AN: Hey guys! You might think you've read this one, but this is just a prologue, to show you the atmosphere of the story that's about to come. Hope you'll still read it anyway. :)

(If there's anyone here who's reading my other Criminal Minds fic: i'm really sorry about the delay, i'm already working on the next chapter!)

Thanks so much to arosewithsteelthorns for editing this fic, check her stories out, she's great!:)

'Feel that? That's the end of you! That's scary, ain't it!'

She forced herself to run even faster. She was out of breath; lost in the dimness, the only thing that guided her was a shrill scream that sometimes intensified, sometimes faded. She kept running forward.

Henry. She needed to do this. For Henry.

She's my mom. And I love her. Promise me you'll bring her home.

She reached a crossroad. She hesitated, tried to decide which way to turn. She didn't have to vacillate for long; that animalistic, guttural cry broke free anew and although her palms clenched in a fit of helplessness, she was relieved that it had showed her the way.

"I'm coming," she whispered, pleading, and imagined that Regina hears her and knows she means it.

She kept running. All that mattered, all she valued, was squeezed into the darkness that filled the air in front of her. If she failed now, Henry will fall apart. She can't let him down. Not this time.

She passed large, wooden boxes. Farther away, a row of rusty doors materialized. A faint trail of light flickered on the floor and she made her way towards the door the glint came from. Even though every inch of her body told her to run, she slowed down and cautiously stayed low by the wall.

She flinched when a cry pierced her ears, louder than before, but she knew she was close; that she just had to reach the door and behind that, there she'd be. She's hurt, she knows that. But is she broken? Has she given up? Or does she still have faith that they will find her?

A delighted chuckle followed and, instantly, the door banged open. The light amplified and she instinctively backed away, blending into the shadows. She raised her gun but she was still blinded and she couldn't be sure she'd hit her target if she pulled the trigger. She didn't want to fire just yet, not until she knew how many threats she had to face; she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"I'll be back in a minute," a man said and she gasped as she recognized Greg's voice.

For a moment, her thoughts wandered to that day when she'd made sure he'd seen nothing of the town's greatest secret. At least she believed she had. For the umpteenth time, she decided it was best not to trust anyone.

He stepped out of the room and she crouched even lower, her back sliding along the cold wall. A soft, wretched scream escaped from the light and there was something horrifyingly final to it that made her shiver.

He turned back to the room and she caught a glimpse of a brief smile flashing across his face.

"Try to... enjoy yourself," he said and he walked towards the opposite end of the corridor. She held her breath, but he was too careless and cocky to turn around.

She waited until he had disappeared behind the corner, then she crept closer to the open door and listened motionlessly for a moment. She heard her heart pound in her chest deafeningly. She forced herself to calm down but she knew she was too tense to loosen up even just a bit. There was an electric buzz coming from inside that she couldn't place but as far as she could tell, there was only one person in the room; and that had to be Regina.

She straightened up and pushed her gun back into the holster. Only when she entered the room did she realize that the screaming had vanished and had been replaced with softer but no less eerie, unconscious moaning.

It took her a second to take it all in - the door in the back of the room, the buzzing machine on the right, the probes running from it, the gurney on the left. And on the gurney - a limp body, with electrodes attached to her temples and fingers, convulsing and twitching helplessly.

She tried, but she couldn't see the Evil Queen on the gurney. For once, with her shut eyes, her slightly parted lips and her expression distorted in agony, Regina was nothing more than a pitiful victim; the victim of her past, her mother and her devastated soul she eventually chose not to fight.

Emma did her best to ignore the cries and the washed-out face on the gurney. Ashamed that she was incapable of being a mere spectator of the torture Regina has gone through, she hurried to the machine and hit the switch on the top. The buzz faded out; Regina's body jerked for a last time, pushed against her restraints, then fell still.

She was hesitant to turn away from the box and approach Regina. That would mean she'd have to face Regina at her weakest and that frightened her.

Breathing heavily, she finally walked up to the gurney. It was all so surreal. She felt like a voyeur, invading Regina's most private moments. Everything Regina ever had was taken from her - her love, her childhood, her freedom, her son. All she had left was her power - and now that was gone too. And Emma stood by, watching her chest jerkily lift and sink and there was nothing between them; no magic, no hostility, just two humans, both with disrupted histories but with different presents.

For a moment, she thought about just how lucky she had been. She could as well have turned out to be the Evil Queen. She definitely wasn't a saint either.

She shook herself. She knew there was no time to give way to her emotions. For a second, she fiddled with the bindings that pinned Regina down, and then she tore them open and ripped off the electrodes.

Regina still didn't move and Emma knew she couldn't carry her limp body out of the building on her own, especially not with Greg chasing after them.

It crossed her mind that she could just run away and save her own life. After all, there was no point in both of them dying.

She's my mom. And I love her. Promise me you'll bring her home.

Emma made up her mind. She leaned forward and gave Regina's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Come on, Regina, we gotta go," she whispered desperately.

But there was no answer.

"Regina please," she begged and she swept Regina's hair out of her forehead. "He needs you, please..."

As she touched her face, Emma felt the same scary yet warming tingling in her fingers that she'd felt right before the portal to the Enchanted Forest was opened. She blushed as adrenalin rushed through her veins and exhaled in relief when Regina stirred and her eyes flickered.

"Emma," she groaned, so soft Emma wasn't sure she didn't imagine it. And she certainly didn't notice that there was no "Ms Swan" this time. Just Emma.

"Regina? Can you move? We need to leave, now..."

Footsteps were thundering on the corridor floor and Emma suddenly grew panicky. Regina didn't seem to notice.

"Can you get up? Here, I'll help you," she muttered and she slid an arm under Regina's back, who still didn't move. She just looked back at her with such a blank expression that Emma doubted she understood what she said at all. "Come on," she said.

Shifting her weight, she pulled Regina up into a half-sitting position.

Regina's face tensed as she tried to get up but her body disobeyed her. Every tiny movement brought on a shot of pain and she felt like even breathing was difficult. She squeezed her lips together and bit back a cry.

She couldn't let Emma see her this way. She was strong, one of the strongest. So why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she fight the pain?

The footsteps kept getting louder.

Regina tightened her muscles as Emma helped her onto her feet. Her legs were shaky but Emma kept an arm around her to give her support.

"It's okay," she whispered as they made a few uneasy steps towards the door.

But it wasn't. She knew they couldn't reach the door before Greg gets back. She practically dragged Regina along.

Regina understood what the noise from the corridor meant too late. She backed away, violently, her eyes wide with fear. She began to feel the electricity charging through her body again, making her lose her senses. Stepping back, she threw Emma off balance and resulted in her stumbling forward.

Greg entered the room, his expression cautious and determined. Absently, he kept running her fingers across the trigger of the gun he held in his hand steadily, aiming at Emma, who was still kneeling on the floor.

Emma knew there was no point in reaching for her gun. She risked a quick glance at Regina who held herself up by leaning against the gurney. It worried Emma how weak she looked - she was clearly struggling to even keep her eyes open.

"Ms Swan?" Greg asked, but there was no hint of surprise in his voice. He still hadn't lowered the gun. "I was hoping we would see each other under more pleasant circumstances."

"Like you in a jail cell and me holding the keys?" Emma guessed.

Greg's jaw clenched.

"How brave of you to mock me when I can take your life in an instant."

"Owen..." Regina groaned, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"Sorry, this is a no-evil conversation," Greg retorted.

Regina hardly swallowed.

"What do you call yourself then?" Emma asked. "Greg, the Savior?"

"I thought that was you, Ms Swan."

"Well, I'm not really saving anyone right now, so if you're up to the job, go ahead, take it. Just a word of warning: the pay sucks, especially if you consider all the bumpy parts of the job description."

"You have no idea, who you're up against. No one does. And we need that to stay that way. I'm afraid that none of you may leave this room. Well, at least not alive," Greg said, a fanatic look settling in his eyes. He cocked his gun. "I have a bit of unfinished business with Her Majesty over there, and you would just be disturbing us. I hope you said your goodbyes this morning, Ms Swan."

"Owen..." Regina tried again, but there was no use. He smiled, sadistically.

Mary Margaret entered through the backdoor just in time to see Greg pull the trigger.

Well, i really hope you liked it. Please leave a review if you have time! Have a good night, guys!:)