Chapter 20: Love is Strength

"Where's Henry," Emma asked when the four of them were outside.

It was getting late. The sun had all ready set.

"He's with Red...Ruby," Snow corrected.

"I need you to go be with him," Emma said.

"Emma..." said Snow.

"You can't fight Cora alone," David finished for her.

Regina took a step forward, "She won't be alone."

"Not a chance," said Snow. She turned to face Emma. "I'm going with you. We can help."

Regina wasn't backing down. "We may have our differences," she said, "but if it's one thing we all agree on other than Henry's safety it's that my mother can't be here."

Emma looked at Regina and back at her parents.

"Regina's right. Mary Margaret, she has Neal. Now I can't be at two places at once so I need you to go be with Henry. I'll feel a lot better knowing his grandparents are there to protect him."

Snow crossed her arms but nodded, "Okay."

David held out his sword. "Take this," he said to his daughter. "It worked well the first time. It could work again."

"Thanks."

David nodded. "Good luck."

Emma watched as her parents turned and walked in the opposite direction. She had to focus now, she had a job to do.

"So any idea where she could be," Emma asked.

"I can think of several," Regina replied.

"Great well that narrows it down."

Emma repelled up the side of the wishing well, her arms grabbing over it to pull herself over. She was really beginning to hate that thing.

"Damn it," Emma said. "That's the third place we've looked tonight," she said as she unclipped the harness.

"Magic must work differently with her," Regina replied. "She wasn't affected by the curse the same way we were."

"I don't care how she keeps evading us. The longer we don't find her, the longer Neal's life could be in danger. It's all my fault."

"What?"'

"Neal came to Storybrooke because of me. He may have known the truth this whole time but I don't think he really knew what he was getting into. You may have enacted Gold's curse but my curse is much worse."

"Trust me Miss Swan, you may be a lot of things but cursed is not one of them. I would know."

"Really? I'm supposed to be the savior but everyone I love gets hurt or put in danger because of me. And now Neal is out there with Cora and there is no way of finding them. He wouldn't have been put in this situation if he had just stayed away."

"You love him don't you?"

"Please I do not love Neal."

"Good luck trying to convince yourself of that. I think that magic tells a different story."

Emma followed Regina's gaze down to her neckline. Her swan pendant was glowing shades of purples and blues.

"What the hell is going on," Emma asked.

"I think we may have found a way to find Cora or Neal in your case."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's how your father found your mother after I put her in that sleeping curse. Rumple enchanted Snow's wedding ring, an item of sentimental value, that would glow and lead David her the closer he got. Tell me Emma, what is so special about that Swan?"

Emma looked at Regina but instead went to grab her sword that was leaning against a tree.

"We don't have time for explanations. Are we going to get rid of your mother or not?"

"Lead the way."

This was like playing the game Marco Polo with two slight differences: one, it was a much larger swimming pool and two, there was no one on the other end to shout back Polo.

As they got closer to the mine shaft, Emma's pendant began to glow brighter.

"This is where Henry got trapped," said Emma.

"Guess we're going in then."

Regina held out the flashlight and the two women made their way inside. They followed the old mining rails in the direction the beacon was leading them.

Emma reacted as she felt something sharp scrape against her leg. She stopped to bend down to see what it was that had cut her.

A piece of glass was lodged in the wall. With a few fingers Emma was able to dig it out. She placed it into the beam of the light. Her mind reeled as she remembered where she saw another piece like it.

"Henry was right about this place all along. Something was down here and it wasn't just that dragon I killed. It was that glass coffin I saw while I was down here."

"You'd be surprised by how much stuff I brought with me Miss Swan," Regina said taking the lead and walking in front. "Although why I bothered to bring Snow's coffin...maybe as a reminder."

"Wait a second," Emma said following behind her, "That coffin was my mother's?"

Regina remained silent and the two continued to walk.

"You hate her that much don't you," Emma asked.

"Not as much as I hate my own mother," Regina replied turning to face her. "You can trust me on that."

Emma looked at Regina and could see that she meant those words. She had been fooled by Regina's words before but ever since the curse had been lifted it made her gift a lot easier and more accurate, either that or she was just more aware of it than she had been before.

Emma looked down to her pendant as it glowed more intensely than it had before. The two of them followed the curve which led into a large cave. It was the same cave that Emma had sleighed the dragon in.

"Oh my god, Neal!" Emma said as she saw him leaned against a stone pillar.

"Regina..." Emma looked around but Regina was gone. "Seriously?"

Emma couldn't focus on Regina's whereabouts. She ran to Neal and tried to help him up.

"Neal."

"Emma," he said trying to reorient himself. "How did you find me?"

She looked down at her pendant. "Magic," she replied.

"I don't understand."

"I'll explain later. I have to get you out of here."

Cora laughed as she emerged from a cloud of purple smoke. "That was almost too easy. You really think after all that I'd let you just leave? Where would the fun be?"

Emma maneuvered Neal around her so that she stood in front of him, her sword out front in a defensive position.

"What do you want Cora?"

"What I've always wanted dear: My daughter."

"And what do you want with me?"

"Something I can't have," said Cora.

Emma looked at the woman and made a lunge at her. Emma was fast but not fast enough. Cora dematerialized as Emma's blade came down. Cora then materialized behind her. She looked at Emma and smiled. It was the kind of smile that gave Emma the creeps. She could only stand by and watch, trying to figure out her next move.

Cora wouldn't give her that satisfaction of more time however. Before Emma could figure something out, Cora walked toward Neal. Emma had left him unprotected. She criticized herself.

Emma took a step forward. "Stay away from him!"

Cora laughed, "Aw how charming. My dear Emma, I may not be able to take your heart but I can take his."

This time, unlike the time with Snow, Emma wasn't fast enough to stand between Cora as she yanked out his heart.

"No!" Emma screamed.

Cora laughed again as she held the pink pulsating glowing heart in her hand letting Neal fall to the ground. Emma ran over and kneeled beside him on his left trying to prop him up.

"Now maybe you'll listen to me and really," said Cora, "Love is weakness."

Cora squeezed the heart and Neal clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack.

Emma wished with all her heart and soul that she could have prevented this. She wished that whatever magic was inside her could be activated. And most importantly she wished there was some way to spare Neal all of this pain.

Emma then looked up with realization in her eyes. Maybe there was a way. It hadn't been just the magic alone to turn the once powerless inanimate pendant into a GPS tracking system. It wasn't just the faith in magic that she needed to believe in but the faith in herself. Faith in whatever had driven her to come searching for Neal in the first place.

Gold had told Emma that he didn't make her rather that she was the product of true love so the magic, the power not only ran inside her but it was a part of her as a whole. It was a limb that had always been there but never used.

Emma had opened herself up to true love but it hadn't been until the very moment when she sacrificed her own life for her mother's that her power had been realized. The power of true love and sacrifice had been the key.

And now she could feel that door unlock which meant it was possible to use it again; a type of air so all she had to do was just breathe and let it fill her the way oxygen filled her lungs.

Emma could feel the energy surround her.

Just as she stood, confident in her new-found strength, she turned at the sound of Regina's voice.

"Hello mother."