LW: The curse is broken; magic is back, now for the real work to begin.
The Demon in Storybrooke – The more things change, the more they stay the same
Mifflin Lane
An angry mob had gathered on the lawn of the Mayor/Queen, though you couldn't tell by the expression of the home's owner, as Regina had calmly and almost cheerfully stepped out the front door as if to greet them, smirking the entire time.
'You want to see your Queen so badly? Well here. She. Is.' Regina said flicking her arms out to use her magic as the mob recoils, only nothing happens 'Crap' she thought as they start to get their confidence back. Dr. Whale even slamming her up against one of her pillars
'I should've done this a long time ah' he yells, the new grip on his wrist just under what it would take to break it. Turning he saw it was a neutral faced James who had grabbed him
'That wasn't very nice, you try something like that again, I rip your hand off Viki. Can't see you doing your work with one arm' he hissed flatly
'The bitch deserves it' Victor retorted still believing himself superior, there was almost no reaction in James' expression though Regina thought she saw a flash of glee in his eyes when he snapped the bone in Whale's pinkie like a dry twig, the Dr. howling in pain.
'Alright break it up' James turned and noticed Emma and Charming making their way through the crowd, so he let go of Whale and took a step back, closer to Regina.
'What is going on here?' Emma asked trying to take charge
'We're taking out the queen' was heard from somewhere in the crowd
'she's got no magic'
'She's weak as us now' were also heard and Emma noticed both Regina and her friend roll their eyes at the crowd's statements.
'Oh you humanss are sso stupid' he hissed getting the mob as well as Snow's group's attention 'the queen may not have magic, but I do' and he clicked his fingers and his form was engulfed in black & purple smoke causing everyone (minus Regina) to take a step back. When the smoke cleared most thought he had done it simply to prove a point, after all he hadn't changed that much, just a black hooded cloak and the fact his fingers appeared longer and thinner (as in rather bony), though Emma noticed he was also slightly taller though his build remained the same 'Regina darling, if you could be so kind?' he asked, the hiss in his voice much more noticeable than before. Regina nodded and tugged on the back of his hood and everyone stepped back; his features were rather serpentine, large eyes with slitted pupils, thick scaly gold coloured skin and a forked tongue visible because of his open-mouthed grin, which was filled with sharp pointed teeth. 'I suppose it's only fair to reintroduce my self now everyone's who they used to be. I am Snaky, and I'm perfectly capable of killing all of you where you stand with little to no effort on my part. But I won't, instead myself and Madame Mayor will follow the sheriff to wherever she wishes to take us' with that enchanted manacles were conjured onto his and Regina's hands, a thick chain connected to them and the end wrapped itself around Emma's arm.
'Emma I don't think this is a good idea' Snow said grabbing Emma's other arm
'Well I suppose we could just stay here, I can tell her about why she was sent away' Snaky commented off hand
'Emma we did it to protect you'
'That's not all...'
'Stay out of this'
Snaky grinned 'Charming, I thought you had gone mute over there. So sheriff, think we can talk on the way to our cells?'
Emma shook her head and laughed slightly 'I know you; you can make a story like that into a single sentence'
Snaky shrugged 'you're not wrong'
'Let's get down to the station and we can figure out what's going on' Emma said pulling the two towards her car, something when Regina realised she started dragging her heels about
'No way, I'm not getting in that death-trap. If you're trying to kill me Ms Swan at least tell me'
'Regina' Snaky piped in 'what would be worse, getting into the bug, or letting Ms Swan put her grubby fingers on your car?'
'Hey' Emma yelled offended 'I'm not grubby, I think I may still have dragon ash on me but other than that I'm clean'
Regina sighed 'Fine, she can drive the Bentley, at least this way I know I'll make it to the station'
'Excellent! Hey sheriff catch' Emma did catch it, it was just she caught it with her face when it bounced off her forehead 'Oww, what was that for?' she asked before she looked down, they were Regina's car keys 'Well?'
A few minutes later the trio had made it into Regina's car, after Snaky had explained how to get the chains off Emma, so with her in the driver's seat and the other two in the back they headed off. Regina watched blankly out the window as they drove, while Snaky sat silently with his eyes closed, though Emma knew even if he looked to be sleeping he was awake and thinking/scheming. 'So what did you want to tell me?'
He smirked 'I was going to explain why you were abandoned, do you still want to hear it?'
'Yeah, they said it was to protect me from the curse but if I'd been here I'd have had a family and the curse was built for me to break after 28 years so it's not like I'd be stuck as a baby forever or something that'
'True, in fact if you'd stayed I believe little Alexandra could've been your best friend, after all she was conceived not long after you were, seeing as you were born as the curse ravaged the land and Cindy was still just shy of her due date. But that's not the point I was trying to make, your parents could've kept you with them, raised you under the curse's power but they didn't, because they listened to Rumplestiltskin' both Snaky and Regina shot forward when Emma slammed on the break and turned to face them
'What! How do you know this?'
'In my 18 years in this town I asked Rumple quite a few things about this curse; how it worked, why it was made, but most important for you, how and why the curse breaks. He told me about how he told your parents to send you away, that you would come back and save their asses in 28 years. Now call me whatever you like, most people go with insane, but if Regina had called them up and said 'Hi guys, oh Snow you're positively glowing. Listen I'll be casting the curse in say about 2 months, seeing as you look like it'll be born by then if you send the baby away it'll be safe, if not it'll be cursed. The choice is yours' I don't think they'd have listened, do you?'
Regina snorted 'If Sidney or I had appeared in Snow's mirror it'd have been broken before I'd have gotten past hi'
'Exactly, why believe and then follow through with something told to you by a known liar and trickster like Rumplestiltskin the Dark One?' Emma sighed knowing they were right and continued driving, her anger holding at a low flame.
When the trio got to the Sheriff's department Snow, David and Blue were already there, The latter having just finished putting down symbols in marker within both cells, Regina glaring at all of them when she was thrown in while Snaky behaved neutrally as he stepped into the second one. 'So Swan, was our chat as enlightening as you'd hoped?' Regina asked, a smirk creeping onto her face as Emma stood there silently
'Emma don't listen to her she's obviously lying. She's the evil Queen, she stole our happiness and is the reason you grew up without parents, don't believe a word she says' Snow pleaded
'And him, can I believe him?' Emma asked annoyed
'Probably not, he's not from our world but he's definitely a villain. Best ignore him as if he were a great evil from our land ...' Blue answered apparently physically unable to keep the 'I know better' tone from her voice
'Like the Dark One?' Emma volunteered with a glare
'Exactly' Snow exclaimed, happy her daughter understood and completely oblivious to the angry glare being directed at her from the blond.
A little while later
There were many things that made Regina angry, chief among them at the moment were: The idiot town's folks, the 2 nitwits locking her up and the annoying calmness of her cellmate. Another irritation made himself known with the distinct click of his no longer needed cane 'Well lookie here your Majesty, how our positions have changed' Rumple gloats with a smirk, causing Regina's frown to grow 'And our dear world jumper, so powerful and yet so easily captured'
Snaky raises a scaled eye ridge 'Same could be said for the current Dark One, fairy dust or squid ink and you're the same an any other cripple' he smirks as the pawn broker sneers.
Oddly enough it was this moment that made Regina notice the similarity between the 2: both were powerful mages, considered to be monsters and unaffected by said label, reptilian in nature, both had lost children, had a prominent influence in her life and who also screwed her over, though one was done with good intentions while the other did everything for his own gain.
She was pulled from her musings when Gold grabbed her wrist and pulled it through the bars of the cells 'Now I promised Belle I wouldn't kill you, luckily I've had 300 years of experience with finding and exploiting loopholes. You won't die, but you'll wish you had' he said before pressing the medallion into her palm, the artefact branding the now most likely former mayor. He then turned to the once more neutral faced reptile 'I doubt this would kill you even if I tried so instead you have front row seats to the demise of the Evil Queen' he smirked before leaving in a poof of smoke
Not long after
'What are you smirking about?' Regina asked irritably, to which Snaky slowly looked up a wide grin on his face
'It's finally back, my connection to them' Regina looked at him curiously
'Who?'
'You'll see' he stood up leaning against the cell door 'Come on darling, we'd like to leave today' he called, the smirk still on his face. They didn't have to wait long, soon there was an unexplainable wind in the sheriff's office, and then there was a ring of light, which only caused Snaky's grin to grow. Regina knew what it was almost instantly; portal magic was easy for most magicals to recognise as it usually felt 'off' mostly because it often contained a small amount of that world's magic, which would be understandably foreign to most people.
The man who stepped out of the portal would definitely fit in with Storybrooke's level of strange; snow white hair, pale near grey skin, and sickly yellow eyes, he wore a light grey jacket and a thick glove on his left hand. 'Hello Kura, nice of you to join us'
'We usually come when we're called, it's just I drew the short straw' his voice was cold and flat, Snaky frowned
'There's no need for this, are you mad about the void, that wasn't my fault' Kura nodded
'We know it wasn't, but it doesn't make it any better. Although the fact you've returned does' Kura smiled slightly 'Welcome back boss'
'Great a reunion, now what?' Regina asked
'This' Snaky answered pushing open the door to Regina's shock and annoyance
'You could get out this whole time?'
'Yes, good thing Charming 'forgot' to lock my cell' he answered smirking 'now, Kura if you would?' Kura nodded and pulled his glove off surprising Regina; his hand was a glacial blue, the tips of his fingers actually appeared to be frostbitten.
He took a step towards her and she recoiled, to which he actually smiled 'It seems I don't need to warn you to step back' he said, wrapping his hand around one of the bars. They didn't have to wait long as frost rapidly covered all the metal in her cell before he let go
'It's all yours now' he said as Snaky pulled his cane out and gave the bars a heavy swing. The bars shattered as if they were made of glass, and Snaky stepped in through the newly made hole
'How'd you do that with the magic repelling runes?' Snaky snorted
'Unless it has fairy dust in it, magic marker isn't actually magic. They're an attempt at intimidation while also mocking you, saying that even if you had magic you'd be unable to use it' Regina huffed in annoyance.
'Regina there's just one more thing' Snaky said quietly and pushed his hand through her chest. The magic that filled the air was thick and heavy for a few seconds before he retracted and Regina flopped back onto the bed
'What the fuck was that for?' Regina asked once she had steadied herself
'I opened your magical core fully; it would've taken at least a week otherwise. Not doing something in 28 years will cause anything to atrophy; your magical pathways aren't any different' Snaky answered and Regina knew he was telling the truth; she could feel her magic again, it was much weaker than it had been in the enchanted forest but she could feel it, which was more than could've been said this morning.
20 minutes later – Gold's shop
'Wait a minute, the Wraith's not heading for the station' Snow notes in confusion
'Well I guess our dear Queenie has managed to escape her imprisonment. Not that it helps he much' Rumple muses with a giggle as Emma & the Charmings leave the shop and run off towards Regina's house once again.
When they reached the mansion they noticed the front door had been ripped off its hinges, worry causing them to hurry and rush in. They find the wraith being just about held back by Regina and Snaky, the former hurling tennis ball sized fireballs, while Emma assumes Snkay to be the source of what looked to be solid shadows striking out at the creature, though neither method seemed to be doing any actual damage to the wraith, just stopping it from doing what it came here to do. Her and David bravely/stupidly joined in with gun and sword respectively, adding more distraction but little else, until Emma caught a flicker of gold out the corner of her eye and watched it fly at and then cut through the wraith's arm. The wraith gave an inhuman screech, as its hand hit the ground before it fled, shattering the window in the process. The blade, which Emma notes seemed to be attached to it's owner by what looked to be a snake skin belt, returned to Snaky's hand
'Is it gone?' Snow asked as she stared out the broken window, while Emma and Snaky helped Regina up
'For now, but it's a wraith it won't stop until it catches its prey. Me' Regina answered revealing the mark. There was then a short pulse of dark magic as the wraith's hand was pierced and disintegrated by the blade Snaky had produced
'What is that?' Emma asked
'It's a soul blade, it cut's anything, though whether or not it cuts through something depends on the person's power' the sword appeared to almost melt before reforming back into the Khopesh like weapon it was before 'for example if I'd had this during the curse it probably wouldn't have even chipped bone, now it's stronger than a dwarven pickaxe' he smirked before returning the blade to one of his inner pockets
'Can they all change shape?' Emma asked curious
'Mine does' he answered unhelpfully
Regina was on the verge of screaming, once more the hat simply wiggled and made a little puff of smoke before coming to rest, she just wasn't able to do it and it was driving her up the wall especially as a muggle (she was also regretting reading Harry Potter to Henry growing up) like Jefferson could always get it to work 1st try.
'You okay there Regina?' Emma asks, rubbing slightly against her arm as she gets down to where the brunette was working, both optimistic when the hat did 2 full revolutions and shimmered… before resting again at which point Regina did scream and toss the hat aside
'I've had it with the damn hat, I can't do portal magic, my magic just doesn't work with the hat' she groaned, rubbing her temples to try stave off the headache that was no doubt brewing inside her mind
Snaky sighed sadly as he picked up the hat, brushed it off and lay it in front of Regina's lap once more, then crouching down behind her and resting his hands gently on her shoulders 'You're over thinking again Regina, all the things that are happening, all that could go wrong. Calm your mind, just think about the hat, it's the distractions that's stopping your magic from kicking the hat's power into gear, this kind of magic is 100% intent based' he whispered in her ear, Regina sighing as she already knew this but took a deep breath closed her eyes and tried to do as he asked.
This time it worked
'Regina the portal's open' Emma yelled as they pulled her back, the banging on the door getting louder, why she hadn't noticed it before was anyone's guess
'And not a moment too soon' Snow mutters the doors flying off and the wraith flying in, both mages slightly amused to see it was still severely injured from Serpentello, except the debris took out both Charmings (so much for the heroes)
Snaky sighs 'Fuck Plan B' he flicks his wrist and Regina is moved to the other side of the 'safe zone' as Snow had put it, the Wraith being a rather instinctual being works as the crow flies as in straight at Regina, being caught in the hat's portal much easier than any of the 3 of them had expected.
'Is that i…' Emma asked almost disappointed until her leg was trapped by the Wraith's power, pulling her into the portal with it
'For the love of…' Snaky's tail shot out to try pull her back but the wraith and the portal was too much and he was pulled in as well. As the hat slowed to a stop and the portal closed Regina was left with a top hat, 2 unconscious idiots and a brand which pulsed one more time before fading to nothing.
Enchanted forest (Well what's left of it)
After the mind bending trip through reality Emma landed with a soft thud, another body being what broke her fall, so she lay there with her head on their chest. It was actually several minutes of listening to the faint heartbeat before they spoke 'Emma darling, you think you could get off me, for one your gun is digging into my hip' the distinctly female voice said causing Emma to raise her head to see who she was on top of; the girl had purple hair, red eyes and a purple beanie, but it was the smirk with sharp teeth pointing out that gave it away
'You're a girl?' Saria's grin grew but she didn't reply.
TBC
LW: Well, that happened
Emma: How worried should we be?
Saria: None at all Em, none at all
[Fun fact: I planned to write the line about Snaky ripping Whale's hand off before seeing 'The Doctor' where Whale actually gets his arm ripped off by Daniel]
(Also the Mulan/Aurora/Phillip scenes that were in this chapters equivalent episode, in this universe they happened before the curse was cast, like I assumed until we met up with Snow and Emma at the end of the episode)