Chapter 21 'The Darkness, The Madness'

The pregnant pause that followed could be described as both agonizing and awkward. Regina and Tink must have used the time to re-evaluate their next move since it had been compromised by each other, but Tigerlily was dying to say it.

"So…" she drawled, never knowing how to handle these kind of situations, "Have you been up here all this time?"

Tink angled her head to look at her, eyes narrowed. Regina could only be spectator to this tensed reunion. Obviously she herself had some history with the fairy but whatever she could do to Tinkerbell, Tigerlily must had done worst.

"A year less than the time you've been away," she hesitated.

The silence returned. The three women hadn't moved. Regina spoke up, "Should have known you would come back here, Greenie. " She knew it came off as harsh the way she said it, but it was a result of feeding off the hostility currently swirling in the room.

"Well, the help I seeked certainly didn't come," Tink reminded her, the dark gaze shifting, "I actually prefer your company more and more, Tigerlily. The queen just might have you beat in bad deeds."

Yeah, scratch what she thought earlier.

Tink finally had enough of the storage room and walked out, but Tigerlily clamped onto her shoulder and forced her to face them. Her fingers had accidentally brushed past the shoulder and stroked part of the tattered shawl. She waited for the spark of magic that would tingle her fingertips once she made contact.

She pulled away and her eyes softened, "Your magic..." Her words drifted, not having the courage to say it.

Tinkerbell drew away, rolling her shoulders instinctively. Just as Tigerlily figured, no wings sprouted.

"Leave me be," and with that, Tink scurried into the other room.

Tigerlily and Regina shared a look before chasing after her, "As much as I want to sit here and compare our wrongs, i would much rather talk about what has happened since the Roger left port, 30 years ago." Tigerlily demanded.

Tink had picked up the kettle and used what was left of its contents to pour herself a cup. Head downcast, she refused to look at them, "Catching up on the happenings then?"

"Things have changed,"

The teacup noisily rattled, "Yes, they have."

Tigerlily inched closer, seeing her old friend shake and casting a formidable red glow. Her stomach plummeted. Fairies were known to be small creatures, only capable of feeling one emotion which was usually happiness, there were was no room for anything unpleasant. Fairies weren't allowed to grow to full size, most of them were afraid to. Once grown, they could feel the good, the bad, the confusion, the madness...

But Tink was never one to obey, she grew to full size constantly and for that there was a price to pay. She had been exposed to bad emotions so often that they were able to overtake the happy feelings whenever she shrunk back. It had been hell for her, being surrounded by the good when all she could feel was bad. Tigerlily remembered after a certain episode, Tinkerbell was recovering from a temper tantrum that nearly blew apart Pixie Hollow. She had been crying, her being shaking as it was right now, her wings clapping together in an unnerving pattern. Tick, Tick, Tick- a bomb ready to go off. She had told Tigerlily that it was the worst.

"They're all living an illusion," she had confessed, "They were hiding behind their rules and regulations instead of seeing...seeing what the world is really like. Because, Tigerlily, you know as well as I that the world is not all poppies and violets. It is a rose, holding beauty in its flower, yet... you get pricked by thorns."

Tigerlily, oblivious to the metaphor, had replied "The thorns should not bother you if you cut off the stem." She remembered the tinkling laugh after she said that, "Oh Tigerlily."

But she doubt she could make Tink laugh again. No, not in this case. She resumed her ticking, and she was close to exploding.

"But are you ready to face the music, ready to see how your actions had bedeviled this once wonderful land?" She set her cup down and stayed hunched over the writing desk. her fingers gripping onto the edges to anchor herself down because she honestly felt like she was about to fly away.

"How could you say that?" Tigerlily didn't understand. Of course, she blamed herself as well but...Tinkerbell had been the one to tell her of her destiny. She had called her the hope, the hope in saving Neverland and Peter. Why was she acting so spiteful?

Tink threw her head up, eyes shining. "Condemning the world to rise or fall, the light has the power to save us all," she recited, at least it was like that to Tigerlily. But she said it scornfully.

"What?"

"That sounded like a prophecy," Regina said.

"It is the prophecy,"

The power the word 'prophecy' held cemented one's fate. They were treading dangerous waters now that the fates were involved. It put their mission on a new scale. Destinies are nasty things, the queen always thought. To have your life written onto a piece of parchment, dictating the moves you are meant to make even if you hadn't done so yet. They told the beginning...and the end.

Regina didn't like the idea of knowing how she was to go in this life, and neither do most people. So, whoever the prophetical one was she was sorry for the poor loser.

"You are so careless, Tigerlily. Being the methodical person you are, you should have known better. Just because you strive to be independent, to be on our own, does not mean your friends are spared from your actions. All you had to do was push one domino for the whole damn thing to come down…"

"Tinkerbell, I didn't mean for-"

"I know, but it happened anyway!" She sniffled, her next words cracking as her tears stained her face, "I heard it all. How could I not, I'm a fairy aren't I? or at least, was. The sorrow, the tears, the screams- they were all screaming!" She spun to face them revealing a ghastly hue of red on her skin, then she let out a scream of her own, one of agony. She pressed her hands to her ears though she was the one making any real noise. It was like she could hear the screams right then, but Tigerlily and Regina heard nothing. The fairy shook violently before melting onto the floor in a daze.

The bomb detonated… and out came the human she had become.

Tigerlily flung herself forward and gathered the quaking woman. She swept the blonde hair away from her face. She tried to quell her. In the meantime, Regina stayed away trying to figure out what was causing Tink to act like this. Tigerlily hooked around her petite figure and was able to stop the screaming, but it dwindled into uttered nonsense, "The false alarm, Ombra had thought he was the one. The madness. The madness..."

"Shh," Rocking her back and forth, she checked Tink's face. It was sorry to see the expressions so familiar. Fear, guilt, and shame. These spelled bad news, especially for a fairy.

She didn't like how Regina was just standing there. She demanded an explanation. Tigerlily was no doctor and from the look of it, this case was a magical one, "What is happening to her?" she said frantically.

"Turned to stone… can swim no longer!"

"Memories best left forgotten, now resurfacing. They could hold answers. Maybe she has information. Weakness, secret weapon, anything," was the diagnosis.

"But I promised her. I promised, I promised, I promised…" Tink continued rambling. She turned to Tigerlily with a wistful gaze.

"Is that all you care about?" she blared, "She's convulsing to no end and you're just standing here! Stop this, Regina!"

"I've seen cases like this. There is a way to look into her past," She appeared uncertain about it though, "I can implement a spell that could send a person into the pysche of another,"

"I'll go,"

"I was about to suggest that,"

"Why? There's a catch?" she shot back.

"No. I need to be here to sustain the connection. For some reason, the magic is thin here. I need to focus,"

Tigerlily lugged the fairy onto the bed and lay her there. At this state, her eyes were vacant staring blankly at the ceiling. She was deadly still and that frightened Tigerlily. She didn't deserve this. The world shouldn't have done what they did to a person like Tinkerbell.

"What did you do to her?" Regina had been rubbing her palms together in magical preparation when the question was dropped.

"Could ask you the same thing. But if you must know, she gave me advice, I didn't take it and that got her in trouble,"

The girl nodded grimly. She had done the very same.

Fairies were meant to be pure. Their very roles in life to be the guides for others. It occurred to Tigerlily then, hovering over Tinkerbell withering on the bed, that like all things that were born pure like children and seedlings in spring anyone could be tainted. No one was immune to the influence of darkness, not even a fairy.

"Snap her out of this, but discover as much as you can," Regina then proceeded with the spell. She closed her eyes and uttered an incantation, pooling the available magic into her hands. wisps of blue and yellow smoke swirled into her hands. Her brown hues flashed, then she thrusted her palms towards Tigerlily.

The Queen witnessed as the blue and yellow spiraled into a beam shooting towards Tigerlily's heart, "Take her hand!"

The young girl obeyed and reached for Tinkerbell. Regina could see how it played out but the next time she blinked, Tigerlily had dematerialized.

Hook didn't think for a moment the prince was incapable of matching his speed. He knew Charming's mind was focused on his family. Don't get him wrong, he recognized the fleeting glances, the furrows on his forehead that came from worrying too much.

Emitting a growl, he spun on his heel and strung David along by grabbing onto his shirt collar. The sudden contact was met with hostility and the prince bucked, trying to return to the path of the Grybrian boars. Not very bright this one yeah? Could he not see they were trying to evade the danger, not go running towards it?

"Unhand me, pirate!" David commanded. It might have come off rude, but Hook deciphered the tone. It held underneath the royal bravado was the voice of a husband, a father. The man feared for the outcome, whether or not his family would be dead by the time he was through with Neverland.

Hook, famous for disobedience under a royal command of any kind, did not let go.

"Mate, there's nothing we could have done," "Besides, I'm sure they're alright. The women in your family…"

David pried away. The thundering stampede rose in volume. The boars had changed paths, now picking their trail. Hook swayed and looked at him with a pleading stare that said 'Run, fool!'

"Why do you care?"

"Excuse me?" Now was not the time to be confirming his motives.

"You don't go through such effort for a life other than your own, "

Hook couldn't agree more with that statement. The initial reason for preserving the man's life was to get on his daughter's good graces. One and done, it was supposed to be, yet there they were. He was opting to save David again and Emma was not in his immediate thoughts. No, for the first time in centuries, he didn't see the personal gain only to do this out of nobility. If he had any left.

He wanted to voice this to the prince. His heart yearned for at least one person to know this pirate's story held torment and remorse. Someone had to know there was more to him, despite the scoff of disbelief he would receive in return. The boars didn't give him a chance though. Once the tusks pierced through the foliage, the two men dashed.

It had happened in a flash. As cliche as that sounded, that was what happened.

Emma didn't feel the sensation of stomping hooves against her malleable flesh. She couldn't recall any feelings of the sort. Her shoulders were scrunched and her breathing paused until she was certain the danger had receded. The scenery around her, the wavering tree branches above to her father's frantic shouts, faded. It had passed in streaks, like a view from a moving car. This was accompanied by a bolt of energy circulating her body and warmth that replaced the frigid, Neverland air. It felt like the world was moving and the only constant shape had been..her mother's.

Her face, she saw, eyes widened and panicked- scared. Why was that so?

The warmth died and the world stilled. Emma allowed herself to breathe then. Sparing a glance behind, there were no boars found. They had moved to another part of the island, far away from them. Mary Margaret's expression didn't change. Looking for what could be the matter. It occurred to her, what she did.

The boars had been closing in, all Emma could think was Henry and how close she was to being stampeded on by the pack of Pumbas. She had felt Mary Margaret circle her arms around her and tucking her body underneath. Her mother had tried to shield her from the boars.

Why, oh why had she chose this moment to act like a mother.

Well that was who she was right? A mother. Hers, in fact.

She never had people to take care of her like this before, who would put her life before theirs. Not once did she feel special enough to be kept alive. It occurred to her that even when she found her parents, she couldn't accept that she was loved pure and unconditionally. Time after time, her parents would show their love and she just seemed to brush it off because it was all strange for her. By now, she would have stopped trying.

Pressure from her throat rumbled into a sob and tears trailed down her cheek. They never stopped trying.

Their bodies had rattled against the ground. The hooves within a foot range from them and in the last second, Emma clasped her mother's shoulders and twisted her body so that she would be facing the boars first. She couldn't lose her mother. Besides, she would rather have Mary Margaret live. Maybe she and David could actually have a kid who will cherish them. Something she should have done.

Then something other than blood circulated her body precisely before the pack of Pumbas even touched them. The Neverland cold subsided, replaced by a warmth similar to that of a hearth, of a home. And...she and Mary Margaret were taken away to safety.

Emma gathered her wits and jumped up, hoisting her mother along. For a while, Emma stared at the woman who she had risked her life for. If it weren't for her love, they would have been trampled. Traces of shock and disbelief were present, but above all they were relieved.

Emma allowed herself to break into a grin, then into a full fledged laugh. It was inappropriate in any other moment, but it could not change the fact that she was alive. Mary Margaret tried to reprimand her daughter though when catching her eye, her lips parted to let out a chuckle. They stayed like this for some time before seeing to their condition. Only bruises, nothing more.

"Okay," Mary Margaret said after they calmed down, "That was a close one."

Emma grunted in agreement, "You think?" She was only a beginner in magic. She was lucky to have pulled that off, and in the nick of time too.

Nevertheless, the magic got them away from Pan. There was the problem of rejoining the others on the table.

Both women scoured their current location for indications of where they were relative to the Nevermountains. That was where they left the others. It was best to return there. Choosing the path was critical. Slightly west of the mountain range was where Pan's cronies generally cycle through. Hook had pinpointed the compound to be in the area as well.

Mary Margaret was the expert tracker. She picked up a trail that circled around a swamp which should lead to the Nevermountain if continued in a constant straight path.

Emma began to head in that direction. "Emma?" She turned.

"You should have never put yourself in the face of danger like that," Mary Margaret scolded. She shook her head, "Promise me you'll never do that again."

"Can't make a promise like that. You're a mother. You were willing to let the boars stomp on you,"

"If it means protecting you-"

"-You'll do whatever it takes," The Savior ended for her, having heard sayings similar to that, "I know. So can you understand that I'm a mother too, and that I will march to hell and back if it means getting Henry back home."

Mary Margaret stepped forward and took Emma's hand in hers, "Then we'll do it together. Emma, you won't have to do it alone. You won't have to do anything alone again."

Emma glanced at their intertwined hands. After her startling revelation back there, she began to believe what Mary- her mother had said was true.

She wasn't alone.

Hook threw his head back, his vision waning in the inky black sky as he tried to discern their location. David lagged behind him. The pirate backstepped and tried to prod him along, but the sight of his family being bombarded by boars stuck to his brain relaying it over and over. He wouldn't budge.

"They're gaining, mate!"

"Again, not your mate!"

The path they ultimately chosen was twisted in vines and fog. It could give them some cover, maybe unintentionally entrapping the boars in the thorny undergrowth and draping vines. Over the course of thundering down this direction, David pulled ahead to lead the way.

Once, they punctured the cloud of fog, David decided to duck right leaving Hook to unwillingly follow. He couldn't distinguish where they were so any route was the best route, and he couldn't argue with the prince's navigation. But as they sprinted more, breaths short but cycling, a new smell floated through the jungle aroma grazing Hook's nose.

Seawater.

That couldn't be right. They were too far inland to be remotely near the sea. A river, more likely, it has a bit of particles and minerals that could contribute to imitation. Yet, the salty scent was strong. His nautical knowledge and swashbuckling gut say that they were barreling towards the sea at great speed.

Once Hook's brain processed this, a rush of cool air streaked past him and he could no longer feel the ground underneath his boots. Gravity worked against him, and he tumbled toward the great blue.

He never went in.

A force acting on his left bootstrap kept him from falling in. Heaving his upper body up, the pirate yelled at his lifeline. David had managed to grapple on a stray vine with one hand and Hook's foot with the other. The men dangled dangerously over the tumultuous waters with no clear escape.

"Oi! You sure you're a prince?" Hook released his annoyance out onto the man keeping him alive, "that was shoddy leadership back there!"

David responded by easing his grip, dropping Hook a few centimeters closer to the water. The scruffy man shuddered and relentlessly reached for his toes.

"My wife and daughter might be dead and I won't know for sure because I'm dangling off a vine with you,"

"Hey, at least I make better company than sniveling swine,"

Hook heard a scoff from above, "Could have fooled me. Something tells me you haven't had a decent washing in decades."

The swashbuckler in him wanted to throttle the prince. But that would only send them falling. He had been keen on saving David's life earlier, and besides- Swan said to try and cooperate.

"Look," he sighed. Acting cordial was going to require temperance and patience, "It was not your own doing. I would have never thought there was ocean so close to the mountain," And come to think of it… he was pretty sure there had been more land beyond this ridge. He had to take a closer look at the cliff.

It had been said that Ombra's influence was poisoning the island. But to what extent?

A/N: R&R.

I want to finish this story soon! I have the next chapters already planned. Now there's the matter of editing them and compiling them into a great sequence of events.

Happy Once Sunday, everybody!

*~PeterPanNeverFails~*