Chapter Fifty-Three

Victor was writing notes in his journal when all of a sudden he felt a breeze behind him. The wind picked up as he turned in his chair and he saw the stone wall behind him started to glow.

A magical portal?

The circle formed as he stood up looking for something to use as a weapon. The only thing he saw was one of his small operating knives.

Better than nothing, I suppose.

He wasn't sure what to expect but Regina had not even crossed his mind. "Regina?" Victor asked as the circle closed behind her and his lab returned to its normal state. Victor tossed the knife back on the table for he knew it would be useless against her.

"That is Queen Regina, Doctor." She reminded him as she took a few steps away from the wall towards the center of his lab.

"Yes, of course, please pardon my rudeness, Queen Regina." Victor did a little bow in her direction but he was careful not to lower his eyes from her. "Your sudden appearance has me a little flustered." He forced himself to smile. "How ever did you get here without the use of Jefferson's hat?"

"With this White Lightning Chalk," Regina shrugged it off like it wasn't anything amazing. "Jefferson brought it back to me from one of his trips, shortly after I met him." Regina took another step closer to one of Victor's lab tables. "He took it off of someone named Rudy I believe, though that is not important. Jefferson took me on quite the adventure with it before he gave it to me to keep."

Regina held the piece of chalk close to her heart as she remembered a time when Jefferson actually wanted to be with her. "It wasn't until now that I had the need of using it by myself."

"Whatever do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Victor's rational part of his brain told himself to smile and hopefully he would be able to talk his way out whatever it was Regina wanted, while the rest of his brain screamed at him to run.

"There are two reasons for my visit today." Regina stated as she examined items on Victor's lab table. "First I came to see how you were progressing on the job I hired you for months ago."

"I am still working on that job. It is turning out to be more difficult than I originally thought."

"I thought you assured me your science was up to the task."

"It is, I have all…" Victor stopped himself from letting her know just how close he was to finishing the job.

"So you are close, my dear Doctor? Science can put a stop to magic?" Regina raised her eyebrow at him from across the room, before she started to move closer to Victor but she came to a sudden stop close to the covered cabinet.

"Yes, I am close to creating the magic blocking handcuffs you requested." Victor watched her as he tried to keep the worry off his face. "What do you want with them, Regina?"

"Calling me Regina again?" She questioned as she avoided answering his question. "You have spent too much time with Jefferson haven't you?"

Victor mentally kicked himself for his slip up. "Once again Queen Regina I am sorry for not using your title."

"Jefferson and Aurora are the other reason I decided to stop by and see you personally. Rumple seems to think you haven't seen the runaways. But I believe differently. Jefferson and Aurora stopped by here that night didn't they? You saved Jefferson's life, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." Victor turned closing his notebook and walking over to his desk he opened the drawer to put the notebook way. Without Regina noticing he slipped a metal cuff into this right pocket.

"Rumple plays it off like he doesn't care about Jefferson, but he doesn't want him to die. Not even after this unbelievable betrayal. He didn't push you hard enough, because he didn't want to believe you were lying to him. I on the other hand realize how close you and my dear Jefferson are. And if that wasn't enough the heart beats really just give it all away."

"Heart beats?" Victor turned from the desk to face her.

"Yes, you have them locked away and the sound is very low, but I lived with my mother's vault for years. You do remember my mother's vault don't you Doctor?"

"Yes." Victor quietly answered her not enjoying where the conversation was heading.

"And now I have my own vault. I would recognize that sound anywhere." She waved her hand and opened the cabinet in front of her. The inside of the cabinet had been padded to cut down the sound but there inside were three magical hearts.

"Oh!" Regina exclaimed seeing the vial of blood. "Did you steal some of Jefferson's blood before saving him?" She raised the half empty vial of bright red blood.

"That's not Jefferson's." As soon as the words were out of Victor's mouth he regretted them.

Regina's eyes grew big. "Aurora's? Really?" She held it up to the light. "Whatever are you doing with the Princess's blood?"

"I thought it would help me with my problem, as well as the job I was hired by you to do."

"Is it helping?" Regina pulled out her handkerchief waiting for his reply.

"Yes…" Victor muttered reluctantly.

"In that case I will just take a drop." Regina paused a moment before smiling. "No two." She opened the vial and dropped two small drops on her handkerchief and quickly put it safely back in her pocket.

"What was that for?" Victor asked nervously.

"Is that concern I hear in your voice good Doctor?" She placed the vial back in the cabinet. "Worried about your friends?" She laughed. "Blood is one of the few items I could use in a tracking spell." She tucked her handkerchief away. "One, Two, Three… Did you only get three magical hearts for saving Jefferson's life? Or is there another reason you haven't completed the job I hired you for?"

"I can explain…"

"Have you succeed in bring the dead back to life?"

Regina's question caught Victor by surprise. If I tell her about my brother she will want me to try again with the stable boy. Maybe Rumple can over look me helping Jefferson but me bring back Regina's lost love will be the death of me.

"No, I haven't been successful..." Victor started but Regina waved her hand and next thing he knew he was pulled across the room and Regina was holding him by his throat.

"I don't have time to listen to your failings. I have seen them first hand. Jefferson and Aurora have been on the run for over two months. I wish to have Jefferson back in my…" Regina paused a moment searching for the correct word to use. "employment and Rumple wishes to have the little witch back. You," Regina tighten her grip on Victor's throat. "will tell me what you know. Do you understand, Doctor?"

Victor didn't answer instead he reached into this pocket pulling out the metal cuff and snapped it shut on Regina's wrist. As soon as it locked on her wrist Regina's magic died. Victor quickly stepped back two feet, loosening his collar as he caught his breath.

"What did you just do?" Regina screamed, as she tried to get the metal cuff off. She raised her other hand but nothing happened. "I thought you said it didn't work!" She screamed at him.

"I only said I wasn't quite done with perfecting it yet."

"Well it seems to work just fine. But I don't need magic to hurt you Doctor Frankenstein." Regina reached into the cabinet and took one of the magical hearts. She started to squeeze it, and dark spots started to appear on it.

"What are you doing? Stop that!" Victor shouted at her.

"You don't need magic to kill a magical heart." Regina laughed as the heart crumbled to black dust and fell to the floor. "Now do I need to destroy another heart or will you tell me what I want to know."

"I don't have anything to tell you." Regina started for another heart. "No seriously, Jefferson and Aurora were here, but it was just for a little more than twenty-four hours. They left and I haven't heard from them since. And like you said it has been over two months now."

"You must know where they were going… Jefferson always talks. He doesn't know how to shut up!" Regina challenged as she walked across the room making her way towards Victor. Victor back up all the way across the lab until he ran into the wall near the stairs.

"Your Majesty, I swear I don't know."

"No more lies." Regina growled forgetting for a moment she was magically bind she reacted by grabbing Victor's shoulder and sending a painful spell down into him. To her surprise the spell worked and Victor screamed.

Victor collapsed to his knees still feeling the pain from Regina's spell. "Damn it!" he muttered to himself. I was hoping she wouldn't try to use her magic again so soon.

Regina laughed. "I see now why you said you were not finished with the task I hired you too do." Regina used her free hand to blast the metal cuff off of her left hand and she let it bounce off the stone floor in front of Victor.

"I said I was close, you saw how it stopped you the first two times you tried to use magic."

Regina pulled Victor's head up by this hair so he was looking up at her. "You should have spent more time at the task I hired you for, than messing around with the magical hearts."

"Yes, I agree. I see the error in that now." Victor let out another shout as Regina hit him with another spell.

"Where did Jefferson run too?"

"You are smart Regina, and so is Rumple, you both know where he would go. It is the only place you two can't get to."

"He can't get there? He's all grown up. The giant's seeds are all gone, and Rumple never was able to create a portal there. So tell me Doctor how was he able to get to Neverland?"

"His coin… you know the one." Victor winced as Regina tightened her grip on his hair.

"He lost that coin in a bet, to King Midas." Regina hissed remembering how pissed she was when Jefferson had shown up unannounced in her bed chamber, and Snow of all people had seen him. "And Midas lives in the Enchanted Forest. Rumple or I would have known if they were there."

"Not if they didn't use magic." Victor reminded her.

Regina released Victor by throwing his head backwards. He fell back quickly scampering to his feet.

"So they are in Neverland. He ran home to his father?"

"I doubt he choose Neverland because of a homecoming." Victor commented fixing his vest.

"Out of one fire into another." Regina thought out loud to herself. "All because he believes he is in love with that retched little girl." Regina screamed and she let some of her anger out as a burst of energy exploded around the room. Some of the glass containers shattered. She quickly calmed herself. "Maleficent…" Regina muttered suddenly smiling.

Her smile sent a chill down Victor's spine. Dear God she knows a way to get to Jefferson and Aurora. But Jefferson said that was impossible… oh what have I done?

"Don't look so worried Doctor. I know what I have to do now. You were quite helpful. Not as helpful as you will be." She flicked her wrist and the metal cuff went flying up from the floor towards Victor. He caught it tight to his chest. "You will finish the task I hired you for."

"And…" Victor paused licking his lips. "if I refuse?"

"It is simple really. I will just inform Rumple that his trusted Doctor Frankenstein lied to him. Picked his thieving friend over The Dark One himself." Regina laughed moving within inches of Victor again. "But seriously where is the fun in that?" She fixed his collar. "If you are not finished with my task in one month's time I am coming back and the remaining hearts in your cabinet won't be the only hearts I destroy." She gave his shoulders a pat before she took out the long white piece of chalk, and broke it in half.

"If you finish early use this to create a portal to my castle. Just draw the circle and think about where you want to go." Regina goes to hand him the piece of chalk but pulls it back at the last moment and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "But don't get any ideas about trying to get to Neverland. It's impossible for a grown up to get there without the use of a giant's bean, or a magical gateway like Jefferson's hat. I wouldn't want to see you wind up somewhere horrible or worst dead, before you completed my wishes." She pulled back offering the chalk to him.

Victor carefully took the chalk and gave her a small nod.

"Good Doctor, I look forward to using your finished product." And with that comment Regina used her piece of the chalk to create another portal and left Victor with a whole new set of worries.