Disclaimer: Not my characters, I'm just borrowing them for some fun. I promise to return them when I'm done.

A/N: We're getting very close to the end now. :)

A/N 2: Thank you all for your reviews and comments. I apologize that I was too busy recently to reply to each of you personally. I do appreciate each and every one of them.

Chapter 23: Heart of Darkness

All that was missing, Emma mused, was an evil, maniacal cackle from Snow but fortunately that didn't come. Emma breathed deeply, so many feelings roiling inside her that she found it hard to focus on what she had come here for.

Henry apparently didn't. He let go of Emma's arm and took a step forward.

Snow smiled at him when she noticed. "My dear Henry," she said sweetly. "You know I love you and your mom, right? I was just doing what was right for all of us, you do realize that, don't you?"

Even without seeing Henry's face fully, Emma could see the tension in him, the anger. She took a step forward, standing right behind him with her hands on his shoulders. He's growing so fast, was the non sequitur in her mind.

Henry's shoulders relaxed somewhat with Emma's reassuring warmth behind him, but his face was still furious. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was too angry, too overwhelmed to speak.

Belle saw the way his face twisted and caught Ruby's eyes across the room with a pleading look that the werewolf read perfectly. "Henry," Ruby called out, clearly audible by all. "Do you know what Snow is talking about?"

Henry turned his face, a huge question in his eyes. "What?" he mouthed.

"That thing that Snow is talking about," Ruby prodded gently. "The right thing she just said she did out of love for you and Emma …"

"Oh yeah … that," Henry muttered, and with that his voice was back, and was ready to do his part of the plan. He turned to his grandmother, his voice strong and clear with only a slightly nervous hitch. "Did you really think trying to shoot me so you can kill my mom was the right thing to do?"

The whole room gasped, then people immediately started talking all over each other. One voice was louder than all of them. "Is it true, Snow?" David asked from just behind Emma, his voice gentle and calm. "Did you do it for your family?"

Emma turned around to stare at him, a look of betrayal in her eyes. David leaned closer and, making sure that neither Snow nor Blue could see or hear, whispered, "Trust me."

Snow immediately grasped at the straw he offered. "Yes, I did," she confirmed, taking a few quick steps closer to her family. "Everything I do is out of love and for the greater good, for my family as well as for my people."

"But it's not what was best for me," Henry pointed out. "You shot my mom."

"Henry …" Snow's voice was soothing as she took another step toward him.

Blue watched as Snow walked closer and closer to her family, but she couldn't feel any deception from them, so she let it happen. She did, however, tighten her grip on the Dark Wand.

Tink watched the slight movement under Blue's cloak and nudged Ruby, who followed her eyes. Blue was standing as far back from Snow as they were going to get her, so Ruby slowly edged closer along the edge of the room.

Archie got up from his front row seat. "Henry, I think we're all a little lost here," he said quietly. "Why don't you tell us what happened, what you're accusing Snow of?"

"Yeah, I want to know what's going on," Grumpy yelled from somewhere close to Belle.

"You don't have to if it's too hard for you, Henry," Emma reassured him. "I can do it." She leaned closer under the pretense of a comforting hug. "You played your part, kid," she whispered directly in his ear. "Now go outside and let your mom know we're almost ready for her grand entrance." She felt him nod against her head and straightened.

Henry tried to look even sadder now as he addressed Archie. "I … I can't …" He turned and, after throwing his mother a sly wink, ran out of the room.

Snow watched the scene with a confused expression on her face. "What's wrong with Henry?" she asked Emma. "He finally got what he wanted all the time. The Evil Queen is vanquished, Good has won."

Emma couldn't stop herself. "Henry loves his mother!"

Snow laughed lightly. "Of course he loves you, honey."

"His other mother," Emma shot back. "The one you shot yesterday with the crossbow you stole from Granny. You used Henry as bait because you knew exactly that she would jump in front of the arrows."

There were several loud gasps in the crowd and disbelieving murmurs. "That can't be true," Grumpy said loudly. "Snow would never do anything like that."

Emma saw from the corner of her eyes how their friends crept closer to the Blue Fairy, who was watching her and Snow with hawk's eyes. Emma waited a little, letting the silence stretch, let the murmurs of the crowd rise some more, until Belle, Ruby, and Granny were standing behind Blue, the fairy none the wiser. She felt a jolt of anger and realized it came from Regina, which meant that she was within hearing distance now.

"You're right, Leroy," Emma called out, nodding almost imperceptibly at her friends who were spread out across the room. "Snow wouldn't do that, at least not the one you and I and everyone here knows." Her eyes met the Blue Fairy. "She only did it because she is being controlled right now by the darkest evil magic you can imagine."

"I knew it," Grumpy yelled. "Snow took out the Evil Queen to get away from whatever evil thing she was doing to her!"

Emma continued as if she hadn't even heard him, although she did bite back a sigh at the smirk on Blue's face and the renewed surge of anger mixed with pain she could feel coming from Regina. "The darkest evil ... and it's wielded by the Blue Fairy."

Suddenly everyone stared at the head fairy who was standing perfectly still, emanating an aura of quiet menace. A light twitch of her arm was all the warning Emma had before Snow charged at her, eyes wild, hands outstretched, going straight for her throat. Emma managed to get into a defensive stance and prepare for impact just a second before Snow jumped to tackle her. Emma instinctively closed her eyes, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

Instead there was a loud thud and a groan, and when Emma opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Snow lying at her feet knocked out cold, a light blue shimmer surrounding her. On either side of her, Nova and Tink were smiling widely.

"How dare you!" the Blue Fairy roared at the fairies, before turning back to Emma. "You think this is going to change anything? Snow's heart is darkened beyond repair and the only chance she had is as good as dead, lying in an unending sleep with no true love to wake her up."

Emma heard a throat being cleared behind her and she closed her eyes in a moment of quiet joy. "Stories about my impending demise have been slightly exaggerated, I'm afraid."

"Regina," the Blue Fairy breathed in shock. "B-but Snow was so sure she hit you."

Regina walked forward, Henry by her side, until she came to a stop next to Emma. "Oh, she did," she replied, resting one hand on her stomach.

"How? Who could love the Evil Queen?"

"I do," Emma replied calmly.

"I do," Henry echoed almost simultaneously.

"I'm quite fond of her, too," Tink added. "Again."

Regina's eyes shone with tears as she could see Belle and Ruby nod as well. "So you see, Blue," she addressed the head fairy. "I don't think Snow's situation is as dire as you paint it to be. Now hand over the wand, and we'll consider granting you mercy."

"Never," Blue roared as she pulled the wand from the folds of her cloak. "Snow might have been unable to do her job, but that doesn't mean that I am as inept as she was." She pointed the wand at Regina. "Say goodb—"

That was all she got out before a heavy iron skillet connected with the back of her head with a loud crack. Blue crumpled to the ground without a sound and the dark wand rolled out of her outstretched hand, twisting along the floor, coming to rest in the middle of the room.

Granny lowered the skillet with a satisfied nod. "Never liked the sound of her voice much," she said.

"Damn, sister, that was a good hit." Leroy laughed and the crowd laughed with him. It sounded a lot like relief.

Uncomfortable and disbelieving, but relieved.

o o o

Emma couldn't take her eyes off the wand lying on the floor in the middle of the room. Even now it looked dangerous, exuding a darkness that was almost palpable, twitching every now and then as if looking for a target in the crowd that was giving it a very wide berth. "It's almost as if that thing has a mind of its own," she muttered quietly.

Regina looked away from Blue's still body to follow Emma's eyes. "It probably does," she replied softly after a moment. "I wish Rumple was here, to be quite honest."

Emma rested her hand on Regina's lower back. "The important thing is that we got Snow away from its influence," she remarked. "Thanks to Granny's awesome skillet-wielding skills."

Regina shook her head. "While Granny has wonderful skills indeed, the danger is not over yet."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. "All we have to do now is take Blue into custody, get the darkness out of Snow, and take care of the wand."

Regina huffed. "Your overly simple view of things is one of your worst genetic traits, Ms. Swan."

"Woah, what's with the name-calling all of a sudden?" Emma looked a little wounded but she didn't let go of Regina. "Just tell me what the problem is, so we can tackle it together, okay?"

There was a sigh. "The problem is that none of those things are going to be easy," she explained. "How do you suggest we lock up a fairy, hmm? She could fly straight through the bars of the cell door." She turned to face Emma, a serious expression on her face. "I don't know if it's even possible to revert Snow back to normal. Hearts are tricky that way, and you saw the damage the Dark Wand has done."

"We'll find a way."

"Oh yes, of course, the old family mantra," Regina scoffed. "And what about the wand?"

"Can't we just … I don't know, destroy it? We should at least try."

Regina stared at Emma's face as if trying to read her or take courage from her relentless optimism. Finally she nodded and stepped away from Emma. "Fine, I'll try."

She took a couple of steps towards the wand on the floor but stopped about halfway there. "Emma," her voice was strangled, and Emma could feel the darkness through their connection. "I can't get any closer to it … the wand … it responds to my darkness. It wants me to pick it up … it wants me to use it." She tried to turn away and return to Emma's side but found that she couldn't. "Emma," she called out. "I can't move away."

Emma was by her side in two large strides. "What's going on?"

"My darkness responds to the wand as well," Regina whispered. "There's a part of me that wants to touch it, use it … master it."

Without a word, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina and pulled, trying to drag her to the other side of the room but it felt as if Regina had gained several hundred pounds in the last few minutes. "The wand's keeping you here with magic," Emma pointed out the obvious. "Can't you repel it?"

"I'm trying," Regina panted, and she sounded as if she was running a marathon instead of standing still. "That's why I'm not already blasting everyone into oblivion with the wand like it wants me to do."

"You can feel its intent?"

Regina nodded. "I don't think … Blue was using the wand," she explained, breathing heavily. "I think … the Dark Wand … was using Blue."

"That Dark Fairy must have been a piece of work to create a wand like that," Emma grumbled.

"Or the wand … created her." Regain's breathing got even more labored. "Emma, I can't … hold on … much longer."

Emma pushed some of her energy through their connection to bolster Regina's defenses. Over her shoulder she called out to David. "Dad, some help here?"

He was by her side in an instant. "What do you need?"

"We need to pull Regina away from the wand."

David gave her a strange look but then just wrapped one arm around Regina and pulled in tandem with his daughter. Regina didn't budge. "Grumpy," he called out after a second try. "Help us."

Suddenly there were several people surrounding them, some pulling, some pushing. Emma could feel Regina's resistance getting weaker and she put all her focus into keeping her grounded in their love and feeding her the bulk of her magic. Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only a few seconds, the throng of people began to move, gaining inch by inch, putting distance between Regina and the malicious magic of the wand.

When the connection broke all of a sudden, they all tumbled to the floor, panting heavily. Emma clung to Regina, whispering in her ear. "It's okay, we're fine, you're fine, we're good," she repeated until Regina opened her eyes to look at her. "I love you."

Regina swallowed hard, the taste of darkness and the malice coursing through her body almost overwhelming. "Kiss me," she demanded weakly. "I need you to kiss me."

"You think this is the right time for schmoozing, sister?" Leroy groused as he got to his feet.

Emma could feel the darkness whirling inside Regina, the wand's curse trying to take hold. "It's a necessity," she told Leroy without so much as glancing at him. Then she pressed her lips to Regina's and held them there until she could feel the familiar pulse of light magic rushing through them and outward.

"Thank you," Regina breathed after they parted, feeling light but exhausted.

Somewhere behind them, the Dark Wand gave off a sound like a screech and rolled in a fast circle on the floor. Regina's eyes found David's. "I can't take care of the wand," she told him. "It's too dangerous for everyone. One of you has to try it."

David nodded at once. "Let Emma take care of you," he said firmly and Emma sent him a smile. "I'll take care of that piece of wood." He squared his shoulders and walked in the direction of the Dark Wand, a look of fierce determination on his face. When he started to feel the pull of the seductive darkness seeping into him, he was surprised because he hadn't felt it when he was helping Emma pull back Regina. He looked back over his shoulders at Regina, wondering how she had been able to resist this urge when her own dark magic must have responded so much more to the wand than him.

Regina saw the look over Emma's shoulder. "Go help your father, dear," she urged softly. "Let him distract the wand while you try to break it. The wand seems to only focus on one person at the time."

Emma turned around at the words and saw the hesitation in her father's movement. "I'll be back in a second," she promised as she stood.

With a nod to her father, Emma walked around the wand in a wide circle, moving through the people who all stood back at a safe distance, trying to stay as far away from the wand as they could.

There was a moan, and from the corner of her eyes, Emma could see Blue beginning to come around. As soon as Granny noticed too, she tapped her once more with the skillet, almost gently this time, and Blue fell unconscious with a barely audible groan.

By that time, her father had gotten as close to the wand as he dared, and was now crouching down, drawing its attention. Once Emma was sure the wand was occupied enough, she took two running steps, then threw herself at the wand, getting both her hands on it. She sat up on her knees and gasped at the cold, burning sensation it gave off, but before it could focus its energy on her she moved her hands to either end of the wand and pressed down, forcing the wand to bend.

The wand seemed to groan and writhe, trying to hold itself together, but with one final push, powered by Emma's magic, it broke with a loud crack. A second later dark smoke evaporated from the two broken pieces, releasing the dark magic and making the air in the room tremble.

Disgusted, Emma threw the remains of the wand to Leroy. "Take them outside, hack them to pieces, then burn them," she ordered roughly, and the dwarf nodded once and left. The crowd burst into applause as the air suddenly felt a lot cheerier once more.

Through all of this, Regina had kept her eyes on Snow and even without looking at the wand and Emma she could have pinpointed when it broke because the body of her former nemesis twitched once before it seemed to relax a little.

Regina smiled softly to herself. One step was done, the wand's hold on Snow had been broken. For a minute she hoped that this might be enough but she had a feeling things weren't going to be that easy. If Blue had really added the proviso of needing Regina's love to remove the darkness from Snow's heart, then she was sure that was exactly what needed to be done.

But first things first. "Are you okay?" Regina asked Emma, once she'd closed the distance between them in a rush.

Emma wrapped Regina into a tight embrace and nodded against her head. "That damn thing was disgusting and horrible, and did I mention disgusting?" she murmured.

"How on earth did you manage to resist … that?" David asked, suddenly appearing right behind Emma. "It was …" He broke off as he shivered, words failing him.

"She's stronger than the darkness," Emma replied with a look at her father that was almost challenging. he knew she wasn't just talking about the wand.

"It was Emma," Regina disagreed softly. "She held onto me with her love and her magic." She blushed, suddenly uncomfortably aware of the crowd around them. Even kissing Emma in front of them she hadn't felt this … vulnerable. "But it affected me a lot and the dark energy bonded with my magic. That's why—"

"That's why Emma had to kiss you," David finished for her, giving her an understanding smile. "The wand's darkness acted like a curse … and Emma's kiss took care of that. True love's kiss to the rescue."

Emma chuckled. "Yeah."

"Guess I can't deny that you really belong together, can I?" he asked rhetorically.

"Don't pretend you didn't believe it before, David," Ruby laughed from a few feet away. "You're a sucker for true love, especially when it's right in your face like it is with Regina and Emma."

David shrugged good-naturedly. "Can't deny that either." He turned to Regina. "What do we do about Snow?" he asked, holding himself back from making any demands. "Does the destruction of the wand mean the curse on her is broken, too? I need her back."

"I know," Regina said softly, and she truly did, now more than ever. "Will you allow me to check her heart again? Just to see if destroying the wand did it?"

David nodded, and for the first time in their long history Regina saw his eyes look at her with nothing but trust in them. She disentangled herself from Emma, who had quietly watched the exchange, and walked over to where Snow lay, still out cold and immobilized by fairy dust.

"Bold move to steal Blue's dust," she commented to Tink and Nova with a smile. "And to mix it with sleeping powder. We didn't even think of that."

"It was Nova's idea and she stole the dust from Blue's office just before we came here. I just added the sleeping powder," Tink said. "It was the easiest way. Unfortunately, we only had enough for one of them, even with the rest of the dust I still had."

"You made the right choice," Regina said. "I doubt anyone would have dared to hit Snow with a frying pan."

"A skillet, Your Highness," Granny corrected, a grin on her face. "And here I thought you knew your pots and pans."

A wave of chuckles and laughter went around the room which died down quickly when Regina gracefully sank to her knees by Snow's side and unceremoniously pushed her hand into her chest.

"It's all right," David said loudly when the mood of the crowd seemed to shift at the move. "I asked her to do it. It needs to be done."

Regina pulled as gently as she could until her hand reappeared, Snow's heart in her hand, still black as coal. "Oh, Snow," she whispered, and for the first time in decades she felt sorry for the woman who had plagued her life since she'd been a small girl. "I don't know if I can do this."

"I trust you, Regina," Emma said, one hand on Regina's shoulder. "I know you love her, deep down. I know you can do this."

"I believe in you, Mom," Henry added, putting his hand on her other shoulder.

"So do I," David added. "You both hurt each other for years and years before the curse but even when you could have killed her, you never did, and Snow never managed to kill you either." He smiled at Regina and the still form of his wife. "I never understood that, but I think that deep down you both love each other, which is why there was so much hurt between you."

"You shouldn't think so much, Shepherd. It must hurt," Regina dismissed his words, but her words sounded slightly rough. She bent closer to Snow, the dark heart cradled gently in her hand. "Snow, you listen to me now. I don't know if you're still in there somewhere under all the darkness … but if you are, you need to fight back. I can't do this alone, and your family needs you back."

She swallowed before reaching down deep inside herself. "We all need you back," she whispered, her words only meant for Snow, and maybe Emma and Henry who stood close enough to listen, and who had a right to hear them. "And for that to happen I have to let go of everything I've felt since you were a child. I have to let go of the hate, the thirst for vengeance." She paused. "No, that's not right …"

Regina felt two hands tighten on her shoulders, one small, one slightly larger, and she pressed her cheek to Henry's hand, then Emma's in reassurance. "I've given up on those urges long ago … what I need to do now for this to work is infinitely harder, Snow," she continued hoarsely. "Gods, I hope you can actually hear all of this because you would appreciate the moment immensely, I'm sure." She smirked at her own words. "Do you know how hard it is to forgive you after all these years?"

Snow remained stubbornly but not unexpectedly quiet. Regina ran a thumb over the heart in her hand but even that got her no reaction, not even a tremble or a shiver. "Well, here goes," she told the prone woman, her eyes squeezed shut as she consciously and willingly let go of the past. "I forgive you, Snow."

Then she pressed her lips to Snow's forehead, hoping like hell the deeply buried kernel of love she held for the woman was enough.