juliet •peter pan•

SEVENTY

Juliet pushed through the forest. She needed to get away from the current conversation. She just couldn't believe what they were saying. 

"Juliet?" She heard Regina's voice behind her. "You okay?" Juliet stopped walking, not turning around. 

"No." She took a shaky breath. "There's no way that Peter's been lying to me about this. He wouldn't do this." She fought to keep the tears out of her eyes. If what Wendy had said was true, she couldn't have a breakdown now. Regina took a step towards the teenager. 

"Well, maybe he's not who you think he is." Juliet turned her head. "I mean, you did say the last time you saw him was before the curse. That was almost thirty years ago. People can change. I mean, look at me. A few months ago, I wanted to kill Mary Margaret. Now we're putting aside our differences to save Henry." Juliet looked up at her aunt.

"I want to go with you to Skull Rock." Regina raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you sure? If things go south, I don't think you'd wanna be there." Juliet shook her head. 

"Maybe I can convince him to let Henry go. To find another way to fix his problem without killing Henry." Regina sighed.

"Alright, let's go." The two headed for the boats. "You're very stubborn, you know that right?" Juliet chuckled. 

They got on the boat with Emma, Neal, and Gold. Neal took the oars and started rowing the boat toward Skull Rock. It wasn't a long boat ride, and they got to Skull Rock relatively quick. Getting out of the boat, Emma noticed footprints leading up to the steps. 

"Those are Henry's shoes." She remarked. Juliet looked up the stairs and gulped. She knew what she was about to find was going to change everything. "Wendy was right. They're here." She walked to the stairs, but bumped into a magical barrier and fell back. Juliet folded her arms. Neal went down to help her up.

"Are you okay?" Emma nodded.

"I think so." They both looked up at Gold.

"What was that?" Neal asked. Gold inspected the barrier.

"Pan cast a protection spell." Regina sighed.

"There has to be a way to break it." She threw a fireball at it, and the fireball dispersed. 

"Try all you want, but Pan's magic is too powerful." Gold responded. "At least for you." He took a step through the barrier, to everyone's surprise.

"How did you do that?" Emma asked. He turned around to face them. 

"The spell is designed to keep anyone who casts a shadow from entering." 

"And you don't have one." Neal observed. "You were telling the truth about ripping your shadow off." Gold nodded.

"And Pan knows it. That's why he cast the spell he did. This isn't about keeping you out. This is about drawing me in. He knows I won't give up the chance to finish what I came here to do." Neal sighed.

"You really did come here to save Henry." Gold nodded again, pointing to the box in Neal's hand.

"I gave you my trust with that box. Now I need you to give it back." Juliet looked at the box. She assumed that they were going to trap Pan in there somehow. She turned around and looked at the island. 

Neal went to give Gold the box, but it was snatched by Regina. She walked up to Gold. 

"You better come through, Gold. Or I'll make whatever Pan has planned for you look like child's play. You understand me?" She threatened. Gold smiled and grabbed the box.

"Well, a simple 'good luck' would have sufficed." He turned around and walked up the stairs. 

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Regina asked. 

"What about the spell my father used to rip off his shadow?" Neal thought aloud. Regina scoffed. 

"Do you think if I knew how to do that, I wouldn't have done it already?" Emma looked up at the moon. 

"The moon." All three pairs of eyes turned to look at Emma. "The moon is what causes our shadows, right? What if there was a way to block it using magic?" Juliet put her hands on her hips, looking up at the moon. That would work. 

"What, you mean like an eclipse?" Neal asked. "Is that even possible?" 

"Maybe." Regina responded. "But I need help." Emma turned to look at her.

"With magic?" Regina nodded.

"It requires a lot. I guess we're about to find out how much those lessons I gave you paid off." She looked at Juliet. "We're gonna need your help too." Juliet sighed, walking over to stand next to Regina. "Follow my lead." She raised her hands up to the moon. Juliet and Emma followed. With enough concentration, they were able to cast an eclipse over the moon. 

"It's working." Juliet exclaimed. The three lowered their hands. 

"Let's go save Henry." Regina said, and they headed for the stairs, Juliet trailing behind. She was hesitant to go up, but she needed to go. 

When they got to the top of the stairs, Juliet gasped. Henry was holding his heart in the palm of his hand. 

"Henry, wait!" Neal shouted, which got Henry's attention. "Whatever Pan's telling you to do, don't do it." Henry looked at his dad. 

"Dad? You're alive?" Neal nodded. 

"I am, buddy. And I need you to listen to me. Pan is lying to you." 

"Oh, a pleasure to see you too, Baelfire." Pan chuckled. Juliet felt tears start to form in her eyes. "Not to mention the savior, the Evil Queen, and..." He noticed Juliet standing next to Regina. "Juliet? What are you doing here?" Juliet frowned. It all set in. She was hurt. She felt betrayed. 

"Henry, you need to get away from him now." Emma pleaded. "He's trying to hurt you." Henry shook his head, holding the heart.

"No. The heart of the truest believer, it's what's going to save magic. It's gonna save all of you." Through tears, Juliet glared at Pan. 

"No, it's not." Regina argued. "This was never about magic, Henry. You have to believe us. The only person Pan's interested in saving is himself." 

"That's not true." Henry insisted. 

"Course it isn't." Pan agreed with Henry. 

"Yes it is." Neal stepped forward. "Pan can't live without you dying. if you give him your heart, it's gonna kill you." Pan stepped in front of Henry. He said something that Juliet couldn't quite make out. 

"Henry." Henry looked up at Emma. "I know what being a hero looks like, and this isn't it." Henry sighed, looking back at Pan. 

"Why would they lie?" Pan shook his head. 

"Because that's what adults do, Henry. You know that better than anyone. Your parents don't care about Neverland, Henry. They know if you give your heart to save it, then you'll have to stay." He walked to stand behind Henry. "And they're being selfish because they don't want to lose you." Juliet sighed. 

"Henry, listen to me." The boy looked over at her. "I wouldn't lie to you. This is going to kill you." Pan looked over at his girlfriend. She had found out the truth and had turned on him. He sighed, turning his attention to Henry. 

"This is your choice, not theirs." He looked over at the hourglass. "But you have to choose now. We're running out of time." Neal sighed, looking at his son.

"We believe in you Henry." Emma nodded.

"Because we love you." 

"More than anything." Regina continued. Henry looked at the four of them. 

"I love you, too." He sighed. "But I have to save magic. I'm sorry." Juliet's eyes widened. Before anyone could do anything, Henry turned around and pushed his heart into Pan's chest. A green glow emanated from them and knocked everyone over. Henry went limp.