Emma and her family went through the back ally to Gold's shop. Casey rapped at the door.
"Who is it?" Jefferson said.
"It's us Hatter." Casey said.
Jefferson opened the door and saw Emma and her family, "Sorry, about that, Rumpelstiltskin warned me about Regina." Letting them inside.
"No apologies necessary Jefferson." Splinter said as he walked inside.
Jefferson hurriedly closed and locked the door. Graham was waiting for them, "You made it here ok?" He asked.
"Yes. No one followed us." Leo said as he sat down.
"Maybe so, but we will not be able to keep this up for long." Splinter said.
"Well said." Rumpelstiltskin said as he came into the back room. "I take it Emma has told you of the encounter with Regina?"
"Yes, she told us what happened. How was she able to make the connection?" Donnie asked.
"The only thing I can deduce is she came to the graveyard and visited her vault as soon as we left."
"So much for being careful." Raph said sarcastically.
"Indeed. Now, we need to work forward and make a steady plan for breaking the curse," Rumpelstiltskin said.
"We're gonna try now?" Mikey asked.
"Not this minute, but we have to make a plan to do it. Your daughter figured out how Regina plans her moves and that has me thinking to what we could do." Rumpelstiltskin said.
"Same here," Emma said, "Regina is making her moves like an opponent does in a chess game. The players plan their strategy five moves ahead to make the person's opponent go to where they want to go so they can declare checkmate. We play the queens game, we'll have a system to work with breaking the curse as well as trapping Regina at the same time."
"That could work." Jefferson said, eyes lightening up at the thought.
"It could, but we need to be careful of the moves we make still." Donnie said.
"That is true Donatello. However, we might still be able to do other things while the queen is preoccupied." Splinter said to his second eldest son.
"Like what?" Mikey asked.
"Gathering more information about the residents of the Enchanted Forest's so they may receive their memories back." Emma said as it dawned on her.
"It still won't be easy. Regina will notice the curse weakening and that will cause her to act out if she feels necessary." Graham pointed out.
Emma frowned and thought a bit more. Her eyes light up at something, "What if we just needed someone who can help push the curse a step further into being broken?"
Everyone looked at Emma as she started to smile and began pacing, "Emma?" April asked.
She turned to the occupants in the room, "I already mentioned if kissing my father on the cheek would be possible right?"
"You did, yes." Graham said.
"Maybe it won't break the curse, but what if it was enough to make remember who he is? Couldn't that work too?" She asked, looking at Rumpelstiltskin.
The Dark One started realizing what she was saying and began muttering as he thought, "Yes, yes, it could work. If it did bring your father out of his slumber, and he does remember he might be the extra leverage to break the curse."
"How will we know for sure though?" April asked.
"It's simple," Jefferson said, "Emma needs to kiss her father."
"Yeah, but we can't just waltz into the hospital." April said,
"You need to have a scheduled appointment to visit someone or at least be a volunteer to get close to them." Leo pointed out, finishing April's sentence.
"Mary-Margaret is a volunteer at the hospital. Maybe she can get Emma in the next time she goes to volunteer. She could bring Emma with her and when they get to Prince Charming's room Emma can do the kiss to wake him up." Mikey said.
"Never thought I'd say this Mikey, but that is actually a very good idea." Raph said.
"Yes, very thoughtful thinking Michelangelo. We can use that to our advantage." Rumpelstiltskin said.
"The only problem will be Regina," Graham said, "She is aware of what goes on in this town and will make sure to be there once something happens. She's there when he remembers, that might cause a problem."
"That is true Huntsman." Rumpelstiltskin said, "However, Ms. Blanchard might be able to help us though. For all we know it could work either way, Emma will just awaken her father or break the whole curse."
"Well, we won't know anything until we try something." Emma said.
"True Ems. Besides queenie isn't gonna sit around on her throne waitin' for something to happen." Casey said.
"Very true Mr. Jones." Rumpelstiltskin said.
"First let's see if we can ask Emma to accompany Ms. Blanchard to her next volunteer day at the hospital. If all goes well from there, things will go according to plan, but we should still be weary of who's around us." Splinter said.
Everyone agreed to the plan, but that didn't relieve their nerves about Regina.
Emma and the family walked back to Mary-Margaret's apartment, her emotions going haywire. Regina knew who she was and about the fake documents. She was angry, sad, wanted to scream at the world but couldn't bring herself to do anything. Her eyes were dull and instead of the bouncy attitude she had, she was brooding. When they went into the apartment, Emma went upstairs, claiming she needed to be alone. She stared at the sky through the window in the loft, laying on the bed with her baby blanket curled up beside her.
"Hey Emma," Mary-Margaret was walking up, "You ok?"
"I'm fine, just a lot on my mind."
That didn't faze Mary-Margaret as she walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, "Emma, you can talk with me, you know I'm here and so is your family."
"I know. It's…complicated."
"Try me." The young teacher said.
Emma got up. Turning to face the woman who she knew was her mother. She took a deep breath.
"I'm mostly worried about Regina. She knows the orphanage I was in was fake. She's threatened to take me away from the only family I ever knew and grew to love. It's hard, and because there's something about her I don't like."
"I'm sorry Emma." Mary rubbed the girl's back, not realizing they had an audience from the staircase. "Regina can be like that. She always knows things that none of us remember. But don't let her get you down. You're stronger than that."
Emma smiled at her, "Yeah, I have my dad, my aunt and uncle and my brothers to help with that."
"How did you come into their family?"
"My dad found me after my birth parents had to give me up. There was someone trying to kill me and so they gave me to my adoptive dad so I could live safely. It's hard because I know they're alive and what they did and understand why they did it. I love my dad, my brothers, and April and Casey, but I wish I could be with my real parents."
Mary-Margaret had tears in her eyes as she heard this. She was amazed at how someone could live with that, and still be strong, "Well, either way, I know that they would be very proud of you Emma."
"You think so?" She asked hopefully.
Mary brushed her hand through Emma's hair and said, "I know so."
Emma couldn't control herself. She hugged Mary-Margaret. Mary was startled but wrapped her arms around Emma. It just felt right. Emma sighed, feeling the tears fall out as she hugged her 'mother.' She wanted her to remember her. But, she knew she had to wait…Soon, she could be with her biological family again, but right now, she would make sure they wouldn't get hurt from Regina.
Early the next morning, the family was up early. Mary-Margaret was back at school so Emma, Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Splinter, Casey and April decided to do detective work on the town's residents. April and Casey had gone out to look for anything they could find whereas everyone else was still at the apartment. They consulted the fairy tales book again and saw the story's surrounding her mother, father, Red, and the people associated with her parents. She jotted down a list and knew she and her brothers would be making another trip to the abandoned library again. Emma was working on 'homework' set up by April. She felt herself getting hungry, "Well, it's almost twelve, might as well go head to Granny's." She said to herself as she got up from her spot on the bed.
She raced down the steps and saw Raph reading a book, Leo trying to meditate with Splinter, Donnie working on some technical device and Mikey was napping.
"Done with your homework Emma?" Splinter asked.
"Just about Master Splinter. I was thinking about getting lunch at the diner."
Splinter opened his eyes and stared at Emma, getting the attention of Leo, Raph, and Don.
"Raphael, accompany Emma." Splinter said.
"Yes Master Splinter." The turtle he got on, slipping on the ring which put him back into his disguise.
Emma shook her head, "It'd be better if you guys just kept those on for the time being. How do you think Regina will act if she, or anybody for that matter, finds out what you are." Emma said pointedly.
"We're fine lil' sis." Mikey said, who just got up from napping, "And by the way, can you keep up some food for me us well?"
"Might as well get food for everyone here." Raph said as he got a hoodie on.
"Ok, pizza?" Emma asked.
"Yes." Mikey said.
"Please Emma." Don said.
"That'd be nice." Leo said.
"Alright, Raph and I will be back with a pie. Sensai is there anything we can get you?" Emma turned to the rat.
"Not thank you my daughter. Keep your guard on Raphael."
"I will Master Splinter." Raph said as he and Emma walked out.
"Itchin' to get out of the house?" Raph said.
"Was it that obvious?" Emma said looking at Raph.
"Pretty much." Raph smirked.
Emma groaned and kicked a rock, sending it into a tree across the road, "I understand why to be careful but this is just crazy."
"Hey, you got a bad-ass step-grandmother out for revenge."
"Which I did not ask for." Emma countered.
"We know. Splinter doesn't like doing it either but hey, we can't afford to be careless."
"I get that Raph but I'm not some helpless little girl. I've been trained as ninja like the rest of you guys."
"We know Ems," Raph said clapping a hand on her shoulder, "We just want to make sure you're ok."
Emma smiled and leaned into her brother's side, "And I can't imagine life without you, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, Splinter, Casey or April. It's just ever since I found out about my parents being alive and who they are-"
"You want to know what happened. Believe me, so do we. I think this the first time we've really seen Mikey going all serious for once," Raph said laughing, making Emma laugh too.
"I know. And when the time comes to Regina in her place, I'm gonna need all of you there."
"You're startin' to sound like Leo." Raph said.
"I'm not!" Emma said, Raph looked at her with a small smirk, "Ok, maybe a bit, but you know that it's true."
"Yeah, and don't worry you'll all of us there for when we take the queen crazy down."
Emma smiled as she and Raph made it to the diner, thankful that she had her family with her.
Raph and Emma ordered from Ruby and sat down talking to her as she prepared the food. Their happiness was cut short as they all heard a familiar voice,
"Emma. Raphael."
Regina. Emma turned and saw Regina standing a little too closely to her. She put on a polite mask, "Madam Mayor, hello." She said.
"Hello. How are you and your family doing?" She asked with a sickeningly smile.
"We're good." Raphael answered. His eyes narrowed a bit and he inched forward so he was closer to Emma.
Regina's eyes twitched a bit but kept her posture, "Where is your father and other brothers?"
"At home. We're ordering in today." Emma said.
"Well," Regina drawled out the word, "I'm glad I ran into you too, because I have something I need to give to you." She handed a large manila envelope. Raphael took it and opened it up. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Regina smiling like a cat, "I'll see you and your family in court." She said and walked away.
Emma glanced at the top of the paper as Raph pulled them fully out and Emma and felt her heart stop beating. She started to shake and Raph hugged her and growled a bit. It was a court order. Regina had moved her first chess piece and was trapping Emma.
"This is bad. Very, very, humongous bad!" Mikey said freaking out.
"She's starting to play her game." April said as she looked at the court order. "This is no fake document. It's a real and the date is next Friday."
"What are we gonna do?" Emma said, freaked out, Casey was trying to calm her down.
"We're going to have to go along with this." Leo said as he was leaning against the window.
"Leo, did you not hear Emma? That whack job is tryin' to do something to Ems." Raph growled.
"I am aware of that Raph," Leo said getting pissed off at his brother's blunt statement, "but you know that unless we have a solid case to prove that she is fine with us-"
"Boys." Splinter interrupted with a firm voice, making Raph and Leo turn away, but not without glaring at each other.
"We will bring this up with Gold tonight when we go to the pawn shop, for right now; we keep alert and prepare for the court date. We will need to provide an honest statement in regards to Emma still living with us. I fear Regina will just be pulling out her first set of moves against us."
"How are we gonna do that sensei?" Donnie said, "She knows that the orphanage records are fakes."
"Maybe so, but her schools are not." Leo said.
"That will help, yes, but we must show that Emma is fine where she is. Otherwise, Regina could still pull something else out." April said, glancing up from reading the court order.
"Maybe we should make another trip to that library." Emma said.
Splinter stroked his chin in thought, "Possibly. I believe we might find more answers there."
"Should we go tonight?" Leo asked.
"Let us talk with Rumpelstiltskin first. He might have a better idea of what Regina will do next." Emma said.
"I agree with Emma. The dude might be creepy, but he knows the queen." Mikey said.
"I agree with Ems too." Raph said.
"Very well, then tonight, we shall bring up this matter with the Dark One." Splinter said.
Night came fast. Rumpelstiltskin examined the court order himself, "She's starting to get scared." He said, handing it back to Casey.
"The queen knows the curse is breaking." The huntsman said.
"Indeed." Rumpelstiltskin turned his attention to Emma. "I think the plan of kissing your father is going to move quicker than we expected dearie."
"We talked to Mary-Margaret. She's going to the hospital on Wednesday. That should be enough time for us to convince her to have Emma go with her."
"I'm afraid it's now a little more complicated than that," Rumpelstiltskin said, "Regina may have set up this court order, but that will not mean she's going to lay low. She will continue to make moves on your family till she gets Emma where she wants her."
"What about the library?" April said.
"The library should provide us with information. However, she used very dark magic to prevent people from seeing certain things."
"Like the elevator in there?" Emma said.
Rumpelstiltskin turned to her with a questioning look, "Elevator?"
Emma nodded, "There's an elevator inside. When I touched it, it was like something burned my hand. I could feel the magic itself felt dirty, like it was oil mixed with water or something or other."
"You could feel the magic?" Jefferson asked.
"Yeah. I've been able to see the magic surrounding everyone as we walk around. I could see how it was blocking everyone's minds."
"Interesting." Rumpelstiltskin furrowed his eyebrows at the thought.
Emma frowned as she watched the Dark One think on this, 'Oh great!' she thought, 'I'll have to keep an extra eye on tall, dark, and creepy.'
"Rumpelstiltskin." Splinter said, pulling the man out of his thoughts, "You know Regina, when would she most likely strike again?"
He sighed, "I don't know. Regina has a habit of being unpredictable. She could when you at least expect it, but what I can tell you is she will strike soon. The court order is just the tip of the iceberg."
"How lovely." Emma said sarcastically, running her hands through her hair. Donnie put a hand on her shoulder.
"Apparently so. You better be prepared for the worst dearie. Because she made the first move and she's not going to give up easily."
"I can handle that bi%$h myself if I have to." Emma growled.
"We're not saying you can't Emma," Donnie said, "But Regina has us in a tight spot and if we want to get out of it, we gotta be very careful."
Emma sighed, she knew Donatello was right, "I'm sorry guys, it' just-"
"No need to apologize my daughter," Splinter said as he sat down next to her, "We will find a way to this predicament."
Emma smiled and hugged Splinter. Everyone smiled, while Rumpelstiltskin looked blank and Jefferson saddened. Emma pulled away and took a deep breath, "I think we should go to the library now, the way how you mentioned it, it sounds like Regina has someone or something down there," She stared pointedly at Rumpelstiltskin, "Who or what is it?"
Rumpelstiltskin's eyes widened a fraction till he let out a resigned sigh, darn she is good, "She has someone hidden in the library. The elevator takes you down to her. She's stuck in her other form."
"Form?" Leo asked.
"She's human, but she can turn into a dragon."
"A dragon!? She has a dragon hidden in this town?!" Casey practically shouted.
"Yes, Mr. Jones. Regina trapped her in that form before she activated the curse."
"And just who is this dragon?" Raph said as he got up, facing the man.
Rumpelstiltskin smirked a bit as if he was sharing a joke with himself, "Her name is Maleficent."