{ Dreamshade }

•Chapter 7•

Killian walked up behind Snow and David. They were watching Regina trying to teach Emma magic. With not a lot of luck. He sat next to them. "We need to talk." He whispered, "Pan paid me a visit. He, uh...he told me that Neal is alive and that he's on this very island." He informs the couple. "Emma saw him. He was shot. He fell through a portal. No one could survive that." Snow replies. "Well, he did. And now he's here. He said he took him from this very camp. While we were off in his cave." Killian tells them. But Snow shook her head. "According to Pan, if he's telling the truth." Snow said. "And, uh, why would he tell you? What does he hope to gain?" David questioned. "Who knows why he does anything? He has his reasons, but it's a sure bet they're not good ones." Killian reminds them. Snow glanced around their camp. Her eyes fell on a snapped branch. She stood up from her seat on the rock. "He's telling the truth." She said and walked towards it. She also spotted some scuffle tracks in the dirt next to the snapped branch. "Tracks...and a scuffle. Someone was here while we were gone. We have to tell her." Snow exclaimed. She turned around again, wanting to go tell her daughter, but the two men stopped her. "No, no, no. She already lost neal once. And if this is a game, we can't put her through losing him again." David tells her. "He's right. Either way, telling her is what Pan wants, which is why we shouldn't do it." Killian informs her. "You want to find him without letting her know?" Snow asked them. "Why hurt her unnecessarily?" Killian questioned. "I've never lied to her before." Snow replied. "You're not lying. You're just keeping a secret until confirmation." Killian assures her. "Secrets always seem to keep us from the people we really care about." Snow said while looking at Emma behind the two men. "And sometimes secrets protect the people we love," David tells her. 

Pan walked through the jungle with Y/n's hand in his. Y/n giggled behind him. "Peter, where are we going?" She asked him. Pan smiled at her over his shoulder. "I've got a plan, Love, trust me." He tells her. She groaned playfully. "But we've been walking for hours!" She complained. Pan chuckled at her. "Just a little further, Love." He tells her. They continued to walk through the jungle until they arrived at a big tree. "What are we doing here?" She asked him. "Look a little closer, Love," Pan tells her. Y/n sighed and focused on the tree. She then noticed a wooden ladder on the inside of the tree. "What?" Y/n whispered and stepped closer. She climbed up the ladder slowly, Pan following close behind her. Up the ladder, there was a small room. There was a big bed in it with some slightly see-through curtains hung from the ceiling. "Why are we in my old hut?" The girl asked Pan. The boy walked over to the wardrobe behind one of the curtains. "Remember this morning? I asked you to do something for me." He reminds her. He returned to her with an old nightgown in his hands. "Alright, Pan, you didn't have to drag me all the way over here to sleep with me. If you wanted to, you could've just asked." Y/n smirked. "As interesting as that sounds, that's not why we're here. I need you to put this on, and stay in the bed." He tells her. "No way I'm putting that on. That makes me look like Wendy." She replied. "The more innocent and fragile you'll look. Put it on." He orders. She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. "No!" She argued. Pan glared at her. "Do you want the plan to work or not?" He asked her. Y/n groaned and took it from his hands. "No peeking!" She tells Pan as she walked behind one of the curtains. "Why not? There's nothing I haven't seen before." He smirked. "Shut up, Peter." She replied. 

Meanwhile, Snow, David, and Killian were gearing up for their secret quest to find Neal. "If we're gonna hide this, we need a good cover story." She tells the two men. "That's not a problem," David said as he looked at Killian. "Done." The pirate replied. Emma and Regina walked up to them. "Where are you guys going?" Emma asked them. "Firewood." "To get water." The two men spoke up. They sighed to themselves, knowing they had already screwed this up.  "Guys, what's going on?" Emma asked. "Neal's alive!" Snow spoke up. Emma took a step back in shock. "Neal's..."  She started and glanced at Killian, "Alive?" She added. "Maybe. Sorry, she deserved to know." Snow tells the two men next to her. After discussing it for a while, Regina had heard enough. "This is a waste of time. He's toying with us!" She tells them. Snow shook her head. "I don't think so." She said and walked off. Emma followed the woman towards the snapped branch. "Look. More scuffling. Someone was definitely resisting." Snow said. "How do we know that means Neal?" Emma questioned. "Well, it means someone was fighting for their lives." Snow replied. "Are you really going to fall for this?" Regina asked Emma as she walked up to her. The three women exchanged looks. "Fine. You wanna follow the evil munchkin's dirt road? Be my guest." Regina said and walked off. "Wait, where are you going?" Emma asked the woman. "To save our son," Regina tells her. "We need to stick together," Emma replied. Regina laughed at her. "No, we don't. You may be prepared to risk Henry's life over some heartbroken fool's errand, but I'm not. I'm tired of waiting around." She responded and shot a glare at Snow. No one argued with her. So Regina took it upon herself and walked off into the jungle. Alone. Emma turned to her mother. "What if she's right? What if he is lying?" She asked. "Just because it seems too good to be true, doesn't mean it is." Snow tells her, "Don't give up. You owe it to Henry to find out if his father is still alive, and you owe it to yourself." She continued. 

Back with Rumple, he sat on a rock holding up his hands. He tried to use his magic to see the future. He was so concentrated, he hadn't even heard Pan appear in front of him. The boy sighed. "You can't see the future here." He spoke. Rumple snapped out of his concentration and jumped. "It's impossible to see the future in a place where time stands still." Pan reminds the man. "I may not see the future here, but I can make one happen," Rumple tells the boy. Pan chuckled at him. "Was that a threat?" He asked, "And here I made you your favorite breakfast." He said pointing down. Rumple followed his hand to see some eggs in a basket sitting next to the campfire. "Eggs in a basket. I thought you could use it. You look a little down in the dumps." Pan taunts the man. "I'm fine," Rumple spoke. "Sure you are, Rumple. You've lost your son Neal. Again. And Henry's unattainable because...well, you'd have to go through me, and we both know you can't." Pan reminds him. The boy stepped forward, bending down to grab one of the eggs. "You still like the yolk runny, don't you?" He asked. Rumple took a couple of steps back. "What do you want?" He asked him. "Well, if you won't eat, I will." Pan said and took a bite, "I'm just trying to point out the silver lining in your cloudy life." He continued. "That by killing you, all our troubles end?" Rumple asked. Pan laughed at him. "We both know that's not going to happen, because the only way to do that is for you to die, too. You can go, leave the island." Pan tells him. Rumple just glares at him. "And abandon my son? And Henry? I don't think so." He replied sternly. "Look, even if you did save them, which you won't, what would be the point?" Pan asked him, "They'll never forgive you for all the horrible things you've done." Pan said. "You don't know that," Rumple whispered. Pan's breathing started to get heavier. He stepped closer to the Dark One. "Have you forgiven your father? Do you see my point? Back to that silver lining, you have a nice girl waiting for you back in Storybrooke. Belle, is it? Stop this foolishness and go back to her. Make a new start. She looks fertile. Maybe a new child?" Pan asked him, "You and I both know that's the only future for you...assuming you want to live." He continued. He took a step back. "Enjoy the eggs." He said before walking off into the jungle again. 

Pan made his way back to the tree where he had left Y/n. When he climbed up the ladder, he spotted Y/n sitting on the bed. The covers were pushed off her body and she had her sketchbook on her lap. "I can feel you lurking," Y/n said quietly. He chuckled and walked over to her. "I was just admiring you, Love," Pan tells her. He kissed the top of her head. He sat next to her on the bed, resting his chin on her shoulder. "What are you drawing?" He asked her. He glanced down at the paper to see a campfire with silhouettes dancing around it. "That looks wicked, Love." He tells her. Y/n smiled at his compliment. "Thank you." She replied. She put her pencil down and looked at Peter. She looked directly into his forest green eyes. "When can I get out of this ridiculous nightgown?" She asked him. He chuckled at her. "Soon. First, I need you to use your acting talents again on our guest." He leaned down to her ear, "Then, I'll personally take it off your body." He whispered. Y/n blushed at his comment. "Although, maybe we should keep it. You can wear it in bed." He smirked at her. "You want me to look like Wendy in bed now, huh? Do you have a death wish?" She asked him. He let out another chuckle. "Oh, what would I do without you?" He said before pressing his lips against hers. They kissed for a while until Pan pulled back for air. They were both breathing heavily. "Once you're done, you can put the gown back in the wardrobe and never think of it again. Deal?" He asked her between breaths. She sighed loudly. "Sure, whatever. Just hurry up. I get bored in here." She tells him. She sits back on the bed, her back against the headboard. "I know, Love, just a little while. Tonight, you'll back in the camp, and you can stay there. No more acting jobs. Just you and the boys at the camp while I get the heart. And then-" He tells her. "Then we will get our happy ending." Y/n cut him off. Pan puts his hand on her cheek and smiled at her. "Yes, Love. Our happy ending."