Chapter 6

My broken soul

Can't be alive and whole

Till I hear you sing once more

As the group walked in silence through the dense forest, the creatures that inhabited the island came alive, howling and calling out to their mates. Ariel fanned her blade against the lush foliage that continued to block their path. She kept an eye on the out on the back of the group which consisted of Hook and Regina. For angry as she was with him, the mermaid knew that Emma relied on him for some reason and she wasn't willing to risk what might be her last chance at freedom for a grudge.

By what one could assume was midday, the heat weighed down on our heroes like a wet blanket. Their pace had slowed considerably and the previous tension between them threatened to rear its ugly head. A level head is needed to navigate the dangers that plagued Neverland. It was if the heat was purposefully sent by Pan himself to crack their fragile alliances. Ariel felt as if his eyes were watching her even now, but his shadow was nowhere in sight. Trying to shake off the eerie feeling prickling the back of her neck, she gripped her sword tighter and forced her aching feet forward.

Impatience rolled off Emma in waves. Every second spent traipsing through the forest could be a moment needed to save Henry. It felt as though they were going nowhere, all she saw was trees, trees, and more trees. Plus, the savior noticed how it was taking longer to pass through each clearing. That was precious time which they wouldn't be able to get back; Henry's life was at stake.

David and Mary Margaret trailed a small distance behind their daughter. Every now and then the pair would share a glance of concern over Emma. Each grunt of frustration she gave had them worried. She was taking Henry's kidnapping harder and there was nothing they could do or say to help assuage her guilt. Once again the Charmings were helpless in regards to their daughter; she was all grown up.

Regina and Hook continued to round out the back of the group. Hook had spent a good part of the morning grumbling about what he dubbed as The Rum Incident. It had seemed that Ariel had forgotten that the flask was charmed. If anything it kept him from drinking for a few hours as the magic in the flask worked to refill it. Hook would be able to resume his plan of keeping drunk while on this accursed island by the time they made camp for the night.

Regina on the other hand was ready to burn down all the trees in her path. Their pace was infuriatingly slow and it felt as if they were walking in circles. She swore she had seen that big knotted tree. Plus, the pirate's sulking was beginning to get on the Queen's nerves. She had found the mermaid's stunt amusing and it was about time someone knocked Hook down a few pegs.

The little mermaid tried her best to banish the paranoia she felt, but it simply would not go away. No matter how much she told herself that she was just imagining things, it did nothing assuage her fears. A little check wouldn't hurt anyone and it was clear that the rest of the group needed a respite from the oppressive heat. No one would need to know the real reason for stopping if nothing became of her silly inklings.

Ariel held out her hand to stop the group in the small clearing. "Emma, we should stop for a few minutes. Pan is making the weather even more unbearable than usual."

"We need to keep going, Henry's at stake," Emma countered.

"Emma, it's only a few minutes," Mary Margaret offered as she walked over and gave her daughter's hand a tight squeeze.

Emma sighed and acquiesced as she leaned against a nearby tree. Silence returned once more to the group as everyone found a spot to rest. Everyone except our resident former mermaid who was scanning the tops of the trees. Her left hand shook slightly as her eyes canvased the area, fear rolled off of her in waves. Only one noticed the redhead's behavior. It was hard not to; the mermaid wasn't a trained hunter. Mary Margaret had spent enough time in monster-filled forests to know when she should not ignore her gut.

The dark haired beauty walked over their guide. She made sure to keep her footsteps heavy as to give the redhead warning. The last thing Mary Margaret wanted was to surprise an already on edge woman with a sharp sword.

"Ariel, what's wrong?" The huntress questioned.

"I think we're being watched. I thought I was making it up."

"It's okay, honey. I feel it too" Mary Margaret replied as she gave Ariel's quivering hand a tight squeeze. "Any idea what it could be?" To which Ariel shook her head no.

The two stood quietly, both focused on finding the eyes on them. A few moments later, the redhead believed she had found the source of her fears.

"How good are you with that bow?" Ariel murmured, trying to not to alert the rest of the group.

"Pretty good. Why?"

"Because there is something in that tree over there" The mermaid said while she jerked her head in the direction of the disturbance.

Mary Margaret turned her head to watch the tree in question. There was something rustling up there, but it was too far away to tell clearly. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver and quickly nocked it. Drawing the bow string back with her right hand, Mary Margaret made sure the rustling leaves were in her line of sight before she released the arrow. Whatever it was fell quickly from the tree and landed on the forest floor. By now, the rest of their companions had noticed what the two were up to and there was a range of different emotions on their faces.

"What the hell," Emma screeched as she approached them.

Ariel ignored her and ran over to the fallen creature with both Mary Margaret and Emma hot on her tail. Nestled on some leaves was a large bird with Mary Margaret's arrow piercing its heart. The redhead knelt down beside it and slowly reached her hand out to remove the arrow. The rest of the group made its way over and circled around the bird.

As soon as the arrow was dislodged, a black mass rose up from out of the wound. It quickly unfurled itself to reveal the outline of man. The huntress quickly nocked her bow once again and aimed it at the dark thing. Both Emma and David withdrew their swords and pointed them towards the being while Regina summoned a fireball. Only Ariel and Hook were unalarmed by the shadowy figure. It hovered a few feet above its dead host before shooting off towards the sky.

Mary Margaret was just about to release her arrow when Ariel yelled "Leave it be!"

They all turned to look at her and even Hook raised an eyebrow at her. She shakily got to her feet and brushed her pants off.

"Explain now," Emma commanded.

Ariel let out a sigh. "I felt like we were being watched a little while back. I made us take a break so I could confirm if my suspicions were correct. We were being watched by one of the many shadows that have been ripped from people who've failed Pan. Pan's Shadow controls them all and sent this one to spy on us. We need to assume that Pan now knows who's on his island now and that I'm assisting you."

"What does that mean going forward?" David inquired.

The mermaid visibly gulped and ran a hand through her hair. She was about to open her mouth before she was cut off.

"It means, mate, that Pan will send his band of Lost Boys after us. We'll have to play his little game of hide and seek until one party is dead" Hook explained.

"Well I for one don't wish to be part of that silly game. We're here for Henry, not for a playdate," Regina hissed.

"You don't have a choice, love. As soon as we stepped foot in this jungle, the game began," Hook retorted.

"We should keep going. Right, Ariel?" Emma suggested as she turned to gaze at their guide.

The poor little mermaid's eyes were wide and held a haunted expression in them. If one looked closely enough, they could see the slight tremble in Ariel's left hand. She remained silent as she was too far gone in her panicking to respond. Emma saw how pale the girl had gotten and moved over to gently rest a hand on her shoulder.

"Ariel, are you alright?" The savior whispered.

The redhead snapped out of it. "I-um-uh-I'm fine. We should continue our journey."

Emma gave the poor girl a small smile even though she remained thoroughly unconvinced.

"At least we don't have to stop for dinner," David quipped as he gathered the large bird up.

The rest of the group let out a timid laugh. Uneasiness had taken root within their hearts after Hook's revelation. Ariel quietly took charge of the group again, using her sword to clear some brush out of the way. They settled into their order from before with Emma following closely behind the mermaid, her parents behind her, and Hook and Regina rounding out the back.

By the time the group had settled down to make camp a little while later, they were all throughly exhausted. Mary Margaret set about preparing the bird for cooking while David and Emma collected firewood. Ariel set about doling out the supplies in her satchel while Hook checked the perimeter of their camp. Regina leaned boredly against a tree, rather unamused about roughing it for another night.

Dinner was once again done in silence. There were no words that could fill the void in any of their hearts. Emma kept her checking on the little mermaid who was barely eating her hard tack. The flames danced before her desolate, blue eyes and clearly held the girl's attention instead. The savior could only sympathize with her. Ariel's change in behavior after crossing paths with that shadow was enough to strike fear within the blonde's heart. Whatever happened to Ariel could most assuredly befall Henry if he was left to Pan's devices.

Slowly, the group broke away from the fire to find a spot to sleep for the night. Mary Margaret and David chose to be next to one another. Emma settled down in a spot near her parents. Regina took a spot beside Hook under a large oak tree with the two villains sharing a nightcap from Hook's flask. Ariel took up the mantle of being the first watch and chose to stay by the fire. Emma had silently decided that she would take over keeping watch in a few hours. She wasn't about to let the poor mermaid run herself ragged so soon into their journey.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from the shadows. The figure slowly lifted a pan pipe to its lips and played a soft tune. Sleep crept its way into all of the group's eyes even Ariel who fought so hard to remain awake. The camp was soon filled with the faint content snores from the passed out residents before they could even know what hit them.

The savior woke with a start sometime later and couldn't recall falling asleep. She sat up and saw that her parents, Hook, and Regina were deep in sleep. Glancing over to the fire, Emma saw that even Ariel was fast asleep and a boy with light brown hair crouched over her. Whoever this boy was hadn't noticed that Emma had woken up. The blonde quietly rose to her feet and grabbed her sword.

"Get away from her," Emma hissed as she pointed the sharp saber at him.

"Now that's not a polite way to greet someone," the boy chided as he brushed Ariel's red locks off of her face.

Emma took a step closer. "Yeah well, touching a sleeping girl without her permission warrants such a response."

"Oh silly Emma," the mysterious figure chuckled as he stood up and turned to face her.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Did I forget to introduce myself? I'm Peter, Peter Pan and that's my mermaid."

Emma glared at him before shifting to have the point of the sword a mere inch away from his throat. "You may have put that cuff on her, but she's not yours."

Peter glared right back her and if looks could kill, Emma would have been dead on the spot. "It's very rude of you to behave this way, Emma, when I was so kind as to lend you my plaything." To which Emma scoffed. "Did you really think that finding her was a coincidence?"

Emma's face gave away the answer to his question; how could she have thought that?

"I wanted to even the playing field by letting you find her. Well not before I made sure she took a nice trip home," Pan laughed as he easily batted the sword away from his neck," You're really making this game less fun, Emma."

"Where's Henry?" The savior growled as she returned her sword to where it was and backed him into a nearby tree.

"You're much like my Ariel you know. Full of fire. I shall like to see what it takes for that spark to go away," the boy smirked up at her.

"Where's my son?"

"He's still alive, if that's your concern."

"Why the hell did you take him?" Emma questioned.

"Because he's a very special boy."

Emma searched his face for an inkling that he was being untruthful and found nothing. "I know that. It doesn't answer my question."

"I wanted to see what all the fuss was about you, the blessed Savior. I have to admit I'm not impressed." Peter ticked his tongue disapprovingly.

Emma rolled her eyes at him. "So what now. Are you going to tell me how I'm never going to see Henry again?"

"No, but if you remove that sword from my neck and follow me I'll be more than happy to give something to help you."

Staring down at him, she looked once more for a lie and still found nothing. She pulled the sword away and took a step back. Peter gestured for her to follow him into the dark forest. They walked for a few minutes before he abruptly stopped in front of a large rock. On top of the boulder, lay a bound roll of parchment.

"This map will lead you straight to your son," Peter murmured.

"If this is some kind of trap-" Emma started.

"You have my word. I may not be the best behaved boy on this island, but I do keep my word which is more than I can say for the others in your group."

"Why are you giving this to me?" The blonde asked incredulously.

"See, it's not about finding Henry. What matters is how you find him and you, Emma, are the only who can."

Emma stared at the boy in front of her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it didn't, she grabbed the scroll and quickly unwound it. When she saw nothing but a blank piece of parchment, she seethed "It's blank!"

The boy shook his head at her before pulling a pan pipe from his pocket. He sat down on the now empty rock. "You'll only be able to read It once you admit who you truly are," he said before Pan brought the pipe to his lips.

He carefully watched the Savior while he played a hauntingly beautiful tune. Off in the distance, a loud scream reach Emma's ears and interrupted the song.

"I'd hurry back to your camp if I were you," Peter muttered darkly and Emma raced off back the way she came.

A/N: Apologies for the wait. This chapter was a difficult one to write due to having to fill in the void of them traveling. I'll be back to my normal weekly posting from now on. Thanks for reading!