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INDIANA JONES
xxxiv. I NEVER ABANDONED YOU

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PRESENT
THE ENCHANTED FOREST

"UP AHEAD... WE'LL FIND the compass just over the ridge," Captain Killian Jones called out from the front of the group. The six walked together throughout the run-down realm in search of the compass that the sailor had spoken of before.

While Mulan and Aurora walked ahead of the Savior and her mother, Indiana led the group with Killian Jones. During this, Emma Swan and Snow White spoke to one another. "Do you get the feeling he's leading us exactly where Cora wants us, that this whole thing's a trap?" Snow asked her daughter.

"Of course it's a trap," Emma instantly responded. "As long as we know they're trying to play us, we can—"

"—stay one step ahead of them," Snow interrupted. She was impressed that her daughter had come to this conclusion. It was similar to how Indiana felt when Snow didn't screw things up from time to time.

Emma nodded. "Exactly," she confirmed. She hopped over a fallen log as she continued to speak after a short moment. "Do you think Anna will be okay? I mean... I've read her story countless times. There aren't enough fingers on my hands to count how much it says that she despises her brother. And now that he's here..."

Snow hummed and responded with, "Indiana's been through a lot. Now that her memory is completely restored, she should be reverting to her true colors."

"Which is ruthless and blood-thirsty?" Emma wondered nervously.

Snow shook her head. "Indiana isn't a vampire, Emma," she informed her daughter, who still looked at her mother skeptically. "Before she took that forgetting potion, she was childish and light-hearted. At least, that's what she told me. All these curses have been altering her personality, so there's really no telling what she'll become."

"So you're saying that we either have an annoying child, a quirky teenager, or a cold-blooded adventurer-killer?" Emma summarized, turning to face the woman. Snow shrugged.

"Maybe a mixture of all three?" Snow suggested. This time, Emma was the one to shrug as they continued the rest of their walk noiseless.

Meanwhile, Indiana kept a straight face as she walked beside Killian Jones. She offered to keep an eye on him in case he tried something funny. If he did, she would take his other hand without hesitation. She looked over at the pirate from the corner of her eye, noticing as he kept wiggling his wrists, which were tied together with rope.

"You're not going to be able to get out of that, if that was what you were attempting to do," Indiana informatively, yet matter-of-factly stated to her brother.

The blue-eyed man looked over at her, but she was still looking straight ahead. "I figured," he admitted, "but they're rather tight."

"Good," Indiana deadpanned. "I've been making snares and traps using rope for as long as I can remember. You won't be able to squirm out of those unless you chopped off your hands... or well, hand." She gave him a sickeningly sweet smirk.

Killian rolled his eyes at her. "You know, at one point in your life, you thought me having a hook for a hand was cool," her brother pointed out, raising his hand to point at her.

"I never said I didn't think it wasn't," Indiana childishly responded. "I just don't think you're cool. Besides, I was 15."

"And you're 16 now," Killian pointed out with a monotonic toned voice.

Indiana shot him a look for the first time since she'd realized who he was. "I'm older than I look," she told him. With that, she shot her gaze to whatever was before her as silence fell amongst them.

No matter how much Indiana desired it, Killian wouldn't stop stealing glances at his little sister. She hated it. It was enough to make her feel guilty for giving him the cold shoulder, which wasn't like her at all. Feeling guilty wasn't something Indiana Jones was exactly known for. Anna James or young Indiana, maybe, but not this version of Indiana.

"I never abandoned you," Killian told her as they came to a stop. All of Indiana's muscles tensed up, his words absorbing into her brain, but not processing properly. "If I could go back and stop our father, I would. You needn't to blame me for the things that's happened to you. Not all of them."

Indiana opened her mouth to say something in response, but Emma Swan beat her to it. "Let me guess," Emma called out, "the Compass is up there?"

Swinging her head to the side in order to follow her gaze, Indiana arched an eyebrow. Not too far off in the distance was a lengthy beanstalk that reached up to the clouds and beyond. Together, everyone stood side by side in a line as they observed the beanstalk.

"Oh, yeah," Indiana and Killian responded in perfect sync. She shot him a look, but Killian merely gave her a sarcastic smile.

"So how do we..." Emma trailed off with a mixture of awe and fear. "...get to it?"

"It's not the climb you need to worry about," Killian revealed nonchalantly. He turned his head slightly to glance at the blonde. "It's the Giant at the top."

With that being said, the group of six proceeded to make their way to the beanstalk. Emma led the group this time. Indiana smacked the back of her brother's head when she realized he had been staring at Emma's butt throughout the stroll.

"You ought to watch yourself, Cap," Indiana protectively snapped in annoyance. Killian raised his eyebrows at her. "That's my goddaughter you're gawking at."

"Goddaughter?" he repeated in shock. Indiana nodded while he smiled slightly. "Hmph... you know you called me Cap, right?"

Indiana glared at her older brother once more. "I... don't know what you're talking about."

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"It's a little freakier than I remember from the story," admitted the Savior as she stared up at the gargantuan plant.

Indiana cocked an eyebrow. "That of all things is freakier than the story? Really?" she questioned as she looked over at the blonde. "That's a lot coming from the daughter of a Princess-Bandit."

Snow shook her head in slight amusement at the girl as Mulan admitted, "Reminds me of death."

"Encouraging," Snow sarcastically mentioned.

Indiana looked back at the beanstalk. "Well, I hope you weren't expecting Pegasus kisses and rainbow stickers," Indiana responded.

Killian, who didn't completely understand her comment, snorted and said, "Well, your compass awaits. Shall we?"

As they neared closer and closer to the beanstalk, a thought popped into Emma's head. "Wait... If these... beans create... portals... why not just pick one and go home?" she wondered. "Why the compass?"

"Because there aren't any more beans," Killian told her at the exact same time as Indiana said, "Because there aren't any more beans, stupid."

She shot Killian another glare while he gave her another smirk.

"Whatever story you think you know, my dear, is most certainly wrong," he told Emma.

"There was a guy named Jack, and a cow, and something about an evil giant with a treasure... and a golden goose," Emma recalled as she thought of the children's story that many grew up hearing. "Or harp."

Indiana crinkled her nose at the horrible summary of the story, not being familiar with it herself. "Sounds like a lovely tale," Killian sarcastically told her.

Aurora leaned over to Mulan and whispered, "I'm starting to see the resemblance between Indiana and Captain Hook." Mulan could only nod in agreement.

"But the truth's a little bit more gruesome," Killian continued. "The giants grew the beans, but rather than use them for good, they used them to plunder all the lands. Jack was a man who fought a terrible war, defeating all but one of the evil giants. The beans were destroyed by the giants as they died. If they couldn't have their magic, then nobody could. It's really very bad form."

"Evil giants who made magic portal beans?" Emma summarized in question. She looked up the beanstalk that seemed endless. "Why doesn't anyone just go up and grow some more?"

"It's not that simple, Emma," Indiana told her, rather annoyed that she was so oblivious to how this realm worked.

"One giant survived... the strongest and most terrible of them all. And we'll have to get past him to—"

"The Magic Compass," Snow White interrupted sassily.

This time, Mulan leaned over to Aurora and whispered, "I think I'm beginning to notice the similarities between Snow and her mentor, as well." Aurora nodded at the sound of this.

"Indeed," Killian confirmed. "The treasure remains, and amongst it is the compass. Now, it will guide us to your land. Cora has the means to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes, but she can't find your land without the compass. Once we get it, steal the ashes from her, and we're on our way."

Mulan looked back at the pirate. "How do we know you're not just using us to get the compass for Cora?" she questioned.

"Because if I were, Indiana, here, would have slit my throat open long ago. Isn't that right, baby sister?" Killian wondered. Indiana merely gave him a forced smile as she folded her arms over her chest. "And you six—" He paused when he looked back at Indiana again, "—five are far safer company."

Indiana snorted at the fact that he corrected himself. Even if he still saw her as his baby sister or close friend, he knew that she was dangerous.

"All I need is a ride back. I'll swear allegiance to whomever gets me there first," Killian finished.

"Well, we better start climbing," Emma pointed out.

Killian chuckled at this, causing Indiana to give her brother a look. "Right. So... I failed to mention that the giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders," Killian revealed.

"All right, so how do we get up there?" Emma demanded, for she was eager to get started. She knew that the sooner they got the compass, the sooner she could get home to her son.

"I've got a counter spell from Cora. If you'd be so kind..." He paused to lift his hands that were still tied together with the rope. Indiana narrowed her eyes at him as she untied them with one swift movement. "Thank you, baby sister."

"No problem, Cap," Indiana snapped.

With that being said, she observed as the pirate tugged at his sleeve. A glimmering cuff wrapped around his wrist was revealed. "I've got one more of these," he told them, waving his hand at them.

Indiana took a second to observe the rings on his fingers. He wasn't married, but that wasn't what threw her off. What threw her off was the small 'I.J.' tattooed onto his index finger.

"Cora was to accompany me. So... which one of you four lovelies shall take her place. Hm?" he childishly asked. "Go on. Fight it out. Don't be afraid to, you know, really get into it."

Once he said that, the girls all exchanged glances before they broke out into debate. Indiana could only stand back as she listened to her four companions argue over who would climb up the beanstalk with the arrogant pirate.

With her arms still folded her chest, she pondered upon the thought of simply taking the extra cuff from her brother and begin climbing up the beanstalk herself. The idea was tempting, but Indiana would rather not spend numerous hours alone with her big brother.

"What's the matter, baby sister?" Killian queried from beside the girl. "Do you not wish to climb the beanstalk with me? C'mon... It'll be fun. I'd love to see you climb a beanstalk for the first time."

Indiana scoffed at his words. "I'd rather rip my own liver from my body," Indiana blandly told him. "Besides, I've had my fair share of beanstalks. The Giant would recognize me."

Once she finished her statement, she thought about how she climbed up her first beanstalk long ago with the Lost Boys because they wanted to give Peter a present. It was one of those days where they were each feeling rather appreciative toward the boy.

"By the way, what's with the tat?" Indiana wondered. When Killian furrowed his eyebrows in confused, she raised a hand and pointed at her own index finger. "I.J? Indiana Jones? Really?"

"Ah, you noticed," he realized, rubbing his hand. "I know you're not an idiot. You know why I have it." He paused. "I never abandoned you."

She raised an eyebrow. "You said that already," she pointed out.

He nodded. "Aye," he confirmed with a sudden look of sadness in his eyes, "but just because I say it twice doesn't mean you'll accept it. Some day you will."

Indiana looked at the ground, feeling guilty once more. Without another word, she walked away to see what the others were debating about now.

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Indiana speculated why Mulan was so obsessive when it came to keeping track of time while her brother and Emma Swan ventured up the beanstalk. Normally, the brunette would be expected to be so obsessive, considering that's all she did for the majority of her life. She was obsessive over finding out the truth, over finding adventure, over learning Captain Hook's real name, over getting Hazelnut Soup for dinner, over training Snow White, and so much more. For the first time, it was someone else. For the first time, Indiana realized how annoying it truly was.

While Aurora slept, Indiana learned about how Mulan and a man called Prince Phillip traveled far and wide to locate Aurora, who had been under a sleeping curse. Ever since they found her and woke her up (considering Phillip was Aurora's true love), Aurora didn't sleep much anymore.

It didn't impress or fascinate Indiana very much at all, though. What intrigued her though was how every time Aurora woke up, she would be crying over the same nightmare that Snow White had after her prince woke her up all those years ago.

Aurora's description of the nightmare reminded Indiana of a memory where Snow White told her the exact same thing.

Snow White shot upward, suddenly becoming awake and alert with tears streaming down her pale cheeks. The moon shined down on her as she placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart. Indiana, her mentor at the time, woke up in an instant.

Though Indiana was rather cold-hearted, she had begun to develop a soft spot for Snow White. She was worried, for this was the first time Snow had woken up like that.

"I was in this room—this-this bright red room," Snow White had described after Indiana had gotten her to catch her breath. "There were these blood red curtains that matched it, too. It was so bright, but there were no windows or doors, so it didn't make much sense. And-And I couldn't get in or out. I was... trapped like a squirrel in a snare. And the curtains... they were ablaze. It was horrible."

Ever since then, Indiana had stayed up a few extra hours every night so that she would be there for Snow when she woke up from the nightmares. This happened every night for months. Indiana and Charming would take shifts staying up. Sometimes, both of them were so worried that the two would have all-nighters together. Indiana made the man swear to never tell anyone about how worried she was for Snow at the time.

What intrigued Indiana the most was the additional detail that Aurora told them. "I was hunched in a corner, and I looked over into the other corner," Aurora explained. "In the shadows, there was someone else there. I could just see his eyes. He was looking right at me."

It sent chills down Indiana's back. Just the lone thought of someone watching her could do that. It reminded her too much of the Shadow or her boyfriend – the boy who never slept. He would simply watch her until the wee hours of the morning.

Whatever it was that was watching Aurora in her dream, Indiana chose to not think about that. After some time had passed, Indiana glanced upward to spot Mulan urgently walking in some direction. Being more observant, Indiana noticed her was making her way to the beanstalk, where Emma and Killian still were.

Cautiously, Mulan whipped out her blade, creating a zinging noise as it was unsheathed. Indiana realized what was happening just milliseconds before Snow White, for she arched an eyebrow and asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Whoa, wait! What are you doing?" Snow White demanded, causing Aurora to wake up again. The two jumped upward and walked to Mulan, whereas Indiana stayed in her place on a log.

"Just stay back," ordered Mulan with a stern voice. "Emma gave me ten hours."

"No! No! No!" Snow White repeatedly yelled as Aurora asked in surprise, "What, you're just gonna leave her to die?"

"Ten hours," Mulan repeated. "She may already be dead." She turned back to the Beanstalk, swinging her weapon at it. It was the strongest blade in all of the realms, so Indiana wasn't too shocked to see that she had instantly created a dent in the tall plant.

This time, Indiana raised both of her eyebrows. Normally, she would have gotten up and reacted in some kind of way, but Snow White beat her to it when she jumped forward and tackled Mulan before she could swing again. Over Aurora's shouts, Indiana merely sighed and shook her head.

"This was your daughter's wish!" Mulan yelled after flipping them over so that she was now on top of the princess. Then, Snow White flipped them again.

"I don't care what you say!" Snow angrily responded. "You do not put my daughter in danger!"

"Stop!" a new voice rang out that could only belong to one other person. Emma Swan landed on the ground with a thud and a grunt as Snow White hopped off of Mulan.

"Emma!" Snow called out. She ran for her daughter, high off of adrenaline. "Oh! You okay?" She began to help the woman up.

"Two earthquakes and a giant beanstalk. I think my brain's still rattling around a little," Emma admitted in a slightly joking tone while Indiana sighed again and strolled over to help Snow hold her up.

"I did what she ordered," Mulan stated, staring at Snow White. "Nothing more than that." She looked over at Emma. "Did you get it?"

"Yep," Emma answered. She pulled out a golden compass that was the size of the palm of her hand. Indiana stared at it before suddenly looking around.

"Where's Captain Hand?" Indiana wondered.

"Your... brother's been detained. By the way, you two are more similar than I realized," Emma said after her vague explanation. "Now, Let's go. Get your stuff. We've got ten hours before he follows us."

Aurora and Mulan nodded, turning to walk and retrieve the belongings they took with them. "What? How?" Snow wondered in surprise.

"I got a friend looking after him till then," Emma answered, indirectly speaking of the Giant that lived on the top of the Beanstalk. Snow was panting for breath as she placed her hand on Emma's shoulder.

"You told her to cut it down?" Snow White asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Emma sadly admitted. "I couldn't risk—"

"We go back together," Snow interrupted with a stern voice. "All three of us. That is the only way. No one gets left behind. Do you understand?" Instead of answering, Emma pulled her mother and Indiana in for a hug. "Good. Now, let's go get that dust from Cora."

Indiana shot her goddaughter a look after pulling away from the hug. "Hug me again, and my brother won't be the only one-handed fool in this realm."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm really going to enjoy developing indiana and killian's relationship :) what do you guys think of them so far?

now that Indiana really has all of her memories back, we're going to start to see all of her previous personalities morph into one. though she'll be childish and giddy, she'll also be awkward/dorky at times, along with being cold-hearted. but don't worry, she'll never not be sarcastic lmao.

indiana doesn't really trust her brother right now nor does she like him very much. who knew she could hold a grudge for so long? haha. killian will be trying to act like they were before neverland. hopefully he can win his baby sister back :')