Snow groaned as she heard the buzz of her cell phone buzzing on the bedside table. Lately, it was Leo waking her up, not her phone, so it was an odd sound to wake up to. She frowned when she realized she didn't recognize the number staring at her.

"Hello?" she asked, voice still thick with sleep.

"Hello darling. It's been a long time."

Snow shot up. "C-Cruella?"

"Ah, you do recognize my voice. I was afraid that you'd forget my voice considering how long it's been," the woman replied. Snow could picture the smirk on Cruella's face.

"How did you get this number?" Snow asked, eyes wide. "Why did you get this number?"

"A little birdie sent it to me. As for why… I suppose someone really wanted dear Ursula and I to come home."

Snow realized instantly what she meant. Neal. The Dark One had, for some reason, sent Cruella her phone number. How Neal knew that she had a history with Cruella, she didn't know. Where Cruella was she didn't know, especially since Cruella hadn't been a part of either curse.

"Where are you?" Snow asked.

"We think we're near the town. There's this orange line in the dirt but we can't seem to get past it. Do you happen to know a way in?"

Closing her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief, glad Cruella couldn't see it. "I.. I need to talk to Regina. She probably knows of a way in. I'll talk to her and call you back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Of course, darling. We'll be waiting."

Snow could only shake her head in disbelief as she ended the call. While she'd known Cruella and Ursula had gone to the Land Without Magic before any of the others had, she hadn't expected them to be able to find Storybrooke. And the fact that it was most likely Neal to send them the information about it worried her.

Letting out a sigh, she knew she had little choice but to tell Charming and Regina that Cruella and Ursula had found their way to Storybrooke.

And Emma. Oh Emma. How would she react when she found out what her parents had done?

But she was Snow White of Misthaven after all, and so she would deal with this with the grace and maturity taught to her by her parents and Regina when she was younger. It was her duty as a town leader after all.

"Charming?" she called as she brushed a wrinkle out of the shirt she'd changed into.

She found her husband sitting with Leo on the sofa, a half-finished plate of food in front of him. He turned at the sound of her footsteps and smiled up at her. "Good morning Snow… you okay? You've got a weird look on your face."

"You'll never guess who I just got off the phone with."

He frowned. "Who?"

"Cruella. She and Ursula are outside the Town Line trying to get into town."

Charming stared, eyes wide as he blinked at her. "No."

She nodded slowly. "So… I need to call Regina and see if she knows of a way to get into town from the outside."

Charming shook his head, as if trying to wake up from the impossibility that Cruella and Ursula were actually waiting outside for them.

"We have to go let them in, of course. I just… don't understand why they're here," Charming said.

"Well. There's only one way to find out."

It took them longer than Snow would assume to get Regina to agree to come down to the Town Line with them with the cure to cross, but eventually, they got there, with Emma in tow.

"Who exactly are we letting in to Storybrooke?" Emma asked, holding Leo in her arms as Snow dialed Cruella's number.

"Cruella de Vil and Ursula," she replied, watching Cruella answer on the other side. It was so strange that she could see them but not be able to interact with them.

"Hello darling."

"We're here, Cruella. I'm going to roll the scroll across the line to you now."

"We're ready whenever you are."

Kneeling down in front of the town line, Snow carefully rolled the scroll across it. Cruella anxiously scooped it into her hands and got behind the wheel of a car Snow knew Ursula would never drive.

"Well well… it seems the years have been good to you, Snow White," Cruella said with a grin as they pulled up alongside the queen.

"Hello Cruella, Ursula. It appears the years have been good to you as well."

"Oh yes, very good, for the both of us," Cruella replied with a knowing glance at Ursula. It was then Snow realized their hands were clasped together over the gear shift.

Snow's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh! Um. Congratulations?" That was what people said in that sort of situation, right?

"Thank you darling. We're quite happy. Now. Is there a place for us to rest our weary heads? It was a long drive from New York."

She nodded. "There's Granny's Bed and Breakfast. It's… well, the only hotel in town. You can't miss it."

Cruella nodded and drove off, leaving Snow shrugging in amusement at Charming.

She heard a shocked sound come from her daughter who had been standing by Regina at the sheriff's car. "Remind me again why my parents, two great heroes, are excited to see two horrible villains?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," she said with a small sigh. "Let's go to Granny's so we can tell it over some hot cocoa."

"Um. Okay…" Emma's tone was one of suspicion, and Snow couldn't blame her. All she could do was give her daughter a small smile as she put Leo in his car seat and the small group made their way to the familiar diner.

"Okay. Our drinks are here. Let's get to it then," Emma said as they sat in the corner booth away from the ears of the other patrons.

Snow nodded and took a deep breath as she began to speak.

"Your daughter will end up being the Savior," Maleficent said after Snow woke up to find her husband under a temporary sleeping curse, the Mistress of All Evil (or… the former one) stood in front of her. "Which means… she'll be safe. I'm happy for you."

"Why are you so invested in our child?" Snow whispered. "Why do you want to help us?"

"Because mothers need to look out for one another."

"You – you're a mother?" Snow gasped, eyes widening. Maleficent, a mother? It didn't make sense.

"Yes. I only gave birth two days ago. That's why we came to you to begin with," Maleficent replied. "And I want to protect my child from the horrors of the curse."

Snow blinked in surprise. "What can I do to help you? I don't have magic. And this curse will be against me."

"But you have excellent tracking skills and you know this forest like the back of your hands. You can help find a good spot for what needs to be done to protect my daughter."

Snow's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Maleficent. She was friends with Regina – so could Snow truly trust her? But on the other hand, if there was a child in danger then… who was she to deny Maleficent the opportunity to protect her child?

Exhaling slowly, Snow nodded slowly. "Okay Maleficent. We'll help you."

"Thank you. Get some rest now. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

The next day, Snow and Charming met Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella outside the palace.

"Okay. So what sort of place are you looking for?" Snow asked Maleficent as they headed deeper into the forest.

"Somewhere private. A place Regina would never be able to find," Maleficent replied. "I know she's angry with me after I refused to give her the curse."

"You had the curse? How did she manage to get it?"

Maleficent looked down, shame written on her face as she focused on the cracking egg in her arms. "She overpowered me while I was at my most vulnerable. I was pregnant, my magic was going haywire… I couldn't defend myself against her."

"That's horrible," Charming said. "We'll do whatever we can to help you then."

"We know that, chisel-chin. That's why we called on you to begin with," Cruella snorted.

Snow rolled her eyes and looked at Charming. "What about the… farm?"

"Mother's?"

She nodded slowly. "It's far enough away... she doesn't know about it."

Charming nodded. "Okay. My mother's farm it is."

Maleficent waved her hands, and the group was magically transported to the farmhouse where Charming grew up.

"You're a farm boy?" Ursula asked as they looked around the crumbling cottage. "I never would have expected that."

Charming shrugged. "We all come from somewhere, don't we? Doesn't matter if it's a farm or a palace."

"What happened here?"

"She was killed by George and Regina's army. They were trying to get to me. She got in the way of the arrow," Charming explained. "Now, what is it we have to do in order to get the baby to safety?"

Maleficent smirked a little. "I stole this from Merlin's apprentice," she explained, holding out some sort of container. "Apparently it's supposed to be used to take the darkness out of one soul and put it into another… but I managed to modify it to simply take us to another land."

"Which land?"

"I dare not say. Just in case she is listening in."

Snow nodded. "Of course… I just hope that our own daughter is as safe as yours when the time comes."

"With you two as parents? She stands all the chance in the world," Ursula replied. "Now we need to hurry up and go."

"Right," Maleficent replied as she flicked her hand, the portal opening, and a puff of smoke whisking Snow and Charming back to their palace…

"You helped Maleficent try to escape from the curse?" Emma gasped, staring at her parents with wide eyes. "Why? She cursed Aurora and Philip, and God only knows what else she did before that."

"Because she was a scared mother. Regardless of her past sins, how could I turn down the chance to help her? I was pregnant and scared for you. She was pregnant and scared for Lily."

"Lily?" Emma cut in, her eyes growing impossibly big.

Snow frowned. "What is it?"

But as soon as the look on Emma's face appeared, it was gone. "Nothing. Never mind. It's a common name…" she muttered.

"Are you sure?"

Emma nodded slightly. "But – wait. You said Maleficent was planning to go with her daughter, Cruella and Ursula. Then… why was she in the tunnel under the library the day I broke the curse?"

Snow's heart sank when the realization set in. "She never made it to safety with the baby. She was cursed just like us."

"And I killed her," Emma said, putting her head in her hands.

"Emma… you didn't know. But the question is… what happened after we were vanished away?" Charming put in, looking between

"Charming… I don't think it was Maleficent that sent us away."

"Then… who would have been able to – " Charming froze in the middle of his sentence when all three of them were struck with the same answer. Three pairs of eyes snapped to where Regina had been sitting…

Only to find an empty chair.

The Evil Queen snarled as she looked into the mirror, hurt and betrayal written into her face. How dare Maleficent work with that monster? How dare Maleficent try to escape from what Regina was planning. What a coward. What a fool.

Well. Regina would show her. She would show all of them.

As Maleficent opened the portal, Regina carefully altered it, preventing Maleficent from being able to get through. Then of course there was Snow and Charming. But they too were easily taken care of with a flick of hand from Regina, back to their own palace. No way she would allow them to escape from what she planned.

Then, Mal and her little friends jumped, and only Ursula, Cruella, and the little baby disappeared to parts unknown.

Smirking, Regina watched as Maleficent collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking her body.

She let out a groan of pain as her eyes cracked open, realizing immediately she was not in Granny's anymore.

"Oh God… where – where am I?" she moaned, staring at her arm, which was wrapped in a bandage. "What the hell happened to me?"

"You don't recognize your own mine, Regina? I thought you knew all there was to know about Storybrooke."

She froze, staring up at the man who had spoken. Neal. The Dark One. Of course.

"Why am I here? Is this your evil lair, Neal? I think Henry would be disappointed that it doesn't look more… comic book-esque. Where are the computers that track the movements of everyone in town? Your evil escape helicopter?"

Neal laughed – a genuine laugh – as he shrugged. "This isn't my lair at all, Regina. But there's someone very important here who wants to see you again."

"What are you talking about? What did you do to me?"

"Hello Regina."

Regina froze, dark eyes hesitantly looking in the direction of the voice, her heart dropping into her stomach when she saw Maleficent standing very much alive.

"How are you alive?"

"Oh, that was easy enough. All I needed was the blood of the person that had given Maleficent the most pain, a little of this and a little of that and boom! Scary dragon bitch lives. I warned you, Regina. All the secrets the villains have kept are going to come out so long as I'm the Dark One."

Regina glared. "How did you know what happened between us?"

"There are books dictating every last detail of the history of the residents of this town. Did you think Henry's was the only one?" Neal asked with a slight laugh. "We're all stories here, Regina. Therefore, the books are here."

"Regardless of how he knows what transpired between us, I thank him for bringing me back. Now you tell me one thing. Where is my daughter?"

Regina shook her head. "I don't know."

Maleficent growled, her voice low and dangerous. "If I find that something has happened to her, I promise you Regina, I will kill you."

With that, Maleficent vanished from the mine, leaving Regina and Neal alone.

"Do you really love him?" she asked quietly.

"Hm? Who?" Neal asked with a frown.

"Henry. Do you love him?"

Neal's eyes softened behind the darkness. "Of course I do. I'm not that much of a monster."

"If you loved him, why are you doing this to me? Even your father could control himself unless people were making deals with him to lead him to you. What is your endgame here?"

Neal tilted his head, and Regina could see something – was it his normal self coming through? Or something else? – in his eyes.

"Who says I'm totally in control of my actions?" Neal whispered, and Regina realized as he vanished in a cloud of black smoke that it had been fear she'd seen in his dark eyes.

In Henry's eyes.

She needed to get to Emma and Rumplestiltskin, and she needed to do it fast.