Author's Notes: A special thank you goes out to BizarreBard. She has been helping me by Betaing this story and giving suggestions on where to take things. I'm very appreciative of her help.

Chapter 10: That Still Small Voice

Regina stands looking at a painting of herself with her daughters. "Where have you three been for the last eighteen years?"

"Mom?" Henry said.

Regina turned to Henry. "Yes?"

"Is everything okay?" Henry asked.

Regina nods, "Everything is fine, just thinking about your sisters. I wish you could have gotten to know them."

"I know they're out there somewhere." Henry said. "And they will come home someday."

Regina sighs and nods, "I'd like to think so, Henry. But it's been a long time since they went missing. I doubt after this much time they even remember me."

'Not yet.' Henry thinks. 'But they will I'm sure of it. The question is will they want anything to do with you when they learn you're the one that cast the curse.'

Later the entire town is gathered around what appears to be the entrance to a tunnel.

Regina then arrives by car. "Everyone! Step back, please!"

"Is that a crater?" Ruby asks.

Marco shakes his head, "No, there were tunnels – old mines. Something collapsed."

"Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help with the fire department? Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go." Regina says.

"Well, actually, I work for the town now." Emma says.

"She's my new deputy." Graham says.

"They say the Mayor's always last to know." Regina says.

Graham smiles, "It's in my budget."

Regina nods, "Indeed. Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?" She steps away and stands in front of the crowd of people. "People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels. But fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe – to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."

Henry emerges from the crowd with Buffy. "Pave it? What if there's something down there?"

"Henry. What are you doing here?" Regina asks. 'With your sister I might ask,' she thinks.

"What's down there?" Henry asks.

Regina shakes her head, "Nothing. Now step back. In fact, everyone! Please, please step back. Thank you." She picks a piece of glass up off the ground and puts it in her pocket.

"What was that?" Henry asks.

Regina sighs, "Henry, enough. Listen. This is a safety issue. Wait in the car." Henry walks back to Regina's car. "Deputy Swan, Sheriff – cord off the area."

Henry is sitting in Regina's car. When he gets a chance, he gets out and whispers to Archie. "Hey, Archie! Over here."

Buffy, Henry, Emma and Archie all gather by a police car.

"This requires all of Operation Cobra. All of you." Henry says.

"I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra." Archie says.

Henry smiles, "Of course you are. You know everything. We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels." Emma says.

Buffy nods, "I'm afraid Emma's right, Henry."

"That just happen to collapse right after you both get here? You two, Dawn and Faith are changing things. You're all weakening the curse." Henry says.

"That's not what's happening." Emma says.

"Yes, it is! Did you do anything different today? Cause something made this happen." Henry says.

Regina walks up to the four of them. "Henry, I told you to wait in the car. Deputy, do your job. Ms. Summers this is a city matter I ask that you leave, please." Buffy sighs as she follows Emma away from Regina.

Later that afternoon back at the Summers/Lehane mansion. The phone rings and Buffy goes to answer it, "Hello?"

"Is Henry over there?" Regina asks.

"No why would he be?" Buffy says.

"I'm not naïve, Ms. Summers. I know Henry spends time at your house. Is he there?" Regina asks.

"No he's not why?" Buffy says.

"He's missing. Dr. Hopper thinks he may have gone back to the mine." Regina says. "I wanted to try your place first just in case."

"I'll meet you there." Buffy says.

"That's not necessary, Ms. Summers." Regina says.

"I will meet you there." Buffy says and hangs up. She writes a note to Dawn and Faith and then grabs her purse heading out the door.

30 minutes later Buffy, Emma and Archie are at the entrance to the tunnel and calling Henry's name. Archie's dog is also there with them.

"Henry!" Buffy, Archie and Emma say together.

"What do you got there, Pongo?" Archie asks.

"I don't think he's here." Emma says.

"I think he is." Archie says as he finds one of the candy bars that Henry had in his backpack. He holds it up. "Candy bar. He had these with him."

Suddenly, the shake starts to shake.

"Henry!" Buffy, Emma and Archie says.

"Henry, it's not safe!" Archie says.

"Henry!" Archie, Buffy and Emma says.

"I'm going in and I'm going to get him out." Buffy says as she looks at Emma. "I can see in almost total dark so I should have no problem."

Emma nods.

"Henry? Henry?" Buffy calls out as she enters the mine and walks down the tunnel.

Henry jumps out from around a corner. "Aunt Elizabeth!"

"Henry!" Buffy says.

"You're here to help me!" Henry says.

Buffy shakes her head, "No, Henry, listen. We got to get out of here, okay?"

"Aunt Elizabeth I found something." Henry says.

Buffy sighs, "Henry, this place isn't safe. The whole tunnel could go."

"Please." Henry says. "Just come see what I found and then we'll go out."

Henry runs deeper into the mine followed by a reluctant Buffy.

Buffy follows Henry to point where he shines his flashlight down a hole.

"There's something shiny down there."

"Henry, this is seriously dangerous. We got to get out of here." Buffy said.

"It could be something." Henry said.

Buffy sighed, "Your right it could be. But if we don't get out now…"

"Please Aunt Elizabeth have a look." Henry said.

Buffy sighed and kneeled down next to Henry and looked down the hole. What she saw looked like straight out of her dream of when Snow White was in her coffin. "Snow's coffin."

Henry looked at her, "You're sure?"

Buffy nods, "Very. I saw it in a dream the other night. About the same time my memory of Snow came back."

Henry looked at Buffy shocked at this revelation, "Your memory of Snow White came back?"

Buffy nods, "Only of her though. I remember nothing that isn't in some way connected to her. I don't know what my parents look like. I don't even remember the face of who kidnapped me, Faith and Dawn."

"It'll all come back with time, Aunt Elizabeth." Henry said as they felt another earthquake and heard something crash.

"Well there went our way out." Buffy said. "Hopefully there is another way out. Should we try and find it?"

Outside the town is gathered, once again, around the entrance of the tunnel.

"Buffy's smarter than she pretends to be." Dawn said. "She will keep Henry safe."

The ground starts to shake.

"Watch out!" Marco says.

"Stop! Stop! You're making it worse!" Regina says.

"I am trying to save him and Buffy! You know why he went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove." Emma says.

"And why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?" Regina asks. She looks to the tunnel entrance her worry mounting. Not only is her own son in there but so is one of her daughters. And time was running out before she might lose of them.

"Do not put this on me." Emma said.

"Oh, please! Lecture me until his and Ms. Summers oxygen runs out!" Regina says.

Buffy and Henry are still navigating the mine. They hear barking.

"Henry, do you hear that?" Buffy asks.

Henry nods, "It's Pongo! Archie's dog."

"Follow the noise!" Buffy says.

Outside Emma approaches Regina. "We have to stop this. Arguing won't accomplish anything."

Regina nods, "No, it won't." 'Not for either of them,' she thinks.

"What do you want me to do?" Emma asks.

"Help me." Regina says.

In the mine Buffy and Henry come across an elevator shaft.

"It's loudest over here." Buffy says.

"What's… What's this?" Henry says.

"Looks like…an old elevator." Buffy says.

Outside Regina and Emma are still talking as Dawn and Faith walks up to them.

"We need to find some way to punch through the ground. We need something big." Regina says.

"Like what?" Emma asks.

"Explosives." Marco says.

"That could collapse the mine on top of them." Dawn says.

Regina sighs and looks towards her youngest daughter, "Ms. Summers… Dawn, it's the only chance we got. Trust me okay we're going to get your sister and my son out of there. I promise."

Dawn looks to Faith who nods. She then looks back to Regina and nods in resignation.

Inside the mine, Buffy investigates the elevator. "It's to get the mine workers in and out. It goes all the way to the top. That's why we could hear Pongo."

"Can we make it work?" Henry asks.

Buffy smiles, "Let's give it a shot."

Outside the workers lay down the lines for the explosives. Everyone clears out of the area.

"Okay. We're all clear." Emma says.

Inside the mine Buffy turns the wheel that moves the elevator. It moves slightly. "I think I need to use full Slayer strength."

Henry nods. "Is there anything I can do to help, Aunt Elizabeth?"

"Pray." Buffy says. "And hope the ropes aren't rotten and we get sent to the bottom of the shaft."

Outside everyone positions themselves.

"Blow it." Regina says.

The explosives are set off, but end up causing the elevator to fall farther down the shaft. Emma runs to the entrance of the tunnel to check the results.

"Did it work?" Regina asks.

Emma shakes her head, "It didn't open."

"Then what did it do?" Graham asks.

"What was that?" Dawn asks.

"What the hell was that? You said you could do this!" Regina says.

"Madam Mayor! Dawn!" Emma says.

"They could have killed my son! And Ms. Summers." Regina says. 'Please let them not be dead. I don't think I could put up with losing any of my daughters again.' She thinks.

"I know, but this isn't helping." Emma says.

Marco nods, "If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them. Maybe… Maybe rig something to bring them back up."

"But drill where?" Faith asks.

Archie lets Pongo out of the fire truck. "Come on buddy!"

"What are you thinking we-" Regina says.

"He's found something. Look! This is where they must be. What is it?" Archie says.

Graham and Marco move aside a piece of metal. Underneath is a grate.

"What is that?" Dawn asks.

"It's an air shaft." Graham says.

Inside the mine Henry and Buffy are sitting in the elevator.

"I'm really…really, really sorry." Henry says.

"It's alright." Buffy says and gives him a comforting hug.

"I just wanted to find proof." Henry says.

Buffy sighs, "You did find proof. In more ways than one, Henry. You've confirmed what I remember is real."

"Well then it's not all bad I guess." Henry says. "Aunt Elizabeth, I'm scared."

"So am I, Henry. So am I." Buffy says. "You know Henry I'm proud to have you for a nephew."

Henry smiles at the compliment, just then the elevator suddenly shifts farther down the shaft.

Outside Marco puts a hook attached to a truck around the grate.

"Okay. Alright – gun it. That's good! Alright, we got it. Alright." Emma says.

The grate is pulled off and everyone looks down the shaft.

"So, what's next?" Regina asks.

Inside the mine Henry and Buffy are still sitting in the elevator. The elevator jerks, again, and moves farther down the shaft.

Outside everyone is gathered around the air shaft.

"You need to lower someone straight down, or the line will collapse the side of the shaft." Marco says.

Graham nods, "I've got a harness."

"Lower me down." Regina says.

Emma shakes her head, "Oh, no way. I'm going."

"He's my son." Regina says.

"He's my son, too. You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years. I can do this." Emma says.

"How about this." Faith says. "I go. Em… MM, I can see in near total darkness. Can either of you?"

Emma looks to Faith, "I thought Buffy was the only one?"

Faith shakes her head, "Buffy hasn't been the only one in six years."

Emma nods, "Alright. Faith will go."

Regina looks to her daughter, "Just bring him to me."

Inside the mine pieces of rock fall through the grate at the top of the elevator. Henry and Buffy look up and see a light.

"Wh-what's that?" Henry asks.

Buffy smiles, "Our rescue. Hey Faith."

"You guys okay?" Faith asks.

"Getting sentimental, Faith?" Buffy asks.

"I think you and little D are beginning to rub off on me." Faith said.

Faith looks back up, "Okay, that's good. Stop."

"Here you go. Up." Buffy says as she passes Henry up to Faith.

"I got ya, little H. Okay. Okay, I got him." Faith says.

"You got him? Is he safe?" Buffy asks.

The elevator starts to shake.

"B?" Faith said.

"It's going to fall!" Buffy says.

The elevator falls down the entire shaft. Buffy appears to have fallen as well, but ends up saving herself as she grabs Faith's leg using her Slayer reflexes. "Sometimes like this I'm glad I'm a Slayer or I wouldn't have caught ahold of your leg in time."

"Me too, B. Me, too." Faith says.

Buffy, Faith and Henry are pulled out of the elevator shaft. Regina takes Henry aside. Marco grabs Buffy and hugs her. Emma runs over to Regina and Henry.

Dawn runs over to Faith and Buffy, "You okay."

Buffy nods, "I'm okay, Dawnie."

"You okay?" Emma asks.

"Deputy, you can clear the crowd away." Regina says as she pushes Emma away and sends Henry off. She goes over to Buffy, Dawn and Faith, "Buffy, thank you." 'Thank you for rescuing your brother,' she thinks.

Buffy smiles, "Your welcome."