I own nothing. Least of all this.

1:31

I had originally just wanted to let things play out as they had the first time around. I knew everything would work out fine in the end (well, relatively), and I had no desire to mess anything up.

And then I remembered how little we knew of Tamara's motivations. Greg, everyone knew, wanted vengeance for his father. But the girl? Not once did I ever hear a peep about where she came from. And I let my curiosity get the better of me.

I let Jayne go with Charming and Hook specifically to see if he could not only get ahold of more than just the one original bean, but if he could twist some answers out of one of the few people whose death I wished had taken longer.

The last thing I expected was to find out she was a Templar.

Much less one modified in exactly the same way I had seen before.

Just my luck that the world Storybrooke ended up attaching to was Pete's World. Must have been the natural magic of the realm that drew it; not a lot, but enough.

And now things were infinitely more complicated.

Once again I cursed my past self. Yes, trying to send the diamond to the Doctor's world was a risky gambit. But leaving it around here in Storybrooke, in the hands of Regina, was an infinitely worse idea. At least on board the TARDIS it would have been somewhat harder to find. But I had chosen the wrong course, and now I not only had to worry about disposing of the thing in some other way, I also had to worry about just letting Greg waltz off to Neverland with Henry. Because that was no longer an option. Not without getting whatever I could out of him about the connection between the Templars and the Home Office.

"Who was she working for?"

I was amazed it took her that long to ask.

"Group called the Templars. Haters of both magic and free will. They've been around since medieval times; hunting whatever they deemed unholy. There used to be a group that fought them; the Assassins. But the Templars locked them all away, and experimented on them. I found out. And turned them all to ash. Or so I thought. Apparently, I missed a group."

"...Does Greg have anything to do with them?"

"...I don't know. Not for sure. But I intend to find out."

"..Back there, before you...shot her, did you...read her mind?"

"Something like that."

"And that doesn't make you like them? Violating free will?"

"Yep. The only difference is I already know I'm going to Hell for it; they've convinced themselves it's for the Greater Good, and therefore points to get into Heaven. And that makes them dangerous."

"Understood."

"I have a question."

"Very well. But just the one, Charming."

"We know Hell is real; you've told us that. But does the same hold true for Heaven?"

"Yes. Never been there myself, but I know of a few that went and came back."

"Why would you ever want to leave Paradise?"

"You'd be surprised, Miss Snow. Angels aren't entirely merciful, either. And they have plenty of darkness in themselves as well. Where else would the Devil have come from?"

"He's real too?"

"Very much so. In fact, it was indirectly thanks to him I managed to get away with as much as I did when I ended the Templars."

"Thankful for the Devil. That's a new one."

"Not thankful. More just...sympathetic. We're here."

The entrance to the mines.

"Jayne, I've got another job for you, if you want it."

"So long as there's no more glowing chicks, I'm your guy."

"Unknown whether there'll be more glow-ers or not. Which is why I'm lending you this."

I handed him the Colt.

"Should kill even the fastest of self-healers in a flash. And if it worked on the girl, you can bet it'll work on the other one. No more wounding; we're shooting to kill now."

"Good. What do I have to do?"

"The docks. If he tries to escape, it'll be over water. Wait for him. If he has a hostage, leave him be. But if he activates a portal, and jumps in with said hostage, light him up. He cannot be allowed to leave alive. Understand?"

"Gotcha."

He took the gun.

"I'm sure you'll think something up so we don't die. If you didn't, Mal would kill you."

"Don't I know it. Now go."

We watched him lope off in the direction of the harbor, then turned down the path to where Rose and Regina were waiting.

"...You really think Greg would take a hostage?"

"You think he wouldn't? Templars have very little in the way of morals, Miss Swan. And they're usually two steps ahead of their competition; hence why I'm fairly certain your father did not, in fact, retrieve all of the beans."

"Where could he go that would be so bad you'd risk hitting an innocent person to keep him from getting there alive?"

"You name it. Gallifrey, Hades, Wonderland, Neverland, the Nightmare Dimension, each one with things more than willing to help the Templars kill a Time Lord. Which would end up being even more people trying to destroy this town; and that's something we can all agree we don't need."

"Fair point. Have you got any ideas on how to stop this particular attempted destruction?"

"Several. But whether or not they'll work is another matter entirely."

"Cause I have one."

"Let's hear it."

"Use two beans. One for everyone to escape, and then another for someone to drop the diamond through when we're all clear."

"Ah-ha. And who, exactly, would you have stay behind as the sacrifice?"

"Regina."

"Emma!"

"What? She was prepared to do it before, until Rose offered to help pause the thing to give us more time."

"My mom...was going to kill herself...and you were just going to let her?"

"Henry…"

"No! We're family! We don't just leave each other behind!"

"I know, kid. I know. We'll find another way; I was just suggesting it."

"Well don't suggest it again."

The rest of the trip down was quiet after that.

Power was still surging off the diamond as we came around the corner, noticeably brighter than the last time I'd seen it. The strain of controlling it was quite evident on both Regina's and Rose's faces. It wouldn't be much longer before the countdown resumed. Emma and I could swap out for the two of them, but it still wasn't a permanent solution. We'd have to come up with something else.

If all else failed, I would suggest the original ending. But not until Emma had called her parents "Mom" and "Dad". That was very important. For both her, and the story.

"Please tell me your plan is ready to go, because neither of us is going to be able to hold this for much longer."

"...Yes and no."

"What does that mean?"

"Witcher? What is it?"

"...Yes, my plan is ready to go. No, we can't use it, because all of us underestimated Greg and Tamara. If we were to do what I had wanted, which was toss the diamond through a bean portal and let it detonate in the Void, it would rip what remains of Storybrooke's anchors to shreds, leaving us floating in the Void as well. Not Hell, but close to it. And we'd still all die."

"So activate two portals. Get out through the first one, and leave me here to activate the second for the diamond."

"No. We can't. Henry made it quite clear; whatever else, we're family. We're not leaving you behind. We'll find another way."

"We could switch back and forth. Witcher, you take over for me, and Emma for Regina."

"We could, but it wouldn't be worth the cost. The diamond is drawing in magic faster than it can be absorbed by any of us. We can switch back and forth all we like, but in the end, we'd overload, and the magic would kill us. And every second we bought would render Storybrooke just that little bit less magical, with that less of a chance to find something to stop this. I'm sorry."

"...I know."

"...It won't be long now."

And there went Emma; embracing both of her parents. "Mom...Dad…"

I couldn't wait any more.

"Alright. Looks like we're going with option B."

Snow's face scrunched in confusion. "What's option B? And why didn't you tell us about it before?"

"Option B is where Emma, Regina, Rose and I simultaneously overload and starve the reaction. And the reason I didn't tell you before, is there are three outcomes: the excess power is released harmlessly, knocking everyone out; the power gets funneled into Rose and I, probably causing us to regenerate, which is something none of you should be around for; or worse case, Emma and Regina both die."

Cries of protestation from three separate Charmings were quickly cut short by...

"I'll do it. If there's even the slightest chance it'll save my family, I'll do it. Better we die trying to do the right thing, than succeed in doing the wrong."

"...If there are no more objections, then?"

Slow head-shaking from everyone not crying their eyes out.

"...Alright. Let's do this. Everyone not working on the diamond, get as far back in the cave as possible. Miss Swan, if you would be so kind."

A nod, and she took her place across from me over the trigger.

"On three, we go. One, two, three."

IT HURT.

It was frankly a miracle that the others had managed to hold on that long. I could feel Rose beside me, practically glowing with the power She was absorbing. And Regina, weak from the strain of starving the diamond's power source. Emma quickly began copying Regina, pulling magic away from the reaction, then dissipating it. But it was something very different I needed to do: a very delicate balancing act. Keeping enough power bound to release when the trigger had stopped completely (I still needed everyone to be knocked out, after all), while absorbing what leftover magic had gotten through before Emma had started, yet hadn't been converted and directed into Rose.

Only slightly more difficult than balancing on a tight-rope. If the tight-rope was on fire at both ends. And you were carrying a full-grown elephant. That was also on fire. And the flames from the elephant were beginning to set you on fire as well.

There was a lot of fire.

And all too quickly, it was over.

The last of the magic flow into the trigger disappeared. The reaction died. I let out what was left of the energy.

And everything exploded.

I had failed to take into account exactly how much energy Rose had already absorbed.

The shockwave was like dropping a rock in an already full pail. The minute Rose's eyes closed in unconsciousness, the power She'd held erupted out of Her. There was only one thing I could think of to do: draw it into the only person left awake.

Me.

I plunged both my hands into the center of the growing cloud, and grabbed.

The flow of magic reversed, and began to race into me. For a brief moment, I thought I had it under control. Foolish. You can't control magic.

It hit the power I had already absorbed, and...

PAIN.

FIRE.

ICE.

CHANGE.

LIGHTNING.

I slumped down into darkness, my eyes closing on the sight of storm clouds dancing on my fingertips.

"Bollocks."

And I knew no more.


"We're alive!"

Ow, my head.

"Emma?"

"OW, MY HAND!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Witcher! Are you okay?"

"...My batteries are low and it's getting dark."

"...What?"

"It means I just need a minute to recharge, Miss Snow. That was...somewhat, more difficult than I had thought."

"Of course, you just...take it easy."

"Alas, Miss Snow. No rest for the wicked. There's something I have to do first."

I pushed myself up on my arms, then to my feet. There it was; the trigger. Lying inert on the cave floor. I stumbled over, and picked it up.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"Hopefully, remove it from this world. If it detonates somewhere else, it'll just be your regular run-of-the-mill explosion, instead of the hellish kind."

"That sounds like it's for the best."

She turned her attention back to Emma, and I turned mine to Rose. She was coming back around quickly, thank Gallifrey. No permanent damage, as far as I could tell. A glance to my right confirmed that Regina was already up and moving around, somewhat shakily, but still.

"You're making a habit of this, explosions."

"Everyone needs a hobby. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Emma and Regina?"

"Fine."

"Everyone else?"

"I'll check. HEY! Everyone! Headcount!"

Charming's voice rang out. "I'm alright. Mary Margaret?"

"We're fine."

"Both of us. Henry?"

No answer.

"HENRY?"

Still nothing.

A surge of people into the tunnel. And lying on the ground, just a little way down the path, was a backpack.

As expected.

"...Emma, what is it?"

"He took him."

She turned to me, fire in her eyes.

"You knew. You knew Greg would take him."

"I suspected. There's a difference."

"Why? What aren't you telling us?"

"Rest assured, all will become clear, once we get to the water. I believe we have a dramatic exit to spoil."


"Relax, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Just everyone I love. You tried to blow up Storybrooke!"

"True, but that was never the point."

"It wasn't?"

"We came here to destroy the magic in this town, Henry, but then we found something more important. Something that changed everything...you."


"What if Jayne misses?"

"He won't."

"What if he hits, and Greg still gets away?"

"Then I guess we'll track him down in Hell, won't we?"

"There!"

Yep. There. Greg, and Henry.

"He has a bean!"

"He's opened a portal."

"TEMPLAR!"

My shout halted Greg in his tracks.

"That is who you work for, isn't it? The Templars? Abstergo Industries?"

He shouted back. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you've given any thought to alternative employment. I mean, Abstergo already burned to the ground. What's left of the Templars can't be far behind, considering all the Assassins wandering about nowadays."

He sneered. "Something we will soon rectify. It has become increasingly clear that to kill magic, you have to use magic."

"But you don't have any, mate."

"So? With this brat here, we can get all the magic we need."

"Really? You think Pan will hold up his end of the deal?"

His face turned white. "How do you…"

"Doesn't matter."

"...Agreed. I'll make Pan give me what I want, one way or another. Then magic here will finally die!"

"The dead body of a certain marathon-runner might disagree with you."

A hiss. "That's impossible. She can't be dead. It would take…"

"Me. All it took...was me."

My visor clicked into place, and I could see the recognition, followed swiftly by the horror.

"That's all it ever took. It was me that laid waste to your pathetic cause. It was me that collapsed your empire overnight. It was me that killed each and every single one of you abominations I found. It was me. And now I'm here to finish the job."

"...You're unarmed!"

I took a step forward. "Never."

"...Go ahead. Finish me. But soon, it'll be Pan that finishes you!"

He jumped, pulling Henry with him.

*BANG*

I could see his head twist as the bullet hit. A perfect shot, as I knew it would be.

And now Henry was on his way to Neverland, with no pesky Templars to barter him for power.

Excellent.

"Henry!"

"Henry!"

"No! No, no! We have to follow them!"

"Him. Just Henry. Greg is dead."

"How do you know?!"

"He knows I don't miss. Boss."

"Jayne. Good job."

"Thanks. Here's your gun back. Balances nice, but I prefer something bigger."

"Of course you do."

"Why are you talking about guns?! My son, just fell through a portal, to whoever this Pan is! We can't just let him take Henry!"

"They've taken Henry?"

Cue the entrance of Belle and…

"You're the Dark One! Do something!"

"There's no way. I spent a lifetime trying to cross worlds to find my son. There's no way in this world without a portal."

"Huh, hum."

Charming's hand was raised in the air, holding a certain bag.

"Will magic beans do?"

"...That'll do nicely."

Belle pointed to the distance. "What's that?"

"...Hook."


"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Helping."

"Well, you're late."

"Am I?"

"...I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself."

"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could."

"Enough waiting around, let's go."

"Go? Where? I thought we were saving the town?"

"We already did."

"We need to get to Henry. He fell through a portal that Greg made."

"Well, I offer my ship and my services to help follow them."

"Well, that's great Hook, but how do we track him?"

"We don't."

Everyone's focus turned to me.

"I know where he is. And it's a place I'm sure that neither Mr. Gold nor myself hold any love for."

"...Well? Where?"

"I'll tell you on the ship. Get everything you could possibly need for a jungle; cause we're sailing smack into one."


"So, are you done trying to kill me?"

"I believe so."

"Good. Then you can live. How about it, Time Lord? What unfortunate place has my grandson found himself in?"

I cleared my throat.

"...Neverland."

A long, awkward silence.

"...So that's who they were working for."

"Indirectly, yes."

"Who? Who are we up against?"

"Greg and Tamara were merely pawns…"

I muttered. "I wouldn't exactly say that…"

"...Manipulated by forces far greater than they can conceive."

"Now that, I would say exactly."

"They had no idea who they were truly working for."

"And who's that?"

"Someone we should all fear...Peter Pan."

Duh duh duh.

Big reveal, I know. But my mind was occupied with other things right now.

Like how we should have been back on the Serenity by now, watching more arm-wrestling. But then the Templars just had to show up, and now we were headed to Neverland to ensure Peter Pan was unable to follow through on whatever deal he had made with them. And, more importantly, find out how they had met. Henry's rescue was already assured, so that was one less thing, thankfully.

In the time since I had woken up, I had become increasingly aware of something else that required my attention: the magic I had absorbed. Magic in this realm seemed to have relatively few effects on Time Lords; Rose was proof of that. The worst that was possible was a power overload, followed by a release. Just as had happened. Or so I thought.

At the very center of a black diamond was a speck that was pure Gallifreyan, and it was through that it had been converting magic to destroy Storybrooke's connection to this world. And I had taken that converted energy into my body. Not enough to do any real harm, but still infinitely more capable of affecting me than just plain magic. And to top it all off, I had foolishly tried to contain the blast that Rose had released when She collapsed.

It had fed the spark I had already taken, and turned it into a raging inferno. I could feel it burning through me right now, changing, twisting, molding. Into what, I could make a fair guess. My DNA, once human, then Time Lord, was now becoming part Time Lord, part something else.

Part wizard.

Already I could feel the difference; whereas my sense of the world around had been that of a beautiful melody of Time and Space, now I could hear the harmony of Nature behind it. Magic was coursing through my veins now, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I really should have seen this coming. Fate was fond of foreshadowing. The fact that it was this world of all worlds that Storybrooke had latched onto was proof of that. Still, it wasn't like I was complaining. Perhaps it was time for even Time Lords to upgrade.

I grinned. "Yer a wizard, Harry."

"What was that, mate?"

"Oh, nothing Captain. Just planning."

"Right. I've been meaning to ask you: that gun of yours. Is it magical?"

"...You could say that, yes."

"How magical?"

"Magical enough that there's only five things it can't kill."

"Yeah? What are those?"

"Archangels, Arch-demons, Leviathans, God Himself, and...Darkness. Sorry mate. It won't help you with your Crocodile problem."

"That's not who I was planning to use it on."

"Ah. There's a thought; immortal Pan meets unstoppable bullet. Worth mulling over."

"Or trying."

"We'll see."

The portal loomed large in front of us now. I turned to face Hook fully.

"See you on the Flip Side, Captain."

"...See you."

We tipped over the edge. I took a deep breath.

"And way down we go."

There was a flash of green.

And then black.