A/N: this chapter isn't as long, but I will make up for it in the next one :)

thanks for all the wonderful reviews. This is my first big story ever, and it's starting to take on a life of it's own.

"It's a little more imposing than the pawn shop." Emma states as she glances at the castle in the distance. "So what do we do, go up, knock on the door, and introduce ourselves. 'Hey we're from the future and wonder if you can help us'."

"We need to approach him cautiously. He may not be happy to see me. We have a complicated past."

"Hello dearies." A male voice sounded behind both women.

As both women turn, Emma stares, opened mouth at the man in front of her. Grayish, scaly skin, nasty looking teeth, unkempt hair, odd looking eyes, in very flamboyant clothes, which include tight leather pants.

'What is up with the tight leather pants in this place.' Emma thinks as she continues to eyeball the man in front of her.

"Better close that mouth dearie, you'll catch less flies that way." Rumplestiltskin stares at Emma, then sees the other woman turn, and immediately using magic, grabs Regina by the throat.

Regina reaches up with both hands at her throat, gasping out, "Emma."

Emma goes for Rumple, "STOP!" but gets thrown to the ground by an invisible force.

"I don't know who you two are, or why she looks like the Queen but why don't you," Rumple glances at Emma, "run off while I have a chat with HER." He points at the struggling brunette.

Emma gets up, slowly approached Rumpelstiltskin, "She won't hurt you. You have to listen to me."

"And why would I have to do that."

"Because if you don't let her go, you will never see your son again."

After a few seconds, as he mulls that over, he lets go of Regina. She crumples to the ground, gasping and rubbing her throat. Emma goes toward the fallen woman, and helps her stand. "You okay?"

"Yes...I am fine...thank you."

Rumple points at Emma, "What do you know of my son."

"His name is Baelfire. You're planning on enacting a curse in hopes of reuniting with him."

Rumple is taken aback. "Who told you that. What are you, some kind of wizard?" He eyes Regina, as he still has not idea who she is.

"No I'm not a wizard. I'm the one that breaks the curse that she," Emma points at Regina, "casts so you can come to the land with out magic to find your son." Emma hesitates, then concedes, "I am the product of True Love."

Rumple stares at Regina, then back to the blonde. "But that's speculation. Part of my plan. But I haven't done it yet."

Regina finally speaks up, as she flashes a knowing look at her former mentor, "You will, or rather I will cast that curse, and she," pointing at Emma, giving her a quick smile, "will break it, and you will succeed."

"If that's true then that means..."

"We are from the future." Emma confirms.

"But time travel hasn't been done."

Emma gives a slight laugh. "Yeah, well some one has cracked that code. We need your help."

Giggling manically, "Help?" Waving his hands, Rumple peers at Emma. "You need my help, then answer me one question. Do I find my son?"

Emma's face shows a bit of sadness, not able to meet the man's eyes.

"Answer me!" Rumple demands.

"Hey! Don't speak like that to the mother of YOUR grandson." Regina barks back. "And to answer you, yes, you do find your son."

"Grandson? Bae and...her?" Rumple points at Emma, appalled. "They are...together?"

"No..no..we are not...it's complicated." Emma finally interjects, "But yes, we have a son together. That's why we need your help. I want to get back to our son."

Rumplestilskin contemplates. "I find Bae. How...eh... wait.. don't tell me.. If I succeed I don't want anything in my head that might throw it off."

With a sheepish look, Emma runs her hand through her blonde locks. "Yea, about that. It may already been thrown off."

"You've changed it. What have you done."

Emma glances at Regina, then back to Rumple. "We interrupted my parents meeting."

Sighing, he motions them to follow him. As the two women trail behind, Rumplestilskin waves his hand and all three disappear in a puff of blueish black smoke.

==========SQ===============SQ===============SQ============

The trio enter a large great room in Rumple's castle. Emma looks around impressed. There is a long table in the middle. A spinning wheel in one corner. There are various items on display, either on shelves, or inside glass cases.

"Now I understand the pawn shop." Emma murmurs.

"What's that dearie?"

"Never mind, you will understand in the future."

Regina, having been in this room many times is unimpressed. "Thank you for believing us."

"Never said I believed you...yet. If you really are the Queen, then show me. Do some magic I would recognize."

Regina appears apprehensive, "I can't. My magic is weak here for some reason." She then tries to conjure a fireball, and the same result as last time, where a small, fizzling flame ignites on her finger tip then quickly disappears."

"Hmm...not very impressive."

Regina's ire gets up. "LOOK you pompous little imp! Just help us! You spent enough time manipulating me into doing your damn bidding just to cast that curse. As Emma said, if you want to see your son, you will help us." By this time Regina has moved close to the Dark One and points her finger at his nose, her eyes smoldering.

"Weeeelll...look who has their feathers all ruffled up. I think I may see just a little bit of that Evil Queen after all." Rumple claps his hands together.

"Hey! She isn't evil anymore, so just drop the 'E' word." Emma is beside the brunette, practically rubbing elbows.

Rumple eyes both women. "Hmmmm...why is it, that the one who supposedly breaks my curse is defending the one that cast the curse, I wonder." He gives them both an alluring glare.

"We are friends. We share a...we have something in common. That's all you need to know...for now." Emma gives Regina a subtle smile. "Look I know time travel is hard to swallow."

"Not as hard as the other mystery you presented me." Rumple sits at the end of the table, like he is on some throne.

Just then a young woman enters, in a simple blue and white dress. "Oh, Rumplestilskin, you're back." She approaches, glancing at the strangers.

Emma turns, recognizing the woman. "Belle!"

"Do...do we know each other?"

"Oh..sorry, no.. uhm..Mr. Go..Rumple...The Dark One told us about you."

Belle looks at Rumples, smiling. "Oh did he."

Rumple looks aghast. "No!" Glares at Emma, then back at Belle, waving his hand. "Go away...and read a book...or whatever it is you like to do. Come back later to clean."

Belle smiles at Emma and Regina, then smirks at Rumple. "You could ask nicely."

"I could also turn you into a toad."

"Enough!" Regina barks, "Why don't you be nice to the girl, it may benefit you later on."

Belle grins in appreciation, then exits the room.

"It's a miracle you two fell for each other." Emma whispers.

Once again, Rumple is appalled, "Who..What? Your telling me I fall for the hired help?"

"Miss Swan has a strange sense of humor." Regina snarks, "But let's get back to her parents, please."

"Yea..yea...who are they?"

"Snow White and Prince Charming." Emma supplied, "His real name is Prince James."

"King George's son? The one whose marriage I just arranged?"

Emma moves around as she fidgets. "That's what I am trying to tell you. That marriage wasn't suppose to happen because the ring he has was suppose to give to his fiancee gets stolen by Snow."

Steepling his hands, Rumple gazes at the two women. "That's quite a tale you're spinning."

"Here." Emma glances at Regina, who pulls the book out of the pack, handing it to Emma. The blonde puts it on the table in front of the imp. "Let me show you. It's in the book."

As she flips the pages, she gapes, then peers at Regina. Most of the pages are blank. "Wa..What?"

"It's gone." Regina stands next to Emma, as she now flips the pages. "Anything that was suppose to happen after your parent's met has disappeared." She looks up with dread.

Rumple waves his hand over the book. "The ripple effect. Once you change something in the past, anything from that point on forward becomes uncertain. As you see, the future is a blank page."

Both women look at each other, murmuring, "Henry."

"Who's Henry?" Rumple peers at Regina, "Your father?"

With out thinking, Regina responds never breaking eye contact with those green eyes. "No, our son."

"Excuse me?" Rumple stands up quickly as he sees an invisible exchange between the two women, "Ours..as in whose? You..and her...wait..I thought she was.."

Emma finally breaks the eye contact, declaring, "I told you, it's complicated...believe me, you will understand in the future." Emma closes the book, putting it back in the bag. "Right now we need to find a way to get Snow to steal that ring so we can put their story back on track."

"You are in luck. There's a ball tomorrow night at King Midas castle. Prince James will be there and so will the ring."

"So we just need to get my mother there."

"How?" Regina queries. "We don't even know where she is?"

Rumple clears his throat. "Allow me." He walks over toward a table. The two mothers right behind him. On the table is a small crystal ball. He waves his hand over the object. An image appears, showing Snow talking to a bearded man.

Emma smiles, "There she is."

"That's Blackbeard."

Emma gazes at Regina, "The pirate? You know him?"

"I have used his services in the past. He is untrustworthy, easily taking money then will double cross you." Regina peers at the image. "Looks like Snow is trying to secure passage on his ship."

"And it appears she is failing miserably." The Dark One giggles.

"She can't escape the Queen with out the money she will get for the bag of jewelry and the ring." With doe-like eyes, Emma cast them on Rumplestilskin. "Can you help us?"

"Help you? I can with getting your portal to the future open again."

Emma gives the Dark One an expectant look.

"But getting your parents together, you made that mess dearie. You know what you did, now go undo it." Rumple waves his hands, shooing them away.

Regina turns to Emma, "If she is looking for passage out of the kingdom, I may know someone who," Regina cringes at the thought of the person, "has a ship she may try seek."

"Who?"

"I'd rather not say yet till we see if she makes contact with him. We need to get to that port town soon as possible."

Rumple glares at both women. "Well have fun, the door is that way."

"Wait, you can't just poof us there?"

"Hmmm...no. I suggest you get walking now. It's a long walk, and the sun is setting."

Regina is trying to remain civil with the damn imp, she points to her and Emma, "What about us? We can't go out looking like us, especially me. You know what to do Rumple, so just do it."

"You are right. That I can help with." Rumple goes over to the women, goes behind them, using his hand, he starts at the top of Emma's head and moves his hand down. He duplicates the same movement with Regina. He stands back admiring his work. "Hmm..not bad." He giggles, clapping his hands. "That should work."

Emma glances at herself and then Regina, arching an eyebrow. "We look the same."

"We look the same to each other, but to anyone else we will look different, it's a glamour spell."

"Right you are, your Majesty."

Snapping his fingers, Rumple summons a full length mirror. Turning around, the women gape at the image reflecting back. Emma now looks like a woman with long dark brown hair, brown eyes, a common face with little make up, ears a bit big, and a slightly crooked nose. But it's Regina's reflection that has both women wide eyed.

"What the hell Rumple?" Regina growls, as she glares. What she sees is a man, with short, nearly black hair, with hints of a beard and mustache, and piercing blue eyes. "Is this some kind of damn joke?"

"A man and a woman traveling together is less likely to draw attention, which you want to avoid as much as possible."

Still staring at Regina's reflection, Emma smirks. "Make sense Regina, besides you are kind of handsome." Her green eyes twinkle as she gazes at the blue ones, then turns her head to admire the chocolate ones she rather look at instead. 'But not as gorgeous as you are in my eyes'.

"Miss Swan, I will remember that once we get home and I have my magic back." Regina curls her lip up, arching an eyebrow.

"Whatever Regina." Laughs the blonde, as she gathers up the bag.

"One more thing Rumple, and I don't want to hear any back talk, but we need a little bit of gold. We need to get food, also some supplies before we get to Midas castle."

"Yes...yes.." The imp grabs a couple strands of spun gold, handing it to Regina. "Now best be on your way, time is at the essence." And with that, he gives them a final dismissal.

The women gather cloaks, and the bag, and head out of the room, and then leave the castle behind them.