Killian Jones was woken from the best dream he had ever had by the shrill call of one of Zelena's cronies. It shrieked at him though the bars of his jail cell, and he clamped his hands over his ears.

"Alright!" he yelled, his voice still deep and scratchy with sleep. "I'm awake!"

Seemingly satisfied by the proof of his consciousness, the creature strode off, no doubt to fetch Zelena. Killian's fingers touched his lips. He could still feel Emma's lips of his, the memory of her still fresh in his mind. She tasted sweet, like honey and berries. His dream had felt so real. She felt so real. His body was still warm, as if she had been there, pressed up against him. He groaned loudly. Was this Zelena's true torture? To drive him mad with thoughts of Emma? He couldn't get her out of his mind. She was invading his dreams now. He regretted his harsh words to her now, remembering the sorrow in her eyes when he yelled at her. He was still a little upset, but he couldn't fault her for her motivations. If Liam was in danger, he'd do anything to ensure that his brother was safe. He struggled to his feet, wincing as his body began to recognize the abuses that it was dealt with the day before. His head no longer throbbed, but his torso still felt sore. Just as he managed to stand upright, Zelena materialised before him.

"Ah, you're awake! How lovely!" she said glibly, as if she hadn't ordered a crony to wake him up in the rudest possible way.

She leaned closer to the bars, her teeth flashing menacingly.

"It's a brand new day, pretty boy. I hope a goodnight's sleep has convinced you to loosen your tongue?"

He glared at her, pure venom in his eyes.

"There is nothing that I could tell you about Emma Swan."

The very mention of her name warmed him, and made him braver than he felt.

"Even if I did, I would never tell you."

Zelena's smile faltered and her eyes narrowed at him.

"We'll see about that, won't we? The rack might do you some good today."

He met her glare and stared her down.

"Do your worst, witch."

Her maniacal grin returned with full force.

"Oh, I plan to."

Emma was decidedly grumpy on their trek towards Zelena's camp. Baelfire had attempted to start a conversation but she had snapped at him, and he backed off immediately. Emma had rubbed her dark-lined eyes and ignored Regina's smirk. Liam, for his part, was smart enough to stay out of her way. He seemed to pick up on her hostility when he found her awake at the crack of dawn.

"I couldn't sleep either." Was all he said to her, and Emma felt a sense of kindredship with him. She was grateful that Regina was not the talkative type, but Baelfire had yet to learn.

"I'm sorry if I offended you." He said, an hour later into their trek. They had taken a short break to fill up their canteens, and would be setting off again soon. Regina took the opportunity to practice some incantations, and Liam sparred against an invisible enemy. Emma almost felt like joining him, but was stopped from doing so when Baelfire blocked her path.

Emma said nothing, but took a long swig from her canteen. She wiped her mouth roughly and looked Baelfire in the eye. "You didn't." she answered curtly, turning back to the stream to fill her flask. As she straightened up after completing her task, she could feel Baelfire's eyes on her figure.

"What?" she asked aggressively, and only after watching him wince at her tone did she realise she was being too harsh.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I'm a little stressed out today."

Baelfire snorted.

"A little?" he asked incredulously. Emma glared at him. He shrunk a little under her piercing gaze.

"Listen. I just…wanted to thank you. For helping me."

Emma could sense the sincerity in his voice and softened a little.

"It's nothing, really. Thank you for agreeing to help us. I imagine it must be difficult going back to such a traumatic place."

He shrugged with indifference, but Emma could tell that his bravado was just for show. "My need to bring Zelena to justice trumps my fear." He told her, and Emma couldn't help by smile.

"Be that as it may, it's okay to feel fear." She told him, and he returned her soft smile.

As they started their trek once more, Regina breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not sure what happened there, Emma, but I'm glad you're not so crabby anymore. Though perhaps you should save that feeling for later. The tension coming off you could have taken out Zelena singlehandedly."

Baelfire snickered at this and Emma heard Liam try to muffle a chuckle with a cough.

Emma glared at Regina's back, but she realised that this was Regina's way of breaking the ice. So the woman had a heart after all, she mused. She couldn't help but smile too.

Sneaking into Zelena's camp was not as complicated as Emma expected. She had imagined there'd be more fighting, maybe even some bloodshed. However the moment they encountered the winged beasts that Zelena was using as guards, Regina was quick to immobilize them with her magic. She glanced at Emma, who had pulled out her sword and smirked.

"Best not to raise any suspicion, Emma. This is a covert mission, remember?"

Emma frowned, but did not sheath her sword. Regina shook her head impatiently and gestured towards Baelfire.

"Time to get to work, monkey boy."

Baelfire did not respond to Regina's insult, but looked disgruntled as he led the way to the ruins of a small castle that Zelena has made her headquarters. Regina's nose wrinkled at distaste over it, and snarked to Emma as they hid from a passing patrol.

"This woman really has delusions of grandeur, doesn't she?"

Emma didn't answer, but found herself agreeing. Instead of choosing a place that had natural defenses, or was at least hidden, Zelena had situated herself in an open field, and in a castle no less! The woman was too brazen and too confident for her own good. As soon as the patrol was out of sight, Baelfire rushed to a small door that was right in front of them that looked like it led into one of the turrets of the castle. He managed to yank the door open and gestured at them furiously to join him.

"Hurry!" he mouthed.

Emma needed no further prompting. She hurled herself forward, and could feel Liam and Regina close behind her. They managed it make it in and shut the door just before the next patrol broke into view.

"See? That wasn't so hard!" Baelfire said breezily, even though he was sweating profusely. Regina and Liam both rolled their eyes at him. Regina strode in front of the group and addressed them.

"It's time to split up. I will take the main floor. Liam, you can take this tower. Baelfire can take the other. Emma, you've got the dungeons."

They all nodded in agreement, and Regina continued.

"It's very likely that Zelena will be here on the main floor. But if any of you encounter her, take this."

With that, she reached for a small pouch that was attached to her belt, and pulled out several golden coins. She handed them out to everyone.

"If you find her, press on this hard. It will alert me to your location, and I will arrive right away."

Satisfied in her instructions, Regina waited several beats to see if anyone had any objections. When no one responded, Regina turned to face the staircase that lay ahead of them.

"Alright team. Let's go." She said grimly.

As soon as Emma entered the dungeons, her eyes had to adjust the dimly lit space. It took her several seconds, and she bumped into the wall several times, but quickly regained her wits. She listened for the sound of a jailer, but hearing no footsteps spurred her on. She crept stealthily through the maze of cells, peering into each one for a shock of black hair and brilliant blue eyes. Most of the cells were empty, with few holding several skeletons. Emma's pulse quickened at the sight of them. She thought back to her dream, or that dream that wasn't really a dream. He had been injured, she reminded herself. He's not dead. Yet.

She rounded the corner and came face-to-face with a beast, which immediately opened its mouth, not doubt to call for reinforcements. Emma reacted quickly, knocking out with the flat side of her sword. She glanced at the fallen creature, and noticed the keys that was tied to its vest. She cut them free from their rope, and clenched it in her fists as she hurried on. As she ventured further into the bowels of the castle, she noticed that there was a cell that was occupied a few feet in front of her. A huddled figure lay in a bed of straw. Emma's breath caught in her throat. She remembered the Killian from her dream, the one she helped up. She rushed over to the cell.

"Killian?" she called out desperately as she fumbled for the right key.

The figure stirred and rolled onto its feet. Shakily, it rose and stared at her. It was a woman, about Regina's age. She looked terrified, her red hair in wild disarray.

"Help me!" she pleaded with Emma.

Emma let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. It wasn't Killian, but another unfortunate soul that Zelena had trapped here. She doubled her efforts to find the right key, and was successful. Wrenching the lock off the cage, she pulled it open with a grunt, and the woman tumbled out.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked.

The woman smiled at her.

"Oh, I'm more that okay, now that you're here, Emma Swan."

A coldness swept over Emma, causing her hair to stand on edge and her blood to become ice. She started to back away slowly, and her hands started to reach for the sword that she had sheathed after knocking the jailer out.

"How do you know who I am?" she demanded. Then it hit her. How could she be so stupid?

"Zelena." She accused. The woman grinned, a wide grin that showed off her teeth. In the dim light of the room, the shadows that played across her face made her appear crazier than she really looked. Or so Emma hoped.

"Indeed. What a pleasure, Emma Swan. I knew you'd come for your…friend." She said, her eyebrows quirking at the end of the sentence. The ice in Emma's blood turned to fire at that moment, and she drew her sword and pointed it at Zelena. She could feel the heat rise up and out of her, and suddenly the room seemed brighter, as if the sconces suddenly got more fire.

"Where is he?!" She hissed, thrusting her sword at Zelena's face.

Zelena stepped back and threw her hands up in defense.

"Oh, don't worry, Emma Swan. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to make a deal."

Emma glared at her, flashbacks of Rumplestilskin flooding her memory. She was wary of deals now, even though Rumplestilskin had kept his side of the bargin.

"I'm listening, witch."

Zelena's smile didn't falter.

"It's simple really. Your life for his."

Emma's hands lowered, and the room was dim again. Her life for his? She gulped, trying to figure out a way that she could get out of this. How could she take down Zelena and rescue Killian at the same time? She then remembered Regina's coin, and she fumbled in her pocket for it. Zelena frowned at the action, but quickly clued in to what was happening and waved her hands in a haphazard way, causing Emma's hands to grow heavy and fall to her sides. She felt the weight of the coin disappear out of her pocket and watched it materialize in Zelena's open palm.

She held it up to a nearby torch.

"What's this? A magical object? How clever." She smiled at Emma. "Regina's idea, I take it."

Emma refused to answer, but Zelena didn't care.

"Why you'd rely on her power, I'd never know. I got through her defenses once, and I can do it again."

Emma tried to stop the fear from appearing in her eyes, but Zelena seemed to sense it in her.

"Tell you what. Let me sweeten the deal. Your life for your boyfriend's, and his village. And yours too, I suppose." She added as an afterthought.

Emma sank to her knees. Her choice was clear, but she couldn't stop the fear and bile that were rising with her. Just one life, and she'd protect her family and her home as well as Killian and his home. So why was it so hard to say yes? Was it because she knew deep in her heart that she wouldn't live for much longer if she agreed? Tears swelled in her eyes.

Zelena cackled at her defeated posture.

"Well, Emma. What's it going to be?"