Chapter Two: Stolen Memories

Regina was powerless!

It took a mere second for her to realize it before the man who was once known as "Dr. Whale," and still went by that name as far as he and most of the town were concerned, cornered Regina on the front porch of her home with the rest of the angry mob looking on with bloodthirsty eyes. "Now…where were we?"

"Stop this now!"

The familiar voice drew everyone's attention away from Regina and towards the front gate where the Doctor stood defiantly with Emma at his side and James, Snow, Henry, Jiminy, Red, Granny, and the dwarves behind them. Silence fell over the mob as they witnessed the return of the Doctor, who was practically a legend in their old land. They were surprised by the command he had given upon making his entrance.

"Stop this?" Whale yelled in confusion and frustration. "You of all people should understand this. Everything she's done to us…to you. Have you forgotten all of that?"

The Doctor paused for a brief moment. "Yes, I have." There was a collection of murmurings amongst the mob in effect to his answer. He addressed the crowd while approaching Whale. "I wish I can remember all of you as much as you have remembered me, but something has happened that I've yet to figure out, and she is the only person who can help." He pointed directly to Regina.

"Help? She doesn't even know the meaning of that word." Whale retorted to the collective agreement of the mob.

"I will not allow killing to be a sense of justice here!" The Doctor forcibly said.

"Well, we're not from this world, Doctor." Whale uttered the Time Lord's name with distain.

"Yeah? Well, you're in it now." Emma remarked.

James quickly stepped in. "Okay, Whale. We're done."

"Back off! You're not my prince!"

"Who are you, Whale?"

"That's my business." He then looked back towards the Doctor and confidently added, "And since our old friend here doesn't remember any of us, myself included, that makes it no longer any of his business either."

The Doctor grinned. "I make everything my business – even the business that I have no business in." Again he addressed everyone in the crowd, once again having flashbacks to his time in Mercy. "As long as Sheriff…" He stumbled on the name of the blonde that stood by his side. "What's your name again?"

"Emma Swan," she answered in embarrassment. What a time to have to be reminded of my name, Doc!

"As long as Sheriff Emma Swan and I are in charge of this situation, we will keep Regina locked up for her safety and, more importantly, all of ours. I can imagine all of you are looking for answers as badly as I am; but it cannot be done by looking for blood first."

Regina stood by and smiled over the way the Doctor, who had lost all memory of who she really was, protected her from the angry characters. In the back of her mind, she hoped that he would not soon remember all she had done prior to his memory loss, as well as the reason behind it. Of course, with the company that he kept in the form of Emma Swan, Prince Charming, Snow White, and even her adoptive son, Henry, it would be only a matter of time.


Clang!

Steel met steel as the door to Regina's jail cell slammed shut by the hands of Prince Charming and locked in the process. Regina, not once dropping her smirk, looked into the eyes of the prince and deduced, "So I'm a prisoner now."

"Not a prisoner." The Doctor said as he walked up to the cell and stood beside James. "Think of yourself as a guest taking part in a safety precaution. It's much easier that way."

James shook his head over the Doctor's naivety towards Regina. "Doctor, this woman is behind the worst imaginable nightmare brought to life."

"Ah, yes. The curse." The Doctor said. "At least that's what River referred it as before she vanished from the TARDIS."

James, Emma, Henry, and Snow all sighed in distress. It was as if all the Doctor had believed in prior to his memory loss had vanished. In the eyes of Emma, he was pretty much acting similar to her before she broke part of the curse. Regina smiled in amusement over his attitude, but it soon faded once James addressed her again. "If the curse is broken, why didn't we go back?"

"Because there's nothing to go back to." Regina answered. "That land is gone."

Her answer did not bring much hope in the group's situation; it only made it much worse than before.

"We should get to Mr. Gold." Snow suggested, reminding herself of what Emma said earlier about him being the reason magic had returned to Storybrooke.

The others agreed with the idea, but as everyone started to leave, the Doctor quickly spoke up. "Now hold on a minute. You people got to have your Q&A moment. It's time I had mine." He smiled as he turned to Regina. Clearly, this whole situation with curses and people who thought of themselves as fairy tale characters was entertaining him. Sounds like something out of a poorly written TV drama, he thought. For his amusement, he asked Regina, "Why is it that everyone in this town knows who I am, but I have no idea who they are?"

"It's for the best that you don't know, Doctor." Regina cunningly answered.

"Ohh, don't be that way." The Doctor said. "I just saved you from an angry mob and a man named after a marine mammal. The least you can do for me is tell me why they were after you."

Regina remained silent for a minute, simply smiling at the Doctor through the bars of her cell. She then coldly said, "Don't you have enough to worry about after losing Amy and Rory?"

The Doctor's amusement suddenly vanished, replaced with horror. "What did you say?"

"That's right, Doctor. I know the journeys you've had, the places you've been, and the people you've put in danger and killed. All eleven of your lives…right up here." She lightly tapped her forehead for emphasis. "I don't need a magic mirror to see what you've been up to before returning to Storybrooke. The Daleks' asylum, the dinosaurs on the spaceship, the town of Mercy, the Shakri invasion, and that awful loss you suffered to the Weeping Angels in Manhattan. Tell me, Doctor…would the Ponds have survived if they only agreed to have never gotten involved in your lonely, pathetic life ever ag—"

"STOP IT!"

The fury in the Doctor's voice and the massively loud clang sound that rang throughout the room as his hands brusquely clasped the cell bars shocked everyone, including Regina, who retreated from the bars and further into her cell. She did not expect such a reaction from the Doctor and, from looking into his eyes, could see that this was not the same man she met in the world before Storybrooke. These experiences – these visions of his life before returning to Storybrooke – they had taken quite a toll on him, turning him into something far worse than Regina. She wondered if the Doctor would actually turn her over to the town at that point. He had nearly done the same with Kahler-Jex in Mercy, so why would she be any different?

But the Doctor did nothing, and he said nothing as he stormed out of the station. Emma, Snow, James, and Henry – all greatly concerned for the Doctor – rushed to follow him out, leaving Regina alone with her thoughts and the Doctor's. But only for a short period of time would she be so isolated in her captivity.