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INDIANA JONES
xxv. MERMAID LAGOON

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PAST
NEVERLAND

INDIANA JONES SEEMED TO have lost track of the amount of time that had passed throughout her stay in the peculiar realm that was Neverland. She was aware that timed passed differently there than in the Enchanted Forest. A day in the Enchanted Forest was a week in Neverland, but a week in the Enchanted Forest was a few months in Neverland, and 2 months in the Enchanted Forest was a couple of years in Neverland. At this point, Indiana was sure that quite a few months had passed. Indiana wasn't even sure how old she was technically was at this point.

The girl had spent a lot of time thinking after what Peter Pan had told her not too long ago, about how he said that she was changing and becoming a true "Lost Boy." Indiana didn't properly realize it, but he was right. She was changing and she wasn't even quite sure in what ways she was. She felt as though she was still herself, but the way the Lost Boys had been treating her told her otherwise. For the first time since she had arrived in Neverland, the Lost Boys were treating Indiana Jones like she was their friend. That thought alone seemed to scare her.

One night in particular, Indiana had decided to go for a walk, for her thoughts piled up so much that she was finally unable to fall asleep. That was the first mistake she made. The second one was taking a path she had never been on. She walked and walked until she stumbled upon some kind of whimsical-looking lagoon. The perimeter was covered with various rocks and pebbles while the inner portion was filled with water. The moon shined down perfectly, its reflection staring up at the sky like a mirror.

"What is this place?" Indiana wondered curiously, not talking to anyone in particular. She took a few more steps forward until she was able to take a seat on one of the rocks. She looked down at the water, just itching to dive into it for some strange reason. It was almost like the water was calling out to her in a weird way.

The water began to ripple, causing the moon's reflection to falter until a head popped out of the water. A woman with bright green eyes and black hair appeared in Indiana's vision. The brunette's eyes widened as she stared at the female in the water. "Hi," the woman greeted with a soft voice. "I haven't seen you on Neverland before. What's your name?"

Indiana stared at her before realizing that she had asked her something. "Um... Indiana," the brunette greeted. "What are you... uh... doing here?"

The woman smiled and let out a hearty chuckle that sounded like a lullaby to Indiana's ears. The brunette was sure that if she were gay, she would've fallen in love with the woman in the water. "All mermaids in Neverland come to this lagoon, silly!" she exclaimed. She climbed up onto a large rock in the water, revealing her orange tail that had a sliver of white on it. "I'm Nemo. I'm looking for my sister. Her name's Doreen, but she responds to Dory. Have you seen her?"

"Well, I don't think I've seen any... mermaids on land, so no, I haven't," Indiana awkwardly said, too mesmerized by being in the presence of a mermaid to try to act cool. She remembered all of the things the sailors told her about all mermaids being mesmerizing, but she also couldn't help but remember what Peter Pan had told her about them, as well.

Nemo frowned at the sound of this. "Oh, no. She has short-term memory loss, too. I'm not sure what will happen if I don't find her soon," Nemo worriedly said.

Indiana replied with, "That poor thing. I wish there was something I could do."

Then, the orange-tailed girl looked up at Indiana. "Well... there's something that might work."

➖➖➖

PRESENT
STORYBROOKE

"Why didn't anyone tell me you threw Mary Margaret in the brig!?" Anna James bellowed as she stormed into the Sheriff's Department, just in time to see Emma about to interrogate Mary Margaret for the millionth time.

A few days ago, Katherine Nolan was reported missing. Then, her heart was found in a box. After doing some snooping around, Emma realized that all the evidence they had led back to Mary Margaret, which was why the teacher was in prison in the first place.

"Anna, you can't be in here," Emma told her.

"Well, too bad because I already am!... in here..." Anna trailed off, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

Mary Margaret looked up from her hands. "Emma, I don't even know where the heating vent in my bedroom is," Mary Margaret told them, her voice breaking.

"Well, someone did, and they put a hunting knife in there. I checked for signs of a break-in, but there weren't any," Emma explained with her arms folded over her chest.

Mary Margaret looked at her roommate with glossy eyes. "You don't believe me."

"Of course I do," Emma denied while taking a few steps forward, "but what I think doesn't matter. The evidence is piling up by the hour."

"Okay, what are you saying?" Mary Margaret queried. She leaned her head against the green bars of the cell.

"Maybe you should think about hiring a lawyer," Anna opinionated, taking the words from Emma's mouth.

"An excellent idea."

The girl looked over to see Mr. Gold standing at the doorway. Mr. Gold was an interesting person. He was intimidating to just about all of the Storybrooke residents, but Anna thought otherwise. If anything, she just saw him as an old man with a whole lot of power. She was the only person that could talk to Mr. Gold without shaking in her boots.

"What are you doing here?" Emma demanded.

"Offering my legal services," Mr. Gold responded.

Anna snorted. "Don't tell me you're a lawyer, too," she mumbled. He began to walk over to the trio.

"Ever wondered why I was so adept at contracts? I've been following the details of your case, Ms. Blanchard," Mr. Gold informatively told them, "and I think you'd be well-advised to bring me on as your counsel."

Anna held a hand up, stopping Mary Margaret from speaking. "Why?" she asked.

"Well, because the Sheriff had me arrested for nearly beating a man to death, and I managed to persuade the judge to drop the charges," Mr. Gold answered persuasively.

"You're psychotic," Anna commented.

"Only for you, dear," Mr. Gold sarcastically responded with an unfriendly smile. The comment made Anna scrunch her nose up in disgust. It felt wrong for him of all people to say that.

"Asserting your influence isn't what's needed here," Emma butted in. "We need to find the truth."

"Exerting influence may be exactly what's needed here," Mr. Gold fired back.

"What's needed here is for me to do my job," Emma snapped.

"Well, no one's stopping you. I'm only here to help," Mr. Gold pointed out.

"Enough!" weakly exclaimed Mary Margaret. "Please go."

"You heard her," Emma stated firmly.

"Actually, I was talking to you and Anna." Emma and Anna turned around in surprise. "Oh, Emma, he's right. I need help. And you need to do your job, or else I'm screwed. So just please, do your job the best you can, and you'll prove me innocent. Until you do, I need some practical help."

Mr. Gold took a few steps closer. "Trust me. This is in Ms. Blanchard's best interests."

Anna sighed and walked closer to her, putting her hand through the bars to grab Mary Margaret's. "Good luck," she told her. "When this is all over, I'll let you pick whatever Rom-Com you want for our movie night for the next week."

Mary Margaret weakly smiled at her. "You're digging yourself your own grave."

Chuckling, Anna James left the station, only hoping that Mr. Gold could fix things in her friend's favor.

➖➖➖

PAST
NEVERLAND

"I don't understand," Indiana opinionated. "You want to use my heart to find your sister?"

Nemo nodded her head quickly. "Yes! If I use your heart, I can switch bodies with you and I can look for my sister on the mainland. She'll only trust me, which is why I can't just let you do it," Nemo explained. "Please. I'm worried. I need to find Dory."

Indiana thought for a moment before sighing. "Okay," she decided. "I think I have something that'll help me with the whole ripping-my-heart-out-thing." Nemo nodded, cheering as Indiana extended her arm out and pulled a dagger out of her boot.

"Oh, thank you so much. This really means so--"

The dagger lodging itself in Nemo's throat interrupted the fish from speaking anymore. Blood seeped out of the mermaid's neck as she fell into the water. Dusting her hands off, Indiana grinned with satisfaction as the sound of clapping was heard from behind her. Indiana turned around to see Peter Pan walking out from behind a tree.

"Well that took quite the turn!" Peter exclaimed in greeting. "Really, I'm impressed. I thought you were going to try to take your own heart out and I would have to come save you."

Indiana rolled her eyes. "Well, where's the fun in that?" Indiana wondered. "Besides, her story had holes." He arched an eyebrow. "Like, how would her "sister" know who she was if she was in my body? I'm not that stupid, you know."

Peter chuckled. "Your performance was quite entertaining, though," he commented before proceeding to mock her. "Poor thing!"

"I don't sound like that!" Indiana exclaimed defensively. "You're so annoying."

"Only for you, my love," Peter remarked, making Indiana's heart stop for a second until she realized he was using sarcasm.

Folding her arms over her chest, Indiana questioned, "What were you doing out here anyway? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me."

"Stalking you? Why would I do that?" Peter repeated in question, arching an eyebrow.

Indiana narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you always do that thing with your eyebrows?" Indiana questioned out of genuine curiosity, changing the subject.

"What thing?" Peter asked. "You mean this?" He began to wiggle his eyebrows.

Indiana let out a childlike giggle. "Stop!" she exclaimed in amusement. "You're so strange."

"Says the one that almost became fish food," Peter retorted.

"Did you ever really doubt me?" Indiana queried.

"Well, of course."

Rolling her eyes, Indiana said, "Have a little more faith in me, darling."

After that one conversation, something between them changed. Neither of them were actually aware of it, but for the first time, Indiana didn't actually mind staying on the island, as long as she was with Peter Pan.