I'm thrilled that so many of you like the story :) however, I've noticed that there haven't been any reviewing activity since October. I'm glad for the subscriptions and favorites, but I'd also appreciate some verbal feedback, too :P I have plans for this story, but if nobody's that interested, I'll delete it.


The following morning, the first thing Aurora did was provide Mulan with the clean outfit and new shoes she'd taken from the palace, and then once she promised Lavinia and Jade that she'd be fine without them, the queen and her warrior went for a stroll down the path.

Mulan told Aurora everything about her daughter, the fight with Shang and how she was now free from her loveless marriage, but by the time she got to the part about how she'd just been a housewife back in China before leaving to go after Shang, she broke down into tears. Aurora's heart ached to see Mulan like that, so she ended up holding her and soothing her as she told her about Clara's letter, including the parts about Forest and River Dawn.

As Aurora had suspected, the subject of leaving the kingdom upset Mulan, who immediately wanted to fight against the peasants to restore order, but she relented when she learned about the assassination attempt and the massacre.


"Alright, then. If we are leaving your kingdom and Avonlea, the ruins of the Enchanted Forest and even our Safe Haven, then where shall we go next? Neverland?"

"That seems the best course of action, and I know that the others will follow us because I promised all of them a better life than what we all currently have."

"But you don't know how to get to Neverland, do you?"

"Unfortunately not. The only person we know who more than likely knows how to do that is Hook, and we haven't seen him in quite some time." Aurora tried not to cry. "I never got a chance to meet Forest and he's dead now, but I believe that River Dawn is alive and in Neverland with Lin-Lin. It may take awhile, but one day, I'll have River in my arms, just as you'll have Lin-Lin back in yours to hold and kiss."

"Add your child and Lavinia and all of her siblings, and all of us will be like a family."

Aurora lifted Mulan's fingers to her lips and kissed them gently. "We already are a family, even if all of us aren't here yet."

"I like the sound of that."

The two continued to hold hands as they walked down the path together.
"I know you aren't very far along in your pregnancy yet," Mulan said suddenly. "But have you thought of any names for your baby yet?"

Aurora caressed her belly and smiled. "None have come to mind yet, but I'm hoping to pick names that stand for strength, courage and hope."

"Like Emma and Snow..."

"Precisely." Aurora stopped walking and held both of Mulan's hands in her own again. "Before you and I were reunited, Lavinia and I decided that Storybrooke is going to be our endgame because we'll all have a chance to start over there. Storybrooke is the endgame, no matter what."

"What about me?"

"The decision was made when Shang was traveling with us and he didn't tell us why he was looking for you, but I decided not to tell him because I was worried that he'd make you go back to China with him, and I just can't bear the thought of a future without you."

"I had zero intentions of going back with him. I would've fought him in a duel, or something."

Aurora was flattered. "The offer still stands for you to come to Storybrooke, too."

"Our hearts are bound together until the end of time now; I will go anywhere with you, so long as it means that after we get the children back that it means none of us are ever separated again."

The two lovers walked hand-in-hand back to camp whereupon everybody got packed up and they headed out for the nearest bit of civilization - a sleepy little fishing village. It took well over a day to reach.


Meanwhile, Emma Swan was on the top deck of the Jolly Roger, thinking about an argument she'd won almost two nights ago.

"Emma, be reasonable." Snow told her. "Pan, and even his creepy crony Felix have both been vanquished, and we're even taking the Lost Boys back to Storybrooke because they want families and have no desire to be left behind. What good would a detour do now?"

"You and David always find each other whenever you get separated, Henry found me in Boston, I found Neal in New York and even Belle found Mister Gold in Storybrooke. Henry is finally safe with on the Jolly Roger because all three of us, plus Regina and Mister Gold went looking for him. We also got Neal back, and we ended up getting Hook, Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys in the process, too. That's great and all, but there are at least two more people that are still missing from our family unit."

Feeling properly left out, David spoke up. "Who exactly are you talking about, Emma?"

"She's talking about Princess Aurora and Mulan, a warrior who is clearly crazy about her." Snow told him. "They helped us out the last time we were here, but we haven't seen them since they ran off to rescue Prince Phillip from his sleeping curse. I wonder if they made it..."

"Oh, they did." Neal supplied from his perch on a nearby flight of stairs. "All three of them rescued me when I fell through the portal after Tamara shot me. They travel in a pack."

"Do you have any idea where they could be?"

"No. I lost track of them after I went to Neverland to find Emma and Henry."

"I don't know, either." Emma admitted. "All I can think of is the Safe Haven where they brought us, which is where we ran into Cora... and Hook."

"Did someone say my name?"

Everybody looked up at the pirate where he stood at the wheel with Tinkerbell, who never strayed far from him these days.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Change course for the Enchanted Forest."

Hook looked ready to protest, but when Tinkerbell narrowed her eyes dangerously at him, he said nothing and began the process of turning the ship around.

When Emma turned back around, she saw both of her parents, Neal and now Regina and Mister Gold all staring at her, waiting for a proper explanation.

"What?" Emma put her hands on her hips and stared right back at them. "No matter what way we look at it, everybody on this boat is part of one great big family that originated in the Enchanted Forest, and Aurora and Mulan somehow worked their way in, too... even if they both spent a lot of time tackling Mary Margaret and me. Phillip counts by default because he's Aurora's fiancé."

"And let me guess," Regina added, rolling her eyes. "You just wouldn't feel right if we left them here."

"Exactly."

Gold finally spoke up. "Has it occurred to you, dearie, that they all might want to stay in this world because it's what they know?"

"Of course, but we'll never know unless we give them a chance. We're going back for them, even if it turns out to be for nothing, because they're our family, too, and none of us ever give up on each other, no matter what. Plus, no matter how bad things get, we always find each other... even if the other people don't know they're missing."

Nobody dared argue with Emma after that.


Now it was nightfall and the Jolly Roger was laying anchor in a small sleepy seaside fishing village.

Because their company was far too large for all of them to go inquiring together, Emma disembarked first, with Hook and Tinkerbell, both of whom had volunteered to go with her. David insisted on tagging along because even though Tinkerbell was doing a very good job of keeping Hook's attention on her, the prince continued to be leery of Hook whenever he was around Emma. Promising to keep him in check, Mary Margaret also tagged along, although she had the two youngest Lost Boys - identical toddler twins Onix and Indigo - with her because they'd grown very attached to her and refused to let her out of their sight.

The unlikely party stuck close together as they wandered the streets, looking for some kind of shelter where they could start asking questions. Their search was turning up empty, and as Emma tried to think of something to say to keep everyone motivated, Onix tugged on her jacket and lifted up his arms, wanting to be held because he was tired of walking.

"Come on, big guy." Emma picked him up and sat him on her hip. "You can stick with me."

Onix grinned and rested his head on Emma's shoulder. For a minute, Emma wished that she and Neal could have another baby, just so she would be able to have a moment like this, to make up for missing out on it with Henry.

Leave it to Mary Margaret to ruin the moment.

"I don't know, Emma." She adjusted her hold on Indigo when he almost slid off her hip. "Maybe we should go back to the ship and try again in the morning. Onix and Indigo are getting tired."

"You and David are more than welcome to go back with them to the ship."

"Hey!" David protested.

"I, for one," Hook interrupted. "Will keep pressing on; even if the Jolly Roger is mine, I've spent far too much time aboard her as of late."

Tinkerbell rounded things out. "I was literally born an explorer, so I'm always ready for an adventure. If Killian continues on, then so do I."

Hook suddenly spotted a lit tavern just down the cobblestoned lane from them. "Judging from the size of that place over there, I'd say I found the tavern. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could really do with a drink."

"There are children here!" Snow reminded him.

"Your issue not mine, your majesty."

Hook shrugged and turned, extending an arm to Tinkerbell.

"Fancy a drink, love?"

She looped her arm around his. "Yes, actually. Let's go."

Although creeped out by the display of affection between the two, Emma had no real choice but to follow them.

And so she did.