No Regrets - OUAT - Panfic

all you sinners

"All you sinners stand
   up sing hallelujah"
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Two days had passed since Merida had disappeared, and Emma was going out of her mind trying to find her. If Fergus caught wind that his wild daughter had gone missing, it wouldn't go well for Emma. She'd tried everything and she couldn't seem to find even a hint of where Merida had gone, until the evening of the second day. 

"I told you, Henry, you need to stop talking about it at school," Emma sighed, exasperated with her young son. Just as she was taking another breath to talk, her phone started flashing with an unknown number. She frowned slightly and answered it, motioning for Henry to leave the room.

"Emma, it's Merida. I'm okay, don't worry about me." She was talking hurriedly before the battery ran out.

"Where the hell are you," Emma snapped, worry making her voice sharp.

"Sorry, can't say. Don't worry about me," she said again. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I will be." Before Emma could protest again, she hung up and tossed the phone out the window.

"What the fuck!" Pan yelped, craning his head back to try and see where his phone had landed.

"Do you want her tracking us? You said this is all top secret," she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the seat. 

Pan opened his mouth for a snarky reply, but he couldn't seem to find one. It only made the smug smile on Merida's face grow bigger.

She knew she was in a dangerous position. After all, she had essentially agreed to work with her enemy to find her father. But she also needed the excitement lately. Fergus had dumped her on Emma and Regina, and this was Merida's way of rebelling against him.

They were nearing the penthouse that he shared with his gang of misfits in the Cutlass while he was blaring Headband. Merida rolled her eyes slightly. "You listen to vulgar music."

Pan rolled his eyes back at her. "Just because I let you help me doesn't mean you're my ride or die," he said in a snarky tone.

"I'd rather die. Can this rust bucket go any faster? I've been sitting here forever," Merida grouched.

"We're almost there, Red. Calm down." Pan sighed. Twenty minutes with her and he already wanted to push her off one of the high rises. Why he ever thought this was a good idea, he didn't know. However, Merida was his best option for finding Fergus and finding out what he was doing. He had to put up with her until then. But if she became more trouble than she was worth, he knew ways to get rid of her.

Pan didn't bother blindfolding her on the way to the penthouse. Everyone knew this was where he lived, and everyone knew enough not to cross his path. Though when she walked inside it was a whole different story.

"Don't touch anything. We start in the morning," Pan said teresely, never taking his eyes off her just in case she tried anything.

"You are just a ball of fun, aren't you," she muttered under her breath as she walked in, scanning the inside of the penthouse. Despite herself, she was impressed. He had a nice place; possibly one of the nicest she'd been in. The wall of windows let the light from the sunset into the suite, making Merida's hair a fiery red and warming her face. She could see the skyline stretching off into the distance and she took a moment to drink in the view. The redhead only had a few moments before she was jolted back to the harsh reality by one of Pan's boys.

"What's she doing here?" He narrowed his eyes at her, his arms crossing in a defensive movement.

"It's business. Business that you don't need to know about right now." Pan brushed by him and Merida followed, flashing a small triumphant smile to the boy.

"There's no extra rooms so you're sleeping there." Pan pointed at the leather couch pushed against the wall, not giving her a choice. "We'll start in the morning. I have a few leads on where he could be." Merida nodded as Pan turned away. She could hear the soft murmurs coming from the rooms where the other kids where and she knew they were wondering what Pan was thinking when he brought her here. She was starting to wonder what she was thinking. Trying to push the thoughts away from her mind, she curled up on the couch. She was exhausted and soon drifted into an uneasy sleep.
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The morning came far too soon, and the soft light wrapped around the windows as the sun edged over the horizon. Merida ran a hand through her tangled hair and went to the bathroom she had passed the day before, leaning against the sink once she reached it and had closed the door behind her. "What the hell am I doing," she asked herself quietly.  This was putting everyone she cared about in danger, and her father would be so disappointed in her. He couldn't lose another person he loved after Elinor. But something told her she needed to do this. Fergus was being too shady for his own good, and Merida didn't like it; maybe he needed her help and she'd be saving him.

While she was trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing, the bathroom door was pushed open. "Sorry, you forgot to lock it," the white-haired girl apologized, starting to close it before pausing and looking more closely at Merida. "You're the one Pan brought here yesterday. You look awful," she pointed out, motioning at the redhead's clothes that were still streaked with dirt.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, but I wouldn't be talking." Merida shot back, instantly defensive. "Your hair looks like you have a best friend named Dolores."

The girl's eyebrows raised and she gave Merida a really? look. "Your hair looks like your mom never taught you to not put utensils in the light sockets."

They exchanged looks for a moment before the other girl cracked a smile and offered her hand. "My name's Ash."

Merida eyed her for a moment before her shoulders relaxed slightly and she shook her hand. "Merida. Pan didn't have the decency to let me get cleaned up before he dumped me here," she smiled a little.

"I can fix that. Hold on." Ash disappeared into one of the bedrooms before coming out with a black hoodie and a set of clean clothes. "These should fit. And then maybe I can show you around for a while before Pan drags you away again." She smiled, brushing her white hair out of her face. "Not all of us on this side of the city are monsters, despite what everyone's told you."

Merida just nodded and disappeared in the bathroom to get dressed and wash up. She winced as her fingertips grazed the bruise Pan had left on her face in the warehouse. Looking back, she remembered seeing a similar bruise on Wendy when Merida had 'rescued' her from Pan. He was dangerous in more ways than one, and Merida knew she'd have to be on her guard from now on.

Ash waited patiently until Mer was done, and then she started the introductions; not that Merida cared all that much. "That's Cinder, my twin," she pointed to a raven-haired girl, who looked disinterested but still waved at the two. "We all have nicknames here to help hide our identity." She shrugged. "It works I guess."

"Pan's real name is Peter though. Everyone knows that." Merida glanced at Ash and she nodded in confirmation.

"Other than him, we keep our identitys secret. Everyone knows Pan, but we try to keep a low profile. It's safer that way." Continuing with the introductions, she kept naming them off. "The pissed off redhead you met earlier is Slightly, the butterball is Tootles, there's Nibs the nerd and Felix, of course. And Wendy. Can't forget her," Ash sighed. 
"Yeah I know her. I fucking hate her," Merida dryly said, finding something similar with the other girl.
"Most here do. She's a spoiled brat, but what can you do when she's the boss's fuck toy?" Ash pointed out.

Just then, Pan appeared, beckoning to Merida, and Ash quickly shut her mouth. "Time to start. Nibs worked overnight and he's got a few ideas," Pan informed the redhead, not wasting any time.

Merida sighed slightly and followed them, leaving Ash behind for now. Whether this was the right or wrong thing to do, there was no turning back now.

Besides, what could possibly go wrong?