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────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐋

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After finally landing back in the waters that surround Storybrooke, Everly's feet took her to the front of the Jolly Roger to find a strange-looking village in the distance that already seemed better than Neverland. Her eyes continued to stare at the small town while everyone else on the ship prepared for their departure. When she turned her attention away from the buildings and back to the docks, the blonde girl found a good forty people gathered around the Jolly Roger while greeting everyone who got off the ship.

The shouting of her name filled the air as soon as her feet came in contact with Storybrooke's docks before her whole body stilled. A shaky breath passed over her lips as she turned around to see her pirate crew rushing towards her before she found herself stuck in the middle of a giant group hug. After being stuck in the center for a moment longer, they end their embrace before Everly shared a smile with each and every one of them. However, the girl's joy of being reunited with the first family she'd ever known soon faded when her eyes landed on Pan and Felix talking in the distance. Everly quickly yet subtly finished her last greeting before making her way over to the two boys, only for their eyes to land on her before sinister smiles appeared on their faces.

"What are you planning?"

"Why do you think I'm always planning something, little Lost Girl?" Pan questioned with mock innocence in his tone that in no way matched the look on his face.

"You've always been the schemer. Why stop now?"

"Well, if you must know, Everly, Felix needs to be punished," Pan smirked before his eyes left hers and landed on the tall boy next to him. After a moment of the three of them just staring at each other, the brunette turned his attention away from the two of them and towards the group of adults in the distance. "Hey, Mom! Dad! What about Felix?! He's still free!"

"What are you doing?" Felix questioned in a hushed tone as panic began to flow through Everly at the sight of the group of adults making their way toward them.

"You don't have to do this, Felix, just forget about all this," the Jones girl whispered while casting her gaze back in his direction before the boy's gray eyes landed on her once again, "I can convince them that you're not the bad guy. You can start over."

Everly caught the flash of hesitation in his eyes before Felix quickly shook it off and turned his back to her just as the adults reached the three of them them. The former Lost Girl watched as Emma pulled her "son" away from the tall boy then she felt someone grab her wrist and pull her away from the Lost Boy. Irritation flowed through her as she was forced to stand by Neal's side while Regina and David went to confront Felix.

"Henry's right. We can't just let Felix walk away freely," the Evil Queen stated as she watched the blonde boy with irritation in her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, we've got plenty of cell space for this guy," David responded before roughly grabbing Felix's arm, causing Everly's body to still as she continued to stare at the gray-eyed boy.

As if sensing the hurricane of emotions that began to build within her, Neal wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him while lifting her feet off the ground in the process. Everly's eyes followed David as he dragged Felix farther down the dock before she felt something in her snap then she began to struggle within the man's grasp.

"Wait! Stop!" Everly shouted as she kept trying to break away from Neal, only for his grip around her waist to tighten. Shock flowed through every inch of her body when David stopped in his tracks before he and the rest of the people surrounding them turned their attention back to the young girl, "please! Don't do this! Let me talk to him!"

"I'm sorry, Everly, but we already let you try that," Prince Charming said while Felix sent her one last long look before the former resumed taking one of the only reasons she stayed sane on Neverland away.

"It's for everyone's safety, including yours," Emma told the Jones girl, who found herself glancing over at Pan to find him smirking back at her before her eyes landed back on the blonde woman behind him, "I know it's hard to see that now, after everything you went through on that island, but you will understand eventually."

"Calm down, Ev, please," Neal whispered just loud enough for only Everly to hear, causing the latter to stop struggling. The son of Rumplestiltskin kept his arms tightly wrapped around her waist as the two of them watched David and Felix disappear around the corner before the brunette man continued speaking. "They aren't gonna hurt him. You can trust them. They're not like Pan."

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After only spending a day in Storybrooke, Everly could already tell she wasn't going to like it there. Everyone had been watching her closely every second since her outburst as if she'd turn on them at any moment. Even Killian and Sam watched her like she was about to snap and she always had one of them by her side since they got to the small town.

In an attempt to avoid all the skeptical looks that were being thrown her way, Everly found herself in the motel room that Granny gave to her and Sam. While the blonde boy watched an object that neither of them were familiar with, the Jones girl was quietly lying down on the bed next to him while fiddling with the bracelet Felix gave her. No matter how much she tried to forget the Lost Boy who turned his back on her, there was something that kept pulling her back towards him that she couldn't shake. There was something off about Pan and his plans that made her want to stay by that blonde boy's side so she could keep him safe from the Demon King.

The blue-eyed girl's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of the door squeaking open then her eyes left her bracelet and landed on Killian standing in the doorway. All feelings towards the town and the Lost Boy soon vanished before Everly jumped off the bed and made her way over to the pirate captain. As soon as she reached the raven-haired man, she gently pushed him back out into the hall before closing the door behind them. A shaky breath passed over her lips as her mind tried to figure out how to word the question she'd been dying to ask the pirate since they arrived in Storybrooke.

"What's up, Evie?"

"It's about Sam," the young girl told him while going back to fiddling with her bracelet as her nerves returned, "he doesn't have any family left or anywhere to go so I was wondering if you'd consider taking him in...like you took me in."

"Is that what Sam wants?"

"I wanted to ask you first. There's no point in getting his hopes up only to be turned down. He's had enough disappointment to deal with."

A moment of pure silence passed between the two of them before a small smile appeared on Killian's face. "It's fine by me if the boy wants to join the Jones family."

As soon as he finishes speaking, Everly jumped into his arms and gave him a tight hug just as the door swung open behind us. The two pirates quickly turned around to find Sam standing in the doorway with the biggest smile on his face.

"Were you listening to us the whole time?" the blonde girl questioned, only for the boy to nod in response without even trying to hide the giant grin on his face.

"Welcome to the family, Sam Jones."

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The next day was the same as the last as Everly sat in their room with Sam while he participated in his new favorite pastime of watching T.V., which was something neither of them experienced before coming to Storybrooke. Just as the blonde boy was about to give up on finding something interesting to watch, there was a quiet knock at the door before Granny came in. The gray-haired woman sent the pair a small smile before handing them a small bag. After exchanging a look with the boy next to her, Everly thanked the woman and sent her a grateful smile before she left the room.

Sam rushed to open the bag once the door was closed before pulling out a small box with the words "Peter Pan" written at the top. As soon as the duo saw how Pan was portrayed on the cover, they began to laugh nonstop before they decided to watch it.

Just as Captain Hook made an appearance in the movie, Killian walked into the room before his eyes landed on his on-screen alter ego. Everly and Sam's laughs filled the air once again as they watched the pirate captain stare at the cartoon version of himself on the screen. This continued for another long moment before the raven-haired man finally turned his attention away from the movie and back to the duo sitting on the bed.

"What's with the face?" Everly asked once she saw the giant smile plastered on the man's face.

"I have a surprise for you," Killian told, her causing a small scoff to pass over her lips before she plopped back down on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling, "look, I get all of this has been a lot for you but you've been in this room long enough so you're coming with me whether you like it or not."

Knowing she wouldn't be able to get out of this by the tone of his voice, Everly let out a groan before getting to her feet while sending him a fake smile along the way. The pirate captain responded with an eye roll before he grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her out of the room. This continued throughout the hallways and down the stairs to the diner before Killian took her out the door and onto the streets of Storybrooke.

When they finally arrived at the end of the block, Killian stopped while keeping his grip around Everly's wrist as the two of them stared up at the large building. Before the former Lost Girl could even ask why the pirate captain brought her there, a woman with short brown hair dressed in navy blue appeared at the top of the concrete staircase. The blonde just stared at the woman for a long moment before the man next to her resumed pulling her alongside him and up the flight of stairs until they stopped right in front of the brunette.

"You must be Everly. It's very nice to finally meet you. I'm Mother Superior."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"I'm going to let you two talk," Killian told them, causing Everly to send him a perplexed look.

Before another word could leave her mouth, the raven-haired man sent the younger girl a smile and gave her a hug then left without saying a word. Confusion continued to flow through Everly as she watched his retreating figure disappear around the corner before she looked back to the woman standing next to her.

"What did I do now?" the leader of the Saved Ones questioned, making the smile on the woman's face grow before a small laugh escaped her.

"You haven't done anything wrong but I do have some important information I'd like to share with you," Mother Superior told the young girl while taking Everly's hands gently into hers before looking her directly in the eyes, "I know the name you were given by your birth parents. Would you like to hear it?"

"Uh, yeah...I would."

"You were given the name Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel? What kind of a name is that?"

The woman's mouth opened to respond, only for a distant scream to interrupt her before she even began. The two quickly looked away from each other and in the direction of the sound to find Pan's Shadow coming straight toward them. Right as the silhouette of the Demon King was about to swoop down on them, Mother Superior pushed Everly out of the way before the latter landed on the ground with a thud as screams filled the air once again. When the Jones girl looked back towards the brunette, she witnessed Pan's Shadow rip Mother Superior's away before the woman crumbled to the ground as the dark figure flew away.

"No, no, no," Everly muttered to herself while crawling towards Mother Superior, "come on. Wake up. Please wake up."

The blue-eyed girl ignored the dread beginning to flow through her veins as she continued to try to shake the woman awake, completely unaware of the group rushing towards her until someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Her gaze stayed glued to Mother Superior as David took the girl's place on the ground before checking for a pulse. After watching the man announce that she was gone, Everly was forced to turn around and found herself facing Killian.

"What happened?"

Her mouth opened to answer him, only for no words to come out as her body began to shake uncontrollably. As she continued to stare into his piercing blue eyes, Everly's mind replayed the scene of the silhouette coming towards them...towards her. In all her years trapped in Neverland, she had never had to face Peter Pan's Shadow until now and that was something she never wanted to come in contact with again.

"What happened?!" Emma shouted, causing the young girl to jump a bit while she kept her eyes locked on Killian.

"It was Pan's Shadow."

"Why would the Shadow kill her?" Tinker Bell questioned.

"It wasn't after her...it was coming for me. She pushed me out of the way," the Jones girl told them before forcing herself to turn away from Killian and face the three others behind her.

"Why would the Shadow come after you?"

"I don't know," Everly lied, receiving a skeptical look from Emma in response while Killian gently squeezed her shoulders, "but I do know the Shadow only takes orders from one person."

"Pan."

After they called a few more people and explained what happened, David and Emma placed a couple of blankets over Mother Superior while Everly, Killian, and Tinker Bell watched from a few feet away. It wasn't long after that when Mary Margaret and Neal finally arrived. As soon as they were finished, the sound of crunching leaves filled the air, causing everyone to turn their attention towards the sound to find Regina and Pan, who was still disguising himself as Henry, making their way towards them.

"What happened?" the Evil Queen asked while rushing towards them with Pan on her trail.

"The Shadow, it killed her," David answered as he got to his feet before turning around to face her.

"Pan's Shadow? I trapped it on the sail," Regina responded as Everly glanced over at Pan to find him already looking back at her with an emotionless look on his face.

"Yeah, well, it got free," Emma told her while keeping her eyes on the blankets on the ground in front of her.

"Hook, let's go back to the ship and get the candle. If it strikes again, we need to be able to capture it," Neal said to the pirate before his gaze fell on the blonde girl standing in between them. When she looked up at the brunette man, the former Lost Girl found him staring down at her with a look in his eyes that sent a wave of irritation through her. "Ev, why don't you head back to Granny's?"

"Even though I don't look like it, I'm still older than you, Bae," Everly retaliated, resulting in an annoyed look forming on his face before she continued speaking, "I'm not going anywhere."

"He's right, Evie," Killian sighed, making her quickly turn her attention away from Neal and to the pirate next to her, "you've dealt with Pan more than you should have in the last thirty years. You deserve a break."

"I think I liked it better when the two of you didn't agree on anything."

"Why were you over there anyway?" Mary Margaret questioned as she and David made their way over to the trio before coming to a stop right in front of them.

"Mother Superior wanted to tell me what she knew about my past," Everly explained, drawing everyone's attention away from the situation at hand before they all stared at the young girl with curiosity in their eyes, "the only thing she was able to tell me was the name given to me by my birth parents. She said it's Rapunzel."

"What?" Mary Margaret and David gasped, making the Jones girl glance at them with confusion in her eyes.

"Rapunzel. Strange name. Don't know what it means," Everly continued as she watched the two royals exchange a look before they looked back at her with smiles on their faces, "why are you staring at me like that?"

"Do you have a sun necklace?" Mary Margaret questioned, resulting in the blue-eyed girl glancing at Neal before she hesitantly nodded and pulled her necklace out from under her shirt to show them.

"We gave that exact same necklace to our first daughter before she was taken from us," David explained as Everly continued to stare at them with an unreadable expression on her face, "her name was Rapunzel."

"How can you two be my parents if I was sixteen on Neverland for thirty years?"

"I think we can all agree that the timeline is a little off so we can't know for sure without Mother Superior to confirm it," Mary Margaret told Everly before exchanging a look with David, "but everything points to you being our daughter."

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