A/N: For those of you who are still here, thank you so much for sticking with my first multi-chapter fic, it really means a lot to me that you read it. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the way that the story comes to an end.
...SQ...
"Trina that is a perfect idea!" coalitiongirl says, and Trinadecker chuckles.
"Thanks CG, you know how much that means to me coming from you," Trinadecker pauses turning to Henry and stage whispering, "I'm a massive fan you know, CG is a legend in SQ fandom." Then at the surprised look on Henry's face says, "What? I can't be in awe of a person I work with everyday?"
Henry blinks, unsure of what to say, "Um no of course you can. I mean you're all awesome; I just can't believe you guys are actually here is all."
"We'll sign all your merch later Henry, for now we have more important matters to tend to," amycarey reminds them.
"Right, of course," Henry shakes his head, focusing on the current task, "So does anyone have any paper and a pen?"
"Oh, our method is slightly different. We don't use pen and paper; we type it up and post it onto the archive," coalitiongirl explains. "You see, our works need to be sent into the SQ realm in the World of the Fictionals for them to come into existence. When we post it onto the archive, it uses a type of portal – we call it the Post Portal - and passes through into the World of the Fictionals to then become a part of that world."
"But we can't access Ao3 right now, the site is down which means we won't be able to post anything," Henry replies glumly.
"Luckily for us, there are more Post Portals that exist in this world," amycarey supplies. "Other fanfiction writing agencies do have them: , Wattpad to name a few. But for this task I think we should use WriterZ."
"WriterZ? I've never heard of it before," Henry replies.
"It's not something that is available to the public. It's a prototype system that our agency has been developing for writers to be able to collaborate in real-time. Only high-ranking agents have been testing it so far on a separate network, so it should still be working," Trinadecker explains. "WriterZ allows us to create the stories as we type, rather than inputting the text and then posting it in one go. The Administration at Ao3 HQ found that this method reduced the amount of time it takes for a story or an update of a story to show up on the main archive page of a fandom. It meant the system would work more efficiently and the Post Portal wouldn't have to carry such a heavy payload every time a writer presses the post button."
"How will we know if it's working?" Henry asks trying to get his head around it.
"Well because your moms are real, whatever they do when we send the Evil Queen to them, will be typed into the story as if another writer was typing their collaboration. It's like when multiple people are working on the same document in Google docs, have you ever used Google docs?" amycarey asks.
Henry brightens, understanding immediately, "Yes I have," he pulls out his phone from his pocket, "Let's use my phone. And because we're not in Storybrooke the Wi-Fi connection won't be a problem, but if not, my mobile data will actually work out here."
...SQ...
Emma jolts up, her eyes attempting to adjust to her surroundings. It's dark that much she can tell. Wait, what was she doing again? She hears something move from somewhere above her and realises she's lying on the ground. Her left hand moves against it, damp and gritty – a road maybe? There's something cool in her right hand - metal perhaps - she remembers then, it's a sword. That means- Emma jumps up and there they are. The blonde immediately feels her blood boil.
The hooded figure.
The one person destined to end her life in the final battle between good and evil.
She swings the sword forward attempting to strike the figure, but they dodge it. Instantly jumping forward to send their own strike. They manage to nick Emma's arm just before she moves out of the way. Emma lunges forward and manages to do the same to the figure, a tiny rip in their cloak and a trickle of blood leaving the skin now visible.
The fight goes on like this for a few minutes, hits and blows exchanged equally between the two. Emma knows deep down it's no use to fight this figure; they both have the same level of skill, there's no one upping the other as they are the same in everything except the sides that they fight for.
As she continues swinging her sword - being met with equal resistance - she feels it deep down, knows they've already done this battle a thousand times over, yet they continue to do it anyway. Her mind is flooded with confusion in an instant, if this has already happened why do they continue to fight? How are they even able to when the battle will only be over when one of them falls?
Soon both are covered in equal amounts of blood, cuts and bruises and Emma is exhausted.
She's had enough.
This strange sense of déjà vu is draining her from the inside, it coupled with the physical pain and mental exhaustion is enough for her to be overcome with bloodlust.
She no longer wants to keep fighting; she needs to end this once and for all. There is only one way to finish off this evil in front of her.
Emma waits for the hooded figure to mirror her movements, knowing all too well they're thinking the exact same thing as her. She takes a deep breath, preparing herself for the pain to come and then her sword disappears in a cloud of purple smoke. She looks ahead and sees the sword in the hooded figures hand has also vanished.
The figure removes their hood, gaze darting around until she freezes as her eyes land on something ahead of her. Emma follows her gaze; startling when she realises another woman – face identical to the one from under the hood – is standing there eyeing them. The woman lifts her hands and then-
...SQ...
"Why did you stop writing?" amycarey asks, looking down at Henry's phone in coalitiongirl's hands; their small group gathered around the tiny device.
"I'm trying to think of something cool for her to say, I mean come on it's the Evil Queen," coalitiongirl replies.
"CG, you're awesome and I love you, but we really don't have time for this," Trinadecker says, "Just write anything and get her to be evil."
"Fine, okay you're right," coalitiongirl agrees, resuming writing.
...SQ...
"Not so fast," the woman says, now striding towards them.
"Who are you?" Emma asks baffled.
"I am the Evil Queen. And the Saviour is my thing to destroy, not yours Regina," the Evil Queen says turning to the woman previously wearing the hood, who Emma now knows to be called Regina.
The Evil Queen conjures up a fireball, lifting her hand to throw it. As she does, the sleeve of her very over the top black dress rides up and Emma can see a feathered quill tattoo displayed on her wrist. She feels her hand start to tremor as images flash through her mind, 'My name's Henry, I'm your son'; 'You're Henry's birth mother? Hi'; 'You found us'; 'My superpower may not be perfect but with you Regina, I always know when you're lying,' the flashes stop in an instant then.
Emma gasps sharply attempting to make sense of what just happened. Why would she be seeing visions of this woman, this so called Regina? And who was that young boy and the pixie-cut haired woman?
The Evil Queen throws the fireball then, and Emma just barely manages to jump out of the way, dodging it as she lands in a heap on the floor. Her hand begins to tremor again as visions flood her mind; she's slaying a dragon, climbing a beanstalk, battling against the Wicked Witch?, blasting a Chernabog with a beam of magic – Regina standing beside her mirroring her actions. Once again the flashes stop and Emma's breaths are coming in fast, she exhales deeply trying to gather herself.
"She's not yours, she is mine to destroy," the woman – Regina - says picking up her sword and running at the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen steps out of the way and Regina falls to the floor landing beside Emma; her sword clatters to the ground.
Once again, the Evil Queen conjures a fireball, lifting her arm to throw it but this time Regina sees the tattoo and her vision fades as scenes flash through her mind 'Henry is my son'; 'You're Henry's birth mother? Hi'; 'I think we've wasted our last day being haunted by the past'; 'Emma, you're better than this,' Regina takes a deep breath, her vision starting to return back to normal, she grabs the sword and looks up at the Evil Queen.
The Evil Queen hovers over them now and once again Regina's vision fades as the flashes start back up; she's reading through her mother's spell book after magic returns to Storybrooke, attempting to get Jefferson's hat to spin, rips out Peter Pan's heart?, blasting a Chernabog with a beam of magic – the Saviour standing beside her mirroring her actions.
Once again the flashes stop and she attempts to push herself up; Emma doing the same. They both stand and immediately adopt a defensive stance against the Evil Queen. The Evil Queen smirks and then-
...SQ...
coalitiongirl instantly stops typing.
"What is it?" Henry asks, "Why did you stop typing?"
"Team Alpha come in. I can hear gunshot through the earpiece, what's happening on your end? Over," coalitiongirl speaks through their earpiece. A few moments pass in silence then,
"Alpha to team captain, we are under attack at the south entrance of the building. Repeat we are under attack at the south entrance of the building. Over."
"Here Henry keep writing," coalitiongirl says handing the phone over to Henry.
"Me? But I'm not a fanfiction writer," Henry grows nervous, "What if I mess it up?"
"Henry, you may not be a fanfiction writer, but you are The Author, you can do this," amycarey says attempting to reassure him.
"Amy is right," Trinadecker agrees, "We have to go and help our team get the prisoners safely out of here. We need you to keep the Evil Queen doing whatever she can to ensure your moms can get to a point where they're able to break the curse – which I think will be soon. It seems we underestimated the power of the Fictionals mark, somehow it was able to trigger the flashes your moms are experiencing and judging by the rate at which they're occurring, their memories will be returning soon enough."
Henry nods his head, becoming more determined to fix this, "Okay."
"Listen, I have to re-direct all the agents of my team to help the rest of them at the south entrance, but there is one agent in particular who will be able to help you get back to Storybrooke as soon as possible to destroy The Darkness once and for all. I will make sure she is waiting for you when you exit the building," coalitiongirl explains. "As soon as you've finished writing, keep heading straight down this passageway; turn right at the end and go through the double doors, you both will meet her on the other side. Good luck Henry."
With that the three agents leave. Henry looks down at the phone, biting his lip in thought for a second and then resumes typing.
...SQ...
The Evil Queen conjures up her own sword; heading straight for Emma, Regina refusing to let The Queen take Regina's rightful victory pushes Emma out of the way and swings for the Queen. Emma misunderstands Regina's actions and thinks she tried to save her. So, noble being that she is, she pushes The Evil Queen away causing her to drop the sword just as she lunges for Regina.
The brunette becomes baffled at Emma's behaviour but quickly rights herself adopting a defensive stance once more. Emma picks up the Evil Queen's sword and both women swing at the Evil Queen in tandem.
The Evil Queen backs away avoiding becoming hurt but grows frustrated and conjures up a beam of magic directing it at Regina. Emma is - for some reason - overcome with a fierce protectiveness for the other woman, and before it can hit the brunette she grasps her hand and yanks her out of the way.
As soon as their hands touch, their minds become synced – matching images flooding their vision. Emma cutting down a branch of Regina's apple tree, Regina bringing Emma a basket of apples, Emma and Regina on a stakeout, fighting an ice monster, drinking shots, going undercover, watching movies together, attending Henry's parents evenings, then watching themselves on a breakfast date, slow dancing, lying on the floor of the town hall basement with no clothes on and- they both gasp in realisation, turning to face each other.
"I remember," Regina declares first.
Emma beams at her, "So do I."
"Well it's about time," The Evil Queen drawls. They both look over to her as she stands there in all her glory observing her nails and looking bored out of her mind.
...SQ...
"She did it," Henry announces then quickly types: The Evil Queen explains to prime Emma and prime Regina what they must do to break the curse and leave that realm to return back to where they were.
"Once she's finished explaining it to them, they'll do what she says and return back to where they were, so we should probably go," he says to The Apprentice. The Apprentice nods and after a few minutes they're walking out of the double doors.
It's dark outside Henry notes. There's debris everywhere, falling buildings and fires. An agent is standing waiting for them, clad in the same getup as coalitiongirl, Trinadecker and amycarey.
"Took you long enough. Hi I'm-"
"Hey I recognise that voice," Henry eyes the agent, "Take off your mask." The agent just stands there, unmoving. Henry rolls his eyes, "Come on Lily, I know it's you."
The agent huffs and removes their mask; sure enough it is Lily. "You always were a smart one kid, definitely took after your brunette mom in that sense," she says smirking.
"You're the agent taking us to Storybrooke?" Henry asks disbelieving, "Why do these things even surprise me anymore? You're a SwanQueen shipper aren't you?"
"Oh come on Henry, have you seen your moms? Of course I am," Lily replies rolling her eyes.
"It is nice to see you again dear Lilith, how may I ask did you procure such a position?" The Apprentice asks.
"Hey Apprentice nice to see you too, been a while since we last had a chat. I was looking for my dad and stumbled onto Ao3. One thing led to another, they started helping me with my search and ended up recruiting me."
"Recruiting you?" Henry asks eyeing Lily with suspicion, "They're voluntary positions. What did they recruit you for?"
Lily shrugs her shoulders, "Travel purposes," she replies vaguely. The ground starts shaking violently then and her eyes start turning yellow, "Come on now, you guys have got to get back to Storybrooke ASAP, there's no time."
Before they know it, Lily has fully transformed into a dragon.
And she's absolutely magnificent.
She lays down one of her wings, a sign that they need to hop on and go and Henry's jaw turns slack as he swoons, "This is so cool!"
"Indeed, it is young Henry. Now let us go and take care of this situation once and for all shall we?" The Apprentice offers his hand to Henry as he steps onto Lily's wing as gently as he can. Henry nods and takes his hand copying The Apprentice's actions.
...SQ...
When the Evil Queen feels their eyes on her she looks up, "I was sent to help you in remembering so that you could break the curse you're currently in," she explains.
Emma opens her mouth and closes it a few times, words not forming in her mind, "I... have so many questions."
"Yes, well, perhaps another time. Right now, you both need to kiss and leave this place so you can go and destroy The Darkness once and for all and help our son regain his title back." When Emma and Regina make no effort to move, she shakes her head and rolls her eyes, "Today would be nice."
Emma looks over at Regina, noting how eyes that were nothing more than cold dark pieces of coal moments ago have now become so soft. There's a small smile on Regina's lips and Emma sighs lovingly. She then pulls Regina towards her by the lapels of her coat and kisses her with such ferocity that Regina starts to feel dizzy from it. A rainbow light suddenly bursts from their lips, shooting outwards, causing them to break apart as they watch everything around them turn to dust and disappear and they're again standing in the exact same place - in the secret library - as they were just before being cursed.
However long ago that was.
Emma turns to face Regina, "Regina I-"
"Emma, it's okay," Regina says giving her a soft smile, "We were cursed. It wasn't real."
Emma breathes out a laugh, "Oh thank goodness. I really want to kiss you again, can I?"
"Ms. Swan you don't ever have to ask for permission to kiss me, but perhaps we should wait until The Darkness has been dealt with, the world is already going up in flames," Regina replies.
Emma arches an eyebrow at the 'Ms. Swan' and is about to speak, when – as if on cue - the entire library starts shaking and they can hear loud crashing sounds coming from the other side of the walls – no doubt something has materialised and destroyed that part of the mansion.
Emma nods then looks around the room, Regina copying her movements. It's then that they notice there are two differences in the library now than from before they were cursed. The first is that the three members of the Order are nowhere to be seen, and the second and most decidedly worse difference - neither is Henry.
Before either woman can even think to start frantically searching, part of the far ceiling in front of them comes crashing down, the sound loud enough to make them both jump. A large grey clawed foot coming into view, before being obscured by a scaled wing being set down to the ground. Henry and The Apprentice come sliding down the wing landing gracefully on the ground. They don't yet catch sight of Emma and Regina and quickly turn back looking up through the now large gaping hole in the ceiling.
"Thanks Lily!" Henry shouts, "But you've really got to work on your parking skills!" Lily snorts but in dragon form she also ends up breathing fire through her nostrils. Henry's eyes widens, "Um, I'll just give you tips for improvement when you're back in human form," he laughs nervously; the dragon raises an eyebrow. Henry didn't even know dragons can do that. Then she spreads her wings and flies away. Henry and The Apprentice both start to dust themselves off and then turn around and freeze.
Both Emma and Regina gasp as they lock eyes with their son. He's still the same age, and it doesn't seem like much time has passed, but for them being cursed into that hell loop – forced to remember taking each other's life a thousand times over - it feels like it's been a hundred centuries of being away from their son.
Henry's eyes widen at the sight of his mothers standing there and very clearly alive. He gasps, tears gathering in his eyes "Moms!" he cries making a mad dash for the blonde and brunette pair. Both his mothers catch him in an embrace, almost toppling backwards at the sheer force of Henry's run towards them. They squeeze him tightly, not quite able to believe he's there and with them. Henry tries to pull away slightly, "Okay moms... kind of... can't breathe," he manages to choke out.
"Oh, sorry my little prince," Regina says and the three of them start giggling. The blonde and brunette release their tight hold on their son, holding him gently this time and the three of them take a few minutes to bask in each other's presence.
The Apprentice clears his throat breaking the trio out of their reverie, "Do pardon me for the interruption, but I think it best if you resume this after The Darkness has been destroyed and Henry has been able to undo this error." He moves to a far corner in the library, hovers his hand over a small nook in the wall there causing it to glow momentarily and then the Magic Hat appears along with a dark goblet like object, some old tomes and a few vials filled with different coloured liquids and powders. The Apprentice picks up a vial filled with what looks to be shimmery purple glitter; then pauses.
"What's wrong?" Regina asks as they all stare over at The Apprentice. A cloud of smoke materialises then and there appear the three members of the Order responsible for cursing Emma and Regina, still holding the book containing the fail-safe.
Before they can do anything however, The Apprentice throws the vial towards the floor at their feet and Emma's jaw turns slack as she watches their bodies begin to freeze over, only their heads left untouched.
The Apprentice walks over to where Emma, Henry and Regina are, past the now statue-like members of the Order, but not before collecting the Magic Hat and the dark goblet like object. At the surprised look on Emma's face, The Apprentice explains, "A magical alternative for a stunning spell."
"That is an incredibly difficult potion to master Apprentice," Regina says standing in awe of The Apprentice, also secretly hoping he might teach her a few magical tricks.
As if The Apprentice heard her thoughts he chuckles lightly, "Indeed Your Majesty and I would be honoured to share the knowledge I have gained with you. The construction of an artefact as such was quite the strenuous task. However it was imperative that it be executed accurately, as I had reason to believe the Order would be lying in wait," he looks down at the goblet in his hand, "My suspicions that the Dark Grail would be a suitable temptation were proven correct."
And Emma gasps then, very clearly impressed with The Apprentice's actions and ecstatic at the realisation of what having possession of the Dark Grail means. Finally this will all soon be over. Joy floods her system to the point where she almost feels intoxicated.
She could kiss him right now.
But ew, that's gross.
No she couldn't. Nor does she want to.
She doesn't know why that thought came to her.
She tries to make sense of it, she could hug The Apprentice and she could kiss Regina.
She can always kiss Regina.
Oh that makes sense, in her exhilaration she probably got her wires crossed. It happens quite a lot actually, she notes.
Often when she's really happy.
And when she's around Regina.
Mostly when she's around Regina.
Okay, she's getting distracted. Emma knows she's missed something when she catches sight of the Order sporting very shocked and offended expressions and shooting daggers at The Apprentice, and yeah okay The Apprentice is a cool guy bless him and hug-worthy at most.
"We're glad you're here Apprentice and that you're alright," Regina says smiling at him.
The Apprentice nods, "Thank you Your Majesty." With that he holds up the Hat in one hand and the Dark Grail in the other, "Shall we?"
"But... your magic?" Emma asks bewildered.
"I have just enough to liberate The Darkness from its shackles within the Hat," The Apprentice replies.
Emma's nods in acknowledgement and The Apprentice places the Hat down on the ground. He then stands and holds out the Grail for Emma and Regina to take.
"What's this?" Emma asks confused.
"The Dark Grail must be wielded as it was forged, with both sides of the coin. Light and the dark," The Apprentice replies, "Though the Queen now possesses light magic, there still exists darkness within her. It is the same for you Saviour, your potential for darkness remains. Therefore both your light and dark parts equally together will allow for the Dark Grail to destroy The Darkness once and for all."
Emma nods, and Regina extends her hand out grasping the Dark Grail from one side and allowing Emma to hold the other.
"I will now release The Darkness from the Hat, you both must remain steadfast until the Grail has consumed The Darkness whole," The Apprentice moves to stand up and takes a step back. He watches Emma and Regina and they both nod before he proceeds. He holds his hand over the Hat "Purest of evil I call upon thee, no longer contained you are now set free, there will be no living infinitely, when light and the dark are in unity."
The Hat starts to hover and glow white before a deafening scream pierces through the air and The Darkness comes oozing out. Slowly at first, then suddenly it erupts from the hat with such force that the occupants of the room are blown backwards.
Through the few moments it takes for them to right themselves, thick grey clouds have covered the ceiling completely. Rumbling loudly and flashing bolts of lightning every so often. A grey vortex forms over the library where the ceiling had fallen through previously. It grows with each passing second and begins tearing into the surrounding area, devouring the rubble and debris.
First The Darkness surrounds The Apprentice; then it moves through him before finally slithering into his body, causing him to convulse before The Darkness has finally gained control. He looks up at Emma and Regina; his eyes now empty black holes.
"Do you really think that you are strong enough to destroy me?" he says, his voice now morphed into something that sends shivers down both Emma and Regina's spines. "The Orphan Princess and the Reject Queen? You will never be good enough," The Apprentice laughs then - sinister and ominous - very clearly targeting both Emma and Regina's deepest insecurities. The Darkness crawls out of his body, giving him breath and life once again and he kneels to the ground - exhaling deeply; not strong enough to stand just yet.
It turns to Henry and both Emma and Regina feel their resolve slipping. This time it crashes straight into the young boy, taking over his body at once. His voice turns menacing and cruel, "Because of your selfish desire, your loved ones will die and your home destroyed. You both will be the only survivors and to make your suffering worse, I will stay tethered to your son so you can watch how the light and the life leave his eyes as he becomes fully consumed by me."
Instantly both women's stance becomes defensive, The Darkness within Henry realises it has hit a nerve. He smirks, voice changing back to normal; then turns to Regina, "Everyone you ever loved only gave you pain mom. They all abandoned you. You were worth nothing to them," he says playing on her heartstrings. "You'll always be the Evil Queen because you're not capable of changing. Not truly. In your case evil wasn't made, it was born and you are rotten to the core."
Tears gather in Regina's eyes at hearing her son say those things to her. She knows it's not really Henry, knows it's The Darkness drawing out her deepest darkest fears, but her heart still stings refusing to believe what her mind is already aware of.
She takes a deep breath, attempting to gather her thoughts and looks into Henry's eyes, nothing but evil in his once hope-filled orbs, and her chest aches, for all that she sees is the little boy who taught her what true unconditional love was.
A tear drop falls from her eyes as she looks into his and she notes his eye twitching slightly in response – a tiny and almost non-existent wrinkle appearing on his forehead, one that often shows up when something is bothering him. It disappears as soon as it arrived, his face turning back into an impenetrable mask once more. But Regina saw it, and she knows her son is still in there.
She knows The Darkness is wrong.
She is no longer the Evil Queen because now she is good.
And no, not everyone abandoned her.
After everything, the town grew to trust her.
Her sworn enemy became her family.
Her son stayed with her.
And Emma? Emma always believed in her. Even when Regina gave her reason not to, the stubborn woman refused to accept it.
So Regina remains resolute, gripping the Grail even tighter.
The Darkness will not win.
It's almost as if The Darkness can sense her determination and immediately it turns to focus all of its energy on Emma. "Ma, you're just a little girl who nobody wanted. And nobody needed. You abandoned me; you left me..." and Emma feels her grip falter. Old regrets coming back to haunt her, slamming into her with the strength of a thousand tidal waves and she can't-
"You deserve all the pain you get," The Darkness continues on through Henry, "Because you're nothing. No one wants you, no one will ever want you and no one will ever love you."
Emma knows that's not true.
She knows it, but deep within the recesses of her mind, her beliefs say otherwise.
She feels her grip on the Grail loosen further. She looks over to Regina, her eyes full of regret and words unspoken because she's so sorry, because she knows she can't do this - knew it from the beginning - yet still here she is, knowing that in the end she'll just disappoint those who come to feel love for her. And this is all just too much and she just wants to-
Emma feels a hand grasp down tightly over her own, grounding her; anchoring her. It stops her from getting ripped away by the whirlwind of her thoughts.
She'd recognise the smooth velvety feel of that skin anywhere – Regina.
And that's the thing about Emma and Regina.
Emma could float away, if Regina didn't anchor her.
And Regina could sink, if Emma didn't keep her afloat.
But Regina just looks at her and smiles. "It's not true Emma," she says. "The town loves you. Henry loves you..." she pauses then, "And I love you," a quiet admission but it thunders through Emma, resonating through her every cell. It echoes so loudly that it's all that she hears for a moment.
And just like that - as if she was almost looking for an excuse to do it - Emma's grip on the Grail strengthens once more and she stands firm in her resolve.
The Darkness will not win.
The Grail starts to glow then, the Saviour and the Queen now battling against The Darkness as one; it draws it in; absorbing it like a vacuum would to bits of dirt. The Grail starts to shake with the sheer force but Emma and Regina remain unyielding and resist the pull.
Before long, Henry is freed from The Darkness' clutches and he - like The Apprentice - kneels to the ground attempting to regain his strength. The Grail starts to heat up, burning the inside of the Queen and the Saviour's hands, a blinding white light bursts out from it, coupled with a shockwave that sends Emma and Regina flying back, each landing in a heap on the ground. It starts to cool as it falls to the floor, returning back to its dark colour and the grey vortex and thunderclouds are nowhere to be seen.
Henry rushes over to his mothers', pulling them up from the floor and embracing them tightly, "Moms, I'm so sorry I-"
"Henry it's okay, it was The Darkness talking," Emma reassures him squeezing him further into the embrace to offer him comfort. Henry snuggles in further between his mothers.
"I believe I have you three to thank for setting me free," a voice comes from behind them. They turn to see a tall young man, beautiful tanned skin, wearing a black and golden robe.
Before Regina can ask who he is, The Apprentice speaks, "Merlin? You're here?" the man – Merlin - nods.
Merlin walks up to the trio, and they look at The Apprentice baffled.
"The Sorcerer," The Apprentice supplies coming to stand next to him.
"Wait, you're the Merlin?" Emma asks disbelieving.
Merlin chuckles, "I am indeed," then pauses, "I'm older than I look. But thanks to you, I'm now free." He then turns to where the three members of the Order are still standing frozen. The trio breathe a sigh of relief when the book containing the fail-safe the man in the middle is still holding promptly turns to dust.
"That is so cool. How did you do that?" Henry asks in awe.
"I didn't Henry. It was all the Saviour and the Queen. There is no need for the fail-safe to exist now that The Darkness is gone. Therefore it simply turned to dust. I can do this however," with a flick of his wrist, the members of the Order disappear in a flash of light.
"Where did you send them?" Regina asks.
"Somewhere where they can't hurt anyone ever again," Merlin replies.
Emma gasps then, remembering, "The town, it's in ruins. How do we stop it Merlin?"
"Whatever damage that was caused in town by The Darkness has been undone-"
"But what about the rest of the world?" Henry questions urgently.
"Well The Darkness only existed within Storybrooke, but the other damage caused was by virtue of the pen. So the only way to restore everything is by using the pen once again to undo the mistake," Merlin says.
"But I don't have-" Henry starts to say but cuts himself off when the pen materialises in his hand along with the ink.
"Henry, I know that what you did wasn't intentional," Merlin starts, "But you did use the pen and ink carelessly and that led to such a colossal mistake. As you helped free me, I will grant you this one opportunity to use the pen and ink one last time in order to try and right this wrong. If you succeed, you will be granted your title back. If however you don't..." he trails off.
"No!" Henry shouts, "I can do it. I will succeed."
"Very well," Merlin says before handing Henry a small piece of paper.
Henry takes it eagerly and moves to lean against a desk in the corner of the library. He pauses for a few moments deep in thought - figuring out the correct wording - then dips the pen in the ink and writes:
All of the Fictionals go back to where they belong.
As soon as he dots the full-stop, the writing sparks and glows for a few moments and then fades back to normal.
"Did it work?" Henry asks eager, coming to stand back with the other occupants in the room.
Regina inhales sharply as she is hit with hundreds and thousands of images flooding her mind. Every one focused on her and Emma. Her and Emma skiing, having tickle fights, going on dates, watching a movie, slow-dancing, kissing up against her tree, sitting on Emma's back while she does press ups, Emma's face pressed between Regina's-
The realisation hits Regina then, these are all events that have happened in stories that people have written about them. They're now embedded in her mind. She looks over to Emma and notes her sharing the same expression, no doubt wondering how they've managed to live hundreds of lifetimes together - memories of loving each other in every single one - yet only shared a single kiss in this lifetime.
Emma looks up at her then, her eyes full of love and adoration, "Whaddya say we write our own story now?"
Regina smiles, "I would like that very much," she holds out her hand for Emma to take, "Together?"
And Emma grasps hold of her hand tightly; revelling in the softness of Regina's skin, "Damn right." She then pulls Regina towards her kissing her with such ferocity that Regina feels breathless with want. A rainbow light suddenly bursts from their lips, shooting outwards, and they break apart and chuckle resting their foreheads together.
Merlin beams at them; then looks over to Henry, "Yes Henry, it worked exactly how I wanted it to. It most definitely pleases me to say that you - Henry Mills - have earned your title back and are now the rightful Author once again."
Henry gasps, relieved; his smile is blinding, "Thank you," he breathes out quietly.
"There's just one thing left to do now," Merlin says.
"What's that?" Henry asks.
Merlin turns to look at Emma and Regina. And the transformation on his face from wise old wizard with a ridiculously young face – Emma needs to remember to ask him what moisturiser he uses cause seriously that skin is just flawless – to a school guy with a crush, makes Emma do a double-take, almost giving her whiplash.
"Can you guys sign my SwanQueen t-shirt? I'm a huge fan," Merlin asks sheepishly.
It's safe to say that Emma's jaw is now hanging on the ground, gathering dust down there.
"What!?" Regina screeches, her confusion reaching no limit.
Merlin shrugs, "Well where do you think it all started? I foresaw the prophecy of how The Darkness would be destroyed eons ago. Technically I'm the first SwanQueen shipper," he shrugs proud. "Besides CG, Trina and Amy will never believe I met you guys if I go back to Ao3 without my shirt being signed."
Henry's jaw is now also hanging on the floor along with his blonde mother's, "You know coalitiongirl, Trinadecker and amycarey? No way, I met them; they never mentioned you," he furrows his brow then, "Wait... but how do you know of Ao3?"
"I'm the agent that got trapped here," Merlin replies.
"But aren't you from Camelot? What are you doing here?" Emma asks, now having recovered from her previous shock.
"Yes I am originally from Camelot. I was trapped in this realm without my magic, but some of my memories were kept intact. When I came here in search of the fail-safe, all of my memories along with my magic were returned as soon as I crossed the town line. But magic works differently in this world; before I got the chance to cultivate and strengthen it, I was cursed to a pocket realm existing between worlds; that's where I was trapped until you freed me," Merlin explains. "I suspect it was the Order, somehow they knew why I was here and sent me to a place where I wouldn't be able to intervene in their plans."
After a moment of silence where everyone tries to get their heads around everything, Merlin adds, "So can you sign my shirt please?" a black shirt with a white Swan wearing a golden crown on its head appears in his hand.
Regina chuckles softly, shaking her head in fond amusement, "Henry can you pass me a pen please?" Henry shoves off his backpack rummaging around for his pencil case, mentally patting himself on the back that he had the foresight to pack extra pens today to ensure he didn't encounter the same issues as he had yesterday. Goodness yesterday seems like years ago now that he thinks about it. He grabs a pen and hands it to his brunette mother.
"Ma, do you need one too?" he asks, looking up at the blonde.
"Yeah sure," Emma shrugs and reaches for the pen being handed to her.
After they finish signing the shirt - Merlin thanking them profusely - he explains that he will be returning back to Ao3 to find and stop the other members of the Order as there are many more lurking in the shadows. He offers for The Apprentice to join him in this quest as he has missed his oldest friend very dearly and The Apprentice agrees straight away, happy to be finally reunited with his mentor.
They leave shortly after; Merlin reassures the trio that if they need him, they know where he will be. And that most likely he will be returning more than once, often with a group of crazed fangirls, as once he shows off his signed SwanQueen t-shirt, well he won't have much of a choice but to return. Not that he would miss an opportunity to bask in the glory of being in the presence of his OTP.
Henry chuckles as he walks them out.
"Just so you know Henry," Merlin says just as he's stepped outside, "Thank you. The pen did choose wisely this time. You are the best Author to have ever existed. You were able to right one of the biggest wrongs in history after all – SwanQueen," he smiles and then turns to leave. And Henry feels his face start to hurt from smiling so much as he watches Merlin and The Apprentice go.
...SQ...
It's two years later as Emma is looking down at her chicken scratch scrawled out next to the elegant swirls of the woman sitting beside her on their marriage certificate that she realises her wish came true.
Emma was written with Regina after all.
She turns to face the beautiful woman next to her – her wife – her heart does a little flip at that, grasping hold of the brunette's hand; entwining their fingers and revelling in the softness of her skin which – even after all this time – she still hasn't gotten over and she doesn't think she ever will. Regina turns to face her, giving such a soft smile that Emma feels like she's floating on a cloud.
Henry observes his moms from where he's standing at the other side of Granny's diner. After his mistake was undone, the town and the rest of the world was restored exactly to the way it was. Thankfully none of the damage was permanent and no lives were lost. And now - two years later - they're at a party that the townsfolk have thrown for his mothers for 'Finally putting us out of our misery and just tying the knot!' – Aunt Z's exact words.
As Henry stands there watching his moms holding hands and smiling softly at each other, he can't help but think back to years previous when he had often wondered if they would ever get together and if anything would ever work out in the end. But now, Henry knows that yeah – after all that has happened – everything did work out, because Operation SwanQueen was a success.
The End.
"Of this chapter," Henry says observing the words sparking and glowing before returning back to normal, "That's another chapter finished recording," he mumbles to himself moving to turn the page and dip the pen into the ink pot once more.
Henry pauses when he hears a shout of, "Henry come on, chocolate frosted doughnuts!" and years ago Henry had foregone his favourite treat in favour of finding more information that could help his mother's get together.
But not today.
He is Emma's son after all.
And that mission was a success, so perhaps he should treat himself.
So today he's not going to give up his favourite treat. Henry closes the book he's currently recording in, running his hands over the beautiful black and gold leather cover – The Greatest Love Story Never Told, and smiles.
He'll continue recording the story of his mothers tomorrow. For now, he's going to go downstairs and enjoy his favourite treats while watching a movie with his moms.
...SQ...
A/N: Thank you so so much for reading; please do leave a review if you liked it and let me know your thoughts. The accompanying art for this fic can be found on my Ao3 account (link in my profile). I have lots more ideas for fics (and art) to come, so hopefully you'll enjoy them too (if you enjoyed this one that is). Take care :D
