They had driven halfway to the trail when Henry spoke. "Don't hurt her."
"What?" David asked.
"My mom. Don't hurt her," Henry stated forcefully. "And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I may be ten, but I'm not stupid. You love her. And she loves you. And you're married to the person she hates most in the whole world. I don't have to be a grown-up to know that this is bad."
David pulled the car over and shifted it into park. With a deep breath, he confessed, "I do love your mother, Henry, but I don't know if she loves me."
"Are you kidding?" Henry asked. "She trusts you, and she doesn't trust anybody. And she acts just like people in love act. You both do. So don't hurt her."
"I'll do my best, Henry," David said. "But, like you said, it is a bad situation," David wasn't sure how much he should tell Henry about the state of his relationship with Regina and how it might change once Emma and Snow were back. He didn't want to upset him and endanger him for the spell casting. "I can't tell you what is going to happen, but I can promise you that I will do my best not to hurt your mom. And, if she lets me, I will love and cherish her until the end of my days." Regina would kill him for sharing this much with Henry, but the words had spilt out of their own accord. But it had felt good to say them aloud.
Henry gave David an evaluating look—one that he only could have learned from Regina—and then nodded. "Okay."
"Okay," David replied, as though sealing a deal. With an understanding reached, he resumed the drive to the well.
Regina waved as David and Henry pulled up. Since she decided to walk from the well to the parking area rather than teleporting again, she hadn't been waiting for them for long.
Henry hopped out of the truck as soon as David parked it and bounded over to his mother. He was a bit nervous, but he was mostly excited. His mom's practice tasks had been hard, and he knew she wouldn't let him do the spell if it would hurt him or anyone else. And he was going to get to see Emma and Mary Margaret again.
Regina smiled at her son's exuberance, even as she was glad that the walk to the well would burn some of it off. He would need to focus. "Don't forget your bag, dear," she said.
"Oh yeah!" Henry said and scampered back to the car to retrieve his backpack.
David approached Regina as Henry climbed back into the front seat to reach his stuff. "How's your energy level, Mary Poppins?"
Regina smirked. "Just fine, thank you," she replied nearly honestly. "Taking yesterday off helped, and that was pretty minor magic this morning."
"Good," David said, smiling at her. Just as he was about to tell her about his conversation with her son regarding his intentions, Henry returned with his bag.
"Did you double check it?" Regina asked.
"Yep," Henry replied, waiting for her to ask to see everything.
"Then let's go," Regina said.
"You're not going to check it to?" Henry asked. She always checked his work.
"I trust you, Henry. We made the list together, and you say everything is in there. I believe you," Regina had thought long and hard about her controlling tendencies, especially where Henry was concerned, and she thought this would be the perfect occasion to fight her micromanaging urges and bolster Henry's confidence at the same time. Ripping open dimensions and rethreading them required a lot of confidence.
Henry was astounded. "Let me check one more time," he said, kneeling to go through his backpack for the fourth time that morning.
Regina shared a smile with David over Henry's head. She would miss this once the Charming family was reunited—but now was not the time to think about that. There would be plenty of time to dwell on it, probably unhealthily, after Operation Boomerang was complete.
Henry latched his backpack and formally stated, "Ready to commence Phase Three of Operation Boomerang." He'd asked his mom for a more official word than 'start,' and she'd taught him 'commence.' He liked the sound of it.
Henry began walking into the woods. "How did teleporting go, Mom?"
Regina smirked slightly. "Pretty well, but Ruby turned a little green. Said something about running on all fours being her preferred method of speedy transportation."
David and Henry laughed, and the three of them made terrible werewolf jokes all the way to the well.
"Good, you're here," Astrid said, as she saw Regina, David, and Henry walk up the path. "We can get Ruby and Granny set up now."
Regina looked over at Astrid and Grumpy, her eyes appearing slightly unfocused. "You and Grumpy already made the leap," she stated.
Astrid nodded. "Grumpy wanted more time to get used to it, so as soon as he got his land legs back from teleporting, we did it."
"It's pretty," Regina said, still looking at something only she and Astrid could see.
"What are you looking at?" Henry asked.
"Astrid and Grumpy's magic," Regina replied.
"Why can't I see it?" Henry asked.
"Seeing magic is an odd phenomenon," Regina said, her brow furrowing as she considered how to best explain it. " 'Seeing' isn't even the right word for it. It's more like 'sensing,' but specific to magic. And you can't see it, because you haven't been using magic for very long. This is one of those magical abilities that develops in response to time rather than power."
Henry was clearly disappointed that he couldn't learn to see the magic quicker, but his curiosity buoyed his spirits. "What does it look like? And why can I see some of it sometimes?"
"You can see specific spells, like when Astrid made your linking talisman, but seeing a person's magic is different." Regina looked to Astrid as if to ask for permission, and, at Astrid's nod, answered, "Astrid's is like the soft glow around the stars, dark, dark blue with a sense of depth, wisdom, and safety."
Grumpy smiled at Regina's description. His beloved reminded him a great deal of Bashful at the moment, she was so pleased by the queen's description.
"And Grumpy's . . ." Regina's eyes unfocused again in the direction of the dwarf, before refocusing on Henry, "looks like the sparks off the pick-axes as they mine for diamonds, only an even brighter orange, like the color you expect to be under the layer of yellow on the sun. It's strong and passionate, yet steadfast."
"How can a color be 'steadfast'?" Henry asked, ignorant of the fact that his mother had just made the gruff dwarf blush from ear to ear.
"And that, my dear," Regina replied, "is why the word 'seeing' is inaccurate."
"What is my magic like?" Henry asked.
Regina smiled, almost wistfully. "Your magic is the most beautiful I have ever seen," she said. "It's like the gossamer threads of a unicorn's tail, bright, white, and silver, almost to the point that it's the motion rather than the actual object that is seen—a motion that reflects all the colors of the rainbow at once and yet none at the same time. Strong, agile, and unbreakable."
"At least you said strong," Henry said. "Because that was sounding pretty girly, Mom."
Regina smiled at her son and then turned to Ruby, who, she was pleased to observe, looked significantly less green. "Ready?"
"Yeah, sure," Ruby responded as Granny nodded.
While Ruby had agreed to help, Regina wasn't blind to the fact that the young woman still bristled when dealing with her. Pragmatically, she knew this procedure would be easier if Ruby was more relaxed. "Astrid, I'll take perimeter. Why don't you take the lead?"
Astrid walked over to Ruby and Granny as Regina stepped away and indicated a point for everyone else to stand behind—just in case.
Astrid appraised both women's demeanors and decided that Ruby was too agitated to be the initiator. "Hold Ruby's hands," Astrid instructed Granny.
"I know you went over this last night," Ruby interjected, "But this isn't going to do some weird magic thing that will make Granny and I fall into sicko incest love, will it?"
Much too agitated, Astrid thought. "No, Ruby. The magic won't create what isn't there. It will find the natural, familial true love that exists between the two of you and reveal the magic within it. Because, however, the magic in Storybrooke is built upon romantic true love, you two may have a more difficult time accessing your true love than Dreamy and I did."
Regina stood slightly in front of Grumpy, Henry, and David several yards away from Astrid, Ruby, and Granny.
"You may want to get comfortable," Regina told them. "Rumpel's magic isn't based on their bloodline, so this could take a while."
"Aren't you going to sit?" David asked her, as he and Henry took her advice and perched on a fallen log.
Regina shook her head. "I've got sentry duty," she said. "Staying on-call in case Astrid needs me."
Grumpy, who also remained standing, though slightly behind Regina as requested, gave an approving nod at the queen's response. This magic was a funny business, and, even though Astrid was literally born to do it, getting involved with it always made his stomach flip over, his throat dry up, and his spine twitch. He didn't like it. With Regina looking out for Astrid, though, well, he still didn't like all the hocus pocus, but at least he could swallow. Sort of.
"A little farther back, Grumpy," Regina requested. She didn't bother asking him to sit down. She wouldn't sit down if it were Henry. Or David.
An hour had passed, and the group's morale was low. Ruby's agitation had turned to frustration, and Granny wasn't as calm as her outward appearance indicated either. Grumpy was grim, Regina was stiff, and Astrid's usual cheerfulness was dulled around the edges. David had begun distracting Henry with stories from the Enchanted Forest half an hour earlier, for which they were all grateful.
"Let's take a break," Astrid announced with the battered energy of a first grade teacher the day before a school holiday.
"Finally," Ruby said, dropping Granny's hands in exasperation and walking toward the edge of the woods. She was sick of the pressure and the attention. Maybe she just wasn't magical. Maybe they shouldn't try to force it. Not everyone could be special, right?
"Mom," Henry said tentatively.
"Yes, Henry?" Regina replied, squatting down to meet Henry's eyes where he sat next to David.
"What if Ruby and Granny's magic doesn't work like ours?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Regina asked. As much as her son's obsession with 'Fairy Tale' topics had caused her grief over the past year, she had learned to value his opinion on such matters. He was right far more often than she would like.
"I mean, they are werewolves," Henry said. "And that's a kind of magic or something, right? What if it does something weird when it mixes with this kind of magic?"
"Of course," Regina said. "Great idea, Henry," she smiled at him and stood. "Astrid, Henry had an idea."
Relief washed over Astrid's features as she said, "Oh good," and stepped away from the others.
Regina met her near the well. "Henry thinks that the magic here might be interacting with whatever magic or curse makes them werewolves." Regina brought her hand to her forehead, trying to think through the possible implications. "It's so simple; I don't know why we didn't see it."
Astrid gave the tired queen a small smile. "We have had a few other things to think about."
"True," Regina replied with a smile of her own. "Do you have any experience with werewolves using magic?"
"No," Astrid shook her head.
"Me neither," Regina replied. After a beat of silence, she sighed. "Do you think this is something we should be experimenting with?" Regina refused to trust her own judgment; she knew that she couldn't possibly be objective. Ruby and Granny's participation greatly increased her own chances for survival . . . but hadn't David told her to be selfish? She doubted he meant at the cost of his other friends, though. She had been prepared to die, but ever since David had confronted her and told her that she wouldn't, her survival instinct had kicked into overdrive. She wasn't ready to go. Even if she couldn't have custody of Henry, she wanted to see him grow up and find his own happy ending—one that she could protect from afar, if not nearby.
Astrid nodded thoughtfully. "Contrary to folklore, werewolfism isn't a curse. True love's kiss does not break it, so it isn't a curse. It isn't even dark magic. Because it isn't dark, I think we can try a new approach, taking into account their werewolf magic." The fairy's usual brightness was reasserting itself.
"And if they still can't access magic here?" Regina asked.
Astrid refused to be deterred. "Have a little faith," she said simply.
Regina met David's eyes as she headed back toward the fallen log. Recognizing her unfathomable expression, David stood, and his legs began walking toward her.
Regina had turned and begun walking into the woods as soon as she'd caught David's gaze. She didn't need to see him to know he was following her. Once she was sure that they were out of the sight and earshot of the others, she turned to him. "This is me fulfilling my promise," she said shakily, focusing on the hand she'd placed on his chest over his heart. Forcing herself to look up into his face, she said, "I might die."
David's hand rose to clasp hers on his chest. "Don't."
Regina shook her head through watery eyes. His faith continued to astound her. Didn't he understand? The best case scenario never happened to her. "You told me not to keep this from you, so I'm not. Astrid and I didn't think about the impact of Granny and Red's werewolfism. We don't know if they can participate in the spell. And, even if they can participate, we don't know if our estimates of their power will be right."
"But they could be even more powerful than you thought," David countered.
Regina nodded in reluctant acknowledgement. "They could," she said. "But I just wanted to let you know."
David pulled her into a tight hug. "You're not going to die. I know it." He squeezed her tightly and then released her slightly to look down into her face. "Regina, you are the most stubborn, hard-headed woman I know. If anyone can cheat death, it's you. So, just refuse. Refuse to die." He clutched her tightly again and murmured fervently into her hair, "Be selfish."
"I will," Regina pledged. And she meant it. From her soul, she meant it. She would not leave Henry and David without a fight.
And she knew how to fight.
"We should get back," Regina spoke quietly. "Astrid will be waiting for me to resume guard-duty before she tries again with Granny and Ruby."
David nodded in understanding and resisted the impulse to kiss her. He knew that if he did, then he'd never let her go. Instead, he laced his fingers through hers and walked with her back to Grumpy and Henry.
Regina gave him a quizzical look with a hint of panic when David didn't release her hand when they came into Henry's view.
"He already knows," David stated.
"What?" Regina whisper-yelled at him.
"He's your son, Regina," David said with a smile. "He notices things."
Regina scowled at the teasing prince. "We are going to discuss this later."
David smirked at her. "Good," he replied. If she wanted to scold him for not contradicting Henry's observations, she'd have to be alive to do it.
David permitted the release of her hand when they reached Grumpy and Henry. Regina flexed her fingers and avoided her son's mischievous gaze, instead looking to Astrid and confirming her readiness for whenever the three women chose to begin.
Astrid smiled at Ruby, the calm certainty back in her gaze. "We're going to try this a different way," she said. "We're going to use your werewolf magic to make this easier."
"How?" Ruby asked skeptically. If her reaction to teleporting was any indication, maybe she shouldn't be messing around with this magic stuff. She was more inclined to the physical—the hard earth that she could feel beneath her paws, the night air that tickled her fur—magic though, magic didn't even have a scent most of the time.
"Dreamy told me that you can control yourself when you change into your wolf form," Astrid stated, a hint of a question within her tone.
Ruby nodded in confused confirmation.
"Good," Astrid smiled, relieved. "That means that you can access and control the magic that causes your change," she smiled at Ruby encouragingly, the young woman's reluctance not lost on her. "And that means that you're already a magic user."
Ruby looked at Astrid, stunned. She couldn't be a magic user. All of the magic users she knew of that weren't fairies—Regina, the Blind Witch, Rumpelstiltskin—they were all evil. Ruby didn't want to be evil.
She had eaten her boyfriend, though. And it didn't get much more evil than that.
Right now, though, she had to focus on getting her best friend and her best friend's kid home. Once Snow was back, she could deal with the details of good and evil.
She looked at Astrid, resolved. "What do I do?"
Astrid smiled. Ruby was still uncomfortable; that much was clear, but her determination boded well.
"Hold Granny's hands," Astrid instructed. "Then, close your eyes and find the wolf. Once you've done that, use your wolf to find Granny's."
"It's that simple?" Ruby asked.
Astrid nodded. "It's that simple."
"Easy," Ruby said, grabbing Granny's hands and closing her eyes.
Before anyone had a chance to register that Ruby was getting started, Astrid took several quick steps back and Regina shoved Grumpy behind her, as they both gaped at the swirling tornado of green and red that encompassed Ruby and Granny. It spun with such gale-like force that Regina couldn't believe that the trees weren't being uprooted, let alone that none of them were affected.
Then, just as suddenly, the tornado appeared to be sucked within Ruby and Granny, and everything was calm.
Regina smiled as she saw the sparkling, whirling magic around each of the were-women.
"Ruby's is red, isn't it?" Henry asked his mother.
Regina's smile broadened. "Actually, Ruby's is bright green, like sunlight through a summer forest canopy. It's Granny's that is red—a dark, bright crimson, really."
"But Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood," Henry protested.
"And where do you think she got her hood?" Granny asked with a knowing grin—she, Astrid, and Ruby having made their way over after the dissipation of the magical tornado.
"Cool!" Henry exclaimed. His book really didn't have every good story in it. He was going to need to hear about Granny's adventures sometime.
"So," Ruby said, "Are we going to do this thing, or what?"
Regina couldn't help a smile as she noted the change in the waitress's posture. Ruby was practically sparkling with confidence and self-assurance. As it should be, she thought. "Absolutely," she answered out loud.
It didn't take long for the group to arrange themselves appropriately, but Regina and Henry stood apart from the others, who, by unspoken agreement, understood that the final Operation Boomerang pow-wow should be between mother and son.
"You ready, Henry?" Regina asked, bent at the waist to meet her son at eye-level.
Henry wore a determined expression to cover up his nerves. "Yep," he said.
Despite his valiant effort, his anxiety was clear to Regina. "You can do this, Henry," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know you can."
Henry nodded slightly, but wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Henry," Regina ducked further to meet his eyes, "Do you remember what the most important thing for a sorcerer to have is?"
"Conviction," Henry answered promptly.
Regina smiled slightly. "Yes," she affirmed. "But what does that mean?"
"I have to know I can do it," Henry said. "It has to feel like a fact before it has actually happened. I have to be sure."
Regina nodded. "Now close your eyes," she smiled in approval as he followed her direction without hesitation. "And feel your magic. Feel it humming from the tips of your toes all the way to the ends of your fingers. Feel it pulsing through your heart and winding through your veins. Feel it jumping and ready to be used. Feel how yours it is—yours to be wielded. And know that you can do this." Regina watched her son's expression carefully. His face was tense at first, clearly concentrating, but then relaxed right before his eyes snapped open.
"I can do this," he said with absolute certainty.
Regina smiled, "Yes, you can." She pulled him into a brief hug. "Let's do this, shall we?"
Henry smiled broadly at her, "Okay, Mom!"
She kissed his forehead and stood, "Just remember to put everything back where you found it, dimensionally speaking," she instructed. "Except for Emma and Snow, of course."
Henry groaned. "I know. You make it sound like I'm cleaning my room."
Regina cocked her head in thought, "It's not dissimilar," she replied with a twinkle in her eye.
"Mo-om," Henry groaned as Regina chuckled, put her arm around his shoulders, and led them back to the group.
"This is really all there is to it?" Grumpy asked, looking around at their simple configuration. He was standing in a close circle between Granny and David and across from Astrid, who was between Regina and Ruby. Henry was outside the circle facing the well with his back to them holding his book. "No globs of goop this time, sister?"
"This kind of magic requires less frills," Regina explained. "Restrictive magic tends to require goop, blood, and other props. This kind does not."
"Aren't we restricting him to this plane of existence?" Grumpy asked.
"Not really," Regina said. "If he wanted to, he could still cross dimensions. We are helping him not to do that involuntarily. In that sense, we are not restricting his choice."
Grumpy turned to David, "You follow this?"
"I try," David replied and winked at Regina, who answered him with a smile.
"You ready, Henry?" Regina called from her place in the circle.
"Yep!" he called, determination filling his young voice.
"Remember to wait until our spell is in effect, and then start whenever you're ready," Regina said. "And you'll know when it's working."
"Okay, Mom," Henry replied, a little exasperated. He had been paying attention earlier when she went through everything with him. Wait for their spell, then focus, find Emma and Mary Margaret, bring them back—gently, without squishing them, like when he picked up David as a toad—and most importantly, close the dimensions as he brought them through, like the cakes. His mom emphasized this over and over. Don't let anything else through, and close the dimensions. Even if Emma was hurt and bleeding, he had to close the dimensions. David had promised to take care of Emma or Mary Margaret if they needed help, but Henry was the only one that could close the dimensions properly. Operation Boomerang depended on him. It was his job.
And he knew he could do it. Even though it would be hard to ignore Emma and Mary Margaret. And anything else cool that would be happening.
At Henry's answer and Regina's nod, Astrid double-checked everyone's placement in the circle. The true love pairs were arranged across from each other. Check. Regina and David, who were the two people expected to have the strongest true love for Henry, were also between the two people in the circle they would consider their strongest allies. Regina was between Granny and herself. David was between Ruby and Dreamy. Check.
"Grasp your partner's right hand in your own," Astrid instructed, grabbing Grumpy's hand across the circle in example. Once all three pairs were holding hands in the middle, Astrid continued, "Now place your left hand and arm along the back and shoulders of the person next to you."
Regina flinched slightly as she placed her left hand along Granny's shoulder. She'd removed the bandages from her cut for this, knowing that mobility and skin contact were more important than her stitches, at least during the spells.
Satisfied that the six of them were arranged appropriately—from a bird's eye view they looked like a wagon wheel with the true love pairs' arms as spokes—Astrid gave her final instructions, "Granny, Ruby, David, and Dreamy, focus on your true love for your partner and for Henry. Let your magic flow through you and into our circle. Regina and I will do the rest. Keep focusing until one of us tells you to stop. And, no matter what, keep your place in the circle. Keep holding your partner's hand, and keep your left arm around the shoulders of the person next to you."
David never would have thought that keeping his arm around Ruby's shoulders would be the most difficult part of performing this magical enchantment, but it was. Astrid's instructions to focus on his love for Regina and Henry were all too easy to follow. His eyes met Regina's across their linked hands, and his heart was full to bursting with his admiration and love for her. This woman who had survived despite loss, manipulation, isolation, and other inflictions she'd yet to share with him. This woman who had done terrible things in the name of her lost love but was brave enough to face them and try to be better. For her son. His grandson. Henry.
Henry who was determined to be a brave knight to bring home his mom and grandmother. Henry who persevered when everyone thought he was crazy, because he was determined to save his family, his town, people he'd never even met, from the curse of a blank existence. Henry who stood up to the mother he loved, despite calling her evil, for the mother he barely knew. So they could both fulfill their destinies. Their destinies to be heroes.
David was a lucky man. He had so much to love. And he felt it fill him and flow through him. And he felt the orange fire of Grumpy's true love flow through his shoulders and meld with his own, as it flowed into Ruby's bright green, until he didn't know whose true love magic he was feeling as it swirled around and through him.
But he knew he saw his love answered in Regina's eyes.
And when he thought his veins would burst with the joy of it all, he saw what almost looked like a geyser of white light blast from the center of the circle where the pairs' hands were joined. He held eye contact with Regina, focusing on his love through the translucent magic, even as his peripheral vision saw it encompass Henry like a stretched, marble-patterned bubble.
Henry felt something like a magical net surround him and saw a film-like substance drop between him and the well. Even though it wasn't purple, he could feel his mother's magic woven through it, and he knew it would keep him safe.
And he knew he was ready to bring home Emma and Mary Margaret.
With that knowledge, the film dissolved from his vision, along with the trees and the sky. The only objects he saw were the well several feet in front of him and his "Once Upon A Time" book in his hands. His mother had told him to pick an object that made him feel close to Emma and Mary Margaret, so he focused on his book. He focused on his book and how it had led him to Emma. He focused on his book and how it had reminded him over and over again how he couldn't be wrong, how he couldn't lose faith, how he had to make her believe. He focused on the book and felt how, when his grandmother gave it to him, it had been the first step toward completing his family.
And how, now, with help from his mom, his grandfather, and people who loved him, he would reunite them.
He focused, and he used the book like a magnifying glass through the dimensions, until he felt Emma and Mary Margaret reflect their love back at him.
He had found them.
Now he just had to pull them toward him, while remembering that he wanted to stay in Storybrooke. He did not want to go to them in the Enchanted Forest. He wanted them with him in Storybrooke.
That was it. He just had to close the dimensions behind them. Pull and close. Pull and close. Pull and close. Wow. There were a lot of dimensions. Pull and close.
What was that? Something had latched onto Emma's shoe when he started pulling her through. She didn't seem to want it there.
He almost had them home. Pull and Close. He slammed the last dimension closed, catching the stowaway in the dimensional doorway. He saw a pair of large, discolored arms and an oblong head roll away from Emma as she tumbled out of the well, closely followed by Mary Margaret. They were okay!
And he had defeated whatever it was that had tried to follow them!
He just hoped his method was okay. His mom hadn't mentioned anything about using the dimensions as weapons. He'd better check with her in case she needed to help him fix his work.
"Mom?" he turned around. She'd said he could turn around once he'd closed the last dimension. "Mom, I think you'd better check the last dimension I pulled them through. There was this thing, and I think I beheaded it using the last door I closed . . ."
As his euphoria from rescuing Emma and Mary Margaret wore off, Henry's more traditional senses took in the scene before him. He couldn't see his mom. She wasn't standing up with the others. And the others weren't really standing. They were all hunched and huddled around a small form on the ground.
"Mom!" Henry's tone was desperate as he ran toward the group. She had to be okay. She just had to. But even as he ran, he noticed that, for the first time since putting it on, his buffering talisman around his neck was cold.
.
.
A/N: I apologize for the cliffhanger, particularly since I've used it before, but this was the natural stopping place for this chapter. I'll try not to keep you waiting long; I'm aiming to update on Sunday or Monday. I hope you enjoyed the magic, and, as always, reviews are treasured.