I'm back. This chapter took longer than I thought. I kept changing my mind about the plot and the length of the story in general, but it's here now and I hope you all enjoy - powerfulhallucinations.

"Hello, love. Did you miss me?"

Emma could only stare, looking up into the eyes that she had been missing, barely noticing as he twisted her out of the way of another oncoming attack, quickly disabling the monkey that had gotten too close with a swift backhand from his hook.
Beast despatched, he spun her back into his arms, covering the small gasp that escaped her lips, delving back in to continue to kiss her thoroughly.
She felt weak at the knees, cutlass going slack in her fingers as her other hand found anchorage in his hair, using her grip as leverage to pull him in even deeper, satisfaction blooming at the throaty growl that came tearing from his chest.

"I don't think now's really a good time for that, Miss Swan."

Emma managed to pull herself just far back enough from Killian to roll her eyes to the heavens, because of course Regina couldn't give her a moment's peace, even after she'd just regained her memories, in the middle of a battle, against her evil half-sister.
She was tempted to quip back, but knew the effect would be lost in the midst of her heavy breathing, kiss swollen lips, and the fact that she was still clinging to her pirate in order to remain upright. Instead, she settled on a half glare at the newly restored queen, who continued to stare back unashamedly, eyes flicking between the pair with a resigned kind of exasperation as if she'd simply been counting down the seconds until this moment arose, which is ridiculous because even Emma didn't see it coming.

The moment was broken as another shout rose up nearby, Mary-Margaret flying across the field to collide with her daughter, crushing her into a tight hug. Emma felt the huff of air leave Killian as both women were shoved back against him with the force of her mother's enthusiasm, the pirate quickly finding his feet to steady them all, dropping back slightly so the family could reunite.

Mary-Margaret looked close to tears, even more so when David joined them, once again knocking the breath out of Emma with a huge bear hug, clutching his wife and daughter close to his chest, whilst shooting a look at Killian over their heads, torn between giving the man a talking to about his intentions, but that seemed pretty oblique given what had just happened. Instead, as the Charmings pulled back from one another, David simply reached out and clapped him on the shoulder, glad to have his friend back and his family safe...for now.

"If you're all quite done," Regina snarked, drawing everyone's attention back to her, "We have the small matter of a Wicked Witch to deal with."
Emma quickly cast a look over to Killian, feeling the need to say something, to somehow sum up everything that had just happened between them, to discuss what this meant for their relationship, as obviously the both of them had been keeping a pretty huge secret, but there was no time. She knew that the fire burning behind his eyes as his gaze swept over her again and again, would keep; the sweeping declarations of love would have to wait until Zelena was behind bars. It was only then that she realised the attacks had ceased, their whole group, now including the Merrymen plus Robin, having filtered over in the obvious quiet that had taken over in the absence of the witch's shrieking minions. A few of the beasts lay scattered around the battlefield, obviously having gotten too close, but the fact that the breaking of the curse hadn't revealed them to be anyone familiar was a great comfort to everyone; the missing citizens of Storybrooke, hopefully back to their normal selves, or as normal as you could get in this town.

"It seems the witch has called off the attack for now," noted Robin, slinging a few arrows back into his quiver, whilst looking around the group, "It's a pleasure to re-meet you all by the way, if my assumption about that," he gestured to Killian and Emma who had drifted back together, "is correct."
"It is," said David, reaching across to shake the thief's hand, "thank you for all you've done protecting this town and my daughter, we will be forever indebted to you."
Robin shook off his gratitude, "We're happy to serve as best we can, and seeing as my men and I have had no quarrel with your kingdom as far as I can tell, this seems as just a cause as any to fight for. That witch ripped us from our home, so payback is in order."
He had shoved his sleeves further up his arms as he spoke, and Emma couldn't help but note the colour suddenly leaving Regina's face as she stared at the tattoo on Robin's arm; she wondered what that was all about? But, again, no time.

"Zelena's whole deal has been about getting revenge on Regina and Gold, I'm guessing now that you're back to your proper self, she's going to come back all guns blazing." As Emma spoke, Regina seemed to shake off whatever it was that had bothered her, quickly turning to the Savior, curiosity piquing in the back of her mind.
"It almost feels like she wanted us to break the curse," the queen said, "like she wanted a proper fight. If she'd been that desperate to kill me, or Rumple for that matter, she's had plenty of opportunity to do so. We've both been weakened without our magic, vulnerable and exposed, yet she kept going after Emma and Hook."
Following Regina's line of thought, Mary-Margaret looked between her daughter and the pirate, who were both doing a thoroughly terrible job of pretending that they weren't staring at each other. "But that would mean…" she trailed off, "she would have had to have known, or at least suspected that the two of them were…"

Tearing her eyes away from Killian, Emma felt a tingle run down her spine, followed by a hint of annoyance: how could that Wicked Bitch have known that they True Loved each other, if she didn't know that herself? Then again...she thought about how they had been acting whilst he was still cursed, even as the Deputy they had been drawn to one another, risking life and limb to watch the other's back at any given time; there was also the kiss.

The idea of Zelena having seen that was too gross to think about, but it was definitely plausible that she would have spies everywhere, tracking their movements.

"We need to get back to town," Emma stated firmly, "now the curse is broken everyone will be awake and out in the streets looking for answers; it's the perfect time for the witch to attack."

Everyone nodded, quickly gathering their dropped or discarded weapons, hastily strapping them back into place before turning towards the distant lights of Storybrooke.

Emma was ready to bring up the rear, her parents taking point, when she once again felt Killian reaching out for her, turning readily as he pressed his hook into her lower back, drawing them both together.
"Just one more for the road," he murmured throatily, voice laden with unspoken emotion, before pressing his mouth gently to hers in a lingering kiss, pulling back with obvious reluctance.
"Later," she whispered, taking hold of his hand and squeezing it gently, tugging for him to follow as they trekked out of the clearing.
"Aye, love. Later."
There was hot promise in his eyes that Emma knew she would definitely be following up on as soon as possible, but first she needed to find her son, and kick that witch's ass.

~E&K~

Of course, the citizens of Storybrooke remained as resilient and vaguely idiotic as ever.
Main Street was heaving with people as they rushed to reunite with their loved ones, completely oblivious to the battle that was looming over them all, ignoring all the precautions that had been put in place to keep them inside, looking instead as if they were preparing to celebrate the breaking of the new curse. Emma worried that her eyes were going to get permanently stuck as she rolled them once again at the sight of Leroy running down the road, announcing their return.

Soon their group was surrounded by grateful well-wishers and fanatical dwarves, all desperately trying to hug Mary-Margaret and shake David's hand, despite their protests. Emma could see her mother trying to calm the mob, her words of warning getting drowned out by the cheers and hollers and a round of 'for she's a jolly good fellow,' that Happy had somehow managed to start.
Sighing heavily with a glance at Regina who looked on just as helpless, Emma drew in a large breath, preparing to shout over the din, when silence suddenly fell as a sharp whistle went out across the square.

Spinning quickly, she turned to Killian, who slowly lowered his hand from his mouth.
"If you could all shut the bloody hell up, we don't have time for this ridiculous jubilation."

Emma smirked a little at her pirate, clear waves of exasperation rolling off of him, and it was nice to see that there was still a little bit of the lawman left in him; a fact that was obviously confusing the crowd, who didn't know if they should be listening to their town deputy, or cowering away from Captain Hook. He seemed utterly unperturbed by it all, staring everyone down with that same cool authority he always seemed to carry with him, daring them to make a sound. When nobody did, he moved his gaze over to Emma, encouraging her to take control of the situation.
"Okay, listen up," she began, "We don't have a lot of-"

She was cut off abruptly by a shout of her name, the crowd parting as Neal came hurtling down the road towards her, and this wasn't going to be good.

He literally shoved past Killian who toppled slightly, David catching him and keeping him upright, then quickly moving to restrain the pirate as Neal grabbed hold of her face and tried to kiss her.
Tried being the operative word.
Emma was able to dodge out of the way at the last second, batting his hands away and staring at him in disbelief.
"Jesus Christ, Neal!" she yelled, all thoughts of witches and crowd control forgotten, as she pushed him away, checking over his shoulder to make sure that Killian didn't still have his 'I-have-a-hook-and-I-will-kill-you-with-it,' face on. Fortunately, he was no longer being forcibly held back by David, her father having relented most of his stronghold, but continued to retain a cautionary hand on the pirate's shoulder.

"Ems," Neal continued, trying to regain his hold on her as she continued to evade his clutches, "the curse...my memories, how did you-"
He seemed unable to finish a sentence, stammering from one thought to the next, but his mumblings about the curse had been taken up again by the crowd.

"Who cursed us?"
"What's going on?"
"How did you break the curse?"

And there it was, the golden question.
All eyes turned to Emma, who could feel herself blushing uncontrollably, trying and failing not to look at Killian. She knew that if she did, they'd probably start kissing again, and there really wasn't time for that, no matter what his eyes were promising as he stared, unashamedly, back at her. Heat pooled low in her gut at his slightly raised eyebrow, magic tingling at her fingertips, rippling across her skin like an electric current, rolling out in waves to where he was, the breeze that had gusted out when they kissed, still lingering in the air, causing the strands of his already dishevelled hair to float across his forehead. She was half a second away from stepping over to brush them aside when the citizens of Storybrooke once again made their voices heard.

"Look," she shouted, managing to silence the crowd, "we don't have time to talk about how the curse was broken, but now that it is, we have a much bigger problem on our hands."

"Yes, in case you hadn't realised," Regina finally cut in, striding over to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Saviour, "we don't just choose to go about our everyday lives covered in blood and hauling these ridiculously heavy weapons. We were in the middle of a battle when the curse broke, and unless you all want to be casualties of the one that's coming, I'd suggest you get back inside."

How Regina was ever Mayor, Emma would never understand, her sheer lack of tact and diplomacy looking more likely to start a riot on Main Street, rather than sending the townspeople quietly back into their domiciles, as the yelling resumed, people panicking even more and beginning to press closer to the group of heroes, clamouring for answers.

Emma was still attempting to free herself from Neal's clutches, batting his hand away, again and again, trying to regain what little control she'd had and get her voice to be heard above the din. She could see that the others weren't fairing any better. Her parents were trying to shove the dwarves in the direction of their homes, the Merrymen and Robin attempting to corral stragglers into storefronts or just anywhere that wasn't the middle of the road. Killian was possibly having the most success, strong-arming a few people into the library and threatening a few more unwilling souls with a wave of his still blood-stained hook. It was utter anarchy.

The fact that Zelena hadn't come and killed them all yet was a damn miracle.

But, as the saying goes…

There was a barrage of ear-piercing shrieks, and the remnants of the witch's winged army came swooping down from overhead, jaws snapping and talons grabbing.
The civilians who had remained on the street screamed in terror and began charging off in all directions, apart from Neal, who clung on to her arm. Thankfully, the archers picked straight up where they'd left off, a wave of arrows shooting into the sky before any of the beasts could snatch up the stragglers. As they rose into the air in a brief retreat, Regina shoved her hands upwards, a purple barrier rippling above them like a colossal shield, keeping the attackers at bay until the last person had dived inside.

For a moment they were safe.

It was a brief moment.

Emma heard a sudden whistling sound and turned rapidly as a streak of green fire shot past her, heading straight towards Regina. She watched as the Queen's eyes widened dramatically, a tiny flicker of fear lighting in their depths, as the spell hurtled towards her with deadly aim. It was sure to have met its target, if not for the fact that Regina was suddenly tackled to one side, the fire narrowly missing her head and instead crashing through the windshield of a parked car.
Regina stared up at her saviour in shock, taking the hand that Killian offered, almost as if it were second nature for the infamous pirate to save the life of the Evil Queen.

The caster of the curse finally emerged from the shadows under the clock tower, a cold sneer crawling over her features at the failed attempt to kill her sister, who was now back on her feet and glaring right back.

"Honestly," spat Zelena, "you hero types are exhausting. Can't you see that I'm done with you, for now, you've already broken the curse as I wanted. There's no need for anyone to get hurt while I make quick work of darling Regina."

A cold tremble ran down Emma's spine. So they'd been right in thinking the earlier battle was just foreplay and about the True Loves Kiss, it had all been orchestrated so Regina could get her magic back and the two witches could fight it out properly. She glanced at Killian, seeing the tick in his jaw that told her more than enough just how angry he was at Zelena for spoiling this moment. Malevolent designs or not, they were True Love, curse-breaking proof and everything, no green-skinned bitch was going to take that away from them. He pulled his eyes away from their opponent for just a second, and Emma knew he was thinking the exact same thing, with the brief relaxation of his stiff posture and the small quirking at the corner of his lips.
Unfortunately, Zelena caught the exchange.

"Ugh, True Love is so incredibly sickening, even more so with a story that sounds so ridiculously saccharine as the Saviour and the Pirate."
Emma felt Neal's unyielding grip on her arm suddenly go slack, his jaw-dropping open as he stared at her as if she was a complete stranger.
"You-you...you and Hook," he hissed, shaking his head in bewilderment, "you kissed Hook?"

"More than kissed him I'm afraid," cackled Zelena, "She spent the first week of the curse so busy flirting with him and then pushing him away, it was all very tedious and 'will they, won't they.' I was thinking I would have to go to more extreme measures to get the Saviour to admit her obvious undying love, and there's nothing like a bit of death and destruction to make you really think about what's important. Yes, Emma was a good little girl and kissed the stupid pirate nice and proper, breaking my sister's ridiculous curse. Honestly Regina, all these happy people leading comfortable lives, it sickens me to see how soft you've gone, even if it will make killing you all the easier."

The witch seemed fully prepared to turn her attention back to the matter at hand, but Neal seemed determined not to let this sudden revelation go.
"Hook!" he yelled, "You're telling me that you truly love Captain Hook? What about me Emma? What about the life we were going to have together? I don't understand! I just...you can't. Take it back, take it back!"

There was a short instance where Emma was tempted to ask Neal how exactly she was meant to take back a curse-breaking kiss with her True Love when he suddenly vanished from her side. Green smoke enveloped his body and he reappeared next to Zelena, who made quick work of holding out a hand, her magic gripping him by the throat as he began to choke.

"I grow tired of your whining," she hissed, fingers closing together as Neal clawed helplessly at his neck, trying to alleviate the pressure of the invisible hands that clutched him. "You have no more use to me boy, so I think I'll just finish you now. Better than having to watch your happy ending be ripped away by a man you so desperately hate."
Her last words were directed at Killian, who had drawn his sword and rocked forward on his feet, preparing to strike Zelena down. Emma threw her palms out, magic surging to her fingertips ready to blast the witch back, Regina conjured a fireball, the others all notching arrows and raising steel ready to strike, but, just as quickly as he had been snatched up, Neal fell to the ground.

Weapons were slowly lowered and magic fizzled out as the group was interrupted by the rhythmic tap of a cane against concrete.

"I'll thank you not to threaten my son again, dearie," said the Dark One and, finally, the cast of players was complete.

Zelena's unhinged grin widened.

I keep thinking that when I write a chapter the battle will be concluded, but then I'm at almost 4000 words and there's so much left to go. They'll fight it out eventually I promise.
Meanwhile, thank you for sticking with me and for all the new follows and favourites.
I think it's gonna be at least a couple more chapters to get everything wrapped up [do you remember when I said this was going to be a one-shot? :/ ]