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INDIANA JONES
lvii. ECHO CAVE
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PRESENT
NEVERLAND
CONSTANT SHOUTS OF FRUSTRATION filled Indiana's ears like a baby screaming in the middle of the night. Regina had spent the past couple of hours attempting to teach Emma how to use basic magic. They continued to yell at each other and call each other ridiculous names while the Charming couple and Indiana awkwardly sat on the sidelines, listening.
Regina suddenly fell silent, smirking faintly. She asked if Emma could smell "that." Emma, clearly irritated, asked what she meant. Proud of her success, Regina pointed at the campfire as smoke filled their nostrils. A small fire had been created out of anger.
Snow White and Prince Charming quietly spoke of how teaching Emma to use magic was a bad idea. They were simply afraid of their daughter going dark instead of light. They had to trust Emma. She had the power surging inside of her, so she should be able to use it.
Killian suddenly went walking out of the woods. He kneeled down by Prince Charming's side, whispering that they needed to talk. Killian stared at him with interest as the trio listened to what the pirate had to say. "Pan paid me a visit," Killian whispered. Indiana's eyeballs nearly popped right out of her head. "He, uh... he told me that Neal is alive, that he's on this very island."
The Princess of Neverland shook her head rapidly, her heart beginning to race anxiously. "Emma saw him, I saw him," Indiana argued quietly. "He was shot. He fell through a portal. No one could survive that."
"Well, he did, and now he's here," Killian responded. "He said he took him from this very camp while we were off in Neal's cave."
"According to Pan, if he's telling the truth," Snow pointed out with her eyebrows furrowed together.
"And, uh, why would he tell you?" Charming whispered in confusion. "It'd make sense if he told Indie, but you? What does he hope to gain?"
Killian shrugged, glancing at each person. "Who knows why he does anything? He has his reasons, but it's a sure bet they're not good ones," the pirate said.
Snow's eyes averted themselves to a snapped branch. "He's not lying," Snow realized. She stood up and paced over to the branch. She looked to the ground. "Tracks... and a scuffle."
"Yes, because things like this just happen to appear when we need them," Indiana doubtfully mumbled.
"Someone was here while we were gone. We have to tell her," Snow continued, ignoring Indiana's words.
"No, no, no," Charming refused. "She already lost Neal once and if this is a game, we can't put her through losing him again." Snow and Indiana stared at each other, unsure.
"He's right. Either way, telling her is what Pan wants, which is why we shouldn't do it," Killian said in agreement.
"You want to find him without letting her know?" Snow questioned, hesitant on letting them go through with the idea. Hook asked why hurt her unnecessarily. They didn't know if he was killed and they didn't want Emma to find out if that was the case. "I've never lied to her before."
"You're not lying. You're just keeping a secret until confirmation," Killian corrected the concerned mother.
"You're really entrusting her to keep a secret?" Indiana asked with a snort.
"Secrets seem to keep us from the people we really care about," Snow bitterly spoke, giving Indiana a look. She shrugged innocently.
"And sometimes secrets protect the people we love," David wisely added. Indiana stared at him suspiciously, listening as the crackling fire filled their silence.
"Okay, well, if we're gonna do this, we need a good cover story," Snow White said as she helped David put on his backpack. David said that he had one. Hook mentioned that, that wasn't a problem. Regina and Emma walked over to them, asking where the guys were going.
"Firewood."
"To get water."
"Oh, for the love of everything holy in hell, you both are idiots," Indiana insulted in frustration.
Emma sighed, staring at them. The quartet knew that their plans had been foiled. "Guys, what's going on?" she questioned in demand. Snow immediately answered, saying that Neal was alive. The secret had been exposed. "Neal... Neal is... alive?"
"Maybe," Indiana answered, sternly staring at Snow White, who shrugged in response. She whispered to them in apology, but Indiana agreed. Emma had the right to know. After that, everyone seemed to want to follow the tracks to find Neal, except her.
"This is a waste of time," Regina opinionated. "He's toying with us!"
"Yeah, well, I don't think so, your majesty," Indiana disagreed. She walked back over to the broken branch and tracks. "Look. More scuffling. Someone was definitely resisting."
"How do we know that means Neal?" Emma questioned. She was uncertain and beginning to agree with the Evil Queen.
"It shows us that someone was fighting for his life," Indiana calmly argued. Regina asked Emma if she was really going to fall for such a mirage. Emma was silent.
"Fine," Regina hissed, seeing as no one else was agreeing with her. Indiana knew that she had won over Emma. "You wanna follow the evil munchkin's dirt road? Be my guest."
She turned around to leave. "Wait. Where are you going?" Emma wondered. Regina answered, saying that she was going to save their son. "We need to stick together."
Regina laughed in annoyance. "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."
Her words stung in Emma's brain. "What if she's right?" the woman asked Indiana. "Pan could be lying."
"Just because it seems too good to be true doesn't mean it is. Don't give up," Indiana encouraged. "You owe it to Henry to find out if his father's still alive, and you owe it to yourself."
The next thing Indiana knew, she was leading the group to follow the scuffling and tracks that supposedly belonged to Neal Cassidy. Little did they know... someone was watching them. Despite Indiana feeling a pair of eyes on her, she kept going, but nearly stopped when Emma whispered to her and Snow White, "I kissed him."
"What?" Snow White questioned in confusion. "Who?"
"Hook," Emma answered. "I kissed Hook."
"Oh, I saw that," Indiana revealed nonchalantly. Snow and Emma stared at her, not expecting to hear those words. "I went to check if you lot were following us, but was delightfully surprised by your little make out session."
"O-Oh!" Snow exclaimed. She wasn't prepared to have this kind of talk with her daughter, and Indiana was living for the awkwardness. "Um... why?"
"I-I don't know. I-I was... it's been a while. I was feeling good," Emma attempted to explain. "I don't know."
"Did it mean anything?" Indiana wondered curiously, glancing back to see Emma. "Because if you're planning on just screwing around with my brother's emotions, I swear—"
"It—It was just a kiss," Emma interrupted, entirely avoiding the question. Snow mentioned that she was sure that Neal would understand. "If he's still alive."
"Emma, I get what you're doing, you know," Snow said. "You don't want to open yourself up to the hope that he's alive, but you should." Emma stopped walking and asked why. "Because you deserve a happy ending, Emma. And happy endings always start with hope."
Indiana continued to walk, silently agreeing with the mother. Eventually, she stopped in front of a cave with the group directly behind her. "The tracks lead directly into that cave," Indiana announced. "This must be where he's keeping Neal."
"If the cave is some sort of prison, why aren't there any guards posted to stop us?" Prince Charming wondered.
Indiana glanced back at Killian, who nodded at her. He walked over to her side. "Because this prison doesn't exactly require guards," Captain Hook vaguely answered. "Echo Cave."
"I thought this place didn't exist," Indiana admitted. "The Lost Boys used to talk about it, but I thought they were just stories."
"You know it?" Snow asked.
"All too well," Killian answered. "I lost half my crew inside those rock walls. The only way to rescue someone from inside is to reveal a secret."
"A secret?" Snow repeated, thinking about the simplicity of the cave. "That's all."
"Yeah, Snow knows plenty about secrets," Indiana mumbled, clearly livid as hell. David nudged her.
"Your darkest secret," Killian corrected. "Echo Cave derives its name from an old saying—"
"The deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo," Indiana recited. "The cave demands that you reveal a truth about yourself. A secret you would never admit to anyone, not even those you trust with your life."
"This is ridiculous," Emma commented. "Even if we spill our guts, how do we know Neal's still alive in there?"
"Because this is what Pan wants," Killian answered. "He wants us to rescue him. He wants us to reveal our secrets. I'm so sure of it. He believes once we do, our secrets will destroy us."
➖➖➖
Moving cautiously throughout the dark cave, Indiana could feel the dampness in the air. In the darkness ahead, her hands could feel moisture seeping through what appeared to be rocks to her side. She glanced around, seeing the same, dank walls around her.
After moving forward several paces for a small amount of time within the Echo Cave, there was a sudden drop that was found. The drop went for what was most likely a very long time. Across the emptiness of the ravine was a piece of land. On that piece of land was a small cage. The being within the cage looked up at the silent group of 5.
Indiana could feel her breath hitch in her throat. It was Baelfire, a very alive Baelfire.
"It must be a hundred feet across," Snow hopelessly noted as they each stared at its emptiness in its entirety.
"Even if we fashioned some sort of rope, there's nothing to attach it to," the prince pointed out. "No way to swing over." Emma questioned what they were supposed to do.
"Perhaps you all weren't listening before," Indiana mentioned. "Did you really think I was screwing around? Consider this the moment of truth, literally. Now... who wants to kick things off?"
"So... what? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?" Emma sassed with a bittersweet voice.
"I don't know the particulars, only what I've been told," Captain Hook answered. David asked the man how he knew it would work. The pirate turned to face the drop again. "There's only one way to find out, I suppose." He took a deep breath and turned back around, claiming that he kissed Emma.
"You did what?" David demanded angrily.
"David, now is not the time," Snow serenely informed her husband.
"I already told Mary Margaret and Indiana already knew, so technically it's not a secret," Emma told the pirate, who stared at her in disappointment. "But... it was just a kiss. How's that your darkest secret?"
"It's what the kiss exposed," Hook vaguely answered. "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."
There was instant silence as Emma allowed the information to absorb into her brain like a sponge. The ground began to shake. Near the cage, a piece of land sprung out. That was when they all knew that the tales about Echo Cave were true.
David went to tell his secret next, but Mary Margaret refused. "Me next," Snow said. She sighed and began to speak slowly. "Ever since the curse broke, since we found each other, since we found Emma... and all 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!"
Indiana stared into the distance, listening to the heartfelt words that came from Snow White. "What are you saying?" David wondered.
"When we get off this island and get back to Storybrooke, I want another go at it," Snow revealed. "I wanna have another baby."
The ground shook again and more land was extended from the previous one. "Nothing in this world would make me happier, and I know with all my heart that you would make... an amazing mother," David said lovingly. "But it can never happen... at least not with me."
"What do you mean?" Snow White questioned. It was her turn to be confused, wanting her husband to elaborate more. David looked down.
"When Hook and I went to search for the Sextant, he was really taking me to find a cure," David began to explain.
"A cure for what?" Snow spat quietly, seeming to already know the answer.
"Dreamshade," David nervously answered.
"The Lost Boys, the arrow—you pushed me out of the way—" Snow began to say, realizing when he had gotten hit. It was back at the first ambush.
"I wasn't fast enough," David interrupted. "I was hit. And that's not all."
"Is it now?" Snow wondered, growing more and more angry as he continued to speak.
"The poison from Indie's whip," David began, looking over at the teenager. "When I was carrying it, I forgot the poison effected everyone but her. Since time doesn't pass here, the process was slowed. Hook was able to find a cure, but it comes at a price. I can't leave Neverland. If I do, I'll die."
"Oh, my god, you're an idiot," Indiana scolded worriedly.
The ground roared as another piece of land extended itself out. It just needed one more person to reveal their secret. Indiana sighed loudly, gaining everyone's attention. It was her turn.
"I guess it's my turn," Indiana chuckled nervously, playing with her hands. She sighed. "Okay. Well, here it is. In my 100+ years of existence, I have never felt guilt."
Emma furrowed her eyebrows together. "How is that your darkest secret? I was expecting something worse from Indiana Jones," Emma opinionated. Indiana shot her a look.
"You didn't let me finish," Indiana told her. "As I was saying, I have never felt guilt, which is pretty weird coming from the one person who should feel the most guilt. I've killed people in ways you would never imagine. I've done things that are completely unspeakable. But I've never felt guilt about the things I've done until two weeks ago."
"Indie..." Snow trailed off apologetically.
"I don't know what it was, but everything hit me all at once. I don't feel guilty about a lot of things, but there are two things I've never been able to shake off: the first death I saw on Neverland and something else. That first one isn't as important, but the second one..." Indiana looked down at the floor. "What you guys don't know is that a long time ago, I found out the truth about my family, which is all I've ever wanted. But when I finally discovered what happened, I was really, really pissed. I told Killian and Peter I never wanted to see them again and had my boyfriend erase my memories and send me away."
"Indie, I don't understand," Killian admitted.
"But then my brother entered my life once again and everything just hit me," Indiana continued. "I never told him this, but..." She looked over at Killian, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "I've been feeling really horrible for not telling you. I guess what I've been trying to say for the past few days is... Killian, I've forgiven you."
The ground shook again. The final piece of land sprung out and attached itself to the land that the group stood on. "Is it really true?" Killian softly wondered.
Sniffling, Indiana responded with a shaky voice, saying, "You saw the stupid bridge complete itself, didn't you?" Killian walked forward, embracing his little sister tightly as she broke down into tears. "I-I'm so sorry. I'm such a shitty sister."
"Sh... it's going to be okay," Killian whispered as Emma walked forward to retrieve Baelfire. She began to hit his cage with her sword until she realized that she still needed to reveal her darkest secret.
Emma kneeled down in front of the cage. "When I heard you might be here, that you might still be alive... I knew I should be happy, but I wasn't. I was terrified," Emma began. "I didn't understand why until now. From the moment when I saw you in New York, the instant... you stepped back in my life, I knew. I knew I'd never stop loving you. And before I even had a chance to take a breath, I... I lost you once more, and all that pain that I had pushed down for all those years, it just came... rushing back, and I... I didn't know if I could go through it again. I love you." Her voice began to break. "I probably always will. But my secret... is that I was hoping that this was a trick. I was hoping you were dead... because it would be easier for me to put you behind me than to face the pain that we went through all over again."
Just like that, the cage opened up and Baelfire was freed. Once they left, Neal thanked them. "Don't thank us, yet. We still have to save Henry," Charming pointed out. He looked over at Indiana, whose eyes were puffy and bloodshot. "You alright, Indie?"
She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "I-If you tell anyone a-about this, I'll make a bloody necklace w-with your intestines," Indiana snapped.
"And she's back," David mumbled. Indiana smirked at him, playfully blowing a kiss at the man. [gif]
She looked back at Baelfire. "And you," she began, walking over to him and smacking the back of his head. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! Do you know how terrified I was when you fell into that portal!?"
"Yes, Indie, I'm okay. Thanks for your concern," Baelfire sarcastically told her, earning another smack to the back of his head. "Ow! Would you stop that?"
"I mean, seriously," Indiana continued to rant. "And to think I jumped in after you... hmph..."
"We found your star map, so the real question is, do you know how to get off this island?" Killian asked Baelfire.
"If we can find Henry, I can get us home," Baelfire revealed. Hook nodded, declaring that they needed to retrieve Tinker Bell and then Henry, so that they could finally go home.
And boy, was Indiana ready to get in bed and binge watch Netflix again.
➖➖➖
"Pan's Shadow? That's your way off the island?" Emma Swan questioned her ex once they reached the makeshift camp again.
"Unfortunately, it's the only way," Neal confirmed while David admitted that they thought he had learned how to navigate the stars. "I know how to navigate the stars. I just don't know how to fly. That's why we have to capture it."
"Well, you guys can have fun with capturing it," Indiana declared, shivering at the thought of the Shadow. "That thing gives me the creeps."
"Capture it?" Emma repeated. "We've never been within 10 feet of Pan unless he wanted us to be. Sneaking up on him to steal his shadow? That sounds insane."
"Except Peter's shadow is rarely with him," Indiana mentioned. "It's like an entity unto itself. It can carry out his will from miles away. That's how he managed to freak me out back on the mainland—Storybrooke."
"So what does that mean for us?" David asked.
"It means we can get his shadow without having to be anywhere near Pan—as long as we know where to look," Neal answered the prince. "I know where to look."
"Okay. You and I are on Shadow duty," Emma declared, referring to her and Neal.
"As am I, seeing as my sister would rather stay 100 feet away from the Shadow. This trek could be difficult. You could use another veteran of the island," Killian offered, causing Neal to thank him.
"Well, in the meantime, we'll give Tinker Bell a heads up, see if she can make good on her promise to get us into Pan's camp," David said informatively.
"Okay, we meet back at Tink's," Emma added. "Then we get Henry and get the hell back to Storybrooke." With that, the group split up.
Snow White sat on the ground, quickly attempting to put her things together so that she could leave with Prince Charming and Indiana. Snow grunted in annoyance. David offered his help, but she turned it down. Indiana could tell that this would be a long day, for she would have the privilege to hear the couple's bickering for the next few hours.
Killian went to go speak to Baelfire when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked over to see Indiana. "Hey, be careful," Indiana told him worriedly. "I mean it."
The Pirate smiled at his sister. "Always am," he assured the brunette. Indiana smiled at her brother before walking off.
Indiana sat next to Emma as she waited for Snow and Charming. Mary Margaret walked over to them, dragging her pack along with her. "How long is this gonna go on?" Indiana wondered. "The whole not-talking-to-each-other thing. Don't you think it's been long enough?"
"Snow, he didn't tell you about his illness because he wanted to keep the focus on the mission," Emma softly defended. "I get that."
"It's good to see you've inherited his tunnel vision," Snow White responded as she fidgeted with her pack some more. Emma asked what that meant. "Nothing."
The trio stood up. "You say a lot with nothing," Emma vaguely spoke. Snow calmly told her to be careful with Hook and Neal, moving all attention off of her. "The one we need to be careful with is the shadow."
"The fact that they both have feelings for you is dangerous, too," Snow added. Emma glanced over at the men.
"None of that matters," Emma declared. "All I care about is getting my son back."
➖➖➖
Indiana Jones regretted being the one to take the lead. She made that decision to allow Prince Charming and Snow White talk about their issues, but she didn't mean to go so far to the extent to where she had gotten herself lost. Indiana never thought that she would get lost in Neverland, but she had been proven wrong.
She wandered throughout the forest of Neverland until she heard the sound of coughing. It was very distant and faint, but it was there. Indiana stopped in her footsteps, attempting to locate the direction of which the coughing came from. She couldn't tell if it came from the North or the East.
After choosing to go East, Indiana came upon a cave. It wasn't anything like Echo Cave, though. It was brightly lit and there was a ladder at its entrance, almost like a treehouse. Indiana stared at it before hearing voices. Thinking the voices belonged to Peter Pan or one of the Lost Boys, she quickly moved to hide.
Surely enough she was right. Indiana watched as Peter Pan and Henry stepped out of the small entrance. She silently swore, thinking of how close she was to Henry, but was unable to do anything. Shaking her head, all she could do was turn on her heel and attempt to find her way to Tinker Bell's home, not having any idea that her dear old friend, Wendy Darling was five feet away from her inside that treehouse.
The odds seemed to be in her favor because Indiana ended up finding Snow White and Prince Charming quickly. She explained to them that she saw Henry and Peter, but she didn't want to reveal herself to him. She had a feeling that something bad would have happened if she did. Thankfully, the couple (who had finally made up while she was gone) understood that.
Tinker Bell suddenly made an appearance. She held various items in her hands as she stood in front of them. "I was wondering if I was going to see you again, but if you've come to talk me into helping you before you've found a way off this island, I still—" Tinker Bell began to lecture.
"Calm down, dragonfly, we found one," Indiana interrupted while taking a few steps forward. Tinker Bell made a face at the nickname that was given to her. "Or we're about to."
"Hm, I'm not sure I like the sound of about to... or that nickname," Tinker Bell opinionated, staring at her warily.
"Well, it was either that or Tinkle Bell," Indiana emotionlessly replied.
"Dragonfly works," Tinker Bell immediately declared, making Indiana smirk in amusement.
"Pan's shadow," Snow White spoke. She walked over to Indiana's side with David. "Emma went with Hook and Neal to capture it. That's our way off the island."
"Capture Pan's shadow?" the former fairy repeated, disbelieving the idea of that. "Yeah, I'm not lifting a finger until I see some proof that you've actually succeeded."
"Hey," Neal greeted as he submerged from the bushes, panting alongside Emma Swan and Captain Hook. He held up the cut up coconut. "Here's all the proof you need. It's been a long time, Tink."
"Bae?" Tinker Bell wondered with a smile on her face. She walked forward as she observed his older features. "Is it really you?"
"Yeah," Neal confirmed. "Most people call me Neal now."
"We did it," Hook announced, getting the fairy's attention. He was personally annoyed with all the attention toward Baelfire. "Are you finally ready to do your part, Tink?"
"Yes," Tinker Bell confirmed. "Yes, I am."
Together, they climbed up the ladder to discuss the plan. Indiana seemed to be more than ready to get Henry back and leave the island once and for all. Little did they know, leaving the island was going to come with a steep price.