Resolution Chapter 8

"Regina, Gold's getting ready to cross the town line." Tinkerbelle said over the phone. "He's not alone."

"Who's with him?"

"Think it must be a private paramilitary group. There's a black armored vehicle, big enough to hold several people."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"Maleficent's going to try to distract the other people. I'll get the word out to everyone, get to the school."

"Okay" Regina hung up. There was no time to waste; Gold probably was already at the school.

Roland dropped his phone back in his pocket. One positive point Mr. Gold arrived when Eimi, Douglas and he were in Drama class together.

"Ms. Zucker?"

"Yes, Roland?"

"Mr. Gold is here. We" He pointed to Douglas and Eimi "have to go make sure my little sister is okay."

Ava hesitated, Mr. Gold was a dangerous man, but then she nodded, she knew they would leave, permission or not. "Be careful."

The three were out the door before Ava even finished speaking. As they ran they finished the link combining their magics.

"Almost there!" Roland cried out.

"Middle of the hallway, right?" Douglas asked

"Yeah!"

As they arrived they saw Mr. Gold coming from the opposite direction.

"Just made it." Eimi said, catching her breath.

Mr. Gold stopped a few feet from them "I'm impressed. So Regina's taught you advanced light magic. A shame none of you are strong magic users" He waved his hand and the three flew backwards into the lockers. Thinking quickly, Eimi, who had been slightly in front of Roland and Douglas, curled forward so her head didn't hit the lockers. But she still gasped as the wind was knocked out of her with the impact.

Mr. Gold opened the classroom door then locked it behind him, just as Henry came running around the corner.

"No!" Henry shouted as he took in the scene. The locks were individual so his classroom key wouldn't unlock it. He turned toward Roland and his partners, groaning on the ground next to the lockers. "Mom told you not to take him on." He gently scolded.

"He didn't give us a choice whether to or not, he just threw us." Eimi explained, slowly getting her breath back.

"Yeah, not surprised. "

Hope, Neil and Roberta ran up then.

"We're too late!" Hope cried when she saw Roland and his partners wincing and groaning as they sat up.

"Yeah he's in there and locked the door. " Henry said in frustration. His phone rang then

"Hi Mom."

"Henry, did you get a call? Gold is on his way to the school."

"I did, he's already here, in the classroom. He locked the door and I can't get in."

"Hope Regina's on her way. I can't get there now. Gold brought in Blackwater types. Mal put them under a mild version of the sleeping curse, like the one she did to the town that time, and Lita's experimental mirage field worked. Both are limited time wise; so we're trying to decide what to do with them to get them out of town and not remember us."

"Mom's forgetting potion should work for not remembering us."

"There's ten of them, does she have that much? And can it be given to them under this sleeping curse?"

Henry sighed with relief when he saw purple smoke appear in the classroom door's window. "Mom's in there now. I'll ask her when I can."

Regina appeared in the room and saw her daughter was holding Bae's hand tightly. Grace stood in between Bae and Gold. Both girls looked visibly frightened. There was a faint amethyst glow around Grace's hand.

"You should be proud Regina; your daughter has so much potential power, and already using some. She's far more powerful than you, dearie. But she is a soulmates' child, after all. Perhaps there's a prophesy?"

"No more prophesies." Regina could see the madness in his eyes; the power craving was in full force. He was looking at Grace like she was a prize. No, he would not harm another generation of Mills. "She's barely eleven years old. "

"Yes, a bit too young yet, perhaps in another seven or eight years…"

"No. She's my child, you won't come near her."

"Perhaps I'll leave her alone if you step away from my child."

Regina knew his words were directed at her, but she knew this was the moment she could get Grace and the rest of her class out of the room. She could protect Bae from her father better without other potential hostages around. "Grace, power down, let go of Bae's hand and come over beside me."

"But mama Bae's scared"

"I know, but do what I'm telling you."

Grace bit her lip and tearfully looked at her best friend.

"You should do what your mama says" Bae said softly.

"Okay."

As soon as Grace reached her Regina slammed the door open and shouted "Everyone else, out, now!" in her most commanding voice. She threw up a barrier between the other students and Gold.

The teacher and the other students immediately fled.

Gold smirked "Wise move"

"Grandpa." Henry stood in the doorway "You don't have to do this. Bae's afraid. Let her stay here."

Gold smiled genuinely. "No magic that's useful, but still brave and a believer. Still believe you can save me with your words. Bae's only afraid because all she's heard was how bad I am. I'd never hurt her." His expression turned firm. "I'm her father though. You have no say in this. You may be my only grandchild, but stay out of this."

"Henry, listen to him, you did what you could. I want you to get out of here with Grace…" She then saw her other children, Roland's partners, her niece and Neal Nolan standing in the hall behind Henry "and everyone else."

Henry wanted to balk, but now that he was a father himself, he understood. He nodded

Grace, though, did not; she shook her head no as Regina lightly pushed her toward the door. "No mama."

"Grace Marion Locksley-Mils" Regina said sternly "Leave now with your brother."

"Mama!" Grace began to cry and shook her head no.

Henry looked back and motioned for the others to stay back, a grim faced Roland was holding a struggling Hope from running into the room.

"Let go Roland! Mama!" Hope cried out.

Henry walked into the room, his grandfather stood passively watching, a faint smile on his face. Henry picked his youngest sister up. Then carried her, struggling in his arms and crying, out of the room.

"So you think you can keep me from taking my daughter out of here. Regina?" Gold laughed.

"I'll try. You aren't fit to be her father, right now." Regina said with a touch of sympathy. She knew he did love his daughter, but the madness she saw, no way was he coming near this child. Plus she could feel Bae literally shaking with fear, as she now clutched the back of Regina's jacket.

"She's my child, not yours, dearie." Gold said with a cold rage.

Regina realized the sympathetic note had been a mistake. He reacted as if she had patronized him. She'd upped his anger not lessened it. She'd been redeemed so long she could no longer emotionally connect with those still in the dark, especially so far in it.

"Bae, come to your papa."

Bae shook her head no and clutched Regina's jacket tighter.

Everything next happened in a blur of motion. Gold grabbed Bae's arm. Bae threw her other arm around Regina's waist. Regina brought an arm around Bae's waist. Gold did a teleport spell. All three disappeared from the room.

When Henry exited the school he was thankful the evacuation plan was followed. All the children and teachers were well away from the school, scattered around the grounds. Ava gave him a sympathetic look as he walked past, still carrying Grace. She'd stopped struggling, as had Hope in Roland's arms, but both girls were still crying, as was Roland now, but silently. Henry held onto a determined belief in his mother to keep in control.

Henry set Grace down, and Roland let go of Hope. The two girls flung their arms around each other and continued to weep. Roland shuddered to hold back more vocal crying. Eimi and Douglas pulled him into a three way embrace.

"It's okay let it out now." Eimi said softly.

"Yeah, it's better if you do, you'll make yourself sick, holding it in." Douglas soothed.

Roland gasped and let out a whimper, that he muffled by pressing his face first into Douglas' chest, then Eimi's.

Henry turned away and gripped his hands into fists and took a deep breath. Mom would be okay, she'd fix it.

A jeep squealed into the parking lot near where they were standing. Robin leapt out of the Ranger vehicle and ran to them.

"Regina? Where is she?" He asked Henry, dread pooling in his stomach.

"She got everyone out of the class; she's taking on Gold, alone."

"Damn. No time to get anyone else too?"

"No. He brought mercenary soldiers in. My other mom and everyone else are dealing with them."

Robin ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Anyone hurt?"

"Don't think so."

Grace and Hope saw that their father was here and ran to him, throwing their arms around him.

"Daddy, mommy's in the school! " Hope cried out.

"She's fighting Mr. Gold all alone!" Grace shouted in anxiety.

"Henry told me." Robin struggled with competing urges, staying here, making sure his children were safe, or run to try to help Regina.

Henry understood the conflicted look on Robin's face. "I'll go, Robin. See if mom's okay. He's least likely to attack me since I'm his grandson."

Robin nodded. "Still, be careful. If they're still fighting stay back."

"I will." Henry forced himself to walk calmly back into the school.

**********************************************************************8

"Still no word from Regina?" David asked Emma.

"Nothing. She was in the classroom facing off with Gold last I heard."

David grimaced. "No other solutions then, for now, have to put them in jail. How long do we have with your group sleep curse?" He asked Maleficent.

"With this small a group, possibly three days."

"Minimum, how much?"

"Twenty-four hours, but probably more. I can't be sure of three days, but at least one."

"Okay. So do you know the forgetting potion ingredients and do we have enough for ten people?" Emma asked.

"There are variations. I have one, but I haven't used it here. Regina has."

"I have one, but it's based on the old fairy formula. I wouldn't have enough." Tinkerbelle said

"What about Rebecka?" David mused.

"She might, but we'll like you said, we'll have to put these people in jail until we know."

The deadly quiet disturbed Henry, not a sound coming from the classroom. It was with a mix of dread and relief when he saw the classroom was empty. That meant mom was still alive, but the battle was elsewhere now. Where though?

He took out his phone. Robin first. Hopefully Robin had it with him. It would be easier to just tell him over the phone. Let Robin tell Grace and Hope the news in a way it wouldn't scare them even more. He hit the button. "Robin, good news and bad news."

"Tell me.' Robin said in a calm tone.

"Good news, I'm pretty sure mom's okay. There's no blood in here. Bad news, the fight's somewhere else now. No one's in the classroom. There's no more damage in here than when I got everyone else out, so it happened pretty soon after."

"Could we find them with a locator spell?"

"We'd have to go back home to get something to use."

"Eating up time."

"There's another spell. I saw it in a book; do you have a map in the jeep?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let me grab a couple other things on the way back to you."

A few minutes later Henry returned. "Robin, it needs a drop of Grace's blood. It has to be a blood relative and Grace is closest one."

"Okay, if Grace is okay with it."

"To find mommy, anything."

Henry took out a covered beaker with the spell ingredients steaming in it- luckily he remembered mom's version which just needed a few common ingredients, plus a sewing needle he'd got from the drama classroom, and a sterilizing alcohol pad and bandaid from the first aid cabinet.

"Ah, I believe I've heard of this spell." Robin said as he found a couple of small rocks and weighted the map down on the flat top of a low wall.

Grace gasped when the needle pierced her finger, but calmly squeezed a few drops of blood into the potion. The potion turned into a jelled substance, which moved when Henry poured it onto the map.

"New York City"

Robin grimaced. Not a place with happy associations for either himself or Regina.

"It makes sense. He knows it well and it's a ley line nexus point."

Robin smiled faintly in spite of the situation "So you understand the ley line things? I kind of understand the basics, but when Regina starts talking about nexus points and things like that, I'm lost."

"Yeah I get it. He had to have used that magic to teleport that far in this world. "

"Regina's the only one with any advanced ley line magic here."

"Yeah, we'd have to drive or fly and it'd still take hours even if we flew."

"So mama has to fight Mr. Gold on her own, nobody can help her?" Hope said, heartbrokenly.

"Is that true, daddy?" Grace added, tears rewelling in her eyes.

"The Guardians will. They would have felt him pull the ley line magic. They'll figure out where he is and come to help mom." Henry said, assuredly.

"Sure hope they get there fast." Roland said.

"Me too." Both Robin and Henry said.