The Wall was being descended on by five different people. Regina had been walking the longest and though she was in a depressed haze she was still the closest to the gap. Emma was running as fast as she could but she feared she wouldn't make it in time to save her beloved. Jefferson was the furthest out moving swiftly still tracking the star and his brother's carriage. Cora in said carriage moving almost as fast was only minutes away.
"Stop! Stop!" The fifth person trying reach the star called. "If you go through there, you'll die!"
Maleficent had transformed her slave from bird to girl to allow her to set up their flower shop in the market but when the slave had seen the woman she recognized as a star who had travelled with who she assumed to be her daughter, the slave had stolen Maleficent's caravan with the witch still inside in.
"What?" Regina turned around not having realized anyone had followed her.
"If you set foot on human soil, you'll turn to rock." The other woman told her.
"Wretched slattern!" Maleficent yelled at her slave. "Where have you taken me?"
As she finished speaking Cora's carriage arrived and the witch faced Regina. "Planning to enter Wall, were you? If death is what you wish, my dear, I'd be more than happy to assist you."
"Are you talking to me?" Maleficent asked.
"You." Cora sneered. "Small world. Anyhow, no, I wasn't. I was talking to the star."
"What star? My slave girl's no star. Any fool can see that." Maleficent was still under Cora's curse and was unaware of Regina's presence. "If she was, I'd have had the heart out of her chest a long time ago, trust me -"
"Trust you?" Cora laughed again. "Not a mistake I'd be likely to make again. What's it to be, Maleficent? Heads or tails?"
Maleficent knew she was in trouble but she wasn't ready to give up. Cora held out her hands and her purple magic collided with Maleficent's green magic. The two of them tried to outdo the other until Cora's won out and took off the other witch's head.
"Oh, God." The girl who'd been slave to Maleficent tried shield Regina.
"Time to go." Cora held out her hand to Regina.
"She's not going anywhere." The girl stood defiantly between Cora and Regina.
"I think you'll find she is." Cora flicked her wrist and the magic chain that had enslaved the girl now wrapped itself around the two women's wrists. "It's all right. You can come, too."
Cora then spoke to both of them. "You can ride in the carriage or be dragged behind it. Your choice."
OUAT STARDUST OAUT
Emma ran up to the wall. "What happened?"
"Trying to cross the wall? Be my guest. I quit." Geppetto was clearly shaken by the magic he'd seen cast by the two witches. "Eighty years I've stopped you people going out. What I should have been worrying about was those people from the other side coming in."
"All right," Emma stopped his rambling. "Just tell me what happened!
"What happened? Oh, where to start?" Geppetto retold the events that had transpired which resulted in Regina being taken by Cora.
"No!" Emma shouted.
Wasting no time Emma unhitched the horse that had belonged to the now dead Maleficent and took off in the direction of the carriage tracks.
Not ten minutes after Emma set out Jefferson arrived at the gap in the wall and inferred from the char marks what had happened.
"Come on!" Zira opened the door to their castle.
"Go on!" Cora pushed the two women inside.
"The star!" Ursula smiled recognizing the celestial being right away. "And who else?"
"A slave for us. It will be nice to have someone to help mop up when we've finished with our little guest." Cora laughed and shoved the girl toward her sister.
"Oh, good work, sister." Ursula smiled.
"And just in time, I see! You look awful!" Zira told Cora and the three sisters shared wicked laugh.
Emma found her way to the witches' castle and spied from outside trying to come up with a plan.
"Who are you?" Jefferson held a blade to Emma's throat. "What business do you have here?"
"Jefferson?" Noticing a familiar tattoo on his hand. "I knew your brother, August."
"Unless you wish to meet him in the afterlife, I suggest you answer my question. What are you doing here?"
"I might ask you the same thing." Emma tilted her head and Jefferson looked down and noticed the blade that was pressed against his stomach.
Jefferson pulled back his weapon and Emma pulled back hers. The two of them looked again through the window and Jefferson took the lead.
"There are four of them. Do as I say and we may stand a chance."
"Wait." Emma called after him. "How do I know you can be trusted?"
Jefferson turned to her. "You don't. Why? Do you have a choice?"
"No." The blonde admitted reluctantly.
"Well, then, let's go."
Jefferson barged into the castle and grabbed the first woman in his path.
"Let go of me! Get off!" She struggled against him.
"Snow?" The prince looked at his long lost sister.
"Jefferson." She replied equally shocked.
Not interested in their family reunion Zira sent a fireball at Jefferson. Though powerful she was not as strong as her sister and the fireball only managed to knock the prince backward and singe his cloths. The fight had also given Snow time to run over to Emma. Not knowing the truth of who Snow really was Emma pulled her sword on her.
"Emma! No! Emma!" Snow pleaded. "I'm your... I'm your... I'm your mother."
Feeling confused Emma merely stood there as the other woman wrapped her arms around her with overwhelming glee.
Jefferson meanwhile was still fighting Zira. The witch had just used her magic to heat his blade causing him to drop it, she then sent another torrent of flames at him but could not manage to kill him, still she was amused by his frantic attempts to put out the fire. While Zira was laughing with her sisters the prince grabbed a spear and threw it at the witch pinning her to the wall killing her in seconds.
Furious Ursula made a move to attack Jefferson but Cora put up her hand to stop her sister. As the prince picked up his sword Cora picked up a doll. Jefferson began to walk toward her but when Cora bent the puppet's arms and legs in unnatural directions so too did the prince's appendages break.
"Let's put out those flames. Shall we?" Cora dropped the figure into the fountain and Jefferson began to float into the air as if he were suspended in water. The witches watched with glee as he suffocated and when the last bit of life had drain from him he fell back to the ground.
On another plan of existence Jefferson's ghost joined his brothers who had been watching the fight.
"So, what happens now?" The seventh dead asked since their souls would not be free until the next ruler of Stormhold had been determined.
"We have to learn to live with each other." Graham shrugged.
"Forever?" Greg asked appalled.
Jefferson sighed and with nothing else to so the brothers turned their attention back to the witches and the star.
"Let's get on with it.
Snow took Emma's face in her hands, "Be the hero that I know you are.
The lost princess place and kiss on her daughter's forehead and Emma nodded.
"Get outside." Emma instructed her mother.
"Okay." Snow agreed and ran to the door as Emma prepared herself for a fight.
The moment Regina saw the blonde the star began to glow.
"Emma!" She called out hopefully.
"Get her." Cora looked to Ursula.
As the other witch ran toward Emma Cora noticed the star's glow had returned and a plan formed in her mind.
Emma stood sword in hand as Ursula approached her. As soon as the witch was close enough the blonde cut the lock on the cage of the animals. Knowing who the enemy was the animals turned on the witch and in moments had torn her to shreds.
Cora and Emma walked toward the center of the room. "So, what's it to be, Princess Charming? Frog or tadpole?"
The witch sent out a blast of magic but Emma remained untouched. With a self-satisfied smile Emma pulled the glass flower she'd taken back from Maleficent when she'd seen the witch's fate. Cora sneered recognized the protective power of the trinket, but just because she couldn't use magic to directly harm the woman didn't mean she was out of the fight.
Sending a giant urn at the blonde as a distraction the witch grabbed the puppet of the now dead prince.
"Jefferson?" Emma looked at him sideways as the prince's body stood.
Cora used the puppet to engage Emma in swordplay and even when the blonde had stabbed Jefferson's body through the torso it continued to attack. As Cora retreated up the stairs to get back toward Regina Emma spied the chandelier hanging above the animated corpse.
She sliced through the rope and a chandelier fell, unfortunately it released the wrong one. The second attempt also proved futile though had it fallen just five more feet to the left it would have landed on Cora. Third time was the charm however and as the chandelier fell pinning the prince's body to the ground Emma manages to grab the ascending rope and fly onto the balcony placing herself between Cora and Regina.
"Emma!" Regina looked at the blonde, grateful that she was here but also terrified for her safety.
Cora looked at Regina then to where the bodies of her sisters were with an inhuman growl she brought the blade down over her head and sliced the bond that held Regina prisoner. Then with a defeated sigh threw down her weapons.
"Youth. Beauty. It all seems meaningless now." The witch cried. "My sisters are dead! Everything I cared about gone."
Emma stood confused but as the witch turned away Emma quickly worked at undoing the straps that held Regina to the table.
"Go." Cora whispered between sobs. "Go!"
The blonde helped Regina off the table and the two walked quickly toward the door. Snow could see them coming through the window and smiled and ran to meet them, but just before they reached the exit, the doors slammed shut and Cora's sobs turned to laugher.
"No!" Snow yelled beating at the doors but they would not budge.
Cora's laughter continued to fill the room, as she used her magic to shatter the mirrors lining the walls forcing Emma and Regina to run back to where the witch was waiting for them.
"I owe you thanks, girl." Cora smirked. "What use was her heart to me when it was broken? And you got rid of my sisters, and now I can have it all for myself."
"They were your sisters, didn't you love them?" Emma asked appalled.
"You silly girl didn't anyone ever tell you, love is weakness.
"No, its strength."
Emma pulled the canister of lightning off her shoulder and released it at Cora sending the witch flying backward. The victory was momentary however as Cora managed to stand again.
"I'm sorry Regina I don't know if I'm strong enough to stop her." Emma's voice cracked.
"You may not be strong enough but maybe we are. Hold me tight and close your eyes." Regina instructed the other woman.
"What? Why?" Emma asked.
"What do stars do?" Regina smiled. "Shine."
Emma grabbed Regina and hugged her tightly and as she did the star began to glow brighter than she ever had before. In a moment the entire room was filled with light and Cora was gone, defeated by the power of true love.
"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Emma asked once she realized they were safe.
"I couldn't have done that without you." Regina told her. "No star can shine with a broken heart."
Emma pulled Regina in for another hug.
"I thought I'd lost you.
But you came back.
"Of course I did." The blonde touched the other woman's cheek. "I love you."
Regina glowed and pulled Emma toward her for a kiss.
"Come on." She took Regina's hand ready to leave this horrible place.
The two shared a smile and began to go, Regina walked over and embraced Snow who was waiting for her daughter's lover with open arms. Emma was just steps behind when she noticed the necklace Regina had been wearing lay broken on the floor.
Then when she picked up the gem a curious thing happened, the clear jewel turned red.
"Emma." Snow looked at her daughter knowingly. "The last surviving male heir of the Stormhold bloodline."
Snow recognized the stone as her father's. She knew what he would have done and explained to the two what the gem meant.
"Emma?" Regina questioned.
The blonde looked down at her stomach. It wasn't possible she'd only been with Neal that one night before all of this started but if the gem required a male heir for its color to be returned than that was the only explaination.
"Regina, I'm sorry it was before I knew you."
"Its ok." Regina smiled. "You have a son."
"No," Emma corrected her. "We have a son."
OUAT STARDUST OUAT
"I name thee Emma Regent of Stormhold." The Blue Fairy placed a crown on her head.
A chorus of cheers erupted from the people.
"My gift to you." Snow handed Regina a box. "To you both."
"Thank you." They both smiled and Snow walked over to join David.
They lived in the palace for 80 years. But no one can live forever, except for one who possesses the heart of a star-
And Regina had given hers to Emma completely.
When their child and grandchildren were grown, it was time to light the Babylon candle to find a home among the stars. And they still live happily ever after.
A/N OK that was it. I hope you enjoyed the Swan Queen version of Stardust. If you left a review at some point I just want to say thank you so very much I really appreciate it and if you haven't I'd still love to hear what you thought. Currently working on another story, centered around Henry and Regina, its not Swan Queen specifically but I'll try to add in that as much as the story allows. I hope you all will check it out. Thanks again.