"Get me to the mirror," Regina dictated orders in a pained yet still oddly imperial voice as the Charmings helped her down the stairs beneath her father's tomb. She groaned as the pain in her chest continued to escalate. Mentally, she tried to assure Emma that help was coming. "There's more than one spell I'll have to enact," she told them while they all came to a stop in front of the large mirror hanging on the wall beside the carved shelves containing various items from their world.

"While I gather items from here," she continued to instruct while she leaned heavily against the wall beside the mirror, "go get the items belonging to Henry and Ms. Swan from the car and bring them to me." Her gaze held Mary Margaret's, and it left no doubt that she expected David to go to the car. He hesitated for a second before leaving, unsure if it was a good idea to the leave the two women alone in the room together.

"Ms. Blanchard," the former mayor's voice sounded tight. "For this to work, I require both dark and light magic. You intrinsically have light magic, though you can't tap into it." She paused to take in a sudden breath as a particularly sharp pain stabbed at her chest. She ignored the other woman's attempt to help her and continued on with a wave of her hand. "I, however, can tap into your power if you'll allow me. The spell to bring them back requires a mixture of both, and, before you start to worry over me defiling your soul in some way, the spell itself is not considered dark magic."

Mary Margaret frowned. "What is it, then?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Neutral. In fact, most magic is neutral. What defines it as good or evil is the intent and use of the person wielding it." She pushed from the wall and began gathering items from various cubby holes about the room. "The will power of the individual determines both the final outcome and price paid to use the magic in question." She swayed for a moment, sweat breaking out along her hairline. "However, most people cannot maintain the will power required to not give in to the temptation magic offers."

"Such as?" Mary Margaret stepped forward and took several items from Regina's hands to help her in the gathering process.

The older woman gave a little scoff of irritation, but she answered the question. "Such as power, in all its many forms from political power to personal power," she paused, her back to the other woman and one hand held mid-air toward a box she was retrieving. "Sexual power." Her voice was a bit quieter at the last admission. Taking a deep breath, she began to move and speak again. "Power is a very addicting thing, and, once you've had the experience of what it feels like to have that kind of power, it's very difficult to prevent yourself from being enslaved by the very power you seek."

"It's addicting." The younger woman's voice was matter-of-fact. It wasn't a question, nor was it an observation. It was a statement and a testament to her ability to read between the lines. "It's a drug."

Regina turned around, hands full of small vials piled in a bowl. Her body was rigid, face beginning to pale, and her eyes were bright with the pain she was experiencing. Despite it all, her voice remained calm. "Yes."

They made their way back to the mirror with their burdens, and, once everything was set on the ground before it, Mary Margaret helped Regina be seated beneath the mirror. The pixie haired brunette stared down at her adversary, eyes showing the mixture of emotions at play inside of her. She still didn't fully trust Regina, and she doubted she ever would again. She was concerned both for her family trapped in another world and time and for the woman on the floor, who was trying to control her breathing as the pain wracked her body, and she was curious, too.

This was as much honest, non-aggressive discussion as she'd had with Regina in more years than she cared to recall, and she found herself wanting to take full advantage of the unspoken truce they were under. "Why use something that you know is so addicting?"

"I didn't want to at first," Regina's head rolled back to rest against the stone wall behind her. "It felt too good to use it. I knew right from the start that it could easily be my undoing. But," she opened her eyes, and the hate she felt was evident even through her pain and worry, "you were a bigger issue than my potential addiction."

"You're not blaming me for your addiction, are you?" Mary Margaret's voice went up a touch in defense. "I can't be blamed for what you've become. You made your choices, Regina."

The older woman closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. There was no emotion in her voice when she finally responded. "So I did, and it may still be my undoing."

Mary Margaret's frown deepened. "What does that?"

Regina opened her eyes slowly, allowing her gaze to gradually focus on the items on the floor before her. "It doesn't matter now. Will you help me prepare these spells?"

The younger woman nodded and knelt down on the other side of the items. "Why two?"

"My mother has now become aware of Ms. Swan's existence and knows she cannot take her heart. If she is allowed to remember this fact, it may disrupt future events. One spell I'll have to attempt to send though this connection I have with Ms. Swan will be to erase my mother's memory of both Henry and the sheriff." Regina tried not to wince at what she was proposing. It was going to require a lot of magical work, and she wasn't entirely certain she could do it.

Mary Margaret stopped handing over items and stared at the other woman. "You know about what happened between Emma and Cora back in the Enchanted Forest, don't you? How do you know that? Who told you?"

Regina rolled her eyes and gave a small sigh. "Emma told me a few nights ago. Now, please Ms. Blanchard, we must finish the preparations. Your husband should be back soon with the items, and we need to be ready when he arrives. The sooner I can enact these spells, the better."


"Mom?!" Henry screamed, terrified that his mother was already dead.

Emma's jaw flexed with the effort it took to open her eyes, turn her head, and focus on her son. "She knows, Henry."

The young boy blinked while he tried to decipher who his mother was referring to. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he slowly, sagely nodded.

Cora's face showed a little strain while her hand continued to squeeze the heart in Emma's chest. "Who knows, and what do they know, exactly?" The irritation in her voice only barely covered by the frustration she was feeling at not being able to either remove Emma's heart nor crush it. However, she could inflict pain, and she intended to do so until the blonde gave her the answers she wanted.

Emma ignored her and instead focused on her son. "She can feel it, and she knows."

Henry blinked. "How?"

There comes a time in a person's life when they must face a truth about themselves they thought they would never have to do. It may be something ugly, or sad, or even something pleasant they simply have difficulty accepting about themselves. In the moment, as Emma felt her heart struggling to beat around Cora's iron grip and she was certain that death would soon approach, her moment came in a lighting strike of realization.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped into a perfect 'O' of stunned surprise. Quickly pulling her thoughts in, she struggled to find her voice around both her shock and her pain as she answered her son with the only phrase she could think of that she knew he would understand and Cora would not. "Because, Henry, she will always find me."

Henry's eyes grew large, reflecting his mother's shock and surprise. "Really? Are you sure?" They were multilayered questions.

"Yeah," she answered, wincing again when Cora's grip managed another round of pain. "I'm sure."

"Whoever this person is," the older woman snarled, "she'll find you too late."


Regina let out a strangled yelp and leaned back against the wall until the wave of pain passed. "This will all have to be done almost simultaneously." Her breathing was labored, and she'd lost all the color in her face. Wiping at the sweat on her brow, she handed a newly created bundle of ingredients to David. "As soon as I've pushed the other spell through, open this and sprinkle it over the items you've brought in and drop everything into my lap." She looked to Mary Margaret. "Once the items are in my lap, you must make certain we are holding hands and you are touching the frame of the mirror." She turned back to David. "If everything works as planned, you'll have just enough time to reach through the mirror and pull Emma and Henry back through to our side. The portal will not last long, so you must act quickly. When they are safely back, remove those blasted pins before Ms. Swan has the chance to disrupt time and space and send them back again."

David nodded. "I just… reach in?"

"Yes, the spell will know whom you're retrieving, but it takes someone on this side as a grounding agent for it to know where to send the targets, which is why you must reach into the portal to retrieve them." Regina groaned. The pain was constant now. Turning again to Mary Margaret, she gave her final instructions. "Once I begin the second spell, you will feel a drain. Try to remain relaxed and open. If you panic or attempt to block me, the spell won't work, and I don't think I'll be able to attempt it a second time." She held the other woman's gaze. "You'll simply have to trust me."

Mary Margaret shifted uncomfortably where she stood a few feet away. "You sure this will work?"

"No," Regina answered honestly, "but it's the best I can do."

"It'll work," David cut in, voice sounding completely confident, though tense.

Regina raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him in question. "What makes you so certain?"

"Because you've already found her." He glanced between the women. "And, once you find someone you care about, you…"

"I care about Henry," Regina cut in, disgust in her voice.

"But you're not connected to Henry," he countered and then ducked his head at his wife's look of abject horror.

"David, no," his wife slowly shook her head back and forth. "She's Emma's step grandmother."

"The connection is from the wraith attack," Regina said before he could answer. "Our magic entwined when she touched me just before the hat began to work. It must have formed a connection somehow. This is not the first time I've had an idea of Ms. Swan's emotional state. This is simply the first time I've had such a strong connection."

Mary Margaret's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't Emma?"

"Ms. Swan probably thought she had a strong sense of intuition," Regina chuckled despite her discomfort level. "And why would I give away something that put me at an advantage with you?"

"There's a reason why the connection is stronger," David said, his voice rising in volume a bit. "And she," he pointed at the woman in the floor, "is no more Emma's grandmother than Cora is yours," he pointed at his wife.

"But, David, it's not the same. Of course Cora isn't my," Mary Margaret stopped herself. One line of logic would lead to another, and she was dumbstruck at how to argue her point or against his.

He looked back down to Regina and noted her weakening state. "We're running out of time. You need to admit what's going on and use it. Despite what you might think, Regina, love is power, and, right now, you need all the power you can get."

Wiping at her face, Regina rolled her eyes upwards while she thought on how things stood. She could feel that Emma had come to the same conclusion moments before, and she hated she might have to agree with Prince Charming. However, Emma was only going to be able to occupy Cora's attention for so long before she turned to hurting Henry, and neither she nor Emma was pleased at the prospect.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Regina pushed up to sit a bit straighter against the wall. She cleared her throat and answered in a scratchy, strained voice, "I've never been very good at loving someone."

David nodded his approval. "Now's the time to learn."

Returning the nod, Regina looked to Mary Margaret. "Are you ready? Do you think you can handle this?"

Mary Margret shook her head in the negative. "No." It was clear the reply covered several issues all at once. "But what choice do I have?"

Regina gave her an oddly sympathetic look. "Let's begin."


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