juliet •peter pan•

EIGHTY

STORYBROOKE

It was a short walk from town hall to Regina's office, and Emma and Juliet got there in no time. Emma opened the door to see Regina going through her desk.

"An earthquake?" She asked. Regina stood up, looking at the two. 

"I had to make a statement. And you're fine." Juliet tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait, what?" Regina ignored the redhead and walked over to Emma.

"So do you think they bought it?" Emma nodded.

"Yeah, I think they did." 

"Good." Regina responded. Juliet's eyes widened.

"Okay, what is going on?" Regina and Emma looked at each other, then looked at Juliet. 

"We're trying to figure out who really cursed this town. And since everyone here thinks I did it, we figured we'd work in secret to keep the person who cursed us from finding out." Regina explained, and Juliet nodded. 

"So how can I help?" Regina smiled, walking over to grab a box. She set the box down on the table. Emma went to check that the door was closed.

"How long do you think we have?" Regina asked. Emma sighed.

"Until whoever cast this curse realizes you're not actually on the run from me. But, until then, no one's gonna suspect we're working together." Regina opened the box and started rummaging through it. 

"Let's see it." Emma reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a vial. She handed it to Regina.

"That enough?" She asked. Regina looked it over. 

"To use? No. But to replicate? I think so." Emma sat down in the chair next to where Regina was sitting, and Juliet sat on the other side of the table.

"We can start waking people up." Emma remarked. "And figure out who the hell sent everyone back here." 

"And I can make Henry remember me." Juliet looked up at Regina. She knew it was hard for Regina, being back here and having the one person she loved more than anything not remember her. Regina sighed, placing the vial back on the table. "Thank you." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"For what? We haven't done anything yet." Regina went back to the bag. 

"You saw how quick this town was to blame me. But you, you believe I didn't cast that curse. I know that wasn't easy for you." Emma shook her head.

"Sure it was. I knew you were telling the truth."

"Even though everything that has happened has put me right next to Henry?" Regina asked. "Maybe this was some super complicated ingenious plan." 

"It wasn't." Emma argued. "My superpower may not be perfect, but with you, Regina, I always know when you're lying." Regina looked over at Emma. "And this time you're not. You didn't do it." 

"Even though you know I can't live without him." Emma smiled.

"There you go, telling the truth again." Regina returned the smile. 

"Alright, once I replicate this, Juliet will be the tester. If she gets her memory back, it works." Juliet nodded, happy to help. Regina then got to work. 

After about an hour of Regina working with powders and liquids, she poured a gray powder into a beaker full of water. The water in the beaker turned black.

"Did it work?" Emma asked. Regina handed the beaker to Juliet. 

"There's only one way to find out." She gestured for Juliet to drink it. Juliet sighed, raising the beaker to her lips. Once the liquid went down her throat, she put the beaker back on the table.