Mary Margaret had pulled Ben aside and informed us about what Regina had told them, that Greg and Tamara had stolen an object that could destroy Storybrooke if it was activated, and that they were working with Hook, the one who had kidnapped her. With a couple quick phone calls, all of my friends had come to the loft. We told them of what had happened, and they were understandably concerned. We tried to brainstorm different ideas on how we could stop it, but ultimately, nothing we came up with was any form of a solid plan. Mary Margaret, David and Emma left to tell Henry what had happened while we stayed back. "DO we know where they are?" Carlos asked, wringing his hands together.
"Not a clue." Mal reported. "I tried to track them but they had something blocking them, something Magic."
"We swept the whole lace and couldn't find anything to lead us to them either." Jay said. "No physical evidence whatsoever."
"So that's it?" Evie asked softly. "This...this failsafe...it's going to kill us, isn't it." My eyes filled with tears.
"I only just found my family." I said, my voice wavering. "I just found my home. I don't want to lose it." I sobbed, bringing my hands up to cover my eyes. "My mum, my dad, my sisters. I have a nephew! I don't want to lose all this! I already lost Mother…" I felt an arm wrap around me and I lent into Ben, my eyes burning with tears as I cried into his chest. The door then opened, and Mary Margaret, David, Emma and Henry walked through. I looked to them, rubbing tears from my eyes.
"Mum!" Henry cried, racing over to Mary Margaret's bed. I saw him wrap Regina in a hug. I let out a breath of relief, standing myself and hurrying over to her. However, I stumbled when the ground shook underneath my feet. I fell to the flood, yelping when my hand was sliced on a piece of glass. The rumbling subsided, and Ben knelt next to me.
"Regina, was that…?" Emma trailed off.
"Yes. The Diamond was activated." Regina said. Henry helped me up, and Mal appeared at my side. With a wave of her hand, a green glow shimmered over the cut and it disappeared.
"So we're all gonna die?" Henry asked.
"You were born here, so you'll live." I took in a shaky breath, looking at Ben fearfully.
"But…I'll be alone."
"I'm so sorry Henry."
"It's not gonna happen. I'm not gonna let it." Emma promised. "You did this, now make it stop."
"I can't." Regina admitted. "There's no way."
"We'll figure it out. It's your fault."
"Emma." I snapped. "It's not Regina's fault that she got kidnapped."
"Stop!" Henry shouted. "I already lost my dad. I don't wanna lose anyone else. We have to work together."
"From the mouths of babes, I'd say the lad has a point." A voice said from the door. I snarled, my eyes turning gold as I glared at the man kidnapped my sister. David turned and socked Hook in the jaw.
"That's for the last time we met." He stated.
"Bloody hell…" David drew his gun.
"Tell us why you're here before I use something else, other than my fist."
"I think threatening to kill me is a bit redundant when we're all about to die anyway."
"No thanks to you." Emma said.
"Letting you be killed by the Failsafe is far too merciful for you." I growled, stepping forward. I snapped my hand up as if holding a cup, and Hook was thrown against the wall, gasping for air. "You were working with Greg and Tamara. You kidnapped Regina. You're the one who wants revenge!"
"Hadley!" Mal snapped. I huffed, smoke shooting from my nose as I dropped Hook back onto the floor.
"That was before they told me I had to die to get it." He coughed.
"We don't have time for this." Evie said, stepping forward. "There's a real problem right now."
"A problem that's only getting worse." Jay added, looking out the window.
"Which is why I'm here." Hook but in. "Because staring death in the face has made me realise if there's one thing I want more than my revenge, it's my life. So shall we stop this thing now and then resume bickering?"
"There is no stopping it." Regina repeated, stepping forward. "Now, the best thing I can do is slow it down, but that will only delay the inevitable."
"Or give us the time we need." David said.
"The time for what?" Mary Margaret asked. I could hear the hopelessness in her voice.
"To steal back the Beans. Use them to ger everyone back into the Enchanted Forest before Storybrooke is gone."
"And from there we can get to Auradon!" Carlos said, a smile gracing his features.
"How can we do that?" Ben asked. "We've got no clue where Greg and Tamara are. Mal can't use Magic to track them, and Jay said that even normal tracking isn't working either. It's like they've disappeared."
"Well, I do." Hook spoke up. "I can help."
"Or help yourself, you dirty pirate!" I snapped at him. "You'll steal the beans yourself and leave us all here to die. Why should we trust you anyway?"
"No, we won't have to." David said. "I'll go with him. If he tries anything I'll shoot him in the face."
"Quite hostile, aren't we?" Hook jabbed.
"Just being clear."
"Jay, Mal, you two go with them." I spoke up, turning to them. "Magic and brawn, you two are the best we've got to help there. Evie, Carlos, Ben, you three go with Mary Margaret and help gather the town, take Henry with you. Emma and I will go with Regina and slow down the Failsafe." Everyone nodded, the plan was set. I gave each of my friends a tight hug, holding them close. I soon came to Ben. With tears in my eyes, I cupped his cheeks. "Stay safe." I begged. Ben's hands found mine as the tears started to fall.
"I will." He promised. Our eyes closed and our lips met. As first kisses go, I can't compare it to anything, but this is what I hoped it was. Love and safety all in one. It was slightly salty, but we didn't care. When we separated, we reluctantly had to let go. Everyone grabbed their coats and were out the door.
TIMESKIP
Regina, Emma and I trudged through the mines underneath Storybrooke. The air was starting to get thin. It felt like the caves in the Isle, where some of the more animalistic Villians such as Scar, Shere Khan and Mor'du live. "I can feel it." Emma said. "It's like the oxygen is being sucked out of the air."
"Not the oxygen, the Magic." Regina corrected. We followed the tunnels until we saw a glowing black diamond hovering in mid-air. "There it is...Once it stops glowing, it's destruction is achieved. And then. Well...then we can see the real carnage. I'll try to contain it's energy as long as I can."
"You won't be here long." I promised, stepping close to Regina. "We'll get a bean down here and you can come with us."
"Slowing the device...it's going to require all the strength I have."
"You're not coming with us, are you?" Emma asked. My eyes widened, as what Regina planned to do finally clicked. "When you said goodbye to Henry, you were saying goodbye."
"He knows I love him doesn't he?"
"Regina…" I breathed. "No, no! The-there has to be another way! You have to come back with us."
"Oh Hadley…I know we didn't spend much time together...but I know you're an amazing sister...Emma is right, though, everything that's happening is my fault. I created this device. It's only fitting that it takes my life."
"What am I supposed to tell Henry?" Emma asked.
"Tell him that in the end, it wasnt too late for me to do the right thing."
"Regina." I whispered, stepping close to her. I gripped her arm tight, tears welling up in my eyes. "Regina, please...don't do this..."
"Everyone looks at me s the Evil Queen, including my son." Regina looked me in the eyes. "Let me die as Regina." I wrapped Regina in a hug, holding her tight. Regina held me just as close, then shoved me away, into Emma's arms.
"Regina no-!" I was cut off by Regina starting to hold the Failsafe back, her purple Magic seeping into the gem. I reluctantly let Emma pull me away, watching sadly as the woman I was named after reluctantly gave her life for the benefit of others. Emma practically dragged me towards the diner, and I didn't protest. Regina was sacrificing herself, how could i be happy that we were gonna live? When we entered the diner, Ben stood, noticing the look on my face. "She's…" I breathed. "She's gonna sacrifice herself." Ben wiped a tear from my cheek. Evie and Calos appeared on my other sides and comforted me. Pretty soon, the door opened again, and David, Mal, Jay and Hook walked through.
"We have the bean!" David declared. Emma stood and hurried over to him.
"You did it?" Emma asked.
"Yeah."
"Hadley, you alright?" Mal asked, setting her hand on my shoulder.
"Regina's staying down there to stop the Failsafe." Evie said gently, rubbing my back. "She's a little shaken."
"Ok, let's get going." Ema said. "Henry?"
"Where's my Mum?" Henry asked. I closed my eyes, a tear falling down my cheek.
"Regina can hold off the self-destruct device long enough for us to escape. But…"
"But what?"
"She won't survive."
"No...no!"
"Henry, I'm sorry. I promised her I'd get you and Hadley to safety."
"But we can't do this, she's family! We don't leave family behind!"
"I know, but this is what she wants. We have a way out, we have to take it."
"We saved her from being killed by the Wraith. How is this any diferent?" Henry asked.
"The Wraith…" Mary Margaret trailed off.
"What?" Jay asked, "What are you talking about?"
"We sent it through a Portal, why can't we do the same thing with the self-destruct."
"Because we don't know id it's gonna work." Emma told her.
"It could!"
"Yeah." David agreed.
"It's too risky." Emma insisted. "No one will go along with it."
"Yes we will." Archie said, stepping forward. " 'Cause it's the right thing to do."
"We have to at least try." I said, stepping towards the group. "Like it or not, Regina is my sister. I can't leave her behind. Ben gave my friends and I a second chance to live, it would be selfish not to so the same foe her."
"Snow White and the Prince have always lead us before, and we've always won. So, who's willing to let them lead us again?" Everyone in the diner raised their hands, including my friends.
"Thank you, Archie." Mary Margaret said. "THis is what we should do."
"And will do." Mary Margaret reached out and took one of my hands, and one of Emma's.
"I know we haven't had a lot of chances to be parents, but...give us this one. Let us do the right thing. It's not too late."
"I just don't want him to be alone." Emma muttered as she wrapped an arm around Henry and held him close. I don't want him to grow up the way I did." There was a rumble, and everyone in the diner latched onto something to keep them stable. "This plan could fail. If we use that bean now, we can get away for sure, we will survive."
"Emma!" I shouted. "We have to try! We can't just stand around and let someone sacrifice themselves for us."
"Emma, I killed her mother." Mary Margaret said. "And Cora wasnt just Regina's mother, as much as I don't want to admit it, Cora was Hadley's mother as well."
"You did that to Cora because you had to." Emma argued.
"I did it because it was easy. And...I didn't know how that would have affected my own daughter. It was a mistake. There were other paths, harder paths, and I wish I had taken them. So please, Emma...honey...let's take the hard path. Because if we don't, we will be building a future on Regina's blood."
"Pleas…" I bagged, stepping closer to Emma. She looked at me. "She's Henry's mother, and she's my sister too...we can't leave her." There was a pregnat pause.
"Ok." Emma relented. David tossed the bean pouch to Emma, but it was snatched out of the air by Hook.
"You're all mad." Hook declared. "I can live with myself-"
"Give it back!"
"She wants to die for us, I say let her."
"How can you be so heartless?!" Evie demanded.
"You and I, we understand each other." Emma said to the one-handed man. "Look after yourself and you'll never get hurt, right?" I stiffened. That was the exact mantra from the Isle. Don't get attached. Protect yourself. Don't care about others because they'll eventually hurt you. I didn't realise how much my friends and I had in common with not only Emma, but Hook as well. Hook didn't have the hand reaching out offering help, he grew up with nothing for years. Emma, my friends and I on the other hand
"Worked quite well for me." Hook said.
"Yeah, untill the day that it doesn't. We're doing this. It might be stupid, it might be crazy, but we're doing it. So, you can join us and be a part of something, or you can do what you do best and be alone." Emma stuck her hand out for the pouch.
"Quite passionate, Swan." Hook commented, pulling the pouch out of his back pocket. He dropped it into Emma's waiting hand.
"Ok, let's go." I said, wiping my eyes. "Let's get down to Regina and tell her the good news!" I turned to my friends. "You four go and let everyone know the new plan, Ben and I will go down to the mines with Emma and the others." My four friends nodded before leaving. I followed Mary Margaret, David and Henry out the door after them, my hand gripping Ben's tight.
TIMESKIP
We entered the mines, Regina still standing at the Failsafe. She looked up when she saw us, and her eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" Regina demanded.
"You were willing to die to save us, that makes you a hero." Henry told her. "And now we're gonna be hero's."
"We're gonna open a portal, throw this thing into a void." David explained.
"No." Regina protest. "You don't know that it'll work."
"We have to try." Mary Margaret insisted.
"Everybody, step aside." David herded us all to the side. Ben and I huddled close. Emma stepped back and turned around. She paused her movements.
"Emma?" I called softly. Emma turned back to us.
"It's empty." She said. I sucked in a breath. The bean was gone…
"Hook…" I growled. I left ben and took the pouch from Emma. "How could I have missed that! I-I'm Hadley Hearts! I was raised a thief! I should have noticed!" I threw the pouch down angrily, colloms of smoke escaping my nostrils.
"I can't contain this much longer." Regina said in a hollow voice. I looked over at Emma, tears welling up in my eyes. We stared at each other before she wrapped an arm around me. We then turned to Mary Margaret and David.
"Mum…" I muttered,
"Dad…" Emma whimpered as we moved over to them. We wrapped her arms around our parents, Henry in the middle of all of us. I buried my head in my mother's shoulder as she and our father held us close. I met Ben's gaze over Mary Margaret's shoulder. Henry pulled out from the hug and approached Regina. David and Mary Margaret kept Emma and in their arms. I watched as Henry walked up to Regina and held her tight hug. I reached out to Ben, and he grabbed my hand.
"I love you, Henry." Regina said, "I only wish I was strong enough to stop all this. I'm just not." Emma and I then pulled away from Mary Margaret and stepped back as I realised something. I looked over to Emma to see that she too was thinking the same thing. We turned to face Regina and Henry.
"You may not be strong enough." Emma started.
"But maybe the three of us are." I finished. David pulled Henry towards him once he had let go of his adoptive mother. David, Henry and Mary Margaret moved out of the way and turned their backs to the Failsafe. Emma and I stood near the Failsafe and lifted our arms. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my magic. I could feel my magic running through my hands and into the Failsafe. There was then a blast and I was thrown back.
"Were alive!" David exclaimed. I slowly started to sit up.
"Emma! Hadley!" Mary Margaret cried.
"Hadley!" Ben called, racing over to me and helping me stand. David pulled Emma up by the arm.
"We did it." Emma said to Regina. I smiled at Regina who returned it with a small one of her own.
"Yes, we did." She agreed as she held up the Failsafe.
"Gotta hand it to Henry, he's right about a lot of things." David said with a smile,
"Yes, he is." Emma said. "Isn't that right kid?" We all looked around to see Henry missing. "Henry?"
"Henry?" Regina called. We all followed the mines to try and find Henry. Emma then squat down to pick something up,
"Emma, what is it? What did you find?" I asked. Emma stood up with Henry's bag in hand.
"They took him." Emma realized.
TIMESKIP
We raced out of the mines, my nose trying to pick up on where they took Henry. "Hadley, do you even know where you're going?" Regina demanded.
"I have the nose of a Dragon, Regina, it doesn't lie." I snarled. We found ourselves at the dock, where Greg and Tamara were dragging a struggling Henry. Greg threw something into the water.
"The last Bean." Regina realised. "They've opened a Portal…"
"Henry!" We shouted, racing towards them. We were too late, however, Greg and Tamara lept off the dock, yanking Henry with them into the portal.
"No! No! No!" Emma screamed, about to follow when David held her back. "We have to follow them! There has to be a way!"
"Not only do we not know where they went, but Hook stole the last bean!" Regina said.
"I don't care!"
"Without it, there's no way to follow."
"There has to be." Emma was still struggling against David's hold, but our father was stronger. 'We can't let them just take Henry!"
"They've taken Henry?" A voice spoke up from behind us. We turned and saw Mr Gold and Belle? Lacy? I'm not entirely sure. Ben stiffened beside me, not at all comfortable near someone who claeimed to be the same person as his mother.
"Yeah, you're the Dark One, do something." David ordered.
"Gold, help us." Emma begged.
"There's no way." Gold told us. "I spent a lifetime trying to cross worlds to find my son. There's no way in this world without a portal."
"So that's it? He's gone forever?" Regina asked. "I refuse to believe that."
"What is that?" Belle asked as a ship made it's way towards us. I growled, my eyes turning Gold.
"Hook." I snarled. "He is gonna get it…" Hook pulled into port, and we hurried over to them.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Emma asked as Hook walked off the ship.
"I'm helping."
"Well, you're too late."
"Am I?" When I got close to hook, I made a fist and within a blink of an eye, Hook's head snapped to the side and my fist was stinging badly.
"That's for stealing the Bean." I stated, cradling my hand to my chest. I stepped back towards Ben, who wrapped an arm around me protectively.
"I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself." Emma said.
"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could." Hook told her, offering a pouch. Emma took it and shook it into her palm. The Bean rumbled out.
"Enough waiting around, let's go." Regina ordered.
"Go? Where? I thought we were saving the town."
"We already did." David said.
"No thanks to you." Ben muttered under his breath.
"We need to get Henry." Emma said. "Greg and Tamara took him through a Portal."
"Well, I offer my ship and my services to help follow them." Hook said.
"Well, that's great hook, but how will we track them?" Regina asked.
"Leave that to me." Gold said, hobbling over with Belle. "I can get us where we need to go."
"Then let's do it." Mary Margaret decided. I turned to Ben as everyone walked onto the ship.
"Stay here." I said. Ben's eyes widened.
"What?" He asked. "I can't just let you go off on your own-"
"Ben." I interrupted softly. "I won't be alone. I've got my...my mother, my father, and my sisters to look after me. You need to stay here and look after the town."
"I can help, Hadley."
"I know you do." I reached up and cupped Ben's cheeks. "That's one of the reasons I fell for you. You need to learn how to be a leader, I ripped you from your duties as king, and for that I'm sorry. You helping here...you can learn to lead, impress your parents when we get back to Auradon."
"Are you sure?" Ben asked. I nodded. I pushed myself up onto my toes and closed my eyes, pressing my lips to Ben's. We shared a sweet kiss. When we separated, I gave him a gentle smile.
"I'll come back to you, I promise." With a quick peck, Ben and I separated and I walked onto the ship. I leaned on the railing and kept an eye on Ben as Gold boarded. My eyes welled with tears as we pulled away from port.
"So, you're done trying to kill me?" Gold asked. I wiped my eyes and turned to the group.
"I believe so." Killian answered,
"Excellent. Then you can live." Gold waved his hand and a globe appeared. It was white with a spike at the top. Gold pricked his finger on the spike and let blood drip onto the surface of the globe. The blood formed an island that I vaguely recognised.
"Where is that?" Regina questioned. "Where did they take Henry?"
"Neverland." Killian told us. Emma placed the bean in Killian's hand. He threw it into the sea and instantly a portal appeared.
"So who are we up against?" David asked as we all gripped onto something. I hoisted myself onto the mast and held onto the ropes tight. "Who are Greg and Tamara?"
"There merely pawns." Gold replied. "Manipulated by forces far greater than they can conceive, no idea who they're truly working for."
"And who's that?" Emma questioned,
"Someone we all should fear." The ship sailed into the portal and we disappeared from Storybrooke.
