A/N: Here's the next installment. It might not be super long, but I'm trying to get a little bit done over the next few days before work consumes my life again and I get super busy. I assume you guys wont mind the quick update ;)

As always, thank you guys so much for your support of this story through your follows, favs, and reviews. I truly appreciate it.

On a separate note, I had an anon review the story with several questions about why Henry isn't in the story and why Regina and Emma can't just combine their powers to stop the curse, like they did the trigger. In the case that others have the same questions, I'll answer them here.

A: Henry actually is in the story, in chapter 2, I believe. He hasn't had a large part yet, but will be making an appearance in this chapter and will appear more in the future. Everything in due time. Only about 2 days have passed in this story so far, so keep that in mind. As for magically stopping the curse, it doesn't seem plausible to me. In the history of OUAT, no curse has actually been stopped. Not Regina's, not Pan's, not even Zelena's time portal. They have, however, been able to alter them. That's what I'm going for with this story. The trigger was something different entirely and not something that was gone over in much depth. Also, Zelena has just been defeated. Regina used a lot of magic in that defeat and even then, Zelena was almost her match. In a weakened state, a power match would be useless. They are going for a brains over brawn approach.

Anyway, hope that clears anything up. If anyone has other questions, feel free to message or review them and I will do my best to answer.

Chapter 6:

Their playful banter ended with lunch. It had been a nice break from the stress both of them felt, but it did not change the circumstances. The curse was still coming, the town was waiting for information and they still needed to hammer out a solid plan for not dying in the next week. With those looming over their heads, the queen and the savior settled into the well equipped office of the mayoral manor to solve what they could.

They spent another hour going through the book Emma had found at Gold's, dissecting each word for total meaning. They had to be thorough in this. One wrong misinterpretation could mean death for everyone. There were still several things to consider and of course, gathering all necessary things needed to enact the change in purpose. It was going to be tedious and draining if they were able to accomplish it, but there was no other solution in either of their minds.

Finally, Emma informed the mayor that she would call her parents and several others around town to pass the word about the meeting they would hold later that evening at town hall. She stepped out into the hallway with her phone and left Regina with her books. About half an hour later, she returned.

Regina looked up at the sound of the door creaking as it opened and watched as Emma sank into the couch and leaned her head back with a sigh. "That bad?"

"Well, you know how my mother can be. Endless questions and rambling about what to do. I finally had to tell her I was getting another call and just hung up."

The brunette laughed. "How I wish I could have seen her face!"

Emma made a face at her.

"Why didn't you just call your father?"

"You would think that would do it, right? I actually did call David. But in his shock at the brief explanation I gave him, he handed the phone to Snow, so... yeah."

Regina could sympathize with her over Snow's overreactions, having been on the receiving end of them many times when she was younger. "'Yeah' indeed. Who else did you contact?"

The blonde sat up slightly. "I called Belle, Tink, Hook, Leroy, and Archie. Told them all the same basics: town's in danger, required town meeting tonight with information, pass on the word to everyone; the usual."

"With those people knowing, we needn't worry about word getting around," the mayor said as she put the heavy book down. "By the time we get there this evening, rumors of every sort will be floating about the town."

Emma chuckled softly, "That's for sure. We'll hear everything from ogres to Jafar, I bet you."

"I'd happily take on the sorcerer Jafar instead of this," was the reply.

A groan emanated from the blonde. "Seriously, he's real, too? Are there any Disney characters that aren't real?"

"I can't say that I am familiar with all of the movies, dear, though it would seem that your Mr. Disney was complete in his collection so far, if not accurate in the portrayal of the true stories," Regina told her seriously.

All that earned was another groan, before the savior stood and returned to her seat at the desk, mumbling something about "living in a freaking fairytale." She looked at the clock on the wall, noting the time.

"We still have a few hours before the meeting. Why don't you take a break for a bit, maybe call Henry? He will probably be concerned about what's going on if he was anywhere near Snow when I called. I'll stay and work on notes for tonight." Regina started to object but was stopped. "Don't argue, Regina. We are doing okay with what we have. Relax for a few minutes and talk to our son."

Regina stood from her seat and reached for her phone. "I won't be too long," she said as she reached the door.

The only reply she got was, "Tell the kid I said hey," before Emma picked up her pen and started scribbling.

### ### ###

Several hours later, the two women stood at the front of the packed town hall. The people were on edge and talking amongst themselves in hushed tones, all speculating what was happening this time. On the front row sat Snow, Charming and Henry, with Gold and Belle a few seats down. Their son smiled up at them, even though he looked nervous as well. Regina took a moment to speak softly in his ear before returning to her position next to Emma. Her had words put more serene look on his face.

At 6:00pm on the dot, the former evil queen cleared her throat, demanding silence in the room and stepped behind the podium with Emma at her side. A pen could have dropped and echoed in the quiet.

With her most sincere, however regal face she began. "Citizens of Storybrook, we have called you here this evening to discuss yet another evil bearing down on our town. It seems, that in her death and despite her defeat, Zelena was able enact a curse. It is powerful, it is dangerous, and it is coming for us. Ms. Swan and I believe we have a way to stop it's original purpose. But, if we fail the price for us all, is death."

The room nearly burst with noise as the town reacted to the news.