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[The feed clicks on to show a woman in her late twenties, possibly early thirties. And she does not look pleased. If looks could kill, well, everybody viewing the broadcast would definitely be dead.

Well, that's what she's trying to convey, at least. The half dried tear tracks running down either side of her face tell another story. When she speaks, she sounds tired and worn out.]

I'd thought I'd seen the last of strange lands when I left Neverland. It appears I was mistaken. [A beat.] Though I have no doubt about the fact that this land is just as irritating as Wonderland and Neverland were. They always are.

[There's an eye roll in her words, even if she doesn't actually do one.]

I won't bother asking how I got here, [She has a pretty good idea of that already, even if it's completely wrong.] I'd just like to know where I ended up.

[Her hand hovers over the phone, as if she's debating whether to say anything else. Eventually it clicks off without another word.]

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[Her Wonderland also had the unusual rule of 'the amount of people who leave has to be the same as the number who came in' so at this point, anything could happen.

But this news about people going home is troubling, if only because she doesn't know that time seems to stop back there.]

And the world goes on without us while we're here? Perhaps I should be glad that Henry is here too, then.

[Not that she's a stranger to being frozen in time, but it's not exactly a parallel she wants to make.]

If I were the type, I'd tell you to pray that Wonderland never decides to use my memories against us. [She said dryly, letting slip yet more ammo for Martha to use.] Is there any indication who Wonderland decides to use, or is it a surprise for everyone?

[Wait.]

If the events are the first thing, what's the second?

[Regina really is brand new and still a bit clueless, based on the questions that she's asking. For a moment Martha wonders if Emma would be upset to hear that she helped her out in any way, but the fact is that if she doesn't explain things to Regina, someone else will.]

No, time doesn't pass back home while we're here. We don't age here either, at least not physically.

[Which can be seen as a blessing or a curse. For a young boy like Henry it might be more like the latter, but Martha doesn't really want to give years of her life to this place.]

No indication is given. [Oh, Martha's curiosity is piqued by what Regina has to say about her memories, but she'll leave that alone for now. The fact is that Martha's memories might not be the best set to pull from either.]

And believe me, there's a second, third, fourth... [This could take a while.]

[Incredibly new, and possibly happier about being here than one would expect. If Henry wasn't here, she'd be tearing this place apart to find a way to get to him, but since he is...]

And if we go back, things pick up where we left off? Hm.

[She never wants to leave, if that's the case. She'll have to talk to Henry about the not aging thing, since even before the curse was broken he was never affected by that part of it.]

What kind of events have you seen? [Martha can probably figure out what her memories would entail, honestly. As would anybody else who's even remotely familiar with her situation. Can you say 'sleeping curse'?] I'm all ears, dear.

[Martha isn't all that fond of being called "dear" by someone she has a vaguely antagonistic relationship with, but as someone who's British, she's well-prepared to handle passive aggression.

So she does her best to ignore it and move on.]

Oh, there's been loads of them. Sometimes the mansion changes into something else entirely -- a valley with weird plants, a school, a mine. Sometimes there are monsters trying to kill us, and other times Wonderland messes with our heads.

[She taps at her temple. Martha finds that the cerebral events tend to be worse than the ones that involve physical injury, even if the latter means lots of work for her.]

[Passive aggression is the one thing that can't really get back to Henry, so she's embraced it. After all, there's so many things an Evil Queen can say with a basket of apples and a fake smile.

Of course, upon hearing about killer monsters, any mask she was keeping up drops. Her son is here, somewhere that regularly tries to kill people. Her mind immediately goes to Henry, and the possibility that he could've been injured.]

I don't know well you know my son, Ms. Jones. But do you know if anything has happened to him while he's been here?

[Because that's the only thing that matters right now, they can get back to the explanation afterwards. But in the interest of getting as much information from Martha as she can, she offers a follow up question.] Messes with our heads how?

[Because that's a little too close to home for a certain Evil Queen.]

[It's hardly a surprise that Regina would ask such a thing. Something that Emma's impressed on Martha about Regina is that despite everything she's done, she does care for Henry, which is why Emma puts up with her.

In terms of physical injury, Martha can't think of much, but there a few other things that Regina might want to know about.]

Well, at one point he got pulled out for a week and came back with new memories. [Not all that dangerous, but Emma had been worried when he'd disappeared.] And there was another time when he fell into a deep sleep all of a sudden. I kept him at the clinic for a few days during that time, but eventually he woke up.

[Both of those things had happened before he'd disappeared a second time and then returned, though.] But Henry won't remember those things. Much like you, he left -- yes, again -- and came back, this time with no memories.

[At this point he's still fairly "new" and Martha hasn't heard of him getting into much trouble.

As for Regina's other question, Martha's going to get to it, but she figures they should finish with this subject first.]

You went off on your own in Neverland?

[As if Regina weren't capable. Of course she is, but it's so much easier for Emma to focus on something other than Neal as she lets the news sink in. Reunited? That was a potentially loaded word, but--

Busy looking for Henry, she wouldn't have had time to do anything more than make sure Neal was safe. Romance wasn't high on her list, and a part of her felt momentarily panicked that she was even considering that as a possibility at all.

No. Of course it wasn't. No matter how relieved she was to hear that he was alive.]

Wait, wait--

[Too much, too soon.]

Ever again? Did Pan get Henry's heart? There's no way either one of us would have ever let that happen if we could stop it. Regina, what the hell happened?

[And what about that curse? She would get to that.]

Between your parents' constant optimism and a pirate who never learned the concept of basic hygiene, can you blame me? I wasn't happy with how things were progressing, so I decided my talents were best used elsewhere. With Mr. Gold.

[Note the lack of anything disparaging said about Emma. Until Emma got derailed by what Regina had thought were Pan's lies, they'd actually worked well together. But maybe we should keep the 'Regina taught Emma magic' bomb for a little while later.

But oh. Yes. Emma wasn't there, she can't skip over important details. She looks uncomfortable, like it's reflecting her failure as a parent that she couldn't stop Henry from willingly giving over his heart.]

Henry's heart is special. 'The Heart of the Truest Believer.' On Neverland, it allowed him to literally believe things into existence. [Is that a fond look on her face?] But Pan wanted it, to save himself. He tricked Henry into believing that by handing over his heart, he'd be saving magic. Pan managed to slow us down, and when we got there Henry hadn't done it yet.

He just wanted to be a hero.

[Regina might be a lot of terrible things, but Henry is her everything. So she appreciates Martha's answer, even if it fills her with a sense of dread.

The deep sleep hits too close to home, and she suspects Martha knows that. Though she's a little surprised when Martha reveals she treated him.]

You're a doctor? [It comes out sounding surprised, but she doesn't actually... mean it to be condescending or anything. She is genuinely thankful for Martha's help, considering Henry's normal physician likes to resurrect the dead in his free time.] Thank you, for taking care of Henry.

This deep sleep, was it a curse? Or something else?

[Martha tries not to let that surprise at her occupation bother her, though it is a sore spot. So long as that shock stems from her age and not her gender, but she'd rather not go there. So instead she simply nods.

And she is all too familiar with Henry's normal physician, seeing how he'd been here for quite a while and they'd had a very tumultuous friendship.]

I wasn't able to do much, just watch him and make sure his vital signs didn't fall dangerously low.

[And oh, Martha knows exactly why Regina's asking. She's aware of the sleeping curse and how Emma had used true love's kiss to break it back home.] It was like a curse, but we have no idea what triggered it. It must have been Wonderland's doing.

[Despite coming from a land of fairy tales, or perhaps because of it, Regina learned long ago that a woman could do whatever she wished.

Admittedly, aside from her experience with Doctor Frankenstein, Regina knew very little of medicine and science until the memories implanted by the curse fixed that.]

But he won't remember it. [It's a relief, honestly. The original curse was bad enough.]

Is this what you meant when you said Wonderland messes with people's heads? Or is there something more?

And for all we really know, there are probably more.

[It comes out a little sarcastically, but the more he actually thinks about it, the more likely he realizes it is. Ugh, is it ever tempting to hold his head while he tries to figure it all out. It's just all a little much. What if there are an infinite number of Wonderlands that exist????]

Yeah, and I doubt that anyone here has any reason to lie about it, anyway. I'd believe them too, honestly. It probably shouldn't surprise anyone that Wonderland makes you forget everything the moment you finally get out. [Scoff.] It kind of figures, really. The place is meant to be ridiculous and confusing.

Right, he might not even know about it.

[Martha has no idea how much Emma told Henry about his previous time here. On one hand, she can understand wanting to rebuild those memories as much as possible. On the other hand, it's not the same hearing it second-hand, and she probably didn't want to worry him too much.

But right, back to that earlier question.]

That's one example, but that had been more of an isolated incident. Usually the events affect everyone. There was one where a shadow version popped up and basically rubbed in all our secrets or the things about ourselves that we don't like.

[Martha may have jumped onto the back of a horse to avoid that one.]

Another time, some important detail in our lives was changed and we lived it out for a few days. Then it all reverted like it'd never happened. [It's enough to make anyone's head spin.]

And hopefully it stays that way.

[Her tone makes it clear that she considers that to be the end of that discussion, and any notions of telling Henry are off the table. Which means that Emma most likely told Henry about it, just to spite her despite the logistics involved.

Regina Logic.

But, oh dear. None of this sounds very fun, and if that's the kind of thing that happens regularly, she won't have to wait long before the rest of her secrets are revealed and Henry is lost to her forever.

Again.]

Wonderland has the power to affect our pasts? Has it ever been permanent?

[Martha has no intention of telling any of this to Henry. It's not her business, it's not her place, and that would all be left up to Emma as far as she's concerned.

Regina certainly carries herself like a worried mother, though, and Martha has to admit that it seems genuine. For that reason alone, she'll try to keep the peace.]

Well, I don't know that it's affecting our pasts so much as altering our thoughts. Making us believe things that aren't actually true, that kind of thing. [Martha doesn't want to assume that Wonderland would have the power to actually change past events.]

Never permanent, as far as I know. Most events last three to four days and then everything reverts back to normal.

[At the risk of sounding like a broken record, (which Regina basically is when it comes to Henry,) there's a reason Henry is named after the Thing She Loves Most.

And while it's unfortunate that Martha's earlier point about Henry being the only thing stopping her from lashing out is correct, it's also all she can offer. Emma is about the only one here aside from Regina herself that knows how easy it is for her to slip up.]

So it changes our memories and makes our lives difficult every so often. Why?

[She doesn't expect Martha to know, it's more an expression of frustration.]

And yet, somehow I fear that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Edited 2014-01-11 11:35 (UTC)

I'd prefer not to think about that. Two is too many. One is too many.

[An infinite number of Wonderlands, an infinite number of Queen of Hearts. The very thought of it is enough to cause a permanent migraine.

She can only hope that it isn't true. The universe wouldn't be that cruel, surely.]

I'm sure someone would find a reason to lie. Simply to entertain themselves over a new arrival worrying about anything they may have possibly done that they can't remember. [She. Kind of is. But nobody's accused her of killing anybody, so it can't have been that bad.] But you'd know the people here better than I would, if you've been here longer.

[A part of her wants to argue that Hook wasn't that bad, but this wasn't the time or place. She couldn't say anything about her parents -- she had only ever expected the barest level of tolerance between them and Regina, working together for a common goal, but when it came to the optimism, Emma might have been on Regina's side.

It wasn't anything that they had done wrong. It worked for them. It fell in line with their past experience, motivated them to carry on, but it just didn't work that way for her. Her life had never given her much reason to be optimistic. She was practical, and any optimism was strictly cautious.

Her frown shifts as Regina explains, softening slightly as she lets the pieces fall into place. As bad as it was-- she couldn't blame Henry for making the choice he had. She wouldn't have expected anything less from him, not if that was what he truly believed.]

So he took advantage of Henry. Preyed on the fact that he believes in everyone and everything.

[She sighs slowly, folding her arms over her chest.]

He was doing what he thought was the right thing. But we got him back, right? You said he hadn't done it yet, but-- we fixed it. We have to have fixed it.

[It's a remarkable show of restraint that she doesn't immediately snap at Emma. Of course she fixed it, she's his mother. But snapping at her, falling into the old routine, wouldn't help. Not now.

It's a sign of how much Neverland changed them. Her. Maybe it'll show to Emma, help convince her that Regina is changing.

Her fingers strum lightly on the table.]

Henry wouldn't listen to us, any of us. He gave Pan his heart, and almost died. But yes, Emma. I fixed it. [She's taking pride in this, that it was her who ultimately saved Henry.] I tore Henry's heart from Pan's chest, and saved our son's life.

[And recovered Pandora's Box and freed Mr. Gold, but he's not the important person here.]

After I enchanted Henry so nobody, not even himself, could remove his heart, Pan struck again. We managed to trap him in Pandora's Box, but the damage had been done. During the struggle, Pan stole Henry's body. We didn't know until it was too late.

That's the question, isn't it? Why?

[Martha still hasn't found a concrete answer to that question, but she's done plenty of speculating, and she's willing to share that. Regina can make of it what she will.]

The prevailing theory is that this place brought us here to feed off of our memories. Seeing how the events are based on them, there's obviously a connection.

[She lets out a sigh. There's so much to tell that she's not sure where to go from here, but the mirrorside seems like a safe bet.]

Have you heard about the Mirrors yet?

Memories are incredibly powerful things, I won't be surprised if you turn out to be right.

[Because yeah, she saw what the potion Snow White took did to her relationship with Charming. Oh she laughed for days and days.

Of course that's not something you bring up in polite company. Or any company. Unless it's to taunt Snow White.]

Of course, that just leads to more questions, doesn't it?

[Wait what's this about mirrors. What did you do to her precious mirrors, Wonderland. What did you do?]

No, I haven't.

[An Emma from the not-so-distant past might have challenged that claim, insisted that there was no way she hadn't played a part in that rescue -- she knows she was there, knows that there was nothing that could have kept her from doing whatever it took to save Henry.

Except for the fact that it required ripping out a heart. Something she would have failed at in both ability and deed. That power wasn't available to her, and even if it was--

She's not sure she could do it.

But Regina could. Regina could do what was necessary. That was worth remembering.

Even at the worst of times, Emma tried her damndest to think of Regina as a person rather than the 'Evil Queen,' even if she wasn't a person Emma particularly liked. Still. Sitting here now, watching Regina gloss over countless openings for an argument-- either she's changed, or she's trying, and that's worth noting, too. Emma knows a hell of a lot about how hard it is to change.]

So he was running around inside of Henry. Not a bad plan, if he thought we would go after him on sight. [She frowns. That's worrying. Henry must have been okay, Regina would have said otherwise, but she hates to think what might have happened if they'd been a little too quick on the draw.] I take it they got switched back. No way either one of us was letting that go on any longer than it had to.

[Come on, she's not going to let Regina take all the credit.]

You mentioned a curse. Tell me about that. That's the reason you thought I shouldn't remember you?

Yeah, I have to agree with you there.

[Grimacing, he shakes his head like that might rid him of the thought. But it's a tough one to get rid of once it's there, not to mention absolutely dizzying.

If the universe is cruel enough to have even two Wonderlands, however, one of which is trapping them all here now, who can say that there aren't an infinite number more?]

Well-- Good point, I guess. But the people I've met so far have been nice and helpful. [He shrugs weakly.] Then again, I still haven't met everyone, so I suppose there could be someone around here like that. In general, though, most of them seem to care about everyone else, given we're all stuck in this mess together.

[More questions, yes, and none that Martha has the answer to, unfortunately. Regina can try her luck with one of the Queens whenever they show themselves, but Martha doubts she'll be any more successful than the rest of them.

Martha may as well focus on a topic she knows a bit about, and that's the mirrorside.]

I imagine you've already seen them scattered throughout the rooms and hallways. Those mirrors are actually pathways to the other side of this place. It's a mirrored version of the mansion. The Queen of Hearts lives there, and so do mirror versions of each of us.

[As someone who came from a fairytale land, Martha imagines Regina will be able to conceive of that more easily than most.]

They can see through the glass and watch what we're doing, but it doesn't work both ways. You have to be careful.

[She knows that the chance of her Magic Mirror being here is slim to none, since he's busy being a Real Boy. But she's still fond of ordinary mirrors, after all they were the focus point of her manor's interior in Storybrooke.

But this news is troubling, in more ways than one. The Queen of Hearts has an army of mirror duplicates. For now, she's just glad it's a different Queen.

But still. Her precious mirrors. You bitch.]

And suddenly the events don't seem so bad. Does everybody who passes through here have a mirror of themselves?

[She is kind of intrigued by the concept, no lie. But a mirror version of her could cause trouble for Henry, and that's not a chance she's willing to take.]

But it appears my taste in decorating will have to change.

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