Chapter 4

Waters off the Enchanted Forest, about a year before the original dark curse

"Please!" the young blonde begged, "please give me more time! Just a little more time."

Ursula shook her head and clicked her tongue, her bright red lips turned up slightly in a mocking smile. "My dear sweet child," she said in a soft, menacing contralto, "you know that isn't gonna happen. We had an arrangement. I kept my end, but you…well, unfortunately you did not."

"But your price was too high!" the mermaid wailed, her sea-green tail swishing back and forth in agitation. "It's more than double what I make in a year!"

Ursula shook her head. "Well, hon, should have thought about that before you signed your life away, shouldn't you? Maybe next time you'll think before you sign on the dotted line….Oh, that's right! There won't be a next time, because now, you belong to me!"

The ditz wailed again. "You heartless witch!" she sobbed. She went on to call Ursula every name under the sun.

Ursula tried to tune her out. This part gave her a headache. The begging, the pleading, the crying! Ugh! Didn't anyone have any self-respect anymore? A witch she may be, but at least she wasn't a groveling beggar.

"You're nothing but a fat ugly evil octopus!"

Well, now that was just plain wrong. Evil was such a strong word. She'd heard plenty of tales of evil queens and wicked witches on land, and she hadn't done half the things they were accused of. Truth be told, she was practically a philanthropist! What did she do day in and day out but help people? Poor unfortunate souls with no one to turn to. They'd come to her, begging her to use her magic to get them out of their pathetic little predicaments. And would she help them? Yes indeed…for a price.

Oh there were those who disapproved of her "prices;" no surprise there. King Triton, for example had been cursed with a ridiculous sense of morality. He'd let her know in no uncertain terms that he expected her to help others out of the kindness of her heart, that extortion would not be tolerated in his kingdom. Extortion! The very notion! As if fair compensation for services rendered was extortion!

Well, Ursula had told him in a few well-placed (and rather choice) words just what he could do with his morality. If they'd been on land, she'd swear steam would have come out of his ears. For the love of Poseidon, the man's temper was ridiculous! He'd thrown her out of the kingdom and barred her from ever returning.

Ha! He'd thought it was a punishment. Joke was on him. Because of that rather infamous day, she was the proud owner of this sparkling mansion. She had everything her heart could desire, and, thanks to her little "garden," she had all the loyal servants she could ever want.

She thought fondly of the little plot of sea she'd fondly dubbed her "garden of souls." She'd planted her first one mere days after taking up residence in her mansion. The fool of a merman had come to her with a sickening tale of woe.

"Ursula, please!" he'd rasped, "I'm begging you! I know you're the sea witch. I know you can help me!"

"Just what is it you need help with?"

"The mermaid I love more than life itself chose someone else. She says she's going to marry him!"

Ursula shot him a bored look. "Sounds like tough luck, baby cakes."

"You're the most powerful witch in all the oceans!" he'd said, a hint of hysterics in his voice. "You can give me a potion that will make her fall in love with me again. True love this time."

It was only with the greatest difficulty that Ursula kept from rolling her eyes. Did no one know anything about the way magic worked? True love was something that came from within; something that no magic on land, in the sea, or anywhere else could manufacture.

He must have seen her skepticism, because he somehow ramped up the desperation in his voice another ten notches or so.

"You're my last hope! I'll do anything!"

He'd do anything? She liked the sound of that. Maybe she could come to some sort of arrangement with this pathetic excuse for a merman after all.

"Calm down, calm down," she said sympathetically, placing one rather flabby arm around the merman's shoulders. "I can help you. I just ask one teensy, tiny favor in return."

His face brightened with sudden hope. "Anything!"

Ursula thought of her mansion, still rather shabby. It had been in disrepair for decades before she'd come to live here. What she needed was a conversation piece. A show-stopping marvel to draw eyes and attention. She knew exactly what she needed!

"Triton's chandelier," she'd said simply.

The merman blanched. "T..t..triton's chandelier?" he'd asked in a strangled voice. "You want me to steal the very chandelier from the dining room of the palace itself?"

"Yep," Ursula said, "that's the one!"

"But….but" the merman stammered, "that's impossible! How could I possibly succeed in doing such a thing?"

She'd smirked. "I guess that's your problem, isn't it? Look toots, true love doesn't come cheap. You want your little doll's heart? Bring me the chandelier."

Resolve entered his eyes. Got him!

"You have a deal," he said firmly.

She'd whipped up a tidy little bottle of eau de infatuation, pulled out a contract, made him sign on the dotted line, and sent him on his merry way, cautioning him that he had one week. After that, she'd send her minions in after him.

A week later, there was no sign of the desperate little Romeo. She'd dragged his sorry merman tail back to her mansion, reminded him of their arrangement, and then shot him with a potent little bit of magic she'd just discovered. The man's soul, his free will, his ability to fight back against her was ripped from his body and planted itself in a little patch of silt. And there it remained till this day, like an ugly little shriveled plant with pleading eyes and a sorrowful expression.

The man was totally pliable after that. She owned him. Robbed of his ability to fight against her will, he became her first servant…the first of many.

But Ursula soon discovered that a slave wasn't all she got out of that little transaction. No, no, no. That wasn't nearly all! As soon as the man's soul separated from him, Ursula felt a rush of power wash over her. She'd thought she had magic before? It was nothing compared to what she had after trapping the merman! It was as though she fed off of his soul.

And from that moment on, she steadily added to her garden. With each new soul, each new servant, her power and abilities grew.

"I'll get it for you, I promise!" The high pitch of the blonde mermaid's pleading pulled Ursula from the past back to the situation at hand.

"Sorry, toots," she said growing tired of the pleading. "Time's up."

She raised her hand, shot her magic at the blonde…and nothing happened. What? She could do that spell in her sleep! Why hadn't it worked?

The mermaid sensed her tiny moment of opportunity, and began swimming away as fast as her fins could take her. Ursula concentrated with all her might. She cast the spell again, and this time it met it's mark.

The mermaid was brought slowly way too slowly! back into Ursula's presence. With great difficulty, the blonde's soul separated from her body and planted itself in the garden.

Fear settled over Ursula like a garment. What was going on here? That spell was normally instantaneous. Something was wrong. Very very wrong. If Ursula didn't know better, she'd say her magical abilities were starting to weaken.

"Bring me a drink," she demanded in a not-quite-steady voice to the now completely pliable blonde. "And after the evening I've had, you better make it a strong one!"

Storybrooke, present day

With a flourish, the Crocodile pulled the trident from his safe in the backroom of his pawn shop. Killian looked the item over with a critical eye. For an object as famed as King Triton's trident, it was disappointingly ordinary. The three prongs were filed to a fine point, but the metal surface was slightly burnished. Killian had expected pure gold. He'd thought the object would glow, exude magical properties.

"A bit ordinary for Triton's trident, wouldn't you say, Mate?" he asked, idly rubbing his thumb along the back of Emma's hand, which he held within his.

The Crocodile rolled his eyes. "Maybe, mate, that's because this isn't the trident."

"What?" Regina asked shrilly. Really, as foul a mood as the queen was in tonight, it was unwise of the Crocodile to trifle with her. "If that isn't the trident, where is it?"

He chuckled. "Where is the trident?" he asked. "If I had to guess I'd say firmly within King Triton's control."

"So," Emma said. Killian could fairly feel the annoyance rolling off of her, "what you're telling us is that the only way to get back to the Enchanted Forest is to use King Triton's trident, but King Triton's trident is with him…in the Enchanted Forest? Anybody else starting to lose confidence in this plan?"

The Crocodile shook his head mockingly. "Oh ye of little faith! It turns out, dearies, that using the actual trident was never my plan. I've never had the actual trident, more's the pity. It's the most magical item in all the realms. Had I come to possess it, do you think I would have bothered with a dark curse? No. I would have simply used the trident to take me directly to Bae, wherever that might have been . Unfortunately, there are some things it's not even in the Dark One's power to obtain."

He picked up the trident…or whatever the object they'd retrieved was, and slowly began to polish it.

"Just what is your plan, then, Crocodile?" Killian asked in irritation. He was in no mood to play this imp's games tonight.

"Patience, Pirate!" the Crocodile said with a sneer. "I was just about to get to that. Though I do not possess the actual trident, I do own this, a rather clever reproduction, imbued with nearly the same magic. I obtained it from a mermaid in payment for a debt. With any luck, our combined magic will be sufficient to activate it."

"It will be," Regina muttered. "It has to!"

"So what do we do?" Emma asked, releasing Killian's hand and stepping forward.

"Take hold of the trident," the Crocodile said in answer. "Concentrate, Regina, Mrs. Jones. Focus every ounce of your magical abilities onto its metal surface. Concentrate on the Enchanted Forest, on the portal we'll need to take us there."

Emma and Regina stepped forward and did as the Crocodile instructed. Killian watched his wife's face as he waited. Her eyes were closed, her brow furrowed in concentration. Every fiber of her being strained forward, willing a portal to open.

They waited for what felt like hours, as nothing happened. Finally, a weak jet of light shot from the trident's three prongs…and then quickly disappeared into the pawn shop's darkness.

Regina growled in frustration. "It didn't work! Why didn't it work?"

The Crocodile shrugged. "I warned you not to count on success. It was a long shot from the get go."

"So we just give up?" Regina asked angrily, her hands on her hips.

"No," Emma said with steely determination. "Something happened. We made sparks shoot from the trident. We need to try again; concentrate even harder this time."

"Might as well throw in the towel, dearie," the crocodile said with a grim smile. "With an item as weak and unpredictable as this, we would need about ten times our magical force to produce a portal strong enough to transport us to the other side of town."

Emma grasped the trident firmly once more. "Well, I'm not giving up. We owe it to Robin and Roland to give it at least one more try."

Regina latched on, her hands sitting just below Emma's.

"Knock yourselves out," the Crocodile said, leaning lazily against the wall, "but my contribution here is done."

"Rumple!" Belle said disapprovingly. "What harm will one more attempt do?"

He gave her an exasperated look, and then blew out a long, slow breath. "Alright. Another attempt coming up."

The Crocodile grasped the trident, and Killian waited, watching carefully. Nothing. He saw the disappointment in Regina's face, could feel Emma's disappointment. Wanting nothing but to comfort, he placed his hand gently on Emma's shoulder…and then gasped. Something as strong as an electric current passed through him to her and then on to the trident. For one bright shining moment, a tiny, swirly vortex opened up before them, and then it was gone.

The Crocodile looked flabbergasted. "And just how did you do that? Since when do you have magic?"

Belle gasped, and everyone looked to her. "He doesn't have magic," she said earnestly. "Not by himself at least."

She looked around at the group, apparently annoyed with their lack of understanding. "True love," she said with a sigh. "The most powerful magic in all the realms. Opening this portal will take more than Rumple's magic or Regina's magic or Emma's magic or even all of their magic combined. It will take true love magic!"

"But…" Killian said, stating the obvious. "Even that wasn't enough, love. The portal opened, but didn't remain so long enough for us to pass through."

"Well," Belle said with a small smile as she threaded her arm through the Crocodile's, "although I'm sure your love feels like the most consuming thing in the world right now, Killian, you and Emma are not the only ones who are truly in love. Maybe if Rumple and I lend our true love, we'll have a better result."

And they did. This time a full blown portal opened before them, but just as they prepared to jump, it vanished once again. Regina shrieked, kicking a display case in her frustration.

"I'd appreciate it if you refrained from destroying my merchandise, dearie," the Crocodile said with a sneer.

"I'm sorry," Regina said snidely, sounding anything but. "The man I love and his innocent little boy are in more danger every minute I don't go to their aid. Forgive me if I'm a little emotional."

"Well, we tried," the Crocodile said again. "Venting your wrath on my display cases will do nothing to change the fact that we failed."

"We haven't failed yet," Emma said with determination. "We need true love? I know where we can find whole buckets full of the stuff."

"Of course!" Belle said, clapping her hands together. "Their love is epic. It's what started it all!"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Surely you can't be talking about the unCharmings! Can't we do anything without them tagging along."

"Sorry, Regina," Emma said, grabbing Killian's hand and leading him to the doorway, "but it looks like my parents are your only hope of getting back to your true love."

"Fine," Regina said with a huff. "Alright. Lead on."

…..

Emma dropped her head and studied the road as they walked the short distance to her parents' flat.

"Something troubling you, love?" Killian asked, stooping down so he could look into her face.

She smiled up at him, squeezing his hand. Her husband could read her like a book. "Nothing much," she said with a shrug. "Just the usual. Once again we're preparing to fall through a portal to a distant land where some psycho villain is trying to kill us or take over the world…or kill us while taking over the world. Some honeymoon this will turn out to be!"

Killian laughed. "Fear not, lass," he said with a significant raise of one eyebrow, "I'm nothing if not resourceful. Regardless of what the blackguard may throw our way, I'll find a way to steal you away, even if it's merely for a day or two."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, grinning. "I'll hold you to that, pirate."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but then another thought occurred to Emma.

"Hey Gold," she asked, calling up to the man who led their procession.

"Yes, dearie?" he asked.

"So, say we get to the Enchanted Forest. What's our exit strategy? How are we going to manage to get back here when we've once again cleaned up that realm? I have no intention of being separated from Henry for the rest of my life."

Gold waved his hand with a flourish. "Nothing easier this time. When the portal opens and we jump through, the trident will come with us. When we're ready to come back, all we'll need to do is apply true love magic once again, and voila!"

"Well, at least that's one good thing, I guess," Emma said.

Still…these "defeating villains and saving the world" missions were always full to the brim with danger. There was no guaranteeing she…or any of the rest of them…would make it out of this alive. Best make preparations just in case.

Emma fished her cell phone out of her pocket with her free hand. Looking through her contacts, she found the number she was looking for, and pressed the button to dial.

"Hello?" she heard a moment later.

"Hey, Neal, it's Emma."

"Em?" she could hear the confusion in his voice. "Not that I'm not happy to hear from you and everything, but shouldn't you be otherwise occupied tonight?"

"I wish," she said, almost under her breath. "Unfortunately villains don't take honeymoons into consideration when they try to screw people over."

"Villains?" he asked. "Someone new threatening Storybrooke?"

"Not Storybrooke this time. The Enchanted Forest. Somebody's attacked the Merry Men. Your dad and Belle and me and Killian are going to go with Regina to deal with the threat. My parents may join us too."

"What do you need, Em?" he asked. "You want me to come along?"

She shook her head before remembering he couldn't see it over the phone. "Actually, I need you here, Neal. I hate to ask it, but can you stay with Henry until we get this taken care of and come back? I have no idea how long that might be."

"Come on Em," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "Henry's my son; you don't even need to ask. Don't worry; we'll be fine. Tink and I will keep him so occupied he won't even have time to miss you…or try to find his own way there to 'help' you."

"Thanks Neal. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he said. "So, you want me to get him up? You and Killian want to say goodbye to him?"

Emma swallowed down the lump in her throat. "No, no. Don't wake him up. Just…just tell him we love him, and we'll be back as soon as we can. Oh, and Regina says the same."

"Okay. I'll tell him first thing in the morning."

"Thanks," she said, preparing to hang up. Impulsively she added one last thing. "I'm glad we found you again. Henry's lucky to have you in his life."

"Not as lucky as I am to have him," he said. "However messed up our relationship might have been, we certainly did one thing right."

"That's for sure."

"Take care of yourself, Emma," he said. "Be careful."

"Always am."

Notes:

-So, in case you hadn't already figured it out from my strong hints in the notes section of the last chapter, Ursula is the second villain. She's starting to lose her magic, and by extension, her hold on her mansion full of slaves. Hmm…I have a feeling she's going to cause all manner of mischief and mayhem trying to find a way to remedy that little situation.

-In the current day section, the gang has discovered they need not only Gold's, Regina's and Emma's magic, but also the true love magic of all the major tlk couples on the show (except Outlaw Queen, because they're currently not even in the same realm). I realize, the show hasn't OFFICIALLY revealed Captain Swan to be TL, but come on! We all know how things stand with those two!

-Up next: Long long ago in the Enchanted Forest, Edward takes to the pirate's life like a duck to water. He's Hornigold's prize protégé. Hornigold teaches Edward that as piracy goes, having a fearsome reputation is everything…but sometimes using your wits is better than using your sword. In the present day section, the gang descends on the Charmings and asks for their help. Will Snow White and Prince Charming's true love be enough to open a strong enough portal to get everyone to the Enchanted Forest? If so, what will they find when they get there?