The Promised Neverland AU

By: FunahoMisaki

(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)

Emma was walking through the woods talking with Norman, Don, and Gilda as Ray was getting his cheeked looked at by Mama when they walked by the tree where Sister Krone was hiding and waiting for them.

As soon as they saw her, Norman backed up a step but Don and Gilda both seemed to move protectively in front of Emma. Almost as if they were going to shield her from the taller and bigger woman. Emma thought it kind of strange how they did that but she put it out of her mind as she watched Krone curiously.

"Those are…" Gilda looked stunned, and Emma swore that Gilda should be an actress when they make it to the human world she was a natural at this, when Krone lowered her collar enough to show them the numbers on her neck.

"She used to be like us." Norman said grimly as he watched the older woman who continued to talk about how she wanted to be able to live the best life she could and become a mom to loving children, even if it was all fake.

"You think Mama's love for us is fake…that explains why you're a Sister then. Mama does love us, she's too warm and loving to not be…but just like you she didn't have a choice if she wanted to live." Emma said and her voice was cold while Krone shrugged off the girls words but stayed just a little bit away from Emma's easy reach zone.

Then Krone showed them a bit of the scar on her chest, telling them about the chips implanted in the hearts of the Moms and Sisters so that it'd kill them if they stepped foot off of their plantation…and also alert HQ if the Moms heart stopped for any reason.

"So there'd be no way to kill Mom to escape, we'd have to subdue her some other way." Norman said and Emma's head whipped around towards him.

"We weren't going to kill Mama anyways. That wasn't the plan." Emma growled at Norman who smiled at her but said nothing as he looked back at Krone who offered them her hand for an alliance and offered to let them come to her room tonight and ask any questions that they wanted.

"How do we know we can trust you? Norman for all we know she could be turning right around to report us and have us all killed." Don asked glaring at Krone and then at Norman even as he stood almost protectively in front of Emma, despite knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was much stronger and faster than him.

"She can't because she doesn't have any evidence." Emma said and her voice was calm as she stared at Krone.

"Huh?" Don asked blinking at the orange haired girl who continued to watch Krone.

"Think about it. She knows that we know the truth, which means Mama definitely knows about us. Yet none of us have been shipped off yet. Why? Because there's no evidence that we know the truth or are planning to escape somehow." Emma said and her mind flashed back to that book the Art of War.

'That book is my doing by the way. You're welcome.' The pipsqueak demon pipped up in Emma's mind and she wondered where the hell he had been the last few days. She had almost been worried about the little bastard.

'Love you too antenna.' On second thought no she wasn't worried about that cheeky little ass at all.

"If Mama reports us, they'll likely take her seriously about it and have us all four shipped off immediately. However, Mama hasn't…because it's close enough to time for us to be shipped anyways and she has no proof that we're planning an escape. Something that if she thought we could pull off she'd have threatened us somehow by now to keep us in line until it's time for us to leave." Emma said and the others glanced at each other at that, Norman looking surprised as if he hadn't thought of that while Don and Gilda winced a bit. They wondered if that had happened in the first go around, one of them being shipped off for knowing and planning to escape.

"So if Mama who's actually in charge of us hasn't reported us yet then there's no way that our dear Sister here can report us and be taken seriously by whoever is in charge." Emma said and her voice was a bit cold now as she stared down Krone who twitched a bit when Emma emphasized her title.

"After all then it becomes a case of Sister Krone's word against Mamas. And Sister Krone is new. She doesn't have Mama's title of Mom or a lot of experience to back her up otherwise she'd already be a Mom. Not just that but Mama's been Mama ever since we were all babies right?" Emma glanced at the others who nodded, Norman because Mom was the only Mom they had that he remembered and Don and Gilda because they knew that Emma remembered.

"That means Mamas been a Mom and in charge of this farm for at least ten years. She has experience, an apparently good record, and a good reputation then since she hasn't been replaced yet. Her word on the matter would definitely outweigh Sister Krone's word when she hadn't even been here for a full month yet, much less a year." Emma said and Krone's teeth were grinding together. This brat may be ridiculously strong and fast…but…she hadn't expected the little brute to be so smart as well.

The blunt and honest way the girl was spelling out why Sister Krone couldn't just immediately report it and be taken seriously was pissing her off though.

"So unless she has proof that we're aware of this place being a farm and are planning to escape…and proof that Mama not only knows but isn't doing anything about it…then she won't be able to turn us in to be shipped out early. Because if the higher ups have to pick between someone with a good record, reputation, and experience against an ambitious newcomer with no reputation or experience in actually raising us and turning out 'premium' quality children…then they won't hesitate to pick Mama and send Sister Krone here off to be a meal." Emma said and then she had the audacity to smirk at Krone.

"Am I wrong Sister?" Emma asked making Krone visibly angry, and the womans large hands twitched as if she wanted to reach forward and strangle Emma with her own two hands but she refrained.

"This alliance will prove to be interesting and definitely in everyone's best interest." Was all Krone said as she shook Norman's hand and then turned and stormed off.

"Well…I think we managed to annoy her…if she wasn't planning on shipping us off before she will be now." Emma said looking more amused than worried about that as she stared after Krone and then turned and grinned at the others.

"Now come on! Thoma and Lani said we were all going to play hide and seek today!" Emma said racing off and leaving Norman smiling fondly after her, thinking that she had just obliviously said anything that was on her mind about why Sister Krone couldn't turn them in.

Don and Gilda though had quickly memorized all that Emma had said and exchanged nods when they saw Norman's fond almost love sick smile as he chased after Emma, not even paying them any mind.

If there was any doubt before, not that there had been after a few days of knowing the truth, then there was no doubt in their minds that Emma was the one they were supposed to follow.

And they'd be proud and happy to follow her lead, especially when the only other options were a love sick fool who'd do anything to make Emma smile but also dismiss her moments of genius as luck or obliviousness…and a boy who they were sure had set himself and who knew how many of their siblings on fire just to let her escape.

Yeah…if the choices were between a love sick idiot who was too blind to see what was right in front of him, a suicidal/homicidal pyromaniac, and an inhumanely strong time traveler….they had no issues at all picking the almost inhuman time traveler.