Chapter 43: Saving the Town
"What do you mean, 'Henry's missing'?" Regina shrieked.
"Everyone is here but him!" Emma said loudly. "What are we going to do?"
"First of all, you need to control yourself Emma. Second of all, we need to figure out what the hell happened." Regina said trying to remain calm herself.
"We all passed out after we drank whatever was in our glasses." Snow said as she and Charming joined the circle.
Mandy pushed passed everyone to make an announcement. "Did anyone see anything weird before they passed out?"
No one answered right away. "Henry is missing so whatever you can think of, please tell us now." Mandy said.
Archie spoke up. "I think I remember seeing Neal's fiancé and that stranger, Greg something…"
"Are you sure you saw Tamara?" Neal asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe Tamara would do something like that.
"I'm pretty sure it was her." Archie replied.
"I knew she was bad news!" Emma mumbled.
"What would they want with Henry?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know but we need to find them." Regina said.
"But they left hours ago. Who knows where they went." David said. "They can all leave Storybrooke without suffering consequences."
"Is everyone willing to help in search for Henry?" Mandy asked everyone. They all nodded. "Great! Okay I'm going to need…" Her speech was interrupted when the ground began to shake.
"What's going on?" Snow asked trying to keep her balance.
"An earthquake?" Neal suggested.
"No, they found the trigger." Regina said with a worried look on her face.
"What the hell is 'the trigger'?" Emma asked. "You make it sound so ominous."
"It will destroy Storybrooke and everyone not born of this world." Regina informed them.
"But that's everyone…" Mandy said.
"There has to be a way to stop it." David said.
Regina shook her head. "I can try to slow it down but its destruction is inevitable."
"We need a portal!" Snow said.
"The giant!" Cora said.
"What are you talking about Cora? What giant?" Daniel asked.
"I brought a giant with me from our world. I made him start growing magic beans. A few should be ready." She said with a smile.
"Mother, go check them and get as many beans as you can." Regina instructed before addressing the others. "We need to get to Gold!"
Without another word, they were off to Gold's shop. Regina changed out of her dress of course, but she was the only one to even think about changing. Everyone else went in search of Tamara, Greg and Henry.
They quickly walked into Gold's shop screaming his name. He and Belle emerged from the back; they had recently made up.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"The trigger was activated, is there anyone to stop it?" Emma asked quickly.
"No. I'm sure Regina has already told you that." He responded.
"Well Henry has been kidnapped by Greg and Tamara and we think they might take him to a different world." Mandy chimed in.
"When did we come to that conclusion?" David asked her.
"Well that's what I think." Mandy said before turning back to Gold. "Is there any way that would be possible?"
"Not without a portal." He replied.
Cora came into the shop moments later. "They took the magic beans that were ready and burnt the rest."
"Great! Just fucking great!" Emma said throwing her hands in the air.
"Watch your language, Emma, there's child present." Snow reprimanded.
Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she's heard worse…"
"There is another way a portal can be made…" Gold said leaning on the counter.
"Well, are you going to tell us?" Regina asked a little aggravated.
Gold ignored Regina's attitude. "Emma and Miranda. They have the power to create a portal together."
Emma and Mandy looked at each other." We do?" They asked in unison.
"You two don't realize how powerful you two are together, do you?" Cora asked eyeing the two.
"Would they be powerful enough to stop the trigger?" David asked.
"There's only one way to find out…" Gold replied.
They all rushed to the mines looking for the trigger. It was in the middle of the mines glowing a bright purple color.
"I'm assuming that's it." Emma said looking at the glowing diamond in the center of the mine.
"No, it's the rock beside your foot." Mandy said sarcastically. "Of course that's the trigger!"
Gold pushed them both forward. "We don't have all day!"
They both stood on either side of the diamond. "I don't know what to." Emma protested.
"Neither do I." Mandy admitted.
"I need you both to concentrate on destroying the trigger." Regina coached. "Focus on the people you love and who you are doing this for."
Miranda listened to her mother intently. She held out her hands and closed her eyes tightly, letting the magic go to work. A light blue color shot out of her hands surrounding the diamond and her hands began shaking at how much energy she was giving. Emma looked at her in awe. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Emma, you can't let her do all the work!" Regina snapped.
Emma realized she had to do magic that very moment, even if she had no idea what to do. She reached out her hands and shut her eyes just as Miranda did moments ago. Her hands also began shaking and a bright yellow light emerged. Yellow and blue magic circled the trigger before combining in the middle over top of it.
"Is it working?" Snow whispered.
"Hopefully." Was all Regina said as she watched the Savior and Falling Star at work.
Emma and Mandy were looking into each other's eyes which seemed to create a very powerful feeling between them. Wide smiles spread across their faces. A bright light emanated from the trigger, almost blinding them. The trigger exploded, sending everyone flying through the air.
Belle was the first to recover from the blast. She picked up the now black diamond and held it in her hand. "I think it worked!"
Daniel was busy helping his daughter and wife up and checking them for injuries while the Charmings did the same. "Are you sure?" He asked.
"It most certainly worked." Gold said inspecting the diamond.
"Okay, we got 1 thing taken care of..." Mandy said. "Now we have to find Henry." Emma said finishing her thought.
"Where do you think they've taken him?" Snow asked.
"The trigger was a distraction. They have to be somewhere in town about to activate a portal to god knows where." Regina said.
Jake ran into the mines searching for them. "There you are!"
"Jake!" Mandy exclaimed and ran over to him giving him a big hug. "What's going on?"
"Storybrooke is back to normal." He said. "We also located Henry and his captors. They are heading to the docks."
"Why hasn't anyone stopped them?" Neal asked.
"They have weapons, and none of us have magic. We didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt." He said trying to explain their reasoning behind their decision to not intervene.
"We need to go now!" David exclaimed pulling Emma and Snow, with everyone else following.
They rounded the corner of the docks and saw Henry, Tamara and Greg at the other end. They began running as fast as they could to stop them but they jump into the portal disappearing from their view.
"Henry!" Emma screamed. David had to hold her back or she would've tried jumping in the portal after him.
"We need to get to them!" Neal exclaimed.
"Emma and Mandy need to make the portal." Snow pointed out.
"But we don't know where they went." Regina argued.
"I can help with that." Gold produced a magic globe that could locate where a person was.
"How's that gonna help?" Jake asked.
Gold ignored him and pricked his finger, dropping blood on the globe. It began to swirl and spin. It then revealed the location of Henry and his captors.
"Where's that?" Daniel asked.
"Neverland." Hook answered as he walked up behind the group. "I'd recognize that place anywhere."
Mandy smiled. She wanted desperately to go back to Neverland and now she had her chance.
"Why are you smiling?" Jake asked.
"I love Neverland." Mandy answered.
"I don't think it will be the same Neverland we spent many years in, love." Hook said patting her on the shoulder.
"What are you doing here, Hook?" David asked angrily.
"Cora told me of your little predicament. I've come to offer my ship to your services." He said nicely.
"Let's not waste any more time then!" Regina exclaimed.
Gold blocked the entrance to the ship. "We all can't go on this journey. A few of you need to stay behind."
"And how are we going to decide that?" Neal asked.
"Well it's my ship so I'm going." Hook said moving Gold out of the way to board his ship.
"Henry's my son so I'm definitely going." Emma said also moving Gold out of the way to board the ship.
"Me too." Neal added.
"He's my son too." Regina said. "I'm not staying behind."
"Alright, alright!" Gold said putting his hands up to silence everyone. "These are the people who are going: Hook, Regina, Emma, Bae, Miranda, Snow, David, and myself. This is not up for debate."
Snow, David, and Neal climbed aboard the ship.
"I am coming Rumple!" Cora said furiously.
"No, we need someone with magic here. Just in case other people like Greg and Tamara try to find our town." Gold argued. "I need you to perform this cloaking spell." He handed Cora a piece of paper. Cora reluctantly agreed and grabbed the paper from his hand.
"I don't like my mother and husband alone in the same town." Regina said.
"And I don't want my daughter going." Daniel argued.
"Miranda has to go." Gold informed him. "She and Emma have to work together."
"I don't like this Regina." Daniel said putting is hands on her waist.
She looked up into his eyes and placed her hands on the side of his face. "Neither do I, darling but I promise you I will take care of her."
"I know you will." He kissed her lips. "Please be safe." He turned to his daughter. "Both of you."
Mandy let go of Jake's hand and went to hug her father. "We will daddy." He scooped her up into his arms and whispered in her ear, "Make sure your mother behaves herself. You know how little patience she has."
"I heard that." Regina said crossing her arms.
"I'll try my best but you know how she is." She whispered back.
Regina glared at them. "That's enough you two."
Daniel kissed Mandy's cheek before setting her back down. She ran over to Jake to say goodbye to him.
Belle and Gold had a heartfelt goodbye just as Regina and Daniel did. Regina also told her mother not to harm Daniel no matter what and to behave herself. This would be her chance to prove to Regina and everyone in town that she has changed. Gold instructed Belle and Cora to work together.
Gold boarded the ship followed by Regina. "Come on, Miranda. We have to go." She called from the boat.
Mandy kissed Jake one last time before running to board the ship.
"Come on, kid. We have to make the portal." Emma called.
They held each other's hands and looked intently into each other's eyes. They created a ball of energy unlike any of them has ever seen. They threw it into the lake and the water began creating a whirlpool. Hook began sailing the ship towards it until they were swallowed by the portal.
Jake, Belle, Cora and Daniel watched as the ship sailed away and disappeared.
"Let's go." Cora demanded.
"Where are we going?" Jake asked.
"We are going to shield this town from unwelcomed visitors." She replied as she kept walking. "I'm going to need your help…all of you."
"We don't have magic; how are we supposed to help?" Belle asked trying to keep up with the older woman.
"This is not an easy spell to cast over such a large place, especially an entire town. It's going to take more than my own blood." Cora replied.
"Whoa, hold up!" Jake said stepping in front of Cora to stop her from walking. "Who said anything about blood."
"I did." Cora said firmly. "Pay attention."
"Yes, but why is there blood needed?" Daniel asked.
Cora rolled her eyes. "I know what I'm doing. I know you all don't trust me but you don't really have another option."
Belle nodded." Very well. Could you tell us what we need to do?"
Cora began explaining what they would need to enact the spell. "We are going back to Gold's shop so we can make the potion. We need a drop of blood from the spell caster, that's me. Another one from a child, innocent of heart."
"I'm assuming I'm the child?" Jake asked.
She nodded. "We need Belle's because she's pure of heart and Daniel's because he's broken hearted."
"No I'm not." He protested.
"Technically you are. I literately crushed your heart…and now that your family has left, you're broken hearted." Cora argued. "Just go with it, alright."
Daniel sighed. "Fine. Lead the way."
Cora was in Gold's shop mixing the ingredients together for the spell when Daniel interrupted. "Why can't you just throw your hands out and do the spell?"
Cora pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "I knew I killed you for a reason. You were very annoying."
"Cora, we are just trying to understand this whole thing. It's hard for all of us." Belle said trying to ease the tension between her and Daniel.
"As I said before, this is a very tricky spell. It needs to be done by hand, the old fashioned way." She responded as she turned back to her mixing bowl.
"Is it almost ready?" Jake whined.
"Oh my god. Do you three ever stop complaining?!" She exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air. "Come here, boy." She said to Jake.
He walked over to her and she grabbed his hand. She pricked his finger, letting a drop of his blood fall onto the ingredients in the bowl. She did the same to Daniel and Belle before shooing them out of the room. She added one final drop of her blood to the potion and blew on it, creating a liquid within the bowl. She gathered it in a vile and emerged from the back room.
"Finally!" Jake said. "Took you long enough."
Cora rolled her eyes. "We need to get to the town line. Do either of you drive?" She looked from Daniel to Belle. They both shook their heads no.
"I can drive." Jake piped up.
"I can't believe this boy can drive and not one of us can." Cora said in disbelief as she walked out the door.
They were walking to Jake's house to pick up his car when they ran into a bunch of townspeople who were demanding answers.
Cora put her hands up to silence them. "That's enough!" She said firmly.
"Rumple, Regina, the Charmings and company had gone to another land to fetch Henry back from his captors leaving us four in charge." Cora yelled to the crowd.
"Why did they leave you four in charge?" Grumpy asked bitterly. "You're nothing but a witch."
Cora glared at him. "A witch who can easily kill you if you over step your boundaries."
Belle stepped in front of Cora. "There will be no need to go around killing people, Cora." She turned back to the crowd. "Cora is the only one with magic, other than the Blue Fairy and we need to shield this town from everyone."
"We don't want more people like Greg and Tamara finding us." Jake said. "We are going to work together to ensure that we keep this town safe. Please try to bear with us for the time being and we will try to keep you all informed as best we can." Daniel patted the boy on the back and smiled.
"I don't like you four in charge." Grumpy said.
"What if we have the Blue Fairy join them on decision making?" Archie suggested. "Would that make everyone feel better?"
Everyone mumbled and nodded their agreements. Cora rolled her eyes. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." This made Jake chuckle.
"Then it's settled. Blue will join the four and you should hold town meeting every day to update the town on what's going on." Archie announced.
"Whatever!" Cora said aggravated. "I need to get this to the town line right now, so get out of my way!"
"What's in that bottle?" Grumpy asked.
Cora turned around angrily. "It will save your ass from people who will dissect you…but I'm debating on handing you over to them willingly."
Blue grabbed the vile from Cora's hand and looked it over. "There's nothing dark about this potion. It will do as she says."
Cora grabbed it back from her. "Thank you ever so much flutterfuck." She said sarcastically before pushing through the crowd.
Jake grinned. "I like her."
Daniel rolled his eyes and pushed Jake in front of him. "Let's go."
Belle followed them as did Blue.
Daniel was walking beside Jake. "Mandy told me you were a Prince but don't like to talk about it much because you don't think you would be good at it."
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "Yea, well I don't think ruling is in my future."
"But what you did back there was what a true Prince would've done; made sure his people were safe and secure." Daniel patted him on the back. "Mandy would've been very proud of you."
"Ya think?" He asked unsure.
"Positive. If you act like that more often, I don't think I'll mind you dating my daughter." Daniel said smiling.
"…Thanks…I think."
When they got to Jake's house, he drove them all to the town line. Cora instructed the three to link hands in front of the town line. Blue couldn't help with this part because she wasn't involved with the creation of the potion.
Cora then poured the liquid across the town line and linked her own hands with the three other. They closed their eyes and Cora said the enchantment. A bright light spread out all over the town, shielding it from outsiders. "It's done."
Okay, so it's just a quick update. Next chapter will be about the group on the ship. Since Peter is already dead and he wasn't the bad guy like he is on the real show, there's going to be a new villain who wants Henry. Let me know what you think so far…