"What do you even need them for?"
"I told you, Lucy, I have to find out if it's true – if my sister really did leave of her own volition," Gideon says in a quiet hiss, glaring lightly. Lucy glares right back at him, crossing her arms, the beans tucked tightly in her hand.
"Cody left a letter, I know she did, I read it," Lucy says, before shaking her head. "She wouldn't believe you, if you said you were from the future. Making time beans weren't even an idea back then-"
Gideon reaches for her sharply, grasping her arm and shaking her. Lucy unfolds her arms only slightly because of Gideon's reaction hauling back her spare arm to punch him in the face. To be perfectly honest, it isn't her best punch – but to be perfectly fair, she doesn't usually get in fist-fights.
Gideon grunts, leaning back and up, her small height versus his tall giving Lucy an advantage as she twists out of his grip, rushing to get away. Unfortunately, Gideon reacts quickly, bounding after her. Lucy gets to the door of her grandfather's shop before he grabs her again, jolting her and holding her in place.
"Get off, leave me alone!" Lucy shouts. "I should have never stolen them for you, you dick, let go of me-"
"Not until you give me the beans!" Gideon grunts again as she kicks him, hands and elbows flying back. In reaction to her sudden flurry, Gideon flings her back, to the side and Lucy can't balance in her heels, tottering and crashing to the ground – one of the beans flying out of her hand to hit the shop floor in front of her.
Without even thinking, Lucy wishes she could be with her parents before forcibly cutting the thought off as the bean sinks into a golden-red portal, swearing.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-"
Gideon behind her stumbles back, into a cabinet. "What did you do?"
In front of her the portal grows and abruptly, Lucy panics, scrambling to get away from it, but her foot snags on a cabinet and her hands fall forwards as the floor falls away. She tumbles through the portal, head-first, with not even enough time to call out to Gideon for help.
Lucy has been through a time portal, fortunately and she knows to right herself in preparation for it spitting her out – however, in retrospect, that was probably the least important thing to focus on, as the directionless portal calls on its last command.
I wish I was with my moms.
When Lucy is flung out of the portal, it's to land on a leather-clad body, their heads slamming against each other's. There are a few sounds of surprise from around them as Lucy gets her bearings, finding a rough wood floor and a shoulder, pushing up using them as leverage without regret.
Focusing on the person, Lucy then, of course, regrets using them as leverage.
"Granddad," she blurts out, eyes widening at the sight of Rumplestiltskin's long hair. "Oh my god, how far back am I?" Getting off of him, she goes for his hands, helping him up, inwardly thinking abort, abort when she sees the rattling cane on the ground. Lucy reaches for it to give to him, but when she stands straight again, she finds herself looking at two familiar faces.
"…oh no," Lucy murmurs as she takes in Killian's pirate coat, finding herself wondering how heavy it must be, with all the leather.
"Who the hell are you?" Regina questions at his side, looking her up and down as Lucy does the same, noticing how young she is.
"And how did you get here?" Killian questions, bringing out a sword. "That was suspiciously good aim, sweetheart."
Lucy doesn't know how to answer either of their questions, knowing this situation is a cock-up of epic proportions. However, thankfully, something new captures her attention.
"Why are you wearing eyeliner?" she asks in return, peering at him in disbelief. "This must be seriously early days…"
"Name, now, dearie," Rumplestiltskin snaps. Lucy looks back at him, twisting enough to catch sight of the last three figures in view.
"Holy heck, your hair is so short," she stares at Snow, slightly horrified. A moment later, the confused expression on Snow's face lifts, to be replaced by a worried, wondering one as she lifts a hand to her head, the other locked in David's grasp.
"It's been like that for years," Emma says, gripping the side of the deck – because they're on the Jolly Roger, of course they are. "Who are you and how the hell did you get here?"
"We won't ask again," Rumplestiltskin says in his threatening voice. Lucy swallows, eyes flickering back and forth between each group of people, before she catches sight of a familiar green bean teetering on the edge of the deck.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god-" Lucy lunges for it, snatching it up before it can fall into the sea. Clutching it in one fist and her grandfather's cane in the other, Lucy shuts her eyes.
What the fuck am I going to do?
"Was that a bean?" Snow questions.
"Aye," Rumplestiltskin confirms, before hauling Lucy up by her jacket collar, causing her to yelp. "Speak, welp."
"I'm not a welp," she mumbles, wincing as her hair catches in his hand. "Can you not?"
"Can you tell us your name?" he questions in a faux-sweet voice, smiling placidly.
"I can't," Lucy argues, "I shouldn't be here – and for future reference, it was Gideon's fault and not mine!"
"So it was an accident that you turned up in Neverland mere moments before I was about to depart?" Rumplestiltskin questions.
"…Neverland." Lucy stares at him. "I've heard this story from Henry."
"How do you know Henry?" Emma asks, desperation in her voice. Lucy glances at the blonde, wincing and internally cursing herself.
"I can't tell you that."
"Can't or won't?" Rumplestiltskin asks.
"…both?" Lucy replies, grimacing before trying to wiggle out of his grip – but as per usual, it's tight and unyielding.
"Why did you call me 'Granddad'?" he then asks. Lucy cringes heavily. No, no, no, no, no. Elphie's going to kill me, she's absolutely, unequivocally going to murder me – if she still exists, after this, at least. "I've only got one grandchild and he isn't here, right now."
"I'm not going to be born for a little while, yet," Lucy uncomfortably watches his expressions shift into his I'm working it out face. "I'm from the future and I need to get back, before I change things irreparably."
"With what, that bean? Bean's do realms, not time, dearie," Rumplestiltskin says, but his voice is slightly distant.
"Not yet," Lucy says, before his grip suddenly tightens and he goes stiff. The magic around them shifts, suddenly and because of her closeness, Lucy can feel it run through him. She meets his eyes, able to see a strange, rushing reflection.
"Your name is Emma," he pronounces, once it finishes.
"What?" the actual Emma questions, before Lucy shakes her head, vaguely distressed that her grandfather had just used his Sight to see the future.
"No. No. No-one actually calls me Emma," she clutches the cane tightly, intimately aware of the precious, fragile time bean in her hand. Looking at her clothes, double-checking she has a zipper-pocket in her dress, she puts it inside, extra-careful of potential holes before zipping it up, safe.
"What do they call you then?" Killian questions. "And what the hell do you mean, you're from the future?"
"…Lucy," she admits after a long moment. "My cousin's kinda clever. She made magic beans that let you travel through time in her basement. Uh, I might have taken some for my uncle."
Looking around, Lucy has the feeling they don't quite believe her. Eventually, after a long silence, Rumplestiltskin lets go of her, stepping back – refusing the offered cane as he looks to Emma.
"You deal with this while I go after Pan," he says, before disappearing. Lucy swallows, biting the inside of her mouth before gently putting the cane on the large block in front of the ship wheel.
"I'll just…go, if you don't mind," Lucy waves awkwardly, reaching for her time bean again, taking it out of her pocket. I need a clear space – I can't have them following me, she thinks, going down the stairs and attempting to get past Snow and David.
Attempting is the important part of that sentence.
Without so much as a by-your-leave, David grabs her arm, holding her in place while Snow snatches the bean out of her very fingertips.
"Hey! Give that back!" Lucy kicks David's shin, but he doesn't let go, unlike how Gideon did.
"Not until you tell us the truth," Snow proclaims. "Who are you really? Why would you lie about being from the future?"
"I'm not lying!" Lucy reaches for the bean, but Snow steps away from them, David still holding her back, grip shifting into a more law enforcement-like hold. Arms becoming trapped behind her back, Lucy panics. "I can prove it! I can prove I'm from the future!"
"How?" Snow demands.
"You- you-" Lucy struggles to give her own proof, thinking about Elphie's rules and the space-time continuum. What if she told them about Leo and then he never came into existence? Why would they even believe her?
Slowly, Lucy stops struggling, swallowing painfully, eyes locked on the bean. "I can't. I can't tell you anything. I'm from the future. I haven't even been conceived yet, let alone born. I could rewrite existence, unmake myself."
David snorts and it hurts not to be believed. "Hook, do you have somewhere you put prisoners?"
"Aye," he says and Lucy feels her eyes burning, but refuses to cry as the two men bring her down under the deck to the brig. After locking her inside, Killian smiles charmingly, winking. "Don't worry love, I won't forget about you."
"Ugh," Lucy tries not to feel nauseous at his flirting, looking away from him, arms crossing as she stands in the cage beneath the cabins. When he leaves, David at his tail, she puts her hands over her face, swearing again.
"What the hell am I going to do?"
Regina eyes the girl from afar, wondering if she's uncomfortable as she sits on what looks to be a dirty, sticky bench inside the brig.
Hook had said it would take some time for them to sail around Neverland – a few hours, at least – and dismissed them all to roam his ship, with the exception of his office slash bedroom, at the stern of the ship.
Not wanting to spend any more time with the Charmings or Emma than she already had – and wanting to focus on something other than Henry being missing – Regina decided their resident mystery could occupy her time. In the shadow of the hull, beside the ladder leading up through a trapdoor, the girls back to her, Regina already has several things parsed about her.
The girl comes from a world without magic. Her leather jacket – blue with white accents, somehow strangely familiar in its intensity – is modern, clearly and so is her dress. It's knee-length, black with bright floral print and not quite something Regina could pull off, with how young a wearer it seems made for. Her blue heels, however, Regina recognises.
They're hers, after all.
Obviously, that makes her a thief, as well. She hasn't just bought the same pair, either – they are definitely Regina's. The right shoe even has a dent in the side of it, from the time Regina accidentally slammed it in her closet door.
Lucy, Regina thinks, wondering if it's a pseudonym. As she wonders, Lucy shifts, standing and walking to the other side of her cage, turning and freezing at the sight of Regina.
"…hi," she greets nervously.
"Do you know who I am?" Regina questions smoothly, stepping forwards into the light.
"Of course," Lucy replies immediately, without a hint of hesitation.
"From Storybrooke, I'll assume," she replies.
"Sometimes," Lucy fidgets, crossing her arms over herself protectively. "I was born in the Enchanted Forest, though."
"Oh?" Regina raises her eyebrow.
"Yeah, you snap about it whenever Mom complains a-" Lucy stops mid-sentence, eyes widening. For a moment, Regina's caught off-guard, before thinking, she's an amazing actress. "I shouldn't be talking."
"Indeed. The lack of lies would be appreciated."
Lucy flinches, looking genuinely hurt before she smooths out her face. "That's fine. Talk how you like. I know that you're not the Regina I know and I don't care about what you say."
"Funny," Regina tilts her head. "You're still keeping up your story."
"Because it's true," Lucy says, just as Regina remembers where she's seen that jacket before.
"…my, you are a thief, aren't you," she says, watching the confusion appear on her tanned face, hazel eyes squinting slightly. "The jacket. That's Emma's – and those are my shoes."
Lucy glances down, "You said I could borrow them whenever I liked."
"They're my favourite pair of shoes, so I very much doubt that."
"You get a new favourite," Lucy grumbles.
"Why heels, then? Don't teenagers in the future have hover-shoes?" Regina jokes.
"I'm nineteen, I'm not a teenager," Lucy states calmly, with the tiniest hint of passion – most likely meaning it's an old argument. "And I wear heels because I wear heels. It's been my thing since I was fifteen."
"Mmmm," Regina hums in reply.
They watch each other for a short while. She's pretty, Regina thinks, though the make-up is a little over-done. It suits her.
"So, does Neal have another illegitimate child, then?" she asks, when she remembers the young woman calling Rumplestiltskin her grandfather.
However, Lucy immediately starts laughing, grinning. "Not Neal, no."
Regina raises an eyebrow. "Rumplestiltskin has a child he doesn't know about?" Is Belle pregnant? Will she be? For a moment, she imagines the Dark One and Belle having a child, before catching up with herself. Are you seriously considering she's actually from the future?
"Oh, he's still angry he didn't find out after all the years that passed," Lucy says, shaking her head. "Apparently, there was a cringe-worthy moment when someone posing as her during a crisis tried to make out with him."
"Really?" Regina can't help but chuckle at the description. "What did he do?"
"He's still traumatised and they beat the bad guy," Lucy says, before her expression shifts into one of strange contemplation. "Well, sort of. Is it really beating them if they got converted to the good side?"
Regina instantly stills, before her hackles go up. She doesn't answer her, deciding it was a bad idea to see her at all, turning and leaving. Climbing up, however, she immediately bumps into Emma.
"Oh, hey, sorry," Emma murmurs, glancing at the open trap. "How's the girl?"
"Insane," Regina replies quickly, feeling on edge. Is it really beating them if they got converted to the good side? She thinks of the Charmings and Emma, of this very situation where she's relegated to the backseat on a quest to save her own son and of this- this journey she's gone through, trying to be good for Henry.
"Are you alright?" Emma frowns and Regina must be acting strangely, if the Saviour is noticing and actually saying something.
"No," Regina replies. "I'm worried about Henry and that girl just put me on edge. However, if she really is from the future, we have something to worry about in the form of Rumplestiltskin having a second child that he doesn't know about."
Emma's face says it all – all wide-eyed and a little taken-aback. "Right…"
Regina tilts her head in unsaid agreement that Rumplestiltskin having another child is something to be wary of – the Dark One had her cast the Dark Curse, trying to reunite with Baelfire. He loves his son, Regina thinks, he loves his grandson. Family is important to him.
"Do you think she'd be up to talk?" Emma eventually asks. "I had a question."
"If it's about your jacket, don't bother," Regina replies. "I asked her about my shoes and she said that in the future, I let her borrow them."
"Your shoes?" Emma questions.
"Yes," Regina says flatly. "My shoes. She's wearing them."
"Right…so she's either nicked our stuff or she's from the future. Great. Which one is better?"
Regina purses her lips. "Quite honestly, if this 'Lucy' isn't from this time, then there's less unknown. We just send her back. If she's not…then we're working with someone who has created an elaborate story and has the skill-set to back it up, if nothing else."
"What do you think she wants?" Emma questions.
"I can hear you, you know," said girl replies, calling out to them. "If I don't go home soon on my own, the sooner either my cousin discovers the missing beans or my uncle loses his nerve and goes running to his father."
"Would this father be Rumplestiltskin? Because if so, you've added another child of his to the list," Regina replies, glancing back at the doorway.
"Granddad has four kids in total, Mom."
Regina's eyes widen.
"Woah, what?" Emma questions, before moving past her to go see their prisoner down the ladder, Regina following after a second's hesitation.
In the small brig, Lucy seems to have realised what she said, expression twisted into one of horror.
"Why did you call Regina 'mom'?" Emma interrogates. Lucy takes a step back, standing against the cell bars. "Why did you choose time travel as your story?"
"It's not a story," Lucy says weakly.
"According to you and Gold, your name is Emma, not Lucy – so what," Emma points out, sounding sarcastic, "you're Emma Mills?"
"On paper," Lucy replies weakly. "It's kinda weird."
"I bet it's weird. Why did you think up such weird shit, kid? Who are you really?"
"My name is Lucy," Lucy insists, before Regina's eyes are drawn to her hands, twitching with suddenly very large amounts of magic. She clamps them around her own wrists, squeezing tightly. "I just want to go home."
"Yeah, well I just want my son back," Emma says, causing a frown to form on Lucy's brow.
"Your son? But…" she looks between Regina and Emma, mouth dropping as she looks between them, disbelieving. "No. Oh my god, this is before. Before everything, before- before…holy shit!" Lucy surges forwards to the other side of the cage, half-leaning on the bench, drinking them in. "You don't like each other! Henry isn't your son yet! Your shared son! But- but it's coming so soon!"
"What is?" Regina questions, before there's a sudden lurching of the ship.
"What was that?" Emma questions, the two women sharing a look before going for the trapdoor, leaving the girl behind in her cell as they head for the surface.