Chapter 19 'Childhood Terrors'
"That…"
"...was a one time thing," Emma breathed before loosening her grip on the pirate's leather lapels, then letting him go altogether. She backed away from him, refusing to look him in the eyes. She needed to collect her thoughts and feelings and to do that she needed to put some distance between her and her pirate...whatever he was to her. Acquaintance? Man she spontaneously kissed?
When have things become so complicated?, she thought. Before, her most debatable decisions had to do with which breakfast cereal to eat in the morning. But now she's Savior and sole leader on this mission to rescue Henry and Grace, having to worry about the advances of a 300 year pirate, allying herself with both heroes and villains alike, and surviving on a crazy island ruled by a psychotic perma-teen with serious issues. Since when did her life suddenly become an episode of Gilligan's island?
"Don't follow me. Wait five minutes, go get some firewood or something,"
Hook, recovering from the kiss they shared not long ago, nodded, his hand framing his lips. He watched Emma as she stalked away from him. He understood how overwhelmed she must feel. With mourning over Bae, er, Neal, and trying to rescue her son- he didn't mean to complicate things.
"As you-" he began to say after the blonde, but stopped short when the retreating footsteps and crunching of soil ceased. Emma had halted. Hook craned his neck and saw her on the curve of the path, standing still.
"Swan?"
"Hook!" came a worried call, summoning him. The pirate caught up to Emma, who now shifted into a kneeling position. She hovered over something...or someone.
"Tigerlily," Hook knelt down and examined the girl. Was this a trick? A trap implemented by Pan? It would be much of a disbelief to him that the princess would willingly return to Neverland. Return to Peter Pan, he duly added.
"She's been knocked out, but other than that, she's okay," Emma concluded after her own analysis. She lifted Tigerlily's sweatshirt, but the garment never made it past the her arms because by then the girl let out a grunt of pain. That was when Emma noticed the bandages on her shoulder.
"Had she been attacked?"
"Yeah, but not here. This bandage, looks like from Storybrooke," The furrows in Emma's forehead deepened. The last she ever saw of Tigerlily was when she was taking Henry and Grace somewhere safe during Greg and Tamara's attack on the town. Tigerlily must have been shot down while trying to protect the kids.
"What is she doing here? She should be back home resting!"
"Does not matter anymore. She is here, on Neverland soil. It was her choice to come here and risk her life. Now, she must be taken to camp,"
The two, with unmentionable difficulty, hefted the young girl to their makeshift camp not far from there. They laid her down gently beneath the tent. Surely the blankets were an improvement from the probing branches and rocks of the ground, Emma tried to make her deputy comfortable. She and Hook stood by, waiting for Tigerlily to come to. They were the only people in the clearing at the moment.
About five minutes after setting her down, and the rest of the group having just returned from their chores, a groan escaped Tigerlily and she stirred. Hook was knelt by her side, propping her up. Emma was surprised at Hook's bold move. She didn't pin him for one to care, especially for Tigerlily. Their last encounter was in Storybrooke, and that was pretty intense. The savior wondered what the deal is with these two when Tigerlily finally woke up.
"How the bloody hell did you end up here?" Well so much for a nice streak, Emma mused. A man to the point Hook was.
Despite being bleary-eyed and drowsy, Tigerlily took to her former captain's stride and answered the best she could, "Jefferson's hat. I-I thought I was in Pan's compound," She locked eyes with Hook, "who happens to be alive."
"Er...well, we found you outside our camp. You just sort of appeared," Hook averted his eyes, knowing Tigerlily couldn't gauge his reaction because he had none. He knew Pan was alive and had failed to mention it. Tigerlily made a double take because the captain appeared to be sheepish.
"You were at the compound?" Emma asked, rising to her feet, " Can you take us there?"
Mary Margaret chided her daughter, "She just got woke up. I doubt her journey was far less draining than ours. Let her settle down. Besides, without a proper plan? Emma, be rational,"
"It moves regularly," Tigerlily poking holes in Emma's plan, or lack thereof, "Has been moving since my tribe had it out for the boys. No doubt they are moving at this very moment. We were ambushed,"
During this, Regina scrutinized Tigerlily, more particularly her clothing. In the creases of her sweatshirt there was the residue of the magic that must have been inflicted on Tigerlily. Pink and powdery, "Sleeping spell," It was obvious who casted it. It beheld the signature magical energy Regina grew accustomed to over the years. She smiled inwardly. Good to know Rumplestiltskin still alive.
"I saw Henry, spoke to him even,"
"How is he?" chorused Emma and Regina.
"He's okay. Made sure Pan didn't hurt a hair on his head while I was there," she reassured.
"And Grace? Was she there?"
Tigerlily inhaled sharply, shaking her head. She figured Pan found out about her relation to Grace and kept her as bait at a different location. He had leverage.
"Come on," Regina interrupted, "Now that we have another island veteran, we can strategize. You two," she pointed to Tigerlily and Hook, "know Pan and fought him before. So what is our plan of action?"
"Regina, she's had a rough day,"
Tigerlily shrugged off Hook's arm and gradually got to her feet, "No, She's right. I can't rest knowing we have two kids to save,"
"I know this sounds like a longshot but what about a battle plan?" David suggested, which was the first time he had said anything in this conversation. It was immediately shot down.
"Foolish of you to think of that. There are six of us, yes?"
"There about twenty of those Lost Boys. We can take them,"
"It's not the boys I'm worried about. It's his army of hundreds,"
"Excuse me?"
Hook regretted the words once he had some them, but they were in the air now and could not be taken back. It would have been right to tell them upfront what they were dealing with, but it was not the tale to tell. But see, from his short association with these people, he could deduct they were blinded when it came to their families' well beings. They tend to downsize what they're up against just to appease their fears and was a dire matter, to be warned off than experienced. The pirate could explain it a million ways but the urgency wouldn't pass through.
Silence overtook the camp, Hook realized he had enraptured everyone's attention. The Evil Queen threw him a prodding stare- he had to tell them.
"He's allied with the lord of Shadows," he said in a grim manner. Those from the Enchanted Forest stiffened at this. Huh, Hook thought in surprise, the Shadows must have been more popular than he remembered. Mary Margaret buried her head into David's chest, whilst Regina took a seat. Its reputation had spread quite well.
But Emma had yet to be convinced of the true horror that are the Shadows.
"You know how when you're a child and you have an irrational fear of the dark?" Emma nodded, almost embarrassed, "Well, it is not irrational. There is something sinister in the dark and you have every right to be terrified, there lurks the Shadows. The most malevolent beings in history, in all realms. They are the creatures of nightmares, expelling fear, darkening your world, possessing your souls. They could change in form, peel your life essence right off of you, killing you instantly."
"But it was only a story," Mary Margaret said in a broken whisper, "One the maids would tell to scare the children." Emma reached out to comfort her mother but the woman before her was reverting back to her childhood fears. She was not the only one, Regina too. The Evil Queen, if a passerby could recognize, was rubbing her temples and shaking her head in attempt to dispel dark thoughts.
Following Hook's speech, it was an appropriate time to mention some bad news, "After you left, the skies turned black and not in just Storybrooke, but everywhere else in the world. It had reached the point where you can't tell day from night. I didn't know it was the Shadows until moments before I left for Neverland." She tried to picture what possible state Storybrooke could be in at the moment. Shadows...everywhere, soaring rampant on the streets either possessing or killing innocent people. They would be creeping under doors, weaseling into homes unannounced. Screams coming from the mouths of her neighbors, her friends was enough to jog her out of visualizing the scenario.
She didn't realize how cold it had gotten and she scrunched to ward off the chill. Her only solace was knowing at least Nic and Ava had protection against the Shadows. They were a clever pair, those twins, and that wistful thought she clung onto. It was enough to remind her that she had left people behind at that town, people she wished to return to soon.
Shock and disbelief came out in slow exhales and frozen expressions. But there was a third element, Tigerlily could tell, it was solicited fearlessness. This ragtag group of pirates, princesses, saviors, and evil queens couldn't mask the terror they felt after hearing about the Shadows. Hook had spoken truth about having something to fear from the dark, it was an experience they all had shared, rooting from their childhood. There was that unmistakable paranoia one would feel, nestled in bed after lights out. The moving shape out of the corner of your eye, the ominous scratching coming from the window but is dismissed as the trees, the creaking of the floorboards…
It was a bad combination. Time never passing, left to think about the past even as early as childhood, and all of the sudden coming face to face with the nightmares that tormented you since then. Staying on Neverland was not an option for the group could see that the longer they remain, they would revert to a time in their lives where they weren't people of fairytales and legends, back when their fear was at its height and the world had been the cruelest to them.
It took time before any of them could speak.
"That is not plausible," Regina touched back, the first to recover from that little episode "The walls between realms could not be breached that quickly, especially within two days we were gone,"
"Regina...it has been a month,"
David sighed and ran his hand through his hair, the news overwhelming. Mary Margaret took her husband's hand and tried to soothe him while Emma was pacing, her expression unreadable now.
"Is there a way to stop them?" Mary Margaret asked, finding solace in her unwavering hope.
"No,"
"Working on it,"
Hook squinted at Tigerlily. What on earth was she talking about? They were unstoppable. He couldn't voice his objections, at least not momentarily.
"But we need help nonetheless," David tried, "If we could rally the entire island, get the fairies to help,"
"The fairies are dead, mate. No one else left on the island except for the Lost Boys, Shadows, and…" the pirate stopped, then turning to Tigerlily. She didn't let him finish, cutting him off with a spiteful "No,"
"Your tribe. Surely the numbers have dwindled since Pan's regime. They harbor connections with higher beings,"
"Do you think we could rally them together?"
Tigerlily already knew the answer to that, "They won't help me, much less listen to me." The idea didn't suit well with her. Visiting her old tribe? Don't think so. Her father was dead to her, as she with him. Above all things, including his life, the Chief valued his pride. He would rather be fed to the Shadows than aiding his reject of a daughter.
"Lets sleep on this for now okay?" Mary Margaret suggested, ushering David to the tent, " This island can take alot out of you. Tigerlily, if you want you could keep watch," A nod was returned and the fairest of them all went to retire with her husband. She extended the invitation to Emma, but the Savior declined and sat in front of the fire, her contemplations too bothersome to allow sleep.
It was probably best to guard the campsite from where the clearing opened into the vast jungles. Tigerlily reached for David's sword to borrow, since her weapons along with her bag was in the compound, when she felt judging eyes on her. Glancing up, it revealed to be the Mayor/ Evil Queen.
"Have something to say, Regina?"
Her royal majesty, arms crossed and eyes in an intimidating brown glow, waltzed up to Tigerlily, "You and Pan, then. What's your story?" she asked out of curiosity, "What's your relation to him?"
"I want to stop him. Just as much as you do," Tigerlily was careful to answer, sensing the woman's suspicion. She didn't know her full backstory, not even at the time of her contrived conscription to the Black Knights. In fact, none of the Charmings did either, at least not much. She had grown and absorbed new lifestyles whilst away from her birthplace, but her reluctance to trust stuck with her. She worried if they did know, they would be just as reluctant to trust her.
"No. Not as much as I do. Kidnapping my son is not something I can forgive. And if I find out that what he has in store for Henry is nothing short of death...Let's just say that when I'm through with him, it would be a fate worst than death!" Brown hues morphed into a fiery orange, her voice rising with each word forged from rage. Tigerlily flinched. "Oh. You're not fond of the idea?" The queen said with fake concern.
"There is another way, Regina,"
Tigerlily left for the edge of the clearing. Hook intercepted her, pulling her to her destination at hastened pace, "Have you said anything to them about Neverland?"
"Only the generics. I lived here on Neverland and had a bad experience with Pan, whom I recalled to be dead?"
"If you behave like a nice lass I just might tell you the story. It is good, that they don't know that is. Let it stay that way because if they found out you had been involved with him, they would start to suspect you as his accomplice. Regina would turn the group against you and that is the last thing we need,"
"I wouldn't want them to know. I have a plan,"
He grinned, "A plan?"
"Vague ideas in no particular sequence, but yeah okay. I have a plan. I need everybody's cooperation for this to work though,"
"You have no clue what he's doing, do you?" His eyes wandered down from Tigerlily's uneasy grimace to her calloused fingers. She had a concrete grip on the prince's sword (a Toledo blade, the pirate couldn't help but noticing).
"Your grip needs to be as ready as your mind," he descended from the helm and went to assist Tigerlily in her sword training. Couldn't have her on board with a mite knowledge of swordplay now?
Tigerlily picked up the cutlass. She marveled its texture and beautifully adorned gold hilt. From a close distance, her fingers could feel its sharp edge. It differed from her axe in weight and skill level. Swinging an axe took little to no skill, but with a sword it was more challenging. In contrast, this particular weapon was for performing rapid cuts and wielder must be able to calculate and execute the next move in a split second while in the same time defending himself or herself. She gained a new respect for the pirates. How quick they had to think of their next move, spontaneous and filled with guile they must have been.
She returned to the center after retrieving her sword. Smee had been repeatedly kicking her ass in a duel, constantly disarming her in every change he got. Smee...oh the embarrassment.
Hook neared her and forced her fingers gently to wrap around the sword hilt, "Tight. But not too tight. Now slice at the air." Tigerlily flicked her wrist but the blade couldn't follow the motion without shakily surpassing the wind. Hook noticed and ordered Smee to fetch another sword, " Light but not too light. The
sword should cut through the air, not float in upon it like a leaf."
For the rest of that day, the captain took the young girl under his wing. afternoon, teaching her the basics. From posture to a few primary moves. He was not hesitant to point out a mistake or sweeten criticism.
"Back straight, don't look at your feet! They are not planning on leaving you anytime soon!"
"Your defense was horrid. Practice blocking daily. It may be what stands in the way between life and death!"
Hook must have retained some of his teachings, so he cleared his throat. Tigerlily saw what he was referring to. Her cheeks tinted pink and she eased her hold on the hilt.
"And to think I spent days drilling that concept into your head,"
"I haven't had to use a sword in 28 years. I'm a little rusty!"
Suddenly, Hook was less cheery, just as somber as he was minutes ago, "But back to what I said before."
"We won't know until we get our hands on a scroll I left on the island," Tigerlily explained about what Tinkerbell had told her, including the details on her predetermined role in the battle against the Shadows. Not many people knew about the exact purpose of the Light, apart from a few select people which now included Captain Hook by the time she finished.
"Why are you telling me this? Why tell me, of all people? After what I've done to you,"
"Neither of us wants to stay on this island longer than we have to. And to tell you the truth, I believed you're slowly reverting to the man you were meant to be,"
"Tigerlily. I apologise. For the incredible injustice I placed upon you that night,"
He waited for the stony silence, for an indication that that certain memory would go unforgiven. But she nodded in understanding and rested a hand on his shoulder. She had come to forgive Hook long ago because she knew he had been regretting it ever since.
It had been bad form.
"Why have you called me here?" The annoyance in Peter Pan's voice ricocheted off the cave walls and reached Ombra's ears. He waltzed in, with two Lost Boys at his side. It had truly been a hassle rousing the boys up from the Dark One's sleeping spell, and right in the middle of it he was summoned by the Shadow Lord. He dismissed the Lost Boys to guard the cave entrance whilst he talked with Ombra.
"The girl. She's here, isn't she?"
"She has been taken care of," Peter waved it off like it was nothing, like Tigerlily's presence on the island was more of a nuisance than a real issue, "Dropped her in the hands of that poor excuse of a rescue team."
But Ombra did not share these views. This girl was his destiny and doom, foretold by the Ancients when the life began. He couldn't afford to be careless when it came to dealing with her. Ardous planning was put into this, "It is paramount that she does not learn the full capabilities of the Light,"
"I'm keeping a close eye on them. I have a few tricks up my sleeves to trip them have we to fear? They're dysfunctional, a sad excuse of villains and so-called heroes. We can take them, my Lord,"
"This moment has been foretold before time began, fortold when there was Nothing,"
"Yes, Nothing until the Dark and Light were created to kickstart a new universe," Peter responded, annoyed. Before there was Everything, life as they knew it, there was Nothing. There hadn't been a day where Ombra did not remind him of this and it grew more redundant each time he did so. Honestly, the old windbag Shadow lord was not short from a broken record (yes, he knew what that was).
Peter's mental lashing of his master was interrupted with a sharp pain in his temple. Ombra swooped in, now close enough for him to feel the Shadow lord's breath. At times like this, Peter both quaked and admired how far Ombra's evolving in power and form. He was nearly flesh, but his bony stature was kept underneath the safety of his grey cloak. Although he couldn't admire much now with the fire he felt in his skull.
Ombra's fingers twisted below Peter's chin, flicking his wrist, he ended the boy's suffering, "Do not take this lightly. You do not know what is at stake,"
"I would if you tell me," Peter hissed, fingers remained at his temple. He didn't push his anger further, that had been one of the least painful sessions.
"No. It is best if you don't know. Your ignorance has been most helpful. If you knew the truth, it may just shatter the hold I have on you,"
"But you made sure that wouldn't happen," Undoing the ties of his shirt, Peter pulled the fabric to show his chest, the area where the heart resided. He rested his hand on the cold skin long enough to affirm that there was no heartbeat, "Remember?"
"Yes,"
"So tell me!"
"All you need to understand is that you'll get the power you've been craving. It is nourishing, isn't it?" You could hear the lust in his voice, the only human emotion Ombra was capable of experiencing.
Unfortunately, Peter felt it too. He grinned maliciously at the thought, "Enticing. The warm buzz surging through every vein, every nerve. What a rush! I live on the rush,"
"Your efforts had been wasted on those little endeavors. That...adrenaline rush, the thirst of adventure does not compare to that of magic,"
Around this moment, the Lost Boys stationed at the cave mouth entered with four more, and they rolled in a bamboo cage. Peter had to part with the Shadow lord to oversee this new development. He directed the boys to bring the cage deeper into the cave. It widened as the path was traveled. They ended up before a chasm, as well as another cage.
The older cage rattled upon Peter's entrance, cries and grunts proceeded.
"The prisoner is awake I see," he remarked. At closer inspection, big brown eyes scowled at him through the bars, "Is there anything I can get you, Grace ? Food? Water?"
"You creep!" The Hatter's daughter shrieked, shaking the bars once more, "Let me out!" She had been on this island for what seemed an eternity. The last she saw of Henry was when the Lost Boys swarmed them, and they had taken her away kicking and screaming. Pan's plans were a mystery. She didn't know what they wanted to do to Henry and it scared her.
Ignoring her pleas, Peter ordered the boys to put the new arrival on the far side of the cave. "And with a new addition. Baelfire, how nice to see my favorite nephew still running around my dwelling. Still can't escape from me, I see. I always manage to catch you again," The older man had come to as well. Realizing where he was, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
He returned to Grace, "Escaping is futile. No need to break your delicate hands over these bars,"
"Where's Henry?" she demanded whilst Bae, or Neal as he was called now, listened intently.
"He's busy having fun with the Lost Boys, but I'll make sure to tell him you said hello,"
"Don't you touch him, Pan!" Neal broke in, practically seething, "That is my son!"
He couldn't supress a scoff. Like he wasn't aware of that, and honestly, that fact alone shouldn't impress him that much. His pity for Henry only grew, "I'm not going to endanger him. Any pain I would give him cannot compare to the burden of being your son."
"What do you even want with him anyway?"
"The exact same thing you want, Grace," he said as if it were obvious, "His heart."
The Hatter's daughter flushed at the statement. She buried her head in her hands like she would have in Mrs. Blanchard's class when in the case where she was embarrassed. Were her feelings that evident? She realized the more one interacts with Pan, the more he deducts from your life. Her body language, her emotions, they were on display when shouting at him. It obviously showed how much she cared for Henry, just so that it clicked in his head.
But enough about her. Henry's heart? Does he mean to kill him for it? If so, then what would he do with it. She didn't ask any more questions, fearing that Peter might cut into her insecurities yet again.
"Choose,"
Grace looked up, remembering she was still stuck in a stupid cave with Peter Pan who, speaking of which, was crouching in front of her cage. He had slid two objects between the bars. She edged away. They might be cursed, she thought. She stared, puzzled, at Pan.
"What are they?"
"Figurines courtesy by Felix. Gifted in wooden art, if I may add," He picked up the one on the right. It was about the size of a lego man but not as simple, "This one, is supposed to be a Lost Boy," The details were amazingly whittled- the facial expression, the wrinkles and patches on the cloak. If a Lost Boy had been shrunk down to a minature, it would look just like this figurine. That was how realistic it was.
Grace went onto inspect the left figurine, well more like a model really. It wasn't of a person. The wood was sculpted into a random chunk. It wasn't until she switched perspective she had seen this before getting captured, "The other one...the Nevermountain,"
"The squaw must have taught you our geography," Squaw? How could he refer to Tigerlily as such? Out of Tigerlily's friends and family in Storybrooke, only she and Jefferson hold the details to her tragic and extraordinary story. The boy had loved her, didn't he? And even though she had betrayed him, he shouldn't be acting so cold.
"The landform's been standing there for a few millennia. But it has a weak spot around the base which is nearby. If someone were to give a good bludgeoning... " He took the statues in the palms of his hands and drew closer to Grace, "Pick one."
"I don't play with ugly toys,"
"These are not for playing," His temper was rising. Normally he wouldn't be so vexed, but this girl was pushing his limits. The lead Lost Boy took a minute to compose himself before continuing, " These are the possible dangers for your precious Tigerlily. If you don't choose, then I'll have to unleash both. Go about this carefully…"
"Why can't you choose for yourself?' she asked, indignant.
"Not really as much fun. Imagine it like a game. Well, a game where if chosen wrong you could be mortally responsible for your friends' death,"
"This ain't a game, Pan," Neal cried, eavesdropping on the offer being made.
"You're wrong. Competitions always exists. There is always someone to beat. Life is a game," Peter half growled.
"Quiet! Everybody!" Grace tried to shut everybody out, ignoring Neal's interjections and Peter's expectant gaze while she thought this through. That's what Tigerlily would have done in a predicament like this. So far, she was leaning towards the Lost Boys. They were human and subject to emotions. Maybe in the middle of the attack, Tigerlily could reason with them. They, like their leader, had loved her at one point. But then again, the Nevermountain could be a good option. After all, they had Rumplestiltskin, the Evil and Queen, and the Savior- all of whom have magic at their disposal.
Minutes slipped away (if time ever existed on Neverland) and she reached to handpick Pan's next test. Peter closed up his hands, encasing the statues tightly. Then, with precision and hurried movements, he juggled them in the air. Using theatrics like a sleazy magician, he moved his hands ceremoniously with each switch and slide of the hand.
Neal watched on in silent fury. He cursed Pan for using his old tricks again. He was overwhelmed by the movements and couldn't keep track which statue was in which hand. Grace, on the other hand, knew. Her eyes followed his hands carefully so at the end, she was confident in choosing the right hand.
Peter hesitated and slowly unfurled his fingers.
"Wait, what?" spluttered Grace.
Neal craned his neck to see what she had chosen. It was neither a Lost Boy or a Nevermountain but a new statue. The little sneak! Pulled a 'Follow the Lady"( after the conman card game) and slipped in another option.
"The Grybrian boar. It is slightly more rotund and more barbaric than its brethren species. It's half the size of an ogre and could eat anything in sight. Couldn't have picked a better one myself,"
"B-But that's not fair!"
"I said pick a figurine and you did,"
Peter playfully tugged on his shirt sleeve and the other two statues toppled out. He stood, tossing the Grybian boar leisurely and laughing at the sounds of protest emitting from the cages. He didn't feel the slightest bit guilty. Stopping at the exit, he spun to face Grace.
"You should know by now Miss Hatter...Peter Pan never fails,"
A/N: Another late update.
But I'm feeling the love from all of you! I thank you once more. I hope to get this story done before I finish high school! Though at this rate, who knows?
Anybody excited for season 4? To be honest, the whole Elsa and 'Frozen' franchise isn't my cup of tea. (Apologies to those who do like 'Frozen'). Good movie, but I don't understand all the hubbub. I just wished the writers could have done more with the Neverland arc. It had holes, mysteries, backstories to be discovered. It was a bit of disappointment for it to end, for me, so abruptly.
But what's keeping me hooked is the Knave. It would be nice to see him after Wonderland has ended.
Fingers crossed for a Neverland spinoff. I would literally won't stop watching if it were to air.
May your bad days turn into good nights, and your sad tears turn into tears you shed for a fictional character.
Until the next update
*~PanNeverFails~*