"Henry," the soft call echoed from her lips. She flinched back against something soft and warm. Her heart was racing; her eyes were fluttering in a panic. The thick layer of cold sweat along her bare back stuck to the front of his lower abs. She felt a heavy sigh brush against the nape of her neck as Killian's arm pulled her in close.

"Easy love," he murmured softly into her ear, "just breathe." She gripped his hand and rested her head back down onto his arm. The loud chippers of crickets and consistent rhythm of his breathing lulled her nerves back down. She rolled on her other side to face him, who to her surprise, appeared to be asleep. Damn him. He didn't even have to be awake to know how to calm her.

Every muscle in his face was relaxed, bearing no evidence of stress or anguish. The faded shadow that remained under his eyes was the only lasting reminder of his edgy pirate persona. There was a sense of peace that came from his closed eyes and subtle smile. It made him seem almost boyish and innocent, as if the three hundred years were ticked back and all of his troubles were now gone. His shaggy disheveled hair still showed signs of where Emma grabbed and fisted.

He took a deep breath and leaned in to give her a gentle brushing kiss over her top lip. "Go to sleep, Emma. You can observe me more thoroughly in the morning if it pleases you." She gave him an easy shove and rolled over on her back just as that small cocky smirk twitched up his lip.

The canopy was lit by the hundreds of energetic little lights that flew from branch to branch. To Emma it looked like a night sky during a meteor shower. The little bright lights scurried around the dangling branches. Some were calmly perched at the ends of the dark leaves while others fluttered about in the air, swerving excitedly among each other.

They've got to be fireflies, she thought at first. The more she observed the little lights the less convinced she was that they were anything natural. They didn't flicker; they held more of a soft consistent glow. Unlike the sporadic behavior of an insect these lights seemed to interact with each other. On one branch a few lights clustered into a small group while others flew back and forth in linear patterns.

Emma wearily watched the lights until she felt herself finally begin to doze off again. Her eyes tiredly fluttered and began to close just as a small single light descended down from the tree above her. As it came closer to the grassy floor it grew brighter. Emma anxiously held her breath as it hovered a few inches over her outstretched hand. The aura around the light grew until Emma could feel the warmth spread from her fingertips up her arm. As the light continued to grow brighter, it began to take shape.

"Killian," she whispered nervously. At the sound of her voice, the light extended out what appeared to be an arm in an effort to silence her. The shape of light wasn't large nor did it have a face, but there was something ominously human about it. The light had gotten so bright it was almost blinding.

It quickly reached out to her. Just as she felt the light's hot contact with her palm, Emma's vision blurred into white nothingness. A few moments passed before her sight sharpened up at the sky, which had brightened as if it were daytime again. Killian was no longer lying beside her, and to her relief, she was fully clothed. Emma looked back at where the light once was in the grass. A striking small woman now stood in its place. She held her hands at her hips where her layered green dress flowed down from her midsection to her knees. Layers of fabric flowed down to the floor behind her calves. She had multiple braided strands that pulled her long golden hair back into a beautifully messy bun. Her skin glowed bronze under the light and her eyes seemed almost too green to be natural. As she took a step forward, her sheer translucent wings fluttered and stretched out from her back. She stared back at Emma with almost an annoyed expression before clearing her throat, "I am not surprised that Captain Hook defiled this ground but I didn't expect it from you, Emma Swan."

"Holy shit," she muttered and crawled a few feet away.

The little fairy cocked her head to the side in offense, "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. It's just... are you... Tinkerbell?"

"I was," her little eyes narrowed. "This is all that's left of me now. I don't really have time to explain everything right now. You just need to follow me."

She fluttered up from Emma's hand into the air. The sanctuary was just as it appeared earlier in the day. The canopy casted a euphoric green glow over the small grassy meadow. The water trickled peacefully into the clear watery basin. Emma took another look around for any trace of Hook but could find no sign of him. It was as if the past afternoon had never taken place. Tinkerbell flew over to the tunnel and beckoned for Emma to follow.

She hesitated and stared at the small fairy with distrust. "I'm not supposed to leave here. Besides how am I supposed to know that I can trust you?"

"You've been searching for answers and I have them. At this point, what other choice do you have? You'd know if I were lying to you."

"What about Hook?"

"He'll be fine. I think he can survive one more night sleeping by himself in Neverland." Her comment rubbed Emma the wrong way. In normal circumstances, she would have snapped at the little fairy right then and there. The truth is that Neverland had changed her and made her more hesitant to dive into an argument. She didn't have the energy to waste anymore. Plus this seemed like their last chance of finding a way out of this mess and she wasn't about to run her off.

Emma bit her lip and reluctantly followed the little fairy into the dark tunnel. "Where are you taking me?"

"Not far. Pay no attention to what or whom you might see in the trees. They cannot see you nor can they hear you. They are now distant lost souls: shadows traveling blind. You will see them as ghosts. In reality they are shadows that cannot be seen as long as there is light."

Emma didn't understand until they made it out of the tunnel into Neverland's dense forest. There was an eerie blue tint in the light that made the atmosphere of the forest surreal. The trees were still; not a single brushing wind passed through the leaves. Birds and insects were silent as if they were nonexistent. The only movements that could be noticed came from the people wandering aimlessly through the trees. Many of them were young boys that stared ahead and stumbled one foot in front of the other. There were a few older scarred men dressed in tattered rags. She even noticed a few natives dressed in exotic leathers. Regardless of their appearance, they moved like silent ghosts. Emma immediately darted her eyes around nervously. Chills ran down her spine as she noticed two taller recognizable people ahead in the trees. One of the figures immediately stood out to her. Emma had dreamed of the day she'd see her again and how she would enact her revenge.

Even from a distance, Tamara's long dark hair and tattered tan coat matched the last memory Emma had of her jumping into the water with Henry. As Emma made her way closer to Tamara and Greg, she was shocked to find that she couldn't muster any wrath or aggression.

She had been waiting so long to find Tamara again and beat her to a pulp... and now nothing. She betrayed and shot Neal. She kidnapped Henry and brought him to this place. She was the reason for everything that has gone wrong. Despite all this when Emma was finally able to meet eyes with her faded ghost all she could feel was remorse. Tamara's stare was lifeless and bland. She didn't register Emma's presence, nor did she probably register Greg ungracefully stumbling by her side. The world was a clouded blur to her now and there was nothing left for her to do but to keep walking through the trees. Just keep walking without a destination. Emma suddenly understood that it didn't matter what Tamara had done. No one deserved this eternal fate of wandering lost and alone.

It was at this point that Tinkerbell noticed Emma slowing down behind her, transfixed on the tragic sight of Tamara and Greg. "They do not recognize you. You must leave them and keep walking."

Emma swallowed down her disturbed guilt and turned away from the two shadows. Feeling the weight of a hundred glances on her back, she couldn't bring herself to look up as she continued walking through the trees. The silence and unnerving calmness of the trees began eating away at her until she could bear it no longer. "Tink," she blurted out without a thought of what to say. The fairy paused and turned to face her. "Is this all because of Pan? All these people?"

"He has been searching for your son for centuries. Many boys have been taken here in the hopes that they'd be the one. Some were taken as Lost Ones, the rest were discarded. Regardless of where their bodies went, all shadows have been claimed by the island. As I'm sure you know by now, this land is evil."

"Are you telling me that the Lost Ones don't have shadows either?"

"A boy without a shadow serves as a very useful puppet. Your son would know this better than anyone."

Emma froze in her steps. Her teeth gritted together frustratingly. "Okay we've gone far enough. You need to start talking. I'm here for one reason and that's to get my son out of this hellhole. Are you going to tell me how I can do that?"

It was only when Tinkerbell turned and gave her a weak grin that Emma realized where they had stopped. The forest was now behind them. The waves were crashing against the rocks on the beach a little ways down from where they were standing. A structure that was all too familiar to Emma squeaked from the shifting weight of the boy sitting at the top of it. This wasn't Neverland. This was Storybrook. And that was not some random boy; it was Henry.

Emma's heart thudded against her chest as she took off in a sprint. "Henry! Henry, look at me! I'm here! Henry!"

"He can't hear you." Tinkerbell wearily followed her from a distance. Emma stopped just a few feet away from the structure and looked up at the little boy who was staring blandly into the book opened on his lap. There was no enthusiasm or light in his eyes. He wasn't really reading the book. He was just going through the motions, like every other ghost Emma encountered in the forest. He didn't blink. His legs weren't childishly swinging. He didn't slap the next page down excitedly to continue on. He just stared down at the book with emotionless eyes.

"Henry." His name came out in a desperate whisper. The boy didn't register Emma's presence, nor was he able to even look up from the book. Though he wasn't wandering in the forest like the rest of the shadows he was still trapped.

Tinkerbell fluttered up by Emma's side. "Your son isn't like the other shadows in the forest. A part of him still lives in Pan." Emma nodded numbly to whatever it was that the fairy was trying to tell her. She couldn't help but stare up at her son with the desperation that he'd look up from his book and recognize her. He was so close yet so far away from her. She reached up and moved her hand right through his dangling leg. He was just a mere ray of light.

"I guess I'll get right down to the point," Tinkerbell began uncomfortably. "Your son has the only compatible body. If Pan were to inhabit any other, the host would die."

"Then so would Pan," Emma nodded keeping her eyes still focused on her son. "Saving Henry would mean someone else would have to die."

Tinkerbell winced just as Emma turned to read her expression. Her little eyes dropped away from Emma's searching gaze. "I would have to die," Emma mumbled and looked back at Henry.

"This will call for the ultimate sacrifice, Emma Swan. All magic comes with a price and you're the only person that is strong enough to enact such magic. It must be you."

"Strangely enough you're not the first person I've heard that from." She leaned in closer to get a look at what page Henry was reading. The inside of the book was disturbingly blank. "What do I need to do?"

"He'll try to escape as just a shadow, which is why you must make him weak. Disorientate him. You must somehow reconnect with Henry. Call out to him, try to reach out; do whatever you need to do to help your son fight him out. When you feel that Pan can't fight any longer, force him out of Henry's body. Your best chance is to attack him when he is alone."

"No wait," Emma's eyes widened and snapped back at Tinkerbell. "I can't take him down by myself. I've already tried. He's too strong."

"You are the only person capable of facing him. The trick is that you need to believe it. If you don't have faith in yourself, you will never succeed. You do have the power; you just can't be afraid to use it when the time comes." Her bottom lip was sore from how hard she had been biting down on it during the past few days. The reality was hitting her hard. She should have been afraid. No more sugarcoating the reality of the situation. Death was staring her in the face and it was strangely easy for her to accept it. When it all came down to whether it would be Henry or her, it wasn't even a question. There wasn't an ounce of doubt in her decision. Her life meant nothing if Henry was there to spend it with her. "It's okay," she weakly smiled. "I get it."

"If Pan dies, then everyone you just saw back in the forest will be free. The fairies will be free. Some will have a chance to go back to their bodies. The others will go to rest. Even Henry will get his shadow again." Tinkerbell fluttered a few inches closer. She looked at Emma compassionately, "You are very brave, Emma Swan. Henry is lucky to have you for a mother."

"If this is the only way, then I'll do it." Emma turned away from Henry's shadow and looked at Tinkerbell with resolve. "I will save my son."

"You're ready."

"Wait what do you mean, ready?" Before Emma could get an answer, her vision tunneled back into reality. She was not in the sanctuary as she had hoped, but rather a dark damp cave. Though Tinkerbell did save Emma some trouble by keeping her fully dressed, the cave was still at least twenty degrees colder than anywhere else she had traveled to in Neverland. Dense clouds of moisture clouded out from her lips with each heavy breath she took. Small droplets of water dripped into the tide that quietly lapped against the rocky shore down below. The moonlight peaked through two circular holes in the high rock wall and reflected against the moving black water. Emma stood high up on one of the protruding ledges. "Where the hell did you take me?" She muttered nervously.

"Swan." She whipped her head around in search of the source of the voice. The distinct voice couldn't be mistaken for anyone else besides Killian. His voice was gruff and somewhat echoed, which she blamed on the interior of the cave. "Swan, can you hear me?"

"Hook? Where are we?"

"Never mind that, love. Just follow the sound of my voice."

She walked up to the edge of the ledge hoping that he would see her wherever he was. "I'm up here on a ledge. I can't see you. Where are you?"

"Follow the sound of my voice," he repeated. Emma could barely see a foot in front of her. She slowly made her way across the ledge. The floor sloped downwards towards the water. "That's it love, almost there."

"Hook, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me back there. Leaving you alone was stupid and selfish." She felt the rocky wall as she took slow steps down the narrow pathway.

"It's quite alright, darling. I assure you that it's just you and me in here."

He ran as fast as he could. Though the night was dark, Killian could still make out the distinct trail of Emma's footprints in the dried mud. He couldn't shout out to her in the case that a Lost One was nearby. The last thing she needed was her location exposed. Damn these branches. Damn this forest... God damnit Swan, she knew better than this.

The forest cleared, as he feared, and the trailed continued on towards none other than the infamous Skull Rock. His heart dropped and his legs ran faster. The tide was still calming down from the storm earlier in the day, which made it difficult for him to climb over the slippery rocks. He approached with caution, using only his ears to assess the situation inside.

"Hook," he could hear Emma's uncertain voice echo off of the walls. "Hook, where are we?"

"Don't fret, darling. You're almost there." Killian froze in horror at the sound of the imposter's voice. It was the voice he knew all too well from his darkest memories: the same voice that too many of his crew mates had heard in their final moments. Pan. Without a passing doubt in his mind, he urgently climbed into the cave. His years spent on the ship allowed him to skillfully and silently crawl up the jagged rocks towards where he sensed Emma was standing.

"I can't see you." The fear in Emma's voice was coming through.

Pulling his hand to the pistol wedged in his belt, Killian slowly looked up from behind a boulder and immediately set eyes on Emma. She was practically showcased by the moonlight that reflected up from the water. She couldn't have been in a more vulnerable spot. Like many of his late crew mates, Emma didn't know where to look to find Pan. He did. His eyes scanned the walls and roof just above where Emma was standing.

"I'm not playing around! Where are you?" Pan blew cover as he brought his hand down to his sheath. He was standing directly behind Emma, blending in with the dark rock formation. The shine of Pan's metal dagger caught the light as he moved it up towards the back of her neck. Emma frantically looked around the depths of the cave. "Killian!"

He shot up to his feet and made his presence known to both Emma and Pan. He pointed the pistol straight at her. "Emma, drop!" He screamed as loud as he could. She fell to the ground in shock just as he mercilessly pulled back the trigger at the boy still standing behind her.