A/N: Hello peoples! From my calculations, we're about 33-50% of the way through the story! My outline for each chapter is quite different than what I'm writing, when it comes to timing. In my outline, this is the 1st half of chapter 10. However, irl, it is chapter 12 now that I've written it. So... I really don't know how many more chapters there will be. Hope that all works out in the end!

Thanks to all the people who have commented/reviewed! It really makes me happy to see.

Regina's POV

The sun had just risen over the horizon. Everything was colored with an orange tinge, and Regina was having a hard time looking ahead without getting blinded. She was no stranger to waking up early, but right now it was exhausting. Between gathering all the necessary supplies and keeping an eye on Emma, she had barely gotten any sleep. Apparently Emma's anger extended to preparations, for the woman had barely helped at all. Regina came much too close to throttling her over it. Sure, Regina had told people something Emma told her in confidence, but it was a necessary evil. Right?

'Whatever,' Regina thought moodily, 'If she wants to act like a bitter child, I just won't bother next time.' She was not above being petty, after all that is kind of her calling card.

Turning her thoughts away from the frustrating white-haired woman, Regina focused on the environment around her, and found out she was much closer to the pier than before.

'How time flies.' Regina thought sardonically as she walked with the others toward the harbor. Apparently she was not the only one to be lost in thought (or exhausted). Everyone else in the group was silent, shuffling toward their shared goal. They didn't look at each other, just kept their gazes ahead.

Glancing left, Regina watched Henry and Emma. Their hands gripped each other tightly, and Regina could just make out how their skin turned slightly white where they touched. Both carried their own backpacks filled with clothes and hygienic supplies (Regina had to sneak in a second bottle of deodorant into Henry's. He was certainly becoming a teenager in every way).

Despite the gravity of the situation, Henry swung their hands back and forth. Emma was not looking at him, but Regina could see the slight smile on her face. Henry always had that kind of effect on people. A slight pang went through Regina at the sight, and a stray thought of what it would feel like to hold Emma's hand passed her mind.

Immediately embarrassed, Regina turned her eyes away from Henry and Emma. Those were not the type of thoughts she should even think of, let alone entertain. In an attempt to forget, she looked toward Robin and reached out to grab his hand. It was scratchy, rough and hard, and his hand completely engulfed hers ('Too big. It's too big' she narrowly avoided thinking).

Robin had insisted on coming, not wanting to leave Regina "alone". Of course Regina had brought up Rolan, who was going to be left behind.

"He needs you. You're his only parent left." She had reminded him.

But Robin placed full trust in his own skill of surviving, as well as Regina's magic capabilities. There was no dissuading him. And who was she to deny his presence anyway? She was his soulmate, she had to want him with her, she had to consider him in every decision she made or action she took (Why did she keep forgetting that?).

Shaking off the troubling thoughts, Regina stopped as they all arrived at the pier. After letting go of Robin's hand, she turned so she faced the entire group. Robin had not been the only one to join. In addition to him, Red was also coming. Snow and David insisted on the werewolf coming, and Red had not been shy in expressing her desire to help either. It had not taken long for Regina and Emma to agree. Red's skills could be very useful where they were going.

"So, how is this going to work exactly, dear?" Robin asked.

Regina pulled out the bottled potion from her long jacket, "When I pour this into the water it will create a portal. We all need to jump into it at the same time, and we all need to be thinking about the realm we're traveling to."

Red raised her hand slightly, "How do we do that? None of us have been there before."

With a sigh, Regina let her hand drop against her side, "That is the hard part…" She paused, thinking of how to explain this, "The best way might be to think of the name, and how magic is like there. That's all we really know about it." Turning towards Snow, Regina asked, "You did tell her about that, right?"

Snow nodded, "Of course." She looked slightly indignant that Regina could think she would possibly forget to tell Red something so important.

After a silent moment, everyone moved to grab each other's hands. Regina felt a bit irritated at having to touch any of the other people, but she ended up only holding Robin's hand. It felt quite foreign in her hand.

Ignoring that feeling , Regina leaned over the edge and poured the potion. A few seconds later the water swirled faster and faster, simultaneously gaining a green glow to it. The wind began whipping around the group.

"Let's do this, together," Snow stepped forward, pulling along the group.

"On the count of 3. 3…2…1… Jump!"

Everyone became weightless when instead of hitting water, they kept falling.

Colors swirled around Regina, and she had to force herself to not think of them, but instead think of the Land of Transmutation.

If she was being honest, this was probably the one part of the plan most likely to fail. No one had a connection to the other realm, so their chances of making it there rested solely on the group's mental strength. Some of the people in this group were not quite as good at mental exercise than others.

Time both stopped and accelerated as they fell, keeping Regina in a single moment while she also passed through many.

Everything came to a head when the colors stopped swirling, and gravity came back into existence. The array of colors began to slowly fade away, and the wind slowed. At the end of the portal Regina saw yellow grass rushing toward her faster and faster. Upon landing, the impact sent shockwaves of pain up her legs (luckily, she was not wearing high heels; her ankles would have surely been broken), and then her arms as she tried to stop from face planting.

Working through the sharpness covering her body, Regina took several deep breaths. Nausea fought its way from her stomach upwards. It was a struggle to not throw up, but in the end she succeeded. She could hear everyone around her also doing the same.

Once she had recovered enough, Regina made her way over to Henry, who still had a death grip on Emma and looked like he was close to throwing up. Like the mother she was Regina looked over Henry, inspecting him for any injury. Besides his scraped hands, Regina could find nothing else. Finished with her inspection, she started gently rubbing his back. She watched him silently as he started coughing before finally turning her gaze to the other people. Robin was standing up unsteadily, simultaneously helping up Red. The young woman appeared no worse for wear. Next to her Snow and Charming supported each other to their feet.

Finally glancing at Emma, Regina saw the other woman still on her hands and knees, eyes closed and breath heavy. She quaked and her breath shuddered every few seconds.

"Emma?" Regina leaned over to touch her, "Emma, are you okay?"

Henry finally stopped coughing and moved so he was kneeling, following Regina's gaze.

Emma did not speak, but held up a hand in Regina's general direction. Still wary, Regina stood up with Henry, not looking away. A moment later Emma opened her eyes and pushed to her feet.

Upon seeing the concerned looks from her son and his mother, Emma offered an explanation, "Just… Got the wind knocked out of me, I guess."

Oblivious as always, Snow asked loudly, "Are we really there?"

Slowly, Regina stood back and looked around, "We have no way of knowing until we find someone willing to tell us."

This land was certainly not the Enchanted Forest or Earth, however. That was a step in the right direction.

As far as she could see the grass was yellow, like wheat; the tree trunks were all shades of red and orange, and the leaves were also a dull yellow. Perhaps most jarring of all, the sky was not blue, but purple.

More than ready, Red stepped forward, "Okay. "Let's go find some people then." At that, she took in a deep breath through her nose, and tilted her head slightly. A few seconds later she did it again, her eyebrows pinching together; a few seconds after that she stopped.

"I can't smell any people."

Snow laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Are you sure? Nothing?"

Red nodded, "Just us."

"Well that's just wonderful." Regina groaned, "So much for being useful."

Red shot a glare at her. Then, crossing her arms, she turned away from the ungrateful mayor.

"I guess we'll just have to pick a direction and—" David began, but was interrupted by Emma.

"This way." She pointed out into the forest, full of certainty.

"Perhaps we should just take a moment and think about it?" Robin offered, "After all, there might be some signs nearby, in a different direction."

Emma just shook her head, "No. We're going this way. There are people—" She stopped herself, confusion filling her face. Before Regina could fully think about why, the look was gone as quickly as it came, and Emma continued, "I just have a feeling."

Regina looked toward the direction Emma pointed. There was nothing that set it apart from the rest of the forest, as far as she could tell. Why Emma felt it necessary to go that way Regina wasn't sure. But, she could tell Emma was not telling them the full truth. How could she possibly know people are that way? There was a reason; one Emma, for some reason, did not want to give.

Robin and Emma stood off for several moments. Eyes locked onto each other, neither willing to stand down. 'Why do they have to do that?' Regina wondered irritably, 'it solves nothing.' Also, it was too early to fight.

Stepping forward, she broke the staring match, "How about this: We'll look around the area for any leftover signs of people. If we do not find anything, we'll just go the way Emma, for whatever reason, wants us to go."

The tension left both Emma and Robin as they turned their gaze to Regina. Without a word they both walked off to go look for clues. In opposite directions.

Shaking her head, Regina walked off as well, looking for a sign, but not expecting one. If Red could not smell anything, it was highly unlikely humans had been here anytime recently.

Everyone searched for about two hours before giving up. As predicted, there was nothing. Only forest and strange animals.

With that, they started heading in the direction Emma pointed. Small conversations broke out between Snow and Charming, and Red, Henry, and Robin. Regina listened only partially, putting her focus more on Emma, who led the way. Briefly Regina wondered if Emma would stay mad for much longer over the reveal of her 'secret'. But that was quickly squashed by the remembrance of how Emma could hold a grudge: not quite to the level of Evil Queen, but not to the level of Snow White either.

More hours trickled by, and the sky began to darken, becoming a lovely maroon color. Worryingly, nocturnal animals began to come out of hiding. Their calls and cries filled the air. This forest was a wild one, and the group had no idea what kind of animals they were. How many were predators that would attack humans? Regina still had yet to see how magic worked in this realm.

"We're going to have to make camp soon." Snow declared, "It'll be too dark if we don't stop."

Regina agreed with her (unfortunately). She did not want to be out in the open in the middle of a forest, especially with Henry here.

Emma, however, had a different idea, "We're almost there. I can feel it. Stopping now would just be stupid."

Regina, tired and sore, was not having it today, "Emma, you cannot possibly know how close we—"

"I smell people." Red interrupted, astonished.

"What?" Regina questioned at the same time as Snow and Robin.

"People, food, animals, I can smell it. They can't be too far." She elaborated.

Shocked that Emma had been right, they all continued forward for the next 30 minutes, stumbling here and there because of the lack of light. If Emma and Red were wrong, Regina was going to skin them.

It was all worth it though. The forest came to an end, and as they exited, Regina caught sight of a settlement a half mile away.

Wood and stone houses stood upright. Coming from them were dozens of soft lights, illuminating the night sky. There would certainly be people there.

That begged the question though: How did Emma know which way to go?