Rumplestiltskin sat on a boulder, hands raised at shoulders' width apart, trying to see through a veil into his future. He needed to know if Pan would be defeated and if he had to die to ensure that. He grunted and sighed, trying to infuse all his magic to make it work. It wasn't working.
"You can't see the future here." Reyna spoke, stepping out of the forest and walking towards the Dark One. Startled, Rumple slid from the rock, hands raised at ready. Raising an eyebrow at his jumpy behavior, she continued, taking a seat next to the fire at the center. "It's impossible to see the future in a place where time stands still," her tone suggested she was speaking to an incompetent child.
"I may not see the future here, but I can make one happen." Rumple recognized the girl, though he had never actually seen her, she looked much like her brother. His eyes darted around, knowing that she wouldn't be here alone without some sort of defense.
She smiled maliciously. "Was that a threat?" Chuckling, she gestured beside her. "Peter told me your favorite breakfast. And what kind of hostess would I be if I didn't cook for my guests, hmm?" Rumple turned to where she pointed, surprised to see a pan, that hadn't been there a moment ago. "Eggs in a basket, right? I used to make them for my brother once upon a time; hopefully they're up to your standards as well."
He glared at the girl who simply sat, at ease next to the most powerful sorcerer. "Peter was worried. I suggested I bring you a gift, you looked a little, how did he phrase it? Down in the dumps, I think."
"I'm fine," he replied much too quickly.
"Sure you are Rumple. You don't mind if I call you Rumple, right?" she didn't wait for him to answer (the answer was going to be yes, he did mind). "You've lost your son, Neal, again. And Henry is, well, unobtainable because then you'd have to go through Peter." She reached out, picking up a corn husk doll that lay next to the fire, fixing the blue jacket on it, smiling viciously the whole time. "And we both know that you can't."
Standing, snatching a biscuit from the pan, she stepped towards the Dark One, making him stumble backwards to get away. She wanted to laugh, he was scared of her.
"Peter said you liked the yoke runny, is it still true?"
"What does Pan want?"
The girl rolled her eyes. "Well, if you won't eat, I will. I'm starved, had a long night last night," she stated suggestively, making Rumple cringe. At this she smirked, enjoying his squirming. Taking a bite of the biscuit, she gave an exaggerated moan, before she began to walk around the fire. "I'm just trying to point out," she paused to swallow, allowing her to speak more clearly, "the silver lining in your cloudy life."
"That by killing Pan, all our troubles end?" His answer had her laughing as she set her half eaten breakfast back on the pan. "We both know that's not going to happen. Because the only way to do that is for you to die too. You can go. Leave the island." It wasn't completely true, Peter wasn't about to give him permission.
"And abandon my son? And Henry? I don't think so."
She shrugged. "You've done it once before. Even if you did save them, which you won't, do you honestly believe they could ever forgive you for the horrible things you've done?"
"You don't know that," he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
"Don't I? I know I haven't forgiven my brother. Have you forgiven yours?" While Rumple hadn't made the connection between Hook and Reyna, he did know that he would never forgive his own brother. When he remained speechless, she decided to continue.
"You see my point. Back to that silver lining I mentioned. You have a nice girl, Belle is it? Waiting for you back in Storybrooke. Stop this foolishness, go back to her, make a new start. She looks fertile, maybe a new child? We all know that that is the only future for you, one where you live at least." She stared into his eyes, his looking more and more afraid. "From my understanding, you were always a coward. Do the smart thing, Rumple."
She tossed the doll that she was still holding to him; he hurriedly caught it, clutching it with worry on his face. She smirked, turning away. "Enjoy the eggs."
With that she walked back into the forest, heading to the camp once more.
Holding Wendy hostage had turned out to be a great strategic move. It was after a few days of her being missing that two more kids were carried in by the shadow. The Darling brothers, Michael and John, had come to Neverland to save their older sister. Pan had sent Felix to lead them back to camp after he was sure that Reyna was gone.
He wasn't ready for her to see his darkest side. While he wasn't sure how she felt after the whole kiss, he would be sure that no one else, man, woman, girl, or boy, had her or drove her away from him (he was doing a pretty good job himself).
The blond male, whose face was in the process of scarring– Pan always got a form of sick satisfaction every time he saw the injured boy– came into the clearing, stoic as ever, behind two young boys, one about five, the other eight. "Pan, these are the Darlings," Felix informed him needlessly. Pan smirked, spinning around to face the boys who looked awestruck. "You're Peter Pan!" the younger of the two exclaimed.
Pan, not surprised by the lack of attention to the matter at hand, smirked as he looked down. "Yes, I am. And you are?"
"I'm Michael! And this is my brother, John! I'm your biggest fan!" Pan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "Well, I'm honoured, I didn't even know I had a fan base." He did know, after all, him and Reyna had established that he was famous during their first meeting. He shook his head, it would do him no good to have his mind cluttered with thoughts of her.
"The boys and I were just about to start our celebration, as guests, you two are welcome to join us. The more the merrier."
John looked unsure, but Michael beat him to the answer. "Yes! I want to be a Lost Boy!"
It had taken about a whole month (time was iffy at best– considering it didn't exist– on Neverland) and a lot of convincing from John for the two brothers to finally realize that Wendy had been taken by Pan. Michael, who didn't want to believe that Pan was some kind of monster, saw evidence that night when John convinced him to sneak out when Pan left camp, leading them straight to where there was a cage with one Miss Wendy Darling. Michael had been heartbroken, his hero was a villain, but his sister took first priority.
Pan of course knew that the two were following him, but he needed the advantage of having the boys under his control. It had been easy enough, Felix holding Wendy tightly, poison arrow positioned at her throat, tears streaming down her face. Begging and pleading for her life, her brothers were extremely agreeably to do Pan's bidding. He smirked as he watched them fly off on his shadow; Wendy was left high in the trees in her cage, needing the insurance she offered.
He set off, heading towards the clearing, enjoying the feeling of being closer to Reyna, especially in this time that she didn't want to be around him. He had been going there for another month after the Darling affair when things started to look up for him.
Snow had dropped the ball. They had agreed, or so Hook thought, not to tell Emma until they were sure of Neal being alive. It seemed the princess could not keep a secret (surprise, surprise).
"This is ridiculous," Regina said, becoming fed up with letting the heroes boss her around, "he's toying with us, just like that useless map."
"No, I don't think so, look over here," Snow stated, gesturing to edge of camp where a plant lay crushed, "there are definite signs of struggle."
Emma, looking unconvinced and fearful of the truth, said, "And that automatically means Neal?"
"Are you really going to fall for this?" Regina inquired incredulously. Emma looked confused, as though she was a child who needed her hand held in a large crowd. Hope was in her eyes, Neal might be alive. Regina turned, having a battle with Mary-Margaret with her eyes. She shook her head.
"Fine, you want to follow the evil munchkin's," Pan is taller that Regina, "dirt road, be my guest." She turned to storm past the savior, who stepped into her path.
"Where are you going?"
"To save our son! You may be willing to risk Henry's life, but I am not. I am done with waiting around." She gave Emma a look, challenging her to stop her. When Emma made no move, she turned, walking past Charming and Hook towards the trees.
"Wait!" Emma called. Turning to address Mary-Margaret, she said, "She might be right, Pan could be lying."
Regina waited at the end of the clearing, impatient but willing to stay if Emma saw things her way.
"Don't give up. You owe this to Henry, and more importantly, you owe this to yourself."
Regina rolled her eyes at the encouraging words from Snow, on patience's edge, just about to leave. Then Emma shook her head. This surprised the whole crew.
"We can't make unnecessary detours; we came here to get Henry back, to get my son and your grandson back. And goddammit, we are going to do just that. I saw Neal die, and I'm not wasting any more time on him, because if I do, I will just waste away."
While Regina looked both smug and impressed after the savior's impromptu speech, Snow looked disappointed, Hook looked– though he would deny it– relieved, and Charming looked both proud and sad. It seemed it wasn't meant to be.
Snow wasn't deterred, bringing up a point that Emma had overlooked. "Neal got off the island. He knows the way off, if we find him, Tink will help us, we can get Henry back and get off the island. You have to trust me."
Emma looked conflicted, her eyes darting pleadingly to Regina who looked angry. "She has a point," she said quietly.
Regina didn't even answer, her face annoyed, as she turned and stormed off, leaving the Charmings and Hook to their own devices, she needed to make progress, and she would go to the one person she could trust to do so. Rumplestiltskin.
"Regina! Wait!" Emma called in one last desperate attempt to stop the Evil Queen. It was too late. She sighed turning towards her parents, and Hook, her face hard. "Let's go see if we can find Neal."
He had been under the large tree that held so many memories for him, when he heard a sob behind him. He spun to see Reyna standing at the edge of the trees, tears leaving streaks on her pale cheeks, arms wrapped tightly around her torso, her hair a mess as though she had been tugging at it, a nervous habit he often observed her engaging in. He stared at her, not completely sure how to act, wondering why she was crying, wanting to eradicate any source that was causing her distress.
"Baelfire and I got into a fight," she cried dejectedly.
He walked forward slowly, uncertain on how to comfort her, when she threw her arms around him, clutching at him tightly and sobbing into his chest. Awkwardly, he brought his arms up, holding her lightly, uncomfortably patting the back of her head. "What did I do wrong, Pan?"
It was the brokenness in her voice that made him tighten his arms around her, burying his face into her hair, his hand gently cradling the back of her head, nuzzling her sweet-scented hair lovingly. "Nothing, love, it isn't your fault. If he can't comprehend what he had, it is his loss. Don't ever think otherwise." He hated Baelfire in that moment, how could someone let go of her, hurt her so?
He almost said it, right then in there, so caught up in consoling her. He almost said three words that would altered their path entirely. He almost said, "I love you." And as if she wouldn't have said it back in a heartbeat. "I love you too."
The search party stood in the Echo Caves, wondering how revealing their darkest secrets could possibly help them get Neal in the middle of the cavern, nearly 50 feet away.
Hook, not really wanting to be there, rubbed the side of his nose as he spoke. "Guess there is only one way to find out." He sighed, not looking forward to this. "I kissed Emma," he confessed. David stepped forward, a sudden wave of protectiveness overtaking him. "You did what?" "David, not now," Snow said, putting a hand against his chest.
"I already told Mary-Margaret, so it isn't really a secret. But, how's that your darkest secret?"
"It was what the kiss exposed. My secret is, I never thought I would be capable of letting go of my first love, my Milah, that is until I met you." When nothing happened, they all looked at Hook who sighed. He had hoped that would be enough. "After the kiss, it was not Pan who told me of Neal's status. A girl, one I treated terribly in a past life, told me. I regret everything that I had done to her, and only wish for a fresh start. The kiss showed me that I was capable of such a change. I only wish that in the future I will be enough for you, Swan, and for the girl I let down. The girl I abandoned and left with that bloody demon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole cave shook, nearly throwing the four off balance as a large chunk of rock jutted out of the small cliff, forming a third of a bridge towards the platform at the center.
David, nodding uncomfortably, started, "Um. Mary-Margaret, I-"
"No, mine next." Taking a deep breath, she revealed her deepest secret. "Ever since the curse broke, in all the happiness of it, there has been something I have been having trouble admitting. Our daughter, whom I love very much, is all grown up. And while I pretend I'm okay with that, I'm not. We were cheated out of everything. What I'm saying is, when we get off this island, I want another go at it. I want to have another baby." Just like after Hook's monologue, the ground shook as another third was constructed.
David, nearly in tears, began his speech. "Nothing in this world would make me happier, and I know, with all my heart, that you would make the most magnificent mother. But it can never happen, at least not with me." Snow's face fell, confusion the main emotion on her face, followed by hurt. He looked down, not wanting to see her expression when she knew the truth. "When Hook and I went to get the sextant, he was really taking me to find a cure. A cure for Dreamshade. I wasn't fast enough to dodge the arrow. The cure, it came with a price. I can't leave Neverland. If I do, I'll die."
Snow gave the most heartbroken expression before her face was wiped clean of emotion, just as the gap between Neal and the rest was bridged. Emma ran across, beginning to hack at the cage with her sword.
"Emma! You know that's not how this works. It's okay, you can tell me anything."
Emma crouched, tears in her eyes, as she spoke quietly, looking through a hole in the cage, straight into Neal's eyes. "I love you. I probably always will. But my secret is that I was hoping this was a trick. I was hoping you were dead. It would have made it so much easier. To just put you behind me, not face all the pain you put me through all over again."
The front of the cage disappeared. Emma and Neal were united once more. Now to get their son back.
Timing was a very important thing, something many people got wrong. Even in a place where time stood still, time played a huge role, if even more critical than in other realms. Considering everything had to be set up on a scale that matched others just right, timing was even more difficult for those on Neverland. And Peter Pan was no exception.
He couldn't count how many times he had nearly screwed up on the timing of things, but what was even more peculiar was the way the Fates' hands were making everything work out.
It was long before Pan met his Lost Girl.
"The shadow has returned with what you sent it for," Felix informed him. He looked up, smirking and getting to his feet,
"Is it where I asked it to be?"
"Of course, right in the cage where it belongs."
"Good, let's go talk to our guest."
The red head girl sat in the cage, an odd scar across her face, eye sewn shut. She heard the sound of footsteps, holding up her hands, revealing the crystal blue eyes imbedded in her palms. "Peter Pan."
"The one and only," he smirked, staring at the seer.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked in her dreamy high toned voice.
"Well you can give me my future and the way to avoid my 'problem'. In return you'll get to keep your life," he informed her bluntly. She nodded, knowing that he wasn't joking. "I cannot tell you the answer to removing your curse."
Pan's face got serious then, a warning for the seer. "But, I can show, if you would allow me parchment and some form of writing utensil."
"Felix," Pan said, telling the boy to get what was asked for. When she received the tools, she made quick work of drawing something before offering it to Pan. When he took it, he saw a picture of a young boy, perhaps twelve years of age. "A boy?"
"The Truest Believer. Your condition requires his heart, willingly given."
"And my future," Pan said skeptically, "will I succeed?"
The girl didn't speak for several minutes. "The future is always changing, so many variables to be taken into account. The choices you make in upcoming years will ultimately decide the result of what you seek."
"That doesn't answer my question!" Pan snapped angrily.
Unperturbed by his anger, the girl continued. "To accomplish your task, you will have to be aligned with a powerful force that will come to Neverland. You will have to change your ways, prove yourself. The weapon necessary to cure yourself is the one thing man wastes away searching for, but most never find. You will face many hardships and obstacles, and when all seems lost, you will realize all that you had and all that you need. If you wish to achieve your goal of immortality, you will first have to lose what you care about most in an unconventional way, only then may you get what you seek."
Peter sat dumbfounded for several moments, trying to analyze exactly what the seer meant. He was coming back inconclusive. Angry at not getting a straight answer, he stood up from his kneeled position, giving a "Enjoy your cage, you might be there for awhile," before stalking off, giving orders to Felix to raise the cage.
"Remember Peter Pan, our futures are not always what we think they will be."