-----Once upon a well-----
''Are we missing something? What is it?'' As Felix turned back to Pan, he frowned at the young body he was hiding in. It made no sense, Peter Pan would never fail.
''The heart of the thing I love most.''
''Tiger Lily?'' As he turned towards the forest, ready to walk into it to find her, Peter stopped him.
''Well, not really ... she is no longer loyal to me ... you on the other hand.''
''No, no, no, no,no!''
''Don't be afraid, be flattered.''
-----Once upon a Lillian-----
Walking through the forest, Lillian decided to give up for now, sensing that the curse was almost there, and prepare for battle. Walking towards the pawn shop, she opened it with the key around her neck. Walking inside, she was searching for another way to defeat her boyfriend.
Pushing aside a few books, she knelled down next to the bookshelf. Frowning as she pulled out a book that she read a very long time ago. Whispering to herself, she looked at the cover. 'the curse of all curses.'
Biting her lip, she stood up, frowning as the door opened. Revealing the Charming family. She smiled as Henry -still in Peter's body- approached her. He grabbed her hand as he explained what they'd come up with. They were going to switch Henry and Peter's bodies and use the black fairy's wand.
Getting Henry for the switching spell, along with protecting the shop from Peter, Lillian was wearing herself thin. Turning her head rapidly, she saw David, Hook, Neal and Tink all walk into the shop. With the wand.
"She's back! The Blue Fairy, she gave us the wand." Emma glanced at Gold as the three filed in, Neal coming to Belle's side while Lillian stood and glanced at Rumple.
"Do we need anything else?" Rumple nodded and moved to a cabinet, opening it and rifling through the objects before he pulled out a black cuff.
"Only one more item." He passed Lillian and she felt herself weakening, after heaving the cuff on on Neverland, she didn't want to be near it.
"You still have that thing?" she hissed as Mary Margaret stared at it, her voice wary while Lillian glared hatefully at it. Rumple simply smirked as he held it up and walked towards Henry.
"What is that?"
"This is one of the only useful things I managed to pilfer from Greg and Tamara before they left for Neverland." He moved in front of Henry, ignoring the distasteful glare Regina directed at it. "It renders anyone with magic utterly powerless."
"I haven't forgotten about all that, by the way." Regina glanced at Hook and raised a finger at him as she spoke, seemingly satisfied with his wary nod as he looked back at her.
"Let me see your wrist, Henry." Said boy offered up his wrist, tilting his head as Rumple placed the cuff above the wristband that already adorned the arm. "I wanna make sure that when my dear old dad awakes, he's weakened." He pointed at the black cuff when Henry glanced from it to him, his face twisted in confusion. "This will block his powers." Henry nodded, his voice weary as he glanced to Rumple.
"What happens now?"
"I enact the spell, you fall into a deep sleep and, when you awake, you're back in your own body." Regina nodded and touched Henry's shoulder as she spoke to him, her voice grave. "And then you hang onto that scroll, and you come find us as fast as you can." Henry nodded as Rumple straightened and moved to Neal.
"When I wanted gave my heart to Pan..." Neal handed the black wand to Rumple as Henry scoffed darkly. "I though I was being a hero." Emma rubbed his back softly as he looked at her, then to the rest of the family, eyes lingering on Lillian. "I'm sorry."
David shook his head and moved forward a few steps.
"No, you're not the one who should be sorry." He soothed his grandson and Lillian nodded, keeping her voice soft, nice, comforting when Henry's gaze landed on her, his eyes sad and knowing.
"He's right. Pan is the one that needs to be sorry. And I stopped you from doing so, you made the right choice in the end no matter what." Rumple slowly examined the wand before turning to face Henry, his voice resigned.
"It's time." Henry nodded, while Emma and Regina leaving their places by his side to stand behind Rumple with the others. Lillian moved to stand next to Belle and Neal as Henry laid down on the cushion, swallowing thickly and following Rumple's soft command.
"Keep your eye on the wand." Lily stood silently and watched as Rumple waved the black wand over Henry's body, his movements slow as Henry watched it, his eyes slowly slipping shut before they felt the pulse of magic shoot through him.
gripped Neal's hand as Henry started gasping and grunting, his entire body convulsing as Emma spoke from her spot behind Gold, her voice worried.
"What's happening?" She panicked as she swallowed, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene before her.
"Henry's spirit is leaving Pan's body." Lily replied calmly, his eyes never leaving Peter's body as the air began to hum with energy. After a few tense minutes, and after almost breaking Neal's hand, she relaxed as the body stopped twitching and fell silent, heaving a soft sigh of relief.
"It worked." Lily glanced over at Regina's overjoyed words, her face lighting up as Emma nodded, her voice firm.
"Let's go find our son." Emma turned to the door and stalked off, Regina following after shooting one last glance at the still body on the cushion. The others followed suit, Belle and Lily holding onto Neal's arms and shooting him a wide smile as we moved to follow. Neal clapped Rumple's shoulder as they passed, stopping when he made no move to follow them.
Belle pulled away and moved to her lover, her brow furrowed as she looked at him.
"You're not coming?" He shook his head, his eyes never leaving Peter's pale face as he spoke.
"No, no. I-I think not." Lily shivered at his words, well aware of what Rumple planned on doing. "My father and I have some, uh...unfinished family business." Belle hesitated before nodding and walking away from him, heading past Neal and Lillian to the door.
Lillian looked up at Neal before addressing Rumple, her tone wary.
"I could stay, if you'd like-" He shook his head, his voice still deceptively soft.
"No, Lilith. This is something that can only be done by me." Ignoring the icy dread that filled the young sorceress, she nodded and, without a backwards glance at Peter, she left.
She didn't react when Neal gently caught her arm, pulling her into the cradle of his neck when they reached the door and stepped outside. Lillian exhaled sharply and glanced up at Neal as they caught up with the others.
"Lily-"
"Don't." she shook her head, her black curls bounced against her face as she put on a brave smile. "I already know that nothing can be done." He didn't respond as they stalked through the streets, he merely tightened his grip on his sister as Lily focused on her breathing and not on the boy back in Rumple's shop.
The boy Rumple was going to kill.
--------Once upon a time--------
"Lily!" she stopped and turned around as Mary Margaret walked towards me, her stride purposeful as the older woman came to her side.
"Yes, Ms. Blanchard?"
"Have you noticed Henry acting...odd?" she raised an eyebrow and shrugged lightly, even though she knew exactly what the teacher was talking about.
"He hasn't been completing his homework as of late and, it worries me."
"Well, he has been down recently, but I don't think it's all that worrying. He's just been a bit, well, put out, ever since you gave out the family tree assignment." She tilted her head and Lillian sighed deeply, lowering her voice.
"He knows he's adopted and, things haven't been exactly okay with him and Madame Mayor recently." she glanced away, aware that as his baby-sitter, Lillian was closest to him right now and she didn't want to abuse that privilege.
"Well, I think I have something to cheer him up. I'm sure he'll love, 'Once Upon A Time'."
--------Once upon a time--------
"I've got his scent!" the Charming family ran down the street when Granny called out, leading the family to the tower. "He's nearby!"
"The tower?!" The elder woman nodded at Emma's query, her voice rushed.
"Yeah!"
As they approached the building, Lillian's heart nearly came to a stop when the door flew open, the blinds clattering as Henry swung the door open and sprinted towards us.
"It's me! It's me, it worked!" He rushed into Emma and Regina's outstretched arms, falling into their embrace as both women sighed deeply and clutched him tightly. Lily smiled, covering her mouth with her gloved hands as Neal wrapped his arm around her.
"Mom, mom. I just saw you guys, you just saw me." They finally pulled back reluctantly and Regina reached forward, gently cupping his chin in her hand.
"But we didn't see you." Henry smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, tightly wrapped scroll.
"Oh, he's got it!" He handed it to Regina as Emma spoke, touching Henry's shoulder as she glanced at the other woman. "It's up to you now." Regina nodded, glancing at the scroll in her grasp with a determined look. Lillian narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.
Regina collapsed to the ground as Emma gasped, her voice frantic as she leaned down to shake Regina's shoulder. "Regina!" Lily and Neal moved forward, the others soon with them as they crowded around her, calling her name as she remained unconscious. Lillian glanced around and froze suddenly, her face rapidly paling as Neal gently shook her shoulder.
"Lily?" she swallowed with difficulty and turned to face him.
"It's Peter ... He's awake." Neal stiffened as Emma continued to call for Regina, her tone rising with every word.
Regina gasped awake, her eyes flying open as she looked around wildly, her gaze resting on Emma as she whispered her name.
''Emma." Slowly, Regina stood as Neal and Henry supported her, Emma standing as well.
"What happened, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it was just..." Regina trialed off as she looked away, her face pale and drawn as Mary Margaret questioned her worriedly.
"What is it? What happened when you touched it?" Regina kept her gaze ahead as she tightened her grip on the scroll.
"I saw what needed to be done." Henry moved closer to her and stared up at her, his eyes wide.
"Mom, a-are you gonna be okay?" She turned to him and leaned down, gently cupping his chin.
"The important thing is, you will be." He gripped her arm tightly.
Lillian stiffened as Peter's voice washed over her and inhaled sharply when the scroll disappeared from Regina's hand with a soft 'whoosh'.
"No, he won't." Regina gasped and pulled Henry into her arms as Peter approached them, Henry wrapped protectively in both his mothers' arms. Lillian stepping closer to Belle and Neal, standing in front of them, when Hook raised his arm, his voice alarmed.
"He has the-" Lillian and the others froze as Peter waved his hand across all of them, causing their bodies to glow bright red before they stiffened, frozen in place by his spell.
"Curse!" Peter finished for Hook, his eyes alight with malice as he grinned darkly at us. Lillian stared at him, unable to move when he approached her and gently ran his fingers across her cheek. "Don't worry, Lily. Everything will be better soon." He pulled away and smiled mockingly at the others and raised his arms. "That I do." He grinned again as he glanced between their frozen bodies.
"Look at you all, a captive audience. I could play with you like a pack of dolls, couldn't I?" He smirked darkly, his eyes filled with hatred as he moved towards Neal, Belle and Lillian, his voice light.
"But, I think I'll start with these two." He glanced at Lily, his voice reassuring as she stared at right back at him. "I'll play with you later, Lily. Hmm, you both look so adorable." He tilted his head, as if thinking carefully. "Hard to tell which one to kill first." He glanced at a mutinous looking Belle and shook his head. "No, it isn't you." He pointed at Neal, his expression murderous. "You first."
Lily blinked in shock as Rumple suddenly appeared behind him and gripped his shoulder, nearly throwing Peter away from us as he all but growled at his father. "Stay away from them!" Peter simply turned around and smiled, his voice and laugh mocking.
"Well how about that. The worm has teeth." He moved closer to Rumple, his eyes narrowed as he mocked Rumple with a baby voice. "What, you're here to protect your loved ones?"
Rumple simply glared at him, not rising to the bait.
"I'm not gonna let you touch either one of them." His gaze hardened. "Or Lillian."Peter sneered and moved closer to Rumple, his voice threatening as he snarled.
"Oh, and I'd like to see that." His green eyes slid lazily to me and he smirked. "Especially if you try to keep me from Lily."
"Oh, you will." She stared at Rumple as he spoke, his voice calm even as Peter mocked him. "Because I have a job to finish, and I have to do it. No. Loopholes." Horrified, Lillian watched as Rumple's voice lowered, realizing that he planned to sacrifice himself.
"And what has to be done has a price-a price I'm finally willing to pay." Completely terrified, Lillian focused on the magic binding her to the ground, attempting to get her own, gold, magic own to break it. Just as she couldn't hurt Peter, he couldn't hurt her. So, all she needed to do was manipulate her magic, she needed to feel that Peter was hurting her.
"I sued the curse to find you, Bae. To tell you that I made a mistake, to make sure you had a chance at happiness. And that happiness is possible-" He stopped as Peter chuckled in disgust, turning away from his son. "Just not with me," he pointed to himself as Peter turned around again, his face set in a sneer. "And I accept that."
"Pretty, pretty words." Peter cooed, his voice filled with malice as Rumple whispered to his son.
"I love you, Bae." Lily blinked back tears at his whispered declaration, locking eyes with Peter briefly before Lily looked back at Rumple, who turned towards Lilith.
"Lilith. I know that I haven't always fulfilled my promise to you, but you were one of the best things that ever happened to me." she swallowed as his eyes darted to Peter, his words careful. "And, you know what needs to be done, when the time is right." With that, he turned to Belle, ignoring the suspicious gaze Peter sent him.
"And I love you, Belle. You made me stronger."
"Stronger?" Peter huffed, waving his arm at Rumple's wrist.
"Yes but still," He turned to his son, a menacing undertone in his words. "No magic." Rumple simply smiled, his words light and Lillian watched in shock, ceasing her struggles as she wondered if he'd gone off the deep end.
"Oh, but I don't need it. You see, you may have lost your shadow," he pointed to Peter, a grin spreading across his face. "But, there's one thing you're forgetting." Peter leaned forward, his breathing and words harsh as he sneered hatefully at Rumple.
"And what is that?"
"So have I." Rumple nearly cheered. "I sent it away with something to hide." With that, Rumple simply raised his arm and his own shadow flew forward towards him, shrieking softly as it headed towards Rumple.
"What...are you doing?!" Lillian watched in horror as Rumple held onto his father, his grip strong and sure as Peter bucked and grunted, panting as he tried to get out of it. Rumple leaned closer to him, hissing hatefully.
"You see, the only way for you to die, is if we both die." Summoning all of her magic, Lillian finally managed to break free from Peter's spell just as Rumple spat out the last words, his voice hard as he glanced at me. "And now, I'm ready."
Lillian covered her mouth, smothering her cry of shock as Rumple plunged the jagged dagger into Peter's back, her ears ringing with his sharp cry of pain, his eyes wide as he began to gasp and wheeze in Rumple's arms.
As Lillian rushed over to them, she pulled them apart, turning to both -now- grown man. Staring at Malcolm before turning to her own father. Eyes filled with tears, he gave her a nod. Telling her that it was okay.
Turning back to Malcolm, she pushed both of her hands into his chest, focusing on one small emotion in both their hearts. Love. Pulling Peter Pan out of Malcolm, she stared at them, grabbing the dagger as she pushed it into Malcolm before turning back to Peter.
Hugging him closely, as he thanked her, the spell of the others breaking. She turned her head, softly letting go of Peter as she rushed to Belle and Neal, holding them closely. ''I'm so sorry, I couldn't save them both ... he wanted me to save Peter. I am so so so sorry.'' She said as she herself was now sobbing as well, turning back to Peter as he opened his arms. Allowing her to sob into his chest.
Smiling up at him as she looked back at the spot where Malcolm was standing just a few seconds ago, she stared into Peter's green eyes. ''You're free from him now.''
''The curse! It's here!'' Turning to Leroy, Lillian turned to Henry and Neal Rushing over to them as she hugged them closely. ''It's coming from all sides, there is no escaping it.''
''There has to be a way.''
''There isn't ... the only thing we can do is sent Emma and Henry out there, by themselves.'' Turning to Emma and Henry, Lillian bit her lip, walking Henry to his mother. ''I can make good memories for you, and one day, we'll all return to you and you'll break the curse once more.''
''Emma, you have to go.'' Snow and Charming agreed with Neal as they hugged her.
''You'll find us again. You know that.''
Arriving at the town line, Lillian and Henry embraced each other before Peter turned to Henry.
''I'm sorry for everything that happened with Malcolm.''
''It's not your fault, you weren't him.'' Lillian nodded and held his hand, smiling as she hugged Henry closely. ''We'll find each other, won't we sis...?''
''Of course, I'll always find you.''
Looking at the cloud of green smoke, Lillian moved Henry close to Emma. She waved her hand over their heads as she replaced all of their memories. Lilith, Baelfire, Tink, Charming, Hook, Snow, Peter, Regina, everyone was whipped away from their memory as soon as they would cross the line.
''You have to go now, the curse will be here very soon.'' As Emma and Henry embraced their family for the last time, they stepped into the car, allowing to let go of their lives, home and memories. Lillian raised her hands as she waved goodbye to them. Hugging Neal, Belle and Peter closely. She watched the green smoke come over them.
And that is it for now. I hope you enjoyed this twist with Peter being pulled out of Malcolm and Peter staying alive. I hate that I'm not able to save Rumple as well but than again, we all know what's gonna happen anyways. Or do we ...? Please leave a vote, comment, follow and maybe eve a theory/suggestion for my story!
-X Violets-library