Regina had already been seated for five minutes, five silent minutes seated on a padded chair tucked into the corner of one of her vault rooms with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, in which to compose herself. In this time, Emma itched to begin the search for.. god, she couldn't even consider what they might be looking for in what looked like hundreds of volumes stacked through the winding vault. She remained close to Regina instead of surrendering to the itch, making sure to not get caught staring at the shaken woman.

Just a moment ago she had vanished in night clothes, very revealing night clothes that seemed to have burned the image of Regina's legs deep into Emma's inner eye, and now she sat, giving a little tremble every few seconds, clothed in what looked like a sackcloth tunic. Regina caught Emma looking, her eyes dropping quickly as everything about the blonde's searching expression threatened to find her out.

"Just tell me, Regina. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Emma asked cautiously, wanting nothing more than to demand the whole story right this second, but not stupid enough to miss the way Regina shook as her eyes grew distant.

"Not physically", Regina mumbled in answer, encouraging as far as Emma was concerned. The blonde scooted her chair closer to the brunette and reached for her hand tentatively, less worried about triggering any pain through touch. "We don't stand a chance, Emma." The empty surrender in Regina's voice was jarring, so unlike the fiery woman Emma had actually come to admire.

"Of course we do. We've done amazing things with our magic, and this won't be any different." Emma rubbed Regina's palm with her thumb, trying to soothe some heat into the cold appendage. "I mean, come on. We took on a demon and won, and kept the town from exploding, not to mention defeating Pan. We're badasses!" Normally, Emma would probably be the first to doubt herself, if only because she knew the support from her family would remain no matter what. Now though, she considered what Regina really had in town. Henry, yes, but the boy was gone, kidnapped by god only knew who. And.. who else? Over time, Regina had grown.. less hostile with the townsfolk, but to expect support might be a bit much. Shame prodded at Emma's thoughts as she realized that she had never given a whole lot of thought to how very alone Regina really was in Storybrooke outside of her son, despite the occasional company of the Charmings.

Regina's face tilted up to look at Emma with an expression that the blonde couldn't read. Dark eyes searched her face, looking for… only Regina could say, and she wasn't. "You don't get it, Emma. We've already lost."

Stumbling as her feet found uneven stone with an unexpected suddenness, Regina whirled to ascertain just where she had appeared. Stone, stone, more stone, and bars. She recognized this place, this cage, even with the slight differences.

"It's not the real thing, but I thought it was rather poetic, don't you?" Regina pressed forwards against the bars that served as a mockery of the cage that Rumplestiltskin had once inhabited. On the other side, she faced herself, her double's eyes locking with hers gleefully. "That's hardly appropriate attire for a prisoner", her double stated, waving a hand and changing the silken nightwear to rough prison garb, not unlike what she had worn as a prisoner in Snow White's castle.

"What's going on?" the real Regina demanded, drawing a laugh from the other.

"You'll find out soon enough, but I do find the idea of telling you and watching the truth destroy you to be amusing." The double paced alongside the bars, tapping the impregnable metal with her sharp nails, painted crimson to match her lips. "You've had quite the run of it, haven't you, holding onto the power that lies just beneath the surface." Regina glared between the bars. "Oh don't give me that look. You know there's more inside than what you've used over the years, you've even seen it on occasion you just can't get to it because of your insipid little fear of allowing someone close."

Taking several steps away from the cage, the double laughed as a form slipped from the darkness just beyond her and slid an arm around her waist. Emma. But not. The true Regina gripped at the bars, pressing closer to get a clear look at the face she thought she knew. Emma's double was similar, but sharper, her cheekbones swooping and eyes not nearly as bright and open as the Emma she knew.

"You see, we're not so very different, but I know what I want, and I'm not afraid to admit it." The Regina double pressed up against not-Emma, sighing as her finger traced the blonde's upper lip. Regina felt the blood rush from her body and into her face as she watched herself lean in and capture not-Emma's mouth with hers, neither caring a bit for their onlooker.

Grinding her hips closer to the blonde's, not-Regina growled in her chest and tucked a hand into her waist, tugging her as close as she was able. As she shifted to lathe hot kisses that blended into nibbles down the lengthy stretch of not-Emma's neck, the blonde opened eyes that had fallen shut to connect gazes with the true Regina over the double's shoulder, a lascivious smile twisting across her face as she lifted a hand.

"You could be so very strong, so very powerful, so very..happy." Not-Emma murmured the words, but they sounded as clearly as if she had whispered them directly into Regina's ear, the brunette could very nearly sense the warmth of her breath on her neck.

"What are you.." Regina was at a loss for words as her double pulled just far enough away from not-Emma's already discolouring neck to look back at her and match the blonde's sinful smile.

"We're merely acting out what you never will, and taking that power which rightfully belongs to us. You're never going to be able to stop us, dear, so I encourage you not to try. No matter what you do with that special bond you have yet to truly discover, we are what you will become."

As if ice had been dragged down the length of Regina's spine, chills engulfed her, bringing her to clasp at the bars once more. "I don't know what you want, or who you are, but I demand you stop wearing my face and show your own!" Sounding far stronger than she felt, Regina commanded those whom she had decided were strangers, thrusting the magic from her palms into the bars she held tightly. As partially expected however, there was no response from the spelled metal. Not-Emma released a laugh.

"You're never going to get through those. Not without Becoming.." the blonde ran a hand up not-Regina's arm and shoulder, stopping only when her fingers came to rest on an exposed collarbone. "But we can help with that.." They turned together, approaching the cage with a predatory gleam in their eyes, prompting Regina to step back and avoid any touch they offered.

"I am not going to become anything like you. And this…" Regina struggled as the image of her and Emma doing such things interrupted any attempt at clear thought. Clearing her throat and giving her head a shake, Regina fisted her hands and glared as mightily as she was able. "This is an impossibility, and I demand you return me and my son."

Not-Regina scoffed, leaning close to the bars and growling, "He's not your son, he's mine." Regina slammed close to the bars with a shout, "No!" But the taunt had succeeded in doing what not-Regina wished, bring the true Regina close enough to grip by the throat. Her grasp was firm, not-Regina dragged her prisoner's face close and stole a demanding kiss that left the true Regina breathless once released.

Not-Regina sighed with pure satisfaction as she released the true one, who stood shell-shocked and wide-eyed, prompting a laugh from not-Emma, who up until this point watched the exchange with hungry eyes. "Ah…" not-Regina chuckled, wiping a smudge of lipstick from Regina's lower lip, "Your Emma has no idea what she's missing." Not-Emma leaned in to the frozen Regina, but the moment her fingertips reached for the woman's face she came alive again, jerking violently away from the blonde's touch.

"Don't!" Regina cried, backing away from the bars and refusing to allow herself to be fooled again. "Don't touch me!" Not-Emma laughed, pressing to the bars with a whisper, "We're far from done with you, Regina."

A wave of not-Regina's hand disappeared the two of them in an instant, leaving Regina alone to crumble down in the corner of the stone cage, helpless and lost in a place that so clearly wasn't hers to command, no matter that she shared a face with its apparent ruler.

With the doubles having vanished, Regina noticed for the first time the two guards that stood just at the edges of the circles of light that the torches mounted on either side of the wall outside her cage provided.

"Hey! Hey, you two!" Regina called out to the men, trying to catch their attention. She loved nothing more than a stupid guard. Her chance at hope and escape was distinguished when one guard turned, revealing no face. He was nothing more than an enchanted suit of armor, and from where she stood Regina's magic was useless.

Giving in for the moment, Regina moved to the back of her cage, settling into a corner that allowed her full range of vision should the doubles return. She would get back to her vault somehow. She would rescue Henry, and she would return to Emma. Regina ran her fingers through her hair, resting her head in her palms as she tried to work out just what these women were, and how on Earth she was going to find a way to stop them.


Emma massaged Regina's palm with her thumbs continuously, as the motion seemed to comfort the woman to some small degree. The touch, though innocent, brought to mind the Regina that had come to Emma in the hospital, her strange expression and the way her lips formed to the blonde's just… Emma blinked quickly, scolding herself for thinking of Regina in any way but a protective one, a friendly one, most especially when it appeared that the woman had been traumatized by her experience.

Regina noticed, however, when Emma's face contorted, she saw the struggle shining in the blonde's eyes, and a large part of her wanted to allow a grin to pull itself steadily across her face. But not yet. Her thoughts went to the prisoner she had left behind, and the blonde who still needed to replace the one before her, to come out of her in a way that only she could make happen.

Not-Regina savored the touch of Emma's hands on hers, though she knew at this point the true Regina was influencing this innocent enjoyment. Trapped in a construct her own mind had created in a reality that slipped between the cracks of this realm and another while still remaining connected, the Regina that Emma thought she was couldn't have been farther away if she were on the moon.

Tilting her head to rest on Emma's shoulder, the fake Regina in the form of the true one asked the blonde in a low voice, "Will you just bring me home, please?" Emma was slightly taken aback by the willing expression of need, of weakness, but she complied with a nod and a, "Sure."

As Emma pulled into the driveway of the manor in her yellow bug, Regina slipped a hand on her knee, adopting a pleading expression. "Would you help me inside?" Emma, stunned by the newest willing show of weakness, was thrown for a loop and very nearly said yes before taking Regina's hand and moving it with a slow shake of her head. "I'll watch and make sure you get inside, but I should go continue with trying to find out what's going on. But I'll come check on you later, if you want. Okay?"

Regina's expression stayed even, but Emma could almost see the turmoil and displeasure bubbling just under the surface. The woman nodded, her hand giving Emma's a squeeze and lingering for a second before she slid from the car and walked up the path to her front door, hips moving in a manner just deliberate enough for Emma to take notice.

Emma stayed true to her word and made sure she entered before driving away, then pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed a friend's number, speeding just slightly more than she probably should have as she made her way to Gold's shop.

"Hey, Belle. I need your help."


"I'm sorry, I don't understand. You said Regina's missing, but you just brought her home?" Belle fixed Emma with a quizzical look as she rifled through the books on a shelf that had just a moment before been securely locked due to the information the tomes held.

"No", Emma tried explaining again, "I did just bring her home, but she went missing in the vault. I mean, just for a minute, but she came back all.. different." Emma's brows drew together as she willed Belle to understand, but the French girl seemed to be having trouble.

"But she came back, so what's the problem?" Emma groaned in frustration, her hand slapping on the counter as she was unable to adequately explain.

"She's just.. I don't know, something isn't right. Henry is missing, and she just wanted to go home. Does that sound normal?" Belle perked up as the information that Henry was gone was first revealed, but she was interrupted as Gold's voice filtered from the back room, the tap of his cane announcing his entrance.

"Henry is missing?" Gold was many things, but if he chose to protect something, then he was a force to be reckoned with. Emma pounced on the chance to get the slippery man on her side.

"Yes!", she started, "Henry went missing not long ago, he wasn't in his bed and I got a call that.." Emma cursed inwardly, she hadn't wanted to give up everything she knew so quickly. But it was far too late to stop now. "I got a call from someone saying.. She sounded like me, and she said she had Henry and that he was safe. But I don't buy it. This is impossible! Regina received a call from someone saying she was her as well, and now she's acting strange.. I need your help."

Bella appeared more than ready to jump on the rescue train, but Gold hovered in the doorway between the back room and the shop proper. "Are you sure this isn't some elaborate prank? I mean, the boy is the son of the Evil Queen and the Savior, not to mention the fact that my own son was rather a prankster."

"Former Evil Queen", Emma corrected instantly before waving a hand. "And no, this is definitely not a prank, and if you're just going to suggest that instead of helping, you can go." Gold took a step forward.

"Careful, dearie. This is still my shop, and you'll use your manners here." Emma's face twisted before settling into sullen acceptance.

"Sorry. Please, help me. I don't know what to do next, and I'm afraid if something really is up with Regina, then asking her up front would just make it clear that I know something is wrong. That could jeopardize Henry's safety, and I won't do that."

"We're happy to help, Emma", Belle reassured, placing her hand over the blonde's and giving it a squeeze before shooting a pointed look at Gold. The man shrugged his shoulders.

"Very well then, where should we start?"