Emma gulped under Maleficent's scrutiny. Piercing blue eyes sized her up and for a moment, Emma wondered if Regina learned that penetrating, judging stare from the other blonde. Maleficent had taught her how to project her voice. Why couldn't it have been possible that Regina adopted that very specific and unique to the two of them "look" from Maleficent?

"She certainly knows how to pick her women," Maleficent said, a little bitter by the sound of her voice.

"Seriously? What the hell?"

Emma closed her eyes and tipped her head back to rinse out the conditioner that still stung her eyes and impaired her vision. She exposed her chest to push her hair out of her face and then rubbed her hand over her eyes to clear the water and any excess conditioner she missed. She opened her eyes and covered her chest again, but as she moved her arm back into place she soon noticed Maleficent was much closer to the shower door than she was a minute ago.

The new proximity startled Emma again, but she didn't yell or curse that time.

"Can I help you with something," Emma asked after a moment.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and with a flick of her wrist, the shower stopped and the room filled with awkward silence.

"Regina told me you could."

"Regina? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Emma stepped toward the shower door and pushed the door open in an instant with wide eyes full of hope, worry, and desperation to know absolutely everything.

Maleficent smirked. It was knowing and amused and her eyes glittered with the latter emotion.

"She's been worse," Maleficent answered and as she did, her amusement lessened. "She'll survive."

"If you hurt her—"

"I healed her," the other woman immediately corrected her.

"Healed? Like magically? What happened to her?"

"Nothing she can't handle."

"But something happened to her," Emma stated instead of asked that time, confident that she had understood Maleficent perfectly.

"Yes."

Emma's hands fell away from her body, modesty completely forgotten, and stepped out of the shower, still dripping but free of conditioner.

Maleficent turned and grabbed the towel that hung on the rack to her right. She kindly and wordlessly handed it to Emma. Though Emma didn't have the mental capacity to think about anything other than Regina, only Regina, she would have been thankful Maleficent didn't take the opportunity to check her out again while she left herself open to easy ogling. She didn't have the ability to appreciate the other blonde's restraint, but she truly would have been if her mind and wildly beating heart weren't solely focused on Regina.

Emma wrapped the towel around herself, finally covered again, and stared and stared and stared at Maleficent as if doing so would have either changed whatever happened to Regina or bring her to Regina.

"Where is she," Emma asked again.

"It won't matter soon. She's working on getting herself out of there. She'll be back before you know it. Now was she right? Can you help me?"

"What do you need?"

"I need to find my daughter."

Emma nodded and asked, "What do you know about her?"

"She was banished to this world thirty years ago and she ended up in a place called Minnesota. The people who adopted her named her Lilith. That's all the information I have."

Emma gripped the towel with an iron fist and turned her knuckles white with the force she used to hold it.

"Is it possible," Maleficent asked. "Is that enough for you to find her?"

Emma stood there silent and stunned for a moment. All she could do was tightly clutch her towel and blink.

"Ye-Yeah. Yeah, I can do that."

Maleficent smiled, genuinely smiled, and looked relieved and hopeful. Emma swore she saw tears form in the other woman's eyes.

Emma took in Maleficent's expression for a moment and those blue eyes—so open and readable in that moment—pulled her out of her freak out.

"And Regina. You're sure she's okay?"

Maleficent lightly laughed and nodded.

"I'd tell you to take care of her, but I can see I don't need to remind you."

Emma looked at her with confusion, but Maleficent said nothing more on the subject. The other blonde didn't even wait a full minute before she poofed out of the bathroom and left Emma to her thoughts, which quickly returned to who she thought Maleficent's daughter was.

She scrambled to dress herself in her borrowed clothes, but made the decision to also borrow a pair of underwear after all. She figured Regina would have hated it more if she went commando in the brunette's jeans. She picked a pair of red lace cheekies, even though a cotton bikini cut would have been more comfortable, and had to stifle a moan at the appealing and even more arousing feel of the material. It was surprisingly as comfortable as cotton in Emma's opinion and it also served to rub her in all the right places at the very worst time. She had to track down Maleficent's daughter, who could have very possibly been someone she knew years ago. Then a thought occurred to her. If the Author was the one her parents made that horrible deal with, maybe he would have known what became of Lilith. She also needed to get to him in the hopes that Gold didn't find him first. If Gold had the Author in his back pocket, there was no telling what he could or would do.

Unfortunately, sending out a search party the Author hadn't worked the first time so she'd have to go to her parents and berate them until they gave her more answers about him.

That proved to be very difficult, however. When she arrived at the apartment, her parents were relieved to see her again. It was all they wanted to focus on. That and Emma's outfit.

"What are you wearing," Snow asked as Emma walked further inside. "Are those- Are those Regina's clothes?"

Emma sighed, her hair still damp and curled from her shoulders down while she let it air dry.

"You stayed at her place again, didn't you," David asked without judgement. It was actually just a question and he didn't seem to care one way or another if she had slept there. He only seemed to want to know where his daughter had been.

"Yeah, I stayed there again," she answered.

"Emma—" Snow tried to say, but Emma wouldn't let her talk.

"No. No more questions from you. It's my turn to get some answers. You have to know some other way to find the Author. Think."

"We've told you everything we know," David told her.

"Are you sure about that, because secrets keep coming out."

"Okay, you're clearly still upset," Snow said.

"Yes, I'm still upset. You were the ones who taught me there is always a right way, a heroic way, and after what you did to Maleficent's child!"

"It was our only option to make sure you grew up good," David argued with a near pleading tone.

"I'm sorry, but if it were me I would not harm a defenseless person," she yelled.

"And that right there, that goodness," Snow smiled, "is exactly why we did what we did. It was worth it."

The door opened and gave Emma a reprieve, but she didn't realize how much of one until she turned and saw Regina walk past Hook and into the apartment. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not Hook or her parents. Maleficent was right. And Regina was back. She was right there.

"Regina, where have you been," Emma immediately asked, concerned even as she let out a sigh of relief to have Regina back.

"I'm in the middle of a very bad day. I'll tell you the whole story later, after I rescue Robin Hood."

"Robin Hood? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Turns out Rumple has Robin's number. I called and Marian answered. Except it wasn't really Marian at all. I don't know how it's possible, but my sister has been masquerading as her this entire time. And she's in league with Gold."

"Well, we should...do something, right? We need to figure out how we're gonna keep him safe."

While Emma was more than willing to help Regina go after what she thought would make her happy, it also bothered her that Regina seemed so focused on Robin. To Emma, it seemed like a waste of time, but it was what Regina wanted and she would go to the ends of the Earth to give that woman what she wanted. She wasn't sure why or when she'd first felt that way about the brunette, but she knew it was a lasting feeling. No matter how displeased with Robin Hood she was for hurting Regina with all their back and forth, it was about Regina and the thing she wanted most.

Regina looked a little stunned at what Emma said, but continued with what she had to say anyway.

"I already have a plan. I'm going to New York. I need to make sure he and Roland are as far away from Zelena as possible."

"And what about Gold," Hook asked. "If they're working together he's not going to just let you walk off and spoil his plans."

"I think I have a solution to that problem," Regina replied.

"Okay. Great. What's the plan," Emma asked.

"Leverage," Regina answered.

"What are you thinking?"

"I need it and there's still one thing in this world that will make Rumple back off if it's in the wrong hands."

"What can I do?"

"You can help Maleficent. She came to you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but—"

"No," Regina insisted. "She's done a lot for me and I owe her. You worry about what she needs. Don't worry about what I'm doing."

Regina furrowed her brow and looked Emma over from head to toe a few times.

"Is that my shirt," Regina asked.

"Uh, yeah," Emma reluctantly answered.

"And my jeans?"

"Yep."

"You really did walk into my home like you lived there. How did you even get in," Regina asked.

"I, um, broke in?"

Regina look unimpressed and unamused.

"Emma," Snow chided.

Emma bristled and grinded her jaw.

"What," she snapped at her mother. "I couldn't stay here. Where else was I supposed to go?"

Emma turned back to Regina and calmed down. She took a few steadying breaths before she spoke again.

"I'm really good at getting in," she explained. "The door and windows aren't busted. I just picked the lock. No harm done. Oh, uh…except for the thing in the living room."

Regina's eyebrows shot toward her hairline.

"What happened in the living room," Regina slowly asked, impatient and curious and nervous to know the answer all at once.

"I was practicing with fire and…well, I kind of burned a hole in your ceiling."

"A hole?"

"Just a small one. It's really just a scorch mark. Nothing you can't repaint."

Regina blew out a sigh and closed her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head before she opened her eyes and let go.

"So you made fire," Regina decided to ask, meltdown apparently averted. "All by yourself?"

"I made a fireball," Emma told her.

"And you shot it at my ceiling."

"Yeah, but it wasn't supposed to go that far. I was gonna catch it. Like a baseball."

"Baby steps," Regina instructed.

"Wait, you're not…upset," Emma asked.

"Why would I be upset? You took the time, practiced your magic and were successful. I'm proud."

"Really?" Emma lit up. Her face glowed and her smile spread almost from ear to ear.

"Yes, but now I need to get my leverage." Regina turned and started to leave again, but looked over her shoulder when she reached the door. "Oh, and you'll be the one repainting the ceiling."


The bell above the door jingled as she entered the pawn shop and to her surprise, it smelled better than usual. Before, it was stuffy and stale inside. The only scent came from the artifacts kept in the front room of the shop and all of them reeked of the Enchanted Forest. They came from all over the kingdom Regina had cursed and therefore they all carried different aromas from different environments.

That day, Regina was pleasantly surprised to find the air smelled fresher than it had in years. There was a candle burning on one of the shelves behind the counter and there was a slight draft Regina pinpointed from the back room, which was where Belle entered from with a furrowed brow and frown that quickly turned into a partial smile.

"Regina? What brings you here," the other woman asked.

"Your husband has done quite a number on me, Belle."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Belle's smile disappeared in place of a confused look and Regina sighed as she leaned forward on the edge of the counter.

"And now he wants me to work with him," Regina continued.

"Well, I'm sure that would be a mistake."

"I know it is."

Belle seemed to contemplate her options and then asked, "What can I do to help?"

Regina was surprised but pleased.

"I'm glad you asked. The thing is, this isn't a small favor I need from you."

Regina's grin vanished and she instantly became serious. It was, after all, a serious subject.

"What is it?"

"Well...I need your heart."

Belle took a step back even though the countertop stood between them. Regina didn't blame her.

"Rumple...he's threatening to kill Robin Hood if I don't deliver Emma to him on a silver platter."

"What does he want with Emma?"

"He intends to turn her dark so he can get the Author to write the villains their happy endings."

Belle sadly frowned and stared down at the glass counter for a moment as she seemed to consider her options.

"What will you do with my heart if I let you have it?"

"Hold it over Rumple. I won't kill you, but I can't guarantee I won't hurt you. If he doesn't believe I'd actually crush it then using you as leverage will be pointless."

"And...if I don't give it to you?"

"Then I might not be able to leave town and get Robin away from the person who's there to kill him should I fail Rumple."'

Belle's blue eyes were big and soft and Regina saw that she really wanted to help, but she wasn't certain she wanted to hand over her heart to do it.

"I know this is difficult," Regina leveled with her. "And I wish I didn't have to ask. But I have nothing else. There isn't a thing left in this world that he'd relinquish control for, except you. I realize that you've forgiven me for all that I've done to you in the past, but I also understand that it's still hard for you to trust me because of that past."

Belle nodded and gulped. She took a deep breath and then said, "Do it."

Regina blinked several times, taken back by the woman's compliance.

"Really? You'd...let me have control over your heart?"

"If that's what it takes to make Rumple less of a threat."

Regina hesitated before she nodded her understanding that much had happened between Belle and Rumple. She wasn't sure how many times Rumple had let Belle down, but the woman that stood before her was stronger than ever and appeared to have changed a great amount since they last spoke. She was still smart and tough, but there was something else about her, too. Something Regina recognized from the mirror. A loss. It was almost undetectable to most, but she knew all too well that Belle had lost hope in someone she loved and had loved for a long time.

Belle walked around the counter and came to stand face to face with her while Regina slowly raised her right hand. She flexed her fingers as if she hadn't taken a heart in a while and was out of practice, which she sort of was a little rusty. She'd taken hearts in Neverland, held her own in her hands and entrusted it to the man she was trying to save from Rumple and Zelena, but she hadn't taken a heart since she went to another realm to save Henry. She hadn't squeezed a heart since then either. It wasn't a feeling she would forget. It was like riding a bike. She just had to make sure not to squeeze too hard.

She pressed her fingertips to Belle's chest over her shirt and kept it there for a moment. Belle's eyes found hers and the brown haired woman gasped as she waited and waited for Regina to make a move, to plunge her hand in her chest and yank her heart from her body.

Regina stared at Belle a moment longer, the eye contact a little too intense for her own comfort, and knew that Belle was trusting her. She was going to be responsible for the woman's heart. She'd have to keep it safe while also using it as weapon against the woman's most likely soon to be ex-husband. Stakes and emotions were high and Regina guessed a little discomfort was manageable in the long run. Besides, it wasn't like she wasn't already protecting someone else's heart as well.

"Are you sure you want me to do this," Regina asked to confirm just one more time before she went any further.

She applied a little more pressure to Belle's chest, her fingers ready to push past the other woman's shirt and dip into her skin.

Belle gasped again from what Regina could only assume was the added weight that at that point would have sent a tingle down her spine. She knew because she'd taken her own heart out of her chest more than any one should ever even consider.

Belle nodded again and Regina took a steadying breath before she pushed a little more and curled her fingers. Her hand disappeared in Belle's chest as she gently eased it in and within seconds, her fingers were coiled around a warm and fast-beating heart.

"There won't be pain, but it won't be the greatest feeling in the world," Regina warned her.

"Okay," Belle softly replied and accepted the next course of action to come.

Regina carefully tugged on her heart and separated it from Belle's blood flow.

Belle's eyes widened a little and she lurched toward Regina as she removed the woman's heart.

Regina wrapped an arm around Belle's back and caught her, held the other woman against her for a moment while she dealt with the new loss and its resulting effects.

"Whoa," Belle breathed out against Regina's shoulder.

"Are you okay," Regina asked as she pulled the heart away from between them.

"Mhmm," Belle said and slowly started to move away from her.

Belle's eyes immediately fell to the bright red heart she held at shoulder-length. Her shock was apparent.

"So...you can control what I do now?"

"And what you say. But you'll have free will whenever you're not around Rumple. I promise I won't abuse the power you've given me."

"Oh-okay. What...what are you going to do with it when you leave town?"

"It'll stay on this side of the town line, but I'll keep it safe and away from Rumple. When I get back, I'll put it back where it belongs. One last chance to back out, dear." Regina placed the heart in Belle's hands before she continued. "Tell me now, do you still want to do this? The choice is completely yours to make."

Belle sucked in a deep breath and nodded again.

"Yes. I trust you, Regina. I want to do this. I want to help."

Belle held out her heart to Regina and she took it and gently placed it in a velvet-lined box with a smile.

"Thank you," Regina said.

Belle smiled back and a minute later, the other woman was with her in the Benz along with Belle's heart tucked away in the box on her lap.


Belle called to him through the well in the woods where he brought back magic to Storybrooke and married her. Regina held the woman's heart in her hand and commanded Belle to say everything she spoke into the well to get Rumple's attention. After she'd needed Belle to repeat her request to meet Rumple there a few times, Regina wondered if the man would actually hear her reach out to him. Thankfully, she wasn't disappointed.

A minute later, red smoke swirled and then cleared to reveal Rumple who looked both relieved and concerned. There was a lot of that going around with all the villains on the loose in town. Regina held Belle's heart closer to her mouth and answered all of his questions as she watched from behind a nearby tree, close enough to hear Rumple but just far enough away to remain out of sight as long as she desired.

"Hello, Belle."

"Hello."

"This is a curious place to meet."

"Do you…do you remember what you told me here the night of our vows? How I…chased the darkness out of you?"

"Belle, I'm sorry for everything," he quickly tried to apologize.

Belle stepped forward and shook her head.

"No. No apologies today. For once in my life, I want the truth. Why are you here, Rumple? Are you trying to win me back or—"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," he grimly answered.

He lifted a hand to his chest and hesitated a moment before he shoved it inside and removed his own heart.

"Rumple," Belle breathed out and furrowed her brow at what she saw.

His heart was completely dark with only a small red glow in the middle as he held it up to her.

"It seems that centuries of dark deeds…do take a toll. And all that's left of it…is this. And pretty soon, I'll be gone, too."

"Will…will you die?"

Belle's facial reactions, while accurate from the other woman, came more directly from Regina as she spoke into the younger woman's heart. Belle, if she hadn't been forced to ask the questions Regina put in her mouth, still probably would have looked the same and asked all the same questions.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. I will lose any ability to love," he explained. "And that goodness you once saw inside me…will be gone forever. There's only one man that can reverse this process and that's the Author. That's why I'm here in Storybrooke."

Heart thoroughly bare in front of Belle without the physical reminder that he still held it in front of her, he jammed it back into his chest.

"I don't expect you to understand, of course," he said and stared down at the ground.

"But I…I do understand."

"You do?"

"Sometimes I worry…I worry I threw out the chipped tea cup too soon."

Regina watched Rumple cry and fall into the arms of his beloved. She watched them kiss and felt a little guilty that she put Belle in such a position. From the woman's determination to help Regina and hinder Rumple, she was sure Belle would have preferred not to kiss the man given his recent behavior that made her come to the decision everyone—herself included—was better off with him being anywhere but in town.

When they pulled apart, she at least did Belle a favor by pushing the man away with her cruel words.

"You know what the problem is, though," Regina had Belle ask him.

He shook his head.

Regina devilishly smirked, thoroughly pleased to see him so weak and desperate for Belle's affection even after all he'd done to make her leave him.

"Will is just such a better kisser than you."

Rumple looked absolutely hurt and stood silently in shock as he looked her over.

"Wh-what?"

"You're pathetic. Watching you come groveling back to me is like a dog begging for scraps."

"Why are you saying this," he quietly asked, and his expression told Regina that the conversation was more painful for Rumple than stabbing him through and through with a sword. "This isn't like you, Belle."

"But it is so like me," Regina purred as she stepped out from behind the tree with Belle's heart level with her own chest.

"Regina," Rumple breathed out with surprise and barely contained anger.

Regina grinned at him and ran a thumb affectionately over Belle's heart. The other woman smiled at Regina and stepped a little closer to her. Regina ran her fingers through Belle's hair and her grin spread as she spun a loose curl around her index finger.

"You've been very helpful, Belle. Thank you," Regina said to her and then raised the woman's heart to her mouth and spoke into it. "Now run along home."

Belle looked between Regina and Rumple and a few seconds later, she left the two of them alone in the woods.

Regina watched her leave and lowered the woman's heart until she held it level to her hip before she looked at Rumple again.

"You have no idea how much I'm going to make you suffer for this," he growled as he turned to look at her.

"No, you're not going to do a thing. Unless you want to see what happens when I take this heart and squeeze."

"Come on. We both know you don't have it in you."

"Don't I," Regina rhetorically asked before she started to squeeze Belle's heart, just slightly at first.

"Alright, alright," he complied. "I believe you."

"Good," Regina said. "I'm heading to New York now. And if you breathe one word of this to Zelena, you won't be the only one who losses a heart."

Regina looked at him for a moment until she was sure he understood. When she thought he did, she finally left to get ready for her trip out of town.


Emma parked in Regina's driveway and blocked the Benz. She'd just gotten Regina back and as soon as the brunette had freed herself from wherever she was, the other woman was set on leaving Storybrooke. She hadn't even seemed to think about herself or what it meant for anyone else if she left. She just wanted to save Robin. Fine. Whatever. Emma would let her. But she wasn't going to let Regina go off alone without putting up a fight.

"You sure going to New York is a good idea," Emma loudly asked as she quickly approached Regina. "You don't know what Zelena has planned. What if you're walking into a trap?"

"Robin's in trouble. I have no choice," Regina explained.

"You don't have to go alone."

"Don't worry about me. You have your hands full with Maleficent's request. And the Author. I can handle one wicked sister."

"Things are different in New York. Without your magic, you—" Emma wasn't sure how to make Regina understand. She really wanted to be clear, but the words wouldn't come out. There was only so much she could say and do and she knew if Regina left without her that she'd failed.

"Listen," Emma decided to say instead and grabbed her gun from under her arm. "If you won't let me come with you then take this."

She handed over the heavy weapon and watched Regina eye it curiously and with a furrowed brow for a moment before the brunette reluctantly took it.

"I hope you don't have to use it, but…I want you to stay safe."

Regina smiled down at the gun and then directed that smile at her.

"Thank you," Regina said and carefully put the gun into her purse. "So you're not…mad at me for keeping your parents' secret?"

Emma shrugged and avoided eye contact.

"It's between me and them. You were just trying to help."

Before either one of them could say anything else, Regina's phone beeped with a notification. Emma's beeped soon after.

"It's Henry," Regina told her. "It's a video message."

"It must be a thing now. I have one from him, too," Emma replied.

What they saw when they opened the message was nothing short of a nightmare.

Cruella smirked at them like she was the devil herself and informed both mothers that if they wanted to see their son alive again they would bring the Author to her. She wanted her happy ending and he was the only one that could grant it. Henry would be collateral damage if the Author wasn't delivered, but neither woman knew where to find him and Henry was in trouble. Again.

They lowered their phones and shared an enraged glare. Regina's looked more subtle than Emma's felt and maybe Regina was better at keeping it together than she was, but Emma was pissed. There was too much going on and Henry was the last person that should have been stuck in the middle of the shit fest Gold had brought with him when he came back to town.

As soon as she found Cruella, she'd kill her.


After a helpful but not exactly pleasant conversation with Emma's parents, she and Emma—and Hook—found out where Cruella was holding Henry captive. Emma had sent a picture she took from the video to Ruby who Regina had told her did laps around town at least once a week. Snow confirmed that on weekends she took the trails near the park and could probably help and once Ruby got the picture message, she sent a reply with the information on the trail marker she recognized in the background.

The Charmings suggested using a locator spell on the flask they'd given the Author when they'd only known him as the peddler, because apparently he dropped it on his way out of the convent the other day, and Emma had made sure to send them as far away from her to do whatever they could to help. Regina had noticed her reluctance to be in the same room as them and any time they spoke up, even if what they said wasn't even directed at their daughter, Emma immediately tensed and her glare hardened.

The only reason she walked through the woods with the handless wonder and Emma was because the blonde had volunteered them for the small group search party. Regina was in no place to argue with the younger woman. Their son needed them and there was no way she wasn't going to be one of the people out looking for him. The only thing she didn't approve of was Hook's presence. She tolerated it and didn't dare push Emma's buttons. If Emma wanted Hook there with them then Regina had to keep her mouth shut about how she truly felt about the pirate who'd nearly let her die at the hands of Greg Mendell.

And apparently Emma trusted him. The blonde told her parents that with Henry's life on the line she needed to be around people she could trust. It seemed Hook, and her as well, were the only people she trusted after recent events. Regina was happy to be trusted, although she didn't appreciate being lumped together with Hook. But she bit her tongue and walked through the woods while it drizzled, a yellow umbrella in her hand as Emma and Hook walked in front of her.

"You're acting like a petulant child," she finally decided to say after she watched Emma kick and roll a log as they approached it. "Your parents did a bad thing. They apologized. Get over it."

"Forgive me if I don't take advice from the woman who held a grudge for half her life because a ten year old spilled her secret," Emma snapped back in response, her hair stringy from the light rain she hadn't bothered to protect herself against when she left the apartment.

"Swan. If you won't listen to Regina then perhaps you'll listen to me," Hook started to say. "You were able to forgive both of us, all because you found it in your heart to see past it."

"That's the difference," Emma grumbled. "It's that you never held yourself as the…paragon of virtue. Neither of you did! You were honest about who you were. My parents weren't. They…said they were heroes."

Hook sighed and roughly grabbed Emma's arm. He stopped her and forced her to turn and face him. Regina stopped close behind them and shot Hook a displeased look at how he chose to manhandle Emma.

"Even heroes make mistakes, love," Hook said, and Regina softened because she had to agree with him.

"You know, Emma, a long time ago…your mother gave me some advice," Regina confessed. "She said I needed to believe I could still earn forgiveness, that I'd get a chance at grace. I didn't realize it then, but…she was talking about herself."

Regina watched carefully for Emma's reaction and tried to give her a reassuring smile in case that was all she needed to change her mind about her parents.

"Emma…she's been trying to make up for what she did for a long time," she added.

"You two understand them so much, you can forgive them," Emma snipped. "I…can't. There are more important things to worry about right now. Like…saving Henry."

Emma moved forward, sadder than she was upset. At least she wasn't as angry when she walked off. That was something, right?

Hook shot her a look over his shoulder and maybe they had something in common. It didn't change how she felt about him, but when it came to Emma they thankfully seemed to be on the same page.

They'd only just started to follow after Emma when suddenly they heard a dog bark again and again. Emma stopped and Regina and Hook shortly caught up to her. Unfortunately, it didn't last long before they heard a shout for help.

"Henry," Regina quietly said, her eyes wide and worried.

In an instant, she, Emma, and Hook took off at full speed in an attempt to catch Henry before anything awful could happen to him.

"Henry!"

They all took turns calling out to him and looked all around the woods in case he ran past them.

"Quick, it's coming from over there," Emma said.

"No, it's this way," Hook breathlessly pointed to Emma's left.

"Has canon fire has damaged your hearing," Regina asked. "It's clearly coming from over there."

"Help! Someone help me. Please," Henry cried.

Regina saw the panic hit Emma before the younger woman waveringly, emotionally, commanded, "Split up."

The three of them broke apart and Regina immediately dropped her umbrella on her way toward where she thought she heard Henry's cries. She looked around frantically for her son and didn't call out for him again until she heard him one more time. She didn't have to wait long.

"Somebody!"

"Henry?"

His voice sounded a little hollow and distorted, but it also seemed close. She inhaled deeply and suddenly and turned just in time to see where Henry's voice came from when he yelled out again.

"Help me! Please!"

She moved to her left, her hand on the bark of a tree, and glared at the large seashell that projected her son's voice.

"Rumple," she growled.

"Can I help you, dearie," his smug voice said to her right.

Regina snapped her head to the side and saw him walk out from between two trees. He grinned at her as he came toward her and she was confident he had found another way to hurt her even though she controlled Belle's heart.

"I'm sure that's exactly what I could do," Rumple continued. "But I won't."

She glared at him and asked, "Where's Henry?"

"Not. Telling," he answered and held his grin firmly in place.

His arrogance sent chills down her spine. For a man who'd been crying in front of the woman he loved only seconds before he found out her heart was in someone else's possession—literally and figuratively—he was too cocky to not be up to something.

Regina looked around a few more times, left and right and leaned one way or the other in an attempt to spot her son in case he was hidden behind a bush or tree.

"Henry," she loudly called out to him again.

Rumple chuckled and shook his head.

"It's no use, Regina. He can't hear you."

Regina paled at the implication.

"Oh, not because he's dead," Rumple carelessly waved a hand to dismiss any of Regina's fears. "It was never my intention for him to die, but we'll just have to see how this all plays out now, won't we?"

"What are you talking about," she asked while she clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides, worried and angry and filled with desperate hope for Henry to be safe.

"You see," he started to explain and stepped closer to her, "I have a controlled subject in place. I know what they're going to do. But there are a few other variables factored into this...experiment of mine that I just can't predict."

"What variables?"

"For starters? The Savior."

Regina gulped, afraid and still a little confused by what Rumple was trying to pull.

"You realize that even though you led me to believe you'd chosen her over your soulmate, the second you took Belle's heart you made it clear that your first choice was only a distraction. Instead, you chose Robin Hood. And now, I'm here to collect what's mine."

"How do you plan on doing that," Regina asked and hated how her voice broke by the end of the question.

Rumple laughed.

"That's the best part. I don't have a plan. Well, I've set things into motion, but I'm not sure how things will turn out. All I know is that Emma's upset and convinced that Henry's in danger."

"He is."

"Oh, but he's not," Rumple flashed her a slimy grin.

You little imp, Regina internally growled. What the hell do you have up your sleeve?

"Cruella can't hurt anyone. Even if she had free will," he elaborated.

Regina's eyebrows jumped toward her hairline as she watched Rumple reveal a very dark heart he'd been carrying in his inside jacket pocket.

"After we last spoke, I was inspired," he said while he turned the heart around and stared at it thoughtfully. "You inspired me, because you reminded me there's a much faster, easier way to getting what I want. Manipulating people is tiring. Taking their hearts and forcing them to do everything you need them to do is painless. Well, maybe not for them."

Regina shook her head, stunned and overwhelmingly concerned for Emma.

"But I only need Cruella's heart to keep Henry hostage," Rumple added. "Someone had to do it and I wasn't about to risk my own life. However, Cruella can't kill your boy any more than you could. She and the Author have a history and some time ago, when the Author realized she was a threat to him, and a lot of other people, he made sure she couldn't even hurt someone out of self-defense."

"Henry's safe," Regina concluded.

"So long as no one else gets in the way, including the Savior and her erratic magic."

"No," Regina breathily exhaled and stared wide-eyed down at the ground for a moment as it all sank in. "No, no, no."

She shook her head and furrowed her brow a second before she looked back up at Rumple. His eyes glimmered with monstrous intent to match the pure evil behind his wide grin.

"I warned you not to test me," he said and then disappeared in a plume of dark red smoke.

She heard a yelp and a shout and whipped around to where she last saw the blonde before they'd split up.

"Emma!"

She sprinted back toward the direction she'd come from and hoped to reach Emma before the younger woman did anything to compromise herself and that good natured heart of hers. Cruella was innocent and defenseless and only did what Rumple told her to do. The imp had confessed that the other woman was harmless thanks to the Author and Emma had no idea. The only thing on Emma's mind would be Henry and the perceived threat Cruella appeared to be.

She huffed and puffed, out of shape and wearing the wrong shoes to run full force through the tall grass and the clumps of partially wet dirt beneath her feet. She struggled, but she rushed. She had to get there in time. There was no other option. If she was too late everything would fall apart.

"Emma," Regina yelled out, still unable to see the blonde as she turned and ran in the direction she last saw the other woman go. "Emma!"

She stopped for a moment when she heard a shout and then a few more that followed the first. She whipped her head to where she thought she heard it come from and took a deep breath before she held it and started to hurry toward the loud voices. She waited to exhale when she took her third stride toward the suspected direction Emma, Cruella, and Henry were, too terrified that she wouldn't be able to stop Emma even if she got there soon enough to reason with her.

She'd seen the look in her eyes as soon as they'd both finished listening to the message Cruella left them. She knew Rumple was voraciously determined to turn Emma dark at any and all costs and she feared the worst when those two things were combined as they had been in that moment.

She ran toward a cliff and saw her son gripped tightly in Cruella's hold as she held a gun to Henry's head and occasionally pointed it at Emma. Regina opened her mouth to call out to Emma again when she saw the blonde take a defensive stance she recognized from their magic lessons, but before she could get a single syllable out Emma was knocked to the ground by a long, large tentacle to her right.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down, Savior," Ursula barked at her as Emma rolled onto her back.

Ursula cut a look to Cruella, but Regina wasn't sure what that look conveyed from where she ran up behind the tentacle-wielder.

"What the hell are you doing," Ursula yelled at Cruella.

That answered any questions Regina had about who's side Ursula was on.

"Getting what I want," Cruella sneered and held Henry tighter.

"Mom," Henry shouted.

Emma pushed herself back onto her feet and tried to use her magic again when Cruella stepped closer to the edge of the cliff with Henry. Ursula took a step toward Cruella and then the gun was pointed at her.

"Back off," Cruella snapped. "Or he goes over."

Ursula stopped where she stood and held out an open palm to Cruella.

"You need to decide what's more important," Ursula tried to reason with the other woman. "Using the boy as bait or being with me."

"Why would I ever pick you? You can't quench the kind of thirst I have. You can't give me what I want most in life. This is what I want."

"You want to die," Emma asked and before Ursula could scold her or push her down again, magic shot out of her hands toward the woman.

"No," Regina and Ursula simultaneously exclaimed.

Regina bolted toward Emma even after the magic was released and Ursula threw two tentacles out to block the magic's path to Cruella.

Ursula cried out as Emma's magic hit and singed parts of her tentacles, but both Henry and Cruella remained untouched by the electric burst. Ursula's tentacles retreated while the woman grimaced and touched a hand to one of her hips.

Regina ran out in front of Emma and held up her hands, careful not to touch her while she was worked up, and pleadingly looked at the blonde.

"Regina, move! She has Henry," Emma said as she tried to maneuver around her.

"It's not her," Regina quickly countered.

"What do you mean it's not her? She's right there, with Henry. I can see her!"

"But she doesn't have any control over what she's doing," she tried to explain. "It's Gold. All of this is Gold's doing. The kidnapping, the message, these threats."

"I don't care," Emma growled and glared at her. "She's got Henry and I am not letting anything happen to him."

The blonde tried to shove past her, but she stood her ground and tracked Emma's movements. She veered left and right to oppose wherever Emma tried to go and when the younger woman attempted to barrel into her, she quietly apologized before she pushed Emma away with her magic.

Emma flew back and landed on her ass a few feet away. While she started to get up, Regina looked over her shoulder at Ursula.

"She can't kill anyone," she told the other woman. "She's incapable thanks to the Author."

Ursula's eyes almost popped out of her head and she turned back to Cruella as one of her heels inched off the edge of the cliff.

"Cruella, don't," Ursula yelled.

Regina's attention went back to Emma who looked ready to start a fight. Or maybe she wanted to finish the one Regina had accidentally started.

Emma pushed out her arms and magic hurtled toward Regina.

Regina waved her hands in front of her and created a protective barrier that stopped the magic on contact. The barrier faded when she lowered her hands and she watched as Emma clenched her fists at her sides.

"Don't do this," Regina pleadingly commanded. "You don't want to fight me."

"Then who the hell do I want to fight? He's our son and you're protecting the woman who's threatening to throw him off a cliff."

Regina shook her head and confessed, "I'm protecting you."

"What could you possibly have to protect me from," Emma asked before she threw more magic—stronger magic—her way.

Regina combatted it with her magic in the blink of an eye, but it required a little more strength to push back Emma's energy with hers. White and red collided before they exploded and shot out away from them and the others on the cliff. That was except for Hook who almost ran right into the falloff of their combined magic as he hurried toward the action. He leaned back and slid on the dirt before he flailed and stumbled onto his back by a tree. Regina didn't care to know if he even tried to get up. Though she really didn't care for him, she would have advised—if she wasn't too busy holding off Emma—for him to wait it out on the ground.

Emma continued to glare at her for another moment before something behind Regina caused the blonde great distress. The blonde's eyes opened wide and a second later, Regina heard a bang before a white barrier encompassed her.

Regina jumped in surprise at the sound and slowly turned to see a bullet suspended, still spinning, within the white barrier as the magic remained in place around her.

She looked past the bullet through the protective barrier and saw Henry, Ursula, and Cruella stare at her with large eyes and slack jaws. All of them were just as shocked as she was that she'd almost been shot. When she looked a little closer, she saw one of Ursula's tentacles was wrapped around Cruella's waist, a second one wrapped around Henry's torso, and a third was intertwined with Henry's right hand on top of the gun. There appeared to have been a struggle to free the gun from Cruella's grip and had caused the gun to accidentally fire.

Regina was extremely lucky to be alive.

She turned back to face Emma and finally exhaled, unaware that she'd even held her breath for that long. It then occurred to her that Emma had seen the assumed struggle from over her shoulder and reacted in just enough time to save Regina from the bullet.

She carelessly waved her hand and the bullet disintegrated into powder and fell to the ground. Emma's barrier disappeared a second later.

"Thank you," Regina finally managed to say and held Emma's gaze as she spoke to the younger woman.

Emma only stared back at her, still stunned and otherwise unresponsive to anything else around them for another moment.

"Mom," Henry broke through the silence and Regina spun around to see Ursula gently push him forward, toward her and away from Cruella, with her tentacle.

Regina sighed and closed her eyes as she tightly wrapped her arms around him.

"Henry," she said with obvious relief.

She opened her eyes and looked over the top of Henry's head at Ursula. The other woman tugged Cruella toward her with another one of her tentacles while her eyes focused on Regina and Henry.

"Thank you," Regina mouthed to her.

Ursula bowed her head in a partial nod and then looked at Cruella. Regina knew that if she said or did anything in front of Cruella, Rumple would know and he wouldn't have had any use for the woman after that. Nothing would stop him from crushing her heart and moving on. She noticed how Ursula gave Cruella a squeeze with her tentacle and she knew they'd been more than partners in crime since their arrival. Even if she didn't know Rumple had made Cruella kidnap Henry and thought the other woman had done it to further her plan to get her happy ending, Ursula clearly still cared about her. If Ursula was going to be happy with Cruella, she knew she had to act fast before Rumple could do anything to destroy whatever chance the other women had with each other.

She pulled away from Henry and placed her hands on his shoulders. She bent her knees a little to put herself at eye level with him and searched his eyes for a moment before she told him she had to go.

"Stay with Emma. I'll be back soon. Don't let her do anything stupid," Regina said and gave him a another hug, quick that time, before she passed him over to the blonde.

"Where are you going," Emma asked as she lightly grabbed one of Henry's arms and pulled him against her front.

Emma hugged him, but her eyes remained solely on Regina.

"There's something I need to do. Go back to the apartment. Take Cruella with you."

"What? No," Emma started to argue, but Regina talked over her.

"She can't hurt either of you even if she wanted to. If you see Rumple, do not engage with him. Okay?"

Emma frowned and opened her mouth, presumably to argue with her, but Regina cut her off before she could say anything.

"Be safe," she advised just before Hook jogged over to them.

"Swan!"

Emma and Henry both looked away from Emma to watch Hook approach them and as soon as their attention was off of her, she separated Ursula from Cruella and vanished in a puff of purple smoke.