Chapter Two

Floating in a portal was unlike anything Emma had ever experienced, and it probably wasn't going to be anything she'd get used to. It felt as though she were spiraling out of control for a neverending amount of time. It wasn't until she saw a small bit of sunlight that she knew that she was landing in the next realm. In a matter of seconds, she hit the ground with a hard thud, causing her to tumble into the side of a tree. A moment later, she heard the second thud and small groan of pain as Hook landed along with her. Quickly, she pushed herself up off of the ground and turned her head to look around at their surroundings.

"Looks like we're in the Enchanted Forest," Hook said, brushing the dirt and grass off of him. Emma arched a brow at him.

"Any other astounding observations you'd like to share with the class?" she asked, clearly irritated at him being with her. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned toward her, hook pointed in her direction as he walked toward her.

"Swan, look.."

"No, Killian. You, look. I didn't ask you to come here so don't expect any gratitude out of me. I need to find Zelena, find a way to stop her and save Re-..Storybrooke."

"And just how do you plan on doing that, love? You have no magic and no idea where you are. You're going to need all the bloody help you can get." Hook was right. He knew he was right and Emma hated that look he had on his face whenever he knew that he was right. She hated it even in New York when she didn't remember him. Either way, it wasn't going to do her any good standing in the middle of the forest arguing with a one-handed pirate. It's not like he could go back to Storybrooke now.

"I know where I am. I just don't know when," Emma replied as she turned around to look for any sort of clues that would indicate what time frame they'd landed in. She knew that Zelena wanted to travel back in time to change Regina's birth, but whether or not she succeeded was yet to be determined.

"Swan. Look over here," Hook said as he made his way off of the trail to a nearby tree. Quickly, she hurried to follow behind him, slipping off of the trail to see what he had found. Through the small patch of forest they stood in, she could see a group of people working around what appeared to be a small village.

"I wonder if we can get closer to find out what's going on," she whispered to him, only to have a small chuckle as her reply.

"Not in those clothes, you can't," he joked, a grin forming on his lips as he nodded toward the line of clothes attached to the nearest house, drying dresses. Emma rolled her eyes slightly and looked over at him.

"How convenient."

"Oh come on, love. Don't be so judgemental," he laughed and snuck to the side of the house, carefully pulling one of the dresses off of the clothesline before offering it over to her.

"You can change your clothes behind those bushes over there. I'll keep watch."

"Don't you dare look, Hook, or I'll take your other hand." A look of mock offense formed on his face as he touched his hook to his chest.

"I'm a gentleman."

"You're a pirate."

"Fair enough. I won't look. I swear." Emma stood there for a few seconds, as though she didn't believe him. Dramatically, he threw his arms up in a sign of surrender.

"Swan! I'm not going to bloody look! Hurry up and change before you're seen! We have to be careful what we change right now. Time travel can cause grave consequences." His hand shooed her to get behind the bushes to change before he turned to watch the town and make sure she wasn't seen. Emma rustled through her change of clothes, pulling it on quickly.

"What the hell am I wearing?!" she growled as she pulled on her corset. This was absurd! Tumbling out of the bushes a few minutes later, she was already trying to adjust the dress to make it more comfortable. This was terrible. Frustrated with her new garments, the blonde made her way out to where Hook stood with that stupid grin on his face. Just when he was starting to become charming, he reminds her why it would never work between them. His eyes roamed down over her exposed cleavage before lifting back up to her face.

"That outfit suits you," he said, which only made Emma roll her eyes.

"You would think that. Come on. Let's go and figure out just when this portal dropped us off." She pushed past him and stepped through the small open pathway that led into the town. Her hands combed through her hair just a little as they walked into town. Could she have felt any more uncomfortable? It didn't seem possible.

"Let's start at the pub. If you're going to find out anything, you'll find it out there," Hook chimed in as he offered his arm out to Emma to escort her. Her eyes traveled down to his arm that he held out to her, arching an eyebrow at him as though he'd lost his mind. Okay, maybe it was possible to feel more uncomfortable. Ignoring the offered arm, she pushed forward and started toward the nearby tavern where people were already starting to gather. The sound of voices grew as they reached the door, stepping inside to find many of the villagers quickly turning to look their way. Small villages like that near the Evil Queen's castle didn't trust random visitors. One of the men working in the tavern came around the bar quickly and stepped in front of Emma.

"We don't usually get unfamiliar faces around these parts. You two lost?" his gruff voice gave a hint that they weren't going any further in without some additional explanation. Hook began to speak, the testosterone building between the two men.

"We're not lost, mate. I'll tell you what we are. W-" Emma's hand popped up quickly to cover his lips and she laughed nervously.

"Don't listen to him. He hates admitting that we're lost. Typical man.." she laughed a bit more, trying to ease the situation, but the man before her remained stone cold. Clearing her throat, she continued.

"We were looking for...the way to the castle. Snow White and Prince...Charming…?" she looked to Hook who stared at her as if she had lost her mind. Her hand dropped from his lips and she turned her attention back to the man in front of them who seemed to almost immediately relax.

"Oh, you must be on your way to deliver your gift for their child. They say that Snow should be due any day now," he said, his guard lowered now that he knew they were not spies of the Queen with news of impending death and anguish. Emma looked at Hook with a look of satisfaction that her tactic worked so well.

"Yes, yes we are. Would you point us in the direction we would need to go? We would be so grateful," Emma replied, trying to be as sweet as she possibly could be. As she watched the man's eyes lower slowly onto her chest, she knew that she'd get anything she wanted out of him. Men were so easily influenced.

"South of here. Be careful not to head East. The Evil Queen's castle is that way and she does not take well to strangers on her land. Take heed, because she is as evil as they come." For some reason, the insult toward Regina didn't sit well with Emma and her eyebrows furrowed just a bit. They didn't know what Regina was capable of. She had so much good in her and nobody knew it. Right now, she was in another time dead because she had the courage and love that Emma didn't have. It wasn't fair for them to speak poorly of her. Without thinking, she stepped forward to confront the man.

"No, she's no-" it was Hook's turn to cover her mouth with his own hand before she said anything she would regret.

"We'll do just that, mate. Thanks," he interjected abruptly, pulling Emma from the doorway of the tavern back out to the village. He held tight to her arm as he pulled her quickly from earshot of the people around them, moving south onto the trail as fast as possible.

"Have you gone mad, Swan?! They don't know the Regina we know and would have tried to kill both of us!"

"I'm sorry! I just...Regina's dead because of me. She's dead because I didn't protect her, and to make it worse, she died thinking I was going to take our son away from her. And I was. I was going to take that happiness away from her out of my own selfishness and fear, and now she died before I had the chance to make it right. I guess when he started to insult her, I just reacted." Her eyes lifted to meet Hook's, which were filled with surprise and sympathy. A small chuckle escaped his lips.

"Swan, if I didn't know better, I'd say you fancy her," His words were filled with amusement as he teased her. Clearly, he didn't think that it were true, but he had to poke fun at her just a little in the hopes to lighten the mood. Emma pushed away from him and shook her head with a sardonic scoff.

"What? Don't be ridiculous. I just don't want Henry to be without his mother. She didn't deserve to die like that," she said, trying to push away any doubts that were filling her head from the moment he said it. What if she did have feelings for Regina? What if it wasn't sadness for Henry that she felt at Regina's death, but her own? Anger and frustration welled up inside of her at the confusion she felt bogging down her mind.

"That would make so much sense. You could never decide between me and Neal because you actually love Regina," he had to laugh at this hilarious epiphany of his, but Emma turned quickly and grabbed him by the jacket, nose to nose with him. Her anger formed so quickly that his smile immediately faded and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa. Calm down, love. It was just a joke.."

"That's enough! Just because I don't want to sleep with you doesn't make me a lesbian!" she snapped at him and shoved him back away from her. Pushing off of him, she turned and started to storm away with Hook following behind her quickly.

"All right, Swan. You're right. You're right. I apologize. Terrible joke. Let's just focus on the task at hand," he said, trying to calm her down. "If Snow is due to have her baby any day, then that means we don't have much time before Regina enacts the curse." His point pulled Emma back into her mission, causing her to slow down and breathe. All of a sudden, the plan made sense.

"That's it! Zelena couldn't change the past to make Regina not exist, but she can kill Regina right after she casts the dark curse and take over in Regina's place. Then nobody will remember that Regina existed and Zelena will be in control." Emma turned to look at Hook as she grabbed his jacket once more, but this time just out of excitement. Hook winced just slightly before realizing that she wasn't angry.

"Killian, you're a genius! We just have to find Rumplestiltskin and see if he can help me get my magic back and help us re-open that portal. Then all we have to do is stop Zelena before she gets to Regina, get back to Storybrooke just in time to destroy Zelena and stop Robin from killing Regina and everything will be saved!" she slapped him on the shoulder and stepped back. Hook...didn't seem as enthused.

"Oh, is that all? Here I thought it was going to be hard.." he muttered sarcastically as Emma started walking once more. "Well, then we need to get going, don't we?"

"You know where he is?"

"Aye, love. He's in the dungeon at your parent's castle." Suddenly, she realized why Hook wasn't as happy about this game plan as she had been. Things were all of a sudden far more complicated than she had ever anticipated them. Now, she really had to do all of this work hidden in the shadows without changing any of the past to affect the future. Knowing the consequences that any mistake could make brought fear slowly into her heart. What if she didn't do it right? What if she couldn't succeed? How was she going to explain to Henry that she failed and that her failures resulted in Regina's death?

The look in Regina's eyes in her last moments as she held to Emma's hand remained imprinted in Emma's memories. The way her hand held hers so tight, as if she were putting all of her trust and faith in Emma. How many times had Regina done that with her lately? She wasn't just Henry's mother. She was her teacher, her ally. Her fears of failing Regina came directly from the relationship they'd created through Henry. If Regina were here, she knew exactly what she would say. They were the last words that she'd said to Emma before dying.

Save our son.

Turning to look out at the castle in the distance, she let out a soft sigh. This mission was becoming far more difficult than she had anticipated, but she had to do it.. Regina and Henry were relying on her. Emma's hands balled into small fists as she mustered up all of the courage she had within her at the moment to take that step toward the path that led to the castle.

"Let's do this."