No one has seen much of Regina in the week since Robin's death. Even Henry hasn't been able to get her to come out of her seclusion. He has, at least, been able to make sure she's eating. He brings her Granny's every day in the cemetery, although she barely touches it.
"I miss you, Robin. I need you. I can't fight the Evil Queen inside me without you."
Regina is laying on her side in the grass, right hand placed on the fresh mound of dirt, her head resting against Robin's gravestone. She's been laying there for the entire morning— as she's done every day since Robin's funeral— talking to her deceased true love, her best friend, her conscience, and her soulmate. She speaks to him and can hear his responses inside her head. His usual encouragements to keep her on a heroic path. Because after all, he's with her, always. But she's in such overwhelming pain. She feels lost. Robin was her home, her peace, and now he's gone. Thanks to Hades. And now there's no way to get him back. She can't go down to the Underworld and save him because the Olympian crystal sent him to oblivion.
Emma is conflicted. She feels guilty that Hook was able to return when she knows thats not possible for Robin. As Regina's friend, she wants to help her, but its proven difficult. Each time Emma has tried to comfort her, Regina disappears in a cloud of purple smoke, never allowing Emma to say more than one or two words to her.
Emma is sitting in her yellow bug at the cemetery. Henry has just dropped off lunch for Regina, placing the bag beside her as she laid on the ground.
"How was she today?" Emma asks as Henry gets back into the car.
"Worse," Henry says with a frown, shaking his head. "She didn't even look up. I don't even think she knew I was there. I'm worried, Mom."
"Your mom feels things very deeply, Henry. This loss, on top of everything else that's happened in her life, is more than anyone should ever have to endure." Emma responds trying to comfort the boy. But it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself that Regina will be okay.
They fall silent, just watching Regina for a few more minutes, when she suddenly sits up.
"Oh my god!" Regina gasps suddenly, her eyes grow impossibly wide. She sits up quickly with a surprised and actually jubilant look on her face. "I've got it!"
She looks around and sees Emma and Henry sitting in the yellow bug a few yards away. She jumps up and hurries over to them, not even noticing the looks of complete and utter shock on their faces at her surprising change in demeanor.
Emma and Henry rush out of the car when they see Regina pop up and run toward them.
"I've got it!" Regina says again, grabbing Emma's shoulders excitedly. Emma smiles anxiously back at her.
"What is it, Regina? What did you figure out?" Emma asks cautiously, fearing that maybe Regina has started hallucinating.
"Emma! We can go back in time and save Robin!"
"Wait, Regina, we can't. You know the lengths that Zelena had to go to to cast the spell a few years ago. Regina you can't." Emma pleaded with her.
"No. The wand Emma."
"What?"
"The wand. The Dark Fairy's wand that Rumple gave you when you were in the Enchanted Forest. He said it could replicate any magic that has ever been procured. So we use the wand to open up a portal to the past, find Robin and bring him back!" Regina is positively beaming at Emma now.
"Mom, thats brilliant!" Henry is excited. He hasn't seen his mother so happy since before Robin's death. It feels like its been an eternity since he's seen her smiling.
"But Regina, we can't change the past. Even a small change could have catastrophic consequences. There's no telling what might happen." Emma tries to think rationally and pleads with Regina to see reason, but Henry steps in again.
"I'll bring my storybook. That way we can make sure anything that is suppose to happen still does after we save Robin Hood. Except then we can save him from Hades." He says the last part cautiously, uncertain how Regina would respond. But she's still smiling, looking between Emma and Henry, tears of joy trickling down her face.
"If there's one thing your parents have continued to remind me, its that it's never too late, especially if you never give up hope. We can do this, Emma. This is the only way." She's now almost begging Emma to help her.
"Fine." Emma says, not able to deny the pleading, heartbroken woman her last chance at saving her true love, especially after Regina, Robin, and the her own family went to the Underworld with her to save Hook. "Lets go find Gold and get the wand."
At this Regina hugs her. She's overflowing with emotions. Still grieving, still mourning her true love, but now filled with hope at another chance to be with Robin. They pile into Emma's bug and drive to Gold's pawn shop. Regina can't sit still, she's too excited. Henry starts planning, naming off items they should take that could possibly help them. "Woah, kid. I don't know if you should come, it could be dangerous." Emma tells him. Henry looks at her with an exasperated expression.
"Mom, I'm coming. It's operation Cobra all over again. And I know the book better than anyone. I can help." Then turning to Regina he says "I'm gonna help you get find your happy ending again." He assures her, grabbing her hand tightly in his own. She's somewhat dazed but squeezes his hand back, acknowledging that he's spoken to her.
When they reach Gold's shop they meet Hook. Emma had called him on the way over, informing him of the plan, to which he insisted that he'd be attending. They enter the pawn shop together, calling out to Gold who was in the back room.
"To what do I owe this interruption," he says begrudgingly as he appears from behind the curtain separating the front from the back of the shop.
"We need the Dark Fairy's wand," Regina demands.
"Oh, you need it, do you? You know everything comes with a price, especially magic as powerful as that," he scoffs, not really caring about their interests.
"What do you want then?" Emma answers annoyed, not having the patience to listen to Gold's attitude, especially since he'd undone Hook's heroic efforts by becoming the Dark One again.
"Well this is quite the favor—" Gold starts before Hook interrupts.
"I think you owe it to all of us, Crocodile, since you took it upon yourself to become the bloody Dark One again. I bet Belle didn't take that knowledge too well. She'd want you to help us."
"Oh would she now? Help the pirate who's threatened her life multiple times and Regina who locked her up for 28 years?" Gold responded bitterly.
"Belle knows Regina isn't the Evil Queen anymore, Gold. And if you recall, I can still hear the dagger so I could easily find it and make you give us the wand, but thats your choice," Emma is impatient now. Regina is gripping the edge of the counter, knuckles white, eyes staring hard at Gold, a mixture of sorrow and hope swirling in them.
"Fine." Gold complies unhappily, but complies none-the-less.
Gold walks into the back room and returns moments later with a black glass wand, the same wand Emma had used to reopen the portal to present day when she and Hook had been stuck in the Enchanted Forest after getting sucked into Zelena's time portal.
"How do you intend to use this?" he asks them before hesitantly placing it in Emma's outstretched hand.
"We're going back to save Robin," Regina responds, her eyes now looking at the wand.
"What?!" Gold is furious now. "You know the consequences of changing the past," he says to the group. "And you two," he points his index finger to Emma and Hook now, "you almost destroyed the future the last time you time traveled."
"Well we pulled it off then and we can do it again," Emma sasses back. Hook give Gold a piercing glare before he gestures to Emma that they should leave. "Right, well, we're gonna go save Robin now." With that they four of them leave the shop.
Emma, Henry, and Hook stop by Snow and Charming's apartment to fill them in on what they're going to do. Regina finds Zelena to inform her. After gathering the materials they need for their journey, they meet back up in Emma's backyard.
"So when exactly are we going?" Emma asks Regina as she joins the group.
"To when Robin first landed in this world," she responds calmly, seeming more like her old self.
"Okay, so we'll just be dodging the bloody wicked witch again, trying not to be turned into flying monkeys, wonderful," Hook says, rolling his eyes. Regina snaps a glare at him and Emma nudges him to tell him not to push it.
"I suppose so," Regina says after a moment. "Well, we should all hold hands to ensure we all go to the same time and place." She takes the wand and waves it around, pointing it up at the sky.
After a moment's pause, the wind picks up, and a portal opens before them, glowing bright. They all clasp hands and jump together, thinking of Robin as Regina directs it to when he first arrived in this realm.
Their feet hit the ground. They open their eyes. It's bright. The sun is high and it's chilly. Suddenly they become aware of how loud it is around them. And the people. So many people. People wearing very different clothes from their own. Men in top hats, tailored suits, others in less expensive slacks and shirts. The women are adorned in floor length dresses, gloves, fancy hats, and delicately escorted by men. Then confusion sets in. They look at one another realizing immediately that they're no longer in Storybrooke. But where are they? And when?
"We're certainly not in Storybrooke anymore." Hook says with some surprise evident in his voice. "Are you sure you thought of the right time Regina?"
"I directed it to the first time Robin entered this realm. He must have come to this world before the curse brought him to Storybrooke a few years ago. That's the only explanation." Regina answers, her voice revealing the shock over their unexpected surroundings.
"Okay, where the hell are we then?" Emma says, starting to feel nervous with all of the weird looks they're getting in their very different attire.
"I think I know." Henry says gloomily. They turn to look at him, finding him facing the opposite direction. They follow his gaze until their eyes fall on a giant iron passenger liner with huge white letters reading 'TITANIC' across the side.