In the Sheriff's office, Emma shows all of them the video shows the Snow Queen as Emma's foster mother in their world outside of Storybrooke. "My run-in with her in town wasn't the only memory she erased, and... there's more. Dad, Elsa, I think this is the part where you two should watch very carefully." She fast-forwarded the footage, stopping on a clip of her teenage self goofing around with a blonde girl. The two were laughing, asking each other silly questions while holding the camera. Emma froze the frame, then turned to Elsa and her father. "Is that her? Is that Anna?"
Elsa's breath caught, and she nodded. "Yes, that's her."
"Emma, you two looked like you were really close," Regina observed, glancing at the screen.
Emma's gaze lingered on the image, her brow furrowed. "All this time in that foster home… or whatever that place was, it's all gone. Whatever happened between me and them, I don't remember any of it." She looked to the group, her voice resolute. "We need to figure out how the Snow Queen and Anna ended up in this world. Maybe Gold can help."
"Considering the time I spent on the same task, I'd love to know." Gold replies.
David suggests that they all split up and search for the Snow Queen. Henry tells them to go look for the Snow Queen's ice cream truck. David then goes over to Elsa, telling her that he went over the books again to find someone anyone from Arendelle that could help fill in the holes in her memories. He says he found a couple of old friends who could help them.
"Back in our world, you and I might know them as Kristoff and Grand Pabbie, when Regina casted her curse, Arendelle was part of the kingdoms and the people of Arendelle were placed in Storybrooke. Now in town, Kristoff is known as Chris Harvester, and Grand Pabbie is now known as Dr. Vincent Roockton; owners of a Center For Health & Rehabilitation just a couple minutes away from the cemetery. Elsa agrees, and David says they should go.
Later, in the woods, Emma and Hook walk along the trees along with Regina, Robin Hood, and the Merry Men, where they discover the Snow Queen's ice cream truck, but it is empty. Inside, Emma spotted a locked container. Hook deftly broke it open, revealing a trove of files and papers. Among those items were the snowflake necklace that Emma thought Elsa lost in the ice cave as well as an engagement ring. Emma picked up the first file, her breath catching at the sight of artwork and letters—artifacts of her life, painstakingly collected by the Snow Queen.
"Looks like you two were close once," Hook remarked, thumbing through the drawings.
Emma shook her head. "But she erased my memories. Something must have happened to change all that. There has to be a clue here."
Digging deeper, she found a scroll with cryptic markings that didn't belong to their world. Hook discovered another file, filled with missing pages from Elsa's story in Henry's book. "Looks like we found the missing pages," He says giving them to Emma and Regina. Emma scanned the pages, her face darkening. "The Snow Queen wasn't lying." She says as her eyes read what was written on the pages "You two might need to take a look at this," Regina says, holding the other half of the pages, "This is very interesting," Regina says. "What did you find?" Emma asks. "Something you wouldn't believe," Regina says, giving Emma and Hook the other pages.
The Snow Queen watches from another area and is joined by Gold, who calls her out. She tells the Dark One that she wants Emma to find out about their past as part of her plan. The Snow Queen does not answer but asks Gold why he's there. Gold says he's there to offer her a deal, saying that if she declines, she'd better watch out. Then, Ingrid replies that if there was something that he wanted from her, he should just take it. However, she knows that he can't and needs leverage to make her accept the deal, so she turns him down and warns Gold to stay out of her way.
The Snow Queen agrees to do it, she then shows him the ripped pages from the storybook of his encounter with Anna. "Your small encounter with the princess, that's all. I figured you would want this to protect your reputation as a hero in this town," Gold takes the pages from her and walks away.
When Gold returns to the pawn shop, he sees Belle dressed up in warm clothing and asks where she is headed. "To the North Woods, where the Snow Queen is hiding. I have to help an old friend I knew back in the Enchanted Forest, but I'm afraid I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand," Belle replies to her husband.
"Whether or not that's true, the fact remains that she defeated both Emma and Regina. She's far more dangerous than you realize. I can't let you go there alone," Gold warns her. "I will not be alone, Rumple. You are coming with me…" Belle insists. "I'm sorry, Belle. I can't. She is far more powerful than Elsa. She is dangerous," Gold argues. "I was worried you were going to say that because I didn't want to do this," Belle says, pulling out the dagger. Gold is shocked. "Belle, I gave you that dagger because I trusted you… because I thought you would never want to control me."
With the Dark One's dagger in hand, Belle uses the dagger and orders her husband to take her to the Snow Queen's lair.
Meanwhile, David and Elsa arrive at the Center where they enter the Center and David approaches the receptionist. A few minutes later, he returns with a calling card. "She gave me this and suggested I contact this number to arrange a meeting with them." Elsa quickly urges him to call the number. David agrees and pulls out his phone as he and Elsa leave the Center.
"Kristoff? It's me, David I have information about your sister-in-law. You've probably heard the rumors, she's here, and we need your help and Grand Pabbie with our situation. If you can arrange a meeting with us at any place and share what you know about the Snow Queen and Anna. It could really help us." Throughout the call, Elsa was looking at the cemetery, deciding to enter it and walk among the gravestones, and stopped in front of two large tombstones, where she stood there for a couple seconds until David ended the call and called for her and she left.
Meanwhile, Gold takes Belle to the Snow Queen's lair. Belle orders Gold to stay outside while she goes in. Inside, she inspects the cell, where the Banshee was, and saw it was locked up and chained. It tried to attack, but due to it being chained, it was harmless and couldn't be a danger to Belle. Sside from the creature, there was no sign of the Snow Queen anywhere, so Belle begins inspecting the place inch by inch. Suddenly, she hears a voice, which draws her to something underneath a tarp. Uncovering the object reveals to be a mirror where the mirror Belle begins talking to her.
"I'm surprised you were brave enough to come in here. To help and save people you barely know. Don't bother with the heroes save people stuff. We both know you didn't care for Anna anyway. All you wanted was to find out what happened to your mother, and you didn't care what it will cost. So you chose a rock over a person. Everyone sees you for what you are, Belle… a pathetic coward. I mean, why do you think the dark one married you? Do you think it was love? He needed someone weak, someone he could manipulate. Do you truly believe that's real, that he truly wanted someone to control him, give up something he loved? Deep down, you know what kind of beast you're dealing with."
Gold walks in, warning Belle that the Snow Queen is approaching the cave, he tries to stop Belle from looking into the mirror anymore, but the mirror's power consumes Belle, and she almost slices Gold's neck. The cell door to the Banshee suddenly magically opened, letting it go free and the chains holding it were also magically unlocked, freeing it. Once it went out of its cell, it pounced on them like a lion pouncing on prey, but before it could harm them, Gold uses his magic to teleport them back to the pawnshop, with Belle cutting Gold on the neck with the dagger in the process, and where she asks her husband to forgive her for not trusting him, and they embrace. Belle then gets a call from David who told her that Kristoff and Pabbie are ready to talk to them and meet with them in the clinic.
Several hours later, in the clinic, Grand Pabbie and Kristoff talk to the gang, along with Belle, informing them of The Snow Queen's relation to Elsa.
"The Snow Queen is her what!?" Mary Margaret asks, surprised.
"Her name is Ingrid. She is your mother, Gerda's sister." Pabbie explained. "How much do you remember?" Kristoff asked Elsa, his eyes were not focused on her at all, as he looked down at the floor the entire time "The moment Anna left Arendelle, that's when it stopped. Mother… she would have told us she had a sister." "She had two sisters." The troll revealed, "I never said anything because I was sworn to secrecy."
Elsa pleads with him to tell her everything. "Your mother, Gerda, was the youngest of three. And then there was Helga, and Ingrid was the oldest. As children, the three girls were quite close, often seen playing together in the royal gardens. But then, one day, Helga and Ingrid's one ever knew what had happened to them. It was a tragedy the royal family wanted to forget. And they did, with my help. The royal family erased mention of Helga and Ingrid from every book and record they could find in our realm." He explained.
Elsa then asks them what happened to Anna. Kristoff was silent, looking down at the floor, fists clenched tight, which worried Elsa, "Kristoff... what are you not telling me... Please, tell me what happened to Anna,"
Emma broke the silence as she approached, "I know why he's not saying anything, I think this should answer your question," Emma said, handing Elsa the pages they'd been searching for—the ones that could finally fill in the blanks about her missing memories. As Elsa skimmed through, the truth hit hard: Anna had been the one to trap her in the urn. But it wasn't Anna's fault—she'd been under some kind of spell, part of Ingrid's plan. Anna never meant to trap Elsa, and when things went wrong, Ingrid froze Anna's heart, turning her into an ice statue until she used her magic to bring it to life and control it with her magic as a weapon.
"Does her form look familiar?" Emma asked, showing the page Ingrid in front frozen form. Elsa's eyes widened as she stared at it, reading the page of Ingrid using her magic to turn Anna into the Ice Banshee as it all happened in front of Kristoff as he was forced to watch this all happen because Ingrid wanted him to see it. Suddenly, it all clicked. "It's the Ice Banshee," Elsa whispered, stunned. "Ingrid was right… she was close."
"She was right in front of us the whole time, and we didn't even see it," Emma said, shaking her head.
"What's her plan?" Hook asked, looking uneasy. Belle stepped forward, clearly nervous but determined. She explained how she'd gone to the Snow Queen's lair, hoping to find Anna, since she'd known her when she visited Arendelle. Instead, Belle had found a creepy mirror in the lair—one she realized was tied to whatever the Snow Queen was plotting. "Rumple told me it's part of something terrible… the Spell of Shattered Sight. If she casts it, it'll make everyone in Storybrooke turn on each other," Belle said grimly.
Elsa frowned, remembering something Ingrid had said before. "My aunt told me Anna was the one who trapped me in the urn," she explained, her voice uncertain. Belle looked confused at first but quickly started flipping through the torn pages. "That doesn't sound like Anna. She'd never do something like that unless… unless she was under a spell," Belle muttered. Her eyes landed on a drawing of Anna and Ingrid locked in a cell together. She read the details and nodded. "I knew it. Anna was under that spell."
Hook's face went pale. "If this spell could turn sisters against each other, it could rip the whole town apart," he said, sounding alarmed. Belle nodded. "No one would be left standing," she added gravely.
Emma cut in, her voice sharp. "Not everyone. We'd still be here," she said.
Belle looked at her, skeptical. "And why do you think the Snow Queen would spare you and Elsa?" she asked.
Emma's expression darkened as she and Elsa answered. "Because she wants it to be just the three of us. Her perfect family."
Back at the Snow Queen's lair, Gold warned her that the group knows what she did to her niece, that she froze her heart and used the ice in her heart to control her, and change her into the Banshee.
The Snow Queen laughed, "But tell me, Rumplestiltskin, do they truly understand how much I can do with my magic? What Elsa doesn't realize she's able to do if she can tap more into her magic? The things I've learned between then and now? You see, for some like Regina and you, hearts are only one way to bind someone to your will. That's the old magic; the primitive, direct, and far too predictable kind of way. I've discovered something far more elegant. I can transfer some ice from the heart to the outside of the body and leave the ice wrapped around her heart, and I don't need to control her with it. The ice and I control the monster, and the heart? I just use the heart for the times when I need her. I can shape them into whatever I want...a weapon, cold, powerful, and dangerous."
She then approaches the Banshee as it stood still waiting for instructions, using her magic to let out an icy blue magic towards her head, the Banshee's eyes glowing bright icy blue, "Not only that, but I froze her head as well, meaning I can go inside her mind, and make sure the Banshee stays in control while her other self is tucked away inside their frozen mind. Even if she tries to fight back or they help her regain control, the Banshee will take control again and this time, she and I will make sure the little princess is safely tucked away and be asleep for a long time."
Gold then moved on and explained she had done to Belle with the mirror. He told her that threatening someone close to him was a big mistake and that she'd only get one warning. The Snow Queen didn't seem scared, though. She smirked and said he was lucky to get any warning at all and hinted that not everyone might survive what was coming. Gold wasn't having it. He told her she'd gotten something wrong earlier. When she asked if he meant needing leverage to get what he wanted, he shook his head and said, "Nope, I already have it." Then he pulled out a magical hat, and for the first time, the Snow Queen actually looked surprised. She asked where he got it.
"That doesn't matter. What matters is now I know what you're up to, and we can have a real talk. You might want to think twice before crossing me again because I don't think you'd like being just another decoration in this hat. Looks like you just lost your leverage, dearie."
On the rooftop of the Center, Elsa leaned against the edge, staring up at the stars. The cool night air brushed her face as she tried to clear her mind. Lost in thought, she barely noticed when Kristoff and Emma joined her. Emma approached first, tilting her head curiously. "What are you doing up here?" she asked.
"I just wanted some space to think," Elsa replied softly. Her voice carried a weight that hinted at something deeper. Emma stepped closer, leaning on the edge beside her.
"What are you thinking about?" Emma asked.
Instead of answering right away, Elsa hesitated. Then, with a sigh, she held out the pages Ingrid ripped out from Henry's book "These pages... they showed what Ingrid ordered Anna to do... to you ."
Kristoff strengthened at the mention of Anna and the Banshee. "The Ice Banshee stabbed me. Not Anna," he said firmly, breaking the silence. His voice was calm but full of conviction. "Anna wasn't in control. That thing—the Banshee—was. I looked in its eyes when it happened, and when I looked into its eyes, they weren't Anna's. Those were the eyes of something else, something different. The Anna we know, our Anna, would never do something like that."
Emma turned to him, her brow furrowing. "So... how'd survive that?"
Kristoff shrugged, the memory clearly still vivid in his mind. "The guards found me and got me to the infirmary just in time. After that, the General put me in charge as the temporary king. It was... weird, honestly. But I stuck it out, waiting, hoping that one day she and Anna would come back."
Emma pulled something from her pocket and held it out to Elsa. "I found these with the pages—Anna's necklace and her ring." The delicate pieces glinted in the moonlight. Elsa's breath caught as she reached for them, giving the ring to Kristoff.
"You said that when you fought the Banshee, you felt its emotions—its anger, pain, sorrow," Emma continued. "Those two means something, they means Anna's still in there, Elsa. Those two wouldn't be there for no reason. She is in there, fighting for control, trying to get back to you. So the question is—do you think she's someone worth saving, or is she just another Ingrid?"
Elsa's grip tightened around the necklace, her heart pounding. "When I came to Storybrooke, I promised myself I wouldn't stop until I found Anna," she said, her voice steady but filled with emotion. "Now I know where she is, and I'm not giving up until I get her back. She never gave up on me, and I'm not about to give up on her."
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