Emma pulled herself up the last vine, her arms and legs were aching, her head pounding. Still, adrenaline shot though her as she clambered over a wall that surrounded the beanstalk, uncertainty of what they would find keeping her alert. She heard Regina climbing up after her, and offered her a hand, which she scorned with a glare. Emma rolled her eyes.

The wall they had climbed onto was in the middle of a gigantic courtyard, it surrounded the end of the beanstalk like a well. The building that appeared in front of them was the biggest Emma had ever seen, in this land or her own. It wasn't so much its size, Emma guessed that it was about as tall and wide as a skyscraper, but everything else would have been breathtaking, if it wasn't so frightening. Each stair that led up to the doorway was as tall as a horse, flanking the entrance were two statues of human looking creatures, only they were nearly as tall as the skyscraper sized building.

Emma jumped off the wall, bending her knees carefully on impact, and Regina did the same. Having turned to look at her Emma noticed her dark eyes grow wide, and her lips fall open. She didn't have time to register her own reaction to that, before Regina spoke,

"Emma," She said, "Look,"

She turned, and her breath caught in her throat, from the wall they hadn't been able to see what it was that was littering the courtyard. Skeletons, definitively human sized ones, hundreds of them, strewn on the cobblestones (cobblestones the size of small streets), many still had armor on, their swords still gripped in their skeletal hands.

"There must have been a battle here," Regina whispered,

Emma shook her head, "It doesn't matter, we have to get in there and get the compass,"

Regina nodded, letting out a small breath, "Any ideas? If I had magic–"

"But you don't" Emma interrupted brusquely, "I do" She added with a small grin, pulling out a satchel Mulan had given her earlier. Regina cocked an eyebrow.

"What's that?" She asked, eyes narrowing,

"Sleeping powder, should knock the giant out long enough for us to get the compass and get out of here,"

"How do you propose we get him to inhale it?" Regina crossed her arms over her chest.

"You climb up there," Emma pointed to one of the statues on either side of the doorway, "I make noise so he comes out, then you get his attention and throw it at him," Emma gave her a satisfied smile, her plan was daring, but it would work.

Emma could see Regina's wheels turning, trying to find a flaw in her plan,

"We could just wait for him to go to sleep.." She murmured after a moment,

"And you know how often giants sleep, I guess?" Emma asked, the sarcasm in her tone sharp, maybe Regina was rubbing off on her.

"Fine," she answered sharply, "but you go up the statue, I get his attention"

Emma inclined her head in question, and Regina shook her head, "I'm not climbing up there," she said in answer.

Emma did quick work of the statue,clambering up its side with ease. Regina had grabbed one of the discarded swords and shield and had begun to bang them loudly against each other.

"Hey!" She yelled out, "Giant!"

Within seconds, they heard the deafening footsteps echoing in the hall behind the door, a man of incredible proportions walked through it. He was taller than the statue Emma had climbed, she stared, her heart beating just a little too fast. The giant looked around for the source of the noise,

"Down here, Oaf!" Regina yelled, and Emma wondered if it was really necessary to insult him.

It worked however, as the giant turned to her, his hands going out to grab her, she dived to one side, while Emma jumped into action.

"I'm over here!" She yelled, holding on to the statue's neck precariously, the satchel gripped in the other hand.

"Damned humans," the giant bellowed, he turned to look at Emma, and she threw the satchel at him with all her might. It hit him square in the nose, releasing a dust of red powder. The giant swayed and fell over, asleep. Emma clambered down,

"Come on!" she called, running past the giant creature, she passed his hand, it was the size of her car.

Inside, the hall was enormous, and filled to the brim with gold. Every nook and cranny held treasures beyond estimation. Emma guessed, since she had no idea what most of the stuff was. Just that it was gold. The tiny part of her that was still a thief wanted to grab as much as she could carry and run, but she shoved that part back into the recesses of her mind, where it belonged.

"Wow," Regina said, she stared upwards, the vault was invisible from their height, but every wall was filled with treasure, as far as the eye could see.

They walked further in, and Emma stopped when she met yet another skeleton, it was holding on to a short sword, on it, the name 'Jack' was emblazoned in black lettering.

"Jack" she whispered, looking down at the dead man.

"Jack the giant killer," Regina supplied, "She was a fearsome warrior, and your father's twin's lover" She walked onwards,

"My father's twin's…" Emma said, trying to figure it out, "Wait, she?"

"Yes, she." Regina said, "Or did you think warriors could only be men?"

Emma heard the soft teasing in her voice and decided to ignore it,

"How'd she kill so many giants with that toothpick?" she asked, still looking at the sword,

"How would I know?" Regina said, ahead of her, looking through a mound of gold coins and assorted jewelry, "I would have burned them to the ground," She added with ease.

Emma ignored that too, though it sent a shiver down her spine, of fear, she decided quickly.

They walked onwards, and Emma began to feel despair settling in,

"Did he kill all the giant housekeepers too? How are we gonna find a compass in this mess?" She asked, her voice on edge. Regina hummed,

"We won't if we don't start looking,"

Their footsteps echoed loudly in the gigantic hall, as they ventured in deeper and deeper.

They stopped at a small table, covered in objects of every size and shape, they were definitely human made. Emma began to sort through the objects, a gold violin, golden binoculars, a silver sword, a ring that weighed at least a pound…she sighed and looked over to Regina, who was sorting through the objects on the other end of the table. Regina threw something down and it clattered onto the marble floor, she growled in frustration.

"We'll never find it!" She said, "I need magic! Damn your stupid mother,"

Emma was about to retort sharply, then she noticed something glinting on another table, a few paces away,

"Over there," She said, and Regina followed her.

As she walked, Emma turned, about to say something about calling her mother stupid when Regina sprang forward, her arms encircling Emma and pulling her towards her body.

Suddenly, Emma couldn't breathe, her body flush with Reginas', her face buried in her dark hair, all she could smell was her scent, the sweet smell of apples and a hint of cinnamon, and a hint of something else, that was all Regina. It sent an electric shock up her spine and into her brain. It was only a second, before Regina pulled her back, her arms still around her, but not quite as close. Emma tried to remember how to breathe. She looked down into dark eyes,

"What…" she managed, almost casually, she hoped. Her eyes glancing downwards to Regina's full lips may not have been as casual, but she probably hadn't noticed. Regina smirked. She had noticed, damn.

"Relax, Miss. Swan," She spun her around and pointed downward, "Tripwire," She said, and then Emma noticed it, a light coloured string pulled taut a step away from her feet. She looked upwards, a cage dangled above the two of them, and she huffed,

"Thanks," she said, Regina had walked away.

Emma jogged to keep up with her, but they both stopped dead when they heard it, the sound of the giant rising and walking towards them. They stared at each other, eyes wide.

"Humans!" The giant bellowed, "I don't like humans"

"What now?" Regina asked, a slight panic in her voice,

"Run," Emma said, taking her own advice. Regina following closely behind.

The giant was too fast, one of his steps equal to twenty of theirs, and soon he had caught up to them. They were at the end of the long hall now, behind them a rock wall, in front, the giant.

"What do you want?" he growled at them,

"We're looking for–" Emma started,

"I don't care!" The giant screamed "all you humans do is kill and maim and destroy"

Emma was about to protest when she stopped, her breath catching as the giant raised a fist and slammed it against the wall behind them. She gasped as rubble dislodged itself from the wall and fell towards them, Regina ducked, and Emma jumped sideways, landing on her back, but rubble free. She got up,

"Regina?" She called, there was no answer, her heart jumped,

"Regina?" She called again, running towards where the rubble had fallen.

"I'm alright," Regina's voice came from under the rubble, Emma started to pull away at the stones. The giant had walked away, probably believing them to be dead.

"I'll get you out," She growled, her hands already red and raw from pulling at the rough surfaces.

"Stop, Emma. This is useless! go get the compass, I'll get myself out," Regina said,

"You sure?"

"Yes, go!"

Emma walked away reluctantly, but her mind began to whirr, a plan forming. She began to jog, and soon she found what she was looking for. Jack's skeleton. She pried the sword out of the dead woman's hands, and ran back. She stood in front of the tripwire and began to yell.

"Hey giant! I'm not dead, you know?" She screamed as loud as her lungs could manage, her throat burning. He lumbered towards her,

"Just leave" he growled, annoyed,

"Yeah, sorry, can't do that, come and get me" She yelled, jumping up and down to make herself more visible,

The giant lunged towards her, his hands grabbing, but Emma was faster, she cut the tripwire, and the giant cage fell on top of him, effectively trapping him to the ground. He screamed in pain and frustration.

She pointed the sword at his eye, it was as large as her car tire. He flinched.

"Kill me then, at least I'll be out of my misery" he murmured, his eye closing.

"Kill you?" Emma asked, then held up her sword, "With this?"

Then it dawned on her, "It's poisoned isn't it?"

"As if you didn't know," he said, "All you humans are the same, evil and bloodthirsty, you killed my family"

Emma took a step back, "I'm not going not kill you" She said, "I just need something from you, to get back home, to my son"

The giant opened his eye again, it was a startling green, "What?"

"A compass, a golden compass" Hook had explained what it looked like, and Emma was certain she wouldn't mistake it.

"You're not going to kill me?" he asked,

"Not if you give me the compass," Emma said, evenly. She wouldn't kill him either way, but it was best he didn't know that.

"You're going to kill me either way," He murmured, then he reached back, his arm contorting under the cage, and then handed her something. Emma took it. It was the compass, gold and black, just as Hook had said, and with no cardinal points on it. Just a white face and a red arrow.

"Thanks," Then she noticed something, hanging from his neck, a tiny black bean, tied to a medallion,

"Is that a magic bean?" She asked, "Can it open a portal?"

"Not anymore," The giant said, "I wear it as a reminder, a reminder that you're all killers,"

Emma grabbed the sword and jabbed it further in the cage, making him flinch again,

"We're not," She said, anger dripping in her words, then she turned and ran.

The giant rose, his cage splintering in a thousand directions, Emma ducked and covered her head as pieces of wood and metal flew over her. She stood, her sword raised, ready to take her last stand. But the giant knelt and pulled at the far wall, a slab of stone came off, revealing a passageway.

"You can go this way," He told her, "It'll take you down to your world,"

Emma stared at him, "Why are you doing this?"

"You could have killed me, but you spared me. I owe you,"

Emma started towards the doorway, then she stopped, conflicted.

"Actually," She said, turning to the giant, "I could have killed you twice, when you were sleeping, so you still owe me"

He glared at her, " What do you want?"

Emma looked up at him, her mind a whirlwind. She wasn't certain if her plan was a good one. She wasn't certain she was doing the right thing. Regina, Regina, Regina. Her mind spun. Could she trust her? The answer was objectively, no. No matter how much Emma admired those dark eyes, her grim determination, the way her lips curled…Emma swallowed to clear her head. Regina could not be trusted, she wanted her magic back, and the only person who could give it to her was her mother, Emma would bet her car that Regina would do anything to get her magic back. Not only that, but Regina's dreams would come true if Emma and Snow died in the enchanted forest, or if they were left behind, by 'accident', of course. Her fingers stroked the tiny stuffed toy in her pocket as she thought back to everything that had happened between them, her heart broke in half for what she was about to do. But it had to be done, for Henry. For Henry. She repeated to herself, as she laid out her plan to the giant.

Having told the giant what to do, Emma set out to get Regina, who had almost managed to free herself from the rubble. She helped her stand and watched as she wiped her blue dress off.

"You alright?" She asked, and her breath caught for a moment as dark eyes were turned on her,

"Fine," Regina said, sharply, "did you get it?"

Emma nodded and pulled the compass out, Regina reached for it, but she pulled back.

"Miss. Swan, I just want to make sure it's the right one,"

"It is," Emma said, then brought the compass back between them, face up. Regina took her hand, instead of the compass, and Emma felt a shiver where their fingers touched, but she ignored it. With her other hand she grabbed Regina's wrist, and clamped the shackles shut on it. The giant had told her they were there. Regina gasped and pulled away, staring at where she was now tied to the ground.

"What are you doing?" She asked,

Emma walked backwards, "I'm sorry Regina, I just don't trust you. I can't"

Regina's eyes were wide, anger and fear swam in them, she stared at Emma.

"You're going to leave me here?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Her voice rose sharply, her fiery anger spilling out, and Emma saw a glimpse of the Evil Queen. "You're going to let me die here? What will Henry think?"

"I'm not going to let you die, the giant will free you in ten hours"

"Oh, so you're just going to leave me in the enchanted forest then?" Her voice was mocking, but Emma could hear the undercurrent of fear in it. She said nothing, that was the plan. She turned to leave.

"Henry won't like that either, I'm his mother too, you know?"

Emma turned back, "Were you planning on taking us back to Storybrooke, Regina?" She asked,

Regina spluttered, "Of course," She managed, and Emma saw right through her. She nodded.

"That's what I thought"

"Emma!" Regina said, as she walked away. Emma felt an irrational anger rise within her at her first name, she was using it, using it to get to her. The manipulative witch. She took three long strides back to Regina, and she pulled the stuffed rabbit toy out of her pocket and held it up to her.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked,

Regina faltered, staring at the old rag toy, " A stuffed rabbit?" She chanced,

"I found it in my nursery" Emma said, "It was supposed to be mine,"

Regina's eyes widened in understanding, she looked back at the toy,

"Emma," she tried again, but Emma stopped her with a raised hand,

"No, Regina." She said, "I was supposed to grow up here, with a family, with my parents, with this" she shook the rabbit and it's ears flopped, "Instead I grew up alone, and you know why?"

Regina was quiet, she looked away from Emma's steely gaze,

"Because of me," She whispered finally,

Emma nodded, her eyes narrowing, "Yeah, because of you," she said, "And you know what? I only survived because my parents put me through that wardrobe, had it been for you, I'd be dead now." She spoke softly, her face now mere inches from Regina's. She tried to put all her anger into her voice, hoping to hurt her. "You wanted to slaughter a baby," She finished. Regina's gaze had turned steely again, if Emma had imagined any kind of regret in her dark eyes, it was gone now, replaced by angry determination,

"Fine, leave me here then," She said, then turned and sat on the cold floor.

Emma sneered, "You're lucky I asked the giant to release you, I could have just let him kill you,"

"What do you want? A thank you?" Regina said, her back to Emma.

Emma glowered at her, before stomping away. Fights with Regina always set her on edge.

The trip down the beanstalk was much faster than the trip up. Mostly because she didn't climb down, but somehow floated from the passageway down to the ground.

Snow, Aurora and Mulan were standing around waiting for her.

"Hey!" She called, and saw Hook appear from behind a tree. Snow rushed to her,

"Did you get it?" She asked,

"Yeah," Emma grinned, showing them the compass, they congratulated her, Mulan slapping her shoulder with familiarity. Emma felt a soft glow within her, Mulan's praise was rather hard to come by, and she had been less than impressed by Emma's prowess with a sword.

"And her majesty?" Hook asked, and the warm feeling inside Emma fizzed away.

"I left her up there," She said, "The giant will release her in ten hours. We better be very far from here by then,"

Snow nodded, giving her an encouraging smile. "You did the right thing, Emma" She said, and Aurora and Mulan nodded. Hook stared at her with interest,

"Leaving an ally tied up in the monsters' lair, I never would have thought you capable of that, Swan" He mused,

She rolled her eyes, and wished Regina hadn't let her last name slip.

"She's no ally," Snow said her voice tinged with venom, then she turned to Emma,

"We have something to tell you, Emma" She said,

"Let's get out of here first," Mulan said, "I don't want to be around when the Evil Queen comes down,"

—-

Regina climbed down slowly off the beanstalk. It was dark and her limbs were tired, her stomach rumbled with hunger. She wished she had her magic back for the thousandth time. The anger pooling at the bottom of her stomach could wait for now, she needed to eat something and sleep. She could not take Emma and Snow on in her current condition. But she would take them on, of that she was certain, and she would win. She would kill Emma and leave Snow alone in this godforsaken land. She would have liked to kill Snow too, but she was aware she couldn't harm her here. One more reason to hate this place. She sighed as her feet hit the dirt ground. Then she stiffened, a presence behind her, she reached for her dagger, before recognizing the magic. She turned,

"Mother,"

She cursed internally, this was the last person she wanted to see right now. The woman was supposed to be dead!

Her mother's figure made its way out of the small grove of trees, she wore a black gown, its beautiful silk reflecting the moonlight.

"Regina" she said, her soft voice familiar and warm. She strode to her daughter and embraced her, not seeming to notice her stiffness. Regina sighed, and in doing so, her mother's scent invaded her senses, she let herself relax in her embrace.

"You were supposed to be dead," she whispered,

"At the hand of that pirate?" She laughed, "did you really think he could kill me?" She sounded incredulous.

Regina wondered if she had really wanted her mother dead. Did she really think the pirate would be able to kill her? Perhaps she'd hoped. But seeing her mother's body laying in the mausoleum had ended her conflicted feelings, she was dead, and there was nothing more to it. Except she wasn't.

"What do you want?" She asked, her voice sharp,

"To help you, of course," Cora said, her permanent smile growing wider.

Regina narrowed her eyes, her mother's help never came free. She was similar to her old master in that way.

"Regina, I know I've made many mistakes with you, but I just want to be your mother now" her voice was soft and Regina wanted to believe her so badly. She wanted to fall into her arms and let her mother take care of her, to soothe the wounds left on her heart. Emma's betrayal still fresh on her mind. She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward slightly.

"Why didn't you reveal yourself to me at the camp?" She asked,

"Oh I couldn't, not with that damnable Snow around"

Regina nodded, wanting to believe her against all previous experience.

"How do you want to help me?"

"We're going back to Storybrooke" Cora said, her eyes shining, "and we're leaving those heroes" she spit the word, "here,"

Regina watched her for a moment, she imagined her mother in Storybrooke. With her powers. She held back a shiver. She could not let the woman around her son. She wouldn't. But she needed an ally, no matter how much she tried to tell herself she could do it by herself, she knew it was a lie. The beginning of a plan began to form itself in her mind. She smiled at her mother. Then pulled her in an embrace, pressing her face into her hair. For a moment she let herself believe it was real. Then she pulled away.

"Thank you, mother,"

Cora smiled and took her hands,

"You must be hungry" she said, and raised her hands in a familiar gesture, but Regina took her arm.

"I am, but I'd rather you took" she raised her own wrist, showing her the black cuff sucking her magic away "this off"

Cora searched her face, and Regina saw the uncertainty there. Her daughter without powers was moldable, easy to manipulate. But with her powers? That was a different story. Regina knew exactly what she was thinking, but she held the smile on her lips and watched her mother think. If she refused to take the cuff off, the ruse was up.

"Of course," Cora said finally. Slowly she slipped her fingers under the leather, and pulled it off. Regina felt her magic rush back, and she almost laughed at the feeling of power in her chest, her stomach, her heart. She breathed it in deep, then flexed her fingers, a flame appearing in them. Cora took a quick step back, though her face betrayed nothing. Regina gave her a small smile, then extinguished the fire.

"I am hungry," she said, then opened her fingers, a red apple in her hands.

Hey! I tried to upload earlier this week but I just couldn't manage. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter anyway, I'm actually really happy with it, although it is a bit sad, but don't worry, good things are coming!