Author's Note

Happy new year! I know I'm late... I wish I could have uploaded sooner, but work is so demanding right now, and I get home too tired to write or edit. Which is frustrating because I had completed 2 chapters almost 3 weeks ago, so there's that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and tell me what you think.


Emma's POV

Excruciating pain shot through my body, causing my back to arch at an unnatural angle. The quick action breaking another bone in the process. It feels like my body had been set alight while being dismembered at the same time.

If Regina is here, if she is truly with me right now, why can't she help me? Why can't she take my pain away?!

I feel every bone break, every tear of my flesh, and every injury that was inflicted on me at once. At this point it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't.

Was Regina ever here? I'm I suffering from delusions?

Regina's calming scent no longer consumed my senses, it was as if she was never here at all. The scent that I love fades into oblivion.

How could I be so stupid to give in! To believe and hope, after all the tricks my mind has played!

I call out to her and I hate myself for it. That even still a part of me believes she's here or at least was.

"Regina! It hurts! Make it stop! Regina help me!"

I dig my nails into flesh, and I hope and pray for it to be hers. However, the feeling under my nails quickly begins to feel non-existent.

The scenery that had been created shattering, causing a vacuum of nothingness to surround me. I feel like I'm being sucked into a black hole of nothing but pain and darkness.

I think I hear her voice, I could be imagining this, all of it. It wouldn't be the first time. Her voice almost sounds muffled, as if she were getting further away.

She's leaving me again.

"Don't leave me!" I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping that if I scream loud enough she will stay.

Maybe I didn't try hard enough all those other times, maybe that's why she left.

"Regina! You said they couldn't hurt me here! You said I was safe! Please! Please, don't go!"

If my body were physically capable; had enough strength, I know I would have broken down in tears.

Then again what would crying do? What has it ever done for me? Crying will not stop her from leaving, it didn't all the other times, so why would now be any different?

It's just, I know she was here. I felt, smelt, and tasted her. I couldn't have imagined all of that. But If she was here, why do I feel this pain? Why would she leave me? She said I couldn't feel pain here, but where is here and why did she leave?! I shouldn't have believed her!

But what if she's coming to save me? What if she's trying to look for me? What if she didn't want to leave, but had no choice? NO! I won't do this again; I won't deceive myself into thinking someone's going to find me. That she's going to save me. It makes it so hard to let go. I just want things to end, I don't want to fight anymore, I just want to give in. I can't fight for her or Henry anymore; I hope they can forgive me.

"Just kill me! Please, end it all! Make it stop!"

"Now Emma, we've already discussed this. You know I can't do that"

The sound of the voice that wasn't Regina's causes an extreme feeling of terror to wash over me. I have never felt so scared in my life. It felt like I was frozen in fear, but I know I wasn't because I could feel and hear every move my body made. Every twist and jerk I made as bones cracked and broke in several places.

No. Not that voice, only pain comes with that voice.

"You know every time we think you won't be able to heal without our assistance, you surprise us"

What do they mean? I don't understand, it's so hard to think. I just want the pain to stop.

"The wound on your stomach is almost closed. It's Incredible"

So, Regina was here? I wasn't imagining her this time? But if she was able to heal me, why isn't she here? Where did she go? This doesn't make sense! None of this makes sense!

"I'm lucky that fairy left her little magic potions or I'm sure you would have managed to get out"

Wait, what? Fairies, potions, get out?

God, If I weren't in so much pain, I'm sure their words would make sense. I wish they would just give me a break, a few seconds so I can think!

"You know you're going to help so many people Emma. I know I've already said this, but I feel like you don't understand the gravity of what my research could bring. Some people may think you're a monster, but I think you're special. The fact you were able to heal so well right now proves that. Just think about what you could do for people who don't have magical abilities like yours. Your blood can heal people Emma.

I mean I had several theories on how your body heals its injuries, but to know one of them is your blood is ground-breaking. The fact I was able to prove this theory so quickly is astonishing. I also think your bone marrow amongst many other things contribute to healing large wounds, but I haven't managed to get that far in my experiments. That's why I need you here Emma. I need to do more tests, more physical trials. I have only just started physical trials with your blood"

What the fuck is wrong with this person!

"You're sick. You're a sick twisted person" I scream out through my pain.

I just need to keep him talking. The more he talks, the more information I get, which gives me more time to try and process what his saying through my pain. If I'm going to die, I at least want to know who's doing this. Even if they don't kill me and they keep me alive for their sick twisted experiments, I still want to know. I want to know who I need to kill if I ever manage to get out of this place.

"Now don't be so dramatic Emma. Of course, I didn't test your blood on just anyone, I took it myself"

"Fuck you!"

"It's quite miraculous, extraordinary really. I'm going to start testing your blood on patients soon, but first I need to make sure there will be no side effects. We can't have people drinking each other's blood now. We don't need a town of vampires or whatever they would be"

Patients?!

I feel like all the obvious signs of who this person could be is right in front of me, but whatever magic they have used is stopping me from figuring it out. It's like my mind has created an image but cannot put a face to it. It's clearly two or more people, I know one of them is a fairy and one deals with patients. That's all my mind will allow me to put together.

"You should be happy that you could potentially save someone's life. Wouldn't it be nice to know you've saved a little boy or girl's life? Or that you could improve the human race as a whole? Could provide people with your abilities?"

"You can't do that! You don't know what you're dealing with!"

"That's why you're here Emma"

I feel another foreign object being inserted into my thigh, and I bite down on my lip to stop any further screams leaving my mouth. An action that did nothing to silence the sound, but only caused further injury as my teeth sank into my battered lower lip.

"I want to start tests on your bone marrow. You should know, this will hurt"

"You won't get away with this" I hiss out breathlessly.

"No one knows where you are Emma. Yes, people will eventually start looking for you, but we will move you by then. We have measures set for you. You're only here, so I can run tests. Once most of my tests are done, we're moving you to somewhere more secure where I will continue my experiments"

I try not to panic at his words, but my heart began to race faster than it already was. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I was being suffocated.

They're not going to kill me. They're going to move me and keep me for as long as possible. How long will I have to endure this agony; weeks, months, years?!

Regina said she would find me, but if they move me to somewhere more secure, how will she? She can't even find me now. How do I even know she's looking for me?! I can't tell the difference between hallucinations and reality anymore. At this point the only thing I can do is hope and pray Regina finds me before that happens.

"When I get out of here. I will kill you, all of you!"

My words don't seem to affect them at all. They don't believe I will get out and that thought alone is terrifying.

"Show yourself! Let me see who you are!"

"I think it's better you're left in the dark

"You're a coward! If you're going to torture me, let me see who you are"

Not receiving a response, I shout the one thing I think will. Something I realise was stupid as soon as it left my mouth.

"Regina will find you! I don't need to know who you are, but I know she will find you!"

"How do you expect the Evil Queen to find you huh? She doesn't know where you are, doesn't know your missing. She wont even suspect me. Plus, when she does realise you're missing it will be too late.

"She knows"

"You're Snow White's daughter, so I'm not surprised you have still manage to remain hopeful"

"She Knows! And when she finds you; she will kill you all!"

I let out a maniac laugh before it quickly turned into screams.

Regina POV

The deafening silence and the empty feeling in my heart let me know our connection had been severed. Only dark magic would be able to do this; no light magic would be able to temporarily sever a blood bond as strong as mine and Emma's. Especially as our blood bond was not made with dark magic, our blood bond was made with good intentions, there's nothing dark or evil about the bond me and Emma share. Whatever dark magic Blue is using to prevent me or anyone finding Emma is also affecting our blood bond whether she intended to or not. I didn't think the oh so righteous Blue would use dark magic, not that I'm shocked. The fairies have always been corrupted, always picking and choosing who they want to help, and have always been in the Royals pockets. Especially Blue, she's a parasite.

I should have focused on the blood bond me and Emma shared. I should have tried to strengthen it, not just live with it. If I made us focus on strengthening our bond, I would have found Emma by now. Blue wouldn't have been able to get Emma because I would have immediately known something was wrong. I would have been able to track her regardless of any magical barriers put in place.

Emma is a child of True Love; she is one of the strongest magic users in Storybrooke, and my magic is just as powerful. Nothing would have been able to keep us apart if I just accepted the bond! Our magic completes each other like to halves of a whole. As if our magic was always meant to be used together. We have always been entwined, as if we were always supposed to be bonded together in one way or another. I just wish I did things differently. I won't make the same mistake twice; we will strengthen our bond once she's ready. Once I find her, I will make things right between us. I will kill Blue and whoever else helped her. We will get through this together, like we have many things in the past.

I really hope we can get through this.

"Regina?"

The vague sound of Maleficent's voice let me know I was back in her apartment.

"I know who has Emma"

Immediately sitting up, I get up as fast as my body would allow, not wanting to waste any time. The sooner I find Blue the better, every second I waste Emma suffers.

"Regina, slow down. You need to rest"

Maleficent tries to push me back down, but I push her hand away.

"Thank you" I tell her, seeing that she placed me on her couch rather than leaving me on the hard wood floor.

"I know you're trying to help me right now Mal, but I can't wait. I need to find Blue. I know she has Emma, and every second I waste resting they torture Emma"

"Blue?" The confusion was clear in Maleficent's voice.

"Just trust me, I know she has her"

"The same way you knew Zelena had her? There's only so much magic me and Maleficent can use"

"Were you able to regain even a little bit of your magic while I was out?"

"Yes, but not by much. There's only so much one can do in 3 hours"

Three hours?! I've been out for three hours!

"Plus, Mal spent most of that time checking up on you rather than trying to rest"

Not wanting to enter a pissing contest of who Maleficent cares about more, I look around for my purse, so I could grab my phone.

"Now what are you doing" Ursula rolls her eyes.

"If you must know, I need to call my son to make sure he's OK. Then I need to call Snow and David"

"Why do you need to call the Brady Bunch?"

"I'm shocked you even know what that show is"

"What can I say, I've had a lot of time on my hands in a land without magic" Ursula shrugs as if there was nothing unusual about a 'villain', thee queen of darkness, watching a family sitcom.

I look at my phone and it reads 1am. I let out a frustrated sigh, knowing it will be difficult to get Snow to contact Blue at this time without looking suspicious. Either way I have to try, I don't have the time or the resources for another location spell.

I call Henry knowing that he's probably still awake. Probably playing some online game, sitting at home worrying about his mothers, especially with how I left him. The only thing that's giving me peace of mind that Henry is safe is the fact he's at the mansion, and the mansion is protected with magic. Henry's old enough to know not to go play hero.

"Hello? Mum?"

"Henry-"

"Mum what's going on? You left so quickly, and you didn't come back home. It's 1am!"

With how frantic he sounds; you would think he was the parent, and I was the child being scold for not coming home.

"Is everything OK? Have you found Ma?"

"I'm sorry I left abruptly. I won't lie to you and tell you everything is OK"

"So, you haven't found her?" I could hear the heart break in his voice.

"Did she leave? Is That why you asked me to call her?"

The hurt and abandonment was clear in his voice.

Have we neglected Henry the past few months to the point he would think he's not enough to keep Emma here. That our issues would supersede our love for him? I feel like a terrible mother. I did just leave him today without an explanation, he at least deserved that. But I know Henry, he would have wanted to help, put himself in harm's way.

"No. your mother has not left" I say firmly.

"Is it because of Robin?" He whispers into the phone.

His words shocking me into silence for a few seconds.

"What did you say?"

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I could not control my tone, I was so shocked by his words. Everyday he reminds me his not the little 8-year-old boy who believed the world of his mother. Who believed anything I said without an ounce of doubt. He's a young man now; intuitive, smart, daring, and heroic. Sometimes annoyingly so, however look who his bloodline is. And he's so God damn stubborn to a fault, then again, he is my son, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's OK, don't apologise"

I couldn't answer his question because a part of me feels like all of this is also Robin's fault. Mine and Emma's relationship only started deteriorating when he came back.

"Just know your mother loves you and she would never willingly leave you. You should know if she were to ever leave Storybrooke she would take you with her, both of us if she could. I know you're worried about your mother, and why I left so quickly, but I just need you to trust me. Trust that I'm sorting everything out"

"But mum"

"No Henry, I need this from you. I don't need you leaving the mansion right now"

"So, someone does have Emma?"

"You haven't left the mansion, have you?" I ask avoiding his question.

"No"

"Good. That's good"

Happy that his days of not listening to me and going behind my back to play hero are behind us.

"I'm going to get your Grandparents to stay with you. Since your up, please set up the guest bedroom for them"

"Mum, I don't need a baby sitter"

"There's already a protection spell on the mansion, it's easier for them to stay there"

I tell him semi truths, so he won't question this further. I can't tell him that Blue has Emma and I need Snow and David gone from their apartment. They wouldn't be able to handle what I do to Blue, and they would just get in the way. I know he has slowly learnt that things are not just black and white, that there are not simply good and bad people. That people are more complex, that there's grey areas. But I don't want to completely shatter his idea of heroes and what their meant to do. At the end of the day, he is just thirteen, as much as he likes to act like he's much older he won't know how to handle this. We will eventually tell him what happened, the PG version of course, just not today.

"Whatever happens; make sure you bring Emma home"

"Of course"

"Will you both be home by tomorrow morning?"

"I hope so, I have to go now. Your mother needs me"

"OK"

He sounds so detached from the situation.

"I love you Henry"

"I love you to mum"

I let a deep breath keeping my tears of frustration at bay. Maleficent comes to sit next to me, placing a comforting hand on my knee.

"We'll find your saviour Regina" She gives my knee a small supportive squeeze.

"So, you're sure it's Blue?" She asks, clearly just as sceptical as Ursula even though she won't say it.

"It has to be. I spoke to Emma, and everything she said let me know it's her"

"How do you plan to find her? Ursula's right our magic can only do so much right now. I can just about manage to throw something against a wall. We can't afford to get this wrong"

"I know I'm right this time. Plus, I have my magic. I couldn't access all of my magic when I was with Emma, but I can now. My magic was blocked to an extent when we spoke, so I could not access all of my magic when I healed her"

"You healed her?" Maleficent asks shocked.

"I don't know, I think I did. I must have, it feels like a decent amount of my magic was used for healing"

"What are you going to do if you have another episode?" Ursula asks, for once not being patronising, but asking a genuine question this time.

"I won't"

"But how do you know?" Maleficent persist clearly worried.

"I just do Mal; I can't explain it. Whatever they used, or whatever they did, it will block our bond. I don't think she will be able to call out to me for a while"

"Shouldn't your blood bond be able to break through these barriers. You're both powerful witches. The more I think about it, the more it doesn't make any sense. If Blue has her like you said, you should have been able to find her through your bond. The fairy is not that powerful. Most of their magic comes from fairy dust. Even if Zelena or someone else had Emma, you should have been able to find her"

The more Maleficent questions our blood bond the more self-hate I feel. With every word she says I think how stupid I was for not using the blood bond to our advantage. For treating it like a hinderance or an obstacle we had to overcome.

"We never practiced strengthening our bond. We were almost able to ignore it existed with how much we were around each other. It was only until she went to stay at her apartment did we start to feel the effects"

I could see the look of disappointment in Mal's face even though she tried to hide it quickly. Even though I know she won't say it out loud under these circumstances, I know she thinks both me and Emma are idiots for not using our blood bond to our advantage.

"So, you should be able to fight Blue off on your own if you need to?" Ursula asks clearly trying to change the subject, recognising the tension that filled the room.

"Yes, we need to go to Snow and David's apartment. I need them to get Blue to come over. Once Blue agrees to come over, they will go to stay with Henry. Can you handle that Mal?"

"I'll wait outside until they leave"

I nod in response understanding that she can only do so much, they did take her daughter away from her after all.

"It's 1am Regina, what makes you think Blue will come over?"

"What you need to understand Ursula is Blue loves having the Royals in her pocket, it allows her to keep her façade of the wholesome helpful fairy. Rather than the toxic vermin she is. Once she thinks Snow is willing to do anything to save Emma, even call her at this time of night because she's desperate and wants to act now; she will come"

I hope she will come. She has to, people like Blue are predictable. I just need to be right this one time.

"I hope you're right; I really don't feel like being unnecessarily thrown into another wall. Especially as Mal staying outside"

"Relax, I'm only staying outside until the Uncharming's have left. I'm sure you won't need me to save you from them to"

"Well maybe if you didn't take your time to put the damn cuff on Zelena, I wouldn't have been thrown into a wall" Ursula growls out.

"I thought you love adventure and excitement?"

"Screw you"

The smirk on Maleficent face was enough for me to turn away from the bickering idiots. They sound like a bunch of lovers. If it were any other day, I would bring it up. Would address Ursula's borderline obsession with me and Maleficent's relationship, but now is not the time. Right now, I could care less.

"Can you both shut up"

"Oh, don't mind me and Mal. Please call the spoilt princess"

I reach for my phone getting ready for what I'm hoping to be an easy battle between me and Blue. Like Maleficent said I am much more powerful than her, and when I find Emma, I will not hesitate to eliminate Blue permanently.