Same kind of bad as me

At the hatter's barely veiled threat to remove her hands, Emma felt a surge of adrenaline that washed away some of the fog from her mind and made her spine straighten slightly at the presence of danger. Emma's survival instincts had always sent her adrenaline into overdrive whenever she sensed a potential threat; that, along with her ability to tell when someone was lying had both served her well thus far in her life.

She was sure that the Hatter would go through with his threat should she fail to do as he asked, but she was still dubious of the idea that she had magic – even if she had made the hat work. Emma was the sort of person that preferred hard, visual evidence before she was willing to belief in it – the only reason she had chosen to buy into everything magical and fairy-tale so far was because it would be foolish not believe what was directly in front of her face. But the idea that she had been born with magic and could use it now was still a bit of a stretch.

"I thought we'd had this discussion." Emma said in an exasperated tone, tugging pointedly at her shackles while giving the Hatter an irritated look. "Even if I do have magic – I don't know how to use it - the last time was a complete accident."

The Hatter gave her an equally exasperated look that was also laced with such frustration that Emma swore it could have melted the shackles had he cared to turn his dark gaze to them. "It's rather simple my dear, you focus on what you want and will it to happen." He spoke as if it were the simplest thing in the world and Emma stood shakily to face him with a scornful look.

"If it were that easy I'm pretty sure I would have never had any problems in my life if all it took was wishing them away!" Emma cried, thinking of all the scrapes she could and would have gotten out of if what the Hatter said were true. The Hatter looked slightly uncomfortable at this and gave her an eye roll, waving his hands in the air in an unnecessarily dramatic gesture.

"Look, if you want a magic expert the nearest one if currently bleeding on the floor in front of you." The Hatter said, gesturing to the Queen who was still crumpled on the cobbled stones. "But unfortunately, all you have is me – now focus!"

Emma sighed and turned her annoyed gaze to the cold metal that was shackled around her wrists, she used her frustration to fuel her glare and thought about the chains breaking. Nothing happened. She let out an irritated huff and looked back up to the Hatter with an 'I told you so' expression clearly written on her face.

She was surprised when a moment later she felt the Hatter's still bound hands grasp her wrists, just below where the manacles were fixed. His grip was so uncharacteristically gentle that Emma thought for a moment that Jefferson was back in control, but looking back up into his eyes she saw that the darkness was still present in them, but it was somehow... softer. Emma could still distinguish the darkness and harsh nature that defined the Hatter from Jefferson, but there was no denying that there was definitely something different – she wasn't sure whether to be reassured or disturbed by the change.

"You can do this Emma." Just like his gaze and touch, the Hatter's tone was uncharacteristically tender, though his posture betrayed his tension, for once; he didn't let it overcome him as it had done before. "You just need the right motivation." Emma swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry throat and nodded, moving her gaze back to the shackles and focussing all her attention on them. Deciding to close her eyes, she imagined the metal breaking apart under the force of her will, imagined them snapping with the sudden warmth she could feel bubbling under her skin.

There was a sudden bang and Emma's eyes snapped open in shock. The door to the cell was now standing open and the Hatter turned his back on her, releasing her wrists and turning his attention to the four guards now filing into the room. Though the Hatter was now free from the chain attaching him to the table, his wrists were still cuffed together so as he came forward to meet the armed men, he was at a distinct disadvantage. His bound state combined with his injured leg and the lack of weapons meant that as he kicked and ducked around the guards, Emma could see that he wouldn't last long against them at all.

Emma watched on in concern as one of the guards stepped up behind the Hatter and lifted his hauberk in preparation to bring it down on the Hatter's back. The madman was too preoccupied with dodging the others attacks to notice the one behind him and Emma felt her dread, anger and concern peak. She cried out a warning, causing the Hatter to turn just as the guard was abruptly thrown backwards across the room with a blast of white light. Emma stared down at her outstretched hands in shock. She had just done that. She had thrown the guard away like a rag doll. She had used magic.

Her fear had saved the Hatter and now she could feel the warmth flowing through her, it felt like sunshine was in her very veins, pulsing through her with every erratic beat of her heart. The guards, who had paused in their attack of the Hatter at her display of magic, now turned their attention to her, advancing with their weapons raised. Emma flicked her hand at the men, sending them flying back across the room and into the walls, where they collapsed to the ground in undignified heaps, weapons clattering around them. She became aware of both the Hatter and August staring at her in shock and awe.

"I guess you were right about me just needing motivation." Emma mumbled, lowering her shaking hands, she could feel the warmth still flowing through her body – warm and sharp, it was oddly comforting.

"Of course it was right, I said it." The Hatter huffed in a tone closer to his usual sarcastic, cocky manner, still staring at her with an unfathomable expression on his face that was starting to make her feel uncomfortable. Emma heard a series of muffled grumbles from near the wall that reminded her of August's presence in the room, Emma turned her gaze to her shackles once more and the metal snapped quickly, she rubbed at her wrists thankfully after their lengthy incarceration.

It seemed that now she had started, her magic was eager to follow her commands – like unblocking a tap, the flow was now strong and seemingly endless. She flicked her hand at the Hatter and his own shackles fell to the floor with a clatter, she then crossed the room shakily to where August was sat and released him as well. Emma offered him her good arm as he pushed himself to his feet in an awkward manner, favouring one leg as if the other was unbearably stiff. August reached up and removed the cloth from his mouth, working his jaw around and looking relieved.

"Finally! I thought I was going to have to put up with you two making goo-goo eyes at each other forever." August grumbled, rolling his eyes at them. Emma pointedly ignored him and turned back to the Hatter who was staring down at the Red Queen once more, a sly expression on his face that told Emma it was time to leave before he turned psychotic again... or the Queen woke up.

"We need to go, now." Emma said, her newfound magic lending her strength that allowed her to keep on her feet and her vision mostly clear, however she wasn't sure how long this would last. If it were anything like her adrenaline rushes, it would likely run out in a matter of minutes, and she would rather get as far away from this place as possible before that happened.

"You're right, grab the Puppet and let's go." The Hatter seemed to have snapped himself out of his reverie, dragging his gaze from the Queen and moving around the unconscious guards and to the open cell door. The Hatter paused to grab two long bladed axes from the bodies, throwing one to August and moving down the hall with the other clutched in readiness. August caught the weapon but visibly grimaced at the name, sending a glare at the Hatter's back, Emma couldn't contain her curiosity and as they moved out of the cell and back down the corridor, she asked "Why does he keep calling you that?"

"Because of who I was in the Enchanted Forest." August replied, looking decidedly awkward, his cheeks turning crimson under the dark stubble. "I'm kind of... Pinocchio."

Emma fixed him with a dubious stare as they jogged beside each other down the long corridors – August's limp now more pronounced, though Emma couldn't see any visible injuries. They both kept their voices low in an effort to keep as inconspicuous as possible. "Pinocchio? Seriously?"

"Yeah, but I'd really rather you kept calling me August." Emma snorted with laughter at his school-boy like expression as he averted his gaze from her down to his shoes – clearly not fond of his real identity.

"Fine, but seriously, you got the opportunity to make a new identity for yourself and you went with 'August. W. Booth' - that's possibly the most obviously fake name ever."

August – or Pinocchio, apparently – opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as the Hatter halted up ahead of them and hissed at them to be quiet. The Hatter's warning came not a moment too soon as a dozen or more armed guards appeared in the main hall ahead of them. Emma raised her hands in preparation to fling the men away, while August and the Hatter raised their stolen weapons in defence.

Emma sent the first three guards flying back into the men behind them with a flick of her hand and the Hatter made quick work of moving forward to finish off each man once he was down. She could see the manic grin on his face as he sliced and stabbed his way through the guards, moving with a vicious agility that was completely his own – clearly in his element. While Emma was somewhat disgusted at the clear excitement that the Hatter was getting from killing these men, she could still appreciate the dexterity and swift skill of his fighting style.

August was clearly inexperienced and somewhat more moral when it came to fighting, but he managed to render three of the guards incapacitated while Emma and the Hatter took care of the rest. Emma felt a certain thrill of adrenaline alongside the surge of magic in her veins as she moved into the fray, sweeping legs out from underneath men with well placed kicks and blasts of magic for the Hatter to then take advantage of.

Eventually, there were no men left standing apart from the three Storybrookers, who stood looking at each other, panting with exertion. The Hatter was still grinning manically, and his eyes were alight with an odd mixture of glee and stunned surprise as he gazed at Emma, the surprise clear as he spoke. "You fight well - we make a good team."

"Yeah, but we should get out of here before more come." Emma said in a breathless tone, taking the lead and jogging towards the main gateway that led to the hanging-head gardens. Behind her she heard a hushed remark from the Hatter that was so quiet she almost wasn't sure she heard it.

"I now think I see why you find her so interesting."

Thank you to my loyal, amazing reviewers - sorry if this is going pear-shaped or off topic for anyone. Feedback is craved and appreciated greatly!