HELLO! Oh my I've been away for a long time! Sorry about that! I've had a bit of writers block, however while on holiday I started work on the next 2 chapters! So here's the first and you will be receiving the second shortly (sometime this week or next)

I think i may have lost a bit of the characters, ive been away with no internet so i haven't been able to watch the show and get there voices, so sorry for that!

Thanks to EVERYONE who has reviewed, favourite and followed, you have no idea how much it means to me J I hope you like what I have in store for our dear fallen saviour.

If you want anything to happen or have an idea I would love to hear it, I'm always looking to improve and collaborate!

Please continue to review!

Love you all!

C.M

XX

DISCLAIMER: sadly I do not own any rights to Once upon a time.

Henry wasn't an idiot, despite most of the adults thinking he was, honestly he was never sure if he was thankful for it annoyed, on one hand they thought he was an idiot and never let him do any of the cool stuff he should be doing like sword fighting and horse riding, on the other hand they thought he was an idiot and never realized just how much he knew which meant he got away with a lot more than your average 11-year-old.

Not for the first time, both ended up coming in handy on this occasion as he watched his grandparents leave in a hurry. He knew his granddad had been lying, he had no attention of saving Regina but he also knew his granddad which meant that most likely he would change his mind and probably throw her in jail, which meant that THAT would be where everyone would be. He knew his mom, his real mom would want answers, and from the look on her face when she sore Snow and Charming she didn't want them from her parents.

It was sad really that his mom would go to some she hated because she couldn't deal with love, she couldn't trust, she had grown up alone and she couldn't realize that she didn't have to be alone anymore. And it was up to him to prove it, he had gotten her believing, so it made sense that he would get her to love. Maybe find someone to settle down with, Archie had always been really nice to him, although saying that Emma would most likely eat him alive.

While he thought this the small boy ran around the apartment gathering everything he thought he might need, shoving them all into his backpack before dashing out of the front door.

The sun was just setting on a rather bizarre day, this morning Henry had almost died and now he was running around the streets trying to find his mom, he had made Emma believed, made her save everyone, put himself in mortal danger he was unstoppable, he was the bravest prince, he was...

"HENRY"

...BUSTED! He froze the familiar voice echoing down the street. He'd been seen and not by someone he wanted to be seen by, he couldn't run or hide. His mind ran through a million and one excuses as he turned around and faced Rumpelstiltskin.

"Now where are you off to at this time my dear boy."

"Granny's! Gran and pops went to sort out some problem at my moms, so I thought I'd get tea." He lied smoothly.

"If memory serves me right, granny's is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

"Oh... Err..." Henry laughed nervously "I was..."

"And by an extraordinary coincidence" said gold as if Henry hadn't said a word "I was heading there myself."

"Well... Great." He fell into step with the pawn broker, his cane tapping on the pavement. "Do you still need that? You know, now you're Rumpelstiltskin again?"

"Old habits die hard and besides I find it suits my image."

"You mean it makes you look weak when you're not." Gold paused and looked at the boy before tilting his head back and laughing.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Gold could not hate the boy, he was innocent a true believer, he was made for their home world.

"Henry, the world we knew, the one you grew up in, it has just changed drastically, the rules that once applied, well, there how would you say… no longer in action. Do you understand what I mean?"

"No, not really." Gold sighed, of course he didn't, he was a boy, a boy who had his family's morals running threw his veins.

"Your mother Henry, your real mother, I feel she is unstable, slipping from the path that she should take to the one which is all too desirable."

"What do you care, I mean you try to kill her a few times."

"Not kill, simply injure or gravely harm, and your mother is a very stubborn woman she needs a good inventive. I've invested a lot into your mom's future."

"I know, I read the book."

"Ahh, yes, the fairy-tale book, did it help?"

"Helped me figure out who you were, what you've done." Gold paused at that and looked down at the boy.

"I'm not always proud of my past, a lot of things I did because I had to, I only made one mistake, and I've worked to fix that ever since."

"What mistake?"

"Another story another time. No where were we?"

"You were complaining about Emma."

"I was, your mother is a strong woman, but she has made her mistakes, I almost screamed in annoyance when she partnered with Sydney!"

Henry froze realization hitting him like a ton of bricks. 'Almost' he said almost, 'not would have' "How long have you been awake?"

"There was a reason I asked for the child's name." Gold said not missing a heartbeat, he had wondered how long it would take for the boy to realise.

"WHAT?! You could have helped me! You could have-"

"I did all that I could, gave Emma and even yourself a nudge in the right direction."

ou almost got Mary Margaret thrown into jail and my real mom fired, you all most killed both my mom's in the fire you started, you-"

"Yes yes yes, I'm not saying my meddling was always safe, but I got results, not even a Charming could argue that."

"It's a backwards way to help, almost killing the person you were trying to save."

"There are a lot of things in this world that are backwards dearie, I can assure you I am not one of them."

"Then what are you?" The pawn broker considered that question, it was a question only a child, in all his innocence could ask, by any other and it would have been an insult but from Henry? Well it was a genuine concern. But the answer? There were so many things he say; a monster, an imp, a coward, a deal maker...

"A desperate man, looking for something very far away." Henry looked up and realised that it was true. He also realised that Gold was hiding something, something important. "We're more alike than you'd think Henry."

"I would never use people the way you do."

"Maybe not now, but a time will come, it always does."

"What do you want Mr Gold?"

"Emma is lost, she needs guidance, she won't listen to any of us, but you may be able to help her, at least, help in a way none of us can."

"There's nothing wrong with my mom." But even as he said it he knew it wasn't true, he remembered Emma's face as she turned away from Snow and Charming, remembered the hurt. His mom was lost. His heart hurt just think about it. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair.

"Henry, I wouldn't ask this of you if there was any other way, but there isn't, so I have to, if Emma, if your mom starts to act funny, if she shows signs of magic and dark Magic at that, you have to come to me, not Snow, not Charming, not Red or anyone else, me. Do you understand?"

"Emma would never use dark Magic, she's good! She's one of the good guys!"

"There was a time when even Snow White turned evil."

"That was because you took away her love!"

"A broken heart will do many things to someone and your mom's heart is beyond broken, Henry-" he grabbed the boy's shoulder, his grip so strong it was an honest surprise to Henry, who tried to break free, fear surging threw him. "Henry! If Emma becomes evil, everything will change, the story will be rewritten, lives will be lost, lives of people you care about."

"Why are you telling me this? What's it to you?"

"Let's just say I'm invested in the future of the Charming family" with that he let go of the boy who took off running as fast as he could.

"Remember Henry! I'll be waiting, she can't stay good! She's too broken to stay good!" His words followed Henry down the street, over and over again, he didn't trust Gold, not for a moment but he finally understood what needed to be done.

Operation python was forming in his mind.

Emma watched as Regina struggled to breathe, all of the horrible, hateful things she had done seemed to infuse itself with the hate that was currently wrapped round her throat, and behind it all, was the spark of enjoyment, lying in wait.

Emma laughed as she watched the major struggle, how many times had she dreamed of doing this, of seeing the light leave her eyes and now she was actually acting upon it, taking revenge, taking control, she would find them all, every single one and she would kill them, make them suffer in the hate she felt for them, she would take-

"MOM STOP!" Henry's voice shattered threw her, she fell backwards the major gasping for air. Emma looked up and for the smallest of seconds wanted to punish the boy how dare he interrupt her, the flicker of her zapping him with lightning flashed across her mind.

"Oh god." Gasped Emma, what was that? She would never hurt Henry, but in the moment, she shuddered from the thought.

"Mom?"

"I'm fine Henry." Replied Regina kneeling on all fours holding her neck.

Another wave of hate filled Emma, he was her son. How dare she, how dare she think after all she had done she still had a right to him, how dare she think she has any reason to be in his life how dare she-

"EMMA!" Charming a voice broke through the hate as Emma's fell from her trance, she stood, a shining blue fire-ball in hand, over the mayor, Mary held Henry close while David reached out, praying for his daughter to step forward and take his hand.

"I... I..." She hadn't meant to create the fire-ball. Confusion flooded her, she was going to kill Regina... KILL, that wasn't her, she protect life, she didn't kill and yet, of the mental image was far too sweet for her to let go of.

Charming's heart hurt as he watched Emma's confused, she had magic, and that worried him, nothing good ever came of magic.

"It's okay, come on Emma, let's get you home." Home? Where was that? Back with them? Her so called parents. His hand was still outstretched, expecting, with a shaky step she took it. She took is hand for many reasons, she took it because, no matter how badly she wanted to kill Regina she couldn't kill her in front of her son, she took it because this wasn't her, she wasn't a killer, took it because her emotion were raging a war inside her and she took it because a small part of her wanted to break it, to crush his arm till it was nothing more than powder.

Charming felt his daughter's war, sore it in her eyes as he led her slowly and carefully away from Regina. Snow quickly re-locked the cell door.

"That's it you're just going to let her go? She just tried to kill me!" Howled Regina.

"She with the Sheriff I think it will be fine!" Said Snow so sarcastically it only reminded Emma of how long gone her friend was. Mary was never coming back. And then a dark voice whispered somewhere inside her mind, 'Mary was never real to start with' everyone she knew here was gone, disappeared back into the nothing that they had come from. Emma felt empty, exhausted from the magic, emotionally battered.

Numbly she let Charming lead her out of the station, Snow flanking there right her arm protectively round Henry who looked up at his mother and vowed that he would save her.