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INDIANA JONES
xlvii. SECOND CHANCES

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PRESENT
STORYBROOKE

INDIANA JONES NARROWED HER ocean-colored eyes at the man sitting across from her. The two had been sitting in almost complete silence for three minutes, simply staring at each other. It seemed as though neither Baelfire nor Indiana had let the fact sink in that the childhood best friends were reunited.

"Favorite color?" Indiana suddenly questioned the man with graying hair.

"Green," Baelfire immediately answered with ease, matching her hard stare. "My mother's name?"

"Milah. My mother's name?" Indiana fired back.

"Trick question. You don't know anything about your mother. You lived with your Aunt Lucy," Neal declared confidently. "Biggest jerk in our village?"

"William," Indiana retorted. "Favorite dish?"

Neal smirked confidently at her. "Hazelnut Soup," Neal said.

Indiana nodded slowly as she leaned back in her seat from within the room Neal was staying in at Granny's Bed and Breakfast. "Alright," Indiana stated. "I believe you. You're the real Baelfire."

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

"Of course," Indiana joked as the door squeaked open. The two looked over to see who had entered the room, only to find Henry running in. "I'll leave you guys to it."

Indiana ruffled Henry's hair and walked over to the Diner. The brunette sat at the counter and casually spoke to Red.

A woman walking into the diner with a box of bagels grabbed Indiana's attention. She arched an eyebrow at the woman, who seemed to instantly walk toward her. "Hi. I'm Tamara," the woman introduced. "Do you happen to know a man named Neal Cassidy?"

Indiana raised her eyebrows. "Oh, yeah," Indiana replied. "I thought I recognized you from the pictures. I'm Indiana. Uh, Neal's room is just around the corner over there. He's the third room on the right, I believe."

Tamara thanked her before walking around the corner. Red leaned against the counter. "She seems nice," Red admitted. "Really nice, actually. I can see why Neal likes her so much."

"Hm, yeah," Indiana hummed in agreement. "She's nice, but no one's that nice unless they're from the Enchanted Forest."

"Maybe so," Red replied as they watched Greg Mendell introduce himself to Regina Mills.

"Hey, you wanna play a game?" Indiana suddenly offered.

Red shook her head immediately. "No way, sister," Red denied. "Last time that happened, you shaved my eyebrow off!"

"You're a werewolf! It grew back!" Indiana retorted. "Aw, come on! It'll be fun!"

Red paused, staring at her suspiciously until she sighed in defeat. "What is it?" Red questioned.

Indiana grinned excitedly. "I bet Greg and Tamara know each other," Indiana declared. Red scoffed. "What? It can't be a coincidence that they both aren't from over there and they're visiting Storybrooke."

"Hmph... fine," Red unenthusiastically told her. "Game on. Loser gives the winner 10 bucks." It was then when Emma Swan walked around the corridor and sat at the counter beside Indiana. "Can I get you anything, Emma?"

Emma shook her head. "No," Emma denied. "I'm just waiting for Mary Margaret." Snow seemed to walk into the Diner as soon as she was mentioned. "Hey! Why the urgent phone call?"

"It's August," Snow sharply informed her daughter, appearing to be shaken up. "I found him."

Geppetto looked up from the other side of Emma. "My boy? He's alive?" the man asked in surprise.

"Yes, but..." Snow trailed off with a hushed voice. "He's completely wooden. He's been living in an abandoned trailer down near the Toll Bridge."

Indiana raised her eyebrows. "Hmph, talk about some serious Morning Wood," Indiana joked, getting a stern, but amused look from Red.

"What can we do? Can we help him?" Emma wondered.

"Actually, I think I know someone who might be able to—Mother Superior," Indiana suddenly declared with an idea.

"Yes! Yes—the Blue Fairy," Geppetto agreed excitedly. "She helped once. She can help again. She must!"

Geppetto stood up from his seat, along with Emma and Indiana. They ran out of the Diner with no clue that Tamara was still in the Diner, completely listening to their conversation.

When they got to Mother Superior, she immediately said, "I know about August. He came to me shortly after the curse broke and asked if I would return him to what he was."

Emma shoved her hands into her pockets and questioned, "Why didn't you?"

"Because what he was is what he is," Mother Superior answered before turning to face Geppetto. "Do you remember the morning I found you on that beach all those years ago? The day I turned your son into a real boy?"

Geppetto smiled widely and nodded his head. "Yes. It was the happiest day of my life," the man confirmed. The thought of his son turning back into a puppet saddened him, considering he and his wife and tried so hard to have a child of their own.

"I told Pinocchio so long as he remained brave, truthful, and unselfish, he would stay a real boy, but he did not," Mother Superior continued. She watched as Geppetto glanced to the ground. "That is why he changed back. And that's why there's nothing I can do for him."

"It's true he's done some things he regrets—we all have—but shouldn't he have another chance?" Indiana wondered, staring at the fairy.

Indiana wasn't so sure why she felt so strongly about the situation. Maybe it was because she desperately wanted to prove that she could become good, that second chances were worth the hassle.

"If there is still a path of redemption for August, it is one that he must travel on his own," Mother Superior said. "No one can force him, or it will not be true."

Geppetto looked down once again. Indiana smiled at him softly. "Don't despair, Geppetto," Indiana encouraged. "I know there's still hope for your son. There has to be."

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Indiana uninterestedly listened to Geppetto blame everything on himself while Snow continuously reminded him that all children made their own mistakes. Indiana was still a bit bitter after what Snow White had said about how people couldn't change, but she was more determined to become good than to hold a real grudge on the woman.

They walked throughout the forest in search for the previously abandoned trailer that was occupied by August Booth. It didn't take long since Snow White had a profound memory. The group of 4 made their way over to the home. Emma and Indiana waited outside of it whereas Geppetto and Snow White investigated it, hoping to find an almost completely wooden August inside of it.

However, what they saw was something that Snow White wasn't expecting. It was as it used to be: abandoned. Confused, the group decided to turn around and search for the wooden man in town. That was when Emma got a phone call.

"Emma Swan," the blonde-haired woman greeted. She listened intently to whoever was on the other line. Indiana attempted to listen in on the conversation, but all she heard was a little buzz. Emma suddenly stopped walking. "August... Warn me? Warn me about what?"

The line went dead. All they knew was to rush into town and hope to find the selfish, cowardice, dishonest boy that was named Pinocchio.

"If August is still at the station, he's not picking up," David declared as he walked alongside the group, sticking his phone back in his pocket. It was then when a completely wooden August went stumbling out of the station.

"August!" Emma exclaimed, running toward him with Geppetto on her tail. August fell to the ground. "August!"

"I'm so sorry, papa," August sadly apologized to his father, who knelt beside his son.

"Everything was going to be fine. You have nothing to apologize for," Geppetto disregarded.

August turned his head toward Emma. "Emma." She sympathetically smiled at him until she noticed that he was propping himself up to say something to her. He gasped and wheezed as he spoke. "She's... She's..."

Just like that, August was no longer alive, for he was merely just a puppet composed of wood. Geppetto began to sob quietly, repeating his son's name over and over again. As he did so, Neal suddenly appeared on the scene.

"No... it wasn't supposed to end this way," Indiana sorrowfully said while looking down at the man. "He was supposed to get a second chance..."

"What happened?" Neal questioned.

"Someone killed him to stop him from telling us something," Indiana explained. "He used his last, dying breath to warn us."

Emma nodded. "I will not let that be in vain," the Savior declared with a determined look on her face.

Henry stared at the puppet, whispering, "Brave... Truthful, and unselfish." He looked up, repeating the words in a louder voice. "Don't you see what this means? That's what Pinocchio was supposed to be. There's still hope. We need the Blue Fairy."

Just as he said that, Mother Superior ran over to the group, saying that she was here. Snow asked what Henry meant, not understanding his idea. "I was able to turn Pinocchio into a real boy after he sacrificed his life for Marco's. If his actions today were indeed brave, truthful, and unselfish, then you're right. There's a chance I can do it again," Mother Superior explained.

She raised her wand. A blue light was emitted out of it as it surrounded Pinocchio. Just like that, a younger, human version of Pinocchio took the puppet's place. Tamara walked over to Neal while Pinocchio cheered, seeing that he was a real boy. Tamara suddenly realized that when Neal had told her that fairytales were real, he was right. She had seen magic for herself.

"Pinocchio, I have to ask you a question," Emma said to the little boy. "I need you to think real hard, okay? Before you turned into a little boy, you were trying to tell us something very important. Do you remember? You were trying to warn us about something."

The boy shook his head no, indicating that he had no recollection of what happened before he became a real boy. They would never know whom the she August spoke of. At least, that was what Indiana thought. But she didn't care about that, for it was true. Second chances really were worth it after all.

For once, Indiana felt hopeful.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

yall this chapter was so sloppy and messy i'm so sorry

but guys indiana is SUCH a hypocrite. she believes in this whole "second chances" thing so much that she doesn't realize she's acting the same way to hook and peter. she refuses to forgive them. cmon indie wtf man get it together