OK, so we know our Witch, now how do we stop her, and how do the newcomers play into this thing?
Due to that they now knew who the Wicked Witch was everyone knew they could not push up Neal's funeral until they had dealt with her. Already the next day they gathered at the cemetery to see his coffin being lowered into the ground. There had been talk about leaving someone behind to guard Ella, who was still in a coma, but seeing Chris' conflicted face they had all decided to come. Whale had promised to alert them if something happened at the hospital, and just in case some of the fairies – who in Storybrooke had the shape of nuns – were also present. Filipi was not really sure what they would be able to do if the Wicked Witch actually showed up there, but it was as good as it could get.
There were not many of them at the cemetery and thus most of the faces surrounding the newly dug grave were familiar. There was Belle, Ruby and Granny, Robin and Regina, David and Mary Margaret, Hook and Emma, but then there were a few that Filipi did not recognize. One was a blonde woman with her hair tied up in a bun on top of her head, a brunette dressed in the blue coat of a nun (meaning she was truly a fairy) and a teenage boy, whom Emma held a protective arm around. This, at least, provided some clue to who he was; Emma's son, Henry. Filipi had heard his story from some of the others; that Emma had given him up as a newborn and he had been adopted by Regina, only to discover the truth about Storybrooke and track down Emma to break the curse. In the end, however, he had had to give up his memories of this town and his life here to save the other residents from a curse, which was why he did not seem to properly understand who it was that was being buried. Emma had told him that it was his father, yes, but the fact that Henry had actually met him before he did not remember. It made Filipi sad.
The coffin touched the ground of the grave with a low thud and Hook stepped forward, his hook replaced by a wooden, gloved prosthetic as to not scare Henry and his face still the colour of ash, as Maryse and Arianne had seen it when he had received the news of Neal's death. They must have been good friends in the past. With his healthy hand Hook grabbed a shovel, dug into the pile of dirt next to the grave, held it out over the coffin, hesitated, swallowed down some tears he did not want to shed in public, and then dumped the dirt onto the dark-brown lid.
David and Mary Margaret stepped forward next, with David tossing the dirt into the grave as Mary Margaret was weeping uncontrollably. Regina followed, her face composed but her eyes sad; she might not have been a close friend of Neal's, but he was the father of her adoptive son. Without him Henry would not have existed.
Belle's face was a grimace of pain as she walked forward, dumping the dirt from the shovel into the grave before sticking said shovel into the ground, as hard as she could manage, in order to stop the pain she was feeling.
Chris was next, representing all of them since they believed he had somehow known Neal, just like Rachel somehow knew David. Just like Hook's face Chris' was ashen grey as he dug up a chunk of dirt and tossed it into the hole. He stood still for a few moments before returning to the others. Indira placed her arm around him, tears falling freely from her eyes, but somehow she still seemed calm. Filipi did not understand how she could do that.
Emma and Henry shared a glance, with Emma giving her son a slight smile before he walked up to his father's grave and tossed a small amount of dirt into it. He then handed the shovel directly to his mother. Emma stood still for a while, looking down at the coffin, shovel in her right hand while her left went up to her neck, grabbing a pendant hanging from a silver chain. Taking a deep breath she then dug into the dirt, turned back towards the grave and tossed it onto the lid.
Granny and Ruby led the way back to the diner for the wake, the group solemn. Few of those they met did anything but nod in greeting, knowing that the sadness would otherwise overwhelm several members of the party. Drinks and food were free as of today, though few seemed to have an appetite. Zelena had to be found and stopped before more of them died due to what she was up to.
"You're sure she said she wanted his brain?" Filipi heard Rachel ask as she sat down opposite her in a booth, her voice low. Indira, sitting next to Filipi, nodded.
"Positive", she responded. "That means she only needs someone's heart to complete the three things we think she's after."
"But why would she want them at all?" Toby asked, sitting opposite Indira.
"No idea, except for that it's in the story", Rachel responded, looking out over the others at the diner. Henry sitting two booths away was probably her main reason for keeping the conversation at such a low volume. David and Mary Margaret had joined him, trying to engage him in a conversation. In the booth behind between them were Rowan, Clarissa, Jade and Catriona, while the two tables close by were occupied by Maryse, Arianne, Miranda and Tessa. The only ones not sitting within hearing distance, at least if you talked at a normal volume, were Chris and Wolfgang, standing by the bar. Wolfgang was obviously trying to talk to his friend, but Chris gave some sour comment that made the darker boy glare at him and leave.
"I did not know Chris drank alcohol", Filipi admitted, watching him down a glass of some beverage and pull a face as it burned his throat.
"If he does then he's certainly not had whisky before", Rachel remarked, somehow managing to identify the liquid from a distance. "Damn these lost memories; if we had known what happened in the Enchanted Forest we might have been able to stop Neal from dying."
"I doubt that", Toby responded. "Emma said that Neal had only survived thanks to that Gold seemed to have absorbed him in order to save him, so she separated them."
"Separated them?" Miranda asked from the table next to their booth. "How?"
"It would seem Emma has magic", Toby responded, "though she does not use it much and has no real knowledge of what she can and cannot do."
"Do you think she's capable of breaking the bonds on our wands?" Filipi asked.
After watching Chris down his second glass of alcohol and pulling yet another pained grimace, Tessa rose from her seat and walked over to the bar, sitting down next to him. He gave her a sullen look.
"Are you here to tell me to stop?" he asked.
"That would be an added bonus", Tessa answered, "but no, I'm here to tell you to talk to the rest of us instead of sitting here alone."
"Talk about what?" Chris asked, sending a glare in her direction. "I don't even remember how he and I met or if we were friends or what could possibly make me feel this miserable about him being dead. It's not like he's anyone of you guys."
"Maybe not, but he is something to you", Tessa said, "and that's enough of an excuse to grieve his passing."
The door behind them chimed, causing her to look up and watch Hook escort Henry out. Obviously he had been assigned as the boy's protector for the day, now that they knew who he should be protected from. Tessa's eyes then stuck to Robin Hood, who had just accepted three glasses of alcohol from the bartender on Chris' right side and now, with a quick nod in their direction, moved behind them to stand left of Tessa. She followed him with her gaze and saw that the one he had been aiming for was Regina, accompanied by the unfamiliar blonde they had seen at the funeral. Robin cleared his throat.
"Care for a drink?" he asked. The blonde immediately grabbed one of the glasses, seeing as Regina seemed frozen in place by the outlaw's mere presence. Tessa wished she could move around and watch Robin's face as he spoke, but now she had to settle for trying to interpret what he was doing from behind.
"I, er, I do hope I didn't upset you yesterday."
Chris, who had been trying to down his third glass, nearly choked on the liquid as he listened in on the conversation. Tessa was glad he had not spit it out, and maybe this would keep him from drinking more. She instead watched as Regina opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish a couple of times, before looking at the blonde by her side and finally finding something to say.
"Robin Hood, Tinker Bell", she said, introducing the two. "Tinker Bell, Robin Hood."
Robin quickly put the two remaining glasses on the disk and reached out his hand.
"I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time", the blonde said as she shook it.
"And no, you didn't upset me", Regina said, seemingly struggling with words as she looked at Robin. "I just... found a clue trail that needed to be followed... one that didn't lead anywhere, but..."
She paused, looked around and eventually pointed at the glasses on the counter.
"I don't daytime drink."
"Oh, well, perhaps some evening then?" Robin suggested, before grabbing one of the glasses and walking back. Chris managed to wipe away the tears caused by his failed drinking.
"What the..."
"Shh!" Tessa ordered, kicking him to make sure he did not speak. It did not seem to help.
"But..."
"Just don't talk about it, not here, alright?" Tessa ordered. "Now come; let's go back to the others."
They had hardly risen from their seats when the door flew open by an unseen force and a woman stepped inside. She had long, wavy, ginger hair held back from her face through a loose ponytail, wore a pinstriped, grey skirt, a white shirt, black leather gloves and a black cape to protect her from the cold. In her right hand she held a dagger with a jagged blade.
This was Zelena, the Wicked Witch of the West.
"My condolences", she said, putting on a sad face. Robin, who had seated himself at the other end of the bar after leaving Regina and Tinker Bell, got up at once, his hand travelling to a knife he carried in his belt.
"I'm so sorry I missed the funeral", Zelena continued, "but I could never pass up a wake. Did I miss the speeches or should I make one?"
Robin stepped closer, causing the Witch's facade to break and she grinned triumphantly in his direction before walking away, taking the route between the tables and the booths to wherever she was going.
"I mean, I am after all responsible", she said. Emma, who had been standing at the back of the diner with her parents, moved forward, her face twisted with rage.
"Emma, no", Mary Margaret said, grabbing her daughter's arm. "Too many people will get hurt."
"Listen to your mother; she's right", Zelena said. "Anyone who tries to interfere with my plans is going to have to deal with the Dark One."
She looked to her left, down at Rachel, Toby, Indira and Filipi sitting in their booth. Her lips turned upwards in a smile.
"Hello, Toby", she said. "How nice to see you again. I hope you are doing well."
Tessa thought she could hear her friend's sharp inhaling from where she and Chris were by the bar.
Zelena turned forwards again, taking a step towards the Charmings, which prompted David to push his wife behind him.
"Don't come any closer", he ordered, his hand landing protectively on his wife's pregnant belly. Zelena stopped with a smile.
"Don't worry", she said, "I'm not here for your baby. Not today, anyway."
She turned to her right, facing the bar and walking between the tables to get there. Chris quickly grabbed Tessa and pulled her with him to the side in an attempt to get away. The Witch looked amused.
"Then why are you here?" Regina suddenly asked, pushing herself up from her stool. Zelena turned, smiling widely and walking closer to her.
"Now that my cover's blown I can finally pay a visit to my little sister."
If Regina had been able to raise a quizzical eyebrow at her she probably would have.
"Who the hell are you talking about?" she asked.
"Why, you of course, Regina", Zelena responded, her voice low and threatening. Still, as everyone else in the diner had fallen silent they all could hear what she said.
"What?" Emma said, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"I'm an only child", Regina said.
"Cora lied to you, Regina", Zelena said, raising her head in pride. "I'm your sister. Half, if you want to get technical."
"Why should I believe anything you say?" Regina questioned.
"Oh, you shouldn't", Zelena answered. "It's a lot to swallow, which is why I brought a gift."
Regina laughed.
"I don't want a gift from you."
"Oh, but you shall have it", Zelena said, the corners of her mouth twisting upwards in a new smile as she walked closer once again. "You see, my gift to you is this sad, sad day. Use it to dig into our pasts, Regina; you need to learn the truth and you must believe it. And then; meet me on Main Street tonight, say, sundown."
"And then what?" Regina asked. Zelena's face changed at once from the triumphant grin to a mask of hatred.
"Then I'll destroy you."
Regina smiled, seemingly amused at the Witch's attempts to threaten her, and took a step closer.
"This isn't the Wild West", she said.
"No, dear; it's the Wicked West", was Zelena's response, before she turned around to face everyone else in the diner, "and I want everyone to be there to see the Evil Queen lose!"
"I don't lose", Regina remarked. Zelena giggled a manic giggle.
"Neither do I", she said and once again stepped up to Regina, "so one of us is about to make history. See you tonight, sis."
With a new giggle she walked towards the door and sent it flying open with a flick of her hand, walked outside and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.