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INDIANA JONES
xlix. THE GIRL WHO NEVER STOPPED RUNNING

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PRESENT
STORYBROOKE

STUFFING HER HANDS INTO the warm pockets of her coat, Indiana Jones released a slow exhale, her breath visible due to the cold atmosphere. Her brown hair was pulled into a messy French braid, which was unusual for the girl. She typically kept her hair down or even in a ponytail on occasion.

Henry Mills silently sat beside her on a bench as they waited for the school bus to drive by. Henry was too occupied by listening to the teenager's rapid breathing to make conversation. Though her exterior remained calm and collected, Henry could tell something was wrong with Indiana. It was as if she was on alert, like a watchdog, like she was on the lookout for something.

Nonetheless, Henry chose not to prod her about the matter. He had known her long enough to know that Indiana preferred to be distracted from what was bothering her rather than delving in deeper about the matter. Therefore, the 11-year-old looked up at his Nanny and opened his mouth.

"You did something different to your hair," Henry noted. Indiana looked over at Henry with slightly furrowed eyebrows. He paused before smiling brightly at his Nanny. "I like it."

➖➖➖

PAST
NEVERLAND

Indiana Jones rested her head on Peter Pan's lap, sighing peacefully as his fingers ran through her messy hair. They massaged her scalp as the faint song of the Lost Boys hollering at each other played throughout the air. She stared up at the night sky, the bright stars lighting up the sky.

"Peter?"

He hummed in response.

"If I ever left Neverland, how would I return?" Indiana wondered with a soft voice. Peter looked down at her, confused as to why she would ask such a question. "I'm merely curious, considering I only arrived here because of the Alliga—" Indiana paused. "The Dark One."

Peter nodded slowly, failing to suppress a low chuckle. "It's easy. Look," Peter declared. Indiana carefully sat up and positioned herself beside him on the dirt ground. "Do you see that star?"

Snorting, Indiana replied with, "There are many stars, Peter."

"Do you see that star?" he repeated, this time pointing with his index finger. Following his gaze, her eyes stopped on it. It was the brightest star in the sky, just beside the Northern Star. "All you have to do is follow the second star to the right straight on 'till morning."

Indiana hummed and nodded before feeling the warm breeze tickling the tops of her ears. That usually never happened, considering her hair always remained down to cover them. Indiana felt the back of her head, feeling a strange pattern before ultimately realizing something. She looked over at him with a small smile.

"Since when do you know how to braid hair?" Indiana queried in amusement.

Peter shrugged. "I guess I'm just good with my hands."

Eyes widening, she playfully hit his shoulder before the two ultimately ended up laughing in each other's arms.

➖➖➖

PRESENT
STORYBROOKE

"Anna," Henry began, snapping the girl out of her thoughts once again. "Would you ever hurt someone?"

Almost instantaneously, the brunette's muscles tensed at the question. Just the thought of all the blood that had been spilt because of her doings made her clench her jaw.

"I've read your story a whole bunch of times. I know what you've done," Henry continued to say. "But I'm asking... would you hurt anyone now?"

Indiana glanced back down at Henry. "Why do you ask?" Indiana wondered nervously. "You're not... afraid of me, are you?"

He quickly shook his head. "Of course not! You would never hurt me. But would you hurt someone else?" Henry asked. "You know... like old times."

Indiana paused before shaking her head. "No way," Indiana declared, suddenly unsure of her commitment. Would she really never hurt someone again after all these years? Surely she would if she had to. "Not unless someone was trying to hurt you or me. I'm a good guy now."

Henry smiled at this.

"Good," he declared. "I believe you can be a hero. You're my hero, Indiana."

➖➖➖

Crossing each lace over another, Indiana Jones secured her athletic shoes and adjusted her braid. On her person, she wore leggings and an old sweatshirt to protect her fragile body from the cold weather. Indiana Jones had planned to go running, which was something she hadn't done in a long, long time.

Though it had been a long, long time since Indiana had done such a physical task, it seemed as though her stamina had yet to diminish. The cold breeze blasted against her face, causing her lips to dry up slightly. Her muscles continued to contract and stretch with each step she took.

That was something Indiana found herself doing a lot: running.

All her life, Indiana ran. She ran from the angry villagers that thought she was related to a ruthless pirate. She ran from the knights who were out to arrest and even decapitate her. She ran from Ogres. She ran from the Lost Boys (even though they were just playing a game). She ran from everything that was even remotely dangerous to her, despite the fact that Indiana knew how to protect herself way better than anyone she knew in the Enchanted Forest.

It made Indiana question a lot of her morals. Was she really going to keep running from everything in life?

A voice yelling brought her out of her moment of reflecting. "Indiana? Indiana!" a man's voice exclaimed.

Indiana turned around to see Baelfire walking alongside Emma Swan. She hadn't even realized she had been running on the docks until she heard them. "Bae? Emma? What are you guys doing here?" Indiana questioned.

"Long story," Emma brushed off while Baelfire replied with, "She thinks my fiancé is the reason the Magic Beans went missing, along with Regina."

"Whoa, whoa. The Magic Beans and Regina are missing? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Indiana questioned in surprise.

"I called, but you didn't answer. Now I see why," Emma mentioned, referring to the fact that Indiana had been distracted by her running. "We'll explain every--" Just then, Emma's phone began to ring loudly. She placed the phone by her ear while Neal began to explain everything.

It appeared that the Magic Beans had supposedly been stolen. The only remainder of them were the plants found in Regina's office (except they didn't have any beans attached to them). Since then, Regina had mysteriously gone missing and Emma, once again, had the strangest feeling that Tamara had something to do with it.

"So she didn't see anything?" Emma questioned, rather disappointed. On the other end of the phone was Snow White and Prince Charming. They had used magic courtesy of the Dark One in order to find Regina, but they didn't have much luck. Snow felt it was necessary to do as much as she could to gain Regina's forgiveness after killing Cora.

"She could sense Regina was in pain," David's voice said. "It was cold, she was strapped down, and uh, she said she could smell Sardines."

Emma fell silent, quietly gasping as she stared up at the Storybrooke Cannery just a few feet away from her, Neal, and Indiana. "Get down to the docks right now," was all she said before hanging up. She turned to the two. "I was right. Tamara wasn't out on a run. She was in there... with Regina."

Then, they ran.

Upon entering the Storybrooke Cannery, Indiana was forced to squint through the darkness. There was little-to-no light within the building and it was eerily quiet. Indiana could only hear the quiet patter of their footsteps as Emma Swan led the way with a gun in hand. All Indiana had to protect herself were the daggers she kept on her at all times.

"You sure you wanna be here?" Emma quietly asked Neal.

"I'm not gonna leave you two alone in this place," he answered.

"If something does go down with Tamara, I need to know you've got my back," Emma told him, pointing her gun in front of them as they walked.

"Though you're as annoying as a thousand nails on a chalkboard, I have the faintest feeling that if I let you die, I might actually feel bad about it," Indiana cockily mentioned.

"Emma..." Baelfire sighed, ignoring his childhood best friend's remark. "If Tamara is hiding Regina here in her evil lair by the docks—yeah, I got your back."

Then, the sound of something falling and clattering on the floor was heard. Emma, Baelfire, and Indiana each lined up on the wall, prepared to face whatever was hiding out. The same clatter echoed once again.

Cocking her gun, Emma turned to them and whispered, "We need a plan of attack. We can't just run in and shoot at Tamara."

Indiana rolled her eyes and pulled out one of the many blades hidden on her person. "I have a plan, Emma," Indiana retorted. "Attack."

Then, the impulsive brunette ran out from hiding and prepared to attack. Emma and Baelfire immediately ran after her. She was about to chuck her dagger at whoever it was, but refrained when she realized it was David and Snow running at them.

Immediately, they all let out a synchronized sigh of relief, lowering their weapons. "What the hell, guys?" Indiana questioned, staring at the gun David had pointed at her.

"Did you really bring a knife to a gun fight?" David retorted while pulling out a walkie-talkie.

"Let's not forget the many things I've done with a knife alone," Indiana sang with a twisted smile on her face. The thought alone made David visibly shiver. He handed the walkie-talkie to Emma.

"You, Anna, and Mary Margaret take the Basement," Emma ordered as they all stood together again. "We'll search the Main Floor. Regina's gotta be here somewhere."

Nodding, Snow began to follow her husband while Emma and Baelfire walked away. She looked over at Indiana and opened her mouth to say something, but refrained. Indiana could tell something was bothering her. Not thinking too much of it, Indiana brushed it off to follow them.

It was a quiet walk for a solid minute. Indiana had calmed down during that time, but her luck seemed to change when she felt Goosebumps riding up and down her arms. Paranoid, Indiana started to look around for the Shadow. She was becoming more aware of it, still unsure of what it wanted.

Snow glanced over her shoulder at Indiana before suddenly gasping and running over to her. "Are you okay? I promise, nothing's there," Snow gushed out, not realizing what she was saying until it was said. "I promise the Shadow isn't there."

That was enough to make Indiana stop and stare at her. "What did you just say?" Indiana asked.

David turned around to walk back to both of the girls. "Come on, we need to keep moving," David declared, unaware of what was happening.

"No, David," Indiana sharply declared. "Snow White, what did you just say?" Gulping, Snow looked back at David with a fearful look on her face. Indiana stared at David. "Did you tell her?"

David, suddenly realizing what the situation was, opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened his mouth again. "What-What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Did you tell her?" Indiana repeated sternly. They were silent, making Indiana scoff.

"Indiana—" Snow started.

"Unbelievable!" Indiana interrupted. "I trust you with one damn thing and you can't even go five minutes without blabbering it to someone? I didn't realize Snow rubbed off on you so much."

"Mary Margaret was worried about you. It just came out. I was going to—" David began.

"It doesn't matter. You told her! You knew how badly I wanted to be good, but then you had to put ideas in her head," Indiana snapped.

"I have told you everything and you have been supportive. Why can't I be supportive of you?" Snow asked.

"Let me guess, Snow, you're afraid that now I'm some kind of schizo freak that's going to go running around killing things to make sure they're not some mirage of my past," Indiana fired back, ignoring her words.

"Why can't you just say it? Why must you always refer to Neverland as just 'your past' when it's something so much more than just that?" Snow suddenly questioned, becoming angered. "There! I said it! Neverland! Peter fricking Pan! What are you gonna do? Slit my throat open? Huh, I'd like to see you try."

Indiana narrowed her eyes at her while David stood there, unsure of how to go about the situation.

"You have no idea what you're asking for," Indiana darkly stated.

"You know what? I think this whole "Shadow" thing you're playing at is just some way to make yourself the center of attention," Snow hissed. "Grow up, Indiana."

Indiana's eye twitched as she took a step forward and clenched her fist. Then, she turned and punched the nearest thing she could find, which was one of the machines in the Cannery. It made a large dent, causing Snow to jump back into David's arms.

Then, Indiana walked away and this time, they didn't stop her.

➖➖➖

Mumbling profanities under her breath, Indiana clenched her jaw, knowing she had run from her problems yet again. It was something she would never stop doing. Perhaps this was her legacy. This was how her friends and Henry Mills would remember her when the Shadow finally drove her crazy enough.

She turned a corner, immediately jumping when she saw Emma Swan and Neal. "Dammit, you scared me," Neal admitted light-heartedly. When Indiana merely stared at him, he gave her a look of concern. "Everything alright?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Indiana muttered as Emma heard something over her walkie-talkie.

"Emma? You gotta block the exits. Is Indiana with you?" David asked through the device.

"Already on it. You guys all right? Did something happen?" Emma wondered while pulling down the door to block the exit.

"Oh, we're fine. It's nothing to worry about. Um, we found Regina... with Mendell," David revealed. "He's coming your way."

"Greg Mendell?" Indiana asked in surprise.

"So I was right. It wasn't Tamara," Neal said, turning around to walk.

Noticing something behind Emma, Indiana opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Tamara swinging a pipe and hitting the Savior in the back of the head. She fell to the ground unconscious with a grunt, accidentally releasing her gun. It skidded on the ground.

"Actually... it was," Tamara declared while picking up the gun. "I just had some help."

"Holy shit," Indiana breathed. "Ruby owes me ten bucks."

"What are you doing, Tamara?" Neal demanded as the dark-skinned woman pointed the gun at them.

"I have to keep magic out of this world, Neal," Tamara hissed. "It doesn't belong here. You more than anyone should understand that. It's a poison. And I'll start by taking out little Miss Indiana Jones."

Indiana stared at her with a blank expression on her face. "That supposed to scare me?" she deadpanned.

"You lay a finger on her, and you'll regret it," Neal defensively snarled. "You've been lying to me. How long have you been lying to me?"

"This is more important than any—" Tamara started.

"How long!?" Neal shouted, interrupting her and making Indiana jump at the sudden noise.

Tamara was quiet for a few seconds. "Since the beginning... Since I spilled coffee on you," she revealed.

"B—Neal," Indiana started, unsure of what to say to him as he sighed angrily.

"It wasn't an accident," he realized. "You planned it all. None of it was real."

"Neal, you're a good man. I know that," Tamara mentioned. "So please try to understand. I Had a job to do—an important one, one I think you can agree with."

"You never loved me," Neal continued.

"No."

Neal was silent. "I can't let you leave here, Tamara," Neal finally said, beginning to walk forward.

"Neal, please don't make me," Tamara pleaded warningly. Then, she pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang through their ears as the shell casing clattered and Neal cowered onto the ground.

"BAELFIRE!" Indiana shouted. Tamara pointed her weapon at the brunette. Knowing better than to fight someone with a gun pointed to her face, Indiana raised her hands in the air and for once, began to think of something—anything.

Tamara walked over to Neal, who laid on the floor panting as he held his wound. She raised the gun to his face. "I'm sorry, Neal," Tamara faked.

"You should be," Emma's voice rang as she kicked the gun out of her hands and punched her in the face. Indiana immediately went to Neal's side.

"Are you okay?" Indiana asked, gaining an annoyed look from her friend as Emma and Tamara continued to fight like two high school girls. "Right, stupid question. Um, you're going to be fine. Just stay with me."

Then, Emma ran toward them and grabbed the gun that had flown out of Tamara's hands. "It's over," Emma breathlessly declared, pointing the weapon at Tamara, who laid on the ground.

"No. It's not," Tamara hissed. She pulled out a clear object before throwing it at them. Indiana's eyes widened as it glowed a bright shade of green.

It was a Magic Bean.

"Get back!" Indiana yelled as the bean opened up a portal in the ground. Emma jumped up, grabbing onto a pipe on the wall that immediately began to tilt at the sudden weight.

"Emma!" Neal shouted as Emma continued to yell in fear. Her grip loosened and she fell, but Neal managed to grab her before she was sucked into the green vortex. "I've got you!"

"We gotta get you to a hospital," Emma declared as the wood continued to crack.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Indiana exclaimed as the portal grew bigger. Emma suddenly pushed Indiana back and fell down, holding onto the floor's edges as she held onto Neal's hand.

"Emma!" Neal's voice called. "You can't hold both of us!"

"I'm not letting go of you—Uhh!" Emma groaned.

"You have to!" Neal continued.

"No! You're shot!" Emma fired back. "If you fall through that portal, you'll die no matter what world you land in!"

"No, but, Emma, Henry needs you!" Neal exclaimed. "He can't lose both of us. Don't make him grow up like we did."

Crying, Emma said, "Then don't let go. I need you. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Neal released Emma's hand and flew into the vortex. Indiana shot upward from where she had sat on the ground in a state of shock. "Baelfire!" Indiana exclaimed as Emma rolled over to stand up, away from the portal.

"Indiana, what are you doing!?" Emma shouted as the girl walked toward where Neal had disappeared.

Indiana paused and looked at Emma. "That's my best friend! I'm not running anymore!" Indiana yelled.

Then, Indiana Jones jumped into the portal.

Just like that, the girl who never stopped running finally stopped.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

well shit