"Are you sure about this?" Emma asked. She knelt on the floor in the back of Rumpelstiltskin's shop, drawing an intricate set of runes on the floor with paint. Paint that had been mixed with hers and Rumpelstiltskin's blood. It completely grossed her out, but she wouldn't complain as long as it saved Ava.

"If you want the honest truth, I'm not sure of anything anymore," Rumpelstiltskin admitted, "But it's not as though we have much of a choice. There, you're done."

David scowled at Rumpelstiltskin, "How exactly is this suppose to help?" He was uncomfortable about the whole thing, especially since it was his daughter who would have to handle unstable magic in an effort to break this curse. And she had to do it, because her foster daughter's life was a stake.

"Most of the really complex and long-lasting curse have something called an anchor. It's meant to tie the curse to something physical, so that it will last longer and be more difficult to break," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "If even a sliver of the curse's magical energy is attached to a physical object, we can cast a spell to make that object absorb all the energy. Then it's simply a matter of destroying the anchor."

Emma got up and wiped her hands, edger to get remnants the grim art project off her as soon as possible. "So this spell will help me find this curse's anchor, assuming it has one?"

"Under normal circumstances that would be the case, but this specific curse warps magic around, leading to unpredictable result. We'll do our best and counteract any unexpected complications. I don't expect this to go smoothly, but as long as we get this done, that's all that matters."

Emma and David looked down at the rune with grim expressions. "Here goes nothing," Emma muttered. She gestured for David and Rumpelstiltskin to step back, then outstretched her arms toward the runes. Rumpelstiltskin had given a crash course in magic, but she still wasn't confident in her abilities. She hadn't even known she had abilities until earlier that day! Emma tried to pump her magic into the runes, but after a few moments, nothing happened.

"You need to focus," Rumpelstiltskin chastised.

"I know, I know," Emma snapped. She closed her eyes and tried harder to connect to her magic. Ava was counting on her. And if Ava was in danger, that itself proved magic was real, and if magic was real she should be able to reach it. Emma blocked out everything else, until she felt the faint wisp of magic inside her. She concentrated on it harder, trying to touch it, hold it, master it. At first it was like trying to catch smoking, but then it became easier to harness. She was doing magic! She was actually doing magic.

A wave of magic energy washed over her and down to her hands. When Emma opened her eyes, she saw that the runes were beginning to light up. A sudden flash of bright, white light assault her eyes. Emma shut her eyes until it dimmed, and when she opened them again, the runes started moving from where she had painted them.

Rumpelstiltskin looked pleased, "Looks like you're not a lost caused after all. This will lead us straight to the anchor."


Regina hated very many people, and loved very few. Once, she had loved her mother, but Cora had always been twisted on the inside and it didn't take long for Regina to realize that her mother was a monster. For years, she pretended in public to love her husband and he pretended to love her, but in the privacy of their chambers the masks came off. She had tried to love her daughters, but she couldn't fake it even to herself.

Daniel, the man she had wanted to marry, her other half. Even now, after all these years, the thought of him made Regina feel as though she was sleeping on a bed of nails. She could still the fear and horror on his face when her mother had killed him. The future they'd never have together, the son he never had the chance to meet. Regina never she would never really get over the fact that her mother had stolen her baby and given him away, but once she had hoped that she could make up for lost time. Her attempt to be Alexander's mother had failed miserably, and now he was dead and buried like his father.

All she had left was her father, and she hadn't seen him in years due to Snow White. Snow White, her wretched daughter, who had ruined her life simply by being born and never stop tearing down whatever happiness Regina had build for her.

The rain began to let up, and Regina lifted her heavy hood. Light raindrop splattered on her face and hair. It felt oddly soothing. She was walking down a cobblestone street of a large port town. She had to blend in, to not be recognized, but for just a moment, she let herself breath. She wanted so badly to return, to curl up by the fire, sleep in her own bed, place wildflowers on her son's grave. She had lost the war against Snow White, and for a long time it felt as though those simple comforts would be forever out of reach from her.

But then the Dark One came to her and offered her a way out. It seemed almost too good to be true. Under other circumstances, Regina would have shown much more skepticism, but she had sunken so low and the idea that formed in her head was so compelling, that she clung to this new opportunity tightly with both hands. She had spent the last two years darting across the kingdom like a mouse, searching for each of the objects one at a time. So far she had avoided the royal guards, but she feared now her luck might run out.

There was one last thing to do.

Regina sat in the shadows, waiting for the royal carriage. Eventually it stopped at the docks, and her father stepped out. Regina's heart ached with longing to have him by her said again, and more than a little guilt for what she was about to do, but Snow White had left her with no other choice. She let out a thin stream of her magic and directed it toward her father. Knowing that he could not report it and that the last he wanted was for her to die, Regina knew exactly how he would react. Henry paused, then turned to her direction. Regina was half-hidden in the shadows, but he would remember the feeling of her magic brushing up against him.

"Give a moment," Henry said to his guards, "I need a moment long to let me stretch my legs."

They nodded and left him alone. Knowing that was nothing stopping her now, Regina moved in the opposite direction of the docks. She was certain that her father would follow her. Once they were in a secluded alley, Regina stopped and turned to face her father with tears in her eyes.

Henry tenderly touched his daughter's cheek. "My dear Regina, you've been through so much. I want you to know-"

Anguished, Regina ripped his heart out before he could finish his sentence. She had to do it, for Alexander and for her own survival. For as much as her father loved her, he also loved Snow White and Rose Red fiercely as well. He would try to talk her out of it, to try to convince her that forgiveness was the only way. As she had anything to be forgiven for.

Henry's face was one of total shock and betrayal. "Regina?" he croaked, the lost of his heart already starting to take it's hold of him.

"I'm so, so sorry Daddy," Regina whispered, as tears began to fall down her cheeks, "But I need to do this."

Henry's guards found his body a short while later, and no one they spoke to mentioned anything about the woman who had been with him.


Killian had been one his way to the hospital when he was saw Regina get into her car. After hearing what had happened to Ava, he wanted to be there for Emma, but something in his gut told him that ought to follow Regina. Trying to be discreet, he turned his car about and followed her into town. When Regina parked in front of the library, Killian went down another road, pretending to be going elsewhere, but he too parked and went out to follow her on foot.

The town library was a rundown old building that had been abandoned for years. Overgrown weeds and mold stained the front entranced, and most of the windows had been boarded up. From his hiding spot, Killian wanted as she opened the lock and went inside. Knowing Regina, this likely had something to do with Ava's sudden collapse, Killian pondered. She never went to the library. What could she be hiding in there. Killian thought back to the secret lab he'd found under the Dark One's house and began to worry that Regina was planning something to hurt someone else.

When he was sure that he needed to act, he walked up to the entrance and peered inside, careful no to give away his location to Regina. She carried on, clearly unaware of his presence. Regina called the elevator, which to Killian's surprise still worked. Once she had gotten in and the doors closed, Killian went inside and looked around for clues as to what she might be up to.

The library seemed pretty normal, if in a total state of decay. The carpets were damp and moldy, while many of the book had clear signs of water damage. Many of the shelves and furniture were covered in a thick layer of dust. Once he was satisfied that there was nothing out of the ordinary on the group level, Killian contemplated taking the elevator. It would clearly give away his location to Regina, but obviously whatever she was interested in was beneath the library, not inside it. Maybe she needed the elevator to get back upstairs, but if there was another way downstairs, she might escape. If there was another way, he could use it, but he didn't know if he had the time.

Soon Killian found himself back in the library's lobby and he was surprised against when he was Emma, David, and the Dark One approaching. He then noticed a moving shape headed toward the library, which they were clearly following.

"Killian, what are you doing here?" Emma asked.

He answered, "I noticed Regina coming here and I got the feeling that she was up to something, so I followed her."

"The anchor," the Dark One hissed.

David nodded, "She probably knows we'll be after it, so she's trying to protect it."

"What anchor?" Killian asked, turning to Emma.

"No time to explain," the Dark One said, "Where did you see her last?"

"She went down the elevator," Killian answered.

While the Dark One pressed the button to summon the elevator, Emma let him in what was going on. "I need to use my magic to pull all the curse's magical energy into something called the anchor, then destroy it to break the curse."

"Should be simple enough," Killian nodded.

David grimaced, "Nothing has been simple about this situation, so I'm just waiting for something to go on."

The elevator arrived. "Regina will know we're here, so get ready for a confrontation," Rumpelstiltskin called over his shoulder as he walked into. The others followed him in. The doors of the elevator slammed shut, and down they went into the cold, dark basement.