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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐋

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Everly spent hours just sitting at the wishing well and reliving one of the worst days of her life. She would have stayed there even longer but decided she should head back before her family sent out a search party. As she walked through the streets of Storybrooke, Everly kept her head down and eyes glued to the concert at her feet. She wove through various citizens and walked down a few allies before she finally reached her destination.

The Jones girl just stared up at the glowing sign of Granny's diner for what felt like an eternity then she let out a sigh and walked in. No one said a word as she walked towards the booth where her family was before she sat down next to Sam. Everyone's eyes seemed to study her for a long moment before they went back to listening to Henry read his grandparents' story to the baby.

"Really?" Emma asked with a small smile on her face after she and Killian walked up to join them, "I can't hear the kid's name but I have to listen to this story again?"

"Well, my son should know where he comes from," David responded as a smirk slowly formed on his face before he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Are you sure you want the first thing he knows to be that his parents fell in love during an armed robbery?" Everly questioned while Sam and Katherine chuckled, causing Mary Margaret to look over at the blonde girl with slightly widened eyes.

"I wasn't armed."

"Except with a rock," Ruby retaliated, earning a playful glare from the princess.

"I still have the scar," David added while scrunching his eyebrows together.

"Which healed," Mary Margaret defended herself before looking down and whispering to her baby, "but that's just how we met. It's not how we fell in love."

"Yeah, that was a bit more complicated," David sighed as he looked around at everyone that surrounded him before he leaned forward to turn the page of Henry's storybook to continue their story.

A small smile appeared on Everly's face as she listened to her biological parents go back and forth about how they saved each other's lives. David then went on about how when he placed the ring on her finger he knew Mary Margaret was the one. Just as the charming prince was wrapping up his story, Everly noticed Sam whisper something to Katherine. A giant grin appeared on Katherine's face as soon as she finished taking in his words before they both got to their feet.

"Where are you two off to?" the Jones girl asked after watching them interlock their fingers.

"A walk," Katherine answered before the smile on her face grew even wider.

"Don't have too much fun."

"No promises," Sam said before the three of them laughed.

The Purest Heart watched her two best friends as they walked through the diner and out the front door. As soon as they were out of sight, Everly turned her attention back to the conversation happening in front of her, only for her to instantly regret it as soon as she saw the look on Killian's face.

"Like mother, like daughter," the pirate captain scoffed before taking a long sip of his drink while Emma stared at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"What is he talking about?" Henry asked his mother after his smile slightly faltered.

Emma and Killian instantly looked over at the Mills boy before the Savior let out a long sigh. Everly exchanged a look with Mary Margaret across the table then her eyes traveled up to David, who was staring at the Swan woman with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Uh, should we read more stories?" the Nolan man suggested before leaning over to turn the page of Henry's storybook yet again.

"Actually, I'd like to hear what the pirate is talking about," Regina stated after she and Robin walked up to join the group.

"It's nothing," Emma sighed while looking away from the Evil Queen to stare at her son once again.

"Are you planning on going back to New York?" the Mills woman questioned as the tension in the room became so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Why would we go back to New York?" Henry asked with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"You're not," Regina told her son before her attention turned back to the Savior, "right, Miss Swan?"

"Actually, it's complicated."

"Why would we leave?" the Truest Believer questioned his mother, drawing all eyes back to him, "this is our home."

"Henry, this isn't the time or place-"

"I think it is," the Evil Queen cut the blonde woman off as she stared at the latter with a hint of disdain in her eyes.

"No, it's not," Emma snapped while she stared back at the brunette woman before turning and walking out the door.

"I'll talk to her," Killian stated after he placed his drink down on the table.

"I'll go with him," Everly told them due to her not really wanting to listen to the stories anymore.

After the Jones girl got to her feet, the two pirates began to head towards the door to follow Emma. Just as they were about to leave, they stopped in their tracks and turned back towards the group when Henry called out to them.

"Take this," the Mills boy told them before handing them his storybook, "it might help her remember where she belongs."

Killian clutched the book in his hand while Everly sent her nephew a small nod before they left the diner. They tried to follow Emma through the streets of Storybrooke but soon lost her after she ducked into an alley. After about a half-hour of searching every place they thought Emma could be passed, Everly and Killian finally found her sitting on a bench near the pond. The Jones girl just watched as her sister sat in silence and stared out at the scene that surround her. The two pirates exchanged a look before they rushed toward where the Savior was sitting.

"You're making a big mistake," Killian said as the two of them approached the woman then they stopped a few feet away from her.

"I don't want to talk to you about this," she told him before her eyes landed on her sister, "why didn't you back me up?"

"I'm not going to back you up on something I don't agree with."

"If you don't wanna listen to us, listen to your son," the raven-haired man told her before a confused expression overtook Emma's features. A small sigh passed over Killian's lips as he reached into his satchel and pulled out Henry's storybook. "He thought this would remind you of what you're leaving behind. Your family."

"Henry is my family, and I'm taking him where he is safe."

"No, Swan, the safety-first nonsense is just that."

"You defeated the Wicked Witch," Everly said before hesitating for a moment as she thought about her next words, "you defeated Pan. You broke the curse. But you keep running. What are you looking for?"

"Home," Emma told them with a hint of defeat in her voice that made the Jones girl's mouth snap shut.

"And that's in New York?" Killian retaliated before slowly shaking his head, "that wasn't."

"The last year was," the Savior said as she looked over at her sister before her eyes settled back on the pirate captain, "now we have our memories back. Now we can make it real."

"Why can't you do that here with your entire family?"

"Because of this!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Henry's storybook from Killian's grasp and opened it to the page that depicted the Dark Curse, "I don't see my family here. I see fairytales, I see stories of princes and princesses. That's not me. I was never a part of any of this."

"Then what are you a part of, Swan?" Killian asked as he sat down on the bench next to Emma.

Everly just watched the way they looked at each other for a moment before she took that as her cue to leave. While Emma started answering the pirate captain's question, Everly walked over to the edge of the pond and sat down on the edge. Her eyes followed a small school of fish swimming around hear her feet, knowing they'd call out to her if they needed her.

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"Swan, wait! Wait" Everly was snapped out of her daze by the sound of Killian's voice before she turned around to see them sprinting in the direction of bright orange light in the sky. Her eyes stayed glued to the seam for a long moment before she rushed to follow them.

The three of them sprinted through the forest that surrounded Storybrooke until they reached the barn where they defeated Zelena. Everly stood there in shock at the sight of the light burning through the old roof and miles into the sky. It wasn't until Killian spoke that she turned her attention away from the situation at hand and towards her sister and the pirate.

"Whatever's going on in there can't be good," Killian stated without taking his eyes off the portal.

"It's Zelena's time portal. David left a message," Emma told them while reading over the test her father sent, "somehow, she died and triggered it."

"Well, that makes perfect sense," Everly scoffed before the three of them headed toward the building.

The barn doors continued to shake as Emma ran to open the door, only for Killian to grab Emma's arm and yank her back before she could get too close.

"We have to get out of here!" the pirate captain declared while sticking his arm out to keep his daughter behind him.

"Not until we find a way to close it," Emma told him as she gestured towards the rundown barn doors.

"Have you got your magic back?" Killian questioned her, only to receive nothing but silence then he turned his attention towards Everly, "have you figured out how to do more than teleport?"

"I can heal people now," the Purest Heart replied as she thought back to when she healed Sam's let before letting out a long sigh, "but I'm not very good at it yet."

"Then we're not bloody well messing with any of this! Let's go!"

The doors burst open before they could move an inch, sending the trio to the ground before they were pulled toward the portal. Just as they were about to go through, Killian dug his hook into the dirt. Everly managed to wrap her arms around his neck before she looked down to see Emma holding onto his sleeve.

"Hold on!" Killian shouted as the Savior struggled to keep her grip.

"I can't!" she yelled followed by the sound of Killian's sleeve ripping before they watched Emma fall into the portal.

"Emma!" Everly shouted as soon as her sister vanished into the light.

The Purest Heart's eyes stayed glued to the portal as a wave of panic washed over her before she heard Killian let out a sigh. When she looked up at the pirate captain, she saw him staring at the beam with annoyance in his eyes. "One of these days, I'm gonna stop chasing this woman."

"Killian!" Everly yelled after watching him remove his hook from the ground, causing them to fall into the time portal after Emma.

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"It's all your fault. It should have been you. It's all your fault."

The familiar voice made Everly's eyes flash open to find herself tied to a tree. Another wave of panic washed over her as she looked around for any source of life, only to be greeted by nothing but trees.

"This has to be a dream," she muttered to herself as her eyes continued to scan over her surroundings, "this isn't real."

As soon as those last three words left her mouth, Felix appeared out of nowhere with a crossbow in his hands.

"This is very real, Sunshine. Ready for target practice?"

Before any words could come out of her mouth, the Jones girl felt something appear on her head. Her eyes stayed glued to the Thorne boy as the terror within her doubled when she finally figured out what it was...an apple.

"Shoot, Felix," Pan told his right-hand boy with his signature smirk plastered onto his face after he appeared from behind a cluster of trees, "and don't be afraid miss."

"Felix," Everly whispered as the boy in question stood a few yards away from her, "please."

"It's your fault I'm gone...it should've been you."

Before another thought could go through Everly's head, Felix shot the arrow. The three of them watched as the projectile sailed through the air and lodged itself into the tree after grazing the Jones girl's arm.

Pain shot through every inch of the former Lost Girl's body before she slowly glanced down at her arm to see black making its way into her veins. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked back up to find Felix standing inches away from her face.

"See you soon" he whispers in her ear before a worried look appeared on his face and started to shake her, "wake up, Evie! Wake up!"

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Everly's eyes flashed open and she took in a huge gulp of air. Once she was able to calm herself down, she saw Emma and Killian standing over her with worried looks on their faces. The panic she was once feeling transformed into confusion as she stared at him for a moment before deciding to break the silence. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You hit your head...nothing new," Killian told her, earning an eye roll from the blonde girl before he stuck his hand out to help her to her feet.

"Where are we?" Everly questioned as she looked around at the tall trees that surrounded them then her eyes landed back on the pirate captain.

"The better question is when."

The confusion on the Jones girl's face didn't fade as she stared at Killian before she looked over at her sister, only to find Emma staring at a poster nailed to a tree. Everly's eyebrows scrunched together as she stared at the Savior then she followed her gaze to the poster. After she studied the poster for a moment, all her previous emotions faded as realization hit her like a truck.

"I have a pretty good idea," Emma announced then she pulled Henry's storybook from Killian's bag.

"I suppose we're lucky we wound up in this time. We could've appeared in the middle of the Ogre Wars. Or smack dab in the belly of a whale," Killian said, earning another annoyed look from the Purest Heart before the two pirates looked over at the Savior.

"Why're you reading that now?" Everly asked as Emma flipped through its pages.

"Because when we were falling through, I was thinking about Henry and the story we were all reading at Granny's," Emma explained while getting to her feet as she read over the words in the book.

"You think that time portals work like any other sort? They take you back to where you're thinking of?" Killian questioned with a hint of disbelief in his eyes as he stared at the Swan woman.

"They share something else," Everly sighed while the pirate captain picked his bag up from the forest floor and slung it over his shoulders before the girl continued speaking, "they don't stay open for the return trip."

"We're trapped in the past," Emma stated before the Jones girl saw the look her sister got on her face when she was about to yell at Killian.

A small sigh passed over Everly's lips after she walked away from them a bit to tune out their conversation because she wasn't in the mood to deal with another one of their arguments.

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"Tell me about yourself," Felix said after Pan took all of the Lost Boys out for a hunting game and left his right-hand boy with the Lost Girl back at camp.

"Why?" Everly asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice as she stared at the Thorne boy.

"I'd like to get to know the girl I'm going to be babysitting often."

"You probably know everything about me. You're Pan's right-hand man after all."

"That's true."

"Then tell me about you."

"Well, I grew up in a noble family and had a pretty good life. That was until my father left us when I was eight and my mother was never the same," he stated before the Jones girl watched his eyes become distant as if he was reliving every moment from his past, "she blamed my brother and me for him leaving. On our seventeenth birthday, Pan's shadow came to take us to Neverland."

"And your brother?" the Jones girl asked, making Felix snap out of his daze then his eyes traveled to the fire burning a few feet in front of them.

"He didn't survive initiation."

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Everly was pulled out of her train of thought after someone wrapped their hand around their arm. A yelp escaped her when they yanked her back behind a tree. Once she regained her bearings, she looked up to find Killian standing behind her before a wave of annoyance washed over her.

"What the heck, Killian?"

"Quiet, Evie."

The irritation within her doubled before she opened her mouth to respond, only for it to snap shut when she heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance. All her previous emotions faded as she looked around the tree they were hiding behind to see a jet-black carriage heading toward a small village. The guards that arrived at their destination first forced the villagers into a line outside of their cottages as the carriage got closer and closer. As soon as it pulled to a stop, the door swung open to reveal the Evil Queen.

"Listen to me very carefully," the brunette woman said as she slowly approached the terrified crowd, "whatever squalor and despair your pathetic little lives have been able to tolerate until this point, is nothing compared to the pain and misery I can inflict if I leave here unhappy."

"That's Regina," Emma whispered with disbelief in her voice without taking her eyes off the woman in red.

"Not Regina, love. The Evil Queen," Killian responded before letting out a small sigh.

"Please, your Majesty," a man begged the powerful woman as he slowly approached her with a wooden boy at his side, "we are a peaceful village. What do you want from us?"

"Justice," the Queen responded with disdain in her eyes before she turned to address the crowd once again, "if I find out anyone in this village has helped the bandit Snow White, they will suffer dearly. Here's what helping Snow White looks like."

As soon as she finished speaking, the brunette woman gestured to her guards, causing them to bring forward a woman and take a sack off her head. "Help me! She's going to kill me!"

"Who wants to be next?"

The sound of leaves rustling caused Everly to turn her head towards her sister to find her starting to stand up. Before she could get to her full height, Killian pulled Emma back down then the latter sent him a slightly annoyed look.

"What are you doing?" Killian questioned after Everly turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

"Helping that woman," Emma explained with a hint of panic in her voice, "she's just an innocent person."

"No, Swan. When Belle figured out that Zelena wanted to change the past, she warned us it was dangerous," Killian told her before following the Purest Heart's lead and looking back towards the village, "messing with events could do untold damage to all of us."

"So I'm just supposed to let her rot or die?"

"Whatever her fate, we can't interfere."

"At least not if we want a chance of getting back to our world," Everly added while watching the guards drag the woman back to the carriage, "no matter the cost."

"We need to find Rumplestiltskin. The sooner we get out of here, the better," Emma stated before attempting to get to her feet, just for Killian to pull her back down once again.

"I agree," he told her while ignoring the annoyed look he was receiving from the blonde woman, "but there's one thing we need to do first."

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