"What are we going to do with that?" David asked but no one seems to know what it was. Then the shadow started to go lower down the streets. "Oh my god, it's coming for us", Snow muttered once she noticed it's heading towards the people. Emma raised her hands and remembered all the lessons Regina gave to her about magic. White light came out of her hands and it suppressed the shadow. She then lifted it higher until she created some sort of barrier protecting the town from it. "You did it, Mom", Henry muttered. "Yeah well, that's hours of practice with your other Mom, who is by the way hated me now more than ever", Emma said. They watched the shadow tried to break the barrier but it's not working. "Now the question is what is that thing?" Robin asked.
Meanwhile, Regina is in her office doing her job as the mayor. It's the only thing she can think of that will take her mind off things. Gold suddenly came into her office. "I thought you know how to knock", she said without looking at him. "You know I don't do that", he replied. He sat down in front of her. "What do you want?" she asked as she put down the pen. "I'm here to check up on you. I heard about what happened", he answered. She scoffed. "Why am I not surprise about that?" she muttered. "It's not like you to hide and go down without a fight", he said. If there's anyone who knows her really well, it's him. "What do you propose? I can't just do whatever my instincts tell me", she said. Gold smiled. "So you do think about it…it's only natural. I will be surprised if you don't", he said.
He then got up and went towards the window. "You don't happen to know what just happened outside, do you?" he asked. She frowned and turned to him. "What do you mean?" she asked him back. "Why don't you tell me?" he said. It's another lesson from her teacher. She concentrates and had a feel of her surroundings. "There's a barrier around Storybrooke. Why?" she asked. Gold returned to his seat. "A problem emerges. A problem called the Shadow of Zion. Ring any bells?" he answered. Regina looked at him in surprised. "Are you sure about that? That is not possible", she asked. Panic is slightly growing in her. "Considering our Savior's recent travel through time, I think everything is possible nowadays", he answered then got up. "I thought you might need to know that", he then said. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked one more time. "Well dearie, you know what kind of magic that shadow latches on to and aside from me, you're the only one who uses dark magic in this town, so I suggest you watch your back", he answered.
Inside the home of Snow White, the research party is on-going. They buried themselves with books from the public library to find out what is the thing that's trying to get in the town. Emma shut the book down hard and everyone looks at her. "This is all useless. We don't know anything about magic and shadows and mythical creatures. We need Regina", she exclaimed. They all know she's right. She is the one who can help them identify their new enemy. "The problem is she doesn't want to talk to anyone", Hook said. Snow grabbed her keys. "Where are you going?" David asked her. "I am going to see Regina. She may be angry about Marian but I know she'll help. She may not know yet about the shadow", she answered. "How do you know she'll help?" Belle asked her. Snow smiled. "I don't. It's faith", Snow answered and then leave.
Regina is now in her home resting. She comforted herself with a soft music and a glass of wine. Someone knocked on her door pretty hard. She rolled her eyes and ignored it. Then the knocking stopped and Snow came in. "Yeah, locks don't really work well with me", she said to Regina. She sighed. "What do you want, Snow?" she asked her as she took another sip on her glass. "Really? Wine at this hour?" she muttered when she saw the glass. "It's 3am somewhere", Regina snapped. "We need your help", Snow said. Regina put down the glass. "I know the shadow. Gold filled me in earlier", she said and it caught Snow by surprise. "You do? Okay, how do we stop it?" Snow asked. Regina chuckled a bit. "We? Sorry there's no we. This is not my problem. I am not the Savior. Talk to your daughter", she answered.
"She's doing her best", Snow said.
"Apparently her best is not enough. How do you think that shadow got in here in the first place?" Regina asked. Snow thinks for a moment.
"The time portal", Snow muttered.
"That's right. That shadow only exists in the Dark Forest in our realm. Your daughter brought that here. So it's her job to fix it", she said. Snow sadly turned around and about to leave.
"…about my help. The only thing I can contribute is a name. It's called the Shadow of Zion. I think that's enough to get you all somewhere", Regina said. Snow smiled that her faith in her paid off.
"Thank you", she said and then left.
Snow returned to her apartment. "Well? Where is she?" Emma asked when she saw Regina is not with her mother. "She doesn't want to come", Snow answered and everyone's mood went to the ground. "But she did help us by telling me the name of the shadown. It's called the Shadow of Zion. We can start there", Snow said and hope came to them fast. That sounded familiar to Belle and she started digging through her books. "I read that somewhere here", she muttered as she flipped the pages. Then she finally found the one she's looking for. "There it is!" she exclaimed. "What does it say?" Hook asked. Belle started reading it. "The Shadow of Zion is a dark force that preys on people with dark magic. It only exists deep in the Dark Forest. Once it sets out on its target, it will not stop until it devours its victim", she said. That made everyone thinking. "Regina said the only way it was able to get here was through the time portal", Snow said. "So, I brought it here. It's my fault", Emma muttered. Henry stared at the page. "It's after people with dark magic. How many people in Storybrooke have dark magic?" he asked. "Well there's Gold but he can always protect himself", David answered. "Yeah, and there's Regina…oh my god", Emma muttered.