Once Upon a Time in Storybrooke - OUAT DR

Chapter 9 - Goodbye Neverland!

As Henry hit the ground Peter Pan rose up off the ground, floating high in the air. We all rushed for Henry and as Pan floated back to the ground we all turned on him, Regina and me with fire at the ready (I apparently could summon fireballs now that I'd seen Regina do it, interesting) but he cautioned us from hurting him - if we hurt him, we hurt Henry's heart - and we all stood down a smidge. 

Pan had told Wendy Henry had to give him his heart of his own free will, but he'd lied. In reality, Henry just had to remove his heart himself, after that, it didn't matter who put it in Pan's chest. He had tricked Henry, tricked all of us. 

Emma, trying to get the jump on Pan, rushed him but he disappeared, reappearing behind her, holding Pandora's Box. He began tossing it up in the air, catching it, and repeating the process as he told us Rumple was safely stashed away inside and nobody could hurt him. Emma slashed him with her sword, nicking him, but he just laughed it off before flying off into the night with Rumplestiltskin locked in Pandora's Box. 

Regina worked her magic to preserve Henry and we brainstormed where to find Peter Pan so we could get Henry's heart back. 

I was staring out the cave while Regina and Emma had a moment. After their pow-wow we decide to go back to land and meet back with everyone and tell them everything - Pan lied and stole Henry's heart, Henry was unconscious and probably dying, and Pan had trapped Rumple in Pandora's Box and taken it with him leaving David's only hope of leaving Neverland taken with it. 

By the time we got Henry comfortable and everything explained to everyone Regina estimated we only had 1 hour to get Henry his heart back. 

Regina was beyond distraught at the possibility of losing Henry for the 2nd time this month (yes, if you didn't realize the curse broke just about a month ago, it had. It had been a very crazy 29 days). She was about to threaten the Lost Boys, who were gathered together and kept under watch thanks to Hook and Tink, but Emma interjected and offered them a chance to return with us and have a home in exchange for their help. One of the boys spoke up and told us Pan was at his thinking tree, and based on the screams of anger from one of the Lost Boys still loyal to Pan, that was our best chance. The Lost Boys gave us directions and we asked Hook if he knew where the Pixie Woods were and he claimed nobody but Pan had been in those woods in centuries. 

Neal wanted to go with us after Pan but Emma convinced him to stay behind so we could be ready to grab Henry and escape on the Jolly Roger with all the Lost Boys. Neal asked David to help him get the boys on the Jolly Roger and get it ready to fly. Neal made a quip about the Shadow being able to get the Jolly Roger to fly as long as the ship held together, and before Killian even had a chance to speak I punched Neal in the arm and told him never to insult the Jolly Roger again, it was a beautiful ship, and deserved respect. I realized everyone was staring and I just shrugged and said "What, it is?" but that just made them stare harder, if such a thing was even possible. Killian, finally, jumped in and said the Jolly Roger would hold up just fine.

Emma, Regina, Snow, & I all agreed to go in search of Pan in the Pixie Woods. Regina and Emma because they were Henry's mom's, Snow because she was preparing to spend the rest of her life here with David and we'd never see her again, and me because my magic was strong and I was becoming quite useful in fights. With no time to lose Killian explained where we needed to go and we parted ways. If anyone was going to be able to get us there and get us there quickly, it was going to be me - I had a way with directions, after all. 

More hiking through the bloody jungle, but this time with purpose. Luckily, Pan's stupid thinking tree wasn't too far away, and before long we came across a small clearing, Pandora's Box sitting on a mound in the center - an obvious trap. Snow went to grab it despite me and Regina's caution and we were grabbed from behind by fucking tree vines and Emma, bless her heart, dropped her damn sword in the confusion and startlement. Peter Pan revealed himself, walking out from behind the tree where the vines had dragged and tied us to the tree trunk.  

He then began to recount the story of the tree, doing a dramatic reveal that he was actually Rumplestiltskin's dad. I interjected and told him, yeah, we heard that back at Skull Rock, not really that big of a reveal, but he interrupted me and continued, speaking of regret. As he prattled on I realized I had no regrets, I worked very hard my entire life to make sure I didn't regret things, it all made me who I was, so there was no reason this tree should work on me. Regina spoke similar thoughts and we both escaped the vines at the same time. 

Regina ripped Henry's heart straight from Peter Pan's chest while I grabbed Pandora's Box, and we headed back to the Jolly Roger as fast as we could go. 

Once back on the Jolly Roger Regina put Henry's heart back in his chest, saving him. He woke up and we all hugged him, relieved he was safe before Regina took him below decks to rest.  As she and Henry went downstairs Neal released Rumplestiltskin from Pandora's Box, and with him back that meant he could make the elixir to permanently cure David once we got back to Storybrooke, so we were all able to safely go home.  

Standing by my family - that still felt so weird to think about - it struck me then that we had done it, we had managed to overcome all obstacles and were all together, finally. No more villains, no more strangers, no more portals, no more curses, nothing more to overcome. David, Snow, Emma, and I all shared in an embrace, and for the first time since the curse broke and everything was revealed about our lives I felt like we really were a family, my family, not like I was someone observing from the outside. 

We all got ready on deck to release the shadow and blast it into the sail, forcing it to fly us out of there. Regina and I stood at the ready with magic (she had explained the spell to do as we were getting ready) while Emma lit a cannon and Neal opened the coconut to let out the shadow at just the right moment. The canon shot the shadow toward the sail and once it was up in the air Regina and I sent a stream of magic at it, forcing it into the sail which turned black as the shadow melded into the material, the two becoming one. The spell Regina had explained to me was easy, and while her magic came out a glowing green, mine was a silvery blue. When the two mixed they looked like an aurora with the shadow in the center (honestly it would have made for a gorgeous photograph if I'd had my camera and a free hand). With the shadow now safely integrated into the sail, and a "Let's get the hell out of Neverland," from Emma and I (once again speaking at the same time), Killian gave out the orders so we could sail back home. 

Killian sailed the Jolly Roger into the sky, the actual sky, leaving the sea and the island far below us. 

We were flying, actually flying! 

I couldn't help but get all excited and giddy about it, just like going through the portal, as the ship sailed quicker than was rational or reasonable through the clouds. 

I noticed David walking over to Emma and decided to head up the stairs to the upper deck, where Killian was posted behind the wheel to pester him. He complimented my magic, and I admitted that I seemed to be catching on pretty quickly and it felt good to use it, like it had been meant for me all along. He pointed to where David and Emma were talking, Snow handing out bowls of food to the boys not far from them, and said he was glad we were all back together again and things had worked out for us. I put a hand on his shoulder and told him I was sorry it couldn't work out for him and his brother the same way. 

Killian and I shared a moment and agreed that, now that everything was calming down and after everything that had happened in Neverland, we would explore this connection between us, see what came about it, and discussed what that might look like once we were back in Storybrooke.