Hook's ship was soon anchored at the docks of Storybrooke. Seeing that the coast was clear, he jumped off the boat before proceeding to assist Cora, his son, and Evie off the ship. "Well, my dear Cora, this is where we shall part ways," he soon said to the older woman. "Thank you for everything. It's time for me to skin my crocodile."
Harry chuckled a little.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, boy." Hook narrowed his eyes at his son, turning to leave, but as he did, Cora magically disappeared, and then reappeared in front of him.
"You might want to rethink this." Cora advised.
"We had a deal," Hook glared. "Get out of our way."
"Believe it or not, I'm doing you a favor." Cora retorted.
"By preventing our vengeance?" Harry scoffed.
"Ask yourselves how I'm doing that." Cora countered.
"By using your dark magic." Hook replied.
"Exactly. Magic is here," Cora soon said before explaining a bit more. "And that makes matters a bit more complicated. If you go off half-cocked after an empowered Rumplestiltskin, do you know what'll happen?"
Hook soon looked away with a bit of a troubled look on his face.
"So, you do. Good." Cora then nodded.
A fisherman soon spotted on the pier and approached them. "Hey. You folks need anything?" he soon asked and greeted. "Tackle shop don't open until morning, but, if you want to go out and try and snare some of New England's finest pescatarian creatures, I'd be happy to open early for ya." he then offered.
"Mm... I'd like a white fish omelet myself..." Harry said hopefully and suddenly hungry as Evie slightly rolled her eyes at that.
"No, thank you," Hook soon declined to the fisherman. "We're fine."
"It's a fine vessel you got there. When'd you get in?" The fisherman soon noticed.
"What vessel?" Cora asked innocently before she raised her hand suddenly.
"W-Why that one right--" The fisherman began to say until the older woman suddenly waved her hand, turning the ship invisible as he looked wide-eyed at that. "Hey, that's a neat trick. You some kind of magician back in our land?" he then remarked.
Annoyed, Cora magically transformed the fisherman into a fish. As he flopped on the dock, Hook kicked him right into the water.
"Poor Mr. Fisherman." Evie frowned.
"My heart cries for him," Hook scoffed in response before glaring slightly at Cora. "What did you do with my ship?" he then asked.
"I hid it from prying eyes. For what we both want to do, we need the element of surprise," Cora explained before glaring firmly. "Now you ready to listen to me?"
"Go on, Your Majesty." Harry soon said.
Cora grinned in approval.
"What now?" Hook soon asked.
"Let's go have a little look at this Storybrooke, shall we?" Cora suggested.
It was of course agreed upon and it looked like it was time to go until suddenly, Evie decided that she had enough adventure for one day.
"You can't do this!" Evie soon cried out. "You won't get away with this!"
Cora glared before she turned around to face her granddaughter. "Evie... Dear... This is for your mother's own good," she then cooed. "Besides, don't worry... Your friends won't miss you... Especially after Xinjiang will fill in for you."
"And what about Audrey and Lonnie, Grandmother?" Evie asked with a firm pout. "Why do innocent people have to get hurt?"
"My dear Evie, you have to learn that in this world there are winners and there are losers," Cora replied softly. "But in this world or in The Enchanted Forest, to be a winner, sometimes to you have to play dirty."
"I don't want to play dirty." Evie pouted in response.
"Well, it's in your path to do so," Cora retorted. "After all, your grandmother was an Evil Queen in the world of Wonderland and your mother soon became an Evil Queen as well... Especially after losing your father."
Evie narrowed her eyes at the mention of her father.
"I'm just looking after your best interest, darling," Cora continued. "And if you play along the way I'd like you to, you can join your mother and any of your little friends as well. Now don't dawdle and stall... We have some work to do."
"Aye..." Hook nodded in agreement. "Harry, bring your lady friend around."
"Aye-Aye, Dad." Harry nodded as he soon pulled on Evie's rope to force her to come along.
Evie grunted and groaned before forcing herself to follow after the pirate teen and the two evil adults.
Eventually, after daytime hit, nearly everybody in Storybrooke had gathered at Granny's Diner for a welcome home celebration. The "Charming" family soon came in along with Evie and at the sight of Mary Margaret, Ruby rushed over to the short-haired woman instantly.
"I wasn't worried a bit." Ruby said to her good friend in The Enchanted Forest.
"I can tell." Mary Margaret remarked.
"Oh, we all missed you." Kiara smiled as she hugged Evie right away.
"Thanks, Kiara." Evie smiled back as she hugged Kiara back.
"Blueberry..." Mal said, nodding at Evie. "Long time no see."
"Hey..." Evie said, waving at Mal a bit as she stood with Jay and Carlos.
Elsewhere, Emma presented Granny with a tray of tacos. "Tacos. I cannot tell you the relief of cooking something that I didn't have to kill first." she then said to the older woman.
"Don't I know it?" Granny remarked in agreement. "Meatloaf back home? What a bitch."
"Oh, Henry, I'm so happy that your sister is back home." Dee Dee smiled at her best friend as she hugged her nutcracker doll.
"I'm very happy too, Dee Dee," Henry nodded before he saw that she looked like she had other things to say. "Oh, do you have something else to say?"
"I do." Dee Dee nodded.
"Oh... Okay..." Henry said with a small smile. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. What's up?" he then asked her eagerly.
"Henry, after I got my new doll, I started having some dreams." Dee Dee told her friend as she knew that this might interest him.
"Really?" Henry asked with a smile to his friend.
"Mm-hmm," Dee Dee nodded. "I dreamt about this soldier who looked like my doll and he worked for a king and he talked with this woman who was a dancer for the king... Like something out of a ballet."
"That's it! It's The Nutcracker... Your story is The Nutcracker Prince!" Henry smiled.
"The Nutcracker Prince?" Dee Dee repeated curiously. "My story?"
Henry nodded. "I don't have my book here, but we can look it over tomorrow, okay?" he smiled.
"Okay," Dee Dee nodded back as she smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that I have my own story too."
Henry smiled warmly. Dee Dee then suddenly hugged him with a smile back as Leroy glanced toward them, though the others kept him from doing anything. Henry blinked in surprise, but hugged her back. Leroy groaned a bit, though he let Dee Dee have some fun.
"I guess that explains my dreams then," Dee Dee said. "I know no one else really listened to you about your book for a while, I always thought it was interesting, but I really understand now."
Henry smiled at that. Dee Dee smiled back. Nova gently took Leroy's hand.
"...She's too young to be hugging boys like that." Leroy muttered out.
Nova sighed a bit, but cracked a small smile, feeling a bit happy as Leroy became more like a father figure to Dee Dee while she became a mother figure for the young girl. Doug and the other dwarves smiled as Dee Dee and Nova joined them.
"Is that your new doll?" Leroy asked Dee Dee.
"Uh-huh... I bought him with my own money..." Dee Dee nodded as she held onto the nutcracker doll. "He feels... Familiar somehow... Almost reminds me of someone I saw in a dream once. Henry said it's part of my story."
"Well, sometimes dreams have a strange way of coming true." Nova told the girl softly with a soft smile and nod.
David soon got ready to say something, though waited for the room to be quiet for as long as possible.
"Maybe you should wish upon a star." Leroy said.
Dee Dee beamed at them before gasping as someone nearly sneezed on her.
"Sorry... Allergies..." Mr. Clark smiled bashfully as he took out a napkin and blew his nose.
Nova got one and dampened it with some water and gently wiped the area where the man had sneezed on Dee Dee. "There, all better." she said softly.
"Yay~" Dee Dee beamed as the others chuckled all around her.
"Ahem..." David cleared his throat as he soon began to make a speech. "I just wanted to, uh, thank you all for joining us tonight. Mary Margaret and I, we have a saying, that we will always find each other, and while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say, here's to not having to look for a while," he then said before the door opened and someone else came inside. "To Mary Margaret, Evie, and Emma."
Everyone soon began to clink their glasses to celebrate the three. Lonnie and Audrey were soon shown trying to adapt to their new surroundings as it looked like they had a lot to learn, especially with being teenagers in Storybrooke when they were already so far away from home right now.
"So... Wait. You're from the future, but also still in the past?" Carlos asked.
"Yeah, that's right," Lonnie nodded. "I know it sounds very unusal."
"It kinda is, yeah..." Jay replied. "Sounds like something out of Scientist When or whatever that show's called."
"Doctor Who." Carlos corrected as he narrowed his eyes.
"I don't know who the doctor is! That's why I'm asking you." Jay replied as he looked back at Carlos.
Carlos rolled his eyes to that in response.
"Either way, it'll be an adjustment for all of us," Mal replied. "So who are you guys exactly?'
"Well... Uh... I'm Lonnie," Lonnie soon explained as they still looked a little confused. "My mother's Mulan?"
Mal, Carlos, and Jay soon looked unsure of how to respond to that.
"...No? Anyways... I just hope we can all get along." Lonnie then said with a shrug.
"Welcome to Storybrooke," Kiara nodded as she stepped over. "Don't worry too much around here. We're descendants of the heroes and villains from Misthaven Forest, so we're all gonna help each other, especially with what Ben has planned for us."
"Ben?" Lonnie asked.
"He's the son of Belle and Rumplestiltskin," Mal explained. "Didn't Evie tell you?"
"Oh... Right... She probably has..." Lonnie nodded. "She's been acting strange lately right before she left to come back home here."
"Maybe she was just really homesick after a while?" Carlos shrugged. "I mean, Storybrooke is all we descendants have ever known especially since we weren't born in The Enchanted Forest."
"I suppose that makes sense..." Lonnie nodded in response.
"We'll be sure you find a way back home," Jay said, in an almost brotherly voice. "Believe me, this is all an adjustment for us too. You ever try picking up a girl for a movie date while she's in a magic lamp? It's a pretty strange experience."
Audrey and Lonnie blinked with wide eyes, feeling awkward enough about that rhetorical question.
"Uh... Magic lamp?" Lonnie then asked to break the silence.
"Yeah... Apparently her father wasn't only Mayor Mills' magic mirror, but he was also The Genie of Agrabah before she trapped him in there." Jay explained.
Lonnie and Audrey blinked in response to that as well.
"Now if only me and Carlos can figure out who our parents were." Jay then said while Carlos nodded in agreement and a bit of a pout.
"Oh... Don't worry... Like you said, you guys are just finding out about yourselves too like the adults," Lonnie soon said out of encouragement. "These things just take time."
"Yeah... You're probably right about that..." Jay agreed before he cracked a friendly smile.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you guys and especially meet Evie," Lonnie said. "I think this will be fun for all of us."
"Hopefully anyway." Carlos said before he began to wipe some chocolate off of his fingertips before licking it off since he had some of his new favorite candy.
"This should be interesting for all of us," Audrey nodded before she soon looked over at Mal. "YOUR mother's Maleficent, right?" she then asked since she remembered that she probably thought Evie was the daughter of Maleficent at first.
"Yes, that would be correct, Princess." Mal nodded patiently.
"Oh... Okay..." Audrey said before putting on a sickeningly sweet smile to The Mistress of Evil's descendant. "Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff."
Mal glanced a bit more over at Audrey.
"Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping--" Audrey soon explained.
"Beauty!" Mal interrupted before she nodded and smirked a bit flatly. "Yeah, I've heard the name. You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world, but my mother to their stupid christening and not to mention what my grandmother did to your grandmother." she soon added.
"Water under the bridge." Audrey soon said.
"Totes!" Mal nodded with a forced smile.
Both of the girls soon laughed together before sighing a bit at each other. Suddenly, something else happened that temporarily distracted everyone.
"Sorry I'm late." Regina said as she came into the diner then with a casserole dish.
"What is she doing here?" Leroy glared as he picked up a knife and stood protectively in front of Nova and Dee Dee.
"I invited her," Emma said, moving to defend Regina. "Besides, Evie, you would want that, wouldn't you?" she then added.
Evie merely nodded in response. Mary Margaret took Emma to where David stood so the three could have a discussion.
"We're celebrating today, because of Regina," Emma told them. "She helped us get home. No matter what she did in the past, we owe her our thanks now."
"Didn't you think to tell us about it?" David asked.
Dee Dee ducked a little from Regina as the woman did scare her a little.
"I did, but you two were a little busy this afternoon." Emma told David.
"Your grandparents were busy this afternoon?" Dee Dee asked Henry curiously.
"Yeah. Emma and I went to talk to them about having tacos at Granny's Diner, but they were taking a nap together and helping each other rest." Henry explained innocently.
"Ohh~..." Dee Dee nodded as she accepted that as the truth.
"No, she didn't. She's trying to change for Henry and Evie. They believe in her, and right now that's enough for me," Emma told her parents. "I couldn't have changed if I wasn't given a chance, so... She gets one, too."
Henry approached Regina. "I'm glad you came." he smiled.
"Me, too," Regina smiled back before looking at Leroy. "Oh, I made lasagna."
"What's the secret ingredient? Poison?" Leroy scoffed.
"Red pepper flakes," Regina clarified. "Gives it some kick."
Dee Dee gave a hopeful smile since Henry was in a good mood. Henry smiled at that as he got a piece of the lasagna and urged Leroy to try a bit too. Leroy shrugged as he decided to go for it. Regina soon set her dish down to help serve her food to the others who wanted some.
"Don't eat too fast, it's a bit hot." Regina told Dee Dee as she had a piece.
Henry smiled at that. Everyone else soon tried to continue to enjoy the party, especially around Regina as they were just as if not more cautious around the woman as the adults. Mal looked like she was about to go over to Emma until she was suddenly blocked by a certain boy who walked right up to her.
"Uh, hey, Mal." Ben smiled bashfully.
"...Hey, Ben." Mal blinked before she nodded at the boy she was close with nowadays since she had nowhere else to stay as of right now.
"I have a little surprise for you." Ben soon said, trying to sound mature and cool even if he was very popular in school, he was still a bit awkward around her.
"Again? Wow," Mal remarked. "That's like every day now."
"Or every other day... The even days," Ben replied sheepishly before smiling in a Prince Charming way. "Because you're even more perfect than I thought."
Mal chuckled at that. "That is me. I am perfect."
Evie seemed to roll her eyes at that as she passed around the lasagna plate so that everyone could get some.
"Come on, let me spoil you," Ben said softly. "You didn't have a lot growing up."
"We managed." Mal shrugged as she held onto her journal which was actually her spellbook.
"Hey, you wanna donate that to my dad's shop?" Ben suggested.
"Oh... Is that still here?" Mal asked as she hid her special book behind her back with a bashful smile. "Um, I should get going back home. Might wanna take a nap later."
"No, you come this way since today in the diner is all about Evie, Ms. Blanchard, and Miss Swan right now." Ben soon said, going to take her out of the diner.
Mal looked soft, but she decided to go with him while everybody else was celebrating the three who had been far from home for quite a while.
"First off... Ta-da!" Ben soon announced as he brought Mal outside and brought her over to what looked like a motorscooter in her favorite color with a golden ribbon tied on it.
"What?!" Mal gasped and beamed at her brand new gift.
"You like it?" Ben asked hopefully.
"Ben... Does an ogre like cheese puffs?" Mal replied with a laugh as she looked over at the scooter in excitement. "This is amazing! It's purple. I didn't get you anything." she then said to him softly as she looked back at him.
"You're taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?" Ben reminded gently.
"I am?" Mal asked with wide eyes. "Already? Uh... Um... I still have one more thing to bake and--"
"Mal, don't worry, that's on Thursday," Ben chuckled. "You still have plenty of time... See? It's only Monday." he then added, bringing out his phone to show the date on his calendar.
"Oh... Okay..." Mal said as she looked down at his phone, settling down now. "knew that."
"I mean, if you don't have it, that's fine.
"No, no, no. I was fully messing with you. I knew our picnic was on Thursday and I have plenty of time to cook something," Mal replied with a laugh then. "I'll probably go and ask Ginger for help too even if she's The Blind Witch's daughter."
"Well, what about heading home for a little while?" Ben then asked since she seemed to be insistent about that.
"She multi-tasks." Mal said with a small smile.
"She dabbles." Ben smiled back.
"She dabbles." Mal repeated with a nod as she stepped away from Granny's Diner to have some privacy.
"You're the best!" Ben soon called out as he decided to head back into the diner.
"That's me!~" Mal replied as she walked off, then took out her spellbook once she saw that Ben was out of sight. "All right... Maybe there's a truth-telling spell around here somewhere... One way or another, I'll find out what happened between my mother and this Emma Swan. Surely she could've found a home for us by now after her flight out of Storybrooke, right?" she then murmured to herself, flipping through the pages in her book as her eyes narrowed and glowed lime green to highlight her own Dark Fairy/dragon-like magic much like Maleficent and Carabosse back in their day even if she didn't seem to want to threaten Audrey since she was Sleeping Beauty's descendant.
Later on, as Mal went back home to study her spellbook, Regina was on her way outside herself before she took a brief stop.
"Who wants some cake?" Archie asked after a while as Regina soon decided to leave.
The kids eagerly agreed to that suggestion while the adults looked amused, but they would agree to the offer as well.
"One at a time now, one at a time," Archie advised. "Especially you, Carlos. I hear you have quite a sweet tooth for chocolate nowadays."
"Yes, sir!" Carlos chuckled as he got in line with the other kids.
"I prefer sugarplums myself, but seeing as it's not December, I'll have some cake." Dee Dee said as she stood with Henry.
"Evie? Could you come here for a moment?" Regina soon asked her daughter.
Evie looked around before looking over, then nodded and decided to go and talk to her mother. "What is it, Mother?" she asked innocently.
"Could you take Henry home tonight and tell him a bedtime story?" Regina asked gently. "I... Have to take a walk before I get back home. It's a bit personal."
"Uh... Sure, okay..." Evie nodded.
"Thank you, Evie," Regina smiled softly. "Welcome home by the way. It's really good to see your smiling face again."
"It's good to be back home, Mother." Evie replied with a grin.
Regina smiled. "I'm gonna run along," she then said, heading for the door. "Just make sure Henry is in bed before I get back home. I don't know how long I'll be, but I'll try not to be too late."
"Of course, Mother." Evie nodded before she hid a dark smirk to herself as Regina left the diner suddenly.
Seeing Regina leaving, Emma excused herself a moment and went to speak to her. "Archie made a cake. You don't want to stay for a piece?" she asked Regina.
"I'm fine. Thank you." Regina reassured.
"Okay." Emma said softly and turned to go back inside.
"Thank you." Regina then said.
"You just said that." Emma reminded.
"F-For inviting me." Regina quickly added.
"Henry wanted it. I'm glad you guys got to spend some time together," Emma replied to Regina. "Especially since Evie is back home too and it looks like she's going to be Miss Popular in school for a while."
"Me, too. I'd like to see Henry more," Regina nodded as she looked a little hopeful. "Maybe you'd consider letting him stay over some time. I have his room just... Just waiting for him. I don't know what Evie will do now that she's home, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see about her." she then added softly.
"Ah. I'm... I'm not sure that's best about Henry," Emma replied, only a little apologetic. "And we'll give Evie some space too. She's a very sweet and thoughtful girl, but she's also a teenager."
"Because you know so much about parenting in the five minutes you've been with Henry," Regina replied a bit coldly. "Talk to David, at least he took care of him while you were away, like I did, during the 10 years you were away the first time."
"Okay. Thanks for coming." Emma said after a moment, turning to go back inside.
"No. Wait I'm sorry. I--" Regina piped up before she suddenly stopped herself before she kept going. "Emma, I'm... I'm sorry. Snapping at you; I shouldn't have done that. Will you accept my apology?" she then asked.
"Okay. You're right," Emma told her. "Archie said you were trying to change, and, well, you are."
"Dr. Hopper said I was trying?" Regina suddenly asked.
"He said you came to see him, that you're trying not to use magic, that you're trying to be a better person," Emma told her. "You understand, I was hesitant to invite you. I asked him, and he thought it was a good idea."
"Thank you it was," Regina soon told Emma. "I should be going."
Emma nodded and soon headed back inside.
Meanwhile, Evie had been made to lead Hook, Harry, and Cora to a rooftop nearby Granny's.
"Well done," Hook smirked at Evie. "You are rather useful after all."
Evie glanced at him a moment then looked away. She then allowed herself to look over and saw Regina was there, and with Emma there too she thought maybe she could get their attention. "MOMMY!" she managed to yell, as she also tried pushing the two with her to get them to move to draw more attention.
Cora and Harry both stumbled a little in surprise, but didn't fall luckily. Eventually, Regina looked around as she thought she heard something just as Harry clamped his hand over Evie's mouth to keep her silent for her own sake. Evie muffled a little as she struggled a bit against the hand.
Cora straightened herself out, and shot a glare at Evie, but made them invisible until Regina would move on again. Though she did notice that Evie's voice did seem to cause Regina to act a bit more than if some random had shouted at her. Hook demonstrated to Harry how to hold Evie at a time like this.
"Shh... You shouldn't sing like a songbird like that..." Harry smirked as he whispered to Evie. "We don't want that, do we?"
Regina looked around before shrugging at herself as she went back home for the night. Evie whimpered just a little behind the pirate teen's hand. She shivered a little too. Cora allowed a smirk to crawl onto her face.
"Well, is she broken?" Hook asked, referring to Regina.
"Not yet~" Cora smirked.
Regina soon went away, but decided to talk with Archie whenever she would have the next chance to.
"Let's go back to the ship." Cora advised then, as she did a spell to keep track of Regina before she transported them right onto the deck of the ship.
"Ah... There's no place like The Jolly Roger." Hook said in relief.
"Well said, Dad," Harry grinned in agreement before he looked darkly over at Evie. "Comfortable, Princess Blueberry?" he then asked with a vicious smirk.
Evie struggled a little.
"Don't be too harsh yet, my dear boy~" Cora smirked. "She's going to be very useful to us~" she told him.
"Of course I won't," Harry smirked back. "This is going to be fun for everyone."
"We still need her for our plans to work, especially with help from Xianniang." Cora advised.
Evie looked very wide-eyed and scared, wondering what the worst her grandmother and the pirate father and son could do to her, but fearing even more with her imagination under stress.
Back at the party, Doug was soon trying to approach Evie again who was staring out the window because she was not who she said she was. "Hey, uh... Hello, there." he then greeted the blue-haired teenage girl.
"Hey... Doug, right?" Evie asked him.
"That's me." Doug nodded.
"Um... Hi..." Evie said to him. "...So, who did you come to visit the party for?" she then asked.
"Oh, uh, someone special," Doug smiled bashfully. "A sweet girl with blue hair and a good heart, especially around little Henry, who's made quite a difference in Storybrooke even before Miss Swan showed up in town."
Evie thought a moment then looked to him a little disbelieving. "Me?" she asked, unbelieving at first.
"Maybe..." Doug smirked. "You're a very interesting person, Evie Mills."
"Really?" Evie raised an eyebrow. "And just what do you know about me?" she asked him.
"Oh, I may have heard some things here and there, you're pretty hard to miss," Doug replied as he leaned against the wall, trying to look cool and suave with a bashful smile. "You sorta stick out."
Evie gave a small chuckle. "Look, I don't know what you've heard, but I do know I can't offer anything more than friendship." she told him outright.
"Oh... Are you sure?" Doug asked, trying not to look too disappointed.
"Right now, I've got to concentrate on Henry... Uh... I've been away from home so long that I should spend some time with Henry while I still can in case anything else happens around here." Evie said, though she seemed to be making up an excuse (which she actually was because she wasn't who everybody thought she was).
"Hmm... All right..." Doug said flatly as he got rejected.
Evie gave a seemingly apologetic smile to that a bit though before she walked over to Henry suddenly as he sat with Dee Dee.
Ruby had noticed and muttered to Doug as she passed. "Don't give up." she whispered to him, wanting Evie and even Doug to be happy.
"Thanks." Doug replied softly.
Ruby smiled to him gently.
"I guess I'll see..." Doug said before shrugging. "I'm even nervous about telling my dad and uncles that I don't wanna toil in mines for the rest of my life even though it's my duty to do so as a dwarf like they are."
"But your mother doesn't do that, right?" Ruby asked.
"Nah... Mom's between jobs right now... But she's not a dwarf like us," Doug reminded. "My family just wouldn't understand and Dad might not even talk to me again if I told him how I felt."
Ruby pulled a bit of a face.
"Yeah, yeah, I see the irony, I heard it once I said it," Doug then said since he was the son of Dopey after all who was known for being the quiet one of the dwarves. "I just have a lot on my mind now... What with Evie's return back home and trying to be honest about what I wanna do with my life even though I'm the descendant of a dwarf."
Ruby smiled softly. "Just remember, Evie hasn't been reunited with Henry long, she'll be putting him before anything else for a little while, but keep at it and maybe even Evie will help you out with your little problem." she told him, patting his shoulder.
Doug nodded at her in understanding as he tried not to get too upset. Ruby smiled in an almost surrogate big sister fashion. Everyone had a lot on their minds that night and only time would be able to tell if things would ever actually get better.
Soon, Henry was back home after being brought back by Evie as he wore his pajamas and was on his way to bed. He was soon lying down comfortably in his bed before looking over as Evie stepped over with a storybook for her little brother.
"Henry? It's storytime~" Evie smiled sweetly.
"Cool! You read stories really neat-o, Evie." Henry smiled back as he sat up a little in his bed.
"'Once upon a time, there was a giant, and he was a'--" Evie began to read aloud suddenly.
"No! Remember from before you left? We started that one!" Henry interrupted and corrected as he pointed over to a different storybook. "You know, about the princess and the meany witch?" he then reminded as he flipped through the pages for her. "This is where we left off."
"Oh... Okay..." Evie said as she looked down at the pages and read aloud from the words in front of her. "'And so the evil witch said 'So, my pretty, you can't escape'--" she began to read in a bit of a monotone voice.
"No, no! That's not the witch!" Henry glared before he corrected his sister again, speaking in a wicked witch voice as best as he could. "'So my pretty... You can't escape~'."
"Uh... It's... It's kinda late, Henry. It's time to go to sleep," Evie suddenly said, putting the book back and deciding to leave the younger boy's room. "Uh... Good night."
Henry frowned as he began to realize there was something terribly wrong with his older sister, but couldn't figure out what it was just yet. However, later and deep into the night, Henry fell into a deep sleep and soon woke up as he thought he felt something very wrong going on. He then walked over to his window and looked down a bit, seeing Evie out and about in the middle of the night before her eyes suddenly turned a hellish red as she slowly transformed into a falcon and began to look around the Mills backyard to look for anything interesting before finding the apple tree and seemed to smirk at the sight of it.
"That's not Evie..." Henry whispered softly as he was too scared to go down and confront his older sister, so he quickly hid back under the covers, but he was going to get to the bottom of this mystery one way or another.
The next day soon came as Evie was fast asleep in her bed before her bedroom door opened to show Regina and Henry coming by.
"Evie? Evie! Wake up, dear." Regina called to her daughter.
"Mother?" Evie asked softly. "What is it?"
Soon, the two were outside and Regina's apple tree had been wilted and the apples were black and disgusting looking as they had become beyond rotten to the core.
"What in the world happened?" Regina wondered as she picked up one apple while Henry had an accusatory glare at his older sister.
"I don't know! This is terrible..." Evie said before she picked up one of the apples and narrowed her eyes, looking a bit dangerous at it.
Henry noticed that and looked even more suspicious of his sister's sudden and strange behavior.
Soon, Henry and Evie went to Granny's Diner to get breakfast because Emma had called and promised a special treat for the siblings.
"So, what was it like?" Henry wondered. "Over there?"
"Well, let's see," Emma replied. "There were ogres, the dead rising, people trying to kill me. And... More... Ogres?"
"Awesome," Henry smiled before looking at Evie. "You should've told me about those stories instead of our usual bedtime story."
Evie just blinked and shrugged as she ate her bowl of cereal.
"Kid, we gotta work on your sense of awesome," Emma advised. "Come on. It's time for school. I'll walk you to the school bus."
"It's okay. Evie and I can go on our own." Henry said.
"I know that you can, that doesn't mean that you should." Emma retorted.
"David let me." Henry defended.
"Well, I'm not David." Emma then replied.
"You used to let me and I go with Evie all the time." Henry soon countered.
"Well, I am not me," Emma retorted. "I'm walking you, because that's what mothers do, and I'm doing it. Is that okay with you too, Evie?" she then asked.
Evie looked over. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" she then replied.
Emma nodded at that. "Let's just hope none of your teachers decide to spring a pop quiz on you on your first day back, huh?" she then added with a smirk.
"Huh?!" Evie then asked.
"Ah, I'm only teasing you!" Emma then said, gently patting Evie on her shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it. Fighting ogres can't be worse than high school, right?" she then added with a bit of a laugh.
Evie just had a bemused expression on her face before they soon left the diner to get going to school for the day.
Soon, they left Granny's Diner and suddenly came face-to-face with someone unexpected outside.
"Hey, Pongo." Henry smiled warmly at the Dalmatian.
Pongo continued to bark especially around Evie.
"It's okay. You know Evie." Henry reminded as he tried to calm the dog down, but they then realized that Pongo was on his own which was odd for the dog.
"Where's Archie?" Emma soon wondered as Evie hid a dark smirk to herself.
Ruby rushed out from the diner to Pongo "Emma! Something's wrong." she then warned the blonde woman.
"How do you know? Never mind. The wolf thing," Emma replied until she realized that Ruby probably knew what was going on with Pongo before she faced the Mills siblings. "You know what? 11 is old enough to walk to school. I'll pick you up later." she then suggested.
"Okay." Henry said before leaving with Evie.
Evie glared a bit at Pongo as she continued to get to school with Henry. However, after Evie brought Henry to school, Henry decided to sneak back over to Evie's school to have a word with one of her classmates, going to one he trusted more than the other teenagers if not Evie. Several teenagers were in front of the school grounds, talking with each other before class would start, but Ben was getting ready for something in particular for school as Evie, Mal, Jay, and Carlos hung around him a bit.
"Ben! Wait for me!" Henry called out as he rushed over to the boy he trusted like a "best friend big brother".
"Hey, big guy. What's up?" Ben smiled as he turned around to face the younger boy.
"Ben, I've gotta tell you something," Henry said before he saw Evie right there while Mal, Jay, and Carlos got out of the way. "...It's a secret." he then added in a hushed tone of voice.
"Later, E. Man talk." Ben soon said to Evie.
Evie then decided to walk away to give the two some space.
"Okay, Henry. Make it quick," Ben then said to the younger boy with a small smile. "I'm in charge of showing Audrey and Lonnie around school until we find a way to get them back home."
"That's not Evie!" Henry soon told Ben as he pointed in the direction of his supposed older sister.
"What?!" Henry asked flatly.
"She didn't give me the funny kiss, didn't know what story to read, and didn't even do the scary witch voice." Henry began to explain.
"Henry..." Ben said patiently and gently, putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders. "Evie's had a seriously hard time last week. She's stressed!"
"Nuh-uh..." Henry shook his head. "I saw a light shining from her eyes and she turned into a falcon, then she went outside and talked to herself, and her eyes turned all red and yucky."
"Sounds to me like you had a monster dream last night. We'll talk about it later, okay?" Ben advised as he stood up with a small smile as the bell began to ring. "We both gotta get to class, especially you since you're far from your own school." he then said before running off suddenly.
"Wait! WAIT!" Henry cried out before he pouted and frowned. "...This must be how The Boy Who Cried Wolf felt in the end of the story." he then pouted to himself before he walked away suddenly.
Eventually, the mystery about Pongo began to get worse, especially since he was without Archie. The adults soon realized they would probably have to get their hands dirty about their current situation.
Soon, it was time for lunch for everybody, especially in Storybrooke High as Ben was showing Audrey and Lonnie around the school while introducing them to everybody as the daughters of Sleeping Beauty and Mulan, hoping they would all get along nicely.
"So, uh, I think I might try out for sports or something like you," Carlos soon said to Jay as they sat at their table together, only without Mal or Evie right now. "It might be good for me, ya know?"
"Hmm... Sure, Carlos! You could probably be a good help in sports." Jay said with a bit of a smirk.
"You really think so?" Carlos asked hopefully.
"Sure, especially in football," Jay said before smirking a bit darker in response. "You'd make an excellent dummy for practice!" he then laughed a bit.
Carlos narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's not exactly what I had in mind, Jay." he then pouted firmly at the older boy.
"Meh... I just don't want ya to get hurt," Jay said before ruffling up Carlos' hair. "You were always a delicate type. What makes you think you could do sports?" he then asked.
"Well, I dunno," Carlos shrugged in response. "I guess it's just one of life's mysteries."
"I'll tell you a mystery about life," Doug spoke up as he stepped over, setting his tray down of chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots along with a buttered roll. "What's the deal with them anyway?"
"Ya got me," Carlos shrugged. "We're hip, young eligible bachelors sitting in a room full of girls and not one of them wants to sit with us."
"Except for Mal and Evie..." Jay soon spoke up. "Wherever they are and what's keepin' 'em."
"Right..." Carlos said before he looked over. "Meanwhile, guys like Chad get a lot of girls."
"Well... He IS the son of a Prince Charming." Jay remarked.
Chad grinned as he had girls surrounding his table before he stood up and hunched down to pick up his apple that he dropped on the floor before he suddenly split his pants and stood up with an awkward chuckle and grin.
"...Hold the charm." Carlos soon said before he glanced over in Jane's direction, sighing a bit to himself.
"There must be an explanation... I'd do anything to get the girl I like to pay attention to me," Doug said before he sighed to himself. "I could make her a heck of a lot happy than old Chad Herman ever could or would."
"Evie, right?" Jay guessed with a smirk.
"Evie?!" Doug squeaked with wide eyes before he blushed instantly, looking identical to his bashful uncle. "Oh, no... I only like Evie as a friend."
"You kiddin' us?" Jay smirked. "What about last Valentine's Day when Chad gave your Valentine to her and you admitted that it was yours?"
Doug turned away and groaned nervously.
"Jay, stop. You're embarrassing him." Carlos tutted a bit.
"Oops. Sorry, dude," Jay said then. "You okay?"
"Yeah... I guess..." Doug shrugged. "Evie said we could talk later, but I swear, it feels like later never comes, especially ever since she made it back to Storybrooke."
"Well, maybe she's just too busy or stressed out about coming back home after so long." Carlos suggested.
"Or maybe she just hates your guts." Jay added.
"Jay!" Carlos glared.
"What?" Jay shrugged in response as Carlos face-palmed at him. "Doug's the smart one around here. I thought he'd know the explanation."
"It's because I'm a dweeb." Doug frowned and bowed his head, ashamed of himself even if he was unable to help it.
"Doug... No..." Carlos frowned a bit.
"That's right. You're a dweeb," Jay told the teenage half-dwarf. "It pains me to admit it, but Carlos might be just a dweeb too. You're particularly dweebish, buddy," he then looked at Carlos. "No offense."
"Nah... I'm starting to think you're right," Carlos shrugged and sighed. "I'm slightly above geek anyway if not a big dork."
"I'm sorry, guys, but not everybody can be awesome like me," Jay replied. "That's just the cards you were dealt in life and you have to face it. No girl in her right mind would be with a couple of dweebs like you guys."
"Hey, guys!" Mal said as she and Evie suddenly walked over.
"Finally..." Jay said at the arrival of the girls while Doug looked wide-eyed and hopeful toward Evie.
Mal and Evie then stepped over and sat down to eat with Jay, Carlos, and Doug.
"Say Doug, isn't that a trumpet case?" Evie soon pointed out.
"Oh, uh... Yes, it is..." Doug replied before he blushed and showed it to her.
"I love the trumpet~" Evie soon smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh! Uh... Cool... Band is my next class after lunch... Which is time for nutrition!" Doug soon spoke, rambling a bit nervously to the girl he really liked.
"Gee, that was smooth." Mal snarked a bit.
"How are Lonnie and Audrey adjusting to school?" Jay asked.
"They seem to be doing okay..." Mal shrugged. "Even if that Princess Pinky and I are supposed to be moral enemies cuz of Queen Briar Rose and Carabosse, then, of course, my mother and Princess Aurora, and now finally me and Audrey."
"Yikes..." Jay winced. "Yeah, I guess I can kinda see how that would be awkward. No offense."
"As always, Jay, you're a charmer." Mal rolled her eyes in response as they continued to eat up until lunchtime was over.
Soon, Doug and Evie accidentally stood up together and fall down on the floor together on their way to the trashcans and then out the door.
"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!" Doug said nervously at the collision before he looked over to see he had accidentally literally run into a certain girl he had known for so long. "...Evie?"
"Doug? Hey, I'm the one who should apologize for running into you," Evie replied to the teenage half-dwarf. "I guess I better run along to class... Though I'll need someone to carry my books for me."
"Carry your books for you?" Doug asked, tilting his head. "Well, yes, that would be a chivalrous thing to do, but your next class is very far away from mine and I can't be tardy, especially with turning in my homework as it would leave a mark on my spotless record and--"
"Ooh... Ow~" Evie pouted as she looked Doug right in the eyes. "I think I hurt my arm when I fell down~"
"...Oh. Oh, Evie... Whatever you would like..." Doug soon said before smiling back and blushing at her direct eye contact.
"Yes, Doug... Of course... We should bond together... Especially since you're so smart and wise..." Evie nodded before she stood up with the boy.
Doug gulped a bit bashfully and soon began to head down the hallway with Evie. Mal stepped out of the cafeteria and raised an eyebrow as she thought Evie was acting kind of funny ever since she got back to Storybrooke.
Soon, after school, Emma, Mary Margaret, and David waited for Evie and Henry to meet up at Main Street as the school day was coming to an end.
"Henry and Evie are gonna meet up here any minute." Emma said to her parents.
"You can do this." Mary Margaret urged her daughter.
"Tell my son that someone he loved was killed by someone else he cares about who is the mother of his sister? I don't know if I can," Emma replied. "Yeah, I don't think I can do any of this. This is like real parent stuff. How can I be a parent if I never was one?" she then asked in a bit of anguish.
"I know. I've been asking myself the same question." David coaxed.
"Oh, no. You guys don't have to--" Emma frowned in concern. "It... It's different."
"No, it isn't. And yes, we have to," Mary Margaret replied. "We can figure it out. So can you."
"You don't know me. You don't know what I was before Storybrooke," Emma shook her head. "And trust me, I was not parent material."
"Yeah, but we know who you are since you've been here." David defended.
"What if I revert?" Emma soon asked. "Regina did."
"You're not going to," David reassured. "And the Emma I know was great with Henry and maybe even Evie too."
"I was Henry's parent for five minutes and I don't even know what Evie thinks of me personally." Emma retorted.
"And I was yours for five minutes, too, but things are different now, for all of us," David replied as the Mills siblings began to approach. "We don't have to go through any of it alone. We're family."
"Emma. We told you we could walk ourselves." Henry said to his estranged birth mother.
"I know. Something happened, and... I want you to hear it from me first." Emma replied softly.
"What is it?" Evie asked in concern.
"Come here." Emma gently requested as she led the Mills siblings over to a bench so that the three of them could sit and talk.
Meanwhile, Regina was sitting in her car and watching the scene unfold in the mirror. She began crying, as she saw Emma break the news to her children. Henry, looking upset, hugged Emma and Evie who then hugged him right back. Regina looked very broken on the inside, though as she watched her son and daughter embrace Emma, she could've sworn that she saw Evie smirking which didn't really sound like something the teenage girl would do at all.
That night, back on the Storybrooke Docks, Hook was sharpening his hook as Harry sat with Evie as a certain person came back over to them.
"You're back," Harry said as he looked over at the older woman. "So did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes. My daughter's lost everything now." Cora nodded.
"No..." Evie whispered and moaned in heartbreak for her poor mother.
"Ah. Well, aren't you Mum of the Year?" Hook remarked.
"I did what was needed." Cora defended.
"What about what I need?" Hook soon retorted. "You promised you'd help me get my revenge on Rumplestiltskin and so that my son can go after his son."
"And I've already started," Cora countered. "Or didn't you notice the little gift I left you in the hold of your ship?" she then asked.
"A gift? What is it?" Hook soon asked.
"Not what. Who." Cora retorted.
They soon entered the ship which was still cloaked. Inside Cora led Hook to a crate which she then opened; revealing to him her "gift". Evie gasped and looked even more devastated at who she saw when Cora began to answer Hook's questions.
"Who's that?" Harry asked.
Cora: Someone privy to Storybrooke's deepest secrets, including Rumplestiltskin's. Someone who can help us determine his weaknesses here.
"Archie..." Evie muttered in fear and concern.
Archie was shown bound and gagged in the crate, though he looked curious and also concerned at the sight of Evie.
"Can't you, Dr. Hopper?" Cora soon continued coldly.
"If that's him, then who did you kill?" Hook soon asked out of confusion.
"How do I know? It's my first day in town." Cora shrugged nonchalantly.
"You disguised the body to look like him. If death wasn't punishment enough..." Hook realized before he smirked darkly at the older woman. "Marvelous work."
"Thank you. Now you'll have all the knowledge you'll need," Cora nodded. "It may take some work, but this cricket will chirp."
"Aye. That he will." Hook nodded.
Harry soon saw that it was getting late. "Come, Princess... We should get ready for bed~" he then told Evie.
Evie pouted, not liking this one bit, but found herself having no choice but to do what Harry asked of her. The two adults soon grinned at each other rather maliciously. As they did that, a falcon soon screeched and began to fly right back over to them before disappearing in a swirl of black smoke and soon, a mysterious and elusive masked woman was shown.
"Ah, Xianniang, welcome back," Cora nodded. "How was your visit to Storybrooke High?"
"What...?" Evie murmured with wide eyes and horror.
"Oh, things are going just fine, Your Majesty," Xianniang replied with a loyal bow in her stance. "It also appears that the descendants of Fa Mulan and Princess Aurora Rose are the newest students. Princess Evie's reputation in school will be tarnished as soon as possible thanks to me~"
"What have you done?!" Evie cried out, trying to lunge out only to be held back by Harry.
"Ah, ah, ah! Don't speak out of turn, lassie~" Harry tutted as he restrained Evie.
"You really shouldn't, young Evie..." Cora cooed before patting her granddaughter on the head. "Besides, if your reputation is ruined in school and in this town, where will you even go after all of this? You should be someone who truly loves and cares about you~"
"Mom cares about me and Henry needs me," Evie firmly pouted, trying very hard not to cry. "I'm not letting you control me like you controlled my mother."
"Oh, Evie, sweetie..." Cora chuckled warmly as she gently pinched her granddaughter's cheek. "You don't have much of a choice. You won't even be able to explain yourself to your peers and your family after Xianniang finishes her mission for us. I'm only looking out for you, my dear~"
Evie narrowed her eyes a bit.
"Rapunzel's mother always knew best you know and so has The Evil Queen's mother who is only trying to help her granddaughter," Cora soothed. "Now hush, my dear... You must be exhausted~"
Evie frowned as she didn't like where this was going so far.
"Sleep, my little Evie... Let your dreams take wing~" Cora soon began to sing before Xianniang decided to change back into being Evie's double and went to head back into town. "One day when you're big and strong... You will be the next queen~"
"...Good night." Evie frowned as she soon went over to a hammock for the night as Harry kept a stern and watchful eye on her.
"Good night, Sweet Princess," Cora grinned darkly, starting a rather dark and twisted lullaby to motivate her granddaughter. "Tomorrow, our plans will intensify~" she then laughed a bit before she shut the door on Evie as night took over Storybrooke.
Evie sniffled as she tried very hard not to cry. She then closed her eyes, thinking about being safe back home with Henry and soon tried to sing a song to herself in comfort which was a song she learned after Henry first cried out to her in the middle of the night having a bad dream due to a thunderstorm that night and Regina had a very big work schedule she had to work through and would barely be able to fully pay attention to them, so Evie had to take on extra responsibility and not risk waking up their already stressed out Mayor Mother and so she sang her little brother to sleep that night, becoming a better and better big sister every day. She just wished it was true right now as she deeply missed poor Henry and was terrified to imagine what her double was doing to him as she cried and sang herself to sleep that night. "I see the crystal raindrops fall, And the beauty of it all, Is when the sun comes shining through, To make those rainbows in my mind, When I think of you some time, And I wanna spend some time with you, Just the two of us, We can make it if we try, Just the two of us~"