Disclaimer: I own none of the characters as that honor and right goes to ABC, Adam and Eddie. With the exception of Maggie who is an original character.

Note: There still seems to be a audience for this story to continue despite it's long hiatus. So thanks to the reviews I carved out the time to pound out another chapter. I do not use a proofreader or beta, so please excuse any issues. In fact, I'm in the market for one, so if you're interested in being a beta on the rest of this story please shoot me a PM. I've also gotten a few Dr. Who references in reviews and PM's and I must admit despite my love of time travel stories I've never watched a single episode of that show, so any similarities are pure coincidence. But with the continued references I may have to check it out someday. This chapter is really about what's going on in Maggie's head, so it may be a bit confusing in spots, but that was intentional to convey Maggie's fragile mental state. This is one of the warning signs Red and the others had ignored in Lara and Lucas' timeline. The big question is can Emma save Maggie in time or is the future just meant to be dark and miserable? What will a mother do to free her child? Remember the more reviews the more encouraged I am to get the next chapter ready.

CHAPTER 34: SPIRAL OF A RED MIND

Emma was pacing the room by the time Lara returned with Lucas. The first thing Lara noticed was Emma's blood shot eyes. It was clear that she had been crying which meant the letter had indeed provided the motivation she'd hoped it would.

"Emma," Lara questioned their clearly upset guest.

"I can't feel the time rift," Emma replied anxiously as she kept pacing. "If I can just connect with it then I can get back home and help her…I have to help her…"

"So apparently emotional breaks run in my family," Lucas mumbled. It was loud enough to earn him an elbow to the ribs by Lara.

Lucas rubbed his ribs and grumbled. Lara ignored his complaints and slowly made her way over to Emma. To say Emma was a woman on a mission would be an understatement and she knew better than to stand in the way of a determined mother. Perhaps she had underestimated the emotional response the letter would cause Emma.

"You took a nasty blow to the head," Lara reminded her. "I imagine until your body has recovered more of its strength your magic will be limited. Besides, you can't just jump back without a plan. Believe me when I say you'd simply be running to your demise if you go after the Dark One without a plan."

"I've faced the Dark One before and won," Emma countered.

"Not this Dark One," Lara replied. "This one has all of Maggie's magic and access to her wolf. In contrast this Dark One makes Rumpelstiltskin's reign seem like child's play. You need a plan or you will lose."

"Planning is what got me…all of us in this mess in the first place," Emma snapped. "My daughter is on borrowed time which means everyone I love is on borrowed time. I don't have the luxury of waiting to heal!"

"And we don't have the luxury of you running back and getting yourself killed," Lucas snapped back. "You die then we're all as good as dead, so stop freaking out and sit the hell down so we can talk this over and come up with a plan that doesn't end with your death!"

Emma stopped pacing and both she and Lara looked at Lucas with curious looks. Lara looked almost proud of him.

"For a man who swore he wasn't made to lead you sure do act like a leader sometimes," Lara stated.

Lucas shook his head and rolled his eyes as he walked over to the table and pulled out two chairs. Emma and Lara each took a seat. Lucas grabbed another chair and pulled it over to the table.

"Now, let's come up with a plan that will stop the Dark One once and for all," Lucas declared.

Emma took a deep breath to try and get focused. She looked from Lara to Lucas.

"Okay, you two know this version of the Dark One better than I do. Give me a breakdown and maybe together we can find some small weakness that I can exploit in my time," Emma spoke in a firm and commanding tone. She knew Lucas was right, to save Maggie she would have to have a firm plan unlike her last go at changing the future which involved mostly flying by the seat of her pants. This time she needed a strike plan with no margin for error.

Maggie was in the corner of her darkened room rocking back and forth. Red and August stood in the doorway with extremely concerned looks on their faces.

"There has to be something we can do," August stated.

"Whale looked at her and his only suggestion was to medicate her and given her past…" Red's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, Emma would come back from the dead and kick my ass if I forced drugs on her," August agreed. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Once, in a wolf from my mom's pack," Red began. "He lost his mate in a territory fight with another pack. The wolf and the man completely disconnected from each other. It was like neither wanted possession of the body."

"What happened to him," August asked his mom.

Red looked at her son then back over at Maggie.

"He went mad. Eventually he had to be…put down…" Red replied reluctantly.

August sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I've lost Emma…I can't lost Maggie too," August sighed. "I already had to break the news to Henry that he lost one person he loves. Maggie may be a new addition to our family, but I love her every bit as much as I love Henry and he loves her too. Losing her would devastate him…it would devastate everyone...devastate me. Surely there must be a way to help her."

"You can try talking to her," Red suggested. "She shut down on me earlier. Hasn't said a word since, but that doesn't mean she isn't listening to us."

August nodded and took a step into the room, but Red grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Right now she's a hurt wild animal. Corner her and there is no telling what may happen," Red warned.

"I can get through to her," August reassured her.

"Still, I'm not letting you go in there alone. I love you, son, but you'll be no match for her if her wolf lashes out again."

August nodded his head in understanding.

"Just hang back. Let me see if I can reach her," August stated.

Red gave a nod of her head and let go of his arm. She stood in the doorway ready to intervene if Maggie lost control.

August took slow cautious steps towards his daughter. He walked over to the bed adjacent to the corner Maggie was hunkered down in. He sat on the floor to be at her level and limit any risk of being perceived as a threat to her or the wolf.

"Maggie…honey…I know you're not exactly in a talking mood, but we're all worried about you," August began. "Please, talk to me. This is a painful time for all of us, but you can't just shut off from us."

Maggie's mouth opened on the power of the Dark One who was prepared to start spinning the web that would lead to death and destruction, but the real Maggie rebelled and forced her mouth shut. She clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists.

"Stubborn girl," the voice in her head growled. "You're fighting a losing battle. I want this body and I will have it."

"Never," Maggie snapped.

"Oh, so now you're talking to me," the voice replied.

"Just drawing the line in the sand," Maggie replied.

While Maggie carried on a conversation in her own head she could see her father's lips moving, but nothing he was saying was processing. She had other more important things to worry about then the emotional mess everyone thought she was. If she was going to lose her body to whatever darkness had invaded then she was going to put up a hell of a fight.

"You're a foolish girl," the voice replied.

"No, just unwilling to give up," Maggie declared.

"You can't beat me."

"Maybe not, but I'm still not just going to roll over and give up," Maggie stated.

"Not willing to give up? My darling, you forget I have access to all your memories. You have quite the track record of giving up."

"That was…"

"Before you met your mom? Before you had a family? Quite a family you have. They don't even know you're being possessed. If they really loved you and cared about you then they'd have realized what was going on and tried to help you. They don't love you."

"No…that's not true," Maggie growled.

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you? With Emma gone you're just a burden and obligation to them. They are just going through the required emotions due to the fact you share blood with them."

Maggie shot to her feet and started slamming her hands against her head.

"Get out! Get out!"

Maggie was now screaming sounds more akin to an animal than a human and pounding her head. To the unknowing eye it looked like she was having a full on mental breakdown.

August frantically got to his feet and tried to stop her, but all it earned him was a trip across the room and a hard crash into the wall.

"August," Red cried after her son.

Red rushed into the room and grabbed Maggie before the other woman got another shot at August. Red threw her granddaughter onto the bed and used all her strength to pin the frantic woman.

"Get Whale," Red screamed.

August pulled himself up off the floor.

"Mom.." August began.

"Whale! Now! We can't help her like this! We have no other choice! Get him!"

August shook his head in realization that his mom was right. They couldn't do anything for Maggie as long as she was in this downward spiral. He took off out of the room to get Whale.

"Come on Maggie! Fight this," Red begged her granddaughter. "Please…we can't lose you too…"

Maggie was thrashing around and her eyes were flickering between human and wolf. Not even the dark force inside of her could regain control. Maggie went from just looking like she was in the midst of a mental breakdown to being in a complete spiral and no one force inside her body could wrestle back control.

"He…lp…" Maggie forced out through her clenched jaw. It took a great deal of strength to slip that past the force attempting a hostile takeover of her body and she could tell from the look on her grandmothers face that the message wasn't entirely understood. That only further fueled the psychotic break that was happening as her mind and body struggled to fend off the intruder.

While a battle between Red and Maggie raged on the outside on the inside the voice and Maggie squared off.

"I told you…they don't love you," the voice declared.

"Why are you doing this," Maggie asked the voice. "Why me?"

"It's nothing personal," the voice replied. "You're body simply possesses the strength and magic I need to control this planet. Give me control and together we will be all powerful."

"Never," Maggie snapped. "I won't let you beat me."

"Oh darling, I've already beaten you. It's only a matter of time before you're too weak to keep wrestling control from me. Then I will take this body as mine. You've already lost and there is no one left to help you."

Maggie hated to admit it, but the voice was right. The only person who could have seen she was in trouble was her mom and she was gone. What the darkness inside her was underestimating was the strength she and her wolf possessed when they fought as one. Together they would fight to the bitter end. She may lose, but she wasn't ready to give in no matter how dire things looked. If she was going down she was going down swinging.

"I spent most of my life on my own," Maggie replied. "You think you're the only darkness I've encountered? Trust me, you're not, and I'm not going to just give up this time. This is war."

"Are you declaring war? On me," the voice questioned with a sinister chuckle.

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Maggie replied.

Maggie and the voice had been too preoccupied to realize that their wolf controlled body had gotten progressively more violent with Red and they had only been left with one option. A darkness began to encompass all of them as Whale pushed a syringe into Maggie's arm.

"Then prepare for a war young one. A war you will lose," the voice growled.

Darkness took over and Maggie's mind became blissfully numb for a moment as the sedative took effect.

Maggie went limp under Red as the drug took effect. Red turned to Whale with a concerned look.

"A simple sedative," Whale replied to her unasked question. "It represents no threat to her sobriety."

Red nodded her thanks. She was to emotionally and physically drained for words. She turned to the doorway and saw August standing there with an utterly heartbroken look on his face. In a single day he had lost the love of his life and before the day was over he may have to add the daughter he barely knew, but loved more than life itself, to that list of casualties.

Emma and Lara were both on their feet with stunned looks on their faces.

"Absolutely not," Lara yelled at Lucas.

"I thought we were trying to stop my suicide mission not send you on one," Emma added angrily.

"We all know this is the best plan," Lucas yelled back.

"No, we don't all know that," Lara countered. "In fact I'm starting to wonder if you were the one who sustained the head injury!"

Lucas stood and walked over to the wall. He pounded his fist next to a picture of a much older Henry and a man who looked enough like Lucas for Emma to deduce it was her grandson's father, Lucian.

"My father and uncle died to protect me. I've spent my entire life trying to figure out how to be a man worthy of that kind of selfless sacrifice. I'm not the best swordsman and I'm certainly not a scholar. What I do have going for me is the gift of magic and this power to connect with this timeline rift. What if this is what I was born to do," Lucas countered. "What if this mission is the whole reason for my existence?"

"What you're talking is suicide," Lara snapped.

"If Emma succeeds this version of me will cease to exist anyway. At least I can do this one thing and justify dad and Uncle Henry's sacrifice," Lucas replied.

"Lucas…" Lara sighed. She didn't know what to say to him. She knew once he set his mind to something it was near impossible to change.

"Please, Lara, I need to know you're on my side for this one," Lucas implored.

Lara sighed and started to pace the room as she thought.

"You're asking a lot, Lucas," Lara replied.

"I'm asking you to support me in this decision. If this works it could rid the world of the greatest evil to ever exist. Besides, if you're right about my parents, and they were somehow meant to be then one way or another I'll be born. I'm not exactly being selfish here, Lara, if I succeed then true future me will get to grow up with his parents. He won't know the horrors of war. This is a chance for all of us to get a reset," Lucas stated in a firm and convincing tone.

Lara looked over at Emma who seemed to be contemplating Lucas' plan.

"What do you think," Lara inquired.

Emma looked between the two before settling her eyes on Lucas.

"Do you understand the risk you will be taking? If you do this and this act fails to fix the rift we have no way of knowing what your fate will be," Emma stated. "We could very well trade one powerful dark monster for another."

"I know the risks, but we have to try. Do either of you have a better plan," Lucas inquired.

Emma frowned before looking over at Lara.

"I think this is the only viable plan we have," Emma answered reluctantly.

Lara frowned and nodded in agreement.

"Good, then let's plot this thing out," Lucas declared.

Lucas strode back over to the table and started drawing on a piece of paper.

Emma and Lara stood next to each other with equally concerned looks.

"If this doesn't work I'll lose him…he's all the family I have left," Lara stated.

"I hate his plan, but it's all we have," Emma replied. "Everything will have to go right to plan because we no margin for error, but if this works it could rid my time of not only the Dark One, but the Blood Moon too. The timeline would be fixed and maybe, just maybe, the one true future will bring much brighter days than the alternatives."

"I hope this works," Lara replied.

"So do I," Emma agreed.

The two women exchanged concerned looks then walked over to join Lucas in the planning of a fight that would determine the fate of the entire planet and it's every inhabitant. The pressure was on and the clock was ticking for Emma to get home before Maggie was completely lost.