Hi all, thanks to those who've got in touch with comments. Still in the establishment chapters but the adventure is soon to begin!
Thanks to Laura for beta-ing. Hope you enjoy!
The group were gathered around the mayor's table but with distinctly fewer books than Regina was hoping.
"I got more details of the shared dream from Mother Superior." Belle explained with a nod to the nun who was sat, graceful and composed, in the seat next to her.
"We fairies had the dream as well, along with anyone else with magic. But even based on that I'm afraid there is very little to go on." She added as Belle pushed an open book to Regina and Emma.
They both read over the page but squinted at the style of the handwriting.
"The only contraption even vaguely similar we found in Arendelle, though there is not much detail and we don't know what it looked like. It had belonged to a king at a time there was more magic there. Its use, sucking out the magic, was how it ended up as the land it is now, with magic in short supply apart from the ancient beings and those who were able to retain it in their bloodline."
"Are we sure that wasn't the sorcerer's hat?" Emma queried, remembering her dalliance with it but seeing Mother Superior wince, she got a prompting glare from Mary Margaret who was sat round from her.
"Of course, you probably would have recognised that..." She added apologetically but the nun waved it off.
"It's OK, I thought the same at first." She nodded, giving Emma some relief that she hadn't been too traumatised by her tenure trapped inside to talk about it. "But no. Luckily whatever this thing is I don't think it is quite as powerful. If it was it would have absorbed us all, not just our magic."
"Was there anything else at all?" David asked as Belle shrugged.
"There was nothing about what happened to it after it left Arendelle - which we know it did. Probably to take the magic elsewhere. That's all we have so far."
"So we basically have nothing." Regina clarified, exasperated, as Belle shrugged.
"No. We have the portal and your plan to open it..." Emma turned to the mayor who had now stood up off her chair and begun to stroll around the table. Noting a flaw in this, Mary Margaret raised a hand.
"It's been hard enough to open portals with magic." she protested.
"Yes, but mainly to create them. Whatever this thing was did the hard job of creating one." Regina explained as Mother Superior nodded in agreement as the mayor continued. "Reopening one is never as hard and there should be enough in the final amulet to prize it open. Emma and I will be able to get through, hopefully with enough available magic on the other side for us not to have to rely on them any further."
"And do we know this thing didn't take that ability from you?" Mary Margaret followed up. The thought of her daughter being defenceless should the amulet run out was weighing on her mind. Her questions were starting to betray her ability to cover up her discomfort with the situation.
"Whatever that thing was sucked the magic from the land and whatever was left residually in us from it. It hasn't taken our ability to do magic, just any magic for us to freely use." Mother Superior answered as Regina picked up the explanation.
"As soon as we have magic available our powers should be restored, as shown with these." She flicked the amulet on her neck. "These will give us magic for days and if there is magic in that land we can channel that as a last resort."
Emma immediately picked up on her mother's growing nervousness. She had a feeling in her gut about what they had to do but she knew it wouldn't be without resistance.
"And what about for the journey back? With the amulet open it twice?" David asked as Regina looked nervously at Emma who was quickly understanding the plan. Latching onto it herself, Mary Margaret turned in horror.
"We're not sending you through a one way door!" She insisted looking between the two women as they both tried to avert eye contact.
"You did it before and that turned out OK..." Emma shrugged playfully, trying to tone things down. The quick glimpse she got of her mother's expression when she dared to look quickly proved she had failed.
"No." Mary Margaret insisted. "I don't care what you find out you're not going to risk getting trapped. There'll be another way! We just need to find it."
Regina threw her hands onto her hips. "Well if you can think of one, I'm all ears, but we need to focus on finding out what this is, not worrying about transport between realms."
"You could go to Arendelle. Find out more there...maybe there you can have a two way door." David suggested as Emma immediately rebutted it. "As Regina and Blue said, we can reopen but not create a new portal, and we certainly don't have enough magic to follow paper trail whims."
"Yes, but maybe taking more time to find information will save time in the long run." Mary Margaret pleaded, taking Emma's hand. "This morning you didn't even want your magic back..."
"And you all told me it was a bad idea..." She replied, starting to doubt if it was possible to win any discussion today.
"Emma, please. Don't rush into this." Mary Margaret whispered, her eyes locking tight with her daughter's. Feeling the guilty pressure it gave her, she quickly looked back down, playing with her fingers to distract herself from the fact she knew she was going to be defiant. She looked sheepishly up at Regina who stared back knowingly. They both knew what was about to happen and delaying it was pointless.
"I think I agree with Regina, here we are just wasting time. We need to go through that portal, wherever it leads."
"Emma!" Came the predictable chastisement.
"What?" She quickly sprung to the defensive. "I'm sorry, Mom, but you're right. This morning I was practically giving up on my magic and it was a reminder of what I was before it. I really don't want to go back to that again. That feeling of uselessness and resignation. You're about to bring another little brother or sister into this world and I want us to be able to be everything we are to protect them. Sure magic has done some crappy things to us in the past, but at least we had the option to use it and fight it. Look, I think I have a plan to restore it, but we need to go over there."
"I'm in favour of restoring it Emma, but what good will that be if you're not here to protect them?" Her mother replied sharply as Emma immediately softened, stuttering from her stance but no less determined.
"I will be. We all will be, I trust Regina." She winced guiltily, knowing what was coming.
"You trust Regina over me? I'm your mother!"
"Well technically I'm yours if that is supposed to carry weight." Regina scoffed at the comparison, tiring of spectating, as Mary Margaret squinted at her angrily. "Now if Emma has a plan -"
"Did you actually just play the mother card?" She cut her off in disbelief as Regina snapped her mouth shut. "You spent the vast majority of that role trying to kill me!" She cut her off furiously.
"Well then that only proves that a mother's judgement doesn't always trump sense." Regina articulated back as Emma slapped the table to try and restore order.
"Guys!" She silenced them both before taking back her Mom's hand. "Mom, I know you only want to protect me, and Regina, I think you know there's no comparison with my actual mother to one who killed her husband and slipped her step-daughter a roofie...but the blue fairy said herself, this isn't even as powerful as the sorcerer's hat and we already faced that and so much more."
"And you nearly lost yourself in doing so -" Mary Margaret whispered back as kindness and regret glazed over Emma's eyes.
"But I didn't. And all of you helped find me. Listen -" She turned to the mayor. "Once the portal has reopened, will there be any magic left in the amulet?"
"Not enough to reopen it again but a dribble maybe." Regina replied, walking back to the table and leaning against the back of a chair as Emma turned back to her mother.
"In that case once it has done, use it for a mirror and at least we'll be able to communicate." Mary Margaret took Emma's words in as she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder. She could tell what he was urging her to do and the pleading look in their daughter's eyes was both persuasive and stubborn. Most of all, however, it was safe and deep down she knew that she had faith in her, as scared as she was.
"You have a plan?" She confirmed with an obvious warning as Emma began to smile, acknowledging the submission. "I do, but I don't have time to explain it. Though it starts with what I learned that time I did lose myself." She sat up straight flagging Regina with a look.
"That doesn't fill me with confidence..." Mary Margaret murmured but Emma ploughed on.
"You may have learned something from saviour Emma, Regina, but I learned something from dark me as well." She professed, jumping off her seat as Regina scrunched up her forehead, unsure of where this would lead.
"We need to know the location of the portal, right?" She asked as Mother Superior nodded in agreement. "Then what's the betting playing back our dream will show exactly where it was?"
"Is this making myself useful enough?" Hook gave Regina a smouldering smile as he dangled the dreamcatcher on his hook. She passed under his arm, knocking it with her hand. Having found the point in the dream, they had frozen the moment where the portal had been opened and spotted that it was a tree in the forest. Now Joined by Robin and Hook they had formed a search party to pin point the gaping hole and distinctive branch the swirling green light had been framed by.
"We can hang the amulet on the branch and hopefully mine and Emma's power combined can prize it open." Regina commented ignoring the pirate and sizing up all of the surrounding trees.
"I think I've got it!" Robin yelled from his path, spotting the familiar shape. Even having lived in Storybrooke for the shortest time, he knew this forest almost as well as his own back home.
"How do we know this wasn't planted in your dream as a trap?" Mary Margaret suggested, struggling behind and still desperate to think of any reasons to abort the mission.
"You think the sandman is after us? Those shadows certainly weren't the cutest things I'd ever seen." Emma chuckled as a look from her father stunted the look of self-pride she had at her joke.
"Sandmen are often just messengers." Regina commented, nonchalant, prompting Emma to pause.
"Because of course they actually are real as well. Of course." She nodded, realising why she was the only one who had found any humour in the subject and pop culture reference.
They stopped as they got to Robin and examined their portal.
"It's definitely it." Mother Superior noted, rubbing her hand through the inside. "There is residual dust as well. That should help make reopening it easier."
Seeing the reality approaching quickly, Mary Margaret grabbed onto the sleeve of Emma's jacket.
"Are we sure it's wise for you both to go through. We could be sending our two most powerful residents straight to their death. Shouldn't one of you stay here to be on the safe side anyway?" She pleaded as Regina looked back unimpressed.
"So just send me to my death instead you mean?" she replied bluntly as the group exchanged an awkward silence.
"Well, you could take Hook with you." Mary Margaret shrugged, trying to still offer alternatives as the two sized each other up. "Me and him on a mission alone I can guarantee we wouldn't both return." She explained.
"Aye. If I'm going to be stepping into an unknown world to what you seem convinced will be our final dalliance, I think I'd be choosing Emma's face to be the last I see." He suggested adding a "No offence." with a flair in his grin as Regina batted it back with a side eye.
"And as attractive as that sounds, we've been there before and I don't intend to re-live it." Emma responded. "Our best chance of protecting ourselves and Storybrooke is for Regina and me to go through alone while you guys hold the fort here. Dad and Hook, you're our best fighters without magic."
"When we're on the other side we will try to charm it so that nothing can come back through." Regina added. "That will keep you safe for a while and as Emma said, we can communicate through this." She handed Mary Margaret a paddle mirror designed with various hoops and swirls around the border.
"We've magically connected this to the pocket one. Regina's magic was never powerful enough to break realm walls but mine is." Emma reassured her mother as Regina gave her an irritated glance, ungrateful for the reminder at who was the superior sorceress.
"And...with Regina's expertise I'm sure we'll always know how to do it..." Emma quickly backtracked, as her father smirked and Regina raised an eyebrow, Mary Margaret clutching the mirror down.
"Once we're through and the portal has closed, wrap the chain around the grooves in the edge design. Focus on it and we should hear your call. It'll be a bit like a cross-realm cellphone." Their former queen added as Mary Margaret nodded, David moving by her side to pull her into a clasp.
"I wish I could go with you." Robin whispered to Regina as they embraced for their goodbye.
"You have the children to look after, don't worry about me." She reassured him, lingering in the comfort of his arms for a moment longer before doing what she had to do.
"Mother Superior, if you could press your wand against the amulet to give it a boost through you..." She suggested as the fairy obliged, the preparation a clear indication it was time to go.
"Take care, Swan." Hook whispered gently, cupping Emma's face and giving her a soft kiss.
Taking her turn, Mary Margaret embraced her daughter tightly, closing her eyes and nestling into her shoulder.
"Are you sure we can't come with you?" She attempted one last time as Emma laughed.
"No offense Mom, but ex-bandit or not I am not sure a hormonal and pregnant school teacher will add much to our agility, and Dad needs to be here for you and the town."
"Plus, this way if we have to torture anyone for information you won't have to see it." Regina added teasingly as Emma threw her a look of frustration.
"I'm kidding." Regina assured her before adding "Mainly." under her breath, knowing that at this stage nothing could be ruled out. Moving past the taunt, Mary Margaret cupped her daughter's cheek.
"Be safe. And answer that mirror!"
"Mom. I promise." Emma teased back lightly as she gripped tight. She had more confidence in this than her mom, but she couldn't deny the trickle of uncertainty and fear that always came. "You take care of Henry, whatever happens." She whispered as her mom nodded. They had already said their goodbye to him but it didn't mean he wasn't always the last thing on her mind and usually the sole cause of any trepidation. Seeing the tears grow in her mom's eyes she gave her one last assurance.
"And don't worry, this plan will work." Emma reassured her as Regina looked over hopefully. So far she was up to speed to this point, but her companion was yet to divulge the rest of what she had conjured up. As much as she trusted Emma, there was obviously something about it that she didn't want her parents to know."
"If you find anything, you let us know immediately, anything could help, no matter how irrelevant it seems." Regina insisted, looking at David as he and his wife stepped back, allowing room for Emma to settle next to her companion. Thy gave each other a nod and braced themselves. Holding out their arms and channelling the pull of their amulets, they focussed the light that appeared from within them onto the hold in the tree. Soon enough the green light began to swirl and when they were satisfied it would hold, the two of them grabbed their necklaces and projected themselves in as the swirling pool zipped up behind them.
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"Not riddles. Oh how I hate mangy riddlers!" Regina cursed, slapping her arms down in frustration. "This is why I never used to visit my mother in that Wonderhell!" After another angry grunt she massaged a fireball into her hand, poised to assess their surroundings for anything more.
"What are you planning on doing with that?" Emma glared as Regina put it out with a huff. "He's the best lead we've got so far."
"He's a flying cat with an eye problem! Some kind of Wonderland and Oz lovechild gone qrong. Clearly this land is taunting us."
