It. Was. Over. Emma had done it she had found Cora's heart and now they were standing in the middle of main street, Storybrooke for the final duel.
"It's over Cora. Here's your last chance to leave peacefully and let Archie go!" the evil being before her laughed, a sickingly sweet sound.
"You foolish girl, I have years of magic experience on you, do you really think you can defeat me? Join me, I'll teach you about the dark arts." The very idea repulsed Emma
"Never!" She spat Cora's features darkened like the clouds above
"Very well…" a fireball flew at Emma with out even thinking a magic shield flew up around Emma. Cora threw blast after blast of magic at Emma trying to pierce through the shield, Emma knew her energy was draining eventually she would no longer be able to hold the shield up against Cora's jabs and Cora knew it too. With every blast Emma became weaker
"Give up, give up!" Cora said her harpy like voice echoing in Emma's skull
"Never!" Emma screamed, but she knew she wouldn't last long a sharp blast of magic almost ripped through her shield jarring her from her inner musings. She had to focus. In the back of her mind Emma could hear Henry's voice. "Cora is like Koschei the Deathless* Emma! She must be killed the same way Koschei was in the story! You have to find her heart and crush it!" Cora's heart that was it! Another jab of magic Emma had to time this right she only had one shot at this… Emma let her shield drop and grabbed the heart from it's hiding place it throbbed and glowed in her hand so… vital so full of… life.
"Hey Cora! Remember this?" Cora froze at the sight of her heart in Emma's hand
"You- but- I- How?" Cora stammered
"You remember Koschei don't you Cora?" Cora paled and looked deathly ill.
"You are such a copy cat" Emma chuckled
"I'll kill you" Cora snarled
"Uh, uh, uh" Emma smirked
"I was told once, that when you hold a heart you have control over it." Emma said Cora lunged at Emma but Emma shouted
"Freeze!" Cora froze unable to move. Just for extra precaution Emma applied a demoblization spell to her foe she circled Cora slowly once… twice… three times.
"you have done horrible wrongs Cora, you've killed, you've torchered, you've kidnapped, if you want my opinion death is too good for you. But then again it's the only way to keep my people safe… drop." The still frozen Cora fell at Emma's feet.
"Goodbye, Cora" Emma saw the fear replaced with pain in the elder woman's eyes, as her grip tightened on the witch's heart a scream of anguish ripped from the monster's throat.
"Cora!" Hook arrived just in time to see his co- conspirator fall to the ground. Dead. Emma felt a pang deep with in her own heart as she recalled the painful death of another so similar to Cora's own demise, Emma shook her head. He was nothing like Cora, he was good, he was pure, he was everything Cora wasn't. The only thing similar between them were their deaths.
"What have you done?' Hook cried Emma watched numbly
"Goodbye Hook" Emma said turning her back on the man and the dead woman. She did not see Hook rise up his eyes once blue as forget-me-nots were now blood red, he raised his hook ready to plunge his hook into the savior's back. When suddenly and arrow whizzed past Emma's head. She spun around just as the arrow imbedded itself into Hook's shoulder the buckineer cried out in pain gripping his injured shoulder with his hand. Emma stared at the arrow shaft pretruding from Hook. Like a red flag, or in this case a white and black striped flag. That arrow it was so… familiar. Emma looked from the way that the arrow had come. No… it couldn't be. But nothing was there, but she knew that arrow she had seen them herself in Henry's book. How many torcherous hours had she spent sitting in Mary Margaret's living room pouring over pictures of him? Pictures of Graham. Emma felt numb, his name stuck in her throat. She had to find him.
"Go home Hook," Emma said before running towards the sheriff's station as fast as she could go, leaving the injured man yelling after her.
"Swan! Swan! SWAN!"
Emma ran onto the sheriff's station it was still dark inside given the clouds had not cleared yet. Emma was breathless, her lungs burned sucking in air but not doing any good, his name stuck in her throat painful and desprate. She fumbled for the lights but was unable to find the switch. Just then she heard it and her insides squirmed and her heart God she had missed that accent that perfectly glorious accent! Out of the darkness it came as familiar as if she had only heard him say it yesterday, but he hadn't. He hadn't said it in almost a year. Out of the darkness it came.
"Emma?"
Tada! Review!
* Koschei the Deathless is a Russian fairytale about a guy who can not be killed because his sole is outside his body if you crush his soul he'll die... kinda like Cora's heart.