healed souls

✨secrets revealed✨

i was woken up to approaching footsteps,while i was crying i must have fallen asleep,i stand up and quickly pull my sword out,i heard the bushes rustle to my left,as i was about to attack i saw the familiar head of blonde hair "emma?" i asked

"avery?" my father,charming,and snow all walked out from behind her,i dropped my sword and ran towards her,crashing into her chest as i wrap my arms around her,i felt her instantly hug me back

"gosh avery! we were so worried about you" mary margaret tells me as i pull away from the hug

"where's henry?" emma asked

"he's at camp,he's fine" i reassure her and her shoulders relax "where's nina?" i ask curiously

"she separated from us to try and find henry faster" david explained and i nodded

"well...you're heading in the wrong direction" i say awkwardly

"it's okay,we're here to rescue neal" emma says and my dad doesn't look the happiest?

"you know where he is?" i say in surprise

"we found his old cave where he used to stay at" father said,i was shocked to see him,i'm not sure why maybe it's because the last timei saw him he got me a one way ticket to the emergency room? he didn't even stop by to visit me,at least what i know of,i quickly shook my head,ignoring those thoughts

"the tracks lead directly into that cave,this must be where pan is keeping neal" mary margaret spoke up and i didn't even notice i ended up by echo caves

"if the cave is some sort of prison,why aren't there any guards posted to stop us?" david asked

"because this prison doesn't require guards,echo caves" hook said waking closer to the entrance

"you know it?" mary margaret asked and i bit back a comment

'keep in check' i told myself

"all too well i lost half my crew inside those rock walls" my eyes widen "the only way to rescue someone from inside is to reveal a secret" he explained

"a secret? that's all?" mary margaret asked in disbelief

"your darkest secret" i continue "echo cave derives its name from an old saying 'the deeper the lie,the more truth in its echo' the caves demands that you reveal a truth about yourself,a secret you would never admit to anyone" i finish

"this is ridiculous" emma spoke

"can't argue with that" i shrug "this is probably the only place i haven't gone in all my time in neverland"

"even if we spill our guts how do we know neal is still alive in there?"

"because this is what pan wants" hook tells emma like it's the most obvious thing in the world "he wants us to rescue him"

"why?" david asked

"so that we reveal our secrets,he believes,once we do,our secrets will destroy us" i rolled my eyes at how dramatically my father said that

[...]

we walk in the cave and see neal on the other side in a cage made from bamboo,a very,very long distance separating us from him

"emma!" he shouts,his voice reverberating around the cave walls

"neal" she whispered

"it must be 100 feet across" mary margaret said

"even if we fashion some sort of rope there's nothing to attach it to,no way to swing over" david said examining the cave

"so what do we do?" emma asked no one in particular