✖️✖️✖️✖️

Astrid sat in an empty booth as she stared at nothing in particular while everyone else mingled at the wake in Granny's, exchanging stories of Peter Pan.

But she tuned it all out as everything sounded so distant to her.

David and Snow stepped over to where their daughter sat as Snow gained her attention, "Astrid?"

The said girl snapped out of her daze and looked over at her parents.

"Look, I know that there's nothing we can really say, but we just want you to know," Snow assured her daughter, "You don't have to go through this alone."

"I know, Mom," Astrid let out quietly with a convincing smile.

"She won't have to," Zelena suddenly spoke up as she sat across from Astrid in the booth while holding her baby who was now named Robin Petra (after Peter).

"I think what my little sister needs is a little time with someone who understands what she's going through." Zelena added.

David nodded, "Zelena, we're sorry. What happened with Hades, that..." He sighed, "can't exactly be easy. We'll leave you two alone."

"Dad?" Astrid stopped him before standing up and hugging her parents who hugged her back, "I love you both. Thank you."

Snow smiled, "We love you, too." They then stepped away while Astrid sat back down and smiled some at Zelena.

Zephyr got up from where he sat next to Roland across from Regina and Robin and moved over to his mother, crawling in her lap and wrapped his small arms around her waist.

Astrid moved her own arms around the boy as well and kissed the top of his head.

A wave of power suddenly shook the whole town as everyone gained their balance.

"What the hell was that?" Regina demanded.

Astrid stood up in her seat but still carried her son in her arms, his legs around her waist and arms around her neck.

"Swan, are you all right?" Hook asked as he steadied his love who nodded.

"Given that blast of magic, there's only one person not present who's powerful enough for something like that," Astrid spoke up about that surge of power.

***

"Gold." Zelena informed them as she and Astrid stared up at the hole on the next floor in the clock tower, "He's got the Olympian Crystal. Or part of it, anyway. Some of it must have survived. I can still feel the aura from it."

Astrid added, "Yeah, you're not the only one. He used it to cast a tethering spell."

"Tethering spell?" Emma spoke up, "What was Gold attaching the crystal to?"

"Storybrooke's magic," Regina realized, "That's why he cast the spell here."

"With that crystal, he can harness all of this town's magic for his own purpose." Zelena informed them.

"Gold already has the power of all the Dark Ones," Robin spoke up, "Why does he need more?"

"To wake Belle," Emma spoke up as Astrid nodded and added, "True love's kiss didn't work because she doesn't want to be with him."

"Aye," Hook spoke up, "Once the Crocodile wakes Belle, do you think he'll stop there? Do you think he'll just turn the bloody crystal and all of its power over to us?"

"He's right," Emma agreed with the one handed pirate, "Let's go get that crystal."

"Let's," Astrid nodded in agreement as the others walked out, leaving Emma, Regina, and herself.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, Astro," Emma reluctantly said.

"What?" Astrid shook her head, "Why would I possibly sit out this possibly dangerous mission, leaving my family to possibly get hurt?"

Regina placed a hand over the immortal girl's shoulder and spoke up, "We just want what's best for you."

Astrid shrugged off Regina's hand and slightly glared at both of them, "No, you don't. You think since I just suffered a major loss that I'm gonna bloody revert back to my old violent self! Well, I'm not. You-"

"Astrid, calm down and think straight-" Emma cut her sister off slightly.

"No, you don't get to tell me what to do. You're not my mom. Neither of you. You're my sisters." Astrid cut her off, "If I say I'm bloody fine, I'm fine. I will not let my emotions jeopardize my life or my family's lives. Got it?"

Henry walked over to them and spoke up, Astrid, Moms, please."

"Henry, now's not the time," Both Regina and Emma lightly told their son as Emma added to her twin, "Astrid, take a minute and cool off."

Astrid scoffed, "You don't want my help. Fine. I'll fix this on my bloody own." She then vanished in a cloud of white smoke.

Emma sighed and shared a look with Regina before stepping over to her son, "Kid, go to my place and stay there. You'll be safe. Okay? We got this."

Henry sighed and nodded, heading down the stairs of the tower.

"We mean it, Henry, go right home," Regina added.

***

Robin looked at the map and pointed out, "So far, no sign of Gold, which means we need to expand our search perimeter to include the woods-"

Suddenly, Astrid stormed inside of the apartment and replied, "Where is he?"

Emma straightened up and looked over at her sister, "I told you we got this. We'll find Gold."

Astrid sighed, "Not Gold. Henry." Zephyr stood behind his mother before he ran over to Hook and was lifted up in his arms.

"Astrid, there's only one way to fix everything that's tearing us apart," Astrid read aloud her text from Henry, "I have to destroy the-"

Simultaneously, both Regina and Emma finished reading the text aloud on their phones, "The source of all of our problems. We got the same text."

"What does he mean?" Snow spoke up, "What is the source of all our problems?"

"What is he going to destroy?" Robin also asked.

Gold stepped into the house and smiled somewhat at the family, "Well, I think I can answer that. The Olympian Crystal and all the magic tethered to it. It would appear my grandson has outsmarted us all. He used his Authorial power to steal the crystal right out from under my nose."

"Would Henry even do that?" Snow questioned, "Destroy magic?"

"We better hope he doesn't," Gold replied.

"Why? What happens if Henry succeeds?" Regina questioned the Dark One.

"Considering this town was built with magic, what do you think will happen?" Gold remarked towards the raven haired woman.

"He would never destroy magic if he knew it could hurt us," Emma defended her son's motives.

"I'll be sure to tell him that right before I take the crystal back." Gold replied.

"Don't you dare go near my son." "Don't you dare go near my nephew." Both Regina and Astrid told the said Dark One in unison.

"Sorry, dearies," Gold commented, "But he's threatening me now." He then vanished in a cloud of red smoke.

Regina turned and left out of the loft followed by Robin as Astrid glanced at her sister, "You go after her."

Emma nodded, grabbed her jacket, and followed them out of the house also.

***

David, Snow, Zelena, Granny, Hook, and Astrid was walking on Main Street when Merida and some of the townsfolk found them.

"Is it true?" Merida began, "Magic might disappear?"

"Only if Henry destroys the crystal," Snow informed them as Astrid held an arm around her five year old's shoulders and kept him close to her.

"Which he won't," David also informed them, "Not with Emma and Regina searching for him."

"Yeah, but what if they don't find him in time?" Merida asked in worry, "How are we gonna get back without magic?"

"It won't be a problem if we send you home now,"Astrid spoke up, taking a step forward as her hands started to glow.

She suddenly made a door appear in the street as it opened to reveal a white portal, "How do you like that? Being a god does have some perks."

"Wait," David glanced over at his daughter curiously, "A god? How?"

"It's how came back to life from the Underworld." Astrid admitted, "The other gods saw me as worthy or whatever and made me known as Artemis, the protector of the people."

"Huh," David nodded.

"Why didn't you tell us, A?" Snow asked their daughter as her husband now led some people inside of the portal.

"I guess it slipped my mind with losing Peter all over again and everything that's happening now," Astrid commented, "And, honestly, I don't think this hurt will ever go away, will it?"

Snow gave her a sympathetic look and moved a motherly arm around her shoulders, saying, "I know, but it will get better, baby. Trust me. You will find love again."

Astrid nodded slowly, "Okay."

"That's everyone," David spoke up, "Let's close it up."

Astrid stepped forward and went to close the portal but nothing happened just as it began to move over to them.

"Zelena, care to help?" Astrid struggled as she held onto the portal magically.

The portal was getting out of control.

Zelena took out her wand and shot at the portal, also having no luck in containing it.

"What's happening?" Granny asked over the wind as she held onto the baby as well as keeping an arm in front of Zephyr.

"Stand back!" Both Zelena and Astrid simultaneously shouted and continued to try and contain the portal.

"Astrid, Zelena!"

Zelena added, "It must have something to do with magic being tied to that bloody crystal!"

Astrid moved her glowing hands some as she struggled to contain it when suddenly the portal sucked the five of them inside as the door also disappeared.

Astrid landed on the ground, half knocked out, from using all of that power in creating a portal for the first time.

"Everyone okay?" David spoke up while Hook glanced over at their daughter who groaned as she laid on the ground still.

"AJ?" Hook started as he moved two fingers against her neck to check her pulse to find it still beating. "Come on, kid, wake up."

Astrid blinked away the grogginess she felt and sat up, holding her head, "Wh-Where are we?"

"I don't know, but look," Hook pointed out as he helped her to her feet while everyone looked in front of them to see a cliff and then a large mansion.

"Well, we're certainly not in Storybrooke anymore." Zelena remarked while Hook continued to steady Astrid from falling over.

David glanced over at his daughter and also placed a concerned hand on her arm, "You okay, Astrid?"

The said girl nodded and sighed, "Yeah, just a little... dizzy for now. My newfound god-like powers will take some getting used to." She brushed herself off, "It's a bit much."

"If this isn't Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest, then where are we?" Snow questioned as they now looked around.

"Wherever we are, I'd rather not stick around long enough to find out," David replied, "I'd ask Astrid to make another portal, but she needs rest from that last one. Can you use the wand and get us back to Storybrooke?"

Zelena held up her broken wand, "Not quite."

"So we're trapped in this mysterious realm wherever it is," Hook remarked.

David glanced back at the former Wicked Witch, "You can fix it, right?"

Zelena fake smiled, "Of course. Do you happen to have any duct tape? We're not affixing the bumper to that God-awful truck of yours. This requires the proper potions. None of which I have with me."

"Well, then, we're just gonna have to go find them," Snow pointed out.

"Then we'll have to move quickly," Zelena spoke up, "If we don't find Regina, Robin, and Emma before Henry destroys magic, fixing this wand won't matter. We'll be cut off from Storybrooke for good."

"Here, let me try making a portal again," Astrid spoke up, her hands glowing again as she lifted them up.

Just as she was about to create a portal, her magic zapped her backwards.

The four of them rushed over to her as David and Hook helped stand her back up, holding on both sides of the girl.

"What happened?" Snow asked her daughter in concern.

"It means I need time to recover from the last portal," Astrid sighed, "Time we really don't have. I'm sorry, guys."

"It's okay, Kid," David assured, "We'll try to fix this wand while you lay off your magic for now."

Astrid nodded as she then heard something, "Hang on. I hear something." She moved over to a man trimming some plants as her family followed close behind her.

"Excuse me. Can you tell us what land we're in?" David asked the stranger who started to run away.

"Whoa! No need to run!" Hook also started while Astrid caught up to the stranger and grabbed his arm, holding him in place.

"Please don't hurt me," The man begged as Astrid let him go and assured, "We just want to know what land we're in."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," The man commented, afraid and terrified.

"It's okay," Snow assured him, "You don't need to be afraid of us."

"No, you don't understand. You shouldn't be here. You have to go." The man told them.

"Well, that's what we want to do." Astrid replied, "We're trying to get home to our family. To a town called Storybrooke."

"That's a strange name," The man murmured, pushing his glasses up some.

"We need magic to get back there," Snow added, "Can you help us?"

"Magic? No, no, no. Magic is dangerous." The man stammered, "If I-I help you, I'll be punished."

Astrid shared a look with Hook as David asked in confusion, "Punished? By who?"

"By me," A brown skinned man in a white suit suddenly spoke up as he stepped over to them and shot the five of them with electricity, sending them flying through the air and hitting the ground hard.

Everything went black, then.

***

Astrid squinted her closed eyes before opening them and sitting up, realizing they were in a strange metal cage, "Bloody hell."

"I guess now we know what that grounds man was so afraid of," David commented, helping his daughter to her feet also.

Snow shook her head, "This isn't like any dungeon I've ever seen."

Zelena waved her hand across a bar as it briefly glowed some, "These bars are enchanted. Magic won't get us out of here."

Astrid stepped over to the bars as well and and began to try and siphon the enchantment away, but only ended up being zapped backwards.

Hook knelt beside her, a concerned fatherly hand on her shoulder, "You okay, AJ? You're not hurt, right?"

"No, no, no, I'm fine! Totally fine, no, no, I'm fine," Astrid repeated herself.

"Really? Because you're repeating your words, you look pale, and you look like you're about to topple over," David commented.

Astrid nodded, "Yeah, you might wanna catch me." She then started to fall until both of her dads held her up.

"The wand," Hook began, "Do you still have it?"

Zelena felt inside her jacket, "Should I be offended that he didn't frisk me?" She took out the broken halves of the wand, "Not like this is any use to us in here."

"Hide it. Someone's coming." Snow spoke up as Zelena did as told and re-hid it inside her jacket.

Suddenly the tinted glass doors opened and a man walked inside, "There you are. The prisoners who attacked my groundsman."

"No, no, no, we didn't attack anyone," David replied, still holding up his daughter as did Hook, "This is just a big misunderstanding. We just want to know where we are."

"All you need to know is that you don't want to be here," The man in a suit commented as he stepped over to them, "And that you're the ones who are going to be answering my questions. Like, why are you really here?"

"We just want to go home," Snow said.

"You must think of me as so naive," He continued to move closer to the cage they were locked in, "I know you're lying. I know who really sent you. So, tell me. What does the Dark One want?"

"You know the bloody Crocodile?" Hook suspiciously started.

Astrid also narrowed her eyes and stepped over to the man as the grogginess and dizziness had completely subsided, "Who are you? What do you really want?"

"Don't lie to me," The man quickly grabbed Astrid's throat and began to choke her while both Hook and David tried to pry him off of her.

"He's too strong," David muttered as he and Hook continued try and free their daughter of his tight grip.

"Look, we get it. You're powerful. But killing her isn't going to change the truth." Snow spoke up in attempt to also help her daughter out, "Which is that we don't work for Rumplestiltskin. He's our enemy. He's the whole reason we're here. He tried to steal magic from our town to wake the woman he loves. She's pregnant."

The man suddenly released Astrid who fell to the floor, catching her breath and coughing as she moved a hand over her throat.

The man remarked, "You expect me to believe that the Dark One has found love?"

"Yes," David replied, holding his daughter who then healed and straightened back up, "So whatever grudge you have against him, we have nothing to do with it."

Astrid glared slightly and added, "Let us go, and you won't have to worry about us ever again."

The man inhaled deeply, "In my experience, if you really don't want to worry about something, you lock it into a cage." He moved his hands to the sides of his head, "A strong cage. Like this one." He pointed at the cage they were in, "It's when you unlock the cage... That's when the trouble starts."

He then walked away and out of the room.

***

David looked over at Astrid after jiggling the lock again, "You alright?"

Astrid nodded, "Aye. Bloody fantastic. It's already healed."

"That's good," Hook glanced at their daughter before speaking up, "Other than that, even in this hellish land, the bloody crocodile manages to get in my way. What the devil do you think he did to that Warden?"

"With him, it could be anything," Snow remarked.

They all looked over in the corner of the cell to find that Astrid had broke the wooden box and picked up a makeshift stake.

"The one day I don't wear my thirteen daggers or twin swords," Astrid remarked, "I'm growing too soft, but hey, this will work fine."

They heard the door open then as Snow told her, "Get ready. Someone's coming."

"Okay," Astrid replied, moving to stand in the middle of them while holding the stake behind her back, "Let's do this."

The groundsman suddenly walked over to them, "There you are."

"What are you doing here?" Snow voiced her confusion aloud.

"What does it look like? I'm here to help you." The man replied, stepping up the steps to the cage.

"Help us? Last time you wouldn't even talk to us," David commented.

"That's because the Warden was watching me," He pointed out, "I had no choice."

"Dude, you're seriously giving me whiplash with your random moods here," Astrid sarcastically said.

"If you really wanna help us, prove it." Hook replied, "Open those bloody bars."

"I can't," The man shook his head, "His orderly, Poole, keeps the key with him at all times. I might be able to get the magic you need, if you'll make a promise to me first."