"Henry's in Asgard?" whispered Regina, swaying with the impact of the words.

Ruby nodded grimly. "I think that's why Rhys isn't here. He must've taken Henry there personally."

"How is he taking him there? Can we catch up to them?" asked Emma desperately.

"Rhys always goes to Asgard through the stone portal. There's no way we can follow him, though. He has this magic glass ball that's like a key," replied Ruby, sounding defeated.

Killian's surprise must've been reflected in Emma's face, as well as Elsa's and Arthur's, because Regina and Ruby were watching them all curiously.

"You guys know something about the stone portal?" asked Regina.

"Yeah, we've traveled through them before," said Emma, her gaze distant. Killian eyed his wife with a sinking feeling. Her mind was clearly whirring with plans to storm Asgard.

"Aye, we've traveled by the Crossings. Met a rather belligerent troll there, if memory serves," he said warningly, hoping to inject a note of caution into the proceedings. Beside him, Arthur nodded vigorously, clutching Excalibur with white knuckles.

"It's too dangerous," said Elsa, darting worried glances at Arthur. "We really shouldn't risk using the Crossings again."

"The orb is in my bag, with Moriah and the elves," said Emma, as though none of them had spoken. "We'll have to go get that first."

"You have an orb?" asked Ruby in awed tones, agog.

"How the hell did you get one?" asked Regina, impressed.

"Soria Moria," replied Emma, distractedly. "It's a long story. Where's the portal? If we hurry and get the orb, maybe we can catch up to them!"

"It's not far, I can take you there. But I doubt we can catch up to them. It's not a very long trip through the - what did you call them? The Crossings? And they left at least a day ago. I'm sure they're in Asgard by now," said Ruby sadly.

"Then that's where we're going," said Emma firmly, locking eyes with Regina as though daring the woman to contradict her. It was a measure of how insane this idea apparently was that Regina, who Killian knew to have the bravery of a lion when her son was under threat, actually hesitated a very long moment before finally nodding in agreement. Killian's skin went clammy with dread.

"But…but…that's suicide!" gasped Ruby.

"She's right, it's the only way. Our intelligence indicates they're going to break him before they kill him and they're very good at that. We don't have much time," said Regina with grim determination.

"But once you get there, you'll be in Asgard! Surrounded by Asgardians! It's…it's crazy!" yelped the young woman, looking back and forth between Regina and Emma as though they'd taken leave of their senses. Killian was inclined to agree, but he decided to save his arguments for a moment when he was alone with Emma.

"Let's go get the orb now. We'll figure it out on the way," said Emma, heading for the stairs.

They climbed back to the dank silence of the entry hall, where Toothless and his riders awaited. Ruby growled as she spotted the dragon, crouching low as if to pounce. The dragon's hackles raised as he backed away defensively. Merida's bow came up, arrow nocked.

"It's okay, Ruby," said Emma with a hand on the woman's shoulder. "The dragon's with us. His name's Toothless, and his riders are Hic and Merida. Oh, and this is Elsa and Arthur, by the way."

Ruby rose unsteadily and her feral expression disappeared. She looked tremendously exhausted.

"Sorry about that, I'm just a little on edge. We really need to get out of here before Rhys gets back. He might have reinforcements with him this time. Before we got captured, I was going to report back about that, General. I went with him to Asgard a week ago and we picked up enough provisions to support an entire garrison through the winter. Rhys has been expecting them to arrive any day now."

Regina took a deep breath, jaw clenched. "We've been waiting for this. Our resistance has been enough of an annoyance to Asgard that they're finally sending reinforcements. This information could've helped us, if Henry hadn't gotten captured. I had to institute Protocol Azimuth, Lieutenant. Command has gone dark."

Ruby withered under her one-eyed glare, looking devastated. "I'm so sorry, General. I'd give anything to trade places with him."

Regina threw her one last disgusted look and stalked for the exit. "No use standing around whining, Lieutenant. Let's move out."

They made their way out of the castle, no one speaking much as their thoughts turned to the monumental task that suddenly lay ahead of them. The battle they'd just fought seemed insignificant now in comparison with sneaking into Asgard itself. They tugged up the hoods of their cloaks. A lashing rain was coming down now, the storm howling in earnest.

ooooooooooo

They approached the rendezvous point, which was a small hillock rounded by a muddy stream and shrouded densely with dead trees and boulders. Killian cupped his hands around his lips and made a shrill whistle that echoed through the desolate wood. The elves probably had known they were coming ages ago, but it was prudent to follow the agreed protocol, just in case.

An answering trill sounded from above, followed by the descending form of Daínn, who had apparently been perched invisibly in one of the twisted trees high above them. He hopped lightly to the ground as if a thirty foot drop was nothing, never losing his grip on the bow and arrow in his hands. He was much bulkier than his slender frame normally would be, due to the five year old child lashed securely to his back, a child whose eyes showed clearly that she'd been crying in their absence. Killian and Emma rushed to meet them.

"We're fine, darling," said Killian, wanting desperately to comfort her. Emma swooped in and took the little girl in her arms. Their daughter whimpered and snuggled into her mother's neck, seeming too traumatized to speak. Killian traded concerned looks with Emma. This was no life for their child, hanging about in wet, dark woods, waiting for her parents to return from battle. Feeling like a complete failure as a father, he reached for the pocket in his coat where his rum flask was secured and nearly groaned at remembering it was bone dry.

"Have you had any trouble here? Where's Saefara?" asked Killian hoarsely, wondering where the second elf was.

"Here," came a voice from behind them. "I circled behind you a quarter mile back to make sure you weren't being followed."

"All was quiet, Killian," added Daínn, who was adjusting his cloak and weapons now that Moriah was no longer appended to him like a child-sized barnacle. He leaned in so just Killian could hear him. "Except for the crying, that is. The child was quite upset, especially once we started hearing the sounds of battle. I did my best to soothe her, but…" he trailed off with a shrug.

"Thanks for looking after her, mate," replied Killian gratefully, resting his good hand protectively on his daughter's damp head.

"It is my duty," replied the elf, but without bitterness. He was eyeing the group shrewdly, his gaze lingering an extra beat on Ruby with a raised brow. "I assume that since I do not see the boy Henry amongst you, that the attempt was not a success? Not withstanding the beautiful human, of course."

Killian shook his head sadly in the negative. The elf gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before going to assist Merida, who was struggling to light a fire with wet wood. Regina finally risked a bit of magic to get it going properly, while Emma made the rounds to each of them, drying their clothing with magic as best she could and healing minor wounds. They all gathered around the pitiful blaze, shivering in their damp woolens, drained from the morning's battle. The rain had lightened to a freezing cold drizzle, but lightning still crackled through the skies, sending menacing shadows through the branches.

"I think I have an idea," said Regina, after long minutes passed in silence.

"To get us into Asgard?" asked Emma.

The two elves gasped audibly. Normally poker-faced, they both stared aghast at Emma. Saefara turned to Daínn and mouthed 'Asgard?' as if asking confirmation that she had heard correctly.

"Getting in won't be the problem, since we have access to the Crossings with your orb. I'm more worried about finding Henry once we're there, breaking him out, and getting back here in one piece."

"What's your idea?"

"We need an Asgardian. Someone who knows the way and can give us a cover story. We need to capture one of them."

"You mean Rhys?" asked Ruby sharply.

Regina scowled at her suspiciously. "Since he's the only Asgardian we have any intelligence on, then yes. Will that be a problem, Lieutenant?"

"N-no. Of course not," whispered Ruby, casting her eyes down. "It won't be easy to capture him though. His magic is…powerful."

"We know he's in Asgard now, right? So we can just stake out the portal and wait for him to come through," said Emma, clearly warming to the idea.

"It's to be an ambush then? But assuming that you can somehow capture this Asgardian, how will you get him to assist us?" asked Arthur.

"I'll take his heart," responded Regina, clenching her gloved fingers with relish. "Once I have it, he'll do whatever I tell him to do."

Ruby looked faintly sick. Emma was nodding thoughtfully in agreement, but the rest of the group simply looked perplexed. Killian imagined that heart-stealing was probably particular to the Enchanted Forest.

"It's something of a specialty of Regina's," he explained to the group, rubbing the area over his own heart absently with his hook. He'd had far too much personal experience with the phenomenon to be entirely comfortable with this plan. "Removal of the heart by magical means. It gives complete control of a person to the one who takes it. It's an unpleasant business, but undeniably effective."

"Exactly," said Regina, who was still flexing her fingers malevolently.

"And once you have his heart, what are you going to do?" asked Ruby quietly, not raising her eyes from the flames.

"We force him to pretend to capture us and take us into Asgard as prisoners. Then he can help us break Henry out and get back to the EF with him."

"Ah, the old wookie prisoner trick," said Killian, almost smiling. "Henry would appreciate that."

Regina threw him a glance that managed to be be both annoyed and puzzled. "Wookie? What-? Never mind, don't care. Bottom line, we use him to sneak into Asgard and get Henry back."

"It could work. But how do we capture him? Especially if he shows up with reinforcements?" asked Emma.

"Me," said Ruby, finally looking up from the fire. Her voice sounded firmer, steelier. "Use me as bait. I think he didn't turn me over to Asgard with Henry because…because he has feelings for me. But he's seriously pissed off at me right now. If he realizes I escaped, I'm sure he'll come after me."

"And what about you, Lieutenant? Do you have feelings for this Asgardian?" asked Regina, dangerously calm.

"N-no, not like-" stuttered Ruby. "I mean, before he turned Henry over for Questioning, I thought maybe he was different than the other Asgardians. He said things when I was a wolf, before he knew what I was, that made me think he was sympathetic to our cause. I thought if I had more time, I could turn him…but that's in the past, General, I swear! Before he handed over Henry. We should use him, just like you said."

Ruby sounded like she was trying to convince herself as well as them. Regina stared hard at her for a long beat, before giving a small nod and returning her attention to the group. "So are we agreed on the plan? If so, we need to decide who's going to Asgard."

"Aren't we all going?" asked Elsa, startled. Out of all of them, she was the only one not shivering.

"Definitely not," replied Regina. "This needs to be a stealth extraction, not a frontal assault. Plus, we can't risk bringing Moriah into this, she's way too important."

"Regina's right, Moriah needs to be kept safe. And we should definitely keep the number small. We don't want to attract too much attention," agreed Emma.

"I think it should be me, Emma, and Ruby only," continued Regina. "The rest of you should continue with the plan to round up your people. There's a much bigger picture here. We need to create an army, remember?"

There was stunned silence, then everyone was speaking at once.

"You can't be serious, love!" said Killian to Emma, horrified at the idea of splitting up their family. She pulled him a little ways from the fire and spoke quietly but in that stubborn Emma Swan way he was all too familiar with.

"It's the only way, Killian. I have to find Henry, and Moriah needs at least one of her parents keeping her safe."

"No. No bloody way!"

"Think about this logically, okay? Regina's right. We need to get through Asgard quietly. A single Asgardian herding a huge group of us would attract way more attention than two women and a wolf."

Killian's chest was compressing as though a giant was standing on his ribcage. The thought of being parted from Emma was intolerable.

"Emma, please-"

"Killian, do you trust me?"

"Of course, love, but-"

"I have to do this."

Killian opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by a gentle tug on his hook. They'd been so intent on their conversation, they hadn't realized that Moriah had followed and was silently asking him to pick her up. He stooped and gathered her to him, her little arms wrapping around his neck. He desperately locked eyes with his wife over their daughter's dark head, silently begging her not to do this. Her gaze was teary, but determined.

"Take care of our baby, Killian, please?" whispered Emma in a choked voice, as she walked back to the fire to continue plotting with Regina.