Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Lost Curse
In StoryBrooke
"Hurry, bring him in here!" Dr. Whale ordered, ushering the paramedics into an unused hospital room. The paramedics wheeled in Robin on one of their mobile beds, with Regina holding his hand, talking to Robin still.
"Robin, are you there? Robin, answer me!" Two of the paramedics pushed Regina away so they could deal with their current patient. Regina stood helpless as the hospital room door closed on her face. She watched through the window as Dr. Whale examine Robin, checking his heart beat and timing his pulse.
Mary Margaret tried to pull Regina away, but Regina stood planted, pressing her hand against the glass.
"I am so sorry, Robin." She let out, feeling the tears fall down her cheeks. She lowered her head and allowed herself to cry. "I am so sorry."
"Mom?" Regina lifted her head, seeing Henry standing not too far away. He held out his hand, and Regina grabbed it, clinging to her son. She pulled him into a hug, and he allowed her to cry on his shoulder.
"He's strong, Mom." Henry stated confidently, patting his mom on the back. "Robin will pull through this." Regina merely nodded, unable to speak. They stood like that for several moments, a son comforting his distraught mother.
But more important matters needed to be dealt with. Such as finding Gerda. Regina let go of her son, giving him a watery smile. "You're right, Henry." Regina agreed. "Now, let's go find Gerda."
Henry nodded, smiling.
"Um, I'm afraid that may have to wait, your Majesty." Regina looked past Henry and stared at Captain Hook, who was looking out the window of the hospital, which looked out onto the main street of StoryBrooke. Mary Margaret and David came up beside him. Mary Margaret covered her mouth.
"What is that?" She questioned. Regina came up beside her and looked out onto the street. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just the towns' folk of StoryBrooke going about their daily business. It was what Regina saw in the sky that made her heart sink. And unlike Mary Margaret, she knew exactly what it was.
"Emma is setting up a curse."
Emma smiled as she saw the storm clouds roll in. Unlike the purple clouds seen before by the towns' folk when Regina set up the Dark Curse, these storm clouds were black as night, reflecting Emma's heart. And Emma relished them.
She sighed happily, and looked behind her to where Zelena laid, unconscious. She would be necessary for the final phase of her plan. Only as bait, of course. Then Emma would get rid of her.
Thankfully, no one in town was still looking for where Emma was. Currently, she was situated in the boat house, which gave her a perfect view of the whole town. She had to admit, she wished she had gone there more often. She could see the layout of the town, and maybe that view would have helped her with her plans. Oh well.
Speaking of plans, Emma was ready to get her plan rolling. But where was Mr. Gold?
"You won't win, you know." Emma turned around, seeing that Zelena was awake. She gave the witch a wicked smile. "And what makes you think that?" Emma cooed, stepping towards her. Zelena instinctively flinched back. Emma laughed at her.
"Oh don't worry Zelena, I'm not going to hurt you." Emma comforted her, squatting down in front of her prisoner. Emma pushed some hair from the witch's face. "Gerda will."
Henry and Regina risked the dark clouds coming their way, and headed to the Pawn Shop. Belle was waiting for them at the counter, pouring over the pages of the large leather bound book they all had seen her with before.
"I got your call. Something is definitely going down." Belle confirmed Regina's suspicions.
"So, Emma is setting the Dark Curse over the town." Regina said, sounding defeated. Belle gave her a confused expression. "No, that's not what Emma is doing, actually."
Henry looked up, surprised. "Really? Then, what is Mom up to?" Regina cringed at how Henry had called Emma 'Mom'. She knew she would need to get used to that, but in these circumstances, she wasn't expecting Henry to call her that. She shook her head, focusing on the problem at hand.
"Well, Emma is setting something up, but not the dark curse….exactly." Belle flipped her book a few pages forward, stopping when she found what she was looking for. "I've been reading up on these black storm clouds, and recognized them from some prior research…"
"I just have a question, is there anything else you do?" Regina asked. Belle gave her a dark look, ignoring her question. "When you set up the original Dark Curse, Regina, the clouds were purple. Well, you can tell by the colour of the clouds now that this is not another dark curse. Or else they would be purple."
Belle pointed to the window as evidence, where she could see the black clouds rolling in. It was dark as night outside on the street, even though it was only mid-day.
"Okay, so she isn't placing the Dark Curse over the town." Henry repeated. "Then what is she doing?"
Belle sighed, and looked up at Regina and Henry from her book. "She's setting up a different curse. It's called the Lost Curse."
The name made chills run up Henry's spine, reminding him of the time he spent in Neverland with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. "The Lost Curse? What does it do?" Regina demanded, growing impatient. She wasn't getting the answers she wanted quickly enough for her liking.
Belle began to explain hastily, knowing by the tone of Regina's voice that she wasn't being fast enough. "The Lost Curse is an old curse, made around the same time as the Dark Curse. The Lost Curse, however, does not send everyone away to a new place or erases their memories." Belle explained. She breathed in deeply. "It takes away magic."
"It takes away magic? Why would Emma want that?" Regina questioned, talking to herself out loud. Henry shrugged, but Belle, as usual, had a theory. "Well, she's not taking away everyone's magic. According to the book, the person who casts the curse keeps their magic, and, they are able to choose one other person to keep their magical abilities as well."
"So, your point is?" Regina questioned. Henry patted her shoulder, noticing how tense she had become. Belle finished her theory. "I think Emma is going to choose Gerda."
That caught Henry off guard. "Wait, I thought Mom was trying to defeat Gerda. Why would she want her to keep her magic?" He asked. Belle gave the boy a sad look, and turned around, picking up something from behind her.
"Think back to your dream, Henry." Belle handed Henry his journal. Henry had forgotten he had given it to her. He took it from her and flipped through the pages, looking at his last entry, looking over his own words. His face grew pale.
"Oh no."
The clouds of the Lost Curse stopped right over StoryBrooke. The black clouds created a funnel and dropped into the town. The towns' folk were screaming and trying to hide. The clouds covered the street, and no one could see anything outside their windows. The curse entered every door of every home, searching out all magic that it needed to devour.
Henry saw it coming through the front door of the Pawn Shop. He tried to shield his mother, but to no avail. The funnel of the black clouds moved past him and surrounded Regina, hiding her from sight.
"Mom!" Henry yelled. For a few moments, Henry could only watch helplessly as his mother was engulfed by the curse. Then, it slowly slipped away, moving back along the floor of the shop, and dissolving in the street.
Henry watched it go, and looked back at his mother, who was staring at her hands, looking distressed. "I could feel it absorb my magic." She admitted, on the verge of tears. Henry moved forward to comfort her, when he heard a noise outside the door.
He looked too late. A new funnel of black clouds had entered the shop, and swarmed around him, hiding him from view. "Henry!" Regina cried, running forward. But the black clouds held her back, pushing her to the floor. Now Regina could only watch helplessly, waiting for the clouds to disappear.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the clouds disappeared, and Regina could see Henry. She pulled him into a tight embrace.
She turned to Belle. "Why did they go after him?" She asked, stroking Henry's hair. Belle sighed, looking at Henry's journal, which was lying on the floor. "He has magic as well. Or, at least did. He's a DreamCatcher, remember?"
Regina did remember. But as she let go of Henry, she also remembered someone else very close to her who had the same ability her son once had. "Robin."
David couldn't stop the black clouds from entering Robin's room. No one could. So, along with Mary Margaret and Captain Hook, David watched as the clouds engulfed Robin, swirling around him as his magic was drawn out of him.
"Robin!" Mary Margaret turned and saw Regina running up to the door to Robin's room, with Belle and Henry not too far behind. Regina reached to open the door, but David held her back. "Regina, we can't-"
"Robin!" She screamed, struggling against David. But it was too late. The black clouds moved away from Robin, and dissolved at his feet.
When he felt the coast was clear, David let go of Regina, who ran into the room and collapsed at Robin's side, tears falling down her face. "Robin…."
"What happened?" Captain Hook asked, looking to Belle. David looked at Belle for answers as well, while Mary Margaret pulled Henry into a tight embrace. Belle sighed. "The Lost Curse." She merely stated.
"Aye, I hoped it wasn't true." Captain Hook sighed. Everyone turned to look at him surprised. He noticed them staring, and jumped to his own defense. "Well, I did a bit of reading while I was helping Belle out, remember!"
David sighed, looking back at Belle. "Belle, what is the Lost Curse, and how do we stop it?"
"You can't." Everyone turned and looked at Regina, who was pushing some hair away from Robin's face. "The Lost Curse stole our magic." She spat, not looking at anybody but Robin. "There is nothing we can do."
David and Mary Margaret turned back to Belle. "Is this true?" Mary Margaret asked. Belle sighed. "Well, the part about magic being stolen is true." She began. "But not the part about nothing working against it. There is one other person who hasn't lost their magic."
Regina finally looked up. "Gerda." In all the commotion, she had forgotten about her niece. "Do you really think Emma protected her from the curse?"
Belle shrugged. "Only one way to find out." She stated. David nodded. "Alright. Let's go find her, then."
Regina nodded, and walked towards the door. Captain Hook turned to leave when he saw someone running down the hall towards them. It was Leroy.
"Leroy, what's wrong?" He asked. Leroy stopped in front of him, panting." What's wrong? Did you have a look outside?"
David came forward and placed his hand on Leroy's shoulder. "Don't worry Leroy, we know about the Lost Curse. We have a plan."
Leroy gave him a confused expression. "What curse? I'm talking about that!" He pointed his finger at the window. No one else in the group had been looking out the window, so they hadn't noticed what Leroy was talking about.
But now they looked, and they all saw what Leroy was referring to. It wasn't everyday someone saw a large blue dome in the middle of the street.
Robin had indeed lost his magic, the black clouds of the Lost Curse having ripped it from his very soul. But not before he had one last dream. One last vision of his brother, Michael.
"Do you think the raid has ceased, Michael?" The wounded guard asked, wincing as Michael cleaned his cut. Michael merely sighed. "I do not know." They had been in the Black Mirror for hours now, and needed to get out. The palace guard needed attention on the large cut on his back.
Sighing, Michael stood up, stretching his legs. "I'm going to go have a look." Michael announced. He ignored the guard's warnings, and opened the heavy door, sneaking a peek into the hallway. He wished he hadn't. The fires had been doused, most likely by water, but the damage looked like it could not be fixed.
Risking it, Michael stepped out into the hallway, closing the door to the Black Mirror behind him. He didn't want anyone else seeing the guard, especially if there were still enemies in the palace.
Taking a tentative step forward, Michael looked around him, still seeing no one else. He was alone.
Knowing that the palace guard needed medical supplies, Michael ran down the corridor, stopping every couple of feet, listening for the sound of other footsteps. He heard nothing. For a while, Michael continued to do this, until he eventually forgot to stop and check for other footsteps.
That was his mistake. As Michael neared the kitchen of the large palace, where he knew medical supplies were held, he heard a voice behind him. "Don't move."
Michael raised his hands in surrender, and turned around. A young boy, no older than fifteen, pointed an arrow at Michael's chest. His clothes were covered in smoke, and Michael could see blood on the tip of the arrow currently pointed at his heart.
"Walk towards the main hall." The boy demanded. Michael obeyed him, and started walking. As the pair walked, Michael saw all the damage that the palace had fallen under, and felt his heart grow heavy.
He risked a question. "What happened here?" He ventured. The boy didn't say anything. Surely he wasn't part of the group that started the fires?
Michael remembered the guard in the Black Mirror. "Please, there is a guard here that needs assistance." Michael stated, not daring to tell the boy where the guard was. "He needs medical attention now, or else he will bleed to death."
"That is not my concern." The boy stated firmly. Before Michael could say anything, the boy pushed him forward into the main hall. Michael landed on his hands and knees, and looked up, noticing all the young faces staring at him. There were at least a hundred young men and women surrounding him in the main hall, all covered in smoke and blood. They each had a visible green marking on some part of their body, but all of them were too far away for Michael to know what they were.
"On your feet, traitor." One young man spat. He was about nineteen, and stronger than Michael expected. He hauled Michael to his feet and pushed him forward, tying rope around his wrists. The crowd of youth jeered Michael as he was forced forward, some booing him and cursing his name. Others, however, demanded information from him. Information he couldn't give. "Where is she? Where is she?"
"Where is who?" Michael called out. He earned a slap to the face from a young girl no older than fourteen, and was pushed forward once again.
He finally came to a stop in the Wizard's room, pushed to his knees. Michael looked around, happy that this room, once so sacred, was at least not damaged or burned.
"So, they finally found you." Michael looked up, and held his breath. A woman no older than him sat on the Wizard's throne, her long blond hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a long dark blue dress, beautiful to anyone's eye. Her dark blue eyes pierced Michael.
The woman stood up, and came forward. She stopped only a few feet in front of Michael. "Where is she?" The woman asked. Michael sighed. She had the same question on everyone's mind, even his. "Where is who?" He sighed. The woman didn't like his answer. She snapped her fingers.
Michael felt pain like he had never felt before. He fell forwards and cried out. "Honestly, I don't know! Who are you looking for?"
The pain ceased. Michael weakly looked back up at the woman, who had moved back. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Gerda."
That's when the black clouds had entered Robin's room, also entering his dream. The black clouds swept over the mysterious woman and the young boy who had pushed Michael forward. Even Michael was hidden from Robin's sight, surrounded by black clouds.
That's when he woke up.
