Summary: Henry and Regina are swept into Zelena's time portal. Forced to face the Enchanted Forest prior to the curse, mother and son must embark on an adventure to return home, encountering a few familiar faces along the way...

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE EVENTS THAT PLAY OUT.

Chapter 1: Distant Flickering

Regina treaded cautiously to the rattling barn doors. The raging magic within glowed a bright fiery gold, making all in the surrounding area vibrate and bristle to the steady, roaring hum that signified magic indeed was here. Regina had quietly slipped away from talk of how to go about closing the time portal in search of her own solution. After all, her sister had been the one to open it. If Zelena had the power to open a portal into the past, then all be damned if Regina couldn't find a way to close it.

She hesitated at the doorway. The sensation of magic was so thickly woven into the air she breathed that she knew the moment she opened the doors, many things could happen, none of it good. Her fists, tightly clenched at her sides, released along with a deep breath that escaped her mouth. She had a vague plan of action, a spell that she would attempt once she opened the door. Whether or not the incantation would work remained to be seen. If she was to be completely honest with herself, Regina would admit that she was acting purely on impulse.

Despite this, she pushed all the harrowing concerns and possibilities aside and reached for the door. She alone had the capability to close the portal. Zelena had been her sister by blood. Powerful magic could be undone only by blood. By family. No one needed to risk their lives to close the time portal. Regina could and would prevent any further harm from arising in Storybrooke. She needed to protect Robin, Roland, but most of all Henry.

She wasn't certain if the portal was one sided, or if others from the Enchanted Forest would be able to cross. It was for this reason that it was imperative that she close it. Many dangerous creatures and people lurked in the Enchanted Forest of the past, herself included. It was her worst nightmare of Henry ever having to face the Evil Queen she once was that drove her onward.

Just as she was about to conjure her powers to open the doors, a voice cried out against the billowing magic that screamed into the night.

"Mom! What are you doing?"

Regina froze at the voice. "Henry?!" she cried in disbelief upon turning to face the culprit of the voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I followed you out of the station," he explained, taking a few steps closer to his mother. "I gotta hand it to you. You almost made it out undetected."

"Henry," Regina's eyes were alight with worry, and her forehead creased in concern as she closed the remaining gap between her son and herself. "You can't be here," she spoke in an assertive tone, gripping his forearms tightly in her hands. "It's not safe."

"But what are you doing here, Mom?" Henry frowned. "You aren't trying to go in the portal, are you?"

"Of course not!" Regina felt the magic within the barn course through the air at an increasingly alarming rate. The portal was growing stronger by the second. "I'm trying to close it, but you can't—"

She never got to finish her thought. As she spoke, the accumulation of magic in the area peaked, flinging the barn doors open, revealing a turbulent portal, crackling, blazing and rumbling so loudly that Regina couldn't hear herself think.

"Henry, stand back!" she screamed as her hair flung wildly about her face. She made sure to shield her son from the dangers of the portal by blocking his body with hers. She felt Henry cling to her as the force of the portal's magic whipped around them, making it nearly impossible for either to move.

And then, the inevitable happened.

Against her will, Regina felt the force of the portal's magic sweep her towards the raging vortex. As the whirling winds captured her, she made a last effort to keep Henry out of harm's way. She managed to manifest enough magic to shove him away from the portal's grasp. And then, more rapidly than she could process, she was speeding towards the vortex.

Regina frantically clawed at the floor to no avail. The portal was too strong. It had such a hold on her that she was unable to escape. When she felt the floor give way beneath her, her eyes widened. What had she been thinking? What had driven her to alleviate the danger presented single handedly? Most consequences to actions were remediable. However, Regina felt that this time it would be different. An overwhelming sense of impending doom engulfed her as she felt herself fall into the portal.

"MOM!" Henry's voice rang in her ears. Having scurried to the edge of the portal, Henry lunged for Regina's hands in a last ditch effort to save her.

Miraculously, he took hold of her hands in a firm grasp just as she was about to be lost to the portal completely. Unfortunately, he too began to slide closer and closer to the vortex as he clung to his mother for dear life.

"Henry!" Regina screamed, concerned only for Henry's safety. Her eyes were wide in fear. Her son, ever the hero, was trying to save her from the time portal. "You need to let go! I'll be fine!" she pleaded over the roaring of the raging vortex.

"I can't!" he responded through clenched teeth and much determination. "I'm not going to let you leave me again."

While this warmed Regina's heart, it also shook her to the core. She was powerless to stop her son from doing this.

The two continued to slide at an alarming pace. Regina felt her whole body plunge into the portal of dark doom, Henry still grasping tightly as he too became completely submerged in the vortex. The pair, mother and son, clung to each other as tightly as possible as they spiraled downward. Regina held her son close to her, cradling his head while the world quite literally spun around them.

And then... Darkness and silence.

To be continued...