He was starting to feel his three hundred years. It was presently in his aching tailbone as Cruella drove like a bat out of hell down the thickly forested highway towards Storybrooke. Her fashionable car boasted all the modern conveniences—or at least it had when it was new nearly 70 years before. Now the springs in the seats were showing their age, and he was begrudgingly paying for every pothole left unfilled by the Maine Department of Transportation.
Still, his chest tightened with anticipation. Magic was only a few miles away, and he imagined he could smell it past the Chanel perfume and sea salt permeating the car. How he longed for it to dance across his fingertips once again, to feel it fill his brain with that hum of power.
And he needed power right now, strength most of all.
His forceful removal from everyone he'd ever known had given him plenty of time to analyze how he had arrived at the moment Belle used his dagger to force him over the town line. At first there had been despair, and a fear so profound that he had literally fallen to his knees and wept for hours after she'd disappeared from his sight. But that had eventually turned into anger, anger that he had trusted her, and his true love had used his greatest weakness against him.
Cold nights had been kept warm on his seething anger alone, but seeing Roland, no longer a boy, but a man, had turned his thoughts towards a different direction. The boy held secrets, and so did he, secrets he'd kept from his wife, the woman he truly had expected to keep fully in the light of his machinations. And it was those thoughts that made him realize the cold truth: he'd broken her trust first. How many times had he treated her more like an object than a confidant? If he'd only shared his plan with her—glossed over perhaps, but still shared—she would have never felt so betrayed, and he would have spent nights warmed by her small frame pressed against his rather than his useless anger.
He had no idea what she would think of him now—three months had passed since he'd seen her—he hadn't even had a picture of her in his wallet; what sort of man didn't carry a picture of wife? A worthless one—one driven by fear and cowardness rather than honor and love. He'd broken their life together, just as he had before, and just as before, he would fix it.
It would be difficult, nearly impossible for a man who demanded control, but in the end it would be worth it.
Belle was worth everything.
"Well there it is Darling, and the welcoming committee's already arrived to greet us." Though Cruella's words should have come with an application of the breaks, instead she continued forward at an equally murderous pace as they approached the Storybrooke line, and the small collection of people in the road before it.
Ursula pushed herself between the two front seats, "That's them, Rumple? The ones who gave you the page?" He nodded, even some distance away, he recognized the man Roland, and his amorous, blond partner Liam; though he was mildly surprised to see the Outlaw and his toddler son as well.
A sudden ounce of hesitation suddenly filled Ursual's voice, "Uh, Cru, you can slow down now."
"Don't back seat drive, Dear, it'll give me wrinkles and then I'll have to have sushi for dinner."
They were only fifty feet away, traveling at 70 miles per hour, when Cruella finally decided the time had come, and slammed her high healed pump to the break. The car protested, swerving dangerously. Perhaps a little good will was still on their side, because the car came to a sideways stop only a hand full of feet before what was the line, and Gold scoffed as Ursula fell back into her seat with deep, ragged breaths.
"There now," Cruella declared, "another prefect parking job. I say, I impress myself every day."
He didn't wait to hear Ursula's heated reply, and instead popped the door and stepped out towards his destiny.
"That was so awesome!" Little Roland cried as he jumped in place, his arms pumping wildly around. "Do it again!" Marion tried in vain to calm the boy while Robin looked at the car with growing concern as Mr. Gold stepped out.
He looked marginally better than he had the last time Liam had seen him. The clothes he was wearing were off the rack, but at least they fit, and he looked like he'd had a few good nights of sleep since they'd last crossed paths. Ah, sleep, something he was definitely looking forward to. How he was going to reunite with Anna properly while he felt like the walking dead, was of mild concern to him, but he figured seeing her would give him a second wind.
Or a third or a fourth.
Three months had been too long. Too long away from her, from his uncle, his friend, and his home. They were an unlikely group, but they were fiercely close, and even a few months had taught him what he'd already known—that he would lay down his life for any of them.
Still, seeing Gold walking towards them with that air of absolute confidence gave him a twisted feeling as it always did. His father had taught him to never trust the man, and he hadn't, not until he'd had nowhere to go at fifteen, and he'd been welcomed with open arms into Dark Castle. It was still a hard reconciliation for him between the man who he'd been taught to hate, and the one who had accepted him not as a disgraced prince, but as Roland's lover.
"Sorry, Mate, no scones today I'm afraid. How about a return to power instead?" He smiled jovially from his place beside Roland as Gold approached them.
"An offer, I wouldn't refuse," the smaller man said. He barely came up to Liam's chin, and Anna was even smaller. Gold nodded towards Roland, "I see you've acquired a supporting cast." Liam could have commented on how Gold's eyes softened when he looked at little Roland, but he chose to hold his tongue.
"They're necessary," was all Roland replied, though in the next breath, he showed a bit of his easy familiarity with the man before them, "Looks like you didn't have any trouble with your end of the bargain."
Gold didn't bother to turn towards his two female companions who were now exiting the vehicle, "I never do, Dearie."
"Right then," Liam said with a grin as he pulled out the semiautomatic and aimed it at Marion's head. Her eyes grew wide and terrified as Robin stepped in front of her, though Liam didn't lower the gun, "Let's get started then, shall we?"
Roland—his strong, Roland—ignored the belligerent commands of his father, and the shocked expressions of their newest arrivals, and instead walked until he was only a few feet from the town line. His voice was loud and filled with love, "Your turn, Apple."
"Where the hell did Liam get a gun?" Neal asked in shock as they watched the seen play out before them.
"Ugh, who cares," his fiancé cried, nearly bouncing on her feet with happiness at seeing her brother. She turned bright eyes to Maleficent, who'd insisted on wearing her medieval purple dress, complete with black horns. She looked out of place, and decidedly evil, though she did have a rather fond expression on her face as she looked upon her allies across the line.
"OK Auntie Mel, time to bring the house down," Apple smiled, and now she did bounce on her toes, and Neal was reminded that she was only 18.
"You had better keep your end of the bargain, Little Girl," but Maleficent raised her long arms over her head and pointed her hands towards the barrier and began to concentrate, the ball at the end of her staff glowing.
He gathered Apple against him the moment she ran back into his arms, feeling her nearly vibrate with happiness. It was a sentiment he easily felt as well, because though Liam had a lot of explaining to do, he'd missed his nephew and best friend, dearly.
"We've got major trouble!" Henry was still climbing to his feet from the floor of Granny's after the massive earthquake, when Emma's walkie-talkie crackled to life and filled the stunned dinner with his Grandfather's panicked voice.
His mom wasted no time grabbing the black box as she helped his other mom stand on her red high heels. "What kind of trouble?"
"The Barrier kind."
His Grandma's eyes widened, "Did he say the Barrier? But that can only mean—"
"Gold," Regina said, but she turned so suddenly pale that Emma kept a hold of her arm in concern.
Depressing the talk button, Emma relayed instructions, "OK, Regina and I will meet you at the town line."
"Copy that. And you should hurry, Emma, this looks pretty bad."
"I'll get the car," Killian offered, but Regina's hand shot out to stop him.
"No! You need to get Henry to the mansion library." Then she threw her eyes at the wall clock and cursed more violently than Henry had ever heard, a bad word no matter what realm they were in. "But first, you need to get to the hospital and get Belle. Do whatever you have to do and get her and Henry to the library and lock the doors. Gold can't find out about Belle, but if he does, I want Henry in the one place he never found."
"What do you mean," his grandmother asked. "What about Belle?"
"Never mind now," she snapped, taking charge of the situation. "All that matters is that we get Belle and Henry out of sight immediately." Then she thought an idea through, "Go with them," she commanded towards Mary Margaret. "I need to go with Emma, but Belle might listen to you before she follows Hook. I don't care if she lays down on the floor and refuses to move, you get her into that library!"
"Regina?" Emma asked before Henry could protest, but his mother was prepared to accept no arguments or questions.
"We don't have time for this! If Gold manages to get past the barrier, if we're too late to stop her, then the Dark One will tear this town apart!" She rushed out of the dinner, throwing over her shoulder, "Let's go, Emma!"
Her feet were in the stirrups and her hand in Dr. Hopper's when Whale had walked into the room, and she'd burst into violent sobs. Both doctors had tried to reassure her that it was a painless procedure, five minutes, ten at the most, but the enormity of what she was about to allow to be done to her unborn child was overwhelming and her sobs would not quiet.
Eventually, Dr. Whale had rounded the table and lain a comforting hand on her crown, "You don't have to do this, Belle. I'm going to give you and Dr. Hopper a few more minutes."
She'd refused to talk to the psychiatrist, but she'd also refused to pull her feet from the stirrups. She'd already done so much damage, ruined so much, how could she ever come back from this?
Regina's haunting words had barked around in her mind for days, and she cried harder when she remembered going to the bar in her living room only to realize it was empty and the recycle bin was overflowing. She'd already come so far…
The violent shaking overtook the hospital instantly, shaking Dr. Hopper to his knees as loud electronic wails filled the sterile hallways of Storybrooke General Hospital. When it was over, she was surprised to see that only one of her feet remained in the stirrup, and a girl who'd never believed in a fate, suddenly wondered if this was a sign.
"ROLAND!" Apple gave a riotous cry, as she threw herself from Neal's embrace and raced to the opened and welcoming arms of her brother.
He caught her easily, swinging her up and into the air in a way she remembered fondly from her childhood. When he set her down, his arms wound around her and he held her close, shamelessly kissing her temple.
Never one to shy from public displays of affection, Roland had always been demonstrative, and she welcomed his embrace and chaste, brotherly kisses with ones of her own.
"Well now, don't need this thing anymore." She looked up in time to see Liam thrown the gun—the fake gun—over his shoulder and cross the line. He paused for a moment, drawing in a deep breath, and allowed the smile to take over his face before he walked up to Neal and exchanged a more traditional greeting.
Neal, pulled him into a hug, "I wondered where you'd managed to find a gun."
Liam pounded his back before pulling away, "What, that thing? Toys'R'Us! It's ridiculous how realistic they make those things now! Damn near scared myself with it a few times."
Apple couldn't help the dig, "Us too, you're a freaking terrible shot."
"You!" Liam was away from Neal and pulling her into a tight hug before she'd been able to fully release Roland, and she stumbled into his warmth with comforting familiarity. They'd always been unlikely best friends. She, Liam and Anna. It'd scared the hell out of the non-magic users at first, but time had proven they had nothing to fear from a saucy princess, a dandy boy, and a soft Fate. "Come here and let me smother you good. Gods how I've missed you, Dannie Apple."
"How many times," she struggled to get out through his crushing grip, "do I have to tell you not to call me that!"
Above her, he just laughed and hugged her tighter.
It was why it took her a minute longer than it should have to realize the sound of tires crunching gravel. She looked up in time to see through the windshield of the police cruiser, the shocked expression on her mother's face as she stared at Maleficent.
Surprisingly, it was Neal who stated the obvious, "Here we go."
Right on cue, Liam's mom came out guns blazing, "Hold it right there!"
"Ugh, she even sounds cheesy," Liam said under his breath, and normally she would have laughed, but crackling magic was coming from over her shoulder, and she looked up to see her mother stepping out of the car, and turned, to see Maleficent raising her glowing staff.
"Nice to see you, Regina," Aunt Mel began, as darkness colored her eyes violently, "You're looking well."
"Maleficent." Shock had her mother standing behind the sedan door rather than fear, but the tension was broken when a little voice broke through the forest like a whip crack.
"Regina!" Little legs ate the asphalt faster than expected as her little, baby, brother ran to Regina's side.
"Roland!" Apple watched her mother race around the car door and fall to her knees, hugging the toddler close to her chest as confusion and concern warred for their dominate position on her face. When she looked up and saw Robin and Marion, pain won out.
With a sigh and a glance back at the other members of the Circle Points, she stepped away from a hesitant Liam and moved to stand half way between Regina and Mel.
Taking a deep breath, she began, "I'm well aware that there are some hard feelings all the way around right now, not to mention some super happy reunions, but there will be no killing as my little brother is present and we are going to give him nothing more than a PG moment while he reunites with our mom. Everybody clear?"
In hindsight she maybe could have handled that differently, but hey, you couldn't argue with results.
"'Our mom'," her mother's shaky voice said at the same time her father took a good hard look at her and seemed more confused than ever. Ugh, men were so dense.
"Sorry, Little Girl," Maleficent replied coldly, raising her staff once again, "I've changed my mind."
Cursing silently at how stupid her family was at this age, Apple held out her hand, "Don't do it, Auntie Mel! I'm serious, Roland already has anger management issues, so we are not going to show him anymore violence at his impressionable age. So put your staff down, and let's talk about this like family."
"Maleficent—" Regina tried, even as she struggled to shift a clingy Roland around her body and out of the line of fire.
"Too late 'friend'," she spat, "I'm not interested in excu—"
"I said!" Apple raised her arms out before her, and as she drew back her right hand towards her ear an orange bow made entirely of crackling magic appeared, complete with a glowing arrow aimed at her Aunt. "We are dealing with this situation like reasonable adults! Now put it down, because this is a copy of the bow that never misses, and as much as it would really kill me, and I mean I'd seriously want to die afterwards, I will shoot you if you don't behave!"
Rage flitted across sharp features before a look of begrudging respect replaced it, and Apple released her magic only seconds after Maleficent had fully relaxed her staff. "How could I resist such a compelling ultimatum?"
Ignoring the dawning look of realization on her father's face, Apple turned to her fiancé, "See! I can be compelling when I need to be!"
With a smile at the ridiculousness of the situation, Neal shook his head in defeat, "You threatened to kill her, that's not what I meant when I said you needed to be more diplomatic with foreign dignitaries."
She waved his comment away, actually proud of herself for defusing the situation, "Diplomatic, compelling, same thing if it gets the job done." She heard Neal's, "Not really," comment under his breath, but ignored it, instead closing the distance between herself and her mother.
"Actually," she said, suddenly sheepish as she tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear and knelt before her mom, "I, can, be diplomatic when I have to be. Really. Most of the time anyway." She signed as her mother's eyes grew wider, "OK, OK, I'm working on it!" Then she smiled a lopsided grin, "Hi mom."
"Y-You're Roland? Y-You're my son." He turned to see his father take a step towards him; watched as the puzzle pieces he'd been given over the last five days became an undeniable image.
He shrugged his shoulder, not bothering to comment.
"But you," Robin turned to glance back at Marion, "you threatened your own mother?"
The growl that escaped him broke the happy spell between Apple and his mother, and he took a menacing step towards his father. "That woman," he pointed at his father's current wife, "is not my mother! I've already said, so listen well, father, Regina is my mother, and I will kill any other who tries to lay claim to that title!"
His hand itched for his sword hilt, the heavy weight of the blade in his hand a constant comfort.
"You heard, Apple, Luv," Long, uncallused fingers closed over his accusing ones, and Liam pressed his slighter body against his from behind as he lowered their hands. "We're keeping this thing clean for your benefit, so don't go making her angry."
His father's eyes widened as he realized what his relationship to Liam really was, but it wasn't his approval he sought as he turned to embrace his handsome prince, and slowly let his eyes rise to those of his mother's.
Love, acceptance, understanding, filled her eyes with warmth and sparkling tears, and he couldn't help the movement of his legs as he crossed the space between them, and knelt to her level. Hesitantly, he placed his hand over hers, "Mom?"
"Roland," she whispered, and then rose to her knees and embraced him.
It was a feeling he'd thought he'd never feel again, of her strong arms wrapped around him, holding him tight, reminding him that he was loved. "Mom," he sighed, pulling her into a crushing hug, and feeling her give as much as he did.
Neal and Apple had been sent first, so they had no idea of the Sorcerer's second attack, which is why Roland was willing to forgive Neal the words that ended his mother's embrace. "As much as I hate to break this up, I think you'll agree, we need to go. We have someone to save."
His heart leapt in his chest.
Anna.
"Agreed," Liam said from behind him, and he turned just in time to see him approaching Emma and David, who were cautiously watching the Circle Points. His lithe lover executed a perfect bow, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Liam, and though the position is getting suddenly crowded, I'm Henry's brother." He winked at Emma with a touch of the humor they'd built back up to over the last five years. "Which makes you my beautiful mother, and you my ever charming Grandfather. And now," he turned to face Apple who had already risen to her feet, "if my dear friend Dannie Apple—"
"Don't call me that, Dandy boy!"
"Will assist me," he continued, unphased, "I believe we have a damsel in distress to save." And with swirling clouds of competing yellow and green magic that issued from Liam and Apple, the lot of them disappeared, leaving four cars, and a meaningless white line behind.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone reading and reviewing this story! I hope you're enjoying the original characters, but don't fear, we're going to get lots of air time with our beloved Once characters in a chapter or two.