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INDIANA JONES
xii. DAVID'S HOMECOMING

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1800s
THE ENCHANTED FOREST

NOT TOO LONG AFTER Indiana Jones met the mysterious man on the docks, the girl decided to say her farewells to Cora Mills. She no longer felt the need to stay with the woman, though she was utterly grateful. Now that Indiana could easily survive on her own in the wild, she was in search of finding a new place to stay in for a while and possibly a new adventure.

With nothing but a small backpack that contained a few items, Indiana found herself strolling into a local pub in an unfamiliar village that was known for its bar fights, good music, and imported rum. Indiana wasn't looking to get drunk or get in a bar fight. She heard that this bar in particular was a hotspot for people passing through before going on a great adventure. She was hoping that she could join someone on an adventure.

As soon as she set foot into the pub, Indiana had a feeling that she was going to enjoy herself. It was utterly lively in there, which wasn't what Indiana was expecting after judging the boring and quiet exterior of the building. She had a feeling that she would need to stop judging a book by its cover, as cheesy as the saying went.

Luckily for the girl, no one appeared to recognize her. This had to be one of the smaller villages that hadn't been infiltrated with Wanted posters that had her face all over them. She was beginning to wonder why no one had tried to stop her and throw her to the Royal Guard.

Hopping onto a barstool, the 15-year-old was greeted by a bartender. "So what's the buzz around here? It seems like there's always something going on," Indiana pointed out.

The bartender nodded, running a hand through her blonde hair. "That's true," she agreed. "And what do you mean by buzz? You lookin' for an adventure, kid?" Watching as Indiana nodded vigorously, the blonde chuckled. "Aren't you a little young to be going off on your own?"

"Aren't you a little young to be asking something like that?" Indiana retorted, a small smile playing at her face. It had been awhile since she'd met someone she could joke around with. She hadn't met anyone like that since... well, her Aunt Lucy. "I mean... live a little. Go on an adventure!"

The blonde smiled at her. "Alright. Well, I like you already, so I'll let you in on something my little brother and I are planning on doing in the morning," the blonde said. "We're going after the Sivalinga."

Indiana raised an eyebrow at the sound of the strange name. "What the bloody hell is a Sivalinga?" the teenager questioned.

"It's a stone from a shrine I grew up reading about. It's used for worship in temples. Apparently, its existence is a rumor," the bartender explained. "But there's also a rumor that it exists in a temple not too far from this village, which is why I moved her with my brother. We want to go after it together."

"Hm... Why go after it if you're not sure it exists?" Indiana queried. "Wouldn't it just be a waste of time? What if it turns out to be just a rumor after all?"

The blonde flashed a smile at her. "That's the fun part. It's an adventure!" the bartender exclaimed as she retrieved a drink for the person sitting a few seats away from Indiana. She was an excellent multitasker from the looks of it.

Indiana was convinced. "Have any room for another?" Indiana queried.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Do you know how to protect yourself?" she wondered.

"You have no idea," Indiana answered. "So?"

"Yeah, alright. What's the worst that could happen?" the 18-year-old blonde wondered. "The name's Kali."

"Uh, Anna," Indiana stammered. Just because there weren't posters with her name on it didn't mean that these people wouldn't recognize her name. She had to take precautions.

Kali flashed a smile at the teenager. "Pleasure to meet you, Anna," Kali responded. Indiana nodded. "Meet my brother and I in front of the pub at the first sign of light."

"Sounds good," Indiana commented. Kali nodded and with that, she went back to work. 'That was way easier than I thought it would be,' she thought to herself. 'I wasn't expecting her to trust me so easily. Better keep an eye out on her.'

Indiana looked down at the glass of water she'd ordered. She was surprised that kids her age were even allowed in the building. Nonetheless, she didn't question it. Suddenly, Indiana felt a presence beside her.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Indiana Jones," a familiar voice greeted. Indiana snapped her head to the side, spotting an all too familiar man wearing black leather. "Or is it Anna now?"

Indiana narrowed her eyes at the man. "Keep your voice down, will you?" Indiana hissed. "Maybe you don't understand, but I'm wanted."

The man grinned. "Oh, no. I understand perfectly, Anna," he said, playing along.

Indiana rolled her eyes. "Right. What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have something better to do than hang around at some pub?" the girl wondered.

"That's true, but I do have a love for imported rum and women from lands I'm not acquainted with," he told her.

"Hm... figures..." Indiana mumbled. That was when a thought suddenly popped into her mind. "Hey, last time we were together, you told me you would tell me your name. Spill."

The man thought for a moment and shrugged. "I suppose you're right, lass," the man responded. "Captain Hook, at your service."

She stared at him with a blank look on her face. "Captain Hook? So you're a sailor... Hm. I suppose now you're going to say you have a hand for a hook?" Indiana sarcastically wondered. When she noticed the look he gave her, Indiana gasped. "No way. Prove it!"

The Captain merely raised his hand, waving at her with the hook that replaced his left hand.

"That's so cool," Indiana gushed.

Captain Hook merely laughed at the girl's excitement.

➖➖➖

PRESENT DAY
STORYBROOKE

Anna James stood within the Nolan household alongside several people who she barely knew the names of. Tonight was the night David Nolan (previously known as John Doe) was coming home with his wife, Katherine Nolan. Katherine was planning on throwing a surprise party for his homecoming, but something told Anna that he wouldn't enjoy it.

The brunette would be found hanging out with Emma Swan and Henry Mills by the staircase, making small talk away from the other people. Henry was explaining to Anna and Emma that David Nolan didn't remember anything because the curse wasn't working on him, yet.

"Henry..." Emma trailed off, staring at her son. "David has Amnesia."

"Which is preventing the curse from replacing their fairytale stories with fake memories," Henry added. Emma and Anna exchanged glances.

"Right..." Emma trailed off. "Because everyone here has fake stories that prevent them from remembering who they really are." Her sarcastic remark was seen through Henry.

Anna didn't understand how someone could use sarcasm like it was his or her fluent language. Anytime she tried to be sassy or sarcastic, it always backfired on her because she'd end up apologizing almost instantaneously. The awkward girl wasn't cut out for something like that.

"Exactly," Henry confirmed. "And now is our chance to help Mr. Nolan. We just have to get him to remember that he's—"

"Prince Charming," Emma finished with a small smile on her face. Henry nodded.

"We just have to job their memories. We can do that by getting Mr. Nolan and Ms. Blanchard together," Henry explained. Emma tilted her head to the side as she reminded him that they already tried that. "And it woke him up."

"Hm... Hey, who did you say Anna is again?" Emma asked with a quieter voice as she leaned down to Henry.

The excitable child grinned as he answered. "Indiana Jones—the super cool bandit and little sister of Captain Hook, and more importantly, Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter's godmother," Henry listed.

Emma raised her eyebrows as her jaw dropped. "You're telling me the fictional character that inspired me to start stealing is my godmother?" Emma asked in disbelief. She glanced back to Anna. "But she's so dorky and awkward. There's no way she's the Indiana Jones."

"But she is!"

"Hm... I'll give you five bucks if she is," Emma joked, knowing that that would never happen.

Anna suddenly shook her head and looked back to the duo beside her. "What are we talking about?" Anna wondered.

Before Emma or Henry could say anything, David Nolan walked over to them. "Hey, you're the ones who saved me, right?" he questioned.

Emma and Anna exchanged glances. "Oh, yeah. I-I guess we are," Anna stumbled.

"And, uh, you're also the only ones I know here," David admitted.

"Well, you can hide with us," Emma joked as an offer.

"Do you know how to use a sword?" Henry suddenly asked.

"Henry," Anna and Emma hissed in sync.

"I-I'm sorry. He's been reading a lot about... uh... Camelot," Anna lied in explanation. 'Camelot, really? I'm a terrible liar.'

"Oh, okay. Do either of you happen to know if Mary Margaret's coming?" David asked the girls.

Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan had been spending a lot of time with one another, especially since Mary Margaret was a volunteer at the hospital. She and David had been bonding. They got along so well that Mary Margaret even developed a little crush on David Nolan. It was most likely influenced by Henry. The 10-year-old  liked to think they hit it off so well because of the storybook. Anna and Emma just thought it was a simple coincidence.

"She said she couldn't make it," Emma explained.

Anna observed as the man's smile faltered. Something in her told her that David Nolan liked Mary Margaret a little too much for a married man. It was one of those moments where she almost wanted Henry's storybook theory to be true simply because she thought Mary Margaret and David would be a cute couple.