"Whoa..." Elwin murmured as he looked around to find himself in a very long and vast hallway with several doors on both sides of the walls. "Where am I?"
"Why, you're in The Dream Realm, young Elwin." A distant voice said to the platinum-haired boy from right behind him, startling him for a brief moment.
"Whoa... is that...?" Elwin murmured with wide icy blue eyes until he saw who was right behind and it was a certain golden colored figure who had traveled via sand, but unlike Pitch Black's sand. "The Sandman?!"
"Yes, Elwin, I am The Sandman, though some people call me Sandy," The figure explained with a small smile, speaking to him with a very special ability. "I don't talk much to other people who aren't among The Guardians of Childhood."
"Well, it's an honor for me to meet you," Elwin smiled back. "My name is-"
"Prince Elwin, yes, I know..." Sandy interrupted and then said with a nod. "You resemble your father Jack Frost greatly."
"I do?" Elwin asked out of amazement.
"Oh, yes, more than you know," Sandy nodded. "I've been hoping to meet you again for a long time and you're fortunate to have come here, though since you're the son of Jack Frost who is a fellow Guardian, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised."
"Yeah..." Elwin said with a small smile before he frowned. "My friends are in trouble. They've been having terrible dreams during Aunt Ingrid's Spell of Shattered Sight and I know that I had to be the one to help them."
"Yes, because you are the one Manny has told us about and it's up to you to reconnect with your father after The Dark Curse of Misthaven tried to work its magic until your Aunt Anna traveled there to speak to Rumplestiltskin." Sandy nodded and understood all too well.
"Never heard that story before." Elwin remarked.
"Well, it's not in my place to tell you about it," Sandy replied. "You must defeat Pitch Black before his own descendants Randall and Twyla have a chance to plague your friends and trap them in a nightmare they can never wake up from."
"Why them though?" Elwin wondered. "Why bother these friends in particular?"
"Well, North and Manny can tell you more when you meet them later, but your friends are The Descendants of Heart," Sandy explained. "They were born with hearts of pure light and are devoid of darkness of any kind like the parents who came before them."
"Well, some of my friends have unknown parents," Elwin reminded The Guardian of Dreams. "We couldn't find any books about them or their families because, well, nobody knows who they are or where they came from before they ended up in Neverland."
"Trust me, they are, and you must help them from the dark side of their own stories or it will consume them and they will end up living in stories they can never find a happy ending in and their books will forever close and their stories will be gone too." Sandy explained and clarified.
"I'm not sure if I wanna know too much about what that could mean for my friends," Elwin said, biting his lip nervously before looking around. "So all of these doors have the descendants behind them?" he then asked, trying to change the subject so he would know what he would have to do and such.
"From your town of Storybrooke, yes, as you can probably imagine, it's hard to keep track of all of these dreams and people of all over the world, whether they believe in the Sandman or not." Sandy replied and reassured Elwin.
"Okay, so I guess I have to track down Pitch Black and stop him?" Elwin guessed for his task in the Dream Realm.
"Yes, and you must stop before his black sand fills everyone's dreams with nothing but nightmares about their own stories that will mar them for life," Sandy nodded and explained before he took out an hourglass to demonstrate and had black sand fill the glass as opposed to traditional golden sand. "It's up to you, Elwin. The Man in the Moon will be watching and you will see if you are worth being a fellow Guardian just like your father or not."
Elwin swallowed thickly and nodded. "I don't have any weapons, but I'll see what I can do." he then said, trying to stay determined.
"That's the spirit," Sandy said with a small smile. "I'm afraid I can only help you here because a true Guardian will know what's right and must be done to save the day through the power of his or her heart, no what others guide them into."
"Right... I'll do my best, uh, can I call you Uncle Sandy?" Elwin replied and then wondered.
"If you would like~" Sandy said with a small smile.
"Then thank you, Uncle Sandy," Elwin smiled back. "Here I go into the unknown."
"Oh, and Elwin! One more thing?" Sandy piped up suddenly.
"Yes?" Elwin responded as he stopped himself from going any further.
"I should also warn you about this," Sandy said to him cautiously. "If the party wakes up while you are in their dream, you will be stuck inside there until that person goes back to sleep, so no pressure until you come face to face with Pitch Black."
"Thanks, Uncle Sandy." Elwin muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, you're ever so welcome, Elwin~" Sandy smiled before he suddenly disappeared from a pile of golden sand as he went back to where he came from.
And so, the teenage boy's journey began as he walked down the long hallway and saw several names on the doors that he knew until one interested him. "Now this, I gotta see." he then said to himself and went into the door that said "CHAD BOYLE".
Suddenly, Elwin found himself in a bright pink room with classical music playing as Chad was shown to be dressed like a frilly ballerina with a tiara on his head.
"Look at me, I'm like a beautiful butterfly!" Chad giggled as he stood on his tiptoes before twirling around. "Dance, pretty pretty! Dance, pretty pretty!"
"Oh, I have got to get a shot of this!" Elwin chuckled as he took out his phone and took a photo of Chad to cherish this moment forever.
"Come on, Elwin," Lonnie said as she suddenly appeared and put her hand on his shoulder. "Our friends are waiting for you to save them from Pitch Black."
"Lonnie?" Elwin asked out of confusion. "How did you know about that and where did you come from?"
"Never mind that, I'm sure you would rather not be alone right now." Lonnie said to him.
Elwin was still curious and suspicious about how the young warrior girl ended up here, but he sighed as he didn't have the time to think about it right now. "You're right, I hate that Uncle Sandy just left me alone like this, but you're the best company I have right now, Lonnie." he then admitted before blushing.
"I knew you were gonna say that~" Lonnie beamed and hugged him.
Elwin blinked and blushed, looking dazed before he shook his head. "Uh, right, off we go then." he then said, clearing his throat and deepening his voice a bit.
Lonnie then offered her hand to him. Elwin smiled at the offer and soon took her hand back as he walked down the corridor with her to come exactly to his affected friends from Pitch Black's curse on them.
Suddenly, a deep past was shown inside of a castle. Ben appeared to be standing beside a woman in a golden colored dress while other people were surrounding a table with horrendous news of the fate of their kingdom.
"Sir, there's news from the battlefield. Avonlea has fallen." A steward informed the eldest man in the room.
"Oh, my gods..." The eldest man murmured in horror.
"If only he had come-" One of the younger men complained.
"Well, he didn't, did he?" The eldest man grumbled as he came across the room and came to sit right on his throne in agony. "Ogres are not men."
"We have to do something," The dark-haired younger man begged. "We have to stop them."
"They are... unstoppable." The elder man said wearily.
"He could be on his way right now, Papa." The young woman said, now coming into the light and seeming to be Ben's mother once her face was fully shown.
"We're sure he is." Ben added, knowing what they were talking about.
"It's too late, my children" Maurice told them gravely. "It's just... too late."
There was then suddenly a banging on the door.
"That has to be him!" Ben piped up. "We're saved, King Maurice!"
Everyone then suddenly rushed over to the doors in excitement.
"How could he get past the walls?" Maurice wondered before he stood up. "Open it!" he then commanded to his guards.
The guards soon opened the door only to reveal that no one was standing in the hall. Everyone else looked around in confusion as Ben backed up and nearly slipped and fell right into someone else's lap, making him all wide-eyed and disturbed which was a rare sight to see him in.
"Well, that was a bit of a let down! Make yourself comfortable, kid~" A voice teased before everyone looked behind them to see an imp of a man with scraggly hair, scaly skin like a certain reptile, he was definitely not human. He appeared to have Ben suddenly sitting in his lap and he even cradled the boy's face with one of his spidery fingers.
Ben then shot up and shuddered slightly as that made him feel unnerved.
"You sent me a message, something about, 'Help! Help! We're dying. Can you save us?'." The strange gremlin of a man who resembled Mr. Gold from Storybrooke continued as he made his presence clear, though the dark-haired man pointed his sword at him, though the impish man smacked the blade away very easily. "Well, the answer is... Yes, I can. Yes, I can protect your little town... for a price~"
"We sent you a promise of gold." Maurice clarified.
"Ah... now, you see, um... I uh... make gold," The grody man then explained and shrugged, revealing himself to be none other than Rumplestiltskin. "What I want is something a bit more special. My price... is her." he then added and pointed to the young woman in the room he set his sights on.
"No." Maurice said suddenly.
"The young lady is engaged... to me." The dark-haired man added protectively.
"I wasn't asking if she was engaged. I'm not looking for love!" Rumple clarified. "I'm looking for a caretaker... for my rather large estate. It's her, or no deal.
"Get out. LEAVE!" Maurice demanded as he pointed out the door.
Rumples saw no use in arguing, so he decided to just take his leave. "As you wish." he then shrugged at them, going to leave since he wasn't needed anymore until...
"No, wait!" The young woman in the room cried out suddenly. "I will go with him." she then decided strongly.
"I forbid it, Belle!" The dark-haired man retorted.
"No one decides my fate but me! I shall go." Belle countered.
"It's forever, dearie~" Rumple reminded her as he was very serious about this, but didn't force her right into it.
"My family, my friends... they will all live?" Belle asked him.
"You have my word." Rumple vowed honestly.
"Then you have mine," Belle finally decided. "I will go, with you, forever."
"But on one condition," Ben suddenly said. "I get to stay with her for moral support in anything else you might need."
"Ben." Belle frowned in concern.
"We gotta look out for each other, Belle, and I wanna do the same for you," Ben reassured her maturely. "You're the most important person in my life."
"Deal!" Rumple beamed and giggled. "What a nice mature young man you are."
"Erm, thank you." Ben said as calmly as he could.
"Belle... Belle... you cannot do this!" Maurice frowned in concern for the two. "Children, please! You cannot go with this... Beast."
Rumple pretended to look shocked and offended at that word, but he was probably barely affected by that word.
"Father... Gaston... it's been decided and I appreciate Ben for sacrificing himself for my sake as well." Belle told them.
"You know, she's right. The deal is struck," Rumple smirked and clapped before making that their cue to go. "Oh, congratulations on your little war!" he then added and smirked as he, Ben, and Belle began to go out the doors to start a brand new life together.
"Man, Ben's dad seems kinda messed up," Elwin commented with wide eyes. "How could Ben be dreaming of something like this?" he then wondered.
"The deeper you go into someone's subconscious mind, the deeper you're going into their psyche and childhood memories." Lonnie explained.
"But I don't need to see how Ben's parents got together in The Enchanted Forest, I just need to stop Pitch Black." Elwin remarked.
"Then you might have to keep going." Lonnie advised him.
"Somehow I feel like I'm gonna need to see Dr. Hopper after this experience if you think he can keep it that secret." Elwin commented wearily.
"You're not going through it alone though." Lonnie reminded him.
"Right, because the last thing I wanna do is lose you and never see you again, Lonnie." Elwin smiled softly.
"You'll never lose me this way~" Lonnie smiled back and winked at him.
Elwin chuckled bashfully, and soon they were in a different castle with different furniture and everything as Rumple sat at a long table while Ben sat next to him.
Belle was coming in with a tea set that reminded Elwin heavily of Carina and Mrs. Potts at the Little Teapot Shop, before Jefferson bought it and turned it into the Mad for Tea Cafe as a partnership with a fellow Wonderlandian, which was often a hangout for the teenagers of Storybrooke.
"You will serve me my meals, and you will clean the Dark Castle." Rumple began to instruct the woman of his home.
"I-I understand." Belle replied calmly.
"You will dust my collection and launder my clothing."
"Yes."
"You will fetch me fresh straw when I am spinning at the wheel."
"Got it."
"Oh, and you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts."
Ben then gulped and grunted as that nearly made him sick to his stomach as he nearly dropped his teacup.
"That one was a quip. Not serious."
"Right..." Belle replied before coming over. "Oh, Ben, are you all right?" she then asked since she saw a missing shard from the cup.
"Yeah, I'll be okay, but... I think I chipped this cup..." Ben replied nervously as he picked up the teacup from his lap.
"Oh, it's okay," Belle soothed him. "Y-You can hardly see it."
"Oh, it's just a cup." Rumple shrugged off.
"So, uh, what do I have to do around here?" Ben wondered until a discussion would be made until Elwin and Lonnie saw another part of Ben's dream about his parents.
"Why did you want us here?" Belle asked Rumplestiltskin after some time passed and the two began to feel very close to each other.
"The place was filthy." Rumple replied dismissively.
"Was it filthy or were you lonely?" Ben suspected.
"He's right," Belle agreed. "I mean, any man would be lonely."
"I'm not a man." Rumple stated.
Belle glanced at him for that and then decided to change the subject. "So, we've had a couple of months to look around, you know. And, uh, upstairs, there's, uh, clothing, small, as if for a-a child?" she then prompted, trying to see why there were smaller clothes for a fully grown man.
Rumple suddenly froze in place and looked distant.
"Was it yours or... or was there a son?" Belle asked softly.
"There was. There was a son," Rumple admitted tenderly. "I lost him, as I did his mother."
"That's right..." Elwin realized. "Mr. Gold had another son before he met Ben's mother and they eventually had him."
"This is truly the darkest tale of Beauty and the Beast if you ask me." Lonnie commented.
"I'm... I'm sorry. So you... you were a man, once. An ordinary man," Belle remarked to Rumple as tenderly as she could. "If Ben and I are never going to know another person in my whole life, can't we at least know you?"
"You could see us a family if you want." Ben added gently as his hazel eyes softened.
"Perhaps... perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses!" Rumple replied before retorting and tried to scare them, tutting at them and wagging his fingers at them, though they didn't even flinch. "Nyah, Nyah! Nuh, nuh-nuh!"
"You're not a monster," Belle said to Rumple with an endeared smile. "You think you're uglier than you are, that's why you cover all the mirrors up, isn't it? Hmm?"
There was then a banging on the door until the dream skipped what happened at the door between whoever was there along with Rumplestiltskin as the impish man suddenly came back with his hands behind his back, coming back over to Belle and Ben.
"Who was that?" Belle asked.
"Just an old woman selling flowers." Rumple replied innocently.
Elwin and Lonnie glanced at each other, unsure if that was true or not but they had no way of knowing.
"Here. If you'll have it." Rumple then said as he handed the rose over to the woman as an affectionate gesture.
"A rose." Ben smiled softly.
"Why, thank you!" Belle beamed at the gift as she accepted it, then went to put the flower in a vase right away and set it on the table but not before taking out a pair of scissors to trim the rose a little.
"You had lives, Belle and Benjamin. Before this: friends, family. What made you choose to come here with me?" Rumple remarked and wondered.
"Heroism. Sacrifice. You know, there aren't a lot of opportunities in this land for women to show what they can do," Belle explained as confidently as she could. "To see the world, to be heroes. So, when you arrived, that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave. I figured, do the brave thing, and bravery would follow."
"And I've been told I have a very benevolent soul." Ben added, sounding proud of himself.
"And is it everything you hoped?" Rumple asked.
"Well, uh... I did want to see the world," Belle explained. "That part didn't really work out, but, uh, I did save my village."
"And I know that I had to come and help too." Ben added.
"And what about your, uh, betrothed?" Rumple prompted.
"It was an arranged marriage. Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston," Belle remarked and clarified. "To me love is layered. Love is a mystery to uncovered. Yeah, I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he, but, um, you were going to tell us about your son?" she then prompted.
Rumple smirked a bit before he sighed. "I'll tell you what... I'll make you a deal. Both of you, g to town and fetch me some straw. When you return, I'll share my tale." he then suggested.
"But... Town?" Ben asked in surprise. "You trust us to come back?"
"Oh, no. I expect I'll never see you again." Rumple said softly and patiently as he sat by his wheel.
Suddenly, everything got dark and scary after Belle and Ben had been gone somewhere as it was getting dark.
They both appeared to have full baskets of straw for Rumple to weave into gold because that was what he was best known for doing. Elwin glared as he felt like this was Pitch Black's influence, but what he and Lonnie saw was a bit scarier than Pitch Black himself and that was seeing Mr. Gold angry, even if he wasn't Mr. Gold right now and this was all just a dream in a way. It was very scary and tragic to see something like this happen to anyone, let alone Ben's parents once he realized what was going on around him.
"I knew this was a trick. I knew you could never care for me," Rumple sneered and glared at Belle, sounding like he was having a mental breakdown. "Oh, yeah. You're working for her. Or is this all you? Is this you being the hero and killing the Beast?"
"It was working-" Belle tried to explain.
"Shut up!"
"This means it's true love!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!"
"Why won't you believe me?!"
Ben soon walked in, concerned to see what was going on and began to look scared to death and horrified of Rumplestiltskin's behavior around Belle until it suddenly hit him. "...Mom. Dad?" he then mumbled wearily as he seemed to become self aware that he was dreaming.
"Because no one-NO ONE could ever, EVER love me!" Rumple roared in a very scary tone of voice which shook all of the teenagers experiencing this moment as Belle landed on the hard ground, confused, and flinched as the door was slammed shut as it looked like things were going to go back to the way they were when they first got together.
Ben was now looking wide-eyed at the sight of Rumplestiltskin shattering many items he had in his castle after disposing of Belle, except for a certain teacup that had the chip in it as he decided not to let that one get wrecked. A dark shadow began slither out the door as Elwin and Lonnie left that dream, not seeing any traces of Pitch Black, but still felt haunted by what they just saw.
"Oh... Dad... No..." Ben moaned and shook his head, covering his eyes as he fell to his knees and everything suddenly faded to black after that, making him feel so emotionally crushed that he came from people like that for his parents.
"Man, Lonnie, I thought Ben's dad was strict before The Dark Curse broke," Elwin said once they made it out. "No wonder Pitch Black struck here."
"Elwin, look out!" Lonnie cried out suddenly as she saw something from behind him.
Elwin glanced over and suddenly was tackled to the ground by some dark and spooky shadow beast that resembled a young witch. "Gah! Who the heck are you?" he then grunted and complained, trying to fight back.
Lonnie then jumped over and karate kicked away the beast. "It's one of Pitch Black's goons from The Holiday Forest!" she then told Elwin.
"Holiday Forest? But Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, The Halloween Spirit, The Cherub of Love are all at peace as The Guardians of Childhood." Elwin replied out of confusion.
"Not for a while when Oogie Boogie was the biggest threat in Halloween Town and he only had one former minion escape for the greater good to make Halloween a better holiday for children to remember than being given nightmares from The Boogeyman." Lonnie clarified.
"Oogie Boogie... The father of Pitch Black..." Elwin then realized.
"Bingo." Lonnie nodded.
The goon soon jumped up in the air, shrieking while trying to fight them until Elwin mustered up his strength and tackled this goon back against the wall, causing it to crumple and fall as they seemed to be the only ones in Beauty and the Beast's Dark Castle.
"Let's see how you like it if I put you on ice!" Elwin told the goon before he summoned his winter powers and shot ice blasters towards the witchy goon.
The goon charged for him before suddenly slipping on the floor as it turned into solid ice in the main corridor and it was going out one door.
"Quick! This way!" Lonnie told Elwin as she took him by the hand and ran with him to go after Pitch Black's doing.
The two soon made it out the door and were suddenly back in the Dream Realm hallway.
"Phew. That was close." Lonnie sighed softly.
"So, I guess being descended from a villain can kinda do a number on a person," Elwin commented. "I never would've expected to feel that way about Ben."
"Yes, he probably resents it about himself and feels more like his mother because his father keeps tricking and manipulating them." Lonnie nodded.
"Whoa, you feel that way too, Lonnie?" Elwin asked in surprise. "You haven't even known Ben for as long as I have."
"Let's just say it would've been nice to grow up together instead of me being from a different past like Audrey and we ended up coming over here with our mothers after Snow White and Miss Emma came back from that one adventure." Lonnie commented.
"Totally..." Elwin agreed as they continued down the hall next. "Okay, I guess we should see who's after that very scary story of Beauty and the Beast?" he then added before he opened one door that had a heart with a tiara on it with the letter E.
"Must be Evie." Lonnie deduced.
"Just as I thought," Elwin nodded. "Man, who knows what Pitch Black might do to Evie as the sweet and kind daughter of the heartless Evil Queen?"
"I guess we shall see and find out together." Lonnie replied.
"Yeah, that sounds about right, off we go then." Elwin said as he opened the door for her and bowed. "After you, my, uh, warrior princess." he then offered bashfully.
"Warrior Princess? Now there's a destiny," Lonnie chuckled as she went through the door first and he followed her not too far behind. "Am I going to be homecoming queen or homecoming warrior?"
"Well, I personally like the sound of Lonnie Li: Homecoming Warrior." Elwin commented on the way into Evie's dream.
Evie was shown to be walking down a promenade lined with mirrors along with her mother who was currently The Evil Queen. A man's face appeared in various mirrors along her path as he addressed the Queen.
"That face..." Lonnie whispered.
"It's Jordan Glass's dad..." Elwin realized. "I heard he used to be a genie from Agrabah, but I guess he's the Magic Mirror now?"
"I guess there's a story behind that that we don't know." Lonnie guessed.
"Sounds right." Elwin agreed since these dreams their friends were having were so mysterious.
"What happened? Did you get your answer?" The man in the mirror demanded from Regina, but she made no reply as she continued to walk with Evie and his face appeared in various mirrors like he was chasing them. "What's going on? Your Majesty? Your Majesty!"
"You don't have to do this." Evie said to The Evil Queen.
"Yes, I do, it's the only way to get what we both deserve." Regina retorted as they came into a great hall.
Inside the hall was an older man who was The Evil Queen's valet and he was lighting candles. Elwin and Lonnie followed behind them to see where this dream would lead, also keeping track of any black sand that they might need to go after due to Pitch Black's reign in The Descendants of Light's slumber during The Spell of Shattered Sight.
"Did Rumplestiltskin tell you what you needed to know?" The older man asked as he saw the two.
"Rumplestiltskin?" Elwin wondered quietly.
"Yes." Evie and Regina replied, though they didn't sound all too happy about getting what they wanted.
"...And?" The valet then asked, sensing their hesitance.
Evie looked too unhappy to say anything about it.
"I'm not sure we should say. I'm conflicted." Regina said before pacing the paces the room)
"How bad is it? Maybe I can help." The valet offered kindly.
Regina stopped pacing and sighed sharply.
"Go ahead and tell him," Evie said wearily. "It's best to let it out now or else it'll be bottled forever." she then advised.
Regina glanced at her and nodded in agreement. "I have to cut out the heart of the thing I love most." she then admitted to the valet who was far more important than just having that job.
The valet then realized what this meant and his connection to Regina and Evie was all the more clear. "Me."
"Daddy, I don't know what to do." Regina pouted, revealing that her valet was her father.
Elwin and Lonnie both looked wide-eyed to find out that the valet was Regina's father and that meant that he was also Evie's grandfather.
"My dear... please... you don't have to do this." The valet said to Regina softly.
"We have to do something." Regina said and then started to pace again, allowing her father to follow her.
"Then move past this," The valet suggested. "I know this may sound self-serving, but you don't need to enact the Curse."
Regina sighed before facing him. "But I can't keep living like this! What Snow did to me, what she took from me... It's eating me alive, Daddy. Her very existence mocks me. She must be punished."
"She?" Lonnie wondered.
"Snow White no doubt." Elwin concluded based on his own context clues.
"What if the price is a hole that will never be filled, why do it?" The valet prompted softly, trying to get Regina to listen to reason. "Stop worrying about Snow White and start over. We can have a new life."
Evie smiled a little hopefully about that.
"But what kind of life?" Regina countered. "All I've worked for, all I've built, will be gone. My power will disappear. They already think I'm nothing."
"Power is seductive, but so is love, and you can have that again." The valet offered as he brought out his arms to hold onto her.
After a moment, Regina stepped into them, and her father enfolded her in an embrace. "I just want to be happy." she then said softly.
"You can be. Of this, I'm sure," The valet advised as Regina let out some tears. "I believe, given the chance, we can find happiness together, but the choice is yours."
"I think you're right. I can be happy," Regina said to the valet who looked relieved for a moment. "Just not here."
"You don't have to do it," Evie reminded Regina. "It doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to be an Evil Queen."
"Oh, my dear, but I must..." Regina retorted as she suddenly reached into her father's chest, causing him to look shocked as she grasped onto his heart. "After all, my mother was an evil queen and I'm seen as an evil queen and my children will be seen as evil regals behind me unless I do something about this," she then said as she removed the older man's heart from his chest and he fell to the floor suddenly. "I'm sorry, Daddy." she then told the valet.
Elwin and Lonnie both looked horrified as Regina removed the older man's heart and was going to crush it and once that was done, suddenly the dream cut to later and they were all in front of a tombstone.
"I love you, Daddy..." Regina said as she put a black rose on the tombstone as a shadow soared through the night forest sky.
The grave read: "Henry, Beloved Father".
Lonnie and Elwin were in the Dream Realm hallway again. They both saw the next doors which had Carlos and Carla's name on them, but they both had some sort of dark shadow force behind them.
"What do we do? Pitch Black seems to be bothering them both at the same time." Lonnie wondered.
"I think I have an idea," Elwin said as he took out a weapon he had found earlier from his time here. "You go in that door with your sword and I'll go in this one and we can kill two birds with two stones."
"I don't think that's how that phrase works and I don't have my sword." Lonnie replied.
"This is a Dream Realm, Lonnie, surely you can imagine one up?" Elwin suggested. "We don't have much time."
Lonnie looked into his icy blue eyes and nodded. "All right, Elwin, if you believe in me." she then said softly.
"I do, I always have," Elwin reassured her with a small smile. "You're the most amazing girl I've ever met in my life and I'm glad to have you in my life."
Lonnie smiled back at him and hugged him suddenly.
Elwin blinked and blushed warmly from the hug, his whole face nearly turning beet red since he had very pale skin that almost matched the tone of a pure snowflake. "Go, we better hurry." he then suggested.
Lonnie nodded as she went through Carlos' door and Elwin decided to go through Carla's door.
Lonnie was alone with Carlos as they both saw the dream that the boy was having involving two people neither of them had seen before. The woman appeared to be sewing something, looking very cruel and devilish with her activity. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed from outside as a certain tune began to play and Carlos seemed to find himself enjoying the wordless song until he would try to probably make up his own lyrics someday. Suddenly, a faceless man appeared along with a faceless girl in the room.
"Cruella? I've been looking everywhere for you," The man called as he approached the light-haired woman at the sewing machine. "Where's your mother?"
The woman didn't answer him right away as she seemed dead focused on her task.
"CRUELLA!" The man called louder this time to help snap her out of it.
The woman soon faced him with a chilling expression on her face that was highlighted from the lighting from out the window. "Well, thanks to you, she's dead, darling." she then answered in an eerily calm voice.
Lonnie shivered as that did not sound normal.
"Oh, you should've seen the look on her face when her beloved dogs turned on her," The woman, named Cruella, continued in a haunting tone of voice that did not sound as happy as she made it seem. "It's a memory I shall truly cherish."
"No. No." The man moaned once he realized that this woman seemed happy that her mother was dead especially looking expectingly to see the woman accompanied with dogs that resembled Dr. Hopper's very own Pongo.
"Oh, you needn't fear the dogs anymore," Cruella told him chillingly before wearing her newly made coat which appeared to be white with black spots. "They're with Mother now."
"How could you do this? I thought you cared about us." The man replied, sounding heartbroken as he put his arm around the faceless girl.
"Well, that was the idea, darling. You were... What is the phrase?" Cruella retorted as she held onto the coat, keeping the strangely calm tone of voice which seemed scarier than her just yelling or screaming at him. "A means to an end."
"Why?" The man asked apprehensively.
"That's the question on everybody's mind, isn't it? I wish I had an answer," Cruella taunted. "Some people struggle not to be drawn into the darkness. Ever since I was a little girl, I've said, 'Why not splash in... And have fun?'."
Suddenly, a pen could be shown on the table next to the sewing machine. The man glanced over at it and headed for it as the lightning flashed from outside and he snatched it easily before getting it ready to write as he dipped it in the ink. Cruella soon tried to grab the blasted pen away from the man and the two shook back and forth until suddenly the ink splashed and Cruella screamed as the ink suddenly spread onto her like some sort of weird magic. Cruella groaned and panted heavily as she fell to the floor before glaring back at the man and she now had her hair divided halfway with black and her platinum hair made it look white as the lightning flashed on her to show what had happened to her. The man looked horrified at what had happened and he soon picked up the pen, about to use it somehow.
"Drop that, you horrid little scribbler!" Cruella demanded in a now very scary tone of voice and even brought out a gun to show that she meant serious business. "You can't get it done in real life, so you scratch it out like a rat scrabbling in filth!" she pulled the trigger on the man in front of her, but somehow it didn't work.
The man seemed to smirk at Cruella as he now had the upper hand over her.
"Why can't I pull the trigger?" Cruella demanded impatiently. "What did you do?!"
"I learned a lesson from you," The man retorted as he folded up a piece of paper. "Take what a person loves... And destroy it."
"You fool. You damned insane fool!" Cruella snapped as she threw the gun in defeat for now. "I'm not done! I'M NOT DONE AT ALL!" she then added before she let out a peal of laughter that sounded quite haunting and scary to anyone who heard it, but Carlos was the most effected by the sound of it.
"Her voice... I hear her voice... In my head..." Carlos grunted as he clamped his hands over her ears as the woman spoke in a way that reminded him of something that he couldn't remember right now.
"This is getting serious." Lonnie remarked to herself.
"Besides... I'll at least have something to remember you by..." Cruella then told the man as she cradled her stomach, seeming to indicate something which was a puzzle to Lonnie as she had to wonder how that was possible.
Elwin and Lonnie met up after doing what they did in Carla and Carlos' dream. Lonnie swore she didn't see a dark force in Carlos' dream other than a woman by the name of Cruella de Vil and Elwin mentioned he followed a man claiming to be an author who collected stories along with a young teenage girl for a companion who happened to be Carla. The two soon went through dream from dream, but there were more vague mysterious about their friends having the dreams such as Enid who dreamt about a dark-haired woman locking a golden-haired woman who must had been Rapunzel in a tower and they saw a horned figure who was probably a demon or maybe even The Devil himself who had a few heroes chained up so that he could raise an army he called The Army of the Dead and using something known as The Black Cauldron, but they couldn't get any important names or information beyond those details.
They then came into Harry's dream which seemed to be a tavern that was currently closed and a man emerged from the shadows, showing to be Harry's father Killian Jones AKA Captain Hook. Killian and Harry come over to a table and Killian tapped his hook impatiently while sipping some ale.
An older man spotted them from behind the bar and stepped out, but still kept his distance. "Look... I don't want any trouble, but we're closed, mate." he then told Killian.
"Why might I cause trouble? Because I'm a dirty pirate?" Killian retorted. "Or because I'm a boy whose father abandoned him on the high seas?"
The man then realized who the younger than him man was. "Killian."
"Aye. But it's Captain Hook now," Killian retorted as he slammed his tankard down and stood up. "You once told me I had to decide what kind of man I wanted to be. Well, Father... this is who I became!"
"How is this possible? I left nearly a century ago." Mr. Jones demanded.
"We both found a way to cheat death." Killian retorted.
"Isn't that right, Brennan?" Harry added.
"That we did," The man named Brennan had to admit. "Your brother?" he then prompted curiously.
"Liam... was not so fortunate," Killian replied softly. "And this is my successor, Harry. I trust him and he's my favorite little buccaneer."
Harry beamed and nodded in agreement over that.
"But you... look at you. You grew up," Brennan sighed as he looked at his now adult son. "Where have you been?"
"Neverland. I was biding my time until I found a way to kill myself a crocodile," Killian explained. "It's a tale of woe and revenge but one that you don't need to be concerned with. It's your tale that matters. So, tell me, father, where does a scoundrel like you run after he's sold his sons into servitude?!" he then finished aggressively and firmly.
"Yeah! How could you abandon your own children like that?" Harry added with narrowed eyes that resembled his father's.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Killian. Truly, I am," Brennan said softly and tried to explain what he could. "I ran. I didn't get far. Not long after I left you and Liam, I got caught and put under a sleeping curse."
"A sleeping curse?" Harry wondered.
"How the bloody hell are you awake now?" Killian added.
"How does anyone break a curse? True Love's Kiss." Brennan countered and answered his own rhetorical question.
"Who could ever find a way to love you?" Killian retorted.
"My nurse. I could hear her speaking... as I slumbered," Brennan explained wearily. "Her voice was so kind, so gentle. She made me see the error of my ways. I fell in love with her. And she with me. She changed me. I just... I just... wish... that I'd known her when we were together. You could've had the father you wanted. The father you deserved. I'm so sorry."
"Where is this woman?" Killian demanded.
"A few years... after we married... she fell ill," Brennan explained softly as he sat down at the table. "The plague. She never recovered."
"We came here to kill you, Father," Killian then said as he got down to business. "Your life was the price I had to pay to finally get my revenge, but we've both lost too much."
"You're going to spare me?" Brennan asked softly.
"In a manner of speaking. The world must believe you're dead. The Queen, everyone must think I killed you," Killian clarified. "I can secure you a letter of transit to take you far from this place. Maybe you can start again."
"You'll come with me?" Brennan asked hopefully as he stood up.
"No, you see, I had a love, too. And she was taken from me. You can't destroy the plague that took yours, but I can destroy the plague that took mine," Killian explained. "I must continue on."
"I hope you find peace... Son," Brennan said softly as he put his hand on his grown man's shoulder. "Surely your successor shall too."
Harry looked a little soft and doubtful about this suddenly, but since he had doubts, a shadow lingered out and began to take on the form of a certain someone that the pirate teen knew from long ago.
"We must hurry. Any delay will arouse suspicion," Killian told Brennan as he shrugged off the gesture. "I'll bring the letter of transit tonight." he then began to walk out the door until the sound of his father's voice stopped him.
"Actually... would it be possible... to bring two?"
"Two?"
"My wife and I... we had a son." Brennan explained.
"Another son?" Harry muttered.
"Hi, Harry..." A voice said from right behind the pirate teen, causing him to turn around.
"Rufio!" Harry gasped once he saw a familiar boy who had dark hair with hints of crimson.
"Your father abandoned you just like his father abandoned him, how do you know he really loves you?" Rufio taunted and grinned.
"No, you're dead!" Harry complained as he tried to deny what was going on right now. "You and Peter Pan are both dead and you can't hurt me anymore!"
"Are you really sure about that, Codfish Jr?" Pan smirked as he was suddenly beside Rufio. "Your father killed his father, maybe you should become the Lost Boy you were meant to be and kill your father too?"
"Especially with your very own sword." Rufio added as a sword was suddenly in Harry's hands.
"I... I..." Harry stammered as he held onto his sword while Rufio and Pan suddenly had glowing red eyes as though they were demons from the fiery Underworld.
"Kill your father just like he killed his own..." Pan told Harry menacingly. "You'll be free since you two had that argument and you came crawling over to me."
"You had the ultimate Lost Boy potential, Harry Hook," Rufio added. "You're better as a first mate than a pirate captain just like those Smee siblings your father trusts over you any day."
"No!" Harry cried out.
"Yes..." Pan and Rufio grinned darkly as a shadow loomed over them both.
"Rufio and Peter Pan?" Lonnie wondered.
"Harry, it's a trap!" Elwin cried out, hoping that would get through to Harry but it was hard to say if it would or not. "It's Pitch Black trying to mess with your mind and loyalty to your parents!"