This story's missing a wishing well

No mirror to show and tell

No kiss that can break the spell

I'm falling asleep

Every prince is a fantasy

The witch is inside of me

Her poison will wash away the memories

We kill the lights

And put on a show

It's all a lie but you'd never know

Your star will shine

And then it will fall

And you will forget it all...

The Birthday Massacre - Kill The Lights

The Enchanted Forest

Start of the Dark Curse

"I'm waiting!" Rumple called out days later when he sensed Regina back in his cell and heard warning bells ringing in the tower above.

Regina appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What took you so long?" he asked her.

"You know what took so long."

"Oh, yes. The curse. You did it."

"That's right. I did it. And I wanted you to know it before you, like all the other pathetic denizens of this wretched land, forgets everything."

"How did it feel?"

"Watching the curse cloud form? Felt like victory."

"How did you feel to kill the thing you love most? Ripping the heart out of your father? How did that feel?" Rumple giggled.

"It was the price of the curse. How it felt doesn't matter. He would have understood. I took my life back. I had to. I won."

"And yet, here you are. Feeling the need to gloat. Something's missing, isn't it, dearie?"

"Not at all. I have everything I want. Nothing can stop me now."

"Not quite," Rumple giggled.

"What does that mean?"

"The savior, the child of Snow White and Prince Charming. She can stop you. She can break the curse."

Regina scoffed.

"Well, looks like getting rid of a baby made my to-do list."

"Of course it did. But even if you succeed with that, you have an even bigger problem. Now there's a hole in your heart and someday you will come to me to fill it."

"You underestimate your powers of foresight." Regina started to walk away.

"And you underestimate the price of what you've done! You shall see! You will come to me! There is more you need!" Rumple sang.

"Your taunts will get you nowhere! I know you too well. You want to make another deal. Well, I won't," Regina raged.

"A deal? You already promised me a good life in this new land. What more than I want from you?" Rumple laughed.

"Oh, to be let out of this cage. To be let out of our last deal. To escape the curse."

"But why would I desire that, dearie? I'm exactly where I want to be."

"What are you up to?" Regina asked coldly.

"Why, nothing! I'm looking forward to life in this new land."

"So am I," Regina gloated and vanished.

Rumple closed his eyes and smiled as he watched the purple and green smoke approach his cell. Twenty-eight years, Bae...and then I'll find you. And this time I'm not letting you go again.

In her cell in the Dark Palace Belle was gazing at the door at the purple and green smoke from the curse coming towards her cot against the wall. Rumple, she can't keep us apart forever. I'll find you in this new land...and I'll fight for you with all the love I have...and I will break your curse!

Deep in the forest an anxious Jiminy and Jasper watched the curse cloud approaching, Geppetto fingering the token in his pocket. The cloud would soon be upon them and there wasn't a moment to spare.

"I don't wanna go!" Princess Rose sobbed. "Sir Jasper, I wanna go back to Mama!"

"We can't," he said sadly. They attempted to return to the place the day before only to find it warded against intruders by magic, Maleficent's magic Jasper supposed.

"Toss the coin Geppetto! Now!" Jiminy cried. "We haven't a moment to lose!"

"Stay close Rose," Jasper pleaded. Geppetto tossed the coin onto the ground and seconds later a large funnel cloud formed, circling toward them. Geppetto took Princess Rose's hand and held it tightly.

"I'm scared..." the princess wept.

"I'll be all right Rose. We'll be with you," Jasper soothed and leaped onto her shoulder while Jiminy leaped onto Geppetto's.

"We will find Pinocchio my friend. Believe," Jiminy said as they approached the funnel cloud. The winds began to pick up and Jiminy and Jasper were pulled off Rose and Geppetto's shoulders.

"Jasper!" Rose sobbed and reached out to grab him.

"Jiminy!"

"No! Geppetto...Rose...Jasper!" Jiminy cried as he felt himself being pulled into the funnel cloud while his companions were thrown into the path of oncoming curse cloud. He was hurled to and fro through the cloud, his cricket form changing back into that of a human. The cloud distintegrated and he crashed to the ground naked and unconscious.

Oz (The Outer Zone)

The Temple of Lurline

Twenty-eight years before the breaking of the Dark Curse

Twenty-eight years prior to the Double Eclipse

Alana Kantrine, the High Priestess of the Sons and Daughters of Light awoke from her slumber and glanced out her window to see a large funnel cloud appear on the brick road just outside the front gates of the Temple of Lurline. She rose and walked down the hallway to the quarters where her most loyal guards, Callux and Medira Benu were in residence with their son Ambrose and young daughter Xenia.

"Callux, Medira, the Heart of the North has arrived. Bring him to me," she commanded softly.

"Yes Mistress," they said in unison. "Ambrose! Fetch our horses!"

The young man jumped out of his chair and raced out to the stables, bringing three black stallions to the front doors of the temple. They rode out to the front gate and a few feet away a man lay on the grass without a stitch of clothing on his tall frame and several distinct markings on his skin.

"Is it really him Papa?" Ambrose asked. "Is that Princess Azkadellia's bondmate?"

"It is son." Callux replied. "He will begin training to become a Guardian." Callux pointed to his lower back. "And here….the cricket. That is his personal symbol. A cricket represents the element Earth. The princess will be marked with this symbol once their bond is completed. Come, let's get him back to the temple. Our mistress will need to tend to him."

They lifted the unconscious man onto a litter and carried him back to the temple. The priestesses dressed their guest and tended to his wounds while Alana kept vigil at his bedside. Moments later a puff of green smoke appeared in the room revealing two men, a short, silver haired sorcerer in his late fifties named Jeb Mysticos Strogoff and a tall blond haired man in his early twenties named Wyatt Cain. Wyatt was a Tin Man, the name given to the officers of the law in the OZ and had been recently appointed to serve on Mystico's protection detail.

"Who is that?" the Tin Man demanded gruffly.

"This, my boy, is Jiminy, the bondmate of our princess," Jeb explained.

"He doesn't look like one...kinda lanky." Wyatt observed.

"He will become the second most powerful mage in the OZ," Mysticos declared. They heard the man on the bed groan and his eyes fluttered open.

"W...Where...where am I?" he asked groggily.

"You are safe in the OZ."

"O...Oz? No! No, that's not possible! I was supposed to go to the Land Without Magic, not Oz!"

"No my boy. Your destiny is here in the OZ."

"Send me back! I have to go back. My friends...my brother...they need me!" Jiminy attepted to get out of bed but found he was too weak to stand.

"You have a concussion and must rest," Alana said firmly. "I'm afraid we cannot send you to the Other Side now but you will go there in time. It is the will of the goddess."

"I don't care what the will of the goddess is! I must go to the Land Without Magic! Now let me go!" he snarled.

The glass of water that had been placed beside his bed flew off the stand and shattered against the wall.

"Jiminy, you must calm yourself my boy. Your magic is reacting to your emotions," Mysticos advised gently.

"Magic! Are you mad? I have no magic!"

"Your magic was bound at birth and set to unlock upon your arrival here."

Jiminy glared at all of them, his blue eyes taking on a menacing green tinge. "Are you saying that I was decieved, that the travel storm token I was given was meant only for me?"

"Yes," Alana replied. "It was..."

"ENOUGH ABOUT THE WILL OF THE GODDESS!" he roared. "What of my will? Do I have any of my own or is my life planned out for me?"

"You are the Heart of the North Guardian," Alana declared.

"I...I am a Guardian like Rumplestiltskin? That's not possible!" Jiminy exclaimed.

"How do you know the Dark One's true identity?" Alana inquired.

"I was told. By Ozmalita Diosa." Jiminy scowled. "I'm assuming SHE is the one who sent me here."

"You are the chosen Guardian of Princess Azkadellia Ozopov. She stands at the North Gate and is the Keeper of the Emerald of Earth," Mysticos explained. "You were chosen because yours is one of the purest hearts in all the realms."

"Why wasn't my brother chosen?"

"It was not his destiny. It was yours. However, he possesses skills that you have inherited through your restored fraternal bond. I will train you how to master those skills as well as your magic. I'm afraid the mental link you shared will be severed as long as he is under the Dark Curse."

"Where is he and my friends?"

"Your friend Geppetto is in a place on the other side called Storybrooke. Your brother is in a place called San Francisco. The girl...was sent to a place called Bellefonte."

"So it seperated them," Jiminy said sadly. "The children...they'll be alone! Please! I must go to them."

"You cannot. The future of the realms depends on you staying where you are for now."

"Or the realms fall? Is that what you mean?" Everyone in the room cringed. "Ah, so it is." He sighed. "Then I will do my best...as the goddess wills."

"We will leave for Central City once you are well," Mysticos informed him.

Jiminy lay back against the pillows wondering how the others were faring in the new land, cursed and torn apart by a vengeful queen. Once he was asleep the others closed the door to the chamber and returned to Alana's quarters.

"Has the construct been put into place?" Alana inquired of Mysticos. He waved his hand over the mirror in her bedroom and the image of a small town appeared in the glass.

"He has...and the queen will be none the wiser nor will anyone else. It will be lifelike in every way and Jiminy will have access to its memories until the time comes when he arrives to take its place. It will appear as if he's been in the town the entire time."

Storybrooke, Maine

Fall 1983

"I did it. I won!" Regina declared gleefully when she awoke that morning in the new land that she had chosen to call Storybrooke. She dressed in the new clothing that now hung in her closet and went outside, taking in the sights of her new kingdom. There were no palaces but it mattered little. She'd taken away all their happy endings and now it was time for her to savor her own.

"Morning Madam Mayor!" she heard a voice greet softly.

"Good morning, Crick—Dr. Hopper," she corrected herself, recalling that she'd given the former cricket the name Archibald Hopper and the memories of being a psychiatrist in the town but he like everyone else in the town would be at her command when she needed him.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is," Regina said with a smile and walked on. Victory had never tasted so sweet.

Every day was pretty much the same for Storybrooke's local pawnshop and antiquities dealer Mr. Gold. He arose at seven AM, showered, dressed and drove his black Cadillac down to his pawnshop to open it for business. He was the wealthiest man in the town and had acquired it by renting out nearly all of the buildings, houses and apartments. He had been an attorney years ago but abandoned his legal practice when it hadn't proven to be as successful as his shop or being a landlord. Once in a while someone would come to him seeking legal advice and he was more than happy to give it...for the right price.

The one person he saw the most, although he wasn't too happy about it was the mayor herself, Regina Mills. It seemed that she was in need of his services for one reason or another but he didn't mind it since the debts she owed him piled up and if he needed a favor from her, it wasn't like she could refuse him. He was after all the richest man in town...hell, he practically owned the town. He'd come a long way from his humble beginnings in Glasgow. Still, there were two things missing from his life...his fiancee Belle and his son...Bailey or Bae as he called him. Belle had been killed in a car accident and he and his son were estranged since his divorce from the boy's mother.

He knew he hadn't been the idea father to his boy, spending more time at work than at home and his busy schedule had also taken him away from Belle as well. Now it was too late for him to take it back. All he had now was his work...and his memories. It wasn't enough for him but it would have to do. He did try searching for his son but it was as if Bailey Gold hadn't even existed.

The bell over his door tinkled as the mayor walked into the shop. She always seemed to be in a snit about something when she stopped by to see him and sometimes what she said made no sense to him at all. Today was no different.

"I'm not happy!"

"I believe Dr. Hopper's office is right down the street," Gold said.

"No I don't want to talk to him. I want to talk to you."

"Very well Madame Mayor. What is it you want to talk about?" he asked, picking up a gold teapot he'd just finished polishing and putting it back in the display case and started polishing its matching sugar bowl while she talked...or rather ranted. It was easier just to let her get on with it.

"This town. This isn't the deal we made."

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about." They made a few deals over the years but he couldn't recall making one about the town, except if it was a property deal.

"You don't, do you? I was supposed to be happy here." Regina complained.

"Forgive me, but, um, you're the Mayor. You're the most powerful woman in the town. What is there to be unhappy about?"

"Everyone in this town does exactly what I want them to!"

"And that's a problem?" Gold asked with a laugh. He certainly wouldn't be complaining about that. He thought about suggesting she see Dr. Hopper again only he didn't want the headache that would come with her tirade. He limped out from behind the counter.

"Well, they do it because they have to, not because they want to. It's not real."

"I'm sorry, what exactly is it you want?" he asked, still confused. Had she been having one too many down at the Rabbit Hole? He didn't smell any alcohol on her and he couldn't recall seeing her anywhere near that vile joint. He didn't even like going there to collect the rent.

"Nothing you can give me," she answered and left as quickly as she walked in leaving him still confused.

"Strange woman," he muttered and went back to his polishing.

After that, things went back to normal, if you could call doing the same thing every day normal, except when rent day came around. Even it had its own routine. Some of his tenants handed their money or checks over without question while others tried, without success to get some kind of grace period. Gold didn't grant grace periods. You either had the money or you didn't. If you didn't you were out on your ass in thirty days and he usually had your replacement tenant lined up to move in. People hated him for this but he didn't care. It was business. It was the same at the pawnshop. You either paid back your loans before the close of business on the day they were due or what you offered as collateral was forfeit.

Once Gold returned home for the day and settled in his chair, his iron facade collapsed and the lonely man he was came to the surface. His missed his son and he missed his Belle. She was the town's librarian, the library had been closed by Regina's orders after her death because, she claimed, the town didn't have the funds to keep it open. He hadn't resisted...there was no one else he felt belonged behind that circulation desk other than his Belle. He always read for an hour or two before he went up to bed but sleep was always difficult. Every night his dreams taunted him of the life he could've had if he hadn't spent more time building his fortune than being with his family.

For Alemedia, his misery was her nourishment during the days when she began to believe she would be trapped in this broken, magicless body forever. Her servant seemed to be having much better luck. Lavinia had been deposed, Bastinda had the throne and it was just a matter of time until she could get her hands on the key to unlocking the gates of Ephesis. Only one person knew where it was and like her servant, she did not believe the child was dead, buried in the ground. The loss of a major portion of the queen's life force was proof of it. She could only have given it to a blood relative and there was one she favored more than any other. All they had to do was wait for her to reveal herself and she would…with a little help from vision she planted in Rumple's head and a silly little thief turned cricket who provided the means for her to be tracked in the form of the blood of dragon mates. Still there was one other threat remaining…the missing East Guardian and like Dorothia, he would be lured into her trap by someone he trusted.

It all depends on the so-called Savior, she thought bitterly. But she will fail. They ALL will fail!