Emma has to push against the sheer force of magic radiating off of the barn just to stay standing. The bright ray of orange energy erupting into the sky makes it difficult for Emma to look at it too closely without needing to shield her eyes. Killian is close beside her. He stares up at the fiery beacon with horrified eyes, the luminescence making the blues of his irises look like the storming sea at sunset. It's a sight she just catches in the middle of all the chaos around her. If but for a moment, she pauses.
"Whatever's going on in there can't be good," Killian shouts over the roaring wind.
"It's Zelena's time portal. David left a message. Somehow she died and triggered it." And Killian is right, whatever Zelena had planned for this portal isn't some weak spell that they can easily dampen. The portal on the inside of the walls has enough raw energy to make the ground shake, and the walls of the barn rattle where they stand.
Emma takes one last look at the tornado of orange magic bursting from the roof of the barn, then charges toward its wooden entry. A sound comes from Killian's throat, something a bit choked and exasperated. He lunges forward, grabbing a hold of Emma's wrist.
"Wait, we have to get out of here!" He practically begs her, but they both know that if she wants to tear her way into that barn one board of wood at a time, he'll be completely powerless to stop her.
"Not until we find a way to close it," she answers, yanking her hand back.
"Do you have your magic back?"
"No." Admitting it comes as a quick, reflexive response, but hearing her own voice say it tightens her chest. They both know without her magic, whatever this portal has in store for them is probably too large of a battle until they can find a way to fight back properly.
"Then we're not bloody well messing with any of this, let's go!"
Just as Emma's about to consider changing her mind, the barn door slams opens, tearing away at the hinges. As where the magic had been forceful, like an invisible wall of energy pushing against her chest, the open doors release a wave of force that grabs hold of them and pulls them onto the ground with a harsh thud.
She catches the quick peek of the portal, a swirling whirlpool of hot orange in the middle of the ground, before she is rolled onto her stomach and dragged toward its opening. Clawing at anything her fingers can grasp, Emma's fingers reach into nothing but dust, until she latches onto Hook's jacket cuff. The extra weight makes them shoot towards the portal faster, but Killian is fast too. He swings his arm behind him and drives his hook into the ground.
The hook is enough to keep Killian from falling into the portal, but he can feel Emma slipping away, the pull of the magic too strong for her shaky hands.
"Hold on!" he cries. All he has to do is reach down his hand and pull her up before -
But he isn't fast enough. He hears the fabric of his cuff tearing at the seams, and before he can process what's happening, it rips away, sending Emma flying with it.
"Emma!" Killian's bellow is the last thing she hears as her body plummets into the open mouth of Zelena's portal. The inside of the portal is like a tunnel, with walls of fire and energy. Its opening portal becomes further and further away with each lightning fast moment.
And just before it closes behind her, she sees Killian reaching headfirst out to her. Her name on his lips, his eyes filled with a horror that she's never seen on him before.
Just as she's about to call out to him, the portal closes.
/
Killian kneels before the stone tiles where the portal used to be. He can't hear his own breathing coming out in short, shallow gasps over the roaring in his ears. Hand and hook pound on stonework, leaving gashes on the slate and tiny scratches on his hand.
He simply can not believe it. Emma is gone. She'd fallen through the portal to gods know where without any magic. It had happened on his watch, too. If he was faster, wiser maybe, he could have saved her but now she is somewhere probably not even the Dark One can find her.
Covering his face with his hand, Killian gives up. His forehead meets the dirty ground, and like a wave washing over him, he feels the agonizing clutch of failure that he last felt when Milah died.
"Damn it!" he screams, smacking his fist onto the ground.
Killian has learned never to doubt Emma Swan, and he knows that if there's anyone that can save herself from wherever the portal sent her, it's her.
He just needs to trust her.
/
Somewhere in her plummet from the opening of the portal to her destination, Emma blacks out. She can feel it before it hits her, a dizzying feeling that settles behind her eyes and makes her vision blur. In the time she spends freefalling, Emma feels absolutely weightless and free, if not a bit terrified for landing. In her thoughts, she sees her son's smile, the delighted crinkle in the corner of her father's eyelashes, the absolute adoration Hook has in his eyes whenever he looks at her. It lulls her to sleep.
She wakes up when her body makes impact with something gritty and wet. She lands in the sea with a huge splash, the force of it fires her body rolling until she reaches the dry shore. She recognizes the feeling of her surroundings before she even opens her eyes. She had only ever been one place that felt equal parts hot, humid, and eerie.
Neverland.
Propping herself onto an elbow, Emma opens her eyes and finds herself on the beaches of her least favorite vacation destination. The jungles look as though they have not aged a day, the ocean still an enchanting shade of cerulean blue. Her skin is already sticky with a familiar feeling of sweat.
God, she had just managed to escape this place and now she was right back after only a year of having been away. But why? Why would Zelena's time portal send her to a completely different realm? Wasn't the whole purpose of this portal to go back in time?
Maybe she had. With a sharp survey around her, Emma looks for anything out of the ordinary. All she finds is an abandoned rowboat and some ship floating offshore at a close distance.
Wait...ship?
Emma rises from the sand on shaky legs, and practically sprints to the water's edge to get a closer look at the vessel. She has only ever known one group of sailors to have traveled to Neverland. Sure enough, the gold and blue details are a dead giveaway. The Jolly Roger. Her anchor is dropped, and Emma can just make out some crewmen pacing around aboard deck.
The nearby rowboat means that Hook is somewhere on this island, and maybe if she tracks him down, she can find a way off of the island with him.
Before heading blindly into the jungle, though, Emma sifts through the rowboat's supplies, finding a leather satchel with a change of clothes, a small knife, and an extra canteen. She changes from her wet modern clothes and stuffs them in the bag. She's surprised to see that rather than the black leather pants and dark cotton shirt she expected, the change of clothes is actually something that looks more like a uniform. Emma has to knot the edges of the shirt to make it fit and roll the waist of the pants to keep them up, but they're comfortable enough.
With a deep breath, Emma summons every ounce of courage she has left in her tired body, and moves toward the jungle.
People are not the only ones that do not age in Neverland. The layout of the island feels exactly the same as when she left it, from each tree rooted in the ground to the vines swaying in the humid breeze. But the most unsettling detail is still the resounding cries of the Lost Ones that echo off of every surface in the forest, making their wails and moans inescapable. It's enough to make Emma reach into the satchel and grip her small knife.
She sifts through the jungle for what seems like hours, not finding even a trace of human life. She begins to wonder if the portal has moved her back in time at all, and if that means that Pan will be here. She has not seen any trace of him, his Lost Boys, or Killian, and is almost about to give up when she hears a familiar voice.
"Brother, I just think that perhaps we should consider what that boy said without jumping blindly into the king's mission. He seemed to be telling the truth."
It's definitely Killian. He sounds a bit younger somehow, a little less rough around the edges. But if he's talking to his brother, then does that mean that-
"Killian, please do not seriously look me in the eyes and tell me that you're willing to trust a miscreant boy more than the king you've sworn fealty too."
The second voice isn't one Emma recognizes, though she's willing to bet that it belongs to Liam Jones. This, of course, brings mixed feelings. Part of her is relieved that she's finally found Hook after hours of searching in a treacherous jungle, but then again, is it really Hook? The other part of her is absolutely terrified to confront this young Killian Jones, because that would mean admitting that she'd fallen nearly two hundred years in the past.
Their voices grow nearer, and Emma realizes she has two options. She can stay, and introduce herself immediately, or she can take her chances and wait a day or so before making herself known. When the bushes begin to rustle behind her, she looks up, seeing a low branch just within reach. In record time, she's leaping into the air, pulling herself up, then climbing to higher branches. She's just out of sight when the two men come into view.
"Did you hear something?" Liam asks. The men stop to listen. Emma presses herself against the trunk of the tree, holding her breath deep within her chest.
"You must be hearing those damned children again," Killian reasons. Liam doesn't seem convinced, but he simply nods warily and keeps walking.
They're soon out of sight, but Emma is still frozen in the tree. She should probably be following them, because who knows when she'll run into them again. But she also needs a plan. She hardly expects poor, inexperienced Killian to know much about magic, so explaining that she fell back in time probably is not the best approach. From what she already knows about Liam, he'll be even less trusting than Killian. It'll take a good story to convince them to help her.
Instead of following them on foot, Emma realizes that she'll be able to move much more soundlessly by moving tree to tree. She looks a little ridiculous, swinging tree to tree like Tarzan's Jane, but it allows her to keep up the pace, following behind the men as they bicker through the paths of Neverland.
"I hate arguing with you, Liam, but-"
"Well then don't argue with me!" Liam interrupts.
"But, I have a bad feeling about this Dreamshade. Perhaps we should seek out more information before we begin to collect it."
Emma watches as Liam stops, and places a halting hand on Killian's chest. Now that she's a bit closer, she can make out the details of his appearance. The most notable difference is that his hair is significantly longer, pulled back into a ponytail at the bottom of his head. His eyes aren't lined with their usual kohl, and instead of black leather, he wears the same type of white shirt and pants that she does.
She was right in thinking that she wouldn't be dealing with Captain Hook. The Killian below her now is in fact Lieutenant Killian Jones, a distant figure she hardly believed ever once existed. Emma recalls how Killian only became Hook after his brother died from -
Dreamshade poisoning.
Well, god damn it. Emma suddenly realizes exactly where in time she is, and desperately wishes to be anywhere else, anytime else.
She doesn't want to be in Neverland when Liam Jones died. She doesn't want to see Killian completely crumble apart. For a moment, Emma wonders if perhaps she might be able to save Liam. But then, what would that mean for the Killian that she left behind?
Emma follows Killian and Liam until they settle at their camp. Killian releases his hair from its cotton ribbon, dark locks falling around his shoulders. He watches with adoration as Liam skillfully builds them a fire.
"You're quiet," the elder brother comments. "Does that mean you're finished questioning my authority for the day?"
"I would never question your authority, brother." Killian leans onto a fallen log and moves all of his hair to one side. "I simply wish that we had been given more details about this mission."
"We've been given enough. The king told me, his loyal captain, all I needed to know, and now we must put our trust in him for the rest."
Sitting on the tree is becoming more uncomfortable by the second, so Emma shifts onto her stomach, lying on the branch, peering down onto the naval officers. It's sends a sick feeling in her stomach to listen to Liam and Killian dispute over the Dreamshade, especially since hindsight tells her exactly how this story ends.
Thankfully, the sun begins to set, and the sailors decide to stay at camp for the night. Emma runs dozens of possible plans through her head as Killian and his brother go through their nightly routine. She can stay here in this tree and stow herself away on the Jolly when Killian sets sail, but she also can guess the types of things the Royal Navy will do to stowaways, especially royal navy sailors shipping back a sensitive, deadly poison. Hovering above Killian on this uncomfortable tree has helped her decide one thing, she wants to make herself known sooner than later. It'll look too suspicious if she's caught spying on them. Until she can make a sound decision, she simply waits.
The night air settles over the jungle, dew forming on the leafy greenery. Emma herself is feeling the inevitable chill of the breezy evening, and rolls down her sleeves to cover herself.
"I cannot help but feel as if someone is watching us," Killian says, wrapped in a cotton blanket. Liam lays on his own patch of leaves, arms behind his head. He doesn't open his eyes to look at his brother.
"I'm sure someone is. This is a strange, unpredictable island."
Killian scoffs.
"I don't know how that is supposed to help me sleep better."
"After what we've been through over the last day, I can sleep for weeks. Relax, little brother. No harm will come to us here."
Emma wants to laugh. It's obvious Liam really doesn't know who he's dealing with yet here in Neverland. Grimly, she realizes it will be his fatal flaw. She's the only one that knows what will happen, save for Pan - who is most likely very aware of what will occur - and she's the only one that can save Liam. His voice interrupts Emma from spiraling into a thread of stressful thoughts.
"Not everything here is bad, though."
"Now that I have trouble believing." Killian sits up, and puts his hands towards the fire. Emma's never seen him with both hands, and for a second, she almost doesn't notice it.
"I remember years ago, you were very young, I heard some of the men on Silver's ship talking of this island and the beautiful goddess that resides here."
"Goddess? Here in Neverland? Those men spent too much time by the rum barrels."
"Oh, hush now, Killy. Let me tell you a story like old times." Liam joins Killian by the fire.
"I'm nearly twenty-three," Killian protests, though his voice cracks in the middle of the sentence. Emma cannot help but smile. The Killian she knows is all man. Every ounce of him is made of maturity, a thickness formed by years of hardening experiences. She hardly believes this naive sailor is really Killian.
"Yes, a nearly twenty-three year old lieutenant who still cannot sleep in unfamiliar places. Now let me tell you the bloody story." Killian makes no arguments. "It is said that the goddess of this island is actually cursed. Men who have seen her say that she shines as vibrantly as the moon with hair of spun gold. She can make any man's knees turn to sand at the sight of her."
"This sounds like a sailor's lustful daydream."
"When this island was first created, she was the one who arranged the stars in the sky. They call her the Swan Princess, because during the daylight hours, she takes the form of a graceful swan. It is only at night that she can show her human-like shape."
Emma bites her lip, not failing to recognize how much this story sounds like a certain ballet, or how much its protagonist reminds her of herself.
"The princess wishes to leave the island, to be a human forever, but is cursed to live in Neverland for eternity. But because she is a kind, compassionate soul, she has dedicated her existence to helping sailors leave before they too are cursed," Liam continues.
"Why are you telling me this story, Liam?" Killian's eyes catch glints of fiery glow, the same way they did right before Emma and the real Killian were separated. The quick memory of her real life is jolting, and she remembers she has a plan to fulfill. She can't wait around forever, listening to Liam's fairytales, especially since he isn't going to be around for even a day or so more.
"I think that somewhere on this island, the princess is watching us. She will bless us, help us on our mission, and blow the winds so that we can get home safely."
Emma feels her throat choke up. She wishes she could be the Swan Princess for these sailors, but it's them that will need to save her, not the other way around.
"Now go to sleep little brother," Liam says quietly.
"Younger brother," Killian murmurs, covering himself with his blanket and burrowing into his bed of leaves.
"Good night, Killian."
"Good night, Liam."
/
Emma waits until she is sure that both men are asleep, then grips onto a vine and lowers herself down as quietly as she can. Now that the diligent sailors lay sleeping, Emma can find some food and relieve herself without fearing that they'll move. Thanks to her last trip to Neverland, Emma knows exactly what types of berries and nuts she can eat, and which to avoid.
She can still taste the earthy twang of tree nuts as she comes back toward the camp, using a nearby river as her guide. The surface of the stream's water glistens and glows, reflections of stars lighting up its slow current. It appears enchanted somehow. She knows that it will soon lead to a small waterfall, and if she can make it around it, she'll find Killian's camp.
Looking down over the waterfall, Emma notices sprite-like creatures dancing under the river's glowing water, a carefree reverie she did not originally know could exist in such a place as Neverland. With deliberate steps, Emma climbs down the edge of the waterfall, careful not to make much noise.
She's nearly reached the bottom when she hears a twig cracking in the forest behind her. Emma jolts. Her foot steps down onto a slippery rock, and then she's tumbling into the lake with a yelp. For a moment, she swears there is pain in her ankle, and along her legs, but the second her skin touches the water, it's gone.
The lake at the bottom of the waterfall is not as deep as she anticipated, and she easily stands up, trying to get out of the lagoon before Killian or Liam wake up, but it's too late.
"I told you I felt something nearby," she hears Killian say anxiously.
Emma panics. There's no way she'll be able to get out of this pond in time before Killian finds her. And she's got his clothes and satchel on, which she stole. She looks down at herself, wondering if she should grab a breath of air and hide underwater, but she sees something that makes her hesitate.
What the hell? She was wearing Killian's clothes, but the water seems to be slowly transforming the nasty cotton rags into a glimmering chiffon dress. Maybe her fairy godmother was nearby or something, because this hadn't happened when she bathed in Neverland's lakes before.
When she looks up from the dress, she gasps. Killian is standing before her, eyes glued to her, jaw dropped to the ground.
"Bloody hell," he mutters to himself, and Emma realizes he probably saw her sudden transformation too, at least the finishing details.
For a moment, they cannot tear their eyes away from one another. Emma is frozen under his gaze. The way he looks at her is light, the way a sailor peers up at the stars from his quiet deck. Equal parts awed by her beauty and struck by her sudden appearance. He's different, but somehow still the same. The man before her is someone she doesn't know, with his long hair, left hand, and adventurous eyes. But the way he stares at her, it's the same as it has always been.
Emma has never believed in love at first sight, but she wonders if maybe this Killian does right at this moment. As if waking from a stupor, he jolts, then drops to his knee.
"Your Highness! My apologies," he sputters breathlessly. Emma's eyes widen.
"What gives you the idea that I'm royalty?" she answers. How could this man possibly know that she's a princess nearly a hundred years in the future?
"You're the Swan Princess, aren't you? The ruler of this island? My brother just told me the tale, and admittedly I did not believe it at first, but after seeing you, I find it's so far fetched. And you're so..." He takes a deep breath. "Beautiful."
It's probably his own shock talking, but Emma senses no lie in what he has said. As he waits for her to respond, she realizes that this encounter has changed her plans significantly, but if she's lucky, maybe in a good way. Before, she would've had to try to gain Killian's trust as a stranger on this island, but he believes her to be the princess. He'll definitely do anything she asks him to do.
Maybe she should avoid him, turn away now before he can learn her face to deeply. After all, she has no magic to erase his memories with. The future hasn't imploded yet, though, so she nods.
"You're very perceptive," she says back, placing a smile on her lips that she hopes looks like her mother's smile. Regal and graceful. Killian blushes under the compliment and begins to fumble with his hands.
"No one has ever told me that before, highness, but thank you kindly!"
"Brother, who are you babbling...to..." Liam Jones pushes his way through the bushes and stops talking the minute he lays on Emma.
"You must be this dutiful lieutenant's captain and brother." Emma takes a few steps forward, allowing the men to help lift her from the water.
"I didn't tell her that!" Killian whispers harshly to his brother, absolutely shocked.
"Aye ma'am," Liam answers, straightening out his shirt. "Captain Liam Jones of his highness' Royal Navy. And you are?"
"Brother!" Killian scolds through his teeth. "This is the Swan Princess you've told me of."
Liam falls to his knee, bowing his head in respect.
"Apologies, highness." Emma can't help but chuckle.
"At ease, sailor. I didn't mean to wake you both. I simply..." Emma trails off. She never had been very good at this acting thing. What does she mean to do here?
"Do you need some help, princess?" Killian offers, catching hints of her shyness. She wasn't kidding, he is perceptive. "Perhaps my brother and I can assist you."
"I would hate to impose."
"It would be no imposition at all! Perhaps in return you can help my brother and I find what it is we came for." Ah, the dreamshade, Emma remembers. She isn't entirely sure she wants to help them find what they're looking for.
"Why don't we sit and talk? We don't have many more hours of nighttime," Liam suggests.
Emma hesitates. What does it matter that they talk in the nighttime hours? Then she remembers she's supposed to turn into a Swan when the sun rises.
"I would appreciate that greatly," Emma says, just barely sounding convincing.
"Follow me, highness. We've got a fire going. You can dry off."
Emma takes a deep breath, braces herself, and trails behind them. Maybe, just maybe, she'll be able to make it home back to her family. First things first, though.
She needs to get off this damn island.