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[madehervows]

[Somebody with actual expertise in these matters should probably say something, so Regina puts yelling at Henry on pause to grab her device and make a hurried broadcast.]

Everything Henry said about the Sleeping Curse is true, especially the part about True Love's Kiss. It's the most powerful magic in our world, and it can break almost any curse.

[Well, it can break any curse but as usual, there's loopholes galore sometimes.]

As for the curse itself, it won't cause any harm on its own but... I don't know if it will work the same here, but there's a chance there might be an epidemic of nightmares after this. It traps a person's soul in the Netherworld where they're forced to endlessly dream about their own regrets, and for some time after being woken up, they can experience nightmares of being trapped back there again.

They'll fade with time, but until then, there isn't much to be done.

[Especially since the only amulet that can afford a person a measure of control is back in Storybrooke.]

And don't worry, I'll be making sure this never happens again.

Comments

[ingenii]

How did it happen?

[madehervows]

My teenaged son thought mixing magic and science was a good idea.

[ingenii]

I presume he's learned what happened.

[madehervows]

[Regina rubs her temples.]

He has. He's doing his best to help, but he's in over his head.

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[thesamurai]

[Michonne's managed to get Andrea to her room and has been watching her sleep for a while, trying hard not to think about what it would mean to even attempt kissing her, so instead, she focuses on Regina's video.]

Don't kill him.

[She's not smiling, but she thinks she and Regina have been friends long enough for her to get that she's kidding.]

[madehervows]

[She knows, but that doesn't mean she can't have fun with it.]

But I've already thought up at least a dozen different ways.

[She grins, but it gives way to a sigh.]

It's not me he has to worry about. If it's permanent -- like it should be -- then...

[Well, it's only going to be by pure chance that some people wake up. If they ever do.]

[thesamurai]

Wonderland, or the queen, whoever - won't stand for this shit. Take away the thunder and impact of its own events by having half the population passed out?

[She's trying to keep Regina from worrying, even if Michonne honestly has no idea if what she's saying is solid advice or not. It seems rational, though.]

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[charlastan]

[There's a heavy sigh on Stan's end.]

How much of a chance of a nightmare epidemic we talkin' here? Like...enough that it's quote-unquote "morally unethical" to leave someone asleep to make sure they actually get some sleep for once?

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[madehervows]

If we weren't in Wonderland, there wouldn't be any doubt. But since Wonderland has a history of interfering with things, I can't say for sure.

[A beat.]

But morally unethical is something I'm intimately familiar with. The nightmares will fade eventually, if they happen.

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[charlastan]

Fair enough. Wonderland does tend to muck everything up like that.

[He kind of relieved that she's not some goody-two-shoes about to judge him for even considering it.]

But good. He'd be ticked off if they lasted forever, and then I'd have to listen to him go on and on about how right he was about barely sleeping!

[Don't get him wrong - he's definitely concerned, but it's a lot easier to be annoyed than openly worried.]

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[sheriffing]

[Since they need to start talking damage control immediately, the network is probably the fastest way to get a hold of Regina. Can she tell how done Emma is with their-world magic right now?]

We need to talk.

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[madehervows]

[Of course she can.]

Yes we do. Where are you?

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[sheriffing]

On the Jolly Roger, putting a pirate down for a nap.

[After months of misery, he's sleeping now.]

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[deathlessness]

[As a way of getting right to the point:]

Is it possible to use magic to protect them from the Netherworld?

[madehervows]

There used to be an amulet that protected the wearer from the worst of the Netherworld's effects, but it was destroyed. Otherwise no, there isn't a spell in my world to protect them entirely.

[Keyword being 'my.']

[deathlessness]

[That is a very important word.]

Then I suppose I will have to see what my world has to offer.

[mandrakes]

Might you be a sorceress yourself, madam?

[Regis is finding this very curious, and is (thankfully) yet to be hit with this strange curse himself. He is quite sure that no one in this place knows him well enough to deliver any kind of antidote, and he doesn't much like the idea of constant dreams of fire.]

You seem well-informed.

[madehervows]

I am. I've used this curse a few times myself, and one of my... [A pause as she tries to figure out what to call Maleficent.] oldest friends created it.

[mandrakes]

Created it? A powerful curse...

[He has heard of something similar before. A fable that may have had its origins in truth, about a maiden bound in sleep and trapped in a castle, awaiting her true love.

But what manner of love is true?]

It seems a peculiar and very specific one to find occasion to utilise it repeatedly.

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[krmvgivv]

[Like Dipper needed another reason to be mad at Henry.]

...how bad are the nightmares?

[madehervows]

A room full of fire. [A beat.] That can burn you in the waking world if you're not careful.

[krmvgivv]

[Everything about that sounds terrible, and that's what Mabel's gonna have to deal with. Oh god.]

Can it kill you?

[Video]

[vampdetective]

I thought we might have been overdue for a Storybrooke-style curse.

[Said wryly. Oh, so wryly.]

So there's more at stake than just a little awkwardness. These nightmares-- how long do they last afterwards?

[madehervows]

Cute.

[Said completely dryly. Not that he's wrong.]

Long enough to be a problem. Henry's didn't last more than a few weeks, but he was only under it for a day at most.

[vampdetective]

I try.

[This is what friendship feels like, Regina.]

So even a single day can have lasting effects.

[He grimaces. Cordelia.]

Guess I'd better get smooching.