Trigger Warning: Mild Violence...


Enchanted Forest, One Year Ago:

Guarded green eyes scan the forest as Ebony fidgets incessantly with her twisted bandanna. Shes never been to the dark palace before, any palace for that matter and mentally reminds herself to ask Robin about the Evil Queen and the woman's black knights. He didn't really say much about the curse so she thinks she should brush up on her history. Ebony glances ahead of the convoy spotting Robin hugging a small brunette, Must be old friends..She sighs, it seems everyone here knows each other somehow..Her attention slides to a mass of raven hair at the front of the convoy and a tingling grows at the tip of her spine, the royal looks familiar. Perhaps I came across her or those black knights of hers over the last couple of years. I did steal from a lot of foreign noblemen and women..

Regina glances back, a flash of green hood catching her eye before Robins smiling face replaces her view, he is quite intriguing.."So what do you think of our new friend? Can we trust him? He is a thief."

Snow smirks.."Think of it from his perspective, how do you think he looks at you?"

Regina cocks an eyebrow.."Point taken."

"He's kinda cute huh?" Afflicted brown eyes dart to the grinning princess.

"Don't Snow."

"Look!"

All eyes dart to an unnerved Charming as he stares at the looming Dark Palace standing tall in the distance. Regina frowns, Snow and her prince shuffling forward as all attention refocuses on the black trench encircling the castles border.

"What happened?" Charming takes another cautious step.

"That's exactly what I'm about to find out!" Regina snaps irritated.

Ebony, Robin and the Merry men cautiously edge forward, curious green eyes sliding to the palace in the distance and Ebony shivers, that place creeps me out..

Regina gently reaches a hand out and her fingertips brush the edge of a shimmering barrier. A green haze cascades from her touch and branches upwards and around the structure. She frowns deeply, who the hell?!.."A protection spell. The entire castle is encircled by it."

The prince frowns.."Didn't you do this? Undo it."

"Well dont you think if I could I'd be half way home by now! No..Someone hijacked it!"

"Who? Who's in there?" Snow takes a hesitant step toward the livid Queen.

"I dont know but I'm going to find out whoever's eating my porridge. Nobody sits in my chair, nobody takes our castle."

Ebony stares at the furious Queen and shivers again, why do I keep doing that?!..

Charming raises a peaceful hand.."Hey we've got a lot of people looking to us, they're scared and rightfully so lets get them to safety first."

"They'll be safe when whoever's in there is dead!"

Snow shakes her head.."Rushing in there is a bad plan Regina you know that."

Ebony frowns, Regina?..Images quickly flash in her mind, someone grabs her hand, she glances into the swirling green portal below. She lets go and finds herself falling into darkness..She stumbles light headed and Little John is quick to grab her arm.

"Woah there. You okay Ebony?"

Green eyes refocus and note the group staring at her critically. She panics a little under their scrutiny but quickly nods, moving away toward the middle of the refugees and mind chaotic over the disturbing and vivid images, Was that a memory? Or a vision maybe?..

Regina curiously watches the woman leave but Robin clears his throat and refocusing her attention.."I can offer the people safe harbourage in Sherwood forest. Its not far, we can offer food, shelter and a thick canopy no creature would spy you under."

"Do you have weapons?" Charming adds eagerly.

"A few."

Regina frowns.."Fine lead the way, but we're coming back and whoever did this is going to suffer!"

"Regina its our home, we'll make it safe again."

Snow lays a gentle hand on her stepmothers arm as Regina furiously glares at the dark palace in the distance, Whoever's sitting in my chair will suffer dearly...


Storybrooke, Present Day:

The saviors yellow bug rolls through the silent streets of Storybrooke, passing the famous clock tower shrouded in shadow before pulling to the curb outside of Granny's. Emma slips from the car, apprehensive green eyes staring at familiar buildings overshadowing her.."Its really back..I'm really back."

"As quaint and homey as you remember?"

"As cursed as I remember."

Hook slides from the vintage car, pulling out a shining silver hook from his waistband and snaps it onto the stump where his right hand should be. He smiles broadly, extending it to the grinning blond.."That's more like it, isn't it Swan?"

"How are you going to explain that to him?"

They both glance at a sleeping Henry in the back of the bug.

"Oh that's more your concern, perhaps it'll jog his memory."

"Or give him nightmares. Last time this curse took away everyone's memories, this time?"

Hook shakes his head.."We don't know what it did."

"Then I'll find out. Stay here and watch Henry, don't wake him..or scare him..just let him sleep." She quickly walks across the road.

"Aye, where are you going?"

"To talk to my parents." Emma twirls back around and paces for the Charming's apartment..

Okay here we go..Emma stands fidgeting at the cracked green door, come on Swan..Taking a deep breath, she knocks lightly and takes a step back. The door's pulled open by an all too familiar face before David's blue eyes widen.."Hi. Don't close the door I..My name is.."

"Emma.." The stunned father stumbles forward.

"David?"

Father and daughter pull together for an overdue hug."You remember?"

"You remember?"

"Of course we..what are you doing here? What.."

"Well Hook found me and brought me here. He said you were cursed." They both walk further into the apartment, closing the door with a soft clunk.

"Yeah we're back, we never left or, we dont know..we're trapped again."

"But you know who you are?"

David frowns.."This new curse, we don't know who did it or why, all we know is our last year has been wiped away."

"Wiped away?"

"All we remember is saying goodbye to you, feels like yesterday."

Emma frowns.."But if you cant remember then how do you know its been a.."

"Emma!"

The blonds attention darts to her mother running down the creaky wooden staircase before wide green eyes land on the woman's swollen stomach, Oh..Mary Margret rushes forward overjoyed and quickly wraps her daughter in a crushing hug.."..Year." Emma chuckles as shes wrapped further into the hug.

David drapes his arm around his wife, staring down at her pregnant belly.."As you can see, a lots happened."

"We just dont know what. The whole year's gone." Snow stares unnerved, a gentle hand resting on her belly.

"Who the hell would have done this?"


Meanwhile somewhere across Storybrooke, a woman's nightmarish scream jolts Ebony awake as green eyes snap open and she launches to her feet from the forest floor. She looks around at the unconscious bodies surrounding her and frowns deeply, what the hell happened? Where are we?..Pulling herself forward with a grunt, she stumbles over to an unmoving Robin in the leaves.."Robin...Robin!"

The man stirs before weary blue eyes slide open.."Ebony?" His focus glides to the unconscious bodies of his men and he bolts upright.."What.."

"I don't know."

They both climb to their wobbly feet, Robin clutching his aching skull.."Wait!" The man looks around frantically before dashing over to a small boy in the dirt.

Ebony is quick to follow and checks the child's pulse, thank god.."He's okay Robin."

Robin breathes a sigh of relief and wraps his arms around the little boy.."Wake the others. We'll make camp and see if we can figure out where we are in the morning."

She nods and begins to wake her friends simultaneously, what happened? This doesn't seem like Sherwood forest anymore..Green eyes slide to the stars, but it is beautiful still...


Enchanted Forest, One Year Ago:

Regina stares at her imposing castle, her heart heavy and unsettling memories racing through her thoughts. Morrigan's smile creeps up on her and she has to beat back the threatening tears from emotional brown eyes. She thinks yet again she should just slip into the shadows, disappear and start a new life somewhere else but her dark musings are suddenly broken by a child's laughter and she quickly turns to see Ebony lift a young boy into the air as he squeals and fidgets in the woman's grasp.

"Stop it Enny! I'll tell papa!"

Ebony chuckles, releasing a bubbly Roland and watching closely as he stumbles off ahead. Amused green eyes slide up and quickly note the Queens perturbed smile, looks like we all have unfortunate stories we keep hidden..Whiskey eyes quickly refocus and stare curiously. Ebony shifts at the intensity, a shiver threatening to take hold, why does she keep looking at me like that?..Quickly her eyes find the bubbly young child again and she follows warily.

Regina watches the woman carefully, irritated by their regular stare offs, Has the girl got a problem?..She sighs miserably, Oh Henry, I need you right now..

Picking up on the Queens shifting mood, Snow shuffles up behind her, reluctant to engage in conversation.."You ready to make camp soon Regina?" Hard brown eyes remain distant.."Your thinking about Henry aren't you?"

"I'm always thinking about Henry, but I was also thinking.." Regina continues their walk behind the convoy as Charming curiously slips alongside.."There are tunnels that run under the castle, they may run underneath the spell."

"Which means we can sneak an army inside." Charming pipes up.

"An army would be detected."

Snow frowns.."So how do the tunnels help us?"

"Because it can get me inside, and if I can get inside then I can lower the shield, then you can send in your army."

There's a sudden high pitch shriek and all eyes dart to the sky. Another winged creature circles furiously, locking onto its target and with screech, it heads straight for the former Evil Queen.

"INCOMING!" The beast swipes at Neal in its approach as Ebony quickly refocuses on the frozen Queen and then to Roland a few feet in front, I cant get to them both in time!..Her heart races, adrenaline pumping and in a flash, shes sprinting past the Queen and launching herself at the furry mass.

Snow quickly primes an arrow, Charming pulling his sword as Ebony scraps with razor sharp claws. One slices into her left shoulder and a painful cry resounds into the forest as shes roughly pulled from the floor and launched backwards, her back cracking harshly with bark.

"Ebony!" The creature shrieks at Robin, climbing into a tree and zeros in on its intended target. As it makes its move, Regina glances at the frightened boy in its path.

"Papa!"

"Roland!"

Quickly the child's snatched up into Regina's arms and placed behind her protectively.."Not so fast!" After a callous wave, the creature shrieks as purple smoke twists and warps its furry body into another shape. A second later, a plush monkey teddy drops to the ground and Regina's quick to pick it up from the mud, that felt fantastic. I haven't used magic like that since Neverland..Her eyes glint a vibrant purple, red lips grinning darkly at the toy in her hands.."See.." She extends the monkey to the timid boy cradled within Robin's arms.."Not so scary, now you have a new toy."

"Thank You." Robin smiles gratefully.

"Robin!" All attention darts to Little John as he gently helps Ebony to her knees. She pushes herself onto all fours, grunting in pain and mentally slapping herself for being such an idiot.

"Ebony?!" Quickly Robin rushes over, placing a reassuring hand on the woman's uninjured arm and looks intently at the three bloodied tares at her shoulder. He attempts to peel back the hood but a firm hand stops him.."We must have that seen to."

Ebony shakes her head, pushing herself onto Little John who helps her stand with a grunt.

"There's quite a lot of blood. We should take a look at it or it might get infected." She glances at Charming, his face alight with something in the form of pity and it flares her rising anger. With a firm shake of the head, Ebony brushes passed her friend and heads back towards the convoy.

Regina frowns deeply at the righteous play, what a stupid girl! She may die if it gets infected!..She steps forward when Snow's plea stops her mid stride.

"Please."

Green eyes drift from Snow to the angry Queen and Ebony shivers then winces at the pain at her shoulder, fuck! I really need to stop doing that..There's a pause, many faces littered with infuriating worry so with a huff, she nods weakly.

"Little John can you help patch her up with Tuck."

"Sure."

The large man plods over and they both disappear towards the back of the convoy with narrow brown eyes watching, what the hell was that all about?!..Regina faces the thief with a scowl.."You need a better handle on your men thief. She almost got herself killed!"

"With all due respect your majesty, she can handle herself, and from what I just saw she saved your ass."

Regina frowns, the vein on her forehead protruding slightly, well would you look at that, the forest filth has a death wish!..

Snow quickly comes to the rescue and refocuses the glaring thief.."Why wouldn't she let us help?"

"She's always been very discreet in showing the world who she really is. She's one hell of a fighter but not much of a talker to outsiders."

"You don't say."

Robin steels his jaw at the Queens tone as the Dwarfs, Granny and Red wander over curiously. With a heavy sigh, Charming's focus slides to the sky and an irritated hand combs through sandy blond hair.."What the hell was that thing?"

"The same kind of monster that attacked us on our journey here."

"If I didn't know any better Id say it looked an awful lot like a monkey." Charming looks at Grumpy questionably.

"A monkey with wings?"

Regina's eyes widen.."Yes that's exactly what it is!"

"Okay your acting like that's normal."

Belle nods.."Actually it is but not here. There's only one land that has creatures like that, Ive read about it, Oz."

Snow frowns.."Oz? That's a real place?"

"The bookworms right its quite real. And if our simian friend is any indication then I think we know exactly who is taking up residence in our castle, The wicked witch."

Grumpy stares perplexed at the Queens sneer.."We talking East or West?"

Snow looks to the sky unnerved.."Does it matter? Neither one sounds good."

"Well one you drop a house on and the other you throw a bucket of water at."

"So Regina what exactly are we up against besides green skin and a pointy hat? What did you do to her?" Charming stares critically at the former Evil Queen.

"This time nothing! Never met her."

"This isn't a personal vendetta? Shocking, Okay then Oz aside we stick to the original plan, arm up then attack. Assuming you can get the shield down."

"You don't need to worry about me." Regina pulls her cloak together and stalks out of the group.

"I'm coming with you." Snow steps forward but is stopped by Regina's glare.

"No this is a one woman job."

"Its the wicked witch, she has flying monkeys and who knows what else."

"I don't care if the lollipop guild is protecting her! I can lower that shield on my own."

Snow stares, the woman's determination obvious but there's something else hidden that has her frowning.."Then we'll be waiting for you on the other side." She watches skeptically as Regina finally paces from the group and into the forest, all the while followed by two sets of uneasy blue and green eyes...


Storybrooke, Present Day:

Ebony fidgets with the dark red collar of her fleece lined coat, this thing is weird..Its not as heavy as her cloak but it keeps her ten times warmer. After waking up last night, she and the men got to work building camp and early this morning they had a visit from a group of dwarfs who told them where they were. Turns out they're in a place called Storybrooke, shes never heard of it personally but the little men had been quite detailed in their description. Everything is so different, there's something called indoor pluming and cars. She don't quite understand them herself and when she ventured into town it was a little unsettling. The dwarf called Leroy told them to go to a shop and handed over a card that allowed them to get clothes. She made sure her old bandanna was replaced, reluctantly by a burgundy scarf but anything to stop the whispers and curious glances thrown her way, I guess they thought it odd I went to buy clothes with a room full of men..

Ebony stands idly on the frosty leaves in her new attire. A dark red coat covers her black hoody which conceals her head and a burgundy scarf covers the lower half of her face. Below she wears black jeans and fur lined high boots that comfortably house her warm feet and calves. She stands amongst her fellow merry men, eyeing a strange bow in Little Johns hands.

"I've never seen a bow like that." A merry man scrutinizes the sleek carbon fiber.

"It aims truer than any I've seen without magic."

Robin cocks an eyebrow.."Where did you get it?"

Little John shifts anxiously.."The store."

"And you procured it with what?" There's a pause, Ebony grinning at the intense scrutiny from Robin.."You stole it."

"The proprietor looked rich and we're poor here, we gotta eat.." The men chuckle but soon a gargle redirects their attention and they quickly spot a fat wild turkey waddling through the brush.."Speaking of eating, I see dinner.." Little John quickly raises the weapon and aims at their soon to be dinner.."Lets see how fast the wild turkeys are in this land." An arrow cuts through the air and sticks into a tree leaving their dinner to waddle off. Robin and his merry men laugh but it only infuriates the bulky man more.

"Only missed by a feathers length. Seems that bow has improved your aim." They laugh again before the large man charges after the turkey determined.."John?! Where are you going?!"

They all jog after him, reaching a tarmac road and spot the merry man and Turkey close to a red line drawn across the snowy ground. Ebony freezes, danger gnawing away at one corner of her mind while narrow green eyes sweep the area, somethings..Before any of them can react, Little John is scooped up with a scream and carried off by a flying monkey. They give chase, Ebony's boots sliding across the icy ground but eventually they slow as the screeching furry mass carries their friend above the tree tops.

"John! JOHN!"

After running to town with one of the other men, they managed to get the help off the blond sheriff and her deputy. Ebony stands vigilant in the covered brush, narrow green eyes scanning the forest and on high alert, No one else will be taken. We'll find you Little John I swear..She can hear Robins voice, her friend almost frantic whilst the sheriff and deputy try to calm him. Her stomach churns, an uncontrollable guilt washing over her, this is my fault, If I'd only been more guarded Little John wouldn't have been taken..When she'd gone to town for help, everyone directed her toward this blond savior for assistance. Seems the woman and her family have some sort of reputation around here for being heroes. She glances at a man clad in black standing aside the sheriff and scowls, bloody pirate!..Shes met his kind back in the Enchanted Forest, selfish, pig headed and wont do anything without something in return. Green eyes slide to the blond and there's a brief moment when their eyes connect.

Emma stares at the shrouded bandit, the woman's shoulders squared, black and red coat hugging tense muscles and something familiar drags its way forward. She frowns, the familiarity of the lone stranger irritating her before the merry woman's focus quickly darts back to the brush and a frantic Robin snaps Emma from her haze.

"We need to find Little John!"

"He may lead us to everyone else that's gone missing. David take him and the rest of his.."

"Merry Men."

Emma raises an eyebrow, I'll never get used to this crap.."Right..them and run a search grid. See if you can find any sign of the missing guy."

Hook frowns.."Your not joining us Swan?"

"Not yet, Regina was right.."

Ebony's focus quickly darts back to the blond, Regina? Why do I know that name?..

"..I'm not going to figure out whose behind this curse by talking to people one by one."

"What are you going to do?"

Emma paces passed her confused father and towards her yellow bug.."I'm going to talk to everybody.."


Ebony plods aimlessly through the dense brush, green eyes sweeping the trees for any sign of her missing friend. Its been hours and still nothing. She peers into the darkening sky and sighs, the suns almost set, I should head back to camp soon..The man called David had taken a few of the men north whilst she combs the south of the forest.

Ebony pushes through a set of bushes and turns onto a dirt track leading uphill. Quickly she jogs up the incline, glancing down at the horse shoe imprints in the dirt, these are pretty old, like really old. I'm surprised the weather hasn't washed them away..She stops at an opening leading onto the open clearing and edges forward cautiously. Quiet feet take tentative steps forward when a tombstone suddenly catches her eye. She slowly makes her way over to the impressive monument and scrutinizes the writing on the face.

Morrigan,

Mother, SoulMate and Hero.

Ebony slowly crouches, focus landing on the withered red and black roses laying on the graves front before green eyes slide to the view behind it. Her heart flutters, the snowy town visible down the cliffs incline and the sparkling water glistening from the setting sun, what a beautiful spot..There's a crack and she launches to her feet guarded until one of her fellow merry men stumbles from the bushes.

"Hey Ebony, Robin said we should head back to camp. We'll keep trying in the morning."

She nods and begins to follow until laughter echoes around her. She whirls, focus returning to the tombstone while images flash in her mind, horses galloping, laughter, arms wrapping around her waist..She wobbles a little light headed and frowns deeply, what the hell was that?..She draws in a slow steady breath as her companion stares questionably by the edge of the trees.

"Are you okay?"

Green eyes refocus and Ebony nods, quickly following the merry man out of the clearing, that was..strange..The disturbing images are quickly pushed to the back of her mind as she marches back towards camp...