Hi guys! I know I'm one day late and I'm sorry about that, though this chapter is a little bit longer, so enjoy the story!

Disclaimer:

Henry: Hi guys! I'm Henry and I'm the person they nominated for the disclaimer, so here it is... Batfan3 does not own any Once Upon a Time characters except Ven. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Familiarity

Darkness entrenched everything in an unbreakable wall, no light broke through. Nothing. Voices echoed around the abyss. Images flashed.

People. The pendant. An island, a price a heart demons magic life death…him…voices…

"There is always a price to magic…"

"…You're good you know, at the game…"

"…we're both kept captive on this island by a demon…"

"Choose."

"VEN!"

"Choose!"

"PETER!"

"CHOOSE!"

"NO!" Her eyes snapped open as the cry tore itself from her throat. Ven blinked her mismatched eyes at the ceiling of her cave. She was shaking, chills traveled down her spine as she remembered the images.

Dreams. Windows to the soul. Hints at the future. Flashes of the past.

She opened her palm and her pendant rose before her eyes.

"Who am I?" she whispered. "Why am I here?" The image of the black haired woman flashed through her mind. "How?"

She closed her eyes.

"Hush my child…the sun sets in the west and the twinkle of the stars appear…this world deserves not your light my precious one…but into this world you were born…do not be afraid I am here…

The words echoed in her head as a cold tear slipped form the corner of her eye and trailed down her face.

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered. "Someone help me…someone please…please help me…"

He walked through the cave as calmly as he could. He'd grown to hate the place with every fiber of his being. The source of his demise. Skull Rock. Home of the demon. But he was here because he had sensed her. Mim.

"Peter Pan!"

He faced the hag. "Madam."

She examined him closely. "What do you want?"

"Knowledge," he replied.

"Of what?"

He held up Ven's pendant. "This. I want to know what it is. It's powerful. I can sense it, Ven doesn't know it but I do. It holds power greater than any mere mortal should possess."

"And you want that power?" Mim asked with an expectant cackle.

He shook his head. "No. It belongs to Ven. I just want to know what it does."

She stared at him in rare surprise. "Hmmm. You've changed…very well. But what do I get in return?"

He tensed, having known this was coming. He pulled a small box from thin air and handed it to her. She opened it and giggled.

"Ah! The wing remnant of a fallen pixie! It must be my birthday!" Tinkerbell would never know, after all, it wasn't as though she could use them anymore.

"The pendant Mim."

"Yeah yeah yeah." She hopped up. "Now listen closely…"

"Ven."

The voice was soft and gentle. A tone not often used by Peter. She opened her eyes to his beautiful green ones.

"Peter."

He dropped her pendant in her hand and her eyes widened fractionally. She hadn't even realized it was gone. How…? What was she thinking, this was Peter. Sometimes she wondered if he could indeed do anything. Of course she knew he couldn't do anything, if he could he wouldn't even be on Neverland.

He reached down and took her hand, threading his fingers through hers. Then he raised her hand, then paused. He raised his eyes.

"I know," he murmured.

She stared, a shiver suddenly running down her spine. "You know? Know what?"

"What the pendant is."

She gave an involuntary gasp and she grabbed his hands tightly. "Tell me!"

"Are you sure?" His eyes held a sudden earnestness she had never seen before. "You have to be absolutely positive, you may not like it."

She nodded firmly. "Yes. I'm sure. Tell me, I have to know."

He nodded. "Very well…"

Regina could feel it. The final battle was approaching. They would raid Pan's camp the following day and get Henry back. The night was cold and dark as she walked through the forest, seeking solace from the overbearing company of the other group. But try as she might to clear her thoughts she couldn't. Why? Oh right, the girl. Ven.

Why was she familiar? What was she talking about? Could Regina possibly be…her mother?

Memories came flooding back. Memories of Daniel, that passionate night so many years ago. His death, her mother…the child. The precious child with long black tresses and beautiful blue and brown eyes. The child that died before she could even taste life.

It was impossible.

Regina started as a sudden wail drifted on the wind.

"You can hear them," a voice murmured. "The cries."

She spun around to face the speaker. Speak of the devil.

"Ven," she breathed.

The girl, the exact replica of her dead child, met her eyes steadily. "Those are the cries of the lost. The cries of children who feel abandoned by their family. Everyone on this island is lost. The boys…Peter…me…you…"

"I am not lost," she replied. "M-"

Ven laughed. "Oh don't deny it. You lie and lie and lie and lie!" Her voice had risen. "Just admit it! I know you, the daughter of Cora, the same Cora that crossed the Dark One and lived, the same Cora that killed for power, the same Cora that ruined her own daughter because of her selfishness. You're just like her! You're selfish and fueled by vengeance. You killed your father for vengeance and now? Now you're helping the ones you want to kill! You are pathetic!"

"And you're delusional, what you're saying is impossible-"

"No it isn't!" Ven interrupted. "Magic storms create tears. You know this. The pendant is testimony of that. I know that you know that. It is possible!"

"It's a million to one," she scoffed. "Besides I would know. My child died. She was killed by my mother and she isn't coming back! And now my boy is going to die too and I can't take that!" she exclaimed.

"She died?!" Ven exploded. "You believe that? Just admit it to yourself! It's right in front of you!"

"What do you want?" she snapped. "Admission? Retribution?"

"I want the truth!" Ven shouted.

"The truth about what? I already told you it's impossible-"

"No it isn't! Rumplestiltskin Ursula Maleficent Zelena Cruella I have seen them all! I see them from the outside of time. Their search, their need to change the past. But they can't! They don't know. But we do. Your mother did too. This pendant? Formed in the heart of the most powerful magic storm, lost in the pits of Ra'dar and found by Cora. The central point, the lure, the pendant that is filled with power of a magic storm! She didn't die, she was swept up by the storm because of this pendant. I know. I know this!"

"Then what do you want?!" Regina snapped. "If you already know then what do you want from me?"

"I want you to admit it!" she shouted. "Don't disown me! Don't forget me! You owe me that much! Tell me the truth! Who am I? Who is my father? You know don't you? So tell me! TELL ME!"

"YES!" Regina shouted. Something in Ven's eyes seemed to break. "Yes. I am your mother. I've known, maybe since we first met. I don't know how but it is true."

They stared at each other in silence. Then...

"Then why? Why in God's name did you let. Me. Go…?" Those words, that question…how could she answer? She couldn't. She couldn't even speak.

Light shone through the trees. The sun was rising. As she stood in heartbroken silence Ven slowly backed into the forest. Her mismatched eyes, her oh-so familiar and beloved eyes, became dull and expressionless and she raised her chin, looking Regina in the eye.

"The final battle is approaching…and someone is going to die…"

Henry snuck through the silent camp, stepping over the leg of a haphazardly sleeping lost boy and slipping away into the darkness. That evening he'd found a tiny knife, he was pretty sure it was flint, beside him and had used it to cut free of the ropes after the lost boy guarding him had gone to sleep.

The forest was quiet, only the whisper of the wind flitting through the tall trees could be heard. There was no moon that night, just dim stars that didn't even break through the tree canopy. He tried to be as quiet as he could, walking slowly and carefully when a voice suddenly murmured in his ear.

"You're going the wrong way."

He jumped and clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent the shout that rose up in his throat. He spun around in surprise to see none other than Ven the illusion witch before him.

"What do you want?" he hissed.

She raised an eyebrow. "Not you dead. Which is what you'll be if you continue walking this way. You'll walk straight off a cliff."

"What's it to you?" he growled.

She gave a low chuckle. "You are no good to anyone dead my dear boy. Especially me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. There was something in her voice that made him hesitate, as if she knew something he didn't.

"I mean, you and I are literally cut from the same cloth," she replied.

"I am nothing like you," he practically shouted.

"No, I said literally dear boy. We're literally linked through magic. We share the same heart." He stared at her in shock, thinking 'she must be messing with me'. But she just smirked. "Surprised? Well it's true. We both have parts of magic that is almost impossible to gain, you the son of the lines of the darkest evil and the most pure light, and me, the daughter of darkness that was transported through light and time itself. Honestly it makes much more sense now than it used to," she said, her voice dropping to a barely discernible murmur.

"You're lying," he said. "You're lying just like everyone else."

Ven looked at him and he found that he couldn't look away, her mismatched eyes were mesmerizing and seemed to stare straight through him, he couldn't even blink. "I never have and I never will lie to you Henry. I can promise you that."

"Why can't you people just let me go," he said desperately.

Ven's enrapturing eyes turned away, thankfully. "It'll be over soon boy, don't worry. And hopefully, well, if all goes well, you shan't come out any worse for ware. No, if all goes well you might even live. Me on the other hand…will I be dead?"

Dead? What's she talking about? She's with Pan right? Right?

"What do you mean dead?" he asked.

She blinked and looked at him. "Oh nothing. I believe you and Pan have some things to talk about though so back to the camp with you."

The surroundings shimmered and he was back in the camp, surrounded by sleeping lost boys as the son slowly rose above the tree. When he approached the edge of the camp he couldn't seem to get past the edge, Ven must've erected a magic barrier or something. The girl herself was nowhere in sight but her words didn't leave him and one thing was for sure.

At the rise of the sun, someone was going to die.

And there we have the end of the fifth chapter! I know this book seems super short but there will be at least seven more chapters. At least. So stick around and stay tuned! Chapter 6 coming next week with more looks into Ven and Peter's past!

Batfan out.