A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating (lots of things going) but here you go :) Also I'm so happy with all of your kind reviews! Glad you enjoyed CS. But don't worry, the fun isn't over yet...


Glorious - that was what he would call it. The feeling of her warm body willingly against his as he embraced her to sleep; the beautiful sight he woke up to when he opened his eyes to see her still wrapped in his arms - he felt incredibly and indescribably glorious.

Indeed, Killian had many a woman in his arms in his short life, but with Emma it was different. He didn't even need to undress her physically to feel the way she revealed herself the way she did. Kisses and whispers were enough for now; it was all they could offer at the moment.

Although he briefly cursed himself for falling asleep so easily (but really, who could blame him?) and not waking up to take watch, the panic quickly dissipated when he breathed in her familiar scent. Nothing could dampen his elated mood now; no one could take away the memory of her lips sealed promisingly against his. But alas he had to put aside his happiness for a moment and focus on their goal: killing the Evil Queen.

They had spent the day travelling to the castle and had managed to find the underground sewage system leading to its interior. It was a ghastly passage, mostly due to its horrific stench and the scattered carcasses of rats (and, as Killian swore, there were definitely human skulls), but they managed to find the entrance that King David had advised about. Killian looked up warily at the barred entrance in the ceiling. So this must be it, he thought. On the other side would be the inside of her castle, and who knew what dangers lay within there.

He looked back at Emma, who was also eyeing the barrier cautiously. "Ready, love?"

She gave him a smirk. "Always."


Was she afraid? Yes and no - the two personas constantly battled within Emma, each shouting words of their own. The broken Princess who had experienced nothing but grief and loss struggled with the fears and doubts she so often faced. But the determined, well-guarded woman inside of her insisted she had nothing to fear - after all, isn't Fate on her side? Doesn't she have a Quest to finish and a Destiny to fulfill?

She looked beside her and smiled - now here is someone who answered that. Someone who has never had doubt in her. His faith in her has never wavered yet, and while Emma knew it was partly due to his growing emotions for her, she also knew it was because he saw something in her that she had been looking for all along: Hope.

He helped her break down her walls and find Hope - something she had almost let slip through her grasp all these years. That was why she kissed him the night he was stabbed; the reason why she gave him a chance and kissed him back willingly last night. With Killian, she had Hope and Faith, and with that she could finally find the strength to create her own new beginning.

So with this thought, Emma broke the barred entrance and climbed through the hole with Killian, holding on to her hope and his faith as she grunted her way into the castle.

There was nobody else she would rather do that with.


"What is this place?" Killian wondered out loud as he brushed the dirt off his pants and sealed the hole they had risen from.

They had climbed into the floor of a dark, damp chamber that was dimly lit by only a couple of torches. At first, it seemed to be fairly silent, but as Emma walked further down the narrow hall, she heard it: the faint sound of soft, rhythmic beating. And not only one - multiples of them.

She looked around in horror at the sight of the many small boxes stacked in perfect rows against the walls surrounding them. No, not multiples - hundreds.

"I-I think," she began in a shaky voice. "I think we're in her Hall of Hearts."

Killian twisted his face in disgust at the revelation. "You suppose the huntsman's heart is in here?" he asked.

She swallowed and nodded. "Maybe." Was it still here? She hoped that Graham and the others had already reached here and gotten it somehow, but a dreadful feeling in her gut told her they most likely did not. And if they didn't... Emma looked down at the compass in her hand - if she finds his heart, maybe she can find out whether or not he's still alive...

She held the Desiderium tightly in her hand and shut her eyes closed, concentrating. She followed the green arrow that resulted and looked behind her, breath caught in her throat as she looked at the box directly eye-level with her. I could hear it, she thought in amazement as she moved closer. Her own heart thumped against her chest as the rhythmic beating in the box grew louder with each step. She lifted her hand to touch it, slightly shaking as her palms hovered in front of it. Dammit, Emma, just open the damn thing, she ordered herself. Then, as if following her thoughts, the box flew out of the wall and towards her face, causing her to stumble backwards. It had caused quite the ruckus, however, as she let out a yelp as she tried to juggle the box and the compass in her arms, her dagger clattering against the floor as she fell down. Swearing under her breath, she shoved the compass in her pocket and reached for Killian's hand, who had rushed to help her.

"Who's there?"

Emma and Killian snapped their heads towards the voice and quickly reacted. He cautiously unsheathed his sword as Emma shoved the box in her enchanted bag. They tiptoed against the wall towards the end of the chamber, where a large door-less entrance greeted them, to see who had spoken.

"Who are you?!" the voice demanded again, though this time more loudly. "Don't try to hide - I know you're there! I can see your shadow in the light."

Cursing herself, Emma let out a breath of frustration. "And why should we show ourselves to you?" she managed to shout back.

"Wait - you're not a Guard aren't you? Please, don't leave! Don't hurt us - we're the Evil Queen's prisoners!"

She exchanged a look with Killian, who nodded. Whoever was speaking would have already tried to kill them if they were on Regina's side. Killian put his sword back and stepped out of the chamber, walking into a larger, darker room. It appeared to be some sort of dungeon, as wooden doors with large barred windows were in each wall.

"Over here!"

They turned to their left to see a young man in his late teens behind one of the prisons, clutching a bar with one hand as he gestured them over.

"Please, you have got to help us get out of here," the young man pleaded. "Regina has been holding us captive for ages!"

Killian peered at the wooden door closely. "We'll try our best, lad." He bent down to inspect the door while Emma examined the young man's face closely. He looks familiar

"Hey kid," she said suddenly. She pulled out a paper from her pocket and held it out for him to see. "Is this you by any chance?"

The young man took the paper, staring at it with astonishment, and nodded. "Y-yeah. That's me. I'm Baelfire. Where did you get this from?"

Emma smiled. "Your father - Rumpelstiltskin. We kind of, uh, made a deal with him to get you back home if he gives us a compass."

Baelfire shook his head and smiled sadly. "Yep, that sounds like my father..." Then he looked back at Emma with a curious expression. "What do you need a compass for?"

"Did, lad," Killian corrected as he examined the keyhole. "We wanted to find the Evil Queen's castle so we can kill her, and here we are. Hope you don't mind if we do - though I'm certain you'd be quite all right with that." Baelfire looked back and forth between Emma and Killian, his mouth slightly gaped open in surprise at the explanation.

"Then that means one of you is the Sav-"

"Emma, love, will you help you with this?" Killian interrupted, handing Emma his sword. Then he looked back at Baelfire apologetically. "Sorry, lad, what were you going to say?"

Unfortunately they were not going to find out what Baelfire had to say as his attention had immediately snapped towards Emma at the sound of her name. "Emma?" he echoed, looking at her with a strange expression. "As in Princess Emma… of the White Kingdom?"

She arched an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. "How do you know me, kid?"

His eyes widened in recognition at her reply, then his face broke out into a grin. "Wait - just wait here." He instructed, disappearing from the barred window. Killian and Emma exchanged a look as they heard a shuffle and a groan, followed by Baelfire's whispering voice. "Wake up, wake up - she's here. Emma's here," they could hear him whispering.

The sound of footsteps approaching the door made Emma stiffen instinctively - after all, apparently these mysterious people knew her - but when the person finally came into clear view at the barred window, Emma felt her body collapse instantly.

No… No. No. It couldn't be, she thought in panic as the person's eyes met hers, their familiar wide smile breaking out across their face.

"Emma?"


Breathing failed her and subsequently, words did as well. She could swear that the moment he said her name and held his hazel gaze against hers, her heart swelled and swallowed her whole. Because it was impossible - utterly, completely, absolutely impossible - that he could be here.

"H-Henry?" she managed to choke out. But she was still glued to her spot, keeping a safe distance from the door; unbelieving of what was in front of her.

He was dead, wasn't he? She saw his murder in front of his eyes - his own heart being crushed by Regina's bare hands. No, no, this couldn't be Henry, her Henry - her brother. No… It was too good to be true.

Her hands shook when he nodded his head. "Yeah, Ems. It's me. I knew you'd come! I knew you'd find me!" he beamed at her.

At the sight of his familiar innocent smile, Emma felt the doubt in her shatter almost completely. The young man in front of her looked exactly like her Henry - just a more mature, grown version. Damn it - it was as if someone just stretched the boy she knew 10 years ago to create the person who was looking at her right now.

She trembled as she slowly walked towards him. "B-but… How?"

"She lied to you, Emma," Henry said with a sad smile. "That wasn't my heart she crushed - it was someone else's. She wanted to kill me, Emma, she really did, but for some reason she changed her mind and decided to torture you another way: by pretending to murder me."

Emma took this in for a moment, completely bewildered. "But why?" she demanded angrily. "Why do that? Why take you away from me?"

He shrugged. "Revenge. Hatred. But I honestly believe she was just using me to fill some void in her life - she lost a son and she wants that back."

She could feel the anger rising from within her at the injustice of it all, but one look at Henry's face made it vanish immediately. This is what was important right now. He was here - Henry was really here, and he was alive.

'His death is not what it appears to be...'

Unable to resist it any longer, she finally closed the distance between them. "Is-is it really you, kid?" she whispered as she touched his cheek gently.

A tear fell from his eye as he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sis. It's really me."

Emma choked out a laugh and wiped off the tear that had fallen from his eye, not caring about the tears that fell from her own. Then, as naturally as it had been ten years ago, they laughed. Together. The reason for revenge almost melted away completely as the sound of his laughter filled her senses. He is here. Her brother is alive.

Suddenly, Henry's laughter faded away, a grim expression replacing it. "But there's something you need to know," he said darkly. "She's planning something - a curse. One that will destroy the Enchanted Forest and Wonderland, and bring everyone to a different world - one that's more terrible than any other world we've ever known. She's going to take away all our memories, all our happiness, everything… You have to stop her, Emma! She's doing it tonight!"

She looked at his pleading face in disbelief. "But why? And why me? I-I only came here to avenge you, Henry! I only came here to kill her for you!"

To both Killian and Emma's surprise, he smiled. "I finally know now, sis. Don't you see? Why Regina stopped trying to kill you and Mom? Why she's been making all these crazy search parties and barriers to protect herself? There's a Prophecy about a survivor; a Saviour coming from a royal bloodline of heroes that's going to destroy her once and for all, and now that you're here - it all makes sense! You come from a royal bloodline, from a family that survived every attempt she made to kill you all! Sis, don't you get it?! You're the Saviour! You're the only one who can stop her!"

Emma shook her head disbelievingly, body trembling as she took a step back. "W-what…? No, that can't be true. Why me? Why not Killian?! He's also here to kill her too!"

Killian opened his mouth to add something (and from the looks of it, Henry seemed alarmed at his presence, as if noticing him for the first time) but the sudden sound of heels clacking stopped him. "Someone's coming," he said as he gave a dark look at the stairwell.

"It's her!" Baelfire hissed. "Quick, go back to the Hall of Hearts and hide yourselves! She's most likely here to see Henry."

"B-but Henry-!" Emma insisted, but Killian quickly pulled her back by the arm towards the Hall of Hearts.

"I'm sorry, love, but don't you worry. I know he will be fine," Killian whispered as they settled behind a giant column. "Just have faith."


Regina appeared shortly after, a sinister smile on her face as she approached Baelfire and Henry's cell.

"Hello darlings," she greeted them. "And how are my little princes doing?"

Her smile immediately vanished when they didn't reply and simply glared at her from behind the bars.

"Silent treatment, is that now?" she snarled at them. Her wicked smile made its reappearance as she leaned in towards them. "That's not I've been hearing earlier," she hissed in a low voice.

A fearful expression flickered across their faces, but were quickly replaced by defiance as they stood up straighter, refusing to satisfy her. Regina growled at their response but clearly did not miss their alarmed expression. She looked away from them and around the room, as if searching it.

"Where are your little visitors?" she called out loudly. "I know you're there! Show yourselves!" When no one replied, Regina snapped her head back at the two young men in the prison. "Tell me where they are," she snarled at them.

Keeping their defiant posture, they stood straight and still and remained silent. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it," Regina said. She flashed them a twisted smiled and lifted her hand to cast a spell -

"No!" Henry suddenly cried out. "I-I was talking to Baelfire. We were talking about… The curse! Yeah, we were wondering how life is going to be like in this new world it's going to send us to." He flashed her a forced smile, though it shortly proved to be unconvincing.

Regina let out a mirthless laugh. "Don't you know, my dear Henry?" she said in a low, dangerous voice. "It's not polite to lie to your mother."

With a twist of her hand, Emma and Killian felt a strong hold wrapping around their throats, forcing the air out of their throats. They choked and gasped for air, falling out of their hiding place and towards the ground where they wriggled helplessly.

Now in full view of Regina, they struggled to move away from her as she slowly walked towards them, a menacing look on her face. With another flick of her hand, Emma felt the force release itself from their throats, allowing them to breath. They gasped for air, breathing heavily as Regina spoke.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" she said with a mocking smile on her face. "More thieves come to steal from my heart collection?"

Emma steadied her breathing and lifted her head, pushing her hair out of her face. "No," she said as she glared at her. "We've come to carve out yours."

Before Regina could open her mouth to retort, Emma got up from the ground and lunged towards her, brandishing her dagger at Regina's face as she did. However before Emma even touched Regina, the Evil Queen disappeared from thin air and reappeared three feet behind her. Emma spun around and widened her eyes as Regina stretched out an arm, reaching for her chest -

"Oh no, you don't!"

Widening her eyes in fury, Regina turned around as Killian flung himself at her, ready to slice her body in half with his sword. But just as with Emma, she disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and reappeared by the stairwell. They quickly started to run towards her again, but she waved her hand, subsequently freezing them mid-action. Smirking, she made her way towards them.

"Did you really think you could outsmart me, the Evil Queen?" she laughed as she circled around her two captives. Emma cursed inwardly when Regina leaned in towards Killian, a leering smile on her face. "Who do you both think you are?" Regina said in a low voice.

"-the Saviour!" Henry called out, but he was quickly muffled by Baelfire, who shot him a glare at his impulsiveness.

But his words proved effective as Regina's smile quickly fell from her face. Replaced on it was fear as she darted her eyes between Emma and Killian.

"Saviour?" she repeated, the fear evident in her tone as the word fell from her mouth. Then she straightened her posture, unwilling to let it waver her, and snapped her head towards Killian, moving dangerously closer to him. "Well, we won't have any of that, don't you think so, Saviour?"

Emma stared at them, horror filling her insides as she realized - Regina thinks Killian is the Saviour.

No!

She tried to scream; tried to move herself to stop her, but Regina had already plunged her hands into Killian's chest. No, no, no… Emma had to do something - there was no way in hell she was going to stand here completely frozen as she helplessly watched Regina crush Killian's heart. No, she won't go through that again. She refuses to relive having her loved one's heart get crushed right in front of her eyes. Even if Henry was alive, the pain that she felt when she believed the heart crushed was his was unbearable. No... Not this time. She won't let Regina ruin her life again and take away her happiness - not again, not when Emma was just finally, finally beginning to learn how to love again.

Regina pulled his heart out of his body and held it in the air, grinning triumphantly as she looked at it. Emma felt her own heart drop as she saw Regina slowly strengthen her grip around the heart, eliciting a pained expression from Killian's frozen face. No, no she had to stop her; she had to find a way.

But how can she stop her when Regina had put her under a spell, deeming her completely immobile? Emma felt a her determination plummet - there was no way; she was going to stand here and watch Regina win once again; watch her kill the person she loves….

'Your success is only the beginning.' Isn't that what Euryale said? What she predicted? Emma really wanted to believe that; she wanted to believe that she and Killian would succeed, that they would have a chance at having their own new beginning. Killian had promised her that last night - isn't he supposed to keep all his promises?

But there was something else: 'Your Destiny is not one of Vengeance, but of Salvation.' Emma felt that she knew it all along but refused to admit it to avoid that burden. She didn't want that "destiny": the role of the hero; the role of the Saviour. That was her parents' life, wasn't it? But Euryale had called her one, and so did Rumpelstiltskin and Henry, and Killian had been calling her one all this time through his support and unwavering faith in her. All this time when people were following her and helping her; showing any support towards her, they were showing they believed in her.

Maybe it's time she believes in herself, too.

And just as that inner admittance passed, she felt surge of warmth spread from her core, a similar feeling to what she felt when she had touched Euryale's palm. But this time it was different - it was faster and warmer, and it spread instantly throughout her body, travelling from her arms until it reached her toes and fingertips.

"Wrong Saviour, bitch."

Regina stopped her movements and looked at Emma, her mouth slowly opening in horror as she watched Emma release herself from her frozen state. B-but how…? Regina thought in shock as the blonde woman made her way towards her.

"Yes, Emma! That's my sis!" Henry cheered.

Regina froze at the sound of the name and stared at the blonde woman who was now running towards her, the realization finally dawning on her. Emma? Princess Emma? Snow White's daughter was the Saviour? God, it would be someone from that damn family.

She let out a humorless laugh as she shielded herself from Emma's flying dagger, still holding Killian's heart with one hand. "So you're the Saviour! Well, who would have know that precious Snow White's pretty little blonde princess would be the Saviour?"

Emma glared at her as she stood beside Killian, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Regina's smiled faltered. "Since when did you have magic?" she asked in a low voice when Killian was pulled out of his frozen state, now bending over and clutching at his chest.

Emma smirked. "Since you failed to separate my parents."

Regina let out a yell when Emma swung her fist across her face, the punch leaving a red mark on her cheek. She screamed in fury and put a hand out to slam Emma against wall, but to her horror, nothing happened.

She looked at her hand. What was going on?!

Emma took Regina's momentary distraction to her advantage and pushed Regina against the wall, trying to get Killian's heart out of her grasp. Regina tried again and put her hand out to push Emma off of her, but still - it didn't work.

Nothing is working on her?! Regina thought in horror when she tried it again and again. It seemed that Emma had somehow put some sort of shield on her, preventing Regina from performing any magic on her. Well in that case…

Emma gasped as Regina disappeared from her hold and reappeared behind her, standing a few feet from Killian. "If I can't kill you, then why don't I kill your lover?" Regina taunted, holding the heart for Emma to see.

"No!" Emma threw her dagger at Regina's feet, effectively hitting her target. Due to her pain, the heart had slipped from Regina's fingers, and Killian dove down to catch it.

"Here, I'll do it!" Emma instructed and he quickly gave his heart to her. She held it in her hands, the strange sensation of it firing her nerves, and somehow she knew - she just knew what to do - and thus she plunged it back into his chest.

Killian let out a yell at the impact of her arm in his body and gasped when she pulled it out. She had succeeded. But the triumph can be relived later - Regina was now screaming at them and had flung what looked like a giant ball of fire towards their way. Killian rolled himself and Emma out of the way as it flew past them and towards the prison where Baelfire and Henry were.

"No, Henry!" Emma yelled as the fire reached the wooden door, subsequently sending it into flames. To her relief, she heard Baelfire and Henry's shouts as they tried to escape through the burning door. Henry ran towards Emma and she reached out towards him-

"Emma!" Killian bellowed and Emma stopped mid-way to see Regina standing at her feet, blood on her hands as she pointed a finger at Emma, her whole body trembling furiously.

"Prophecy or not," Regina snarled. "I will kill you, Princess Emma."

And with that, Regina leaned forward and plunged her arm through Emma's chest.

The scene that followed was a furious blur: Emma let out a scream as pain filled her entire body, the feeling of Regina's hand reaching for her heart excruciating. The entire room was now heated from the fire that Regina caused, and sweat dripped from Emma's brow towards her eye, blurring her already altered vision. But she could barely move or speak - the agony of Regina's arm in her body altered all her senses, rendering her utterly limp as her body slowly succumbed to its decided fate.

Her eyelids drooped heavily over her eyes, blurring her vision even further. She could only see shadows moving against the light now, each shouting her name. But their voices only echoed in her ears, the sounds becoming more distant as she felt herself slowly slip away from consciousness.

"Emma, no!" And Emma slightly roused - that particular voice was strangely familiar…

Is that Graham…? She thought hazily. When did he get here…?

But she wouldn't know how he managed to find them as Emma was now feeling a heavy force pushing against her. She felt her pendant fly off her body and hit her chest, its impact strong and heavy as it touched her skin. Dizziness filled her head as she felt a strange sensation take over her stomach. Strange, Regina hadn't pushed her to the ground… But there it was again, the odd feeling, yet stronger this time, and suddenly she felt like she was falling, falling, falling…

And then everything went black.