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INDIANA JONES
lxv. THE PRETTY REDHEAD

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PRESENT
UNDERWORLD

INDIANA JONES DID HER best to repress the terror she felt as she walked around the Underworld from day-to-day. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that scared her. Was it the dreams that haunted her? Was it the fact that she'd seen too many people that she had assassinated? Was it because she knew that she could go to a far worse place than this?

She didn't quite know. All Indiana did know was that she needed to find a way to distract herself from her new hellish reality, and Indiana knew the perfect way to do this. Unobtrusively sitting within a dimly lit building, the sound of someone jiggling a doorknob was heard.

A creaking noise was heard as the door was delicately pushed open. The silhouette of a person struck the light switch, allowing the lights to flicker on. A pretty redhead gasped, taking a step back as she noticed Indiana Jones sitting on a desk, her arm resting on her propped up leg. Her head leaned against her hand. "Well, it took you long enough," Indiana greeted.

"How—How did you get in here? Who... Who do you think you are?" the redhead demanded defensively. Indiana raised an eyebrow at her questioning. Felix's sister sure was a firecracker alright. "Did James send you? Well, you can tell him—"

"Alright, that's enough," Indiana interrupted in amusement. She allowed both of her legs to dangle off of the desk. "Did you really think I was sent here by James? Pfft, he wishes he had the honor to speak to me." When the redhead stared at her cautiously, Indiana rolled her eyes. "Ease yourself, soldier. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "How do I know that? The last time I trusted someone, I was still alive," she bitterly replied.

Indiana gave her a bittersweet smile. "I know the feeling," she mentioned. She pushed herself off of the desk, landing delicately on her feet. "You're Annie Croft, right?"

Giving Indiana a strange look, she nodded. "Yes... How did you know...?" Annie trailed off with confirmation. "Who are you?"

"Oh, my sincerest apologies," Indiana apologized half-heartedly. "I'm Indiana... Indiana Jones."

Annie's eyes widened. "As in the mass murderer?" she wondered, alarmed.

"The one and only," Indiana mentioned with a wicked grin on her face. "But don't worry. Those days are far behind me." She started to walk around the Animal Shelter, the dogs whining when she got close to the cages, wanting her to let them out. "Now that I'm dead, I've decided to... change my ways."

Annie scoffed. "I'm pretty sure actions speak louder than words," Annie told her, not wanting to believe Indiana's words. "Now, how do you know who I am? Who sent you here?"

Indiana shrugged and informatively responded with, "I'm a friend of your brother's... Felix. He was kind of my best friend when we were both alive."

"Wait a second..." Annie trailed off. "Are you trying to tell me that my little brother is... de..." Annie paused. "Is Felix dead?"

"Well, unless he's twisted enough to want to go on holiday here, I'm sure as hell—mind the pun—that he's just as dead as you, me, and this animal shelter's paint job," Indiana confirmed, walking around some more. "I mean seriously... Who decided to paint the walls cream?"

"It's eggshell," Annie argued meekly, still rather shocked over the fact that her brother was in the Underworld with them.

Indiana rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't notice some absurdly tall figure following you around? He's been stalking you for weeks!" Indiana exclaimed. "It's really sad, especially knowing that the reunion of you two could take you to a better place!"

Annie furrowed her eyebrows. "Really?" she conjectured. "Wait... Why does Indiana Jones want to be a hero? I've heard the stories." Annie strolled toward the brunette. "What do you get out of reuniting a brother to his sister?"

Indiana was silent. Why did Indiana want to start helping others? Surely, this was the doing of spending so many years with the Charmings, especially Snow and Henry. Those two certainly were the epitome of hope and gleefulness.

Then, Indiana shrugged. "I've heard your story," she began. "Big sister tries to help her brother out by getting a girl to lose feelings for him. It's a cute story. Too bad the big sister died in the end." Indiana paused again. "I guess... Felix has done so much for me that I couldn't help but feel the need to return the favor. We've been friends for decades, after all."

A small smile tugged at Annie's lips as tears began to fall from her eyes. "I can't believe it..." Annie trailed off. "I've heard the rumors... If your family is in the Underworld, you feel a pull toward them... I've felt it before, but... I don't know. I never wanted to believe it... that Felix was dead, like me."

Indiana pressed her lips into a fine line as Annie quietly cried. "Oh... come here," Indiana muttered, extending her arms out to let Annie walk over to her. She awkwardly rubbed Annie's back. "Isn't it funny? The things we haven't thought about in years still have the ability to make us cry."

➖➖➖

"I can't do it. I'm not ready. Indiana, don't make me do this," Annie said for the umpteenth time the following morning. "Indiana, I'm not ready. I can't face him—not like this."

It wasn't that Indiana despised Annie's continuous rambling. It was the fact that she really detested Annie's continuous rambling. The one time Indiana attempted to change her reputation was the one time Indiana really wanted to shove her foot up Annie's ass.

How was it that Annie was most likely older than the extremely childish and immature girl? Maybe Indiana was finally beginning to grow up, even if time didn't exactly pass in the Underworld. If anything, the only difference in the days was that sometimes it was night and sometimes it was day. However, that didn't mean Indiana was getting any older since her heart had stopped just earlier that week.

Finally, Indiana turned around to face Annie, who had suddenly stopped speaking once the brunette faced her. "Alright, look. I already hate trying to be the hero. I really hate it. But I have to do something with myself while I'm down here," Indiana began. "So whether you like it or not, you're walking into that Diner and you're going to say hello to your brother. Got it?"

"But—"

"Ah!"

"What if—?"

"Nope."

"Are you—?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now, go!" Indiana shouted. She pulled open the door and shoved Annie into the Diner.

It was 7:15, meaning that Annie was scheduled to walk into the Diner for her daily meal. That also meant that Felix—being the stalker that he was—was waiting inside.

All Indiana had to do was sit and watch as Annie awkwardly tapped Felix's shoulder and smiled. Then, the two hugged before being transported out of the Diner to enter the other side.

A weird sensation swelled up Indiana's metaphorical heart. She felt different. Something in her had changed. Maybe it was the fact that she had done something good for once, or maybe it was the fact that Annie and Felix reminded her so much of Indiana and Killian. Maybe it was because Indiana had a newfound purpose in the Underworld: to restore everyone's happy endings. Sure, it was a stretch, but she had plenty of time.

Whatever it was, Indiana knew what she needed to do.

Indiana needed to follow that weird feeling in her chest to whatever family she had in the Underworld.

➖➖➖

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

aw that was a sweet chapter

i know it wasn't very eventful, but this was the chapter where indiana realized that she could still change her life even though she's dead. remember, all indiana wanted to do was change for the better. now's her chance.

i wonder how hades will feel about that...

also, are you guys ready for who indiana is going to finally meet? ;-)