Crocodile's Daughter - Back to Their True Selves

1 - The Heart of The Truest Believer

We shot out into the middle of the sea, looking at the island ahead. "Is that it?" Emma asked. "Aye. Neverland," Hook said. "Why are you slowing down?" Regina asked as Hook slowed the ship. "In case you didn't know, my son's life is in danger," Regina snapped.

"Oh, I know, my hotheaded queen. My plan is to bring us to the far side of the island, link up with the widest part of the river, then we sail right through and take him by surprise. The irony," Hook said. "What irony?" Regina asked. "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," Hook said. "Greg Mendell said something funny to me. He said I'm a villain, and that villains don't get happy endings. You believe that?" Regina asked. "I hope not. Or we've wasted our lives," Hook said.

"We'll find Henry," Mary Margaret assured Emma. "No, you won't," My father said, appearing on the deck wearing what he used to. "Oh, that's a great use of our time--a wardrobe change," I sneered. "I'm gonna get Henry," He said. "We agreed to do this together," Regina said.

"Actually, we made no such agreement," He said. "Why are you doing this?" Emma asked. "Because I wanna succeed," He said. "What makes you think I'm gonna fail?" She asked. "Well, how could you not? You don't believe in your parents or in magic or even yourself," He said.

"I slayed a dragon. I think I believe," Emma said. "Only what was shown to you. When have you ever taken a real leap of faith? You know, the kind where there's absolutely no proof? I've known you some time, Ms. Swan. And sadly, despite everything you've been through, you're still just that...bail bondsperson, looking for evidence. Well, dearie, that's not gonna work in Neverland," He said. "I'll do whatever it takes," Emma said. "Well, you just need someone to tell you what that is. Sorry, dearie. Our foe is too fearsome for hand-holding. Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild. And sadly...yours doesn't," He said, then twisted his cane. When it hit the deck, he was gone.

Hook followed Emma, who went downstairs. David and Mary Margaret were trying to steer the ship. "Alright, budge up. You two are going to sink the ship at this rate," I said, taking over. "Prepare for attack!" Hook yelled, coming above deck. "Be more specific," Regina said.

"If you've got a weapon, then grab it!" Hook said as Emma came up. There was screeching in the distance. "What's out there? A shark?! A whale?!" Emma asked. "A Kraken?" David asked. "Worse. Mermaids," I said.

"Mermaids?!" Emma asked. "Yes, and they're quite unpleasant," I said, wrestling with the wheel. "You think?" Regina asked. "I'll try and outrun them," I said. "How many of them are there?!" Emma yelled.

"I will not be capsized by fish!" David yelled, loading a cannon. We managed to scare them off, and the sea settled, so I let go of the wheel. They captured a mermaid, who they threatened, which summoned a storm, and we ended up going to shore. "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 said. "Sneak attack? Don't 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 runs off belief. All of us have been too busy being at each other's throats 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," Emma said.

"You wanna be friends? After everything that's happened between all of us?" Regina asked. "I don't want or expect that. I know there's a lot of history here and a lot of hate," Emma said. "Actually, I quite fancy you from time to time, when you're not yelling at me," Hook said. "We don't need to be friends. What we need to know is the only want to get Henry back is cooperation," Emma said. "With her? With him? No, Emma, we have to do this the right way," David said.

"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 gonna need all those skills, whether we can stomach them or not," Emma said. "And what's your skill 'Savior?'" Regina asked. "I'm a mother, and now I'm also your leader. So either help me get my son back or get out of the way," Emma snapped, then started walking away. I followed her, then Mary Margaret, then David, Hook, then Regina. Far, far off in the distance, I heard a yell.

"Come on, boys! Let's play,"

a/n Merry Christmas! I decided, as a Christmas present, I would update all of my books (except Dovakiin because I'm having writer's block for that story), and since Sunday saw the last chapters for Magic is Coming, this marks the start of the new book. There will, however, still be an update on Sunday, this is just a bonus.