Author's Note:

Thank you so much to sarah0406, Hildebrant, Dreamer-Girl96, and MusicLover500 for your reviews! It makes me so happy to know you all like the story. And I'm creeping myself out with it too lol! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again for reading!

~ladykikyo1792

It had been four days since Wendy Darling received a message in her pretty new diary. In those four days, she had spent most of her time playing pretend- pretending it never happened, and praying it would go away.

After all, Peter Pan had never called her "Angel." To him, she had always been "Wendy-bird-" his way of mocking her original, graceless entrance into Neverland. If he were to write her a message, even from beyond the grave, wouldn't it be addressed that way? To "Wendy-bird?" Or even "Bird?" Certainly not to "Angel."

Besides, she'd never opened that diary before. That message could have been written ages ago. Maybe Dr. Hopper hadn't even known it was there. And she didn't know where he'd gotten the diary- it could have come from Mr. Gold's shop, for all she knew, and Dr. Hopper had simply thought it was pretty and appropriate for his choice of therapy. It was certainly possible someone had opened it before and written that message.

Or so she told herself.

The messages written in blood, though, had frightened her. She was grateful that the one in the diary was ink. Still, it didn't change the fact that the messages in the murders and the message in her diary were both addressed to "Angel." And if she was Angel, what did that mean? Who was writing to her? What did they want?

Though, she reasoned, it might have been Felix. Felix would have thought it appropriate to punish traitors of Pan, and so it was plausible he murdered the twins. It was also plausible this was Felix's way of trying to punish her, for she had been the greatest betrayer of Pan. Killing her, therefore, would not be a good punishment. She deserved far worse. Since Felix knew Peter terrified her more than anyone, what better way to torment her than make her think he had returned? She would live in fear of that for the rest of her days, and suffer eternal guilt from the boys' deaths (though interestingly enough, no one else had died since Felix had been put in jail).

Still, it seemed too clever for Felix.

But not for Pan.

Emma hadn't believed Wendy that Felix was innocent- well, at least innocent for those particular murders. Regina clearly thought she was somehow responsible. She couldn't go to either of them for help, which left her with three options:

1. Hook, which was an idea she discarded immediately. While he clearly was thinking along the same lines as her, he was in love with Emma and very loyal to her. Wendy didn't trust him.
2. The remaining Lost Boys. They'd believe her, certainly. They'd probably started thinking the same thing themselves. However, some of them had to be in on the plot. They had to know the truth, and it wasn't like they would tell her. Furthermore, if Peter truly was back, they wouldn't dare help her for fear of angering him (though, she reasoned, they wouldn't hurt her either).
3. Tinkerbell.

So it was that she found herself on the fairy's doorstep after school, hand poised above the knocker. She wasn't exactly sure what reception she would get. Tinkerbell and Wendy weren't friends. They hadn't been friends- ever. Nevertheless, she was the only person Wendy had in Storybrooke- or at least the only one who she could trust. Gathering her courage, she grasped the knocker, then banged it on the door twice. The echo seemed unbearably loud.

Within moments, the fairy, who sported a green sweater dress, appeared at the door. When she saw it was Wendy, her face fell. Wordlessly, she waved her inside. She guided Wendy to the couch in her living room, then grabbed what she initially thought was a pot of tea. To her surprise, the fairy filled two teacups with whiskey. The girl raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask about its origin, Tinkerbell said:

"I was wondering when I would see you." Even though the teacup only contained whiskey, she stirred it anyway, avoiding Wendy's eyes.

"What gave it away?" Wendy replied morbidly. She settled back into the couch, clutching a pillow to her chest. She needed comfort from something.

"Well," Tink said darkly, "two Neverlanders killed in a gruesome manner practiced only by Pan, and another arrested for the killings, but entirely unconcerned about the situation. I expected you to visit." A question hung unspoken at the end of that sentence: Why else would you be here?

Wendy sighed, deciding it was better to get the topic out in the open, "There's more than just murder going on here, Tink. There've been messages-"

"I know," Tink pushed a worn copy of the Storybrooke Mirror towards her. It was obvious she had read the headlines detailing both killings multiple times. The newspaper was badly wrinkled, and the ink had even streaked a bit. The black letters looked as if they were bleeding.

"No," Wendy gulped, "More than that." This time, Tink raised an eyebrow. Wendy silently pulled the pink diary from her backpack and handed it to the fairy. Cautiously, Tink opened it, as if expecting something to jump out at her.

"'Hello, Angel,'" she read aloud. Then she stared at Wendy, her tone simultaneously full of pity and fear:

"The messages were for you." It sounded like a death sentence.

"I think so," Wendy admitted.

"From him," Tink verified, refusing to speak the name.

"I think so," the girl repeated and looked away, unable to meet her hostess' gaze.

"But he's dead," the fairy protested. Wendy couldn't tell if Tink was trying to argue with Wendy's assertion Peter was alive, or convince herself that he was dead.

Wendy swallowed, "I thought so. Everyone believed he was dead, Tink, but why did we believe it? Because we saw him die? You and I have seen Peter do many impossible things. That's not proof of anything- not with him." Frustrated, she replaced the pillow back in its original position on the couch.

Tink sighed, "The Charmings believed it because it was an easy thing to believe. With Pan gone, Henry was safe. They could all return home. For us," she trailed off, deep in thought, "perhaps we believed it because it would give us our freedom. Finally." She picked up her teacup and took a long sip.

Wendy paused, her curiosity getting the better of her, "Tink, what happened? With you and Pan? When I first came to Neverland, you were in his circle. Not part of the Lost Boys, of course," she amended, "but a part of the camp. He trusted you. Then, when I came back- well, you weren't." She supposed that was the politest way to phrase it.

Tink smiled sadly, "I got too close." She took another sip from her teacup, and looked out the window. It was clear that she wasn't observing her garden, but rather remembering another time in another world.

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked, utterly confused.

"How old do you think the Lost Boys are, Wendy? When they first came to Neverland, before they were frozen at their ages?" Tink inquired.

"Well...the littlest would be six, I think. The oldest seventeen."

"Remember then, that they were frozen. Physically, they stayed that age. Mentally, though...they grew. Even Peter himself grew, though he wouldn't say it, and wouldn't allow any of them to, either. Now, how old do you think I am?" at Wendy's puzzled look, Tink added, "If I were physically a human."

"Nineteen?" Wendy hazarded, "Twenty, at most. But you're a fairy, Tink! You're so much older than that!" She truly didn't understand where Tink was going with this.

"So are the Lost Boys," Tink shrugged, "but Pan wants the Lost Boys to be entirely devoted to him. He began to suspect one of them wasn't." The fairy stared at Wendy for a long time, waiting for her to grasp her meaning.

At last, Wendy said, "He thought one of them liked you?" her jaw dropped, "You can't be serious." She couldn't picture any of the Lost Boys she knew having romantic feelings for anyone, never mind a fairy.

Tink, a bit offended, replied, "One of them did like me, Wendy, and I liked him back. Very much," her tone grew sad, "In fact, I loved him. Pan knew that, and he also knew that over time, that boy would grow to love me. Since Pan wants the boys to put him above all else, he couldn't keep me around. So one day he kicked me out of camp, and gave me this agreement: if I stayed away from them, he would let me live. No one on Neverland would harm me, and I wouldn't starve to death. I would always be able to provide for myself. That's why I was exiled, and not killed. I had always played by his rules, so by his own laws, he couldn't kill me," she shook her head, "Though the Twins did break the rules, and now they're dead."

"Do you think he'll kill all of them?" Wendy said softly, "All the boys?" She couldn't imagine that much blood on one person's hands, even Peter's. Especially when they were boys he had considered his family for years.

"No," Tink shook her head, "Only those that willingly betrayed him. There were plenty who stayed loyal, and were forced to come here by the Charmings. They will live, and be rewarded, I bet." She shrugged.

"What about me?" Wendy said, finally addressing the real reason she'd visited. She had known Tink would believe her, so she hadn't needed to check that. And she was well-aware that if Peter was back, and decided to kill the boys, there was no way to stop him. But what would he do to her, the greatest of traitors?

"I don't know," the fairy replied, "You're a special case. If you think about the messages, though..." she picked up the newspaper, then scanned the article, "It says 'The devil will come for his Angel.' It's pretty clear to me that he hasn't forgotten what you did. The second part's more complicated," she bit her lip, "'The Angel thinks she won't fall, but she always falls in the end.'"

The two sat in thought for several minutes. If the messages were from Peter, then the messages wouldn't be simple and straightforward. They would be a riddle, because he thought of everything- even murder -as a game.

"It's a code of some kind," Tink said, "I just don't know for what. This isn't something he would use. It's not like he's religious!" She snorted at the very idea. Peter Pan? The Boy Who Never Grew Up? Ludicrous. He'd defied nature. The last thing he would do was worship something that supposedly created nature. Since Peter had defeated nature, he would consider himself supreme, not a god. Aside from that, Peter never thought there was anyone better than him.

Still, Tink's exclamation gave Wendy an idea. They had just finished reading "Dante's Inferno" several weeks before. In general, her class had hated it, and she hated it even more now that she realized the significance of Peter's words.

"It's a play on words. Fallen angels are angels who serve the devil," Wendy said, "They live in hell. Neverland isn't paradise for anyone but him, so it's hell."

"Wendy," Tink said nervously, "You've been to Neverland twice, and you've left twice?"

"Yes."

"Then you've 'fallen' into hell twice. You've escaped twice. 'She always falls in the end...'" The fairy was starting to look sick.

"He's saying no matter how many times I escape, I'll always go back there," Wendy said miserably. She put her head in her hands. She'd only been away from Neverland for three months. While it was true she didn't quite fit in here yet, she had learned the other day that she could. If she tried to be Gwen, and let go of Neverland, then it was possible for her to have a home here.

"Wendy," Tink whispered, horrified, "It's not just that. He is coming for you. But with this," she pointed to the diary, "He's telling you he's already here."

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! :)

~ladykikyo1792