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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒

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Everly was enjoying the deepest sleep she had in a very long time when someone began shaking her. She tried to ignore it, only for whoever it was to start calling out to her. After letting out a sigh, the Jones girl opened her eyes to see it was only seven in the morning before rolling over to find Killian standing over her. She was about to say a sarcastic remark when she saw the concerned look on his face.

"Get up," the pirate captain said before going to wake up Sam and Katherine after realizing Everly was awake, "Emma needs all of us at the station."

After letting out a groan, the three teens slowly get to their feet to get ready for the adventure ahead of them. Everly just put on a sweatshirt and sweatpants before tying her hair back and slipping on her sneakers. When she turned around, she found Sam and Katherine wearing basically the same thing. As soon as they walked out into the hall, Killian began leading them downstairs to begin their journey to the Sheriff's station.

As soon as they arrived at their destination, they found everyone sitting around a TV. Confusion flowed through Everly's veins as she walked further into the station and sat down on the desk next to where David was standing. Sam and Katherine immediately followed her actions before the Jones girl noticed the Nolan man staring at them with a smirk on his face.

"You three are definitely dressing to impress," David teased after seeing what the trio of teens was wearing.

"It's seven in the morning on a Saturday. This is the best you're gonna get," Everly told him at the same time Sam and Katherine let out long yawns.

David couldn't help but laugh in response to his daughter's words, making a small smile appear on Everly's face. It wasn't long after that when their attention fell back on Emma when she pressed a button on the TV remote. A video from when she was in the foster system appeared on the screen. They all watched in silence as the video played until the Swan woman paused it when a familiar woman appeared on the screen. No one could hide the shock on their faces at the sight of the Snow Queen standing next to young Emma.

"Emma, that's you," Mary Margaret whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear before she looked over at her daughter, "you must be..."

"Thirteen, maybe fourteen," Emma concluded without taking her eyes off the screen in front of her.

"Are you missing the part where she's with the Snow Queen?" Regina questioned with a hint of irritation in her voice as she looked over at the blonde woman, "Emma, you knew her before you came to Storybrooke?"

"Apparently, my run-in with her in town wasn't the only memory she erased," Emma declared while turning her attention back to the TV, "all this time in this foster home, or whatever that place was, it's gone."

"I just don't understand how she even ended up in this world," Belle said without attempting to hide the confusion in her voice.

"We were hoping Gold could tell us that," Emma announced as she spun around in her chair, making everyone turn their attention towards the Dark One, "you spent more time trying to get here than anyone. How did she do it?"

"Considering the time I spent on the same task, I'd love to know" Rumplestiltskin responded with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Does it really matter how she got to Emma? I mean, shouldn't we be more concerned about why?" David questioned as he looked around at everyone in the room.

"Obviously, she needed her for something. But what?" Regina declared before letting out a long sigh, "well, that's our next problem."

"Well, we know she's hiding somewhere in the North Woods. We combed every inch of her shop, we tore apart her house," David explained while looking back at the TV after his mind went over all the information they knew about the Snow Queen, "she must've cleared everything out days before."

"Which means she must be hiding something," Killian added as he took a step forward to stand closer to Emma.

Everly started to distance herself from everything happening around her when she started to feel cold. She tried her best to shake it off and focus, just for her to lose focus once again when her eyes started feeling numb. Before she could even try to figure out what was happening, the numb feeling transformed into what felt like a massive brain freeze. The Jones girl did her best to ignore the pain, only for it to get increasingly worse. It wasn't long after that when she could no longer hold herself up, resulting in her head falling on David's shoulder.

Everything around her blurred and her family's voices became muffled when a familiar voice spoke in her head. "Meet me near the Toll Bridge in an hour. I need your help. Come alone."

As soon as Jackson's voice faded, the pain in Everly's head subsided. It wasn't long after that when she slowly opened her eyes to find David and Killian hovering over her with concern in their eyes. The Jones girl didn't move for what felt like an eternity before she slowly sat up, only to find everyone's attention on her. Everly chose to ignore the concerned and confused looks being sent her way as she looked up at the clock for the time. She needed to make sure she met up with Jackson so she could help him before it was too late.

"Are you okay, Evie?" Killian questioned, drawing Everly's gaze back to him before she sent him a small nod, "what happened?"

The Jones girl hesitated as she stared at the pirate captain before she looked over at Sam, who was the only one who truly knew what just occurred. After all, he was with her when she received a message like that from Pan on Neverland. After staring at the blonde boy for a moment longer, Everly looked back over at Killian. "I wish I knew."

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"A shovel?" Tinker Bell asked as she stared at Everly with confusion in her eyes, "why?"

"Pan...Pan killed a Lost Boy. I want to bury him," Everly explained, earning a blank stare from the former fairy in response, "please, Tink."

The blonde woman just stared at the young girl for a moment longer before letting out a long sigh. Everly watched as Tinker Bell walked over to her trunk before coming back with a small shovel. "This is the best I have."

After sending the former fairy a grateful smile, Everly took the shovel and placed it in her small bag. It wasn't long after that when she made her way out of the treehouse and raced back to the cove. As soon as she reached her destination, the Jones girl went to the far wall and began digging. A few hours passed before she finally dug a hole that was deep enough. Everly just stared at the pit she created for a long moment before standing up and carefully picking up Al. After she gently placed the boy in the hole, she began covering him with sand, which took another few hours. The last thing she did before finishing up was use an arrow to carve Al's name into the wall right above his head. As soon as she was finished, Everly sat down on a nearby rock and stared at the fallen Lost Boy's name.

"I'm so sorry, Al," she whispered, knowing no one was around to hear her words.

Everly fell asleep that night knowing Al died because of her. He was one of the few Lost Boys who wanted to get off Neverland according to Felix...and he finally did.

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Everly found herself tuning out the rest of the conversation as her mind replayed Jackson's message. Despite knowing it wasn't the best idea, the Jones girl knew she needed to meet him. She soon forced herself out of her thoughts as she looked over at the clock to find that forty-five minutes had passed. Everly knew it took about ten minutes to get to the Toll Bridge from there. If she wanted to go meet Jackson and try to save him, she would have to leave.

"I have to go," the Purest Heart announced as she got to her feet and walked out the door before anyone could protest. She barely made it five steps out the door when she felt someone grab her arm and force her to turn around to face them.

Everly did her best to keep a straight face despite the emotions building up inside her as she stared at an annoyed-looking Killian. "You promised you wouldn't do this again. And here you go running off without saying where or why."

"I can explain it later but I really have-"

"Explain now it, Evie. Does this have anything to do with you fainting?"

"Yes, now I really need to go. I promise I'll tell you everything later," Everly responded, only to receive an uncertain look from the pirate captain, "I need you to trust me on this, Killian."

The Jones man hesitated for a moment as she stared down at his daughter. It wasn't long after that when he released his grip on her, sending a wave of shock throughout Everly's body. However, before she had a chance to move, Killian began speaking once again. "At least tell me where you're going."

"Toll Bridge."

Killian let out another sigh as he pulled out his phone and placed it in her hand. "If you need me, call Emma. And if you aren't back in thirty minutes, I'm coming after you whether you like it or not."

After shoving the phone into her pocket and sending him a nod in response, Everly turned and sprinted down the street. The Jones girl made it to the Toll Bridge with two minutes to spare, only to find nothing but an empty forest. The nerves inside her continued to build as she paced on the bridge before pulling herself up to sit on the railing. Everly continued to listen to the silence around her and keep her emotions calm as she waited for Jackson to arrive.

Another fifteen minutes soon passed and the Overland boy was still nowhere to be found. After concluding that this was all a trick, Everly let out a long sigh and jumped down from the railing. Just as she started walking back in the direction she came, a familiar voice called out to her, making her stop in her tracks.

"Rapunzel," Jackson greeted after Everly turned around to face him, "nice to see you actually showed up."

"Hey, Jackson. Or should I call you Jack Frost? Or maybe Snow Prince?" the Jones girl responded as she studied the boy in front of her, "were you working with the Snow Queen this whole time?"

A smirk slowly formed on the Overland boy's face before he let out a small laugh. "Would it matter if I was?"

A wave of irritation washed over Everly as she continued to stare at the boy in front of her. "What do you want? Why do you need my help?"

"I don't," Jackson responded as the smirk on his face grew, "I just knew that was how I was going to get you here."

Before Everly could fully process what was happening, the Overland boy swirled his hand in the air, making her feet become frozen to the floor. The Jones girl stared at Jackson with shock in her eyes before launching a ball of light at him. To Everly's dismay, the Overland boy dodged her attack before shooting an ice beam at her. She managed to create a shield just in time and left it up when Jackson continued to shoot ice at her. As each blast hit her shield, Everly began to regret not bringing some form of backup with her as she stared down at her frozen feet.

"Need some help?" a new voice asked, causing the Purest Heart to look up to find Jacob standing a few feet away from her behind a shield of his own.

"How did you-"

"I was sent to protect you," the Overland boy interrupted Everly, knowing exactly what she was going to ask by the confused look on her face, "it's my job to know when you're in trouble."

"I'm not in trouble," the Jones girl retaliated just as another one of Jackson's icicles broke against her shield, causing Jacob to raise his eyebrows at her, "okay, fine. I'm in trouble. But only because your brother went crazy and started attacking me."

"Say the words. I've been wanting to hear those two words from you so bad."

Everly sent Jacob a sharp glare, only for the smile on his face to grow. It wasn't long after that when she opened her mouth to speak. "Help me."

The Overland boy couldn't help but let out a laugh as she waved his hand through the air, making the ice around Everly's feet disappear. Relief began to flood through her veins before she began to form another ball of light in her hand. However, before it could get much bigger, Jacob grabbed her wrist, making Everly lose her concentration and her magic vanish. When she looked over at the Overland boy, she found his smile gone as he stared at her with determination in his eyes.

"Let me handle this."

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The only death Everly had witnessed before yesterday was Ollie's, which left her feeling guilty for years. However, her guilt was because Pan saw straight through her lies. What led up to it wasn't because of her. Al's death was. If he had told Pan where Everly was, he would still be alive today. Al died because he was protecting her and the Jones girl would have to carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life.

Everly's train of thought was derailed by the sound of Felix climbing up the tree. Her eyes stayed glued to the distance as he sat down next to her. The Lost Boy's smile instantly fell at the sight of Everly's face. It didn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong. But it did take a few moments for him to figure out what was going through the former Lost Girl's head.

"You know about Al, don't you?" the Thorne boy asked, earning a small nod in response before he continued speaking, "how?"

Everly was silent for another moment, wanting to keep all of her emotions locked away. Once she knew she wouldn't break down, she looked over at the boy sitting next to her. "I saw the whole thing."

"I'm sorry, Sunshine," Felix said as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

"It's all my fault," Everly muttered just loud enough for him to hear while hiding her face in his shoulder, "Al died because of me."

The Thorne boy hesitated for a moment, knowing he had to think about his next words very carefully in order to not upset Everly. "Al knew what was going to happen. Pan warned him about what would happen if he caught us helping you...he warned all of us."

Silence surrounded them for what felt like an eternity while Everly stayed in Felix's arms. Her brain was working on overdrive as she thought about everything she'd gone through since arriving on Neverland. Pan wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted, no matter who stood in his way. And Everly was tired of seeing the Lost Boys suffer for the Demon King to get everything he desired.

Without saying a word, Everly untangled herself from Felix's arms and began climbing down the tree. It wasn't long after her feet met the dirt floor when she heard Felix following her. The Jones girl didn't make it very far when he grabbed her wrist and made her turn around to face him.

"Where are you going?" Felix asked with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"I need to face him before he kills everyone," Everly responded, receiving a shocked look from the Thorne boy before she continued speaking, "and you can't stop me."

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