"The world is a mess and I want to laugh because all I can think is how horrible and beautiful it is."

~ Tahereh Mafi, Ignite me

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Peter's P.O.V (A few hours before)

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    "Lights out, young man."
    I turn away from the window, seeing Regina by the door.
    "Mom," I say, making my way towards her. "Your vault. Did you bring that over with you?"
    I sit down on the bed as she steps into the room.
    Regina smiles, pushing Henry's storybrook away from the edge of the bed. "Yes, Henry, you know that."

    "With all your magic?" I ask.
    Regina crosses her arms. "Why are you asking all these questions?"
    "Because... I might need that stuff to protect myself from Pan," I lie.
    "Oh, honey, he can't hurt you," she assures me. "He's locked up in Gold's shop."
    "But what if he gets out?" I ask. "What if- What if he finds a way to come after me again?"

    Regina sits down beside me. "Magic isn't the answer," she tells me, closing Henry's storybook. "My vault is sealed shut for a reason. It's dangerous."
    She taps me on the nose. "I'll protect you, no matter what."
    Regina smiles, putting the storybrook aside. She picks up Henry's pillow, placing beside the bedframe. "Now, it's time for you to go to bed."

    I nod, crawling under the covers. Regina pulls the thick quilt up to my shoulders and kisses me on the cheek. "Goodnight."
    I wait until she leaves the room to climb out of bed, throwing the covers off. I make my way to the window, pushing the curtains aside. I unlock the deadbolt, sticking my head out to the window to get a better view of the small town.

    "She's wrong," I say to no one in particular. "Magic is the answer."
    I look towards the harbor, gathering up whatever little magic I have left in me. "It's time."
    I feel a bit of my magic leave me as I utter those words, releasing my grandfather from his little prison. I smirk as I see him fly towards the me.

    "Thank you, Peter," he says, hovering next to the window.
    I smile at my grandfather. "Anytime, Malcolm."
    "Now, I'm not complaining or anything, but to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my favorite grandson?"
    "I'd like you to do something for me if you don't mind."
    "And what would that be, Peter?"

    "I'd like you to help me make some people disappear," I say.
    "How many?" he asks.
    "Two."
    "What are their names?" he asks me.
    "Jared," I say. "Jared and The Blue Fairy."
    "Jared?" he repeats. "Isn't he one of yours?"

    I clench my fists. "Jared was the Lost Boy who told The Savior where I was."
    "Weren't there two Lost Boys whom betrayed you?"
    I grit my teeth. "I was only awear of one of them."
    "It doesn't really matter," Malcolm says, attempting to calm me down.

    I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. I'm greatful for the man -well, shadow- in front of me. Malcolm was there for me when no one else was. He was the father I never had, seeing that my own father abandoned me.
    "I love you, Peter."
    I open my eyes, looking up at my grandfather. "I know. You're the only one who does."
    "That's not true," he says.

    "It is."
    "What about Alice?"
    "She hates me for leaving her," I say. "She thinks I gave her up for magic."
    "Cassie?"
    "He thinks I abandoned him, that I'm a coward like my father," I say, spitting the word out like poison.
    "You don't know that." Malcolm says.

    "Well, it sure seems like it."
    "What of Felix?" he asks.
    "You and Felix and all I have," I say, slumping against the bed.
    "Your father loves us, you know." my grandfather says. "Believe it or not he does -or did."
    I sigh. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, grandpa."
    "I'll leave now."
    "Wait!" I cry out.

    "What is it, Peter?" Malcolm asks gently.
    I look at the storybrook on the table beside the bed, contemplating wheater or not I should go forth with my plan.
     I have to.
    "There's something else I need you to do..."

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Alice's P.O.V (Present)

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    "Who's body?" I ask them.
    "We don't know," Emma says. "That's why we're here. We need someone to identity the body."
    "I'll go," I say.
    "No!" the boys exclaim.
    Ray shakes his head. "Alice, you can't."
    "What if the killer comes back?" Lewis asks.
    "Then I'll bring him or her back."

    "Listen, kid, it isn't safe for you to go alone."
    "Who says that she'll be going alone?" Will says.
    We all turn our attention to him.
    "I'm going with her," he says.
    Emma is the first to speak up. "Listen to what you're saying, kid. You might be next."
    "Yeah, it'd be safer if we stayed here for tonight," Lewis says.

    "No, I'm going. I won't be able to sleep without knowing who it is," I say.
    "At least let me go with you," Emma says. "I have magic, I'll be able to protect the two of you."
    "That's why you have to stay here, to take care of the other Lost Boys," I say, hoping that she'll listen to reason.
    Emma sighs, accepting defeat. "Okay, fine."

    "Good, I'm glad that's finally settled," Will says, grabbing his sword.
  Emma places her phone in my hand. "Take my cell, call me if anything happens."
    "Take care of her, Will," Lewis says.
    "You know I will," he replies.
    "Let's go," Will says, opening the door for me.

    I begin to walk out the door but Ray grabs my hand, stopping me from doing so.
    "Alice, I-" he shakes his head, changing his mind. "Promise me you'll stay safe."
    I nod, squeezing his hand. "I promise."
    Ray lets go of my hand, satisfied with my answer.

    I turn to face Will. "Come on, we have a dead body to find."

****

    "Where did Emma say they found the dead body?"
    "Behind Granny's Diner," Will replies, unshealthing his sword.
    I walk along the brick wall, making my way to the back of the diner.
    "The body should be around here," Will tells me as we round the corner.

    I spot the body lying faceflat on the ground. Will bends down to turn the boy over and I stifle a gasp when I catch a glimpse of the boy's face.
    "Did you know this boy?" Will asks, seeing the look on my face.
    I let out a shaky breath. "Y-Yes. That's Jared. Ray told me that he defended him when The Bloodlust Trio beat him up a few years ago."

    "He helped out off the island," Will tells me. "He told us where to find Pan."
    "Do you think that-" I shake my head. "Never mind."
    "What?" he asks, looking at me.
    "Forget it," I say. "It's stupid."
    "Just tell me, it could help us find out who killed him. Remember, even the smallest detail could help."

    "Well, Jared was a good person," I tell him. "He never got into any fights with the other Lost Boys, and the incident with The Bloodlust Trio wasn't so serious that it would motivate them to kill him."
    "Okay, that's good, so we can cross out The Bloodlust Trio as suspects. Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt him?" Will asks.

    "Well, there is one person, but I think we can cross him out as a suspect," I say.
    "Why?" Will asks. "Who is he?"

    "Peter," I say. "As you said, he helped you guys get off the island, so Peter's the only one who would have any motivation to kill this poor boy."
    "But he's in Pandora's Box."
    I nod. "Exactly, so it can't be him."

    "Let's check out the crime scene," Will suggests. "Maybe we'll find some clues as to who could've killed him."
    "Okay, I'll take the entrance of the alley."
    "I'll check his body to see how he was killed."
 

  I nod, making my way to the entrance of the alley. I spot a trail of blood leading out of the alley. "Hey, Will, I think I found something."

    I look up as the said boy jogs over to me. I kneel down and point at the small pool of crimson liquid on the ground. "Is that what I think it is?"
    Will takes on look at the spot I'm pointing at and nods. "That's blood."

    "Do you think it's the unsub's blood or the Jared's blood?" I ask, looking up at him.
    Will's lips form a small smile. "Unsub?"

    "Sorry, I mean, killer," I smile sheepishly. "I've been watching a lot of Criminal Minds since we got back, I'm so behind on the show."
    "How bout' we talk about Criminal Minds after we find the killer," Will suggests, gesturing for me to stand up.
    I nod, getting to my feet.

    "I think that the blood is Jared's."
    "How can you be sure?" I ask.
    "His pants are ripped and he has a gash running down his knee," he tells me.
    "Let's take a page out of Derek Morgan's book," I say. "Let's Role Play the scene out so we'll know how he died."
    "Good idea," Will says.

    I step out of the alley, looking at where Jared's dead body is. "Okay, so let's just say I'm Jared. I'm running away from the killer and I trip, scraping my knee on the rough ground. I spot an alley and make a run for it, hoping that I'll lose the unsub there."
    "But I stop you before you make it back to safety," Will says. "And I kill you before you can even call out for help."

    "But there's no sign of any injuries on his body," I state. "So how did the unsub kill him?"
    "He must've used magic."
    "But the only ones with magic are Mr Gold, Emma and Regina and none of them have any reason to want him dead," I state.
    "That leaves Peter and Malcolm."
    "That's impossible. Peter's trapped in Pandora's Box and Malcolm's trapped in the Jolly Rogers' sail."

    "Well, who else could it be?" Will asks. "They're the only ones with a motive."
    "I'm telling you, it can't be them."
    "There wasn't any stab wounds on thr body, the person had to have used magic," he says.
    "But the only suspects are both trapped," I say. "There's no way they could've possibly-"
    "Duck!" Will shouts, pushing me.

    I look over his unsub shoulder, catching a glimpse of Malcolm as he swoops down, narrowly missing us. He looks at us before flying off into the no longer safe streets of Storybrooke. It takes us a few seconds to regain our composure. Will slowly gets off me, holding his hand out to help me to my feet.
    "Well," he breaths. "It looks like we've found our unsub."
    "Yeah, but how did he-"

    I'm interrupted by Emma's phone ringing in my pocket. I fish the phone out of my pocket. "Hello?" I answer.
    "Alice, it's me, Ray."
    "Oh, hi, Ray," I greet.
    "You need to know something-" he begins.
    "Me first," I interrupt. "We've identified the body. It's Jared."
    "Malcolm killed him," we say at the same time.

    I pause. "H-How did you know that? We just found out."
    "Because Malcolm paid us a little visit while you guys were gone," he says.
    "Ray, what happened?" I ask, calmly.
    "He- He took-"
    "Who did he take, Ray?" I shout.
    Will flashes me a concerned look at my sudden outburst.

    The distant sound of chatter on the other end of the line is unnerving, but Ray comes back to the line after a few minutes. I take a deep breath, willing myself to calm down.
    "Ray," I say, as calmly as I possibly can. "Who did Malcolm take?"

    "Cassie," he tells me. "He took Cassie."

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Of all the cliffhangers I've ever written I think it's safe to say that this is the worst one -and this is the only one I'm ever going to apologise for- I may or may not kill three people in the end of my book. Good luck guessing who they are. I highly recommend you guys read my A/Ns from now on cause they're important.

I'll try to update the next chapter by Thursday, but I apologise in advance if I don't publish it on time.

Here's a random question, how many of you have watched Civil War? I just re-watched with my parabatai yesterday and I loved it just as much as I did when I first watched it. Well, that's about it, I'd better start working on the next chapter now, bye, guys

~ Alice xx

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Team Cap or Team Iron Man?

Team Cap cause' I'd probably- definitely make he same choices as he did if my parabatai was in Bucky's place, that plus I love Scarlet Witch (aka Wanda maximoff)

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Imagine choosing Ray over Peter:

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Vote, comment, rate, do whatever you want <3

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