Bad Blood
Chapter 2 – Flaws
Surprisingly, the journey had been extremely short. Once in the air, Melanie had barely had the time to enjoy the view. The shadow might have been in a hurry, who knows? Other kids to kidnap, rip some random people's shadows into oblivion and other things the creature did in its free time.
Anyway, the second the island came into her sight, Mels prayed he was busy. She would rather deal with one of the Lost Boys than the Devil himself, or his right hand Felix. He too, wasn't very fond of her. Her eyes widened when she saw Hook's ship, completely deserted. They already were on Neverland, but for how long? She hoped it wasn't too long and that they were still in one piece.
"Let me go!" She ordered, ready to drop. Thankfully, he did as told.
She fell down towards a huge tree, her arms extended. She grabbed a big branch easily, slightly slowing down her fall. She repeated that action a few times, getting closer to the ground safely. Once hanging on the last branch, she noticed how high it still was. Not enough to kill her if she fell down correctly, but enough to make the pain in her ankle worse.
So she just hung there, in the middle of the jungle, with no way to get down from the fucking tree. Well, except letting herself fall, of course. She knew she wouldn't last long like that, especially with arrow shooting Lost Boys everywhere in the damn place. Perfect for target practice.
Melanie looked up, trying to find a safer way to get down, only to see the Shadow floating above her. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing. His hand was once more extended, waiting for her to take it. Without hesitation she took it, sighing as he helped her down. His glowing yellow eyes never left her green ones, much to her surprise.
The second her feet touched the ground, he immediately let go of her and flew off into the sky. She carefully watched him leave, silently hoping he wasn't going to tell Pan she had arrived. He obviously knew his shadow had brought someone, but as long as he didn't tell him, she was safe. Or close to safe, anyway.
"Okay…" She whispered to herself, kind of creeped out. That wasn't the Shadow's usual way of doing things. It might have changed throughout the years while she was gone, but it still seemed strange.
Something was off.
Melanie immediately started moving, hoping she'd get to the 'Rescue Team' before the Lost Boys caught up with her, wherever they were. They knew the island by heart. They knew where every single hide out was, especially the hidden ones. They could even use the fucking echo caves to their own advantage.
But so could she.
After about fifteen minutes of vain walking, she stopped. There was no point in searching the whole island for them. She had to think like an adult. Where would a responsible, pissed-off mother go to protect herself?
"Mmmmmmh… Near a water source?" Mels guessed, immediately heading towards the river. She tried to make as less noise possible. Although, the noise the birds were doing probably muffled the small tree branches cracking under her feet.
Once there, she sadly found out that indeed, they had been there. Stupid adults. All they had to do was to wish for water to appear and pouf! But then again, they were adults, so they could not use Neverland's magic to their advantage.
Then realization dawned on her. She mentally slapped herself.
"Fuuuuuuck." She exclaimed, clearing exasperated with her own stupidity.
She bent down over the water, her left hand extended towards it. She closed her eyes slightly, hoping her plan would work. She took a deep breath, and said, "Show me Emma Swan." The water blurred suddenly, shifting into an image of the 'Rescue Team' looking at a map. Mels rolled her eyes when she understood what game Pan was playing. Always the same ones.
At least one thing that hadn't changed.
She carefully observed their surroundings. Relief washed over her as she recognized the place they were not-hiding. Why weren't they hiding? Probably because of Hook. She didn't waste another second looking at the water, and took off towards their camping spot.
"I'm Henry's mother, the daughter of Snowhite and Prince Charming." Emma swan said, looking at a blank map. Melanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes once more. She wasn't going to make the map appear by stating the obvious.
With a deep breath, she advanced slowly, both arms raised into an I'm-no-threat gesture. Heads immediately turned to her. Snow aimed an arrow at her, Hook grasped his sword and so did David. Their eyes suddenly widened. Before any of them could speak, the teenager said her tragic entrance line.
"Told ya nothing could stop me." Melanie said, smirking satisfyingly. She was internally dancing a happy-dance. She loved those hero-like lines, especially the effect it had on people.
"Melanie?" Emma asked, eyes wide. This time, the urge was too strong. She did roll her eyes. "No, I'm the key master." She paused for a dramatic effect. "Are you the gate keeper?" She asked, on the verge of laughing. After a few seconds, she realized they wouldn't laugh at her joke, so she continued. "Of course I'm Melanie."
The Savior frowned. "It's not possible." She muttered. Melanie almost burst out laughing once more, but Hook's actions stopped her.
He hugged her. She awkwardly hugged him back, not entirely sure what to do. "About time, love." He said, slowly stepping back from her.
Mels' jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
He smiled a toothy smile at her. "Took you long enough to get here, Mels." He said, as if they were best friends for life and beyond.
Regina started screaming. "I do not understand any of this! Explain." She ordered.
Melanie's rebel side was telling her to make the Evil Queen shut up, but she didn't have time for that. She had to get their sorry asses, including Henry's, out of the island. She told them she'd tell them later, but none of them were having that.
"Melanie, here, asked the Shadow to take her to Neverland." Jones explained, smiling brightly. Charming was the one to respond. "So what, Pirate?" He spoke the word 'pirate' as if it was a profanity. Killian's face fell, the smile fading from his face. He didn't respond, but Melanie could see all the insults he was throwing at the prince just by looking at his eyes.
"I'm here to help." Melanie stated, matter-of-factly. She could actually hear Regina roll her eyes. Partially because of the animalistic growl she had let out. "We do not have time for this," she gestured to Mels, "Nor for you to accept who you are, savior." The black-haired woman snarled, fetching the map out of Emma's hands. The blonde resisted, but the Queen always – or so – got what she wanted.
"What are you doing?" Melanie asked, suspicious. She hoped she wasn't going to make some stupid and avoidable mistake like –
"A locating spell." Regina said, using her magic to perform her trick.
– like that.
"No, no, no, no." The teen said, trying to get to them, but Charming suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from getting to Regina. "You can't!" She screamed, hoping it would stop them.
Sadly, it didn't.
"Too late." Regina smirked, watching the piece of blank paper float away slowly. "See? Easy."
Emma nodded in agreement. Melanie didn't. "You are so stupid!" She said through gritted teeth. She yanked her wrist back violently, not leaving any choice to David than to let her go. "You are cheating!" She shouted, gesturing towards the glowing map.
Emma snarled. "This is not a game."
Mels stomp her foot on the ground, beyond exasperate. "Yes, it is!" She shouted, throwing both her arms in the air. "And cheaters never win!"
Regina didn't let her explain anything. She simply took off after the now magical item, a smug look on her face. Everyone soon followed, except Jones who waited for the teen to walk first. She spun around to face him, an angry expression covering her usual gentle features. "Why are you letting them do that, Jones?!" She asked, gesturing to them.
He sighed. "I'm just a pirate, they don't believe me." He said, putting his hands on the small of her back. He pushed her forward. "Now go." He ordered.
Melanie glared daggers at him, but did as told.
They were going to find out who they were up against sooner or later, anyway. But there was something bugging her. They hadn't asked how she knew how to get the shadow to take her, how she managed to find them, or anything in that matter. They were careless. They were gullible.
Melanie was scared.
They were walking right into a trap.
Melanie knew that there were small chances getting Henry back, but frankly, they grew smaller by the minute. They wanted to have the effect of surprise, but with them talking all the time, the whole of Neverland could hear them. She had tried to tell them nicely to shut up, but wouldn't listen. They said they needed a plan.
The young blonde agreed. And a fucking good one.
Charming suggested to get in, grab the kid, and get out. Of course, there were flaws. As a matter-of-fact, the plan was a flaw by itself. It was stupid, careless, dangerous and impossible. Good thing Emma agreed with her, and Jones, too. He had taken the time to explain them about the danger of Dreamshade, but they wanted to follow the map, anyway.
Actually, they didn't have a choice anymore. Even if the Savior suddenly changed her mind and decided to play fair, she'd need the map which was enchanted to stop once it found the owner. Sadly, there was no turning back anymore. If they wanted the map back, they would need to meet Peter Pan.
Fuck.
Then suddenly, the map dropped to the ground. They had arrived.
Double fuck.
"No one's here." Snow noted, looking around. "Maybe the spell was wrong, Regina."
Regina scoffed. "Yes, blame me." She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Again."
Melanie had to side with the Evil Queen on that one. "No, we're in the right place." She said, not bothering to lower her voice since he obviously knew there were near. Hell, even the mermaids probably heard them talk; and it had nothing to do with their supernatural hearing.
The seventeen-year-old girl was walking right behind Marie-Margaret, so she did not immediately see what the others did. Charming was the first one to walk into the deserted camp. They all started running to the left edge of the camp, but Melanie stayed right where she was. Not too far, but not too close either. She heard Emma shout her son's name before seeing the silhouette. Her eyes went wide when 'Henry' turned around.
Peter Pan – in the kid's clothes.
Clever.
"Hi, Emma." He greeted, his oh-so-annoying smirk plastered on his lips. They stopped dead in their tracks. The Savior did not waste time. "Where the hell is Henry?" She asked to him, making Melanie roll her eyes. "Well, most certainly not here." She muttered, already trying to find an escape plan.
"You broke the rules." Pan said, walking to the side, frowning deeply as if he was disappointed. Which he wasn't, Mels assumed. He had always been a few steps ahead of her, so he had probably foreseen the whole thing. In fact, even she had. Adults didn't like games. Grownups cheated.
"That's not fair." He stated, still walking. "Bad form. I expect more from you, captain."
"Aye, and you'll get it." Jones threatened, his tone dangerously low.
Emma started talking again. "Give Henry to me."
Melanie wanted to tell her to shut up, that she was only making things worse, but she didn't. She was too scared for that. An unavoidable fight was coming, and she didn't exactly feel like dying of Dreamshade. Surprisingly, he had not talked to her yet. Had he forgotten her?
"Sorry, can't." He said, faking a sad smile. "Don't you know?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.
Melanie clenched her jaw when she noticed the confused looks the 'Rescue Team' was giving him. "Didn't Mels tell you?" He said, thankfully not sparing a glance at her. Emma turned around, though. She opened her mouth to say something, but Pan interrupted her.
"Cheaters never win." Pan said, and Melanie could hear his smirk. Emma's eyes grew wide, finally realizing what fucking huge mistake she had made.
Out of nowhere, Lost Boys gathered around them, trapping them. They were all armed with crossbows, sticks, swords – all coated in Dreamshade. Melanie immediately ran to the center where Hook was standing, his sword already in his hand. She quickly pulled her dagger out of her boot. She almost screamed when her back hit Snow's. She didn't bother looking up at Pan. He wasn't going to get his hands dirty. He wasn't the main threat at the moment.
"Watch out for their arrows, they're laced with Dreamshade." Jones warned.
Then, the fight started. Arrows were being shot from everywhere. Melanie dodged them all easily, kind of surprised she hadn't lost her agility. Thirty years gone from Neverland, and still as good as –
Jones suddenly pushed her to the side, as she heard a whistling noise pass right next her ear.
– Well, approximately.
She didn't even have time to thank him because Felix came charging at him. On the other side of camp, Charming pushed Snow out of the way, and Mels gasped when she saw the arrow touch him. If he was hurt, he was done for. When his wife went to him, he told her he was fine. Typical Prince Charming. Always so brave and selfless.
"Behind you!" He shouted at Mary-Margaret. She instantly shot an arrow at one of the Lost Boys – one Melanie didn't know – trapping the guy against a tree. She did not kill him, even though he had tried to kill her. Typical Snowhite. On her side, Regina threw some spells at her attackers, smirking evilly. Typical Evil Queen.
Suddenly, a boy came charging at her, his sword raised above his head. She raised her own dagger towards his arm, hoping to injure the guy enough to make him stop. It did. He screamed out of pain, and dropped his sword. She picked it up swiftly just before putting her dagger to his neck. She positioned herself behind him and kicked him behind his knee, making him fall to his knees.
"Where's your camp?" She whispered, her voice low.
He didn't answer.
"Where's your fucking camp, Devin?" She snarled, putting more pressure on his neck. He did not seemed fazed, at all. Of course not. This was all a game to them. She was taken aback when Devin laughed. "You don't have the balls to kill me, Mels." He stated, matter-of-factly.
It was true, she wasn't going to kill him.
She was going to do worse.
She removed the dagger from his neck, rolling her eyes when he burst out laughing. He had no idea. She instantly plunged the weapon into his shoulder, his laugh quickly turning to a strangled cry. She tugged his hair back, and told him in a whisper. "Payback's a bitch, Devin."
She pushed him down onto the ground, thankful he had a vial of Neverland's water attached to his belt. She used to have one, too. She never drank from it. She watched him drink the liquid, and sighed as she saw his wound close. He stayed onto the cold, hard ground, still recovering. He wasn't going to attack her again anytime soon.
Onto the next one.
She spun around, on the lookout for another attack. Surprisingly, lots of them weren't there. The Lost Boys. They had been so many thirty years ago. Where were the others?
Out of the blue, Emma fell down the small hill, wrestling with Jonathan, one of the oldest Lost Ones. "Where's Henry?! Where is he?!" Emma screamed, a wild look on her face. Naturally, Jonathan did not tell her.
She got up, the wild look still twisting her features. "Emma are you alright?" Snow asked, worriedly. Before she could answer, a loud whistle came from behind them. All the Lost Boys stopped fighting and ran to Pan. Instinctively, Melanie dropped her dagger, just like she used to do back then. She cursed loudly as she picked it up again, annoyed with herself for being so stupid. Dropping the dagger when she heard the whistle was what she used to do many years ago, when a game ended.
Fucking habits.
"Remember what I told you, that map will show you where Henry is, any when you stop denying who you really are." Pan said, frowning. Then, he smirked. "You might want to listen to Melanie, too." He said, still not looking at her.
Before anyone could say something, he continued. "I'll make sure to send Henry your regards." He walked away, closely followed by Felix and the other Lost Boys. With the hoods on their heads, Melanie could barely recognize them.
Once gone, 'The Rescue Team' stayed still for a few minutes, taking in what had happened. Suddenly, Emma turned to Mels. "What do we do?" She asked, frowning.
Melanie was surprised, but didn't show it. "We do nothing." She snarled, a little angry that it took them a fight to finally understand. "You fucking accept who you are."
Emma sighed, but still walked over to where the map was lying. She picked it up, a sad expression on her face. Somehow, Melanie understood the feeling. It had taken her over two-hundred years to accept who she was, so she couldn't really bitch about Emma not being able to do it in a day, or two, or however long they had been on the island.
Mels clapped her hands together. "Okay, we have some serious explaining to do."
NA: Hellooooo! Here's chapter two, you guys! Hope you like it!
Shouts out:
GraceQuinn11: Here's my update! Thank you so much for reviewing!
GingerGeekGal1796: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like this one and the other, too!
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