────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘 𝐁𝐎𝐗

────── ★★★ ──────

After watching Hook talk to Gothel for another hour and a half, the Jones man finally left the interrogation room. No one said a word as they waited for him to return, only for him to reenter his office with an urgent look on his face. The raven-haired man barely explained anything that happened in the room with the redheaded witch, making his three allies extremely annoyed. The only thing they could get out of him was their next destination. No one said a word as they piled into Hook's car before he drove them across town.

What felt like an eternity passed when Hook finally parked and got out of the car. Everly couldn't help but exchange a confused look with Sam before the two of them got out of the vehicle to join their partners. The Thorne woman's eyes scanned over the rundown-looking sign above them. It didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, but Everly knew nothing was that simple. Especially not in Hyperion Heights.

"The candy store said this was the last place they delivered the chocolates to," Hook explained as he held open the shop door to let his partners inside. As soon as Sam stepped into the shop, the pirate captain followed and made sure the door closed behind him.

The overwhelming fragrances from the variety of flowers made Everly's head spin. Even though she grew up on an island covered with plant life, there were very few that gave off an odor. And if they did, everyone knew to stay away from them. She did her best to ignore it by looking around at all the bright colors that surrounded them. "You'd think a member of the occult would work somewhere less cheery."

"I think it's about to get a lot less cheery," Rumplestiltskin responded to Everly before everyone's attention landed on a heart-shaped box, something that Hook said Gothel told him about.

"Marzipan truffles," Hook sighed as he looked around for anyone working in the flower shop, "the woman who runs this place is the next target."

"Hello, there," a new voice called out, causing everyone's attention to turn toward a man in an apron walking over to them, "how can I help you?"

"Hyperion PD. We'd like to speak to the woman who received this package," the Dark One told the florist before looking down at the box on the counter, "a Luanna Hoffs-Drawler. Is she here?"

"No," the man responded with a hint of sadness in his voice that made Everly's heart wrench, "Luanne was my wife. She passed away years ago. What's this all about?"

Rumplestiltskin let out a long sigh before turning and walking out of the shop with Hook right behind him. Everly and Sam stayed back for a moment and exchanged a look, knowing something wasn't adding up. It wasn't long after that when Sam thanked the man for his time before they left the shop to catch up with their partners. Not even a second passed after they caught up with Hook and Rumplestiltskin when the latter started speaking.

"This whole thing was a setup," the Dark One muttered under his breath before glancing over at Hook, "I warned you about Eloise. Either she's distracting us, or the killer is using her to distract us."

"From what?" the pirate captain responded, not even bothering to hide the hint of confusion in his voice, "it's not as if we have any leads or even know who the next target is."

As soon as Hook finished speaking, Sam seemed to perk up. The gears in his head turned for a long moment before he finally found the courage to speak up. "We might not know the next one but we know the last one. The baker in the hospital. Maybe the killer was trying to distract us so they could finish the job."

Rumplestiltskin and Hook instantly stopped in their tracks, making Everly and Sam almost slam into them. They then turned around and looked at Sam as if he said the smartest thing in the world. It wasn't long after that when they raced back to Hook's car to head to their next destination.

────── ★★★ ──────

When they arrived at the hospital, they walked to the counter to get instructions on where to find Hilda. Their steps were quick as they walked through the halls toward the room the woman was staying in. However, as soon as they reached the end of the hall, Everly spotted something that made her blood run cold. The officer who was supposed to be guarding the baker was lying unconscious in the supply closet.

The sight of their fallen comrade made everyone on high alert as they slowly approached the hospital room. Along the way, Everly slammed her fist against the "code blue" button, just in case they'd need a doctor after what they found. However, none of the expected what they discovered after they opened the door to the baker's room. Hilda was lying lifeless on the floor in a pool of bright red. But what shocked the four officers the most was a familiar blonde girl popping up from the other side of the bed.

"Tilly," Hook said, drawing the girl's attention to him, "what are you doing here?"

"I don't know. I, uh...I had to be here, but I don't want to be. I...I want to be somewhere else. Somewhere nice," Alice explained while she looked around the room as if she didn't know where she was.

"It's okay, Tilly," Everly said in the calmest tone she could muster after pushing past the three men standing in front of her, "just put the scalpel down."

"No, no, no. You're too late," the blonde girl responded while taking a few steps toward the Purest Heart with the scalpel raised. Alice's actions instantly caused Sam and Hook to grab Everly and pull her behind them. Everyone just stared at each other for a long moment before the blonde girl continued speaking. "I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen. You didn't pay attention to the thing that matters most! And that's when people get hurt!"

"I'm sorry, Tilly. I should've paid more attention," the pirate captain told the girl in front of him, who started to have a crazed look in her eyes, "just...just tell me what happened. We can help you."

"No. You're too late. Don't you understand?" Alice responded in a shaky voice as tears began forming in her eyes. It wasn't long after that when she swung the scalpel through the air, causing the officers to take a step back before Alice used the sharp object to point at Hilda. "I told you something bad would happen today! And none of you listened! And now you're too late!"

Before anyone had a chance to respond, Alice threw the scalpel on the floor and turned to the window. The blonde woman didn't hesitate to push the window open, causing the four officers to call out to her as they rushed toward the girl. To Everly's surprise, they found the blonde girl staring up at them from the room of a small building near the hospital. It wasn't long after that when she jumped off the roof and rolled across the cement below her. After looking up at the four above her one last time, Alice turned around and sprinted away from the hospital.

────── ★★★ ──────

Later that night the four of them arrived at the old shipping container that Alice called home. Hook didn't hesitate to jump out of the car and rush towards it while his allies followed his actions a bit more slowly. As soon as they reached the container, the pirate captain forced the door open and called out to the girl. When they didn't receive a response, they walked further into the small home. It wasn't long before Rumplestiltskin found the power switch, letting light cascade throughout the room.

Everly had to hold back a gasp when she spotted all the familiar things in the room. Sam's necklace was on one of the shelves, the diamond shining brighter than ever. Beside it was Austin's necklace, which seemed to be on fire. Leaning on the wall next to the shelving was Katherine's bow along with her quiver of arrows. It took everything within Everly not to take them and give them back to their rightful owners. Even though Rumplestiltskin knew she was awake, Hook and Sam didn't. They would've thought she was insane if she even tried.

The Purest Heart's attention quickly turned towards Hook when he began walking to the other end of the shipping container. When she saw what he was looking at, all her thoughts about the items that surrounded her faded away. Everyone watched as the Jones man pulled a piece of wood out from the corner to reveal the cult logo spray-painted in the center. What was even worse was two of the eight fork symbols were crossed out with red paint.

"Now I know how this looks, but...there's no way that Tilly killed those women," Hook declared after staring at the board for a moment longer before turning to look back at his partners, "this has to be her upside-down thinking gone awry."

"I think it's a bit more than that, actually," Everly responded without thinking, earning curious looks from Sam and Hook while Rumplestiltskin sent her an annoyed one, "I looked into Tilly's fine after she helped us the first time. I discovered that she had an...experience with this cult some years before. They took the one person that mattered most to her. They took her father."

"In the eyes of the law, that's motive," Sam added while turning around to look over some of the other items in the shipping container.

"Yeah, but...she's not a killer," the pirate captain stated after picking up a white knight chess piece from the shelf. Hook just stared at it for a long moment before finally looking back over at his partners. "You don't think she did this, do you?"

"No, of course I don't," Rumplestiltskin answered followed by a long sigh as he turned his attention back to the raven-haired man.

Hook's eyes scanned over the three people for what felt like an eternity before finally opening his mouth to respond. "Well, then we're on the same page. So how do we make this right?"

"I'll head back to the station with Jo and buy us the time we need. But they're gonna want one of us accountable, should anything else happen," the Dark One explained as he walked towards the exit before stopping and turning back around to face Hook and Sam, "so while we stay there..."

"Braxton and I will find Tilly. We'll prove her innocence," the pirate captain declared without even attempting to hide the determination in his voice.

After sending Hook and Sam a small nod, Everly followed the Dark One out the door. The two of them walked in silence until they got into the police car they used to get there. As soon as they closed the doors, the Purest Heart turned her full attention to the man sitting next to her.

"You didn't have me come with you to stall, did you," Everly said, causing a long sigh to pass over Rumplestiltskin's lips.

"There's a lot more going on here," the Dark one responded after starting the car and pulling away from the storage container, "and there are some things that I can't explain just yet."

The Purest Heart didn't respond right away. Her mind played over everything that had happened since Henry arrived in Hyperion Heights. It wasn't long after that when she remembered something very important that occurred before the curse was cast. What felt like an eternity passed before Everly finally gathered the courage to ask the question that was bouncing around in her head. "I know this is important but there's something that has been bothering me for a while."

"Can't it wait?"

"I don't think I'll have another chance to ask you without anyone around."

"Fine. What is it?" Rumplestiltskin asked without taking his eyes off the road in front of him.

"Drizella poisoned Henry's heart. So if the Curse is broken, Henry will die," Everly told the Dark One, earning a slightly annoyed look from the man, "I know you knew that part. But before the Curse was cast, I bound my heart to his."

The immediate response the Purest Heart received was Rumplestiltskin slamming in the breaks. The two of them sat in silence for a long moment before he finally turned to look at Everly. "Why in the world would you even think that was a good idea?"

"You and I both know that the Dark Curse doesn't affect me. I needed to connect my heart with someone pure if I didn't want to be left behind. Henry was the closest one to me," the Thorne woman explained, earning a small nod from the Dark one in response before she continued speaking, "my question is do you know if a way to cure Henry's heart after the Curse is broken?"

Rumplestiltskin just stared at the girl next to him for a long moment before turning his attention back to the road. It wasn't long after that when he continued driving without saying a word. A few minutes of silence passed before Everly opened her mouth to speak once again, only for the Dark One to beat her to it. "I don't know of a cure...but I better find one before you and Henry get yourselves killed."

────── ★★★ ──────

────── ★★★ ──────