~ Davina
I can't quite figure out if I'm waking up, or if I'm awake and the world is spinning faster than normal. My head is thumping. Where am I? What's going on?
"Davina, wake up!" A familiar voice repeats, echoing.
I groan. I flutter my eyes open, and as soon as light hits my eyes, I have to frown to ease the pounding in my head.
"Come on Davina, you need to get up now. We need to go," Emma says, pulling me to my feet.
Blood rushes, I'm lightheaded and I sway, almost falling.
"Emma I don't think she's in a state to go anywhere right now. She probably has a concussion. We need to get her to the hospital," Snow says, holding me up.
"Do you mean the hospital that's slowly disappearing?" Emma snaps.
"Get out the way. We won't need the hospital," Regina says as she pushes through the small group, and I'm confused and surprised at her arrival. She holds my head, placing her hand over the growing bump. I see a purple light, I feel a sting and then, nothing, "Better?"
"Much, but what happened?"
"We'll explain on the way. Come on," Regina says, nodding to the exit.
I grab my sword off of the floor and follow them out of the cannery. Everyone's walking faster than usual, and I can sense the panic in the air. Henry, Snow, and Charming split off, while Regina, Emma and I continue to the mines.
"So, what? Are you two friends now?" I ask, still confused.
They look at each other. "We're allies," Emma says.
"So, are you going to explain? Or am I going to continue to be confused and passively compliant?" I say.
"When you ran after Tamara, Neal...was seriously injured. The portal was growing, he fell in, but I caught him and then he...and then he let go to save everyone else. He's...he's gone..." Emma begins, pausing as she holds back tears. "Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Henry and I went to find you. We saw what was going on with you and Tamara. Before you could answer, Greg hit you on the head and they ran. They triggered the diamond. Storybrooke's on its way out."
"And we're going to the mines...why?"
"The only thing strong enough to activate the diamond is a dwarf axe. They knew that, and well, I'm going to...slow it down," Regina answers.
We descend into the mines, and I instantly struggle to breathe.
"I can feel it. It's like the oxygen's being sucked out of the air," Emma says.
"Not the oxygen. The magic," Regina corrects. We turn the corner, and we see the diamond, floating and glowing. "There it is. Once it stops glowing, it's destruction is achieved. I'll try to contain its energy as long as I can."
"Won't be long. We'll have the beans soon. We can get the hell out of here," Emma says.
Should I tell them I have magic beans? I do need them. Everyone wants to go back to the forest, and I need to go back to Neverland.
Regina huffs, "Slowing the device... It's going to require all of the strength I have."
Emma's face falls, "You're not coming with us, are you? When you said goodbye to Henry, you were... saying goodbye."
"What?" I say, but I'm ignored.
"He knows I love him, doesn't he?" Regina says.
"Regina, no! There has to be another way!" I yell.
"You were right, you know. Everything that's happening, it's my fault. I created this device. It's only fitting that it takes my life," Regina directs at Emma, my protests continuing to be ignored.
"What am I supposed to tell Henry?"
"Tell him that in the end, it wasn't too late for me to do the right thing,"
"Regina, please..." Emma begs. I shake my head in protest, tears brimming my eyes.
"Everyone looks at me as the Evil Queen, including my son. Let me die as Regina,"
"I don't..." I whisper.
Regina looks at me, "I know Davina. And thank you for that. You were always the one person I knew would never turn their back on me. It's more than I could have asked for," she walks over and hugs me. "Don't forget this: you are smart, and you are strong. Don't let anyone walk over you. Save Henry, save all those other kids. Go to Neverland. End it."
I pull away, allowing the tears to fall. Regina has tears too. She brushes mine away; Emma takes my shoulders and turns us towards the exit. She stops.
"Regina—" Emma begins, but she's already slowing the diamond.
Before I can do anything, Emma grabs my shoulders and pulls me back down the mines, and up to Storybrooke. We walk in silence. I have nothing to say to her. There's no point in getting angry because we're all going to die anyway. But maybe if she and the others had trusted her slightly more, we probably wouldn't be in this situation.
"You were right," she says.
I look at her, "What do you mean?"
"Regina said it too. We all look at her as the Evil Queen, not as a person, not as Regina."
"Don't have to tell me twice."
She huffs, "We were all so busy expecting the worst from her, and not trusting her...when really we should have been working with her. She's willing to...give her life to save Henry. I just..."
"I could have told you that a year ago. Even when she imprisoned me in the Enchanted Forest, as the Evil Queen, I knew it then. I might not have realised it, but it was there," I say.
The ground shakes, and we have to stop to steady ourselves. More vines and trees erupt through the paving slabs. We see everyone running to the diner and follow suit. Half the town is here, whilst the other half is running around collecting their belongings ready to travel back 'home'. The crowd at the Diner is in an uproar, shouting over each other. They're uncontrollable. Emma and I make them quieten down, telling them that we're waiting for news on Charming and his retrieval of the magic beans. I hear the bell ring above the door, and I turn to see Charming, followed by Hook. My eyes widen, and I quickly push through the crowd and watch from the back room. Henry's also with them, and he turns to Emma, asks her where Regina is, and soon as he finds out, he beings protesting. He wants to find another way to save her, and not let her die. Then Henry compares this situation to when they saved Regina from the Wraith.
"That's it!" Snow exclaims.
"What?" Emma asks.
"We can send the trigger to another world, just like we did with the Wraith!"
"It's too risky. It might not work. No one will go along with it."
"Yes, we will. Because it's the right thing to do. Look, Snow White and the Prince have always led us before, and we've always won. So, who's willing to let them lead us again?" Hopper says, and everyone agrees. Suddenly, the diner violently shakes, and we all have to hold onto something so we don't fall.
"Thank you, Archie. This is what we should do," Snow says when the world stops shaking.
"Look, I know we haven't had a lot of chances to be parents, but give us this one. Let us do the right thing. It's not too late," Snow says.
It is for Regina.
"I just don't want him to be alone. I don't want him to grow up the way I did. This plan could fail. If we use that bean now, we can get away for sure. We will survive," Emma says, hugging Henry.
"But it's wrong. Emma, I killed her mother," Snow says.
"You did that to Cora because you had to," Emma argues.
"I did it because it was easy. It was a mistake. There were other paths, harder paths, and I wish I had taken them. So please, Emma, honey, let's take the hard path. Because if we don't we will be building a future on Regina's blood," Snow says.
Finally, someone's realised!
Emma asks for the beans, and just as Charming throws them to her, Hook grabs them. I sigh, shaking my head. I love Hook, but his desire for self-preservation can really anger me.
"Give it back," Emma demands.
Listen to her, Hook.
"If she wants to die for us, I say let her," he says.
I could so punch you right now.
"We understand each other. Look out for yourself, and you'll never get hurt, right?"
"Worked quite well for me,"
He has a point. Maybe my parents would be alive if they took his advice.
"Yeah, until the day that it doesn't. We're gonna do this. It might be stupid, it might be crazy, but we're doing it. So, you can join us and be a part of something, or you can do what you can do best, and be alone," Emma says.
She also has a point.
Hook hands her the pouch, that is supposed to contain the bean, but I've been watching and I know he has it, "Quite passionate, Swan. So, why are you really doing this?"
"The kid just lost his father today. I'm not letting him lose a mother too,"
Now Emma is getting somewhere.
I realise suddenly that I can't go with them. I have to go back to Neverland. I can't risk staying without knowing if the town will survive or not. The diner's empty now, and I'm alone. I walk through into the centre, and look around, picturing all of the moments I had here. My first morning here is the most prominent, when I tried pancakes and coffee. It seemed like it was years ago, but only one year has passed. The ground shakes again, and I'm filled with a sense of urgency. I break into a run, and I keep running until I reach home. It's time for me to return.
- - -
Upstairs, I retrieve the white box, placing it on my bed. Slowly and with shaking hands, I remove the lid and place it to one side; with both hands, I pull my cloak out, feeling the velvet between my hands and remembering everything. I can't believe I'm going back, and by choice. With a final deep breath, I pull my modern clothes off, placing them on the bed, and changing into my black corset, leather trousers, boots and cloak, and even though it's been a while, my hands haven't forgotten how to plait my hair into a single braid, once again decorated with the gold hoops. I slip on the gloves, with my rings over the top, and they sit in the grooves of the worn-away leather. I slip my dagger into my boot, attach the pouch with the beans on to my belt, clip my cloak around my shoulders, and as soon as my sword is attached to my hip, I feel...myself. I feel like Davina. I kneel down, lift the floorboard up, and retrieve the map and the conch shells. Just before I leave, I scribble a letter down, addressing everyone that I've grown close with, or has helped me, I even address Hook. I slip it into my cloak pocket, knowing exactly where I'll keep it. I lock my door, leaving the spare key under the plant pot, but my own on a chain around my neck. Finally, I begin the short walk to the dock. I walk until I reach the Jolly Roger, and climb the steps onto it, making my way to Hook's quarters, where I place the letter on his desk. I know he'll find it, and I know he'll pass it on. I say a silent goodbye and then go to the boat I've kept prepared ready for this day. It's a small boat, but it's enough to get me through the portal and to Neverland. I untie it from the dock and start the engine. Eric told me that this boat was unclaimed and that I was free to take it, so I did, and we maintained it, and he showed me how to use it. It's modern, perfect for one to two people, with the wheel inside a compartment, which I like because it means I have protection from the waves, and travelling through the portal will be better...ish. I pull it out of the dock and begin my journey to the place where I'll travel through the portal. I sail for fifteen minutes, and when I go out on to the deck to make sure everything is secure before I throw the bean in, I hear shouting. I'm confused. Then I locate the source - I look out to the cannery, where I see Greg, Tamara...and Henry, with Snow, Charming, Emma, and Regina. She's alive! How did they? As soon as Greg sees the four of them, he throws something into the water. A portal opens. I run to the front of the boat, leaning over the edge, holding onto the rail. Henry's family shout his name, and before Emma can save him, Greg and Tamara grab him and jump into the portal.
"Henry!" I shout, but it's too late. He's gone.
My rage boils over inside me, and I let it out with a scream. Pan has gone too far. I made a promise to save him, so that's what I'm going to do. As I walk to the other end of the boat, I reach in the pouch, retrieving one of the beans and it glitters in the sunlight. With all of my strength, I hurl it into the water and run back to the wheel. I do a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, and at full speed, tip into the portal.
Next stop, Neverland.
A/N Please Read:
Sorry if this kinda sucks but I really wanted to get to the next part of the story, back in Neverland!
I'm honestly so excited for the next few chapters, because I've missed writing the conversations between Pan and Davina, and their relationship, and they're going to progress so much in these next chapters. I've also missed writing about the Neverland setting - it's so much more interesting, and it's easier for me as I feel like the story is moving on. Whilst they're in Storybrooke I feel like I'm being repetitive, and I think that the 20th chapter is the perfect time to move on to the next section.
I also just wanted to say thank you so so so so so so much for all of the votes and comments and reads! I genuinely have more votes on this than I do on all four of my other stories combined! And I love it when you guys comment on parts of the story and it really makes my day when I see someone ask for an update. I try to reply to all comments, because I want you guys to know I'm engaged with you and how you're finding the story.
Anyway, thank you again for all of your feedback etc. and comment on this chapter what you think might happen and what you thought of the chapter - I really like this, it means a lot and it's really helpful.
<3 <3