After everyone was in the water, Regina looked at the people that came with her. She looked at her new family. She looked to the mermaids and nodded her thanks before looking back to the others, "Now, after I put you under, you'll be able to breathe, but you won't be able to talk…"

She got a collective bout of nods from her crew and swam to each of them, put her thumbs vertically over their mouths, lining against their noses, and her four other fingers on either side of their neck. As soon as she felt the gills form on their necks, she would dunk them under the water's surface.

After she got everyone under, she took a large breath, pushed herself under and did the same thing to herself. When she opened her eyes, happy to be able to breathe again, she first saw her ever-brightening ring, then Cordelia smiling at her. The mermaid seemed to be glowing, casting off light to see everything under the water's surface. She glanced around to find that all of the mermaids and her crew were glowing in the same way.

"Let's get you to the bad man's castle." Cordelia offered the daughter of the bad man's mistress her hand.

After noticing that each of Cordelia's sisters held the hands of her entire crew, minus the Caspian Prince, she took the mermaid's hand. Cordelia then swam the two of them to the free-swimming Arely and took his hand with her free one.

Arely smiled bashfully at the mermaid before looking to the Shadow Queen with a sheepish shrug.

Cordelia led them all. The sisters, each with their royal, knight or advisor followed. Looking back to everyone else, Regina thought of them like a V of birds. It was actually beautiful with each of the sisters glowing the way they were.

She looked to the royals of the Enchanted West, each in a line, Chip was first, then Belle, then Red. Both Red's and Chip's eyes were glowing bright yellow along with their bodies. She could only imagine what was running through their minds. The trio though, swam silently and looked all too determined to only have thoughts of helping old flames and close friends.

Though as she looked to everyone else, they seemed to match the Westerner's determination. Even Arely's hard, thoughtful look caught her attention as she turned back to look forward again.

Cordelia swam at a steady pace, though it was a quick steady pace. She seemed to know or feel all of their distress and knew not to slow if possible. But, as they got to the deepest part of the lake, she slowed to a stop and stared at the large patch of only sand. There was no algae, no plant life of any kind. The fish even swam around the area. They'd passed a sunken boat or two, but nothing seemed to penetrate this circle.

Regina looked to Cordelia's scared features and back to the circle. She finally let go of Cordelia's hand and started swimming forth.

"Don't go!" Cordelia called, causing the queen to turn back around, "We'll take you back and understand that you can't bring us to the Caspian Sea… Don't go."

Regina bit her bottom lip as she looked at the fear-filled mermaid. And remembering she couldn't speak, she simply let her own features soften and she patted her chest.

Cordelia nodded after a moment or two of frustration with this other woman. She dropped Arely's hand and swam forth to join her. "It's a dome." She gestured to the circle, pointed above them both to show her just how large the thing actually was. The bubble could only be seen from certain angles and they were at one of the best ones., "If you touch it, you get shocked. Hard. Most fish die."

Regina looked to the mermaid and nodded as they got closer. She put her hand out and let an evil smirk take over her features. As her hand came in contact with the dome, a loud buzzing could be heard throughout the entire lake and it lit up a bright purple and grey color. Cordelia turned from her closing her eyes, scared of what this woman was trying to do. But when the buzzing stopped and the light was gone, she opened them again to see Regina getting pulled into the dome. As she got through the surface, she fell to the ground.

Regina pushed herself to a standing position after that fun surprise of learning the dome could in fact suck her in its airy center. She looked around and quickly looked as if she were gasping for air.

Cordelia, her sisters, the royals, knights and advisors swam to the domes edge, the temporarily mutated humans finally placing their feet on the ground around the dome, and watched on with fear as Regina covered the gills on her neck and let her magic flow through her.

Regina fell to her knees, then caught her upper body with her hands once she was able to breath again. She looked out of the dome to find everyone's eyes on her. She pointed to Cordelia as she walked over to her, "You and your sisters are not allowed to touch the bubble. It sucks you in." She put her hand against the surface, it felt like glass from this side. This made her narrow her brows, "And I don't know that there is a way back out unless I simply destroy it. Which I can't yet."

Cordelia nodded, "Sisters, back away." They all backed up a few feet.

Snow turned to the sister that pulled her along and waved. She unconsciously put her other hand on the dome's surface and felt it begin to magically pull her in. She looked back with fright. Regina was quick to notice and ran around the opposite side of the dome to her. As soon as the woman's head and neck were in the clear room, Regina did as she had before, placed her fingers on her throat and thumbs along her nose and mouth. She worked as fast as she could so that the White Queen would be able to breathe.

"It's okay, Your Majesty." Regina said, nodding, reassuring the scared royal.

"Oh, Regina…" Snow placed a hand on the other woman's face, "I think we're far passed the point of formalities. Call me Snow."

"Snow." Regina nodded.

They turned to find a still worried Charming, wanting to come in after her, but knowing better than to touch the dome. As soon as Snow locked eyes with him and smiled, he touched the dome, trying to bulldoze his way through. Regina took his face and neck, working quickly.

She did this with everyone, one at a time until they were all back to normal.

"Now what?" Artie asked as he looked around the bubble that seemed to be covering up nothing.

Regina shook her head, "I don't know. The entrance has to be somewhere…"

Arely turned to see if the mermaids were still outside, and when he saw them all seemingly waiting for them, he looked to Cordelia, "Cordelia?"

She swam a little closer, but not near as close as she had been before.

"Do you know where the entrance is?"

She tilted her head confused, "You're standing on it."

~0~0~0~0~0~

Maleficent stood from the wicker swing, quickly followed by Aurora. She nudged her princess in front of her, dropping her hand after they got inside. She shut the door to the balcony and leaned against it a moment trying to push down the millions of feelings running through her body. Aurora hadn't spoken to her like that since Rumple and Cora took her heart. It was as if she were almost normal. She could tell that the girl remembered how she felt, and desperately wanted to feel that way again.

And as she looked into her princess's wide, open, blue eyes, she saw the recognition and the want. And she was much too weak to tell herself that it wasn't going to be real if she dared try anything. She tried to tell herself that Cora was probably waiting for her to give in, that she was waiting for the perfect moment to show them both just how little control they had over their lives.

She sighed, still leaning against the door away from the princess, trying to tell herself to put the other girl in the living room and stay locked away in her own. Then she felt warmth behind her and saw a hand reach its way to the door handle, locking it.

"You look at me with lust." Aurora's voice whispered behind her. "I've reminded you of her tonight."

Maleficent swallowed her surprise and turned, looking into those eyes again, "You have." She confirmed, hoping the interaction would continue, praying it would stop.

"Why do you not act on it? I still remember everything about you."

"You can't feel it. There's no point if you can't feel it."

"Maybe I will."

"You won't, Aurora. Your heart was ripped from your chest. It's kept in a box, gods know where, and it's used to torture us both!" The blonde pushed passed the princess and started for her bathroom.

Aurora grabbed the magicless witch's wrist, spinning her back to face her. She said nothing, but watched Maleficent's every reaction as she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against the blonde's. A gasp came from Maleficent as she let the auburn-haired girl deepen the kiss. It was when Aurora's hands wrapped around her, one on her waist, the other in her hair, that the tears came again.

Aurora pulled back, "You're leaking—crying again." She tried to wipe them away, "It doesn't stop… Why doesn't the water stop like it did before? It stopped before."

Maleficent pulled completely and moved to her bed, "Please…" She begged, but she didn't know what she was begging for.

"I don't like this. Seeing you. You're sad. I should fix it. How can I fix it? I'm the one that can fix it… I think I did it once before. Made you happy. I can do it again. I think I can." The girl sat at the foot of the bed, on the complete opposite side Maleficent was on, "Do you think I can?"

Maleficent inhaled a ragged breath, picked up her head from the balled position she'd put herself in, and looked down from the head of the bed. "I think that you don't function well without your heart."

"Without my love." Aurora nodded. "My body needs you, I think. It needs to hold your hand, sleep next to you, hug you, stop you from being so evil. I think it needs to love you. My brain does too. That's why I think I brought you the potatoes. My brain wanted to fight over them."

"We didn't fight over them."

"I know… My heart wasn't in it." She looked down, a hint of sadness in her as she realized her pun, "I guess I'm funny sometimes." She looked back up, "I'm really happy that you're alive, I think. If I killed you and somehow got my heart…"

"It wasn't you." Maleficent sat up, "I know it wasn't. I watched you as you did it; even heartless you tried to resist them. You still try to resist them."

"I think I might want you to marry me when I get my heart back."

Maleficent nodded, "We will."

Aurora gave the other woman a smile. And with a blink of an eye she was gone, a small puff of smoke in her wake.

Maleficent stared at the smoke, tears resurfacing. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew that it couldn't be good. She covered her mouth as the cry erupted and hugged her legs tight, staring where her love's body had been sitting.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Aurora blinked as she took in her new surroundings. "This… this isn't where I was. I was with Phyllipina. She doesn't like it when I call her that so I didn't, but I was with her. Now, I'm here. I'm not sure I like this place. It smells like them. It smells evil."

"Aurora." Emma cautiously came into her view, the girl's heart still in her hand.

Aurora did not see Emma, but the heart, she scrambled away, utterly terrified, "My heart's already gone! Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"

"Aurora, listen to me." Emma tried.

"Please, let me go back! Please! Leave me alone! I don't have anything left!"

"BRIAR ROSE!" Emma yelled over the girl that already seemed to be making a little more sense than she had when they first met.

Aurora stopped talking and looked to her, "You're so bright." She squinted away.

Emma smiled, "Yeah, I'm the good guy, remember?"

Aurora nodded.

Emma got closer to her, "I found your heart—the gods helped me…" She looked to the ceiling, letting them know that she did know to give them credit, "Would you like it back?"

Aurora stared at the heart in Emma's hands. She nodded vigorously, "Yes. Phyllipina will be happy. Is she coming?"

"As soon as I can get her here." Emma nodded as she knelt before the Morpheus Princess and put her heart back where it belonged. She waited a moment, hoping that they hadn't poisoned it again and when Aurora only smiled, she gave one in return and moved away from her.

"Emma… Maleficent isn't bad. She's really good. Please don't hurt her." Aurora pleaded as she watched Emma pick up the half of a heart in a small chest at the center of the room.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Emma gave her a reassuring look. "I need you to stay quiet a few minutes after she comes. I need to talk with her."

"Okay." Aurora nodded. She looked next to Emma, "You're Eva." She said simply.

Eva and Emma looked to each other before looking back to Belle, "I am."

"How did you know that? How can you even see her?" Emma asked.

Eva tilted her head, "All the magical torture they've been putting on her heart… it's given her a third eye."

"That could be useful…" Emma said before turning back to the heart in her hands, muttering something unintelligible.

Maleficent materialized in front of the White Princess, wide, wet eyes and unusually sad, tame hair.

Emma gave a sad half smile before putting on a game face, "Okay, I have a bargain for you…" Maleficent stared at the girl confused, "I put this back in your chest, you get your powers and your princess back. And I'll let you help me with the Dark One and Cora."

It took no time before an evil smirk graced Maleficent's face. Emma, as delicately as possible, shoved the woman's half a heart in with the other half. Before withdrawing her hand, she looked up, "Is it in there right? Do I need to turn it?"

Maleficent bit her lip and closed her eyes in discomfort, "A little clockwise. There." Once Emma's hand was gone, Maleficent's eyes opened up again and black, purple and grey swirls lit her eyes.

"Grandmother Eva, is that the eye thing?" Emma asked, still staring at the witch before her.

"Yes, but yours were the colors of the Pure Ones."

Maleficent's magic over took her and she quickly changed form into a dragon taking up most of the room. Aurora had to duck and hide to avoid her tail and Eva and Emma simply watched her face as she grew. After a few snaps and a long breath of fire, she shrank back to size. Her eyes were made up to look fierce and dark, her hair frizzy and voluminous, and her horned crown was back on her head. She'd also given herself a wardrobe change from her silk robe and pajamas to one of her fiercest dresses. She stretched her neck once human again and smiled a regal, evil smile, "Oh, how good it feels to be whole." She looked to the other blonde, "Where is she?"

Emma glanced behind her and nodded her head to the other princess in the room.

Maleficent turned to find Aurora still keeping safe distance, hiding behind a shelf of hearts. Once their eyes locked, all bets were off, "Briar Rose?"

"Phyl." Aurora breathed out. Her legs bolted into a sprint when she saw Maleficent step a few paces her way. "Phyl!" She wrapped her arms around the other woman's neck tight. "Phyllipina." She whispered again.

"I've missed you, Briar Rose."

Aurora pulled back and gave her a look, telling her all of her feelings on the matter of hearing the nickname come from the woman's lips again.

As Emma watched their lips meet, all she could think of was Regina. "Damn, I want Regina…"

Eva looked to her granddaughter, "You've a mind for only one thing."

"Nuh uh… I also like food." Emma gave the woman a cheeky smile.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"What do you mean 'She's gone?!'" Cora glared at the doctor as she paced back and forth.

"I mean she's not there. Igor said he watched her—!"

"Igor said…?" Cora looked to the man next to the doctor. She flashed forward and took his heart from his chest, and crushed it to dust, "Tell me, what else did he say?"

"Nothing, Madam. He was the one that got to the room first after the axe—!"

"The axe?" Rumple finally interrupted.

"Yes, the one that came through with you. The one stuck in the wall that even you both couldn't pull." Both Rumple and Cora gave him a warning look, which made the scared doctor flinch hard, "Something seemed to possess it. It pulled from the wall on its own and flew down the hallways, chopping through any shut door in its way. It obliterated the prison door. Igor was the first there and he watched the Pure One grab the axe and then she vanished."

Rumple got up from their living room and moved to his study. He looked all over his desk and then to the bookcase. Cora and Frankenstein watching everything, "Darling?" Cora asked from the doorway.

Rumple, now frustrated flipped the desk on its side, and kicked at one of the legs until it broke. He glared around the room, trying to see if anything else was out of place.

Cora tried for his attention again, "Rumple!"

"What?!" He spat her way.

"What is going on?"

"She's been in here."

"What?" Her tone now laced with malice.

"She's BEEN IN HERE! She took the book!"

"The book?" Frankenstein asked.

"Yes, the book! The most up to date, complete history of Pure Ones. How they die, who they were, why they came to be! It was all in there! And now, it's not on my desk."

Cora put her hands on her hips and turned going into the foyer of their quarters. She did a double take as she looked at the top of the chest of drawers. "The photograph." She let the words fall from her lips.

It was in this moment that a pounding sounded on the door. "What?!" Rumple opened it.

"The magic in the dome of top tower… It's stopped working. I've confirmation that we've been breached."

"When?" Rumple glared at the guard that delivered the news.

"Just confirmed now, everyone was on Red Alert. The sirens sounded." He took a breath and looked down, "But… there's more…"

~0~0~0~0~0~

Regina knelt down and brushed the sand back and forth getting deeper until she revealed metal. She wiped her hand in the air and all the sand in the dome was gone.

Chip inhaled, "There's someone down there."

"Yes. Emma. And my mother. And the dark one." Regina deadpanned.

"No…" Chip said as he drew his sword, "Someone just below. Waiting."

Regina pursed her lips, "Super." She looked at everyone, "Ready to go to battle?"

Everyone drew their weapons.

The Genie walked over to her and touched her shoulders, "I don't want you to get tired. Allow me." He pointed to the door, "Everyone? Please, to one side."

Everyone quickly moved to the side that the Genie and Regina were on. And the Genie then used his magic to pull the door open and throw it to a side of the dome.

Beneath the giant door, there was a ladder wrapping around the entire circle. Regina, Charming, Snow, and the advisors, who pushed the princes and knights out of their way, ducked in first, followed by the queens, princes and knights.

They all turned to find that they were on a platform with seven more stairs that circled it like a stage. As they made their way to the stairs, they looked up to see about 20 guards waiting for them. Chip and Arely sheathed their swords as they looked to each other then pushed to the front of the pack and slowly made their way down the stairs.

"Is the thing not today?" Arely asked the guards who gave him a confused look.

"I could have sworn the thing was definitely today…" Chip nodded.

"I'd have placed money on the thing being today." Gustave stepped forward.

"It was definitely today." Artie did as well.

"Yes, why else would we be here if it weren't for the thing?" Alexander stepped forward with Patrick and Dunstan.

"Tell me, were signals crossed? Did you think the thing tomorrow?" Dunstan asked them.

"What… 'thing'?" The guard at the front asked.

"The thing, the thing! You know…" Chip turned from them and faced the other royals and advisors, his eyes flashed yellow, his head jerked back and forth as he wolfed out, and he gave them all a wolf-like grin. "The thing!" He turned back around revealing his face.

The guard threw his axe without hesitating. Any normal person wouldn't have had the reflexes to dodge it, but Chip was no normal person. He was a wolf. And he was wolfed out. "Oh, now…" He chuckled, "Don't be like that." He took his sword and knife from his belt and threw them on the ground. He put his hands up showing he had no more weapons, "Let's make a deal. You guys let me and family and friends pass, and I'll not kill every single one of you." He finished with a serious tone and a cross of his arms.

"Chip don't be foolish!" Belle cried from where she stood.

Arely walked over to him and turned his back to the men, "She's right, man." He said.

Chip looked to him, "Get back with the rest of them." He told everyone the other princes and knights, "Genie?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Might you make a shield around that platform protecting you all from any… flying objects?"

"I can, but I don't think that wise."

"Oh, I do." The main guard said, "If you want to live." He started walking toward the huddle, but Chip was faster.

"Genie! Now, please!" he still managed to be polite as he pretended to struggle against the brute.

"Yes, your majesty!" He quickly threw his hands up, magicking a shield that made its way around the half circle, wall to wall, floor to ceiling.

"Thank you." He smirked before turning back to the guard, "You're going to wish you'd taken me up on my offer…"

~0~0~0~0~0~

"It seems that one of them killed 20 of our men in a mere 4 minutes." The guard looked to Cora and Rumple, "And he's at least 10 more with him. I ordered the men to retreat—"

"You ordered them to retreat?" Rumple stared at the guard before him.

"Only because he—"

Cora looked at the guard confused, "He?"

"Aye, the beast. That's what they've started calling him. He's human and animal."

Rumple nodded once, "Tell me, do you know. Was the Shadow Queen with him?"

"Aye, the Shadow Queen, the White Royals… and more."

"Darling, she trained her wolf competitor." Cora ran the material of her dress through her fingers.

"That's no good for us."

"No good at all." Cora shook her head demurely. She was quick with her movements, yanking the guard's heart from his chest, "Retreating during a threat?" She shook her head before squeezing, the guard falling to the floor.

She looked to Rumple, "Honestly, darling why do we have guards when we have to do all the work?" She pushed the dead guard out of her way before turning back to the two men in the room.

She zeroed in on Frankenstein, "If you cross me, irritate me or do something wrong again, this happens to you." She glared, "Find the White Princess!" She yelled at the doctor, who quickly ran from the quarters of the dark one and apparently the darker one. She then looked to her lover, "We're going to split up and find my daughter." Her tone was nothing if not evil.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Chip had wolfed out completely and as he became human again, he wiped his mouth. He turned to pick up the clothes he'd shed whilst turning full wolf. He'd never been modest a day in his life, but as he felt stares on his body he looked up while pulling his pants on, "What?"

"Nothing!" came a collective response.

Snow turned to Regina, not caring that Patrick and Alexander were beside them, "Don't you wish, just a little bit that you'd seen him before my daughter? I mean good gods…"

Regina's eyes widened a little bit and she slowly turned her head, "I don't think that's the most appropriate thing to say right now…" She tried to be a bigger person, but couldn't, "Maybe just a little bit, yes."

Alexander leaned in to Snow and Regina, "Me too."

Patrick gave an exaggerated cough.

"Oh, like you don't?" He looked to his love.

"You can take the barrier down. I don't hear anymore coming up, they've retreated to form a new plan, no doubt." He looked to the four off to the side of everyone else with a bright blush to his features and gave them his best cheeky smile.

Red though, walked over to them as they started to disburse. "Snow!" She hissed.

Snow turned, "Yes, Red?"

Red looked to Regina who had turned to her as well, "That is my son." She gave her a disgusted look.

Regina chuckled, "You and Belle did very well."

Snow simply nodded along, "Job well done."

"That is… disgusting!"

"Is it? Thinking the second generation of an ex is attractive is disgusting?"

"Yes!"

"What do you think about Emma?"

"She's lovely."

"You don't think she's sexy?" Regina looked to the woman offended.

"No, of course she's sexy—"

"Oh, but that's disgusting." Snow gave the other queen a wicked smile.

Belle and Chip walked over to them, Chip having embarrassingly been forced to give his mother the full story, "Ladies?" She looked to them. "We're in the same building as the White Princess. Should we look for her or just stay here and say, 'Well, we tried… but we got distracted talking about Chip' when the rest of the guards or heavens forbid Cora and the Dark one come in and kill us all?"

Regina shook her head, no you're right, "Let's split up into pairs."

The pairings were, for the most part, predictable: Graham and Hook, Pinocchio and Jefferson, Red and Belle, Arely and Chip, Alexander and Patrick. After that is where it got a little strange: Bae and Artie paired and Dunstan and Gustave paired.

The Genie aligned himself with Charming and Snow making a group. Charming looked at him in question. "I have magic. I know that my queen would rather I make the pairings uneven and do my best to protect you two than do… anything else."

Everyone seemed to understand his reasoning, until they all realized that that left Regina with no one.

"Who are you going with?" Red asked seriously.

"I'll be fine."

"No." Chip said in a no-nonsense tone.

"You will come with Chip and myself."

Regina looked to the two princes and finally gave in. "Alright. I will go with Arely and Chip." She stood at the doorway, "As soon as you get into or hear trouble, come running. We need to do our best to keep each other alive."

"Good pep talk, Regina." Charming came forth and put a hand on her shoulder, "Next time, I'd use the word 'if'. 'If you get into trouble…'"

"But it's a guarantee that something is going to happen…" Regina said seriously.

Charming debated this a moment, "Nevertheless… It's nice for your people to think they've got a chance."

Regina nodded, she turned to everyone, "We've got a chance. That's why I let you all come along. But I still think one or all pairs are going to get into trouble." She turned to Chip and Arely, "Let's go." She made her way out of the top tower.

Charming chuckled despite the situation, "Let's go." He looked to his wife, who was wearing the same grin.

AN: Hope you all enjoyed! I myself am still loving Aurora and Maleficent. And also the broship developing with Snow and Regina…

Please read and review! Thought's and feels?