Hope paced back and forth along the sand. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I am going to kill Liam and David."

She cast her blue eyes on the ocean - the horizon stretched out before her. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a huff.

"I guess I'll just head back the other way. Maybe I'll have luck finding this bloody thing."

When she turned her head, she spotted familiar black and brown hair walking toward her. They adopted sheepish - and guilty - expressions as they neared her.

She crossed her arms and glared at them. Liam put his hands up.

"Please don't be mad, Hope. Just let us explain."

"Oh, I'm not mad," she began, earning head tilts from her brothers. She then pulled their ears and punched them both in the arm.

"Ow!" they both cried out. She waved a finger at them.

"I am bloody furious! I should throw both of you into the ocean."

"We probably deserve that, but…" David tried to reason - but she cut him off.

"Probably nothing! You tricked me to help those bloody mermaids - none of which can be trusted."

"You were right, okay! Is that what you wanna hear!" Liam exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air.

Hope tilted her head, her expression growing confused. "What do you mean? What happened?"

The boys exchanged a look. Liam ran his fingers through his black hair.

"Because they tricked us, okay? They tricked us into bringing them to our lair so they got legs - and then they kicked us out."

Hope crossed her arms back over her chest. "Good. You deserved it."

David groaned. "Will you stop yelling at us and just help us?"

"And why should I? You caused this problem - so you can bloody fix it."

"And what if they have something horrible planned, huh? Then what?" Liam pointed out as he waved his hands.

He and David then shuffled on their feet as Hope continued to glare at them.

She then ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.

"I'm still beyond mad at you two - but you're right. We need to get those mermaids out of Storybrooke."

They breathed a sigh of relief. They then exchanged another look, taking a deep breath as they did so.

Liam began, "We really are sorry, Hope." "Really sorry. We know we screwed up," David added as he rubbed his hands together.

She sighed as she looked back and forth between the two of them. "Just…talk to me after we're rid of these mermaids, okay?"

They both nodded. Liam then gestured down the beach. "We'll take you to them. Uh, for real, this time."

Hope eyed her brothers. She then offered a nod of her own before she told them, "Let's go."

As they walked, she asked them, "So, these mermaids. Do you guys know their names?"

"Yeah - Adella is one of them. I think she's the leader. And then there's…uh, Morgana and Serena," Liam began as he counted on his fingers.

David then picked it up: "And then there's Larinia and Raine. They're around our age…I think."

Hope rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Do you know anything else about them?"

Both boys opened their mouths - but promptly closed them. David rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, they like exploring our world. Um, like Ariel?"

Liam elbowed him. "I don't think that helps our case."

"It's still something, isn't it?"

"It just proves that we're idiots."

"You're the idiot because…"

Hope cut them off: "Both of you are idiots, so just shut it!"

Liam crossed his arms over his chest while David huffed. "Hey! You said you'd stop yelling at us."

"Actually, I didn't," she pointed out. She then told them, "But you two arguing isn't helping anything."

"And you being bossy isn't helping anything either. You don't get to do that just because you're older than us."

Hope glared at David. She started to argue - but she took a deep breath instead.

"I'm…sorry, okay? I'm just…frustrated - but I shouldn't take it out on you. I think all of us are prone to being somewhat impulsive."

"Thanks, Dad," David complained as he crossed his arms over his chest. His brother and sister laughed.

With a deep breath, Hope then told them, "Look, guys, when we find them - just let me do the talking."

"We can handle it," Liam argued. David then added, "Yeah, they deserve a piece of our mind."

"I'm not saying you can't - but we have to handle them first, okay?"

"We can take care of ourselves," David stated as he crossed his arms back over his chest.

Liam tilted his head. "She might have a point. They already tricked us once."

David groaned. "You two are no bloody help."

Hope rolled her eyes. "We actually need a plan, Hook."

David offered an eye roll of his own. He then muttered something under his breath.

Hope shook her head while Liam elbowed his brother. He rubbed his arm before he gestured ahead of them.

"There. There's the lair."

Hope nodded and steeled her shoulders. She marched toward the castle, leaving her brothers to trail after her.

"Hey, mermaids!" she shouted. They couldn't help but jump before they turned to face her.

A smile made its way across Adella's face as she curled her fingers around her necklace.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

Hope crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes. You can start by giving my little brothers their lair back."

"Younger," the boys corrected as they frowned. She sent a glare their way.

Serena then piped up, "You make it sound like we stole this castle."

"Because that's exactly what you did!" Hope yelled out as she gritted her teeth.

Adella tapped her necklace. "I'm not sure what Liam and David told you - but we would never do such a thing."

Hope scoffed. "Yeah, right. You really think I believe you?"

"Well, you should. Because that's exactly what happened," Morgana began. She then nodded at Adella to continue.

With a deep breath, she did so: "We just came to the surface to see a bit of your world - it's so fascinating after all - when Liam and David came up to us. They offered to take us to the lair."

"It was because you tricked us!" David yelled as he threw his hands in the air.

"But why would we trick you when all you wanted to do was help?" Raine questioned as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Because you only wanted to get inside our lair to gain legs! And do who knows what after that!" Liam shouted, his face growing red.

"We just wanted to see your lair. We didn't know it held magic that would give us legs," Adella pointed out as she ran her fingers over the starfish.

David huffed. "You're the one who bloody said it might be magical!"

"But it is your lair in this strange land. How would we know if it's magical or not?" Adella offered as she shrugged.

Hope tilted her head. "That's…actually not a bad point."

Liam and David stared at her with wide eyes. "Hope! She's twisting everything that happened!" "You can't believe her!"

Hope rubbed her temples. She then sighed. "One of you is lying…I just wish I knew which one."

The boys gasped. Liam grabbed his sister by the shoulders. "Hope, are you really going to believe a bunch of mermaids over your brothers?"

She stared at him - she then stared back at the mermaids. She let out another sigh.

"You both admitted to being tricked."

"So that means we're lying?" David threw back, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't say that. I just…"

"You just what? Don't believe us?" Liam argued - his hands balled into fists.

Raine then interjected, "Come on, boys, cut your sister some slack. I'm sure you two have a tendency to get a little carried away at times."

The boys only glared while Hope ran her fingers through her hair. "I mean, they do, uh, exaggerate, uh, sometimes, I guess…"

"Hope! How could you!"

"You're our sister!"

Liam and David both stalked off further down the beach. They plopped down on one of the sand dunes.

Hope ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. Adella then cleared her throat.

"We're so sorry! We didn't mean to cause you and your brothers to fight."

Hope waved her hand. "It's not really your fault. It's not our first fight - and it probably won't be the last."

She then took a deep breath. "But this is still their lair. Do you think you could let them back in?"

All five mermaids exchanged a look. Adella then offered a nod.

"That is a great idea, Hope."

She smiled. "Great! I'll just go get the boys." She then turned on her heel when Adella's voice stopped her.

"Hope, wait."

She turned back around and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

The girls exchanged another look. Adella then spoke, "We just wanted to give you a present. You've been so sweet trying to help us sort all of this out."

Hope smiled. "It was nothing. I'm glad to do my part."

"Good! We think you'll really enjoy your present."

Adella squeezed her necklace before she raised her hands. The others followed suit.

Hope furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, what are you…"

"Ah!" she cried out as the mermaids tossed her into the ocean.

When she tried to stand, her eyes widened in shock. A mermaid tail replaced her legs. She flopped helplessly as she tried to swim.

"Liam! David! Help!"

The boys' heads jerked up. Liam's eyes roamed the ocean.

"Was that…Hope? She sounded like she was in trouble."

He and David's eyes both widened. "Hope!" they shouted as they rushed over to the shore.

When they didn't see her, they marched over to the mermaids. Liam demanded, "Where is our sister!"

Adella only shrugged. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"That isn't a bloody answer! What did you do to her!" David seethed. His hands balled into fists.

"What I did was nothing less than that meddling witch deserved," Adella fired back as she planted her hands on her hips.

Liam and David lunged at her - only to be thrown back by the magical barrier.

Adella and the other mermaids laughed. Morgana then teased, "Not so tough, now, are we boys?"

The twins glared at them. "You are not gonna get away with this!" David shouted.

Adella twirled the necklace around her fingers. "Haven't you gotten it yet? We already have." The mermaids all shared another laugh.

With a smirk, Larinia then spoke, "Good luck with your sister - if you can find her."

Liam and David continued to glare at them. They then took a deep breath.

"We will find her." "We will always find her."

Adella waved a dismissive hand and rolled her eyes as the twins ran further down the beach.

Liam ran his fingers through his dark hair. "So, how do we find her?"

David shrugged. "I…don't know. But she can't be too far, right?"

"I have no clue. But with mermaids, it can't be anything good."

"We can't just leave Hope…out there."

"Especially since it is our fault."

"Ugh. Don't remind me - she really is gonna kill us this time."

Liam raked his hands back through his hair as he side-eyed his brother. He then took another deep breath.

"We have to start somewhere. Let's just start here on the beach."

David shrugged. "It's as good of an idea as any. Let's go."

Liam nodded before he and David took off running down the beach. They called out their sister's name as they did so.