Emma and Regina retrieve a package from their mysterious visitor, and something wicked is unleashed on Storybrooke.
The boatyard was quiet this morning, a light breeze ruffling Emma's hair and bringing with it the cool scent of the calm waters as she trudged down the walkway. The Jolly Roger was docked at its usual location with the ramp down, and Grayson's motorcycle was parked just next to it. There was a ball of nerves in Emma's stomach that she couldn't quite place but she ignored the feeling and headed up the familiar ramp.
"Swan," came Hook's voice from atop. He had been fiddling with a rope and now hopped down to the deck to meet her, his expression uncertain and guarded. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" The usual cockiness in his voice was lacking as he set his hand (and hook) on his hips.
"Is Grayson here?"
By the slump of his shoulders, he was clearly expecting something else. After a moment, he shook his head. "He left to get breakfast."
"Oh." Emma mirrored him by setting her hands on her hips, standing somewhat stiffly. "Don't you think it's odd that he just rode into town?"
"No stranger than sailing a ship through a portal in the middle of the ocean."
"He somehow used powerful magic to get through the barrier, Killian."
"It's Killian now?"
They stared at each other for a long moment. Emma thought of her conversation with Henry yesterday and lifted her chin. Hook sighed and leaned against the base of the mast, as if he no longer cared to hold himself up.
"Grayson can't use a lick of magic other than to turn into a dog, and despite his nickname he's not a terrible person. We're not all villains, you know." He gave her a pointed stare and it was Emma's turn to avert her gaze. "If you're so hellbent on finding out how he got through the barrier, ask him about the package he brought."
"Package?" Emma repeated, baffled.
"Aye. He was paid handsomely by a stranger to deliver a package to Gold. Of course by the time he got here, Belle had already banished the crocodile across the town line."
Emma's brows furrowed. Why would someone hire the big bad wolf to deliver a package to Gold? They were a few weeks late. And how did that get Grayson through the barrier? One thing was for certain, she needed to get her hands on that package.
"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Hook asked when Emma had fallen silent. She grimaced, uncertain of what to say or how to say it. The chime and vibration from her coat pocket saved her.
"Sorry. I should get this…"
She pulled out her ringing cellphone and turned for the ramp.
"Is that it, Swan?"
She turned, startled at the hurt in his tone. She cared for him, still did, and she knew he cared for her too. He'd said that she was his happy ending, and once upon a time, she thought she was happy with that, but somehow, it didn't feel like it was enough anymore. It just wasn't enough.
"I'm sorry, Hook." A lump formed in her throat and she forced it down. "I'll always care about you. But you and me - it's over."
He turned away from her, casting his gaze across the waters. "Aye," he said, so softly that she almost didn't hear him. "Message received."
Emma hurried down the dock, pressing her phone to her ear and hunching her shoulders up against the wind.
"Sheriff," she said, her voice rough.
"Emma." Mary Margaret's voice floated through the phone. "Are you okay? You sound upset."
"I'm fine, mom. What's up?"
"I just spoke with Regina. Well, you remember what we talked about the other night? When I said that Regina was better at politics-"
"You wanted her to be mayor again, yeah."
"I asked and she said she was willing to do it again. What do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea."
"Really?" Mary Margaret and David had been in that weird "in between" spot of being parents to Emma and friends with Regina, so they were unfortunately privy to the tension between the two women after Robin's departure from Storybrooke. It was understandable that Mary Margaret was a bit hesitant to bring it up now.
"Yeah. That would be great, really."
"That's wonderful, Emma. How goes the search for Grayson?"
Emma climbed into her patrol car as she recounted what she knew, her mother listening with a patient ear. They debated back and forth before agreeing to meet back at the mayor's office after Emma procured the package. Ending the call, the sheriff sunk back into her seat and waited. Texting Regina came to mind but she resisted, not wanting to push her luck when it finally felt like they were making a bit of progress.
She didn't have to wait long; Grayson appeared at the end of the street ten minutes later, a take-out bag in one hand and a carrying tray of coffees in the other. Emma stepped out of the cruiser and he altered his path to head directly for her, a charming smile playing on his lips.
"Good morning, Sheriff. I take it you're waiting for me."
"I am." She shuffled to meet him halfway, hands jammed in the pockets of her jeans. "Wanted to ask you about that package you were delivering."
Grayson's eyes glittered, but he didn't ask how she knew about that. Instead he deflected with, "Ah, yes. It's for Mr. Gold. Don't reckon you know where he went? I was told he left town a while ago. Shame, really. I was hoping to stay a while."
"Doesn't matter now. I need to look at that package, if you don't mind."
"Actually, I do mind," he rumbled. "I was paid a hefty sum to deliver that into the hands of Mr. Gold. No Gold, no package."
"Well Gold's gone and no one knows where, so you won't be completing that job any time soon. I need to examine that package."
"You seem real concerned about that package, Sheriff."
Emma frowned. "It's a… security risk."
"Security risk?"
"Yes."
"Really, Sheriff?"
"Hand it over, Grayson."
He sighed, tilting his head for her to follow. They made their way back down the dock to where his bike was parked next to the Jolly Roger's ramp. Hook wasn't visible from down here but Emma kept her head down nonetheless, just in case he looked over the edge at them.
"You're a stubborn one, Miss Swan, I'll give you that much."
Emma cringed. "Still just Sheriff to you. Or Emma if you insist. None of that Miss Swan crap."
He shrugged, setting down his takeout items and unlocking the back storage compartment on his motorcycle. From within, he retrieved a small package wrapped in plain brown paper. The address to Gold's shop was stickered on one side, but there was no return address.
"Who paid you to send this?" Emma asked, taking it from him and turning it over in her hands. It felt oddly warm and heavy to the touch.
"Don't rightly know. Had a letter appear under my door asking me to flicker my bedroom lights if I was willing to deliver a package for two grand. I did, and next thing I know, there's a knock on my door and this package left outside with the money in an envelope. Never saw who left it, but I figure I should come through on the job since they were obviously watching my apartment."
Emma certainly didn't trust him as a person but it felt like he was telling the truth, too. Was it really possible that the big bad wolf was just a pawn in someone else's plan?
"Thanks for your cooperation. I'm going to hold onto this for a while," she said as she backed away. Grayson looked like he was about to object. "Consider your job done. I'll give this to Gold if I see him."
She waved and then turned and hurried away, ignoring his grumble of protest. A quick drive down towards town center later and the Sheriff was hurrying up the stairs to the mayor's office, taking it two steps at a time. She reached the top and pushed her way through the office door, flushed and a bit sweaty now that she was inside the heated building with her turtleneck sweater and leather jacket.
To her surprise, she was greeted by the sight of Regina sitting at the mayor's desk, with Mary Margaret and David in the seats across from her. The brunette looked as regal and powerful as ever, obviously at home with her hands clasped and resting on the mahogany and her items neatly spread across the desktop like they used to be.
"That was fast," said Emma.
"Miss Swan," Regina greeted, smirking as she leaned back in her plush seat. "You've finally procured the package, I see."
Back to 'Miss Swan' again, Emma thought, disappointed, as she approached the desk and set the package down on it.
"Yeah. No luck on who hired Grayson to deliver this, but it's definitely magical."
With a brow arched in curiosity, Regina reached forward to unwrap the parcel. "Let's open it up and see then."
"Wait!" Mary Margaret blurted, throwing out her hands to stop her. "What if it's dangerous?"
"Well would you like to handle it instead?" Regina retorted, impatient.
"Isn't there some sort of spell you can do to check it for traps?" said David.
"Not everything is a trap, Charming."
"I just agree that we should be careful with it. This thing was meant for Rumpelstiltskin, after all."
"Oh, for the love of God," said Emma, grabbing the package and ripping open the paper. Mary Margaret gasped.
"Emma!" She exclaimed, clutching her chest as if Emma had just picked up a live grenade. Her daughter rolled her eyes and held out the unwrapped item for them all to see. In her hands was an old music box of some sort, the wood worn and the paint chipped. A small brass latch held it shut.
"I can feel it," Emma said, glancing up to meet Regina's dark eyes. "It almost feels like it's... vibrating."
Dark brown orbs stared at green ones for a long, drawn out moment, suspiciously narrowed, then Regina broke eye contact and grabbed the box from the Sheriff, taking care not to touch her hands.
"Stand back," she ordered. Emma, Mary Margaret, and David all moved away from the desk. Taking in a deep breath, Regina held one hand over the box, her palm and fingers glowing red. The box, in turned, glowed a dark, shadowy colour, and the air suddenly smelled of ozone. Mary Margaret wrinkled her nose.
Emma watched, transfixed. She'd seen Regina doing magic a hundred times before, but today she looked especially powerful. The red glow of her magic reflected in her dark eyes as her hair fluttered softly around her shoulders, lifted by some magical breeze that didn't reach the others. Emma shifted uncomfortably, feeling a strange tightness in her chest that made her breathe just a little harder.
"This must have gotten Grayson through the barrier," Regina said after a moment, her brows furrowed with concentration. "It's powerful. I can't tell what it is, though."
She relaxed, the glow dissipating as she gently set the box down on her desk.
"I think it would be best if I locked this away in my vault. We don't know what it contains and frankly, I don't care to find out."
"Okay. I'll come with you," said Emma, ignoring the surprised looks on her parents' faces, and the slight frown on Regina's.
"That won't be necessary, Miss Swan."
"It's just as a precaution," Emma insisted. "You said it was powerful. I should be with you just to make sure nothing happens before it's safely locked away."
Regina's red lips parted to argue, then clamped shut.
"Fine," she snapped, rolling her eyes slightly. "Let's get this over with then."
Emma and Regina both reached for the box at the same time, their hands bumping together in their attempts to grab it first. For a split second there was a zap between their fingers, like a static shock.
Then the box flung itself open and a wave of black energy exploded from within.
It hit Emma and Regina first, throwing them off their feet. Regina slammed back into the window, the blinds crunching under her body, while Emma sailed backwards across the room, landed on her back, and slid. Mary Margaret and David got the tail end of the explosion and were thrown backwards off their feet, landing with a resounding thud. Above them, a black shadow poured from the box like mist, pooled in the air for a moment, then shot out of a cracked window.
Emma groaned, blinking away the blurriness from her eyes and reaching up to rub at the back of her head. She'd landed on her tailbone and now rolled onto her side, wincing. "What the hell?"
She sat up to see her parents gingerly picking themselves up off the floor, then her gaze landed on Regina who had slid to the floor after impacting the window.
"Regina!" She scrambled to her feet and hurried around the desk to check on the newly re-appointed mayor. Regina grunted and slapped away her hovering hands.
"I'm fine, Sheriff. I'm not a fragile porcelain doll." She stood up on her own despite Emma's protective hovering, wobbling only briefly on her black high heels before bracing herself against the desk. The music box lay open, the wooden interior black and charred as if freshly burned. A strange symbol was carved into the underside of the lid, and now it had a fresh gouge running through it. Emma leaned in closely beside her and frowned at it.
"What the heck is that?"
"Nothing good," Regina growled, her voice deep and husky. "Go do your job and track down that thing, Sheriff. I'm going to pick Henry up early."
"You think Henry's in danger?" It was clear from her tone that she meant she wanted to check on Henry too. David caught on first.
"You should both go make sure Henry is okay. Snow and I will drive around town and keep an eye out."
"Where's Neal?" Emma asked.
"Ruby's babysitting him. They'll be fine," Mary Margaret reassured her.
"I'll text her just in case. Come on, Regina. We can take the squad car."
Emma headed straight for the door with the others following close behind. Regina looked none too pleased to climb into the passenger seat of the cruiser but she did so without complaint as Emma fired off a quick text to Ruby and then pulled out onto the street.
Storybrooke didn't look any different and there weren't any monsters running rampant, so Emma allowed herself a moment of respite, sinking back into her chair and feeling the slight ache of new bruises along her back. Regina tapped her fingers rapidly against her thigh as they rode through town towards the school.
"Relax, it'll be fine," Emma soothed.
"It is not fine, Miss Swan. Our magic combined has released whatever it was that had been locked in that box. I don't know why it was meant for Rumpelstiltskin but whatever it is, it means trouble."
"We'll deal with it when it comes, Madam Mayor." Emma's tone closed off with irritation and Regina spared her only a glance for the return of 'Madam Mayor' before she glared out the window. Five long minutes finally took them to the only elementary school in Storybrooke, where Regina glided out of the car before Emma had even come to a full stop.
The Sheriff hurried after Regina once the cruiser was parked haphazardly in the drop-off zone, wincing as the brunette stormed into the reception area and demanded for the secretary to have Henry pulled from class.
Zero tact, that one, she thought, somewhat amused as she leaned against a wall and watched the secretary stutter into her phone. A few minutes later and Henry came out accompanied by his current class's teacher. Emma vaguely recognized her as one of the fairies.
"What's going on?" The woman asked.
"Nothing that concerns you," Regina sniffed. "Come, Henry. We're going home early today."
As the brunette stalked off with Henry, Emma paused to rattle off a quick explanation to the fairy. "Keep them inside until their parents come to pick them up. We've got things handled."
She couldn't blame the fairy for giving her a skeptical look. Things always got pretty bad before they managed to fix things. Trying not to think too hard on it, the blonde rushed after her son and his other mother, finding them already in the cruiser. Regina was scowling when she finally slid into the driver's seat and revved the engine.
"Where to?"
"My vault."
Emma hesitated. "Why…?"
"Henry will be safe there."
Henry startled. "Whoa, wait. You're locking me in the vault? What's going on?"
"It's for your own protection, Henry."
"What about everyone else? You're just going to leave them out here? That's not fair. I'm not going in the vault."
"It's not up for debate."
Emma turned to Regina, frowning. "Hey, I want to keep him safe too, but locking him up isn't the answer."
"And what would you know about keeping people safe, Miss Swan?"
Emma bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Regina sat back and stared forward, avoiding Emma's gaze. "Nothing. Just drive."
Emma gripped the steering wheel and drove away from the school, fuming silently. When she cruised out onto the main street by the clock tower, Regina huffed.
"This isn't the way to my vault."
"We're not going to the vault."
She spotted David's truck coming towards them and honked her horn just once, pulling to a stop next to the library. David pulled up just next to them and he and Mary Margaret hopped out.
"Come on Henry," said Emma, hopping out. She braced as her mother flung herself at her for a quick hug, then redirected the tiny brunette towards Henry. "You guys find anything?"
"Nothing yet," said David. "All seems quiet. Snow thought she could smell a hint of magic in the woods when we checked the south road."
"I'm sure I did," said Mary Margaret. "Like burnt air. There was no one out there, though."
"None that we knew of," David finished.
"Okay." Emma ruffled Henry's hair and squeezed him around the shoulders briefly. "You guys take Henry home and hunker down. Regina and I will head out and get to the bottom of this."
"But I want to come with you, Ma," Henry complained. "I can help! Grandpa's been letting me practice with a real sword now-"
"You did what?" Regina glared over the roof of the cruiser and David winced.
"Sorry kid, but your mother and I would feel a lot better if you stayed with your grandparents for now."
"But Ma."
"This isn't up for debate, Henry."
Henry's brows knit together, incredulous as he looked between both his mothers. Regina's expression was caught between surprise and smugness. David put a hand on his shoulder in comfort.
"They'll be fine, Henry. They always are. Let's head back first, alright?"
He nudged the grumbling teenager into the backseat of the truck. Mary Margaret spared one more worried glance for the Sheriff and Mayor.
"You two be careful."
With the Charmings safely off with their son, Emma got back into the car and quirked a brow at Regina's expression. One warning look from the brunette made the blonde shut her mouth and concentrate on driving.
"Take us to the south road," the mayor ordered, her chin lifted and her hands primly folded on her lap. Despite their earlier spat, Emma took one look at the regal woman sitting next to her, shook her head slightly, and stifled a smile.
"As you wish, your Majesty."