Let it Bleed

by Ed108bot

AU Storybrooke. This is inspired from the world of the story My Tourniquet by jd4941. I don't own any of the character from OUAT and in the vein of fanfiction I am borrowing the characters created by jd4941: Jax, Zoe and Alexis. This story picks up after a dark Henry's second desperate act…

Let it Bleed

by Ed108bot

AU Storybrooke. This is from the world of the story My Tourniquet by jd4941. Check it out: /works/3665271/chapters/8101116

I don't own any of the character from OUAT and in the vein of fanfiction I am borrowing the characters created by jd4941: Jax, Zoe and Alexis. While they have a presence in this story, since I don't really know their backstories and histories, so I'll refrain from given them active voices.

This story picks up after Henry's second desperate act…

Chapter One – Out the Door

Wearing a lightweight light blue prayer shaw with hood and sandals, a short hairless dark man walked along the winding country road. As he crossed the town line into Storybook, he felt her. Not the vagueness that guided him on this long journey. He felt her essence. It was like the heaviness of a humid day, weighing on your entire body.

He sighed, his throat parched, his back and legs tired.

iIt's been far too long/i, he thought.

Across many dimensions searching for her essence. When he felt the constriction of sorrow and pain, he finally found her. He sent a prayer of thanks her heart had broken so profoundly that her soul screamed out loud enough for her to be detected.

iNow the hard work/i, he thought with determination as he walked toward the sleepy Maine seaport village, that emerged from the myths of magic.

He noticed many of the Storybook villagers staring at him as he walked down the street.

It took him a while to remember the wider part of the road was for the motorized vehicles that belched out methane-like gases, while the more narrow raised parts of the road were for pedestrians.

He realized his clothes were strange but he hadn't had time to change to the wardrobe of this time before embarking on this journey a century ago.

He noticed an ice cream shop: Any Given Sundae.

He remembered the definition of this edible treat and his stomach growled in anticipation.

When he reached the door to the store it was locked. He looked inside the dark store: it looked neglected.

iI would have enjoyed a frozen treat/i, he thought, disappointed. He looked up and noticed a diner called Grannies nearby.

iThere will be libation there in/i, he decided as he walked to the eatery.

When he entered all conversation ceased as everyone looked at him. Many of the looks that danced around his person, were ones of curiosity and annoyance but one sharp stare was of concern. The look of concern was held in soulful brown eyes of a beautiful brunette who was sitting in a booth table with a tall handsome man by her side.

He ignored everyone as he sat at a table near the front door to the diner. He watched as a red headed woman timidly approached, "What will you have?" she asked.

"My reserves are sorely deleted. I require libation rich in fats and protein." He spoke formally.

"Uhh, what?" the redheaded woman asked stumped by the dark man's replied as the bell over the front door rang.

"He wants a cheese hamburger. Medium." A familiar female voice answered as she entered the diner. The bell over the door rang again as the door shut close behind her.

"Will I enjoy this burger of ham and cheese?" The dark man asked the woman who spoke. He knew what cheese and ham was. The burger aspect was a minced mystery.

"I live on them." Emma Swan replied with her hand resting on her hip close to her service revolver.

"I will have the burger of ham and cheese then." The man replied to the red headed woman.

"Anything to drink?" She asked.

"Water cool and fresh would be most appreciated." The man replied.

The red headed woman left the table to fill the order, the man stared at Emma then he smiled as he spoke, "I found you."

"That's an easy thing to do when you're a stranger in a small town. I got calls about you walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic, when you turned onto Main Street." Emma replied.

The man continued to smile at her, which pissed her off.

"You want to explain you presence here in Storybrooke?" Emma demanded to know.

He took note of her holstered service weapon, her sheriff's badge and her stance.

"As I said, I am here for you. Please have a seat Constable while I await my meal. You are far more dangerous using your hands than using that weapon on your hip." The dark man revealed.

Before Emma could question the man some more, the red head, Ruby returned to the table with a cheese burger and a tall glass of water. She set it down in front of the dark man then left them to their conversation.

The dark man picked up the eating utensils, fork and knife. He began cutting up the sandwich into bite sized pieces before he began to eat. At the first mouthful, he knew Emma made a wise choice.

His mouth full of deliciousness, he smiled at her again, as she sat down opposite him.

"Ok let start at the beginning. You say I am the reason you are in Storybrooke. Why?" Emma demanded to know.

"For your ascension." The dark man replied.

"Ascension?" She laughed. "People are taking that savior moniker too seriously. You have the wrong person buddy. I'm no savior and I'm not ascending anywhere." She frowned.

"You are ishe who rises./i Your ascension has already happened. My purpose is to prepare you for it." The dark man replied after a swallow of water. He continued to consume the rest of the burger.

"How can you prepare me for something that has supposedly already happened?" She asked in an attempt to catch him in a lie.

"Time and distance are strange bedfellows. The time where you ascended is far away from here so in a sense you haven't ascended yet but you will. I will prepare you." The dark man promised.

"You got the wrong lady buddy. I'm tired. I don't want to ascend, transform, transmit nor metamorphic into a lady bug with LCD eyes. No matter how cool that just might be. Just tell me how you got into a town that's suppose to be difficult to find. Then you go your way and I go mine." Emma groused.

"I felt your pain. It led me to you." The dark man revealed.

"My pain? If you're just finding my ass now… you're a shit tracker. Enjoy your meal." Emma spoke as she rose from her seat.

"The pain you experienced earlier would not have been enough to propel you to the next level. Your heart has been bruised and battered but not broken. Now… now you are ready." the dark man promised.

"Fuck you!" Emma yelled as she turned to confront the dark man.

"My life isn't a fucking game!" She spat out as she stared hot anger at the dark man. Her eyes drifted a bit and met Regina's concern and her husband Jax's annoyance. She shut her eyes, and sighed. "I can't do this anymore." She whispered.

She opened her eyes as looked at the dark man seated in front of her. She spoke softly, "You're too late. I'm done with all this." She thought, iHenry doesn't realize: a bed, three square meals a day and a constant supply of really powerful drugs is starting to sound like a real good deal to me./i

The dark man smiled as he stood. He was shorter than Emma by seven inches. He looked up into her face as she replied, "Now we begin."

Then he kicked her hard in the gut, knocking her out of the diner front door.

Chapter Two – Naps: Nature's Caffeine

The impact of the kick pushed Emma into a parked flatbed truck: Charming's vehicle.

Her body dented the entire side panel of the truck. When she regained a sense of what happened she pulled out her service revolver and aimed it at the dark short man as he emerged from the diner.

The dark man waved his hand in a dismissive fashion and her gun disappeared.

"You have magic? Why the fuck am I not surprised?" She complained as she struggled to stand.

"You have more power inside you than that antiquated projectile weapon can provide." he reminded her.

A crowd formed as Emma confronted the short man.

"You're under arrest for assaulting an officer of the law." She spat out as she took the handcuffs out of her jacket pocket.

"You may only arrest me if I submit to the laws of this land." The dark man replied as he made the handcuffs disappear as well. "I don't." he added.

Emma reached forward to grab the short man's right shoulder and arm, which he allowed. Then her twisted his torso, reversing their positions, twisting her right arm behind her back. He applied pressure on her elbow joint forcing her to a semi knelling position.

He whispered in her ear, taunting, "None of these people will save you. No one will come to your aid because they fear me more then they have concern for your welfare. But that has always been the case with you, hasn't it? They need you, you show up. You need them… crickets chirp loudly."

She struggled to reach his grip on her. Angry she knocked the back of her hard head into the shorter man's chin. A shot of blinding pain shot through his head. He let go of his hold on her.

He shook his head to get rid of the the cobwebs and smiled proudly at her as spoke, "Excellent."

Then he frowned at her as he continued, "You made quick progress but now we must ramp up the preparation." He flipped into a somersault, flipping twice, double kicking her against her head each time, driving her backwards to stumble back on her ass.

He raised his hands letting her up off the ground and threw her into the stone wall of the closed ice cream shop. Her entire body impacted the wall. As a small cloud of dust of dislodged cement surrounded her, the dark man jumped forward and began pushing her in her torso. Lightening fast punches bruising her body, cracking her ribs until she exhaled a mist of blood into his face.

She couldn't raise her arms up quick enough to block the devastating blows.

A crowd formed around them of concerned town folk: Archie, Ruby, Jax, Regina, Blue, Belle, Rumple, Neal, Snow and Charming but no one stepped forward to stop the dark man.

"You are alone. No one here can stop me. Not your parents. Not your so-called true love. Not your children. Not your so-called friends. No one except… only ishe/i can stop me. But you would never call on iher/i because you are a coward." The dark man taunted as he punched.

Her head and body a raw nerve of pain she looked up at the overcast sky, realizing the short man's idea of ascension involved her immediate death.

She whispered, "Regina…"

A distance away Jax held Regina tight as they watched Emma being pummeled to death.

"Wrong person," the dark person yelled as he punched her some more. His blows were too fast to see. They doubled, tripled, quadrupled as they rained down on Emma, driving her back into the dented stone wall, through the stone wall, almost into the main part of the dark ice cream store.

As she felt herself being ripped raw from herself, she inhaled deeply then screamed pushing out with her hand throwing the short man on a wave of white energy a considerable distance away from her, across the street and into the glass pane of the haberdashery store.

She slid down the wall forward onto her knees. She fell face forth. She exhaled the gravel next to her face. She felt hands on her as she drifted over into unconsciousness.

Chapter Three – The Fear of Blue Energy

She opened her eyes and the world took on a bluish tint. The overcast sky above was a deeper blue, the short buildings blue, the cars blue, too. She closed her eyes to the blue mood.

She felt something soft and warm under her head and neck. Slender fingers moved around her torso. She felt the tingles of a faint electricity pulsating along her entire body. It tickled and itched so she opened her eyes again. She blinked and realized she was surrounded by a bubble of blueness.

A blue bubble that gave off sparks of electricity.

iWas this heaven or… the other place?/i she worried.

She closed her eyes again as she realized where ever she landed, she wouldn't have to deal with hero worshiping, elitist parents, a bat-shit crazy, violent son, daughters who are blossoming in her absence and the abandonment of Regina.

She hated Jax and all he stood for but deep down she didn't want to begrudge Regina her shot at true happiness. She just wished she could have walked beside her instead of watching her walk away.

iI couldn't take care any of my children, how can I take care of a relationship?/i She wondered. iRegina should have run fast and farther away from me. And I should have bought her the sneakers, to do just that./i She joked darkly to herself.

When her dark mirth subsided, she wondered whether this was an existence after death.

Emma heard the asshole who nearly beat her to death, intruding into her post mortem thoughts as he spoke, "You aren't dead."

She breathed in and out, finding her voice then spoke, raspy, "Can't fault you for trying."

When he laughed she frowned.

"Asshole," she said. "I may be a shit person but I don't go around beating the shit outta people for tickles and giggles."

"You are not a shit person. I am not an asshole. We just have more work to do." He replied.

"If what just went down is your concept of work, just shoot my ass. It's quicker if you do it in the head area a few times." She groused as she pointed to her own head.

When she lowered her arm, she realized where she was: on the ground her head resting in the lap of the dark man who humiliated her in the street. She wanted to jump up and off of him but he gently held her in place. as he spoke, "Rest a bit more. I am healing you. Knitting bone back together at an accelerated rate is delicate work."

She could feel exactly what he said, her bones were knitting together like a lattice. It felt like insects under her skin and in-between her muscles. Ticklish, she winced a bit.

She looked into the eyes of the man who beat her ass then decided to heal the damage he inflected. Her look was one which held a thousand question. He answered only one of them, "You called upon the only person who could save you… yourself. I just needed you so hopeless that you would naturally turn within instead of without."

She looked around and saw that the crowd hadn't dissipated. Grimaced, embarrassed by her apparent weakness.

He answered her grimace, "You aren't weak and they can't hear us. The healing bubble draws from the restorative ionizing energy around us but it doesn't allow sound waves to escape." He looked up above them and added, "Lucky for you we fought on an overcast day. The clouds are rich with moisture and ions!"

"Oh goody!" She replied. "How'd I get so lucky?"

"It is done. Rise. But stay seated. You will be too dizzy to stand." He advised.

She sat upright.

They were in the middle of main street.

The wall of the ice cream store was damaged beyond repair. A man was sweeping up the broken glass window in front of Worthington's Haberdashery store. The blue energy bubble still surrounded them.

The curious crowd of fairy tale characters didn't disperse. Regina held onto Jax as though he were a life-line. Ruby was consoled by Leroy of all people. Snow and Charming were yelling at her and banging on the outer part of the blue energy bubble.

Emma couldn't hear them.

She pivoted to face the dark man, who was sitting crossed legged in front of her.

"You want to tell me what the hell is going on? We're in the middle of the street! Why the hell did you beat the shit out of me? Who the fuck then I piss off this time?" She demanded to know.

"Of all the questions you could have asked these are the most important ones? I've already told you: you must ascend and I will prepare you. If you want to know who sent me, the answer is you. You sent me on this quest to find you, to prepare. Shall we begin?"

"That beat down wasn't the beginning?" She asked.

"Yes, I beat you. Yes, you could have died from that beating. Yes, I healed you. Yes, you are still alive. Which one of those four facts are the most important? Nurture the important one, discard the rest." The dark man advised.

"Fuck you!" Emma spat out.

"The pain of my beating is quickly becoming a distant memory. All you truly feel now is the condemnation of your ego. That is our next task." He revealed.

"What? Beat the shit out of my ego?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered. "You came and saved these people from a dark curse. You didn't know them all that well when you did it. You didn't realize you were doing it when you ended it. But you gave these people back a sense of themselves. When you needed them was the help they extended to you reciprocal?" He asked.

She sat there facing him separated from all of Storybrooke by a blue orb of energy. She saw the looks of concern on the faces of the people outside the blue orb. She saw Snow crying. She saw Jax continue comforting Regina. She thought of the twins resting at the hospital. She thought of the unrelenting years dealing with Henry, thinking they were making progress after his suicide attempt years ago, when clearly they hadn't. She noticed Neal frozen in shock, staring at her. She observed her father frustrated as he unsuccessfully tried to force his way inside the orb.

She looked back at the dark man as she answered, "No."

"This town, these people don't need you anymore. Your parents have each other and children they can raise together. You will never become what they wanted for you because your experiences are beyond anything they could have imagined. Your children don't need you. Alexis and Zoe have wonderful parents. They love you but they don't need you. They will develop into amazing, powerful young women. They are a combination of the nurturing from Regina and Jax, not you. You can't help Henry. His madness supersedes any remedy you can envision. You have lost him far worse that if you had lost him in Neverland. A bit of it is genetic, on his father's side. His great grand father, Pan and grand father are unstable. Belle is the anchor to reality for Rumplestilskin. But as the Dark One he can live a long time beyond her life expectancy. Once she is gone, for whatever reason, he will be as mad and as dangerous as Henry." The dark man predicted.

"Why are you telling me things that I already know?" Emma said as a series of tears dropped from her eyes.

"Let go of what you believe tethers you to this small life you have. A life on the peripheral of everyone else's. The proverbial edge is a temporary place to visit not a place of permanence." The dark man lectured.

"Who are you?" Emma asked as she wiped her tears away.

"Now you are asking better questions but lets table me for later. Now we kill your ego. What do you feel most guilty about?" He asked.

"Besides not kicking your ass first?"

"Yes, besides that."

"Everything. Take your pick."

"I can't pick because I don't blame you for anything. But you do." He answered. "Close your eyes." he instructed.

Reluctantly, Emma sat closed legged in the middle of Main Street under the shelter of a blue ball of energy and she closed her eyes.

He spoke softly "See your guilt. Feel it. Don't hide from it. Face it. Every wrong turn, every misinformed decision, every exaggeration of trivia while dismissing people and experiences of greater importance. Experience them once again, clearly. Not distorted by wishful thinking."

Emma shook as the rivets of tears flooded her face.

He whispered, "Now let them go. Let the regret drift away from you. Watch them floating away."

After a long moment, when the crying subsided and her breathing deepened, he asked, "How do you feel?"

"Empty." She replied.

"Excellent!" He replied, delighted with Emma's progress. "I want you to see yourself as yourself facing yourself." He added.

"What?" She asked her eyes open in bewilderment.

"Close your eyes once more. See yourself, as though you are looking in a mirror."

Emma closed her eyes again.

She saw herself standing in front of a full length mirror. While she was wearing jeans, boots, a t-shirt and leather jacket; in the mirror she was dressed as a princess in a flowing gown.

"Good. That mirror is a special mirror. It highlights your flaws. See all your flaws."

In the mirror, her image changed. Her hair was dirty and unkempt, in an uneven cut with one side longer than the other. Her makeup was smudged. Her princess gown was dirty and torn like she had been crawling through mud with it on. Her face and neck displayed the acne that tormented her adolescence and she wore her old eyeglasses, the broken ones she had taped back together.

"Forgive yourself. You have been doing the best with what you have been given. You loved your son. You loved Regina. You are capable of love. You have great compassion. Embrace your flaws. They are your springboards to jump to the next. Flaws can give you the highest lift and greatest potential trajectory when you use them to jump off." He instructed. "If your aim is high, jump from your flaws." He added.

She smiled at her unkempt self and her flawed self smiled shyly back.

"Now we drive the knife in a bit deeper: fears. What do you fear Emma?"

"Being alone." She whispered.

"But you've been alone. You are alone. You know what alone feels like, smells like, is like. Why do you fear what you already know?" He asked. "You don't fear solitude. What do you really fear?" He demanded to know.

"Being trapped." She spoke louder.

"Another lie. You are stuck in an energy orb with no clear exit, chatting calmly with a person you don't know, who almost killed you. Stop lying and state your fear, Emma!"

"Being rejected."

"You've been rejected time and time again and survived. Try again." He instructed impatiently.

Annoyed, she didn't speak.

"We are at the point where your ego is fighting back with all she has to survive. She knows what our aim is and she is fighting for her existence, as she is now. But your ego doesn't understand that imminent ideath/i she feels is just a change. What are your fears Emma?" He asked.

Chapter Four – Fears: Being Dark and Evil

Emma stared defiantly at the dark man for a long time.

When they fought the afternoon sun was high and strong but now it was setting. The townsfolk of Storybrooke had resigned themselves to their Savior being trapped in a blue orb with a mysterious man.

While Snow and Charming kept vigil over the orb, Blue and Rumple, enlisted Regina to combined their forces to figure out how to free Emma from her blue prison and deal with the powerful stranger inside with her.

Emma looked at the dark man who sat facing her with his eyes closed as though he were asleep. She stood on numb legs and examined her limited blue world. Outside of it were her mother and father, holding each other as they stared at her. Snow ride her hand up against the outside of the orb. Emma stared at her Mother's open palm. She wanted to mimic the gesture but she didn't.

She looked around and discovered there wasn't a clear exit. She sighed.

She turned away from her folks to face the strange dark man. She sighed again and sat down, crossed legged facing him. He opened his eyes. They stared at each other: her in defiance, him with impatience.

Then she spoke, "My parents think of themselves as heroes. As the good guys. They don't realize in the world outside of Enchanted Forests and Storybrooke, one man's hero is another man's villain. It all about perspective. You know? Storybrooke is two dimensional: good and bad, black and white, right and wrong. Outside Storybrooke, a three dimensional world where perspective, depth occurs. Where something evil from one angle looks good when its configuration changes. It just takes a twist."

The dark man blinked, his eyes digesting her words.

"Since my folks are heroes by extension so am I. At least as far as they are concerned. Funny thing is that while I never thought of myself as a hero, I always had this fantasy that I was special. It's the same fantasy every orphan has that they are special and their specialness temporarily separated them from their amazing parents. I grew up and push those fantasies aside but I never trashed them. I secretly held on to them to comfort me when I was tired, scared, lonely: the hit parade of all good feelings. You know? Then this shit happened. Mom and Dad are hella special and Surprise! I am too! But late at night, when the feelings aren't right and the old fantasy is faded and worn, I wonder what if… what if I'm not special. What if it's all a mistake? What if I'm a fraud soon to be found out? You know?" Emma rambled.

"You are a woman who fell in love with another woman so deeply you created life. You are a woman who has magic in a world without magic. I searched for you over one hundred of your years. You my dear are very special." the dark man countered.

Emma cried and her tears angered her.

"There is darkness inside me. One day someone will need me to be heroic. They will find me on that special day when I will want to say 'No' and will. I know I have an ability to be darker than Rumplestilskin, the Evil Queen, her mother Cora, and Henry combined."

"You see Henry as evil?"

"Yes." She reluctantly admitted.

"Rumplestilskin wanted to find his son. He was a bastard out of his love for his son and he desire not to be like his own father. The Evil Queen wanted to kill my mother then settled for making her unhappy because Snow's entitled happiness cost Regina everything. Cora fought against the unfair social classism and sexism in the Enchanted Forest that started all this bullshit because it was admittedly unjust. Those Mills women are all about justice, aren't they? Henry didn't try to kill his mother out of love for anyone else. He didn't do it to protect anyone. He didn't do it for any other reason than to be a hero in his own eyes. That's real evil. A boy who condemned his mother for lying to him, lied to me for years letting me think we were working toward something positive between us while he was biding his time to strike again… to be a self proclaimed hero." Emma explained.

The dark man sighed, knowingly.

"They don't realize I was going to take off. Give Jax and Regina my contact info for the twins but I planned to take off to some remote beach for a year or two, get drunk, have lots of sex, eat and sleep with no one to worry about and no one to worry about me. I'm gonna revel in that shit." She revealed.

The dark man frowned.

"Then I get a series of calls at the police station about a petite monk walking down the middle of main street holding up traffic. Story of my fucking life." She complained.

"What do you fear?" He asked again.

"I fear making the wrong decision. I fear failing."

"You loved and lost, three times. Yet you are still here, defiant. What don't you fear?" He tried a different approach.

"I don't fear dying. I could do that shit over and over again." She answered flippantly. " I fear living." She spoke softly.

"Finally the truth." He exclaimed.

"If you knew why did you ask me?" She wondered.

"You needed to acknowledge your fears to live fully. Let your life force fill you completely." He instructed.

"No." She refused.

"No?" he asked, truly shocked.

"I went along with the inew age mumbo jumbo/i because I was curious where you were going with this. You are going no where I want to be." She exclaimed. "My final destination is a secluded beach some where on this planet near a fully stocked bar with beautiful men and women lounging nearby. Preferably naked men and women." She said.

"The only problem I see with your most excellent plan is you need to get out of here to eventually get there." He spoke smugly.

"I'm done little man. Let me out!" She demanded.

"I don't have the key that opens this orb. You do. In fact, you instinctively created this protective orb, so you are the key. Face your fears as you did your guilt." He instructed then he closed his eyes.

"You said: I sent you to me. I sent you to find me ione hundred years ago?/i" She asked to try a different escape tactic.

"One hundred years ifrom now/i. Those years haven't occurred yet, for you." He answered without opening his eyes.

Emma didn't detect a lie so she probed deeper, "If I sent you…"

"Stop stalling. Face your fears so you can ascend." He interrupted.

"What if I don't want to ascend?" She challenged.

"You already have. You just need to do it again with a different nuance." He explained.

"Future me is a big pain in the ass." She complained.

"Yes, you will be." He smiled.

Chapter Five – The Fatigue of Anger

Emma grew tired of seeing her mother crying on the other side of blueness, with her father impotent to console her.

Emma grew tired of the growling in her stomach. She was very hungry. Visions of burgers of ham and cheese did the iconga/i across her consciousness.

Emma was tired of the love fest between Regina and her husband Jax.

iI want Regina to be happy but I don't want to be an audience member to their love fest. Fuck that! I got my own movie to show up and star in./i She decided.

Emma was tired of Henry and his crazy violent bullshit. iMy compassion train derailed when he tried to kill my girls./i She concluded to herself.

Emma was tired of Storybrooke as she examined her life as it was. For the first time, she began to envision how it could be: her messy, raw life.

A post Henry, a post Storybrooke, a post heroes, a post Regina life. It was scary but it was something she wanted to see, to experience, to smell, to taste, to feel. The hunger for what's inext/i made her stomach growl once more. She opened an eyeball, and the iass kicking guru/i was still sitting there eyes closed, doing his own thing.

She sighed.

Emma was tired of sighing.

Most importantly, Emma was fucking tired of the blue energy orb.

That was the one and only reason why she sat lotus style and confronted her fears of living authentically, forming and fulfilling commitments and obligations.

And she hated every minute of it.

Chapter Six – Where is Emma?

Snow came outside the loft apartment to check on her eldest daughter and shouted when she found the dark man who hurt and trapped Emma inside a large blue orb was gone.

The blue orb was gone as well.

Charming looked out the open window down at her as she exclaimed, "It's gone! She's gone!"

Charming replied, "Maybe Gold, Blue and Regina found something to free Emma."

Snow dialed Blue first.

"Hello Blue. Did you Gold and Regina free Emma from the orb?" Snow asked.

"No. We are still looking for solutions." Blue answered.

"Emma's gone! The orb is gone! That strange man is gone as well!" Snow exclaimed.

"Do you want to speak to Regina?" Blue asked.

"I'll put you on speaker so we can all hear you." Blue informed her when Snow failed to reply. Snow heard her tell Mr. Gold and Regina that Emma was missing.

"She might have gone to the hospital after she escaped the orb." Regina suggested.

"I'll check the hospital." Snow replied.

"If she isn't at the hospital, where that strange man has gone is probably where you'll find Ms. Swan, Dearie." Mr. Gold suggested.

"Her first thought would be the well being of her children after she got away from the evil little man. She's at the hospital. I just know she is there." Snow replied before disconnecting the call and jogging towards the hospital.

When Snow reached the hospital she found the twins, Zoe and Alexis resting comfortable and Henry sequestered in a locked, restricted wing, retrained to his bed even though the odds of him walking ever again were remote.

But no Emma.

No one had seen Emma since the situation that exploded outside of Granny's. Snow became annoyed when people talked about how easily Emma was subdued by a man shorter and older than herself.

What irked her more was people calling her the 'so-called Savior' as though her rightful place along side heroes such as herself and Charming was up for consensus.

Snow lashed out at a group of nurses gossiping about Emma getting her ass handed to her outside Granny's, "I will remember how you belittled Emma's abilities when the next evil calamity comes to town. Perhaps you are better suited to handle it by yourselves!"

When the nurses looked away from her sheepishly, Snow pulled out her cell phone and called home. She spoke when he picked up the call, "Charming, Blue and Gold didn't free Emma. She wasn't at the hospital either. I'm going to round up the dwarves to organize a search party."

"Perhaps Blue can conjure a location spell for Emma." Charming suggested.

"That's an excellent idea!" Snow exclaimed, armed with a purpose, she set off to find her eldest daughter.

Chapter Seven – Step One: Allowing the Fall

Emma was in a state of complete awareness.

She was currently standing on the roof of the Dark Star Pharmacy beside the dark bald man watching the night sky.

iApparently ascension comes with perks, like the roof of a store/i, Emma ruminated. "I could have used a ladder to get up here." Emma observed.

"You haven't ascended yet… you escaped your energy bubble. Once we were free I came up here for some clearer air. Apparently you followed me." The dark man replied.

He stretched, his vertebra popping like popcorn. He rotated his neck, wincing when he felt a sharp pain on his left side. He slid his eyes at Emma, observing her as she stood taller than when he first met her. He nodded, thinking, She's ready. Then he winced again as the nodding awoke the neck pain again.

"You must have ribs made of steel. I strained my neck muscles punching you." the dark man complained has he rubbed the soreness away.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him, "Pardon me for being difficult to kill, asshole!"

When he didn't reply, she turned away from him letting go of a single thought, iAppearances can be deceiving./i

"Very true." The dark man spoke aloud.

Startled, Emma stared at him and asked, "You can read my thoughts?"

"It's not all that difficult, especially with a mental screamer like you. Deaf and dead people can probably hear your thoughts. You project them in sound, rhythm and texture." The dark man replied then sighed.

Emma rolled her eyes at him then looked down at the street.

She perked up when she noticed Regina emerge from Gold's shop. Regina stood still and released a deep breath as she hugged herself. iShe looks tired./i Emma thought as she stepped forward towards her then remembered she was on the roof not at street level where Regina was.

She instinctively dematerialized the rematerialized (aka poofed) at street level and began to walk towards Regina when a black SUV pulled up alongside the curb in front of Gold's shop. Jax shut off the engine, got out of the driver's side, shut the driver's side door and moved towards his wife.

Emma watched as she embraced him, as they kissed deeply, hugged briefly then spoke with eyes, hand gestures and body movements in that way couples do, as lovers, as best friends.

Emma closed her eyes to make the pain go away.

When she opened them again, Jax and Regina were still talking while holding each other closely.

She inhaled deeply then stepped forward towards them, one step at a time.

Conflicted, her feet moved forward toward pain, her heart screamed at the unfairness of it all and her mind found all sorts of reasons why going anyway but forward was a most excellent idea. Her stomach still wanted the burger of ham and cheese. It gurgled, burped and grumbled that all life problems can be solved iafter the delicious/i has been properly consumed.

She ignored all but her feet, both of which had about enough of the whole heart break business. They were eager to jump into the beginning of post heart break experiences. That ascension business sounded like a jump into a refreshing pool of newness to Emma's feet.

She stopped in front of the couple. Regina noticed her first and reached out to touch her as she spoke, "Everyone has been looking for you."

Emma stepped away from her touch. She had something important to say and Regina's touch would erase it.

When Emma didn't speak, Regina asked, "Are you okay Emma? Do you need to go to the hospital? We can take you."

Before Emma could reply, the dark man appeared by her side. Emma spoke to him first, "This is a private conversation, do you mind?"

"Here or over there I'll still hear everything you say, so why should I move?" The dark man countered with a shrug.

Regina stared at the strange monk.

"Because it's polite! You're as big a pain in the ass as future me!" Emma complained.

"Future you and myself are the closest of friends. You wouldn't have trusted anyone else to your past." the dark man replied matter of factly.

Regina's eyebrows rose questioningly and Jax moved to give the two women privacy.

"Stay then. You too Jax. What I have to say concerns you too." Emma said.

She looked into Regina's eyes to remember then into Jax's. She didn't like the man but her likes and dislikes held no weight here, she realized with a dry swallow. So she searched his eyes for something. Something of unique value.

He was kind, strong, honorable, quite like her father, all hero in one package.

She still didn't like him. But she realized Regina did ipower/i up in the mate department. She had a spouse who could basically do everything Emma couldn't. It was sobering to realize Jax was better than her.

She exhaled.

Jax matched her look defiantly, ready to protect his love ones. Emma nodded slightly as she approved finding what she was looking for in him.

She looked back at Regina afraid she would cry but found she had a smile or two left in her and said though a smile, "I release you."

"What?" Regina uttered.

"I release you. The connection between us as true loves, I release you from all obligations and concerns. We are no longer true loves." Emma spoke formally.

"I won't stop being concerned about you." Regina replied.

"Don't be. You have a new life. A new happiness. Protect it. Regina, I need to release you not to spite you nor to punish you. I need to find my own… I can't do that holding on to you when you've let me go. I want… I need something separate from Storybrooke, evil queens, saviors, dark curses, evil wizards, heroes, magic and fairy tales. Something that just Emma's. I existed for eight years, in misery, between searching in vain for you and nursing my many regrets. At some point, I got to catch a break." Emma admitted.

Regina's eyes moistened with mixed emotions.

"We share children, but they don't really know me. That's not a condemnation that's a fact. They have two amazing parents, you and Jax here. I'm like some fun Aunt, a distant cousin. I'll always love them and will do anything for them but I am not a part of their intimate life. I will never be able to empower them by showing them there is no scary monsters under their beds or explain to them how thunderstorms and lightening aren't scary, they are a formidable magic in the physical world, all their own. They have quickly matured past an age where I could make the world seem a less frightening but more amazing place. Those are Jax's duties, he is their dad." Emma rambled on.

Regina teared up and mouthed a silent sorry.

Emma raised her hand to stop her, she had a bit more to say, "I should be furious with you. On one hand, you were a central part of events where I never knew my parents. On the other, I don't know my girls, who are now preteens, by the way. In four years, they will be teenagers and very quickly young adults. I sorta missed the important parts, everything. All those things I would have done with our daughters I also never got to do with my parents. I was needy for their approval and that neediness cost me you. But I'm an adult. I don't make mistakes that my parents can smooth over. The ones I make I have to live with or fix, on my own."

The dark man smiled and clapped. Emma rolled her eyes at him itres/i annoyed. iMaybe him annoying me will make this go faster,/i she considered.

"On that note, I agree Henry needs to be institutionalized. Neal is kicking in for the cost whether he wants to or not. When Henry tried to kill you, he was a sick child but now he is an adult. My last act as sheriff of Storybrooke will be processing formal criminal charges against Henry for attempted assault with a controlled substance, assaulting a police office, attempted murder and kidnapping with the state attorney general. He committed criminal acts against the girls and even if you won't press charges, I most certainly will. He's sick. I get that but the reality that all actions have consequences has to penetrate the thick fog of entitlement, anger and self absorption he hides behind. Incarceration in a mental institution is an appropriate remedy. He may never be cured and I've made my peace with that. I'll always love the boy who found me on my birthday to break a dark curse but I'm tired of being responsible for every bad thing he does. He needs to shoulder the burden of himself whether he's ready or not: adulthood 101 right?" She added.

While shock sat on Regina's face, Jax and the dark man nodded in agreement.

"You're leaving Storybrooke? You don't want any contact with the girls?" Regina asked.

"When they want me around, I'll be there. But I'm not going let what happen with Henry happen with them. I will not disrupt their lives. You two are their parents. You two have final say on all things concerning them, even my mother. I'm like… a distant cousin." Emma said her heart breaking even more.

Before she left them she addressed Jax, pointing her thumb at the short man standing beside her, "You hurt them, destroy their trust in you, in any way. I'll send this little guy here to kick your ass."

The dark man had the decency to puff up his muscles and leer at Jax menacingly. Jax, who witnessed Emma, a woman with powerful magic, getting her ass kicked by the stranger, nodded that he got the message.

Emma turned to leave them when Regina called out to her, demanding to understand what was going on, "That man beat you until you almost died. Now you two are best friends?"

"I seem to have an affinity for people who want to kill me. It's on my list of things to work on." Emma joked before she turned again to walk away.

iWalk away strong and tall. Don't let them see you crumble. We can do that after we turn the next corner./i Emma instructed herself.

"I can still hear you." The dark man spoke aloud. Emma stopped walking and looked to her right. The dark man smiled up at her.

"Don't you have someone else to bother?" Emma cried as she placed her hands akimbo.

"Ascension remember?" he replied.

"I have to ascend to the police station, I intend to fax the criminal charges to the state capital tonight and type my letter of resignation." Emma replied as she continued to walk down the street away from Regina and Jax.

The dark man kept up walking beside Emma's long gaited stride, in silence.

iI wonder if they are still looking at us walking away?/i Emma wondered.

"They are." the dark man replied.

She stopped walking again. He stopped as well and sighed. She forced her face directly into his, invading his personal space and spat out, "That shit is annoying. Stop it."

"Stop thinking then I won't hear your thoughts." He suggested with a shrug.

"She asked, "How the hell am I supposed to stop thinking?"

He smiled and answered, "That's step two."

Chapter Eight – Step Two: No Thinking Allowed

Emma sat in front of the antiquated computer, editing her letter of resignation when her parents, Snow and Charming charged into the station.

"Thank goodness! There you are! We have been looking for you all over town." Snow exclaimed.

"How did you find me?" Emma asked.

"Regina." Charming answered.

"She said you were formally charging Henry with kidnapping and attempted murder. She was mistaken, wasn't she?" Snow demanded to know.

"Faxed the paperwork twenty minutes ago." Emmy replied after checking the wall clock. She resumed editing her document on the computer screen.

"You can't do that to Henry. He needs us. He needs you." Snow pleaded.

"Henry committed numerous criminal acts which were depraved in nature and dangerous to the population of Storybrooke. As an officer of the peace it is my duty to bring him to justice." Emma reminded them.

"She put you up to this didn't she? She left Henry, abandoned him and now she wants him locked away!" Snow cried.

"Regina had nothing to do with my decision." Emma revealed.

Snow opened her mouth to speak when she noticed the little dark man who nearly beat her daughter to death laying on the cot inside one of the cells.

"Good. You caught the evil little man." Snow asked.

"He can poof himself in and out of that cell anytime he pleases. He's just lounging in there to annoy me. Ignore him." Emma suggested.

"Why do you want to convict Henry?" Charming asked.

"Henry could have killed me in this last little mission he concocted! He didn't know what I had ingested prior to him assaulting me and the girls with that drug! I could have had some alcohol or taken some pain medicine before he dosed me, then suffered cardiac arrest and died in my drug induced sleep. He assaulted a police officer. He assaulted and kidnapped minors. He has to answer for his crimes." Emma exclaimed.

"She hasn't answered for her crimes!" Snow charged.

"Most of them weren't committed in this world and the ones that were were shielded by a dark curse. I think having your child, a child you loved, cherished and trusted, commit a violent, depraved act to kill you, counts as penance." Emma reasoned.

"Emma, we can handle this ourselves. We shouldn't involve the outside world. We can take him back to the Enchanted Forest with us." Charming suggested.

"You want to send him back to a place where some magic may still exist and there is no one to stop him from getting his grubby little hands on it to concoct something else both devastating and dangerous to get his way? How are you going to be able to watch him and my siblings at the same time? He isn't a child anymore and he isn't from the Enchanted forest. He was born here and is subject to the laws of this world. He should have been punished as a juvenile when he initially tried to kill his mother. We coddled him. We gave him the false impression that he could do anything he wanted and we all would handle the consequences. That stops now." Emma promised.

"You sound just like iher/i: hard and cold. He's your son! He was never hers!" Snow cried.

"She didn't give birth to him so that gives him the right to kill her when she disappoints him? The woman who took care of him when he was sick? Who cleaned every dirty diaper? Who healed every ibooboo?/i Who made certain he was educated and taught him how to walk, talk, be polite and respectful? Who was fascinated by his every interest? All this talk of true love and heroes warped his brain." Emma spat out.

"Do not denigrate true love! True love is to be cherished and respected." Snow lectured.

"Why shouldn't I? You didn't cherish, respect and support my true love. You gleefully helped me dismantle it." Emma challenged.

"I regret any part I played but she left you at the first sign of trouble." Snow replied.

"She was almost murdered!" Emma exclaimed.

"She kept my grand babies away from us! She was always a spiteful and selfish woman!" Snow ruminated.

"The only true love alive and kicking in this neck of the woods is… yours: Dad and you: That's pretty selfish if you ask me." Emma observed.

"Why are you twisting my words?" Snow asked.

"It's all about the twist." Emma addressed the dark man who lounged on the cot in the cell with a private joke. The dark man smiled, fascinated by the interaction between she who ascends and her parents.

"Why are you talking to him? He tried to kill you!" Snow demanded to know.

"Private joke." Emma said.

"Let's not fight amongst ourselves." Charming suggested.

"Are you going to stop railroading Henry so he can get the help he needs?" Snow asked.

"He is going to get the help he needs. When convicted, I strongly recommended he goes to a mental hospital not regular prison. But he will be incarcerated there. If he beats the charges, which I seriously doubt, given all the evidence collected…"

"That's why you had Mulan and Ruby go over the mines and his bedroom carefully." Charming interrupted as he deduced. "Why didn't you ask for my help?" He asked.

"Dad you have a conflict of interest." Emma was reluctant to reveal.

"And you don't? You want to get back into her good graces!" Snow accused.

"I told Regina goodbye tonight and freed her from being my true love." Emma revealed in a small voice.

"You can do that?" Charming exclaimed.

"I just did so I guess so." Emma replied.

"So you don't love her anymore?" Snow probed.

"I'll probably always love her but I need to know someone else can love me, unconditionally. Not see my flaws as deal breakers." Emma revealed.

"That's all I wanted for you, sweetheart! To be happy." Snow replied with a gentle smile.

"Mom that's not entirely true. You wanted me to be happy with what you wanted for me. Not what I wanted for myself." Emma pointed out.

"Emma, I'm sorry if you feel that way but we've always supported you!" Snow exclaimed.

"Not my love for Regina." Emma shot back.

"She wasn't right for you!" Snow exclaimed.

"I was happy with her and miserable without her. I made babies with her. How many women do you know did that with another woman? In the Enchanted Forest or here in this world?" Emma asked.

Snow looked away, angrily.

"Emma we should have been more supportive of your choices but Snow was devastated when Regina showed her heart had darken. When we were under the curse your Mom and I couldn't stay away from each other and didn't understand why. That's how powerful our connection was. Regina didn't fight for you, Honey. You were miserable searching for her and she didn't sense your pain nor care to help you alleviate it. A true love would do that." Charming replied.

"When the dark curse was fully in effect, you two didn't even know each other. When the curse was weakening, you became aware of each other. You're welcome, by the way. " Emma reminded them.

When no further comments came from her parents, Emma revealed, "Maybe our connection paled in comparison to yours but you never told me you two could sense each others' distress. True love experts but you never taught me anything about how to manage and maintain true love only to revel in the singularity of yours. Since I've been stumbling through darkness on my own, even here with you two present, I need to strike out on my own. I can't rebuild my life focusing on yours." Emma insisted.

Snow shook her head negatively as she cried.

Emma looked back at the computer screen and saved the heavily edited document addressed to the citizens and current Mayor of Storybrooke, revealing with satisfaction, "I've typed up my resignation."

"If you are resigning, then those charges you filed can't stick!" Charming considered aloud.

"Got the confirmation fax already from the state AGs office. I already inquired how to proceed after my resignation. They only needed my signed and witnessed deposition, which I sent along with copies of all the evidence." She stated.

"Who witnessed your statement?" Charming asked.

"Ruby." Emma answered.

"She's on iher/i side, now." Snow accused.

"Regina and Jax are eventually leaving Storybrooke for good so if you want to see the girls, swallow your bitterness and make nice. You have to speak with her or her husband about visitation from now on." Emma informed them.

"So you are abandoning your girls, as well as Henry? When will you stop running away from your responsibilities?" Snow accused.

"This conversation is over!" Emma shouted.

"Emma please, listen to reason." Snow pleaded.

"Dad take Mom home. Now. Kiss my siblings for me. Leave before things are said that will never be taken back." Emma warned as she sent her document to the printer. The printer started with clicks and whizzes as the document began to emerge on stark white paper: Emma was leaving Storybrooke.

– – –

Emma watched out the window as her parents walked away from the police station. Her father consoled her distraught mother with a protective arm placed over her hunched shoulders.

She heard someone clear their throat behind her to get her attention–Mr. Gold aka Rumplestilskin.

"News that you are still among the living appears to be true." Mr. Gold observed.

"What do you want Gold?" Emma asked with her arms crossed.

"No need to be rude Dearie. I was concerned enough for your well being, I worked with that unpleasant fairy and Regina to find the right magic to rescue you from your energy prison." He replied.

Emma darted a look at him. Part of her bemoaned that her twin daughters were genetically linked to this horrible man.

He stepped towards her as he continued, "I was concerned enough for your well being to warn you about that creature who attacked you." Mr. Gold revealed. Then he noticed they weren't alone in the police station and the aforementioned creature, the little dark man, slowly arose from the cot in the cell to approach the bars.

Slender fingers wrapped themselves around the bars as the creature smiled then hissed like a snake, a long red tongue darted out of it's mouth a few creepy times–Emma shuddered with wide eyes.

Mr. Gold stepped back, a movement so slight that it could easily be missed but Emma saw it. iWhat… or who makes the Dark One nervous?/i She wondered.

Mr. Gold covered his discomfort with words of 'negging' praise, "You surprised me Dearie. You magic has improved greatly since Regina dumped you and traded up for a more improved model."

He asked from the consciousness of a jealous curiosity, "Which spell did you use to subdue this vile creature?"

Emma rolled her eyes at the less than slight dig then her eyes darted back and forth between the dark man in the cell and the Dark One stand in the main part of the police station before she found the word to answer Mr. Gold's query, "Listening"

"I don't know that spell Dearie." Mr. Gold replied from the depths of bewilderment.

"I well aware." Emma spoke.

"Well played!" the dark man in the cell laughed.

Mr. Gold narrowed his eyes at the creature in the cell. He could see things Emma couldn't at the moment. Dangerous things, such as the impossibility of such a creature existing.

"I would be very careful with how you proceed with that thing in there. It doesn't belong here." Mr. Gold cautioned.

"Where does the nameless one belong?" Emma asked keeping some secrets of her own, namely ithis ascension nonsense./i

iI can still hear you and you better believe he can too./i A small voice spoke, inside her head. Shocked Emma look around for the source, her eyes landing on the dark man in the cell who waved at her.

iTo still your thoughts, think of one single thing, one object, a single sensation. Center it in your mind and focus only on that. If thoughts arise, refocus on the thought you've chosen./i The dark man instructed.

"Is he from the Enchanted Forest?" Emma asked as she thought about Henry, the boy she lost.

"That thing is not from my time. It has the stench of time perversions upon it. That is why you must send it back from when it came. Its continued presence here could very well unravel this world." Mr. Gold.

Emma nodded as she continued thinking about the first time she met Henry. She played that memory over and over in her mind, slowing down each nuance to recapture the feelings and sensations she felt once more.

"I know your primary concern is Henry but you must send that creature far away from here." Mr. Gold warned.

Emma's left eyebrow rose as she heard Mr. Gold mention Henry.

"I'm right here Dark One. You have issue with me, we can settle it like I handled your so-called Savior!" The dark man taunted.

Mr. Gold bared his teeth and the dark man hissed some more while Emma held up her glowing white hands with a caution, "Boys play nice or else."

The dark man was the first to back down as he turned away from them both to lounge again on the cot which was surprisingly comfy. Emma hands returned to normal as she asked, "How do you propose we send him back?"

"I have a few ideas I need to research. I'll be in touch soon." Mr. Gold replied as he dematerialized in a puff of purple smoke.

Emma exhaled then sat back down in the nearest chair.

"You did well." The dark man said as he phased through the metal bars to stand outside the cell. He walked towards Emma and stopping in front of her as she stood again.

"Gold would have shit kittens if you did that when he was still here." Emma observed.

"His using magic in front of me was meant to intimidate. He missed the marked by a wide margin. I have the upper hand since he doesn't know I am not your prisoner nor can you control my movements and actions. He would be much more troublesome, if he knew that." the dark man replied. "We have more important work to finish." he added.

"Yes my ascension." Emma said as she rolled her eyes.

"Correct."

"Before you go all Yoda again on me I have a few questions." Emma spoke with a raised single finger.

"Who is this Yoda?" the dark man asked.

"Question one: Where are you from? Question two: When are you from? Question three: What the hell are you? You got some weird physical traits that don't statistically go with your form. Question four: Who the Hell are you? Like your name for instance. What to call you would be very helpful." Emma asked ignoring his question to ask four of her own.

The dark man smiled at her. He replied, "Those are much better questions! One: Another dimension, light years from here. Two: I am from the star date 8726, that would be 2115 in your earth years…"

"2115? Damn! How old are you?" Emma interrupted.

"Rude!" The dark man huffed with hands akimbo.

"Sorry, continue." Emma replied sheepishly.

"Three: You are correct that this is a temporary form. It provides me the protection I need on this world, at this time. I can assume many forms. You will too once you ascend." He revealed.

"Oh no buddy! I like rocking the body politic I got going on right now. I don't need augmentation and I would choose this form over and over again if given the same options." Emma protested.

"You said the same thing eighty years from now." the dark man spoke with a gentle smile.

"That shit is confusing! I can't wrap my mind around you talking as though the present and the future exist at the same time." Emma complained as a familiar headache began to blossom.

"You are getting it though. Here, in this world, time is limited or rather your perception of time is limited. The past and the future don't exist yet as you perceive them. All you think you know and experience is the constantly changing present. Once you ascend, you will see the past the present and the future all happening at once and not get a headache over it." He encouraged.

"Stop stalling Dr. Who. Who the hell are you?" Emma demanded to know.

"Who is Dr. Who?" The imp asked.

"A show Henry and I watched together. I thought we were bonding when we watched it but I guess we weren't." Emma remembered with moisten eyes.

"Even in his madness, he loved you." The dark man encouraged.

"Don't think I've forgotten that you haven't answered my last question. Fess up, who are you?" Emma demanded to know.

The dark man sighed, knowing this answer would change everything but he exhaled knowing future Emma trusted him with her past as he revealed, "I'm Xuxa… your spouse."

"My what again?" Emma sputtered.

"Xuxa, your spouse." He repeated.

Emma's mouth opened and closed numerous times before she got angry. Angry focused her thoughts then she spoke her troubled mind, "What the hell? Even if we were married, which makes me doubt my future sanity, what kind of fucked up marriage did I get trapped in? Regina gets an awesome clone of my dad and I get an abusive asshole?"

"You told me to do whatever I need to do to wake you up from yourself and help you ascend." He explained. "I did heal you." He added meekly.

"Future me can go fuck myself!" Emma shouted.

"While I'd pay to actually watch that, you must ascend." He reminded her.

"Why?" Emma demanded more answers.

"Existence as we both know it will end and not reset, if you don't. All the dimensions and multi universes will collapse. You had been keeping it all in balance but you missed something vital when you originally ascended." he revealed.

"These people think I'm a savior and you… you think I'm a goddess?" Emma spoke her concerns aloud. She was very uncomfortable being considered a savior. Especially after what happen to the proverbial Savior. Besides she was inept at it. Being a god was enough to make her run far, far away. That beach still seemed like a promise.

"We both are sort of godlike by the standards of this world." the imp revealed.

At that moment all thoughts in Emma's mind stopped and dropped down below her consciousness–her mouth opened as wide as her bewildered eyes.

Chapter Nine – The Art of Running

Her calves burned, feet were fatigued, her breath labored, but Emma didn't stop running since she darted out of the police station. She didn't stop running when she dashed across the painted line that indicated the boundary of Storybrooke, separating it from the rest of the world.

While driving the yellow bug would have been a more expedient way to escape Storybrooke, she wanted to run, so after she jogged out of the police station and left her sealed resignation letter on the steps of the city hall building, she ran up Franklin Street and hadn't stopped running since.

iBesides that bug was becoming a symbol of me as a savior. I'm done with that. Neil can have it back!/i She decided as she ran the sprawling village of Storybrooke retreating as the woods surrounding it beckoned. She noticed the moss on the trees indicated she was going south.

She ran past a road sign: the last gas station for the next twenty five miles.

iI can't run twenty-five miles! What the hell was I thinking? /iShe admonished herself. I've never done any marathons! as she could recall.

But she didn't stop running, following closely to the roadway but staying in the brush to shield her from the curious.

After a while, it was a shock to realize she wasn't getting tired and the fatigue she felt earlier drifted away. Her thighs, legs and feet content to run for as long as she needed without complaint.

So she ran.

Running became a light jog as she came upon the junction where the local roads joined the Maine Turnpike. She darted past this junction until she saw a sign for Wild Willy's Burgers. Emma's stomach took executive control, directing her limbs to the dirt parking lot outside Wild Willy's.

There were a number of cars parked outside the restaurant.

She went inside, sat down and waited for a red headed heavy set, middle aged waitress with who took her order for a pizza burger and an ice cold root beer, after she briefly perused the menu.

She made note of trying the iPumpkin Frappe/i, if she still had some room.

Emma nervously looked around the main dining room, taking comfort in the unfamiliar faces of no one she knew and no one who knew her.

Minutes later her meal arrived and she hungrily dug in. When her stomach was satiated enough to relinquish executive control, she took a sip of her root beer. It was refreshing in the curious way carbonated beverages can be: a delightful burn of icy bubbles going down the throat to induce the return of a satisfying burp or two.

Her waitress approached her table when she noticed half of Emma's meal remained as after she wiped her mouth with a napkin and place it on the table beside her plate.

"Do you want anything else?" The waitress asked.

Emma narrowed her gaze and licked her lips considering the frappe but decided against it after another burp or two, "No thank you."

"I'll just leave the bill here when you're ready." The waitress replied with a smile as she slipped the bill, face down on the table and walked away from Emma.

Emma grabbed the bill, and sipped some more of her root beer as she remembered she had no money on her when she took off. iSmart move, idiot./i She admonished herself. She realized she would have to rely on the tricks of her youth to skip out on the bill and fell a tinge of regret that the waitress would probably have to take the brunt of her petty larceny.

She reluctantly turned over the receipt. Her eyes widen as she read not the cost of her meal but a single sentence: iCheck your right jean pocket./i

She looked around to see who was watching her but everyone ignored her even the red headed waitress who was busy flirting with another customer. She secretly checked her right pocket of her tight jeans to find twenty, twenty dollar bills in it. She was so flustered some of the twenties slipped out of her hand onto the floor. She bent over to scooped them up and when she sat upright again, the waitress smiled as she noticed all the money in Emma's hand. She approached Emma's table and said, "Let me handle that for you."

Wordlessly, Emma handed her back the bill and a twenty. Moments later the waitress returned with her change, five dollars which Emma let her keep as a tip, all the while wondering where all the money came from. After the waitress thanked her for the generous gratuity, she cocked her head to one side as she regarded Emma.

"Conjuring money is a simple spell, Emma. Even you could do it." The waitress said.

Emma's eyes widen and she sputtered, "No! No! Who… what?"

"Honestly, Emma you didn't think I'd know where you'd go? Remember past, present, future are all the same for me. Besides how do you think you noticed the sign for this place. I didn't remember how much I enjoyed the burger of ham and cheese until you suggested it. I wanted to return the favor." Xuxa, the former dark man now waitress with red hair spoke.

Emma stared wide eyed at the red headed woman-man-person, she apparently married in a fugue of future madness.

"What the hell are you? A silicon life-form with acid mucus, metal sharp teeth and a billion tentacles?" Emma exclaimed as she jump out of her chair and back away from the duplicitous chameleon. She kept the sturdy wood dining table as a barrier between them.

"I do not have metal teeth nor acid for my internal bodily fluids thank you very much! And I have only four tentacles… when I want to use them, of which you've had no complaints!" Xuxa admitted with a huff.

"You are no prize either Emma Swan! You are… far too pale but I've overlooked that minor annoyance… among others you possess." Xuxa continued in a huff of indignation.

Xuxa stared at Emma who scanned for possible exits then ignored her to examine her newer form. She smiled as she gestured with her hands, "I must say this form has more room than the last one did. Although, I will have a fondness for that form though because you trusted me in it."

"Don't confuse trust with curiosity." Emma spat out.

"I'll recognize your anger: you have a great deal to be angry about. Now step three of your ascension." Xuxa revealed.

"What's step three? Drive Emma mentally insane?" Emma shouted.

"No." Xuxa answered as she raised her arms which instantly turned into four arms. Everyone in Wild Willy's stopped moving. Everyone and everything, even the soda flowing out of a tap into a tall glass and coffee being poured… stopped.

Emma looked around to understand what was happening. When she looked at Xuxa again: each of her four hands wielded a dangerously sharp weapon. "Xuxa?" Emma asked after an obscenely long pregnant silence.

"Yes dear." Xuxa answered as she flipped each weapon with eerie dexterity.

"What are those for?" Emma asked as she pointed to each deadly implement.

"To prepare you." Xuxa answered.

"Yes the ascension thing again. I get that but… those things could really hurt me. They could actually kill me." Emma reasoned.

"Yes, in my hands, these are lethal." Xuxa admitted.

"If our future marriage consists of nothing but fights to the death… I want a divorce." Emma complained.

"You can't have a divorce if you haven't been married yet." Xuxa reasoned.

"I can't get married if I'm dead either!" Emma countered.

"Oh… but you can! It is a convolution which happens in a weirdly strange dimension where the dead enslave the living, so prepare yourself because we are NOT living in that existence, ever again!" Xuxa proclaimed as she advanced. With an impressive axe kick, Xuxa smashed the solid hardwood dining table between them into bits, like it was made of paper.

Chapter Ten – Step Three: A Goddess Ascends

What does a fight to the death between two god like beings look like?

Lots of thunder, lightening, imucho/i property damage peppered with obscenely egotistic martial art acrobatics.

Alot of tacky gravity defying feats where solid bodies can take flight off the earth straight out of the stratosphere then be slammed back down to earth making craters deep enough to exploit untapped oil reserves.

center– – –/center

Emma slowly crawled out of one such crater. A deep crater formed when Xuxa roundhouse kicked Emma off the orbiting space station and back down to earth.

When Emma emerged from the crater she stood on shaky legs, as she blew a long stand of her hair out of her face.

She wasn't certain how all this began… no wait she remembered–iXuxa attacked me with those sword things! Four of them? Four? One wasn't enough to annihilate me?/i She groused. She brushed the loosen dirt off her clothes. iI can not be blamed for how I protected myself./iShe recalled with a smirk.

iHer knocking me out into orbit around the planet, in retaliation… that was a shock. Then not being hampered by lack of breathable air up there sorta distracted me. That's how she got the jump on my ass./i Emma complained bitterly.

Then she remembered, i how serene and silent the Earth looked against the darkness of space, illuminated by the sun. This is a beautiful planet. If she kicked my ass back to Earth. /iShe looked around unable to see clearly, her vision blocked. iWhere the hell did I land? /iShe wondered.

Her vision improved as she moved her hair out of her face, then she noticed five cows mooing angrily at her.

"How the fuck is this imy/i fault?" she yelled at the cows as she gestured to the big ass hole her Earth slam created. She was mildly surprised she didn't break every bone in her body on impact. She was more surprised she understood the ire of the cows.

center– – –/center

The five female cows had been quietly grazing in a near by field. They were less than amused when a gigantic crater instantly formed, after the violent rumbling of the ground underneath their hooves.

They were frantic!

Once the dust settled, they noticed the hole which wasn't there earlier. Then they noticed a creature emerge from the gigantic hole. None were surprised it was a human.

They all came to the consensus that milk will not be given for a while if such human shenanigans continue, in a cow-like fashion of moos and what not.

These particular cows had been awaiting a chance of a milk revolt ever since the cow tipping incidents of 2003: after the first time that prank got old really quickly.

center– – –/center

Emma was hot!

Not in a idamn she looks fine /iway. More in a ifuck the world, this is bullshit/i way.

First this self proclaimed spouse, this gender indiscriminate person kicks her ass. No the anger builds from way before that unfortunate experience. It began with falling out of wardrobes on deserted roadways then escalated at an exponential pace from there.

Then a cursed town, an evil queen, weirdly optimistic, narcissistic parents, losing Henry, working with evil queen to recover Henry, falling in love with a semi retired evil queen, finding Henry's father, sweet Henry turning into violent, evil Henry, losing Regina to iCharming 2.0/i then this current gender swapping violent spouse bullshit!

iOld Emma would have never given this Xuxa character the time of day. What the hell kind of name is Xuxa, anyway? Old Emma would have thought that little monk was crazy town and bailed on his ass at the first opportunity. Old Emma didn't believe in true love bullshit either. I miss Old Emma./i Emma thought morosely.

Then her anger seared again, as bright as the sun.

iAscend he-she-it says. Fine by me./i Emma decided with murderous intent as she wondered where she was thrown. She listened, extended her hearing three hundred and sixty degrees– she landed in a field in British Columbia.

Her face was red, her neck, her hands, her eyes. Red gave way to orange than to actual fire. One minute she was a human female with extraordinary abilities the next she was a humanoid, aflame.

On fire, Emma was fire as she scorched the earth with each step she took.

The cows, who have seen the damage fire can do, had the good sense to meander away… slowly.

With a long winding trail of burnt grass behind her, Emma stood still–listening.

She sensed Xuxa's rapid decent from 200 miles above the planet.

center– – –/center

Xuxa, still red headed and middle age looking, landed a considerable distance away from the iEmma Crater/i to resume her attack when she noticed a tall flame moving fast towards her. She extended one of her four hands to stop its motion but the fire seemed to speed up not slow down. She raised all four hands but her powers had no effect.

iThat's strange? I am just as powerful as…/i her thoughts trailed off as her middle aged eyes widened, realizing who was charging at her at a furious pace.

iShe ascended… my job is done here. /i She concluded then took off to escape the inferno coming her way. She ran so fast, she was a blur: a blur chased by fire.

center– – –/center

The Emma Fire speeding towards her was quickly closing up the miles between them so Xuxa changed her form from a human female to a cheetah, running faster than the design specs for such an animal. She had hoped she would have confused the irate former Sheriff with the instant transformation but nope: flaming Emma was hot on her iAcinonyx/i ass.

center– – –/center

The two essences, one chasing the other moved so fast towards Storybrooke that Mr. Gold and Regina both detected something large, powerful and dangerous coming their way. So they enlisted Blue's help to work together to enact a barrier to protect the town.

A transparent barrier Xuxa slammed into so hard she knocked herself out.

A flaming Emma slowed down as soon as she detected the flimsy barrier. She easily dissipated it with finger flick of flame from the distance of ten miles.

center– – –/center

The fire burnt off the barrier, which shocked Gold, Blue and Regina who had enacted it from the center of town.

"What could have done that?" Regina asked.

"Not what, who Dearie!" Mr. Gold replied.

"Will the three of us together, be able to withstand that level of power?" Blue asked.

The three looked at each other and simultaneously realized they needed a fourth: Emma.

Regina's cell phone rang. It was Jax checking in. As she told him everything happening including the how the protective barrier was brought down, Blue called Snow and Charming.

Snow picked up her landline phone on the first ring, frantic, "Emma?"

"That's who I wanted to speak to Snow." Blue answered.

"She's leaving." Snow replied dejectedly.

"She left Storybrooke?" Blue asked.

"No she was at the police station that last time we saw her." Snow revealed.

"Mr. Gold was the last to see her there but when we looked for her to help us create a barrier around Storybrooke, the police station was empty." Blue shared information.

"What barrier? Blue what's going on?" Snow demanded to know.

"Gold and Regina sensed an danger force barreling down toward Storybrooke. As it got closer I could sense it too. We decided to place a temporary protective barrier around Storybrooke to keep whatever is arriving out. But it burnt the barrier we enacted away like paper. We need Emma to help strengthen the barrier and help protect the town from what may be coming." Blue informed her.

"We've lost her Blue! She's walking away from Henry, her girls with Regina. She's walking away from us all and I don't know how we can shake some sense into her!" Snow exclaimed.

"Maybe if we can give her what she wants she will stay to help." Blue suggested.

"Emma doesn't want Regina anymore. She released her. She broke off their true love connection." Snow cried.

"She can't do that. True love is very powerful. She can't sever it by sheer will. She would have to be extremely powerful to do that." Blue exclaimed. "More powerful than Rumplestilskin." Blue whispered so that Mr. Gold couldn't hear.

center– – –/center

Emma stalked the unconscious body of the cheetah like prey. She grabbed it to subdue the breast as she returned to her original Emma form.

The cat awoke wiggling to free itself from Emma hands. It shifted to the small dark man to the red headed middle aged waitress to Henry to Snow White as they wrestled for dominance.

Pinned underneath Emma, Xuxa finally transformed into a single iAgrabahn Viper/i, which Emma dropped and backed far away from. Her irrational fear of snakes and knowledge of what that one could do, trumped her righteous anger with her gender swapping self proclaimed spouse.

The snake slithered away for a bit then transformed into a large purple dragonfly which took off in flight towards the center of the town.

center– – –/center

Emma stared at the dragonfly until it disappear. She stood at the town line, indecisive. She wanted to wring the neck of Xuxa, an asshole in all his-her forms but she didn't want to return to a town she associated with pain, disappointment and loss.

So she paced.

As she paced she played with being a walking inferno in three different colors, red, green and blue. Emma liked the blue flame form best because it allowed her to have the highest total body temperature which allowed for her to create a nice heat haze halo, one inch thick, completely around herself, aflame.

The halo protected her from accidentally burning things around her and stopped the scorched earth issue she experienced, which slowed her down while she chased Xuxa.

She felt compelled to put out errant fires along the way and realized any satellites monitoring North America must have detected the a trail of mysterious brush fires that spread from British Colombia to Maine.

What propelled her to fully return to Storybrooke by stepping over the town line was that she wanted to be present when the state police took custody of Henry.

She dashed in blue flame form towards Storybrooke Hospital.

center– – –/center

After visiting the twins, Dr. Whale gave them a great prognosis which relieved Emma.

She made her way to the locked room where Henry was being held, an isolated wing on a different floor of Storybrooke hospital. When she approached the wing, she was annoyed when she immediately noticed her father hadn't assigned anyone to guard the room to make sure Henry didn't escape.

She quietly entered the room and found Henry sleeping peacefully, his face deceptively innocent looking. She noticed the restraints, she approached him and checked them to make certain they were secure.

Her presence made Henry stir and he woke up, opening his eyes, blinking a few times before he registered who was in the room with him. He frowned at her.

She frowned back–a staring match of wills which he broken as he looked away from her.

"You can leave now. I don't want you!" Henry spoke softly.

She ignored him, grabbed a chair and sat down, resting a leg on the end of his hospital bed.

"I said leave!" He commanded.

"Make me." She challenged.

"What?" He asked.

"You want me to leave, make me." She repeated.

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Oh you can't do that, can you? I wonder why that is?" She asked.

"I don't want you! I want my mom!" Henry shouted, ignoring what she inferred.

She looked at the anger in his eyes before she asked, "Aren't you a bit long in the tooth to be calling out for your Mommy?"

"What?" He asked again, bewildered by her demeanor.

"You're twenty years old Henry, shouldn't you be dating several someones or partying at an obscenely expensive college or backpacking across Europe? You look old enough to shave by now." She observed.

He turned his head away from her.

"I didn't realize you were… a Mama's boy." She taunted.

"Shut your damn mouth! You don't know what you are talking about!" He shouted.

"If you want to act like a child, I'll treat you like one but don't speak to me like that, ever again. That was your only warning." She replied.

"You don't tell me what…" his voice stopped.

Emma stood, raised a finger and stopped his ability to speak. "I never thought I would ever use my magic restrictively on any of my children but you forced my hand Henry. And I did warn you."

He struggled against the force that restricted his vocal cords, his eyes wide.

"I think we have all have had enough of your shitty attitude to last a life time so consider your ability to talk off the table for the entire day. When you can speak to me with respect you get your voice back." She informed him and sat back down in the chair. She conjured up a book of sudoku and a pen and began a puzzle while she waited with him in blessed silence.

Chapter 11 – Solving Unprovoked Assaults, Kidnapping, Attempted Murder with Sudoku

Emma had finished twenty sudoku's when she began to get hungry, ravenous. She conjured a cell phone and called Granny's. She placed an order with Ruby for two grilled cheese sandwiches, some fries and two large unsweetened iced teas, to be delivered to Henry's hospital room.

Ruby informed her that everyone had been looking for her, to which Emma's replied she'd deal with them later. When she disconnected the call, she looked over at Henry who frowned at her.

She shrugged her shoulders as she said, "Stay mad, Henry. This situation is quickly coming to its conclusion."

As she waited for her meal to arrive, Emma started the twenty-first sudoku puzzle realizing this one was gonna be more difficult than Henry, surprisingly.

center– – –/center

There was a knock on the door. Emma who had dozed off a bit, woke up and noticed and awake, angry Henry and her sudoku book resting on her lap.

The knocking occurred again.

She got up, placed the puzzle book on the chair, stretched out the kinks then walked over to unlock and open the door to Henry's hospital room, with a wide yawn.

It was Ruby with her meal.

"Emma, everyone is on edge. Gold and Regina seems to be preparing for something dangerous coming to town. I over heard Leroy tell Doc that they might need your help." Ruby informed her as she handed Emma the bag of food and beverages.

"They can handle it. I'm busy with sorting out Henry right now." Emma replied as she took the bag of food, snagging a couple of hot fries, stuffing them in her mouth. "You didn't happen to see that strange monk back in town or a large ass dragonlfy buzzing about, did you? She asked.

"Hmmm, no." Ruby answered uncertain why Emma was asking.

Emma nodded then said, "Thanks. I'll handle that mess later." She took out a wrapped grill cheese sandwich and offered it to Henry, "You hungry?"

He fumed at her.

"Blink twice for no and three times for yes." Emma instructed.

Henry continued to fume at her.

"Suit yourself. More for me. " Emma replied.

Ruby whispered, "Did he injure his vocal cords as well as his spine?"

"He temporarily lost the power of his voice. When he can act like he remembers the manners I know Regina taught him he can get his voice back." Emma replied as she sat and unwrapped her sandwich. The first bite was orgasmic.

"Why are you staying in here?" Ruby asked.

"Henry needs to be guarded until they get here." Emma revealed.

"So you really are going through with it?" Ruby asked.

Henry looked at them curious about what they were talking about. His thoughts began to weave a web of new conspiracies designed to keep him away from his mother.

Emma stopped chewing when she realized she could hear each and every thought Henry had. iMust be genetic./i She deduced. She continued chewing, as Henry's thoughts of escape and retribution for all the wrongs done to him, unfolded before her.

Emma swallowed, dug into the bag for her iced tea. Stuck a straw in one of the beverages and sipped, covertly mesmerized by Henry's thinking. She had focused all her silent attention on Henry she had forgotten Ruby was there too until Ruby called her name a few times.

"Emma! I asked you if you really think this is the best course of action?" Ruby repeated.

"Henry's actions dictated this as the next step." Emma replied. "Ruby I need you to witness this." She informed her.

"Okay." Ruby replied.

She turned to face Henry's bed, seeing him probably for the first time in a long time.

After a long stare she took out her cell phone, push the record button of the video camera feature of the cell phone then spoke, "Henry Daniel Mills, you are under arrest for the assault and attempted murder on minors Alexis Swan-Mills, Zoe Swan-Mills and myself Emma Swan, Sheriff of Storybrooke with a controlled substance, for the unlawful detainment and confinement of aforementioned minors and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been recited to you?

"Blink twice for no and three times for yes." Emma instructed.

Henry stared wide eyed at her.

"Blink twice for no and three times for yes." Emma repeated.

Henry blinked too rapidly to discern his statement.

Emma spoke, "The accused, Henry Daniel Mills has not responded to the recitation of his rights. Recommend he be given a restatement of his rights. Arrest by Sheriff Emma Swan, with witness present."

She recorded Ruby present then turned the cell phone off.

Emma spoke cryptically. "Ruby can I have the room I need to speak with Henry privately."

Yeah, sure." Ruby replied awkward about being dismissed. She knew Emma was still annoyed with her for not letting her know where Regina was when she witnessed her searching for her for over eight years, in vain. She knew she had to let Emma forgive her at her own pace.

After a smile at Emma and a gentle placement of her hand on Emma's shoulder for support, she left mother and son alone again. Once she left, Emma relocked the lock with her magic this time. She faced a bewildered Henry once again.

"If I had any doubt about what happens next, your recent mental conversation with yourself just solidified it for me. Henry, I'm done tiptoeing around your delicate feelings when you have zero regard for mine! Your selfishness cost me my true love, my children and nuked our entire family. And you have the gall to be pissed off because Regina lied to you! What about your more recent lies to ime/i? You led me to believe we were building a real relationship together based on trust and the whole time you were scheming behind my back?" Emma shouted at him.

Henry turned his head away refusing to look at her.

"You'll notice I didn't charge you for the attempted murder of a sitting politician and your mother. I should have eight years ago but I didn't then and I won't now. Why? Because you tied my hands with that crime. You used magic to do it. If I had used that video tape of you electrocuting your mother nearly to death…"

Henry winced.

"…this world would have learned about just how special this little town was and that would have jeopardized everyone here." Emma revealed as she changed her tactics to get a response from him.

Henry smirked at her. She could hear him altering the reality of how that dark deed occurred in where he was as much a victim and everyone else was trying to trick him into believing he was guilty. It sickened her as she swallowed the threat of her fries and grilled cheese sandwich making a messy reappearance.

"I love you Henry. I always will. But I'm going to be brutally honest with you. I don't like you right now. I don't enjoy being with you, right now and I am very disappointed in the man you are becoming, right now." Emma spoke softly after a long staring match with him.

Henry's eyes moistened, as his face crumbled.

"Tears? Which part of you am I supposed to believe this Henry or the one not a few minutes ago plotting yet again to hurt people to get your misguided way?" She asked.

He cried profusely: Emma never ever told him she didn't like him before, she never said she didn't like being with him!

"Since I don't know which aspect of you I'm dealing with…" Emma trailed off as she shook herself and then there were two Emmas in Henry's hospital room.

One of those Emma's rushed to Henry's bed, hugged and comforted him compassionately, as though he were an infant.

While the other Emma stood there watching herself comfort her son.

Shocked, Henry, wide eyed, stopped crying.

"Since deception seems to be at the center of our mother-son relationship, there are many imes/i that can and will deal with the many iyous/i in there. Oh and I will not release your voice. I promised you one day of the loss of your voice and I meant it, Henry." The first Emma spoke firmly after she took a deep calming breath.

The second Emma hugged Henry kissed him on the forehead before she disappeared. The remaining Emma held up a single finger, which glowed at it's tip. Henry noticed the glowing finger tip as could help but stare at it.

"I just conjured something very special for you, Henry. This glowing energy is something I like to call… a iSudoku tracker/i. Like placing numbers in a grid, it keeps all good boys and men in the places they belong." She said as thought it were a gift.

She walked over to him and touched the glowing finger to his forehead. The glowing energy transferred from her finger to his head, gently absorbed into his head.

"That iSudoku tracker/i energy will keep track of your every location. You move to anywhere you aren't legally supposed to be, there will be consequences. For this one time I will show you exactly what the consequence is and I don't do this easily. You forcing my hand in this way hurts my heart but it must been done." She spoke softly.

She waved her hand over Henry and he froze. Every part of him stopped moving except his eyes. His eyes moved rapidly, teared up not liking this frozen business, one bit.

"Remember that iSudoku tracker/i will freeze you the moment you try to go where you aren't supposed to be. Now I'll release you." She said.

She waved her hand over him again releasing his body allowing him to move his head, neck and arms. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"That iSudoku tracker/i in your brain, which only I can remove, also monitors your thoughts. You are free to think all sorts of things unmolested but if you plan killing, hurting, kidnapping any body again, you will freeze in place, until you let the thoughts go. The iSudoku tracker/i won't incapacitate you from physically defending yourself, but if you instigate a situation where you are forced to use violence, it will freeze you. Have I got you attention right now?" She asked.

Henry blinked three times.

"Good man, now I'll be here until the state police and the judge arrive to take you into custody to be arraigned. I may dose off but I'll still be aware. If you get hungry later, there is another sandwich and a few cold fries left in the bag." Emma replied as she retook her seat and worked on Sudoku puzzle number twenty-eight.

Chapter 12 – All Things Meet in the Middle, the Important Parts, Always Near the End

Standing beside Charming, Leroy, Leroy's six brothers and Neal, Snow cried when they were unsuccessful in preventing the Maine state police and the state prosecutor from entering Storybrooke and taking Henry into custody.

Dr. Whale released Henry's medical records to the EMTs who strapped him into the state ambulance used to transport prisoners who had serious medical needs. Henry switched between crying that he would be a good boy to crying for his mother, Regina.

Neal jumped into the front of the ambulance at Emma's insistence.

"Others may want to pitch in but his legal defense should be paid by you and me." Emma she whispered in his ear. "It's the least we should do together." She added as she closed the passenger door of the ambulance.

Neal nodded solemnly at her.

The ambulance drove off following one state cruiser and being followed by a second state police cruisers, both flashing their emergency lights.

Snow turned to confront Emma, who dematerialized before Snow could utter one angry word.

center– – –/center

Gold was in the room in the back of his shop, hunched over spell books. Frustrated he hadn't found anything useful to get rid of that strange monk creature that fought with his savior. He wasn't surprised that strange creature could best Emma.

He only created the threads of circumstances to knit together for the child of true love to break his curse. He made no provisions for her to have any more powers than those necessary to complete that task for him.

iThat creature must be creature had the scent of time travel all over it. Time travel was very serious business. Time travel could unravel everything he had designed. The creature had to go. Now!/i He decided, determined to do just that. He had a suspicion the powerful being racing towards Storybrooke, who burnt off his barrier was that very abomination.

He wondered how his newly discovered daughter was fairing with her research.

He waved his hand over a looking glass to see Regina looking down into her cell phone, about to make a call. He temporarily turned the device off and appeared in it's black surface

"How has your research faired Dearie?" He asked.

"Gold?" Regina asked bewildered. She was about to call Ruby on Emma's whereabouts when Gold appeared on her phone. "How did you intercept my call?"

"I'm in my shop talking to you from my mirror. Before you inundate me with a hornets nest of questions, the mirror communication spell can work on any reflective surface not just other mirrors. More importantly we need to vanquish that creature. Have you found anything?" Gold demanded to know.

"Yes I think I found something we can use to trap it but to send it back to where it comes from, we would need to know exactly where and apparently when." Regina replied. "Jax and I will meet you outside Granny's where he first interacted with Emma." She added

"Excellent work Regina I'll see you soon." Gold gushed proud of his pupil… his patsy… his daughter.

center– – –/center

Gold disappeared from his shop and instantly reappeared outside Granny's. He had an insightful idea after speaking with Regina, that the area where that creature fought with Emma might retain some residual energy from the creature he could collect and exploit to find out where and when it was from.

He sensed a temporal disturbance near the damaged wall of the closed ice cream shop, so he kneeled down to investigate. He took out a vial and drew some of the energy into it. It held a feint lavender color.

He looked up as he put the glass vial in his jacket breast pocket and noticed Regina walking quickly up the street towards Granny's. It was strange to her she looking furtively around, nervous, without her husband Jax. When he realized she didn't notice him, he called out to her, "Regina!"

She jumped slightly then turned to face him. She narrowed her gaze at him.

He sighed realizing he would have a long road ahead of building trust between the two of them. He offered the first olive branch when he revealed, "There is no need for you to be nervous, Henry is no longer in Storybrooke. He has been taken into custody. As Belle relayed to me the information Ruby told her, Henry is on his way to Augusta to be arraigned then to off Portland to be assessed for his psychological fitness and held until his trial."

Regina sighed sadly.

"Your brother accompanied him." Gold added.

Regina narrowed her eyes at him again.

"We are family Regina and we do take care of our own. Now what have you found to solve our time traveller problem?" He asked.

Regina replied quickly, "It won't work."

"What do you mean it won't work?" he demanded to know.

"It won't work!" She repeated.

"Did you test it? How did you test it? Maybe you mixed something up! Let me see the spell." He demanded as he held his hand out to receive it.

"I never mix up spell ingredients!" She spat out. "It… doesn't… work!" She repeated, enunciating each word.

He narrowed his gaze at her. He closed his eyes as he realized trust will be hard earned with his strong willed daughter.

"Fine. I collected some residual energy here. I'll work on it back at my shop." he replied. "When you are ready to let go of past slights, meet me there. And bring the savior, if you can find her. She could be useful." He instructed before he dematerialized.

Regina rolled her eyes, shaking her head negatively at the spot were Gold vanished. She turned and found herself seeing herself holding hands with her husband Jax walking towards Granny's.

The two Reginas stared at each other: the Regina holding Jax's hand was shocked while the Regina who spoke with Gold smiled at them both fondly.

Jax squeezed his wife's hand giving her the strength to demanded to know from her doppleganger, "Who are you!"

"You." the second Regina replied with a smile.

center– – –/center

"You can't be me when, I'm right here!" The first Regina replied.

"It's a bit complicated. But I'm not here to disrupt our life at this time." The second Regina said.

"You're here for… Emma. Aren't you?' The first Regina deduced.

"My handsome, gentle, courageous Jax. You were so good to and for me. If it ever slipped my mind and I never uttered the words: Thank you." The second Regina replied, ignoring herself. "Could I have a private moment with myself. I'll return me to you, shortly." She requested with a smile.

Jax looked at the two Reginas dumbfounded, until the one still holding his hand let it go and encouraged him to step away from what appeared to be the beginning of a confusing and infuriating conversation.

center– – –/center

Standing in front of the closed ice cream shop, the two Reginas look at each other, dressed in identical clothes, with their hair cut at the same length and styled similarly.

"You… I… haven't aged a bit. What time are you from?" the Regina who was with Jax asked.

"I'm from the year 2115." Future Regina answered. "Why I haven't aged much is due to something that happens in both yours and Emma's future."

They stare in silence some more as Current Regina thinks of question that won't disrupt her future, nor her family's futures.

"You choose correctly when you picked Jax over Emma." Future Regina spoke to forestall any questions that her past self might ask that she couldn't answer.

"I didn't choose one over the other! Jax was there. Emma… wasn't." Regina number one whispered.

"Remember, you are talking to someone who knows you the best, even the secret parts you keep hidden away from yourself. We made certain Emma wouldn't be there." Future Regina revealed.

Current Regina closed her eyes briefly to hold back the tears forming.

"Loving Jax allowed us to become more than a redeemed villain character from a fairy tale. Loving Jax was the way for us to become a full fledged person, in this world. We finally escaped but we left Emma to struggle alone, trapped between the expectations of others. Lost to herself. I had to come back to help free her." Future Regina revealed.

"Why?" Current Regina asked as she wiped an errant tear away.

"Emma was a full, complete person with an organically rich life of triumphs and disappointments ibefore/i Henry found her. Then slowly, over time, her life became more and more limited, inauthentic. She was slowly being weaved into a life she eventually wouldn't have the power to escape. You know this, because you realized this would happen when you allowed yourself to accept that you loved her." Future Regina revealed. "You once told Henry you didn't know how to love properly. Loving Jax allowed us to love properly, trusting ourself." She added.

Regina number one looked down ashamed then her head shot up as she held mirror self's gaze with a piercing, answer demanding stare.

"Where is the Emma of your time?" Current Regina asked.

"Emma eventually leaves Storybrooke shortly after you, Jax and the kids do. She keeps in touch with the girls but she will be distant, living a life that will make August's hedonism seem monk-like." Future Regina laughs, as she ignores the question. "I will find her again sixty years from now, looking no older than she is right now, in a posh hotel room after she has spent the night with a man and two women." She added.

"I will have searched for her because we will need to work together to solve a looming problem which will have nothing to do with Storybrooke or Henry or any fairy tales. She will be stubborn, refusing to help then wanting to fix everything by herself. Don't let her! You two are more powerful together than you realize. And don't let her push your buttons because that insufferable idiot…" Future Regina stopped speaking as her tears threatened to fall.

"Where is future Emma? What happened to her?" Current Regina asked again.

Future Regina closed her eyes, turning her head away from herself, refusing to answer.

"You can't pluck her from her life and take her back to yours! That's not fair!" Current Regina accused as she deduced her future plans.

"Not fair to whom? She's miserable here!" Future Regina exclaimed as she wiped away her tears.

"Not fair to Emma, the girls… nor Henry!" Current Regina exclaimed.

"We tell ourselves Emma never chose us when she left after mother died to play fairy tales with her parents and Henry. The ugly truth is… we never choose her. Daniel is murdered and we destroy worlds to try to get him back and punish those who betrayed our loved of him. When Jax comes into our life, we tell him the complete truth about ourselves and magic, showing we choose him while giving him an out not to choose us. Emma becomes associated with the dark deeds of her mother, her father and her son by proxy and we never fought for her or choose her. The very worse happens and… we let her go, effortlessly and she plummets. She will tell me this was the point in time where she would have… I had to reach her at this point… for her ascension." Future Regina replied.

"What about me?" Current Regina asked.

"I stood beside her when she released you from our true love but you never released her. You never repeated the words." Future Regina commented.

Current Regina looked away briefly.

"She's eventually becomes our wife, you know." Future Regina revealed. "As you can see, we never stop caring for her, worrying about her well being… loving her." She added.

"I'm not your wife yet and given how much you've already pissed me ithe fuck off/i, that will never happen!" A female voice spoke which startled the two Reginas. The two Reginas looked around to see where the voice was coming from.

Future Regina noticed a heat mirage glistening in space a distance away from her and herself. She waved her hand in that general direction to reveal a humanoid of blue flames.

"It is not polite to eavesdrop on conversation not meant for your ears." Future Regina admonished with a smirk.

As the blue flame walked towards them, she transformed into Emma, which shocked the hell out of Current Regina. Jax approached her again taking her hand, just as shocked as his wife was.

"Whatever, Regina or Xuxa or whatever name you're going by now!" Emma spat out.

"Xuxa is Cuban for queen but what gave me away?" Future Regina asked.

Emma began to explain her deductions, "When male you healed me in that blue orb I suspected something was up because he smelled like… you, which confused the hell out of me. I stuck around him because I was curious. When we wrestled at the town line, after I burnt that flimsy ass barrier away…"

"You did that!" Current Regina asked, interrupting Emma. "iYou/i were the power we sensed speeding toward town!" She deduced with a mouth drop.

"Anyway… you transformed into everyone you could think of to stop me pinning you down but… iHer/i. That was when I realized exactly who you were." Emma continued smugly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Future Regina regarded Emmy proudly.

Emma rushed forward and grabbed Future Regina tightly by her forearms and pulled her close, as she growled out her anger, "There will be a reckoning. Believe it, Sweetheart!"

Current Regina pleaded in defensive of her future self, "We're sorry we kept the girls from you so long. I just wanted to protect them and myself. Henry manipulated everyone but most especially you!"

"You think that's what is pissing me the fuck off right now? Henry is sorted." Emma yelled at Current Regina. She stared back at Future Regina, nose to nose.

"You punched the shit out of me and almost killed me!" Emma exclaimed.

"I had to punch that rapidly because you heal very quickly. I just kept you from feeling any pain while I accelerated your healing." Future Regina explained.

"You tried to skewer me with four sharp sword thingies. Four! What the fuck, Regina?" Emma exclaimed.

"Remember when you asked me to teach you how to control and focus your magic, you stopped yourself from falling off the bridge I unraveled, because you believed your life was in peril. That allowed you to fully access your power." Future Regina explained.

"You kicked me ioff/i the fucking space station, Regina! The fucking space station!" Emma shouted as she pointed up.

While Current Regina's jaw dropped even lower, wide-eyed, Jax looked skyward–nothing but blue skies.

"Oh! I'm getting my revenge, Queenie. That's a promise from me to you!" Emma spat out as she pushed Future Regina away her.

"Finally." Future Regina sighed relieved as she moved closer to Emma again.

"What?" Emma sputtered as she back away confused, not trusting she won't be attacked once again.

"Honey, when we reconnect and we will, you treat me like I'm fragile. Like I'm going to break or disappear from you at any moment and that's going to no… it will destroy you and then me. I wasn't lying when I revealed you missed something vital when you originally ascended. The ability to allow yourself the freedom to get pissed off at me when I muck things up and not be scared I'm going to break or leave you again. The freedom to see I'm not perfect either but you're stuck with me because while you released me, I never, ever released you, Emma Swan." Future Regina explained as she advanced on a slowly retreating Emma.

Emma backed away from Future Regina until her back bumped into the damaged ice shop wall. She blinked a few times a bit bewildered by this turn of events. iShe's supposed to be the nervous one, not me. I can flame on and scary stuff like that! /i Emma thought.

"I never backdown and I never cower." Future Regina whispered as she raised her hand to dematerialize their audience: Jax and Current Regina, sending them to the hospital room where the twins were recuperating, before she finally closed the distance between Emma and her with the touch of lips against lips.

center– – –/center

When the first kiss ended, another began, deepening, until, Emma pulled herself away from Future Regina.

"We'll start slow, learn how to be friends again." Future Regina offered.

Not wanting to discuss the kiss nor acknowledge it yet, Emma asked, "Where is future me?"

"Standing in front of me." Future Regina answered. "The tracking device you placed inside Henry was a brilliant idea." She offered to change the subject to something less awkward.

Wide eyed, Emma wondered, iHow did she notice my magic nestled, dormant inside Henry's head?/i

"Over the next thirty years, I become particularly sensitive to the power you wield, Emma Swan." Future Regina explained, reading Emma's thoughts once again.

"That shit is really annoying! Is the mind invasion stuff a true love thing?" Emma asked truly curious how her Dad stood it, if it was.

"Just a power that has developed and evolved with a special nuance between us, unique to us." Future Regina explained.

Emma nodded and quickly filled her mind with images of grilled cheese and burgers of ham and cheese and she secret passion of playing an electric guitar to forestall anymore mind invasions.

Future Regina laughed deeply.

"About that kiss… friend: I just got out of a crazy, painful all consuming relationship and I don't want to start another one. I definitely don't want to rebound from you with you. Besides I totally want in on that one guy, two women action." Emma said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You're worth it the wait but don't push your luck, Emma Swan." Future Regina warned.

"I don't want to get married either. Marriage breeds children and while I love all my kids, this Emma and all forms of myself desperately need a vacation from all things parental. I'm still thinking beach, booze and fun under the sun." Emma proclaimed smugly, as images of beaches passed through her mind like a gallery of National Geographic pics.

Future Regina replied cryptically, "We'll see."

Chapter 13 – The Hundred and Eight Year Itch

In 2016, Henry was sentenced to an indefinite incarceration to the Portland Mental Institute, a prison for the criminally insane. This same year, Emma left Storybrooke and started a rock band. Their first album opened to modest reviews. She kept in touch with all her children, especially Henry who seemed respectfully frightened of her for some reason when she visits.

In 2022, Emma's band disbands and Emma becomes a reclusive, semi retired rock star–she still visits with her children.

In 2035, When the twins Alexis and Zoe defended their dual PhDs in Particle Physics, Jax noticed he was aging but for some reason Regina wasn't.

In 2037, After exhaustive medical examinations Regina's lack of aging was determine idiopathic without remedy. Six months later, she and Jax go into seclusion to avoid the media and the more dangerously curious.

In 2055, Regina attended the funeral of Snow and Charming. They died in their sleep… together. They were buried at Storybrooke Cemetery. She was surprised to learn from Ruby that Emma has also been afflicted by some anti-aging condition. She wanted to speak with her about it but was annoyed that while Emma came to pay her last respects, Emma avoided Regina like the plague.

In 2075, After Jax' was killed in a train derailment, at his well attended funeral, the two Regina's meet again:

"I've waited long enough, You know what's happened. We need to find Emma." One Regina said to the other, who was wearing all black.

As one stepped into the embrace of the other, they combined into one Regina who quickly found Emma Swan in hotel room in Singapore with a handsome young blond male, and two Asian women who had spent the night. It took her eight hours to sober Emma up to get her functional of the latest emergence only they could solve… together.

In 2100, the eternal young Emma Swan sows her wild oats all over the universe in a goddess-like fashion.

In 2114, Emma finally married Regina or Xuxa of whatever the hell she was calling herself at the time–looking forward to their honeymoon night with Regina/Xuxa's four exquisite hands.