Chapter Four

"It was torture, seeing her like that, but you were the one who broke her." (Pan)

"How was I suppose to know?" (Neal)

"You shouldn't have followed her that night." (Pan)

As the first full moon came back, Vissa and Pan were becoming calmer and nicer with each passing day. When the full moon was high in the sky, Vissa and her mermaids were already at shore with the lost boys and Pan.

Baelfire was curious as to why Vissa hadn't visited him that day. He followed one of the mermaids to shore. He was surprised to find Vissa voluntarily walking side by side with Pan.

"I missed you." Pan said kissing Vissa's forehead. They were laying on the sand floor as the lost boys and mermaids danced around the fire in front of them.

"Me too." she said snuggling closer to his embrace, entwining their fingers together. "The months are getting longer."

Pan just smiled. He knew the truth in her words even if she didn't, each full moon came later than the last.

"My Queen," one of the mermaids addressed Vissa. "May we be excused to the woods?"

"Can you assure me their safety?" Vissa asked Pan out of custom rather than concern.

"Of course. Felix!" Pan called over his right hand man. "Make sure all the mermaids make it back before sunrise."

"Certainly." Felix said. Soon the mermaids and lost boys had made their way to the woods and left their leaders to entertain themselves.

When Baelfire saw the mermaids and the lost boys leaving the campfire, he took the opportunity to see what was going on with Pan and Vissa. What he saw, shocked him in more ways than one. He stormed in, sword drawn as he encountered the two enemies embracing in a loving gesture.

"Vissa?" he asked confused at the scene in front of him.

Pan stiffened when he saw Baelfire, afraid of what would happen to Vissa. "What are you doing here, Baelfire?" Pan asked.

"Do you know this boy, Pan?" Vissa asked, without a clue as to whom the boy in front of her was.

"Vissa, it's me. Baelfire." Baelfire said, confused.

Vissa give him a puzzled look, then turned to Pan. "Should I know that name?" she asked him.

Pan laughed joyously. "He is merely one of my lost boys." he lied to her, hugging her closer. "He seems to have developed quite a liking to you."

"Well, that is normal." she told Pan with a flirtatious smile, as they both chuckled together. But something was off, not that either boy would notice.

"What is this?" Baelfire asked angry and confused. "Is this one of your tricks Pan? Did you do this to her?"

"Why would Pan do anything to me?" Vissa asked, snuggling closer to Pan. "He loves me."

"Loves you?" Baelfire asked laughing, like it was a type of sick joke. "He tried to kill you."

"What?!" Pan asked with fake outrage. "I would never do anything like that to her."

A flash of anger went through Vissa, but she didn't let it show for long as she faked her outrage too. "He would never!" she said.

Baelfire crouched down at the "happy" couple. "Well, he did." he said with an unamused smile. "And then I had to save you. Remember? The pirates."

"Now I know you're delusional." Vissa said. "There are no pirates in Neverland. I would know."

"Yes, I apologize for him." Pan said addressing Vissa. "You know how some boys never adjust well in Neverland. They think that every dream that they had is true."

"What?" Baelfire said defensive. "I'm not crazy! If anything, you both are. Pretending that you love each other, while when the morning come you will be at each other's throats."

"He is definitely delusional." Vissa joked with Pan.

"Yes." Pan said laughing. "But at least he tells good stories."

"At least he's not useless." she told him.

Baelfire didn't understand what he was seeing right in front of him. Two bitter enemies, joking and flirting with each other.

"This is sick." Baelfire told them, drawing them out of their conversation. "I have had enough with magic. I thought that mermaids could be an exception but they are just like everything else."

Though Baelfire didn't see it, Vissa had taken quite the offence of his words. But she knew she couldn't do anything now. She would just have to exact her revenge later on, when they weren't expecting it.

"You can't even see that he wants to hurt you. You come when he calls, like a puppy." Baelfire said. "You are just like my father, you are weak."

"Don't speak of her like that!" Pan said angry. Vissa was taken aback. "You don't know anything about the girl you are talking about. She is more than just a mermaid. She is a Queen. In every sense of the word."

"Then you both deserve each other." Baelfire said holstering his sword as he turned away from them.

Vissa and Pan watched as Baelfire walk away from the beach. "Aren't you going after him?" Vissa asked Pan.

Pan sat down next to Vissa. "Not tonight." he said, placing his arm around her. "Tonight is just about me and you."

"Really?" Vissa asked surprised, she had never seen Pan like this.

"Of course." he told her, pulling her face close so their foreheads touched. Vissa smiled, like something she's wanted for so long was finally in her reach. She leaned in to kiss him, he stopped her. "You know we can't." he said, looking away from her.

"What do you mean?" she asked him angrily.

"It's just…" he said pausing, trying to find a good excuse so she wouldn't find out the truth. "We can't."

Vissa stood up, very ticked off, for reasons even she didn't know. Which made it twice over for Pan, who didn't understand what was going on. It was the first full moon, she had never acted this way before.

"Where are you going?" he asked her. "It's not morning yet."

"I have some things I need to do." she said, her voice was cold.

Pan's eyes widened, he tried to run after her but she had already reached the water. The sea was the only place that he could never reach her, so he just watched her as she swam away.

"I remember that mermaid girl." (Hook)

"She had you under her spell." (Pan)

"No kidding, I never saw you coming." (Neal)

"It was a bloody spell!" (Hook)

"I thought Captain Hook would be above that. But you were just a fool, like the rest of us." (Pan)

"Hello, sailor." Vissa told the crewman that was standing watch. One look at her and he was enchanted.

"My Queen." he said bowing to her and kneeling. "How may I be of service?"

"Take me to your captain." she told him.

He helped her to the ship. Vissa was very thankful the first full moon was still high in the sky as she was lead by the crewman to the captain's headquarters.

"Cap'ain." the man said tapping at the door with rapid force. "Cap'ain."

In record time, the captain opened the door looking furious and sleepy. "What do you want, Mister Smee?" he asked.

Vissa pushed the crewman, Mister Smee, out of the way as she took a better look at the captain. "So you are the captain of this ship." she said to herself, pleased with the man in front of her. "You will most certainly do."

"Who are you, girl?" the captain asked, confused. "What are you doing on my ship?"

She smiled, letting herself into his quarters. "So this is what a ship looks like." she said. "Interesting."

"Hello?" the captain asked impatiently. "Who are you? And what are you even doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm a mermaid." she said sitting on his desk, looking at the things around the cabin. "I'm the Queen of the Mermaids, to be precise."

"A young girl like you? The Queen of the Mermaids?" he said unimpressed.

"Yes." she responded absentmindedly. "I've never seen a ship like this, unsunken, I mean."

"Right." he said, not believing a word she said.

A slick smile returned to Vissa's face. "Right, let's get down to business." she said jumping down and coming face to face with the captain. "Do you have a name."

"Hook." he said, backing away from her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Hook? Really?" she asked him, then looked at his hand. "I guess it's a good fit. At least it will make you scarier."

"Scarier?" Hook asked. "Scarier for what?"

Vissa looked down with a smirk, then back at him. Her eyes were misty, and he knelt to her. "My Queen." he said. "What is your command?"

"Bring me Peter Pan and Baelfire." she told him.

"Yes, My Queen." he said.

"Good." she said. "Here is all you need to capture Peter Pan." she handed him a bag.

"And Baelfire?"

"He will be on the other side of the cascade. The map is inside."

"It shall be done by morning break."

"That's ambitious. Are you sure you can deliver?"

"We are pirates, my Lady."

"Good. I hate to be disappointed and I've had enough of it today." she said smiling to herself. "I'll meet you in Skull Island."

"Yes, my Lady." Hook said as she walked off.

"That was the first time we talked." (Neal)

"It was the first time you barely tolerable." (Pan)

"Grandfather of the year, ladies and gentlemen." (Neal)

"At least you learned something that day." (Pan)

The last few hours were a blur to Baelfire. He remembered Pan and Vissa on the beach, he went to collect his belonging in the cascade, and then Hook appeared. Baelfire only saw shadows when he opened his eyes, he had a massive headache.

"You're finally awake." an annoyed voice said. The voiced echoed, like it was coming from all directions.

It took a while, but Baelfire finally recognized the figure in front of him was Peter Pan. "Pan?" he asked, his voice was shaky. "Where are we?"

"Skull Island." Pan said, punching one of the cave wall. "This is all your fault!"

"How is this my fault?" Baelfire asked. "Why are we even in here?"

"Vissa." Pan said ruefully. "This is all because of her. Because you had to follow her on the first night of the full moon. You really don't know anything about mermaids, do you?"

"Then enlighten me." Baelfire said.

Pan sighed. "Might as well." he said sitting down on the floor. "We're going to be here for a while."

"Isn't there a way out?" Baelfire asked. "You are the almighty Peter Pan," he said sarcastically. "Don't you know a way out."

"Good thinking, Baelfire, how come I didn't think of that before." Pan said sarcastically. "You really are a genius."

Baelfire rolled his eyes. "Just get to the point." he said.

"This," Pan said pointing to his wrist. "Is why I can't get out. Not even if I tried."

"What is it?"

"A binding spell. I can't do anything as long as I have this attached to my wrist."

"How did she do it? I didn't think that mermaids had that kind of magic."

"This isn't mermaid magic, you idiot." Pan said rolling eyes and showing Baelfire the bracelet again. "It's Neverland magic. Two people rule Neverland, myself and her. It made of her hair and mine. She's been preparing for this for a long time, and you finally gave her a chance to do it. Congratulations."

"You've never actually explained how I managed to do that." Baelfire said, annoyed.

"That is a long story, kid." Pan said, not wanting to share it.

"Like you said, we're going to be here awhile." Baelfire said.

Pan shook his head. "When we were human," he started. "Before we became the immortal rulers of Neverland, it was only us and this place. I loved her, I still do. And then she died-"

"She died?!" Baelfire asked surprised. "She seems very alive to me."

"Yes, I was getting to that, if you hadn't interrupted me!" Pan said gritting his teeth.

"Sorry, continue." Baelfire said.

"As I was saying," Pan continued, annoyed. "She died, leaving me behind with something I didn't want, not without her. When I got the opportunity to return to Neverland, I took it. Giving up everything so I could have all what I lost."

"What did you lose?" Baelfire asked.

"Everything that mattered." Pan said with a bitter tone. "I made a pact with the Shadow. I would get everything I lost, most importantly, I could have Vissa back." he paused. "But what I traded it in for ran away. A new deal was struck, I could have Vissa back but she would only be herself on the first full moon."

"That's why she didn't remember me." Baelfire said. "It was like we never met."

"Exactly." Pan said. "The Shadow is cruel, each full moon takes longer to arrive than the last. And it will continue until I give the Shadow what it wants."

"What does the Shadow want?" Baelfire asked curious, for some reason he felt that it concerned him.

"I'm not telling you!" Pan said angrily. "I may be sharing this with you, but that doesn't makes us friends."

"I still don't understand how this is my fault." Baelfire said.

"A mermaid is at her strongest in the first night of the full moon, you fool." Pan said. "And you just broke the only salvation Neverland from Vissa taking it over. And what a perfect time you chose!"

"How was it perfect?" Baelfire asked. "She could have snapped anytime."

"Haven't you heard a word I've spoke?!" Pan shouted. "She is powerful, she is ticked off at me more than usual, and there are pirates at the bay! Had she snapped anytime before or after she would still be less bent on revenge than she is now! And you had to poke the bear by telling her she's powerless."

Baelfire looked down, seeing that Pan had a point. "How do we keep her from tearing Neverland apart?" he asked.

"We would have to get out of here first." Pan said looking up at the only exit. "Then we'll trap her at the lagoon."

"How do you know she'll be there?" Baelfire asked.

"Magic shell." Pan said. "She has to come."

"From then on she disappeared." (Pan)

"Not even on the full moons?" (Neal)

"She freed herself, and I never saw her again." (Pan)

"Until now, you mean?" (Gold)

"Yes, and you should all fear her." (Pan)

"Why?" (Hook)

"Because if she crossed over to this world, she is looking for me. And I would hate to think about her plans for your little town." (Pan)