A/n: A HUGE, GINORMOUS COOKIE TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED. I ADORE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
So, this is the longest chapter yet - rounded out at about 4,300 words. Still looking for a Beta, if anyone's interested! There's not a lot of CS in this particular chapter, more build-up and character development (my plot is running away from me again... .x)
Anyway, please review, and let me know what you think!
A few of you were pretty close in your guesses to what's going on with Emma, but none of you quite managed to get the whole picture. I guess you'll just have to wait and see!
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Gold hobbled his way up the driveway, looking at the mansion with disdain. The home was clearly designed in Regina's taste, and Gold could imagine how much his former apprentice hated it. He noted the pink bicycle propped up against the garage, the partially washed away chalk drawing on the sidewalk; clearly Jefferson had his daughter back. He rapped on the door when he reached it, hearing a gale of a child's laughter from the other side of the door. Jefferson opened the door, and the beaming smile faltered when his eyes rested on Gold.
"We need to talk," Gold murmured, keeping his voice low to prevent Grace from hearing.
Jefferson pressed his lips together in a thin line, hatred radiating from his eyes. "The last time we 'talked', my wife…" He trailed off as his voice began to rise and stopped himself from shouting to keep Paige from hearing. "My family was destroyed. I'm not listening to anything you have to say," He spat, pulling back from the doorway, motion to close the door.
"Cora is here, in Storybrooke," Gold hissed, gritting his teeth at the hatter's stubborn refusal to listen.
Jefferson froze, the color draining from his face. He glanced behind him, making sure that Grace was still absorbed with the movie they had been watching. He stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.
"How?" He bit out, feeling the rage coil up inside him.
"Magic bean, revived by the waters of Lake Nostos,"
"Hook," Jefferson supplied, fitting in a piece of the puzzle.
"Yes," Gold acknowledged. "Cora's already making her move. She attempted to reconcile with Regina,"
"Great. Two powerful , black magic sorceresses are on the loose. That's… perfect," Jefferson groaned and sat down on the step, rubbing his forehead.
"Not quite. Regina has been attempting to… redeem herself, for Henry, and refused Cora's attempt at reconciliation."
Jefferson looked up sharply. "And?"
"Regina is very badly wounded. Cora has cursed her with magic I am not familiar with, though I have an idea of what it might be."
"Good. Let her suffer in a curse, the way the rest of us have had to do." Jefferson snarled, unable to forgive Regina for what she did to separate him from his daughter.
Gold shook his head. "This is no time for petty vengeance, Jefferson. Cora is out for blood, anyone and everyone is a target. We need Regina."
Jefferson hung his head, sighing. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension he could feel building, and looked up at Gold. "What's wrong with her?"
"Black veins spread across her throat, like a spider's web."
"No! It's not possible!" Jefferson shouted, standing abruptly. "It's not possible! Alice – " He ran his fingers through his hair, the heartbreak evident on his face. Jefferson tried to ignore the constricting feeling in his throat, brushed the tears out of the corners of his eyes.
"I know," Gold replied, a note of compassion lining his tone. "I need you to come to the hospital, to confirm or deny it. Either way, I have to know."
"Papa?" Grace, hearing her mother's name shouted, exited the house to investigate.
Jefferson composed himself, slowly turning to face his daughter. "Regina was in an accident; she's in the hospital. I need to have a look."
"Why?" She asked, frowning. "What does it have to do with mother?"
Jefferson felt his throat constrict again, and cleared it in an attempt to speak. "Regina's accident involved Wonderland magic, magic that your – your mother, once dealt with. We're going to go to the hospital so I can take a look. And, I'm sure Henry could probably use a friend right now,"
Grace nodded, her perceptive eyes digging into Gold with suspicion and curiosity. "I'll get my coat."
Killian poured himself another glass of wine and sat on his bed, taking in the state of his quarters. The papers that had been swept from his desk in their passion were still on the floor. He should clean up, the Captain in him urging him to do so, but Killian was not in a rush. He could see her sitting there, on his desk, her legs parted and her eyes shimmering with lust and confusion before she pulled him into her embrace. He could still faintly smell her perfume, could still recall her strong thighs tightening around him. These were not the phantom sensations he had experienced before, ghostlike and teasing. No, these were more like sparks of fire, a trail of blazing heat that only memory could provide.
He had felt something after they had sated themselves, an emptiness that he knew Emma had felt too. Her instinct to fight or flee had taken over, and Killian knew that was the reason why she had been so keen to leave. She had a propensity to flee. But his instincts had risen up too, and his told him to fight. He delayed her departure, attempting to tease her into remaining with him. He couldn't process the near-desperate feeling to make her stay. He'd never felt such a thing before, not even with Milah. And then her father had showed up. He could feel Emma's embarrassment, expected her father's fury. He did not expect the speech he had received.
He did not expect the Prince to be so calm, or rational. Above all, Killian hadn't expected him to be right. He snorted then, thinking of the Prince's final words. 'You don't deserve her,' he had said. And he was right. He was a rake, seducing a vulnerable woman with an equally vulnerable child, with no intention of turning their tryst into anything more than what it was – a tryst. There was no need to further their connection. He'd gotten what he wanted from her, slaked the lust that had been pushed away for so many years.
Except for the way she looked at him, those blue-green eyes boring into his soul and seeing every ugly inch of him, and the way she didn't look away. She saw past the rake and the charming pirate, and saw him, bruised and scarred by love and love lost. And she smiled at him.
A knock on the door heralded a visitor, jarring Killian from his thoughts.
"Come in," He called out, standing.
Cora stumbled into the room, shutting the door behind her quickly. Killian's eyebrows rose as he took in her state, her clothes torn and stained by dirt, even singed in some places. A darkening purple bruise forming on her left cheek, and a bloody gash on her brow, told Killian that things clearly did not go according to her plans.
"What the hell happened to you?" He asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"My daughter… has grown claws in my absence, and a temper," Cora replied, gritting her teeth as she hobbled to the loveseat.
"I see," Killian responded, not sure why she was on his ship.
"I need something from you," Cora told him bluntly, her voice tired.
"I thought we agreed that our alliance ended upon our arrival in Storybrooke," Killian said, reminding her of their agreement.
"Yes, well, I wasn't exactly planning on my daughter attacking me. There was a moment where I was sure she was going to kill me, and in that moment I… reacted too hastily. My magic got away from me in an effort to defend myself, and now the only cure for my daughter's curse lies out of my reach."
"So, you want me to obtain it, this cure? In return for what?"
"Rumpelstiltskin cannot be killed except by his dagger, the dagger with his name on it. If you bring me my daughter's cure, I will get you the dagger."
"Where is this cure?" Killian asked, sure he was not going to like the answer.
"Wonderland."
"You must be joking. I have only just arrived in Storybrooke, after three-hundred years, to achieve my revenge and now you want me to leave to another dimension, " Killian snarled, feeling the rage coil within him. This was a trick, it had to be.
"Without the dagger, you have no hope of obtaining your revenge, and you can't get the dagger without magical aid. Your list of allies with magic is very, very short, Captain," Cora reminded him coldly, relaxing on the sofa.
Killian's fists clenched subconsciously. He didn't like this. Something was off, he could tell, something Cora wasn't telling him, but she was right, too. She was his only magically inclined ally, and he didn't even know where to begin looking for the dagger let alone obtaining it.
"What is this cure, exactly?"
Henry sat in the hospital waiting room, his knees drawn up to his chest. Charming had gone to get a cup of coffee and dinner from Granny's, leaving Henry in Grumpy's care. Henry liked the dwarf well enough, but he wasn't much of a comfort. Emma and Mary-Margaret exited the elevator, ushering over to sit on either side of him. He instantly curled into Emma's side, slipping his arms around her neck; she rubbed his back soothingly, and whispered comforting words in his ear. Snow and Grumpy stood and gave them some space, speaking quietly to one another. Regina had done many terrible things, but for all that she had done in the past, she had adopted Henry, loved him and took care of him when Emma couldn't. She was his mother too. Grumpy left, giving Snow a half hug and Emma a comforting smile.
She looked up when she heard the familiar rasp of Gold's voice, was slightly startled to see Jefferson standing beside him.
"Henry?" Grace stepped out from behind her father, uncertain on whether she should intrude.
Henry lifted his head and offered her a watery smile. He slipped out of Emma's arms and accepted a hug from the girl, trying to fight back tears.
Emma stood and pulled out her wallet, plucking out a few ones. "I need to talk to these two, and Dr. Whale, for a little while. Why don't you two go raid the vending machines?" Emma offered the money, a light smile on her face.
Henry accepted the money and thanked her before he and Grace took off running in the direction of the vending machines.
"Well, shall we?" Gold asked, using his cane to gesture towards the hallway that contained Regina's room.
Snow glared at Jefferson, her memories of being held captive all too present in her mind. She said nothing, merely continued to express her anger silently, before following Gold to Regina's room. Emma eyed him for a moment before shaking her head and following her mother, deciding that it wouldn't be worth it to pick a fight with him.
"I'm sorry,"
Emma paused, turning to face him. "What?"
Jefferson swallowed. "I'm sorry, for kidnapping you and… everything, but I don't regret it. I just hope you understand, and I think you do, about why I did what I did."
Emma sighed, wishing that she could have avoided this conversation altogether. "I do. I know that you just wanted your kid back, and believe me when I say that I get that more than anything, but… what you did wasn't right, Jefferson. Think about what Grace would think of you if she found out, the example you'd be setting for her. I'm not exactly a paragon of morality; more than once, Henry has been the one to steer me in the right direction. I was going to kidnap him, Jefferson. Take him and leave, because I was afraid that I would lose him to Regina forever."
Emma paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. "And it wasn't right. I, as a parent, can't afford to be setting that kind of example for him, and neither can you, for Grace. We have to do what's right, no matter how painful it might be, or how afraid we are." Emma finished, beginning to continue the journey to Regina's room. "That being said, I forgive you,"
Jefferson followed her, saying nothing in response. He resisted the urge to comment on how morally grey she herself was, knowing that she was right. He'd been a poor father to Grace in the past, unable to move on and do what needed to be done after his wife passed away. If he had been more alert, as he should have been, Regina would never have been able to trick him in such a way.
"What is that? I've never seen anything like it," Snow said, her voice drifting out the open door.
Jefferson hesitated to enter the room, begging whatever deity existed to not let it be what Gold suspected. Gold was rarely wrong. Steeling himself, he put his foot inside the door and slowly approached Regina's bedside. Jefferson looked up after a moment, his eyes fluttering shut as his heart sunk to new depths. He didn't think it would hurt so much after so long.
"Jabberwock poison," He said, his voice hoarse from barely contained anger and held back tears. "And it shouldn't be possible."
"Why shouldn't it be possible?" Emma asked, confused.
"Because my wife killed the damned creature, and died in the process."
Emma glanced down, wanting to offer some sort of comfort to the man, but not sure what to say. She didn't think an apology would cut it. "Okay, but couldn't they have just collected the poison before the creature died?"
Gold shook his head. "No, once a Jabberwock is killed, all remnants the best dies with it – any poison left behind disappears."
"I would love to know where Cora got her hands on it," Jefferson growled, running a hand through is hair.
"Why did your wife go after the Jabberwock in the first place?" Snow asked gently, trying to complete the picture.
Jefferson swallowed the visible lump in his throat. "Grace was a year old. My wife and I scarcely had any time to ourselves and we decided to take a vacation of sorts. We met in Wonderland, initially, and she wanted to go back and visit," He smiled at the memory, thinking about how much she loved that place. "Alice always did love that place,"
"Wait, Alice?" Emma asked, her mouth popping open. "Alice as in the Alice?"
Jefferson laughed; he hadn't heard that in a long, long time. "Yeah," He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. "The Wonderland we returned to was not the Wonderland we had left. It was… corrupted, for lack of a better word. The Queen of Hearts, though crazy as the day is long, and cruel, had always kept the kingdom afloat, but there was little she could when Wonderland itself was trying to overthrow her."
"Wonderland… You mean the people?" Emma asked, frowning.
"No," He rasped, swallowing. "Wonderland was, is, very special. History says that the lands –all the lands – were once connected. The Enchanted Forest, Neverland, Wonderland, this world, and countless other realms were all neighbors. Magic ran rampant and was making people's lives utterly miserable – inanimate objects coming to life, people turning into animals, animals turning into people, all at random. The magic was too bountiful to be controlled so the rulers of the various kingdoms came together and decided to split the lands, reasoning that if the magic was divided among the nations it would be easier to control."
"You're talking, like, Pangaea?"
Jefferson nodded. "Exactly. And they succeeded. The lands were divided, and the magic was separated at the borders of each land. The forced separation of the magical bonds caused each land to split off into its own dimension. Now, because the magic was split, it was wounded. The inhabitants of this world let it die; magic ceased to exist here. In the Enchanted Forest, the wound was cauterized; the magic lived, but it was scarred, making it more scarce to find and more difficult to use. Wonderland, which received the lion's share of the magic, healed the wound completely and gave it a booster shot for its trouble. The surplus of magic in Wonderland, with such a small percentage of magic users, evolved into a sentient being."
"It's alive?" Snow asked, incredulous. "The entire land is… alive?"
Jefferson hummed for a moment before shaking his head. "Not exactly. It has no corporeal form, but it does have a will of its own, and a preferred gender. And she's fickle - very, very fickle. She decided she didn't like the Queen of Hearts anymore, for whatever reason, and tried to usurp her. So, she reached into the nightmares of the people of Wonderland, looked into the souls of every madman and blackguard there was, and from them created the race of the Jabberwock. There were hundreds of them terrorizing the country; no matter how many the army cut down, more would always spring up. The Jabberwocky are born from a single Jabberwock, the Queen, in a nightmare hive, and the only way to truly kill a Jabberwock is to behead it with a Vorpal blade, or kill the Queen."
"How many Vorpal blades are there?" Emma asked, feeling ill at ease.
"One," Jefferson said, sighing. "When Alice and I returned to Wonderland, we were set upon by the Queen's guard. The Vorpal blade has a catch, you see, and can only be wielded by a person pure of heart. The Caterpillar, the wise and omnipotent advisor to the Queen, told her that Alice was the one destined to be the Champion of Wonderland. And Alice was pure of heart, make no mistake. All too quickly our vacation turned into a war. I begged Alice to run, to just come home with me and leave that miserable land to its fate. I told her to let Wonderland force the queen to abdicate and everything would correct itself. Between the two of us, I was always the more cowardly. She refused to abandon her friends, or the people of Wonderland, to its fate. So she took up the name Champion, and took the Vorpal blade in hand. We fought for months until every last Jabberwock was dead, all except the Queen. It was our last mission to complete, and then we could go home."
Jefferson rubbed his face, unshed tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. "Suffice it to say, the creature was destroyed, beheaded, and it took my wife with it."
"So if the Queen Jabberwock died, and everything from a Jabberwock disappears with the creature's death, where did the poison come from, and how do we cure Regina?"
Gold inspected the webbed lines at Regina's throat one more time, eyeing them critically. "The only way to cure the poison of a Jabberwock is to either kill the Jabberwock, or make a serum from its saliva."
"Spit? Jabberwock spit is the cure?" Emma could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"The enzymes of the saliva are the only thing strong enough to break down the poison," Jefferson supplied, shrugging.
"So somehow, a Jabberwock survived, and somehow we have to find a way to Wonderland to either kill it or get ahold of its spit, and then get back here to administer it to Regina." Emma summarized, her mouth twisting in irritation.
"And what if we don't get the cure?" Snow asked, voicing her question.
"Regina will die," Gold replied bluntly, a small frown crossing his features.
"Okay, so, how do we get to Wonderland?" Emma asked, preparing herself for another quest.
"Wait, Emma, I think we need to talk about this first," Snow began, cutting off any response from Jefferson or Gold.
"What is there to talk about? Regina will die if we don't get her the cure. How do we get to Wonderland?" Emma asked again, looking towards the men for an answer.
"Well, my hat is destroyed so that's not really an option," Jefferson replied, scratching the back of his head.
"I have a Looking Glass," Gold admitted after a moment.
"But…?" Emma countered, hearing the pause in his voice.
"It's a one-way mirror. You won't be able to get back through it. You'd need to find another way."
Emma hummed thoughtfully, leaning against the wall.
"Emma, please tell me you're not seriously considering this? What if you can't find a way back? We just got home, and there is a psychopathic sorceress on the loose with a major vendetta against our family. If you leave, Henry will be parentless and more vulnerable to Cora than ever. She targeted him, Emma, as Regina's weakness. You're the only one immune to her magic, the only one who could protect Henry well enough. Unless, of course, you planned on taking him with you to a land that is literally destroying itself, to kill a beast that can only be killed by a sword that can only be wielded by one person."
"Henry can't come with me, and I don't see a whole group of people volunteering to go and fetch the cure. Cora had to have stretched herself pretty thin to curse Regina like that, right?" Emma asked, directing her question to Gold, who nodded. "It'll take her awhile to recover – especially if Regina fought back. And we need Regina to fight Cora. We're not magically strong enough without her. Besides, we can't just let her die."
"Well, maybe we should just let her die," Snow snapped, crossing her arms defensively. "She's ruined the lives of every single person in this town, has tried to keep you away from Henry on more than one occasion, and murdered countless numbers of people. Or, have you already forgotten about Graham?"
"Well, maybe we should just let her die," Snow snapped, crossing her arms defensively. "She's ruined the lives of every single person in this town, has tried to keep you away from Henry on more than one occasion, and murdered countless numbers of people. Or, have you already forgotten about Graham?"
Henry bit back a gasp and backed away from the partially open hospital door, nearly tripping over Grace in his hurry to escape. He wiped away the tears that tracked down his face and punched the down button on the elevator, his breathing heavy and rough.
"Henry! Calm down, it's going to be okay," Grace tried to console him, following him into the elevator.
"Okay? How is any of this going to be okay? Snow White, the one person who I thought I could count on to be good, my grandmother, is considering letting my mom die!" Henry snapped, furious and hurt. "I won't let it happen. I can't! And if Emma goes, what if she can't get back? I can't lose her, not again," He admitted, choking back a sob.
Grace pulled Henry into a hug, releasing him only when the elevator door dinged open and they exited the hospital. She swallowed for a moment, chewing on the inside of her lip. "Maybe you wouldn't have to,"
Henry looked up at her, his ears catching the hitch in her voice. "What do you mean?"
"A Looking Glass and a magic hat aren't the only ways to get to Wonderland," Grace whispered, glancing around uneasily.
"There's another way? To get there, and back?" He asked, his tone hopeful.
Grace nodded. "Down a rabbit hole – more specifically, down the hole of a wonder-rabbit. There's one in the park."
Henry paused for a moment, looking at Grace with hardened eyes. "Okay. Let's get going,"
"What?" Grace asked, alarmed. "Henry, I only meant that we should tell them there's another way to get there and get home, not go there ourselves! It's too dangerous!"
"Grace, my mom is lying in a hospital bed dying while the adults in charge discuss whether or not she's even worth saving and every minute they argue, is a minute she dies a little more. I can't stand by and do nothing!" Henry reasoned, pleading for her to agree. Seeing the doubt on her face, Henry pressed forward, ignoring the twinge of immense guilt welling up inside him. "Besides, you're the daughter of Alice and the Mad Hatter, the daughter of the champion of Wonderland. You're mother loved that world, Grace, loved it enough to fight for it. So long as a Jabberwock lives, my mother dies and so do your mother's friends."
Grace turned away from him, pacing the sidewalk. She could barely remember her mother. Most of what she knew about her came from stories, and sometimes Grace was grateful for it. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she could remember her mother, and then lost her – like Henry was about to lose his. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, or a really tall building, only inches away from falling over the edge. She found she rather liked the feeling.
She turned back to face Henry, chewing on her lower lip. "We're going to need provisions."
Henry grinned in reply.