I'm sorry.

Regina Mills was no stranger to apologies. It seemed like she'd spent the last two years apologizing, and she knew better than anyone that those two words were very rarely enough. She stared at the words on the screen, trying to figure out what Robin had meant. Sorry for what? Sorry for not choosing her? Sorry for the things he'd shouted at her in New York? Sorry for asking her to have hope when he'd clearly given up so quickly?

"There isn't enough sorry in the world," she muttered and hovered her thumb over the trash icon.

Her office door swung open, surprising Regina enough to drop the phone. Emma came storming in, followed closely by Hook. "Come on, Regina. They're making their move."

"What's going on?" Regina stood quickly. She wasn't sure which 'they' Emma meant, but regardless, it couldn't be good.

"Seems your friends have decided to move on the Charmings," Hook replied. "Mary Margaret has gone missing."

Regina's lips curled into a sneer. Nothing hurts my family. "Well, then," she said. Let's go."

It wasn't hard for Regina to pick up the scent. Maleficent's magic had a unique signature, and its strength left a trace that was easy to follow. There was something to be said for old friends, it seemed. Regina, Emma and Hook turned to Third Street, which led to the woods to the north of town. David had begged to come along, clutching the hilt of his sword like a child would a security blanket.

"No," Emma had told him. "Absolutely not." David opened his mouth to argue, but Hook interceded. "Best leave it, mate. She's already angry with you."

David turned the full force of his Charming puppy-dog eyes on Regina. Oh, please, she thought. "Charming. They took Mary Margaret to force your hand. Don't be stupid and go charging in after her."

"She's my wife!" David spat. "And she's my mother," Emma replied. "I've got this."

"David," Regina said, putting both hands on his shoulders to turn his attention to her. "It's the oldest trick in the book. Isolate your prey. They want you to go chasing half-cocked after Mary Margaret so that the two of you are alone and unprotected."

"What if they're trying to divide us? What if they want you and Emma together, so that the rest of us are unprotected? One takes out her revenge on Snow, and the other on me?"

Regina looked at Emma. "Well? Where is she?"

Emma nodded. Regina could find Maleficent blindfolded, but she couldn't track Lily. For once, Emma was glad that her parents had done what they did – the decision to bind Emma and Lily's fates had made it easy for Emma to use her magic to feel Lily's presence. She went absolutely still, breathing slowly in and out. Concentrate, Emma thought. Lily. In the blackness, she saw her, standing with her mother.

"They're together," Emma said. "They're feeding off of each other."

"David," Regina said, grabbing his chin to pull his eyes to her. "Take Neal and go to the fairies. They'll protect you." I hope, she thought. She didn't have a lot of faith in the fairies, but other than Gold, they were the most powerful magic in town.

Gold. There was no way he didn't know what was happening, and if he knew, there was no doubt he was figuring out how to use it to his advantage. She turned to the library.

"Where are you going? Regina, we have to go after them!" Emma tried to grab her arm, but Regina was on a mission and wouldn't be stopped.

"Marshal resources, Swan. We need to get Belle. She has to be the one to keep Gold out of the way."

"How?"

"If she's in danger, he'll come running." Regina flexed her fingers. Belle had survived without her heart just fine once. She'd do it again. She threw the doors of the library open, catching Belle and Will in what looked like a heated argument. Without thinking, she strode over to Belle and jabbed her hand into her chest.

Will dove for her, but Regina froze him mid-lunge with a wave of her free hand. "There's no time. Belle, I'm sorry." I'm sorry. "We have to stop this." She pulled out Belle's heart, not even bothering to look at it before she thrust it at Will. "Take it," she commanded. "Take it and run. He'll chase you."

Will balked. "You're insane, you know that?"

Regina smiled. "Hardly the point." She turned to Belle. "Maleficent and Lily have Snow. If they hurt her, Emma will stop at nothing for revenge, and then your boyfriend has his leverage he needs to turn the tables against good and evil. If you want to save whatever part of him is still good, you'll play along."

"He is still good. I can feel it," Belle said, with all the excruciating naivete and faith that she held for Rumpelstiltskin.

So that's what they'd been arguing about. Regina felt a pang of sympathy for Will. "If he's still good, then he can still be persuaded to change his course. Remember, Belle, that in order for him to succeed, that means that the heroes have to become villains. Is that a sacrifice you're willing to make?"

Belle balked. "He wouldn't do that to me."

"Why not?" Regina snapped. "Because he's so honorable? Belle, don't kid yourself. He's after his his own survival, whatever the cost. If he really wanted to redeem himself, he'd be here on his knees begging for a second chance. Or a third chance, or however many chances you've given him now. Instead, he's holding the author captive, waiting to find a way to rewrite the story to work for his advantage. "

Will clenched his jaw. Regina suddenly realized that she was not the first person to spell this out for Belle. Heroes, she thought. Their fatal flaw was always the inability to recognize how deep the darkness went. "Go," she said, pushing Will towards the door.

"And you," she said, turning to Belle. "If you care for anyone in this town besides yourself, you'll start screaming up a storm." She followed Will out the door of the library and watched him as he took off toward the docks. I like him, she thought.

"What the hell was that?" Emma snapped as Regina closed the distance between them.

"That was buying us some time. Come on, let's go get your mother." With that, Regina grabbed both Emma and Hook, pulled them close, and transported them both to the edge of the woods north of town.

A cloud of purple smoke evaporated, leaving Regina, Emma and Hook standing in the midst of a cluster of trees. "Where are they?" Hook asked, searching the woods for a sign of their foes.

"About a quarter of a mile that way," Emma responded. Regina smiled – until Emma had learned to harness her magic, there was no way that she could have known that. She couldn't help but feel proud of Emma's progress, and hoped that her lessons had been enough to get them through this.

"A quarter of a mile? Are you afraid of being rude and dropping in unannounced?

"Hook," Regina replied. "Killian," Emma corrected her.

"Whatever. They'll be expecting us, and no doubt David as well. We need to go in alone, and you need to fall back to keep an eye on what happens."

"And do what?" Hook asked. "Take notes?"

With one hand, Regina conjured a small glass vial. With the other, she produced a dense cloud of smoke, purple shot through with silver. "If you need it, this will take you back to the others." She guided the smoke into the bottle, stoppered it, and handed it to Hook.

"I'm not leaving her here."

Regina smiled. "I never thought you would. Call that plan B and don't get in our way."

Emma was already striding down the path, following the magic that called out to them both. "This way," she called over her shoulder.

As they approached the edge of the clearing, Emma and Regina could both see trails of magic swirling before them. Amber and black entwined with silver. "What is this?" Emma breathed.

"This is what happens when you don't know what you want." Regina braced herself for the battle to come.