Time for some proper planning!
Most people at the wake left shortly after, mainly due to David's orders that they had to go home and prepare for tonight. Once the "main crew" (as Jade called them) were the only ones left they seated themselves by the bar, Granny pouring Regina a glass of whiskey. David was pacing behind them.
"And you're sure Cora never said anything about her?" he asked.
"I think I would have remembered my mother telling me she had a lovechild with the Scarecrow", Regina sarcastically responded.
"It doesn't matter if Zelena's your sister or not; she wants you dead", Emma said.
"Any idea why?" Arianne asked. Regina turned to glare at her.
"I never even met her before today!"
"Doesn't mean you didn't do something to piss her off", Wolfgang remarked.
"You did mention stepping on a lot of toes back in our world", Tinker Bell pointed out. She was the newest addition to the group, sure enough, but in a way she took Robin's place as the outlaw and his men had bowed out of the meeting due to some urgent business. Catriona could only guess what that possibly meant. Regina's glare now turned towards the blonde fairy.
"Well, none of them were green."
"Then there's the missing year", Granny said, jumping into the conversation uninvited. "Maybe you did something to her then."
"Stick to the lasagne, lady", Regina responded, her voice crispy and cold. Granny crossed her arms over her chest but backed away from them, causing the Mayor to turn to the others once more.
"This is starting to sound an awful lot like you're on her side", she remarked and rose.
"Where are you going?" Emma asked.
"To find out exactly what this Witch thinks I did to her", Regina answered while putting on her black coat with fur lined, blue collar, marching out from the diner.
"Are we just going to let her go?" Filipi asked.
"No, we won't", David responded.
"I'll go with her", Mary Margaret said and stood up.
"Are you sure?" her husband asked. The pregnant woman nodded and rose.
"Yeah, I'm good."
She walked out through the door as quickly as possible and the others heard her call out for Regina once she was outside.
"Alright, me, Emma, Tink and Belle will lock down Main Street, just in case", David said, turning towards the rest of the group. "You should decide on your own what you want to do. We'll wait for you outside."
While the others left and even Granny stayed out of earshot they huddled together.
"So, what do we do?" Tessa asked.
"First; Toby, are you alright?" Rachel said. "You've not looked too well since the Witch came by."
"She spoke with me as if she knew me", he responded, his voice trembling somewhat. "What if these... connections and old friendships... what if she..."
"Woah, flashback to the Harry Potter-fanfic, mate", Wolfgang said.
"Please tell me you haven't started imitating Hook", Indira groaned.
"Toby, if your connection to the Enchanted Forest is Zelena I think you'd do best to stay back tonight", Catriona said. "She did not look too happy when she spoke with you, more like she wanted to rip your heart out."
"Well, since that's actually something she could do, according to the storybook, I agree", Clarissa pointed out. "Maybe you should head back to the hospital, guard Ella."
Toby considered it before he shook his head.
"No. Zelena said that all of us needed to be there tonight and she will notice if I'm missing."
"Alright, what then?" Maryse asked. "What are our options?"
"Some of us should help close down Main Street", Indira responded. "I don't know if we can help Regina with whatever she has to do, but at least we can try to make sure that everyone else is safe."
"We can help", Rachel suddenly said. They all turned to look at her; apart from the red scarf she had wound around her neck to cover the still fresh bruises the fight from two days prior did not seem to have left much of a mark on her.
"What do you mean we can help?" Wolfgang asked.
"We need to get to grips with what we might have learned in the past year, wake some subconscious memories", Rachel responded. "Indira said she managed to hit a monkey square in the chest with a knife while David was fighting it, so we must have learned something."
"I doubt such weapons will be of much use against the Wicked Witch", Miranda pointed out.
"It's at least worth a try", Maryse argued.
"Along with that we should also find someone who can break the bonds on our wands", Clarissa said. "Those we should definitely know how to use."
"Alright, so some of us should go get our wands, some should hunt down some other weapons and some should lock down Main Street", Rowan summarized. "Sounds like a good idea."
"Wait, there's one more thing", Wolfgang suddenly said. "Hook and Henry."
"You don't think Hook is capable of protecting the boy?" Tessa asked.
"I have no doubts about that, but I did hear Hook mention that he was going to talk with Henry about Neal", Wolfgang answered. "Maybe if Chris hears some of those stories as well it can help him remember something from the Enchanted Forest. Besides, I think he needs to get away from here."
"They should be long gone already, but you can certainly try to hunt them down", Indira said. "Good luck."
"Thanks", Wolfgang responded and rose, pulling Chris with him as he did.
The others soon followed out through the door where they met David, Tinker Bell and Belle. Emma had gone off to alert Mary Margaret and Regina of what they were doing. After telling the trio about their plan David directed those that would try to hunt down some weapons to Gold's pawnshop, where Belle confirmed they might be able to find what they needed. After all that was where most things related to the Enchanted Forest had ended up. Filipi, Indira, Rowan, Clarissa and Jade volunteered to collect what was needed and meet the others at Granny's later on. Toby, Miranda and Arianne were subsequently assigned to head back to the hospital and try, once again, to break the bonds on the wands or find someone who could.
"Maybe Regina could do it?" Jade suggested, but Belle shook her head.
"No. She'll need all her strength to face the Witch later."
This left Rachel, Maryse, Tessa and Catriona to help closing down Main Street, the long street running through the centre of the town.
"Question is where the fight is going to take place", Catriona remarked as they walked along.
"Somewhere with a lot of space", Belle responded. "Zelena wants an audience, after all."
"Where would that be, then?" Rachel asked, looking down the long asphalt line.
"Outside the Clock Tower", David responded after some consideration. "It's the widest of the crossroad sections."
They walked up to the building in question, pale yellow and also hosting the town's library, according to a sign on the wall. Thanks to the large, panelled clock tower residing on its roof it also made it one of the highest buildings in all of Storybrooke.
"We'll position someone there, there and there", David said, pointing up on roofs of buildings surrounding the crossroads they had now reached. "The whole street will then be covered."
"I'll talk to Blue, see if we can get..." Tinker Bell started, but was interrupted by the return of Emma and Mary Margaret.
"Zelena said no interference", Emma pointed out. "She'll probably order Gold to level half the block if we try something before she gets a crack at her sister."
"So they really are sisters?" Tessa asked.
"Regina found a letter in her vault confirming it", Mary Margaret responded.
"Where is she?" David asked.
"She disappeared", his wife sighed. "Something in the letter must have upset her."
"Should we try to find her?" Maryse asked. Emma shook her head.
"Regina was pretty clear she didn't want any help on this one."
"You want us to let her walk into this fight alone?" Rachel said, wrinkling her forehead and crossing her arms over her chest.
"No", Emma responded, "she's going to get help whether she likes it or not."
"But... you just said we can't interfere", Belle said.
"Because Zelena has Gold on her side", Emma clarified. "We need to remove him from the equation."
"How come he's on her side?" Maryse asked.
"Because Zelena possesses the Dark One's dagger", Rachel answered. "It was described in the book; the one who possesses the dagger controls the Dark One, and for quite some time now the man known as the Dark One is Gold, or Rumplestiltskin."
"And we need to get that dagger in order to give Regina a fighting chance", Emma filled in. Belle turned away from them, exasperation clear on her face. Mary Margaret did not look too positive either.
"You saw Zelena", she said, "she practically has it glued to her hand."
"Wait", Belle suddenly said, turning back towards them. "What if... what if I can get through to Rumple without the dagger?"
"How would you be able to do that?" Maryse asked. Belle smiled sadly.
"I love him, and True Love can overcome anything."
"It's worth a try", Mary Margaret agreed. "Regina can't do this alone."