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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

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Emma and Everly didn't say a word to each other as they drove toward their destination. The Jones girl could tell that something was bothering her sister, but she didn't have the energy to be dragged into another problem. All her focus needed to be on saving Katherine and figuring out a way to stop Vincent before the situation gets worse. Once she's finished with her own problems, then Everly will help everyone else sort out theirs.

It wasn't long before the truck pulled to a stop, causing Everly to jump out of the truck and look around at her surroundings. She was surprised to find a bridge in front of them instead of a cabin but quickly realized that David made a smart call. They would've easily been spotted if they drove up to the cabin in the truck.

"Gold's cabin's up ahead. We go on foot from here," the Swan woman announced as she and her sister began walking toward the bridge with their parents right behind them.

"Anything from Hook? You think he's managed to turn Ursula yet?" Mary Margaret asked, earning a confused look from Everly while Emma let out a long sigh.

"If she hasn't turned him," David muttered under his breath, causing the Jones girl to send him an annoyed look, "well, he kinda went to a dark place this morning."

"Do you blame him?" Emma retaliated, drawing everyone's attention back to her before she continued speaking, "if Gold did to me what he did to Hook, I'd wanna shove that dagger through his heart, too."

Mary Margaret just stared at the Savior with a concerned look in her eyes until finding the courage to respond. "Emma, that's not you."

"It's also not Killian," Everly declared as she turned around to face her parents, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, "Emma's just saying she understands where he's coming from. And I do, too."

Silence surrounded the family as they stared at each other with mixed emotions on their faces. That continued for what felt like an eternity before Emma opened her mouth to speak. "Come on. Gold might not hurt a kid. But August? Who knows what he'll do to him."

As soon as the Swan woman finished speaking, she turned around and resumed her journey to Gold's cabin. Everly hesitated for a moment as she watched her parents share a worried look. Despite wanting to question the two of them, the Jones girl followed Emma. It was more important to her to get this over with so she had a chance at saving Katherine. For once, the family drama would have to wait.

It wasn't long before they finally made it to Gold's cabin, causing a wave of joy to wash over Everly. The Jones girl stood behind Emma as she kicked the door open and walked inside with her sister right behind her. The first thing that caught Everly's attention was August tied to a chair before she spotted Katherine passed out in the corner. The Purest Heart didn't waste a second as she rushed toward her redheaded friend while Emma faced Cruella De Vil.

"So, the Savior and the Purest Heart found us, did they?" Cruella hissed before aiming her pistol at Emma, "now leave."

The next thing anyone knew, Mary Margaret came out from the other room and hit the back of Cruella's head with a frying pan. Everly watched in shock as the De Vil woman fell to the floor unconscious. Everyone just stared at the dog whisperer for a moment before their attention moved to the raven-haired woman. "The first thing you learn as a bandit, back door's usually unlocked."

Everly didn't hesitate to turn her attention back to Katherine before trying to snap her out of whatever trance they placed on her. What felt like an eternity passed before her eyes snapped open, only for the Jones girl to find her friend gazing back at her with an emotionless look on her face. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before Katherine opened her mouth to speak. "Meet me at the warehouse at eight to get Katherine's heart back. Bring your little puppy with you."

Shock coursed through Everly's veins as she kept her attention glued to Katherine. It wasn't long after that when tears began to fill with tears before she melted into the Purest Heart's arms. "I don't want to die."

"You won't. I promise," the Jones girl stated, causing Katherine to look up at her before the latter sent her a small nod.

After watching the Scott girl try to calm herself down, Everly walked over to David before pulling him to the side. The Nolan man just stared at his daughter with confusion in his eyes before the Purest Heart began speaking. "Someone took Katherine's heart. He wants me and Sam to meet him at the warehouse at eight. I need to go."

David just studied Everly for a moment as he took in her words before letting out a long sigh. "Just be careful. I'll make sure Katherine gets back."

After sending him a grateful smile, the Jones girl turned toward the door, only to find Ursula blocking the exit. "No one is going anywhere."

Everly watched as Emma's entire body tensed as she got to her feet. Time seemed to slow as the Savior turned to face the sea witch with a concerned look on her face. "Where's Hook? What did you do to him?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, your boyfriend is shark bait," Ursula responded as she walked further into the cabin to stand in front of the Swan woman. The next thing anyone knew, the sea witch wrapped one of her tentacles around Mary Margaret's throat before pulling the princess closer to her. Emma instantly moved to summon her magic, only for Ursula to tighten her grip on the Blanchard woman. "Drop those hands or else your mother here's going to need gills to breathe."

Everly continued to watch the scene unfold before she glanced down at the clock on the wall, only for her blood to run cold. Twenty minutes had already passed and she still needed to get Sam and explain everything. She didn't have a second to waste. Everly let out a long breath as she slowly moved her hand up to teleport back to Granny's, not wanting to be noticed by the sea witch. However, just as she was about to summon her magic, something wrapped around her waist, making her arms unmovable before she was lifted into the air.

A wave of panic washed over Everly as she looked up at Ursula, only to find her smirking back at the blonde girl. "My son told me all about you and your relationship with Hook. You aren't going anywhere."

"Ursula, you don't need to do this," Emma said as she brought her arms back down to her sides.

"That's where you're wrong," Ursula responded before glancing over at August, who was standing next to the Savior with a worried look on his face, "I can't let him leave with you. Not when the Author is the only one who can give me what I want."

"That's not true," a new voice announced, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the door to find Killian walking into the cabin.

"How are you still breathing?" Ursula questioned while both Emma and Everly let out relieved sighs.

"I'm good at surviving. Or you're bad at killing. Either way, you don't need the Author to get what you want," the pirate captain answered as he stopped directly in front of the sea witch, "I know why you couldn't release your voice from that shell. Only the one who enchanted it can do that."

"Wait. You don't mean..." Ursula trailed off after receiving a small nod from Killian in response. It wasn't long after that when approaching footsteps cut through the air, causing everyone to turn toward the door to find a man dressed in armor walking into the cabin. "Father?"

"Ursula," the man said before the sea witch removed her tentacles from Mary Margaret's throat and Everly's waist, causing the latter to fall into Killian's arms. After the pirate captain set his daughter down, everyone turned their attention back to the situation at hand to find Ursula staring at her father with shock in her eyes. "How are you here? In this land?"

"A young mermaid found me and brought me through a portal. I need to say something," Posiden told his daughter as his eyes continued to scan over every inch of Ursula's face, "I'm sorry, Ursula. I should have never forced you to use your voice as a weapon. It was just...every time I heard you sing, I heard your mother, and it was too painful. I let that pain fuel my desire for vengeance. But it shouldn't have. It should have reminded me that I still had a piece of her. You. Let me return your voice so I can hear it one last time."

As soon as the King of the Sea finished speaking, Ursula held the shell out to her father, who carefully took it into his hands. Posiden held it flat in his palm in front of him before waving his other hand over it. Not even a second after that passed when a bright green light emitted from it and returned to Ursula as she began to sing.

A large smile instantly appeared on the sea witch's face as her father stared at her with a matching one on his. However, it wasn't long after that when the grin on Posiden's face faded as he began speaking. "Now that you're whole again, I'll leave you in peace."

"Wait," Ursula called out, causing her father to stop in his tracks and look back at his daughter, "my voice is all we have left of Mother. You took it from me once. I don't want to do the same thing to you."

"What are you saying?"

"I've missed you," the sea witch announced before pulling her father in for a hug.

It wasn't long after that when Pierce appeared in the doorway with Sam right behind him. Everly just stared at the raven-haired boy for a moment before he sent her an apologetic smile. After the Jones girl surprised herself by returning the gesture, the Kai boy turned his attention toward his mother and grandfather. "I need to stay to fix my mistakes. When I'm finished, I'll join you."

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The world around Everly seemed to slow as her battle with Pan began. She was surprised that she was able to dodge as many of his attacks as she did, only getting hit twice. But just as their fight began to feel like it was never going to end, the leader of the Lost Boys stopped to take a breath. The Jones girl paused for a moment, shocked by Pan's actions, before she took the opportunity to strike.

After mustering all the energy she had left in her, Everly charged at the Demon King before pinning him against a tree with her sword at his neck. The two of them just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Pan muttered two words that made Everly's blood run cold. "Finish it."

The Jones girl kept her emotions hidden as she placed a bit more pressure on her sword. However, before she could do any real damage, she froze. Her eyes scanned every inch of his face one last time before she slowly backed away and let her sword fall to the ground. "I'm not gonna kill you."

A smirk instantly appeared on Pan's face as he stood up as straight as he could. "Then you lose."

"No, I beat you fair and square. You're just gonna have to accept that," Everly told him, causing the joy to fall from his face. The Jones girl kept her eyes glued to him for a moment longer before turning and limping out of the Lost Boys' camp. No one followed her.

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While Killian walked over to Emma, Everly and Sam rushed over to Katherine. The Scott girl was still sitting in the corner and staring at the floorboards beneath her feet. The Jones girl stood a foot away to let Sam crouch down in front of her. As soon as their eyes met, more tears fell from Katherine's eyes before she took Sam's hands into her own.

Everly just watched the two of them for a moment before a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. It had been a while since she felt all the emotions she was feeling and she hated how it made her feel. She hated longing for someone she couldn't have, and yet all Everly could do was stand there and think about Felix. The Jones girl hadn't admitted it out loud in a very long time but she missed him. After watching her friends for another moment, it became too much for Everly to bear, making her turn around to find Pierce staring back at her.

The two of them just stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the sea prince slowly made his way over to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't know Vincent was gonna go this far."

"I know. But I'm the one you should be apologizing to," was all Everly said in response as a million questions bounced around in her head. But she quickly pushed them away after seeing the sorrow in Pierce's eyes. "Don't worry too much. She forgives pretty easily. Surprisingly, worse has happened."

A small smile appeared on the Kai boy's face before he sent Everly a small nod. "I'll keep her safe. I promise."

After sending Pierce a quick nod in response, the Jones girl turned around to tell Killian where she was going so he wouldn't panic. But a disgusted look instantly appeared on her face when she found him and Emma sharing a kiss. It wasn't long after that when she cleared her throat, ending their moment and drawing their attention toward her. "Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but I just wanted to inform you that Sam and I need to go meet Vincent. He has Katherine's heart and only Sam and I can attend his party."

Killian just stared at her for a moment before letting out a long sigh and rubbing his hands down the sides of his face. Everly watched as he tried to think of a way to get her out of her current situation, only to fail. "Just be careful. And I don't mean your careful. Your careful isn't careful. Neither is Sam's. Be..."

"Your careful?"

"Never be my careful. Just be...careful. And good luck."

────── ★★★ ──────

As soon as Everly made it back to the Safe Haven, she found the Saved Boys staring at her with shocked looks on their faces. They kept their eyes glued to her as the Jones girl limped across the clearing to sit down on a rock. Sam didn't waste a second as he went to grab their make-shift first aid kit while the rest of the boys crowded around Everly.

Before any of them had a chance to speak, the Wilbert boy came rushing toward her to tend to her injuries. A small smile formed on Everly's lips as she watched Sam mutter curses at Pan under his breath. It wasn't long after that when the former Lost Girl let out a long sigh and told her friends about what happened back at the Lost Boys' camp.

Sam paused the second Everly finished speaking before looking up to meet her gaze. "It's a miracle you're still alive."

"Thank you, Samuel. Always one for positives," the blonde girl responded while rolling her eyes at the boy in front of her.

"That's what I'm here for," he announced before placing the final bandage on her arm.

It wasn't long after that when the rest of the boys went back to their training. Everly just watched them for a moment before her attention returned to Sam. "How are you feeling?" 

"Totally fine," the Wilbert boy declared before noticing the hint of worry in his best friend's eyes, "but something's telling me that you're not."

Everly hesitated for a moment while her eyes continued to study Sam. She didn't know how he would react to the news, she didn't really know how to feel about it herself. But he had a right to know about what was happening on Neverland. "Pan said he told Vincent to scare us, not hurt us. He went against Pan's orders and he wasn't at the camp. Vincent's gone rogue."

"What are we going to do?" Sam asked after taking a moment to think over what Everly just told him.

"I don't know," Everly admitted, only to receive a concerned look from the blonde boy in response before the former let out a sigh and continued speaking, "I mean, I have an idea...but you're not gonna like it."

Sam just stared at her for what felt like an eternity before a hint of realization appeared in his eyes. "You're kidding, right?"

The Wilbert boy was greeted by nothing but silence from his best friend, causing him to study every inch of her face. He wanted Everly to be joking, but every sign told him that she was as serious as ever. "Pan will kill us if we go back to his camp. Especially after you called him a cheater."

"I know," Everly told him while trying her best to keep her emotions at bay. She took a moment to think back to the fear she saw in Pan's eyes, something the Jones girl never thought she would see as long as she lived. "But we have a mutual problem."

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