I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does.

A/N: just a warning, my favorite head-canon for Regina pops up in this chapter. I've hinted to it throughout the story, but it's outright stated here.

17: Pain is Inevitable

By the time Henry came home, Regina and Emma had moved to the living room. Along with cleaning up the mess, they cleaned up each other and that was done more with the shower rather than magic. Magic was used to get Regina clothing that was more her style to wear around the house. Well, more pants her style. She had on Emma's shirt, but yoga pants made from magic. There was something wonderful and peaceful about wearing Emma's shirt. She tried not to think on it too much right now.

They had found a movie to enjoy. They had made out a bit, but by the time Henry walked in, they were cuddled up. They turned at the sound of the door closing and smiled to greet him. He smiled back.

"Hey, Emma, what're you doing home?" Henry asked with a furrowed brow.

"I wasn't having a good day, so I came home. Being with your mom made me feel better," Emma replied. Regina wanted to sit up taller, but was quite content tucked in close with her head under Emma's chin with a hand pressed to Emma's heart. Feeling the steady rhythm under her fingertips soothed her and made her feel like things would be all right this time.

Henry pursed his lips and nodded. "You did seem out of it this morning."

Emma smiled at him, looking much better than she had that morning. "I feel better. Wanna come watch this movie with us?" She patted the space next to her.

He grinned at them and bounced on his heels for a moment. His expression was so blinding and hopeful. It filled Regina with joy. Her heart felt so light. This was even more perfect than before.

"Yeah. Lemme just put me stuff in my room." Henry disappeared upstairs, book bag slung over his shoulder.

Emma and Regina settled back on the couch, moving around a little to get their relaxing groove back. Emma stroked Regina's thigh, which made her skin tingle, even though thin pants covered her. Regina caressed the space where Emma's heart was, but tucked her other arm behind Emma. She rubbed the small of Emma's back with one finger.

"I really like you in my shirt," Emma said as she tugged on the shirt Regina had on.

"I get the feeling you'll enjoy me in your clothes as much as out of your clothes. You want to claim me," Regina replied and then she rubbed her nose in Emma's neck. Even her scent was soothing and held so much promise. Regina could not help kissing her neck.

Emma cooed. "Yes, you can wear my clothes around the house. Maybe even outside depending on the style. I do like it." She pulled Regina a little closer, even though they were already impossibly close.

Regina was not surprised by Emma's possessiveness, even though she had not wanted to share her desire with Emma. Emma had grown up with not very many things that were hers. Like most people, Emma would like to have belongings. Well, now she had Regina.

For a long moment, things were silent, but Emma's forehead had a little wrinkle in it. "You sure you're okay with this?" she eventually asked.

"I believe this whole thing was my idea," Regina replied.

"Well, yeah, and maybe it was fun in your mind…"

Regina inhaled, breathing in the care and concern Emma had for her. It was refreshing. Someone cared about her mental welfare. "And it's very satisfying in real life as well. Thank you for worrying about my wellbeing. That's one of the reasons why this is possible. You're different. You're special."

Emma grinned, as Regina expected. Emma needed to know she mattered and Regina had no problem with being the one to do it. The conversation ended just in time for their son to join them. Henry flopped down on the couch in the spot Emma patted earlier and he leaned against Emma. Emma grunted, but then pulled him closer and they enjoyed the movie together. It was beautiful.

When the movie was over, Regina went to make dinner. Emma and Henry followed her, offering to help with various things. She turned them down, mostly because she enjoyed cooking as a hobby, but they hung around. They talked the whole time about nonsense things and it was nice, just keeping Regina company. When dinner was done, Henry and Emma made the table and then they all sat down at the table.

"You're not wearing your collar," Henry said with an incline of his head.

Regina nodded. "Emma and I spoke about it. It's not necessary."

Henry smiled. "That's good. So, we're like a normal family now? Nobody's a servant or prisoner of war or pretending to be a princess. Just normal."

"As normal as anyone can be around here and who was pretending to be a princess?" Emma glanced at Regina, who shook her head.

Henry chuckled and gave them this lighthearted look. "Maybe it was me."

"Ah, look at you, growing a sense of humor. That was a good one." Emma leaned across the table and gave Henry a playful shove. "Just don't try to out joke me around here. I'm the funny one."

"That doesn't sound accurate," Regina said.

"What? We all know I'm the funny one in this family, right, Henry?" Emma winked at him.

"I think I'm the funny one," Henry replied.

Emma shook her head. "You're not the funny one. I'm definitely the funny one. The funny one and cute one. Come on, Regina, back me up."

"I don't know where you get these ideas from. You're not funny," Regina said.

"Henry, tell your mom I'm funny." Emma motioned to Regina with both hands.

Henry went with the wise move of not picking a side by giving a little shrug and that seemed to be good enough for him. Regina and Emma smiled at each other. Emma reached across the table and took Regina's hand. It made her heart thump and her body relaxed in a way she never knew was possible. This was everything Regina ever wanted.

"Do you see Neal today?" Emma asked Henry.

"No. I came right home. I thought you'd be having a bad day after this morning and I was gonna ask Mom for ideas to help cheer you up, but she already did. It's good you guys can do that for each other." He smiled at them and Emma squeezed her hand.

"You should always feel welcome to try to cheer us up as well," Regina said to let him know he did the right thing, even though he did not get to follow through. It meant a lot to Emma for her to know Henry cared about her wellbeing.

He nodded and pointed to them. "I want you guys to be happy, like you want me to be happy."

"I want us all to be happy," Emma said.

"We can be," Regina said. It would take work, but she had faith they would do their best now.

"I think we got this." Henry held up two fists, as if that made his statement stronger. That was good enough for Regina. He wanted them to be stronger, so they would be so. Dinner was quiet after that, but appreciative. There was a lot of smiling.

They all cleaned up together when everything was done and spent some time together in the living room, just talking about things they liked before it was time for Henry to go to bed. Regina and Emma settled on the couch again. They had wine and a blanket now. Regina put on some jazz music, which Emma seemed fine with.

"We should've been doing this forever ago," Emma said as Regina leaned against her. Emma rested her head on top of Regina's for a moment.

Regina tucked in closer, resting her head on Emma's chest. Listening to Emma's heart with the jazz playing in the background was like heavenly music. "Let's enjoy it now rather than live in the past."

"And plan for the future since you'll be around now," Emma said.

Regina sighed, as if this was some great burden to tease Emma. "I suppose. Someone has to keep an eye on you, after all, and I seem best suited for the job. And since that is the case, would you like to do me a favor?"

"What favor? I already did the dishes, including the pots. If anything, I should be asking you for favors after that."

"You're terrible." Regina shook her head and then moved to look Emma in the eye. "I told the so-called villains to fight Town Hall using the rules. One way to do it would be a protest if you're willing to give them the permit."

A blonde eyebrow ticked up. "Is that what the meeting was about? The damn Council made me think they had a nuke or something."

Regina laughed. "Nothing of the sort. Most of us aren't that fun anymore." Most of the so-called villains had settled into their Storybrooke lives and enjoyed what they had. Yes, they had more than most, but they were not trying to stir up trouble like in the Old World.

"Nice to know. Yeah, I've got no problem signing the permit. Is it safe for the villains to be out like that, though? They've got targets on their backs. And while me and Ruby are a greater force than just me, it's still just the two of us keeping order."

"It should be fine. The villains trust you to be fair if you have to arrest anyone. They just don't trust anyone else to be fair."

Emma shrugged. "Eh, they're not wrong for that."

"Yes, we know. They want to do something before they end up collared and chained like me. Of course, for them, it won't be voluntary."

Emma nodded. "Good for them. Fight the power!" She put her fist in the air.

Regina chuckled as she took Emma's fist in both of her hands. "Dearest, you are the power."

Emma's eyes went wide and she gasped, as if she never actually realized that. "Holy shit, I am! Is that why I hate this job so much?"

"You don't hate the job. You hate your bosses and what they want you to do. When you're able to help people again, you'll be fine and you'll be fine. When you're actually working toward justice, you'll be fine." Regina was certain Emma was so stressed because the Council wanted her to do the wrong things and it ran contrary to Emma's nature. No, Emma was not an angel, but she liked to be a good person when she was able to.

Emma could not be unfair to people, could not deal people injustice. Emma was too familiar with those things, too familiar with the suffering of those things. She did not want to hurt people like that.

Emma did not dispute that, but the way she held Regina shifted. Emma was worried. Regina wanted to fix it. Hopefully, she could.

-8-8-8-8-

Emma went to work with a belly full of strawberry pancakes, hash browns, and coffee, feeling a lot better than she did yesterday. Ruby was there already, alone now, sitting at her desk. They stared at each other for a long moment and then a small smile settled onto Ruby's desk.

"I'm glad you came back. I mean, I didn't think you quit, but I was scared," Ruby said.

Emma shook her head. "I'm not going to quit. They're going to have to fire me, which they might do after yesterday." She wanted to help people and keep the town together and she would do that as long as she could, even if the stupid Council fired her.

"Your parents want to talk to you about that."

Emma reeled, rolling her head around her shoulders. "Oh, now they want to talk. All it takes is a good cursing out. To hell with that." She waved that off. She did not want to bring herself down by dealing with Snow and Charming. She felt too good right now.

Ruby frowned, but there was sorrow in her eyes. "You sure? I think you might've gotten through to them."

Emma's mouth pulled to one side. "Yeah, right. What were they talking about when I came in here?" That would probably spell trouble for them, so she would rather worry over that than be annoyed over her parents.

Ruby scoffed and kicked her feet up onto her desk. "The same Council nonsense. They seemed to think I could talk you into arresting the villains. They sincerely believe the villains are planning a war."

Emma sucked her teeth and dropped into one of the empty chairs. "Maybe if they tried to include people, things wouldn't come to that." Was it like this in Fairy Tale land or had the villains just pushed people to always assume the worst with them?

"I told them the Council was going about this the wrong way. Hell, I told them the damn Council was a bad idea, but they don't want to hear it. Really, out of all this, the only thing I was with was Regina being punished because she deserved it. But, the rest of this mess had disaster written all over it and no one wanted to listen to me."

"Why?" Beyond the fact that her parents were stubborn as hell. It had to hurt Ruby that her best friend Snow ignored her advice, especially with Ruby seeing just how right she was.

Ruby slapped the desk with one hand. "I don't know! It's like if they admit any part of this world or any aspect of the Curse is good then all is lost. They're not listening to me on anything." She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"What else were they talking about?" Emma wanted to be ready for whatever new bullshit the Council might dream up.

"Nothing to do with the town. I've been telling them to talk to you for a long time. When you blew up on them, I thought that would be it, but did they talk to you?" Ruby scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Damn hard-headed people." Ruby frowned so hard it looked like she might break her teeth. She was hurt over her friends behavior and Emma wished she could make it better, but she was not the friend ruining everything.

Emma scoffed. "Of course you tried and it went nowhere."

Sighing, Ruby scrubbed her face with both hands. "Yeah, they're making this way harder than I thought was possible. They're being more stubborn than I've ever known with everything happening here. They don't seem to think they could lose you. They don't want to acknowledge the stress you're under or the stress they're helping to put on you."

Emma took a deep breath. "Okay. Yesterday I thought you were with them."

Ruby shook her head. "Usually, but not right now. They don't understand not everybody hates living here. Yeah, I hated losing my agency for twenty-eight years. That will never not be bad, which is why I felt Regina needed to be punished. But, I don't mind living here now. There's a bunch of people who like it here now that we can enjoy it. We don't need to make it the Enchanted Forest sequel or something like this. This could be good for a lot of people, but they're trying to make it good for a select few and that's not okay. Hell, it's almost as bad as Regina, just no mind-rape and kidnapping."

"You don't have to convince me." Emma held up her hands in surrender.

"Well, that's one best friend then." Ruby scowled and her eyes focused ahead of her, sort like she was lost in thought for a long moment. "They don't realize they're fighting a nonexistent war."

"Maybe they can't turn it off." She was not sure how long they had been fighting, but it seemed like it was the better part of her parents lives. She knew how hard it was to let go of habits that were cultivated over years of trying to stay alive. The problem was they were community leaders and they were responsible for too many people to be stuck in their ways.

Ruby nodded. "They've been fighting Regina for a long time. They don't seem to realize they can stop. They're not fighting her anymore. They don't need to fight."

Emma shrugged. "Well, we can't convince them." If putting Regina in chains and a collar and handing her over as a gift did not tell them they won, then she did not see what would signal victory to them.

Ruby sighed. "I don't want them to go down the wrong path, to waste their time, to lose time will you, or worse lose you."

Emma shrugged. "You shouldn't worry about this. You've done what you could. Come on, let's get some work done."

Ruby nodded and pushed up out of her chair. It was good to know Ruby was still with her. If only her parents listened to Ruby, but they had their heads too far up their asses.

The day was quiet in comparison to other days, for a little while anyway. It was not until the afternoon when it was called in that there was a fire down at The Lady in Grey. Regina! Emma teleported there with Ruby. Ruby yelped, but the sound vanished with them and was gone by the time they touched down.

"Since when do you do magic like that?" Ruby asked, but Emma ignored that question as they looked at the huge blaze. The heat licked at their skin and they were a fairly good distance away.

"Where the hell is the fire department?" Emma looked around and listened for sirens. There was nothing.

Ruby shook her head. "You forgot the all-wise, all-mighty Council fired most of the fire department a few days ago?"

Emma growled and balled her hands into tight fists. "Lemme guess, they were villains."

"Yup."

Emma scanned the area, needing to figure something out. She could use magic, but she did not know what she should do. But, she did not need to. The flames died down on their own, or so it seemed. A side door exploded out and a couple of dozen people poured out into the street. Regina did not appear to be one of them. Emma and Ruby moved to help anyone who might need it.

"Adan, make sure things are secure!" The former fire chief voice boomed as he pointed and waved people out of the door. A mountain of a man rushed back inside, as if fire meant nothing to him.

"What happened? Everybody okay?" Emma moved between coughing people, wanting to see if anyone was worse off than the others.

"Fire bombs thrown in multiple locations. Nothing we can't handle. Hell, Adan caught one and swallowed it. Damn cherufes are crazy." The fire chief shook his head. "Did you see anybody?" he asked Emma.

Emma frowned and looked around. "It was clear when we got here. Ruby, any chance of you tracking them down?" She turned to her deputy.

Ruby shrugged. "Can't be hard to track the smell of gasoline if that's what they used." She glanced at the chief. "Was it gasoline?"

"Feeling the fire, it was a gas and alcohol along with black powder of all things."

"That can't be too hard." Ruby looked at Emma. "You make sure everybody's good." Ruby ran off.

Emma checked on everyone with the help of several former members of the fire department. No one seemed too worse for wear and anyone who was bad off was healed by one of several witches in the group. Regina definitely was not among the group. Maybe she's safe at home. Or so was the hope.

"Regina wasn't here, was she?" Emma had to ask.

"No, she came by earlier with the permit you signed."

Emma nodded and was about to ask about the rally they planned, but her phone rang. It was Ruby. She found the guys. That was fast.

"Gotta go arrest the people that did this," Emma said.

Former Chief Aftab looked down at her with a hard stare. "Try not to let them out."

"I always try." She just never succeeded. She vanished from the scene.

Emma and Ruby arrested three people in regards to burning down The Lady in Grey. They were not too worried, expecting the Council to get them out. That was not happening. Emma was done letting criminals go.

"You know they're going to come up here and yell at us," Ruby said.

"Let them come. Reckless bastards. They fired the fire department when idiots like this are throwing fire around every other day. People could've died."

"We have to get the villains before they get us!" One of the prisoners had the nerve to say.

"You don't have the damn right to execute anyone!" Emma banged on the cell bars.

"You're going to get us all killed? The villains will murder every single one of us if we don't get them first. The Council knows that."

It barely took an hour for the Council to flood the station when Emma refused to let the prisoners go. It was a bit of a shock it took them so long since Town Hall was right across the street. Emma and Ruby stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Emma's office.

"Sheriff, what do you think you're doing?" Edmund Kent demanded with a glare.

Emma was completely unbothered by the crowd. "Detaining criminals. They tried to burn people alive. I'm not letting them out. This has to stop."

"You do as we say, Sheriff," Maurice said.

Emma wagged her finger at the man. "No. I uphold the law. I protect the people of the town. That includes the people you think are villains. I'm done putting people in danger and I'm done letting people get by while putting people in danger."

"But, you're doing just that," David said as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He looked puffed up as he stared her down like everyone else, like he could force her to change her mind. "The villains are planning something. We know it's something big because that's what they do. They'll get us all if we let them."

Emma looked at him just as hard as he looked at her. "No. They're living their lives. You're seeing plots that aren't there and putting people in danger because of it. You fired the fire department for being villains, basically saying it's okay to treat so-called villains any way you want and not considering how fires spread. You didn't bother to tell me you fired them, even though you know we've got a huge rise in arsons. You didn't even put together a volunteer squad or if you did, they didn't bother to show up today!" Emma could hardly believe how irresponsible they were. "If it didn't exist in the Old World it's not necessary?"

"That's not what this is about," Snow said, at her husband's side in an instant.

"Then what is it about? You guys put yourselves in charge to lead and flipped the town on it's head. This isn't leading. This is destroying," Emma replied.

"What do you know about leading? You've barely been in charge of yourself," Wesley Sax had the nerve to say.

"Yeah, but I've been around enough tyrants to know a thing or two," Emma replied.

Emma saw the punch coming from a mile away, especially since Sax was pretty big, so therefore pretty slow. Stepping out of the way, Sax punched the glass wall of her office behind her. She resisted the urge to shove him into the glass as he howled in pain and clutched his injured hand.

"I really hope it's broken. Anybody else wanna be a hero?" Emma asked with a deadpan expression. No one moved, except Sax and that was to back away from her. "Good. I'm not releasing them unless it's done by the book. So, I need lawyers, I need an arraignment, a judge. All of that. But, I know you guys are busy harassing literally everyone in court, so…" Emma shrugged.

"Regina packed the court with villains! Just like the fire department!" Snow stomped her root. "Are you trying to help the villains win?"

Emma held up a finger. "You already won!" She looked at all of the Council members. "You won! And I think our definitions of villains differ."

Maurice scoffed. "We should've expected this after giving you the Queen as a slave. She's clearly turned you."

"Her cooking is good, but it ain't that good," Emma said.

"Oh, please. We know she does more than cook for you," Sean said and he looked smug, like she would not punch him in the face if he kept acting like a douche.

"Oh, you know what, fuck you guys. I'm not that easy and those bastards aren't going anywhere," Emma said, arms folded across her chest. There was nothing else to discuss.

They were at a stalemate for a while, standing there and staring at each other. Emma was done being pushed around. They left and Ruby slapped Emma a high-five. They laughed.

"That was sweet," Ruby said.

Emma shook her head. "We are so going to get fired." The Council probably gave themselves the power to do that and while the town was in chaos, no one would be able to stop them. Of course, the Council would not be able to stop Emma from trying to help no matter what.

Ruby shrugged. "Then we'll join the rebellion. It'll be fun."

"Dude, that would make us the bad guys."

Ruby smiled at her. "Our definitions of bad guys must differ."

Emma laughed, knowing they had just opened a can of worms. But, if Ruby was willing to rebel against people she had fought a war with, then maybe it was all worth it. Storybrooke was a hot mess, but someone needed to try to fix it.

-8-8-8-8-

The villains had done it. They put together a rally right in front of Town Hall, on a Saturday. Regina was there, accompanied by Henry. She was surprised by the turn out. Yes, the town had thirty thousand residents, but for hundreds of people to come to Town Hall to hear the villains spoke volumes as to what was going on. They came with signs and t-shirts and solidarity bands. The crowd grew speaker after speaker. And then, Nuri stepped up to the podium.

"Good afternoon, citizens of Storybrooke. I say citizens as a reminder that we have rights, like all citizens of this land. We might not have come here on our own, but we're here. We cannot recreate the Enchanted Forest here. There's too much difference. We should not recreate the Enchanted Forest here. We can build something so much more, something without that baggage, without that imbalance, without the prejudice, without that hatred.

"So, we can't stand by as a handful of people steal power for themselves to improve their lives over everyone else's. You applauded when they clapped the Queen in irons without a trial and gave her to the sheriff, making her a slave. It never occurred to you that you could be next. Or that you already are. They've moved your jobs without asking, taken your homes, replaced your children's teachers. Hell, moved your children to other schools. Or even taken your children from you!" Nuri declared.

Regina only had a moment to be embarrassed and people barely had time to agree. Then all Hell broke loose, literally. There was a rumble and the ground shook. Regina grabbed Henry close to her.

"Mom?" Henry said, wide eyes scanning the area to figure out what was going on.

"I don't know," Regina replied.

They stumbled as the ground ripped apart under their feet, dirt and chunks of pavement flying everywhere. Regina pulled Henry away just in time to miss being hit by a thick column of fire, shooting up from the ground going to the heavens. Others came up right after, erupting like geysers around them. Hot debris rained down around them and heat licked at their flesh.

Screams tore through the street as people ran for cover as the ground came apart at the seams. Fire seemed like it was everywhere as chaos flowed and from the cracks in the ground came phantoms. Hideous creatures with twisted features and fangs made of dark grey smoke. They wailed like banshees and made ears ring. Whatever they touched decayed as if it was thousands of years old, including some people. They were dust within seconds.

Then a powerful roar rattled the buildings of the town. Some windows even shattered and glass rained down with a storm of wreckage. Buildings exploded as a hole blew out of the ground like an angry volcano. For a moment, many eyes went to Adan, as that could have been his handiwork, but he was busy hurrying people away, so he was not responsible. Onyx vapor poured out of the hole, like liquid from a shaken soda, and blazed into the sky as it took on a form. Regina looked up as Emma fell to her side. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and Henry.

"Regina, what the fuck is that thing?" Emma asked as the red-eyed giant gargoyle tore off the top of the clock tower and perched itself up there.

Regina gasped and felt like her stomach fell into her feet. "A chernabog. The closest thing to the Devil we'll probably see." They were in serious trouble.

"Oh, great, and here it is I thought I might be bored today." Emma blew out a breath, eyes staying on the chernabog. "Come on, let's get Henry to safety and then do something about that."

Regina nodded and made sure to hold onto Henry as they moved. They made a rush for Town Hall, as it was still standing. Emma herded people that way. They were not alone. Nuri, Adan, and several other so-called villains helped people to safety along with townies assisting other townies. Emma stayed close to Regina as they secured Henry in Town Hall. Several people gathered around them, as if looking for leadership.

"Okay, chernabog. Devil. Tell me more," Emma said to Regina as they watched building after building get destroyed.

Regina shrugged. "I don't know much more, beyond deadly serious and probably going to destroy the town and kill us all."

"And that's if we're lucky," Morgan said with a snicker as she eased over next to them.

"Is this really something to laugh about?" Emma asked. "Come on, you guys are witches and…" She looked at Nuri. "You're something, right?"

"I'm an ifrit, which I don't have time to explain. But, an ifrit isn't going to top a chernabog," he replied.

"Well, shit, how do we win?" Emma looked around for suggestions.

"Sheriff, you're going to want to unlock the Queen," Nuri said.

"Are you crazy?" Snow barked.

Nuri did not even glance at Snow. "The Queen is probably our only chance at defeating the chernabog. Unlock her magic. If not, the chernabog will devour anyone with darkness in their hearts."

"So, the bad guys," David said.

Regina chuckled. "You naive little shepherd. We all have such potential for darkness. Ask your wife about the spot on her heart."

"Yes, but it'll eat you and Rumple first, as it has a taste for the most potential for darkness," the Blue Fairy said.

"Oh, excuse us, while we let the damn thing eat our best chance at defeating it. That sounds like an excellent plan," Morgan replied. "You're still an arrogant, condescending bitch. I'll bet the damn thing chokes on you."

The Blue Fairy scowled. "We all know it'll eat you after Rumple and Regina."

"It's not eating anybody." Emma held her hand out for the keys to Regina's irons. Regina wasted no time handing them over. Regina had opted to wear the irons today since she was going to be in a crowd and did not want to be bothered.

Snow gasped and sputtered. "You're letting her carry the keys?"

Emma unlocked Regina's collar and cuffs. "All right, let's do this."

"We'll cover you," Nuri said, waving over any allies they might have. Magical beings of all types made moves to get closer. There were also regular people moving closer, heroes even if the books never considered them such.

Regina and Emma nodded. With a glance at each other, they ran out into the open, dodging flying detritus as the ground continued to explode. There was fire everywhere along with puddles of lava and melted metals. Buildings collapsed and were piles of rubble. Smoke already choked the air and made it hard to see and breathe.

Phantoms closed in on them, screeching loud enough to hurt everyone's ears. Emma fired at one with her gun. The bullet went through the specter and right before it was about to touch Emma, it was blasted with magic from behind them.

"Seriously?" Regina looked at Emma, who still had the nerve to be holding her gun.

Emma shrugged and holstered her weapon. "It was worth a shot."

"You are going to go sit in the corner after this," Regina said.

Ghouls turned to them, mouths gaping as if they planned to devour Regina and Emma. They barely moved as their backup arrived. Magic energy flowed around then, taking out the phantoms. Regina and Emma took off running, trying to get closer to the chernabog. They dodged columns of fire, continuing to erupt from the ground.

The chernabog turned its attention to them and Regina would have sworn it smirked at them at first, like they were a meal. But, the smirk did not stay as they drew closer. It roared and dived toward the pair. They had to duck as the massive demon flew over them and almost took their heads off with sharp talons. They threw out their hands, hitting it in the back with their magic. The chernabog roared and then turned around, throwing out its wings and flinging parked cars from its path.

"I think we pissed him off," Emma said.

"Why don't you try shooting him?" Regina replied with a scoff.

"Really? Right now? When we're about to die?" Emma asked as they jumped back, trying to avoid the chernabog. It hit Emma, knocking her to the ground. The chernabog growled and loomed over Emma as she struggled to get up.

Regina blasted the chernabog. "Hey! Leave her alone! I've got way more potential for darkness!" She flexed her hand and fired a blast of magic, hitting it square in the chest. Shit, that didn't even make it flinch.

The chernabog growled and Regina hit him again, in the face that time. That blow rocked it a little bit, claws digging up bits of the street, but that was not enough. Her true power was blocked. Damn iron shackles! She probably still had bits of iron stuck in her flesh from how tight the bonds had been. The chernabog jumped at her and snapped its jaws, nearly taking her head off. And then it almost fell over as Emma unloaded with both hands. Regina added to it. The chernabog did not go down.

"Emma, we need to move the Moon again," Regina said. They needed to really pull into their magic, down into the depths.

"Right!" Emma dashed to her side, narrowly avoiding being hit by fire. Phantoms wailed around them, but never got close enough to touch them. At least their back up was doing their thing well.

They stood together and concentrated. The chernabog lunged for them, all teeth, claws, and glowing eyes. They exhaled and hit it with a frontal attack. The chernabog roared, falling back. It dug its feet into the ground, talons tearing up the street even more. Fires erupted and the ground rose under them as the chernabog pushed back. They grunted and growled as they did their best to stand their ground. Regina could feel a strain on her body and from the way Emma was sweating, she probably felt something similar.

"Do you feel like we're only making it worse?" Emma asked with a grimace.

"I have an idea. Light magic should hurt it since it's a creature of darkness. Give me your hand." Regina yanked Emma's hand to her without waiting.

Regina gritted her teeth as she used Emma's magic to expel any of the remaining iron from her body. The chernabog charged them again and Regina put her hand out as she felt Emma's magic surge through her. She exhaled slowly, calling forth ancient magic from deep within her.

"Regina, if you're gonna do something now would be the time!" Emma said.

Regina spread her fingers and a loud popping noise echoed through town, cracking stone, as a bright light engulfed the chernabog. It let loose an unholy scream as light devoured the landscape. The phantoms screeched, writhed, and vanished. The fires were blown out. When the flash of light died down, the chernabog laid in a rubble heap that was once the courthouse.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked with wide eyes.

Regina rolled her shoulders. "Your light, true love magic mixed with my demi-god magic."

"Demi-god?" Emma shouted.

Regina shrugged. "Yes, we can discuss that later when we're not about to die."

Emma was about to say something, but their attention was turned to the debris. The chernabog grunted and growled as it climbed to its feet, claws flinging chunks of pavement everywhere and its wings tearing through whatever was nearby. It glared at them with hatred in its glowing, crimson eyes. They looked at each other. Regina was out of ideas.

"New plan. Come on!" Emma grabbed Regina by hand and ran off.

Regina did her best to keep pace with Emma. "What's the plan?"

"Let it chase us to the town line and then we trick it over. It's made of magic, right?"

"In theory."

"It's worth a shot. Besides, it's coming!" The chernabog was on their tail.

Thankfully, the Bug was still parked in front of the station. It was also a good thing she never locked the doors. They got in and Emma peeled off. The chernabog was right behind them until it was not. The car shook as it landed on the roof and Emma struggled to steady the vehicle. The chernabog beat on the roof, denting it on the interior. They were not going to make it, crushed to death in the Bug.

"Emma, you did your best," Regina said as the windshield exploded in front of them, Glass flew all over them.

"Regina?" Emma turned to look at her just as she vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

Regina appeared right before the town line. She hoped the chernabog was more pissed with her than Emma. It clawed at Emma through the windshield. Regina was about to call it, but Emma slammed on the brakes of the car. The chernabog flew off, going toward Regina. It reached for her, but she moved and it evaporated as it crossed the town line. Regina and Emma locked eyes.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the aftermath of this mess.