Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Is there something you’d like to say to me, Miss Swan?” Rumplestiltskin asked, his tone soft and deceptively innocent.

An impressive scowl marring her visage, Emma snapped, “You know exactly what I have to say!”

“Alas, while I do possess quite an astounding amount of abilities, reading minds is, regrettably, not one of them,” he remarked mildly.

The back-and-forth between Rumplestiltskin and Emma forced the others to settle down and end all side discussions regarding the ingenuity of ‘Mr. Gold’ and of whether or not he was a diabolical mastermind, as the calmness and displeasure Rumplestiltskin and Emma respectively radiated was much more compelling to them.

“And alas, I doubt the dampener will allow me to say anything,” Emma shot back.

His lips quirking in amusement, Rumplestiltskin said, “How about you give it a try, dearie.”

Maleficent uttered an amused sound. “Now what is going on here?”

In unison, Rumplestiltskin and Emma, without severing eye-contact, intoned, “Nothing.”

“Fine!” Emma huffed. Taking a deep breath, her ferocious glare never disconnecting from Rumplestiltskin’s mischievous eyes, she parted her lips and, “…” nothing came out.

Feigning regret, Rumplestiltskin muttered, “Pity.”

“What the bloody hell are you on about?” Killian demanded.

Absentmindedly pointing at Killian, Snow said, “I’d like to reiterate Killian’s question, but in a more…polite manner.”

Through gritted teeth, Emma said, “I cannot say.”

“I don’t understand why you are so upset, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin stated mildly, head tilted.

“I’m not. It’s just shocking is all,” Emma huffed, arms crossed snuggly to her chest in a defensive pose.

Eyes widening, a smirk suddenly traced Maleficent’s lips, “Ahh! You’ve worked it out, have you?”

“You know?” Emma’s eyes widened. Suddenly, it dawned on her, the cryptic comments between Rumplestiltskin, Zelena and Maleficent that nobody could decipher and which frustrated Regina. She then shifted her gaze to Zelena, who chose to shriek at that moment (and a bit belatedly at that).

“You know?!”

Annoyed, Regina demanded, “Just what is it exactly that the four of you know that we apparently don’t?!”

“That’s a good question!” David snapped, prompting more murmuring to occur between the other occupants of the room. More to the point, he didn’t like, nor was he comfortable with the fact, that his daughter was being drawn into the cryptic sphere of not one, not two… but three villains, a shared secret bonding them together.

David positively shivered at the thought of any form of bonding occurring between them, whatsoever.

Despite feeling left out, Belle sighed, “I’m sure all will be revealed in due time.”

“Yes, a new viewing is starting,” Tiger Lily drew everyone’s attention to the screen which had gained color. “Let us see what else our host has in store for us. I definitely guarantee it’ll be much more illuminating than whatever secret knowledge these four share.”

Clearly not of the same mind, Regina grudgingly spat, “Let’s agree to disagree! I, for one, would like to know.”

“Then perhaps you should figure it out for yourself like we did!” Zelena snapped back, blue eyes aglare. “You daft ninny,” she muttered to herself.

Spitting and snarling, Regina glared back, “I heard that!”

Zelena’s retort came in the form of a sibilant hiss, unconcerned at being overheard.

The scene opens in Storybrooke, in the Dark Star Pharmacy. Henry is reading a comic when a young girl with long, blonde hair approaches him and introduces herself and her brother as Ava and Nicholas.

Dark eyes narrowed, Regina muttered to herself, “What do they want?!”

“Oh, how nice. Perhaps Henry will finally make some friends,” Snow gushed.

“Those two are not the kind of friends I want my son to have!” Regina exclaimed in clear disagreement.

Frowning at the harshness Regina was portraying, Snow addressed the room at large. “I think I remember them from school. I didn’t personally teach them, but I have seen them around. I never heard any complaints about them.”

“Well of course you haven’t, you idiot!” Regina snarled, her glare unforgiving as she continued to drill holes at the blasted twins’ frozen images. “You were all cursed to repeat the same day. They didn’t have time to create mischief on that single day.”

His frown almost identical to Snow’s, Jefferson remarked, a mocking lilt in his voice, “You’re being too hard on them. They’re just children, Regina.”

“You shall see… Mark my words, they’re wicked children,” Regina retorted angrily. She quickly turned to glare at an apoplectic Zelena, whose mouth had opened in indignation. “Don’t you start, Greenie!”

Ava invites Henry to hang out with them and just as the three children prepare to leave, Mr. Clark stops them, demanding that Henry open his bag.

“Excuse me!” Regina snapped in affront.

Her comment, however, was drowned by Grumpy, who happily exclaimed, “Sneezy!”

“Sneezy?” Robin looked perplexed for a moment. “Ah. A brethren of yours, I assume.”

Grumpy grunted in affirmative.

“So is he called Sneezy because he has a propensity to sneeze, or was it simply coincidental?” Robin asked, very much amused by the nature in which the dwarves received their names.

“I must say, you do possess strange names,” Macintosh commented.

Chuckling, Neal said, “You should hear the others’ names.”

A deep line forming between his bushy eyebrows, Grumpy demanded, “And how would you know?!”

“Uh, the stories… Snow White and the Seven Dwarves ringing any bells?” Emma answered for Neal.

A snarl of frustration emanating from her, Regina snapped, “I don’t give a damn about your blasted kin or your ridiculous names! Why is he stopping my son from leaving and demanding that he open his bag?”

“I wonder…” Snow mused aloud.

Releasing a puff of irritation, Tiger Lily pointed out, “Maybe if you’d watch instead of yammering on about it, we can all find out!”

When Mr. Clark checks Henry’s bag, he finds chocolate bars and Henry realizes the reason why Ava spoke to him was so that her brother could put them in his bag.

“Why those little brats!” Regina fumed, practically frothing at the mouth. “What did I tell you? Those children are miscreants, up to absolutely no good.”

Torn between sharing Regina’s anger for what they did to Henry and shame as she had been just like them when she was a child, Emma said, “They’re still children, Regina. No need to call the firing squad. Most children rebel and make mistakes.”

“And are we talking about them or you?” Regina sneered, quickly grasping the heart of the matter.

Gasping in shock, Snow stared at her daughter with wide eyes, “Emma! You used to shoplift?”

“We’re not discussing me here,” Emma insisted.

Reeking of snark and sass, Regina sniped, “Oh, but I believe we are, since you’re ready to give these juvenile delinquents a pass for sharing the same felonious talent as you, no?”

“Watch it!” Neal snapped, a thunderous expression clouding his handsome face. “Not everyone grew up with a golden spoon in their mouth, okay?”

Sneering at the contemptible man, Regina snapped, “Let me guess, you too, were a miscreant.”

“I’ve shoplifted in my youth,” he shrugged a shoulder in nonchalance. “It’s the most common rite of passage to children with no parents or a place to even call home. So watch your mouth and don’t speak about things you cannot hope to understand!” Neal harangued Regina on her ignorance and callousness.

Emma provided Neal with a small smile, her eyes alight with gratitude, and Neal inclined his head in acknowledgment.

Clapping his hands together and then Neal’s back, Robin grinned, “Well said, my friend. Well said.”

“Here’s a shock, the master thief agrees with his fellow criminals,” Regina sneered. Her eyes flashed toward Killian, “Anything you’d like to add, pirate?” and then Jiminy, “Or how about you, cricket?!”

Piercing eyes narrowed, August interjected, “How about you shut your mouth and place your anger where it deserves instead of attacking innocent bystanders.”

Sniffing haughtily, Regina said, “I see nobody who fits the criteria, Mr. Booth.”

“Dearie, do stop talking, please,” Rumplestiltskin hissed, the last word emphasized and filled with intent.

Parting her lips in a snarl, when Regina attempted to volley back some scathing retort, not a sound came out and she wrapped her hands around her throat, her eyes wide with alarm before they narrowed menacingly on Rumplestiltskin.

“Now that the harpy’s been taken care of,” Rumplestiltskin sighed while he rubbed his temples in annoyance. “Shall we proceed?”

At that moment, Emma forgot her previous displeasure with the Dark One as she grinned at him, “That’s a very useful ability to have.”

“And one I urge you to take advantage of whenever she starts again,” Jefferson smirked, his lips framed by curves of mischief.

Staring sadly at her daughter, Snow tentatively asked, “Did you really use to shoplift, Emma?”

“Moving on,” Emma huffed, arms folded as she leaned back on her armchair.

Patting her shoulder in commiseration, Killian smiled and returned his attention to the screen. At his touch, and despite her anger with the pirate for his comments and his unforgivable behavior during the viewing of Rumplestiltskin’s past, Emma felt heat travel up her spine, through her veins, and into her cheeks.

The scene transitions to the Enchanted Forest: a woodcutter chops down a tree.

“My, what a handsome man!” Maleficent crooned.

“He is, isn’t he?” Despite Regina’s affirmation, her dark orbs glared at the man in an unfriendly manner, eyes narrowed meanly.

Startled by the sudden wave of jealousy that rose within him, Victor, his voice strained, said, “Him? Really?”

“Ooh, is that a hint of jealousy I detect, Victor dear?” Maleficent grinned, her features alight with satisfaction.

Channeling the confidence and bravado of Dr. Whale, he replied, “Of course not. Merely surprised is all. I never took you for the woodcutter type.”

Reaching over to twine around her finger a lock of sandy blonde hair from the nape of Victor’s neck, Maleficent cooed, “Not to worry, darling. You’re much more my type.”

“Ugh, you two nauseate me,” Regina sneered.

Sighing, a hint of mockery in her tone and a gleam of mischief in her eyes, the sorceress said, “We really need to get you a man, darling. You really need to let up.”

Forcing himself not to react, Robin grimaced at the unwelcome stirrings of jealousy at the thought of Regina with another man. ‘Why? What on earth is happening to me… This place is driving me insane!’ He looked heavenward with narrowed eyes and nodded to himself, ‘Yes, that must be it. It’s this place.’

“Can we please continue watching? You’re putting horrible images in my head,” Jefferson stared at Regina with disgust, prompting her to redirect her sneer toward him.

Incredibly uncomfortable, Neal said, “Yeah, same here.”

The woodcutter tells his daughter to take a cart and fill it with kindling and to bring her brother with her.

“That’s Ava and Nicholas!” Snow exclaimed with a smile. “I wonder who they were in the Enchanted Forest.”

Something familiar tugged at Neal, his thoughts racing. August and Emma appeared to be facing a similar situation, each of them squinting at the screen in contemplation.

Fixating Rumplestiltskin with a glare, Grumpy growled, “Do you know them?”

“Why of course,” Rumplestiltskin giggled, having suddenly regained his ability to transform between forms. “And so does the Queen!” he tittered, amber eyes flickering toward Regina, who still donned a nasty sneer.

Head shaking infinitesimally, Mulan pointed out, “That is not really surprising. Telling by her strong reaction to the children in Storybrooke, it was not hard to deduce a past between them.”

“Oh God!” Snow pressed a hand to her forehead, and she looked at her stepmother in exasperation, “What did you do to them?”

Deeply offended by the accusation (despite its accuracy), a look of outrage painted Regina’s visage, “And what makes you think I did something to them? Perhaps they are the guilty party here, did you ever think of that?”

In a sarcastic drawl, Emma said, “Yes. Two prepubescent children managed to offend the Evil Queen’s delicate sensibilities.”

Snickering erupted within the room as Regina glared at Emma, disgust lining every inch of her face.

Before his children left, the woodcutter puts a compass around his daughter’s neck. “So you don’t get lost. A family always needs to be able to find one another.”

“That’s it!” August exclaimed, his bright eyes alight with recognition as he jerked forward in his seat.

Simultaneously, Neal crowed, “Hansel and Gretel!”

“Of course!” Emma exclaimed, slapping a hand to her knee.

Those in possession of cursed lives looked on as Hansel and Gretel set off into the forest with new eyes.

Zelena frowned, perplexed. “That can’t be them…” she murmured to herself. For Zelena had met a pair of irritating tinkers who went by the names of Hansel and Gretel, and those siblings didn’t resemble the ones that were currently showcased on-screen in the least bit. Neither did their father, as the one who hoodwinked her affections and coerced her into kindness and – she shuddered – guilt, was a blind oaf.

“The poor dears,” Snow gasped, suddenly recalling the fairytale with vivid clarity. “Didn’t their father abandon them?”

Clearing his throat, August said, “That’s one version.”

“Save me from the erroneous versions that magic-less land generated,” Rumplestiltskin muttered abrasively.

August inclined his head in agreement. “Yeah, the Grimm brothers are reliably inaccurate.”

“And how would you know?” Rumplestiltskin suddenly inquired, eyes that were heavy with suspicion narrowing at the mysterious man who appeared to be a dweller of the Land Without Magic, much like his equally mystifying friend, Neal Cassidy.

Grudgingly nodding in agreement, David added, “You seem to know quite a lot about the Enchanted Forest and its inhabitants.”

Uncomfortable with the myriad pairs of eyes fixated on his person, August ducked his head and muttered, “I just do.”

“A non-answer if I ever heard one,” Maleficent hummed.

Distracted from her sudden befuddlement, Zelena immediately came to the defense of her favorite person within the room. “Oh, leave him be. It’s not like he’ll be able to tell you duffers anything,” she sniped.

A sly sound vibrated in Rumplestiltskin’s throat and he graced the green-hued witch with a grin, “Have we accidentally stumbled upon a soft spot of yours, dearie.”

Maleficent straightened her posture, eyes flickering intriguingly back and forth from the Dark One to the Wicked Witch, a curl of amusement lifting her lips. “Oh?”

“Shut it you,” she sneered, her rosy complexion (to the surprise of everyone) turning a furious red as opposed to its customary shade of poisonous green.

“Oh, dearie dear, dear… Never thought I’d see the day,” Rumplestiltskin murmured to himself, astute eyes flickering between Zelena and August.

For his part, August looked half-sheepish, half-befuddled, his bright eyes studying Zelena with his head cocked while she adamantly distracted herself from his intense perusal with throwing daggers at Rumplestiltskin.

“Oh, I do love extracting weaknesses,” Regina grinned diabolically, hands clasped together against her cleavage.

Fortunately for the mortified Wicked Witch, almost everyone had occupied themselves with discussions regarding the various versions of Hansel and Gretel and which (if any) applied to their original versions from the Enchanted Forest and therefore, took no notice of Rumplestiltskin, Maleficent and  Regina’s conversation – all except for August, Neal and Robin.

Eyes rolling heavily in their sockets, Rumplestiltskin dryly stated, “You didn’t extract anything.” His brogue thickened toward the end as he threw Regina a deadpanned stare. “Merely eavesdropped.”

“I don’t see the difference,” Regina waved a hand.

Sneering viciously, Zelena snarled, “I’ll magic your ears away. Then you’ll know the difference.”

“Sorry to interrupt–” Elsa’s voice suddenly snapped the four villains and the three eavesdroppers back to the present, prompting seven pairs of eyes to fixate on the svelte and fair queen, “—but we’d like to get back to the viewings, if you do not mind.”

“Not at all!” Zelena was quick to respond. So glad was she for the interruption, she bestowed the queen with a smile as nice as pie, the delightful smile sketched on her face surprising them all as it made her look more humane and approachable.

August blinked, taken off guard by the arresting sight. “Is it just me, or does she look like a different person?” he muttered to Neal.

“Nah, man, it’s just you,” Neal gave his friend a weird look before shrugging it off.

The scene forwards. The siblings make it back to where they last left their father, only to find him gone.

Distracted once more from her moment of mortification, Zelena’s thoughts whirled furiously as she attempted to solve the mystifying scene before her, her expression creasing with thoughtful frowns when the boy referred to his sister as “Gretel” and she in kind addressed her brother as “Hansel.”

‘It’s too unbelievable for there to be two sets of siblings in possession of the same name. It’s simply not possible!’ she thought.

“I hoped it wasn’t true,” Snow tsked. “Their father abandoned them.”

Mulan hissed, “Despicable man.”

Regina rolled her eyes and masked her smirk, glad to allow the heroic fools to jump to the worst possible conclusion. Aware of her pleasure (for she was practically glowing), Rumplestiltskin subtly shook his head. While he wasn’t too knowledgeable in the family’s fate (as they posed absolutely no importance in the manipulation or the execution of the Dark Curse), he was aware that Regina was involved in it somehow; and truth be told, he couldn’t comprehend the reason behind her wrath – this quaint family of three were of no consequence and had no ties whatsoever to Snow White. They weren’t even members of Leopold’s Kingdom. And yet, Regina targeted them…with extreme prejudice.

‘Spreading unhappiness… an unhealthy hobby she seems to have taken up,’ he thought to himself.

“If I remember correctly, according to the fairytale, the stepmother had a hand in their abandonment, correct?” Red asked nobody in particular.

Clearing his throat, Rumplestiltskin said, “You’ll find that Hansel and Gretel have no stepmother. After their mother died, their father never remarried.”

“Oh for the love of—” Grumpy uttered a bellow of irritation. “You know them, too!?”

“Of them,” Rumplestiltskin smirked. Transforming into his impish form, he let out a high-pitched giggle, “Not the same thing, nyahah!”

Running toward the nearest sound while yelling for their father, Gretel is almost run down by the lead rider of the Evil Queen’s carriage.

“What rotten luck!” Kristoff groaned.

Shaking her head sadly, Granny snapped, “Of all the people to run into… it just had to be her.”

“Those poor children,” Aurora sighed.

Robin piped up, “Bright side! They are in Storybrooke, so the Evil Queen didn’t kill them.”

“I beg your pardon!” she sneered, all in a huff.

Everyone ignored Regina’s interjection, except for Neal, who scoffed. “It’s the automatic presumption whenever anyone crosses your path.”

Speaking over Neal, Jefferson was quick to point out, “You’re assuming because she didn’t kill them, they didn’t suffer. I’m sure she did something to them.” Since Rumplestiltskin succeeded in returning Jefferson’s sanity, he radiated utter charm and a profound sense of mischief. However, the sight of two children (who were close to his daughter in age) running afoul the Evil Queen elicited a sharp decline in his comportment.

“You’re all overreacting!” Regina huffed.

“Are we, are we really, your majesty?” Rumplestiltskin inquired.

Clapping a hand to her mouth, Snow cried, “By the gods, they're children, Regina. Innocents!”

A vicious sneer on her face, Regina snarled, “Going by experience, they're the most dangerous sort! The most capable of ruining lives.”

“Said the mother of a ten-year-old,” Neal snarked.

Emma shook her head in disbelief, “Lady, you’re really not winning yourself any points here.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not trying to prove myself to anybody,” Regina retorted. “Henry is my son, whom I love. And that’s all you need to know.”

A plethora of scoffs met her statement.

The compass breaks because of the almost collision, and just as Gretel discovers this, a black knight hauls her and Hansel toward the carriage. The door opens and the Evil Queen steps out, “What are you doing in my forest?”

“Your forest?” Snow snapped, red spots of anger blooming on her porcelain skin. “Your forest?!”

“I don’t recall hearing any laws being passed claiming that children weren’t allowed in the forest, Evil Queen,” Phillip stated abruptly, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

In response, she turned her nose up and sniffed haughtily. “I don’t need to explain myself to you. My kingdom, my rules!”

“You mean my kingdom!” Snow countered.

Regina’s eyes flashed.

Back in Storybrooke, Regina has arrived at Dark Star Pharmacy where Mr. Clark is informing her of Henry shoplifting.

Scoffing, Regina snapped, “The fool! How anyone could believe my son is responsible for such thievery when those ruffians are in the same room truly confounds me. The nerve of that moronic man!”

“Hey, don’t talk about Sneezy like that!” Grumpy growled. “The stuff was in the kid’s bag. An honest mistake. How’s Sneezy to know?” he grumbled, each word vibrating heavily in the angry dwarf’s throat.

Echoing her future-self, Regina tossed a hand toward the screen, “Because he does not eat candy—”

“All kids eat candy,” Neal rolled his eyes.

“—and he is my son. I’m the Town’s Mayor. It’s not like I cannot afford to buy him whatever he desires—”

Neal interrupted once again. “It wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if you were to withhold Henry from eating sweets. It could be seen as an act of rebellion because of his strict upbringing,” he shrugged, a twinkle of mischief glinting in his warm orbs.

“—unlike those ragamuffins who are clearly up to no good—”

“Just because they can’t afford the best clothing doesn’t automatically brand them as thieves,” Neal interjected.

“—and would you stop with your asinine interruptions, Mr. Cassidy!” Regina finally burst out in one angry breath, throwing the chuckling man a black stare. “It’s like you purposely set out to irritate me to death.”

Grumpy scoffed, “Don’t tempt us.”

“If it was so easy to kill you via irritation, it would've been done before,” Jefferson lamented.

Regina hissed her discontent. “Banes of my existence, the lot of you!”

“It appears I’ve been downgraded,” Snow commented airily.

“Not likely,” Regina snarled.

Emma joins them and when she asks Henry what happened, Regina dismisses her.

“Genetics mean nothing?” Neal scoffed.

Unbothered by Regina’s words, Emma arched an eyebrow and chuckled, “It’s obvious I’m there in the capacity of sheriff.”

“Never had to deal with a shoplifter in my time,” Graham smiled, albeit sadly. “I mostly spent my time locking up Leroy; he kept me busy for 28 years,” he chuckled.

Grumpy grunted. “Not my script.”

Ignoring Graham’s trip down memory lane, August responded to Neal’s comment. “Makes sense she’d think that. If I didn’t see it, I’d never have believed such a kind, mild-mannered and loving man would be the father of Her Evilness.”

Upon overhearing August’s comment, Regina let loose a particularly menacing hiss. “Watch it, Booth! You’re testing the last vestiges of my patience—”

“And here I thought we passed those limits within the first ten minutes of our gathering,” Robin mused aloud, his eyes and the curve of his lips radiating with mischief.

“I expect you think yourself amusing,” Regina snapped.

Robin inclined his head, “Verily so. I believe, however, I was merely being observant.”

Then, to everyone’s surprise, it was not Tiger Lily who effectively silenced them, but Zelena, her features still creased in contemplation and a hint of impatience. “Stop blathering already, would you? I want to know what happens next!”

Eyebrow arched, Rumplestiltskin’s inquiry was laced with a large dose of disbelief. “Since when?”

“You have been acting quite…oddly,” Maleficent mused.

Once Regina and Henry leave, Emma inquires after Ava and Nicholas’s parents. They insist their parents couldn’t pay the phone bill and beg her not to arrest them.

“Quite the proficient thief,” Regina sneered – a response to Emma narrowing down the reasons behind the miscreants’ parents’ inability to answer the phone.

In contrast, Arthur inclined his head in reverence, “How admirable you are, Miss Swan, to not only empathize with the children but to instantly comprehend their desire to aid their parents.”

“Emma, please,” the blonde blushed a profuse red at being called “admirable” by the dashing and awe-inspiring king of legends.

“Then I must insist you call me Arthur,” he responded warmly.

Shrugging, Emma smiled modestly, “I hate to say, but Madam Mayor hit it on the nose. I can relate with them. I can read the signs and understand where they're coming from.”

Unfortunately, Emma’s revelation prompted Snow to burst into tears. “Oh, Emma!”

Grimacing awkwardly, Emma shifted in her seat and shrugged again.

“Snow, it’s alright. Shh, shh. It’s alright, my love,” David pulled his distressed wife into his arms and stroked the back of her head.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, the siblings attempt to run from the Evil Queen, to no avail, as she utilizes her magic to prevent them from escaping her.

Grumbling, Neal said, “Let’s see you catch them without magic.”

“Well,” still sounding awkward, Emma said, “suffice to say, the Evil Queen was not a character in Hansel and Gretel’s story.”

“You’ll find that the Evil Queen has managed to insert herself in more stories than just her own,” Rumplestiltskin said dryly. “You see, she’s made it an unfortunate hobby of hers, to rob people from all forms of happiness.”

Sneering, Regina barked, “You’re one to talk.”

“Pray tell, whose happy ending have I stolen?”

“Mine!” she hissed.

Maleficent rolled her eyes, “Oh, cease with the histrionics, Regina, they’re so unbecoming.”

Determined to make himself heard now that Snow’s tears had abated, David yelled, “Ella and Thomas!”

Exasperated, his lips forming a moue of discontent, Rumplestiltskin turned his eyes to the heavens and sighed, “Perhaps 28 years in a coma did more damage than we initially believed, Charming. For I most definitely recall the elucidation I shared regarding Lady Magic and the consequences extracted if the price is not met.”

“Yes, you did,” David huffed, “but we already know you could’ve asked for a different price.”

“Not this again,” Rumplestiltskin mumbled under his breath, and he vigorously rubbed the center of his forehead with his human hand. “I tire of repeating myself. Enough,” he hissed, eyes gleaming amber. “I exacted the price I required at the time, and that is all I shall be saying on the subject. Now, let us continue with the viewing.”

Brown eyes intent on his father, Neal didn’t fail to catch the words “at the time,” and he decided to ponder over it at a later time.

“I am going to find your father,” the Evil Queen announces.

A cacophony of scoffs reverberated in the Haven.

“What’s the catch?!” Granny demanded.

“You never do anything out of the kindness,” Red sneered around the word, “of that shriveled-up coal you call a heart.”

Sneering back, Regina said, “Your attempt to insult me is quite pathetic.”

“She ain’t insulting. She’s stating a fact!” Grumpy hollered, fist punching the air.

Gretel seemed to be in agreement with Granny, for she too, portrayed skepticism to the Evil Queen’s declaration.

“Because you two are going to do something for me.”

“And there it is. The catch,” Kristoff huffed.

The sneer on Regina’s face appeared to be permanent as she looked at the disheveled-looking man, “Nothing is for free! Especially not my services.”

Snow sighed sadly, shook her head in disappointment, and looked away.

“You did something to their father, didn’t you?” Emma scrutinized Regina with surprising astuteness.

Rolling her eyes, Regina pointedly looked away.

“Despicable creature,” Robin hissed, prompting Regina to flinch.

Despite the subtlety of her reaction however, Tinker Bell, who had been keenly observing her old friend, took note of the odd response the master thief’s words elicited, and a new suspicion began to form.

Glancing at Regina from the side of her eyes, Maleficent lightly inquired, “What in Zeus’s name did these children ever do to you?”

But Regina’s silence reigned.

In Storybrooke, Emma, after informing the siblings about her superpower, drops them off and then drives away. Once reassured Emma is gone, Ava and Nicholas change route, going to the backyard and climbing over a fence in order to make it to the house’s storeroom and under a trapdoor.

Snow was one of the loudest in the room to gasp, the reality of the children’s situation hitting her deeply, especially as she could vividly imagine now, what her daughter’s life had been like growing up.

“They’re squatting,” Neal grimaced.

At the same time, Emma sighed, “Just like I thought… they're homeless.”

Not wanting to upset her parents, especially Snow, she decided to keep her other thought to herself: that she had it worse than Hansel and Gretel’s cursed personas. For one thing, they weren’t completely alone and had each other; and at least they weren’t on the streets. Emma lost count of the amount of times she had to make do in an abandoned vehicle or worse, in the slums, living among homeless people and scouring through the trash for edibles, or the kindness of passersby.

“So much for Storybrooke being a picturesque little town,” Neal snarled as he glared daggers at Regina. “You couldn’t have at least given them fake parents?!”

Her nose wrinkling at the imagined act of kindness, Regina said, “Now why on earth would I do that. My happy ending only, remember, Mr. Cassidy.”

“They're children!” Frederick grounded out, teeth gnashing furiously.

“And…?” she sneered.

“Even that’s a touch far, Regina, don’t you think?” Maleficent inquired airily, and to everyone’s surprise, she seemed to be astonished by Regina’s act of cruelty. “No, really,” she sat forward to better gauge Regina’s expression, “what did these poor children ever do to you?”

Imitating Rumplestiltskin’s infamous retort, she snapped, “That’s my business!”

Scoffing, Merida spoke with much vehemence, “No matter what reason you have, it is unacceptable. They’re only wee kids, they don’t know any better and shouldn’t be punished so severely for whatever slight you believe they caused you!”

Surprised by her insight as opposed to her flippant remarks, Macintosh stared at his princess with no small amount of awe. ‘Perhaps she isn’t the spoiled lass she appears to be…’

When Regina continued to appear intransigent, a frustrated Snow snapped, providing an example her stubborn step-mother could understand. “Imagine it was Henry in their place and some evil witch cursed him to such a horrible life!”

Her pallor adopting an unhealthy sheen, Regina nonetheless glared mutinously at Snow. “Then it is a good thing I’m the only evil witch around now, isn’t it?”

“Hah! But there is a wicked one,” Zelena boasted, a malicious glint crossing her eyes. Her lips then curled into a mocking smile as she crooned her next words in an exact parody of Regina’s previous taunt, “Oh, I do love extracting weaknesses.”

Uncertain by the threat, Emma and Neal glanced at each other, both of them troubled by the threat to their son. Snow and David also shared a concerned look; for some reason, the Wicked Witch despised the Evil Queen, and they weren’t certain what lengths the former would go through to destroy the latter. On the other hand, Rumplestiltskin and Maleficent rolled their eyes, realizing that Zelena was baiting Regina.

Unwilling to take chances, Emma finally said, “I really hope you’re not being serious, Zelena.”

She was barely heard, however, since Regina captured her entire attention by stepping into the green witch’s personal space. “I assure you it’ll be the last thing you do,” she snarled threateningly.

“Oh my, I’m so scared,” Zelena drawled flippantly.

“Only a fool wouldn’t be,” she vowed.

Hearing noises, they sneak off to find the source. Emma appears behind them, “Why did you guys lie to me? Where are your parents?”

A chuckle of relief escaped Neal. “Of course you weren’t fooled by them.”

“Of course not,” Emma scoffed, a smile playing at her lips before suddenly freezing on her face. She stared at Neal in shock, surprised by the growing camaraderie between them. In no terms did she forgive him for his betrayal; however, their shared concern over Henry and desire to remove him from Regina’s influence was slowly but surely creating a new bond between them, one she was astonished to admit, she wouldn’t mind nurturing.

A sad smile on his face, Neal inclined his head and looked away, wordlessly leaving the ball in her court.

Sensing a strange sort of tension between the two, Killian’s narrowed eyes flickered from Emma to Neal, a confounding surge of something rising inside him. Refusing to believe that it was jealousy, Killian shifted away from Emma until he sat closer to Tinker Bell (who scowled at the lack of space between them and promptly flicked his ear in irritation). He had to continuously remind himself of Milah, the one and only love of his life, to calm himself from the towering rage that consumed him due to the foolish sentimentalities he was beginning to harbor for the righteous princess beside him.

“We don’t have any,” Ava reveals.

Snow looked like she was about to devolve into another bout of tears. “The poor dears,” she cried.

“That’s absurd, everyone has parents!” Aurora fumed.

Emma nodded. “Biologically, of course that’s true. But when you’ve grown up without any parents, you identify yourself as parentless. It’s simply a fact of life,” she shrugged indifferently, her behavior distressing her parents even more than they believed to be possible.

Expression unbelievably sad, Aurora said, “That’s horrible.”

“That’s life,” Neal said grimly, resolutely avoiding his Papa’s stare he could sense hammering into the side of his face.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Graham’s head. “As far as I can remember, they don’t have any listed in their records.”

Red cocked her head in confusion.

“Explain,” David demanded.

“While we may have been repeating the same day over and over again for the past twenty-eight years, and although I didn’t interact with every single one of them on that accursed day, I know every single resident of Storybrooke,” Graham explained with an air of calmness.

Possessing the same thought, and in a voice too low for everyone to hear, Maleficent and Jefferson hissed, “Not sure about that.”

Head tilted and eyes intense, Rumplestiltskin stared at his old friend in confusion, before with a shake of the head, he turned away and so, he failed to see Jefferson give Belle a sad look from over his head. Similarly, Regina and Victor (both of whom sat on either side of the sorceress) looked at Maleficent in response to her bitter remark, the former with triumphant glee and the latter with confusion.

Not having heard the dual interruption, Graham continued in the same strain, “And I don’t recall a Mr. Zimmer. In fact, the only Zimmers in Storybrooke are Ava and Nicholas.”

“How can you know every single person in Storybrooke?” Anna asked.

Nonplussed, Graham lifted a shoulder. “It’s as if the information has been downloaded into my brain.”

At the unfamiliar term, those who didn’t possess a cursed persona, Maleficent, and Belle looked on in a strange amalgamation of confused curiosity, with Phillip, Arthur and Kristoff being the only ones to actually voice their perplexity, “Download?”

“Kind of like pre-programmed information,” August inserted.

“My apologies… your attempt at clarification has only succeeded in augmenting my confusion,” Macintosh stated, the emphasized formality prompting a ferocious scowl to color Merida’s pretty features.

‘He is such a stick-in-the-mud,’ she thought, unfavorably.

Gasping as a realization dawned on him, David exclaimed, “That’s how you knew about King George!”

“Yes, exactly,” Graham smiled, relieved. “I had absolutely no interactions with him, but I instinctively knew about his cursed-self.”

Snarling at the advantage, Regina said, “It was an unfortunate side-effect of his cursed personality. I assure you, Graham, I had no intention of giving you any sort of a boon.”

“Yes, for how can one sheriff a town when one has no idea who populates it,” Rumplestiltskin mocked Regina.

“Shut it, you imp!”

The scene shifts to Mary Margaret's loft where Ava and Nicholas are sitting on the island, eating. To the side, Emma and Mary Margaret engage in a quiet conversation.

Nodding in agreement to her future cursed-self, Snow sighed, “Exactly as I said before. I’ve seen them around, but I had no—” she choked.

“Oh would you get a grip, you pansy-ass!” Regina barked.

The insult coupled with the heartlessness Regina portrayed elicited Snow to clench her hands into fists and growl, “Really, Regina. I don’t know why your lack of compassion continues to surprise me.”

“Frankly, neither do I,” Regina punctuated her drawl with a heavy eye-roll. “And here I thought your idiocy had reached its limits.”

Scowling, Snow insisted, “To have hope and being an idiot are not the same thing!”

“Au contraire, Snow White,” she hissed menacingly. “It is when you hope so strongly on such a hopeless ideal that makes you delusional!”

Eyebrows jumping and almost hitting his hairline, Neal pointed out, “You realize you just called yourself hopeless, right?”

“Stop addressing me, you irritating yokel!” she hissed acerbically.

“Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. So their mother was a woman named Dory Zimmer. She died a few years ago. No one seems to know her or remember her,” Emma says after reading from a file.

Frowning, Graham agreed with Emma’s future-self. “Yes, I don’t recall her existence. She never was a resident of Storybrooke,” he confirmed.

“Of course not, you idiots!” Regina bellowed, her patience waning with every scene. “Hansel and Gretel’s mother died years before the Dark Curse!”

David frowned at her belligerence. “Yes, but they could have a cursed mother,” he reasoned.

“No they wouldn’t because I wouldn’t have given them one!” Regina rolled her eyes, her tone of voice implying she believed David was a moron. “It would have defeated the purpose of my curse.”

Abigail sneered at the subtle insult. “You expect us to comprehend the evil machinations of your mind?”

“Every individual’s happy ending varies,” Rumplestiltskin prefaced while he lazily spun his cane, eyes tracing the reflected glint of its golden head. “Hansel and Gretel yearned to find their father and to have a home. And so, her majesty cruelly deprived them of both in Storybrooke.”

Repeating a previously-hurled accusation, Red snarled, “What did you do to their father?!”

Throwing the wolf a deadpanned stare, Regina yawned. “You bore me,” she simply stated.

“And you disgust me,” she retorted, eyes glowing gold for a fraction of a second.

Emma then reveals she didn’t report them to social services as she doesn’t want them to go into the system.

Neal nodded rapidly, “Good thinking!”

“Yeah.” Emma allowed a diminutive smile.

Sitting ramrod straight, Regina wagged a disapproving finger at Emma, “That won’t do, Miss Swan. You should report them to social services. You wanted to be sheriff, so be the sheriff.”

“I wouldn’t have called social services either,” Graham insisted.

Regina released a bark of mocking laughter. “Somehow I doubt that. You’d have done your job and reported them. Any sheriff would and you know it.” She then sneered at Emma, “You’re allowing personal feelings to cloud your judgment; which proves my point: you’re not the right person for the job!”

“That’s rich!” Robin laughed merrily. “You are giving Emma a lecture on allowing personal feelings to get in the way. Really, your majesty?”

As the argument escalated between Emma and Regina to include Robin and a few others, Killian was stuck on a dilemma of his own, his mind going back to the many smiles traded back and forth between Emma and Neal, the latest one prompting him to finally snap.

Fists clenching and unclenching, Killian inhaled a sharp intake of breath and hurried to lean forward, snatching the bottle of rum from Troll and hastily cracking it open and guzzling a third of its content.

“What?” he snapped at the green-clad fairy.

Shaking her head, Tinker Bell stated, “You’re acting strangely.”

Tiger Lily muffled a single chuckle, her mood brightening at Killian’s plight. “Oh, matters of the heart usually do change people, dear sister.”

Leaning over Tinker Bell to better gauge the other fairy’s visage, Killian snarled, “I have no idea what you mean, Lils.”

“Provoking me won’t work this time, Hook,” she retorted calmly, her smile turning serene. “Seeing you suffer from confusion, denial and stubbornness is such an alleviating sensation, it’s done me a world of good.”

Amping up the inflection of sarcasm in his voice, Killian sneered, “I’m so glad my suffering amuses you. So much for being a creature of light and benevolence.”

“Not to villains such as yourself,” Tiger Lily shot back.

“And yet, abominable ones like the Dark One is an exception, aye,” he hissed, not missing a single beat.

That astute observation produced a chink in Tiger Lily’s newly attained armor of placidity. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hook,” she denied.

“I’m sure you don’t,” Killian scoffed, a manic glint supplanting the anger in his eyes. “What is it about the Crocodile that lures women in, hmm? Tell me.”

But Tiger Lily ended the conversation with a stormy look, eyes daring the pirate to push her last button.

Cautioning her friend with a sharp elbow to the gut, Tinker Bell sharply whispered, “Enough, Killian. Drop it.”

Unbeknownst to the three denizens of Neverland, Rumplestiltskin had been observing them as their three heads conspired together in a hissing conversation, and while their words were indistinguishable, his curiosity skyrocketed, especially in terms of the single individual in the room he knew absolutely nothing about… not even her name.

“Are you uh, are you alright?” Emma asked hesitantly the moment Killian emerged from his private conversation with the two fairies.

Barely sparing her a glance, Killian snapped in a rough voice, “Aye, I’m fine!”

Undeniably hurt by his tone and his sudden change in demeanor, Emma rearranged her face into a mask of apathy and looked away, determined to ignore the breathtakingly handsome pirate-captain for the rest of the viewing.

‘Damn him and his villainously roguish smile. Why, Emma. Of all people, why him?!’ she castigated herself.

Neal glared at the captain and vowed to threaten him at a later hour. He was determined to be the last guy to ever hurt Emma Swan’s feelings and break her heart.

When Mary Margaret insists the system is supposed to help, Emma immediately voices her disagreement: “Yeah, says the woman who wasn’t in it for sixteen years.

“Sixteen years?” Snow frowned. “Aren't you a minor until you turn eighteen?”

Emma shifted uncomfortably, both at her mother’s question and at the revealing speech her future-self would no doubt be disclosing to everyone in the room. “I ditched early,” was all she supplied, to which Snow responded with a reaction of aghast, emitting a whimper as she clutched the sleeve of David’s shirt in her clenched fist.

Do you know what happens? They get thrown into homes where they earn meal ticket, nothing more. These families get paid for these kids and as soon as they're too much work, they get tossed out and it all starts over again.”

“Truly?” Abigail gasped.

“By any chance, are you speaking from experience?” Belle inquired softly.

It was the lack of pity in Belle’s eyes that encouraged Emma to answer with the truth, “Yeah. It’s what happened with me.” She batted a hand in the air, “Whatever. Water under the bridge.”

But it was clear to everyone, especially Neal (who not just knew Emma’s thoughts and opinions but lived through similar experiences), that it was not water under the bridge.

Another whimper escaped Snow.

David inhaled deeply, sad eyes boring a hole through his daughter, hating himself even more for agreeing to abandon Emma in the enchanted wardrobe. ‘But…no!’ On second thoughts, he turned his gaze onto Regina and glared with profound hatred: ‘It’s her fault! No one else but her!’

Choosing to swallow another great gulp instead of comforting the bonnie lass beside him, Killian lifted the bottle to his lips and drank.

Emma then explains that there was a great chance Ava and Nicholas could get separated by foster families.

Neal nodded in vehement agreement. “That’s right. Siblings rarely get taken in by the same foster family. One child is always better than two.”

“You seem to be speaking from personal experience as well, Mr. Cassidy,” Rumplestiltskin commented, his voice a murmur with a hint of all-knowing.

Glaring, Neal didn’t bother to lie. “That’s because I am.”

“Hmm…” was all his Papa said, eyes too intrigued for Neal’s comfort. “And what, if I may ask, happened to your parents?”

Wanting to add salt to the wound that would be appearing later (for Neal was no fool – he knew the truth of his identity would eventually be revealed; he simply didn’t know when), Neal ruthlessly admitted, “They abandoned me. First my mother. Then my father.” And ensuring he held Rumplestiltskin’s curious eyes (eyes that he inherited… and Henry, he belatedly realized), Neal enunciated, “I’m better off without them.”

“It doesn’t sound like it,” Mulan surprised him with her insight, enough to release his father from his glare to meet her shrewd ones. “You sound hurt by your parents’ actions, and you’re using the emotion of anger to hide it from not only the world, but even from yourself.”

Head tilted, Neal pursed his lips, “Perhaps.”

Leaning into Belle’s side, Rumplestiltskin whispered, “I don’t know why, Belle… but I feel like I’m missing something of grave importance. Every time I almost grasp it, it escapes me.”

Eyes flickering toward the ceiling, Belle murmured, “Do you think it’s our host’s doing?”

“Oh, I know it’s our host’s doing,” Rumplestiltskin, teeth bared, growled, his anger directed at the mysterious host and not his precious Belle. “If not for the ward, I am certain I’d have solved the puzzle by now.”

Belle patted his hand in commiseration before she lifted it and placed a consoling kiss on his palm. “Be patient, Rumple. Everything will be revealed in due time. Trust in our host, there must be a meaning to all that he does.”

He stared at Belle as though he’d been struck, her words regarding their host bearing an uncanny similarity to Mrs. Potts’s. Could it be? That their host wasn’t an enemy but an altruistic yet powerful being who wished to aid not only the future of magic, but theirs as well?

Ava overhears Emma and starts to cry at the possibility of being separated from her brother. Emma promises “that’s not gonna happen.”

“Don’t make promises you cannot keep, Miss Swan,” Regina smirked, her eyes dancing with unholy glee.

“They are children!” Belle snapped, having had enough of Regina’s intolerable cruelty.

Rolling her eyes, Regina mimicked her tone of voice, “Yes I know.” Shaking her head, she said, “I do not know why the lot of you insists on repeating that fact to me. I know they are children. I have eyes, you know.”

“Simply we hope you also have a heart,” Robin stated, and despite his matter-of-factness, nobody could mistake the revulsion in his voice. “Alas, you do not.”

A sharp sensation, akin to an ice pick to the heart, struck Regina at the tone of voice Robin took with her. She rapidly shook her head at the mere notion (not unlike a wet dog shaking the water off its coat of unruly fur) that the thief’s thoughts and opinions of her could actually cut and impact her.

‘How utterly ridiculous!’ she sneered inwardly.

Grumpy scoffed. “Something we already knew,” his comment was accompanied by his hand gesturing madly towards himself, Red, Granny, Graham, David, Snow, Jiminy and Geppetto.

“Even Graham, who lived over three decades without a heart has more heart than the Evil Queen,” Granny exclaimed.

Proud of himself, Graham didn’t flinch at the reminder. Having his heart returned (albeit temporarily) along with possessing the utmost confidence that Emma would have it returned to him before Regina could kill him in the new future they were creating, did wonders for Graham’s disposition and temperament.

The scene changes: Emma is in the Hall of Records and asks Mr. K for Ava and Nicholas’s birth certificates.

Laughter ensued at the terrible, unpronounceable name Regina bestowed the poor man with.

“I know him! That’s Arvil, my father’s steward!” Aurora cried out.

Phillip and Mulan traded a covert look. Clearing his throat, Phillip said, “He must have been sent out on an errand to have been caught up in the Evil Queen’s curse.”

Aurora frowned, perplexed by her beloved’s reasoning – and she wasn’t the only one.

“Why would you say that?” Snow asked.

Hesitantly, Phillip said, “Well, as mentioned before, not all kingdoms were affected by the Dark Curse. King Stefan’s kingdom was one of them.”

Maleficent hissed with palpable vitriol at the mere mention of Stefan’s name, prompting Aurora to hurl her one of the blackest stares she possessed in her arsenal.

Cutting into Maleficent’s predictable desire to rage, Regina snarled, “Something which I still cannot comprehend. The Enchanted Forest in its entirety should have been whisked away by my curse! I will get to the bottom of this!”

His impish form in full display, Rumplestiltskin let out a sharp giggle. “Don’t you mean, our host will eventually provide you with the answer, your majesty?”

Waving a hand around, Grumpy grunted, “Never mind all that.” He squinted his mean eyes at Regina, “What did the poor steward ever do to you for you to lump him with that name?”

Delicately shrugging her shoulder, Regina hummed, “I thought it would be amusing.”

An eyebrow arched in surprise, Robin muttered, “So, she does have a sense of humor, does she.”

“She does. And she is right here!” Regina shot back, dark eyes ablaze.

Unfortunately, Mr. K reveals that the documents had been removed recently.

Echoing Future-Emma’s surprised statement, half the room intoned, “By who?”

Scoffing, unlike her future-self, Emma knew exactly who. “Three guesses, and the first two don’t count,” she glared at Regina.

Following the direction of Emma’s glare, Regina promptly found herself on the receiving end of multiple glares of promised death.

Illegally smug, Regina emitted a chuckle, straightened her posture and leaned over to grab a victory apple martini from Troll. “And another point to me,” she singsonged.

“Bet you’re quite pleased with yourself, aye?” Killian huffed.

Lips cracking open to reveal two rows of blinding white teeth, Regina crooned, “As punch.”

The next scene has Emma storming into Regina’s office in the town hall. After asking about the birth certificates, Regina assures Emma that she contacted social services.

“That doesn’t exactly reassure anyone!” Neal snarled angrily.

Her usually ivory complexion a furious engine-red, Emma shouted, “That’s exactly what my future-self has been trying to avoid!”

“Is it?” Regina feigned shock. “Oh, dear me. How tragic.”

She couldn’t keep the act for long. The sad pout to her lips lifted into a large grin and her eyes, which she had widened to perfect a dewy look crinkled into half-crescents as they gleamed with glee. Laughter emanated from her, loud and barking. “Miss Swan,” she swiped a tear of laughter from her eyelid before it could even begin to make its trail downward, “why on earth would I make anything easier for you? Storybrooke is my town; its residents are under my control; this curse is a creation for my happy ending. Do try and keep up, would you…”

Hand automatically reaching over to clasp Emma’s before she could jump to her feet and tackle the evil witch, Killian kept a strong hold around the blonde’s wrist and forced her to maintain eye contact, “Leave her be, lass. She’ll fall on her own sword… eventually.”

“So sure of that, are you, Hook?” Regina smiled saccharinely, though her eyes were pointed with daggers.

“Aye,” Killian inclined his head, “Otherwise, what are we here for? Our host shows us these future events for a reason. And that reason cannot be your victory.”

Uncertainty clouded Regina’s expression for the first time since the portrayal of Hansel and Gretel’s punishment.

Suddenly, David cleared his throat loudly, his eyes narrowing pointedly at Killian’s and Emma’s interlocked hands.

While Emma’s face turned a pretty pink, Killian ripped his hand away as though he had been burned, dazedly wiping it against his leather-clad thigh.

Regina proceeds to reveal that not only does Storybrooke not have a foster system, but that Emma is supposed to drive them to Boston that night to separate group homes.

“You’re having them separated!” Neal shouted, not knowing why exactly he was so surprised at the Evil Queen’s callousness.

On the other hand, Red was focused on something else. “Boston?” she repeated, eyes wide and furious. “You can’t send them to Boston!”

Hands in the air, Granny announced, “She’s trying to kill them!”

“I will not be sending them to Boston,” Emma seethed.

“If you want to keep your job, you will,” Regina retorted, her tone very matter of fact.

Snow shook her head solemnly. “Regina… they’re children. Why on earth are you trying to kill them?”

“Yes. What have they ever done to you?” Guinevere sneered. She already didn’t like the Evil Queen; and these viewings were painting her in an even cruder light than believed possible.

When Emma claims she promised Ava and Nicholas wouldn’t be separated, Regina says, “Well, then you should stop making promises you can’t keep. These children need a home. I’m just trying to find the best one.”

Eyes glinting menacingly and voice filled with sarcasm, Neal said, “How magnanimous of you.”

“I do try,” Regina said dryly.

“Henry will never forgive you. You do know that, don’t you?” Neal sneered, aching with the need to hurt Regina, just like she did most of the people in the room.

Eyebrow arched, Regina prefaced, “Oh?”

Catching on, Emma interjected, “That’s right. As we saw with Ella, Henry knows that terrible things happen to people who leave Storybrooke. And I’m almost certain my future-self will be informing Henry of the demands of yours truly, Madam Mayor. And what, I wonder, will he think, when he discovers his mother—”

“And she says the term lightly,” Neal grinned, enjoying sparring with Emma against Regina.

Inclining her head towards Neal, Emma smirked, “Exactly. What will Henry think when I tell him that you basically signed Ava and Nicholas’s death sentence – two children his age.”

“Things aren't looking too bright for you, are they, Evil Queen,” Neal snarked.

As Neal and Emma tag teamed her, Regina’s complexion flushed dark with rage, and once they concluded their attack, she snarled at Emma. “You won’t be telling Henry a thing. You hear me?” she spat out. “Not a single thing!”

“Is that an order?” Emma said drolly. “‘Cause I don’t take them from you.”

Regina squeezed her hands into fists and twisted, almost as though she yearned to curl her hands around the necks of Emma and Neal and squeeze until the lights left their eyes, right before she snapped them to ensure their deaths were permanent.

Tsking, Maleficent, with the tip of the long pointy nail of her index finger, tapped the skin between her brows, “Wrinkles, Regina darling, remember.”

The scene transitions to the Enchanted Forest where the Evil Queen is leading Hansel and Gretel to the home of the Blind Witch.

Zelena sat ramrod straight, eyes hungrily devouring the screen as she grew desperate to solve the mystifying puzzle. Hansel and Gretel and their foolishly pathetic woodcutter of a father were all different… But was the Blind Witch different as well, or was she the same hag she battled with years ago and lost, defeated and wounded and forced to lick her wounds in the care of the brat siblings’ father – much to her dismay.

“You send the children to the gingerbread house?!” Neal stared at Regina in disbelief.

Shaking her head in equal disbelief, Emma demanded, “What advantage do two prepubescent kids have that you don’t? I thought you’re supposed to be powerful.”

“What, can’t take on a witch by yourself, you need kids to do the dirty work for you?” Red sneered scornfully.

A bark of disdainful laughter left Granny’s lips. “The Evil Queen doesn’t fight fair. She’ll only attack those without magic so she can always have the upper hand.”

Glaring thunderously at them, Regina snarled, “No. If you hadn't interrupted, you’d have heard my past-self explain that the Blind Witch’s home is protected by magic, meaning, you insipid morons, I cannot get in. Children, however, can.”

Snow looked disgusted by her stepmother’s explanation. “You’ve got an army of black knights willing to serve you. Couldn’t you have sent them, instead of putting children in harm’s way?!”

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that!” Regina uttered with heavy sarcasm before bellowing, “It’s protected by magic not against magic-users, but adults!”

Gretel asks what it is that the Evil Queen wishes them to retrieve; to which she says, “Something I need to defeat a very wicked and powerful enemy. It’s kept in a black leather satchel inside her house.”

“Really, Regina,” Snow snorted at the description.

Guinevere stared at Snow in shock, “She means you?”

“Surely not,” Arthur shared his wife’s astonishment.

“Too much of an over exaggeration, don’t you think,” Robin inquired mildly.

Regina glared at Snow and hissed, “No.”

Surprisingly, Zelena refrained from any acts of histrionics, not even bothering to comment on Regina’s use of the term ‘wicked’ to describe Snow White as she was too lost in thought.

“Nothing?” August stared at the green witch in a combination of surprised amusement.

Eyes still fixated on the screen, Zelena tilted her head in his direction. “Hmm, what was that?” she sounded just as she looked: troubled and distracted.

“Lost in thought are we, dearie?” Rumplestiltskin mocked.

Leaning into her, Maleficent attempted to establish eye contact. “Zelena, are you alright?”

Effectively snapped back to the present, Zelena shook her head and stretched her compressed lips into a diminutive smile. “Yes, yes. Just fine. All’s fine.”

“Certainly sounds like it,” Regina muttered sarcastically.

The Evil Queen then proceeds to explain to Hansel and Gretel their task, concluding with the warning of not eating anything, no matter how tempted they are.

There were at least a dozen pairs of wide eyes and gaping mouths in reaction to the sight of the Blind Witch’s grand and impressive gingerbread house.

“At least you warned them,” Snow said weakly, grudgingly.

Regina sniffed imperiously, “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a monster.”

In response, Grumpy, Granny, and Red released snorts of contempt.

Ignoring Regina’s delusional belief, Emma stared at her mother as though she were insane. “Seriously?! They’re children, and children aren't exactly known for their aversion to sweets.”

“Aye, my Roland could never refuse,” Robin said fondly.

“She’s leading them to their slaughter!” Neal snarled as he glared at Regina.

Sniffing once more, Regina drawled, “You act like I gave them no choice.”

“Well, when you’re dangling their father over their head—”

Interrupting him, Macintosh said, “We don’t know if the Evil Queen did anything to the children’s father.”

August scoffed, and his eyes were alight with dark humor. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you actually believe that. There’s no way the Evil Queen wasn’t responsible for Hansel and Gretel’s current circumstances. Mark my words; she had a hand in their father’s disappearance.”

“Hear, hear!” Grumpy cheered, lifting a pewter tankard into the air and subsequently shooting it down his throat in one messy chug, the foam seeping into his beard and drops of the golden liquid raining down the corner of his lips.

Maleficent wrinkled her nose at the dwarf. “Lovely.”

“I feel like I’m back in a tavern,” Killian huffed in amusement before taking a careful sip of his rum.

Back in Storybrooke, Henry visits Emma in the Sheriff Department and is asking about Ava and Nicholas’s father.

“Such a sweet boy,” Nova sighed happily.

Jefferson snorted, “Makes you wonder where young Henry got that trait from, eh; because he certainly didn’t learn it from her majesty.”

An angry, venomous hiss emanated from Regina, directed at the mischievous portal-jumper.

“Truer words were never spoken, my friend,” Kristoff laughed jovially.

“Glad you can all bond over your dislike of me,” Regina sneered, arms crossed against her chest in pure indignation.

Grumpy cleared his throat pointedly. “Hate.”

“What’s that?”

“Our hate of you. Dislike is too tame,” Grumpy sneered at Regina.

“You’re going to make me cry,” she deadpanned, a disdainful curl to her upper lip.

Red breathed out a laugh. “That’d be the day.”

After Henry explains that nobody could leave Storybrooke, he inquires over his father.

Neal was jolted upright by the non sequitur. His intense eye intently devoured the screen, most particularly his son’s face, and he clasped his hands together tightly, incredibly nervous of what his reaction would be to the (frankly) horrifying tale Emma would no doubt be sharing.

‘It’s what I deserve,” he thought plaintively. ‘There’s no excuse for what I did to Emma…’

Funnily enough, Neal wasn’t the only individual interested in the current topic. Regina had leaned forward, wanting to know the other person her son shared DNA with; David and Snow were undeniably curious of the type of man that managed to capture their princess’s attention and who aided in the creation of their wonderful, kind, brave, and smart grandson; and August was holding back a wince, determinedly refusing to look at Emma or Neal.

For her part, Emma donned a grimace, empathetic to the untenable situation Henry put her future-self in; for if she could, she’d gladly avoid the topic of Neal for the rest of Henry’s life.

“I’d like to know about the lad’s father as well,” Killian grunted as he eyed the nasty-looking vial of green sludge Troll insisted he take (the sentient trolley having been hovering around him and bumping against his legs repeatedly until Tinker Bell snatched the bottle of rum from him and shoved the hangover potion into his hand instead – “drink it now, Hook, or so help me—” to which he responded with a hasty, “Alright, alright then, keep your wings furled, would you!”) and grudgingly imbibed it in a massive gulp. “Tastes like swill.”

Tinker Bell turned her nose up at him, “Serves you right for drinking yourself silly.”

And despite his deep-seated issues with Killian, Neal couldn’t help but find amusement in Tinker Bell’s scolding of the notorious Captain Hook. Although, admittedly, he found their relationship to be a strange phenomenon; throughout all those centuries in Neverland, he never, not once, observed the two interact with one another while he hid from everyone and plotted his escape, and thus, he never believed the green fairy could find anything remotely close to a friendship with the selfish, vengeance-driven villain. It was mind-boggling…

Emma begins an elaborate story about Henry’s father, a fireman in training and a hero who died saving a family from a burning building.

Numb, all Neal could do was open and close his mouth, rendered speechless by the blatant lie. “What the hell, Emma!” he finally managed to shout amidst all the tearful condolences that inundated the room.

August winced and created a bit more distance between himself and Neal.

Cringing, Emma forced her expression into one of stubborn righteousness, “What?”

“You know what!” he hissed. “How could you?!”

“Well, what exactly should I have told him, huh, Neal? That his father was a … who … me … in …”

Eyebrow cocked, Rumplestiltskin drawled, “That didn’t make a lick of sense.”

Fortunately, Rumplestiltskin, Belle, Maleficent, and August were the only ones to overhear and get drawn into the confounding argument between Emma Swan and Neal Cassidy as everyone else were commenting on poor Emma’s horrible luck when it came to love, and of how lucky Henry was to have such a hero for a father – Regina appeared smug for some reason while Killian was drowning in jealousy.

“I don’t want to argue about this, Neal,” Emma huffed.

Gritting his teeth and clenching a fist, Neal bit back a curse and instead, snapped, “Fine. But we will be discussing this later.”

“Can’t wait!” Emma snarked, falling back on her anger as a defense mechanism.

Upon the conclusion of her tale, Henry asks if she has anything belonging to his father’s, which prompts Emma to have an epiphany and rush back to Mary Margaret's apartment. She shows Ava and Nicholas her blanket.

“Oh!” Snow gasped, blinking back tears.

David held her tight to his side and propped his chin on her head.

“It’s my baby blanket, something I’ve held onto my whole life. It’s the only thing that I have from my parents. I’ve spent a lot of time with a lot of kids in your situation. And all of them, all of us, we hold onto stuff. I want to find your father, but I need your help. Is there anything of his you’ve held onto?”

“That’s brilliant!” Neal crowed, forgetting his anger at Emma’s ingenuity.

Regina, on the other hand, thought differently. “I made sure that all they had was the clothes on their back, Miss Swan. You’re wasting your time.”

Anna stared at her in disbelief. “And just when I think you couldn’t get any worse, you go ahead and say things like that. Tell me, do you actually hear yourself when you speak?”

“You don’t talk to me,” Regina sneered, staring at Anna as though she were a rather irritating piece of gum stuck to the top-piece of her heel.

Gretel takes out a compass and gives it to Emma.

“I say it’s a good thing Gretel had that compass around her neck when the Dark Curse took her to Storybrooke,” Rumplestiltskin smirked.

Glaring at the offending compass, Regina demanded, “How is that possible? That blasted compass should have been relocated to your pawnshop!”

“Funny how things happen, hmm,” Rumplestiltskin said with a heavy dose of mystery.

Her glare turned into a glower as she met her mentor’s gaze. “What are you blathering on about this time?”

“The compass is imbued with magic of its own – magic born of loyalty and love; the pure, unadulterated love between a parent and their child,” Rumplestiltskin explained in a raspy, modulated tone. “The compass was a token of their father’s love, a token of home; ‘tis a magic so light it combated the darker nature of your curse. And so, it remained around the neck of Gretel, as opposed to gathering dust in my shop.”

David couldn’t help but stare at Rumplestiltskin in awe, but it was Snow who translated his thoughts into words. “How do you know all this stuff?” she asked.

“Knowledge accrued throughout the years,” Rumplestiltskin hummed offhandedly.

Regina sneered. “Well, it definitely wasn’t any knowledge you imparted me with.”

Slowly transitioning back into his beast-like form, he trilled, “Oh, yes, I did!”

“You always were a terrible student, Regina darling,” Maleficent laughed coldly. “You cannot blame Rumple for your misgivings.”

Regina flushed a dark red as she glared between her mentor and her old friend.

Leaning into Graham, Red chuckled into his ear, “I love it when those two gang up against her, it’s music to my ears and classic entertainment.”

The tips of Graham’s ears turned pink at Red’s close proximity, overly sensitive to every patch of skin in contact with hers and for one wild moment, Graham yearned to close his arms around her curvaceous form until she sat flush against his chest, and to bury his face in the crook of her neck.

In the Enchanted Forest, Hansel and Gretel are climbing inside the gingerbread house through a window. Hansel attempts to taste some cream from the wall, but Gretel stops him.

“You see!” Emma snarled, glaring daggers at Regina.

But she merely shrugged, wholly unconcerned. “I warned the little brat. It’s not my fault he possesses absolutely no self-control.”

“Luckily, his sister does,” Maleficent pointed out.

The Blind Witch is asleep on a chair near the fireplace.

“What?!” Zelena shrieked, finally having had enough.

Startled by her exclamation, those around her echoed, “What?”, as they turned to stare at her – some in concern and some in confusion.

“What is it now?” Tiger Lily demanded in annoyance.

“This makes no sense!” Zelena continued to shriek.

Rumplestiltskin, however, sensed there was something amiss with the arrogant witch, for she would never willingly (or loudly) acknowledge her lack of comprehension, especially with the subject of her envy (Regina) in close proximity. “What is it?” he inquired in a nicer tone than Tiger Lily. He ensured to adopt a politely puzzled expression as his eyes connected with Zelena’s.

Her surmounting confusion eviscerated any and all feelings of hostility toward Rumplestiltskin; in fact, Zelena stared at him with a strange sort of desperation, her eyes beseeching his for some form of explanation to the current conundrum that had been nagging her since the introduction of Hansel and Gretel.

“The Blind Witch,” Zelena prefaced, “Hansel, Gretel, their father the woodcutter. None of this is right.”

An eyebrow jumped to clash against his hairline… This was not what Rumplestiltskin was expecting.

Head cocked, August asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve met those urchins before, as well as their father; and I’ve had a nasty confrontation with the blind hag. All of them shared no resemblance at all with those we are watching,” Zelena explained sharply.

Regina scoffed, “Ridiculous. What on earth are you blathering on about?!”

In a kinder tone, Maleficent insisted, “You must be mistaken.”

“I am not. I ran into Hansel and Gretel in the Blind Witch’s disgusting home. …” she grasped her throat as the rest of the words couldn’t come out. Stomping her feet angrily while glaring at the ceiling, Zelena finally managed to spit out, “… in Oz!”

Blue leaned forward, intrigued, “In Oz you say…”

“Yes,” she shrieked. “Those urchins, their father and that hag all lived in Oz.”

Any and all signs of disbelief or mockery were wiped from Regina’s haughty expression as she started to blink in confusion. “Impossible. Those four you’ve mentioned live in the Enchanted Forest, which you can plainly see for yourself,” as she spoke, Regina hurled a hand toward the screen to further emphasize her point.

“And I’ve interacted with counterparts of each one of them in Oz,” Zelena argued insistently, punctuating the last words with adamant finality.

“Simply absurd!” Regina huffed.

In clear disagreement, Blue shook her head, “Not really.”

Simultaneously, Rumplestiltskin said, “It is within the realm of possibility.”

The blue fairy and the Dark One stared at each other, surprised. What was more surprising, however, was Rumplestiltskin flourishing his arm grandly for her to continue speaking – the first act of politeness bestowed upon them by their most hated foe rendering the blue fairy speechless for quite a long moment.

“Yes, well,” Blue finally managed to unstick her tongue from the roof her mouth, her wizened eyes fixated on both, Regina and Zelena, “there have been many rumors of parallel universes—”

Emma interjected with a rude, cynical snort, “Seriously? That’s sci-fi, comic book stuff. Like Earth 2 and all that jazz. Fairy tales being real is one thing, parallel earths? Give me a break!”

Flustered by, not only Emma’s interruption, but her profound disbelief, Blue completely lost her train of thought. On the other hand, Nova passionately insisted, “It’s true!”

Looking pained at having to voice his agreement with the gnats, Rumplestiltskin inclined his head, “That it is.”

“You’re bullshitting me,” Emma groused out.

“Emma!” Snow gasped, dismayed, her hand pressed to her chest, and her expression completely appalled. “Language!”

Neal, however, was flushed with excitement, “That’s so cool!”

“Yes,” Rumplestiltskin hummed, intense eyes boring into the disbelieving greens of Emma’s. “It hasn’t been proven, admittedly. But perhaps our dear Zelena stumbled upon something remarkable after all.” His gaze swiveled to meet the aforementioned witch, “You must have exerted a massive amount of power to cross between worlds – a parallel version of your Oz, that is. Rage, I presume?” he asked in a voice of affected innocence.

A deep frown etched itself into Zelena’s forehead as she scowled, “How’d you know?”

“It appears to be the sole emotion you’re capable of manifesting since our last confrontation.” An air of certainty colored Rumplestiltskin’s voice as he peered at the green witch with boredom.

She flushed red at the insinuation. “I’m not always in a rage!” Zelena bellowed.

More than one pair of eyebrows lifted in response to Zelena’s reaction.

“Dear, you are in one right now,” Maleficent tittered.

Speaking up, August addressed the furious witch, “You could choose to concentrate on the compliment, you know.” When Zelena snapped her neck around to throw him a frown, he clarified, “The Dark One mentioned you exhibited enough power to breach between worlds. That’s impressive.”

Zelena beamed, her eyes adopting a starry-like quality not at the individual whose approval and awe she so desperately yearned for, but for the handsome stranger who pointed it out to her.

Unlike August, Neal concentrated on a different angle, “Yeah, impressive, until we’re on the receiving end of her rage.”

Grumpy nodded in fervent agreement, “She’s a villain. It’s what they do.”

“Oh shut it you irksome leprechaun,” Zelena smirked tauntingly. The twinkling light in her eyes sharpened as she turned her glare to Rumplestiltskin, “So, what you’re saying, is that I had a run-in with the urchins’ and the hag’s counterparts from a parallel world.”

Rumplestiltskin inclined his head, “Precisely.”

“You can use their names,” Aurora snapped. “It’s Hansel and Gretel. Not so hard.”

“Yes, but it would imply that I care about them. Which I don’t,” Zelena sneered.

Leaning into August, Neal asked, “Why exactly did you try to cheer her up?”

Similarly bewildered by his momentary act of kindness (or insanity), August emphatically shrugged his shoulders, “Beats me.”

“Moving on!” Tiger Lily announced in a huff. “Unless there’s more you’d like to say…” she glared at the green-hued witch.

Zelena sniffed imperiously before she raised her chin, not deeming her with a response.

They notice the satchel hanging near her sleeping form and Gretel cautiously makes her way over. Just as she’s passing the witch, Hansel grabs a cupcake; and once Gretel grabs the satchel, Hansel takes a bite.

“No!” permeated the room from all directions.

Regina, who had been leaning forward in anticipation, groaned, “What an idiot!” She couldn’t believe she actually wanted to adopt the moronic boy.

“Hate to say it, but I’m with the Evil Queen,” Grumpy announced. Upon receiving dozens of looks of anger, he shrugged, “What? He was told not to eat anything, and his sister already stopped him once. Kid’s either got a death wish, or he ain’t too bright.”

“He’s only a child,” Snow rolled her eyes. “They’re allowed to make mistakes.”

“Yeah, well, he made quite a blunder,” Granny harrumphed. “Too bad his sister’s going to have to pay for that stupidity. Now she seems like a bright girl. Brave, too.”

Abigail stared at Granny and Grumpy in a sort of alarmed disbelief. “I think all this time spent stuck in this room with the Evil Queen has addled your minds. You’re starting to understand her.”

“I beg your pardon!” Granny snapped.

At the same time, Grumpy growled, “You take that back!”

While Regina glared thunderously at Abigail at her insinuation.

Gretel attempts to stop her brother, but the moment he took the first bite, the Blind Witch’s eyes snapped open and she traps them inside with her magic. “I smell dinner,” she crows.

With his fist, Neal beat his chest twice, his expression pale and nauseated, “Oh, God. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s cannibalism.”

“It’s an acquired taste,” Rumplestiltskin giggled, prompting more than one look of horror to be hurled his way.

Belle rolled her eyes fondly, “He’s not talking about himself. Obviously.”

“Yes, obviously,” Rumplestiltskin chirped.

Relief supplanted horror as one by one, everyone turned back to the screen.

Amused despite herself, Emma shook her head at Rumplestiltskin’s antics and said, “Bright side, we know Hansel and Gretel survive this encounter, otherwise they wouldn’t be in Storybrooke.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Elsa agreed. “It was just a nasty shock.”

With a fiery glare at Regina, Merida snapped, “No children should have to survive that!”

“Ugh, go cry to your bodyguard and spare me, little girl,” Regina sniped back.

Affronted, Macintosh growled, “I am not her bodyguard!”

Simultaneously, Merida shouted, “I am not a little girl!”

“And she’s a spoiled princess,” Macintosh continued superciliously.

“And he’s a stuffy, boorish Lord,” Merida growled at the same time.

Suddenly taking in what the other implied about each other, Merida and Macintosh furiously whipped around to glare at each other, “Hey!”

A secretive smile playing on her lips, Snow leaned over her husband to confide in Red, “Now those two? Magical. They’d make a great couple.”

“I know, right?!” Red’s eyes were wide with exuberance, and she gleefully shoved herself forward, eliminating any and all personal space between herself and David to be closer to Snow. “The attraction is definitely there, despite their obstinate refusal to admit it. And don’t even get me started on the sexual tension! This is all simply suppressed lust and passion disguised as hate and rage.”

“I know!” Snow giggled, the sound buried by the racket Merida and Macintosh were making as they hurled insults at one another.

David choked back a groan. He stared at his wife and her best friend, and in his best chastising voice, said, “Snow… Red… Don’t.”

“Oh, come on, David, you see it, too. Don’t you?” Snow cajoled, eyes alight with excitement at the next challenge.

Emma shook her head, “I don’t want to know.”

Grinning, Graham said, “No, you don’t.” Unlike David, Graham found himself charmed by Red’s reaction.

Thud, thud, thud!

“Are you done?” Rumplestiltskin inquired after he thumped his cane against the floor. Despite the softness of his voice, he nevertheless succeeded to capture the undivided attention of everyone, especially the bickering DunBrochans.

The scene transitions to Storybrooke. Emma enters Mr. Gold’s pawnshop.

“Oh, no. Emma why, why are you there?” David groaned into his palm.

Huffing, Emma demanded, “Are you going to moan and groan every time I’m in the same room as him?”

“No,” David grumbled.

Snow chuckled, “Yes, he is.”

“Wonderful,” Emma voiced her sarcasm.

“Emma, how lovely to see you,” Mr. Gold puts down the lamp he was cleaning.

As Mr. Gold (or rather, Rumplestiltskin – because dammit, Emma now knew he was awake!) welcomed her future-self into his pawnshop, Emma couldn’t help but stare pensively between the Rumplestiltskin onscreen and the one off-screen, wondering at the differences and similarities between them. As an afterthought, Emma started to ponder how Rumplestiltskin managed to break the curse on himself, only to come up empty.

‘I guess in time, everything will be revealed.’ Her eye then caught Neal’s face, who was staring intently at the screen, and she winced, ‘Including the truth about Henry’s real father.’ From her peripheral, she side-glanced Killian, and shame engulfed her, ‘And why am I thinking about his reaction instead of my parents’?!’

Emma reveals the nature of her visit: information on the compass and its previous owner.

“Ah, that was very resourceful of you, Emma,” Graham complimented her with an amicable smile.

Regina thought otherwise. “More like a waste of everyone’s time.”

“Oh, I’m certain my cursed-self doesn’t mind the interruption from the doldrums,” Rumplestiltskin smirked.

Emma’s gaze narrowed, “I’m sure he doesn’t.”

“Yes, that’s what I said, Miss Swan,” Rumplestiltskin met her stare challengingly; he appeared to be enjoying himself greatly.

David frowned, yet again bothered by the growing closeness between his daughter and the Dark One. “Are we missing something here?” he asked impatiently.

“No,” they intoned, not missing a single beat or releasing eye contact with each other.

Mr. Gold compliments the piece and admits it was bought from his shop.

“That’s a lie,” Regina sneered.

“Not completely,” Rumplestiltskin retorted.

Regina was unamused. “What lie are you spinning this time, Rumplestiltskin!?”

Perfecting an insouciant pose, Rumplestiltskin curtly said, “Not a lie. More of an… omission.”

The cogs in Emma’s brain started to work furiously, whirring around noiselessly as she attempted to make sense of the silver-tongued man’s skillful evasiveness – Emma felt like, with experience and prolonged proximity to the man, she was slowly beginning to understand him and his actions, most particularly his unique way of thinking. “So, if the compass was purchased from you, but not your pawnshop, then… you originally gave it to woodcutter,” she hesitantly worked out.

“Correct,” Rumplestiltskin donned a smirk as he stared at the savior in pride. He backtracked, “Naturally, Mr. Gold would recognize the piece from his shop, of course.”

Sarcastically, Emma echoed, “Of course.”

“Yes,” his eyes gleamed with amusement, secretly enjoying the battle of wits between him and Emma, “originally, however, it was I who gave the woodcutter that compass.”

“You?” David studied him with increasing suspicion.

Phillip, on the other hand, had a different question, “Why?”

Grandly, Rumplestiltskin stated, “Why, because the woodcutter asked.”

“Asked?” Frederick repeated.

Pretending to rub his ear, Rumplestiltskin wryly said, “There appears to be an echo in this room.”

“Oh, Rumple,” Belle tsked and she playfully rubbed her elbow into his side. “Tell us.”

After taking a deep inhale and a calm exhale, Rumplestiltskin smiled affectionately at Belle, “Oh, very well.” His eyes then flickered to meet the eyes of everyone else in the room, “Mind you, it’s not very interesting. Simply put, after the woodcutter’s wife died, he called for me, asked for a way he would never be separated from his children. The death of his wife cut him deeply, you see. And so, I spelled the compass so that if he were to ever be separated from his children, with that compass in hand, they would always find each other.”

His voice loaded with snark, Killian pointed out, “Didn’t work out so well for them, did it.”

Rumplestiltskin’s eyes flashed. “Yes, well, her majesty’s intrusions are rarely ever expected.”

Regina gave him a dirty look.

“The compass broke,” Mulan reminded everyone, her shrewd eyes alight with realization, “when the children ran into the Evil Queen’s knights.”

Her observation prompted another incline of his head. “Yes,” Rumplestiltskin said. “A compass cannot point north if broken.”

“Basically, if Hansel and Gretel hadn't run into Regina, they’d have easily been able to locate their father with the compass,” Snow summarized.

Regina snorted. “Actually, if the girl wasn’t so clumsy, the compass would be whole. So it’s technically not my fault.”

Twin snorts of amusement erupted from Rumplestiltskin and Maleficent, and the latter dryly said, “I somehow doubt that, Regina. You certainly do have a… knack for intervening and causing distress for others.”

Snarling like a rabid dog, Regina turned her glare onto her only friend, “You say that as though you’re exempt from ruining lives.”

“Only those who have wronged me,” Maleficent retorted matter-of-factly. “And not for the pleasure of it, I assure you.”

Straightening her posture, Aurora met Maleficent’s response with belligerence. “And how, exactly, have I wronged you? Or my parents?”

Staring down the princess, the sorceress coldly revealed, “You? Why, for being born, of course.” Gasps and alarmed outcries resonated in the room at her disclosure, but Maleficent carelessly and ruthlessly spoke over them, “As for your parents, that’s not for you to know.”

“How can I understand if you refuse to elaborate,” Aurora argued back, dropping her timid disposition in favor of surprising fervor.

Maleficent acknowledged Aurora with an appraising look before she turned away, deeming their discussion to be over.

He roots through his extensive collection and takes out a white card, but…

“Of course, you require a price,” Neal spat out scornfully.

David glared at Rumplestiltskin. “Haven’t you asked enough of Emma? She already owes you a favor, what more do you want?!” he demanded.

“Me? Nothing,” Rumplestiltskin prevaricated. “Mr. Gold, however…” he trailed off suggestively.

Emma snorted, “Right.”

“What exactly is it that amuses you, Miss Swan?” Regina sneered.

“Nothing that concerns you, Madam Mayor,” Emma countered, choosing to utilize one of Rumplestiltskin’s favorite lines when dealing with certain busybodies (herself, included).

Rumplestiltskin’s eyes twinkled. “Catching on, are you.”

“Emma, please, for the sake of my peace of mind, stop being so friendly with the Dark One!” David groaned again into his interlocked palms.

Rolling her eyes, Emma snapped, “You realize how ridiculous you’re being right?”

“He’s the Dark  One,” Grumpy insisted.

“Yes. And you’re a dwarf called Grumpy. What’s your point?” Emma retorted smartly.

Maleficent’s eyes gleamed with humor, “Oh, I like you. You’re nothing like your parents.” At Emma’s reaction, her expression torn between confusion and affront, she clarified, “It’s a compliment, trust me. They’ve always had an unhealthy addiction to titles such as heroes and villains; almost as though it’s their gospel and they demand everyone to follow it to the letter.” She glared at Snow and David coldly, daring them to argue.

Snow bit her lip hard and determinedly looked the other way.

“What’s your price?” Emma asks.

Mr. Gold smiles. “Forgiveness.”

“That’s it?” David gasped, staring at Rumplestiltskin in disbelief.

And he wasn’t the only one: Neal was stumped, Snow was slightly ashamed (for she, like David, believed in the worst of him), and Regina looked absolutely furious.

Killian didn’t dare let his guard down. “What’s your angle, Crocodile?!”

“Yes, because if I had one, you’d certainly be the first I’d tell,” Rumplestiltskin said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Grumpy couldn’t help it: he guffawed. When those closest to him stared, he shrugged. “What? It was funny,” he defended himself.

“How about tolerance?” Emma compromises. Mr. Gold agrees and reveals a name: Michael Tillman.

“You agreed?” Neal stared incredulously at his father. “Seriously. Just like that?”

“Tolerance is an exceptional compromise,” Rumplestiltskin seemed unperturbed. “And it is a step closer to forgiveness. Although,” here he looked at Emma with a twinkle in his brown eyes, “I do not understand why Mr. Gold is in need of such a thing. He did help you become sheriff, after all, and all without losing your morals.”

Emma glared. “You manipulated me into winning that position through immoral means. And don’t forget the fire.”

“If you ask me, the fire was the best part,” Grumpy harrumphed.

“Yes. The Evil Queen would've been no more and we’d have been free from the curse,” Granny revealed emphatically.

Aghast, Snow cried out, “Granny! Grumpy!”

Once Emma leaves, the shot zooms in on the card in Mr. Gold’s hand: it’s blank.

“What?!”

“How?”

“I don’t understand,” Kristoff complained, squinting from the screen to Rumplestiltskin.

A crick echoed in the room as Regina turned around so sharply, her neck strained at the movement. “You remember!?” she roared her fury, pink spots peppering her cheeks and angry lines crowding her forehead. Furthermore, if one looked close enough, a pulse could be detected throbbing angrily on her temple.

Emma shook her head as though to say, it’s about damn time!

Funnily enough, Zelena donned an identical expression. Maleficent only seemed amused, like she knew Rumplestiltskin was slippery enough to escape detection even when against the most obvious.

And just as the sorceress thought…

“Come now, your majesty,” Rumplestiltskin released a long-suffering sigh. “You are the one who shaped Mr. Gold to be almost identical to me. Therefore, you know how good I am with names and that showmanship is part of my many traits.”

Mulling it over, Regina slowly articulated, as though tasting his words against her tongue to sense if they fit. “That is true…”

“Seriously…” Emma whispered to herself, staring at Rumplestiltskin with wide eyes.

Zelena cackled. “Oh, you’re a smart one, Regina. Nothing gets past you, huh?” In this moment, she chose to keep Rumplestiltskin’s secret rather than enlighten her daft half-sister. Let the fool realize her inanity and idiocy once the truth came out. ‘The answer is right there in front of her face, yet she still refuses to believe in anything but her own arrogance. I do not know how Cora chose her over me!’

Unlike Regina, Red harbored some doubt, “I don’t know. Seems fishy.”

Eyes narrowed at her True Love, Belle agreed, “Very fishy. Is there something you’d like to share with me, Rumple?”

“…” Rumplestiltskin grinned. “Our host would rather I didn’t, my love.”

Belle harrumphed, eyes squinting suspiciously.

All Emma could do, was stare, mouth agape, totally gobsmacked, as everyone (except for Red, Belle, and Killian, the three of whom took turns giving him suspicious looks) accepted the ridiculous story Rumplestiltskin fed them. “Unbelievable.” How can they not see it?

The next scene shows Emma at an auto shop talking to Michael Tillman.

“That’s the woodcutter!” Snow breathed out in relief. “Thank goodness, he’s alright.”

Belle nodded in rapid agreement. “I, too, believed the worst.”

“He wasn’t killed,” Robin pointed out, his expression grim, “but that doesn’t eliminate the possibility that he abandoned his children.”

Geppetto stared in horror. “Oh, no, no, I doubt that, my friend. If that were to be the case, the woodcutter would have never bargained with the Dark One for an enchantment to always find his children.”

“Speaking of which, you never told us the price of that compass,” David said.

“That’s because you never asked,” Rumplestiltskin drawled. His hand instantly shot off, cutting him or anyone else from interjecting with an inquiry, “And even if you did, I wouldn’t tell. After all, discretion has always been a part of my services. You wouldn’t like me to announce my dealings and the prices you paid to all and sundry, now, would you?”

His gaze roved past particular individuals in the room that had dealings with him, all of whom shivered in discomfort and shifted in their seats, resolutely avoiding the intensity and the knowingness of his gaze.

Sneering viciously, Regina spat out, “Fat lot of good your discretion did for me. Everyone here knows about our last deal.”

“Yes, only because of our host. Not me,” Rumplestiltskin smiled placidly.

“Hold on,” August looked askance at Graham, “didn’t you say you knew everyone in Storybrooke? How come you didn’t recognize Michael Tillman as the woodcutter?”

Stumped, Graham wordlessly shook his head as he pondered. Finally, he said, “I don’t know. It’s like the information is blocked; almost like I do not have access to it. It’s similar to Maleficent.” He glanced quickly at the forbidding sorceress and away, “She’s apparently a resident of Storybrooke, and yet in my mind, she doesn’t exist.”

Rumplestiltskin provided an answer with dry distaste, “Another interference courtesy of our, ah, mysterious host.”

Growling, Grumpy began, “I don’t get him—”

“Could be a ‘her’!” Red interjected angrily.

Once again, Rumplestiltskin imparted them with knowledge, “Our host is male.”

“Splendid. Now can we please return to these viewings,” Tiger Lily sighed wearily. “At this rate, we’ll never finish.”

Grumbling to himself, Killian’s words could only be heard by Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell: “I don’t understand why she’s in such a rush to return to that hellish island.”

“I heard that!” Tiger Lily snapped.

“Good for you,” Killian sneered.

Tinker Bell stared at her seatmate in surprise, “What’s wrong with you?”

He responded with an unintelligible grunt.

Michael is in a state of disbelief but he is finally convinced that he has twin children. Unfortunately, he refuses to take them in, claiming he can barely take care of his garage, let alone two children.

“And the curse strikes again,” Rumplestiltskin attempted to make himself heard over Regina’s evil cackling.

Guinevere shook her head. “The woodcutter was so desperate that he never be separated from his children. Yet he is cursed to willingly abandon them after discovering their existence. You are a cruel, cruel woman,” she glowered at Regina.

“What else is new,” Regina drawled, uncaringly.

“I don’t have my kid, because I don’t have a choice,” Emma says, trying to convince Michael to change his mind.

Neal squirmed guiltily and avoided looking at Emma’s general vicinity. Similarly, August, too, was plagued by guilt. And shame.

If they hadn't interfered and Emma hadn't gone to jail, the question is, would she have chosen to raise Henry? Or would she have still given him up for adoption. Neal needed to know.

“I wish you raised your son,” Snow sighed sadly.

Regina stared at Snow in utter horror, “Cut your tongue!”

Ignoring Regina’s interruption as well as her dramatics, Emma simply said, “I couldn’t.”

Despite Emma’s words, Michael refuses, “I’m really sorry, I am. I don’t know anything about being a dad. If it’s a good home you’re looking for, it’s not with me.”

“It’s exactly with you!” Red shouted at the screen, fist raised in the air.

Graham shook his head as he sadly watched the woodcutter’s cursed persona walk away from Emma’s future-self, “Ah, the irony.”

Glaring daggers at Regina, Granny snarled, “You wretched woman!”

“Pass a handkerchief so I can wipe my tears,” Regina deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

Turning to her daughter, Snow bestowed her with a large smile. “Don’t you worry, Emma, I have the utmost faith in you. You’ll get Michael to reconsider, I know you will.”

“Yes, if anyone can remind the woodcutter of his innate fatherhood, it is the savior,” Rumplestiltskin agreed.

David frowned at Rumplestiltskin like he always did whenever he portrayed compassion or kindness or rather a complete lack of villainous behavior, like he was a puzzle he would never be able to solve, or that Rumplestiltskin was lulling him into a sense of laxity before he pounced upon reaching complacency.

The scene changes: Emma calls Mary Margaret and asks her to come out. The two women are on the street by her apartment, discussing Ava and Nicholas’s situation. Mary Margaret insists on telling them the truth about their father, claiming it is cathartic.

“Hey, look, you told Henry the truth that his father is dead and he’s handling it great,” Mary Margaret says.

“I didn’t tell him the truth,” Emma admits.

Echoing her cursed-self, a confused Snow gasped, “What?”

“What?” Regina repeated incredulously.

Neal subtly squirmed once more in his seat. Sharing his discomfort, but for different reasons, Emma stubbornly kept her eyes on the screen, ignoring her mother and the soulless woman who adopted her son.

“So the father is alive,” Regina spat the words out like they were too painful to say out loud, letting everyone know the true reason behind her displeasure – she’d prefer Henry’s father to be dead so he couldn’t contest the adoption and intrude on her life with Henry like Emma was currently doing.

“Jeez, lady. Can you sound any less disappointed,” Neal sneered. He was so furious with the entire situation he had to sit on his hands to keep them from clenching and unclenching.

“Henry’s father was no hero and trust me, he does not need to know the real story,” Emma says bluntly before changing the subject.

“Wherever you hide them, Miss Swan, I assure you, I will find them,” Regina snapped, glaring daggers at the blonde. “Why don’t you just concentrate on doing the job you were so desperate for, because I promise you, if you continue down this path, you’ll lose it.”

Emma scoffed, “I’d like to see you try and take it from me, Madam Mayor.”

“Exactly. I’m still mayor. And the people’s vote or not, I do have the power to make your life very miserable,” Regina threatened.

For the first time, Regina’s threats towards their daughter were ignored as David and Snow could only fixate on one thing in particular.

“I’ll kill him,” David snarled. He turned to Emma, “Why were you with such a despicable man?!”

Clearing her throat, Belle attempted to defend Emma, “Usually, when a woman is with a despicable man, their true colors aren't shown until later in the relationship.”

“Speaking from experience?” Anna said in an ugly voice as she tossed a sneer at Rumplestiltskin.

Frowning at her friend, Belle emphatically denied it. “Of course not, Anna.”

After performing a couple of neck circles and shrugging her shoulders to relieve the stress in her neck and shoulders, Emma exhaled loudly. “Look, he’s not a bad person. Alright? I don’t want to talk about it. All I’m gonna say is this: while he did wrong me, he’d make an excellent father to Henry.”

Jealousy gnawed at Killian. Initially, when Emma revealed he was a hero, he was torn between jealousy that the man was such an upstanding person, and glee that he was permanently out of the picture. (Not that he had any right to feel such emotions, especially since he loved Milah, and only Milah!) Now, however, with the truth disclosed, there could be competition – the man could reenter Emma’s life – not that Killian cared!

‘Oh, who am I kidding? I can lie to everyone except myself… The bonnie lass intrigues me,’ Killian groaned inwardly.

 Adamant in his initial line of thought, David stubbornly said, “I’m still going to kill him.”

“Great. Something to look forward to,” Neal muttered under his breath, much to August’s amusement.

Suddenly, Regina interrupts them, insisting that Emma does her job and get the children to Boston “tonight.”

“Never have I seen somebody in such a rush to send children to the slaughter,” Robin murmured darkly, loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room.

Many glares pierced Regina’s form.

Subtly masking her flinch at the thief’s accusation and the palpable disdain he held toward her, Regina impassively admired her burgundy nails and said, “If you want to get technical, it is Miss Swan, and not I, who is sending these children to their deaths.” At the furious gasps her words elicited, the side of her lips impishly tugged upward.

“I am not!” Emma snarled back, her green orbs glinting dangerously. “I, unlike you, am unaware of the curse and the dangers of crossing the town line. If I knew, I’d fight you every step of the way and keep those children safe from you and your schemes! So don’t you dare put their deaths on me, you evil bitch!”

“Hear, hear!” Grumpy hollered.

“The Evil Queen, ladies and gents,” Neal slowly clapped his hands together in a sarcastic manner, his dark stare never leaving her for even a second, “always so charitable with her blame.”

Scowling at the woman who kept her prisoner, Belle said, “It is time you take responsibility for your own actions, Regina.”

“Don’t go asking for a miracle, lass,” Killian scoffed, his entrancing eyes more focused on the bottle of rum sitting so temptingly on Troll’s upper tier than the fracas breaking out around him.

Even Zelena appeared peeved by Regina’s behavior. “For Oz’s sake, you irritating ninny—!”

Appalled, Regina spun in her seat so that she could better face her. “How dare you!”

“You’re the Evil Queen, are you not?” Zelena continued snippily, “emphasis on evil. Or aren't you!? If you are, then bask in it, revel in it, and stop with the frankly ridiculous excuses. Stop shifting blame and own up to your evilness!”

Silence reigned, all eyes fixated on Zelena.

Almost everyone was gobsmacked.

Rumplestiltskin giggled, genuinely amused.

“Well, I—” speechless, all Regina could do was blink and stare at the Wicked Witch who never ceased to profess her hatred for her, for whatever reason. “I do not shift blame!” she finally settled on.

And again, Rumplestiltskin released another of his trademark high-pitched giggle.

Maleficent groaned into her hand, “That’s what you got out of it?”

“You’re hopeless,” Zelena sneered. The more witless Regina appeared, the higher the insult Zelena felt on her own behalf, for Cora picked Regina over her. ‘What did she see in that brainless idiot?! Why her and not me?!’

“Honestly, I’d rather Regina take nothing from your tirade,” Snow shivered, her disbelieving gaze stabbing into Zelena. “Your thought process is…it’s terrifying.”

Sniffing haughtily, Zelena lifted her chin, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Clearing his throat, Rumplestiltskin delicately announced, “Let’s continue, shall we?”

“Please!” Tiger Lily huffed.

“Anything to put an end to those two’s conversation,” August murmured to Neal as he jutted his chin toward Regina and Zelena.

His voice a hiss, and barely distinguishable to anyone but August, Neal spoke into his ear, “I can’t believe that… that… that evil witch is raising my son!”

Distressed, his face shining with empathy and an unhealthy amount of guilt, August plaintively murmured an apology. “I’m sorry, Neal. Truly.”

“Yeah, I, I know,” he sighed tiredly.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, Hansel and Gretel are locked in a cage and the Blind Witch is preparing the oven.

“Oh God,” Emma groaned, staring at the scene in avid disgust.

Nose wrinkled, Maleficent, too, revealed her revulsion, “I never understood that hag. Eating children.” She emitted a noise of displeasure, “Why, she makes us witches look bad.”

Scoffing, Phillip snapped, “Trust me, you don’t need that witch to make you lot look bad. You’ve done plenty to smear witches with the same brush, sorceress!”

“Bite me,” she sneered.

When Gretel pushed Hansel aside to take his place, Granny nodded her approval. “Like I said; brave girl.”

“With a troublemaking brother like him, she had to be,” Elsa sighed.

“Yes, it’s his fault they're in that mess,” Regina muttered as she stared at Hansel in distaste, wondering again, what it is she saw in the boy.

“He’s a child, Regina!” Snow insisted adamantly.

Simultaneously, Kristoff voiced his disbelief, “You’re the one who put them in that mess.”

“Seriously,” Neal huffed.

“That may be so,” Regina looked down her nose at Kristoff, staring at him as though he were a particularly loathsome bug, “but it’s the boy who reached for the sweets, and after I explicitly warned him against it.”

Shaking her head, Red promptly stopped anyone else from commenting, “Forget it, guys. Arguing with her is useless. She’s never going to get it.”

“I beg your pardon!”

“Enough.” That one word, suffused with the necessary amount of power and warning by Rumplestiltskin, had Red swallowing her retort. “Miss Lucas is correct. Arguing is pointless. Her majesty cannot be forced to understand. Let’s move on.”

Throwing him a dark glare, Regina started to snarl, “Why you—”

“I said, enough.”

“Gravy or butter? Which shall it be?” the Blind Witch croons as her hand lands on Gretel.

Stubbornly glaring at Rumplestiltskin, as though she were purposely testing his patience, Regina drawled, “Personally, I’d go for gravy.”

Grumpy spluttered, “What?”

“You’re a—you’re… cannibal!” Kristoff gasped, inanely pointing his finger at her in accusation.

Rolling her eyes, Regina snapped, “Oh, for the love of—! Do I look like I eat people!?”

Snorting meanly, Red said, “With you, one can never know.”

“Oh, shut it,” Regina huffed, failing terribly at hiding her affront at their, frankly, low opinion of her. She may be the Evil Witch, and she may be responsible for the Dark Curse and stealing all their happiness, and yes, she’d gleefully dance on all their graves without shedding a single tear… but she didn’t cook and eat children, and had absolutely no inclinations to human flesh! She shuddered at the mere thought. She was nothing like the disgusting Blind Witch. She had class, thank you very much!

As Gretel is mistaken for Hansel and pulled out of the cage, she pilfers the key from the Blind Witch and throws them to Hansel.

Cheers permeated the room.

“Impressive,” Killian mused. “The little lass is a courageous one.”

Sharing a look of dark amusement, Tinker Bell said, “The unlike her brother going unsaid, huh?”

“Aye!” he chuckled, feeling much lighter as he no longer felt the urge to drown himself in rum.

“For the love of all that is holy,” Snow facepalmed. “He’s just a child.”

Shrugging a shoulder, Grumpy couldn’t help but add, “Yes, but a stupid one.”

“Grumpy!” Snow, David and Belle scolded him.

Right on cue, almost like the universe (or was it their host?) agreed with them, Hansel tripped and made a noise as he reached out for the cane to use as a weapon, alerting the Blind Witch to his escape.

“You see!” Grumpy threw a hand at the screen. “I rest my case.”

Killian burst into laughter. “What impeccable timing. What a funny lad.”

“He’s a child,” Emma weakly echoed her mother’s insistent assertion.

Donning a severe expression, Blue started to impress on them the gravity of the situation. “Not all children are alike. Some are brave, some are not, as is the case with Gretel and her poor brother—”

Leaning in to whisper conspiratorially to Tinker Bell once more, Killian amended, “She means her blundering brother.”

A half-laugh, half-snort escaped Tinker Bell as she rushed to smother her laughter, digging her elbow in Killian’s side in a half-hearted attempt at admonishing him.

Eyes flickering intently between them, both of whom looked incredibly cozy around one another, Emma frowned, the green light of jealousy flickering on inside her and she rushed to look away, her glare searing a hole into the makeshift screen.

“Oh, Emma,” Neal murmured to himself, not having failed to notice what had grabbed her attention. ‘Why, out of all people, did Emma have to like him!?’

“If you are done,” Blue scowled at the pirate and the green fairy. When the two shot her identical looks of contrition (not that anyone bought their half-hearted attempt), Blue nodded superciliously and continued, “As I was saying… Hansel was terrified, and his fear added to his clumsiness. It is a perfectly normal human response, and one that shouldn’t be mocked.”

Snow sent her a supportive smile, “Hear, hear. Exactly, Blue. Thank you.”

Unconvinced, Grumpy grunted, “That doesn’t explain the boy eating the candy after being told twice not to.”

“Grumpy!” Snow squealed. “Oh, I give up.”

Taking pity on Snow’s plight (despite his amusement at Grumpy’s abrasive and callous comments), Rumplestiltskin elucidated, “It is terribly difficult for a child to refuse sweets. And while some, like Gretel, can ignore its lure, it is wholly against their baser nature. Which is why Agatha constructed her house from sweets: to lure her choice of sustenance into her grasp without working a sweat.”

“Agatha?” Maleficent, Regina, and Zelena intoned in identical shock.

Eyebrows arched, Rumplestiltskin affirmed, “Yes, Agatha. It is her name.”

“It is?” Regina was taken aback.

Transforming back into his beastly form, Rumplestiltskin wagged his fingers in a childish manner, “All these years you’ve been in conflict with the dear hag, and you never once considered she had a name? Nyahaaahh!”

“I thought it was Blind Witch,” Regina said, bemused.

“As did I,” Maleficent agreed sheepishly, albeit mildly amused.

“Who bloody cares,” Zelena groused, rolling her eyes aggressively.

Grumpy looked, well, grumpy. “Is there anything you don’t know?!”

“Not much,” Rumplestiltskin shrugged, turning back to his human form. “One in particular comes to mind, but I sense its revelation is near,” he sneered pointedly, his unwavering glare swiftly piercing Regina with an unholy amount of fury that prompted her to flinch and look away, her entire body shifting until she felt shielded enough from his glare of promised retribution.

And she felt it deep in her bones, Rumplestiltskin’s retribution would be delivered and it was going to be ugly. He was going to draw it out and make her wish for death.

She just knew it.

Suddenly, despite her earlier comments and her desire to return to her son and her cursed town that embodied her victory and her happy ending, she hoped this gathering never reached an end, as she was safer in the haven than outside, a clear target to the Dark One’s rage for stealing away his True Love and lying about her fate.

Displaying her preternatural knack for reading her mind, Maleficent bowed her head to whisper in her ear, her tone icy, “Dear me, what a messy bed you’ve made for yourself. Tsk, tsk.”

Hansel and Gretel manage to overpower the Blind Witch, shoving her into the oven and trapping her in. As she screams after their retreating backs, desperate that they let her out, the Evil Queen, who has been watching the incident through her Magic Mirror, hurls a fireball and sets the Blind Witch on fire, killing her.

Many couldn’t help but flinch at the Blind Witch’s wails of pain as she was burned alive, courtesy of the Evil Queen.

“Not that she didn’t deserve it, but you didn’t have to kill her,” Anna said, wincing at the screen. “She had already lost.”

“Yes, but it was oh-so satisfying for me, to put an end to an irksome foe that has had the upper hand on me for so long,” Regina drawled. “Good riddance, in my opinion.”

“Rest in peace, Agatha,” Rumplestiltskin smirked, lifting a glass of scotch in the air and taking a healthy drink.

Spluttering indignantly, Zelena slowly started to turn a noxious green as she swiveled around to face her half-sister, huffing and puffing loudly like a mad, deranged wolf.

“Is it just me, or is that shade of green her darkest yet?” August remarked casually.

Robin shrugged, “Can’t tell, really.”

“You killed her?!” Zelena suddenly shrieked, forcing everyone to shift away from her and wince at the deafening pitch.

“Careful, dearie. Your jealousy is showing just a tad,” Rumplestiltskin’s smirk spread to impish proportions.

Ignoring him, Zelena repeated in disbelief, “You killed her. You!”

“We’ve established that, you loon! What on earth is the matter with you?” Regina demanded, unable to remain completely aloof at the Wicked Witch’s disturbing behavior.

And surprising them all, Zelena threw her head back and opened her mouth wide to let out a particularly deafening wail, “It’s not right. It’s not fair! How could you … but I … really … I was … and you just … impossible!” she ended with a shriek.

Letting out a long sigh of exasperation, Arthur said, “Must be a lot of spoilers in that sentence. I could not understand a single thing.”

“Just be quiet, would you, Greenie,” Regina sneered, her nose wrinkled in heavy disdain.

But Zelena couldn’t. Getting to her feet, she stormed out of the room and down the hallway, not stopping until she reached a door that bore an uncanny resemblance to her childhood home. Incapable of responding to the nostalgia every nook and cranny generated as she was blinded by rage and envy, Zelena started to scream unintelligibly, words and curses flinging past her lips to form a miasma of utter incomprehension. She stomped her feet and tossed breakables left and right until slowly, a cathartic effect enveloped her and her shoulders drooped in relief, all negativity having dissipated.

It just wasn’t…fair. Zelena was the superior witch-sister, not Regina. All her life, ever since she discovered Regina’s existence, it was the amount of power she held, her skill at magic – augmented by Rumplestiltskin himself, who said as much – that kept her going. And yet, if that were true, then how come Regina managed to defeat her Blind Witch, while Zelena, wounded and defeated, was forced to flee for her life from hers.

It didn’t make sense!

“Ah, done with your temper tantrum already, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin asked, his tone deceptively innocent as Zelena, exhausted and confused, returned to the room and deposited herself in her abandoned seat.

Throwing him a half-hearted glare, Zelena stubbornly maintained her silence.

“No, seriously. What was all that about?” Regina insisted, her eyes squinting suspiciously.

Drained of energy, Zelena merely shrugged and turned away.

“I believe, darling, Zelena doesn’t want to talk about it,” Maleficent hummed.

Snarky all of a sudden, Regina snapped, “Now what gave you that idea.”

“Oh my God, give it a rest, will you?” Emma groaned.

Still in the Enchanted Forest, the scene shifts to the Evil Queen’s Palace, where Hansel and Gretel arrive with the satchel. From within it, the Evil Queen takes out an apple.

“An apple?!”

“Wait, what?”

Mouth agape and eyes wide, Merida stared at the screen in pure disbelief. “All this, for a wee apple?” She then flicked her eyes toward Regina, “Couldn’a just grown one like that honeycrisp tree af yars?”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Emma gaped at Regina.

“And here I thought I saw it all,” Neal murmured.

Grumpy shook his head, “That’s your weapon!?”

“We did all that, for an apple?” Hansel exclaims indignantly.

“You risked their lives…for an apple?” Elsa voiced her disbelief, in complete agreement with Hansel. “Whoever heard of risking one’s life for a fruit?”

Nodding rapidly, Anna waved a hand at Merida, “Merida’s right. If you wanted an apple so badly, you’ve already boasted at length about that apple tree you grew at Storybrooke.”

In response, Regina glared between Anna and Merida, her expression clearly portraying her less than generous thoughts of their brain capacity. “Clearly it’s not a normal apple, you morons!”

A lot of confusion suffused the room, except for those with cursed identities and the dwellers of the Land Without Magic, as the others couldn’t comprehend the importance of an apple, or why it garnered such fear and anger from Snow, David and their friends.

“So that’s where you got it from,” Snow spoke in a small voice, tucking herself deeply in David’s embrace, whose glare wouldn’t leave Regina’s smug form for even a second.

“Oh…” Grumpy’s face broke into dawning realization and he looked sadly at Snow. “That’s your weapon.”

Emma was quick to follow. “The poisoned apple the Evil Queen gave Snow White,” she sounded as though she were reciting the story from the fairy tale, “which sent her into a deep, cursed sleep, until Prince Charming rode along and awoke her with True Love’s Kiss.”

Sighing, Snow rubbed at her temple with the ridge of her palm, “Precisely.”

“I don’t understand,” Aurora frowned, for her single experience with the Sleeping Curse was delivered by a spinning wheel.

Amused, Maleficent turned to her old friend, “How in the heavens did the Blind Witch get that apple in her possession in the first place?”

When Regina – at a loss after many of her failed attempts to rid herself of Snow White, decided to take a page out of Maleficent’s book – went to the sorceress and traded the Dark Curse for the Sleeping Curse, it took quite a few tries before she was able to successfully cast the intricate curse and infuse it into one of her infamous apples she giddily plucked from her prized tree. In order to preserve the curse with longevity, Regina kept it in a spelled satchel (a gift from Maleficent) so that when she was prepared to enact her dastardly plan, the apple would work as it was supposed to and she would finally, after years and years, be victorious over Snow White, and achieve her revenge.

“How else? She sent a child into my palace with the promise to spare the life of his sister if he were to steal it from me. That Blind Hag never could keep her grubby hands out of my things and her greedy nose out of my business,” Regina seethed, hands clenching as she recalled the day she entered her vault, fully prepared to get rid of Snow White once and for all, only to find the crucial weapon missing.

With a smirk, Rumplestiltskin said, “Agatha did love to rile you up.”

“And you couldn’t have simply spelled another apple?” Zelena sneered, her energy returning at another instance delineating Regina’s mediocrity.

Snarling and snapping like a cornered, but no less rabid, animal, Regina said, “The scroll with the spell was inside the satchel with the apple.”

Laughter ensued from Rumplestiltskin and Maleficent, and even Zelena couldn’t stop her lips from quirking in amusement at Regina’s predicament.

“Are they for real?” Red huffed, staring at the four villains in unadulterated disbelief.

Shaking his head, Killian clicked his tongue, “Bad form.”

Ignoring the outrage emanating from their scandalized audience, the hisses and murmurs infiltrating the air, Maleficent leaned back to properly gauge Regina. “Whyever did you keep the scroll with the apple?”

She murmured something.

Cupping a hand to his ear, Rumplestiltskin scooted forward, his upper body bending forward, amusement plainly etched on each line of his handsome face, “What was that, dearie? Speak up.”

“I said,” Regina snarled through gritted teeth, nails digging into the soft skin of her palms, “I forgot about it! Alright?!”

“For Oz’s sake,” Zelena cried out in disgust. “You’re a sad excuse of a villain. It’s no wonder it took you years to get your revenge, you absolute ninny.”

Teeth bared and eyes locked on the green-hued witch, Regina snapped, “Yes, but in the end, I cast my Dark Curse, and I’ve been enjoying my victory for almost three decades now.”

Zelena emitted a bark of scathing laughter. “Not good enough, if you ask me—”

“Then it’s a good thing I haven’t!”

“—for if it were up to me,” Zelena continued as though her nit of a half-sister hadn't interrupted, “I’d have gotten rid of her for good—”

Horror-filled gasps and cries of anger and indignation filled the air as all eyes pierced Zelena.

“Hey!” Snow uttered her shock.

Clearing her throat, Anna attempted to look at the positive side, “At least you’re not her enemy, right? I mean… from what we’ve seen and heard, she hates the Evil Queen, so it’s she who needs to watch her back. Not you, Snow.”

“Silver linings and all,” Emma muttered.

Shouting over the many utterances of dismay, Regina jolted to her feet, her fist shaking in the air, “The Dark Curse is a perfect form of revenge.”

“But not a permanent one,” Zelena retorted waspishly.

Regina refused to stand down. “Snow White is miserable.”

Groaning into her palm, Snow said, “Here we go again.”

“Yes, but she won’t be for long.”

Lips pursed, Regina reared back in surprise, “What are you on about, Greenie.”

“The curse has a loophole, you idiot. Once the Savior turns twenty-eight, your revenge will be over, and all those years would be for naught,” Zelena spelled out in a tone of voice that clearly implied how daft she believed Regina was.

Sneering at Zelena, and then Rumplestiltskin, she defended herself, “Well, at the time, I didn’t know about that pesky loophole.”

“For crying out loud!” Zelena screamed, facepalming herself; even Maleficent was shaking her head in irritation.

Emitting a long-drawn-out sigh, Rumplestiltskin said, “How many times must I tell you this, your majesty. Every curse can be broken. No exceptions.”

That – thankfully – brought an end to the four villains’ exchange, prompting the screen to resume.

“Oh, trust me, dear, this is not just an apple. It’s a weapon for a particular and devious enemy. One who is still under the delusion that she’s safe,” the Evil Queen says as she tucks the apple away in a small chest.

Scoffing, Red repeated, “Devious enemy?”

“Get over yourself,” Granny snapped.

Snow shook her head sadly, “You give me too much credit, Regina.”

“Not enough, apparently,” Regina sneered, not missing a beat.

Comprehension dawning on her, Aurora swiveled around until her frantic gaze met Snow’s kind green eyes. “You were administered the Sleeping Curse through that apple, then?” she inquired breathlessly.

Rolling her eyes, Maleficent viciously cut in before Snow managed to get a word out. “Where the hell have you been? It’s not exactly a difficult concept to understand, princess.”

Aurora narrowed her eyes, “I’m not exactly a connoisseur of curses, Maleficent. And forgive me,” every word dripped with sarcasm, “if my only experience with your curse is by getting pricked by a spinning wheel.”

“A cursed artifact, a cursed fruit, they're all the same,” Maleficent yawned, unbothered by the glares drilling into her person, specifically from Aurora, Phillip and Mulan. “All of them pack quite the punch, wouldn’t you say Sleeping Beauty, Snow White?”

Mulan hissed, her hand automatically reaching for her sword, despite her awareness of its uselessness.

“Demon,” Phillip hissed. “Keep that venomous tongue of yours behind those forked teeth, lest I cut it for you and deprive you of it.”

Affecting a pout, Maleficent turned to Victor and cocked her head to the side. “My teeth aren't forked, are they, Victor dear?” she cooed, parting her lips to display two brilliant rows of straight, white teeth.

Shifting uncomfortably, Victor scooted a couple inches away from her. “Ah, no they’re… they’re fine.”

“The prince wasn’t being literal,” Regina sneered in exasperation.

“He wasn’t?” Maleficent inquired, her tone one of deceptive innocence.

The Evil Queen then proceeds to explain how their father had abandoned them,

An influx of scoffs proceeded to permeate the air.

“If their father abandoned them, I’ll eat my axe,” Grumpy grunted.

Nodding his wholehearted agreement, August said, “It’s obvious the Evil Queen had a hand in his disappearance.”

“Oh, lookie, I’m surrounded by seers and psychics,” Regina drawled sarcastically, as her dark gaze stabbed the aforementioned two.

“Nothing of the sort, we’re merely in possession of common sense and knowledge of your cruelty,” August retorted, his intense eyes almost – almost! – making Regina a tad uncomfortable.

“Spare me from their constant interruptions,” Tiger Lily mumbled under her breath as she threw the room at large a powerful dirty look.

Leaning into Tinker Bell’s side, Killian muttered, “Explain to me why exactly our host, in all his ostensibly infinite wisdom, did he bring that shrew here?”

“Killian, shush,” the green fairy rushed to clap a hand over the pirate’s mouth while she warily threw a side-glance Tiger Lily’s way. “Keep your voice down.”

and that they should live with her in the castle.

“What?” was spat out by almost the whole room.

Back straight and gaze ahead, Regina adamantly kept her glare on the screen.

A soft expression overtook Snow’s features, “Oh, Regina…”

“Not a word, you!” she snarled.

Gretel, however, refuses the offer.

“Is it just me, or was Hansel about to accept?” Robin spoke, his expression impassive and tone hesitant.

Grumpy, on the other hand, openly stared at the screen in disgust, “I’m telling you, that boy’s got peas for brains.”

“Grumpy!” Snow chastised him.

“Don’t Grumpy me. I’m not impressed by him in the least bit. Not only is he clumsy and a troublemaker to boot, he’s disloyal, easily distracted—”

“He’s a child!” Belle insisted, yet again.

A disagreeable sound vibrating in his throat, Killian inclined his head, “Aye, a dumb one.”

“Killian!” Emma gasped.

“We want our father back. He would never abandon us. And even if he did, we would never want to live with someone as terrible as you.”

“You tell her, girlie!” Granny cheered as Gretel delivered her speech.

Neal scoffed, warm brown eyes suddenly stony as he met Regina’s glare, “One would think you’d have learned something from Gretel. But with the way you’re treating Henry, clearly you hadn’t.”

“Say that again, Cassidy. I dare you,” Regina threatened.

Neal’s father was the Dark One, he traveled between worlds multiple times, he lived on the streets, he bravely stood his own against Captain Hook, and he spent centuries hiding from a demonic eternal teenager and his equally terrifying shadow. Battling with the Evil Queen was a cakewalk in comparison as she had nothing on them.

“I said, you should have learned from Gretel,” Neal punctuated his words, not holding back. “Being a parent isn’t only about lavish mansions and the best educations, the finest clothes and the richest meals. Being a parent is by showing them love and putting their happiness above your own. Something you’re clearly incapable of doing. You deprived Hansel and Gretel of their father; and you’re depriving Henry of not just a childhood, but his family and his sanity.”

Rendered speechless, all Regina could do was shriek, “How dare you…!”

Emma, too, was devoid of words; there was a merry sparkle to her eyes, however, and she knew that, despite his atrocious actions toward her in the past, Neal Cassidy would make a wonderful father to Henry.

“And what, Mr. Cassidy, do you know about being a parent?” Rumplestiltskin inquired; and while his tone remained soft and composed, his eyes were scrutinizing him with an intrusive kind of intensity.

Meeting his intense stare with one of his own, Neal said, “Nothing.”

The Evil Queen, however, did not take too kindly to Gretel’s refusal and she cast magic on them, the twin siblings disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

“What did you do to them?!” Elsa, Anna, Guinevere, Belle, Granny, Red and Snow shouted in eerie unison, each woman sporting various expressions of alarm and anger.

Letting out a soothing hushing sound, Robin attempted for a smile, “Relax, ladies. We have already seen that the children are alive and well.”

“Physically,” Jefferson reminded him.

Releasing a mocking sound, Rumplestiltskin couldn’t help but goad Regina. “Didn’t I say that you were terrible at rejection.”

Completely remorseless, Regina hissed, “They deserve their punishment for refusing me.”

“I rest my case,” Rumplestiltskin chuckled. All of a sudden, an expression of pure mischief colored his expression as he side-eyed Zelena, “Something the two of you have in common, hmm, dearie?”

Aghast, Zelena let out a shriek that bore an uncanny resemblance to her flying monkeys, “You take that back, you bloody imp!”

“Touchy, touchy,” Maleficent hummed.

“And what, pray tell, is wrong with sharing similarities with me, you insufferable goblin!” Regina snarled.

Shaking his head in absolute bewilderment, August stared from Robin to Neal, “Those four are insane.”

“Yes, they do have a tendency to argue and provoke each other like children would.” Robin, however, appeared amused.

In Storybrooke, Emma is ushering Ava and Nicholas into her car while Regina and Henry watch. Henry tries to stop Emma by reminding her about the curse, to no avail. Regina looks on as they leave with an evil smile on her face.

“I’m not going to bother commenting; whenever I do, I feel like a broken record,” Neal sighed.

August nodded, “I get you.”

Recalling Neal and August’s previous attempt to explain what that term meant, a contemplative look etched on to his face and Robin’s nod came at a slower pace, “Yes, I believe I am starting to understand what exactly a broken record is.”

In fact, Neal’s sentiment appeared to be a unanimous conclusion as almost the entire room satisfied themselves with glaring at Regina instead of insulting her, accusing her, or drawing her into an argument about just how evil she was.

“If only I listened to Henry,” Emma said glumly.

“If only you believed Henry,” David amended with a sad smile.

Emma chuckled, the sound lacking humor, and she sheepishly looked away. Suddenly, Killian’s hand curled around hers and he gave it a comforting squeeze. “Don’t worry, lass. I’ve a feeling you’ll stop anything from befalling the little ones,” he smiled before releasing her hand.

“Yeah?” Emma sounded breathless, his touch and the faith he had in her like a shot of adrenaline injected straight into her veins.

“Aye.”

The scene follows Emma driving toward the town border when her car starts to shake and then stops. She takes out her phone and claims that she’s calling for “Help.”

“What amazing luck!” Red cheered, snuggling herself happily into Graham’s side.

Neal looked gleeful. “You’re like a rabbit’s foot.”

While everyone cheered, their stricken expressions replaced with hopeful smiles and bright eyes (excluding an apoplectic Regina, an impassive Maleficent who merely regarded the screen with cold scrutiny, and Zelena, who didn’t really give much of a damn about the munchkins’ fates), Rumplestiltskin had his eyes fixated on Emma’s form, the warmth of his brown orbs swirling with swift thoughts and a lazy smile curling his lips.

“Luck… hmm, yes, I suppose one could say that,” Rumplestiltskin hummed as he twisted his cane, intense eyes intent on Emma, who couldn’t help but shift at his unblinking and unwavering stare. “Ingenious, Miss Swan. Help, you said… how apt.”

Clearing her throat, Emma shrugged modestly, “I thought so.”

“Wait, what are you two on about?” Killian’s previous good mood (because of his recent interaction with Emma and the beautiful and grateful smile she bestowed him with) started to drain at the obvious camaraderie between Emma and the Crocodile. Their growing closeness enraged him to no end, and yet, he couldn’t do a single damn thing to stop it, which infuriated him even more.

Barely sparing the pirate a glance, his eyes still on Emma, Rumplestiltskin said, “You’ll see.”

“I don’t like this,” David seemed to be on the same wavelength as Killian. “You two seem awfully chummy.”

Rolling her eyes, Emma prayed for patience. “You might have mentioned that a couple dozen of times, David.”

“You did something to your car, didn’t you, Miss Swan?” Regina raged, her wrath on full display. “And the only help you’d require in this kind of situation would be…”

“There she is,” Rumplestiltskin mocked, his voice resembling more of a croon. “The penny dropped, has it, dearie?”

Seething with potent rage, Emma wouldn’t be surprised if Regina’s eyes started shooting fire as she turned her glare on her, “Why you meddling—you truly are your mother’s daughter!”

“Thanks, Madam Mayor,” Emma smiled saccharinely. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It’s not!” Regina and Maleficent snapped.

Simultaneously, David, Red, Granny and Grumpy exclaimed, “It is!” prompting a lovely blush to paint Snow’s ivory complexion.

In the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen is watching Snow White through her Magic Mirror. “Now she’s cavorting with dwarves? When did that happen?”

“Oh, that’s when…” Snow trailed off as she turned her sad eyes on Grumpy, who donned an expression of deep mourning, eyes intent on the ground as his thoughts went to his fallen brother, Stealthy.

Unaware of the importance of that moment for Snow White, Grumpy and his kin, Mulan demanded, “What about the children?”

“I’m sure their fate will be revealed shortly,” Rumplestiltskin sighed, drawing light circles on his temple with his right hand while he absentmindedly spun his cane around with his left one.

The constant transformations between his human form and that of his Dark One were getting to be terribly exhausting. Thankfully, ever since he delivered their host that tongue-lashing in defense of Jefferson a few hours back, the irritating back-and-forth transformations were decreasing, with Rumplestiltskin staying in his human form much longer.

A guard interrupts and it is revealed that the Woodcutter has been a prisoner of the Evil Queen’s. He demands to be released so that he could return to his children.

“Just as I predicted,” Granny glared venomously at Regina. “What did the poor man do to you for you to just snatch him up and keep him imprisoned, away from his children?”

Regina donned an ugly look. “Mind your own business, you foul-mouthed, old bat.”

Before anybody could uproariously come to Granny’s defense, Robin interjected with an insightful theory that succeeded in silencing everyone and infuriating Regina. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? She’s alone. The Evil Queen is… why, she’s lonely. It’s why after eighteen years she adopted Henry. It’s why she saw the opportunity to raise two children and she took it. Unfortunately, they already had a father, and in order to keep them, you had to get rid of him.” When silence reigned, Robin twisted his lips into a bitter smile, “What say you, your majesty… am I right?”

Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, Regina widened her eyes and in a hoarse voice, said, “Of course not, you stupid thief! Stick to stealing, would you. It’s all you appear to be good at.”

But not everyone was convinced by Regina’s poor attempt at deflection.

“Oh for the love of… pick a man and conceive a baby and be done with it. All these theatrics, all this misery, when you have a womb of your own. Use it!” Zelena sneered harshly.

Regina flinched. It took every ounce of determination and strength to prevent the tears from escaping; and she blinked swiftly and furiously until the feeling went away. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Regina stiffly said, “I didn’t want children back then. Not until Henry, so keep that foul trap of yours shut!”

And for the first time since they were gathered into this room, since he discovered she had a hand in whatever happened to Belle, Rumplestiltskin sympathized with Regina; for he knew of the extreme measures she went through in order to rid herself of Cora’s leash, which unfortunately included that of any possible children.

The Evil Queen wants to know why his children refused her.

“Because we’re a family. And a family always finds one another,” the Woodcutter answers.

David clutched Snow in a tight embrace; he had eyes for no one but his beautiful Emma, who had inadvertently found them after twenty-eight years of searching.

“Yes, they do,” Snow beamed at Emma, who responded with a tentative smile, her eyes shining happily despite her initial reservations.

Extremely sullen, Regina rolled her eyes, “Spare me.”

Nobody took note of the icy glare Maleficent fixated the odious Charming couple with, frustrated that they found their child when they had robbed her of hers. ‘Blasted so-called heroes. I’ll show them…’ she inwardly vowed.

‘I’m counting on it,’ Rumplestiltskin thought to himself as he pictured the reunion between himself and Baelfire that the Seer promised him after all these centuries apart with desperate longing.

Not privy to his Papa’s thoughts, Neal briefly glanced at him, his lips pursed in a grim line at the accuracy of the Woodcutter’s response. He hadn’t been actively searching for Rumplestiltskin – in fact, he dreaded it – and yet, here they were, father and son finally reunited, and Rumplestiltskin didn’t even know it.

Turning to Graham, Red grinned and whispered, “He’s right.” She inclined her head toward the screen. “Which is how I know you’ll find your parents when all this is over.”

“God, I hope so, Red,” Graham sounded a mixture of desperate and hopeful. “I really do hope so.”

All of a sudden, the hubbub the Woodcutter’s words created reached a decrescendo when the Evil Queen allowed his release, and they all turned to her with various expressions of unmitigated surprise.

“You’re letting him go…?” Arthur echoed the Woodcutter.

Eyebrows arched, Geppetto asked, “Just like that?”

“What’s your angle, witch?” Grumpy growled.

Sneering at the room as a whole, Regina snapped, “Does there have to be a nefarious reason?”

Rumplestiltskin hummed, “I do believe I agree with them, dearie. You rarely perform acts of benevolence without receiving something in return.”

“Hark who’s talking,” Zelena muttered. “The level of hypocrisy in this room…”

Maleficent clicked her tongue and tossed her head back, eyes performing a half-roll in their sockets. “I know, it’s dreadful. Positively disgusting,” she drawled.

The Evil Queen has on a sinister smile, “You can all be together as a family as soon as you all find one another.”

The scene then changes to show Hansel and Gretel, hand in hand, as they attempt to find their way out of the Infinite Forest.

“What the hell!” Emma stared at the screen in horror, completely aghast at the vastness of the endless and forbidding forest.

“Ah, of course. The Infinite Forest,” Rumplestiltskin tsked, sending Regina a disapproving look. “Really, dearie? Bit extreme a punishment for mere children, don’t you think?”

“No!” Regina barked.

“You truly are evil,” Anna stared, horrified, at her. “Even the Dark One disagrees with you. I mean, I’m just gonna say it: what?!”

She responded with an aggressive eye roll, “Don’t you start that again, you irritating chit! I’m the Evil Queen. It’s in the name, alright? I’m evil. Get over it.”

“They don’t deserve that!” Neal yelled.

Only Emma appeared confused regarding the severity of Hansel and Gretel’s punishment, as she had absolutely no inkling of the Infinite Forest, as everyone else originated from the Enchanted Forest (not that she, or anyone else for that matter, knew that about Neal and August). And when she voiced her confusion, it was David who grimly elaborated.

“It’s a prison, Emma,” David explained. “It’s in the name – there’s no way out. You can end up walking in circles your whole life and not know it.”

Unable to wrap her head around such a horrifying predicament, and deeply pitying the poor twins and the ugly fate Regina gave them, Emma cried out, “I don’t believe it. There must be a way out.”

Back in his impish form, Rumplestiltskin playfully wagged a finger. “Of course, dearie. There’s only one way out, nyahaha. My way,” he emphasized darkly. “Magic.”

“Magic?” Emma and Neal intoned blankly.

Giggling, Rumplestiltskin nodded enthusiastically, “Mmmhmm, magic.”

“It’s true,” David sighed, a grudging nuance in his tone.

“But then… how did Hansel and Gretel get out?” Emma then looked at Rumplestiltskin, “Did you…”

Rumplestiltskin swiftly shook his head, “Noppee, not I!”

“Then how—”

Blue softly interjected with a gentle smile, “When the Evil Queen cast her curse, Hansel and Gretel were swept away with it.”

Eyes wide, Emma finally understood. “Ah, magic. Right. Got it.” She then turned to glare at Regina, the indifference she portrayed frustrating her even more, “You’re such a bitch, you know that?!”

The scene shifts to Storybrooke. Michael Tillman arrives to find Emma by the border waiting outside her car while the twins are inside. The compass’ needle point starts spinning and points north when Michael makes his way toward them.

Cheers engulfed the room, Granny and Grumpy’s hollering particularly loud – not that anyone but Regina minded.

“Hah!” Zelena smirked, gleeful at another instance of Regina failing, and she smashed her hands together in a booming clap.

“But I thought the compass was broken,” Belle looked at Rumplestiltskin, confused. “Magic couldn’t affect it because the compass broke.”

“That’s right,” Graham cocked his head. “You said the compass’ magic wouldn’t work because it was broken.”

Curtly, Rumplestiltskin inclined his head. “True. But you forget that Emma is the Savior. The light magic she wields boosted the compass’ dormant magic. So, despite it being physically broken, her magic jumpstarted it, allowing the children to find their father and achieve the happy ending the Savior is promised to return.”

Once again, at the mention of Emma having magic, Neal squirmed uncomfortably in his place and adamantly avoided looking in her direction. He refused to believe it; it was a hard pill to swallow – for his first love, the mother of his child, and the woman he still held profound feelings for, to be in possession of the one thing he hated more than anything else in all the worlds, the thing that destroyed his life… it was inconceivable.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Emma breathed out, “It’s so surreal, you talking so casually about my magic, about me having magic. I swear, if I had any, I would know.”

Giving her another scrutinizing look, Rumplestiltskin simply said, “Hmm, perhaps.”

Tiger Lily, on the other hand, had no patience for Emma’s denials. “The Savior is a being of light magic. Whether you want to believe it or not, you have potent magic within you.”

This time, Emma, Snow and David joined Neal in his subtle discomfort.

Michael realizes that nothing is wrong with Emma’s car.

“I knew it!” Regina snarled, glaring thunderously at Emma.

“I just wanted you to see them, just once,” Emma explains. “I didn’t think I could do it either. I gave up Henry ‘cause I wanted to give him his best chance. When I saw that he didn’t have it,

“What do you mean ‘he didn’t have it’?!” Regina yelled, hand clenching and unclenching in anger. “How dare you!”

Nobody paid her any attention.

I couldn’t leave.

“He’s happy. I give him everything he wants. So leave us already!” Regina continued to rant and rave, her clenched fist raised overhead and shaking madly.

I was just as scared, more, probably. But once I saw him, got to know him, I couldn’t go back.”

“I’ll be sure to remedy that,” Regina hissed.

Throwing his head back, Killian groaned, “Give it a rest already, woman.”

“Shut it, you foolish pirate!” she snarled.

“Both of you shut it!” Granny growled. “I want to see these three get their happy endings.”

“Awfully presumptuous, don’t you think,” Maleficent asked delicately.

Belle donned a kind smile. “Of Emma? Absolutely. I have no doubt Emma will succeed in changing Michael’s mind and reuniting the children with their father.”

“Oh. Quite. This is a happy ending easily restored,” Rumplestiltskin stated with finality.

Emma blushed, still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that she was the Savior, just like Henry said, and that she was giving people back the happy endings that Regina stole. If she didn’t see it, she didn’t think she could ever believe it… which made her worried about her future-self, and sorry for the hard time she’d no doubt be putting Henry through. Making her believe in the impossible was not going to be easy.

Emma smiles at her success when Michael tells her not to take them to Boston and approaches his children.

The cheers and applause in the room was insanely loud as everyone – except Regina, Maleficent and Rumplestiltskin – loudly vocalized their happiness.

“Well done, Emma!” Snow beamed, and it took everything in her not to march over and gather her daughter in a suffocating embrace. She knew Emma wasn’t ready yet, as much as it pained her.

“I never had a doubt,” Neal grinned.

Sneering at them, Regina reached out for another apple martini. “Yes, well, enjoy it while it lasts. This won’t be happening once we’re out of here.”

“Oh boo-hoo, you sore loser, you,” Zelena cackled, heady with happiness at Regina’s failure.

It took quite a while for everyone to settle down, and it was only after they each raised a glass and drank to the health and happiness of the Woodcutter, Hansel and Gretel – a suggestion made by Robin Hood – did the screen resume to the next scene in Mary Margaret's apartment.

Emma is telling Mary Margaret about Michael Tillman changing his mind. She then reveals she’s thinking about giving up on finding her parents.

“Well, this is awkward,” Emma grimaced.

Snow looked a hairsbreadth away from bursting into tears.

“Ah, the irony,” Regina smirked, her mood brightening at the Charming family’s predicament.

David glared at her, “You don’t speak!”

She then discloses Henry’s theory about Mary Margaret being her mother, and they both laugh about it.

“I have a kid. I think I’d remember that,” Mary Margaret laughs.

“Okay, now that really is irony,” Anna winced. “This is such an awkward moment.”

In unison, Snow said, “Tell me about it.”

And Emma sighed, “Yeah, no kidding.”

“Bizarro,” Neal chuckled uncomfortably.

“You do kind of have my chin,” Mary Margaret continues.

Making an attempt at a smile, Snow insisted, “You do.”

“She does,” David agreed promptly, his eyes fond as he stared at his wife and daughter.

A sneaky grin playing on his lips, Rumplestiltskin said, “You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if Snow White starts to remember.”

“What?” half the room crowed in excitement.

“NO!” Regina bellowed, her drink spilling over and staining the padded floor underneath her feet at the ghastly possibility. “You’re pulling my leg, you imp.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled placidly. “I don’t know, Regina. Am I?”

Snow clapped her hands together as though in prayer, eyes beseeching the screen as Future-Emma left the apartment, leaving her cursed-self behind with Emma’s baby blanket. “Your baby blanket should trigger my memories.”

Mary Margaret, as though in a daze, picks up the blanket and sniffs it.

“It can’t be!” Regina gasped as she watched her nightmare come alive.

“Yes, yes, yes! Remember you stupid woman. Remember!” Snow yelled at the screen. Only to groan in disappointment when her cursed-self shook herself out of her daze, dropped the blanket and retreated to her room in embarrassment. “Nooo!”

Regina, on the other hand, was ecstatic, and she cheered gleefully amid the groans and yells of disappointment. “HAH! Now this calls for a celebratory drink,” and she hummed to herself as she plucked a long glass of midouri sour from Troll, ignoring the glares of hatred hammering into her form from all directions.

“I was so close,” Snow moaned, pinching her thumb and forefinger together.

Equally sad, David nevertheless donned a half-hearted smile, “It’s okay, Snow. This isn’t the end. You- we will remember. This curse cannot last forever.”

“No, Charming, it cannot,” Rumplestiltskin agreed, his tone matter of fact.

“We’ll see about that,” Regina cackled.

The scene shifts one last time to show Emma in her car reading articles about herself as a baby when Henry shows up with pumpkin pie.

Emma sheepishly looked away, adamantly avoiding the glare Neal suddenly pierced her with. She scratched her head and shifted in her armchair, incredibly uncomfortable and…more than that, guilty for the lie her future-self told Henry. Especially after hearing that speech Neal recently delivered about being a parent. While he was a shitty boyfriend to her, she knew he’d make an amazing father to Henry.

“Next time around, I won’t lie to Henry,” Emma announced, and while it seemed like a random statement to everyone else, Neal’s glare lost its potency, a small smile forming on his lips as he recognized Emma’s words for what they were: an apology.

Just as Henry mentions that Emma is changing things in Storybrooke, the rumbling sound of a bike echoes loudly in the air.

“What?”

“I wonder who that is…”

“Red, you know who owns a bike in Storybrooke?” Grumpy asked gruffly.

Scowling at the dwarf, Red demanded, “Why are you asking me?”

Arching an eyebrow, he retorted, “Don’t make me say it.”

Graham felt jealousy churn in his stomach at Grumpy’s implication.

In response, Red took off her heel and hurled it at Grumpy – he ducked, the sharp footwear narrowly missing him by an inch.

“Red!” Granny rebuked her.

Guffawing loudly, Grumpy smirked, “Missed!”

Shrugging, totally unapologetic, Red continued to glare at Grumpy as Snow returned her heel to her, “It’s not like he didn’t deserve it. Or that our host would let it hurt…much.”

Right before the stranger could pull off his helmet, August gulped loudly, “Uh-oh…” He would recognize his bike anywhere. His appearance in Storybrooke didn’t bode well for him, and he absentmindedly reached for his leg, wincing at the phantom pain. He knew that, from that moment on in the viewings, he would be playing an active role in the future events and Emma’s life, which could only mean that his secrets, his shame, his failures, and his identity would soon be made public.

He looked at his father, then at Jiminy, and lastly Blue.

They were going to be so disappointed in him.

At the same time, Neal’s eyebrows hit his hairline and he whipped around to stare at August, dumbstruck, for he too remembered that bike. “What…”

“Don’t ask,” August groaned. “Just- just don’t.”

The stranger pulls off his helmet, allowing Emma and Henry to see his face as he asks, “Is this Storybrooke?”

“You?!” Regina found every ounce of hostility she harbored toward the mysterious man fading at his inexplicable appearance in her town. “But… but how? What!”

Rumplestiltskin switched his intense scrutiny onto August. “That, your majesty, is an excellent question. How, Mr. Booth, do you know about Storybrooke?”

“Never mind that,” she huffed, batting a hand in the air impatiently. “How did you get in? It’s supposed to be impossible.”

Her brows scrunched together in a frown, Emma pointed out, “Um, I managed.”

“You’re the Savior,” Rumplestiltskin reminded her, “and born of the Enchanted Forest… but you…” He trailed off, his eyes piercing August’s fidgety form with many questions and no answers. “What a fascinating riddle you present, Mr. Booth.”

He doesn’t give them his name and drives off to Granny’s Bed & Breakfast, leaving Emma and Henry to watch his retreating back.

“I thought you said strangers don’t come to Storybrooke,” Emma says.

Henry replies, “They don’t.”

“He’s right. They don’t,” Regina echoed indignantly.

One by one, each and every single pair of eyes in the room flickered over to settle on August, making him feel like a rare bug under a microscope just before its dissection.

“So, I believe the question is,” Rumplestiltskin prefaced, eyes intense and unmoving, “who are you, August Booth?”