Chapter 26
"Where the hell have you been?" Emma asks as she slowly makes her way to stand between Regina and a newly revealed Gold automatically sensing the tension in the air.
"Seems to me you think you have the answer to that. It's lovely to know that I was missed." Gold offers with a smug smirk.
"You could have helped us out you know? We've been running around dealing with… I don't know… Neverland's wonders." Emma says as she struggles to find her words.
"How did you find us?" Regina asks as she brushes past Emma to confront the man.
"Wait…" Emma whispers as she grabs hold of Regina. "How do we know it's really… him?"
"Oh it's him alright. He reeks of dark magic." Regina says in disgust as she looks him over.
"It matters not how I found you only that I did. Where are the others? David… Mary Margaret?" Gold asks as he moves his way over to the stone table.
"Hook?" Regina adds with her own smirk as she moves closer to the table as well. At hearing the pirate's name Gold barely contains the urge to snarl. "We don't know. He was taken away." She answers offhandedly.
"So were my parents." Emma adds as she comes to stand behind the two.
"What are these?" Gold asks as he takes up the handwritten list and map.
"Um…" Emma starts to say.
"Apparently these are mementos of your son's journey." Regina says as she turns to him to gauge his reaction to the news.
"Bae… he wrote all of this?" Gold says with what appears to be a genuine look of shock though it's only obvious to Emma because Regina pays no mind to that sort of thing.
"So you didn't answer the question… how did you find us?" Emma asks as she takes on her ever defensive stance.
"I don't owe you an explanation." Gold says with a lift of his chin.
"What?" Emma says in complete disbelief. "You abandoned us back at the beach… what the hell were you doing while we ran around fending for ourselves." She asks as her anger rises.
"You seemed to have taken care of yourselves just fine and I'm here now aren't I?" He suggests with a raise of his brown. "You would do well to control your anger Emma." He says as he gestures to her trembling hands with a dip of his head. She looks down to take notice of this and clenches these now faintly glowing hands into fists. "It serves you no purpose and lures trouble your way... just ask our fallen Queen here." Gold says with a satisfied smile as he looks to the older woman.
Regina steps forward then but instead of speaking in defense of herself she uncharacteristically goes to defend the blonde. "Emma has every right to question your motives…" She says with sincerity which surprises herself as well as Emma and Gold who both look to the brunette with slightly shocked expressions. She hurries to offer in distraction, "… and I find it rather suspicious that you found us when you did. If you've been here before why does any of this surprise you?" She says as she gestures a hand over the stacks of parchment.
Gold lets loose a low chuckle before he breathily responds, "I never said that I have been here before. It was you who suggested it." He says dropping his head so that he has to look up to meet the brunette's gaze. "Do you honestly think I would have let Bae remain here to suffer the wrath of some boy Pan. If I had the ability to come to this land back then things would not have fallen into place the way that they did… the curse would not have happened. I would not have deemed it necessary to manipulate you in to getting us to a land without magic." Then he smiles brightly simply for affect which works of course.
Regina surges forward but Emma is quick to hold her in place. "Just… calm down. You know he's doing it on purpose." She mutters in the woman's ear. "Starting to see where you picked up the habit." She adds and then hears the woman huff her disproval of that statement yanking free of her hold. Emma then sets her gaze on Gold. "You said we had it all figured out. If you weren't out there collecting… squid ink… then where were you?"
"You were correct in your assumption. I was in the market for the squid ink… among other things. Your only mistake is thinking I would head out to procure it for myself. There are others to do that sort of thing in this land. There are ways to get what you want in any world and this one is no exception. All it takes is a deal… which I have already made. All I have to do now is live up to my end of the bargain." He offers all too casually.
"Which is what exactly?" Emma asks in confusion.
"Me." Regina says as she stands up straighter and lifts her chin. "You made a deal with those… lowlifes out there."
"Oh they aren't lowlifes Dearie, and I would watch my tongue if I were you. They are, after all, the ones that hold your son hostage." He says with another smile.
"Wait... what do you mean?" Emma hurries to ask still not quite catching on to their conversation but she is then distracted, catching a glimpse of movement in the shadows of the cave. In reality it is 'A Shadow' moving toward Regina. "Regina!" Emma shouts in warning but it is too late.
Regina struggles within its grasp for it is not apparent to her how to fight back against something of this nature. She can't feel it between her own hands when she grabs blindingly at it but it certainly has a hold of her. It somehow wraps itself around her, pinning her own arms to her body. "No!" She shouts as she shakes her body to try and wriggle free. "No!" She shouts once more through clenched teeth. Her mouth is then covered to prevent her from calling out further. Her widening eyes meet with Emma's for a split second before she suddenly vanishes.
"Regina!" Emma shouts after her as she jogs forward to the spot the woman had just disappeared from but nothing of the shadow or the woman remains. "What did you do?!" She says in a growl as she slowly turns about to face Gold.
"What I had to." He says simply, unfazed by her anger.
"You… you just let them take her?" She says in a panicked gasp.
"What are you so worked up about?" He says with a dismissive wave of his hand. "She's the Evil Queen. She doesn't deserve your heroics. It's about time you realize that nothing good will ever come of her."
"I can't believe you just… you traded her off… and for what? Some stupid squid ink!" Emma says as she can't control her rage any longer. Her hands start to shake yet again as her magic vibrates within her. Sparks starts to pop from her finger tips and as she brings her arms back in an effort to strike him down, Gold strikes first sending her crashing against the cave wall. It is Emma now who lies unconscious where she is stuck to dream once more of a love now lost.
Regina is too stunned to react accordingly as she is thrown to the ground so she is simply unprepared to prevent a blow to her forehead as it makes contact with a boulder. She blinks a few times to get her bearings but is soon blinded by a blur, not to mention the trickle of blood streaming from the new gash. "Regina…" She hears a vaguely familiar voice call but she is too drained to react to it at this point. She keeps her eyes shut and allows sleep to claim her.
When Regina wakes some time later it is to the muffled sounds of a conversation. "She's the one with the power. She cursed an entire kingdom to another realm… to our world. She is the real threat here."
"I'm not so sure about that." Says a female voice. "Gold gave her up too easily."
"Exactly… why else would he give her up? Clearly he sees her for the threat she is." Says the first voice and Regina starts to recognize it. "This woman… destroys people. She rips families apart. It's what she's good at."
Sure enough when Regina opens her eyes she sees the familiar face of Greg Mendel. She keeps her eyes squinted as to not catch his attention. She goes to move her arms but finds that she is bound to a wooden table in the middle of a well-lit cave.
"You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment." Says the woman in a mutter.
Regina attempts to scan her surroundings with her eyes but is soon caught by the owner of that female voice, Tamara.
"Ah… it's nice to see you are awake your Majesty." The younger woman says as she leisurely strolls over to look down at the woman.
"I'll bet you're wondering right about now where you are?" Greg says with a satisfied smile as he too makes his way over to the woman.
"Where's Henry?" Regina asks as she tries to lift her head to get a better look around but the restraints on her arms keep her movement limited.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him… as long as you cooperate he'll remain safe." Greg says as he tightens the restraints on her.
Regina attempts to feign indifference to this but she's weakened and winces a bit. "How do I know you haven't killed him already?"
"I think we both know he's far too valuable to just kill off." The man says as his smile grows brighter, purely content to have the upper hand.
Regina knits her brow in confusion. Just what did he mean by that? His tone clearly indicates this goes further than Henry just being leverage. "Why did you bring him here?"
"All in good time Regina… all in good time. Right now though I'd like to formally introduce you to your assailant… Peter Pan's Shadow." Greg says throwing a hand out in gesture as the shadow comes in to view, going so far as to float above them for affect. "He's a bit of a shady character." The man offers in a lame attempt at humor.
"And what of Pan… the boy who never grew up?" Regina asks her voice quite hoarse.
"Well… he's a bit… indisposed at the moment." Greg starts to offer with a smug smile but Tamara snaps him out of it by smacking him in the arm with the back of her hand.
"That's enough. Leave her to the lost boys. We have things to check up on." She says ushering him out of the cave's entrance as a pair of young boys wearing hooded cloaks come to stand guard. "Do not leave her unattended." Tamara says in parting.
Sometime later it is Emma who wakes from her unconscious state in the same cave she had watched Regina vanish from. She sits up and groans as she presses the palms of her hands in to her eyes.
"Welcome back Miss Swan." Gold says as he stands from where he had been perched atop the stone table. "You've been napping for quite a while now."
"Gold…" She grumbles while rubbing at the back of her head, trying to gain her equilibrium back as she gets to her feet. "You… what are you still doing here?" She asks in a weary mumble of words.
"First of all… I warned you to control your temper. It serves you no purpose." He says pointing a finger in the air for good measure. "Secondly I need you to understand that I am in fact on your side. Trading Regina was part of a plan that was enacted to save young Henry and start us back home." He says taking a few steps closer. "… and thirdly I'll need you to trust me a bit when I say that I have to get you out of here before we can speak any further." With that he suddenly grabs a hold of Emma's arm and in a swirl of light and smoke they appear near the water's edge of a shaded but unfamiliar place.
Still not fully in control of her limbs Emma drops to her knees on the dirt beneath her. She lets out a heavy sigh. "Where are we now?" She asks somewhat breathless.
"Where I intended you to be earlier… at mermaid's lagoon." He says as he gestures an arm in the air.
"What?! No… we can't be here. This isn't safe…. the mermaids…" Emma starts to argue.
"Are nowhere to be found." Finishes another familiar voice from behind.
"Hook?" Emma asks as her eyes instantly shoot to his feet.
"It's him." Gold says getting Emma's attention. "You're looking for his shadow aren't you?" He says lifting a knowing brow.
"How do you know…" She starts to question his insight.
"Dearie… I am cursed with vast knowledge let's leave it at that." Gold says to her dismissively as he makes his way toward the shore of this lagoon. "Now back to the plan…" he starts to offer.
"Why did you hand Regina over?" Emma interrupts him to ask.
"She's the distraction." Gold offers.
"No… you gave them exactly what they wanted." Emma starts to argue. "They've been trying to capture her!"
"Yes and if you would control that temper long enough I might be able to tell you exactly what it is they think they've got." Gold says glaring at the blonde now. Emma lets out a heavy sigh in an attempt to hold her tongue. Hook sniggers as he stands by to watch this exchange and Gold presses on in his explanation.