The obsidian spires of the Dark Palace rose forbiddingly above them, wreathed incongruously with cheerful puffs of clouds. There wasn't so much as a hint of a breeze in the crisp air. Emma crouched in the shadow of a twisted tree, wishing she could see through stone. Was Henry still alive? Was he in pain? She couldn't see Regina's good eye, since the woman was on her right, but Emma knew she was watching the castle with the same thoughts in her mind. He was the one thing, usually the only thing, that they could ever agree on.
Swallowing the fear that sat in her throat like an icy stone, Emma tugged off a leather glove and brought her cold fingers to her lips. She trilled two sharp whistles into the air. Regina met her eyes and they exchanged a grim nod of understanding.
A dark shape sped above them, black against the azure sky. Two riders, one of them with a blaze of red hair streaming behind her, were just visible on the back of the dragon. Toothless swooped toward the topmost spire of the castle as they'd planned. The blinding flash of dragonfire made Emma blink, and before she opened her eyes the sound of the explosion had reached them. Shards of stone and wood splintered a thousand yards, shimmering with blue flames where they came to rest on the dead soil.
Emma's pounding heart thudded in her ears. She thought of Moriah worriedly, hoping she wasn't too frightened. The idea of her little girl feeling afraid, without her parents there to comfort her, made Emma want to run back to her baby as fast as her legs could take her. But she steeled herself. The elves would take good care of her, make sure she stayed safely hidden. Right now, she had to focus on saving her son.
Before all the chunks of molten stone had settled, a half dozen bright flashes of sunlight on metal told them the Sentinels were taking the bait. The creatures were large, but they flooded so quickly out of the castle that Emma's pulse spiked with terror. One was heading straight for her and Regina.
They rose in unison, hands raised. Emma summoned power within her, feeling the magic rise in a boiling swell that threatened to spill out uncontrollably. She tamped it down with a supreme effort, bending it to her will and getting ready for her task. Regina had warned her not to bother with flames. The metal the Sentinels were forged from was too strong. The resistance had spent years of costly trial and error figuring out how to fight these things, so she trusted Regina's knowledge. Emma took a deep breath and planted her feet.
The force of the magic Regina threw at the creature could've ripped an oak tree from its roots and tossed it a quarter mile like a toothpick, yet the Sentinel barely slowed as the blow glanced off its armor. Another blast had the same disturbing lack of effect. The thing kept advancing with terrifying bounds, leaving deep depressions in the ground the size of a small car with each massive footstep. As it grew closer, Emma could see it was three times the size of a man, with spikes protruding all over its silvery skin. The spikes themselves seemed to ripple and move as she watched. Regina had warned her, but her description hadn't done it justice. The entire creature was plated in metal that was as liquid as quicksilver, morphing and shifting. The arms lengthened as it approached them, the tips sharpening into sharp spikes the length of a telephone pole. Regina's magic had barely slowed it down.
"Shit," grumbled Regina. "No luck. Go, Swan!"
The plan had been to damage its armor first, if possible. Regina said it was difficult, but not impossible. Once the metal was breached, there was soft tissue within that could be injured, which would make killing it much easier. But no dice. It was time for Emma to do her part.
She squatted and put her hands to the ground, which was actually a huge rock outcropping the size of a football field. They'd chosen their location carefully. The creature was almost to the end zone opposite them, and closing the distance with horrifying speed. She opened the vein of magic wide and forced the shimmering energy deep into the rock beneath their feet. She aimed it at a spot a dozen yards in front of her and Regina, but she suddenly felt like that might not be far enough away at all. The dark slate quickly began to turn purple, then red, then orange, as it liquefied into a pit of bubbling lava so hot that Emma's leather jacket softened with the sudden blast of heat.
"Now!" she yelled to Regina. The Sentinel leaped the lava pit with a surge of power, aiming a spike-arm at each of their hearts. Emma flinched and nearly let go of her concentration. But mid-air, Regina's magic slammed into it and pressed it backwards, as if it it had been hit by an invisible freight train. The arms flailed, transforming from metal spikes into flat spoilers that caught at the air, as the creature swam against the pressure that was bearing it into the rock.
"Keep going! More to the right!" shouted Emma. She had to keep her magic flowing through the earth, and then pull it all back again, something she hadn't tried before.
"Just take care of your own job!" growled Regina, through teeth gritted with effort. "I'll get the damned thing there."
It seemed to take an eternity, but only seconds elapsed as the thing finally slammed into the ground with an impact that jarred Emma's teeth. The Sentinel was scrabbling stomach-down on the shale, trying to gain purchase, but Regina pressed it back relentlessly. She stepped forward triumphantly with every hard-won inch. The thing transformed its arms again, this time into long hooks that stabbed into the rock, arresting its slide like a mountain climber clinging to a sheer face. Regina was sweating now, the cords on her neck straining with effort as she tried to push it back.
"Damn it! Move the pit, Savior!"
Emma was already doing it, coaxing the heat closer to the Sentinel. The bubbling lava expanded outward, but Emma could see it wouldn't be fast enough. She tugged a hand free of the ground and flung her fingers wide, trying to divide her concentration between feeding heat into the ground with one hand and push at the creature with the other. She cried out at the strain. It was like riding a bull while trying to balance a teacup on her nose.
"You idiot! You could get us both killed!" yelled Regina.
Emma didn't have enough spare energy to respond. She was desperately adding her magic to Regina's. Somehow she could feel the shape of it, like invisible threads hung in the air. She wove her own strength into them, adding heft and power to the magic the other woman was already working. She heard Regina's surprised intake of breath and the creature suddenly slid backward with a deafening scrape, leaving jagged scores in the rock a foot deep. It dropped into the lava legs first. It took a few moments before it began to screech, it's wide jaw opening to reveal rows of sharp metal teeth. The ear-piercing sound cut off sharply as the Sentinel sank beneath the bubbling lava, its glowing red eyes the last thing Emma saw before it disappeared beneath the molten rock.
"Help me!" she called to Regina. She returned her other hand to the ground. Magic coursed through her like a raging river, and she felt it grow wild as she tired and her control slipped. She felt the other woman kneel next to her, stabilizing her magic with her own, and together they pulled the energy from the rock as quickly as they could. But Emma hadn't counted on how much magic she had stored in the stone, and she realized with horror that there was nowhere to put it. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't take any more into herself, she would explode. Regina's eye went wide as she too struggled to harness the deluge.
"Follow my lead," the woman gasped, raising one hand to the sky and keeping the other on the ground. Emma felt instinctively what she was doing and understood, racing to copy her. Regina was redirecting the heat and magic stored in the rock into the sky. Emma focused and imagined herself as a conduit. She felt the rock quickly cooling to solidity, leaching all the trapped volcanic forces through her and into the air above. The release was violently disturbing the air with pent energy, roiling the skies until the white puffy clouds had swelled and purpled, swirling menacingly around the castle's wrecked spires. Lightning crackled and snapped as the sunlight disappeared as though a shroud had fallen over the land.
Regina groaned, slumping down next to her. Emma realized she must've toppled over herself, since she was lying on her side and breathing like she'd just run a race.
"Well, you've certainly gotten stronger, Swan. That Sentinel isn't getting out of solid rock anytime soon," said Regina, huffing between words.
"Yeah, they probably felt that much magic all the way to Asgard. Are you sure this frontal assault was the way to go?"
"Definitely. The castle is far too protected for a sneak attack. Believe me, we've tried before. And this had the benefit of giving our people at Command a chance to get away while we draw all the attention."
"Speaking of attention," said Emma nervously, pointing shakily in the direction of the castle. Two more of the monsters were headed toward them at a rapid clip.
"I hope your friends are as good as you say," said Regina.
"Better. Come on!"
They heaved themselves to their feet and sprinted along the edge of the trees, adrenaline giving them legs. They were heading in a roundabout way toward the drawbridge where they would meet the others. The two Sentinels stalking them adjusted course to intercept them. We're coming, Henry. Just hold on!
Killian was side-by-side with Arthur, cutlass held at the ready. His heart pounded with the rush of battle, though he hadn't had to fight one of these Sentinel beasts yet, fortunately. He and Arthur both knew swords would be useless, but it was all they had to offer. They were keeping an eye on the battlefield and, ostensibly, guarding the woman who stood behind them, though if anything it was the other way around. He heaved a sigh of relief that they'd left his sweet lass in a safe spot with the elves. They were hard up against the side of the palace's outer wall, close to the drawbridge opening. Elsa had her head poked around the corner, studying the portcullis. Killian strained to see into the surrounding forest, looking for his wife. The roar of magic and a metallic screech echoed through the valley. Be careful, my love, he thought desperately.
Wingbeats overhead, and the blue brilliance of dragonfire, told him where Toothless and his riders were. A half dozen of the Sentinels had rushed out of the palace when they began the attack. Killian hoped there were none left inside, but they would soon find out. In any case, they would have the Asgardian fellow and his magic to contend with. He hoped Emma and Regina would make quick work of luring out the guard, and get here to help Elsa posthaste. He and Arthur wouldn't be much use against a wizard.
A fierce wind hit them, causing him to stagger and whipping his leather coat around his legs. The previously calm sky was roiling suddenly, the clouds purple and angry as they filled the horizon and blocked out the sun.
"Can you do it, Elsa?" he asked anxiously over his shoulder.
"Yes, I think so. Is it time?"
"Aye, I'd say so," he responded, watching lighting flash in a rapid dance among the spires. Elsa stepped lightly onto the drawbridge, her blonde braid lashing in the tempest. She raised her hands, conjuring a huge wedge of ice. The massive portcullis began to lift as though it weighed less than a feather.
"Is this your wife's doing, or the Asgardian's?" asked Arthur, nodding at the angry skies. "It won't be safe for our winged friend to fly in this."
The dragon apparently agreed, as he alighted on the drawbridge next to Elsa. A roar in the courtyard told him he'd been wrong to hope there were no Sentinels inside. Elsa raised her hands and shot forward a volley of ice spears as she retreated.
"Fire, Toothless!" Hic was shouting as Merida stood on the dragon's back and nocked an arrow.
The dragon let loose a staccato series of blue pulses, which made contact with an advancing Sentinel as Killian and Arthur leaped onto the drawbridge to join the fight. Regina had said that fire didn't have any effect on Sentinel armor, but apparently she hadn't counted on the devastating qualities of dragonfire. The Sentinel's mercurial shell shifted and rippled like a living thing under the assault of the blue flames. It opened its jagged maw and shrieked as it melted to the cobblestones in a foul-smelling heap. There was some sort of flesh within, vaguely man-like, which caught fire and burned, indicating there was indeed a mortal thing inside the armor. Killian shuddered but had little time to contemplate. There was another of the beasts coming at them, and fast. Elsa's ice spears shattered ineffectually on its carapace, so she shifted tactics and encased its feet in a block of ice. It transformed its arms into clubs and banged them against the block, breaking the ice as fast as she could create it.
Killian was about to yell retreat when a silver streak arced through the air and took the beast square in its massive forehead, burying itself to the fletching. It keeled over backward almost in slow motion. Merida hopped down from Toothless with a satisfied look, drawing another arrow as she headed across the drawbridge. Hic was watching her with such fierce pride and love that Killian looked away, embarrassed.
The girl certainly had courage, Killian had to give her that much. Her red curls twisted in the wind like a nest of fiery serpents as she tiptoed into the courtyard, followed closely by the rest of them. She approached the Sentinel she'd killed, ignoring Hic's plea to leave it. Placing a booted foot against it's cheek, she yanked the silver arrow cleanly out and wiped off the viscera before putting it back into her quiver.
"Ye heard the General, they're too valuable to just leave lying about," she said to Hic, who scowled at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Ninny."
A crack of thunder made them all flinch. A drop of rain fell against Killian's cheek, then they were suddenly being drenched in a downpour. He thought he heard a shout outside and turned to see his wife and Regina running at full tilt toward the castle. They were being flanked by a pair of Sentinels, closing fast. They'd never make it.
"Hic!" he yelled, pointing.
"We're on it! Come on, boy!"
The dragon launched, staying low to the ground. Toothless braked midway between the creatures and the two women and hovered, wings beating furiously. A blast of dragonfire took out one of the Sentinels, leaving it smoking in the mud. The second creature apparently learned from this, and rapidly dodged a succession of shots. He couldn't be sure due to the darkening skies and the rain, but he thought he saw a silver arrow streak wide. Merida had missed, and wasted a Worldtree arrow. The Sentinel was closing the distance to Toothless rapidly. Realizing the danger, the dragon flapped madly, gaining elevation but not quickly enough. One of the creature's arms lengthened like a lance and struck out toward the dragon, catching him glancingly across the belly. A bright line of blood appeared as Toothless yelped, firing more pulses in panic as he retreated upward but hitting nothing. Merida was unable to fire more arrows, as Toothless flew higher on unsteady wings and headed back for the castle. Streaks of lightning flashed through the sky. Toothless had to descend quickly, or they'd be killed by lightning instead of the Sentinel.
But Killian's main concern was Emma. He set off at a run, knowing it was hopeless. He would never reach her before the creature did. But he ran anyway, yelling and waving his arms. Maybe he could distract it. Her blond hair was like a beacon in the lashing rain, and he kept his eyes on her, ignoring the approaching monster. He had to get to his wife. She was gesturing, yelling something at him, but the storm was too loud. There was a glint of metal out of the corner of his eye, and he twisted instinctively so that the silver lance slid past his torso, opening a tear in leather but not his flesh. He stumbled and somersaulted, coming up in a crouch. The creature had apparently shifted paths to him, as he'd hoped. It had rocketed past him somewhat, sliding in the mud, and was just now coming around to face him. Its armor shifted hypnotically, allowing it to rebalance quickly. He brought up his sword and prepared to die. Better him than Swan. He hoped he had bought enough time for her to get away.
He saw a blur of silver as the creature came at him with its spikes whirling, clearly about to impale him. He thought of Moriah's sweet face as he swept his cutlass down in what was surely a futile attempt to block the fatal blow. But it never came. A tremendous rumble shook the ground, and then the creature was gone. A tsunami of mud and dead trees and boulders swept in front of him, tumbling the Sentinel under and taking it along with it. Emma was running toward him. He sheathed his sword and opened his arms. She launched into them and he clung to her like a drowning man. Her lips found his and they kissed passionately for a long moment.
"When you two are done, maybe we can get inside the palace and find my son?" came Regina's imperious voice. She sounded tired.
Emma broke the kiss, smiling into his eyes.
"Let's go, Hook."
Emma asked Elsa to freeze the mountain of mud solid before they continued on into the palace. If that last Sentinel was still alive, it would be a while before it could dig itself out of a frozen mountain of dirt and debris.
"I don't understand why the Asgardian guy hasn't shown up yet," she said quietly as they crept into the receiving hall.
"Maybe he was just letting his Sentinels tenderize us first," responded Regina, wringing the water tiredly from her hair.
"If so, he did a good job," muttered Hic. Toothless limped along next to him. The wound the Sentinel had inflicted was long, but thankfully shallow.
"Where do you think he'd keep Henry?" asked Emma.
Regina didn't have to think hard. It had been her castle for many years, and she had kept more than a few prisoners in her time as Evil Queen.
"The dungeons."
They posted the dragon and his riders at the entrance to keep watch, then followed Regina down into the dark warrens beneath the castle, lighting torches as they went.
"Henry!" called out Emma, impatient and wrung out. She wanted to hold her boy. Killian squeezed her hand reassuringly. He hadn't let go of her since they'd faced the Sentinel out there. She'd almost lost him, and it made her heart stop. She had a feeling she'd be seeing that Sentinel bearing down on him in her nightmares for the rest of her life.
"Shh!" hissed Regina. "Are you a complete idiot? We don't know what's down here."
They listened, but no sound came except the dripping of water.
"See, there's no one-"
Emma was interrupted by a weak bark.
"Do you think-"
"Is that-"
"Ruby!" they shouted in unison.
"General?" came a faint reply.
They hurried to the source of the voice. Ruby was locked in a cell, pulling on a dress and cloak with shaking hands. Emma found a key ring hanging on a peg and fumbled with the lock.
"I was wondering what all the commotion was out there," said the young woman with chattering teeth. She looked pale and cold.
"Ruby, is Henry here?" asked Emma, pulling the door open with a rusty squeal.
"Emma?! Is that really you?" she replied, tottering on her feet and squinting against the light of the torch. She must've been in the dark for a long time.
"You can catch up later, Ruby. Where's my son?" barked Regina.
Ruby cast her eyes down, looking like she wanted to dissolve into the pavement.
"I don't think he's here, General."
"Where is he then?! And where's the Asgardian man?"
She raised her head, her dark gaze mournful.
"I think he took Henry to Asgard. For Questioning."