Emma's eyes grew wider as she looked from the white haired woman standing at one end of the diner to Regina calmly standing in front of their table. "You've got to be kidding me. How many villains can one town possibly have? I mean, seriously?"

"We'll discuss later the fact you've implied, once again, I'm a villain, Ms. Swan," Regina said under her breath to prevent the intruder from hearing her. "But, for now, suffice it to say that Henry is correct."

"Tell me, your Highness," Ursula said as she glided her way toward her target, "how long did you think it would take me to get out of that little trap of yours? I bet you didn't expect me to ever get out, did you?"

In a nonchalant manner, Regina gave a careless shrug. "I really haven't given you much thought since we had our last encounter, but, if you'd like to hear me praise your ingenuity as an escape artist, I'm sure I could come up with a few words."

Behind her at the table, the Charmings, all four of them, rolled their eyes. It was clear to the spectators that they thought Regina was making the situation worse, but no one knew what to do to calm things down. Instead, everyone helplessly watched the interplay between Sea Witch and Evil Queen.

"What I want," the white haired woman said as she finally came to a stop inches from a regally poised Regina Mills, "is your heart on a platter."

"Poetically ironic though that may be," the queen answered in a haughty, no nonsense voice, "I'm afraid you'll have to make do without. I'm afraid I have need of my heart."

"What makes you think," the other woman growled, leaning into Regina's space and noting with some irritation that Regina didn't move an inch from her current stance, "that I won't kill you here and now?"

"With what, dear?" Regina glanced over Ursula's body. "A tentacle?"

Pulling back to stand at her full height, a few inches taller than the brunette before her, Ursula glared down. "Just because my form is different here, does not mean I am incapable of using magic. It's here, in this town, and I will use whatever means available to me to repay you for what you've done to us all. After everything that's happened, you do not deserve to live."

From behind her, Regina could hear Henry gasp, and she mentally cursed the universe for allowing her son to see this interplay. Nothing good could come of it. "Perhaps not, but do you really think killing me will solve any of your issues?"

"It may not," the taller woman glowered, "but it'll make me feel better." Lashing out with one hand, Ursula grabbed the lapel of Regina's blazer to pull her forward while her other hand drew back to reveal a glowing ball of bright, hot light. "I hope you enjoy your suffering as much I have mine," she growled before the hand holding the ball of light surged forward, intent to make contact with Regina's head only to hit nothing but a puff of purple smoke.

"You've had all this time to come up with a plan, and that is the best you can do?" Regina actually laughed, but the sound was bizarrely cold.

Ursula's hand whiffed through the air, and the ball of light flickered across the room, nearly colliding with Belle's head. Gold's hand caught it before impact, and he stood, glowing ball still in his hand. "If you two insist on continuing this decades' old feud, the least you could do is step outside. Some of us are trying to have breakfast." He held his hand up, closed his fist, and the ball vanished.

"And who are you?" The white haired woman's eyes narrowed.

Placing his cane in front of him to rest both hands on it and tipping his head to the side, he answered lightly, "Here I'm know as Mr. Gold. In other lands," he gave a little shrug, "I'm known as Rumpelstiltskin."

"That Dark One?" The Sea Witch turned her head from Gold to Regina. "Of course you'd ally yourself with a creature as foul as he is."

Much to Gold's chagrin, Regina raised an eyebrow in disapproval. "Who said we were allies? And, if we're calling out the foulness of individuals standing in this room, I don't believe you should be throwing rocks while you live in a glass house."

From behind the counter, Granny Lucas shifted uncomfortably, wondering how much damage her small business was about to take while the other patrons looked about for an escape route.

"Whatever the two of you are fighting about now," Gold interrupted the new bout of potential verbal sparring, "I really do suggest you take it elsewhere because I assure you that, if you so much as harm a hair on Belle's head during this little squabble of yours, there will be no peace for either of you." He ignored the disapproving sound that emanated from the table behind him.

Ursula rigidly stood in the center of the diner. She looked around to the faces of the people watching the scene, and then back to Regina, who had, once again, taken up a position in front of the table where Henry and Emma sat. Narrowing her eyes, the taller woman took inventory of who was seated at the table behind the former queen. "Snow White?" Her voice was both confused and curious.

Mary Margaret cleared her throat and slid from the booth to stand next to Regina. "Yes."

"What are you doing here?" Ursula nodded toward Regina. "With her?"

Glancing from the older woman next to her to the table behind her and then around the room, Mary Margaret set her jaw and squared her shoulders. "I was having breakfast with her until you interrupted us. Maybe, if you explained the situation to us, we could all come to some kind of agreement where no one has to get hurt?"

"This makes no sense." The other woman's voice was becoming even more agitated. "Are you being coerced? Has she threatened you?" Ursula's gaze swung back to Regina. "Do you have her under some kind of spell? Do you have Snow White's heart?"

"Well," Regina cocked an eyebrow and made a little face, "I did have her heart, but I returned it yesterday." She shrugged. "Come to find out, the thrill of the chase was much more exciting than the execution of the threat."

"Regina," Mary Margaret's voice was low but full of warning, "you're not helping."

"I'm not trying to, dear," Regina answered in a chilly tone. Turning back toward the middle of the room and the woman standing there, she said a bit louder, "What do you want, Ursula?"

"My daughter back, but, since I can't have her because of what you've done," the white haired woman answered with venom in her voice, "I think I'll simply return the favor." With one hand, she pointed to Henry and, with the other, she made a flamboyant gesture, and, in a flash of light and puff of deep blue smoke both the sea witch and the young boy were gone.

The strangled cry of his name from both mothers and his grandparents filled the room, and the town seemingly shook with the aftershock of the abduction.

"Where did she take him? Regina," Emma was up and standing in front of the brunette in an instant. "You will tell me everything. What the hell is happening here, and where is Henry?"

Swallowing down the lump of fear and anger in her throat, Regina tried to answer around the dryness in her mouth. "The sea." She took in a deep, ragged breath. "She's taken him to the sea, and, if I have a guess, I'd say we have roughly 48 hours to retrieve him before that becomes his permanent home."


Yup, it's a series. I realized the themes are about to change, and I feel better with changing to a new story than trying to shift themes in the same story. So, look for a new story in the series up from me soon.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for all of your comments. I'm very appreciative of this fandom. It's been really warm and welcoming to someone like me who is just poking around in it. You all have been great. Thank you for that!