#swan of gold au

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Did some Cygnet Scholar AU designs with this dollmaker by @elequinoa!

First one is the Enchanted Forest au I'm working on, in which Hope grows up as the crown princess of Misthaven, spending her whole life preparing to take the crown someday, but when, by some miracle, her grandmother gives birth to a son (and, by the laws of their kingdom, passes the right to rule onto him,) she sets her sights on the nearest kingdom with an eligible crown prince her age: Prince Gideon, the son of Queen Belle. The only flaw in this plan? Prince Gideon's father is the powerful sorcerer Rumplestiltskin, longtime enemy of her father, and their kingdoms have ceased all trade and communication since before Princess Hope was even born. But, when Hope sets her mind to something, there’s little anyone can do to stop her, and she sneaks out of her castle on a secret diplomatic mission: to win the heart of Prince Gideon and find a place to rule on the throne of her father’s sworn enemy.

 "What did you say your name was?" Gideon asked.  "Hope," she said, then rolled her eyes a little, "Princess Hope. Of…."  "Misthaven," Gideon finished when she hesitated, "I was unaware you were in attendance this evening."  "And you are?" Hope asked, though he could tell she already knew.  "Prince Gideon," he said, with as much regality as he could, "of, well, here." He shrugged and gestured to the castle behind them, and heard her laugh a little.  "I guess someone's been studying interkingdom relations," she said.  "And from what I've heard," Gideon crossed his arms, "Misthaveners haven't been welcome in this kingdom since your father took the throne."

Second is my ouat s7 rewrite in which Henry leads a quest of the next generation of heroes through the Enchanted Forest. Joining him are Hope, Gideon, and Robin Mills, along with CJ (Neal Nolan, aka Charming Junior) and Charlotte (oc, Snow and Charming's third child, a month older than Hope.) Hope's goal in this journey is to figure out her place in these stories she grew up hearing about, as well as honing her magical abilities. Gideon's sidequest, however, is to find a way to separate his father from the Dark One dagger, and maybe get to the bottom of the vivid nightmares he's been having.

"You ready for the Enchanted Forest?" Gideon asked. "The real question is," Hope said, with a smile, "is the Enchanted Forest ready for us?"

Third one's just for fun. It's the Hope Was Raised As A Pirate By Captain Hook AU that I came up with while working on these (not to be confused with my other two Hope is Pirate Adjacent AUs.)

Gideon had always been scared when talking to girls, and the fact that this one had a sword to his neck wasn't helping. "Now what?" Gideon asked. "Awww, that's cute." The blonde smiled. "Is this your first kidnapping? Let me explain, darling. This is the part where I bring you back to the ship." "And then?" "And then my father will handle things from there," she said, a twinkle in her crystal blue eyes, "but I should warn you, he always has such a temper when I bring a boy home with me. This time's different, though, of course." "And why's that?" "Didn't I tell you, Gideon?" she asked, then smiled as she watched the fear fall across his face, "that's right, I know who you are, Prince Gideon." "So you're taking me for ransom?" "Ransom?" she said, with half a giggle, "Captain Hook and his crew have never been in this business for ransom. We're more about the revenge business— and your family still has a score to settle."

🌷 cygnet scholar fics so far 🌻 #cygnet scholar

[cookiesrunaus-whitelily]

Blue Lily and Lilybell are daughters of Elder Faerie and Sugar Swan.

Lily loves to travel and on one of her trips she found Affogato injured and alone, since then the two became very close to the point where they consider each other siblings.

On another trip to the sea, she and Affogato met Black Pearl.

Somehow they managed to strike up a civilized conversation with her and became friends, then they met the others and Lily helped them get along.

Lily decided to live in the woods of Beast-Yeast, so as not to be bothered by hunters or other cookies.

In her travels, she also found children who had lost their homes or were abandoned, and ended up adopting them.

[humblefryingpan]

(Once upon a time au - spoilers for season 3 and I think season 6)

Ngl I kinda loved the Henry/Pan body swap I low-key wish it stayed like that. It probably wouldn't have been great in the actual show but I'd love to see that in a fic/au

Everyone really struggling at fighting Peter because he looks like Henry? Amazing. And I like thinking about if they kept it that way, imagine them trying to raise the kid who looked like their enemy

(this is an angsty and long post)

Rumple looking at his grandson and only seeing his father who betrayed him. Tbh, I don't think he thought of Pan as the same person as his dad in general. Like pre-neverland he only saw him like that twice and it probably would've been more "the boy my dad invented to get rid of me" yk? That's my opinion at least

So Rumpy knowing Henry was supposey fated to kill him and then looking like that guy? He would not have handled that well and I'd have loved to see him having more of a reaction

Killian seeing his stepson and trying to ignore that he looked like the man who killed his brother. Pre-neverland I think he only knew Pan from when he rocked up and tricked him into killing his brother/best friend/only remaining family? So going from that, as well as everything in neverland, to marrying Emma and having to live with someone in Pan's body would've been sad as shit and I'd have loved it. He was dealing with his own guilt a lot when he moved in and I think this would've made it just that little bit worse

Regina and Emma trying to raise their son while looking at the man who kidnapped him. Both of them are definitely "fight first, question later" girls and they would've had to try to unlearn that in order to not hurt their son. Especially since they knew Pan as the guy that kidnapped Henry and the guy that tried to kill them all.

If this happened then the way I'd have done it would be someone finding out he was planning the curse and killing him before he could kill Felix (to stop the curse and also bc I love Felix and I have plans for him). Since he was still in Henry's body when he did the curse I would've said they killed him before he could switch places (I forgot how and when they switched back mb, doesn't affect the au too much right?)

So somebody (Rumple would probably work best but readers choice ig) killed Peter/Malcolm while he was in Henry's body and he got trapped in that body with magic so that he couldn't escape. Since the body would've been messed up when he got killed, Henry stays in Pan's body.

And I mentioned I had plans for Felix - he was clearly very devoted to Pan, like he didn't even get that mad when he killed him. I'm willing to bet that if he survived he still would've defended him. But now "Pan" is actually not Pan, it's the boy Pan wanted to sacrifice and I think Felix would've been pissed about that.

So he'd also be struggling with this entire situation. Losing Pan, but still seeing him in this town. Knowing Henry he'd try to talk to Felix too. Felix would either fully isolate himself, seek revenge on anyone and everyone who took part in Pan's downfall or he'd follow Henry around, trying to cling to any remaining part of Pan's existence. Assuming Regina doesn't kill him that is

Or if you want to stick to the canon show a bit more then Rumpy could kill him after the curse was cast but before he could turn back to himself.

And side note- Peter actually looks more like Emma and Neal's kid tbh. Like Henry looks sort of like Regina's son, and I see the snow white in him, but I don't see the Emma yk? So in the "Emma loses her memory again and thinks she's a regular parent" storyline she'd just assume he turned out more like her, Regina could alter her memory into thinking he always looked like that anyway.

And in that version she'd have the two versions of her memory. One where she sees her son as he always was and then getting the memory of who he actually was dumped on her. And struggling even more with seeing both simultaneously, even worse because Henry also wouldn't remember.

Which brings me to the point of - imagine Henry trying to grow up looking like the guy that took advantage of his kindness like that? Every time he looked in a mirror he'd see Pan instead of himself (and there are a lot of mirrors around when you're being raised by the former evil queen).

He'd see everyone struggling to adjust to him, he'd know why, and he'd probably feel insanely awful about it. He blamed himself for Neverland anyway, now he'd blame himself for everyone's discomfort.

And like I said at the start of this lil au infodump, I don't think it would've worked long term in the actual show. I don't think the writers could've got it to work in some of the storylines, but Pan-Henry has been rattling around in my brain like a lego stuck in a jar since I first watched it. Basically I want everyone to be sadder and I want more Pan, the angst potential in this is incredible to me.

[hannahhook7744]

Ouat Next Gen (Part 1);

Henry Mills.

Jacinda Vidrio (also known as Jacinda Mills, Ella Mills, Cinderella, etc).

Lucy Mills.

Grace Hightop.

Violet Morgan.

Gretel Ava Zimmer.

Hansel Nicholas Zimmer.

Wendy Darling.

Alice Jones || (but as a Captain Swan baby).

Hope Swan Jones.

Neal 'Leo' Nolan.

Gideon Gold.

Margot Hood-Mills.

Roland Hood.

Prince Philip || (aka P.J).

Alexandra Boyd.

------------------------------------------------------------

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of season 7 but I am a fan of a couple of the characters. So. Here we are. This is canon divergent because in this version of adult Henry is main Henry and Lucy is his daughter. Alice is Hope's twin here. Robin didn't die. And the descendants characters may or may not exist in this world (I haven't decided yet). Inspired by @ouatnextgen .

[beanssenpai]

Dragon Emma and Mom Mal :) basically, when Snow and Charming traded Emma’s Darkness with Lily she forgot that magic always comes with a price. The price being that it made Emma maleficent daughter

[depressedstressedlemonzest]

Rumple's hair here is how mine is 24/7

Love the follow the strand, makes me think of the red string soulmate au thing.

Him plopping the baby basket on the desk makes me think of The Devil Wears Prada

Rumplestiltskin is the miranda priestly of the Enchanted forest.

It annoys me how backwards these are but whatever.

Where are it's parents?

We're it's parents now, mummy belle and daddy rumple.

And belle you sound like Jackie from Roseanne when she thinks Fred is wanting to be a part of the baby's life just to see her.

Hot angry rumple.

Love the short hair

On the other hand you kidnapped the woman I loved and starved her to death in a tower.

I went looking foe belle and this is what I found.

But it wasn't me me it was the other me.

Oh I know that dearie. But I have to hurt someone.

I can still make you bleed.

Horrifying and a nice declaration of love.

Of all the aus in the show itself I like this one a little bit.

I like seeing emma all princessy

Love rumple.

[throatofdelusionincarnate]

More Swan Lake AU snippets :)

I’m aching to post the first chapter but I promised myself I wouldn’t post until at had at least 3 chapters written, so I will have to show self restraint.

This will have to do for now !

[caitvellichor]

Page 21 preview: Yuuri's reaction to Viktor's proposition

--

Page 20

First page

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

AU/Fanfic ideas

so ummmmmmm I was thinking of (this is if I'm motivated to) to writing a fanfic about CaptainSwan and them raising a teenage girl (Hope obvi) it's mostly about Hope, relationships, family dynamic. Honestly I'm all here for the teen angst, here to write some angsty stories cuz well... I'm bored and I'm a teenage so why tf not

[once-upon-a-rewrite]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Prince Charming | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Daniel Colter/Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Lacey/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold Characters: Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Huntsman | Sheriff Graham, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Widow Lucas | Granny, Grumpy | Leroy, Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Geppetto | Marco (Once Upon a Time), Belle (Once Upon a Time), Lacey (Once Upon a Time), Abigail | Kathryn Nolan Additional Tags: so many characters - Freeform, just everyone in the show I guess, Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, Inspired by Once Upon a Time (TV), The Dark One (Once Upon a Time), Angst, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Canon Compliant Series: Part 1 of Once Upon A Time: This Story was Told Once Before Summary:

This story was told once before and will be repeated with different endings, different beginnings, and different characters. It is up to you to open this book and read from its chapters, for no one can force you. However, as I've said, this story has been told before and will be told again, so whether you read this one or not, you already know what lies within.

[marinamar4]

Henry Gold

Oh please I need someone to tell me if there are any more fics like this where Henry is adopted by gold

[kazoosandfannypacks]

gonna tell my kids this was hope swan jones and gideon gold

[thegladelf]

"Look, your problems with Gold are not my problems with Gold. I don’t know what happened between you two, but until you care to tell me what he did that was so awful, I’m going to handle him based on my own experience."

Emma Swan, An Open Heart is An Open Wound, Ch. 13

[kazoosandfannypacks]

The Admiral's Daughter (original wip)

Her flask soon ran dry, as did her mouth, but she pressed on silently with the rest of the group, not about to show weakness to her captors, despite how much easier it would be to collapse on the ground and give up. As it was, she was already falling toward the back of their party.

Untitled Fendra Reunion Fic (DuckTales 2017)

[sent as text messages:]

12:45 pm Della and the kids just came by to give Gyro and I invitations to Webby's birthday party. Webby was insistent I take an invite for you too, and said that now that you're not evil, she "ships" it? I'm not sure what that means, but she sounded excited when she said it! Webby has also gotten excited about weapons of mass magic destruction, though, so that may not be a good thing. Anyways, Webby's birthday party, a week from today at Funso's, 12:45 sharp. You in?

Cygnet Scholar Superhero AU (Once Upon a Time)

"Nah, I'm sorry," Gideon shook his head, "this isn't meant to be a pity party. This is exciting— you have superpowers, Hope. We could save the world, be heroes…." He turned to her and suddenly stopped, his words caught off track as he squinted at her. "Why don't you seem very excited?" Hope shook her head. "All this 'great power; great responsibility' stuff. Being twelve years old is hard enough as is." "Yeah," Gideon said, "we're too young to drive, and too old for the McDonald's playplace."

Zalissa Pistachion Prison Oneshot (Milo Murphy's Law)

Zack and Melissa had tried to pass the afternoon with all the party games they could think of for two players, but they'd nearly run out by the time the guards came around with a meager, lard-based dinner for the prisoners, which they begrudgingly ate.

This week’s word is…

✨ PARTY ✨

Find the word in any WIP and share the sentence containing it. Reply, reblog, stick it in the tags, tag us in a new post, or keep it private. All fandoms, all ships, all writers welcome.

[hannahhook7744]

Father's Day Edits;

1. Killian Jones with an au version of Alice, Kid Hope, and Baby Harriet. As well as Emma.

Killian Jones with Emma, Little CJ Hook, and Little Harry Hook.

Killian Jones with Emma and baby Hope and baby Alice for my and @ouatnextgen 's 'out of a world' verse.

2. Gold with Belle, Neal, Ben, and Gideon.

3. Henry and Neal at Graduation.

4. Henry with Lucy.

5. David with kid Emma.

David with teen Chad and baby Emma.

David with baby Leo, kid Chad, and teen Emma.

David with teen Chad, baby Leo, and adult Emma.

David with kid Emma, toddler Leo, baby Chad, and Emma.

6. Old Robin with teen Margot, Teen Evie, Teen Bobby, and Adult Roland.

Robin with baby Margot, kid Evie, Kid Bobby Hood, and Roland.

[lilacmoon83]

Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 12: An Ogre in Downtown

"Sire…are you sure of this venture?" Knight Gawain questioned skeptically.

"I fear it is a chance we must take; it will certainly be a quest like none other," Arthur answered.

"Camelot needs a King. What if we are unable to return?" Knight Tristan asked.

"This is a broken Kingdom, Tristan…we all know that. The people may not, but it cannot be hidden forever," Arthur said, as he looked at Excalibur. It was a closely guarded secret between the three of them and his trusted squire, Percival, that the Excalibur in his hand was a forgery. A masterful one, but a fake nonetheless. The real one disappeared from his hand when he committed a grievous act and returned to the stone.

Arthur had panicked when it happened and the three of them quickly journeyed to find the legendary weapon again, but he knew he could never touch it again. It had rejected him and when he learned that Merlin was going to reveal everything to the Kingdom, he invoked the help of a witch to trap him in a tree. It came at the cost of allowing the dastardly witch practice her dark arts in a well kept shop in the marketplace. He had to keep her happy so she would continue to keep the secret.

She constantly teased him with the power she had over him and that there was another that could now wield Excalibur and free Merlin. Someone from another land entirely and if they were not eliminated, then they could reveal his treachery.

"Sire…if this person is in another land, perhaps that assures us that they are not a threat," Gawain reasoned. He had considered that, but before he could contemplate further, Percival came running into the private study, out of breath and panicked.

"Percival…what is it?" he questioned.

"Sire…it's Excalibur. It's gone," he whispered in hush tones.

"Gone…what do you mean gone?" Tristan asked urgently.

"The stone and the sword have disappeared entirely…" he said.

"Then we have no choice. We must quest to Lake Nostros and find the sword," Arthur replied.

"Sire…" Tristan started to protest.

"There's more," Percival said.

"More?" Gawain asked.

"Merlin's tree is gone as well," he revealed.

"This is a disaster…if that wizard fool is released, he'll find his new bearer of the sword and return to usurp me. We leave at once," Arthur said.

"What will you tell Guinevere?" Tristan asked.

"I will handle my wife," Arthur snapped, as he left the tower.

~*~

Their cars screeched to a halt, as they exited the vehicles among the running and screaming people. The towering ogre was already damaging buildings and stepping on vehicles.

"How the hell do we stop something that big?" Alivia asked.

"Got a bazooka?" Casey joked.

"You sure bullets won't work?" he asked.

"Not unless you can get him in the eye," David replied, as they saw fighter jets scrambling in the sky.

"Oh great…thanks for listening about the loud noises," the prince complained.

"Look Your Highness, this world practices a higher form of warfare than you do with your arrows and swords," Alivia argued

Missiles were fired and seemed to do a bit of damage, but not enough to kill the ogre and only made it more angry, as it smashed into an apartment building.

"Then I hope you have some bigger missiles," David countered.

"He's moving too much…I'll never get a clear shot. Even if I get high enough," Snow said, as she relaxed her bow, but still kept the arrow threaded.

"I think I have an idea…but it's a little crazy," Neal said, as they saw tanks begin to roll in.

"It can't get much crazier than tanks in downtown Manhattan. Whatcha got?" Emma asked.

"I need some grappling cable," Neal replied.

"Wait…you want us to trip him like an AT-AT Walker?" Emma asked. He shrugged.

"Sounds like a Henry idea and its not bad. If we can trip him, we can kill it," Regina replied.

"That's a big if," Emma said. Neal smirked.

"Yeah…I got this one," he said, as Snow gave him one of her grappling arrows and detached the cable from her quiver. But before he could do anything, the tanks began taking pot shots. They hit their target and other surrounding buildings as well, further angering the creature. It was definitely injured now, but not enough to stop it and they witnessed his fury, as he picked up one of the tanks and crushed it. They all scattered, as it charged toward them and crushed several vehicles around them, including the ones they had come in. Snow yelped, as the ogre made a swipe at her and Charming tackled her to the ground. It roared and he rolled them away from his stomping foot.

"Hey ugly!" Emma growled, as she stopped it from crushing her parents with a blast of magic. It was strong though and she fought against it with a stream of her novice magic.

"Moms!" Henry called, as he arrived at the scene, much to their shock and horror.

"Henry…what are you doing here?!" Regina scolded.

"I hitched a ride on a city bus…I wanted to see it," he said.

"It's not safe," Regina snapped, as Neal hauled him up with one arm.

"She's right, kid," he said, as he began moving away, but the ogre flailed free from Emma's magic and charged at them.

"Henry!" Regina cried, as he and Neal were directly under one of the ogre's feet.

"Bae!" Rumple called, as their hands both suddenly began alive with magic. Just as Emma's magic had surfaced to protect her parents, theirs suddenly made a return when their children were in danger. They looked at each other and then blasted the ogre back. Emma took a deep breath and joined them.

"Mom…can you get a shot from here?!" Emma asked, knowing it was a steep angle.

"By myself no…but then I'm not by myself," Snow replied, as she smiled at her husband and drew her arrow back. David tilted her bow up, aiming expertly and used his strength to help her pull the string back as tightly as possible. Taking a breath together, they released the arrow and struck him dead in the eye. The ogre fell dead onto the street, on top of the cars he had crushed and they took a breath of relief.

Tamara smirked, as she and Greg emerged from their cover.

"As you've witnessed here first hand…this strange group of people has used their strange witchcraft and dark magic to kill this creature. But should we be celebrating this? How can we when there are those among us that could turn on humanity at any time and destroy us all!" Tamara said.

"You're a lunatic!" Emma growled, as she started toward her, but Neal held her back.

"Don't prove her right," Neal whispered and she calmed for a moment. He was right…this is what she wanted.

"NSA…cut your feed now!" Casey growled.

"The NSA doesn't control the media, Agent Casey…this is freedom of the press and the people deserve to know that the NSA is running this secret magical taskforce to deal with these strange creatures," Tamara responded, as Greg filmed her.

"But what the NSA hasn't revealed is that these people are the reason for all this strangeness. Our world is being invaded by these witches and their dark magic!" Tamara ranted. Whether people would believe her or not, she would be successful in whipping the population into a frenzy.

"Let's go…" Casey said, as a couple more vehicles arrived for them and they quickly left the scene. But the damage was done this time. Any anonymity they still had was out the window and it felt like their freedom was too…

~*~

August sat idly in his cell, looking at what seemed like an ordinary pen. He had been allowed to have it back after he had been processed and locked up since it seemed to just be a pen. A pen he couldn't write with. Thankfully, his cellmate in Riker's was quiet and didn't hassle him. He was careful not to take the pen with him during meals and other necessities, because the crowd in this place was rough, to say the least.

He hadn't used his phone call yet, because he didn't know Emma's number. Since his petty theft didn't come with heavy restrictions, he was going to be allowed some heavily monitored computer time eventually, in which he planned to use to try and find her number. But until then…he was stuck. He had no one to call, no money for an attorney, and his sentencing would likely be swift, even if he did give the public defender a not guilty plea. Nothing mattered though if he didn't get that pen to Emma. Only the next author could fix this mess.

"Booth…" the guard called and he turned to face the bars on his cell.

"You made bail," he announced. Confusion marred August's face. No one even knew him or that he was here.

"How?" he asked. The guard shrugged.

"Some woman in a fancy fur coat paid it," he said, as the cell was unlocked. He was processed for release and instructed not to miss his arraignment next week and released. He looked around and wondered who had purchased his freedom. He didn't know anyone that wore fur coats.

"So…you're the other one that went through the magical wardrobe before the Savior," a woman's voice said. He turned to find a woman in a fur coat, with hair half white on one side and half black on the other.

"Who the hell are you?" August questioned. She chuckled.

"Come now, dahling…I thought that it would be obvious," she said, as she took a drag from her cigarette.

"But I do so love introducing myself. Cruella De Vil," she announced.

"Holy crap…" August muttered.

"How do you even know who I am and why did you bail me out?" he asked.

"I know everything…I was involved with the previous author, after all. I let him think I loved him and he got me out of that wretched forest before the curse and into this lavish lifestyle I enjoy now," she said.

"He told me everything I needed to know about the curse and then I had two brutes dispose of him. They were stupid though and left something I needed behind," she added. August clutched the pen inside his pocket.

"You can't possibly think that you could use the pen," he said. She cackled at that.

"Of course not, dahling…but you're going to help me find the one who can. I need a new story written," Cruella replied.

"Why? Fancy furs and a limo. You seem to be doing well in this land," August said.

"Oh I am…or was, until the wealthy tycoon I married got himself caught embezzling and now the FBI is breathing down my neck too. I'm in danger of losing everything and mummy has certain tastes and standards that require a lot of cash," she said.

"Sorry…can't help you," August said, as he tried to walk past her, but was stopped by two brutes behind him.

"Horace and Jasper…please escort this nice young man to my limo. He'll be our guest until he loosens his tongue and tells us who the next author is," Cruella said, as they dragged him to the luxury car.

"I don't know who it is…the pen chooses, not me," August protested.

"Which is why I'll be keeping a short leash on you, Pinocchio and you'll lead me right to them," she said, as they got in the car and it sped away.

~*~

On the way back to Castle, they stopped at the daycare, knowing that they likely couldn't bring Bobby back here again. It was risky as it was and Snow quickly went inside to get their son.

"Margaret…" Ashley uttered, almost fearfully, as the other woman arrived. She saw the television on and clearly the woman had seen everything. If only Ella was awake, this would be a lot easier, but she wasn't and Snow could only be concerned with their baby at the moment.

"I'm here to get my son," she said simply, but from her tone, the other woman could tell that it would be for the final time.

"I…I saw you on TV. You…you killed that thing with an arrow," she said, as Snow brushed past her and Bobby put his toy down and toddled toward her once he saw her. She scooped him up and Ashley stood in the doorway.

"The news…is saying that you're dangerous. How can I just let you take a child into whatever mess you're in?" she asked.

"My child," Snow snapped, as she pushed past her and hurried out to the car, before climbing in next to her husband. He took their son, while she buckled in and Alivia drove away.

"She give you any crap?" the blonde asked.

"Yes…she was definitely questioning my fitness as a mother," Snow replied.

"Which I know Ella will regret when she's awake," David said.

"If she ever wakes up," Snow muttered and sighed.

"Maybe that's better…it's different for them than it is for us. We were missing part of our family when we were cursed, but they're not. Maybe it's okay if they never wake up," she added.

"I used to think that…about breaking the curse," Emma said.

"Like everyone seemed fine and safe for the most part in Storybrooke, so I didn't see why it was so bad that I had to break it," she added.

"But I was wrong…because it brought families back together and people that were meant to be together that had been torn apart by a curse of lies and deception," she continued.

"Like you and Dad…you two are meant to be together more than anyone and even though Ashley has Sean in this world, there might be others that aren't together and everyone of them deserves to know who they really are," Emma said. They smiled at her.

"Yeah…that's not going to happen, Suzie sunshine," Alivia interjected.

"Excuse me?" Snow asked sharply.

"The entire world is about to call for all of you to be controlled or even locked up. Do you really want to subject the rest of your people to that, Princess?" she asked in a condescending tone.

"This isn't the way to Castle," David said.

"We're not going to Castle…it's not safe," Alivia said, as the other car behind them followed with Belle, Gold, Neal, Regina and Henry.

"Then where the bloody hell are we going?" Emma asked.

"Headquarters," she answered and they exchanged looks.

"We just saved the city and you're locking us up?!" David exclaimed.

"It's for your own protection and we're not putting you in jail cells. You'll all have your own little apartments and it will be safe. If you go home right now, you'll be mobbed by people and press," she argued.

"Safe and watched at every moment, right?" Emma huffed.

"I can arrange a prison cell for you, Miss Swan," Alivia snapped.

"How about I just beat your face in instead?" Emma countered.

"Hey!" David interjected and took her hand, giving her an intense look that she recognized by now. He had a plan and she relaxed a little.

"Fine…but what am I supposed to do about my son? He has school," Emma said.

"Not anymore…we have tutors that can give him daily instruction," Alivia replied. She huffed but was quiet until they arrived at the NSA compound. It was just outside the city and looked like an old warehouse.

"Lovely place to raise a baby," Snow commented.

"Don't let looks fool you, Snow White…there will be plenty of room for little Bobby to run around and play," Casey said.

"And the best part is…the whole place employs a magic dampening technology we developed. Out here, you'll use your magic and in there, you won't," Alivia replied.

"Putting us in a gilded cage doesn't change the fact that we're prisoners," Neal countered.

"Freedom didn't work out like we had hoped. Tamara and Greg have blown this wide open, but hopefully, it means we will soon draw out whoever they're working for," Shaw said, as they entered the compound, which was much nicer on the inside.

"So we get punished because those lunatics are allowed to run amuck," Regina said.

"They haven't technically broken any laws yet," Shaw countered.

"That you know of…and they were born here in this world, after all…unlike us, right, mate?" Killian questioned and Shaw was silent for a moment.

"We know this isn't fair…but we are still on the same side and I'll prove it by letting you in what we have just found," Shaw said, as they followed him down the corridor and into a large area that resembled Castle.

"Welcome to Castle 2.0…" he said, as they all took seats at the conference table.

"Fine…what did you find?" Gold asked impatiently. He was livid and already scheming on a way to get out of this place and he had a feeling the Prince was as well, as he showed them a wooded area.

"Maine just had another unprecedented earthquake and in the wake of it…this appeared," he said, as he showed them a tree that seemed to be in the middle of a rural road.

"Where is that?" David asked, as he got closer to the screen.

"I think you know where," Shaw replied.

"Do you know what this tree is?" Alivia asked. David was quiet for a moment. He did…and it was a species of tree that did not grow in this land. An Avalon tree and it grew in only one place he knew. The tree itself was oak, but the sap and herbs from the tree, as well as the water inside, were what was magical. And it only grew in Avalon in the Kingdom of Camelot. He turned and met eyes with Gold, who he could tell knew what it was too.

"No…it appears to be an oak tree, but we should investigate it since it obviously appeared in the middle of the road for a reason," David said.

"Our scientists are investigating. You'll remain here for now," Shaw replied. They all exchanged glances. So that was the goal now. Play nice and find a way to navigate this compound to find out everything that was being kept from them and then escaping to Maine. A tree from Camelot definitely met something…something big and they had to find a way to take control of this whole situation or they would spend the rest of their lives under lock and key…