A/N: Hey guys! Hope you're all doing good!
Quick note about this story: I wrote it a while ago, actually before the whole Journey to the Underworld thing in 5B, so that's why so many things are different. This story was actually inspired but a piece of fan art a friend had sent me (If you guys want to see it, it's the cover of this story.) But I recently realised it was the only finished piece that I did not upload. And there's no way I could let that continue. So here you go!
One Warning and a note: the warning is major character death. I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you who, though. But I promise it's neither of our favourite ladies, that's for sure.
And a note: Emma makes quite a sweeping statement about the legal system. Keep in mind: I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. But it sounded about right in my head, or some of it did, anyway, and it worked for the story, which is what I needed.
Other things to look forward to in this story: Actual Mills sister bonding, and the acknowledgement of baby Neal's existence!
enjoy! And please review!
"You want to know why I'm doing all of this?" her dark, hoarse voice called across the small distance between them. She turned to look at him but he couldn't recognize her. "For you…"
The squid ink finally wore off and she was free, cursing Zelena to the deepest pits of hell as she finally moved again, twisting her joints to get rid of the tension. Stupid wicked witch, stupid lovesick pirate. Now she had to find a way to get Excalibur back before they did something stupid with it like trying to cut away Killian's darkness. She needed him dark.
With the sword gone, Regina, Snow and David finally broke free.
"What the hell was that?" Regina said as she turned to the other two.
"I think she used the sword to freeze us." David blinked as he tried to re-orientate himself.
"Regina please never call her Ms. Swan again." Snow sighed. Regina rolled her eyes.
"Your daughter is horribly petty." She remarked before turning back to look at the door, gritting her teeth, and marching up the steps.
"Where are you going?" David demanded.
"To knock some goddamn sense into that bleached blonde head of hers." Regina called back before storming into the house. "Emma?! Swan!"
"If you're looking for the sword it isn't here anymore." Emma said as she turned to her fully.
"Lost your toy?" Regina asked as she crossed her arms.
"Your sister took it." Emma glared at her. "Hook's with her."
"That can't be any good." Regina rolled her eyes.
"Help me get it back." Emma asked.
"Help you?" Regina said. "I know I have my moments dear, but I'm not deranged. At least not enough to betray everyone."
"You're not betraying anyone." Emma sighed.
"I'm sure." Regina rolled her eyes. "With no dagger to control you you're untrustworthy."
"So you'd rather have Zelena and Hook have control over me?" Emma asked. Regina froze and gritted her teeth before taking a deep breath.
"Fine." She said through her teeth. "We'll work together to get the sword. But when we do, I'll be the one prying it from Zelena's hands. And then you're going to tell me what sick twisted plan you've got cooked up in the head of yours. One way or another."
"Fine." Emma said easily.
"Well that was easier than I thought." Regina muttered. "Come on."
They headed out the door, Emma following Regina and Snow and David went wide eyed.
"What's going on?" Snow asked. "Emma, sweetheart."
"Hardly." Regina snapped. "Apparently Greenie and the one-handed wonder got the sword."
"How?" David asked, looking at Emma questioningly.
"I'd rather not talk about it." Emma answered smoothly.
"Squid ink." Regina jumped in.
"How'd you-"
"It was stained on your floorboards, come on you know I'm smarter than that." The brunette sighed.
"So now what?" Snow asked.
"Now we get it back." Regina said.
"All of us?" David asked.
"Yes." Emma answered.
"Regina…" Snow looked at her questioningly.
"Despite my hesitations in trusting her, Snow, I'd rather have her on our side by common goal. When we get the sword well then…She'll have to talk." Regina said, giving Emma a pointed look.
"We've wasted enough time." Emma answered coldly. "The longer they have the sword the more time they have to come up with a plan. As long as it's in their hands they can do what they want with me. Let's move."
"Finally she talks sense." Regina said before nodding her head and leading the way away from the house.
"Where are we going?" Snow asked as the three started following her.
"Her vault." Emma answered.
"Perceptive as always, Ms. Swan." Regina sighed.
"I told you-"
Regina stopped dead in her tracks and stood toe to toe with the blonde, who seemed taller due to her new posture. She looked her in the eyes with anger that covered something else, as it always did with Regina.
"When you stop being this." She gestured to all of her. "When you start acting like my-like our Emma again. That is when I will call you by your first name. Because no matter what you say or what you think. You are not. My. Emma."
The tension wound up tightly between the two women as they stared each other in the eyes, Regina's filled with anger and the passion they always held, but in the blonde's green eyes, all she saw was distance. Cold, bitter distance that covered up her secrets. Regina was sure if she looked any longer her heart would shatter, but she damned her self-preservation and stared her down anyway. At least she did until the blonde spoke.
"Very well, lead the way." She said coolly. Regina clenched her jaw before turning on her heel and starting to walk again.
"Regina?" Snow asked.
"Walk." The brunette commanded.
"It's so dark in here…" Snow said.
"I got it." Emma said as she waved her hand up and suddenly all the candles in the vault were lit. She smirked to herself with her hand still poised in the air.
"If only you were as good before this whole mess." Regina commented as she handed the flashlight back to David. "Thanks."
"Any time." He nodded with a smile.
"Maybe I will be." Emma commented.
"What?" Snow asked.
"Never mind." The blonde said.
"Emma…"
"Leave her be, Snow." Regina said as she looked through her chests. "She won't be cryptic for long."
"Maybe there's another way." Snow insisted.
"If you want to waste your time, breath, and energy on your stubborn daughter, be my guest. I have more important things to deal with." Regina said.
"What are you looking for anyway?" David asked.
"The ingredients to a locater spell." Regina said.
"Won't we need something of Zelena's?" Snow asked.
"How do we feel about a flying baby?" Regina asked.
"Regina!" David and Snow chided simultaneously. Emma just quirked her brow and smirked.
"Oh relax, I'm kidding." She sighed. "Mildly, anyway."
"Be serious." Snow said. "Do you have anything of hers?"
"It'll take five minutes to find something, we'll do what you two do best and wing it." Regina sighed as she gathered her ingredients and began working on the potion.
"We won't need anything of Zelena's." Emma stated.
"Oh?" Regina looked at her incredulously. "And how do you suppose we find them? Oh mighty Dark One"
"Regina…" Snow chided
"Her and Hook are traveling together." Emma said with a smirk, ignoring the dark one remark.
"So?"
"So we can use something of Hook's." She said as she held out her hand. A ring hanging on a chain sat in her palm and Regina gritted her teeth.
"What is that?" she asked.
"If you think it's an engagement ring, you're wrong." Emma smirked at her again. "I thought so too when he gave it to me, but it's just one of his sentimental trinkets. One very close to his heart. It will lead us straight to him."
Regina smirked at her for the first time in ages.
"I knew you'd prove useful somehow." She said as she held her palm out expectantly. Emma smiled and looked her straight in the eyes as she turned her palm over to drop the necklace into Regina's hand.
"Work your magic."
"Do you see it?"
"It's so dark."
"It's the forest what did you expect?"
"Enough." Emma growled in frustration. She snapped her fingers loudly and suddenly there was a trail of fire following the floating necklace. David and Snow were off to chasing it in a heartbeat as Regina stepped up to a still standing Emma who took a deep breath.
"What's up your sleeve?" She asked her.
"I thought the interrogations would start after you got the sword." Emma said.
"I was hoping to avoid that." Regina admitted.
"Sentimentality getting in the way?" Emma asked.
"No." Regina growled.
"Then why did I just hit a nerve?" The blonde raised a brow to look at her before smirking and following her parents.
"Dark one or not you're still a giant pain in my ass." Regina grumbled as she followed her.
"Glad to see some things never change." Emma said, getting Regina to roll her eyes behind her.
"Some things." The brunette muttered. Emma turned to her again with a raised brow.
"Something wrong, Regina?" she asked in her all too deep voice. It had lost that little crackle, and to Regina, it just sounded foreign.
"I just look forward to the moment when we get you…the real you back." She said.
"You're so convinced you can get me back to what I once was." Emma said with a smirk. "What makes you think you won't have to just kill me to get rid of the darkness?"
Regina gritted her teeth and glared at the much paler blonde for a moment before she started walking again, brushing past her.
"Just walk."
"Not until you answer my question." Emma said coolly from behind her. Regina stopped in her tracks, her jaw still clenched tightly as her anger and frustration at this entire situation reached its peak and she turned right into Emma's face.
"Don't you think for one second that if this was happening three years ago I wouldn't hesitate to run that blade right through your heart." She practically hissed. "But we've gone through too much. You think I want to save you for you? I'm not just doing this for you. I'm doing this for everyone. Snow, David, me-Henry…Everyone in this godforsaken town who's ended up caring for you. They all deserve better."
Emma stood tall and stared her in the eyes as she spoke, and was silent for a moment after, but then she voiced the one thing she picked up on.
"You?"
Regina's blood ran cold for a second before she let out a frustrated breath and gritted her teeth again.
"I answered your question." She said. "Now. Walk."
"Fair enough." Emma shrugged as she began walking again. Regina rolled her eyes behind her and shook her head.
"How can you walk in the forest in those heels anyway?" she asked with a raised brow as they walked.
"Magic." Emma shrugged, and for a moment, she almost sounded normal. And Regina didn't know whether it made her feel relieved or break her heart even more. Her Emma was trapped in there somewhere.
Emma stopped dead in her tracks.
"They found them." She said.
"What?"
"My parents, they found Zelena and Hook." Emma said.
"Do you know where they are?" Regina asked, hastening to catch up to Emma.
"Exactly." The blonde nodded with a smirk. "Hold tight."
"Wha-"
But before she could even finish her question, Emma waved her hand up and they disappeared in a giant grey cloud, poofing silently behind David and Snow.
"Snow" Regina whispered but Snow turned to quick and was about to squeal and blow their cover, so Emma waved a hand quickly over her mouth and cast a silencing charm. The shorter woman's eyes went wide.
"Sorry." Emma said. "Couldn't risk it."
"Emma…" Her father looked at her warningly. The blonde rolled her eyes and waved a hand over her mother's face again to remove the charm.
"Please don't ever do that again." Snow whispered quietly.
"Fine."
"I'm not making promises." Regina said. Everyone turned to look at her, all with matching raised brows, only Emma's was coupled with a smirk that Regina chanced to return. "What's our plan?"
"I rush Zelena for the sword and-" David began.
"You end up blown back by her magic." Regina jumped in with a roll of her eyes. "I think it's time we fight fire with fire…right…Emma?"
The blonde looked at her with a familiar spark in her eyes that gave Regina hope as she smiled at her and nodded. The moved away from behind the trees to emerge into the light where Zelena had lit a fire.
"She's here…" Hook said as they turned around. Four pairs of eyes met each other, sisters smirking evilly at each other while Hook sneered at the woman he once loved.
"You'll never get this sword, dark one." He said.
"I don't think that title is very accurate anymore." Zelena reminded him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Regina growled.
"Oh didn't your little puppy tell you?" the redhead said, gesturing to Emma. "There's two dark ones now. The two leather clad lovers, fitting, no?"
"Emma what is she talking about?" Regina asked, glancing over at the blonde before looking warily at her sister again.
"No time." Emma said, waving her hand out suddenly and blowing both hook and Zelena down, the sword flying out of the pirate's hand. She stopped it in the air and got it to levitate towards her, catching it easily by the hilt.
"How-" Hook groaned.
"You may have the same power as I do, Hook, but you have no idea how to wield it." Emma smirked. She looked at Regina and quickly poofed them both out of there, as well as poofing Snow and David away from their hiding spot. They landed right in front of Regina's mansion. David and Snow shook their heads free of their disorientation as Regina turned to look at Emma furiously.
"What is going on." She demanded.
"It's complicated." Emma tried to brush off.
"No! No you will not brush me off again Emma Swan." Regina shouted.
"Regina…" Snow looked up at her. "What's going on what happened?"
"That's what I'm trying to find out." Regina said to the shorter woman before looking back at Emma. She was practically shaking with rage as she looked at the almost foreign woman up and down before her eyes landed on the sword. "The sword. Give it to me. Now."
Emma looked at Regina dead in the eyes for a moment before glancing down at the blade. She clenched her jaw and looked back up at Regina as she held it out, hilt up, blade pointing down. Regina stared at her for a moment to try and discern whether or not Emma was about to trick her, but she couldn't see any sign of that, so she took a leap of faith and slowly reached over, taking the sword from Emma's hand, the blonde not putting up any resistance as she released the sword from her grasp. Once the sword was in Regina's hands, she took a deep breath and made her next decision.
"Snow, David. Get out of here." She said.
"What?" Snow asked.
"I'm about to interrogate her. And I won't stop until I get all the answers. You don't want to see that." She said almost painfully.
"Regina…"
"Go." Regina ordered. Snow and David looked at each other, in a silent conversation. But finally David made a gesture to encourage Snow to leave with him, and the brunette took a deep breath and, deciding to trust Regina's judgment, followed her husband away from the mansion and onto their way home for the night.
The two women stood in silence, Emma with her hands behind her back and standing straight, looking expectantly at Regina. The brunette took a deep breath before looking at the tip of the blade, her brow furrowing when she saw two names, instead of one.
"Killian Jones." She spoke out softly.
"Careful, last thing you want is to summon him." Emma said.
"Or is it the last thing you want." Regina asked as she looked back at Emma. "What's his name doing here?"
"It's a tricky situation." Emma said.
"That's not good enough." Regina growled, pointing the sword at Emma and focusing the power it gave her on controlling the blonde. "Why is the name Killian Jones on this blade?"
"Because I made him into a dark one." Emma answered as the blade commanded her to. She hated the feeling of the grasp it had on her mind and heart.
"Why?" Regina asked again.
"It was a split second decision in Camelot." Emma said. "Arthur had cut him with Excalibur. And when I tried to join it with the dagger, the wound opened up again. Turning him into the dark one was the only way to save him."
"How ironic." Regina spat. "You turned into the dark one to save me and you turned Hook into the dark one to save him."
"Only I need him to be the dark one." Emma said.
"Why?" Regina asked. Emma took a breath, she wasn't using the sword.
"I can't…Please…I can't tell you." She pleaded. Regina waved the sword around a little.
"That's not really your call anymore is it?" she said.
"Regina…please." She said, looking at the sword warily. "It will all make sense soon I promise. But I need to keep it quiet until it's done."
"Why?" Regina asked again.
"Because if I tell you, you'll stop me, and it'll endanger you." Emma blurted out. Regina lofted a brow at her curiously.
"You kidnapped my sister, you turned Hook into the dark one…" she tried to connect the dots.
"Hook was unplanned." Emma sighed. "But knowing the darkness could be split between two tethers means I need him to stay that way."
"Why." Regina asked furiously, using the power of the sword. But just like Merlin had, Emma fought against it.
"Regina please."
"No!" Regina yelled. "Why are you doing this? What do you have planned?!"
"To rid myself of the darkness!" Emma shouted as if she were in pain.
"Why do you need Hook and Zelena for that?!" Regina demanded. "How did you even find a way to do it?!"
"Please." Emma dropped to her knees, her force weakening as she fought against the sword.
"Tell me!"
"The sword!" Emma said. "The sword can cut away the darkness."
"So why do you need Hook to stay dark?" Regina asked, softly this time. Emma felt the sword's hold clear and she took a deep breath.
"I was going to tether my darkness to Zelena." She spoke softly. "And Hook would stay dark."
"And you'd be free…"
"At a price." Emma sighed. "There's always a price."
"What's the price?" Regina said, stepping closer to Emma and crouching down beside her.
"My life…" Emma said quietly. "Excalibur can cut away the darkness, but the sword was made to make wounds that couldn't be healed."
"I won't let you do that." Regina shook her head. Emma looked up gently into her eyes.
"Regina…"
"No…"
"Should have thought of that sooner." Emma said. Regina furrowed her brow but Emma was too fast and pulled the sword out of her hand before poofing a few metres away from her.
"Emma!" Regina called, standing up straight again. "Stop!"
"No." Emma said coolly. "You'll understand when it's all done Regina, I promise."
"Why are you doing all of this?!" Regina shouted after her.
"You really want to know why I'm doing all of this?!" Emma demanded. She looked back at Regina, who had tears welled up in her eyes ready to spill at a moment's notice.
"Yes…Please." She pleaded. And Emma's heart broke. She dropped the sword and rushed Regina, making the other woman gasped as she suddenly found herself held against her front door, one hand holding her back by her right arm as another too-cool hand cupped her chin.
"For you." The voice sounded like Emma, like the real Emma.
"Whatever you may think, Emma. I'd rather have you dark and alive." Regina said as a tear slid down her cheek.
"I can't deal with these voices in my head, Regina. It's maddening." She said. And Regina saw it again, a flash in the blonde's eyes - the real Emma, trapped. Begging her to let her out of whatever internal hell she was living.
"What's Zelena got to do with any of this?" Regina asked softly.
"I need to tether my darkness to her so that it won't come after you…not after I'm gone…" Emma said, a tear slipping down her own cheek. Regina moved her still free hands to grip Emma by the lapels of her jacket.
"I won't let you go." She said before pulling her in for a deep kiss.
Emma's breath caught in her throat before she realized what was going on and began to kiss Regina back. And that's when she felt it. The darkness in her heart, the voices of the past dark ones in her head…they were fading. A moment later they pulled back and Regina's eyes were wide as she saw Emma's hair roots darken, as well as her skin, before it started paling again.
"It's working…" Emma said softly.
"What?…" Regina asked in confusion.
"True love's kiss…It's getting rid of the darkness." Emma said, almost in tears. Regina gasped and then shot into action, pulling Emma in for another deep kiss. When she pulled back she saw the same thing she had just a few moments ago.
"Keep going." Regina said before pulling back into another kiss. "Emma Swan don't you dare let me go."
"Never." Emma gasped as Regina hopped up a little, wrapping her legs around Emma's waist as the blonde supported her back with her hands. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and moaned into the kiss. She could feel it, her Emma was coming back, she just needed to keep kissing her…keep loving her…
"Upstairs." Regina gasped as Emma kissed down her jawline to her neck.
"What?" The blonde asked.
"Upstairs…my bedroom…"
Emma looked up at her questioningly and Regina cupped her cheeks gently as she nodded with a smile.
"Take me Emma…Take me so I can get you back…once and for all." She said as she unpinned the blonde's hair which was already just a tad darker. Emma nodded slowly with a small smile, her eyes full of newfound hope as she leaned in to kiss her again, using her magic - somewhere between light and dark - to unlock the door as she lifted Regina off of it before opening it so that she could carry her up the stairs and into her bedroom. She placed her gently on the bed before straddling her and kissing her deeply again. But Regina kicked herself up again, flipping them over so that she was on top, pinning Emma's hands down by her sides before she moved her hands to unfasten the jacket Emma had been donning since they woke up back in Storybrooke. She pulled the jacket off and threw it aside somewhere in the dark room before she kissed her deeply again, feeling the spark rush through them again and gasping as her mind was assaulted with all the memories of Camelot.
"Wow…" she sighed.
"You okay?" Emma asked.
"Arthur…was a huge dick." She said as she remembered everything. Emma laughed and Regina grinned at her because it was Emma's laugh. Not the dark one…her Emma. She leaned down and kissed her again and Emma's hand threaded through her hair gently. They lost themselves in each other so deeply and wholly as they rolled around on top of each other on that bed that they didn't even realize that, as they pulled the clothes off of each other and indulged in each other's skin and lips and love, a gray cloud billowed around them, until the gray in the smoke faded and slowly and surely, it became clear, pure, white. As they gave themselves over to each other over and over and over again, the darkness faded from Emma's heart.
"God." Regina sighed as she dropped down onto her pillows, panting and trying to get her breathing under control.
"Good?" Emma asked with a smirk. Regina only had enough energy to respond with a smile and a weak chuckle as her entire day finally weighed down on her, including the great relief and love she felt deep in her heart, and slowly, the exhaustion took over and she couldn't fight off the grasp of slumber any longer, falling into it instead.
"Regina?" Emma asked as she turned on her side to look at her. She smiled when she saw that the brunette had fallen asleep as she fought off her own exhaustion. That's when, with a relieved smile, she realized it. After weeks of staying up through the night because the darkness stole away even that part of her humanity, she realized that, as she curled into Regina's side…
She felt tired. And she closed her eyes, and finally after all those weeks. She fell asleep.
Regina stirred in her sleep and smiled as the memories of last night came rushing to her. She turned to look at the other side of the bed, but frowned when she found the space empty.
"Emma?" she asked softly.
"Here…" a dazed version of Emma's normal voice hit her ears and she looked up to see Emma staring at the mirror, but when she looked at her clothes, she could see why. She was wearing the same white sweater and dark jeans as the night she jumped into the darkness for her.
"How…how did you get those?" Regina asked.
"I…found them here." She turned to look at the brunette, her face it's full normal color, as well as her beautiful blonde mane. "I woke up and was looking for clothes and I figured I'd still have the ones from last night but when I looked all I found were…these…"
"Your clothes." Regina nodded with a smile. "Yours. Because it's…it's you…Oh Emma…"
Emma hopped onto the bed happily and cupped Regina's cheeks, pulling her into a deep kiss.
"You did it." She chuckled.
"It's you…" Regina sighed again happily. "You…with your hair and your clothes and your boots that aren't ridiculously high because seriously how did you even-"
"I told you." Emma shrugged. "Magic."
"You would need magic to keep you balanced in heels." Regina laughed. "I am so damned happy you're back."
"Ditto." Emma chuckled and kissed her deeply again. "I'm back!"
"You're back!" Regina laughed a little loudly.
"Mom?" came from the hallway.
"Henry…" Emma gasped.
"…Mom?" He asked again as he knocked on the door.
"How am I going to face him?" the suddenly worried blonde asked.
"He knows it wasn't you…not the real you. He said as much." Regina tried to reassure the blonde.
"I know but…" Emma sighed.
"Mom is everything alright?" Henry asked worriedly. "I'm coming in!"
"Henry!" Regina tried to stop him but it was too late and she scampered to cover herself up as Emma froze staring at the door. Henry looked from Regina to Emma and then froze. He noticed that she was different. But he knew better than to trust appearances by now.
"Emma…" he said slowly.
"Henry." Emma said gently. "Henry it's me."
He glanced at Regina questioningly and she smiled happily at him and nodded.
"It's really her, Henry."
"Really…" he looked up at Emma again and recognized the unmistakably nervous smile as she nodded at him.
"Yeah kid."
"Ma!" He said, rushing over and dropping her back on the bed as he jumped into a hug.
"Oh god…" she groaned with a laugh as she landed on the bed. "Easy kid…I'm not as invincible anymore…"
"You're back!" he cheered instead, kissing her cheek over and over as she laughed. Regina just watched them and smiled endearingly. They wrestled around happily for a few minutes before Henry finally got off of Emma and they both got off the bed.
"Do you want breakfast? I could make breakfast! Mom do you…Mom?" He looked at Regina with a raised brow.
"Yes dear?" Regina asked with a smile.
"Why are you naked?" he asked. Regina's eyes went wide as her face turned red, as did Emma's
"Well…I…"
"Come on kid, let's go make pancakes." Emma said, pushing him out the door and smiling apologetically at Regina before she followed him out.
"OH GROSS!" Henry shouted for the whole house to hear when he realized what had probably happened.
The door knocked hastily.
"Regina!" Snow called from the other side, getting Regina to rush down the stairs and to the door as Emma and Henry ran out of the kitchen.
"What's going on?" Emma asked.
"I forgot about your mother." Regina said before yanking the door open.
"Regina what happened? Where is she?" Snow demanded.
"Snow calm down-"
"I will not calm down. I have had enough of this. I woke up with my memories from Camelot this morning which means you somehow broke the curse and I want my daughter back now tell me where she is!" Snow demanded in a panic.
"Mom!" Emma called from the middle of the foyer. Regina stepped aside so that Snow could see her and she stood shocked there. "Mom…it's me…"
"It's you…" Snow sighed quietly before she ran up to her at full speed, catching her by surprise as she hugged her tightly, nearly knocking her over.
"Easy!"
"Will everyone please stop trying to drop my girlfriend?" Regina blurted out in worry for Emma's safety.
"Girlfriend?!" Everyone asked, including Emma though hers was quiet and more in awe. Regina made eye contact with the blonde as she stammered in shock of her own words.
"Did we miss anything?" David asked, appearing in the door just in time to hear Regina as he rocked baby Neal on his hip.
"Hi dad!" Emma jumped in and tried to distract everyone from her…girlfriend…apparently. She moved over to hug him tightly and coo at her baby brother, who had grown since she'd last seen him.
"Mom?" Henry stopped in front of Regina, who was stock still and blushing.
"Do you have any problem with it?" Regina asked worriedly.
"Are you kidding?" He chuckled. "Of course not! I get both my moms and you're both happy!"
Regina smiled at him and cupped his cheek.
"You're such a good boy." She she said, pinching his cheek a little before she kissed his forehead and turned back to the Charmings.
"Well I say this calls for celebration!" David said.
"We were just making breakfast." Emma said. "You wanna join us?"
"How about we treat?" David said. "I'm pretty sure everyone would want to see you."
"I'm not so sure…" Emma said as she scratched her back nervously.
"Emma, sweetie, we all know it wasn't really you." Snow said.
"Yes, we do." Regina said, wrapping an arm around Emma's waist gently from behind her. "Besides, if anyone has any conflicting opinions they'll have me to deal with."
"I don't know if that makes me feel comforted or scared." Emma said with a smirk.
"Exactly." Regina said jokingly and Emma rolled her eyes.
"Fine, okay…We gotta tell people anyway." The blonde shrugged.
"Yeah they'll freak out when you tell them you two are dating." Snow said in awe.
"I meant about me not being the dark one anymore…" Emma said slowly while everyone raised a brow at Snow, who nodded at Emma.
"That too!"
When Snow, David, Henry and baby Neal walked into the diner, a few people waved, the rest went on as if nothing happened, when they saw Regina in tow they didn't flinch, the brunette had done more than enough to prove herself at this point. But when they saw Emma Swan behind her, everyone froze and stared at her.
"Uh…hey." She said with a nervous smile.
"Snow, get away from her, get Neal back!" Leroy came up, pickaxe an hand and wedging himself between Emma, her mother and her baby brother. Emma rolled her eyes but didn't really blame the guy.
"Leroy it's fine."
"Like hell it is!" he growled.
"I'm back!" she said, gesturing to herself to point out the difference. "See?"
"How do we know this isn't some disguise?" Leroy asked suspiciously.
"Leroy." Regina jumped in. "Do you trust me?"
"Well…Yeah." He nodded to the brunette.
"Look me in the eyes, do you trust that I'm not under any kind of spell of any kind?" she asked again. He examined her carefully, looking her in the eyes for even the slightest hint, but he found nothing.
"Yes." He answered.
"If she were in a simple disguise, would I do this?" she asked before pulling Emma up by her hips and kissing her deeply. Emma's face turned crimson as she kissed the brunette back while everyone gasped (except for baby Neal, who giggled.) and Leroy dropped his pickaxe in shock. They pulled apart, Emma's face still blushing brightly while Regina just casually fixed the smudges of her lipstick and smirked. "Anyone still not convinced? Cause we could do that again I mean…"
"Regina." Snow gave her a pointed look and Regina just shrugged in response.
"No please let them…" an overly-blond Whale said from the counter, getting daggers shot at him from both women before lifting his hands up in surrender.
"What the hell?" Leroy asked, his head tilted in confusion.
"We broke the curse, Leroy." Emma said quietly.
"Didn't you realize your memories from Camelot were intact?" Regina asked.
"Well…well yeah but I thought maybe…" he looked up at the two women again in awe. "But…how?"
"True love's kiss." Regina shrugged and pulled Emma close by the hips again.
"You two?" he asked. "Damn…"
"You can say that again." Emma chuckled nervously.
"Just for the record…" Ruby piped up from behind the counter. "I totally saw this coming. Welcome back Ems."
"Thanks." The blonde smiled over at her friend.
"Alright everyone!" Granny called out to the population of the semi-crowded diner. "Emma's back! You know what that means…Pancakes and coffee are on the house!"
Everyone cheered as Emma blushed again and hid her face in the crook of Regina's neck for a second.
"Something wrong dear?" the brunette asked softly.
"I never thought so many people would be happy to have me back." She said quietly. "I kinda figured I broke too many ties in this place."
"Emma, sweetie." Snow placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder comfortingly. "You'll always be able to come back here, no matter what happens."
"So wait, does this mean there's no more dark one anymore?" Henry asked.
"Holy shit kid, I think you're right!" Leroy said with a grin before shouting to the masses (as only Leroy could.) "Hey everyone! There's no Dark One anymore!"
"Guys guys hang on!" Emma shot into action while everyone began celebrating. "Guys stop!"
"Oh for the love of…" Regina rolled her eyes before placing her thumb and middle finger at the corners of her lips and letting out a shrill whistle to silence everyone. Emma turned to look at her in shock.
"Damn, Regina." She said.
"What?" Regina asked.
"Nothing…I just didn't know you could whistle." Emma smirked. Regina smirked back.
"I can whistle as well as you can walk in ridiculously high heels." The brunette winked at her.
"Emma, Regina." Snow broke their banter. "As adorable as this is, you should probably tell us why we shouldn't be celebrating."
"Oh." Emma sighed before she took action and moved through the diner to stand up on the counter. "Okay so I kinda messed up while I was the dark one…and by kinda I mean a lot…"
"Get to it, sister!" Leroy said in worry.
"Hook." She said simply. "He's still the dark one."
"How?" everyone asked.
"Well…He was gonna die and my head was twisted so I turned him into the dark one to save him." She sighed. "Bad judgment call okay? But the point is that he's still the dark one, he's not so good at being the dark one, but he is."
"And Zelena is with him." Regina pointed out.
"Didn't she just have a baby?" Whale asked.
"Women are a lot more versatile after having kids these days Whale, get your head out of your ass." Ruby jumped in.
"No but she literally just had a baby she popped it out last night!" he said. Emma rolled her eyes and Regina moved to give her her hand to help her down off the counter. Emma blushed as she took her hand and climbed down, being instantly pulled into her arms.
"Hi." Regina grinned. "That was very cute, and brave, admitting your mistake like that."
"We all mess up sometimes." Emma shrugged. "What's with you today?"
"I lost you once, I'm not ever letting you go again." She said with a smile. But the door slammed open and shut.
"Don't get your hopes up lass." Hook growled. Snow took her baby to safety as David pulled out his gun and Emma and Regina charged their magic. Hook's eyes landed right on Emma with a sneer. "Ah, back then are you?"
"Hook…Just calm down…we can fix this." Emma spoke slowly as she tried to talk him down.
"And how do you suppose we do that?" he growled. "True love's kiss? Because I'd gladly take it love but I don't you can have more than one at a time."
Emma stiffened at the way he pointed his hook at Regina threateningly and clenched her jaw as she tried to remain calm and not attempt to throttle him.
"You did this to me." He growled again.
"It was a mistake. I thought I was saving you." She said quietly.
"I'd rather have death than these bloody voices in my head!" he shouted.
"I know." Emma said louder this time. "I know. I did too…And I was almost gonna go through with it…"
"Until the new savior came in, swept you off your feet and saved the day I suppose." He gestured exaggeratedly at Regina.
"Well maybe we can get you a rum bottle and it'll all be alright." Regina shot back. Hook growled before grabbing her, holding her facing outward against him and pressing the tip of his hook against her neck.
"Or maybe I can just get my revenge with you…" he said too closely into her ear for her comfort.
"Hook. Let her go." Emma growled, her fear rising inside of her.
"Afraid I'll break your new toy?" Hook sneered. Regina kept her breathing steady and attempted to remain calm by keeping her eyes on Emma, who constantly switched between looking at her and at Hook to try and find a way to get her free. "Perhaps we should see how she fares in a fight with no magic."
"Not even the dark one can take my magic away." Regina shook her head.
"No. But the one curse this town can never be free of just might." He said before poofing them out in a cloud of black smoke.
"Regina!" Emma called as she tried to jump in for the brunette, but it was too late and she just ended up landing on the floor. "Regina!"
"Emma." David helped her up again. "What does he mean?"
"I…I don't know." The blonde said in near panic. Snow ran back out from hiding with Neal in her hands.
"Emma sweetie calm down." She tried to soothe her daughter.
"I won't calm down. He has Regina." Emma said.
"The curse of this town, what did he mean? The curse is broken…" David said.
"Wait…" Henry jumped in. "There's one curse that can never be broken. One curse that keeps magic here but not everywhere else."
"The town line." Emma said, her breath leaving her lungs. Henry nodded at her.
"Well let's go."
"Driving's way too slow. Meet us there." Emma said, dropping her hand on Henry's shoulder and focusing hard on getting to Regina. She felt the magic flow through her, and when she opened her eyes again, they were at the town line, white smoke billowing around them as it disappeared.
"You did it!" Henry grinned at her.
"Let's celebrate later kid." She said as she turned around to see Hook and Regina just in front of the town line.
"Look who's magic's up to par, finally." Hook sneered. But in front of him, Regina smirked at her proudly.
"I bet I have a better grip on mine than you do on yours." Emma challenged him.
"Aye. I suppose that's true." He sneered but then smirked. "Let's make it a fair fight then."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked. Hook responded by tossing Regina to the side and summoning his cutlass. Henry ran off to his mother's side to make sure she was okay as Hook approached Emma.
"We're both pretty good with a blade." He said. "Let's see which one of us is better."
"You know, that's your problem Hook." She said as she focused and summoned her old sword in her hands with a smirk. "You're so focused on being better. You never took the chance to just be yourself."
"I am myself!" he shouted. "I changed for you when really, a leopard can never change its spots. I'm a pirate at heart, always have been, always will be. So I'm gonna do this the pirate's way."
"Fight till one of us is dead?" Emma asked as she unsheathed her sword and took her stance like David had taught her.
"Aye…And then I'll claim your lass as my trophy." He smirked wickedly and she sneered at him.
"You're gonna have to do more than kill me before I let that happen." She vowed.
"Big words from such a little lass." Hook said.
"Then let's quit talking." Emma challenged.
"Best idea you've ever had." He sneered as he rounded her carefully, trying to find the right opening to strike. But she stood tall and turned with him, not leaving any chance. He took a breath before lunging forward and she blocked his stabbing motion, spinning around and pointing her sword to his back now. "Ah, you're better than I thought."
He swung low, trying to cut her down, but she shot up into the air and flipped over him quickly. Regina and Henry's eyes went wide, they never expected that move.
"You're good at avoiding me lass, always have been." Hook said as he straightened himself up again. "But evasion alone won't help you."
"Come at me then." She said stiffly.
"What is she doing?" Regina asked softly. Henry smirked beside her.
"She's stalling."
"Stalling for what?" Regina asked.
"You'll see…"
Hook ran forward at her. But she heard the speeding vehicle right behind her and, calculating carefully, she jumped up into the air again, flipping backwards and landing into the bed of David's truck as he sped forward, colliding with Hook and throwing him back and over the town line. As he crossed the magic barrier, the darkness shot out of him like blood and dissipated into the air. Hook lay there, bleeding from his newly emerged neck wound.
Regina was in shock, and Henry was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.
"That was awesome!" He cheered as he ran up to the now parked truck as David got out and Emma hopped out of the truck bed.
"Thanks kid." She smiled at him as he ran up to hug her.
"Ms. Swan! Are you out of your mind?!" Regina growled almost furiously.
"I'm dating you aren't I?" Emma shot back with an all too confident smirk. Regina gaped at her, actually speechless and having not expected that kind of response.
"Emma!" David called out over to her when he saw the state Hook was in. Emma let go of Henry and ran over just in front of the town line.
"What's wrong with him?" Henry asked.
"Among many things…" Regina began sarcastically.
"The wound. Arthur had cut him with Excalibur back in Camelot." Emma explained. "I turned him into the dark one to try and save him, but now…that magic's gone."
"So…" Regina took a deep breath. "We leave him out to die or…"
"Bring him back in here with the chance of his magic coming back." David said.
"It won't." Emma said with a sigh. "He lost it for good."
"Which means…" Regina looked at her.
"We can bring him in and try to help him but…he's a goner." Emma said with a clenched jaw. "Dad, come on."
"What are we doing?" David asked.
"He's gonna die anyway I'm not leaving him out there." Emma said. "Help me bring him in."
David nodded to her and followed her out of the town. She took a deep breath as she felt her magic leave her and shook her head free of the disorientation as she and David came up beside a fading Hook. The each supported one side of his back and one leg and carried him over the line again. They rested him on the ground again and David stood up straight, but Emma stayed kneeling at his side.
"Emma…" he spoke softly.
"I'm here." She said.
"Is she really your true love?" He asked, trying to find Regina to gesture to her with his eyes, but they were too unfocused. Still, Emma knew what he meant and smiled as a tear slid down her cheek.
"Yeah Killian." She nodded. "She is…"
"Aye." He nodded. "Then, I suppose, I can at least say I helped lead you to happiness…can I not?"
"You can, yeah." Emma nodded. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." He shook his head slowly. "I knew I'd die by a blade. A dashing face like this would be a shame to wrinkle and gray now wouldn't it?"
Emma let out a watery chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed.
"I forgive you, Emma, for everything." He said. "I only hope you can forgive me."
"We both made our mistakes." She nodded. "We all did."
"You were always my happy ending, Swan…even if I wasn't yours." He smirked. "Regina…"
The brunette hesitantly kneeled down, across from Emma beside Hook.
"Your sister ran off to find her babe." He informed. "It's all she wanted."
Regina nodded at him gratefully, but she knew there was something else. Hook gently moved to take Emma's hand, and made a gesture for Regina to lift up hers before placing Emma's hand in hers.
"Take care of her." He said to the brunette.
"You can count on that." Regina smiled at the blonde, who smiled back through a few tears. Hook smiled gently at them before he let his head fall back and his last breath of air leave his lungs. Emma took in a shaky breath, and Regina slowly moved to help her up off the ground and hugging her as an ambulance - called by David - silently came up behind them, the paramedics moving to take Hook's body away.
"Are you okay?" Regina asked softly.
"Just tough you know?" Emma sighed.
"I know…I'm sorry." Regina said as she kissed the side of Emma's head.
"I love you, Regina." Emma said and Regina smiled softly.
"I love you too, Emma."
A while later they headed back to the diner. It was less full now, some people were still scared about the idea of the new dark one and word was only slowly spreading around about Hook. When they walked into the diner though, the first thing they saw was a familiar redhead sitting at a table with a bundle in her hands.
"Zelena." Regina whispered. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, but Emma dropped a hand on the brunette's wrist and Regina looked up at her questioningly.
"When your curse broke…" Emma began, looking at her softly. "What was the one thing you wanted more than anything in the world?"
"…A second chance…for my son." Regina answered slowly. Emma smiled at her softly.
"So I think we both know what we should do." She said. Regina sighed and nodded at her with a small smile.
"But how?" she asked. Emma twisted her mouth as she thought for a second before she remembered the key she held in her pocket which she didn't particularly need anymore.
"I have and idea…Do you trust me?" she asked the brunette.
"With my life, darling." Regina smiled at her and Emma blushed brightly as she smiled at her and nodded her head in Zelena's direction to get the brunette to follow her to the redhead's table.
"Zelena?" Emma spoke softly. The woman visibly froze before looking up at Emma in shock.
"What do you want?" she asked her with a sneer.
"I deserve that." Emma nodded. "I'm…I'm sorry."
"For what? Nearly killing me by speeding up my pregnancy? Ripping me away from my child after I've just given birth to her? Trying to tether the darkness to me?" Zelena listed. Emma nodded.
"For all of that." She said. Regina came up beside her and squeezed the blonde's hand supportively.
"Oh and if it isn't the new savior." Zelena rolled her eyes. "How fitting, you both save each other and end up happily ever after and I, dear sister, am left in your dust yet again."
"That's actually why we're here." Regina said.
"Oh?" Zelena looked up in faux curiosity. "How exciting!"
"Zelena…could we just…talk?" Emma asked. "Please."
"Well since you asked so nicely." She said. "Please, sit."
Emma and Regina nodded to each other before they took the two seats opposite the redhead. Emma smiled gently at the newborn whose eyes were still closed.
"She's so precious…What's her name?" she asked.
"Marian." Robin's voice interrupted them.
"Uhm. No." Zelena said as she looked up at him.
"But she's my daughter I should-"
"Where were you when I was carrying her?" Zelena demanded "Running about with a woman that didn't even love you as much as even she thought she did."
Regina looked down at the table for a moment as Robin visibly stiffened.
"Yes well now we can be the family you've always wanted!" he said.
"I don't want to be a family with you." Zelena brushed off. "All I want is my daughter."
"Zelena." He said rather aggressively and Emma stood up suddenly and at full height.
"Robin. Take a walk." She said.
"You stay out of this, dark one." He shot at her.
"Okay. Well now you've made it personal." Regina said as she stood up in front of Emma. "Get out of here before I poof your tongue to the bottom of the lake."
"Regina darling-" he said, touching her arm.
"I'm not your darling." She said as she shook him off. He huffed in anger.
"You can't keep my daughter away from me!" he almost yelled at Zelena.
"Actually…" Emma stepped up between Robin and the table, and effectively hiding Zelena behind her. "Technically what you did during her pregnancy can be considered abandonment. So yeah, she can. You're not married, you don't have a stable address and you don't have a job. You could contest for custody in court but there's no way anyone would ever find you fit to be a dad, and if you're found to be an unfit parent in the eyes of the court, they'll even take Roland away, and you don't want that, do you?"
Robin froze as Zelena and Regina smirked at each other and then up at Emma, who was still standing tall in front of Robin.
"Well…I…but she doesn't have a stable address either!" he argued.
"Actually she does." Emma answered before Zelena could say anything.
"I do?"
"She does?"
"Yep." Emma said as she held up the key to the house she'd given herself at the beginning of the curse. "And I think you'll find that her midwife status is still active. So she has a job and a steady paycheck."
Robin huffed angrily and clenched his fists before he silently turned around and left the diner, slamming the door behind him. Emma smirked and Regina smiled at the blonde proudly as she moved to sit back down next to her. She smiled at Zelena as she slid the key across the table to her.
"Congratulations." She said.
"Thank you…but…why?" she asked.
"Zelena…" Regina began. "Everyone in this town believes in second chances. We believe everyone deserves one…And…You haven't been given a fair shot at yours…So here it is."
The redhead chuckled in awe at her younger sister and then at the blonde.
"So you're really giving me the house?" she asked.
"I don't think I'll be needing it anymore." Emma said as she smiled at Regina, who smiled back. Zelena picked up the key gently and looked at it before a questioning look came up on her face.
"Does it still have the dungeon?" she asked.
"Actually I made that in the curse, the house was there before, so no, I don't think so." Emma answered. Zelena smiled at her again before looking down and cooing at her baby.
"Did you hear that my precious? We have a house now." She said and the baby made a soft cooing sound back, getting Zelena to grin brightly.
"You didn't answer the question." Regina smiled. "What's her name?"
"Elphaba…my little Elphie…" Zelena said as she rocked her baby.
"Oh God." Emma groaned and dropped her face into her palm.
"What?" both the Mills siblings asked.
"Nothing it's just…" she looked up at the both of them. "You guys should go see a Broadway show some time."
"Maybe after I'm done renovating the house." Zelena shrugged.
"You're already planning renovations?" Regina asked.
"Well I mean I'll need a nursery for the little one." Zelena said. "And perhaps re-painting the exterior of the house…"
"Well hey, if you need help with the painting I'll help, and I'm sure my dad will too." Emma shrugged.
"And I'll gladly help with the nursery." Regina offered.
"Excellent, I can listen to your advice and then do the exact opposite!" Zelena said teasingly. Regina smirked at her.
"You know, Zelena, I think this could be the beginning of a wonderful sisterhood."
"Wickedly wonderful." Zelena said with a smirk, Regina chuckled.
"Well, I'm officially terrified." Emma piped up. "So while you two plot a total Mills takeover, I'll go get us some coffee and pancakes."