Author's Note: Written for Movie Plot AU for Swan Queen Week. Title (I'm not original today) and some dialogue taken directly from the film. No infringement intended.

"I'm so pleased that you're buying this place." The realtor grinned as she pushed open the door to the large white house, motioning for the three others to go ahead in. "I think your kids will love it."

"Oh," Mary Margaret smiled as she watched Ava and Nicholas enter the house, their eyes scanning everything and taking in the vastness of it, "they're actually my late brother Michael's children. He and his wife passed away last winter."

"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry." The realtor said in that way that grated on Ava's nerves. She wasn't really sorry, couldn't be really sorry. She hadn't even known Ava's parents, so what did she have to be sorry about?

Ava rolled her eyes and moved over next to Nicholas, who was looking at the living room and the large fireplace with interest.

"It'll look lovely with a fire going, don't you think? Not to mention how warm it'll be on those cold Maine nights." The realtor grinned. Nicholas just looked at her blankly.

"Nicholas hasn't spoken a word since it happened." Ava told her.

"Oh! As I told your aunt, I'm so, so sorry for your loss."

Ava waved a hand as if shooing away a pest. "It's fine. We barely even knew our parents. They were always away, hobnobbing with kings and queens. We didn't even know if they really loved us. But when the avalanche hit them on the ski slopes in the Alps, they managed to write us a really lovely message on the back of a dinner receipt that the rescue dogs brought to us." She pulled in a gasping breath before burying her face in her hands. "Excuse me." She walked away, her shoulders shaking. The realtor would think it was from crying, but actually it was from trying to keep her laughter in.

As she raced up the stairs, she heard her aunt explaining things to the woman. "They were very devoted parents. It was a car crash in the mountains."

"Nicholas, will you please take some of these empty boxes up to the attic?" Mary Margaret asked as she placed them into the hallway. Ava was pretty sure she only asked Nicholas because she knew he wouldn't speak and therefore couldn't refuse. But really, that was his own fault, so Ava didn't feel bad about it.

Nicholas picked up the boxes with a frown, but did as he was asked.

Not even three minutes later, the screams started.

"He said it looked like this." Ava insisted, showing the exterminator the picture of the bat that Nicholas had finally found on the internet when he'd stopped screaming.

"That?" The exterminator frowned. "That's an African bat. No way one of them's here in Maine. Although another girl claimed to have seen some around here back about twenty years ago. But it couldn't be, like I said."

"But that's what he saw." Ava insisted angrily.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. I've checked this whole place over. No bats in sight. Besides, bats aren't what I'd worry about in this house anyways."

"What would you worry about?"

"Well, personally I wouldn't want to live in a house where someone was murdered."

Ava and Nicholas' eyes went wide. "Murdered?" Ava gasped.

"Little Emma Swan. Some people say she just ran away – wouldn't have been the first time with her – but I don't believe that. Rumor has it Cora Mills killed her in this very house. That's what I'd put my money on. Didn't want her daughter mixing with 'riff raff' like Emma, Cora didn't." The exterminator swung the flashlight around the attic, lighting up dark corners for just a moment, just enough to grant glimpses of things, but never full views. It was frightening in a way, especially paired with his words. "There's 1,001 places she could've hid the body in this old house. Especially if she cut it up first."

"Kids? Come on, we'll be late for school!" Mary Margaret's voice carried up the steps, causing both of them to jump. They stared at the exterminator, but he merely shrugged, flipped off his flashlight, and left the room.

"No bats here, ma'am."

"I cannot believe that you got sent to the principal on your first day!" Mary Margaret groaned as they walked into the house. "And for fighting. Ava, you know better. And you know that this kind of behavior doesn't only look bad on you, it looks bad on me too. I'm teaching at that school. If you act this way, what will they think of me?"

"Who cares what they think of you?" Ava snapped. "Just tell them what you love to tell everyone else – I'm not really your kid. You're not responsible for how awful I was. My dead parents are."

"Ava!" Mary Margaret gasped.

Nicholas moved to stand by his sister, his shoulder brushing hers.

Mary Margaret seemed to deflate then, closing her mouth, her shoulders sagging. "Let's just get dinner and talk about something else."

"I know what we can talk about." Ava smirked. "We can talk about how you got this house so cheap because someone was murdered in it."

"What?"

"Emma Swan. The woman who owned this house killed her and cut her up in little pieces and stuck her in the walls."

Something inside Mary Margaret seemed to snap at that. In a harsher voice than either of them had ever heard her use, she yelled at Ava. "I am sick of your lies, Ava. Go to your room!"

"Fine!" Ava jumped up, shoving her chair back so hard it hit the floor with a thud. "But just for your information, Auntie M, that wasn't a lie."

Mary Margaret looked over to Nicholas, searching his face for confirmation. Nicholas just frowned and got up, following his sister.

"Did you hear something?" Ava whispered across the room to the bed where Nicholas slept later that night. She could just make out his form and the glitter of his opened eyes in the darkness.

He shook his head, but remained quiet. Then, finally, he spoke. "Ava, do you miss Mom and Dad?"

"No." She replied instantly.

"Liar. If you don't stop it, Aunt Mary Margaret's gonna send you to Dr. Hopper for therapy."

"Please, shrinks are easy. And you're one to talk. Where do you think she's going to send you if you don't start talking in front of other people?"

Nicholas just shrugged and turned over in the darkness.

"Are you two sure you'll be okay to walk to school?" Mary Margaret asked as she came down the stairs to find Ava and Nicholas with their heads cocked as though they were listening to something.

"Huh?" Ava blinked and looked over at her. "Oh, uh, yeah, Aunt Mary Margaret." She replied before once again looking upwards in wonder.

"Are you sure? Did your parents take you to school every morning? I'll just take you and you can stay in my classroom while I go to the faculty meeting and –"

"What?" Ava shook her head. "No. No. We're fine. Really. Go. It's not a long walk and we need to get to know the neighborhood. Besides, you'll be late."

Mary Margaret hesitated, not sure that she should actually leave them, especially when they were acting so strangely, but finally the looming meeting time shook her out of her concern and she nodded. "Okay. Make sure you lock the door after you. You have your house keys, right?"

"Yes." They both replied without looking at her.

"I'll see you at school." She told them before finally leaving.

As soon as the door shut, Ava spun on Nicholas. "You do hear it!"

"Hear what?" Nicholas scoffed, but a second later, the sound Ava had been hearing since the night before – the sound of tribal drums – increased and Nicholas jumped. Both their eyes went wide before they took off up the stairs, towards the source of the sound – the attic.

"Ah!" Ava yelped as the sound and intensity increased when they entered the attic.

"Over here." Nicholas raced to a pile of games in middle of the attic, shoving them away until he reached the bottom one, his hands tracing the wooden box as the drumming finally stopped.

"Jumani." Ava read from behind him.

"C'mon, let's set it up over here." Nicholas moved to a small coffee table, setting the game down on it and opening it up.

"Wow." He breathed, looking at the intricately carved game board. He ran his fingers over a marble piece, trying to pick it up, but it wouldn't move. "It's stuck."

"A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind. You roll the dice to move your token, doubles gets another turn." Ava read the directions.

Nicholas noticed a small area of the box covered by a flap. Lifting it, he found two more pieces. He picked them up and looked them over. When he went to put them back, they suddenly dropped from his hands and spun on the game board before each sliding to a starting spot.

"It's gotta be magnetized or something." Ava said upon seeing Nicholas' wide eyes.

Nicholas picked up the dice and put them in Ava's hand. "You go first."

"Afraid, little brother?" Ava taunted, dropping the dice and watching as they landed on a five and a one.

Ava's game piece began to move on its own and the formerly dark orb at the center of the game began glowing green with yellow words forming inside. Ava leaned over to read them.

"A tiny bite can make you itch, make you sneeze, make you twitch." Her nose wrinkled. "What does that –"

There was a sudden buzzing sound and when Ava looked up, she spotted a flying bug that was bigger than she'd ever seen. It seemed giant and the stinger attached to the end of it looked deadly. "Ah!"

At her yelp, the insect turned and headed right for her.

"Ava, look out!" Nicholas yelled as he dropped down to the floor.

Ava reached behind her, grabbing a tennis racket and swinging wildly at the giant mosquito. She managed to hit it with enough force that it flew through the air and crashed through the small window near the roof of the attic.

Another mosquito made a dive for Nicholas, but Ava jumped in front of him, swinging the racket again and knocking the bug away. Angrily, it buzzed out the window and a few more quickly followed.

Once they were all gone, Ava and Nicholas both moved back to the game board. They looked between the broken window and the board for a few moments until Nicholas picked up the dice.

"Don't!" Ava tried to warn, but Nicholas had already dropped the dice. They each landed on one and Nicholas' piece moved the two spaces.

"This will not be an easy mission." He read. "Monkeys slow the expedition."

"Monkeys?" Ava questioned before a sudden noise from downstairs shattered the silence. "Oh no!"

They both got up and raced downstairs, stopping at the door to the kitchen where the sounds of various crashes were coming. Pushing open the door, Ava gasped at the sight of twelve monkeys essentially destroying their aunt's kitchen.

They were pulling open drawers, throwing food, banging on pans, and all sorts of other things.

"Holy –" Nicholas gasped, yanking the door closed as one of the monkeys tossed a knife in their direction.

Once the door was closed, they both looked at each other and moved back up the stairs.

"I bet those things came from the game." Ava said. She moved to the game and her eyes widened. "Oh no. I didn't see this part. Adventurers beware. Do not begin unless you intend to finish. The exciting consequences of the game will vanish only when a player has reached Jumanji and called out its name."

A door slammed and Nicholas moved to the window. "It's the monkeys. They left."

"Good."

"Put it away, Ava." Nicholas demanded as he moved back over to where the game was.

Ava shook her head. "The instructions say that if we finish the game, it'll all go away. We have to finish or Aunt Mary Margaret's gonna have a conniption."

"Ava, I don't think –"

"We'll just get through it quickly. I mean, there's no skill involved."

Nicholas snorted. "None but staying alive." He moved to hand the dice to Ava.

"No, you rolled doubles. You get another turn."

Nicholas looked down at the dice with trepidation.

"Come on, just get it over with."

He dropped the dice, watching as they tumbled over each other before finally stopping, one on two and the other on three.

"Five." He said as he watched the piece move. "His fangs are sharp, he likes your taste, your party better move post haste."

"Well, that sounds promising." Ava muttered, reaching for the dice.

The sudden sound of piano keys jangling startled them both.

"Ava." Nicholas whispered, moving over closer to her. "Something's up here."

From the darkness of a corner, a low rumbling growl sounded and then, two glittering eyes appeared followed by –

"Oh god." Nicholas whimpered. "It's a lion."

"It's not real. It's a hallucination." Ava whispered, but she grabbed Nicholas' hand and squeezed tightly.

"His fangs look pretty real to me." Nicholas whispered back. "I don't want him to taste me."

"Run!" Ava tugged his hand and they took off down the steps, the lion bounding after them. It jumped the balcony and landed right in front of them. They froze in fear.

"Oh god, we're gonna die."

"At least we'll see Mom and Dad." Nicholas murmured, closing his eyes tight.

"Hey! Over here, you big pussy!" Came a shout and they both spun to see a dirt-streaked woman with wild hair waving a knife at the lion. The lion turned and saw her too.

"That's right. That's right. Here kitty." She moved the blade. "Here kitty kitty."

The lion stalked towards her and she slowly moved backwards, finally coming to a stop underneath a chandelier. With a sudden move, the woman tossed the knife down and jumped up, grabbing the chandelier as the lion lunged for her. It missed her and skidded along the hallway and into a bedroom.

The woman jumped down and pulled the door shut, resting her forehead against it as she exhaled for a moment. Claws suddenly burst through, nearly catching her face, and she jumped back. The door held, thankfully.

Looking around, she noticed her surroundings and gasped. With wide eyes, she took it all in. And then she caught sight of Ava and Nicholas, still standing frozen, gaping at her.

"Did somebody roll a five or an eight?"

"He did!" Ava quickly pointed at Nicholas.

"Ahhh!" The woman charged at them, causing both of them to scream and take off running, but she was faster and quickly grabbed Nicholas, pulling him up into her arms and spinning him around in a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She chanted as she spun him before finally putting him down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just – I'm back." She laughed wildly and then screamed even louder. "I'M BACK!"

She jumped up and began running around the house, sliding down the banister and just laughing as she ran until she finally stopped at the foot of the steps where Ava and Nicholas stood.

"I'm back." She laughed again. "Are you from the home?"

"Uh, no." Ava shook her head. "I, uh, I don't think so. But… are you Emma Swan?"

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"I'm Ava Zimmer and this is my brother Nicholas. We live here with our Aunt Mary Margaret."

"But, where is everybody? The staff, I mean, I can't believe –"

"There is no staff." Nicholas frowned. "This house has been empty for years. Everyone thought you were dead."

"Dead? But… how long was I gone? What year is it?"

"It's 2014."

"Two thousand…" Emma's voice trailed off. "Twenty years. I've been gone for twenty years. And no one… well of course no one… I mean, who would?"

"Are you okay?" Nicholas asked.

Emma nodded, but they both noticed that her dirty cheeks had two tear streaks over them. "Just alone. Again."

"We're alone too. Well, I mean, except for Aunt Mary Margaret but… our parents are dead. They were CIA agents who got caught trying to infiltrate –" Ava began, only to trail off when Nicholas jabbed her in the stomach with his elbow.

"Our dad was a mechanic. He could fix any car, no matter the problem."

"I bet you miss him."

Nicholas nodded and Emma did too for a moment before she turned away.

"Hey, where are you going? Emma?"

But Emma didn't listen, she just kept walking towards her destination – the bathroom.

"She's been in there a really long time." Nicholas said, checking his watch. "Like, I know girls are supposed to take a while but… you don't think she drowned do you?"

"No, Nicholas, I don't think she –" The door to the bathroom opened as Ava spoke, revealing a much cleaner Emma Swan.

She was dressed in blue jeans and a white tank top that she had snagged from Mary Margaret's closet. Her hair, Ava could now see, was blonde, instead of the dirty brown color it had been before, and fell in curls around her shoulders.

"Whoa." Nicholas exclaimed upon seeing her. "She's hot."

It was Ava's turn to elbow him in the stomach. "Shut up." She growled, then turned back to Emma, who was rocking on her feet as though she wasn't sure what to do. "Listen, I really feel like we need to finish the game so…"

"We?" Emma stopped her with a raised hand. "What do you mean we? Why do you need me?"

"Well, just in case any other scary stuff goes down. You handled the lion so…"

"No. Sorry, kid. But that's not gonna happen."

"But –"

"Come on, Ava, let it go. She's not gonna help us. She's afraid." Nicholas said.

"What did you just say?" Green eyes narrowed as they stared at Nicholas.

"I said you're afraid. It's okay. Let's go set up in the living room, Ava."

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Whatever it is, we can handle it. We have so far."

Emma jumped in front of them, blocking the door. "I don't think so. You've got no idea. I've seen things you've only seen in your nightmares." Her eyes looked almost dead as she thought back to the horrors of the jungle she'd finally been released from. "Things you can't even imagine. Things you can't even see. There are things that hunt you in the night. Then something screams. Then you hear them eat and you hope to god that you're not dessert. Afraid?" She laughed. "You don't even know what afraid is. You won't last five minutes without me, kid."

"So you'll help?" Nicholas asked fearfully.

"I'll watch." She said, turning and walking out of the room before turning back to them. "But I'm not afraid."

After she was gone, Ava turned to Nicholas with awe. "Nicholas, that was amazing."

Nicholas grinned and shrugged. "Reverse psychology. Dad used it on me all the time."

"Ready?" Ava asked, clutching the dice. Nicholas nodded. "Ready, Emma?"

Emma laughed. "There is no ready."

Ava rolled her eyes and then rolled the die. Nothing happened. She frowned and picked up the dice. "I'll try again." But again, nothing happened. "Emma, it's not working."

Emma moved over to look at the game board and frowned. "Damn it. It's not your turn."

"Yes, it is. I rolled first, then Nicholas went twice because he rolled doubles. And now it's my turn again."

"No. Look." Emma gestured to the board. "Two of these pieces are yours, right?"

"Yeah."

"But the other pieces…" Nicholas realized.

Emma's fingers reached out to caress one of the pieces. "The elephant was mine." She shook her head. "Damn it, we're playing the game I started twenty years ago. And I'm going to have to play. Shit."

Ava went to hand the dice to her, but Emma shook her head. "It's not my turn."

"But… whose turn is it, then?"

Emma touched the other piece, her eyes glazing over with memories as she said the name.

"Regina Mills."