Storybrooke – Years Ago

Regina and Henry walked out of their home in Storybrooke. She was still trying to get him to think this decision of his over. "Henry, think about this. I was hoping after High School you'd plan on going to college."

"I know," he sighed as he walked down the path to the street, "but College isn't going anywhere. I just – I need to do this. And besides, it's not like I'm going alone. You know Anya's coming with me and I think we both know she needs this, too."

Regina looked down, knowing what Henry was trying to say. After August passed away a couple months ago, Anya hadn't been the same. Getting away would be good for her. Before Regina could say anything about that, Anya came up the walkway with a wave to them.

"Hi, sweetheart," Regina greeted, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Mom," Anya replied, doing the same, then turned to Henry. "Hey there, little brother." She chuckled a bit as she mussed up his hair.

"I'm eighteen," he countered, pushing her hand away with scoffed chuckle. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

Anya rolled her eyes then crossed her arms, looking between them. "Did I just interrupt anything here?" There was just something on their expressions that made her thing she just had.

"Mom is trying to convince me not to go," Henry answered, not about to beat around the bush about it.

"I'm just trying to understand," Regina admitted.

"Operation Cobra is over. We have our happy endings…" Henry trailed off when he saw Anya look down, then got back to what he was trying to say. "I'm still the Author, Mom. All this time I've been writing everyone else's stories. I need to find out what my story is and maybe help Anya find the next chapter of hers."

"Don't go making this trip about me now," Anya as she pointed a scolding finger towards him. "I had my Happy Ending. It may not have been long-lived but the time I had with August…I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." Anya was straying from her point and cleared her throat to remedy that. "What I'm trying to say is – I'm in no rush to find out what happens next. This is your time, Henry. I'm just tagging along for the ride. With all the different books you found in the Sorcerer's Mansion, the possibilities are endless."

"There is one thing I found in common with them all, though," Henry told her with a smile. "We're not in any of them. There's only one me and one you."

"That's kinda daunting," Anya laughed but in a way she thought that was pretty damn cool. "At least we don't have to worry about our counterparts running around in the other stories. That could get pretty weird pretty fast."

Henry chuckled and walked with her to the set of motorcycles parked on the street. While he got on his, Anya hugged Regina and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you," Regina replied and said to Henry, "both of you."

Anya took a deep breath before getting onto her motorcycle because it was August's. She put her leg over and pulled on her helmet, giving Henry the nod to throw the Bean.

Henry nodded back and threw the Bean down the street to open a Portal they could drive into.

Regina was really starting to worry about this. "Henry, if that's your only Bean, getting back here…"

"Will be an adventure," he finished for her. "I love you, Mom."

Regina blew them both kisses with tears in her eyes then looked over at Anya when she spoke.

"Oh, before I forget…you're going to be a grandma," Anya lowered her visor and sped off before Regina could say anything with Henry riding right behind her into the Portal.

Regina stood there stunned because not only were her children going through a Portal to Realms unknown but also because Anya was carrying a child while doing it.

Seattle – Present Day

Anya sat in Henry's apartment in Seattle watching TV with a carton of Chinese food in her hand. When he came in, she said, "You're just in time! They're about to air the Karate Kid. Love that movie."

"You do realize you have your own apartment, right?" Henry shook his head with a sigh as he went over to his desk to sit. "And, if I remember correctly, it's right down the hall."

"You have the better TV," Anya grinned and added, "And I bought dinner." She lifted the carton and wiggled it along with the chopstick for a visual aid.

Henry was trying to stay annoyed but he was failing. "Did you get extra Rangoon?"

Anya knew the Chinese food would be the clincher. "Do I ever forget it?" As Henry left his desk to get some food, she looked over at his laptop. "How's the writing going?"

"Not well," Henry admitted. "All I have typed so far is 'poetic opening line goes here…'." To get the topic off him, he turned it back to her, "What about you? How's your business endeavor going?"

"You'd think with all the cheaters out there that someone would want to hire a P.I. but noooo," Anya waved her hands, talking with them in a way. "So what if I got kicked off the Police Force – wouldn't that give me more cred that I'm willing to bend the rules to get answers?"

"Who knows, maybe the police will come to you for help some time? That might give you a bit of a kick-off?" Henry was trying to find a silver lining but doubted it was working.

"Yeah, well, I better find something in the meantime because I got that apartment down the hall I need to pay rent for." Anya sighed and got to her feet to get a drink.

Henry, who was eating on the counter, asked with a full mouth, "Do you need some money?"

"Why? Have you got some to spare?" Anya asked, despite knowing the answer.

Henry shook his head with a laugh because he didn't and she knew it.

Before either of them could say another word there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Henry moved off the counter and went to answer it.

Anya saluted at him with a laugh and continued to watch the TV but muted it when she heard Henry say to whoever was at the door, "I don't have a daughter." This intrigued her. "What's going on?" she asked, pulling the door wider to see a young girl standing there and an older boy - who looked about eighteen - join them.

"No one's answering there," the boy said then saw Anya standing there. "Mom, there you are!"

"Mom?" Anya and Henry said in unison. Henry turned to her asking, "When did you have a kid and not tell me?"

Anya turned the question back on him "When did you have a kid and not tell me?"

"I don't have a kid," was his answer to that.

"Well, neither do I." Anya placed her hand on Henry, saying, "It's plausible for you not to know but…" she then placed her hands on herself saying, "I think I'd remember having a kid."

Jack looked down at his cousin and said, "You were right – this is going to be interesting." With a bit of a 'whoop' he pushed past Henry and Anya and walked into the apartment with Lucy right behind him.

Anya and Henry looked at each other with 'wtf' faces before going after them. "Is this some sort of a joke?" Henry asked and gestured between him and his sister, "because neither of us have kids."

"Oh, that's just the Curse," Jack pointed out like it was nothing and Lucy added in,

"It changed all your memories."

"A Curse?" Anya laughed and turned to Henry, "It's like your book."

"You know, I kinda expected my favorite writer to have a bit more…success," Lucy pointed out as she walked around the apartment, noting all the dust around.

Jack sat on the back of the couch, agreeing with her. "This place is a dump."

"Well, I didn't exactly write Harry Potter," Henry defended.

"Or anything since that one book," Lucy answered, looking at Henry's laptop.

"Pump the brakes for a moment," Anya asked of them and walked over to Jack. "Look, kid, I don't know what game you're trying to play here - or if you've got the wrong information - but I, Anya Mills, have never had a kid."

Jack stood up and patted her shoulder in a comforting way. "It's just the Curse, Mom."

"Don't call me that," she practically hissed because this kid wasn't listening to her.

Lucy chimed in there to attempt to help her cousin – He may be older than her but sometimes she didn't think he was much wiser. "He is your son and I'm his daughter but neither of you remember because of the Curse." Lucy pulled a white book from her bag and showed it to Henry. "Like she said, it's just like your book. But you don't remember because you're Cursed. And that's why you're not writing now."

"You're not living your own story," Jack interjected and looked at Anya. "Neither of you are."

Lucy sighed, "Come with us to our neighborhood – Hyperion Heights."

"Hyperion Heights?" Anya and Henry unintentionally said in unison.

"It's like your Storybrooke," Lucy explained.

"No, it's not," Henry countered. "It's a real neighborhood in Seattle. A real city with real people."

"And living with them – your family." Jack put a bit of emphasis there. "And all the other Cursed fairy tale peoples and whatnot."

"Come with us," Lucy pleaded. "You both can meet your True Loves and break the Curse."

"Our True Loves?" Anya laughed. "Wow…I'm starting to think you two broke out of a juvenile mental ward or something."

"We didn't," Jack defended. "Look, Anya, your true love is my dad. And Henry, your True Love is Lucy's mom."

Lucy picked up from there. "Cinderella. You met her in the last chapter, remember?"

"Cinderella, huh? Guess that makes you Prince Charming," Anya teased then turned to Jack with crossed arms. "And, for curiosity's sake, who's my supposed True Love? Captain Sparrow? Oh, wait, no. It's Pinocchio like in Henry's book, right?" She spoke like this whole thing was preposterous.

Jack could easily answer that but decided against it. He knew the rule of there being only one True Love for a person but he didn't believe that when it came to his mom. Jack truly believed that Anya had another. "Uh, no. Well, yes, but no." He segued from the serious topic of Pinocchio by talking lightheartedly, "And, well, you know, I could tell you who it is, but I think it'd be far more interesting – for me – and fun – for you – to figure it out on your own." He kinda felt like prodding a bit, though. There was just something about the way she was talking that set off his spidey senses.

Anya shook her head with an 'unbelievable' look on her face. "I – I got nothing. Do you see this look on my face, kid?" She asked as she waved her finger around her expression. "This look means you have just broken my mind."

Henry had to interject there. "Look, none of what I wrote was real. Snow White isn't my grandma. My shrink isn't Jiminy Cricket. My sister didn't marry Pinocchio. I never flew with Peter Pan and I never crashed into Cinderella's carriage."

Jack was starting to get a little frustrated with all this. "It's all true. You did return the Happy Endings and Pinocchio did heal Anya's heart. It's all true."

"And my mom, and everyone else, needs you to do it again. Both of you this time." Lucy looked between her father and her aunt. "You both need to fix this. The Curse put most people in Hyperion Heights, but…"

Henry cut her off. "I hear that's an up-and-coming neighborhood. Doesn't really sound like a Curse to me."

"It is!" Lucy emphasized. "It's up-and-coming because my step-grandma, Cinderella's step-mom, is trying to bring people from this world in, so all the fairy-tale characters move out. Move away. Get separated."

"Just like you lost Cinderella, and Anya lost her True Love, everyone will lose each other." Jack wished that some of this would click, at least with Anya, but it didn't seem to one bit.

Anya laughed with a wave to her hands, saying, "You know what I just realized? I don't have to stay here and listen to any of this since this isn't my apartment. Have fun, little brother."

Henry scoffed incredulously when she said that. "Seriously?" And when Anya scooped up her container of Chinese food with a wave behind her head, he called out, "Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome!" Anya called back, closing the door behind her.

The Other Realm – some years ago

Anya skidded her motorcycle to a stop when she saw the remnant of an accident. There were broken carriage pieces on the side of the road, along with Henry running over to an unconscious woman wearing a blue dress. "I leave you alone for five minutes and this is what happens?" She asked as she got off her bike to see what happened. Upon noting the glass slippers on the woman's feet, Anya said, "Please tell me you didn't just kill Cinderella."

"Shut up," Henry said to in a light tone before adding in, "Shouldn't you hurry up and get to your kid? The Portal home isn't going to stay open forever."

"Right. Try not to kill Cinderella." Anya gave Henry a salute, returned the helmet to her head and sped off on her motorcycle meet with the Fairies and her friend who were looking after her son – Jack.

Seattle – Present Day

The next morning Anya went into the kitchen to get her cellphone off the charger but instead found a Post-It note saying if she wanted her phone back to go to Roni's, followed with directions. "That little pirate! Thief! Whatever!" She snatched her keys off the counter and went to vent to Henry – and ask for a ride – before heading to this Roni's place.

They met each other in the hall, each with a Post-it note from their designated progenies. "Seriously, what the hell?" Anya fumed as they exchanged their stories. "I would surely know if I had a freaking kid!" Anya swallowed the lump in her throat without continuing.

"Maybe you were right about them," Henry ventured. "Maybe they're a couple of delusional kids who think what I wrote was real. Either way, they have things that belong to us so we should go and get them back."

"I'm starting to think I should put my P.I. skills to work and figure out what's what." Anya wasn't being serious, at least not completely, but as soon as she saw the look on Henry's face as they walked out of their building she knew what he was thinking. "Henry, no."

Henry nodded. "Anya, yes. You should. If nothing else, it'd give you something to bump your resume."

Anya pushed him along to his car, saying, "Let's get our stuff back and then we'll see what happens." She got into the passenger seat and looked at the directions again. "Take a left at the Troll under the Aurora Bridge? No wonder those kids are hooked on fairy tales."

When Henry parked the car on the side of the street, Anya muttered, "Welcome to Hyperion Heights." They got out together and started down the street but Anya stopped when she saw a blonde girl on a low-level roof. Henry noticed her too, and when she did the girl jumped down onto the dumpster and then in front of them.

The girl looked them over with a smirk before going on her way.

"Lovely to meet you, too," Anya snarkily called out to her with a wave, which made Henry say,

"And here I thought you were the mature one."

Anya draped her arm around her brother's shoulders, saying, "Now what could have possibly given you that idea?"

Henry rolled his eyes and looked up to see the sign for Roni's. "There it is, come on." He held the door open for Anya and walked in behind her. Upon seeing a woman at the bar, he said, "Uh, excuse me, is this Roni's?"

The dark-haired woman at the bar sighed, "I sure hope so. Or else I put the wrong sign up front." She turned around and faced them with a smile. "I'm Roni. What can I get ya?"

Anya took a seat at the bar and smiled, "Got any rum?"

"Since when do you drink rum?" Henry asked as he sat on the stool beside her.

Anya shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, just feel like it."

"You two are siblings, aren't you?" Roni chuckled, wiggling a finger between them before getting the rum.

"For a second there I was worried you were going to ask if we were a couple." Henry was relieved that wasn't the case.

Roni laughed at that. "Happens a lot?"

"You have no idea." Even Anya was annoyed with it.

"Well, it's your lucky day, kids," Roni stated as she poured their drinks, "whole bar is half off until midnight."

"Is that when this place turns into a pumpkin?" Henry joked.

Roni chuckled. "More like a juice bar or…whatever the bitch who bought us out drinks."

Anya looked disappointed to hear that. "You're selling? And just when I was starting to like the place."

Roni smiled then sighed as she looked around her. "Yeah, well, the neighborhood's changing. And not by choice. By Belfrey."

Henry's brow furrowed a bit. "By what-frey?"

Roni looked surprised that neither of them seemed to know who she was talking about. "Victoria Belfrey?" Still nothing. "She's buying up everything. Bringing folks in. This used to be…used to be a community here. Used to be nice. Now…everyone's scattering." She poured herself a drink. "Can't fight the power, right? Might as well take the money." Roni lifted her glass in cheers before downing the shot.

Roni started to clear off the bar when she caught the looks on their faces as they both looked over towards the door. "It doesn't look like either of you are having a banner day either."

"Been interesting, that's for sure." Henry replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Interesting?" Anya laughed. "That's the understatement of the century." She turned to Roni and said, "I mean, seriously, how would you feel if we walked in here and said we were your kids?"

Roni's eyes widened a bit then she set the bottle of rum in front of Anya. "That would be a kicker." She leaned forward on the bar and asked, "So two kids both showed up and said you were their parents?"

"The girl said my little brother here was her father, and the boy his mother," Anya raised her glass in cheers before finishing it off.

A moment later Jack walked in from the back room with a crate in his hands. "I got the glasses all cleaned up, Roni."

Anya stood with a gasped, "You!" as she pointed at him.

Roni looked between them and used her thumb to point behind her at Jack. "This is the kid who came to see you?" At Anya's nod, she took a deep breath and turned to face him with crossed arms. "You can't keep asking random women if they're your mother. Are we going to have to have another discussion about this?"

"Can't I just give her back her phone instead?" Jack asked with a grin.

Roni pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "You stole her cellphone?"

"Yep," Jack grinned and headed out through the front door, wiggling Anya's cellphone as he backed out the door.

"That little…" Anya bit her tongue and followed him outside to get it back from him.

"He your kid?" Henry asked as Anya ran out the door.

Roni shook her head. "Sparrow? No, he's not. I help him out from time to time since he doesn't have any family."

"So you're like his fairy godmother?" Henry joked.

Roni got a kick out of that and laughed, "Sure," in reply.

Meanwhile, Anya sprinted down the road and looked for where Jack went. She finally spotted him in an empty lot standing near an old wishing well. When she got closer, she could see he was holding her phone out over it. Anya threw out her arms and scoffed, "Seriously?" when he grinned at her.

"I figured it was the best way to get your attention," Jack replied as he lowered and raised her phone above the well.

"You have it, so please give that back. I can't afford a new one." Anya held her hand out for him to give it to her. "I'm not kidding, kid."

"Five minutes to hear me out and it's yours," Jack bargained.

Anya let out a heavy breath. "Fine. You want to tell me more delusions about a Curse? I'll listen."

Jack thought about it for a moment then decided against it. "On second thought, I think I'll just drop it."

Anya gasped and scolded, "Jackson Robin Hood Booth Sparrow you give that back right now!" She then clasped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she just said.

Jack moved away from the well and walked over to her. "I knew it! As soon as you said 'Captain Sparrow' I knew you remembered!" He handed over the phone with a confused look on his face, "Why did you act like you didn't know anything?"

"It's safer this way," Anya replied, looking around as she took the phone from him and slipped it into her back pocket.

"Safer?" Jack scoffed incredulously. "The safest thing to do is find Dad and break your half of the Curse!"

"My half?" Anya laughed. "I have nothing to do with this Curse. If I was capable of breaking it then don't you think I wouldn't remember anything?"

"I figured our Light protected you," Jack answered, but maybe he was wrong. "Can't you try? Can't you find Dad and True Love's kiss him or something?"

"Your dad isn't my True Love, Jack," Anya sighed. "Your father was. Now I love your dad in a way that I never thought I could again but he's not my True Love."

"Yes, he is! You just have to believe it!" Jack retorted with so much emotion. "He is because he got you to love again. There was a part of your heart that died when father did, you told me that. But Dad…Dad brought that back to life and you can't deny it. Who else could do that other than True Love?"

Anya tried to find words to explain but she found she couldn't. Maybe there was a part of her that couldn't believe Jack was right. August was her True Love and if she believed another could possibly be as well…it made her feel like August was being replaced and that's something she couldn't do.

Even with all that, she could see the hope – the belief – in Jack's eyes and couldn't take that away from him. So she replied as if she did believe Jack. "It won't work," Anya explained. "He would have to feel something for me first. His Hyperion counterpart may hate me on sight. And like I said, I don't think I have anything to do with breaking this Curse. Even with it being cast in a different Realm, I'm still from a different Dimension. Not all the rules apply for me."

Jackson wasn't buying it. "You're stonewalling! What is really going on?"

Anya pressed her hands together and took a deep breath. "Trust me, Jackson. It's safer this way. This Curse…it's a blessing in disguise."

"Oh, yeah?" Jack scoffed. "For who?"

Anya opened her mouth to divert or embellish but found she could do neither and said what she believed to be true, "Everyone."

Jack's brow furrowed as he looked at her. He'd never seen her like this before – she was afraid. "Mom, what aren't you telling me?"

Anya wanted to answer that but she found she couldn't. It was a complete blank whenever she tried to remember. "I – I don't know. I can't remember."

"You can't remember, but you know?" Jack wanted to be sure he was following her there.

The more Anya thought about it the weirder this was. "Yeah…I can't explain it…" Suddenly a possibility hit her.

Now that was a face he recognized. "Oooo you thought of something!" he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "This is going to be good."

Anya shook her head in disagreement. "On the contrary. I think I was affected by the Curse and this is it…"

"What's it?" Jack felt like he missed something.

"I can't remember anything about the Curse or things related to the Curse but I know it shouldn't be broken…That's what it's doing to me – it's keeping me from wanting to break it. It wants me to prevent it." That's the only thing that made sense to her.

"Only one way to know for sure," Jack suggested and at his mom's expression said, "Find Dad, cure the part of the Curse that's on you, and find out for sure." Without another word, he started walking away.

Anya side stepped to stop him. "You can't tell anyone I remember, Jackson. Not until I can figure out what memories are truly mine and what's fabricated by the Curse. Do you understand? Not even Lucy." She could see the hesitation on her son's face so she decided to make a deal with him, "If you swear not to tell Lucy then I will go look for your dad. Deal?" She held out her hand to seal it.

Jack, looking pretty pleased with himself, shook her hand. "Deal. You don't have to look very far, though. I know where he is."

Anya figured she would go meet up with Henry and find out if he got his laptop back before going in search of Jack's dad. What stopped her from doing that was finding Henry's car wasn't where it was parked. She used her cellphone to call Henry and ask what was going on. "Stolen?" as if this day couldn't get any worse. "Wait…you're where?" As soon as Henry told her he was at the Police Station she couldn't help but wonder for a moment if Jack had anything to do with Henry's car's disappearance. "I'll be right there."

Anya returned the phone to her back pocket and walked down the street, saying to herself about Jack, "You little pirate."

It didn't take her long to find the police station. In fact, it took her longer to actually go inside than it did for her to find it. "Stop acting like a child," she said to herself before taking a deep breath and heading inside.

Henry was talking to a police officer about his car when Anya walked in. "Hey, sis," he greeted. "This is Officer Rogers. He's trying to help find the car but isn't getting anywhere."

Anya looked at Rogers and felt the butterflies flapping around in her stomach at the sight of him. 'This is going to be harder than I thought,' she thought to herself before saying to Henry, "I'm sure he's doing the best he can," then she extended her hand with a smile to Rogers. "Thank you for your help."

Rogers shook her hand, not taking his eyes off her and he, too, smiled. "My pleasure."

Their moment was interrupted when Victoria Belfrey walked into the station and right over to Officer Rogers. "Whatever you are doing can wait. I need you to find my granddaughter."

Henry was instantly worried by the news. "Lucy's missing?"

Victoria didn't answer him and continued speaking to Rogers. "If that Sparrow boy is found with her I want him arrested!"

"Jack would never do anything to hurt Lucy," Anya defended with vigor.

Victoria shot a glare at her before she continued to speak. "Jacinda is missing as well." She turned to Henry. "Would you know anything about that Mr. Mills?"

"How would he know anything?" Anya asked, feeling like she missed something.

"I don't," Henry answered, but Victoria didn't appear to believe him.

"You want your car, Mr Mills?" Victoria asked in a 'hmm' tone to her voice. "If you know something then tell me. Help me find my girls."

Anya patted Henry's shoulder, saying, "You're on your own with this one, little brother," before she walked out of the station. As soon as she stepped outside, she leaned against the wall and brought her hands to her face. How much longer could she keep up this act? – Honestly, she had no idea.

Henry told Victoria something that could help find Jacinda and Lucy and Henry's car was found. Anya stayed down the street while Jacinda spoke to Henry and once she was gone, Anya joined her brother. "You know, this place…is kinda growing on me."

Henry laughed at her then saw the serious expression on her face. "Anya, you've got to be kidding me. You want to stay here?"

"I need a fresh start," Anya said with an affirmative nod. "I'm not saying you have to stick around, but I feel like I should."

Henry felt like he had missed something big. "Where is this coming from?"

Anya didn't answer that and just lightly said, "I'm gonna get evicted out my apartment anyway."

"So…you're staying?" Henry asked, needing to know.

"Yeah," Anya answered, her decision set it stone. "I'm staying."

The Other Realm – some years ago

Anya had Jack in hand and used her magic to meet up with Henry where the Portal was going to open at midnight to send them home. Letting Jack ride on the motorcycle at such a young age wasn't an option so magic it was. As soon as they got there and she saw the look on Henry's face, it was clear something went on while she was with Jack and the Fairies. "What did I miss?"

"A lot," Henry answered with a laugh just as the Portal opened. He showed Anya the glass slipper Cinderella left behind for him. "I got a princess to find."

Anya looked at the Portal then back to Henry, needing to understand what he was meaning. "So…you're staying?"

"Yeah," Henry answered with a smile, "I'm staying."

Anya smiled wide, saying, "So…if you're going after Cinderella this really does make you Prince Charming."

Seattle – Present Day

That night, Rogers leaned against his police car with Lucy's book of fairy tales in her hand – the book which Henry had written. Ivy had given it to him to dispose of because she said it had caused too much trouble where Lucy was concerned. Earlier when he was first given it, he flipped through and something caught his eye. Now he had the time to look through it again.

He stopped at a page where there was a woman holding a bow ready to fire who greatly resembled the one he met that day – Anya. Even if he hadn't met her that day he would feel the same thing he had felt right in that moment – that he had seen her somewhere before. One thing was certain…he wanted to see her again.

End Episode 1