Chapter 29: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
The next day morning, a private meeting was held in the Charming's apartment. In attendance were Mary Margaret, David, Emma, Hook, Elsa, Mr. Gold, Regina, Glinda, Belle, Alice, Cyrus in his monkey form, Sophia, Amara, Rafi, Will, and Anastasia. Mr. Gold informed everyone that in Neverland, he discovered Zelena, the Jabberwocky, Peter Pan, Cora, and Jafar were planning a massive attack on Storybrooke. They discussed Ingrid, the Snow Queen. After describing her, Emma admitted that she had seen Ingrid around town before and thought nothing of it, until last night. She was in the sheriff's office looking at some of the public records to see if there was any trace of Anna. She stumbled upon a video from her childhood and saw that Ingrid was once her foster mother. However, Emma had no memory of this ever having happened, which added to the mystery. They tried to figure out if telling the whole town of the attack would help or hurt. If informed, the town could be prepared or they could run around in frantic fear, providing an ample feast for the Jabberwocky and making it even harder to stop the villains. They debated this for hours.
Alice was having a difficult time accepting that Cyrus was now a flying monkey. She was overjoyed when only an hour ago, Amara brought him back to her. Amara said that she tried changing Cyrus back to normal all night, but with no success. Zelena must have used a powerful spell on Cyrus. It must be some spell from Oz that she never encountered before. Still, Alice loved her husband and refused to give up on him. Amara went over to Glinda to chat in private.
"How can I change my son back?" Amara asked. "Zelena's Oz magic is like nothing I've encountered before."
"I cannot undo her spell." Glinda said. "Her magic is dark. Her power is strong. You need something even stronger to undo her spell."
"Like what?" Amara asked.
Glinda looked around to see if anyone else was watching. They were not. Out of nowhere, Glinda then conjured the magic box containing the Sorcerer's Hat and gave it to Amara.
"This box was given to me by a powerful sorcerer to protect it from the Dark One." Glinda said.
"I can't believe it's real." Amara said. "I've come across it before in my studies. Does it really hold great power?"
"Not as of right now." Glinda said. "It needs more magic in it to be able to save your son. I'm confident it can do that. You must not tell anyone that you have the hat or who gave it to you. Rumplestiltskin could do unspeakable things with that hat."
"Of course I won't say anything." Amara said.
"You must gather magic to put in the hat," Glinda said, "but you mustn't take away anyone's life. That would be evil."
"I wouldn't." Amara said, half lying. She's done heinous things to protect her sons before and she'd willingly do it again if it meant that she could turn Cyrus back to normal or raise Taj from the dead. "Can I talk to this Sorcerer? I'd like to ask him some questions."
"The Sorcerer is a difficult man to find," Glinda said, "but his apprentice lives nearby. You can talk to him."
"Ok." Amara said. "Thank you so much."
After their discussion, they decided not to inform the town, as they tended to form angry mobs and break things when they encountered something that they were afraid of or didn't understand. Everyone who didn't live there then left to go back to their own homes and prepare for the attack. Amara, however, decided to transport herself to the house in Storybrooke where the Sorcerer's Apprentice was living. She knocked on the door, and an old man answered.
"Hello." The man said.
"Hello." Amara said. "May I come in? It's urgent."
Amara then showed him the magic box. Immediately, he allowed her to enter as he shut the door behind him.
"How in all the realms did you get that?" The man asked.
Amara then used her magic to open the box and turn it into the Sorcerer's hat. She then aimed the base of the hat at the old man.
"Hold still." Amara said.
"What are you doing?" The man asked.
"This hat needs power in order for me to use it to save my son." Amara said. "You have plenty of power. You live out here in solidarity. No one has ever seen you around town before. So, no one will miss you."
"You're making a mistake." The man said.
"I'm saving my son and my granddaughter's father." Amara said.
Then, the base of the hat started to glow as a bright, orange vortex appeared out of it. Then, the old man was sucked into the hat, which then returned to normal and reverted to box form. Amara left the house happy, because she was one step closer to saving Cyrus.
Glinda was sitting on the couch in her apartment when she heard a knock on the door. She immediately stopped trying to figure out how to use a cell phone to go and answer the it. She was stunned to find Mr. Gold on the other side of the door.
"I don't have time to play around. So I'll just cut to the chase." He said. "Where is the hat?"
"What hat?" Glinda asked, trying to give the illusion that she didn't know anything.
"I said I don't have time to play around." He said. "I know you have the hat. I saw you holding it last night. So, I'll ask you again. Where is it?"
"Gone." Glinda said.
"Gone?" He asked.
"Yes." She said. "It's gone. I gave it to someone else."
"Who?" He asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say." She said.
"Then you're not at liberty to have magic." Mr. Gold said as he thrusted his arm at Glinda's neck, grabbed her magic pendant, and ripped it off, rendering her powerless.
"Give it back." She said.
"Who'd you give the hat to?" Gold asked. Glinda was silent. "Well when you want your magic back, please come and see me."
Mr. Gold then disappeared in a puff of magic smoke. Glinda started to cry.
Hours later, the sun had finally set. Many people were sleeping, while a select few stayed awake, anticipating Zelena's attack. Soon, on a deserted Main Street, a large cloud of green smoke appeared and disappeared, transporting Zelena, the Jabberwocky, Peter Pan, Cora, and Jafar to Storybrooke. Zelena used her magic slippers to transport herself and the people of her choosing to Storybrooke.
"Have fun with your revenge everyone." Zelena said with a smile on her face.
The villains then went their separate ways. Cora started walking towards Mary Margaret's apartment. Peter Pan started walking towards Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop, hoping to find the Dark One's dagger. Zelena and Jafar both decided to go to Regina's vault. They knew that of Regina would be anywhere while she was expecting something dangerous to happen, it would be there. The Jabberwocky started walking alone towards Alice, Cyrus, and Sophia's house, hoping to have a good feast tonight.
