[ 020 ] he never fails
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KAELYN WASN'T SURE why she was surprised when everyone in the camp rounded on her, because of course they would. At this point, she should've expected no better, but perhaps a stupid part of her had hoped they would recognise her care for Henry and not so easily think the worst of her.
After all, she didn't want Henry dead, and truthfully she hadn't ever imagined Peter's plan to be so brutal. Sure, he'd locked a girl up in a cage for decades, basically ran a gang, manipulated enemies and allies, and killed his own followers at the drop of the hat. But there was something about killing Henry, who was still so pure and full of childhood, that made her sick.
She hadn't expected that from him. And it shocked her more than she cared to admit. Scared her, even.
"Did you know about this?" Emma asked first, completely ignoring the girl's own stunned expression.
"No," Kaelyn said, sharply, at the accusation. "I knew Peter had a plan for Henry but I didn't know what it was."
"Can't you stop him?" David asked, and if it was any other situation, Kaelyn would've made fun of the irony of them coming to her for help desperately again. Instead, she shared their desperation.
"Don't you think if I could, I already would have?" Kaelyn snapped.
"Pan took Henry to Skull Rock, but you haven't got much time," Wendy interjected, now on her feet and looking rather guilty.
"You know it?" David asked at Kaelyn's face, as he was still looking at her.
"Vividly," Kaelyn sighed, eyes on the ground as she realised what was going on, what she would have to relive. It made sense Peter would go there, but even the thought of the rock brought her discomfort. She had managed to avoid it so far, but now it seemed, she couldn't.
It was now she realised she was receiving apprehensive looks, as if the heroes wanted her help, as she recognised the place. And with a bitter tongue, Kaelyn said, "But if I'm gonna help, I need you to trust me. You have a plan to defeat Peter, and a way off this island?"
The others all exchanged glances, as if weighing up whether simply telling her was worth it, Kaelyn watching them all with dull eyes.
"Neal got Pan's shadow," Mary Margaret explained after a moment. Kaelyn gave no reaction to the good news. "And we have something... Pandora's Box. It can contain him," Mary Margaret added.
Kaelyn pursed her lips at that. How they had acquired such an object remained a mystery to her, but she didn't have time to ask. All that mattered was they actually had a chance, for once.
"Alright," Kaelyn relented. "Someone needs to stay behind, guard the lost boys when they wake up, their loyalty to Peter is literally to the death."
David looked to Mary Margaret. "We will," he said.
"You don't need to stay behind," Emma snipped.
"David's right. You get him home, tell him we love him," Mary Margaret agreed, solemnly. Kaelyn frowned. Had the couple really planned to stay on the island forever because of the dreamshade?
"Tell him yourself," Emma said, "when you get back from Deadman's Peak. Gold can cure you back in Storybrooke. We just need to bring some of the water with us."
Mary Margaret hugged Emma, tightly. "You... didn't give up." She turned to Rumple. "Thank you."
"Well, apparently that's the only thanks I need these days," Rumple said with a roll of his eyes. Kaelyn didn't say anything about the fact that he had managed a cure for a poison that had plagued her for so long, refusing to acknowledge that he had done something valuable or impressive.
"Tink and I will take care of things here," Hook volunteered, "and meet you back at the Jolly Roger when you find Henry."
Mary Margaret whispered something to Emma that Kaelyn couldn't hear.
"We're all going back home. Together," Emma said, loudly. Kaelyn had a sneaking feeling she wasn't truthfully included in that together. Everyone looked at her, accepting the words. David just nodded, as Mary Margaret headed off, kissing his daughter's forehead as they left.
"Kaelyn, you're with us," Hook told her.
"Like hell. I'm coming with you," Kaelyn retorted, looking to Neal instead.
"No. Stay here," Emma instructed. Like a child, Kaelyn pouted. She would be damned if she was excluded from rescuing Henry.
"Skull Rock is the site of my soul," Kaelyn snapped, and the revelation gained the attention she wanted.
"What?" Regina asked, as if the idea was impossible.
Kaelyn rolled her eyes. "There's an energy in there, my energy," she explained. "Flows through all of Neverland. My guess is there's still some form of residue from when I left. It's the heart of Neverland, for all intents and purposes." At the confused looks, she elaborated. "When I created Neverland a piece of my soul went into it."
"A piece of your soul?" Emma asked, sounding confused.
"Yes, my soul. It's the energy of a person. Everyone has one, and it's the one thing of ours that stays after death. It's the most raw and powerful form of a person and I put a piece of mine into Neverland, so it was influenced by my own magic and abilities," Kaelyn further explained. "When I left, I took the piece back, so this place has only run on absorbed energy or residue since. It's going to run out and probably soon, seeing what Peter's doing."
"So Henry is about to die because of you?" Regina accused.
"Is that really all you get from that?" Kaelyn sighed, placing a hand to her forehead. "No. If Peter was never a bitch I never would've had to leave in the first place. He brought this on himself, and now Henry's suffering because of it."
"If you used to have so much control over this place, isn't there anything you can do?" Emma asked, desperately. If the situation wasn't so dire, Kaelyn would've made fun of Emma needing to ask her again for help after the way she treated her.
"Yeah, you know that light show yesterday? That was me reclaiming the energy left in Neverland," Kaelyn said.
"Does it weaken him?" Regina asked, sounding eager.
"Marginally," Kaelyn admitted with a shrug. "Sounds like if he gets the heart it doesn't matter."
"Then we better hurry," Emma said, offering no further objections for Kaelyn coming with them.
"There's a boat down by the bay," Hook told them.
The blonde woman nodded, scanning over the designated group to save Henry. "Let's go."
"Kaelyn." As they moved to head off towards the bay, Neal stopped Kaelyn, the brunette girl looking at him warily.
"What?" she snapped, far from in the mood to deal with him after everything.
He sighed. "Look, about what I said–"
"I don't care," she cut off. "You meant it, and it's true."
"But it's not fair," Neal admitted.
"Nothing ever is," she said, simply.
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THE BOAT TRIP to Skull Rock was spent in silence, Neal diligently rowing them. Regina and Emma were sat at the stern, while Rumple and Kaelyn had been forced together at the bow. The boat was barely big enough for all of them, but no one wanted to say anything or potentially slow them down.
As Skull Rock came into view, Kaelyn tried to hide her emotions, the dread in her stomach and the way her heart rate increased. It had been so long, but the trauma she connected to the place ran too deep, it seemed. It looked near the same as it had when she left, illuminated by unwavering magical torches, and surrounded by crashing waves.
There were tracks in the sand as the boat came to a stop at the shore under the overhang. Kaelyn used Rumple as a stepping stone to get out, ignoring his pained hiss in satisfaction as her shoes sunk into the ground.
"These are Henry's shoes," Emma murmured, eyes trailing the footprints. They led up the shore, towards the set of stone steps lit by everlasting torches. "Wendy was right. They're here."
"I was right, too," Kaelyn scoffed, rolling her eyes, as Emma headed for the stairs. Before she could even make the first one, she was flung back by an invisible force, rather comically, as Kaelyn covered her smirk into her hand.
"Are you okay?" Neal asked, crouching down to check on her.
"I think so," Emma grunted, getting to her feet.
"What was that?" Neal demanded.
"Pan cast a protection spell," Rumple observed.
"There has to be a way to break it," Regina said, brandishing a hand. A second later, flames erupted in it, and she threw it at the stairs. Instead, the fire blazed across the walls as it hit the barrier, heat simmering in the air.
"Careful with that!" Neal reprimanded.
"Peter's magic is too strong," Kaelyn said, simply, as Regina looked shocked at her magic failing.
"At least for you," Rumple interjected, giving pointed looks to Regina and Kaelyn, who just rolled her eyes. The man simply walked up to the barrier and straight through it, stepping up a few steps, almost mockingly.
"What..." Regina cut herself off.
"How did you do that?" Emma said, stepping forward.
"The spell is designed to keep anyone who casts a shadow from entering," Rumple told them.
"And you don't have one," Neal observed. Kaelyn noticed something in his hands now, a small, engraved box. Pandora's Box; the magical artefact with the power to contain Peter. "You were telling the truth about ripping your shadow off."
"And Pan knows it. That's why he cast the spell he did," Rumple said. "This isn't about keeping you out. It's about drawing me in. He knows I won't give up the chance to finish what I came here to do."
"You really did come here to save Henry," Neal breathed.
"I gave you my trust with that box," Rumple said, pointing to it in his son's hands. "Now I need you to give it back."
As Neal reached out to hand it over, Regina snatched it, approaching Rumple on her own. "You better come through, Gold. Or, I'll make whatever Pan has planned for you look like child's play. You understand me?"
"I agree with the Evil Queen," Kaelyn chimed in.
Rumple smirked, taking the box. "Well, a simple 'good luck' would have sufficed." And then his eyes darted to Kaelyn. "I'll say hi to Malcolm for you."
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KAELYN HATED THAT Rumple had been the one allowed through, that he was their only chance. She didn't trust him, and she felt it stupid that the others did, but of course she did not count as a major vote. And, unfortunately, he was their only chance unless the barrier miraculously ceased to exist.
As if she could burn through walls with her eyes, she had not stopped glaring at the protection spell, which presented as a simple line drawn in the sand.
Rumple would not be able to unravel Peter. Kaelyn knew that. The boy held too much spite and rage for their old friend. He had a far greater motivation than Rumple, who was as misguided and undecided as the day he had betrayed them.
Kaelyn was wringing her fingers together, indigo occasionally sparking from it, as Regina paced behind her. The immortal teenager continued to glare at the empty space where the barrier was, as if she had laser vision.
Frustration got to her, and she slammed a blast of magic as the barrier, which whistled off it and spread across the cave ceiling in a bright display of purple. The others gave her annoyed reactions, but Kaelyn just furrowed her brows, reaching a hand to touch the barrier, which vibrated at her touch, as she pressed her fingertips against it. She blinked, pulling away.
"The barrier's weak," she announced.
Emma rolled her eyes. "No, it's not–"
But Kaelyn ignored her, as she reached a hand forward again, and pressed, fingers breaking through. Kaelyn realised what was happening, before forcing her entire arm through the barrier, which acted as a gateway for the rest of her body. The whole thing wasn't amazingly comfortable, with pressure that caused Kaelyn to pop out the other side of the barrier, but overall it was fine.
"You have a shadow. I don't... I don't understand," Regina murmured as Kaelyn shook herself off.
Kaelyn didn't even look at any of them. "This is where my magic is strongest on the island," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "I can override the barrier." She blinked up the stairs, trying not to think about the last time she had ascended them.
"Can you break it from the other side?" Neal asked.
"Not enough time," Kaelyn dismissed, before giving in and heading up the stairs.
"Kaelyn!" Neal called, but she didn't stop. She knew that if she stopped, she wouldn't have the stomach to do it. "Kaelyn– wait! Damn it!"
Their voices faded as she got further up, and finally arrived in the centre of Skull Rock, which was as untouched as the day she had left. Kaelyn made no attempt at stealth during her entrance, knowing Peter had already sensed her presence, as she stepped out into the floor.
"Hello, boys!" Kaelyn jeered as she entered, holding out her hands. Rumple and Peter were standing on opposite ends, staring at each other rather heatedly, but at her arrival they turned to her in sync.
"And, how did you get in here?" Peter asked.
Kaelyn tried not to falter at the sight of him. He was going to kill Henry. She had to remain resolute. They had made their peace, and now she had to live with it– accept it. She had known this would happen.
"You know that's leftover of my soul, right?" Kaelyn said, gesturing to the back of the room, where a small, glowing shard of energy was. As shrunken as it was, Kaelyn could still feel its energy, like a song only she could hear, beating in sync with her own heart. "Why wouldn't I be able to get in here?" she added, smugly.
"Guess I underestimated you," Peter mused.
"Well, I can't say I'm glad you're here," Rumple said, tightly, looking at Kaelyn.
"Whatever old man," Kaelyn snipped, eyes scanning the room. Nowhere in sight was Henry, but she knew he had to be nearby while Peter dealt with the two. "Why haven't you beat him yet?" Kaelyn asked Rumple.
"He's having trouble," Peter said before the man could. "Think there's some deep rooted guit stopping him."
"You don't think I can do it?" Rumple asked.
"Not really, no," Peter admitted with a shrug.
Kaelyn saw Rumple's hand tighten around the box, as she rolled her eyes. "Oh, look at us, The Golden Trio," Kaelyn mused, looking around at all three of them. "Never thought we'd all be here again."
"Put down the box," Peter instructed Rumple. "We can let this go."
"Don't think for a moment I believe you will," Rumple scoffed. "You'll kill me the second I'm disarmed."
"I'm disappointed, Rumple. After all these years, I thought you'd be more... understanding," Peter said, as if he couldn't think of the word. "Considering we both have our fair shares of... mistakes now."
"I am nothing like you," Rumple spat.
"You traded your son for the power of a dagger," Peter said.
"And you traded your true love for power," Rumple retorted.
Peter scoffed. "Oh, did she tell you that?"
Rumple shook his head. "She didn't need to. It's the type of person you are."
Peter's eyes darkened. "The type of person we are."
The attack came so suddenly that Peter only barely dodged, as a stream of indigo blasted past him, striking the wall behind him and leaving a burn mark. The blonde stared at Kaelyn, who had a hand raised, bottom lip trembling.
"Shut your fucking mouth," Kaelyn ground out. "Both of you." Hand still raised, she tilted her head and stared at Peter. "Stop talking like I'm not here," she snarled. "Both of you are liars and traitors who chose power over love. Both of you have betrayed me and tried to manipulate me for my power. You are the same."
"Respectfully–"
Kaelyn didn't even spare Rumple a glance. "Respectfully, you are spineless and weak. You have no heart or values. You only know self-preservation ever since that day. We protected Neal from you when we took him in– he was better off without a father who abandoned him just like we were."
Rumple didn't even hide his shock at the ferocity of her words. "You take that back," he said, dangerously.
"No."
"Whose side are you on?" Rumple spat.
Kaelyn tilted her head slightly to look at him. "My own."
"Were you aiming for my head?" Peter asked, sounding impressed.
"Yes." She frowned. "What, you didn't expect that?" Peter just smirked, in that infuriating way where it was hard to tell whether he was impressed, mocking or knew everything.
"Do it," Peter dared, her hand still raised to him.
Kaelyn's face hardened. "You'll kill Henry if I don't."
"He doesn't seem to think it's that urgent," Peter mused, gesturing with his head to Rumple, who still held the box tightly.
"Did you bring me up here just to taunt me?" Rumple asked, coldly.
"No, I wanted to see you, it's been far too long," Peter responded, in a tone that was hard to read as genuine or completely false.
"It hasn't been long enough," Rumple sneered.
"Fuck this," Kaelyn snipped, before throwing a blast of purple energy. Peter teleported out of the way, a few feet to the side of the attack. Before she had launched another, the second he teleported back in, she attempted to hold his body down with magic, but he had already broken through it.
"Behind!" Rumple shouted as Kaelyn saw Peter in the very back of her vision. Tendrils of energy sparked off her, forcing Peter back, as Rumple stood to the side, unable to do anything with the box in case he nabbed the wrong immortal teenager.
Peter seemed to know this, as he attempted to keep the distance between them close, before Kaelyn clicked her fingers, and shards of magic rained down from above, forcing Peter to duck away, as she and Rumple stepped backwards. They were now on opposite ends of the cave from where they had started.
"You get me with that thing instead it is on sight," Kaelyn spat at Rumple.
In the scuffle, something had fallen to the ground, Kaelyn noticed and she slowly crouched down, picking it up, indigo eyes raking over it.
"Ah, that little thing," Peter mused, having regained his composure.
Kaelyn turned the straw doll over, running a finger down it, frowning at the sight of it. She stood back up, fingers curled around it, before meeting Peter's eyes, his face solemn.
She held out the doll, smirking. "What, you afraid of the past?"
"Hardly," Peter scoffed. "Why do you think I call myself Peter Pan?" Hearing the name out loud, Kaelyn's eyes lowered, as an idea blossomed, the doll in her hand feeling heavy.
"It's not like it's because you care," Rumple sneered.
"And why wouldn't I?" Peter's voice was so abruptly soft, the ruse was easy to pick up. But Kaelyn wondered if Rumple, who had less experience with this version of their friend, would be baited by it. He clearly had some emotional, guilty hang up about the boy in front of them that was stopping him from just activating the box. "You were a brother," Peter added.
Rumple's face shifted, in a way that almost looked like he was a child again.
A brother. He had been their brother. In every sense of the word.
But the moment quickly passed, Rumple's mouth forming a firm line. "And you doomed us."
Peter frowned. "You damn me over one mistake?"
"You remind me of my father," Rumple told him.
"I didn't abandon you," Peter assured him. "You would have abandoned us."
"To protect myself," Rumple said, tightly.
"All I wanted was to protect you," Peter said, softly, holding out a hand. "Just... put down the box and you'll see it's true. We can be a family again. Erase the mistakes we've made. It doesn't have to be like this."
Kaelyn didn't intervene, too focused on her magic, quiet and avoided in the corner, but she briefly wondered if Rumple would cave. She'd be completely screwed if he did.
"Oh, but it does," Rumple said, and Kaelyn metaphorically let out a breath, as he raised his hand to the box. Peter's eyes fixed on it, and he took a menacing step forward to intervene.
But he suddenly tensed up, stiff as a board, and Rumple turned to Kaelyn, who still had the doll in her hand, which she had induced with magic, indigo surrounding it as it floated just above her palms.
"A particularly hard spell," Kaelyn said, looking at Peter, who was locked in place, "but in the presence of a raw and old form of my magic... achievable." And Peter's body moved to float, limbs completely locked in place.
It was different from the usual spell that locked opponents in place, as the control was completely centred on the object linked to them. It was far harder to overpower. And as Kaelyn revelled in the display, even Rumple had gone still to look at her, almost looking impressed.
Kaelyn turned to him, eyes devoid of emotion. "Now," she said. The man just nodded fervently as he raised a hand and moved it around the box in a circular motion. Nothing happened. Kaelyn furrowed her brows as Rumple repeated the move.
"It's– it's not working," he hissed.
"Fuck you mean it's not working?" Kaelyn snapped.
"It's not," Rumple snapped back. "How long can you hold that spell?"
Peter suddenly broke out of it, falling back to the ground in a nimble landing as Kaelyn was knocked backwards from a spike of energy. The doll fell to the ground, useless, and Kaelyn wiped at the blood dripping onto her lip, feeling like she'd run a marathon from the energy expense.
"That long," Peter mused. He then pulled a box, identical to the one in Rumple's hands, out of what appeared to be thin air.
"I don't understand," Rumple murmured, looking dumbly at the blonde boy. "You switched them?" he said, horrified.
"In Neverland, all you have to do is think of something to have it," Peter said, smugly. He chuckled. "Even something fake. But the real one..." Peter lifted up the box, "let's see what it can do."
Peter waved a hand over the box, which unlocked with a click, revealing a red light, which then enveloped Rumple. Kaelyn, numbly, could only watch as the man was taken into the box in a blur of red.
The blonde boy turned to her, as the box clicked and closed, the light fading as it sealed Rumple's fate. "If there was room for two in here," Peter said, holding up the box between two fingers. Kaelyn looked at him in alarm, as she scrambled to her feet and failed. "Don't exert yourself," the boy tsked. "I'll be right back."
Before she could say anything, he had already disappeared in a blip, as Kaelyn winced at the pain in her skull. Moments later, he returned, Henry with him. Kaelyn's eyes lit up her, hope flaring in her chest.
"Henry!" It felt like years since she had seen the boy. His face lit up as his eyes landed on his babysitter, who was still on her knees on the ground.
"It's time Henry," Peter announced, interrupting the reunion, as he set down the box on a piece of rock. "Time to save magic, to save Neverland."
"What do I have to do?" Henry asked.
"Henry, no," Kaelyn snapped. "Don't listen to a word he says!"
But the boy seemed completely oblivious to her, as he gazed up at Peter. "You must give me your heart, Henry. The heart of the truest believer."
"You mean... I have to believe," Henry said, sounding unsure.
"No, Henry," Peter said, eyes flicking to the shard of energy behind him. "I mean, you need to give me your heart."
Henry blinked. "But... what will happen to me?"
"You'll become the greatest of heroes," Peter said, grandly.
"You can tell me the truth. I know all magic comes with a price. Saving it must come with a price, too," Henry said with a shrug.
"Henry, he's lying. It's not the truth, you'll die!" Kaelyn shouted. As the boy turned his head to her, Peter simply moved into his line of view, blocking the girl.
"I would never lie to you, Henry," Peter said, drowning out Kaelyn's struggle. "I mean, you're right. There is a price. You have to stay here on the island with me. Neverland will become your new home. I know it's a huge sacrifice, but isn't it worth it?"
"Heroes have to make sacrifices all the time. My family taught me that," Henry agreed.
Peter's smile was beyond dishonest. "Then they'd be proud if they could see you now, because you're about to save them all. Now are you ready?"
"Yes."
"No!" Kaelyn screeched, throwing a blaze of indigo at him as she finally gathered the energy to lunge onto her feet. The blast dissipated off an invisible field, and the brunette grit her teeth as she realised the boy had thrown up a force field.
Peter ignored her, as Kaelyn threw another blast at the field. And then another. "Then let me help you," the boy said, taking a hold of Henry's wrist. Kaelyn watched in agony as Peter cast a spell over Henry's hand, the sort that allowed him to remove a heart.
"Don't!" Kaelyn screamed, before the boy drove his own hand into his chest. She froze as Henry's face twisted in pain as he gouged out his own heart, coming to hold it in front of him. It was so pure, glowing and golden; the heart of the truest believer.
"Henry, wait!"
Kaelyn had never been so relieved to hear anything as Neal appeared seconds later. Henry whipped around to his dad, who had arrived with Emma and Regina as well. Kaelyn didn't even bother figuring out how they had passed the spell, just allowed herself to be relieved.
"Whatever Pan's telling you to do, don't do it," Neal continued.
"Dad? You're alive?" the kid said in disbelief.
"I am, buddy. And I need you to listen to me. Pan is lying to you," Neal told him.
"Oh, pleasure to see you, too, Baelfire, not to mention the Saviour and the Evil Queen," Peter said, mockingly, looking pointedly at each of them.
"Henry, you need to get away from him now. He's trying to hurt you," Emms said, stiffly.
Henry looked confused. "No. The heart of the truest believer. It's what's gonna save magic. It's gonna save all of you."
"No, it's not. This was never about magic, Henry. You have to believe us. The only person Pan's interested in saving is himself!" Regina retorted.
"That's not true!" Henry cried.
Peter moved so he was in front of Henry, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "Of course it isn't."
"Yes, it is!" Neal yelled. "Pan can't live without you dying. If you give him your heart, it's gonna kill you.
"They're trying to stem your belief, Henry. But don't let them. Remember, every hero gets tested," Peter said, gently, pulling Henry's gaze from his father over Peter's shoulder.
"Henry, I know what being a hero looks like, and this isn't it," Emma added.
Henry swallowed thickly, looking conflicted. "Why would they lie?" he asked Peter.
"Because that's what adults do, Henry. You know that better than anyone," Peter said, quickly, and Kaelyn pursed her lips at the haphazard lie.
"But Kaelyn–"
"She is much older than she looks, Henry," Peter interjected. If the situation was any different Kaelyn would've hurled a curse at him.
"Henry... you have to believe us," Regina said, desperately.
"Your parents don't care about Neverland, Henry," Peter said, voice stronger now, angry. "They know if you give your heart to save it, then you'll have to stay. They're being selfish because they don't wanna lose you." He moved so he was facing them now.
"Peter, please," Kaelyn flailed, feeling her pride shatter as she asked him, for the first time since she'd returned, please. He ignored her.
"Henry, you have to trust us," Emma breathed.
"Trust?" Peter spat. "I'm the only one who's ever been honest with you, Henry. The only one who ever believed in you. This is your choice. Not theirs. You have to choose now. We're running out of time."
His eyes had drifted to the shard of energy as he spoke, eyes glinting, but avoiding Kaelyn, and she felt anger lance through her system.
Kaelyn's lips moved before she could think. "Malcolm!"
Peter froze, eyes darkening in a way so unrecognisable to the name she had called him, as he finally looked at her.
"Don't do this," Kaelyn said, softly. And it had a double meaning.
"We believe in you, Henry," Neal said, adamantly.
"Because we love you," Emma chimed in.
"More than anything," Regina concluded, sounding choked up.
"I love you, too," Henry responded, smiling. "But I have to save magic."
"No, no, no!" Neal said in distress, and Kaelyn struck the forcefield again, the energy reverberating off it.
"I'm sorry." Henry then turned to Peter as Kaelyn desperately pounded at the field, to no avail, feeling panic claw its way into her chest. She couldn't fail, Henry couldn't die. She had spent years protecting him, and the purity that made him Peter's target was also what had made Kaelyn like him.
But it was all for nothing as Henry shoved his heart into Peter's chest. All for nothing. The energy that pulsed off Peter shattered the force field, throwing everyone in the cave back, and shook the entire island. Henry collapsed, limp and pale.
The others ran to Henry, shouting and muttering, but Kaelyn had frozen. She couldn't feel anything, body completely numb, ears ringing and mouth dry. Her stomach had dropped, and her throat had constricted to the point she couldn't feel herself breathing.
Something was happening, Emma was lunging at Peter as he presumably mocked her, but Kaelyn was too focused on Henry's vacant face, his limp body and the fact he was like that because she was too weak. But not only that, because of Peter.
Kaelyn snapped her eyes to him finally, gaze so intense it was a wonder he didn't burst into flames. Anger, hot, red anger bloomed in her chest alongside the pain of Henry's body, as Peter paced, looking smug.
He didn't even look at her, acknowledge her. He didn't see her.
And in a last ditch attempt of rage, Kaelyn leapt at Peter.
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things are picking up and the next two chapters are some of my favourites!
also that gif because it looks like the peter pan doll lmao
please consider commenting! i'm really proud of these last few chapters but engagement is only going down chapter by chapter. i appreciate all the reads and consistent votes, but i miss talking to you guys or seeing reactions or feedback
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