Narrated by Kaylee
Aubrey and I were having lunch with Snow and David, and we were talking about the Jefferson occurrence. Suddenly, Mr. Gold walked in, and we looked up at his approach. "Is everything okay, Gold?" David asked.
"Everything is fine, Deary; I only come to speak with the twins," Mr. Gold replied. "It's an important matter."
"Whatever it is, they aren't doing you any more favors nor are they ever going to put themselves in danger because of you," retorted David.
"Oh, you need not fear, for I don't plan any dangerous missions," Mr. Gold replied. "I only come here with a small favor in mind."
"They don't owe you anything," David said firmly.
"On the contrary, they do," Mr. Gold replied, turning to Aubrey and me. "Remember when I told you that you can owe me a favor another time after I saved you from Zelena?"
"Yes," I replied.
"Well, I'm here for that favor," Mr. Gold said.
"What is it?" I asked nervously.
Mr. Gold took out a potion and held it up. "This potion is going to make it possible to find my son, Bae. With it, I can finally cross over the town line without losing my memories. But being unfamiliar to the outside, nonmagical world, I need guidance. Since you two are from this nonmagical land, you are going to help me find my son."
"How do we find him?" Aubrey asked.
"Come to my shop, and I will show you," Mr. Gold replied.
"I had no idea you had a son," David said.
"Yes, and I hope to be reunited with him soon," Mr. Gold replied.
"What happened between the two of you?" David questioned.
"Let's just say, I was never the father I should have been; for I let him go, but now I am going to find him and make things right," Mr. Gold replied solemnly.
"I wish you luck with finding your son," David said. "And promise to take care of Aubrey and Kaylee. Keep them safe."
Mr. Gold nodded. "You have my word."
We entered Mr. Gold's shop, and he disappeared in the backroom then returned with a solid white globe. "Now is the time to finally use this," he said, setting it down onto the counter.
"How does it work?" I asked.
"I'll show you," Mr. Gold replied. "With blood magic, I can locate anyone in this world who is my blood relation." He then pricked his finger on a spindle that was connected to the globe, then he let a drop of his blood fall onto the globe. To our wonder, a world map appeared, and the drop of blood traced its way until it pinpointed a location in the state of New York, and the location was lighted up. In small words, it read, Manhattan. Then Mr. Gold tapped the area, causing it to scroll in until an apartment was shown. He wrote down the apartment number and location onto paper and tucked it into his coat pocket.
"Well, that isn't too far from here," I said.
"So do you drink the potion in order to preserve your memories?" Aubrey asked.
"Yes," he replied. "Once I cross the town line, I will still remember who I am."
"What about us?" I questioned. "Do you think we will lose our memories crossing the town line?"
"Perhaps," he replied, "so just to play it safe, I will share this potion with you. It should be enough for the three of us. Now pack up your bags. It's time to go find my son."
We said our goodbyes and left in Mr. Gold's car. He used GPS to locate the nearest airport, then we purchased our plane tickets. Mr. Gold looked very anxious the entire time since it would be his first time flying on a plane. Upon boarding the plane, he did not speak a word the whole way, and I could even see him trembling.
We soon disembarked the plane and grabbed our luggage then left the airport. We took a bus to the location where Baelfire lived. Mr. Gold took out the piece of paper that showed his apartment number, and we located Baelfire's apartment. "This is it," Mr. Gold said. Then suddenly, he looked nervous again. "Maybe Bae's not home," he said, hesitating.
"You don't have to be nervous," I said. "This is what you have been waiting for. Finally, you can make it right with your son."
"He might not want to see me, and I wouldn't blame him," Mr. Gold replied, shaking his head sadly. "He is probably ashamed of his papa."
"I know that he will forgive you, and you can finally make peace with him," I reassured.
Mr. Gold then slowly knocked.
In the Enchanted Forest (Happening Now)
Cora, the Queen of Hearts and Regina's mother, left Wonderland through the looking glass that was created when we went to Wonderland through the hat. Cora was planning to see her daughter, unaware of the curse enacted, and she hoped to make amends with her. She went to her daughter's castle, but strangely there were no guards around, for the castle looked to have been abandoned. She called for her daughter. "Regina? It's your mother. I have returned." She searched every room but still her daughter was not found, and she grew worried. "What has happened to my daughter?" she muttered to herself with much concern. Something very bad could have happened to Regina like she was killed or exiled, and I should have been there for her even though she hated me, Cora thought anxiously. Let me see if she is out and about. Cora left the castle and wandered about in search for Regina. Suddenly, she found something lying on the ground. Cora looked interested, picked it up, and examined it closely. My, one is irresponsible to leave such a valuable object lying around for anyone to take. I must say, that is quite the fancy oil lamp. Suddenly, her expression grew surprised. But it is no ordinary oil lamp, for only one of these exists, the genie lamp. I've seen this lamp in a picture. How does it come to be here? It's like it was waiting to be found. Looks like it's mine now, and I have the first wish in mind if I do not find my daughter.
In Manhattan (Happening Now)
After a few more knocks at the door, it opened. A young, tired-looking man stood at the door, and at the sight of Mr. Gold, he grew very surprised. "No, it can't be...," he said with shock.
"Oh, Bae, yes, it's your papa, and I'm here to tell you that I am sorry for hurting you, for being a coward, and for letting you go," Mr. Gold said with emotion in his voice. "I want to make it up to you."
"It's Neal now, and I'm sorry but I don't want to talk to you," Baelfire responded. "Now it's my turn to let you go." He started to shut the door, but Mr. Gold stopped it.
"Please, Bae," Mr. Gold begged. "Just five minutes of your time at least. I'm not leaving until I talk to you. That is all. I want you to hear what I have to say. You have no idea the amount of regret I have lived with each day. Don't let me lose you again, please, Bae."
Neal nodded. "Okay, only five minutes. That is the deal."
Mr. Gold smiled. "Thank you, Son."
Neal then turned his gaze onto us. "Who are they?" he asked. "Your children?"
"No, just acquaintances who have helped me find you," Mr. Gold replied. "You see, they are familiar with this world because they come from it, so they guided me through it."
"Let me guess, it was one of your deals," Neal scoffed, turning his head away. "Come in and make our little chat quick." Neal opened the door wide.
"We could wait here," I offered.
"No, come in," Neal insisted. "Don't stand out here."
We nodded our thanks then entered, and Neal shut the door then faced his father. There was momentarily awkward silence then Mr. Gold began to speak. "Bae, I know you are angry at me and probably hate me, and I understand that. I know that I hurt you by letting you go and that you had to grow up alone without a father. Just know that there is not a day that goes by I do not feel regret. I want to be a family again if you would just give me that chance. If you would only forgive me. I love you, Son, more than life itself, and now that I have finally found you, I get to tell you that I am so sorry. I wish that I could change the past."
Neal looked deeply emotional. "I don't hate you, Papa; I just feel very hurt. You chose your power over your own son. You have no idea how it felt living alone knowing that your own father abandoned you. We could have been a family if only you let go of your power. It ruined you, Papa, and as a result it ripped us apart. I had to live without a father. You loved your own power more than your own son. It was too much to give up. You caused your own pain."
"But we can start over," sobbed Mr. Gold. "I have changed. Please, Bae, give me a chance to show you that I could be the father I've never been. Don't let me lose you again."
"The five minutes are up, and that is what we agreed on," Neal said. "It's time to go, Papa."
"Don't do this to me, Bae; don't push me away," Mr. Gold pleaded. "Give me a second chance."
"Our deal was that it would be a five-minute talk, so time is up," Bae said, looking away.
"And I will honor our agreement," Mr. Gold replied, turning away sadly. I looked at Neal with a sigh then turned my gaze to Mr. Gold. Then Neal silently agreed to my silent plea.
"Wait," Neal said, stopping him, then Mr. Gold turned around hopefully.
"Yes, Bae?" he said.
"Maybe we could talk a little bit more over a bite," Neal suggested. "There is a good diner right across the street."
Mr. Gold looked overjoyed and nodded. "I would love that, Son. Thank you for giving this to me."
We walked into the diner and seated on a booth, then the waitress approached our table and took our drink orders. There was awkward silence as everyone read their menus. Then Mr. Gold spoke, getting up, "If you'd excuse me, I need to use the restroom." He then walked away. I could tell that Mr. Gold was super nervous. Then Neal spoke to Aubrey and me.
"So, I did not get the chance to catch your names."
We told our names. "So, how is it living in New York?" I asked.
"I wouldn't call it a quiet life, but I've made my living here well," he replied. "So, tell me a little about yourselves. You come from this world?"
I told the whole story of how we arrived in the Enchanted Forest but left out the part about our deal with his father, and I mentioned about the curse and time aberration. Mr. Gold shortly returned just as the waitress came over with our drinks. Mr. Gold said that he wasn't hungry anymore, so Neal requested that we all share some fries. After we ate, Aubrey and I decided to take a walk so that Neal and Mr. Gold could talk alone.
Narrated by Aubrey (continued)
In the Enchanted Forest (Happening Now)
Cora headed to the nearby village to see if she could find any answers to where her daughter was. There were barely any people there which confused her. She questioned some of them about why the village had become this way and asked about her daughter, but none of them could answer. Then once she headed inside a bar, feeling dejected since she had no luck, suddenly, a man joined her side and said, "Wondering where your daughter went?"
Cora turned around, and her face grew into surprise, then she responded, "Hello, Killian Jones, or shall I say Hook. It's been a long time. What has it been like... eleven years since? Anyway, you have news about my daughter?"
"Aye," Hook replied, slamming down his large mug of beer. "I guess you haven't heard yet about what had happened." Cora shook her head, and he continued in his solemn tone, "Many weeks ago your daughter, Regina, cast a curse that sent everyone from parts of this land that the curse touched into a different land where they would all be cursed. However, incase if you're wondering, I'm still here because at that time, I was sailing far out at sea, far away enough that the curse never hit me. And the reason why this village has very few inhabitants is because, as you can guess, it was hit. But every person in this village just moved here."
Cora's face grew into sorrow. "Well, I guess you were the lucky one to have escaped the curse."
"Ha! Lucky?" Hook scoffed. "I wouldn't call it that. I'm sure I'd be happier there than I am here, and I'm sure you can see why. Just look what I've become. That bloody bastard, Blackbeard, took my ship and my whole crew with it, leaving me nothing. I was such a drunken, bloody fool to have blindly gambled with him, and I didn't know what he was gambling for. In addition, this bloody curse ripped some good friends from me I truly care about, and it took my chance for revenge away since it swept that bloody crocodile, Rumpelstiltskin, up with it too." Hook gritted his teeth with anger and pounded his clenched fist onto the table. "And now I will never be able to kill that crocodile using the Dreamshade I had brought back from Neverland." He took out a small bottle from his pocket that contained the liquid poison from the plant.
"I'm sorry, Hook," Cora replied solemnly. "That must be hard, just as hard as it is for me. We both lost what we truly care about. Now what if I told you there was a way for us to get what we desire?" Cora's lips drew up into a grin.
"What do you mean?" Hook asked, looking hopeful.
"Let's move somewhere else, and I'll explain," replied Cora. Once they were outside, away from the village, Cora brought out the genie lamp. "With this, all we would have to do is to make a wish, then we shall go to wherever they all are. That easy!"
"Where the bloody hell did you find that?" Hook exclaimed with utter shock and thrill.
"Oh, I was very fortunate to find it on the ground as I was walking," Cora replied. "Someone must had lost it. I believe I was fated to find it, and that shows that I am destined to be reunited with my daughter."
"What's your price for helping me?" asked Hook.
"Oh, no need to worry about that," Cora replied, "for there's no price simply because you told me where my daughter was. We can call it even."
Hook let out a triumphant smile and replied with a nod, "I'm much obliged to you, Cora. I'm glad we met up again."
"The pleasure is all mine," Cora responded with a smile. "Now time to go to this other land." Cora took out the genie lamp, rubbed the side of it, then commanded to the genie, "I wish for you to take us to wherever my daughter is." Then Hook and Cora disappeared and appeared at the end of some woods near a road that had a sign reading, Welcome to Storybrooke. "I'm home, Regina," Cora murmured.
"And time to skin that crocodile," Hook added with an ambitious grin.
In Manhattan (Happening Now)
Kaylee and I came back from our walk around the city, feeling refreshed and full of excitement. When we came back to the diner, we only saw Mr. Gold sitting there all alone. Oh no, did they get into a fight? I thought. Approaching Mr. Gold, I asked him where Neal went, and Mr. Gold replied, sounding very upset, "Pack your bags. We are going to catch the soonest flight out of here. It was a huge mistake coming here. I should have known better."
"But I thought everything was going fine," Kaylee said, sounding very surprised and disappointed. "I don't understand...."
"You don't have to understand!" Mr. Gold snapped. "My son doesn't want to see me, and that's all to it. End of story."
"You had a fight, didn't you?" I questioned, but Mr. Gold didn't reply, so I concluded that was a yes.
"Can't you just make up," I added, feeling nervous he would snap again.
"It's not that easy, Deary," he replied, but this time in just a solemn tone. "He will never forgive me."
"Don't give up on him yet," I replied.
In Storybrooke (Happening Now)
Regina was in the middle of filing paperwork in her office when a surprised visitor entered her room, and she looked up. "Mother?" she exclaimed in great shock. "How is this possible? How are you here!"
"Hello, Regina," Cora emotionally replied, approaching her. "I just had to see you. I know you probably don't want to see me, but I just wanted to tell you how much I have missed you, and I couldn't bare being apart from you. I love you."
"Don't you tell me that you love me!" Regina snapped. "And you should have not come here. I don't want to see you."
Cora looked hurt then replied with remorse and regret, "I know I've never been the best mother, and I understand why you don't want to forgive me, but I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, and I promise to be the mother I've failed to be if you just give me a chance. Nothing grieves me more than that. But now I have changed. But you know, all I ever wanted for you was what I thought was best for you, what I never had, and that is because I've always loved you even if I've never showed it very well. But I hope one day you can learn to forgive me, and we can be a family again---"
"No, Mother, all you wanted was what you thought was best for you," Regina interrupted with anger. "It was never about me. You never cared what I wanted, and you controlled my life as if it were your own. That's not true, sincere love, so don't tell me you wanted what was best for me because it wasn't! You ruined my life and made me into someone I never was before. Look what I became; I became the Evil Queen because of you! Now you expect me to forget about everything, forgive you, and move on? I will never! You've done enough damage." Then Regina began to weep, very stirred up emotionally, then she drew her lip up into a snarl. "Go back to Wonderland where I won't ever have to see you again."
"If that's what you want," Cora replied sadly. Then she set the genie lamp onto the table, and Regina's eyes immediately grew wide with surprise. "I thought before I go, you might want to use this. I see that your curse has somehow been broken simply because no one seems cursed here to me. But with a wish you can get your final revenge on them and everything you desire."
"Mother, how did you get that?" Regina demanded. "That explains how you got here."
"It seems it was fate that brought me to it," replied Cora. "I found it on the ground in the Enchanted Forest. Was it yours?"
"Yes, it was," Regina abruptly replied. "I used it to reenact my curse, but strangely if never came here with me."
"Well, you have it now," replied Cora, handing the lamp over, and Regina accepted it.
"Wait a second...," Regina began in realization of something. "You said you found the lamp in the Enchanted Forest, but that wouldn't make sense because it should have been back in Agrabah where it originally was found." Then Regina explained about how the curse created a time aberration and mentioned about the theory that duplicates of everyone in Storybrooke could be back in the Enchanted Forest since the time aberration sent everyone to the past, way before the curse ever hit. "I don't understand...," Regina trailed off into confusion.
"Well, this time aberration you speak of must had not affected the Enchanted Forest since it's a different realm," Cora concluded, "and furthermore, as more proof, I was told by a friend I came across in the Enchanted Forest that the village I went to when searching for you only had people who had recently moved there since apparently all the former villagers had been swept up by the curse."
"So, it is possible to return to the Enchanted Forest now," Regina murmured to herself.
Later after Cora left, Hook stormed into Regina's office and demanded, "Where's Rumpelstiltskin!"
Regina looked up, surprised, and replied, "Oh, you must be my mother's friend she mentioned. You're Captain Hook, right?"
"Aye," Hook quickly responded. "Now tell me where the bloody crocodile is!" he demanded sharply.
"He's not here in Storybrooke right now," Regina replied.
"Then where is he?" Hook angerly and impatiently questioned.
"He went away to go find his son, but I can't be sure when he'll be back," Regina curtly replied. "Let me guess... you desire revenge on him."
"Aye, and I will make sure I get it!" Hook replied crossly.
Regina replied, "Fancy all you want, but sorry to crush your ambition, Pirate, for it's not going to be that easy since there is now magic here in Storybrooke, which means Rumpelstiltskin has magic, so you won't stand a chance against him."
"But there isn't any magic outside of Storybrooke where he is, is there?" Hook questioned.
"That is correct," Regina replied.
"Then I won't wait until he returns," said Hook. "I will go find and kill him. Do you know where the bloody crocodile is now?"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Pirate, but you cannot cross the town line because when magic was put in Storybrooke, it came with a price, and that price made it so that if whoever crossed the town line out of Storybrooke would lose all their memories and return to their cursed ones. Rumpelstiltskin was only able to leave without losing his memories since he managed to have a potion that would keep him from forgetting who he was. But if you were to leave Storybrooke, you would forget about your own life and your revenge. You would become cursed with different memories. I'm sure you wouldn't want that, would you?"
Hook pounded his clenched fist onto Regina's desk, letting his anger out, since he was too impatient to wait for his revenge.
"And if you're forgetting," Regina added, "you cannot kill him simply because he is immortal."
"That's why I brought Dreamshade, the only thing that can actually kill the Dark One," Hook replied. "I will be waiting, and even if I risk my life, I won't ever rest until I skin that crocodile!"
In Manhattan (Happening Now)
Kaylee and I figured that Neal would be back in his apartment, so the three of us went there. Mr. Gold softly knocked at the door and said remorsefully, his voice trembling with deep emotion, "Bae, if you are in there and hear me, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. Will you please forgive me, Son? I should have never got upset. But you had every right to get upset with me and say what you said. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I hope you will someday. I love you, Son, and I will never give up on you. But I cannot move on until I know if you still love me."
Mr. Gold began to weep, and as he turned to leave, suddenly, the door opened, and there stood Neal looking very emotional. I could tell he had been crying. Then he said, "I forgive you, Papa."
"Oh, Bae!" exclaimed Mr. Gold through tears of joy. "Thank you, Son," he cried, then the father and the son embraced warmly. It was such a heart-warming sight, and it gave me joy to finally see them make up. I never saw Mr. Gold look so emotional and happy, and I knew only his son could finally change him.
The next day, we boarded the plane back to Storybrooke, and Neal had agreed to come with us just to visit for a little while. Once we arrived in Storybrooke, we were all immediately welcomed by Snow, David, Belle, and the seven dwarfs. Belle and Mr. Gold kissed and embraced. "You didn't tell me---" Neal said to his father.
"This is Belle, and we have been together for quite some time," Mr. Gold interrupted, turning his gaze onto his son.
"Rumple has told me so much about you," said Belle. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"And you," Neal replied.