AN: Hello lovelies! New chapter is on the rise! And, despite my original plan to keep this story going on in one place, I'm going to start a new story about Nibs' adventures during season 3 of the show. I hope this isn't too bad, and that you all continue to read. The story will be called Take the Fight From the Kid, so be on the look out for that. There will be an epilogue which I hope to have up in a few days. Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed throughout this story. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and happy reading!

Chapter 23: Going, Gone

Four Months Later

The streets were barren, but Hook could feel the judgement from the darkened windows. Stumbling around drunk with a nearly empty bottle of rum was not the most moral of behaviors. But he was in mourning. Mourning his very idiotic and very dead crew, Baelfire (who had once again disappeared from the ship), and more importantly, his one shot at revenge of both the crocodile and the boy demon. One could hardly blame the man.

Killian barely made it out of that forsaken island alive. Somehow, he had managed with only one other live crew member. Pan had surprisingly let him leave, even sent the shadow to tail him. The deal was off, but the pirate would be granted eternal life as long as Pan lived. Killian didn't want to question the demon's decision. He knew that he had done something worse than usual, despite not remembering a thing from that night. No doubt the work of that forsaken Crocodile.

Whimpering. That was the one sound that made it through the pirate's addled brain. At first, he thought it might be someone's child, but a glance down an alley way discredited that thought.

Curled up in a ball was the lass- lad? Hook never really knew- from Neverland. The Lost Boy that was constantly by Pan's side, the one that caused all of the problems once he had stepped foot on the cursed island. The Lost Boy was brave, he'd give them- her?- that.

He intended to sound comforting, but apparently thoughts don't translate well when drunk. "Oi. Lass. You the demon's pet?"

The former Lost Boy just snarled up at him. "I am no one's pet."

They were skinnier than he remembered. Of course, none of those children were fed properly, but this one was almost on the verge of death. Still, they held fast onto the pearl-encrusted dagger, the very same one that had spilt the blood of many of his crew. Hook could have ended their life right there, but something made him pause.

"Do you remember me at all, lass?" He asked curiously. If the crocodile had done something to his memory, he could have done something to their's as well.

"I'm certain I'd remember a filthy pirate like you," They sneered. "It's hard to forget the stench, or the distraught look. Did your your crew mutiny you here?"

Even though their words were as nasty as ever, there was something gone from the lass' voice. The confidence was lacking and they could never quite look him in the eye. That cold blooded imp had done something with their memories as well.

Hook sighed, he felt he was going to regret this next decision very much. "Lass, do you... Are you in need of work?"

"I'm not a prostitute if that's what you're getting at." There was no mistaking that the child was still a Lost Boy, even if they didn't remember it.

"I have a ship," he managed to say. "In need of a cabin boy."

The ex-Lost Boy eyed Hook intensely before standing up in an agreement to follow. Now he could see the bones poking through their shirt, how sunken in their face was. Nearly all of the lean muscle that all of Neverland's inhabitants had was atrophied on them. It just didn't sit right with Killian.

Whatever, he'd have time to regret this during tomorrow's hangover. "I need a name for the books, lass. If you really are going to sign on."

They looked down as if they couldn't remember their own name. They stayed like that for a long while.

"Nessa Haven," they finally said. My name is Nessa Haven."

•••

The lass worked hard. Killian had to give them that. Their aversion to pirates seemed to be gone, as was any memory of Neverland and the boy demon. They were diligent, never fearing the climb up to the crows nest to untangle some rigging and always being the first to scale the ropes. Nessa even got along with Smee.

But there was still something empty about them. They rarely spoke and often looked at the stars. The only time they freely spoke was in their sleep. Other members of the crew had mentioned that the lass screamed about a demon with yellow eyes. The more Killian heard about their encounters, the more he realized that the Neverland he knew was nothing compared to Nessa's. They had seen things that he could only dream of, both horrible and fantastical. Sometimes he wondered if Pan had been trying to make the pirates leave for their own safety. It was not a pleasant thought.

The last he saw of the lass was a speck on the dick he had left, as the unmistakeable purple smoke of the curse drew closer. Killian wished he could say that he had a change of heart, turned around for his marooned crew and braved whatever the queen had in store for them. Unfortunately, he hadn't.