Author's note: Yep, super long ch. You're welcome :)

Chapter 16

"Archie?" Mary Margaret gasped audibly as the ex-cricket turned town therapist stood panting in the open doorway. "B-but…" She stuttered, clearly at a loss for words. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Archie!" Henry came running straight into the arms of his old therapist. "You're alive!"

Archie hugged the boy, but looked around nervously. "I'll explain, but it's not safe out here. If Regina found out I'm here…" He shuddered visibly.

"Come in, come in." Mary Margaret said, firmly shutting the door behind them.

"Emma! Oh, you're ok." To everyone's surprise, Archie walked quickly across the room towards the swan and petted her head. The swan made a pleased, honking sound and ruffled her feathers.

"What?" David just stared at all of them like they were insane. He turned to Archie. "You need to explain what's going on. Now." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared him down.

"All right. Let me start from the beginning." Archie started. "I'm guessing you already know that Regina is behind all this. As you can see, Regina did not kill me. She and Cora, her mother, kidnapped me and faked my death."

"Wait. Cora?" Mary Margaret gasped. "She's…here?"

Archie nodded gravely. "I'm afraid so. I don't know how and I don't know why, but she is."

"But why you?" David asked. "What do you have to do with any of this? With Emma?"

"They needed someone who had dirt on everyone in town." Archie looked down guiltily. "So it's my fault that everything happened. I'm so sorry. I had no choice but to tell them about Scarlett and everything."

Everyone nodded understandingly. They all knew how cruel Regina was. And Cora was no better.

"It's ok." Henry said kindly. "It's not your fault."

"We're just as much to blame as you." Mary Margaret sighed. "If anything, you did the least."

"Oh, hey, it's Artie the cricket. No, Archie." Graham slurred, speaking up for the first time. "Hahahaha, he's dead. It's a ghost! I'm seeing dead people…" He stumbled up, throwing back the remaining bit in his bottle. "I'm seeing dead people!" Graham sung drunkenly. "Hahaha. Let's see if he's see through!"

Before anyone could stop him, Graham swung his arm out and smacked Archie across the face with an audible crack. Graham's eyes immediately widened in horror and shock as he stared at his hand.

"What?" He gasped. He looked around. "What's going on?" He slurred, grabbing onto the back of the chair for support.

David stood up furiously and steered him into the bathroom, turning on a cold shower and shoving him in. "Don't get out until you're sober."

"Sorry about that." Mary Margaret apologized profusely. "He's been a little…off since, well you know."

Archie nodded. "Understandable."

"So, you were saying?" Henry prompted. "If Regina kidnapped and trapped you, how did you escape?"

"She kept me in this room in her underground lair at the mausoleum. Which I'm guessing you already found."

Everyone nodded.

He continued speaking. "I could hear everything they said. They really didn't care about me as long as I didn't give them any trouble. All they really needed was someone to provide them with information. So I knew everything that happened. From what I heard, Regina and Cora had this grand master plan that involved using my 'death' to keep her busy and make her seem crazy. That way, it would set it up so Emma would immediately be blamed for Scarlett's disappearance."

"Ohhh…" They said as the realization dawned on them. Regina had set a brilliant trap and they'd all fallen straight into it.

"Ultimately, I think Scarlett was used as bait. Bait to lure Emma. I'm guessing Emma told you about the whole SOS thing? They forced me to do all those dreams. Basically set up little clues to lead Emma to them. They wanted to isolate Emma, to make everyone hate her. And I would say they succeeded." He finished.

"But if Scarlett was just bait, why not give her back? They got what they wanted didn't they?" David said thoughtfully.

"Isn't it obvious?" Henry blurted. "It's cuz of me! They took Scarlett as revenge for Emma stealing me! This is all my fault!"

"If anything, it's mine." Graham said blearingly, coming back down the hall towards them. His hair was dripping wet but he was sober. "Emma was my wife; I should've protected her."

"No." David protested. "It's my fault. She's my daughter."

Everyone started protesting and talking over each other until it was so loud you couldn't tell who was speaking at whom.

"Stop!" Mary Margaret waved her arms wildly in the air. "Stop! Everyone stop blaming themselves! We're not gonna accomplish anything by pointing fingers and assigning blame. We need to work together if we're gonna get Scarlett back and fix Emma."

"She's right." Archie agreed.

"How did you escape?"

"They got sloppy. Regina and Cora stopped caring, since they thought they'd won." Archie replied. "Earlier, I thought I heard them say something about going to the funeral just for fun and when I was sure they'd left, I ran out of there. Before, they had all these magical barriers up but for some reason they weren't there today. I had to come here and tell you everything."

"Do you know what happened when Emma went to find them?" Henry asked.

In response, Archie simply gestured at the swan sitting at their feet. "I'm not quite sure, but I managed to gather that Regina and Cora turned Emma into a swan. I heard sounds of a struggle and then a loud bang. After that, I kept overhearing them talk about 'the swan' and how it was gone. I thought they meant that they'd killed Emma. But then I found this where Emma's jacket was. And then I knew." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single white feather. A feather identical to those on the swan's body.

They all stared at the feather for a long moment.

"So…the swan's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes.

Archie nodded. "I'm pretty sure, yes."

"Told you." Henry muttered.

"Oh, Emma." Mary Margaret threw her arms around the swan's long neck.

"I promise we'll fix this." David said as he embraced the swan as well. The swan resisted for a moment but allowed her parents to hug her.

Graham wanted nothing more than to hold Emma and tell her that everything would be ok, but he couldn't, for he knew that he'd damaged their relationship way beyond repair. Mary Margaret and David had the excuse that they hadn't know Emma very well (who told their parents everything, honestly), but Graham didn't. He had been the one person that Emma had truly poured her heart out to, who she'd practically spent every waking moment with for almost three years, so despite what everyone said, he knew he was singlehandedly responsible for everything.

~Long Gone~

They'd decided that the best thing to do was to keep Archie hidden at Graham's apartment for the time being, for once Regina discovered that he was missing she'd surely suspect. They also had to keep Emma the swan well hidden. It was decided that Emma would stay at Mary Margaret and David's, since it was bigger and better suited for a swan.

They had to keep up appearances, continuing to play the part of a grieving family. It wasn't actually since it wasn't like they had that much to be happy about. Scarlett was still missing, behind enemy lines, and Emma was stuck as a swan.

But keeping everyone safe was an issue. The situation grew more and more desperate, as townspeople considered leaving Storybrooke to avoid the impending Regina threat. Mary Margaret and David were forced to field calls from panicking citizens every day.

"Still no sign of him." Graham said wearily as he came home. "Shop's closed down and everything." He said bitterly, setting down a bulging bag of groceries. Every day, they'd checked Rumpelstilskin's shop to see if he would help them in their fight against Regina. But it seemed as though he'd disappeared off the face of the Earth.

He cast a longing look at Emma, who sat in the corner of the living room on a makeshift nest. He felt so bad, for he was so helpless. His wife was a fucking swan, yet there was no way to help her. To make matters worse, it was beyond obvious that she still hated him.

"Here." He set down a dish of various aquatic plants. They'd done extensive research on what swans ate, but it was extremely difficult to acquire them without making it look too obvious that something was up. But it wasn't like it helped, for Emma refused to eat or do anything except hiss at people who approached and sleep. Only Henry was allowed near her. She just glared at him with her swan eyes, shifting her body so she was facing away from him.

"Em." He said desperately. She'd barely eaten anything since Henry brought her back, mainly because she was too angry at everyone to accept food.

She hissed loudly at him, tucking her head under her wing. She was so mad she couldn't even look at him.

"Look, I know you're mad, but starving yourself isn't the answer." He pleaded, taking a step closer, but she poked her head up and glared warningly. Graham could practically hear what she was thinking. It was probably something along the lines of: fuck off you bastard.

"We're doing everything we can." He paused.

She ignored him.

"I'm sorry." He said after a long moment. "I should've believed you." He said heavily. "I know it was part of Regina's plan to make everyone not believe you, but that's no excuse. I don't even know what I was thinking, blaming you for Scarlett. I should've known it wasn't your fault. I know nothing I say will ever make up for that."

She glared at him as if to say: damn right that you can't make up for it. I'm a fucking swan!

"Em?" He tried to touch her, but drew his hand back instantly as she bit down on his hand with her sharp beak. Hard.

"Ouch!" He cried, jumping backwards. "All right, all right. I'll stay away."

But staying away from his wife physically pained him. All he wanted was to be forgiven, but that obviously wasn't gonna happen. So he decided to go to Archie for help. If anyone could help him, it was the town therapist/conscience.

"I'm not surprised she's mad." Archie said. "Think about it. How did you make her feel? If what you said was correct, you were the one person she trusted most. The one person she truly counted on. The one person she let her guard down with. Emma has had a rocky life, growing up in the system and all. She has and probably always will have trust issues. Getting her to trust you was probably no easy feat."

Graham nodded morosely. "And I've failed her. I should've believed her. Then none of this would've happened."

"Don't beat yourself up about it. This was part of Regina's plan. She expected you to act that way."

"Will she ever forgive me?" Graham asked.

Archie shrugged. "Hard to say. Given her nature, I don't know."

"What am I supposed to do?" Graham pleaded desperately. "I love her. I can't just let this go."

"You have to win her trust back. Let her know how sorry you are. Show her you're willing to do anything." Archie stood up. "A romantic gesture never hurt anyone either."

It wasn't just Graham that Emma was pissed at; she barely even looked at her parents. Although she didn't bite them. Yet. It seemed as though Emma's initial joy at seeing her family was gone.

"What are we supposed to do?" Mary Margaret cast a worried look at Emma, who lay morosely in the corner.

"I don't know." David said heavily. All their hopes were drained, since Rumpelstilskin had disappeared. The looming of threat of Regina grew larger and larger with each passing day. It would only be a matter of time before Regina found out that her plan hadn't succeeded. "I feel like we should apologize, but I don't know if she'd even listen. I mean, look at Graham." He gestured at the Huntsman, who was sulking in the kitchen, bandaging his wounded hand.

"Well, we'll never know if we don't try. And we do owe her a big apology." Mary Margaret pointed out.

Emma looked up as her parents approached. Inwardly, she rolled her eyes and turned away. She'd sunk into a deep depression ever since Henry had brought her back. The last time she'd felt so shitty, so hopeless was her first night in jail. Even as a lonely foster kid, she'd always had hope. Hope that someday she'd escape the living hell that was her life. Yes, she was beyond relieved that they'd believed her (finally!) but still. Her situation was hopeless. She was stick as a fucking swan, for crying out loud, and daughter was with the two most evil people ever. Without Gold's help, they were basically screwed.

Go away. Emma thought as her parents got closer. I don't wanna talk to you. Or anybody, for that matter. Though she was happy she was home, there was the overarching fact that if her family had believed her they wouldn't be in this mess right now. She sighed, remembering the awful moment she'd woken up as a swan.

She felt herself start to sink as she flapped her arms, er wings, up and down. Water. She was in the water. As a freaking swan! As the gravity of the situation set in, her panic only increased. She had no idea where she was. And she was a swan!

Emma realized how ridiculous she must've looked; a swan who was on the verge of drowning. She tried to calm her racing heart and regain her composure. Slowly, she rebalanced and floated comfortably atop the water's surface, her short legs tucked under her.

Ok, Emma. She said to herself. She'd always been good at formulating plans under pressure. So she pretended that this was no different than usual.

First things first. Get to land. She was never a great swimmer, and even though she was a swan it still didn't mean she was comfortable. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that her new webbed feet made maneuvering around in the water super easy, as they sliced through the cool, crisp water. She reached land way faster than she would have normally as a human. Now she had to figure out where she was. Judging by the deserted look of the area around her, she discerned that she was in the country.

She walked around, noting how difficult it was to waddle around on her short legs. How did ducks do it? Ugh. Suddenly, she had the urge to spread her wings. Couldn't swans fly? Gingerly, she broke into a run and started flapping her wings, feeling completely ridiculous as she did so. Whatever. It wasn't like anyone could see. Miraculously, she stayed airborne, enjoying the feel of the air against her skin…or rather feathers. Her new animal senses, much sharper than her human ones, heightened as she soared above the clouds.

Alright. Focus, Emma. She glided around, searching the landscape for signs and whatnot that would indicate her current location. It wasn't easy, since all she saw were mostly houses and trees. Looked like some sort of suburb. It reminded her of Storybrooke and inexplicably, her eyes filled with tears. All she wanted was to go home.

Finally, she spotted what looked like a school. Flying closer, she saw that the school was called Toronto Secondary School. Toronto? As in the Toronto that was in…Canada? She was Canada? That was a hell of a way from Storybrooke, Maine.

But what other choices did she have? She had to get home in order to fight Regina and find Scarlett. Soaring higher, she quickly spotted the highway, whose signs indicated the correct way south. Great. It was gonna be a long journey.

However, she discovered that flying was pretty easy; she flew pretty quickly through the air. It was pretty exhilarating, zooming through the air. It lifted her spirits. She even laughed (which sounded like a honk) at the craziness of it all. Regina had turned her into a swan because she was Emma Swan. Real creative.

While she flew, she tried to figure out what her next step would be. Once she reached Storybrooke, she had to reveal herself to her family. As much as she dreaded seeing them again, she knew it was absolutely necessary. But how would she convince them of the truth when that'd failed so miserably last time?

The journey didn't actually take that long. She stopped several times to rest and drink from some ponds that she found in the forest. She also realized that she'd developed an appetite for aquatic plants and bugs. Normally, she would've been grossed out but as a swan she didn't really mind. In fact it tasted pretty good.

The closer to Storybrooke, the more nervous she got. What was she supposed to do? She figured that revealing herself to Henry would be easiest, since he had a natural affinity to animals (like Mary Margaret actually) and he was more inclined to believe in crazy stuff such as this.

As she reached Storybrooke, something felt off. The streets were empty, something that never happened in this tiny but bustling town. Had Regina done something? Just then, her heightened animal senses picked up on the fact that there was a large gathering. She followed the noise, sensing that this was not a happy gathering.

Emma stopped, flying above the graveyard as she realized. A funeral. That was what everybody was there for. But who had died? She spotted her parents walking with Henry, all looking very sad. Whoever had died must've been very well loved, for many of Storybrooke's residents looked devastated as well. Next to Henry was Graham. Oh God. Just seeing him made her heart ache with both longing and grief. She missed him so much, yet she couldn't touch him. Above all, those emotions were eclipsed by her overarching anger towards him.

She noticed that Graham carried a large, white box. With a jolt, she realized who's funeral it was. Hers. So Regina must've made it look like she died. Well played, bitch.

It was terribly strange to watch one's own funeral. The sight of all these people here to honor her death made tears well up in her eyes; she'd come so far from that lonely little foster girl that nobody liked. She stayed hidden behind trees, listening to everyone sob and the touching speeches made by many people: her parents, Graham, Henry, Ruby, etc. Several times their words brought tears to her eyes. But then she remembered how they'd treated her, essentially calling her crazy and blaming her for Scar's disappearance, and the tears vanished. Several times, she thought Graham saw her, as he squinted out in her direction. She quickly slipped behind a tree. Luckily, he probably thought it was just some random animal.

Soon, the funeral was over. Emma settled herself behind several trees. She didn't know why, but she had a strong feeling Henry would show up soon. It was probably the whole mother's intuition thing. So she waited. Watched as Graham came, bearing flowers for her headstone. She soared up high, for she didn't want to hear what he had to say. A while later, just as she'd predicted, Henry came walking up to her headstone.

She crept quietly towards him, her heart aching as she watched him cry. Cry over what he thought was her dead body. Or jacket. Whatever. It was heartbreaking, to watch one's kid sob so desperately. When he said the word Mommy, she felt her head swell with emotion. In that moment, as he broke down, Emma forgave him completely. He was just a kid. Her kid. She couldn't stay mad at him. And to be fair, she'd made so many mistakes too, pre-curse, and he'd forgiven her.

Alright, here goes nothing, she thought as she waddled up to Henry. Her entire life hinged on whether or not her son believed his supposedly dead mother was a swan.

"Emma." Her parents crouched down next to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. Great. She was literally surrounded.

"We know you're mad. Believe me, we're mad too. At ourselves for not believing you." Mary Margaret started gently. "I mean, the idea that Regina was back did seem pretty unbelievable, but that was no excuse."

"You're our daughter, and we had a responsibility to protect you." David added. "And we failed miserably at that. And we're really, truly sorry. We were so wrapped up in our own lives that we didn't see the truth. The cold hard facts. That you would never lie, especially not about the life of your daughter."

Emma stiffened angrily. Damn right! Too bad it took you so long to realize that!

"You're a better parent than us." Mary Margaret laughed dryly. "Emma, believe us. We love you so much. When we thought you were dead…" She sniffled. "I don't know what we would've done without you. Knowing that we indirectly caused your death. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."

At this, Emma couldn't help it. A few tears leaked out of her eyes. At that moment, she wished she was human again so she could hug her parents and tell them that she forgave them. That they'd just made a horrible mistake. And they actually seemed very sorry. And their heartfelt speeches at the funeral had been quite touching. And it was getting kinda tiring to stay mad. At least they were making an effort. It was one thing to be mad at Graham (although he'd made a pretty nice speech too, it didn't cancel out everything he'd said about her despite knowing her so well) but another to be mad at her parents.

She made a honking noise that she hoped conveyed her forgiveness towards them. Luckily, her parents seemed to understand what she meant as they hugged her tightly. She leaned in towards them, savoring their touch. For a sweet, yet horribly brief moment, it felt like everything was all right in the world.

~Long Gone~

Regina watched as Mary Margaret and David left their apartment and got into their car. It looked as though they were headed for the harbor again. That was odd. For the past several days, she watched as either Graham or Emma's parents went to the grocery store or the harbor repeatedly. It almost seemed as though they were looking for…no that wasn't possible. When she and Cora had cast that spell that turned Emma into a swan, they'd make sure to send her as far away as their combined powers could manage. Magic was limited and they had to be careful not to use it all up.

Still, she was watching just to make sure. At first, it seemed as though they'd succeeded. But now, it looked kinda fishy and suspicious. She knew that Emma was smart. Smart enough to make it back? Rather unlikely, but perhaps possible.

She watched, eyes narrowed, as Mary Margaret and David started collecting bags of what looked like slimy weeds. Or…aquatic plants? What swans loved to eat? She groaned as the realization hit her that Emma had made it back.

And now they were back to the drawing board. Regina had specifically told Cora that the whole swan thing wasn't going to work. They'd thought that Emma would just become so hopeless and despondent that she'd just give up. But that obviously wasn't the case. Clearly they'd underestimated the power of true love again. Emma's love for Scarlett had sent her back to Storybrooke. It was evident that even with her vast knowledge of magic, Cora had forgotten about the powers of true love.

With a flash of purple smoke, Cora appeared next to her. Her jaw was set in a straight, angry line as she surveyed the scene in front of her.

"You have got to be kidding me." She murmured. They were invisible to everyone but each other, but if they spoke too loud people could overhear.

"Mother, I told you…" She started but was cut off.

"No worry, dear. I have an idea." Cora smiled slowly. "How attached are you to Scarlett?"

Author's note: Oooohhh is that what I think it means? REVIEW to find out!