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INDIANA JONES
xxxvi. THE WALKING DEAD

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PRESENT
THE ENCHANTED FOREST

MEANWHILE AT THE BEANSTALK, a raven-haired sailor hopped down tiredly as he attempted to regain his energy and breath. He cowered forward slightly, squinting just barely to see through the mist that filled up the dark atmosphere all around him. By the time he had been freed from the giant that kept him trapped, Emma Swan and her friends were gone, including his baby sister.

"My dear captain," a voice rang out. The man refrained from rolling his eyes as he tilted his head back, "it seems you've been on quite an adventure. Now, the Compass, please."

"Yes... That well... matters grew complicated," Killian trailed off as he turned to face the woman called Cora. "It's eluded me for the moment. The details of the affair are a bit of a bore."

"Really?" Cora suspiciously wondered with a fake grin. "Stealing my Protection Spell and climbing the Beanstalk without me might seem like a bore to you, but to me, it's betrayal."

As Cora looked into Killian's eyes, all she could see was Indiana. They resembled each other so much that it frightened her. She didn't show that though. "I was gonna bring it to you," Killian revealed. "Our agreement remains. We are going to Storybrooke together. I'll get it back."

Cora shook her head. "I don't have time for your games," Cora told him.

"Then you'll love my sister," Killian sarcastically remarked.

Ignoring his statement, she continued. "I've traveled through too many worlds to be brought short at the brink of success. Who was it who bested you? Don't tell me it was your sister."

"Not this time," he revealed. "The Swan girl. Emma. Rest assured, it won't happen again."

Laughing, Cora said, "No, it won't. You chose them and the consequences of that decision."

"Ohh..." Killian trailed off as he furrowed his thick eyebrows together. "Are you gonna kill me now? Go ahead. Try."

"So brave," Cora sang. "No, I'm not going to kill you. I have something far more satisfying in mind. I'm going to leave you here with your thirst for revenge and forgiveness unquenched..." Killian looked down. "...while I complete our journey without you."

Killian's lips twitched with a fake smile. "There's no reason to be rash. We can..." He took a few steps closer to her. "...discuss this."

"Your pretty face buys you a lot, but not my nor your sister's time," Cora hissed. "It's too valuable."

"I can do this," Killian assured, ignoring the comment about Indiana. "I can get it back. You need me."

Cora let out a laugh, twirling the umbrella that sat on her shoulder. "No, I don't," she said. She turned and began to walk. "You've had your chance. Now, it's my turn to do this—the right way."

Angrily, Killian Jones let out a grunt and used his hook to slice through the air at Cora. Unfortunately for him, she disappeared and he fell face down in the dirt.

While Killian muttered some rather unkind words under his breath, Indiana Jones found herself doing the same as she listened to Princess Aurora tell the others more information about her reoccurring nightmares. The figure that had supposedly been staring at her in the dreams was an 11-year-old boy named Henry Mills.

Emma held out a picture of her son out to Aurora, who confirmed that it was him. "That's impossible..." trailed off Emma with wide eyes as Indiana let out a grunt. She ran a hand through her hair. "It was a dream. How could you dream of my son?"

"I have no idea," Aurora admitted as Snow took a few steps back. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Maybe it wasn't a dream," Snow realized. Everyone jumped up and turned to face the Princess-Bandit. "That room—I've been there."

"When I told you about it, you didn't say anything," Aurora accused.

"You were terrified. I didn't want to make things worse by telling you I thought it might be real," Snow explained. Mulan began to question what she was talking about. It didn't make sense that a room in a dream was real. Snow turned to face Mulan. "The Sleeping Curse. It has to be. I went through it. Aurora went through it."

"Henry's been through it because I wouldn't believe him," Emma mumbled.

"He's—He's trapped there! He's going through the same crap Snow did all those years ago," Indiana rambled worriedly, her inner Anna James coming out. "Emma, we have to get back. Henry can't be going through that. Not without me."

Ignoring her, Princess Aurora spoke up and asked, "What else did you lie about?"

"I was—I wasn't lying," Snow told her. "I wasn't lying. I was protecting you."

"What did he say—Henry—in the—in the dream?" Indiana asked Aurora, biting her nails. Mulan and Aurora were shocked to see Indiana like this. Whoever Henry was, the two girls knew he certainly meant a lot to Indiana.

"He just said his name," Aurora revealed. "And then I woke up, and it was over."

Emma and Indiana exchanged worried glances as Snow White said, "Hey, it's going to be okay."

"We are so far from okay," Emma fired back.

"No. We have a way home now," Snow reminded them.

Indiana rolled her eyes. "We have a magical Compass, and the wardrobe ashes are still with Cora," she corrected her with a glare. "If that's your definition of 'okay', then great. We're all bloody inspired."

Mulan nodded. "Any attempt to steal from her would be suicide," Mulan agreed.

"Not anymore," Snow said. "We can stop her. I don't know how, but we all know someone who does..."

"No," Indiana told her, realizing what she was thinking. She walked toward Snow as she shook her head. "We're not asking the damned alligator man for help."

"Who?" Emma asked, confused. "Who's the Alligator man?"

"Rumplestiltskin," Snow revealed. "He'll know a way."

"Henry," Emma suddenly realized. "We can talk to him. Now, we can communicate."

"Wait, wait..." Aurora called out.

Indiana turned to face Aurora with a wicked grin on her face. "Oh, yeah, Princess," Indiana sang creepily. "It's light's out for you."

The following morning, Emma Swan led the pack of girls throughout the Enchanted Forest. Aurora and Henry had acquainted themselves with each other in the nightmare they chose to call the Netherworld.

"How close are we?" Emma Swan asked. "Henry could already be waiting in that Netherworld."

"No, we planned to meet back there in two hours," Aurora denied as Snow said, "Yeah, you're not going to leave him waiting."

"Yeah, but what if he's—" Emma started to ask while spinning around.

"No, he was fine," Aurora interrupted.

"There. That looks like relatively safe high ground. We'll set up camp there," Snow White pointed out, staring at a vacant area. "Aurora, you'll settle in and find Henry. Get the information we need from Rumplestiltskin. We do this fast, in and out. It's still dangerous out here."

"Look at you," Indiana mentioned as they hiked up a small hill. She was doing everything she could to take her mind off of Henry. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were taught well."

"That's because I was taught by the best," Snow joked.

"You know, you've really got to stop feeding my ego," Indiana mentioned with a small laugh.

Snow shook her head and laughed at this. The two girls never had a lot of moments like these back in the Enchanted Forest. Seeing Indiana smile was something rare for Snow. Now that she had seen her as Anna, Snow was beginning to realize that Anna never smiled much either.

The next thing they knew, Mulan was attempting to wake up Aurora, who was fast asleep as she tried to get information from Henry. The sound of branches snapping beneath the weight of something grasped everyone's attention as a group of men jumped out from the trees, attacking the women.

"Hey, Emma, you said Indiana Jones was your favorite story as a kid, right?" Indiana wondered, staring at the crowd of men that began to surround them.

Emma turned to her in confusion. "Yeah. That story gave me the courage to start stealing. Why? What does that have to do with anything?" Emma responded, puzzled.

She grinned and pulled out her whip. Snow turned to her daughter. "You're about to see the great Indiana Jones in action," Snow revealed as the sound of Indiana's whip cracking in the air was heard.

A man leapt at Indiana with a shiny sword in his hands. She merely bent backwards to dodge it, dropping to kick his feet from the ground. As he fell down, another man who was right behind him fell, as well. Indiana rolled her eyes. Men were so stupid.

She turned to the next man, who was attempting to attack Emma from behind without her even realizing. Indiana grabbed his wrist and pulled it behind his back, dislocating his right arm easily. He dropped his sword in the process, but that didn't seem to stop him. He flew back up and started to attack Indiana. She grabbed the sword from the floor and sliced his head clean off of his shoulders. That seemed to do the trick.

Crinkling her nose in disgust, Indiana couldn't help but feel as though something was watching her. She could feel a pair of eyes glued to her back. She could have sworn that when she turned around, there was a Shadow with yellow eyes staring at her by the trees. But when she blinked, it was gone.

Her thoughts on the all too familiar Shadow soon disappeared when the headless man stood up to continue fighting. Indiana's eyes widened. That's when it clicked. "Guys!" Indiana exclaimed. "Cora must be controlling these guys using the hearts she ripped out of their chests! It's like The Walking Dead! But in real life!"

"Any idea how to kill these things?" Emma shouted over the ruckus.

Snow shot another arrow while shaking her head. "None!" she yelled in response. She glanced over her shoulder. "Mulan!" She turned her entire body when she realized Mulan was missing, as well as Aurora. "Mulan? Where is she?" She kept looking around until she made a decision. "Emma, we've got to run for it!"

The three girls nodded at each other before sprinting in the same direction. They made their way throughout the forest, breathing heavily.

"You two still have your heads attached to your shoulders?" Indiana loudly asked the two girls behind her as she ran in the front of the line.

"Yeah, pretty much," Snow answered as they came to a stop. The leaves rustling caused them to perk up with alert again.

Indiana grabbed the hilt of her whip again, but immediately released it when she realized that Mulan was the one who was making all that noise. "They took her," Mulan breathlessly said. "Aurora's gone."

- - -

As Mulan led the trio to wherever it was they were going, a raven suddenly perched itself on Snow's shoulder. It cawed loudly and ruffled its feathers, causing Emma, Mulan, and Indiana to spin around rapidly in surprise.

"Wait," Snow told the women.

"Not this shit again," Indiana grumbled while arching an eyebrow. She observed as the raven cawed a few more times.

"Again?" Emma repeated in surprise.

Indiana simply shrugged. "Your mom has a thing for birds. Whether that's a kink or not is up for interpretation," the ocean-eyed teenager half-jokingly, half-seriously stated.

With that being said, Emma shuddered and Indiana chuckled at her goddaughter's discomfort. Then, the raven flew off. "Cora," Snow suddenly said. "We have until sundown to bring her the compass. If we don't... she'll kill Aurora."

Emma pulled out the Compass from the pocket of her leather jacket. An instantly desperate Mulan walked forward to demand that Emma handed it over to her. "Hold on, Mulan," Emma calmly commanded. "Just give us a minute to consider."

"There's nothing to consider," the warrior spat. "A Compass is not worth Aurora's life."

"That's debatable," Indiana mentioned, earning a glare from Mulan. She raised her hands innocently. "Hey, I was joking! Come on... You didn't think I was serious, did you?"

Snow took a step forward between her previous mentor and Mulan. "We need a plan to get Aurora and keep the Compass, is what Indiana was trying to say," Snow explained, attempting to fix the situation. "Isn't that right, Indiana?"

Indiana stared at her emotionlessly. "No. No it's not," she denied. Emma couldn't help but snort at this.

"My vow to Phillip was to protect Aurora," Mulan informed the women. "That promise is all that is left of him, so it shall be done."

She reached forward and attempted to retrieve the Compass from Emma once again. Unfortunately for her, Emma didn't desire to give up so easily. "I climbed a beanstalk for this," Emma childishly responded. "You will get your own."

"Give it to me!" Mulan shouted.

"Mulan. Mulan!" Snow called while rushing between the two women like she did with Mulan and Indiana. "Give us a few hours, please. If we haven't defeated Cora by then, you can have the Compass."

"You can't hope to defeat her. Not even if you have the King's strongest men," Mulan hissed, stealing a glance at Indiana, who narrowed her eyes at the statement. "We no longer have access to the Dark One's assistance." Snow sighed.

"Actually, we still do," Snow revealed.

"How? Princess Annoyance is gone," Indiana pointed out.

"Aurora isn't the only one who's been under a Sleeping Curse," Snow reminded them all. "I can go back to that Netherworld."

"The door to that place is closed. You said it yourself," Mulan added in confusion.

"There may be a way—a way for me to go back into a deep slumber, one that can let me access it again," Snow suggested. Emma asked if she wanted to go under another sleeping curse. "No. Not another curse. I don't need one. I've been under already. I need to go into a sleep where my natural defenses slip away, where my mind stops protecting me."

"How?" Mulan wondered. Snow turned away from Indiana and Emma, staring Mulan in the face.

"Your sleeping powder—if I inhale it, I will fall into a deep enough sleep that I should be able to do this," Snow answered.

"I used the last of it on the Giant," Mulan told her, thinking of how she gave Emma her sleeping powder back when she climbed the Beanstalk.

"Then make some more, genius," Indiana snapped.

"The Poppy plant is extremely rare in this kingdom," Mulan argued.

"I know of a place that may grow some more," Indiana revealed in an informative way. "I suppose I could've led with that, but it was rather entertaining to watch you all bicker. Now, it's a bit of a journey from here, but we can make it by sundown."