ALISON

by TemperanceTales

So many people wait around for a new story to be written, for a better one to be told. They wish and dream, hoping that one day that this can been their own story. I feel this is foolishness; Only you can make your story. So get out there and do it. My name is Alison Kinsleigh and this is my story.

72. Season 3: Hollow

TemperanceTales: I do not own once upon a time and I give full credit to the creators. So remember how I said that this chapter would be easy because it was half done. Guess what happened? The computer it was on crashed. And deleted all my files that were on it. Including this chapter. And so I got another one. And it crashed again. But this time I have saved on something that is not the computer. But all my computer problems keep delaying this. But I will keep writing! So please, enjoy our little trip just in time for Halloween. :)

Chapter Seventy-Two: Hollow

The night was cold. The snow billowing around the town kept everyone snuggled into their coats and hats. The town houses were lit dimly with lanterns and candles. One man was struggling down the path, holding bags and maps and scrolls in his hand. He was hurrying along the sidewalk only to slow his pace when he heard one of the women across the way shout, "Ichabod! Ichabod Crane!"

The man looked across the street to see the group of women. One woman caught his attention, her brown curls and fair face making his heart melt. Her overcoat and dress fit her beautifully, making her seem even more enchanting than he could possibly imagine. The other woman continued walking even when she stopped. She was looking at him with a bright smile as she said, waving her muff in the air, "Hello! How were the children today?"

"The same as they always are Katrina," he called back, smiling warmly at her.

"What a shame," laughed Miss Katrina, "I'm sure you'll straighten them up soon."

"Katrina! Please hurry! We must get to the tavern before our toes freeze!"

"Hold on one moment." Katrina pleaded to her friends. She looked across the street hopefully as she said, "Won't you come with us to the tavern? I would love to hear another one of your stories."

"I'm afraid not tonight. I've some work to finish," he said apologetically.

Katrina looked sad but was distracted by her friends calling her again. She waved before hurrying after them down the street towards the tavern. He was so distracted watching her that he did not pay any heed to whoever was coming his way. A group of men passed him by, one of which purposefully knocked the scrolls out of his hand.

"Watch it, Ichabod Crane," the man boomed loudly, "You almost ruined my coat with your school teacher filth."

"I-I am sorry Brom," muttered Crane, picking up his things.

"You should be," Brom huffed. His eyes wandered across the street, to where he saw the ladies heading towards the tavern. He grinned arrogantly as he boomed, "Let's go gents! We have some gentle ladies to woo and some warm nights to be had."

The men whooped loudly, walking down the street hastily towards the tavern. Crane sighed bitterly, picking up all the things and hurrying down the street. He could feel his neck and ears burning, but not from the cold. It came from deep inside, the anger threatening to bubble to the surface. He turned and made his way up towards his room on the side of a brick house. He had made it to the top of the stairs when he heard a bark from below, "Crane! Where my rent money?!"

"Ah!" Crane looked down to see his landlord standing by an open door on the ground floor. "Mr. Gossmier. I-I forgot it was the 19th. I-I'll, I'll leave it with Mrs. Gossmier first thing in morning."

"You won't leave nothing with my wife, you flirtatious school boy!" Mr. Gossmier thundered only to get swatted by his wife's oven mit.

"Leave 'im alone, you prideful pig," She huffed, pushing her husband back into the house, "That poor Mr. Crane does not need your jealous whining!"

"Don't tell me what to do woman! I am the man of this house-!"

"Oh, sure, you're such a man alright! Sleeping all morning and not sparing me a lick of your attention," huffed Mrs. Gossmier. She looked up at Crane, who flashed her a kind charming smile. She immediately smiled back with a strange glittering in her eyes as she said, "Oh don't you worry 'bout him, Mr. Crane. He's just grumpy because supper is a bit late."

"Oh I don't take any mind," Crane said, "I shall see you in the morning."

Crane hastily went inside his apartment, kicking the door closed. He immediately dumped his things on the tables. He lit the candles and spread out the maps and charts on the table. He crossed lines on the map, "If my calculations are correct, the moon should be in the sky at this time over the Northern peaks. Which means the portal will open right…"

He stabbed his quill pointedly at the midpoint triumphantly. "There. I've finally found you."

He hastily rolled up the map and dressed himself into dark clothes. He grabbed a strange looking riding crop out of the chest. There was a strange writing carved on the end of the handle. Gripping the handle, Crane said, "I will finally have the power I need."

---

There were the whispers again.

Alison was standing in the middle of the fog, the whispers so gentle and eerily sweet. The whispers may have been quiet, but unlike before they were clearer to understand. All the voices overlapped but she was able to discern the words "heartbreak", "compendium", "boy", and "protect". But what order they came in or the meaning behind them were at a loss to her.

"What do you want from me?!" Alison said, exasperated, "I don't understand you!"

"Then you must listen more carefully, little muse!"

The world rumbled and exploded in a whirl of red. The haunting laughter was back, the Fate of Death looming around her. Confusion was replaced with rage as she shouted, "Enough, Death! I'm tired of this childish boogie man act of yours! What do you want?!"

Alison gasped as she was knocked off her feet. Laughter faded into echos and hurricane worthy winds died into breezes. Alison found herself in a field tainted with hues of red as the Fate appeared himself before her, dressed in red garb and a plague mask to conceal his face. One would think that he was nothing more than a man.

But his overwhelming power keeping her in place told her otherwise. Alison swallowed, staring at him fearfully as he reached out his gloved hand. Tucking her hair behind her ear in an oddly gentle but eerie manner, Red Death said in a low calm voice, "A childish verse for a childish heart."

Red Death smacked her cheek, not overly hard but enough to startle her. He backed away from her as he said, "Since you mock me for it, I shall be blunt. You have a job unfinished. Kill the Queen to appease the fates long since ignored. Or I promise you, things will become very unpleasant for all!"

Alison gasped, sitting upright in her bed panting and sweating. It was still nighttime, the world still quiet. The moonlight lit the room, making her window almost glow silver. Ava was still sleeping soundly in the bed next to her, completely unaware that Alison was even awake. Quietly slipping out of the bed, Alison made her way over towards the window. Cracking the window open, a soft chill entered the room.

Ava grumbled in the bed, but once again did not awaken. Alison spared her a glance before looking back out the window.

Alison wasn't the type of person to tempt a fate, let alone one surrounded by such death. But what it was asking her to do…what he wanted...

"END THE CHEATER LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!"

Alison gritted her teeth. He was getting angry, and impatient. But what could she do? She couldn't just go around 'ending' people here. She didn't have that kind of political power here. For sure, if she killed the Queen of Hearts here, it would end many of the friendships she had made.

"And show everyone here exactly the type of person you are." The nagging dark little voice in her mind echoed. Alison bit her lip as she stared out the window. It was a lose-lose situation. If Alison tried to kill her (if she even wanted to), she would surely be punished for murder here. If she didn't, Death's wrath would be…

Catastrophic. Catastrophic would be the closest to the right word.

Why couldn't Red Death have killed her himself?

"Alison?"

Alison looked over her shoulder to see Gold standing in the doorway. He was still wearing a button up shirt and his black trousers from the daytime. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, stained from whatever he had been working on. He was frowning at her and his brown eyes questioning.

"What are you doing awake?" Gold asked, pointedly.

"I can't sleep," Alison said softly, "Nothing new."

Gold glanced towards the bed, seeing her friend sleeping soundly. He sighed, walking into the room and going over to the window. Seeing that it was open, Gold gave her a disapproving look before closing it shut.

"It's freezing outside," Gold scolded, locking the window, "I would never guess you were a Wonderlander with the amount of time you spend in the cold."

Alison shrugged sheepishly but didn't say anything. Gold tapped her nose with his finger as he said, "Come now. Crawl back into bed. I'll tuck you in before I head to bed myself."

Alison let out a small sigh, but slid off the window seat and crawled carefully back into bed. Ava grumbled a bit in her sleep but still didn't wake up. Gold glanced at her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"She does realize there are other bedrooms she can sleep in," Gold said, frowning in disapproval.

"She does," Alison said, laying back on the pillow and fiddling with her cat necklace around her neck, "She prefers to sleep here."

"Hmph," Gold made a face before looking back at Alison. He reached out, pushing her long hair out of her face, "And you wonder why you don't get any sleep."

"I don't wonder," Alison mumbled, letting go of her necklace to reach up and catch his hand. Gold looked at her questioningly as she examined his hand curiously. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before saying teasingly, "See something you like?"

"You've been using Dragon's flame," Alison said, frowning which caused Gold to quickly withdraw his hand. She looked at him puzzled, "What are you using that for?"

"Don't worry about it, Alison," Gold said briskly, avoiding her gaze.

Alison wrinkled her nose as she said, somewhat bitterly, "So we're back to that now. When are you going to stop this?"

"Stop what?" Gold said exasperated.

"Stop icing me out," Alison said, a touch angrily, "You get angry whenever I ask you about magic or try even using it. You don't tell me about things like Molly's dad building a secret vault or that Mother Gothel had dealings with you. And you just expect me to just sit here and smile and pretend that I don't see you being shady as-!"

"Alison Kinsleigh," Gold said, glaring at her coldly, "That's enough."

Alison couldn't stop the burning prickling in her eyes as he sighed. He stared back at the wall, wringing his hands together. He was quiet a moment before saying, "Believe me when I say, this is only to protect you."

"I don't," Alison said, her voice unsteady, "I don't believe you. If you were doing this to protect me, you would actually tell me these things so I know what I am dealing with."

"Alison, if I were to tell you about every deal that I made with every villain in this town, I would be here for more than a year," Gold said, testily, "I never thought for two seconds that you'd encounter Gothel because you were supposed to be keeping your nose out of things."

Alison sat up sharply, glaring with glassy eyes as she hissed ferociously, "I was only looking for a name! A name for a prince so that his wife wouldn't have to give birth by herself! I didn't know a powerful sorceress was waiting on the other end."

Ava shifted in her sleep, rolling further into the blankets. The two stopped dead in their conversation, looking over to make sure she hadn't woken up. After a few moments of silence, Gold let out a long sigh.

"Alison, please," Gold closed his eyes, as if he was trying to calm his growing temper, "I don't want to be fighting with you about this. I understand that the past few months have been anything but easy. But please just let me take care of this from here on out."

Alison watched him, her eyes glassy. She wanted to argue with him. She wanted to remind him that he wasn't the only Mage in the room and that she hadn't just been twiddling her thumbs in Wonderland for over 30 annuals. But she could feel his frustrated aura and it silenced her. He had just gotten back and the last thing she should be doing is making him angry with her. Laying down so she was facing away from him, Alison pulled the blankets up as far as she could so he couldn't see her face. She took a deep breath in and said in a tight voice, "Fine."

Gold let out a long sigh, before leaning over to kiss her head. He stroked her hair a moment before whispering, "I will see you in the morning."

Gold got up and left her then. Alison impatiently wiped her tears away as she grumbled determinedly, "No you won't."

---

Avenant stood on the shore line, waiting patiently as the waves crashed into the beach. The winter wind blew against him, but the cold did not sway him to leave. He needed confirmation and he needed it away from prying eyes.

A rather large wave crashed against the beach, threatening to crash against his feet. He made a face as he felt the familiar pull of the wind. He kept watching the sea before him as he said coldly, "Don't fool around. Did you finish what I asked you to do?"

The wind picked up again as a black mass swirled around in the air. It billowed towards the ground, causing sand to uplift everywhere. The black mass slowly formed into a cloaked figure of a man in a mask. Avenant didn't bother turning around as he asked, "Did you do as I asked?"

"Of course," Phantom drawled, "When do I not?"

Avenant scoffed at that but did not answer him. Instead he asked quite pointedly, "No survivors?"

"None," Phantom said, smoothly, "Whenever they find the Jolly Roger, all they will find is a graveyard."

"Good," Avenant said, "I can't have loose ends running about for the next stage in the plan."

"And what is this supposed plan of yours," drawled Phantom, "The one that seems to be in eternal limbo-!"

Avenant let out a low sharp whistle, echoing across the water. Phantom snarled, glowing teal cracks appearing on his face. The phantom crumpled to the ground as Avenant's whistling stopped abruptly. The cracks disappeared as the phantom gasped. Avenant didn't even bother to look at him as he said coldly, "Little pieces within a puzzle must be put in place to reveal the big picture. I will not rush just because others complain, especially a servant such as yourself."

"You promised me my freedom," growled Phantom.

"Freedom you will have," Avenant replied, "Once you have helped me get my revenge. So you owe me your obedience until then."

Phantom breathed in, his agitation apparent. Avenant didn't care in the slightest, walking away along the shore line. He waved his hand in the air, dismissing his servant of the night. The Phantom disappeared in a flurry of darkness, the wind blowing around. Avenant didn't seem to care as he made his way back towards the town. Fife was waiting for him in the park, laying on a park bench with a book over his face. Avenant made a face of annoyance as he purposefully grabbed the book and smacked him with it. Fife yelped, falling off the bench in surprise. Avenant glared at him as he said, "Get up boy. It's time to head back."

Fife rubbed his head as he mumbled sheepishly and obediently, "Yes, Professor."

Avenant looked at the cover of the book, wrinkling his nose in disapproval. Fife got up, brushing off his pants of dirt. Fife turned to his guardian, only to yelp as Avenant tossed his book back at him saying, "Why are you reading such a pointless book?"

"Alison gave it to me," Fife protested, as Avenant walked past him and down the park's path, "You know, the girl you told me to befriend and get close to."

"Be careful of your words," Avenant said coldly, "We are still in a public area."

"I'm sorry, Professor Avenant," Fife said immediately, following him. Avenant's eyes glittered darkly as he said, "Return that book as soon as you are done with it. I don't need your head filled with nonsense."

The water of the ocean splashed as the wolf climbed out of the water and onto the beach. It let out a low whine before shaking out its fur. Panting softly, the wolf lifted its head to stare up at the moon. She needed to find her. Before they realized she wasn't dead. Shaking off the excess water one more time before racing off into the forest.

---

The snow glistened in the moonlight night. The snow in the clearing remained undisturbed, the path that led between the peaks stiller than stone. The moon seemed so large in the night sky, looming over the path. Crane, who was hiding behind a tree, kept himself low and out of sight for what was to come. He gritted his teeth in nervousness, watching the scene before him.

It was finally time. Crane let out a slow, echoing whistle. He stopped allowing it to echo through the mountain range.

Only for nothing to happen.

He did it again, louder and cleared. His anxiety was making his heart beat a million miles an hour as he listened to the echo of the whistle die out.

"Please," he whispered ever so quietly, "Just come out already."

Just then, as if it had heard him, there was an echoing neigh.

Crane froze, watching in wonder as the scene before him seemed to move in the waves. It was as if a veil was being lifted, something unnatural taking place. His eyes were wide as he saw a horse with a brilliant black mane ride through the veil as if it was nothing. It jumped and neighed, his eyes glowing a brilliant gold. It was terrifying but wondrous to behold. Crane watched as the horse rode closer and closer… until…

"Got you," Crane said, yanking the cord he was holding.

The horse screeched a terrifying screech, nets coming up and tangling him. It struggled and lashed about, doing everything in his power to escape. Crane dashed out of his hiding place, racing through the heavy snow and pulling out the riding whip. The insignia glowed as he watched the horse struggle madly. Crane bit his lip as he said, "I'm sorry."

He slammed the handle of the riding crop against the horse's side. The horse wailed as Crane howled. He felt his hand burn but he dared not to let go. Not until they both were engulfed in the magic, binding them together. The ropes trapping him burned away in the magic but the horse did not attempt to flee. The horse stood, both of them now glowing gold. Crane staggered back, watching as the horse turned to him, staring with a fury in its eyes.

"So-So this," Crane said in awe and terror, "This is the great Arion… the fastest horse in all the realms..."

"And who are you, scrawny man," the horse spoke even though its mouth did not move. "To dare entrap me in this way."

"I-Ichabod Crane," he said, trying to stand up straighter to appear braver than he felt, "And you are now my servant, Arion."

"It will not end well for you," hissed the horse, "It did not end well for the man that came before you or the man that came before him. My magic is for the purest of the earth. Not for those with wicked intentions."

"If you deem my interests wicked, then so be it," Crane said, stoutly, "But you will obey me. I am your master, and you will do my bidding."

The horse let out a terrifying neigh, stomping its feet in fury. Ichabod flinched, but gripped the handle of the riding whip firmly. Arion seemed to concede miserably, finally bowing his head to the man before him. Ichabod said, "That's more like it. If you obey me without question, Arion, I will bring no harm to you."

The horse snickered at him disbelievingly as he said, "We shall see of that."

---

"You know, I'm pretty sure that any work done before seven in the morning should be compensated with endless coffee."

Emma and Piper were going down the street with coffee cups in hand. They were dressed for the cold weather and their walk brisk. The sun had barely risen over the horizon as they made their way towards the sheriff's station. Emma rolled her eyes as she said, "If only that was true. Besides, I don't think you should have any more black coffee. You have enough energy without it."

"I'm sorry, who's the one that gets up in the morning to go for a run? Certainly not this handsome face," Piper grinned, taking a sip of his coffee. Emma scoffed, rolling her eyes as Piper linked arms with her saying, "Besides, if we didn't have all this energy, how would we ever catch up to our son and his little group of friends. Especially Alison. She's faster than that horse of hers."

"Don't remind me," Emma said, walking along and staring around at the quiet town, "Hopefully with Gold and Belle back, things will be different…"

Piper watched Emma twist the coffee cup in her hand nervously. His smile vanished, his own worry shining through. Slowing their pace, Piper asked, "You're worried about it?"

"Hm? Oh," Emma said, distracted, "A little… she's just had such a hard run, you know? Recent stuff aside, being a foster kid in that place leaves you with a ton of baggage you know?"

"I get that," Piper said, gently, "But this is different. They've adopted her, they love her. Things may not be perfect but if the love is there, that's all that matters."

Emma gave him a suspicious look as she said, "Why do I feel like you are talking about more than just the kid?"

"That is because you are smart," Piper teased, playfully but then sombered up, "Look, I know talking with your parents is sometimes tough. But Emma, you have been waiting for them your whole life and they have been waiting for you."

"I know," Emma said uncomfortably, "But it's just hard. I'm almost a 30 year old woman and they treat me sometimes like I'm 3! Like what I have to say doesn't matter!"

"I don't think they mean to do it," Piper reasoned, "In fact, I think if you just talk to them and tell them how you're feeling, they'll change their tune."

Emma didn't answer, her pace slowing as she stared ahead. Piper looked at her questioningly. Emma frowned, cocking her head to one side as she said, "That can't be good."

"What?" Piper looked where she was looking to see Regina standing outside the sheriff station with a worried expression on her face. Piper groaned as he said, "I knew we should have gotten extra large coffees."

"Regina!" Emma quickened her pace, letting go of Piper's arm as she approached the woman, "What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

"Emma!" Regina said, looking towards her, "Henry texted me. He said you needed me and to meet you here."

"What are you talking about-?" Emma stopped in mid sentence as Piper shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Regina went from looking worried to looking annoyed as she said, "I think we need to discuss revoking our son's cell phone privileges."

"Yeah, I second that," Piper said, raising his coffee cup in the air. Emma looked towards the station to see the office light flick on. Frowning, she brushed past them both and made her way into the station. Regina and Piper followed behind quickly, exchanged exasperated looks. Emma made her way down the hallway as she said, "Kid, we need to talk about your shady ways of getting us in the same room! Especially since you have your own phone!"

Emma entered the main room to find Alison sitting on the deputy's desk. She was wearing a black sweater and skinny jeans with worn knees. Her brown boots went up a little past her ankles, tied tightly and neatly. Her hair was down, falling over her shoulders. Alison smiled brightly as she said, "Good morning to you too, Emma. And to think I even brought you a gift."

Alison gestured over to a chair where someone was tied up with a piece of tape over his mouth. Emma froze as Regina and Piper came into the room. Piper raised his brows as Regina was surprised. Emma looked pained as she said, "Kid, I seriously hope you didn't kidnap him!"

"Of course not!" Alison said cheerfully. She hopped off the desk only to walk over towards the man. He glared at her with icy blue eyes as she said, "He's a gift from Dad and Mom from Neverland. One that is going to help us figure out what The Queen of Hearts is up to."

She pulled the tape off of his mouth, causing him to swear in pain. Emma and Piper grimaced at her action while Regina raised her brows in intrigue. The man glared at Alison as she said, "Meet the annoying and perverted Captain Hook."

"Oh well isn't that a rude introduction," Captain Hook scowled, "And I seriously hope you didn't mar my handsome face with that stick rope of yours!"

Alison plopped down in his lap quite abruptly, purposefully hitting him. He grimaced as Alison said pointedly, "It's called tape, genius. You've been to this world before. You should know what that is."

"I don't care much for this world," Captain Hook replied tartly, "Nor do I care for you being in my lap."

"Awww," Alison said mockingly as she pushed back his hair harshly, "And here I thought you missed me, Killian Jones."

"Well it's hard to miss the girl who purposefully trapped me and my crew in the boiling sea," Captain Hook mocked right back.

"As if you weren't going to hand me over to the Knights of Hearts," Alison retorted back, "You used me to try and fill your pockets, I used you to get off the Isle. Get over it."

"Alright I hate to break up this bickering," Emma said, "But get back to the point kid. How is he going to help us?"

"Who said I was helping anyone," Captain retorted, a sly smirk coming on his face, "Even if you are a pretty lass."

"Oi," Piper said, his voice coming out cold. Captain Hook gave him a cruel smile only for Alison to punch his knee quite hard. He gritted his teeth as he groaned. Alison gave him an annoyed smile as she said, "Don't be a perv. Or I'll punch you somewhere it will really hurt."

"You know, you're a violent little lass, you know that!" Hook grimaced, "Even if I did know her plans, why in the world would I help you lot!"

"Because if you don't help us, you will have to take your chances with your former partner the Queen of Hearts," Alison said, sickly sweet, "You know, the woman who tried to kill you? And I'm sure Rumpelstiltskin would be less than pleased to find out that you are here."

Hook glared at her, but didn't say anything. Alison gave him a knowing look as she said, "You help us, we make sure you don't die. You don't, you're going to end up swimming with the fishes. Your choice."

Hook gave her a cheeky smirk as he said, "Still a fiery one, I see. What would your poor mother think, making a deal with me?"

Alison's foot slammed into Hooks' shin sharply, making him howl in pain. Regina looked amused as Emma watched in dismay. Piper just snorted and took another sip of his coffee as Alison said, "She would tell me to make sure I run you through the ringer and believe me, that's exactly what I plan to do, Captain Hook."

Alison got up from his lap and walked away from him. As she passed the three adults, she said, "He's all yours. Regina, I would put a spell on him to make sure he can't go very far before untying him."

"Oh, I plan too," Regina said, eyeing Hook dangerously. "But where are you going?"

Alison smiled up at them as she said, "Elsewhere. I have a Mayor to go visit. Fairfarren everyone!"

Alison disappeared in a whirl of smoke. Regina huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she said, "She's being a little spit this morning."

"Yeah," Emma said, warily, "Kind of makes me worried about why."

"Because she's a little brat," Captain Hook grumbled, "Always has been."

The three shot him a dirty look, only for him to give an infuriating smirk. Regina walked forward as she said, "Well it looks like we are going to be working together. Unless you would rather take your chances with my mother."

Captain Hook continued smirking as he said, lowly, "No, I think we have a bargain. Especially when working with you sounds so much more appealing."

Regina smiled coldly as she gripped his arm tightly. Hook grimaced as he felt pain shoot up his arm. Regina seemed unfazed as she said, "I'm not some bar floozy you can sweet talk Captain. Keep your eyes in your head and your comments to yourself or I will carve both eyes and tongue out myself."

Captain Hook glanced back at Emma and Piper, who seemed unwilling to interfere. Regina pulled her hand away, revealing a mark on his forearm. Regina stood up straight as she said, "This mark binds you. If you try to escape or harm us in any way, I will be able to kill you instantly. Do we have an understanding?"

Regina waved her hand, the restraints disappearing. Hook stretched his limbs as he said wickedly, "Ai, your Majesty. We do."

---

She forgot to shut the curtains last night.

Belle sighed softly, opening her eyes slightly. The light burned for a moment, making her rub her eyes in hopes they would adjust faster. The room finally came into focus, the morning dawn casting a cool glow on the room. Belle shifted, attempting to get up and out of the bed. However, an arm around her waist tightened, not allowing her to leave. Belle couldn't help but smile as Gold kissed her neck.

"Good Morning," Belle said softly.

"It would be much better if you stayed in bed," Gold growled, pulling her close and nibbling her ear. Belle couldn't help but giggle as she said, "Rumpel, we can't stay in bed all day. We need to make breakfast. Alison has to go to school."

"She's eleven, she can make her own," Gold mumbled grumpily, "Or I'll just call the school and tell them she's not going."

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Belle scolded, pulling away, "You are not going to have her skip school just because you don't want to get out of bed."

Belle got out of bed, reaching for her robe to cover her light grey nightgown. Gold watched her from bed lazily before sitting himself up muttering, "Seems like a perfectly reasonable request to me."

Belle gave him a pointed smile, only for him to give her his impish one. Rolling her eyes, she tied her robe shut as Gold asked softly, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes," Belle said, slipping her feet into her slippers, "I'm feeling just fine. I'm going to go down and make breakfast. I want to make sure she eats before she goes."

"Oh good luck with that," Gold grumbled. Belle shook her head, smiling exasperated as she made her way out of the room. She made her way down the hallway quietly, peeking into Alison's room to find that the bed was already made and her desk cleared. Belle smiled, continuing down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She heard the clattering of a spoon in a bowl as she approached the kitchen. She pulled back her hair from her face as she said, "Alison, honey, did you make yourself breakfast already?"

Belle stopped in the doorway, seeing the girl that was sitting at the table eat a bowl of cereal. She looked back with a tired expression as she said, "Yo."

"Ava," Belle said, watching the girl as she made her way towards the fridge, "I didn't know you were sleeping over."

"I usually do," Ava said, stirring her cereal before taking a prompt bite, "After all, Dad is still in a coma and visiting hours aren't until 8:00."

Belle grimaced as she opened the fridge. She gave Ava a sad look as Ava munched on her cereal. She waved her spoon dismissively as she said, "It's fine. Dad hasn't woken up but he is at least starting to look better."

"Well that's one good thing," Belle said, pulling out the items she needed to make breakfast. Ava chewed slowly, watching Belle as she started her task. Belle worked quickly and quietly for a while Ava continued to eat as Belle asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Oh yeah," Ava said, "Especially when I am sleeping next to the human heater."

Belle couldn't help but giggle at that. She put the pan on the stove, turning on the burner. Ava heard footsteps as she looked up to see Gold walk in fully dressed for the day. She waved her spoon at him before going back to her cereal. Gold somewhat ignored her, going over to his wife and pressing a kiss to her cheek. Ava slurped up the milk in her cereal purposefully, causing Gold to glare at her.

"There is a thing called table manners, Dearie," Gold grumbled, as Belle poured and prepared him a cup of tea. She handed it to him as he went to sit at his spot at the table. Ava rolled her eyes as she said, "No such thing this early in the morning. Y'all lucky I'm even up."

"Hm, sounds like someone else we know," Belle said, her voice light and teasing. Gold shot a look at her before drinking his tea. Belle continued to make breakfast as Gold said, "At least I'm not the last one down. Alison isn't even here yet."

"Well her bed and room are tidied up so she must be up," Belle said, the smell of breakfast wafting through the air.

"She is," Ava said, picking up her bowl and spoon and walking over to the sink, "She's just not here."

"What?" Both Belle's and Gold's voices were in sync as Ava gave them a grumpy stare. Putting her stuff in the sink, Ava said, "Alison gets up at the crack of dawn. She's usually down in the diner with Red or at school already. Which I now have to go before the Principal sends Emma to come hunt me down again. I swear, he's got no sympathy…"

Ava walked out of the room with a lazy wave of her hand. Belle watched after her as Gold scowled, slamming down his tea cup.

"That little runt!" Gold said, agitated, "Did she forget that she is being stalked by a homicidal maniac!?"

"Rum, I don't think she's forgotten anything!" Belle protested, plating up their food and turning off the burners. She brought over the plates, placing one in front of him. "She's been living without us for a long time and she probably used to the independence everyone always gives her."

"That or she's being stubborn about last night," grumbled the former Dark One. Belle put down her plate, giving him a shrewd look as she put her hands on her hips.

"And just what happened last night?" Belle asked pointedly.

Gold gave her a wary look as he said, "Nothing to be worried about. She is just questioning me on things she shouldn't."

"This wouldn't have to pertain to her using magic, would it?" Belle asked testily.

"Belle-!" Gold exasperated.

"Rum, we talked about this!" Belle said, exasperated. She sat down in the chair next to him and grasped his hand, "The magic is a part of who she is. She's studied and used it for years in Wonderland. Why are you trying to crush something out of her that is literally part of her soul-!"

"I am not!" Gold snapped, slamming his free hand down on the table. Belle flinched, but did not remove her hands. Gold's eyes immediately softened, the regret showing on his face. He grasped her hands apologetically as he said, "That's not what I'm trying to do."

"Then what is it?" Belle implored, "Please. Tell me where this is coming from."

Belle waited for his explanation patiently. Gold let out a long sigh, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Belle comfortingly stroked his palm as he said, "Alison's time in Wonderland was long, much longer than anyone can comprehend. I may not have known who she was, but I knew of the Mage. She spent countless annuals in war, dealing with more politics and bloodshed than anyone would care for a young child of any age to have."

Belle's eyes were shining in tears as Gold continued, "I am no fool. I can't stop her being a Mage. It is a fate she is bound to forever no matter how I try to interfere. As much as I dread it, I know there will be a time where she will have to leave us."

Belle tightened her grip on his hand, the thought seeming to upset her as much as it upset him. Gold squeezed it back, looking at her pleadingly as he said, "But for what time I do have her with us, I don't want it to be spent that way. She's already lost too much of her childhood. I don't want her to lose any more of it because people want to use her power."

Gold brought her hands to his lips as he kissed them gingerly. He looked at her imploringly as he said, "Please. Just let me handle this."

He released her hands to start eating the breakfast before him. She let her hands rest on the table, watching him with worry before shaking her head. She also started eating as she said, "Very well. I'm meeting with Arielle this morning to discuss scheduling for this week. If you would like, I could meet you for lunch at 12:30."

Gold flashed her a warm smile as he said, "That sounds lovely. Especially considering the newly elected mayor wants to meet with me this morning."

"Charming?" Belle asked, her voice a little worried, "What does he want?"

"Council matters," Gold grumbled, stabbing his food a little unnecessarily hard, "I'm sure it's not going to be pleasant, considering the town is disappearing and he's already in rare form."

"I know," Belle said, letting out a shiver, "I felt that quake at the library yesterday afternoon. Snow said that soon parts of the town are going to disappear."

"We will be gone long before that happens," Gold said, firmly. He reached out to grasp her hand again and gave it a comforting squeeze, "I promise you. Soon we will be back in our home in the mountains living in peace."

Belle smiled truly as she said, "As a family."

Gold gave her a soft smile in return as he reaffirmed, "As a family."

---

"Come on, Dominic! Don't dawdle or we won't be back to town until Christmas!"

The young man gave a bitter look as he watched the other men walk along the frozen path through the forest. He was pulling the reins of the oxen who was carrying bags on its back. The moon lit their way in a menacing way, making Dominic wary of where they were.

"I will move as fast as this oxen moves, Stanley." barked Dominic, only for the men to laugh. They were almost out of view, especially since it was dark. The oxen grunted, only for Dominic to pat its head saying, "Sorry boy. We will be back to town soon and you'll have lots of treats."

There was a cracking of branches as the man looked around nervously. He didn't see anything at first. But when the oxen began to stomp its feet nervously, he turned his attention back to the oxen.

"What is wrong with you?" The man said, desperately trying to soothe it. He heard a low whistling echo through the air. He looked over his shoulder, only to gasp loudly.

"Oi! Dominic!" the man shouted, turning around to see nothing but darkness behind him. The other men finally stopped as well, looking around as a whistling noise filled the air. The trees began to sway unnaturally, the branches creaking loudly.

"What the hell?" Stanley said, his voice nervous as the other man shouting for Dominic froze. His eyes went wide as he shakily lifted up his hand. Stammering, he said, "What-What is that?"

"What is what?" The men looked where he was pointing to see what he was talking about.

A glowing figure was getting closer. The golden glow was ominous, illuminating the shadowy figure of the horse and rider. The horse's eyes glowed bright and its hooves seemed to shake the ground. The person on the horse was dressed in black. But what truly terrified them was the most odd thing about this figure.

Instead of a head, there was a jackolantern in its place.

"RUN!" bellowed the man, "RUN IT IS THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN!"

The horse roared, jumping on its hind legs before charging at them. The glow flared around them like a burning fire, casting an orange glowing light on the night scene around them. The men attempted to flee, but the horse had gained on them too quickly. In a flash of silver, the men fell decapitated, their blood staining the snow. The figure reached up, letting out a small whistle. The pumpkin head disappeared, only for Crane's face to be revealed. The glow disappeared and Crane got down from Arion. He pulled a jackolantern out from a large sachet on the saddle. He tossed it at one of the decapitated men, his cold expression unwavering.

"Why do you do this?" Arion's voice was weary, "Why brutalize men in this way? You already have the power of a sired song. You can charm anyone."

"Any woman," Crane said, dismissively, "I cannot charm the ones that I need too in order to have the one who charmed me."

Crane looked back at the horse coldly as he said, "Besides, these men are not innocent. Believe me, I have seen them do countless horrors to innocent people. I feel no pity for them."

"Then you are as bad as them."

Crane glared at the horse, who flared his nostrils at him. Crane walked back over to him, yanking coldly on the reins the horse was bound to. The horse neighed painfully, stomping his feet.

"Then so be it," Crane said coldly, "Just so long I get what I desire."

---

The air was wafting with smells of cinnamon and maple. Snow was busying herself with making breakfast, humming softly underneath her breath. Charming came out of the bathroom, dressed in his usual flannel and jeans. Charming took in a deep breath, smiling warmly as he walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek sweetly. Snow smiled warmly as he said, "Something smells good."

"Mmm, I hope so," Snow said, turning off the stove and plating up the food, "I have to make sure your first real day as mayor is a good one."

David gave her a grin and kissed her sweetly before taking the plates and going to the table. Snow picked up the full mugs, looking over him as she also made her way over. A small frown of uncertainty appeared on her face as she asked, "Is that what you are wearing to work?"

"Yeah," David said, sitting down in his chair, "Why? What's wrong with what I usually wear?"

"Well nothing," Snow said, putting the mugs down, "But don't you think you should dress up more? Maybe a suit?"

"Snow, I do not want to be like Farrows and dress up in a monkey suit," David said with a groan.

"I couldn't agree more!"

Both of them jumped in their seats, turning to see Alison standing by the stairwell. She was holding 3 garment bags. She began to hang them from the stairwell railing saying, "Monkey suits are the image for those who were born with silver spoons or craving power. You are neither of those."

"Alison, what are you doing here?" Snow asked, surprised.

"I have errands to run before school and before sloth lord makes his rounds today," Alison said, turning to walk over to them, "Making sure the mayor I backed is dressed appropriately and doesn't make a fool of himself on his first real day is one of them."

"A suit doesn't have to be a sign of power," Snow protested, "Some suits are nice."

"They are, but David is not a noble by blood. His support comes from being a hero and being relatable to the people of the nation," Alison said, leaning on the table, "If he dresses up like one of them, it will look more like he's trying to pretend to be something he's not."

"So if that's true, what's wrong with what I am wearing?" David asked, crossing his arms.

"Because even if all that I say is true, you can't go in looking like you don't care," Alison said.

"Coming from the girl who used to wear sweatshirts and jeans to school everyday?" Snow teased before taking a sip of her tea.

"I wasn't sitting on a throne or in a council meeting fighting for the livelihood of my nation. As much as I don't like it, appearances do matter. If more than half the population can't wear jeans to work, neither can you," Alison huffed, tossing her long hair over her shoulder, "Now, go get dressed. I want to make sure everything is fine before I have to go to school."

"School doesn't start until well after eight," Snow said, confused.

A blip went off as Alison pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. She looked at it, before texting whoever it was back. She said, dismissively, "Yeah, but I need to bring Professor Avenant his coffee. He is in rare form today since Principal Rogers is making him cancel our practice this afternoon so we can do the Career Project. Poor Fife has been the victim of his rage for the past two hours."

"Oh dear. I can imagine he is very irate," Snow sighed. Alison looked at David expectantly as she said, "What are you waiting for? Go get changed! I don't have all day."

David let out a long sigh, glancing at Snow before getting up and walking over towards the stairwell. He grabbed the garment bags, taking them upstairs reluctantly. Alison sighed as there was a knock at the door. Snow looked surprised as she said, "Who could that be?"

"Oh it's for me," Alison said, as Snow raised her brows, "Sorry, I told you. I had errands today. Some of which I had to delegate."

Alison opened the door with a bright smile to see a very disgruntled Jefferson. "You're late, Hatter."

"And look who's got the nerve to be rude," Jefferson balked, gripping the tray of to go cups tightly. "After I went to go fetch your things like an errand boy, you don't even say good morning!"

"Well you did say you wanted to be included more," Alison mocked, crossing her arms, "Is this not what you imagined?"

"Not particularly no," Jefferson said stoutly. Alison walked up to him, taking the tray of cup from him and leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"Good morning, my dear Hatter," Alison said, still smiling at him.

Jefferson glared at her as he said, "Don't get cutesy with me. Just say thank you."

Alison grabbed the door with her free hand as she said, cheekily, "Never."

She shut the door promptly, ignoring the cursing from the man on the other side. Snow shook her head in disbelief as she said, "You two… are you always this way with each other?"

"Of course," Alison said, coming around to the table again to put the cup carrier down. "He'll be fine. He's just been a bit prickly lately. How is the baby doing?"

"Baby is doing just wonderful!" Snow said, rubbing her belly soothing, "Now that he's stopped kicking my bladder and the morning sickness has passed."

"Well that's good," Alison said, picking her cup from the tray and drinking it, "Belle was up sick really early this morning. It must have been a rough night because she was still asleep when I got up."

Snow sighed in sympathy as she said softly, "Pregnancy is a beautiful thing. But it has its struggles, like anything else."

There was another bleep from Alison's phone as she picked it up to look at it again. Sighing, she put her cup back in the tray as she said, "Charming! I hope you're almost done!"

"I am!" Charming came down in khaki slacks, a deep green pull over fleece, white collared shirt, and dark brown leather shoes. He extended his arms a bit as Snow and Alison took in his appearance.

"Is this fine?" David asked, sounding a little exasperated.

"Better," Alison said, "Now one more note for you before I go save my friend from his super irritated guardian. You are going to have three individuals show up in your office at 9:00 am sharp."

"I wasn't told-?" Charming said confused.

"You weren't," Alison interrupted dismissively, "They are going to show up regardless and you need to meet with them."

"Okay," Charming said, crossing his arms, "Who are they?"

"Our least favorite people," Alison sighed, "Lord Farrows and Lady Teresa will be coming to your office. They will be bringing forth a new person to put on said council."

"Let me guess," David said, a little hostile, "The Queen of Hearts."

"The very one and the same," Alison said.

"Why would they be doing that?" he asked crossly.

"Lord Farrows goes with whomever he feels is beneficial to him," Snow sighed, "And Lady Teresa was an old friend of Cora's. The two met each other for tea often when I was young. It's not surprising they would back her to join."

"And what, you want me to refuse her?" David asked.

"No," Alison said, shifting oddly, "I need you to accept her."

"What?!" Both Snow and Charming's voices echoed one another as Alison winced. Snow and Charming exchanged panicked looks before Charming took a step closer to her. "Alison, you can't be serious."

"I am a hundred percent serious," Alison said, "As much as I would love to stick it to her, I can't. She's still a respected leader in the eyes of many and upsetting her would cause more problems."

"Alison she is a murderer!" Snow exclaimed, "And a wicked woman-!"

"All true points," Alison interrupted again, impatiently, "But she is also a woman who is revered in the Upperlands for outlawing human trafficking. Politics is all a matter of opinions. Even in your world, she has many allies. Trying to throw her under the bus now would only complicate things."

David's jaw tightened, the stubbornness in his eyes making Alison frown. Taking a deep breath in as she momentarily closed her eyes, she looked up with an earnest look saying, "Please. If you pick a fight with her, she'll reflect it right back on me because I supported you. And then she declares war and then I will have to leave."

David breathed in sharply as Snow's face fell. Alison watched Charming expectantly as his stubborn expression turned somber as he nodded softly.

"Fine," Charming said, "I won't make a fuss about it."

"Excellent," Alison said, slinging her bag over her shoulder and picking up her tray of cups, "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go save my friend."

Alison promptly left, leaving the two staring after. She shut the door promptly and let out a sigh. Good, 2 tasks down, one more to go before Gold confronted her at some point this morning. He absolutely would, as he was probably already miffed she left the house this morning without him.

But she did not care. If he was going to dismiss her, then she would do the same.

Alison raced down the stairs and outside. The wind greeted her with a cold blast, tossing her hair about and snowflakes tickling her nose. Wrinkling it, Alison waved the air with her free hand saying, "Enough Jack. I don't need to be getting a cold thanks to you!"

There was a loud bark from behind her.

Alison turned to see Pongo pulling Archie down the street. Archie stumbled and fumbled along, attempting feebly to control the over excited pooch. Alison couldn't help but smile as she knelt down to greet him. Pongo finally broke free from Archie, racing over to Alison and licking her face excitedly. Alison giggled, petting his head with her free hand. Archie finally caught up, bent over huffing.

"I-I'm so sorry," Archie said flustered, "He saw you from down the street and just- well, you know…"

"It's alright," Alison said, happily. She stood up, grabbing a hold of Pongo's leash. She handed Archie the cup tray as she said, "I was expecting you. The one with your name on it is yours."

"Ah!" Archie took the tray and plucked out his cup, "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Alison said as they began to walk down the street. Pongo walked along happily as the two made their way towards the school. Archie took a sip of his tea as he asked, "So how are things? With Gold and Belle being back."

"Well they are excited," Alison said, staring ahead with a sort of distant expression, "With the baby and all."

"And how do you feel about that?" Archie asked softly. Alison stopped at the intersection, hitting the crosswalk button. Pongo pulled on the leash a bit, sniffing the ground. Alison gripped the leash tighter as she said, "I'm happy for them. It will be nice to have another kid in the house, even if she is a baby."

Archie watched her carefully. Her face was passive, but there seemed to be a shadow of sadness on her face. as he asked softly, "So why do you seem upset about something? Is it the baby?"

"It's not the baby," Alison said, uncomfortably, "It's Gold. He keeps getting upset any time I try to help anyone and he shuts me out whenever I ask him anything to do with magic. I just…"

Alison faltered a minute as Pongo pulled the leash again. She settled him down as Archie waited patiently. Alison sighed as she said dejectedly, "I want to trust him. I do, but I just can't shake this feeling he is hiding something. Something really bad."

"Hmm," Archie said, watching the crosswalk light turn. He began to walk across as Alison narrowed her eyes at him. She quickly followed him saying, "What?! Why are you hmm'ing? Archie!"

"I just find it very telling," Archie said, thoughtfully, "You're still calling him Gold."

"Oh come on Archie," Alison said exasperated as they made it to the other side of the street. "Not this again. I told you, I don't know how to label this!"

"Don't know or afraid to do so?" Archie asked gently. Alison opened her mouth to speak but closed it shut before she could say anything. Archie smiled comfortingly as he said, "Alison you are used to depending on only yourself. So much so that trust with others doesn't come easy. The fact you still call them by their names shows that there is still a part of you unwilling to trust them both."

"Well it's not easy when he's always keeping secrets!" Alison protested.

"Yes, he's known to keep his secrets," Archie said, "But Alison, if you don't take that step to open yourself up then how can you expect him to?"

The two approached the school, Alison looking uncertain. She seemed to have been struck mute, processing what he had just said. Archie took back Pongo's leash, giving her the remaining tray of to-go cups. He reached out, patting her shoulder as he said, kindly, "You both are very alike. Neither of you are used to trusting people so it's only natural you two conflict. But you both love each other and that at the end of the day is the most important thing to remember."

"Alison!"

Alison and Archie looked to see Fife running down the lawn looking exasperated. Alison gave Archie a wave as she said, "I'll see you later, Archie."

"Have a good day, Alison," Archie said. Pongo pulled on the leash as Alison walked away. He growled as Alison walked towards Fife. Archie pulled the leash, only for Pongo to pull on it and let out rumbling barks. Frowning down at Pongo, Archie said, "Come on boy. What has gotten into you?"

Pongo growled again, his head looking towards Alison and Fife. Archie watched as the two headed up towards the school with concern. Why was he behaving like this? Pongo didn't usually growl at people. Archie finally tugged the dog away saying, "Don't be like that Pongo. Let's go."

Pongo let out a whine before allowing Archie to lead him away. Archie glanced back nervously at the school. He hoped everything would be alright. Alison had been through more than enough.

---

"Mayor Nolan?"

David looked up to see his secretary poking her head in. Her black hair was pinned up in a bun, her round glasses sitting on the rim of her nose. He put down the file on his desk as he said, "What is it, Ms. Bill?"

"You-You have three people waiting out here for you," she said, somewhat nervously, "They said they had an appointment but I don't see anything on the books-!"

David glanced up and saw the clock on the wall. Nine o'clock. Lovely. David sighed as he said, "Don't worry Ms. Bill. Let them in."

She disappeared a moment before the door opened up to reveal Lord Farrows, Lady Teresa, and the supposed Queen of Hearts. David watched them, standing up as he took in her appearance.

Snow had described Cora to him on rare occasions. She described her as a cold woman that would do anything to get what she wanted. She was wearing a black suit with a red shirt poking out from under the jacket. Her hair was down in waves but it was the eyes that got him. They were exactly as Snow described. Cold and calculating, even though the polite political smile would indicate otherwise. Lady Teresa spoke first, a polite smile also on her face.

"David, I'm sorry to have us show up out of the blue," she said, "But we have a new noble that would like to join the council to aid us in our dilemma with returning home."

"Oh?" David said, looking between the two women. Cora's smile didn't falter as she extended her hand saying, "Cora, the Queen of Hearts, at your service David Nolan."

"Queen of Hearts," David repeated, shaking her hand briefly, "So you're one of the other Wonderland Queens."

"Yes," Lord Farrows said, smugly, "Obviously."

David kept his temper under wraps as he said, "You've come a long way from home."

"I wanted to make amends with an old companion of mine," Cora said smoothly, "I figured the best way to do that was to help with your current crisis."

"We just wanted your consent to add her to the council," Lady Teresa added quickly.

"Since the Mage of Wonderland is currently being hindered by the former Dark One." Lord Farrows added in his same smug tone. David had to restrain himself from showing the bubbling anger brewing inside of him. Cora gave Farrows a sideway glance as she said, "The Mage of Wonderland has always cherished family. It's one of her many qualities that I have always appreciated."

David watched her cautiously, noting the slightly gentleness in her tone as she spoke of Alison. Turning towards her, David said, "It sounds like the two of you were close."

"Alice and I were very close," Cora said, smiling coyly, "Long ago, she was once a treasured companion of mine. Loyal, and smart. We knew each other better than anyone else."

David didn't show it, but he was puzzled by her words. It almost seemed as if the two of them had been friends. Alison didn't seem as fond of her as the woman before him was suggesting. But then again, it could easily just be an act. But it didn't stop him from asking, "What happened?"

Cora's smile faltered a moment as she said, "We had a disagreement and things were said that couldn't be unsaid. I'm hoping in helping your world that I can extend the olive branch. So, what do you say, David Nolan?"

David watched her a moment before saying, "I look forward to seeing you at the council meeting tomorrow."

Cora's smile returned as she said, "Thank you. We shall leave you to your work."

They left as quickly as they came. David made a face after the door shut, his displeasure now apparent. However, he wasn't able to vent in peace as he heard behind him, "That was a mistake, Dearie."

David spun around to see Rumpelstiltskin on the other side of the desk. He was giving him a disapproving stare. David sighed irritated as he said, "What is it to you?"

"Cora is not someone to be trusted," growled Rumpelstiltskin as David sat back down in his seat. "If she wants in on the council, it can't be for good reason."

"You think I don't know that!" David said exasperated, "I didn't call you here for a lecture. I called you here in hopes of finding a way to defeat this Phantom so we can focus on getting back home before Storybrooke disappears all together! Now what do you have on him?"

"Enough," Rumpelstiltskin said, roughly, "Based on Princess Abigail's injuries and the blood sample you gave me from the hospital, his abilities are sired."

"Sired?" David asked surprised, "Like a siren?"

"Not quite," Rumpelstiltskin said gruffly, "Someone with sired abilities gained them by inheritance or by gift from a siren. They are powerful in their own way, manipulating people through sound."

"How do you know that's what he is?" David asked.

"Those with sired magic have it ingrained in them," he said, "It leaves a trace in their blood. Dragon's flame will reveal its presence."

"So how do we stop him?" David asked sharply.

"There is a spell that will trap his sired gift inside his body," Rumpel said, "But in order to do that, we need to find something of his to help locate him."

"Can't you use his blood?"

"Dragon's flame is the hottest substance known to man," Rumpel said crossly, "Do you really think there is enough of it left?"

"So what do we do? Just wait for him to attack again?" David said, incredulously, "We don't have that kind of time-!"

David's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket as Rumpelstiltskin looked annoyed at the interruption. David paid him no attention as he said, "Emma, what's up?"

"We have a lead on the phantom," Emma's voice rang out.

"Really? What?" David asked, his voice hopeful and surprised.

"No time to explain fully but the short version is we may be able to find something that will help us identify the Phantom," Emma said, "I'm taking Regina now to go retrieve it."

"Emma, wait. Let me come with you!" David said, urgently.

"Don't worry, Regina and I have got this!" Emma's voice was impatient now. "I've got Piper at the station. I'll check in with you later."

"Emma-!" David almost shouted, only for Emma to hang up. David gritted his teeth as he threw his cellphone down on the table. David sank into his chair, rubbing his forehead. Rumpel watched him as he said somewhat mockingly, "Be careful how much you push her."

"Excuse me?" David looked up at him angrily as the former dark one looked uninterested as he said, "She is a grown woman. Push her too much and you'll just end up pushing her away."

David watched as Rumpelstiltskin began to walk away. His anger reached his boiling point as he said pointedly, "I could say the same to you!"

Gold stopped, stiffening as David said, "You do the same thing to Alison. Forcing her not to use her magic when she is more than capable. Do you know why she even agreed to your stupid demand? Because she's too scared of upsetting you!"

"Watch yourself," Rumpelstiltskin fury was unmistakable. He glared at Charming as he said, "You don't know anything of what goes on in our family."

"I know that she came to see me this morning, pleading not to fight Cora being put on the council," David said hotly, "The question is did you?!"

Gold didn't answer but the look of rage on his face was enough of one. David crossed his arms as he said, "Yeah, I didn't think so. So don't preach to me about what to do with my daughter."

"Very well," Gold sneered, "Don't say, I didn't warn you, Dearie."

Gold waved his hand in the air, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. David groaned, leaning his head back into his chair so he was staring at the ceiling. As quickly as his temper had risen, it had turned into guilt and melancholy. He had hoped that he didn't just make the situation with Alison worse. Turning in his chair, David looked down to see Farrows, Teresa, and Cora talking down below. An uncomfortable knot formed in his stomach.

"Alice and I were very close." Her words kept ringing through his head. Was it true? Was she just putting on a show to cause discord? He didn't know. But something about the situation felt odd. And he didn't like it one bit.

---

The wind blew viciously in their faces as they stood by the shore line. Emma couldn't help but make a face as the wind blew her hair around. Regina stood near her, arms crossed as she stared out the horizon. Hook stood next to her lazily. He had a smirk on his face as Emma said, "This had better be worth it. It's freezing out here!"

"Oh trust me, Lass," Hook said smoothly, "It will be. My ship has many a secrets. Just get me there and I will show you."

"Your shipmates better not jump us," Emma said stoutly as Regina reached out her hands. They glowed as her eyes shimmered with the magic. Hook glanced at Emma and said mockingly, "Oh they will be on their best behavior with two lovely ladies aboard."

"Why do I seriously doubt tha-!?"

"Enough!" Regina snapped, "If you want me to get your damn ship here, both of you need to be quiet!"

The two fell silent, watching the waves crash into the sand. They grew more and more intense as the water in the ocean moved as if something invisible was passing through it. Regina breathed in deep as she said, "Clever spell mother."

Regina clapped her hands together, the ship slowly revealing itself to them. It cast a looming shadow, causing an ominous atmosphere. Regina flicked her hands apart, the plank of the ship extending out and hitting the wet sand. Emma breathed in deep as Regina put her hands down. Hook let out a low whistle as he said, "Quite powerful. Must get it from your Mum."

Regina's jaw tensed as Emma pushed him towards the plank snapping, "Move it! And I mean it, no funny business."

Hook gave her a shrewd look as he walked ahead of them. Emma looked at Regina, her expression nervous. Regina held up her hand, her face rigid before walking after Hook. Emma followed her nervously, the sand crunching beneath her feet. It wasn't until she climbed onto the creaky plank that she realized something. Looking up with narrowed eyes, Emma said, "You know, for Pirates, your ship is quiet."

"My men are probably waiting to see if it is safe," Hook said, briskly walking up, "Don't worry, I promise that I will not let them harm-."

Hook stopped at the top of the plank, staring out at the deck of the ship. His voice trailed away and his form seemed frozen to the spot. Regina came up behind him, her brows furrowed as she said, "What are you waiting for? Just tell them-."

Regina also stopped behind him, her eyes seeing the scene before them. Her stomach dropped as Hook took one faint step forward before going from man to man frantically. It allowed Regina to step down on the deck, staring in shock. Emma came up behind them at last, finally seeing what the other two had.

Corpses.

The dead bodies of the crew were strewn across the ship. Blood stained their ears and the wood of the ship, their cold eyes wide open. Emma felt bile come up into her mouth as she covered her mouth saying, "Oh my god What the-?"

"Something tells me Phantom got here first," Regina said as Hook finally stopped at one last crew member. A dark look came over his face before looking towards the door that led to his cabin. It was wide open, the door almost broken off its hinges. Hook raced over to it, disappearing down into its depths. Emma and Regina raced after him, almost tripping down the steps of his ship.

The cabin was trashed. Papers were strewn and ripped. The windows were broken, glass strewn everywhere. Hook was frantically looking through the opened drawers, looking extremely agitated. Emma looked around the room dismayed as Regina walked around the desk towards Hook. He did not peel his eyes from his task as Regina asked, "I take it he took anything you might have had."

"He took many things," Hook said, yanking out one of the drawers. He flipped it upside down, revealing a key. "But not the most important."

Regina watched him as he brushed aside all the debris under the desk. Regina and Emma exchanged odd looks quickly, watching him balancing the key on an old floor board. He released it, the key standing up on its own. It began to glow, changing shape into a handle. Regina raised her brows as she said, "Clever spell."

"Ai, let's hope he didn't get to this," Hook muttered, opening it up to reveal a wrapped object. Pulling it out, Hook stood up with a sigh of relief, "Fortunately he didn't."

"What is it?" Emma asked as Hook held it out to Regina. Regina gave him a skeptical look, taking it hesitantly. She unwrapped it to reveal a silver riding crop. Hook watched her darkly as he said, "I'm not quite sure. But your mother was working with a partner, the one who works with the Phantom. One of the very few times that despot was here, he left it. I held onto it for safekeeping."

"A horse whip?" Emma said, "Why would he have one of those?"

"I can't say," Hook growled, "That Phantom is lucky he isn't here or I would run him through."

"Not just a mere riding crop," Regina mused, "This is fused with ancient magic."

"To do what?" Emma asked.

"I'm not sure," Regina said, examining it with care,"But I know someone who will."

"Rumpelstiltskin," Emma said, "Looks like we are taking a trip to the pawn shop."

"I'll pass on that if you don't mind," grumbled Hook, viciously, "I've no interest in seeing the damn Crocodile."

"Probably a good idea," Emma said, going to wave her hand to make him disappear.

"Wait."

Regina's voice was cold. Hook turned to see her cold eyes staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably as Regina asked, "You said that my mother was working with a partner. Who is this partner? And what do they get out of working with my mother?"

Hook grimaced as he said regretfully, "I couldn't tell you lass."

"Why?" Regina asked sharply, "You're not working with her anymore. Why keep her secrets?"

"You're a smart lass," Hook said, mockingly, "You should know that your mother doesn't leave loose ends."

Hook hissed, his hand racing up to his chest. It was glowing red, in the shape of an elvish symbol. Regina frowned as Emma looked stricken. Walking over as Hook keeled over, Emma knelt down next to him saying, "Hey! What the hell is this?"

"A spell," Regina said coldly, "One my mother probably put on him. It prevents a person from revealing something. He won't be able to tell us anything."

Hook looked at her, smirking at her through his pain. "I told you you were a smart lass."

"Well since you are no use to us right now," Regina said sharply, "You can go back to your cell."

Hook disappeared into a whirl of smoke before he could say anything. Regina sighed, examining the objects again. Emma looked towards the door that led to the outer deck as she asked quietly, "What do we do about-?"

"His crew?" Regina said, her voice cold, "I'll push the ship out to sea again. We'll let him bury them how he sees fit when all of this is done."

Emma looked back at the door nervously. Her skin was pale, the thought of what laid beyond sickening her. "But…"

"Don't worry," Regina said, dismissively, "I'll put a spell around the ship so no one will disturb it. The bodies will remain frozen, untouched by time until we can take care of the person who caused their deaths."

"Alright," Emma said wearily, "Then let's get to Rumpelstiltskin so he can tell us what this thing is."

Regina's eyes glittered strangely as she said, "Indeed."

---

"Damn him!"

There was a slam of a fist against a table, causing Crane to look up from his meal startled. Brom was sitting at the bar with his men, seething with resentment. One of Broms men looked at him warily as he said, "Brom, we're upset about Dominic too. But-!"

"No buts!" Brom boomed, "Dominic was one of us! A good man! I have half the mind to go out and hunt this phantom with my bare hands!"

Crane refrained from rolling his eyes as he ate his bread. Next to him was a small stack of journals, ones that his students had submitted to him for correcting. He continued to watch them silently as one of the men at Brom's side said, "This isn't just some ghost Brom. It is the devil itself, the Headless Horseman! Anyone that goes against him, comes back dead!"

"He hasn't met me yet," Brom threatened menacingly, "And if you think that I won't hunt him down, then you aren't half the men you claim to be!"

Brom stormed out with his men hastily going after him. Crane wiped his mouth with his napkin calmly as he heard a sweet voice, "He's quite the loud one isn't he?"

Ichabod looked over to see Katrina taking the chair across from him. Her curls fell gently around her beautiful face, her eyes staring at him adoringly. Ichabod dropped his fork in a clumsy manner as he attempted to clean up his space saying, "Katrina! What a lovely surprise. I thought you would be with your friends…"

"Oh they are busy enchanting potential suitors," Katrina said sweetly, "I came in hopes for your company."

Katrina's eyes fell on the journals as she said, "Are those from your students?"

"Y-Yes," Crane said, as Katrina took one of them, "I've just been trying to teach them some new arithmetic, but some of them…"

Katrina looked at the work inside of them and bit her lip to hide her amusement. Crane scowled as he saw the many scribbles inside the journal as he said, "It is not being well received by some."

"Oh dear," Katrina said, "Well I know if anyone can teach them, it will be you. You are the smartest man I know."

"Smartest," Ichabod glanced over towards a group of men with her lady friends, "But perhaps not the strongest. Or best option…"

"Ichabod." Katrina's hand went over his, squeezing it gently. Her eyes were set on his firmly as she said quietly, "You know you are the only one I ever wish to live my life with."

Crane felt a lump in his throat as his heart beat fast. Katrina looked as if she wanted to say more when one of her friends from across the room said, "Katrina! Don't bother poor Mister Crane. We must be going!"

She let go of his hand quickly, retreating from him quickly. Standing up, she said, "Have a good night, Ichabod. I hope to see you tomorrow."

Ichabod watched her leave, the desire etched on his face. He swallowed as he said softly, "Soon, Katrina, soon."

---

The school bell rang out, making the students jump to get out of their seats. Alison, who was writing down notes on the side of her notebook, looked up to see Ms. Gerson say, "Now remember! You all have your job fair assignments. I want your rough drafts of your interviews tomorrow morning. You will have all afternoon to conduct them so I want no excuses."

Alison sighed, shutting her notebook and packing her things away into her backpack. Everyone around her was in a rush to leave, cramming things into their backpacks. Alison glanced at them and sighed. She was not eager to leave school yet. Leaving school meant Gold would pop in at any moment and she was going to avoid him as long as she could.

"Alison."

Alison looked up to see Miss Gerson standing in front of her desk. She was holding one of her father's novels in her hand. Grinning, Alison said, "Did you finish it already?"

"Yes, it was such a good read," Miss Gerson said as Alison took it from her. "Such a twist at the end."

"I know, he was always good at that." Miss Gerson said, leaning against the desk, "So, are you excited for your assignment? I heard you got the newspaper for your job fair interview."

"Yeah," Alison said, zipping up her bag. "Excited is not maybe the word for it."

"Oh?" Miss Gerson asked.

"Well when the newspaper decides to splash one of my many personal trauma's on the front page, it definitely makes things awkward," Alison said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She gave Miss Gerson a sheepish look, shifting her shoe against the tiled floor.

Miss Gerson gave her a look of understanding as she said, regretfully, "I'm sorry dear. I can go talk to Principal Rogers and see if he can switch it-."

"No, it's okay," Alison said quickly, "I'll be fine. It's only for an hour anyway."

"If you are sure," Miss Gerson said with uncertainty. Alison nodded as there was a knock at the door. Alison looked over her shoulder to see a harassed Ava Zimmer, leaning against the doorway.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Ava asked, grumpily.

"Yup," Alison said, looking over at her before looking back at her teacher. "I'll bring another book for you tomorrow."

"Excellent," Miss Gerson said, her eyes glittering gleefully, "I look forward to it."

Turning, Alison followed Ava out of the school. Her friend was fuming, she could tell. They had barely made it past the front doors when Ava finally let loose into full rant.

"I hate him!" Ava seethed, "I absolutely hate him! Take three guesses who Principal Rogers set me up to interview with!"

"Who?" Alison asked as they went down the steps.

"Himself!" Ava fummed, "He was like 'maybe this way I will have greater respect for people in authority'. He wants me back in exactly one hour so I can interview. Can you believe him?! I have half the mind to ditch!"

"Please don't. You are already in enough trouble with him," Alison said as they made their way across the lawn to their usual sit spot. Ava threw her bag on the table, climbing on the picnic table to sit. Alison sat on the table in her usual criss cross fashion. Ava glared up at her as she said, "As if it matters if I upset him! So long as we finish the potion, we'll be back in the Enchanted Forest before we know it."

"Well it's still not done," Alison reasoned, "We're still missing the last ingredient. So please, don't land yourself in detention for the rest of our time here."

"Fine," grumbled Ava, "But you owe me a Wonderland adventure when all of this is over."

Alison grinned as she said, "Deal."

"Good then," Ava said, staring up at the sky. The clouds were big and fluffy, allowing peeks of blue sky to be seen. Ava grimaced as she said, "However, you need to be careful. Gold seemed pretty mad this morning when you left without him. He might lock you in a tower."

"I'd like to see him try," Alison grumbled, her grin vanishing in an instant. Ava looked at her friend nervously as she said, "Why do I feel like you two are fighting already? Why are you so upset by him?"

"He's hiding something," Alison said, as if she was trying to convince herself, "And he is getting on my nerves about me using magic."

"Well he can go mope in his shop," Ava said, rolling her eyes, "The deal said you couldn't help people with magic, not that you couldn't use it."

Alison couldn't help but let out a small snort at her friend's bluntness. Ava looked back towards the school, her tone softening, "It's Rumpelstiltskin, he is always hiding stuff. Not to sound like a horrible friend, but I don't get why it's bugging you. It never used to bother you so much."

Alison shifted, her eyes going glassy as she stared at the table top. Ava looked back at her, her expression turning regret as she turned in her seat saying, "Hey, no. Don't-!"

"Alison! Ava!" Both of them looked up to see Grace and Henry walking towards them. Alison shook her head out quickly, her face turning it's usually passive friendliness. Ava made a face but let it drop as she shouted over to them, "You both are late!"

"Sorry!" Grace said, with a little blush on her face. "We were busy."

"Busy kissing behind the stairwell no doubt," Ava scoffed.

"Ava Zimmer!" Grace huffed, her face getting flushed as Henry shifted his backpack sheepishly. Alison rolled her eyes, a small smile gracing her face. Henry watched his friend, noting the melancholy in her face. He stepped over towards her as he said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Henry," Alison said, hopping off the table and readjusting her backpack, "Sorry, I gotta go. The newspaper set up my interview for twelve thirty."

"Ew," Ava said, wrinkling her nose, "That's gross. We don't even get to eat lunch together."

"Sorry," Alison said, walking towards the sidewalk, "I'll see you guys later."

"Alison, wait-!" Grace called after her only to have her disappear from sight. Grace frowned a bit, obviously debating on trying to follow her. Ava noticed her look as Henry sat down on the bench to eat and said, "Grace, don't push it. She is already in a mood."

"Why?" Grace asked, worried.

"Gold and her are fighting already," Ava said, pulling her sandwich out of her bag, "And I think she's getting a little paranoid about the stuff he's doing secretly."

"It's Rumpelstiltskin," Henry said, his mouth half full of food, "When isn't he keeping secrets?"

"That's what I said," Ava said, shrugging, "But it's bugging her. A Lot. And I'm not sure why."

"Oh come on, you can't be serious you two," Grace said stoutly, "It's different now! He's adopted her. He's supposed to be loving and protecting her. If he's still keeping secrets, then she's going to be uncertain as to why he's doing that."

"Because he loves her and wants to protect her?" Henry repeated, looking at his girlfriend unsurely.

"Or he's trying to use her and control her because she is the Mage of Wonderland," Grace countered, crossing her arms. Ava and Henry looked at her in shock as she sighed exasperated, "I'm not saying that's true! I'm saying that's where her mind is going! Dad and her ran from him for the longest time. Do you think they did that for kicks and giggles?"

Ava made a face as Henry swallowed his food saying, "No… I just thought she would think differently by now."

"Henry, really?" Grace said, sitting down opposite of him, "Alison may be smart, but she doesn't have an ounce of self worth. She thinks she's nothing to people. Why do you think she still calls Gold and Belle by their names?"

"Because she still technically has parents and calling them Grandma and Grandpa is weird?" Ava suggested, sarcastically.

"Because naming something makes you love things that much more," Grace said with a sigh, "And if she names them only for them to not feel the same way would destroy her."

Ava grimaced, looking away from them both as she said, sadly, "No arguments there."

"No," Henry said miserably, "I just wish she would see how much Gold actually cares."

"She won't see it until she's ready to accept it," Grace said, opening her lunch, "She will get there. She just needs time."

Alison hurried her way down the street, looking at the address on her paper. The Alchemy… She had never heard of this restaurant before. She hadn't wanted to tell the others but she had a terrible feeling about this. The name alone made her a little wary and the newspaper had apparently insisted that they meet here.

Folding up her directions, she found herself going down a quaint little street. Down on the opposite corner was a little cafe. It had kelly green siding with vines going up the brown fence surrounding it. The roof was made of Earthy looking shingles, giving her a rather peaceful looking vibe. But the cursive name on the sign filled her with trepidation. She had a bad feeling about this.

Letting out a sigh, Alison made her way into the cafe. The doors hit chimes, soft music filling the space. There were several round tables and booths throughout. The front of the cafe had a window sit as well as several cozy looking arm chairs. The back of the cafe had a long countertop made of black marble countertops and painted green wood. The shop wasn't overly busy, but enough for good vibes. Enough to put Alison just a little bit at ease. She walked up to the counter, where a curly haired woman was serving a man.

"There you go sir!" she said perkily, handing him his coffee. She looked over at her with a big smile saying, "Hello, honey! What can I get for you?"

"Just a medium tea with milk," Alison said, pulling out some money and handing it to her. The lady took it as she said, "Isn't it a little early to be out of school?"

"Oh, it's a half day today," Alison said quickly, "We have research projects this afternoon."

"Ahh, lucky you," the woman said with a smile. She handed back her changes another worker came over and placed Alison's order on the counter. Alison smiled in thanks, taking it off the counter.

Then everything just stopped.

Alison blinked as everyone and everything froze around her. The workers, the customers, even the coffee brewing into the coffee pots. Alison frowned immediately, rubbing her fingers together defensively as she heard someone say behind her.

"Right on time."

Alison turned around to see a woman sitting at a table sipping her drink. Her blonde hair was tied into a neat side bun. She was dressed in a pale suit, her legs crossed gracefully. Her sharp eyes were watching her intently as she put her drink on the table. Alison kept her poker face as the woman said, "I was worried when I heard you had a tendency to be late."

The infliction on her last word was mocking, which made Alison annoyed. However, she did not let that show as she said, with a polite but pointed smile, "I try not to be. Especially when I'm meeting a sorceress with a fiery personality."

"Sassy," she said with a smirk, "I like it. So, I take it you know who I am."

"Obviously. Did you really think Regina was not going to tell me who you were, Maleficent?" Alison asked, incredulously.

"True," Maleficent said, smoothly, "I wasn't sure how chummy the two of you were. Apparently, she is more fond of you than I thought."

Alison didn't comment on that as she instead waved her hand in a circular motion. Two white thornless roses appeared neatly in front of Maleficent. Maleficent picked up one of the roses, smelling the petals before placing it back down on the table saying, "Beautiful. Wonderland roses are the best indeed."

"When they aren't being petty," Alison said, rolling her eyes, "Was this your way of making sure that we would meet alone?"

"I prefer not to have a meeting ruined by over zealous do gooders," Maleficent said smoothly, "And besides, you owe me a meeting and you have an assignment that is due. There is no reason we can't kill two birds with one stone."

The chair across from the woman pulled out on its own, inviting her to sit. Alison narrowed her eyes, staring at her suspiciously before going to sit down in the chair. Putting down her drink, Alison crossed her arms saying, "So. Why did you want to meet with me at all? I'm assuming it's the same reason you saved me from Gothel?"

"Ah, so you did see me," Maleficent smiled coyly, "I was sure with all the ruckus, you might not have."

"I did," Alison said, "And now I want to know why."

"I see you are like your Grandfather," Maleficent said, "Right to the point. I wanted to meet with you because we are in need of your help."

Alison gave her a look as Maleficent held up her cup saying, "Please, before you give me some heroic speech, hear me out. You will benefit from this as well."

"What could you possibly have to offer me that I would want?" Alison asked shortly.

"A way to be with your precious new family in the Enchanted Realm," purred Maleficent.

Alison frowned as she said, "And what makes you think I need your help with that?"

Maleficent let out a laugh, haughty and mean. Alison gripped her arms as Maleficent said, "You clearly don't know Rumpelstiltskin well enough. If he had a way, you, his wife, and himself would no longer be here."

Alison kept her peace. She didn't want to let on about the potion currently brewing in her father's house. Unfolding her arms, she leaned on the table saying, "Regardless, why do you think your way is going to benefit me at all?"

"Because I know something that you probably don't," Maleficent said, "Even if you have a way to get back, it may not work out the way you want it to."

"You're being cryptic," Alison said, frowning..

"Then let me explain," Maleficent said, "You and I both know that putting the core back will reverse everything that the curse did. It will bring everyone back to where they were born."

A sinking feeling started in Alison's stomach, but she didn't let it show. She couldn't let it show. Alison just smiled and said, "Yes, I am well aware."

"Then you know that while putting the core back will help everyone else," Maleficent said, eyeing her intently, "it won't help you or your little friend Henry."

"That's not a certainty," Alison said keeping a smile on her face, "The core was cursed here, not moved. There may be clauses built into the curse."

"Oh there were," Maleficent said, as Alison looked at her puzzled, the smile fading. "I've seen the curse, I studied it long before Regina ever cast it."

"How? She got the curse from Rumpelstiltskin," Alison asked, calmly.

"Yes, she did," Maleficent said, "But she was afraid to use it for a very long time, especially since it came from your beloved grandfather. So she traded it to me for a sleeping curse. I had it stored away safely for a very long time, studying every little bit of that creation of his."

Maleficent leaned forward, her face only a foot away from Alison's, "And the only loophole I'm afraid written into that curse is that anyone who was born during the curse or brought here with the curse will be returned. Other than that, the only ones returning are the ones who were born to that world."

Maleficent had a greedy gleam in her eyes as she said silky, "Which brings me to my proposition."

"Enough!"

There was a rush of heated, angry magic washing over them. Maleficent and Alison were forced apart from each other, sitting up straight in their chairs. The time spell seemed to be disbanded and the world resumed around them as if nothing had happened. Alison felt a strong hand on her shoulder, gripping her tightly. She looked up to see Rumpelstiltskin standing there, glaring at Maleficent. Maleficent smiled back at him as she said, "Well if it isn't the imp? Would you like some tea?"

"No," Rumpelstiltskin said, "And I believe I made myself clear last time that you were to leave my family alone."

"We are just having a little meeting," Maleficent said, "She had a school assignment to complete and I was who she was interviewing."

"Well this interview is over," Rumpelstiltskin said sternly, "Come along, Alison."

Alison wanted to scowl. But feeling the anger radiating off of him, Alison decided that was better to not. Standing up, Alison grabbed her backpack. Rumpelstiltskin pushed her along, steering her towards the exit. Maleficent didn't seem bothered as she said, coyly, "Fairfarren Alice. Till we meet again."

"Not on your life," Rumpelstiltskin snapped rudely. The two left the shop as Gold pulled Alison down the street. They had made it quite a distance away before Alison squeaked as she almost tripped. Pulling her arm from him, Alison finally said, "Would you stop dragging me!"

"Why?!" he turned to her, staring at her hard, "Why were you even there with her?!"

"She told you!" Alison said, crossly, "All the students had an assignment to interview for a profession and apparently I was assigned to do hers."

"And you went?!"Rumpelstiltskin said, incredulously.

"I didn't know it was her exactly. Just that it was someone from the newspaper," Alison explained, "I didn't realize who it was until after I got here!"

"And you didn't think to leave?!" Rumpelstiltskin said, livid, "She could have hurt you or worse!"

"Well I couldn't exactly leave," Alison said, frustrated, "I owed her a meeting in exchange for saving someone's life."

"Ah yes," he said, sarcastically, "From when you were playing Hero when you weren't supposed to be!"

Fire sparked in Alison's eyes, making her glare at him in return. "What is that supposed to mean!?"

"It means your constant meddling is what puts you in these situations," he thundered, "I've asked you to stop, but every time I turn, you are still doing it! If you had just stayed out of things like I asked you to-!"

"Then what?!" Alison said, angrily, "Then my friends would have been dead! But I guess that doesn't matter much to you, does it?!"

"Excuse me?!" His glower was enough to make anyone else shrink away in fear. But not her. She stood as tall and unwavering as her rage took over.

"You still don't get it, do you!?" Alison snapped, "I am a Mage and Queen. It doesn't matter if I promise not to use my magic, I still have an obligation to help. I can't just let that responsibility go just because you've got an ego that you can't let go of!"

"Watch your tone, Alison Kinsleigh!" Gold's thundering voice returned, "You might be used to doing or saying whatever you want with your other foster families, but I will not tolerate it!"

There was an uncomfortable silence that fell across them. A flash of hurt crossed her face as her eyes went glassy as she said ferociously, "I'm sorry? What did you just say? Whatever I want? Is that what you think my life was?!"

Gold opened his mouth only for a burst of her magic to knock him backwards. It was hot, almost scorching his skin. Her magic swirled dangerously as she snarled, tearfully, "You have NO IDEA what I've had to endure over the past few years! How many times I've been abandoned and abused! ALL SO I COULD FIND YOU! YOU! The man who let everyone get cursed here and won't do anything to fix it! The man I had to scramble to save when he was the dark one because there were other Mage's who wanted to kill him!"

The plant life around him began to shrivel away from her, dying as her rage ridden magic burned around her. Gold, who was staring at her in shock and regret as he said, "Alison, that's not what I meant-!"

"NO!" Alison snarled, "I'm not listening to you anymore! I'm so tired of being treated like I'm useless by you! Just leave me alone!"

Alison disappeared in a tornado of magic, leaving Gold reeling from her wrath. Groaned, he rubbed his eyes before looking around at her chaotic aftermath. The plants around them had shriveled into brown corpses of what they used to be. He lifted his hand, fixing the damage that had been done. At least, the one that he could fix at the moment. Sighing, he said, "Now I've done it…"

There were murmurings around him, as he glanced at the few onlookers. They looked wary and anxious, staring at him from across the street. Making a face, he transported himself away and into the safety of his office. Collapsing into his chair, he glanced over at the pictures on his desk. Alison's school picture sat there, her smile in it only making him feel worse. Gold picked it up, staring at it mournfully as he said, "Useless… you are one of the most precious things in my life. Why do you not see that?"

---

Crane quietly made his way down the alley way in the dead of night. He kept his hood up in hopes that he would not be seen. Making sure the silver riding crop was tucked away, he made his way towards the stairwell that led him to his apartment. As he got closer however, his heart filled with trepidation to see that a light was on inside.

Swallowing, Crane pulled out a dagger hiding in his coat. He quickly and quietly opened the door, allowing him to slip inside. At first he couldn't see who had broken in. It wasn't until he made his way to his small bedroom that he saw someone sitting on the bed.

"Katrina!" Crane yanked off his hood and looked at her in shock. She was sitting on the bed, looking thoroughly miserable. Her eyes were glassy and she was trembling from her head to her toes. Crane didn't hesitate to cross the room and kneel down in front of her. He asked worriedly, "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night. You're father-!"

"Why didn't you kill him?" Katrina interrupted, her voice shaking and timid.

"What?" Crane asked.

"Brom," Katrina said, her voice broken, "Why didn't you kill him?"

"He managed to escape," Crane grimaced, "His group split up into two groups. The ones I ran into were the others. Why? What has happened?"

"He's demanded my father for my hand," Katrina said, her eyes watering, "When he tried to decline his offer, he…"

Katrina let out a sob, hanging her head in shame. Crane narrowed his eyes as he noted bruises hiding within the collar of her dress. Clenching his fist, Crane said, "I'm sorry. I wish I had found him tonight."

"We have to kill him, Ichabod," Katrina said, her eyes wet with tears, "He's going to force me to marry him, I know it. Please."

"Tomorrow," Crane promised, grasping her hands, "I will make sure I get him tomorrow. And then we can be together. Forever."

Katrina smiled weakly as Crane kissed her hands repeatedly whispering, "I love you, Katrina."

"I love you, too, Ichabod Crane," swooned Katrina.

---

The bell in his shop went off, causing a flash of irritation to Gold. He didn't let that affect his work, however. He kept writing the formula on the scroll, the letters glowing briefly as he wrote them carefully. He didn't even lift his head as Emma and Regina came into the back. He glanced up at them briefly as he said, "Didn't you see the sign said closed?"

"Sorry, this is phantom related," Emma said, promptly, "We found something of his and we were hoping you could tell us what it is."

Emma looked towards Regina, who pulled out a wrapped object from her bag. Rumpelstiltskin finished the last ruin on the scroll. All of the symbols and words lit up gold, sparkling in the light of the shop. Putting down his quill, he took the object from Regina. Emma stepped closer to the spell. She looked at it in wonder as she said, "What is that?"

"That is the spell we are going to use to strip this Phantom of his power," Rumpelstiltskin replied, "Then we can get answers from him…"

Rumpelstiltskin trailed off as he unwrapped the item, holding the silver riding crop in his hand. He eyes stared at it in shock. Regina noticed his reaction as she said, "I take it you know what that is."

"Yes," Rumpelstiltskin said, examining it intently, "I know exactly what it is."

"Then can you please share with the rest of us?" Regina asked impatiently, "I want this bastard to get what he is due."

"It is an ancient relic, said to be made by the Fates to control the fastest horse alive, Arion," Rumpelstiilskin said, "A man from the Northern lands came to me a long time ago looking for this object."

"Was he someone with sired powers?"

"Weak ones at best," Gold said with a scoff, "But he wasn't interested in growing them. He just wanted this."

"Well what happened after?" Emma asked, staring at him with furrowed brows. He twisted the crop in his hand as he said, "The man left and I never saw him again. But from what I heard, a Northern town was plagued by a demon that rode a horse faster than the devil himself. A demon known as the Headless Horseman."

"Wait, the Headless Horseman?" Emma said, stricken. "Isn't that horse-?"

"Excalibur," Regina said, frowning, "Yes, it is."

"But it doesn't make sense," Gold said, "From what I heard, the headless horseman was killed by a Northerners High King's guard."

"Maybe Phantom got a hold of this after the Headless Horseman was defeated?" Emma asked.

"No, that's too much of a coincidence," Regina said, "It has to be him. But why? Why go after Alison? Did you two have a falling out?"

"No," Gold said frowning, "He paid his price and went on his merry way. He never contacted me again and nor did I seek him out."

"Well it doesn't matter why," Emma said, "This will help us locate him right?"

Gold gripped the riding crop tightly as he said, darkly, "It will."

Emma looked at the spell, a look of determination coming on her face as she said, "Then lets get him."

---

He walked in the thick mud as the rain pounded down. His face was concealed and a horse stood waiting for him. It nickered and stomped its feet impatiently. The man's cruel smile was concealed by darkness. The woods surrounding him seemed unwelcoming and eerie; enough to send chills on a warm summer day. Stroking the horse's neck, he roughly grabbed and pulled the reins. The horse let out a rough breath of protest, stomping its feet even more.

"Please don't do this." Arion pleaded to Crane. "Flee with her if you must, but killing him will solve nothing."

Crane said nothing. Swinging his leg up onto the horse, he dug his muddy boot into the horse's side. Crying out, the horse sped off down the mud ridden road. Crane held the reins tightly in his left hand while the other reached down towards something tied into the horse's saddle. The silver riding crop seemed to glow, even though it was night. Grabbing its hilt, he let out an evil chuckle as he saw the village in the distance. He had work to do.

"It's time," Crane said, his eyes glowing a dangerous glow, "It is time for that bastard to die."

"Brom! Let's go, he isn't going to show up tonight."

The man behind Brom pleaded, following him through the woods. They were holding onto rifles, hunting in the woods for the Headless Horseman. Brom glared back at him as he thundered, "Not on your life! He's killed our friends and we will avenge them!"

The man jumped when he heard the cracking of branches. However, a bird flew overhead, cawing in the night. Sighing, the man followed Brom with worry as he said, "None of us have been able to kill him Brom! He is a demon!"

"A demon I will slay," Brom said venomously. He held the rifle tightly as they made their way back towards the main road. Brom and his friend stayed hidden amongst the trees, watching the main road cautiously. Brom kept a hunter's eye out as he said, "Hidden here we will have the element of surprise against him. Once he makes his way, I will shoot him down like the dog he is."

"H-How are you going to lure him out?" squawked his friend, trembling greatly. "He only comes out when people are on the road-!"

He yelped as Brom shoved him forward. The man stumbled out onto the road, the rifle almost falling out of his hand. He looked at Brom wildly as he said, "W-What are you doing, Brom? He'll kill me!"

"He won't kill you because I will have killed him first," Brom hissed, "Relax."

The man opened his mouth only for a loud braying of a horse to interrupt his thoughts. The man looked down the road with hesitation, his wide eyes watching the scene before him.

The horse was as black as night, its hooves stomping the ground. His eyes glowed dangerously in the moonlight as it approached. Upon his back was a headless figure, grasping a lit jack o'lantern with a malicious face.

The man ran.

"No-!" Brom was too late to warn him. The horse charged forward, the Headless Horseman readying to throw his jack o'lantern head. It soared through the air, spinning madly as flames escaped from it. It struck his friend and exploded.

The horse neighed loudly, stomping its feet as the headless horseman raised his arm in victory. There was a loud crack of a rifle being shot, echoing the air and causing the horse to spin around frightened. Brom stood there with fury on his face, rifle pointed up at him again as he said, "Die, demon."

A gunshot fired, echoing in the cold dead air.

Brom dropped to his knees, feeling pain and numbness. He looked down to see blood seeping from his side. He looked behind him to see Crane standing there with a gun.

"Funny, Brom," Crane said coldly, "I could say the same to you."

"Crane," Brom panted, dropping down onto his back. He struggled to keep himself up as he said, "Wh-What are you doing?!"

"What does it look like, Brom?" Crane said, "Killing you at last."

He let out a low hum and Brom watched as the headless horseman on the horse's back disappeared. Horror and disbelief crossed his face. The horse neighed in protest only for Crane to grasp the silver riding crop. The horse quieted as Crane said, "My abilities are quite unique. While I can't enchant men like I do women, I can make them see illusions. Make them see what I want them to."

"Enchant…" Brom said, gasping for air, "You're a siren? How is that possible?! You are a man!"

Crane pointed the gun at Brom and said, triumphantly, "More of a man than you will ever be Brom. This is for Katrina."

There was another gunshot, echoing painfully through the air. Brom fell down on the road dead. Arion brayed in upset, stomping his feet as Crane breathed in deep saying, "Finally, it is done."

---

"I can't believe I have to go do this."

Ava was walking down the hallway, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Her hands were stuffed into her pocket as she stalked down the hallway saying, "He better not be thinking about lecturing me about his job. I swear if I have to listen to another rules and responsibilities speech-!"

Loud and explosive piano playing interrupted her grumpiness. Ava looked wildly towards the auditorium, listening to the angry playing. Was that Professor Avenant? She knew his piano playing depended much upon his mood, but she had never heard playing like that before. Walking towards the auditorium, she found that a door was open that led to the top of the balcony.

Where Alison Kinsleigh was playing rather ferociously.

"Alison?" Ava asked, confused. Alison stopped abruptly, looking over at her friend. "What are you doing here? I thought you had your meeting?"

"I did," Alison seethed, "And guess what?"

"What?" Ava asked.

"The person I was meeting was the elemental user," Alison said angrily, "Maleficent."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Ava said exasperated.

"Oh it gets better," Alison said, her eyes filling with angry tears again, "Just before I could figure out what she wanted, Gold showed up and dragged me out!"

"Something tells me he wasn't happy?"

"Of course not," Alison said angrily, "Because I'm just some useless little kid in his mind!"

"I seriously doubt that," Ava sighed as Alison shut the book and the piano cover. Wiping her tears, Alison barely noticed Ava come over to her. Ava let the bag slide off her shoulder and drop to the floor. Ava scooted her friend, allowing her to sit next to her. Alison stared emptily at the piano as she said, "So why does it feel that way?"

"Because you keep taking his reactions personally," Ava said, "Do you really think your Dad would be any less upset if he found you across the table from the oldest villainess of all time?"

Alison winced, tears welling up in her eyes as she said, "No…"

"No, he wouldn't," Ava said, "Because that's what parents do. They protect us, because they love us. And anyone can see that Gold loves you. The question is, why don't you see that?"

Conflict arose in Alison's eyes as she twiddled her thumbs. Ava waited patiently, watching her friend fighting to find the words. Swallowing, Alison said ashamedly, "Because if I'm wrong about that, then everyone is right and he's just using me."

Ava reached over, grabbing her friend's hand. She squeezed it comfortingly and said, "Alison, that may have been true in Wonderland. But that's not the case anymore. He loves you. If he is keeping secrets, it's because he's protecting you."

Alison closed her eyes, wiping her cheeks clean of tears. Wincing, Alison said,"Ugh, even if he does love me, he certainly is not happy with me now. I wasn't exactly nice to him earlier."

"And I'm sure he wasn't nice to you. You both get under each other's skins easily." Ava said, rolling her eyes. "So how about you hang around while I interview Mr. Uptight and I'll go with you so you can talk to him."

Alison glanced up at the clock on the wall and jumped up with a yelp, "Ava Zimmer! You were supposed to be there 15 minutes ago!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't get on me about it," Ava said, rolling her eyes as she slung her bag on her shoulder again as Alison gathered her stuff. "Besides, I couldn't leave my friend banging angry music on the piano. Professor Avenant would have had you skinned for that atrocity."

Alison scowled as she and Ava made their way down the staircase, "No, you would just rather that you get detention for a month!"

The two girls made it out into the hallway, walking side by side. Ava slung her arm around Alison's shoulders as she said proudly, "I know! Aren't I such a good friend?"

Alison rolled her eyes at her, but allowed her arm to go around her waist saying, "Yeah, yeah. You'd be an even better friend if I didn't have to wait for you to get out of detention every day."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ava said as they went over towards the Principal's office. The door was ajar a bit, the shades of the inside windows closed. Alison peeked in the window of the door first only to yank Ava back.

"Hey, wha-?" Ava started only for Alison to press her finger to her lips. She jerked her thumb over, causing Ava to glance through the window. Inside was Principal Rogers standing with Miss Krystal.

"What are they doing?" Ava whispered to Alison, "I know I'm late, but he wouldn't have a meeting so soon. Believe me, he was gonna make me suffer."

"Shh," Alison said, "You don't want to interrupt and make him angrier do you?"

"Ichabod, we need to get rid of him!"

Miss Krystals voice was loud, upset and heartbroken. That cut both Ava and Alison off. Quietly, they listened as Principal Rogers said, "Katrina! Don't be so loud and you know we can't do that! Not without leverage."

"What kind of leverage could we possibly get to use?" Katrina said upset.

"The Kinsleigh girl," Principal Rogers' voice was cold and determined. Alison and Ava exchanged stricken, horrified looks as he continued. "The elemental users want her. If we have her hostage, it will earn my freedom. And we can leave and do as we please."

"But how?" Katrina said, "What's to stop them from controlling you through that mark, Ichabod? Even with your powers, you haven't been able to overpower them."

"They won't hurt you or me if we use the girl," he said surely, "After all, they need her alive. If they want to keep her that way, then they will do as I ask."

"How are you going to keep her from hurting you?" Miss Krystal asked, worried, "She's not going to come without a fight."

"She hasn't been able to defeat me yet," Principal Rogers said, surely, "That won't start today. We will win, Katrina."

He leaned down, kissing her square on the mouth. She kissed him back, deeply. Alison and Ava looked away, half in disgust and half in terror.

"Oh, my god," Ava whispered, horrified and angry, "It's him. I knew he was a jerk but-!"

"Alison, hey!"

The voice was loud and clear, ringing in the hallway. The two girls looked over to see Fife standing there with a curious look on his face. Alison and Ava glanced back to see that the two had broken apart and Principal Roger was staring right at them.

"Run!" Alison pushed Ava as the two sprinted down the hallway. Fife looked confused as he said, "What's the matter?"

"No time to explain!" Alison grasped hand and pulled him down the hallway, "But if you don't want to die via crazy psychopath, RUN!"

Miss Krystal and Principal Rogers came out, staring after them. Miss Krystal looked aghast as she said, "Ichabod, we can't let them get away-!"

"They won't," he said, coldly, "Go. Take care of him and I will get Miss Kinsleigh."

"Alison, what's happening?!" Fife said as Alison and Ava raced towards the door with him.

"Long story short, Principal Rogers is the Phantom and he now knows we know!" Alison shouted, "We need to get out of here!"

The entrance was right at the end of the hallway. The three ran towards it, Ava reaching it first. She raced out with Fife not too far behind. Alison had almost made it through when she felt something pierce her ears. Screaming, she felt herself collapse to the floor.

It was painful; the whistle was high pitched and filled with magic that was trying to force her into submission. Alison saw Ava turn and race back up the stairs.

Only for the doors to slam shut.

Alison breathed in deep, focusing her magic around her ears, blocking the spell from its desired effect. The sound faded away into nothing, allowing her to hear Ava banging desperately on the door. But the walls and doors glowed a gold Alison didn't pay any attention to it as she stood up, turning around. Principal Rogers stood there, a dark look on his face. He stopped whistling as he said, "Well, well. That's a new trick. Have you been holding back on me Miss Kinsleigh?"

"I seldomly show all my tricks," Alison said coldly, "So you're Ichabod Crane?"

Crane smiled coldly as he bowed with a flourish as he said, "In the flesh."

"Also known as the Headless Horseman." Alison said testily, "And Phantom. Why hide behind so many names?"

"Says the girl who has many," Crane said, superiorly, "Alison Kinsleigh, Autumn Doe… Lady Alice Little."

Alison breathed in deep, her eyes shining with malice. There was banging again as she heard Ava shout, "Alison!"

"Ava, don't waste time! Go get help now!" Alison shouted, glancing back at the doors.

"There is no point," Crane said flatly. Alison looked back at him sharply as he said, "They won't be able to enter. That shield is absolute."

"We'll see about that," Alison said, outstretching her arms exasperated, "Why hide behind names, Crane?"

"I've been marked," Crane said, pulling on his collar to show markings on his neck. "My master has a flair for the dramatic, I'm afraid."

"And you don't?" Alison said, heatedly, "You enslaved a innocent life so you could terrorize a town!"

"Innocent life?" Crane said, letting out a cold laugh, "He was a horse. A talking animal who didn't have the stomach to help me get justice."

"You call cutting off people's heads and mutilating their bodies justice?" Alison asked.

"Yes," Crane said, angrily, "Especially when it is men taking liberties they have no business taking. Every person I killed was deserving of it! Brutalizers!"

Alison flinched at that word, gripping her hand into a balled fist. Crane walked towards her slowly, eyes stared at her intently as he said pleadingly, "You must know the injustice of that, especially coming from where you come from. Especially being a nobody."

"Shut up Crane," the hatred in Alison's voice was unmistakable, "Why do you need to use me to get your freedom?"

"You mean Maleficent didn't tell you?" his voice was taunting. "I practically handed you over to her and she didn't even get to tell you what she needed to. They need you, Miss Kinsleigh. They need your power, just like they needed mine, to get everything they want. And you're the only way Katrina and I can be free."

Crane stopped a few feet away and extended his hand saying, "Now that I've answered your questions, be a good girl and come with me."

"Or what?" Alison snapped, "You're going to torture me like you did Kathryn?"

"There is no use fighting," Crane scoffed, "You cannot escape and I've lost interest in this little conversation of yours."

"Oh that's fine," Alison laughed, rolling her eyes. Crane narrowed his as she looked at him with a malicious smirk as she said, her eyes glowing golden, "The only reason I did it was to give me time."

"Wha-?" Crane roared as he felt pain sear through his legs. He looked down to see his shadows connected with hers. Magical gold vines were shooting up from a mandala looking symbol glowing on the ground. He struggled but he couldn't quite break free.

Alison took that opportunity to run.

She sprinted past him as she felt his power pooling to free himself. She had started racing up the stairs when she heard him yell, "You can't escape from this!"

---

"After him!"

Crane grimaced as he heard the King's guard ascend upon him. They were not far off and he hadn't managed to shake them yet. Smacking Arion with the riding crop, he snarled, "Faster! Lose them."

"You and I have both used too much power," Arion said wearily as he galloped on, "We won't-!"

"I didn't ask for a lecture," thundered Crane, hitting him with the riding crop again, "Just do this one last thing for me and you will be free of me forever. Move faster!"

Arion pushed on, going faster and faster through the woods. It was starting to put distance as the crop began to glow vibrantly. The world around them started to turn warped, one world turning into another. Crane smirked victoriously as he said, "We have almost made it-!"

There was a sickening crack as Arion roared in pain.

He stumbled to the ground, throwing Crane off of him. Crane yelped in pain, scrambling to get up as he said, "What is the matter with you-?"

Crane stopped as he saw that a trap had caught him around his leg. Arion roared in pain as Crane said in horror, "No, no, no no!"

Crane made his way to remove the trap, bit by bit. The guards got closer and closer until Crane finally heard, "There he is!"

"No!" Crane would have fled but the guards were too quick. They grabbed him by his arms and gagged him. The leader of the guards stared at him coldly and said, "Don't struggle. Take off his coat and leave it. Make it look like he perished falling off the cliffs."

Crane snarled against the bonds, feeling his coat being taken. The two guards took Crane as another left with his coat. One of the guards next to him looked at the horse with pity as he asked, "What of the horse? It'd be a shame to leave him."

"Its leg is caught in a trap," the leader said with a heavy sigh, "He probably won't be able to run again. Just leave him. We have to take him to our Lord."

The Leader walked away as the soldier looked back at the horse. Arion let out a small pleading whinny as the soldier looked over his shoulder hastily. He pulled out his knife and set to work undoing the bonds.

"I can't help more than this," the soldier murmured, "But you shouldn't have to die like this."

"Lefou! Stop with your bleeding heart and hurry up," the leader shouted. The soldier scrambled up and hurried back to his horse. The leader watched as a sack was put over Crane's head before saying, "Let's head out men. We need to be back before dawn."

The soldiers left with Crane, leaving Arion alone. He grunted and brayed, trying to get himself up from the snow. His leg burned with pain, but it was still usable. Or at least he hoped. Pushing himself up, Arion roared in pain as he slipped back down.

"You poor thing."

Arion looked to see someone standing there. He was dressed in a blood red cloak, looking eerie in the snowwhite forest. Arion tried to speak, but all that came out was a neigh. This seemed to distress him more, letting out a sad cry. The cloaked figure grew closer as he said, "You cannot speak anymore…you are still bound to Crane's will, bound to the relic. So unless it is him, many will not be able to understand you."

The cloaked figure reached down and extended his hand over Arion's leg. "But I do. Words are not needed to understand your pain."

Arion's leg glowed red, the pain rescinding from it. Arion was able to jump up, trotting in the snow appreciatively. The man in the cloak laughed as he said, "Good as new. I was coming for your soul, but it seems you are not yet ready to come with me. So, instead, I offer you a chance."

The man in the figure extended his hand, the forest around them warping. Arion looked around nervously as the scene changed. Tree's changed from the night of winter to a bright spring day. Arion felt the magic of the world shy away as something new took its place. Arion neighed nervously as the man said, "Don't worry, friend. I have no interest in you. This world is a land with no magic. No one will know you here. You can be free."

Arion looked around hesitantly as the man smiled beneath his hood, his face still hidden by shadows, "Go. Find a companion who is worthy of you."

Arion neighed loudly, jumping in happiness before galloping away into the woods. The hood figure disappeared in a whirl of red smoke, laughing quite loudly as the window blew heavily through the trees. The wind blew all the way to a manor where a little girl was playing with her father, making a blanket fly up off the ground.

"Daddy! Catch it! Catch it!" almost three year old Alison screeched, reaching to grab the picnic blanket. She fell into the blanket as she did so, causing Baelfire to chuckle at her antics.

"Don't worry, Lisie,"Baelfire said, grabbing one of the rocks and placing it on the corner, "It's not going anywhere."

Alison made an adorable face, before squeaking as one of the corners blew up and hit her in the face. She pinned down again like a cat, glaring atit . Baelfire couldn't help but laugh. She glared up at her father as she said, "No laugh at me… Not funny."

"'Don't laugh at me' is the way you say it," corrected Baelfire gently, before saying cheekily, "And it is very funny."

Alison stuck her tongue out only to shriek as Baelfire scooped her up, tickling her sides mercilessly. Baelfire tickled her a moment longer as he looked towards the trees. He frowned a bit as he watched them dance in the wind. It was almost ominous as if something was watching them. Alison noticed his change in demeanor as she asked, "Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing baby," Baelfire said gently, kissing her forehead, "Don't worry about it."

---

"What is happening!?"

Ava looked back wildly to see Gold, Regina, and Emma appearing out of nowhere. The crop was glowing in her hands violently, shaking immensely. Gold stared at the school with a glower and looked at Ava furiously.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Fife got to you guys already?" Ava said, surprised, "I just sent him down to the station to get you."

"We were following this-!" Emma yelped as the crop magically pulled her closer to the school. Regina watched her in surprise as Emma yanked back on it, grimacing. "This thing! And it brought us here!"

"The Phantom must be here," Regina said. Gold raced up the school steps. Muttering an elvish spell, his hands glowed purple as he placed them on the shield.

"He is!" Ava said looking from Gold to Regina and Emma, "It's Principal Rogers and he's just trapped him and Alison in the school!"

Emma yelped, the silver riding crop dragging her forward again. It almost knocked her to her knees as it finally yanked out of her hand. It crashed into the window of one of the classrooms, but couldn't break through the shield. The shield pulsated again and again as it kept trying to break through. Emma swore as she said, rubbing her wrist, "I don't think that is going to come down anytime soon. Gold, how long is it going to take for you to break through?"

The purple magic burst from his hands, dissipating into nothing. He slammed his fist on the door as he shouted, "Too long! He must have ruins ingrained inside to keep a protective shield like this up!"

"Then what do we do?" Emma said. Gold gritted his teeth, tightening his fist.

"Alison is going to have to break an opening in the shield," Gold grimaced, "If she can break part of the ruin from the inside, we can get in and stop him."

"How are we going to get that message across to her?" Emma asked sharply. Regina pulled out her cell phone as she dialed a number saying, "Come on, child. You had better pick up the phone."

Alison raced down the hallway, looking around desperately. The shield was over every window and emergency exit. Her power was pulsing through her veins violently to keep his own magic from hurting her. Even with all her power, she wouldn't be able to keep him at bay for long. She needed to find a way out and fast.

She could hear the crashing of Crane chasing after her, the chaotic magic trying to overwhelm her. Pushing more magic out, Alison shot a cannon sized ball of magic his way. Hitting him square on, he flew backwards into a classroom door.

Turning, Alison raced through the hall. Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom. She needed to find a bathroom. She spotted it at the very end of the hall and charged in. She shut the door, clapping her hands together and rubbing them. Her hands glowed gold as she did her best to seal off the bathroom. Just as she started to do that, her phone started to ring. Taking one of her hands off the door, Alison looked at her phone to see Regina's name scrawled across the screen. The door jumped under her hand, threatening to open as Crane tried to break in. Alison forced more magic through her hand, keeping the door sealed as possible. Answering the phone, Alison shouted, "Regina, I'm in the middle of trying not to get killed so unless you're calling to tell me someone is coming to help-!"

"That's the problem!" Regina's voice was stricken, "We can't get inside. We think he has ruins reinforcing the shield from the inside."

"You have got to be kidding me," Alison snapped bitterly. Crane charged the door again, his magic threatening to make it burst open. Alison dropped the phone to the ground, grasping the door with both hands. Regina's voice sounded even more alarmed as she said, "Alison, are you okay-?!"

"No! I'm trapped in a bathroom trying to keep Crane from getting in!" Alison said, "I'm trying to seal it but he keeps blasting the door!"

Regina yelped and was yelling something incoherent. Alison kept working at sealing off the door when she heard a different voice come over the phone, "Alison, are you still there?!"

"Gold!" Alison said, watching as her spell flickered as Crane charged the door again.

"Listen to me," his voice was urgent, "Where are you right now?!"

"The bathroom on the third floor," Alison said.

"Is there a window in there?"

Alison glanced towards the window as she said, "Yes, there is. Why?"

"In order for us to get in, you need to destroy the ruins in the window," Gold said, urgently, "There has to be in every opening for his spell to work. If you remove them, we can get inside."

"I can't!" Alison shrieked as the door violently shook, "He keeps shaking the door which is preventing my spell from sealing!"

"Don't seal the door! Seal the lock!"

"That's not going to hold for long! He's got just as much magic as I do!" Alison said, strained.

"If you seal the door, you'll use up more magic than you have and you are going to need it to remove the ruins," Gold said firmly, "You don't need it to hold it for long, just long enough to get the ruins off the window."

"But," Alison sounded fearful, "What if he gets in before-?"

"Alison, sweetheart, I need you to trust me. Seal the lock!"

The door almost blew open, making Alison shriek. She snapped the door closed, turning the lock on the handle. Tracing the lock with her finger, the lock glowed. The banging continued but the door remained shut. Alison wasted no time, grabbing the phone as she scrambled to the window. The window was shimmering with magic, the ruins carved into the window sill.

"What do I have to do to get this off!?" Alison asked sharply.

"You will need to burn the magic out of each of the ruins," Gold said, "JUST the ruins. If you try to set fire to the window sill, it will rebound. Once the magic is gone, it will leave an opening and we can get in."

"Alright," Alison said. She began work, tracing her finger on each ruin to burn the magic away. It felt like her arm was on fire and that her magic was being pulled from her. The smell was horrendous and it took every little bit of her to not vomit. She was halfway through the window sill when she jumped at a loud crack. The shield reflected her magic back at her as it burned her wrist. Grabbing her wrist she looked back in horror to see golden crack marks had appeared around the lock and the door was vibrating.

"Be careful!" Gold said sharply, "I said-!"

"I know what you said," Alison snapped, getting back to her work, "But he's already breaking the seal on the lock-!"

"Just keep going," Gold said, firmly.

Alison did keep going, but she couldn't help but notice Crane's magic started breaking through the door and more cracks appeared on the lock. She could feel the drain of her magic draining her energy. Her arm was in agony, but she didn't dare stop. The magic burned through the last one and the shimmering on the door disappeared.

"Done!" Alison shouted.

The door exploded open.

Alison screamed, the screeching and magic grabbing at her and crushing her to the floor. Crane's dark magic was suffocating, the screeching making her ears throb violently. Alison was curled on the floor attempting to get a shield back around her, but his magic was drowning her. She couldn't see anything but she could hear Crane's cruel laughter as she shouted, "Rumpelstiltskin!"

Crane's laughter got louder as the room grew darker. She couldn't breathe. Her magic sputtered and struggled to keep her conscious as Crane's magic continued its assault. Alison clasped her hands over her ears as she felt the magic close in on her. Anxiety ripped through her as she screamed, "PAPA!"

A bright light exploded around her as Crane's magic was forced back. Alison looked up to watch Emma and Regina trap him against the hallway wall. Alison trembled on the floor, trying to get up. Two strong arms came around her, pulling her to him. Alison looked up and Gold was staring at her with concern.

"This isn't over!"

Crane's snarl caught both of their attention. They looked over at him, watching him restrained by magical chains. He looked half hazard and ragged as he growled, "You think just because you defeat me that you all will be safe!? A war is coming, and none of you will be able to leave unscathed!"

"Enough, you pathetic little man!" Regina seethed, "Who is it you're working with?! Who is your partner?"

Crane looked at them with disgust as he said, "It won't matter. You are all doomed."

Crane howled in pain, throwing his head back as magic coursed through him like veins. It crossed his skin at an alarming rate, faster than Regina or Emma could react. Gold looked stricken as he shouted, "No-!"

Emma screeched as Crane blew up, the magic burning his body to ash. Regina swore loudly, stepping away from the ash falling to the floor. A dark look crossed Gold's face as Emma shouted, "What the hell-?!"

"It was a suicide spell," Gold growled, "One that would kill him upon being caught. Whoever he was working with clearly didn't want him talking."

"But clearly not enough to stop his ominous warning," Regina said, "What war is he talking about?"

Gold tightened his hold around Alison protectively as he said, "I assume we will be confronted with it soon."

Avenant, who was sitting in an armchair in the teachers lounge, rolled his eyes at the scene the mirror was showing him. Snapping his fingers, the image disappeared. Taking a sip from his coffee cup, he said, "The game is already in motion, Rumpelstiltskin. You are several moves behind."

There was a click. Avenant raised his brows but didn't seem at all bothered by it. Nor was he particularly bothered by the barrel of a gun being pointed to the back of his head. Miss Krystal glared at him, angry tears rolling down her face as she snapped, "Get up."

"How rude of you, Katrina," Avenant said cooly, "To think, it was not that long ago when you were attempting to shove your tongue down my throat."

"I said get up, Lord Casablancas!" she snapped angrily, "Or I will blow your brains out of your skull!"

Avenant calmly put his mug down on the table next to him. Standing, he turned to see her pointing the gun straight at him. She trembled a bit as tears fell down her cheek saying, "It's all your fault. You forced him to do this. All of this! You let him sacrifice himself!"

"Even if I did, he was getting his just punishment for the dozens of people he himself murdered," Avenant said smoothly, "All for revenge; revenge he did on your behalf I do believe."

"He was a good man," Katrina said, her voice broken, "Living amongst people who turned a blind eye, arrogant pigs that took what they pleased…"

Katrina pushed the barrel against his chest as she hissed, "And heartless monarchs."

"I quite assure you, my heart is still intact," Avenant said, unphased by her actions, "I'm merely unmoved by low class harlots like yourself."

Katrina cried out as a high pitched pipe echoed in the room. The fast paced music was striking every nerve possible. She collapsed to the floor as she attempted to cover her ears. She looked over to her left as she saw a record playing on the staff table. Her heart filled with dread as she realized her mistake. Avenant stood there, reaching out as he said, "Did you truly forget who amplified your lover's power? Do you think I am a fool? That you both would try and find some other way to squirm your way to freedom?"

He pulled the gun from her shaking hands as she let out painful cries. Avenant stared at her coldly as she stammered, "Y-You won't get a-away with this. That girl w-will never j-join you."

"Oh but she will," Avenant said, "She just needs the right push."

Avenant pointed the gun at Katrina's head as he said, darkly, "Not that you will get to live to see that happen. Goodbye Katrina."

---

All he could see was specks of light peeking through the sack.

Crane couldn't talk, all he could do was move along to wherever the guards were taking him. Crane stumbled as he tripped on a step but the guards kept him moving. Wherever they were it was dark and cool, and no one else seemed to be around.

Or at least that is what he thought.

He heard music. Organ music. It was flawless and a masterpiece that drew him in even though he couldn't see. The music grew louder as he got closer. The music was robust and full of power. Crane couldn't help but swallow as he got closer. Crane yelped as the guards forced him down on his knees. The hood was stripped off his head, finally revealing the scene before him.

They were in a large dark hall with the curtains closed tight. There was a man playing at a grand organ. His dark hair was wavy and his dark clothes were proper and wellmade. They fit his frame well and they moved well as he played. He seemed completely lost in his work, not acknowledging their presence yet. The guards seemed to be waiting until he had finished, not daring to interrupt. Crane didn't have the guts to either, trembling at the power behind each and every note. The song finally came to an end, the man silently sitting at the organ.

"Maestro Forte," the Lead guard said smoothly, "We have brought the Headless Horseman. Just as you asked."

The man finally stood up and turned. His face may have been handsome but his eyes were cold. Crane couldn't help but feel he had seen him somewhere before. He stared at Crane in scrutiny as he said, "You're not quite what I was expecting when I first heard the rumors, Mr. Crane. I was almost afraid that you would be some burly brute tormenting the villagers."

Maestro Forte bent down, so he was eye to eye with Crane, "Luckily for me, you are just a lovesick sired looking for revenge."

Crane heaved against the gag, feeling his face flushing up with anger. Maestro Forte stood up straight again as he walked over to a table. Picking up a long iron rod with a symbol on the end, he said, "You've murdered a lot of people in this country. You should be executed for all the crimes you've committed. Luckily for me, I retrieved you before that happened."

Crane struggled a bit as he saw the symbol on the end of it glow. Maestro Forte seemed unperturbed as he said, "To the rest of the world, you are dead Crane. No one will know you are alive."

Crane struggled again, only for the Guards to grip him still. Maestro was calm and collected as he placed the iron symbol carefully on his neck. Crane screamed into the gag, feeling the iron burn his skin. Magic that wasn't his own coursed through him and owned him as the man before watched it happen. Crane felt his own will drain away and Maestro smiled coldly. He pulled the rod away, saying, "You are now nothing but a Phantom."

Maestro Forte walked away, dropping the rod as he said, "Let him go now. He isn't going to be a problem now."

"Yes, Maestro." The guards released him and his bonds before leaving. Despite this, Crane could not get off the floor. He felt as if his muscles would not respond. Gritting his teeth, he looked up to see Maestro sit down at the bench again.

"Why?" Crane managed to spit out, "Why do you need me?"

"Not that it's any of your business to question me," Maestro Forte said shortly, "I need a performance from you; one that is filled with deception and distraction. Are you able to do that?"

Crane grimaced as his mark burned as he said, "I don't really have a choice do I?"

Maestro scoffed with a smile as he said, "Never. And if you want that little love of yours to continue living, you will do exactly as you're told."

---

"Emma!"

Emma looked up. She was standing with Piper in front of the school. A crowd of people had appeared; members of the council, law enforcements, parents, as well as emergency vehicles and personnel. Luckily, most people had gone home earlier after school was done but there were still a couple of staff and students that had gotten trapped in the school. Emma saw as David hurried over to her with Frederick close behind. Emma and Piper exchanged glances as David asked urgently, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine!" Emma said, waving dismissively, "Just trying to clean up the aftermath."

"What happened," David asked, "Did you catch the Phantom?"

"We did catch him." Emma sighed, "It was Principal Rogers, or otherwise known as Ichabod Crane."

"Ichabod Crane, like Sleepy Hollow Ichabod Crane?" David asked, shocked.

"Yeah, the very one and the same," Emma said, "He went after the kid and sealed them in the school together."

"Alison?!" Frederick said, stricken.

"Is she okay-?" David asked, sternly.

"She's fine!" Emma said quickly, "We got in before he could really do any damage. Gold just left to go tend to her injuries."

"Where is Crane now?" Frederick interrupted, scanning the crowd with anger in his eyes.

"Dead," Emm said bitterly. Both of the men looked at her incredulously as she said, "After we captured him, Crane literally burst to ashes. Gold said he thinks it was a suicide spell of sort so we couldn't get any information from him."

"Information?" David asked, looking around and leaning towards Emma. He said quietly to her, "Was he not working alone?"

"No," Emma whispered, as they began to walk away from the crowd, "He was not. According to Alison, the reason he came after her was because he wanted to use her as leverage for whoever he was working with."

"So whoever these people are want Alison," David said, frowning, "Any leads?"

"We know one of the people working with this partner is Maleficent," Emma said, "I sent Regina to go confront her, but she hasn't been able to find her anywhere."

David made a face at Regina's name and Emma looked exasperated. Crossing her arms as she said, "Look, I get there is a lot of bad blood between you, but she has been bending over backward to change her life. She has done everything you both have asked and she has saved the kids so many times-!"

"Emma, I know," David said, frustrated, "But that doesn't mean that I can just let it go!"

"Why?!" Emma said, annoyed.

"It doesn't matter," David said, "Because you won't need to rely on her and Piper anymore. You have a new deputy."

"What?!" Emma snapped, "I didn't authorize this."

"You haven't picked one and the position was open," David said shortly, "Frederick asked to take it and I gave it to him. He is more than qualified."

"I'm sure he is, but how can you do that without even consulting me!? And what are we going to do about magic? I don't have enough knowl-!" Emma said.

"Gold is the Mage, it is his responsibility to take care of the magical problems in this town," David said, shortly, "Leave that to him."

Emma made a face as she said tightly, "Am I even going to have an opinion or is that an order from the mayor?"

David breathed in deep, his eyes showing his realization of his mistake. But it was too late as Emma snapped, "Fine. Do whatever you want! Tell Frederick he starts tomorrow!"

"Emma-!" David started, but it was too late. Emma had stormed off, disappearing into the crowd. David groaned, leaning back against a tree as he rubbed his forehead. He was going to pay dearly for that one. Crossing his arms, he barely noticed Frederick coming up beside him.

"Everything okay?" Frederick asked.

"Yeah, just telling Emma the news," David said, "You start tomorrow."

Frederick spotted some reporters being held back away from the school. David saw them too as he stood up straight and said, "I guess duty calls."

---

"Ow!"

Alison flinched as Gold cleaned her burn. She was sitting on his desk with her arm extended. He has his suit jacket off, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He glanced up at her face to see her nose wrinkled in displeasure. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Quit wiggling, would you? You're the one who wanted me to clean this before I heal it."

"No, I said I would clean it before you healed it," Alison huffed, "Then you decided that you were going to do it."

Gold rolled his eyes, finishing cleaning the burn before throwing out the cotton swap. He raised his hand over her burn, healing her skin. It spread like a cool tickle, making her bite her lip to keep from giggling. Normally, Gold would tease her about it. However, his expression had turned forlorn as he let her go. Alison's smile fell knowing well what it was about. Straightening up, Alison said somewhat meekly, "Listen…about earlier…I'm sorry…"

"That makes the two of us then," Gold said, turning to put his cleaning supplies away, "I'm sorry about my insensitive comment about your foster homes. It was completely uncalled for."

Gold's back was to her, but she could still feel a tense atmosphere. Alison rubbed her healed wrist as she whispered, "I get the feeling your opinion about me and magic haven't changed."

Gold shut the cabinet with a bit of a snap. Alison winced at that snap as he turned around to her and said, "No, it has not."

He turned back towards her, noticing the fight and upset returning to her face. She was already opening her mouth to argue when he tapped her chin to close her mouth. She let him do it as he said, "But, I think you have a very big misunderstanding as to why."

Alison watched him as he extended his own hand, his magic swirling around it opaquely. He stared at it with a somber expression as he said, "My magic was cursed upon me. For more than three hundred years, I did unspeakable things to hone that skill. I was not a kind or tolerant man, especially when training anyone that came to me to learn magic. And none of it ever ended for the better."

The magic disappeared as Gold grasped her hands firmly as he said, "And while I think you are more than capable magically, I can't train you with magic. I don't want that for us. I want us to be a family."

Alison felt him squeeze her hands tightly as he pleaded, "Please understand."

Her heart couldn't help but break a little at his plea. But she couldn't let everything go. "I do understand. But that is not going to stop me being a Mage of my world. You need to stop interfering with that."

"I'm not-." Gold protested.

"But you are," Alison said, sliding off the desk and standing right in front of him. She continued holding onto his hands, saying, "In preventing me from using magic, you are tying one hand behind my back and leaving me vulnerable. I need that to stop."

Gold made an annoyed expression, letting go of her hands as he stepped back from her. Turning about, he started shuffling through his desk. He narrowed his eyes as he said shortly, "We made a deal."

"A deal that I've already broken many times, including several hours ago in the school bathroom," Alison said exasperated. Gold winced as Alison implored, "Please. The only one that is going to keep treating me like some normal kid is you. Everyone else is going to attack me with guns and spells ablazing."

"And if I just turn them into snails, that won't be an issue," Gold said sarcastically, turning around on his heels to look at her.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Alison scowled, crossing her arms.

"Alison Marie, we made a deal!" Gold said, crossly, "Why agree to something you don't want to keep?!"

"Why is this deal so important for me to keep after I've had to break it so many times?!" Alison asked, her voice rising in pitch.

"I asked you first," Gold said, testily.

"I've asked you more!" Alison argued heatedly, "Why? If you think I'm more than capable, why do you keep getting upset every time I use magic?!"

"Because I care!" Gold's voice came out in a boom. He got into her space, causing her to stumble back away from him unconsciously. He grabbed her arms as he shouted, desperately, "I care, Alison Kinsleigh! Don't you get that the last thing I want is to lose you!?"

Alison was struck wordless, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. Luckily she didn't have to say anything as he embraced her tightly. He squeezed her to him tightly, making it almost impossible for her to move. She felt her eyes burn with tears as he said, "I love you. I don't care how long it's going to take me to get that through your head. But you are my family. And I will be damned if I let anything take you away from me."

Alison swallowed as she whispered, "I'm not asking you not to protect me. I'm asking you to stop getting so angry with me over using magic. Gold-."

He flinched at the name, tensing up as he held her. Alison sighed softly, leaning against him as she whispered, "Papa, please. Please."

Gold groaned as he muttered, "You're going to be the death of me, little leaf."

Managing to slide her arms around him, Alison looked up at him hopefully. He let out a sigh, closing his own eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he looked defeated.

"Very well," Gold said, "I will let go of this deal of ours."

Alison's face looked relieved even as Gold reached up to catch her chin in his hand. He looked at her sternly as he said, "But this is not an excuse to be butting into my business, Alison. Do you understand me?"

"I understand," Alison said innocently, "Just so long as you don't use it as an excuse to interfere with mine, old coot."

Alison pressed a small kiss to his nose before escaping his clutches. He shook his head, watching her as she made her way around the desk and towards the curtained doorway. He grabbed his keys as he said, "I don't wish to get involved with your world's brand of nonsense child. Now hurry up and lock up the front door so we can go home. Belle is already worried sick."

Alison turned just in time to see his key's getting thrown in the air. Alison caught them hastily before saying, "That's the problem with your world. Everything is nonsense to you lot! How in the world do you get anything done with that attitude?"

Alison turned on her heel then and waltzed out of his office, hearing him snort. Alison allowed the curtain to swish behind her, her humor dying away and relief taking over. Letting out a big sigh, she made her way towards the front door.

Only for a silver riding crop to catch her eye.

"Alison," Gold said, rolling down his sleeves and buttoning them. There was no response, making him frown as he glanced towards the curtained entry way. Grabbing his suit jacket, he put it on briskly and called out again a bit louder. "Alison, are you done?!"

The curtain was pulled back to reveal Alison. She tossed his keys back to him saying, "Yeah, yeah. I'm done, old coot."

Gold frowned as he mocked her, "What were you doing? Taking the long way round?"

"Haha," Alison said, rolling her eyes, "No. Just locking your door. I can't help it that it's old and doesn't wanna lock half the time."

"The lock is fine dearie," Gold said, as she made her way over to him. He pocketed his keys and reached his arm out to her. Alison ducked into it, allowing his arm to wrap around her. Gripping her tight, Gold flicked his fingers to turn off the lights. Looking up, Alison frowned as she said, "You could have just turned them off on the way out."

"If we were going through the door, I would." Gold said, before throwing his arm up in the air. Purple clouds surrounded them, transporting them into the main foyer of Gold's house. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Alison glared at a smirking Rumpelstiltskin as she said, "You are the laziest person I have ever met. And that includes Chesshire!"

"Don't compare me to that cat of yours," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Rumple?! Is that you?" Belle's voice called out. It sounded worried and concerned which made Alison glare disappear quickly. Gold released Alison before calling out, "Yes, we are here."

There was the sound of running footsteps as Belle came dashing in from the kitchen. Alison almost squeaked as Belle crushed her in the tightest of hugs. Gold rolled his eyes, but had a soft smile on his face as he said, "I told you. She is fine."

Belle shot him a dirty look as she said, "She just had a homicidal maniac who turned out to trap her inside of the school! She is not fine!"

"I mean, yeah," Alison said, clearly uncomfortable in her arms, "But he's dead and I'm not, so it's fine."

Belle pulled away far enough so she could look at her in aghast, which made Alison even more uncomfortable. Pushing Alison's hair out of the way, she said, heartbroken, "It's not fine. Someone tried hurting you! How can that be fine?!"

Alison wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Her comment stunned her as did the woman's concern. She just stood there, awkwardly rubbing her foot into the foyer carpet. Alison squirmed a bit under Belle's upset stare as she said, "It's just…"

"Love, she is fine now," Gold interrupted, reaching out and holding Belle's arm, " I made sure of that."

Belle looked at Gold with worry, only for him to give her a pointed stare. Belle withdrew her embrace, making Alison instantly regretful. Belle turned away before sighing, "If you insist. Alison, why don't you go upstairs and wash up. Dinner is almost done."

"Okay," Alison said, quietly before making her way up the stairs. Gold watched as Alison appeared up the stairs before looking over at his wife. She was wiping the tears away from her eyes, sniffling quietly.

"Hey," Gold pulled her to him as he embraced her immediately, "Don't cry. I've already checked her and healed her. She is okay."

"But she could have died, Rumpel," Belle hiccuped, "Why does everyone keep going after her?! When are we ever going to have a moment's peace-!"

Gold hugged Belle tight to him, stroking her hair as he said, "Don't cry… I promise you, everything is going to be fine."

A dark look entered Gold's eyes as he said, firmly, "I'll make sure of it."

---

The old ship creaked as it rocked on the waves.

Hook barely noticed, pushing the last of the dead bodies into the small boat. The angry and grief on his face was unmistakable. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the rope. The boat raised up and moved out to hover over the ocean. Hook took a deep breath in before hitting the lever. The boat raced to the ocean, hitting with a slam. Hook watched as the two boats floated away from his ship, the sight of the dead bodies wrapped in them infuriating him. Gripping his good hand, Hook watched as the little boats went farther and farther away.

"I'm sorry."

Hook looked over his shoulder to see Regina leaning against the other side of his ship. She looked mournful, which made him scoff a little as he said, "Checking up on me to make sure I don't run away, Majesty?"

"Please," Regina rolled her eyes, "You can't run away with the spell I put on you."

"So why are you here, Majesty?" Hook said mockingly, "Surely you have better things to do than supervise me on my ship."

"I'm not supervising," Regina scowled, her voice snappish. As quick as her reaction came, it left as she said somberly, "I'm here to extend our condolences…"

"Condolences?" Hook narrowed his eyes, cold pride entering his features, "I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity," Regina insisted, "But if you are going to be an arrogant pirate about it, I will leave this and go."

Hook watched as she waved her hand, a box appearing. Hook looked at her cautiously as he asked, "What is this?"

"Alison said pirates have a code," Regina said, crossing her arms as he leaned down. He opened the box to see a golden bow with several splendid arrows. The arrows were laced with red/orange magic, glowing in flowing lines like vines. "She said you burn your dead at sea to release their souls to freely roam the sea. Or something like that. These arrows will give your men a proper burial."

Hook's corner of his mouth quirked up into a smirk as he said almost exasperatedly, "Ah, Alice… I'll give the lass this, she has always been respectful of those long departed."

Regina looked at Hook curiously as she said, "It seems like the two of you have history with one another…"

"Ai," Hook's flirty grin returned for a moment as he said, "And if it was any other night, I would regale you those stories with a drink and a nightcap."

Regina rolled her eyes at his remark. Hook looked down, his flirtatiousness disappearing. Picking up the bow and arrows, he said solemnly, "But not tonight. Tonight is for my men, who didn't deserve the fate they received."

Regina watched as Hook went to the front of his ship. Watching the boats, he lined up the arrow carefully, aiming towards the ships floating away. The arrow flew, almost unnaturally towards the boat. The boat went up in flames, the smell of incense in the air. Regina breathed in. She knew she could leave, but something kept her rooted there. Whether it was his mournful nature or the bitter circumstance, she did not know. All she could do was watch as he laid his men to rest. The final arrow went off, landing at its intended target. Hook watched the boat burn, the fire light making his eyes glow gold.

"Believe me when I say this," Hook said lowly, "I will help you in your quest of taking down your Mother. Bound to you or not, I will not stop until she pays for the lives of my men."

Hook looked back at Regina, who had a look of dark determination crossing her face. She nodded as she said, "Well it sounds like we are in this together then. See you in the morning."

Regina disappeared in a whirl of smoke, leaving Hook on his ship alone. His cocky smile returned as he said, "As you wish, your Majesty."

---

"Are you sure you don't need any help, David?"

David looked up to see Ms. Bill poking her head in through the door. She was watching him in concern as she said, "I can stay to help you close up, if you would like."

"No, Ms. Bill," David said, shuffling through the papers on his desk, "I'm almost done here. Thank you, though."

"No problem," Ms. Bill said, cheerfully, "Have a good night!"

"You as well!" Charming said, stacking the papers into a pile. The door swung closed behind her, leaving him to his mess. Sighing, Charming put the papers back into the file before placing it in his open drawer.

"I see you got quite the messy desk already."

Charming jumped out of his skin, almost falling out of his chair. He looked up to see Alison sitting on the edge of his desk, looking at some of his papers. She glanced at him as she said mildly, "No judgment. My desk in my study in Wonderland is always full of things."

"Alison!" Charming said, shutting the drawer with a snap, "What are you- when did you get in here?"

"Just now," Alison said, waving her hand dismissively, "Don't worry, you're not going crazy."

"How- How are you here?" Charming said, shaking his head, "I thought for sure Rumpelstilskin wouldn't be letting you out of his sight right about now."

"Well actually, I'm not really here," Alison said, putting the papers down, "I mean I am here but not here. I'm astral projecting."

Alison hopped off the desking, going over towards the window. She opened the shades, allowing the moonlight to shine in. It glistened over her, her appearance almost sparkling. Charming watched in wonder as she stepped away from the moonlight, the glistening disappearing. Alison glanced back over to him as she said, "As far as he is concerned, I am asleep in my bed."

"Right," Charming said, unsure, "Are you okay? After Phantom and everything?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Alison said nonchalantly, leaning against the wall, "He's not the first psychopath to come after me and I can promise he won't be the last."

Charming leaned back in his chair, watching her as he said, "You know for a child, you talk as if you have a lot of enemies."

Alison scowled, as she said, "My age means nothing. Besides, having a connection to one of the most powerful cores in the universe kinda makes the crazies come whether I like it or not."

"Fair," Charming said, twirling a pen in his hand. He watched Alison, debating on his next words carefully. Part of him knew he shouldn't ask, knowing what he was asking was potentially a touchy subject. But the nagging voice inside wouldn't let it be as he asked, "Was Cora one of those crazies?"

Alison was quiet as she looked out into the night. Her expression turned passive, almost blank. He wasn't sure what to make of her reaction as he awaited her answer. When she finally gave it, he was surprised with the sincerity behind her words.

"No."

She didn't offer any other explanation, but continued to stare out the window. Charming couldn't help but feel uncertain by it, a sinking feeling beginning in his stomach. Alison didn't move a muscle even as Charming said, his voice slow and wary, "When she was here earlier… she said the two of you had been friends."

"Friends." scoffed Alison. "We were many things. Friends were never one of them."

"But you just said-?"

"I said she wasn't crazy," Alison said pointedly, "Not that she wasn't an enemy."

"So why let an enemy on the council?" Charming said, getting up out of his seat. He made his way around the desk, towards her. She didn't even bother glancing in his direction as he approached. The outside world seemed the only thing keeping her attention as he said, "I know you don't want to risk war, but surely giving her any sort of power isn't a good idea either."

Alison let out a bitter laugh. Finally, she looked up at him, her blue eyes staring at him fiercely and impatiently. It was almost as if she was mocking him for his statement. He felt a familiar angry bubbling inside him only to be stilled by the sheer power that was lurking in her eyes. Power that an eleven year old should not possess. She turned herself, crossing her arms as she raised her head to look at him. "I haven't given her any power, David Nolan, that she doesn't already have. Her being on the council changes nothing except for one thing."

The feeling of unsettlement grew in him, making him fidget. The window rattled, as the wind outside blew against it. Alison glanced back at it as David asked, nervously, "And what's that?"

Alison breathed in deep as she said, her tone pointed and sharp, "That she can no longer hide behind the veil she loves so much."

David blinked, the words that had just come out of her mouth completely foreign to him. Alison looked back at him, seeing the confusion on his face. Her dangerous aura vanished instantly as she smiled politely at him, saying, "Ah sorry. She brings out the Wonderland spirit in me, I suppose."

Alison turned around, walking away from him. Charming did not follow her, keeping his distance as he asked, "Is that what that language is? Wonderlandish?"

Alison laughed, looking back at him amused as she said, "If you would like to call it that, yes. I don't always realize when it comes out of me."

"How do you not realize-?"

"Let's just say it's a language that comes from the soul, not the brain," Alison said, simply, "Only some are lucky to learn it's way."

Before Charming could question her, there was a loud rumbling. The office shook, making every item and person in it tremble in its quake. Panic shot through Charming as Alison grimaced. Just like all the other tremors, as soon as the trembling started it had stopped. Alison looked back towards the window, her eyes narrowed as Charming said, "Was that-?"

"The forest is almost gone," Alison said softly, "There is going to be nothing left…"

"Please tell me you actually have a way to help us," Charming said, his voice laced with fear. Alison didn't bother to take offense as she said doefully, "I do. That I can promise you."

David sighed. "Good. The sooner we can get out of here the better. Will you be able to tell us soon how we're going to do this?"

Alison nodded, before saying, "I promise you and your kingdoms will get home… regardless of more enemies coming out of the woodwork. Now if you shall excuse me, I need to finish my last errand of the day and you need to be getting home."

"Errand?" David watched her, his questioning never ending as Alison just smiled at him.

"Say hello to Snow for me," Alison said before her image shattered in front of him into a thousand tiny lights.

Alison inhaled sharply, opening her eyes. The forest around her creaked and moaned in protest of the magic and anti-magic that was tearing it apart. She was sitting up on a branch, the snowflakes drifting down from the sky. It was getting worse, much worse. Alison climbed down from her spot, looking deeper into the forest. She could see the shield shimmering, the forest of this magicless world laying just beyond. Worry crossed her features, thinking back to what Maleficent had told her.

"The only ones returning are the ones who were born to that world."

She might be able to get the kingdoms back, but what would happen to her and Henry? Why would the Master give her a potion that wouldn't help everyone? Her eyes burned with tears as terror seized her.

Terror that faded with a familiar brush of her back.

Alison turned to see Excalibur standing there. His tail flipped back and forth as he watched her patiently. Alison smiled warmly and truly at him as she reached up to pet his neck. Reaching inside of her coat, she said softly, "I got something back for you."

Alison pulled out the silver riding crop, making Excalibur jolt back. He neighed loudly and anxiously, stomping his feet furiously. Alison reached up with her free hand immediately, panicking, "Shhh! Shhhh, it's okay. I promise I'm not going to use it on you."

Excalibur calmed, even though he still brayed at her. Alison soothed him, running her fingers through his mane gently. Alison bit her lip as she said, her voice loving, "I'm giving this to you. I'm not sure, but I am hoping it will set you free finally…"

Alison swallowed, tears filling her eyes as she whispered, "You can go home…"

Alison dropped the crop on the ground, backing away from him. Excalibur snickered before reeling up, roaring. He slammed his hooves down, smashing the silver riding crop. A loud crack echoed through the air, vibrations shaking Alison down to her magical core. The silver riding crop shattered into a million ashen pieces. It littered the earth, the magic dissipating into the air.

A bright light flashed around Excalibur, his eyes glowing in the moonlight. Alison watched in awestruck as his whinny echoed through the forest. The power illuminating from him was like nothing she had ever felt before. He galloped away, leaving a trail of stars in his wake.

Alison raced after him, panic running through her. It was a folly task, trying to keep up with the fastest horse alive.

But she thought he would at least let her say goodbye.

She tried to keep up, running until she had reached a field where he was racing around. Trying desperately to catch her breath, she watched him in tears as the world ripple around them. It was like a veil had parted in their reality, opening to another. He had disappeared from her sight, making her gasp. Tears raced down her cheeks, afraid he had left her without even saying goodbye.

But a familiar nuzzle to her back reassured her he had not.

Alison spun around to see him standing there in splendor. He snorted as he pushed his head against hers.

"Don't fret, Alison." His voice was smooth and full of love as he nuzzled her. "Your home is my home. For the rest of my eternity."

Alison let out a choking laugh, hugging him around his neck as tears spilled down. He snorted as his eyes glowed happily. Alison sniffed as she stroked his neck saying, "You know, I don't even know your real name."

Excalibur snickered as his tails swished pridefully as he said, "The name I was born with was Arion, born of the heavens and the racer of the stars. Maybe one day, I shall show you them."

Alison looked up into his eyes happily as she said, "I would like that very much, Arion."

"Excalibur." He said firmly. He stomped his back hoove into the dirt. "I shall always be your Excalibur."

---

Maleficent sat upon the stoney chair that sat upon the mountain top. It overlooked the town of Storybrooke, the lights from the town mere speckles. It reminded her of the fireflies that used to surround her dark castle in the depths of the night. She was dressed no longer in clothes from this world, but a deep black dress and horns upon her head. She watched the town quietly, waiting with the utmost patience.

Waiting for the gust of wind that tossed her blond hair about.

"Well, well," Maleficent said, silky, "I never would have thought to see the Great High Lord Casablancas late."

Out from behind her tall stone chair came Avenant, dressed in his impeccable neat clothes. His dark eyes showed his displeasure as he said, "Apologies. I was just in a meeting."

"A meeting?" Maleficent said as she watched him walk towards the edge of the cliff. He also watched the towns, his hands in his pockets as he said, "Yes. Thanks to Crane, the school is now being closed. And all this town's focus will be now be on getting back to our realm."

"It seems your little puppet and his lover made quite the mess for you," Maleficent purred, "How much will this wreck our plans?"

Avenant looked back on her with raised brows before looking back out at the town.

"It isn't going to wreck anything at all."

Maleficent looked at him intrigued as she said, "No? But he made our little friend wary and-."

"And told her exactly," Avenant said smoothly, "What I told him to say."

Surprise was an understatement. Maleficent stood up as she made her way towards him saying, "What? You told him-?"

"There isn't a single thing Crane did that I didn't want him to do," Avenant said, "I want her wary, I want her distrustful. It will make getting her on our side that much easier."

Maleficent sighed. "If you think so. But that girl has quite the spirit in her. She won't be swayed so easily."

Avenant scoffed, glancing at Maleficent as he said, "Well then it's a good thing I already cursed her heart already, isn't it?"

A wicked smile appeared on Maleficent's face as she said, "Oh, Avenant Casablancas. You didn't."

"I did," Avenant said, almost mockingly, "Since when do I ever leave anything to chance?"

"How?" Maleficent asked, incredulously, "Rumpelstiltskin is the most powerful sorcerer in our realm. How can you put a curse on her heart without him realizing it."

"That is a secret that I will keep, thank you," Avenant said, smoothly. He turned to face her, his stare pointed. "For now, get yourself another meeting with that child."

The wind blew violently, making the trees rattle ominously. Maleficent kept her composure, but there was a trickle of fear in his eyes. Avenant looked up at the sky, as he said, "We need to find the Author, after all."

Any traces of fear left the sorceress as she dipped her head in respect. She backed away from him as she disappeared into the shadows as she said, sweetly, "As you wish… Maestro Forte."

Avenant seemed unperturbed as the wind continued to blow. He looked down at the town as he said, "The board is set, Countess. The next move is yours."