(Athena Skywriter: Since both Emma and Hook are under a sleeping curse, they are both in the burning room, yes. And I do think it would be okay for Emma to kiss Hook and wake up him up, but she can't, because as you may remember from season 2 of the show, when both Snow and David were in the burning room, Snow realized she couldn't wake up David because only their souls travel to that realm, which means they can't touch. And if they can't touch, they can't kiss. The situation is alike here. They can talk to each other there, but Emma can't wake him up. The answer will have to come from the real world.
PopPotter777: Yes, you got the last part right. Hook's curse is a regular one, but no one can wake him up because they can't give him TLK. Emma's curse prevents anyone from waking her, and those who try will meet the same fate Hook did. Also, some good guesses right there, and some of them are correct, but I am bringing back some people you didn't guess. And one of them is already making an entrance in this chapter.
Baratta jennifer: thanks for all the support. Here it is. Hope you enjoy it.
Guest reviewer who asked about Snow: This may sound a little cliché, but all that I can tell you is to keep reading. There are more surprises coming.)
Trying her best to smile, Lily continued to walk through the streets of Storybrooke. She had been assigned with the task of making her mother join the team, but as she walked in a quick pace, a lot of thoughts went through her head. She thought of how great it felt to finally get her revenge in the previous night. She thought of how much more twisted it was. Most of her life, ever since she had learnt the truth about everything, all she wanted was just to kill them both. But then her father came up with a much better way: kill one and let the other live, knowing he would never see his wife again, that he would have to live the rest of his life without her. That or he would one day be found hanging from the ceiling or with his wrists cut inside a bath tub. Either way, Lily had thought it would be pretty satisfying to watch.
But all these thoughts weren't really hers, not anymore anyway. Those thoughts seemed to belong to the Lily from the previous night, because overnight a lot seemed to have changed. She even thought that, for a few moments only, she felt… bad? Maybe bad isn't really the right word, but that was definitely not the feeling she expected to have.
Having revenge in the heart is somehow alike having a dream. When people have a dream, they do whatever they can to make it come true, and, if they work hard enough, it does one day. And it feels good for a few moments. But what about the next day? The next week? The next year? Most people just end up creating another dream and work just as hard to make it a reality, just like the previous one.
Feeling like she had just made her dream come true, was exactly what Lily was thinking as she walked. 'What's next' was always what came to her mind, in every single chain of thought. She could continue to help her father conquer the worlds and be a leader of them all, but that was never really something she wanted to do. That was Adda's dream, not hers. Besides, the only argument which made her want to help him, was that she was promised her revenge. And now that was delivered, the thought of 'what's next' went through her head once more.
But Lily put all these thoughts aside when she was close to Maleficent's house. She stopped at the front door and, even though it may seem a little weird, she knocked. Ever since she decided to stay in Storybrooke, she had been living with Maleficent, but because of the recent events, she thought it would feel weird to just come in.
When the door started to open, nothing prepared Lily for who was on the other side. That was definitely not her mother. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Is that any way to treat a guest?" Regina asked, showing her mysterious smile, which no one really knew if it meant 'glad to see you' or 'I am going to kill you'. She stepped aside, giving Lily space to walk in. "Please, come in."
…
Right after Regina had sent the notes to potential allies, David and Henry both walked in the kitchen, almost like they had both agreed to do so at the exact same time. Regina could see they were both feeling better, at least they looked better, but they were both still crushed. She made breakfast and drove them to her vault, leaving them with Rumple and Belle. Leaving David alone, or leaving him alone with Henry, was the last thing she would ever do, because she was afraid he would go on a suicide mission to find Adda. She told everyone what she had done that morning, who she sent the letters to, and who she intended to meet. They all agreed, so she left her vault to go to Maleficent's house.
Regina knew Maleficent would never be convinced by a simple note she would find in her pocket. Besides, she was still in Storybrooke, so why would she waste her magic when they could talk face to face? She could only hope Adda's team hadn't gotten to her first, because if that was the case, she was afraid she couldn't win over her friend. She got to the door, knocked, and it didn't take much time for Maleficent to open it.
"Regina! What the hell do you want?" Maleficent kind of already knew the answer to that question. She may not be part of any team, but she knew what was going on. She just chose to do nothing. And that hadn't changed.
"I just want to talk, Mal. Can I come in?" Regina put a foot close to the door, so her old friend wouldn't be able to close it on her face. Without saying a word, Maleficent stepped aside and Regina walked in immediately, before she might regret letting her in.
"Why don't we do this like civilized people, and talk over tea?" Maleficent led Regina to the living room and walked to the kitchen.
Regina had just sit on the couch when someone knocked. "Expecting someone?" Regina could already bet what Maleficent's answer to that question would be, which got her worried, thinking that could be Adda. If so, she wouldn't even stand a chance.
Maleficent sighed. Two visitors in one day was probably the biggest number that house had ever seen ever since she moved in. She was busy, and in no mood to go politely receive another guest. "Why don't you go check who it is?" A couple minutes after someone had knocked on the door, the tea was ready and Maleficent started taking it to the living room. She hadn't heard anything being destroyed nor thrown in the air, so that was already a good sign. When she realized who her second visitor of the day was, she almost dropped the tray. It was her daughter. She put herself together, not wanting to make a fuss about it, and placed the tea in the table between the two couches where the two women were sitting. She joined her daughter, put her hand on her leg and smiled to her softly. She served the tea, but no ne touched it the whole time they were there.
Regina stared at Lily and Maleficent for a few seconds. All she wanted to do was yell at her, hurt her for killing her friend, but she knew that was not going to lead anywhere. She would have to bottle her anger and use it on someone else. And she had a pretty good idea of who that would be. She was sure she knew what Lily was feeling in that moment, because it would probably be similar to what she felt when she had her revenge. Or better, when the Evil Queen did, but that feeling passed to her when she balanced both their hearts. At first, she was thrilled, but at every minute she felt a little more pointless.
"I bet you know what has been happening." Maleficent nodded simply. Never a woman of many words in situations like that one, and that just seemed to make Regina's work a little harder, but she continued. "Well, I think by now it is obvious what I am doing here. I want you to join us. Both of you." She wasn't really a fan of having Lily on their side, and she knew David would totally not particularly like it either, but with her there, she was afraid Maleficent would say 'no' if Lily wasn't invited. The biggest problem was that Regina had no idea how loyal Lily was to Adda.
Both Lily and Maleficent were of course, expecting such a proposal from Regina. They knew that wasn't just a 'miss you a lot' visit. "Regina, with all due respect, getting involved in this was never a part of my plan. As you can see, I am trying to put all this behind and just have a future with…"
"With Lily?" Regina interrupted. "Because if you are going to use her as an excuse, it is a little bit too late already, isn't it Lily?" Regina looked straight to her, trying to get the girl to say something, whether it was she loved being with those horrible people or that she regretted what she had done.
Lily didn't really feel like talking. She was afraid either of them would convince her to leave her father's team, and she didn't want it. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted, but she felt like leaving the team wasn't even an option. For the first time, she was a part of something, something greater than her, and with people who actually needed her to move forward. "I don't know what you want me to say. I joined my father's team. You want me to say I regret it? Because I don't."
Regina didn't really hear the whole thing. Her attention got a detour when Lily said the word 'father'. She could not believe that was true. How could that be? "Wait Adda… Adda is your father? How is that possible?"
With everything else on her mind, Lily didn't even consider the possibility Regina didn't know about it. But of course she didn't. Well, not before anyway. She ignored Regina's questions and just nodded.
Maleficent had never liked the fact her daughter joined that man's team. But Lily wasn't a baby anymore, she was a woman who could make her own choices, and she couldn't stop her from doing what she wanted to. She didn't trust that Adda, and she probably never would. She wasn't even sure whether to believe he was her father or not. Sure the story added up, but she just couldn't shake the feeling there was something weird about all that. So, she started telling Regina what Adda told the both of them the night he came out of the clock tower. She knew Lily wouldn't do it, so she had to be the one to.
Regina stayed quiet for a few moments. She had no idea what to do. That changed everything, and she definitely started understanding why Lily would want to join Adda. She put a freezing spell on Lily, so she couldn't hear what she was about to say, and started talking to Maleficent. "Look, Mal, all I want is for you to give this some thought. I know you love your daughter, of course you do, and I can see it in your eyes you don't like Adda, nor the idea of seeing Lily with him. With your help, I am sure we will be able to take him down. And then, he will never bother anyone ever again. And you can just go back to just being the two of you." Maleficent was staring at Regina with an empty look, which meant she was thinking about it. Regina never really expected an answer from her, not right away anyway, but she hoped she would come to her senses and help them. "When we have enough people, we will strike back just as hard as he struck us. And all I ask is that you are there to help take him down. You may not think this involves you, but it does. It involves everyone. So please, just think about it."
Regina got up and walked out of the house, hoping the seed she planted on Maleficent's brain would grow big enough for her to want to help them. Once she was outside, she took back the spell she put on Lily and walked to her car. She didn't want to go to her vault right away. She needed a few minutes alone first. She didn't really feel like facing Henry and David especially, because she felt she would have no hope to give them. Unless she just closed her eyes for a few minutes.
But all these thoughts were interrupted when she saw her front door was open. She was sure she had locked it when she left, she always does, which meant there was someone at the house. She ignited a fireball in her hand and walked in quietly, hoping to catch whoever it was, on the act. It was when she got to the living room that she saw her. Regina recognized her immediately. Actually, it wasn't very hard to. Blue was always her color.
"You're here already? I didn't expect anyone so soon!" Regina closed her hand, making the fireball disappear and rushed to her, who was already getting up from the couch.
"Well, what can I say? Things were starting to get boring in Arendelle." Elsa said, hugging Regina. "So, what did I miss?"