Wow! You are still with me and for that I would like to extend my heartfelt thank you's! First, Thank you so much for following and favoriting (I am not sure if that's a word) my story, you have no idea how much it means to me and reading your reviews for my story is truly exhilarating! I mean, in each time I was notified that you left reviews, I was really excited and inspired and I literally squeal and jump off my feet! Also, thank you 4everfiction, MadaMadySan and everyone who leaves reviews and for your encouragement because without you guys, I wouldn't be updating my fics.. :D

So here it is, I hope that in this fic, I will be able to redeem myself. Thank you so much guys!

Regina opened her eyes as she felt the cold wind brushing against her skin and felt that her body was rested in a cold, rough and wet surface. She tried to focus her view on something. Anything. She saw something glitters before her. She closed her eyes once again as she felt her tiredness started to engulf her body again. Where was she? She opened her eyes once again and this time she was able to make out the glittering vision before her… It was the stars shining brightly in the evening sky.

There are sounds of crickets and night owls and rustling of leaves. She closed her eyes and the scent of wet soil mixed with burnt wood started to fill her nostrils.

Was she in the Merry men's camp?

Robin?

She tried to lift her head to get up but her body felt so heavy all she could do was to look sideways to see if her deductions were right. But it is not. There are no loud chatters or heartfelt laughter that often filled the place whenever the merry men were around. There are no tents or bonfire, no Little John, or Will Scarlet or Allan… There's no one there…

"Robin?" She called out… her voice was hoarse and weak, "Robin…" she repeated as she closed her eyes. God she was tired… "Robin?" she whispered to herself hoping he was there as she started to feel the possible danger of her vulnerable state

She heard footsteps coming towards her, she tried to roll over to her stomach so that she could push herself upward, but she can't. Even her arms failed to support her limping body.

What's going on? She can't remember.

The footsteps stopped before her. She tried to look up but her head felt too heavy.

Robin… is it you? Regina thought as she closed her eyes for a moment. You came back…for me?

"I am glad your awake, my Queen," Regina snapped her eyes open as she heard the a man's voice which is certainly not from Robin, his voice is so deep it sounded like it came out from the deepest corner of hell, "We can finally begin."

Regina felt a pair of hands started to roll her over so that she was once again lying on her back. Regina tried to focus her eyes to the man before her but it is so dark she couldn't see his face… Just his silhouette, and even that she couldn't recognize him.

Her thoughts are hazy. It was as if she is in between the state of dreaming and being wide awake. She saw a pair of hands hover above her body, the right hand holding a scroll and the other holding a small orb. She just watched silently as those hands combined the two materials together and it gave out a brownish surge of light. Regina wanted to struggle as she sensed the ominous aura coming out from the lights that now hovers her body. But if she did struggled or let herself succumb to this light, she couldn't remember because at that moment everything went black…

- -An Hour earlier- -

"Good evening, Your majesty. Seems like you already forgotten about me."

Sydney was standing at her front porch, smiling sweetly at her, there is something different about him since the last time she saw him in human form. Something she cannot put a finger on.

"Indeed I have." Regina replied coldly, her eyes glaring at Sydney while she was pulling her robe together to hide the thin satin of pajamas that she was wearing from the lingering look of this creep, "So go away and leave me in peace before I roast you alive." With these last words, Regina slam the door shut on his face. She immediately locked and secured the bolts on her door with her magic, making sure that he will not be able to enter her house like the way he did a couple of days ago. She is not crazy enough to welcome that creep and let him step into her peaceful abode, most especially at this time of the night. She must call David and Emma and tell them she's having a situation in her house. But as she reached to her pockets, she realized that she left it at her bedside table before she went to Henry's room that evening.

She immediately march her way towards the staircase, her body relaxed knowing that Sydney will stop bothering her once he is back to his seclusion in the underground asylum at the hospital. She was not prepared when a sudden surge of energy erupted behind her that caused her to be thrown across the wall beside her staircase, colliding with the mirror that was hanging there and falling unto the floor with a loud sound of shattering glass.

"What the hell?" she muttered to herself, still in shock at the force that thrown her off as she tried to push herself up from the floor. When she look at the direction of where the magic just came from, Regina saw a gaping hollow on where her door used to stand. Her eyes are still blurry due to her collision against the wall, but she was able to distinguish a black pair of suede shoes headed towards her direction. She tried to stand but her hands and legs felt wobbly and needed to lean on the wall to steady herself.

Her suspicions are correct. Sydney has magic. But how?

Isn't he supposed to be stripped off his magical abilities once he was freed as a genie? Isn't it one of the rules of wish granting abilities of a genie?

He is coming closer towards her, the heels of his shoes are making these strange echoes to her now quiet house now that Henry is probably asleep in his room.

Henry…

Her son is with her in this house.. with this man before her…She must get Henry away from here and she must do it quick. It is dangerous for him to be around the house with this kind of threat. Because that is what Sydney is to her right now, a threat.

If only she had told Emma about Sydney the first time he made his presence known, perhaps they wouldn't have come to this. But she didn't. She was too occupied and too proud to admit she needs help. She blames herself for putting her and Henry in this situation.

"It is not very polite to slam the door to someone else's face, most especially, if they are talking at you, don't you think your majesty?" Sydney asked rhetorically as he made his way towards her.

Regina glared at him, still trying to focus her hazy vision. She is not sure if she was seeing things but from where she was standing, it seemed like there are other figures moving behind the delusional reporter. Regina stood up straight as she regained her strength and composure, having herself on guard on any attack that this man may throw at her.

"Didn't anyone ever told you as well that it is not nice to come in a house when you are not invited!" Regina retorted as she summoned her energy on her right hand and used her magic to push Sydney far away from her causing the man to fall face first on the ground with a loud thud.

Regina immediately flexed her hands to form a fireball, wincing as she felt the pain on her right shoulder that resulted from her collision, but still, she schooled her features and stares coldly at the man before her, "Not to mention, you just broke my door!" she added sarcastically, "Now get the hell away from my house, Sydney or I swear the last thing your skin will touch is my fireball." Regina warned with her hands on the air ready for assault at any moment.

Her son is upstairs and hell shall break lose if anything will ever happen to Henry on her watch.

Sydney stood up with a smile on his lips, she did not even bruised him.

"Not until I had what I came for." He replied and even before Regina could react, Sydney waved his hand towards her direction and her fireballs died out. Regina waved her hands once again, trying to summon her magic, but she can't feel any.

"Do you really think, I would come charging in here unprepared?" Sydney taunted as he took a step forward towards the former Mayor.

Regina took a step back feigning her brave face on. But she felt something took hold of her ankles which caused her to fall down, butt first on the ground. She saw the glitter of joy on Sydney's face upon seeing the helplessness she was in.

"Come on, Regina, stop playing hard to get and come with me." Sydney said as he paused on his tracks to gaze upon the fallen figure of the Queen, "I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world. I can give you anything you ever wanted, all you have to do is come with me." Sydney said in a dreamy voice as he wave his hand and summon his magic to surround Regina.

Regina felt her skin crawl as the man was practically standing on her feet, looking down at her. She tried to push herself away from where she was sitting, but the magic that grasped her ankles kept her in place.

Regina lifted her hands, trying to call upon the magic she knows she possess but still none of it came out from her system.

What kind of sorcery does he used that made him block her magic?

And the fact that she doesn't know what to do to counteract his advances made the unknown sense of fear crept into her gut.

"Don't struggle, My Queen. You might hurt yourself," Regina felt her skin crawl as she felt another wave of magic started to enclose around her wrists and lifted her on the ground, spread eagle. The panic that she felt the moment this man intrude her house is now visible on her face as she struggled to set herself free from the confinements of his magic, "We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

When she realized that all her fighting will be fruitless, Regina stopped struggling. She took a deep breath and once again schooled her feature to look straight into the man's eyes. She must not panic, she must not make any noise that may alarm his son who is now in his room, probably sleeping. She must find a way to get this man away from her house to make sure Henry will be safe no matter what the consequence will be for her. Her son always comes first. Her son should be kept safe... Always.

"So that's it?" Regina feigned a smirk on her face to match the taunting look that Sydney is giving her, "You learned a little magic, and here you are thinking you can break me down just as easily?"

"Oh, indeed. And I shall enjoy every moment of it."

"Well, go ahead, Mirror." She dared, "Go ahead and kill me."

Sydney gave out a hearty laugh that echoed on the corners of her house, "Kill you? After all you did to me, do you really think, I would let you slip away so easily? You're being too optimistic, My Queen. That's what happens when you associate yourself with that step-daughter of yours. Killing you is never part of my plan… But you getting your rightful punishment, certainly is."

Regina's eyes widened as she felt something enclosed on her throat, squeezing her neck tightly as she felt her breath begin to constrict. She also felt her limbs being pulled apart as the invisible force that bounded her legs and wrists started to stretch her body into four different directions. And it hurts. It hurts so bad she started to pull herself together and squirmed to free herself from the confines whilst trying to muffle her scream that's now trapped within her constricted throat. It felt even worse when she felt Sydney's hand caress her now flushed cheeks as he looked directly into her eyes, watching her in her predicament.

Regina was close to passing out when she heard a broken voice yell behind her and before she could react, she felt herself fell on the floor with a loud thud as she wheezed and coughed to fill her lungs with air that she was deprived moments ago.

There was a moment of relief when she realized that she was released from the deathly grasps of Sydney's magic, but that relief died shortly as she realized who it was who tried to save her..

It's Henry.

Henry sat in his bed with the story book on his lap, flipping around the pages of the book hoping to find something that will lead them to the author. He didn't know what happened between his two mothers but he is glad that it made Regina happier; he felt that happiness when she taught him how to waltz earlier in the living room. Her eyes showed the missing glow when she smiled and that made him happy. Very happy. But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door slamming hard downstairs and was followed by a loud explosion just a couple of moments later.

Alarmed, Henry left his room quietly as he went to the stairs as swiftly as he could to see what is going on downstairs. It was then when he saw his mother flailing her hands in the mid-air as if fighting a magical confinement.

His mother was being attacked. He was even more surprised when he saw who the attacker was. It was one of his mother's friend, Sydney. The boy was no longer able to process his thoughts on why one of her mother's friend was hurting her as his instinct to protect his mother kicked in.

Henry ran back to his room and ransacked his toy box, pulling out a long forgotten slingshot Marco made for him for his 13th birthday. He also pulled out a couple of starwars lego figures underneath his table before running towards the stairs and aimed for the man's eye.

"Leave my mom alone!" Henry yelled on the top of his lungs hoping it will distract Sydney as he released the projectile from his grasp. Sadly his aim was not as impeccable as he thought it was when he missed his target and hit him in the head instead. But what matters is that it served its purpose, it took the man by surprise as he tumble on the floor and lost its death grip upon his mother.

Henry immediately ran to his mother's aid helping her get up from the cold ground.

"Henry?" Regina breathed as her gaze shifted from Sydney to her son who is now holding her by the arm, helping her to get up. She was still disoriented with what just happened. Her thoughts only came to focus when Sydney stood up wiping the blood that now drips from his head from a cut resulted from Henry's attack. Regina immediately pulled Henry back so that she was now standing before her son, shielding him from Sydney's eyes.

"Good evening, Henry," Sydney greeted menacingly, and then he fixed his eyes at Regina's direction, who is now shielding her son with her own body, "You didn't tell me you've got company, I should've paid my respects to the prince." Sydney said as he flexed his fingers.

Regina yelped as she felt her son being roughly pulled away from her grasp and been dragged across the room. The Queen tried to run after Henry to protect him, but a black streak of magic blocked her path and threw her back against the wall.

"What are you doing! Let him go!" Regina yelled at Sydney while she struggled to set herself free from the magic that pins her on the wall. The fear that Regina tried to keep at bay started to engulf her thoughts when saw the pained expression on her son's face when he was slammed against the kitchen floor where he was thrown into. "Don't – Henry!" She felt a sudden panic on her heart as she heard a loud thump as Henry's head slammed into the ground knocking him unconscious. That bump on the head could lead into serious injury so tried to pull herself away from the wall the she was stuck in, summoning every ounce of strength into her body inorder to free herself and make sure that his son is alright. But all her struggles are futile as she felt another pull towards the wall in each time she thought she was close in freeing herself all the while she was screaming in hopes that her neighbors would hear the commotion and call the sheriff station.

"Why should I?" Sydney chuckled, "My fun is just starting." With another wave of his hand, the knives that she kept on her rack started to animate and pointed their sharp edges into Henry's fallen figure.

"Don't! Sydney! Don't do this! If you wanted to hurt someone hurt me! Henry had nothing to do with this! Henry! Henry!" Regina shook her head as she continue to scream out her son's name. The fear that she felt had turned into terror as saw figures starting to emanate from the floor of her kitchen where Henry was trapped in and began to wrap itself around the unconscious figure of the lad. She watched helplessly as Henry's fallen figure started to float in midair while knives are pointed on his neck, heart, brain and other parts of his body.

Regina looked back at Sydney who seemed to enjoy her suffering. Her vision are glassy with the tears she tried to stop from falling, she tried to glare at Sydney but it seems like even her glares had lost their sting as Sydney gave out a hearty laughter at her, "Let him GO!" Regina yelled but Sydney just ignored her and instead, he looked upon the sleeping face of her son.

"Would you look at that.." Sydney gasped with awe whilst looking at the boys sleeping face, "He still looked exactly like that little tyke you brought home from Boston." Sydney gave a small whistle as one of the knives that's pointed upon the kid's body started to graze on the soft cheek of her son.

Regina bit her lip to stop the sob that's about to escape from her mouth, her tears began to flow freely on her eyes as she realized the helplessness they are currently in... And it is all her fault. If she had only told Emma, if she didn't wallow on her emotions… her son's life wouldn't be in danger.

"I wonder what would you feel to watch your son bathe in his own blood?" Sydney said in a trance like voice as he started to take a step towards Regina, "Well, I guess you won't feel a thing… after all, you're used to seeing the people you love die before your very eyes, don't you, Regina?"

"Don't do it…" Regina said with desperation, "Please.. I beg of you… not my son." Regina is not a person who will back down on any other circumstance, even if it will endanger her life, she wanted to be strong. She wanted to look strong even when she is in the brink of her death, but right now, seeing the predicament that her son was in, she doesn't care anymore. She doesn't care if she is weak. She doesn't care of anything. All that matters is her son and her son alone.

But Sydney just laughed at her. Mocked her with his grin and his eyes as he run his eyes on her figure from head to toe.

"I couldn't believe this!" Sydney laughed, "The Evil Queen just begged me for mercy! This is sweet I should've record it." He laughed again as he closed his distance between the Queen and ran his rough hands against her soft and wet cheek, "You need not to beg, Regina… why should you? You didn't have any qualms when you killed your father, you didn't mourned as much when you watched your mother died, and you moved on when your stable boy had faced his demise…. So why would Henry's death be any different? Let's face it… You are well trained in such tragedies of life… They will all die… all that you love will die… but I… I will always be here… I will never leave your side…. I will always be yours as you are always be mine… Always." With those words Sydney leaned his face towards Regina as he claimed her lips for a kiss.

Regina shut her eyes and moved her head sideways to avoid Sydney's lips but as soon as he claimed her mouth visions of her father, mother and Daniel flash before her very eyes. She was there, witnessing as their eyes lost their luster as their life is slowly drained away from their body… She was there watching the continues loop of death of her loved ones over and over again… But she will not let the same thing happen to Henry. She would rather die.

Kill him

Regina heard a voice in her head as the visions of her deceased loved ones swam over her fuzzy head. The voice was cold, and dark and full of hate… It is a voice she had known all to well… It was her own voice. THE EVIL QUEEN's VOICE

Look at how pathetic you look… do you see what love does to you? It weakens you. If you will just let me take over once again, you will not be in this pain. Henry will not be in danger. If you will just let me, I will kill him for you. I will give him a slow death laced with debilitating pain that he surely deserves.

If you just let me be you again, Regina… This suffering will be over.

Slowly, the terror that once consumed her was replaced by that familiar feeling she had known all the years she spent as the Evil Queen… She felt hatred and anger and darkness overwhelmed her once again. She felt that that familiar pull of Dark Magic run into her veins as she opened her tear stained eyes and focus her blurry vision towards Sydney. There is but one thought that runs into her mind at that moment.

Murder Sydney.

He is pleased with himself as he saw the calm purple aura that surrounds Regina started to darken and became disruptive. This is exactly what he needed to complete his curse, this is exactly how he planned it to happen. Inorder to wake the darkness that is buried deep within Regina's heart, he must broke her the way she was never broken before, he must break her in a way that she would be reminded of the things that made her the Evil Queen that terrified every living soul back in the Enchanted Forest. Sydney knows that his darkness will never be enough to recharge the scroll that contains the Curse of the Empty Heart. But Regina's magical impulse, her regrets, her sorrows, her pain, her hatred, it is more than enough to make his work complete. And now, watching the Evil Queen be awaken in the deepest depths of Regina's being will surely complete everything that he needed. Sydney could not contain his glee as he saw her eyes gave that dark purple glow that will soon reignite the darkness in her heart and will bring back her dark magic in full swing. So even before Regina was able to tear herself out of the confinements of Sydney's magic, he materialized a crystal orb in his hand and started to suck the magic out of the Queen.

He didn't realized how powerful Regina must've been until he heard the street lamps began to explode outside and the thunder and lightning began to lit up the sky. Sydney didn't stopped sucking Regina's magic even though the woman started to writhe and scream in pain as every last bit of her magic was drained from her body which made the crystal orb glow with dark stained purple hues.

Sydney's eyes shifted towards Regina's now unconscious body that's still pinned against the wall. Despite of the mess the she looked right now, her hair tossed in every direction and now covered her ash pale face, she still look as stunning as the first time he met her by the apple tree. And once he is complete, he will no longer have to look from a distance to admire her beauty for this woman will be his tonight and for the rest of eternity.

Now to finish his work, Sydney waved his hand and transported himself with Regina to the woods where he will finally enact the curse, leaving Henry fall unconscious on the floor with all the knives that was once pointed at him. And just like that, the house was silent as if nothing ever happened.

A thousand miles away from Storybrooke, Maine, Robin woke up with a scream. His heart was beating loudly as the visions of his nightmare was imprinted in his mind. He closed his head as he tried to shake away the fallen vision of the woman he loves from his mind for he knows that her being in danger is the last thing that will ever happen, most especially his Merry men are watching over her.

He was about to go back to sleep when he heard a small sob coming out from his son's trembling lips. Roland is awake and crying while Marian was still in deep slumber beside his son. Roland squirmed his body towards his father as Robin lie down in bed and wrapped an arm around his son

"What is wrong, my son." Robin asked softly as he gently brushed his hand on Roland's brown curls.

"Regina...she's gone." Roland replied with a small broken voice, "I saw her in my dream, Papa... she said she's leaving and I tried to run after her but she... she just gone... She can't be gone, right Papa? She's still in Stroryboorke, waiting for us, Right Papa?"

Robin looked with surprise at his son's sleepy yet fearful eyes, Roland dreamt the same dream that he had...

Robin's heart pounded on his chest as a thought came into his mind...

Regina.. did she just... she couldn't be...

Thank you so much for reading! I love you... :)