#some of the stories left on the crocodile piece certainly have touched my heart

[mister-carnival]

So blown away by the love and comments on my recent pieces. Thank you all so much, my heart is filled with joy.

[thejollyroger-writer]

Where Your Heart Will Fly on Wings - 1/2

Part One: A Ship, A Map, and A Secret

A Neverland arc (season 3A) rewrite where the gang doesn't meet Captain Hook until they get to Neverland to rescue Henry. Most of the end of s2 ("Second Star to the Right..." "... and Straight on' Till Morning," the last two episodes of the season) are the same: Greg and Tamara kidnap Henry. With Killian not present, I imagine that David succeeds in wrestling a bean away from Greg. They go to Rumple for help, and though he refused before, Blue's potion worked in giving Belle her memories back and he changes his mind. Somewhere in his shop, there is a ship in a bottle, and he removes this ship, docks it in the harbor, and leads Emma, Regina, Mary Margaret, and David through a portal that takes them to the waters surrounding Pan's island.

Also on AO3

Special thanks to @shireness-says my forever beta who only makes my life (and my stories) better, and all the ladies on discord who answered all the little questions I struggled with while writing this. Thanks, ladies. ( @kmomof4 @hollyethecurious @donteattheappleshook @elizabeethan @stahlop ) Written for @neverlandnewyear. Some other interested pals: @thisonesatellite @darkcolinodonorgasm @scientificapricot @carpedzem @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @regi-writes-stuff @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 @winterbaby89 

The ship touches down on the waters, the portal disappearing from around them — but what they find is no better. Fat, cold rain drops pelt them from above, and below them, the waves begin to toss the dilapidated ship in every direction.

“Great job, Gold!” Regina yells, wrapping one of the ropes around her wrist. “You landed us right in the middle of a storm!” 

“Believe it or not, dearie, my powers do not include the ability to control the weather, and certainly not in this realm!” 

"We don't have time for this!" David chimes in, helping Mary Margaret keep her footing on the quickly-dampening deck. "If we're even going to make it onto the island, we have to get through this storm together!" 

"And how do you expect we do that?" Regina chides. "This ship is barely more than a pile of old boards, it's not going to survive this storm." 

"Then maybe we should work together to try to make it through this!" Mary Margaret yells. 

"What do you expect us to do?” 

"Well, we can start by trusting each other!" 

Regina scoffs. "You think trust is going to get us through this storm? Is your trust going to keep us from taking on water?" 

"No," Emma mumbles, looking down to her feet, and the water that she finds there makes her realize just how much trouble they're in. 

And that's when something rams into the side of the ship. And again. And again. 

"What the hell was that?" 

"Sharks?" 

"Afraid not," Rumple mumbles, trying to plant his feet on the slippery deck to keep control of the helm. 

Regina looks over the railing, conjuring a fireball in her hand. "Mermaids." 

"Mermaids?" Emma repeats. "They're real, too?" 

"Does that really surprise you anymore?" Regina asks. 

"We have to do something!" Mary Margaret yells over the wind. 

"I am not being capsized by a fish!" David sloshes across the deck to a small cannon, which he loads a length of chain into before firing it into the water.

Mary Margaret picks a large net up off the helm, tossing half of it to Emma. “Help me get this into the water!”

“What are you going to do, catch one of them?” Regina tosses a fireball towards the surface of the water — which, surprisingly, works, and a mermaids around them back off the ship. 

“Yes!" Mary Margaret stops for a moment to glance at Regina before tossing the net into the waves. "And ask her to help us.” 

“Mermaids aren’t going to help you, dearies!”

“Obviously you’re also not going to help us, either!” Regina crosses the deck and throws out another fireball, clearing the starboard side just as she did the port. “There.” She wipes her hands on her soaked slacks and smiles at the fact that the storm also seems to have left with the mermaids. “They’re gone.” 

“Not all of them!” Mary Margaret says, grunting as she and Emma struggle to pull their fishing net back onto the deck. “What about this one?” 

With a flick of Regina's hand, the creature is out of their net and sprawled on the boards of the deck, her hands bound in front of her and her shining tail flopping into the inches of water that have settled onto the boards of the deck. 

But her presence on the deck only causes an argument to break out between them, each offering their own way to deal with her — to ask for help, to kill her, to let her go. With every question they ask her, she offers them a vague but threatening answer, and the storm that Regina thought was over slowly begins to reform around them. Even after Regina turns her to wood with a whoosh of her magic, they continue to argue amongst themselves, the storm surging around them — all except Emma, who realizes the mermaid’s plan was to set them against each other to be destroyed by the storm. With no other option, she tries to get their attention, screaming across the small ship towards them, but nothing works — and she dives into the sea. 

Quickly followed by a piece of metal rigging, pulled off by the winds into the water behind her and making hard contact with her head, immediately knocking her unconscious.

Without a second thought, David moves to dive in behind her, but Mary Margaret’s hand tight around his arm stops him. “No! You could get pulled under, too!” 

“Not to worry!” A voice cuts through the rushing wind and water, another ship appearing out of the darkness of the storm. Within moments, it is close enough for the man to follow Emma into the water, a rope tied around his waist. 

For a few long, terrifying moments, nothing happens. The storm still surging around them makes it impossible for them to see into the water, and they can only hope that the mysterious man can save her before it's too late.

After what feels like forever, a head breaks the surface of the water, Emma's bright hair a strong contrast to the dark waves, and the other man follows. 

"Pull me up, Scarlett!" he calls, facing away from their small ship, and the man just visible on the deck of the nearby ship does as asked, pulling the man with Emma in tow. David wants to oppose, beg the man to bring Emma back to their ship, but just the feeling of Mary Margaret's hand on his arm keeps his mouth closed.

"Can you get us over there?" Mary Margaret asks, turning towards Rumplestiltskin. He rolls his eyes, but twirls his hand in front of him anyway, taking them all onto the other ship's deck in a wisp of smoke.

"Is she okay?" David asks as soon as he finds his footing, kneeling beside where Emma is laying on the deck — just as she spits out a mouthful of seawater and rolls onto her side. Mary Margaret drops to her knees on the deck beside her daughter, wrapping her arms around Emma's shoulders.

"Perhaps we should give the lass a moment? A bit of space?" the man who rescued her says, leaning against the bannister behind him, his arms crossed behind his back.

"Oh, come on !" Regina cuts him off, raising her hand towards the wave, moving ever-closer to their ship. "We don't have time for all this." 

"Alas, she's right. I'm afraid we'll have to save the pleasantries until after the dashing rescue," he says, striding to what can only be his rightful place behind the helm and leading them quickly away from the waves, away from the storm. David helps Emma to her feet and they all watch as their old ship crumbles beneath the waves, after which the storm around them seems to disappear at an alarming rate; within mere minutes, the sun shines down from a cloudless sky and the soft wind blows lightly on the sails.

The man locks the helm into place and holds his hand out in a welcoming gesture. "This seems a much more appropriate time for introductions. Welcome aboard the Jolly Roger. "

"Okay,” David says, crossing his arms across his chest. "Who are you?"

"Captain Jones," he says, mimicking David's position -- which only draws attention to his left arm, which is blunted just shy of the elbow, replaced with a shining, metal hook. "But most people have taken to calling me by my more colorful moniker—"

Rumple laughs, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You've really owned up to your ailment, haven't you, Captain Hook ?" he says, spitting the last two words between his teeth. 

The man turns around, noticing Rumple standing behind him for the first time. "Oh, now that's just my bloody luck, innit?" He pushes his dark, wet bangs off his forehead with his wrist and lets out a small laugh. "All I was expecting was a few damsels in distress," he says, turning towards Emma for a moment and waggling his eyebrows at her before returning his attention to Gold. "Yet it appears I've caught myself a crocodile." 

"Like, Captain Hook Captain Hook? Waxed mustache and perm and Peter Pan?" 

"Well, love, I must admit I'm uncertain about the first two, but I'm glad to hear that you know who we're going up against."

"Up against? I just want to save my son." 

"Why do you think they brought him here, dearies?" Rumple asks, flourishing his hands to conjure a whisp of purple smoke, revealing a new outfit of dark pants and a black, reptilian-scaled vest. "Pan is the one behind it all, I have no doubts about that. And he is a far more powerful foe than any of you are able to go up against." 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Regina bites back, but Rumple is gone in another wisp of smoke before the question even leaves her lips. 

"It appears that even after all these years, he is still as helpful as he's always been," Hook says, his jaw obviously tight with tension.

Emma's head is spinning. She's spent months trying to wrap her head around everything about Storybrooke and her life, around the idea of true love and fairy tales and everyone's stories intertwining — but this, running into handsome, one-handed pirates in Neverland that have a history with Gold, goes beyond all else.

"Wait, you know Mr. Gold?" Mary Margaret asks, voicing the question they all seem to be thinking.

"Aye, " he says, wrapping his hook around one of the spokes of the helm, where his attention is also focused. "though he was not known by that name. Before he became the Dark One as well, if the rumors are to be true."

For once, Regina seems interested in what he has to say." But he's been the Dark one for —"

"Lifetimes, aye," he says, cutting her off, but turning his eyes down to where she is standing on the lower deck.

No one knows how to respond to him, so the deck stays silent. For the first time, Emma looks around, taking in the small crew that stands around them. There are five that she can see, not including the captain: another tall, dark-haired man standing against the railing, arms crossed over his chest; a stout man with a red beard and an even redder hat; a fierce-looking woman with a mess of dark hair piled high on the top of her head, her dark orange tunic and black pants having seen better days; and two dark, brooding young men, no more than twenty, on the far end of the deck.

"What brings you all to Neverland?" the woman asks. Emma is not surprised that she is the one who tries to make conversation, though she vaguely remembers something about women being bad luck on ships. 

"They took my son," Emma and Regina say simultaneously, and none of the ship's crew are able to keep their immediate reactions off their face.

The dark haired man leaning against the railing behind David barks out a laugh, but when Regina turns her glare in his direction, he snaps his mouth shut.

"What could Pan want with your son?" Hook asks. 

"Does it matter?" Emma spits back. "We need to get him back."

Hook holds up his hands in a gesture of reluctant surrender. "Of course, of course, you're right." He turns to the man still leaning against the railing, who pushes off to his feet when he sees the look on the captain's face. "Prepare for a return to open waters, I would like to dock at Pirate's Cove before dinner time, Mister Scarlett."

Emma expects a salute, given the rest of the captain's countenance, but the man — Scarlett — just nods and walks away.

"Dinner?" Regina asks, her voice dripping with anger. "What part of ' we don't have time for this' don't you understand, pirate?" she spits.

"Can I ask you how many times you've visited this island, your Majesty?" he asks, the same fire in his voice.

She's taken aback for a moment, but answers nonetheless: "Never."

"That's what I thought. I, however, have been here for longer than any of you can even imagine, which gives me the kind of knowledge you could use on this type of quest. Are you really going to turn that down?"

To this, Regina has no response.

"Now, the beaches at Pirate's Cove will prove much more useful to your mission here, and by sailing around the island, it will rid you of the necessity of walking either through or around the Dark Jungle, which I can assure you is something you do not want to do. So, yes, we are going to chance the few hours it will take to sail around the island to hopefully cut days off of what it would have taken you on foot, and then we will be closer to Pan's camp and it will hopefully prove easier to find your boy."

This time, it's David who is angered by his response: " We ? What do you mean 'we'?"

Captain Hook practically rolls his eyes at this, which almost pulls a laugh out of Emma. “Do you expect to navigate the island yourselves?"

Emma intervenes, trying to calm the tension while also ensuring they stay focused on rescuing Henry: "He's right, David, we could use his assistance."

He winks at Emma. "I had a feeling I was going to like you." 

  Though she knows she should be resting, bunking with Regina, David, and Mary Margaret belowdecks, Emma instead finds herself drawn to the crew of the Jolly Roger , and spends the next few hours chatting quietly with them as the ship makes its way across the surprisingly quiet waters surrounding Neverland.

Especially the woman — Tiger Lily, Emma learns. Something about her keeps Emma interested in their whispered conversation, and it does not take her long to learn that, like her own, the woman's background is full of sadness and sacrifice.  She tells Emma how she sacrificed herself to try to stop someone from turning evil and spending the rest of her magic to get to this island after exiling herself; tells her about being found by Pan and working for him in return, only to learn how evil and twisted his ways are, stealing boys from their families and never allowing them to leave. (" And there's something deeper and darker behind it all, something that he only mutters about with his second in command, a Dark Magic that keeps the island alive — I believe with the sacrifice of the boys who decide they want to leave." ) And Captain Hook, saving her as she tried to escape Pan, though she knew it was impossible — or, well, improbable. 

"And I've been in his service ever since. He was working with Pan for a while, too, and able to leave this realm. He asked every time we docked somewhere if I wanted to leave, to live a better life, but I've enjoyed the time I've spent with him as my captain. I've never known a better man." 

"Oh, is that so, Lily?" the very man appears behind them, a smile covering his dark features — except his eyes, Emma realizes. His eyes are the brightest blue she has ever seen, the same color as the soft waves moving in the sunlight. 

"Now, come on, Captain," she laughs, and the way she sets her hand on the captain's arm sends an unwanted shiver down Emma's back. "You and I both know you're nothing if not a man of honor." 

"Yes, but you're not supposed to divulge that knowledge to our new guests just yet." 

"And why not?" Emma asks, knowing that her crossing her arms over her chest is a defense mechanism, but that only makes her pull them closer to her. 

He wags his eyebrows across his forehead, then winks at her once more. "Can't go around telling everyone that Captain Hook is a big softie. I have a reputation to uphold." 

Emma rolls her eyes and walks away, if only to save herself from any more unwanted shivers or repressed feelings. 

Their mission is to save Henry. Henry comes first and everything else has to wait.  

  "Well, what are we going to do once we're ashore?" David asks, hunched over the Neverland map spread across the desk in the Captain's cabin. 

"Pan's camp is only a short distance from the Cove, remember?" Mary Margaret adds, the focused planner and adventurer that Emma has only seen glimpses of. "We can sneak up on him and—"

"Nope," Hook says from where he has planted himself in the corner, one boot crossed over the other and his arms crossed over his chest. "There's no way to sneak up on Pan." 

Regina's eye roll is practically audible. "You keep saying that but offering no helpful advice." 

"And you keep saying that but not actually listening to what I have to say." 

"Hook is the one with the knowledge of the island, Regina," Emma reminds her. 

"And I'm the one with the knowledge of magic, maybe we should just give that a try!" 

"What are you suggesting?" Mary Margaret scoffs. " Poof ing yourself into the middle of a camp on a magic island you've never visited before?" 

"What do you suggest, Hook?" David asks, if only to keep Mary Margaret and Regina from fighting. It's obvious that the last thing he wants to do is take advice from a pirate, but even David realizes that they are left with very few other options. 

"There is no way to plan what is going to happen once we reach those shores. Everything we do, everywhere we go, Pan will know about it and will always be steps ahead of us." 

"How have you spent all this time in this realm and not learned even a few tricks that could help us?" 

"Most of my years here have been spent on this ship, provided with rations by the very demon himself. Before that, he and I had an agreement that made us more comrades than foes, and all the time I spent on the island was for his own doing." 

"Oh, that's helpful," Regina mutters, leaving the cabin without another word. 

"So, let me see if I understand this," Emma asks, knowing that neither David nor Mary Margaret will be able to be civil about this. "Your plan… is to not have a plan at all?" 

Hook nods. "There is no other option in Neverland. It's Pan's game there, and he makes all the rules. Best we can do is be ready for whatever he throws at us." 

"I don't like this," Mary Margaret mumbles, and David wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to press a kiss against the top of her head. 

"It's what we have to do to get Henry back, and that's all that matters," he says, a princely tone of finality in his voice, and the room falls silent.

  "Can I ask you something, love?" Hook asks, his eyes leaving the horizon for just a moment to look at her (again, though she has only noticed a few of them) where she is sitting against the railing on the starboard side of the ship. 

"I'm not your love," she bites, looking up from one of Hook's maps that she's borrowed from his quarters. 

"I've had my share of run-ins with the Crocodile, and I've even crossed paths with the Evil Queen once or twice. The other two, that's Snow White, the princess, right? And her husband?" 

"And how do you know that?" 

He pauses, trying to chose his words carefully. He knows that if he says the wrong thing, he'll lose the small amount of ground he's made with them trusting him. "I've been… through an agreement with Pan, I can leave these waters every once in a while, as long as I fulfill some of the things he asks of me." 

"You work with him," she says, but her face fails to give away any of what is going through her head. 

"In a way, aye. But I've been to the Enchanted Forest, and I know what happened to it. How is it that you got here?" 

"Well, there was a curse." 

"Aye." 

"And I — I broke the curse." 

" You broke the curse?" 

"Yeah, I — I'm the Savior , apparently, because I — I'm their daughter." 

"Snow White's?" He's not nearly taken aback enough. "And the Prince." 

She nods. So does he. Somehow he is wrapping his head around all of this much easier than she did. Maybe once you're alive for a few lifetimes, things like this are a lot less surprising than they were for Emma. 

"How is it that you and the Evil Queen share the same son?" 

Emma can't help but laugh. Where does she even start? "No offense, Hook, but it's a very long story that we don't really have time for." 

"Aye, that I can understand." He lifts his hand off the helm to scratch his beard before moving his hand behind his ear and to the base of his neck. "But do you — you know — live together?" 

"No, no, it's more like… joint custody." 

"Come again?" 

Right. "Joint custody," she says again, even though the centuries-old pirate knows nothing about the ins and outs of child custody. "We, uh… share him, I guess. Take turns." 

"And what about the boy's father? Is he a part of this taking turns ?" 

His question turns her blood to ice. Neal. Where does she even begin? For a moment, she's angry — at Neal, at herself. "No." How dare he. How dare Hook to even ask about Neal, he has no right — 

He has no idea. It was an innocent enough question, there's no way he knew the still-gaping wound that a question about Neal would inflame. 

"He's — dead." 

"Apologies, love, I didn't mean to stir up any unwanted emotions." 

"Stop calling me that." 

"I'm afraid it's more of a habit than anything." 

She has no response to this and turns her attention back towards the map.

    "Bloody hell," Hook mumbles, though Emma and Smee, his first mate, are the only ones close enough to hear him. At first, they don't see whatever the problem may be, but as the ship continues to approach the shore, Emma sees him leaning against one of the trees just on the other side of the shore.

Pan. Emma can sense it somehow — her motherly instincts, maybe, or something like that, but she can feel that the man on the shore is Peter Pan. 

No. No, not man. Boy , with a pudgy teenaged face and dark hair that falls down to his eyebrows. 

"That's him," Emma says. She means for it to be a question, but it does not come out that way.

"Aye." She turns to him just in time to watch the edge of his jaw tick as he grinds his back teeth together. "That's the demon Pan." 

For a moment, Emma is unsure how she feels about all this. Hook's plan to take them around the island has already taken hours of their precious time, and all under the guise to keep them from Pan — only to have him waiting for them right where Hook brought them to shore. What if Hook had been playing with them the whole time? Giving Pan time to plan ahead while he wasted time sailing them all around the island?

But then she looks at him again, sees the rage obvious on his face, and she almost feels bad for questioning his motive even though she has every right to. 

"Bested us again," he mutters, but then straightens his back and looks out over the ship. "Prepare for docking!"

Pan watches, unmoving, from the shore as Hook and his crew lead the Jolly Roger to the dock — and, still unmoving, as they come ashore. Finally, he speaks. "Thank you for bringing our special guests ashore, Captain," the boy leers. "Good to see you're still good for something."

"You know I can't pass up the opportunity to give assistance to a damsel in distress, nonetheless three. And Dave." There's a joking tone in his voice, but it's not present anywhere else in his body. 

"Ah, yes," Pan says, pushing himself away from the tree. "Welcome, your highnesses. I hope you find Neverland as welcoming as you have spent all those years hoping your Enchanted Forest would be. And you, Regina, you and I have more in common than you may want to believe." 

Regina rolls her eyes, conjuring a fireball in her left hand. "Oh, please," she spits. "Let's do this the easy way: give me my son back and I won't burn your whole island down." 

Pan just laughs. "No, I’m afraid that's not going to happen. You're on my island now, and you're going to play by my rules." 

"Do you think this is a game?" 

"Oh, your majesty , that's exactly what this is. So, Emma, I'm going to give you a map." He pulls a folded piece of parchment out from under his tunic. "A map that will lead you straight to your son." 

"If this is some kind of trap," she starts, taking a step towards him with her hand on the sword on her hip. 

But Pan's soft laugh stops her. "I may not be the most well-behaved boy on the island, but I always keep my promises. The path to finding Henry is on this parchment."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

He chuckles again. "See, it's not about finding Henry. It's about how you find him. And, Emma," he says, placing his hand on her wrist as she reaches out to take the parchment. "You're the only one who can."

She takes it from him, then unfolds it — only to find it blank, save a pattern around the outside. "It's blank." 

"You sound surprised," Regina bites, but no one pays attention to her. All eyes are on Pan. 

"You'll only be able to read that map when you stop denying who you really are." 

Emma looks down at the map once more. Everyone around her looks at it. 

And when they look up, Pan is gone. 

  As they follow Hook's lead through the jungle, Emma's focus is on the map. She thinks of all she can: her background, everything she's learned since coming to Storybrooke. She even attempts to admit that she's the savior during a short break, but nothing works. 

Regina, angry and impatient and nothing if not motivated, takes it from her, insisting on magic, despite the arguments from the rest of the group. It works — to a point, leading them not to Pan's camp, but to an ambush by a group of Lost Boys. It does not last long, the heroes quickly overpowering the boys, but David gets nicked with a Dreamshade-tipped arrow — a secret he tries to keep from the rest of the camp.  

Hook sees it, though, the one in the group that really knows how deadly the poison can be, but he, too, keeps it to himself. 

He leads them away from the ambush, towards a cliff that looks out over most of the island. From there, he insists, they can plan a route through the jungle and maybe even scout out Pan's camp. But by the time they get there, the sun has set, and all they can see is shadow. "Now that you've seen what Pan can do in just a few short hours, we need our strength. I suggest we make camp."

Regina, unsurprisingly, is against his idea. "You want to sleep while my son is out there suffering?"

"If you want to live long enough to save the boy, yes," he argues, and no one has a comeback for this. Regina is first to walk away, huffing knowing that Hook is right. Hook is second, closely followed by David, who barks an order about finding firewood, leaving Emma and Mary Margaret looking out over the jungle.

They are silent for a moment, Emma obviously worrying about something, but Mary Margaret has learned not to push. And after a few moments, Emma does say what's on her mind:

"Regina's right, Henry's out there somewhere."

But Mary Margaret is ready with her positive comeback. "And Hook is right. We have to survive if we're going to get him."

"I know. I just hope we're not too late."

Mary Margaret leaves her there, knowing that sometimes, her daughter just needs her space to think. She stands there as the others build their camp, her attention turned once more towards the blank parchment — the map , removed from her pocket.

Though he does not mean to, Hook startles her with his approach. "I opted for first watch so you and the others could get your rest." 

Emma just shakes her head, starting towards the campfire, needing the monotony of the crackling fire to slow her mind down. "There's no way I can sleep here without solving this map."

"Then it appears you and I will be not sleeping together, love," he jokes, waggling his eyebrows at her with a smirk on his face.

Emma just rolls her eyes. "Listen, Hook. I am here to save my son. The very last thing I'm going to do is get distracted." 

His smirk is gone, not even a trace of a smile left on his features. "Of course, Swan. I meant no insult."

They sit in relative silence, the rest of them falling asleep quickly — or, at least, staying quiet. The sounds of the Jungle seem to grow louder in the darkness, almost deafening. But Emma's attention is still on the map.

"Nothing I can think of is working," she groans, dropping the map to the ground beneath her feet.

"None of those are what Pan is looking for. What have you been avoiding? What have you been hiding from, love?" 

She is already on edge, and his endearment only makes her angrier. "I am not your love, Hook. Why are you helping me, anyway?" 

He's been wondering the same, so he's quick to answer. "I've been searching for a glimmer of hope when it comes to defeating this demon for as long as I can remember. If finding your lad and ruining his plans takes his power from him, then helping you is the very least I can do." 

"But why? What did Pan ever do to you?" 

He's silent for a moment, trying to decide how much he wants to divulge to her, and he maks a quick decision. "It wasn't me personally," he lies. "But it's the principle of the thing. He preys on boys who think he's taking them to a better life, but all he's doing is taking them from their families. Growing up alone is the worst thing that could happen to a boy, and Pan thrives on separating families." 

"Sounds like something you know a lot about." She doesn't mean to be so forward, but once it's out, there's No taking it back.

"Pardon?" 

"Only someone who grew up alone would talk like that." 

Now it's his turn to get defensive. "And how would you know that? You're the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. What can a princess know about growing up alone?" 

She knows that there is no way for him to know otherwise, to know the truth about her childhood, but his assumptions about her still make her a little angry. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she grits, trying not to let her anger get the best of her. "My parents sent me through a portal when I was only a few hours old. I grew up alone , spent my whole life alone . I was an orphan, too, Hook. Or, at least, I grew up believing I was." 

"I'm — I'm sorry, Swan, I shouldn't have assumed—" 

"No, you shouldn't have." 

"You're right though, love. I, too, spent much of my life alone. My mum was sick and passed when I was a boy, and my father took my brother and I on a ship to a far-off land. Until one day, we woke up and he was gone. He left us there to settle a debt and we never saw him again." 

Silence settles between them for a moment, and then he smiles. "It seems you and I have quite a lot in common, then, love," he chides, but Emma barely hears him. She's too distracted by the parchment in her hand, which has revealed a map at some point in their conversation. 

"Hook—" she tries, but he cuts her off.

"Apologies, I know, you're not my love ." 

"No, Hook, that's not it." 

Finally he looks at her, trying to find what she is talking about on her face, following her eyes down to the parchment in her hands. But there is something else that has changed, too, something about her . He can't quite put his finger on it, but he thinks he maybe sees a glimmer of hope in her eyes. 

[doomedandstoned]

Atomic Mold Speaks... And The Universe Listens

~By Mari Knox~

At the New Year dawned, Doomed & Stoned gave you another listen into the always fascinating rumblings of the Italian heavy underground, debuting a new music video by Italian psychedelics ATOMIC MOLD. Their new album, 'Hybrid Slow Flood' (2018), as it just so happens, was just released today via Electric Valley Records. It's time, readers, to enter Atomic Mold's trippy world of sight, sound, and substance, with our embedded scene reporter, Mari Knox. Check it out... (Billy)

HYBRID SLOW FLOOD by ATOMIC MOLD

Let's start with the classic introduction. Who are Atomic Mold and what is your origin story?

Atomic Mold is: Fila Marco on drums, Marotta Davide on guitars, and Bonizzato Antonio on bass and vocals. The project started at the end of 2013, after the stoner band in which Marco and I played split up. After two months of testing drums and bass together, we had already written the pieces that would later make up our first album, issued in January of 2014. Massella Luca joined us and, in October 2014, we recorded the first self-titled LP.

In March 2015, we recorded a 12" split LP shared with German band Mount Hush for the Electric Valley Records label. That same month, Luca left the band and we played live in the bass and drums version for a whole year all around Italy. Exactly one year later, in March of 2016, Luca re-joined the band and live shows, which have often been abroad, giving us great satisfaction. During the long absences of Luca, Marco and I wrote the tracks that make up Hybrid Slow Flood. In January, we started recording that same album and Luca decided to leave the band permanently. Immediately after that, Davide Marotta came forward, a guitar player with whom there was a very good feeling, since that first jam in June 2016 and we went back to the studio to finish the recordings.

Each of you has his own interesting musical background. Toni and Marco played with the hardcore punk band Reset Clan and Davide had his own stoner rock project, Holy Fuzz. Tell us about your personal influences and how these affect the Atomic Mold sound.

Marco: My influences come certainly from black metal, death metal, and drindcore -- genres that I've always listened to, probably the reason for the energetic feel with which I beat the skins!

Toni: Marco and I have been playing together since 2005 in various projects and genres, very different from each other -- from stoner to hardcore punk. Musically, we have grown a lot together. "Yellow Crocodile" definitely makes us feel that we have hardcore influences. Every now and then in the rehearsal room, the vein gets closed -- we go totally ham -- and the bpm start to get crazy!

Davide: My musical influences are tied to the blues from the very beginning. For me, it has always been key to my way of conceiving and playing music. Throughout the years, I have developed an affinity for particular sounds like Hawkwind, Can, Jimi Hendrix, and so on. Growing up, I have undertaken darker and heavier sounds, first of all Black Sabbath, then Electric Wizard, Conan, and so on. I always try to capture details that are always distinct and different to add and blend into the composition and my way of playing, influenced by all the genres that distinguish my musical background.

'Hybrid Slow Flood' marks your musical return to the scene after two years. We can feel a little twist about your sound now -- it's tougher and strongly lysergic. What do you think has changed in your music and what kind of expectations do you have about the new record?

Marco: In the periods of time in which we played as a power duo, just drums and bass, we have experimented a lot with our sounds and I think that even if they were difficult times they helped us to grow. With the arrival of David, we have made our sound more complete and consistent.

Let's talk about the topics of the disc: from the title to the four tracks which comprise it, tell us how 'Hybrid Slow Flood' was born and what meaning we can find here.

Toni: "Hybrid Slow Flood" represents the slow, yet constant load of traumas, painful experiences, and disappointments with which we fill our minds in everyday life. The topics of the lyrics inside the record (what little words there are) revolve around hallucinations and travels within one's self, journeys that often border on the absurd and touch extremely conflicting emotions. We composed the tracks of Hybrid Slow Flood in two times: during the first long absence of Luca and then during his leaves of absence once he was back in the band -- for all of us that was a difficult period to deal with and I think that this has forged the sound and lyrics of the tracks.

Since your previous release (the Mount Hush/Atomic Mold split) until today, you've always worked with the Sardinian label Electric Valley Records. Surely we can say you have a lovely relationship with them, right? How was this collaboration born?

Toni: Yes, with Electric Valley Records, we have a very good relationship. They contacted us during the release of our first album and we started working immediately after for the realization of the split with a good harmony. In October 2016, with the tour in Sardinia together with Fatso Jetson, we met Marco Nieddu who is a great man and really puts his heart in what he does. For this reason, we naturally decided to issue Hybrid Slow Flood on Electric Valley Records, as well.

Regarding the artwork, you've relied on the work of the artist Errecì, who is the same guy behind the cover of the previous release. I'm really curious to know what the 'Hybrid Slow Flood' artwork means, with all of its cosmic and mysterious vibes?

Toni: Well, we found ourselves really happy with the work he did for the split and we like very much the work that he often publishes on social media, so we decided to rely on him. We sent him some lyrics that I wrote, that will end up in the next effort we are working, to use as a track. They are about a person in contact with Mother Earth -- something increasingly rare for us human beings -- and the energy that it releases.

In my opinion, one of your strongest musical characteristics is truthfulness, authenticity. Let me clarify: listening to you both live and on record, I always get the feeling of attending a jam session. I’d like to know how you organize your musical compositions and arrangements and how it takes place during your days in the rehearsal room.

Marco: We spend a lot of time improvising in the rehearsal room, trying to create real sound-images. For example, the track "Wood Line" was first born from a jam and, often when we are on stage, we get carried away and we dilate it a lot while performing.

I know you really love playing live. Besides Italy, you have played several times in Germany, where I've heard the crowds are very enthusiastic. Can you confirm this? Where did you like to play more? Have you got some funny anecdotes to tell us about your live experiences?

Toni: We can confirm that abroad the public is very warm and, even though in Italy there are some wonderful situations, every time we have been abroad, there people are around the stage from the beginning of your set and when you finish your thing they still want more, again and again, and this happens with all the bands in the lineup. People go to concerts to have some real fun.

Davide: The last time we were in Rosenheim, we were going to sleep at the home of a guy who had offered to host us, supposedly. After the evening, we were all pretty high and when we loaded the van we started looking for this guy so we could sleep for the night. No one could be found for an hour and, in the end, we found him completely drunk, crashing on the backstage sofa without the slightest bit of strength to bring us home or tell us where his home was. At that point, we went to sleep in the van to minus-five degrees weather and it was snowing all around us! That was a crazy night for one of us -- you have to guess which one -- that in his drunk and ice-cold dream-sleep started barking!

What are you doing lately? Are you writing new tracks or did you prefer to focus on promoting and touring for the new record?

Davide: In addition to the promotion of Hybrid Slow Flood, we are arranging some brand new pieces, this time composed, worked through, and created in a three-member lineup. These we will soon record for the next project of Atomic Mold.

Let me ask you one last question: If you could bring back a past legend or choose a modern band, whoever you particularly like, which one would you take on stage with you?

A band that we would like to resurrect and be able to see on the beaches of Sardinia with us is Sungrazer!

Thank you, on behalf of Doomed & Stoned, for your time and for spending a few minutes with our readers.

Thank you so much, Mari, and thanks very much also to Doomed & Stoned for their support.

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