Gold came over to investigate the spot as well, checking for any sort of magical traps that may have been set.

"This will suffice for now," he said. "It's likely the best we'll find at the moment."

Hook let Rachel settle in first, settling in next to her. They'd be alright for a little while.

Tina settled in as well cautiously, though not entirely.

Rachel promptly tucked herself against Killian's side, sighing a bit.

Gold let Tina settle in, and then he sat down himself, putting up a quick ward around their makeshift shelter. Then he kept working out the details of his plan.

Hook kept her there with an arm around her, just fine with settling in there for a while. He figured once there was a problem he'd deal with it. Apart from the problem of being on this damned island.

The rest of the day went by without anything from Pan or Cora. So, once night fell and at least the girls were asleep, Gold got up and got ready to leave the camp. He had an immortal fourteen-year-old to negotiate with.

Pan was still up, of course. And he'd wondered when Rumple would try something. So he was ready and watching.

"Hello, Rumple," he greeted once his son was well and truly alone.

"Pan," Gold greeted neutrally. This was definitely not a time to lose his temper.

"Not hiding with your little friends anymore?" Pan said, watching him. "I'm surprised, Rumple. You seemed rather attached to them."

"I think it's time we had a bit of a chat," Gold said, deftly avoiding the point about the others.

"Alright," Pan said agreeably enough. "What shall we chat about, then?" He perched on a rock, sitting there comfortably.

"Cora," Gold replied. He didn't sit down; standing sent a better message, even if he could feel a faint throbbing in his bad knee that magic couldn't quite cover up. "What did you promise her? And I assume that no matter what it is, you're going to double-cross her in the end."

"I didn't promise her anything," Pan said. "You know, for someone you taught, she is a little careless in her assumptions." He smiled.

"An unfortunate character flaw," Gold replied, studying Pan carefully. "How did she get here?"

"She contacted me," Pan said. "Asked me if I could help her. Well, not in so many words, but I knew what she meant." He grinned, swinging his foot.

"Indeed," Gold murmured. "I take it she's still amusing to you, rather than having progressed to being an annoyance."

"Oh she's very amusing. She thinks she can do so much, but she can't. Not here." Pan grinned.

"I see," Gold said. So Cora was just as delusional as he thought she was, but that was also problematic. If she was still amusing, it would annoy Pan if she was gotten rid of too soon. "Then I believe we have a bit of a problem. She is a threat to my companions, and frankly, it is long past time that she was taken care of. However, we also find ourselves in need of permission to leave the island."

"Indeed." Pan watched him struggling with that with a smile. He knew exactly what the dilemma was, but he wasn't going to offer a solution. That was too easy. He wanted to see what his son would come up with.

"Of course, I have no qualms with just leaving Cora here for you," Gold said. "To do with what you will, so long as she can't leave the island." That was just as viable a solution as any other, if not as satisfying as some. But that still left the problem of escaping Neverland. "However, we still need to negotiate permission to sail from Neverland." He looked at Pan. "What is it you want?"

Pan was quiet for a few moments. "You know, Rumple, I'm surprised. I never would have thought you'd abandon your own boy, but you did." He watched Rumple for several moments. "You're not a threat to me. You don't have anything I need."

"Just a chip off the old block, aren't I?" Gold asked, looking at Pan. "Although there is one major difference. I realized my mistake, and I'm trying to fix it. I'll likely never be able to, but I will try." So long as he could get off of the god-forsaken island, at any rate.

"Ah," Pan said. "One reason you want to get off the island." He shook his head a bit. "Why should I let you?"

Gold just shrugged.

"If we can leave the island, we will be gone with the next tide, and Cora is yours do with what you will," he said. "If not... Well, I will remove the threat she poses, one way or another. If we cannot leave, she will not live to see the next sunrise, and she can't amuse you if she's dead."

"No, she can't," Pan said. "But then you can." He smiled a bit. "Either way, I keep one amusement, and I lose one. So would it be more amusing for me to keep you and tell your friends about you?"

"Likely not," Gold replied. "Rapunzel and her pirate are rather sickeningly in love, a bit of a grown-up concept for you, is it not? And with sufficient practice, Thumbelina could have all of the plants on this island at her beck and call. Really, your best bet is to keep Cora and let us leave."