First off, I only realized now that I kept calling Ariel's land 'Atlantis' instead of 'Atlantica', and it was unintentional, so from now on I will call it 'Atlantica', so that no one gets confused, and sorry for the error.

Secondly, thank you for all the reviews and followings, I appreciate the support, and I'm glad you all like my story.

To Percybeth4ever, sorry to disappoint, but I don't see a kidnaping in this story, not how I planned it all, but I hope you will enjoy what is yet to come.

To CMiller13, there will definitely be ganging up when they are back in Storybrooke, but you will be surprised of who against who.

To Jason, thank you and I'm glad you like and enjoy it.

To Carriemarie78, my devoted fan, glad you like it, and like I said before, as soon as the chapter is complete in my mind I have to write it down, so I can move on to other things, so no worries, updates will be happening soon and close together.

To Kcrane, my other devoted fan, thank you and yes I know sad :( but you seemed one step ahead of me, so I figured I surprise you :D.

To .Blonde, thank you very much and I'm glad you enjoy it that much. xD.

To all my readers, here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy it.

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Regina and Ruby sat on the couch opposite each other, each had a glass of Regina's famous apple cider.

"Regina, this is amazing." Ruby exclaimed, as she sipped on her glass.

"Thanks."

They both sipped on their drinks in silence for a few seconds before Regina broke it, "I can't believe she went through this, I don't know how Athena was able to just stand there with Hook in front of her, and not rip him to pieces." She said, tears and pain still evident in her voice.

"She doesn't know." Ruby said, and Regina's eyes widened, "What?"

"Ariel never told anyone, not even me. She was jumpy after she came back, but I thought it was just exhaustion, and she said she dreamt about you, which always made her a bit jumpy. But I don't think she ever told anyone about the rape. Athena didn't even look towards Hook, not even a look of hate or animosity. And I know her, if she knew, ripping him apart wouldn't have been enough."

"It won't be enough for me." Regina hissed, as she took another sip.

"He seemed sincere in his statements, both his love and not allowing it."

"He's still getting ripped apart, he won't lay a hand on my little girl again." Regina said, and Ruby finally realized what Regina meant and started laughing, "Roar" she said to Regina, "Exactly" was Regina's answer, as she smiled at Ruby.

"I'm guessing you will wrap her in cotton when she gets here."

"Oh you bet I will."

Ruby erupted in a fit of giggles, "This should be fun."

"Come on, we need to clear out the other spare room, once they get here, they'll need space to stay." Regina said, getting up from the couch, after finishing her cup.

"I'll take Mulan and Aurora off your hands, they won't be in any danger, so they can stay with me." Ruby said, getting up as well, and following Regina out of the room, "And Hook" she added with a wink after she saw the look Regina gave her.

"Thank you." Regina said gratefully, "That will save me the trouble of having to lock him in the basement myself." She added, causing Ruby to erupt in giggles.

The rest of the day was spent in clearing things out, and they had a bit of fun with cleaning as well, some things went into the basement and others to the trash.

When it was time to pick Henry up from school, they both left.

"Can't you use the mirror as a messaging service? Send a letter or something?"

"No, only as a looking glass. And I'm afraid I can't control the water."

"Well, watching over them is better than nothing at all."

"Yeah, but standing there helpless as you watch two ogres close in on your daughter wasn't easy. Especially when Snow decided to join her."

"I bet. But your love saved her, and she's fine. And don't worry, I'm sure Snow won't let ogres touch her, and she won't let Cora touch them."

"I know."

After a moment of silence, Regina finally asked the question she had been postponing, "How old was she?" she asked Ruby, and noticing the confused look Ruby gave her, she added, "The Neverland incident."

Ruby swallowed hard, and looked sympathetically at Regina, "17" and she saw how Regina's face paled immediately.

Regina could feel her heart stop, and she felt sick all of a sudden. She felt like someone had stabbed her with a million knives at the same time, '17', she kept thinking, 'she was a baby', and before she knew it, her tears were flowing down her cheeks.

Ruby put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, as Regina kept driving. "I know this is unbearable Regina, but she's strong, and she will be in your arms soon." She said soothingly.

Regina just nodded, as she tried to shake it off; they were closing in on Henry's school and she didn't want him to see her crying.

She pulled up to Henry's school parking, and saw him running out of school. She got out and he slammed into her. She hugged him back, "How was school?" she asked.

"The usual, how was your day?" Henry asked her, as he hugged Ruby.

"Nothing much, we cleaned the spare room to make sure that we have enough room for Emma and Snow"

"So what are we gonna do today?" he asked, as he got into the backseat of her car.

"I don't have anything in mind." Regina answered.

"How about shopping? Ariel is gonna need clothes when she gets here, she can't keep walking around in her dress" Ruby told them.

"Do you know her size?" Regina asked.

"Yeah, she's your size, so you can try the clothes on." Ruby told her.

"And maybe you can buy some new stuff, less mayory stuff." Henry added from his place between their seats.

"Alright then, we can grab some ice cream on our way back home too." Regina said, as she steered her car in the direction of the clothes store.

"Can we get the brownies stuff too? I miss them" Henry asked.

"Sure, we'll have them for desert today." She said.

"I'll call David and let him know." Ruby said as she dug her phone out of her pocket.

The rest of the day was spent clothes shopping. Ruby would pick stuff out, force Regina to go into the fitting room and try them on, while she and Henry criticized. And they were mean critics. They would make Regina twirl around 50 times before deciding; if it's an Ariel-outfit, a Regina-outfit, or not-a-chance-outfit.

They went back home around 7; they had picked up dinner from Granny's, since they were all beat and Regina had decided against cooking. She made the brownies for Henry, while he finished his homework, as they waited for David to come home so they can eat. He came home an hour later, Henry had finished his homework, so they all saw down to eat, Ruby included. Dinner was spent in talks and laughter, Henry and Ruby had decided that Regina's suffering as they clothes shopped would be the topic of entertainment. So they took turns telling tales, and finishing each other's sentences, while Regina mock glared at them at times, or playfully smacked them at others. David's stomach was starting to hurt him from all the laughing. When they were done, they helped Regina clear it up, before Ruby headed home, after saying her goodnights.

Henry then turned to his mother, "Can we check on them before bed?", and she realized that Henry basically took the words out of David's mouth. She wasn't sure she wanted Henry to watch it again, she wasn't sure what secrets her daughter might spill again. But she caved, because she knew he missed Emma and Snow, "Sure, let's go."

They all walked back to the mirror, and Regina waved her hand.

Ariel sat on a rock, with her arm in Snow's hand, hissing every time Snow rubbed a cloth against it. Snow moved to put the cloth into a bowl, and a huge gash on Ariel's arm became visible. Fire was cracking behind them, lighting the scene.

David saw the worry in Regina's eyes, and the beginning of panic attack as well.

"The most powerful witch of all times, and she cuts herself on a tree branch." Emma teased.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Ariel asked in mock anger.

"Very much so" Emma said, quoting Ariel's words, "Aint my fault that the universe decided that you need to take it easy on me." She said smirking.

"It's not that deep, thankfully. But I will wrap it up in any case, and we need to go back fast, before it gets infected." Snow said, as she started to wrap the wound.

"I wanna go back now, but we need to immobilize Cora somehow" Ariel said, as she moved her arm, to see how much it will hurt.

"Yeah, I know." Snow sighed as she got up.

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it."

Regina and David couldn't help but notice how beautiful Ariel was, hell she was gorgeous. She stood in the firelight, which reflected off her black hair. Her scarlet dress in the firelight also gave her a more mystical air; it was figure hugging and flowing down starting from her waist, with a slit down its right side, starting from her midthigh, and she was wearing black flats. And her eyes glowed in the light, and Regina couldn't help but notice the exhaustion in them.

"Come on Emma, don't think you got away with it." Ariel said, as she bent down to pick up the wooden swords.

"What about your arm?" Emma asked.

"It's my left one, and it doesn't hurt that much when I move it. So let's go" she told her, as she tossed her the other sword.

Emma grumbled before getting up and standing in front of Ariel, and they started their match. Ariel was taking it easy on Emma, as she was still training. But it was hilarious to watch, the small group giggled from time to time; either at Emma's statements, Ariel's remarks, or the interaction between the two, and some of the falls Emma took were hilarious, that even Ariel would laugh.

Regina, David and Henry watched the scene, incredibly amused. Both parents had huge smiles on their faces, and soon enough they were cheering. Henry was neutral, he cheered the move that he liked, which let's face it, was mostly in Ariel's favor.

"Mom, a little help here." Emma yelled in her mother's direction, who was holding her stomach from laughing.

"Alright Ariel, let's do this for real." Snow said, as she got up and picked up the real swords, and gave Ariel one.

"Thank you" Emma said, as she gave her mother a peck on the cheek, and ran to sit with the audience.

Snow and Ariel started their match, and it didn't take long for it to heat up. Soon enough, the 4 audience members were cheering, since this place was hidden and safe from the ogres.

To anyone passing by the street in front of the mayor's house, it seemed like the occupants were watching the final match in the world cup, not a friendly sword fight. Cheers and encouragements were flying all over the place; David rooting for his wife, Regina for her daughter, and Henry was neutral once again.

"How the hell does a mermaid know how to fight like this? Aren't they supposed to sing and dance all the time?" Emma asked from her place on the rock, earning a snort from Hook.

"She knows how to sing and dance alright, but she is also one hell of a knight." He told her.

"Lancelot taught her" Mulan remarked, "they were pretty close, she was like his little sister."

"He taught her well" Emma remarked, as the already heated match, was blazing in front of them.

A victorious yell erupted from Ariel, when Snow found her sword out of her hand, and the tip of Ariel's sword at her neck. They were both panting, and had incredibly flushed cheeks.

Regina cheered, and clapped her hands, as David mock pouted.

"That's my girl" she exclaimed with pride.

"I need to train Snow more when she gets back." He said, pretending to be a sore loser.

"You need to train me first." Henry declared.

"Yes I do." He chuckled.

Snow and Ariel walked back to the group, laughing and talking.

"Alright, bedtime for all." Ariel declared, as she clapped her hand, and waved them to where the cottages and tents stood.

"We need to schedule guarding shifts" Mulan said, "I'll take the first one." she added.

"No, no need for shifts. I'll stay up. None of you have powers, and if Cora attacked, you'll be defenseless. You all sleep, and I'll stay up."

"You're gonna stay up all night?" Snow asked her, amazed.

"What choice do I have? It's alright. I used to do it with Lancelot a lot, when he would get exhausted, I would stay up on guard, and he would sleep." Ariel explained, a longing smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, for one night. How long are we gonna keep this up?" Aurora asked, "you can't stay up all the time."

"Let's take it one day at a time, maybe I'll figure something out overnight." Ariel told them, before she shooed them to the tents.

"I will sleep out here." Hook told her, when she looked at him, with a questioning gaze as he wasn't moving.

She was about to object, when he looked at her with a pleading expression and pleading eyes, "Please."

"Fine. But you are going to sleep, you won't keep me company." She told him.

"As you wish." He told her.

"I'll go get mattresses from one of the cottages for you both." Mulan told her.

"Thanks Mulan." To which Mulan nodded.

As soon as the group was out of hearing range, Hook turned to Ariel.

"Thank you for letting me stay." He said, she turned around about to shoot an angry remark at him, but when she saw the sincere look on his face, she bit it back, "Sure." She said before turning back.

Hook kept looking longingly at her.

"Why did you kill them?" She asked, without even turning around to face him.

"They hurt you, and moreover they told you that I allowed it. They hurt the one person that mattered to me, and in a way that was heinous. How did you expect me to react? When I arrived after the boy got me and saw the effects of your magic on them, I lost it. And in that moment, I understood how Rumpelstiltskin was able to rip Milah's heart out; she had hurt their son, she hurt the one person he cared about more than anything, so he ripped her heart out for it. If I could do it to them, I would have. But since I couldn't, I tied them up and threw them to the sharks, and didn't leave till the water turned red."

Ariel was fighting back tears, but before she could answer, they heard footsteps, and saw Mulan and Snow approaching with the mattresses.

They laid them down on the ground.

"Thanks." Ariel and Hook said simultaneously.

"You sure you don't want some company? We can take shifts with you." Snow offered.

"No, it's alright. It has been a long few days for you guys. You need to rest. I'll be fine."

"Ok, call if you need us." Snow said, as she leaned down and hugged Ariel. Ariel hugged her back.

Snow then walked over to Hook and squatted down to his level, "If you hurt her in any way, you won't have to worry about Regina ripping you apart, because you will deal with an incredibly angry older sister, am I clear?" Snow said in a low threatening voice.

"I won't hurt her, I can't" Hook told her, and she noted the sincerity in his voice, she nodded and stood up and walked back to the tent she shared with her daughter. Mulan had already gone into the tent she shared with Aurora.

Hook kept staring at Ariel, from his place on the mattress, until exhaustion took its toll, and he fell asleep.

The mirror returned to normal. And David noted that Regina's anger was starting to bubble up again and take over.

"Bedtime for you Henry" he told his grandson.

"Yeah, Good night." He said, as he hugged David and Regina. Regina hugged him back, and all 3 walked upstairs.

Regina tucked him in, and Henry noticed the anger and pain in her eyes, and he knew it was over what happened to Ariel.

"You didn't know. It's not your fault what happened, you didn't fail her." He told his mother, as she was straightening the covers around him, and she froze mid-move.

"I know, it's just not easy" she told him, as she fought to keep the tears at bay.

"I know" he said as he gave her a reassuring smile.

Regina smiled back, and leaned over kissing his forehead, "good night, sweetheart" she warmly said to him.

"Night, mom. I love you." Henry said, and that simple statement caused Regina's heart to stop, before she answered, "I love you too, very much." She said, though her voice was choking.

She walked to her room, thinking about the events of the day. She changed into her nightgown, and sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the red velvet blanket that belonged to her daughter. She caressed the logo in the corner, and smiled at the memory of how her love that she poured into the song inside the locket had saved her daughter earlier today. She then got her phone, and kept looking at the photo she took of her daughter as a baby. And that was the last thing she saw before all the emotions and events of the day finally took its toll on her and she fell asleep.

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Let me know what you all think. Hope you all enjoy it, please R&R.