Chapter Text
Years previously, after her mother had taken Harry's heart and separated them, Evie had retaliated by removing her own heart and threatening to crush it herself. The method had been effective in fleeing her mother's oppressive grasp and finding safety with Snow. Still, even after the passage of almost three decades, Evie vividly recalled how it had felt to rip out one's own heart.
Along with the horrifying realization that Henry had been stolen out from under them by what amounted to insane zealots, Evie came to the conclusion that the pain of crushing her own heart paled in comparison.
She felt numb, her limbs refusing to cooperate when she tried. Harry was curled around her, refusing to allow her to leave the protective circle of his arms. She clutched at his forearm, manicured nails practically kneading at the leather of his jacket. He said nothing about the manifestation of her anxiety, instead pulling her closer, as if he meant to shelter her in his ribcage.
Distantly, she was aware of Emma attempting to dive into the harbor, her niece's desperate effort stopped only by her father's firm grasp. David held Emma close, one hand cradling the back of her head as she raged in his arms. "We have to follow them!"
"How?!" Regina snapped, the anger in her voice doing little to hide how it trembled. "We have no idea where they went and Hook stole the last bean!"
Harry flinched at that, hiding his face in Evie's hair. He breathed deeply, trying to fight the rising panic that refused to go away. His father's latest betrayal, even after everything, had wounded him deeply. Loss had constantly been followed by loss it seemed, and he was sick and tired of it. As if sensing the dark turn his thoughts had taken, Evie twisted her head to press her forehead against his temple, gently drawing her fingers against his arm.
"They've taken Henry?"
The quietly posed question brought the pair to their senses, drawing them from each other to see that Gold and Belle had arrived. Eyeing the blue-eyed woman, Evie was relieved to see she no longer wore the revealing, borderline trashy garb of 'Lacey'. She'd briefly crossed paths with Belle's previously un-awoken Storybrooke persona when the woman in question had come to her studio. 'Lacey' had spent the entire visit facilitating between insulting Evie's designs while still demanding she make her something for an insulting pittance of money. Thankfully, Harry showed up and escorted the protesting woman out before Evie used her magic to toss her out the window.
"Gold," David breathed, a faint spark of hope in his words. "You're the Dark One."
"You have to help us!"
"There's no way." Gold told Emma quietly, wearing a pained expression that made the ache in Evie's chest worsen.
Blocking out their argument, Evie's gaze cast around for something, anything. Glancing out towards the harbor, her breath caught at the distant speck growing closer and closer with each heartbeat. Gently nudging Harry with her elbow, she jerked her chin toward the sea. "Harry. Look."
Rising from where he'd all but burrowed in her hair, he followed her gaze, eyes widening. "That son of a bitch." He breathed, a feral light entering his eyes.
Belle had stepped closer to them, her vibrant blue eyes wide. "What is that?" She asked, drawing the attention of everyone around her.
"Hook."
To no one's surprise, least of all Hook, when Harry broke away from Evie on the dock and ran towards the Jolly Roger, it was not to hug his father. Instead, rearing back, his fist connected rather solidly with the older man's face, nearly sending Hook to the ground. Rolling her eyes, and ignoring Mary Margaret's scandalized gasp, Evie quickly made her way to Harry's side and entwined her hand with his now reddened one. Staring Hook down, she gracefully raised Harry's hand to her lips and pressed gentle kisses to his likely bruising knuckles, channeling healing magic as she went.
"What the hell are ye doin' here, da?" Harry demanded through gritted teeth, free hand clenching like he meant to throw another punch. "Last I checked, ye don't care about anyone but yerself!"
Swallowing thickly, Hook smoothed a hand over his smarting cheek and held eye contact with his enraged son. "Maybe I just needed reminding that I could, lad." Reaching down, he slipped a small leather pouch from his belt and offered it to his son.
Scowling, Harry snatched the pouch and dumped its contents into his open palm. He stiffened when a single, perfect magic bean was revealed, wide eyes flying upwards to meet those of his father. Nodding faintly at his son, Hook glanced over to see the rest of the group staring at him in stunned surprise. His dark gaze lingered particularly long on Emma before Regina spoke.
"Enough waiting around, let's go then."
"Go? Where?" Hook gestured back towards the town, wearing a hopelessly confused expression. "I thought we were saving the town."
"You're a little late for that." David deadpanned, arm tightening around his wife's shoulder. "We already did."
"Now we need to save Henry, Greg and Tamara took him through a portal."
Though it irked her that Hook practically leapt at the chance to put himself into her niece's good graces, Evie couldn't begrudge them of his help. As they all shuffled onto the deck of the Jolly Roger, she allowed Harry to pull her toward the helm of the ship. She distantly heard Belle and Gold arguing about the decision for her to stay behind, though the knowledge that Greg and Tamara had friends alarmed her to no end.
"Have you ever sailed before, Princess?" Harry asked quietly, absently, his eyes drawn to a scratched over etching near the wheel.
Evie hummed noncommittally, hooking her arm with his. "Once or twice, when mother felt like spending the day out on the water. Never on rough sea, and never through a portal." She glanced at the etchings that held his attention. "What are these?"
"They're... da did them, when Bae was onboard." Evie pressed closer at his words, her grip tightening around him. "Bae didn't know the first thing about sailing... but he took to it like he'd always been with us."
He'd spoken at length about his brother's brief time on the Jolly Roger, though Evie knew his time on Neverland had been traumatic and difficult. Especially after his father had given his half-brother up to Peter Pan and his Lost Ones. It had been the start of the rift between father and son, though Evie was sure neither Harry or Hook would have ever imagined how bad things would truly become.
"So, are you done trying to kill me?" Gold's low, acerbic question drew their attention, the pair watching with interest as, for once, Hook didn't immediately begin to start spewing threats at his 'crocodile'.
"I believe so." Hook snapped back in a low voice.
"Excellent." Gold enthused, his expression the very opposite of the word. "Then you can live."
Thankfully, there was no more posturing as Gold summoned a strange, cloudy globe that Evie could feel the magic emanating from. Watching intently as Gold pricked his finger on the pointed tip, the blood leaking and beginning to swirl across the white surface. Harry and Evie drew closer, the former's body going stiff as the blood began to condense into a singular shape.
"Where is that?" Regina asked, her heart sinking when she looked from the globe to Hook and Gold. Both wore foreboding expressions, and when she caught sight of the devastation on Harry's face, she felt the earlier panic begin to rise again. 'Where did they take Henry?"
Hook and Gold shared a wary glance between them, but it was Harry who answered. Eyes glimmering with a dark, growing hate, they remained fixed on the globe - on the island drawn out in blood - as he answered Regina.
"Neverland."