprised when she heard Neal referred to her as his sister.

"You really think of me as your sister?"

"Yeah, why so surprised?"

"Well, it's just that when you came to Storybrooke, you never said a word to me. So, I assumed you hated me or something," Cassie spoke truthfully causing to Neal tilt his head in confusion, "You know… because of what happened to Milah?" Cassie said shyly, not wanting to go into full detail as she feared she may reopen old wounds.

Neal sighed heavily, nodding in understanding, "I never blamed you for my mom's death Cass, not even your dad. Okay I did at first, but at the time, I was an angry 12 year old boy who lost his family," he explained.

"Milah was the closest thing I ever had to a mother, and when she died, I was overwhelmed with so much sadness and anger. Then there was my dad, of course he was heartbroken too, but he was more consumed with hatred and revenge, I felt like I lost him too that day. He was there, but at the same time he wasn't," Cassie admitted sadly.

"Sounds like something else we have in common" Neal pointed out, glumly.

Neal and Cassie sat in silence once more. As he glanced back down at his son, Neal realized they should keep moving.

"Do you think you'll be alright to hike a few more miles?"

"I think so yeah," Cassie said standing up.

"Let's get going then," Neal instructed as he placed Henry over his shoulder, "And don't worry about hiding us, hopefully we'll find Emma and the others soon."

"Neal," Cassie began to argue, but Neal cut her off.

"No buts Cass. I can still see how exhausted you are. So, I'll say it again, no magic," Neal said, walking ahead.

Cassie huffed in annoyance but followed Neal's trail.

Neverland – Past

Killian was back behind the pirate's wheel, navigating the Jolly Roger through Neverland's waters. As he steered the ship, he was in the middle of a discussion with Smee about Baelfire's presence on the ship, at least until Killian heard Cassandra call out for him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cassandra asked, angrily.

"Tell you what lass?" Killian asked, his eyes looking forward.

"That we have Baelfire on this ship?" She stated, crossing her arms accusingly.

Cassandra had her father's full attention the moment he heard her mention the boy's name.

Smee's eyes widen as he nervously glanced back and forth between the young girl shooting daggers at her father while said father held a blank expression. Sensing the tension between the two pirates, he cleared his throat out of awkwardness. "I'll give you two a moment to… discuss things," Smee swallowed, shuffling away quickly.

"How did you find out?"

"Unlike some people, I was nice to him. Gave him food and water, then we talked for a while. Obviously, I needed to know his name, so…"

"I was going to tell you lass-"

"When?" Cassie spat, "When he was no longer on this ship? And let me guess, because he's the Dark One's son, you plan on using him, don't you?" she accused.

Her father responded by raising his hook to his lips, gesturing Cassandra to keep her voice low. She rolled her eyes at her father. "I should have known," she scoffed,

"Hear me out lass, that boy is the key to our revenge –"

"Are you serious? Do you even hear yourself?" Cassandra shouted, "I mean that boy you're talking about is Milah's son. The boy that you both agreed on travelling back for so we could be a family. And what, because Milah is dead, Baelfire means nothing to us now?" Cassandra asked in snarky tone, "Because I for one, sure as hell don't think that!" she said, stomping away.