I Don't Need A Hero
Prompt: After finale Elsa power are out of control, Regina decides to throw herself into battle to avoid dealing with emotions, but her crew is not the usual (Snow, charming, emma etc) rather she and the other "villains" (Hook, Gold, Whale) take on the challenge to stop the ice monsters, trapping the whole town in a shield protecting them but also preventing them from being able to help. Regrets and what ifs plague (Robin, emma, bell, ruby) as they wait, confessions are made as well as choices with a happy reunion at the end.(pls)
Regina was tired. She was tired of the pain she was feeling, and she was tired of the tears she had shed. Robin was, well she didn't really know how he was. She hadn't talked to him since his wife had come back from the past, nor had she talked to Emma, or any of her family members, shy of when it had to do with Henry and who had him for the night.
She couldn't deal with it; she felt so foolish for finally trusting someone with her heart, only to be hurt again. She should have known better. After all, villains don't get happy endings. It was just the way it was.
So she needed to push them all aside. Emotions were weak; they clouded your judgement and made it so you couldn't act accordingly. Her mother might have been wrong about a lot of different things in her life, but she was right about something. Love was weakness.
It had been two weeks since it all happened, and since then, Elsa, a snow witch, had taken to terrorizing the town. She was cold and cruel, and froze the town half to death. In all honesty, it surprised her that Snow wanted to believe there was good in her that could help her be redeemed.
Elsa had to be stopped, by any means possible. She knew she would need help, but the last thing she wanted was to go to the Charmings and ask them. She had had more than enough of that family for a lifetime. She supposed she could still trust Hook; even though he was basically the Charming family lapdog, he still was good in a battle. Rumple would be good as well, especially since he had all his powers as the Dark One.
She had contacted the two of them, but while doing so Whale had decided that he wanted to be a part of it too. She wasn't entirely sure how it happened; she had been talking to the two of them in a private alley. Hook was unsure of whether he should go behind Emma's back, seeing how they were apparently doing oh so well, but she had told him that if he didn't, Emma would probably end up dead. Rumple didn't need as much persuasion. Whale had happened to come out of Granny's at that moment, apparently heard the later part of their conversation and insisted that he wanted in. He said that he had spent so much of his life feeling like he was evil; that he was meant to suffer punishment for trying such dark magic and science to save a life, and that if he did this, maybe he would be redeemed.
They had decided that they would meet up early the next morning, while the rest of the town would still be asleep. They would be safe, and they would be out of the way.
She felt a cool breeze as she waited at the edge of town for her companions, hoping they would join her soon. The sooner Elsa was defeated, the better. Hook and Gold showed up around the same time, and while they had put most of their differences aside, she could tell there was still a bit of tension between them. Whale arrived shortly after, and the four started heading north; the part of town which was the coldest.
"Elsa, come out from where you're hiding," Regina called out. "We will find you eventually."
"Better to save us the time, Dearie," Rumple said, as they walked further into the cold regions. Hook held his sword out, while Whale was carrying a gun he must have gotten somewhere in town.
"I told you to leave me alone," a voice said, with a tinge of sadness. "It's not safe for you to be near me. I'll hurt you. Just go now, and no one will get hurt."
"The only person getting hurt will be you," Whale said a bit harshly. "Why don't you just make it easier on yourself?"
"I don't think so," Elsa's voice called out from around them. They felt a blast of cold air brush past them. Regina looked behind her and saw that there was a wall separating them from the rest of the town, which was at least a few miles high. Well, at least the rest of the town was definitely safe.
Rumple tried to wave his hand to bring down the wall, but there was no avail. The wall stood high, strong as ever.
"I told you, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone," Elsa said again.
"Why would you put up the wall then?" Hook asked her. "How does that help you at all?"
"I didn't! I told you, I can't control these powers. I told you to run, I told you to stay away, but you refused to listen," the feminine voice said. "Don't follow me; it will only get worse."
Regina looked around frantically, hoping to see if she could find the source of the voice. If she could only pinpoint it, then she could fight ice with fire. But it kept moving; as if it were echoing on the ice around them. They were basically trapped here, with no way to get back.
And then all of a sudden, she felt the cold begin to fade away. It wasn't as if it were slowly becoming summer; more like a wind had passed.
"Now what do we do?" Hook asked as he tried to sink his namesake into the wall. She wasn't surprised to see that it barely penetrated the surface.
"We bring down this dam wall," Rumple said. "Regina, give me a hand; together the two of us should be able to bring it down."
She stood beside her former mentor, and the pair concentrated all the dark magic they could on it, hoping it would slowly thaw the ice wall. They were at it for a good ten minutes, but nothing happened. The wall was still up as high and strong as before.
Whale sunk down against it, "It's no use; we're trapped out here. There's no way to bring it down and no way to get help. We're stuck."
Hook was the next to sit down, followed by Rumple. Regina scoffed at the trio, "You can't seriously be giving up now. We've barely tried. There's still so many spells we could try."
"Give it up, Regina," Rumple said finally. "Do you know why I had her in my possession? I acquired her from a prince named Hans, who said she was dangerous, and that she had finally been contained. He warned me never to open the bottle. I had no use for such a magic, so I locked it up. But I had heard tales about it. I had heard of an ice queen who froze the entire town after the death of her sister. She has strong magic, possibly stronger than both of us combined. We can't bring down the wall; the two of us alone are not strong enough."
Regina slumped down against the ice. She didn't know how many hours had passed exactly, but the sun was high in the sky, so she could tell that I was near midday.
"Emma is going to kill me," Hook groaned. "I promised her that we would have lunch today. She's going to think that I stood her up, and that I don't want her. I worked so hard to be in her good graces, but clearly that's all going to be ruined now."
"At least you have a significant other," Whale moaned. "I've been trying to get Red to notice me ever since she saved my life all those years ago. She's so beautiful, and I would give anything to be with her. But she never sees me; just a customer who sits in the dinner all day long. And now we're probably going to die out here. Who knows how long it will be before we get rescued? Sure, you both have magic, and we won't die of starvation or anything, but haven't you noticed the temperature? It's been dropping by the hour. Soon it will be night, and it will be freezing. Hypothermia will claim us for sure."
Regina was quiet. She went on this entire mission so she could avoid thinking about him, yet here she was, with her mind wandering to thoughts of him. If she were to die out here, then the last thing she would have said to him was that she never wanted to talk to him again. She had spent so long avoiding him with every chance she got, even when he tried so hard to approach her.
"He loves you," Hook said softly. She looked at him, confused. She hadn't said anything aloud. "You didn't need to say anything for me to know that you were thinking about her. He broke it off with his wife, a few days ago. They both knew they weren't the same people anymore, and that they just weren't suited for each other anymore. He's been going out of his mind all week, trying to get you to talk to him. He chose you."
Regina felt regret wash over her. She should have given him a chance. And now she would probably die out here, alone, just like always.
"I should have told Belle that I didn't give her the dagger. I promised her that I loved her and that I wanted her to keep it to show that I trusted her, but I lied to her. I couldn't hand it over, so I gave her a fake," Rumple said slowly.
"So this is how it ends, is it?" Regina said slowly. "The villains die alone, unloved, just how it always has been. Should it come as any surprise that this happened?"
No one answered her. They sat in silence again, and a few more hours passed by. It was nearly night fall when they came.
"Killian?" they all turned around and saw Emma standing there, with her parents, Belle, Red, Robin, and a few others.
"Emma?" Hook asked in disbelief. "How did you find me?"
"I used a locater spell," Emma asked, and Regina could see a bit of fury across her face. "How could you not tell me that you were going after Elsa? I thought we were in this together."
"We are!" Hook pleaded. "I was just trying to keep you safe. I know you hate it when I do that, but I told you I would always fight for you. I told you that I care for you and I meant it; I don't want you to be in danger. I love you, Emma. And I would do anything to keep you safe."
"You idiot," Emma said, and Regina could see a few tears slip down her face. "I don't need you to fight for me, just with me. I love you." She held her palm up to the wall, and Killian met hers on the other side.
"The wall's melting," Rumple gasped as he watched the area where their hands met began to thaw.
"Rumple, join hands with me," Belle quickly said. The couple began to do the same, and Regina watched as two small holes began to form.
"Victor, want to give it a shot?" Red asked on the other side, giving him a smile. "Who knows, maybe we're true love too."
Whale began to stutter, "I-uh-what?"
"I've had feelings for you since that day on the docks, and I've been waiting for you to make a move," Red said with a smile. "So what do you say we try?"
He smiled and met her hand on the other side. Regina watched as a third point began to melt. She refused to look over a Robin, who had been studying her the entire time.
"Regina?" Robin asked, but she didn't look up. "Give me a chance, okay? I know I didn't handle my wife coming back well, but I've been trying to make things right with you. Please, just try with me? You told me once that we were True Love, and that doesn't fade away. Let me try with you."
She met his gaze slowly, as she pressed her palm against the cool wall. She could feel the warmth of his palm the minute he made contact with hers. They didn't break their gaze as the wall began to thaw, and within minutes, the entire thing was down.
Emma threw herself into Killian's arms as soon as it did and slapped him, but then kissed him. Rumple was holding Belle's face in his hands as he whispered his love to her, and Red and Whale were holding hands while their eyes were locked on each other.
"I'm sorry, for everything," Regina said softly. "I'm sorry for nearly killing your wife, I'm sorry for not taking it well when she came back, and I'm sorry for not hearing you out."
Robin pulled her into his arms, "I do love you, Regina. It's you I want in my life, and it's you I want to spend the rest of it with. Please, just let me be with you."
"I want to be with you too," Regina said softly. The crowd began their walk back to town. They would still have to find a way to deal with Elsa, but it wouldn't be on their own. They had love on their side after all.
