AN: This is an AU that takes place a few hours after 2X21. The Charmings have gotten their hands on two magic beans from Greg and Tamara after they activated the trigger. Nothing (including flashbacks) from 2X22 ever happened except the trigger being activated. That means that Bae never left Hook's ship and the Lost Boys don't (very creepily) have a picture of Henry.

I hope you all enjoy my first shot at writing FanFiction!

Emma: If asked to stop for a second and recite everything that had happened in the hour that had just passed, she would probably fail. Not for lack of thinking the situation over and over again in her head, but because she was running on pure adrenaline that day instead of her usual coffee or hot chocolate and nothing would be able to calm her down in the foreseeable future. She was running, faster than she had ran in a long time, one of her hands warming in her pocket, the other holding on to that of her son's as she pulled him along the roads of Storybrooke; encouraging him to run just a little bit faster.

"Where are we going?" Henry asked. Emma had a bad habit of not telling anybody her plans until they were needed in a direct way. It was just another one of the side effects of growing up without anybody to tell your plans to.

"The docks. It's too dangerous to make a portal in the middle of town. We don't want a tree to land on us somewhere in between worlds," Emma responded, surprisingly able to spit out a string of something intelligible about fairy tale realms. Even more surprising, though, was the fact that she could talk without being out of breath despite all of the running.

"What about everyone else in the town? Where are they going to go?" her son asked her. He sure was out of breath. His words came out in between taking in great gulps of the frigid Maine air and all she wanted to do besides survive was to let him rest for a moment. She wished that she could carry him so that he didn't have to run, but his days of being carried were long gone and a pang of regret formed in her burning body when remembered that she wan't there for any of them.

Emma looked back and saw that the only people running in the same direction she was were Henry, both of her parents, Regina, Mr. Gold and Belle. "Leroy has a bean. He'll make sure everyone gets through."

I hope, she thought. All she could do now is hope that everything that was not directly in her control was being handled the way she would want it to, even though nothing seemed to be in her control at the moment. Henry would be crushed if everybody in the community he grew up in, everybody that he helped save from their cursed selves, died in the destruction on Storybrooke. His father that he had only met a few weeks ago had just died at the hand of his almost step-mother for crying out loud. He couldn't, wouldn't, lose anybody else if she could do anything about it.

They kept running towards the ocean, the only magic bean they had burning a hole in her coat pocket. No matter how fast they ran the forest line that was consuming Storybrooke kept getting closer and closer to the docks that they were running to.

Certainly the ocean was here before the curse. It's has to be safer than crossing the line at least.

Emma had no idea why she was the one leading everybody to the docks. She had no idea what she was doing for the most part. She hadn't felt like she was in complete control since Henry knocked on her door on her 28th birthday. What she did know that she was doing, though, was following her instincts and not hesitating about anything. She knew that if there was one thing that they did not have, it was time. So she continued to do what she had always done: go with the first logical plan that came across her mind. It had gotten her this far…

The group reached the docks and a pregnant silence hung in the cold, strangely magicless air that the activating of the trigger left in their wake. All they had to do to escape their inevitable death was for Emma to throw the bean, jump and trust that it would take them where they wanted to go. Trusting that the bean would take them to the Enchanted Forest was going to be the hard part. It seems that I have as much of a problem trusting magical items as I do trusting people, Emma thought.

She let go of Henry's hand and picked the bean out of one of the inside pockets of her coat. She looked behind her and her mother gave her one of those looks that she had first seen a few months ago and only rarely since then. It was a look that you gave your child when they are just about to do something that is going to change the course of the rest of their lives. With all of the things swirling around in her mind at that particular moment, Emma realized why she had gotten into so much trouble before Henry dragged her to Storybrooke. All she had needed was that particular look to tell her that she was going to make the right choice no matter what. All she needed to do to be safe with her family was to throw the bean and jump.

Emma rolled the bean around in her gloved hand once and brought her arm back and over her head. Do I have to throw it or toss it? If I drop it will it still create a portal? She was over thinking it like she had been doing everything in her life recently and she knew it. How hard could throwing a bean be? How could she possibly mess this up? She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and decided to throw it. Then she heard someone yelling her name.

"SWAN! Stop! Don't throw it yet!" she heard coming from farther down the pier. She quickly brought her hand down to see Hook running down the docks, long coat catching in the wind.

"What do you want Hook?" Emma droned, throwing her head back. It wasn't even a second later that she realized why he didn't want her to throw the bean just yet. He wanted to be safe and sound in the Enchanted Forest just like the rest of them.

"Funny question to ask when the Queen's diamond just began to regrow a forest in the middle of town and you are holding the only key to safety," Hook responded, a scared but still serious tone mixed in with his usual sarcastic one.

Suddenly, Hook's form was frozen mid-step is a glowing bubble of purple magic. Emma snapped around to see whose hand the bubble was connected to. If given time to place bets, she would have had her life's savings on Gold. What better way to kill your arch nemesis than to force him to be consumed by a forest and then torn away from existence?

To her surprise, Regina was the one making sure that the pirate couldn't restate their dire situation once more.

"He's working for Greg and Tamara. He was the one who brought me to them and gave me the cuff that counteracted my magic," Regina spat, malice in her voice. Gold already had his cane raised and ready to beat Hook to death; Belle was already holding him back.

"Let him speak," Emma snapped, trying to regain control of the conversation before they all, well, all but Henry, were consumed into nothingness by the ever growing forest. The way things were looking at the moment, they were all going to kill each other before the trigger had its chance to.

Regina gave a huff as she changed the spell to only paralyze the lower half of his body and giving Hook the ability to explain his situation. "Thank you, your majesty," he spat, the venom in his words taking the place of the magic that was making the air drier and drier. Emma barely had time to wonder if that last comment was directed to Regina for unparalyzing only half of his body or to her for convincing Regina to let him speak.

"To make a long story short, seeing that we don't have much time, Greg and Tamara are bloody fools that expect me to die for my revenge. And seeing that all of us are about to die without accomplishing the thing that we most want in life, I am offering to put my revenge to the side to save all of us, the Crocodile included." He finished his little speech with a pleased tone in his voice as if they did not already have a way to get out of this situation.

"Ok, two questions. One: What is your grand plan that is going to save us all that is better than the one we already have and two: why should any of us trust you?" David questioned. As far as she knew, David was the only one in the group besides Henry that Hook had not personally pissed off at one point or another. But then again, David was Prince Charming and he may have had to deal with this certain pirate at some point or another before the curse.

"Well, traveling through portals is dangerous with a group of people. Wouldn't want any of your lovely faces to be crushed when falling through," he explained with the sarcastic tone that Emma was used to from him while he winked at her. Oh my gosh, we don't have time for any this she thought. "So I offer you my ship as well as myself to sail it. The Jolly Roger is made out of enchanted wood and has been through a portal or two in her day. It is the only guaranteed way to get your little family home safely." He paused, a smug look on his face because nobody had interrupted him and nobody was objecting his plan so far.

"As to your second question, I don't think any of us want that little boy to live the rest of his life an orphan after having two very protective mothers and the greatest example of true love in all of the realms for grandparents," he explained nodding at Henry.

"Deal," Emma snapped without any second thought. She didn't know why she said it. Probably because he brought Henry's well being into the equation instead of his own, which he could have easily, and predictably, done. She didn't want Henry to grow up in the world she did in the way she did and he knew that. It could have also because she didn't detect a lie had just rolled off of his tongue. She knew that her emotions had gotten in the way recently of her superpower, but even a faulty super power was better than none.

A chorus of complaints followed her decision, none unexpected. Gold calling Hook a devil. Mary-Margret and David saying that he couldn't be trusted. Regina restating her point about him working with Greg and Tamara as well as telling her that he should not be around Henry. Belle bringing up the whole 'he shot me so I crossed over the town line' incident.

"It's fine. We can trust him. About this, at least," Emma said to silence them. "This is the best offer we've got. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to die while we are on our way to a safe place. Well, safer." All of the destruction that she experienced on her last journey to the Enchanted Forest came to mind along with all of the ogres and zombies that they had to face. At least Cora wouldn't be a problem any longer.

"Excellent decision, m'lady. Now if you would let me lead you all to my ship," he spoke while looking solely at Regina. She retracted the magic barrier that was holding him in place and he immediately turned on his heal toward the end of the docks he had first come from.

"Emma, are you sure about this?" Mary-Margret whispered, loud enough for everyone in their little group to hear but soft enough that Hook couldn't.

"Yeah. He's not lying. He really wants to help us," Emma explained in a similar tone as she began walking, bean still in one hand; Henry's hand again in the other.

When nobody objected her decision and began to follow her, she broke out into a jog that was only slightly slower than her earlier run. When they all reached the spot where the Jolly Roger was docked they were held up by Hook blocking their way up the gangplank. There was a smile plastered on his face as if he knew a particularly juicy secret that he had been keeping from the rest of them.

"I forgot to tell you all my one condition for using my ship to go through the portal," he grinned. "I get to throw the bean."

"Let us all get on the ship and I'll give it to you!" Emma nearly screamed from frustration. If she didn't need this pirate to guarantee her family's safety she was sure that she would strangle him. If she had time to strangle him. The tree line was already consuming the few shops along the pier.

He moved away and Emma was the first to run onto the deck. After making sure that everybody she wanted to be on the ship were on, she placed the glowing bean in Hook's outstretched hand. "I'm trying something new here. Don't make me regret it."

"Wouldn't dream of it, love," he breathed. He was a little bit too close to her for comfort but she wasn't going to be the first to move away. She was sure he was thinking the same thing until they both heard Belle's cry of, "We haven't got all day you know!" to snap them out of their trance. Hook stepped back and made his way to the helm. He brought his arm back behind his head and turned to his passengers. "It would be best to hold on to something. Bumpy seas ahead!" He brought down his arm without hesitation. Emma saw the gleam of the bean flying through the air before it found its place in the water. There was a second when nothing happened and she swore that she saw a few scenes from her past flash in her line of vision before the wind suddenly started to pick up as the water began to funnel in their intended path. She made her way to one of the ropes hanging down from a sail near Henry.

When the ship sailed into the swirling green whirlpool that was the portal, Emma's stomach dropped like she was on a roller coaster. The falling was the only thing she remembered from the trip one of her classes had taken in school. But this time, the falling felt good because she was falling closer to being safe with her family, the only thing she had ever truly wanted.

When the ship landed with a splash, Emma first checked to see that everyone was alright. Nobody looked too shaken up. As a matter of fact, Henry was grinning ear to ear like he really had just been on a roller coaster. Or maybe he was just happy that he was going home to the land that he had read so much about in his book. Just thinking about Henry learning to ride a horse or David teaching him how to hold a sword melted her heart. With these thoughts she began to smile too, until she looked out at the sea in front of the ship. Instead of any of the skylines that appeared in Henry's book, an island with a mountain stood tall in front of them. And the air. It contained magic, but not the same magic that she remember from the Enchanted Forest.

"Hook, where are we?" she shouted a litter louder than necessary. A little more worry than anger was in her voice. She didn't want to sound worried. She wanted more than anything to sound strong.

"It appears that we did not end up where I intended," Hook stated, the far away look in his eyes the only indication that he was worried about this change of events.

"Well, where the hell are we then?" Emma screamed, already stomping her way towards Hook. He was not going to mess up her happy ending with her family.

"It appears that we have landed in another land that I know very well," he smiled sadly. She knew that he knew that being in whatever unfamiliar land this was gave him the advantage over them. But she was not going to let him win whatever game he was playing.

"Spit it out. Where the hell did you take us?" she spat nanoseconds before it hit her. Captain Hook. What could possibly be the other land he knew so well if it wasn't…

"Neverland," he stated, grin faltering for a second so short that she didn't know if it happened or not before he added, "We are in for a real adventure."

I hope you all enjoy the editions that I made to the crew of the Jolly Roger! I couldn't stand to break up Rumbelle!

The next chapter is told by Selene, the other princess that we will meet and should be up sometime next week. Thanks for reading!