So this is the last chapter. Mostly because I feel like I'm running out of ideas and I don't want to draw a fic out if I don't have anything good to add. That and I feel as though the last few chapters just haven't been as strong and I would rather wrap things up in an at least semi-satisfactory way than to draw it out and ruin a decent fic. That said I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and feedback and for sticking with me through the whole fic. I always appreciate that.
Sammii16: You're welcome and thank you for supporting the story the whole way through.
jennifer: A thanks to you as well for all of the kind reviews!
Revenge and forgiveness.
Pain and happiness.
Numbness and emotion.
Hate and love.
Dark and light.
Regina has known each very well. She has chosen between them many times, mostly making the wrong choice. And she was going to have to choose between them again. She wondered if there was an in between—if she could choose love and forgiveness for one or two people while choosing hate and revenge for another. She wondered if she could have light and happiness if she chose hate and vengeance. She wondered if she even wanted to do that anymore; in retrospect it was exhausting. It took a special kind of exertion to persistently track someone down and tear them apart. It took a different kind of strain to maintain such a passionate hatred.
As she ran her fingers through messy, blonde curls, she wondered how she had done it at all when it was so much more effortless to care for a person. When it felt so much better love someone. She kissed Emma's neck, running her hand down the woman's side. It felt so much lighter to have a genuine soulmate.
But it was also more frightening. She now had someone else to lose. She now had to deal with a handful who still didn't want to see a savior with an Evil Queen. She still wasn't sure where Mary stood, they hadn't exactly pulled the band-aid carefully. Regina locked her hands with Emma's, content to just lay there savoring a moment of peace.
.oOo.
Belle knew that she was going to have to pick a side. It was either Gold or Mary. Mary who had been kind to her in the past and still was in the present. Gold set a cup of tea before her. Convincing him not to hurt Regina, so far, has been fruitless. "How can you be mad on my behalf?" Belle had asked and he couldn't even bother to give her a straight answer. She knew it was simply because he wanted an excuse to take the former queen down. At least that's what it was now. He had a point, that she would need to confront Regina about things eventually. But she had a feeling, especially with Emma around, that the mayor would be more open minded.
"You said you were going to change." Belle said again after taking a sip of the tea. "I don't want to see you…" she couldn't quite get killed off of her tongue, "hurt."
"I never made a promise of that, dearie." He replied. "And they can try it."
The problem was, that she knew that they would.
The problem was that she knew that she couldn't take his side. It had been damage enough to her sleep, knowing that she hesitated on bringing Henry back. He was just a boy and she had second thoughts about returning him. She rubbed her hands over her face. Did Gold know what he was doing to her?
.oOo.
"How did you trap him the first time?" Emma asked.
"Lots of magic and enchantments." David replied.
"We don't have much of that here." Emma frowned. They had Regina, but that was about it and the woman had made it decently clear that she hasn't surpassed her teacher yet. She wished that Mary was present to give her opinion, how had, 'just dropping Henry off at Granny's', turned into an hour-long endeavor.
"Do we have anything on our side?" Emma asked.
David looked to Regina who promptly let out the most exasperated sigh Emma had ever heard.
"Guess you get to be the savior this time." Emma nudged her.
"I don't think so, Swan."
"Don't you have something in your vault that could help?"
"I do not." Regina frowned. "The only thing I can think of would be to get that dagger, but it never leaves Gold's side."
"So what else could we do?" Emma asked.
"We have to act before he does." David put in, leaving Emma with the faint impression that they were just going to waltz in with no plan whatsoever, other than 'snatch the dagger'.
.oOo.
Belle hadn't the chance to make up her mind when the door to the pawn shop slammed open. In its frame stood Mary and David armed with a bow and arrow and a sword respectively. Emma held a gun that Belle was almost certain she wouldn't have the heart to use—even if she did she couldn't imagine Gold allowing it to remain in the picture for long. And Regina held nothing, not that she needed to when she could have magic sizzling on her finger tips in no time.
"Just tell them you won't bother them." Belle urged Gold.
"Oh I can tell them, dearie, but I won't mean it." He gave a wolfish grin.
She just wished that she had more time to talk him out of things. She knew that she could, but everyone was always so hellbent on rushing into things. If only she could get her hands on the dagger. She bit the inside of her cheek. Maybe they liked to charge into battles, but Belle, she liked to wait until the right moment.
She didn't know what exactly that entailed but she would know it when she saw it.
.oOo.
The gun was a great plan but a short lived one. She had managed to fire it twice, the first bullet Gold sent rebounding and the second turned to dust and dropped. It was joined in seconds by the gun it was shot from.
"Alright, that didn't go as planned." Emma mumbled.
"Did you really think that a bullet could go faster than dark magic?" Regina asked as Mary and David charged. Emma could see it on the mayor's face that she didn't expect any outstanding results there. She looked completely unsurprised when the sword kept swiveling around Gold instead of at him. Emma had no clue what kind of magic that was but she was getting some pretty wicked secondhand frustration from David. Regina looked equally unsurprised when all of Mary's arrows seemed to hit exactly the spots that she wasn't aiming for.
"I guess I'm up."
With that Regina's stoic façade crumbled some. "You don't have a weapon."
Emma lifted her hands, "I always have a weapon." She winked. But inwardly she hoped that Regina would follow her into this one. She'd be the distraction.
.oOo.
Regina admired Emma's brazenness, but lord, she loathed it. That sort of reckless boldness was what got the best of heroes killed. So she stepped forward with Emma. Emma who had managed to land a rather impressive punch on surprised alone. She followed it up once and then twice more before Gold finally shoved her back in a shower of purple-black magic.
Emma landed with a thud as Regina tossed her own ball of magic of a brighter purple. Her strike found a place on Gold's hip. She noticed Belle visibly cringe and wondered if she should worry about her. But she continued to act on standby. Gold got to his feet as Emma did.
Emma looked to Regina and they closed in together. Emma with her fists raised and Regina with her magic. Mary and David readied their own weapons. With a turn of his wrist David was bound by a makeshift rope of wires ripped from telephone cords and electric lamps. Mary was tossed in the other direction.
Regina silently cursed to herself; he was outnumbered, how could he possible have the upper hand? She already knew the answer. His magic put him at such a high advantage and she had no clue how to counteract it. His next strike was for her. She disappeared in a cloud of smoke, fully intending to re-appear behind him. Instead she came out on the other side of the room and horribly disoriented. She chided herself for not leaving herself the time to become reacquainted with her magic.
Her own folly left Gold with enough time to snatch Emma. Mary cried out, with an apology to David for not finishing untying him, she ran towards Emma. The ground rolled beneath her and she was down again.
"Looks like I'll have one less thing to worry about." Gold smirked as he lifted Emma off of the ground. He was using his magic to choke her, a favorite move of his.
"Put her down, Gold." Regina growled. "You haven't finished me."
Gold chuckled. "It isn't always about you, dearie. I need her out of the way as well."
She watched Emma fruitlessly and instinctually claw at her throat. Each red mark that she unwittingly drew upon it, stung Regina a little more. "Put her down, Gold." She repeated again, this time lacking the power of the first demand. "Don't kill her."
"As long as she's alive she's in the way."
Regina knew those words all too well. For so long, they had been her own. Emma was kicking at the air now and Mary was screaming. Belle was on her feet, begging him to let go. His focus was on Regina though. Maybe he wanted to see the look in her eye as another lover died away before her.
Like that, Regina knew once and for all that her mother had been wrong; that love is not weakness. It brings a sort of higher strength that she hadn't imagined it would. It brought the need to protect. Somehow that brand of determination coaxed within her a level of magic and determination she hadn't quite had access to.
She wasn't going to let another lover die before her eyes.
She wasn't going to let another lover die on her behalf.
Her mind went to Henry. Henry who would be horrified to see Emma at such risk. She has kept him from his mother in the past. In the present she knew that she couldn't let him lose her. She met his eyes briefly before unleashing her first fireball. It found a spot on Gold's arm, nothing he couldn't brush off but enough to accomplish her goal. His grip on Emma slackened. When he turned to snarl at her, she knew that she was the target. It was just as well, if she or Emma had to fall, she would be the one. Emma deserved to live on. Emma would care for Henry very well.
Regina's magic wasn't as strong as it used to be, her skills still rusty from a lack of use. So she couldn't fend off the return of fire. It slammed into her with a breath-stealing force. She slammed against one of the display cases. It shattered around her, a few trinkets—some on the heavier side—falling atop her. Each one sends a fresh unsavory sensation flooding through her. Her head and back throbbed, she could feel a warmth trickling down from her temple. She thought that a study and bulky wooden sparrow was the culprit.
It took a moment for her to gather her bearings and by the time she had, Gold already had her a few feet from the ground at a rather ideal height for a forceful toss. That time she connected with the wall on the other side of the room. Back contacted first followed by her head.
Things went fuzzy.
She huffed and wiped the bloodied corner of her mouth. Her hair was in a state of disarray, falling inconveniently into her face. She made an attempt to stand but she felt dizzy. The fuzz hadn't yet cleared. She heard someone call her name.
The slid of metal told her that David was awake again. She knew it when Gold didn't make another attack. Shaking the last of the fog out of her head, she observed David. He grazed Gold's cheek but that was as far as he got.
A sense of dread crept up as Emma took up his sword. She lunged at Gold but he evaded. She lunged again and only nicked him. The wound was already healing. Regina shut her eyes and transferred some of her magic into the sword. Emma went in for another stab, this time catching him in the arm. It bled. And it continued to bleed.
Emma was a threat then. His attack was much fiercer, she was against the wall with her own sword aimed at her. A complete sense of dread overtook the former queen and she thought that it was happening again. That her lover would be taken while she sat helplessly. Regina tried to take hold of the sword with her own magic but she found herself woefully overpowered. Perhaps she couldn't deflect the blade nor change its direction, but she could block it. And she did, throwing herself between it and Emma. It finds a home in her side and she cried out in pain. Emma helped hold her upright as agony burned white hot, up her side. She cried out again.
Emma squeezed her hand, but it wasn't enough. She tried to focus on the arm that held her up, on the sensation of closeness. Of the woman she needed to protect. "You're doing great, Regina."
"Emma, I'm getting my ass kicked." She wheezed.
And Emma laughed, "You said ass."
"Not now, Swan." She hissed.
"I never thought I'd get to hear you say ass." Emma muttered regardless. "At least I'll die knowing that I got to hear you say ass."
"You're not going to die." Regina scowled. Not if she could help it. Everything ailed so terribly, but she hadn't fought that hard just to die at the edge of a sword. She pushed away from Emma, catching sight of Belle, lingering towards the back of the shop. It crossed her mind to materialize right behind the woman and hold her hostage. She should, she really ought to. But Belle had been fighting alongside them…
She cursed herself for going so soft at a time when she needed to be harsh.
She shut her eyes again and charged forward, throwing as much magic as she could muster into her palms, hoping that her desire to keep Emma safe would be enough. She hadn't anything else at her disposal save for sheer willpower. And as she charged forward Belle made a move.
Mary shouted.
This time, Regina wasn't afraid. For a moment it didn't hurt like hell. For a moment she could only feel the magic coursing through her veins, a different kind of magic. She realized that it was light. She never thought that she would be able to access that kind of magic. Yet it exploded from her hands in what rendered to her as slow motion in a glorious white-gold burst. It slammed into Gold only moments before she did.
She had him tackled, but she didn't think that she could hold him in place. On a good day she wasn't the most physically strong, not like Emma who had admittedly enticingly toned arms. Coupled with a decent puncture wound…
Her hold wouldn't last.
But he was dazed. All she had to do was plunge her hand into his chest and yank. He snarled at her.
She should have felt hatred. Anger. Darkness. But all she felt was empathy. She had seen his kind of dark, she had lived it. She had been it. She could see Belle standing there still and thought that there was hope for him yet. Just as there had been for her. Indeed, she should have wanted him dead. She should steal away and plan his demise just has she had done Snow. Innocent Snow. She should have killed him right then. But instead, she hoped for the best for him.
For the man who taught her to forgive and led her to be forgiven.
For the man who had led to her soul's depart.
For the first time in a long time, she feels secure in herself. She trusts herself.
She let the ball of magic die in her grasp and released her hold on his collar.
She in forgiving him, she has forgiven herself.
She knew that she had hesitated for too long and had lost her window. For a moment she wondered what she had become. For another she wondered what she had just cost herself and Emma. She braced herself for his killing strike. But it didn't come.
It didn't come because Belle held the dagger in her hands. Regina realized that she had knocked it from Gold's grip in tackling him. Her window was still open, but instead she staggers back and away from the man. She needed a trip to the hospital anyways.
Belle looked down upon her, "don't kill him, just give me a chance to work with him."
Belle didn't know that Regina had already decided that she wouldn't. That she was going to prove once and for all, to herself, to everyone in that God forsaken town, and to that extraordinarily aggravating Blue Fairy, that she wasn't a killer. That her soul had been worth saving, not once, but twice. "I won't." She couldn't have if she wanted to.
When she came to, she was in the hospital, a scratchy and gaudy gown rubbing against her skin. There was a second rubbing and it took her a moment to gather than Emma was holding her hand, stroking it with her thumb. Emma pushed a tuft of bedraggled bangs out of Regina's face and kissed her forehead. A forehead that was still pulsing unpleasantly. A careful touch revealed a large knot and a generous scab.
"Emma." Her voice came out scratchy.
"Yeah." Emma replied.
"How long have I been out?" She almost didn't want to know.
"Only two days." Emma answered. "You have a few stitches." She pulled the blankets back for Regina and lifted the gown some.
"A few?!" Regina remarked, "there are…" Just what she needed was more scars. Her mother hadn't exactly left her feeling comfortable in her skin as it was.
"Hey, it's alright." Emma assured her. "They'll help me remember just how much you love me." She pulled the gown back down and the blankets back up. "And…they'll remind the town that, not only have you changed, but you can still give them hell if they hassle you." She nudged the mayor playfully. Somehow Emma had a way of making her feel secure, perhaps more than she ought to. "Right guys?"
For the first time Regina noticed the others in the room. Henry—of course—Mary, David, and, she squinted, Ruby?
"Yeah, that is Ruby." Emma confirmed. "Even Granny and Ruby are here, they made you some soup."
"You better enjoy it, I worked hard on it." Granny muttered.
"What about Belle?" Regina asked. She had been meaning to talk to the woman.
"Keeping Gold busy, he's pretty pissed but he can't do anything about it. She agreed to help him find a way to cross the town line." Emma answered.
Regina nodded. She tried to sit up and winced.
"Take it easy." Emma helped her back into a more optimal position. "I think Henry has some X-Men comics to read to you."
"Did I really do it?" Regina asked as he began fishing the comics out.
"Do what?" Emma asked.
"Use light magic?" She wanted to believe that she did. That it wasn't part of her imagination.
"Yeah!" Henry answered for Emma. "It was amazing. I never saw light magic before, not in person." He climbed onto the hospital bed.
"I guess that's part of having some savior soul." Emma added.
Regina managed a weak smile. "I can do light magic." She carefully shifted positions. Through her sleepiness she felt a splash of warmth and maybe even joy. It seemed so incomprehensible…to be able to use light magic?
Mary nodded, "you can." Regina could hear the delight in her voice. She came over and handed Regina the soup.
"So how about some soup and X-Men to celebrate?" Emma asked.
On a normal day she would long for something more extravagant, something that would have really announced the achievement. But it wasn't a normal day. She didn't think she had, had a normal day since losing her soul the first time. And because it wasn't normal day, and because she wasn't who she had been before the wraith, she replied, "that sounds, lovely, Swan."
Really, it seemed better anyways, to take the simple route. The route that truly displayed that she had a family now. That she had a lover and hope. That she had everything she didn't know she wanted until she had finally gotten it.
For once she had a feeling that would end okay.
I know a lot of people were kind of holding out for a Gold punishment/beat down so I hope I didn't let everyone down! I didn't want this to become a Gold hate fic and I feel like forgiveness and second chances were big themes in this fic as well as the canon show and I wanted to hold true to that. Hopefully the ending was still satisfying to everyone. Thanks again for reading all the way through to the end. ^_^