╔══════════════════╗

INDIANA JONES
xxxviii. SQUID INK

╚══════════════════╝

PRESENT
THE ENCHANTED FOREST

"HUH... RUMPLESTILTSKIN'S CELL..." SNOW White trailed off from the inside of the underground dungeon. Mulan reached up and lit the torches that were hung along the wall as they all stood together in a small ground. "I haven't been here since before Regina's Curse. This is where he told us you were going to be the Savior."

Emma did a double take, furrowing her eyebrows together slightly. "He knew?" she wondered in surprise, staring ahead as Mulan and Aurora went ahead.

"Oh, it was prophesized," Indiana corrected, holding up the lantern in her hands. "You know, I've always liked fire."

Snow nervously chuckled. "Come on," Snow stated.

Together, the three girls walked ahead to where Mulan and Aurora stood together. "The Squid Ink... it's not here," Sleeping Beauty revealed.

"Gold said we would find it," Snow confusedly mentioned.

"Well, was there anyone else in here with him?" Mulan interrogated while everyone looked around. "Could they have taken the ink?"

"Mulan, we may be crazy, but we're not that crazy," Indiana declared. "No, he was kept alone. Visitors were forbidden. He was too dangerous to have human contact."

"How'd he keep from going crazy?" Emma wondered.

"He didn't," Aurora stated. Everyone turned to look at her. She stared at a small scroll that was most likely hidden in one of the many crevices in the walls.

"What is it? Is it a message?" Emma wondered.

Nodding, Aurora looked up from the scroll. "Yes," she revealed. "And I think it's for you."

As she began to open up the worn out paper, the blonde wondered, "Why would you think... that...?"

The single name that was written on the scroll seemed to shock not only Emma, but the rest of the group, as well. Emma's name was written repeatedly on the scroll.

For the next hour or so, Indiana Jones and the others searched every inch of Rumplestiltskin's former cell in search of wherever this mysterious squid ink was. Emma, however, was sitting on the ground, confused as to why Rumplestiltskin was so obsessed with her.

Mulan suddenly pulled out a small container, but it was empty. This revealed that there was squid ink in the cell, but there wasn't any more, causing everyone to grow utterly disappointed. Annoyed, Aurora snatched the empty ink container and threw it, hitting the object that would shut the cell.

"Aurora, what are you doing?" Mulan screeched.

"Helping me," a voice answered. Cora's voice echoed in the empty cave as she appeared from the shadows with Captain Hook by her side.

With the wave of her hand, Cora used her magic to take the Enchanted Compass from Emma. The Savior banged on the cage. "No..." she whispered.

"Don't waste your energy, dear. Rumplestiltskin himself couldn't escape from this cell," Cora happily stated. She turned to see Aurora. "Thank you, Aurora. We couldn't have done it without you."

With wide eyes, Snow angrily asked, "How could you do this? How could you?"

Indiana stared at the young princess with disbelief glimmering in her ocean-colored eyes. "I should've known what you were saying was too good to be true," she hissed.

Cora chuckled. "Don't blame her. She was only doing what she was told," Cora vaguely explained. She held up Aurora's beating heart that was formerly contained in a small pouch.

"You took her heart?" Emma asked, shocked. Although the answer to that question was directly in front of her, she still felt the need to ask.

"Actually, I did," Killian corrected. "It was a gift."

"Gift, my ass," Indiana snarled. For a moment, his smirk faltered, but it came back, nonetheless.

There was silence after that. Cora smirked and began to squeeze Aurora's heart. She groaned in pain, causing Mulan to run to her side. "Forgive us. We'd love to stay, but Storybrooke awaits," Cora informed the group. With a compass in one hand and a heart in the other, the woman turned around and exited the underground dungeon.

"Hook, wait," Emma called out as the Captain went to leave behind Cora. He turned around, seeing her gripping the bars of the cell. "Please don't do this. My son is in Storybrooke. He needs me."

Hook scoffed and took a few steps back to the cell. "Perhaps you should've considered that before you abandoned me on that Beanstalk," the man responded deviously.

"You would've done the same," Emma fired back.

He walked closer, so that he was now face-to-face with Emma. "Actually, no," he revealed. He held up a small object. "Do you know what this is, Emma?"

It was a magic bean. It was rather shriveled up, but it was still a magic bean. "The bean that the giant kept," Emma realized, reaching out to take it. He pulled it away.

"Yes, indeed. A pirate always keeps a souvenir of his conquest, but this... well, this is much more than a mere trinket," Hook revealed. He looked at the object. "This is a symbol—something that was once magical, full of hope, possibility. Mm. Now look at it. Dried up, dead, useless." He leaned forward. "Much like you. The time for making deals is done, just as I'm done... with you."

He glanced over at Indiana.

"Maybe if you're lucky, I'll come back for you... or maybe I'll just take a forgetting potion and forget all about this."

Indiana glared at her brother. "Screw you, Killian," she hissed. With that being said, Killian smirked and backed away, turning to exit the cave behind the mother of the Evil Queen. "You petty, no good, son of a—"

Indiana interrupted herself by beginning to punch the bars of the cell, causing Emma to join her, only using her sword instead. "We aren't going to break it down," Snow stated while leaning against the wall.

Sighing in defeat, Emma walked over to the wall and sunk down to the ground. Aurora walked over to Mulan's side, copying Emma's actions. Meanwhile, Indiana continued to hit the cell.

"The forgetting potion was one of Indiana's biggest regrets," Snow whispered to Emma. "When I met her, she said that only thing she remembered was taking the potion and appearing in the Enchanted Forest. Said she regretted it because she would never know what she was running from."

She paused.

"Neverland and her brother is a really touchy subject. Indiana never told me too much about Neverland since she didn't remember a lot about it, just that there were a lot of boys there. She never stopped looking for Killian Jones, though, like the story says." Snow looked over at Indiana with a frown. "Indiana."

Punch.

"Indiana."

"Stupid, stupid boy..."

"Indiana!"

"What, Snow?" Indiana demanded, spinning around angrily. "I don't need a stupid pep talk right now! I know the cell won't break! It was enchanted to hold Rumple—freaking—stiltskin! I know we don't have a chance! I know!"

"Indie, maybe you should just—" Snow started to say.

"Do not call me that," Indiana interrupted, her English accent becoming thicker the angrier she became. "Don't ever call me that. He called me that and the last thing I need is for him to be on my goddamn mind right now. Now that I have all my memories back, everything feels as fresh as a fucking daisy. And now we're stuck in this stupid cell because my stupid brother and Cora trapped us in here... None of this would've happened if he would've just told me the truth since day one..."

See, Indiana never had an actual time in her life to be angry and punch things after she found out. From the moment she found out, she asked Peter to wipe her memories. Now that everything was triggered, Indiana was beyond angry.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, Indiana kicked the cell as hard as she could. When it made the smallest of dents, Emma, Snow, Mulan, and Aurora felt their blood run cold. Then, Indiana sunk to the ground, leaning against the bars of the cell.

"This is my fault," Aurora declared.

"No, it's mine," Mulan responded. She stared at Aurora, who looked back at her. "Cora stole your heart because I failed to protect you."

"That's very sweet," Emma sarcastically commented as she stared at the ground. "But I believe it's my fault. I'm the Savior and I'm not doing much saving, am I?"

Snow sympathetically smiled at her daughter, walking over and sitting beside her. "We're going to win this fight, you know," Snow softly stated. "Good always defeats Evil."

"You sound like Henry," Emma mumbled.

"Guess optimism runs in the family," Snow shrugged.

"I think it skipped a generation," Emma opinionated.

"You should know it better than anybody," Snow began. "You broke the curse."

Indiana snorted. "And what has she done since then?" she wondered, still bitter. She knew she was going to regret letting her frustration speak for her, but in that moment, she didn't care. "She got us stranded over here, she burned down the wardrobe, she let Cora get the ash, and she let Cora get the Compass.

Snow shot Indiana a look, but Emma nodded in agreement. "The only reason I ever broke the curse was because it was what Rumple wanted her to do. I had nothing to do with it," Emma agreed.

"What are you talking about?" Snow wondered.

"He told you I was the Savior. It was his plan," Emma continued. "Once I fulfilled that role, maybe that's all I was ever meant to do. Everything I've ever done—he had it all mapped out before I was even born. I'm not powerful. I'm—I'm not... a Savior." She pulled out the scroll, handing it over to her mother. "I'm a name on a piece of paper. I'm a pawn, and that's exactly why we are in here... and Cora's on her way to Storybrooke."

Indiana sighed. "I get you're too busy being sad, but your pessimism is seriously becoming annoying," Indiana snapped. "Put on your big girl pants and grow up."

"That's a lot coming from you," Emma muttered.

Indiana's eye twitched at her words. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the brunette demanded.

"You know... Neverland and all that jazz," Emma awkwardly answered, scratching the back of her head.

Indiana shot up and walked over to her quickly, pressing her dagger against her neck, causing the others to gasp.

"I don't care if you're the Savior," Indiana hissed. "I don't care if you want to shower us with your sparkles and sunshine, despite the fact that you're one of the most negative people I've ever met in my entire goddamn life. And I most certainly do not give a single flying fuck that you're my goddaughter. If you ever mention Neverland or anything remotely related to Neverland again, I won't hesitate to gut you like a fish. Got it?"

"Indiana!" Snow shouted with wide eyes.

"Stop!" Mulan exclaimed.

Nonetheless, Emma nodded quickly and Indiana smirked, sitting down beside her. Snow, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief and said, "We are going to get out of here."

"How? By staring at a piece of paper?" Indiana tested. "It's not going to magically open the door for us, you know."

Chuckling, Snow nodded. "Actually, it will," she revealed.

Indiana looked up with an unimpressed expression on her face, pretending she was on The Office.

They all watched as the woman stood up with the scroll in her hands. She walked over to the front of the cell. "When I was a little girl, I used to sneak into Cora's chamber and watch her practice magic," Snow began to say. "She had a spell book, and Indiana, the spells were in the book."

"Yes, that's why they call it a spell book, dear," Indiana deadpanned.

Snow shook her head. "Watch," she offered. She blew on the paper, watching as the words flew off the page.

Emma jumped up in surprise. "Whoa! Squid Ink! Gold wrote the scroll in Squid Ink!" Emma exclaimed.

Snow continued to blow at the ink cloud until it created a hole in the cell. She looked back at the others. "Told you," Snow said. "Good always win."

As they were about to leave the underground area, Aurora jumped up. "Wait! I can't go. You have to tie me up," the girl demanded.

"No. I'm not leaving without you," Mulan said, refusing the princess's orders.

"I can't be trusted, not as long as Cora has my heart," Aurora reminded them.

"I will get your heart back for you," Mulan declared determinedly.

"Mulan, we gotta go," Emma pointed out. Time was passing by with each second. They needed to leave and get to Cora before they could get to Storybrooke. Mulan nodded and tied her up.

"Good luck," Aurora softly said to Snow, Emma, and Indiana. Snow smiled at her.

"Thank you. Good luck to you," Snow responded before turning on her heel.

That was the last Indiana saw Aurora.

➖➖➖

Standing on the opposite side of Lake Nostos, Indiana Jones observed as one of Snow's arrows shot the Compass out of Killian and Cora's hands.

"You're not going anywhere! This portal's taking us home!" Snow exclaimed, referring to how Cora created a portal in the lake, using the water and its magical properties to restore the magical bean. She glanced at Mulan, Indiana, and Emma. "The Compass—get it."

The witch quietly muttered some command to Hook as Emma sprinted to grab the compass. Mulan, Snow White, and Indiana prepared to battle one of the ugliest monsters they had encountered so far throughout their adventure: Cora.

Mulan deflected a fireball that Cora had thrown at her while Emma and Hook used their blades to fight against each other. Snow stood her ground, prepared to shoot her arrow at whichever villain. She kept a special eye on Indiana and Emma, not having much attachment to Mulan.

Cora suddenly vanished away from Indiana and Mulan. Her satchel, however, went flying. It was just about to fall into the portal until Hook bent backwards and caught it with his hook. Inside the bag was Aurora's heart. He threw the bag at Mulan, who easily caught it.

"I may be a pirate, but I bristle at the thought of a woman losing her heart... unless it's over me," Killian mentioned. Indiana rolled her eyes and handed the bag off to Mulan.

"Go!" Indiana ordered. Mulan shook her head, still wanting to help. "Aurora still needs her heart! Get out of here!" Mulan nodded and handed her sword to Indiana.

Knowing what to do with it, Indiana put her whip back where it belonged. Indiana's ears perked up and she instinctively pulled the dagger out of her boot, throwing it in the direction where Cora reappeared seconds after. It lodged itself in Cora's arm. The witch hissed in pain as she pulled it out. Indiana smirked at this.

As Indiana and Snow White eyed Cora, who taunted them by pretending to shoot fireballs at them, Indiana glanced over and noticed Emma punch Hook in the face. He instantly fell over, unconscious.

"Let's go home!" Emma shouted.

Indiana smirked at her. "That was a good punch!" Indiana admitted. "But it's not as good as mine."

Emma smiled slightly, but shook off her comment. Now that they had one less person to deal with and that the Savior had control of the Enchanted Compass, Emma was more than happy to fight Cora. She ran at the woman, who was just a few feet away from Indiana and Snow White. Cora disappeared just before Emma's blade could stab her.

"Run!" Snow ordered. The trio turned on their heels and run for the lake.  Cora suddenly appeared right in front of where they would have jumped. She used her hands to send a gust of wind at them. They flew back. Cora repeated the action, this time not blowing it at Snow. Emma and Indiana laid on the ground as Cora stood in front of Snow. "Why do you want to go to Storybrooke?"

"Because my daughter needs me," Cora answered. "And now I'm going to give her the one thing she's always wanted—your heart. Goodbye, Snow."

Before Cora could take Snow's heart, Emma suddenly shoved the woman out of the way. "Emma!" Indiana and Snow shouted.

"Oh, you foolish girl!" Cora commented with her hand in the blonde's chest. "Don't you know? Love is weakness."

Suddenly, a burst of magic greeted the air. Cora went flying backwards after failing to rip out Emma Swan's heart. Shocked, Emma asked what that was. Indiana and Snow ran up to her. "That is a great subject for discussion... when we get home!" Snow exclaimed.

The three of them ran forward. Emma held out the compass. Snow and Indiana grabbed it. "You ready?" Emma asked. The girls nodded. "Let's go."

➖➖➖

PRESENT
STORYBROOKE... HOPEFULLY

There was absolute silence amongst the group as they stood around a well, hoping that it would be Snow White, Emma Swan, and Indiana Jones that would appear from inside the object. Tears began to fall down Henry's face, believing that they were dead after Regina and Rumplestiltskin attempted to murder whoever was trying to cross through, for they were fearful that it would be Cora.

The realization began to hit Henry Mills all at once. His mother, his grandmother, and his sister were dead. Even if they weren't related, Henry and Indiana were so incredibly close. And now... they were dead.

Or so he thought.

A hand clamping itself down on the surface of the well caught his attention. A groan followed, as well as a, "It smells like absolute shit in here! Hurry up!"

Emma Swan pulled herself out of the well, stumbling as she regained her balance. Then, Snow White followed. She turned to face Indiana. "Must you always be so impatient?" Snow wondered.

Indiana popped out of the well shortly after her question, shrugging as she leaned against the well to regain her center of gravity. She looked over, spotting Emma, Snow, and Henry all hugging in one big group hug. Indiana's eyes widened.

"Henry!" Indiana exclaimed.

Henry pulled away from the hug, a big smile plastered on his chubby, pale face. He ran at Indiana. "Anna!" Henry greeted, equally as excited. Indiana hugged him tightly.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" Indiana breathed.

"I missed you, too," Henry squeaked out, barely able to breathe from how tight the hug was.

"I missed you," Indiana said again. She finally pulled away from the hug.

"You said that already," Henry pointed out. Indiana laughed.

"I know."

Snow looked around in confusion. "She saved you," Henry revealed, looking over at Regina, who was getting up from where she laid on the ground. "All of you."

Emma hugged Henry again, thanking Regina. Suddenly, Red went running toward them. "Are you okay?" Red asked worriedly.

"Red!" Indiana exclaimed, running toward her and hugging her tightly. Snow joined the hug, creating another group hug again.

Snow suddenly pulled away from the hug. "Oh! Where's my husband?" Snow demanded. "I need to find him."

Nodding quickly, the two ran to Mr. Gold's Pawnbroker.

Indiana sighed. "After this, you and I are going to have the greatest movie night of all time, you hear me?" Indiana said to Henry, bending forward slightly. "We'll watch anything you want... as long as it's not pirated."

Then, she turned to run after Snow and Red.

When Indiana Jones had gotten to the shop with Snow White and Red, the Dwarves and Granny were all crowded around David's sleeping body.

"Whoa... déjà vu," Indiana mumbled, earning a few nods from the Dwarves.

She frowned when she looked down at David. It actually bothered her to see him like that. Snow gasped and sat down on the bed where David slept, placing her hands on his cheeks.

When Snow didn't kiss him immediately, Indiana rolled her eyes. "Oh, just kiss already!" Indiana exclaimed.

Snow leaned down and kissed him once she said that. Grumpy raised his eyebrows. "Déjà vu," he mumbled, mocking Indiana slightly.

Suddenly, David gasped as he woke up. He smiled immediately upon spotting Snow leaning over him. "You... You did it," David stated.

Snow grinned at him. "Did you ever doubt I would?" Snow asked.

"I did."

"Indiana!"

Just like that, things seemed to be going back to normal.

Storybrooke's future showed nothing but clears skies, but maybe a hook would be involved. The fairytale characters didn't know that, though.