"Oh?" Jefferson asked. He could see how sensitive a subject it was, so he didn't immediately press for more.

Lydia had seen the whole thing from where she'd ducked behind an adjacent building, and now she was confused. Why had Hook defended her like that?

"I... Well, it hasn't come up yet, but in the other world, I had magic. Was magic. Was born of magic." Mai shrugged, frustrated. "It's complicated. But I may be able to provide a charge."

Hook huffed after the men had left and shook his head. Well, hopefully by now, Lydia was home and word would get around that he was protecting her so people would leave her alone.

That made Jefferson pause. He hadn't been expecting that.

"I see," he said. "If you would rather not, I'm sure I can find another way."

Lydia watched him for a moment before creeping out from behind the building.

"Killian?" she ventured. His name produced a rather impressive black pearl, and she went over and pressed it into his good hand. "Thank you." A pair of tiny lilac blossoms fluttered to the ground and she smiled at him a bit. Then, as if realizing she was lingering, she blushed a little and hurried off towards her apartment.

Mai shook her head a bit. "At least this way I'm finding some way to be useful," she said quietly. "Besides, I don't mind helping you."

Hook blinked at her. He had not been expecting that. He watched her go before he looked down at the pearl and stuck it in a pocket. Well, well. This was an interesting turn of events.

Jefferson considered that, and then nodded.

"It's worth a try," he said. He gestured for her to follow him, and then opened the door of the hat room.

Mai stepped inside cautiously, glancing around. She'd seen inside this room but she'd never been in.

"So how does this work?"

"Each of these hats is unique," Jefferson said, closing the door once she was in the room with him. "Each is connected to a particular place. Or, at least, they were, when they had magic in them." He reached out and touched a gold-satin hat with a red-and-purple silk sash. There was a cluster of multicolored gems on the sash. "Agrabah." Another hat was spring green, with a cerulean blue sash. The sash was decorated with a thin bunch of dry grass and a couple of glowing crystals. "Arendelle." A third hat was pearl-gray with a lilac band, and had a ruby holding down some raven feathers. "The Enchanted Forest." Yet another was reddish-plum with a green-and-orange checked band, and had some fragrant, dried leaves sewn on next to an oddly banded feather. "Wonderland."

Jefferson looked at Mai. "I had others, but they didn't survive the curse. These are all I have left of my original hats. But these are what I use for jumping from world to world."

Mai blinked at the hats. Then it clicked, and she blinked at him. "Huh. Okay." She didn't reach out to touch any of the hats, but she did look at him. "So these should all be connected, but they're not, right? They need a boost, for lack of a better word?"

"Pretty much," Jefferson said, nodding. "There's no magic in this world, so they're just regular hats here. But they still have their connections, I can feel them. They're just... drained."

"Okay." Mai frowned. "I know that before I could kind of charge things, but I'm not sure how it would work here. If it still works." She reached out a hand slowly to the Enchanted Forest hat. "May I?"

Jefferson nodded and handed the hat to her.

"We can always look for another way, if this doesn't work," he assured her.

"Yeah, I figured. Would be easy if this way did work, though." Mai held the hat gently, running her fingers over it. "Might take a while, though, here. Magic seems to be kind of strange here still."

"Take your time," Jefferson said, nodding. It would be worth it, if it worked.

Mai nodded and picked a seat, settling down and setting the hat in her lap, just kind of running her fingers along the brim and giving it time to absorb some magic. And she knew she still had her magic, because pigeons were annoying as hell, she just didn't know how long it would take.

Jefferson was okay with waiting. When he saw the hat throw a couple of sparks a little while later, he leaned forward a bit.

"It's working," he said. He broke out into a wide grin.

"It is working," Mai said, blinking. She hadn't really expected it to work. Then again, she was starting to feel a little light-headed, and she wasn't sure why.

"Careful!" Jefferson said when he saw her starting to sway a bit. He steadied her and took the hat, setting it aside. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," Mai said, blinking a few times. "Just a bit dizzy, is all. I'm okay." She blinked at him again.

"You're taking a break," Jefferson said in a tone that left no room for argument. Clearly, the hats required more magic than she could give them at once. Already, the magic she'd put into the Enchanted Forest hat was starting to fade.

"This isn't going to work, is it?" Mai asked. "It needs to be charged, but I can't sit here for long enough." She frowned.

"We'll find another way," Jefferson soothed. "It was worth a try. Magic just doesn't work the same in this world."

"Yeah." Mai sighed and got to her feet, steadying herself against the wall when she wobbled a bit. "Guess we'll have to find another way."

"We'll find one," Jefferson said. He helped her to her feet. "You should rest for a while. I'll keep working on this problem."

"I'll help in a few minutes," Mai said. "I just need to get a snack or something first."

"Rest," Jefferson said. He grinned a bit. "Do I need to get Grace to sit on you?"