────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄

────── ★★★ ──────

The Jones girl's eyes stayed glued to the lifeless boy in her arms while her mind tried to comprehend what just occurred. Everything within her wanted to believe that everything was just a dream and that there was no way Pan killed Felix. That she'd wake up and everything would be back to normal. Expect she knew it wasn't a dream and she'd have to face the world without the boy who broke her out of that cage thirty years ago and who helped her not feel like she was alone on that island.

Everly would have to face reality without her guiding light.

As soon as she gathered her thoughts to the best of her abilities, the girl's eyes looked away from the motionless Lost Boy in her arms and to the dagger hanging from his belt. Everly blankly stared at the object for a moment before letting out a shaky breath and gently placing Felix on the ground in front of her. She quickly untied the ropes around her ankles then her attention landed on Pan, who was still standing near the well as he looked at Storybrooke in the distance. She kept her eyes glued on the boy as her hand wrapped around the hilt of the dagger before getting to her feet. Everly cautiously walked towards the Demon King while making sure she didn't step on any leaves or twigs. Once she was close enough to him, the girl tackled him to the ground before pinning him down and placing the dagger at his neck after a bit of a struggle.

"Everly! Don't!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. And I swear if you say anything about the Purest-"

"I'm Henry!"

Those two words caused Everly's blood to run cold as she stared into the boy's nervous eyes. A million thoughts raced through her head at a rate she could barely comprehend before she found herself placing more force on the dagger which only made the brunette's eyes widen to the size of small planets.

"I'm done playing games," the Jones girl scoffed as she shook off all the thoughts running through her before she caught the nervousness in his eyes turn to panic, "I'll give you five seconds to prove that your Henry."

"You were there when I gave Pan my heart. You enchanted my hand."

"Pan was there, too."

"Before we went to Skull Rock, you told me that I needed to believe in myself before others can believe in me."

Everly's whole body froze after hearing that statement come out of his mouth. There was no way that Pan would have been able to hear her tell him Milah's last words. Uncertainty continued to flow through her veins as she studied his face one last time. After finally convincing herself that there was no way Pan could know those words, the blonde girl slowly got off of the boy and helped him to his feet.

"I'm sorry. I thought-"

"Don't worry about it. I already got that from my family today," the Mills boy told her before she could continue me as a warm smile began to make its way onto his face.

"Okay, since that we have that settled, what do we do now that Pan already cast the Curse?"

As soon as Everly finished asking her question, Henry's eyes grew to the size of small planets before he reached into his pocket and pulled the scroll that Pan used for the curse. "I need to get this to my mom. The faster the better."

"I think I can help you with that," the Jones girl responded before her eyes traveled down to her hands then she let a small sigh pass over her lips, "I just hope it works."

After sending Henry a small smile, Everly turned her back to him and crouched down next to Felix once again. Her eyes scanned over his peaceful for as she felt a single tear slide down her cheek before she took his lifeless hand into hers. The tiny grin she had on her face slowly vanished before she reached out to take Henry's hand into her other one. As soon as he takes it, the blonde girl closed her eyes and thought about the large clock tower she saw when she first arrived in Storybrooke.

A moment passed before what sounded like a wind storm filled their ears then it disappeared as soon as it came. When they opened their eyes again, the duo found themselves standing in the middle of the street in front of the tower surrounded by their allies. While Henry ran into Regina and Emma's arms, Everly crouched down to carefully place the Lost Boy's arm on his chest before standing back up to find Killian watching her with a sympathetic look on his face.

Before she could even explain what had happened to Felix, the pirate captain pulled the Purest Heart in for a tight hug as the pain took over her body and tears began to stream down her cheeks once again. Everly continued to cry into Killian's shoulders as he whispered his apologies into her ear before she looked up to find Neal staring back at her with sadness in his eyes. After staring at the man for a long moment, her attention turned to Regina, who walked over to Felix before squatting down next to him. Everly watched her with curiosity in her eyes as the Evil Queen waved her hand over him, making him shimmer a bright yellow.

"I put a preservation spell on him. You can take him to my family mausoleum until we can give him a proper burial," the brunette woman explained as she got to her feet before turning to face the young girl, "just think about where you want to go and your magic should take you there."

"Thank you."

"We'll go with you," David offered as he and Mary Margaret walk hand-in-hand towards the Jones girl before stopping in front of her, "you shouldn't have to do this alone."

After sending the two of them a small smile, Everly found herself unconsciously looking over her shoulder at Killian, who was standing a few feet away watching the interaction between the girl he took in and the two royals with an unreadable emotion in his eyes. When the pirate captain finally realized he was being watched, a somewhat forced smile appeared on his face before he opened his mouth to speak. "I'll stay and help them with the Curse. I'll be right here when you get back."

After sending the pirate a small nod, the blonde girl squatted down and took Felix's lifeless hand into her once again before reaching her other one out for David to take. Her eyes followed the prince as he hesitantly took it in one of his then grasped Mary Margaret's in the other. A small breath passed over her lips as Everly slowly closed her eyes and thought about the place they wanted to go. Butterflies formed in her stomach while what felt like a small tornado consumed the trio before it vanished as quickly as it came. When the three of them opened their eyes, they found themselves in a small stone building.

The first thing Everly did was take off the cloak she wore every day while she was on Neverland and placed it on the ground before gently lying Felix on top. Her eyes stayed glued to the still Lost Boy for a long moment before her attention was pulled to the movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. Shock filled every inch of her body at the sight of the two royals taking off their coats before they used them to cover the blonde boy.

"Are you ready to get back and finish this?"

"You mean putting a stop to Pan's plans?" Everly responded to Mary Margaret's question before a small smile appeared on her lips, "I'm always ready to do that."

After taking one last look at Felix's lifeless form with tears in her eyes, the Jones girl let out a quiet sigh before reaching her hands out to take David and Mary Margaret's. As soon as their hands were in hers, Everly summoned her gold smoke to surround them once again before they were transported back to the clock tower. The blue-eyed girl instantly made her way over to stand next to Sam while her birth parents went to talk to everyone else before she was pulled into a tight hug by the Saved Boy.

"Sammy, you know I love you but I still need to breathe."

"Sorry, Ev."

"I'm sorry too, Jones."

Everly's eyes widened at the sound of the all too familiar voice before she pushed herself away from Sam and turned around to see Pan standing in the middle of the road with the curse's scroll in his hand. Before any of the heroes had a chance to react, the former King of Neverland waved his hand through the air in front of him, causing all of them to become frozen where they stood.

"Look at you all. A captive audience. I could play with you like a pack of dolls, couldn't I?" he taunted before his eyes landed on the Jones girl and began to walk towards her, "just like you accused me of doing to my Lost Boys. Isn't that right, little Lost Girl?"

Her eyes involuntarily stayed locked on him as he continued to make his way down the street before coming to a stop right in front of her. Pan studied the girl in front of him for a long moment then he glanced over to David and Mary Margaret, only for his smirk to grow wider than humanly possible.

"You discovered the truth, haven't you? That Snow White and Prince Charming are your real parents. But wait, that doesn't add up with your time spent on Neverland, does it?" he said in a mocking tone before his eyes left the two royals landed back on Everly, "unless the person who took you away from your parents as a baby used a spell to force you to age fourteen years and gave you fake memories of your past. And maybe once they were finished, they left you to fend for yourself in that building you thought was your home. If you take those fourteen forced years away from the two years you spent with that pirate and the thirty on Neverland, it does make more sense, doesn't it."

Shock filled every inch of her body once she fully processed the information he gave her while she continued to stare into his taunting eyes. A chuckle passed over his lips before he leaned closer to whisper into her ear. "That means I took away your family, your childhood, and your true love. By the way, I am truly sorry about Felix but I did warn you. His death is on your head. Don't worry too much, though. When the Curse hits, you'll forget everything and everyone, then the fun will truly begin."

After he finished his verbal torture, he sent Everly one last evil smile then turned his back to her and walked back to where he once stood to address the group as a whole once again.

"Now that I'm done talking to my little Lost Girl, I think I'll move on to these two," he stated before walking over to stand in front of Belle and Neal, "you both look so adorable. Hard to tell which one to kill first...no, it isn't. You," he smirked as he pointed at the brunette man, "you first. Not only will it hurt Rumple by starting with you, but it'll hurt Everly as well. And we all know she deserves it."

Just as Pan was about to make his way toward one of his former Lost Boys, Rumplestiltskin appeared out of nowhere behind the King of Neverland. They all were made to watch as the Dark One grabbed the green-eyed boy's shoulder and forced him to face him. "Stay away from them."

"Well, how about this? The worm has teeth," Pan taunted as the smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered onto his face grew once again, "what? You're here to pwotect your wuved ones?"

"I'm not gonna let you touch either one of them."

"Oh? Well, I'd like to see that."

"Oh, you will. Because I have a job to finish. And I have to do it, whatever it takes. No loopholes. And what needs to be done has a price. A price I'm finally willing to pay."

As soon as he finished his words, Rumplestiltskin sent Pan one last glare before he turned his head to look at his son. "I used the curse to find you, Bae. To tell you I made a mistake. To make sure you had a chance at happiness. And that happiness is possible, just not with me. I accept that. I love you, Bae."

"Pretty, pretty words," Pan mocked, only for the Dark One to ignore his father as his eyes landed on Belle.

"And I love you, Belle. You made me stronger."

"Stronger?" Pan scoffed as he scanned all of those who he trapped before turning his full attention back to his son with a sinister grin on his face, "but still...no magic."

"Oh, but I don't need it," Rumplestiltskin stated as he turned back to face the former leader of the Lost Boys, "you see, you may have lost your shadow, but there's one thing you're forgetting."

"And what's that?" Pan questioned while setting an inch away from his son's face.

"So have I. I sent it away with something to hide."

As if on cue, screeching came from above one right as the Dark One raised his hand into the air before his shadow came into view. The creature continued to fly towards them until it was close enough to drop the wavy dagger into Rumplestiltskin's hand before reconnecting itself to the man who ripped it away. Once the shadow and the man were one again, Rumplestiltskin pulled Pan even closer to him, causing all emotion to fade from the latter's face as he stared at the man in front of him.

"What are you doing?!" the King of Neverland shouted as he struggled to break free from his son's grasp.

"You see, the only way for you to die is if we both die," the Dark Ones revealed while tightening his grip around the boy in his arms to keep him from escaping his fate, "and now? Now, I'm ready."

Everyone was then forced to watch as Rumplestiltskin plunged the dagger into Pan's back as soon as he finished explaining his plan to Pan. The two of them struggled for a moment longer as a black cloud surrounds them before it vanished to reveal a fully grown man replace of the former leader of the Lost Boys.

"Rumple, please. You can stop this. Remove the dagger. We can start over."

Everly's eyes involuntarily stayed on the two men as they turned their heads to face each other before Rumplestiltskin whispered something into his father's ear. Once he finished saying what he had to say, the Dark One twisted the dagger into his father's back before a bright gold light emitted from it then the two men vanished into thin air.

An orange light began to surround the heroes before they were all able to move again but none of them moved. They all stayed exactly where they were frozen and stared at the only thing left behind by the two men.

The Curse's scroll.

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