Chapter Text
It worked. It finally, finally worked- It hadn’t been that long, but it felt like it had been an eternity since he had felt this victorious. Pan glanced down, ecstatic to finally be back in his own body- It worked, it really worked.
Felix had finally been useful after all.
Pan looked around; it was as he'd imagined it. It looked just like Neverland used to, before his magic started to weaken. And it was all his; there was no limit to his youth anymore, no magic that could run out. No limit to the pixie dust, no limit to anything. Just what he had wanted.
It was... perfect.
And empty.
Felix had been by his side for centuries, he hadn’t known anyone longer than him. He had been the only Lost Boy from the very first group that he brought back to Neverland that had survived all those years without ever stepping out of line. A part of him almost felt guilty.
Almost.
But he was a Lost One too, even if he was the leader- and Lost Ones don’t apologize. They don’t know regret, they don’t know guilt, and he wouldn’t let himself be the exception.
He took flight; here and now it was effortless.
It was an addicting feeling; always had been- but here it was easier now than it had ever been on Neverland. He didn’t even have to think anything, he could just do it- as easy as blinking or moving an arm. And he'd never have to worry about running of pixie dust.
He floated in the air slowly for a moment, before he took off faster, straight towards where the center of Storybrooke used to be. The structures and buildings were all gone, but he'd taken the easy route and kept some of the layout.
He saw Lost Boys slowly waking up and cheering. Good, he thought, just as it should be. They can celebrate my victory.
He moved on, flew to the middle of his new kingdom- the center where the main street used to be. Sitting on a platform, where the library used to be, was a straight row of cages. He saw the cages' new inhabitants waking up slowly. This should be fun.
He landed right in front of them. They got to keep their memories, he found it more entertaining that way. Where's the fun in caging a queen when she doesn't remember her palace?
"Your majesty," he addressed Regina first. "How do you like your new chambers?" He leaned down, stopping just in front of the bars of the cage.
Regina was still blinking away the magic of the curse- it left her groggy and tired as if she had just slept twelve hours. "You really did it," the venom in her voice was weaker than it used to be. She was tense as she looked around at what he had done to Storybrooke; to her city. Her eyes landed on Henry, still unconscious in one of the other cages. It was as if a stone fell from her heart when she saw him; never in her life had she been so relieved.
"He's alive, yes," Pan confirmed as he stood up straight again. "But he's not safe, before you start thinking that."
"You made a mistake letting me live," she said, a grin appeared as she was more motivated again. "You can’t keep me trapped here forever- and when I get out, I'm saving him."
"If," Pan corrected, smug as ever. He pointed down, at her wrist. "And even if you managed to get out of the cage, that's not your only problem. You don’t have magic unless you can get that bracelet off."
Looking down at that cursed thing brought back the memories of Greg's- no, Owen's revenge. It stung. She sucked in a sharp breath and collected herself before she looked up again.
God, Regina hated his stupid, smug grin. She'd kill that brat as soon as she got the chance, she decided. Even if she had to do it with her bare hands. As long as he was human, she would be able to do it.
In the cage next to her, Emma started waking up and Pan sauntered over to her. "The Savior is finally with us again." He placed a hand on her cage, but didn’t lean down. "I'm not sure that title still fits. "You're more of a damsel in distress now, aren’t you?"
Regina gripped the bars of her cage tightly. "Don't listen to him," she spat. "He's trying to unsettle you."
Emma didn’t reply immediately. She looked around too; just as Regina had done earlier. "It's working," she said eventually, "we're trapped, helpless, and..." Emma trailed off and closed her eyes as she leaned against the side of the cage.
"Don’t give up!" Regina clenched her fists, but Emma didn’t react.
Pan chuckled. It was a cruel tone. "Are you going to give her a hope speech like her mother?" He walked back to Regina's cage. "No amount of hope will get your magic back. Or hers, for that matter. Not to sound arrogant, but I did a pretty good job with those cuffs, you know."
"I will find a way," she spat. The venom returned full force now. "This isn't the end."
"How right you are, Regina," he said as he took a step back. "It's only the beginning."
He walked back to where he'd been at Emma's cage a moment ago. "Has the Savior really given up?"
Emma glared at him, but didn’t answer. After a moment or two, she glanced towards Regina's cage, but didn’t meet her eyes.
Pan rolled his eyes. "Boring answer," he said as he walked to the third cage. In this one sat Neal- or Baelfire. He hadn’t woken up yet- or at least didn’t show it if he had. Pan kept walking. Hook's cage was next, then Henry's, then Rumple's, then Belle's, and lastly- Wendy's. Was it cruel to capture her again? Yes. But neither she nor her brothers had kept up their end of the deal, so he really didn’t see much reason to care. Would he have kept his word if they had listened?
The cages and their inhabitants lost his interest quickly. "I'm getting bored. I'll leave you all to chat," he said before he vanished.
Regina closed her eyes, trying to reign in her anger- It was hard. But she knew anger wouldn’t get her anywhere. She needed to keep her cool, now more than ever- She glanced at Emma who still looked defeated. "You're the Savior," she said, "don’t give up-"
Emma let out a tired breath and shook her head. "What's the point? He took our magic, put us in cages- Like damn animals." She looked away from Regina, towards the other cages. Her gaze lingered there, listless, until she noticed two important people were missing. Her head snapped back to Regina. "Did you notice? My parents- they're not here."
Regina craned her head a bit- the cages were all in a straight line, so it was hard to see- But Emma seemed to be right, she couldn’t spot the Charmings anywhere. "What could he be planning...?"
"I don’t know, love," Hook interjected now. Regina felt the screws catch in her head. How long had he been awake? "But it can’t be anything good." The pirate sounded defeated too, but much less than Emma. If anything, "demotivated" might be as better descriptor.
"Who is all awake?" Regina asked, not really replying to anything Hook said.
"Swan and me, clearly," Hook said. Regina spent a second wondering whether the pirate actually thought that was a helpful answer.
"Right. Me too, if you hadn’t noticed. Anyone else?"
Neal cleared his throat, but said nothing. Wendy, Belle and Henry remained motionless and quiet.
After a few moments of silence, Regina asked more specifically. "Rumple?"
No answer.
"My father doesn't seem awake yet," Neal said. "It might be a gradual thing."
"We need him to wake up," Regina complained, getting a bit louder. "He knows the most about the Dark Curse out of any of us- If anyone knows how to break this one, it's him."
"He's not napping, Regina," Emma sighed. "Yelling probably won’t do much."