Cruel Princess (No 20)

by DeadGirlEtarnal

Zelena isn't the only sister to the Evil Queen Regina, she has a younger sister, Octavia, and she's nothing like her older sister, though known for her fake alias, the Cruel Princess. Once in Storybrooke, things change maybe for the better for the two sisters, though the trouble seems to worsen once the Saviour steps into their town. Only Ocs.

17. Chapter Sixteen - Restarting Memoirs

Chapter Sixteen - Selfless, Brave and True

Season 2 - Episode 18

There was an Enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters we know.

Or think we know.

One day, they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen.

Our World.

This is how it happened…

On October 24th, 2011, at 8:15 am, August was lying in bed in Phuket, enjoying his life as he lay asleep beside a woman, when he suddenly woke up with a start. He bolted upright, feeling an intense pain in his leg and moved the bedsheet aside to see his leg turning into wood. He turned around, looking at the woman, his sleeping girlfriend. "Wake up. Wake up!" August gasped, speaking Thai. Isra groaned, waking up and glancing at the clock, then reluctantly at him.

"It's only 8:15, go back to bed…" Isra muttered, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Look at this," he snapped, pointing at his leg. "Right here. Isra, wake up! Help me!"

"August, it's early. I'm sleeping," she grumbled, getting up a little and looking at him.

"Look, don't you see it?" Pinocchio asked, reaching out and touching his knee.

"I see your leg!" The woman argued, looking up. "Now please, be quiet…"

"I need to go to a hospital…" August told her, rubbing his leg that was turning to wood.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Isra asked him, not seeing anything wrong with his leg.

"I'm turning into wood," he mutters, speaking English.

It's been a few days since Henry tried to blow up magic, and Regina has been quiet for now. Octavia opens the door as David finishes breakfast for Mary Margaret as she drops off Henry from hers. "Breakfast in bed?" Octavia questions, frowning. "Seriously?" She pushes Henry into the apartment. "Get your stuff."

"Okay, okay," Henry mutters. "Hey, Gramps." He waves at David, who smiles at his grandson, who races upstairs, passing Emma.

"What happened has been really hard on Mary Margaret?" David argues, then stops as he remembers who he's talking to. "The least we can do is make sure she's eating."

"I get it as a Doctor, but I think it's time to give the hot cocoa and the foot massages a rest," she replies. "It's time to haul her ass out of bed and get her to move past this."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" He says, frowning. "She helped you take Cora's life."

"Oh, don't even -," The Cruel Princess snaps but stops when Emma slaps her arm as Henry races down the stairs.

"Is everything okay?" Henry asks, feeling the tension between his aunt and granddad.

"Everything's fine, kid," Emma assures him. "Get your coat, we're gonna be late."

"Bye, Gramps," he says, running out the door. "Come on Aunt Octavia!"

"I'm coming," Octavia mutters, glancing at David before heading downstairs to her car. "Backseat Henry!"

"Oh come on!" The Mills boy groans, making the Healer laugh.

"I know you think that she needs our help," Emma says, looking at her dad. "But at the end of the day, she's the only one who can help herself." She leaves, closing the door behind her, and Mary Margaret pops up from behind the island in the kitchen.

"Good morning," Mary Margaret says, making David look at his wife, wondering how much she heard.

"Hey. Morning," David replies. "I made you some eggs. But if you're craving something else, we can go to Granny's. Unless you have other plans?"

"I thought I'd head out to the woods, actually," she tells him, grabbing her things. "I need to think things through."

"Let me come with you," he argues, not wanting her to be alone, even if Regina has stopped trying to kill her and Octavia.

"David, I need to do this alone," Snow replies. "And you have things to do. I know you've been looking forward to working in the bean fields."

"Yeah. Yeah, Anton says we might have a crop soon," Charming mutters, feeling a little pushed away from his wife, but he guesses that she needs some time alone after everything. "And once we do, we can go home. And none of what happened will matter. It will all be in the past."

"I tried using Regina to kill her own mother. I know Octavia did it, but it was my idea originally. I don't think going back will erase that," Mary Margaret argues, looking at her husband.

"Mary Margaret…" David mumbles.

"Please. Give me time," she pleads, and he watches her leave, still holding the breakfast tray.

Octavia stops outside Granny's, letting Henry and Emma out, who wave as she drives off, heading to the hospital for work. Henry and Emma enter Granny's Bed and Breakfast, where Neal awaits them. "Hey, buddy. How are you?" Neal asks his son as he enters the room.

"I'm good. I brought this," Henry replies, showing him his storybook. "I thought you could tell me what it was really like over there."

"Sounds great. I tell you what, why don't you run into the Diner, get us three hot cocoas, and we'll dive in," he suggests, and Henry beams, rushing out and heading downstairs.

"I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that," Emma argues. "I need to get down to the station to take care of some things."

"Can it wait?" Baelfire questions. "There's a couple of things I wanna talk to you about. Tamara went to my place to get some of her stuff."

"Okay…" She replies, not seeing the connection.

"Well, her bags were in the storage room, but Hook wasn't," Neal explains.

"Lucky," the blond woman comments.

"Yeah, but now he's out there," he argues, looking at her.

"I'm not sure how much more trouble he can cause anyway," Emma tells him, not seeing the big deal.

"The second thing I wanna talk to you about is, the reason Tamara was getting her stuff is that she's on her way here." Cassidy informs her.

"Here? As in Storybrooke?" She questions, looking at her ex-boyfriend in shock.

"Yeah. She should be here at Granny's any minute now," Neal replies.

"What are you thinking?" The Saviour snaps.

"What do you mean?" He asks her.

"I mean, what are you gonna tell her when she sees a Giant or a Werewolf run past her down Main Street?" Emma argues. "Between Greg Mendell, our food-obsessed tourist, and now your fiance, this town is turning into a theme park."

"Maybe I didn't think it all the way through," Baelfire confesses, shrugging. "I'm sorry. I just… I need her. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to…"

"You don't need to apologise to me," she assures him. "I'm not the one you're lying to."

"Who's lying?" Neal argues, looking at Emma.

"Does she know who you really are and where you're really from?" The Sheriff retorts, looking back at him. "Take my advice, don't let her find out on her own. Tell her the truth. Tell her everything." Neal's phone suddenly beeps, making him look to see a text from Tamara.

"That's her. She's 10 minutes away," he informs Emma. "Why don't you stay and get to know her?"

"I really should be going," Emma argues, not wanting to see how happy Neal is with his fiance.

"I know, but we're all connected," Cassidy tells her. "Now, it might be nice for you two to talk. Just stay and say hello. She's bringing bagels."

Meanwhile, Mary Margaret is in the middle of the woods, practising her archery while listening to rock music; she keeps hitting the target when she hears a sound in the distance. Snow stops, following it to an old trailer somewhere in the woods. "Anyone in here?" Mary Margaret asks, stepping inside.

"Just me," August says, making her look at him to see he's entirely made of wood.

"August?" She gasps.

August found himself in Hong Kong a few days later after seeing his leg was turning into wood. He quickly left Phuket in search of a way to stop his leg from turning to wood and somehow found himself in Hong Kong on a wild goose chase, but it was the closest he'd come to. August sat in a hospital, waiting for his leg to be inspected. "August W. Booth?" An orderly called, and August stood, following him to see a room, where the Doctor looked at August's leg, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"I don't see anything," the Doctor stated, seeing a perfectly healthy leg.

"My leg is turning into wood," August argued.

"I think you should go," he replied, finding the man's behaviour strange.

"Wait, wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'll prove it to you," Booth shouted, stabbing his leg with a scalpel and freaking the Doctor out.

"No! Stop! Aah!" The Doctor yelled, trying to stop August. "Orderlies!" He yelled in Cantonese. "Restrain him! Take him to psych!" The orderlies chased August through the hospital as he tried to escape. "Wait! Get back here! Hey! Get back!" Suddenly, a man pulled August into a restroom, escaping the orderlies.

"Who are you?" August asked the stranger.

"Someone who can help," Quon replied. "I heard you yelling about your situation. And I work with a man who fixes those kinds of problems."

"What kind of problems?" He wondered.

"The kind most people just dismiss. For the right price, he can cure anything," the man told him.

"Who is he?" Pinocchio asked.

"They call him the Dragon," Quon replied.

Mary Margaret sits in August's trailer, looking at the man who is made of wood as he lies on the bed. "But the curse broke," Mary Margaret states, looking at him in shock.

"Not for me," August replies. "When it lifted, I could move again. But I stayed like this. This is my own punishment. Not the Queen's. I did this to myself."

"August, I'm so sorry," she says sadly. "But you don't have to hide. There are people in Storybrooke who care about you, Emma, your father…"

"How is he? My papa?" He wonders, missing his father.

"He misses you," Snow replies, smiling.

"I know. But I can't let him see me like this. Or Emma," Pinocchio argues, looking at himself.

"Please reconsider. They could all use you back," Mary Margaret argues. "There's been a lot going on. Henry's father returned. Emma found him."

"Wait, Emma and Neal? They're back together again? " August asks, shocked at the thought of them getting back together again after so many years.

"Uh… Uh, on," she tells him. "Actually, he's engaged to someone he met in New York."

"I was hoping…" He mutters, thinking about the pair, knowing they belong together, even after all these years. "That's my problem. Hoping. Hoping that things can still work out. Hoping that I can find redemption for the mistakes that I've made. But maybe some things you just don't come back from."

"No matter what you've done, you deserve a second chance," Snow argues, looking at him and thinking about herself a little.

"That's easy for you to say," Booth retorts, looking at the Princess. "You've never had to worry about forgiveness and redemption. You've never needed it."

"August, it's time to stop feeling sorry for yourself," Mary Margaret tells him, though she knows she should take her own advice. "Come back to town with me, we'll find Marco…"

"You expect me to face him like this? A wood pile of failure?" August questions, moving his arms around.

"Don't say that!" She snaps.

"You wanna help me? Leave. And don't tell anyone you saw me," he retorts, not wanting anyone to see him like this.

Back at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, Tamara reaches Storybrooke and is now sitting with Neal opposite Emma and Henry, the adults looking overly uncomfortable with the set-up, though Henry seems oblivious to the tension in the room, enjoying the bagels Tamara brought with her. "So, how did you guys meet?" Henry asks, looking at his dad and his fiance.

"Um… Well, I was super late to work, rushing like crazy, guzzling my giant coffee, when this guy crashed into me," Tamara tells them, pointing at Neal, who smiles at her affectionately. "Hot coffee soaked my blouse. There was no time to change, so Neal gave me his scarf to hide the stains. And he said I could keep it or call him if I wanted to return it. I decided to call and, well, we've been together ever since."

"Sounds like fate," Emma remarks, looking at Neal and Tamara, feeling a little unhappy about the idea of Neal moving on, though she is happy for him a little. "I've gotta drop Henry off with his grandpa. Thanks for the bagel."

"It was nice meeting you, Tamara," Henry agrees.

"You, too," Tamara replies, looking at the boy.

"Here you go, man," Neal says, handing Henry his book back.

"Why don't you hold on to that?" Henry suggests, smiling at his dad.

"Okay. See you," he replies.

"See you later," the Mills boy beams, leaving with Emma and Landon.

"Henry seems like a really great kid," Tamara comments, looking at Neal.

"Yeah," Neal agrees.

"He has your spirit," she remarks, smiling.

"You think?" He questions, looking at her.

"Yeah," the fiance replies.

"There's something I need to tell you," Baelfire confesses, thinking about what Emma said earlier. "I'm not from here. I'm from a place called the Enchanted Forest. I'm being serious." He grabs the storybook. "Here. Go ahead." Tamara looks into the book.

"These are fairy tales," Tamara argues, looking at it.

"And they're real, all right?" Neal replies. "They're more than real. They're history. They're my history. See this little boy?" He points to a picture of a young Baelfire on the page. "That's me."

"What the hell are you doing"?" She asks, growing frustrated.

"I'm trying to be honest with you," he tells her, and she closes the book, standing up.

"If you wanted to be honest, you would tell me what this is really about. Cute blonde who was just here?" The fiance argues. "Mother of your child?"

"Emma?" Cassidy questions, shaking his head.

"I'm not a fool, Neal. I saw the way you two look at each other," Tamara snaps, trying to start an argument.

"It's not like that," Neal assures her.

"I think it is. I think it's why you wanted to hide under the table when Henry asked how we met," she argues. "You didn't want her to hear the story. If you want to be with her, Neal, you could've told me instead of making up crap to force me away."

"I don't want to force you away," he tells her.

"Here's the thing, Neal. When you're ready to be honest with me about yourself and your feelings, then come find me," the fiance replies, leaving Neal alone with his thoughts.

Quon led August through the streets of Hong Kong to a building where they walked up some stairs to find a room full of people waiting to see the Dragon. "We're almost there," Quon assured him. "Wait here. It shouldn't be long." He pointed to a woman. "You, come. He's ready." The woman dropped her wallet, and August noticed.

"Miss? You dropped this," August informed her, making her turn around to face him.

"Thank you," Tamara replied, smiling.

Regina walks into Granny's Diner, wanting to get something to eat, when she notices Greg and goes over to introduce herself. "I hope you enjoy your pie. It's on me. I'm Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke. I'm also Henry's mother."

"Oh, he - he's the cute little kid that was wandering through the woods. Right?" Greg asks, looking at the dark-haired woman, who hasn't aged since the last time he saw her, 28 years ago.

"Yes. I just wanted to thank you for calling me about him," Regina replies, smiling nicely at the man.

"Yeah, no. No sweat. I-I have a soft spot for little kids in trouble," he tells her.

"I'm-I'm fairly certain we haven't met before, but…you do seem oddly familiar," she muses, looking at him closely.

"I don't see how that's possible," Mendell argues, "unless…h-have you spent a lot of time in Carlisle, Pennsylvania?"

"I can't say that I have," the Evil Queen laughs. "Well, if there's anything you need during your stay here… Please don't hesitate to ask." She leaves, unaware of Greg watching her as she makes her way out of the Diner, bumping into Mary Margaret. "If I were you, I'd try the fish special. It's right up your alley-blackened sole."

"Hey. What's up? Why the urgent phone call?" Emma asks, walking over to her mother and Regina.

"It's August. I found him," Mary Margaret announces.

"My boy? He's alive?" Marco questions, overhearing them.

"Yes, but…he's completely wooden," she informs him. "He's been living in an abandoned trailer down near the toll bridge."

"What can we do? Can we help him?" Emma wonders, looking at the others.

"No. But I know someone who might be able to - Mother Superior," Snow suggests, looking at her.

"Yes. Yes, the Blue Fairy," Marco agrees. "She helped once. She can help again. She must!" They quickly leave the Diner, unaware that Tamara is eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I'll call Octavia on the way," Emma says, getting out her phone, hoping Octavia isn't in surgery or busy.

Tamara exited the room from her session with the Dragon, seeing August still sitting and waiting for his turn. "He said to send you in," Tamara told him. "Good luck." August stood up and entered the Dragon's abode.

"Please, sit. Tell me. Why have you come?" The Dragon asked August.

"You see that?" August questioned, showing his leg, but it wasn't the leg that was turning to wood.

"No, because the problem is with your other leg," he argued. "You're turning to wood… Pinocchio."

"How in the hell do you know my name?" Booth wondered. "Who are you? Are you from my land?"

"August, you're in pain. Waste your energy not on me but on your affliction. All you need to worry about is whether I can help you. And the answer is, Indeed I can," the Dragon assured him.

"Thank God," August whispered, releasing his breath.

"There are, however, conditions," he informed him.

"Yeah," Pinnochio muttered, feeling that was going to happen.

"I need an item of great value to you," the Dragon replied, looking at the man.

"Money. I-I have some -," August said, grabbing his wallet from his jeans pocket.

"No. That comes later," he argued. "I need something close to your heart, something that cannot be replaced." he pointed to August's neck.

"This?" Booth questioned, holding his necklace. "It's… It's worthless."

"The pendant, perhaps, but the string - it was the string your father used to animate you as a freshly carved puppet," the Dragon told him. "In a way, it first gave you life. It will serve as payment from your soul."

"Will it work?" August asked him.

"Perhaps," he replied, and August gave him the string. "Now…as any vendor from this world, I also need payment from your wallet. 10,000 American dollars."

"$10,000?" Pinocchio repeated, shocked.

"Bring the money tonight, and you shall never turn to wood again," the Dragon assured August.

Emma, Octavia, Marco, and Mary Margaret arrive at the Convent of the Sisters of Saint Meissa, telling Mother Superior about August. "I know about August. He came to me shortly after the curse broke and asked if I would return him to what he was," Blue tells them.

"Why didn't you?" Emma asks her.

"Because what he was is what he is," she argues and looks at Maroc. "Do you remember I found you on that beach all those years ago? The day I turned your son into a real boy?"

"Yes. It was the happiest day of my life," Marco replies, smiling at the happy memory.

"I told Pinocchip so long as he remained brave, truthful, and unselfish, he would stay a real boy," Mother Superior tells him. "But I'm afraid he did not. That is why he changed back. And that's why there's nothing I can do for him."

"It's true he's done some things he regrets. We all have," Mary Margaret argues, looking at the Fairy. "But shouldn't he have another chance?"

"If there is still a path of redemption for August, it is one that he must travel on his own. No one can force him, or it will not be true," the Blue Fairy replies, looking at them sadly, wishing she could help them.

"Don't despair, Marco. I know there's still hope for your son," she assures her old friend. "There has to be."

August found himself outside a bar, looking through his wallet to find payment for the Dragon, but he didn't have enough. Not even close. "Hey," Tamara said, making him look up at the woman.

"Hey," August replied, smiling softly.

"You look like you could use a drink," she remarked.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't planning on staying very long," he told her.

"Come on. Humour me," the woman suggested. "Celebrating alone is no fun." When August sat beside her, she pulled out her purse containing a big stack of one hundred dollar bills. "Figured a medicine man wouldn't take plastic. Um… To second chances." They grabbed their glasses and toasted.

"Who knew they'd be so expensive? So what brought you to him?" Booth wondered, looking at the woman.

"Cancer. A very rare form," Tamara replied. "When I was diagnosed, the specialist told me I was on borrowed time. Ever since, I've been all over the world, trying to find a cure - doctors, healers, you name it. Anyone who could promise a miracle. And no one could. And then… Then I heard about the Dragon. How about you?"

"Skin condition," August told her.

"Acne?" She laughed, not taking his answer seriously.

"Yeah," he replied, unsure if he could trust or explain to the strange woman what was happening with his leg.

"You know, there are creams," the woman argued.

"Yeah. I wish. No, this condition - once it, uh, spreads, I'm done for," Pinocchio told her,

"Well… I'm glad you found him, too," Tamara commented.

"Thanks," August replied.

"He tell you he needed a personal item?" She asked him.

"Mm," he hummed, nodding.

"Who carries something like that around with them anyway?" The woman questioned. "Luckily, I had a photo of my grandmother and me in my wallet. Now it's gone, but… If my cancer is, too… Yeah." Her phone rings, and she looks at it. "Oh. Sorry. I'll be right back. Will you watch this?"

"Yeah," Booth told her.

"Hey," Tamara answered the phone, and August hummed, watching her as she talked on the phone and then looked at the stack of bills before taking them and rushing out of the bar.

August is lying in bed in his trailer in the middle of the woods when someone knocks on the door. He slowly gets up and goes to the door. "I told you to leave me alone!" August yells, opening the door to find Tamara standing there.

"Hey. Long time," Tamara says, smiling at the shocked August.

August dashed through the streets of Hong Kong and back to the Dragon with the stolen money. "For someone who spent his entire life running, you should be in better shape," the Dragon remarked, looking at the man.

"Well, I will be… If you have what you promised," August argued, looking at him.

"I believe we discussed a price. The money. You have it?" He asked. August noticed the picture of Tamara and her grandmother. "The body has a strange way of sending us signals, doesn't it? The tricky part isn't hearing them, but knowing what they truly mean."

"Are you sure this can cure me?" Booth questioned.

"What's in this bottle will stop you from turning to wood, yes," the Dragon assured him, showing him the bottle. "But that's just a symptom. Only you can cure yourself." They exchanged the money for the cure.

Later, August left the building, unwrapped the vial, and was about to drink from the bottle. "Stop! That's mine," Tamara shouted, finding August.

"I'm so sorry," August replied before running.

"Hey! Somebody stop him!" She yelled, chasing August down the street.

"Out of the way! Aah! Aah!" He groaned, falling from the pain in his wooden leg. "No!"

"Whatever it is you have, you deserve your fate," the woman spat, taking the bottle and leaving August crying.

"Not much of a decorator," Tamara remarks, stepping into the trailer and looking around. "Then again, I guess a man made of wood doesn't require much."

"You can see me? You believe?" August asks, shocked.

"Do you think I would have chased down someone called the Dragon if I didn't?" She argues, looking at him.

"I don't understand. What are you doing in Storybrooke? How is this even possible?" He wonders, frowning.

"What I'm doing in Storybrooke doesn't concern you. But I need you to do something. And after what you pulled in Hong Kong, you owe me," the woman tells him, not wanting him to know why she's here now.

"What could I ever do for you?" Pinocchio asks her.

"Leave. It's a simple request considering what I'm about to offer you," Tamara replies.

"No. you're going to explain this," August argues. "Did you follow me? Are you like me?"

"Magical? No. I'm quite human," she tells him. "But forget for a second why I'm here and who I am and instead ask yourself the more important question… How? My cancer was a death sentence, remember? Yet…here I am."

"The Dragon. The liquid in the bottle… It worked," he realises, looking at her in shock.

"It cured me, August. And it can cure you, too. I still have some of it left," the woman lies, needing to get rid of the wooden man. "The bottle's in my apartment in New York. You can go get it. All I ask… Is that you leave Storybrooke now and never return."

"Neal. You're the fiance," Booth says, the pieces fitting together. "Are you and Neal here for the magic? Are you two trying to take the magic from Storybrooke?"

"Neal has nothing to do with any of this," Tamara assures him. "Okay? He knows as much as you do. Actually, now you know a lot more. So do we have a deal?"

"I can't leave without knowing what you're doing here," August argues.

"Sure, you can," she replies, not buying his good-guy act. "And you will. You're the same man I left in the Hong Kong gutter…a man willing to do anything to save himself. And that's what I'm offering, August." She holds up her eyes, jingling them before him. "Salvation."

Greg returns to Granny's Bed and Breakfast to find Regina waiting for him, which he wasn't expecting. "You know, I'm all set on towels… If that's why you're here. I air dry," Greg remarks, looking at the Mayor.

"I'm here because I realised why you look so familiar to me. It's because we have met before, haven't we?" Regina replies, smiling. "Owen. I kept this all these years as a reminder of our time together." She shows him the lanyard he gave her all those years ago. "You were just a boy when you gave this to me. Now look at you, all grown up. No wonder I didn't recognise you."

"Yeah, but I-I recognised you, because you look exactly the same, Regina. It's as if no time has passed for you," Greg replies, looking at the Evil Queen.

"Monthly juice cleanse," she lies. "Does wonders for the skin. You could've come to me, Owen. You could've told me who you were and why you're here."

"Well, I-I think you know why I'm here," he argues, glaring at Regina.

"I honestly don't," the Mayor argues, looking at Owen.

"I'm looking for my father," Owen tells them.

"Your father? He left shortly after you did. I never saw him again," Regina lies, looking at Greg directly in the eyes.

"I don't believe you," Greg snaps.

"Be that as it may, it's the truth," she assures him.

"People don't just disappear, Regina," he argues.

"Scared little boys tend to have overactive imaginations," the Evil Queen retorts, knowing precisely what happened to the boy's father.

"Well, I'm not a scared little boy anymore, Madam Mayor," Owen snaps. "It's taken me a long time to get back here. I'm not leaving without my father."

"I'm afraid you are, because he's not here," Regina argues. "I'll let Granny know that you'll be checking out tomorrow."

"Or what?" Greg replies, not showing his fear.

"Contrary to what you might think, people can just disappear," she warns him.

After Tamara visits August, Marco comes with Emma, Octavia and Mary Margaret to the trailer in the woods. "This is all my fault," Marco mutters, feeling devastated.

"Our children make their own decision, Marco," Mary Margaret assures him. "You can't blame yourself for anything that's happened."

"Yes, I can. And you should blame me, too," he argues, looking at the Princess. "The wardrobe I built for you. The one that transported Emma to this world - she did not go alone."

"Of course she did," she replies, looking at him confused. "The wardrobe only had enough magic to transport one person."

"No, that was a lie I made the Blue Fairy tell you," the man confesses. "It had enough magic to transport two, and it did - your daughter…and my son…Pinocchio."

"I could have gone with her? With Emma?" Snow gasps, thinking of everything in shock and betrayal.

"There is no apology I could give that could ever make up for what I did. But I am so sorry," Marco apologises, and Mary Margaret slaps him across the face.

"Mary Margaret," Emma and Octavia gasp, looking at the usually sweet and caring woman.

"What are you doing? He's apologising," Emma snaps at her mother.

"No, no, that's okay. I deserve that," he assures her, looking at the blond woman.

"No, that wasn't me. Marco, I am so sorry," Mary Margaret says sadly, looking at her hand. "I'm not myself. You just made a mistake. I would have done the same thing for my child. I forgive you. You were protecting your son."

"No. I burdened him with a weight no child should have to bear, and I called it love," the man replies. They set off again, finding August's trailer shortly after this, but he is nowhere to be seen as he's currently driving Tamara's car out of Storybrooke as quickly as possible.

Tamara later returned to the Dragon's abode after retrieving her bottle from August and testing it. "Your photograph is on the desk," the Dragon informed her. "Do not forget to take it when you leave."

"I'm not going anywhere until I get the truth," Tamara replied.

"Interesting choice of words from someone who lied about being sick," he remarked, looking at the woman.

"You're right. I don't have cancer," she confessed, unbothered.

"And yet you sought me out," the Dragon commented.

"I've been searching for someone like you for a very long time," the woman told him.

"Ah. For magic," he mused.

"It's rare in this world…so rare most would say it's…fiction," Tamara remarked, looking at him.

"But not you," the Dragon replied.

"Not me. But finding it? That has not been easy," she said; "I found a world full of frauds…until you. I've analysed the contents of this bottle with the most sophisticated techniques available to man. You know what I found? Nothing."

"So I'm a fraud, too," he mused, smirking at the woman.

"No. Literally nothing," the woman corrected him. "The liquid in this bottle doesn't contain a single element found in this world. Can you explain that?"

"What I create is not from this world because the people who need my help suffer from afflictions that science cannot treat. People like the man you stole that from," the Dragon remarked.

"I didn't steal anything," the woman argued. "I paid for what's in this bottle. But…now that I have it, I can't risk anyone else finding you." Tamara pulled out a stun gun. "It was nice meeting you." Smoke exited the Dragon's nostrils, and he magically gilded towards Tamara.

"You haven't met me," he retorted. "At least not the real me." He levitated above the ground, but Tamara's weapon electrocuted him with the stun gun until he dropped dead. She took the picture of her and her grandmother before leaving.

August drives Tamara's car when he hits a bump in the road, which causes the photo of Tamara and her grandmother, whom she previously gave to the Dragon, to fall onto the seat beside August. Upon seeing the picture, August turns the car back around, realising that Tamara lied to him and he needs to stop whatever she's doing and warn the others.

August returns to Storybrooke and enters the Sheriff's Department looking for someone to help him, mainly Emma, the Sheriff. "Emma?! Hello?! Is anyone here?!" August shouts, looking around, but there's no one there, so he picks up the phone, calling Emma, who is still in the woods.

"Emma Swan," Emma answers the phone.

"Emma, it's August," he replies, and she smiles, glad he called.

"August," she sighs, glad he's safe.

"Listen to me. I have to warn you," Pinocchio warns her.

"August…" The Sheriff says, but there's static on the line. "Warn me? Warn me about what?" The line goes dead.

"You disappoint me, August," Tamara sighs, making August turn around to see her behind him.

"I know what you did to the Dragon," August informs her. "A few days after you left, I went back to beg him to fix me, and we both know what I found. At the time, I was too wrapped up in myself to wonder what had happened, to question who could have done such a thing. But then I found this photo in your car, and it hit me. You and your grandmother…you went back there. You killed him."

"You should have left," she warns him, glaring at the wooden man. "I counted on you to wanna save yourself."

"Maybe that's what I'm trying to do," he argues. "I've lived a life of selfishness, cowardice, and dishonesty. And only I can cure that, not magic, not science. Just me. I care about the people in this town. And if you wanted the Dragon's little bit of magic… Well, you have hit the mother lode here, and you are not going to harm anyone to get it. I'm going to warn them."

"No, you're not," the woman snaps, using her stun gun to electrocute him.

After receiving the call from August, Emma, Mary Margaret, Octavia, and Marco race back into town, Mary Margaret calling her husband to meet them there. David tries calling the phone at the station, but there's no answer when he reaches the others before they enter. "If August is still at the station, he's not picking up," David informs them when August bumbles out of the Sheriff's Station.

"August! August!" Emma shouts, racing towards him as he falls to the ground.

"Oh! My child. My boy. My boy," Marco cries, stepping towards him and holding him in his arms. "What happened to you?"

"I'm so sorry, papa," August groans.

"No. There is nothing to apologise for," he assures his son. "Everything is gonna be all right."

"Emma," Pinocchio grunts, looking at the blond woman.

"August," Emma replies, looking at him.

"Emma… She's…" August gasps. "She…"

"Oh, no," Marco cries, his voice breaking. "Not again." He sobs as he cradles his son's dead body.

"August?" Neal questions, walking over to see what's happening.

"No. It can't end this way. He was supposed to get a second chance," Mary Margaret argues, looking at David in despair.

"What happened?" He asks, looking at the others.

"Someone killed him to stop him from telling us something," Emma informs him. "He used this last dying breath to warn us. I will not let that be in vain."

"Brave…truthful…and unselfish," Henry mutters under his breath. "Brave, truthful, and unselfish." He repeats louder. "Don't you see what this means? That's what Pinocchio was supposed to be. There's still hope. We need the Blue Fairy."

"I'm here, Henry," Mother Superior announces, appearing at the scene.

"What does Henry mean?" Mary Margaret asks, looking at her.

"I was able to turn Pinocchio into a real boy after he sacrificed his life for Marco's," she explains. "If his actions today were indeed brave, truthful, and unselfish, then you're right. There's a chance I can do it again."

"Please, I beg of you. Try," Marco pleads with her, and Octavia rolls her eyes, pushing the Blue Fairy aside.

"Move over, Blue," Octavia grumbles, waving her hands around before settling them in front of her where a small ball of energy appears, growing bigger and brighter. "Welcome back, Pinocchio." She pushes the energy ball into August's chest, reverting to his younger self.

"Father?" Pinocchio questions, looking at Marco, who looks at Octavia in shock and with everyone else, but also with gratitude.

"Pinocchio," Marco cries, bringing his son into a hug. "Look. Look."

"I'm a real boy. I'm a real boy!" He exclaims, hugging his father back when Tamara walks over, careful that no one sees her leaving the Sheriff's Station.

"Honey," Neal greets his fiance.

"It's…It's true," Tamara whispers, looking at Pinocchio and Neal.

"Do better this time, Pinocchio," Octavia advises, kneeling before the boy.

"Pinocchio? That's…" She mutters, looking at Neal.

"Yeah," Neal replies, looking at her.

"Pinocchio? I have to ask you a question," Emma states, kneeling beside Octavia before Pinocchio. "I need you to think real hard, okay? Before you turned into a little boy, you were trying to tell us something very important. Do you remember? You were trying to warn us about something."

"I…I don't remember," Pinocchio replies, glancing at his father and the women. "If I did, I would be truthful. I promise."

"If you wanna head back to New York, I wouldn't blame you," Neal tells Tamara. "I know this isn't what you signed up for."

"What I signed up for…is you. I love you," Tamara lies, looking at him.

"I can't believe how lucky I was to have met you," he replies, smiling at her.

"We were both lucky," she tells him.

August tracked down Neal after returning from Hong Kong, sitting on his bike as he'll be heading for Storybrooke to break the Dark Curse. "It's been a hell of a flight from Hong Kong," Neal remarked, looking at the man. "You've looked better."

"Well, I've felt better," August replied, looking at him. "I'm turning back to wood, Neal. Which means that Emma's in Storybrooke."

"You're going there, aren't you?" He asked him.

"I gotta get her to break the curse to stop what's happening to me," Pinocchio explained.

"If she breaks the curse, my father's gonna remember who he is and come looking for me," Cassidy argued, not wanting to face his father after all these years.

"Flip side - you get to see Emma again," August reasoned.

"Not sure she wanted to see me," Neal retorted, hanging his head.

"You never know," he told him. "When the curse is broken. I'll send you a postcard." The two men were unaware that Tamara was spying on them using her compact mirror. After witnessing this, she recognises August. She walks over to Neal once August sped off on his motorbike, and Tamara purposely bumps into Neal, causing her to spill her coffee all over herself.

"Oh!" Tamara exclaimed, stepping back and wiping the coffee off her soaked blouse.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Neal asked her, checking on the woman.

"It was me," she argued. "I'm…I'm in a hurry. I'm late for work."

"Oh, here. You know what? Take my scarf," he suggested, taking off his scarf and trying to hide the large coffee stain. "It'll cover up the stain."

"It's perfect. Thank you," the woman replied, smiling.

"I'm sorry," Bealfire said, feeling bad.

"Thank you. I'm Tamara," Tamara introduced herself, looking at her mark.

After everything, the Charmings and Octavia return to the apartment to try and relax, Emma and Henry head upstairs, needing to talk privately, and the Cruel Princess makes herself useful, making dinner for everyone. "Henry. We gotta talk," Emma states, looking at her son. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied to talk to you about your dad. I promise I will never lie to you again. Just don't push me away."

"I won't," Henry promises, hugging his adopted mum, leaving Mary Margaret and David alone downstairs.

"Ready to tell me what's going on?" David asks his wife.

"Yes. But before I do, you have to promise you won't get mad," Mary Margaret replies, looking at him.

"That always means good news," he remarks, sighing. "I promise."

"David…" She sighs. "...last week, I went to Regina's house and confronted her."

"Are you… Are you out of your mind?" Charming snaps, looking at his wife.

"You promised not to get mad," Snow replies.

"I'm not mad," David argues.

"I can see that," Mary Margaret remarks, glancing at her seething husband.

"She could have killed me," he reminds her.

"I know. That's why I went…so she would kill me," she explains.

"What?" The Prince questions, surprised.

"I couldn't take the guilt over what I almost did to Cora. What I helped Octavia do. I could barely breathe," Snow replies. "I told her to end it, and she ripped out my heart. And when she took it out, my heart, David…it had started to blacken because of what I helped to do."

"Why didn't you tell me?" David asks her, wishing she would confide in him.

"Because telling you makes things real, and I needed to believe it wasn't, that I could find a way to stop it, that redemption was possible." Mary Margaret tells him.

"It is. Look at August," he assures her, not wanting her to lose hope.

"But it cost him…everything," she argues.

"Oh," Charming mutters, pulling her into a hug. "You are not him, Mary Margaret, and you sure as hell aren't Regina. Which means those are not the only two options. We'll find another way. I know it."

"What makes you so sure?" The Princess asks, looking at her husband, who puts his hand on her heart.

"This does," David tells her. "And I know it better than anyone."

Later that day, at Granny's Bed and Breakfast, Greg is in his room, not taking Regina's threat seriously. He stays in town when he receives a call from the infamous 'Her' and answers it. "Hey, why haven't you called me back?" Greg asks. "Where are you?" A knock at the door makes Greg frown; answering the door to see Tamara standing there.

"Right here," Tamara replies. "Sorry I'm late. It's been a heck of a day. I don't have much time. Neal's in the shower. I only have a few minutes."

"Then let's not waste them," he suggests, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

After dinner at the Charmings, Ocativa walks up to her apartment, smiling, glad everything had worked out. She wonders who the 'she' was that August said before he died, but for now, she just wants to go to sleep. "I was hoping we could talk," Regina announces, making Octavia look at her big sister.

"Why would you want to talk to me now?" Octavia questions, frowning.

"I kept thinking about things from when we were younger. I remember how much attention I got from our parents, and you never got any," she confesses, and Octavia frowns, not seeing the point of this. "I also remembered you disappearing when you were 13." The Evil Queen steps towards her younger sister. "Where did you go I wonder?" Octavia looks at her confused but stops, turning smug.

"You'll never know," the Cruel Princess replies, stepping, the sisters facing each other. "It must burn a little. Not knowing."

"Tell me, Tavia. Why did you disappear?" The dark-haired woman asks, and Octavia sighs.

"I mean. If I tell you, what is that going to achieve?" Octavia muses.

"Did mother send you away?" Regina wonders, and Octavia smiles sadly.

"She's a mean one, isn't she, our mother?" She questions, and Regina gets her answer.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, like I was supposed to," the Evil Queen apologises, and Octavia laughs.

"I still love you, Gina, that's never going to change," the Healer assures her and pulls her into a hug.

Chapter Sixteen - Lacey

Season 2 - Episode 19

There was an Enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters we know.

Or think we know.

One day, they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen.

Our World.

This is how it happened…

It's Henry's birthday, and he's at Mr Gold's pawn shop, surrounded by Emma, Neal, Octavia, Mary Margaret, David, and Mr Gold, blowing out eleven candles on a birthday cake. The adults cheer and clap their hands for the boy. "And now, my boy, for your presents," Mr Gold announces, leaning towards Henry. "Pick one object from this shop. Anything you like." Henry walks around looking for something, then suddenly stops and points at one of the wands on the counter.

"That," Henry says, mindlessly waving the wand around.

"Alright, careful, buddy!" Neal warns him. "Wands are powerful."

"So how does it work?" He asks, turning to Mr Gold.

"Here, let me show you," Mr Gold replies, taking the wand from Henry and waving it through the air for a moment, then turning Henry into a ceramic statue with a flick of his wrist.

"Gold, why would you do that?!" David shouts, glaring at the Dark One.

"The prophecy," he states. "The seer said the boy would be my undoing. So I have no choice. I must be his." He takes his cane and shatters the statue.

Rumpelstiltskin suddenly bolts up in his bed at home, awake from his strange and violent dream and looking around in distress.

In the morning, Neal and Henry enjoy some time together, fighting with swords, while Mr Gold watches on from the sidelines when Regina approaches him. "Seems like we both have been pushed to the sidelines," Regina muses, looking at her son playing with his son.

"What are you doing here?" Mr Gold asks her.

"The real question is what's your son doing with mine?" She questions, glaring at him.

"Oh that…" He muses, turning towards Regina with a smirk. "That's right, you didn't get the birth announcement, did you? That's Henry's father."

"What?" The Evil Queen questions, looking at him with surprise.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Rumpelstiltskin asks. "Miss Swan and my son -."

"You're Henry's grandfather?!" Regina exclaims, interrupting him.

"Guess that makes us family!" Mr Gold remarks. "He's got my eyes, don't you think?" He walks away from Regina with a smug look.

"You did this!" She snaps, glaring at him.

"Trust me, dearie, it was as much a shock to me as it is to you," he assures her.

"No! You must have known!" The dark-haired woman argues. "When I adopted him, it was you who procured him for me. You expect me to believe that that was a coincidence?"

"No, not coincidence. Fate," the Dark One retorts. "And apparently, fate has a sense of humour."

"Fate. So, you're playing the part of the loving grandpa now?" Regina questions. "They won't accept you, no matter what you do. Not your son, not any of them."

"We'll see," Mr Gold argues.

"I've already seen Gold. I've seen your dark heart, and it always wins out," she snaps, glaring at him. "You always choose darkness."

"You think you know me, dearie. But you don't," he tells her, leaving her alone.

"I know you well enough," the Evil Queen shouts after him. "If your own son couldn't bring out the good in you, who will?"

After talking with Regina, Mr Gold visits Belle in the hospital in her room, needing to see her. "You're alive," Belle states, surprised after his phone call earlier.

"Indeed, I am," Mr Gold replies, smiling. "I imagine my last phone call was a bit alarming."

"Yeah. Sounded like you were on your deathbed," she comments.

"I'm really sorry if I startled you," he apologises. "I know that you have no memory of me. But my feelings for you are real. And I just needed you to know that in case…well in case I died."

"I'm glad you're okay. And I could tell your feelings were true," the confused woman replies, smiling.

"You could?" The Dark One asks, frowning a little.

"I have a sense about people. I can't explain how, but I…I could just tell," Belle tells him.

"So, you believe we know each other?" Mr Gold questions.

"I believe that whatever caused me to forget myself, means that I have a past, and…that past probably included me," she replies.

"It did," he confirms.

"When I, uh...when I was injured...this is gonna sound crazy. I remember you healing me," the book-loving woman tells him.

"You've been through a lot. Serious injury. All the drugs you've been on since you've been in here. Once you remember who you are, it'll all become clear," Rumpelstiltskin assures her.

"Can you help me do that? Remember who I am?" Belle wonders.

"Only if you help me remember who I am," Mr Gold replies.

"Sorry, what?" She questions, frowning.

"Belle, you always brought out the best in me," he explains. "And right now I need that. So, yes, I will do everything I can to bring you back, for you and for me."

"We can help each other," the confused woman muses, smiling.

"Yeah. Let's talk to someone about getting you out of here. You've been locked up long enough," the Dark One suggests, smiling back at her when Octavia appears behind him.

"The person to talk to would be me," Octavia reveals, smiling. "You promise to look after her, then I don't see a problem, but I mean do not overexert her."

"Understood, Doctor," Mr Gold muses, looking at his youngest student.

In the Dark Castle, Belle cried in her cell after Rumpelstiltskin took her from her home when he entered. "When you so eagerly agreed to come and work for me, I assumed you wouldn't miss your family quite so much," Rumpelstiltskin remarked, looking at the weeping woman.

"I made my sacrifice for them. Of-Of course I miss them, you beast!" Belle snapped, glaring at him through her tears.

"Yes, yes, of course," he replied, rolling his eyes at her dramatic behaviour. "But the crying must stop. Night after night! It's making it very difficult for me to spin. You know, I do my best thinking then." He created a pillow for her. "Perhaps this'll help?"

"For me?" She asked, looking at the pillow.

"Not quite so beastly now, am I?" The Dark One questioned.

"Thank you. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep," the woman wondered, looking at him.

"No, no, no. It's not to help you sleep, dearie. It's to muffle the cries so I can get back to work!" Rumpelstiltskin argued, and they heard the sound of glass shattering above, making them move out of the cell upstairs, where they found a man stealing a magic wand. "Are you sure you wanna do this, dearie?"

"Pretty sure," the thief replied, taking his hood off.

"If you don't know how to use that wand, it can do nasty things to you," he warned the man.

"Well, then... I'll stick to what I know works. Do you know what this arrow can do to you?" The thief questioned, raising his bow with an arrow pointed at the Dark One.

"Has to hit me first," the Dark One argued, teleporting.

"Shouldn't be a problem. An arrow fired from this bow always finds its target," he informed him. "Don't you just love magic?" He fired the arrow, but Rumpelstiltskin teleported away, making the arrow fly around the room and finding its mark, hitting the Dark One. "I know I do."

"As do I!" Rumpelstiltskin beamed, pulling the arrow from his chest, giggling. "But don't you know? All magic comes with a price! And in your case, that's me."

Belle gets ready to leave, packs her things into her bag, and is finally glad to leave the hospital. "Hello," Regina greets her, making Belle look at the Mayor.

"Hi," Belle replies.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," she says, smiling friendly at the woman and stepping into the room. "I'm Regina. I'm the Mayor of this town. Just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"That's, uh, very thorough of you. Thank you, but I-I'm fine. I think I am. M-Mr Gold and Doctor Mill's are getting me discharged," the confused woman explains. "He believes he can help me remember who I am."

"Does he now?" The Evil Queen muses, bending down and pretending to pick something up, but she uses her magic to summon a matchbook with the logo of the local bar - The Rabbit Hole. "What's this, dear? Did you drop it?"

"Don't think so," Belle replies, taking the matchbook.

"Keep looking, dear," Regina encourages her.

"Wait," she says, staring at the logo for a few seconds. "I know…I know what this is. I think I remember who I am."

"Well, I'm sure Mr Gold will be thrilled," the dark-haired woman replies, smirking as her plan works, wanting to get her revenge against the Dark One for having her mother killed.

"Regina, what have you done?" Octavia asks, stepping behind her sister, who looks at her,

"What needed to be done," Regina tells her.

Meanwhile, Tamara and Greg are looking at a map of Storybrooke in Greg's room at the bed & breakfast; he's marked all the places he's witnessed magic being used. "These are all the places you saw it?" Tamara asks her partner.

"Yeah. This town's lousy with magic," Greg replies. "Now you should go. If Neal suspects anything, it's gonna make everything we have to do that much harder."

"Don't worry. He won't. Greg, have you had any luck…finding him?" She wonders, knowing how much he wants to find his father.

"My dad? No. But he's here. I'm sure of it," he tells her.

"We will find him," the woman assures him.

"I know. But one thing at a time. Now, you were able to get the package here, right?" Owen asks her.

"It's right outside town," Tamara informs him. "Couldn't just drive in with it."

"And it's…it's stable?" He questions, looking at her.

"Very. I'll bring the package in tonight. Be ready," she tells him.

David drives Mary Margaret and Emma out into the countryside of Storybrooke, and they park, getting out. "Hey guys," Octavia greets them, walking over to the car.

"Why are we in the middle of nowhere?" Emma asks, frowning as she looks at the empty fields around them. "Why aren't you guys telling me what's going on? Why the secrecy?"

"Because you need to see it," Mary Margaret replies, smiling.

"Great. That always goes well for me," she mutters. "Listen, whatever it is, it can wait. August was trying to warn me about something-someone dangerous."

"Doesn't matter," David assures her.

"Why not?" The blond woman asks, looking at her parents.

"Because of this," Mary Margaret replies as they step through the cloak to fields of magic beans.

"Octavia," Anton greets, walking towards them, smiling.

"Hey," Octavia replies, smiling, and they quickly hug. "This is Anton, the Giant I met back in the Enchanted Forest." She explains to Emma, who frowns.

"Are you here to help?" He asks. "It's not quite harvest time yet."

"Beans. You're growing magic beans?" Emma questions, looking at everyone. "That's what you were up to when I was in New York? Why didn't you tell me?"

"We are telling you," David argues. "We kept it a secret to protect the crop. Octavia, she cloaked the area. That way Anton can do what he does best."

"Actually, you haven't seen me play darts," Anton jokes, trying to lighten the mood. "But, yeah, I do this pretty good."

"Um, Anton, don't take this the wrong way, but w-why-why are you so…?" Emma wonders, looking at the tiny Giant.

"Small?" He supplies, smiling. "Cora. She and Regina brought some magic to make me human-sized. Kind of like it."

"Enough lollygagging!" Leroy snaps, storming over. "Back to it."

"Wow. Dwarves really like to work," Tiny remarks. "It's great to meet you, Emma."

"You too," Emma says to Anton.

"Great seeing you again, Octavia," Anton smiles, hugging her again before walking off.

"You as well, see you later," Octavia replies, smiling and waving.

"You want to use the beans to make a portal, to go back to the Enchanted Forest. That's the real reason you didn't tell me. What about Ogres and destruction and danger?" Emma asks, turning to Mary, Margaret and David.

"We can fix all that," David assures her. "We did it before, we can do it again."

"We can start over, Emma," Mary Margaret tells her daughter.

"So, you've changed your mind. You wanna go now, too," Emma asks her.

"Not my mind. My heart," she corrects Emma. "After what I helped do to Cora, I think restoring our land is the best way to mend it."

"It'll be good for all of us, the whole family. Henry and you," David tells her.

"We're from there. You're from there," Snow reminds her.

"No, this world is…my home," Emma argues, knowing only this world as opposed to the Enchanted Forest.

"And it's been nothing but cruel to you. If we go back, I think you might be able to have your happy ending," David assures her, not wanting to be apart from his daughter again.

Mr Gold returns to Belle's room at the hospital to pick her up, but she's gone. "Nurse! Nurse!" Mr Gold shouts, making a nurse rush over. "There was a patient here suffering from amnesia. Where is she?"

"I've got it for here," Octavia assures the nurse, who looks at her. "I'm so sorry, Rumple."

"What's going on, Octavia?" He asks her, and she shows him the matchbox with the Rabbit Hole logo on it.

"Regina," she replies, sighing. "I tried to stop her, but it was too late."

Rumpelstiltskin arrives at the Rabbit Hole Bar, not impressed with the rowdy place. "Uh - yes, Mr Gold?" The Bartender questions, looking at the Dark One.

"Someone I care for has gone missing," Mr Gold informs him. "Only thing she left behind was a matchbox to this vile joint."

"Vile? Really?" He repeats, surprised. "Yeah, okay… We could clean it up some."

"I don't understand this. If you knew her, this is the last place she would go for," the Dark One remarks, thinking about the Belle he knows.

"Really not a fan of the Rabbit Hole, are you?" The man comments. "Describe her."

"Brown hair, beautiful blue eyes. An accent you wouldn't soon forget. Her name's Belle," Mr Gold replies.

"Belle, are you sure? Cause that sounds an awful lot like Lacey," the Bartender argues, glancing at the woman by the pool table.

"Who the hell is Lacey?" He snaps, and the man points to Lacey, making Rumpelstiltskin turn to see a changed Belle, ordering shots and playing pool. Mr Gold looks at her before approaching her. "Belle?"

"Uh, name's Lacey," Belle corrects under the Dark Curse.

"Her name should be 'Fast Eddie' cause she's a hustler," Mr Clark argues. "She's hustling me."

"Do you - Do you remember me?" Mr Gold asks her, hoping.

"Guy who visited me in hospital. Sure I do," Lacey replies. "But now I remember who I am, and that's Lacey. Now, if you'll excuse me, you're kinda in my shot."

Sometime after Belle was captured, she was sweeping the floor while hearing the Thief screaming in the background because of the torture Rumpelstiltskin was doing to him. "I'm gonna need another apron," the Dark One announced, looking at his new servant.

"Uh, they're uh… They're on the line drying," Belle informs him. "It'll be some time."

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "Get to cleaning this one as well." He removed the bloody apron and put on a chair. "I'll be back later."

"All this because he tried to steal a magic wand?" She wondered, looking at him.

"No, because he tried to steal from me," Rumpelstiltskin corrected her. "The Dark One. You try that, you get skinned alive. Everyone knows that."

"Actually, no, they don't," the bookworm argued.

"Well they will after they discover the body," he retorted, gigging and walking away.

Belle waited for Rumpelstiltskin to leave and sneaked down to the dungeon, wanting to release the Thief. "What? Did he send you to finish the job?" The Thief asked the girl, looking at her.

"Uh-no, no," Belle replied. "Not at all." She moved a cup of water to his lips. "Here, drink this. I couldn't let this continue, it's inhuman."

"I-I couldn't agree more," he groaned. "But I fear now he'll turn his wrath on you."

"If he does, I'll stand you to the beast that he is, because no one…no one deserves to be tortured," she argued.

"Well, he may beg to differ," the Thief warned her.

"Well, I don't care. He doesn't frighten me," the beauty assured him as she unlocked the chains. "Hurry up, He'll be back soon. Hurry."

"But he will - he will kill you," he argued, looking at the woman who helped him. "Unless-Unless you run away with me."

"I can't run," Belle told him. "I made a deal to serve him, in exchange for him protecting my kingdom and my family from the Ogres. If I were to leave, I might survive, but my family surely won't."

"All I can do is wish you luck," the Thief replied, walking toward the door.

"Thank you. Now go. Go," she ordered him, watching him disappear out the door.

After meeting Lacey, Mr Gold storms into the Mayor's office to confront Regina. "What have you done with Belle?" the Dark One demands, glaring at the Evil Queen.

"I'm sorry, do I look like a one-hundred pirate with a pistol?" Regina questions, looking at him. "You know who shot her."

"Stop playing games!" Mr Gold snaps at the woman. "She's gone and now she's someone else."

"Oh, you mean she has her memories back? You're welcome," she replies, smiling smugly.

"Not her memories, her curse memories," he argues angrily.

"Yeah, from the curse you gave me," the Evil Queen retorts. "You see, all I did was jog things back in place."

"Well, undo it, bring her back," the Dark One orders her.

"You know I can't," Regina reminds her. "She crossed the town line. Her old self is gone. These curse memories she has are now real. Lacey's here to stay."

"Any curse can be broken, dearie. Now you are gonna help me…" Mr Gold demands, stepping towards her.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" She challenges, not scared of him. "No you won't."

"Oh, won't I?" He questions.

"You're on your best behaviour because of your son," the dark-haired woman argues, looking at him. "You don't want him to know who you really are, now do you? So I suggest you get used to Lacey."

"All right. I'll find a way," Rumpelstiltskin tells her.

"Finding a way isn't the problem, dear. We both know what is," Regina replies, smirking.

"Yeah, true love's kiss," Mr Gold says, knowing that won't happen with Lacey.

"And I don't think our new resident feels the same way about you as you do her," she remarks, her plan working.

"Then I'll make her!" He snaps, wanting his Belle back anyway.

"There's the charm that should easily woo a lovely young lady," Landon teases, walking into the room. "She'll most certainly fall in love with you at first sight. Oh wait, that didn't happen, did it?"

"She will, or I promise you, there will be suffering," the Dark One warns the Evil Twins, who share a smirk.

"Finally something we all can agree on," Regina replies. "Good luck, Gold. Oh, and... Give my best to Lacey." Mr Gold glares at them before storming out of the office.

After confronting Regina, Mr Gold enters Granny's Diner, wanting to talk with David, who's been in a similar situation. "Ten bowls of chilli. No beans," Granny announces, placing all the takeaway boxes on the counter. "You and the Dwarfs got something against beans?"

"Let's just say we've had our fill over the past couple of weeks," David remarks, smiling.

"What exactly are you boys up to, anyway?" She wonders, looking at them as they bag the boxes.

"Just a little landscaping," Leroy replies, taking half the boxes.

"Is this seat taken?" Mr Gold asks, walking over to David. "You might want to run along. I need to chat to the Prince."

"It's all right, Leroy. I got this," David assures him, and Leroy leaves with the meals. "What do you want to chat about, Gold?"

"Regina. She helped jog Belle's memory," he informs the Prince.

"That's good, then," Charming argues.

"No, no. Wrong memories," the Dark One corrects him. "She now thinks she's a scantily-clad barfly named Lacey. She has a false life. As you did, under the curse with Kathryn. Only hers apparently involves a lot more alcohol."

"What do you want with me?" David asks him, not seeing the connection.

"I want to know how you did it," Mr Gold explains. "Even when both your heads were filled with false memories, David Nolan still won Mary Margaret's heart."

"You want me to help you?" He questions.

"Well, I'm certainly not here for the over-praised lasagne," Rumpelstiltskin remarks, making Granny turn around and look at Mr Gold.

"You got my wife to help murder someone," the Prince argues, glaring at him.

"Someone who would have killed all of you," Mr Gold reasons. "Look, if you don't want to help, that's fine. But if you do, for the first time ever, I'm gonna owe you a favour."

"All right," David concedes. "When Regina cursed Mary Margaret and me, there was still a sliver of Snow and Charming, the real us, inside."

"So how do I bring back the real Belle?" He wonders.

"Show her the man she fell in love with," Charming suggests before walking out and joining Leroy at the truck.

Rumpelstiltskin sat in his castle, sharpening the tools he planned to use on the Thief to kill him. "I'll try not to be too loud," the Dark One assured Belle, who was reading a book to pass the time. "Can't promise the same courtesy from our prisoner." Belle watched him leave the room and waited for all hell to break loose. "Belle!" He shouted, storming back into the room. "Where is he?"

"I let him go," Belle confessed, looking at the angry beast before her.

"What? He was a thief," he snapped at her.

"Which doesn't give you the right to kill him," she argued.

"It gives me every right," Rumpelstiltskin retorted angrily. "Oh, let me guess. You think he's a hero?" He looked at her expectantly. "Stealing from me for some noble cause? You read too many books, dearie! There." He made Belle's book disappear. "Maybe that'll stop your head with poisonous thoughts!"

"I didn't free him because of what I read in my books," the beauty argued, glaring at him. "I saw good in him. That man only wanted to escape with his life."

"Oh, is that what you thought?" the Dark One questioned. "Our thief escaped with more than his life." He placed the stand where the wand had been, but it was no longer there. "You were tricked, you foolish, gullible girl!"

"There must be an explanation," Belle reasoned passionately. "We don't know why he needed that wand."

"He took the wand because he wanted magic!" He shouted. "People who steal magic never have good intentions!"

"No! No!" She snapped. "You can't tell what's in a person's heart until you truly know them."

"Oh, we'll see what's in his heart, all right," Rumpelstiltskin promised her. "When I shoot an arrow straight through it. And because I am a showman, it'll be with his bow. And because this is your fault, you get to come with me and watch, and know, as the blood drips from his carcass, it will be you and your rags to wipe it up."

Lacey takes shots at the bar, staying at the Rabbit Hole, enjoying herself as she gets drunk. "Another round for the lady," Keith orders the Bartender. "I've had my eye on you for a while." He looks at the woman.

"Thank you. Not my type," Lacey argues. David and Mr Gold enter the bar, and the Dark One observes Keith and Lacey from afar.

"You might want to wait outside," Mr Gold warns Charming.

"Yeah, yeah. Bad idea," David argues, and Keith walks away from the bar and Lacey. "Come on." The men approach Lacey, and Mr Gold takes a seat beside Belle.

"Huh! Mr Gold. You're… uh…you're back," Lacey states, looking at the Dark One in surprise.

"As are you," Mr Gold replies, looking at her.

"Well, what can I say? Love the ambience," she remarks, taking another drink from the glass and turning around. "What the bloody hell is that? Let's get some Panama goin' on in here." She turns back to Mr Gold. "You - uh… You like Van Halen? You're a Hagar man, aren't you? Huh?" She leaves the bar.

"What are you doing?!" David exclaims, looking at the frozen Mr Gold.

"We have nothing in common," Mr Gold argues.

"That doesn't matter. You just…need a way in," he tells him. "Ask her out. Go on." Mr Gold looks at him and then approaches Lacey at the jukebox.

"uh…Lacey?" The Dark One asks nervously.

"Yeah?" Lacey questions, looking at him.

"Now that you're…back to your old self… Perhaps we could spend some time together?" Mr Gold wonders.

"Like a date?" She asks him, glancing at the Dark One.

"Yes, a date," he confirms.

"Well, you do know that I'm not this 'Belle' that you're always talking about?" The barfly reminds him.

"Yes, of course," Rumpelstiltskin assures her.

"I've heard about you, you know?" Lacey tells him. "People in town… They're afraid of you, Mr Gold."

"Don't let that deter you. Give me a chance, please," Mr Gold persuades them.

"Okay," she says after a hesitating pause. "Tonight. Granny's. 8 o'clock." She determines before exiting, and David walks over to Mr Gold at the jukebox.

"Not bad, Don Juan," David muses.

"Don Juan was nothing before he made his deal with me," Mr Gold retorts, smirking.

"Regardless, you got her to go out with you. Congrats," he replies.

"Indeed. Now I just need her to fall in love with me," the Dark One says, feeling a little more hopeful.

Emma sits looking through the storybook at the harbour as Regina approaches, wanting to talk to the blond woman about Neal. "Reading up on Henry's father?" Regina questions, making Emma look at her. "Or maybe his grandfather. How long did you think you could keep that from me?"

"Well, I was going to tell you," Emma defends herself. "But I was kinda busy trying to stop you and your mother from killing me and my entire family."

"What is he doing here?" She demands.

"Neal? Relax. He just wants to spend a little time with his son," the Saviour assures her.

"Funny. He didn't seem to want to spend time with him the first 10 years of his life," the dark-haired woman argues. "But then again, neither did you."

"You know what, Regina? How about instead of worrying about everyone else, you start focusing on trying to be the person Henry wants you to be, before you lose him for good?" Emma suggests.

"For good?" Regina repeats, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Unlike you, the rest of the world isn't always scheming to get what they want," she argues.

"No," the Evil Queen snaps, looking suspiciously at Emma. "You're hiding something. Well, whatever it is, I can assure you of one thing. I'm going to find out." Regina storms off, and Emma sighs, knowing she can't leave Regina because of Octavia; she may not be talking to her big sister, but Emma knows Octavia will want Regina with her.

Regarding Mr Gold and Lacey's date at Granny's Diner, the Dark One appears a little fidgety as they sit in a booth away from the others. He drops his menu and chuckles, making Lacey giggle. "Are you - uh… Are you nervous, Mr Gold?" Lacey asks him.

"No! No, of course not," Mr Gold replies nervously. "I'm just…deciding what to have." Granny approaches their table to take their order and notices Lacey's new look, compared to Belle before, and gasps in shock.

"What the hell happened to you?!" Granny exclaims, shocked. "You raid the back of Ruby's closet?"

"Uh… Perhaps Lacey and I could order," he suggests, not wanting to ruin the date by comparing Lacey to Belle. "Two burgers, two ice teas, please."

"Actually, I'm gonna go… Chicken parm and white wine," Lacey argues. "And make it the bottle."

"Alrighty!" Granny replies. "Comin' right up!" She exits quickly with their order.

"I've never really been much of a burger girl," she informs Mr Gold.

"Well, whatever you want, you shall have," Mr Gold assures her.

"You know? You're-You're a classy guy, Mr Gold. This is…not what I was expecting form you," the barfly comments. "Given all the…stuff people say about you."

"Oh, that again! My reputation. What is it you hear?" He wonders, looking at her.

"Oh, just that, you know, you're the most powerful man in town, and you got that power from being ruthless. And that when people cross you, they get…hurt," Lacey explains, and Granny returns to the table with their beverages. "Thank you." She says to Granny, and Mr Gold reaches for the wine bottle to pour it for the lady.

"I am simply a shop owner. And procure of difficult-to-find objects," the Dark One assures her, filling Lacey's glass and putting the bottle down. Lacey picks up the bottle and pours more wine into the glass. "People like to believe the worst in me, but Lacey, I would rather you believe the best."

"Well, I just don't get why people are scared of you," she comments. "You know, I see a man who wouldn't hurt anyone." Mr Gold looks at her, smiling, appreciating her compliment.

"Thank you, Lacey. I really needed to hear that. Especially now," Mr Gold remarks.

"Well, you know what they say. You can't tell what's in a person's heart until you truly know them," the barfly says, surprising the Dark One, who accidentally knocks over his iced tea. "Whoa! Did I say something wrong?"

"No! No, it's just that… I-I knew someone once who said exactly the same thing to me," he argues, trying to wipe the wine away. "Gosh, I'm so sorry. Your dress."

"A bit of water will take it right out," Lacey assures him, chuckling, then exits to clean herself off, and Mr Gold sits there, appearing to be content, even if the date is going a little unexpectedly.

Rumpelstiltskin and Belle travelled in his carriage on their journey to find the Thief in the Enchanted Forest. "I'm losing track of him. This forest is too thick," the Dark One grumbled, growing angry.

"Maybe we should return home," Belle suggested.

"What, and let the thief escape? What would people think if I spared the life of someone who stole from me?" He snapped.

"That there's actually a man hiding behind the beast," she argued.

"There isn't," Rumpelstiltskin told her.

"Then why didn't you kill me when I freed the prisoner?" The beauty wondered.

"Well, I would have. But good help these days is very rare to find," the Dark One retorted, making her look at him.

"I think that you are not as dark as you want people to believe," Belle reasoned. "I think that deep down, there's love in your heart. And for something more than power."

"You're right. There is something I love," he replied, making Belle lean in, intrigued. "My things!" He halted the carriage.

"You really are as dark as people say," she snapped at him.

"Darker, dearie. Much darker," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"Whoa," a man yelled as the Dark One and Belle exited the carriage.

"Uhh!" The Sheriff of Nottingham exclaimed, sniffing. "What are you doing in my woods?"

"Pardon the intrusion, Sheriff," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "Uh, I'm looking for a thief. He attacked me with this bow. Uh, I-I traced him as far as these woods, and then he vanished."

"Yes, I know exactly who you're after," he said. "But I also know who you are, Rumpelstiltskin."

"My reputation precedes me. Excellent," the Dark One giggled.

"Yes, as does your penchant for making deals. I'll tell you where you can find your thief…if you give me something in return," the Sheriff bargained.

"What do you want?" Rumpelstiltskin asked him.

"A night with your wench," he offered,

"She's not for sale," the Dark One rejected.

"You can't part with her for, say, an hour? 20 minutes?" The Sheriff wondered, laughing.

"Let me think. Um…" He mused, conjuring the Sheriff's tongue out of his mouth and into his hand while giggling. "I propose a new deal. I give you this back, and in return, you tell me everything you know about the man I am hunting." He looked at the gagging Sheriff. "You ought to be more careful with your possessions. Do you agree to my terms?" The man continued gagging. "What was that?" The Sheriff grunted. "All right, I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

"Aah! Aah!" The man gasped, and Rumpelstiltskin returned his tongue.

"Start talking," the Dark One ordered him.

"The Thief that you're after - I've been chasing him for years," the Sheriff told him. "He ruined me! He stole the woman I love and…made me the laughing stock of all of Nottingham."

"Where can I find him?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Well, the last I heard, he was hiding out in Sherwood Forest," he replied.

"And his name?" The Dark One questioned.

"Robin Hood. He goes by 'Robin Hood'," the Sheriff of Nottingham answered.

Granny brings over Mr Gold and Lacey's food, but he's still sitting at the table alone. He gets up and checks on his date, but she's not in the bathroom where she said she would be, so Mr Gold goes out the backdoor of the Diner to look for Lacey.

Rumpelstiltskin and Belle continued travelling to find the thief known as Robin Hood. "You, uh, you know it's still not too late to…to turn back," Belle told him. "You know, I am not going to stand by and watch you kill a man."

"Well, you're welcome to sit if you like, but you are gonna watch," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "That's the whole point of our little expedition, remember? To see what your actions wrought." He soon spotted Robin Hood from afar. "Found him."

"Look, he's…he's waiting for someone," she said as they watched a carriage bearing a sick woman arrive. "That woman."

"That must be the one he stole from the Sheriff," he remarked, watching.

"She's sick. She's going to die," the beauty realised.

"Yeah, and so is he," the Dark One replied.

"Stop!" Belle shouted, watching Robin use the wand to heal the sick woman. "I'm right about him, about why he stole the wand. He did it so he could heal the woman he loves."

"He's still a thief," Rumpelstiltskin argued, unmoved by the scene before them.

"And she would have died if he hadn't stolen your wand," she replied strongly.

"And now he gets to die!" He snapped. "And she can tell all of Sherwood Forest what happens when you cross Rumpelstiltskin. There!" He waved his hand, magically placing the lower half of Belle into the ground. "That should give you a good view."

"You don't have to do this. There's good in you," the bookworm argued. "I was right about the thief, and I am right about you. Look, she's pregnant. You are not the kind of man to leave a child fatherless." She watched and gasped. "No!" The Dark One shot the arrow, but it hit the carriage, alerting Robin.

"We've been found," Robin announced. "Marian, we must go."

"What happened?" Belle asked, looking at Rumpelstiltskin, who released her from the ground.

"I missed," Rumpelstiltskin replied, and Robin and Marian got onto a horse and rode off into the distance. "Get back to the carriage. I'm bored of this forest."

"You're - You're not going after him?" She wondered, frowning.

"He's not worth the effort," he argued.

"You spared his life," the beauty clarified, annoying the Dark One.

"What? I did nothing of the sort," the Dark One snapped.

"That bow has magic in it. It never misses its target," Belle argued.

"Well, perhaps the magic just simply wore…off," Rumpelstiltskin suggested, and Belle leapt at him, hugging him, leaving him stunned.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked, walking off back to the carriage, and he picked up the quiver and followed her with a smile.

Mr Gold leaves out the back entrance of the Diner to find Lacey making out with Keith and angrily rips the man away from her. "Hey!" Keith shouts at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mr Gold snaps, glaring at the man.

"Wait, you two are here together?" He asks, glancing between Mr Gold and Lacey.

"Yes, we are," the Dark One confirms.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I-I didn't know," the Sheriff of Nottingham stutters.

"Go! Now!" Mr Gold orders, making Keith run away. "Are you - Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm - I'm fine," Lacey replies.

"Let's get you inside," he suggests.

"No!" She snaps, pulling away from him. "Look, I said I'm fine, okay? I'm…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rumpelstiltskin replies. "You came out here because you wanted to be with him?"

"Yeah," the barfly tells him.

"But I don't understand, Our date - I thought it was - it was going well," Mr Gold argues, frowning.

"No. No, it - it wasn't," Lacey snaps.

"What?" He questions.

"It never was. The only reason I agreed to go out with you was because I was trying to be nice," she tells him. "But that's not me. That's… That's you."

"But that's what you liked about me - the nice part of me, the - the good part," the Dark One argues, confused.

"This is still about Belle, isn't it?" The barfly groans. "Look, Mr Gold, I'm sorry. She may have loved you, but I am not her." Lacey storms off, leaving Mr Gold alone in the back.

"No, you're not," Mr Gold mutters, watching her leave.

David and Mary Margaret drop the Dwarves and Tiny at Granny's Diner before they drive off, unaware of Mr Gold's foiled date. "Sure you don't wanna grab some grub with us? Tiny's buyin'," Leroy suggests, looking at the Charmings.

"I am?" Anton asks, looking at the Dwarfs.

"New guy always buys," he argues.

"You guys go ahead. We're gonna…we're gonna head home. See you tomorrow!" David replies.

"But I don't have any money," Anton tells them. "No, really. I don't even know what you guys do." Regina watches the truck drive away, and when she touches the ground, the tyre tracks light up, allowing her to trace them.

Regina drives her car along the tyre tracks until they abruptly stop in the countryside of Storybrooke. She waves her hand, and the invisibility spell is gone, revealing all of the magic beans that have been planted.

Keith sees Mr Gold outside the Rabbit Hole and runs up to him. "M-Mister - Mr Gold, I'm…I'm so sorry about what happened back there," Keith apologises. "I… I-I didn't know that you two were still together."

"We're not," Mr Gold corrects him.

"Oh," he laughs. "Oh, so we're good then, right?" He chuckles. "There's no hard feelings?"

"You know, I have tried so hard to be on my best behaviour. But I guess there's no point now," the Dark One comments, summoning Keith's tongue. "So no one can hear you scream." He begins attacking Keith with his cane.

"Looks like you won't be needing that bow anymore," Belle commented, walking around the Dark Castle after their little adventure.

"Actually, I think I'll hold onto it," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "You never know. Could come in handy someday."

"Well, uh, if you don't need me for anything else, good night, Rumplestiltskin," she said.

"No, wait. There is something else," he argued, taking her to a room in his castle with thousands of books lining the walls. "Temper your excitement, dearie. This is merely another room for you to clean."

"It's…it's beautiful," the beauty gushed. "There's more books in here than I could read in a lifetime."

"Well, I hope you can clean faster than you can read," the Dark One remarked, looking at her and enjoying the happy look on her face.

"Did you do all this for me?" Belle asked him, smiling.

"I better not see a single speck of dust gathering on any of these books," Rumpelstiltskin warned her. "What are you smiling at? I'm serious."

"You're not who I thought you were. And I'm glad," she replied, looking around the grand library, and this was the beginning of their blooming relationship.

Mr Gold continues beating Keith with his cane over and over again. "I should have done this to you a long time ago," Mr Gold growls when Lacey comes over, seeing them. "Lacey."

"So it is true then what they say about you," Lacey remarks, watching him.

"Yes. It's all true," he replies.

"You are…you are not who I thought you were," she chuckles, enjoying this side of him. "And I;m glad. You really are as dark as people say."

"Darker, dearie. Much darker," the Dark One tells her and continues beating Keith with his cane.

Neal returns to the Charming apartment, Henry asleep over his shoulder, and Emma comes to the door, letting him inside. "What, did you tranquilise him?" Emma wonders, looking at her son.

"I just gave him a couple of bourbons. Kid's a real lightweight," Neal jokes, moving into the room and placing him on the sofa.

"Sounds like you guys had a full day," she comments, smiling.

"Spent most of it at the park. He's getting pretty good with those wooden swords. I guess that makes sense, considering where his family's from. What?" He asks her, seeing the look on her face.

"You ever thought about going back?" The blond woman wonders.

"Back where?" Cassidy questions.

"Home. Where we're from," Emma replies.

"Uh…I spend most of my life trying to forget that place," Neal argues. "I didn't exactly have a fairy tale childhood. You know what I mean. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she says, but he knows she's lying.

"August came by the park today. He and Henry seemed to really hit it off," he comments, changing the subject.

"That is gonna take a while to get used to," the Saviour remarks.

"You know, I gotta say, he's actually a lot cooler as a kid," Baelfire replies. "Steals less of my money."

"He'd be way cooler if he could remember what he was trying to warn us about before he got…" Emma argues.

"Rebooted?" Neal offers.

"'Storybrooke isn't safe?' Isn't safe from who?" She wonders, frowning.

"Well, he always had a knack for being cryptic," he argues, inhaling deeply. "Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out. If there's one thing I know about you, you don't stop till you find what you're looking for."

Meanwhile, Greg waits for Tamara at the Storybrooke border for the van. "Hey, beautiful. We all good?" Greg asks her as she gets out.

"Better than good," Tamara replies. "Now should we unwrap the package?"

"You think he'll cooperate?" He wonders.

"Wouldn't worry about that," she assures him. "From what I know of him, I don't think he'll need much convincing to help us."

"What makes you say that?" Owen asks, frowning.

"Because if there's one person you can always count on to do your dirty work…" The woman replies, opening the door, and Greg flashes his light on Killian, who is bound and gagged among parts of machinery. "...it's a pirate."