Cruella de Vil on parole, three years after the events of the first film. She insisted on being called "Ella" because "Cruella sounds so... cruel". Reformed, completely devoted to saving animals, and while experiencing "doraphobia", she was scared by even the smallest sight of fur fashion, especially since she had all of her fur clothing and the drawing of herself in a Dalmatian puppy coat boarded up. Unfortunately, this new persona was not to last for long since the effects of Big Ben's chimes managed to undo the conditioning, reverting Cruella to her former self. During the "Ella" stage, Cruella quit her characteristic
Cruella de Vil until the Author was released from the book; unable to kill him herself, she pretended to threaten Henry Mills's (Jared S. Gilmore) life to force Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) and Regina to do so. However, Emma confronted her, not knowing the restriction the Author placed on Cruella, and magically blasted her off a cliff to her death. After her death, Cruella ended up in the Underworld, a purgatory run by the deity Hades. While there, she met David's twin brother James; they quickly struck up a romantic relationship due to their similar personalities. When the heroes arrived with Gold to