They did what Regina said and went to the abandoned castle. It was only then they realized that it's Maleficent's castle, the Forbidden Fortress, or at least what's left of it. There is no one residing there so they're safe. The whole place is surrounded by mirrors and fireplace. Hook started a fire to keep themselves warm. Henry stared at it. "Are you okay?" Ella asked him and he nodded. "She came back to save us", he said with a smile. "Yeah, but she still doesn't remember who we are to her", she said. Henry looked at her. "I know but there's a part of her that wants to believe which means we can wake her up from all of these", he said. Snow overheard their conversation. "Henry is right, Ella. The fact that she saved us from her guards means that she still cares even though she couldn't remember us as her family. We can still save her", she said. Rumple nodded. "…and once we save her, we can save everyone else. She's the one who can break this curse we're in", he added.
Then they suddenly noticed Zelena pacing back and forth in the living room like she's thinking of something major. Robin saw them looking at her mother. "She's been like since we got here", she said to them. Snow got up. "Zelena, are you okay?" she asked her. She didn't stop pacing. "It's different", she muttered. Snow frowned. "What is different?" she asked again. Zelena looked at her. "Regina's magic, it's different", she answered then continued pacing. Rumple thought about it as well. "I don't understand. What do you mean by that?" David asked. Zelena stopped. "It was light magic and it's something I have never seen before. I saw Emma's light magic. I saw Regina's when she defeated me back then. I saw Alice's but that earlier was different. It is incredibly pure and powerful that I felt it before it even hits", she answered. Rumple walked over to them. "I felt that too but I wasn't able to explain what it is", he muttered.
"Hold on. She already casted the curse and crushed two hearts. Why she still has light magic? When she first turned herself dark, she only has dark magic", Hook asked. Alice suddenly smiled.
"…because it wasn't Regina who killed Ruby and Eleazar", she muttered and everyone looked at her. "Don't you get it? It was Coraline who casted the curse. Regina is asleep within her", she explained.
"Coraline is Regina. She just lost her memory. In fact, she only remembered the darkest moments of her life", David said.
"No, she doesn't remember anything. It was all shown to her and she accepted it. She was angry at Snow because she saw that she's the reason why her mother and Daniel died but she doesn't remember them. She's still Coraline", Alice insisted.
"I think she's right. You can't remember one part of your past and forget the rest. Coraline has the dark magic because of casting the curse. The fact that we saw her use light magic earlier means Regina is waking up in her which allowing her to use light magic", Rumple explained.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go save my mother", Henry said.
The queen's castle is shining with tons of chandeliers and colorful fabrics on its windows and walls. Despite the cheerful ambiance of her palace, Regina is not feeling festive. The world around her is not the world she's hoping to live in. She confined herself inside her bedroom and comforted herself with the memory she had with Eleazar in his little house in the village which she played over and over again through her mirror. "I am really sorry. I let you down", she muttered. Then she turned her back on the mirror to go to her bed when suddenly the memory being played in the mirror changed. "You're life is proof that no one's path is set", a man's voice said. She quickly turned around and looked at the mirror. She saw herself talking to a man in a tavern in front of a fireplace. "It's not fair, Robin. Our story was so short", she said. "Doesn't make it any less epic", he replied. Regina went closer to the mirror wondering about him. Then he saw him placed something in her palm and then the memory disappeared. All of a sudden, she felt something in her left hand. She looked at it and saw that she's holding a red feather. "Robin", she muttered.
The heroes now rallied in Regina's castle to rescue her. They fought her guards and prevailed. They continued raiding the palace in search for the queen. Their attack alerted the entire kingdom. Hook and Robin told Henry to go in and do not wait for them and he did. He didn't know the castle very well because he's never been there before. In the other version of the Enchanted Forest, he lives in Tiana's castle. Then Zelena and Rumple came with him. "You looked like you're lost", she said to her nephew. They both smiled at each other. "Which way?" he asked them. "Well, this is technically your grandparents' castle. The guards must have taken her to the safe room to protect her when there's an attack", Rumple answered. "Then to the safe room it is", Henry said.
They are not wrong. They found Regina sitting inside the safe room by herself. She is surprised to see them there. "What are you doing here?" she asked them. Henry smiled at her. "We came here to get you out", Henry answered. They heard someone laughed. It's Wish Rumple. "How very touching but as you can see, she doesn't want to come with any of you", he said. He went beside Regina. "Take no more step or you will be killed", he warned. They all readied themselves to fight. Rumple is attempting to face his other version so the others can take Regina but Henry dropped his sword on purpose. "Henry", Snow muttered. He took a step forward. "What are you doing?" Regina asked him. Henry smiled at her. "Showing you that I am not leaving without my mother", he answered simply. Regina frowned. Wish Rumple laughed. "Foolish boy", he said and then choked him. The others screamed and tried to stop it but Zelena stopped them instead. "Wait. Just watch", she said. They all looked at Regina as she tries to comprehend what's going on around her. "I am not giving up on you, Mom. I love you", Henry managed to say while struggling to breathe. Regina closed her eyes as if she's trying to remember something. Then as she opens her eyes, she looked at Wish Rumple and then waved her hand and he flew against the wall freeing Henry. "What are you doing?" Wish Rumple asked her. "You're hurting my son. Nobody hurts my son", she answered.