Out in the forest of Storybrooke, David and Emma were back out looking for Mr Gold again. But they didn't know where to start. The woods were prominent, and Mr Gold would have been running for ages. So they began the search near the Wicked Witch's farmhouse and worked from there, spreading further and further into the woods.
"So, how was Neal?" David asked Emma about what Neal wanted to talk to Emma about.
"It was hard," Emma admitted. "Henry makes it complicated." So complicated. "It's not all about me. He's hoping Gold can bring his memories back."
"That would be a bonus to finding him," David agreed.
"Would it?" Emma asked. "Couple of days ago, I would've thought that was true. But now …"
"Now what? How is he going to stay in Storybrooke without them?" David asked. But Emma was silent. And he caught on to what Emma was thinking. "Unless you're not planning to. You think you'll go back to New York after we break the curse?"
"A week ago, Henry and I played video games and ate fruit roll-ups," Emma answered. "Now, I am chasing after the Dark One, hoping he can help me find the Wicked Witch of the West."
The was a scream in the distance. They both stopped and looked at where it came from. The cry came again, and they ran after it, finding a person kneeling in the woods, moaning in pain and holding his hand to his temple. It was Mr Gold.
"Gold!" Emma called out, rushing over to him. "You all right?"
"No," Mr Gold answered, slowly looking up at her. "No, no, no. Not all right. Not all right. I can't quiet the voices."
Emma knelt in front of him. "We know that you were held captive by the Witch. Do you know where she is?"
"Yeah…" Mr Gold panted. "She's…" But he couldn't finish the sentence. His head was in pain. "There's no room! No room. There are too many voices. Too many voices!"
David approached him. "We've got to get him out of here," he said, but he stopped when they all heard the screech of a flying monkey. David drew his sword and swung it at the flying creature - to which it crashed down in front of them. Then, David rushed forward and swung his sword at it again. But in all the commotion, Mr Gold had gotten up and started running again.
"Gold!" Emma called after him, aiming her gun at the monkey.
"He's getting away!" David exclaimed, focusing his attention on the winged monkey. "I'll hold him off. Go!"
Emma nodded and put her gun away before chasing after Mr Gold again.
"Nothing useful here," Regina said as she rummaged through the Wicked Witch's pantry. She was
inside the farmhouse with Robin, and both looked around to see if she had left anything behind. But there was nothing. "Mmm… unfortunately."
"What?" Robin asked. "So none of these contain magical properties?"
"Well, a good witch covers her tracks," Regina said as she walked over to the shelving, on which a few bottles were placed. "But a better one can uncover them. We'll find her. Just be patient."
"You know, I've heard many stories about the great and terrible Evil Queen. But from this angle, the 'evil' moniker seems somewhat of an overstatement. Bold and audacious, perhaps, but not evil."
"Regina turned around. "The name served me well. Fear is quite an effective tool."
Robin slowly approached Regina, not taking his eyes off her, before reaching past and grabbing a bottle from the shelf behind her. "What about this?" he asked, holding the alcohol bottle up for her to see. "Is this magical?"
"Not exactly," Regina said. "But it is a liquid that can conjure courage, give strength, or even act as a love potion." Robin seemed amused, and Regina chuckled. "It's called whisky. And no, it's not magical. Especially the next day."
"Oh." Robin reached behind Regina again and pulled down a couple of glasses. He looked at Regina.
"You wanna have a drink?" she asked. "Now?"
"Well, in the last few days, we've survived a curse, woken up in an entirely new realm, and forgotten a year of our lives," Robin said, placing the two glasses on the table behind him and pouring some of the whisky into them. "I'd say we've earned it, wouldn't you?" He took a glass and held it out to Regina.
Regina chuckled and brushed some hair out of her eyes. She reached for the glass, but something made her stop. Something that she had seen. A tattoo on Robin's forearm. A lion tattoo. She had seen it once before. Years ago, back in the Enchanted Forest, Tinkerbell had used Pixie Dust to show Regina her true love. And it led her to a tavern, which had a man with a lion tattoo on his arm. But, she was scared and ran off without going inside. And now, here she was, standing in front of the man with the same tattoo.
"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.
Regina stayed silent before walking past Robin and out of the farmhouse. It was too much for her to think about. She didn't want to think about it. Not yet. She needed some time to think.