Crocodile's Daughter - Back to Their True Selves

6 - Ariel

"Focus. Concentrate," Regina told Emma. "It's kind of hard when you're talking in my ear," Emma snapped. "And when the wind blows or it's raining, or...someone's shooting arrows at you. Yes, concentration's hard. That's the point. Find your anger and use it to focus," Regina said. "No, there has to be a way without going dark," Emma said. "You're such a pathetic waste of ability," Regina snapped.

"And you're a monster," Emma retorted. "Smell that?" Regina asked. "What?" Emma snapped. "Smoke," Regina said with a smirk, pointing at our lit fire. "Maybe I can be of some assistance," I said, going up to her.

"Well?" Emma asked. "Magic's about emotion. Think back to a dark day in your life, when you wanted to kill, you were so furious. Take that bloodlust, and project it into your magic," I said. "Do you have a moment?" Emma asked. "Yes," I said. "What is it?" She asked.

"That's not something you want to know. But that's dark magic," I said. "There's more types of magic?" Emma asked. "Yeah. Dark, light, and neutral. Light magic uses happy moments, neutral magic uses bittersweet moments," I said. "What magic do I possess?" Emma asked. "You have light magic, the purest I've seen," I said.

"You have dark magic?" Emma asked. "No, I have neutral magic. I can perform light and dark magic, along with the magic that is neither good nor bad," I said. We saw David and Hook preparing to go somewhere. "Neal's alive," Mary Margaret blurted. "Neal i-is...alive?" Emma stuttered.

"Maybe," Mary Margaret said. "This is a waste of time. He's toying with us," Regina said. "I don't think so. Look. More scuffling. Someone was definitely resisting," Mary Margaret said, showing us some marks in the dirt. "How do we know that means Neal?" Emma asked. "Well, then someone was fighting for his life," Mary Margaret said.

"Are you really going to fall for this? Fine. You wanna follow the evil munchkin's dirt road? Be my guest," Regina snapped. "Wait. Where are you going?" Emma asked. "To save our son," Regina said. "We need to stick together," Emma said. "No, we don't. You may be prepared to risk Henry's life over some heartbroken fool's errand, but I'm not. I'm tired of waiting around," Regina said, then left.

"What if she's right? Pan could be lying," Emma asked Mary Margaret. "Just because it seems too good to be true doesn't mean it is. Don't give up. You owe it to Henry to find out if his father's still alive, and you owe it to yourself," Mary Margaret said. We trekked through the jungle, following the scuff marks. "The tracks lead directly into that cave. This must be where Pan is keeping Neal," Mary Margaret said as we arrived in front of a cave. "If this cave is some sort of prison, why aren't there any guards posted to stop us?" David asked.

"Because this prison doesn't require guards. Echo cave," I said. "You know it?" Mary Margaret asked. "All too well. I lost half my crew inside those rock walls. The only way to rescue someone from inside is to reveal a secret," Hook said. "A secret? That's all?" Mary Margaret asked. "Your darkest secret. Echo cave derives its name from an old saying--'the deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo.' The cave demands you reveal a truth about yourself. A secret you would never admit to anyone," I said.

"This is ridiculous," Emma snapped. "Don't kill the messenger, Luv," Hook said. "Even if we spill our guts, how do we know Neal's still alive in there?" Emma asked. "Because this is what Pan wants. He wants us to rescue him," I said. "Why?" David asked.

 "So that we reveal our secrets. He believes once we do, our secrets will destroy us," Hook said. We walked into the cave, the others marveling at the size. There was a spire in the middle, with a cage on top. The person inside looked up, peering closer at our group. "Emma!" Neal's voice echoed through the cavern.

"Neal," Emma said. "It must be a hundred feet across," Mary Margaret said. "Even if we fashioned some sort of rope, there's nothing to attach it to. No way to swing over," David said. "So what do we do?" Emma asked. "I told you what needs to be done. Consider this the moment of truth, literally. Now...who wants to kick things off?" I asked.

"So, what? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?" Emma asked. "We don't know the particulars, only what we've been told," I said. "Well, how do you know it'll work?" David asked, and Hook sighed, turning around. "There's only one way to find out, I suppose. I kissed Emma," Hook admitted. "You did what?" David snapped.

"David, now is not the time," Mary Margaret. "I already told Mary Margaret, so technically it's not a secret. But it was just a kiss. How's that your darkest secret?" Emma asked. "It's what the kiss exposed. My secret is, I never thought I'd be capable of letting go of my first love--of my Milah--to believe that I could find someone else that is until I met you," Hook said. The ground shook as rock jutted out from the spire Neal was on. "Uh...Mary Margaret--" David started.

"No, no, no. Me next. Ever since the curse broke, since we found each other, since we found Emma...and all of that happiness, there is something I haven't wanted to admit. Our daughter is a beautiful, smart, amazing woman whom I love very much, and of whom I could not be more proud. But she's all grown up. And...as much as I wanna pretend I'm okay with that, I'm not. We missed it, David. What we have with her is unique, but it's not what I wanted. We were cheated out of everything--her first step, her first word, her first smile. We missed it all," Mary Margaret said. "What are you saying?" David asked. "When we get off this island and get back to Storybrooke, I want another go at it. I wanna have another baby," Mary Margaret admitted. The ground shook, and the bridge extended again. "Nothing in this world would make me happier, and I know with all my heart that you would make...an amazing mother. But it can never happen...at least not with me," David said.

"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked. "When Hook and I went to search for the sextant, he was really taking me to find a cure," David said. "A cure for what?" Mary Margaret asked. "Dreamshade," David said. "The Lost Boys, the arrow--you pushed me out of the way--" Mary Margaret said.

 "I wasn't fast enough. I was hit. Hook was able to find a cure, but it comes at a price. I can't leave Neverland. If I do, I'll die," David said. The bridge connected to our side with more shaking. Emma took her sword, and went across. Emma admitted her secret, and the bars fell away. Neal reached out and hugged her.

We left the cave, and went back to the camp. "Thank you," Neal said. "Well, don't thank us yet. We still have to save Henry," David said. "We found your star map, so the real question is, do you know how to get off this island?" Hook asked. "If we can find Henry, I can get us home," Neal said.

"Well, let's go get Tinker Bell and...retrieve the boy," Hook said, and we set off towards Tink's home. 

a/n We hit 1K reads on Never Lose Hope!!! Honestly, I never thought it would ever get this far. This started out as a pet project and now is the most read series on my profile (by 64 reads, but still)