A/N:

Okay! I just want to say… hello! This is my first OUAT fic ever! I've been majorly writer's blocked on all my other stories and writing this has helped me get out of my little funk. I have a few chapters written already, so updates should be pretty frequent!

I just want to start out by saying that this story follows right up to around the middle/end of the 2nd season and then it really goes off the rails from there. It was inspired by (SPOILER) the part where August turns back into a little kid.

Just remember that this story is pretty much AU. I plan to keep it as canon as possible but there will probably be some changes for the sake of this fic. :) Please don't hurt me!

This starts out and I'm worried that it'll be a little bit confusing. It will all be explained in time! Just know that right now, the whole town is sort of falling apart and everyone is getting portal-ed back to Fairytale Land with a bang.

Please enjoy!

Regina had never felt more alive, had never felt such a strong desire to live, than when she was on the edge of death and defeat.

It was really all over, and she had lost everything—her mother, Henry, her life. She'd been so close to winning. She had been on the very brink of victory, so very close to defeating Emma and Snow White and keeping Henry for herself. Where had it all gone wrong? Why did this have to happen to her?

She had led a life of disappointment, and in the end she realized that all she wanted was her happy ending.

Regina and Henry moved to the Enchanted Forest and lived happily ever after…

A wave of pain made its way through her whole body. She opened eyes that she hadn't even realized were closed and saw the destruction all around her. She was dying now, and there was truly nothing that could save her. Her heart hurt and the physical pain in her body wasn't the only reason why. The very bringers of her death, the people who had made her life so very unbearable, were there to console her.

"Regina…" Snow's delicate voice drifted into her ears and soft hands held her up. She focused on Snow's face, and then on Emma's. "Regina, I'm so sorry." Her voice was cracking with emotion, and Regina felt a surge of hatred that hurt her already black heart. You're not sorry. You are a liar!

Emma kneeled next to her as well, looking tired and pale. Someone was cradling her head in their hands and she didn't know who it was; all she knew was that she was dying in the arms of her enemies.

"I'm dying…" her voice was weak, but she wanted to scream. She wanted to give Snow White some scathing last words, she wanted her to feel sorry for the rest of her life. "Snow, you…" A sharp pain in her stomach stopped her from speaking.

"Shh," Snow soothed, tears running down her face. Pale, cool hands smoothed down her cheeks and she would have winced if it wouldn't have been so painful. "Regina, it'll only hurt worse if you speak."

She tried to look down at her stomach where Emma's magic blade lie, but Snow's hands guided her head away from the sight.

"She's right, Mary Margaret," Emma said, her voice just as tired as her mother's. "She's dying."

Regina heard Snow sniffle and let out a cry. "I know. I just…"

A loud crash sounded from somewhere that Regina's dulling senses couldn't pinpoint. Emma jumped. "It's almost time. We have to go…" She sounded guilty as she said it. Good.

She heard footsteps coming toward them and then Charming say, "It's time. What are we…" he must have seen her then, because he became silent. Then, "Henry, we should—"

"Mom?"

Regina gasped and opened her eyes once again. Henry was standing next to Charming, eyes wide and full of tears. "What happened? Is she—is she gonna be okay?"

"Henry," Emma's voice was full of sorrow now, but Emma was the last thing on Regina's mind. A medley of voices suddenly blended together and she could no longer tell who was talking, and she no longer cared. Oh Henry, she wanted to cry, she wanted to scream. Her sweet, sweet baby. Oh, the things she would have done at that moment, the mountains she would have moved, to hold him one last time.

Her whole life did not flash before her eyes—only a small part of it. The part where she had Henry. She remembered when he was a baby. She remembered singing to him, reading him bedtime stories. She remembered soothing his bumps and scrapes. She remembered his first day of school. She remembered his embrace, his smell, the softness of his baby hair.

She remembered Cora's last words.

You would have been enough.

Her heart had been so full of hate, but now she felt it lifting, melting away. Henry… She wished, oh how she wished that she could have been different. She wished… She wished...

"Regina."

A voice echoed in her mind. She blinked through her pain. This voice wasn't Emma's or Snow's. It was…

"Don't speak, Regina." Her vision was filled with bright blue light. "You have made a wish from deep within your heart, and I'm here to grant it. But remember, all magic has a price."

She didn't understand. What was happening? She tried to look down at her body but she was blinded by a bright, shining light. Was this the Blue Fairy?

"You have made a true wish from your soul, the part of your soul that was still good," she said, her voice sweet and benevolent. "This is the one last thing I'll do for you, Regina. You'll get to start over and you'll get to be with Henry."

She felt a light tap on the crown of her head, and the Blue Fairy continued, "The price is this: You will be at the mercy of your enemies for the rest of your life. You will never be able to use magic, and you will never, ever be queen."

Regina had no time to think the deal over, and no time to agree or disagree.

The blue light faded, and with it went her pain. She could no longer feel the blade in her body, and she couldn't feel the thorns in her heart. She felt a wonderful warm light envelope her body. She felt so happy she could cry.

Where was she? Who was she?

She felt a pair of arms scoop her up, and the warmth that came from them.

She knew she was safe.

Emma, as tough as she was, had never felt more horrified as she did the moment Mr. Gold's sword had sunk into Regina's flesh.

The world was literally falling apart. Bits and pieces of buildings and cars and magic were flying everywhere as the portal to the Enchanted Forest appeared in the middle of town.

Regina's work, as usual.

She'd had plans to take Henry away and destroy the town, but Emma could safely say that that plan hadn't worked at all. As relieved as Emma was to have saved Henry from Regina's clutches, there was still the issue of the portal spinning and whirling and sucking up cars and people and whatever was in its path. There was no stopping it now—the portal was out of control and they were all heading straight into Fairytale Land whether they liked it or not.

Somewhere, in the middle of all that chaos, Regina had shown up, determined to see her plan through at whatever cost. Words were exchanged, blows were made, and in less than thirty seconds, a long, long blood feud had come to an end.

Emma had used a magical sword to strike down Regina. A sword cursed so that whomever it touched would not be able to come back to life—at least that's what Mr. Gold had told her when he'd thrust it toward her a few moments ago.

In the moment, she'd really thought she was doing the right thing by killing Regina, but now, as the mayor lie on the ground dying, she wasn't so sure. Henry's broken voice at the sight of his adopted mother only confirmed her doubts.

"Oh, no," Mary Margaret murmured, her compassionate eyes shining on Regina, tears running down her face. Regina was limp now, her body broken and dying. Emma felt tears in her own eyes. Regina was evil and malicious, and for the whole of her mother's life had tormented her and cursed her. She had ruined countless lives—almost every person in town had been personally targeted by her at some point in their lives, whether it was in this world or in the Enchanted Forest.

So how come it felt like she was doing an evil thing by ending her life?

"Henry, I'm so sorry," Emma's said, looking into his eyes. His face was pale and he looked so sad that she couldn't bear it.

"Emma, you did the only thing you could do," David said, holding Henry's shoulders and standing rigid and still, even as the portal grew larger and louder. They would need to jump in fast, before the power swelled and burnt out. Storybrooke would soon be destroyed, and the people of the town were running and jumping into the vortex and back into their own world before they could be left behind.

"This is wrong," Emma said. The horror was finally sinking in: she had killed Regina. She had taken a life.

"Emma, I know," Mary Margaret finally spoke up. "But now, we need to be strong and jump into the portal before it's too late."

Emma looked back at Regina, who was still barely clinging onto the last of her life. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was becoming shallow. "Is there anything—is there any way we can…"

"That sword is cursed," Mary Margaret said softly. "Mr. Gold said so. I think… I think it's over." She blinked away tears and touched Regina's face. "All we can do now is be here for her."

"No, there has to be something else we can do!" Henry finally spoke and broke out of David's hold to kneel beside Regina. A sob broke free from Emma's chest; Henry's hope, his absolute love and faith broke her heart. And it was all her fault.

"No, kid," Emma said, determined not to lie to him ever again. Especially now that she had done this, she would never let him down ever again, even if the truth was hard. "This is it."

"No," big fat tears rolled down his cheeks, reminding her that as mature as he was, he was still just a kid. "There has to be something you can do! You're the heroes, you're—" he had to stop talking for a moment to wipe at his nose. "There has to be something…"

Regina's eyes fluttered open for a second and everyone froze. She looked at Henry for a moment, and then shut her eyes once more. She let out one last breath and went quiet.

The small group was quiet, despite the rage and destruction that was going on outside. Almost everyone in town had gone through the portal, and they were the only ones left.

"Regina as we know her has drawn her last breath," a voice broke through their silence. They all looked up to see the Mother Superior, her face sad and serious.

"Blue, what are you still doing here?" Mary Margaret asked, her eyes wide with concern.

"I stayed behind to make sure everyone got into the portal," she replied calmly, her eyes fixed on Regina. "And they all did… except for you. But that's not why I'm here right now."

"We should all get into the portal right now, before we get left behind," David said suddenly, the Blue Fairy's words suddenly reminding him.

"Now is not the time to worry about the portal," the blue-clad nun said, her voice neither urgent nor angry. "We'll all make it through. But right now, I'm here to grant a wish. Two wishes, actually." She looked pointedly at Henry.

"I don't know if now is the best time," Emma replied.

"Now is the only time, I'm afraid," she said, looking toward the portal that swirled violently outside. "Right now, magic is filling the air—I've never felt it so strongly here before. I could cast any spell, or grant any wish in this very moment. And I'm choosing to do so now."

Emma could admit that she felt it too. There was something different about this night, and it wasn't just the fact that everything was falling into a magical vortex. She looked at the Mother Superior's hands; they were practically itching to cast a spell.

She continued: "Tonight, before I came here, I heard two whispers in my ear. Two powerful wishes from the heart."

"What were they?" Mary Margaret asked, not letting go of Regina.

"Regina wished for a second chance, and Henry wished that there was a way to save her." She waved her wand and the magic sword disappeared.

"There's a way to save her?" Henry asked, his voice mirroring Emma's hopes. If there was a way to fix this, she would take it for Henry's sake.

"But… the sword is cursed. There's no way," David said.

"We must always remember," the Blue Fairy said with a smile, "that true love can break any curse. And what Regina felt for Henry was true love." Emma winced at the use of past tense. "And I know that despite everything, Henry still loves her too. She was his mother, after all."

"What do we need to do?" Henry asked, his face wet with tears.

The Blue Fairy didn't answer. Instead, she tapped Regina on the top of her head with her wand. They all watched as blue smoke swirled around her and lifted her gently out of Mary Margaret's arms. "Regina will live," she said softly, "but she will need gentle care and love. In order to give her a fair chance, you must care for her heart."

The magic stopped swirling and the blue cloud slowly and gently lowered Regina back into Mary Margaret's arms. All were quiet as they watched the smoke swirl away into thin air, to reveal a small, sleeping child.

"Is—is that—" David sputtered. Emma and Henry gaped at the girl with wide eyes, rendered speechless.

"It's Regina," Mary Margaret whispered, holding the child in her arms. "She's… she's just a girl…"

"Whoa," Henry whispered. Emma grabbed his hand.

A young girl who couldn't be older than five years now slept in her arms. With her black hair and regal cheekbones, all could see that she was most certainly Regina… Regina as a child.

A huge, shaking sound jolted them out of their shock.

"We've got to get into the portal, now!" David yelled, and finally, everyone was on their feet. Mary Margaret stumbled a bit, unable to stand very quickly while clinging to the little girl in her arms.

Emma bent down to grab the girl so that Mary Margaret could move faster. She scooped her up in her arms and ran faster than she ever had toward the raging vortex in the middle of the street. There was no time to lose.

She raced after Henry as he bolted behind David and Mary Margaret, the thoughts in his mind a complete mystery to her. Was he scared? Excited? Was he sad about Regina?

She stopped right in front of the portal, a sudden fear gripping her heart as she held the girl close. She was about to leave her world, her home, and she'd somehow wound up with another kid to take care of. Before she could freeze, she felt David's hand on her shoulder and Mary Margaret at her side.

Henry, brave Henry, stood in front of them all, a fierce look in his eyes. "Come on, Mom!" he said, and it was all Emma needed to jump into the void after him.

Um, okay. I know it all moved really fast! But this is just the prologue. :) Please review and tell me what you think so far. Love it? Hate it? What would you all like to see happen here?

Thanks for reading! :)