Time to Go pt 7
A portal opens up in the Enchanted Forest. Just on the outskirts of Snow White and Regina's old palace. Henry and August come out of the portal first, then Regina jumps out. It takes them a few minutes to regain their balance. "Where is the Dark One's vault, Mom?"
Regina rolls the Dark Faerie's wand back and forth on the palm of her hand. "Be careful, Regina. We don't need that breaking."
"It'd take more than simple rolling to break it. Now, let's see if this wand can do more than just open portals." She waves it above her head, concentrating hard on the Dark One's vault. Just as it seems she is gaining access to its location, she doubles over in pain and grips at her stomach. "It can't be."
"Mom?" Henry rushes to Regina's side. "What is it?"
The unbelievable just became a reality.
Emma walks Killian the ghostly monster she made him, over to a tree that is all too familiar to us. It's her tree, the one she and August came through. "Once you step inside here, you will be taken to the Enchanted Forest. I've orchestrated it that way. It's my way of returning to the real world." Killian does not talk, she made it so he can't. He has one purpose: to kill. "Whatever happens, you don't lay a finger on Henry. And August, I don't want Henry all alone. But since Regina won't do what I asked, he might. They don't know about a little secret. Storybrooke doesn't exist anymore. I destroyed it. Everyone is back in the Enchanted Forest and that's where they will stay. If they should try to get to my vault, I will need you to stop them from getting inside. You see, there's an old friend in there that I don't want anyone to disturb. I know you won't fail me, Killian." She waves her hand over the hole in the tree and it glows bright. Blinding white light. Killian crawls inside and instantly vanishes.
Mary-Margaret and David run over. "Emma!" They cry out.
Emma turns to them. "You want to go back to your precious world? Fine. But you aren't going to like it." She uses her dark power to throw them into the tree. They vanish like Killian.
There is darkness all around us. We see a sliver of light as Mary-Margaret lands inside a dark room with torches around her. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Could be a prison cell, but it is far too big. Could be her palace, but that's highly unlikely.
A voice very low, almost a whisper, speaks, but it's impossible to discover its identity: male or female. "It'll all be all right, Dearie."
David wakes up in his Enchanted Forest clothes, sitting against a rock. A face he did not expect to see greets him with a big smile. "Brother."
"James?"
James jumps down from above David and hugs him. "You must congratulate me on my wedding. When you decided not to marry Midas's daughter, he gave her to me. She is not my choice, but think about all the riches that await us. I can't wait until we go on our new adventure."
"James, you were killed."
"Time is a funny thing here. It seems the world has flipped and things that were, are not now. I don't put much thought into it anymore."
David stands, believing he is inside a dream. More like a nightmare. "Do you know Snow White?"
"Oh yes. Your beloved. Queen Regina tried to save her, but someone took the Dark Faerie wand from her palace and used it to take Snow White away. We do not know where. This is to be our next big adventure. I am excited. Regina wanted to go, but seeing as she is pregnant…"
"What?"
"Yes, she and Sir Robin are expecting a child. Those trolls really knocked you out hard this time."
"Trolls?" David rubbed the back of his head and felt a bump.
"Come. Let us away to the palace and Abigal will see to your wound. She is growing tired of patching you up. You should be more like me, let the guards take the heavy blows."
Killian wakes up on the deck of a ship. He rubs his eyes then gets to his feet. "No. No."
"Captain?" Smee says.
"Where are we, Mr. Smee?"
"On the Jolly Roger. Where you asked us to sail to… Neverland."
Killian walks over to the wheel. "Clever, Dark One."
"Captain, is everything all right? You look a little flustered."
"I'm fine. Remind me why we are in Neverland again."
Smee looks at Killian as if he asked the most absurd question. "You sure you're all right, Captain?"
"Answer me, Smee!"
"You said you need to kill the Dark One. You said you need time to figure out how to do so. You told us to sail for Neverland, where we will never grow old, until you discover the Dark One's weakness."
"And who is the Dark One? Rumpelstiltskin?"
"No, Captain. It's a woman. Swan, Emma Swan."
"Emma," Killian says, softly. "I see what you have planned for me now, Swan."
"Is there a problem, Captain? You still want to kill the Dark One, don't you? After all, she took your soul and made that horrible creature with it. It searches now for Queen Regina, who is with child. If you have changed your mind about killing the Dark One, then we should try to help our friend the Queen."
"No."
"So we are to kill the Dark One?"
"Aye. Carry on, Mr. Smee."
Regina paces back and forth in her palace, in the drawing room. Robin is unsettled too. "Why is it so terrible to be pregnant?"
"Because…"
"Because we are not officially married?"
"No. I'm telling you this is dark magic. I cannot get pregnant."
"What does dark magic have to do with it?"
She points to the wooden statue of August. "He defied the Dark One and look what happened to him."
"Pinocchio made a mistake in believing he had the love of the Dark One."
"And Captain Hook?"
"It is sad business what happened to Killian, but he will find a way to get out of that curse. He has sailed for Neverland. He knew you couldn't keep him protected here. Not when the Dark One is planning her next move. I must meet with Prince James today and his brother David. We must improve our defenses against the darkness. You could dabble in dark magic again."
"No. Never."
Killian and Smee meet up with Tinkerbell on Neverland. "What brings you back here?"
"Miss Bell, we need to talk to Pan."
"He isn't interested in your new Dark One nonsense."
Tinkerbell changes her size to that of a small faerie and flies off.
"Captain, something tells me this is a bad idea."
"Calm yourself, Smee."
Moments later, Peter Pan comes from the forest and actually startles Killian.
"Captain Hook, what can I do for you now?"
"This Dark One is different from Rumpelstiltskin. I need help in defeating her."
Pan laughed. "Is it because it's a woman and you love her, or is it because dear old Rumpel is still pulling the strings?"
"What?"
"Come now, Killian, you know as well as I do that Emma isn't the Dark One you have to worry about."
"Rumpelstiltskin is a coma, he is not the Dark One anymore."
"You so sure about that? I think perhaps it's time that you stop assuming you know anything about the Dark One. It's very old. A very old entity that is trying to get back what it lost."
"And what is that?"
Pan circled Killian and Smee a few times. "Why, it's purpose of course. It has lost its purpose and must find it. Emma is just a piece of the puzzle, the key. But Rumpelstiltskin is the one who is going to make it happen. If Regina's child is born and the flakes in that snowglobe glow a bright, sparkling white, then Emma's light is going to be sacrificed and she will become the weapon of Rumpelstiltskin. No more dagger, no more curse, but he will be the Darkness that feeds her."
Killian came face to face with Pan. "What must I do?"
"Find that snowglobe and make sure that it stays just the way it is now. Don't let the flakes ever change. I don't mind telling you that it won't be easy, because of what Emma has planned. Oh, it's very bad, worse than what I've done."
"I can handle it." Killian and Smee prepare to leave.
"Where are you going, Captain?"
"To my ship, to sail out of here and find that bloody snowglobe and make sure Regina doesn't give birth."
"But I didn't give you permission to leave. You have to do something for me first. Like old times."
"What?"
"Be advised, that whatever I ask you to do will actually happen. It will be part of the current timeline that you need to restore. Just in case you think there is some bizarre time travel that you're trapped in.'
"Tell me and let me be done with it."
The evil that Pan is shines through.
Killian walks over to Tinkerbell's little cave. "What happened?" she asks.
"Oh, he is the same demon he always was."
"Did he tell you what you need to know?"
"Aye, he did."
"I'm glad. You can be a hero, Hook."
He closes the gap between them. A sudden thrust of his hook, her face turns to pain and agony. "No. Not a hero, love." He pulls out her heart and crushes it. As the dust flies off his hand, Tinkerbell's body falls to the ground.
Pan comes up from behind him. "Bravo, Captain."
Killian holds the Dark Faerie's wand in his hand.
"That faerie shouldn't have brought the wand here. It was really bad form of her to do it. She needed to be punished, right Captain?"
"Aye. Now what?"
"Now you're free to go. Use the wand to create your portal to the Enchanted Forest and bring you, your ship and your crew there. Don't worry, it will work for you. I have put an enchantment upon it to ensure that you can use it."
Killian nods then leaves Pan.
Pan sheds his skin and Rumpelstiltskin shines through. "Now, Emma's light will be completely gone, and I will be free."