Soon, Emma was brought inside to discuss a few things with David and Mary Margaret. Henry was also brought inside, but to get some sleep since the travel was a lot for him due to Maine being quite further away from New York City. He was going to miss school, but he found it worth it because he got to have an adventure with his mother, but for now, it was time to rest and relax.
"Okay, Henry is asleep upstairs," Emma said as she came downstairs to see her parents before she sat down on the sofa. "If he wakes up, you two are helping me with the case. So, what the hell happened here?" she then added before gesturing to her pregnant mother. "I mean, besides the obvious."
"We don't know," Mary Margaret said. "We watched you drive over the town line with Henry... Regina started to cast her spell to take us all back to the Enchanted Forest and then... everything went black." she said.
"And the next thing we remember is waking up in our beds like it was any other morning in Storybrooke." David soon spoke up.
"Except it clearly wasn't." Mary Margaret agreed with her husband and placed her hand protectively over her stomach.
"Almost harvest time and you can't remember the planting," Killian then remarked. "That's bad luck, mate."
"Clearly a year's past," Emma agreed. "I was in New York... I know that it did." she said.
"And we don't know where the hell we were," David told Emma. "We don't even know if we left Storybrooke."
"Aye, you did," Killian nodded. "Harry and I were with you."
"In the Enchanted Forest?" Mary Margaret asked the pirate out of shock.
"Regina's spell brought us back. We've spent a brief time with a prince and princess named Phillip and Aurora, but I wasn't feeling the community spirit, so I ventured of on my own with my son," Killian explained. "The last I saw of you lot, you were making your way to Regina's castle."
"And now you're cursed... Why doesn't that surprise me?" Emma said then asked rhetorically.
"Regina seems as clueless as the rest of us," Mary Margaret said shaking her head. "I'm not quite sure she was involved in this." she added.
"So she says." Emma replied.
"I don't understand: If you left the Enchanted Forest before the curse, how did you know to find Emma and come to Storybrooke?" David demanded from Killian.
"As I was sailing the realms a bird landed on my ship's wheel with a note instructing me to retrieve Emma and bring her back here," Killian explained calmly. "There was a small vial of memory potion tied to its leg."
"Who sent it?" Mary Margaret asked Killian.
"I assumed you did." Killian replied to Mary Margaret.
"A message via bird; that does sound like you," David remarked until there was a knock on the door and a couple of the dwarves soon came into the room. "What is it?" he then asked them.
"We lost another one. We're down to five now." Leroy informed on his way inside.
"Four, actually. Bashful's not answering." Happy added as he looked at his cell phone.
"Wait. What is going on?" Emma asked.
"Thank God you're back, sister." Leroy said to Emma.
"It's not just our memories that are missing," Mary Margaret said. "Ever since we woke up, people have begun disappearing." she added.
"Whoever cursed us is picking us off, one by one." Leroy added.
"Who's exactly missing?" Emma asked in concern.
"Aside from the dwarves, we're not sure," David said to Emma. "There's been a lot of confusion over the past few days. It's been hard to keep track of everyone."
"Wait," Emma then said as a thought hit her. "Neal... is he here?" she asked.
Mary Margaret looked at her eldest daughter. "Well, we haven't found him, yet." she tried to soothe.
Emma frowned a little. "So he might have been taken, too." she realized.
"Smart money is on yes." Leroy snarked.
"Leroy!" Mary Margaret scolded.
"He'll turn up, Swan. He always does." Killian coaxed Emma.
"Some folks have set up camp in the woods at the edge of town," David added. "Neal might be there."
"Or he may not have got swept up in the curse at all." Mary Margaret said.
"There's only one way we gonna figure all this out... We have to get your memories back." Emma said firmly.
"How are we going to do that?" Mary Margaret soon wondered.
"By figuring out who took them in the first place." Emma stated.
"We'll do what we can," David nodded. "We'll start in the morning."
"That sounds like a good idea," Emma agreed. "So what about the descendants? Do they remember anything?"
"They've been caught up and refreshed with the help of our newest colleague: Goldilocks," Mary Margaret explained. "We decided to give her a position on our council where we used to have meetings before you were born and included her to give her something to do."
"They should be good for now until we meet up again," David replied. "Try not to overwhelm them on the situation."
"I suppose that's fine enough," Emma nodded. "Speaking of Goldilocks though, is she that blonde girl Henry probaby saw back in New York?" she then wondered.
"Huh? What do you mean, Emma?" David asked.
"Well, before school one day, I asked Henry if he believed in magic though he mentioned Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and The Tooth Fairy, but he mentioned that a blonde girl was following him around lately who I haven't seen or met," Emma explained. "Considering this is a world of Fairy Tales, I thought maybe Goldilocks was involved."
"No, Goldie was with us while Hook went off on his own along with Harry and the Smee siblings, but eventually Dee Dee came along to help out somehow." David explained.
"She and the other descendants were aged down, but she was only a baby and it was like she even missed Henry somehow." Mary Margaret added. "She didn't come back into town with you guys?" she then asked out of confusion.
"She didn't come with Hook when he took us away from New York." Emma explained.
"After young Dee Dee did her part, she was sent back and hopes to try to be friends with Henry again since he wouldn't remember her despite being friends for so long." Killian explained.
"Oh, well, that was nice of her to at least try to help." Emma remarked.
"Yeah, Dee Dee has a good heart like that," Leroy agreed. "She gets that from Nova while I'm probably just a bad influence on her."
"Don't think like that, Leroy," Mary Margaret advised. "You have plenty of good qualities too and Dee Dee is a wonderful young girl. You and Nova are wonderful parents to her."
"Even if you're a former dwarf and fairy." David added.
Leroy gave a small smile to that, but didn't make too big of a fuss since that wasn't the kind of guy he was. "So, uh, what do we do now?" he then wondered.
Emma nodded. "Well, I think we should all head to bed for the evening, it's getting late," she then decided. "We'll meet up at Granny's in the morning." she suggested.
"Come along then." David added from what Emma said before he gently put his hand on Mary Margaret's shoulder.
"We'll see you tomorrow." Mary Margaret told Emma.
"And everything will be just fine," David added. "...Eventually."
Mary Margaret nodded with a smile. David soon decided to get the door and lead them out. Mary Margaret took her husband's hand. Emma gave them a small smile, then said good night to each of them before she went to head back upstairs to her room she was in with Henry, until she saw Killian looking a bit emotionally distant.
"Hey, uh, Hook?" Emma called, making the adult male pirate face her. "Are you all right?"
"Huh? Oh, yes, Swan, I'll be okay." Killian replied calmly.
"You just seem like you have a lot on your mind." Emma said to him.
"Oh, don't worry about me," Killian smiled sadly at her. "Good night."
"Well, okay then. Good night, Hook." Emma nodded as she soon went off to bed for the night.
Killian watched her go before he sighed and looked out the window. "Harry, my son, wherever you are right now, I just hope that you're okay and safe until our world is properly restored in the end." he then whispered to himself, still feeling mighty sore about what happened between him and Harry back before they had left Misthaven.
The next day Emma was sitting with Henry in the diner, waiting for everyone else scheduled to come over to arrive. David and Mary Margaret soon began to make their way over to the diner.
"Here you go, Hen-young man." Ruby said as she placed down a hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon. "Nice hot cocoa." she told him, before turning to leave.
Henry nodded thankfully until he noticed something interesting about his drink. "Hey, it's cinnamon. How did you know?" he soon said to the waitress.
"A lucky guess, you've got a cinnamon kind of face." Ruby told Henry.
Henry looked curious at that, but shrugged it off.
"You have a cinnamon kind of face?" Kiara deadpanned at Ruby.
"I panicked, okay? Next time, you excuse yourself for his sake!" Ruby defended.
Kiara rolled her eyes at that as she and Ruby went away together while everyone else made it over to the diner. Soon, David and Mary Margaret made it into the diner along with Goldie.
"Henry, this is Goldie, and David and Mary Margaret." Emma introduced them as they walked in.
"Are you helping my mom with the case?" Henry asked the adults before he then whispered at his mother curiously. "Or are they the ones who jumped the jail?"
"No, they are... They are just old friends." Emma smiled.
"Friends? From where?" Henry soon asked.
"Phoenix./Here." Mary Margaret and Emma answered at the same time.
"Well, Phoenix and here, isn't that right, guys?" Goldie quickly added to cover up for the slip from the other two women.
"What she said." Emma quickly agreed.
"Oh, definitely." Mary Margaret added.
"But I thought you were only in Phoenix for being in... that place." Henry said to his mother.
"Right. We were cellmates." Mary Margaret said.
"Really? What were you in for?" Henry wondered.
"Banditry," Mary Margaret bluntly said before she sat down with them. "People make mistakes. The important thing is to find a way to keep moving on."
"And I broke and enter into a house and took their food." Goldie added.
Mary Margaret and David gave Goldie a slight look from that and she just shrugged in response.
"Did you know my dad?" Henry soon asked the adults.
"Should we order? Let's order." David changed the subject awkwardly and suggested.
From the other side of the room, a mug of coffee shattered and it was suddenly shown to be Regina who was just staring at Henry, her face unreadable with emotion. He then stared blankly back. "Oh, uh, I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." she then said nervously.
"Oh, that's okay." Henry replied with a shrug as he went back to his cocoa.
"Smooth, Madam Mayor." Goldie muttered at that before getting nudged by David in her arm.
"Come on, Mom," Evie said quickly, glancing at Henry before she faced her mother, trying not to be distracting. "Let's go talk."
Emma looked a bit concerned, then decided to go after Evie and Regina.
Regina soon walked off with the two women as David, Goldie, and Mary Margaret kept an eye on Henry. "He looked right through me." she then shakily said to her daughter.
"Because he doesn't remember you and I doubt that he even remembers me." Evie said gently.
"Emma clearly does though," Regina replied as she glanced over briefly. "What's she doing here?"
"Looks like we can find out in a minute," Evie said as Emma came over. "Hi, Emma. Do you remember me?" she then asked the blonde woman.
"Of course I do, Evie," Emma said with a small smile. "Glad to see at least some of the younger ones from The Enchanted Forest remember a few things."
"Yeah, it's not everything, but everything should slowly come together once Henry remembers who he is and what's going on like when he first brought you into Storybrooke." Evie nodded.
"I hope so for everybody's sake." Emma agreed.
"So why are you here?" Regina soon asked Emma.
"Storybrooke, A new curse, Missing year... What do you think?" Emma listed and then asked.
"What I mean is, how did you know to come back?" Regina pouted at Emma. "I gave you and Henry a new life. New memories."
"Hook found me, he gave me a potion to make me remember... There wasn't enough for Henry." Emma said.
"How convenient," Regina firmly pouted. "Look, I didn't cast that curse, if that's what you're thinking." she then added, sounding a little hurt.
"She really didn't, Emma," Evie nodded. "I feel like we once found out, but I don't remember who could've done this... I see this blurred image of someone in my dreams sometimes, but it sounds familiar and unfamiliar at the same time."
"The thought did cross my mind about Regina casting the curse, though I'm sure you didn't do it, Evie." Emma admitted.
"Never." Evie nodded and reassured the blonde woman.
"Why would I do this? Why would I erase an entire year of my life?" Regina complained to Emma.
"Maybe it was a bad year for you," Emma then told Regina. "Maybe this curse was your way of getting me to bring Henry back here." she added.
"It's okay, Mom, I know you didn't do it." Evie added out of comfort.
"Thank you, my dear Evie." Regina told her daughter warmly.
"Maybe so," Emma agreed. "But I need to start crossing people of the list." she then said.
"How? By walking around using your superpower on everyone?" Regina challenged.
"You've got a better idea?" Emma asked.
Regina frowned at that.
"So, who's that back there?" Henry wondered.
"Uh, that's Evie," David explained. "She's the daughter of Mayor Mills."
Mary Margaret nodded to that.
"Oh. Okay." Henry nodded.
"So, yeah using my power is the best we can do." Emma said to Regina and Evie.
"What if we make everyone else, except me as everyone knows I don't think it's you, think Regina is the one suspected... Draw them out?" Evie soon suggested.
"And just how would we do that?" Regina soon asked Evie.
"Well, Emma could bring together everyone, and use her power as she talks to them," Evie suggested. "Then when the others and Emma seem to accuse you you 'go Evil Queen' and scare the people a little... it should draw out whoever did this to make a mistake and reveal themselves after a little while." she smiled softly.
"It could work... I mean the people don't trust you right now anyway and it could bring out the real culprit." Emma agreed.
"...Very well," Regina said as she simmered down before nodding at her step-granddaughter and biological daughter. "I heavily agree with my princess~"
Evie gave a small smile.
Emma nodded. "Alright, we'll do it soon." she said.
"Great," Evie agreed. "Come on, Mom. Why don't we get to know Henry a little bit better?" she then suggested to her mother.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, dear?" Regina asked cautiously.
"Come on," Evie insisted. "I know things are different now, but maybe it would be good for everyone if you guys could start over."
Regina smiled a little and Emma did as well for Regina and Evie's sake to bring their little family back together again. Soon, they began to head over as Henry got comfortable with David and Mary Margaret.
"Hello." Mary Margaret smiled in greeting.
"Hi there!" Evie greeted back before looking around and spotted her former little brother. "Who do we have here, huh?" she then asked, acting like she didn't know.
"...Hi." Henry blinked at her in response.
"This is my son, Henry." Emma told Evie like she was just introducing someone new.
"Oh... I see..." Evie nodded as she played along as best as she could. "Hello there, Henry. My name is Evie, you don't have to be formal with me though even if I'm the mayor's daughter."
"Uh... Okay..." Henry replied before they suddenly shook hands. "Nice to meet you."
Emma smiled a bit to that.
"If you want, I could be like your big sister?" Evie offered to Henry.
"Uh, okay..." Henry shrugged at that before staring at her funny.
"You can ask me anything you'd like too," Evie then said. "I'd love to help you out if I can help it."
"Um, well, I do have this one question." Henry remarked.
"Sure, Henry. You can talk to me about anything." Evie reassured him.
"How come your hair is blue?" Henry asked.
Evie bit her lip, not sure how to answer that.
"Don't call say stuff like that, Henry, I didn't... raise you to be rude about people." Emma told him.
"Oh. Sorry, Mom." Henry said bashfully.
Emma nodded to that.
"Well, in Storybrooke we're all like one big happy family," Evie then reassured Henry. "I'm not sure about your life in New York City, but I'd love to hear about it someday."
"You know we came from New York City, huh?" Henry asked.
"Uh, yeah, your mom told me." Evie covered up.
"Nice save." David whispered.
"Hm... Good to know." Henry commented.
David blinked before he soon checked his phone after that, with Emma looking over his shoulder, as there was a text from the person who was watching over the station, and they let David know that a complaint had come in that someone had disappeared from the town line and they had seen what had done it.
"We got a situation." David quietly told Emma.
Emma looked over. "To do with the case?" she asked.
David nodded. "Yes, it sounds pretty bad."
Henry soon looked over curiously at the two adults who were his mother and, unknown to him, his grandfather.
"Alright." Emma said and then looked thoughtfully at Henry.
"I'll watch him." Mary Margaret suggested.
"And I'll help out with-" Evie began to say only to see that her mother seemed to had disappeared before she shrugged and pouted at first before she continued. "The lady." she then added to finish her own sentence.
"We'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry." Henry added with a small smile.
"That's a good kid." David approved.
"Well I'll see you later then, be good for Mary Margaret and Evie." Emma told him.
"Okay, Mom. See ya later." Henry smiled and nodded in response.
"Good boy." David approved with a small smile.
Emma ruffled his hair.
Henry smiled. "Good luck out there, Mom."
"Thanks, kid." Emma said warmly.
Henry smiled as he got settled with Mary Margaret.
"Come on, let's go." David urged Emma.
Emma went along with David.
Mary Margaret smiled at Henry. "You don't mind if I read this baby book do you?" She asked as she pulled out an information book from her purse.
Henry glanced at Mary Margaret and shrugged. "Eh, that's fine by me." he then told her before he decided to bring something out to occupy his own mind.
Mary Margaret smiled to Henry. Henry smiled back a little before he decided to bring out his Gameboy to play with. Mary Margaret glanced at him a little, wondering why he didn't have any books. Evie felt the same way as she didn't like this unimaginative and stereotypical little boy side of Henry, though she took out her sketchbook as she had something else on her mind besides just reuniting with her long-lost adoptive little brother. Henry soon began to play his game, concentrating more on that than anything else as he had a very different life and personality due to being raised by Emma in New York. Not paying attention to Mary Margaret; who then turned her attention to her book.
At the edge of town, Robin was talking with the group with him including his Merry Men which included Mulan along with the company of Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie. "This is where he was taken." he told Emma mostly.
"I wouldn't step over that line, if I were you." Emma warned.
"You think Little John was carried away because he attempted to cross that line?" Robin asked.
"Makes sense. The dwarves were out checking the line to see if anyone was coming or going when they disappeared," David replied, agreeing with Emma. "What exactly took Little John?" he then asked the outlaw.
"We didn't get a good look," Robin told them. "Some manner of a beast with wings," he said.
"That sounds a lot like the monster who attacked me in New York." Emma noted.
"You were attacked in New York?" Jay asked out of concern.
"It's a long story." Emma replied.
"The monster you were gonna marry?" Killian asked Emma protectively.
"You were going to marry someone?" David added.
"Did you just miss the part where I said "monster"?" Killian asked him a bit sardonically.
"Not now, okay?" Mulan advised Killian.
"We need to find Little John." Robin stepped in.
"It may lead us to those who've gone missing," Emma agreed. "David, take him and the rest of his-" she said and trailed off a moment.
"Merry Men." Mulan spoke up since she was part of the team despite being a woman.
"Right. Them," Emma agreed. "Run a search grid and see if you can find any sign of their missing guy." she then told David.
"Are you not joining us, Swan?" Killian asked Emma.
"Not yet," Emma said. "Regina was right, I'm not gonna figure out who's behind this curse by talking to people one by one." she told them.
"What are you gonna do?" David asked her.
"I'm gonna talk to everybody." Emma said, before she then walked away to head to the Town Meeting Hall.
Jay and Carlos looked at each other as they were unsure what to do right now.
"Well, looks like Storybrooke is in the middle of some serious monkey bu-" Jay began to say, about to make a pun.
"DON'T. SAY. IT." Carlos demanded through his teeth.
"...fine." Jay said in defeat.
"Good." Carlos sighed in relief.
"I'll just say that this town drives me bananas." Jay smirked.
"Argh." Carlos then groaned and rolled his eyes.
BACK AT THE DINER...
"My God! Did you know there's something like cradle cap?" Mary Margaret asked, looking terrified from her book.
"Oh, really?" Evie asked, entertaining Mary Margaret a bit as Henry was distracted with his video game.
"Yes! Babies get that on their heads. It's a crusty, yellow, greasy, scaly skin rash," Mary Margaret explained. "Seriously, this book uses all of these words."
"Yes, de-rezzed him." Henry suggested, though he wasn't fully paying attention obviously.
"You know, there's a library down the street. We can pop in get you something, if you'd rather," Mary Margaret offered. "I know how much you love reading."
"How do you know that?" Henry asked suspiciously.
Evie looked a bit nervous at first.
"Y-Your mom said... I think." Mary Margaret explained.
"Cool. Let me go get my coat," Henry replied before he left suddenly. "I'll be right down."
Evie watched him go before glancing back at Mary Margaret.
"Cradle cap." Mary Margaret sighed a bit.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be all bad." Evie advised.
"Thank you, Evie, but I think I'd prefer to talk to an expert." Mary Margaret said softly.
"You know, it goes away," A redheaded woman advised as she walked by suddenly with a golden brown-haired girl around Evie's age. "It doesn't hurt the baby."
"It doesn't?" Mary Margaret and Evie both asked at the same time.
"Babies are stronger than you think," The redheaded woman advised. "You're Snow White, aren't you?" she then asked.
"I'm Mary Margaret here, actually. And this is Evie." Mary Margaret introduced.
"Hi there," Evie replied as she glanced at both. "This must be your first time in Storybrooke?"
"We've missed the last curse, so, everything in this world is still a bit new." The teenage girl explained.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it," Mary Margaret reassured with a smile. "Who were you back in our land?" she then wondered.
"Oh, no one you'd remember," The redheaded woman replied. "Not everyone is famous like you."
"I don't know if I'd say famous." Mary Margaret said bashfully.
"You were a princess. And some of us were just supporting players," The redheaded woman replied. "Oh, it's okay. I loved who I was and what I did," she then added as she stood up and walked towards Mary Margaret. "I was a midwife and this young lady is my little helper." she then added to the girl beside her.
"Really?" Mary Margaret asked.
The redheaded woman nodded and then gave her name. "My name is Zelena and this is Gabrielle," she then introduced. "I've seen a lot of new mothers. Don't worry. You'll learn quickly." she then added.
"Oh, well, maybe you can help out Ms. Mary Margaret here?" Evie offered. "I won't be much help as I'm a mere high school student."
"Yes, I could use some advice," Mary Margaret added and agreed. "I have been turning the corner of every page on which I have a question and now I can't close the book. There are so many." she then added.
"It would be an honor." Zelena smiled.
Mary Margaret smiled back. "Careful. Once I have the baby I may not let you leave my side." she then added with a laugh.
"May I?" Zelena asked before Mary Margaret nodded at her and she soon touched the pregnant woman's belly. "Wow, helping Snow White with her baby? I can't think of anything that would make me happier." she then added out of excitement.
Gabrielle beamed as she looked just as, if not more, excited than Zelena. Evie glanced at the redheaded woman curiously as she thought she sensed something strange and the woman just glanced back at her innocently.
As a town meeting was being held in Storybrooke Town Hall, Ben decided to hold a meeting of his own. He called it "The Council of the Descendants" so that he and the others could discuss their own concerns and problems in town just like the adults since they were too young to be included and he decided to take charge of everyone since the others often saw him as a leader.
"Ready, Ben?" Jane asked as she came in.
Ben took a deep breath and tried to sound as serious as possible. "Yes, let them in. Thank you."
Jane nodded and soon went to open the room to let the other descendants inside as they met in the high school cafeteria. They had a lot going on between them, what with coming back to Storybrooke and being aged down back in Misthaven, not to mention now, having problems with Flying Monkeys.
"I guess we should get started?" Ben suggested once he saw everyone else come into the room.
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Kiara replied. "Might as well get it over with."
"I just can't help but feel like something's missing..." Ben frowned. "Aside from my father and Mal anyway."
"Then who?" Jane asked him.
Ben looked over at one seat that was empty before he shook his head. "Let's not worry about it." he then said, trying to remain strong and confident though Jane had a sneaking suspicion as to why he felt not too confident or strong right now.
"So, what are we discussing today, Ben?" Doug asked as he ate a sugar cookie that was offered in the room during the meeting.
"Well, uh, as I was saying, I hereby declare this meeting of the Storybrooke Descendants' Council officially open," Ben explained sheepishly. "Shall we begin?" he then asked.
Everyone else seemed to nod in response to that as they got settled into the cafeteria.
"Excellent! Well then," Ben then began to say. "As you all remember, the events of last year are gone from not only our parents, but us as well and ever since we came back to Storybrooke, strange things have been happening."
"I hear that some strange monster is trying to keep us from leaving town." Scarlett piped up.
"Is that what happened to my uncles?" Doug added.
"Yes, our parents seem to believe the people are being abducted as they approach the town line." Ben replied.
"So, we're trapped here. Again?" Kiara asked out of concern.
"It's no different than last time." Jane reassured them.
"Last time we lost our memories," Doug spoke up. "This time we get into dragged into woods."
"Do you know who cursed us?" Audrey wondered.
"And why they want us here?" Enid added.
"We're all working on it, especially the adults," Ben replied. "It's hard to figure out who cast the curse when nobody remembers the last year and we were all little kids."
"Who? Isn't it obvious?" Chad retorted.
"Chad, do you think you know something?" Ben asked the blonde boy.
"Who cast the last curse? Who knows how to use it? Who's the only one who ever did anything like this before?" Chad rhetorically asked the others and reminded them. "Isn't it obvious? The Evil Queen."
"Mayor Mills?" Ben wondered.
"Isn't it obvious, Benny Boo?" Audrey reminded her boyfriend. "She cursed the adults when Storybrooke was first made and I'm separated from my parents again and she is The Evil Queen just like Maleficent was The Dark Fairy."
"Mayor Mills does cast a lot of curses." Gil remarked.
"And she did take away everyone's memories once before." Scarlett added suspiciously.
"She still has her big house along with Evie." Kiara added.
Ben frowned a bit as he wasn't sure he liked the idea of Evie and her mother being blamed for this. "Now, now, let's not blame Evie's mom for all of this," he then told them as firmly as he could before he realized what was missing. "Where is Evie anyway?" he then wondered.
"Probably running off with her mother to cast another curse." Scarlett scoffed and pouted.
"Hey! Evie's not like that!" Amalie reminded her.
"Let's not blame our parents for what we might do, it's not fair for the descendants to pay for the sins of their parents," Ben retorted as he spoke up firmly. "This is exactly what happened to Mal when you guys blamed Maleficent for her being rotten to the core and why she left town all this time ago and no one's seen her since. Do you all really wanna make the same mistake with Evie and Mayor Mills?" he then added.
Everyone then grew silent and a bit nervous.
"Sorry, Ben." Enid said softly.
"Yeah. Sorry." Carla added.
A lot of the others also apologized.
"Now, I know I can't speak for Mayor Mills right now, but I don't think she or Evie had anything to do with this regardless of Evie's absence to this meeting," Ben told them. "There must be something else we're missing and I don't know what it is, but unless we work together like our parents, we'll just tear our existence apart and I'm sure no one wants that."
Jane looked soft before she took out her phone and decided to send a quick text while everyone continued to discuss their issues with Storybrooke right now.
Back in the woods, the search for Little John continued. Carlos even brought Dude over to try and track down the missing Merry Man for due to the latter being a dog. Dude soon found a leaf that had blood on it and began to bark a bit.
"Hey! Dude found something!" Carlos alerted the others.
"Good boy, Dude." David said as he and the others came to catch up.
Dude barked and soon picked up the leaf in his mouth to show everyone else, especially the outlaw leader of the Merry Men.
"He was dragged. He's there!" Robin pointed out.
Suddenly, an injured Little John was shown to be lying on the ground. He was unconscious and appeared to be suffering from a shoulder wound.
"Is he alive?" Killian asked cautiously.
"Barely," Robin replied as he tried to wake up his righthand man. "John, I'm here. We've got you."
"I've never seen bite like that before." Mulan remarked.
"Me neither." David replied.
"We need to get him to the hospital and fast." Lonnie suggested.
"I agree." Jay nodded.
"Okay, help me get him up. We gonna get him some help." Robin told the others as he tried to get Little John up with some effort, but needed a bit of extra help since Little John didn't really live up to his name.
MEANWHILE AT GRANNY'S...
"Big news, everybody!" Leroy announced as he burst into the diner suddenly. "Emma found Regina. She was holed up in her office working on a potion." he then added.
"What kind of potion?" Archie asked as he sat with Tinkerbell.
"Was she gonna hurt us, Leroy?" Nova asked out of concern.
"A memory potion," Leroy explained. "Regina said she's gonna use it to prove that she didn't cast the curse."
"Like I'd drink anything she gives me." Granny scoffed at that.
"Oh, somebody will," Leroy reassured firmly. "And when they remember we'll know exactly who did this to us."
Zelena looked at Gabrielle and soon nodded at the girl who nodded back at her and the two quickly left the diner without anyone seeing them. Totally not suspicious at all. Evie checked her phone and saw that she was being needed somewhere.
"Hey, where are you going?" Gabrielle asked Evie curiously.
"Oh, uh, school meeting," Evie replied. "It's a bit of a long story."
"Oh. Okay." Gabrielle said.
"Gabrielle, why don't you go along with her?" Zelena suggested with a small smirk.
"Huh? Are you sure?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yes, I think it might be good for you," Zelena nodded. "It could help you get to know the other kids in town after all."
"Well, um, all right then..." Gabrielle shrugged.
"Yeah, come on, you can trust me," Evie told Gabrielle warmly. "You're new after all and we always try to help our new friends in need."
Gabrielle gave a small smile as that made her feel a little bit better.
At Storybrooke General Hospital, Little John was soon taken into an emergency trauma room.
"He's bradycardic," A nurse warned as they rushed the man onto a stretcher. "BP dropping fast."
"What did this to him?" Dr. Whale asked urgently.
"We don't know." David replied as Little John began to shake violently.
Luckily, the nurse realized that. "He's going into shock." she then warned Dr. Whale.
"We need to sedate him. 15 mg of propofol." Whale suggested before he was given a shot and tried to give it to Little John.
However, Little John continued to tremble violently and he began growing a tail. Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie all noticed the tail and looked very wide-eyed. As Whale attempted with the shot a second time, the tail suddenly lashed out and hit him and lots of people in the room had taken a blow from the tail.
"John, John!" Robin cried out to his friend.
"Bloody hell!" Killian yelped as he ducked.
"John!" Robin continued to cry out.
Soon, Little John was no more and he had suddenly turned into a flying monkey.
"Okay, I didn't see that coming." David murmured.
"At least we can say we had an exciting childhood." Jay remarked.
The flying monkey soon squawked, then took a leap jumping through the window and disappeared into the night.
"What the hell was that thing?" David wondered.
"Don't look at me," Whale scoffed. "I'm a doctor not a vet."
"Isn't a vet a doctor?" Jay asked Carlos out of confusion.
Carlos nodded, but he also shrugged as Dr. Whale's response was rather unusual, but that was far from the most unusual thing about this adventure in Storybrooke.
"Hey, Ben," Evie said as she came by to see her best friend in trouble. "Sorry I missed the meeting."
"That's okay, Evie, I just have a lot on my mind right now," Ben said as he sat in a chair and buried his face in his hands. "My dad's gone, my big brother's gone, last year is gone, I'm not sure what else to do."
"Well, maybe you'll feel better after a good night's sleep," Evie advised as she put a soothing arm around him. "I know you'll do the right thing in the end."
"Thanks, Evie... you always know just what to say," Ben said with a small smile. "I'm just sorry that everyone blames your mother for the bad things happening in town."
"If only we could restore our memories somehow of the missing year." Evie frowned.
Ben nodded before he saw another girl. "Oh, Evie. Who's your new friend?" he then wondered.
"Oh, this is Gabrielle," Evie explained before a glimmer seemed to appear randomly in Ben's eyes before it went away again. "She's new in town."
"Gabrielle..." Ben repeated softly as that sounded important to him somehow. "What a beautiful name."
"Oh, uh, thank you." Gabrielle blushed and smiled.
"Welcome to Storybrooke, I just wish it were under better circumstances." Ben smiled back.
"I appreciate the welcome regardless." Gabrielle nodded.
"She might be starting school with us soon and I thought you could use some comfort like when we were kids," Evie said to Ben. "Jane texted me that you were having a bit of a crisis."
"More or less, yeah... I just told everyone to leave and maybe we'll try again tomorrow." Ben replied.
"You want me to sleep over like when we were kids?" Evie offered.
"You sure, Evie?" Ben replied.
"Sure I'm sure!" Evie nodded. "You know I care a lot about you and you were always like a brother to me until Mom adopted Henry during The First Curse."
Gabrielle smiled, admiring and enjoying their friendship together so far as a spectator.
"Well, okay, but I think you should still ask your mom first even though we're almost adults now." Ben advised the bluenette girl.
"Understood," Evie said before looking at Gabrielle. "And how about you? Would you like to join us?" she then invited.
"Oh, uh... I... I don't know..." Gabrielle said before checking the time. "I might need to go home right away."
"Well, okay, if you're sure." Evie replied.
"Maybe another time?" Gabrielle suggested.
"Sure, and we'll help you get adapted to Storybrooke," Ben added. "You know what they always say though, 'There's no place like home'."
"I've heard that." Gabrielle nodded as that sounded like good advice.
"Do you need someone to walk you home?" Evie offered. "It's usually best to have company when walking these streets at night."
"Ah, uh, um, I'll be all right," Gabrielle reassured them. "I don't live far from here with Ms. Zelena."
"Okay then, Gabrielle... Nice meeting you." Ben replied.
"Likewise." Gabrielle nodded as she left the room then.
Ben and Evie then followed her and went to go and see Regina to talk about the sleepover.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Emma was leading Regina to the Blanchard loft. As they did that, they ran into Ben and Evie who wanted to know if they could have a sleepover like they did when they were little kids together. Regina was unsure, but she thought maybe that would be best, but right now, she had other things to worry about. Rather than going home right away, Ben and Evie decided to keep her company as extra support since Evie had a feeling about what this was all about.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea." Regina said softly.
"It's gonna be fine. Trust me." Emma reassured the raven-haired woman.
"I'm right here too, Mom," Evie added. "I won't leave until you feel comfortable around Henry again."
"You know this is about Henry, huh?" Regina asked.
"Let's just say I know my mother pretty well." Evie smirked and winked innocently.
Regina smirked back.
Emma then opened the door as they came inside to see the boy who was being looked after by David and Mary Margaret. "Hey, how was your day?" she then asked herson.
"Good. Storybrooke is a weird place, but cool," Henry replied. "Did you know there's a library inside a clock tower." he then asked his mother.
"I do. I've been there before," Emma nodded. "Come on, I want you to meet someone."
"My mom's the librarian so I know too," Ben spoke up, acting like he never met or seen Henry before in his life. "Nice to meet you, Henry."
"You know my name?" Henry asked out of surprise.
"I told him." Evie quickly said.
"And you're the mayor's daughter." Henry then said to Evie.
"That, I am, and this is my mother," Evie soon said and gestured to her patient mother beside them. "Mayor Regina Mills and she's been wanting to meet you."
Regina nodded, trying not to make a big deal out of this moment.
"Is something wrong?" Henry asked curiously.
"No, no. No, nothing's wrong," Regina reassured him calmly. "Your mother just told me a lot about you. I heard you like school and that you're good at English."
"Yeah. Why did she tell you all this?" Henry nodded and then wondered.
"Because she couldn't be prouder of you," Regina explained calmly. "While you're in town I was thinking, maybe I can give you a tour sometime. You know, show you around." she then added.
"Maybe we can all stop in for ice cream?" Evie suggested.
"Yeah, I'd like that." Henry replied.
Regina and Evie both smiled at that.
"So, it was nice meeting you." Henry then said.
Regina then took a step towards Henry, intending to embrace him. He then offered her a hand. After a moment, she decided to shake it before Henry left the main room and took his video game with him.
"How was that?" Evie asked her mother tenderly. "You're okay?"
"Yeah, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Emma added.
"It was a start." Regina admitted.
David and Killian suddenly came into the apartment.
"We need to talk." David said.
Emma soon looked around, she noticed Henry sitting on the sofa. "Outside." she then suggested.
"You two should probably go on your sleepover now." Regina told Evie and Ben.
"In a minute, ma'am," Ben replied. "This sounds important."
"And don't try to tell us that this is grown-up business because we're almost grown-up too." Evie added.
Regina sighed and shook her head. "You have my stubbornness." she then smirked.
"She said it, not me." Killian whispered to himself.
Regina then flashed him a brief look before they left the room while Henry preoccupied himself with his video game.
"So people are being turned into flying monkeys?" Evie asked.
"Yes, Little John took on simian form with the added bonus of wings." Killian nodded.
"Did you think this is what happened to Doug's family, too?" Ben wondered.
"It would explain why we haven't found any traces of them." David replied.
"And Neal or Goldilocks?" Emma asked.
"No sign of them, either," David said. "So, yeah, it's possible."
"Wouldn't be the first flying monkey I've dated." Emma scoffed to herself while Evie and Ben looked at her curiously.
"The person who escaped our trap disappeared in cloud of green smoke. And now, there are flying monkeys in this town?" Regina realized as she began to have the gears in her head turn thoughtfully. "I think we know exactly who cursed us."
"Who? The Wicked Witch of the West?" Emma snarked.
"Of course! That makes sense!" Evie gasped and realized.
"Exactly, my little evil-ette." Regina nodded in agreement.
Emma couldn't believe it. "Seriously? She's real, too?" she then asked in disbelief.
"Says the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming." Killian retorted.
"I don't get it. It's not like we're in Kansas," Emma wondered. "Why would the Wicked Witch of the West wanna come to Storybrooke?"
"That's what we have to figure out... All of us," Ben spoke up. "We're trying to figure things out too as the descendants of this Fairy Tale Town."
"Hopefully we can figure something out," Evie added. "Especially with some new friends in town."
"I guess we'll see and find out," Ben replied. "At least your mother is innocent, Evie."
"I'm glad to know that." Evie agreed.
"Again, sorry that everyone else tried to blame your mother for this." Ben then said.
"That's okay, Ben, I'm used to it by now," Regina rolled her eyes. "You kids go and have some fun, but remember, you have to sleep in separate rooms now due to your ages."
"Yes, Mom./Mayor Mills." Evie and Ben replied since they were teenagers now and no longer little kids who could sleep in the same room together.
"So, now that we know who we are dealing with, how do we find this Wicked Witch?" David wondered as Ben and Evie left them alone that night.
"Might I suggest we start by asking if anyone has seen a woman with green skin running around?" Killian suggested, both jokingly and serious.
"We're cursed in Storybrooke. She'll look like any one of us." Regina reminded the adult pirate.
"Then we start somewhere we know she's been," Emma advised. "Regina's office."
"I've been over it with a fine-toothed comb. She left no trace." Regina countered.
"But you were combing for magic," Emma retorted. "Maybe there's physical evidence that you missed."
"Good idea," David agreed. "We'll track her."
"If you wanna waste your time playing Nancy Drew, be my guest, but we can't let Henry wander around alone with that witch and her flying monkeys out there." Regina scoffed.
"Well, especially, since one of these flying monkeys could turn out to be his father." Killian replied.
"Still no sign of Neal?" Mary Margaret asked out of concern.
"No." Emma admitted.
"Point being, someone needs to protect Henry," Regina spoke up again. "He doesn't even know what's going on."
"I'm guessing you're volunteering?" Emma assumed.
"If you find anything, call me or Evie." Regina replied.
"Just remember, he thinks we're here because I'm on a case." Emma then said.
"Well, look who's gotten good at lying." Regina smirked.
"Just don't let anything slip up," Emma reminded her. "As far as Henry knows, you're just Madame Mayor, Evie is your daughter and not his big sister, and that's it."
"I'm well aware of how Henry sees me and Evie." Regina pouted before she left suddenly.
"Time is wasting. There's something wicked in your town," Killian replied. "What do you say we go find find it?" he then suggested.
