A Promise Kept

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained within nor the shows from which they appear in. Any coincidence to real life is unintentional. This story is not used for profit and is for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: Snow and Emma return to Storybrooke but something is amiss. Henry and Regina strive to find the true Emma and to that extent they contact a Dream-Walker: Morganna. (Swan Queen, Regal Red Belle teamwork, Regal Cricket, Evil Regal Mafia Coven, Mills family reparation, Merlin/Morganna)

Happy Anniversary for APK, everyone! I'm happy to have shared this story with you. Thanks for the support, and look for the final part in the series to premiere soon!

With all the drama surrounding her, plus the threat of torture and imminent, bloody demise, Emma figured it was an apt time to whistle Rains of Castamere.

Regina, of course, berated her immediately. "That's the wrong key."

"You actually know this song?" Emma incredulously turned to Regina, only to be shoulder-checked by said woman to face forward again.

"If we survive this ordeal, I will undoubtedly be roped into a discussion with you, but, Emma, do try to remember that my mother is trying to kill all idiots in the vicinity."

Before Emma could defend her intelligence, Morganna took a step forward, ice emanating from the soles of her feet to face Cora, a man and a little boy, around Henry's age. "Arthur…don't you dare try to hurt my son."

The man who Emma recognized as gym teacher from the elementary school, looked out of sorts in a plain shirt and jeans and clutching an impressive looking sword that was undoubtedly Excalibur. The boy looked to be a brilliant blend of Morganna and Merlin and instantly Emma felt something protective rear in her chest and a weird tingle in the back of her ear, of all spots. She scratched it absently, blinking, and when she opened her eyes, she could see a pale yellow aura surrounding Arthur. Emma squinted just like Clint Eastwood from all her favourite Westerns, and just like that, her magic senses reluctantly began to work and the aura pulsed, almost flickering like a light bulb losing its power.

"…Regina," Emma whispered. "Look at Arthur…what's that all about?"

Regina shifted a little closer to Emma so their shoulders were brushing and the clarity of the aura sharpened. "It appears to be some sort of control spell…Arthur isn't here of his own volition…"

"Why do you hesitate, Arthur?" Cora asked amidst the tension mounting in the room. "Morganna is your sworn enemy, who's tried to kill you, take away all you love…and that is the boy who will be the source of your untimely demise. Don't you want to live? Don't you want to return to Camelot, to Gwen?"

Arthur growled in agony as his body twitched violently, the tip of Excalibur inching ever upwards toward Mordred who was bound by coils engulfed in grey magic. "I'm not going to hurt Colin! No amount of treacherous magic will force me to do your bidding," he denied, even as his body shook with the effort of resisting Cora's magic.

Emma gulped as she shifted her gun to her right hand and surreptitiously placed her left hand on the back of Regina's forearm, grabbing her attention and letting their magic feed off each other. "Regina, something's not right about that spell…it doesn't seem like dark magic…"

"Cora wouldn't hesitate to use any spell if it was of use to her," Regina replied softly.

"Doesn't your alignment factor into the cost or capability of casting a spell?"

Side-eyeing Emma with an incredible amount of arrogance, Regina scoffed. "I haven't a clue as to what you're referring."

"The darker your heart is, the easier it would be to cast dark magic, the price would be less!" Emma hissed furiously. "So wouldn't spells from the opposite side cost more, take more from you?"

The condescension vanished into a thoughtful look. "In some cases. So why would my mother waste more energy on a light side spell instead of taking his heart. Why choose him at all? How would she even know him? Surely Mordred would have been sheltered in Wonderland, so she wouldn't know of him…this complicates things," Regina muttered close to Emma's ear. "Good catch. Just…follow my lead, and don't be rash like your parents."

"…you don't want to hurt my son?" Morganna's voice betrayed her dignity as she paused halfway between her allies and Cora.

Arthur managed to crane his neck enough to look at Morganna. "Colin's your son?" At Morganna's nod, his throat bobbed precariously. "…no, Morganna, I don't want to hurt him."

Morganna's gasp turned into a reluctant sob as she physically tried to process what was happening in front of her.

"Desire is irrelevant," Cora intervened and Morganna's posture snapped back into an aggressive stance. "Arthur will do what is right. His belief in what is 'right' will prevail and he will slide that blade across the boy's throat before yours."

"Shut up!" Snow screamed and loosed an arrow towards Cora, flying on a perfect trajectory to the hand Cora had just raised, already expelling the yellow aura Emma had honed in on. While she knew that an arrow would do no good, her intention to interrupt the spell worked perfectly and she reached for her quiver as Cora brought the arrow to a stop a few feet before her hand.

"Foolish girl, you don't have nearly enough darkness in your heart to defeat me," Cora chided and twisted her hand, the arrow floating in front of her following the movement. A shimmer originated from the tip of it and a few dozen arrows duplicated from the original. Cora chuckled wryly and tilted her hand back, arrows following suit. "You don't believe you can defeat me, so you shan't." With that taunt, she flopped her wrist forward lazily and the arrows shot forward toward Emma, Snow, David and Regina.

"Your right, Snow!" David yelled out as he brandished his sword and deftly began dodging and hacking down the arrows raining toward him and covering Snow as she scrambled to her right, dropping her bow and lunging for a broken piece of banister from the earlier fight. She fell backwards, tucked her body inwards and held up the wood just before six arrows embedded themselves in the wood.

"Oh, shit!" Emma tensed as Regina yanked her close by the crook of her and into the safety of an invisible barrier that absorbed the arrows flying into it and turning them to sand. Just like Dumbledore! Regina was such a nerd, Emma thought before Regina nearly pulled her arm out of its socket by dragging her around and closer to David and Snow to help shield them.

"Ow!" Emma yelped.

"A thank you would be nice," Regina quipped. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Now's really not the time for playful banter, Regina."

"Well, you hide behind your sass and linebacker strut all the time, dear, I thought something familiar might calm you down," Regina stated as if dodging magic-imbued arrows and throwing up magical barriers was child's play.

"Really, Regina!" Exasperated, Emma turned to stare her down. "I know I can't do much with this gun but is this really the best time and place for us to be talking casually!?"

"You're right, dear, it seems you've…"and Regina gives Emma a long once-over. "…rubbed off on me."

Emma felt her face flush to the tips of her ears. "Regina!"

"Training is nothing, Emma," Regina said meaningfully. "Will is everything. You did away with Maleficent and somehow managed to survive my world with your body mostly intact. I will protect you," she promised, and, as if realizing the gravity of that statement. "And your parents will most likely impale themselves on a pike before they let anything happen to you, as well."

"It seems we're missing some of your friends, Regina. Why don't you extend them an invitation?" Cora demanded and slashed her arm sideways, sending a blast of air toward the doors to the hallway, blowing them completely off the hinges. Several grunts and thuds followed the action Emma's heart quickened with the images her mind conjured of Henry lying on a heap on the floor, limbs bent at odd angles, blood pooling under his body, him looking so small and alone in the dark hallway—

"Emma!" Regina dug her fingernails into Emma's skin and the pain jostled Emma back to reality.

"Right, thanks," she shakily replied and was relieved to see only Merlin and Archie in the hallway.

"Merlin!?" Arthur cried. "Quickly—help Morganna get Mordred from me!" Even as he shouted for help, his body was already twisting quickly, performing a leg sweep on Mordred, sending the boy tumbling to the ground, and bringing his arms back, heading into a position for a beheading.

"NO!" Morganna screamed and began to rush forward but Cora teleported herself in front of Morganna and unfurled a fist and blew into the palm of her hand, purple sprinkles floating from it and over Morganna, instantly encasing her in a veil of violet, freezing her completely. "What the hell is this, you vile witch?!"

"Dreamshade," Cora replied and turned to look between Merlin, struggling to stand, and back to Regina. "What's more important, Regina: friends or love? Whom will you save? Mordred or Henry?"

Belle knew she ought not feel this delighted, but it truly was a grand adventure! Twirling Mulan's sword in her hands once again felt like returning to her favourite novel, and this time she had her best friend and her True Love by her side. The closer they got to Rumple's shop, hugging the sides of the buildings along the road tightly, the greater her belief that love would prevail for Rumple and Regina settled more firmly in her mind, and Belle found herself imagining the kinds of lives they would lead in Storybrooke, and what Bae would be like. It was almost too easy to lose herself in her dreams, but Belle managed to shake away the pleasant world of her imagination to take in the fact that Rumple and Ruby were behaving…oddly. Not just in a state of wariness, but, almost, fear?

"There is no way to help trap Cora, is there," Ruby suddenly asked, stopping at the same time Rumple did, both of them stiffening. She set her jaw and a low growl emanated from her throat as her eyes began to flash yellow. Rumple stood with his back to her. Belle stepped between them and Ruby glanced at her for a second. "Sorry, Belle, but I could smell his fear the whole way here. And it's not just the possibility that Belle could get hurt or that we're walking into a trap, now, is it?"

"And they say you can't teach a dog new tricks," Rumple loftily said.

"Rumple," Belle admonished, disappointment and fear starting to saturate her heart.

"It's my nature to be cowardly, Belle," he replied. "You knew that. I haven't found my son, yet, and there's no way we can defeat Cora without finding her heart."

"Regina," Belle nodded to herself. "Regina is her heart."

"You don't understand!" Rumple turned to her, fury and fright in his eyes. "Cora tore her heart out rather than to love me! The idea of love frightens her so much, it's a weakness, a poison to her! Regina is far more dangerous than Cora because she has a heart—you cannot possibly imagine the terror that Cora would unleash if she regained hers! She's prideful, vengeful, filled with ambition; scorned, disgraced…she would never be as…benevolent as Regina when she was the Evil Queen."

Shocked, Belle dropped her jaw and caught Ruby's chest heaving rapidly as well. "You think that even if we were to restore her heart, she would still be, evil?"

Rumple deflated slightly, shoulders falling. "Regina never had the desire for power like Cora did, which is partly why she can still love. If you took her heart now, and had her think of Henry, it would glow with the light of True Love, piercing through the clouds of darkness that blanket it. If Cora's heart were replaced in her chest, she would feel an onslaught of feelings, years of love washing over her like euphoria and, for a time, that would be enough. But don't fool yourselves into thinking that would change her." Rumple wrung his hands together and looked up at Belle and the man she loved finally came back to the surface. "Love, True Love, takes time. It plants roots, it needs to be nurtured through all the seasons before it can blossom. Regina may want to believe her love can save her mother, but it's a path that will only end in darkness."

Belle shook her head. "Rumple, you weren't beyond your redemption. Here you are, working with all of us, admitting your weakness and trying to overcome it. Surely the same can happen to Cora, too." Rumple opened his mouth, but Belle shook her head. "Yes, you had your heart all this time, but you had a time before you were a coward, before you felt anger and vengeance and became the Dark One. Everyone needs hope, Rumple, even those we believe beyond redemption."

"Belle—!" Ruby shouted and lunged for her, shoving Belle out of the way before falling onto the ground and beginning the change into her wolf form as a giant net dropped from the top of the closest building to them. Ruby immediately set to chewing through the binds as Belle scrambled to reach her sword and make her way to Ruby's side when a gunshot pierced the air just after a bullet embedded itself into the ground next to her foot.

Leaping backwards and hyperventilating slightly, Belle looked up to see a flash of red disappear on top of the roof of the building where the net dropped. A scuffle sounded behind her and she whirled around in time to see Rumple toss a fireball down the alley next to him. The explosion as the flames hit the wall was so bright and loud that Belle instinctually cringed and shut her eyes against the light. Dots clouding her field of vision disorienting her, Belle slowly came to her senses to see Rumple surrounding in a shimmering purple field, some type of magic freezing him into place.

"Dreamshade," Rumple ground out as Hook swaggered out of the alley, twirling a gun in his hand.

"Correct, Crocodile," Hook grinned and turned to Belle and gave a little bow. "Beauty to the Beast, quite a rousing speech. Would you still be so enamored with this monster if you learned what he did to Milah, his wife?"

Belle swallowed what little was in her mouth as the anxiety started to give her the shakes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Hook shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't expect you would. You see, lass, your dear little Rumple was such a coward and unwilling to stand up for what he believed and loved in, and Milah left him. She was my True Love, you know," he said distantly, his features slackening and Belle almost felt pity for him. "Anyway, years later, after he became the Dark One, he tracked me down for a duel and used his magic to best me. Milah intervened and do you know what. He. Did?" Hook sauntered close to Rumple and brought his hook up to Rumple's chest, right above his heart. "He took her heart and crushed it."

Belle took in a shaky breath and looked into Rumple's eyes for traces of a lie, but his shone with resignation at the truth. "There is never a good enough reason for killing someone," Belle stated, her hands growing slick with sweat.

Befuddled, Hook inclined his head and rested his chin on Rumple's shoulder. "You hear that, Croc? Tick tock, your love has left the dock. Of course you'd say that. Like all of you fair ladies and sirs don't do the same thing. How many people were killed by Snow White or Prince Charming or through machinations of Queens and Kings and even Faeries who are purported to be 'good' and 'pure'?" Sighing dramatically, Hook lolled his chin along Rumple's shoulder. "Self-defense, sure, but 'putting' down an enemy because they're too 'evil' or 'beyond saving'? Everyone harbours grudges and you're sadly mistaken if you think that one good deed will redeem anyone. You can't change the minds of people who've been scorned."

"And what will happen when you kill Rumple?" Belle demanded. "What's left for you after revenge?" At Hook's brows furrowing, Belle took a cautious step forward. "Nothing. Revenge won't make you feel better because it won't right the wrong, it won't bring anybody back, the past won't be rewritten and you'll still be without a Happy Ending."

At those words, the hook raked itself across Rumple's chest, eliciting a scream from both Rumple and Belle. "It's always about those blighted Happy Endings to your kind, isn't it! Tell me how you expect to find one when you've had everything and everyone you've ever loved taken from you! Tell me!" Hook howled as he positioned himself behind Rumple and fired the gun.

Belle couldn't tell what happened as Ruby's wolf form barreled into her back and crashed them both harshly to the ground, several bones taking the brunt of her fall, the pain instantly making Belle dizzy. Ruby landed on top of her with a whimper but rolled off quickly, snarling at her feet and making a quick lunge for, presumably, Hook. Belle took several deep breaths before slowly bringing her head up. "Rumple!" She cried and stumbled to his side, drawing her hands back instantly when she saw blood pooling under his side. "What's wrong, can't you heal yourself?"

Rumple coughed weakly and the flicker in the air that preceded magic was visible to Belle and she stared at the wounds on his chest began to slowly heal but suddenly stop altogether. "Magic," he wheezed. "He must have laced the hook and bullet with Dreamshade or something else. My powers can't heal it."

"But you can't die unless someone uses the dagger on you," Belle frantically reasoned.

"Something about these wounds is draining my magic. I need Whale to take care of these, Whale and Regina…" he choked slightly and turned his head.

Belle looked up furiously to see that Ruby had snatched the gun out of Hook's hand and was currently holding it in her jaws, circling Hook who had his sword drawn. "Ruby, I need you to take Rumple to the hospital. You both are wounded." Ruby growled fiercely back at her but Belle shook her head and stalked to Ruby's side and aimed her blade at Hook. "I'll be fine, you can trust me. You know this needs to be done. Believe in me as I do in you," Belle whispered and peered down her nose at Hook.

"My fair lady, I'm honoured that you find me worthy of a duel, fuelled by your rage," Hook chuckled darkly.

Belle breathed through his arrogance and let the oxygen travel to her extremities, all of Mulan's advice and training coming to the forefront of her mind, letting everything fade away even as the sounds of Ruby and Rumple leaving threatened to overwhelm her mind. "When I'm through with you, you'll be known as Captain Floor."

Henry, Regina's mind screamed, I choose Henry!

Before she could voice her answer, an arrow whizzed by her so closely, her hair waved with the after effects of the speed with which it flew by her. Snow's arrow hit the tip of Excalibur just as it was heading in its downward slash, causing it to twist to the side just enough to avoid slicing Mordred. The boy rolled away from Arthur immediately and Cora disappeared in a plume of smoke.

"Go, Regina, we've got this!" David yelled as he raced toward Arthur, bringing his sword up and delivering a counter to Arthur's lunge for Mordred. Snow rushed to Mordred's side and helped him up. "Go save Henry!" Snow added and Regina and Emma wasted no longer in running past all the chaos surrounding them.

"He's in your office," Archie informed them as they entered the hallway. Regina nodded her gratitude and felt incredibly weak as Emma began to ascend the stairs faster than she did. A bang was heard and Leroy came tumbling down the stairs, tripping Emma up and landing them in a heap against the wall.

"Regina, don't stop!" Emma pleaded.

As Regina turned her head and resumed her mad dash towards her office, she realized with a startled pang that leaving Emma behind was nearly as painful as the thought of…of…

"Regina!" Nova shouted as Regina entered the final flight of stairs. "Henry is under a small cloaking spell, I'm sorry I didn't have enough magic to make it stronger—" she clutched the Looking Glass tightly to her chest, thankfully spared from Cora's wrath.

"It will buy me time," Regina muttered as she swept past the fairy and barreled straight through the doors of her office blindly before running into a force at her neckline that stopped her so hard, her neck snapped painfully and she cracked her skull against the ground as she fell. The pain was blinding in its ferocity and the blood mixed with the terror in her mouth started to make her heave.

"Mom!"

"Get up, child, you're going to bring the Saviour's child out of hiding," her mother's voice snapped and Regina cried out in agony as her body was forced upright, feeling like a marionette, the strings digging under her flesh all the more tightly as they forced her to face her mother.

Mother would never deny me what's mine, Regina thought for a moment before shaking her head at the lie her mind so easily provided her. Cora denied her Daniel, her freedom, the love she wanted from Cora, everything that ever was Regina's. However, Cora would not refer to Henry as Emma's son instead of Regina's and the knowledge that the woman before her wasn't truly her mother was terrifying. Before she left with Hook, that was the real Cora.

However, who would masquerade as Cora and for what purpose? More importantly, why did she want Henry?

"Quit standing there and bring me the boy!" 'Cora' demanded and with a wave of her hand, shoved Regina into the desk painfully. "He's under a fairy cloaking spell, so only someone he loves can see him. Moreover, don't bother trying to lie to me, I know he's here; he couldn't help crying out for you. If you don't find him, I will make him come to me."

Regina mustered all her strength and craned her head to the side to glare at 'Cora.' "I will never betray my son, no matter what you say or do."

'Cora' sighed. "So be it. Henry, do be a good boy and come out and play, won't you? I know that you love to play 'Hero'—here's your chance to do just that. Save your mother." The woman glided over to Regina and began to make a fist, effectively forcing Regina to choke. "All 'heroes' need to make sacrifices, Henry. You need darkness to be light. Don't you love your mother? She is ready to sacrifice herself for you, as all mothers do. The question is, do you love her that much?"

The oxygen being denied Regina was forcing things to darken and have her become delusional, but not even in her worst nightmares could she have imagined her son dying for her.

Henry needed to live.

"Get your filthy hands off my mother!" Henry screamed and Regina frightfully rolled her eyes to the side to see her son charge at 'Cora' with a poker from the fireplace.

"HENRY, NO!" Regina managed to squeak out as 'Cora' released her chokehold on her, but kept her immobilized. To her horror, Henry was swept aside as easily as dust in the wind and he landed with a pained gasp next to Regina on the desk.

"Think of how lucky the two of you are, that the last thing you see will be each other," 'Cora' soothingly informed them, Regina crying at the sight of her son sharing her agony. "But fear not; your hearts will go on forever, as will your love, your beliefs," and it became crystal clear to Regina that this imposter was going to snatch her son's heart—and hers.

"Get the hell away from my family!" Emma's voice tore through Regina's fear and pain as quickly as the widening of 'Cora's' eyes as she was wrenched backwards from Henry and Regina, her hold on them dissipating. Emma, however began to scream as well as the imposter and Regina and Henry bolted upright despite the aching in their bodies.

"Emma!" Regina gasped out. Emma had the imposter in a fierce hold, black and purple shine around their bodies. They both were gasping in pain and the faint sound of sizzling echoed in the room. "What the hell were you thinking!?" She reached for Emma but recoiled instantly as a virulent burn exploded in her fingers that touched the woman.

"I visualized a containment field," Emma gritted her teeth. "I didn't wanna miss my only shot so this is what happened."

"Mom, what's happening?" Henry looked desperately up at Regina.

Regina ran a hand shakily through her hair, knowing there wasn't much time to figure out a solution to this wrinkle. "Emma's containment field is working, neutralizing the magic, but it's not only neutralizing it, it's draining the magic from their bodies."

"So it's taking away their lives!" Henry exclaimed fitfully. "Mom, we've gotta do something!"

"Now's your chance, Regina," the imposter taunted. "Take Henry and leave Emma to die, that's what The Evil Queen wants, her son all to herself."

All the fury Regina had ever felt throughout her life erupted inside her and the magic bubbling beneath the surface dispersed outside her every pore, suffused her very being with power. "I will never let anyone take Emma from me and our son!" As much as she desired to, Regina knew she couldn't waste time on that vile creature Emma was losing her life to contain.

Rumplestiltskin had failed her.

But she wouldn't fail herself.

And the solution presented itself to her.

Regina tore across the room and into the hallway, where Nova and Leroy were making their way slowly up the stairs. "Nova, give me the Looking Glass!"

"Here!" Nova tossed the mirror without hesitation, aided slightly by her magic to zoom across to Regina.

"Thank you!" Regina tossed over her shoulder as she turned back to her old office and looked into the mirror. "Mulan! Where are you?"

Mulan's face instantly filled the glass. "Aurora and I are still here under the castle, Regina. What's wrong?"

"Quickly, place the mirror in front of Rumplestiltskin's cell!" Regina looked up as she entered the room once more.

"Mom!" Henry tearfully turned to her. "Emma can't take much more!"

"I know," Regina breathed and beckoned Henry to her side and felt her sides clench together painfully as Emma craned her neck to look backwards at them. "Emma—do you trust me?"

Emma managed a smile and it tore the void in Regina's heart wide open. "Yeah."

Regina gulped loudly and held the Looking Glass up to Emma. "Fall."

Instantly, with a cry that was sure to haunt Regina forevermore, Emma and the imposter fell backwards into the Looking Glass. Regina quickly turned the mirror around and placed it on the ground and gripped Henry's hand as they jumped down into the portal.

"Regina! Bring down the gate!" Aurora shouted as soon as Regina and Henry landed on the other side. Regina spared a moment to make sure Emma was out of the cell before slamming the bars down on the imposter, in a heap on the floor.

Mulan grunted as she dragged Emma further from the bars. Aurora, Regina and Henry quickly convened at her side. "Something's wrong with her pulse—it's weak and erratic."

Regina chewed her lip fearfully. "Without Emma's help, I don't know if I have enough magic to save her…!"

Henry placed a hand on Emma's chest and looked up at Regina, and for a moment, Regina could see her younger self reflected in his eyes, hope, belief and love shining through. He took her shaking right hand and placed it above his on her chest, then laid his other hand on top of hers. "Let me help, Mom."

"Henry…"

"I know that I was against you using magic. I thought magic was the problem. Sometimes it is," Henry ascertained. "…but it's that you never learned to use magic in a healthy way. Dark magic and light magic….in the end, it's all magic. Your intentions, your belief, that's what changes the magic, and you. You said that you had nothing but anger, and didn't know how to love well." Regina felt the tears pour down her face as well as her son's. "But you do, Mom. I know now that it's in your heart. You don't have to be afraid to have something other than anger inside you. When you take that away, you still have me and you."

"Magic is about will," Regina mumbled as the void in her chest, torn open by Emma, began to vanish as her love came pouring back out of it.

"And belief," Henry smiled tremulously. "Let our belief in ourselves and Emma, in our family, save her. This is our Happy Ending. The Truest of Love, brought by the Truest of Believers." Henry's teeth shone as his smile widened. "I love you, Mom."

After decades of naught but pain, darkness, anger and vengeance, Regina reclaimed that final piece of herself: love.

Emma's chest heaved with the exertion of taking a mighty breath and the gasp ripped from her lips sounded more like life than anything else Regina had heard in her lifetime. "Owwwwwww," she ground out slowly, coughing a little as everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Idiot," Regina muttered with no small amount of affection. Emma grinned up at her and Henry and lifted a hand to his cheek. "You made our son cry, Miss Swan, I expect you to make it up to him."

Emma's eyes turned down as her lips lifted, like clockwork, or a lock being opened, Regina thought. "And you?"

"Nonsense, I'm not crying," Regina denied easily. "Merely exhaustion at saving your life, that's all."

"Moooom," Henry whined good-naturedly and bumped her side.

"If this isn't a touching scene," a man's voice broke their interlude and Regina disentangled herself from Henry and Emma and stood a fraction later than Mulan. "King George," she drawled lazily.

"My great-grandpa?" Henry asked, helping Emma rise as well.

"Geeze, kid, who aren't you related to?" Emma griped. "Next you're gonna be related to Rumplestiltskin or something."

Regina felt her mouth sour. "Don't joke about such things, Emma."

"What, why not?"

"Because they'll come true."

"Come on, Regina, that's impossible."

"You seem to be in the habit of making the impossible possible."

"Jealous?"

"No, because it's the unfortunate kind of predictions and ill-fated luck you bring about."

"What are you afraid I'm gonna make come true, Regina? I'll make you preggers or something?"

"I'm going to be ill."

"Aw, Regina, relax, I'm joking."

"I'll set you on fire?"

"Sure you will," Emma smirked and then yelped as Regina set a tiny blaze on the tips of her hair. "Regina! C'mon! We've got interrogating to do!"

With an annoyed huff, Regina put out the fire in Emma's hair. "So why are you in leagues with my mother, George? What is she planning?"

"I am not your mother," George replied.

Astonished, Regina furrowed her eyebrows. "All magic should have be nullified upon this body entering the cell. Taking your heart would have severed the connection and rendered you unconscious upon entering…" her mind whirled frantically, years of spells and curses being recollected and filed accordingly. "…unless…someone made a copy of your heart. Then the magic would be on that copy of the heart, and wouldn't be broken upon entry of this cell."

George lifted his eyebrows approvingly. "Well done, your Majesty. You were always far too brilliant for your own good."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Shrugging, George turned his gaze to Henry. "You've got me and Cora to worry about now, not to mention some other…plans I have in mind for Storybrooke."

"What's your game!" Emma demanded hotly, looking less imposing than she probably would have liked, the jacket in a state of disrepair akin to the atrociousness of its design, Regina shook her head.

"Now, I'm not unreasonable," George began.

"That's hard to believe," Emma scoffed. "You tried to have a child murdered, by someone who loved him, no less. You tortured Regina and our son, then tried to take their hearts. Tell me another lie."

George laughed, a cold, harsh sound that sent chills down Regina's spine. "That child was the spawn of evil, and is destined to murder a good man. Not even the goodness of Arthur and Merlin combined can prevent him from going down the same dark path his mother did."

"Nice lie," Emma sarcastically snorted. "You've got your priorities messed up."

"I want to make the world a better place—surely you can understand that."

"No, I can't," Emma spat. "Giving up on someone, abandoning them, replacing them, that's never making the world a better place. You can't toss away that child's future on some whim or because of who their parents were. Next you'll tell me that's what happened to Regina," Emma folded her arms.

The silence stretched on as no rebuttal was offered. Regina felt a deep cold in the pit of her stomach. "Because of who my mother was…that's why no one helped me? That's why Tinkerbell never returned?" Regina roared wildly and flung herself toward the cell but Aurora wrapped her arms gently around Regina's middle and held her tightly.

"Regina, we're here for you now, and that's all that matters at the moment," Aurora said. "Don't let these words ensnare you into becoming something you turned your back on."

"I'll always be evil," Regina mumbled as she slackened in the young woman's arms.

"And that's good," Aurora hugged Regina tighter. "You may not be good, and that's not bad. You have your love, Regina, your son and Emma and yourself. You can be just as happy as anyone else, and you'll find that we want to be with you, too."

Henry nodded. "Just like Ralph, Mom! Remember, you're the Black Knight!"

Regina found herself laughing lightly at the support given so readily to her. "You're right." She looked back to George. "What is your proposal?"

"I want balance returned to Fairy Tale Land," George stated. "King Arthur can restore peace and drive out the evil you brought in."

"And you don't need my son's heart or mine for any nefarious purposes, of course," Regina oily cooed back.

"Nothing nefarious," George insisted.

"Gee, of course not," Henry scoffed and Regina felt herself swell with pride at his snide tone.

"Your mother is your hero, is she not, Henry? She was your Hero, then she became the Villain and now she's your Hero again. All heroes must make sacrifices for the greater good, like when you ate the turnover. You'll realize the truth of this soon enough," George assured and he fell forward into the ground, indicating the magic controlling him was broken.

"Your mother, this new Big Bad and other joyful surprises in store?" Emma drawled as Regina rolled her eyes at her attempt at levity. "Triple yaaaaaay."

"It's been far too long, Blue," Cora sniffed as she made herself at home on Blue's bed in the monastery.

Blue spared the woman a disgusted glance and sprinkled a bit of fairy dust over the replica heart and watched it dissipate before the magic flowed back into her. Her lungs filled with her magic and she let out a breath, reveling in the taste of her righteousness. "No world would be worse off if you were never seen again," she curtly snipped and turned to regard Cora. "Couldn't be bothered to come here in person? I'm almost disappointed."

"Of course you aren't," Cora's painted lips drew back in a smile Blue knew existed only in the purest of darkness. "I'm only going to tell you this once—stay away from my daughter."

"You don't expect me to believe you care for her? You don't even have a heart, and even if you did, it will never be enough to overcome the poison that is your existence."

"Don't speak to me of poison! You turned Eva against me with your lies and false promises," Cora gripped the bed sheets in instinctual fury.

"As if you cared for her, either. Don't you remember how she treated you? Like the common peasant you are," Blue rubbed salt in the wounded pride Cora carried with her. "Do you mean to tell me you believed that her caring for you was real? It was all a ruse to learn more about the kingdom so her husband could take the throne, with minimal bloodshed."

Cora laughed tightly. "I knew you were behind that as well as turning my daughter against me."

"In that one instance, you are wrong," Blue retorted primly and sat at her vanity and touched up her hair. "You did that yourself."

"I will not let you take her from me again," Cora vowed.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you weren't listening to her. Regina doesn't need or want you anymore. Not even the Dark One wants anything to do with you. You are well and truly alone, with nothing but power left to you. But that's all you've ever wanted, isn't it." She watched Cora seethe with fury behind her in the mirror.

"My daughter will ruin you," Cora vowed and Blue whirled in her seat at the statement. "Oh, yes, I found out about that Prophecy," Cora snickered gleefully as Blue's façade melted away. "I don't know what your plan is, but I know time is running out for you. The belief in you is fading away, and no one, not even a child, will clap for you and your power will fade as surely as the setting sun. You may fool those peasants, but I know better." Cora stood and strode over to the vanity to peer down at Blue, trembling from anger. "You love power just as much as I do, and you'll do anything to keep it."

"Aaaaarrrgghhh!" Blue screamed and shoved at Cora whose disguise melted away into one of the lesser fairies from her convent, her eyes dulled over from the effect of the spell. Her rage simmering down as the other fairy came to her senses, Blue dismissed her impatiently and returned to the window ledge and looked behind her to her shadow. It slowly morphed into a circle, starting from her feet and floated its way and unfurled in front of her.

"You know the path: second star to the right."

"You're a foolish little imp," Regina grumbled as she hovered near Gold's side in the hospital ward. His chest was covered in thick gauze and bandages but his pulse was reading steady, thanks to Frankenstein's intervention. "No one's going to kill you but me, but that doesn't mean you should run into battles haphazardly."

"Your sentiment is appreciated," Gold dryly remarked. Several moments passed before he cleared his throat.

"You're supposed to have something for everyone," Regina cut him off. "Like a malevolent Santa Claus or that insipid Wizard of Oz."

"Even I have my shortcomings."

"You needn't have lied about having something," Regina crossly stated.

"A false hope is better than no hope," Gold quipped.

"For idiots, maybe," Regina scowled. "I like plans."

"So do I, and maybe that's our failures."

Regina shook her head. "Not always. It's when we let our plans stay rigid that they backfire. We've got chaotic variables added into our plans, now, so we simply have to learn to adapt accordingly."

Gold smiled. "That's why you're my greatest triumph."

"Your monster," Regina frowned.

Gold licked his lips and averted his eyes. "Yes, I molded you into that. But you've proven that monsters can still love and be loved, so that also makes you my greatest failure."

"I can't believe I'm almost touched by that."

"We know each other, dearie, and that's as close as we're going to get on that subject." Gold chuckled and looked over Regina's shoulder. "Tell me about Belle, you've made your point."

Regina smirked and milked the moment for all its worth. "She arrived her a few moments after our little group did, her and Miss Lucas dragging the mangy pirate in by his feet. Well, Belle did the dragging, Miss Lucas was still in her wolf form so her fangs may have embedded themselves into his flesh. I'm no doctor," Regina loftily tossed her hair, eliciting a laugh from Gold. "It appeared that Belle had a few cuts which are being tended to at the moment, and is the only reason she's not here with you. Seemed to me that she went all vicious bunny rabbit on Hook, as there were quite a few abrasions on his person and a large blush under his eye, suspiciously imprinted with the design on the hilt of Mulan's sword. I can only imagine who taught her such maneuvers, but colour me impressed," Regina concluded.

"That would be Mulan herself."

"I knew I liked her," Regina nodded to herself. "You've determined that it's not Dreamshade your wounds are affected with?"

"No," Gold confirmed. "It's certainly a component in the poison inside me, but only just. I still have magic, but it's nowhere near as potent as it ought to be. These wounds will heal, but only through…regular means."

Regina peered closer at his chest. She ran a hand over it slowly and recoiled. "That's Light Magic. You are poisoned by Light Magic…..that's impossible."

"Not if it mixed with Dreamshade. That's the main proponent in deterring the magic, and the Light Magic is what keeps it from killing me."

Frowning deeply, Regina lowered her voice. "We need to keep your limitations under wraps. Only Belle can know about this. I'm sure the Imposter or my Mother know about it, as well as Hook, but there will be…consequences…if the general populace or your wealth of enemies knew about it. Can we cure it?"

Shrugging best he could Gold shook his head. "There's no way to tell for certain yet. An antidote could be made if we had both Dreamshade and the magic of whoever cast the Light Magic, but it's impossible to tell who the originator is due to the Dreamshade."

"Can't we just determine the spell and get Nova to reverse it?"

"She can sample my blood but even she will have a hard time figuring out the spell. It's likely very old, as nothing I have knowledge of currently springs to mind. This means that whoever we're dealing with, Regina, is much, much worse than you, I and Cora combined."

"And they're after Henry," Regina breathed.

"And you," Gold reminded her. "I think we'll be spending a lot of time at the library."

"If we're not lynched or impaled by pitchforks," Regina scoffed.

"Now, now, dearie, your favourite band of Charmings are sure to prevent such a fate to us." Gold smirked at Regina's gagging noises. "A storm is coming, so enjoy your moments while you can," he softly said and made to get out of the bed.

"Careful, old man, no one needs you to pop a stitch," Regina muttered as she assisted Gold in standing.

"Finally!" Emma rejoiced under her breath as Regina left Gold's room and joined her, Henry, Snow, David and the rest of the group in the lobby. They were all a bit worse for the wear, but Blue had come round with the other nuns and assisted in cleaning everyone up, along with Merlin whose magic reserves were a bit more intact than the others.

"I'm going to return to Camelot in a few days," Arthur stated, sitting between Merlin and Morganna, Mordred asleep across their legs. "That will give you enough time to discuss what your plans for your kingdom are. We can reclaim the land, but it will take time, and we will need whatever forces you can send to help."

"We can rebuild our kingdom?" David interjected hopefully, and Emma didn't miss the way Snow's frame tightened.

"In time," Merlin assured. "There's a lot to discuss, but I've contact Gwen via Dreaming to let her know of Arthur and our plans thus far. It's better to take things one at a time rather than all at once, so, on that note, I need to sleep for a day."

The laughter was a welcome friend to everyone, after a day of….crap, Emma asserted. Crap, crap and more crap. Never-ending crap, to be precise, as there were untold threats looming on the horizon.

"There's a lot to discuss but it's definitely time to call it a night," Snow agreed and turned to see Gold and Belle join them. "Gold, is there someplace we can safely store the Looking Glass? Blue offered to keep it with the fairies, but I'd rather not involve anyone who wasn't in the fights tonight," she finished with a bit of hesitation and Emma thought she was rubbing off on her mother. Or at least drilling some of the naiveté out of her.

"That can be arranged," Gold nodded.

"Alright, everyone, let's take a couple days to recuperate, and keep The Looking Glass under our hats for now. We'll arrange a meeting for us, and then a town meeting," Snow crisply said and everyone began to disperse. She stepped forward a little to Emma, who began to fidget awkwardly. "You don't have to stay with us," she gently said before smirking a little. "Actually, I don't think you'll want to," and she waggled her eyebrows and it was seriously weird to Emma and she choked a bit on her embarrassment.

"Oh, God, no, I'll just stay at the Inn."

Snow fondly shook her head as David came up next to them and laid a hand on Emma's shoulder. "I think there's some people waiting for you," he indicated behind Emma and she turned to see Henry excitedly chatting with Mordred, Arthur, Merlin and Morganna taking turns laughing at each other, and Regina feigning solemnity but cracking a small grin every so often, watching the others.

"Ye-yeah, I guess," Emma stammered uncomfortably and ignored the pitying and worried looks her parents sent her. David gave her a one armed hug and light kiss to her hair and Snow placed her hand to Emma's cheek fondly and was perilously close to letting the tears flow so Emma cleared her throat and extricated herself before things got even more difficult for her to handle. "I'll talk to you later, have fun," she waved and shuffled her way over to Regina, relaxing slightly at Regina's disapproving scowl at her slouch.

"I'll accredit your deplorable posture to lack of nutrition and sleep this once," Regina offered not an olive branch but the whole damn tree and Emma could only gawp at her even as Henry head butted her in the kidney. She felt nothing.

Except the extreme pain from being head-butted in the kidney.

But other than that, she was a blank mental and emotional slate.

"Took you long enough, Ma!" Henry chirped. "I suppose you're too hungry and tired to function."

"You are so Regina's son," Emma muttered as Regina and Henry shared a smug look of satisfaction.

"C'mon, Mom, let's goooooo, I'm starving," Henry wheedled Regina and shook her hand that held the keys.

"Well, go on then," Regina heaved a long-suffering sigh and dropped the keys into an ecstatic Henry's hands and he bolted for the doors.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day you'd relinquish that rite of passage," Emma said, surprised, as she and Regina walked to the doors, and taking a moment to lean against the door jamb. She smiled back at Belle who was waiting just outside the doors.

"Henry doesn't even have his learner's permit," Regina chuckled darkly as she produced the key for the ignition.

"Oh, smooth and nasty," Emma applauded Regina's mild treachery.

After basking in her triumph for a couple of seconds, Regina's face turned serious. "Emma, you always have a place with us. I meant what I said back there."

Emma gulped but her mouth seemed to run without her mind's approval. "I did, too."

Regina stared at Emma intensely and Emma felt her face redden instantly under the gaze. "Not just because of Henry," she stiltedly made out and Emma frowned in confusion before Regina gave her a quick hug that was more of chest bump and with a couple slaps to the back before she stiffly turned around and waved back at Belle before heading to the car and Henry.

Emma glanced quizzically at Regina's retreating form. So lost in thought she was, that she jumped when Gold cleared his throat from behind her.

"Shit," she hissed and rounded on him, wishing she could punch the smug look off his face.

"What do you want?"

"Your favour," he replied and Emma felt her gut plummet. "After things settle down in the next few days, I expect you to come with me to find my son."

"Let me guess—he doesn't want to be found," Emma crossed her arms. "So you need my tracking skills."

"And as an acting intermediary," he shrugged. He continued to smirk at her.

"What." Emma's irritated growl didn't seem to faze him.

"I couldn't help but notice how focused you were on Regina."

"Yeah, I bet you couldn't," Emma snarked.

Gold blithely continued on. "It makes me think that you may have changed your mind about our former Queen."

"Mayor," Emma corrected harshly. "And changed it from what to what?"

Gold merely smiled which only furthered to increase Emma's fury. "If you know why are you bothering to ask me about it?"

"Perhaps I know the answer that you don't," he replied mysteriously. Emma clenched her fists together so tightly she began to feel blood. "Something changed when you went in the Dreaming."

Emma scowled. "It's none of your business. I don't owe you any more favours."

Gold grinned as if he expected her to say such a thing. "Why, it seems you're right, Miss Swan, you no longer owe me any favours, but you are wrong in that it is none of my business what happens to Regina." At Emma's skeptical look, Gold shrugged. "We've entered a cease-fire, so to speak, thanks to Belle. Since Belle cares, I'm obliged to make sure nothing bad happens to Regina, so I would advise you to play nice," his tone belied his threat.

Sighing loudly, Emma shook her head. "No promises. Regina and I tend to butt heads a lot."

Laughing loudly, Gold stepped closer to Emma. "Oh, but you already have made a promise, haven't you Miss Swan?" At Emma's paling face, he added. "And so has Regina."

Emma let a loud gasp escape her lips as she recalled her sojourn in the Dreaming. Gold couldn't possibly…"You can't know that," her lip trembled almost as fiercely as her arms.

Rumplestiltskin merely smiled as he turned from her and started walking towards Belle. He turned his head to face her and said "Well, dearie, you would do well to remember that there are few things in any world stronger than a promise kept."