Part I: Cold Open


October 12, 2013
2 Months after the Wraith

"Off with her head!" she snarled, and Emma didn't pretend that she was surprised to hear the verdict.

"I'm not here to call a spade a spade, but I called it." She huffed to herself as the podium in front of her toppled like cardboard, slowly brandishing her gun. She didn't have many enchanted bullets, And though the sword at her waist would have made for a solid deck-splitting pun, she wanted to make a statement, and guns didn't seem all too common in this realm.

The card soldier in front of her collapsed - Ace Diamond, she had nicknamed out of boredom throughout this sham of a trial, and she cocked the hammer back again, straight between the queen's eyes. "You may live without a heart," she boldly began, her other hand on the hilt of her blade, "But I don't think the same logic applies to brains."

Somewhere in Storybrooke, she was sure of it, Doctor Whale had quite the smug grin on his face.

The Queen of Ironic Titles scoffed. "You think that thing could harm me?"

She glanced down at the card. "I don't know. Judging by the fresh hole punch, I think I managed to clock him out."

She wasn't even sure if Regina, or anyone, would love her pun-rific ass by this point. The realms she wandered had unlocked for her a new level of sarcasm and dry humor that... well, actually, The formerly Evil Queen would probably appreciate it to some degree. The card-levitating-over-boots man was bleeding out, and she didn't feel the least bit guilty - merely curious as to whether or not his body could get soggy.

Regina's mother didn't seem to have that same fondness, and this was a hell of a way to meet said parent. "Fold, Queen."

She sneered. "Or you'll do what?"

"Lady, I'm the one who holds the cards, here. I can turn your full house into a royal flush, with one hit."

Yep, she was sticking to that line.

"What the hell does that even mean?" she demanded, and Emma didn't have an answer for her there. "Are you trying to play a game with me?"

"Hell no," she snorted. "I'm just trying to misdirect you. Didn't even need my own deck to do that. Just one Queen."

"Wha - " she started, only for her eyes to frost over, a tinge of icy blue coating her irises. Her hands fell to her side, and she went limp, falling back into her throne.

The house of cards collapsed around her, motionless, but past experiences had made her wary of such convenience. One by one, she spent her time cutting the cards, shuffling her time now and then to make sure the queen was still in place.

"No need to worry," her partner tried to assure her, standing beside the throne, her hand massaging the Queen of Heart's temples. "We'll have what we need in just a moment."

"Great," she breathed a sigh of relief, but she kept her sword at the ready. "I'm gonna go check if any of her heads in her collection looks familiar."

"No need," she muttered, giving her a worried look. Emma had grown harder throughout their journey, but that sounded an awful lot like an acceptance of her lover's fate.

Leveling a burning stare at the woman on the throne, she finally admitted why they had come here. "This woman, Cora, is her mother. Find out when was the last time she's seen her daughter."

"Oh." She furrowed her brows. "So that's her. I... I can barely recognize Regina. Her old memories give me a better resemblance, but... I feel like I'm looking at three different people."

That managed to get a dry smile out of her. "She's certainly changed. But where she's gone might have reverted her back to her old ways." Not that she minded that much. Whatever state she found Regina in, she would do her best to help her. Or, join her. Because they (and 'they' was becoming a lot more inclusive as this search went on) deserved everything she wanted to give them.

"She's thought of her every day. Especially recently. She sent the wraith."

Emma nearly growled. "Of course she did." Even Gold seemed perplexed that the Wraith had come back for Regina's soul. He hadn't marked her after all, and the command of The Dark One could only last for so long. More than a year was a very long time to obey a command, even to a nigh-immortal reaper.

So the wraith had come back, and took Regina on her own mother's orders? "Where is it now?"

"It never came back. The portal never brought it here. She made the portal to Storybrooke, and sent it through, but it disappeared immediately on her side. It hadn't gone according to plan."

Emma thought back. Storybrooke's portal lasted for many hours, and she wasn't entirely sure it was still there, right in the middle of town hall. All she knew was that when she landed in the middle of a forest - not the Enchanted one, that would be too convenient - the portal disappeared behind her.

"So a kidnapping gone wrong?" Emma guessed, and that seemed to make sense the more she thought about it. A witch had the power to create another body for a lost soul, so her original body wasn't technically a necessity.

She could scarcely see the difference between that and a remote-controlled doll, however.

"Perhaps," her silver-haired partner muttered, peering into the eyes of the slack-jawed witch, "But I don't know what she did wrong. The portal was supposed to work. One way there, one way here. A perfect round-trip."

"Someone changed the portal? Made it random?" she quickly speculated. "And yet, one side was anchored in Storybrooke. So... Rumple, then." Honestly, most of her terrible mysteries and scenarios ended with the Dark Imp.

She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to kill him or not; if Regina went straight into her mother's arms, there was no telling what she could have done to her in that short time. Inadvertently, The Dark One had saved Regina, on his quest to keep her lost forever.

Well, he nearly succeeded. And she wasn't above killing him over that technicality.

The Ice Queen flared out her fingers, cold smoky tendrils trailing out of the Heartless Queen's head, mindful of the crown adorning her ornate bun. "She had originally wanted her heart," Ingrid revealed, scowling at the calculating mind of the woman. "To store in her collection. So mother and daughter could rule together, logically and coldly - the heartless pair of Queens. But since wraiths could only retrieve a soul, she wanted Regina as she was, put her in a doll, and her heart would still be long gone and forgotten."

"I figured. Would she be willing to help us?"

"I... I wouldn't advise that. She's very deceitful."

"Even if I told her I was looking for her daughter? Promised to reunite them?"

"Would you?"

"Of course not. But her deceptions could help us find Regina, before she figures out our own."

Ingrid bit her lip, her eyebrows crinkling. This was a very different Emma than the one Sarah Fisher had met. She was sure that it was a slow change, with a life full of deceit and mistrust and betrayals, but she couldn't help but think that the Evil Queen had something to do with that.

Still, she had to help the woman that had almost become her daughter, no matter how misguided she was. This was what she wanted, right? Witches to look out for their own? A family of her kind, of their kind, protecting each other at all costs? This was what she had yearned for. Sacrificing one witch, the mother, for another, the daughter, wasn't something she wanted to do today.

Little Henry Mills, the child that she tried to ignore was a normal boy, did something extraordinary when he came into Any Given Sundae and stared her down.

"Ice Queen," he simply announced, and funnily enough, she froze on the spot. "You need to come with me," he told her, before running out.

She didn't even bother with the sign on the front door, following him as fast as her feet could take her, chasing after someone who could've been her grandson if she had been more subtle in her intentions.

She led him into Town Hall, where Emma was waiting for him, a hefty army duffle easily slung across her shoulder, but her eyebrows rose when she saw his guest. "Henry, what - ?"

"Fix her," Henry petulantly demanded of the silver-blond witch, "And help her! Bring my mom back!"

"Fix what?" Emma wondered, genuinely confused, and even though it was completely her fault, it physically hurt Ingrid to see that she didn't recognize her in the slightest. "You said she could help me. I mean, she's the Ice Queen, but why do you think she would help me? Does she even have her power?"

"She's a villain," he explained, like that answered all of her questions. He could probably tell from the look on her face that it didn't. "She could help you find her, because Mom is a villain!"

The swirling black portal that was crackling halfway across the room had most of her attention, but his words brought her back. "Regina? She's on the other side of that thing?"

Looking at her nearly adopted daughter again, she had originally missed the tear tracks, the red eyes, and the mussy blonde locks. But what she noticed above all of that was the thin line that formed on her lips at the mention of the Evil Queen's name. "Maybe. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing, for you?"

"It's..." she paused, hesitating. "I'm not exactly sure. I was told that you two were enemies?"

"She's Henry's mother," she ground out, again presuming that the statement explained anything to the ice cream shop lady. "And she's my friend." She turned back to said 'friend's' son. "I gotta go now, Henry. Stay with Snow. Try not to scream at them until I get back. Come give me a hug."

He looked like he wanted to cry, and Emma's red leather sleeve seemed like the perfect place to hide his tears.

She, however, had no hiding place for hers, and Ingrid saw each tear fall onto her son's head.

It wasn't a tough decision - she had already made the choice to follow Emma, but this was the moment she decided that she had to come clean and, as Henry said, 'fix her'.

A feather-light black bag swirled onto the floor next to her, and the strap fell neatly into her hand. Though she excelled in ice powers, she made sure not to get rusty on the more mundane areas of magic, like simple packing and retrieval spells. "Lead on, Emma Swan."

Emma's puffy eyes widened, before she gave her a grateful, teary smile. "I... I can pay you."

She shook her head vehemently. "I... I owe you so much more. We can talk later."

Sure, she was slapped in the face - quite hard, thank goodness she could cool down the nerves in her cheeks - once she restored the blonde's memories later that day, but she managed to get that smile back quickly enough.

Apparently, that hopeful time had passed, and her optimism of the situation and her companion had aged poorly, but at least her ire wasn't directed at the Ice Queen. Though they made tremendous progress, and had found the reason for the lag in their journey, it didn't get them any closer to finding Regina's location.

"So, the wraith would be looking for Cora," Emma concluded, after a few minutes of muttering to herself. She raised her chin. "For some reason, summoning it again didn't work."

"You can only summon a wraith once," Ingrid explained, after checking on the Queen - still out cold. "While you're supposed to mark your intended target for death, she clearly didn't have the means to do so. Rumple didn't mark Regina either. But you still need a Marker to summon it."

"So she would still have that Marker, somewhere - where did she leave it?"

"...It was stolen."

Emma pinched her nose. "Of fucking course it was."

Had she raised her, she would have chastised her about swearing, but as it was, she didn't have a leg to stand on. "According to her memories, it was a lover of hers who was also tasked to find her daughter. He believed that he would need the medallion to track her soul better. She disagreed. I suppose he didn't care, because when she awoke, he was gone, and so was the medallion."

"So it might not have been him? I'm not chasing down a 'maybe' unless I have to."

"She's fairly positive that it was him. He's a known thief, and a swindler. Maybe it looked valuable to him?"

"And she still made a deal with him? 'Gina told me she was logical. Whatever, that's the lead we'll follow. So, how do we catch up? Any clues?"

"I... I'm not sure. He's on a very unique ship - one that can jump realms."

"That sounds kinda useful. Very useful. Good shit."

"But terrible for tracking. Nearly impossible. As you could probably guess, this woman didn't even try."

"Yeah. Heartless bitch probably calculated the risk, and decided that her daughter just wasn't worth it." Carefully considering if she could slit the queen's throat, Emma wondered if Regina would ever forgive her, or secondarily, if she could outrun a Jabberwocky if she tried to topple the queen, right here and now. "Do we have any leads on where he might show up next?"

"Well..." she thought to herself. "You need magic to summon the wraith, not just a Marker. So this man was right about that. From what she had seen, he doesn't have magic. So it's likely that he's looking for someone who could summon it for him."

Emma raised her blade to the slumbering Queen's throat, her hand steady. "And why do you think you could only summon a wraith once?"

"Only one soul to bargain with," Ingrid quickly explained, backing away from the two, redirecting her eyes. She hated to see one of her own perish, but the things she had seen didn't give her a reason to defend her. "You condemn one's soul, your own is forfeit. It's a deal with the devil."

"The Devil? Like, Hades, or Lucifer, or a talking goat?"

"Hades. He runs the Broken Kingdom - The Underworld."

"So... there's a chance that she could be... there." She couldn't say it out loud. "Is there a way to get there?"

Not even flinching, not even giving it more than a moment's thought, before condemning herself. Ingrid had to admire that, and begrudgingly, the woman who had gained such admiration. "I would bet that a certain pirate ship could get us there."

"You didn't say it was a pirate ship. Henry would never forgive me if I didn't give it a look." Thinking of her son, she seemed to reconsider her actions, pulling her sword away and sheathing it. "She condemned her soul to hell, so she could rule this realm with her daughter. I might not like the intent, but the motive just saved her life." She looked around the colorful, odd kingdom. "How did she make the portal, though? We should look around; see if there's any more magic beans."

Ingrid agreed, and they began to search the castle. Emma would've preferred a growing potion, to stomp and toe through the damage, but that might have been more for the sake of her anger, and not for efficiency.

Queen Ingrid was impressed by how much Emma was learning, and how she was taking everything in stride. Being the mother of the truest believer must have its perks, and finally beginning to learn about the magic in her must've inspired the curiosity.

The Savior was a sponge when it came to knowledge, but the practical application - not so much. It gave her no reason to worry; while she herself was adept at her ice powers, she was a late bloomer when it came to other areas of magic. Secretly, she hoped Emma would excel in fire, a beautiful counterpart to herself, and her niece.

She had no idea how to get to Arendelle, but they could easily find it with a realm-jumping ship and a competent navigation system. Then, it didn't matter where Regina was, not with the whole family ready to take on whatever awaited them.

Except for the Underworld. She had no idea what to do if she was really there. Their powers would be rendered useless there, even she knew that. Emma's ability as the savior, however, might be able to counter it.

She didn't know. But she knew Emma wouldn't stop until she found out. And Ingrid, like the proud foster mother she was, would follow.


Part II: Wish Upon an Arabian Star


October 22
2 Months after the Wraith

That was until they reached the desert sands of Agrabah. As it turns out, she didn't do so well in the heat, and it showed. Even through her sheer blue dress, she appeared to be melting, so Emma, too wrapped up in the sweltering heat to make a joke, left her with the kind old sultan, after introducing themselves and making his acquaintance - him and his young daughter.

She was well aware that she was no longer dealing with fairytales, that she was dealing with real people and real consequences, and that couldn't have been clearer than when a mischievous grinning cat warned her to come here (or at least hinted at it) after a rousing game of chess, the only price she had to pay for such advice. Because if she still had the mentality of 'Lewis Carroll made you up,' she probably would have shot that grinning bastard in the teeth at the first suggestion that she catch the tardy rabbit, rather than bargain him down to said chess game.

She was on edge. She didn't consider herself an animal abuser, but when the animals started talking, and then openly mocked her actions, she considered treating them like PETA treated humans.

God help that parrot if she heard him anywhere near her.

She knew better than to ignore the Cheshire Cat's advice, which gave her an edge, and a ton of leverage when it came to any other familiar realms. Doing her best not to disturb the natural order of events, even though they would certainly differ from her perspective of events, she tried to keep her own existence to a minimum. She didn't get on the twins' see-saw (though she did take pictures for Henry), she didn't disturb the area beyond the one dead guard (which, Emma was convinced, there were at least 39 others, assuming the face cards were cut out of rotation), and now, she didn't try to give the princess a speech on wandering the streets without a guard or jumping on the magic carpet of every stranger who knocked on her window.

But she'd be damned if she tried to walk away without that lamp.

Perhaps not the same lamp. The cave was deep, and truly wonderous - there were plenty of vessels around, and she had inadvertently cleaned half the container-like artifacts before a deep silver smoke poured out of a gold flask - this one was a woman, dark-skinned, long black hair, beautiful and - honestly, very chipper for a glorified slave.

Emma suddenly had her own genie. No matter how long she had prepared for the thought, how much she had planned through this, it was truly an incredible statement.

"I'm not a Monkey's Paw," she deadpanned in a distinct Indian-English accent, clearly reading her new mistress's mind. "I'm not here to make your life harder. Quite the opposite, in fact. Of course, I have rules. I can't make people fall in love, I can't affect time, and I can't bring back the dead. I'll help you when I can. I have no reason to lie to you, unless for my own amusement. Some genies give other genies bad reputations - like your 'Glass' friend."

Emma wasn't the trusting type, but she did find this scenario hard to believe. "But, how am I supposed to know you're not lying to me now?" Her lie detector didn't go off, but she's never had a freakin' genie lie to her (or tell her the truth, for that matter), so her litmus test was out of whack.

"That's... that's a good question, actually." She pondered for a moment, her top half floating, her ghostly tail as opaque as the mist. "Maybe you could make a wish to make me tell you the truth?"

"You sneaky bitch!" Emma accused with a laugh, and the magical being grinned slyly. "So, you enjoy this gig? You don't seem like the, uh, miserable type."

She crossed her arms over her bosom, the finest of old silks and gems generously clothing her. "I grant three wishes that give me no strain on my part, then I go to sleep. I can even choose to forget my previous masters. I like sleep, I like power, I like granting wishes." She fluttered her (spectacularly long) eyelashes. "I choose not to complicate things."

"I can see that." She bit her lip. "Alright. First wish. Here goes nothing. I wish Regina's soul was back in her body."

She wiggled her nose, and Emma was taken aback by the familiar gesture, daring to believe that actually worked - for two seconds. "Sorry. I can't do that one. There are forces far more powerful than me keeping your beloved. She's in a place where souls can't escape - not unless she redeems herself."

"Fuck," Emma breathed, immediately understanding what that implied. "She's really in Hell." It was the first time she had confirmation, and hyping herself up for the past month did nothing to actually prepare for that truth.

"I'm afraid so. I can provide passage into Hades's realm, but I must warn you, Mistress, my power might not be stable, there. I can't guarantee a way out, even if you made it a wish."

"Yeah," she muttered, already having suspected that, Ingrid's warnings coming to mind. "Is there any way you can make us immune to his realm's effects?"

"I can," she nodded. "But my own magic can't be full-proof in such a way."

"Great. Let's do that then." When the genie looked back expectedly, she corrected herself. "Oh, um... I wish... I wish that - wait, no, scratch that!" She groaned out in frustration. "I was totally going to fuck up, there." She buried her head in her hands, mumbling to herself.

"Pardon?"

"Ingrid," she muttered, peeking up at the hot sun from the entrance of the cave. "She can't stand the heat. How the hell is she gonna help me in... well, Hell?"

"A common misconception," the genie assured her, "but she isn't in the deepest pits of hell, just purgatory. The temperature will be balmy, at the most unpleasant. But you could always wish for immunity to the harsh elements."

Emma frowned. To her, that felt like disturbing the natural order of the world, stepping into territories that should be left alone. Expecting to step into Hell, and leave unscarred, was bad enough. This entire strategy was entirely unnatural, but this felt like... too much.

Then again, to rescue Regina, 'too much' wasn't nearly the amount she wanted.

She stood from one of the flatter stone molars of the tiger's maw, and looked out into the sweltering desert heat. Though her Genie's magic could take her back to the palace (for free, even!), she didn't want to grow too dependent on such a luxury. Honing her powers... wasn't something she could wish for, could she? She didn't even want to ask. Learning that she was a witch felt like cheating in life to begin with, having a witch as a guardian was just another step off the ledge, and now she had a genie to compound to it? Maybe she didn't think this through as much as she thought she did.

It was a unique problem, and so privileged it hurts, but she didn't know how to deal with it. Having all the pieces to the endgame, but no idea of how to bring it all together and have some kind of game plan.

It seemed like a good idea, and that grinning chaos kitty had compelled her even further; go to Agrabah, get herself a genie, wish for Regina. That last part was implied, at least, like everything the Cheshire cat said (or didn't say). Now that plan was bunk, but she still had all the means to rescue her.

She just wasn't sure where to start. Or how.

"Don't grant my wishes until I finish," she intoned, slowly and deliberately. "Until I end it with 'So mote it be'.

"Let's see... I wish for immunity to all outside forces. Selective immunity; I want to be able to turn it on and off, or control it accurately. Make it so my magic can't be affected, or controlled, or taken, or turned against me, by anyone or anything... unless I deem otherwise.

"So mote it be."

It was her magic, no one else's. She was going to make sure it stayed that way.

But she needed an out, too. She replayed that night in her head so many times, and the only conclusion that she had come to was that Regina had spoken to her - in her mind. That was how she knew to go to Heritage Park, to watch the final moments of... that. It was her magic that put the sword in the front seat, and probably her magic that put the car keys in her pocket, because she was positive that she had left them on the nightstand.

Despite how unnatural everything felt, it was a very useful advantage, and she didn't think she would've gotten so far in life without it. She was almost positive that her lie detector was based on magic, and it was her top survival skill - if she had to rank them.

It was a sad truth; she needed her magic. It didn't define her, but she knew that she should be the only one to define it. She didn't know what she would do without it, and with this wish, she never had to know the answer to that conundrum.

Emma needed to hone her magic. That couldn't be avoided, and couldn't be wished for. It was hers to control. She couldn't let an outside force take over what was hers. Not again.

The genie's golden eyes glowed as she came ever closer, and booped her on the nose. "It is done, mistress."

She forced herself relax her tense stance, digging her hands into her pocket. "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for the detail of your wish. You've thought a lot about this. I appreciate someone who knows exactly what they want in a wish."

"It won't be enough," she uttered with a frown, before looking out of the cave again. Everything felt a little cooler to her now. Not unbearably hot, but not room temperature, either. She presumed it was her natural magic, protecting her body from the sweltering heat. She could have used that back in the Boston winters. Or maybe she had

She might not have noticed it before, but she felt a lot more in tune with everything, now.

Reaching out with a pulse, she felt the ground beneath her, the rushing water further into the cave, the fire and molten lava that breathed in the deepest areas, the dormant magic that still lingered, and even the magic that stood next to her.

With a deep breath, she expanded her reach, and finally found the familiar presence that she knew to be Ingrid. Her touch was quite warm, actually, and soft, and comforting.

Just as she remembered it all those years ago.

She opened her eyes, and Ingrid jumped from the dinner table, her eyes wide, while the sultan clapped giddily at the display. "Emma! You did it!"

Making sure the flask was still on her belt loop, she finally allowed herself to relax. "Yeah. I guess I did, didn't I?"

"I'm proud of you," she whispered, embracing her, and for once, Emma didn't stiffen. "So proud."

Emma decided that she was proud, too - but she didn't show it. She would enjoy the small victory, but she didn't have time to relish in it.

She still had to go to Hell and back, and she had no intention of getting there the easy way.


Part III: (13 Dolphin Noises)


December 19
4 Months After The Wraith

Wishing yourself onto a pirate ship seemed like the worst plan one could think of, but Emma didn't have many options left.

Ingrid had suggested that they dress up like whores and entice them, wenches if you will, and though Emma could see the appeal of the plan (it was rarely an unsuccessful strategy in her bounty hunting days), she wasn't entirely sure that would work. For one, they were witches before wenches, and pirates must've made a dozen songs about killing their kind. Beauty aside, superstition reigned supreme on the open seas in any realm.

So, Emma decided to become a pirate.

It made more sense some time ago, but she didn't really follow the logic.

Killian Jones looked up in disbelief from the starboard of the Jolly Roger, his jaw partially hanging as the beautiful blue ship quickly caught up to them.

The Titanic Iceberg was graceful in its approach, nearly silent - he couldn't even hear the waves from the waters beneath as they cut a path for the massive, sleek boat.

Atop the bow, The Snow Queen grinned imperiously, her blue eyes pulsing as she gathered the sea beneath her, absorbing into the ship.

Emma said she wanted a big distraction, and by God, she was going to give them one.

The fog in front and the wild snowstorm that followed the ship might have been overkill, but it had been so long since she had truly tested herself.

Luckily, Emma could barely feel it. The distraction on the starboard left the port open, ripe for some good old breachin'.

Hook's ship slowed to a stop, and the immediate notice that it wasn't even swaying dizzied him. He looked to his mate, Smee, hanging off the steer, literally dangling his feet off the floor to try to turn the ship. It was hard to see anything in the blizzard, and his immaculate teeth chattered.

When he turned back to the ship, it was a lot closer, nearly scraping the side. He had no doubt that his ship would have sunk if it had gone any further - the entire ship seemed to be made of diamond, its crystal clear detail reminiscent of an ice sculpture. At the very least, he could see that the ship only had one occupant.

That didn't ease his conscience in the slightest.

The end of the rope shot out from the bow, and landed directly in front of him.

He didn't give them permission to board. But he didn't survive this long by opening his mouth and spouting nautical protocol.

The Snow Queen slid down gracefully, coating the rope in a layer of frost, countering the possible rugburn her bare hands would have taken otherwise. Her silver hair was free, untamed and luxurious; Killian thought it might have been sand that sparkled her wavy locks, until he realized it was - snowflakes.

"Jacqueline Frost," she announced as her pirate moniker, and Emma had to admit that the name fit her well. She was too proud to hide her powers for too long - it was that poorly timed enthusiasm that scared her away once, so long ago.

Now, she was really digging it. And it seemed to her that Killian was just as amazed - or maybe even as petrified as the little girl she once was. Even as she landed on front of him, he was speechless.

Maybe it was the cleavage. She never really let go of the wench plan.

Emma didn't mind - Ingrid was doing this to help her, presumably for free. If she wanted to have fun along the way, that was fine with the blonde, as long as she didn't know about it, and it wouldn't slow down her pace.

She questioned her taste, however. A pirate? Really?

She shook her head, and slipped into the Captain's quarters while the crew was similarly enthralled by the distracting beauty. The rhesus macaque jumped off her shoulder, and helped her ransack the room.

She found the medallion on his full-body mirror - taking a moment to wonder which princess he stole that elaborate piece from - and, with one last tip of the invisible hat to herself, she did an about-face and promptly kicked the door down.

A really unnecessary gesture, in all honesty, but she had been wanting to do that ever since she was in the Queen's chambers in Wonderland, but those doors were too fuck-off big, and the Sultan was just too kind to face her misplaced ire.

This guy looked like he was going to deserve it, anyway. Maybe she was being judgmental, based on what she had been told about pirates in every realm she had been to, and maybe she was judging him too harshly about rolling in the sheets with the Queen of Hearts (though she was beginning to see that there were looser morals galore, and her dating the Evil Queen was not related to this at all, dammit!) but the fact that he wasn't in the Underworld, currently, told her that he had no interest in searching for Regina anyway, so the door was asking for it.

Either way, the attention shifted from the intimidating Ice Queen to the peeved-looking blonde with a monkey on her shoulder and a thin blade at her hip, a red leather jacket and cargo pants, and brown boots.

She didn't really need a disguise; she dressed like a pirate on her off-hours. Regina once joked -

She flinched.

"Find anything interesting?" 'Frost' asked, and Emma was thankful for the new focus. Wordlessly, she raised her hand, the medallion gleaming under the moonlight, melting the snowflakes that licked it. She grinned sinisterly. "Excellent! But unfortunate for most of you! The Captain here tells me that he didn't steal the Queen's property. And the ship goes down with the Captain, does it not?"

"That's not mine! That was planted! She's framing me!"

She gave him a dull look. "If Swan planted it, and I came with her, aren't we both trying to frame you? Who are we trying to fool? Who are you trying to convince?"

"I... er..." he rubbed the back of his head. "Fair play." His eyes went back and forth between the two beautiful interlopers. "What say we discuss my punishment in my quarters, ladies?"

Her stare was unimpressed. "I think you'll find that we will not negotiate the same as she did."

Emma tapped her foot, standing atop the collapsed door. "Not much for privacy anymore, is it? It needed to be aired out, I'm just doing you a favor. Anyway, I don't think I'll be back in your chambers anytime soon."

"A shame, too." Jacqueline commiserated, gesturing to the open skies above. "You're going to need that door, but at least you've brought a jacket. Tighten up; a storm's coming."

His eyes widened at the gleeful look in her eyes. "I don't think that's really necessary..."

"Oh, I disagree! I think it's entirely necessary! You stole from a queen! A grieving queen that just wanted her daughter back." Her tone took on a patronizing one, one Emma recognized as a tone she used regularly for her more delinquent foster kids (which she may or may not have been the recipient of, once upon a time, and that was one thing she didn't miss from Sarah Fisher.). "I think some form of equal recompense shall suffice. Your crew? Your ship?" She blinked innocently at his stuttering. "Your life?"

Emma gave him time to carefully consider his next words, before interrupting him when he began to speak. "Of course, if you reveal what you've found so far, we might be more lenient. The Queen might be heartless - we're not."

He breathed deeply, his smoky breath exposing his nervousness as he looked back and forth between the two. "I'd like to discuss this with my first mate, Smee."

"Of course," Swan grinned genially. "Take all the time you need. But - keep in mind, Mother Nature waits for no one."


Part IV: CONSPIRACY


January 10
Five Months After the Wraith

They managed to reach a compromise, after hours of discussion and maybe a little more rocking than necessary to make everyone seasick - passage into the underworld, in exchange for a date with a certain 'crocodile'.

That was a nickname that Emma was never going to let go of. And why should she? For everything he had done, before and after her arrival, and against her; and when she returned, there would be a reckoning.

She didn't have time to worry about Henry, because if she had to worry about both Millses, then her heart would literally break apart. She knew her limits - hence, why she tended to run away from... everything. Even if she wanted to run away from this, she could never even consider it - She couldn't leave Regina in literal Hell, and she couldn't leave her son with someone like Rumplestiltskin for too long. All she could do was trust Snow and David to protect him from their own failure.

It still sickened her.

Shortly after the curse broke, the town formed an angry mob - the most organized group they could form competently without their former Mayor's help - in the hopes of overpowering and, possibly killing, said Mayor. Unbeknownst to them, Emma had abducted her first, and they were closer to the town line than Mifflin Street.

It was during that time, that Mister Gold - Rumplestiltskin - summoned the first wraith.

His magic came and went, much like Regina's, so when he was cornered in his own Pawn Shop, he was given a citizen's arrest. She debated to herself whether she wanted to be there, putting cuffs on that bastard, or with Regina, watching her blast a supernova at the veritable Grim Reaper.

Okay, so it wasn't much of a choice, but she wished she could see Rumple getting restrained by the citizens. She'd bet Regina would rather watch him being hunted like the witch he was, as well.

"They sent him over the town line," Emma told Ingrid, as they leaned over the banister, watching the half-moon. It was so picturesque out tonight, she half-expected to see a boy sitting on the inside edge of the twirling rock, casting a fishing line over the calm black waters. "He forgot who he was, like he was supposed to - like one of the dwarves did when he crossed - and he wouldn't even recognize where he was if he came back." She grimaced, correcting herself. "When he came back."

"And he came back?" Ingrid guessed, her eyebrows furrowed.

She sneered at the beautiful sea. "He never left. From what I gathered, Blue took him in."

"Blue? Blue Fairy? Mother Superior?"

"I know, right? Not even Snow knew about it, apparently. She brewed a potion to bring back old memories. It took her a year, apparently. She claimed it was for Sneezy - Mister Clark, now - but Gold took it. Selfish, even without his memories." She closed her eyes, huffing through her nose, and Ingrid could have sworn the boat began to rock more than usual. "He activated Jefferson's hat. He led Cora to her." It was a rough guess, but it made sense - no one else was taking credit for it. Snow had limited information, but he was definitely caught at the scene after the portal opened.

"I knew I should've burned that fucking hat."

Ingrid hesitantly disagreed. "You didn't know the wraith would return. It's not your fault. She was determined to get her people back home."

"To what? There is nothing there! You saw exactly what I saw! Just a wasteland of dirt and dead hope." Her grip on the wooden banister trembled. "I should've let her come with me, and left her on the spot."

The macaque, hanging by her tail on the edge of the sails, opened one eye. 'Mistress?'

Emma bit her lip, glancing over at Ingrid, who looked more than a bit concerned at the confession. 'That wasn't a wish.'

'It sounded like you wanted it to be one.'

'Still not a wish. And that's time-traveling.' She huffed into the night sky, twinkling with stars, and stared at the full moon. The taste of Les Poils Liquides du Chien burned her tongue, and she swallowed hard. "She tried so hard to appease herself to everyone. I bet they're all so fucking happy right now. Ding-Dong, the Witch is Gone. They'll never know that she'd be celebrating right along with them if they found out the Evil Queen was just a memory. But they can't tell the difference. And if I try to say it, they'll have me condemned. Nothing new to me, but... she wouldn't let me. I'm the only reason she could see Henry. Can't let their brightest light cast a shadow."

"Do you truly believe that? That they'll turn on you? I'd have more faith in my subjects. It's their duty to believe in your authority."

"Blue sat in with me for a day. She wanted to talk about security for some charity event - a charity that no one bothers to oversee anymore, by the way - and it took us all day to cover something so basic." She leaned forward, putting her forehead on the banister post. Ingrid struggled to hear her words over the crashing waves down below. "We both knew why she was there. All day; just tossing out insults, veiled threats that she had the gall to call prayers. A few days earlier, I got a lecture from Snow; apparently, I didn't have enough incident reports for her. I bet she told Blue about it. She was so shocked that I haven't been assaulted, or insulted, or bullied yet, that it 'doesn't add up', and her conclusion was that I was hiding the truth. That I was bullied the whole time, and I'm just too naïve to see it."

The Ice Queen sucked in a breath. Of course Emma knew what bullying was! Anyone who had been to as many foster homes, had as many 'brothers' and 'sisters' as she had, so many unruly children around her, to fight or protect, of freaking course, Emma was well-versed in how bullies acted and responded to her.

At one point, she ignored them, and once, she had let it get to her, because she was so tired of getting in trouble, so exhausted with going back into the system because she couldn't stop standing up for herself. 'Sarah Fisher' very helpfully nipped that in the bud.

Ingrid found out a long time ago that a witch should be proud of her powers, but it was Sarah who discovered that pride wasn't overrated for anyone.

She owed an apology to Elsa, and Anna. If they wanted to even see her, for all she had done.

Emma didn't trust her own ability yet, and though she wanted to get to Regina as quick as she could, she couldn't do it half-assed.

Arendelle was their next stop.

"You should get some sleep," The Ice Queen murmured, breaking the silence that swept across the seas. The rumbling storm seemed to have come and gone, but she was sure it would come back again - when Emma decided, probably.

"If I remember how 'sleep' works, I'll get right on that," she whispered back, staring down at the waves. "I've never stepped on a boat before. When I was a teen, I almost snuck on a ferry once, to see the Statue of Liberty up close - didn't have the balls to do it. Hell, I had a bounty escape on a ferry, once. Couldn't get on; just drove to the other stop." She chuckled humorlessly. "That bastard stayed on the boat all day long. I had to race to the gas station on the third loop. I didn't even know if he jumped out and swam, 'til the ferry closed. He tried to escape with the crowd. I swear, if his commission was lower, I'd have left him. But that catch made up for gas and rent for a few months."

"But it wasn't worth getting on a boat?"

She shook her head. "I didn't think there was any amount that could get me on one of these." She smiled wryly, looking up at her foster mother with a tired smile. "But asking me to sleep on this thing is a bit too far."

"Would you like a sleeping spell?"

Her smile dropped, and she looked away again. "I've got pills. If I need them."

"I meant no offense - "

"I know. I just... I've become dependent on my sleeping aids. I don't need another addiction if it works too well."

Her heart went out to Emma Swan - it was clear that she wasn't talking about magic or medicine. "You will sleep again, Emma. Soon."

She didn't even counter-argue that it sounded like a vague threat, staring passively at the sea.


Part V: A Wilted Rose


Belle had known there were going to be ... problems, problems that she would have no control over, when she made the decision to step over the town line. So she made the precaution to write a note.

Red - or, as her human form actually preferred, Ruby - gave her support when she needed it the most. She was an isolated maiden, even before she became a prisoner the first time, in the Dark One's castle.

And for the first time now, she found herself free. There was hope. And she knew exactly what to do with that freedom, on the first night of the fool moon.

She knew a thing or two about being trapped, and having to live with that isolation. The same could be said for her friend, the wolf. So she volunteered her time, watching over Ruby and comforting her through the blood-thirsty nights.

Blood-thirsty at first. Until the librarian's obsessive reading on wolf and werewolf lore (Prologue: Yes, There's A Difference) revealed that her wolf form, while akin to rabid, could be reasoned with, and tamed separately from her counterpart. She didn't need to be surrounded by other wolves, but it was considerably harder to know comfort.

Several monthly nights later, and her hand only barely trembled as she rubbed her large black snout, while the sound that came from the massive beast was less of a growl, and more of a rumbling purr, that considerably worsened the trembles she already had.

When the wolf closed her golden eyes, she let out a nervous laugh, then a contented sigh.

Off to the side and arms-length away from the cage, Granny hugged her enchanted red cloak to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. Emma stopped squeezing her tightly crossed arms, again thankful that she didn't have to reach for her gun at all. She had recommended the raw meats to entice the beast, and a full wolf was, evidently, a happy wolf, or, at the very least, a less-hungry wolf.

Several months after that, they had made exceptional progress, and she was intent on documenting the changes. Making a final note in Ruby's progress log, she stared up at the caged ceiling, scratching behind Red's ears as she pondered what would happen next. Not for the first time, of course, but this was a significant night.

"I hope you're still hungry," she airily noted, her fingers scratching under her wolf's chin. "Sorry I didn't bring as much steak this time, but I'm thinking... Dim Sum, in the morning?" It was terrible that the full moon landed on their semi-anniversary, but Ruby had assured her that they would go out and celebrate as soon as she turned back.

The wolf didn't respond, but she didn't expect her to. Her wolf's brain understood her, but Ruby wasn't listening - not until she woke up. Red was in charge for the moment, and she couldn't care less about what happened after she receded into her deep slumber.

For now, she rested her eyes as she placed her head against the woman's lap, who may as well have been talking to herself.

That was until she heard a commotion outside.

Her owner couldn't hear anything yet, so she had to nudge her to get her attention.

"Red?" She muttered worriedly, but she was already ahead, facing the cage door in a truly menacing stance, poised in front of her Alpha, her teeth bared.

Said 'Alpha' was concerned now, seeing the way Red was guarding her. Fortunately, it was a unique cage, specially made by Geppetto, crafted with silver and designed to be opened with a key from the inside and outside.

She heard a loud clatter coming from the dining area, and jumped up from her futon to reach the door.

The wolf's form was still frozen in place, but she let out a menacing growl. It took a few seconds for her to understand that it wasn't directed at her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stay. Please," she begged, and pulled the bottom of her necklace from under her shirt, revealing a bulky key.

It felt good to escape your prison whenever you wanted to.

She was thankful that Geppetto had her tremors in mind when he designed the lock itself. One jab in the general direction and the key slid into place, and a two-handed turn gave her the tell-tale clink of her freedom.

Her bare feet slid across the smooth concrete floor, and she desperately wished that she hadn't stopped wearing socks when Red acquired a taste for them. They were close enough to the freezer room to provide air conditioning for the Summer months, but the floor nearly left her teeth chattering.

Her wolf didn't pay the floor nor her words any mind and sped past her. She let out a small squeal, forgetting how truly fast she was in this form.

The door to the diner, a typical swinging door for easy access, was no match for the wolf, and she charged ahead.

For the first time in her life, and outside of Ruby's bed, she cursed out loud and rushed to catch her.

There, on the other side of the door, Granny was behind the counter, another ceramic plate raised over her head, poised to throw it at the stranger hiding behind the knocked-over table.

The matron looked over at the wolf that went up to her elbows in shock, and the man chose that time to leap forward, a cane raised.

And then he paused, and she wasn't quite sure why. His prominent limp was emphasized as he charged forward, but that wasn't what stopped him. His lingering gaze at her, wide brown eyes staring a hole in her, didn't slow him down either.

What probably contributed the most to his failed attack on the matron of the diner was Red hopping on the counter and leaping forward, tackling him to the ground. With a mighty yank, she ripped his cane out of his surprised grip with her teeth, raising her head and growling, resting her significant weight on his legs. He cried out, and Granny reacted first.

"Ruby!" That was all that came out. She put the plate down, and they looked helplessly at each other. "I... we probably shouldn't let her kill him."

They both knew why he was here. Why he chose to show up on the full moon was anyone's guess, but if she could speculate, it was probably to frame the wolf for any possible bloodshed.

Would he have opened the cage? Would he have angered her in the presence of her big, bad wolf?

She didn't particularly care. What she knew was that it was eleven at night, and he certainly didn't break the glass pane to get in because he had a hankering for a late-night milkshake.

It was when the cane snapped in half, when the brunette hurried forward. "Red, Stop. That's an order!"

Red looked over, giving her a curious look, splinters in her teeth.

"Open your mouth. Keep still."

Wordlessly, as if there was any other way to respond, she complied, and allowed her Alpha to reach into her mouth to grab at the bits of wood.

"I hope you don't wake up with any splinters," she muttered, before calling out, "Granny! Do you own a pair of tweezers? Pincers, if you got 'em?"

"B-Belle..."

"And a first aid kit, I reckon," she continued, only to frown at the man her wolf kept pinned down, quite easily. "Rumplestiltskin, I take it?"

His face registered shock, or pain, she really couldn't tell from this angle. "Belle?"

She rubbed the wolf's head soothingly, ignoring the man for now, for a good minute and a half.

"She wrote a note for you. I guess you missed it. She left it under some old chipped teacup and a dead rose."

The confusion lingered a bit longer, before growing very angry. "What did you do, you stupid girl?!"

The wolf readjusted herself on his bad leg, and he hissed in agony.

The Librarian, Lacey Flowers, grinned as she scratched the massive back of her wolf - her mate for life, if either of them had anything to say about it. "I chose freedom."


I didn't want to believe it was true.

When they finally told me what happened, I so truly didn't want to believe them. That you've done what you did. But I've never known them to be a liar, and I've never underestimated your ability to lie to me.

You set a bloody wraith on Regina. Tried to kill her, nearly robbed her of her soul; that's a fate worse than death. I forgave her long before the curse was even cast - lest we forget, it's something that you taught her to do, and what you did yourself, and the only difference was that she had enough servants at her call - no need for another.

I know you wanted revenge. I know you would have stopped at nothing to seek that revenge. I know you cared for me enough that you would at least try to avenge my imprisonment.

But I thought you respected me enough to try to look past that, and to celebrate the present with me.

I have serious doubts that you care, but she wasn't alone. A woman and her son was there. A child. You were willing to let a boy see his own mother's soul get consumed in front of him. You were willing to let two innocents die to get what you wanted.

And I'm finally starting to realize that it was what you wanted. My words, my promise of what would happen, didn't slow you down in the slightest. Thirty minutes after the curse was lifted, a full twenty-five minutes after I told you not to, and an incredible ten minutes after I left you to see my father. I'm sure it didn't take you a second to decide that my words meant little to your own convictions.

Twenty-nine years have passed since the curse has ridden you of your own, and you never changed. Thirty-two years since we've last seen each other, and you couldn't respect the only wish I begged of you. My second - and last - bargain with you.

I think I understand why you had to do it, and I think I understand why you absolutely couldn't let it go. I have no idea how you thought I wouldn't find out, but I pray that you understand why I could never agree to such madness, and why I could never live with it.

So I won't. I choose not to. I still believe that there is good in you somewhere, Rumple. But now I know; I'm not the catalyst for that change, and I can't be the reason you kill more innocents.

My father didn't tell me to do this, nor did Ruby, nor Emma nor anyone else. Emma tried to talk me out of it, even. This was my decision. The first choice of free will I've made my entire life, to be free from my own imprisonment. I know you'll find a way to return from your banishment - back to the power you've always loved more than me. It might be a painful day for you. But no more painful than your betrayal.

You'll lie. You'll make false promises. And you will do it all with the brightest smile. But most importantly, you will fail. I'm sorry for that. And it saddens me greatly that you'll never be.

Goodbye, Rumple. There will always be a part of me that loves you. And that will be the part of me that dies tonight. Thank you for allowing me to see you as I always should have.

Sincerely, but no longer yours or anyone else's,
Belle


AN: Special thanks to my patrons: Alexander S and AtomicStryker. Also, thanks to Sammii16 and Sfa_18 for your comments. It means the world to me that you took the time to tell me you enjoyed it.

Next Chapter: Regina's side of the story.