Mirana's POV:

Who could possibly be in here? And why? I can hear voices above me in the—Isn't that where the nursery is? Why would anyone be up there of all places? I stood from the pile of rubble that I was sitting on, and walked up the stairs to the floor above, before reaching the nursery. Four women stood inside, two I knew, two I didn't. The two that I know were Mulan and Aurora… Great. I didn't really want to see them again. The other two looked to be both in their late twenties or early thirties. One had short, black hair and the other had long blond hair. They both wore odd clothes, like nothing I'd ever seen in this world before.

"Come. We'll stand watch at the gate." Mulan and Aurora left the room, headed toward another door, before they disappeared from sight.

"I never thought I'd see this place again," the black haired one said. "This room. It was your nursery."

"I lived here?" the blond replied.

"You never even got to spend a night. This is the life I wanted you to have. I was going to teach you how to walk in here, how to talk, how to dress for your first ball. You never got to do any of it. We never got to be a family."

"We have a family—in Storybrooke. And right now they need us to get back there."

"What is Storybrooke?" I asked from the doorway. "And how is she possibly your daughter? You look the same age."

They whirled around to face me.

"Who the hell are you?" the blond asked.

"My name is Mirana," I replied, standing up straight and walking into the light. "I live here. Who are you?"

"I'm Emma. Emma Swan, how did you—"

"Wait a minute…" The black haired one was staring at me, like she recognized me. "Mirana?"

I blinked. "Yes… Have we met?"

"It's me…. Snow."

I perked up, recognizing the name. "Snow? Really?"

"Yeah!" She stepped forward and hugged me, which I returned somewhat awkwardly.

"Okay, am I missing something here?" Emma asked. "You two know each other?"

Snow pulled away and looked at Emma. "Yes. We haven't seen each other since we were children, but…" Snow looked at me. "You don't look a day over eighteen. The last time I saw you, we were the same age."

I shrugged. "I know. It seems that magic has kept me young, not that I can seem to access any of it." (Or that I want to.) "How did you get back here? Most everybody seemed to disappear after the Curse struck."

"We fell through a hat… It's a long story."

"A hat? A portal hat? Have you seen Jefferson? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine, I think. How do you know Jefferson?" Emma asked.

"I spent a few years in Wonderland with my mother before I made it back here."

"Who's your mother?"

"Her name is Cora."

Emma frowned. "Regina's your sister?"

I nodded. "Yes. Is she in this mysterious Storybrooke as well?"

"Yeah, she cast the curse. How do you not know all of this?"

"I was in Agrabah before I made it back here, and I got back just as the curse hit. But the place where I landed, it was like it was shielded. Nothing happened to it. They were there too—Mulan and Aurora. Anyway, I ran for a long time and I ended up here. I never knew this was Snow's castle. Small world. Tell me, how are you planning to get back to this mysterious world my sister created?"

Snow pointed to the old wardrobe. "If we find someone with access to magic, maybe we can get it working again and go home."

"I see."

The two of them walked over to the wardrobe, and I followed, standing slightly back from them as they pulled it open.

"Where's the "on" switch?" Emma asked.

"It's more complicated than that," Snow replied. "We'll have to get it back to the island. Hopefully, someone there has access to enough magic to make it work again."

"And how exactly to you plan on carrying that thing all the way back to the island?" I asked.

"With the help of an old friend." Snow looked toward the doorway at the sound of the voice.

I followed her gaze and watched Lancelot walk into the room.

"Lancelot. What are you doing here?" Snow said.

"We heard about the ogre attack, and I had to make sure you were all right," he replied.

"Oh. Where are Mulan and Aurora?"

"I sent them to find food. Tonight we'll make camp, and in the morning, we'll head back."

Is it just me, or does something seem off about him?

Lancelot stared at the wardrobe. "So… This is it—The portal you were after."

Snow nodded. "The same one Emma went through. It's how she escaped the curse."

"Remarkable."

"Geppetto carved it from an enchanted tree, but… there's no magic left."

"A portal this powerful… there must be another way to recharge it."

"Why are you so interested in the wardrobe?" I asked suspiciously. "I don't know you, but this seems extreme."

"Well, I just want to Snow to get home to her husband." He nodded at Emma. "And son. Henry. They must miss you."

Pushing Emma and me behind her, Snow unsheathed her sword, pointing it at Lancelot threateningly.

"Stay away from him, you two. He is not who he says he is," Snow said.

"What are you talking about? Who the hell is he?" Emma demanded.

"I have a guess…" I trailed off. The way he was speaking sounds a lot like…

"There is only one person you told Henry's name," Snow said.

"Cora," Emma said.

Purple smoke swirled around Lancelot and he turned into Cora. "Clever girl." She looked at me. "Hello, Mirana. It's been a long time."

"Mother…" I muttered, taking a small step back.

"Where's Lancelot?" Snow demanded.

"He's dead. I killed him a long time ago."

"And you've been posing as him ever since."

"Well, they'd never listen to me. And besides, every kingdom needs a hero, don't you think?"

Snow stabbed at her with her sword. Cora waved her hand and blue light grabbed Snow, throwing her against the wall and holding her there. Cora waved her other hand and Emma flew across the room as well. I stayed where I was, frozen, not knowing what to do. I don't have any access to my magic, if it's even there, and Cora is very powerful… She also scares the hell out of me.

Cora walked over to Snow. "Thank you, Snow. I've been looking for a way over for so long. I never thought the person to help me find it… would be you."

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I want to see my daughters. It's been too long." Cora looked at me. "I never suspected that my youngest would be right under my nose this whole time." She turned back to Snow. "And you know, I would love to meet my grandson Henry."

"No, you won't!" Emma yelled.

She struck a match and the wardrobe went up in flames, causing me to jump back.

"No!" Cora pulled the ball of fire away from the wardrobe and aimed it at Emma.

"Mother, no!" I yelled.

But it was too late. Cora threw the ball of fire at Emma, only to have Mulan jump in the way and the fire to reflect off of her sword. Cora looked around the room at the five of us.

"Mother, go. You're outnumbered," I said.

"We're not done," Cora said.

With that, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, releasing Snow, who fell to the ground.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked her.

"You saved me," Snow replied.

"Yeah, well… Where is she?"

"Gone," I said, my eyes on the burning wardrobe. "And so is your way home." I turned to Snow. "I'm sorry about Lancelot. I'm guessing he was a friend of yours."

"Lancelot was one of most noble knights I ever knew," Snow replied.

Mulan sighed. "How could I be so blind? How could I not see that it was Cora?"

"My mother is very good at what she does," I said. "She's very smart and very devious at times. She could've fooled anyone."

"But she didn't fool you," Emma said.

I looked at her. "What?"

"When Lancelot walked in, you knew, didn't you? That it wasn't him?"

"I suppose, yes… I had my suspicions, which turned out to be correct. Not that it did any good. I did nothing when she attacked you two. I'm sorry."

Emma put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. Your mom seems like the type of person that could scare anyone."

"Thanks, Emma."

Mulan looked at Aurora. "What are we going to tell the people on the island?"

"The truth—That Lancelot was cut down by a terrible villain," Snow replied. "He died an honorable death."

"Cora's still out there. We need to find her. We need to defend what's left of the kingdom."

My head snapped up at that. "I don't think looking for my mother is ever a very good idea."

"Yes, and who's going to lead us?" Aurora asked, still watching Mulan. "You?"

"No." Mulan turned to Snow. "You."

"I'm honored, but Emma and I still have to find a way back to Storybrooke," Snow replied.

"We'll help you. Well find a way, won't we?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes. Perhaps it'll help me channel my anger."

"Come."

Mulan and Aurora walked out of the room. I stayed exactly where I was, leaning against the burned wardrobe. There's no reason for me to go with them, I add nothing to the team. I'm probably better off here, alone.

Emma faced Snow. "I'm, uh… sorry I torched our ride home. I couldn't let her get to Henry. I just—"

"You had to put Henry first."

"I was angry for so long… wondering how you could choose to let me grow up without you. But then just seeing all this… you gave up everything for me and you're still doing that. Sorry. I'm not good at this. I… I guess I just…" Her voice broke. "I'm not—I'm not used to someone putting me first."

Snow hugged her. "Well, get used to it."

They broke apart from the hug and started walking out of the room. Snow stopped to pick up her arrows and noticed me, still leaning against the wardrobe.

"Are you coming?" Snow asked.

I blinked. "Why would I? I don't add anything to the team. I'm useless. You'll be better off without me and I'd be better off here, alone."

Snow crossed the room and took my hand. "That's not true. You know more about Cora than all of us put together. And you heard Cora—She wants her daughters back, which means she's not going to leave you alone. Come back to Storybrooke with us. Everyone is there. You can be happy there."

I thought about it for a minute, then sighed. "Well… I would like to see my sister again."

Snow smiled. "That's the spirit. Let's go."

Keeping her hold on my hand, Snow and I walked to the door. When we reached the doorway, Snow stopped and looked back at the room for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She looked back at me and shook her head slightly. "Nothing. Let's go."