Enjoy Lovelies!
Songs: Think I'm Sick by Icon for Hire
Katy froze. She saw Emma's limp body. Heard the suggestive undertones of rape in Emma's future. Marion's sword felt delightful in her hand. With a steadying breath, everything else faded away except the mission. Remember the mission, Marion's voice echoed inside her head. The thought paralyzed her momentarily. This was her mission, hers alone.
"Hey!" She startled the men. Start with a good bluff, she recalled.
"Put her down and walk away and perhaps I'll let you keep all your limbs," she threatened. Emma mumbled incoherently over the darker man's shoulder. Who the hell were these guys? She recognized The Dark One's son, but the other man's presence baffled her.
"Hey pipsqueak, beat it and I won't take you, too. I have a thing for fit blondes," his nose wrinkled as he spoke. He mocked her. He underestimated her.
The men stepped closer, seemingly unafraid. Katy sneered. With one quick step forward, she spun and crouched at the same time, sword perfectly arched to catch the man's leg. Her free hand touched the ground once, pushing her backwards into a defensive stance. It happened in less than a second, and the man nearly dropped Emma with a howl of pain.
A dark grin spread on her face. "I said let her go," she demanded. Her voice, naturally deep and raspy, dripped with poison. She posed to strike, a snake in her element.
Neal held his hands up appeasing the tiny young warrior. "This must be the one they adopted. You want her, too?" He glanced at the other man holding Emma.
Katy struck again, spinning the opposite direction. Neal hit the ground, holding his busted knee. He'd be lucky to walk on it again. Blood spurted onto the paved walk, and she almost lost focus to watch the liquid spill.
"Let her go," she demanded as she reset her stance within two seconds of moving.
She stepped carefully, removing herself from the reach of the man she downed. Her heart pounded, pulsing adrenaline into her veins. It calmed her, focused her mind. Her thoughts cleared, trusting her training, trusting Marion's guidance. These weren't people, they were opponents. Nothing more. She must not feel or she shall fall.
Keeping Neal in her peripheral, Katy maneuvered to stand between the other man and his escape route. If he fled to the forest, she'd overtake him within seconds. He stared without fear. He either underwent training of his own or suffered from insanity. His dark eyes searched hers, and she held her ground. That lack of fear almost surprised her. Marion built her for this.
"Hey!" Neal shouted. The glint of black steel blared a warning bell. She crouched, pulling the knife at her back that Belle insisted they all carry just in case. Her body spun, eyes catching her target a moment before the knife flew from her fingers, a moment before an explosion sent a metal projectile in her direction.
Neal hit the ground gasping, the knife lodged in his adam's apple, her aim true. He'd not recover. Her mind registered the grass beneath her fingers before to burning pain on her back. Why was she lying down? Get up. Move!
The burn spread from her left hip to her right shoulder. The bullet grazed her, knocked her down. She gritted her teeth against the pain and observed her surroundings. The other man had disappeared. Hard hazel eyes glared down the path where he sprinted with Emma over his shoulders.
One hand grabbed her dropped sword, and the other fished her phone from her pocket. She hit Regina's number and then took off in a full out sprint, flesh pulling and stretching. Her mind numbed it, pushed it away.
"Regina, someone's kidnapping Emma! I think they're headed for the town line," she screamed into the phone the second Regina answered. "Get there just in case I can't stop him here."
The phone nestled into her pocket without ending the call. Her steps cut across the park as fast as her nimble body could fly. That bastard wasn't taking Emma, not like this. His intended fate for her adoptive mother made hell look appealing, keeping a woman drugged to rape her. That was to be Emma's fate, and she may have sealed hers by killing The Dark One's son.
It didn't matter. The mission mattered. Sacrifices were always made in the name of righteousness. Her body flew from the four foot stone wall separating the park from the sidewalk and street as the man's car screeched onto the black top. A battle cry tore from her lips, alerting unsuspecting store owners of her chase. She flew.
Her body tucked and rolled instinctively. The bullet graze scraped the road, her ruined shirt useless against the rough grain of blacktop. She grunted with the pain, and skidded to a crouch on sure and steady feet. She bowed her head for one second, calming the nerves the pain frazzled. Sacrifice, Marion's deep voice soothed her.
People stepped on the sidewalk to watch Katy Swan face down a car. Her body propelled forward like an Olympic sprinter, directly challenging the machine as it gained speed before her mind told her not to be stupid.
The scent of charcoal brushed against her cheek from the destroyed diner, spurring her forward. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Her mind cleared, leaving a blissful sense of duty as her strong legs sent her airborne once more. One hand braced on the butt of her weapon and the other gripping the hilt, she leapt at the car, aiming for the driver with the instrument of death.
Her body collided with the windshield and fell through, crashing into the leather in rain of glass and blood. The sword wobbled in his shoulder. Her eyes focused on the gentle movement as her mind searched for clarity. Pain broke against her body, splashing violently in the storm. A hand reached for the hilt, and she recognized it as her own.
A tiny jab in her forearm pulled her attention from those bloody fingers. The sedative they'd given Emma burned into her veins, and the man grinned lasciviously. He ended up with two after all. Tires screeched. Her body fell numb, useless, lurching against the door as the abrupt motion of the vehicle flung her about.
"Em," she muttered.
"Yeah," Emma answered from the backseat. "It's okay. Just relax. It doesn't burn as much if you don't struggle."
Katy listened, surprised when her head refused to nod. She willed her mind to calm the rising panic, to trust Regina waited for them. If not, she'd forget everything, become a shell of her former self. Her eyes fell shut against the tears of fear. A warrior never showed weakness to her opponent.
The car lurched suddenly, and she banged into the dash, unable to break the fall. Why had he slammed on the brakes? A crackle of magic surrounded her, coaxing a slight grin through the haze of sedation. The Queen has arrived.
"I believe you have something of mine, Dear," Regina's dark, sultry voice called.
Metal screeched and scraped. Four doors clattered on either side of the road, cutting trees, sparking against rock, clattering one glorious moment. "I want it back," Regina dispatched calmly.
Jason flew from the car, suspended in the air, arms entrapped by an invisible barrier. Wide, scared eyes stared down at her. "Oh that won't do," Regina said, making sense only to herself.
At least until Jason fell to the ground in a heap. One hand poised by her shoulder, the other pointed to the ground. "The Queen cranes her neck for none," she whispered darkly.
"Amelia, if you please, my wife and child," Regina flicked her wrist towards the car, and then tucked her fingers beneath her chin.
"What to do with treacherous snakes who kidnap defenseless women and young girls," Regina floated one step and pressed the tip of her heel into the gaping wound on his shoulder. He squalled. Her eyes slipped shut, a blissful expression overtaking the anger on her face.
"Regina, Emma says that's Jason," Amelia called from the car, hoping to be heard over the wail of pain.
Regina chuckled maniacally, a smile to match. "Oh, I've wanted to meet you for such a long time," she gushed and retracted her heel from the stab hole.
Her finger crooked in a come hither motion, beckoning the man into a standing position. "Tall. Well-muscled. Are you smooth?" She asked cryptically, and Amelia almost asked her to stop, almost.
One steady finger trailed over his chest, a trailed of blood following. Tearing flesh surrounded her, and she laughed in darkened glee. His thick neck bulged, veins and ligaments popping as he endured the pain. The skin above the collar of his shirt turned bright red with the effort.
"Naw," she clicked her tongue, summoning her best voice for speaking to a small child. "Is it too much?" Her head bobbed, simulating the act of talking to a toddler. He nodded, and she touched his cheek with soft fingertips, reveling in the wince of fear.
"My Dear," she cooed and trailed her other hand along his now bare chest. Her grin transformed into the face of a demon. "It's just a flesh wound!" She hissed and stuck her thumb into the wound carved by a magical knife.
He howled, struggling against the invisible restraints. An eyebrow raised at the sticky substance that pulled away on her thumb. She brushed it over his lips, shoving it between his teeth before he reacted. His eyes slipped shut as he sucked it clean like a little bitch. So easy to break, the sign of a weak man.
"Regina," Amelia called to her from the driver's seat. "Emma wants you." It wasn't exactly a lie or the truth, but she'd witness that look before. The Queen prepared to crush the heart of an unworthy subject.
Regina snapped from the moment, only now realizing what she'd done. With a flick of her head, Jason took off like a bottle rocket and landed on the highest branch of a nearby tree. "Stay," she ordered as she might a dog.
With calm steps tapping out her own personal theme song of high heels, she approached the car and slid into the backseat. Tender hands unbefitting her violent display lifted her wife's head and settled it into her lap. Soft fingertips detangled golden hair unconsciously.
"I'm right here, My Darling. I'll not let any harm you again," Regina vowed. Emma released a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Emma mumbled, still fighting the sedative. "Neal said…"
"Neal?" The surgeon and sorceress interrupted in unison.
Emma winced. Neal was bad. She should have seen that. "I met him yesterday. He told me a lot of things that sounded plausible, so I wanted to get both sides of the story before I told you about him." Emma explained, tears straining her voice.
Regina soothed her hair and caught the salty liquid Emma was physically incapable of wiping. "Shhh, Em, it's alright. I'm here now, and I promise to tell you the truth no matter how difficult."
"Annabel," Emma whispered.
Regina sighed and met Amelia's sympathetic eyes that so closely resembled her own. "She's ours, Emma. Our daughter was the first child to ever be magically conceived by True Love."
Emma nodded against her leg, the sedative fading a bit at a time. "In Neverland," she whined. "The sedative. I remember this feeling. I remember Neverland." More tears followed the admission.
"Oh Emma," Regina curled into an almost fetal position and kissed her wife's forehead.
Emma's neck twisted almost unnaturally to gaze up at her wife. "Kiss me, Regina."
A beautiful smile spread on Regina's lips. The lines of grief carved into that glowing face receded slowly, and a vein popped on her forehead at the same moment tears tumbled onto her cheeks. "Really?"
Emma nodded again, wishing her body cooperated for a her mind's command for a better position. "Hurry while I can't run," she quipped.
Regina released a wet sound, half sob and half laugh that jerked her chest upwards once. A warm thumb brushed over Emma's lower lip. She licked her lips, not quite sure she knew what she'd requested. Regina hovered a few inches from her mouth as if making a decision.
Finally, she shook her head and pulled back. "No, not like this. I want you fully functional, Emma Swan."
Emma's eyes slipped shut, more tears spilling. A smile spread. Shuddering gasps stole her breath. She hadn't meant for the request to become a test of some sort, but Regina passed immaculately anyway. "You really love me, don't you?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I see you've always been an idiot, Miss Swan."
Emma giggled. "Apparently, I'm your idiot," she proclaimed, the words deeper than the lighthearted tone.
Regina sighed melodramatically. "Everyone bears a cross."
"I think you're both idiots," Katy groaned from the front seat.
"Says the girl who jumped through the windshield of a moving vehicle," Emma volleyed. She liked Katy before, but the teen just earned more respect than Emma ever knew she possessed.
"Katyline Katherick Swan, you jumped into the windshield of a moving vehicle?" Regina repeated as if the meaning of the words might have changed if she uttered them.
"Can we just focus on the fact that everything turned out okay?" She winced and trusted Amelia to keep her upright as she recovered from the medicine. Her dose seemed considerably smaller than Emma's if her already moving fingers told her anything.
"And perhaps take me to the hospital for some pain medication and stitches?" She added hopefully.
"I concur," Amelia tossed in her opinion. "I'm quit curious about this wound on your back."
"Amelia," Emma pulled her attention from her little savior, sparing the girl that explanation for the moment. "I'm really glad you came. I'm sorry for accusing you earlier." She offered her hand between the seats, allowing her friend to hold the weight.
Amelia squeezed her hand tightly. "I just happened to be there when Regina got the call," the surgeon brushed off her part in their rescue. Emma smiled. She'd have said the same thing. She suddenly couldn't wait to remember Amelia.
Regina waved her hand, lowering Jason from the tree. Her hand sunk into his chest the moment he came into reach. His heart had hardened like hers. A black heart for an evil man. A sliver of sympathy slipped into her own heart. Could he be redeemed?
"Walk back to town and lock yourself in jail," Regina ordered. The man silently obeyed.
Amelia raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Her former mistress would have crushed his heart right there. Regina covered their joined hands with hers, and Amelia assisted Katy in holding her adoptive mother's. They flashed.
The routine seemed so familiar now. Gowns. Scans. Setting a broken wrist. Stitches. Bloody gauze. Tiny patches to cover the wounds. Groaning from Emma. Grumping from Katy. Reluctant agreeance to stay the night for observation.
Finally, silence.
Katy relaxed into her bed, aching from the fight and socially exhausted from the subsequent medical care. She didn't hate people, but they sapped so much energy simply by existing. Her eyes drifted shut in the dim room and refused to open when the door creaked open and clicked shut softly.
"Go away, I'm injured," she griped, suspecting Henry to be the culprit.
A large, hot hand around her throat bashed that theory over the head. "You wouldn't be injured if you'd stuck to the plan."
"I told you that I didn't sign up to hurt innocent people," she seethed through clenched teeth. "If I hadn't intervened today, he would have raped her to death. That is not what this mission stands for."
"They're not innocent," he hissed an inch from her ear. She shivered, a hint of fear slipping up her spine. What had she done? They'd never forgive her.
"Emma is," she countered. Shame swelled in her chest. "I'm done. I can't do this anymore." A strangled squawk shook from her throat beneath his violent hands.
"The Savior is the one you care for?" She nodded, unable to do more. His lips brushed her temple, and she felt herself give in. Her heart rebelled. She cared for all of them, even Snow and David as much as it pained her to admit it.
"I'll spare her if you see it thru," he compromised. She had no clue how much he needed her to finish this. "You've seen what I can do. You know I'll kill her before she realizes she's been attacked."
"Please," Katy begged. She had seen his destruction, his rage, his thirst for vengeance. He'd never stop. She wasn't supposed to care about them. They'd caused Captain's death. Revenge turned to ash on one's tongue now that she'd finally found a place to belong.
"See it thru, and I'll spare the savior. I might even spare the little brat. She's powerful and kind of cute," he said nonchalantly. Bile clawed at her constricted throat. She knew he always kept his word.
"I'll do it," she agreed, hating herself more. Her fear trumped her loyalty. If she disobeyed now that they'd gotten so close, he'd have killed her, too. Probably tortured her first. Made her watch Emma and Annabel die. Forced her to watch him torture and violate Alex before he put her out of her misery. He was all she had because once they discovered her role in this mess, they'd kick her to the street anyway.
"Leave Emma and Annabel and Alex alone, and I'll help you finish this."
.