If someone were to ask her, this was getting ridiculously boring. But of course no one was going to ask her. Because God forbid, someone says something against all the shit that was happening. After all this time, in Storybrooke. It was like the place was cursed to never have peace… Wait! That was exactly what Regina's curse was for. What if the Dark Curse was never broken? What if she broke something else with that kiss on her son's lifeless body? What if there was a villain lurking in the shadows and laughing their ass off at their stupidity. Right! Because she, of all people would guess the very secret that would be kept.

A snort leaves her lips.

"Emma, what are you snorting about?" Regina's voice pulls her out of her thoughts.

Riiight! She is not alone with her thoughts. It's the middle of the night, Regina is eating ice-cream in bed; claiming that it was the babies desire not her. Riiight. Emma doesn't believe that Regina might bend any of her rules about not eating in the bedroom.

Even if it's for the babies.

"Ouch." She hisses at the poke in her ribs.

"Stop zoning out and tell me what are you thinking." Regina licks the rest of the ice-cream off the spoon.

Which sends chills down Emma's spine and makes her blood boil and her neither regions are on fire. But that ship is not coming to her coast soon so she groans and squeezes her legs to try and relieve the pressure. In vain of course but she had to answer to her wife.

"You are doing it again."

"I just need time to gather my thoughts." She fires back.

"Hmmm." Regina nods, taking in another spoon in her mouth. "We all know what a jumble they are."

Emma rolls her eyes and decides to let it go. "Well…" She starts, looking anywhere but at her wife. "What if there is still a curse? Hm?" Green eyes meet brown, expecting something from them. But when Regina is watching her like she is talking in Hebrew, she just continues. "I mean… What if there is some super villain who is still out there to get us and is the cause of the earthquake? What if your Dark Curse was never broken? Shouldn't Storybrooke just disappear when it did?"

Regina opens her mouth to fire back some witty reply but the last question makes her stop. Well, that does sound logical which surprised her. She did expect them to come back to the Enchanted Forest once the initial shock from breaking the curse settled in. And to this day she still hasn't found an answer. Could it be possible that the Dark Curse was never broken to begin with? Then what was that light that erupted from Emma's lips when they touched Henry's?

"Regina…"

The soft voice of her wife pulls her out of her thoughts. She clears her throat and blinks, before looking at the green eyes she adores. "I can't believe this…"

Emma frowns at the half sentence but waits.

"You actually might be right."

"Come again?" The blonde tilts her head to the side.

The roll of the brown eyes is immediate. Only her wife would want conformation of such thing. "There is a slight possibility that your theory might prove to be correct."

"Um… I didn't even think of that being real." Emma bites her lower lip. "I mean, it just popped in my head…" Her hands dance in front of her face without any aim. "But, um… It was just a floating thought. Nothing that could turn into…"

"Reality? But it could be."

"And?"

"What do you mean 'and'?"

"What if that is true? What does that mean to us?"

Regina sighs and leans her head on the headboard. "I don't know, Emma. I really don't. We could assume that the crosser is somehow this villain but…" She gasps remembering when she met them. "I think the crosser is one of our children. Which could mean…"

"They are villains?"

"Could it be?"

"We don't know what happens in the future." Emma takes one of Regina's hands in hers.

"But history has the tendency to repeat itself."

It is inevitable to think that way when you carry the burden of your own past, Emma thinks and presses her lips against the other's cheek. "Shh, don't say that." She whispers. "We don't know anything. Don't assume the worst."

A soft hand caresses Regina's cheek and she closes her eyes, willing the tears to stop from emerging. Silence falls over them and it's not unwelcome. On the contrary. They don't need to hear any words. They just need to be close.

It's the morning after the earthquake and Regina wonders why nothing is happening. This peacefulness brews only trouble ahead. And based on the past she could say it's going to be hell.

She eats her pancakes in silence, her stomach already protesting at the taste. She groans and slowly stands up. "Excuse me." She murmurs and leaves to go to the bathroom.

Reina frowns and turns to Emma, eyebrow lifted in a questioning manner.

"She is going to throw up. That's why she is losing weight. She needs to watch what she is eating more carefully because of the triplets." Emma explains to the brunette before asking. "So you found nothing at the source of the earthquake?" Just after the question she fills her mouth with pancakes, earning herself a laugh from the brunette and the other blonde.

"No, nothing physical. The magic trace is much like the one of the crosser so it's safe to assume that they are one and the same." There is a slight pause, before… "It is close to Regina's magic."

It is what Emma is afraid of. That Regina might actually be right and this could be an act of one of their children. Which causes her head to throb.

"But we can't trace it because it probably crosses realms and even time." Tink adds.

"We can only wait for their next move. Even if we go to the Enchanted Forest, we can't be sure that they are there."

"Basically we are sitting ducks?" Emma snaps back before scratching the back of her head. "I don't like this. At all. There should be a way to prevent… something from happening."

"Well, your Truest Love's magic is going to protect Regina and the babies. Plus, I'm staying." The brunette squeezes Tink's hand in hers. She feels so much better and freer after they have started courting in this world. Despite the troubles in this land, she loves it. She doesn't want to go back now that she has found love.

"Yeah, some comfort." A snort leaves Emma's lips. "I can't control the thing. It's just on autopilot."

"Isn't that great?" Tink asks. "It can sense what is danger and what not. It saves you energy and time. It should be precise."

"Should isn't enough." Emma says and shakes her blond hair. She knows that this is the best defense they have and she curses in her mind because this is nothing like Regina's magic in her mind. She's seen the Queen in action and it's fucking hot and over the top and at the tip of her fingers. Whereas hers is within her heart and is directly connected with the love she feels for the Queen. Which in Emma's book is way slower.

But fucking magic's logic.

And just like that, against all logic another earthquake shakes the land without magic. The air is thick with magic and suddenly the sun isn't shining so brightly.

Before Emma could react, her phone is ringing and it is her mother of all people. "Hey." Comes out as barely a greeting.

"Emma…" Snow is yelling at the other side of the phone but the connection is foggy and the signal gets lost at times.

"Ma, I can't hear you." Emma frowns and worry starts to rise in her. Her legs are already carrying her upstairs to Regina.

"… portal… here at the… The kids are…"

That is all she can hear.

"Where are you?" She asks in the device but the line dies. She dials her mother's number again while opening the bedroom's door, only to find Regina on the floor; curled up in what seemed to be clear agony.

A cry leaves full lips and Emma is quick on her knees, hands around her wife trying to convey as much of her love as possible. She could ask questions later.

"cemetery… vault…" is all she can hear from her mother before the lines dies again.

"The communications are down this time." She voices her thoughts as she notices her wi-fi missing as well. "This is not good."

"We need to…" Another sharp cry causes the brunette to cling to the blonde's strong body even more forcefully. Regina can't figure out where the pain is coming from but her immediate thought goes for the babies. "Find the source now."

"No." Emma shakes her head firmly. "We're not going anywhere. You can't stand on your own."

"You are going to carry me so I can find the fucking source and figure this out once and for all." There is fury in Regina's voice which gets louder by the word. There is anger building in her brown eyes and Emma swears she sees the Evil Queen before her. "Now, Emma."

And just like that she is quick on her feet, obediently lifting her and moving so they can leave the house. Ignoring the concern voices of Tink and Reina behind them. They are following them, of course but Emma doesn't care. She just follows Regina's instruction.

"Left. Turn right here and then again right. After two blocks… left." The brunette speaks as if she's the director of a tourist bus on the way to the landmark they wish to see.

Emma's legs are quick, Reina notices and it makes her almost jog to keep with the pair before her. The magic is getting stronger by the second and she thinks that the source is very near and in this land. Which could mean that there is a possibility that they could see whoever is causing this disaster. Her grip on Tink's hand tightens as she continues to follow the blonde before her.

Minutes pass, buildings are left behind as the four of them reach the forest which is located near the Wishing Well. The magic is filling the air, cracking with tension and it makes Regina feel dizzy even if she's in Emma's arms. It all feels completely strange and yet, somehow very familiar. Somehow home.

Which is the terrifying part in her mind.

"We should move forward." Regina breaks the silence after the four of them turned their eyes at each other. No one seemed eager enough to talk and her patience was wearing thin. "Now." She nearly screams and pinches her wife's bicep.

"Ouch." Emma whines but her legs are moving on their own accord already. Like they are completely under Regina's influence and don't have connection with her own brain. Fuck it, she curses and continues the path forward. Whatever it takes to end this ridiculous madness.

Few trees are passed before the Wishing Well comes into view. The four women stop and take their surroundings in. There is no one there. Only the palpable magic that caused the earthquake and the change of the weather. Whoever is responsible for all of that is not there.

"Is there a possibility that the crosser is in another realm and doing all of this from there?" The fairy is the one voicing everyone's thoughts. Because frankly, that is the only possible explanation.

"That, or they are not in this area, but channeling the magic so it seems like it's from here." Emma counters and receives another pinch by her wife. "Ouch."

"Tink is right." Regina narrows her eyes at the Sheriff. "They are clearly from the other side…" She points at the Well. "… and orchestrating all of this from there."

"The other option requires too much magic and too much concentration." Reina adds.

"So… we go through, right?" Emma questions.

"This time you are correct, Emma." Regina shifts in her arms so she can finally step on the ground.

"No, it's too risky." Reina shakes her head and steps in front of her sister. "Let me go pretending to be you. While you open a mirror to watch what is going on. That way, you are safe and through the mirror you are going to help with whatever comes up."

Emma's eyes notice how Regina arches her eyebrow, almost surprised by her sister's logical offer but at the same time her fists are constricting, as if cursing the logic of the proposition.

"I think she has a point here, Regina." Tink agrees, seeing the doubt in Emma's eyes. The latter is probably too scared to say anything.

But she proves her wrong.

"You know it's the safest way, Regina." Emma rubs her hands up and down her wife's back. "It's not the time to play hero. It's the time to think of our children."

There is nothing that Regina can do to counter any of the arguments that she has just heard.

So that leaves the only option.

"But you are going with her." She points at her wife.

A frown paints Emma's face and somehow she has expected that. Something in her gut was telling her that Regina would pull a stunt like that. "No." Comes from her lips with a determined tone. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'm not going to be alone." Regina counters and shakes her head. "Reina is going to pretend she is me, while I stay with Tink and pretend to be Reina. That way I am safe." She explains her plan.

But Emma slaps her hands over her face. "Fuck." She murmurs between her fingers. "This has to be a nightmare." Once her hands leave her face, she looks at her wife. "Please, tell me this is a nightmare and pinch me so I can be awake." Her face is quick to turn into a puppy one.

"No." The former Queen hisses and pinches her so loved bicep. "Not a dream but our reality instead. I think that plan is valid."

And no one can change her mind. It is clear in the way she speaks and the way her pose is. Just like the time she was Mayor and the curse was still pretty effective. And Emma's natural response to that is to fire back, although she knows that there is nothing she can do to change her mind.

But nevertheless they try. All three of them try to reason with her but she is firm.

Okay, this crazy plan of Regina's wasn't mine. My muse caught me by surprise but I ended up liking it so that is the logical end of this chapter. Crazy, right? Totally! Next up: twins swap! It's going to be interesting given the history of these four. Also… Regina pretending to not be pregnant at the fourth month is going to be fun!