Chapter 26: Glinda's Message
On the other side of the door, Snow, Charming, Alice, and Cyrus walked into a snowy realm with a tall, blonde woman watching them.
"Are you Glinda?" Snow asked.
"I am." The blonde woman replied.
"Where's Will and Regina?" Alice asked.
"Only the pure of heart may enter through my door." Glinda said.
"Is Will not pure of heart?" Cyrus asked.
"His heart is lost and therefore he cannot enter." Glinda said.
"What do you mean?" Alice said.
"Actually," Charming interrupted, "we have more important questions to ask you."
"Can you help us defeat Zelena?" Snow asked.
"I cannot." Glinda replied. "Zelena's too powerful for me. She's the one who banished me here."
"So you know her?" Alice asked.
"We were friends once upon a time in Oz." Glinda said. "I gave her a magic pendant to help her control her powers. I tried to keep her on the good path, but she let her envy control her. Only the strongest user of light magic can defeat her."
"Emma." Snow said. "She's the product of our true love. She's the savior. She can defeat her."
"If she's really as powerful as you say, then yes she can defeat Zelena." Glinda said.
"There's just one problem." Charming said. "She's in a land without magic and we have no way to get back to her."
"Then we have no hope of defeating Zelena." Glinda said.
"What about Neal and Belle? Zelena took them someplace. Can you tell us where?" Snow asked.
"Yes." Glinda said. "They share a similar fate to my own. Zelena banished them."
"Where?" Cyrus asked.
"A land without magic." Glinda said.
It happened in a matter of seconds. One moment Belle and Neal were standing in Rumplestiltskin's hall confronting Zelena, when they were suddenly consumed by a cloud of green smoke. When the smoke cleared, Neal and Belle found themselves on a busy city street complete with tall skyscrapers, music, and busy civilians. Neal recognized this place immediately. In fact he used to live here for a while before Emma reappeared in his life. Zelena had somehow magically sent them to New York City.
"What happened?" Belle asked. "Where are we?"
"Manhattan." Neal said.
"Manhattan?" Belle said. "There's no such pace in the Enchanted Forest and I've only seen cars and cell phones in Storybrooke."
"We're not in Storybrooke," Neal said, "but we are in a land without magic again."
"How can we be?" Belle said.
"I guess we underestimated Zelena's power." Neal said.
"We have to go back!" Belle said.
"There is no way back. There is no more Storybrooke. There is no magic in this land." Neal said.
"We can't just stay here and do nothing!" Belle said.
"There's nothing we can do." Neal said.
Belle was about to cry before she spotted something across the street that gave her hope.
"Neal." Belle said. "Look."
Neal then looked across the street and was surprised to see his former love Emma and his son Henry casually walking down the street.