Previously on this fic (or check out the last 5 chapters of Welcome to the Storybrooke for time loop storyline in full)
Emma Swan arrives in Storybrooke at fifteen, not twenty-eight, Principle Mills does her best to get her newest student expelled, but Emma fights to stay. Connecting with a mysterious boy from her school. Who insists everyone in Storybrooke is a fairytale character, including him, Captain Hook. Although she doesn't believe it, Emma is offered a home with her English teacher, Miss Blanchard and finds friendship with Ruby and Elsa.
Captain Hook comes to Storybrooke for revenge, finding redemption instead, to bring Emma home. When the teens share a true love's kiss, the curse is broken.
Then
Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twist and turns of fate
Passing around the bottle of rum procured from the bar, left manned by Dopey, Killian, Red, Elsa and Emma were pleased with themselves. The music and chatter from their families echoed down the long halls of the sorcerer's mansion. As the buzz from the alcohol fogged their minds, the noises from the birthday party faded away.
Emma's sweet sixteenth hadn't gone as planned, with a visit from Maleficent, disintegrating Killian to ash before her eyes. Emma had to turn back the clock an hour in order to save him, only for Elsa to meet the same fate, then her parents. Stuck in a time loop, it took working together, saving Lily to stop the horrible cycle of death. But all magic comes with a price. Three hours were traded, moments gone that seems insignificant, but it's the small moments that lead to the big ones that forge deep connections to those around us.
Emma smiled wide, standing tall in her red jacket surrounded by her closest friends, convincing herself the price of saving them wasn't too high.
Killian's head leant forwards his arm on Red's shoulder, the pair struggled to get their words out through laughter. Watching as Elsa coughed after taking her first sip of rum to which Emma shook her head, having warned her friend, she wouldn't enjoy the taste. In the middle of the room was a large wooden door marked with symbols from the Kingdom of Arendelle.
This strange doorway to nowhere began to rattle, all four teenagers turned towards the racket, with bemused expressions. Their laughter abruptly stopped just as the dim lit room filled with a bright green light. A gust of wind flung the door open revealing a vortex. Elsa was the closest and first to disappear into the swirling green portal. Ruby, unable to take advantage of her werewolf strength or senses in her inebriated state. Fell onto her back sliding across the floor and through the doorway, in seconds.
Emma's face paled, turning to Killian she reached out her hand as did he, their fingertips just grazing each other. Killian fell to the ground, his head slamming onto the floor. He slid across the floorboards to the portal, not a glimmer of fear in his eyes but a fierce determination. Jammed his hook into the hardwood door frame his bright blue eyes looked over to Emma, who had taken a step towards him.
"Stay back" Killian bellowed out, trying to pull himself back through the doorway.
Emma let out a gut wrenching cry, seeing his pained expression only able to watch as he got pulled into another world. Books flew from the shelf at the back of the room, into the portal sweeping Killian up with it, and he was gone. The music from the party suddenly got louder when as two people entered, Emma knew who it was before she even turned to face her parents. Since arriving in Storybrooke a year ago, finding them everything had changed, no longer a lost girl Emma relaxed her stance and smiled at them.
"Find us" Emma stated hopeful before purposely stepping forwards, her feet left the ground, she flew into the portal. The door slamming shut behind her with a thud, all the flying debris fell to the ground as the wind came to an abrupt stop, leaving a gut wrenching silence.
Now
Emma's hands covered her ears, as the clock tower above the library struck twelve the thunderous sound began fading like an echo. Moments from Storybrooke were brought to the forefront of Emma's mind. In just over a year, it had become more than just another place she drifted through, but a home. Being torn from it now, from her parents felt like a punch to her gut, that left her winded.
"Find us" Her voice sounded determined, brave as expected when the magical doorway closed with Snow White and the Prince on the other side.
The saviours' eyes sealed tight as if that act could make her forget the look in their eyes as they helplessly watched their daughter get pulled into another world, again. Now flying through a green whirlpool, her stomach dropped and a sickly feeling overwhelmed Emma. A sensation of weightlessness, as if being flung through space with nothing to hold onto.
It all came to a sudden and painful stop as she landed on her back, on the cobblestone streets of a grand kingdom. Not a single lamp lining the streets had been lit, her surroundings nothing but empty dark buildings on a narrow path. Looking up she frowned, the stars twinkled brighter, the full moon was glowing with magic, this beauty and wonder only elicited a gasp from Emma.
"Emma"!
Now covering the stars was his beautiful face, looking down at her concerned his voice slightly shaky, but he smiled relieved as he looked into Emma's eyes.
"Killian, you found me".
"Always, quickly get up, we need to run"
Killian held out his hook which Emma clung to, and he pulled her up from the ground in one swift movement.
"Where are we"?
"Not sure, but it's not Storybrooke".
In the darkness running through the unfamiliar streets, both found themselves disorientated, all the shopfronts seemed identical in the dark.
"What are we running from"?
"I saw a group of knights beating up a man, then I seemed to set of some sort of alarm with my presence, that's when they saw me... I don't know, they had this look in their eyes like I was fresh meat, and they couldn't wait to cut me open".
"Right, running was a good choice".
"We need to find Red and Elsa".
"You haven't seen them"?
"No, they must be close by, they fell into the portal just before we did".
"Quick, we can get in through here and hide".
Emma instructed noticing a building in front of them with a smashed in window, an easy entryway so they could get off the street. Climbing through the window into the small corner store, they heard footsteps rushing towards them in the darkness. Killian panicked sliding into the gap and onto the floor abruptly, before putting his arm around Emma as they hid under the windowsill hearing footsteps getting closer until they passed them.
"What if that was Elsa or Red?"
"I don't know, this doesn't make sense, why did this happen, what were you and Elsa doing?"
"Elsa was just showing me the door, thought it might be a way that her and Anna could return to Arendale someday… but we barely touched it, then suddenly it sucked us all in."
"Are we back?"
"I don't know Killian; I still have birthday cake in my hair... I don't know" Emma said as tears poured out.
Her parent's faces in the forefront of her mind, there agonising expressions watching helplessly, as Emma got ripped from their lives once again. The saviour began to sob as she went over the events in her head, the party, dancing with her parents, exploring the mansion with her friends. The life she had in Storybrooke already becoming her history, after she just started to open her heart to it.
"Hey, hey it's ok, it's ok, I'm here".
Quickly Killian wrapped his arms around her as she let herself cry for a while after the ordeal of living her birthday over and over watching her loved ones die. The saviour found herself not able to catch her breath crying into her boyfriend's leather jacket, her hands gripping tight as if it could ease her pain.
"Thanks Killian... I"
Just as Emma began to speak, a high-pitched ear-splitting squealing sound erupted in the room they were in, and they covered their ears.
"We got to move".
"To where"?
"Anywhere"
The held hands tightly over their ears, before barging through a door into a large storeroom with rows and rows of dust covered shelves of expired goods. It was an overwhelming waft of foulness, both scrunched up their nose at the smell as they ran past and out the back exit to the street once more.
"There, I see them".
"Grab those kids".
Two large men with swords stood in front of them with more approaching, Emma and Killian quickly turned around to run the other way. However, there was even more knights coming from the other direction, surrounding them.
"It's ok, we can fight them".
"We'll need help".
Suddenly from behind them they heard a loud growl, as a large wolf ran towards the group of knights leaping over and latching onto one, its sharp teeth piercing the armour. Then from there left a burst of white, as icicles flew through the air knocking some knights to the ground. Emma held out her fists and they began to glow with magic, staying by Killians side she knocked a man to the ground with a blast of white light.
"Emma, Killian your here"
"Let's do this".
Hook grabbed an unconscious knights weapon, a broadsword not as he was used to, but he managed to wield it fine. Elsa assisted creating a layer of ice on the ground beneath there attacker's feet causing them to slip, making for easy targets.
"Are you two, ok?"
Elsa called out her voice wheezed out of breath a far reach from the hopeful excited girl, she was just minutes ago in Storybrooke.
"No, but I'm glad to see you"
Elsa smiled standing beside Emma and Killian now before Red jumped in front growling at the approaching knights. One woman shot an arrow heading right towards them, as Emma's shield expanded out and the wooden arrow snapped upon hitting it.
"Screw this, I'm out of here"
One shorter man said as he fled, the rest agreed with the sentiment taking off towards the forest disappearing into the darkness.
"There running". Emma stated with a relieved sigh.
"Who where they"? Elsa asked, her mind racing.
"Good question" Killian replied as he patted Red's head, happy to see her.
"This... is a knight's uniform, there not from here, invaders"
Elsa explained kneeling down on the ground as she inspected everything closely, her eyes went wide as reality sunk in.
"How do you know that"?
"Because I know where we are, even in the dark and with everything so different, I know my home".
"Arendale". Emma said in awe.
"Not what I imagined". Killian added.
"They've got the gates closed, the alarms aren't set by those who attacked us, but whoever is in the castle, there trying to protect themselves, from something"
Elsa got back up to her feet her face pale, beginning the walk up the hill out of the city, towards the castle entrance.
"Is anyone hurt, Elsa are you…" Emma
"I'm fine, I just never imagined finding my home like this, they would never let scavengers into the city and so close to the castle... every home has been abandoned and trashed, it's as if". Elsa's voice trailed off.
"There Queen has been gone for sixteen years". Killian
"The curse left a toll on this world as well". Emma
"I was never their queen, never had a chance to be coronated, others they helped, made the decisions, they should be here". Elsa
"It's ok, we'll find out what's going on here" Emma
"What about us, what happened back there, one minute were enjoying the party… why did the portal suddenly open?" Killian
"The door is just an entry point, it shouldn't have pulled us in not without some powerful magic, someone wanted to bring us here desperately". Elsa
Emma took Elsa's hand walking towards the castle, creating a light source with her magic to guide their way through the darkened streets. Looking at the surrounds, Emma could see the beautiful, coloured stain glass windows on every shop and house, the Arendale crest on many. Almost every building had been broken into and trashed with barely anything left to scavenge, even bodies where left decaying in the street.
"Do you think we can go back, through the door"? Emma asked looking back over her shoulder.
"It's gone, disappeared after we came through" Killian
"How, who brought us here, what do they want"? Emma
But no one had the answers, and an eerie silence set in, while the four teenagers slowly made their way through the deserted streets, that were once a bustling vibrant city. Emma's mind wondered, as the cold crept in picturing what her parents, if she were home right now, they be there together drinking hot cocoa. With Emma lost she feared the lengths they steep to, in order to find her.