Chapter 2: Holding onto Hope

"Emma, I don't know how you intend to go there, but we'll do whatever you need us to do to help you get Killian back." Charming finally seemed to have recovered from the shock to see Killian fall through the portal the Evil Queen had created, and had closed the distance between him and his daughter.

"We will help you," Snow confirmed. "Do you have any ideas about how to go back to the realm where you lived?"

"I will find a way."

Emma sounded confident. She was actually trying to convince herself, as she had yet to fully process what had happened; she had stopped denying the fact that, once again, the Evil Queen had pulled them apart, but it was difficult to imagine that Killian was in the realm where she had grown up. The two worlds were so much different. She remembered how, on the day when she had arrived in the Enchanted Forest, when she had entered the village where she was supposed to find Killian, she had thought of those movies taking place decades earlier. This was where Killian belonged, to this realm devoid of any of those technological devices which had been part of her daily life until the past year. Trying to picture him in this modern world worried her and, even if she trusted him to find his way through the town, she felt the urgent need to check he was alright. Luckily, they had spent entire evenings talking about the realm where she had grown up but still, she guessed how confused he could be by everything that might be surrounding him at this moment.

"Mum, are you okay?" Henry asked after watching her blankly staring at the floor.

Not sure about how to reassure their daughter, Snow and Charming were also gazing at her, a sorry look in their eyes.

"I need to see him."

"Emma…"

"Not in live, I know I need to wait for that. But I want to use my magic to see where he is."

"Can you do that?"

"I think so. I've never tried, but I know there's a spell allowing to see between the worlds. I just need a mirror."

Turning around, she noticed all the guests were immobile, still frozen since the Evil Queen's visit. Emma closed her eyes and focused, and the room became noisier and noisier as the guests were one by one coming back to life. Emma left the ballroom, followed by her son and her parents. She headed to her room; a room that Snow and Charming had kept for her in the hope she would find them, and that she had discovered only a few hours earlier. She knew there was a mirror there. But when she entered the room, she realized it would have been better to look for another mirror, as the room was full of fresh memories: she and Killian had spent the afternoon there. The clothes she had been wearing when arriving at the castle in the morning were still on the floor, and the towel in which they had both wrapped themselves was still on the bed. The image of Killian lying on this bed while she had been trying dresses flashed through her mind and she flattened her lips as her heart ached.

"The mirror," she reminded herself, lightly shaking her head.

"Killian will appear in the mirror?" Henry asked.

"If it works, yes."

Silence blanketed them while, standing in front of the mirror, Emma closed her eyes and focused. After a few seconds when she didn't feel anything happen, she opened her eyes to glance at the mirror, just in case it had worked without her noticing. But she could only see in it the reflection of her, and of Henry and her parents standing behind her. Closing her eyes, she tried again. She multiplied the attempts, and minutes went by, but every time it was the same: nothing happened.

"Emma…" Snow who, like Charming and Henry, had remained silent until then, placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I can do it."

Slipping her fingers under her collar, she brought out a chain and closed her fingers on the ring at the end of it.

"What is this?" Charming asked.

"A ring Killian gave me. It belonged to his mother. He gave it to me to help me remember I was not alone even when we were apart. When Rumplestiltskin was helping me with my magic, Killian usually couldn't stay with me, and the ring helped me many times."

Clutching it, she closed her eyes. Seconds went by and nothing happened. She tried again, focusing on Killian and thinking of how much she missed him already and how much she needed to see him again. And it happened. This sensation she was looking forward to feel: the warmth of her magic spreading through her body. But disappointment washed over her when, while expecting to see Killian, she found herself facing a black mirror; their own reflection had disappeared and given way to a completely black screen. Except for some undulations, nothing was to be seen.

"What does that mean?" asked Emma.

"I don't know," replied Snow, again placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Maybe he hasn't arrived yet?" suggested Charming.

"No, that's not possible. Going through a portal is instant. He should be there by now, wherever that is." Emma gazed at the mirror and suddenly worried. "Maybe something bad happened to him. What if…"

"Mum!" Henry interrupted. "I'm sure Killian is alright. Perhaps it's just the spell which is not working, because there is no magic in your realm."

"Maybe," said Emma, willing to believe her son's hypothesis. Suddenly feeling dizzy, she closed her eyes.

"Emma?"

Hearing her mother was so close to her, Emma let herself fall in her arms. "Don't worry, it's just my magic. Some spells are more demanding than others. I guess this one is demanding."

"Will you be okay?" asked her father.

"Yes. I just hope he is."

"Henry must be right, it's probably because of the spell," Snow reassured, hugging her daughter. "I imagine you'd prefer to see by yourself that he's alright, but I'm sure he is."

"Mum, you don't have to worry," added Henry. "Killian is the best pirate captain. He'll be fine wherever he goes."

Feeling less dizzy, Emma let go of her mother and pulled Henry against her instead.

"You're right. But I still wanted the spell to work, not only to see he was alright. I was hoping it could give us indications about where he was."

This was an idea which had crossed her mind when coming up from the ballroom: if the mirror would have showed her Killian, maybe some elements in the background would have helped her know where he was. But there was more important to think about: how to go back to her realm. Once there, she would find a way to find him, by doing what she had been doing for years; the advantage of her former job was that it had given her the ability to find people.

"What do we do, now? Where do we start?" asked Charming.

Pulled out of her thoughts, Emma looked up. "Have you ever heard of Lake Nostos?"

"The lake with water which has regenerating abilities?"

"Yes."

"I've been there," said Charming. "A long time ago, your mother and I needed its water, and it was dry. But if what I've heard is true, someone else needed its water as well, a few years ago, and found a way to refill it."

"I want to go there."

"But Emma, it's in the Enchanted Forest. It's days away from here, if not weeks."

"I need to go there."

"What's your plan?"

"Remember when I told you how Killian and I climbed the beanstalk, on the day after we met? I still have the magic bean I've found there, but it's dry. Killian and I had looked for ways to regenerate it, and this lake seemed to be our only option. But we didn't need the magic bean so we didn't go there. I need to go there now. I can use the Jolly Roger."

"We can use the Jolly Roger," corrected Charming. "Because we're in this with you. But Emma, it's nighttime. Leaving now is not prudent. You should wait for the morning."

"We've spent days and nights sailing, night has never been a problem."

"Emma, please," said Snow. "Your father is right. You should get some rest before going."

"Fine," Emma sighed. Glancing at her room, she considered spending the night there but didn't like the idea. She turned to her parents. "I'm sorry, I don't feel like spending the night here. Not without Killian. I have to leave. I know you'd like me to stay here, but the place that feels like home for now is still the Jolly Roger."

"Emma…" Snow cupped her cheeks and looked her in the eye. "We understand. It's been a long day. Go back and spend the night on your ship, and we'll decide about where to go in the morning."

Emma nodded. "Thank you. Henry?"

"I'm coming!"

It seemed obvious to him, but Emma was relieved, as she had been afraid he'd prefer to spend the night in his new room, at the castle.

"I'm walking you down there," Charming announced before becoming hesitant. "Emma? Do you want to bring this with you?"

Emma felt a lump in her throat when she saw what her father was showing her; she had forgot he still had Killian's hook, and the piece of metal in his hand was nothing but a stark reminder she didn't know where the man she loved was.

"Leave it here," she said, broadly indicating her bedroom. "And also, he was wearing a new outfit at the ball. Can you bring his pirate's clothes here? He'll get everything back when we return."

"Yes, I'll do that." After placing the hook on the chest of drawers, he turned to his daughter again. "Are you going to the ship now?"

"Yes. But you don't have to come with me. The guests are still in the ballroom, they need you more than I do."

"I can take care of them," said Snow before hugging her daughter. "Get some rest and keep going like you do: don't lose hope, it's a very powerful thing."

"Hope is all I have left." Giving into her mother's embrace and hugging her back, Emma felt like a breach had appeared in her armor and the emotions she had been holding back reached her.

Snow felt it too and looked at her before wiping the first tears Emma had let roll down her cheeks. "Emma, it's okay. You're a beautiful and strong woman, you will go through this. You will be reunited with Killian soon."

Emma gave her mother a weak smile and wiped away the last tears which had escaped her. "Let's go back to the ship."

Keeping Henry's hand in her own, Emma led him out of the castle while her father walked alongside them. It was hard to believe that the path leading down to the ship was a path she had taken only hours earlier, with her son and Killian, on her way to meeting her parents for the first time. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't talk. Finding the silence to be awkward, Charming was tempted to try and find something to say but Henry, who knew his mother enough to know she needed some time, indicated him not to.

"You can't see it, but the ship is right here," announced Emma at the end of their silent walk. "Maybe you should walk aboard just in case you need to find us during the night. Follow me."

"I couldn't see the ship either, on the first time when I walked aboard," Henry told the man. "It'll appear to you when you place your foot on the first step."

"Wow!" Once on deck, Charming looked around. "So this is where you've been living for months?"

"Yes!" Henry replied, his natural enthusiasm coming out.

"I first came here a year ago. It's not as luxurious as the castle, but it feels like home."

"I can understand that," her father nodded.

"Have you not lived all your life in a castle?" Henry asked.

"You'd be surprised," he chuckled.

Willing to think of something else than the fact she had lost Killian, Emma gave in to curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"That's a long story, too long to be told now, but to make it simple, I haven't always been a royal. I've grown up living in a farm as a shepherd with my mother."

"Really?" She didn't remember reading this part of the story.

"Yes. But as I said, it'd take a while to explain everything. Your mother is right, you should get some rest. If you want to know more, tomorrow, I can tell you the story of the shepherd who became a prince."

"Are you sure you want to come with us?"

"Yes. Unless you don't want us to?"

"Us?" Emma asked.

"Snow will want to come as well."

"But… You rule this kingdom, the people need you."

"They will understand. You're our daughter."

"No. I'm sorry," said Emma. "I can't let you leave everything behind because of me."

"Alright, alright. Look, here's what we're going to do: spend the night here, and tomorrow morning, come back to us. Or we can come to you if you don't want to walk back to the castle. Then, we'll decide about what to do. Does that sound okay?" Emma nodded and her father added, "Well, I should go now."

But he awkwardly stood in front of her, obviously hesitating to do something. After a few silent seconds, he stepped forward and hugged his daughter, cradling her head like he had done when he had met her in the morning.

"Sorry if that felt awkward," he said with an embarrassed smile when he pulled away. "When I see how your mother acts with you, it just looks natural to her. I'm not so much at ease."

"It seems like I've taken that from you." Emma gave her father a weak smile. "I don't really know how to act either, when I'm with her or when I'm with you. And when I met Henry… from the very start it looked so easy for Killian to act like a father, while I had no idea about what I was supposed to do."

"But it became better and better day after day," added Henry, looking at Charming. "You just need some time."

"Well, if my daughter is like me, it should be fine." Charming was smiling, obviously pleased to have something in common with Emma. "It's getting late, I'm going now. Unless you want me to stay here?"

"No, don't worry about me," reassured Emma. "Go back to the castle."

Somehow dreading to go back to her quarters, Emma went straight to Henry's cabin. She was sitting on the edge of his bed to tuck him in.

"Mum, instead of sailing back to the Enchanted Forest, why don't you teleport us? It would be much faster."

"I hadn't thought of that." Emma considered the option before making a face. "But I've never teleported with someone else. I don't want to risk hurting you."

"But it's worth the risk, if it makes us win weeks."

"Nothing is worth the risk to hurt you."

"Alright, you're the one who makes the decisions." Sitting in his bed, Henry was smiling at his mother. "But I still think you should try. I'm sure you wouldn't hurt me."

"What if it works on the way to the Enchanted Forest, but then I can't do it again, and we're stuck there, without the Jolly Roger?"

"It won't happen. I believe in you."

"And this is one of the many reasons why I love you." Emma kissed his cheek and rearranged his blanket. "Now, sleep. It's late."

"Will you be alright, in your quarters?" Henry asked, worried the absence of Killian would be too much of a burden. "We can go to the crew's cabin, if you want to, so we can be in the same room."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I know it's only temporary."

"Yes. We will find him. But… can you leave my door open?"

"Open? You always want it to be closed."

"Not tonight. Please?"

"Alright."

After kissing his forehead, Emma headed to the quarters. Standing behind the door, she took a deep breath and entered. It was when disappointment washed over her and tears threatened to fill her eyes when she saw the empty room that she understood why she had been dreading to come back there: somehow, she had been hoping it had all been a misunderstanding and had unconsciously been hoping that he would be there, waiting for her. But, unconsciously again, she had known her hope would be disappointed and she would end up being hurt. And this was what was happening: seeing the empty room made her feel like she was discovering again that she had lost him.

Fighting against the tears, she didn't feel like sleeping. Instead, she went to sit at the table, on which was lying the book Henry had given her on the previous evening, for her birthday. A smile crossed her lips when she looked at the cover in which the title, 'Operation True Love,' was engraved. The book, entirely written by her son and illustrated by Killian, was retracing all their story. She had yet to read it, but opening it was the last thing she needed to lose control over the tears. Looking at a drawing depicting Killian and her running into each other and meeting for the first time, her vision became blurry as they filled her eyes before streaming down her cheeks. Deciding not to read it because she would be unable to enjoy it like she should, she simply looked through the pages and a sob escaped her when she saw herself and Killian sitting on the railing of the ship and kissing for the first time. Looking at these pictures was somehow hurting her, but she also didn't want to stop. She needed to see them. Landing on a drawing of them astride a horse, she let out another sob. She knew very well which part of their story the picture was reflecting: Killian had saved her from the Evil Queen for the second time, awaking her from a cursed sleep after having sailed for weeks to find her. She also knew that, if he had needed to sail for months, he would have done it, just like she was ready to do anything for him. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she trailed her fingers over Killian's face.

"I will find you," she whispered while letting her tears fall down.

Flattening her lips, she closed the book and went to lie down on the bed. Holding Killian's ring and staring at the ceiling, she let the tears stream down her face and dampen her hair. Alone in their bed, she was feeling his absence more than ever. The worst part was that she had no idea how long it would take her to find him. All she knew was that she was terribly missing him already.

She was thinking of the upcoming day; they would leave for the Enchanted Forest to find the lake and regenerate the magic bean. She considered again Henry's idea to teleport and, even if she had done it twice, it had been totally uncontrolled and she wasn't sure she was feeling ready to take the risk to try again. But no matter how they would go to Lake Nostos, it was not solving the problem that she only had one magic bean. She needed another way to travel between realms so that, after finding Killian, she could come back to the realm where they both belonged. And she had an idea about where to find it, or at least about whom to ask: mermaids could travel between realms. Liam, who was exploring the underwater kingdom with Ariel, with whom he had found love, had left his brother a seashell they could use to call them in case they needed to; in the morning, she would be able to use it and ask for their help.

Suddenly wondering where the seashell was, she got up, went to open the cupboard in which she suspected it to be, and sighed with relief as she found it. In the meantime, she also opened one of the drawers and checked the magic bean was still there. Opening the small pouch, she emptied the content in the palm of her hand and examined the dry bean before putting it back. It seemed like the only thing left that she needed was some sleep.

Slipping under the blanket, tears started to roll down her cheeks again and she didn't try to stop them; no one was there to see her cry, she didn't need to pretend she was strong or to hide the pain of not having him by her side. Lying in this bed alone simply didn't feel the same. She wrapped the blanket around her as tightly as she could, but it didn't replace the feeling of his loving embrace. When she turned around, however, something reminded her of him. She brushed her nose against the pillow and, indeed, there it was; his scent. Settling herself against the wall, which was his side of the bed, she kept the blanket tightly wrapped around her and her fingers closed on the ring he had given her, and pressed her face against the pillow to focus on his scent. Her breathing slowed down, tears became less abundant and eventually stopped flowing and, out of exhaustion, she drifted into sleep. But it wasn't the peaceful sleep she had hoped for: soon, she found herself in a room where everything was red.

"No…"

She immediately recognized the room with the red curtains on fire. She turned around to check and, like in her memories, there was no door or window. She had already been there and she hadn't thought she would come back, but she perfectly knew why she was there; Netherworld was a place she had been visiting as a consequence of the sleeping curse. If she had not been there for such a long time, it was because she had spent her nights in Killian's arms; knowing the true love's kiss was the cure to a sleeping curse, they had hypothesized that Killian's loving embrace was powerful enough to counter its side effect. And their hypothesis had just been confirmed: not having him by her side, she was back in Netherworld. What she didn't know was how to get out of this room; she had always escaped without understanding how, and it had usually happened when she was not expecting it. She decided not to panic and to simply wait until she would awake. But minutes went by and nothing happened; watching the flames, she started to worry: she wasn't sure she had ever awoken on her own and wondered whether Killian wasn't the one who, every time, had pulled her out of his place. But on this night, she was alone; what if she was trapped in this place forever because Killian wasn't there? Unless it had all been a bad dream? The limit between dream and reality became blurry and she wondered whether Killian would be by her side when she would awake. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as a flame burst right in front of her and made her jump backwards. She wasn't safe there, she needed to leave this place.

"Come on, Emma, wake up. Wake up," she repeated to herself many times, before shouting, "Wake up!"

Then, she felt it; this sensation she remembered having felt right before waking up: a warm touch on her shoulder.

"Killian?"

Touching the hand on her shoulder and frowning as it felt different than usual, the room on fire disappeared and she found herself back in the quarters.

"Killian?" she asked while turning around.

"Sorry, it's just me," said Henry, standing beside her bed. "Netherworld?"

"Yes." Looking around, Emma realized it had not all been a bad dream; it was real, Killian was not there. She also noticed it was still pitch dark outside, and she turned to her son. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

Henry seemed surprised by her question. "I'm fine. But you were having a bad dream. I've heard you scream, 'wake up,' so I came."

It occurred to Emma that he had guessed. "You knew. You knew that, without Killian, I'd go back to Netherworld, right?"

"I guessed it might happen, yes. But I haven't said anything, in case it didn't."

"That's why you asked me to leave your door open?"

"Yes. I wanted to hear you in case you needed help to wake up. I remember sometimes I didn't know how to awake." Henry was referring to his own trips to Netherworld, due to a sleeping curse into which he had put himself at the time when he was living with the Evil Queen. Henry showed her his ring, which the Dark One had given him, and reminded her, "Without this ring, I'd still go there. And for you, Killian has that power. But now that he's away… I think you should have my ring until we find him."

"And let you go to Netherworld instead of me? Henry, I can't do that." Emma felt like she would never cease to be amazed by how attentive and smart he was; he had realized Killian's absence would cause her to go back to Netherworld, and he was now ready to give her his ring. "I can't take your ring."

"But one of us has to go there, and it shouldn't be you. Remember Rumplestiltskin had given me a necklace before giving me this ring. With this necklace, I can go there and use it to control what I'm doing."

"Then, give me the necklace," Emma said with a tone implying the problem was settled.

"But… Mum!" Henry tried to protest but he knew that he wouldn't convince her.

And he was right. "I'm not letting you go to Netherworld instead of me."

"But that's not fair to you. Why should it be you?"

"Because you're my son and it's my job to take care of you, not the other way around."

"We can take care of each other, especially when Killian is not here for you. I want to help you."

A tender smile stretched her lips and she sat up to pull him into a hug; she would definitely never get used to how attentive he was towards her. "Don't you realize how much you're already helping me? You woke me up, and now you will keep your ring and give me your necklace so I'll be in control in Netherworld."

"Fine," Henry sighed while hugging her. "I'll give you the necklace."

"And after that, you go back to sleep."

"Yes. I love you, mum."

"I love you too."

Henry got her the necklace but, though it was still very early in the morning, Emma didn't fall back asleep. She didn't cry again either; she was calm, impassive, as if she had finally accepted that she was where she had to be, in an unpleasant situation she had to solve. She was thinking over and over again of how they would sail to the Enchanted Forest, of how they would regenerate the magic bean and how they would use it to go back to her realm, and of how she hoped Liam and Ariel would be able to help her find a way to come back from there. Emma was also trying to imagine Killian there and was asking herself many questions; where was he exactly? Had he found a place to stay for the night? Had he met people who were helping him find his way? Was he thinking of her at this moment?

While asking herself all those questions, Emma was waiting for time to go by and for a decent hour to come, as she didn't want to bother Liam and Ariel in the middle of the night. When dawn was about to break, she got up and went up on deck with the seashell. After blowing into it, she kept her eyes locked on the surface of the ocean. Wondering whether they had received her call, she was also wondering where she would start to explain the situation: so much had happened since they had left; they didn't even know she had found her parents. At last, she saw them come out of the water. From the looks on their faces, Emma gathered they had guessed that, to be called so early in the morning, something wrong had happened. Using their bracelets, they both switched to their human shape and walked on board.

"What happened? Why did you call? Is everything alright?" asked Liam.

"Calm down," Emma tried to reassure him. "The situation looks pretty bad but it'll be all right. I've called because I just need your help to fix it."

"Where's Killian?"

"That's the problem," said Emma, biting her lip as she tried to think of a way to announce the news with delicacy. Not finding anything, she simply said it. "He's not here. The Evil Queen made him fall through a portal which sent him to the realm where I lived." Hearing her words and seeing their reactions, Emma realized she probably couldn't have found a more brutal way to announce Killian's disappearance. She quickly added, "But don't worry, I know how to go there, I will find him. It's just to bring him back here that I need your help."

Emma meant her words; her hope to find him was so strong that she had convinced herself she would succeed. This was the only way she could go through this. It was as if, during the night, she had put her armor back on to protect herself; this armor she had kept for all those years, and which he had helped to take off by making her feel safe and at home.

"How can we help you?" Ariel asked.

"Mermaids can travel between realms, right? I have a magic bean to go there, but I need something else to come back here with Killian. Can you help us?"

"You mean you want to travel by the seas?"

"Yes, unless there's an easier way. By the seas, by the air, I'll take anything. Henry will be coming with me. You don't have more of these bracelets allowing to switch from legs to tail, right?"

"No, sorry," the mermaid apologized. "We only have two of them."

"But it could work," said Liam, turning to Ariel. "Love, they need you to find the way from a realm to the other, but you don't need me. You can use my bracelet and bring Killian, Henry and Emma back one after the other."

Hope lit up Emma's features as the thought they would not even need to go to Lake Nostos crossed her mind: they could simply use the bracelets to go there and to come back. But Ariel didn't look so convinced.

"It wouldn't work. You're forgetting how our magic works." Ariel then addressed Emma as she explained, "Magic in our kingdom doesn't follow the same rules as yours. When being adopted, each magical object becomes loyal to its owner. Sometimes it happens that the object works on someone else, but it's very unlikely that Liam's bracelet will work on the three of you. Isn't there anything you can do with your magic?"

"Not that I can think of." Emma was trying to think of a spell which would allow them to follow a mermaid through a portal, in vain. "I mean, unless I knew how to turn Henry, Killian and I into fishes, I don't know what I can do."

"I think I know!" Ariel said. "I've heard of something which might help you."

"Is that going to turn us into fishes?"

"No. I don't know what it does exactly, and I know it exists in some parts of our kingdom, but it's rare. We might need several days before finding it."

"It's alright," Emma said. "I need to go to Lake Nostos to regenerate the magic bean, it might take me weeks. While I go there, you try and find this thing, and we use the seashells to keep in touch."

They both nodded, before Liam gave in to curiosity. "How did this all happen?"

Until the sun came up, Emma told Liam and Ariel everything about what had happened since her birthday; the lights in the sky, her parents, the ball, and Regina. With sleepy eyes, Henry joined them as soon as he woke up and hugged the three of them, before taking part in the conversation.

Agreeing they would keep each other informed, Liam and Ariel left the ship, and Emma and Henry went up to the castle. She led her son straight to the mirror in her bedroom; she wanted to see him, she needed to try the spell again. Standing in front of the mirror, her fingers closed on Killian's ring and her eyes closed, she focused: she needed to see him, to check he was alright. Faster than on the day before, she felt the warmth of her magic spread through her body. Hoping he would appear on the mirror, she opened her eyes but, like on the previous day, she found herself facing a completely black screen.

"I don't understand…" Emma said with disappointment tinting her words.

"I really think it's because there's no magic in this other realm."

Another similarity with the previous day was that she suddenly felt dizzy. Going to sit down on the bed, Henry followed her.

"You're alright?" he asked. "Perhaps you should avoid casting this spell again, if it makes you so tired."

"There are times when you really sound like Killian," Emma said with a smile which was immediately reflected upon her son's features; as always, he loved being compared to him.

By the time she got up, she heard footsteps in the corridor, and Charming appeared in the frame of the door, followed by Snow.

"Emma! The guards told us we'd find you here."

"How have you been?" Snow asked, coming to hug her daughter.

"Holding onto hope." Emma hugged her mother. "I just wanted to try the mirror again, but it didn't work. It's time to go to Lake Nostos."

"We're coming with you," announced Snow.

"Uh… are you sure?"

"Emma, we've just found you. We can't let you go already."

"But you can't leave just like this. All the inhabitants of this island, they're your people."

"And they can survive without us," said Snow.

"We're coming with you," affirmed Charming. "Everything is all packed already, we're ready."

"Unless you don't want us to come?" Snow asked.

"No, that's fine. If you're sure that's what you want…"

"We're sure!" Her mother interrupted. "Emma, you're our daughter, we won't let you fight on your own for your love. We'll help you get Killian back."