A/N: This took a little longer than expected but on the upside, I got most of the next two chapters done in the process. Anywho, thank you as always for all your reviews (seriously, they cheer me up like you wouldn't believe) and I hope you'll enjoy this next chapter.

On a completely unrelated and pretty insignificant note, I'm thinking about starting to name the chapters like I do with most of my other fics. I've already got temp names in my files to keep track of which is which so it wouldn't be too much of a change for me. Just putting it out there.

"Regina? What the hell are you doing here?" Emma took a step forward, staring at Regina in utter confusion. "It's the middle of nowhere, at night– were you following me? Did you see the informant? Or, wait– are you the informant?"

Regina didn't say anything. She looked almost paralyzed where she stood, her posture stiff and awkward.

"What's going on?" Emma studied her closer. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe Regina was running from someone? That wouldn't explain what she was doing in the woods, though.

"I was just... making sure you were okay," Regina finally said, mustering an unconvincing smile. Her voice sounded completely normal, yet to Emma it felt like nails on a chalkboard.

"How did you know I was here? Did you follow me?"

A short, hesitant pause. "Yes."

"What about Henry?"

Regina smiled again. "He's fine. Don't worry about him. The important thing is that you're okay."

"Okay." Emma's skin felt like it was about to crawl off on its own. The way Regina talked about Henry was strange, as if she was reading off a script. "Sure."

"We should probably head back now."

Emma stared at the woman in front of her, trying to find just what it was that made her so uneasy. Nothing in particular stood out, but Emma could clearly tell that something was wrong about her. She could sense it, in some strange way.

"You're not Regina." The words came out on their own, a result of Emma's own thoughts more than any active decision to speak them.

Regina frowned, crossing her arms. "Don't be ridiculous."

"No, you're definitely not Regina." Emma's right hand already rested on the top of her holster, her confrontation with Hook fresh in mind. "Who are you?"

"Miss Swan–"

Emma pulled out her gun, keeping it ready but pointed at the ground. "Drop the act. I know you're not her. For all I know, you could be the same person who set the library on fire."

The woman recoiled from the accusation, looking disgusted. "You're wrong."

"I'm putting you under arrest. Get down on your knees and put your hands on your head."

"Wait!" There was a note of urgency to the woman's voice that hadn't been there earlier. She held out her hands in front of her, shooting glances at the forest around her. "Look, okay. Maybe you're right, but I can't come with you. I shouldn't even be talking to you."

"That's too bad, because you already are." She wasn't going to let this lead slip away from her as well. "And you are coming with me."

"You don't understand," the woman insisted. "You're in over your head. I did everything I could to stay under a radar and–" Her eyes widened and she snapped her mouth shut, stopping herself mid-sentence.

Whoever this was, she was definitely hiding something. Something important. "How about you tell me exactly what I've gotten myself into, then?"

The woman shook her head. "I told you, I can't do that. Please let me go. I swear, I didn't burn down the library."

"I can't do that. I'm sorry." Emma clenched her jaw, loosening her grip on her gun. "You're the only lead I've got."

"You'll find someone else – something else. Please."

Despite the woman's desperation, Emma didn't budge. She couldn't, not when she was this close. "If you're innocent, you won't be harmed in any way. I'll make sure you'll be safe."

"Safe? We're in Storybrooke, damn it! There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. How could anyone be safe here?" She began to back away.

"Don't–" Emma started, but then cursed as the woman spun around and set off into the woods. Holstering her gun, Emma ran after her.

The darkness made them both stumble over the uneven terrain, doing their best not to trip over stones and roots. Emma's career as a bail bondsperson hadn't been for nothing though, and slowly but surely, she gained on the fleeing woman.

"Stop! You said it yourself," Emma shouted, her breath labored, "there's nowhere to run!"

The woman tossed a panicked look over her shoulder and then fired a burst of magic blindly behind her, only missing Emma by a few feet. Cursing, Emma dodged two more blasts before one grazed her shoulder, causing her to stumble and nearly fall in the process. The next time the woman sent a projectile at her, she was ready. Summoning her own magic, she met the blast and sent it back, hitting the woman in the leg. Still, the woman kept running.

The forest got thicker and thicker, and soon Emma couldn't even make out the figure in front of her anymore. She stopped and leaned against a tree and tried to regain her breath.

"God fucking damn it," she mumbled. Her only lead, gone just like that. "Fuck!"

A sudden rustle behind her made her fumble for her gun, but then she recognized the hulking form as Ruby and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Ruby asked as soon as she had shifted into her human form. "Who were you following?"

Emma swallowed and cleared her throat. "The informant didn't show at first, so I left. Then when I got back there to pick up my phone, someone pretending to be Regina was there. I tried to get her to come with me but something freaked her out, big time. She ran and I followed but she was too fast for me." She gestured in the direction where the woman had disappeared. "Can you track her?"

Ruby sniffed the air a few times. "No problem. Can you run?"

Emma pushed off from the tree with a wry smile. "More or less."

They hurried on, following Ruby's lead. Ruby, still in human form, moved smoothly through the undergrowth as if it was a regular day's jogging session. Emma didn't do too bad herself, but it wasn't anywhere near Ruby's ease. Her earlier sprint didn't make it any easier either.

"The scent stops here." They had ended up in a small, empty clearing. Ruby took a few steps in one direction, then another, squinting into the dark woods ahead. "Whoever it was, they must have poofed away."

Emma swallowed another string of curses. "Well, we did what we could, I guess." Remembering her phone, she groaned. "Shit, I still need to go back to the Toll Bridge. I forgot my phone there."

"Do you need me there?"

"No, it's alright. I'll just poof over there and then home." She had never been so thankful for her magic; the mere thought of walking all the way back home was enough to make her stomach churn.

"Okay, good." Ruby gave a half smile. "Honestly, I'm in the mood for midnight run anyway. Maybe I'll even pick up her trail again."

"Alright. Thanks for the help, Ruby."

Ruby gave a mock salute and shifted, soon leaping off into the woods in her wolf form.

Summoning her magic and poofing away, Emma appeared at the base of the Toll Bridge. It took a few minutes to look around, but finally she found something distinctly metallic looking on the ground. When she picked it up, she frowned in confusion. It was a phone, alright, but it wasn't hers. Maybe this was why the informant had returned? She tapped the home button, but the phone was password protected. Oh well, it was better than nothing.

A couple of minutes later, she found her own phone. With both phones safe in her pockets, she poofed home. After all this, she needed some proper rest.

She arrived just as the sun was setting. The trees were looming above her. Dark, gnarled, twisted shapes reaching up towards the sky, threatening to block what little light was left of the day.

"There you are," Regina said. "Come with me."

"I just want to go home." She was cold and tired. Something was missing.

"Of course." Regina smiled. "How have you been?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't remember. It's pretty blurry."

They set off into the woods. It was a difficult walk, with stones and roots threatening to trip Emma every step she took. She didn't recognize where she was, either; were they even going the right way?

Behind her, she heard someone call out to her. Emma stopped, trying to make out the words. She hurried towards the sound; she could feel it was what she was looking for. Soon, she burst out of the forest into the well kept back yard of the mayoral mansion. Regina was standing in the doorway, arms crossed and eyes hard as flint.

"Welcome back." The words were spat out.

Emma looked over her shoulder. Someone was coming. Someone dangerous. She couldn't stay here. "Can I come in?"

"And why would I let you in?"

That person was coming back. Emma wasn't safe here. "Please, Regina. Just let me in." She turned to Snow, standing nearby. "Mom? Help me out here."

"This is between the two of you." She gave Emma a sad smile. "Maybe do it right this time."

Emma looked behind her again, panic rising. Even the forest itself was closing in on her, threatening to pull her away. "I fucked up, okay? I know I did! I shouldn't have talked to her. I thought she was you." She swallowed and licked her lips, taking another step towards Regina. "I'll fix this. Just please, let me inside."

Smiling warmly, Regina cupped Emma's face with her hands and kissed her. The kiss was dry and cold. Like kissing paper.

The door was wide open but Emma couldn't get herself to enter. The inside was black and gray cramped and smelled of old beer and cheap detergent. She pulled herself away from Regina and stumbled backwards.

This wasn't Regina, Emma realized with rising horror. What had been Regina moments earlier had transformed into some terrifying creature that Emma couldn't even bring herself to look at. She turned, scrambling to get away. Was that thing following her? She swore she could feel it right behind her, gleeful from her terror.

Storybrooke passed her by while she ran. Her limbs ached and her throat felt raw. It was late at night, not a single soul outside. The town felt dead, the houses nothing more than thin set pieces barely covering up that hungry darkness that threatened to swallow her. Behind her, something was catching up to her. She had to get away.

She slammed a door shut behind her and froze, holding her breath in anticipation. Had she gotten to safety? There wasn't any obvious danger in sight, but the atmosphere was tense and depressing. Her heart pounded in her chest. If she could only find Regina...

"Dinner's ready," Snow called out from the kitchen, and soon Emma found herself sitting at the table with Snow and David.

"I'm glad you're back," Snow said, placing some more potatoes on Emma's place. "We weren't worried or anything, though." She and David shared a smiling look.

They were hiding something. Emma could see the ghost underneath their smiles, anger or disappointment or sadness or a mix of all three. The oppressive atmosphere in the room was pushing down on her as if she was underwater, making her body heavy and her breathing near impossible.

Someone clawed at the door. It had found her.

"How's work?" Emma asked as casually as she could. She wanted to run, but she couldn't leave until she had finished eating.

"Everything is fine, Emma," David assured her, but Emma could hear the lie. "There's nothing to worry about. Here, have some more potatoes."

Her body felt more limp and powerless the longer she sat there. "I need to leave," Emma whispered.

Snow and David ate in silence. They didn't hear her anymore.

The door slid open a few inches.

Everyone else had already left, but she couldn't move.

Cool metal touched the side of her neck.

A chuckle. "Let's have some fun, love."

Emma opened her mouth in a wordless scream.

Emma pried her eyes open and sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Her heart felt like it was trying to tear itself out of her chest and her body was drenched in sweat.

"I'm awake, I'm home," she mumbled, fumbling for the lamp on her bedside table. "Just a dream. Wasn't real. Shit."

Her jeans clung uncomfortably to her overheated skin, damp from the sweat. Wait, jeans? She looked down on her body and realized that she was still wearing the same clothes she had worn during the day. Apparently she must have been tired enough to fall asleep without getting ready for bed. No wonder she had gotten a nightmare, as warm and uncomfortable she had been.

Doing her best to ignore the lingering memories from the nightmare, she quickly shed her clothes and hurried into the shower to wash off the grime and sweat and hopefully clear her head.

Half an hour later, she was back in her bedroom, dressed in some comfortable pants and a tank top. Although the shower had done wonders for the lingering tension from her nightmare, she was not nearly sleepy enough to go back to bed. She checked the time; it was almost 3 AM. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she ambled over to her jacket and rummaged through its pockets. If she wasn't getting any sleep, she might as well get some work done.

She sat down on her bed with the phone the informant had dropped. It was a pretty recent model and in near prime condition. No stickers, no case, and nothing of note on the lock screen. Turning it around, she noticed a memory card slot. Could she be that lucky?

It took some googling, a couple of paperclips, and a lot of cursing, but she did eventually manage to pull the memory card out and plug it into her computer. By some miracle – maybe the gods of fortune actually were beginning to take pity on her – the card wasn't encrypted. On the downside, however, there wasn't much on it.

"Of course I'd be stuck with the one person in the whole damn world who doesn't take selfies," Emma muttered, scrolling past nature photo after nature photo. The sea, the forest, a bunch of flowers, some old-looking houses, the occasional statue.

Wait, she recognized that statue. She scrolled back a few images. She recognized those trees too, and some of the houses. In another stroke of luck, the photos still had their GPS tags in their metadata, so with a little work, Emma managed to get a rough map of where the photos had been taken. Soon, things were starting to become clear: all the photos' locations seemed to center around one specific spot, with only a few outliers.

She studied her map, looking for anything she could have missed. It wasn't a clear-cut indictment and definitely nothing that would hold up in court (not that they had one, but still), but far too much data was pointing in the same direction to be a coincident.

The informant had to be one of the fairies.