They were on their way to the courtyard from which the Curse would be cast when Catriona stopped dead in her tracks.
"Toby?" she said, looking around. The rest of their company stopped as well.
"Cat, are you alright?" Rachel asked.
"I just... I heard Toby's voice, just now", Catriona responded. "It was very faint, but it was as if he was standing right behind me."
"Well, I wouldn't say no to some sort of communication channel", Rachel sighed and shot a glare in David's direction. "They should know about what's going on here."
"We do", came Toby's voice close by Catriona's ear again, causing her to spin around.
"He heard what you were saying", she gasped. "He responded to it!"
"Since when is Toby a telepath?" Rachel asked and crossed her arms over her chest.
"That story can wait", Toby replied, now strong enough for both of them to hear at the same time. Rachel's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You definitely owe me an explanation", she muttered, causing the three royals still unable to hear the voice to look thoroughly confused.
"You have to stop this", Toby said, not bothering with Rachel's comment. "You cannot cast the Dark Curse; the Witch knows you're about to do it."
"What?" Catriona gasped. "How?"
"I don't know, but she is planning something", Toby replied.
"What's going on?" Snow asked.
"The Witch knows about your plans", Rachel replied. "She's planning something."
"We don't have a choice in this", Regina sourly said. "We need Emma Swan to defeat Zelena and the only way to get to another realm is by the Dark Curse."
Catriona quickly relayed the information to Toby; it seemed she had the strongest mental connection to him. He was silent for a while before he replied.
"Then we have to keep her away from you until the Curse is unstoppable and unchangeable."
"We can use the hide", Catriona said. "I found some information on it; it seems to be a shield of some sort."
"If we use it Ollivander said we'd be paying a high price", Toby remarked.
"It might be our only chance", Rachel said. "We have to get back to the Dark Castle at once and activate the spell, keep Zelena at bay."
"We're in the camp", Toby said, before the connection seemed to break. Catriona looked at Regina.
"Can you send us back to where you all landed when you came to the Dark Castle?" she asked. "We'll try to buy you some time."
Regina nodded and raised her hand to do just that.
"Wait", Rachel said and walked up to David. For a moment the two just stood in front of each other, faces rigid with control, before Rachel flung her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace, holding his newfound little sister tight in his arms before slowly releasing her. Gently he wiped away a tear that had found its way down her left cheek.
"Go", he said. "I'll always be with you."
"I know", she replied with a smile, before she stepped back to stand next to Catriona. Catriona felt like crying herself at the sight, but then it all vanished as Regina waved her hand and sent them back to the Dark Palace.
The hole in the shield surrounding the camp appeared the moment the purple smoke disappeared around them. As they stepped in the rest of the group gathered to greet them. Not much was said; a few embraces and handshakes were enough. Toby looked like he had seen better days, but he still sat up on a sleeping mat and gave them both a tired smile.
"Belle and Robin will take the horses away from here", Indira explained, nodding at the two people not originally part of the group. "If something goes wrong it's better if they're not here."
Rachel nodded, her face set with determination. Catriona gave her a quick hug to tell her that she was there for her. The older girl returned the hug, but kept silent otherwise.
As soon as Robin and Belle were ready they lowered the shield around their camp entirely to let them leave. The hide was spread out in the centre of it all, ready to be used.
"Let's do this", Rowan said. "Toby, you start and then we move clockwise around this thing."
Toby nodded in agreement and reached forward, placing his wand inside the tip pointing at the eye. The rest of them followed, one by one.
Catriona, Rachel, Maryse.
Indira, Tessa, Miranda.
Chris and Wolfgang.
Ella, Rowan, Filipi.
Jade and Arianne.
Clarissa was the last to place hers down. The moment she straightened up a blue light spread along the shafts of everyone's wands, tracing their individual patterns and then spreading out in thin vines to the lines of the star, then on to the symbols. When every single drop of ink was glowing blue on the hide the light shot upwards in a tall pillar, bringing a gush of wind with it. It grew and enveloped them all.
"How do we use this?" Filipi called over the sound of the wind.
"Make it cover the castle", Toby called back. "Maybe it can trap her there."
"Or maybe she has already figured out what you're doing."
The spell was still activated but the wind was silenced, making it possible to hear the Witch's calm voice without her shouting at them. She had appeared just outside their circle, grinning wickedly.
"Did you really think that a simple shield could stop me?" she asked and waved her hand at the white cupola separating them. Her eyes then widened somewhat when nothing happened.
"Guys, a problem", Chris pointed out. "She's still outside the shield."
"How's that a problem?" Jade asked.
"We are unable to keep her away from the others when she's not inside the shield", Toby replied. "We have to get her in here as well."
As if on cue the shield expanded further and Zelena shrieked when it passed through her, closing her in with them.
"Problem is that in here she might be able to do something about us", Chris clarified his earlier statement. Zelena gritted her teeth.
"And that's exactly what I'm going to do!"
She raised her hand, but Ella was faster, picking up her wand from the hide and firing a curse at the green witch. By doing so the pillar disappeared, but the shield around them remained intact.
"You won't be able to keep it up for long", Zelena hissed as she blocked the curse.
"Long enough", Wolfgang replied. The Witch's lips pulled up in another wicked grin.
"Oh, I don't think so."
She flicked her hand and, suddenly, Clarissa fell to the ground.
"Izzy!" Rowan called, before also he fell down.
"Protego!" Ella yelled as also Arianne and Maryse fell down. The Witch cackled.
"Yes, I do need to do something about those wands of yours", she said and flicked her hand again. Everyone still awake gasped as their wands flew up into the air and landed outside the shield, behind the Witch.
"Now, that's a bit better", she said, smiling at them. "Your shield is weakening by the minute and it is already weak enough for me to move on with my plan."
"We'll get to them first", Wolfgang growled. Zelena giggled maddeningly.
"Oh, I don't think you will."
With another wave of her hand she knocked also Ella and Catriona down and transported the six knocked-out people away, probably back to her castle. Next she flung both hands forward and knocked the air out of the others sending them crashing to the ground. Indira struggled to keep her eyes open, only to look up at a triumphant green face.
"Now, let's see what happens when you arrive in the other world without any memory of any of this", she said, her voice low and threatening. "Friends and wands gone, poor things. I will enjoy seeing what you do about all of this."