AN: Hello everyone! So a "crazy" thing happened. I had this idea pop in my head one day and I thought to myself, 'Hey! I'm pretty sure Buffy had an episode like that.' So I buzz through Buffy shows and sure enough I found it. So this has now become loosely based on BtVS 6x17 Normal Again. Also, I reference the Trilogy of Terror doll. If you've never seen this short television movie from the seventies, you need to go watch it (it's on YouTube). It's part three titled "Amelia" where she purchases this Zuni doll and it comes to life and attacks her. In all honesty, I have never laughed so hard in my life as I do when I watch this movie. Does that say something about me, probably, but I grew up on horror films so they don't really have an effect on me...except clowns. Clowns frighten me. There is nothing funny about them.

Cruella De Vil hasn't been brought to Storybrooke yet and since she is one of my favorite villains, I'm taking this opportunity to tell her own unique and twisted story.

Takes place after the welcome home party at Granny's Diner from 2x10 The Cricket Game. Complete AU from there.

WARNING: Mentions of miscarriage, rape, and ECT treatment. If any of this is a trigger or bothers you in any shape or form, DO NOT READ!

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in Once Upon A Time or Trilogy of Terror, I'm just borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

What do we any of us have but our illusions? And what do we ask of others but that we be allowed to keep them? ~W. Somerset Maugham

~Cruella's Spear~

Emma settled onto the couch in Mary Margaret's apartment and stretched her long legs over the side. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but she's slept on far worse. She could hear her parents talking in the bedroom nearby and the creaking of Henry shifting around in her bedroom upstairs. The place was just too small for their four-membered family and new arrangements would have to be made very soon.

The party at Granny's was a nice comfort after spending what felt like eternity in the damaged, ogre-infested land of the Enchanted Forest. She was glad to see Regina had accepted her invite, even if it was a little awkward for everyone else, but Emma didn't care; if it wasn't for Regina she would've been stuck in that crazy make believe world or worse, would've been killed by the magical death trap that Gold put on the wishing well.

She was shocked at first when Henry told her that it was the mayor they had to thank for saving them, but Emma didn't believe this kinder, less manipulative Regina existed until she exchanged words with her outside the diner earlier that evening. She replayed the scene several times in her mind and still couldn't believe the apology, the watery eyes, the genuine smile, and the gratitude. Had Regina been like that when Emma first arrived in Storybrooke, they're relationship might've taken a very different turn.

The sheriff flipped to her side and shuffled around on the couch until she bit her lower lip to keep from crying out when she felt a sudden, sharp pain. Pulling her hand out from under her, she gazed upon the little blood blister that had formed on her index finger. For such a little pinprick, it sure caused her a lot of discomfort. She scoffed at her stupidity in how she had received it the day before.

Emma watched as Gold walked away from her, leaving her to stand alone in the main showroom after basically telling her she had magic and agreed that she was nothing more than a puppet in the whole dark curse scheme. Clenching her hands into fists, she walked the length of the room to cool off before joining everyone else in the back. It was then-as she observed all the crazy items that Gold housed-that she noticed a warrior doll standing on the shelf in the corner. It reminded her of the crazy Zuni doll that attacked the woman in the cheesy cult movie that her one foster moms used to watch repeatedly and she chuckled at the thought of it. The spear it held looked surprisingly real and like a moth to a flame, she reached out and tapped her finger on it to see if it was as sharp as it looked. She yelped when it pierced her skin before she quickly brought the injured digit to her mouth and sucked on it to staunch the small flow of blood it had created. She silently scolded herself as she glared at the doll before she headed towards the backroom to join her family and friends.

"Smooth move, idiot," Emma mumbled to herself as she stared at the little red dot before she repositioned herself and drifted off to sleep.

"Emma? Can you hear me?"

The savior blinked against the harsh light that was forcibly shined into both of her eyes in turn as she squinted to try and focus on who was calling out her name. A man she didn't recognize stood before her in a white doctor's lab coat and she couldn't help but flinch away from him. Her back slammed against a wall and she realized she was on the floor and tucked in the corner of some hospital room.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" Emma questioned the man before her.

"My name is Dr. Palmer, but you know that already. You are at the Bangor Mental Health Institute, where you've been for the past five years."

"W-what?!" Emma stammered. "I'm not crazy! I'm just, I'm dreaming that's all."

"I'm afraid not. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Emma gazed down and took in her comfy sweatpants and long-sleeved t-shirt she was wearing. It seemed fitting for a mental ward, but it wasn't something she would normally wear. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch in Mary Margaret's cramped apartment.

"This is just a dream. I fell asleep on the couch so this has to be a dream," Emma reiterated.

"Do you feel like you are in a dream right now?" The doctor pressed.

"What else would it be?! I went to sleep and appeared here so yeah, it's a dream."

The blonde closed her eyes and tried to will herself to wake up, but after a couple of minutes she was disappointed to find that she was still in the hospital room.

"Wake up, damn it…wake up," She chanted under her breath.

"How about we get you back into bed and I let your family know that you're coherent. They've missed you terribly and this is the first time you've been interactive since you were brought in," Dr. Palmer explained as he reached a hand out to her.

Emma allowed herself to be lifted off the floor and she settled on the edge of the single bed that adorned the room before the doctor left her side.

She could smell her sweat mixed with a faint odor of cheap soap that clung to her body; she could feel the brittle, unkempt hair upon her head as she combed her fingers through it; she could taste the metallic flavor of medicine and staleness on her tongue. It was all a little too real for her liking and she hoped she would wake up soon from this nightmare.

"Emma, your wife is here to see you," Dr. Palmer announced as he reentered the room.

"My wife?" she questioned in disbelief. It wasn't that she had anything against dating women, but she hadn't referred to anyone as a boyfriend or a girlfriend in a long time; not since Neal had broken her heart and left her. But a spouse? Marriage was one thing that Emma swore she would never allow to happen to herself. The idea of being tied down to someone meant you couldn't escape.

The doctor waved someone over before he smiled. "Yes, your wife. She's come to be a good friend to the staff, seeing as how she visits you every day. Luckily she came to visit you early today or she would've missed this chance to see you awake. She's been waiting a long time for this moment."

The fair-haired woman shifted nervously as she listened to the staccato rhythm of approaching heels until a very familiar figure stepped into the doorway and greeted her.

"Emma," the brunette greeted as her eyes filled with moisture. "Are you really here with us?"

"Regina?" Emma stated in shock.

"Yes, sweetheart, it's me," Regina praised before she crossed the threshold and enveloped the blonde into her arms in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much. All these years…"

Emma stayed rigid at the intimate contact for a moment before she offered a one-armed hug in return as the older woman started to sob onto her shoulder. The entire situation was suddenly too overwhelming to deal with and she felt exhausted from it all.

"I'm tired, Regina," Emma mumbled against the brunette's collarbone.

The older woman pulled back and cupped the blonde's face lovingly. "It's so good to have you back. Please, don't ever leave me again."

"Okay, but I need to sleep now," Emma sluggishly replied before her eyelids slipped shut of their own accord.

"Emma? Emma!"

The sheriff's eyes burst open as she fumbled to get up, which caused her to land unceremoniously in a heap on the floor beside the couch.

"Goodness Emma, are you alright?" Mary Margaret asked in concern as she scooted around the couch and checked on her daughter.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. I just had a weird dream and it kinda freaked me out," she gave as an explanation. "You scared me when you woke me up."

"I'm sorry, but you seemed upset. Plus you were mumbling Regina's name, so I thought you were having a nightmare," Mary Margaret replied.

Emma's eyes widened a little. "I said her name? Did I say anything else?"

The brunette shook her head. "No, just Regina and then some gibberish that I couldn't make heads or tails of. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Is Henry still asleep?"

Snow quirked an eyebrow. "No, David took him to school about an hour ago."

"An hour ago?! Damn it! I didn't plan to sleep in," she grumbled.

"It's alright Emma, it's taken care of. David and Henry seemed to have bonded in our absence and to be honest, I just woke up myself not too long ago. I guess the lack of sleep we had while we were in the Enchanted Forest finally caught up to us. Would you like some breakfast? I can make you something."

"No, I'm just gonna go take a shower and head to the station. I want to try to get back into the swing of things, normal routine if you can call it that," Emma responded before she made a beeline for the bathroom.

Mary Margaret watched her disappear with slight concern before she shrugged it off and headed for the kitchen.

Emma spent most of the day just sitting in her office with her feet propped up on the desk while she stared absentmindedly into space. The dream was nagging at her brain and she couldn't shake how real it felt. Even Regina felt incredibly real, from the smell of her perfume to the silkiness of her hair that tickled her face.

David had stopped by to return the sheriff's badge to her and to see how she was doing. They made small chitchat before they came to an agreement that he would be deputy and continue to work there. He offered to go get Henry from school, which she agreed to, and he told her to try to be home for dinner before he left the station.

It felt strange to have people care about her, nonetheless to discover she had parents. The idea was foreign to her and as much as she cared about Mary Margaret and David, she couldn't help but rebel against their neediness to bond with her, especially with them being almost the same age. She knew it would take some time, but she also had to deal with being a mother herself, which scared her even more. She still felt guilty that she took him away from his real mother that raised him from infancy, but she had to keep Henry safe and at the moment she couldn't trust the Madame Mayor.

At least not yet.

Emma gazed at the clock on the wall and realized she had wasted a whole day doing nothing. She sighed as she got to her feet and made her way home just in time for quickly shed her coat and boots before she took her seat at the dining table.

Henry chatted animatedly about his horse while they ate together as a family before he and his grandfather headed upstairs to work on his homework together. Emma wordlessly picked up a dish towel and started to dry the dishes as her mother washed them.

"You were pretty quiet during dinner, more so than usual. Everything okay?" Mary Margaret had asked Emma as she handed her a plate.

"Hard to get a word in edgewise with the kid's motor mouth," the savior joked as she put away the plate before she loudly yawned. "I know I slept in today, but I'm still really exhausted. I don't feel like I got any sleep at all last night."

"Well, I'm sure sleeping on the couch doesn't help. We need to find a bigger place to live."

Emma nodded in answer, but she still wasn't sure about the whole living together arrangement. If she had it her way, she'd stay at the apartment with Henry while her parents found a new place, but she wasn't ready to let that little tidbit slip from her mouth and disappoint her new-found parents.

After the dishes were done and everything was cleaned up, the sheriff settled on the couch and watched TV. She swore she just closed her eyes for a second, but she knew almost immediately that she was no longer in Mary Margaret's apartment.

Cracking her eyes open, she discovered with horror that she was back in that hospital room, lying in bed alone with voices arguing just outside the door. One voice she recognized immediately and she felt a hint of relief wash over her.

"Regina?" She called out before she cleared her dry throat and raised her volume. "Regina!"

The door swung open and her relieved spouse came rushing in.

"Oh Sweetheart, thank God you're awake again," the brunette praised as she sat beside Emma and pulled her frail body against her side.

"What's happening? Why am I here?"

Blue-green eyes locked with chestnut orbs. "Do you remember anything?"

Emma shook her head.

Dr. Palmer approached the unoccupied side of the bed before he sat down. "Emma, do you remember your other life?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

Regina cupped her face and smiled. "Let's start with something simple. Do you know me as your wife or as the evil queen and mayor of Storybrooke?"

Emma sucked in a sharp breath before she pulled away from the brunette's grasp. "Is this some kind of warped trick of the mind? Some spell you cast over me?"

The blonde watched Regina's expression falter slightly and she almost felt bad for being cold towards her, but if this was some sort of new game that Regina or Gold were playing just to fuck with her, she wasn't going to allow something as simple as her supposed wife's tears try to break her.

"Emma, you were brought here by your wife almost five years ago. You were suffering from undifferentiated schizophrenia due to two traumatic events happening closely together in your life. It caused your body to shut down and protect itself and by doing that, your mind created a whole new world," Dr. Palmer explained. "You were catatonic for years, but today is the first day that you not only started talking, but became aware of your surroundings. This is a huge step for you, Emma, but you still have a long road to recovery."

The blonde woman listened intently to the doctor as she tried to ignore the other woman who was fighting off tears beside her. Unable to stop herself, she turned to Regina and clamped down the bitterness she felt for the beautiful woman, who appeared so vulnerable, unlike the woman she knew. It was eerie to see the mayor's clone looking at her with such adoration, but at the same time it felt right somehow. Knowing it was only a dream, she decided to play along for now until she had some answers. Boldly reaching out, she took the brunette's hand into her own to show she was sorry for her hurtful accusation before she turned back to the doctor.

"I need answers in order to make sense of all this," Emma clarified. "Basically what you're trying to tell me is that the world I live in or think I live in is fake, made up by my own imagination?"

"Yes, but it's more than just your imagination. You're entire being and mind believe it to the point that it feels as real as this place does right now; maybe even more so."

"But how do I know that this isn't the made up reality and the reality I thought I was living in was in fact the real one?"

Dr. Palmer furrowed his brows before he understood and nodded. "You don't. It's up to you to figure out what is real and what isn't."

"How will I know? What if I choose wrong?"

"You'll know, Emma. You have to believe in yourself to know what is made up and what isn't."

The blonde sighed before she gazed upon Regina's smiling face. "This may seem like a weird question, but I need to know. Where is Henry? Does he even exist here?"

Emma watched the other woman's eyes widen in horror before tears started to trickle down her face. She squeezed the blonde's hand as she sniffled back on choked sobs before she turned to Dr. Palmer with a pleading look.

"Emma," Dr. Palmer started to get her attention. "Henry is one of the reasons you became, well he was one of the events that triggered your condition."

The blonde turned back to the brunette and frowned. "Where's Henry? Regina, where is he?!"

Watery dark eyes locked with emerald orbs. "He died before he had a chance to live."

"What?!" Emma roared as she jumped from the bed and placed her back against the wall. "What do you mean? What do you mean by that?!"

Emma saw the doctor out of her peripheral vision head for the door, but her eyes remained locked on Regina. The brunette wept as she reached a desperate hand out towards her.

"You miscarried, Emma. You had a miscarriage and our baby boy was too young to survive. You were only six months pregnant," Regina explained between sobs.

"No! No, Henry's alive and is beautiful and energetic," the younger woman responded as she pushed herself deeper into the corner of the room. "This isn't real! Henry's alive and this is just a horrible nightmare!"

Regina got up and briskly made her way to the blonde's side. "Emma, fairy tales aren't real; they're just fictional stories. I realize that you probably created Storybrooke in order to give our son a chance to live out the life he would've had, but it's time to come home to me now. This is reality, not there. Please Sweetheart, we could always try to have children again someday."

Emma moved away from the other woman as she backed herself further against the wall. "No! This isn't real! You're the Evil Queen and this is all a lie! You somehow used magic on me and you're making me think I'm crazy so that you can take my son away from me!"

Regina stumbled backwards as she continued to cry before Dr. Palmer and two orderlies rushed into the room and surrounded Emma. Her jaded eyes landed on the syringe in the doctor's hand and she started to panic.

"Get away from me! I'm not crazy! This is just a dream!"

"Emma, you need to calm down. This is just a sedative," Dr. Palmer explained as the orderlies grabbed her and held her down.

"No! Get off me! Get off me!" Emma screamed before she felt the needle puncture her upper arm.

Her eyes slipped closed as the drugs entered her bloodstream and everything fell black until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not real! Get away from me!" the savior shouted out before her eyes popped open and she realized she was on the couch once again with a startled David kneeling beside her.

"Hey, it's just me," David consoled. "I heard your soft cries and I tried to wake you up."

The sheriff took a cleansing breath before she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. "It felt so real."

"You wanna talk about it?" David offered.

"Thanks, but I'd rather not."

He yawned before he gently patted her knee and stood up. "I realize our situation is a bit awkward, but I'm here if you need me or want to talk."

"I know, I just need some time," Emma responded as she watched her father accept her answer before he silently returned to bed.

She remained huddled on the couch and let what had happened replay over and over in her mind. It was all too surreal but what effected her most was when Regina talked about the miscarriage, images of it happening flashed through her mind. Like a dream within a dream, she saw the blood saturating her pants, felt the excruciating pain in her abdomen, and saw Regina crying hysterically beside her as they held their tiny, lifeless son to say their last goodbyes.

Emma wiped at the tears streaming down her face before she rubbed her arms against the chilled air of the apartment. She startled when her hand brushed a particularly sensitive spot and her brows wrinkled in confusion as she tried to recall what she had bruised her arm on. Making her way quietly to the bathroom, she blinked against the harsh light until her vision adjusted to the brighter room. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she grimaced at the dark circles that surrounded her eyes before she twisted her body to inspect her arm. She noticed a small puncture wound with slight bruising around it and her expression shifted to one of disbelief as she realized that it was exactly where Dr. Palmer had jabbed the needle in the supposed dream world.