Storybrooke
Sixteen days prior to the Final Eclipse
One day after the First Eclipse
"Well done cousin," Rumple praised, waving his hand over the seeing globe. "Now rest, recover your strength and then you must come to me."
"Are you sure she's all right, Rumple?" Belle asked worriedly.
"Oh, she will be sweetheart…and so will the child."
"She's pregnant?"
"Yes…with the child she lost before. Ozmalita has been kind and sent their daughter back to them and they must come here, or they will lose her again." He looked away. "I can't let them endure that pain again." He glanced down at the basket she was holding. "You've brought lunch."
"I thought I would pack something to take with us since we'll be gone all day."
He gestured, and her dress was transformed into her Guardian robes. "I'm not as skilled with the sword as Archie so I will be teaching you magical defenses today sweetheart. You know where we need to go. Take us there," he commanded softly. She waved her hand and they vanished in a puff of blue smoke, reappearing in the field at MacDonald's farm.
Rumple conjured an energy ball in his hand and threw it her, pleased when a shield appeared over her.
"Now focus Belle!" he called out as he blasted at the shield. "The shield will only hold if you focus on it and nothing else!"
"I am," she murmured.
"Now lower it."
The dome vanished.
"Hold out your hands."
She obeyed.
"I am going to blast you as hard as I can. Now make your hands your shield and hold them back. Good, sweetheart, good!" he praised. Beads of sweat formed on Belle's brows as she concentrated. "Now throw it back at me!"
"But I'll hurt you!" she cried.
"Do it!" he commanded. "You must not hesitate! I am your enemy and you must defend yourself…now throw them back!"
She pushed as hard as she could, sending the energy bolts back at their host with such force that it knocked him off his feet.
"Rumple!"
"I'm all right, sweetheart," he reassured her when he got up and dusted himself off. "But you can't be reacting like that when you're in battle. Nor can you hesitate. Your opponent will be looking for any opening they can seize and use them against you. Now, for your next lesson. Hearts. There are three things you can do with a heart. Crush it, use it to control an enemy or divide its essence. I will be teaching you only one of these lessons. The third I've never been able to do successfully."
"But isn't that…dark magic?"
"Yes, but a light mage can use two of the three forms of magic with hearts in times of emergency. I will be teaching you how to use a heart to control an enemy."
"Rumple, I don't think I like this. I can't control you like…like the dagger does."
"It won't be for long and you need to learn." He reached into his chest and pulled out his heart, handing it to her. "You now have complete power over me and I must obey your commands, even cursed."
Her hands were shaking. "I don't like this."
"I know. But command me to do something. Anything."
She sighed. "All right Rumple but I hope I will NEVER have to use this line of defense. I don't like it." Then she smiled. "I want you to change into the leather outfit you wore when we first met."
He giggled. "As you wish, dearie!" He gestured and now wore his amber satin shirt and leather breeches. She handed his heart back to him and he slammed it back into his chest. "Now dinna be getting any thoughts of forgetting your lessons in your head."
"I can't help it!" she protested.
"What am I gonna do with you?"
"Put up with me," she retorted. "Because after we get married you are going to wear those leathers a lot and I'm going to take my time taking them off you."
"The way you talk you would think we've…."
"But we haven't…yet," she reminded him. "And isn't our bond one of the three that needs to be consummated before the next eclipse?"
He nodded. "But it needs to be at the right time, Belle. I have too much respect for you to simple take you when I wish to. Let's take a break and have lunch. Now what did you make for us."
"Hamburgers."
"How did I know?" He chuckled.
"And I cooked them your way without burning down the kitchen while you were in the shop. Did you find the spell you were looking for? The one that could recreate the globe Cora took that was meant for you?"
"Yes, but it is going to take a lot of magic to do it. I'm going to work on it tonight while you're at the library."
"I hid the map like you asked. No one is getting that dagger from you Rumple. Not if I can help it."
They ate their lunch and Rumple continued their lessons for another hour until he had to take her to the library to start her shift. She loved the books, they opened doors to this new land they lived in and allowed her to go to exotic places for a few hours even while she was helping the children from the school find the research materials they needed for essays and term papers. She was also making new friends much to his delight. Ruby would often stop by and bring her free snacks from Granny's. She still saw her father around town and he was as hostile as ever, calling her the 'Beast's Whore.' His words stung but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it. She was getting ready to close for the night when she heard footsteps behind one of the stacks.
"Hello?"
"I'm sorry but this is for your own good," she heard her father's voice say and felt something hard strike her on the back of the head.
Rumple had just finished the globe when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and glanced down at the ring on his finger. It was glowing.
"Belle!" he cried and summoned a hand mirror to him. "Show me Belle!" he commanded it.
He could see her laying in a cart deep inside the mines unconscious, her arm handcuffed to it. Moe stood in front of it and pushed it forward.
"Oh, you bastard," Rumple whispered. "Trying to send her over the town line to forget me, are you, dearie? Ah you are in for a very nasty surprise!"
He vanished in a puff of smoke.
Belle opened her eyes to discover that she was in a cart in the miles rolling down the tracks, her arm handcuffed to the side of it. She closed her eyes and concentrated, unlocking the cuff and flicked her wrist, bringing the cart to an abrupt stop. "Papa!" she yelled and teleported out.
Moe stood at the entrance to the mine waiting for Smee to return with his daughter once she crossed the town line, her memories of the Beast erased as he'd hoped the clerics would do years ago. Suddenly a puff of blue smoke appeared before the entrance revealing his very furious daughter. She flicked her wrist again and lifted him off his feet.
"Belle…."
"You never think do you?" she demanded coldly.
"Beast! Where is my daughter?"
"It's not Rumple, Papa, it's ME. I'm doing this." Her eyes filled with tears. "Why can't you just accept that I love him and I'm happy? Why?"
"He's a monster!"
"No, he's not. You are. You had me tortured, Papa. You tried to send me over the town line to make me forget who I was, but you can never take Rumple out of my heart. He's there and he's always going to be there whether you like it or not!"
She released her hold and he dropped to the ground. "I loved you Papa but if you cannot accept me or Rumple for what we are then you will leave us alone!"
"I…"
"You will!" she yelled.
"Belle, please….he's not for you…"
"I will decide who is right for me or not. I'm a grown woman, Papa. Now get out of here before Rumple comes."
"I'm already here."
Moe's blood ran cold at the sound of the beast's voice. Rumple walked over to where he lay, his cane in his hands. "You don't know how much I'd like to take this and beat you within an inch of your life again for what you've done to your daughter, but I'll let her decide what should be done with you."
"I just want him to leave us alone until he accepts things as they are."
"I will NEVER accept that you want to live with that beast!"
"Then you will spend the rest of your life alone," Belle declared. "Come on Rumple. Let's go home."
She took his hand in hers and they vanished, leaving Moe on the ground lost in his own thoughts. There had to be another way to break that beast's hold on his daughter and he would find it no matter what price he had to pay.
The Enchanted Forest
Sixteen days prior to the Final Eclipse
One day after the First Eclipse
The four women gazed up at the beanstalk, reaching high into the clouds. Emma sucked in a breath.
"It's a little freakier than I remember from the story," Emma said.
"Reminds me of death," Mulan added.
"Encouraging." Snow shook her head.
"Well, your compass awaits. Shall we?" Hook said with a smiled.
"Wait. If these beans create…portals, why not just pick one and go home? Why the compass?" Emma asked skeptically.
"Because there aren't any more beans. Whatever story you think you know, my dear, is most certainly wrong." He smiled at Emma.
"There was a guy named Jack, and a cow, and something about evil giant with a treasure and a golden goose. …Or harp. What else is there to know?"
"Sounds like a lovely tale. But the truth's a little bit more gruesome. The giants grew the beans, but, rather than use them for good, they used them to plunder all the lands. Jack, was a man who fought a terrible war, defeating all but one of the evil giants. The beans were destroyed by the giants as they died. If they couldn't have their magic, then nobody could. It's really very bad form."
Says the man who plunders for a living. Snow glared at him. The pirate's interest in her daughter was all too obvious and a suit she would do her best to discourage. Their time in the Enchanted Forest had given the two women a chance to bond and Emma had finally opened to her about her life; more specifically about the only man she'd ever loved; a man named Neal Cassidy, Henry's real father.
"I can't tell Henry his dad was a thief that took off on me. I just told him he was fireman that died. It's better that way."
"Is there any chance he might come back?"
"No," Emma said bitterly. "He just took his twenty thousand and split. Probably living the good life with another woman since I took the rap for him in the watch heist."
"Evil giants, who made magic portal beans? Why doesn't anyone just go up and grow some more?" she heard Emma asking the pirate.
"Because one giant survived. The strongest and most terrible of them all. And we'll have to get past him to-"
"The magic compass," Snow interrupted.
"Indeed. The treasure remains, and amongst it is the compass. Now it will guide us to your land. Cora has the means to open a portal with the wardrobe ashes, but she can't find your land without the compass. Once we get it, steal the ashes from her and we're on our way."
No, we're on our way. YOU are staying here.
"How do we know you're not just using us to get the compass for Cora?" Mulan demanded.
"Because you four are far safer company. All I need is a ride back. I'll swear allegiance to whomever gets me there first."
You're not going anywhere. You get me to the compass and after that you're on your own Guyliner, Emma thought nastily.
"Then we'd better start climbing."
"Right, so… I failed to mention that the giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders."
"Sure, you did. Wanna tell me how we plan on getting up there?"
"I've got a counter spell from Cora. If you'd be so kind." He held his bound wrists out to them. Snow untied them and he held up his arm, a glowing cuff on it.
"Thank you, milady. I've got one more of these. Cora was to accompany me. So… Which one of you four lovelies shall take her place? Hm? Go on, fight it out. Don't be afraid to, you know, really get into it."
"Okay, listen you pervert: get whatever sick fantasies you've got out of your mind. I'm going up there and I'm keeping an eye on you. You screw with me and you're gonna find out what free falling the hard way feels like!"
"All due respect, I'm the best equipped to go. How many wars have you been through?" Mulan asked her and Snow.
"My share." Snow replied.
"It should be me," Aurora insisted.
"You? You haven't fought in a battle." Mulan reminded her.
"Nor am I just going to sit around and do nothing. I do know how to climb. Phillip taught me."
"This is about us getting home to our loved ones. Why would you…?"
"For Rose. If something happens to me I want your word that you will find her and make certain she's safe. And find Jasper. He would be human again in the land without magic and you already know what he looks like since his twin lives in your town. He will be the comfort to her when no one else can."
"It's me. I'm going, and I'm not going to fail," Emma insisted.
"You're new here," Snow reminded her. "You don't know all the dangers of this realm. I do."
"It's about getting back to Henry. I don't care what I have to face. You're not going to argue with me?"
"Would it do any good?"
"No. Anything in that bag that's going to help me with a giant?"
"A hook?" Mulan suggested.
"Hey!" Hook was incensed.
"Come with me."
Mulan pulled Emma aside and took a bag out of her satchel. "This was powder made from poppies. Ozian poppies. He has to inhale it and it will put him to sleep."
"And your sword, how strong is it?"
"The most powerful blade in all the realms. My former master had it. He stole it from the Dark One but I'm not sure how he managed it. It is one of the swords owned by the Greek goddess Athena, made by the god Hephaestus. My master said it has the power to deflect magic and cut through anything, even that beanstalk if you are suggesting what I think you are."
"Give me ten hours. If I'm not back, you cut it down and keep going. I do NOT want that pervert anywhere near you. Or that giant."
"Snow won't like that."
"That's why I'm asking you. If I don't get back, you get her home."
"I will."
"Ladies. In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words, tick tock," Hook taunted.
"I was hoping it'd be you," he said when Emma approached him.
"Just get on with it. Give me the cuff. You try anything else and your balls will get kicked up into your throat." He winced. "Good. You get the point."
"Put your hand right here." He gestured to his shoulder with his good hand placed the second cuff around her wrist. "That's a good girl. This will allow you to climb. There are other dangers. Thankfully, you've got me to protect you. I can't climb one-handed, can I?"
"I can protect myself, dick," she growled. Don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second." She handed him his hook.
"I would despair if you did."
"Just shut up and let's go," she said angrily and started to climb with him on the other side.
Mulan began drawing a sundial in the sand with a stick.
"What is that?" Aurora asked her
"It keeps the time."
"You have somewhere to be?" Snow inquired curiously.
"We can mark watches – take turns sleeping. We'll most likely have to walk through the night again, so we should rest while we can."
"I'll take first shift," Snow offered.
"I'll stay up with you."
"I'll go see about dinner," Mulan said and picked up her sword while Snow and Aurora got a fire going.
"When's the last time you slept?" Snow asked her companion.
"I don't really sleep now. Not after what I've been through," Aurora replied.
"Sleeping curse."
"Yes. I was given the curse before the dark curse was cast just as my mother was. We didn't find out until after our daughter was born that it was a generational curse. All the females in my line will fall victim to the curse on their sixteenth birthdays. That's another reason why I need to find Rose. If she has a daughter….my granddaughter will inherit the curse unless Rose has found some other way to break it than true love's kiss. The one time I did sleep, I had horrible nightmares."
"It's a side effect. Same thing happened to me."
"It did?"
"I had them for months. Charming – my husband – he used to wake me. When I cried out, he'd light a candle. He said it would capture the nightmares. He'd watch over me as I fell back to sleep."
"Sounds like he lives up to his name," she smiled wistfully. "So did Phillip. He searched for me all this time and just when we finally found each other…the wraith…"
"Aurora, I am so sorry. We didn't know…why don't you try… To sleep? I'll watch over you. You'll be safe."
"Thank you." She lay down and closed her eyes.
San Francisco, California
"No….No….not again!" Beth Molk screamed, huddled in a corner, smelling the smoke and feeling the heat from the flames as they blazed toward her. "David!"
David was at his desk at the station typing up his report on his latest case when he heard his wife's terrified voice screaming out his name in his mind.
"N….Navarro….Beth….nightmare…" he mumbled and passed out. Edgar jumped out his chair and caught his partner before he fell out of his and laid him on the floor.
"Navarro, what's wrong with Molky?" Inspector Terry English asked from his desk.
"Beth. She's dreaming again and he's going in."
Terry nodded.
"He needs help, WE'RE going in too," spoke up Terry's partner Hildy Mulligan. "I'll tell Koto." She rose from her desk and headed for the office of their superior, Lt. Jim Koto. Now that the dark curse had been broken, David and Edgar had been in for a shock to discover that their boss and two of their closest friends were also cursed fairy tale characters from the land known as the 'Wish Realm' and its version of Wonderland. Hildy was Alice, Terry the Cheshire cat and Koto the White King.
David opened his eyes to find himself in the burning room that had been the scene of Beth's nightmares in all the years they'd been together.
"Beth, sweetheart, it's all right. It's gonna be all right," he soothed and kneeled beside her. "Look at me Sleeping Beauty."
She raised her head and reached out to caress his cheek. "It is now that you're here."
The Netherworld
Aurora was terrified yet found it strangely comforting that she wasn't alone in the room. She could see a woman huddled in the corner while a man kneeled beside her, appearing to be comforting her.
"Hello!" she called out. "Please…help me!"
"Mama!" the woman cried and jumped to her feet. "David, it's Mama!"
The man stood up and turned around. "Your Highness! Oh, thank God!"
"Jasper! Rose!" Aurora sobbed joyfully and ran into her daughter's outstretched arms. Her daughter had aged during the curse and was now a woman much older than her, but it didn't matter. "Oh, look at you! You're grown up!"
The flames vanished the moment she was in her daughter's arms.
"And you're as beautiful as I remember you," Beth sobbed, holding her tightly. "But…I go by my cursed name now Mama…Elizabeth."
Aurora smiled faintly. "Your grandmother's name. Philip would be so proud. And Jasper, you're human again and looking after my daughter as you always have. I am in your debt."
"Ummm….Aurora….ahhh….I'm not just doing that now…" David stammered, fearing how his mother-in-law would react to the change in his relationship with his former charge.
"We're married Mama," Beth declared. "And he goes by his cursed name, David."
"Married!? But…how…how did this happen?"
"We were separated by the curse," David explained. "Beth was sent to Pennsylvania and raised by foster parents. I didn't meet her again until she was already grown up and divorced from her first husband. We've been married two years, even cursed."
"The sleeping curse…did you…?"
Beth nodded. "I've had it for years, but the doctors diagnosed it as a sleep disorder." She glanced up at her husband, smiling lovingly. "And David broke it with true love's kiss. Mama, where is Papa? Did he break your curse?"
Aurora nodded sadly. "He's gone darling."
"What?" Beth croaked. "No…Mama…please…"
"He was killed by an Ephesian wraith not long after he woke me," Aurora sobbed. Beth burst into tears and hugged her mother tighter.
David stood back and allowed them their time to grieve, grieving in his own way for the boy he'd helped raise into a man. "Who the hell unleashed an Ephesian wraith and why?" he demanded through gritted teeth.
"I don't know," Aurora confessed. "It came through a portal from the land without magic along with Princess Snow and her daughter and they said the Dark One summoned it to kill the Queen, but she sent it here. Your father was innocent, and he didn't deserve to die. She did and when I get to that other land I am going to drive a sword through her heart as she drove one through mine when she killed your papa!"
"No! Mama, she'll kill you!"
"Maybe there is a way to get him back," David said.
"He's dead, David! You can't come back from that!" Beth cried.
"It's been done before."
"How?"
"I don't know how but my brother does."
"We need a portal to cross worlds and right now Emma is trying to find one by going to the Giant's castle with Captain Hook."
"You don't need one in dreams. All you need is a link to the person you're seeking. Archie and I have always had a telepathic link to each other that was broken during the curse, but it's been restored. Archie knows more about dark magic than we do."
"Archie?"
"His cursed name, Mama," Beth supplied. "David, do you really think he might know a way to get Papa back?"
"If they can do it for his sister-in-law, they can do it for my father-in-law. Aurora, I know this…that I'm probably not who you expected Rose to marry but…but I love her."
"And I love him," Beth said firmly.
"That's all that matters darling."
"Where is he David?"
David closed his eyes, seeing a palace by a lake surrounded by snow covered mountains. "Oz. He's in Oz." He took her hand and gazed into her eyes. "See as I see, Sleeping Beauty. This is where we need to be."
Beth reached for her mother's hand. "Hold on Mama. We're going to Oz."
The trio vanished.
The Enchanted Forest
They were now near the top of the beanstalk and Emma's patience with her travelling companion was wearing thin.
"First beanstalk? Well, you never forget your first. You know, most men would take your silence as off-putting, but I love a challenge," Hook flirted.
So does every man until they get what they want.
Emma ignored him and continued climbing.
"I'm concentrating."
"No, you're afraid. Afraid to talk – to reveal yourself. Trust me – things'll be a lot smoother if you do."
"You should be used to people not trusting you."
"Ah, the pirate thing. Well, I don't need you to share. You're something of an open book."
"Am I?"
"Quite. Let's see – you volunteered to come up here because you were the most motivated. You need to get back to a child."
"That's not perception. That's eavesdropping."
"Ah, but you don't want to abandon him the way you were abandoned."
"Was I?"
"Like I said, an open book."
"How would you know that?"
"I spent many years in Neverland – home of the Lost Boys. They all share the same look in their eyes… The look you get when you've been left alone."
"Yeah, well, my world ain't Neverland."
"But an orphan's an orphan. Love has been all too rare in your life, hasn't it? You ever even been in love?"
"No. I have never been in love," Emma lied. "And falling in love with someone like you isn't in the plans so you might as well turn off the charm. It's making me sick."
He wanted to slam his fist against the stalk. This wasn't working out at all. He preferred getting his revenge by hitching a ride with her and having her as a bonus, but some man was responsible for that wall around her heart and he wanted to choke the life out of whomever he was.
"Just trying to make conversation."
"Sure, you are. Look buddy, I've heard every line before and could probably fill a book with them. You think just because you're good looking you can get any girl to drop her panties, pantaloons or whatever you call underwear in this world for you. Well guess what? You just met one who won't. I've got Everlast iron underwear on and it's gonna take someone with a lot more than you've got to make me want to take 'em off again for longer than a night."
"Are you always this crude?" he muttered.
"When someone's getting on my nerves, yes. Now shut up and keep climbing!"
He shook his head. Killing the crocodile would be worth putting up with her foul mouth for a while longer but when he got back down he was going to rip that heart of hers out with his enchanted hook and make her more compliant whether she liked it or not. He was relieved when they finally reached the top and discovered the battle worn castle.
"What happened here?"
"It's where the final battle was. Give me your hand."
"What?"
"Your hand, it's cut. Let me help you."
"No, no. It's fine."
"No, it's not."
"So, now you're going to be a gentleman?"
"Giants can smell blood. And I'm always a gentleman."
She rolled her eyes. "And I'm Lady Godiva." He took a bottle out of his pocket and poured it over her hand. She hissed in pain and drew her hand back.
"Ow! What the hell is that?"
"It's rum. A bloody waste of it."
"Of course, you would have rum on you," she muttered while he wrapped her hand with a piece torn from his shirt.
"Now here's the plan – we wait for the giant to fall asleep. And when he does, we'll sneak past him into his cave. It's where the treasures are – where the compass lies."
"And then?"
"And then we run like hell."
"I don't have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep. The powder Mulan gave me, we need to use it. We got to knock him out."
"Well, that's riskier."
"Than waiting for a giant to fall asleep when we need him to?"
"Point taken. Oh, you're a tough lass. You'd make a hell of a pirate."
"Never had that fantasy and you're just NOW figuring out I'm more than talk. The rum must be wearing off. Who's Milah on the tattoo? Your mistress."
"Someone from long ago."
"Where is she?"
"She's gone."
"Gold. Rumpelstiltskin. He took more than your hand from you, didn't he? That's why you want to kill him."
"For someone who's never been in love, you're quite perceptive, aren't you? She was his wife before he became the Dark One. She left him for me."
"Well that explains a few things…and maybe I was in love once. What did you do? Kidnap her?"
"She came to me willingly."
"Then she wasn't much of a wife, was she?"
"You watch what you…" He lunged for her but backed away when he saw her dagger pointed at his groin.
"I'll cut it off it you take one step closer. Don't think I can't do it. A woman who leaves her husband for a pirate isn't much of a wife. You two deserved each other," she said angrily and stormed off.
"You ready?" he asked when he rejoined her, holding a bone. He began banging on a shield with it while Emma was crouched atop a statue, the bag of poppy powder in her hand. If it worked on Dorothy, it would work on a giant.
"Yeah."
They heard thunderous footsteps and the giant emerged from his chamber, but he was far taller than the statue she was standing on. She needed to go for higher ground if she stood any chance of dosing him.
"Oh, damn it."
"Hey! You big git! Yeah, you. Huh? You want to kill a human? Huh? You want to kill a human? Well, I'm the worst human around. Come on. Come on, then! Come on, then!" Hook taunted. As the giant reached out to grab him, Emma seized the opportunity and threw the power in his face. The giant fell to the floor and began snoring loudly.
"Hook? Hook!"
He stepped out from behind the giant, grinning.
"He's out cold. I don't mean to upset you, Emma, but I think we make quite the team."
"Let's go steal a compass," she said, wanting to be rid of him as quickly as possible.
Oz (The Outer Zone)
The Northern Island
"T…This….This is colder than a winter in Bellefonte," Beth shivered when they appeared outside the closed double doors of one of the palaces of the Ozopov royal family. She closed her eyes and they were now wearing winter clothing.
"How…how…how did you do that?" Aurora asked her. David smiled.
"Beth's able to have some control over her dreams," he replied.
"I learned it watching Nightmare on Elm Street movies," Beth added. "I used to have nightmares all the time when I was younger but there was a character in one of them that controlled her dreams, so I kept watching until I learned how to do it myself."
"So could your father," Aurora murmured. "You inherited it from him, darling. How do we get in? Do we knock on the door?"
As she raised her hand the double doors swung open. The trio went inside, hearing music echoing through the halls.
"Tell it to me slowly
I really want to know
It's the time of the season for loving…"
"What is that?" Aurora asked.
"Music, Mama." Beth said, and they followed the sound down the hall until they came to an archway with a beaded curtain hanging over it. David sniffed the air.
"Incense? Beaded curtains? Oh boy! I thik my brother's gone hippie!" David exclaimed.
"What's a hippie?" Aurora asked, puzzled. Beth giggled.
"You'll see Mama. You'll see."
The Queen of the OZ would have been outraged to see what her throne room had been transformed into. Peace signs and flowers had been painted on the walls in psychedelic colors along with MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR; PEACE, LOVE and GROOVY. There was also a drawing of a VW bus on one of the walls with makeshift bed in front of it made with a mattress that had been taken out of one of the bedrooms upstairs. Archie and Az were dancing in the center of the room, Az wearing a tie dyed dress with a flower wreath in her hair while Archie wore a pair of ripped jeans, a tie dyed shirt, indigo sunglasses, a forest green suede vest and a bandana around his head.
"Umm, Archie, what the hell…?" David asked. The couple stopped dancing.
"Oh, come and join us! We're having a hippie party!" Az said excitedly.
"Archie, you're not…ahhh…stoned, are you?"
"Now you know me better than that!" Archie glowered at his twin over the rims of his glasses. "The only thing I'm stoned on is love, right, darling?" he asked and picked Az up, spun her around and kissed her before he set her back on her feet.
"Are they under some kind of spell, Rose?"
"I don't know Mama."
"No, we're not under a spell Beth. Dellia and I have always loved the Sixties and when we wake up, it's how we're gonna live; a Bohemian, hippie lifestyle," Archie declared. "And before you start, David, no we are not gonna start smoking weed or shoving coke up our noses." He gestured and three large bean chairs appeared on the floor beside the two that were already there. "Have a seat."
Az turned the music down and climbed onto the bean bag chair beside his.
"Archie, we need your help. Phillip was killed by a wraith," David announced.
The couple gasped.
"An Ephesian wraith?"
They nodded.
Archie's eye narrowed to slits. "The wraith can only be summoned by Alemedia or one of her vessels. I know Rumple unleashed him to go after Regina and it went through a portal. Are you saying it ended up in the Enchanted Forest and killed Phillip?"
"Yes. Phillip touched the amulet and had the mark branded onto him," Aurora said. "Jasper… David…said the dead can be brought back to life and that it's been done before."
"It has, with my sister DG. But bringing back the dead requires the person doing it to surrender part of their life force and it can only be done before the soul leaves the body. Phillip's already has," Az answered. "The wraith has it."
"And he shouldn't because it wasn't the soul he was commanded to take," Archie added. "Since Phillip was a pure heart, his soul should've gone to Ozmalita."
"Who?"
"Ozmalita Diosa, the keeper of souls. We need to find out if she has it."
"How?"
"The Heart of the North Guardian summons thee
Ozmalita Diosa, appear now before me!" Archie called out.
Adora appeared in the room, smiling when she saw Archie and Az.
"You don't know how happy I am to see you free and reunited with your love, Azkadellia," she said softly. "Why have you summoned me?"
"Adora, when Rumple summoned the wraith to take Regina's soul she sent it through a portal back to the Enchanted Forest and it took an innocent man's in her place. We need to know if you have it."
"I'm afraid I don't."
Aurora burst into tears.
"But if an innocent was murdered than his soul must be returned to his body. That I can do if I have the amulet it is trapped in."
"I have it!" Aurora cried and held up the bag she carried. Adora summoned the bag to her and reached inside, taking out the amulet. Adora waved her hand over the amulet and began to chant, a blue mist emitting from it, the ghostly image of Phillip appearing in the room in front of them. He glanced over at his wife, his face a mask of heartbreak and grief. Seconds later he vanished.
"He will be waiting for you when you awaken," she explained to them.
"Thank you, Adora."
"Thank you," Aurora sniffled.
Adora smiled again and vanished. Beth threw her arms around her mother, sobbing joyfully.
"You should wake up now," Archie advised.
"Yeah. I fell asleep at my desk and Beth needs to be awake if the baby needs her."
"Baby? I have a grandchild? Why didn't you tell me?" Aurora demanded of her daughter.
"I…I was going to," Beth protested. "His name is Jasper Phillip…after his daddy and Papa only we didn't know we were naming him after them because we were still cursed when he was born."
Az held out her hand, a silver disk in it. "Use this. It will get you home."
"But…Emma is trying to find a magic compass…"
"She won't need it. All you need is that. Get into an open field and toss it but hold on tight! The travel storm will take you where you need to go."
"Thank you again."
"I'll see you soon Mama," Beth said softly.
"Take care of my daughter and grandchild, David."
"I will."
Moments later Az and Archie were alone in the throne room. Archie grabbed the seeing globe on the table beside their bed and waved his hand over it, an image of Emma appearing in it.
"Emma, what the hell are you doing with him?" he exclaimed and handed the globe to Az. She could feel her anger rising as the image of the man that nearly raped her years earlier appeared in the glass.
"We have to warn them!" she cried and collapsed on the mattress exhausted.
"Still…not…recovered yet," Archie murmured and passed out beside her, the globe falling out of his hands and shattering.
The Enchanted Forest
Mulan glanced down at the sundial, her brow creased with worry. Time was running out and Emma still hadn't returned. Aurora was still asleep but thankfully she appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Moments later she awoke with a gasp.
"Hey. Aurora? It was just a dream. It was just a dream," Snow soothed.
"My daughter. I saw my daughter!" she cried happily. "S…She was in the burning room like I was and oh….she's all grown up with a baby!"
"That's wonderful!"
"And Jasper…Jasper is her husband!"
"He is?"
"Yes. We went to see his brother and found out we can get Phillip back."
"You already have," they heard a voice say and Phillip stepped out from behind a tree. Mulan dropped the stick she was holding and stared at him in shock. Aurora got up and ran into his arms, kissing him passionately.
"But…we….we saw the wraith kill you!"
"And he did but Ozmalita Diosa returned my soul to me," Phillip explained. "And now I want to go to this new land and see my daughter…and grandson!"
Snow held out her hand. "I'm Snow White."
Phillip took it and bowed. "Your Highness."
"We're almost out of time." Mulan moved toward the beanstalk with her sword drawn.
"What are you doing!?" Snow cried out in horror.
"What Emma asked me to. Getting you home."
"But we don't have the compass and I AM NOT leaving without my daughter!"
"We don't need the compass anymore. We have this." Aurora reached into her bag and took out the travel storm token.
"That's an Ozian travel storm token! Where did you get that?" Mulan asked. "Did you have it the whole time?"
"No. I was given it by one of the Ozopov princesses in my dream."
"That's not possible. You can't carry something out of a dream!" Snow protested.
"If one of the Guardians gave it to her, yes she can," explained Mulan. "And the Princesses Dorothia and Azkadellia Ozopov are two of the eight Guardians of the Balance. How did you get in contact with one of them through the dream realm?"
Aurora smiled. "I suppose you could say they're family now through my daughter. Azakdellia Ozopov is her sister-in-law."
Snow's eyes widened. "One of the Ozian princesses is Archie's wife?!"
"And this Archie, if he is married to Azkadellia Ozopov, is also one of the eight Guardians of the Balance," Mulan said. "They are the most powerful mages in all the realms."
"Archie doesn't have magic," Snow insisted. "And we are not cutting down that beanstalk. We're waiting for Emma! We leave together."
"Please, Mulan. Give her more time," Aurora pleaded.
"Another hour. That's all I can give but then I have to keep my word and get you home."
In the giant's castle Hook and Emma now found themselves in a treasure room.
"They hoarded all of their greatest stolen treasures in here. Piles of jewels, and every room filled with coins," Hook started stuffing his pockets.
"Let's get to it. The compass."
"What's your rush?"
"How long do you think magic knockout powder lasts?"
"I have no clue."
"That's my rush."
"Too right, lass. Come. Everything we need is right in front of us."
"They kill all the giant housekeepers, too? How we going to find a compass in this mess?"
"By looking. Start searching. I wonder how much treasure we could carry down the beanstalk. …In addition to the compass, of course."
They discovered a skeleton in the mess holding a sword with name 'Jack' engraved on the blade.
"What the hell?"
"That… would be Jack."
"As in Jack…"
"The giant killer."
"With that toothpick?"
"Well, it packs quite a wallop. You'd be surprised. It's one of the two swords once owned by a goddess named Athena. Plundered from the Dark Castle of course."
"I'm surprised anyone stole from Rumple and lived to tell about it. The last guy that did in Storybrooke got the shit beat out of him and Rumple wasn't even cursed when he did it."
"Oh, so the crocodile got brave under the curse, did he?"
"Yeah so I really think you'd better write your will if you think you're gonna win trying to go up against him again." She smirked. "He has his magic back. Let's find the compass and go home. After you."
I don't need to find a bloody compass. I need to find that bloody dagger!
While they were searching the treasure room the giant awoke again and part of the ceiling started to collapse where Hook was standing and a terrified Emma found herself in the giant's fist.
"I'm not what you think!"
"You're a thief, and you poisoned me. So yeah, I'm pretty sure you're exactly what I think."
"No. Look, you have a compass. I need it."
"I don't care what you need."
"No, for my son! To save my son! Don't you have a family?" Emma gasped, his grip feeling iron.
"No. Because humans killed them all."
"I am not like the others."
"Liar!" He squeezed tighter.
"Please, listen to me! If you had a chance to be with your family again, you'd do it, wouldn't you?"
"Yes." His grip loosened. This little human was different from the others. They came to kill, not talk.
"All I want is to go back to my son. He's in another realm and I need your compass to get there. Nothing else."
"And the pirate?"
"He just brought me here….and I think he's wrong about all of you. You just wanted to live in peace, didn't you until they came?"
The giant nodded his head. "The winners always like to tell the story their way. They came, destroyed all the beans and killed my family."
Emma noticed a bean hanging on a chain around his neck.
"Can this make a portal?"
"Not anymore. It was destroyed like the rest of them. I wear it as a reminder… A reminder that you're all killers."
"I'm not a killer. All I want is the compass and to go home. Please."
He lowered his hand and set her down on the ground where Jack's sword lay. "If you're not a killer, prove it. Pick up that sword."
"I…"
"PICK IT UP!" he roared and sat down on the floor.
Emma picked up the sword and held it out.
"That sword is what killed my family. It's poisoned. Just a small prick from the blade and it spreads the poison through our bodies until we fall down dead. Prove to me you're like the others and kill me. Then you can have your compass," he said bitterly.
"No."
She dropped the sword.
"I won't kill you to get the compass. I am asking you to give it to me," she said calmly. "And then we'll go and leave you in peace."
"The pirate…"
"He'll do it if he knows what's good for him."
He took the compass out of his pocket and dropped it on the floor at her feet. "You're a strange one, little human. Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
"Because I'm not like that. I won't kill to get what I need. I'll find another way."
He raised his fist and punched a hole in the wall behind him. "You're free to go, little human."
"May I ask another favor…ummm…what's your name?"
"Anton."
"Hello Anton…I'm Emma."
"Emma….Where have I heard that named before….surely you're not HER?"
"Who?"
"Before the dark curse was cast there was talk of a savior, a girl child named Emma."
"I don't really feel like a savior…but I did break the curse."
"Then you are that person, Emma and today you've saved me."
"I was only doing what's right. You have a right to your life as much as anyone else. Who am I to take it from you?"
"You should go if you want to get back to your son, Emma."
"Thank Anton. Ummm….can I ask one more favor of you?"
"Yes."
"Can you keep him here? I don't trust him."
"Nor should you. He's a pirate. They are not to be trusted. I'll keep him here."
"Thank you, Anton."
"Have a safe journey Emma and perhaps we'll meet again."
"Maybe," Emma said with a smile and walked out of the hole to begin her climb down the beanstalk unaware that her time was almost up.
After she was gone Anton recovered the unconscious pirate from the debris and took him over to the table, trapping him in one of the cages he still kept around. The pirate awoke an hour later, furious and cursing.
"That bitch! That double crossing bitch! She left me here to die."
"Oh, stop your blubbering pirate. I'm not going to kill you…yet. You're just staying here until I'm certain Emma's gotten home safely." The giant lowered his head and glared at Hook. "And whatever intentions you had, you can forget. She would never give herself to the likes of you!"
"Says the giant who has no one."
"Oh, but I do. I've made a friend. A friend I hope to see again." He picked up the cage and hung it on a hook on the wall and started preparing his supper.
The makeshift sundial had at last reached the tenth hour. Mulan drew her sword and walked over to the beanstalk ready to honor the promise she'd made to Emma and cut it down.
"What are you doing?" Snow cried.
"Just stay back. Emma gave me ten hours."
"No, no, no!"
"What, you're just going to leave her to die? Phillip, stop her!"
"Mulan, think about this," Phillip pleaded.
"Ten hours. She may already be dead."
"Stop!" Phillip ordered as she swung the sword and struck the beanstalk, the ground trembling from the magical shockwave that surged through it.
"No!" Snow screamed and ran to Mulan, knocking her to the ground, the sword falling out of her hand. Phillip picked it up.
"This was your daughter's wish!"
"I don't care what you say! You do not put my daughter in danger!"
"Stop it!" Emma jumped down from the beanstalk. Snow released Mulan.
"Emma! You okay?"
"Two earthquakes and a jump from a beanstalk. I think my brain's still rattling around a little."
"I did what you ordered, nothing more than that. Did you get it?"
"Yep." Emma reached into her jacket and took out the compass.
"Where's Hook?" Aurora asked.
"He's detained. Let's go. Get your stuff before he finds a way to get away from that giant and follow us. Who's this? "
"My husband," Aurora replied softly.
"What? How?"
"My soul was returned to me. It's a long story and I'll tell you on the way."
"You told her to cut it down?" Snow demanded of her daughter while they were walking.
Yes. I couldn't risk…"
"We go back together. That is the only way. Do you understand?" Snow threw her arms around Emma.
"Yeah…"
"Good. Now, let's go get that dust from Cora."
"Yeah, and go home."
She'd had enough of Fairy Tale Land. It was time to get back to the real world and her son.