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INDIANA JONES
lxvii. EYE FOR AN EYE

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PAST
THE ENCHANTED FOREST

FOR AS LONG AS the world has spun around on its axis, Indiana Jones has always had one issue, that being the common noun known as determination. When she had something on her mind, she refused to stop going on about it until some kind of course of action was taken. Either Indiana was too oblivious at the time or she simply didn't care enough to take note of how irritating this quality could be. This was one of those times. Luckily, her best friend loved her enough to look past it.

"But Snow," wailed Indiana Jones as she unwillingly followed behind her partner-in-crime throughout the Enchanted Forest. "Those guys were complete jerks. We should've done something!"

"No, Indie," Snow calmly denied while pushing past a tree branch that was in the way. "If I always let you do whatever went on in that brain of yours, we'd lose our heads and people would die. I know you would do the same for me."

"No one would have died!" argued Indiana.

"And what would you have done when your bloodlust got the best of you?" Snow fired back, stopping and turning to face Indiana properly. "I know you. I know you can't stand for bullies, but this time was too dangerous. You saw all those Black Knights. Regina could have gotten us if we had chosen to take course."

"But—"

Before she could finish her thought, Snow interrupted the brunette from speaking. "Indie, you know I love you, but what exactly were you planning on doing? Asking them to stop? That's not you, Indie. I've seen it all first hand. You've torn people apart, literally. You've done unspeakable things because you come from a broken past," Snow pointed out. "Getting revenge on some bullies who won't matter this time next year is pointless. Getting revenge would only keep the wound open longer, perpetuating your business and squandering your time on something you can't change."

Indiana released an exasperated sigh. "I guess... I guess you're right," she mumbled. "I guess I'm just not the hero type, after all."

Snow placed a hand on her friend's bicep. "No, you are. You can be a hero," she soothingly told her. "Remember this for next time: an eye for an eye only ends up making the world blind."

Although she never showed it due to her bloodlust always getting the best of her, Indiana Jones never forgot those words...

➖➖➖

PRESENT
UNDERWORLD

... until now.

"HADES!" an angered Indiana shouted, slamming the door to her apartment shut. "YOU HAVE 3 SECONDS TO COME OUT BEFORE I RAM MY FIST DOWN YOUR THROAT AND PULL OUT YOUR BLOODY SKELETON!"

Just as she had hoped, the God of the Underworld had appeared just barely within those 3 seconds Indiana had given him. "You know," Hades began, "you could've just asked nicely and I'd--"

He was interrupted by Indiana angrily grabbed him and pushed him against the wall, placing her hand around his neck. "What in the name of the devil is your bloody problem!?" barked Indiana. "First, I find out that I've been stalked by some pathetic God for most of my life, and now, I discover that you killed my aunt!?"

"On the contrary, she was already dead," Hades calmly said, making a choking sound when she tightened her grip around his neck.

"I know you're very aware that I cared for her deeply," she continued. "All I'm asking for you to do is tell me why."

Hades shrugged. "She was my second least favorite of the Jones, right after your father. Though I never really got to meet him, she did just fine in satisfying my hatred toward the two of them," Hades choked out in attempt to keep his composure.

"Bring her back," demanded Indiana. "I don't care for the means of how you do it. Just do it."

"Or what? You'll kill me? Look around at where we are, dear," Hades spat. "I can't bring your precious Aunt Lucy back. Once your soul touches the River, you may never return. So go ahead. Try to kill me."

Indiana's lips twisted into a wicked smile. "No, you can't die. Not under normal means, but that doesn't mean you can't feel pain," she pointed out, referring to the choke hold Hades was in. "No, I won't kill you. Instead I'll count to 5. If I get to 3 and you're still here, I will crush your skull. If I get to 4, I'll rip out all of your limbs, and then I'll cauterize the stumps. If I get to 5... I'm going to throw your torso through this wall down 5 stories and then... then after all that, if you're still asking for more, I'll make it my job to make you wish you were dead."

Hades gulped loudly, his face paling. He knew he had struck the wrong nerve, yet all he said was, "Revenge won't fix anything. An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

Tensing up, Indiana knew Hades had gotten the best of her, even if he was now afraid of his favorite "character."

Instead of doing anything else, Indiana let him go, dropping him onto the floor. Then, she stormed out of her apartment.

➖➖➖

The most normal response to frustration or irritation for Indiana Jones would be to punch the nearest thing around repeatedly until she was satisfied. That was what Indiana was planning on doing when she somehow arrived at a park. However, instead of doing that, she threw her body onto the first bench she saw, and then... she cried.

Indiana cried and cried until she wasn't sure if her body could produce anymore water, and when she thought that, she cried even more.

Guilt rose up from within her. It was her fault Lucy was dead. It was her fault all of this happened. She could have stopped so many things from happening, but she didn't.

She could have stopped herself from blowing up on Peter and Killian on that day so many years ago. She could have stopped herself from becoming dark all because Cora told her to stand up for herself. She could have stopped the death of so many people. She could have done so many things that would allow her to not end up here of all places. She didn't know any better, so why did Indiana feel so guilty?

The Underworld had its ways. No matter who you are, no matter how strong you think you are, no matter how tough you think you are, no matter what, the Underworld would tear you apart. Being here in this state of purgatory wasn't some kind of vacation spot. It was horrible. Indiana was feeling things and thinking things she'd never even thought of before.

And the only reason she was even down there was because she had some bloody unfinished business. Indiana wasn't even sure what that unfinished business was! Did it have something to do with her family? Her friends? Peter?

It was pointless dwindling on those ideas, considering they were all still alive. Indiana was sure it had to do with her family, but when she met Liam and nothing had happened, her hope continued to cease from existence.

The Underworld had broken Indiana Jones.

From never-ending nightmares to facing death even in the land of the dead, Indiana was afraid it would be impossible to put herself back together again.

"Hey, uh, are you alright?"

Slowly, Indiana lifted her head up, seeing the one person she had a strong desire to strangle most of the time.

"Of course I'm not, James!" Indiana snapped. "Do you go up to every sobbing lass and pester them with idiotic questions!?"

James lifted his hands up in a surrendering-like manner. "Alright, alright, simmer down," James told her, sitting down beside her. "What's...uh... troubling you?"

Indiana sniffled, and just when she thought she was done crying, she started up the waterworks again. "Everything!" exclaimed Indiana. "I didn't even know I could cry this much!"

The dead prince beside her blinked twice, unsure of what to do. James was used to comforting girls in order to get into their pants. However, this time was different. James didn't have any real attraction toward her. He simply felt... sympathetic for the crying teenager beside him.

"I want to go home," Indiana told him. "To Peter a-and Killian and Snow and David and Henry! Oh, I miss them so much, even Emma and Regina's constant bantering!" She paused, thinking about the mothers' arguing and sniffling again. "Maybe not that much."

"What's gotten into you?" James wondered. "The first time I met you, you nearly took my head out."

Indiana shrugged. "I-I don't know," she admitted. "It's the Underworld. I hate it here. My lust for revenge hasn't been this strong since I was 15! Why can't I just get it through my head? An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind!"

James put on a confused facial expression. 'If it clearly has been awhile since she was 15, then... just how old is Indiana...?' he thought.

Then, James awkwardly patted her back. "Hey... now... don't cry," James told her. "You have to look at it from different perspectives. Sure, an eye for an eye can end up causing worldwide blindness, but if look at it like this. You're receiving an eye for an eye. Now, you can look at the world in a different light. That isn't so bad, now, is it?"

Indiana wiped her eyes as she thought about his words. "I guess," she quietly admitted. She looked up at him, tilting her head to the side in awe. "Wow. This is the first time I've looked at you and not wanted to strange you."

James just rolled his eyes.

Just like that, a new friendship was born.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

just curious, what are you guys thinking of these chapters in the underworld? are they boring? i'm not very good at writing 100% original chapters within fanfiction, so I can understand if you guys aren't really into them.

the only reason i'm really going in depth with these is because i want to develop indiana's character more and show how she's really beginning to open her eyes and realize that she can take charge of her own life and that she doesn't need anyone to help her with that, along with the fact that her walls are coming back down as she gets in touch with her roots from her youthful days.

also, i didn't want to just write that indiana went to the underworld and then the gang was back in the next chapter. i mean, that's about 2-3 years that's passed if i were to do that. what was going on? do y'all see what i mean?

so yeah, if you're not the biggest fan of these underworld chapters, that's the reason i've been writing them. i'm hoping to have the gang back within the next like 7 chapters (that was just a random number, don't take that literally).

ANYWAYS don't forget to leave a vote and comment or two! :)

also special shoutout to you if you've actually been reading my author's notes