Regina and Aldara had been holed up in the cabin all night with Rumble and his crazy band of bitches. Regina was getting a little fed up with Cruella who just wouldn't shut up. Ursula however seemed rather quite. Regina wouldn't consider her the talkative type anyway but something told her that something was up. Regina had decided to stay out of whatever any of them were doing her only goal was to make sure Rumble didn't push things too far. Aldara however was put more on edge the longer they were there. Regina had noticed her daughter's restlessness but couldn't address it because they were never left alone.

Rumple had been relentlessly pressing August for details on the Author. The tided up man stayed adamant that he knew nothing about it. Regina wasn't sure if August was putting up a really good fight or if he literally was just as oblivious as the rest of them.

Rumple had been pushing him further and further. Regina was becoming bored with the entire thing and was wondering if she should just take it into her own hands. She knew soon enough someone was going to try a more physical form of torture on the man and knew that if he was harmed Emma would be pissed at her. Also Regina knew she would never forgive herself if she let that happen and had not tried to stop it.

"I already told you I don't know anything about this Author." August told them for the millionth time since Rumble had ruthlessly made the boy turn back into a man. Cruella and Ursula bust through the wooden door next to him. Ursula grabbed a knife off the side and held it to his throat.

"Well, perhaps you could use a little incentive" Ursula said to him. Regina and Aldara quickly realising what was happening looked at each other.

"Oh that knife isn't going to make me remember something that I don't know." August told them, Regina could see his falseness knowing the signs from the many times the Evil Queen had tortured her victims.

"Wait" Regina said as she magically stole the Knife out of Ursula's hand.

"Is there a problem." Ursula said to her clearly offended by Regina stealing her weapon. Aldara watched her mother intently hoping she had something up her sleeve and wasn't just going along with their plans to torture the poor ex-puppet.

"I knew she didn't have the stomach for this" Cruella said indigently. Regina was offended by the lost cause for a villain.

"Please, I was torturing people back when you were still playing with puppies." Regina said to her, making Aldara have to hold in a snigger. Seeing Regina playing on her Evil persona was actually kind of hilarious when she was the only person in the cabin who knew what was actually happening with her mother. "This sorry excuse for a man used to be made out of wood. So let's light a fire underneath him and see what happens." Regina summoned a fire ball into her hand and held it in front of his face. She could see the instant terror in his eyes as her palm lit.

"Okay. All right. You know something? Actually I…uh… do remember something about the Author." He confessed to them. Regina knowing her trick would work threw her flames into the fireplace.

"Don't hold out on us." Ursula said to the shaking man on the wooden chair.

"When I was in Hong Kong, before the curse broke, I met a mystic, his name was the Dragon. I don't know how he knew about the book, he had been looking for the author for years." August said stammering over is first sentence. Nervous of all the harsh faces looking down at him.

"And what did this 'Dragon' learn." Rumple questioned him menacingly.

"He died before I could ask." August told him, Rumple seemed displeased by this answer.

"Well that's something you and him are about to have in common." Rumple told him as he rose from his seat.

"And after he died I took his research. I brought it with me to Storybrooke." August told them before Rumple could continue his vicious torment on the man.

"Do you really think this man-child is telling us the truth?" Maleficent said wondering why this man was so willing to give up his information to them. Not trusting it for two seconds.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time he's lied to my face" Rumple said remembering when August has fooled him into thinking he was his long lost son. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to pay a visit to his trailer to find out." Rumple said walking to the cabin door and grabbing his coat.

"While you're doing that, shall we carry on with the rest of the plan?" Ursula asked Rumple as he reached for the doorknob. This question startled Regina.

"Rest of the plan?" Regina asked wondering how much worst this could get. "What aren't you telling us?" She asked sending worried look Aldara's way, who was looking as bewildered as Regina felt.

"You two are going to need to do more than kidnap a marionette and torch a few logs before we tell you everything." Rumple told them, he knew better than to trust Regina and her spawn. The woman had more than proven herself a menace when it came to his plans. "In the meantime, be content that you've finally chosen the winning side." He said before he left the room. Cruella chuckled slightly as Regina walked over to the fireplace and knelt near it, Aldara followed her. She could hear her mother scoffed quietly to herself.

Regina was beginning to worry what she has pulled herself and her newly found daughter into. Aldara could feel the worry radiating from her face. She knelt down beside her. She looked over her shoulder to look at Cruella and Ursula who were tying a rag back onto August mouth. Clearly he wasn't the only person they didn't trust to not talk.

"We knew what we were doing when we started this, the only choice we have now is to keep going. If not this could put everyone in more danger. We will sort this out mum, if I have learnt anything from you, Emma, Henry and the Charming's is there's always a way out." Aldara whispered to her, Regina turned to look at only slightly not to cause suspicion to the other two.

"Maybe not this time kid, but I assure if we do get out of this alive we are going to go get your family." Regina told her meaning every word.

Emma had gone straight to Snow and David as soon as she realised that Regina had disappeared. She was worried about Regina and Aldara, not to mention August. He was one of the only people that she truly trusted when this whole 'fairy tales are real' thing started. As she walked through the door of her parent's apartment she was met with the anxious faces of Snow and David. The anxiousness turned suddenly into concern as soon as they saw her come through the door. She just stood there for a second.

"She took him and went with… them" was all Emma could get out. Her heart was thumping in her chest. Snow added confusion to the list of emotions that could be read on her face.

"What do you mean honey? She took who?" Snow asked her slowly approaching her and wrapping an arm around her daughter to try coax her into the apartment. She guided her to the sofa and Emma took a seat looking at the screen of Regina's phone. There was a short heavy pause before she spoke again.

"August, I mean Pinocchio. Maleficent drove them to his house. Regina and Aldara went inside, I had to be careful and sneak in without being seen but once I got inside there she was. Pinocchio and his father lay unconscious on the floor. I told her we needed to get him away but she wouldn't. Regina and Aldara took him back to the car and I was going to follow them but the signal didn't move and when I went out and she had dropped her phone on the road. I know that they can probably handle themselves but I know what she's like if this is the only way of proving herself and also finding the Author nothing is out." Emma said a little too fast in her panic. She looked at Snow with wide eyes. "What do I do?"

"We go and look for them. I trust Regina and Aldara but like you said we have no idea what maleficent, Cruella and Ursula have up their sleeves but I do know that it's going to be terrible and they might not be able to get away from it." Snow said looking at David to see if he agreed.

"She's right Emma. I'm not going to tell you there not in danger. We need to do everything we can to find them." He said looking at his daughter who now had her head in her hands. She nodded slowly into them and then lifted her head.

"Let's get going then." Emma said eager to get her girlfriend back. She didn't know she would miss her this much. It felt like someone was sat on her chest. Like something important was missing from her being.

They had left the apartment after Emma had called Hook to join them in the hopes he would be of some help to their search. He had been a bit off with Emma since her and Regina had gotten together. Their friendship had slowly been getting better but it was still slightly tense especially now when they were looking for her.

They trekked down the forest path looking for any kind of sign of life. David had spotted some tracks a while back and they had been following them since. Emma was trying to hide her anxiousness as best as she could but Snow could spot it a mile off.

"It's okay Emma. As long as he's with Regina, Pinocchio will be alright." Emma tried to reassure her. She knew her daughter would be worrying about her friends.

"We don't know that. I just wish I hadn't let her ditch me." Emma said she had regretted not following them straight away. Part of her had trusted Regina would have kept her phone on her but she also knew that Regina would have done anything to keep her out of danger.

"Swan, you couldn't have known that she would have dropped that tracking device." Hook tried to tell her but Emma also felt guilty about her part in all this.

"Yeah, but I let her talk me into thinking kidnapping him was a good idea. If anything happens to that kid it's my fault." Emma said not knowing where Regina and Aldara where was not the only thing plaguing her mind. August was one of her closest friends, even if he didn't remember anything he was still the guy that had helped her face her fears.

After a short pause in conversation David spotted something and knelt down to the floor. "Uh, the tracks end here. Looks like the rain washed them away." David told them a little disappointment in his voice.

"Oh, would now be an appropriate time for a locator spell? Hook asked them. Snow was looking off into the woods.

"We may not need one" She told them looking off into the distance. "Look" They all looked at the place her eyes where trained on. A dark smoke blew into the sky rapidly heading straight at them. It got thicker as it neared flowing right towards Snow. Encircling her body then quickly disappeared as if it was absorbed into her. David turned to his wife quickly, stunned and distressed by what had just occurred.

"Mary Margret" He said hoping nothing sinister had just intruded his wife's body.

"What the hell was that?" Emma said just as stunned as her father. "Are you okay?"

"I have to make this quick. We don't have much time" Snow began to speak but it was Regina's voice. David, Emma and Hook all took a step back astonished by it.

"Regina?" David asked he wasn't the only one finding a little weird what was happing.

"Pinocchio's fine. He's back to his old self… or older self." Regina informed as she looked at Emma, knowing she would want to know what was happing with her friend.

"August" Emma said in a shocked voice. Regina looked away back to David.

"But there's something else to need to know… gold is here" Regina told them. They all recoiled a little at the name. If he was back in Storybrooke this whole thing had just taken on a larger scale. "We're holed up in his cabin, and he's in town for more than just the Author. But he won't tell me why, which means whatever he's planning… its bad." Regina told them before leaving Snow's body. Snow shuddered almost falling over, David caught her.

"So the dark one's returned" Hook stated the obvious. They were still a little stunned from what had just happened. It had been a while since Emma had heard Regina's voice so serious.

"Yeah" She said knowing what needed to happen next. "There's only one person who can help us drive him out." She told him.

"He's here?" Belle said stammering at the news. "That's… That's impossible." She said noticeable shaken.

"Well, did you really think he'd stay away?" Snow said to her. It was a fair thing to say given Rumbles track record of fucking everything up.

"The dagger… we need to hand it over so we can stop this fight before it starts." Emma told Belle getting straight to the point. She knew there was no time to lose. If Regina was getting panicked she knew that things were serious.

"The dagger? I…I don't have the dagger. Killian does." Belle told them worriedly.

"Who? Me? Well I haven't seen that cursed blade since you commanded the crocodile to leave the first time." Killian told her wondering why Belle thought he had it.

"But you took it from me last night to hide it where no one could find it." Belle told him confused becoming a little worried.

"After the lifetimes I spent searching for a way to destroy the dark one, I'm pretty sure I'd remember holding that dagger in my hand." He said to her becoming concerned about what had actually happened.

"Okay, well if I didn't give it to you, then who..?" Belle asked them.

"You gave it to Gold…" Emma interrupted her. She turned to Hook. "Disguised as you. He's back and so is his power.

"Even when I didn't think he could deceive me anymore." Belle said sad and hurt. "He found a way"

"Banishment was too good for that demon. We should have driven that dagger through his heart when we had the chance." Hook said his voice tense and angry.

"Then your name would be written across it." Emma told him not wanting one of her best friends to have to deal with that kind of darkness inside them.

"It's a small price to pay to ensure the crocodile wouldn't come back again." Hook told Emma meaning every word he couldn't think of anyone worse to be in possession of the dark ones powers.

"I know you're angry but we defeated him before and we'll do it again." Emma told him looking at her parents hoping they would back her up.

"Yeah but the question is, how?" Snow asked her. "We don't even know what he's planning

"First we save August." David said not wanting him to be in anymore danger.

"Yeah you do that. I'll find out the dark one's secret." Hook said to them not wanting to play any more games he knew the longer Gold was on the loose the more dangerous things become.

"How are you gunna do that?" David asked him wondering what the pirate planned to do to find out the Dark one's plan.

"The sea witch…Ursula. Remember when I said I had a past with her? Now's the time to use it." Hook told them all.

"How?" Emma asked him curious to what he thinking of doing.

"By taking a page out of your book, Swan. I'm going to return her happy ending." Hook said to her vaguely. Emma was still confused by the pirate.

"Can you really do that?" She asked him hoping this helped them.

"Aye" He said to her knowing that what he planned to do would help them get the information they needed to know about the crocodiles plans. "Because I'm the one who took it from her in the first place."