Feeling that Peter was on his way back,
    the Neverland had once again woke into life.

              "How much farther?" Jack asked, following close behind Lillian as they trekked through the Neverforest. "Not much, stop whining you big baby." Lillian said as she pushed a branch out of her way. "I used to make this hike every day for 300 years." "Yeah, I had to go farther to try and find where you were for 300 years." "But you never did, so shut up unless you don't want to get there by sundown." Lillian snapped.
            Hangman's Tree was a bit of a forgotten spot on Neverland, very few knew of it's existence. But one of the few that did was Lillian. This tree had been her home for a majority of her teenage life on Neverland. If you considered the place she hid from danger her home, that is.
             "Are you keeping an eye out?" Lillian asked. "Yea, no sign of any lost boys yet though." "Looks like you need a new lookout." A new voice chimed in. Both Lillian and Jack turned to face the source of the voice, and saw someone they both knew well. "Hello Felix." Lillian said in a bored tone.
           Felix was leaning against a tree casually, his arms crossed and relaxed. "You don't seem happy to see me." He said. "Well, trouble usually follows you around I'm afraid." Jack scoffed. Felix chuckled. "Me? Trouble?" He smirked and looked to the ground, shaking his head. "No, I'm not here to cause any mischief, not yet at least." "What does he want." Lillian said as more of a statement then a question.
           Felix laughed at Lillian's passiveness. "Since you seem to be in such a hurry, I'll get straight to the point." He said. "Pan knows you're here, and quite frankly he isn't happy. However, he is willing to give you a chance." "A chance?" Said Jack. "A chance for what?" "A chance to realize that this whole little trip of yours was ludicrous and leave before you face his wrath." Felix said, turning towards Jack. "Neither one of you two are on very good terms with Pan. And you both know how Pan deals with his enemies. So he's giving you until sunrise tomorrow to leave, and if you're not gone by then," Felix stopped and laughed darkly. "You'll be a pawn in his game, just like you were all those years ago."
          "Well if you'll remember, we cheated our way out of his game once, we could do it again." Lillian said. Felix put his hands up in false surrender. "Don't kill the messenger." "Alright then, messenger." Jack said as he walked closer to Felix. "Tell Pan that we'll take his deal, and if we're not gone by sunrise he'll know our decision." The tension between the two boys was clear, and without another word Felix left to deliver the message to his leader.
     "So much for being discreet." Said Lillian. "I thought you said Pan wouldn't worry about us until the Jolly Roger was gone." "That's what I thought, the ship must be-"
          Lillian knew what he was thinking, so Jack didn't bother finishing. The two were silent for a moment out of respect for the dead. The sound of the forests filled their ears as the two took a moment to accept the fact that not only were the Charmings gone, but also Adaline and William. Two people they had spent years with, and whether they got along or not, you can't spend that long with people and not feel any connection. Jack cleared his throats and returned to the present. "We should keep going." He said. Lillian nodded. "The tree's up ahead." She said in almost a whisper. Then they both continued their trek.
          "We're almost to the island!" Hook called out. "Prepare for departure!" "I'll go and-" "No." Hook said, cutting William off. "You're not touching anything on my ship, understand?" His eyes were full of fire. William huffed in annoyance, but nodded and went back to join Adaline on the main deck.
          Adaline had just returned from below deck and now held a dagger, and a cutlass. "I believe this is yours." She said, handing William the cutlass. He took it by the handle and did a few practice swings. At the base of the blade, 'Skylights' was engraved in fancy letters. "Thank you." He finally said. "Pleasure." Adaline said, twirling her dagger between her fingers. It had been years since either of them had used a weapon of any kind, so they spent the rest of the trip on the Jolly Roger getting familiar with them again.
         Once the ship landed on the Nevershore, the passengers disembarked and stood waiting for a plan. "So how exactly are we planning on getting Harry back?" Said William. "Henry." Regina corrected. "Whatever, what's the plan?"
         The group responded with silence. "You don't even have a plan?" William said in disbelief. "It doesn't matter, as long as we work together we'll figure out something." Emma said. "I mean look, we have Snow White and Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, a pirate and two teenagers. We need all of that to get Henry back." "And what are you exactly, Emma?" Regina asked.
         Emma looked at Regina. "I'm a mother." She said. "And I'll stop at nothing to get my son back."
        "And voila!" Lillian said as she suddenly stopped, causing Jack to crash into her. But Lillian didn't seem to notice, she was too excited at seeing her old home again.
         Hangman's Tree stood tall in the clearing of the forest. The tree was dead and mangled, multiple ropes hung from its branches. To a bystander, it looked like an old tree. But to one with a brilliant mind you could see just how elaborate it was.
         Lillian paced around the tree, taking everything in. "This is a lovely reunion, but I'd really like to get inside before we're found by someone less friendly then Felix." Said Jack. Lillian rolled her eyes and pulled one of the branches of the tree. It moved like a lever, and a small hatch opened at the tree's roots. "Hope you're not claustrophobic." Said Lillian, gesturing to the small pathway in the tree. Jack raised an eyebrow at her. "Claustrophobia is the least of our problems." He said, climbing inside. Once Jack had disappeared inside, Lillian followed him and pulled on a vine in the entrance. The tree branch went back to it's original state and the hatch shut behind her as she crawled inside.
          There was a small tunnel inside the tree that Jack barely fit through. "How'd you go in and out of this thing so much?" He asked. "It was made so lost boys couldn't get inside, I was the only one that was supposed to be here." Said Lillian. "Oh, and watch out for the sudden-" Lillian was cut off by Jack's screams as he fell down the ledge at the end of the tunnel.
         Lillian quickly followed him and though Jack sprawled on the floor, Lillian landed on her feet gracefully. "Home sweet home." She said, walking inside.
         In the roots of the tree, Lillian and Jack were standing in a large, dusty room. It was obvious it hadn't been occupied for a while, but other than that everything was fairly neat. Various animal furs lined the floors and the walls, like trophies. Items such as dreamcatchers, sketches of multiple people, various weapons, and a feather headdress hung on the walls. A small hammock with a homemade quilt hung in the corner.
     "You lived here?" Jack asked, looking around. "More like sheltered here." Said Lillian. "But I did add my own touch to the place." She sat down in a wooden chair, designed almost like a throne. "Now, we need a plan." She said. Jack sat on a small rug that lay on the floor. "That we do, any ideas?" He said. "Well, we still need to get the boy back." Said Lillian. Jack looked confused at her words. "Henry? Why?" "Pan must not have told you much." She said. "My father used to speak of it all the time."
            "Your father spoke of many things, but he wasn't always right." Jack argued. Lillian glared at Jack. If looks could kill, the look Lillian gave Jack would've made him die on the spot. "My father was always right, one way or another." Lillian said, holding back her rage. "And it seems to me he was right on with this one." "Well, spit it out then. What's so important about this kid?" Said Jack, crossing his arms. Lillian rapped her fingers on the arm of her throne and rolled her eyes. "Henry was descended from both light and dark." She explained. "His father was the son of the dark one, his mother the result of true love. This makes him what my father called the ikt klaksta kametaks." "English please?" Said Jack. Lillian sighed. "It roughly translates to 'the one who believes'."
            Jack processed her words for a moment, before jumping to his feet in disbelief. "The truest believer." He said, barely above a whisper. "Ding ding ding! We have a winner." Lillian said, her tone flat and sarcastic. "But I thought it was a myth." Said Jack, still not believing her words. "All myths start somewhere." Said Lillian. "Now sit down, I'm not finished yet." Jack took a deep breath to calm himself, before sitting back on the ground in front of Lillian. "See, the myth was the Truest Believer could be two things. He or she could be the thing that keeps Pan in power, or the person that ends his reign." Lillian had stood to her feet and walked towards a rug underneath her hammock in the corner.  
          "Which is only half true. Everyone assumed the Truest Believer was a person, but it's not." Lillian moved the rug and revealed a scrap of paper with writing in a foreign language. "This was carved into the hourglass in Skull Rock. It's fairy language." She explained, walking back towards Jack and sitting beside him in the ground. "I was able to translate most of it, but basically it says Pan needs the heart of the truest believer. It's not a person, not quite. For years we thought the Truest Believer would rule by Pan's side, but it won't work that way." Jack had finally caught up with what Lillian was explaining. "So you're saying Pan is going to-" Lillian nodded gravely. "Not only are we stopping Pan, we're saving Henry."
          "Remind me again where we're going?" Said William, following behind Adaline and the rest of the group. "We're trying to get a birds eye view of the island so we have some idea of where we're going." Said Adaline, gazing at the flora around her. "Nobody brought a map?" Said William. Adaline rolled her eyes and sighed. "If you hadn't decided to piss off Bonnie and Clyde, we wouldn't need one." She said. "Lillian and Jack both spent the most time on the island itself." "You were on the island as much as they were." William said, putting his hands in his pockets. Adaline hesitated for a moment, before continuing to walk. "That's different." She muttered. William didn't say a word from then until they arrived at their destination.
          The group finally stopped at Blindman's Bluff, a small cliff that gave a good view of most of the NeverForest. They gazed out at the jungle below them. "Well, its a bit different since the last time I saw it." Hook admitted. Regina huffed in annoyance. "So, this whole nature hike was for nothing." She said. "Not for nothing, you got a great view of the Neverland ecosystem." Said William. "If you look closely you might see  the shadow of one of Pan's victims." "Will-" Adaline said in a warning tone. "No, no. Let him talk." Said David, already fed up with William's sadistic attitude. "Do you have a plan then, William?" "I do." Said William. "We camp out tonight, and start our search in the morning." "And waste time when Henry could be hurt?" Said Regina. "William is right, we need to conserve energy." Said Emma. "Hook, do you know anywhere we could camp out?" "I have a few places in mind." Hook replied, glaring at William. "Good, then we rest tonight and start our search tomorrow." Emma stated. "Anyone against this, speak now."
           William's plan was indeed a good one, though no one wanted to admit it. "Good. Hook, lead the way." Emma said. Hook nodded and hit his shoulder against William as he passed. William glared at the captain, but didn't react other than that. William and Adaline stayed at the back of the group once again. "You two need to get along." Adaline said lightly. William raised an eyebrow. "I'll apologize once that old codfish does first." He said bitterly. Adaline sighed, but didn't bother him about it any longer. She knew it wasn't trivial for the time being. However as she mindlessly followed the group her thoughts wandered to Lillian and Jack's whereabouts.
          Adaline knew Lillian, and she knew she wouldn't have abandoned the ship unless someone put the idea in her head. She had a wild heart, a fighting spirit. She wasn't a coward like everyone perceived her to be, and Adaline knew it. She was simply a survivor, and that's why despite what William had said, she knew that somewhere Lillian was alive, and she was going to see her very soon.
          After all, it wouldn't be Neverland without Tiger Lily.