Regina had been crying. That was the first thing Emma noticed when she got there. The other woman would never have admitted it, of course, but her mascara had smeared around her eyes, and a crumpled tissue stuck out of her pocket.

"I talked to Mary Margaret," said Emma. "She hasn't seen him. And I checked the playground where I found him before. He wasn't there. Do you know of anywhere else he might have gone?"

Regina shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. Emma, the back door was open. I'm not sure he left on his own."

Emma had been afraid of that. With a grim expression, she pulled out the file from work that she had brought with her.

"I don't want to say this," she said. "But he fits the profile of the Child Snatcher's victims."

"Is that what they're calling him?" Regina asked. "The one you told me about?"

"The Child Snatcher, the Pied Piper, Peter Pan. They call him lots of things. But we have saved kids from him before. Remember Ava and Nicholas Zimmer?"

Regina gave a nod, but the idea clearly didn't make her feel any better.

"Listen, Regina, this is our son we're talking about. If he's in trouble, we will save him. I promise."

"Okay," said Regina, looking at her with determination. "Then I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"I need you to get me a wand."

Emma stared at her, mouth open. A moment passed.

"No."

"Emma, I'm not planning to go on a killing spree. I'll need magic to save Henry. Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that," said Emma, stepping closer and taking Regina by the hand. "I do trust you. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I do."

"Then why won't you help me?" Regina demanded.

"You're not supposed to use magic," said Emma. "If we get caught, I won't be able to protect you. And maybe a lot of people would disagree, but you don't deserve to go to Azkaban. Not for this. Not after how much you've changed."

"Emma, I would willingly kiss a dementor if it meant saving my son," Regina told her. "Please. You and I both know it's the only way."

Emma sank down into the couch and nodded, choking back a sob. "All right. If you've made up your mind, there is a way."

She seemed to be on the verge of tears, but Regina just looked at her expectantly. "And what's that?"

"Henry. He brought home a wand from Diagon Alley, didn't he? It won't be as good as one that chooses you, but we don't exactly have time to make a trip to Olivanders."

Emma followed her upstairs into Henry's room, where they found his wand lying on top of a stack of books. A strange look crossed Regina's face as she picked it up.

"This is the first time I've held a wand in eleven years."

"Yeah," said Emma, still not looking happy about it. "I know. But don't use it unless you have to. Neither one of us should, in fact."

Regina nodded in agreement. "Now, what does the Ministry know about this Pied Piper?"

"It's all classified," said Emma, sitting down on Henry's bed and opening up the file. "But that doesn't matter. He appears to be a young man, a teenager, but of course that could easily be faked. He's not really underage, or he'd still have the trace on him. He takes mostly young boys, but some girls as well, usually along with their brothers. All suspected victims are between the ages of nine and fifteen years old. Similar cases have appeared over the past several decades. Open windows are common, and sometimes open doors as well."

Regina skimmed over the pages. One name on the list of suspected victims caught her eye.

"Baelfire?"

Emma nodded. "He's the whole reason we know about this, really. He was an orphan, fourteen years old, staying with the Darling family when all of the children were all taken, one by one."

Regina shook her head. "He wasn't an orphan."

Emma looked up at her, open-mouthed. "Do you know something?"

"I know that's the name of Rumplestiltskin's son."

Rumple was enjoying a cup of tea with Belle when his phone rang. He glanced at the number and then muttered a quick excuse to his wife before slipping out of the room to answer.

"Regina? Reconsidering your decision?"

"Hardly," said the voice on the other end. "I need your help, Rumple. My son's gone missing."

"Well, I'm sorry," said Rumple. "But that's hardly my problem."

"That's where you're wrong," said Regina. "You see, I think my son may have been taken by one of the Ministry's most wanted. An unknown child-kidnapper, nicknamed Peter Pan. But that's not the best part."

"Well, do tell, dearie," said Rumple, unsettled by the direction their conversation was taking, but doing his best to hide it.

"He's the same person who took your son."

As if Rumple didn't already know that.

"Now, the Aurors hadn't made the connection before, but they have now. So I think it would be in your best interests to tell us everything you know."

Rumple sighed. The words of the prophecy repeated in his mind: A young boy will lead you to your son, but the boy will be your undoing. A kidnapped child leading him to face his father again? That would fit the prophecy exactly.

But Bae. If he could see Bae again, maybe it would be worth it.

"All right," said Rumple. "His name is Malcolm Gold. If you're going to face him, you'll need my help."

"Where are you going?" Belle asked, grabbing Rumple's arm and stopping him in his tracks. "Rumple. What's wrong?"

He quivered beneath her gentle touch. It would be so easy to simply stay here with her and let whatever happened happen. He couldn't do that. Still, he could allow himself a moment of weakness here first. He cupped her face in his hand and spoke softly.

"I'm going to find my son," he said. "And I'm going to do right by him. I have a chance to stop the man who took him from me."

Belle smiled, but it was a sad smile. "There's a 'but' in there, isn't there?"

"I may not survive," said Rumple, unable to keep his voice from shaking. "You know the prophecy."

Belle nodded. "But I also know that prophecies aren't always what they seem. Rumple, let me come with you. Please."

He shook his head and stepped back from her.

"It's too dangerous."

"All right," she said with a shaky nod. "Then go. Be a hero. I'll be here waiting for you when you're done."

Tamara was up to something. And Neal was going to find out what. She might think that he didn't notice how she was always sneaking away, and he might not have, if he hadn't found the list. But once he found it, hidden in a folder beneath a loose floorboard, he knew. She was a part of that world, the magical world, the world he had left and never wanted to return to. Why else would she have a list of magical children?

He told himself she worked for Hogwarts, or maybe the Ministry. If he had more sinister suspicions, he hadn't acknowledged them. But she had been gone almost twenty four hours, and he wasn't going to wait around anymore. He threw on a coat and headed out into the streets, determined to find her and finally get some answers.

A knock on the door startled Regina. Thinking that Rumple must have arrived, she went to answer it. But she hadn't been expecting Snow and David, and she stumbled backward in shock when she saw them on the doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Emma told us Henry was missing. If you're going to try to find him, we want to help."

Regina sighed. The last thing she needed was to bring her least favorite wizarding family into this mess.

"We've got it under control. You can go."

"No, we don't," said Emma, coming up behind her. To Snow and David, she said, "Thank you. This means a lot."

The two of them followed Emma and Regina inside and made themselves comfortable in the living room.

"So do you have any idea where he might be?" David asked.

"We talked to Mr. Gold," said Emma. "He thinks he might know."

Snow let out a little gasp and hugged her pregnant stomach protectively. "You can't trust him!"

"Well, he'll certainly be more help than either of you," Regina quipped. "A pregnant woman and a squib. What exactly do you think you're going to do?"

That earned her two pathetic attempts at death-glares, which really just made them look like petulant children.

"Just don't get in the way," Regina said with a sigh.

A few minutes later, Rumplestiltskin arrived. Ignoring Snow and David's skeptical glances, Regina let him in and got right down to business.

"All right, Rumple," she said. "Who is this Malcolm Gold, and where can we find him?"

"Now for that, you're going to have to trust me," said Rumple with a smirk.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?"

Rumple scowled. "Getting in won't be the problem, Ms. Swan. There's a simple password. Lucky for you, I know it."

"It just looks … ordinary," said David, glancing around warily. It was true. There had never been a more ordinary street. "How do we know you haven't brought us straight into a trap?"

"Oh, it's a trap, certainly," said Rumple, taking a cautious step forward. "Just not one of my making. Be careful." Then he held up his hand. "Quiet. Someone's here."

He turned sharply and drew his wand. Regina and Snow did the same – earning the former a shocked glance from the later – but Emma hesitated.

"Could be a muggle," she whispered.

"Here? Don't count on it," said Rumple.

"Whoever's there, come out," said Regina. "Now."

A small, dark-haired girl stepped out of the shadows.

"Belle," Rumple whispered, lowering his wand. "What are you doing here?"

She took another step toward them. "I followed you. I couldn't just sit there at home, waiting for to see if you would come back. I had to be here with you. To help you."

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. Let's do this together."

Rumple looked like he was going to protest again, but Emma cut in: "We really don't have time to stand here arguing."

"She's right," said Regina. "My son is in danger, and every moment that we waste is a moment we're not spending saving him. Let's go."

Rumple approached the brick wall of a nearby building and drew his wand. He spoke in a gruff voice, spitting out the words like poison.

"Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning".

The wall dissolved before them, revealing a hidden world right there in the middle of London's most ordinary street.