Chapter four:

The General Council of What to do When Bad Things Happen plus one witch sat outside of Granny's, discussing a plan of action. While the Charmings and Regina happily compiled a list of supplies to survive in the real world, Zelena was quietly distant, a strawberry lemonade in her hand, the straw continuously pressed to her lips so she wouldn't have to speak. This proved futile as Regina forcibly included her in the conversation.

"We're going to have to figure out a way for you to get back to Storybrooke once you leave. Snow and Charming's Dark Curse changed the rules of the town line. Now if you leave, you can't return."

"Do we have to?" Emma moaned. "Why can't we just leave her in peace?"

Regina glared at the Savior but before she could respond Henry spoke up. "I'd miss her. She may be a villain at the moment but she's family. Some of the only I have left on Mom's side," he said, obviously referring to Regina.

Zelena didn't dare smile but she hoped the boy knew how much that meant to her. That someone still cared.

"I have an idea," Snow said. "But it's very, very, risky." Everyone turned their attention to her. "Gold. He might have something and he's helped before."

"Are you kidding?" Regina cut in. "He'll kill her on sight!"

"Perhaps not." Zelena tossed the lemonade into a trash bin and readjusted her chair. "The Dark One likes deals. I just might have one with enough pull to convince him."

All eyes were on her now, astonished. She gazed nobly at them, radiating confidence. When no one spoke she clapped her hands and leaned her elbows on the table. "That problem is solved. Onwards to the next one. How am I even supposed to find the person I'm looking for? There's no magic in the outside world so I won't be able to follow the dust."

"That's where you're wrong. True, the outside world does not produce its own magic but anything introduced to it from Storybrooke will have the same effects if would in those places. The rules for portals are fuzzier and have many exceptions." Charming actually spoke up to answer.

Zelena nodded, standing abruptly. "Let's go to Gold's."

"Now?" Charming asked.

"Yes now. As much as you want me out of your town, I want to leave even more."

The entire party minus Emma and Henry, in order to protect the boy from any violence that might occur, arrived at Gold's shop within a few minutes. Without even glancing at the open/closed sign, Zelena swung open the door roughly. Somehow managing to saunter in flats, she went right up to the counter and smiled at a surprised and furious Rumplestiltskin. Before he could rage at her Zelena thrust right into her request. "I'm going to cross the town line and I need a way to get back. If you have anything to accomplish that task, I want it."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just murder you here and rid you of any needs or wants."

"A deal."

"I am never dealing with you again."

"Not even if you get to make a mockery of me in front of as many people as you like?" Regina raised an eyebrow in the Charmings' direction. Gold leaned forward on the counter, mirroring the witch's posture.

"And how would I do that dearie?"

"Regina has decided to give me a second chance and in real hero fashion this includes a quest for True Love." Rumple almost broke into a fit of laughter right there but Zelena rushed on with her offer. "If you give me what I need, I will tell you and whomever else you want Every. Single. Detail. Of. The trip." The Dark One's eyes lit up sadistically. Zelena smiled at him again. "I made you crawl, now's your chance to make me crawl."

Rumple returned the smile although with much more venom and reached under the counter, setting a scroll atop it and pushing the object towards Zelena, apparently still too full of strong emotions towards the witch to touch her. "Open this while standing at the town line on the return trip. We have a deal."

Just to spite him Zelena blew a kiss and flounced back out with her entourage. Once they reached the town line she turned to her sister. "If magic brought from Storybrooke works in the real world may I have my pendant back? Or has opening the time portal stripped it of its magic forever?"

"The time portal opened because my heart box tried to incorrectly contain your magic and it slipped out. However, not all of it left and what did was mostly reabsorbed when Emma and the one handed wonder returned to this time," Regina explained.

Ignoring the horror struck expressions of the others, she made a waving motion with her arm and held her hand out to her sister, the pendant in her palm. When Zelena reached for it, Regina closed her fist and turned her hand over, magic shining through the cracks of her fingers. Zelena was forced to reverse her own hand to receive the gift, something she did with no little frustration. The chain rolled like gold coins across her knuckles until Zelena found the clasp and connected the pendant around her neck.

She frowned and her hand shot up to cover the jewel. Something was wrong. Some sort of spell had affected the pendant and was making her magic almost inaccessible. Her face when she looked up at her sister reminded the assembled audience that while she had the self-control to remain docile, there had been a plethora of reasons she was the Wicked Witch. Her question was clear.

"I put a spell on it. The magic will be just enough to find you transportation and send any supplies you may need to a safe place in the outside world but afterwards you have a daily limit and can only access your full magic in an emergency," Regina clarified.

Zelena sighed and rolled her eyes. Regina's eyebrows went up imperceptibly. She hadn't expected Zelena to acquiesce without a fight but perhaps a couple weeks without any magic had desensitized her to the lack of it.

Waving her hand with extraneous drama, Zelena's familiar verdant magic swirled in front of her and a black motorcycle appeared. "Huh." She mused. "Not enough magic to make a car I suppose." Another wave of her hand and there was a rattling noise from the bags attached to the back, obviously now full of supplies magically compressed for the trip. One final wave and her dirty prison clothes were replaced with a leather ensemble more fit for her mode of transportation. Spinning the helmet once around her wrist, Zelena attached it to her head and mounted the bike, turning as Regina approached.

"Good luck. As cheesy as it sounds, I believe in you. Come back soon. We'll be in contact."

Zelena gave her sister one last nod and the parting phrase, "See you around sis" before revving the engine and smashing through the town line with one last whoosh. When she looked back, all that remained was a road leading on to nowhere.

Author's Note:

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to my reviewers. You give me life and encourage me to write new chapters. I was happy just to put my ideas out there but to know other people enjoy them is absolutely amazing to me. Please support me. Also, at 6,000 words I will be getting a beta author as I don't have one yet. Hopefully that will be soon and the quality of this fic will increase.