Disclaimer: I own none of the characters as that honor and right goes to ABC, Adam and Eddie.

Note: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. The characters ended up exactly where I wanted them to at the end of the chapter, but I was back and forth during a few moments where I just wasn't sure if a particular character would react the way I wrote them. I hope it works and I hope you enjoy the twists. Please review and give me your opinions on the characters and the way they interact in this chapter. Also curious to find out what all of you think about Maggie. And to those worried about Emma, be sure to pay attention to what Maggie tells Red. Can Maggie exist if Emma is really gone for good? Enjoy the story and let me know if you want me to continue by leaving a review. If you want me to continue please leave a review and I will try and get the next chapter ready to go up as soon as I can. Remember the more reviews the more encouraged I am to get the next chapter ready ;)

CHAPTER 25: THE RED MOON CLAIMS A RED WOLF

Red stared at Maggie with tired eyes and despite pure exhaustion she felt the most alive she had since she had awoken from the curse weeks earlier. She walked forward and placed a hand on Maggie's face just to make sure the woman before her was really there. Maggie stood in a stoic and silent manner allowing Red to get the physical confirmation she needed. Once Red realized Maggie was real she embraced her granddaughter.

"Thank the gods," Red sobbed.

Maggie hesitated a moment before returning the embrace. She wasn't much for the emotional stuff. A lot of that she could blame on having to grow up way to fast in a hard world.

"It's okay," Maggie reassured her grandmother.

Red stood back and brushed away the tears that had been trickling down her cheeks.

"How," Red asked with a hitch of emotion still lingering in her voice. "How are you here?"

"I was conceived in the past, born in this present, and lived in your future," Maggie replied.

"That still doesn't explain how you're here when you never even got a chance at life."

Maggie walked over to Emma's headstone and ran her hand along the smooth top of the stone.

"Magic can be unpredictable," Maggie replied cryptically.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"To be honest, I'm not sure I have an answer for you," Maggie replied as she leaned back against the headstone.

"None of this makes any sense," Red mumbled as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Why the hell didn't your mother just come back instead of forcing me into this hell?"

"Wow, pity party of one," Maggie observed sarcastically. "Get off this pity trip you're on because she trusted you to help set things right in a way she couldn't and you don't get to give up just because things aren't as you think they should be," Maggie replied in a forceful tone.

"She made a mistake," Red replied. "Whatever she thought I could do, she was wrong."

Maggie walked over to Red and stood eye to eye with her grandmother.

"She was only wrong if you give up," Maggie spoke in a soft even tone reminiscent of Emma. "Think for a moment, you asked how I'm here. Think about what you know of magic. By mom breaking the curse she repaired the timeline. All the fractures are gone, so if it was her place to remain dead I would not be here. No amount of magic can make a being live when they were never born."

Maggie took Red's hand and placed it over her heart.

"Feel that?"

Red nodded with tears threatening to fall.

"That is my heart beating as strong as ever. I am alive against all reason and all laws of magic. To me that says it's not time to give up on hope yet. I'm quite literally betting my life on the fact that you still have some fight left in you."

"Maggie I…" Red's voice broke with overwhelming emotion. "I'm so tired…tired of fighting and always losing."

"Then let's win," Maggie replied in a firm and confident tone. "You only lose if you stop fighting."

Red pulled her hand back away from Maggie's chest and used it to brush away the tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"What do you want me to do," Red asked through sniffles as she tried to regain her composure. "I don't have any fight left."

Maggie extended her hand to Red.

"Then take some of mine. I'll be strong enough for both of us, but I need you to at least try. We can do this together," Maggie replied with confidence still strong in her voice. She stood silently now with her hand extended.

"I'm sorry, Maggie…I can't…" Red sobbed and turned quickly. Maggie watched in dismay as her grandmother left in tears.

"Damnit," Maggie yelled her pent up frustrations to no one in particular.

Even through her anger and frustration she sensed Bae before she ever heard him.

"Careful Maggie or someone may think you're losing control," Bae spoke as he strode up to her out of the trees he'd been watching from.

"I'm not the one losing control, but she is," Maggie snapped. "I should have been able to get through to her, but she just shut me down."

"You mom made a mistake sending Red back," Bae stated.

"She had her reasons," Maggie replied. "We may not agree with those reasons, but there is a bigger plan at work here."

"Who are you trying to convince here? We both know who Red is," Bae reminded Maggie.

"We can still stop her and save her. I have to believe that she's not lost to us yet," Maggie declared.

"You've lived in the future, Maggie. You know what your grandmother becomes and based off the look of horror in your eyes when you told me I can only guess it's even worse then you described. Perhaps it would be a blessing to every innocent life destined to be taken at her hand if we just kill her now."

"No," Maggie snapped. "Mom knew everything I told you when she made the decision to send Red back. We have to believe she did that for a reason, so we're not giving up on her yet."

"At what point do you stop letting familial sentimentality rule you and act on behalf of the innocents she will slaughter," Bae demanded.

Maggie closed the distance between her and Bae and she looked straight in his eyes with an intensity he'd never been exposed to, not even by his father.

"I have looked into the eyes of a soulless beast with my brother's blood dripping from its fangs. I have watched a lot of people I love die at the end of those same fangs. I have heard the screams of its victims being torn apart limb by limb." Maggie's eyes flickered from human to wolf under her own control. "When I can no longer see a soul in her eyes I will have no trouble whatsoever ripping out the monsters throat and ending her reign of terror before it can begin. Until that moment she is still my grandmother and I will fight for her soul with every ounce of my being and if you get in my way I will have absolutely no problem removing you from my path."

Maggie's eyes flickered back to human form and she stepped back. Bae was left looking at her in shock.

"How…the moon…" Bae tried to ask but he couldn't finish his thought.

"Just know when the time comes I have the power and strength to match the monster blow for blow and I will win," Maggie declared.

"And if you don't win?"

"We're all screwed," Maggie replied.

"She's already slipping away, Maggie. How do you plan on saving her when even seeing you can't restore her hope?"

"I have to let her hit rock bottom and pray I can pull her back up before Regina gets her darkness into her."

"You're playing a dangerous game here, Maggie. Are you sure this is what Emma wanted?"

"I'm not sure what she wanted or expected, but I know what I have to do. And I know what you have to do. So go do it or not even saving Red will save the future," Maggie stated firmly.

"You know you're going to have to eventually reveal your identity to the others," Bae pointed out.

"They don't know she was pregnant when she was killed and it is best that way," Maggie replied. "It's why I have to avoid the diner because Granny would peg me as family the moment I got within scenting range. So I need you to keep stopping by and keeping an eye on Red when she is there. Other than that I want you focused on your other task."

"As we speak my father and Regina have already formed an uneasy alliance and we both know what they are working on. I think it is a mistake to play the lone wolf card when you have an entire army that would back you up if they just knew who you were," Bae argued.

"Ten years ago you told and mom launched a plan to save the future. To her that was mere hours before she willingly laid her life down for her family and for the future. You followed the plan and gave her magic when she needed it most. It was her choice to use every ounce of it to set things right and break the curse. Now it's our job to finish what she started and create a future everyone can look forward to. Involving my family will only cause us problems. I have always been my strongest on my own and right now I need to be my strongest if we have even a chance in hell of stopping my grandmother from being turned into the harbinger of pure evil."

Bae was silent for a long moment before giving a gentle nod of his head. He knew she was right and he knew their best chance rested solely in Maggie's hands and he had to have faith that Emma truly had a greater plan at work here. He just hoped he wouldn't end up regretting allowing Maggie to take on Red on her own.

"I have to obtain a few last supplies for another attempt at what I was tasked. I'll be at my workshop if you need anything."

"Keep me updated on any progress you make," Maggie ordered.

With a nod Bae turned and left the cemetery. Maggie walked over to Emma's headstone and kneeled before it. She leaned her head forward and a single tear trickled down her cheek.

Emma brushed a tear from Maggie's cheek as they stood in the field after Red had been returned to life. It took all Emma had to not lose her composure as Maggie told her of Henry's death at the hands of Red.

"Henry gave his life for you," Emma spoke in a soft motherly tone. "He saw the strength in you and he knew, as I do, that you are much more of a beacon of hope then I could have ever hoped to be."

"I am not strong or some beacon of hope," Maggie snapped. "I didn't ask for any of this! I don't want to be a leader and I sure as hell don't want people depending on me!"

"Trust me, kid, I understand that more than you can ever know. What I do know is that it is your destiny to return light and hope to the future as much as it was my destiny to end the curse. And yes it sucks to have so much put on you, but people are counting on you. You must have faith that all will work out as it must."

"How can I have faith or bring hope when the best thing to happen in my whole damn life was not being born?"

"You will be born," Emma vowed. "You will be born into a better life where your biggest worry will be convincing your dad and brother to like whatever boy you bring home because no one will ever be good enough for you."

"How do you expect me to change the future when you couldn't change your own past," Maggie challenged

"You are stronger than I can ever hope to be. I have faith you can succeed where I failed."

"I don't want this responsibility," Maggie snapped.

"I'm sorry, Maggie, but you have to do this. Do it for Henry and the hope of a better life," Emma begged her daughter.

Maggie brushed away her tears, she hated to cry. She took a deep breath and gathered her emotions.

"We don't even know that I can return to a world where I was never born. We only met here because when you died so did I. I may have more practiced magic then you, but not even I know how to overcome the whole not being born thing."

"I do," Emma replied. "While I was in the past…well my past…I got a chance to flip through a book of magic. Some of it stuck with me, in particular one that allows a soul to temporarily transcend time and space. I think it may be how I was able to travel to two thousand and two when I encountered Bae. If you can do the same then there is still hope, but it all falls on you."

"No, mom, we have to send you back. I can send you…"

Emma grabbed Maggie's hands and held them with tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"I want the chance to be the kind of mother I never got to be to Henry. I want to know what it's like to hold my baby in my arms and know I'm going to get to see her first smile, her first steps, hear her first word, and love her unconditionally. I want to get to be your mom, but we can't have that if you don't do this Maggie. You get a chance to do something most only dream of, you can rewrite your future. You can save your grandmother and Henry and countless other lives. Please, Maggie, you have to trust me that a bigger plan is at work here. You have to go," Emma begged her daughter.

Maggie closed her eyes and nodded her head. When she opened her eyes she was looking up at her mom and the two women embraced.

"I'm proud of you," Emma whispered.

That cut right through Maggie's resolve and she couldn't stop the tears from flowing again. She just wished her mom knew what this simple embrace meant.

"I'm not sure I'm as strong as you thought I was," Maggie murmured as she brushed her hand over her mom's name.

Maggie heard someone approach from behind and she whipped around to see Henry staring at her with his book in hand and a smile on his face.

"I knew she'd send someone," Henry declared excitedly.

Maggie frowned at Henry.

"You shouldn't be out on your own," Maggie noted.

"I heard dad telling grandpa James that some woman wanted him to get a message to grandma Red. I knew it had to be someone mom sent. So, who are you," Henry quizzed.

"Who I am is unimportant," Maggie replied. "Get home before ou…your family starts to worry about you."

"Nope," Henry replied stubbornly. "Not until you tell me who you are and how we're going to bring my mom back."

Maggie rolled her eyes and started to walk away, but Henry ran after her and stayed at her side.

"Are you a princess," Henry asked.

"Nope," Maggie replied in an annoyed tone.

"A warrior?"

"Nope."

"A dragon slayer?"

"Nope."

"A queen?"

"Nope."

"A…"

Maggie stopped in her tracks and put her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up. Just shut up," Maggie growled. "You need to go home where you're safe."

Maggie removed her hand from his mouth and he stared up at her, studying her for clues. Then he caught sight of the darkening sky and his smile grew.

"It's going to get dark soon, so you'd better walk me home," Henry replied. "Can't let me walk around town without protection, now can you?"

"Never realized how annoying you were as a kid," Maggie grumbled under her breath and started to walk. "Come on kid, I have other things to do besides worry about you, so let's go."

Henry ran to keep up with her with a big smile plastered across his face. Hope had arrived back in Storybrooke and in his heart he knew his mom had sent this mystery woman to them for some reason and he was going to find out what that reason was.

James and Jacob walked through the castle after leaving Gepetto's workshop.

"It's not going to be ready in time," James sighed.

"You don't know that for sure," Jacob replied. "Perhaps Emma just coming here altered things in ways we can't yet see. You can't say for certain that Snow and Emma still won't make it out of here."

"Emma will get out of here if it takes my last breath," James vowed. "I just hate the idea of sending my baby out into a cruel world alone."

"Don't give up on hope yet, my friend, this war is not yet lost," Jacob replied. "I have faith that all will work out as it must."

"You're stuck a realm away from your son. How in the seven hells can you be so hopeful?"

"I met your daughter," Jacob replied simply. "Just knowing that she will live and come back for all of us gives me hope. I know I will one day see my son again and I know that I have something to fight for. She has given all of us the most powerful thing in existence…hope. "

James pondered what Jacob had said and a smile spread across his face.

"Think Snow would kill me if I suggest we change Emma's name to Hope," James wondered.

"I think you should be more scared of Granny. Do you know how many hours she's put into that baby blanket? You may end up sporting a knitting needle in your eye."

"Right then. We'll just stick with Emma."

"Probably a safe plan," Jacob chuckled.

Snow and Red nearly walked right into their husbands as they were coming in from the garden.

"Should we be concerned," Red wondered. "I haven't seen this many smiles in a long time. Did someone use happy magic?"

James kneeled before Snow and pressed a kiss to her stomach.

"Daddy and Uncle Jacob were just talking about how perfect and amazing you're going to be," James spoke to Snow's stomach.

Snow smiled and ruffled James' hair as he cooed to her stomach. She looked over to Red and smiled.

"You were right. Even with the curse still pending she has managed to restore hope when I thought all hope had left the land," Snow stated.

"As long as she lives so will hope," Red declared. "Whatever darkness consumes the land she will be the single beacon of hope."

It was already dark when Maggie knocked on the door to James' house where the family had relocated to for the added benefit of extra room. Henry looked up at her, still trying to figure out who she was. The more he stared the harder and more insistent her knock became. She just wanted to make sure Henry got home safe and get the hell away from them before her cover was blown.

A frantic James opened the door and his eyes locked on Maggie for a moment before his eyes were drawn down to Henry and a weight seemed to drop from his shoulders at the sight of the boy.

"Oh thank the gods," James exclaimed as he grabbed the shoulder strap of Henry's backpack and pulled him inside. He gave Henry a big hug as the others rushed into the entry way.

"You scared us all to death," Snow scolded Henry. "Why would you just leave like that?"

"I had to go see mom," Henry replied with a shrug. He didn't really understand what all the fuss was about.

"I am half tempted to ground you until you're thirty," August yelled at his son.

"You told me I could go see mom anytime I wanted," Henry yelled back.

"With someone taking you," August snapped back.

"I'm not a little kid anymore! I can take care of myself especially now that all of you just mope around here," Henry snapped angrily. "Someone has to try and fix things while the rest of you are just giving up!"

August wanted to stay mad, but when Henry got angry he got the same crease in his forehead that Emma used to and it broke his heart. He kneeled in front of Henry and pulled his son into a long hug.

"I'm sorry," August whispered to his son. That's when he caught a glance at the woman who had brought his son home and he immediately remembered her. He knew he shouldn't trust her, but he still couldn't get over the feeling of familiarity that washed over him when he saw her, much as it had done earlier in the day.

Maggie had more than ample opportunity to leave without being noticed, but her legs wouldn't obey her orders to leave. She seemed frozen in that spot, unable to walk away from the family she had lost.

James stood and turned to Maggie and he looked her over.

"Thank you for bringing him home," James thanked.

"No problem," Maggie replied with a catch in her voice.

"Would you like to come in," Snow asked as she came to stand beside her husband.

"No...um…I should probably just go," Maggie replied.

Red had heard the commotion and had come downstairs. She still looked as exhausted as she was earlier at the cemetery and that did nothing to boost Maggie's confidence.

"You need to go," Red growled aggressively.

Maggie was confused by Red's aggression until she saw Granny come down the stairs behind her and she knew her grandmother was just trying to protect her.

"Red, at least try and be civil," Granny scolded.

"Um, no, she's right. I really do need to go," Maggie replied as she started to back away from the doorway.

"No! Don't go," Henry yelled and raced out the doorway. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards the house. "Mom sent her!"

"Henry," Snow sighed.

August stood back looking Maggie over and a frowned crossed his face as he looked between his mom and Maggie. Familiar or not he had to put the protection of his family first. He walked out and grabbed Henry away from her in a protective way. It hurt Maggie to see her dad not trust her, but she knew it was all for the best.

"She's the one I was telling you about earlier," August revealed. "She's the woman from Emma's grave. The one who wanted me to deliver that message to my mom."

"She's no one," Red stated as she joined the growing group on the porch.

"You seemed to indicate you knew who she was," August reminded his mom.

"I was mistaken," Red replied. "She is just someone whose order I messed up at the diner. She was simply giving me some friendly advice."

"This woman was never in the diner," Granny declared with a glare as she looked at Maggie.

Maggie resumed backing up as the others argued amongst themselves.

"I just wanted to make sure the kid got home safe. I've got to…" Maggie didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as she felt a familiar feeling. She looked up at the sky and caught a glance of a full blood red moon materializing in the sky. By the calendar a full moon wasn't due for another two weeks and even then no full moon should be red. Maggie immediately recognized the red moon and it terrified her as she knew the darkness on its way. "No…this is wrong…this is happening to soon…"

"Regina," Jacob exclaimed angrily when he saw the moon. "This screams of her evil magic."

Maggie looked back into the house as her eyes changed from human to wolf. She didn't have time to process what was going on when she saw Red's eyes flickering between human and wolf. She dashed past the others and grabbed Red's arm and pulled her out of the house. She knew there was only one real way to protect the others from two blood thirsty wolves.

"Run," Maggie ordered. "We have to get to the jail and lock down."

"I can't," Red cried out as a wave of pain washed through her and she collapsed to the ground. "You have to…protect them…" Red clinched her fists as she fought for control.

"No, Red, please. You have to fight this," Maggie begged her grandmother. A wave of pain washed through Maggie too and she clinched her fists as she struggled against a dark power like she'd never felt before.

"Protect…them…" Red growled and right before her eyes Maggie watched Red's soulful eyes be replaced by the soulless eyes of the blood thirsty wolf.

"Fight the magic," Maggie begged.

Red's only response was to grab Maggie and throw her into the side of the house as if she was light as air. Maggie grabbed her side in pain as she struggled to her feet. She looked around and saw everyone she ever cared about out in the open and her protective instinct kicked in.

"Get inside," Maggie yelled at the others as she struggled up the stairs and began to push them all inside.

"Red," Jacob cried out as he ran out towards her. "Fight it!"

"She's gone! Leave her! Inside! Now!" Maggie grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into the house where the others had sought refuge.

"What the hell is going on," James demanded.

"Regina's exploiting Red's weaknesses," Maggie replied as she ran around the house making sure all the windows and doors are locked. "Red's in a compromised state and what better way to control an exhausted weak wolf then to use the darkest of magic to call a red moon into existence."

"Who the hell are you," James asked again after listening to Maggie talk about things she should know nothing of.

"I'm the person who is going to keep you from becoming dinner," Maggie snapped. Her wolf felt the powerful pull of the moon and her emotions were heightened, so it was taking all she had to control her emotions.

Maggie ripped her pack off her shoulders and dumped it out on the floor. She tossed several chains at James and Jacob.

"I don't have time to explain who I am, but lock this house down and tie me down," Maggie yelled at them. "Now!"

James and Jacob shared confused looks before James grabbed the chains and motioned towards the basement. "It'll be more secure down there."

Maggie screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. She usually had complete control of her changes and could call upon her wolf with or without a moon, but she had no control of this change and that terrified her.

August felt an overwhelming need to take care of the woman whose name he still didn't even know. He shoved Henry into Snow's protective embrace and picked Maggie up and ran towards the basement with her followed by James and Jacob with the chains. They found a corner with old iron pipes that went deep into the earth. The three men quickly used her chains and some of their own to chain her down. The entire time Maggie was fighting with every ounce of her strength to keep the wolf in until the others were protected from her. Once she felt the chains were secure enough she gave into the powerful dark magic pulling at her wolf and the blonde woman was replaced by a elegant looking white wolf with deadly fangs and a pure rage in its eyes. The wolf jerked at the chains and snarled at the men as it tried to rip free.

"This isn't possible," August gasped. "Mom is the only wolf in Storybrooke…"

"Really? Strange things happening to us still surprises you," Jacob questioned his son.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the curse strongest in the female line of the cursed," James questioned as the three men backed further out of range from the blood thirsty wolf.

"Yeah, but most of the cursed were wiped out by hunters. As far as I know my family blood line was one of the last if not the last in existence. This woman has a lot of explaining to do," August stated. "But first we have to find a way to get mom."

"She's gone," Snow said from the top of the stairs. "Our Red is gone."

Outside Regina walked out of the darkness and came to a stop beside Red. The part of Red still fighting could feel Regina's control growing and it was terrifying.

"You belong to me now," Regina declared with a wave of her hand at the moon.

"No," Red growled. She wanted to rip out Regina's throat, but she couldn't move. She was trying to fight the magic, but she could feel Regina pulling her wolf out.

"Good wolfy," Regina laughed as she ran her hand down Red's long hair. "You and I are going to have a lot of fun together."

Red screamed out and the woman was replaced by the blood thirsty wolf now standing obediently at Regina's side.