User:MadArcher98/Episode 805

"The Northern Witch" is the fifth episode of Season Eight of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by MadArcher98. It is the one hundred and sixtieth episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
When another victim is found outside The Rabbit Hole, August suspects that The Rabbit Hole may have something to do with it. With Galahad missing, Nicholas finds himself turning to his sister. In an Enchanted Forest flashback, Hansel and Gretel seek help in escaping from the Infinite Forest.

Recap
As Tiger Lily's body is being taken away from the crime scene outside The Rabbit Hole, August and Nicholas discuss Galahad's whereabouts. August states that Galahad has most likely gone back to the Camelot district, and instructs Nicholas to search there. August then enters The Rabbit Hole and tells the staff there that they should look for other jobs since The Rabbit Hole is close to getting shut down until the investigation is closed. Suddenly, the owner "Marc Haigha" appears and assures the staff that The Rabbit Hole will not be closed, since the investigation is already closed, as Galahad has already been found guilty. August asks him how he knows this, to which the March Hare responds that word travels quickly around town. The March Hare goes on to claim that he is the real victim in all this, since his business is suffering. August gets frustrated that the March Hare would only be worried about business when two women have been murdered.

As the bartender leaves The Rabbit Hole, Rose - who had been waiting outside - asks him about what has happened. The bartender tells her everything he knows, and is confused since Tiger Lily had no known connections to The Rabbit Hole. When Rose finds out that Tiger Lily was the one found dead, she becomes incredibly shocked, and tells the bartender to get as far away from The Rabbit Hole as possible. When she sees August exiting the building, Rose follows him and asks if she can have a word with him. August asks if she witnessed the death, and quickly dismisses her when she says no. As he drives away, Rose watches him leave.

Nicholas, instead of going straight to the Camelot district, stops outside the house that he and his sister lived in as children during the Dark Curse. Getting out of his car, Nicholas approaches the house and knocks on the front door. When his sister Ava answers the door, Nicholas notes that it has been a while since they spoke. Ava says that she has been too busy to catch up, and asks what he wants. Nicholas, slightly taken aback by his sister's cold demeanor, states that he needs her help to find someone. Ava, immediately suspicious, asks what he would need her help, to which Nicholas responds that he knows that in dire situations, there is no better team than Hansel and Gretel.

In flashback, Hansel and Gretel have been wandering the Infinite Forest for a long time. With the pair of them starving, Hansel remarks that the gingerbread house "isn't looking too bad right about now". Gretel hunts for squirrels by tracking them but fails to catch any, but Hansel manages to spot a cottage in the distance. Confident that no witches are living there, Hansel urges Gretel to come with him to the cottage. When they get there, they discover that a boy named Tip is living there alone. Tip relays a story to Hansel and Gretel about how he was banished to the Infinite Forest by a Blind Witch, and they explain their story, including how they were captured by a Blind Witch until they pushed her into her own oven. When asked if he knows any potential exits, Tip reveals that there is a magic bean in a cave guarded by a harmless dragon nearby.

Having arrived at the Camelot district, Nicholas and Ava enter the Brocéliande, also known as the Forest of Eternal Night, which is where Galahad may be hiding. As they trek through the woods, Nicholas asks Ava what she has been up to these past few years. Ava curtly replies that now is not the time for a reunion, otherwise Galahad might hear them. Suddenly, they hear something, and move to further investigate the rumbling coming from the ground beneath them. Upon further inspection, the siblings are horrified to learn that they are standing on top of a dragon sleeping partially underground when the dragon opens one of its eyes.

Back in flashback, Hansel and Gretel coax the dragon out of its cave, although they are unprepared for the sheer strength of the dragon. While Gretel manages to distract the dragon, Hansel enters the cave and finds the magic bean. However, detecting that someone has breached the cave, the dragon turns its attention to Hansel just as he is leaving the cave. Soaring up into the air, the dragon then flies downwards and launches itself towards Hansel. Gretel yells for him to throw her the bean, but Hansel panics and throws the bean to the dragon. In mid-air, the magic bean becomes a portal and the dragon flies straight into it, taking it to another realm. Although the pair of them are safe, Hansel and Gretel have lost their way out of the Infinite Forest.

In present-day, Nicholas and Ava struggle to flee from the dragon as it emerges from the ground. Nicholas notices that it is the same dragon they faced in the Infinite Forest and notes that it must have been sent to Camelot by the magic bean. They find that the dragon has grown significantly since the last time they faced it, and its breath sets the forest alight. As they run through the burning forest, they are pursued by the dragon. However, Nicholas twists his ankle when his foot gets lodged under an exposed root. Managing to free himself from the root, Nicholas scrambles across the ground as the dragon looms over him. As Nicholas gets back onto his feet, he stands there in shock as flame fills the dragon's throat, but is shoved out of the way by Ava, who disappears within the dragon's fire. Nicholas, delirious and still in shock, watches his sister vanish within the flames, and passes out.

In flashback, Hansel and Gretel return to Tip's cottage, exhausted but also furious that Tip lied about the dragon being "harmless". When they confront Tip about this, he simply replies that he was hoping the dragon would kill them so that he wouldn't have to. This confuses Hansel and Gretel, until "Tip" removes the glamour which reveals a girl who introduces herself as Ozma. Ozma explains that she is the apprentice of another Blind Witch, otherwise known as the Wicked Witch of the North, who sent Ozma to kill Hansel and Gretel after learning that they had killed her sister - the Blind Witch of the Enchanted Forest. The siblings ask Ozma where the real Tip is, to which she replies that he is somewhere even worse than the Infinite Forest. Ozma then attacks Hansel and Gretel with a kitchen knife. She manages to cut Gretel's hand, causing a few drops of her blood to hit the floor, but Hansel intervenes and shoves Ozma away, causing Ozma to hit her head on the nearby table. While Ozma lies on the floor, dazed, Hansel and Gretel flee Tip's cottage and back into the forest. Ozma manages to sit up, and notices the drops of Gretel's blood on the floor, which puts a smirk on her face.

Back at Ava's house, Nicholas wakes up to Ava pressing a damp flannel on his forehead. Nicholas asks what happened, and his sister replies that she just managed to dodge the dragon's attack before carrying Nicholas out of the burning forest. When Nicholas starts asking more questions, Ava advises him to calm down and get some rest, before going into the kitchen to prepare him some soup. However, in the kitchen, Ava pulls out a small vial around her neck containing a red substance and smiles wickedly.

At the Storybrooke Sheriff's Department, August is confronted by Rose. August tells Rose that he is very busy at the moment and is about to leave, but Rose throws squid ink at him. August, unable to move, listens to Rose, who explains that she is being targeted by The Rabbit Hole for investigating the murder. She provides examples, such as being hunted by the Minotaur - who was a servant to the Queen of Hearts, who the March Hare served back in Wonderland. Rose says that she can help August close this investigation and prove Galahad's innocence, but only if August can protect her from the March Hare and his forces. As the squid ink begins to wear off, he agrees to team up with her to bring down the real enemy, recognizing the feeling of dread that he has felt ever since he saw Violet's body - war is coming to the United Realms.

Meanwhile, at the Storybrooke Town Line, Briar Rose arrives with Lady Tremaine, Ursula, and Leota in tow. However, they are all shocked when the March Hare meets them at the town line, riding on Maleficent's dragon form. Briar Rose states that she didn't know Maleficent was working with the March Hare, to which he replies that Maleficent is working for the March Hare, briefly pulling out a heart and squeezing it, prompting Maleficent to fly away. As Briar Rose and the trio of villains cross the town line and enter Storybrooke, the March Hare explains that he has brought them here to wreak havoc and villainy wherever they please, until all the realms of story are submerged in darkness, and evil has polluted the world.

Starring

 * Eion Bailey as August Booth
 * Alexandra Metz (Credit only)
 * Molly Parker as Briar Rose
 * Max Charles as (Credit only)
 * Dove Cameron as Rose Scarlet
 * Bailee Madison as (Credit only)
 * Quinn Lord as Hansel/Nicholas Zimmer

Guest Starring

 * Karley Scott Collins as Gretel/Ava Zimmer
 * Camren Bicondova as Ozma
 * Christopher Larkin as Tip
 * Lisa Banes as Lady Tremaine
 * Damian Lewis as the March Hare
 * Monique Hicks as Ursula

Co-Starring

 * Nicholas Carella as Bartender
 * Vladimir Ruzich as Suited Heavy
 * Suzy Joachim as Madame Leota

Trivia

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Title

 * The title card of this episode features a fire-breathing dragon.
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