We changed up our walking order as we trekked through the forest. David was out front with a lantern and sword, hacking away at the leaves and vines and whatnot before us. He was followed by Hook, then Regina and then finally, Emma. Mary Margaret and myself. "The ridge is just a few hundred paces up ahead." Hook informed.
"You really think we're gonna be able to see Pan's hideout?" Emma asked.
"From there, we should be able to see everything. Including where he's keeping your son."
"And don't forget, all my senses are very above average, so we'll be able to see even more." I added.
"You know, I could have just poofed us up here in an instant." Regina said.
"Where?" Hook asked her. "Have you any idea what's up here? Or anywhere? There are dangers all about, only I can guide us past them."
"Hooks right." Emma stated. "Hook's lived here before. If he says hiking up is the best way, then we listen."
"Here." Mary Margaret said, holding out two skins of water. "You need to stay hydrated."
"Thanks, Mary Margaret." Emma and I said, taking the skins and drinking from them.
"You know, Mary Margaret's a bit formal." Emma and I glanced at each other. "You could call me 'mum' if you want. You've done it before, Hadley." I tensed.
"Well...that was...we were…" I stuttered.
"About to die. Oh, no. I get it." I turned quickly and hurried away from the situation. David went to go cut down a thicket of thorns when Hook reached out and grabbed his arm.
"No!" The one-handed man said.
"I can handle a couple of thorns." David snapped.
"That's Dreamshade. It's not the thorns you have to worry about, it's the poison they inject you with. This plant is the source of the toxins I used on the Dark One."
"The poison that almost killed Gold?" Emma questioned.
"The poison that killed Mother?" I muttered.
"Indeed. I used a concentrated dose." Yeah, lot of good that did anyone. That killed Mother within seconds! "In its natural form, death would be much slower and far more painful." Hook gestured to one side. "I suggest we go this way."
"We'll go this way." David countered, and started walking down another path. I huffed, smoke escaping my nostrils as I followed behind Regina who reluctantly followed. "Up here!" David called. "We made it." We pushed through the last of the trees to reveal a steep cliff. Below us, the dense forest stretched on for ages.
"Pan's lair should be just...right…"
"Where?" Regina demanded. "All I see is jungle."
"Aye, the Dark Jungle." Hook pulls a telescope out of his jacket and opens it with his teeth.
"Yeah, we don't need that." I said, pushing it closed again. I took a deep breath and focused, my eyes honing in on the jungle. I could feel them turn gold as my hearing increased. "I don't see anything, nor do I hear."
"It seems to have grown somewhat since I last stepped foot in Neverland."
"So this nature hike was for nothing?" Regina asked.
"Hook may have lead us astray, but at least we're in a good position to start combing the Jungle."
"Not exactly." Hook argued. "The Dark Jungle is the last place you want to set foot. We'll have to go around it. In order to do that, we're going to need our strength. I suggest we make camp."
"You want to sleep while my son is out there suffering?" Regina demanded, glaring at the leather clad pirate.
"If you want to live long enough to save the boy, yes."
"Gina, let's just rest." I told her softly. "We've been under a lot of stress recently, coming here, the mermaids and now the walking, we need to rest."
"Fine." Regina muttered, turning on her heel and walking away. I followed after her. We managed to make camp rather quickly, but I wasn't able to fall asleep, the sound of children crying kept me up. The cries sounded familiar, and it took me a moment to realise what it was. The crying of lost children wanting to go home to their families.
TIMESKIP
Emma saw Pan. Yep. And she didn't bother to tell me, uh hello?! Sister with control over her magic here! She was sitting at the stump of a tree gazing at a blank piece of parchment when everyone had awoken. "He so likes his games." Hook commented.
"What game?" Regina asked. "There's nothing there."
"If he said there's a map on this parchment, then there is."
"Great." Emma snapped. "If I just stop denying who I really am, whatever that means, then we'll be able to read this thing."
"Are we sure that Pan isn't gonna just lead us into a trap?" I voiced, wringing my hands together.
"Because he doesn't need to." Hook stressed, standing. "This whole Island is his bloody trap."
"There's no sign of him anywhere." David announced as he and Mary Margaret returned to camp.
"Any luck with the map?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Don't hold your breath." Regina remarked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma questioned, not lifting her gaze.
"Don't you see what he's doing? Every second we spend talking about this is another second we're not looking for my son."
"You got a better idea?"
"Magic." David sighed in disapprovement. "If there's a lock on there, I'll find a way around it." Emma slammed her hand on the parchment when Regina tried to take it.
"Pan said it has to be me." She stated.
"I'd listen to Emma, love.: Hook informed. "Breaking Pan's rules would be unwise."
"Sadly I agree with the pirate." David said.
"I'm winning you over, I can feel it."
"And your magic doesn't exactly have a gentle touch, Regina." Mary Margaret added.
"Use it on the map, it might blow up in all our faces." David agreed.
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Regina snapped.
"Well, I'm not."
"Then let Hadley do it." Regina gestured harshly to me.
"I-I can at least try." I said. "Regina can walk me through it."
"Absolutely not." David shouted, almost glaring at me. I gaped at him, huffing angrily and turning away from him.
"If I'm the one who's supposed to figure out this thing, I need to do what Pan said." Emma stated.
"Great…" Regina muttered angrily.
"She'll get there." Mary Margaret insisted. I crossed my arms, glaring at nothing.
TIMESKIP
We sat around for a little while, watching Emma staring at the parchment. Mary Margaret and David had dragged me to sit in between them, and they were creepily staring at Emma. I glanced at her once or twice but kept my eyes averted. "My name is Emma Swan." She started.
"I'd wager the solution to Pan's riddle is a bit more complicated than that." Hook quipped.
"Don't hold anything back." Mary Margaret encouraged. Emma looked at us before turning back to the parchment. "I'm Henry's mother. I used to live in Boston and I was a bail bondsperson. I'm now the Sheriff of Storybrooke."
"That election was a scham." Regina commented. "Are we really doing this?"
"Don't you think that...your leaving some things out?" Mary Margaret pressed. Emma cleared her throat.
"I am the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, which apparently makes me the product of True Love alongside my sister, Hadley Hearts, who is my twin but is somehow younger than me." I smiled. "We were born in the Enchanted Forest, and I was sent through a portal in a tree so that I can break a curse."
"And you were able to break the curse because…" David probed, standing up. "You're the…" Emma gave him a look.
"Come on, you don't need to be embarrassed to say it." Mary Margaret added, joining her husband in standing.
"Say what?" Hook asked.
"The 'S' word." Regina snarked.
"If that much responsibility was ever put on me I wouldn't want to go around saying it willy-nilly." I commented. "Too much pressure." Emma straightened, looking down at the map once more.
"I'm the Savior." Emma revealed. The parchment remained blank. "I don't get it. I said I'm the Savior, there's nothing I've denied more than that."
"No, it's ok, we'll figure it out." Mary Margaret soothed.
"No you won't." Regina snapped, stalking forward and snatching the parchment from Emma.
"Regina!"
"But I can." Regina gazed at the parchment with crucial eyes. "I'm beginning to think there isn't a map on here. But it doesn't mean it can't lead us to Henry."
"I thought that we decided using magic was a bad idea." David said.
"For once I agree with the Prince." Hook added. "Well, I told you we were getting along."
"We didn't decide anything." I commented, standing and walking over to Regina. "You said so and didn't even let us have a discussion."
"How 'bout you do this?" Regina said, handing me the parchment. "I think your parents would rather you do the spell."
"How do I do it?" I questioned, taking the parchment from her.
"Just focus on the item." Regina told me, taking my hand and positioning it over the object. "Who it belongs to, and how badly you want to find that person." I nodded, closing my eyes. I felt my Magic bleed through my veins, and infuse the parchment in front of me.
"What the hell are you making her do?" Emma demanded.
"I'm not making her do anything. It's a Locator Spell. That parchment belonged to Pan. It will lead us to him." I opened my eyes as the parchment floated above my hand, encased in a pale red light. It started to float, and I smiled, looking up at Regina. "Good job." She told me with a hint of a smile herself.
"So it appears we will be venturing into the Dark Jungle after all." Hook commented.
"You mean the place you told us never to set foot?" Emma questioned.
"That's the one."
"Well, Emma, you said you wanted to be the leader?" Regina asked sarcastically. "Lead." Emma's face fell into one of determination, and she started forward. We followed the parchment, making sure it was in line of sight by at least one person at all times. I was walking up front with Emma and Regina, still reeling from the satisfaction of a completed spell. "Ready to thank us?" Regina asked.
"Actually, yeah." Emma responded.
"If you'd let me do it sooner, maybe we'd have found him by now." The parchment stopped. "Wait." Regina held up her hand. "He's there. Pan...I can feel his smugness." David stepped forward and drew his sword.
"Shall we?" He questioned. "While we still have the element of surprise on our side." He pressed forward. I steeled myself, drawing my cutlass and following behind. We arrived at what seemed to be an abandoned campsite.
"No one's here." Mary Margaret said. "Maybe your spell was wrong, Regina."
"Yes, blame me, again." Regina retorted. "It may have been my spell but Hadley cast it."
"I cast it exactly how Regina told me too." I huffed. "She's the best Magic User in the Enchanted Forest that I know, so I trust her with casting." We continued to trek through the seemingly abandoned clearing.
"Guys, hold on." Emma warned. We saw a figure standing a little ways away, dressed in Henry's clothes. An experimental whiff of the air told me that it wasnt Henry.
"Emma!" I hissed, grabbing her arm and tugging her back. "That's not Henry."
"Your very observant." The person commented, turning around. "Hello Emma." So this was Pan in all his glory. Playing tricks like a child.
"Where the hell is Henry?" Emma demanded.
"You broke the rules...that's not fair." Pan walked around the clearing, and we followed him with a critical eye. "Bad form. I expect more from you, Captain."
"Aye. And you'll get it." Hook promised.
"Give Henry to me!" Emma ordered.
"Sorry, can't." Pan said offhandedly. "Don't you know? Cheaters never win." Tell that to the Isle kids. Boys poured out from everywhere, surrounding us swiftly. I turned to face some, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the hilt of my cutlass.
"Watch out for their arrows, they're laced with Dreamshade." Hook warned. And with that, they attacked, a barrage of arrows descending upon us. I knocked them back easily, standing back to back with Mary Margaret and David. Out the corner of my eye, I saw an archer take aim at them, but they were distracted.
"Mum! Dad! Look out!" I shouted, shoving them out of the way. My shirt rose above my side as I pushed them away, and the arrow managed to cut a line across it. I hissed in pain, damn it! I hastily tugged my shirt down to cover the wound. "I'm ok." I told my parents. "Focus on fighting!" Ignoring the pain, I fought for my life. I raced over to Emma who had tackled a boy to the ground. "Emma, are you ok?" I asked her, glancing at the boy. I was shocked to see the same scared girl I was on the Isle, being a part of something, yet only wanting to return to a safe place. Pan let out a loud whistle, and all of the Lost Boys abandoned their fights to return to his side.
"Remember what I told you." Pan said. "That map will show you where Henry is, only when you stop denying who you really are." Pan's eyes found my figure, and I glared at him. "Perhaps your sister can help you with that. I'll make sure to send Henry your regards." And with that Pan and the Lost Boys disappeared.
TIMESKIP
We made camp once more, and Mary Margaret continued to press me about the arrow wound. "You sure you don't want me to take a look at that?" She asked, reaching out to me.
"I didn't get hit." I insisted. "It was just my shirt, and I've already fixed it, see." I showed Mary Margaret my untouched shirt. "You don't need to worry about it." The two of us, plus David who had joined us, walked over to Emma.
"Don't let him shake your confidence. We've all had moments where we thought we wouldn't prevail."
"Yeah, she's right." David agreed.
"Guys, not now, pelase." Emma begged. She started to walk away.
"Emma wait." David said. He went to follow her but Mary Margaret held him back.
"I'll go talk to her." I told them softly. I followed Emma and sat next to her on the log. "Emma?" I scooted closer. "I'm here if you want to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about." Emma almost snapped. "We had our chance and we lost, I lost."
"Emma, that's the reason we have to keep fighting."
"You heard what Hook said, Pan is a demon."
"Yeah, he may be that, but you're so much better than him. You're-"
"What? A savior? Because if that were true, this map would have shown us the way already!" Emma waved the parchment in my face and then set it down angrily.
"That's not what I was going to say." I soothed. "I was going to say your a fighter. No matter how many times you're knocked down, you always get back up. Plus, just because you say your the Savior and have accepted it, that's not your truest self."
"What do you mean?"
"Most of the time, people believe that they know themselves inside and out. I did too, once. I thought that I was a villain, and that's all I would ever be. However, I was given a chance. A chance to change. And I had someone who helped push me to be better. If I hadn't had that leap of faith, I wouldn't be here right now." I paused. "That kid with the knife. You stopped fighting him. It's because you saw yourself in him, was it?"
"How did you?" Emma looked at me.
"When you looked in his eyes, you saw a mirror."
"I saw despair. I had it...back when I was in the foster system. Just a lost little girl who didn't matter...and didn't think she ever would. A little girl who cried herself to sleep at night because she wanted her parents so bad." Emma's voice started to break. "And could never understand why they gave her up." A tear ran down Emma's cheek.
"But...you found our parents." I whispered. "But...it was too late, wasn't it?"
"It's just, on this Island, I don't feel like a hero or a Savior. I just feel like I've always been...an orphan."
"I know." I moved the parchment behind Emma and scooted closer to her. "That's how I've always felt too." Emma looked into my eyes. "On the Isle, I always knew I was different. It may not seem big but...when I was little, I knew I wasn't Cora's child...or that I was born there. I found my baby blanket and...it was made of pure white wool with my name stitched in red. THe Isle was a garbage dump for the lack of a better word, no one else owned something so crisp and clean." Tears sprung to my eyes as well. "When I got my Storybook, and I found out who I was, I felt so betrayed. Why...why did they figure out a way for you to escape but not me. I know that the Foster System was hard, but we couple have gotten through it together...and I might not be stuck twelve years younger than you." Emma laughed lightly, and I joined in.
"We have to have a long conversation with our parents, don't we?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, we do." I sighed. "But, we'll do it together." I wrapped Emma in a hug. "Because we're sisters, and I love you, we stick together." Emma returned the hug just as tight.
"I love you too." I glanced down at the map that I had moved.
"Emma!" I reached out behind my sister and picked the map up, handing it to Emma. "You did it." Emma grabbed it.
"What happened?"
"You accepted who you are." A voice spoke up from behind us. Mary Margaret stood there, with tear stained cheeks.
"We're sorry."
"It's ok." Mary Margaret walked up to us. "It's the truth. You were both orphans It's my job to change that." I gave Mary Margaret a watery smile. We stood, and hurried over to the group.
"The map is working!" Emma announced. "We know where Henry is."
"Where?" Regina demanded as everyone huddled around the map. I have to admit, it did look eerily similar to the one in Auradon, albeit with slight changes...this Island wasnt a vacation spot.
"We're here, at the southern tip of tip isle, in the middle of the Dark Jungle." Hook revealed, pointing with his replacement appendage. "Pan's camp lies due north." Hook indicated the 'x' on the map.
"That's where he's keeping Henry." Emma stated.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Regina asked.
"Well, the terrain's not easy." Hook informed. "And there will undoubtedly be some nasty impediments along the way."
"We should prepare." David suggested. "We only made it out of our last encounter because Pan let us. We need a new plan."
"Agreed." Emma said. "It's time we stop playing his game and he starts playing ours."
"And if I disagree?" Regina wondered.
"Go ahead. But I think you know our best chance is together."
"You better be right." Regina walked off. I left the group and started together supplies for our next trip. The wound from the arrow was starting to get to me. Not much, but enough to be noticed. My Dragon was fighting the Dreamshade off, but due to it's natural form, it was too strong for my Dragon to completely get rid of it. I hid from my family, ducking behind a tree to inspect it. Lifting my shirt, I could see the wound. It hasn't closed up yet, the Dreamshade's doing I suppose, and dark veins started to creep through my skin. I took a deep breath. Yeah. This wasn't good.
