SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Winxgirl1997: Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Harmony4Life1: Thanks. Here it is, finally.

Wiccancharmedjournals: Thank you, I'm glad you like it. And Stefan's blood healed the magic that was inside of Emma, neutralizing the potion. Sorry if that wasn't made clear and no, Emma's not going to be a witch. Thank you. I'm glad you like it. here's chapter four.

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. Once Upon A Time belongs to ABC Studios and whoever else is affiliated with the show.

"Hello, Darling," Cora greeted.

"What do you want?" Regina queried. Okay, just stick to the plan. You're here to see if you can reason with her, she reminded herself. She wasn't going to let her mother get to her.

"Is that any way to greet your mother?" Cora asked. How dare she take that tone with me? she thought to herself. Apparently, she was going to have to reteach her daughter the rules.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to be rude," Regina replied. To be perfectly honest, she didn't care how she sounded to the woman, but she had to make it seem like she did. She needed to figure out what she was up to and she could only do that if she seemed like she was being receptive to her.

"Apology accepted," Cora responded. Now then, that's more like it, she approved.

"You just took me by surprise. I was sure that my magic had blocked Storybrooke from the outside world," Regina continued. And that wasn't even a lie. She had thought the outside world was still blocked.

"Darling, you know that my magic is much stronger than yours," Cora stated. "And that is what allowed me to override your spell and create a portal to get me here," she continued.

"I see," the younger woman stated. Man, she hadn't even thought of that possibility! But apparently her mother had and had used it to her advantage. Now she just had to figure out how she could deal with her. Cora was right when she said that her magic was stronger than Regina's, which was why she had come here in the first place. She needed to see if she could reason with her, though right now, it didn't seem like that it was possible. To her surprise, Cora laughed and then wrapped her arms around Regina.

"Oh, it is good to see you, my dear! I was hoping to have some other things in place before we were reunited, but I suppose these things happen the way they do for a reason," she said in a jubilant voice. Her daughter was always looking for her love and if it looked like she finally had it, the younger woman would be putty in her hands. After all, love was just a weakness to be exploited. For a moment, Regina reveled in her mother's arms. This was what she had craved for so long-to be loved. This is what Emma and Mary Margaret had. Then, the former queen stiffened. No! This didn't feel right! Her mother's tone didn't sound the same as Mary Margaret's did when she was truly happy. Steeling herself, she pushed the other woman away.

"What do you really want?" she demanded.

"Regina, you. All I want is you," the other woman insisted.

"No. You don't care about anything or anyone but yourself," came the retort. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work on me," she told her. She had to stay strong here. She couldn't just fall for her mother's tricks-no matter how much she wanted to believe that the woman loved her.

"Regina. How can you even think-" she began and then cut herself off. She couldn't do this. She couldn't keep it up. "Well, if you're going to continue to act like this! Fine!" As her eyes darkened, Cora summoned her magic and then thrust at it her daughter who quickly conjured up a protective shield. Now this was the mother that she remembered! She had just known that the display of love that the other woman was showing her was just a ploy. A stab of hurt pierced her chest, but she pushed it down. She couldn't let the woman see that she had gotten to her. She just couldn't! She needed to stay strong! Cora wasn't going to own her anymore. She could do this. Cora's eyes darkened and her lips pursed into a scowl as she summoned more of her magic. Just what did Regina think she was doing? She knew better than to go up against her! And yet, here she was, being all insubordinate. When had she gotten such a backbone? She didn't like it one little bit. Well, she was just going to have to reestablish her authority. Once she did that, her daughter would once more fall in line. Regina gritted her teeth as she summoned as much energy as she could to strengthen her shield. I can't let her win. I can't let her do this, she thought to herself. She needed to be strong. She couldn't let her mother frighten her. Oh, but it was hard! Her mother was so much stronger than her and had tried to use her longing to be loved against her. Well, she wasn't going to stand for that! She would win out against the older woman! What she didn't know, was that her prolonged absence had concerned the others and they had followed her, even Emma, over the objections of the others.

"David, we have to help her," Mary Margaret whispered.

"How? We don't use magic," David reminded.

"We can figure something out," Mary Margaret insisted. They had to. Regina needed them. And she wasn't going to let her down. She knew that her husband didn't understand, but she had finally gotten the real Regina back and she wasn't about to lose her again. She just couldn't. She wasn't sure she could handle it. Her eyes darkened with determination and she strode over to them. Seeing this, Cora smirked. And what does little Snow White think she can do? She has no magic, she thought to herself. Oh sure she had heard about her prowess as a regular fighter. But that was all that Snow White was: regular. She wasn't magical like her and her daughter. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina saw Mary Margaret walking up to her.

"Snow, what are you doing?" she hissed. Is she crazy? She can't be just walking into the line of fire like this! She has no protection! her mind screamed. As if she wasn't even aware of what was going on, Mary Margaret walked up to them coming to stand beside Regina.

"You can do this. I have faith in you," she said softly taking her hand and squeezing it. At this, Regina's breathing hitched. Mary Margaret was looking at her the way she had when she was a young girl. The young girl she had saved from a runaway horse. She hadn't counted on anyone saving her then and she probably wasn't counting on anyone this time, but she believed in her. Almost immediately, Regina felt a shift within herself. She wasn't going to use the magic she had learned from Rumplestiltskin. She couldn't win that way. No, she needed a purer magic. But could she even wield it? She wasn't good. She hadn't been for a long time. Mary Margaret smiled. She had seen the way her stepmother's face had changed. "You're good, Regina. You've come back. Use your own magic. Show her what you can do," she encouraged, once more squeezing Regina's hand. The woman nodded, her face set in determination. She was going to do this. She had to protect the people she loved and she was willing to die at her mother's hands to do it.

"Stand back," she murmured and Mary Margaret went to do so. Summoning her strength, Regina summoned the magic inside of her. Here goes nothing, she thought. Hopefully, she could do this. Then, without warning, she flung the energy she had summoned at her mother. To the surprise of everyone, instead of the dark purple cloud that usually followed Regina's magic, there was a flash of pure white as it enveloped the other woman's magic. A loud boom filled the air and Cora gave a small shriek of surprise as her attack was neutralized and the residents of Storybrooke as well as Stefan and Bonnie felt a slight ripple go through them, much like when the curse had been lifted, resulting in the flash of energy to go across the town border where there was an even bigger boom. For a moment, Cora gaped at her daughter. That had been an attack of pure magic, light magic that everyone had even if they never used it. But to access it like that one had to be good and pure of heart. That didn't fit Regina. She was the Evil Queen. She shouldn't have been able to summon that type of magic. But she had. Well, I obviously need to regroup, she thought to herself. With a huff, the older woman gave a wave of her hand, disappearing in a cloud of green smoke.

"What the hell just happened?" Emma finally questioned.

"I have absolutely no idea," Regina responded.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

No I haven't forgotten Damon and Elena. This chapter was important because it sets up the events that will allow them to get into Storybrooke.