Once Upon a Time

Part 1:

"Your heart will do the rest?" That's just maddeningly unhelpful. Belle French thought to herself as she crossed into the library. Rumpelstiltskin had hidden the key she needed to find the spell somewhere in here... somewhere only she could find it.

Her heart still broke a little bit whenever she thought about him sailing off with the others. Without her. As much as she'd understood why she needed to stay, she couldn't help but resent him a little. She couldn't help but feel as though all her life she'd simply been stepping into other people's stories, never having one of her own.

But she didn't have time to think loke that. She pushed the thoughts aside and returned her mind to the task at hand: finding the key, whatever and wherever it was. Where would Rumple have put it? She asked herself, scanning the shelves. Certainly not in the romance section. He wasn't that kind of man. Not in biographies either, as they'd hold no meaning for him. But where then?

Suddenly something clicked in her mind. Rumple knew her. He knew her better than anyone. She'd poured out her hopes, her dreams, her desires. If he'd ever listened to her there was only one place he'd of thought to put it: adventure.

Belle clicked her heels up the stairs and headed towards the back, where all of her favorite stories were kept. Her fingers flew across the titles, jerking to a stop over one. Your Heart Will Do The Rest. It wasn't a cryptic message, it was a book! She yanked it off the shelf and pulled open the dusty pages.

For as long as she could remember, Belle felt a rush of excitement whenever she opened a book. A new world to be discovered. New people to fall in love with. This time, however, her excitement was dulled by a sense of maddening urgency to complete Rumple's task and begin her search for him as soon as possible (if he'd thought she wouldn't be going through the next portal out of Storybrooke he was mad).

Suddenly one of Lacey's memories flashed through her head. Some movie about men escaping from prison. They'd smuggled in items using the hollowed out pages of books. Could Rumple have employed the same technique?

Her hunch was confirmed as she shook out the pages of the book. A small, painted bit of ceramic material flew out. She set the book down, making a mental note to read it later, and picked up the small piece of matter. She recognized it immediately, an enormous smile stretching across her face.

"My chipped cup." She whispered, looking at the small chip she'd broken off of the teacup a lifetime ago. Now fully understanding what Rumple wanted her to do, she pocketed the chip and made her way out of the library-and into a battlefield.

In her excitement over unraveling the clues Belle had failed to notice the dire state of the town. The fail-safe had destroyed homes, ripped down telephone lines, and dislodged fire hydrants. Archie and the Blue Fairy were doing their best to keep everyone under control, but it was to little avail. They needed a leader, and Belle knew just the girl for the job.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You want me to lead Storybrooke?" Ruby spat out the words like vinegar, not believing what Belle had suggested.

"You're the only one. Archie has no... backbone. It's got to be you." Belle said, putting a kettle of tea on the stove to boil.

"Why can't you do it?" A valid question. Belle was, for many reasons, the best fit for the job. She'd gladly have accepted the role were it not for her own personal mission.

"Because. I have to find a way back to the man I love. He'll never be able to find me, so it's my turn to find him." Belle said, a look of sorrow and determination on her face. Ruby had always admired her for her bravery. And Belle had helped her during Wolfstime. Perhaps she owed her this.

"Fine. I'll do it. But only until you come back." Ruby said, already bracing herself for Belle's violent hug.

"Thank you, Ruby. I promise I'll be back as soon as possible. Once I've got this cloaking spell underway I'll be on the first portal out of here." With that Belle left Ruby's home, feeling for the first time as though everything might truly end well.

. . . . . . . . . . .

"This can't end well." Emma Swan had been through a lot since coming to Storybrooke and breaking the curse, but she was proud to say she'd never had to fight off a pack of killer mermaids. But, she supposed, there's a first time for everything.

"Behind you, love!" Hook shouted to Emma. She spun around in time to see a vicious woman of the sea flying at her. She swung the oar and knocked her back into the ocean. Another one flopped onto the deck next to her and she stuck it in the tail before it could bite off Charming's leg.

"There are too many of them! We need help." Snow said, punching a mermaid in the face and sending her back to the sea. She spun around and kicked another off the boat, then grappled with yet another one.

"No. We need magic." Regina said solemnly. They'd realized a day into their journey that magic was different in Neverland. For the first time in a long time Regina and Rumple found themselves having to rely on human skills, rather than magical ones.

"Yeah well, we don't have any. So unless you've got a spell that can kill mermaids..." Emma joked, running one through with the end of her oar. Emma's quip, however, gave Regina an idea.

"Hook! I need pen and paper. Now!" Hook looked at her curiously for a moment before disappearing below deck.

"What are you planning?" Charming asked as he tackled a mermaid away from Emma's ankles and back into the sea.

"My spell book. Even before I knew how to wield magic I could use that, because the magic was already there. In the ink. I think between Emma and I we can enchant some ink. Then I can write a spell that will protect the boat." Regina looked around at the increasing number of mermaids threatening to pull their ship apart. "It might be our only chance."

As much as Emma hated it, she was willing to concede that the situation was getting dire. Soon there'd be no boat left to protect.

"Lets do it." Emma said as Hook reemerged with the pen and paper, as well as some ink. "Mom, Dad, Gold, cover us." Emma said, already beginning to focus her energy on the ink in Regina's hand. She'd only ever willingly used magic in Storybrooke, and was surprised by how different it felt in Neverland. It seemed... elusive. Like every time she tried to harness it it disappeared.

"Regina. I don't know if I can do this." Emma said, anxiously looking at the other woman. Regina gave her a reassuring glance.

"Just focus, Miss Swan. You can do this... For Henry." This struck home for Emma. Henry was the reason she was there in the first place. She wasn't about to let herself die at the claws of a mermaid when she'd come that far.

"Ok. Let's try again." Emma said, repositioning herself. The boat rocked violently, but Emma and Regina tuned it out. The entirety of their consciousness was now focused on the task at hand. Almost... Emma thought, magic pulsing through her fingers into the bottle of liquid. The black ink was beginning to swirl and glow when suddenly... she lost it. Emma and Regina had lost the magic.

"We need somewhere free of distractions if we're going to get this." Regina said to Hook. Without hesitation he ushered them to the nearest set of stairs, leading them down into his personal cabin.

"This is as private as things get. Now you two work this out or we'll be dinner for the mermaids." Hook gave a slight chuckle and ran back to the main deck-just in time to see one of the sea-women leap onto Charming's back and throw him to the ground.

Hook couldn't help but smile as he heard the all-too-familiar sound of his cutlass slicing through flesh. The mermaid fell dead at Charming's side and Charming realized, much to his annoyance, that Hook had saved his life.

"Don't suppose you've got any more cutlasses anywhere around here?" He asked, hoping for a better weapon than the blunt oar he'd been using.

"Below deck, mate. First room to your left." Hook said, slicing through yet another mermaid that was advancing on Mary Margaret. Charming almost imperceptively switched his personality from that of a warrior to that of a leader has he delivered commands to the motley crew of the Jolly Roger.

"Hook, you hold them off as long as you can. Mr. Gold, you need to go below deck and help Regina and Emma. Get that spell working as soon as possible. Mary Margaret, you're with me. We need to bring up all the weapons we can carry if we're going to keep these things at bay long enough to survive." With that Charming, Snow, and Gold disappeared below deck.

Left alone once again, Hook couldn't help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into, and why exactly he was doing what he was doing.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"We're going to find you, kid." Henry had noted early on in their relationship the way Tamara's voice changed depending on her mood. Sometimes so sweet and caring. Other times so wicked and full of malice. And at other times full of smugness and self confidence.

It was the third of those voices that drifted through the forest after him that day. He'd been running for who knows how long. His lungs were on fire. His face burned from the branches repeatedly scratching at it. And though he'd put up a valiant effort, he found himself at a distinct disadvantage: Greg and Tamara were much larger, and they had the full use of their hands. Still, despite the inevitable, Henry kept running.

He noted in his sometimes overly rational ten year old brain that situations like the one he then found himself were generally used for self reflection. How exactly had he arrived at his present moment, running through some jungle in the middle of a fantasy world, being chased by two magic hating life ruiners?

Henry then realized that if he thought too much about it, he'd go crazy. There were times when even he, who'd come up with the theory in the first place, couldn't believe the kind of life he was living-one inhabited by characters from a book.

Turning his attention back to his current predicament, Henry pondered what his next move should be. Keep running? Certainly a no. They'd catch him soon anyway, and he couldn't run forever. Surrender? Like that would work. Fight? Not a chance. That left him with one option, though he didn't prefer it: hide. If he could hide long enough for them to move past him, he'd be able to double back to where they started. Perhaps, though he found it somewhat doubtful it, the portal would still be open.

Deciding it was the best (and only) chance he had of escaping, Henry hooked to his left, crashed through a few bushes, and propelled himself upwards into a tree. He found a sharp stick and used it to puncture the zip tie binding his hands. Then he climbed. Foot here, hands there. Don't slip. Three feet, five feet, ten feet. Up he went, every branch taking him a little bit closer to freedom.

Eventually the branches grew too flimsy for him to safely climb and he decided to park himself. All things considered he'd gotten quite high up. He just hoped it was high enough that the leaves below would conceal him for Tamara and Greg. Speaking of which, it sounded as if they might be getting near...

"He's got to be around here somewhere." Tamara said, whipping her head back and forth. She was, by no means, an expert tracker, but anyone with half a brain would be able to follow the path of destruction the flailing Henry had cut through the forest. "Greg, let's keep moving. He can't have gotten far." Greg began to move off in the direction she'd pointed. Maybe he really had outsmarted him. But then he noticed Tamara bend down and pick something up. Something white and thin. The zip tie.