The Author
It starts with a TV show called Knight Of Valor. Isaac is in the 1960s trying to sell a couple on buying a color TV set. The customer asks him a question, but he goes off on a technical discussion and his boss interrupts to answer the question. His boss then proceeds to yell at him for not selling things even though he is a writer. Isaac checks the mail and sees a letter from Star Publishing that says they want to meet him immediately. He goes to their office, but it’s mostly just a large empty space. He calls out and finds the Apprentice. He sets out pens on the desk and asks which pen he wants. He chooses the enchanted quill which sparks when he picks it and the man tells him he is their next author. The apprentice asks if he wants to take a trip. He magics a door and says it is time to stop selling tv’s and take on the most important job in the realms. They walk through the door into the woods.
The Apprentice
In present time, Regina and the others flip through the empty journals at the sorcerer’s place. August shows up and says he has an idea. He thinks the Apprentice is in Storybrooke and shows them a sketch of him. Hook says he knows where he is and takes them to the magical hat. Blue gets him out of the object and he promptly says they need to take care of Isaac.
Isaac is with Rumple finishing up the story. He asks if he wants him to forgot his son, but Rumple says he wants to remember his son, but with a slight difference. Emma, Regina, and the apprentice go down to Rumple’s while the others go to the loft to get the page. Hook finds the book just as Isaac writes “The End” on the new story.
Alternative Universe
Henry wakes up on the floor of the loft. He calls out for Hook, Snow and Charming but no one is there. There is no one in Storybrooke.
He drives out of town and stops to ask if anyone has seen them, but they call the cops. He sees a book called Heroes and Villains by Isaac Heller. We flash to Isaac at a book event. He is giving a speech about the book and how it has been a passion project for a long time. He signs books and receives a Long Live Regina pin. Henry shows up and slides the door page in front of him demanding answers. He says they are all fine and live in an alternate reality. Everyone got their happy endings except Emma because there was no room for a savior in his world.
Henry gets the new book from Isaac and puts the key in it and finds himself by a thatched roof house. Isaac is there and knocks Henry out. Henry wakes up and is tied up and Isaac tells him he has trapped them in a terrible place. Isaac leaves him as an ogre comes towards them. A knight comes along and uses magic to kill the ogre. It’s Rumple. He frees Henry and sends him on his way.
Henry opens the book and escapes a few traps until it reads that a large log should be home. He calls out and Regina comes at him with an arrow. He tells her he is her son.
Isaac comes back to the village and is upset that the ogre was killed and he should have remembered that.
Regina and Henry talk and she asks who sent him. He says he just wants her to find her happy ending and they called it Operation Mongoose. He shows her the book and says they are trapped in it. She reads it and it says she is going to rob a tax carriage to get out of town. She asks how it can know her future and then throws it in the fire. Henry says her true love is Robin Hood.
He says they need to find him so they can have true love’s kiss and fix everything. Regina says Robin is her competition and that he beats her to every robbery she plans. The Queen wants her dead for ruining her life.
Isaac wanders the forest calling out for Henry. He is caught in a trap and captured. The seven dwarfs find his long live Regina pin and say he is a traitor.
At the castle, Snow is the evil queen. She approaches Isaac and he tells her there is a boy who just arrived who can take everything from her. She has a heart in her hand and speaks into it. Charming shows up. She tells him to take Isaac’s head. He says that Charming had a brother and that was who Snow really loved. She asks how he knew and he says a magical book told him everything about the land. He says Snow’s true loved died because of Regina so she took Charming’s heart. Isaac says he can get her her happy ending back and she asks how. He says he just wants her to kill the boy who’s trying to help Regina.
Regina goes after a tax carriage, but Snow is in there waiting. Regina says it wasn’t her fault her love died. Snow gets ready to take out her heart when Charming says she should ask about the boy. Snow asks and Regina asks when will this end. Before Snow can do anything to Regina Robin Hood shows up and saves Regina.
After he takes care of her wounds they sit down and talk as they have never met before. He says he is retiring and wants her to take his place as Leader of the Merry Men. She says she can’t accept since this place isn’t for her. He tells her he has met someone that he wants to change his life for. Zelena comes in and kisses Robin. Regina leaves and runs into Henry.
He tells her she needs to stop Robin’s wedding, but Regina says she won’t ever get her happy ending regardless if she felt something for Robin. She says she has to get as far away from the church as she can so she won’t hear the wedding bells. Henry says that the wedding is their last chance to stop all of this from becoming real. She asks him where his real mother is.
He says she is not in the book and in his world she was the Savior. Regina says there was a woman who called herself the savior and that Snow locked her up in a prison. We see Emma in the middle of a floor in a tower. She pulls at her chains screaming like a mad woman.
Rumple returns home to Belle and their new son. Isaac is there and sends Belle out. Isaac says he is there to warn him his happiness is in danger. He warns him there is a boy with Regina and that if Regina stops Robin’s wedding everything will fall apart. He tells Rumple to kill Regina. Isaac says he can prove it and says he know about his first son Baelfire. He says in this story he died in the ogre wars, but in real life he died because Rumple was a coward.
Henry goes looking for Hook and finds him on the Jolly Roger. He says he needs him to take him somewhere. We find out that Hook is a deck hand for Blackbeard. Henry knocks out Blackbeard and Hook and him sail to the island.
Henry has Hook take him in as a prisoner and then Henry knocks the guard out. He goes up the tower to Emma and she recognizes him. Her punishment was to be trapped in a land without magic but know everything. Emma says they have to stop the wedding and they have to get off this island before the guard wakes up.
The guard is Lily and she turns into a dragon. Emma has Hook load the cannon and then fires it at Lily striking her down.
Hook and Emma are back at land. She teaches him how to fight and tells him he is a great fighter. Hook picks up that they shared a close connection in this other world. Lily shows up with Snow. Emma says they are her parents and that they were heroes who taught her about hope. Snow tells Charming to kill them. Hook says he will distract them while Emma and Henry get away.
Hook disarms Charming. He comes at Snow, but Charming stabs Hook in the back. Emma saw everything.
Henry and Emma meet up with Regina. She confirms everything Henry told her and that she can still have love. Regina is afraid to crash the wedding because she is unsure if he feels the same way. Emma tells her she just watched the man she loves die and that she needs to take that risk. She never told him she loved him because she was too scared.
They tell Regina to go stop the wedding, but then Rumple shows up. Emma fights Rumple while Regina goes to the wedding. Zelena says I do. Just as Robin goes to say I do, he sees Regina at the door.
Henry fights Rumple and is disarmed. Henry says Rumple can’t hurt him because he is the hero. Regina jumps in front of Henry to save his life as Rumple goes to stab him. The bells ring and Emma says they are at the end of the book.
Robin runs over to Regina. Zelena is upset she has blood on her dress, but her hand starts to turn green so she runs off.
New Author
Isaac says it’s too late to do everything. Henry picks up the quill and Isaac says Henry is the next author. Emma is ready to give her blood, but she isn’t the savior there. They use Regina’s blood and Isaac’s spell is undone.
Regina and Henry hug as they come back to Storybrooke. Emma runs off to find Hook. She tells him she watched him die and was afraid she was never going to be able to say something to him. She thanks him for sacrificing himself to save her and Henry.
Rumple wakes on the floor with Isaac. Belle comes in and comes to Rumple’s aid. Isaac is caught by Charming trying to get out of town. Snow asks why Isaac had them hurt Maleficent. He says they represent a boss he once had, someone who pushed around people like him and it was his turn to be the hero.
Henry is approached by the apprentice. He wants to bring his dad back, but the magic can’t do that because he died in the real world not a fictional story. He tells Henry he must only write the truth. Henry snaps the quill.
Save Rumple
Belle asks Rumple what’s happening and he says the ability for him to love is disappearing. He says at least he got one last taste of love with her. She says she was already in love with him. And that their marriage could have been real if he had believed in it, but he says he doesn’t believe anyone can love him. He tells her to be with Will and she says she doesn’t love Will. He gives the dagger to her because once he dies only the Dark One will remain.
Everyone is at the diner. Robin comes in and kisses Regina and asks to go for a walk. Charming apologizes for killing Hook and says Snow made him do it. Lily shows up and asks if she remembers the necklace she had Emma go get back in the day. She says it’s the only thing she has to lead her to her father. She asks to stay in Storybrooke a little bit longer which Emma agrees is a good idea. Belle runs in and says Rumple is nearly dead.
The Apprentice brings the box and says they can try to pull the darkness from him. He says it’s more dark power than the hat has ever contained. He pulls Gold’s black heart out then opens the hat. The hat pulls all the darkness from the heart, but the magic breaks out and onto the Apprentice. Emma uses her magic and pulls the darkness out of him.
She asks the Apprentice what it was and he tells them about the Sorcerer. He battled the darkness and tethered to a human soul that could be controlled with the dagger to control it. He says the Sorcerer is the only one who can destroy the darkness once and for all and that his name is Merlin.
The Darkness
Emma and Hook run after Snow and Charming to find the darkness. Regina and Robin show up and asks what’s going on. Emma says it is surrounding them. The darkness grabs Regina. Robin tries to save her, but he can’t. Emma says they have to tether it to a person. Regina tells Emma to stop, but Emma says she worked to hard to have her happiness destroyed. Emma tells her parents they pulled the darkness out of her once and they can do it again. She also tells Hook she loves him and then stabs the dagger into the darkness and it takes over her. The dagger falls to the ground and it now says Emma Swan.
