*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez as Mr. Gold, Regina Mills, and David Nolan, and I as Evelyn Hyde*~*~*

Running her hand over her knuckles, Regina willed for the magic to be pulled from within her fingertips as it had so easily come to her time and time again. Magic was back, it had to be. She could feel it, and yet, there seemed to be this...barrier, this wall keeping her from being able to use it. As soon as she could heal her injuries she would have less to fear from the citizens of Storybrooke, and she could get her son back, but as Regina tried once more to heal just the simplest of scrapes on her knuckle, nothing happened.

Graham looked up from the office desk, shaking his head at Regina in pity. She had been at it for hours now, and as much as he didn't want Regina to get her magic back, he only wished that he could have done [i]something[/i] to help her, but the deputy just raised his coffee mug to his lips and instead took a drink. As soon as the warm liquid filled his belly, his eyes grew incredibly heavy and slowly let his head fall back; eyes shut and asleep.

"Magic is different here...dearie..."

Regina wasn't sure how she missed the sound of Mr. Gold's wooden cane clicking on the hard surface of the Sheriff's office, but his voice was unmistakable. She turned her attention from her injured hand to the shadow of a man that stepped out from behind his hiding place, stopping to let the light of the quickly setting sun settle in on his features as he stared at her coldly.

Regina looked over at Graham next, realizing then that her 'security' had been put under some sort of spell; she was truly alone with the monster before her.

"I noticed. I assume this was all your doing?" Regina asked, pushing herself up and off of the bed to hold herself against the bars. The last thing she wanted was to make Mr. Gold feel as if he had the advantage here; even though it was painfully obvious it was just that.

"Most things are." Mr. Gold took a look over at the busted jail cell next to Regina, his dark eyes settling on his folded up suit jacket and cane and with a small flourish of his wrist, they disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"Get to it Rumpel, what do you want? You here to finish the job?"

"No, no, no. You're safe from me." Mr. Gold adjusted his grip on his cane, enjoying watching Regina's face visibly wince as he did so before relaxing his hand back onto the handle.

"I feel so relieved." Regina replied, rolling her eyes.

"I made a promise to someone that I won't kill you." Mr. Gold explained, his Scottish accent coming out thick and letting Regina know the sincerity of his words, but more than that, the Pawnbroker had been drinking...and heavily. She hadn't noticed it before, but looking upon him now she was sure she was right.

"Who could illicit that from you?" She inquired, shifting uncomfortably behind her cell. Mr. Gold winced, but opened his mouth to speak a single word that nearly brought tears to his eyes,

"Belle."

"Oh yes, your ring leader. Pulling the leash a bit tight don't you think?" Regina smirked, attemping to gain the higher ground now that a raw nerve had been struck. She didn't know what that nerve was, but putting together the hurt in his voice and his current phyisical state, she could only assume that something bad had happened between them. 

"What you did to her; what you did to me...keeping her alive so you could kill her when it suited you; a fate worse than death. Unfortunately, I don't have the energy to offer you the same courtesy."

The lights suddenly flickered on and off rapidly, the sound of some circuit almost shorting out echoed throughout the room. But after five flickers, the light stayed on, and the atmosphere grew slightly heavier and darker...almost as though something dangerous was coming.

Instinctively, Regina took a step back from the bars keeping her locked in, her eyes glancing at the lights overhead as she felt a spike of adrenaline shooting into her bloodstream Her eyes landed back on Mr. Gold, who hadn't looked away from Regina, as if he had be [i]expecting[/i] them to do that. Of course he was expecting the lights to flicker, he had done it! The question was; why?

"I met a friend, you see. She, like you, is unafraid to get her hands dirty. I believe you've met her once before." Mr. Gold's dark brown eyes glanced to Regina's neck, a smirk crossing his lips.

"Come out and say 'hello' dearie!" Mr. Gold called out into the open air, a slight trace of the Imp back from The Enchanted Forest teasing in his delivery.

The lights flickered on and off again, until this time, the light went out and left the two in complete darkness. The air grew heavier and heavier, along with the feeling of imminent danger. All was silent, until a familiar voice purred giddily, 

"My, my. Oh, how the tables have turned. Nice to see you again...Queenie," 

The lights suddenly switched back on to show Hyde standing right in front of the bars, with a disturbing and terrifying smile, and simply stated "Boo!" in greeting.

Regina jumped back, the sudden familiar face in her own giving her quite the fright as her back pushed up flat against the stone wall. Her wide eyes looked from the woman and back at Gold, the man statue-like throughout the entire ordeal. He could see it in her eyes, she was pleading. She needn't say a word, he knew her well enough by now most of their conversations had been carried silently anymore.

"Belle may not love me the way I had hoped, but what you did, Regina, I can not forgive." Mr. Gold said to Regina calmly, but that didn't keep Regina from spotting a ghost of an emotion that shadowed across his features for a fraction of a second, an emotion she didn't quite understand, coming from him, in that specific moment; regret.

"Good night Regina. Give your mother my best." He attempted to scoff, but it only came out as a half-enthused smirk before the Pawnbroker looked upon Hyde and then stalked out of the Sheriff's Station to leave the monster to her work.

Hyde remained still and grinning, looking at Regina and relishing her fear while Gold spoke to her. After Gold said his good byes to the woman and stalked out of the office, Hyde stated in a growl, "Now where were we...? Ah, yes," 

She looked at the bars that blocked her from getting to Regina. She let out a growl like "Hmmm...." as she clasped her hands around two of the bars, and pulled them away from each other. The bars seemed to bend easily in her grasp until they broke. When they broke, she shrugged and tossed the broken bars in her hands behind her, allowing them to fall to the floor with a loud clang.

"You don't have to do this." Regina managed to choke out, not realizing until then just how dry her throat had become. "Whatever it is Gold promised you, I can double - no, triple!"

Hyde walked into Regina's cell quickly and she grabbed Regina by the throat and slammed her down into the floor, leaving her alive to feel the great pain. She hissed seriously "Sorry dear. But the deal is already made!" 

"Deals are made to be broken. [i]Especially[/i] his. I know the way he works, [i]he[/i] gets what he wants while [i]you...settle[/i]."

She chuckled, "Keep squealing, I [i]love[/i] hearing desperate words!"

She then leaned forwards and quietly whispered in Regina's ear, so that not even the imp could hear if he ever was listening, "Perhaps...if you cooperated with the faux-Prince and the good doctor...I [i]may[/i] reconsider. Answer wisely, and answer now, because your time is running out..." 

Regina swallowed hard, goosebumps traveling up her neck and down her arms as she felt the woman's hot breath cascading over her skin.

"Whatever it takes, I just want my son..."

Hyde smirked at the answer, and she only whispered "Just do as the prince and doctor say then..."

She then backed away from Regina's face slightly, her hot breath still could be felt on Regina's skin, "Now...which method of death do you prefer?" She then asked "Strangulation? Dismemberment?" She then laughed "No, wait! How about having your heart physically ripped out from your chest?! That seems like the perfect death for you," 

Hyde seemed to be taking her sweet time, relishing the fear and panic that came from Regina, only raising her head when she detected another person's scent nearby. 

"How about neither?" David asked as he walked into the room. The sound of unsheating metal filled the quiet air as David pulled a sword from his hip, a sword recently acquired. He was just happy that Mr. Gold hadn't been in the shop when he had gone looking for it.

Regina's brown eyes shot to the Prince-turned-King and couldn't help but to roll them.

"Oh please, I'm to be rescued by the shephard?" She asked, disappointment in her voice.

"If I were you, I wouldn't start getting picky Regina." David replied curtly before pointing the end of his sword in Hyde's general direction.

Hyde's smirk seemed to widen when David piped up, and she slowly stood up after letting go of Regina's neck. She turned fluidly to face the prince, not the least bit intimidated by his sword. She sighed and said "Well, well! The prince has [i]finally[/i] come to the rescue then!" She then asked in a teasing voice "Where's your red-hooded wolf friend, hm?"

A muscle in David's jaw twitched at the mention of Ruby, but he said nothing to the woman in front of him.

She merely shrugged before he could answer, and she said "Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, maim, kill, play lions with you, or whatever your preference is...I oughta get going. Ta. Ta," The lights flickered on and off once again, before leaving them in darkness. When the lights came back on...Hyde was no longer standing in the room. 

It seemed as though she had disappeared. 

Regina looked to the spot where Hyde had once been before looking back to David, who looked just as confused as she was as to what the hell had just happened.

"Well...that was...easy...?" David said sheathing his sword back onto his hip.

"You almost sound disappointed..." Regina pointed out, looking at David between the bent bars that had allowed Hyde into her cell.

"I've had more...engaging battles before." David shrugged before taking notice of the shape Regina's jail cell was in and groaned. "We really need a better system here. Might as well come out Regina, I can't keep you in here like that."

A smile of confidence came from The Evil Queen as she did as David had suggested and stepped outside of her cell, looking back on it for a moment with a look of total detestation before looking back to Charming.

"Well then, thank you for your...[i]daring[/i] and [i]heroic[/i] rescue..." Regina started before narrowing her eyes on him. "...but I've got it from here." She stared David down before letting up with a soft smirk before she turned to leave.

"Regina..." David called after her, causing her to look back to him. "Don't make me regret this."

The Evil Queen met Prince Charming's eyes, a small scoff coming from her throat in reply before turning to leave once again.