Emma's face was a little flushed after "meeting" her father for the first time. Seeing David had been just as awkward as meeting Snow, perhaps even a little more since Emma had been a little closer to Mary Margaret to begin with.

After David and Mary Margaret had finished nearly hugging her to death, Emma went to stand behind Henry. She placed her hands on his shoulders in what was partially meant to be a comforting gesture, but the truth was that she was also kind of using him as a shield from more hugging. She was happy to finally know her parents, but they had only just truly met. She needed a bit of time to adjust to this unusual situation, and that was difficult when the pair of them kept fawning over her.

Emma watched Snow and David who were currently hugging Leroy and his friends. There were tears swimming in Mary Margaret's eyes as her arms lingered around Leroy a little longer.

"Hey Henry, who's Leroy supposed to be?" Emma whispered.

"Grumpy. He and Snow White are really good friends." Henry explained quietly.

"Grumpy." Emma repeated. "Alright so... Seven Dwarves... real people. Okay..."

Henry grinned up at her.

"How did you figure all of this out kid?" Emma asked.

Henry shrugged. "It was obvious."

Emma smiled, she could tell that he was loving this: everyone finally remembering who they were. They knew he had been telling the truth all along and now he got to witness them reuniting with their loved ones.

The blonde frowned as something else suddenly caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed as she listened more intently, searching for the source of the noise.

"Hey guys?" She asked. But no one but Henry seemed to be listening to her. She stepped towards them. "GUYS!"

A little shocked, Snow, David and the dwarves turned to face her.

"Do you hear that?" She asked them.

"What is it Emma?" Snow's brow furrowed as she listened too.

"I dunno, it sounds like a storm. A big one."

"Look." Came Henry's voice from beside them.

Everyone's heads turned to the direction he was pointing too and were greeted with the sight of a monstrous purple cloud billowing their way.

Regina was standing in the living room, arms folded as she tried to determine the source of the horrible feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Nothing seemed out of place and there had been no message from Emma or Henry. Perhaps she was just anxious about her upcoming doctor's appointment.

She rubbed her arms with her hands in attempt to warm herself against the sudden chill that had run through her. Her efforts however, did nothing against the cold that never seemed to want to relinquish its grasp on her.

She finally decided that the dread she was feeling was simply a combination of her uneasiness over the appointment, and her uncertainty in regards to the upcoming breaking of the curse. To try to distract herself she made her way towards the kitchen to make a pot of tea, after which she planned to continue the nap that had been interrupted earlier. She was aware that it wasn't normal for people to take a nap only two hours into their day, but today she was hoping to spend as much time with Henry after school as she could. Unfortunately, as of late that meant spending the majority of the day resting until he got home.

As she headed for the kitchen she began to mentally sort through the teas Emma had brought back with her from Boston and tried to decide on which to have. However before she was able to even reach the hallway, something outside caught her eye.

She froze, and turned dazedly towards the window as she saw something rising behind the houses across the street. She involuntarily took a few steps back as she realized what it was.

But that was impossible.

Regina moved forward slowly, almost trancelike as the great purple clouds came rushing towards her.

She knew what this kind of magic was and it definitely wasn't just any average spell.

Regina hated herself for it but she felt a surge of panic. Whatever the reason for this new arrival was it couldn't be good. She glanced behind her as if hoping something would give her the answers she was looking for. But as her eyes once again washed over her silent, tidy house, still nothing seemed wrong.

Nothing except the monstrosity that was currently consuming the town.

This didn't make any sense. The curse hadn't been broken so how could there be magic here? And an even better question was how could there even be magic in this particular world?

Regina took a faltering step back. She felt her breath catch in her throat as the magic came plummeting through the walls of her home, taking everything inside it temporarily captive.

"What is that?"

Emma felt an uneasiness overwhelm her as the enormous purple cloud thundered threateningly, rushing violently towards them. She had definitely never seen anything like this before.

"Something bad." Henry answered.

Snow took a step forward, her head tilted in confusion as she recognized what it was. "It's magic."

Emma's head snapped towards her. "What?! Is that even possible here?"

Snow shook her head uncertainly. "I don't know... maybe it came over from our world with the curse. It could have just remained dormant until now."

"Or somebody brought it here." David suggested, folding his arms.

"Somebody?" Leroy repeated incredulously. "You mean the Queen! She's still trying to torment us even though her plan's clearly failed! I say we go prove to her that she's already lost. No one takes my memories and gets away clean."

Emma's brow furrowed. "I don't think it was her..."

"Emma, she's the one who–" Snow tried to explain.

"No. It wasn't Regina." She stated firmly.

If Regina had known that she would able to bring magic back after the curse was broken she wouldn't have been so afraid of ending it. This couldn't have been her.

"But who else–"

"Are we just gonna stand here yapping while we let that thing kill us?!" Leroy shouted, eyes blazing as the curse cloud descended on them.

"I don't think we can outrun this one brother." Sleepy reasoned.

He was right, the magic had already passed the gates of the schoolyard.

Some people were screaming. A few little children were running away from it with frantic parents chasing after them. Some parents simply took their children into their arms, trying to shield them from whatever it was that was coming. Snow and David wrapped their arms around each other while Emma instinctively pulled Henry into a protective hug. As she did, he buried his face in her jacket.

She rested her hand on the back of his head. "It's gonna be okay." She said, trying to convince herself almost as much as him. This was so not what she had expected when she woke up this morning.

Through her closed eyelids she could see the sky darken. She looked up as the thundering cloud washed over the entirety of the playground as well as the area surrounding it as far as the eye could see. Emma squinted as it engulfed them, and for a few moments all she could see was purple. She couldn't even see her parents, whom she knew were standing right beside her. She felt the urge to reach out for them, to make sure they were still there, but Henry's arms tightening around her buried that thought.

She had expected to feel it when the magic reached them but was surprised when all she felt was a bit of wind against her skin and an unusual warmth run through her.

When the cloud finally began to fade away into the air, Emma felt someone's hand on her arm.

"Are you both okay?" Snow asked.

"Yeah," Emma responded, still shaken. She looked down at Henry whom she was still holding protectively against her.

"You okay kid?" Emma asked.

"Yeah." He smiled up at her, stepping out of the nearly crushing embrace.

"So what the hell was that all about?" Emma asked, a hint of hysteria in her voice as she searched the sky.

"I don't know." Snow said calmly. "But we're going to find out."

"We didn't go back to the Enchanted Forest when the curse broke," David commented, his tone sounding different than usual. More authoritative. "This means Storybrooke is our home, at least for now. We need to make sure we keep our people safe from this until we can find a way back to our land. First, if you really think it wasn't Regina then we need to figure out who did do this and why."

"Your people?" Emma asked.

"The kingdom." David corrected.

"Right, your kingdom. How could I forget." Emma said, shuffling her feat uncomfortably. Seriously all she wanted to do right now was down a significant amount of whiskey and then blame this all on the alcohol.

Snow frowned as she studied her daughter. "Are you sure you're alright? Because it's okay if this is a bit much for you. It is a lot to take in."

Emma held up a hand. "I'm fine, really. I just want to know what's happening here."

She felt someone tugging on her jacket sleeve.

"What's up Henry?"

"Do you think my mom knows the curse is broken?" He asked.

"I dunno... "

"What if she doesn't know? She was asleep when we left, she could have slept right through it."

"Well if she's still asleep then I'm sure she's fine. And knowing Regina lately, she probably won't leave the house any time soon. But we can go back and check on her if you want. She shouldn't be on her own."

Henry nodded.

"Okay, let me just tell Mary Margaret first."

Before she could get her mother's attention, the sound of heavy, fast-approaching footsteps could be heard from behind her and she turned to see a very out of breath Archie.

"Emma, thank god." He said, gasping for air.

"Archie!" Emma replied in surprise. "What is it?"

"Doctor Whale's whipped everyone into a frenzy. They're going to Regina's house, they're going to kill her!" Archie explained, practically tripping over his own words. "Whale started gathering people before that storm cloud came, but now they're angry. They're afraid and they want to stop her before she has the chance to do anything first!"

"No! They can't!" Henry gripped Emma's arm, his eyes were wide with fear. "Please! Don't let them hurt my mom!"

She squeezed his shoulder gently. "I'm not gonna let that happen."

"If that really was magic then Regina could have her powers back." David commented.

Snow's eyes widened. "If they threaten her she could kill every last one of them!"

Emma felt sick. "I'm not so sure..."

"What do you mean?"

Emma ignored her question as Henry pulled on her arm, getting her to start moving towards the gates.

"Emma please, we have to help her." He begged. "She's not strong enough to fight them on her own."

Snow's expression changed. "What are you two talking about?"

Again, Emma ignored her question. It was all too much to try to explain to her right now. Mary Margaret didn't know the extent of Regina's condition because Regina had wanted privacy in these matters and Emma had respected that. But that meant most of the town didn't know either.

Emma's heart went out to her son as she looked down into his pleading eyes. She knew he was probably right. Magic may be back but that didn't necessarily mean that Regina would be able to protect herself. What if she was too weak to be able to use it?

Or if the mob got to her before she even knew that the curse was broken... Emma didn't even want to think about it.

Emma rubbed Henry's back as she followed him. "She'll be okay Henry, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"So are we going on foot then or should I grab my truck?" David asked as he, his wife, and even the dwarves began to follow the mother and son.

"We?" Emma asked, a little surprised. "You guys want to help her?"

Mary Margaret patted Henry's shoulder, smiling down at him as she walked. "Of course we do. Regina may have done a lot of bad things, but even she doesn't deserve this. If you're right and she really can't protect herself, we can't just stand back and let her die this way."

"Let's go!" Henry insisted.

"Hold on." Emma said, hands shaking a little as she pulled out her phone. "I'm gonna call Regina first, I have to warn her. Henry's right, she might not even know the curse is broken."

Henry was tugging at her arm again, trying to get her to keep moving. She began to walk forward again and the rest of the group followed the two out of the schoolyard.

Regina had moved up to her bedroom again, it had a better view of the town and she was hoping to be able to see if there was anything going on that she should know about. Her phone began ringing in her pocket, and as she withdrew it she cautiously glanced at the screen. She swallowed tentatively when she saw who was calling.

"Hello?" She answered a little shakily.

"Regina! Are you okay? Did you see what just happened?" Emma's slightly breathless voice came through the phone.

"It was magic..." Regina stated. "Emma how did this happen?"

"I sort of... broke the curse."

"What?!"

"I'll explain later. But first, are you alright?"

Regina gave a tired sigh. "I'm fine. How is Henry?"

Emma glanced at him. "Handling it better than I am. But listen–"

"Is my mom okay?" Regina could hear Henry asking in the background.

She gave a soft smile when she heard his voice.

"She's good Henry, don't worry."

Regina could also hear other voices, it sounded like Snow and Charming had already been reunited. She could make out other muffled voices but they were too far away for her to positively identify.

"The curse is broken..." Regina stated, letting the words wash over her. She tried to ignore the growing anxiety she felt knowing that fact. "How is everyone reacting so far?"

"Umm. Normally I guess?" Emma answered. Her breaths were still coming quickly and she sounded like she was power walking.

"What does that mean?"

"Look, I'll tell you everything after but–"

"Emma?" Regina interrupted.

"What?"

"Please... tell Henry he doesn't have to be afraid of me. I know this is probably all a little hard on him, but I promise I won't become her again just because the curse is broken. I really just want to keep all of that in my past."

"No, Regina he doesn't think that. And trust me, he's handling it fine." Emma answered hurriedly. "But Regina listen to me, you're–"

"Has he said anything? Is he angry with me now that he knows I really did cast the curse?"

"No he hasn't said anything. Really, he's handling this well. But Regina I need to–"

"I just don't want him to think that I'm going to–"

"REGINA!" Emma interrupted her. "Listen to me, I'm trying to warn you! Archie just told us there's a mob on the way to your house."

The queen felt a chill run through her. "What?"

"Regina... they want to kill you. But don't worry, we're coming. I just wanted to make sure you had a heads up first."

There was silence on the other end.

"Regina?"

"Don't bring Henry here." Regina said, her voice was a little shaky again. "It'll be too dangerous for him. Just... stay with him and keep him safe. Don't worry about me."

"Don't be stupid. We're coming to get you Regina." Emma insisted.

"I can take care of myself." She tried to sound strong but Emma heard right through it.

Emma sighed, not wanting to argue with her right now, not with the rush they were in.

The brunette could hear noises from outside, meanwhile Emma was distracted by a question someone had on her end of the line. Regina went to the window and drew back the curtain a little to see what the commotion was. Her face paled when she saw the source of the noise.

"Emma..."

Emma's blood ran cold at Regina's tone. "What?"

"They're already here."

"Lock the doors. We're coming back."

"Emma–"

"Just stay inside, make sure the doors are locked. We'll be right there."

Regina stepped a little into the shadows as she sized up the crowd. She supposed she should be thankful there weren't more. There were a few thousand people currently living in Storybrooke but only less than thirty had showed up to watch her die.

"Regina?!" Emma shouted into the phone. "Regina!"

"Emma what is it?" Mary Margaret asked in concern.

"Is she okay?" Henry asked, his eyes were full of fear. "What happened?"

"She's stopped answering." Emma replied, squeezing her phone a little too hard as she tried to stay calm. "I think she must have dropped the phone."

"You don't think they already got to her?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I don't know. But come on, we have to hurry."