Hooked

“Why are you all here?” he asked, shock clear on his face. These were the last people Neil expected to stumble upon in the dark forest of Neverland.

Everyone exchanged glances before Emma finally spoke up.

“Greg and Tamara are here,” she said. “They took Henry.”

It was hard to tell in the dark, but Neil’s face seemed to grow paler.

“What, why?” he questioned.

“We’re not completely sure, Bae,” Gold said, stepping towards his son. “We think Pan wants to use Henry’s soul to stay young.”

“But why Henry?” Neil questioned. “There are plenty of other boys in Neverland that he can leech off of.”

“Pan believes that Henry is a product of true love,” Regina spoke up now. Neil’s eyes glanced over to Emma, before returning his gaze to Regina. “Henry’s soul would keep him young forever, if that’s the case.”

Everyone was silent as they watched Neil process this new information.

“Are you okay, Neil?” Emma asked finally, breaking the silence. She moved closer to him, looking over him for any wounds. Her hand reached for his. “I thought you were dead. You were shot.”

“The Lost Boys found me on the beach,” he said, eyes meeting Emma’s. “They took me back to Pan and held me prisoner. Tinkerbell healed me and when I felt strong enough I managed to escape.”

“You know where we can find Pan?” Killian finally spoke up. Ariel was close at his side.

“Yeah,” Neil answered. His eyes moved to Ariel. “Who are you?”

“Ariel,” she answered.

“You’re from here, aren’t you?” he asked. He moved away from Emma and stepped closer to Ariel to get a better look. Ariel felt Killian’s arm wrap around her waist and move her closer to his side in a protective manner. “Have we met before?”

“I-I don’t think so,” she said. He stared at her for a moment later before turning to the rest of the group.

“I think it’s best if we get some rest if we’re going to try and take down Pan,” he said.

---

She saw him standing there, watching her. She had packed her few belongings before being unceremoniously removed from the castle. She walked until she came to the nearest village, and upon realizing she didn’t have any money to at least get something to eat she had stumbled over to secluded spot and sat down, immediately bursting into tears.

She had no one. She was completely alone and it was just now hitting her. She couldn’t return to the ocean to her family, she couldn’t return to Eric. She had nowhere to go.

She saw him watching her, and it made her uncomfortable. He was dirty, clothes ragged and hair matted. She wiped hastily at her eyes and stood up quickly, suddenly nervous as he began to approach her. Without a word, he extended his hand offering her what appeared to be a half eaten hunk of bread. She took it from him carefully, realizing now that he was only trying to help her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, eyes filled with tears once again.”

She woke as she felt Killian stirring beside her and she opened her eyes to see that thin streams of light were breaking through the tree tops. It must be morning. Killian helped her to her feet and she began packing her things. As they came together to formulate their plan, her eyes met Neil’s and she realized now that they had met before… the stranger who had saved her.