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Chapter Text

Emma ran up the stone steps as fast as her legs would carry her, still reeling from the rush of using magic. She tried to ignore the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. It has been looming over her since the moment she stepped foot on this cursed island. It was stronger now than ever before. She desperately hoped they weren’t too late. She tried to ignore it as she ran, trying not to slip on the damp stone. Neal and Regina were at her heels, their rushed steps echoing through the cave. The stairs ended and the tunnel opened into a vast cavern, illuminated by flames, flickering shadows dancing on the walls. Pushed forward by her momentum she ran out of the tunnel and suddenly found herself in front of two boys standing in the middle of the cave. Seeing her son made her plant her heels in place, coming to a sudden stop. Regina stopped right behind her. Neal nearly fell over going past her and stopped a couple steps ahead. Eyes locked on their son, he yelled out:

“Henry, wait! Whatever Pan’s telling you to do, don’t do it!”

Emma’s brain caught up with her and the reality of the situation slammed into her like a freight train. She only marginally registered her surroundings. Two large, round openings in the ceiling of the cave and two smaller, longer ones below, forming the eyes and nose of the stone skull they were in, the giant hourglass sitting on a pile of skulls, filled with golden sand – almost empty now. It emitted an otherworldly glow, softer but much brighter than the fire in the baskets scattered around sporadically. Piles of skulls or perhaps skull shaped rocks – much bigger than a human skull – lined the walls. And over in the corner, seemingly discarded was… Emma hadn’t gotten a good look at it but yes, it was, it had to be. Pandora’s box. There it was, sitting on a rock to the side seemingly abandoned. Or put away to use later. Gold failed. Emma wasn’t sure what happened to him or where he was but what mattered was that he failed to defeat Pan. Obviously. The smug teen was standing right there. All of those thoughts passed through the back of Emma’s mind in a fraction of a second. All of it overshadowed by what was right in front of her. Pan was looking at them completely unbothered by their presence. In front of him, with his back turned to them, was Henry. When he heard his father’s voice he turned around, surprised. In his hand he was holding a heart. Emma had seen enchanted hearts before but this one was different. Smaller and brighter, it glowed a warm golden color. The heart of The Truest Believer. Henry’s heart. Her own heart dropped.

“Dad. You’re alive?” Henry exclaimed, surprised. Of course. The poor boy still thought Neal was dead.

“I am, buddy.” His father reassured him. “And I need you to listen to me. Pan is lying to you.”

“Oh, a pleasure to see you too, Baelfire.” Pan looked at him the way a cat looks at a cornered mouse. Then his eyes moved to her and Regina and the playfulness in his eyes was briefly overshadowed by… respect? “Not to mention the Savior… and the Evil Queen.”

For some reason he seemed to hold her in higher regard than everyone else. As strange as it was he seemed to like her. But right now it seemed like he considered both her and Regina as a much bigger threat than anyone else. Even then he remained smug as always. Emma ignored him and looked into her sons eyes. For the first time in what felt like ages she could talk to him directly.

“Henry, you need to get away from him now. He’s trying to hurt you.” She spoke to him in what she hoped was a calm and even manner.

“No. The heart of the truest believer, it’s what’s gonna save magic. It’s gonna save all of you.” He raised up his heart to emphasize his point.

Whatever lies Pan told him, he was utterly convinced they were true. He believed Pan and she’s learned time and time again just how powerful belief was on Neverland. She shook her head in a panic, looking for words.

“No, it’s not. This was never about magic, Henry. You have to believe us.” You could always trust Regina to deliver the harsh truth. “The only person Pan’s interested in saving is himself!”

“That’s not true!”

“‘Course, it isn’t!” Pan moved swiftly to put himself between Henry and his parents. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Yes, it is!” Neal spoke up and Pan let go of Henry to turn and look at him. “Pan can’t live without you dying. If you give him your heart it’s gonna kill you.”

The teenager ignored them all and turned to look at Henry. He lowered himself, his face close enough to whisper to the boy.

“They’re trying to stem your belief, Henry. But don’t let them.” He put his hand back on Henry’s shoulder, looked him in the eyes and spoke solemnly. “Remember, every hero gets tested.”

Henry looked at them then at Pan and finally he looked down at his heart, beating in his hand. They were losing him. So that was how Pan managed to convince him to give up his heart. The boy wanted to be a hero - like her, like his grandparents, like the people in his storybook. She never wanted to be The Savior. She knew how much sacrifice it took, how dangerous it was. Being a hero wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She had to say something, figure out how to convince him that Pan was lying. Didn’t he realize that this didn’t feel right?

“Henry! I know what being a hero looks like and this isn’t it.”

When the teenager turned for a moment to look at her he looked annoyed.

“Why would they lie?” The boy asked Pan plainly.

“Because that’s what adults do, Henry.”

She knew he was right, of course, and that made it all the more painful. She had lied to Henry many times since he came into her life. She always tried to convince herself it was all for his benefit but deep down she knew that sometimes she did it for herself, that sometimes she lied not because she didn’t want to hurt him but because she didn’t want to be hurt. It’s why she lied about his father. And no lie she told was half as bad as his adoptive mother’s.

“You know that better than anyone.” He added.

Emma closed her eyes. She couldn’t argue with that. The boy has been lied to all of his life.

“Henry, you have to believe us.” Regina pleaded with him.

“Your parents don’t care about Neverland, Henry.” Pan kept his back turned to them as he spoke to the boy. “They know if you give your heart to save it, then you’ll have to stay.” He straightened up and moved to stand behind Henry, looking at all of them with a strange expression. “And they’re being selfish because they don’t wanna lose you.”

“Henry, you have to trust us.” She said softly.

“Trust?” Pan seemed irritated at the thought. Standing over the boy’s shoulder, he spoke into his hear. “I’m the only one who’s ever been honest with you, Henry. The only one who ever believed in you. This is your choice. Not theirs.” He looked at what was left of the sand in the top half of the giant hourglass with urgency. He spoke with desperation in his voice. “But you have to choose now. We’re running out of time.”

They had no arguments, no proof, no way to convince their son that Pan was lying to him. All they could do is ask him to trust them. But for him to trust them they had to trust in him as well.

“We believe in you, Henry.” Neal spoke up first.

“Because we love you.” She said.

“More than anything.” Regina finished for them all.

“I love you, too.” Henry said with a wide smile.

Oh, how she missed that smile. How she missed him. She smiled back, relieved, wanting nothing more than for all of this to be over.

“But I have to save magic.”

Her smile dropped. Pan on the other hand looked at Henry with a triumphant smirk. He looked back at them. He wanted to see them, watch the despair on their faces when they realize they’ve lost. She heard a heart beating and she couldn’t tell if it was the magical heart in Henry’s hand or her own.

“No, no, no, no.” Neal took half a step forward.

“I’m sorry.” Henry said breathlessly.

And with those words he turned to face Pan, who, with a satisfied expression, puffed out his chest. Henry pulled his arm back, winding up. The heartbeat got louder.

“NO!” Emma yelled desperately.

But it was too late.

Henry shoved his heart into Pan’s chest.

A pulse of energy pushed them all back, nearly knocking them over.

It was over. Pan won.

Chapter Text

The boy dropped on the ground, his lifeless body collapsing under its own weight. Pan stood over it, triumphant. The three parents stood helplessly watching, frozen in terror. The teenager rose off the ground and lifted into the air, about to fly off. He hovered a couple feet in the air for a moment before slowly returning back to the stone floor. But Emma was no longer looking at him. While Pan stopped in the air and returned back down his shadow kept rising, detached from his body, Henry’s heart faintly visible through its semi-translucent chest, up into the rock ceiling and out of one of the openings forming the skull’s eyes. How was that possible? They had it trapped, did it somehow get free? Three pairs of real eyes followed it as it left and when it was no longer visible, returned to the teenager standing above their son. He was leaning back, looking down at his hands and breathing heavily. He seemed off balance. Like something about his weight shifted and he was trying to get used to it. He looked down at the unconscious boy with wide eyes. He staggered and fell onto his knees, his hands held above the child as if he was afraid to touch him.  Abruptly he grabbed him by the shirt, shaking him slightly. No, he wasn’t shaking the boy. He himself was shaking, breathing heavily.

“No, no, no, no, no.” He repeated desperately under his breath. “Henry! Come on, Henry, stay with me!”

They had no time or desire to process what he was saying. All three of them lunged towards the two at the same time. Emma was there first, she got to her son and grabbed onto him like a lifeline.

“No!” She gasped, feeling his limp body in her hands.

“Get away from my son!” Regina was not far behind, fireball already in hand, all her fury focused on the teenager hunched over her child.

Neal stayed behind, the only one wary of Pan and his tricks. He knew him the longest out of the three and he knew better than to underestimate him. Whatever was happening now, it had to be part of his plan which meant they weren’t out of the woods yet. They were still in danger, all of them, including Henry. He doubted Pan was afraid of fireballs. He’s never seen the eternal teenager afraid before and he didn’t look afraid now. He looked… desperate. That was new.

“No, it’s not too late.” The teenager whispered so quietly only Emma, the closest to him, could hear. “It’s not too late! I can still save him!”

“Save him from what?! Yourself?! You just killed him” Emma yelled with tears in her eyes, her face uncomfortably close to Pan’s.

“He’s not dead yet. I can fix it. I can still fix it.”

The teenager looked frantic, his hands still shaking. He seemed uncertain and… unnerved. As if he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. It made everyone stop and stare at him. A brief moment of confusion snapping them out of their anger and worry for Henry’s wellbeing.

“What- what, what are you talking about?” Neal looked the most confused out of all of them. He knew Pan the best, so this new and unexpected behavior was the most surprising to him.

“Listen, we don’t have much time.” The boy talked in a hushed voice, slightly out of breath. He looked at each of them, his gaze finally landing on Emma. His green meeting her blue. “The Shadow has his heart but as long as Henry is alive It won’t be able to achieve its full power” He explained quickly in a hushed voice. “It will do anything It can to kill him, It won’t stop coming at you until he’s dead. I can save him now but then you need to take him and get out of here. Fast. Do you understand?”

“Why?” Emma looked at him, staring deep into his eyes, trying to understand. “Why are you doing this? And what are you doing, exactly?”

“Helping.” He replied plainly as if that explained anything. “The why is not important, only the how. Listen to me and listen carefully.” He fished around in the small satchel at his hip for a moment and pulled out a small jar out of it. Inside of it was-

“A magic bean.” Emma stated in wonder.

“Get Henry, get the others, get on Killian’s ship and use this to get the hell out of here before the Shadow realizes what I’m doing. And it’s going to realize soon.” Pan was speaking faster with every word. Suddenly he fell silent. He hesitated, staring into the ground for a moment. Then he reached into his satchel again. He pulled out a small scroll tied with a piece of string. He held it out to Emma. “Get this to Rumplestiltskin for me, will you?”

“Wh- what is it?” Emma did not understand what was happening at all and her confusion was perhaps the only thing holding her back from killing Pan with her bare hands right now.

“I just need him to understand.”

Pan did not elaborate, only held out the scroll in one hand and the bean in the other. Emma stared at him again, stared into his eyes, trying to understand. She figured the way her life was she would never understand what was happening ever again. But there it was. A way off the island. Since the shadow was somehow free again it was their only way. She grabbed the bean and looked at Pan’s outstretched hand with the scroll in it. She looked at it, then at him and grabbed it.

“We can’t leave, not without Henry’s heart.” Regina reminded them still holding a fireball.

“You don’t need his heart, you just need a heart”

Pan looked up at each of them and shuffled nervously. He held out his right hand in front of his chest and hesitated for a moment. He looked at them, then at Henry, still unconscious on the floor, and then at his hand. He swallowed hard and with a determined expression on his face he slowly reached inside of his rib cage, his palm phasing through his clothes and his body. He stopped for a moment, inhaled sharply, then suddenly pulled it out, his heart in his hand. He leaned over Henry’s body, breathing heavily, hair over his eyes. He looked up at Emma.

She gave him a puzzled look. He looked back with determination in his eyes. The realization of what he was about to do dawned on her suddenly.

She grabbed his free hand and looked him in the eyes. He looked at her inquisitively.

“Thank you, Peter.”

“It’s-“ he took a breath. “It’s Malcolm.”

“What?”

“Get out of here as fast as you can,” he panted out. “get that to Rumplestiltskin,” he nodded towards the scroll of paper he had given her. “and- and tell him I’m sorry.

With those words he took a deep breath and shoved his own heart into Henry’s chest.

As soon as it went in, his eyelids fluttered as he lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground. As he passed out Henry jolted awake, breathing heavily, eyes slightly glazed over. He frantically scanned the cave, distressed and confused, until his eyes landed on Emma.

“Henry!” She cried, pulling him into a hug, still kneeling on the cave floor.

“Mom!” Hugging Emma tightly he looked over her shoulder at Regina putting out her fireball and Neal behind her. “Mom! Dad!”

“Henry!” They both rushed towards him.

Everyone gathered around the boy, fussing over him, trying to pick him off the floor.

“Wh- what happened?” Henry looked around confused. His eyes landed on Pan’s body lying on the ground where he collapsed. “What happened?! Is he okay?!”

“Henry- Henry, I need you to look at me” Emma cupped his face with her free hand, the bean and the scroll in the other. “We promised him we would get out of here. There is no time, okay?”

“But- we can’t leave him here.”

Henry looked back and forth between the body at his feet and his parents. He hadn’t yet realized that Pan tried to trick him. He looked slightly feverish and out of it. Emma had no time to worry about that now. If Pan was right, the shadow could be back at any moment.

“We have to, Henry, come on!” All of his parents dragged him away despite his protests. Holding him by the shoulder Emma rushed to the exit. Suddenly she froze, remembering something.

“What are you doing? What’s the hold up?” Regina asked with irritation in her voice. She grabbed Henry protectively when Emma let go of him.

She looked at Regina and Henry then lingered for a moment looking at Neal. She rapidly turned and went back into the cave, over to the side where she saw Pandora’s box earlier. It was still there, sitting on a rock, unassumingly. She picked it up, put it along with the bean and the scroll into her bag and joined the others.

“Let’s go.” She said, glancing at Neal.

Hurriedly they left the cave, running down the stone steps, over to the little dock. They put Henry, who was unusually quiet, in the rowboat. Neal untied the rope which kept it attached to a metal hoop secured to the ground. She vaguely thought that there was probably a name for what he did. Hook did try to teach her some nautical terms before but she didn’t exactly pay much attention. She had other things on her mind. She joined Henry in the boat, as did everyone else, and soon they were paddling – well, Neal was paddling – as fast as possible towards Neverland’s shore.

Chapter Text

They wasted no time in getting back to Pan’s camp. They were moving through the jungle as fast as they could, aided by Regina’s magic. Emma could tell she was getting tired. They all were, of course, but if they lost their most skilled magic user she doubted she could step up. She wondered if they had much further to go. She still had Pan’s map of the island but it wasn’t much use if she didn’t know where they were.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed when they stepped into a clearing. Lost boys were sitting on the ground tied up, Tinkerbell and Hook abandoning their task of watching over them to focus on the new boy joining them.

“Henry!” Her mother’s voice sounded somewhere to her left seconds before she ran past towards her grandson, her husband close behind her. “Oh, you’re okay! You’re okay!”

Henry seemed strangely overwhelmed by his grandparent’s affection as they both hugged him, fussing over him to make sure he really was okay. It was heartwarming, watching them reunite, but Pan’s warning rang in her head. They had to hurry.

“Guys, there’s no time for a reunion, we need to go.” Emma straightened the bag on her shoulder. “We have to get off this island. Now.”

“Right. Right, of course.” Mary Margaret agreed a bit surprised by her daughter’s uneasiness.

She stood up still holding onto her grandson and looked at the group in front of her. Emma, Neal, Regina. The party that went off to save Henry sans one member.

“Wait, where’s Gold? David can’t leave the island without him.”

She looked around as if Gold was going to pop out of the jungle at any moment. Emma reached into her bag and pulled out Pandora’s box out of it. She swung it in the air for everyone to see.

“I’ve got him right here.” She reassured. “Hook, get us to the ship. We need to go.”

“Aye, that we do.”

He clearly had questions. They all did, including her. She was afraid none of them were getting any answers any time soon. Despite their curiosity, they kept quiet, only shooting her inquisitive looks she tried to ignore as they grabbed their things, preparing to leave. Emma put Pandora’s box back into her bag, standing at the edge of the clearing, staring into the jungle in the rough direction of where she thought the ship was. She heard Neal walk up next to her and she tore her eyes away from the trees to look at him. He have her a reassuring smile that didn’t quite hide the worry in his eyes. She smiled back, equally concerned. Regina joined them with Henry in tow and then her parents, followed by Tinkerbell and Wendy. Hook hung back, fiddling with the restraints on one of the Lost boys.

“Is it really okay for us to leave them here?” Mary Margaret asked, concerned.

“They’ll free themselves from these eventually.” Hook said while tying another knot. “When they do, they’ll be just fine. Even without Pan here.”

“Where. Is. He.” One of the boys spat towards them. “What did you do with him?”

It was Felix, Pan’s second in command. They all ignored him.

“Everyone ready?” She asked.

She was answered by a chorus of affirmative sounds. They turned towards the jungle.

“Hey! You can’t just leave us here! Where’s Pan?!” The boy yelled after them.

They entered the jungle without looking back.

***

Emma stood leaning on the main mast of the Jolly Roger, watching its captain bustling around the ship, tugging on ropes, tying and untying them with purpose that she didn’t exactly comprehend. Neal was helping, glancing at her occasionally with worry in his eyes. She tried to ignore it. Regina watched over Henry, not without irritation as Emma’s parents talked with him, now that they had the time to make sure he was really okay. She was grateful for it. He still seemed a bit… off. She couldn’t blame him, after everything that’s happened. She hoped he’d feel better once they got home, they all would. They couldn’t wait to get back. Tinkerbell sat, perched precariously at the bow of the ship, looking out to sea, lost in thought, almost as if she wanted to fly ahead, to get to Storybrooke faster. Emma shared the sentiment. They weren’t chased or in immediate danger but she still felt the urgent need to leave.

“Alright, love” the captain broke her train of thought. “How are we getting back, exactly? I hear you’ve lost the shadow.”

Done with the ropes, he walked up to her expecting to hear a plan, Neal trailing behind him. She could hear the frustration in his voice, despite the casual attitude he rarely dropped. After all the three of them have done to capture it, the shadow has somehow escaped or was let loose. Well, she’s done most of the work but they did nearly lose their shadows- and their lives- in the process. Completely unnecessarily, as it turns out. Now they had a much easier way of leaving Neverland. The island was getting smaller behind them as they sailed further away. She reached into her bag and pulled out the small glass jar with a magic bean in it. The captain whistled.

“Where did you get one of these? I thought we used the last one to get here.”

“We did. I got this one from-“

“Hang on.” Neal interrupted. “What about my father?”

“Right.” Emma reached into her bag again for Pandora’s box. “I have no clue what to do with this thing.”

She reached her hand out in Neal’s direction. He grabbed the box and fiddled with it for a bit. Suddenly it came alive in his hands, the gears spinning and the top turning, it began releasing heavy, red smoke which floated gently towards one spot forming the shape of a man. The smoke got denser and denser until the shape of a man became the shape of Rumplestiltskin and, eventually, became Rumplestiltskin himself. He stood on the deck of the Jolly Roger with his hands up in a defensive position, looking around with confusion. Everyone looked at him, astonished. Emma didn’t think she’d ever be happy to see The Dark One but to her surprise she was relieved that he was alive and well. Neal smiled wide at his father who reached out his hands towards him, still dazed.

“Bae.”

“Papa.”

They fell into each other’s arms, embracing tightly.

“Where’s Henry?” The older man asked slightly out of breath.

“He’s safe. He’s safe.” His son reassured him.

“I told you I wasn’t gonna hurt the boy.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

They all watched their reunion with emotion. Gold was rarely this gentle and seeing the two of them reconcile was heartwarming, at least to Emma and her parents. She couldn’t see Hook’s face but she guessed he might have had a different opinion. She rarely cared about his opinions on things that didn’t pertain to sailing.

She hung back, giving them space and getting closer to her parents and Henry. She ruffled his hair and put her hand on his shoulder, holding onto him as if he would vanish as soon as she let go. She felt a twinge of anxiety. They were sailing further and further away from Neverland but they weren’t in the clear yet. Pan’s shadow could still get them while they were on open water. They had Neal’s coconut prison which they could use in an emergency but Emma hoped that wouldn’t be necessary, especially now that they weren’t sure if it could get out whenever it wanted.

She looked around at her travel companions, who started to relax now that they were going home. Her parents seemed relieved, happy they got their grandson back. They won! Henry was safe. Or he was about to be as soon as they left this cursed place. Regina wore a triumphant expression, that of a queen who got what she wanted, as she was used to. What worried Emma was Henry’s other side of the family. Although happy to be back together, Neal and Gold both looked uncertain. While that wasn’t very unusual for Neal on Gold it was almost startling. The man liked to always be in control and even when he wasn’t he was damn good at pretending he was. But now he looked worried. Upset. Troubled. She figured him and Pan had a past together but she also knew the man has been through a lot, even if she didn’t know all the details. What could possibly have him this rattled? Hook looked unsure as well. He’s been hanging back all this time, away from the families reuniting, looking around, wary of the skies.

It could not have been a good sign that all of the people most familiar with Pan - with the island- were not happy about leaving it, but worried. Tinkerbell still sat at the bow of the Jolly Roger, watching the water and ignoring everything that’s been happening on the ship. Emma looked towards the horizon. They wouldn’t have to sail that far, only far enough to use the bean and get back to Storybrooke.

“So,” The captain got annoyed with waiting. “Shall we get back to the matter at hand? I think explanations are in order.”

Everyone looked at her expectantly. Right, of course they’d want an explanation. In their hurry Emma had no chance at all to explain what happened. She rushed everyone to the ship, assuring them she had a way out and they left, Henry in tow. If Emma was going to be entirely honest with herself she didn’t exactly know or understand what happened either. She was happy she rescued Henry, sure, but it all seemed… wrong. Everything about this was wrong. Why did Pan help them? Why did he suddenly change his entire demeanor as soon as he won?

She held up the jar with the magic bean to look at it. The glass had gotten warm in her palm. She could feel everyone staring at her but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t find the words to explain anything. She had no clue where to even start.

“So how did you get another bean?” Her mother broke the silence.

“I got it” The words felt wrong as they formed in her mouth. “From Pan”

Sounds of surprise erupted all around her. To be honest, she was as shocked by it as they were.

“From Pan? He had a bean on him the entire time?” Mary Margaret eyed the jar with suspicion.

“Apparently”

It’s not that Emma wasn’t suspicious before. This could have been a trick. But why? Pan had won. He had Henry’s heart, he could have simply left. According to Wendy, who chose to hide below deck, perhaps still worried about Pan’s shadow, he was supposed to become all powerful. Why would he do this? Was this another game?

“And how, pray tell, did you manage to steal a magic bean from Peter Pan?” Gold sneered.

“I didn’t.” Emma replied truthfully. “He gave it to me.”

“Gave it to you?” He asked with a sour laugh. “Just like that? Why on Earth would he do that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Emma muttered under her breath, almost more to herself that to him.

Even when he was trying to be nice, he just couldn’t help but be a bit mean. Every mention of Peter Pan agitated him leaving Emma increasingly curious about their past. If she didn’t know any better she would have said the most powerful magic user in all the realms was scared. It would certainly explain why he was lashing out. His son shot him a disapproving look.

“Okay, does anyone have any idea what happened?” Neal chimed in. “Because I don’t. What the hell was that?”

Everyone looked at her again. Why were they always looking at her? She looked at Regina instead.

“Don’t look at me. I have no clue.”

“Yeah. Me either.” Emma had to admit.

“What do you mean?” Mary Margaret asked. “You three were the only ones there. What do you mean you don’t know what happened?”

“I don’t know.” Emma shrugged. “It was weird. It all seems… wrong.”

“I’d say!” Gold cut in. “Peter Pan gifting you a magic bean and allowing you to get away with the boy, I would call that highly unusual.”

“Yeah well, I would say these past couple of months have been highly unusual.” Emma retorted. “There’s a lot I still don’t understand about everything that’s been happening but this? This was… I don’t know”

“Oh, you don’t know.” Gold said. “What excellent leadership.”

“Give me a break.”

“Well, how about you tell us what happened in there?” Mary Margaret said gently. “Maybe we can all help figure it out.”

Emma looked at everybody’s faces looking at her expectantly. She looked down at Henry and realized she was still squeezing his shoulder. She let go and grabbed the jar she was holding with both hands, fidgeting with it.

“I don’t really know what happened.” She said. “We got there too late. Pan has already convinced Henry that he had to save magic or whatever it was. We couldn’t talk him out of it.”

“I don’t understand.” Henry chimed in. “I thought I was saving magic.”

“No, Henry.” Regina replied gently. “Pan was lying to you. He wasn’t saving magic, he was saving himself. And had he succeeded-“ she paused looking for the right words. “Your life… would have been traded for his.”

“So,” the boy looked confused. “I would have died?”

“Yes.” Regina replied shortly.

“But you didn’t!” Mary Margaret said cheerfully. “We saved you!”

“Well…about that.” Neal shifted anxiously. “We didn’t exactly… save him.”

“What do you mean, son? The boy is fine.” Gold looked at his son with a concerned expression.

“I mean, we were too late.” Neal replied with a twinge of guilt in his voice. “Henry gave Pan his heart. Right in front of us.”

“How come he’s standing right there, then? If the lad gave Pan his heart he should be dead right now.” Hook looked at Neal with an unreadable expression.

“That’s the weird thing.” Emma replied for him. “Pan, he- he helped us.”

She heard the surprise in her own voice only after the words left her mouth. She was aware it was ridiculous but she hadn’t exactly had the chance to process it before.

“Pan helped you?” Gold snickered. “What, he just let you take the boy, gave you a magic bean and let you go? And what of his missing heart?”

“That’s the thing.” Emma looked at the older man. “He gave Henry his heart.”

Once again multiple voices began talking all over each other with surprise. Emma could feel pressure building behind her eyes- the start of an inevitable headache.

“His shadow- it left with Henry’s heart.” Emma looked at their surprised faces as they went quiet and tried to gather her thoughts. “And then Pan- he told us we have to get out of there before it comes back, before it realizes what he’s doing. Then he gave me the bean and…”

She hesitated. She reached slowly into her bag and took the small scroll, tied with twine out if it. She now noticed the name Rumplestiltskin written haphazardly in black ink, partially visible on the parchment. Gold and Pan had history, she knew that much, but what kind of history. Had they ever worked together? She was desperately curious. Gold seemed to hate him more than she’s ever seen him hate anyone.

“He asked me to give you this,” she held out the scroll towards Gold. “And to tell you he’s sorry.”

She looked at him, hoping he’d explain. Everyone else seemed just as curious. Gold’s confused and somewhat exasperated expression however, vanished, replaced with what looked like a stone mask only vaguely resembling a human face. He looked at the scroll without moving for what seemed like eternity before he slowly raised his hand to grab it. He took it from her, holding it gently in his trembling hands as if it was about to turn into dust at any moment. He stared at it with an unreadable expression. It was becoming increasingly clear to Emma that he wasn’t going to explain anything.

“And then the weirdest of all,” she continued. “He said he could help, that he could save Henry. He took his own heart out of his chest and put it inside him.”

A murmur of disbelief spread across the group.

“He passed out and Henry woke up and we got the hell out of there like he told us.”

Emma understood the confusion on everyone’s faces as she finished recounting what happened very well. She knew it was an unbelievable story. And she was wondering about the same thing as everyone else-

“Why would he do that?” David voiced the question rattling in Emma’s head.

“I don’t know.” Emma was getting tired of not knowing. “He acted strange. Like he wasn’t himself.”

“It sure doesn’t sound like him.” The pirate laughed grimly.

“No, I mean- It was like- almost like he was a different person.”

That’s what was bothering her. Not just his strange actions but his strange behavior. She didn’t know him very well but from what she learned In the time she spent on Neverland something was off about him, even ignoring him suddenly helping them.

“Emma’s right” Neal chimed in. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

Of course. Neal knew him better than she did. It only makes sense he would be even more weirded out about it.

“He’s a great liar. He loves theatrics and he can change the way he acts in a heartbeat,” Neal continued. “But this- I’ve never seen him act like this. He didn’t seem like he was pretending.”

“No, he didn’t.” Emma agreed

“it would be difficult to pretend to give Henry his heart, don’t you think?” Regina raised one eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Emma kept thinking. “The way he acted, the way he talked. There was something wrong with him. The things he said…”

She trailed off thinking about his words. Everything he said since his shadow left sounded strange. It was difficult to tell which of the weird things he said were important, which would reveal the reason for his behavior. The most important for them was of course his warning about his shadow. His shadow…

“There was something else. Hook, you said that his shadow- it’s its own thing right?”

“Aye.” The pirate confirmed.

“The way he talked about it- It seemed like-“ Emma hesitated. “It seemed like they weren’t just separate. I seemed like- Like they were at odds with each other.”

“He’s at odds with his own shadow?” David asked.

“He never said my shadow.” Emma realized. “He always says the Shadow.”

Emma looked around at everyone still as confused as ever, realization dawning on her.

“Wait. Wait!” She could almost feel a little lightbulb appear above her head.

There was something he said, something that she barely heard and barely registered in her mind. Right before he put his heart inside Henry.

“When I thanked him for helping us,” She stared into the distance, trying to remember. “I called him Peter. But he said- He said ‘It’s Malcolm’”

She stared at everyone, annoyed at the confusion in their faces. Didn’t they get it?

“What if-“ She started slowly. “What if this whole time we weren’t fighting him? What if… this whole time… we were fighting The Shadow?"

She looked around, feeling brilliant. Nobody else seemed to share that opinion. She deflated slightly met with their lack of enthusiasm. Her excitement over stumbling into this ridiculous idea quickly waned. Regina looked at her with her eyebrows raised almost all the way. Her parents were looking at each other, worried and confused. Henry sat in front of them, weirdly quiet. She turned to Neal who was the only one seemingly willing to entertain the idea. She could sea the gears turning in his head.

“So you’re saying that- what? There’s a guy called Malcolm, that’s helping us? And the shadow is who kidnapped Henry?” He shook his head, perplexed. “Emma, I’ve lived here for years, I think I would’ve…”

He abruptly stopped talking, squinting at nothing in particular.

“What?”

“I just realized something. Before Pan had Felix put me in the Echo Caves he… came to talk to me. When I told him I’ve escaped Neverland before he… insinuated that he let me go.”

Funny how he didn’t think to mention that before when their entire escape plan relied on his past escape method. It made sense, though. It’s how the shadow was able to escape from them. The coconut candle might have been able to catch it but it was never trapped in it. It could leave whenever it wanted, it just didn’t want to then… Which meant the candle was useless. Great.

“So are there two Peter Pans running around?” David asked, confused. “I’m confused”

“I don’t know exactly. Maybe he’s controlled or possessed or… blackmailed or something.” She was painfully aware of how ridiculous that was. “We thought Pan was controlling the shadow but I think it’s the other way around. The guy helping us is Malcolm and when The Shadow is controlling him, he becomes Peter Pan. Maybe.”

She was aware it was a big maybe. But she had nothing else to go on besides a single odd conversation. It’s not like she knew Pan well enough to even determine what was normal for him. Nobody really knew him. Even the people that have been dealing with him for centuries. Neal at least considered the idea that Pan wasn’t what he seemed but Hook seemed completely disinterested. Perhaps he just didn’t care who Pan was. It wouldn’t exactly help them anymore, now that they were leaving his realm. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was important – and she’s learned to trust her instincts on things like this. She briefly considered talking to Henry who sat next to her parents, unusually quiet and mildly shellshocked, and yet listening intently to all of this. She didn’t want to bother him about it yet, he’s already suffered through his grandparents questions, reassuring them that he was alright. They could talk about what happened when they got home.

That only left one person who has spent time with Pan. The one person that perhaps knew him best. Gold. She had no clue what the nature of their relationship was but she could tell there was history between them from what Gold let slip through the cracks in his deadpan demeanor. The way he spoke of Pan betrayed respect and hatred and… something else. Something more complex. And then there was that scroll. Was it a letter? What did Gold know?

He was maybe the only one who could shed some light on this situation. Emma realized he hasn’t spoken in a while. She looked around, taking in the ship. Gold wasn’t here. She shot Neal a confused look and he answered with a confused look of his own. She looked around again to confirm what she already knew. He wasn’t here.

“Where’s Gold?” She asked not expecting anyone to know.

They all started looking around.

“Who cares.” Regina huffed. “His great plan of saving Henry didn’t work and he got himself trapped in a box. He’s probably off somewhere, sulking.”

“I’m sorry.” Henry muttered.

Regina’s expression softened at her son’s voice. She lowered herself to be level with him and cupped his face in her hand.

“Henry, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I shouldn’t have believed Pan. I’m sorry you had to save me.”

“It’s okay, Henry!” Mary Margaret reassured him.

“All’s well, that ends well.” David added.

“I just… wanted to save magic.” The boy mumbled under his breath. “ I wanted to be a hero.”

“There’s plenty of time for that.” Emma thought it must be easy to say for Prince Charming.

“But now it’s time to rest.” His grandmother agreed.

“Only the best for our guest of honor, don’t you think?” Hook spoke up for the first time in a while. “Captain’s quarters.”

Emma wondered if his affection for the boy was because of her – or because of Neal.

“Come on. I’ll tuck you in.” Regina offered.

***

Henry had felt strange since the moment he woke up. Losing his heart, passing out, waking up with a new one, it was all very disorienting. Then they immediately left, his parents dragged him through the jungle, brought him onto a ship, moved him from one place to another constantly. Everyone fussed over him as if he was ill. Only once the adults got preoccupied with their stories and theories had he finally had time to breathe. He didn’t feel bad exactly. He was a little sore, whether that was because he was technically dead for a moment or because he’s been tired from running around, he wasn’t sure. Physically he was mostly fine. But there was something else, a feeling deep inside him, that was just wrong. He felt all these things, some of them bad, yes, but some of them good or neither.

When Emma was telling everyone about their encounter with Pan he felt a wave of familiarity. Some of the things she said had made him feel strange. He listened to her hoping to figure out a pattern, a reason for the way he felt. He found none. Even now, being tucked in bed by his mom – something that should be comforting and familiar – felt odd.

“Henry, are you okay?” His mother looked at him with concern.

“I’m fine.” He lied

She narrowed her eyes in that way she did when he’d swear he didn’t eat the cookies, hiding the cookie jar behind his back.

“Are you sure?”

“I-“ He didn’t want to worry her but he didn’t want to lie to her either. “I just feel strange.”

“Strange how?” She put her hand on his forehead.

“I’m not in pain or anything.” He said quickly. “It’s just- I feel all these strange… feelings.”

His mom smiled with relief and straightened the blanket that covered him.

“You’ve been through a lot. You need to rest.” She put her hand on his chest over his heart. “I promise you’re safe now.”

“I know.” He put his hand on hers.

“I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better once you get to sleep in your own bed. We’ll be home soon.”

She kissed him on the forehead and got up to dim the lamp next to the bed. Her hand found his in the dark room for a moment then slipped out as she left. She looked at him fondly before quietly closing the door, leaving him to rest. He was exhausted. He didn’t feel like he would sleep ever again.

***

After Regina had gone down below deck with Henry to put him to bed, Emma had given Hook the magic bean, letting him handle navigating back to Storybrooke – he was the expert after all. Now she was left alone with her thoughts, the events of today making her head swim. She hated to leave a mystery unsolved. Nobody else seemed to care, though. Her parents were talking in hushed voices away from everyone. Hook steered the ship focused entirely on the sea. When she looked at him, he sent her a confident smile and a wink. She smiled back, purely out of politeness then turned her attention to Neal. He stood at the front of the ship, it didn’t escape her – to be far from Hook. He was chatting casually with Tinkerbell.

Emma noticed her perk up before while they were talking about Pan. She claimed her and Pan were ‘friends’, whatever that meant to her considering she was willing to betray him at the drop of a hat. Could she have some answers? No, according to Regina she’s only been on the island for a short while. Her treehouse seemed to confirm, Neverland has never been her home. Her ‘friendship’ with Pan was probably only a matter of survival. A wingless fairy on an unfamiliar and dangerous island probably needed a friend, one like the master of that island, preferably. Cozying up to him was a smart move on her part but it wasn’t exactly helpful to Emma.

No, she needed to talk to the man who knew him before anyone else did. The oldest among them, with the oldest grudge. Where has Gold gone? Surely, he was still on the ship with them, right?

Her question was answered as if by divine intervention. Haunting the ship, lost in thought, she nearly stumbled over the figure hunched over on the floor. He was sitting out of view, hidden behind some boxes, barrels and stacks of ropes. He looked at her absentmindedly as if he only partially registered her presence. She stared at him for a moment then sat down next to him. He didn’t move.

“Hey.”

He didn’t answer. He was so still, if someone replaced him with a wax figure of himself she wouldn’t even notice.

“Not in the mood to talk, huh?”

No response.

“Listen, we all appreciate that you wanted to help, we really do, even if it didn’t work.”

“it doesn’t matter.” He spoke up weakly. “Henry is okay. That’s what’s important.”

“Yeah.” She said, taken aback.

They sat in silence for a moment.

“So,” she drew out the word. “You and Pan. You’ve known each other long?

He looked away.

“Yes.”

“Right.”

He wasn’t giving her much to work with.

“You didn’t have much to say back there, you just disappeared on us. Is it because of that letter?”

He shifted uncomfortably. So it was a letter.

“What did it say?” She asked barely hiding her curiosity. “Was it anything useful?”

“It was a private letter miss Swan.”

Uh oh. He got fed up with her questioning. It didn’t seem like she was getting any answers out of him. This strange reaction of his only made her more curious. But she wasn’t going to achieve anything by pushing him until he snaps at her.

“Oookay. Got it.”

She got up. Gold was still absentmindedly looking out into the distance.

She was going to find out what was going on. Eventually.

Chapter Text

The Jolly Roger emerged from a portal and quietly sailed towards the Storybrooke docks, initially without much applause. As soon, however, as its fairytale citizens noticed its arrival the news spread fast and soon there was a crowd forming, ready to greet Henry and his saviors. Cheers erupted as the boy of the hour showed up, his family behind him. They all walked down, one by one, onto the docks, where their friends were eagerly waiting for them. Henry was quickly swallowed by a sea of hands extended towards him, grabbing at him to pull him in for a hug. Aside from the commotion stood Belle, watching the people leaving the boat like a hawk, searching for a face she’s been wanting to see since the day she said goodbye, perhaps for forever, weeks ago at this same dock. The head of the man she was looking for appeared above the crowd as he stepped down from the boat and she released the breath she didn’t realize she’s been holding in relief. He was alive. His eyes met hers and a subtle smile spread across his face. While everyone else was busy reuniting with the friends they left in Storybrooke to save Henry, Rumplestiltskin walked calmly past everyone towards Belle who waited for him until she couldn’t stay still anymore and met him halfway, throwing her arms around his neck. He sighed into her hair. She pulled back, her arms still wrapped around him and his around her as they looked into each other’s eyes.

“I told you I’d see you again.” She said.

“That’s the last time I don’t listen to you.”

She laughed at his words.

“Hey!” Neal joined them.

“Hey!” Belle greeted him, putting an arm on his shoulder. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you.” He smiled at her. “I uh- I found this below deck, I thought you might need it.”

Saying this he held out his father’s old cane towards him. The older man looked at it with fondness and reached out for it.

“Thank you, Bae, I do.” He rubbed his thumb on the handle. “As a reminder of the man I was, that I shall no longer be.”

Neal smiled and pressed his forehead against Rumplestiltskin’s, putting his hand on the back of his head, as did Belle and they remained in a three person embrace.

A young girl stood aside, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. Her brothers saw her first and pushed through the people in their way to get to her and her face lit up as she saw them.

“Wendy!” One of them called to her.

“Micheal!”

She stood on the tips of her toes to hug him then moved towards her other brother who had to bend down.

“John! Is it really you?”

“You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting to see you.” John replied.

She smiled. Neal walked up to them, joining their reunion.

“You remember Baelfire?” Wendy asked her brothers.

Both of them pulled him in for a hug and Wendy joined them, their little family back together at last.

“So? Now what?” Neal asked.

“I think it’s time for the Darlings to go home.” John looked affectionately at his sister. “All of us.”

Wendy nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile the Charmings were still being greeted by what seemed like an endless stream of people. Once they greeted Henry and Emma, they moved onto the royal couple and everyone wanted to say hello to all four of them. The pair caught a moment for themselves as the stream momentarily dried up.

“How do you feel?” Snow White checked in with her husband.

“Pretty good, actually.” He replied. “I think the water must be working.”

“Aye, it is.” Hook cut in. “The Dreamshade overtook my brother the moment we left Neverland.”

“Gold will find a cure.” The princess assured her prince. “You’ll be okay.”

Emma watched them fondly, rubbing circles on Henry’s arm to comfort him as much as to comfort herself.

“I have to admit, there was a minute there I didn’t believe we were all gonna make it out of that place.” She said

“Well” said her father. “We did.”

“Not yet.” Regina interrupted their moment.

“She’s right.” Emma agreed. “Henry’s not safe yet.”

“Well then what do we do? How do we protect him?” Her mother asked.

“I- don’t know.” She said.

“I’m sure we’re all really tired.” Regina said. “I know I am.” She added under her breath. “We still have some time. We should all get some sleep and meet back at the town hall tomorrow.”

David nodded and looked at his wife.

“Good idea.” He said.

“Okay.” Said Regina. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

She grabbed Henry’s arm.

“Wait.” Emma strengthened her grip on her son. “Henry should stay with me.”

Regina straightened up and looked at her coldly. She stared for a moment.

“Henry will be safer with me. I can protect him.”

“He’s not in any danger right now. He’ll be fine.”

“Just a moment ago you said he wasn’t safe yet.”

“Yeah, well-“ She searched for arguments but she couldn’t find any. “Okay, fine. He can stay with you.”

She didn’t like it but Regina was right. Out of all of them she was probably the best person to take care of their son right now.

“Is that okay with you, Henry?”

“Hmm?” The boy answered absentmindedly. “Yeah.”

Emma looked at him carefully. There was something odd about him. His expression, the way he stood and moved, it all seemed off. He had just gone through an awful couple of weeks so perhaps he just needed time to readjust. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“We’ll see you at the town hall tomorrow at 8 then.”

Regina put her hands on Henry’s shoulders and steered him gently away from the docks. Emma watched them walk away uneasily. Gold, Neal and Belle got closer, curiously glancing at the queen getting further away.

“You got that?” Emma asked. “We’re meeting back at the town hall tomorrow at 8.”

Son and father looked at each other and nodded.

She couldn’t wait to hear what Gold had to say.

***

When Emma got to the town hall with her parents, Regina and Henry were already there, waiting for them. The mayor had her hand wrapped protectively around the boy's shoulder and an impatient expression on her face, the dark circles under her eyes were barely covered by makeup. She must have stayed up all night, watching over her son. Emma gave Henry a reassuring smile and he returned it with an unsure smile of his own.

"Oh good, you decided to show up after all." Regina sneered.

Both Charmings looked at their watches with raised eyebrows.

"We're 5 minutes early." Noticed Mary Margaret.

"5 minutes early is 5 minutes late, Ms. Blanchard"

Emma rolled her eyes. Hook and Tinker Bell arrived together which earned them a couple curious glances which were ignored - by her and enjoyed - by him. They joined the rest of the group.

They waited.

A couple minutes later they were joined by Neal. He looked slightly more disheveled than usual- which was slightly less disheveled than the past couple of weeks on Neverland. He gave them a quick greeting avoiding everyone's eyes and tousled Henry's hair with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

They waited.

"What are we waiting for?" The fairy broke the silence.

"Gold." Emma said. "I mean Rumplestiltskin." She clarified met with a confused expression.

"Ah."

A couple seconds passed in silence.

"And what do we need him for, exactly?"

"He's the most powerful one here."

Regina scoffed. Emma ignored her.

"We'll need his help. And I-" she drew out the word. "Have a couple questions I'd like to ask him."

"What do you mean?" Neal joined the conversation.

"I mean-"

Emma had a lot of time to think about it last night. She still wasn't sure. She was following a hunch, an instinct that hasn't led her astray ever before.

"I mean-" she started again. "He's hiding stuff. He hasn't told us about that whole deal with him and Henry. Or whatever the hell is going on between him and Pan."

"Yeah, hiding stuff is kind of his thing, y'know?" Neal shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, I know. And I'm getting tired of it."

He nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, mhm, for sure. Me too. And how-" He considered what to say for a moment. "How exactly do you plan to go about it?"

"Ask him."

"Ask him. Uh huh. And you think that'll work?"

She looked at him fidget and sway on the balls of his feet. She hasn't considered anything other than a direct encounter. It worked for her every time. While everyone else squirmed under Gold's boot, looking for ways to go around him, she came up to him and she made him listen. She knew he liked that about her.

"Don't get me wrong, I would love to know what's going on too." He continued. "I mean- I've been wondering for centuries what's the deal with him and Pan."

It was more than just a figure of speech. Before Neal was- well, Neal, he spent literal centuries as Baelfire, trying to find his way through these insane worlds.

"Aye, I've been wondering as well." Hook cut in. "Not for quite as long. But even when I was working for Pan I knew he was dangerous and I considered the crocodile my enemy long before that. To know that they have something in common- it's a surefire sign of something horrible."

Neal shot him an exasperated look. His annoyance stemmed in part from Hook's obvious correctness.

"They were friends once." He said drawing a couple shocked looks his way. "Until Pan betrayed him. And my father has hated him since."

"What do you mean by 'betrayed'?" Emma asked.

"He never said. That's all I know."

"That doesn't clear things up at all." Emma muttered to herself.

Neal looked at her quizzically. She met his eyes then suddenly started looking around the room.

"Isn't it weird that he's the only one missing?"

Everyone looked around despite knowing full well he wasn't there. He's always had an annoying tendency to disappear when he was needed most.

“Quite strange, I’d say. Do you think he might still be in cahoots with Pan?”

“I’m not so sure he’s not.” All eyes once again turned to Neal. “I mean, we don’t even know what side Pan is on. He helped us, right?”

Emma smiled to herself. Neal might have hated Pan and this strange situation they found themselves in certainly wasn’t easy to swallow for him and yet, through it all, he believed her. No matter where she led, he followed. Sure, he didn’t exactly believe in her superpower but he trusted her even when all she had to go off of was a hunch.

“All I know is my father is willing to do anything to protect my son. Whatever sides there are, he’s on Henry’s side.”

“Are you sure about that? What if this is some elaborate plot from them? Why else would either of them help us?” The pirate wasn’t letting up.

“Uh, maybe my father would help because it’s his grandson this is about?”

“Why would he care about his grandson when he didn’t even care about his son?! He abandoned you, Bae, why are you defending him? And how would that explain how Pan fits into all this?”

The double doors opened suddenly drawing their attention. Mr. Gold walked in, arm in arm with Belle. He let go of her for a moment turning towards the door to close it then turned back and froze with a room of surprised faces looking at him. He relaxed and freely extended one arm for Belle to grab again and rested the other hand on his cane with a forced confidence. She held on to him, shyly sneaking a glance at all the people looking at them in silence.

"Sorry, we're late." She said apologetically.

The two of them crossed the room joining the group. Mr. Gold handed his cane to his girlfriend and put his free hand in his pocket. He produced a small, corked bottle, made from brown glass with what seemed like clear liquid inside it. He held it out wordlessly towards David. The prince looked at it, perplexed then slowly took it.

"Is that-" Mary Margaret began.

"Yeah." Gold answered casually. "An elixir."

He gave them a tentative half smile wringing his hands.

"This will cure your Dreamshade poisoning once and for all."

"You really found a cure? Already?" David asked cautiously.

"I am a man of my word."

"And I owe you nothing? No price of magic? No..."

"On the house." Gold shifted on his feet.

"But we are family now, so I'm sure should I ever need a favor" he paused as both Charmings looked at him with disbelief. "You'd be more than receptive."

He gave them an expectant look. The couple looked at each other with joy. David nodded, smiling.

“Thank you."

Gold returned his nod.

"What are you waiting for? Drink it!" Mary Margaret hurried her husband.

He uncorked the bottle, glanced at her then tilted his head back and swallowed its contents like he was taking a shot. His wife looked at him suspiciously.

"How do you feel?"

He leaned forward slightly, breathing heavily as she looked on with concern. Suddenly he grabbed his side where the poisoned arrow had grazed him. He took another deep breath and looked up with a smile and pulled his wife in for a kiss. They held hands, content, while everyone pretended to look another way.

"Is that why you were late?" Emma broke the awkward silence.

Gold nodded. Everyone suddenly felt bad about speculating about his motives before.

"I work fast but things like that" he gestured towards the couple. "Take time."

"What matters is we are here now." Belle chirped making him sway a little as she pulled on his arm.

"Yeah." Emma agreed. "Especially since we have a lot to discuss."

"That we do." Mr. Gold mumbled looking at the ground.

Emma raised her eyebrows.

"You got something to say?"

He looked away. Emma noticed he was acting strange but he's been acting strange for a while now. It was difficult to place when exactly it began but it was certainly getting more obvious.

"Alright then." She addressed the whole group. "First things first. Henry. We need to figure out a way to keep him safe. Which brings us to the second issue. Figuring out what we're up against. To know how to best protect him we need to know what exactly is coming after him."

The silence that fell after she stopped talking was interrupted by the sounds of shuffling and muttering. The boy in question looked at his mother with an unreadable expression.

"To understand what's coming" she picked up again. "We need to understand what happened."

"Yeah, that's a good point." Neal cut in. "Because I don't understand. At all."

In many ways Neal was the expert on all things Neverland. He lived there for centuries, surviving its many challenges and dealing with Peter Pan. Now he was on unfamiliar ground. Emma looked at him, prompting him to keep going.

"Pan's shadow has always been his servant but it's a separate thing from him. You can capture it like I did to escape Neverland and it doesn't really fight you much unless Pan tells it to. Now it seems like it's the main threat."

"Hook, do you have any input?" Emma asked.

"I must agree with Baelfire. From what you say-" he gave her a pointed look. "This is most unusual."

"Tinker Bell?"

The fairy shook her head.

"And that's all the people that are familiar with Pan and have no idea what's going on. All except..."

Emma looked towards Gold expectantly. She wanted to know what was going on - to protect her son of course but also out of instinctual curiosity which seemed to always lead her where she was supposed to go - and he seemed to hold the answer. He always seemed to hold the answers - and just as always he was reluctant to share them.

He met her gaze as if he was expecting it. He said nothing.

"I have a feeling that letter would explain some things." She prompted.

That letter. She didn't need to specify. They all remembered the little scroll that Emma handed to Gold that she had supposedly gotten from Pan. If it wasn't for her natural ability to make people follow and trust her, those that weren't there would have found it difficult to believe.

Gold shifted uncomfortably. He sighed and once again reached into his pocket, taking the letter out of it. His hands shook almost imperceptibly.

"Is there anything in there that could help us?" Emma asked gently.

"Yes." He nodded.

The silence was full of anticipation. Gold took a deep breath.

"The enemy we are up against is the Shadow. It wants the heart of the Truest Believer to gain power and will stop at nothing to get it."

"It already has Henry's heart." Regina interrupted brusquely.

Gold nodded again ignoring the queen's temper.

"But It doesn't gain anything from it until Henry dies. As long as the boy is alive It won't be able to make use of its power."

Silence fell over the room. Everyone understood what Gold left unsaid. The Shadow needs Henry to die to have the full power of the heart of the Truest Believer. And It will stop at nothing to kill him.

“Okay, well-" Snow white, ever so optimistic, looked for the bright side. "Does it say anything about how to defeat It?"

Gold looked at the letter. It was rolled into a scroll again but he looked as if he could see the words in front of him. Emma noticed the paper was rumpled as if it was creased and smoothed out many times.

"We don't need to defeat It." He said finally. "We only need to wait It out. Without the heart's power It will die on Its own."

"What? Why?"

"The hourglass on Neverland. It's counting down the time It has left. Once the sand is gone..."

"There wasn't much left." Neal pointed out.

"Hang on, I thought it was counting down Pan's time."

"It is. Their lives are inextricably linked together." Gold explained.

"So the Shadow dies, Pan dies, problem solved." Neal shrugged. "Except Pan is dead already and the Shadow isn't. So what gives?"

Mr. Gold looked at his son reluctantly. He seemed... ashamed.

"The hourglass... it's counting down the time until Neverland's magic runs out."

"Wasn't that a lie Pan told Henry to trick him?" Tinker Bell interjected.

Gold shook his head.

"That part was true. Neverland's magic is running out. The Shadow... It's linked to it, when it runs out It will cease to exist. At the same time... It's what was keeping..." he hesitated. "...Pan alive."

"So he would have died when the magic runs out" Emma picked up on what he was saying. "If he hadn't already died beforehand."

"I don't care about the mechanics of Pan's death as long as he stays dead." Regina interrupted. "Does it say anything in there about how to protect Henry?"

Gold side eyed her.

"It's weak to light. It will also be weakened here away from Neverland. It has been using Pan as Its puppet to interact with the physical world but without him It will have a harder time influencing things."

Emma perked up. She felt a triumphant twinge.

"So he really was just a puppet. I was right, it's just a regular kid that the Shadow is using. That's why he helped us."

She looked at Gold waiting for a sign of confirmation but instead he looked away. Belle put her hand on his shoulder and he stared at his shoes even harder.

Emma had never really seen him like this. If she asked Hook or Neal they would tell her that this was what he used to be like all the time. Scared. The closest he's ever been to this state as far as she knew was when they left Storybrooke to look for his son. The unsure man in front of her reminded her of the shaky man about to go through airport security rather than the calm and collected pawnbroker and lawyer.

He collected himself, took a deep breath and stretched to his full height making Belle, still attached to his arm, sway dangerously on her high heels. He was carefully avoiding looking at anyone in particular, instead boring a hole in the wall in front of him with his eyes.

"When I was a little boy" he began. "I lived with my father."

"He wasn't very well liked and for a good reason. He made a living through rigged card games, scamming people in the street. Sometimes he would get in trouble with people who figured out they were tricked so for my safety, or perhaps just to get rid of me for a while, he'd have spinsters babysit me. It's where I first learned to spin."

Emma tried to imagine baby Rumplestiltskin using a spinning wheel. She knew he had to have been a child once, obviously, but her mind refused to accept it.

"Those spinsters took pity on me and gifted me a magic bean to help me get away from my father because, as they said, he would always hold me back. But I was a child then and my father was my whole world. I couldn’t even imagine ever leaving without him so I gave him the bean and told him we can go wherever we want, where people don't know him."

Emma's mind hasn't caught on yet but she got a horrible feeling about what would come next.

"He told me about a magical place that he went to in his dreams when he was a child. A place where anything you could imagine was true, a place where you could do anything, even fly, as long as you believed. Neverland."

He paused for dramatic effect. They all gasped obediently.

"That's where we went. He was very excited to fly again but for some reason he couldn’t. Then he remembered that to fly we needed pixie dust from flowers growing only on the highest of the branches of trees deep in Neverland’s forest. So he climbed a tree to get some, leaving me to wait until he gets back down."

Emma noticed his speech was getting simpler as he went on, as if his child self was speaking through him. She listened captivated by the story.

"He didn't come down for ages but when he did he seemed... different. Upset. He told me..." Gold took a shaky breath. "He told me that he never loved me. That he was never meant to be a father."

You could hear a pin drop in the silence while Gold took a moment to compose himself. He swallowed.

"He said only children can stay on Neverland and he can't fly anymore because he's not a child. But thanks to magic he can be a child again. Except... children can't have children. So I have to leave."

Everybody understood now but they kept listening, at the edge of their seats.

"The Shadow took me away, carried me back to the spinsters. But before It did I saw him- I saw my father transform from a man into a boy. The boy the lands came to know as Peter Pan."

He avoided their eyes as they stared at him silently, attempting to pick their jaws up from the floor.

"Jesus Christ."

It was the only appropriate response Emma could come up with. She could tell the others agreed with her, even Hook and Tinker Bell, who were unfamiliar with said religious figure. Belle laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why didn't you say something before?" Neal asked his father incredulously.

"Because" Rumplestiltskin said carefully. "Because I didn't want you to know I was as bad a father as he was. Because we're both the same me and him. Because we both abandoned our sons."

"No, you're not the same." Neal reassured. "You came back for me papa."

Gold leaned on the balustrade, half sitting on it.

"Yeah." He agreed. "I did."

He seemed lost in thought.

"Oh, come on Gold, you're not seriously mourning him, are you?" Regina interrupted his somber moment.

He looked at her with no hostility which was somehow more striking than if he lunged at her and started beating her senseless with his cane.

"I've been mourning him since the day he left." He replied softly.

"I'm really sorry." Mary Margaret attempted to comfort him.

Despite witnessing it over and over again Emma was always surprised by the bottomless well of compassion her mother seemed to have for everyone regardless of any misdeeds. Although, the Charmings seemed to have a very loose and relaxed relationship with Rumplestiltskin - perhaps holding him prisoner, entirely of his free will, contributed to that. Even Emma felt bad for him now. No wonder this whole situation was difficult for him. Right now, however, curiosity won and she pushed her shame down as she asked:

"That's not all, is it?"

Everyone looked at her with confusion. Gold held her gaze this time. He knew he could always trust her to match his wit and determination. He liked that about her. She was a challenge. Somewhere on the margins of her mind Emma realized this was how his father had felt about her as well.

"No." He agreed. "It's not."

Mary Margaret looked at her daughter with concern.

"What else is there?"

Gold sighed again. This difficult conversation was beginning to tire him out. He didn't want to be talking to these people, not about things so close to his heart. But they were supposedly family now and he at least wanted Bae to know.

"What I told you is what I remember happening. What I thought about every night before falling asleep for years. I missed my father and I hated him. I hated him even more when I learned what he's become."

He hesitated only for a moment.

"This." He held the scroll he was still holding in his hand. "This letter is an explanation. And an apology."

"Apology?" Regina sneered. "A bit late for that, isn't it?"

Gold turned the letter in his hands, considering it carefully.

"In it he explains what really happened that day."

He held the paper in his hands gently but his knuckles had turned white on the hand holding his cane.

"Adults aren't allowed on Neverland. The Shadow was going to kill him. And turn me into its puppet. So he made a deal. He'll stay on Neverland as Its puppet and I will remain free. It is free to do with him as It pleases, possessing him at will so long as I get safely sent home."

His empty voice sounded dull in the echoing silence of the room.

"You don't actually believe that, right?" Neal was the first to ask.

His father looked at him helplessly.

"I do." Emma said.

She returned their surprised looks with a hardy look of her own.

"His name was Malcolm, right?" She asked Gold gently. "It all makes sense. He makes a deal with the Shadow which makes him Its puppet. It possesses him and makes him kidnap Henry to get the heart of the Truest Believer to get power. When It gets it It flies away thinking It won but Malcolm gives Henry his own heart to keep him alive, sacrificing himself, using his last moments to warn us, give us a way home and give me a letter for his next of kin."

"He was helping us the whole time." Mary Margaret whispered.

"That's why he let me leave before." Neal realized.

"Which means" Emma said slowly. "That he died before you found out he was trying to protect you. Jeez, Gold, I'm sorry."

Gold breathed in shakily.

"What matters now is Henry. He sacrificed himself to protect him. We can't let that be in vain."

It was obvious he was just trying to distract them from the emotional truth bomb, afraid after baring his heart to them. Unfortunately he was right. If what Pan- Malcolm, Emma corrected herself in her head- said was true, Henry was in danger. They could worry about everything else later.

At the mention of his name Henry moved. It was unusual how still he could be at times and he's been especially quiet since they got back from Neverland. He hasn't spoken once during the whole conversation, slumped over in one of the many chairs filling up the empty space in the room. Now that he reminded them of his presence by shuffling in place Emma noticed he seemed slightly feverish, his eyes wet, though no tears fell.

"He-" The boy started. "He was really sad, I think."

Everyone turned to look at him, surprised by the statement. The boy was holding his shirt with his left hand, creasing the fabric over his heart. "Sad and... worried? And scared."

"Henry, what are you talking about?" Regina asked gently, sitting down on a chair next to him and putting her hand on his head, petting his hair.

He looked up at her or rather through her, lost in thought.

"I can feel it." He said. "In his heart."

Everyone considered his words for a moment. Gold let go of Belle and walked over to where Henry was sitting, kneeling down supported by his cane to get on eye level with him. He put his free hand on the boy's knee.

"What are you feeling Henry?"

The boy fidgeted with the fabric in his fist.

"Um- It's a lot. I don't really understand most of it."

"That's alright. Just tell me what you're feeling right now."

Henry looked at his grandfather, considering him for a moment.

"I- care about you." He muttered. "Not that I didn't before! You're family!"

He took a shaky breath and stared forward in contemplation.

"But this feels different. Somehow.”

He looked at his grandfather again.

"I think it's how he felt. He cared about you. He loved you a lot. But he was really sad about it."

What Henry was too young to understand was that he was attempting, with his limited vocabulary and life experience, to describe the feeling of grief. If he had the words perhaps he would describe it as a kind of melancholic sorrow which left him numb and empty.

Gold understood. His eyes lingered absently on the boy's inquisitive expression. He hoisted himself back up with the support of his cane. If he had any thoughts or feelings about any of this he didn't let them show, his face a perfect mask of calm.

"We need to be ready. We might not be able to destroy the Shadow but we have to be prepared for when it strikes. We have to protect Henry."