Hi guys! Here comes the chapter 5! Hope you will like it.
My friend wrote the chapter and the editing was by me. I'll describe the parts I added more precisely at the A/N.
Disclamer: "OUAT" goes to Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis; "SM" goes to Naoko Takeuchi/Toei.
Love or Family? A dead love has risen.
Enchanted Forest, present day
Emma, Danielle, Rosalie, Aurora, and Mulan were walking back to the safe haven, talking about how they were going to tell everyone about Lancelot's death. But as they arrived at the camp, they got horrified by what they saw. They found out that everyone was dead, their hearts ripped out, obviously by Cora. Emma, as she watched around her in horror, she began to have flashes of everyone's deaths in the Celestial Kingdom. She dropped on her needs, and clutched her head in pain from the memories, while her hair was switching between blonde and silver.
"Emma…!" – Danielle put her hand on her friend's shoulders, joined by Rosalie.
"We need you with us, Emma…" – Rosalie was trying to calm Emma down.
Then, they heard a voice in the piles of bodies, and they saw a hand appearing out of it.
"Please… help…" – a man's voice said.
Emma, forgetting about her issues and sort of relieved that at least one person could be saved, quickly approached the young man and grabbed his hand, to help him get up. As Emma's and the man's eyes met, they like froze. They just gazed at each other a moment, without saying a word. Emma got a very odd feeling she could not name. Before either of them could say anything, Emma got pushed (a little bit harshly) on her side. It was Danielle, who quickly made the young man get up, and she said:
"Are you alright? It's okay, you are safe now…"
Emma glared at her friend not much in anger, but more in a 'What the hell?' manner. Danielle didn't even give her friend a second glance, and Emma then noticed that she was wearing the most angelic smile, which she had never seen on her face before. Aurora, Mulan and Rosalie approached on their turn. The man (who unknowingly to everyone was actually Captain Hook), looked at the women around him and mumbled with a sort of helpless tone:
"Thank you… thank you very much…"
Storybrooke
Lux and Athena were slowly walking in the mines. It was one of the places they had not visited yet, and they thought that perhaps, they could find something there, which would bring the three Guardians back.
"It has been days girls disappeared in the portal…" – Athena commented – "I wonder if we'll ever find a solution."
"Hey, we went through a lot. Sure thing, we'll solve this problem too." – Lux reassured his partner and a very close friend.
"Yeah, if only we knew what kind of dangers they're facing… Oh!" – Athena suddenly exclaimed – "Lux, look up!"
The black cat looked in the same direction, and saw something very sparkly. But he also felt a magical energy radiating from it. He then finally said:
"Athena… it's like our prays were heard… It's fairy dust!"
"Yes! We must tell others, right now!"
At those words, they rushed back up, to find and tell the others. The first person they saw was David and they both jumped on his shoulders, which made him gasp in surprise.
"David! Great news! Call your wife and the girls!" – Lux spoke first.
"There is fairy dust in the mines of Storybrooke!" – Athena exclaimed, her excitement apparent in her voice and eyes.
David took only seconds to process and he then exclaimed:
"That's great! Good job, cats!"
Minutes later, Mary Margaret, Cecilia, Emily and Alexandra got informed, and they could not prevent reactions of joy.
"The fairy dust has powerful magic, it could open a portal!" – Mary Margaret exclaimed with a smile, thrilled by the idea to see her daughter back soon.
"But the fairy dust alone cannot do so…" – David then remarked.
"True. But the good thing is that we still have the hat." – Emily said – "The fairy dust has enough power, to make it functional again."
"Good! We must inform the Blue Fairy, and the dwarves!" – Mary Margeret said, after what they all went search for them.
At that same moment, Regina was quietly sitting at the City Hall and looking at the photo of Danielle. It was the only one she ever possessed, but it was better than nothing at all. It was the only way Regina could see her daughter. Her thoughts got interrupted, as Dr Whale barged in.
"Send me back to my land!" – he demanded – "Send me back in my world, to my brother!"
"I suggest you watching at the list of lost family and friends." – Regina replied, without losing her calm.
"Your curse only brought the living." – Dr Whale stated.
"I'm sorry for your loss." – Regina said – "But I can't send anyone anywhere."
"You can't, or you don't want to?" – Dr Whale asked quite harshly.
"Dr Whale, may you leave my office? Now." – Regina said in her strict tone of a queen, after what Dr Whale had no other options than do as she demanded.
Enchanted Forest
Rumpelstiltskin was training Regina to take power, by using a black unicorn. It has been a couple of months that the young queen gave birth, and lost her baby. Regina was devastated by her little girl's death, and since she was at a better place now, Regina thought there was no problem if she learned some magic from the Dark One. After Regina immobilized the animal with a spell, she exclaimed in excitement:
"I did it!"
To that, the Dark One instructed:
"There's one little thing left to do. Take its heart."
Regina's face fell at those words and she said:
"Like how my mother did with Daniel?"
"That means you already know how it's done." – Rumplestiltskin stated.
Regina approached the unicorn, but after a moment of hesitation, she stepped back.
"I can't… The animal is innocent!"
"Nothing is innocent." – Rumplestiltskin said, after what he ripped out the unicorn's heart – "Now, it belongs to me. You see, once a heart is removed, it becomes an Enchanted Heart, which is stronger than a normal one. You are not hurting the animal, but you control it. Now, show me you can use that power. Kill it. Crush the heart."
Regina started to squeeze the heart in her hands but seeing the unicorn suffer, she shook her head with tears, unable to do it.
"I had so big expectations about you…" – Rumple commented.
"I did not give my agreement in killing unicorns..!" – Regina protested.
"Magic is power! As long as you don't have control over it, you won't ever learn anything. Do you want me teach you or not?"
"Yes, I do."
"So, you must tell yourself this: what's holding you back?"
Later that day, Regina approached Daniel's body lying in a glass casket. The body was under a freezing spell, to keep his body in perfect state, as he was still alive. Regina put a hand on the casket, dropping several tears, unable get over her lover's death.
Storybrooke
Regina was driving from the City Hall back home, her thoughts never leaving her daughter. She just hated the idea she could do nothing to bring her back and the fact she was probably facing a lot of difficulties made her sick. But suddenly the Mayor stopped her car, as soon as saw something she never believed would happen. Daniel, her lover who died years ago, was standing on the sidewalk corner!
"Daniel…?" – Regina said in disbelief.
She looked away for a moment and as she looked back, Daniel was gone.
Meanwhile, Alexandra was walking to the Diner, in order to meet up with Cecilia and Emily. She stopped her walk as she suddenly got attacked by a man. The girl screamed in surprise, and thinking that it was a demon, Alexandra grabbed her pen, shouting:
"Aqua Star Power!"
It took only seconds to transform into Sailor Aqua, and as soon she did, she started fighting.
"Heavenly River Shine!" – she yelled, blasting water from her hands.
But to her surprise, it did not much to the man. It was as if he possessed a higher strength and resistance than any normal human. The person got very mad for what Sailor Aqua did to him and he attacked the girl. Their fight didn't last for long, and Alex fell on the ground, suffering from multiple scratches on her arms, which were bleeding. As she was not in condition to resist, the person escaped. Alexandra mumbled, her face crisping in pain:
"Aquatic… Heal…"
Alex tried to heal herself, but the scratches were too painful and she eventually got to weak for that. The Sailor Guardian thought she may just die here, as a car stopped not far from her. She got relieved to see a very familiar person to exit that car.
"Mayor Mills…" – she whispered quietly.
Regina, who had noticed Alexandra in pain from the dashboard of her car, rushed to her.
"What happened..?!" – Regina asked, horrified by the wounds the girl had.
"There was a person… but… it was as if… not fully human…" – Alex tried to explain.
"What do you mean by 'not fully human'?"
"Well, he looks like one but… there's something… about him… a zombie-like person."
As she said that, Regina quickly helped her get in the car and driven in her mausoleum direction. When they reached the destination, Regina went out the car and rushed inside the mausoleum, in the room where she kept Daniel's body. Regina's suspicions got confirmed; Daniel was missing, his glass casket empty. After coming back to her senses, she quickly went to inform Emily and Cecilia about the situation, while Alexandra was brought at her home in order to tend of her wounds.
Enchanted Forest
Regina was in Rumplestiltskin's castle, where she came for her next lesson. After a moment, she asked him:
"Are you ready to begin?"
"Oh yes, I am. The question is if you are ready." – the Dark One replied.
"Yes, I am."
"Then, tell me what you are here for?"
"For power, for…" – Regina started.
"Stop wasting my time!" – Rumple shouted – "What do you want? Tell me."
"Can you teach me… to use magic to bring back the dead?" – Regina finally dared to ask.
"That's what it was all about?" – Rumple exclaimed, not without amusement – "The stable boy?"
"I want true happiness…"
"Well, search it elsewhere, dearie! Magic can do a lot, but not that. Dead is dead."
Regina looked up, clearly devastated. She hoped so much that she could be happy with Daniel again! Her eyes tearing a little, she said:
"Everything's lost then…"
"And I wasted my time for nothing." – Rumple added – "But cheating death is not even in my power."
As soon as he said that, behind them a voice said:
"I thought everything was in your power."
They turned around, to see a man standing there. Rumplestiltskin recognized Jefferson, who he requested to bring him something.
"I brought you what you wanted." – Jefferson said, as he gave him a crystal ball.
"And… what about the slippers?" – Rumplestiltskin asked.
"I could not get them. I heard it went to another world." – Jefferson explained.
"But that was exactly what I needed, in order to reach another world."
"Well… let's use my hat, we'll find something…"
"No, no, no. Your hat opens portals only to magic worlds. I need to go to a world without magic." – Rumple explained to his visitor.
"Why would you want that..?" – the man asked confused.
"That's my business."
Jefferson sighed and then asked:
"So, do you want the crystal ball or not?"
Rumplestiltskin, after a short moment of consideration, finally decided to take it anyway. After all, it was better than nothing. He said:
"Yes, I take it. Take as much gold as you find appropriate."
As he said that, Jefferson went to the spinning wheel, which the Dark One usually used to make gold, to take the precious metal. Rumple then turned in Regina's direction, and he said:
"And you can… leave. Our work is done."
"Is that all? You stop teaching me magic?" – Regina asked.
"As long as your head is filled with resurrection and as long as you'll live with your past, you won't be able to have a future." – Rumplestiltskin replied – "Teaching you is a waste of time."
After those words, Rumple left the room. Regina's sadness only grew and she lowered her head. Jefferson approached the young queen and, making her gasp in surprise, he told her:
"I'm sorry that I overheard your conversation, but I think you should search for help elsewhere."
"What would you know about that?" – Regina commented.
"I know a lot. My name's Jefferson, I travel and hear lot of things." – the man introduced himself – "And I know someone who can help you. He can bring dead back to life. He's a… how you would say, a wizard. I could deliver him to you."
Regina looked at him with some suspicion, before she finally asked:
"For which price?"
"As I said, I travel a lot, and during my journeys, I made enemies. So, I want a royal passport, to have free range in traveling the kingdom."
"How would I do it…?" – Regina asked a bit taken aback from his request.
"You're the queen. Aren't you?"
"Right, I am." – Regina said with a smile.
Sure thing, even though she actually was a queen, Regina still could not realize it completely, or feel like one yet. After a short moment of silence, Regina asked:
"That wizard… he really can bring someone back from dead?"
"Well… if he can't do this, so nobody can." – Jefferson said.
After that last exchange, he left the room. Regina stood here, her face brightening due to a huge smile, a smile of hope and excitement.
Enchanted Forest, present day
Rosalie and Mulan were pondering and chatting about the man they just rescued. Rosalie could not unnotice that her friends, Emma and Danielle, were obviously love struck about him. Even if they weren't sitting right next to him, the signs were too obvious. Every now and then, Rosalie could see either Emma or Danielle have a short smile as they looked at the guy and their eyes had some spark, which was rather unusual for girls with their personality. Rosalie could qualify their attitude as out of character. Where were gone the strong and independent girls she knew?
"I saw him around before. He's a black-smith. He arrived at our camp two months ago; he said he lost his left arm after an ogre attack." – Mulan explained about the man.
While listening to her, Rosalie looked at the young man with suspicion, and she said:
"Why would Cora let him live? Something is clearly wrong."
"Do you think he's lying?" – Mulan asked.
"What I think is that Cora already tricked us one. I don't want it to be repeated." – Rosalie stated.
Both ladies approached him, and gave him a glass of water. He thanked them for their gentleness, after what Rosalie asked:
"The island is filled with dead corpses… you're the only one alive left. How could you save yourself?"
"She… attacked during the night. As she started ripping hearts, I hid under the bodies of the already dead people… and I played dead. Thanks heavens the trick worked. That was I all could do to survive."
After he explained the story, Rosalie still didn't look convinced. Her Sailor Guardian experience permitted her to know people better. Mulan then spoke:
"We must go out of there. Cora could come back."
"She's right… we need to search another portal to return to Storybrooke." – Emma said.
"Yeah, our families and friends must be very worried about us." – Danielle added.
"I know the land well. I could be your guide." – Hook said suddenly said.
Emma and Danielle, who were clearly falling over heads for him, sat around him and Danielle asked with a hint of excitement:
"Really? You do?"
"Could you help us in our quest?" – Emma asked with a huge smile.
Rosalie crossed her arms, and shook her head slightly. No, she definitely didn't trust that guy. She had to make him tell everything he knew. But more to this, she was worried about her friends, who obviously were blinded by the man's charm.
Enchanted Forest
Regina and Jefferson were walking in the corridor of her castle, talking about the man Jefferson promised to bring.
"Where's that wizard? You promised to bring him to me." – Regina asked.
"We are going to meet him. But I warn you, be ready." – Jefferson replied.
"Ready about what..?" – the queen asked with slight worry – "Is he dangerous?"
Both of them stopped walking, and Jefferson explained:
"Not for us. But keep in mind that he never was in a world like ours. He's not used by our methods… our magic."
The man and the queen restarted their walk, while Regina stated:
"All I care about are his methods, and if it will do what I need."
They went outside, to a garden, where a man was waiting for them. Regina approached a little, asking:
"You are the wizard?"
Turning around in order to face her, the man answered:
"I prefer to be called "Doctor". But you can call however you want to."
"Alright… Doctor." – Regina said, respecting his preference, which seemingly pleased him – "Do you understand why you were brought here?"
"Of course." – the Doctor replied – "Now, show me the patient."
Regina brought both men to the room where Daniel's body was lying. The Doctor at it for a moment, after what he commented:
"Unbelievable… It's as if he died seconds ago."
"It's due to a freezing spell." – Regina explained – "Can you bring him back to life?"
"Let's see that." – he replied.
He then proceeded to examine Daniel, by making a small cut in the hand. He observed the blood a few moments, after what he said:
"His condition is ideal. Well… besides the fact he's dead."
"How much times have you done that, Doctor?" – Regina asked.
At her words, the Doctor turned in Jefferson's direction.
"You did not tell her..?" – he then turned back to Regina, stating – "The operation is experimental. The success is still to reach, but the given conditions, I'm optimistic."
"Optimistic? You are a charlatan..!" – Regina exclaimed, deceived to learn that the result was not guaranteed.
"Oh no, I'm not one of those." – the Doctor protested – "I was told that the most important part of the puzzle can be found in your world."
After a moment, Regina asked what he needs more, to which the Doctor replied he needed a heart. He explained:
"It's a fragile organ, I need a strong one. I looked for it in my world, which could survive the procedure, but none of those I used did. But I heard that in your world, there are hearts modified by magic. The hearts which became so powerful, that it shine."
"That's why you came here." – Regina said.
"It's necessary for my work. Now, tell me how those hearts work. How do you 'enchant' them?" – the Doctor asked.
Jefferson was the one to answer the question.
"Those who use dark magic, they just rip the heart from a living being, after what it continues to beat." – he explained.
"Hmm…" – the Doctor shook his head in interest, then he asked to Regina – "And you can do this?"
"No." – Queen Regina stated firmly.
"You assured me that the queen is a powerful witch." – the Doctor said to Jefferson.
"I don't use magic for evil." – Regina stated.
The Doctor was disappointed that he just wasted his time and seemed like he wanted to leave, but the young queen stopped him, saying him that he did not.
"I know where to get an enchanted heart." – she affirmed, pleasing the Doctor by what she just said.
Storybrooke
Regina, along with Emily and Cecilia, who were in their Sailor forms, arrived at the psychiatric ward of the hospital, where Dr Whale worked.
"Dr Whale..? Where are you?" – Regina asked, not seeing him anywhere.
They finally reached a room in a chaotic state. There, they discovered Dr Whale, lying on the floor. He was suffering, and the Sailor Guardians let a short scream escape, seeing that one of his arms has been savagely ripped away. Cecilia and Emily grabbed each other's hand, and exchanged a reassuring look. They had seen worse before. But still, the scene was still shocking. Regina knelt to the doctor, saying:
"Whale… I know you took Daniel's body and one of my hearts… Why?!"
Whale looked at Regina, then at the Guardians, who gave him the same questioning look, but it also had some pity for what happened to him. Before he could tell anything, Regina said, guessing the answer:
"Did you resurrect him…?"
"Yes…" – Dr Whale said weakly.
"He's… alive…?" – Regina asked, with a small smile of disbelief.
Emily and Cecilia looked at each other, their eyes going wide. Cecilia then murmured to her friend:
"How is that possible..? I thought laws of magic forbid it?"
"It does… I'm as confused as you are…" – Emily replied.
"Yes… I did resurrect him…" – Whale hissed in pain, confirming being responsible of the mess the girls were in – "But… he's not Daniel…"
The Sailor Guardians knelt a little to him and Regina frown her eyebrows, asking:
"What?"
"He's… a monster…"
Regina gasped, and the girls looked at each other with worry and even some terror.
Enchanted Forest
Regina led the Doctor and Jefferson to Cora's secret vault, located under the fireplace of their old house. That secret vault contained like dozens of enchanted hearts.
"Chose one of them." – Regina said neutrally.
"Wow… all of those are… hearts?" – the Doctor said impressed.
"My mother collected them." – Regina stated, clearly unpleased to talk or even think about this fact.
Jefferson, looking around, asked her:
"Who do it belong to?"
"I have no idea… She had taken so much… caused so much pain… that it's impossible to keep track." – Regina explained with sadness, remembering that Cora caused pain to her too, by killing Daniel – "She was a monster."
The Doctor finally chose an enchanted heart and inspected it a moment.
"Finally… after all this time… that's perfect."
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the walls of the vault began to close in. As the three of them started to panic, the men desperately tried to prevent the walls to close with their own strength. Regina asked to Jefferson:
"Can you use the hat?!"
"There's no enough room!" – he replied.
Regina then started to make gestures, trying to make them teleport out of there, with not much success. Jefferson and the Doctor then grabbed a statute and placed it between the two walls, making it stop. But the relief did not last long, as the ceiling started to go down.
"Your Majestyyyy…." – Jefferson begged in panic.
"I'm trying!" – Regina replied, repeating the gesture over and over.
As they thought they would get crushed between the floor and ceiling, Regina finally succeeded to teleport them in the living room.
"You did it!" – Jefferson exclaimed, as the Doctor looked around, under impression of how they just appeared in another place, by magic.
"Indeed, I did…" – Regina said with a small giggle.
"Where it is..? The heart, did you leave it?" – the Doctor then asked.
Regina then showed the box containing the heart, the three glad that she succeeded to teleport it with them.
Storybrooke
Outside of a hospital room, Regina watched as Dr. Whale was being tended to for his injuries. David arrived and demanded to know what was going on.
"What happened? I got a call that Dr Whale was attacked by someone."
"Ask to his doctors." – Regina replied.
"No, I'm asking you." – David insisted.
Even though Regina seemed to be… well, nicer than before, he still could not trust her completely, at least not yet. Regina sighed and explained:
"I arrived to speak to him, and I found him injured."
David gave her a not-so-convinced look, as interrogating himself if she was saying the whole truth. Cecilia and Emily, who were back from visiting Alex, approached them, giving a look in Whale's direction. Emily spoke:
"She says the truth. We were there too."
"Alex was got injured by the same person…" – Cecilia added – "But compared to Dr Whale's condition, she's very well okay."
David shook his head a little, after what he looked back at the former Evil Queen, asking:
"What did you want to talk with him about?"
"About a person from my past." – Regina said, and after a pause, she added – "I think that he's back. Daniel…"
"Isn't he the man you wanted to marry and your daughter's father? Snow White told me about what happened, and her mistake which led to his death."
"Yes, that's him." – Regina answered, her heart aching after David mentioned her daughter.
"But how would he be back, if he's dead?" – David asked.
"It's Whale…" – Cecilia answered – "He brought him back."
"Even though we have no idea of how he did it." – Emily added, shaking her head.
"I just know that he used something more powerful than magic." – Regina said – "Well, that's what Whale said. He just needed a heart, and he took one of mine."
"You have hearts here..?!" – David asked in shock.
"Yes, in my vault. Those are from our world."
"Whose heart did he take?!"
"I have no idea… I took so much of it that it's impossible to keep track…" – the mayor said, saddened by how she turned just like her mother – "I must go, I must help him!"
But David stopped her, asking:
"Where is he?! Did you see what he did to Whale? He even hurt one of our Guardians! He is dangerous!"
"Not for me!" – Regina protested – "I won't hurt anyone again David, I promise!"
"But he's right… go find him alone is not the best idea…" – Emily commented.
"So, tell us where he might be right now." – David kept insisting.
Sighing, Regina exposed her theory:
"I think… he must be acting similar to how you reacted as you came out of your coma, and he may have gone to the place he saw me for the last time."
David nodded, remembering more or less how he was back then. Indeed, the day Emma arrived at Storybrooke, he woke up his mind confused and that was then as he transformed into Tuxedo Mask, in order to help his daughter during her first fight. He had just followed his instinct to where he would see a person close to him. There was some divine magic involved in that, but still… the principle was the same. After he had helped Emma, he went to the last place he remembered he saw his true love, at the Toll Bridge. He then passed out, to be found and awaken by Mary Margaret, the true love he looked at the confusion of his mind.
"And where that place would be?" – Cecilia asked to the mayor.
"The stables." – she replied.
As soon as she said that, the three ladies went out the hospital, to go find Daniel. David wanted to go with them, but the two Guardians stopped him.
"No, we can deal with that." – Cecilia protested – "We have magic, you don't."
"It's not safe for you to go with us." – Emily added – "Don't worry, we will be okay."
David did not like the idea of them going alone, but understood there was no way he could argue with them. After all, they knew their job well.
Enchanted Forest, present day
Rosalie, along with Mulan, not believing the Hook's claims, was tying him to a tree.
"I told you, I'm merely a blacksmith!" – he said, desperately trying to make her believe him, with no success.
Rosalie whistled, in order to attract the ogres. She then added:
"If you don't want tell us who you truly are, you'll tell it to the ogres."
A moment later, they heard the roars of the ogres, indicating that they were approaching. The five ladies began walking away, as Rosalie dragged Emma and Danielle in the process. Both girls were hesitant about leaving him, but followed their friend anyway. Aurora then said, worried for the man's fate:
"But what if he's saying the truth..?"
"He's lying." – Rosalie replied with indifference.
A couple of seconds later, Hook finally gave up, and said:
"Fine! You basted me! Not much people succeeded I must say…"
As he said that, the women stopped and they walked back to the tree. Annoyed that she got tricked that easily, Emma asked:
"Who are you?"
"My name's Killian Jones." – the man replied – "But people prefer calling me by my prettier nickname, Hook."
"Hook..?" – Danielle asked in disbelief – "You mean… Captain Hook?"
"So… you've heard about me?" – Hook said with a very pleased smile.
Danielle then looked in his bag, and she got the confirmation. There indeed was a hook. She grabbed it, and shook her head slowly. Unbelievable! They almost trusted a pirate! She hated herself for letting him blind her so easily. But her thoughts got interrupted, as they heard other roars. Rosalie approached Hook, and said:
"They're close now. Hurry to tell us everything."
"Cora wanted me gain your trust and learn everything about Storybrooke." – Hook confessed – "She doesn't want any surprises once she arrives there."
"She cannot reach the town, I burned the portal." – Danielle stated, with a short smile.
"True, but the magic was not destroyed. She took the ashes and wants to use it to open a portal to your world." – the pirate explained.
They heard once more a roar, which made Captain Hook ask with a small begging tone:
"Now, if you could untie me…!"
"No!" – Mulan protested, pointing her sword – "We'll let him die here; to make him pay for those lives he took!"
Aurora, Emma and Danielle looked at each other, horrified by the idea of just letting a person die, by a painful death.
"Let's go." – Rosalie said to her friends.
As they started walking away again (even though Emma and Danielle still looked behind them in his direction), the pirate shouted:
"Wait! You need me alive!"
"Why so..?" – Rosalie asked, clearly annoyed by this whole situation.
"Because we want the same thing; return to your world."
"You would say anything to save yourself!" – Emma then protested – "You already lied to us, only minutes ago!"
"She's right. Why would we trust you now?" – Danielle asked.
"I had a deal with Cora, to travel in your world. But I offer you the same deal. I offer my help; if you agree drag me with you."
"How could you help us go back home?" – Emma asked, not fully believing he actually could do it.
"Ashes will open the portal. But it's not enough to find your world. There's a magical compass, which Cora looks for. I can help you get it first."
"So, Cora won't reach Storybrooke, and we'll be a step closer to our home…" – Danielle understood, and smiled slightly at the memory of Regina and the town.
"That's too good to be true." – Rosalie commented.
To that, Hook replied that there was only one way to find out. Another roar was heard, which made everyone nervous, not wanting to get caught by the ogres. They had to hurry solve that dilemma. Emma approached Hook a little more and asked:
"Tell us just one thing: why would you, Captain Hook, go to Storybrooke?"
The three Guardians, Mulan and Aurora looked at him intensely, expecting a convincing answer. It didn't take long for the pirate to answer:
"So I can get revenge on the man who took my hand. Rumplestiltskin."
As soon as he said so, the three Guardians looked at each other with nervousness. What were they supposed to do? If they let him die, Cora would reach Storybrooke and they would be stuck in the Enchanted Forest forever. But on the other hand, if they accept Hook's offer, they would permit him get his revenge on Mr Gold, who was Emily's father.
Storybrooke
Daniel was standing in the stables, and as soon as he saw Cecilia and Emily enter, he attacked them without thinking twice. The two girls did not have enough time to use their attack and protect themselves. Regina, seeing that they were getting injured, immediately begged:
"Daniel, stop…!"
Daniel then saw Regina and dashed for her, but Emily had enough time to push her out of the way and shut the stall close.
"The door won't resist too long… Can you use magic to calm him down?" – she asked.
"No, I won't use magic on Daniel!" – Regina protested.
So, Emily and Cecilia positioned themselves to prepare their attacks. Regina asked horrified:
"What are you doing?!"
"Regina, he's a monster!" – Cecilia shouted – "If you don't finish him, so we will!"
"No! I won't let you kill him!" – Regina yelled, tears forming in her eyes – "Give me a chance to speak to him! Please…"
Emily and Cecilia looked at each other and silently agreed to let Regina try. They had never seen the Mayor in that state before. They could not take the chance to speak to her deceased love away, even though he had turned into a monster. They looked at Regina and silently nodded.
Enchanted Forest
During a lightning storm, the Doctor installed a tent with everything necessary for the operation. He exited the tent, and asked to Regina:
"The heart, Your Majesty."
Without saying a word, Regina gave him the box which contained the heart. He opened the box, checking it, and he said:
"Thank you. Now, you two wait outside. I must do the surgery alone."
As the Doctor walked back to the tent, Regina asked to Jefferson:
"What he's doing here, magic?"
"He says he has something greater than magic." – Jefferson replied.
"Really…?" – Regina asked with surprise – "Why can we not see?"
"In his land, there are things we don't understand… or we can't… If he can't do what you need, so Rumplestiltskin was right, it's impossible."
Regina only nodded, her mind praying that the Doctor succeeds. In his tent, the Doctor was making the surgery on Daniel using the enchanted heart, and as he attracted a lightning, Regina and Jefferson gasped and grabbed each other's arms a short moment. After he finished, he exited the tent and walked to Jefferson and Regina. The young queen asked, with a hopeful smile:
"So…?"
"I'm sorry…" – he replied with a sigh – "I failed. The heart was not strong enough. It couldn't bear the surgery."
Grief-stricken, Regina walked in the tent, and rested her head on Daniel's chest.
Storybrooke
Regina opened the door of the stall, after what the Guardians were staying aside, after what she smiled happily seeing Daniel. They both approached each other, but suddenly the stable boy began to choke her. With difficulties to breathe, Regina whispered:
"Daniel… stop… it's me… I love you…"
Hearing that, Daniel sort of came back to his senses and he released Regina.
"Regina…" – he said quietly.
Seconds after, Daniel and Regina embraced.
"Daniel… I can't believe it's really you…" – Regina said with happiness.
But Daniel was obviously suffering, constantly feeling pain from the heart transplant, which worried Regina.
"Please… stop it… stop the pain… Let go of me…" – Daniel said, indicating that he actually wished to die.
"No… no, I can't lose you again… how can I live with you?" – Regina said, feeling tears picking her eyes.
"You still have our child…" – he said, still remembering that Regina was pregnant when he was killed – "You must move on… you have a part of me…"
Regina sobbed, thinking how different things could have been. Danielle will never see the man she named her after, and Daniel will never see her either. Suddenly, Regina took the only photo of her she had and showed it to Daniel.
"The girl in the photo… this is Danielle, our daughter…"
Slowly, Daniel took the photo and looked at the girl. He said:
"She… resembles you… but she has… my smile…"
Seeing his and Regina's child made him feel alive, more alive than he was from the moment Dr Whale brought him back from dead. He smiled back at the photo and gave it back to Regina:
"Tell her… I'll always watch over both of you…"
Regina gave a small smile and nodded. Right after that, Daniel reverted to his monstrous state. Before he could hurt Regina, use had no other choice than use her magic, immobilizing him. She looked at him for a moment and she then made him disappear. As soon as Daniel was gone, she cried heartbroken, and whispered:
"Goodbye, Daniel…"
Emily and Cecilia, who observed the whole scene, bowed their heads in silence, without saying word.
Enchanted Forest, present day
Hook was leading the ladies through the forest, Emma, Danielle and Rosalie were walking the most behind, so they could talk.
"Thanks to you, Rosalie…" – Emma said – "Without you, we would have been caught in Cora's trap."
"You're welcome." – Rosalie replied almost coldly – "Next time, avoid making goo-goo eyes to some 'hot' guy, especially if you're not sure about his intentions."
"I was not making goo-goo eyes..!" – Danielle and Emma said in unison, after what they glanced at each other during a moment.
"Anyway…" – Danielle added – "Don't you think he could lead us where Cora needs to?"
Rosalie nodded her head slowly, before she said:
"It's most likely a trap. But as long as we know they try to catch us…"
"… we are a step forward them." – Emma finished for her friend.
The group finally arrived to a giant cave. Hook explained to the ladies:
"On the other side of the cave, there is a beanstalk. And on the top of it, there is the enchanted compass, which is guarded by a giant."
"Why to go there across a cave?" – Emma asked suspiciously.
"Because it's the shorter way." – Hook replied – "Otherwise, it could take much longer, and it's in our interests to arrive at the top of the beanstalk as soon as possible."
Then, Captain Hook turned to her, and giving a seducing smile, added with a wink:
"Well, unless you want spent some more time with me…"
"She does not!" – Rosalie interjected harshly.
Danielle then made a step in Hook's direction and asked:
"So, it there anything in the cave we must deal with?"
"The cave is filled with spiders." – Hook replied, after what he entered it and Mulan and Aurora followed.
Hearing about spiders, Danielle's skin went pale and she shook slightly. She didn't seem she was about to make any step forward. Emma looked at her friend, never seeing her in this state, and said:
"Danielle… are you okay..?"
"Yes… well, no… he just said it's filled with… spiders…"
Emma and Rosalie exchanged a worried look, realizing that Danielle had arachnophobia. They never thought she would be scared of something like that, she always was a brave girl and nothing scared her. But after all, everybody had their weaknesses. But they could not just stay here; they had a too important goal to reach. Emma and Rosalie grabbed Danielle's arms, and the girl began kicking and screaming in fear.
"No…! I don't go! Didn't you hear?! The spiders! I'm not going!"
But her friends ignored her screams, only tightened their grip on her arms, as they finally entered the cave.
Enchanted Forest
Regina, dressed all in black, intruded on a training session Rumplestiltskin was having with a new apprentice.
"Who's that?" – Regina asked.
"It's your replacement, or course!" – Rumplestiltskin replied – "I need someone more dedicated."
"More dedicated, you say?" – Regina asked.
To prove her own dedication, she tore out the apprentice's heart and crushed it right before the Dark One, who looked very impressed and pleased by Regina's willingness.
Later that day, Jefferson, the Doctor and Rumplestiltskin reunited in the forest, to discuss about their deal, which regarded Regina.
"Are you satisfied with the results?" – the Doctor asked to the Dark One.
"She seemed completely heartbroken." – Rumple replied with a satisfied look.
"She was." – the Doctor confirmed – "She believed in my failure. If only you saw her tears…"
"I saw the results… impressive." – Rumple commented, exchanging with Jefferson a grin.
Jefferson then gave the box containing the enchanted heart to the Doctor, which he gained for his service.
"Thanks to your efforts, I created my own monster." – Rumplestiltskin referred to Regina, who now let herself turn evil – "Now, I hope you'll be able to create yours."
"I am not creating a monster." – the Doctor protested.
Rumplestiltskin wished him good luck, but the Doctor protested that he doesn't need luck, if the heart is as powerful as he was told. The Dark One pointed out that he still needed magic, because the heart is enchanted. The man did not agree with that, because he believes he needs his skills to overcome the limits of the magic. Rumple only mocked that idea, because whatever he's doing cannot be more powerful than magic.
"I place a wager." – Rumple said – "I suspect that someday, you'll realize that I'm right."
"I doubt that. So… can we go now?"
Jefferson took his hat and opened a portal to bring Victor home. Before the two men left, Rumplestiltskin said:
"Remember dearie! Whatever you do in your world, it also comes with a price!"
"We'll see that!" – the Doctor replied, as he and Jefferson jumped in the hat.
Storybrooke
Dr Whale stumbled into the pawnshop, carrying his severed arm in an ice cooler. He asked Mr Gold to reattach his torn arm.
"Why?" – Mr Gold asked.
"So I could use it again…?" – Dr Whale replied in annoyance, not seeing why he was asking something that had an obvious answer.
"I mean, why did you bring the stable boy back from dead? Why now?"
"I thought that… if I helped her, she would bring me to my world. I want to see my brother. I want to attempt to revive him."
"Again?" – Gold asked, remembering that it was exactly what Whale wanted years ago.
"The first attempt did not end well." – Dr Whale explained – "I must return home, and try once again."
"It seems like it's not in her power." – Mr Gold replied.
Coming back to the ripped arm question, Mr Gold said that there's the difference between 'he can' and 'he want to'. This made Dr Whale ask for his price.
"I just want you to admit it."
"Admit what?"
"You know it well. You came here, not at the hospital." – Mr Gold commented – "Say it."
"I need magic." – Dr Whale finally said.
"That was all I wanted to hear."
Satisfied by his admittance, Mr Gold reattached the arm to Dr Whale's body in one moment. Impressed by the efficacy, Dr Whale stared at his arm a moment. It worked well, as if it never was ripped off of his body.
"It was a pleasure to deal with you… Victor."
Land Without Color
Victor, after returning home to his world, entered his laboratory, where he was greeted by his assistant.
"Doctor… you're back. Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes. Look at this." – Victor said, showing his assistant the enchanted heart – "It's wonderful, isn't it? Let's begin."
Victor and his assistant activated all the machines, which were connected to a corpse. He attracted lightning from outside, repeating a similar operation he did with Daniel in the Enchanted Forest. As he finished, the hand of the body raised.
"It's alive…" – Victor said.
"You did it…" – the assistant said, impressed – "Victor, you did it..!"
"Yes, seems like I did…" – Victor said, after what he turned to the just brought back from dead person – "Welcome back, brother."
"It's magic, Dr Frankenstein..!" – the assistant said, still trying to process what did just happen.
"No, not magic." – Victor Frankenstein replied – "Science."
A/N: Not much changes in the EF part, but I added the little clue about how much time passed since Regina gave birth and what she felt about this. Also about how David remembered how he woke from his coma. I also described more clearly Emma and Danielle's attitude while they were lovestruck and after they calmed down. The part where Rosalie says that they should not make "goo-goo eyes" was by me too. And of course, when Hook insinued that Emma could want spend some more time with him was my personal idea too. :) And as usual, dialogues from TV show (and which are not too), the descriptions of the actions or the feelings, were edited/added by me as usual.