"Welcome to Corona."

The group stood before the bridge that lead into the kingdom. Even at that distance, the city looked run down. Many of the buildings were in shambles and the castle that was perched at center of it all looked bleak.

"It's not quite what I remember it," Jefferson commented.

"Even though Corona wasn't hit by the curse, some of it's darkness seeped through and now plagues this land," Scarlet explained. "No one can really explain it, but nothing around here has been the same since. It's almost like all the light is gone."
"I don't care what this place looks like as long as I can find my son," Emma said.

"It would be better if I wait here," Scarlet said. "I don't exactly have a lot of friends in the city."

Ana was about to object but Jefferson spoke up. "In that case I should probably stay back too. I'll keep an eye on her."

Ana wasn't quite sure leaving them alone was the best idea, but wasn't going to waste time arguing. "Fine," she agreed. With a second thought, she used her magic to bind Scarlet's hands with rope. "In case you get any ideas."

"This is actually giving me quite a few ideas," the redhead quipped. Ana threw in a piece of tape over her mouth for good measure.

"We'll be back soon," Ana promised and gave Jefferson a quick kiss goodbye. With a final glare at Scarlet, she followed the rest of the group into the city.

"It might be a good idea if we split into groups," Mary Margret suggested as they walked. "We'll cover more ground."

"Ok," Emma agreed. "I'll go with Ana. We'll meet back here at sundown."

000

Henry wrinkled his nose in disgust as he brushed cobwebs out of his way. "Where exactly are we?"

"The tunnels under the castle," Flynn Rider called over his shoulder as he lead the way. "Somewhere around here should be the tunnel that will lead you straight to the crown."

"Why do they even have these tunnels?" Henry asked.

"Their escape routes for the royal family, should disaster ever strike," Rider explained.

"And how do you know about them?"

Henry could practically hear the cocky smirk in his voice as he replied, "I'm surprisingly resourceful." As they came around a bend Flynn stopped and exclaimed, "Ah, here we are."

'Here' wasn't exactly much. There was a hole in the wall about Henry's height and only wide enough for him to fit through if he went in sideways. He frowned. "I don't see how anyone could escape through there."

"It opens up after a while. They started to close it off but didn't quite finish," Flynn explained. "Now, once you're in there keep going till you see a ladder. That will take you up in to the crown room. Make sure you're quiet, because there will be guards there with their backs to you. Grab the crown and get out of there as quickly as possible. I'll be here waiting for you."

"What if the guards catch me?"

"Then... I hope you don't mind the dungeon."

Henry swallowed hard, not feeling quite reassured. "Are you having second thoughts?" Flynn questioned. "I guess I can always find another hero to help me reclaim my kingdom."

"No, I can do it," Henry promised. He took a deep breath and turned to the tunnel. "Here I go," he mumbled, and plunged into the darkness.

000

"I don't think the rope is really necessary."

"You're lucky I took the tape off your mouth."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "This takes me back though," she continued. "Though I think last time it was you who was in binds." Jefferson ignored in the hopes she might stop, however she was persistent. "You've really changed since you and I were together. Let me guess; you met a girl?"

"Yeah," Jefferson admitted. "My daughter."

"Oh." Scarlet was a bit taken a back. "I take it Ana's the...?"

"No," he denied. "Ana's... a different story."

Scarlet studied Jefferson carefully. "I have to admit I did miss you a bit."

Jefferson snorted. "Give me a break."

"I'm serious," she insisted. "Being with you was the first time I felt anything... real."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't want to hear your sob story, Scarlet."

"Fine," she sighed. "But maybe you'll listen to this." And all of a sudden she kissed him.

Jefferson's eyes shot open in shock. As soon as he regained his senses he managed to pull her off. "What the h-hell?" Jefferson slurred. His suddenly felt very heavy and he had trouble seeing straight. He tried to speak but his tongue felt like it was made of lead. The last thing he saw before blacking out was Scarlet wiping lipstick from her mouth.

"Oh Jefferson sweetie, you should remember that trick," she said as she pulled the rope from her wrists. She crouched over him and ran her hand across his cheek. "It's really a shame I have to do this. You do have such a pretty face."

000

Emma and Ana had seen very few people on the streets as they were scouring the city. A hushed feel lay across the city. The two woman spoke very little for fear of disturbing the silence.

They turned a corner to find a market place with a cluster of small shops. "Perhaps we should go in and ask some of the store owners if they've seen him," Ana suggested.

Emma nodded in agreement. "Good idea. I'll check in here," she said, gesturing to a store label 'Lucien's Library'.

Ana turned to the store next door. There was no sign above the door, and the windows were to dirty to see inside. The only way she knew it was indeed a shop was by the open sign in the door. It looked like the type of place Henry would be curious enough to check out, so she headed inside.

Wind chimes sounded as Ana entered the shop. The air inside was thick and musty. The cramped space was decorated with various trinkets and jars of herbs. It reminded her of Mr. Gold's shop.

"Hello?" She called, but received no reply.

Drawn by curiosity, she began to examine some of the store's wares. She picked up a strange looking doll made out of cloth and began to turn it over in her hand.

"Be careful with that!" A voice snapped. Startled, Ana dropped the doll back on to the counter. She looked up to see a woman standing across from her. She had dark, leathery skin and was adorned with excessive amounts of jewelery that jingled as she moved, yet Ana had not heard her enter. Her eyes were milky white and unseeing, but Ana still felt as if their gaze was piercing her skin.

"S-sorry," she stuttered out.

The woman didn't reply. She cocked her head to one side and began to circle Ana, as if eyeing her prey. Finally, she asked, "What do you seek?"

"I'm looking for a boy," Ana explained. "12 years old, dark hair..." She trailed off, realizing her description was irrelevant.

"You have come to the right place. He is here in this city."

Ana's heart leaped. "Where? Have you seen him?"

"I can't tell you that exactly, but you will find him soon enough." Her voice had a thick accent and she spoke with a dramatic tone. She paused. "That's not what you seek though, is it?"

Ana frowned, confused. "Give me your hand," the woman continued. She held out a gnarled hand. Her knuckles were swollen with arthritis and her fingernails were untrimmed. Ana felt the urge to leave, but instead surrendered to curiosity. As their hands touched the woman inhaled sharply and gripped Ana surprisingly tightly, so even if she wanted to pull away she couldn't.

"You are a very troubled girl," the woman stated. "But you are also quite powerful. However it seems that is the source of your trouble. You worry about hurting the people you love, yet the only person you wind up hurting is yourself."

The truth behind the words struck Ana at the core. She tried to pull away, but the woman wasn't finished. "There's more. There is... life. Inside you. In nine months time you will give birth. They will have great power, as the product of love and magic. But it will come at a cost. Others will want to steal that power for themselves. In order to keep them safe you must give up everything."

Ana was trying desperately to release herself from the woman's grip now, not wanting to hear anymore. "In the end you will have a choice. Either option will result in great sacrifice."

The ground beneath their feet was shaking. Objects began to fall from the shelves around them. "The war has only just begun Ms. Reylee," the woman's voice boomed over the chaos around them. "And this is a fight you can't win."

Ana was finally able to break free. She crashed to the ground and smacked her head on the floor. Her vision blurred and she felt nauseous. It took her a moment to regain her senses. By the time she did, everything around her had returned to normal, and the woman had disappeared without a trace. She might as well have imagined the whole thing.

Ana sat there for a moment before summoning her strength and heading out the door. Emma was waiting for her outside. When she saw her eyes immediately filled with relief. "Are you ok?" Emma asked. "You were in there for a while. I tried to go in and check on you but the door was locked."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ana replied. "The store owner thinks she saw Henry, but she doesn't know where he went."

"Well that's still good news." Emma studied Ana's pale expression and asked again, "Are you sure you're alright? You don't look too good."

"I'm fine, just feeling a bit run down," Ana admitted.

"Why don't you go back and give Jefferson and Scarlet an update? You can rest for a bit. I'll keep looking on my own."

Ana was feeling too sick to argue. Besides, she wanted some time on her own to clear her head. She nodded in agreement and headed back the way they came.

000

Henry had made his way through the tunnel and up the ladder Flynn had mentioned. He eased open the trapdoor and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. He peeked out and spotted multiple guards standing with their backs to him. His pulse quickened at the sight of them and he began to doubt whether or not he should go through with it.

He turned and saw the crown on display just a few feet away. The sight of it inspired a bit of courage. This was his chance to prove himself a hero.

He opened the door the rest of the way slowly, careful not to make any noise. He crawled out of the tunnel and rose to his feet. With a few silent steps he made it to the pedestal on which the crown rested. After a brief pause to check that he hadn't alerted the guards, he grabbed the crown.

He froze as soon as his fingers touched the smooth gold of the crown, half expecting alarms to sound. The most he got was a cough from one of the guards.

Relieved, he made his way back to the tunnel and scurried into it. In his haste to escape he made the mistake of pulling the door closed to hard, causing a deafening boom.

Henry's heart stopped. There were muffled footsteps before someone shouted, "The crown is gone!"

Henry didn't wait to hear anymore. He took off at full speed. It felt like he was running for an eternity before he finally reached Flynn.

Rider leaped to his feet when he heard Henry approach. "What happened? Did you get it?"

Out of breath, Henry nodded and held up his prize. Flynn snatched it from him and admired it. Henry interrupted his moment of victory by huffing, "The guards. They're after us."

Rider shoved the crown in his satchel. "Come on.. This way." And as they ran from most likely death, Henry found he'd never felt so alive.

000

Ana had run through her conversation with the strange woman close to a hundred times by the time she made it out of the city. She felt like it made less sense every time. She did decide not to share the woman's predictions about her with Jefferson, or anyone for that matter, until she had more solid proof. Until then it was best to push it out of her mind. Or at least try.

When she made it across the bridge out of the city Ana was able to spot Jefferson sitting with his back against a tree along the edge of the woods. She felt so relieved to seem that she didn't notice the absence of Scarlet. It wasn't until she got closer that she was able to see that his mouth was gagged and his hands were bound behind him.

Her heart leaped in her chest and she broke into a run. He appeared fairly groggy at first, but once he saw her his eyes snapped open and alert. He tried to shout something at her through the gag but she couldn't understand. She had almost reached him when something hit her hard on the back and knocked her to the ground.

Ana lay there for a moment, dazed by the blow. She rolled over onto her back to see Scarlet standing over her, clutching a knife. Scarlet pounced on her, knife at the ready. Ana grabbed her arms as she dove at her while kicking up her feet to hit her square in the stomach and flipping her over so she fell on her back.

Ana used the opportunity to jump to her feet and turned to face the other woman. Scarlet was soon off the ground as well. She flipped her hair out of her face and her mouth curled into a devilish smile. As she did so her eyes glowed a bright green color. It was only for a brief second before returning to normal, but it was enough to catch Ana off guard. Scarlet used her moment of distraction to her advantage and lunged at her once more.

Ana ducked out of the way of the knife at the last moment, but Scarlet kept trying. Ana was able to deflect and dodge her blows, until she stumbled and Scarlet was able to land a scratch on her arm. The redhead made the mistake of pausing for a moment to cherish her small victory. She gave Ana the chance to compose herself enough to use magic. With a flick of her wrist she sent her flying backwards. Scarlet hit the ground and came tumbling to a halt.

Once Ana was sure the Scarlet was no longer moving she turned her attention to Jefferson. With a bit of magic she made quick work of his binds. She fell to her knees beside him and looked him over. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he assured her. "Maybe a bit violated, but otherwise I'm in one piece. What about you?" He gestured to her injured arm.

"Oh." She waved her hand over the cut and healed it.

"I didn't know you could fight like that," Jefferson commented.

Ana smirked. "Well, I had a good teacher." Her expression grew serious as she turned over to Scarlet. "What are we going to do about her?"

They rose and headed over to where she lay unconscious. They turned her over so she lay on her back. When they did her mouth fell open and a green fog came billowing out. It gathered around their feet before dissipating into thin air.

"What the hell was that?" Ana asked, voicing what was on both of their minds.

"No idea. I'll add that to the list of questions I have to ask her. Right behind why she kissed me."

Ana's head snapped to face him. "She what?"

"I didn't kiss her back, I swear," Jefferson promised, throwing his hands up in defense.

Ana still fumed. "She's going to have a lot to answer for when she wakes up."

000

Henry was prepared to run all the way back to Storybrooke until Flynn stuck his arm out and stopped him. "What is it?" He panted. "Why are we stopping?"

"The guards didn't see you're face did they?" Rider asked. Henry shook his head. "Then they have no idea we have the crown. So if we blend in, we can make it out of the city without them even knowing we were here."

Henry nodded. "Right. Blend in. Got it."

They kept to the side of the street with their heads low. Henry's heart still raced every time he heard movement, certain it was the guards there to arrest them. He found himself continuously glancing over his shoulder, worried they might be followed. Because he was so distracted, he didn't see the person standing right in front of him until they collided.

He began to stammer out an apology. When he looked up at the man he was surprised to see he recognized him. "Dad?"

"Henry!" Neal cried out.

Before Henry could reply, he was tackled in a hug. "Oh Henry, thank god," his mother exclaimed as she embraced him.

"Mo-om," he groaned, embarrassed when he remembered his new companion was watching.

"I'm here too Henry," Mary Margret piped up. He waved politely back at her.

"Ahem." Flynn cleared his throat loudly to turn their attention to him. "I hate to interrupt this little family reunion, but I need to remind you we've got guards searching for us."

Right on cue, a soldier down the street cried out, "Hey! It's Flynn Rider! Get him!"

Rider sighed. "It appears my fan club has arrived. This would be the part where we run." And so they did.

000

"I suppose I've woken up to worse."

Unamused, Ana pressed the knife she held a little harder against Scarlet's throat. "The time for games is over. You're going to answer our questions, then I'm going to decide whether or not I leave you alive."

Scarlet smirked. "I don't think you have it in you to kill me, sweetheart."

"I don't think you want to find out."

Jefferson watched on at a distance, not sure if he should be more concerned for Ana's safety, or Scarlet's.

"Fine, I'll talk, but not with a blade at my throat."

Reluctantly, Ana pulled away. She had already ensured her captive wasn't going anywhere by binding her hands and feet with duct tape.

Satisfied with the distance between them, Scarlet prompted, "What do you want to know?"

"What were you trying to do? Rob us? And what was with the green smoke? And why did you kiss my boyfriend?"

Jefferson cocked an eyebrow at the last question.

Scarlet only rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to steal from you. I could have done that while you were sleeping. I don't know exactly what the green fog was. It showed up after I met you in the bar. It controlled me, almost as if I was a puppet. It forced me to follow you guys. Whoever, or whatever, it was knew why you were here, and wanted me to stop you."

"You mean someone was trying to keep us from finding Grace?" Jefferson asked.

She shrugged. "I've told you everything I know."

Ana turned to Jefferson. "If this thing can really control us, than it could turn us against ourselves without us even knowing."

"We saw it disappear when it left Scarlet, maybe it's gone."

She shook her head, doubtful.

"Listen, I'm not possessed by the freaky green mist any more, so would you mind untying me?" Scarlet interrupted.

Ana spun to face her. With a flick of her wrist she tossed the knife so the blade buried itself in the ground just barely within Scarlet's reach. "Next time, I won't miss." The threat hung in the air as she turned to leave.

She and Jefferson walked side by side in silence. Once they were far enough away that they couldn't be over heard, Jefferson brought up the question that was burning in his mind. "So, I'm your boyfriend, huh?"

Ana stopped in her tracks. "Really, that's what you focus on?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "I've just never heard you say anything like that before. I thought it was kind of a big deal."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you're my boyfriend, stupid. Just because I don't say it doesn't mean it's not true."

"Wow, I never knew you were such a romantic," he deadpanned.

"It's about as close as I'm going to get, so just shut up and kiss me." He had no trouble complying.

"You must be feeling better."

The couple jumped at the sound of Emma's voice. They were embarrassed to see the rest of their group, including Henry, watching them.

"Y-you found Henry," Ana stammered, changing the subject.

"What, do you know everybody in this land, kid?" Flynn exclaimed.

"No, but I might be related to them," Henry mumbled.

"Who exactly is this?" Ana asked.

"Flynn Rider, at your service," he introduced himself. "I'd love to get to know you better, but I've got a pack of guards chasing me, so I'm afraid I don't have time."

Soon after a guard cried, "There they are!"

"You've got to admit, they've got good timing."

A pack of soldiers was soon bearing down on them. Everyone prepared to run, until all at once the guards disappeared with a flash of smoke.

"Huh. Well that's a neat trick," Rider said.

"I didn't get rid of them forever, so I suggest we get moving before they come back," Ana pointed out.

"We're taking him with us?" Jefferson asked, pointing at Flynn.

"He could be useful."

"I sure can," Flynn said with a wink.

"Wait, what happened to the ginger chick?" Neal blurted out.

"She... got away. Look, we can discuss this now, or from a jail cell. Which will it be?" No one else argued as they took off.