Peter Pan Imagines (Once Upon a Time)

Shipwrecked (Part Four)

Henry Mills has only been on Neverland for about a week before you sense that something has gone wrong with the plan. Well, to say you sensed it is a little extreme. Basically, you were minding your own business, trying to sharpen your swords and knives and all the other forms of blades that a self-respecting pirate should carry around when Peter stormed up to you, muttering something under his breath.

You had glanced over at him, unable to hide a smile. "What's that? I can't hear you under all of the anger." He tossed you a glare before speaking up. "We're not alone here anymore. There's a ship coming into harbor." You nod knowingly. "Should have known that Emma and the others wouldn't take kindly to us snatching their kid away under their noses. Unfortunate."

Peter flicks his hand towards the horizon, where you can just make out the distant smudge of a ship on the farthest corners of the waters. Already, the clouds are darkening into a storm. So he's trying to deter them, or at least buy himself more time to sway Henry to his side. It's a good idea, certainly, but it does make you shiver to think of the time when another storm had hit another ship and just where that had landed you. After all of this time, many months later, you still can't quite bury the memory.

Peter, too, appears to be thinking of this, or at least he remembers it when you clasp your arms around yourself. "Sorry." He mutters, and the winds over the island lessen a little. You feel a little better after that, although you can't deny that reliving that moment when your entire pirate ship had been destroyed in the storm has left you in the sunniest of mental states.

However, you don't have time to sit and reminisce- you have a job to do, and that's to make sure that Peter's plan goes exactly as he hoped it would. So, you sit up, tucking your blades back into their respective slots on your trousers and belt, and look over at him expectantly. "So? What's next, fearless leader?" He pretends to grimace at the nickname. "Just Peter is fine, pirate." His grim mood lessens slightly at the joke.

"We have to move on Henry. It's our only option. I'll take him out to Skull Rock today, maybe that'll sway something in him. It'll be a lot easier for us if he gives up his heart willingly, and it'll probably make the magic a lot stronger." You nod. "I can hold them off if necessary." Peter smiles. "I know you will. However, it'll take them a while to fend off both the storm and the mermaids. And, by the time they make it onto the beaches, I intend on making the island as difficult as possible."

A slow smile begins to creep its way onto your face. "You're playing a game with them." It's what he always does, right? This is what Peter Pan does best. His grin tells you that he's going to enjoy this. "Of course I am. I just want to see if a group of people who pride themselves on being the heroes of their town will play by the rules." You laugh at that. "Let's hope for their sake that they do."

However, the Storybrooke group seems determined to risk their own lives as much as possible. Even when Peter allows them to have a map that will lead them to the Lost Boy camp, Regina still attempts to use magic on it. You can tell from the loathsome smirk on Peter's face that they're about to be hit with yet another twist. You can't just break the rules around Peter Pan. His games are everything to him, literally life and death to anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves a player. You've had a hand in enough rounds with him to know this.

The current wave of retribution is an attack, an ambush on the traveling group. They'll be lured into a clearing, thinking that they're tracking Henry, when in reality they're the ones being followed. The Lost Boys will attack, proving once and for all that you can't just bend the game to your liking when Peter is the one calling the shots, and leave the Storybrooke group disoriented and in clear need of a new plan.

Peter is deciding to take it one step further and twist their hearts a little more, pretending to be Henry just to reveal himself and dash their hopes into ash. You're adjusting Henry's scarf on him now, tugging it a little too hard and laughing at Peter when it chokes him. "You're insufferable." He says, and you grin. "That's what everyone's like on this island, Peter. You made sure of that." He rolls his eyes, adjusting the collar of Henry's coat. "And you're the one who decided to stay here, so doesn't that say more about you than me?"