Once A Lost Girl | Once Upon A Time Story | Peter Pan

03x08 - The Camp - Present

        We'd walked for quite a while in silence. Mary-Margaret and Emma were talking, the rest of us much more focused on the path ahead. Neal and I locked eyes. I didn't even try to force a smile. Just being here was bad enough, but everyone knowing I was stupid enough to believe Pan's lies was worse.

        Tinkerbell gave me a once over. I just kept walking, carrying the homemade rope over my shoulder. The look in her eyes wasn't hard to place. I looked like crap, and she felt bad for me. Ironic--I used to feel bad for her.

        The sound of twigs snapping snapped me momentarily out of my self-loathing. We formed up, everyone drawing weapons. I watched carefully. The bushes rustled, revealing Gold and Regina. She adjusted her coat.

        "Well, if this is your version of a rescue party, we got here just in time," She remarked, giving me a steely look.

        "What are you two doing here?" Mary-Margaret asked.

        "Well, same as you, except we actually have a chance." Regina regarded the whole group. "Pandora's box. It could trap Pan for eternity simply by opening the lid."

        "Like a prison will stop him," I scoffed.

        Neal's voice darkened, "You didn't tell me my father was with her." Emma responded that she didn't know.

        "Wait, your father is the Dark One?" Tink asked.

        "Yeah, and he's not getting anywhere near Henry," Neal asserted. Rumple started to plead with him, but Neal held fast. "There's a prophecy that says Henry will be his undoing. He didn't come here to protect him." Neal paused. "He came here to kill him."

        The whole group paused. Gold and I connected eyes. I mouthed a sorry to him. Even if I tried to defend him, I'm already in enough of a bad situation. Regina turned to look him in the eye. I fell further into the group.

        "That's why you didn't want to find Neal before you got Henry back? Because you knew he'd spill your secret." She seethed.

        "You wanted to get to Henry first." Mary-Margaret raised her bow, arrow notched and ready to fly.

        "For him to be on his own." David drew his blade.

        Hook did the same. "So no one could stop you."

        "So you could kill him." Regina finished.

        "That's not gonna happen; not unless you go through all of us first." Emma said.

        Tinkerbell and I just sort of watched. I could tell she was ready to bolt if anything went south. She signed up to fight Pan, not Pan and the Dark one. We don't have time for this.

        "You're making a mistake," Gold started, "I don't care if the boy is destined to be my undoing. I won't hurt him." Regina scoffed, no doubt ready with a snarky rebuttal. Gold cut her off. "Without me, you'll fail. I'm the most powerful among us."

        "He has a point." I mentioned.

        "That's why we can't trust him!" Neal said.

        "If I could give you my dagger, I would, but I can't."

        "But you can give me Pandora's box. I don't have to trust you if I can stop you." Neal demanded. Gold handed the box over. "Look at me. You so much as lift a finger to perform magic, you're gonna spend eternity in this box."

        "Let's go," Emma instructed. 

        There was discourse behind me and Tink amongst the group. Emma asked Gold to cure David of his dreamshade poisoning so he could leave the island. Neal forced him to agree without any conditions. Seriously, Rumple, if you want people to believe you were going to save someone, the least you could do is save another member of his family.