Nurse Spratt had checked over Lonnie and had left her office for a moment before coming back in. "Your mother is here." she then told the young warrior.
Lonnie then looked up as she had a bag of ice over her wound and smiled a bit once she saw her mother.
"Are you all right, my little warrior?" Mulan asked. "Are you hurt?"
"A little, but I'll be okay," Lonnie replied. "I thought you'd be with Mr. Hood and the other Merry Men."
"Well, I had to come and make sure my little warrior daughter was all right." Mulan reassured her.
"Oh, thanks, Mom. You always know how to make me feel better, like when you bake fresh chocolate chip cookies and we laugh together over a glass of milk and put everything in perspective and-" Lonnie beamed until she realized what Mulan just said about her. "You just called me your daughter."
"Yes, I did..." Mulan admitted and nodded.
Lonnie grinned sheepishly as she rubbed her arm.
"It's all right, I promise," Mulan said softly. "Audrey explained everything to me after she heard you got hurt because of Elwin."
"That was accident." Lonnie reassured her mother about Elwin icing her earlier.
"Oh, I'm sure it was," Mulan nodded. "We need to get out of here."
"Yeah, I guess we should leave the nurse's office and let Mrs. Spratt go back to her husband." Lonnie agreed.
"No, little warrior, that's not what I mean." Mulan clarified.
"Huh?" Lonnie asked. "What do you mean then, Mom?"
"We need to go back home where we really came from," Mulan reminded her daughter. "Especially you and we'll need Shinto's help."
"Shinto?" Lonnie asked until she remembered. "Oh, right. The Great Stone Dragon."
"Yes, it appears that a prophecy is in order and he will arrive and we need to be there and go back home to Northern Wei and restore the timeline," Mulan explained. "It will be different for your friend Audrey since her parents are in this timeline with their new baby of course."
"You mean... I have to leave Storybrooke?" Lonnie asked softly. "My friends? My... Elwin...?"
"I'm afraid so, little warrior," Mulan nodded. "We need to find our family and I even have to leave Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men and you must fulfill your destiny. Especially since we are heroes and you are a heroes descendant."
"And heroes always win..." Lonnie agreed. "You didn't win the war by taking the coward's way out."
"Especially after your father found out I was a woman when I was horribly injured during one of Shan Yu's attacks," Mulan nodded. "He could've killed me since the penalty of a woman in war is death, but he didn't and neither did Yao, Chien-Po, and Ling. They became the best friends I could ever ask for."
"They are my favorite uncles.." Lonnie admitted.
"Come, my little warrior," Mulan said as she put her arm around Lonnie. "Let's get you back home so you can get settled and rest off your injury."
"Yes, Mom." Lonnie said softly.
And with that, the warrior mother and daughter left as Mrs. Spratt began to pig out on her favorite dessert before waving them off.
Meanwhile, Killian soon came into Mr. Gold's shop, demanding to see the man in charge only for him not to be there. "Crocodile?! Where are you?!" he then demanded before seeing two certain teenagers.
Ben and Gabrielle soon looked over at him as they were cleaning up.
"Where is your father?" Killian demanded before he saw a certain handprint on a table that concerned him. "Emma..." he then muttered.
"He had to step out and run an errand." Ben explained.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" Gabrielle added in concern.
"...Nothing you guys need to worry about, please excuse me." Killian said as he suddenly left the shop.
Ben and Gabrielle just glanced at each other, unsure about that, but they were concerned about it since Killian left rather abruptly like that.
Killian, in the meantime, soon ran out the shop door and brought out his phone, dialing a certain number that just sent him to voicemail again, but he didn't care. "Swan, it's Killian again. You have to listen to me. I know that you've been to see Gold. I saw what you did. And if he's promised to get rid of your powers, don't listen to him. He doesn't want to help you. He wants... He wants to collect your powers in a bloody magic hat. And when he does, you'll be sucked in, too. I... I don't know what he's planning, but I know that he's been lying to his family. The dagger he gave them is a fake. I only know all this because..." he started to say, though once he got to the last part, he hesitated a bit as he felt his heart aching deep down inside, but he swallowed his pride and decided to get those words out of his mind when he could. "Because I'm afraid I've been lying to you, too. Gold blackmailed me into helping him. He knew. He knew I'd do whatever it takes to be with you, and he used it against me. I just wanted to be a better man for you, Swan, but I failed. I failed Harry, I don't know how I'm going to tell the little lad. And now because of it, I might lose you. I'm sorry, but I hope you never forgive me because that means that you'll get this in time to save yourself. Goodbye." he then added before hanging up and breathed a shallowly. He then thought about where the manor was in Storybrooke until he had an idea of where to go.
"Gee, I wonder what that was all about?" Gabrielle asked Ben as it was just the two of them again.
"Dad has been acting very strange and suspicious lately, Gabrielle..." Ben said thoughtfully. "I kinda wanna find out what's going on myself."
"Ben, are you sure?" Gabrielle asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure, and you should know about this too since you're part of the family now." Ben nodded.
Gabrielle smiled, flattered that Ben considered her part of the family, but then firmly nodded as she tried to look serious about this. "So, are you going after Mr. Hook?" she then asked.
"Maybe? I'm not sure right now," Ben replied. "I'd hate to eavesdrop or snoop around, but if he's concerned about Dad right now, then I think I have a right to know what's going down and maybe so does Mom."
"Well, either way, Ben, good luck." Gabrielle said softly.
"Thanks, Gabrielle," Ben nodded. "It's so nice to have a sister."
"And it's nice having a brother." Gabrielle smiled warmly.
Ben sniffled and smiled back a little. "Yeah, I'm sure it is." he then agreed, trying not to get too emotional as that just made him think about Neal even if the two didn't get to grow up together like many other brothers had the chance to.
Meanwhile, Ingrid had a circle in her lair and appeared to be having a hard time getting out. "Oh, Jadis, we have much more in common now and I wish I could save you from your Narnian prison which has clouded your mind and your heart... I wonder how my potential descendants are coming along?" she then lamented to herself, looking in her mirror and then used her power to spy on both Elwin and Emma, having an idea suddenly.
"Do we really know what we're getting ourselves into?" Elwin asked Emma as he put his hands in his hoodie pockets to avoid making snowflakes or a snowman randomly appear.
"I'm not really sure, kid, but we really need this more now than ever," Emma replied with a nod. "You hurt your girlfriend and I hurt my kid."
"Lonnie is not my girlfriend." Elwin muttered in frustration before blushing.
Emma hid a small smirk at that as she drove them off to the manor, but unknown to either of them, Ingrid had a smirk of her own, but for different reasons. The radio seemed to just randomly tune itself for no real reason until she tried to turn it off and her electricity crackled.
"Oh! Emma!" Elwin gasped as that startled him, though he did his best to keep his hands to himself. It was sort of hard on natural common sense and instinct since that came from nowhere.
"Don't worry about it, kid." Emma said, trying not to be alarmed herself, though there was soon electricity all around them which was a bit startling even IF in a Land Without Magic that had its lost magic returned and the future storylines with the storybook descendants.
"What the heck?" Elwin muttered as he tried to see if he could help, though he waved his hands as random snowflakes appeared from them. "Oh, no! Sorry!" he then said.
"It's okay!" Emma reassured him.
Ingrid soon randomly appeared in the middle of the road. Emma didn't have time to stop and gasped as she skid off of the road and suddenly ended up on the ground on the other side while trying to avoid hitting someone because she wasn't paying attention to the road. Emma's head then thudded onto the horn, causing it to blare and Elwin soon began to look and feel very scared in that moment, especially since the woman he believed would protect him and make him feel safe currently wasn't his friend right now due to her dark conquests in response to losing her sisters. He was panting heavily and shivering, but not from his own cold, as his teeth began to chatter while filling the car with endless snowflakes.
Eventually, Emma woke up, shivering and rushed out of her car, but mostly to confront what she and Elwin thought they saw.
"Emma. Elwin." Ingrid greeted softly.
"Stay back." Emma demanded.
"Wherever you're headed, turn around and go home," Ingrid warned them. "You are in great danger."
"Oh, sure, like we're gonna listen to you about danger?" Elwin rolled his icy blue eyes in response.
"Get out of our way." Emma added.
"My sweet children, I am not the one that you should fear. Rumplestiltskin is," Ingrid reassured them. "Whatever he's promised you, it's a lie."
"How do you know he promised us anything?" Emma demanded suspiciously.
"So I was right. You mustn't trust him, children," Ingrid advised. "He doesn't do anything unless it benefits him. He doesn't care about you. He would kill you both to get what he desires. I definitely don't want that, my little Snow Prince." she then added as she faced Elwin with her hand on her tender heart.
"You know what we think? The fact that you don't want us to go means something," Emma scoffed. "It means we're going and stop calling me a child, I'm not a kid anymore obviously."
"I won't let you." Ingrid tutted.
"You're not gonna hurt us. You need us." Elwin retorted.
"Don't do this." Ingrid begged.
Elwin snorted and Emma rolled her eyes as they stormed through Ingrid then suddenly did a double take as she erupted into a white flurry for a moment almost like a magical hologram.
"What the...? You're not here." Emma gasped.
"If I could be, I would," Ingrid insisted. "I'm trying to protect you, and that is the truth."
"We don't care what you say," Emma said as she then stormed off to her car. "That's the truth."
Elwin nodded firmly as he got into the car with Emma and buckled up.
"By the way, try to keep those snowflakes under control next time?" Emma asked Elwin as she also buckled up and began to drive away after the accident.
"Oh, so I, a mere teenager, have a better grasp of my bending over your ability?" Elwin deadpanned in response.
"Jeez, kid, that was so salty, I felt like I was on The Jolly Roger again!" Emma commented.
"Just saying, if you have trouble with your powers I likely do too," Elwin then reminded her. "You might not have been raised as Snow White's descendant, but this is just as new for me as it is for you since I just believed The Snow Queen to be my true mother."
"Okay, fair enough," Emma replied with a sigh. "Anyway, you have to bend your arms or something to make your powers work?" she then asked.
"No, no, this is a new lesson from Merryweather who teaches at our school now," Elwin clarified and explained. "Bending is the ability to manipulate one of the four classic elements: air, water, fire, and earth. Though she said it has changed recently after meeting all of us when becoming a teacher like John Darling."
"Oh, John Darling stayed in Storybrooke?" Emma asked out of intrigue.
"Yes, so far along with Michael and Wendy, though no one's sure what might become of Wendy in school." Elwin then said.
"Well, hopefully it's better than what I read that her future daughter ends up with Peter Pan in the end after Wendy Darling grows up and after meeting your guys' Peter Pan, I'm thankful that her legacy stopped after that." Emma remarked.
"Amen to that, sister." Elwin agreed.
Emma smirked at that and they continued to ride off, hoping to solve their problems for the better.
Regina soon came downstairs from Henry's room to join Mary Margaret in the kitchen.
"How's Henry?" Mary Margaret asked softly.
"Reading comic books. Refusing to sleep. So, I think okay... Or at least his version of a brave face," Regina replied. "Thank you, by the way, for earlier. He has enough problems without bringing my mess of a life into it."
"By 'mess', do you mean Robin Hood?" Mary Margaret pried. "Did you guys, uh...?"
Regina blushed and turned away, feeling embarrassed about answering that sort of question to someone else.
"Oh, come on, Regina. You don't need to be ashamed." Mary Margaret reassured her former wicked step-mother..
"Well, I know I don't have to be, but... I am." Regina confessed.
"Is everything okay?" David asked out of concern as he suddenly walked into the room.
"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, taken aback by his appearance until she saw the others giving her a look for her question. "Well, shouldn't someone be out looking for Emma?" she then clarified.
"Didn't Mary Margaret tell you? Emma called," David explained. "She figured out a way to get rid of her magic along with Elwin."
"Elwin wants to get rid of his magic?!" Evie asked as she suddenly barged in with wide eyes.
"Evie, you shouldn't have just walked in like that!" Mary Margaret gasped.
"Sorry, I was gonna knock, but I couldn't help but overhear through the door just as I was about to, but seriously, Elwin's gonna get rid of his magic?" Evie explained and then asked.
"And you're okay with that?" Regina added.
"We support our daughter and Elwin can make his own choices without us interfering in his life." David replied confidently.
"We're not talking about an old pair of Jimmy Choos here," Regina scoffed. "Tell me you're joking."
"It may seem drastic, but it's the only way Emma and Elwin can be sure never to hurt anyone again." Mary Margaeret insisted.
"This could be the worst idea you've ever had," Regina replied until she caught herself. "...And you hired The Wicked Witch as your nanny."
"Well, while I can't speak for Elwin, we actually think it'll be good for them," David said. "We... They could be normal."
"Let me ask you something: Do you know what I regret most?" Regina began to ask.
"Countless innocent lives you destroyed?" Evie guessed.
"Evie!" Regina frowned.
"Sorry, Mom." Evie replied.
"But... it's that I didn't support Henry when he realized he was special. You of all people should remember," Regina then began to explain before facing Mary Margaret in particular. "Because you started it all when YOU gave him that storybook. It opened up a whole world for him, but I was so scared of losing him and even Evie along with him... That I tried convincing him he was crazy... And that being normal would make things better. Thankfully, he had the good sense not to listen to me."
"Fair, Mom." Evie admitted.
Regina nodded in response to that.
"Regina's right. David, we've been rationalizing, and you know it," Mary Margaret agreed. "We cannot let her take away what's special about her."
"I know." David nodded.
"Well, then let's go get them," Evie suggested. "Mom, did you bring your locator spell?"
"Of course I did." Regina nodded.
"Regina left it right over-" Mary Margaret was about to say until she saw that the bottle wasn't where it once was before. "Regina, your locator potion-" she then started to say.
"It's gone." Regina realized.
"Where's Elsa?" David suddenly wondered.
"I think the two are related somehow," Evie suggested. "Should we go looking for them?"
"That might be best, my dear," Regina nodded. "If you don't mind helping of course."
"No, Mom. It'll give me something to do," Evie reassured her mother. "Ben's very busy at his dad's shop so we can't really hang out."
"So you went to Ben's place?" Regina replied.
"Well, yeah," Evie smiled. "He's my best guy friend and I've known him since practically forever."
"I suppose that's fair," Regina nodded. "I know Henry will be happy to see you too especially since his friend Dee Dee has been busy with her ballet for school."
"Dee Dee is so talented with her dances." Evie remarked.
"Yes, she is a good kid and I'm glad that she and Henry found each other." Regina admitted.
Soon, Henry was told to come downstairs and join the others as they went to go see if they could find who they needed at the moment. They drove through town until they came nearly to where the town line was as they began to look all over for Elwin and/or Emma.
"You're sure these are from her bug?" Henry asked, looking down at the tracks on the road.
"Oh, yeah," Mary Margaret nodded as she had a guess on what might have happened. "She definitely spun out here and then she got out of the car and got back in."
"Anyone else out here?" David asked.
"No. It's just her footprints and a smaller set, but still pretty big." Mary Margaret replied.
"Those must be Elwin's," Evie guessed until she looked down at other tracks. "These tracks seem lighter than the other ones." she then pointed out as she tried to be like a detective.
"Come on. These are so fresh, we can carry on foot," Mary Margaret suggested. "They can't have gone far."
David soon turned off the lights of his car. He then saw that Mary Margaret, Regina, and Evie wanted to be alone with their own conversation, so he decided to keep Henry out of it since this was personal.
"So, before we were interrupted, you were telling me about Robin Hood." Mary Margaret prompted Regina.
"Oh, there's not much to tell," Regina dismissed. "It's not gonna work out."
"What makes you say that, Mom?" Evie asked.
"It's the story of my life," Regina sighed as she explained her feelings. "Whatever's working against my happiness is more powerful than I am."
"Come on, don't think like that." Evie frowned.
"Evie, I already lost your father, I could lose Robin Hood too." Regina retorted.
Evie frowned softly as it was true that her father had to die over his and her mother's forbidden love, but she still wanted to believe in them. Besides, it would be nice to have a proper father figure in her life since Graham never really felt that way around her and she was disgusted with him because she was aware of the secret behind the "Saturday morning Council Meetings" while she and Henry would stay home in the meantime.
"Why does it have to work against you? Look at me and David. We have faced impossible odds numerous times... Often because of you... And yet we've always worked out," Mary Margaret said strongly. "You know why? Because we have hope." she then added.
"You get a quarter from The Hope Commission every time you say that word. Admit it." Regina scoffed.
Evie smirked a little at that since it sounded funny to her.
"I'm serious." Mary Margaret then told Regina.
"Well, it's easy for you to say... You're a hero," Regina sighed and then said. "Whenever you need help, it just magically shows up, like Henry's book."
"Yeah, I think that when you do good, the universe takes care of you," Mary Margaret nodded and explained. "That's why it showed up."
"Well, it doesn't really matter why. Your wishes are rewarded," Regina countered bitterly and enviously. "Mine are crushed and I fear that the same might happen to Evie only because of our storybook legacies writing our own futures for us."
"Well, I refuse to believe that happiness is impossible for you to achieve. You've come too far," Mary Margaret reassured Regina. "And, yes, you may be sleeping with a married man, but guess what... So have I." she then added as a reminder from old times.
"I can't get over that, but in fairness, he was your husband until Mom decided to make him believe he was married to Diana from school's sister," Evie commented. "The family with The Golden Touch."
"Well, I've done far worse than that." Regina frowned.
"Which doesn't mean that you can't earn forgiveness, a chance at grace," Mary Margaret then said. "I have to believe that."
"I know that I believe it at least." Evie said softly.
"If you do good hoping to be redeemed, is that... Really good? Maybe evil is born..." Regina sighed as she spoke again. "And that's just who I am and maybe even Evie when the time comes for her to tell her own story as a future evil queen."
"Regina... You saw me grow up. You know how selfish and shallow I could be as a child," Mary Margaret reminded her former step-mother. "My cousin Ebony had a much better heart than I did and look at her, she married one of The Seven Dwarves and one of those dwarves has a child who is a close friend of your daughter's."
"It's true, Doug is a very good friend." Evie agreed.
"You know what I've done since. You have literally seen my heart. You know it's not untouched," Mary Margaret then continued with insistence towards Regina. "You are not all evil, and I'm not all good. Things are not that simple."
"Well, whoever's guiding all this seems to think it is. You're the hero and I'm the villain," Regina shook her head. "Free will be damned. It's all in the book. And we both know how it plays out."
"Mm... Maybe, but maybe not," Mary Margaret said thoughtfully. "Your stories went poorly because you made bad choices, but now you're making good ones. It may not happen as quickly as you want, but... If you stay the course, your happiness will come."
"You honestly believe that?" Regina asked out of slight disbelief.
"It doesn't matter what I believe; what matters is that you do." Mary Margaret advised.
Meanwhile in the library, Goldie, Will, and Robin continued to snoop around.
Will took a look at the storybook which showed one of Regina's illustrations in her Evil Queen form. "She's really something, all right. If evil queens are your type, which I get." he then commented.
"We know, Will, we know," Goldie rolled her eyes. "The Red Queen is sending the descendants of Wonderland to come find you and bring you back to where you think you properly belong as The Knave of Hearts, give it a rest already."
"Oh, come now, don't be like that," Will reassured her. "Is this because you made this blue-bearded guy's wives jealous or something? I hear he quite fancies you, though you find him so disgusting that you would never sleep in his bed."
"For your information, his wives were his knives and we weren't a thing," Goldie rolled her eyes. "He was just a pawn from Pan to get Neal into Neverland again and to get me here in Storybrooke."
"On the bright side, you never have to worry about that awful place or that punk ever again, my dear sister." Robin reassured her.
"Thanks, Robbie because that place was a lot worse than the orphanage we used to live in after what happened to Mama and Papa." Goldie nodded.
"I know, Goldie." Robin replied softly.
"You're still together then?" Will then asked Robin. "You and The Evil Queen?"
"That is not relevant." Robin said, peering through one bookshelf.
"Hey, no judgments here, mate," Will reassured Robin. "I was the one who told you to follow your heart."
"You sure The Red Queen didn't just take it along with part of your brain?" Goldie smirked.
"I'm no scarecrow." Will glared in defense.
"Could've fooled me." Goldie smirked.
"I just want her to be happy, even if she thinks that's impossible..." Robin sighed in frustration until he saw a potential book that caught his attention and he took it out of the shelf right away. "Wait! Ah."
"Whoa!" Will gasped as he opened his own book which was a pop-up book and that felt strange to him even though he was known for his journey to Wonderland due to recent events and being replaced by Mulan as a fellow Merry Man in his absence.
"'1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL repair manual'," Robin read aloud from the book he found before he scoffed. "All due respect, I'm beginning to think your magic library theory might be a tad off."
"Just a little bit," Goldie agreed as she found a book called Martha Speaks and glanced through the pages. "Anyone who thinks alphabet soup has magical powers is crazy to think that it could happen to a dog from this world." she then muttered to herself.
"Any book we want is hardly gonna be stacked beside... The Cat in the Hat," Robin said before he found another book which dumbfounded him. "Why would a cat want a hat?"
"Doesn't that cat adopted by The Three Musketeers wear a hat and a cape and, oh, yeah, boots?" Goldie reminded her brother.
"Not funny." Robin scoffed.
"I've seen stranger." Will commented, of course meaning the infamous Cheshire Cat.
"I bet you have." Goldie rolled her eyes, feeling sick and tired of hearing about Will's adventures in Wonderland.
Robin soon closed the storybook and went to grab his bag until he found a folded up piece of paper. "Wait. This wasn't here before." he then noted.
"What wasn't here?" Will asked obliviously.
"I'm not sure," Robin said before opening up the paper and looked wide-eyed. "Incredible!"
"What is it?" Will wondered.
"I need to reach Regina." Robin stated.
"Aw, come on, Robbie, let us see." Goldie said to her big brother.
"I will, in a moment, I just need to talk to Regina right now." Robin replied urgently.
"I have a hopeful and good feeling about this." Goldie said to herself.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the road, Regina heard her cell phone ring and she then decided to answer it right away. "Hello. Who is this?" she then answered and demanded.
"Regina, it's Robin," The outlaw answered urgently. "I've just found something that you have to see right now."
"Right now?" Regina replied, about to decline the offer. "I'm... I'm sorry, but I'm in the middle-"
"Go. We've got this." Mary Margaret interrupted and reassured Regina that it was okay.
"He found something." Regina explained quietly.
"Maybe hope worked." Mary Margaret said with a small smile.
"Well, if it did, I owe you a quarter," Regina said to her before she went back on the phone to the outlaw. "I'll be right there."
Evie smiled as she looked hopeful for her mother as she hung up on the outlaw.
"Are you going with your mother or staying with us?" Mary Margaret asked curiously.
"I think I might need to go with her," Evie suggested. "You know, in case she needs some special daughterly comfort since I've been gone for a while."
Regina smiled warmly at that.
"I'm sorry I disappeared on you like that, Mom." Evie said softly.
"It's okay, dear, you needed some privacy," Regina reassured her daughter. "It's been a lot for all of us lately."
"Yes, it has." Evie nodded before she went with Regina to go and see Robin.
Meanwhile, in the manor, Rumple was preparing for his visitors as they soon made it over at the agreed time and place.
"Hello? Gold? You here?" Emma called out on the way inside.
"Mr. Gold? Mr. Gold?" Elwin added. "Mr. Gold, you in there?!"
The two soon walked through the manor until they found a pair of double doors that had some sort of electricity crackling behind it. They both looked scared, no one was sure who was more scared, though Elwin was hoping Emma wasn't as or not more scared than him since she was the adult here. They were very curious about the other side, but didn't go in right away until they suddenly had the company they were waiting for.
"There's no need to shout. I'm right here," Rumple said as he was right behind them. "You'll forgive me if I keep my distance."
"Uh, yeah, okay, um, sir." Elwin replied as respectfully as he could.
"It would appear your powers are growing increasingly out of control." Rumple noted.
"Yeah, it was a rough night." Elwin nodded.
"So, what do we need to do?" Emma asked.
"I've already cast the spell inside that room," Rumple instructed. "All you have to do is step through the door.
Emma and Elwin nodded, though they still felt hesitant about doing so as something was holding them back mentally.
"Is something wrong?" Rumple then asked as he sensed their wariness.
It's just... We ran into the Snow Queen." Elwin explained.
"Did you?" Rumple asked.
"Well, sort of. It was a projection or a hologram, or we don't know what it was," Emma replied, though a bit confused due to what they experienced earlier. "She said we shouldn't do this, that you were trying to hurt us."
"All right, so now we know who doesn't want you to do this... The villain," Rumple countered. "Sounds like an argument for it, but maybe that's just me."
"That's what we said." Elwin remarked.
"But you still have doubts." Rumple then guessed.
"Can you blame us?" Emma defended.
"No." Rumple admitted.
"Well, uh, is it safe to go through there then?" Elwin asked as he gestured behind him. "Are we gonna be okay?"
"No magic is without risk, even magic used to take away magic. Look, this is very much your choice," Rumple advised them. "And, of course, it was also your idea."
"But it's gonna stop us from hurting people." Emma reminded him.
"That much I can promise, yes." Rumple nodded.
"What would you do?" Elwin wondered.
"I wouldn't go in there for anything." Rumple replied.
"What? Why?" Emma demanded, almost warily.
"Because, children, I'm not like you," Rumple explained as maturely as possible. "I'm a man who makes wrong decisions, selfish decisions."
"But you spent all that time looking for Neal. You sacrificed yourself to save the town," Emma reminded him. "You married Belle and you both raise Ben."
"That's almost something like my Guardians would do just to save the children of the world." Elwin added.
"And each time, I meticulously undid all the good," Rumple reminded them. "Neal is still gone, the town is still in danger, and Belle as well as Ben, for better or worse, they know who I am, and that's the man who always chooses power."
"They believe you can change." Emma insisted.
"And I love them for that, but I fear she's they're likely wrong, but you two? You don't need to change," Rumple replied. "Because you do the right thing. Always."
Emma had to admit that that was right as she did her best to stay strong. "Gold... Thank you." she then said.
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Gold." Elwin added.
"Of course. We have no choice." Rumple replied before he mysteriously walked away to give the two some privacy.
"All right, kid, are you ready?" Emma asked Elwin.
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Elwin shrugged with a small sigh.
"Yeah, I guess that's how I feel too," Emma admitted. "Let's go. Together." she then suggested.
"Together." Elwin agreed.
The two soon tried to head toward the doors, bracing into the unknown that was behind these doors. Unknown to them, a certain hat was being in use which was going to help change their lives forever if they walked right through the doors with nothing to come back to as it once was before as even the lights on the chandelier dimmed and brightened up every so often due to the use of electrical magic.
Meanwhile, Killian rushed over to the mansion as quickly as possible as he could on foot, not seeing his son who was hiding as best as he could without making a single sound. "Swan!" he then called out for Emma.
"Watch your step, Captain," Rumple advised the adult pirate. "The terrain's a little rough around here."
"Get out of my way, Crocodile," Killian demanded. "I'll die fighting before I let you use that bloody hat on Emma."
Rumple glared and lifted his hand to shoot Killian back against the gate and tie up the adult pirate to ensnare him and keep him from getting away. "Death can wait. How about before you depart, I'll treat you to a front-row seat and we can watch her use that hat on herself?" he then taunted his greatest enemy.
"No." Killian frowned firmly in response.
"Oh, and, uh... In case you were counting on Emma getting your message... Don't." Rumple then smirked.
"No!" Killian frowned again.
"I'm not one for loose ends. Don't worry. You'll get over her... Just like you got over Milah. How many centuries did that take?" Rumple taunted. "Oh, it matters not. This might even add a little fuel to your fire. Don't tell me you haven't missed the taste of vengeance."
"She's mother to your grandson, Gold! Don't do this." Killian begged firmly.
"I wish I didn't have to, but I need Miss Swan," Rumple smirked just as someone else came to the scene while also hiding like Harry to avoid drawing attention to himself suddenly. "Surely you understand that."
"Dad...?" Ben muttered from afar before he went to get closer until he saw Harry behind the yellow bug and decided to hide out with him.
Harry glanced at Ben and reminded him to keep quiet so they wouldn't be exposed since this looked like a very serious moment between their fathers. Neither of them seemed to notice a random scarf flying around and for that matter, neither did their fathers.
Emma and Elwin soon braced themselves and were just about to go through the door until suddenly...
"Elwin, Emma, stop!"
"Mom?" Elwin asked with wide eyes.
"Elsa, what the hell are you doing here?" Emma demanded before warning her. "You have to leave now. I'm sorry."
"I won't let you do this." Elsa told them.
"Our powers are out of control. There's no other way," Elwin insisted sadly. "Please, go, now."
"No. You didn't give up on me even when you nearly froze to death in that ice cave, so I'm not giving up on you now, and I didn't give up after losing your father, Elwin, when they decided it was time for him to go," Elsa retorted. "I know how scary it is, hurting someone you love. I've lived in fear of that my entire life, but giving up your magic is not the answer. There is another way."
"Yeah, you told me all about how Anna's love saved you, and that's great, but guess what? My version of that with Henry didn't work," Emma countered. "This is all I have left."
"And my love with the Guardians and my... close friendship with Lonnie." Elwin added before blushing a little at the mention of the future warrior girl.
"I was wrong. It wasn't just Anna's love that saved me." Elsa shook her head.
"What are you talking about?" Emma asked.
"When I landed in this strange town, I was certain that without Anna or help from my one true love with a love of winter that could rival mine, I was doomed, but I got control over my powers again without them." Elsa explained.
"How?" Elwin and Emma wondered.
"I didn't really know until today, until the same thing happened to you, and then it finally hit me," Elsa informed them. "It's not only Anna's love, Jack Frost's love, or even Henry's that can save us. They accept us for who we are, and that's important, but it's not enough. It's on us, too. You have to love yourselves, both of you, the good and the bad. The only way to ever truly be in control of your powers is to embrace them. Because this... This is who you are." she then added before holding out her hands to them.
"What are you doing?" Emma asked cautiously.
"It's time to stop being afraid." Elsa told them.
"But this could kill you." Elwin reminded her softly.
"I'll take that risk if you will and a mother is always willing to sacrifice for her child." Elsa reassured them both with a warm smile towards Elwin to ensure him that she would be fine no matter what.
Emma and Elwin soon both took Elsa's hands as the electricity crackled and all the troubles ended in a shimmering, rainbow aura which was often the sign of a bad curse or spell ending due to the power of love, hope, and companionship. Fortunately, no one had to die and Elwin was the most happy to see that Elsa was able to survive through this.
"Mama..." Elwin said softly and emotionally before hugging her right away.
Elsa sniffled as she hugged him back right away. "Oh, my little Snow Prince." she then whispered tenderly.
"I wanna meet my father." Elwin said softly.
"We'll have to look for him, my son, I'm not sure where he is right now, but I know we can find him someway, somehow." Elsa reassured him.
Back outside, Rumple, Ben, Harry, and Killian continued to wait outside of the manor as something happened without them.
"No!" Rumple growled in defeat.
Killian chuckled in victory. "Well, I'm guessing she didn't go through with it. So sorry," he then taunted his enemy. "Oh, but I do love the look of loss on your face."
"I may not have The Savior, pirate, but I assure you, today won't be a complete loss," Rumple retorted. "I need to fill that hat with power, yes, but that was only part of the equation. Because I need something else, a secret ingredient, one I didn't know about... Until an associate clued me in. A heart."
"Well, if you need my help procuring it, know the only help I give you is with your demise." Killian scoffed.
"Oh, you're gonna help me, all right." Rumple smirked.
"Uh?" Killian blinked as he didn't like where this was going.
"You see, this spell is gonna finally separate me from the dagger, so it no longer holds power over me, but to cast it... I need the heart of someone special, someone who knew me before the dagger..." Rumple said as he slowly approached the adult pirate, having a very cruel task in mind right away. "Before I was the Dark One. Unfortunately, everyone who fits that description is already dead, but one still lives."
"No. No!" Killian cried out, trying to get free but of course he couldn't.
"Yes. As luck would have it, dearie, you're my oldest friend~" Rumple grinned darkly as he then shoved his hand right into the adult pirate's chest as he screamed and soon, the heart was ripped out and in the impish man's grasp.
Ben let out a horrified gasp at that while Harry winced and shivered, looking more wide-eyed than his usual, hyperactive teenage pirate self.
"Get on with it, then," Killian said, demanding to be put out of his misery right away. "Just do it."
"Oh, no. I promised you we'd have some fun first. You're gonna do everything I say because you're my puppet now. You're gonna find another way to fill that hat with the power it needs," Rumple explained, deciding to mock his prey. "And then? Then I'll KILL YOU~" he then added, gritting his teeth as his golden tooth was very pronounced under his scowl.
"Swan! Are you all right?" Killian called out as he rushed inside and then asked the blonde woman once he saw her.
"She didn't do it," Elsa replied as she appeared with Emma and Elwin. "She didn't take away her magic and neither did my Snow Prince." she then added proudly. "I'm so proud of you, Elwin."
Elwin beamed warmly as that meant a lot to him to hear from her. Killian suddenly rushed over and hugged Emma right away, feeling so thankful and relieved.
"Wow, I've never seen people so happy about me not doing something." Emma commented, feeling stunned from the hug for a moment.
"We'll find another way to defeat The Snow Queen... Together." Killian promised her before he came to give her a deep and passionate kiss.
"Mm. Mm. Easy, Tiger, we've got company and I don't just mean Elwin," Emma said, trying to make him stop and calm down as Elsa and Elwin just stood there. "I didn't know you were such a fan of my magic." she then commented.
"Why would you say that, Swan?" Killian replied. "I'm a fan of every part of you."
"Are you all right?" Emma asked softly as he seemed to look at her differently.
"Of course, luv. Why?" Killian reassured her and then wondered why she would say such a thing.
"If you look at me any harder, you're gonna drill a hole in my head." Emma retorted.
"Yeah, what're you trying to do exactly?" Elwin added.
"I'm just relieved," Killian explained. "You should go outside. I have a feeling there are a lot of worried people who will be glad to see you." he then suggested.
Emma nodded and soon began to leave. Elsa and Elwin soon followed her right out the door. Killian watched them go and he soon opened the double doors, finding a certain item in there and decided to take it for himself.
Meanwhile, Regina and Evie soon came into the library and found Robin there alone after Will and Goldie had left.
"We got here as fast as we could, Mr. Hood." Evie said as she stepped in.
"What's so important you couldn't say over the phone?" Regina added.
"I'll show you in a second, but first, you remember this?" Robin explained before he showed the mother and daughter the book he was looking at in the meantime.
"Uh, the book you apparently stole from us? Yes, I remember it quite well." Regina replied with a small smirk.
"You knew I was a thief when you met me," Robin defended. "All right, so, tonight, I came here looking, trying to find a clue towards that author... Toward your happy ending." he then added.
"In the public library?" Regina scoffed. "Robin, my happy ending is not a Stephen King book-on-tape."
"I don't think that's what he means, Mom." Evie commented.
"Hang on, but then the strangest thing happened," Robin said, continuing from what he was saying until he took out a certain folded up page in his hand. "I found something."
Regina glanced at him curiously and soon opened up the page and saw that it was her with him in The Enchanted Forest, sharing a deep and intimate kiss. "Is this... Us?" she then asked softly.
"Yes. Inside the pub." Robin nodded.
"I thought you ran away when you saw Mr. Hood's lion tattoo after Tinkerbell told you to go to him, Mom?" Evie said out of confusion.
"I did! I don't understand. This isn't what happened," Regina replied in disbelief as she studied the page more carefully until she saw the page number. "Is this from the book? 23...Page 23. Is it missing from the book?" she then wondered.
"No. No, it's already there, and it's you leaving me," Robin clarified before he took the page from her hands, showing the story that both Regina and Evie knew before putting in the other page. "This goes in the same place. This is the meeting that we never had." he then explained.
"What does it mean?" Regina wondered.
"It means that your fate could have gone many different ways. It means you're not doomed to suffer," Robin explained. "There's a bright future for you around every turn, even if you miss one."
"I guess that's a good point," Evie commented. "The future is what you make it, no matter what The Fates even say in Greek Mythology." she then added.
"Well, where did you find it?" Regina wondered as she looked over to the bookshelf, feeling very curious. "Is there another book? What shelf?"
"No, it was in my satchel." Robin explained.
"What?" Regina and Evie both asked, confused.
"Not at first. It wasn't there when I left," Robin explained as it sounded hard to believe, but it was true though it was very likely in a magical world like this one. "It... Appeared."
"Like magic." Regina added.
"It's a sign. And you can take it however you want, but to me, it's showing you possibility... Hope," Robin replied, nodding to both Regina and Evie, but faced the woman hopefully. "That's not something that would ever happen to a villain, is it?"
Regina soon looked amused as he said a certain word. Evie then hid a small smirk herself.
"What is it?" Robin asked the former Evil Queen curiously.
"I owe someone a quarter." Regina replied softly.
They both deeply smiled at each other before they stopped and faced Evie curiously.
"Please, Mom, don't mind me," Evie reassured with a small smile. "Dad would want you to be happy and I know because I want you to be happy too."
Regina smiled emotionally at that and soon kissed Robin and he then kissed her back as Evie looked touched at the moment.
Elwin was soon kneeling by his bed with his eyes closed and he had his hands together in a praying position as fireworks flickered and shined out the window. "Dear Man in the Moon, I don't know if you can hear me or if you're even there, but this is Elwin. I've been a fan of your Guardians for since before I can even remember and I just found out that I'm the son of Jack Frost and Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, especially since I was raised by the first Snow Queen until Elsa was born into the title and I'm her Snow Prince, but give me a sign that things will be okay in Storybrooke or at least help Elsa reunite with Aunt Anna somehow. I don't know if you know where she is, but please watch over her for me if you can. Amen." he then said quietly before going to get into bed.
Unknown to Elwin, Lonnie was also praying, but was speaking to someone else as she was by her cot in the tent in the Merry Men's camp that she and her mother were apart of in Storybrooke as of right now. "Please help us, Great Stone Dragon, wherever you are," she then prayed. "And please... Help my mother find my father and we can go home. I would very much love to go home, but... I also don't wish to leave Elwin. I just hope that there's a way we can all be happy. Āmén." she then added and soon went to get some sleep as well as peace seemed to be restored in Storybrooke... Or so everyone else thought.
Ingrid was alone in her ice cave, staring into the mirror as she thought about her friend that she had lost due to unforeseen circumstances beyond her control. She looked at an old box that had three ribbons inside of it as she sat on the seat she kept it on until she waved her hand and made them all disappear before wearing one of them on her wrist. She then smiled and embraced it as it brought back old memories, though one old memory plagued her mind. "Jadis..." she then whispered, trying not to cry.
IN OLD TIME ARENDELLE...
Ingrid and Jadis walked through the cave together as it got dark.
"Are you sure about this, Ingrid?" Jadis asked softly.
"It's the only way, my friend," Ingrid insisted as strongly as she could. "You believe in me, don't you?"
"Of course I do, but something doesn't feel right about this." Jadis replied.
"Jadis, let's just do this, okay?" Ingrid said as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"I was worried you would say something like that." Jadis murmured in response.
Ingrid soon brushed back some snow and lifted up a certain item that had been frozen over. "Ready?" she then asked.
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Jadis replied as she put her hand on it.
Ingrid then put her hand on the item as well.
The two women looked at each other and nodded and they soon began to say a certain name. "Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestiltskin. Rumplest-"
"STOP!" A new voice shouted, making both women turn over and they could see that it was The Apprentice. "I have travelled far to find you. Why are you conjuring The Dark One when you have a deal with the Sorcerer? Do you doubt he can find the sister and descendant you seek?" he then demanded.
"No, but I lost the one sister that I already had." Ingrid stated as Jadis nodded in agreement.
"You told me you were patient women," Michael retorted. "Happy endings can take a long time, but they do happen."
"Does that mean you found a match?" Jadis demanded.
"The Sorcerer did locate a third magical sister and descendant, yes, and they... Will be a perfect match." Michael stated mysteriously.
"Will be?" Jadis asked firmly. "What does that mean?"
"There in lies the catch," Michael explained. "They are not born yet."
"How does the Sorcerer know something that hasn't happened yet?" Ingrid demanded.
"He knows many things especially The Man in the Moon when he decided to take my brother for his team of Guardians," Michael clarified. "For example, he knows that if you deliver that hat... To the Dark One, you will never find your happy ending."
"But if I give it to you... We will?" Ingrid asked softly.
"You will find this third sister as well as the descendant and be reunited with the one you've just lost, but for now, you must find the sister," Michael explained as he turned around and then made a door randomly appear right in front of them that led to another realm. "This door will lead you to a new land... Where your happy ending awaits. Just hand over the box, and I will open it for you."
"I'll go with you, Ingrid." Jadis offered.
"I'm sorry, but only one can go through this door and it must be Ingrid." Michael explained.
"Oh." Jadis muttered.
"You said that the Sorcerer doesn't make deals... Especially with people like us," Ingrid reminded The Apprentice. "Why is he doing this now?"
"The hat is important to him and sometimes, people surprise you." Michael replied.
Ingrid and Jadis shared a look with each other.
"Go ahead, Ingrid," Jadis smiled softly. "I'll be fine."
Ingrid still looked hesitant, but smiled back and soon gave The Apprentice the hat.
"Now take this," Michael then instructed as he opened the door into the brave new world. "When the time comes... It will lead you to your third sister and descendant."
"Good luck, my friend." Jadis whispered as she stayed behind as Ingrid walked through the door into a whole new world.
"I will see you again soon, Jadis." Ingrid vowed as she left this world and right into a different world.
Ingrid sighed softly and she then had company from a certain impish man. "You look disappointed." she then said to him.
"Miss Swan and your Snow Prince did not behave as I had hoped," Rumple explained. "Did you have a hand in it?" he then asked.
"Of course not. My hands were trapped here the entire time," Ingrid reassured him. "Although, as you said, the urn dust didn't last long at all."
"I'd keep my distance if I were you." Rumple advised sharply.
"You really don't understand what's happening, do you? I wasn't the one who saved Emma and Elwin. Elsa was," Ingrid advised. "Emma and Elsa really are quite wonderful together... Like sisters."
"Your strange fixation really holds no interest for me." Rumple scoffed.
"Oh, but it should. And it will. You see, these ribbons were of no use to me until this moment," Ingrid retorted as she approached him and put her hand on his chest, looking him deeply in the eyes. "They can bond. Three magical sisters together, but only if all of us are a perfect match."
"And what makes for this perfect match?" Rumple replied.
"When all three have embraced their powers, which we now have, thanks to you. Now I wield the magic of my three sisters. Now my mirror is complete," Ingrid explained, sounding very confident. "And with this power, I can finally cast a spell over all of Storybrooke. I could probably even defeat you and decorate this place with your bones. Shall I try?" she then suggested.
"Dearie, I warn you... Do not overestimate your power." Rumple told her coldly before he began to walk away.
"And I warn you... Don't underestimate it!" Ingrid retorted and she soon stared down at the glowing ribbon around her wrist and then put her hand over her mirror, staring deeply into it until it shattered and soon, a new spell overcast Storybrooke. "We'll be all together soon, Jadis, I promise." she then whispered.