A/N: My apologies for the delay between updates! I had to rewrite this chapter several times and just couldn't seem to get past it...but alas, I have at last! Let me know what you think =] Enjoy!
Startled into wakefulness, Emma Swan groaned and opened her eyes. Her head lifted just long enough for her to determine that Cora was no longer in the room, no longer inflicting pain upon her, and no longer making bizarre accusations such as Emma's harboring another's soul within the confines of her heart. She allowed her head to drop again, for it felt as though it weighed tons, and allowed her mind to drift back to the dream she'd just experienced.
Regina.
She'd kissed Regina in this dream—and then she'd watched her die.
Where had that come from?
Could this be what had been happening to Regina herself in her own dreams? Was this why she had been so unwilling to share the details? Because, if this theory was true, Emma fully understood why Regina would be uncomfortable talking to her about it. Dreams like that would indeed be difficult to deal with. Still, it was only a theory.
The sound of a door opening somewhere in the darkness jolted Emma back to reality, and within moments the silhouettes of three individuals entered the cavern, and Emma's stomach dropped.
"Mom?"
Henry's voice echoed against the stone walls, but something restrained and prevented him from running to her. Cora stood behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder, and Emma was able to see that his wrists were bound by a glowing string of light—magic, obviously. Her attention turned to the other figure in the room, and when she realized her father was with Cora as well she began to struggle, re-energized in her rage, against her own bonds. Still, her efforts were useless, just as they had been before. With her injury and her exhaustion, the chains held fast.
"I brought you some company, Miss Swan!" Cora's voice exclaimed from a few meters away, and Emma could hear the sickening smile in her tone. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands around the crazed woman's neck and end her once and for all.
"What do you want from me?" Emma snarled, leaning as far from the wall as the chains would let her.
Cora chuckled as she situated Henry and Charming a few meters away from her, and then magicked some light into the cavern.
Emma squinted and blinked until her eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, and then glanced around. She recognized this place! They were beneath Regina's vault!
"Right now I am simply waiting for my daughter to arrive," Cora told them all, her smile never fading. "All that is left for me to do is to greet her when she does, allow her to see that I have done the hard work of capturing you on her behalf, and then remove you and your father from the picture. She will have her happy ending, I will see to that."
Emma laughed bitterly.
"You've never wanted her to be happy. If you did, you wouldn't have ruined her life time and time again."
"People change, Miss Swan. Time changes things. You preached that much yourself just a short while ago."
Emma looked at Henry, then her father, back to Henry, and then to Cora.
"So you should understand that I was speaking the truth when I made those claims."
Cora only smiled and, with a rough shove, sent Henry and David against the cold stone walls a good distance from each other, and a good distance from Emma as well.
"I know my daughter, Miss Swan."
"She saved us."
"For her son, not for you."
Henry's voice jumped into the fray.
"You won't get away with this! My mom will be here soon and then you'll pay!"
Emma smiled at her son's fierce loyalty to Regina, even after all she had done wrong, and it made something within her shift. Suddenly, she could feel her magic welling up within her, threatening to unleash itself.
No, not yet, her inner voice snapped quickly, and Emma's eyes squeezed shut in the effort of restraining herself. She couldn't fight yet. She couldn't beat Cora alone. Especially not in her weakened state. Her body quaked, and then the pain returned. In an instant, she was unconscious again.
Regina was mere steps away from the doorway to her vault when an excruciating wave of pain overcame her. She staggered another two feet or so and went down to her knees, clutching at her chest and gasping.
This was getting ridiculous.
"Regina!"
Startled, Regina collapsed the rest of the way and rolled onto her rear, looking up to find Snow White jogging up to her. The woman grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to her feet again.
"What the hell are you doing here you pale-skinned idiot?!" Regina coughed, ripping her hand away and staring at Snow like she had four heads. "I specifically told you not to—"
"I know what you told me."
Regina sucked in a breath through her teeth in an effort to prevent herself from cursing the woman before her.
"Then why didn't you listen?"
Here, Snow faltered.
"Because..."
Regina raised her eyebrows in anticipation, rubbing at her breastbone subconsciously as the burning began to wane somewhat.
"I can't find David. Or Henry. And I thought...it might be a better idea if the two of us were...together."
Regina's stomach twisted and a different, less physical pain swept over her. She'd left Henry alone for too long. Alone with the...idiot. That meant that Cora had probably found him. Perhaps even both of them. And, if that was true, it meant her job of convincing Cora she was still the evil queen had just gotten much, much more difficult. She knit her brows and scowled at Snow.
"You need to leave before you get all of us killed."
"Regina, look at yourself—you can hardly walk. How do you think you're going to take on your mother if this plan of yours goes all wrong?"
Regina glared at her.
"I can handle my mother."
"You can use my help, you know it."
"Doubtful."
"If you act like you've captured me as well..."
The former queen took pause, studying Snow for a moment, and then, grudgingly, she nodded.
"You must promise to trust me, no matter what happens."
"What are you planning?"
Regina raised a satchel that had been hanging over her shoulder and lifted the top to reveal the poisoned apple. Snow gasped, covered her hand with her mouth, and looked at the former queen with wide eyes.
"Another sleeping curse?"
Regina shook her head. She might as well inform Snow of everything.
"No, this is much more than a sleeping curse. This...this will stop the Savior's heart."
"What?! You can't—"
Raising her hands and dropping the bag back to her side, the brunette shook her head.
"Snow, I must. What good is a dead heart to Cora? She won't be able to control her, and she won't be able to kill her either."
"I will not allow you to kill my daughter Regina!"
"She will not be killed. That is where the sleeping curse comes in. Tell me, are you familiar with the theory of suspended animation?"
"Suspended...ani...what?" The pure one looked very confused, and it stood to reason that, in spite of having lived in this world for over 28 years, Snow had not taken the time to study non-magical theory.
"The poison that is used to stop her heart comes from this world, and it will not kill her when mixed with a dark sleeping potion. What it will do, is make Cora believe I have killed her. Only then will she trust me completely, and once she does, she will be vulnerable enough for me to make my move and destroy her—for good."
"But...Cora is smart. How do you know she will believe Emma is really dead?"
"Cora is new to this world. She is unfamiliar with its poisons and their properties."
Regina almost couldn't believe Snow White was still listening to her, and almost seemed to be going along with her plan. Not that she would blame her for freaking out. If it was Henry in Emma's position...
Then came the dreaded question.
"So how do we wake her if this all works out?"
Regina's eyes dropped to the ground.
"Regina...how do we wake her...?" Snow's hand reached for her upper arm and clamped on.
The ex-mayor grimaced as she looked back up at her companion.
"True love's kiss."
Snow visibly relaxed.
"So Henry can do it. Or myself or Charming."
It was sudden, the wrenching feeling of anger and betrayal that swept through Regina's body at that moment. But then, she considered, Snow was right. Henry would be their best bet. Why would she...Regina stopped her thoughts in their tracks. What was she thinking?! She wasn't Emma's true love! But...she might harbor a part of Daniel...no, it was stupid. Henry would wake her. Henry, who loved his birth mother, truly and deeply.
Yes, Henry would definitely be the one to wake her.