As soon as the smoke cleared, Will knew they were all in trouble. They were once again in the middle of the forest, and his girlfriend was nowhere to be found. The Wicked Witch of the West was directly in his line of vision, finalizing the worry that was growing inside.

"What did you do?"

Zelena immediately narrowed her eyes, offended at the accusation. "I don't have my magic!"

All eyes shifted then towards Caroline, causing the girl to nervously gulp. "I- I didn't mean to! I don't know what happened!"

Will was quick to put his frustration aside and put a comforting arm around her shoulders, halting her emotions before any tears could come.

"It's okay, we just have to... figure out where we are."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Zelena told him, "but I suppose it's better than being chased down by an arrogant Sheriff."

Besides the three of them, the forest was stark silent, a complete shift from the chaos they had left behind. But, within that chaos, Robin and Ruby were left behind too.

"How are they gonna know where we are?" Caroline asked, hopelessness evident in her voice.

The two adults were at a loss for words, for once on the same page. Will absolutely hated the woman, and was still uneasy in her presence. He hadn't been alone with Zelena until then, and had hardly spoken a word to her since his arrival.

"Guess we'll have to use our tracking skills," Will replied, earning a massive eye roll from the woman. "And Ruby can find us no problem- she did it once, and she'll do it again."

"We could be hundreds of miles away, we can't just sit here and wait for them to find us," Zelena argued, her tension increasing, "you two can do whatever you want, I'm going to walk until I find something."

Nether Will nor Caroline had time to react before she started off into the forest. They both exchanged wary glances, weighing their options for a moment. When the silence became too much to bear, however, the two of them raced to catch up with her.

The sun was shining brightly up ahead, and the heat wave was already in full gear. Zelena could feel sweat on her forehead, her hair a hapless mess. Not having magic was beginning to grate her endlessly- she craved the feeling more than anything. She felt pathetic without it, on the same grimy level as everyone else in the universe. Still, she had some fight left in her, for a reason she didn't fully understand. Through the quietness and methodical snapping of twigs, she was constantly reminded that her ultimate reward for all the suffering was inevitable alienation. Caroline may have stuck up for her, but once safely back with her mother, Zelena knew she would become an afterthought to the girl. Regina would be after her head, though she would probably be too self righteous to kill her. There wasn't a scenario she could come up with where she would come out victorious; she figured cutting her losses and slipping out unnoticed would be the best option for everyone.

The thought of losing Caroline only seemed to contribute to her feeling of helplessness, which was translated to weakness in her mind. Watching the girl walk beside her, eyes lost in her own thoughts, Zelena couldn't help but allow the helplessness to overtake her for moment. Her inherent positivity about the world around her was something to be treasured, she knew that from the moment she first met her in Granny's cafe.

"What're you thinking about?"

The woman looked down at her with surprise. "Just trying to figure out how to get out of here," she responded, only telling her what she wanted to hear.

Guilt still manifested through her expression; the girl was fidgeting with her hands in constant unrest.

"Don't beat yourself up about what happened- magic is often unpredictable."

Caroline's attention was automatically brought to full focus, her eyes inquisitive yet desperate. "Has that ever happened to you?"

The repressed memories of her childhood were filled with stories of misused magic, oftentimes sporadic, resulting in her father's merciless anger towards her. She was quick to learn how to properly control it, but everyone must start somewhere.

"At first. Magic takes a while to master, and it's different for everyone."

Her words didn't seem to be the news she wanted to hear. She was lost in thought for a moment, then a smile crept onto her face. "I can have Mom teach me when we get back!"

Zelena couldn't help but clench her jaw, anger still an automatic response whenever Regina was mentioned. Beside her, Will noticed the tension change her appearance. He was good at catching subtleties that people wanted to keep hidden- being around Regina for over a decade had fine tuned his abilities.

"You're gonna have to start teaching me one of these days, magic would help solve a lot of my problems," he joked, attempting to shake the strain from around them.

"Magic can't pay all your bills for you, Uncle Will," Caroline giggled, seemingly forgetting about what had happened earlier.

The girl appeared just as happy as she was before all the madness began- it was a huge comfort to Will, evidence that all the trauma she had endured couldn't destroy the trueness of her nature.

"Are you sure? Where in the magic rule book does it say I can't conjure up a million dollars?"

Without warning, Zelena stopped in her tracks, earning two confused glances from her peers. Before they could ask any questions, she gestured to a small clearing up ahead. A cluster of houses could be seen through the trees, though not a single person could be spotted. The three of them began towards the small village, slowly and full of curiosity.

When Will finally got a full view of the nearest house, he couldn't believe what he saw. The house was grandiose, with big windows and multiple floors. As beautiful as it was, something of big importance seemed to be missing from that house- it lacked any sort of human imprint. Lost in a trance standing before the house, he was jolted back to reality by an abrupt scream from Caroline. She had a horrified look on her face as she looked ahead. Turning his glance back to the house, he was shocked to see the beautiful house replaced by a bleak, empty shell of a house, only a few pillars standing against a charcoal and ash laden mess. Smoke was still detectable in the air- the destruction was recent.

"What the hell happened here? Where is everyone?"

The words seemed to be forgotten as Zelena focused in on a stray piece of paper on the ground, one that Caroline instantly sought after. Picking it up, a grave expression soon appeared on her face.

"It's Mary Margret... Snow White," she said, cautious of her own words. Showing Will and Zelena the paper, she couldn't shake the awful feeling that had began to form.

The flyer had the word wanted printed in bold letters, followed by other key words like fugitive, dangerous, and thief. Connecting the dots was easy- they were looking at the handiwork of the Evil Queen.


Galloping through the forest in a rush of adrenaline took him right back to his glory days. His bow was slung loosely across his back, sleeves rolled up to accommodate the intense daytime heat. He and Ruby had been riding for what seemed like hours until they were sure Nottingham and his gang were long gone.

Once the commotion died down behind them, the aftermath of the day beginning to catch up with him- his muscles felt torn to shreds, exhaustion taking over entirely. Robin thought he could push himself to continue forward, using every ounce of his strength, until his vision went black.

With the wind knocked right out of him, it took a few seconds for the man to regain consciousness. Ruby hovered over him nervously, letting his horse run away further into the forest.

"You're making me worried!" She exclaimed, pulling him to a stand, "ask for a break next time."

Glancing back down at the ground, Robin noticed his bow was split in two, arrows spilled in every direction.

"Why don't you just call me old while you're at it," he responded flatly, "Will and Caroline are god-knows where with a Wicked Witch, and I can't even ride a bloody horse."

Ruby's countenance fell, unsure of how to respond. She was used to Will's dark humor, it was part of their lifestyle- motivation had never been her strong suit.

"Things did get pretty intense back there- thankfully we lost that asshole."

Seeing his rival after so many years reminded him of everything he was once capable of. He had forged a rightful place for himself in a world that didn't provide any favors; it had taken hard work and many sleepless nights, but Robin created his own network. He knew just about everyone in whatever village he decided to reside in, and everyone put him on a pedestal for what he and the Merry Men had accomplished. The adoration definitely made him feel great, but during that time, Robin also had Marian, and a group of best friends that shared a common goal. It was ideal for him- he was young, brash, and life was simply exuberant.

"Where the hell do we go from here?" He asked, feeling especially defeated in that moment, "we have no idea where they are, and we still have no idea how to get back home. We're in the middle of nowhere."

His words filled the space between them. Ruby mirrored his bleak attitude.

"I don't know- they're too far away for me to track. We've ought to find some kind of clue if we keep moving forward, right?"

With one knapsack, a broken bow, one horse, and an aching back, moving forward didn't ring true in his mind. But his daughter was out there, and his brother too. Existing in a place far away was also his wife and son, two people he missed with the entirety of his soul. Giving up wasn't an option.

"I suppose you're right... such a shame that pain relievers aren't a thing here. We'll have to remember to pack some next time we drop everything to travel across realms."

Ruby admired his attempt at covering up his discomfort as he began walking- she hardly had the heart to let him know that her physicality was in its prime. Primal instinct blended with her desire to put an end to the madness, giving her an unstoppable drive. Fleeing their perpetrators earlier had been such a challenge; instead she wanted to take on every single one of them with bared fangs, showing no mercy.

"I've been thinking a lot about what Regina would do if she were here," Robin began, "she can always make a plan for anything- she's probably making a plan right now."

The pain had lifted substantially around the subject of his wife since the knowledge of her freedom. It brought him so much relief to know that she was safe, and that she could be there for Roland when he couldn't.

"She would be proud of what we've done so far, I think," Ruby told him, "we did manage to defeat an Ice Queen and get Zelena on our side for the time being."

Even though her words were true, Robin's mind stuck to the negatives- so much uncertainty surrounded them all, controlling every choice they made. His last moments with Regina were clouded with stress and anger, everything coming down at once in a suffocating blur. He hadn't been given a proper chance to breathe in weeks- everything kept going and going, kinetic energy of diabolical proportions.

"True, but we are still forty years in the past," he said, easing into a smile, "I just wish we had an idea on where to find them."

It was a comfort knowing that Caroline's life was in Will's hands; he knew his brother would do anything to protect her. Yet, he despised that Zelena had a hold on his daughter, her strong ability to love manipulated by the few shreds of redemption in the woman's blackened heart.

"After so many years, I think Snow and Charming's 'I will always find you' mantra applies to all of us now- things will work out, somehow."

Ruby was well aware of how precocious she sounded, but she couldn't find words to describe the feeling she had inside. There was an inexplainable force driving her forward, something that went beyond her primal abilities. Though the path was unclear, one truth remained- an austere estate with grand windows was in the front of her mind, drawing her in with every step forward.