Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 10)

Ch.20 Lost

After a while of being pulled through the sky by his shadow, Piper could already see Neverland appearing before his eyes. He was almost there, almost home. As soon as they made it to the island, the shadow landed him on the beach as he sighed in relief.

"I'm home" he smiled proudly.

But remembering how things have things, he pulled out the Dark One dagger and handed it to his shadow.

"You know what to do" he told it "Hide it somewhere where no one, not even I can find it."

The shadow gave a nod as it took the dagger and flew off. Now back in Neverland after being gone for a long time, Piper looked around, so far nothing looked like it's changed, but he knew it did. He would of flown around, but after spending a long time in the land without magic, he's lost his flight, so he would have to do his searching on land as he headed into the Neverwoods.

He decided to head to the Lost Boys campsite first, eager to see his friends and family again. But at the same time he searched around for danger and his Wonderland friends. As he walked through the woods, he suddenly got a feeling that he was being watched, but when he looked around, he didn't see anyone.

"Well look who's back" a voice suddenly said as he turned around to see his clone.

"I never thought I'd see you again Piper" Pan smirked "I thought that you went down to Davy Jones locker."

"Yeah well I'm not as weak as you thought I was" Piper frowned.

"And yet I can sense fear in your heart, you're afraid of where your friends are."

"Where are they?" Piper growled.

"They can be anywhere, but even though I know where they are, I think I'll give them some time, because the more they believe, the better their Wonder magic works."

"What do you want with them?" Piper demanded "You're already powerful, what could you possibly want with their Wonder magic?"

"That's between me and well, myself" Pan grinned "And I wont let you get in my way."

And with that he blew some magic dust into Piper's face as he collapsed unconscious. With Piper out of the way, it would be easier for Pan to get what he wanted.

_________

Now with the fire started, everyone gathered around the fire as they continued to set up their sleeping spots.

"That should hold it for now" Jane said as she placed a piece of wood in the fire "Whatever happens, we can't let this fire go out."

"Hey guys-" Olivia suddenly spoke up with a nervous look "Has anyone seen Darling and Chase?"

"Yeah they've been gone for a long time" Courtly agreed.

"That doesn't sound good" Terrence said with shock.

"Darling! Chase!" Aidan called, but there was no answer.

"Bloody hell" Jane said with a small gasp.

"You think pirates got them?" Elena asked with shock.

"Hard to tell, they must of wandered off too far."

"Well we gotta look for them" Aidan declared.

"No, if we look for them, there's a chance we could get killed."

"So you're saying there's a chance they're dead?!" Terrence gasped.

"It's a possibility, but then there's a possibility that they're still alive."

"They gotta be alive-" Elena put in "Those two are a power couple, they could face anything. I just know they're alive."

________

Still marching their way through the grotto, Darling and Chase tried their best to find a way out as Chase used the flashlight on his phone to guide their way.

"Good thing your phone is waterproof" Darling said in relief "Otherwise it'd be almost impossible to find our way out."

"I knew it was a good idea to save up for a new phone" he smirked.

"Well I don't know if we're ever gonna get out of here, this place is like a maze."

"Well the water's gotten lower-" he put in, for the water had gotten down to their knees "That means we're getting closer."

But as they continued to march through the water, they suddenly what sounded like a clock ticking as they froze as their hearts dropped.

"Chase-" Darling whispered with her eyes widen "Is that sound what I think it is?"

The ticking got louder as they turned around and could see a figure of a crocodile in the water swimming towards them.

"Run!" Chase screamed as they started to run as fast as they could.

Because the water made it hard for them to run through, they both started to panic, fearing that the crocodile will catch them. But they managed to make their way out of the grotto and out into the Neverwoods where they heard the Croc's growl as they ran far from the grotto until they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Holy mother of God" Darling panted "We fell right into the Croc's grotto."

"Someone needs to cover that hole" Chase added as he continued to pant.

"Now we gotta find some shelter, because I have a feeling we're too far from where everyone else is."

"Where are we gonna find shelter in this place?"

All of a sudden they heard a rustle from behind some trees, expecting to be some kind of animal, they were surprised to see that it was the pirate girl with short blonde hair.

"Don't worry-" she assured with a smile "It's just me, I don't know if you remember me from Jane's ship?"

"Oh no I remember you" Darling put in "What are you doing out here?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"Well we kinda got separated from our group, and we barley escaped from the crocodile's grotto, and now we're lost."

"And wet" Chase added as he shivered.

"I can see that" the pirate girl said "Well, I don't know if I can help you find your friends, but I can take you back to the ship so you guys don't freeze to death."

"Thank you" Darling said in relief.

"This way" she showed them the way as they walked in front of her.

But as they did, she gave a sneaky smile, being the spy that she is, she knew that they would never figure out her secrets.