CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR-Storybrooke Town Hall

Colette looked about her as she observed the cacophonous hustle and bustle of the Town Hall, now a mini Storybrooke in and of itself. She had a list of all of the inhabitants, and was checking off each as she saw them in the crowd.

There was Granny, serving hot apple cider to children with Ruby. And there was Jiminy, in a human form which honestly was far too odd for Colette to handle.

Grumpy was over with the other dwarves, and she couldn't help but notice that every so often he would glance over at the nuns, the fairies she supposed, and decided she would ask him what that was all about when she returned to her own time.

She watched her parents as they stood on opposite sides, Rumple isolated in a dark corner and Belle talking amiably with the Charmings. Every so often she would cast a worried glance around the room, but she never saw Rumple. He, on the other hand, had eyes only for her.

Colette shook her hand, knowing the pain that they were both feeling and how terribly it all really was, but she was comforted that it would all be sorted out in her time.

Emma and Killian stood together, holding hands and talking very quietly to each other. Colette couldn't look at them for too long, since it was strange, knowing that her fiancé was really over there as well, but wasn't even born yet.

She kept scanning the rooms, checking off everyone as she saw them, though it was sometimes hard to recognize everyone in a slightly younger version in strange clothing. Aurora, Cinderella, Dr. Frankenstein even, Henry….what had happened to him?! His arm was in a sling, and he was cradling it closely to his chest while Regina talked to him with a very concerned look on her face. Robin and Roland stood nearby too, Robin holding a very tiny Oliver. She shook her head, and decided she would ask later what had happened to Henry.

Her list was almost complete as Jefferson and Grace walked in (and she smiled as she saw Grace jog over to Henry), but Kendra was still nowhere in sight. She walked over to Snow, and said "Here's the list. Everyone seems to be here, but you may want to double check just in case. I still cannot seem to find Kendra, so I'll wait for her outside."

"Are you sure? Isn't safer in here though?"

"Of course, but I just need too—"

Suddenly the ground shook beneath them, causing everyone to fall down as the floor lurched up from underneath their feet. Colette clung to Snow as David also held on to them, and they waited for the shaking to stop. Only it didn't.

Over the rumbling and screams from the crowd, Colette yelled "This must be Kendra! She must have defeated Hades, and all of the power is destroying the town! I need to get to her!"

Colette stood shakily, the ground still moving underneath her, and she ran stumbling towards the door. She burst through the doors, and was knocked to the ground by another wave of earthquakes.

She looked up, and there was Kendra running towards her. "Kendra!"

"Colette!"

Kendra rushed over and helped her friend to her feet, to which Colette immediately pulled her into a fierce hug. "Are you okay? What happened? Is Hades gone? What should we do now?"

"Slow down mate. One at a time. I have a searing headache and just had all of my light taken out of me, it takes a toll on someone you know."

"….So you did have to give it all up to defeat him?"

Kendra sighed and looked away. "Aye. But he's gone, and he shouldn't be able to come back. However, all of that unleashed power is slowly destroying the town. It seems as if the quakes have died down now, so this will be the best time to get everyone into the Enchanted Forest. Are you ready?"

Colette nodded, then hugged Kendra again. "I know how much of a sacrifice that was for you. There has to be a way to break that curse though."

"Curse?"

"The nature of you giving up all of your light magic like that constitutes as a form of a curse, or at least according to the book we got it from. So there has to be a way to break it!"

Kendra shook her head. "That'll be nice to think about later, but now let's save Storybrooke for one last time."

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