Author's Note:
This is my first ever Swan Queen fan fiction, and though this story doesn't only include this pairing, it will center on them. It will basically be picking up where season two's finale left off, and instead of landing in Neverland, our Once Upon a Time cast will find themselves in The Walking Dead universe.
Chapter One: Welcome to the New Age
The portal lit up the night sky, ripping through the unfamiliar environment as the swirling vortex spat out the oversized ship. The Jolly Roger hit the ground in the middle of a clearing, creating a loud crack as the wood beneath it snapped when it made contact with land. Mary Margaret stumbled into her husband who protectively wrapped an arm around her as he held onto the side of the ship to brace himself upon impact. Hook and Regina kept a tight hold of the steering wheel.
A few moments after everyone took in their new surroundings, their eyes met up with each other as if to ask what their next move would be. Rumplestiltskin emerged from below deck wearing one of Hook's outfits.
"Oh, that's a great use of our time. A wardrobe change," Hook remarked, breaking the silence above deck.
"There's no magic here," Rumple stated, ignoring Hook's snarky comment as his eyes landed on Regina who immediately tried to create a fireball in her hand. Nothing. A look of frustrated disappointment and a mixture of worry formed on the queen's facial features.
"So…" Mary Margaret chimed in, keeping an arm around David's waist, "are we still in The Land Without Magic?"
"No, dearie, we've definitely crossed over to another land."
"What land?" Regina asked with urgency.
"That I'm not entirely sure of," Rumple answered, lowering his gaze to Emma who was peering up at him with concern in her hazel eyes. "We're going to need to gather weapons. Without magic, we'll need other ways of protecting ourselves. There's no telling what dangers are lurking in those woods," he told the crew, gesturing to the thick trees surrounding the clearing they were in the middle of.
Greg and Tamara pulled a soaked Henry out of the river their own portal opened up to. Tamara got down on her knees and held her ear to Henry face to listen if he was breathing. Just as she thought they lost him, he began to cough, following by the water spewing out of his mouth from his lungs.
"Get him up. We gotta go," Greg ordered his partner in crime before looking around at their surroundings through the darkness.
"Wh-where are we?" Henry asked anxiously as Tamara pulled him to his feet.
The question wasn't answered straight away. A look of confusion formed on Greg's face as he continued to scan the area. "Greg… this doesn't look right," she said, apprehension in her tone.
"You better let me go. My mom's gonna be here soon. Both of them," Henry threatened, narrowing his eyes up at the woman with the tight hold on his collar.
"Greg…" Tamara said again, her trepidation getting more forceful.
"Shut up," Greg snapped before swinging around to look at the two of them. Henry took note of the tense look on his face.
"Do you two even know where you are? Do you even know what you're doing at all?" He questioned them, cocking an eyebrow at the both of them.
With that, there was a beat of silence before the sound of footsteps became audible. Leaves rustled and twigs snapped followed by the sickening sound of the undead moaning in the darkness. Greg turned back around to locate where the noise was coming from, and upon seeing the source, he immediately took off in the opposite direction, "Run!"
Tamara took a hold of Henry's upper arm and began to run. The young boy tried his best to make his feet keep up with hers, but he tripped, taking them both down. Tamara cried out in pain, taking a hold of her ankle as Henry struggled to scurry up to his feet with his hands still tied together in front of him. He was finally able to get a good look at what they were running from. Eyes widening, he watched in pure horror the creatures limping towards them. "Zombies?" Henry asked in shock.
"Greg!" Tamara screamed. Henry peered over his shoulder and looked ahead at one of his kidnappers being tackled to the ground and eaten alive. He closed his eyes tightly and turned to look back at Tamara. "I'm sorry," he murmured before running away, straight into the woods. He hid behind a wide tree trunk and painfully listened to the strangled moans escaping the zombies as they began to rip into his kidnapper. It was in that moment he desperately wished his hands weren't tied together so he should shield his ears and muffle the terrifying screams leaving Tamara's lips as they echoed through the night sky.
"Did you hear that?" Emma asked, whipping her head around to listen closely to the scream echoing through the trees. Everyone on the ship moved with a bit more urgency. Mary Margaret retrieved an arrow from the bundle on her back and readied it in the bow in her hands after climbing from the ship with David following right behind her. He wielded one of Hook's borrowed swords.
"Emma," Hook called out to the blonde savior before passing her his own sword.
"What about you?" She asked.
"I've got this," he recovered a small knife from his pocket, then waved his hook through the air gently, "and my hook." He flashed her one of his flirtatious grins in which she returned with an appreciative smile and a nod before following her parents off of the ship.
"Wait, what about me?" Regina frowned, crossing her arms impatiently over her chest.
"Sorry, my dear," Hook responded with a small smirk, "that's all I've got."
Rumple felt his own smirk appear on his face as he flashed Regina a look before limping his way off of the ship right after Hook. Regina stood there a moment, scanning the deck for something – anything she could use for a weapon. But as the group began to move further toward the edge of the woods, Regina audibly groaned and quickly caught up to them.
There was silence in the air, nothing but the sound of their own feet treading through the tall grass of the clearing. But everyone stopped abruptly in their tracks when they heard what sounded like gurgling. Listening intently, the group searched through the obscurity for any sign of movement, their hands tightening on their weapons. The gurgling turned into moaning. They quickly realized that the sound was coming from every direction and it only grew louder as they came closer. Soon, a large horde of the undead was emerging from the trees from all around them.
"What the fuck?" Emma breathed, her eyes widening in dismay and the stench filling the air almost made her gag.
"What in the hell are those things?" Regina asked, suddenly feeling like she was screwed, being the only one who doesn't have a weapon to protect herself with.
"Zombies?" Emma asked in disbelief. Stranger things have happened, she reminded herself.
A/N: I know this chapter was pretty much strictly down to business, but I promise, the next chapter will get more personal.
