"So all Cora has to do is stab you with the knife and she gets your powers?" Emma asked Gold when they got him situated in the ship barracks.
"Yeah that's how Dad got the powers," said Neal.
"Yes but…" Rumple said breathing heavy. "This time it's a bit different."
"How do you mean?" Henry asked.
"No Dark One has ever had a child," Rumple said. "At least not one they had after they became cursed."
"What does that mean?" Neal asked.
"You have a younger sister," Rumple told him.
"What!" Neal said shocked.
"Her mother is Cora," Rumple said. "She was born with powers from both of us. Any other Dark One dying like me would take the powers with them to their grave. But I won't because I have an heir. When my name starts to erase from the dagger, Aleera's name will replace it."
"But…" Henry whimpered. "Cora wouldn't kill her own daughter to get the powers would she?"
"She might," Rumple said. "Or she will control Aleera with the dagger to do her bidding. With me dead our deal that she cannot use Aleera will be void in her mind. If she can't use me to kill all of you, she will use my daughter."
"Henry!" Aleera called when she saw him heading into the diner with Ruby. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"
"They've gone to Gold's to fight my mom and Cora," he said. "Gramps, Grandma, Emma, and my Dad, Neal."
"Your dad?" Aleera asked confused.
"Yeah," Henry said. "He's Baelfire." Aleera thought she'd collapse in that moment.
Aleera ran to the shop as fast as she could. She knew she needed to get there before a protection spell was put up. But she had nothing to worry about once she got close to the store and saw Cora and Regina cracking the spell. She made a sharp turn and snuck behind the shop to sneak in the back way while the spell was down.
"Dad!" Aleera cried. She knelt down beside him on his cot. She saw a bloodied handkerchief stuffed in his shirt.
"Aleera, you shouldn't be here," Rumple sputtered.
"I'm not going to just stand by and let Cora kill you," she told him.
"She won't," Rumple said.
"She's gotten way to far for me to be an optimist," Aleera told him. She could hear fighting happening in the front of the shop. "I should go help them."
"No!" Rumple told her. "If you want to help, you can stay back here to protect me."
"Fine," she replied. That was good enough for her. She sat down on the foot of the cot.
"You should know, that I brought you into this world for more than just your destiny," Gold told her.
"I know," Aleera said. "I love you too." She clasped her hand in his.
At that moment Emma and Baelfire came running into the office. A protection spell had been put over the doorway. They were surprised to not find Gold alone, especially Neal. Aleera let go of Gold's hand and stood.
"Bae?" Aleera said. They stared at each other transfixed.
"Are you Aleera?" Baelfire asked. Aleera cautiously stepped toward him. When she got to him she rested her hand on his forearm, like she wasn't sure if he was real. Her eyes filled with tears at the sight of seeing her brother for the first time.
"Yes I am," she cried. And she pulled him into a hug. Bae was taken aback but after a moment he returned the hug. He was not expecting to have both a son and a sister. "I can't believe it's you," she said when they pulled apart. "Or that you're Henry's father."
"Small world," Baelfire said giving his little sister an analyzing look. He always wanted siblings. While living with his parents he'd been basically friendless because of his father's reputation.
"I always thought Henry had my smile," Aleera joked. Both she and Baelfire laughed. "I saw him a little while ago, he said you go by Neal?"
"You can call me Bae if you want," Neal said.
"In this town I'm used to people having more than one identity," Aleera said. "I'm legally Jessica."
"Do you prefer your real name?" Neal asked.
"Yes," she told him.
"Then I'll call you that," he said. And then they hugged again. Gold watched his children finally meet and if it weren't for the shooting pains and poison working it's way to his heart, he'd want to join their hug.
"Hate to break up the reunion," Emma said. "But what do we do now? Cora will get through eventually."
"We wait it out," Gold said.
"But what about Aleera's inheritance?" Neal asked.
"My what?" Aleera asked.
"She doesn't know?" Neal asked their father. "When Gold dies you will earn his powers. Cora will be able to control you." Aleera was aghast. She never would have thought that was possible.
"It won't get that far," Gold said.
"How are you so sure?" Neal asked.
"He said a few minutes ago that Cora wouldn't succeed in killing him," Aleera said. "He never explained how he knew that either. What do you have up your sleeve, Gold?"
"When she comes through she will be three against one," Gold said. "You will get the dagger from her and she won't be able to kill me to take the powers."
"So, you plan to die?" Aleera asked him. Rumple did not confirm or deny what she asked. "There's more isn't there?" she asked.
"I need to talk to Belle," Rumple said changing the subject. "Emma, please?" he asked her for his phone.
"Who's Belle?" Neal asked.
"Your dad's girlfriend," she told him. Neal looked to Aleera who nodded with a look that said, 'yeah I know, right?'
After listening to his father's talk with Belle, Neal had softened to his father against his will. He was still angry, but what his father said had moved him and it seemed quite possible that his father was dying. After they had a heart to heart they clasped hands and put their heads together. Aleera kneeled beside them and Gold took her hand in his other. They huddled together silently for a while. But then the protection spell came down.
"Aleera, hide in the curtain," Rumple told her. Aleera dashed over to the curtain that was in front of the door to the shop. Neal and Emma stood in front of Gold. Cora walked in and moved quicker than they could.
"You two, out of the way," she said, waving her hand and transported them elsewhere. She did not know Aleera was hiding. Aleera was frozen against the curtain, planning when to pounce. She would wait until Cora was distracted, she clearly had some last things to say to Rumple.
" A vision told me about you," Rumple said to Cora. "…Told me this day would come…but it didn't tell me everything…didn't tell me what I really wanted to know."
"And what's that?" Cora asked after she sat down.
"Did you ever love me?" Rumple asked. While Cora pondered that Aleera tried to sneak up on her when Cora's hair was acting as a veil over her peripheral vision.
"Why do you think I had to rip my own heart out?" she asked back. Aleera was getting closer. "You were my weakness. You're the only man I ever truly loved."
When Cora started to raise the knife over her head, Aleera lunged and gripped it. She started to try and tug it out, gripping both handle and blade and cut herself. But she didn't give up. Cora's hands were busy fighting Aleera, so she sent her daughter flying back into the curtain with a jerk of her head and had the curtain wrap around her daughter like a boa constrictor.
"You think I don't know that you will get these powers if I don't kill him?" Cora asked. She held the knife with the name side facing Aleera. The dagger now said the first three letters of Aleera's name and the last 4 of Rumple's. Cora gave her a sympathetic but totally artificial smile. "I would never let you inherit this…burden. I will accept it myself." She turned to go back to Rumple. She was full of it. She wanted it for herself.
"My father wasn't what made you weak!" Aleera said. "You were weak without him! With him you could have been strong!"
Before Cora could try again to strike down on Rumple with the dagger, Regina came running in and shoved Cora's heart back into her through her back. Cora dropped the knife and staggered back. Because she was caught off guard she stopped focusing on keeping Aleera restrained. Aleera broke free of the curtain and darted over to her father to pick up the knife. But what happened next she was not prepared for: the biggest, kindest, and most sincere smile creeping up on Cora's face.
"Mother!" Regina said happily, returning the smile.
Aleera was still knelt on the floor with the knife in hand. Was her mother…feeling? Cora's smile was getting bigger and she was laughing giddily. Regina's smile matched. Aleera wasn't as thrilled. This didn't change anything for her. That was until her mother started dying. Blood started oozing from her left breast and she fell to the ground.
"Mother?" Regina said, taking her mother in her arms. Aleera crawled over to them leaving the knife where she'd found it. While she and Regina were looking over their mother, Rumple took the knife back. "What's wrong?" Regina asked Cora.
"This, would have been enough," Cora said through labored breaths. "You…would have been enough." And with one last breath she closed her eyes, and passed away.
"Mother?" Regina said patting Cora's face to wake her up. "What's going on?" Regina said looking up at Rumple.
"She took Rumple's place," Aleera said.
"What?" Regina asked. "No! Mother! Don't leave me, please!" But Cora was truly gone. "What am I going to do?" Regina sobbed.
"Your mother did you no favors," Rumple told her.
"Shut up!" Regina growled. "You stole her life! You cast some spell!"
"It wasn't him," Aleera said not looking up from their mother. Regina looked up at her confused.
But at that moment Snow came running in crying out for Regina to stop. And then Regina figured it out. Snow White had tricked her into killing her mother. She glared up at the woman responsible, the woman who had stolen someone she loved from her a second time.
"You did this," she stated to the mortified looking Snow. This woman would pay. "If my now dead mother wasn't in my arms, you would be dead."
"Regina I'm so sorry!" Snow cried. "You have to believe me! I was just so upset about my mother and Johanna that I let my anger override my conscience."
"Oh I'm about to let my anger override mine now," Regina said placing her mother down.
She stood and raised her arm and started to magically choke Snow White. Snow grasped at her throat and tried to breath. Charming grabbed a sword and swung it at Regina. But he missed when with a wave of her hand Aleera made Regina pass out. She took her sister in her arms before she could crash into something.
"Get out of here, Snow," Aleera told Snow who was coughing with her husband supporting her.
"Aleera I'm so…" Snow tried to say.
"Yeah I know," Aleera said. "Just go." Snow and Charming listened and left.
"You gave Snow White that candle," Aleera said after she dragged Regina onto the cot. She had Regina sitting up, slumped against the wall. "That's why you weren't concerned with your fate."
"It was the best option," Rumple said.
"Kill or be killed?" Aleera asked.
"You know your mother was too dangerous to be kept alive," Rumple said.
"I'm aware," Aleera said. "But of all people, having Snow White kill her? Did you care at all what that would mean to Regina?"
"She was the most willing," Rumple said.
"You didn't just hurt Regina and Cora," Aleera said. "You hurt Snow White too. An innocent woman."
"She was already hurt," he said. "What I did was make her revenge plans easier to fulfill," Rumple said.
"Still trifling with technicalities," Aleera commented.
"I'm sorry it had to be like this," Rumple said. "But it was the only way."
"Maybe you're right," Aleera said. "But that doesn't make it okay. Someone else could have done it."
"I'm sorry," Rumple told her.
"Whatever," Aleera said. "Help me get them to Regina's house. And then stay the hell away."
Rumple helped her get Regina into bed and placed Cora's body in the guest room bed. But he didn't stay away, for he later came to the funeral. He came down to the vault while Regina was saying her final goodbyes to her mother, and Aleera was there showing support.
"I told you to stay away," Aleera said, walking up to him and stopping him from coming closer to Cora's coffin.
"I came to pay my respects," Rumple said. He strolled over and Regina was just as upset to see him. "We had our differences, but Cora will always have a place in my heart."
"You killed her to save your own life," Regina told him. Aleera had explained to her how Cora had been able to give her life to Gold. Rumple defended his actions to an unreceptive Regina. And then he tried to convince her to give up on killing Snow White.
"You had a whole curse worth of vengeance. And what did it get you? A gaping whole in your heart."
"That was her curse," Regina said glaring at her sister.
"Which you cast," Rumple said pointing out her fault in the situation. "You still haven't learned your lesson, have you?"
"What lesson?" Regina asked. But Aleera knew exactly what.
"The same lesson your mother learned long ago and one your sister has learned," Rumple said. "You can't have everything. Cora wanted power. Ripped out her own heart to get it. Aleera wanted both you and her brother in her life without consequence. You want vengeance? Henry's the price you'll pay. Time to cut your losses."
"Never!" Regina said shaking her head vigorously. "I will have my son, and I will have my vengeance. I will find a way to have everything."
"It won't work out, Regina," Aleera said to her. "It's impossible."
"I don't see you paying any price for having what you want," Regina said.
"The price is standing next to that coffin," Aleera said. "You. I didn't get my brother back without you going dark."
"I'm not the dark one!" Regina growled. "Your father is. Literally. Be gone both of you!" Aleera did as she was told. Her father was already heading out.
"We have to warn the Charming's," Aleera told him when they were outside.
"I suppose we do," Rumple said. And then they went to Mary Margaret's apartment. Charming wanted Rumple gone the second he arrived, but the information Rumple and Aleera had to tell them was worth his attention. He and Charming went to Regina's vault to figure out her plan. Aleera stayed at the apartment to watch Mary Margaret.
"I know this can't be easy for you," Emma said to her when the men left. "Cora was your mom."
"Only genetically," Aleera said. Then she realized how that might hurt Emma's feelings. "In my case genetics didn't mean much. I don't think that about you."
"I get it," Emma said.
"I mean," Aleera said. "What made me who I am was who raised me. And that was not Rumple or Cora." But of course that also struck a chord with Emma. "Okay…I'm really bad at this," Aleera said awkwardly.
"I still get it," Emma assured her. "So your adopted parents were good?"
"The greatest people I've ever known," Aleera said. "Aside from your parents, and my husband."
"Your husband?" Emma asked.
"Oh…" Aleera realized. "I guess I've still yet to tell many people. We got married while you were in New York."
"What did Gold think about it?" Emma asked.
"…I've yet to tell him," Aleera said. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't know."
The men came back later to tell them that Regina was using the curse of the empty hearted. Aleera was familiar with it from back when she was doing her research for the curse. Gold explained to them all what it was and what it would take. But after that, he shirked his duty to Snow.
"I believe warning you fulfills my debt," he told them.
"Dad!" Aleera scolded.
"Not even close!" Charming said. "This is my wife's life we're talking about!"
"Not to mention your grandson's!" Emma reminded him.
"Yeah well wars have costs," Rumple told them.
"Nice," Emma said sarcastically.
"Well this is a blood feud, dearie," he told her. "One that goes back a very, very long time." And the only way you can end a blood feud is by the spilling of more blood. That is the only way to eliminate your Regina problem."
"By what, killing her?" Charming asked.
"Is there no other option?" Emma asked.
"I'm afraid not," Rumple said.
"Stop! Listen to yourselves!" Henry said. "You're talking about killing my mom! You used to be heroes, what happened to you?" Henry stormed out and Emma followed. Emma told them that they needed to keep him away whatever they do.
"Cora was dangerous because she didn't have a heart," Rumple said. "Regina's even more dangerous because she does."
"That doesn't mean we have to kill her," Aleera said.
"Aleera, I know this is hard for you," Charming said. "And I don't want to resort to it either. But we are running out of options. As your dad says she's dangerous."
"Oh hell, Charming, I'm dangerous!" Aleera said. "Same blood flows through my veins, same power comes from my finger tips, my heart is in my chest, and I also just lost my mother. If she's a threat, then so am I." She then left to follow Emma and Henry. She had put herself on Henry guarding duty. She trusted her father to stay to watch Snow with David.
Snow had been trying to ignore them all from her bed, but she had taken in everything. Her guilt was unbearable. She had not only hurt Regina, but she'd hurt Aleera too, a person she truly cared about. If her mother could see her now, her disappointment would kill Snow.
Aleera made it to the diner to see Emma sitting at the bar and Neal was by himself. She didn't see Henry anywhere. But she had tracked him here. She came up to Neal to say hello for the first time since the fight at the shop. She sat down across from him.
"Hey, sis!" he greeted her. It absolutely warmed her heart.
"Where's Henry?" she asked.
"Uh, bathroom," Neal said. "How's things?"
"As good as it can be when my sister is on a murderous path," Aleera said. "I stepped in the moment Henry was in danger."
"I appreciate it," he said. Then he looked down. "Hey, is that a wedding ring?" Aleera blanched. But just then Emma came back to the table.
"How did it go?" Emma asked.
"It went good, he said yes," Neal told her.
"Seriously?" Emma said incredulously.
"Yeah he's in the bathroom right now, I'm gonna go home and pack. Not bad for day three as a dad if I do say so myself." Neal bragged.
"Wait, where's his backpack?" Emma asked. Aleera immediately looked under the table for it.
"Well I don't know he took it with him," Neal explained.
"To the bathroom, did you really fall for that?" Emma said. "He's your son!"
"Oh, he's running…" Neal realized. The three of them headed out without paying.
Aleera helped them track Henry's path. He seemed to constantly be moving so it was hard to pin point where he was. They got to the mines by the time he was already gone. They figured out that Henry was going to try to destroy magic by blowing it up. There was only one place logical to do that illogical plan: the well. They went there to find Henry with Regina.
"You want to kill Mary Margaret," Emma said to Regina. "You going to have to go through us."
"Okay," Regina said. And then she lit a fireball. Charming whipped out his gun.
"Regina!" Aleera exclaimed. Then Regina noticed that Aleera was standing behind Emma and Rumple's son. "They won't go down without taking you with them! Stand down!"
"Stop!" Henry cried, and then he jumped in between them.
"Henry, get out of the way!" Neal panicked. He didn't know Regina as well as the others. He didn't know she wouldn't attack with Henry in the crossfires.
"Not until someone helps me destroy magic!" Henry told them.
"There's no way to get rid of it," Regina told him. "You can't just blow it up!"
"Magic isn't the problem, kid, it's her!" Emma said, reaching out to him.
"It's not just her!" Henry argued. "It's everyone! Look what magic did to Mary Margaret," he pointed out. "Look what magic did to you!" he said to Regina. "It's ruining everything! It makes good people do terrible things."
"And bad people," Emma said in an unhelpful interjection, still reaching out for him to come to her side. Henry ignored her and turned to Regina.
"Please," he begged. "It's going to destroy my family. Help me get rid of it."
"I can't do that, Henry," Regina told him. "But there is something I can do." And then she dropped the curse scroll into her fireball.
"Thank you," Henry told her. And then he ran into Emma's arms with one more parting look the Regina. The group left, but Aleera stayed behind with her sister.
"You did the right thing," Aleera told her.
"Yeah and look what it got me," Regina said.
"You don't really believe that do you?" Aleera asked. "You know it was right."
"I guess," Regina said.
"Come on," Aleera said. "I don't want to walk all the way to your car." She took Regina's hand and dematerialized with her. They landed outside Regina's car and drove to Regina's house.
"Do you miss mother at all?" Regina asked when they were lounging on Regina's bed.
"She was never a mother to me," Aleera said.
"She brought you into this world," said Regina. "You owe her."
"I'm not used to you defending biological family," Aleera said. "Do you think Henry needs to be grateful to Emma?"
"I see your point," Regina said. "With her heart though, I'm sure she loved you."
"When she was saying her final words," Aleera said. "She was talking to you. She didn't care about me."
"When she had her heart back inside her after you were taken away, she was destroyed by what happened," Regina said. "She told me."
"And without any witnesses to that time in the past I call shenanigans," Aleera said.
"Aleera…" Regina groaned. "She could have loved you if Mary Margaret hadn't killed her!"
"Or she would have gone back to being her murderous evil self," Aleera said. "Maybe ripped her heart out again." Regina wanted to argue further, but there was a knock at the door.
"I'll be right back," Regina said. "It might be Henry." Aleera waited while Regina went to check. But when Regina was gone for a while she went to check up on her. Aleera came down to see Mary Margaret standing across from Regina on the porch, crying and begging to be killed. Regina was holding her heart in her hands.
"You see I can have everything!" Regina rejoiced. "Thanks to you!"
"Regina! Stop!" Aleera called out. She came to her side just as Regina put Snow's heart back in her chest.
"Now get off my porch!" Regina argued. And she went inside and closed the door. "Before you get mad, she asked me to do it," Regina told her sister who was looking at her very disappointed.
"That doesn't make it the right thing," Aleera told her. And then she left the house to check up on Mary Margaret. She found her in her car. She knocked on the window. Snow jumped and was terrified, but Aleera put her hands up to show she meant no harm, and got into the car on the passenger side.
"Are you okay?" Aleera asked.
"How can you ask that?" Snow asked. "How can you stand to be near me?"
"Because I feel bad," Aleera said. "I don't hate you for what you did, I just hate that you had to do it. You are not the only one at fault. My father is too."
"I know, but…" Snow was crying. "Now that I know my heart is going dark, I don't know what I'm going to do."
"It could go back to normal one day," Aleera said. "I certainly hope mine will."
"Yours?" Snow blubbered.
"I'd rip it out to show you," Aleera said. "But that's distasteful."
"You have killed?" Snow asked.
"Once," Aleera said. "A unicorn. I thought if I willed it's heart to die in sleep it wouldn't be murder. But there is no way to kill without being a murderer. My method was absolutely deceitful. The black spot on my heart probably looks like yours."
"If you have one," Snow said. "My crime was so much worse."
"Maybe," Aleera said. "But at least you were honest about what you were doing."
"How do I get rid of the dark spot?" Snow asked.
"I don't know," Aleera said honestly. "Good deeds I'd assume. As long as they were done for the right reasons."
"How many?" Snow asked.
"Oh if you put a number on it, you won't be doing it for the right reasons after a while," Aleera said. "It could take a lot, I'll say that. But that shouldn't be hard for you. You are good. You just let your anger take over you and you did a bad thing."
"Do you never let that happen to you?" Snow asked. "Of all people you have a right to be angry."
"But I don't want to be," Aleera said. "But, a day may come when I've had enough. If that day comes, will you promise to stop me? Will you tell me what I just told you?"
"I guess," Snow said.
"Good, we have a deal," Aleera said. And then she took Snow's hand in hers and supported her while she cried.
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