Chapter 25 'Epiphanies'
Ombra was heated. He was looking at Peter incredulously after hearing about what the boy had proposed.
"But they're nowhere close to catching on what we are planning!"
Peter, sharpening his dagger, sighed as if Ombra was the one unable to comprehend the next stage, "Then it is imperative that they need to reunite," He leaned in, seeing as though they were in the company of their prisoners, "And I mean all of them." His head ticked in the prisoners' direction.
Ombra was showing some restraint, clenching his shadowy, formless fist as in an effort to not throttle the boy. He thought he had total influence over him, but unfortunately for the Shadow Lord, Peter had retained his knack for manipulation and obsession for causing conflict. Overall… he was still a little shit.
"But what is the point of making sure they find each other?"
"I know them," Peter examined his reflection on his blade, picking at his teeth, "There's just too much history between them to form an actual alliance. It would cause quite a distraction. But a distraction," he set his dagger down to wink at Ombra, "that would be entertaining to watch."
He turned away from Ombra, stalking towards Grace and Neal locked up in their cages.
"Oi, you two!" The prisoners' heads whipped up, "Fancy a relocation?"
Grace eyed him, suspiciously, "Are you… setting us free?"
Peter chuckled and backpedaled for the cavern he had walked through,"Not quite. But we're gonna make sure you get rescued." Then with a flick of the wrist, the two cages began to rise, causing Grace to yelp and Neal to loudly protest. They floated in the direction of their captor.
"I don't understand!" The Hatter's daughter cried, tugging at the bamboo bars.
"I do," Neal knew that Peter wasn't going to make it easy for their friends to rescue them and whatever it would take, it was gonna pull them apart rather than have them rally together, He craned his head to put his mouth against the bars, screeching at his uncle, "You're sick! Killing all of us in here would have been way easier,"
Peter whirled around, navigating his prisoners further into the cave, his grin growing on his face.
"Yeah," he replied to Neal, "But it would have been way less fun."
Tigerlily sprang up from the floor, booking it for the ladder. She could hear Tink trailing close behind, but she didn't want to even look at the fairy at the moment- especially with the both of them reeling from the insanely revealing psych walk. Tigerlily had thought that it was going to be Tink's past they were to be rifling through- not hers.
"We gotta get out of here," she grabbed Emma's hand and tugged her along, tossing a look at Regina and Mary Margaret, "Now!"
They all piled out of the treehouse and Emma thought that was what she meant, but then had to run after Tigerlily and Tink who were sprinting out of the clearing, getting deeper and deeper into the jungle.
"Why?" Regina yelled out, dodging the plants swatting into her face and stumbling a bit due to still wearing her heels.
"You just…. did a …. Psyche Walk on me," Tink called back at her, "Peter and Ombra are constantly tracking the levels of magic. They'll know where we are," The Neverland natives slowed down enough for Regina to slip off her shoes. Tink held back from chastising her, instead ordering: "We need to keep moving."
"So no magic? We can't use magic the whole time we're here?" Regina cried, indignantly. She was pissed, how could she not use the one thing that could even the playing field.
"Wanna… let them know what we're up to?"
"But…. David and… Hook?" Snow huffed, constantly glancing up at the sky as if a Shadow was gonna swoop in and attack them.
Tigerlily made a frustrated noise, "We're just gonna… hope we run into them before… they run into the Lost Boys!"
"Do you know where you're going?"
Tigerlily recognized the canopy framing familiar stars and made a move to leap over a huge fallen tree she knew was going to be in her path, warning the others to do the same. She held up a hand, signaling them to stop in a small patch of giant mushrooms, crouching and pivoting around, trying to find the safest path, "Oh please, your majesty. Could walk through this jungle, completely plastered, and still find my way."
Tigerlily could have blamed the Psyche Walk for indulging in memory lane, but what she had said was true. She had done it. Once. And it was something that she greatly regretted, how her feet could lead her anywhere that her heart yearned for in such a state…
30 years ago...
Tigerlily was currently playing with a tipped over bottle, a corked bottle with black liquid swishing around inside, rolling it with the curiosity and play of a kitten around Hook's desk, "Pretty bottle," she murmured, still a bit woozy from playing the drinking game with the other pirates earlier- before she had been carried into Hook's captain's quarters for some reason.
Hook had finished keeping an eye out for any stray pirates on board the ship before shutting the door. He didn't wish to be interrupted. He walked over and recognized the bottle she had in her hands. "Don't touch that." he snatched from her hands before tucking it into his desk drawer.
"Captain...keeping the tonic-" she paused to let out a burp, "to himself?"
"It is not emotion tonic you blabbering cur," he couldn't help but let his annoyance slip through. It had not been an easy task getting her back on board the ship, although he had started carrying her, she soon had leapt out of his arms and began running amuck, touching random objects and climbing onto barrels. He had to keep picking her up and prying things from her hands all the way to his quarters.
He glanced up to see Tigerlily slumped in a chair opposite his, resting her head on the desk, hair splayed out. Her facial features had really softened up from the influence of the drink that for a second he saw an innocent young girl seated before him. He sighed, feeling almost ashamed for using such a harsh tone.
"Apologies… it is just... the key to my revenge you were just playing with, lass,"
Tigerlily gasped, "For 'dearie'," she hissed out, just like how the Dark One would.
And normally, Hook would have exploded at the mention of his mortal enemy, but hearing how Tigerlily had tried, and failed, to nail Rumplestiltskin's voice amused him. Had made him chuckle even. "Yes… him."
"Ah ah ah," she waved her finger at him, as if she was a parent scolding a child, "Peter won't let you." Then by mentioning his name, Tigerlily sat up, her drunken calm vanished, glancing around quickly, "Oh Peter," she uttered, forlorn. She leapt out of the chair, heading for the door, "W-Where is he?"
"Whoa, woah," Hook stepped in, blocking her from leaving, "Aye… uh… we'll look for him later, Tigerlily"
She grew more distressed, pushing at the pirate to get him to budge, "The bastard has to die!" Tigerlily punched his chest, beginning to sob, "Leaving me for Ombra and saying that he loves me.
"Oh love, love, love!" she stressed each with another weak blow to Hook's chest. The pirate had been merely taking it, knowing that it would be unwise to provoke one in an inebriated blunder. Also, it would be an insult to injury, this was probably the lowest he had ever seen the mighty warrior.
Tigerlily stopped hitting him, heaving against him sobbing, and for the first time, Hook empathized with her pain. He rigidly touched her by the shoulder, gently prodding her back to the seat.
"Aye" he remarked, bending over and pulling out a handkerchief from his vest pocket. She took it and began wiping her face, "Why does it have to be so beautiful and disastrous?" His eyes flickered to the picture of Milah on his desk.
"He is a liar," Tigerlily cried, "Nothing… like soup at all. Bitter, disgusting soup. The kind that looked good to eat but would burn your mouth…"
He raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask her to elaborate. The way her eyes were fluttering, struggling to keep open from the puffiness… and maybe also from the weariness of a day's labor. Hook had brought her here for a reason, and it seemed as though he didn't have long until Tigerlily would drop to her slumber. It was unjust to ask what he was about to ask at the very moment.
He wasn't sure what happened. The whole voyage out of Neverland hinged on Tigerlily's suffering, her being a pawn in Ombra's plans. He thought it was a sacrifice that he was willing to make, to protect the girl that had aided in Liam's death.
But over the past week, not only Hook minded the idea of Tigerlily being on board the Roger, he was beginning to seriously consider having her around… on a more permanent position. She had been proven quite useful, being quick to learn and down to help. She was a skilled fighter… He was beginning to feel, dare he believed it, a tad guilty for using her.
His gaze switched to Milah's picture once more…
Then he remembered the Crocodile. The Crocodile that was still running around, unpunished for what he had done to the love of his life. Hook threw open a cabinet adjacent to his desk and procured a bottle of rum.
Using his metal appendage to undo the cork, he took a big swig before leaning over the desk, now more willing to follow through with the interrogation. He noticed Tigerlily eyeing the bottle. He was well aware of what that look meant, recognizing the same look in himself whenever he wanted to completely drown his sorrows.
An idea sparked. He held out the bottle towards her, "How about a wager?"
"W-Wager?"
"I'll let you go on your merry way, to kill Pan if you want, even let you take this bottle of rum with you- if you tell me the truth,"
Hook had no intention of letting her get off this ship, especially not in the state she was in. The girl could barely hold herself up. But he was damn sure that if she had a bit more alcohol she wouldn't even make it past the door.
The girl eagerly agreed to the terms, not caring what secrets she would spill if meant getting some more alcohol in her system.
"Pan is against me slaying the Crocodile," Hook rattled off, "Why is that?"
Tigerlily cocked her head, as if she was expecting a harder question.
"The ultimate revenge," she said.
Hook gestured for her to explain but the girl suddenly shook her head, seeming to gain some sense, "I'm not supposed to say." The pirate raised an eyebrow, putting more distance between her and the bottle of rum.
"Okay, okay, okay," Tigerlily conceded. She motioned for him to come closer.
Cautiously, he did so, to find Tigerlily cupping his ear to whisper, "You see, it's Rumple and Peter are brothers."
Hook snapped up to look at her, to check if she was messing with him. He had gotten pretty skilled over the years, to determine which blabberings from a drunken sailor was merely that or the honest to gods' truth.
His eyes widened when she didn't appear to be lying, especially when she went on to say, "Sh...Don't tell Hook. Okay, Killian?"
Blimey.
He fell back into his chair with a thud, dazed. The whole reason why he was stuck on this godforsaken island was because Peter Pan did not want him to harm his brother. Oh the irony!
Fury bubbled up inside him, oh the hell that he had gone through- losing his loved ones, his own brother- for Peter to sit on his Neverland throne and still have his loved ones?
"Damn!" He pounded the desk with such fury that the items bounced and rattled. All the meanwhile, Tigerlily was oblivious to his reaction to this revelation.
"Can I have the rum?"she asked, politely. He tossed over the bottle and she quickly took a large sip. Exhaling, she continued to provide more information,
"He loves Rumple very much, but thinks he's not good for Baelfire. That's why he-" she mimicked claws grabbing something "- snatched him up and brought him here. I was there too! Rumple misses Bae, would do anything to get him back,"
"Then why hasn't he come to Neverland?"
"We took him from the Land Without Magic. Rumple still thinks he's there…" she dropped her voice again, "And besides...he's slightly afraid of older brother."
Hook had to get up. He needed to move, his mind was running through all what he had learned. He was pacing around his quarters, thinking Tigerlily was right… this would be the ultimate revenge. He was already planning the little details, knowing that it was possible to twist the knife in deeper so to speak. Oh, the opportunity to both spite Peter and kill Rumplestiltskin in one go. Fantastic!
"Tigerlily, your knowledge is beyond benefici-" he whirled around and was surprised to find the chair empty and the bottle of rum gone. What the hell? He bounded for the door, threw it open and could see no signs of the girl down the hall.
"Bloody hell,"
Tigerlily, after some time guiding her group, racing through the brush ended up running into something and was thrown to the ground from the collision. She looked up to see Hook in the similar position, sprawled on the ground.
"Tigerlily!" Tink yelled, catching up to her. The warrior heard movement in the bushes ahead and out emerged David… and Rumplestiltskin?
The Dark One upon hearing new voices, summoned a fireball the same time Mary Margaret, Emma, and Regina came barreling in on the scene.
"Woah woah," Emma held her hands out, "Hold your fire!" Rumple sighed, irritation well painted on his features, before he extinguished his fire.
Mary Margaret rushed to her husband's side and brought him in for a bone crushing hug, having worried about him since the boar attack, "Thank goodness you're okay."
"Stiltskin? How did you get here?" Regina asked while Tigerlily helped Hook to his feet, apologizing for running into him at such speeds.
Emma was on the same page as Regina, "Yeah, where the hell were you this whole time?"
"Doing a bit of recon," Rumple explained, "Saw Henry by the way, in case any of you were wondering." He said almost offhandedly, but it earned quite the reaction from the group.
Emma surged forward, "Well? How is he? Where is he?"
"Probably back in Pan's grasp. Unharmed from what I've seen,"
"What do you mean back?"
"Tried to rescue him...Baelfire and I tried to retrieve him from Pan's encampment,"
Wait. Tigerlily grabbed the Dark One by his coat in disbelief, "Baelfire? Neal? He's alive?"
Rumple swatted her away, but remained serious. He nodded. Tigerlily watched Emma process the news that her former lover was now in fact alive. Well for one thing, she was glad to know that Baelfire had survived the gunshot… she just hoped that it wasn't some trick from Peter.
"And where are they now?"
"Hell if I know. If I did, I'd be with them and not loitering around the jungle with you all," he glowered over the group.
"Enough," David stepped in to try to steer the conversation, "Let's just hope that they're out there away from Pan,"
Rumple finally took notice of Tinkerbell's presence, "I see you found the fairy,"
The fairy herself made sure to keep a safe distance from the man, she eyed him warily.
David introduced himself to Tink, "You don't happen to have any pixie dust on you, do you?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Okay," David gave her a warm smile, knowing that it would be a wasted effort to get frustrated, especially when it seemed as though the Tinkerbell had been through quite an ordeal. He turned to Tigerlily, "Do you have any ideas how we should proceed?"
Rumple scoffed, "I wouldn't ask her, if I were you."
"What do you mean? She knows the island better than anyone. She's been here the longest," he looked to Hook for clarification but the pirate was too busy flitting his gaze between Rumple and Tigerlily, as if he knew something was gonna come up.
The Dark One looked at Tigerlily square in the eyes, poking her chest, "I'm not sure if I'd trust you to do what needs to be done. For when the time comes."
Tigerlily glowered at him in return, "I'll do what it takes."
"Yeah?" The man wanted to test her resolution,"So, if it comes down to saving Henry and your friend Grace, would you kill him?"
She knew who it was he was referring to. She was being baited but so eager to respond and prove him wrong, she opened her mouth to report 'yes. I will kill the Peter. Whatever it takes' but her mind caught up with her… the idea of actually running a sword through his chest… Of course he was nothing but some sort of demonic creature, but she knew if she was brought to face him, to look at him square in the eyes… she would hesitate.
Rumple took her silence as 'no', "That's what I thought."
Regina was in disbelief, turning to the warrior, "You're the deadliest Black Knight I've ever had. You didn't bat an eye when you had to kill all those people I wanted you to kill-"
"-Regina!" Mary Margaret scolded.
"You know what?" Tigerlily recovered from her mental lapse to poke Rumple right back, "I think it's a bit hypocritical of you. We should have every reason for you not to trust you,"
"On what grounds?"
"You're the frickin Dark One, for starters," The hums of agreement scattered amongst the group. They all had their fair share of experiences with the Dark One or at least heard the stories of such deals he would make.
"I've been at odds with him for as long as you were there to defend him!"
"But he's protected you,"
The group apart from Tink and Hook were left in the dark. The pirate raised his hook, as if to signal 'may i cut in'. He addressed Rumple, "Crocodile… would you do it, though? Kill Pan."
"If necessary," Hook seemed to be up in arms about that statement, "If it means saving my grandson then yes!"
"Wow,"
"He's the Dark One, of course he wouldn't be above killing," Regina said.
"You'd think he'd be above killing his own family His own brother?"
"Wait. What?"
Emma looked like her head was gonna explode. Too many things getting revealed in one day that she was not prepared for. The whole group seemed shocked, those who had already known were surprised as to why Hook would even bring it up, especially at a moment like this.
"Pan's your brother?" Regina shouted incredulously.
"You, you dirty pirate," He sneered at the man in question, annoyed to now have the groups focus drift from the matter at hand to petty squabbles, "You have been a thorn in my family's side for centuries!"
Hook raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"
"You had the tumultuous history of stealing the women that my family holds dear. First, my wife. Then you whisk my brother's love away from him. And now, are you or are you not planning to draw Miss Swan away from my son- who is very much alive,"
For Hook's benefit, he did take the moment to look bashful at the accusations, especially the one concerning Emma. The savior was doing all she could not to make eye contact with her father who looked like he wanted to throttle the pirate.
"All the women you mentioned had agency. They had a choice. I didn't force anyone to do anything!"
"Oh my god," Tigerlily put a hand to her face, not wanting to be dragged into this.
Regina caught her reaction then all of the sudden her eyes widened. She made an 'oh' expression as she connected the dots, recollecting the tidbits she could muster from Tigerlily… and her time being onboard the Jolly Roger before getting to the Enchanted forest.
"You. You had a thing with Pan!"
Tigerlily groaned, annoyed that her secret was out. The Charmings were shocked, having certain moments in Storybrooke made sudden sense. Her nightmares of the boy, how she knew so much about him, the treehouse- it was all clicking.
She knew they were all looking at her differently. Whatever relationship she had built over these past few years was not called into question, thanks to Rumple, a seed of doubt was planted.
"Yeah, I did. So what?"
Regina had a hungry expression in her eyes, she reached out and grabbed Tigerlily by the hair, putting her in a chokehold, "Then, why can't we just draw him out?"
"Woah! Hey!" Mary Margaret and Emma tried prying off the Evil Queen off of her. Tigerlily was struggling and bucking around in Regina's grip
"We had his kryptonite this whole time,"
Tink ran up from behind and took hold of Regina's neck, pulling her off balance, "Let go of her!"
The distraction made it possible for Tigerlily to be wrenched out of Regina's grip by Mary Margaret and Emma.
The Evil Queen whirled around to face the fairy, "You were pretty spiteful against her until you both took a trip down memory lane. Literally..."
Meanwhile, Tigerlily could hear the men getting into a bout themselves, "What's this about my daughter?"
"Nothing that you should concern yourself with, mate," Once Hook spoke, he winced at the way he phrased it. That may anger the man even more.
"But you-" Rumple turned on Hook, "you don't want to kill, Pan? You spent centuries trying to kill him?"
"I, for one, do not condone killing anybody except for Ombra!" Mary Margaret interjected which caused the group to start converging at her, arguing and discussing the possibility of having to kill more people than Ombra.
Hook stayed behind, watching the group bickering, "Bloody hell." he remarked, now dawning onto him what exactly was happening before him. He backed up into the trail he and his party had come from. Needing to put some distance between himself and the fighting, hoping that it would help with whatever curse or spell Pan had-
He heard a rustle behind him. He spun around and found the devil himself standing before him, "Now, what are you doing here?"
The boy was leaning against a tree, looking so pleased with himself. He caught pirate sneaking looks to the exit. Although he could not see the rest of the group, Hook figured one call and they would all swarm in and catch Peter.
"Ah, ah. No need for the calvary. Just here to pass a message along," he held up a scroll tied with a purple ribbon.
"Was that," Hook pointed in the direction of the group, "your doing? Cast a spell to get us all bickering like children?"
"Oh no. The best part was I didn't do anything this time. Just your petty squabbles getting in the way of stopping me,"
Peter leaned in, elbowing him as if they were comrades, "Way to complicate things, Hook- pursuing something with the Savior. My brother was right, do you have some vendetta against the men in our family. What are you gonna do next? Wait til Grace becomes of age and snatch her from Henry too?"
Hook scoffed. "You're ridiculous. Now, what the hell is this?" he referred to the scroll as he took from Pan's hands.
"Something to help you find Baelfire and Grace,"
"Why?"
"Thought it would make things easier. Now, I promise not to interfere with your team's progress from here on out," he smirked, "As much as I'd like to take credit for putting a wrench in your plans with the savior, but I do not wish to be in the way… of such a budding romance." The boy turned to walk away, feeling triumphant in the words he had chosen. He was caught off guard when his former adversary decided to respond.
"You sure know how to ruin any romance," He spun around to see Hook arching an eyebrow, "Especially your own."
Instead of being insulted, Pan brushed it off as if the past few centuries didn't occur to him. It was cute, he thought, but he would never get to him. His heart was taken out, there was no use in trying to pain him, "Stop trying old man. If this is some attempt to play mind games...well," he smirked, "No one can play games better than me."
"You're all about games, aren't you?"
Peter stood at the exit, debating whether or not to entertain the pirate a little bit longer.
"Oh no," Hook held his hand up, "I never intended to disrespect you. I was merely pointing out how you basically destroyed your own happiness. I bet your tragic life has put mine to shame."
Pan said nothing, but the boy did feel a twinge of something. He didn't know what. The pirate captain could see he was slowly reaching the demon's core. The fact that his eyes were flickering from the pirate to the exit path was a definite sign he wanted the conversation to end. Hook recalled Tigerlily vouching for the possibility of saving Pan from the Shadows. If only she could see him now. Even Hook wondered if there was a way to get rid of Ombra's influence. There was hope.
"I mean what's worse than to have loved and lost? The real pain is in rejection. Having loved someone who could never love you in return. Oh yes, Pan. I know about you and Tigerlily. The entire bloody island knew! You gave her everything, your heart, your soul. You surrendered yourself to her completely, but what did she do? What did Tigerlily do?"
Hook slithered his way behind Pan, he circled around him. He continued taunting him, "She left you. You became a monster. She was afraid of you. You destroyed this girl, rendering her into a state of constant fear and guilt. When did the power blind you? When did you stop loving her?"
Before he knew it, Hook was flying back. His back connected with a tree, earning a crack and a groan. The pungent taste of magic lingered on his lips. Pan disappeared in a puff of smoke before reappearing in front of Hook. He drew out his dagger and let it rest beneath the man's collarbone.
"You raise your blade," His hook rimmed Pan's neck, "and I'll raise mine."
"She didn't leave," the boy rasped, shaking. He clawed at his chest, making sure his heart did leave. The absence didn't justify his actions, "You took her, you no good pirate!"
"Still in denial? Tigerlily boarded my ship on her own accord,"
Then Hook baited him, just to see the light returning in the demon's eyes. The light they used to share when they were boys. He didn't realize how much he missed the old Peter as well, when he used to be a friend,
"Come on, Pan. Fight me."
"That's how it's always been, isn't it? Though it is not the time or place to fight,"
"Our swords will clash sometime soon, I take it?"
"Consider it your undoing, Captain,"
"As Tigerlily will be yours," Pan's eyes glowered over him for a moment before his eyes turned from green to red. Part of his face darkened a sickly purple shade. Oh yes, something is controlling the boy, Hook thought. This confirmed it, "Then I'll have to do something about that."
In a blink of an eye, the boy was gone.
Hook hurried towards the others, holding up the scroll, "Pan. It's Pan!"
The group snapped up to look at them, swords and other weapons drawn. He waved the scroll, "No, he was just here. He gave me this. A clue,"
"Better not be a trick, pirate," Regina threatened, snatching the scroll from his hands. The others crowded around her, straining to read the piece of parchment.
"A trick, could be. He told me it was to help find Neal and Grace."
Emma gingerly grabbed the parchment, reading it aloud:
"In order to recover those who've been lost, lost, lost, lost
you must right your wrongs, whatever the cost, cost, cost
Or the Shadows will slay, slay, slay
Little Grace and brave Bae, Bae, Bae
Then it is you who have become lost, lost, lost"
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Pan sure loves his cryptic limericks," Hook commented, exasperated.
Tigerlily inspected the writing, looked to be very scribbly, but did not seem to be written by the same hand, "That's Grace's handwriting."
"And Neal's. He'd always at a cross to dot his i's,"
"So they're both ok," Tink said, relieved, ""There's gotta be something in this message that tells us where to find them,"
"The words at the end," David pointed out. "They repeat three times. Any place on the island associated with three?"
"Do you think I counted the number of trees or berry bushes while I was here?" Rumple said.
Repeating, as if the message itself hadn't already echoed in her mind. Tigerlily's fingers curled around the parchment more securely, worried to let her epiphany slip through.
Echo.
"Echo," she voiced out loud. She must have sounded like a loon. She explained, " The Echo Caves. He has them in the Echo Caves."
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get it out. My inspiration for this story keeps coming and going, but I"m still determined to try and finish this for you guys. Hope you enjoyed it.
Also, just wondering. If anyone would be interested in me bringing this story on to AO3 as well. I've grown to prefer reading from AO3 due to the layout when I read on my phone.
Thanks
*~Phoebee~*