I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Kidnapping the boy was rather easy – Zelena sent her monkeys to Robin Hood's camp with sleeping potions and drugged everyone there, including the former wooden puppet. She was mainly after Regina, but she wanted to fuck with the Blue Fairy – she couldn't have all the fun. Waiting for the former wooden puppet to wake up was boring so she sighed and snapped her fingers. The boy woke up with a shudder. Pinocchio looked around his surroundings in confusion before his gaze snapped to the witch. He whimpered in fear and tried to crawl back from her, but she stopped him with a spell. "You're the Wicked Witch."
Zelena laughed. "Good, you know me."
"You're the one after Miss Regina." Pinocchio was terrified – what if she was going to kill him? He needed to see his papa to warn him about this, but that wasn't going to happen.
"You're very clever, puppet. But no, this time it has nothing to do with Regina. It has everything to do with that fairy. But you won't remember for long." She couldn't wait to enact the spell and get exactly what she wanted.
"What are you going to do?" Pinocchio closed his eyes and waited for her to do whatever she was going to do to him. He was going to try and be brave.
Zelena cackled and snapped her fingers. Within seconds, Pinocchio transformed into a grown man – August – with a roar of pain. "We'll see how she responds to this."
August curled in on himself and groaned in pain. Re-aging (and de-aging) was an extremely painful process and he hated it. "Why?"
"I already told you, boy. Now get out of my sight." With a snap of her fingers, August was back in Robin Hood's camp.
He rushed to his father's side immediately. "Papa?" he questioned as he tried to shake the older man awake. August guessed that Zelena had probably done something to everybody – nobody would wake up – and hoped that it wasn't permanent. So he sat down next to his father and impatiently waited for something to happen.
Two hours after his return, everyone started waking with groans. Geppetto saw his now grown up son and stared at him in shock and confusion for a few seconds. "August?"
"What happened?" The Blue Fairy had expected the de-aging spell to remain permanent – Pinocchio would grow at a normal pace, but he wouldn't suddenly re-age.
"The Wicked Witch. I guess she wanted to mess with you for once instead of Regina? She didn't really say much so can't tell you what the point was. She didn't want me to tell me anything." August had been a little kid for months, but he knew that everyone was living in fear because of her. They tried to stay prepared for the next attack at all times, but had clearly missed this one – it wasn't their fault, however. Seems like the Wicked Witch had planned this one perfectly.
Geppetto hugged his son and ran a hand through August's hair. "I love you, my boy."
"I love you too, Papa." August tentatively responded. He grinned at his father and then stepped back. He was just glad his clothes had changed in size with him, but he looked and felt ridiculous.
"I wish we had a camera right now," Red snickered. She burst out laughing, setting off Snow.
"Glad you two think this is funny," he mumbled. He glared at them, but they kept going. A few minutes later, Red and Snow headed off to another part of the woods so they could laugh in private.
"We'll figure out what she did exactly. Would you like to fix this?" The Blue Fairy hated that this had happened – she wanted Pinocchio to have another chance.
He shook his head. "Sorry for the language, but fuck no. I have to make up for my mistakes, and I cannot do that as a child. I can atone this way." August's chest started to ache when he thought of Emma – they'd never see her again and he felt irrationally guilty for that. This entire situation sucked.
"Okay. I can accept that." She was disappointed, but wasn't about to tell anyone that. August had made her choice and they all had to live with it.
"We'll find you some new clothes," Geppetto promised as he patted his son on the back. The two headed off to find someone who the same size of August and could spare some clothes. August breathed a sigh of relief (and braved a ton of laughter while looking) when the mission was successful.
With another person to go out on missions, there was a little less pressure on those stuck in the Enchanted Forest. August was just glad he could help and volunteered whenever he could. They grabbed him every chance they could as a result.
"You don't have to exhaust yourself." The pregnant Snow looked exhausted herself, but she was still trying to help the others.
"I could say the same for you. And it's fine."
"You want redemption, but August – you have it. David and I forgive you – you were a child in an impossible situation. Nobody blames you except for yourself. And if Emma was here, she'd tell you the same thing."
He eyed her skeptically. "Really?"
"Really." She grinned at him and waited for a response.
August didn't disappoint. "I don't know if I can accept that, but I'll try."
"And that's all I ask." Snow turned away and went to look for her husband, leaving August by himself.
"You look like you were lost in thought." Geppetto hoped Snow had helped ease August's pain a little. He kept trying to ease his son's guilt, but nothing was working. He was working on it, though, and wasn't about to give up.
"I'm okay, Papa. Now let's go find something to eat!" August went in the opposite direction, hoping they'd find something today. It was slim pickings since the Enchanted Forest had been decimated.
Just days later, the new curse was put into motion and everyone returned to Storybrooke. August had no idea why he was back, but he and Geppetto tried not to question it too hard. They still looked for answers, of course, but they had major problems to deal with. His return was low on the priority list.
Emma's return to town brought back hope for many residents of Storybrooke, August included. The Savior could fix this – they had faith in her.