The mysteries on “Once Upon a Time” continued in episode 16. Although Ursula (Merrin Dungey) departed last week, Gold (Robert Carlyle) and the Queens of Darkness were still bent on finding the Author and changing their endings. As they got closer, viewers discovered some of the heroes in Storybrooke were just as bad as the villains. Check out the top four big reveals from “Best Laid Plans”:

Truth About Maleficent’s Baby

“Once Upon a Time” viewers learned earlier this season that Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas) were responsible for taking away Maleficent’s (Kristin Bauer van Straten) happiness -- her child. Fans didn’t know exactly what they did, but episode 16 exposed the truth.

In a flashback to the Enchanted Forest, the expectant parents discovered that their child had the potential for great darkness. They met with the Sorcerer who explained that there was a way to ensure their baby was good. The trick was they needed a blank slate into which they could banish the darkness, another child. Charming immediately knew that it would be wrong to subject another child to that. However, Snow pitched the idea of stealing Maleficent’s “egg.”

Charming and Snow thought the egg was holding another dragon, just like the monster Maleficent was. When they went to steal it they discovered that it was actually a baby. Maleficent begged for mercy for her child, but Snow and Charming took off with it anway, promising they would return it when they were done.

Unfortunately there was a twist Snow and Charming didn’t expect. When they delivered the egg to the Sorcerer he cast a spell not only transferred the darkness, but sent the egg to another land. A portal opened up to swallow the egg, and a hand popped out right before it fell in. But the baby wasn’t alone in being transferred to the mysterious land because Ursula and Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit) got sucked in with it.

Twist On The Author

Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) was able to keep the Author’s page from the Storybrooke away from the Queens of Darkness. Hiding out in the abandoned Sorcerer’s mansion, Henry saw life on the magical page. A light appeared and highlighted a drawer of a desk. When Henry opened it he discovered a key to the door inside.

Mary Margaret and David swooped in before Henry could open the door. To Henry’s surprise they refused to let him go through with the act, claiming the door could result in something horrific. They forced him to go home and debated on burning the page -- trapping or potentially killing the Author.

Lily Returns

In the biggest twist of the episode, Gold exposed what happened to Maleficent’s child and where it ended up. The villain discovered that she had a baby girl who was adopted and named Lily, just like Emma’s (Jennifer Morrison) friend from her foster home days.

History of The Author

It turns out that the Author is not a person, but a job. The last person tasked with the “great responsibility” to record and witness the “greatest stories” took advantage of his power. He was the one who forced the Sorcerer to banish Maleficent’s child and transfer the darkness. The Sorcerer knew he had to take responsibility for his error in judgment and magically transferred the Author into the book.

Emma released the Author from the pages. Mary Margaret and David recognized him from the Enchanted Forest of the past. He ran away before they got a chance to question him.

RELATED STORIES