𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑳𝒀 - Rumplestiltskin [2]

thirty one

31|time travel

Celeste ran through the streets, a book clutched tightly in her arms as she burst into Granny's Diner.

"Emma! Emma, I found it!" She threw the book down on the the table, opening it to the right page. "We have to tell Regina and the others."

"Okay, Celeste, slow down." Emma calmed the woman down, letting her sit as she panted for breath. "What did you find?"

"Zelena's plan. I figured out what she's doing." Celeste breathed out, happily accepting Hooks rum he offered.

"Let's go." The blonde woman nodded to them both, running out the diner. "I'll drive."

"I think I'm a pretty good driver."

"What the hell was that?" Emma questioned as they burst into Regina's house, finding the woman pushing something into a portal while Snow was unconscious.

"Cora." Regina gritted before rushing over to Snow. "Is she okay?"

"Mary Margaret, can you hear me?" Charming kneeled before his wife, gently shaking her as she gained consciousness.

"It's Cora. Not what we thought." Snow said weakly. "She's trying to communicate."

"She was? What did she say?"

"Leopold, my mother." She tried to speak. "My mother-"

"Shh, Mary Margaret, relax." Charming stroked her cheek as she rambled.

"She's not making sense. We need to call a doctor." Emma worried over her mother's safety, waving Celeste over to check on her.

"If she knows something that could help us." Regina argued, knowing this could be their only shot.

"Regina, it's gonna have to wait."

"It can't wait!" She snapped at the man. "If we wanna stop Zelena, we have to know what the hell she's doing and why."

"I can help with half of that." Celeste spoke up, opening her book again to the correct page. "She's planning on going back. Back in time."

"Are you certain?" Regina questioned the woman with confusion. "No one's ever been able to cast a spell to go back in time."

"Well, she apparently thinks she can succeed." She shrugged, reading over the page. "Brains, courage, a resilient heart. Those ingredients are in every time travel spell I've found."

"But then why go back in time?" Charming asked aloud. "I mean, we have no idea what she's trying to accomplish."

"I do." Snow said reluctantly, not liking the outcome. "She didn't wanna give up Zelena. She was forced to by my mother, Princess Eva. She told a secret, just like I did."

"Wait, I thought our family were the good guys." Emma glanced between her parents.

"Life is too messy for it to ever be that simple." Regina sighed, shaking her head.

"You're saying that if it wasn't for Snows mother, Cora would've kept Zelena?" Charming glanced over at his daughter and Regina.

"She would've been tutored by Rumpel." Celeste added. "That bitch is trying to steal my husband."

"And all if it weren't for this Princess Eva?" Hook finished off their thought process, realising what Zelena plans to do and how it will effect everyone.

"So, that means..."

"Zelena is going back to kill my mother." Snow confirmed, leaning her head back exhaustedly.

"You'll have never been born." Regina said in shock.

"I'm guessing this is where your help ends." Emma sighed, lowering her head.

"Now, think it through, Miss. Swan." She stopped her. "That means you'll have never been born. And neither will Henry."

"And on this different path, Regina, you may not be either." Snow added, the room stilling as they realised that many might seize to exist.

"It's a good thing no one has ever succeeded with this time travel nonsense." Hook pointed out optimistically.

"The baby." Charming stated as he stood up. "That's what's missing. That's why none have succeeded. Somehow, some way, our baby is the key. Zelena went to a lot of effort to get close to our unborn child. That's what she's after."

"What is she going to do with it?" Snow asked her husband, holding her stomach protectively.

"It's doesn't matter. She's not gonna get it." He reassured her, crouching down to hold her stomach. "We're gonna stop her. And since our baby's not born, she's stuck. And we have what we need, time."

"Yeah, so hold it in." Celeste gave her a thumbs up.

"Aren't you a doctor?" Hook raised a brow at her.

"I don't have very much time." Snow revealed, the room going silent as the thought out a plan.