It was an ordinary day in Storybrooke, California, until the curse was broken.

On that day, around dawn, Matt was looking for his adopted brother, Arthur. He had been out all night looking for him. His search lead him to the town library. Arthur's motorcycle was parked outside it, and the doors, which were supposed to be locked and boarded, were open. Matt could not remember a time when the library had ever been open. Also, he had never seen the hands of the clock tower above it move. Matt wore a blue shirt, a second blue shirt, and a brown hoodie. His hair was black and his eyes were green. Anyway, when Matt searched the library, he found Arthur sitting against a bookcase with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

Arthur is possibly the most handsome boy in Storybrooke. He had golden hair, kind brown eyes, perfect white teeth, and strong muscles. His clothing consisted of a black leather jacket, jeans with holes, and hiking boots. The moment Matt saw him, he knew why Arthur was drunk. There was something he had tried to keep Arthur from learning, but failed to. Gwen, the girl he has been in love with for years, was now dating another guy.

"Hey, Arthur." Matt said as he tried to help him to his feet.

Bad idea. Arthur's weight proved to be too much for him. They fell against a bookcase. Many books fell to the floor.

"Ugh." Arthur groaned.

"I agree." Matt said.

He laid Arthur back on the floor, then started to pick up the books. That is when something strange happened; he grabbed a book and could not let go of it. The book seemed to be glued to his hand. It had a black leather cover, looked very old, and had a lock that kept it closed. Suddenly, Matt's chest started to hurt. A voice screamed in his head: Open it! Open it! Open it!

He choose to obey the voice. The screaming was so loud, how could he not? Luckily, Matt had his Junior Lock-Pit Kit. Whenever he needed to sneak into his house late at night, he would use it to get in. Now, he was using it to open a book. In about two minutes, he unlocked the book. At that exact moment, there was a burst of wind so strong, it knocked Matt to the ground.

As he fell, images flashed through his mind. These images were of knights, monsters, castles, and magic. All the things he had forgotten. Everything he had forgotten returned to him. His name was not Matt, it was Merlin. He remembered how he had lost his identity.

It happened when a purple cloud appeared in the sky over Camelot's capital. Parts of the cloud descended, then engulfed people. Merlin had tried to counter it with his magic, but it failed to have any effect. Even he was taken. When he awoke, all his memories had been replaced and he lived a new life. Now, he had returned to who he was.

"Merlin?" Arthur inquired when he stood up.

His expression had become one of confusion and joy. Merlin remembered that Arthur was not his adoptive brother, but his master and prince of Camelot. The memories of who he truly was must have returned to him as well.

"Wh-what happened?" Arthur managed to ask, despite his obvious shocked state.

"I don't know." Merlin said when he was on his feet. "I just don't know."

"Oh my God!" Arthur exclaimed. "Gwen!"

Merlin knew exactly what he meant. Like them, Gwen was from Camelot. Perhaps she, too, had regained her memories. In a matter of seconds, they were running out of the library. Their destination was the mayor's house where both they and Gwen lived. Along the way, Merlin noticed the people of Storybrooke also running out of their homes. They were probably doing exactly what he and Arthur were doing. Merlin realized that everyone here must have had their memories replaced. Now, they were hurrying to find their true loved ones. Though, something bothered Merlin. He had not seen most of them in Camelot. Maybe they were from other kingdoms?

Arthur and Merlin reached the mayor's house. Before they got to the door, Gaius opened it. Back in Camelot, Gaius was Merlin's uncle and Camelot's greatest physician. He had a very wrinkled face and white hair that reached his shoulders. In Storybrooke, he wore a lab coat, a red-checkered shirt, and brown shoes. Here, he was the mayor's housekeeper, who was also the mayor's oldest friend. He ran to them as fast as he could, and gave them both a hug.

"Merlin and Prince Arthur." Gaius said. "It is good to remember you both."

"Good to remember you too, Gaius." Arthur said with a smile.

"Arthur?" A voice spoke from the doorway.

There Gwen stood. Her dark-curly hair and dark eyes were the same as they were in Camelot. However, what she wore was completely different. She wore a red leather jacket, a black shirt, and jeans with holes. The Gwen of Storybrooke had had a sort of "bad girl" attitude.

Arthur froze. Fear began to consume him. What if she had not remembered the truth? What if she had but still retained her Storybrooke personality? What if she still wanted to date Leo (Gwen's boyfriend in Storybrooke)?!

She ran to and embraced Arthur. A smile formed on his face and tears poured from his eyes. He felt so happy. His happiness doubled when they kissed.

"It is good to see you, young warlock." A man said when he emerged from the house.

This man was the mayor of Storybrooke, and completely unfamiliar to Merlin. His eyes were golden, his body was muscular, his beard was gray, and his face was wrinkled. He wore a business suit and a green tie. His name in Storybrooke Henry Dragonfire.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said, "but who are you?"

"Think about it." He replied.

He called Merlin "young warlock" and his last name was Dragonfire. Merlin now had an idea, but it seemed impossible.

"Are you the Great Dragon?!" Merlin asked.

The man nodded.

In Camelot, there was a dragon (the last of the dragons) that gave Merlin help and advice sometimes. He had been huge, covered in scales, had claws, wings, and a tail. Now, here he was in a human form. Unbelieveable.

"How?!" Merlin asked, unable to think of anything else to ask.

"Let us discuss this inside." He replied.

Once inside, he gave them each a cup of coffee to help them cope with shock of what had happened. It was not much help. How could anything help you cope with learning your whole identity was replaced?

They were sitting at the dining table. The mayor's house had white wallpaper, and a few paintings of horses on the walls.

"Now, I believe you all have questions and I am the only one here with some answers." Henry Dragonfire said.

"What happened to us?" Merlin asked. "What happened to Camelot?"

"We were ripped from our realm and taken to this one." He replied. "I have no idea how long ago this was, or what has happened to Camelot since we left."

"When you say "realm", what do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"In the beginning of time, there was a single realm, however, as time went on, many more were born." He said. "They are divided by an extremely powerful force, that is almost impossible to sense, let alone break through."

Merlin just barely understood what Henry was talking about.

"If what you say is true, then what could have brought us here?" Gaius asked.

"And why?" Gwen added.

"I'm afraid I just don't know." Henry replied.

"Wait a minute," Merlin said. "If I remember correctly, there is an entire world outside this town. What if someone comes here? you guys remember those movies our false selves saw."

"Merlin is right." Arthur said. "We can not let anyone from the outside into this town."

"But I don't recall anyone ever coming to this town." Gwen said.

"That could very well have been the work of whatever brought us here." Gaius said. "Now that we are free of its spell, it may stop keeping strangers out."

"Then we'll have to find a way to keep people out." Merlin said.

"I don't think that will be a problem." Someone said.

A woman walked into the room. She had tan skin, long black hair, and wore a gray hoodie with sweatpants. They recognized her as the gym teacher at Storybrooke Elementary. Her name here was Maia Valentine. However, they had never seen her in Camelot.

"How did you get in here?" Arthur asked as he rose to his feet.

So did Merlin. They were both thinking the same thing. Until they learned more about who Maia was, they could not trust her. Arthur was mentally preparing for battle; scanning his surroundings, looking for potential weapons. Merlin thought of every incantation he could use. Both of them noticed Maia was sweaty and breathing heavy.

"You left the door unlocked, but more importantly, I was just at the town limits." She said.

"And?" Gaius inquired.

"You need to see it." Maia replied.

Merlin, Arthur and Gaius decided to go while Henry and Gwen stayed behind. Gwen had wanted to come, but Arthur insisted she remain in the house with the doors locked. He said there was still too much they did not know, so it was not safe. After a couple minutes, Arthur managed to get her to agree. Henry volunteered to stay behind and take care of her.

At the town limits, trees had grown right on top of the road. These trees were pure black, had no leaves, and felt like as hot as fire. Arthur put his hand on one, and suffered a minor burn. Also, the trees had grown so closely together, that nothing except an insect could possibly fit in-between them.

"Where did these come from?" Gaius asked.

"I don't know." Maia said. "But, I think whatever put us here doesn't want us to leave."

That made sense to the three of them. However, a question surfaced in their minds.

"Why did you go to the town limits?" Merlin asked. "Were you expecting something like this?"

After a long pause, she answered, "Yes".

"How!?" Arthur demanded. "Do you know who did this?!"

Like the rest of them, he was scared and confused. All of them wanted answers. Once the word "Yes" came out of Maia's mouth, they had hope for some explanations.

"It's a long story." Maia said.

"Well, you better start explaining!" Arthur shouted, letting out all his frustration. "Or else-"

Apparently, Maia did not like Arthur's tone. In an instant, she knocked him to the ground and put him in an armlock. Merlin was too shocked to think of the proper reaction. He had seen many female warriors in Camelot, but none that could defeat Arthur so effortlessly. Also, before the curse broke, Maia never acted violent or seemed to have any training. However, the person he was looking at was not Maia, but the person she truly was. Which, apparently, was a warrior.

"Look, I get that you are frustrated, but you have no right to take out those frustrations on me." Maia said. "Got it, princess?"

Merlin resisted the urge to laugh at the "princess" comment. He has never heard anyone have the guts to call Arthur that. Even he wanted to call him that many times. While Arthur was a prince, when he was not fighting monsters or assassins, he could be a real jerk.

At first, Arthur refused to reply. Then Maia started to twist his arm. He did his best not to show any pain.

"Okay, I got it." Arthur finally said. "And by the way, I'm a prince."

Maia hesitantly let go and offered to help him to his feet. Obviously, he declined.

"Well, now that you two have worked things out," Merlin said. "Maia, could you please tell us what you know about our situation?"

Maia smiled. "You're lucky your friend is polite."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"First of all, my name isn't Maia." She said. "It's Mulan."

"Hi, I am Merlin."

"Arthur Pendragon, prince of Camelot."

"I am Gaius."
"I've never heard of Camelot." Mulan said. "Perhaps, you and I come from different worlds."

"You could be right." Gaius said. "Where do you hail from?"

"A small empire in a vast land known as the Enchanted Forest." Mulan said.

"Ya, I've never heard of the 'Enchanted Forest' before in my life." Arthur said.

"So, whatever brought us here did not just take people from Camelot." Merlin said. "It could have taken anyone from any world."

"Yes." Mulan said. "Something similar happened in my land."

"Really?!" Merlin exclaimed.

Mulan nodded. "In my land, there was an evil queen. She cast a powerful curse that ripped most of people in my land to another one. Sometime later, I met two people from there. They said they were originally trapped in a town called Storybrooke."

"Exactly like us." Gaius said.

"They also told me that whenever someone tried to leave, they disappeared, never to be seen again." Mulan said.

"Could someone else from your land have cast the same curse a second time?" Merlin asked.

"I don't believe so." Mulan replied.

"Mulan!" Someone yelled.

A man was running towards them. Strangely, he was completely unfamiliar to Merlin and Arthur. They had never seen him in Storybrooke or Camelot. This man had combed-brown hair and pale skin. He wore hospital clothes. When he was close enough, they could see he had a scar around his throat. It seemed like someone had cut-off his head, then reattached it.

"I was just at the beach." He said. "Trees, exactly like these have risen from the water. So, we can't leave town that way."

"Who's this?" Merlin asked.

"My name is Jefferson." He said. "You don't know me because I've been locked in the asylum since we arrived. Whoever brought us here probably put me in there because I was able to retain my memories."

"How could you resist such a powerful force?" Gaius asked. "All of us were completely convinced of our fake identities."

"I've traveled to other worlds before." Jefferson replied. "But, before you ask, no, I can't open a portal."

"Why would we ask that?" Merlin inquired.

"Never mind." Jefferson asked quickly.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Arthur asked.

"We should try to find a way to get rid of these trees." Mulan said. "While they are around, we are prisoners in this town. I don't like the idea of being able to escape if whatever abducted us decides to harm us."

"I agree." Gaius said. "Merlin, perhaps you should try using magic to remove them."

"You has magic?" Mulan asked.

"I know, I don't look like the type, do I?" Merlin replied.

"Not at all." Mulan said. "But, hey, you probably look completely different. I bet you have an awesome robe, or staff, or something. Perhaps, even a small castle."

Arthur struggled to hold-in his laughter. In truth, Merlin looked pretty much the same in Camelot as he did in Storybrooke. And he certainly did not live in a castle. Back in Camelot, he was Arthur's serving boy. He spent all day washing his clothes, scrubbing his floor, and cleaning his armor. Even with magic, it was a tough job.

"Of course." Merlin said.

That surprised Arthur. Though it only lasted a second. He always disliked being humble. Since he and Arthur met, he had saved the whole of Camelot a dozen times, but has never been able to take credit for it. If he did, he would have to reveal his ability to use magic. Not a good idea, considering Arthur's father (king Uther) decreed that all those who practiced sorcery in Camelot were to be executed.

"Well, get to it." Arthur said.

"Yes sire." Merlin replied because that was what he always called Arthur when he was giving him an order.

While the other backed away, Merlin approached the trees. He thought of the perfect incantation.

"Baal Sora te Noma!" He chanted.

Nothing happened. Nor did anything happen when he tried for the second time. Or the third. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. What was worse, he felt nothing. Whenever Merlin used magic, he felt like he was using the same strength a person uses to run. Magic takes energy, same as physical activity. However, after so many tries, he did not feel at all tired.

"Merlin," Gaius put his hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I think that's enough. Clearly, they are protected against magic."

"That's not it!" Merlin shouted in frustration. "My magic. It's gone."