Power of Three
- 5.21 alternate ending.
When Emma entered the Mayor's office, she would never have expected the sight in front of her eyes – Zelena was sobbing, clinging to Regina, who was instead crying silently – Robin was lying next to them, eyes closed.
"What the hell?"
The only answer she got, were louder sobs from Zelena. Regina looked at her – in her eyes, something was off, as if a flame had stopped burning.
"Hades…" she motioned towards Robin's lifeless body, Emma was already kneeling and placing two finger on his neck – no pulse.
"… and he tried to kill me too," Regina sniffed – and Emma felt tears prickle in her eyes, because Regina's voice was too quiet, broken.
"…and then… Zelena stabbed him with the crystal," she murmured, and now Emma could understand why Zelena was crying so desperately.
She suddenly looked up. "Regina, split your heart!" she exclaimed, surprised that the queen hadn't already done it.
"It's no use," a lonely tear fell down. "His… his soul has been erased, Emma!"
"What?"
"The… the crystal, it deletes one's soul, I can't bring him back!"
"Oh my god," Emma's hand flew to cover her mouth. "But…"
"No buts," Regina cut short, in a blunt attempt of putting her conceal-don't-feel mask on. "That's what happens when someone loves me, Emma. They get hurt. Surely you remember of Camelot? Of the ball, of the dreamcatcher? Of Daniel?" She was hissing between her teeth now, and Emma flinched at her surge of anger.
Regina got up, squeezing her sister's hand one last time – Zelena was staring at the floor, a blank expression had replaced her tears – and reached the Mayor's desk, opened a drawer and pulled out something familiar.
She turned, and unfolded page twenty-three in front of her eyes. "This? This was a cruel joke, Miss Swan, as I've told you before," she exclaimed, fingers clenching around the paper. "This whole soulmate thing was a cruel joke. He didn't deserve this, and certainly not for me," she spat out – Emma stared at her, concerned, as she began pacing. "Because Roland – and the baby –" she gestured towards the crib, suddenly speechless, and slammed the page back on her desk.
"Regina – what do you mean, his soul has been erased?"
"Haven't you your father's wit?" she said angrily. "No Underworld, no Heaven, nothing, it's like – like he has never existed! It's like when – "
Emma looked at her intently – she had stopped in the middle of a sentence, her gaze lost somewhere, as if she was remembering something.
"When what?"
Regina's eyes widened, and then she did something that startled Emma even more – a smile was cracking open on her face, and she meet her eyes – the fire she had thought was extinguished was back, hope was back.
"I need you two to wait here," she looked at her, pointing briefly at Zelena. "Can you do that?"
Emma was absolutely confused – she had just started saying "Sure, but why –" that Regina was already gone in a cloud of her violet smoke. She watched the place where she had disappeared – what on hell was she hoping to do? – and turned her attention to Zelena.
"Look, I… I know you must hate me," she told her, but she wasn't answering. "But I… I want you to know that… I'm sorry for Hades, Zelena," and the witch turned her head towards her, a clear question written on her frown.
"What?"
"I know how it feels to… to kill the man you love… to save someone," she explained – flashes of that night, that dark night when she had to stab Killian's body because they were all going to die and then she wasn't the Dark One anymore and Nimue was choking her again –
Zelena nodded, a glimpse of understanding flashing between them, but then Regina was back, holding a black satchel, the smoke dissipating quickly from around her figure.
"Where have you been? Would you care to explain now?" said Emma, but Regina ignored her, instead, she kneeled down next to Robin, and leaned on to kiss his lips. She lingered there for a moment – was it a goodbye kiss? – and then she parted, wiping away a tear.
"Okay," she said, resolute, and turned towards her sister. "Now, that's the plan –" she busted out, locking her eyes with Zelena's. She pulled out the Apprentice's wand, and gave her to the other woman – who was staring at her, puzzled.
"I don't know if it will work and, frankly, I don't care," she started, "so, I've taken this from Gold's shop," she opened the satchel, and Emma stared at the round medallion that she was showing. "It's the thing Rumple used on me right after you broke the first curse, Miss Swan – the thing that summons –"
" – the Wraith? The soul sucker? Are you crazy?"
"I thought that you, of all people, would have understood," said Regina, unfazed, "you, who dragged us all to Hell and back to save Hook, you –"
"Regina, you could die!"
"I don't care!" she yelled. "Not when I have a chance – an actual chance of getting him back, I don't –"
"But Henry –"
"Emma, please," she leaned on to take her hand, and she had the same expression of that evening in Camelot, I've lost love before, and I won't again, she could almost hear the echo in her head. "Henry still has you. I have to try, I have – please. Help me."
Emma took a breath, and finally nodded. "I really, really hope this goes well, Regina, because your son will never forgive me if –"
"It will," she cut. "It has to," and it sounded almost if she was convincing herself.
"Okay, if you don't mind me asking… how are we going to do it?"
"I mark myself, the soul sucker comes, you keep it at bay –"
"What?"
"Last time, you didn't know how to use magic, and I didn't have light magic," Regina explained quickly. "But this time, we are better equipped."
"Okay, I keep it at bay, then how are you gonna do the… split-thing… if it's sucking your soul?"
"Oh, I'm not going to do anything," she answered. "Zelena will."
Emma and Zelena both turned towards Regina. "What?"
She shifted to face her sister, and took her hand. "I don't know if you noticed," she told her, eyes shining with tears. "But you can do light magic now – True Love's kiss is light magic, after all – and saving me, when we were kids, it was light magic as well –"
The thought hit Emma as a lightning – she was right.
Zelena looked uncomfortable, as she met her sister's gaze. "You really think I could do that?"
"I'm certain of it," she said, and Emma had never seen Regina more confident, more hopeful, more powerful than now. Zelena nodded, and squeezed the wand in a reassuring gesture – maybe to calm herself, she didn't know.
Regina smiled at both of them – one last glance at Robin, and they were getting up, ready to action. She took the medallion – how she'd find it in that mess of a shop, Emma was wondering – and closed her eyes, pushing the emblazoned engraving deep into her skin. Then, she opened her hand, and it fell down with a resounding sound.
"What now?" Emma whispered, and she didn't open her eyes, but shook her head, telling her to be silent.
"It's coming," she stated, and Emma could feel the tickling electricity of dark magic – she remembered all too well her days as Dark One, and her natural light rejected that blackness with repulsion.
They waited, and waited. Zelena quickly moved to take her daughter – she brought her out, probably to hide her somewhere safe – at least, safer, there wasn't time to call someone to babysit, not if they wanted to save him, not if they wanted to save really save him, they hadn't time, because they had waited too long with Killian, and then his body was beyond salvation, and now he wasn't –
Her train of thought stopped when she felt it – a wave of dirty shadows, and suddenly the monster was fluctuating in front of them.
There had to be another way to extract her soul, Emma thought, but the black mass was already searching for its victim, and Zelena was clutching to her wand – Emma raised her hands, recollecting the happiest memories and feelings she could gather – Henry's smile, her father cradling her head, her mother's hugs, Killian's hand holding hers – and then the white flow come, just as the Wraith had started its draining action – Regina was trembling next to her, and she struggled to keep the monster still.
"Now, Zelena!" she screamed, and Zelena moved the wand with a sharp cut in the air, and added another flow, pale green and white, to Emma's own, as the wand's spiral was – extracting? Removing? – a light blue globe – and she kept it lifted in mid-air, as Regina gasped for breath.
"Emma – Emma!" she managed to spat out, "Send it away!"
She pushed, then.
Henry and the rainbow blast when she had broken the curse – Neal laughing with her in the woods, Killian's last kiss and their breaths mingling, Maleficent's smile when Lily was back, Regina hugging Henry when he had remembered her, her baby brother squeezing her finger with his tiny hand –
She pushed again – and a vortex opened, she didn't know how Zelena had done it, but it was working – and another, ultimate push, and the monster was screaming and passing through the portal, and suddenly there was… silence.
Like a picture.
Emma with her hands still lifted. Regina clenching to the table. Apples everywhere on the floor. Zelena with the wand lifted, and the tiny blue ball pulsing slowly.
"Come on, do it," she urged, because Regina was growing paler and paler, and she collapsed to the floor, slackening the impact with one hand – she went to lay next to Robin, eyes getting heavier –
"Zelena, do it, please," she whispered.
Zelena stood taller, then. She closed her eyes – ready to save her sister's life for the third – fourth? – time, she lifted a hand, to take the glowing soul in her palm, and let the wand fall, to cup the ball with both hands. Emma saw only determination when she pulled apart the two halves – Regina winced, but didn't move, and Zelena kneeled, holding one half in each hand, and pushing them slowly across their bodies.
Emma held her breath – all stood still for a moment, and she could almost feel her own heart beating.
Regina was – she was still alive, and almost not breathing of anticipation and worry as she turned her head towards her lover, and all three women froze, waiting –
– for an heartbeat –
Then, a breath.
A deep, manly breath, of someone who shatters a watery surface to come back to air and life, he inhaled and exhaled, and then Regina was crying and laughing and throwing herself on him and Zelena was sobbing, releasing all the tension, and Robin and Regina were kissing desperately on the floor, and Emma's knees couldn't hold her anymore and she fell too, relief washing over her soul.
They would have had time for explanations, hugs, and more tears, and Henry scolding his moms for almost dying, and Emma let herself cry – relief, because at least he was alive, at least they'd saved him.
Oh, Killian, I wish you were here with me.
Robin was sitting now – she couldn't see Regina's face, for it was hidden, forehead pressed on the crook of his neck, her shoulders shaking.
"It worked," Emma exhaled, and Regina shifted her tear-stained face to nod at her, and she had the widest smile she'd ever seen on her. Robin was keeping his eyes closed, breathing slowly against her hair, and whispering loudly What have you done and Thank the gods you're safe and You're the most stubborn woman I've ever met, and Zelena's eyes were shining, Regina stretching out a hand to take hers in a silent thank you.
Emma turned towards the door – she heard a commotion, and baby cries, and hurried screams –
Then, she didn't know how, her mom and her dad and Henry were bursting in the room, and – wait, no, it couldn't be possible –
His voice – he was here, standing on the doorframe.
"Did I miss something, love?"
