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The Demon Child

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FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE Melody woke up with energy and a smile. The source of her energy, she didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that she gained some control over her magic. Or maybe it was that she was slowly starting to think about the good things about her father and the fact that she was juggling the idea of having a second chance with him.

There was a knock and Melody turned to see David in the doorway.

"Hey, we're going to be leaving soon."

Melody smiled at him and nodded. "I'll be there in a second." David seemed a little surprised at her enthusiasm but didn't question it. He went to leave but the teen stopped him. "Oh and I forgot! Thank you, for looking out for me the other day. Sorry if I was being rude."

David waved it off, smiling. "It's ok, Melody. You're family after all."

The teen laughed slightly and David left the room. Melody sighed and grabbed her coat from her bed. She turned and saw the book from last night and smiled.

---

Melody, Emma, and Mary Margaret were all in David's truck as they drove to an unknown location. They all exit the car and Melody and Emma look around confused.

"Why are we in the middle of nowhere? Are you guys not telling us something? Cause I for one am concerned as to why we're in the middle of no man's land StoryBrooke," Melody said.

"Because you need to see it," Mary Margaret told her.

"Great. That always goes well for me. Listen, whatever it is, it can wait. August was trying to warn me about something - someone dangerous," Emma reminded.

"Doesn't matter," David replied.

Melody looked at him incredulously. "Why not? August died trying to warn us."

"Because of this," Mary Margaret said.

The four passed a threshold and a wave of magic coursed through them to reveal a cloaked magic bean field. Melody's eyes widened and she stood speechlessly. It was only when she recognized a familiar giant did she come to.

Anton walked over to them and smiled. "Emma. Melody."

"Hey, Anton," Melody greeted, surprised. Emma greeted him with the same response and it seemed like she was equally as shocked.

"Are you here to help? It's not quite harvesting time yet," he told them.

"Beans," Emma realized. "You're growing magic beans. That's what you were up to when we were in New York? Why didn't you tell us?"

"We are telling you. We kept it a secret to protect the crop. Mother Superior, she cloaked the area. That way Anton can do what he does best," David explained.

Anton smiled "Actually, you haven't seen me play darts. But, yeah, I do this pretty good."

Melody smiled and laughed slightly.

"Um, Anton, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you so..." she trailed off.

"Small?" he guessed. Melody nodded. "Cora. She and Regina brought some magic to make me human-sized. Kind of like it."

"Enough lollygagging! Back to it," Leroy demanded.

Anton turned back to him and then looked back at them with a sigh.

"Wow. Dwarves really like to work. It's great to see you, guys," Anton said, then he walked back to the crops.

Melody smiled and waved at him, but then stopped when the realization struck her. She turned and looked and Mary Margaret and David.

"You want to use the beans to make a portal, to go back to the Enchanted Forest. What about Ogres, life and death situations, evil sorceresses?" she asked, with a hand on her hip.

"We can fix all that. We did it before, we can do it again," David answered.

"We can start over," Mary Margaret added.

"So, you've changed your mind. You wanna go now, too," Emma said.

"Not my mind. My heart. After what I did to Cora, I think restoring our land is the best way to mend it."

"It'll be good for all of us, the whole family. Henry and you two," David persuaded.

"We're from there. You're both from there."

Melody couldn't find the words and Emma spoke for her.

"No, this world is.. my home," Emma argued.

"And it's been nothing but cruel to you. If we go back, I think you might be able to have your happy ending," David said.

They all looked at the beans and Melody let out a deep breath. In her mind she'd know that going back to the Enchanted Forest - permanently - would be hard for her. Sure, she had been there with Emma and Mary Margaret, but now she'd be living there again. The realm held too many memories. Too many broken ones and the teen wanted so desperately to fix at least some of them. And what surprised her was who she wanted to make amends with the most. The one person who didn't deserve it, but yet she couldn't stop herself from wanting to fix their relationship.

Her father

---

Music sounded through her phone as it laid on the nightstand. Melody went around the room, dancing along to the beat. She felt bad for the mess she had been leaving since her stay at Mary Margaret's apartment, so the teen felt like it was right to clean it up. So she danced around while she tidied up the room where she saw it fit. But the brunette stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of the letter she had hidden behind the mirror. It stuck out ever so slightly and she let out a sigh.

The music continued in the background so she went over and turned it off before walking over to it. She picked it up and let it rest in her hands for a moment. Her mind was telling her that it was a right choice, to do it, just to see what would happen. So, she listened.

---

Nothing was more tortous than waiting. Waiting was something that he didn't like. In fact, he despised it. That's all he ever did for years. It gnawed at him constantly: the ongoing feeling of time ticking by while you stood still. The never-ending feeling of knowing that the person you are waiting for, won't be around for a while. But he was so close. So close to getting his daughter back that he felt like he would go insane if anything happened... if anything went wrong. If his plan were to fail he would for sure go insane.

All he wanted to do was get his daughter back. He wanted to bring her to Neverland and shield her from anyone hurting her ever again. Shielding her from any curse hurting her again. It nearly brought him to tears thinking about how he, his wife, and his daughter all could've been happy without him. Without the demon child he was forced to raise, he and his family could've been happy. Sure, he tried throwing him out on several occasions. But the child always came back. Fiona and he were so desperate to save their daughter, so without a second thought, they knew they had to do anything to save her.

The soft fluttering interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see a piece of paper flying into the room, through the window. It landed in his lap and he carefully picked it up and opened it.

Dear papa,

I honestly cannot explain how it feels to hear from you after so long. I just don't understand why after so long, you finally reached out. To be honest, there are a lot of things I don't understand. Rumple finally started talking with me again. Turns out he blamed me for what you did. And maybe it was my fault, but I try not to let it faze me. I'm trying to be strong. After all, I need to be in times like these. But I wanted to tell you, I have magic. And I'm so scared because I do not know how to control it. I'm learning, but it is a lot harder than I thought. And on top of that, I'm struggling with something that's been bothering me for a while.

To forgive you

Just writing it down makes me seem crazy. After all, you did abandon me and my brother. But there's a part of me that says you had to. And I know that sounds crazy too. But that's just the feeling I get - and I might be wrong.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is...

Maybe a second chance wouldn't be so bad

Love, Melody

Pan couldn't help but smile. The fact that Melody was considering to give him a second chance made him happy. Which was something that never really ever happened to him. Perhaps it was the "villain" role he played. Peter Pan became who he was. Malcolm faded away over time. But Pan knew once he had Melody back - maybe even his wife - Malcolm would come back.

He set down the letter and still smiled, the last line of the letter ringing in his head.

Maybe a second chance wouldn't be so bad

---

Neal entered the loft, with Henry asleep and over his shoulder. Melody came down the stairs and saw him and her brother.

"What, did you tranquilize him?" Melody asked her nephew with a slight smirk.

"I just gave him a couple bourbons. Kid's a real lightweight," Neal joked.

Emma smiled, shaking her head. "Sounds like you guys had a full day."

"Spent most of it at the park. He's getting pretty good with those wooden swords. I guess that makes sense, considering where his family's from." Neal saw the looks on their faces and stopped for a moment. "What?"

"You ever thought about going back?" Melody asked him, tapping her finger on the counter. Emma reached over and stopped her. Melody blushed slightly in embarrassment and stopped.

"Back where?" Neal questioned.

"Home. Where we're from," Emma explained.

"Uh... I spend most of my life trying to forget that place. I didn't exactly have a fairy-tale childhood. You know what I mean. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Melody lied, shrugging.

There was a moment of silence before Neal cleared his throat and moved onto a new topic.

"August came by the park today. He and Henry seemed to really hit it off."

Melody smiled and shook her head. "That is gonna take a while to get used to."

Emma nodded in agreement.

"You know, I gotta say, he's actually a lot cooler as a kid. Steals less of my money," Neal smiled.

"He'd be way cooler if he could remember what he was trying to warn us about before he got-" Emma started.

"Rebooted?" Melody finished.

"'Storybrooke isn't safe?' Isn't safe from who?"

"Well, he always had a knack for being cryptic. Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out. If there's one thing I know about you, you don't stop till you find what you're looking for. And plus, now you got the sister of Rumplestiltskin on your side," Neal said, then walked up the stairs.

Emma and Melody exchanged looks. Both knowing that they weren't going to give up on their mission. And Melody knew Emma was suspicious of Tamara as well. The only problem they faced was the fact that someone they both cared about, was engaged to her.

---

Greg waited for Tamara at the Storybrooke border and saw her approach. He smiled

"Hey, beautiful. We all good?" he asked.

Tamara smiled back. "Better than good. Now should we unwrap the package?"

"You think he'll cooperate?"

"Wouldn't worry about that. From what I know of him, I don't think he'll need much convincing to help us."

"What makes you say that?" Greg asked.

"Because if there's one person you can always count on to do your dirty work..." she trailed off. She opened the back of the truck and Greg shinned the light inside. The light shone on Hook, who was bounded and gagged, bruises covering his face.

"...It's a pirate," Tamara finished.

---

SORRY FOR SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER! But this one was really important in the plot development so... I'm kinda not sorry at the same time. Also, the episode mainly focused on Gold and Belle/Lacey so Melody didn't really fit anywhere.

What do you guys think about Melody thinking about making amends with Pan?

What do you think the "Curse" Pan was thinking about is?

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