Two days inside Town Hall had Emma feeling like she was going to go completely insane. The blue fairy placed a protection spell with Regina around the building as well as Granny's. They had been using magic for Granny, Ruby, and the blue fairy to move back and forth between the diner and the building to ensure that everyone had enough food. Cots, blankets, shampoo, soap, towels, pillows, toys for the children, and other things had already been stored in Town Hall in case of an emergency that required all of them to be there such as a big storm Emma had looked wide eyed at this. To say Regina didn't care about these people was a complete joke. Emma, Henry, and Regina were sleeping in Regina's former office to get some privacy. The boy had been sandwiched between them since this started.
Emma was thankful that somewhere in the curse Regina decided to put a locker room in town hall. The reason was simply that she had always intended to add a gym to the building, but she never got around to it. There were fifteen showers and five toilets for three hundred people. That was a little complicated. Emma and Regina had been practicing magic. The only thing they had managed to realize was that Regina's own magic was a thousand times stronger when she joined hands with Emma, and there was no way Emma could perform any spells on her own.
Everything was quiet and frantic that morning at the same time. Granny had insisted that they all eat breakfast, but neither Emma nor Regina would touch anything on their plates. Emma was nervous about what was coming. She knew that one of the four of them might not make it back. She also knew that they could lose. Even worse she knew that something bad could happen to Henry. They had agreed on a few things. David and Ruby would stay at Town Hall to protect Henry and everyone else. David had objected to this, but Regina's insistence that he was best with a sword and the strength of the brunette would be difficult for Cora to get through even without magic.
The rest of the plan was simple. Regina and the blue fairy were responsible for Cora while Emma and Snow were responsible for Hook. He didn't have magic. Emma had a sword and a gun while Snow White's trusted bow and arrow were hung over her back. They stood at the door. Emma couldn't help but feeling like they were saying their final goodbyes to each other. Snow had hugged Ruby before embracing David. Emma could see them across the room as they stood in each other's embrace. Henry clung to both Emma and Regina as they both reassured him that everything was going to be alright. Emma had no idea how true that was. Ruby took Henry to the room that he had been designated to stay in. There was only one door to get into that room, and David and Ruby would be guarding it.
Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist as the brunette pulled her in by the neck for a kiss. Lips simply pressed together saying everything that needed to be said. Regina took a single swipe of Emma's lips with her tongue before she pulled back.
"I think this is the wrong time to make out." Emma said with a grin.
"There is never a wrong time for that." Regina responded with another quick kiss.
"I'll be by your side the whole time. Don't worry." Emma said trying to reassure Regina, but she didn't believe the words herself.
"I love you." Regina said quickly.
"I love you too." Emma answered before they pulled apart. The women went over the plan again before going out of the door and past the protection spell. Emma gasped at what she saw. The town was completely deserted. Various cars and buildings had been destroyed. There was no question that anyone who wasn't in town hall was dead. Granny's diner remained the only building standing other than town hall. Everything else was brick and dust scattered on the ground. Emma hated to see what the houses looked like a few miles down. She knew that the mansion probably no longer existed. She shuddered at the thought as she remembered what was tucked under about ten layers of clothing on her side of the bedroom closet.
They walked out on Main Street and stood in the middle in a circle. Snow's bow was drawn while Emma's gun was pointed. They waited. Regina knew they would come. It wasn't long until Cora and Hook appeared right in the middle of their circle. All four of them turned quickly now surrounding them. Hook seemed to realize that this situation wasn't in his favor as he looked around between the arrow pointed right at his skull and the gun pointing at his chest.
"Regina dear. You can't tell me that you are protecting these people. Do you honestly think any of them actually love you?" Cora sneered.
Regina didn't answer the woman's question. "I will not let you hurt any of them." She answered.
"It doesn't have to be like this. You don't love any of these people. You aren't capable of it. You're foolish if you think that anyone will ever see you as anything but the Evil Queen." Cora sneered as she raised her hands. Regina mirrored her actions.
Hook tried to step to the side, but he was stopped by an arrow right in his back.
"I don't think you need me anymore Cora." He said quickly. "I came here to find the crocodile who doesn't appear to be anywhere around here. I have no intention to hurt the Queen." Hook leered at Regina, and it took every ounce of concentration Emma had not to shoot him right then and there. "Now if you don't mind, I will head back to my ship and be on my way."
"I don't think so." Snow said stepping closer to him. "You can come with me." Emma nodded at Snow as she led Hook toward Town Hall. They couldn't trust him, but she couldn't kill him either. They would decide what to do with him later.
The blue fairy, Emma, and Regina stood facing Cora.
"What do you want Mother?" Regina asked. Emma's blood went cold at the sound of Regina's voice.
"You dear. Don't you think we have been separated for too long?" Cora asked.
"I think our separation was your own doing mother." Regina sneering.
Within minutes everything changed. A flick of Cora's hand sent the blue fairy flying back into a pile of rubble. Her movement indicated that she was alright before another flick of Cora's wrist left her immobilized completely.
Regina realized in that moment how dangerous it was to have Emma there with her. Emma didn't have magic. The gun held in Emma's hand was no match to Cora. Regina knew it.
"Don't make me do this." Cora said looking right at Emma. Regina reached out then touching Emma softly on the shoulder. Emma felt the same spinning in her head that she felt when they had magically traveled around the Enchanted Forest. When she opened her eyes, she was standing right in front of a wide eyed Snow and David.
"What the hell?" Emma shouted looked around frantically.
"Did Cora do this?" Snow asked quickly. "Are you alright?"
"No. Regina did it. I'm fine. Nothing even happened." Emma mused running a hand through her hair.
Snow just stared at Emma before realization dawned on her features. "She is protecting you." Snow said breathlessly.
"I will not just stand here while she is out there risking her life." Emma shouted starting to pace back and forth.
"We go together." Snow said grabbing her daughter's arm. They ran back to where the two women had been, and Emma paled at the sight.
Regina was about ten feet from Cora deflecting what Emma could only describe as fire balls. They were screaming at each other. Emma could see it on Regina's face. She couldn't kill her own mother.
Snow raised her bow, and Emma's heart sank into her stomach as the arrow shot across the distance between them. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. All of a sudden the arrow made contact. The fireballs stopped, and Regina's face paled as she slowly lowered her still raised hand. Cora staggered forward, and Regina caught her as she fell. The arrow was sticking out of the middle of her back, and blood began to pool around them. Regina dropped to her knees knowing that there was no way this was going to kill her mother.
Emma saw the blue fairy moving from behind Regina and Cora. Emma ran towards Regina then with Snow reaching for her. She tried to stop her, but she couldn't. Cora's head turned the moment Regina realized that Emma was coming towards them. Something was muttered from below Regina before Emma sailed backwards her head hitting the pavement with a hard smack. She was left lifeless on the floor. Snow changed courses then to run to the blond. The blue fairy was the only one who saw what happened after that.
Regina's hand sank into Cora's chest pulling out what appeared to the blue fairy to be a lump of coal. A small red light was shining inside of it. The blue fairy stopped in her tracks as she realized what it was. The sound of the heart beating could be heard all the way to where Snow stood shaking Emma trying to get her to wake up. The blonde had a pulse, but it was weak.
Regina didn't even give Cora a chance to speak before she squeezed turning the heart to grey dust. Cora gasped before she went silent blood still oozing out of Cora's now lifeless body.
The blue fairy ran to Regina. "Go." She said. "I will take care of this."
Regina let go of Cora looking down at the blood that covered her shirt. She ran full speed towards the blonde. Regina leaned over her shaking the blonde.
"We have to get her to Whale. The hospital has been destroyed." Snow said trying to snap Regina out of her haze.
The world was spinning for Regina as she looked down at the blonde. The two images of her mother's body against the pavement mixed with what she currently looked at as Emma's body. Blood pooled around Emma's head the same way it had pooled around Cora's body. The only difference was the small jump that could still be seen in Emma's neck indicating that there was a small but faint heartbeat still present.
Snow lifted Emma's body, and she saw the way her hair was matted from the blood. Her mother was dead, and Regina knew that her lover was on her way to the same fate. Nothing went right for her. She had just ripped her mother's heart right out of her chest and crushed it. Magic always came with a price. The price she was going to pay that day was Emma, and Regina knew it regardless of the life that still existed inside of her.
Her world went black as she felt someone's arms encircle her before she hit the ground.
Regina was greeted with nothing but silence when she opened her eyes. She was lying on the most comfortable mattress she had felt since the last time she had slept at the mansion. She thought everything had been a terrible nightmare until she sat up. She looked across the room at her son who was sitting in her desk chair looking blankly back at her. Regina misconstrued the sadness in his face as a confirmation to her worst fear. She felt the tears slide down her face as she accepted the worst. Regina fell back to the mattress without a word thinking that the love of her life, her only true love was dead.