────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly and Pan waited in the clearing for what felt like an eternity, wanting to give the Wish Realm's versions of Rumplestiltskin and Henry time to leave. Despite having time to think of something, neither of them could devise a good plan. Every time they thought they came up with something that could work, the other person always found a flaw. It reminded the Thorne woman of her time on Neverland with her realm's Peter Pan. So instead they sat in the clearing until Everly's patience ran out, which was much longer than she expected. Once she knew the Author's pen was secured in her boot, Everly used her magic to take her and Pan back to the library.

To the Purest Heart's relief, both Rumplestiltskin and Henry were nowhere to be seen. She was beyond grateful for that, not wanting to face them on her own again. It wasn't long before her attention fell on the two snowglobes sitting on the desk. Everly's heart pounded in her chest as she walked across the room until she was standing in front of the glass cages. All she could do was stare at them, unsure of what to do next. The last time she tried to use her magic to free them nothing happened. And the Thorne woman wasn't ready to face failure again, not when her family's lives were on the line.

"Have you tried relaxing a bit?" Pan asked, causing Everly to glance over at him. A wave of irritation washed over her when she found him studying her as he leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. The Thorne woman was surprised when he let out a small laugh and continued speaking. "I'm serious, Everly. Magic has a life of its own. It acts differently based on your emotions. Maybe if you relax, your magic will do what you want it to do."

Everly couldn't help but stare at the boy in front of her as she took in his words. She hated to admit it, but he made sense. She let the silence surround them for a moment longer before opening her mouth to respond. "And how am I supposed to relax knowing my family is freezing to death?"

"All you need is faith in your magic and trust in yourself," Pan told her in a tone that made it seem as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And what next? Pixie Dust?" Everly scoffed after a wave of irritation washed over her. What she didn't expect was for the smile on the Lost Boy's face to grow. The next thing Everly knew, Pan reached for the rope around his neck and pulled out a small vile from under his shirt. The Thorne woman's eyes widened when she saw the contents inside beginning to sparkle.

"A little Pixie Dust won't hurt. It just needs a little light magic to activate it," the brunette boy announced before taking off his necklace and tossing it to Everly, who caught it with ease, "but I only have enough to break one snow globe. You're gonna have to decide who to save."

Before a full thought could go through the Thorne woman's head, they heard multiple sets of footsteps approaching them. Pan didn't hesitate to force himself off the wall to stand beside Everly, who slipped the bottle of Pixie Dust into her pocket for safekeeping. Both of them soon called on their magic and prepared themselves to fight whoever was coming their way. What the Purest Heart didn't expect was for a familiar face to appear from around the corner, followed by two more.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how are you here?" Everly asked as her eyes moved between Zelena, Robin, and Alice.

"That doesn't matter right now," the redheaded woman announced before finally realizing who was standing next to the Purest Heart, "why is he here?"

"I'll explain later," Everly responded with a long sigh while trying her best to ignore the confused look Pan was sending her way.

It wasn't long after that when Robin held up a giant fish hook and began speaking. "We need to get this inside the snow globe. Unfortunately, it only works once."

The Thorne woman couldn't help but laugh, earning confused looks from the newcomers while Pan simply smirked. Not even a second after that passed when Everly reached into her pocket and pulled out the smile vile of Pixie Dust. "Well, that solves our problem."

While Zelena went to work on getting the fish hook to those trapped inside the first snow globe, Everly focused her attention on the other. Even though she couldn't see who was inside due to all of the snow, she was drawn to it. The Thorne woman sensed that it held her family and she knew she had to be the one to free them. A small sigh passed over her lips as Everly held the Pixie Dust tightly in her hands. She took a moment to calm her nerves while memories of her family bounced around in her head. A small smile appeared on her lips as she thought back to all the good times they shared. It wasn't long after that when she heard Pan call out to her.

When Everly opened her eyes, she found the Pixie Dust brightly glowing in its vile. A small smile soon appeared on her lips as she pulled out the cork and sprinkled the powder on the snow globe. Not even a second after that passed when the glass seemed to disappear before a whirlwind of snow filled the room. The Thorne woman couldn't help but close her eyes when a blast of cold wind hit her. When the cold finally faded away, Everly opened her eyes to find her family standing in front of her.

Happiness flooded her veins as she raced toward them. Everly made sure to kiss each of her kids' heads before placing a gentle one on Felix's lips. She then pulled Sam, Katherine, and Austin into a tight hug and never wanted to let go. As soon as their moment ended, the Thorne woman found herself turning back to Pan and saying two words that shocked her to the core. "Thank you."

A small smile appeared on the Lost Boy's lips before he quickly shook it off and replaced it with a smirk. "It's no big deal. I was never gonna use that Pixie Dust anyway."

The sound of a painful groan soon cut through the air, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the source of the sound. Everly was surprised to find Hook clutching his chest, but that soon transformed into realization when she saw Alice staring at him with sadness in her eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Without you we'd all be dead," the pirate captain told his daughter, who was seeking comfort from Robin.

"Hey, where's my mom? Please tell me she's with you," Henry said as his eyes moved between the three women standing in front of them.

Zelena just stared at her nephew until her attention moved to her daughter. It wasn't long after that when the Hood girl took a step forward and handed a scroll to Henry. "We found this nailed to a tree right when we got here."

The Mills man hesitated for a moment before he carefully unrolled the paper. What everyone saw next made all the hope fade from the room. Plastered onto the paper was Regina, except it wasn't the Regina they knew now. Instead, it was her former self. The Evil Queen. Silence surrounded them for what felt like an eternity before Henry began reading the scroll's announcement. "'Come see King Henry serve justice to the Evil Queen at dawn?'"

"Looks like we've got another rescue to mount," Ella declared after Lucy took the poster from her father to read it for herself.

"And we'd better hurry," Zelena told them before her full attention moved back to Henry, "seems your alter ego has got a twisted take on happy endings."

"Yeah, and while you find his alter ego, I'm gonna search the castle to find something to deal with mine," Rumplestiltskin announced before walking out the door, leaving his allies to deal with rescuing Regina.

────── ★★★ ──────

Everly stood in the middle of an empty clearing with Felix, Sam, Katherine, Austin, and Pan. Their job in Regina's rescue mission seemed next to impossible. The Thorne woman never heard of anyone opening a portal without a bean or magical object before. She could only think of mermaids and Pan's Shadow crossing through realms on their own. But the son of Hades was certain that they would be able to accomplish their task. It would take a lot of their magic to do so, but they would be able to do it. And they desperately needed this part of their plan to work. Because without more allies, they wouldn't stand a chance in this war.

While Felix and Katherine stood to the side to support their family, Everly, Sam, Austin, and Pan positioned themselves in a circle. Uncertainty flowed throughout the Thorne woman's veins as she took Sam and Austin's hands into her own. Her eyes stayed glued to the men beside her as they finished the circle. The Nova man looked between the siblings in front of them for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. "You have to stay focused the whole time. You can't doubt your magic. If you do, this won't work. We need to trust each other and let our magic flow through each other. Don't deny the other person's magic."

"What happens if we do?" Sam questioned with a hint of worry in his voice, not liking how serious Austin was being.

"It's gonna hurt. A lot," the Nova man responded without even attempting to make it sound any better.

"Let's just get this over with," Everly sighed while trying to ignore the concerned looks on Felix and Katherine's faces.

Not even a second after that passed when each of them began to summon their magic. The Thorne woman was taken aback when she felt the warmth of Austin's magic flow through her. It wasn't long after that when it mixed with the calmness of Sam's magic. They seemed to welcome each other with open arms before pulling Pan's magic into the mix. It wasn't long before Everly's magic was added, completing the combination. The Purest Heart would be the first to admit it was a strange sensation, but it wasn't unpleasant. The magic continued to build up inside her until Everly found herself closing her eyes and squeezing Sam and Austin's hands. They soon returned her gesture as the three of them continued to call upon their magic.

What felt like an eternity passed when Everly heard a strange sound followed by Felix and Katherine calling out to someone. It wasn't long after that when she felt hands on her shoulders, causing a wave of confusion to wash over her. The Thorne woman soon opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to find Snow and David staring back at her. That was all it took for the three of them to extinguish their magic, knowing that Austin's spell worked. Evelry didn't hesitate to jump into her parents' arms and give them a very long overdue hug.

The three of them stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before they ended their reunion. David just stared at his daughter for another moment then opened his mouth to speak. "What do you need from us?"

"Well, we better go help Henry before he gets himself killed," Everly responded, knowing her nephew wasn't the best person to sneak into the dungeon, "I'll fill you in more after that."

Everyone quickly agreed before they followed Everly into the forest. No one said a word as they jumped over fallen logs and avoided the trees. It wasn't long before they found themselves standing in front of the door that would take them to the dungeon. Alice instantly greeted them with a smile while David and Snow took the fallen guards' uniforms. Once they were changed, they made their way through the door, leaving everyone else outside to wait for their return.

What felt like an eternity passed when David and Snow emerged from the dungeon. And following closely behind them were Henry and Regina.

────── ★★★ ──────

After getting word to their allies that their plan had worked, they met at Snow and David's castle. Everly and Felix quickly checked in on Fletcher, Dawn, and Lucy, who were staying in one of the most secure rooms in the castle. Once she knew they were safe, the two of them went to meet with the rest of their allies. The couple didn't hesitate to sit down at the round table with the heroes, ready to plan for their next move. A wave of pride washed over Everly as she looked over at Roland, Cassie, Marci, Will, Jasper, and Lucas. They were all so young but still willing to do what it took to save the realm. The Thorne woman knew they would grow to be great heroes.

"When I look around this table, I see old friends and a lot of concerned faces," David said after looking around at everyone sitting at the table, "worry not. Snow and I led a war room like this once before and we prevailed. Yes, a lot has changed since then. Enemies have become friends. A new generation has joined the fight. And a new friend, who feels like an old friend, has found his way to us."

"But what hasn't changed is, we are on the side of right. We know how dangerous Rumplestiltskin has been in the past, and this version is evil beyond anything we've ever seen," Snow continued before Everly caught the hint of worry flash across her mother's features, "when we went to rescue Regina, we found a room full of new storybooks."

"And let's just say for each and every one of us, he's crafted a terrible fate," the Nolan man concluded after quickly glancing over at his daughter, something that Everly didn't miss, "one that's designed to pierce our hearts and break our spirits."

It wasn't long after that when David gestured to the two guards standing in the corner of the room. That was all it took for them to bring over the cart of books sitting between them. Everly's eyes scanned over the names on the bindings, getting chills when even their children were included in the mix. But what really surprised the Thorne woman was the lack of a book. Her book. Not even a second after that passed when Everly realized why hers wasn't there. It was simply because dark magic didn't affect her, but that was a prison enough for her. Because if everyone else was taken into their books, Everly would be left alone in a realm that wasn't her own.

The Purest Heart forced her feelings aside as she looked over Felix's shoulder to read his book. A thousand different emotions flowed through her as her eyes scanned over the words. Rumplestiltskin had crafted a story that was the Thorne man's worst nightmare. He was trapped on Neverland and being chased by dangerous creatures. But this time, he was alone with no one to help him survive.

"Well, this is disturbing," Zelena announced after reading the last page of her story.

"Everyone's alone," Henry muttered under his breath, "separate books, separate realms."

"The stories are complete, but Rumple hasn't been able to make them real yet," David told them while looking around at everyone's concerned faces.

Everly kept her eyes glued to the last picture of Felix's story for a moment longer before looking over at the rest of her family. Each of them had the same looks on their faces. They were terrified. Even Pan looked scared out of his mind, which was something the Thorne woman rarely saw. It wasn't long after that when a thought popped into her head. A long sigh passed over her lips as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the Author's pen. Everly just stared at it for a moment before placing it on the table. That alone was enough to draw everyone's attention toward her before she began speaking. "How is Rumplestiltskin gonna be able to get you into the storybooks without this?"

Everyone just stared at the pen for a moment before looking up at Everly, surprised she was able to get the Author's pen from the Dark One. What felt like an eternity passed before David cleared his throat and responded. "That may be why he hasn't been able to make out stories real yet. We have to prevent him from doing just that."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Hook slammed his book shut and tossed it onto the table. All attention moved to him as he opened his mouth to speak. "There's no time to wait. I'm gonna go find Weaver. I mean...our Rumple. See what he's found out."

"Take Robin, Roland, and Henry with you," Snow told him after closing her own storybook.

"I'll go with them," Alice announced while jumping to her feet and grabbing her things, "I'm getting good at keeping far enough away for safety."

"Felix, Cassie, and I will go too," Everly told them, drawing all attention back to her before she continued speaking, "just in case they need a little more backup."

"Okay, then. Everyone else, scatter throughout the realms. Reach whoever you can and warn them," David said as his eyes scanned over those sitting around him before everyone began getting to their feet, "Snow and I will start with the outer villages."

"They need to be reminded not to lose hope. If Rumple succeeds, he thinks everyone will be lost for good, but I don't believe that," the Nolan woman added with a slightly forced smile on her face, "Charming and I have always been able to find each other, and I refuse to believe that we're the only ones. With love in their hearts, with hope, anyone can do it. They just have to believe that no one would be able to pull them apart forever...that we will succeed. Now go."

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