Everybody gathered around an unlit campfire with Emma and Evie both standing in front of it, trying to concentrate.
"Focus. Concentrate." Regina urged the blonde woman and her teenage daughter.
"It's kind of hard when you're talking in our ears." Emma retorted with a firm frown.
"And when the wind blows or it's raining, or... someone's shooting arrows at you," Regina retorted as she circled around the two. "Yes, concentration's hard. That's the point. Find your anger and use it to focus. This isn't one of your chemistry tests from Mr. Deley, Evie. You have to channel it too."
"But Mom, isn't there a way to channel our magic without going dark?" Evie asked. "I don't really have a lot of rage."
"Everybody has anger, Evie," Regina advised and reminded her daughter. "Just look inside yourself and find it."
Evie frowned, though she did nod thoughtfully at her mother's advice.
"I agree with Evie," Emma soon said. "There has to be a way without going dark."
Regina scoffed slightly. "You're such a pathetic waste of ability."
"Mom!" Evie frowned.
"And you're a monster." Emma retorted.
"Emma..." Evie frowned at that.
Regina paused thoughtfully until she sensed something. "Smell that?" she then rhetorically asked Emma and Evie.
"What?" Emma demanded sternly.
Mary Margaret lifted her head up off of David's shoulder once they saw something new had happened due to Emma's sudden anger.
"Smoke." Regina pointed out and smiled proudly.
Emma soon turned around to look at the campfire which was now lit.
"Well, I guess at least she was able to be useful," Evie sighed. "Unlike me."
"Don't think like that, Evie," Regina advised her daughter. "You're plenty useful, especially when Henry was a baby."
Evie looked a little unsure, though she did nod about that since becoming a big sister was one of the proudest days of her life.
"This is a bad idea." David soon sighed quietly to Mary Margaret.
"They have it in them, they should learn to use it," Mary Margaret advised David. "We just have to trust them."
"Yeah, it's not Emma or Evie I don't trust." David replied thoughtfully.
"How about we make s'mores?" Evie soon suggested.
S'mores?" Carla and Harry repeated curiously.
"I'll show you," Evie smiled at them. "You know why they're called s'mores, right?"
Carla and Harry paused blankly before looking at each other.
"Because they're so good when you have one that you'll want 'some more'!" Carlos answered before laughing a little bit. "Carla, you'll love them. It comes with chocolate."
"...Well, I do like chocolate~" Carla admitted as she grinned about that due to discovering a taste and love for the sweetness of chocolate.
Killian suddenly came out from the bushes as Evie was concentrating on her magic to summon some graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows to educate Carla and Harry about s'mores since she and Carlos already knew about them.
"Hey, Dad. You wanna try a s'more? Evie was just about to make some." Harry greeted and asked his father.
"Maybe in a moment, son," Killian told him before he approached David and Mary Margaret suddenly. "We need to talk. Pan paid me a visit. He, uh... He told me that Neal is alive, that he's on this very island." he then told the other adults while Emma watched the fire.
"No. Emma saw him. He was shot," Mary Margaret frowned and reminded the adult pirate. "He fell through a portal. No one could survive that."
"Well, he did, and now he's here," Killian retorted. "He said he took him from this very camp while we were off in his cave." he then informed them.
"According to Pan, if he's telling the truth." Mary Margaret reminded.
"And, uh, why would he tell you?" David then asked the adult pirate. "What does he hope to gain?"
"Who knows why he does anything?" Killian sighed and replied. "He has his reasons, but it's a sure bet they're not good ones."
Mary Margaret then took a look, seeing something different about their campsite. "He's telling the truth. Tracks... and a scuffle," she then realized. "Someone was here while we were gone. We have to tell her."
"No, no, no. She already lost Neal once," David shook his head at his wife. "And if this is a game, we can't put her through losing him again."
"He's right," Killian agreed. "Either way, telling her is what Pan wants, which is why we shouldn't do it."
"You want to find him without letting her know?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Why hurt her unnecessarily?" Killian replied.
"I've never lied to her before." Mary Margaret frowned.
"You're not lying. You're just keeping a secret until confirmation." Killian clarified.
"Secrets always seem to keep us from the people we really care about." Mary Margaret defended.
"And sometimes secrets protect the people we love." David added as they looked over at Emma and the teenagers by the campfire.
Emma smiled a little once she saw what Evie, Carla, and Harry were doing.
"So you see, it's kinda like a sandwich." Evie was heard telling Carla and Harry as she made a s'more the old-fashioned way before she let Carla take it and try it.
Carla accepted the treat and took one first bite before her eyes widened and she smiled, going to have a few more bites.
"Now you try." Evie then told Harry, showing him the graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.
"If you can do it, then I can too." Harry chuckled as he began to try to see what he could do.
"I better save one for Dee Dee too," Evie then said thoughtfully. "She might like one too."
The adults soon got ready to head out and start their new quest in Neverland.
"If we're gonna hide this, we need a good cover story." Mary Margaret advised the two men.
"Done." David reassured her.
"That's no problem." Killian added.
"Where you guys going?" Emma soon asked as she approached them while eating a s'more.
"Firewood./To get water." David and Killian replied at the same time.
Emma glanced at them rather suspiciously. "Guys, what's going on?" she then asked.
Mary Margaret looked like she couldn't hold it in much longer despite not much time passing by. "Neal's alive." she then confessed.
David and Killian then gave her looks for spilling the beans like that.
"...Neal i-is... Alive?" Emma asked, surprised and alarmed.
"...Maybe," Mary Margaret replied before looking back at the two men who flashed her looks for exposing the secret. "Sorry, she deserved to know." she then defended.
"What's going on around here?" Regina soon asked.
Killian sighed in defeat. "It's sort of a long story." he then said.
"Well, you might as well tell all of us since we're all here," Evie spoke up. "I just hope that Dee Dee will be okay with Tinkerbell and Miss Smee in the meantime."
"I'm sure they'll be fine, Evie," Regina replied. "Besides, it's in Dee Dee's bloodline to be protected by a fairy since her parents were protected and guided by The Sugarplum Fairy."
"The Sugarplum Fairy? So you know her story too, Mom?" Evie then asked.
"Why, of course," Regina replied. "Your grandmother often took me to Parthenia for special parties, especially for the Capulet family."
"The Capulet family? As in... Juliet Capulet?" Evie asked before looking surprised. "Boy... This fairy tale universe sure is expanded, isn't it?"
"Well, it at least explains that dance school hosted by The Swan Princess and Dee Dee being the daughter of Clara and The Nutcracker Prince." Emma commented.
"Totally." Evie nodded at that.
Eventually, more was explained to the teenagers and Regina about Neal being alive and how Killian talked with Peter in the woods while getting firewood with Harry and Carla.
"I thought I whiffed that annoying pixie boy." Harry firmly pouted and narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Harry." Killian replied tenderly, knowing how Peter Pan was sort of terrifying to his son.
"This is a waste of time," Regina soon scoffed. "He's toying with us."
"I don't think so. Look," Mary Margaret replied as she took a closer look. "More scuffling. Someone was definitely resisting."
"How do we know that means Neal?" Emma asked curiously.
"Well, then someone was fighting for his life." Mary Margaret defended as she pointed deep in the dirt to show stray marks that she found.
"Are you really going to fall for this?" Regina scoffed as she began to storm off in annoyance. "Fine. You wanna follow the Evil Munchkin's dirt road? Be my guest."
"Wait. Where are you going?" Emma asked urgently.
"To save our son." Regina replied firmly.
"Mom, we need to stick together." Evie reminded her mother.
"No, we don't," Regina scoffed and laughed sarcastically in response. "You may be prepared to risk Henry's life over some heartbroken fool's errand, but I'm not. I'm tired of waiting around." she then added as she kept walking off.
Emma frowned before she looked over at the others in concern. "What if she's right? Pan could be lying." she then spoke softly.
"Just because it seems too good to be true doesn't mean it is. Don't give up," Mary Margaret advised her daughter as Regina continued to walk away, refusing to let anyone or anything stop her. "You owe it to Henry to find out if his father's still alive, and you owe it to yourself."
Evie frowned thoughtfully and looked around.
"Are you going after your mother, Evie?" Carla asked.
"Part of me feels that I should, yes," Evie explained and nodded. "Just to keep an eye on her and maybe talk to her about this whole situation."
"Well, you'll have better luck than any of us will," Mary Margaret replied. "Maybe it's for the best that you do go after your mother."
"Thank you, Ms. Blanchard," Evie nodded. "We're still going to work together, but I'll probably have to try to talk her into it first."
"Well, once again, you'll have better luck than the rest of us will," Mary Margaret told the teenage girl. "We'll catch up with you later."
"Thank you." Evie nodded as she then walked off and began to follow her mother.
MEANWHILE...
Peter was spying on Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Harry, Carlos, and Carla who were heading through the woods as he secretly watched them through a telescope. "Look at them go. So determined to find their missing friend." he then noted mockingly.
"Speaking of that friend... What should we do with Neal?" Felix soon asked.
"It's time to move him. Take him to the Echo Caves." Peter informed him.
Felix then gestured to several Lost Boys, signaling for them to lower Neal's cage.
"The game is about to get interesting." Peter then added darkly.
"And what do we do about your missing mermaid who has aligned herself with Codfish Jr?" Felix then asked, referring to Carla and Harry.
"Let them go for now... They won't get much far anyway, especially with that little puppy betraying me and her sisters in Mermaid Lagoon," Peter replied with a smirk. "It'll definitely get interesting for her later as well."
Meanwhile, Rumple was shown to be looking down at an old doll in his hands with Belle beside him as he had a lot going on in his mind right now.
"You don't know what to do, do you?" Belle asked softly.
"No, I don't." Rumple admitted.
"Come home to Storybrooke." Belle then told him.
"And just leave... Henry, my family behind?" Rumple asked.
"Come with me, and we can start a new family. Our own family," Belle replied thoughtfully as she reached out and stroked his hair a little. "That's what I want. Don't you?"
Rumple looked away before turning away from her charms. "No, you... you can't want anything. You're just a figment of my subconscious." he then retorted.
'No. No. I'm really here. Take my hand. Believe in our love, and we can go back. Take it, Rumple. Please. Come home to me." Belle urged him only to suddenly start choking.
Regina was shown to be approaching the two as she had her hand stretched out and was choking Belle with her magic as Evie also came behind her mother. "Enough of this." The black-haired woman scoffed.
"Regina!" Rumple cried out.
"Are you really going to fall for this?" Regina scoffed at Rumple.
"Rumple, st-stop her." Belle choked and gasped.
"Don't listen to her." Regina then told Rumple.
"What are you doing?" Rumple demanded.
"Showing you the truth." Regina explained as she made Belle fall to the ground with a groan.
"No!" Rumple soon cried out.
Belle was then consumed by a cloud of smoke and it was revealed to actually be Pan's shadow, which then flew away.
"We're sorry, Mr. Gold, but Mom had a bad feeling about this, so now you have to see," Evie told her best friend's father. "Look who you're really dealing with." she then pointed out the shadow to him.
"Pan..." Rumple murmured with wide eyes and realization as the shadow flew away.
"There's gotta be some way to stop that shadow." Evie said to her mother.
"Hopefully we can figure that out too, my dear," Regina replied to her daughter before seeing Rumple's reaction to what just happened. "What is this? Amateur hour? Did you really believe that was Belle?" she then asked as she faced the former imp.
"Why are you both here?" Rumple demanded to the mother and daughter.
"Well, for starters, it appears we're saving your ass," Regina replied firmly. "You were about to be Pan's lunch."
"Oh, what do you care?" Rumple scoffed in response.
"Mr. Gold, you're my best friend's father, you were like an uncle to me, of course I care about you." Evie reminded him gently.
"And I care because I've been camping with the Charmings for a week and getting nowhere," Regina added, sounding a bit bitter in tone. "If we're gonna get Henry, we need you. We need Rumplestiltskin."
"Well, the problem, dearies, is that Rumplestiltskin can only stop Pan by dying." Rumple retorted.
"You're not gonna die at anyone's hands but my own. We're the two most powerful practitioners of magic who have ever lived," Regina countered easily. "The Evil Queen and The Dark One joining forces? Your son and my daughter were very good friends even if they had a falling out in middle school. I'd say we can find another way to handle one smug teenager."
"You had to bring up the falling out." Evie sighed and frowned.
"Sorry, Evie, nothing personal." Regina reassured her daughter.
"You've never faced him. I have," Rumple retorted to both of them. "And I know what killing him requires. And that is my life."
Regina groaned, looking thoughtful as she tried to stay positive for her daughter's sake. "Well, as much as I want to, maybe we don't have to kill him. If that's the case, then... Maybe we can find another way... something to contain him, some other fate." she soon suggested.
"A fate worse than death?" Rumple guessed.
Regina smirked at that. "Now we're talkin'. There's my malevolent imp," she agreed. "Is there a spell you know? Something we can enact?" she then asked.
"No, but back in my shop, I might have just the thing." Rumple replied.
"Well, why didn't you bring it with you in the first place?" Regina glared and complained.
"Because I came here to kill him and die in the process!" Rumple told her rather firmly.
"Well, I could've told you that wasn't gonna happen," Regina laughed. "You forget, dear. I've known you a long time. I know all about your survival instincts." she then reminded.
"Yeah, well, they just kicked in." Rumple scoffed in response.
"Good. So now we just need a change of plans," Regina said. "We need to get back to your shop, pick up this magical item, and then all of our problems are solved."
"Crossing realms? Is that all?" Rumple asked rather cynically.
"Yes. That's all." Regina nodded.
"Well, I would suggest giving Ben a call, but apparently Neverland has pretty bad cell reception," Evie shrugged in response. "How else are we gonna get what we need from your shop, Mr. Gold?" she then asked.
"I'm not sure actually, dearie," Rumple sighed. "This might be one thing that Rumplestiltskin can't even solve or fix."
Evie frowned in concern about that.
"Rumplestiltskin, maybe, but The Evil Queen might also have a way." Regina then spoke up.
"Oh?" Evie asked her mother.
"If you trust your mother who knows best, you'll come with her." Regina told her daughter.
"Well, what else have I got to lose?" Evie shrugged and replied before she followed her mother and best friend's father away from the jungle and over to the beach of Neverland.
Regina smirked at that and they soon continued along a certain path.
Meanwhile, the group continued along and they soon made it outside a certain cave in Neverland.
"The tracks lead directly into that cave," Mary Margaret pointed out. "This must be where Pan is keeping Neal."
"If the cave is some sort of prison, why aren't there any guards posted to stop us?" David wondered.
"Because this prison doesn't require guards." Killian replied knowingly.
"Echo Cave, Dad?" Harry asked.
"Aye, son. Echo Cave." Killian nodded in confirmation to his son.
"You know it?" Carlos asked the adult pirate.
"All too well. I lost half my crew inside those rock walls," Killian explained to them. "The only way to rescue someone from inside is to reveal a secret."
"A secret? That's all?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Your darkest secret. Echo Cave derives its name from an old saying... 'The deeper the lie, the more truth in its echo'," Killian clarified and explained a bit more. "The cave demands that you reveal a truth about yourself. A secret you would never admit to anyone."
"This is ridiculous." Emma scoffed at that information.
"Don't kill the messenger, luv." Killian defended.
"Even if we spill our guts, how do we know Neal's still alive in there?" Emma asked.
"Because this is what Pan wants," Harry realized thoughtfully. "He wants us to rescue him."
"Why?" David wondered.
"So that we reveal our secrets," Killian replied as he agreed with his son. "He believes once we do, our secrets will destroy us."
Mary Margaret looked thoughtful and emotional about that as though something from her past just then decided to haunt her that night. However, just near the Echo Cave, they ran into two familiar faces suddenly.
"Lonnie?" Carlos asked, surprised at the sight of the Imperial warrior's daughter.
"Goldie?" Emma added.
Goldie and Lonnie then turned around once they saw that they had company.
"Oh. Hey, guys." Lonnie greeted innocently and casually.
"'Hey, guys'? Pretty casual greeting for a place like this." Carlos remarked as he crossed his arms.
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Lonnie shrugged in defense before looking at the boy. "Carlos, where did you and Jay go? You just disappeared on us."
"They heard the music, kid; it's not their fault." Goldie reminded the teenage girl.
"Music?" Emma asked.
"Aye... That's a very long story as well." Killian replied.
"So where's Jay if you're here, Carlos?" Lonnie soon asked the freckled boy.
"...We thought maybe he was with you?" Carlos replied out of confusion. "Sorry, I don't really remember much of anything before I ended up finding the others in this group along with this girl, Carla."
Carla nodded her head in greeting as she waved at Lonnie and Goldie.
"God... This is worse than I thought... He could be being tortured by Pan as we speak." Goldie gulped nervously.
"Though speaking of being tortured by Pan, we were about to come through these Echo Caves that Hook told us about," Emma soon explained to Lonnie and Goldie. "Maybe after we come through here, we can try to help find Jay along with Henry?" she then suggested.
"If he'll even still want to help us." Goldie murmured a bit.
"Huh? What do you mean by that, Goldie?" Lonnie asked the other blonde woman.
"Pan gets inside your head and once he makes you his, it's very hard to escape him... And I should know," Goldie frowned thoughtfully. "So what's going on in Echo Caves?" she then asked.
The others soon began to explain to Goldie that they found out that Neal was alive and he was placed inside the cave as a prisoner.
"...Whoa," Goldie whispered with wide eyes. "N-Neal is alive...?" she then asked as a small smile crept onto her face.
"Apparently he is and we need to help him." Killian nodded at her.
"Come with us, Goldie," Emma invited the other blonde woman. "Then we'll see what we can do about Jay before it's too late."
"I doubt that, but okay... I'll help you out." Goldie nodded.
"Glad to have you aboard then, Goldilocks," Emma replied before she muttered to herself. "Add that to the list of things I never thought I would say."
"Please, call me Goldie," Goldie replied. "My friends call me that after all."
Emma had a small smile at that before they continued inside Echo Caves to see what they had to do next in their adventure.
Moving forward, on the other end of the cave, locked in a cage and unreachable because of a gap in the cave floor, was Neal. "Emma!" he soon called out from afar.
"Neal." Emma whispered in shock.
"It must be a hundred feet across." Mary Margaret guessed.
"What do we do now?" Lonnie wondered. "There's gotta be some way we can help save him, right?"
"Even if we fashioned some sort of rope, there's nothing to attach it to," David remarked. "No way to swing over."
"So what do we do?" Evie then asked the adult pirate.
"I told you what needs to be done. Consider this the moment of truth, literally," Killian replied and reminded her. "Now... who wants to kick things off?" he then prompted the others.
"So, what?" Emma then asked. "Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?"
"I don't know the particulars, only what I've been told and what I told my son." Killian replied.
"Well, how do you know it'll work, Dad?" Harry asked.
Killian soon took a deep breath and turned to face Neal. "There's only one way to find out, I suppose," he then said before he turned back to face everyone. "I kissed Emma." he then admitted.
Emma soon rolled her eyes at what was suddenly said while the teenagers had wide eyes suddenly.
"You did what?" David asked, acting like a typical father about his daughter kissing a boy.
"David, now is not the time." Mary Margaret chided her husband.
Killian then looked around, looking like he was expecting something to happen, but nothing seemed to change in Echo Caves.
"I already told Mary Margaret and Evie, so technically it's not a secret, but it was just a kiss," Emma soon told Killian. "How's that your darkest secret?" she then asked.
"It's what the kiss exposed," Killian explained softly. "My secret is, I never thought I'd be capable of letting go of my first love... of my Milah... to believe that I could find someone else that is, until I met you."
The ground then suddenly quaked, nearly knocking them all off balance until a large chunk of rock grew from the floor, forming a partial bridge to reach the part of the cave where Neal was. Carla nearly fell on her back until Harry swooped in to catch her, making them both smile at each other and look away while blushing.
"Uh... Mary Margaret..." David soon spoke up as he decided to speak next.
"No, no, no. Me next. Ever since the curse broke, since we found each other, since we found Emma... And all of that happiness, there is something I haven't wanted to admit," Mary Margaret stopped him and decided to tell her own secret. "Our daughter is a beautiful, smart, amazing woman whom I love very much, and of whom I could not be more proud, but she's all grown up. And... As much as I wanna pretend I'm okay with that, I'm not. We missed it, David. Everyone else was able to grow up with and raise their own descendants, but we didn't get a chance to properly tell Emma about how to be the daughter of Snow White. What we have with her is unique, but it's not what I wanted. We were cheated out of everything... her first step, her first word, her first smile. We missed it all."
"What are you saying?" David asked her tenderly.
"When we get off this island and get back to Storybrooke, I want another go at it," Mary Margaret explained. "I wanna have another baby."
The ground then quaked again, causing the bridge to extend yet again.
"All right, now we're getting somewhere." Harry remarked and nodded.
"Just a little further." Carlos added.
"Nothing in this world would make me happier, and I know with all my heart that you would make... An amazing mother," David told Mary Margaret emotionally. "But it can never happen... At least not with me."
"What?" Carlos and Carla frowned in concern at that.
"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked as she also frowned.
"When Hook, Harry, and I went to search for the sextant, Hook was really taking me to find a cure." David began to explain to her.
"A cure for what?" Mary Margaret demanded.
"Dreamshade." David confessed softly.
Mary Margaret looked thoughtful until she realized something. "The Lost Boys, the arrow... you pushed me out of the way-" she then started to add to him.
"I wasn't fast enough. I was hit," David interrupted as he revealed some more. "Hook was able to find a cure, but it comes at a price. I can't leave Neverland. If I do, I'll die." he then concluded.
The bridge then finished forming, allowing anyone to walk across.
"Wow..." Lonnie whispered. "Mr. Nolan, that's pretty messed up."
"You don't gotta tell me that, Lonnie." David replied.
Emma soon unsheathed her sword and carefully walked across. Halfway across, when she was sure it was sturdy, she began to run the rest of the way until it looked like she was about to fall until Goldie was suddenly right behind her and caught her. Emma looked over and smiled at that, causing Goldie to smile back before they walked across the rest of the way together and once they made it there, they bent down to face Neal together.
"You okay?" Emma asked Neal softly.
"Yeah... But Henry..." Neal replied softly.
"I... It's okay. We're gonna take care of him. Just need to get you out of there first." Emma said before she took out her sword.
"Uh, Swan? That's not gonna-" Goldie started to say only for Emma to try to hack through the bamboo bars only for there to be no damage, causing her to face-palm. "Work..." she then finished with a defeated sigh.
"Wha... Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma!" Neal soon called out, eventually getting her to stop what she was doing "You know that's not how this works. It's okay. You can tell me anything." he then reminded her.
"He's right, we told you the rules of this cave," Goldie told Emma. "Secrets only."
Emma sighed and nodded once she realized that was right. "When I heard you might be here, and that you might still be alive, I knew I should be happy, but I wasn't. I was terrified," she soon confessed to Neal. "I didn't understand why until now. From the moment I saw you in New York, in the instant you stepped back in my life, I knew. I knew I'd never stopped loving you. And before I even had a chance to take a breath, I... I lost you once more, and all that pain that I had pushed down for all those years, it just came... rushing back, and I... I didn't know if I could go through it again. I love you. I probably always will. But my secret... Is that I was hoping that this was a trick. I was hoping you were dead... Because it would be easier for me to put you behind me than to face all the pain that we went through all over again."
Goldie bit her lip before flinching and then smiling once she saw what happened next. The bars of the cage dissolved and Neal came out to hug Emma once he was finally free. Neal smiled as he hugged Emma before he saw Goldie and then waved at her. Goldie shrugged and wave back at the man with a weary smile as he began to get out of his hug with Emma.
"I believe I have something that you might wanna see, Goldie." Neal soon said as he began to reach into his pocket.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Goldie asked curiously.
"I was told to give this to you." Neal explained as he showed the old stuffed fox he was given back in Misthaven.
Goldie looked at the stuffed fox with wide eyes before she took it instantly. "Reynard..." she then whispered as she examined the old toy before looking at Neal in utter shock. "...Where did you find him?"
"Robin gave it to me... Robin Locksley, your brother." Neal revealed to her.
Goldie's eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"Your brother never stopped trying to find you, Goldie... Like when my father was trying to find me after we got separated when I was a boy," Neal said. "I don't know how or when, but I think you wanna see your big brother again, don't you, Goldie?"
"I do... I miss my brother very much," Goldie admitted and nodded. "I hate that I got mixed up with Peter Pan and he manipulated my emotions to get me to run away from Sherwood and work for him and lead me right to you."
"I'm a litte angry that you tried to trick me like Tamara, Goldie, but I think I know how we can make it up to each other." Neal replied.
"Right... Let's get out of this cave." Goldie suggested with a firm nod.
"Right." Emm and Neal agreed.
And with that, they soon left Echo Cave once Neal was able to join them in freedom. "Thank you." he then said once they emerged outside.
"Well, don't thank us yet. We still have to save Henry." David reminded the other man.
"We found your star map, so the real question is, do you know how to get off this island?" Harry informed and then asked.
"Well, if we can find Henry, I can get us home." Neal replied.
Killian nodded at that. "Let's go get Tinkerbell and... retrieve the boy." he then suggested as he, Mary Margaret, David, and the teenagers walked ahead.
"You guys coming?" Goldie asked Emma and Neal.
"Yeah, we'll be there in a sec." Emma reassured the other woman.
Goldie nodded at that as she continued to walk away.
"You all right?" Emma soon asked Neal once they were alone together.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Neal replied softly.
Emma frowned in concern. "About what I said-" she then started to say.
"Hey. Hey, Emma, it's okay." Neal cut her off softly.
"No, it's not. I wish I could change how I feel more than anything, but... I can't," Emma said to him. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. After everything I've put you through, you don't ever have to apologize to me about how you feel," Neal reassured her and tried to cheer her up a little. "Hey, I'm glad you told me. I have a secret, too, Emma. I'm never gonna stop fighting for you. Never."
Emma smiled a little at that as he walked away. Meanwhile, Killian was hiding behind a bush and happened to have listened to the entire conversation.
"Look, I know I should've told you..." David spoke up to his wife shyly.
"Don't. Just... not now." Mary Margaret told him suddenly.
Lonnie frowned about that as they continued to walk off together.
Meanwhile, on the beach of Neverland, Regina, Evie, and Rumple were walking along the shore and Regina stopped once she saw a conch shell and picked it up.
"If you think summoning a giant squid is the answer, I've already tried that." Rumple scoffed at Regina.
"Oh, you've had fun, haven't you?" Regina smirked at him. "I have no intention of ordering calamari."
"Giant squid?" Evie asked out of confusion.
"Let this be a lesson to you, young Evie," Rumple said to the blue-haired girl. "Squid ink acts as a weakness to magic."
"You mean like Kryptonite?" Evie then asked.
"...Yes, I suppose I do." Rumple agreed even though he wasn't sure what exactly he was agreeing to.
Regina rolled her eyes at him before she blew into the conch to summon a certain sound. Evie looked around before looking into the water with wide eyes. There was a mermaid floating in the water who had a grumpy look on her face and she had crimson hair with aqua blue eyes.
"Whoa... She looks just like..." Evie whispered to herself until she was about to be shocked even more.
"Hello, Ariel. Long time." Regina greeted the mermaid.
"What?" Evie gasped at her mother. "Ariel?!"
"Yes... As in The Little Mermaid, my dear..." Regina nodded and confirmed to her daughter.
"It's true mermaids can travel across realms, but they can't be trusted." Rumple said to Regina.
"This one can," Regina smirked. "We have history together."
"Well, that would explain the distasteful look on her face." Rumple smirked back.
Regina narrowed her eyes before facing the mermaid with a smirk. "And now she's going to help us." she then decided.
Ariel firmly pouted and seemed to mouth "no" at that.
"Oh, right, your voice." Regina realized before she waved her hand to allow The Little Mermaid to speak again.
Ariel glared and soon spoke to The Evil Queen. "Why would I help you?" she then asked in a huff.
"Because I can give you what you want," Regina replied as she brought out her hand to show a certain bracelet in Ariel's hand. "I can give you legs, Ariel, and this time, control over them, but more importantly, I can give you what you need most."
"What?" Ariel demanded sternly.
"The place I'm sending you... among its residents... is your Prince Eric and Princess Melody." Regina soon revealed to The Little Mermaid.
"Melody? You mean..." Ariel began to ask.
"Yes... Your daughter..." Regina nodded.
"What?!" Evie gasped as she was in even more shock.
Ariel looked tempted and hopeful. "What's the name of this place?" she then asked.
"Storybrooke." Regina informed once it was then time for Ariel to go and carry out her mission.
"The Little Mermaid is Melody's long-lost mother?" Evie whispered to herself. "That explains so much."
