Sorry for another shirt chapter, guys. These episodes haven't given me a whole lot to work with that wouldn't seem random and out of place. I hope these next chapters will be longer.
I hope you guys enjoy, nonetheless!
The Jolly Roger slipped through the clouds with a sound similar to a thunderclap before they appeared high in the blue blue skies of what had to be Storybrooke.
Emer looked around with wide blue eyes and a grin as the wind whipped through her long dark hair, which Mary Margaret had, thankfully, helped her untangle with her old hairbrush that Killian had kept on the ship since long before she had been lost.
So much for getting rid of the tangles.
The town they were sailing toward seemed quiet and cozy, but she was sure the quiet part had been a rarity as of late, after all of the madness that seemed to be set in motion since Regina's curse was broken.
Emer didn't mind so much. She wondered what new adventures were in store for her, especially now that her family was together again.
The Jolly Roger landed in the harbor with a splash, and Emer laughed as the sea spray misted her face and skin, bouncing back over to her father as he dropped anchor.
The entire town seemed to have gathered on the dock, cheering as the ship landed and David dropped the ramp for Henry to walked down.
Everyone looked more than excited, most of the town moving to line up and hug the exiting passengers.
A beautiful brunette woman with bright blue eyes waited until Rumplestiltskin exited to smile, holding her arms out for him.
He walked into them quickly, hugging her tight.
That must've been Belle, the woman that helped John and Michael.
The Lost Boys exited the ship next, led by Felix.
Emer watched him carefully. She had a sick feeling that something with Felix wasn't right, like he knew something the others didn't. But maybe she was just paranoid.
The former Lost Girl turned her attention back to the other exiting Lost Boys, watching was Wendy exited last and two adult men pushed through the crowd to get to her.
Emer smiled slightly. John and Michael really had grown up.
She heard someone from the town ask, "Who are they?" in reference to all of the exiting children, and she was sure it meant her too. She wasn't exactly hiding from sight.
Emer bounced off the ship and stood beside her father again.
Killian took her hand and squeezed it tightly. They were together again. They could make a real home now.
"How do you feel?" Mary Margaret asked David as the Joneses caught up with them.
"Pretty good, actually," David replied with a small smile. "I think the water must be working."
"Aye, it is," Killian assured. "Dreamshade overtook my brother the moment we left Neverland."
"Gold will find a cure," Mary Margaret said in relief. "You'll be okay."
Emer smiled at David. "I'm glad you're gonna be okay."
David looked at her with a smile. "Thanks, Emer. And we couldn't have done this without you."
Emer blushed a little.
Killian kissed her windblown dark hair. "Bloody right we couldn't."
Emma smiled at them all, holding onto Henry while the town still surrounded them as she spoke. "I have to admit, there was a minute there I didn't believe we were all gonna make it out of that place."
"Well," David replied, his arm around Mary Margaret, "we did."
Mary Margaret looked at Regina, who was still by herself while Emma held onto Henry, and said in a loud voice, "And we owe a lot of it to her."
Regina looked up in surprise.
"Regina helped save us all," Snow White continued.
Emerlyn smiled at the Evil Queen as she looked over the entire crowd of Storybrooke.
Mary Margaret turned back to Emer. "Come on, Emer. Let's go find you some new clothes."
Emer nodded, and Mary Margaret lead her off to find some new, clean clothes.
Mary Margaret led Emerlyn into a crowd building called Granny's Diner, looking around with large eyes. The princess had helped her brush out her hair again and braided the thick, long locks and twisted them into a soft bun on the back of her head. The clothes they'd managed to find for her were comfortable, but Emer knew they'd take some getting used to.
She was in a solid red tank top with a soft gray cardigan tossed over it to help with the cooler weather, a pair of blue jeans with a few scattered holes, and a pair of soft soled gray shoes. Emer had the hardest time with the shoes. She hadn't worn then since the pair she'd been wearing when she first arrived in Neverland wore out completely. It felt strange to have her feet covered.
Emerlyn immediately migrated toward her father, smiling slightly as she slipped through the crowd.
Killian couldn't help but smile at her. His little girl was all cleaned up, looking happy and normal. He reached to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "You look good, Em."
She smiled at him. "Thanks, Papa."
"You hungry?" He asked with a small smile, a slightly distracted look behind his blue eyes. His daughter was with him again, where they could start over and have a real life. He could put his distractions behind him and just take care of her.
Emer smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure. What's good here?"
"You'll have to ask the chef that, Em," he teased, smiling as he flashed his shiny metal hook and waved down the gray-haired woman with glasses behind the counter.
"Yes, Hook?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she almost waddled over.
He flashed her a charming smile and looked between her and Emerlyn. "Just wondering what you'd suggest for my daughter to try for lunch today, Granny."
Granny looked at the teenage girl over the rim of her glasses before looking back at Hook. "Your daughter, huh? She's cute. Awful skinny, though. I think I got just the thing." She looked at Emer again. "I'll have some food out for ya in a second, hun."
"Thank you," Emer said softly, blushing a little as Granny turned to head back into the kitchen.
Killian looked back at Emer with a small smile, kissing the side of her head. "I love you."
She smiled at him. "I love you too, Papa."
But she still had some uneasy feeling that they weren't safe yet.
Killian and Emer walked into the motel where they were staying, talking about what kind of exploring they were going to do through Storybrooke that day, and what books she was going to check out from the library for them to read together, when they bumped into Tinkerbell.
Emer watched as Killian and Tink talked back and forth before all tensed at a scream and rushed off to see what was going on.
They looked around outside as Emma and David pulled up in David's pickup truck at the same time.
A second scream sounded.
"What the hell was that?" Emma asked in shock.
"We had the same question," Killian said quickly.
Another scream.
"There!" David said quickly, rushing toward the sound.
Emer followed him quickly. She had to know whay was going on.
They ran after the sound of the screaming, and Emerlyn stumbled a step in shock when she saw what was happening.
It was Blue, the fairy that seemed to be some sort of guiding hand over the town of Storybrooke, running from Pan's Shadow.
Emer nearly panicked. Wasn't the Shadow supposed to be trapped in the sail? Gold had said the only person that could call it out was Pan.
Which meant Pan wasn't in Pandora's Box.
David rushed over to Blue, whispering as he knelt beside her. "No, no, no, no, no. Come on. Come on." He checked her pulse carefully before looking to the group beside him. "She's gone."
Tinkerbell looked back at the group in a panic as Killian tugged Emer back to his side. "Why would the Shadow kill her?" The green fairy asked in a shaky voice.
"No idea, luv," Killian said, a little breathless in shock as he held Emer close, turning her head away from the sight of the dead woman. "But I do know the Shadow only takes orders from one person."
"Pan's not in the box," Emer whispered, swallowing hard, holding onto her father's leather coat in almost a white-knuckled grip. She wasn't sure anyone heard her, but she didn't care.
A sick echo repeated itself in the back of her mind, over and over.
Peter Pan never fails.
Killian's arm was wrapped tightly around his daughter's shoulders when Regina and Henry rushed to the scene where the others—now with an added Mary Margaret and Neal—watched as David and Emma covered Blue with a thick gray blanket.
"What the hell happened?" Regina asked as she came up quickly, Henry following behind her.
"The Shadow," David said with a sigh as he pushed back to his feet. "It killed her."
"Pan's Shadow?" Regina asked in disbelief. "I trapped it on the sail."
Emma looked between Regina and the dead fairy. "Yeah, well, it got free."
After a short moment of silence, Neal looked at Killian, sounding nervous. "Hook, let's go back to the ship and get the candle."
Killian nodded slightly, squeezing Emerlyn's shoulder to make sure that she came with him. With the Shadow loose, he wasn't willing to let her out of his sight. He knew that thing would be after blood after what happened in their last encounter.
"If it strikes again, we need to be able to capture it," Neal continued as he started forward, followed by Tinkerbell, the pirate, and the former Lost Girl.
Emer looked at Killian. "Gold said Pan couldn't control the Shadow from inside Pandora's Box, didn't he?"
Killian sighed heavily. "Its seems as though the Crocodile was wrong, Em."
"Or Pan's not the one in the box," Emer suggested softly, now voicing the thought to be heard, though she was unable to stop the nervousness in her voice at the thought.
Killian pulled her even closer to his side, something Emer didn't think was possible. "He's not going to get to you, Em. Not ever again."
She shook her head a little and tried to change the subject. "Do you think Henry's okay? He's in even more danger from Pan than I am, and he has been acting a little different since we made it here."
"The lad's been through a lot," Hook reminded softly. "But he had plenty of people protecting him. He'll be fine."
Emer nodded slightly, but that didn't make her feel much better about how Henry was acting.
Emerlyn tensed at the sight of Peter Pan walking toward Regina's vault with Emma and Gold as the former Lost Girl waited with her father, Tinkerbell, and Neal. She had to coach herself, continuously remind herself that it was Henry in there, not still Pan.
And Henry needed her help, just like he needed everyone else's.
"Henry?" Neal asked, turning to look at the boy. "Is it really you?"
"Dad," he said quickly, starting to jog forward and meet Neal in a hug as the adult moved quickly toward him too.
They hugged each other tightly.
"Did you find the Shadow?" David asked as he looked to the others by the vault.
"Not yet," Tink replied with a small sigh.
Killian brandished the coconut. "But we'll be ready for when we do." He stepped forward and handed the coconut to Neal.
"It's Pan we should be concerned about now," Gold corrected simply. "Why are we still up here?"
"It's locked up tight," Neal told him with a small shrug.
"Really?" Rumplestiltskin asked, stepping forward to examine the door.
Emerlyn and Tinkerbell jumped down from the stairs leading up to make sure they were out of the Dark One's way. Emerlyn slid behind her father, a little closer to Henry.
"Are you okay, Henry?" She whispered, having to look up at him while he wore Pan's body.
He nodded slightly, a soft pink gathering in his cheeks. "I'll be better when I'm back in my own body. I'm sorry I look like this. I know this can't be comfortable for you."
Emer smiled a little, blushing some herself. "That's really sweet, Henry, but I'm just worried about making sure we stop Pan and get you back to normal."
Henry smiled almost shyly at her. "Thanks, Emer."
She nodded again before she turned her attention fully back to what the adults were doing.
Gold stepped up again after another moment when he couldn't unlock the magic. He had to try again, this time with more focus and more power.
Emer looked up in surprise when the wooden doors creaked open.
Killian held her back from going inside. He didn't trust all of the magic down there, he knew very little of it was good. And he couldn't stop wondering what Pan had in store for them. He had a sick feeling it would be a new nightmare for them all.