ENCHANTED FOREST
The Light One went back to his home.
"Look!" a boy cried. "It's him!"
Rumpelstiltskin entered his house and called, "Belle!"
"Sounds like someone else wants to celebrate your return," Belle said softly.
"And how is the newest member of our dear family?"
"With any luck, he'll grow up to be just like dear old dad," Isaac stated.
"Belle. You didn't tell me we had a visitor."
"Name's Isaac. I was traveling through your village, when your wife invited me in to slake my thirst." He took a sip. "Mm. Not to be too picky, but the water tastes a little murky."
"Oh," Belle replied. "I'll get some that's fresh from the well." She left.
"You didn't come here for the water," Rumpelstiltskin stated.
"Perceptive in all worlds," Isaac noted. "Good. Yes. I came here to warn you. Your happiness is in danger."
"From what?"
"A boy and a girl. They're on a mission to help the bandit Regina and her partner Jefferson. If they succeed, everything you have will be destroyed. Not to mention what I have."
"Ha! What nonsense. How can some stranger's actions affect my life?"
"Because your happiness, your entire life... It's not real. I know because I am the one who created it... With magic. And it is all about to crumble. Regina's true love is about to marry another. She's going to try and stop the wedding. You cannot let her succeed. You have to kill her. And him before he can save the woman he loves."
"Demon! You've been sent here to try to corrupt me."
"You have already been corrupted. Before all of this, you were a villain... Maybe the worst one of all. Which is why you had me use magic to rewrite your story. Look, I can prove it to you. I-I know things... The secrets that you've kept from Belle, the ones about your first son... Baelfire."
"Where did you hear that name?"
"In this story, he was killed in the ogre wars despite your heroic efforts. But in reality, he died because of your cowardice."
"No, no, no. I... I protected him. I did my best. I... I was honorable."
"No. You weren't. He died because of you."
"Liar! Get out of here... Now."
"All right. I'll go. But deep down, you know I'm right. You're not really a hero. And if you don't kill Regina and keep her from her happy ending, then everyone, including Belle, will know, too. I know you'll make the right choice, Rumple. You always do."
ON THE JOLLY ROGER
"Ahoy! Is anyone here?!" Henry and Grace asked.
"Careful, boy," Hook warned. "No one steps aboard the Jolly Roger's decks without an invitation from its captain first."
"Are you gonna make us walk the plank?" Henry asked.
"All depends on why you're here."
"We need a ship to take us to the bottomless sea."
"Now, those are treacherous waters. There must be something of great value there to be worth taking the risk."
""Someones". Their names are Emma and Nevaeh. She's my mom and Nevaeh is Grace, Tatiana and Tobias' mom. And they were put there by the queen."
"Well, then, I'm sorry for you. Even if he or I wanted to, I can't help you."
He looked to Hook. "Why? You're a captain. Can't you take your ship wherever you want?"
"A captain?" Black Beard said. "Is that who he says he is? I thought I told you two to be done swabbing the decks when I return."
"I'm sorry, Captain Black Beard," Hook apologized.
"Wait... He's the captain?" Henry asked.
"Indeed," Black Beard confirmed. "Unless deckhand Hook and Matthew want to keep playing pretend. What do you say, Hook? Beat me, and the Jolly Roger is yours. Or are you still a one-handed coward?"
"What are you doing?! Stand up to him! You can beat him."
"I'm afraid you don't know me very well," Hook said. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
"Then I'll have to help you," he reasoned as he cut a rope and a pulley knocked out Black Beard.
"Ugh!" Black Beard groaned.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Hook cried.
Henry stared at Hook. "Getting you your ship back. Come on. Let's dump Black Beard and go."
"You think it's that easy? I can't sail the Jolly Roger alone," Hook told him.
"I can help."
"How do you know how to sail a ship?"
"I had a great teacher... You."
Grace smiled at Henry and nodded.
SEA
"Look!" Henry and Grace cried. "We found it!"
"There's a black knight standing guard," Hook told him.
"Only one," Henry said. "We can take him out."
"Well, you perhaps you hadn't noticed, but I'm a deckhand, not a soldier."
Grace thought for a moment before she said, "Then maybe we don't need to fight."
Hook brought Henry to the black knight as a prisoner and said, "We're here on official business for the queen, delivering a dangerous prisoner from the kingdom of Kashyyyk." Henry hit the black knight. "Well done, lad."
"The Wookiee prisoner gag... It always works," Henry said.
"The what?"
"Never mind. Lock the guard in the cell. I'll be back with my mom and Nevaeh as soon as I can."
"What..."
EMMA AND NEVAEH'S CELL
"Hi. My name is..." Henry was cut off.
"Henry," Emma and Nevaeh said.
"Mom? Nevaeh?"
"Henry."
"You... You remember."
"Nevaeh and I knew you'd find us," Emma said as she hugged Henry.
"I don't understand. How do you two remember when no one else does?"
"Must have been part of Gold's plan. Nevaeh's and my punishment in this world is that we know the truth but we're powerless to do anything about it. In this world, I'm no longer the savior and Nevaeh is no longer the White Queen. We've got no magic."
"That's all right. I think I know what to do. Now, come on."
"Wait," Nevaeh called. "Grace and the twins. Are they okay?"
Henry nodded. "They're fine. They're waiting on the ship we got back."
"The ship you- the Jolly Roger?"
"Yup."
Emma crashed into Hook and said, "Oh! Oh!"
"Uh, Killian, this is my mom and Jackie. Mom, Jackie, Killian, Matthew."
"Uh... Yeah, um... Pleasure," Hook greeted nervously.
"Yeah. Right. Look, we need to... Get going. We've got a wedding to stop, " Emma said.
SEA
"Thank you for your help, Killian," Emma stated.
"Uh, yeah, of course," Hook replied. "I'm pleased you regained your, uh, your freedom."
"Me too. Unfortunately, it's not gonna last unless we put some distance between that tower and us before the guard wakes up."
"Why?"
"Because that was not any ordinary black knight," Nevaeh said. "Her name is Lily. She's dangerous."
"I don't understand. What's the problem with Lily?"
The dragon blew up the tower.
"Henry, get below now! Grace, you and your siblings too!" Emma ordered. "Nevaeh and I need you to load the cannon with a chain shot. Come on! Now!" Hook prepared the canon. "Hold your fire till I tell you! Lily, over here! Hey! Come on, Lily! Come on!" The dragon arrived. "Now!"
Hook shot and the dragon ate the canon ball. She fell under the sea.
"That was close," Hook said, pulling out a flask and offered it to Emma. "Cheers. You did it."
"We did it." She took a sip. "What is that?"
"It's goat's milk."
"Where's your rum?"
"I'm allergic. Never touch the stuff."
"Of course you are."
Nevaeh laughed. "I never imagined the day you were allergic to rum."
"Can I ask you a question?" Emma said. "You trusted me and Nevaeh with your life just now. Why?"
"It's complicated," Hook said. "Might take a while."
"Our schedule's pretty clear."
Nevaeh glanced at Emma and nodded slowly. "Okay. Let's first work on your fighting skills and find my sister. Then we've got to help Regina and Jefferson stop that wedding."
DARK CASTLE
"Where are Regina and Jefferson's hearts?" Snow White demanded. "No one? And what of the children? Surely you imbeciles aren't all stupid enough to report back here empty-handed."
"Actually, your majesty, they are exactly that stupid," David said.
"We would have caught the bandit if Blue and her gaggle of uglies hadn't laid a trap of dark fairy dust, paralyzing our axes," Grumpy shot back.
"Always blaming the fairies," Granny stated. "Maybe you should try and take responsibility for once, dwarf."
"You mangy, flea-infested wolf. I should get a muzzle..."
"Silence," Snow White ordered. "We aren't here to fight. We're a team."
"So you're not... Mad?"
"Of course not. It's not your fault. It's mine. You see, I am your leader, and I have to lead by example. We have to go to extreme lengths to succeed. And to do that... I have to show you how. I have to motivate you." She ripped Doc's heart and killed him.
"Aah!" Doc cried.
"Well, now you're down to six. Do you want to make it five? Find Regina and Jefferson, the girls and the boys and kill them."
STREET
"You're telling me that... In this other reality, I'm an expert with such a weapon?" Hook asked.
"You're a regular Jack Sparrow," Emma teased.
"Is that good?"
"Here. Let me show you how to use it." She moved behind him.
"What: Oh."
"They say once you become an expert, your subconscious takes over."
"Ah."
"Back in my world, that's what we call muscle memory."
"Tell me more about this reality you want to return to. Us, for example. I sense that we, uh... We may be close."
"Very," Nevaeh and Emma replied.
"Really? Well, I'm starting to get jealous of the other me."
"Let's see what food Henry and Grace have discovered," Emma suggested. "I'm starving."
"There they are," Lily said. "It's as I told you, my queen. The one-handed pirate and his fellow pirate were helping them. And the boys and girls was with them, as well."
"Tell us where the child is hiding!" Grumpy ordered, attacking Hook.
"Hey!" Nevaeh yelled. "Back off, dwarf! Or they'll change your name to "stumpy"!"
"I know you," Snow White realized. "You're... Nevaeh and she's Emma. The mad hags who were locked in the tower. I almost didn't recognize you two out of your chains."
"You're the one that's hard to recognize... Both of you. This isn't who you are."
"Tell me... Who are we?"
"You're my parents," Emma said. "I'm the product of your true love. You taught me how to be a hero, you taught me how to believe in hope. And I do. And now I need you to believe in it, too."
"You're right. Emma. Hope is a very powerful thing. Which is why I'm going to have to snuff it out of you, Nevaeh and those awful sons and daughters of yours. Kill them."
"Wait! There they are," David informed, seeing Henry, Grace, Tatiana and Tobias walking up.
"My, my. I am going to enjoy watching them die in front of their mothers."
"Save Henry, Grace and the twins," Hook told Emma and Nevaeh.
"Killian, you can't beat them," Nevaeh said.
"If I can help return things to how they were meant to be, then what happens to me here won't matter, will it? Now go. Save your boy and your children."
Emma, Nevaeh, Grace, Tatiana, Tobias and Henry started off. Scarlet walked up and a smirk crossed her face. "I'm just in time for the party."
"Are they worth your lives, pirate?" David asked.
"I'm willing to find out," Hook replied as David attacked him and Hook won.
"What do you know? I'm a natural," Hook said. Snow White and Scarlet approached. "Hey! What about you, your majesty, Scarlet? Shall I make quick work..." David stabbed Hook.
"No!" Emma and Nevaeh cried.
"I never did like pirates," David said.
"Mom! Nevaeh!" Henry called. "We have to get out of here! Mom! Nevaeh!"
Hook died. Snow White casted a fire ball and Emma, Nevaeh, Grace, Tatiana, Tobias and Henry ran away.
RUMPELSTILSKIN'S HOME
"What... What's wrong?" Belle asked.
"I've just learned... Of a threat to our realm," Rumpelstiltskin said. "If left unchecked... It'll destroy all that we've built together. All our happiness."
"But you're the Light One. Whatever this force is, you'll overcome it."
"It's more complicated than that. Eliminating this threat means I have to make a difficult choice. And if I make the wrong one..."
"But... You won't. You never do. You're a hero, Rumple."
"Yeah, but what if I'm not?"
"Here." She handed him a cup of tea. "Things never seem quite as bleak after a cup of tea."
Rumpelstiltskin let the tea cup fall. "Belle, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right." She picked up the reap cup. "It's fine. See? It's just chipped. We can fix it."
"I'm not so sure it's as simple as that."
STUMP
"Mom!" Henry called. "I knew you and Jefferson would still be here."
"You again?" Regina said. "Listen, I-I don't have time for stories. I need to hit the road before the Evil Queen has my head."
"Wait. I brought someone else this time. Maybe you'll listen to them."
"Regina," Emma and Nevaeh said.
"Let me guess... You're his other mother," Regina stated.
"Emma," Emma stated. "Nevaeh is-"
"Grace, Tatiana and Tobias' mother. I have to give you credit. Breaking them out of that tower couldn't have been easy."
"Henry, Grace, can you give us a minute?"
"Sure," Henry and Grace replied, both taking a twin as they walked away.
"You know, your son and daughter can use some reining in," Regina told Emma. "They've been running around the forest, getting into trouble, spouting nonsense."
"Regina, everything he said about this reality... It's all true."
"I doubt that. I don't know why I'm wasting my time with one madwoman who... Calls herself the savior."
"Because I can help. Your happiness is still a possibility. Your first step is going after the man you love."
"My happy ending isn't a man."
"Of course not. But love is a part of all happiness, and you have to be open to that. Go to Robin Hood. All you have to do is tell him how you feel."
"Oh, is that all? You forgot to mention the part where I'd have to crash his wedding."
"What does your heart tell you?" Nevaeh asked.
"I know what my heart says. But what if his doesn't say the same thing?"
"Isn't that a risk you're willing to take? Emma just watched the man she loved die."
"I'm... I'm sorry. That's horrible."
"The worst part is that I never told him I loved them," Emma said. "Not once. I was too scared. Too scared that... Somehow, saying it would make it real... And change everything. But now I'll never have a chance to take that next step with him, because he's gone. My only chance with him is if you don't make the same mistake I did."
Jefferson looked at Nevaeh. "I sense we're close. Even just looking at you."
Nevaeh nodded. "Yes we are. Quite close. Everything Grace and Henry told you is the truth."
---
Zelena entered the church.
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
"We haven't heard the wedding bells yet," Henry said. "There's still time."
---
Zelena walked to Robin Hood.
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
"I don't even know what to say to him," Regina said.
"I think, in this case, actions speak louder than words," Emma told her.
"Once you and Robin share true love's kiss, everything should be great again," Henry reasoned.
"Okay. What?" Regina asked, noticing Emma's expression.
"You don't remember this, but I promised you once I'd help you find your happy ending," Emma replied. "Just glad I'm here to see it. You got this, Regina."
"I'm afraid none of you are crashing this wedding... Dearies," Rumpelstiltskin said.
"Go. I got the Dark One."
""Dark One"? I'm afraid you have the wrong name, dearie."
"We'll see about that. Regina, go!"
Emma, Nevaeh and Rumpelstiltskin were fighting. Jefferson was standing back near the kids.
Regina opened the church's door.
"Let all who have gathered here..." the pastor began.
Emma, Nevaeh and Rumpelstiltskin were still fighting.
Regina watched the wedding.
The pastor said, "Do you, Zelena, take Robin to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do," Zelena replied.
Rumpelstiltskin defeated Emma and Nevaeh.
"Mom!" Henry and Grace cried as they took the swords.
"Out of my way, boy, girl," Rumpelstiltskin ordered.
"You have to get through us to get to them!" Henry yelled.
WEDDING
"And do you, Robin, take Zelena to be your lawfully wedded wife?" the pastor asked.
Robin Hood saw Regina.
"Go! You have to stop that wedding!" Henry told his adoptive mother.
Rumpelstiltskin defeated Henry.
WEDDING
"Robin?" Zelena called.
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
"You won't hurt me," Henry said. "You're supposed to be a hero here."
"And that's exactly why I must do this... To ensure I remain one," Rumpelstiltskin replied. He was about to kill Henry and Grace, but Regina and Jefferson protected them and were hurt.
"Unh!" Regina cried.
"Mom," Henry called.
"Papa!" Grace shouted.
"It's done," Rumpelstiltskin said before leaving.
"Mom?" Henry asked.
"Papa!" Grace cried.
"Regina? Jefferson?" Emma and Nevaeh said.
"Mom. Why didn't you go into the church?" Henry wondered.
"I... I couldn't let you die," Regina replied.
Jefferson nodded. "The same. I couldn't let Grace die."
The bells rang.
"We're at the end of the book," Emma informed. "We're not gonna be able to change anything now."
Robin Hood and Zelena left the church. Robin Hood saw Regina and Jefferson were hurt and ran to them.
"Regina? Regina!" Robin Hood exclaimed. "Jefferson."
"Robin? What's going on?" Zelena wondered, noticing something on her dress. "Oh! Oh, now I've got blood on my dress!"
"Can't you see they're injured?"
"This is supposed to be my day! And she and her friend have ruined it!" Zelena turned green and ran away.
"It's okay. You're gonna be all right."
"No. No, I'm not," Regina and Jefferson said.
"No," Henry and Grace argued.
"At least I can promise you... You won't die alone," Robin Hood told them.
"Too little, too late," Isaac stated.
Emma punched Isaac. "Then you're gonna change things. Return them to the way they were. Bring back Hook. Save Regina and Jefferson."
"I can't. I'm not the Author anymore. I can't change a thing."
Henry took the quill. Grace picked up the paintbrush that had fallen from seemingly nowhere.
"Whoa. Kid, what the hell?"
"No," Isaac stated, coming to a realization.
"What's happening?" Emma and Nevaeh wondered.
"He's the next Author. The artist has come to be."
"I-I can feel it," Henry said.
Grace nodded. "I can too. It's magical."
"Henry. Fix it. Write everything the way it was," Emma told her son. "Grace, paint what he writes."
"Without ink, he's not writing and she's not drawing anything," Isaac stated.
"My blood. It was supposed to work last time."
"Yes, when mixed with darkness, but you're not the savior here," Henry reminded her. "Because of him. But that doesn't mean we didn't find one. And in this world, we don't need a dark savior. We need a light one. Hold on, Mom."
"No, don't!" Isaac cried.
"Henry, do it!" Emma yelled.
Henry took Regina's blood and wrote as he said, "Thanks to the hero Regina's sacrifice, Isaac's villainous work was undone.""
As Henry wrote and spoke, Grace painted, using her father's blood, smiling sadly at him and her siblings who had wandered over.
STORYBROOKE
Regina woke up in the streets of Storybrooke. "Henry? You did it." Regina hugged her son.
Jefferson woke up in the streets next to Regina. "Grace? You saved us." He hugged his son.
"No, Mom," Henry and Grace said. "We did." Robin Hood arrived and hugged Regina. Henry and Grace ran to Emma and Nevaeh. "Mom!"
"Henry. Grace," Emma and Nevaeh stated, hugging them.
"Hook," Emma said as she ran to the apartment.
CHARMING FAMILY LOFT
"Where is he?" Emma asked. "Where's Hook?"
"Has anyone seen my sister?" Nevaeh wondered.
"Uh, t-they were there... Right before we got dragged away, " David said.
"Everyone reappeared where they were before this whole mess started... No."
"Yeah, sorry about the mess," Hook apologized. "Scarlet and I really needed to find that book, and we're usually a bit tidier."
"Scarlet." Nevaeh hugged her sister.
"Killian." Emma hugged Hook.
"Oh!" Hook exclaimed as they fell on the bed. "How many times do I have to tell you, love? I'm a survivor. Look, I didn't mean to cause any panic. Scarlet and I awoke moments before Emma's parents and came up here, looking for her boy and Nevaeh's children."
"They're fine. Henry, Grace and the twins are fine. I'm just... Glad you are, too."
"What is it?"
"When I... Watched you die... I was afraid I was never gonna get a chance to tell you something."
"Tell me what?" he asked, meeting Emma's eyes.
"That... I... Want to thank you for sacrificing yourself. Henry, Nevaeh, Grace, Tatiana, Tobias and I wouldn't have succeeded without you."
"Did you miss me?" Scarlet asked in a teasing tone.
Nevaeh nodded. "Very much. Promise me you won't go dark side again."
Scarlet chuckled softly. "I promise. As sweet as it can be, I like the light."
MR. GOLD'S SHOP
"No. W-w... Wait a minute. Where are you going?" Mr. Gold asked.
"Sorry... Can't risk that bum ticker of yours slowing me down," Isaac said. "He's all yours, lady." He ran away and Belle entered the shop.
"Belle. You came back for me."
"I came back to make sure you weren't going to try to hurt anyone else," Belle told him.
"No, Belle. Y-you don't understand. I only did what I... I thought was..." He collapsed.
"Rumple? Rumple?!"
Isaac drove away but was stopped by Mary Margaret and David. They arrested him.
"Wait. I need to see..." Isaac trailed as he looked at the best-seller list.
"Not on that list?" David said. "No best-seller, no fans, no awards."
"It's all gone. My life."
"I need to know. Years ago, you set us on a path to hurt Maleficent and her daughter," Mary Margaret reminded him.
"Why'd you want to hurt us so badly?" David wondered.
"The truth, "Charming"?" Isaac said. "It's not you, but who you represent. You remind me of a boss that I once had."
"One bad boss started all this?"
"A lifetime of bad bosses... Of people like you, who fancy themselves heroes, pushing around people like me. It was my turn to win. To be the hero."
"But you became a villain," Mary Margaret told him. "'Cause that's what villains do... They make themselves happy at the expense of others. But it just makes them more unhappy. I know what it is to feel your heart go dark. And that... That isn't something to idolize. It's something to pity."
REGINA'S OFFICE
"It is tempting, is it not?" the Apprentice said. "The power of the quill and the colored pencils?"
"I-I just keep thinking... Maybe I could use it just one more time... To bring back my dad," Henry stated.
"Henry... Not even an Author can bring back the dead, no matter how much they might wish it."
Henry frowned. "But Hook was dead, and then Grace and I brought him back to life..."
"Hook's death was never real. That was a fiction created by Isaac. And now, thanks to you and Grace, that fiction has been erased. You see? All gone. But your father, Baelfire, died in the real world. And that, sadly, can never be undone. The best way to show your love for those that are gone is to tell their stories. Now, this book, these stories... Can never be erased, because... They are more than stories. They are the truth. And the truth is what you must write. I hope that you can resist the temptation of the quill. The power to change reality is only outweighed by the cost."
Henry broke the quill. "No one should have that much power."
Grace broke the paintbrush. "Agreed. The power is too tempting."
The Apprentice smiled. "It would seem that, this time, we have found the right people for the job."
MR. GOLD'S SHOP
"Hey. What's happening?" Belle asked.
"It's my heart," Mr. Gold replied. "The last human fleck of red... Is disappearing."
"Your ability to love."
"At least, in the end... I got one last taste. We were happy in there. We were in love."
"I was already in love. Everything we had in the book, you... You could have had here. You could have been a good man with a good marriage for real. Why wasn't it good enough?"
"Because I didn't believe it. Who could ever love me?"
"I knew what I was getting, Rumple. I-I wasn't going to pull back."
"But I made you do just that. There's a whole world out there, Belle, for you. Go with Will."
"I don't love Will. And I'm not letting you die alone."
"Go far away. When the man is gone... Only the Dark One remains. And that is more... That's more dangerous than... You can ever imagi... Aah!"
"Rumple! Rumple!"
---
There was a party at Granny's Diner.
"Hello. So, not to puncture the party, but did you check on Zelena?" Robin Hood asked.
"Still locked up, still pregnant," Regina said. "But that's something we'll be able to deal with."
"Together. So, Will is looking after Roland. I think he called Scarlet and the twins over. Perhaps I could take you for a walk in the moonlight?"
"Perhaps." They left.
"I didn't mean to kill you," David told Hook. "Though, to be fair, I didn't have a heart."
"So it's my fault?" Mary Margaret said. "What I think he means to say is... We are sorry."
"Eh, you don't need to be sorry," Hook replied. "Although I do intend to hold it over your head for a very long time."
"I think we all know what happened in that world was not real?" Emma said. "Although, seeing you guys as real villains made me sorry for holding a grudge against you for so long. Give me a second." Emma made her way to Lily. "Hey. What's up? Something wrong?"
"Do you remember this?" Lily asked, holding up her necklace.
"Yeah. I nearly got hepatitis stealing it back from your boyfriend's rat-infested place."
"It's a piece of the egg I was hatched from. It's also the only clue I have as to who my father is."
"Have you asked your mother?"
"She doesn't know, either."
"What?"
"It's a dragon thing. You know, it... Happened in dragon form."
"Do you want to find him?"
"Do you mind if I stick around Storybrooke and look?"
"I think that'd be great."
Belle entered and said, "Rumple- his heart. He said it's almost gone. And, uh... He said we're in danger."
MR. GOLD'S SHOP
"He tried to use the hat to free himself from the dagger," Hook informed.
"This is not unlike that," the Apprentice said. "We're pulling the darkness from him and containing it."
"Does that mean that his heart will be healed?" Belle asked.
"Perhaps... If the strength is there. This is more dark power than the hat has ever been asked to contain."
"Do what you need to do," Emma and Nevaeh told him.
""Purest evil, blackest bloom, darkness, too, can find its doom. Never dying, but contained, bound inside the falcon's chamber, shorn of anger, thornless danger, there forever to remain.""
The darkness from Mr. Gold's heart was sucked by the hat. The name of Rumpelstiltskin was erased from the dagger. Rumpelstiltskin's heart became white. The Apprentice put his heart back in his chest.
"He's barely breathing," Belle said.
"Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One for centuries," the Apprentice reminded her. "His return to the man he used to be will not be easy. This will preserve him until we discern if we can help him."
""If"?"
The darkness left the hat.
"Everybody step back," Emma said as the darkness attacked the Apprentice. Emma pulled it out the Apprentice. They escaped. "Mom, Dad! Go after it! Go! I'll be right there. Help me make him comfortable."
Emma, Grace, Henry, Jefferson, Nevaeh and Hook laid the Apprentice on a bed.
"What was that?" Emma asked.
The Apprentice said, "Long before... Your stories began... The sorcerer battled the darkness. He was able to keep it from consuming the realms. He tethered it to a human soul that could be controlled with a dagger."
"The Dark One."
"The sorcerer is the only one with the power to destroy the darkness once and for all before it destroys everything."
"Where is he? Who is he?"
"He's far, far from here. Find him. His name is... Merlin. You must... Stop... The darkness. Find... Merlin."
STREET
"Where is it?!" Emma and Nevaeh yelled.
"We don't know," David admitted.
"It just disappeared into the night," Mary Margaret said.
"Hey, what's going on?" Regina warned.
"The Dark One... It's no longer tethered to the Crocodile," Hook said.
"What?! Where the hell is it?"
"It hasn't gone anywhere," Emma told them. "The darkness... It's surrounding us."
The darkness attacked Regina.
"Regina!" Robin Hood called. "What's it doing?!"
"What darkness does... Snuffing out the light," Nevaeh replied.
"I'm not gonna let it." He drew an arrow.
"That's not gonna work on this thing! The Apprentice told me and Emma we have to do what the sorcerer did! We have to tether it to a person to contain it!" She outstretched her hand and put it into the darkness.
"Nevaeh!" Mary Margaret and Jefferson cried.
"No! There has to be another way!" Regina yelled.
"There isn't," Nevaeh said. "You've worked to hard to have your happiness destroyed. Emma deserves to have peace."
"No!" David exclaimed.
"You figured out how to take the darkness out of Emma once. You need to do it again... As heroes."
"Veah! Veah, please! No. Don't do this," Jefferson begged.
"I love you."
"No!"
"Nevaeh!" Jefferson yelled as he tried reaching for her, but he failed and fell to the ground. Emma knelt next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The darkness merged with Nevaeh. "Aah! Aaaaaah!"
She disappeared. The name "Nevaeh Hatter" appeared on the dagger.