Chapter One: Return to Storybrooke
It was a beautiful reunion of family and friends. Emma Swan, who spent many years feeling alone in a life of never knowing her parents or who they were, had finally found them in the most unlikely of places in the most unlikely of circumstances. The people who she had once known as David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard – an amnesiac found near a toll bridge and a lovesick schoolteacher – were in actuality Prince Charming and Snow White…and her biological parents. Henry had been telling her the truth the entire time, and she was feeling like a total fool for not believing him while she was hugging her mother.
"She did it. She saved you." Henry said to his grandparents.
"She saved all of us." Snow emphasized.
Emma was completely overwhelmed. "I…well…"
"Uh, then why are we still here?" Grumpy questioned.
"That, my friend, is an excellent question." James remarked.
But Grumpy's question soon followed with more from his fellow dwarfs. What was the purple smoke that came into the town? Who did it and for what reason? Then the answer came in the form of Mother Superior, who was in actuality the Blue Fairy, walking up to the group and giving her answer: "Magic. It's here. I can feel it."
"Magic? In Storybrooke?" Henry said. "You're the Blue Fairy. Do something magical."
"It's not quite that simple, Henry." She clarified. "No wand, no fairy dust. Matters are complicated now."
It was then that the group heard a familiar sound – familiar to everyone except for Emma, who was hearing it for the first time. It sounded like a storm, which seemed impossible to Emma because the weather was so perfect that day. The strange noises continued to sound near the area until something materialized right in front of Granny's diner. To Henry and the fairy tale characters, it was called the TARDIS, owned by the alien being referred only as "The Doctor." To Emma, it was the same police box that she had seen in Jefferson's home only a few weeks ago, only it was now displaying mystifying powers that she had never witnessed before.
The sight of the TARDIS materializing in front of them brought an overwhelming sense of joy over Henry. "It's him! He's back!"
"The Doctor!" Snow exclaimed, feeling as overjoyed as her grandson.
Once the TARDIS was completely materialized, its right police box door flew open and a bewildered Doctor stepped out into the daylight. At first glance of the Doctor, Emma recognized him only as John Smith, the English teacher who worked in the same school as Mary Margaret. He was dressed the complete opposite of Smith, even wearing a bowtie, which Smith claimed "aren't cool." Yet she felt in the back of her mind that she had seen this character before.
The Doctor had been screaming into the heavens for someone named River. He was just about to return inside the TARDIS until Snow White approached enthusiastically and said, "Doctor!" The Time Lord turned to her as she cried out his name and hugged her, much to his surprise.
"Yes…um…wonderful seeing you as well." The Doctor stammered before he forced her off of him and added, "But I haven't the time for hugs, Miss…whoever you are. I have to find a friend of mine who disappeared from me. And, yes, this is a police box. No, it's not an ordinary police box. And, yes, it's bigger on the inside. Unfortunately, I can't…"
"You don't remember me?" Snow uttered, appearing very confused.
The Doctor took a long, hard look at her and the other people that approached from behind her. He gazed upon their faces, not recognizing a single one that was either smiling or frowning at him. "I'm sorry, but…I…I don't recall ever meeting any of you."
Hearing this, Emma whispered to Henry. "Is this the curse? It's still got a hold on him or something?"
Henry shook his head. "I don't know." He then slowly walked up to the Doctor and asked him, "You don't remember ever coming to Storybrooke?"
The Doctor's eyes moved away from the boy and towards his new surroundings. It seemed like an average town in Maine, not too far from where he was seconds ago. Even though he did not recall ever visiting the town before, he did remember its name, only because River told him. "This…is Storybrooke?"
His answer brought panic over everyone.
"Why doesn't he remember us or the town?" Bashful asked.
"Is he still cursed?" Sneezy inquired.
"What's happened to him?" Doc queried.
"John," Red spoke up, addressing him by the name he adopted when she last saw him in the other world, which was coincidentally his Storybrooke name. "John, what was the last thing you remembered?" It was important for her to know more than everyone else. "Do you remember us? Do you remember how we fell in love?"
Surprise filled into the eyes of the Doctor as he looked upon the dazzling young woman. "W-We were…in love?" He slightly adjusted his bowtie and asked, "Who are you again?" He saw her face register shock and sadness in reaction to his inquiry. It was a reaction that clarified how much truth was in the young lady's words, although he cannot remember any of it.
"This has the Queen's fingerprints all over it!" Grumpy furiously bellowed, and the other dwarfs collectively agreed with him. "She's behind the Doctor's memory loss and magic coming to the town."
Emma shook her head negatively. "No, that last part wasn't Regina."
Before anyone could have asked who Emma had in mind, a collection of angry shouts were heard from a distance, followed by rapid footsteps. All eyes turned in the direction of the noises to see an angry mob storming their way across town and Jiminy Cricket, once known as the town psychiatrist Archie Hopper, rushing up to the group. At the moment his eyes connected with the Doctor, a relieved smile appeared on his still-human face.
"Doctor. Thank goodness you're back." Jiminy said. "Hopefully you'll be able to talk some sense into them."
The Doctor looked to the mob, suddenly reminded of his recent excursion in another town called Mercy. Regardless of the fact that he knew none of those people, he felt that his past experience with "frightened people" could be put to use in this situation. "What's going on?"
"They're going to Regina's house." Jiminy informed. "They're gonna kill her."
"Great. Let's watch." Grumpy tranquilly said.
"NO!" The Doctor yelled, his voice carrying such a loud, brutal tone that most of everyone jumped from it. "There'll be no more killing while I'm here." He then somberly added, "There's been enough killing for one day."
"He's right." Henry said. "Please. She's still my mom."
"If the Blue Fairy's right and magic is here, Regina could have her powers back." James stated. "They could be marching into a slaughter."
The Doctor looked to be seething with rage. "Slaughters. Killings. I'm beginning to have enough of it all. Not anyone else is dying today!" Following this declaration, the Doctor chased after the angry mob. Even though his words and the anger behind them brought confusion among the others, they did not hesitate in going with him to deal with the situation.