Neverland, Henry and Home.
Chapter One.
The Jolly Rodger, in Neverland Emma thought to herself, looking out across the Ocean to the small island where her son was apparently being held. Really not how I would have thought about spending the next however long.
She was stuck on the pirate ship a million miles from home.
Home. She thought. Where was home. Boston, Storybrooke, The Enchanted Forest. Well the last of those was probably the closest and also probably the most relevant.
She felt a hand on the small of her back. She didn't have to turn around to see who it was; she could feel her, feel her magic. Emma hadn't realised just how much power she had until they combined their magic to save Storybrooke. Her magic was still reacting to her. She was the Evil Queen after all.
For Emma things were a little more complicated than that, Regina had been willing to sacrifice herself to save the town and everyone in it. The curse had been her doing, it was her fault that Emma had grown up in the care system without her parents, hadn't had a childhood, and was severely messed up as a person. But she had changed. Emma knew that the moment Regina explained to her that containing the trigger, the curse failsafe, would kill her. The Evil Queen wouldn't be willing to sacrifice herself for her subjects, but that's what Regina had been willing to do. Not just for Henry either. The more time she spent with her, the easier it was for Emma to forget that Regina was the Evil Queen.
"Not quite what you were expecting?" Regina asked.
"Really not," Emma replied, "I know I should be happy or whatever about apparently being home, but all I can think about is what is happening to Henry… He's there alone… We said we'd never leave him alone Regina, we promised him…"
"We had no choice Emma," Regina said, "we couldn't have stopped it even if we tried. They set us up, they tried to destroy our town, and they took our son. We need to go and get him back."
Emma nodded.
"You're his hero Emma," Regina said softly, "you're everyone's hero…"
"I don't feel much like a hero right now…" Emma replied, sighing.
"You're on a pirate ship, in Neverland," a voice from behind them said, "if you don't feel like a hero now darling, you never will."
Emma turned to face the person who had spoken to them.
"If you hadn't taken the bean and taken off in your precious pirate ship, then we wouldn't be in this situation," she said, feeling her anger bubble up within her, "we could all be in the enchanted forest together."
"I'm a pirate love," Hook said, "running away, stealing things, and thinking and caring about nothing but myself is what I do."
Emma could feel the anger rising within her, her fists clenched; Regina's arm went around her waist.
"Violence is not the answer…" she said quietly.
Something snapped inside her.
"Don't touch me." She said to Regina.
Regina stepped back, hands held up slightly.
Light spread from Emma's hands. Hook lifted up off the deck of his ship.
"Emma," he shouted, "put me down."
"My son is being held by some evil shadow thing…" she said, "that wouldn't have happened if you had done the right thing."
She lifted him higher. Snow and Charming came running from below decks.
"Emma!" Snow shouted, "what are you doing, put him down."
"He needs to be punished…" Emma said, struggling to keep Hook in the air.
"Yes he does," Snow said, "but this isn't the way to do it."
"Emma," Charming said, "listen to your mother, this isn't the right way to solve this…"
"Regina, can you do something?" Snow asked.
"I could…" Regina said, "but I think she has a point."
"You would," Hook said, "don't forget all that I have done to help you, your majesty."
"Help me?" Regina said, "ever since you arrived in Storybrooke you have been nothing more than an incessant pain in my ass."
Emma let out a laugh. She moved her hands, moving Hook from above the ship to over the side. The light coming from Emma's hands started to falter, her power draining, her strength going the same way. As she collapsed to the deck there was a splash in the Ocean.
"She could have killed him." Snow said, rushing over to Emma.
"No she couldn't," Regina said, "she isn't evil Snow, she's just angry."
"We're the Charming's," Charming said, "we don't get angry."
"Speak for yourself." Snow said, crouching down next to Emma.
Emma started to come round, with a pained look on her face.
"Ouch…" Emma said, arching her back.
"That was impressive." Regina said.
"He landed in the water right?" Emma said.
They all looked to the side of the ship in time to see a very wet, very irritated Hook climb back on the ship.
"There are sharks in that water." He said, slumping down against the side of the ship.
"They wouldn't eat you," Emma said, sitting up, "you'd leave a nasty taste in their mouth."
"Ha bloody ha." Hook said.
"It's starting to get dark…" Charming said.
"Now the real fun begins." Hook said.
"Found him." Mr Gold said, walking out onto the main deck, "He's on the island."
"Tell us something we don't know." Emma said.
"We're not going to be able to go there tonight," Hook said, "it's too dangerous…"
"We have to get him back." Emma replied.
"If you go there at night," Hook said, "all your fears will become reality, everything you've ever feared in your life is on that island."
"My son is on that island." Emma said, "we have to get him back…"
She looked at Regina.
"Don't tell me you're with them on this one?" Emma said to her.
"Knowing what I do about that island," Regina said, "and the darkness on it… I do have to admit they may be right…"
"We'll go over tomorrow morning," Snow said, "we'll get him back Emma."
"Him spending one night on that island is one night too many." Emma said.
As the sky darkened the screams began.
"This is one of those times I wish the fairy tales I read as a kid were true…" Emma said, staring at the island, tears building in her eyes, "Disney really fucked this one up…"