Pandora's Box

Pandora's Box is a magical object which, when opened, has the ability to trap someone within.

Season 3
In order to defeat Peter Pan, Gold needs Pandora's Box. Gold draws Ariel a map to Storybrooke and the mermaid says that she can make it there. When she asks what she needs to bring back, Gold enchants a sand dollar and gives it to Ariel, and tells her to give it to Belle. Ariel travels to Storybrooke and is met by the dwarfs. They take her to Belle and Ariel gives her the shell. They go to Rumple's shop to clean up, and the sand dollar projects a recorded image of Gold. He explains that the Home Office men are more dangerous then they feared, and that he can defeat Pan and still lives if she goes to the shop and gets the object. Gold says that the strength of their love will let her find it. Realizing the chipped cup must be involved, Belle wonders what she could do with it. She puts it in the cabinet it once lived in, and once in place, a magical light appears, unlocking a hidden door. Belle opens the door and takes out a box, surprised at what she's seeing. Ariel wonders what it is, so Belle explains that it's Pandora's Box. However, before they can leave, the two unwelcome visitors arrive with guns and tie the two girls up. They take the box off them and leave to destroy it, so it can't be used against Pan. The girls manage to escape their binds by turning Ariel into a mermaid again, and once free, they head to the mines and stop the men from destroying the item. They become upset and state they were only trying to save their sister, whom Pan has prisoner. Their sister is Wendy Darling. Later on, Ariel swims back to Neverland to deliver Pandora's Box to Gold and Regina. Ariel tells them that Pan has Wendy prisoner and that Belle doesn't want to let her down. Gold says that they'll do their best and asks her to tell Belle that he loves her and that she will see him again.

Rumple is moving through the jungle with Regina, and the two of them soon come across Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Neal, Hook and Tinker Bell, all of whom have begun trekking to Pan's camp in order to save Henry. Everyone turns on Rumple when Neal tells them of the prophecy and that Gold is there to kill Henry. Gold insists that they're making a mistake and says that he won't hurt Henry. He points out that he's the most powerful among them but Neal asks for Pandora's Box as proof of his good intentions. After a moment, Gold hands it to him and Neal warns him that he'll use it to trap him if he uses any magic whatsoever. Later, Rumple, Regina, Emma and Neal make their way to Skull Rock. Gold is the only one able to pass Pan's protection spell due to the fact that he doesn't have a shadow like the rest of them, and Neal is forced to reluctantly hand over Pandora's Box so that Rumple can use it to defeat Pan. Mr. Gold then confronts his father, but learns that Pan switched the box in Rumple's hands for a fake, having the real one himself, being able to do so with the power of his belief. He then opens the real box, trapping Rumple inside.

Pan succeeds in gaining Henry's heart and becomes immortal. He tells Emma, Neal and Regina that Henry offered his heart of his own free will. When Emma tries to cut it out of Pan, he easily teleports away and picks up Pandora's Box. Pan explains that Gold is inside of the Box where he can't hurt Pan... and neither can they. Later, in order to find Pan, Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina go into the Pixie Wood and find Pandora's Box sitting on a tree stump. As Mary Margaret reaches for it, vines grab all three of them and pin them to a tree. Pan steps out and picks up Emma's sword, and tells them that they'll only be reunited with Henry in death. However, Regina frees herself and rips Henry's heart out of Pan's chest, and then picks up Pandora's Box and says that it's time to save Henry. Emma and the others go to the Jolly Roger and Regina puts Henry's heart back in his chest; the boy revives. On deck, Neal lets Mr. Gold out from the box and the two reconcile. Meanwhile, Henry is belowdecks. Pan appears and tells Henry that Regina left him for dead and tried to take his heart, but realizes that he can't take it. He tries to take Henry's shadow, but Gold enters with Pandora's Box and pulls Pan inside, telling his father that magic works both way. At the last moment, Pan switched bodies with the boy, saving himself while Henry, now stuck in a different body, is sucked into the box.

When the Jolly Roger arrives to Storybrooke, Gold takes Pandora's Box to his shop and seals it away, assuring the others that only he can release it. Henry's family assure Pan, in Henry's body, that Pan will never harm him again, and Gold promises that he will never release the person trapped within the Box. But, when the Shadow kills the Mother Superior, Emma, Mary Margaret, and David run to the pawnshop as Belle and Gold leave. He says that he's busy but Emma explains that they need Pandora's Box because Pan is controlling the Shadow from inside the box. Emma is ready to stop Pan once and for all, and Gold wonders what she has in mind. A short time later, the group drives to the edge of town. If they release Pan on the other side then he'll be powerless. Emma says that she's doing it because she has experience in the real world, and Gold reluctantly agrees. She steps over the line and Gold opens the box and sets it over ttells Emma to shoot him, buthe line. Henry emerges and insists that he's Henry, and Pan tricked him before, meaning the Henry that's walking around Storybrooke is actually Pan. Gold is reluctant to believe this at first, but soon accepts it as the truth once the boy proves himself to his mother, Emma. The group hurry to the vault to tell Regina about the body switch.