Capital of Agrabah, Many years ago...
In the marketplace, the royal guards order several men down. Jafar arrives and warns that the Sultan doesn't tolerate thieves. Meanwhile, the street thief Aladdin works the crowd. Jafar turns the captured thieves into street rats with his magic, while Aladdin counts his loot. A woman, Jasmine, comes up behind him and he claims that he's a bakery. She says that he's a terrible liar and that she's there to hire him, addressing him by name. Jasmine removes her veil and reveals who she is. She says that since Jafar became her father's advisor, he's destroying Agrabah from the inside. Jasmine needs Aladdin to help her defeat Jafar, and the thief is the only one who can do it. Aladdin refuses and starts to walk off, and Jasmine tells him to look in his pocket. He finds the Golden Scarab of Agrabah, one of the great royal treasures. She then starts to yell that the Scarab is missing to frame Aladdin, and he agrees to help her. Jasmine then says that they're going to steal the Diamond in the Rough, the most powerful magic weapon in Agrabah.
Storybrooke
Emma follows the Oracle's bird and takes Archie along with him. The psychiatrist warns that it won't help, but Emma wants to do something rather than talk. She sees the Oracle ahead and touches her, and she falls over dead. Emma sees someone running and goes after her. She soon catches the woman and discovers that it's Jasmine.
At the sheriff's station, Emma calls in Mary Margaret and David. Mary Margaret confirms that it's his assistant Sharin from school, and Emma and David go into the interrogation room to talk to her. Jasmine explains that she had to keep her true identity secret because Hyde could use it against her, and David tells her that Hyde is dead. relieved, Jasmine introduces herself and insists that she's innocent of the Oracle's murder. Emma believes her, and Jasmine says that the Oracle was helping her find a man that she cared about: Aladdin. She doesn't know where Aladdin is, and says that he was the Savior.
Archie goes to his office and finds the Evil Queen waiting for him. She wants to discuss Emma and her visions of the future, and seals the door so he can't escape. Archie refuses to discuss his patient, and the Queen magically takes on his appearance so that she can ask Emma herself.
The Queen takes Archie to Zelena's farmhouse and ties him up. Zelena takes care of her baby and realizes that the Queen left him for her to watch him. Archie asks Zelena to let her go, but Zelena figures that the Queen has her reasons. When the therapist tries to psychoanalyze her, Zelena gags him.
The Queen/Archie approaches Emma and says that they have more to explore about her vision. Emma says that she's learned Aladdin is a Savior and came before her, and figures that the vision isn't real so she can tell her father.
Agrabah
Jasmine leads Aladdin to the Cave of Wonders, and Aladdin figures that the Cave might prove profitable to him. The princess tells him to stop thinking of himself, and points out that she's out there trying to better the world. Aladdin points out that the world has been suffering for a while, and she doesn't see it She only got involved when her family was affected, and Jasmine asks what he's doing. Aladdin offers her an apple that he stole and she accepts, and they continue on.
The duo reaches the Cave and approach the sealed door. He says, "Open Sesame!" from Ali Baba and after a moment the door opens. Aladdin and Jasmine go inside.
Storybrooke
Emma returns to the apartment and her family says that the locator spell failed to find Aladdin. The Queen/Archie comes in and says that Emma is running out of excuses, and says that Emma has a secret. Hook and the others agree that she should speak, and Emma says that she's been having visions of her dying in her future. She thought that if she found Aladdin alive then he could help her avoid her fate. As they start arguing, the Queen walks out and reverts to her normal appearance.
The family discusses Emma's vision, and Emma says that Regina isn't there. She insists that it's a vision, not her dream, and Regina says that she'll find Aladdin. Once she leaves, Jasmine wonders if Aladdin is dead.
Agrabah
Aladdin and Jasmine find the treasures of the cave and find the Diamond balanced on a sword. He figures that it's booby-trapped and uses a monkey amulet to replace the Diamond weight-wise. However, the Diamond dissolves into dust and a column starts to fall on them. When Aladdin gestures, the falling rock dissolves. Jasmine figures that Aladdin has magic, and that he is the Diamond in the Rough. She tells Aladdin that he can challenge Jafar and defeat him, and will be the savior of Agrabah.
Storybrooke
Henry talks to Jasmine privately, and she says that being a Savior is a death sentence. She was the one who put Aladdin on the path, and Henry says that he did the same for Emma. He suggests that Hyde was wrong about Saviors dying, and Jasmine agrees... for both their sakes.
Mary Margaret tells Emma that she should have been honest, and says that as her parents they'll always forgive her. She says that she and David don't keep secrets, just as David gets a call from Leroy. He had an appointment with Archie but Archie didn't show, and they realize that the Queen impersonated Archie.
Zelena has Archie take care of her baby. The Queen teleports in and says that she knows exactly what Zelena needs. She puts a barrier spell over the farmhouse to keep Archie there, and tells Zelena that she can make everything better. She takes her to Goldilocks' spa to get a makeover, and the Queen asks Zelena what is holding her back. She says that Regina and the others are holding Zelena back, and says that she accepts her because she's wicked. When Zelena wonders if her daughter will accept her, the Queen says that Henry rejected her because she never gave him the chance to accept the real her. She warns that Zelena must embrace herself before her daughter does, and she may turn out as wicked as Zelena is.
Emma goes to the vault and finds Regina working on a potion to find Aladdin. She explains that she can track Aladdin's magic if Emma drinks the potion, because she's linked to her as one Savior to another.
Agrabah
Aladdin tells Jasmine that he needs to be alone, and she explains that the Scarab belongs to a hero... and now it's Aladdin's. She tells him that she believes in him and leaves, and Jafar teleports into the Cave. Aladdin says that he'd like to defeat him, and Jafar offers to show him the future. He explains that the bird on his shoulder is an oracle, and Aladdin collapses in agony as he sees his future. Jafar says that he can alter his destiny with shears that once belonged to the Three Fates. Once Aladdin uses them to sever the ties to his future, he will live a long happy life paid for by all of the treasures in the Cave. Jafar gives Aladdin the shears and says that he can buy any title he wants.
Jasmine goes to the palace and finds her father the Sultan. She says that she has to get him somewhere safe, and warns that Agrabah is dying because Jafar has torn the kingdom apart. Jafar comes in and accuses her of plotting treason, and magically slams her back. Jasmine insists that the Savior will be there soon, and Jafar says that Aladdin took the gold and ran. He imprisons Jasmine in a golden hourglass and the sand pours down on her.
Aladdin arrives on a flying carpet and says that he's the Savior and doesn't care what price he pays for it. He shatters the hourglass and breaks apart Jafar's staff, freeing the Sultan from Jafar's spell. Jafar says that one day Aladdin will realize that he won nothing and teleports away. Aladdin goes to Jasmine and she admits that she thought he had abandoned her. He says that he almost did but she changed his mind, and they start to kiss. The Sultan asks who Aladdin is, and Aladdin says that he's a friend of Jasmine's. He gives her the Scarab, but she tells him to keep it because it's now
Storybrooke
Emma follows the spell into the forest with the others. They enter a crypt beneath the cemetery and Jasmine insists that Aladdin can't be there. She insists on staying to search and finds a skeleton with the Scarab among the bones. Crying, Jasmine says that she's sure the skeleton is Aladdin's, and Regina leads her out. Henry asks Emma what it means for her, and she admits that she doesn't know. She says that she needs to be alone and the others leave/
Once she's alone, Emma studies her shaking hand and remembers her vision. Henry comes back in and says that it's all his fault. If he had never brought her to Storybrooke then she never would have become the Savior. Emma says that he helped her to believe, and it gave her a family and made her a mother. She assures her son that if she could go back then she wouldn’t change a thing, and tells Henry not to worry about the end of the story. As they hug, Aladdin comes in and says that he knows that what's she going through is no fun.
Agrabah
As they walk through the market, Jasmine offers Aladdin any item in the treasury. He says that he doesn't want a reward, and that he just wants to be the Savior and save people. Jasmine says that they received word that Jafar was spotted in the eastern provinces, and Aladdin invites Jasmine to come with him so he can show her the world. They start to kiss but then she says that she can't because there's work to be done in Agrabah. She tells Aladdin that he'll defeat Jafar and then he'll know where to find her, and Aladdin says that he'll be seeing her as he departs.
As Aladdin walks away, he finds the shears in his pack where Jafar teleported them. There is also a note from Jafar saying that it's for when the saviors burden becomes too much.
Storybrooke
Aladdin admits that he used the shears and Agrabah fell. He fled to the Enchanted Forest and was swept up in the curse, and he planted the Scarab. Aladdin gives Emma the shears, and Henry says that he needs to go to Jasmine. The thief can't bear to see the look in her eyes when she realizes that she was right about him being a street rat. Emma tells him that his mistake may have kept him from sharing the Savior's burden with someone else, and Aladdin admits that duty got in the way of he and Jasmine being together. Henry tells him that it's never too late to start.
Jasmine is sitting in the park looking at the Scarab when Aladdin approaches her. They hug and Jasmine says that Agrabah is in terrible danger and needs the Savior. He hesitates and then starts to tell her the truth.
The Queen and Zelena return to the farmhouse and Zelena says that she's going to show her daughter who her mother is: wicked. She transforms Archie into a cricket and puts him in a cave.
At the apartment, David and Mary Margaret arrive as the others examine the shears. Emma says that she doesn't want to use them, and Aladdin didn't trust the people he loved to help him. She believes that her family can help her find a third way, but if there's a price to be paid then she'll pay it. They all agree and Emma promises Hook that there'll be no more secrets between him. She gives him the shears to get rid of them.
That night, Hook and Emma go to the dock. Hook drops them deep into the ocean, and they kiss before she goes into town to get takeout. Once he's alone, Hook takes the shears from his pocket and checks them briefly.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 24, 2016