"All right everyone, listen up!" Regina calls out to the children of Auradon and the Isle. She uses her sharp queenly authority to ensure that all eyes were on her.
An immediate silence sweeps over the group since all of them now knew who this woman is and did not want to be on her bad side. While most of the students from Auradon Prep were extremely skeptical of the claims that this villain is actually a hero; they knew better than to disobey or anger this royal.
"I'm sure that most of you are hungry and let's face it, Whale's menu in this place is less than ideal."
"I heard that!" the doctor calls from down the hall. "And it's not my fault the food here sucks!" Crystal and Regina can't hide the smiles on their faces. The creepy doctor who sews body parts together deserved to be the butt of a few jokes now and again.
"I would've preferred Gene Wilder as my Frankenstein," Crystal smirks to herself. "He makes the concept of being a doctor funnier and with a lot less alcohol involved." Her reference is of course lost on the kids from Auradon as well as Killian, but both Regina and Emma smile at the reference. Emma reminds herself to show her husband the satirical movie when they have free time. She then cranes her neck to call after Whale again... "Sorry, Frau Blucher,"
The sound of horses is then heard from the girl's phone as she'd brought up an infamous movie clip for the select few people's amusements.
"Getting back to the task at hand... We'd like to take everyone out of the hospital and give you all a decent meal..."
Many of the students smile in relief and happiness at this idea.
"However, in order to have this meal, I am laying down some ground rules. I need everyone, and I mean everyone to listen to this." The former Evil Queen looks directly at the door, which is still open a crack, so the War Frats could hear this. "Rule Number One: Anyone who is seen with a sword in their hands or caught fighting will be detained by Sheriff and Deputy Jones."
Emma and Killian flash their badges to the kids.
"They're the law enforcement in town and anyone who breaks this rule will be thrown into jail."
"Also known as the brig," Killian clarifies to the pirates in the adjacent room.
"Your captain's already in there," Mal smirks, feeling such great pleasure that Uma was where she rightfully belonged. "And she's not getting out any time soon."
A few of the War Frats sneer angrily at the purple-haired girl's remarks. Mal crosses her arms and smiles with deep satisfaction
"Rule Number Two: no one is allowed to go anywhere in town alone."
"Why?" Jordan asks.
"Well, firstly, none of you know anything about this town and secondly, Storybrooke has a large amount of woods, if you wander off, it might take a while for us to find you, even with magic," Regina explains. "Rule Number Three: No stealing or damaging anything in town. Once again, you will be thrown in jail."
"Why do I feel as if this is directed at us?" Jonas calls out from the room.
"Because it is," Carlos snaps. "None of you have ever been off the Isle and you can't just do or take whatever you want."
"Why not?" Gil asks,
"Yeah, that takes all the fun out of it," Bonny practically whines.
"Fine, you can stay here and eat the crummy food that the hospital provides," Regina shrugs. "If you would really like, I have a 'brig' in the basement where your food will be served through a metal slot in the door. Just ask my sister about what it's like down there... And we will ensure that none of you get out until we fix the portal problem and send you all home."
"Emma and Killian could arrest all of you right now for helping kidnap Ben," Mal adds. She swallows a lump in her throat and gazes into the King's eyes for a few moments. She can see the hesitation in them too. Neither of them really knew what had happened to their relationship, after all, things were so much more complicated now. They never seemed to find time to even talk about their relationship. The daughter of Maleficent then goes to stand next to her friends, who knew that they were likely going to be the ones to keep the War Frats in check.
Uma's crew looks at one another on the opposite side of the door. Gonzo's stomach growls like it had been all morning. All of them are hesitating at their choices, none of them seemed particularly fair to them. The thought of eating horrible hospital food or being thrown down into the basement for who knows how long was not appealing but having to follow all those dumb rules isn't either. At least, one had the better food as part of the deal.
"Think of it as a temporary truce," Emma offers. "You're all here, in the same boat so you may as well enjoy the freedom that you've been given because from what Ben and Mal have been telling us, you guys don't get off the Isle much."
Again, the crew hesitates, they wonder about what their next move should be; they didn't have Uma or Harry here and those two usually called the shots. Typically, Uma would resist the rules, they meant nothing anyways and were meant to be broken. It wasn't the pirate way, but with Uma already locked up in the brig and Lord knows where Harry is, none of them want to be put in another prison.
"Rule Number Four: no one interrupts me again," Regina says sharply, looking directly at Chad. The son of Cinderella and Prince Charming swallows very hard and cowers behind Audrey a bit. "Because you don't want to see me when I'm angry."
"And Rule Number Five: no more complaining; we know you guys are scared and far from home. Trust me, we've all been there. All of us are working our very hardest to get all of you home, but that is going to take some time, so we need all of you to be patient," Emma finishes, trying to nullify Regina's previous abstract threat. "Do we have a deal?"
As the VKs and AKs look around at one another, unsure of their future or what is going to happen next. A lot of them are afraid of this place, being so far from Auradon and being around these former villains. It's a lot to just take the Evil Queen's and Captain Hook's word for it. Was any of this safe? Were they going to keep their promise? Many hesitate, especially the War Frats trapped in the back-hospital room.
After the group gets everybody's names, Crystal's phone buzzes in her pocket, and she sees the text from Ella/Ashley. She knows it is time for her to go and explain the complicated situation to them and she prays that some of the parents are willing to accept these children into their homes for the time being.
"I've got to go deal with the p-a-r-e-n-t-s," she whispers. "I'll meet you guys at the park."
Before anyone can say anything, the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin snaps her fingers and vanishes from the room, much to the shock of the students of the other realm.
...
"We... have a son?" Ella says in pure disbelief. She and Thomas had received a very vague text message from Crystal to meet her in the park to talk about their son. They were extremely confused since Crystal knew that the couple had a daughter named Alexandra, whom the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin would babysit from time to time and she also helped run Baby Time with the princess who had lost her glass slipper. Both parents had packed up their daughter and come to the edge of Henry's park to get more information. Belle had joined her step-daughter, with Gideon in tow and she now stands next to Crystal. Several of the dwarves were already there, including Leroy and Dopey. Blue had appeared with several other sisters/fairies. Aurora and Phillip had also appeared with their small son, along with Archie, Marco, August, Granny, and a few other people from the town. Some of the citizens of Storybrooke just wanted an explanation for what had happened yesterday and what was going to happen next. Everything had seemed so peaceful and mundane for quite some time, so to have these strange children suddenly appear through a portal, word had travelled very quickly. Everyone now stood at the edge of the town park as the daughter of the Dark One sat on top of some climbing equipment, ready to explain the complicated situation.
"An alternate son," Crystal explains. "Apparently there's a realm known as Auradon where many of these kids have alternate versions of you guys, as parents."
"That doesn't make any sense," Sneezy points out before he blows his nose in a handkerchief.
"Believe me, a lot of this is just as crazy. Get this, I basically have another half-brother. He's the son of King Beast and Queen Belle, which basically makes him Gideon's big brother."
"Wait, wait, wait," August says, trying to comprehend everything. "So, in some other universe, Rumpelstiltskin was a king? Is this realm the place where everything is completely backwards?"
"We're not really sure about that, we know that Belle is his mom, but in another realm, she found someone much more decent than my father," Crystal shrugs. Belle shoots a glare at her and the girl smirks. "Just try to tell me I'm wrong,"
"This is wonderful, so now I have a grandson?" Marco asks.
"Yes, the kid's name is Pin, I'm assuming it's a short version of Pinocchio, and along with Jane, who is probably daughter Blue, of course, I'm just spitballing here. And seven sons for seven dwarves."
"So, what do you want us to do then?" Leroy asks, still trying to process the fact that he has a son.
"Well, the first thing we need to do is convince a few more people to come to this realm."
"What? Why?" Blue asks.
"Well, Mulan has two kids and she's back in the Enchanted Forest. Tinkerbell has a daughter who definitely needs some attention from her mother, Aladdin and Jasmine have a son, so do Ariel and Eric, and I think we need to bring Ursula here, she's got a daughter who definitely needs some parental guidance."
"Is she the punk who robbed my pharmacy yesterday?" Sneezy asks, his voice becoming raised in anger. "Do you know how much stuff she stole from me?"
"We're well aware of it Sneezy, and she's locked up in the sheriff's station and I figure the best way to help her is to have her mom bail her out."
"I think that is a very bad idea," Leroy says. "We already had enough trouble with that witch once, we don't need her here again."
"She's not a villain anymore," Archie says firmly. "She got her happy ending, don't you remember?"
"Still no reason to bring back that queen of darkness."
"Did someone mention me?" a new voice calls out. Everyone turns to see a dragon mother and her daughter approach the group. "Now what's this about me having another daughter?"
A/N: Guess who's joined the party? Sorry for the delay in publishing a new chapter, I've been busy with assignments. Teachers' college is not easy. Thank you for everyone's continued support and reviews, it means a lot to me.