Pretty Little Liars

Emma, David, Hook and Regina were on their way back from the farmhouse where the Wicked Witch of the west was when they heard a noise. It sounded like a swordfight, with clicking and grunting. Quietly, they made their way to the part of the woods where the noise was coming from. Maybe it was another one of the demons that Zelena set after David, or Rumpelstiltskin. They peeked through the trees to a ledge, below it as a steep cliff. On the ledge were two identical young women. Both had blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, a black t-shirt, and denim jeans. Both held a rapier in their right hand, and both swords matched. They were fencing. It was actually a very interesting swordfight, the twins' who matched were excellent at the blade. There were some slight differences, one of them had a completely stoic face, and didn't seem to breathe. The other changed facial expressions, breathed and panted as one usually does with vigorous exercise, and grunted occasionally. The one with the facial expressions caught the stoic one's sword with her own, circled her blade, and the stoic blonde was disarmed. The emotional blonde then plunged her sword into the chest of the emotionless blonde.

"Stop!" Emma yelled reactively. The one who was stabbed disappeared. She faded in a blast of white light. The one who stabbed the one who just disappeared looked at Emma, David, Killian and Regina with a look of utter panic. "What the- Who are you?"

The girl didn't respond, and dived off the cliff face. Emma ran over to the ledge and looked to see the girl splash in the water and swim back to the cliff walls that were under the ledge. Emma stripped off her jacket, and her boots, and emptied her pockets. She threw off her hat, "Emma, what are you doing?" David asked.

"Figuring out what the hell just happened," Emma replied, and she leapt off the cliff as well.

"Wait!" All three called, but she was gone.

Emma free fell off the cliff for a second before diving into the water, the water was icy against her flesh, salt water burned her sinuses, and where she hit the water, her flesh stung. she quickly resurfaced and looked up at what the mysterious blonde swam too. She was met with a pirate ship. She heard a splash behind her, to see Hook's head pop up, he had his sword with him. He swam over to Emma. Then he looked up at the ship. "That is a mighty, vessel, Swan." He said. "A Caravel, I believe."

"How do we board it, and why did you follow me?"

"I followed you because the girl seemed to be a master at the blade and you, Swan, have no weaponry."

"She also seemed to be pretty decent at magic, or maybe that was the same thing that David fought," Emma replied.

"Regardless, if you want to board. I believe I may be of assistance," Hook swam up to the boat and Emma followed. A stretch of rope that descended into the sea, the anchor, was nearby. Killian stuck his sword in his teeth and climbed up the rope. Emma followed. Both hauled themselves onto the deck, soaking wet. It seemed that Killian had shed his heavy leather jacket. but his shirt and leather pants still clung to his body, emphasizing every hard and soft line. Emma was not staring, she definitely wasn't. "I suggest you watch for splinters, love," He said, motioning to her bare feet.

"I'll be careful," Emma sighed. They checked the deck, but it seemed empty, so Killian opened the door to the storage and quarters below. They were met with a narrow hallway. They crept down it, because they heard someone speaking at the end of the hall.

"They saw you?" A girl asked.

"They did," Another girl, likely the blonde, replied.

"What do we do?" A third girl asked.

"Well, if Mary and I hide," The first girl started.

"So I have to talk to them? You know I'm a terrible liar, especially to her." The blonde hissed.

"Well, it's not like they remember us," The third girl, Mary, said nonchalantly

"Liz is a terrible liar anyway," The first girl said.

"Thanks a lot, Mel," Liz replied.

There were three girls, Liz, Mel, and Mary. Liz was the blonde that they saw, and Mel and Mary were unknown.

"Psst!" Regina whispered, she and David had made it down, not wet. "Is that where she is?"

"She's not alone," Emma said. "Her name is Liz, and she has two girls with her, They seemed to be named Mel and Mary."

"Let's go in and figure out what the hell happened."

The four burst into the room they were in, clearly the Captain's Quarters. All three girls were sitting around a table in the corner of the room.

"Freeze!" David shouted, he held Emma's gun. Regina had fire in her hands. And Hook had his sword readied. All three girls put their hands in the air.

"Hi," The blonde they saw said. "You found my ship."

"You Captain this vessel?" Killian asked.

Liz nodded. "I do."

"Wait," David pointed to a red-haired girl, "I remember you from the woods. You could smell Little John's blood, and heard him moaning."

"What happened to him?" Mary asked.

"He turned into a winged simian," Hook replied.

"Poor thing," Merida sighed.

"Look, we don't want trouble." The last one, Mel, said.

"Good, then tell us who you are and what you're doing here, and we'll be out of your hair," Regina interjected.

"I'm Merida."

"I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm Melanie."

"You have magic," Emma said to Elizabeth.

"I do," Elizabeth said.

"How?" Emma asked

"I'm a product of true love." Elizabeth answered. "I was born with magic, and I learned to control it with positive emotions at a very young age."

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"We came over with the second curse," Elizabeth said. "This is my ship, and, we live on it."

"We heard you talking, Elizabeth, you recognized us. You knew who we were." Emma said. "How do you know us, do you have your memories of the missing year?"

"Did we do something wrong?" Melanie asked. "I'm just wondering because you did trespass on private property. And I hope you have a reason."

"The reason is that Elizabeth over here saw us, and then jumped off a cliff, that usually means that someone is hiding something." Regina said.

"Are we not entitled to privacy?" Melanie replied.

"You are, but your behavior is suspicious, that is our reason," Emma replied. "Now, tell us why you're here."

"Should we tell them the truth?" Elizabeth whispered.

"No, we'll lie," Merida replied sarcastically. "Look, we'll tell Prince Charming over there, and then he can relay the message. But legally, he's the cop, so he's the only one we have to tell."

"What if you do something to him magically?" Emma asked.

"If they perform any spell on him, I'll be able to detect it," Regina told Emma.

"Then it's settled? You three will go above deck, and we will tell the Sheriff who we are and what we're doing here. Deal?"

"Deal," David nodded. Regina, Killian, and Emma went above deck, and David crossed his arms and looked expectantly at the three.

"Any questions you have, we'll answer honestly." Elizabeth promised.

"Where are you from?" David asked.

"We are all from the Enchanted Forest," Melanie said. "Merida and I, however, were both born in Storybrooke."

"But, you said you came over with the second curse only."

"We did, we were babies when we left to the Enchanted Forest along with our family and the rest of the inhabitants when the Dark Curse ended."

"That doesn't make sense, we were only in the Enchanted Forest for a year. You look like more than a year old."

"Merida and I are both nineteen, I was born a few weeks before her. Liz is the baby of our group, she's seventeen, but she'll turn eighteen December 25th." Melanie said.

"How can you be nineteen if we were only there for a year?"

"You assume that we're talking about things you've already experienced," Elizabeth said. "But, we're from a time you have yet to experience."

"You're from the future?" David asked.

"We are."

"How many years?" David asked.

"Twenty years, we have proof," Melanie said, she handed him a book, "Henry wrote it." It was a leather bound book, taller than it was wide, very thick.

David turned to the table of contents, "Emma Swan, Thing You Love Most, Snow Falls, Price of Gold, That Still Small Voice, The Shepherd, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Desperate Souls, True North…" He stopped. "There are over a hundred chapters!"

"Yeah," Elizabeth nodded. "If you were to read those chapters, you would have a recollection of the years in Storybrooke."

"Henry wrote this?" David asked.

"He did."

"And he gave it to you because…"

"So we didn't mess up the past," Melanie said. "Because we had to go into the past. You see, in twenty years, that's where we're from, there's an evil necromancer who was plaguing the Enchanted Forest. The only way to stop him was to cast a spell on the entire Enchanted Forest before he was able to make the talismans of his necromancy, the talismans involve dead bodies. But we couldn't cast a realm-wide enchantment, and we couldn't do it to pre-existing talismans. Our only option was to go in the past. The Dark Curse that brought you here, we altered, with Elizabeth's light magic, so the Dark Curse carried the enchantment that would disable the talismans in the future. Now we need to get back, without messing up the timestream too much."

"Who are your parents?" David asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Merida asked. "I mean, we've told you this, because, well, we hoped that you would understand and not let us mess up the time stream."

"I do understand," David said. "But, what if I need to tell someone, some people are off limits, if they are your parents."

"It's actually a good idea," Melanie agreed. "My mother is Belle and my father is Rumpelstiltskin."

"My parental situation is a lot more… confusing." Merida sighed. "I'm going to say very briefly what it is, and you will be super confused, but in like a week, it'll make sense."

"Lay it on me."

"My mother, the Wicked Witch, got pregnant with Robin Hood, my father, to get revenge on Regina."

David nodded, "Um, I guess I'll have to see how that unfolds, and you?"

Elizabeth was smiling, "You're gonna get so pissed," She chuckled. "My mom is Emma Swan."

"You're my granddaughter?"

Elizabeth nodded. "And my father is Killian Jones."

"Hook? Emma and Hook? I mean… like… is she happy with him?"

"I'm a product of true love," Elizabeth said. "They are very happy together."

"Well… that's good… I guess."

"Do you trust us?" Melanie asked.

"I do." David said. "I'm a little shocked, honestly, it's been a long day. I understood why you lied. And I won't tell anybody."

"Thank you," Merida said.

David handed Melanie back the book. "But, I insist that you come help us. You have the book, you know what will happen, your presence may have a small effect, I consider it best if you interact with us to keep us on our path."

The three nodded, "We'll sail to the docks," Elizabeth decided.

The four went onto the deck.

"So?" Emma asked, back in her jacket and boots.

"We can trust them," David said.

"Why are they here?" Regina asked.

"The less people know, the safer we all are, including the three of you. I can't tell you. But we can trust them, they're here to help."

"You can't tell us why there here?" Emma asked. "David-"

"Emma, I know that you want to know but, uh, you are one of the people I definitely can't tell. I'm sorry. It'll make sense later, I promise."

Emma sighed, "I don't like people keeping things from me."

"I'm sorry," David said.

Elizabeth stood at the ship's steering wheel and used magic to open the sails, draw up the anchor, and steer the ship out of the cove it was hidden in.

"You can man this vessel all by yourself?" Hook asked Elizabeth.

"I can man an entire fleet all by myself," Elizabeth said. "Speaking from experience."

She steered the ship into a port at the docks and dropped the anchor.

"Thank you for being honest," David told the girls, they smiled. "I don't know if I'll get much sleep tonight, honestly."

"They really dropped a bomb on you," Emma realized.

"You have no idea," David sighed.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Par David's request the three now were officially in the Storybrooke Crime Fighting Club. They showed up at Granny's early, David, Snow, Regina and Hook were already present. Emma arrived moments later, "If you want privacy, talk fast, we open in twenty and no one gets between Leroy and his bacon," Granny said.

"Is there any sign of our query?" Killian asked.

"I went all over that farmhouse, and the land around it, nothing," Emma said.

"Well, now that the sun's up, we should hit every place Gold might go. His house, his shop, his cabin."

"Because dead men love vacation homes." Emma sighed sarcastically. "Can someone explain to me how this is even possible?"

"You can revive the Dark One, but it takes human sacrifice," Melanie said. "Rumpelstiltskin never died, his physical form was destroyed, but his soul still existed to harness the darkness of the Dark One. If the Rumpelstiltskin truly died, the darkness he controlled would manifest and find a new host. Or worse, manifest without a host."

"When we went back to the Enchanted Forest, Neal spoke of the possibility of getting his father back," Hook spoke up.

"So… if Rumpelstiltskin was really dead, the Darkness would have come out of him and attacked people?" Snow asked.

"Yeah," Melanie nodded. "When you stab the Dark One with the dagger their darkness goes through the dagger, and into your soul. Since Rumpelstiltskin stabbed himself, his physical form was destroyed, but his soul still controlled the darkness, and returned to where the darkness originally manifested. Some sort of dark aether. With a human sacrifice, one can open a portal to the aether, and remanifest his physical form and his soul."

"Neal may have done that. He missed his family. He was desperate to find a way back to this land and he believed finding his father was the key." Hook admitted.

"Well, if that was his plan, then obviously something went wrong, because while Gold might be alive and kicking, Neal is, he's- we don't know what he is. We don't even know if he made it back to Storybrooke. No one's seen him since this new curse."

"He's out there somewhere," David assured her.

"I don't know, he might have been the human sacrifice." Regina said. "With all due, respect, we have bigger issues right now than who brought Gold back. The fact that he was in the Wicked Witch's basement, for one. I want to know what the hell she was cooking up with him."

"Well, the best way to find that out would be to ask Gold, right?" Snow asked.

"He could tell us where the witch is, maybe how to track her down?"

"I'm gonna head back to that farmhouse," Regina said. "It's possible this witch left behind some potion or a special ingredient."

"Have at it, just be careful," Emma told her.

"Well, she's the one who needs to be careful," Regina replied. "She invaded my space. When I return the favor, I am not pulling any punches."

"We should tell Belle," Snow said. "I mean, she deserves to know."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"So… so Rumpel's alive?" Belle asked. "I mean, how is that even possible?"

"She knows," Emma pointed at Melanie. Belle looked at her.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Melanie," Melanie said. "And I do know how Rumpelstiltskin may yet be alive. The dagger works as a wire, transferring the darkness from one soul to another, that's why you need to stab the Dark One to become the Dark One. Since Rumpelstiltskin stabbed himself with the dagger, it destroyed his physical form, the darkness and it's host, his soul, still were alive. They were banished to where the darkness came from, an aether. If he was truly dead, the darkness would have broken free and searched for a new host."

"Like a parasite," Belle nodded.

"Exactly," Melanie said. "To retrieve a soul from this aether, you need a human sacrifice. Like in physics, matter cannot be created or destroyed? To transfer a soul from the aether, one must go to the aether, and without the darkness in the soul, their soul is quickly destroyed and they die."

"So… for Rumpel to be alive, someone else must be dead." Belle realized. "Where is he?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that," Emma said. "You know him and this shop better than anyone. If he's in Storybrooke there has to be a clue in here. About how we can find him, wherever he is."

"Yeah, I'll uh, start looking right away."

"Keep your eyes out for him too, if he comes into town, he'll-"

"Come to me, yeah I know," Belle smiled solemnly.

"Melanie can help you look, she handles magical items a lot," David said. "If you both are alright with that."

"I could use an extra pair of eyes," Belle nodded.

Melanie shrugged, "I'm alright with it."

"I will stay here with you as well," Hook said. "I'm surprisingly good at research."

"You will stay with me?" Belle was incredulous.

"He'll protect you if the witch comes," Emma said.

"You do know he tried to kill me?" Belle reminded everyone.

"Well, there were extenuating circumstances," Killian said.

"Twice," She told him, looking at him challengingly.

"Sorry?" He offered.

"Oh come on," Merida groaned, "Apologize like a man!"

Elizabeth and Melanie started giggling. Even Emma smiled.

"This will be my way of making it up to you," Killian explained. "Hm?"

"Fine," Belle sighed.

"All right, we should really get into the woods," Emma said.

"Hey," David told his wife, "Maybe you should stay home?"

"Me? I'm the best tracker here!" Snow exclaimed.

"I know but we'll manage." David said. "Remember what Zelena said. You need rest."

"I'll hang out with you," Elizabeth offered. "I'm terrible at hunting, I talk too loud, I guess. I'm sure Dark One hunting needs even more stealth."

Snow smiled, "I would like that."

"Belle, thank you for your help," Emma told her, "Don't worry, we're gonna find him.

"Okay, thank you," Belle whispered.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, school started again and I have marching band and AP classes to deal with now, but I'll make an effort to update.