Long Lost | Once Upon a Time (REWRITING)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: There's No Place Like Home: Part 2

"This is Oz." Grace let out as she allowed the shock from the situation to finally take over her. She, along with the other two, gazed around the forest dumbly. From what she could gather, nothing had changed since she had last been there. However, unbeknownst to the four of them--including one unconscious Marian--nothing had changed, as they were all in the version of Oz that Grace remembered--one that included her at the ripe age of ten years old.

Hook sighed as he seemed to realize just what that meant. "No Rumpelstiltskin to help us here." He let out, though it was out of anything but frustration or anger. No, it was as clear as day that even he was panicked.

"Well, what about another wizard, like the Wizard of Oz?" Emma questioned obliviously. She was just spitting out guesses off the top of her head at this point, desperate to return to their land. "Doesn't he give Dorothy some ruby slippers or something?"

Grace sighed at her naivety before letting out, "The Wizard of Oz was a sham. He never had the power to grant people's wishes. He was just a man who came to possess magical items. I doubt he'll have anything." She explained. That earned a deflated look from the two. It's not that Grace wanted to have them lose hope in their current situation, but she had to be truthful when telling them that certain paths truly weren't the best to go down.

"Then what do we do?" Emma questioned once more before turning to her sister. "Grace, you know this land more than anyone. Where do we go from here?"

"I don't know! Okay?! I'm just as afraid as you are because I don't know." The girl couldn't help but exclaim. She was clearly just as fearful as they were, as she knew just as much as they did on how to get back to their land. Even with her knowledge on Oz, she truly had no idea on where to proceed from here. With that in mind, she sighed out, "This is pointless. We're never getting out of the past."

Now it was Hook's turn to step in with a shake of his head. "Nonsense. We will make it back to Storybrooke--all of us. Whether that be in hours or years, we'll make it out of this." He concluded, causing Grace to become confused as to what caused him to become so hopeful in their current situation. I guess when you've got three Debby Downers, one of them's got to step up and take charge or else it will just be one downward spiral for them all.

"Speaking of which," Emma then let out after thinking about what Hook had said, "what year is it?"

Grace could see why she was asking and quickly began to look around to give her some sort of indicators as to answer her sister's question. Hook stepped in with the clueless response of, "Well, we at least know that it's during the time when Zelena was in reign." He said as his eyes caught sight of a castle in the distance, it undoubtedly belonging to that of the Wicked Witch.

Grace frowned at his statement, only now realizing how clueless the two really were. "Which can mean anytime. Zelena's been here since before I even got here, and God knows how long before that." Emma sighed and appeared to immediately regret asking her previous question.

"Forget about the year." She let out, "We just need to figure out a way to get back to Storybrooke. A number doesn't change our situation."

Grace raised a brow at that last part. "Uh, yeah, it does." Upon seeing the questioning looks she'd been receiving, she sighed. "Depending on the 'number', we can figure out when and where everyone is at this time. For example, if Glinda is still here or if she was banished by the Wicked Witch. If we're lucky, she can help us again." Her statement gave them both an indication that Grace knew at least a little about their current situation. Even a little bit of knowledge was enough to hopefully help them get the hell out of there--and fast, as long as they were sure not to screw anything up.

"Luck's got nothing to do with it." Hook commented lightly, whereas Emma looked to her sister in relief.

"Well, that's a start. But how can we figure out what time period we're in without just blatantly asking around?" At her statement, Hook raised a brow teasingly.