"Still nothing," Regina said with a sigh as she looked around the vault. They had turned everything upside looking for those beans and now it looked as if a tornado ran through it. How could the beans be missing? Nobody could have known where they were, and even if they did, it was damn near impossible to get into the vault without her knowing about it.

It was mid-day, and she stood alone in this vault with her hands pushing through her hair. She was frustrated and helpless, which were two things that Regina never enjoyed being. How did Snow and Charming do it? How did they maintain that hope that, regardless of the obstacles ahead, they would always find one another and achieve their happy ending? Perhaps it was because they were used to happy endings being given to them. They weren't often taken away...and yet Regina never had a happy ending that lasted very long. Her happiness was always taken from her, so why should she expect any different now?

"Knock knock." Robin's voice echoed throughout the cold walls as his footsteps brought her out of her own self-induced pity party. Regina's eyes lifted up to see him come around the corner with a smile on his face. It didn't meet her eyes, but she forced herself to return a smile in greeting as he walked up to her. His eyes traveled around the room, noting the large mess.

"I take it you haven't had much luck," he said with a little smile as he rested a hand on her shoulder. Regina's smile fell at that point and she let out a sigh, looking around at her surroundings.

"No. None whatsoever. Snow keeps saying not to lose hope, but I'm not going to lie. I'm starting to think that this is a lost cause," she replied. A finger curled underneath her chin as Robin lifted her gaze to meet his own. Green eyes that she once thought to be her future. Now, she realized that her true love was another set of green eyes. Another type of lion tattoo. That thought caused her heart to ache so terrible in her chest that she almost couldn't breathe. She smiled back at him and held her feelings deep within her.

"Things will work out, Regina. Somehow, they always do," he said softly, his thumb caressing her cheek before falling away from her face. She only nodded and stepped back from him. It felt wrong for him to touch her so intimately, and there was an uneasiness with him that she couldn't quite place. Why did he make her feel as though she were prey to be trapped? Could she not trust him? She did know one thing: the one thing she could trust more than anything else in the world was her intuition.

"I'm going to get back to searching," she said softly.

"Regina, wai-" Robin started, but a shadowed figure standing in the doorway caught his attention. His eyes narrowed to make out the face, but as Regina turned to look, her heart stopped.

"Oh, don't stop on my account," the voice said from the shadows. Regina could feel the tears forming almost instantly at the sound of her voice.

"Emma," she whispered, her smile slowly forming. She was here. But how? Emma took a step into the light, revealing herself before them. She looked different. A black cloak hung from her shoulders, with black leather pants and a black leather jacket barely visible underneath. Her hair fell over her shoulders and framed her face, with green eyes that pierced her soul. At the sound of her name, Emma stiffened and looked to Regina. Her jaw clenched as she spoke her name.

"Regina," she replied as she walked forward. She didn't get far before Regina threw her arms around her neck and held tight to her. A smirk formed on Emma's lips as she caught the sight of Robin out of the corner of her eye. His fists balled by his sides. Why not fuck with him a little? It would be fun, right? Her arms circled around Regina's waist and she drew her close.

"It's good to see you, love," Emma said softly, her eyes trained on Robin who could no longer look at them. Oh, it felt good to create pain within him. He wanted to take from her, and now she got to revel in the karma of it all. Unfortunately, the feeling of revenge lasted only a second, for when she felt Regina's heart beating against hers, an immediate warmth radiated through her being. What was wrong with her? She was supposed to be angry with Emma, and yet the moment she felt her close, nothing else mattered.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Regina whispered, her lips pressing against the side of Emma's neck and lingering. Immediately, Emma stiffened. Don't forget, Emma. They were here alone…until you interrupted them.

"I bet you didn't." Emma felt her resolve return to her and she pulled back. Her eyes were hardened and focused on Regina who seemed confused. Wouldn't Emma be happy to see her? Her memory was back and they could be together. They could figure all of this out together.

"Emma. What's wrong? Why are you being like this?" She asked as her hands moved to rest on Emma's chest. Sucking in a small breath, Emma stepped back from her touch and laughed. Her laughter held a rough edge to it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I wasn't aware that I had to be a certain way. Perhaps your forest rat over there is willing to behave however you like, but I'm not your little bitch," Emma spat, her eyes full of hatred as they flickered over Robin who was already quick to combat her. His hand moved for the dagger at his side, but Emma could only laugh. Pathetic. With a flick of her wrist in his direction, Robin's body flew back against the wall and slammed into shelves full of glass containers. The shattering echoed against the concrete walls as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Emma! What the hell!" Regina held her hands up toward Emma, prepared to defend herself if need be.

"Relax, Regina. I'm not going to fight you. Just tell me where my dagger is, and we'll be on our way."

"We?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to, sweetheart. Just give me the fucking dagger." Her words held so much anger and resentment that Regina felt the sting as if she'd actually been struck. Pain flickered in her eyes, turning to her own anger as her face hardened in response.

"No, Miss Swan. I will not. If you want the dagger, you're going to have to kill me." Regina's hands came up, two small spheres of fire forming in the palms of her hands.

"Don't make me do this, Regina. I don't want to, but I will," Emma said coldly, her own hands coming up to prepare for the fight.

"Wait! Wait!" Robin groaned as he pushed himself up onto his knees. "I have the dagger. You don't have to fight her." He reached his hand inside his jacket pocket to retrieve the curved blade, Emma's name clearly written down the side of it.

"Of course you have it. Looks like you put my heart and my life in his hands," Emma growled and with a flick of her wrist, the knife evaporated from his grip and revealed itself in her hand.

"Emma, wait. He had to have stolen it. It's not wh-" Regina started, but with a final glare, Emma disappeared in a whispy black smoke, leaving her alone with Robin slowly standing back up. Immediately, she spun on him in anger.

"Relax, Regina. I didn't steal it from you. I gave her a fake to buy us time. The real one is still in your possession." Robin held up a hand of surrender and sighed softly. "What do you think she's going to do with it?" Regina pushed a hand through her hair before turning toward the door.

"I don't know, but we need to get to the Charmings and figure it out before she figures out it's not the real dagger."

—

Storybrooke Forest

The moonlight battled against the shadows from the trees as Emma stepped to the edge of the lake hidden deep within the forest. Her eyes stared down at her name on the blade. This was what being the Savior cost her. There was no way she could be with her family again. Henry. Her parents. Regina. They were all gone…and why? Because she had to be the Savior. She had to make sure everyone got their happy endings. Everybody except for her. Tears started to form, her eyes starting to shine as the tears glossed over.

"Don't shed tears for them, Dark One. They aren't worth your pain." Nimue's voice broke through the thoughts and she immediately sucked in a breath, tears drying quickly as her gaze fell upon the woman standing before her.

"I've retrieved the dagger, as you instructed."

"But did you?" Nimue's condescending smirk was easily seen against the light of the moonlight and irritated Emma greatly. She held the dagger out.

"Looks like the dagger to me," she replied with great annoyance.

"It's a fake, Emma. There's no power in that dagger. You would know it if you'd ever held it in your hands before. There's no other feeling like it," Nimue said softly. Even with it being fake, there was a hunger in Nimue's eyes as she stared at the dagger. Her hand reached out and brushed her fingertips over the top of the dagger, running over Emma's name. Emma immediately dropped it down by her side. For whatever reason, fake or not, she didn't like the idea of Nimue having her hands on it. Dark One or not, she still had her gut instincts.

"Okay, so you haven't told me what we even need the dagger for. I have power without it. What do we need to get the dagger for?" Emma asked, sliding the fake dagger into the sheath attached at her hip.

"In order for you to break this vicious cycle, you must possess the dagger. This will remove all of the darkness. You will free all of the previous Dark Ones, and yourself, from their prisons of evil. You will save all of your loved ones and give happy endings to all realms." Emma started to feel the uneasiness forming in the base of her stomach. She didn't like where this was going.

"Once I possess the dagger, what do I need to do?" She asked, her heart starting to pound. She should've known that this wouldn't come without consequence. Nimue looked at Emma and gave her the sweetest smile, a small laugh escaping her lips.

"My dear Emma. I would've thought you'd have figured it out. You must use the dagger to sacrifice yourself. In order to save us all, Emma Swan…The Dark One…you must die."