Chapter Two
Emma stood next to Henry and Regina in the grassy clearing, staring at the huge thing that had ruined her date night with Hook.
"I wasted rum for this," panted Hook, coming up next to her and putting his hands on his knees.
"Looks like we've got some visitors in Storybrooke," Emma murmured, eyeing the spot where the thing landed.
"The question is; are they friendly visitors?" said David, walking up with Mary Margaret. They all stared at the oblong ship, but there was no sign of movement. The clearing was filling as people came to gawk at the thing that had literally shaken up Storybrooke.
"What is that thing anyway?" asked Henry.
"If I'm looking at what I think I'm looking at, then that thing is a dirigible," said Dr. Jekyll. He pushed his glasses up his nose disconcertedly.
"A diri-what?" Mary Margaret asked.
"A dirigible. It's from the Land of Untold Stories."
Emma and Regina exchanged glances. What kind of people came from a place where stories were kept hidden?
"Well then, let's give them a proper welcome," said Regina, starting towards the ship.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Hyde's voice rang through the clearing and everyone turned. He smiled darkly and ambled towards them. Emma and Regina both instinctively stepped slightly in front of Henry.
"What do you know, Hyde?" David said sternly.
"Oh, it isn't about what I know. It's about what you don't know that makes this so ironic." He chuckled at the looks of confusion on their faces and continued. "As my dear Dr. Jeckyll has pointed out, that is the dirigible from the Land of Untold Stories. Care to guess why they're here?"
"I'd care to knock that smile off your face if you don't get to the point, Hyde," spat Regina. Hyde steepled his hands together under a leering smile that only made his face look more gruesome.
"They're here because I brought them here. Because your friend Rumpelstiltskin gave me the keys to your lovely little town, I now control Storybrooke." His voice echoed ominously, and Emma felt her stomach drop. Hyde owned Storybrooke? Behind her, she felt movement and heard Dr. Jekyll's voice whisper in her ear. "Keep him talking. When I give a signal, hit him with your powers." Emma felt the thrill of adrenaline down her spine and saw Dr. Jekyll whispering to Regina and spreading the message.
"I don't believe you. How do we know you're not just lying to us?" Regina said. She looked at Emma and a look of recognition passed between them; they both knew the plan.
Hyde, never able to resist having the last word, sighed dramatically.
"Oh, Regina, isn't it obvious? Because you know how Rumpelstiltskin loves his dear, sleeping Belle. And how he loves his deals even more. The keys to the town were a small price to pay for the knowledge of how to wake his wife."
"You will never own Storybrooke," Mary Margaret said loudly. David put his arm
around her and they glared defiantly at Hyde. "Despite what Rumpelstiltskin may have done, you'll have to defeat all of us before you ever control our town."
"Oh don't worry, I will," purred Hyde. "Which reminds me, I really must greet my guests. Terribly rude to leave them unattended before we create some much-needed chaos." He laughed mockingly and turned to walk into the trees.
Emma looked desperately for Dr. Jekyll and saw him running from the dirigible, holding what looked like the lid of a trashcan. He ran up halfway between the crowd and Hyde.
"Now!" he yelled to Regina and Emma. Hyde turned at the sound and before he could react, Emma blasted him with her magic. To her surprise, Regina didn't focus her powers onto Hyde, but instead sent a streak of magic at the metal shield thing that Jekyll was holding. The magic refracted and hit Hyde.
"No!" Hyde shouted.
"What is this?" Emma yelled to Jekyll.
"It's working!" yelled Dr. Jekyll. "The material in the orderly's baton that defeated Hyde in our realm made the dirigible, and with your magic infusing it, he's becoming powerless."
Hyde let out a cry as he sunk to his knees. Suddenly, a flash of light came from the trees behind Hyde. A beam of Regina's magic reflecting off of the dirigible object suddenly split away and hit something in the forest. A dizzying spray of small red beams of magic exploded from the trees, and before they could duck, hit everyone in the field.
Emma felt a strange pulling sensation, as if an invisible hand was grabbing her from behind and pulling her backwards. A rushing sound filled her ears and the scene around her began to change. A huge yellow portal had opened and began to suck everyone into it. She panicked at the sight of Henry being pulled away and grabbed for his hand.
"Mom, what's happening?" Henry yelled, clinging to her.
"I don't know!" Emma tried to resist the pull but it was pointless.
"Emma," rasped Hook. He wrapped his arms around her and Henry as they spun wildly. She saw faces flashing by as everyone was covered by the yellow portal and suddenly the spinning got faster. Her ears were filled with different, scratchy sounds, like somebody was tuning an old radio at super speed. The portal spun them violently and she thought she might be sick.