The seven dwarfs were at the sign Leaving Storybrooke, Leroy had a spray can and made a line. "This, gentlemen, is our mission," he told the others once he was finished. "The great barrier of our existence. Does it remain? We must investigate the line." He pulled out seven straws and one of the straws was short. "I made straws. Short one crosses. Draw." Each of the dwarfs drew a straw.
"With the curse broken, we can cross, right?" asked Happy. "Should be no problem? Yeah?"
"With magic back, it could be even worse now," said Dopey.
"Like, vaporize us," said Doc.
"Let's go home," said Bashful.
"Guys! We are the Royal Guard! Dwarves, loyal to Snow White!" Grumpy yelled. "This is our chance to prove ourselves to the Prince. We must do this. Show your hands."
All of the Dwarves made a semi-circle, opened their hands and Sneezy sneezed. And Sneezy was the one to draw the short stick.
"You're up, Snotty," said Leroy, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it gently.
All of the Dwarves stood behind him, Sneezy looked at Grumpy. "You know, what if we found a turtle and sort of nudged it over, first?" he asked.
"For the love of…," Leroy growled and pushed Sneezy over the sprayed line.
Sneezy stumbled and he started shaking once he crossed over the line.
"Sneezy? You okay?" asked Leroy. "Sneezy!"
Cars were flipped over, tree branches were scattered on the road, and the whole town was a mess when the Wraith came looking for Regina. Ruby was carrying a sign that said, Granny's Diner Closed.
Augustus Booth was still lying in his bed, he was wooden from head to toe, and he blinked.
Marco put up a poster of Pinocchio that said, Search For Pinocchio, Call Marco. "My boy. My poor boy," said Marco.
"If you are looking for a family member, come to the front table," said Ruby who was carrying a blanket. "If you need counseling, Dr. Hopper has a sign-up sheet. If the Wraith damaged your house, there are cots at the school." She walked over to the Blue Fairy and handed her the blanket.
The Blue Fairy sighed heavily. "This is getting out of hand," she told Ruby. "People are in a panic. They don't know what to do."
"It's okay. It'll be fine. We just need everyone to remain calm," said Ruby. "I have a feeling our Prince is working on something right now." She smiled at the Blue Fairy.
Someone was pounding on the door of Regina, Regina quickly walked toward the door and opened the door.
David walked in. "Tell me about this," he said, holding the hat.
"Surprised you don't have armed guards round the clock," said Regina.
"Don't need them," said David. "We both know if you step outside, there's a line a mile long for your head."
Regina finally closed the door. "Who's going to risk coming at me?" she asked.
"Take your chances, then," he said, daring her. "But I think that little wallpaper trick was an anomaly. If you had your abilities back, this town would be charcoal by now. You're having problems with magic, aren't you? Right now the only thing keeping you alive is that Henry wishes it." Regina scowled at him and David held up the hat once more. "Now, this."
"It's the hat that pulled your loved ones away," she said, walking into the dining room.
"Well, where did you get it?" David asked, following her into the dining room.
"I've longed since forgotten," she said. "You know what? Maybe you should be less concerned with hats, and more concerned with taking care of my son."
"Because you took such great care of him," said David.
"I will not listen to child-care lectures from a man who put his daughter in a box and shipped her to Maine," said Regina.
"Okay, listen. I need my family," said David. "There's magic here now. There have to be ways to follow them."
"Follow them where? Into a sucking airless void? And good luck getting magic to work," said Regina. "Because, as you said, you'd be charcoal."
"Ah, frustrated, are we?" asked David. "Serves you right. You earned every bit of this."
"Keep on baiting me, Charming," said Regina. "Right now, I don't have magic, and I don't have my son. But when I get one, I get the other, and you don't want to be around when that happens."
"If you have to use magic to keep your son, you don't really have him," said David. He walked away from Regina as she scowled at him hard, knowing that he was right after all.
Regina was riding her horse down a path in the open forest, looking over her shoulder. "Come on, Rochinante, go!" She yelled. "We're almost free!"
The tree branches reached out and grabbed Regina, she struggled to get free for a moment but stopped when she heard her mother's voice.
"And I thought we were done with all this nonsense," said Regina's mother.
"Hello, Mother," said Regina. "What evil have you conjured?"
Cora chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Not evil, darling. A barrier spell," she explained. She blew on the spell book that she had in her hands and black smoke came off of the book, and the branches released Regina. She fell on her hands and knees, gasping and grunting. "Designed to keep you where you belong."
Regina got up on her feet and turned toward her mother. "I can't leave?" she asked through her teeth.
"Not alone. Not without the King," said Cora, walking up to her daughter. "We've been through this. In two days you'll be married. You'll be Queen. After that, you're free to go. Whenever you're with him."
"Mama, I don't want to marry the King," Regina pleaded. "I don't want this life."
"You're just frightened of having all that power," said Cora.
"I don't want power," said Regina, shaking her head. "I want to be free."
"Power is freedom," said Cora, smiling. "Don't worry. I'm here to show you." She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
David was looking around the crowd trying to find Henry, then he spotted Henry with Dr. Whale. "Henry!" he called, he ran toward him. "Have you seen Blue… Mother Superior?" he asked.
"No, but everyone is looking for you," said Henry.
"Do we know where Rum… Mr. Gold is?" asked Ruby.
"Wait, does the Queen still have powers?" asked Dr. Hopper.
"I thought I would find my boy," said Marco. "Are the lists complete?"
"He's gotta be planning something," said Henry.
David started to walk off. "I really need…," he said, but Dr. Whale stopped him.
"Prince, are the nuns still nuns, or can they, you know, date?" Dr. Whale asks.
"I don't know," David said, spotting the Blue Fairy. "Blue!"
"Don't say it's me asking," said Dr. Whale.
The Blue Fairy was over by the two nuns by the water, she walked over to David.
"Could there be a tree on this side?" asked David. "The way we sent Emma through as a baby, maybe I can go after them that way."
"It's possible," said the Blue Fairy. "But without fairy dust to guide us here, I… No, it's hopeless."
"You'll find another way," said Henry. "In the book, things always look worse right before there's good news."
"Terrible news! Terrible news!" Leroy yelled and the crowd gasped. "We were out at the town limits. Tell them who you think you are, Sneezy." He turned to look at Sneezy.
"Will you stop calling me that? You know who I am," said Sneezy, getting a bit annoyed. "I'm Tom Clark. I own the Dark Star Pharmacy. What's going on here?"
"If you cross the border, you lose your memory all over again," said Leroy.
"What? And coming back doesn't fix it?" asked Dr. Hopper.
"If it did, would I have come running in yelling, "Terrible news"?" asked Leroy irritated by the question. "If we leave, our cursed selves become our only selves."
The crowd started murmuring in panic and shock, which meant that they couldn't leave this place at all. The crowd looked at David and he looked back, he didn't know what to do but he wanted to help.
The crowd was talking all at once trying to talk to David about what he was going to do about all of this.
"Do we know that anybody's gotten out, or…," asked Ruby.
"I wonder if my mom knows," said Henry trying to help. "I can help."
David walked away from them, trying to think of what he would do and get a plan started.
"Don't leave us here," said one man.
"What will happen to him?" asked another man.
David turned around abruptly. "People! Everyone! Everybody meet back here in two hours," he shouted at the crowd. "I'll tell you my plan to fix everything."
The crowd started murmuring to each other as they watched David walk away.
Ruby ran to David. "What's the plan?" she asked.
"I don't know. But I've got two hours to figure it out," he answered.
Ruby stopped in her tracks and Henry ran up to David to keep up with him.
Regina was sitting in her dining room and a white candle in front of her. "Come on," she said, trying to get her magic to work again. The flame came in and out, she gasped when it worked and then the flame went out. "Light, damn you!" she cursed. She picked up the candle and threw it across the room, making the glass shatter.
She walked toward the front door and opened it a bit so she could peek out to see if there was a crowd around her house. She quickly walked out, closed the door behind her, and went to the side of her house.
"Regina?" said Dr. Hopper and Regina stopped in her tracks. "I thought you might want to talk."
"Oh, right. The conscience thing," she said.
"It's what I do," he said sheepishly.
"I'm in no mood." She opened her car door about to get in.
"It's too bad. 'Cause… 'Cause I think talking about your pain might be very helpful," he said, trying to reason with her. "It might help you learn who you truly are."
Regina looked at Dr. Hopper for a long minute, leaning in. "I know who I am," she said evenly, then she got into her car.
"What do you think, Snow?" asked Regina, who was doing her hair.
"It looks beautiful," said a younger Snow White, looking into the hand mirror.
"No, dear, you look beautiful," said Regina.
Snow put the mirror down on the small side table, opened up a jewelry box, and took out a necklace. "What's this?" she asked.
"What?" Regina asked. "That's mine."
Snow put on the necklace and smiled. "It's pretty," she said with a smile. "Where did you get it?"
Regina sighed, not really wanting to tell her the truth. "Daniel gave it to me," she finally said after a moment.
Snow's face dropped at her answer. "The stable boy," she said. "The one who left you."
"He didn't leave me," Regina said softly.
Snow turned to look at her, frowning. "What?" she whispered.
"He was killed."
"Oh, no," Snow whispered, she couldn't believe that had happened to him. And to her, as well. She turned her back to Regina.
"He was killed because you couldn't keep a secret from my mother," said Regina, she blamed her for taking away her true love away.
Snow gasped, realizing that it was her fault. "But… But she said… She told me she was going to help you," she breathed out, feeling upset that she got double-crossed.
"My mother corrupts young souls," said Regina in a bitter tone. Snow was choking when Regina was pulling the chain against her throat, she was clawing to get the necklace off. "If you were stronger, none of this would have happened.
"It's pretty," said Snow, admiring the necklace.
It was all just her delusion about hurting Snow but she knew that she couldn't hurt her. At least not yet.
"Where did you get it?" Snow asked.
Regina shook her head, trying to get that out of her head. "I don't remember," she answered.
"Daddy, you don't know what Mother's doing to me," said Regina. Regina and her father walked into a small garden and Regina was pleading with her father to make him understand what her mother was doing to her. "It's like she's turning me into her. I have to get away."
"Get away?" Her father repeated. "But tomorrow is the wedding, child."
Regina turned to face her mother. "I don't want to marry the King," said Regina, her voice breaking. "I've told you that."
"Are you certain it isn't just cold feet?" he asked.
"Daddy, this is not cold feet. This, this is… This is insanity. I am angry all the time. She's making me crazy."
"She wants to give you everything she never got for herself," he tried to reason with her.
"I don't want her life," Regina cried, she turned around and took a few steps. "I want a life of my own." Her father looked down at the ground. "How did she get like this?"
Her father didn't answer right away, he took a few steps toward her. "There was a man." Regina turned around to face her father. "Well, not quite a man. Someone Cora knew before I met her. He bought magic to her, gave her that book of spells. He made her like she is."
Regina took a few steps toward her father. "What was his name?" she asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "Cora won't even say it."
"But this book is his," she stated.
Regina stormed into Mr. Gold's shop and looked around for a moment then she started opening up cabinet doors to try and find something the book that her mother had been using before she was born.
"The library's beneath the clock tower," said Mr. Gold, who appeared out of nowhere. "You closed it, remember? When you still had power."
Regina looked up and watched him carefully. "I need the book," she demanded. "I need to get my son back."
"Which book?" he asked. "Oh." He laughed. "So it's come down to that, eh? You need your mummy's help?"
Regina leaned closer. "Give me the book," she said softly.
"Do you really need the smell of the written word to get the magic flowing again, love?" he asked. "Maybe if you relaxed, it would just happen."
"I don't have time," she said. "It worked once. I know I can do it. I just… I just need a shortcut back."
"Yeah, well, I don't have time, either. Leave." He paused for a moment. "Please."
Regina stood there for a moment, not moving then she smiled at him. "Well, how about that? Your pleases have lost their punch."
"Well, the fact remains, jump-starting your magic is not in my best interests."
"You know what else isn't in your best interest? Having everyone know the enchanted forest still exists. Knowing that you and I are keeping that little secret. You're up to something. And it doesn't involve going back home." She placed her hand on a black leather trunk and started to open it but Mr. Gold slammed it shut before she could open it more.
He lifted his hand and moved it in a quick motion, the spell book that Regina's mother had was now in his hand. "Careful, dearie, these are straight-up spells," he warned. "Rough on the system."
Regina took the book out of his hands. "I don't care if they turn me green," she said. "I'm getting my son back." She walked toward the door.
Mr. Gold chuckled, watching her. "Oh, my," he said.
Regina turned around to face him an annoyed sigh left her lips. "What?" she asked.
"It's just, holding that… I told you once you didn't look like her. But, now… Now I can see it," he said.
Regina looked at him for a long moment before she scoffed and walked out of the door, and trying to find a way to get her son back. Once and for all.
Regina snuck into her mother's room and gently slipped her hand under her sleeping mother's head to get the book, trying not to wake her. Then she quickly and quietly walked out of the room and went to her room to look for a name that she needed.
"Rumplesh…Stiltsk…," she tried to pronounce his name. "Rumplestiltskin, I summon thee…"
"That's not how you say it, dearie," said Rumplestiltskin, who appeared behind her. "But, then, you didn't have to say anything."
Regina walked over to the man, sitting in one of her chairs. "What are you?" she asked.
"'What?' What 'what?' My, my, what a rude question," said Rumple. "I am now a 'what.'" He stood up and looked at Regina.
She touched her necklace. "I'm sorry. I don't really know what I'm doing," she said.
"That much is clear," he said. "Allow me to introduce myself. Rumplestiltskin." He bowed to her.
She bowed as well. "And I'm…," she started to say.
"Regina," he finished. "I know."
"You do?" she asked, sounding shocked.
"But of course."
"Because of my mother, Cora. You taught her."
"My legend precedes me."
"People say I look like her when she was younger."
"Really? I don't see it," he said, looking at her more closely. "No, that's not how I know you." He slowly circled her.
"Well, how, then?" she asked.
"I knew you long ago, dearie. It's been some time, but I knew this day would come." He leaned in closer to her ear. "I've been waiting for it. And I'm so happy we are back where we belong."
"And where's that?" she asked.
"Together," he whispered.
Regina sat on the bench under a tree in her backyard, looked at the book in her hands, and sighed deeply.
"People of Storybrooke," said David. "I know we're trapped again, and things look bleak, but they're not." He placed his hands on the back of his head, looking down at the ground as he stood in front of the mirror while Henry stood behind him.
"No, keep going. You were on to something," said Henry.
"No, I wasn't," David said, walking away from the mirror and Henry. "I did the fighting. Snow did the talking." He walked over to the counter and took the hat out of the book bag.
"Can I see that?" Henry asked.
"Yeah," said David, picking up the hat and giving it to Henry.
"I think I know what this is," Henry said, running over to his storybook, and turning the pages, landing on a picture. "It's the Mad Hatter's hat." He pointed to the picture. "It's a portal between worlds."
"Mad Hatter?" David repeated.
"You've heard of him?"
"No. I mean, yeah. I mean, the Prince-me doesn't know him. But David had memories of reading Alice in Wonderland in school. I need to get it to work again. Who is he? I mean, who is he here?"
"I don't know. Maybe he'll check in at the crisis center. You could check after the thing."
"What thing?" David asked, completely forgetting about the meeting with the Storybrooke people.
"The meeting? Where you tell us all your plans? Remember, the speech you were doing?" Henry reminded his grandfather.
"Right," said David, grabbing the hat off the book and grabbing the book bag. "I'll be back for that." He ran out of the door.
"Gramps. You gotta use me, come on!" He started to run after him but stopped at the rails. "The curse was broken 'cause of me. Let me help." He sighed and rolled his eyes, walking back into the apartment. "Or not."
Mr. Gold started packing up books of Easy To Read! New York and Easy to Read Massachusetts. Then, someone came walking into the shop. Mr. Gold stopped for a moment before he spoke. "It appears when I bought that 'closed' sign, I was just throwing my money away," he said, turning around.
"Looks like it," said David, walking over to Mr. Gold.
"Sorry to hear about your wife and daughter. If you're looking for a retrieval, I'm afraid portal jumping is just outside my purview."
"Of course, it is."
"So what's the commotion outside?"
"A little stir at the border. A problem crossing the line."
"Do tell."
"Actually, I'm here to buy something. A way to find someone."
"What? Like a map?"
"Something with a bit more kick. Like the ring you gave me to find Snow."
"Oh, yeah, magic."
David smiled at Mr. Gold.
"Whom are you following?"
"Not telling."
"So do you have something of theirs? This missing person?"
"Yes."
"May I see it?"
"No." David smiled again at Mr. Gold.
Mr. Gold just chuckled, turning around and opening up a leather case, taking out a potion with light blue liquid in it, and turning around to hand it to David. "Pour this on the object. And then follow it," he explained. "So simple, even David Nolan could do it."
David was about to take it when Mr. Gold quickly took his hand back. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Peace. Leave me alone."
"What do you care what David Nolan does?" he asked.
"No, no. It's Charming I worry about. I'd like a little non-interference guarantee." He outstretched his hand once again.
"Fine. If you give me the same. You and I, we stay out of each other's way."
"Thank you for your business," said Mr. Gold.
David took the potion and turned to walk out of the shop.
"So, uh, what happens?" Mr. Gold asked. "When you try and cross the border?"
"You lose your memory of everything of your old lives," David answered. "Looks like we're stuck here." He turned and walked out of the shop.
Mr. Gold gripped his walker and started smashing the glass of the cabinets then he threw the walker on the ground, gripping the counter and breathing hard. He was mad that he couldn't get out of this town with Belle.
"Oh, yes. I know everything about you, my dearie," said Rumplestiltskin, as he walked away from her. "I held you in my arms. You were younger. More portable." He turned around and looked at her. "There is much history between your family and me. History both in the past, and in the future."
Regina walked forward toward him. "Then, can you help me?" she asked.
"Possibly, yes. You seek power?" he asked. "The death of your enemies? The death of your friends?"
"No. I don't want to hurt anyone." She shook her head.
"Hard to believe you're from the same family. So kind." He placed the back of his hand on her cheek. "So gentle. So… Ooh! Powerful." He pulled his hand away. "You could do so much if you'd just let yourself."
Regina sighed, shook her head, turned her back to him, and walked off. "But I don't know how."
"Well," he said softly, walking up behind her, "let me show you the way." He wrapped an arm around Regina and spun her around, revealing a large mirror behind them.
Regina gasped. "How did…" she started to say.
"Magic," he answered. "It can set you free."
"I don't want to do that," she said. "Use magic, that's what she does. I don't want to end up like her."
"No, no, of course not. But that's the beauty of my gift. You don't have to. It'll do it for you."
Regina looked at him for a second then looked at the gift. "What is it?" she asked.
"A portal. A passage between lands," he explained. "This is a portal to a specific annoying little world. Useless to me, but for your purposes? Perfect." He leaned in close to her. "You're unlikely ever to see her again."
Regina started walking toward the portal.
"All she needs is a little push. The question is, can you do it?" he asked.
Regina looked at the mortal for a long minute, not sure if she was willing to do it or not, but she was debating whether she would. All she wanted was a normal mother, with a normal life, without magic.
The apples in Regina's tree were black as the night sky, she was still sitting on the bench as she breathed deeply and opened to a page of a tree with no leaves. Then she blew onto the page and the ink came off the page and floated around Regina's face. After a few seconds, she breathed in the ink and her eyes turned purple and pink and it went back to normal color. The apples went back to the red, healthy color. Regina smiled to herself now that her magic was back. She stood up and walked off. She has plans for this town and for the people.
David poured the potion onto the burnt-out hat of the Mad Hatter's and sighed, he tossed the hat onto his truck. His cell phone was in his pocket and he fished it out. Then the hat started to shake hard and David tried to pick it up but it flew away. He chased after it around the corner and landed on a flipped-over car.
"Hey," muffled Jefferson.
David looked around to find where the voice was coming from.
"Hey!" Jefferson yelled from inside the car. "Hey." He hit something inside the car.
David quickly went to the side of the car and started pushing stuff that was blocking the car door.
"Hey!" Jefferson yelled again.
David pulled the car door open and Jefferson came out and he grunted.
"Oh, thank you. No one heard me," said Jefferson.
"You okay?" David asked. "Good. That means we can talk." He helped Jefferson out of the car and onto his feet.
Henry was standing in the City of Hall with a cell phone to his ear, calling David. "Come on, Gramps, pick up. Come on," he said as the phone was ringing.
"Please, everyone, just be patient," yelled Ruby to the people in the room. "I'm sure he's gonna be here any second." She looked at Granny, who had a crossbow in her hands. "Granny, do you really need that?" she asked.
"We got a lawless town, Ruby. Damn right I need it," said Granny.
Ruby walked away from her and stood in front of Henry. "Try calling him again," she said.
"He's not picking up," said Henry in a panicked voice.
"Just keep trying," Ruby urged him.
Regina opened the doors with her powers and the crowd parted, scared of what she'd do. And not wanting to get on her bad side.
"My, what a nice turnout," said Regina, looking at all of the people with an evil smile. She walked in with her head held high. "No need for a fuss. It's just little old me."
Dr. Hopper walked toward Regina. "Regina, think about what you're doing," he said, trying to reason with her.
Regina turned slightly to look at him, stretching out her arm. "Bug," she said, making Dr. Hopper fly into a wall.
Dr. Hopper screamed and Leroy walked over to Regina to stop her but she made him fly into the crowd of people.
Granny held up the crossbow and shot an arrow towards Regina but she caught it with her hand, making it burst into flames.
"How sweet," said Regina with a smile, then throwing the flame around the crowds' heads.
Ruby stood up and in front of Regina from across the room. "What do you want?" she demanded.
"Me," said Henry. "She wants me." He walked up to Regina. "Okay. I'll come with you. Just leave them alone.
Regina looked at him for a second then walked up to him the rest of the way, placing her hand under his chin. "That's my boy," she said with a smile. She put her arm around his shoulders and they both walked out of the building, waved her hand, and closed the door behind them. The crowd started murmuring loudly once the doors were closed.
Jefferson and David were both sitting at a table, setting the hat on the table. "Can you get me through?" he asked.
"No," Jefferson answered.
"Can you get them back?"
Jefferson rolled his eyes.
"Can you get it to work?" David asked.
Jefferson started to laugh at David's question. "If you only knew…," he said.
"Okay. You had a little girl's tea set in your car, and a stuffed rabbit toy," said David. "So, I'm thinking you have a daughter you love. Well, I do, too. And a wife. And they're out there somewhere, in the enchanted forest or a void… I don't even know, but I'm going to get them back."
"They're in the enchanted forest. That's for sure. I just can't get there."
"It still exists?"
"It exists. I don't know if that matters, since we can't go there."
"So you won't help me."
"I'm a portal jumper, and you've destroyed my portal. So you're out of luck."
David stood up and across the table, grabbing Jefferson's scarf, and pulling him closer to his face. "Well, I'm the closest thing left to a sheriff here, so I can just throw you in a cell until you figure out a way," he threatened Jefferson.
"Then all we'll do is both sit. Stuck. Two lives in our heads. Cursed worse than ever."
David let go of Jefferson's scarf and sat back down in his seat.
"Twi lives forever at odds. Double the pain. Double the suffering." He threw the table at David ran off, and started chasing him.
Jefferson ran past Ruby and David almost ran past her as well but she stopped him, "David! Stop!" Ruby yelled.
"Get out of my way!" David yelled at her.
"Regina has Henry!"
"But he has the way!"
"She has Henry. She's threatening everyone."
"She has Henry?" He asked.
"She showed up at your town meeting. The one you missed. Her magic's back. Everyone's panicking. They want to leave town. They're going to lose everything," Ruby said in a panic.
"Okay. Okay. But I have to go after him first," David said. "He's my only hope of finding a way to get Emma and Snow back." He took one step before Ruby pushed him back.
"Okay, back to what?" she asked. "This town is about to come apart. You've gotta do something."
Regina unlocked the front door of her house and sighed happily. "Now, I don't want you to think that things are just going to go back to how they used to be," she explained to Henry as he came in behind her with his head hanging low.
Henry ran up the stairs to his bedroom and Regina was about to follow him.
"Henry!" she called him.
Henry went straight under his bed and took out sheets that he had knotted to climb out of his window, he tied it to the heater threw the rest of the knotted sheets out of his window, and started climbing down. While he was climbing down, he heard creaking and rumbling from the tree behind him. The branches grabbed him and he started struggling against it.
"Don't fight it, honey," said Regina, sticking her head out. "You'll get a splinter."
"How long am I in prison? Till I grow up?" Henry asked, sitting on his bed, and looking at Regina.
"Henry, I rescued you because I love you," she said softly.
"So I'm a prisoner because you love me? That's not fair."
"You know where I come from?" she asked. "That was really not fair. Of all the places I've seen, this is the fairest of them all."
"You ruined lives," said Henry. "You sent away Mary Margaret and Emma."
"That was an accident." She looked down for a moment.
"The way you treated me wasn't an accident. You made it so no one believed me. You made me feel like I was crazy."
"But that's all gonna change now. Henry, you can know all the secrets. You can live in a house with magic. Look what I can do." She lifted her arm and blew into her hand, making a cupcake with pink, blue, and white frosting. She laughed and smiled. "And I can teach you. You can do this and so much more. You can have all the friends you want come over any time, and you can show them everything in your book."
"No one's gonna want to come over here. They're scared of you."
"You can make them not be scared," said Regina in a hard voice. "You can make them love you." She said in a softer voice.
"I don't want that," said Henry. "I don't want to be you." He got up and left the room, leaving Regina on his bed and thinking about how she didn't want to be like her mother before she had adopted Henry.
Regina was in her room wearing a beautiful silver, glittery gown for the event she was about to attend.
"What's this?" asked Cora, pointing to the present.
Regina turned around and looked at the present. "I don't know, a gift," she said, walking to stand next to her mother.
"Maybe it's a portrait," said Cora, lifting her hand and moving the wrapping paper off of the present. "Oh, a looking glass. Not nearly as personal." She walked forward to get a better look. "I wonder, sometimes, if the people really love you."
Regina looks taken aback by the comment. "I'm doing my best, Mother," she said.
"Honey. I'm sorry," she said, turning to face Regina, walking toward her and taking her hand, and pulling toward the mirror. "Come here. Look at you with your whole life ahead of you. And it's going to be better than you can imagine." She stood in front of Regina and took her hands into hers. "The King's not a strong man, the kingdom will be yours. Raise the tributes, form a personal guard, let everyone know where the new power lies. And you'll hold the hearts of your people in your hands."
Regina turned around and looked out into the sky for a moment before answering her mother. "Is that what you would do, Mother?" she asked.
"That's exactly what I would do," she answered.
Regina took a long moment to respond. "Well, the thing is, I don't want to be you," she said.
She was about to attempt to push her mother into the large mirror when Cora used her magic to stop her.
"What are you doing?" Cora asked. "You think it's that easy to get rid of me? You're stuck with me forever, darling. Because I'm your mother. And I know best."
Rumplestiltskin appeared in the mirror and made a motion to use her hands then disappeared.
Regina broke out of the hold and used her magic to push her mother into the mirror. Cora held onto the edges of the mirror for a second as she got sucked in, then the mirror broke into a million pieces and Regina turned to not get hurt by the shards of glass.
She looked down at her hands and gasped then she looked around the room. She couldn't believe that she did that. To her own mother. But it was necessary. She didn't want to be like her at all.
David and Ruby were in a truck and David was honking the horn then he drove past the cars and blocked the other cars from leaving Storybrooke. He and Ruby quickly got out of the car and David got onto the bed of the truck, standing on it.
Dr. Hopper got out of his car and closed the door. "Get out of the way! We have a right to go!" He yelled at David, walking toward David.
"Listen to me! Listen!" David shouted.
All of the people got out of their cars and stood in front of David, murmuring to themselves.
"If you cross that line, you're gonna be lost. Everyone who loves you will lose you. But there's something worse." He paused for a moment and looked at the people from Storybrooke. "You'll lose yourself. Look. I get wanting to leave here, I do. And I get that it's easier to let go of bad memories, but even bad memories are part of us. David? Storybrooke-David was, is weak, confused, and he hurt the woman I love. I wouldn't give up being Charming just to be him. But you know what? I wouldn't make the other trade either. Because that David reminds me not only of whom I lost, but of who I want to be. My weaknesses and my strengths, David and the Prince. I am both. Just like you. You are both. The town is both. We are both! Stay here, and every choice is open to you. Live in the woods if you want. Hell, live in a show if you want. Of eat frozen burritos and write software. Let's open Granny's, and the school, and get back to work. I will protect you. She won't be able to hurt any of us. Not as long as I'm alive. Not as long as we all come together. As we did before. As we shall do again."
All of the Storybrooke people murmured with a smile on their faces as they got back into the car and headed back to their homes and apartments. They were going to figure out how to defeat Regina once again.
Ruby looked up at David and smiled at him. She was proud that he had convinced the people to stay and not run out of town.
Regina was on her horse, taking a different trail in case someone else was taking it and not wanting to get caught. She looked over her shoulder.
"Leaving, are we?" asked Rumplestiltskin, standing a few feet away from Regina and her horse.
She got off her horse. "That was always the plan," she said. She took out the book from her satchel and walked over to him. "Here, a gift. I don't want it." Handing the book to him.
He took it. "Uh, can't be a gift, it was mine to start with," he said.
She turned and was about to get back on her horse.
"Before you go…" He took a step forward to her. "Answer me this, how did it feel?" he asked as she turned to look at him.
"I love my mother," she answered.
"But that's not what I asked, dearie," he said. "How did it feel to use magic?"
"It doesn't matter. I'll never use it again."
"Why not?"
"Because I loved it."
He started giggling. "You've discovered who you are," he said with a smile. "You could do so much now, if you'd let me show you how."
"Through magic."
"Through many things."
A smile came to her lips. "And what do you get out of it?" she asked.
"Someday, you'll do something for me." He handed her back the book. "Let me guide you."
She looked at him for a long moment before looking at the book, softly pushing the book back to him. "And I won't become like her?" she asked.
He smiled. "That, dearie, is entirely up to you," he said.
She took the book from his hand and looked at it.
Regina was sitting at her dining room table, looking at the book. Then David came in and kicked the door open and she jumped as she gasped loudly. She turned around and she noticed the sword in his hand.
"I want to see him!" said David, walking toward her.
Regina walked toward him as he held up the sword without the book in her hand. "Henry, come down," she called to him. "You won't be using your sword."
"Whatever you conjure, I can fight," he said.
"I mean, you won't need your sword," she said, pushing the blade aside with her hand.
Henry came halfway down the stairs as Regina walked past David to meet Henry.
"Henry, you're gonna go home with David," she said.
David looked surprised by this.
Henry looked at David then back at Regina. "Really?" he asked.
"Really." She paused for a moment. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I was…" She was trying to find the right words. "I don't know how to love very well. I wasn't capable of it for a very long time. But I know, I remember, that if you hold onto someone too hard, it doesn't make them love you. I'm sorry I lied to you. That I made you feel like I didn't know who you are. But I want you to be here because you want to be here. Not because I forced you, and not because of magic." She looked at him for a long moment. "I want to redeem myself," she whispered. "Go get your things."
Henry listened to her then he went back upstairs to grab his things.
"Then prove it," said David after Henry went upstairs.
Regina turned around to look at David. "How?" she asked.
"Answer one question," he said. "Does it exist?"
"What?"
"The enchanted forest. Our land. Does it still exist?"
Regina walked down the steps and stood in front of David. "Yes." She paused. "But I have no idea how to get back there."
David looked at her for a minute, trying to see if she was lying or not.
"I can see I just launched you on a heroic quest," she said. "Just also make sure you take care of my son."
David nodded. "That I can do."
Henry and David walked out of Regina's house while Regina watched them. She was going to miss Henry for sure and she knew that she couldn't make him happy unless she had truly changed her ways and tried to love right.
All of the Storybrooke people opened up their stores and the six dwarfs came walking out of a shop with pickaxes.
Sneezy bumped into his brothers while he wiped his nose with a tissue. "What do you need those for?" he asked.
"Don't worry, brother. You've lost something," said Grumpy, placing a hand on Sneezy's shoulder. "It's gonna take fairy dust to get it back. So, we're gonna do what we do best." He glanced back at his brothers and then back at Sneezy. "Come on, boys, it's off to work we go!" They walked past Sneezy to get fairy dust.
Henry walked into Granny's diner where Marco sat drinking his coffee. He walked over to Marco and whispered where his son was.
Marco straightened up and went into Granny's Inn and the door was ajar, he was about to knock on the door but he pushed it open and looked around the room. He wasn't in the room. He noticed the red hat with a feather on its side, on the desk and he picked it up.
Mr. Gold was at the Leaving Storybrooke line and standing there, considering if he would go or not.
Regina was kneeling down at the fireplace with the book in her hand, she was about to place it on the fire but decided not to. She locked it up in the safe and placed the key in the draw.
Henry was sitting at the table with food on her plate, reading his book.
David sat next to him, looking over at Henry. "Hey. It exists, Henry," he said. "The enchanted forest is still out there."
"And so are they," said Henry.
"Yeah," he whispered.
"But how do we know they survived the trip there?"
"Because I can feel it."
Henry smiled at his grandfather and they both took a sip of their soda and placed it back down on the table.
Mulan and Aurora were on different horses with a third horse, they were riding down a beach with Snow White and Emma behind them with ropes tied around their wrists.
"What is this place?" asked Snow White to them.
"Our home," answered Mulan. She started tugging on them once again toward their small little village.
Every villager stopped what they were doing and looked at Snow and Emma.
"It's like they're refugees," said Emma to Snow.
"We're survivors," said Mulan.
Snow pushed down Aurora. "Emma, run!" she yelled at her daughter.
They both ran and Mulan got a weapon and it hit Mary Margaret in the back, knocking her down and out.
Emma ran toward her and got down on her knees. "Mary Margaret! Mary Margaret!" she yelled, turning her over. "What did you do?" she asked, looking up at Mulan.
"Take them to the pit," said Mulan.
One took Emma by the arm, dragging her. "No," she said.
And another grabbed Snow's wrists and dragged her.
The two men placed the two into the pit. The one who carried Snow tossed her onto the ground.
"Be careful. Hey, be careful!" She yelled to the guy. "Hey. Come on, wake up. Hey. Can you hear me?" She asked.
"Do you need help?" asked a woman.
Emma looked up. "Who are you?" she asked.
"A friend," she answered. She took a few steps forward, revealing herself into the dim light. "My name is Cora."