~ Years Ago~

"Now, now, Crow. You better get to bed for the night. Godmother knows what could happen if your mother found out that you were staying up late on my watch."

"NO! I'M GONNA STAY UP ALL NIGHT! SCREW SLEEP!"

Raven was watching her brother get dragged to his room while shouting and flailing his arms around. She observed with half lid eyes while she was being piggybacked by her grandfather as she held onto his neck. Her brother is always one for being dramatic.

Her parents were away and her brother Drake was already in bed along with her baby sister. She was almost surprised that she hadn't heard any wailing of crying from her sister with how loud Crow was being.

"Crow, you need sleep in order to feel a lot of energy for tomorrow. After all, you need a lot of energy if you wanna be strong." Her grandfather reasoned to the young boy.

"BUT-!"

Her Grandpa Grimm shut his brother's mouth with one finger over his mouth, "How about this, if you sleep tonight, then tomorrow we can go to the costume store and buy that costume you've been so excited about. Okay?"

That got the boy to shut up as he thought about it and nodded, "Okay."

After tucking her brother to bed, her grandfather went to her own room as she was picked up from his back and was on her bed being tucked in.

"Wait!"

Her grandpa looked at her in confusion and sighs. It was a long day for the old man when dealing with youngsters but smiles at his granddaughter, "What is it now?"

Raven looked at him with bright blue and purple eyes, "I want to see a light show magic story!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Her Grandpa Grimm couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, "Oh, alright."

Raven tucked in as comfortable with her stuffed plush unicorn as she could while looking at the hand her grandfather let out in front of her. She watched in amazement as she saw sparks of navy blue magic with hints of glittering gold splashing around. The magic created spectral images of small fairies flying around as butterflies danced along as small unicorns run around.

She always did like how her Grandpa Grimm would use his magic to tell her stories as he was the best at telling them. No matter who offers to tell them, she would always prefer her grandfather to tell her these stories using magic instead.

"Wow!"

Her grandfather smiled at Raven fondly as she watched in amazement and wonder, "What story would you like me to tell you?"

~Present Time~

Raven watches her grandfather look at defeat as she glares at him, trying to peel away the secrets that contained in his words as others were watching in anticipation.

She didn't know when she and him got so distant. Perhaps it was when her mother cursed Wonderland and banished her to the Mirror Realm. Or maybe when Raven came to this school and did not call him my grandpa anymore. Maybe even the whole Royal or Rebel debate that caused the whole school to divide just because she didn't want her stupid predetermined destiny.

But right now, all she wanted now was some answers. She had just realized a while ago that her great uncle was stuck under Ever After High and now she reads that she had another relative that she never even knew about until today.

Screw the curse, screw the secrets, screw this, screw that. Screw it all! She just wanted no more damn secrets in this family! Is that too much to ask?!

And now Raven has the chance to ask for those answers.

She wonders if it could really fix anything, though.

The two Beauty siblings finally came back, and had overheard the commotion and joined the others in watching this tense argument as they shifted uncomfortably in their positions.

Not that the two really paid much attention to notice.

"I need you to explain to me everything." Raven started, the documents waving around in her hand, "These notes were documented years before I all of us were born and heck, before mom was born. You obviously know a lot about it but what have you been doing over the years with this kind of information?"

They all look at him, anticipating the answer.

"I've been keeping on the Darkness sightings that were written off as false rumors. And I've heard of the Rebellion years ago and have been helping in secret as best as I could." he answered, looking at Gale and Axel.

When the two thought about it, there were many close calls- no, too big of close calls that seemed to have occurred in the past. Sometimes it haunts them in their sleep as it pricks in their minds. And a few other things that were close to hints that occurred as well.

Then they all looked at Raven, waiting for her to say something.

"Why all the secrecy? Why keep it all hidden? And how come no one remembers something crazy like this?!" her words felt like rocks on her mouth.

It was getting more serious as Raven kept talking. It was shocking how angry she was while her magic was still on hold, but what worried everyone else was how this conversation could escalate.

Everyone was confused except for Gale, who just watched with a sad look in her eyes, knowing how much it hurt for Raven at this moment.

Apple had mixed thoughts as she watched Raven getting so worked up, causing her to worry. She wanted to say something, try to get the witch to calm down. But this wasn't her argument.

The headmaster closed his eyes, "Everything with the Darkness caused drastic effects on everyone. We lost people important to us. We all weren't fine. We were all traumatized. Hurt… Damaged. So I…" he was about to cry. A grown man was about to cry, "Gave everyone an Amnesia potion and made them forget about the Darkness. How it gravely affected us all."

Everyone didn't know what to say. What could they say?

Raven knew she was stepping into boundaries, but this was too much and she still felt like she needed more answers, "And what about the Council of Worlds? The Mirror Portals?"

"They don't work anymore. Someone somehow hacked our dimensional network so all communication and transportation were long gone. The only one I was able to salvage was the portal to Monster High. So in order to protect it. I left it to Eros until I could fix the other Mirrors."

"... And what about great uncle Giles? Or my great aunt?" the witch's words were becoming harder to even say.

"He can't remember as well. He tried to talk me out of it. I didn't listen. As for your great aunt… I don't know. She was in one of the dimensions last time I checked… oh how I miss her. How I miss all of them."

Before she knew it, Raven hugged her grandfather, making him surprised but immediately hugged back just as hard. The witch knew she should be mad, after everything he did. But no matter what stupid choices he made, he was still her grandpa.

The headmaster kept on going, not even sure when to stop, "I always remembered the fun times we all had. Our hopes. Our dreams. My sister had hopes of teaching the next generation as a headmistress at a school. And she always looked out for me and Giles even though she was a year younger than us. If you would ask me, she was the better one out of the three of us. Grimhilde liked her better than me."

Raven said nothing. Well, nothing but her sobs.

They all watch as this unfolds within our eyes and they couldn't help but feel bad.

Apple wanted to reassure Raven. She hated to see the witch cry like that. But what could she say? What could she say to the girl she loved to make her feel better when all she does is make things worse for Raven.

Briar, who had family issues of her own, watched as this went on. She took a look at her brother, and then looked down in melancholy.

The rebellion watched this and couldn't help but think about those they've lost. Those who're under the darkness's influence. They all couldn't help but relate to the old headmaster.

Drake and Crow were the same as the rebellion, but they also watched as how broken their family was as they watched their grandfather and sister hug with tears in their eyes. Crow immediately joined in as Drake, who was really the sentimental type, patted a hand on his sister's shoulder in assurance.

"I hate to interrupt," Gale said, getting the others to look at her, "but can you tell us about how the darkness came to be. I fear that if we don't get any information or something, then Ever After High might be next."

After the hug, Headmaster Grimm looked at Raven's pleading eyes and then back at the rest of them and sighs, "It's a long and complicated story."

"Just try." encouraged Gale, "Just give us enough."

Raven, through the wiped out tears, had a glint in her eyes and looked at her grandpa, "Light show magic story?"

With that encouragement, the headmaster nodded with a trying smile as he let out his hands, and casted his navy blue and sparkling gold magic as it swift around them.

The Queen siblings watched happily in nostalgia as the others looked in surprised awe at the different auroras of magic swirling around them.

The headmaster, with his right hand shifting with his magic, showed them two worlds, "A long time ago, there were two dimensions known to the Grimm family through one mirror, as they kept this secret hidden away so no one would find out and exploit it against them. This knowledge was passed down from my family for generations. My father then met someone from the other dimension, my mother, and they got married and had me, Giles, and our sister."

And on cue, his magic showed them what he told them. It occurred to the rest of them that the magic was being explained through the Headmaster's words.

"But in one strange circumstance, my mother left to her world a month after our sister's birth and broke the mirror in the process. Luckily, my father was able to fix the portal a week later, but there was no trace of my mother anywhere."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Axel, all of them agreeing, feeling bad.

Headmaster Grimm sighed, "It's no matter. It's all in the past."

And he continued, "Anyway, my father was a difficult man, relying on destiny to get what he wanted as he was the keeper of the Storybook of Legends at the time. He was strict and wanted Giles and I to take on the role of the keepers of destiny. But we had other ambitions."

"Even though I had thoughts of keeping destiny preserved ever since what happened years ago, it didn't stop mine and Gile's dreams of us uniting many worlds, making an alliance, making friends."

"My sister was neglected by our father, but it didn't matter to her as long as she had her brothers. She supported us with all her heart, and helped us achieve our dreams. But she had other ambitions in the other world. But we always kept in touch."

"Giles had an interest in the Mirror Portals. He invented extraordinary things, but his best work was making more portals to other worlds. Now I didn't have his brilliance, I had more experience in the role of connections and authorities to organize with other places. But we had to keep it all hidden, as we both knew that our father wouldn't appreciate what we were doing. Luckily, the former headmaster at Ever After High allowed us to work on our project under the school."

"We also had a bit more help, so we allowed two more people into our plan. I allowed Elenore Queen into the group along with her BFFA, Gala White as I knew they could keep a secret and were of great help."

"Grandma?" the white siblings said in unison. They have heard of their grandmother before but she died before they were born. They were curious about her as they heard eccentric stories about their interesting relative.

"Yes, she was a fighter in secret. She also had a good amount of weaponry in her arsenal no matter where she went." he said, showing an image of her and then showing Elenore, "And Ellie was… she was truly amazing, someone lively and encouraging. Though, can easily get into trouble at times."

Crow gave him a look, "You allowed Grandma into your plan because you wanted to have your girlfriend around." he said teasingly.

Like the White siblings, the queen sibling never met their grandmother. But unlike them, they never mentioned her. Talking about her now made them really interested and wanted to listen more to this story.

"Ah.." the headmaster coughed in his hand, embarrassment clear on his face as he failed to hide it, "As I was saying, "we came to many worlds, made many new friends. Some enemies, some acquaintances, and many great adventures. It was wonderful."

"But it didn't last long." Briar said, knowing there was more to the story.

The headmaster nodded, solemnly, "My father was… unlike the ambitions my brother and I had, while we made friendships, he wanted power. He created some entity out of a substance so powerful, so binding, that when used for the wrong purposes could cause drastic effects. Eventually, out of madness, he tested himself using the entity and became something… wrong. Twisted."

It was then that the magic darkened and all of them flinched at an echoing laugh of insanity as a man of darkness was surrounded in masses of blood and corruption.

"He kept it all secret and no one noticed his plans of control and power, not even me and my siblings. It wasn't until Elenore noticed that she started tracking him down and confronted him, but threatened her to leave and never return as she was pregnant at the time. So she left without a word and was in hiding, and I never saw her again. When I figured it out, I confronted my father and he told me all the evil things he had done, all the people he manipulated and killed for his own gain."

"And let me guess you had a fight. A really huge fight." assumed Theo. No one disagreed with him, it was pretty obvious.

The headmaster nodded again, "I managed to pull my own but he was too strong. I almost lost. I would've been gone if it was for my friends and allies coming in and stopping him. We even managed to kill him in order for all his madness to stop, but in reality, his darkness was weak and was biding its time to grow stronger for years and years."

"When I figured it out, I instantly went on the search for any remains, but by the time I did, it was already powerful enough to manipulate people. But all of us were able to keep at bay for the time being and keep it secret from society. And when there was a disturbance near the well of wonder, I went right away to check it out and…" He rubbed his temples at the memory.

"And…" Raven asked, really intrigued.

The old Grimm sighed, "When I got there, I was met with the sight of corrupted civilians against Grimhilde Queen, Snow White, and Arthur Pendragon."

Silence. And then "What?" was heard from many of them.

It sounded random. Wasn't the Evil Queen and Snow White supposed to be enemies. Just why were they fighting together? And what was Arthur Pendragon doing there?

"M-... Mother was fighting against them?" Apple asked, confused. Her mother, as she remembered, always told her that a princess was supposed to act proper in public. Though, she was mind controlled and she did participate in the Dragon Games.

The headmaster, even though tired remembering the shenanigans, couldn't help but laugh at their befuddled expressions, "Yes. she was even wielding a sword on a dragon's back and all. Apparently, Grimhilde found my documents in my office and asked Arthur and Snow for help."

"But why Snow White. I thought they hated each other. And why was Arthur Pendragon involved as well?" asked Briar with Apple nodding with what she said.

The Queen siblings looked at each other nervously and the rest of the rebellion looked away if asked.

Headmaster Grimm, knowing this, replied, "for why Arthur was involved is for another time. And Snow and Grimmhilde were BFFAs at the time." he said, surprising everyone, especially the Whites and Queens, "Anyway, I reluctantly allowed their help after a few difficult discussions since it also turns out that they've been fighting the darkness in secret without me knowing for months. How did they keep it secret for so long? I have no idea."

"They were pretty good, even better than most of my strongest fighters. All was going well, until one tragic battle." he said darkly, as if the memory were to haunt. It might actually have.

They all knew it was the turning point. Though anxious, they had to know what happened.

"Everyone split up to cover more ground. It was fine at first, but then…" He bit his lip, but continued, "Snow White was found on the ground, not looking too good."

That was worrying, especially to the White siblings.

"Was she alright?" Asked Apple, concern all over her face as her two older siblings looked with worry as well.

He sighed again. He had to say. "When she recovered a week later, we all thought she was fine. But she started acting differently, more cold to her friends and bitter. I had suspicions, but I couldn't focus as a month later, a war broke out with the darkness. Everyone fought for their lives and sanities, trying to not fall into the abyss that was shadows and cruelty. And to make it harder, we had to protect the Mirror Portals in Order to keep the darkness away from the multiverse."

"When all hope was thought to have been lost, Giles came up with a solution."

That got the rebellion's attention, "What was it?" asked Gale.

"He created a gem filled with goodness in order to weaken the darkness and contain it. He put the gem on a staff. And wouldn't you know it, it worked! But… it was too much for the gem and was shattered in the process. And to keep it safe, the gem was separated in different worlds in order to keep it separated and not used for purposes wrongly."

"We all were relieved. Happy for the war to be over. But…"

Everyone knew this was where loss occurred. Raven gave her Grandfather a side hug to reassure him, to which he was grateful for.

"We lost the mirror portals as they were destroyed in battle. And by that time, I had used the potion on everyone else so I couldn't ask Giles to fix them since he most likely forgot how to build them. And I might even sound crazy if I told anyone. And… you all might know who cut off the connection."

"Mother." Axel said sadly, which no one argued him wrong. It made sense. Didn't make things better though.

The Grimm nodded, "I only was able to find out she was the cause of it when Miss White enrolled here, which confirmed that she was infected ever since that fateful day of her unconsciousness. "

"She's been infected for years." Gale muttered, not liking to say that at all.

"Indeed. And after, I did everything I could to keep things at bay again. But what was different was that I was all alone. I had not only lost my good friends, my love of my life, and my sister, I had lost my brother and my daughter as well. And… I don't know if I could do anything to fix it."

All of them, again, felt bad. A sad old man with most of his loved ones gone because of his fathers insanity.

Raven, now knowing this, finally gets it now. Not some of it, but enough. Her grandfather lost many he valued so much. It was why he was so pushy on many things that she didn't like. He meant well, she knew. It didn't mean she should forget the things he did, but she could never hate him too much for it. He was just a sorrowful old man that just wanted his close friends and family back.

So that's what she has to do. Bring her family together again.

Even if it's the last thing she'd do.