Emma sat up in bed as she heard her name being called out, but she was disoriented for a moment, only until she heard the noise of glass breaking and a loud crash. She had her gun in hand, running from the room. She glanced back, seeing Regina's door was open and as Henry's door opened, she hissed at him to get back in and lock his door.
She was part way down the stairs when Regina came into her view and she almost gave a sigh of relief until a man grabbed Regina from behind, dragging her out of view. Emma ran down the rest of the stairs, gun held out in front of her.
"Let her go!" she said as the man had Regina in a chokehold, pulling her back toward the kitchen. The man paused, staring at Emma with hardened eyes, and in that moment she knew he wasn't about to let Regina go.
She raised her gun higher to set her sights and looked for a shot.
"Let her go."
The guy backed up again and Emma had to shift positions to keep him from disappearing from sight as he got Regina into the kitchen. She could see the door hanging open on one hinge behind the man and she figured that was his intended escape route.
The man was bigger than Regina and Emma had a few options at a shot, but she needed to make sure it was a clean shot that wouldn't harm Regina, but at the same time injure this guy enough that he didn't try anything. While his right forearm was pressed hard against Regina's neck Emma couldn't see the left hand which appeared to be behind Regina's back. She had no way of knowing if he had a weapon back there which is what was causing her to wait before taking a shot.
The darkness of the room also made her pause. She couldn't afford to make the wrong decision.
He kept moving slowly toward the door. Emma didn't have any real fear that he might actually escape with Regina, but she didn't want him making it outside where she had no way of knowing if anyone else was waiting.
The sound of her breathing was heavy in her ears as she moved forward.
"You aren't going anywhere with her. Stop and we can talk about this," she said.
The man said nothing, only continued to move toward the door.
It was too dark for her to make out his or Regina's features well, but she knew from the way Regina had screamed her name that she was scared of this man. This must be the person who came out of the well, Emma conjectured. Where did he think he was going to take Regina, she wondered.
It didn't really matter as she wasn't about to let him take her. She needed to subdue him though and then she could question him about who he was, where he came from, and what he was doing here in Storybrooke. Perhaps this man could fill in the holes that Regina either didn't remember or refused to talk about it.
It wasn't going to be a perfect shot; she knew that even as she squared in on where to target. She was debating in her mind whether or not to take the shot.
She heard a siren in the distance, and so did he, causing him to cock his head to the side slightly. It was all she needed as she pulled the trigger.
Her aim was off a little more in the darkness than she thought, but still it hit his left arm. In pain he lightened his grip on Regina and Emma rushed forward, grabbing Regina and pulling her away from the man while sticking her gun in his face. Too late she realized she was way too close to him as he barreled into her – making her and her gun fall to the ground.
He was on top of her and she struggled to get away.
He wasn't able to get a secure hold on her and she scrambled backward almost like a crab when the shots rang out – four loud bangs that pushed the man away from her. She got to her feet and saw Regina there pointing the gun at the man. Emma rushed over and turned on the light seeing blood pouring out of the man's chest. He was breathing still with a look of disbelief as his eyes focused in on Regina.
Emma approached her carefully as she still had the gun pointed outward from her. She could see Regina's hands were shaking. Emma gently touched her shoulder and then had to move quickly as Regina turned toward her with the gun.
"Let me have that," Emma said grabbing it from her hands. She put the safety back on and went over to the man, kneeling beside him. "Who are you?"
He didn't even look at her as he kept his eyes on Regina who was also looking at him. Emma knew the man didn't have long – he was bleeding out rapidly and already his breaths were shallow.
"Who are you?" she asked again.
"This … isn't … over Savior," he said. Emma looked again at Regina, whom this man was clearly addressing. She stood there staring down at him. "You will … be … brought back. It calls to you. You can't resist the call forever."
He began to choke on his own blood and Regina turned and ran from the room. The man was dead by the time she heard loud banging on the front door. She got up to answer it and found her father standing there.
"Henry called, is every thing alright?" he asked.
She shook her head no. "There is a man dead in the kitchen. He tried to take Regina. She shot him with my gun."
"Are you ok, are you hurt?"
"No," she said. "And Regina's physically fine, I think. This man, I think he is from wherever Regina was at while she was missing. He was going to take her back."
"Was he alone?"
"I think so, but I don't really know."
"Ok. I will call the coroner, get him over here to deal with the body. We can look for any clues as to who this guy is and if he had company."
Hours later Emma was sipping a cup of coffee and looking down at the spot where the man had died. She was tired and not anywhere closer to figuring out what was going on. Regina had locked herself away in her room, refusing to come out or speak with anyone. She was shaken up by what happened and had apparently chosen an avoidance technique to deal with it.
Emma had cleaned up the mess, having scrubbed and scrubbed the floor to get the blood out. She had told Henry what happened but had made him stay upstairs while her and father investigated and the coroner took the body away. Henry had also tried speaking with Regina to no avail. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the bed.
Archie had showed up a little while ago – Emma having forgotten already about him coming over. She had explained to him what happened and Regina's reaction to it. He had knocked on Regina's door but didn't go in when Regina remained silent. He told Emma that the incident could make Regina regress even more but he was reluctant to force contact with her about it, which is why he didn't enter the room.
She had a newfound level of frustration over this whole affair. There was nothing on the man to indicate who he was or where he came from – except for the clothes themselves and those Emma recognized as belonging to the guards who Emma had seen when she first saw those images from Regina's mind.
What he had said before dying kept replaying in her mind. He had called Regina Savior. And that part about it calling to her was way too cryptic for her to even begin to make sense of. Regina was the only one who could and why she felt bad about what she planned to do next, she knew she needed answers. That man had come into the house where Henry was at, and Emma wasn't going to risk that happening again. She had excused Henry from school for the day, but sent him away with his grandfather, at least for the time being. They were going to go out and get a door to replace the now useless one which had been boarded up for the time being.
She didn't want him here as she spoke to Regina.
She didn't want him knowing about what she about to do.
Finishing her coffee, she left the mug on the counter and went upstairs. She didn't bother to knock on the door to Regina's bedroom, merely entering to find Regina still sitting on the floor.
"Get up," she said. When Regina didn't move, she repeated it. "Regina, get up now," she said, making her voice even more stern. This time Regina got to her feet. Emma could see the confusion in her eyes and she felt even worse about this.
"Now enough with this silent act. You are going to tell me exactly what the hell is going on here. I want to know every thing, where you have been, what happened to you and who that guy. Do you understand me?"
Regina remained silent and Emma advanced on her, grabbing her arm. "You listen to me," Emma said. "I don't care what trauma you have gone through. I know you can talk so you are going to start talking. That man could have been a danger to Henry and I'm not going to stand by while you try and get your head in order. I'm done with handling you with kid gloves. You are going to tell me what I want to know. Where were you?"
Still nothing.
"You were gone for months. Where were you?"
When she didn't answer again, Emma shook her. "Where were you? Answer the damn question."
"I … I don't know."
"Not good enough," Emma said through clenched teeth. "That man, who was he?"
"I don't know."
Emma applied more pressure to Regina's arm. "Who was he? The clothes he was wearing, you've been them before, haven't you?"
Regina looked down at where Emma was gripping her arm, but still she nodded yes.
"Who was he?"
"I don't know. He was at the place with the door."
Emma knew which door she was referring to, but she needed more. "That door, what's behind it?"
"I don't …"
"Don't say you don't know," Emma said raising her voice and causing Regina to flinch. "You know what's behind it, don't you? Answer me."
"It's bad."
"What is?"
Regina shook her head no.
"You aren't leaving this room until you tell me everything you know about this," Emma said. "You asked me once if I was your master, well yes, you can consider me your master, now tell me what I want to know. Why did he call you Savior?"
Regina tried to pull away from her but Emma held strong.
"Tell me," she insisted.
Regina started to cry. "I killed that man," she said.
"Yes you did," Emma said. "He's hardly the first man you've killed so I don't know why you are bothering to cry. They didn't call you the Evil Queen for nothing."
This time Regina did pull away from Emma and from the expression on Regina's face Emma believed this was news to Regina. She really didn't know who she was. Emma felt her resolve slipping as she saw the hurt on Regina's face.
"Regina I can't help you if you don't give me something to go on. Do you even understand what would have happened if Henry had been down here when that man came in? Do you understand that our son could have been hurt?"
"Our son?"
Emma sighed. "Yes, our son. Henry is our son, mine and yours. I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe and I know you would too because you've already done it. Don't you remember? You disappeared because you saved Henry from a curse. You saved all of us in this town. You sacrificed yourself so we could call be safe. Henry was upset afterward. But you know what, he was also proud of you – proud of you for putting others before yourself. You weren't always that way, but I believe you've changed. Henry believes you have changed. You want to keep Henry safe don't you?"
Regina nodded.
"Good. Then you have to tell me what you remember."
"Pain. All I remember is pain."
"What do you remember about the pain?" Emma asked even as she was sure she didn't actually want to know the answer.
"It didn't stop," Regina said. She closed her eyes and Emma wasn't sure if she was thinking, remembering or trying to keep herself from remembering. She opened them just as suddenly and for a second Emma thought she saw a flicker of recognition in Regina's eyes. "I don't want to remember."
"You don't have a choice," Emma said. "I can keep this up all day and all night if I have to. You have the answers, I know you do. I get it, you're scared, but you heard what that guy said. To me it sounds like he won't be the only one trying to get to you. Now unless you want me to hand you over to them next time I suggest you convince me why that would be a bad idea."
She got right up in Regina's face as she said it and she could tell the other woman feared her. It wasn't how she wanted this to go, but she had to push Regina to get answers, even if it meant pushing her past her breaking point. Regina moved past her, trying to get away, but Emma grabbed her.
"No, you don't get to run from this."
Regina began to struggle and Emma wrapped her up in a bear hug. She felt the magic pulling her almost immediately.
Emma appeared in what looked to be a dining chamber of some sort. Seated at one end was a man, probably in his mid-40s and at the other end was Regina. She was wearing a gown and drinking from a goblet listening to the man as he spoke. A half-eaten meal sat in front of her.
"What I am proposing could be mutually beneficial, surely you see that," he said.
"I am not sure I do," Regina said coyly. "Perhaps that is hard to see from where I am sitting. You did after all send your men to kidnap me."
The man laughed, and stood up, taking a bottle from the table in front of him and walking over to her. He poured what Emma guessed was wine into Regina's cup. "Surely a woman of such refined tastes as you have would be more satisfied being here in the luxury of my accommodations. Or would you like me to have my men drop you back off at that …" he laughed again. "I guess you could call it a farm. Trust me Regina my castle suits you more than some cottage with a barely standing stable."
"Careful you don't presume too much about me," she said taking another sip of her wine. "Although I will concede that the bed here is more to my liking."
"Excellent," he said. "Again, I apologize for my men's abruptness in bringing you here."
"Yes your captain of the guard should be very careful about what lines he crosses with me," she said.
"I have no doubt that if he was dumb enough to try that you would give him a lesson worth remembering. My understanding is that you gave at least three of my guards one of those lessons already," he said. "Normally I would not allow such a transgression to go unpunished, but I think we can make an exception in your case."
The man turned and went back to his seat and Emma saw Regina slide a knife off the table and place it on her lap under a napkin. Whoever this man was Regina clearly didn't trust him.
There was no one else in the room so Emma had no proof that this was where Regina had been held at beyond what had been said so far, but she suspected it was. That brought to mind the question of how Regina went from having dinner with this person to being held in a dungeon.
"So how is it exactly that you have come to believe I am this person who can help you?" she asked.
"Now, now Regina, don't play ignorant, it doesn't suit you. Surely he showed you the book and told you of the prophecy."
"He did and my reaction was to laugh at him. One thing you should know about me, I am no Savior. I actually know someone who is and believe me, she and I are nothing alike."
"You don't know how much it pleases me to hear that," he said smiling widely. "After all, I am not looking for you to play the role of the Savior. That is what that old fool wanted from you. No, what he wanted to see you destroy, I want to see you bring to life."
Regina wasn't looking at him, keeping her eyes on her goblet which was now sitting on the table. She was running a finger along its base and Emma knew that Regina was playing a part right now, pretending to only feign interest while gathering information. She wondered how many times Regina had done this in her lifetime.
"Where is it?" she asked finally.
"It's here in my castle. Down in the lower depths. Shall we take go take a look?"
Regina yawned. "Perhaps tomorrow," she said. "Tonight I am tired and wish to retire to my room."
"Of course," he said standing. She too stood up, and Emma saw her slip the knife up the sleeve of her gown. He escorted her out of the room where he told two guards to make sure she found her way to her room. The message was really not to let her out of their sight. Despite the niceties being exchanged Regina was clearly a prisoner here.
They took her up to a room and once she was inside the door was locked behind her. Regina quickly took the knife out and hid it under her pillow. She began to pace the room.
"Regina," a small voice said and the brunette turned toward the small window where a fairy flew in.
"How is he?" she asked with a sense of urgency.
"He lives, but he is badly hurt."
Regina exhaled with noticeable relief. "Any chance of you or your little friends getting me out of here?"
"I'm sorry, we can not. I was lucky to get here as it was," the boy fairy said.
"It's here," Regina said. "Down below us somewhere. I can feel it. I can feel its darkness."
"If it is here then you destroy it," he said. "You can fulfill the prophecy Savior.
"Don't call me that for the hundredth time," she said through gritted teeth. "And what exactly am I supposed to destroy it with? I have no magic. What do you think that greasy car salesman downstairs is going to do to me when he finds out I have no magic and therefore can't activate it?"
"Car salesman?"
"Nevermind. You and your little friends need to find someway to get me out of here. I didn't ask for this," she said. "All I want is to get home to my son."
Once more Emma was pulled back out and she was again in the bedroom at the mansion with Regina. The other woman was looking directly in her eyes.
"Did you see that? Did you experience what I just did?" Emma asked her.
Regina nodded.
"You had no magic there," Emma said. "That's how he was able to keep you prisoner. But what is this thing you were talking about? This thing the fairy the wants you to destroy and that man wanted you to activate, what is it?"
"A cauldron. A black cauldron."