Mr. Gold was in his shop as usual with Belle. He was trying to locate something that he needed for the spell he was trying to create to protect his grandson. He usually kept track of all these things, but for the life of him he couldn't find it.

Belle yawns, "Why couldn't this wait till a decent hour?"

Gold sighs, "I told you not to come with me if you were tired."

Belle smiles lovingly, "I know. I just…I don't like to be alone. I still have nightmares about being locked up."

Gold limps over to her and touches her hair, "I'm sorry, Belle. I wish I had found you sooner. Regina had no right!"

Belle kisses him, "Calm down. It's ok. Regina seems to be better now and at least we are together now. Right?"

He smiles, "Right. I just wish things weren't so complicated. If we were back in the enchanted forest I can find this object with a flick of my wrist."

Before Belle can respond, David and Hook push open the door. Belle sees the panic on their faces, "What? Has something happened?"

David nods, "It appears that Emma is being tormented in her sleep. I don't know why or how."

Gold grimaces, "I don't see how that is my problem. Emma is a big girl. She can handle a couple of bad dreams."

Hook growls, "She is in the hospital because of those bad dreams, Crocodile! You will help her or so hel-"

David puts his hand on Hook's shoulder to hold him back, "What he is trying to say is; everything that happens to her in her dream happens to her in reality as well. And when she wakes up…she can't remember anything. It's like someone is stealing her memories. Please, I will do whatever you want. Just stop this from happening to my daughter."

Belle turns to Gold, "Rumple, please. She is Henry's mother. That makes her part of your family too. No one should suffer this way."

Gold pats her cheek, "You are right, dearie." He looks up at David and Hook, "Lead the way."

Regina sits on her couch sobbing. She knew Emma was right to be angry. She just never thought it would hurt this bad. She had started to think of Emma as family. A sister who happened to share a son with her. As weird as that sounded, she kind of liked it. Now…she didn't know. Graham had been something she had done in the past. Something she couldn't change, no matter how hard she tried.

Her cell rings and she hesitates to answer it. Sighing, she picks it up, "Hello?"

Snow sighs, "Regina. I am so glad you answered. We need you at the hospital. I know what Emma said, but she doesn't remember it or believe it. Something is wrong. I understand that thi-"

Regina cuts her off, "I'm on my way… No matter what Emma said, I owe her that much. We will figure this out."

Snow lets out a relieved laugh, "Thank you."

Regina hangs up the phone and grabs her coat feeling for the vial that was inside. There was no looking back now.

Emma watches as Snow paces back and forth. She didn't understand what was going on and that made her crazier than the constant concerned stares she got from Henry and Neal. What the hell was going on? They kept mentioning dreams, but she didn't remember even having any unusual ones.

Hook and David appear in the doorway along with Gold and Belle. Gold walks over to Emma, "Tell me, dearie, what did you dream of last night?"

Emma sighs, "I don't remember. I think there was a beach and some island music."

Gold smiles, "Ah, someone is replacing your real dreams with fake ones. What is the first thing you remember when you woke up?"

She shrugs, "Everyone staring at me with confusion. Why is any of this important?"

Gold ignores her question and turns to the group, "Call Regina. I may need some assistance. It seems some very powerful magic is at work here."

Neal steps forward, "What will happen if this continues?"

Gold studies his son before answering, "It depends. Since she can be injured in her sleep that must mean that she can also die in her sleep."

There is a collective gasp and he continues, "I am assuming this is the work of Peter Pan. That is what everyone saw in the last dream. He wants something from her. I don't think he is going to kill her."

Snow hangs up the phone and looks at Gold, "Is there anything you can do? Can you make the dreams stop or something?"

Gold shakes his head, "I don't know. I need to see the substance of her dream. See the details. Find the threads that are holding it together."

Henry frowns, "What do you mean?"

Gold smiles down at him, "For the most part, dreams are part of your creation. Every detail in them is something that you create with your mind. The people, the place, the events that happen. That is all of your unconscious choosing. They feel real because you make them real, but usually no real harm can come to you." He turns slightly to look at Emma, "Ms. Swan isn't the one making her dreams. Someone is…let's say, breaking into her head. They are forcing her to see a place and see certain people. So instead of being safe in her mind a part of her being is taken away from her. And that part feels everything scrape and cut. Her dream self feels pain, her real self feels pain. It's a difficult spell to do. Someone very powerful is behind this."

Regina walks in, "We have to get into Emma's head as well. See in full detail the dreams she has been having." She closes her eyes, "And then we have to put her under a sleeping curse."

Snow shakes her head, "No you can't. If someone is in her head while she sleeps then being permanently asleep can give that person time to kill her."

Gold holds his hand up, "Not necessarily. The spell that they put her under keeps her asleep for as long as they want. No one from this place can wake her."

David frowns, "Then what will putting her under the sleeping curse do to help that?"

Regina clears her throat, "Emma will have more control in the dream and we will be able to guide her from here. Plus we can wake her whenever you feel she is in too much danger. It will give us time to find the person who is controlling the dream and stop them."

Emma had been listening to all of this with confusion. They were all crazy, "Um, excuse me? If I am having these dreams, which I am still unsure of, how will you be able to stop the person if they aren't from here? You can't just travel there and back."

Gold sighs, "Someone from here is helping them. That is the only way. We find the connection and break it; you will be free from your dreams."

Emma nods, "Ok. Another problem. The only way to be pulled out of the sleeping curse is by true love's kiss."

Gold points to Hook and Neal, "There are two people here who you have loved. If one doesn't work the other might. And then there is your son."

Hook and Neal exchange uneasy looks. Emma looks between the two of them, "Listen, Gold, that whole true love thing might happen in your world, but it doesn't happen in mine. I loved Neal and he betrayed me. Left me all alone. Maybe he got that from you."

Neal looks down and Hook snickers. Gold looks out the window, "Well what about Hook?"

Emma looks into Hook's beautiful blue eyes and then away, "I like him. I care for him. But he also abandoned me at one point. Oddly enough, you have a lot to do with that too. I just don't know if I am ready to call it true love. I don't even know if I believe in such things."

Snow grabs her daughter's hand, "I found mine. And no matter what has gotten in our way, we have always found a way to be together."

Emma wrinkles her forehead, "But at what cost? Look at how much you have lost."

Snow looks at David, "And look at everything I have gained."

Emma shakes her head and drops Snow's hand, "Listen, I don't think these dreams are real. Why don't we start with proving that they are? Go from there."

Regina nods, "Sensible. I need a mirror." She looks at the TV, "Actually that will do." She waves her hand over it and then over Emma. The screen comes to life as they watch in horror. They watch as her shadow is being ripped from her body and shoved back in. As she argues with the menacing voice. As she is once again put through the agony of the shadow. As she kisses Graham with tears in her eyes. Hook had to look away. He couldn't stand to see her in pain, but he also couldn't stand how it felt to watch her kiss someone who wasn't him. Emma looks up at him and sees the pain wash over his face.

She turns back to the screen as tear fall down her face, "Make it stop. I will do whatever you want, just make it stop."

Snow shakes her head, "Emma…"

She turns on her mother with a sob, "NO! I can't! Do you know what it feels like to feel like someone is controlling you? I don't remember any of this. That isn't Graham. The look in his eyes. The hatred. Someone is using his memory against me." She looks at Regina, "They are trying to make it so I am all alone. First by making me hate you." She looks at Hook, "And by making me hurt you. They knew you would want to see the dream. So make it stop. Please."

David touches his wife's shoulder, "She is right. She can't live like this anymore. You saw the pain that…that thing put her in. Do what you need to do." He walks over to Emma's bed, "We will find a way to wake you."

Emma laughs, "I know. Just don't have every guy in town kiss me. That would be weird."

Henry walks over, "You woke me from my sleeping curse. Maybe I can wake you from yours."

Emma sighs, "I hope so, kid. I am pretty sure neither Neal nor Hook is willing to try."

Hook's head snaps up, "Why would you say that?"

Emma looks at him, confused, "Let's face it Hook. You are having doubts about me. I can see it in your eyes."

Hook looks down, "I think this is a conversation for another time."

Emma laughs, "Well then. Let's hope I wake up so we can have it." She looks at Regina, "Do what you have to do, your majesty."

Regina nods and takes the vial out of her coat pocket. She sprinkles it over an apple and hands it to Emma, "Sleep well, Ms. Swan."

Emma takes a bite and the apple falls out of her hand as she falls into an eternal sleep.

Emma wakes up in a cave and sighs. There standing in front of her is August. She pats the ground next to her, "Hello, August. What has he sent you here to say?"

He sits down and laughs, "What makes you think I am not just here for a friendly visit?"

Emma hits his shoulder, "Because I know you. You are never here for a friendly visit."

He considers this and smiles, "Very true. I am here to help you see all the people who have abandoned you."

Emma puts her hands together, "Oh! How fun. I can't wait for this."

August sighs, "Let's start with your parents. They put you into a wardrobe and left you on the side of a road."

Emma nods, "Yes, but if you ask them, they did it to give me my best chance."

He looks at her skeptically, "Did they? Or were you just another pawn in their game of finding the other?"

She shrugs, "Alright, who is next?"

August laughs again, "You are always so fun to talk to. Me. My father lied to your parents so that I could go through the wardrobe. My only job was to protect you and make sure you did what needed to be done. But I failed. I left you all by yourself in that horrible place and escaped with my life."

She studies him, "That was pretty messed up, but you are now made wood and I am not."

He shakes his head at her, "Very true. You have a hard shell, Emma. Ok. You were adopted into a very nice family. One that you loved. But when you turned three they had a child of their own and decided there was no more room for you, so they gave you back. You could have had a normal childhood. A mom and a dad and friends. Family. But they threw you away like you were nothing."

Emma frowns, "That was long ago. I barely remember."

He smiles, sympathetically, "But you remember the foster homes. Those mean foster parents who hit you. Made you feel like trash. And when you got older, those foster fathers who touched you inappropriately. Made you cry yourself to sleep. If those adoptive parents had kept you, you would never have been through any of that."

Emma swallows the lump in her throat, "Life is hard."

He puts his arm around her shoulder, "Yes it is. Which is why you ran away at 16 years old. You turned to a life of petty crime. Stealing what you couldn't afford. Sleeping in dark, scary places. For a year, you were alone in the streets. No one to protect you. No one to tell you that everything would be alright. Until Neal."

She closed her eyes to stop the tear, "Why is he doing this to me? I know my life. I remember."

He looks down at her, "Do you? Do you remember how lost and alone you were when he left you alone? How all the memories of your childhood came flooding back to you? Because you don't act like it. These people you call your family hurt you. Over and over. They are the reason you gave up Henry in the first place. They made it so you felt like you would be a horrible mother. And when all of that was behind you, who do you run into?"

Emma looks at him with tears in her eyes, "Hook."

August nods, "You thought you finally found someone who was different. Someone who was just like you. Someone who understood."

Emma lays her head on his shoulder, "But he left me too."

August kisses the top of her head, "He left you too. And worse. He took all the memories you had of him away. Making you think it was all just a dream. Do you remember the promise you made to yourself?"

Emma nods, "I promised myself that I would never let anyone hurt me again."

He lifts her chin to look into her eyes, "But you let them all back in. And they are all going to leave you again, Emma. Your parents only care about their true love. I am made of wood. Not much help. Neal is engaged. And Hook. He is a pirate. He only cares for himself. He will leave you."

Emma lets the tears fall, "They all will leave me."

August smiles, "But Peter Pan wont. He needs you. He also needs a mother. And if you bring Henry, then you can all live together. As a family."

She frowns, "But then why has he been hurting me?"

August sighs, "Because he is just like you. Afraid to put himself out there. Afraid of rejection."

Emma closes her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

They all watch the TV with tears in their eyes. Snow takes her Emma's hand, "I won't abandon you again. Please, please don't listen to him. We need you here."

Neal sits in a chair with his hand on his head, "I didn't even know all that stuff about her childhood. I didn't know how alone she was."

Hook glares at him, "You should never have abandoned her the way you did!"

Neal stands up angrily, "Me? What about you, Captain Hook? All hell bent on your revenge. You left her by herself too! Don't act all innocent!"

Hook grabs the front of his shirt with his good hand, "You did way more damage than I ever could!"

Neal laughs bitterly, "I doubt that. At least I didn't play games with her head. Make her forget everything!"

Hook pushes him back, "If I hurt her so bad then why has she forgiven me so easily?"

Neal frowns at him, "Because she loves you, you idiot! It is hard to stay mad at your true love."

Hook scoffs, "Keep telling yourself that."

Belle looks at Hook with kindness, "It's true. I love the man everyone here calls the Dark One. Even when he does things that hurt me, I forgive him. Because I love him. He is my true love and I know that he will always make the right choice in the end."

Hook shakes his head, "Maybe neither one of us is her true love. What he said was true. We did abandon her in her time of need."

Henry lies next to his mother on the bed, "I don't care who if any of you are her true love. She is suffering and we need to stop it." He looks up at Regina, "Mom?"

Regina smiles, "Emma is strong. All we can do is watch. Gold is trying to locate the source of the magic."

Henry nods and they all turn back to the screen where the two figures sat silently.

Emma sighs heavily, "What happened to you?"

August frowns, "What do you mean?"

Emma lifts her head and looks up at him, "I mean in my world. You turned to wood right in front of me and when your father went to see you, you were gone."

August shrugs nonchalantly, "I don't rightly know, Emma."

Emma stands up and laughs, "Of course not because you aren't really him." She reached down to help him up, "I miss you. You were a good friend. Even if I thought you were crazy."

He smiles, "I am sure you will find me. You always find people when you actually look."

She pulls a dagger out of her back pocket and hides it, "I am so sorry for not believing." She steps forward and stabs him in the stomach, "And for that."

He gasps in pain and falls to the ground slowly. She watches as he disappears. She sits back down as Peter Pan walks in, "You are a lot stronger than I thought, Emma Swan."

She shrugs, "Everyone keeps telling me that, but I don't know if it is true."

He sits next to her and sighs, "I need your help."

She shakes her head, "I am not giving you my son, Pan... I will never give you my son."

He laughs, "I know you won't, but he is from you. The magic you have is pure. Stronger than any magic ever known. Usually magic corrupts and makes the person crave the power. But not yours. Anything you create harnesses that. Henry is pure in his beliefs. Nothing can change his mind. I need both."

Emma contemplates what he was saying. She didn't know if it was true or if he was playing her. He had never been this nice. This…honest. "Why? Why have you been torturing me?"

He turns to her, "My mother was an addict. She drank till she passed out. Any drug she could find she would take. She was violent when she wasn't sober. Pushed me around. Made me feel unsafe. I ran away. That is how I got here. I thought I finally found a place that would protect me. I was wrong."

She saw the pure honesty on his young face, but it was hard for her to grasp. "I don't understand."

He closes his eyes, "All of us, the lost boys… me, we are children without homes. Some were taken from the streets. Others from their comfortable homes. Not all of us had bad childhoods. But he took us anyways."

She couldn't help the pang of sympathy she felt, "Who?"

Tears start to fall down his face, "The shadow. He controls this land. He makes us his army against…well I am not sure. All I know is that we can't show how much we want to leave. We have to act like monsters. He makes it look like I am controlling him so no one follows him around. Makes me look like the leader."

She shakes her head, not knowing what to believe, "How do I know this is true? You have tortured me. Why didn't you just tell me this earlier?"

He touches her shoulder briefly, "Because he could hear us. I brought you to this cave because it is the only place we can talk freely. You are the only one that can save us. When the dark one made you the savior of your world, he unintentionally made it so you were the savior of all worlds. Your magic can take the shadow down. Make it so he has no power over us anymore."

Emma puts her head in her hands, "Then why is he ok with bringing me here? And Henry? If we are the ones that can save you?"

He bites his cheek guiltily, "I told him that you were the only ones who could beat him." He cringes at the glare she throws his way, "I had to. It was the only way to get you to come. If he brings you here then we won't look suspicious."

She laughs bitterly, "Then why didn't you keep me here all those years ago? Wouldn't have made everything so much easier?"

He shakes his head, "No. You didn't have your full power yet. You were unaware. I had to convince him to let you go so we could get to Henry too. It was the only way I could set you free. In a way, you owe me. I saved your life."

She raises a brow, "You saved me so that I could bring my kid into this. Putting his life in danger as well."

Peter nods, "It has not changed. I need both of you here. Without one the other is useless. You and I aren't so different. I have been alone for so long. I just want a mother. I just want someone to love me and keep me safe. I want you."

Tears fall from Emma's eyes, "But in my first dream you told me I was a horrible mother. Told me that Henry deserved better."

He wipes away the wetness beneath his eyes, "I know. The shadow was listening. I had to make it look like I was tearing you down."

Emma points to where August was, "And August? What was that about?"

He looks at the spot that was now empty, "I thought it would be easier for you to accept if you felt isolated from everyone around you. But you proved that love is stronger than anything. Emma, please, I know I have done horrible things and I know it is hard to forgive, but I need someone to keep me safe."

Emma looked at this vulnerable child in front of her and for the first time since meeting him she wanted to embrace him, but she held back, "I can't. Bringing Henry here is a risk I am unwilling to take."

Sobs wrack his body, "It's too late. The shadow's plan is set in motion. Henry will be here. And if you don't follow. If you don't find and save us, he will die."

Emma covers her mouth as tears fall quickly down her face, "Oh, God! Why does it have to be me? All I wanted was a normal life. A mom and dad who made breakfast and sent me off to school and welcomed me home with loving arms. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be the savior. I didn't ask to be the daughter of fairy tale parents."

Peter takes a deep breath, "We don't always get what we want. Fate rarely calls upon us at a time of our choosing."

Emma laughs, "Maybe you are right." She sighs, "I have one more question. How did you make me forget once I woke up?"

He smiles, "You should ask Hook." Her eyes widen, "He did the same to you all that time ago." She rolls her eyes, remembering his explanation and Peter continues, "I saved a pixie not long ago and she offered me her service. I guess it is what they do if you save them. She has sworn fealty and I have no choice but to accept it. At least that is what she told me."

Before she can respond the shadow flies and Peter lets out a surprised gasp. He stands up with his hands in the air, "I-I…"

Before he can finish and to Emma's horror the shadow descends upon him and rips his shadow out. Emma lets out a scream, "PETER!" She looks at the shadow as it gets closer to her. She closes her eyes, preparing for the pain and the inevitable death. Instead the shadow grabs her head and fills it with images. Horrible images. Henry lies bloody and dead at her feet. Her parent lie several feet away, lifeless. Neal, Gold and Regina cower in the corner unable to move. She watches as Hook runs to her, trying to get her out of the way of something. She sees the shadow descend upon him and she feels her feet move, trying to reach him. But she is too late. He falls to the ground as the shadow is ripped from his back. She falls to her knees and is back in the cave.

"Wake me up. Please, wake me up. I can't…" She passes out before she can finish her thought.

All the people in the hospital room stare at the screen in complete shock as Emma crumples to the ground. They didn't know what the shadow had done to her, but by the way the color had drained from her face they knew it was bad. Hook is the first to move. The first to go to her side and lift her head. He kisses her hoping that this would bring her back. Hoping that he would be the one to save her from the nightmare she was in. He didn't care about anything else. Just her.

He pulls back and waits. Her eyes open wide and tears instantly start to fall down her face as she looks around frantically. Henry jumps in her arms and she lets out a sob. "Henry! Oh, God! You are here. You are alive."

Henry buries his face into her neck and he cries, not wanting to ever let her go, "So are you. What happened at the end? What did that thing do to you?"

Emma pulls back and the color drains from her face once again. She shakes her head, "No, no, no…" She says it over and over again. They watch as she falls into hysterics and starts screaming. They try everything to calm her, but nothing works. Finally, Dr. Whale comes in and sedates her. She falls into a dreamless sleep and they all whisper frantically in the corner.

A/N: So the truth of Neverland and it's lost boys is out. What will Emma do? Can she stop the massacre that she was shown? Was it even real? Stay tuned for the next chapter. Coming soon.

I hope you enjoy. Review. Give me ideas. Tell me how you feel about the story so far. I love hearing from you :)

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