where darkness goes, light follows | PETER PAN ✔️

Chapter Four: Games and Tests

Peter Pan always loved a good game of cat and mouse. But his version was a bit more.. sinister. He was glad that the others followed the boy, Henry. It made everything more interesting. Watching them all desperately try and get to Henry. Watching Emma try and threaten him, Peter Pan. Doesn't she know who Peter Pan is? Rule number 1, Peter Pan never fails.
        Pan knew that Emma had figured out the map, just like he knew she would. But he never promised that Henry couldn't be moved to different places on the island. That was rule number two of Peter's, never breaks a promise... but leave room for manipulation. Peter Pan was the king of manipulation. And manipulate he did, until the game got boring. Then he would just get rid of the pawns, thinking up ways to start a new exciting game.
        But this game was Peter's best yet. So many mice to play with, he was beside himself with glee. But what made this game even better? The fact that Peter got to mess with Reumpelstiltskin as well. The man who ruined Peter's life in the first place. Peter couldn't kill Rumple, he knew that. But Peter would do anything to make the mans life a living hell while on this island. And the first step was of course taking Henry. Pan didn't know how it worked out that Henry would be Rumple's grandson, but it really worked in Peter's favor. And now Rumple's son, Baelfire was back on the island as well. Peter had all the tools he needed to drive the Dark One made, including his own shadow acting as the mans love, Belle.
        Oh how Peter wished Belle had come with them. It would have made revenge that much sweeter. He would have given Rumple a sense of security with her, and then when least expected, ripped her away from him. Nothing would give Pan greater joy than ripping away all of the Dark One's loved ones. And he'd start with Henry once he got the boys heart.
        Pan also got to mess with the young boys family. Messing with Emma was quite fun. Emma had such a strong fire in her, it was fun watching her try and fight him. It was entertaining, really. Watching all of them run around frantically, trying to find a way off the island and trying to get Tinkerbell to help them. Pan knew everything. He knew who came on the island, who tried to get off, and anything in between. But like always, he'd give them some hope before he crushed it.
        "Pan." Felix appeared next to the boy on a log, where Pan had been sitting and staring at the truest believer. Peter nodded, beckoning his head Lost Boy to continue. "Baelfire and the Dark One have reunited. They were down by the lake. They got some of the squid ink." Felix told his leader, and he watched as a smug smile took over his face.
        "Hmm. So he thinks me below squid ink, does he?" Peter mused, eyes still locked on Henry. "This will be fun to watch then. Let's play a game with them, shall we Felix? I'll play along for a bit. I'll let them think that the ink works, let them take Henry. Then when it's convenient, I'll take him back. Then we'll put Baelfire in the cages where he belongs."  Peter spoke smugly, looking up at his Lost Boy. Felix nodded with a grin, walking over to the other Lost Boys. Pan sat down on a log, feeling the Dark One and Neal approaching. He smiled slightly, let's play.
        "We have a guest." Pan stated after all of the boys around him had fallen over in sleep. He stood up, a smirk playing on his lips. "No doubt someone who knows how much I like guessing games." He mused, walking around the no burnt out fire. "Who could it be?" He asked to himself. "I guess.. the Dark One." Peter said, turning towards the man and lighting the fire. He felt a rage build up in his stomach at seeing him, but he suppressed it. There would be time for revenge, but now he just had to stick to his little game. "Come to save Henry, have you laddie? How exciting!" Pan said, eyes flashing with excitement. "The Dark One! Willing to sacrifice himself for his family." Peter taunted. "Speaking of family, you can come out now Baelfire." Peter said, lighting a torch by the sons head.
        The man came out from the trees, and he aimed his bow and arrow at the boy king.
        "Name's Neal now." He said, eyes trained on Peter.
        "It's heartwarming to see father and son working together. Especially after you abandoned him Rumple." Peter said, smugness radiating off of him in waves.
        "What are you waiting for?" The Dark One asked his son, staring straight at Peter.
        "I got this." Neal said, aiming the bow before letting it fly at Peter. Peter smiled, catching the arrow right before it hit his chest. Neal looked surprised, but his father did not.
        "Clever, very clever. Have you remember nothing Baelfire?" Peter asked, throwing in some dramatics.
        "I remembered plenty." Neal said, putting his bow back over his shoulder. Peter threw the arrow down, acting as if it actually worked. "That's why I didn't coat the tip." Peter rolled his eyes, forming a blue mist around himself.
        "Grab Henry." Rumple said, pushing Neal forward. Peter mentally chuckled. They looked so victorious, he couldn't wait to crush those hopes. Peter watched them run to Henry, a smile on his face.
        "Well how about that? I'm impressed. But are you sure you're really saving him Bae?" Peter said, watching as Neal threw Henry over his shoulder. The two men turned to look back at Pan.
        "What could be worse then leaving him here with you, the evil person that you've become?" Neal asked sarcastically.
        "Why don't you ask your father? Sometimes the people we should fear the most, are the ones closest to us." Pan said darkly, glaring at the Dark One, who fidgeted under the stare. Rumple felt another pang of guilt, but he brushed it off for the time being.
        "What's he talking about?" Neal asked, turning to his father.
        "Don't listen to him." Rumple replied, trying to get Neal to leave with him. Neal turned to follow, but Pan wasn't done speaking yet.
        "You mean you haven't told him?" Peter said with a smirk.
        "Told me what?" Neal asked, growing frustrated.
        "Why about what he did after you left Neverland of course." Peter said, grinning sinisterly.
        "What do you mean?" Neal asked, dumbfounded.
        "Think about it Bae. Think about what you told him when you got back to the Enchanted Forest. Think." Peter said. But the Dark One was done with talking, so he pulled Neal along away from the Camp, leaving a smiling Peter behind. The two men were silent as they moved quickly through the forest, only talking when they were a safe distance away.
        "What the hell was he talking about?" Neal rounded on his father after he set Henry down.
        "Oh don't mind him. He plays games, mind games. Important thing is we got your boy and we got away. And we're safe here for the time being." Rumple said, trying to get Neal to let it go. But Neal wasn't convinced.
        "No, explain to me what Pan meant." Neal pushed on, standing in front of Henry. "This has to do with me somehow. Pan said so. What did I tell you after you took me from Neverland. What-" Neal stopped though, a flashback running through his mind.
~~~~~Flashback~~~~~
        Baelfire smiled as he felt himself decent to the island below him. The island was magnificent, full of color and life. He landed on the beach, where he noticed boys coming out from the trees.
        "Welcome to Neverland!" A boy exclaimed, a bright smile on his face.
        "Who are you?" Baelfire responded, looking around all the boys in confusion.
        "Me? I'm Peter. Peter Pan. These are my Lost Boys. And who might you be?" The boy asked, stepping forward, one of the hooded boys following him.
        "I'm Baelfire." The boy responded.
        "Well, welcome to the Island Baelfire. Let's introduce you to the others." Peter said, beginning to introduce him to the boys around him. As they were mentioned, their hood was taken off of their head. "And this is Felix, my head Lost Boy." Peter said, gesturing to the tallest of the boys. He took off his hood to reveal a mess hair of blonde. Baelfire nodded his head to him, and then noticed there was one more.
        "And who is this last one?" He asked curiously. The boys all laughed at that.
        "Oh this one?" Pan asked in amusement, looking over at the still hooded figure. "This isn't a Lost Boy. This is the Queen of Neverland. Baelfire, meet Amaryllis, my wonderful flower." Peter said, and then the last figure removed the hood. Baelfire found himself looking at a beautiful girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a friendly smile and stepped forward to Baelfire.
        "I'm going to call you Bae." She said, pulling the boy into a hug. He returned it eagerly, he hadn't been hugged in years. She pulled away from him with a wide smile. "Come one Bae, let's go have an adventure."
~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~
        Neal pulled out of his memory in shock. All of his other memories of Neverland came back then, all of his memories of her. She was such a good friend to him, to all of the boys. She protected them and loved them and cared for them. She had all of their respect. Each and every Lost Boy loved her, and she belonged to Peter, and Peter belonged to her.
        "I told you about her." Neal said, looking back up at his father. "I told you about the girl that Pan loved." He continued. And then another memory came to his mind.
        "Who are you?" Neal asked the girl who stood in front of him, the girl who had just appeared out of the sky.
        "I'm Mary." The girl responded, a shy smile on her face. Something flickered in the mans mind, but it quickly passed. "And who are you?"
        "My name's Neal."
        "Neal? That's odd, that's the second time I've heard that name today." Mary told the man, smiling up at him. He looked closer at her, and suddenly something clicked in his mind. There was a picture in Henry's room of this girl, Henry and Emma.
        "Wait, aren't you friends with my son?" The man asked, full attention now focused on the girl in front of him. When she looked at him in confusion, he elaborated. "Henry, my son is Henry." The girls eyes widened in response.
        "You're Neal? Henry's father? Mr. Gold's son?" The girl asked excitedly. When the man nodded, she closed the distance between them and pulled him into a hug. "Everyone thinks you're dead. Henry told me so this morning." Neal nodded sadly, hugging the young girl back.
        Neal gasped, looking up at his father in disbelief. "You took her from him." He said, stepping back closer towards Henry. "You took Amaryllis from Peter. You took her to Storybrooke. You erased her memories. It's Mary!" Neal exclaimed, horrified.
        "Baelfire-" The Dark One was interrupted by Neal.
        "It's Neal!" He yelled, beyond angry.
        "Listen to me-" Once again the older man was interrupted.
        "No, no! You son of a bitch. You can't see anyone happy when you're not, can you?" Neal seethed, glaring at the man as if he'd just admitted to murder. "Get back." Neal said in anger, pointing behind Rumple and stepping back to Henry. "Stay away from us!"
        "Bae, that was then. Things have changed. I-" Neal began yelling at the man.
        "Then why isn't she here! Why did you tell her she couldn't come here? Why don't you give her back to Pan! What are you doing?" Neal said, stepping over to Henry. Rumpelstiltskin tried to stop him, but Neal swung around and stuck a paper to his father's hand. Immediately, Rumple froze in place and Neal picked Henry up.
        "Pan was right, we're safer without you." Neal said, before taking off into a sprint and running through the forest. A few minutes later, he came upon a campfire. He saw the area, and knew who had been staying there.
        "Emma." He spoke, a smile forming on his face. He placed Henry gently on the ground and walked to the fire. He bent down and warmed his hands up. He relaxed slightly, but then he heard a dark voice from behind him.
        "You disappoint me. I thought I taught you better. Never break in somewhere unless you know the way out." The boy king spoke. And then Neal was hit over the head, and he fell to the ground. Felix slowly walked over to the boy and picked him up, slinging him over his shoulders. Neal groaned, trying to stand back up. Two Lost Boys came over and dragged him to his feet. Neal tried fighting back, but it was no use. "You know where to take him."
        "Henry!" Neal yelled as he noticed his son stirring slightly. "I'm alive!" He yelled as the boys began dragging him away.
        "Oh, don't worry. It won't be very long now. Just until I reset the board." Peter said with a smirk, walking away from the struggling Neal, Felix following him with the boy. They returned to the camp, and set the boy down on the log where he previously sat. The rest of the Lost Boys began dancing and chanting around the fire as if nothing had happened.
        Peter watched as the boy began to stir from his sleep. His eyes suddenly snapped open when he heard the boys chanting and hooting around him. The first thing his eyes registered was a roaring fire and a dark sky. The second thing he saw was a kneeling Pan in front of him. 
        "What happened?" Henry asked, sitting up on the log.
        "You fell asleep." Pan replied to the groggy boy.
        "I did?" Henry asked, confused. He didn't remember falling asleep.
        "Oh don't worry, it was just a little cat nap. The nights still young." He said, looking over his shoulder at the dancing boys.
        "Wait, I remember something." Henry said suddenly, making Pan look back at him. "My dad!" The boy exclaimed suddenly, causing the older boy to smirk. "When I was asleep, I could have sworn I heard him calling for me." He told the green eyed boy.
        "Really?" Peter asked innocently, eyebrows dancing up under his hairline.
        "It must have been a dream." Henry said, shaking his head at his own foolishness.
        "Well how can you be so sure?" Pan asked, faking a voice of hopefulness.
        "Because, because my dads dead." Henry said in a tone of defeat.
        "I'm sorry Henry." Pan said in mock sympathy. "It makes sense for us to dream about the things we've lost. And the things we've hope for. Like your father being alive. And your mother coming to find you. But eventually," Pan said, smiling at the boy. "you'll find new things to dream about. And when you do, they'll start to come true."
        "How do you know?" Henry asked.