Chapter Eight Into the Deep
Ellie quickly patted herself, thinking about where she might have kept a picture of Henry. Of course, she couldn't simply whip out her phone and show it to Aurora…it was back in Storybrooke, charging next to her bed. She remembered her necklace, having an 'ah-ha' moment and opened it up, revealing the picture of Emma, Ellie, and Henry only a week after they had arrived in Storybrooke.
Storybrook, A week after the twins arrive
"Why are you taking so many pictures?" Henry asked his aunt as he and Emma watched Ellie as they walked along the shoreline. Ellie couldn't help it, she rarely got a chance to have a…vacation, I guess is the best way to put it. There always seemed to be something to do, whether it was a new play, private dance lessons, gallery opening, there was always something. It was nice to just enjoy the view before her without worrying about her phone going off every two minutes.
"Kid," Emma placed a hand on Henry's shoulder, "You just don't question it." Emma remarked as she then rubbed her hands together for warmth. Ellie rolled her eyes at her sister, finally removing the camera from her eye and grabbing Henry around the shoulders. She snapped a quick photo.
"Hey!" he cried, teasingly pushing his aunt away.
"C'mon, just one!" Emma snuck up behind her son, quickly wrapping her arms around his waist as Ellie took a picture. Ellie and Emma smirked at each other as Henry complained about it.
"Kid," she showed Henry the picture, "These are the moments you want to save. Because you never know when you're going to look back and wish you were back in that moment. That single moment when you didn't have a care in the world."
Enchanted Forest, Now
Ellie cleared her throat and showed Aurora the picture, avoiding the strange looks from her companions.
"The boy you saw in your dream, is that him?" She asked the princess, pointing to Henry.
"Yes," she answered with a nod, "That's Henry."
"That's impossible. It was a dream," she closed her locked and put it back around her neck, thankful once again for the familiar weight of it, "How could you dream of my nephew?"
"I have no idea." Aurora answered, shaking her head.
"Maybe it wasn't a dream." Mary Margaret inputted, making the three of them look to her.
"What?" Ellie questioned.
"The room…I've been there." Mary Margaret told her daughter. And it was a place she never wanted to return to again. That room…it caused too much pain, she wouldn't even wish for Regina to be cursed to that room.
"When I told you about it, you didn't say anything." Aurora remarked.
"You were terrified. I didn't wasn't to make it worse by telling you I thought it might be real." Mary Margaret answered.
"A room in a dream is real?" Mulan dubiously asked, looking between her companions. Honestly, if someone now told Ellie that monkeys flew and tornados took you to magical places then it certainly wouldn't surprise her.
"Apparently."
-OUAT-
"The sleeping curse. It has to be. I went through it, Aurora went through it…" Ellie sighed, realizing the trend.
"Henry's been through it because Emma and I wouldn't believe him."
"Ellie…"she put a hand on Ellie's shoulder, but she simply shrugged it off. It didn't matter what her mother would say, that guilt would always be there and she knew that the same guilt lied with Emma. Mary Margaret tried not to show the pain she felt when her daughter rejected her. Her daughter shouldn't feel guilty for her actions, she did was she was destined to do.
"What else did you lie about?" Aurora demanded the two of them.
"I was…I wasn't lying. I was protecting you." Mary Margaret insisted. Ellie really didn't see this as the most important thing right now. This was one of those problems that could certainly be pushed to the side and dealt with at a latter time.
"What else did Henry say to you? In the dream?" Ellie asked Aurora.
"He just said his name. He…and then, I woke up, and…it was over." Ellie sighed, kicking at the grass with her toe. Just her luck, whenever she seemed to be even remotely close to finding out something that could help her get home, she fell at least five feet behind.
"Ellie. It's going to be okay." Mary Margaret insisted. Ellie shook her head, gripping tighter onto her crossbow.
"We have reached past the point of okay and gone into 'we're so screwed'."
"No," Mary Margaret insisted, shaking her head, "We have a way home now."
"We have a compass," Ellie reminded her mother, gesturing to the bag that hung at her side, "and the wardrobe ashes are still with Cora."
"Any attempt to steal from her would be suicide." Mulan remarked, and Ellie pointed at Mulan, agreeing with the female warrior. Granted, she might have not been in this world long, but she at least caught onto that.
And she knew not to eat the blue berries with purple leaves….lets just say that was an embarrassing night.
"Not anymore. We can stop her."
"How?" Mulan asked.
"I don't know," Mary Margaret honestly answered, "But I know someone who does. Rumpelstiltskin." Ellie perked up, now understanding what her mother was getting at, "He'll know a way."
"Henry. We can talk to him. Now we can communicate."
"Wait, wait." Aurora protested but it was quite useless, they had a plan and they were sticking with it.
"Sorry Princess. You're going back to sleep."
-OUAT-
Ellie was getting rid of every shoe she had with heels. They served no damn purpose in a forest. No matter how cute they were, they were going away. Maybe she should start dressing more like Emma, practical and ready for anything. Ellie shivered at the thought, jeans and boots were cute every once in a while but all the time? No thank you.
"How close are we?" she asked as she pushed a branch aside, "Henry could be waiting in that Netherworld."
"No, we planned to meet back there in two hours." Aurora assured her…which didn't really assure her.
"You're not going to leave him waiting." Mary Margaret assured her daughter. Ellie angrily kicked at the ground, she was hating assurance (like heels in a forest) it served no damn purpose to her right now.
"Yeah, but what if he's-"
"He was fine." Aurora interrupted Ellie, making her sigh and readjust her crossbow on her back. Mary Margaret stopped and pointed to an area not far from the group.
"There. That looks like relatively safe high ground. We'll set up camp there. Aurora," she looked back at the princess, "you'll settle in and find Henry-get the information we need from Rumpelstiltskin. And we do this fast, in and out. It's still dangerous out here." Mary Margaret and Ellie went up the hill, going to set up the camp for their companions. Ellie glanced back, seeing Aurora and Mulan having, what looked to be, an angry conversation.
Ellie hoped it had nothing to do with the burns on Aurora's arm.
-OUAT-
Once Mary Margaret and Ellie had finished setting up camp, they made sure Aurora was comfortable. The three of them stood over the sleeping princess. Though Mulan seemed to be the one who was most concerned about her.
"Hey…" Ellie looked over at her mother, "It'll be okay. You'll see Henry and Emma again. This will work." Ellie wished she shared her mother's faith and hope. Having that would certainly be much more better than feeling like nothing was going to work all the time. A branch snapped somewhere, causing Mary Margaret and Ellie to perk up and look around.
"What was that?" Ellie asked as she slowly removed her crossbow from her back, "Should we wake Aurora?" She certainly didn't want to prevent any information to be lost between Henry and Aurora, but she also had a gut feeling that something was coming. Call it her 'superpower' but she was unfortunately right about when bad things were going to happen.
"You've got to be joking." Ellie breathed when she saw a…well, herd of zombies heading towards their camp. The mother and daughter shared a quick glance before readying their weapons. Mulan quickly knelt down and shook Aurora awake, saying her name over and over.
"Zombies, great." Ellie muttered as she fired at one, the arrow lodging in its neck. She quickly reloads her crossbow, firing one that was creeping up on Mary Margaret. The arrow went through its arm and got lodged in a tree, causing the creature to be stuck to the tree.
"Not bad…" Ellie muttered to herself, slightly impressed with her fighting skills.
"Ellie, watch out!" Mary Margaret yelled as she was fending off her own zombie. Ellie glanced over, right before she was tackled to the ground, causing the compass to roll out of her bag.
"The compass! Get the compass!" Ellie yelled as she pressed her crossbow against the zombie's face, barely keeping it from attacking her face. Another creature comes along and grabs it. Mary Margaret quickly notches an arrow and fires at the zombie with the compass, causing it to drop it. Ellie kneed the zombie that was on top of her, making it stumble back, and she grabbed the compass. She scrambled over to her mother, the two of them standing back to back.
"Any idea how to kill these things?"
"None!" Mary Margaret answered, "Mulan! Mulan?" They look around, only finding that both Mulan and Aurora are gone.
"Where is she?" Ellie asked as she fired at another zombie, causing it to fall to the ground. She was getting dangerously low on arrows.
"Ellie, we've got to run for it!" Mary Margaret grabbed her daughter by the arm, dragging her along as they flee the campsite. Once they were a hundred percent sure they were safe from the zombies, the two of them stop to catch their breath.
"You still in one piece?" she breathlessly asked her mother as she clutched her side.
"Yeah, pretty much." Mary Margaret answered as a rustle comes from the bushes. The two glance at each other before they ready their weapons but they both let out a sigh of relief when Mulan emerges.
"They took her. Aurora's gone."
-OUAT-
Ellie sat on a log, the three of them were trying to come up with a way to save Aurora , and if they weren't starting now. Then Ellie was most certainly going to let her feet rest for a few moments. Suddenly a crow flew down and landed on Mary Margaret's shoulder, making Mulan and Ellie (unfortunately jumping to her feet) draw their weapons.
"Wait." Mary Margaret holds up a hand, the crow caws and then flies off.
"What the hell was that?" Ellie asked, lowering her crossbow once the crow was gone.
"Cora," Mary Margaret answered, "We have until sundown to bring her the compass. If we don't, she'll kill Aurora." Mulan stepped forward, holding her hand out to Ellie.
"Give it to me." Ellie immediately takes a step back, this compass wasn't going to be given up without a fight, that was for damn sure.
"Hold on, Mulan. Just give us a minute to consider." Ellie said, holding up her own hand to keep Mulan back.
"There's nothing to consider. A compass is not worth Aurora's life." When she put it that way, it made Ellie feel even worse…she was starting to hate these do-good fairy tale characters.
"We need a plan to get back Aurora and keep the compass." Mary Margaret told Mulan, making Ellie point to her mother in agreement. That certainly sounded better than giving up the one thing that would allow them to go home.
"My vow to Phillip was to protect Aurora. That promise is all that is left of him, so it shall be done." Mulan attempts to grab Ellie's bag.
"I climbed a beanstalk for this, go get your own damn compass."
"Give it to me!" Mulan snapped.
"Mulan, Mulan," thank the Lord for her mother, the peace-keeper, "Give a few hours, please. If we haven't defeated Cora by then, you can have the compass."
"Say what!?" Ellie hissed at her mother.
"You can't hope to defeat her. We no longer have access to the Dark One's assistance."
"Yes we do." Mary Margaret answered, making the two of them look at her.
"We do?" Ellie asked with a frown on her face.
"How? Aurora's gone." Mulan asked.
"Aurora isn't the only one who's been under a sleeping curse," Ellie knew where this was going, "I can go back to that Netherworld."
"The door to that place is closed. You said it yourself." Mulan reminded her.
"There may be a way…A way for me to go back into a deep slumber. One that can let me access it again."
"Another sleeping curse? Because I don't know about you two but I know nothing about sleeping curses." Ellie commented, looking between her mother and Mulan.
"No, not another curse. I don't need one. I've been under already. I need to go into a sleep where my natural defenses slip away-where my mind stops protecting me." Mary Margaret explained.
"How?" Ellie and Mulan simultaneously asked and then looked at each other strangely.
"Your sleeping powder," she said, looking over at Mulan, "If I inhale it, I will fall into a deep enough sleep that I should be able to do this."
"I used the last of it on the giant."
"Anton." Ellie immediately corrected, though no one listened to her.
"Then make some more." Mary Margaret commanded.
"The poppy plant is extremely rare in this kingdom, but I know of a place that may grow some more. It's a bit of a journey from here." Mulan explained, gesturing to the path before them.
"Can we make it by sundown?" Mary Margaret asked and the female warrior nodded. Ellie sighed, more walking.
"We have to hurry." Great, not walking, running.
-OUAT-
"Once we crest this ridge, we'll be near the woods of the dead." Mulan explained.
"Of course it's named the woods of the dead." Ellie muttered as she and her mother walked behind Mulan.
"The last poppies in this realm have taken seed there." Mulan finished, and Ellie cast a glance over at her mother.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She held an arm out, stopping her mother.
"No, I know that look. Trust me, I've seen it far too many times on my own face," she pointed at her mother, "You're nervous. This Netherworld…how bad is it? What's it like?"
"It's like you're, um…lost, drifting in the dark. No one to talk to, nothing to do. Except think of all the people that you love, and how you'll never see them again."
"Henry was lost in that dark too because of me. Well…me and Em." Ellie remarked as she picked up a flower and its buds immediately closed, like it was going to sleep.
"I really need you to work." She thought and threw the flower aside.
"What are you talking about?" Mary Margaret demanded.
"He tried so hard to convince Emma and I we were the saviors." She explained
"Stop it. Nobody would've believed Henry's stories."
"But his aunt should have. His mother should have." Ellie insisted, sending a silent thanks to any great, powerful deity that was listening in on her plan.
"Okay," she looked over at her daughter, "You want to play the blame game? If I hadn't told Cora about Regina's true love, Cora never would've killed him. Regina wouldn't want revenge. The curse? Never would have happened. We could spend all day trying to figure out why each of us should feel guilty, but it will not help us get home."
"You really think we're going to make it back?" Ellie asked her mother.
"If there's one thing your father's taught me, it's not to give up. Now, it's time for me to go to sleep."
"No it's not," Ellie thought but aloud she said, "It's Regina."
"What?"
"Regina. That's who we should blame." Finally the group found a single poppy in the forest, Mulan and Ellie shared a glance, she was thankful she had the female warrior on her side in this plan.
"It's beautiful." Mary Margaret remarked. And then, she fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Damnit! That hurt!" Ellie complained, shaking her hand.
"I'll get started crushing the seeds." Mulan said, walking over to the flower.
"I'll take care of her." Ellie remarked with a sigh, kneeling down and picking her mother up.
Storybrooke, Now
"I still think I should be the one to go under." David remarked as Emma stood in front of the spinning wheel that Gold brought out.
"Trust me. I'm just doing my job," she looked down at Henry, "isn't this what the savior's supposed to do? Save people?"
Enchanted Forest, Now
"I've got her tied up, just in case she wakes up before I do." Ellie remarked as she sat down in front of Mulan. Mulan nodded as she continued to grind the poppy with her knife.
"The powder's nearly ready." Mulan assured her, making Ellie let out a sigh. She glanced at her hands, once again, praying that her plan would work.
"How long do you think it'll last?" Ellie asked the female warrior.
"It's difficult to say. Maybe an hour, or much less."
"Better me than her," she grabbed Mulan's arm, making her look at her, "If she does wake up before me, can you just explain to her that I couldn't let her go through it again?" Mulan nodded and brushed the poppy dust in her hand. Ellie let out a breath and covered Mulan's hands with her own.
"I'm doing this to save Aurora, to not send my mother back to the Netherworld, and to get back to my family." She thought and slowly removed her hands. Mulan opened hers, showing the now glowing poppy dust.
"Sweet dreams." She remarked before blowing it in her face.
Netherworld
Ellie let out a gasp as she sat up. She clutched her chest, and looked around where she was. Unfortunately, it wasn't the burning room but a dark room surrounded by mirrors. Ellie quickly scrambled to her feet, looking at all the different reflections until she paused…one of them was Emma.
"Em!" she yelled and ran towards that mirror. She pounded on it, causing Emma to look towards her, her eyes going wide, and then she ran over and began to pound, her lips mouthing Ellie's name.
"Where's Henry?" she asked, making Emma looked at her…confusion on her face, "Of course…we can only talk to each other in the burning room." She looked down at her hand, which was glowing with a fire. She smiled and put that on the mirror…though Emma looked slightly frightened at it. Ellie nodded, assuring her sister. Slowly, Emma placed her hand where Ellie's was and the glass exploded. Ellie quickly covered her face with her arms and soon felt the heat of the fire.
"Ellie!" Emma yelled. Ellie slowly removed her arms, seeing her sister standing there.
"Em!" she cries and runs over, hugging her tight.
"Oh, God I've missed you." Ellie muttered as tears went down her face, clutching her sister as close to her as she could.
"I've missed you so much Ell," Emma replied but then quickly pulled away, "I don't know how much time we have so I have to talk quickly. Gold told us a way to stop Cora."
"How?" Ellie asked.
"You have to go to the cell where David and Mary Margaret kept him. In there is a jar of ink that will stun her. It's how they captured Gold when Mary Margaret was pregnant with us."
"Em…why are you in here? Why isn't Henry here?" Emma didn't look at her sister.
"No…please Emma. Please tell me you didn't put yourself under the sleeping curse."
"Well, how did you get here then?" Emma countered, now making Ellie look down at the ground in shame.
"I may have punched Mary Margaret so she wouldn't come here…" she muttered, causing Emma to chuckle.
"So it looks like we're both finally doing our jobs as the savior." Emma commented, making her sister grin.
"So…time to wake up?" Ellie asked her sister, who gave her a nod. Ellie held out her hand and slowly Emma took it.
"See you soon sis." Emma said as she slowly disappeared from Ellie's sight.
"See you soon Em."
Enchanted Forest
Ellie gasped as someone grabbed her arms, to keep them from thrashing about.
"Ellie! It's me!" Mary Margaret said as Ellie slowly calmed down, gasping for air. She quickly took her leather jacket off, checking her arms for any injuries, thankful to find no burns.
"Guess leather jackets serve a purpose even in Netherworlds." Ellie remarked with a chuckle, showing Mary Margaret her unscathed arms. Mary Margaret picked up the jacket and showed her the burn marks on it, making Ellie shrug.
"Wasn't my favorite." She remarked as she grabbed her crossbow and placed it in her lap, looking anywhere but her mother's face.
"Why did you do that?" Mary Margaret calmly asked.
"Because…it's my job to protect people, isn't it?" she looked at her mother, "Isn't that what a savior is supposed to do?" Mary Margaret chuckled and hugged her daughter, "Besides Emma was there instead of Henry."
"What!?" Mary Margaret jerked back, looking at her daughter.
"She was doing it so Henry wouldn't have to. She had the same intentions I did. Which reminds me, I know how to stop Cora."
"How?"
"It's in Gold's cell. The one you and David trapped him in before the curse." She explained as she got to her feet, putting the jacket back on, then the satchel and her crossbow. She frowned when she realized how light her bag was and quickly checked it.
"No…" She looked around and kicked when she saw someone else was gone.
"What?" Mary Margaret asked as she got on her feet as well.
"The compass is gone. And so is Mulan."
-OUAT-
Tracking was, apparently, a very useful skill to have in this world. Because the two of them found Mulan in no time flat. So Mary Margaret notched an arrow and fired, it hit the tree, only an inch from her head. The mother and daughter appeared, both holding weapons pointed at Mulan.
"That was a warning shot. Try to run, and I promise the next one won't be."
"You should take her word on it, she just shot a squirrel for fun." Actually, Mary Margaret shot the squirrel so they could cover their tracks. Basically, it was just another reason Ellie didn't eat meat.
"How did you find me?"
"I know a thing or two about tracking." Mary Margaret answered.
"All we want is the compass."
"Very well." Mulan remarked and goes to draw her sword…which was just a bad idea because Mary Margaret wasn't in the best of moods. So Mary Margaret tackled her to the ground.
"Give me the compass." She demanded as Ellie came and stood behind her mother.
"What she said." She remarked, pointing to her mother.
"And seal Aurora's fate?"
"We learned how to overpower Cora. Once we get what we need, we will defeat her, and Aurora will be free." Mary Margaret answered, her arrow still aimed at the female warrior.
"Another journey-just as I predicted there would e. Our best chance to save Aurora, is to make that trade now."
"Uh, as a friendly reminder, without that compass, we can't go home." Ellie inputted, her crossbow also pointed at Mulan.
"Then I hope that you're both prepared to use those arrows." Mary Margret draws the string and Ellie's finger goes to the trigger.
"Stop!" Aurora's voice calls and then she appears. Ellie lowered her weapon.
"Okay," she points at the princess, "Don't take this the wrong way, but how the hell are you here?"
"Let Mulan go. I said, let her go!" Ellie pulled her mother off Mulan, and Aurora helped Mulan to her feet.
"Were you followed?" Mulan asked the princess.
"I…I don't think so. Cora may know I'm gone, but she didn't see me escape." Ellie frowned, that didn't make any sense.
"How did you escape?" Ellie asked her, shouldering her crossbow.
"It was Hook," Ellie rolled her eyes, "He let me go."
"He's got to have some sort of reason behind it." Ellie remarked.
"Because of you," Ellie snorted, "He said he wanted to prove to you, that you should've trusted him. That if you had trusted him you could've defeated Cora together. That the two of you could've gotten the remains of the wardrobe. Without him, you'll have to go up against her all by yourself. He only wants to help. I…I think he may care for you." Ellie rubbed at her eyes, feeling another headache come along. When she looked at Aurora, she would get a flash of Cora and Hook, standing in a cave somewhere.
"Yeah…well, I still don't like him." Ellie remarked, blinking a few times.
"Did you find a way to stop Cora?" Aurora asked.
"Yes." Ellie answered.
"Where are we going?" Aurora asked.
"Rumpelstiltskin's cell." Mary Margaret answered.
"Great. Then lead the way." Ellie cast a wary look at the princess. This situation reminded her too much of Lancelot and Cora. She'd have to keep a close eye on her.
"I'm coming home Em." Ellie thought as the group set off.