A/N Hello lovely readers, this is the last chapter that takes place in Fairy-tale World. It's not the end of the story though - thanks to everyone for all the reviews and favourites and follows, it's nice to know you guys are enjoying my creation. This was the most intense chapter to write so far. ENJOY!

Chapter 7: Lake Nostos

The forest clearing was just ahead and then it was a five minute walk to actually reach what remained of Lake Nostos. The group moved along silently, reserving their strength as the length of their hurried journey took its toll.

"I've never met women who can take this kind of physical exertion," Hugo panted from the back of the line, "it's rather impressive." The women laughed, except Aurora who had no breath. Of the entire group, Aurora was struggling the most.

Hugo, ever the gentleman, noticed this and tapped the brunette on the shoulder.

"Milady, do you need a hand?" he asked politely. Aurora smiled but shook her head, trying to concentrate on not tripping over the underbrush of the forest. Only a second later she fell forward. With the ease of a well-built man, Hugo caught her arm. Aurora bit her lip, embarrassed and went to keep moving.

Smiling inwardly at her determination, Hugo picked her up. She was cradled almost like a baby but it was more dignified – or so she told herself. Unresisting to the break it gave her feet; Aurora let Hugo carry her, never waning in his momentum forward.

They hadn't exactly been running but the leisurely pace they had originally opted for was long gone. Emma, Leigh and Mulan half-jogged at the front of the line, leaving Mary Margaret jogging after them and the two men speed walking behind them. Hugo was still holding Aurora, ever the gentleman.

Emma burst out into the cool refreshing air as she broke the tree line with Leigh, followed by the remainder of their group. As soon as they stopped walking, Hugo put Aurora on the ground neatly. She smiled her thanks and tuned into the conversation before her.

"Lake Nostos is just over that hill," Mary Margaret pointed to a small mound that obstructed their view of the lake… or what apparently remained of it, "are you sure you'll be able to find enough water to open a portal?"

Hook smiled winningly at Mary Margaret despite his lack of breath, "Milady, would I lie to a royal?"

"Yes," she replied stonily, she hadn't yet taken to the good captain's humour – despite him having saved their lives and assisted them greatly. The pirate laughed good humouredly and stood up straight. The group took a minute to catch their breath, eventually they all continued moving in the direction Mary Margaret had indicated.

Reaching the top of the hill, they were quick to notice what was out of place at the dry expanse formerly known as Lake Nostos. Apart from the lack of water, the dusty crevice was surrounded by men. Confused but wary, Emma and Leigh continued forward followed by Hook and the others. Five metres from the men, Leigh stopped.

"Captain!" he yelled, calling Hook's attention. Hook stepped forward in answer.

"Sir, it's the crew."

Pointing to the men that were statue-still, Emma now realised where she recognised the men from. They were Hook's men, from the ship. He looked closely at each one and counted exactly the number of men they had left behind to guard the ship.

Leigh tentatively stepped forward, moving slowly towards the man closest to them.

"Jurgs?" he asked, "Jurgs, why aren't you all moving?"

An unsettling sense of impending doom began to settle over Emma as Leigh moved closer to the man he called Jurgs. Closer and closer, step by step, Leigh was eventually standing in front of him.

"Jurgs mate, what's going on?" The young man was worried now, noticing now how his friends' eyes were glazed over, looking into apparent nothingness.

As he studied Jurgs' appearance, Hook noticed a blood stain hidden by his vest. It was located over the spot where his heart should be. Recognition seized the captain, but it was too late. In one swift and unflinching movement, Jurgs pulled out his sword and impaled Leigh.

"Cora's controlling them!" Hook yelled, removing his own sword from its sheath and running to strike Jurgs. Leigh fell to the ground, spluttering and coughing blood.

"Leigh!" came the strangled cry from Hugo's mouth as he ran forward to drag the bleeding man from the ensuing fight. Hook proceeded to attack Jurgs as Aurora assisted Hugo in dragging him away. As the trio passed behind Emma, Mary Margaret and Mulan, Hook killed Jurgs. The remaining men were still, unaffected by the death of one of their friends.

"I'm so glad you decided to join us! I was thinking for a moment that you mightn't show." The feline voice came from seemingly nowhere. Within a second, Emma spotted her. She was standing at the top of the hill opposite them and she was smiling sadistically, almost deranged.

"Cora! What did you do?" Hook screamed, moving backwards to re-join the group who had all unsheathed their weapons and were holding them defensively.

"Don't think I achieved all of this alone!" Cora laughed, attempting modesty but sounding more or less hysteric, "I had help…"

Walking up behind her, two men appeared.

"Grimes… Talice…" Hugo stood from where he had hovered around Leigh's dying form. His tone was saturated in rage, yet quiet and deadly. Even from twenty metres away, Emma could see Grimes' twisted smile as he observed the situation before him. As his eyes landed on Emma, the smile faltered making way for a cruel smirk.

"I really couldn't have taken all their hearts, let alone find the ship, without these two," Cora smiled, as she looked at each of the disgusting men beside her.

"Why are you here, Cora?" Mary Margaret suddenly asked, trying desperately to ignore the sound of Leigh gasping for breath behind her.

"I know he took the ashes and compass from me and now I'm here to retrieve them."

Twirling her hands in an act of magic, Cora looked to the ground that the dead crewmen were centred around. The ground where she looked began to crack and wretch and eventually began twisting downward. Unable to tear her gaze away, Emma watched as water began to fill the vortex that was quickly deepening.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Hugo mumbled, trying to staunch the flow of blood that was pouring from Leigh's chest. Aurora had taken off her shawl and was now trying to make the bloodied man as comfortable as possible.

Leigh coughed twice, blood spurting from his mouth and dribbling down his chin. Looking to Hugo, he smiled and said, "At least I get to be taken care of by a pretty lady…"

Aurora smiled weakly. For the first time in her life she was being strong, strong for the man who lay dying before her. There had been enough tears to last her a life time and now all she felt was reverberating anger at the woman who had caused it all.

As his breathing slowed and his eyes closed, Leigh's body went limp.

"Protect his body… please," Hugo said, staring into the depths that were Aurora's eyes. She nodded solemnly in agreement, taking the sword from Leigh's hip, the sword he would never brandish again.

Raising himself up, Hugo turned to where a whirlpool had formed in the centre of the men. Vision red with fury, he pulled out his sword and began to advance forward.

"Now that that's done…" Cora looked greedily at the statuesque men below and flourished her hand, and without hesitation they ran towards the group.

Swallowing the pain it would cause him to kill his own men, Hook advanced followed quickly by Emma, Mulan and Hugo. Mary Margaret stood further back, enabling her a clear shooting range with her bow and arrow. Before the dead crewmembers even reached Hook's brigade, at least five were dispatched by Mary Margaret. As the group reached the puppet crewmen, metal clashed against metal and the fighting began.

Hugo moved with a fury that was unattainably swift, battling three men at once with ease. Hook and Emma, unintentionally, began working together to take down the men. Mulan held her own, pushing back against the onslaught that was threatening to overwhelm her.

Noticing her struggle, Emma nodded to her comrade to let him know he was on his own for the time being. As she ran in the direction of Mulan, she saw something getting closer in her peripheral vision. With all the power of a bulldozer, she was knocked to the ground by a bulbous figure.

"I told you I wasn't done with you," a leering voice whispered in her ear.

Emma scrambled to raise herself up but was kicked in the stomach by a sneering Grimes. She fell on her back with a painful groan and looked up at the greasy man holding her own sword to her neck.

"I really wish we could have finished what we started," he said, kicking her again in the side. Emma gasped in pain as a swirl of agony clutched her side. Closing her eyes, she felt Grimes kneel beside her, holding the sword still in place.

"I guess we'll just finish it now."

Grabbing a chunk of her blonde curls, Grimes stood and began roughly pulling her away towards the forest. Emma screamed in pain as her hair was nearly ripped from her scalp. She began kicking desperately, using her nails to dig into the hand that clutched her curls.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." Emma's voice came out in sharp rasps and she could feel as her nails sunk deep into his hand. Unaffected, Grimes tugged harshly and dropped her head.

"Stop fighting me or I'll rip your pretty little hair from your pretty little skull!" Grimes said, bending over her to slap her again. As he brought his hand down, Emma grabbed it and bit hard tasting the coppery flavour of blood as it spilled into her mouth. Grimes roared and drew his hand back as she desperately tried to scuttle away.

Emma dragged herself up just in time because Grimes was advancing on her again. With no weapon and her energy reserves dried up, she decided her only option was to try to run around him and toward the battle again, where she would surely be able to steal a weapon from one of the dead pirates or at least gain enough attention to garner cover from Mary Margaret.

Grimes was two metres away when Emma bolted. She ran in an arc, trying to evade him as he sprinted after her. She felt with dread as he reached her, grabbing her from behind and spinning her back around so that she her back was pressed against his round chest. Grimes lowered his mouth to her ear.

"You vile bi –"

Emma was suddenly knocked to the side again. Rolling out of Grimes' grasp, she turned to see Hook standing menacingly over the large panting man.

From across the body of water, Hook heard Emma's cry of pain and looked in the direction it had come. Anger seething through him, Hook saw as Grimes proceeded to pull her away by her hair. Killing his current adversary, he sprinted to the other side of the lake and headed in the direction of Emma and Grimes.

He saw as she struggled against his grip, kicking and scratching. When he was ten metres away he watched Grimes kneel beside her and raise his arm to strike her. Hot fury pulsed through Hook as he sprinted headlong at the pair. He heard as Grimes screamed, noting the blood now pulsing from his hand.

She bit him. That's a girl Hook thought, secretly admiring the fighting spirit she still had in the face of such adversity.

About a metre from Grimes, Hook felt someone trip him up. Turning to face the man responsible for delaying him, Hook snarled. Talice held his sword in position and was smiling madly.

"Grimes don't want anyone to disturb him. I suggest you get back to the fight," Talice's voice had a singsong quality to it. Without warning, Hook stepped forward to engage his sword. Dodging blows, he eventually landed a punch and used the window of opportunity to knock Talice out.

Not bothering to check if he was still down, Hook ran to where Grimes had just purchased a grip on Emma from behind. She had been running back towards the fight, attempting to evade him.

With all the momentum he could muster, Hook slammed into Grimes and knocked him to the ground, giving Emma the perfect opportunity to roll out of his grasp. Hook grasped his sword and held it against Grimes' neck, facial expression unwavering as the man recognised his captain.

"Ah, come to save your lady… At least this time you could actually do something about it," Grimes grinned, his teeth now coated with blood from being dealt so many blows. The words struck a chord with Hook and Emma watched as the wrathful pirate brought up his sword to stab Grimes.

"Killian! Stop!" Emma suddenly yelled, desperate to drag Hook's attention away. With his sword still raised and ready, Hook turned to face Emma who was bloodied and bruised and yet still managed to appear powerful.

"We have to get back to the fight. Knock him out and leave him here." Emma's voice was commanding and Hook looked floored.

"He attempted to assault you! He intended to kill you!" Hook yelled, dropping his sword a fraction. Grimes yelped and covered his face with his arms cowering against the white dirt. Emma stood up firmly and echoed her point.

"Hook, if we don't get back there than we'll lose and Cora will get back and… you won't get your revenge. Leave him here to suffer knowing we accomplished our goal… leave him. He's a coward; just leave him here to rot."

Hook hesitated, trying to decide whether Emma was right or not. Cursing loudly, Hook threw a knockout punch at Grimes that immediately left the bastard motionless on the ground – but still breathing. Hook looked at Emma uncertainly and she nodded in reassurance. Without another word, the two began running back to re-join the fight.

As Emma and Hook arrived in the centre of the miniature war, Hook moved to the aid of Hugo while Emma pursued Mulan's attackers. There were two men simultaneously swiping at Hugo, and his anger was providing him the fuel he needed to dodge them both while landing considerable blows.

Impaling one of the two men with his sword, Hook turned to defend Hugo as he executed the other. The two men continued fighting side by side until none were advancing them. Hook subconsciously kept tabs on the blonde as she assisted Mulan. He could see Emma fighting with the Asian warrior in much the same way as he and Hugo had as Mary Margaret took the last man down with an arrow to the skull.

The split group stood, panting and waiting for more. As the silence continued, they realised they had survived. The bittersweet sensation was short-lived though, because soon the feline voice had returned. She was still standing on the hill, perched like a Queen overseeing a project.

"Well done, it seems I'll have to resort to my own devices to try to kill you all and I do hate getting my hands dirty." Cora disappeared in a flume of purple smoke only to reappear at the base of the lake.

"Give me the ashes." Cora looked at each person individually before her eyes landed on Emma. Cora cocked her head and was suddenly in front of the blonde.

"It seems to me that everyone here is trying desperately to keep you alive… even the vengeful captain can't help but have heroic tendencies around you."

Unwavering in her glare, Emma replied in a scathing tone, "What makes you think that threatening me will make me give you what you want?"

"I don't need you to give me what I want… only them," Cora gestured to the group that was observing the situation. Mary Margaret inched closer with every second, Hook hot on her heels.

"Stop moving." Cora's smile sent shivers to Emma's bones and Mary Margaret's voice suddenly broke the air.

"If you touch her, I –"

"I know, I know! The amount of times you've threatened people who want to harm your daughter – it's rather tiring me, you forget that I too have a daughter," Cora said, cutting off Mary Margaret's scathing threat.

Emma's face held no fear as Cora took a step closer to her. Mary Margaret pulled an arrow from her supply and aimed it at the witch, who simply waved her hands and the device disappeared. Hook was closer now and Hugo was silently moving towards Cora, desperately trying not to catch her attention as she advanced on Emma. Behind Emma, Mulan was also moving forward slowly with her sword raised defensively.

"Don't think I have forgotten what you did to me, saviour." The words were a whisper but had the same icy cold effect on Emma's nerves.

"I would hate to think you had," she replied equally quiet, leaning in to deliver the words with vehemence.

Cora grimaced angrily and moved her hand so that it was raised at her side. As she clenched her fist, Emma suddenly felt all the air in her lungs dissipate. She was choking her and there was nothing she could physically do to stop it.

Mary Margaret was running forward as this happened and in another swift movement was knocked off her feet by the witch. Mulan moved to attack Cora, dodging her spells with the sword as Emma writhed on the ground. With a flick of her other wrist, the witch sent Mulan flying, hitting the ground with a large thud four metres away.

Upon seeing this, Hook and Hugo started running but again, Cora used her magic to knock them off their feet. Emma's sight had just become clouded when her mother's voice broke the pained silence.

"I'll give you what you want… just leave her alone," Mary Margaret sobbed, standing up again and pulling out the vial containing the ashes. Cora smiled and released her clenched fist, rotating to face Mary Margaret.

"I don't want it, I want you to put it in the lake," Cora waved her hands grandly at the lake and waited as Mary Margaret made her way to the edge and unclasped the vial. As the ash hit the water, it began to swirl and glow. A moment after dropping in the ashes, Emma could see the portal forming – clear and powerful.

"Now… the compass?" Cora looked around at everyone again and this time, her eyes landed on Emma who was still gasping for breath. Lifting her with magic, Cora searched her pockets before coming up with the golden circular prism. She smiled and forced Emma to look her in the eye.

"Not even your dear mother can save you now."

Mary Margaret noticed the exchange and started running forward, closely followed by Hook and Hugo. Emma maintained Cora's spiteful gaze, only flinching when she felt the witch grasp her heart roughly. Too consumed by the task at hand, Cora was didn't notice the people rapidly approaching her and was unable to prevent Hook from slamming into her. A faster runner, he had swept past Mary Margaret and Hugo and had just tackled the auburn haired woman to the ground.

Emma let out a sigh as the tension around her heart was relieved.

"Mary Margaret, take the compass and get ready with Hugo and the others," Emma said, picking up the device and placing it into Mary Margaret's warm outstretched hand. Mary Margaret nodded and turned to move but was distracted when Hugo ran past her. Shocked, Emma's eyes followed as Hugo used his sword to reopen the wound Emma had made in Cora's side. Cora had just flung Hook off of her with such force that when he hit the ground one metre behind Emma, the sound his head made when it hit the dirt made her cringe.

Shrieking in pain, Cora turned to grab Hugo by the neck, providing everybody the perfect distraction to escape. Mulan was already standing in the distance with Aurora, dragging her to her feet to run. She was hesitant to leave Leigh's motionless body but eventually the warrior rationalised enough that the two of them started sprinting for the trees. Mary Margaret was the one who noticed, before Cora tossed him aside like a rag doll, Hugo mouth one word: Go.

Clasping Emma's hand firmly, Mary Margaret began dragging her to the portal and readied herself to jump in.

"Wait!" Emma yelled, turning to where Hook's unconscious body lay.

He was a dead weight and now Cora was moving towards him, fire in every step she took. Cursing her inability to leave him there, Emma let go of Mary Margaret and ran to Hook, desperately trying to drag him towards the portal.

Mary Margaret saw this and, despite being utterly perplexed, started helping Emma by grabbing his other arm. Cora was still advancing on them, blood oozing from the gash in her side. The trio reached the edge of the swirling mass and, with one final glance back at Cora, jumped into the portal.

Review?