A/N: Okay, I know, this was supposed to have been up on the weekend, but the thing is I've had a lot of trouble getting this chapter the way I wanted it and I still don't have it the way I planned, but anyway, it's here! I hope you guys like it and as always I would love to hear what you think about it! Also, a massive thank you to anyone who has left a review on this story; it means so much to me. The last chapter was posted when I was having a bad day and when all of your amazing reviews came in, I couldn't help but smile and they actually made my day so much better, so thank you!
Chapter eight:-
"That, dearie, is a brilliant question,"
Several gasps filled the air, but did nothing to muffle the infamous giggle from a man the entire town believed to have been dead. Snow looked at Charming with utter fear written across her face before slowly turning around to face the resurrected Dark One. Fear was never something that seemed to come easy to the Charmings, but when they saw the sadistic grin written all over the face of Rumplestiltskin, neither could help but let a large shiver run down their bodies.
"You…You...You're supposed to be dead," Snow stuttered as she took a slow and cautious step forwards with Charming's hand resting in the small of her back.
"Did you really think that it would have been that easy for me to die, dearie?" Rumple let out another sinister chuckle while he watched the entire town huddle behind the royal couple. "In fact, I'm rather surprised that you would all underestimate me by believing that I had actually died in the arms of my father."
"We all saw what happened, papa," Neal extracted himself from the cowering crowd to join the Charmings before his father. "We just want to know how and why you couldn't save Emma and Henry from having to leave all of us for however long it has been. You knew it was going to happen, yet you were too stubborn to even help your own family!"
"Two years," Rumple stated matter-of-factly, "it has been two years since you last saw our saviour and her son. I couldn't prevent them from going over the line because I knew where this would end up and it's exactly what I wanted. The Evil Queen is outside of the Storybrooke town line with her precious little family, Elphaba is somewhere with her and Pan is dead; what more could I want? Oh, wait, the Queen's death… That would be most unfortunate, wouldn't it? But then it would also benefit me because I won't have anyone running around condescending everything I do."
"You are not killing Regina." Snow found herself saying. As much as her emotions were constantly conflicting any of her thoughts or feelings for Regina, she knew she wouldn't be able to deal with herself knowing that she would ruin her daughter's life if she agreed to have Regina killed. There would be no doubt that Emma would do everything in her power to save Regina, so why shouldn't her own mother help protect someone she loved? After all, Snow did feel as though she owed Regina a lot after everything she had put the woman through.
"After all these years I'm disappointed in you, Snow White. I actually expected you to be pleased with my intentions, what with the new discovery that Emma is most definitley the Queen's true love. I'm rather surprised you hadn't tried to kill her yourself, especially with the times you both tried and failed to kill each other."
Rumple's sneer was enough to make Charming's blood boil. The Dark One, however, was right in many ways; both of the Charmings weren't entirely pleased that Emma's True Love just so happened to be the woman that tried to ruin their lives well over 28 years ago, but they knew that if Regina was her happiness, then who were they to take that from her?
"Enough, crocodile," Hook interrupted, pushing past everyone to come face to face with Rumplestiltskin, "Regina isn't dying. I don't like the fact that Emma will chose her and undoubtably, your boy won't be too pleased either; but we would both prefer to see the lady alive and treating Emma the way she deserves, rather than watching Emma wither away because you've killed her True Love."
Taking a place beside Hook, Neal glared at his father in utter disbelief. "You can't kill Regina. She is as much Henry's mother as Emma is. Even you're not cruel enough to take your own grandson's mother away from him."
"Oh, really?" Rumple shot a sinister grin towards his son and let out a terrifying cackle before disappearing in burst of black smoke.
The entire town let out a joint sigh of relief at the fact that Rumple had decided to disperse. They had all been terrified of him before he 'died', but now they were all undoubtably petrified of him. It was clear that the isolation had caused him some strong social issues, but Snow recognised the change in him; it was something she had seen when he was imprisoned in the Enchanted Forest. Insanity. Even if it was well known that Rumple had some minor issues with sanity, they had most certainly become more obvious.
"We can't let him do this," Snow turned in Charming's grasped and rested her head on his chest. "We have to put the past behind us. Regina just saved the entire town again and now she's saving our daughter and grandson. It's about time we returned to favour and saved her."
"Snows right," Red said as she emerged from the crowd with Belle trailing behind her. "If it wasn't for Regina, we would still be locked up in the Enchanted Forest and I would still be adamant that Belle was dead. It was probably the most selfless act Regina has ever done; we can't let her die because she didn't let us die."
The entire group huddled on Main Street gave light nods in agreement. They all knew that Regina needed to be saved whether they liked it or not. No one could deny that she deserved a second chance. As much as everyone hated to admit it, the Evil Queen had changed and become a better person. There was no doubt that she had probably saved more lives than she had ruined, but does any good deed go unpunished?
Blue glanced around the group to find everyone mentally fighting themselves. It wasn't going to be easy saving Regina's life, but it wasn't something they could refuse to do either. Having Regina on their side with Rumple's sudden personality change would mean that they would most definitely have the upper hand in the war that was to come.
"We need to set up a council." The Blue Fairy stated. "We need a war council, much like the one we had in your kingdom, Snow. That way we can plan everything and I might be able to gather enough people with magical abilities to help ward off the Dark One."
Everyone nodded in agreement and glanced around to see who was willing to volunteer. It would be a dangerous job, they all knew that, but for a war council to be in session, they would need as many people to help out as possible. But there was also the need for some sort of order in Storybrooke while the council decided the fate of both Rumplestiltskin and Regina. The town couldn't be left without a figure of high authority — the town would simply run to the ground before anything actually happened.
"Snow, Charming, Red, Hook, Neal and Tink; the six of you are trusted by Regina in one way or another, so I'm going to need you," Blue demanded as she separated them from the rest of the group. "Granny, do you think you can hold the fort?"
"Of course," Granny said with a twisted smile. It was obvious that Granny loved a good fight, but there was no denying that she really enjoys an authoritative feeling. "I'll open the diner as usual and we'll use it as a substitute for the sheriff's station."
With a nod of appreciation, Blue turned back to the rest of the group. "Grumpy, will you represent the dwarves in the council?" She received a little huff and a grumble in acceptance as Grumpy joined the council behind her. "Belle, you're smart; you know a lot about the outside world, so would you do the honours to join us too?"
"It would be my pleasure, Blue," Belle could barely hold in her smile as she ran to Ruby's side.
The Blue Fairy continued to round up the townsfolk until almost everyone had at least one job to do in order to help keep Storybrooke in control and to make sure that any of Rumple's intentions remained nothing but simple ideas. The thought of Rumple running around the town planning and plotting ways to kill Regina was enough to infuriate near enough everyone.
Dr. Whale however, was another matter. He continued to argue that Regina deserved to face Rumple's wrath after everything she had put them through, but failed to realise how many times she had saved his life since before the curse broke. He even refused to overlook the one life she took away from him and the greater one she gladly gave him during the curse. His life was rough, his father blamed him for his brother Earhart's death and he was simply cast aside. Whale was never grateful for the life Regina gave him, but in Storybrooke he was happy; he was wealthy, he was respected and could want for nothing, yet he refused to forgive the 'Evil Queen' from taking him from his home.
"I'm sorry, Blue, but I'm not helping her. She cursed us to lives alone, shouldn't we be doing the same? If you don't want to kill her, throw her into exile or cast a spell to repel her from ever entering Storybrooke again!" Whale yelled as Blue attempted to equally dictate the small town.
"No way," Charming was always the first to step up to the plate. He may have only been the son of a Shepard, but he could damn well defend his family and friends. "We can't stoop to the level she was once at! Whale, think about it; who spent two entire weeks locked up in a prison cell plotting an escape for every single on of us? Regina could have planned an escape for only her, but she didn't, she wanted to help us. Quit being so stubborn, rise above the history between you and help us! Obviously I'm not her biggest fan, especially after what I've just learned but, dammit, we're the good guys; if we can't forgive her, we're going to be just as bad as her."
Whale took his time to let Charming's brave speech sink in. Clearly the prince was right, but something deep inside him was conflicting against everything he felt. As much as Whale liked Emma and Henry, he really didn't want to see them trapped with her. Regina couldn't change. Regina couldn't care for Emma and Henry the way they need to be cared for; she would just be ruining their lives.
"Please, Dr. Whale, for Emma and Henry," Belle soothed from the back of the group.
"Fine," He huffed in defeat. "But just so you know, if the final decision is left in my hands; she won't be living in Storybrooke."
"Good, because that decision won't be yours to make. We just want to your help support Storybrooke and make sure my family gets home safely." Charming's tone was harsh and filled with determination.
When Whale finally agreed, the war council set off towards the convent and put the entire building in lockdown. The Blue Fairy, Tink, Astrid and several other fairies cast a large a powerful protection spell around the building to ward off the Dark One from any attempts of eavesdropping. With the six remaining dwarves scattered across the Storybrooke border and several walkie-talkies on the table in the middle of the large meeting room, the group would be ready for the arrival of their saviour far before Rumple would be.
The war council was made up of the Charmings, Grumpy, Neal, Hook, Tink, Belle, Ruby, Archie, Marco, Blue, Astrid and Frederick. They were the very few people in town that both had both forgiven Regina and had some actual authoritative knowledge from the Enchanted Forest. It wasn't much, but they would have to manage.
"Blue..." Snow gasped as the first entered the meeting room. "This is the table we had back in the Enchanted Forest..."
"My dear, Snow," Blue chuckled and placed a comforting hand on Snow's bicep. "It's merely a replica. I thought you might need some comforts from home to get you through this."
The perfectly round, wooden table that sat directly in the middle of the room was identical to the table that once filled the large war room in the White Kingdom of the Enchanted Forest. Seeing it was anything but a comfort for Snow. Ever since the curse broke she had wanted to return. The Enchanted Forest was the place Emma was meant to have been raised; she was supposed to have been loved by everyone in the kingdom and raised like a proper princess. Thinking about what is and what could have been made Snow tear up.
"Come on," Charming cooed as he guided his wife to the high backed wooden chair that was identical in every way to the one she would sit in on a daily basis. "We'll get them back, I promise."
"I know we will," Snow's voice hitched as she tried to form a reply that never really wanted to leave her mouth. "Its just that seeing all of this again and knowing that Emma is never going to want to go back to our home. Her home, Charming. She was supposed to have been raised there! I know we've been through all of this several times, but I just can't stop thinking about the life she could have had, rather than the one she has already had."
"Quit it, Snow." Red bit. She knew her best friend needed a reality check, and clearly she was the only one in the room with enough balls to hand it over. "You know for a fact that if Emma was here and listening to this she would flip out and not talk to you for a few days. What has been done is done. Theres no going back now and you have to get over it. Emma doesn't hold the same grudge that she used to. Yeah, she still feels like an orphan, but thats only because you're making her feel like that! The more you wish you could turn back the clocks, the more she thinks that you don't love her for who she is. She thinks that you only want a prim and proper princess. She has so many trust issues with you, Snow, you just need to prove to her that your love for her is unconditional."
The entire war council stared in disbelief as Red continued to lecture Snow on her parenting skills. They knew she was right, but interrupting the wolf when she was irritated was the last thing anyone wanted to do. The tears that had formed in Snow's eyes before Red began talking to her were gone and hidden behind cold eyes. Shutting herself off was the only way she could process what had just been said to her.
Like everyone else, Snow knew that Red was right. As much as Emma hated her childhood, she knew she wouldn't change it one bit because that was the only path that gave her Henry; and without Henry, they all knew that she never would have returned to save them. It was the price she had to pay and was glad to pay it.
"I was just about to ask you the same question, your majesty."
Regina's head whipped around to find Elphaba standing in the doorway to the apartment. Her thoughts instantly turned to Emma and Henry who were still huddled under the breakfast bar and facing the green witch. Elphaba's powers would't be enough to kill all of them, but Regina knew all too well that the woman could harm them just as badly.
"So, Regina, what do you think I should do to you?" Her hostile glare was completely empty of threats and Regina knew it. The woman wasn't mentally strong enough to kill any of them, even if she did have enough power to do so. Elphaba wasn't someone who could live with such a weight on her shoulders. "In fact, I should be asking you what you think I should do with all of you. You look like such a happy family; it would be a pity to see it destroyed."
Before Elphaba could even end her sentence with a smirk, Regina had appeared directly in front of her with wrathful eyes and a wolfish grin that Red would most certainly be proud of. Clicking out of the Evil Queen's persona was difficult, but getting back into it felt as though it was something she had never stopped doing; and the Evil Queen believed in no such thing as personal space. The former queen stepped closer until she could literally feel Elphaba's hitched breath on her face.
'Intimidation is always key.' Regina thought to herself.
For the first time since she arrived in this world, Regina had turned into the Evil Queen twice. She had done something she had long promised herself she wouldn't do out of the fear that the persona's powerful abilities were too addictive. Mayor Regina Mills was far too weak in comparison to the Evil Queen, but Mayor Regina had a family — something the Evil Queen threw away far too many times.
"I think, dear, you should reconsider what you intend to do. You have no idea what I'm capable of." Regina's eyes darkened at the thought of instantly throwing her hand into the woman's chest and ripping out her heart to crush it into dust. No, not in front of Henry. Instead, she tilted her head to the side and shot the woman a malicious smile. "I had expected so much more from you, Elpahaba. I expected you to have authority and for your threats to have such a bigger bite!"
Without another thought, Elphaba pushed her palm out towards Regina and magically threw the woman across the room, causing her to land in a heap in the middle of the living area. Regina lay limp and almost lifeless on the floor, instantly terrifying Emma to the point where she thrashed around in Henry's arms so much that he had no choice but to let her go. Emma ran straight towards the brunette to make sure she was still breathing before even considering moving her.
"What did you do?!" Henry shouted at Elphaba, sounding a lot like his grandfather.
"Ah, you must be little Henry." Elphaba snarled as she advanced into the apartment and towards Henry. "You have definatley got the idiotic Charming traits in you, that's for sure; but there's something more inside you... Something evil."
Regina began to stir on the floor at the sound of Henry's voice. His anger was so strong, she could physically feel him seething before she could even see him.
"Enough!" Regina screamed and sat up a lot fast than she should have. "Get away from my son,"
Elphaba stopped dead in her tracks. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy to capture Henry and Emma, but Regina was at a disadvantage; she was hurt and a lot weaker than she already had been.
"Honestly, Regina, I thought that you, of all people, would have remembered that love is weakness. Look at you – you're trying to defend your family out of love, but it's not going to work, is it? You've let yourself become weak and vulnerable and it's simply ironic." Elphaba's cocky tone made Regina seethe as she pushed herself up off the floor.
As Regina slowly came to stand, she spotted Emma crouched on the floor by a coffee table, shaking and crying at the scene around her. The blonde couldn't keep her eyes – that held a glimmer of hope – off Regina. It was clear to anyone who could see Emma that the woman had become completely empty of every emotion besides fear and that little bit of hope that resided only in her eyes.
"Actually, Miss Thropp, love is anything but weakness." Regina said, holding Emma's gaze and lightlu smiling. "It gives you a reason to fight. A reason to survive. And a reason to fight hard enough to protect the ones we love. Without love we are weak; our hearts can easily be removed and crushed. That is something I never understood until now."
The passion in Regina's voice was enough to break through Emma's walls to allow a small smile to grace her lips. She knew that Regina wasn't just talking about motherly love, especially after the conversation they had before Emma left Storybrooke. Regina did truly mean every word that left her mouth.
Flaring her nostrils in irritation, Elphaba glared at Regina as the woman crossed the room to stand protectively in front of her son. Surprising herself and Regina, the green witch plunged her hand directly into Regina's chest.
"NO!" Emma and Henry screamed simultaneously.
"I think we should prove your theory, your majesty," Elphaba said through a grin. Regina, on the other hand, looked completely emotionless. She had schooled her emotions to hide every single element of humanity in her face and her eyes.
With a light tug at the organ in Regina's chest, Elphaba failed to make the heart even budge. She continued to tug at Regina's chest until the former queen stared directly into her eyes with an accomplished smirk on her face.
"Never underestimate the power of true love, my dear," Before Elphaba could react and pull her hand out of Regina's chest, a powerful white light burst out from Regina's heart, sending Elphaba flying towards a wall at the far end of the apartment.
As Elphaba's body hit the floor, Regina knew the witch wasn't dead, but she of course, was the least of her worries. Before she could think about checking on Emma and Henry, Regina stalked back into the kitchen area to find Ryan standing stunned in the corner. Her sadistic smirk had terrified thousands on a battle field, but now, it merely made a man stand bug-eyed in a kitchen corner.
With Elphaba being unconscious, Regina knew it was time to act and get her family home, and the only way to do that was to dispose of both Ryan and Elphaba. During her time watching Elphaba sleep outside the apartment building, Regina mapped out several plans in order to rid herself of Elphaba and anyone who tried to stop her. Fortunately, her favourite plan actually included someone she could manipulate and Ryan was the perfect candidate for such a role.
"You're insane!" Ryan spat as Regina entered his personal space. "How the hell did you do that?"
Regina looked over her shoulder to see what Ryan was referring to – a very unconscious green witch slumped against a wall. "Oh, that?" Regina's infamous malevolent smirk sent more than just shivers down Ryan's spine. "The state she is in right now isn't what you should be worried about, dear, it's the state she will be in when the two of you wake up that you should be worried about."
"What? That doesn't even make any sense!" Feeling rather cocky, Ryan gave Regina a forceful shove before towering into her own personal space. "You are a psychopath, lady!"
"It's 'your majesty', actually," Regina snarled as she pulled her fist back to accelerate it square into Ryan's face. The punch wasn't something she had intended to do, but the more she thought about the pain he had put Emma through, the more it made her realise how much she wanted to kill this man.
Ryan, who had just been knocked unconscious by a single punch, tumbled to the floor with a loud thud, sending a wave of relief over the three people who had actually remained conscious through the fiasco. As much as Regina wanted it to be, this still wasn't the time for a huge heart-felt reunion, no, she needed to act and she needed to act fast.
It was clear that Elphaba would be unconscious longer than Ryan, so the former queen set out to fill Ryan's mind with false memories involving Elphaba, manipulating him into thinking that he desperately wanted to kill her. Once she had magicked a gun by Ryan's side, she rushed over to Elphaba and gave the woman the same treatment, but with opposite memories that manipulated her into believing that she desperately wanted to kill Ryan instead.
Regina dragged Elphaba's limp body closer to Ryan's so she could cast the final curse on the two simultaneously. When the curse wore off, Ryan and Elphaba would wake up at exactly the same time and who knows what would happen when they did wake. Regina knew that they would eventually kill each other at the same time, but that was something she most certainly wasn't going to be telling her eleven year old son. At least, she thought he was still eleven.
"We have to get out of here as soon as we can," Regina announced as she stepped back to eye her handiwork. "Henry did you grab everything that you both need?"
Henry gave a quick nod and picked up the large duffle bag that he had packed before the green witch appeared in the apartment and threw it over his shoulder. Regina shared a sad smile with her son before placing a light kiss on the top of his head and rushing to Emma, who was still cowering behind the sofa.
"Hey, Emma," Regina said softly to gain the blonde's attention without startling her. "I'm going to fix your injuries, okay?"
In reply, Emma glanced up at Regina with pleading eyes. There was no doubt in Regina's mind that Emma was still absolutely petrified to be in the same room as Ryan, even if he was completely unconscious. Taking Emma's crestfallen look as an acceptance, Regina gently placed her hand on the blonde's clammy forehead and let her magic travel through her body and into Emma's. The process was quick and easy, unlike the recovery Emma would be facing when it came down to her mental injuries. That was one thing Regina wished she could fix; Emma's memories. She couldn't take the memories away completely — in fact, she couldn't even give the blonde false memories since they would dissolve every time they shared a kiss. If they ever would share another kiss, that is.
"Thank you," Emma smiled. Her smile was still weak, but her face was no longer covered in cuts and bruises, and she even had a little colour in her cheeks now. Without thinking about Henry being in the room, Emma reached up towards Regina and pulled the brunette into a deep and gracious kiss.
When their kiss broke and Regina rested her forehead on Emma's, the blonde attempted to hide her smile but failed miserably. "I've been wanting to do that for over three years," Emma sighed before giving Regina another light peck on her lips.
"Three years?" quizzed Regina. She scrunched up her face and pulled away from Emma. What did she mean 'three years'?
"It's been well over three years since we met, Regina and I've kinda wanted to kiss you from the moment I first saw you. It may even be close to four years, actually."
"Emma, my curse broke just over a year ago. It hasn't even been two years since Henry brought you to Storybrooke." Regina's confusion was completely overwhelming.
"Two years ago, I brought Henry to New York to escape Pan's curse." Emma muttered. "Ryan had been living with us for a year and a half."
Regina let her body slump from her kneeling position in complete shock. She had missed two entire years of Henry's youth in a period of two weeks — in her own timeline, anyway. The thought of missing large milestones in Henry's life brought tears to Regina's eyes. He wasn't the eleven year old boy that worshipped her anymore; he was now a thirteen year old boy that had been through a traumatic experience of watching his birth mother degrade into something she never should have become.
Emma watched the brunette tentatively until she spotted a flicker of anger in her eyes as she battled her inner demons. It was obvious to Emma that Regina hadn't known how long it had been since the three of them had last seen each other, and what stuck out the most was the need that Emma saw in the woman to want to turn back the time. It was going to be hard to accept that she had missed two years of her son's life, but Emma knew that Regina would constantly blame herself until the day she died; even if what had happened was definitely not her fault.
"I am so sorry," Regina managed to splutter.
"It's not your fault, Regina." Emma muttered as she placed a comforting hand on Regina's cheek. "We're all safe and we're all alive and we're going to go home."
"Moms, if we don't leave now, we're definitely not going to be safe." Henry said; his voice was a lot deeper than Regina had remembered. It was a little factor she had overlooked in the short conversations she had had with her son since she had found him again.
"Do you have a car?" Regina quickly asked, realising that they had very little time left and jumped to her feet before offering Emma a helping hand to her feet.
"Yeah, I've got the keys," Henry smiled as he made his way towards the doorway.
"Good, now let's go home." Regina gladly said as she ushered both Emma and Henry out of the apartment and into the corridor.
With one final glance back into the room, Regina waved her hand over the wall and made the entire room appear as though it never existed. Neither Henry or Emma dared to ask what was going to happen to both Ryan and Elphaba, only feeling relieved that they would never have to face the two psychopathic sociopaths ever again.
