Dearies, we are nearing the very end now. Still have the epilogue, but here is the last planned chapter. I made it nice and long, just for you guys.

Special thanks to EarthGurdian for betaing this chapter for me!

The Impossible Truth

Chapter 25

The overhang of dark gray clouds outside of Anna Gold's bedroom window on the morning of her second birthday didn't mean much to her. It looked like it was going to be a stormy day, with lots of rain and lightning and thunder. Anna didn't like rain very much, but these clouds weren't going to cry. These clouds signified that something big was going to occur. She just didn't know what it was.

Anna could tell by the look on her mother's face as she came to help her dress for the morning that didn't know either, and. Anna didn't know many words, but she did know one thing…

"No party?" she asked as her mother straightened the wrinkles on her blue cotton dress and tied a bow in the back. Her mother gave her a sad look and put a hand on her cheek. Her mommy's hands were soft and warm, and Anna felt like she was trying to comfort her or something.

"We'll have a party here at the house," her mother said, putting a shiny band on her head so that her hair could be held back. Anna felt tears coming to her eyes. Oh, how she had looked forward to a birthday party in the park with all of her friends and her momma and papa's friends. She didn't mind exactly, but Anna was disappointed none the less. Her mother swept her into her arms and began their walk to the downstairs floor.

She saw her papa sitting at the kitchen table, holding a piece of paper in his hands. As soon as they entered the room though, he stood and took her into his arms—kissing her cheek lovingly. Anna giggled, because his whiskers tickled her face, and she put her hands on it, feeling around at the scratchy hair.

"Hello birthday girl," he cooed in his strange accent (it was a lot different from her mother's). "How old are you today?" Anna knew this one. She was two years old. She held up her hand as if to say, "I'm two!" but her papa only laughed.

"Are you five?" he asked playfully. Anna folded over her thumb. "Four?" Anna lowered another finger, hoping that she was right this time. "You're three?" she tried one last time. Her papa smiled and moved his nose against hers. "Right, you're two!" he said. Anna loved it when he papa held her, even though he had that weird walking stick and could only hold her with one arm. He set her on the floor so he could look at her dress. "What a pretty dress, Anna. It suits you well." Anna couldn't help but giggle at her papa's statement. She really did like this dress. A knock at the door caused her head to turn, and she turned to her mother. She had obviously heard it too.

"I'll get that," her mother said, turning and leaving the kitchen. Anna followed after her shortly, surprised to see a boy at the door. She stepped into the hallway and the boy saw her. He held a large item against his chest, but Anna didn't know what it was.

"Hi Mrs. Gold, is Mr. Gold here?" he asked her mother. She stepped aside so that he could enter the house.

"He's in the kitchen Henry, come on in," her mother said, gesturing to the kitchen entrance. He entered the hallway and made his way into the kitchen, smiling down at her as he made his way in.

-0o0-

"And you've talked to Jefferson about this?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. The young man sitting at the table nodded.

"He and I have been trying to arrange a move on the Evil Queen since last year. We finally have an opening, but we need to get Emma in on it, she still doesn't want to believe…" Henry confirmed. "I know you remember Mr. Gold, you were too powerful not to have made a deal with the Evil Queen."

"You're a smart kid," he sighed. Rumpelstiltskin leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. "Now tell me, how are we getting Emma in on this?" Henry sighed and moved his book off the table, putting it in his backpack. He got off of the kitchen chair and made his way around to the lame man. He handed him a slip of paper, torn from a notebook.

"Don't worry about Emma, we have it covered. Just show up at this address at 4 for an important meeting," Henry said. Rumpelstiltskin took the paper and scanned it, giving the 14 year old a nod.

"I'll be there," he said.

-0o0-

Belle couldn't have been more upset with her husband of two years than she had been at the very moment he told her about Henry's reason for visiting. Her other feelings were all mixed in, and she didn't know what to think. She yelled and screamed and scolded and every other loud angry emotion she could think of. Finally she sunk onto the bed and burst into tears, refusing to even look at her spouse. He stood in the doorway for a matter of seconds before he made his way over to her and pulled her arms down from her face, kissing her over and over again until her childish bawling had diminished to soft whimpering.

"Why." was the only thing she could choke out after all of her hysterics. He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes, still holding her arms.

"Why what love?" he asked, moving slightly. She could tell that he needed to adjust his bad leg. Belle sighed.

"Why do we have to break the curse now?" Rumpelstiltskin thought for a moment before getting up and sitting next to his wife on the bed. It was silent between the two of them for a moment.

"Because the train of dominos has finally reached the end, Belle," he explained. "We are on the verge of bringing down Regina—the one who kept us apart for 30 years. The one who ripped out her father's heart to put us all here, the one who ruined countless lives, tricked people, all so that she could ruin the life of a woman who doesn't even remember what happened in the first place."

"Would it be pointless to say that maybe I don't want to go home?" Belle asked, leaning into his side and letting him wrap an arm around her lovingly. "Maybe I want to stay here, in this beautiful house, with our friends and each other…"

"Is that why you were so angry love?" he questioned, "because you don't want to go home?" Belle nodded pitifully, keeping her gaze on the floor.

"If we go back…we'll be apart again…" she said, the tears coming back. "I can't lose you again Rumpelstiltskin. I CAN'T!" her head was raised, and her bloodshot eyes met his concerned gaze. "I just can't lose you again."

"I know…" he said. Belle sighed and intertwined his fingers in her own, squeezing gently. He returned the gesture, slightly harder so that she would know that he was listening.

"I want to go with you to the meeting," she said after another moment of awkward silence. "I remember too. If this is the end of the curse, then we need to have all manpower at the ready." An impish smile broke out over her husband's face.

"Be my guest," he replied. "We'll go together." He stood and limped over to his cane where it had been carelessly thrown onto the bedroom floor.

"One more thing Rumpel?" she asked softly as he turned to look at her.

"What is it my love?" he responded even softer. She smiled at him, playing with her wedding ring.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

-0o0-

"The time to strike is now people, we have the biggest opening possible, and if Regina is going to go down, Emma has to believe what's right in front of her as soon as possible," Jefferson began the meeting in his dining room.

All 10 people who had the gift of remembering their lives before the curse sat around a wooden table, not much different from the one that they had planned the original downfall of Regina at nearly 32 years before. Jefferson and his wife, along with Henry, Mr. and Mrs. Gold (and their sleeping daughter), Archie (who had remembered his past a few months before), David (who had bits and pieces of his memories), Mr. Tillman and his kids, Ava and Nicholas (who had remembered thanks to the compass), and Emma all sat at this table. The savior was still tied and gagged, asleep from the sedative that Jefferson had used to bring her here.

"So what's the plan?" Belle "Rosie" asked, crossing her legs and checking silently on her sleeping child. Jefferson sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Anna (his wife) put her hand on his shoulder.

"Well the plan right now is get Emma to believe at all costs. After that, everything should fall into place," he said with a wince.

"Well what kind of plan is that?" Henry asked. "What about taking down the Evil Queen? How are we going to do that?" Jefferson shrugged.

"Haven't gotten that far," he admitted sheepishly. "We just need to hope that everything works out." Henry leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes, sneaking a glance at Ava and Nicholas—who were wearing confused looks.

"How are we going to get her to believe?" Mr. Gold piped up, his accent heavier than normal. "She fails to see what is right in front of her—has for the past four years."

"And that's why we need to have leverage," Jefferson snapped at him. "If she refuses to believe the truth that is right in front of her, then we need to convince her outright that this is the reality of the situation by any means necessary."

"Well she won't believe us if we just tell her, she needs proof, authentic, material, touchable proof that this curse is real. Otherwise, we are dead in the water. Stuck here forever," Mr. Tillman said. "The book isn't enough anymore. We need something else, something similar to the compass that helped my family." Henry nodded, understanding exactly what the car mechanic was saying.

"Wait!" Ava "Gretel" said suddenly. "Henry, didn't you tell me that you saved a shard of glass from the time that mine collapsed around you and Archie a few years back?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with…" Henry started to respond before his eyes widened.

"Did Emma ever touch that piece of glass?" Archie finished for Ava as Henry thought.

"Now that I think about it…no, she didn't!" he exclaimed. "Archie, what is it called when a person triggers something with touch?"

"Sense memory, it's what triggered the Tillman family's memories."

"Where is the glass shard now?" Anna piped up. Henry thought for a moment.

"In a locked box in my closet at home…" he said forlornly.

"I can take him," a new voice came from nowhere. The "council" turned to face August, who was standing in the doorway to the room. He smirked. "Forget to invite me to the party, Henry?" he chuckled, making his way farther into the room. Henry smiled embarrassedly.

"Oops, I forgot that you were a believer," he admitted. Emma was starting to groan from under her restraints—and the council knew that they didn't have much time before the beast awoke. "How fast can you get me home and back here?"

"As fast as my motorcycle can manage, but even then we're going to have to hurry," August responded. Henry got off his chair and met August where he was standing. As the man turned to leave behind Henry, he shot a glance at Mr. Gold and with a nod—followed Henry out. Belle turned to her husband with a strange look.

"What was that all about?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"It's a long story—but let's just say we knew each other in the Fairy Tale world," he excused. Emma began to stir more, groaning louder.

"What are we going to do about Emma?" Anna "Alice" asked, gesturing to the savior. Jefferson pulled out the needle he used to sedate her the first time.

"We just need to keep her asleep until Henry and August get back. Then the plan can begin." He pushed the needle into Emma's bicep and her groaning ceased as her head slumped back down to the position it was in before. Belle sighed, her face displaying slight sadness as she watched Emma fall back asleep.

"Are you alright my love?" Rumpelstiltskin asked his wife, placing his hand over hers in a concerned manner. She turned to him, smiling sadly.

"I'm fine Rum," she replied, squeezing his hand.

-0o0-

The council grew to 14 members after Henry and August returned from their little adventure to the den of the dragon herself. Henry had run into Mary Margaret and Ruby on their afternoon jog as he returned to August's motorcycle, and he convinced them to follow them back to "base". His explanation to everyone else was that they needed as many people rallied together as possible. Emma began to stir slightly after Mary Margaret and Ruby joined them. Jefferson had removed her restraints so that she wouldn't struggle, but her ankles were still taped together, so if she tried escaping—she wouldn't be able to get far.

"What…what's going on?" Emma asked, raising her head and looking around the table. "Where am I?"

"You're at my house," Jefferson spoke up. "We're having a meeting of Operation Cobra, and you need to be here to listen."

"And you couldn't have just asked me to come?" Emma snapped at the Hatter. He shrugged.

"You wouldn't have come if we told you what this meeting's agenda was," Henry said. Emma turned to her son with an eyebrow raised. "Emma, please. Listen to us; we're right on the verge of breaking the curse!" The savior rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And we have been for the past four years. Henry, there is no curse," she said. Jefferson slammed his hands on the table angrily.

"Yes there is! I thought we went over this, Emma!" he yelled at her. Alice put a hand on his bicep to calm him. He sighed and hung his head, meeting the savior's gaze again. "What is it going to take, Emma?" he asked. She narrowed her eyes.

"For you to see reality. There is no curse," she said. "I agree that Regina is evil, and that she has done terrible things to all of us. But that is no proof of a curse." Everyone exchanged brief glances. Henry pulled his book from his bag, along with the shard of glass. He opened up to a specific page and set the glass on the page. The picture displayed was Snow White, asleep in her casket. He pushed the book so that it was in front of Emma, and she looked down at it, picking up the shard in her hands and examining it. She stared at the picture and then at the glass. She put her hand on her chin and hummed softly and then set it down.

"Alright…" she said, meeting the waiting gazes of the people around her. "So a piece of glass from a coffin. Are you sure they are the same?"

"It took me two years to figure it out—but I'm positive," Henry confirmed. "Please Emma, believe." She sighed and put her head in her hands. August, Jefferson, and Rumpelstiltskin exchanged nervous glances as Emma raised her head.

"You guys aren't going to give this up, are you?" she asked in a worn-out tone of voice. Rumpelstiltskin grinned.

"Miss Swan, if we were going to give up on this idea, don't you think we would have by now?" he chuckled. Her head snapped towards the pawnbroker's.

"Oh, you too huh?" Emma asked sarcastically. Belle put her hand over Emma's. She shot a glance at her husband that said tell her. He sighed.

"I created the curse, Miss Swan," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "I knew you would come here and save us all. You are the linchpin—the first domino in the chain that I intended to bring down the Evil Queen." Emma stared at the older man, shock drawn on her features.

"You aren't lying…are you Mr. Gold?" she asked. The smile on the former imp's face widened.

"Please dearie, no need to be so formal. Rumpelstiltskin should suffice," he replied. All the eyes in the room turned on him. Mouths dropped, and eyes widened. Emma swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"And all of you believe this?" she asked. Heads bobbed up and down, everyone looking to Emma. "Alright…" she started softly. "I believe you." Henry vaulted from his seat and wrapped his arms around Emma. She patted his upper back, smiling at her son.

A rush of power waved over the room. To everyone, it felt like a heavy pressure, pressing down on them. And then—just as soon as it had arrived—it was gone. To the ordinary person, it would have felt like a simple heat wave. But to one involved in the curse, heads pounded—fragments of memories filled in, slowly and with the utmost detail. The savior could feel several sets of eyes on her, but one stuck out in particular. Emma turned to Mary Margaret, who was staring at her with tears in her eyes. She smiled softly as she let go of Henry.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret asked softly, the tears leaving her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. "Emma, my baby—is it really you?" Emma nodded softly. Mary Margaret pushed her chair back and rushed over to her daughter—her daughter, and wrapped her in her arms, both women sobbing at the reunion. Belle smiled at her husband, giving his hand a squeeze. "Oh Emma, I thought you'd never come—that we'd be stuck here forever!" Snow White cried. Emma continued to embrace her mother, crying her eyes out. David reached out from Emma's other side and put a hand on her shoulder, he too realizing exactly who she was now.

"Hi daddy," Emma said—the tears weakening her voice. He smiled at her, and then looked at Mary Margaret, keeping the grin on his face.

"I don't mean to interrupt the tearful reunion here…" August interrupted, "but we still have a little problem. The curse isn't broken yet." Snow let go of her daughter, making her way back to her seat. Rumpelstiltskin leaned on the table, meeting the gazes of the "council".

"So…Rumpelstiltskin…" Emma started, her voice still laden with tears. She wiped her eyes and set her hands on the table. "How do I break this curse?"

"Kill Regina," he responded. "I designed it so that once whoever enacted it passes away; the effects wear off after a couple of hours—maybe even less time." Emma nodded.

"Alright," she said, "what's the plan?"

-0o0-

"I'm outside city hall," Emma said into her walkie-talkie, running her hand over the gun at her side. "What's the plan now, Henry?" she took her finger off of the speaker button and waited for a response. Her head turned to August who stood by his motorcycle, arms crossed over his chest. A crackling noise came over the two way, followed shortly after by Henry's voice.

"We just have to wait until she comes out. Then you shoot her. End of story," he said. "Trust me, Emma—Rumpelstiltskin knows what he's talking about." Her gaze averted to the closed doors of City Hall, and then to the concerned man beside her. His eyes widened at her determined gaze. Her hand tightened around the device in her hand.

"Emma, I know what you're thinking. Don't do it…" August said.

"Do what? Don't do what?" Henry's voice crackled from the other end.

"She ruined so many lives, August. My parent's…my son's…all of my friends…" she gulped and started shaking her head. "I won't let her ruin any more as long as I'm the savior. Not as long as I have a say in it."

"Emma, we have a plan. Stick to that!" August tried to reason. The dark clouds above them began to rumble, drowning out his pleas. "Emma, I'm begging you—just stick with the plan!" the savior shook her head, the walkie-talkie dropping to the pavement and she sprinted inside the building without another word to the writer. August picked up the walkie-talkie and pushed the button hesitantly—watching as the door shut behind her. "Henry, she went off plan…now we can only hope for the best…" he said into the speaker.

-0o0-

Belle and Rumpelstiltskin didn't move after the plan was set into motion. Since they were the only two (except for Anna, who was still asleep) left in the room, Belle crawled into her husband's lap, making sure not to put weight on his bad leg, and let him cuddle her.

"It's almost here now, Rum…" Belle muttered, weaving her fingers in and out of his. Rumpelstiltskin sighed and kissed her temple. "We're going to go home…" he nodded and pressed his face into her curls. He inhaled deeply, pressing kisses to her neck and finally pressing her lips to hers. "Can you promise me something?" she asked as he moved so their gazes met.

"Anything my love…" he muttered. "What is it?" Belle sighed.

"Promise me that we'll be together again after Emma ends the curse."

"Love…I don't know…" her husband started.

"Promise me!" she said sternly. "I told you earlier today, and I'm telling you now…I will not lose you again." Rumpelstiltskin moved so that his face was in her neck. She stiffened. "Promise me Rumpelstiltskin…" she said. "Promise me." He sighed and locked gazes with her again.

"I promise…" he took her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles, moving his lips up her arm as he repeated it again… "I promise…I promise…I promise."

-0o0-

Emma could hear the thunder roaring outside, even after entering City Hall. Sweat dripped down her face and onto her neck. Her hand hovered nervously over her gun as she approached the door to the office of the Mayor. She had three bullets left to use, hopefully she would only need one. Her breathing was slow, and she raised her hand to push open the door. She stood in the doorway as the Evil Queen herself raised her head to meet the eyes of Storybrooke's savior.

"Miss Swan?" she questioned, setting down her pen on the desk. Emma took her gun from its holster and held it tightly in her hands. "What are you doing?" Emma shook with fear, stepping closer to the desk. Her finger brushed the trigger of the gun.

"I'm here to end the curse, Regina," she said, courage overtaking her voice. Regina cocked her head to the side.

"Curse? What are you talking about Miss Swan?" she asked. A loud gunshot rang in the room. A burnt hole in the curtain behind Regina was the result. Control yourself, Emma. She thought to herself. Her head snapped towards Emma's. "Miss Swan, what was that?" she asked, shock and offense evident in her tone.

"Shut up!" Emma cried—shooting her gun again, shattering one of the white vases. Regina stood and made her way around the desk. Her eyebrows creased in confusion. "I know what you did to the people of this town, Regina," she said. "I know about the curse—and I believe it wholeheartedly." Regina rolled her eyes.

"Miss Swan, I don't know what you're talking about…I assure you," Regina said. Emma shook her head and pointed her gun towards the mayor again.

"You're lying, Regina. I know it—I can tell when someone is lying!" Emma said. "Drop the act. It's over!" Regina picked up an apple and tossed it in her hands, letting it drop to the floor with a splat.

"Snow White ruined my life…" she began in a low tone of voice. "She took away the things most important to me—the things that I cared more than anything about. The poison apple didn't work—so I needed to take it farther. I needed a way to forever take away her happy ending." Emma tightened her grip on the gun. "You see, Miss Swan—sometimes you need to take action to get what you deserve. Everyone in this town deserves to suffer for taking away the happy ending that I DESERVED!" Emma wanted to pull the trigger so badly, she wanted to end the life of the tyrant who had kept the people of Storybrooke here for so long, but she found herself lowering her weapon. Suddenly, her side was overcome with pain—as Regina appeared behind her, a bloodied knife in her hand. "The only person who will be getting a happy ending here…is me…" Emma clutched her side and went to send a bullet into her brain—but the pain in her side was too much to bear, and she shot off her final bullet into the drywall behind Regina. An evil cackle was the response as Regina placed one of her manicured nails under Emma's chin, her eyes glowing with happiness.

"How can the curse be broken without a supposed hero?" she asked, gripping the knife tighter, pushing the side into Emma's stomach. It wasn't enough to hurt her—but it was painful regardless. Suddenly, another gunshot rang in the room, and Regina collapsed to the ground, clutching her thigh with a scream. The knife skidded across the tile. Emma looked at the doorway and saw August, holding a gun not too different from her own. He stepped into the office holding the weapon out to the savior.

"I thought you might need some help," he said with a smirk. "Now end it…" Emma took the weapon and held in the direction of the fallen queen.

"You aren't going to kill me, are you?" she managed to choke out. Emma looked up at August—and then down at Regina again. "Go ahead, I dare you," she said. Emma didn't have to think twice as she pulled the trigger and ended the life of the Evil Queen. Tears streaked her face as the gun smoked, and Regina bled out on the once white tile floor. Emma stood with new strength, her body overwhelmed with mostly fear, and some pride at what had just transpired. The pain in her side taxed this strength however, and she fell to her knees, dropping the gun on the ground. August was at her side in an instant, keeping her from falling into Regina's pooling blood.

"It's over…" he whispered. "It's all over, Emma—you did it…you defeated the curse…" he muttered. "You did well, Emma." She met his gaze with a grin—before passing out in his arms.

-0o0-

Rumpelstiltskin raised his head, listening to the thunder outside the house. Belle had fallen asleep in his arms, Anna on top of her. Both females had tear stains on their cheeks, and were heavy enough for him to feel slightly uncomfortable. But he didn't care. He moved slightly, rousing his wife and daughter.

"Belle…she did it," he whispered. "Emma broke the curse—I can feel it." She stared up at him with tired, bloodshot eyes.

"We're going home?" she asked. Rumpelstiltskin nodded.

"Yes, love." Belle stood and took the slowly awakening two-year-old into her arms, letting her fall asleep again. Rumpelstiltskin stood and took both women into his arms, releasing after a moment and pressing his lips to Belle's fervently, longing for one last taste of his wife before the return began. Before they were separated again for who knew how long. He moved back and pressed a kiss into his daughter's brunette curls.

"I love you both, more than I can ever express," he said—his accent heavy and tired. He could feel the wave coming at them. No doubt, some of the residents had already started to return. Belle nodded and stepped back.

"I love you too, Rum. Remember your promise," she said. The cloud was approaching fast, and Rumpelstiltskin watched as it surrounded them.

"I won't forget…" he said as the cloud obstructed his view of his family. "I promise…"

Again…long, I know. But there is the final real chapter. The epilogue is still in progress, and it'll be out soon. REVIEW!