AN: so I wrote and posted this a long time ago, and it just barely came to my attention that the formatting for the story was completely off, so I apologize to those who tried to muddle through the mess of the original version. This would now be completely AU, but i hope some of you will enjoy it. Thanks!
Emma hefted the sword in her hand, trying to make it feel comfortable, like "an extension of her arm" as David had told her. She wished she could use her gun, but it would be useless in the upcoming battle. Ever since she drank the potion, her life had been filled with more of those bad moments that David had talked about. Bad moments like seeing Granny carried off by monkeys, Grumpy laying in the hospital still struggling for life, and Neal's sudden transformation into a winged monkey. She couldn't even name a good moment that she had experienced since returning to Storybrooke. She need to end this all - today.
"You all set?" David asked her, walking down the steps.
"Yeah, you?" she asked. He nodded, and Emma spied her mother right behind him, adjusting the quiver blunging with the arrows on her back. Fear dripped from every syllable as she asked, "You're coming?"
"Yes. You think I'll just let you all go off on your own to face that Wicked Witch?" Emma saw David clench and could tell that they had already had their own argument with this, but she couldn't resist adding her own opinion about it.
"I don't think that's such a good idea. We have no idea what Zelena may try. If she gets to you…"
Mary Margaret cut her off. "I can take care of myself. And I'm placing myself on sky duty - distance weapon to keep me out of the fray." She tapped her bow to remind Emma just how strong she was, even at 37 weeks pregnant.
Emma bit her lip to avoid saying anything more. There were too many things that could go wrong with all this, and the possibility of her last words with her mother being angry ones made her heart ache. "You get the dwarves together. I have one last thing I want to do before I head over there."
Mary Margaret and David nodded, and Emma was left alone in the loft, the first place that she had ever been able to really think of as home. This was the place where she had felt like someone else truly, unconditionally cared about her. But she had learned in the past year that home wasn't a place, it was a person. A person that she could never lose.
She walked over to Granny's B & B and opened the door to the room she had rented. Henry greeted her with deep concern on his face. "Mom, what's going on? I just saw someone walking down the street with a shotgun, then a group of men with pickaxes, and finally Uncle David was carrying a sword. The whole town looks like they're preparing for a battle."
Emma couldn't address his question, not with all the emotions at play going on right now. "Is Killian here?" she asked.
Henry was still confused and fearful, the emotions even stronger with Emma's avoidance. "Yeah, he's…"
"Here love," he said, emerging from the adjoining room.
"I need to talk to you for a minute. Henry, wait here." Emma recognized just how close her son was to his teenage years when he began complaining about unfairness and the desire to be included. She ignored him, pulling Killian into the other room and locking the door. "I need you to do me a huge favor."
"Anything," he replied.
Emma momentarily forgot what she wanted to say as she saw the beautiful sincerity in his eyes and the lock of his determined jaw. But as her mind came back to her, the resolve to do what had to be done increased. "You need to keep Henry out of the battle today. It's bad enough that he still doesn't have his memories back. The worst way for them to return would be by seeing a flying monkey take off with someone he cares about." Killian didn't say anything, but those blue eyes could have filled novels on hurt, fear, hope, pain, trust, and love.
"Please, keep my son safe."
His face fell and he quietly responded, "Aye. You can trust me Swan."
Emma couldn't stay in the room any longer, her emotions too raw and close to the surface. She opened the door, and Henry fell over into her arms, thrown off balance after his ear lost its support from the door. Emma chose not to say anything for the same reason she had avoided the argument with her mother. "Henry, Killian is going to take you to see his ship. That will be fun, don't you think?"
She didn't know if the happiness she tried to fill her voice with was able to get past the fear lodged in her throat. Confusion was still the prominent feature on the boy's face.
"Why? Mom, what is going on?" Emma recalled attempting to calm her son when he had stubbornly refused to believe that Regina's curse was not real, and now their knowledge of things had been reversed. She finally understood how frustrated he must have been with her, and how desperate he was for her to understand. But she still had to keep him safe.
"It's not safe in town today. I asked Killian to help me keep you safe."
"But, what about you? Will you be safe?" Henry was now fearful and concerned.
Emma gave a fake smile that she knew he would be able to see through. "I've got plenty of friends on my side, okay? Now, you two – I'll see you later." She hugged her son against her tightly, kissed the top of his head, and murmured into his hair, "I love you."
"I love you too," Henry replied. It took minutes that felt like the shortest seconds for mother and son to finally part.
Killian placed his hand on Henry's shoulder and gave his own reassurance. "I will take care of the boy. You have nothing to worry about."
As far as my heart is concerned, she thought. Killian and Henry walked off to the dock, and Emma turned in the opposite direction to eventually find herself in front of town hall. She could see that most of the town was present, decked out in a hodgepodge of weapons from this land and the Enchanted Forest, including some pickaxes, torches, and pitchforks.
There was no time for strategizing, preparations, or even a breath as the monkeys came flying in. The cry was spread throughout the group that most of the creatures there were fighting were transfigured neighbors, friends and family. Emma spied through the group, desperate for a look that would tell her which one was Neal. Each felled adversary was quickly leapt upon by a group of townsfolk whose express mission was to tie them up and force the restoration potion down their throats. This "tie-up brigade" meant the difference between victory and defeat for the people of Storybrooke.
Emma looked up at the sky, watching as another monkey fell as it was struck with an arrow. The battle was simple, less messy than previous skirmishes with the Wicked Witch. But it was not meant to last.
Green smoke smothered every inhabitant of the town, and with the blinding mass around her, all of Emma's other senses went into overdrive. She could smell the acrid burning of chemicals in her nose and throat, the one element that always accompanied Zelena. The screams of her friends and family around her made her want to cover her ears and run away, back to the life she had had just weeks ago, the blissful ignorance of a home with Henry. During that time, the biggest thing she had worried about was making sure that her son made it to school on time. Now, she had an entire town, an entire kingdom, looking to her for protection and reassurance.
"Hello my pretties." Zelena's words escaped like a thunderclap, causing most of the people gathered together to instantly duck and cower from her magic. Emma hated that the most about this villain. Others that she had faced had a clear motive, a reason for doing all the horrible things that threw her life upside down. But unfortunately, Zelena wanted nothing more than to cause havoc and chaos, thriving on making everyone scared. Everything she did was to that end, including infusing her words with magic that preyed on one's fears and weaknesses.
"Stop this now! Go back to Oz and leave us all alone!" Emma shouted. Though she didn't expect the witch to take the out, she would happily accept a surrender. But she refused to roll over and let this woman take away everything important in her life. Expecting the fight to the death that was inevitable, she raised her sword and set herself into a defensive stance.
"Why would I leave now, when I have you all exactly where I want you?" Zelena's threat was wrapped up neatly with a wicked smile on her lips.
"I think you have that backward. You are exactly where we want you. NOW!" At the signal, Blue and the rest of the fairies threw all the dust they had gathered over the past days, Regina let loose with multiple fireballs, and Gold added some potions of his own to the mix.
When the smoke finally cleared, the witch stood with the same smile on her face, brushing some ash from her shoulder. "Did you think a little fairy magic would be enough to get rid of me? Need I remind you again, I'm wicked."
The monkeys resumed their attack, and what had been previously a defensive maneuver on the part of the Storybrooke residents became a full-fledged battle. As soon as one monkey was successfully downed, another three people were cursed and transformed into the winged monsters. Regina engaged Zelena in a one on one magic match, helping to prevent the witch advancing on everyone, even if little was accomplished in defeating her. Emma's previous mission to find Neal and insure that he was returned to the man he was supposed to be was derailed, her focus taken fully by keeping herself and her family alive.
David came up beside her, bolstering her faith, and she saw Mary Margaret peeking out from under the canopy of David's truck, still safely hidden from the monkey's attacks. David knocked down a monkey, but the "tie up brigade" had disbanded out of necessity. "We need to try something else," David said as the same monkey recovered and attacked again.
"I'm open to any suggestions you have," Emma replied, slicing at a monkey of her own. She noticed a nasty scar on the left side of the monkey's neck and gave a particularly angry swing, but he flew off before it landed.
"If we can get inside, the monkeys will be less of a problem," David said. As he spoke, claws raked down his back and the pain brought him to his knees. Emma delivered an uppercut that severed the monkey's right foot. He took to the sky, and she uttered a silent apology to whatever person she had just harmed. Unfortunately, she had no time to wallow in guilt.
"Mary Margaret!" David yelled from the ground. Emma's eyes came up to see her mother fighting hand to hand with a monkey. The only weapon she had at her disposal was her sword, making an attempt to rescue Mary Margaret difficult. But that didn't stop her from trying.
"Hey!" she yelled, somehow managing to attract the monkey's attention, even above the din of the battle. She threw her sword, hoping against hope that it may actually work. The monkey lifted Mary Margaret out of the bed of the truck and flew off, Mary Margaret's screams suddenly drowning out every other sound in Emma's ears.
"Mary Margaret!" David yelled again, and Emma recognized her own voice joining his. She was taken, and nothing else mattered right now.
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"So, Killian, what's going on with you and my mom?" Henry asked, turning the helm lazily. He had already expressed to Killian his boredom, anger at being left behind, and wish that they could have at least left the docks if he was going to be distracted.
"What do you mean?" Killian asked. He knew that he should be paying more attention to the boy, keeping him better entertained, but the sight of winged monkeys in the distance held his own attention too tightly.
"Come on, ever since you showed up, my mom has been acting really strangely. I mean, she broke up with Walsh, and then suddenly you come into the picture and bring us here. It makes me wonder if maybe… are you the reason Mom decided not to marry Walsh?"
Killian sighed. He still felt horrible about what he had done to Emma's life. It was painfully obvious that she had been happy, even if it was a lie, and he had destroyed that happiness. He still held out hope that he would be the one to bring happiness back into her life, but if he couldn't do it, he didn't want to give Henry false hope now. "You are a perceptive boy, aren't you? You take after your mother that way," he replied.
"So you and Mom do know each other. But you're not my dad?" It killed Killian that the boy even had to ask the question. They had discussed it at length during their drive to Storybrooke, at least, in terms that Henry could understand without his memory of the curse or magic.
"No, I'm not your birth father, but…" Killian took a deep breath. He knew that Emma would hate him for what he was about to do, but he couldn't keep the secret any longer. "I did know your father. He was a good man, despite what your mother may have told you about him."
"A good man? What kind of good man leaves his girlfriend to go to jail for a crime that he committed?" Henry asked.
"What?" Killian had no clue what the boy was talking about.
"You didn't know? My mom told me that my dad set her up with a bunch of stolen watches and then called the police to pick her up," Henry explained.
Killian clenched his fist tightly, trying to hold down the anger that was quickly boiling in his veins. He had never heard exactly what had separated Emma and Neal all those years ago, and it was definitely good for Neal that he wasn't anywhere near at this point.
Killian struggled to choose what to tell the boy, and finally settled on helping him move past what he had been told his whole life. And calming his own rage over what he had heard would help Neal's lifespan in the future. "I had not heard about that. But...despite that, your father has done some honorable things in his life. Don't dismiss him simply because of one story."
Henry looked down, rubbing his hand over the scratched out directions Killian had made on the helm all those many years ago. "Okay. But, you still haven't answered my real question. Did you break up Mom and Walsh?"
Killian bent down to look Henry directly in the eye. "Would it make a difference to you if I said yes?"
Henry surprised Killian and began smiling from ear to ear. "Walsh was nice and all, but to be honest, I would be much happier if Mom married you."
Killian straightened suddenly, not expecting the boy to be this excited by the news. He didn't know how to respond to Henry's wish that he and Emma marry one day. Mostly because he had the same wish in his own heart.
Thinking of Emma brought his attention once again to the limited view they had of the battle raging within the center of town.
"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Henry asked, following his gaze.
Killian turned to look at the boy. "Aye, I am."
"Then go to her!" Henry said. His eyes were bright and hopeful, begging the pirate to listen to him. Killian looked at the ground, trying to keep himself from fulfilling Henry's, and his own, wish.
"I want to, believe me. Unfortunately, I promised your mother that I would protect you, no matter the costs."
Henry's eyes lit up again. "Then take me with you. If I'm with you, then you can make sure I'm safe the entire time." He rushed over to the gangplank, eager to finally be active again.
The boy did not make it more than three feet before he was grabbed by the collar and pulled back. "Hold your horses lad. You are going no where!" Killian said.
"Why? I want to go with you! I can help!"
Once again, Killian crouched down and looked directly into Henry's eyes, hoping to convey both the sincerity needed to get him to believe, and the desperation required for him to understand why this was important. "Henry, I know that you could help us. Unfortunately, your mother would literally kill me if I brought you with me. Not to mention, I couldn't help your mother fully if I was focused on keeping you safe at the same time."
A shadow passed over Henry's eyes as his face fell and tears threatened in his eyes. Killian looked around the ship, trying to find something to distract the boy. He spotted the cannon, and an idea flashing into his mind.
"Do you want to help? Let me show you this." Together, the two came up with a system for Henry to provide assistance from a distance. Watching Henry work the cannon, and demonstrate his courage, Killian knew that the boy could make an excellent pirate one day. He was confident in leaving his ship in Henry's excellent hands, and with a tight hug, he was off to provide his services to those that needed him most.
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Emma tracked the monkey's flight path. Mary Margaret flailed and floundered, preventing the winged monster from gaining any kind of real height. Twenty feet off the ground, and coming closer, Emma could see that she may have a chance at stopping the monkey by climbing the fountain nearby. Disregarding the splashing and wetness seeping into her shoes and clothes, she got to the top just as the monkey carrying her mother passed by. Weaponless, she grabbed for the monkey's feet to add her own weight and finally bring it to the ground. Her fingers came together an instant too late, and the monkey and her mother flew away, leaving her to drop into the water below her.
"Emma!" David called out. She turned, and he threw her sword to her. The edge of the blade caught her palm, slicing a large portion of her hand, but she managed to maintain her grip.
Two seconds later, she swung the sword upward, managing to nick the monkey. He let out a loud screech, but still held tightly to Mary Margaret. The monkey gained a second wind, and quickly soared upward, eliminating any chance of reaching it or Mary Margaret. Emma cursed the monkey, and looked again for any opening she could get.
It was then that she realized a good portion of her allies had began retreating, rushing towards the docks. She yelled at them to return, knowing that she needed their help as well as not wanting them to lead the monkeys towards her son.
"No, Swan, you need to go with them. Head towards the harbor. Don't worry, everything will be all right," Killian said.
Emma whirled to look him in the eye. "Hook! What are you doing here? Where's Henry? I told you to stay with him!"
"Don't worry Swan, I've got everything under control." If she hadn't been so focused on rescuing her mother, she may have just slapped him right there.
"You're leading the monkeys to the docks, where my son is, apparently alone now, and you say you have everything under control?" Emma's flushed face and violent tone was a reminder for Killian to tread extremely cautiously with his next words.
"Henry has explicit instructions which he swore he would follow that will ensure he remains safe. His instructions also include a plan to rid ourselves of these menaces once and for all. So, if you would kindly inform the people to lead the monkeys as close as they can to the harbor, it would be extremely helpful." Killian's words only slightly quelled her desire to do him bodily harm. She still worried over her son, and her mother had now completely disappeared. David was also nowhere to be seen, but given the circumstances, she almost preferred that.
"Alright, help me get rid of these pests!" Back to back, the two made their way through the streets with claws reaching, tails lashing, and teeth nipping at them the entire way. They had managed to make it two blocks before they were halted.
"Going somewhere my pretty? I thought you at least would provide some good entertainment," Zelena said. Emma was tired of talking. Instead, she did what she knew best – she acted. Her sword came down hard and fast, but Zelena was faster. Green smoke was all that remained when Emma finished her swing, forcing her to turn in all directions for a glimpse of her.
"You should know something about me Emma, about why I'm here." Emma turned to face the voice, but the witch kept moving.
"Yeah? What's that?"
"The only way I can be defeated is by someone in their own true home. The people of Storybrooke, they don't really belong here, do they? So try all you want – Wicked always wins!" Emma tried to anticipate where Zelena would be, but her sword caught only air in its path downward. Her wicked laughter bounced off buildings and filled the air, making it impossible for Emma to find her. She cursed the witch loudly, Killian providing his own choice words to describe her.
A new swarm of monkeys came at them, and Emma refocused her attention. "This is ridiculous! We'll never be able to defeat her with all these monkeys in the air!"
Emma's words received an immediate, unexpected answer. A monkey coming directly for her was suddenly encapsulated in a thick fishing net. "What the…"
"Atta boy Henry," Killian said under his breath. Emma turned to him for an explanation, but he wasn't able to provide one before a shout echoed above them.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret yelled again. The monkey carrying her seemed to have adjusted to her weight and was now flying high and taunting them with Mary Margaret's presence. Emma looked around for Robin Hood and his trusty bow, but he was nowhere to be seen. The monkey began to edge closer and closer to the water, and Emma spotted the net flying toward the winged creature and his passenger long before they did, insuring that they got entangled and fell hard into the water.
Emma breathed a small sigh of relief, but it was short lived when she turned to see Zelena gliding towards her. There was no time to act, only to react when the witch snapped her fingers and encircled Emma in invisible bounds.
"Dear, sweet Savior, I think you'll find there truly is no place like home. Too bad you were never able to find it." In the blink of an eye, a rush of dark green smoke was approaching the immobile Emma. She couldn't scream, couldn't move, couldn't even close her eyes, giving her the unfiltered truth happening before her. David was grappling hand to hand with a monkey, Regina sat on the ground with a gash in her shoulder, the entire town still engrossed in a life and death situation. And death was what was coming for her.
"Swan!" Killian's voice rose above the cacophony of all else, and his body intercepted the deadly mist.
"Killian!" Emma yelled, the tears the first thing she felt. He fell to the ground, his eyes open but sightless. The tears continued to flow, and Emma felt almost as if someone else had taken over her body, breaking the imperceptible bounds effortlessly and sprinting to the witch.
Magic didn't matter in that moment, old training taking over her body, pulling her fist back, crashing the entire weight of her body against the other woman. She couldn't even tell why she was so violent, so desperate for this woman's death. Then her brain finally processed what she had just witnessed.
In spite of everything she had seen in the past, she never could have imagined that he would sacrifice his life for her. She could feel the sadness, the breakdown begin in her broken heart, but she had to push it away, had to give a purpose to his actions. Emma stared down the witch, summoning the necessary emotions to make absolute sure that this would work. "You may have taken everyone out of the Enchanted Forest, but there's one thing you didn't realize – I am home!"
For the first time in her life, Emma believed in herself. What she did was purposeful, voluntary, and magical. A pulsing light erupted from her heart, monkeys dropped to the earth, and Zelena was brought to her knees. Her skin lost its green hue, and when she opened her mouth to speak, no sound emerged.
"Go back to Oz, and stay out of my home!" Emma's words were infused with so much magical power that a portal opened at Zelena's feet, melting her away. Emma dropped to her knees, trying to stop herself from blacking out. There was still work to do.
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Henry lifted the spyglass to his eye once again, confused by the sudden lack of flying monkeys. He still couldn't believe that the creatures were the literal winged creatures just like in The Wizard of Oz, but it was impossible to deny what he had seen with his own eyes. When he had managed to snag Aunt Mary Margaret with them he knew that they were quite the formidable enemy.
"See anything?" Mary Margaret asked, walking up to stand beside him. Henry shook his head. He turned slightly to pass the spyglass to her to see if she could see anything else. But he caught sight of something.
"Mary Margaret, look!" Henry pointed to the main deck, where once monkeys had struggled against nets, but now men and women were begging to be released from their bounds.
"Henry, help me!" Mary Margaret said. She raced as fast as her physique would allow, and began untangling the ropes around the people.
"What happened to the monkeys? Where did all these people come from?" Henry asked. Mary Margaret didn't have a chance to answer before more questions arose, this time from the people who were captured.
"What are we doing here? What happened?" a young woman with long brown hair asked.
"I had the strangest dream. I was flying – but all I felt like doing was eating a banana," a man said as he was released from his net.
Henry resigned himself to having his questions remain unanswered, and began to untie a man in his thirties who was unconscious at the moment. Something about the man made Henry look at him closely. His brown hair was graying, but its original color was nearly the same shade as Henry's own. His chin was the same shape as Henry's too. The man opened his eyes, and Henry murmured one word that he never thought he'd say. "Dad?"
"Henry," he replied. His arms grasped Henry close to him.
Henry endured the embrace for a moment, but broke it off quickly. "What happened? How – Why are you here?" Henry couldn't even explain how he knew who this man who, and a million other questions flooded his mind. A massive gust of wind distracted him, Neal, and all the other occupants of the Jolly Roger, drawing their attention inland.
"What was that?" Henry asked.
Mary Margaret looked at him for a long moment before Neal answered for her. "Magic. And a lot of it."
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The remaining monkeys had been returned to their previous forms, friends and neighbors embracing in their relief and joy. The Wicked Witch was gone, really gone, and everyone felt like celebrating. Except for Emma.
Her energy was gone and she felt like she could lay down there in the street and sleep for a week. But from deep within her came the strength to rise to her feet and run to where Killian lay. Her knees hit the pavement hard, and she tenderly lifted him into her arms. She began talking to him, not allowing herself to think that it was all over. "Why did you do that you stupid pirate? I told you to stay with Henry for a reason – so you couldn't get hurt. Why would you…"
Tears cut off the rest of her words. She held him tight, still not able to believe it was over. She had never gotten the chance to thank him properly for returning her to her family. There was so much she wished she had done, had wanted to do when they had finally defeated the Wicked Witch, but the time was gone.
David, Regina and Robin all came to surround her, providing what little comfort they could. Emma appreciated their presence, but not the words they expressed.
"Hook was a good man. We'll all miss him," David said.
Robin added his own unhelpful words. "Losing the one you love is the greatest challenge to overcome."
Emma snapped. "Go away!" she yelled, done with everyone. She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't deal with anyone else trying to make her feel better. She didn't want to feel better, she wanted to feel him. Finally left alone, she bent her head and allowed the tears to flow.
"I love you Killian," she murmured. She dipped her head enough to gently press her lips to his, the tender caress that she had craved since that day in Neverland. She knew it was too late for True Love's Kiss, that even that couldn't bring his soul back to his body, but she had to feel that connection once again.
Tears continued to flow, almost overwhelming her. Her heart nearly burst in the heartbreak, unable to believe she was saying goodbye, again, to the only man she had ever believed could last. Her lips finally left him, and she buried her head in his chest. Long moments passed; eventually a hand came to cup her shoulder.
"I said go away!" she yelled at whoever was attempting to comfort her.
"That will be somewhat difficult as I currently can't move love." The tears ceased and her head came up.
"Killian?" He smiled at her as if he had simply been laying on the ground for fun. She couldn't decide between punching him or kissing him again.
"You should know by now love that I don't stop until I get what I want." Emma brought her face down once again and captured the pirate in her embrace.
"I wouldn't ever want you to."