There was no hesitation for Peter to reveal PXDST. In fact, he himself was confused why Skul was willing to use hostages to retrieve it. Peter pulled out a thin silver chain with a cuboid metal pendant- about an inch long- from underneath his shirt. Gwen had noticed the chain a couple of times before, but it had been mostly hidden underneath the collar of his hoodie or jackets. She had not even paid much attention to it.

Now knowing the silver accessory was the reason Pauline was kidnapped made her insides churn.

"That's PXDST?" Belle remarked, incredulous. Peter nodded.

He sat on the stool, dangling the pendant. A pensive expression on his face as he recalled receiving it. "It was just a day before the bastard left me for the cops to trace. He gave me the chain," he murmured.

"Keep PXDST safe, as if your life depends on it- which it does, boy," Peter recited the exact words Skul had said to him.

"What is it? How does your life depend on it? Did he mean that literally?" Gwen bombarded him with questions.

Peter twirled the sleek, metal cuboid in his fingers. She noticed engraved on the cuboid was a series of numbers, like a code. Peter brushed his thumb over the numbers. He stared hard at the engravings as if hoping something would reveal itself. There was conflict in his eyes as well as confusion.

"Well whatever he meant, we get this to him and we get your friend in return. I say it's a good deal," Belle announced. She slid out of the stool and grabbed her bag.

"I'll head back to the motel. Gwen, let's go," she said.

Gwen's gaze flickered to Peter then back to Belle. She pondered for a moment. Noticing her hesitation, Belle rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Stay. I'll check out tomorrow and come by," Belle muttered. She placed her hands on the metal pole and hoisted herself up onto the opening. Within seconds she was gone. Gwen realized Peter was watching her with narrowed eyes.

"You don't trust her?" Gwen asked. Peter let out a sigh.

"I don't trust anyone. But Belle has been useful for a while. It would be a loss if she betrayed me," he turned to her.

If you think staying over in my place for the night is a good idea, you're really naïve," he said as he cleared the tabletop.

"You used to come over to my place all the time. What's the difference?" She retorted.

"True," he said with a shrug. Gwen still felt like something was off since the mention of PXDST. He seemed like he was holding back information.

"You're not telling us something..." Gwen said as she followed him to the couch.

He plopped onto it and his fingers went back to the pendant. She scooted closer till they were pressed against each other, shoulder to shoulder. She looked up at his troubled face. He was not looking at her, his attention solely focused on the metal.

"It's... Not that I'm not telling you something..." He replied after a while.

"Instead, I feel like I'm forgetting something... A lot of things," he continued.

Gwen was quick to piece it together. "Does hypnosis work on you? If it does, maybe Skul must have forced you to forget some crucial information about PXDST or-"

"I have very fragmented memories of my time with Skul. Being a child during the experiments at the labs, I hardly remembered the details of them too. Everything is just a blurry mess of torture in my head," he said, shaking his head.

All Peter remembered vividly were the emotions. The fear, pain and betrayal. But the crucial details were blanked out. What were they experimenting on? What is PXDST? What did Skul do to him?

"I don't know if you're aware... After stealing some files from James, I found out that Skul was an ex-scientist from the Neverland Bioengineering Foundation," she saw Peter flinch ever so slightly at the mention of the research facility he grew up in.

"And... That Skul was still performing experiments in his lair... I'm assuming on you, while you were with him," she continued slowly, Peter was expressionless.

"I don't want to push you but... If you could try to remember... What Skul did on you..." His expression contorted. He was troubled and evasive but relented.

Gwen tucked her head under his arm so that it was around her. She leaned against his chest. He sighed and gently squeezed her.

"I remember little of the experiments. In fact I didn't even know he was testing on me... But I do recall, when he had just taken me in, I used to suffer excruciating pain and seizures. He would give jabs of some medicine and it would subside. The condition persisted for a year but then completely disappeared and..." He stared at his palm. "I became... Different..."

It made sense now. Gwen remembered Dr. Young telling her Peter would not last for that long without the stabilizing drugs. Skul must have given him just that. Skul was continuing the experiments for his own benefit and for some reason decided to throw Peter away? Then why did he give him PXDST?

Something did not feel quite right. This was all too convenient, Gwen had to wonder, just how important was PXDST. A gnawing sensation rose from within her.

"What if... PXDST is dangerous... And if it landed in the hands of Skul..." she trailed off.

"Skul has Pauline," Peter

An image of Mrs. Gonzales flashed in her mind. The woman's tears visible as she prayed for their safety. She had to save Pauline. That was the priority.

Right?

She glanced at Peter, something dangerous lurked within his eyes. He stared at the code on the pendant. The look on his face reminded her much of her own not too long ago.

Revenge.

"You want to kill him..." Gwen whispered under her breath. Peter twitched then a cruel smile split across his face, it did not reach his eyes.

"Death would be a blessing... He deserves to suffer." Peter's voice was almost a hiss.

Gwen did not like the image. It felt closer to the cold-hearted killer from before. Though she wondered, had he even changed? Who was she to think she had somehow transformed him, healed him? Peter was broken, it would take more than what she had done to fix him.

"We'll get him behind bars," Gwen asserted. Justice had to be proven. However, Peter did not seem to be such a fan of legal punishments. He wanted an eye for an eye.

Gwen did not like seeing Peter like this. These dark thoughts would only hurt him. She reached out a hand and placed it at the top of his head, then ruffled his hair. In a second, Peter's eyes widened, breaking from his spiraling dark thoughts.

"I don't like that scary look," Gwen muttered. She tilted her head up and pecked his cheek. "Be a good boy."

Peter stared at her for a few whole seconds with wide eyes. Then she noticed a tinge of pink rise to his cheeks, before his eyes skittered away from hers.

He was blushing.

Gwen felt like squishing him to death, he had no right to be this adorable. "Are you blushing?" Gwen asked in fake shock.

Peter gave her an annoyed look but strangely it was endearing. "Are you teasing me, Wendy?"

"Oh what can I say, the tables have turned," She replied. He let out a small huff of amusement, a warm grin on his face. Much better.

Suddenly he was lifting her in the air, she gripped onto his neck with a yelp. "Too bad, I'm turning the tables back," he replied with his signature mischievous smile as he walked away from the living room.

She was dropped unceremoniously onto the bed. Then, Peter climbed to lie beside her. She playfully whacked him on his head.

"Idiot," she muttered. He only laughed in response and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her close. Nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck, he murmured, tickling her with his breaths.

"I still can't believe you're here."

Neither could she. They had only reunited mere hours ago, but she already couldn't imagine how she survived three months without him. Gwen bit her lip at the desperation in her thoughts. Why was she diving too deep, too quickly?

But here he was wrapping her in his arms, holding her as if he were going to loose her if he looked away. Her heart thrummed a fast-paced rhythm of affection. She gently combed her fingers through his tousled blonde hair.

"I don't want to leave you... Ever," she whispered. She felt the grip around her waist tighten, Peter let out a heavy breath that warmed her neck.

They laid there till the sun rose to dawn, comforted in each other's embrace.

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A/N: I know I'm a tad bit late! Sorry for that! Leave a vote and comment!

Just a thought... Does anyone want a special Valentine's Day bonus chapter? Leave a comment if you do >.•