AN: I'm sorry that it's been a long time everyone. The reason that it has taken too long was because of me and my procrastination, forgetfulness, and overthinking. I've kept forgetting to check this chapter and making sure I wanted it go in the direction I wanted to, which I am, thank goodness. So I hope you do enjoy this chapter, it has a ton of drama going on. Also one last thing, I promise you that hopefully I will finish this story this year.

Chapter 8

At nighttime, a few hours later after talking with Greg, Leroy called her to say that he and his brothers had found a body. She left immediately to see it for herself. Once she saw them and the body she took a picture of it as evidence.

"What are you going to do with the body?" Leroy asked.

"At the moment it's best to leave it here until I talk with Greg."

"Cover the body dirt again, sheriff?"

"Yeah, and have you guys made the mark on the map I gave you?"

"We already did."

"Good and thank you for your help. After this you are relieved and if you any of are interested, I'm offering you guys to be my deputies. I've a feeling I need more people to help me if something happens to me or my family, in case any one of us leaves, that is. I don't need an answer today so think about it, gods know I need the help." Then Emma leaves the site with the map in her hand as she goes to the sheriff's car that she's been using all day.

At the hospital even though the hours for visitors are gone for the day, she told the nurse that it was important. As she walked into Greg Mendall's room, she was surprised to find that he was still awake.

"Hi Greg," she started.

"Sheriff," Greg stated cordially.

"I'm sorry to say that I've found your father's body." she says as she gives him her phone with the photo of his father's body as proof. Greg cried for a bit, as he gave her the phone back. A few minutes later after he has grieved for his father Emma asks, "do you want me to do anything with his body?"

"I need to think about for a while."

"Okay, when you come up with an answer please call me."

Once done she goes to Regina's. She again thanked the gods that Henry was at the apartment with Mary Margaret, suddenly now noticing the time that it was late, and she missed the dinner with her family. After this, arresting Regina, she and David will go back to the apartment for dinner and figure out who will do the night shift.

Regina came immediately after ringing the doorbell once.

"Regina Mills you are under arrest for the murder of Kurt Flynn." As she sees Regina surprised, she can also tell she wants to fight and mentions, "don't think about fighting this Regina, I've already found his body." Before she leaves the mansion, she spots the cuffs that she and Killian used to climb the beanstalk. The cuffs that she now knows is that it suppresses magic. She grabbed those as well and took her to the station where she put the cuffs on Regina. After taking off the police mandated cuffs off, she opens the cell next to Tamara and puts her into the cell. She now knows the cuffs suppress magic.

Entering the apartment, she was surprised to see her husband and daughter were still there remarkably.

"What are you guys still doing here? Have you guys eaten dinner?"

"We have," Killian says after giving a quick chaste kiss. "Since you've been busy lately, Clara and I wanted a bit more time with you, love." As Emma picks up her plate from the microwave that had just been reheated.

"I'll take the night shift, Emma." David says figuring out that Emma should spend more time with her own family, with her own daughter. As Emma starts to eat dinner, he just puts his plate into the microwave.

"Thanks David."

"No problem, Emma."

As Emma finished dinner, she saw Henry and privately tells him that she had arrested Regina. When Henry asked why she told him that she killed somebody when Storybrooke was created and that the dwarves had found evidence. Henry then got the chills, knowing the evidence his mother was talking about was most likely a body.

After that she went back into the living room, leaving Henry to his part of his room. There David explained to the rest of the occupants in the apartment about what Emma's been working on today. Emma was relieved that she didn't have to talk about it because her mind had been overloaded of what has happened. Then David left once he finished with the story; Mary Margaret goes to her bedroom leaving Killian and Clara there.

"Today has been a long day for you, hasn't it love."

"You have no idea Killian, even though you helped me a bit today. It was definitely one of my crazy days here at Storybrooke, however I suspect there will be more crazier days. Now Clara what have you been up to this past week?"

"Well not much to be honest though I've been learning the great accommodations this realm provides and that I been thinking about my prophecy."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's you and I both know that I have no idea how to be a princess much less a queen when I'm of age that is if we go back to the Enchanted Forest. I need to learn, mama."

"Too true unfortunately. You can go to the library and read about it first before asking other people who are royals brought from the Enchanted Forest. You can ask Mary Margaret, she seems to know more than David, or you can skim through Henry's book, Once Upon A Time, although I think you would find more answers with Mary Margaret than the book."

"Those are good starting choices. Thanks mama."

"No problem," Emma says when suddenly the feeling that she has been having for days is getting stronger right now.

"You okay mama?"

She looks up to Killian and to Clara. "I've a feeling something big is going to happen soon, maybe tonight."

"I do feel the shift of magic changing a bit, more like something foreign is coming closer to town." Clara says.

"You feel it too Clara?" Emma says worryingly.

"Only magic. Although your worries are growing every time I've seen you mama." Clara says hesitantly. "If it's something involving our family and we have to go to another realm, can I stay here? It's just while I can handle it, the realm that I was in, The Ebon Forest, took a lot of me emphatically. There I had to kill every single creature from harmless animals to impossible to kill ones or ones that you have never seen or heard of in order to survive, to get out of there. I met a Unicorn, and it picked up my emphatic, sensitive soul, of course. Astonishingly it came to me and let me pet her and allowed me to get her tail, hair, and horn. The same thing happened when encountering a phoenix and allowed me to get a few of its feathers as well as show me to kill it. Those two amazing, magical, stupendous creatures of light of fire, were hard on me and still plays on in my mind, and they gave me gifts because I'm worthy which of course doesn't make it any easier for me even though both comforted me before I killed them."

"That's rather impressive," Killian says while Emma says a few minutes later, "do you have any more rare ingredients we should know about?"

"I also have squid ink."

"Yeah, it is a wise choice for you to stay here, Clara. I don't want you to come and let someone come and steal it. Fudge, Clara, you should've said something earlier, do you still have it with you."

"It is not on me; it's in my room in a box that is now blood protected."

"Thank the gods, Clara, I just thought of Mr. Gold and how much he would like to have those ingredients."

"I thought that the first thing I came here and when I was back in my room, I looked through what I have which wasn't much unfortunately. I was thinking of making a bit of room in my jewelry case but remembered the music box you gave me for my sixth birthday. Well, I've remembered it had a secret compartment."

"The music box had a secret compartment?" Killian said not knowing that information when he purchased it.

"I've found it when I was thirteen, I was just messing with it though I thought you already knew about it," Clara casually says as she feels the shock from her parents though more so with her father," clearly I was wrong." Then unexpectedly she yawns.

Emma pointedly looks at Killian; to say we're going to discuss this more tomorrow than towards the clock. "Look at the time, it's late I will see you two tomorrow okay goodnight."

The next day word has spread out that Regina was arrested because she killed a person when the curse was created. Emma should've known everybody would know, but then again Storybrooke is a small town which means any news or gossip will come faster than any city. However, that fact also means that everyone also knows that the stranger Greg, was also a victim of Regina's which made them a bit more sympathetic with the man.

While Emma was trying to control the chaos ever since she woke up and started her job. First a crowd had formed as she and David were entering the station as they shouted about whether it was true that she had found a body, and that the mayor was arrested again. Which led to the second thing that Greg was here before and was as much a victim as anyone else thanks to the evil queen's ruling in the enchanted forest, which interestingly was something that they hated though with an ounce of sympathy for the man. Emma didn't say anything as she couldn't exactly lie to them, which was how the crowd stopped roaring out loud and left for their daily lives.

Then after that she took Regina out of the cell and started her interrogation. Thankfully the mayor made it easy for her to find out what happened nearly twenty-eight and a half years ago. At the end she was disgusted. She found out that Regina wanted Owen and before Kurt left the town, he had witnessed her speaking to Graham's heart ordering him to arrest him for falsely accusing him of drinking while driving and to be honest anyone from this world would've acted the same way that Kurt did, which was to get the hell out of this town. Then her thoughts ran to her head wondering what would've happened if Kurt had made it out of town, so that the cops would've come and wouldn't believe him. He could've been put in an asylum. As her thoughts were fleeting, she gets a call from Greg and goes to the hospital after putting Regina back into her cell.

At the hospital, Greg has an answer. As much as he would love to bring his father back from his hometown, he said it's better to leave him where he was. Emma tried to persuade him, but Greg was worried about his father's body and whether there would be any damage from moving the body. Besides, despite the later memories, it was one of his last good memories with his father. After he told this to Emma, she conceded to giving Greg's wishes. Even though she said she could move him to the cemetery, Greg insisted. She said her goodbyes to the man and went back to the station.

The rest of the day thankfully quieted on her end. She was relieved as the judges were already planning for the trials of Tamara and Regina as fast as possible, especially with Tamara. The sooner that trial gets done first, the better it will be for the town, as she will leave after that, the judge said. Emma didn't care but also didn't mind it at the same time, happy that things were going in the right direction. However, after she took the night shift, her worries skyrocketed before she went to sleep.

Meanwhile at Neverland, Peter Pan waited for two days to hear words from Tamara or Greg about what was happening. Two days of silence and now he must give them what they deserve. He talks to his shadow for a bit and watches as his shadow follows his orders.

In the middle of the night Emma receives a call from the hospital. She grudgingly awakens and goes as fast to change because the voice from the nurse was full of shock and panic. She said that Greg died, and it wasn't from his injuries. That it would be better if she was there.

Once at the hospital she goes to where Greg's room was and found the nurse along with Dr. Whale there saying again there was no medical proof that whatever killed Greg came within from his injuries or any repercussions from the surgery. Then the nurse says that she saw something like a human size shadow really quickly from his room, however she was the only one who witnessed this phenomenon. Once the shadow left, she checked on the patient only to discover that he was already dead.

Emma knew the nurse was telling the truth, but she was still confused as the how, why, and what the reason he died. Then she decided to go to the station to check on Tamara and to tell her that Greg was dead. However, when she got there Regina was awake and Tamara wasn't responding. When she opened the cell and checked her pulse, Tamara was dead too. She asked what happened and Regina responded with the same response the nurse did. The shadow killed Greg and Tamara. Though the interesting thing was what Regina commented that whatever killed Tamara and Greg was clearly magical.

She didn't think anything more could go wrong.

Her phone rang and instantly answered it.

Not even a minute later, her world shattered.

Henry was taken by a shadow. The same shadow who killed Greg and Tamara. Emma told Regina instantly and the same emotions that Emma had felt were now the same expression Regina has.

She knew what to do now.

Regina needs to be freed because despite the crime she has committed, she knows she will most likely need her help. Once Regina was freed, she kept Regina by her side until they got to David's and Mary Margaret's apartment where she could drop her off there really quickly so she can then go to the harbor and wake up Killian and Clara to tell Henry was taken.

At the apartment with the whole family there, Emma then notifies everyone that the shadow killed Greg, Tamara, and has kidnapped Henry.

"Bloody Hell," Killian starts to say before continuing, "I know where he is. He's at Neverland."