6.4 Storybrooke Return and Survivor Roster Lock
The Storybrooke return mission is a city-stage mission only, in Part 6/7 timing after the city has vehicles, fuel, radios/relay, maps, teams, medical support, and internal stability.
Regina goes on the mission. Emma does not. Emma stays in the city with Henry because Regina will not risk leaving Henry without both mothers alive and available if the mission goes wrong. Emma protests because the mission is long and dangerous, but she remains as part of the city spine.
The Storybrooke mission team may include Regina, Lexa, Sara Lance, Sarah Walker if already active, Kate, Raven, Finn, and strong support. If both Regina and Lexa are away, the city is held by the council and by Emma, Alex, Ava, and Clarke as the emergency spine: Emma for internal protection / quick response / Henry / city safety, Alex for logistics and inventory, Ava for operations and shifts, Clarke for medicine and body decisions.
Storybrooke survivors who may return: Ruby, Belle, Granny, David, Mary Margaret, Zelena, a group of children, and unnamed background survivors if needed. Everyone else from Storybrooke is dead, missing, scattered, or not part of the saga unless Git explicitly changes the roster.
Storybrooke survived partly because of the civic structure Regina left behind before she left: guarded zones, stored supplies, ration rules, safe rooms, child protocols, watch patterns, hard boundaries, and emergency hierarchy. Ruby, Belle, Granny, David, Mary Margaret, and Zelena kept and adapted that structure. This is a payoff for Regina: her order was not only control, it saved children.
Zelena and Regina are not sisters in this project. Zelena is not a magical Wicked Witch line. She is a sharp, unpleasant, efficient rival/enemy/friend figure who knows Regina too well and helped maintain the structure while cursing Regina for it.
Do not open Hook/Killian, Robin Hood, Neal, Archie, Leroy, Maleficent, or other OUAT lines as active return arcs unless Git explicitly changes the roster.