"We did it." Emma announced as they burst through the door of the main room of the Dark Castle, finding Rumplestiltskin standing at the table, surrounded by potions and ingredients as if he'd been experimenting for a while.
"Your parents are together?" He asked, stirring a bottle which he held in his hands.
"They're right back on track." Emma nodded her head as the four of them came to stand at the table, Killian carrying the still unconscious woman over his shoulder.
"And we are ready to go back." Odette announced eagerly, eyes scanning over everything littering the table, wondering what among it would be of use to them.
"I see. And you brought some luggage?" He pointed to the woman.
"Long story." Emma sighed, not willing to get into it all.
"You won't be missing her." Odette reassured, hoping it would be enough for him to let the extra passenger slide without any further questions.
"So, our portal? Our way back home? Can you open it?" Aramis asked beginning to grow impatient now that they were so close to the end of this blasted trip to the past.
"I cannot." The Dark One announced in an unbothered voice, making their eyes widen as they stared at him in shock.
"Then what are you working on?" Emma asked in disbelief.
"Oh, this is for me. A forgetting potion. I know too much about my future. The only way to protect it, is to forget it." Even though she was pissed at him, Odette had to appreciate his approach to the entire thing. It would fix some of her worries, at least, when it came to the man knowing everything they said.
"Well, what about this wand? You said that could help us." Emma continued on asking her questions, pointing to the wand she recognized as the one they'd used to switch Pan and Henry's bodies back in Storybrooke; the Black Fairy's wand.
"Oh, that. Well, apparently, only those who used the portal can reopen it. So unless you can wield magic, I'm afraid, you're going nowhere." He announced, throwing the wand into Emma's hands as he looked between her and Odette. "And from what I've seen. You can't." He mocked.
"So, you just expect us to stay here? What about protecting your precious future?" Killian bit back at the man in anger.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do." Rumpelstiltskin's ominous words had all four of them taking a step back, Killian and Aramis going as far as drawing their swords as their minds jumped to the worst conclusion.
"He means to kill us."
The accusation made the Dark One giggle in amusement, and Odette really wanted to punch him in the face in that moment. "No. I mean to put you someplace safe. Someplace even I dare not go. Where I store the magic that is too dark or unpredictable even for me."
"We can-" Odette tried to reason with him, tried to explain that Emma can get there and use magic, they'd just need a tiny bit of time to get it to work. However, she didn't even get to properly begin speaking before a red mist circled around them and their surroundings changed.
The room they were now in was dark and enormous, lined with shelves and display cases in all corners, all of them filled with various items she couldn't even begin to know the origins of.
"No." Emma breathed out in surprise as she too looked around, realizing they were trapped with no way out again. And he intended to keep them there for as long as possible.
"How doe she possibly think this is a viable solution? The curse is a couple of years away and then what? Two Emmas in Storybrooke? 'Cause that's not gonna be a problem." Odette grumbled about in displeasure as she moved along the room, trying to see if there was some kind of door or window or even a crack in the wall which they could use to get out.
"At least he did us one favour. I'm devilishly handsome again." Killian's pleased tone made the blonde turn around to look at him in amusement as he admired himself in the mirror. But the amusement was short-lived as she watched him pull out some kind of urn from one of the cupboards.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She rushed over, carefully snatching the thing out of his hands and setting it on one of the tables to be left alone. "What kind of magic do you think the Dark One himself is scared of? We shouldn't touch anything in here."
"If we can't touch anything, how are we supposed to find a way out?" Aramis questioned in disbelief as he lowered his hand which was clearly about to pluck one of the books off of the shelves.
"I don't think there is one." Emma announced in a desperate voice, beginning to relent to the fate that was in store for them. "And, what's the point? You heard what he said." She reminded them.
"But you can. All he said we need is magic. You're the saviour. You can do it." Killian pointed out the reality of the situation.
"Not anymore. I lost it."
"When Zelena died, all of her spells were undone." Odette pointed out, joining Killian's side again as she spoke. "Your powers should have been restored."
"So should yours. Why aren't you trying to make it work?" Emma questioned in annoyance, making Odette give out a small sigh. But unlike her goddaughter, she didn't let herself lose patience. It would get them nowhere.
"After Zelena took my magic, I took my pendant off. And since yours didn't come back, I thought mine would be the same, so I never put it back on." Odette pointed to the simple gold locket she had hanging around her neck instead of the white pendant. "My magic is back in Storybrooke."
Knowing Odette had a valid point, Emma gave out a small sigh of despair. "Believe me, if I could make it work, I would. You think I'm faking it?"
"Truthfully?" It was Aramis who then stepped forward, not even really waiting for a response to his first question before he continued on. "I think not having magic makes it a lot of easier for you to run back to New York and pretend to be somebody else." His blunt statement had Odette's eyes widening for a few, even if she did agree with everything he said and thought it to be a correct assumption.
But she got past her shock quickly enough to be the one who spoke next. "He's right Emma. You can't keep denying who you are. It's time to stop running from it too." She urged her goddaughter on.
"You think, I don't know that?" Emma questioned in an exasperated tone. "Yes, I run away. That's how I always survived. But, believe me, I want this to work. I wanna go back. I wanna stop running."
"What's changed your mind?" Odette asked quietly, surprise slightly showing on her face as she most certainly hadn't expected that to be the answer Emma gave them in response to their prodding.
"Watching my mother die. Thinking she was dead. You saw what happened. I was so relieved when she was okay. And I hugged her. And you know what I saw in her eyes? Nothing. She didn't know who I was." Emma said, tears pooling in her eyes and voice breaking as she spoke and continued.
"I had saved her and lost her, too. And that's what I've been doing to her since I met her. It's got to stop." She announced with a newfound determination. "When Henry brought me to Storybrooke he told me I was the saviour. I didn't see what he was really doing: He was not bringing me back to break a curse. He was bringing me home." She said, taking a small pause as a smile came over her lips. "Neal was right."
"About what?" Killian asked curiously.
"You don't have a home until you just miss it. Being with my parents the last few days, but not really being with them? I've never missed them more. Storybrooke. That's my home." Emma explained, clearly confident in what she was saying and Odette couldn't resist a smile because of it. However, what Emma noticed instead was the look on Aramis' face. "What?" She questioned the musketeer.
"Look down." He said simply, head nodding down to the wand in her hands and making all of them, not just Emma, focus on it again. The black wand was now shining a bright white light, glimmering in the darkness of the vault. "I'd say you've got your magic back."
"Can we go now, please?" Odette pleaded hopefully, watching as Killian went back to pick up their former cellmate while Emma focused on reopening the portal. And it wasn't long before the spiralling orange vortex appeared again, opening up full and wide, and ready for them to pass through. "Well done, Emma."
"Go on before me, love." Killian said to Odette as they came to stand in front of it, his hand on her lower back giving her a gentle push towards the portal. And she didn't have to be told twice before jumping into the orange blur, just barely catching sight of Killian following right behind her.
Just as before, the portal spit them back out on the other side, each and every one of them crashing to the floor in a rather hard fall as it closed up again behind them. "Let's hope we don't have to make that landing ever again." Odette groaned out as she pushed herself off of the straw littered ground, looking around with a smile as she easily recognized the warehouse from before.
"What... What's going on?" The sound of the unnamed woman's voice mumbling out in a confused manner had all of their eyes turning to her as Aramis started to help her up to her feet.
"Hey, do me a favour." Emma spoke to the three of them, her legs already carrying her towards the door as she refused to linger for too long. "Fill her in. Make sure, she doesn't freak out."
"Where are you going?" Odette asked with wide eyes, watching as her goddaughter rushed off. This was her idea, she'd expected it would be Emma who also explained what was happening to the now highly confused woman. Especially considering it was rather clear she didn't trust Odette after she'd been so willing to leave her behind in Regina's cells.
"I have some people I need to see." Emma announced simply, making Odette give out a small sigh as she glanced back at the woman panicking while Aramis tried to begin whatever explanation he intended to give.
"So... Any ideas?" Killian asked hesitantly.
"Can... Can you handle that? I have something I need to do too." Odette asked with a sheepish smile on her face, using Emma's method of not really giving them much of a choice as she started to walk backwards. "I'll be back soon."
But before she did return, there was one more thing Odette was determined to do. She'd learned her lesson in the last few days, and didn't need a repeat of it. And so she rushed out of the warehouse and made her way back to her apartment, happiness filling her as she watched the familiar streets of her home surround her again.