Her first thought is if Regina felt as gutted and helpless as she does right now, when it had been Emma who was gone instead. The blonde puts a hand on her stomach, feeling as though her heart is buried low and deep within it as she worries and fights off tears that threaten to fall. Her eyes are wet and her mind races with all the possibilities of what she can do. She doesn't know how to help, doesn't know where else to go but to her own house with the brunette's limp body. The older woman is heavy in her arms as her dead weight is carefully cradled by the blonde.

Emma vaguely registers her parents' voices as they call out to her, but she has tunnel vision in that moment and only sees Regina. Regina who is lifeless and bloody and becoming colder and colder by the minute. She doesn't even hear what her parents are trying to say before she poofs away with the brunette and retreats to the house she acquired when they came back from Camelot.

She's never believed in a higher power. Maybe karma is a thing, but she's never once shared the beliefs of any of her religious families throughout her time in the foster system, and there were a few. She can't fathom an all-powerful being that would allow famine and war and force others to suffer in ways that do so much more than build character and instead drive some to madness and death. She can't imagine someone who created the world they live in, one supposedly without magic, would want to watch as it made people victims and others monsters. But Regina needs magic or a miracle, or someone much brighter and more qualified than her to fix what's been done.

It's like living Isaac's twisted alternate reality all over again, except there won't be wedding bells or a loophole to reverse all that's been done in this reality. Because it isn't an alternate version of anything. It didn't happen in a book or by way of magic. It actually happened. It's really real and still happening and it can't be undone. Or at least Emma doesn't know how it can be undone, but she certainly hopes there's a way to go back. She hopes there's a way to save her. She can't lose Regina. She can't lose another person. She thought she couldn't lose Hook, especially during everything in Camelot, but she'd been wrong about that, about him, about everything.

"If I could go back, if I could do it all over again," Emma starts to say when she lays Regina down on a plush, Queen size bed. "I should have let him die."

She imagines Regina agreeing with her and telling her it was about time she figured that out for herself. She imagines Regina rolling her eyes and making snide comments, joking about Emma's idiocy. She remembers admitting to Regina that no one had been around in Camelot to tell her when she was being stupid and imagines Regina adding on to her response. She imagines Regina saying Emma never learns and she'll always be an idiot. She imagines Regina saying, "You're being stupid now."

And now…

"It's too late," Emma whispers with watery eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Her voice wavers as it comes out raspy and thick with emotion she's never outwardly expressed toward the brunette in front of her.

"It's not," she hears from the doorway and immediately spins around to see a familiar, but not quite welcome face.

"How did you get in here," Emma asks and moves to stand protectively in front of Regina. "Why are you here?"

"I came back for Cruella," Ursula answers. "This place was a ghost town when I arrived, so I went looking for anyone at that point. I ran into Maleficent and she told me Cruella's dead and that you killed her."

Ursula steps forward, slow and deliberate as if she plans to creep toward Emma and then attack at the last second. Emma turns her entire body to face Ursula and uses herself as a shield to keep the other woman away from Regina. She doubts Ursula wants anything to do with the unconscious woman on the bed, especially when Emma's the one responsible for taking away the person Ursula apparently wants for some reason, but Regina's still slowly bleeding out and turning pale and she's so, so weak. She can't defend herself and Emma might be making it obvious that hurting Regina would hurt her. It's a revenge tactic most villains in Storybrooke would and already have used as a means to revel in their victory while they watch their enemies squirm and cry and live in misery. She doesn't doubt Ursula wouldn't do just that to avenge her friend's death. She doesn't doubt anyone's ability to do just that. Not anymore. Not when she's just learned, and is still learning, what happens when she doubts and underestimates those around her she believes have changed.

"Relax, Savior," Ursula says as she rolls her eyes. "I'm not here to kill you or to hurt anyone. I don't need to get mad. I need to bring her back."

Emma frowns. "Bring her back? What do you mean? You mean…bring Cruella back? From the dead?"

Ursula flashes a brief smile and breathes out a chuckle. She nods and explains, "Just before your band of heroes came back from…wherever you were, I found a way. I know where Cruella is. And, if what I understand is true, Regina's probably there with her."

Emma blinks a few times, shocked and uncertain, but hopeful. Always hopeful. And now she's willing to do whatever's needed for Regina. She looks over her shoulder at the brunette's prone and almost completely unmoving form, her chest only barely heaving with labored breaths to indicate that Regina's alive. She watches the delayed rise and fall of the other woman's chest as the effort it takes only occurs every six seconds instead of three. She's never been sure of her role as the Savior or as a hero, or even as Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter. She's never even been sure of her role as Henry's mother—his other mother or birth mother, neither had felt right to her until recently—but she's sure of one thing in that moment: Regina needs her and she won't give up until Regina's home.

"What do I have to do?"

Snow and Charming catch up with her while she's concentrating, her hands poised over Regina's body as she centers herself and remembers how she'd cast her first protection spell. She had been with Regina then and it wasn't solely dependent on her magic to enforce the transparent barrier that faded out of sight until smashed into by the wrong person. Regina had guided her through it and used some of her own magic to put the wall up around Snow's hospital room to protect both her and the soon-to-be born baby Neal from Zelena. A preservation spell is different from a protection spell, but the emotion is the same and there's still a wall around whomever Emma's using the spell on, so she believes she'll be able to use the idea of what goes into a protection spell in order to preserve Regina's body.

The brunette's vitals are fading fast and her breathing went from slow and labored to a worrying choking that happens far too often and too harshly for Emma's comfort. She only has her belief that protection and preservation are almost—but as she's well-aware not quite—synonymous. It has to work. It's the only way she can be successful at what she's about to do.

Snow and Charming don't see that, however. They don't understand what she's doing or why, so when they see her standing at Regina's bedside with Ursula patiently waiting off to the side, they panic.

"Honey, what are you doing," Snow asks, breathless and with wide eyes. She looks back and forth between Emma and Ursula and her panic seems to intensify, which Emma doesn't blame her for because she gets it.

"Saving her," Emma replies as she keeps her eyes on her hands and Regina and nowhere else. She feels her magic rise to the surface and she doesn't have wait much longer before she feels herself pull it out of herself. She directs the stream of light at Regina and waves her hands over the woman's body from head to toe. She doesn't stop until she's watched and felt the spell take hold.

When she drops her hands to her sides, she exhales and closes her eyes as she takes a moment to accept that she did it. Once her achievement sinks in, she turns to her parents with a set, determined look on her face. She clenches her fists at her sides as she prepares to tell them her plan, tell them what Ursula's figured out and what she's willing to do with the former villain for the people that are dear to them.

"How are you gonna do that," David asks. "Emma, she's...she's not gonna make it."

"I just made sure she would," Emma says and motions toward Regina's faintly glowing body. "A preservation spell, like the one she used on Daniel and the one she used on Marian, or I guess Zelena."

Both of them appear shocked and then look between her and Regina a few times before Snow asks, "What now?"

"I'm going to bring her back."

"And...you need Ursula for that?"

"Yeah, I do."

"You can't be serious," David says and steps forward as if to physically restrain her from going through with her plan. "You're trusting a villain to help you with this?"

"She's not a villain," Emma argues. "Not anymore. She has someone to fight for and someone to lose if she fails, and I trust that."

"And how exactly do you plan to get her back," Snow asks and steps forward as well to stand closer to David and comes out to be at his side rather than behind him.

Emma looks to Ursula who looks between the blonde and her parents before she comes to stand at Emma's side and uncrosses her arms. She drops them to her sides as she carefully explains her plan to Snow and David, explains it like she knows that it'll hurt them to know just what Emma will have to do to get Regina back.

"Regina...might be in Hell."

Snow and David both reel back with wide eyes and slack jaws.

"Since she's still breathing," Ursula continues and motions to Regina on the bed, "it's possible that she'll be able to come back from there, at least...much easier than someone who's been pushed off a cliff."

Snow sputters and shakes her head as she pieces everything together. "You're going there for Cruella?"

Ursula glares at Snow before she speaks again. "She might be far less redeemed than me, but she's still a good friend of mine. We've been through a lot together and...I guess I'm not ready for all of this to be over. I don't know if you can understand what that feels like since nothing's as perfect and clear-cut as your love story, but that doesn't make what anyone else feels any less real."

"No, no, of course. That's not... I'm sorry. That's not what I meant by that. I just...I didn't know," Snow explains before she turns her focus to Emma. "Is...is that why you're doing this?"

For a second, Emma panics. She's not sure what to say or what it all means that she's willing to quite literally go through Hell and back to save Regina from a fate she doesn't think the other woman deserves. No matter what she's thinking or how she honestly feels about the situation down to her core, what she says is, "I owe it to her and Henry to do everything I can to fix this. It's my fault she's even fighting for her life right now. I won't let her die because I was too stupid to just...let go."

Snow and David look at each other then and everything's silent as a long moment passes between the four of them. After some sort of silent communication, they look back at her and attempt to smile, but the expression is fleeting and filled with sadness and worry.

"If this is what you want to do," Snow starts to say, "we'll support you."

David closes some of the distance between them before he sets a hand on her shoulder and squeezes. "We love you, kiddo. Be careful, okay?"

Emma smiles up at him and nods after a few seconds. She's close to tears again with the weight of her parents having her back while she risks her own life to further and better preserve Regina's.

"Look after Henry," Emma asks with so much hope in her voice and her wet green eyes. Her lashes are just as wet and it's clear she's already cried once tonight. She doesn't want to do it again, but she's not sure she'll be able to get back and forth between Storybrooke and Hell alive before she's able to pull Regina out of there. She's not sure if she'll make it back once let alone a few times and she's not sure how long it might take to even find Regina. She might not see Henry again once she leaves, and this goodbye is going to be one of the hardest, but she knows in her heart that she's the one that should pay this price. It's not Regina's price, not her fault, not her time. She's the one that's supposed to be here and as soon as Emma can get to her, she will be. She has to be.

"Ready?" Ursula asks as she places a hand on her shoulder blade. It's an odd gesture coming from a woman that should hate her for being the reason Cruella's in Hell right now, but Emma's actually a little grateful that she won't be doing this big heroic thing alone.

"Yeah, uh, just let me stop by and see Henry first?"

Ursula nods her agreement with immense understanding on her face. For a woman without any kids, Ursula certainly seems to get Emma's urgent need to see Henry. She'll ask about it later, maybe during the descent to Hell when they have more time to just talk, but for the time being she hugs her parents and lets them hold her tight for about a minute too long before she rushes off to find Henry. Ursula follows her and sticks with her almost every step of the way, except for when she meets up with Henry at the mansion. Then she just waits outside, doesn't even let Henry see her so it's just him and Emma, and Emma thanks her even before she steps inside.

"Henry," she calls out and hears it echo throughout the house.

He jogs out onto the landing at the top of the stairs and looks down at her with wild eyes and messy hair. His hands grip the railing so tightly that even Emma can see how white his knuckles are from where she stands in the foyer below.

"Where is she," he frantically asks. "What happened?"

Emma's heart breaks for him and she's immediately reminded how much she's screwed up. "Henry," she quietly, cautiously starts to say. She's not sure what to tell him or where she should sit him down, but she knows she should go to him, so she does.

As soon as she heads up the stairs, Henry lets go of the railing and begins to back away toward the bedrooms. "No," he pleads in the softest voice Emma's ever heard him use while he shakes his head again and again. "No. No, it's not- This isn't happening. She's not- This can't be how the story ends!"

New tears fall and her lips quiver as she tries to keep it together. She's allowed to cry with him, she knows, but she needs to be strong. She at least needs to stay composed long enough to actually tell him what happened and what she's going to do, that she's going to fix it.

She reaches out to touch his face, but he shouts "no" again before he tears off toward one of the rooms. The door is already wide open when he disappears inside it and he slams it shut behind him. She shakily inhales as she tries to push down more tears and anguished little cries and presses a hand to her stomach before she moves forward and follows him into the room. As soon as she opens the door, she realizes that it's without a doubt not his bedroom. The color scheme is monochromatic and suggests that it's most likely a guest bedroom, but Emma knows better. She sees little hints all around the room that indicate as plain as the colors and design might be, it's definitely not for guests. She also knows her son. She knows he wouldn't just run into a random room in the house, which is why he's there in Regina's room.

He lays on the bed with his face buried in one of her pillows and wraps his arms around it as he clings to it for dear life. His shoes are still on and he's on top of the covers. She's sure Regina would never let that slide if she was there to witness it, but she knows the only reason Henry's so careless and distraught is because she's not there.

"Henry," she quietly says again and slowly approaches the bed. She cautiously holds out a hand before she touches his shoulder with it and gently nudges him in the hopes that he'll look at her when she explains. Thankfully he does, but he has tears in his eyes and on his face and she almost can't bear the sight. She has to tell him though, no matter how painful. "Regina's...She's... It's complicated."

"No, it's not. Just tell me what happened," he demands with a rough and wet voice.

Emma sighs and looks down at the floor before she sits down on the edge of the bed. "She's...not dead, but she's not okay. It's possible she's...in another world- realm. Whatever."

He blinks a few times, his brow furrowed and his eyes slightly widened as he listens and takes in what she tells him.

"I'm gonna go get her," she finally tells him. "I don't...I don't know if she's there for sure, but there's a chance that she is, so...I'm gonna take that chance."

His confusion dissipates immediately as its replaced with determination and a small half-smile. "I'm coming with you," he insists and sits up fully before he slides past her to a free space on the edge of the bed and stands.

"No," Emma firmly says and watches as the hope in his eyes fades and he frowns at her. "I'm taking a chance to get Regina back, but I'm not risking you. And Regina wouldn't either. You know that."

"But—"

"No buts," she cuts him off and makes sure he knows there's no point in arguing with her because she won't budge. She softly and more considerately adds, "I don't know if I'll be able to come back, Henry. Where she is...it's...there could be some complications, if she's even there."

Henry's eyebrows shoot up to the top of his head. "You mean you could die?"

Emma closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before she confesses, "Yes."

He vigorously shakes his head and adamantly says, "No. No, I won't let you go. You can't go. I can't lose you."

"It might not be as simple as losing me," she says as she feels her emotions swell inside her again and try to surface. "If I don't try to bring her back, Henry...you'll lose her."

"But...I can't lose both of you," he says.

"I know. I know, Henry, but this is all my fault. I can't let anything happen to her when I'm the reason she's even hurt."

"No," he sternly says and his eyes steel over with a different kind of determination she doesn't think she's ever seen in him. He looks just like Regina in that moment. "It's not your fault. It's his. Don't let him convince you that this is on you because you didn't make decisions for him. He's always known right from wrong, no matter what excuses he thinks he has and uses, and he's still made all the wrong choices. He did this. Not you. He's the one that should be suffering right now."

So much like Regina, she thinks.

She wants to reason with him. She wants to find a way to calm him down so he doesn't go off on some rampage like Regina would, and she's not sure what exactly he'll do. But she knows what Regina would do if she was faced with the woman and not their smart, kind son and it's a scary thought. Trying to reason with him, though, isn't easy. No words are forthcoming, and she knows that's because Henry's right.

"Where is he," Henry asks. "Did you deal with him or is still out there while I'm being forced to choose between my moms?"

Emma winces. She hadn't realized what an impossible situation Henry would be in if she gave up her life just to save Regina's. She shouldn't have told him she could die. If he didn't know going after Regina could end her life, he might have been a little more receptive to the idea. She would kick herself for being stupid, but she knew why she'd told him. He was a kid and didn't always have to hear the truth, but after all that's happened between him and Regina and him and her in the last few years, she owed it to him to give him honesty, always. The truth could often be harsh and ugly, but Henry's only ever asked Regina and her not to lie to him. Even lying by omission went against what he wanted because white lies and little half-truths weren't good enough, especially when he has a bit of a lie detector superpower in him like she does.

"He's not your problem," she tells him.

"Maybe not, but someone's got to stop this. If you go to get Mom then no one here will end this."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is. It's got to be you, Emma. You're the only one that stands a chance at stopping him. You're still the Dark One, or a Dark One. You're the only match for him right now. You get rid of him and maybe you won't have to die to save Mom."

"I don't know how much time I have," she sadly admits. "I can't- I can't lose her either."

Henry's eyes pop wide open, no longer narrowed with anger or vengeance and instead shocked to hear a more intense truth than her risking her life to go to another realm to save Regina.

Her mouth falls open and she stammers out a few unintelligent sounds.

"You can't," Henry asks.

She furrows her brow as she tries to think of a response, think of a way to explain what exactly she means by her word choice. What she comes up with is, "She's family. I can't lose my family."

Things seem to wind back down then. Henry accepts her answer and she knows that what she said isn't a lie at all even though it feels like it's only part of the reason she's willing to give up everything—again—for this woman. Well, maybe it more than feels like it's only part of the reason. Maybe she also knows it's only part of the reason, but, if she does know that for a fact, she's still definitely not ready to admit it yet.

"Listen to me," Emma continues, "he's a problem and I want to take care of it, but I think saving Regina is more pressing right now. I can't do both. I can't stop him and save her and I don't want to focus all my efforts on him when I know they should be spent trying to get her back. Do you understand?"

He seems to think about it and though he doesn't look happy about his choices, he still nods and agrees that she should go to Regina. "Don't die," he begs before he pulls her into a tight hug. "And make sure you both come back."

"I'll do what I can," she breathlessly tells him as another tear escapes her and she squeezes him like it's the last hug they'll ever have, like it's the last time she'll ever see him. She's not sure what will happen, but she doesn't want to spend the rest of eternity in Hell regretting anything about how she leaves Henry that night. She pours everything into that goodbye and hopes and hopes and hopes it's only a goodnight.