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Bad Things Happen To Good People

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LIFE HAD BEEN CRUEL TO HER. Life had thrown rocks at her at first, then it threw boulders. But the girl tried to dodge them to the best of her ability, but of course, she got hit. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to forgive the past. Yet here she was, in the one realm she didn't want to see until she was truly ready to face it head-on. But she knew she had to be strong. Just like her mother had told her to be, knowing that the girl had spent so many tears on the past and the results of them.

And things only seemed to get harder. And she so desperately wanted to catch her breath. She needed to breathe again. She needed to be free. She wanted to be free. But she also needed to know why. Why her mother had left when she was so young. Why her father gave her and her brother up for a selfish reason. Why her father didn't care about Gold. She wanted to know why.

Just maybe if she knew the truth, she could finally rid of that weight on her shoulders that brought her down for so many years. Nothing added up. Nothing did. She was lied to for so long and she was sick of it. The truth was the one thing she couldn't die without knowing. Though she knew, the only way to find out the truth, was to face her father again.

Melody had to face the person who plagued her nightmares.

---

The four landed on the sand with a thump and with all the strength she had, Melody tried to get up. Henry ran over to her and was about to help her up when Greg grabbed him, pulling him back.

"Slow down, guys. You got nowhere to go," he told them.

Tamara sighed in relief, smiling. "We made it. Mission accomplished."

Melody stood up and held her head, trying to steady herself.

"Are you sure about that? 'Cuz my mom is coming to get us. Both of them," Henry said.

"You might wanna take a look around, kid. Do you see any clock towers? You're a long way from Storybrooke," Greg pointed out

"It doesn't matter! My family's been to the Enchanted Forest before, and they can get here again."

They all hear a weird howling noise and Tamara looked around.

"Well, we're not in the Enchanted Forest. This is Neverland," she said.

Melody finally became steady and her heart sunk. Her body froze and she felt her breathing become jagged.

"Neverland? You're here to destroy Neverland?" Henry said in disbelief, not noticing his sister's odd behavior.

"It's the mother lode of magic," Tamara explained. She turned to Greg. "Where's the communicator? We need to signal the Home Office."

He took the communicator out of the backpack and handed it to her.

"An office in the jungle? Huh. Who works there?" Melody asked in a sassy tone. She wanted to see if they actually knew who they were working for. She wanted to see if they knew who she was.

Greg got up and walked over to her. Melody stood with her arms crossed over her chest and she glared.

"Who we work for is not your concern, kid. Just know that they take care of us."

She cocked her eyebrow.

"Do they, now? Can they tell you how to get back home after you destroy magic?"

"We don't ask questions. We just believe in our cause."

Melody scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Greg?" Tamara called.

"Yeah?" he asked, walking over to her.

"I'm not getting a status light on this thing."

She handed the communicator to Greg and he looked at it.

"Did you check the batteries?" he asked.

He opened the battery compartment and sand fell out. Melody couldn't help but smirk. She couldn't lie though. That was a good idea on the "Home Office"'s part.

"What the hell is this? A toy?" Tamara sneered angrily.

"It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions," Melody snickered smugly.

Henry tried to hide his grin and Greg glared at her. He grabbed her arm and pushed her and Henry forward.

"Walk!"

---

On the Jolly Roger, Hook, who is manning the helm, slowed the ship and Regina noticed and looked at him.

"Why are you slowing down? In case you didn't know, my son and daughter's lives are in danger!" she snapped.

"Oh, I know, my hot-headed Queen. The plan is to bring us to the far side of the island, link up with the widest part of the river, and.. then we sail right through, take him by surprise. The irony..." Hook explained. He then shook his head.

"What irony?" Regina asked, going to stand by him.

"Oh, I spent more time than I care to remember trying to leave this place to kill Rumplestiltskin. And here I am, sailing right back into its heart with him as my guest of honor. It's not quite the happy ending I was hoping for."

They were both silent for a moment when Regina spoke up.

"Greg Mendell said something funny to me. He said I'm a villain, and that villains don't get happy endings. You believe that?"

Hook turned to her for a moment then looked away. "I hope not, or we've wasted our lives."

Once again they didn't say anything for a moment.

"You know, I realized how you didn't seem very interested in our problem until you had heard Melody was kidnapped," Regina observed. "You do seem to care about her."

"Your daughter and I spent some time together in the Enchanted Forest. She didn't treat me like others do. She treated me like a person, not the filthy pirate everyone calls me. Then when I arrived in StoryBrooke along with Cora, I got to know her." He paused. "She knew that I wanted revenge on Rumplestiltskin and didn't react the way I thought she would. I still remember exactly what she said to me that day. She said, 'Just promise me you won't let the darkness completely change you. I see a hero in you Hook, whether you like it or not. Just don't let your revenge dissolve that part of you.' And after she gave me this charm," he said, then showed Regina the charm.

Regina set it in her palm. "'There is good in everyone'," she said out loud, reading it.

"I've kept it ever since she gave it to me. Never let it out of my sight. She showed me that even though I am 'titled' a villain, I can still be a good man, maybe even a hero."

Regina gave him the charm back and smiled.

"She was always one to see the good in people. Even when she was growing up."

Hook nodded. "Aye."

Regina saw the look in his eyes and continued. "Don't worry Hook. Wherever she and Henry are, I'm sure she's ok. She's strong."

---

The fire illuminated the night and Melody sat next to Henry.

"Are we going to eat s'mores and sing kumbaya?" Melody asked smirking. She felt dizzy again and held her head, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them back up.

"No. Building a signal," Greg replied, ignoring her sarcastic comment. "Help me gather some dry leaves. We need to let the home office know that we're here," Greg said to Tamara.

"And what if that's not enough? What if the empty communicator wasn't an accident?" she asked.

"Don't let the kid get in your head."

There was a rustling sound and they all turned to see a group of teenager emerge from the trees. Melody stood up and pushed Henry behind her.

"Who are you?" Greg questioned.

The one boy with a club on his shoulders, gestured to the boys with his arms extended.

"We're the Home Office. Welcome to Neverland," he greeted, smirking, his club on his shoulders.

"The Home Office is a bunch of teenagers?" Tamara asked confused.

The boy saw Melody and the teen noticed the way his eyes softened. But Melody knew that this boy wasn't her father. Now that she thought about it, she hardly even remembered what her father's teenage self-looked like.

"They're not teenagers. They're the Lost Boys," Melody corrected.

The boy looked over at her impressed. "Look at that."

"Why do the Lost Boys want to destroy magic?" she asked.

"Who said we wanna destroy magic?"

"That was our mission," Greg reminded.

"So you were told. Yes. Now the boy and the girl. Hand them over."

"Not unless you tell us the plan-for magic, for getting home," Tamara said, moving in front of Henry and Melody.

"You're not getting home," the boy told them.

"Then you're not getting the boy and the girl," Greg objected.

The boy chuckled "Of course we are."

A roaring sound filled the air and they looked up to see a shadow fly down and rip Greg's shadow from his body. Melody's eyes widened when she realized that it was the shadow. Greg collapsed to the ground and Tamara turned to the two kids.

"Run!" Tamara yelled at them

The three started running but one of the Lost Boys shot an arrow at Tamara, it landing in her back. Tamara fell to the ground gasping and Melody and Henry continued running. The teen felt herself becoming dizzy and she stopped. Henry stopped and looked back at her.

"Melody, come on!"

She was about to follow when she and Henry were grabbed and pulled down in between two of the trees. Melody fell to the floor and the sound of the Lost Boys running past them sounded before fading. Melody closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tree.

"Thanks," Henry said out of breath.

"Pan and his forces are in tune with every grain of sand on the island. We must be careful," the boy explained.

Henry looked to Melody and went over to her.

"Melody?"

The teen blinked and then opened her eyes. Her brown orbs fell upon a boy that seemed oddly familiar, yet she couldn't pinpoint the face due to her strength being drained.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We got away," Henry told her.

Melody nodded and put her hand on the tree, pulling herself up. She looked at the boy who looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

The boy looked confused but didn't get to answer before Henry interrupted.

"Are you a Lost Boy?"

"I was," the boy lied. He went over and cut Henry's zip tie while talking to them. "But I escaped. And now they're after me, too."

"What happened?" Melody asked, pushing herself off from the tree to stand up.

She got a better look at the boy's face but still couldn't pinpoint why he was familiar. Her brain was fogged though she could see clearly once more.

"I'm afraid there isn't time for questions. We must keep moving," the boy told them.

He helped Melody to walk and then they broke into a run.

---

They continued running until Melody felt dizzy again. She stopped and bumped into the boy.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, making Henry stop.

He pulled her and Henry behind a tree and waited for the Lost Boys to pass before he turned back to her.

"I hardly have any strength left," she told him, leaning against the tree.

"She saved our town," Henry told him. "She used a lot of her magic and it drained her."

The boy thought for a moment and then looked around.

"How much longer do you think you can run for?"

Melody noted he sounded extremely concerned for her. But due to her lack of strength, she didn't question him.

"Maybe you two should just leave me here," she said. "Let the Lost Boys find me, it'll stall them and it'll give you guys time to run."

Henry shook his head. "No! We can't just leave you."

"You have too!"

"Pan will kill you if he finds you," the boy said.

Melody glared. "No, he won't. Go!"

Henry wasn't going to budge.

"Melody-"

"I said go!" Melody's eyes softened. "Please."

The boy seemed to accept her sacrifice. "Let's go."

Henry looked sad but followed Melody's wishes and ran off with the boy.

Melody fell down to the floor and laid her head against the bark, shutting her eyes. She wasn't even there for long before she heard a twig snap. Her eyes opened and she saw the boy from earlier walking toward her.

"You were following us the entire time," she realized. "Which means..." She shut her eyes again and mentally cursed herself. That boy was Pan. That boy was her father.

"He knew you'd have no strength left to connect the pieces together," the Lost Boy told her. "But I don't think he expected you to sacrifice yourself."

"I had no choice. I thought I was saving Henry."

The Lost Boy said nothing and Melody opened her eyes back up to see that he was in front of her.

"You can't always save everyone, Melody." She said nothing in response. "I have to take you back to camp. Pan will want to make sure you're ok when he gets back."

"Then I guess you have to carry me." Melody fell to the floor dramatically. "Because I'm not walking."

The Lost Boy smiled and picked her up. "Trust me, if you were anyone else I'd probably make you walk. But considering that your Pan's daughter, that makes you the Princess. So I gotta do what you say or he'll kill me."

Melody yawned. "He sounds like such a nice person."

---

Gold walked through the jungle and he looked around, alert. He knew that Pan probably already had Melody by now, but he still had to find out why Pan needed Henry.

He saw Tamara crawling on the ground and approached her.

"So, where are they? Henry and Melody. There, there. I can help you speak," Gold said, then he waved his hand, making the arrow disappear.

"Thank you," Tamara thanked, sighing in relief.

"Where's Henry and Melody?"

"I don't know. I told them to run and they did."

"Where?"

"The Jungle. Pan wants them. He's behind all of this. Look, Mr. Gold, I didn't know who I was working for. I'm sorry about Neal. I'm so sorry."

Gold then kneeled on the ground beside her. "I know. You were merely a pawn."

"Can... Can you forgive me?" she asked.

"No."

Gold ripped out Tamara's heart and crushed it, letting the dust fall in between his fingers.

---

The Lost Boy laid Melody on Pan's bed in the treehouse and went to leave when the girl spoke up.

"Could you stay? I kinda need someone to talk to?" He turned back to her and nodded, walking back over. He pulled up a chair and sat down. "Who are you?"

"I'm Felix. Pan's second-in-command."

Melody hmmed in acknowledgment. "So you guys are friends?"

Felix shrugged. "I guess you could say that."

They were silent for a moment when Melody opened her eyes to look at him.

"You don't happen to know any way I can get my strength back do you?"

"Sorry, kid. Don't know magic. But I'm sure Pan will heal you when he gets back."

Melody looked around the room and couldn't help but feel... happy? Of all things, she knew she should feel angry. But she didn't feel that. In fact, she couldn't wait to see her father again. Being in the treehouse made her feel like she belonged. She was Peter Pan's daughter. She was the Princess of Neverland. But she missed her family. She missed Hook, Emma, Regina, all of them. But finally, she felt happy.

"Did he ever talk about me?" she asked Felix, turning to him.

Felix looked at her and laughed slightly. "The other boys don't know. They just know that whenever you came to Neverland, they had to treat you with respect because you're the Princess. I'm the only one who knows the truth about you."

Melody nodded and then laid her head back on the pillow.

"Did he ever talk about me to you?"

"Yeah. A lot honestly. He really missed you and he even admitted once that he would go back and change the choice he made. Pan usually talked about how you were as a child and how much that he missed."

"He thinks I hate him," Melody said, looking at Felix. "Doesn't he?"

Felix looked at her questioningly. "Do you?"

Melody was quiet before answering, "I don't know how I feel. I-I mean I feel happy. And I don't understand why I don't feel..."

"Angry," Felix finished.

Melody nodded. "Yeah."

"Maybe it's because deep down inside of you, you've always wanted to see him again. Despite what he did to you, a part of you still is that little girl who loved her papa more than anything."

---

Henry and the boy ran through the woods as the Lost Boys followed after them. The boy turned to Henry.

"We're almost to the caves. Come on. Follow me." An arrow is fired at the tree right next to them and Henry and the boy took a step back. "They cut us off. They know about the caves, so we have to go this way."

Henry nodded and he and the boy headed the other way.

---

Melody struggled to stay awake and blinked repeatedly. Felix noticed and sighed.

"Sleep, Melody. Pan will be back soon."

"No. I can't fall asleep."

Felix rolled his eyes. "You're just as stubborn as he is."

"Tell me about him."

Felix looked like he was about to complain when he sighed again.

"Well, he's stubborn, arrogant, self-centered, cocky, evil-"

"Those are all bad things!" Melody pointed out. "I want to know something that isn't bad about him."

Felix shook his head, smiling at her before caving in. "Fine. He can be nice sometimes but it's rare. He can be compassionate but not really. He only really shows his true self when he talks about you. Sometimes he cries, but I know he tries to stop himself being he completely breaks down. But no matter what everyone else says, Pan is human. And he is good. Just... bad things happened to him."

Melody smiled sadly. "I've been told that. I'm a good person that bad things have happened to. But I never believed it."

"All things happen for a reason, Melody. Pan abandoning you wasn't different."

Melody nodded. "Ok, I'll sleep now."

Felix sighed in relief and stood up. "Good. Because Pan would've killed me."

Before he could leave Melody spoke up.

"Thank you, Felix."

He looked back at her but then saw that the young girl was fast asleep. Felix smiled and then left the treehouse.

---

Henry and the boy were still running when they reach the edge of a cliff.

"Watch out!" Henry exclaimed, putting his arm in front of the boy, stopping him.

"They're over here!" one of the lost boys yelled.

"What do we do? Is there any other way to the Echo Caves?" Henry asked the boy.

The boy shook his head as he looked at the edge of the cliff. "No. We're done for. I'll give them the pixie dust. Maybe they'll let us live."

"You want to give up?"

"We don't have a choice. They got us. This is the end."

"No, it's our way out," Henry said, then took the Pixie Dust.

He then pushed the both of them back.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked.

"Getting a running start," Henry replied.

"For what?"

"Everyone knows pixie dust is for flying."

"Don't you remember? The dust doesn't work."

"That's because you have to believe."

"I definitely do not believe!"

"That's okay because I do."

Henry opened the pixie dust bottle and, with a running start, used it to fly himself and the other boy off the cliff moments before the Lost Boys arrived.

---

Gold was walking when he felt a presence following him. He stopped but didn't turn around.

"Come out and say hello, dearie," he called out.

Felix came out of the forest and Gold turned to him.

"Hello, Rumplestiltskin. Pan welcomes you to the island. He wanted me to tell you he is excited to see you again," Felix greeted, smirking.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure he is. Now, where's my sister?" Gold hissed.

"Safe from you. He also wanted me to let you know you're welcome in Neverland, for as long as you wish to stay... with one caveat."

Gold rolled his eyes. "There's always something with him."

"If you're here for the boy or to take Melody away... well... that makes you Pan's enemy."

"Then nothing's changed."

"If you go against him, you will not survive."

"Well, the question isn't will I survive," Gold started as he stood up and walked over to Felix. "Because we both know I won't. No, no. The real question is," he grabbed Felix, "how many of you I take with me."

"So, is that your answer?" Felix asked calmly.

"That's my answer."

Gold let Felix go.

"Well then, I suppose that means I'll see you again, in less friendly circumstances," Felix said.

"Count on it," Gold agreed through clenched teeth.

Gold went to walk away when Felix stopped him.

"One last thing." Gold stopped and turned around. "There's something he wanted you to have." He threw a straw doll on the floor and Gold slowly knelt down and picked it up. Tears immediately filled his eyes. "Isn't it funny the things we haven't thought about in years still have the ability to make us cry?"

Then he laughed as Gold started to cry.

"See you around, Dark One," Felix said, then he left.

Gold held the doll to him as he continued to cry. He knew he had to get Melody back. He had to get his baby sister back.

---

Emma and the group finally reached the shore and they all looked exhausted from their encounter with the sassy mermaid Regina had turned to wood.

"We don't have to do it this way. I can fix the Jolly Roger. My magic is powerful enough. We can execute the pirate's plan," Regina told them.

"Sneak attack?" Emma questioned. She stopped walking and turned to all of them "Let's not be naive. Save your magic. We'll need it later because Pan already knows we're here. It's time we stop running. Gold was right. This land is run on belief. All of us have been too busy being at each other's throat to be believers. I was as wrong as anyone else. It's time for all of us to believe. Not in magic, but in each other."

"You want to be friends? After everything that's happened between all of us?"

"I don't want or expect that. I know there's a lot of history here, a lot of hate."

"Actually, I quite fancy you from time to time, when you're not yelling at me," Hook interrupted, smiling slightly.

Emma ignored him as she continued. "We don't need to be friends. What we need to now is the only way to get Henry and Melody back is cooperation."

"With her?" David asked, motioning toward Regina. "With him?" Motioning toward Hook. "No, Emma. We have to do this the right way."

"No, we don't. We just need to succeed. And the way we do that is by just being who we are-a hero, a villain, a pirate. It doesn't matter which because we're going to need all those skills, whether we can stomach them or not."

"And what's your skill, "savior"?" Regina asked.

"I'm a mother. And now I'm also your leader. So either you help me get my son and my best friend back or get out of the way."

Emma pulled out her sword and everyone followed her without arguing.

---

The wind brushed against their faces as the boy and Henry flew in the air. But the pixie dust began to run out so the boy pointed to a spot where they should land. Henry followed and then they landed on the ground. They got up and Henry smiled.

"See? If you believe, anything is possible."

The boy started smirking.

"You couldn't be more right, Henry."

Henry became shocked and confused. "How... How'd you know my name? I never told you."

The boy was now smirking widely.

"Let's make it a game. A puzzle to solve."

"You lied to me. You are a Lost Boy. You work for Pan."

The boy got closer. "Not exactly. I am Peter Pan."

"But you told Greg and Tamara that magic was bad, that you'd help them destroy it. Why?" Henry asked confused.

"Because I needed their help. And it's so much easier to get people to hate something than to believe," Pan explained.

"Why did you bring me here? Why did you bring Melody here?"

"For quite some time, I've sought something extremely important. Something more elusive than the greatest of all mysteries," Pan said, ignoring Henry's asking about the immortal boy's daughter.

"What?"

"The heart of the truest believer. And when you took that pixie dust, Henry, and jumped off that cliff." Pan went and knocked on one of the trees. "You proved yourself. You are the lucky owner of that very special heart. And now? You, and it... are mine."

Pan pulled out a knife. and pointed it up in the air.

"Come on, boys!" he called out. The Lost Boys surrounded Henry and Henry looked at them with a scared expression. Pan smirked.

"Let's play!"

---

You guys have no idea how much I want to have Panlix happen in this fanfic after the Melody and Felix bonding. But I'll have to alter my plans a bit.

So do you guys think I should have Panlix happen? Please do let me know!

Melody and Pan reunite for real in the next chapter!

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