Mal parks her bike at the edge of the trees, motioning for Emma to follow her. Emma reluctantly does, but her fear is palpable. She can hear whooping and laughing and a fire crackling in the distance. They make their way to a clearing, where several young men are drinking around a fire pit. Ursula, Cruella, and Zelena are standing there, watching them with menace.
"What are we doing here?" Emma asks, hoping for the best, knowing the worst.
Mal is watching them with the same vigor as the others. "Initiation's over, Emma. Time to join the club," she snarls, licking her lips. She turns to Emma, fully, revealing glowing yellow eyes and piercing fangs. She isn't prepared for this. Emma gasps, as the others circle around her, mirroring Mal. They are smiling and laughing, feral, unstoppable.
Emma watches in horror as the four women descend. Before the partiers even know what's happening, screams fill the air. Mal snaps the head back of a mohawked man and plunges her fangs into the soft flesh of his neck. His body goes limp immediately and when she's finished, she throws him to the ground. Zelena digs her nails into one of their chests, lifting him off the ground one-handed. She brings him back down to her and begins feeding from his chest, groaning in a violently sexual way. Ursula takes off after the smallest of the group tries to run, she lets him have a sliver of hope before she drags him back to the fire pit by his leg. She attaches her fangs to his inner thigh, eliciting a scream that makes Emma cover her ears. She watches them, wanting to stop them, knowing she can't, when she feels her something inside of her transform. She touches her teeth, shaking uncontrollably. A sharp fang pricks her index finger. Some part of her wants to join them.
When the carnage is complete, they walk slowly back to her, satisfied and elated. Blood covers their mouths and their clothing, she watches as Cruella licks the tips of her fingertips.
"Now you know what we are," Mal says throatily, "now you know what you are. You'll never grow old. And you'll never die. But you must feed." They're all giddy and light-headed, watching Emma, feeding off of her fear.
Emma says nothing, just lets out a gasping sob and drops to her knees. She looks at the bodies, discarded like trash, and fights the urge to throw up. She looks back to Mal, but finds that they are gone. All of them. She drops to the ground on her back, and stares up at the starless sky.
…
A blast of air rattles the window. Emma looks up to see Regina standing in her room, and frankly, she isn't even surprised. She sits cross-legged on her bed, still sick and traumatized from earlier.
"Do you know where they took me tonight?" she asks Regina, her voice barely a whisper.
"I can only assume. I was waiting for you on the beach and the next thing I knew I was waking up in my bed. It occurred to me that it was probably time for her to break you." Regina tentatively sits next to Emma, unsure if she will be pushed away or embraced.
Emma doesn't move, shock still enveloping her. Regina reaches over, pulling Emma into her. Emma collapses against her and moans tearfully. Regina tries to calm her, soothing her hand over Emma's hair, drawing circles on her wrist with the other.
Ruby walks in without knocking, taking in the scene in front of her. "Did you do something to her?" she asks Regina suspiciously, keeping a hand on the doorknob.
"No, I would never hurt her," Regina answers, fighting the urge to flee. She scans Ruby with her eyes, searching for weapons.
"I'm okay," Emma croaks. "I just can't do this, Ruby. I saw them…feed on people tonight. I can't live like this."
Ruby's face falls as she watches her friend sob, clutching onto Regina for comfort. As wary as Ruby is, she senses something in Regina that makes her believe that she isn't going to hurt them. "Have you killed anyone yet?"
Regina shakes her head, still running her hand over Emma's hair.
"Good. This ends now."
"What are you going to do?" Emma asks, wiping at her eyes.
"I've got connections," Ruby smiles. She closes the door, determined, and dials her phone.
Regina stands, straightening the hem of her silk blouse. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. I'll go if you'd like to be alone for a while."
"No, please. Stay with me," Emma asks, pulling Regina back onto the bed with her. She cups her face and kisses her, lightly at first, and then with fire and need. There's no explanation; she just saw the most frightening and violent episode of her entire life, and yet, she wants to be close to Regina, to feel her, to be inside of her. She's thankful Regina doesn't ask questions, only responds physically. Emma unbuttons her shirt, keeping contact with her mouth the entire time. Regina moans appreciatively and climbs on top of Emma, their bare stomachs touching. Emma slowly slides her fingers below the waistband of Reinga's pants, and at Regina's gasp, she is transported, someplace far away, somewhere that all of this doesn't exist, and she's happy. For one brilliant moment, she's happy.
…
Ruby opens the door, letting Mulan and Merida into the living room. They both have backpacks, and Merida drops a large duffel bag onto the floor. "Okay, where is she?"
"Hello to you too. Who?" Ruby smiles, still adjusting to their abruptness.
"Nosferatu. The blood sucker. Creature of the night," Mulan deadpans.
"Emma!"
Emma walks down the stairs slowly, sunglasses on. It's late afternoon, but the sun is still shining brightly. They pile into Granny's old Jeep, Emma at the wheel. She takes them to the cave, where she walks over to Ruby as Merida and Mulan are performing weapon checks on each other.
"I don't think you should go in there," Emma says, massaging her temples.
"I'm going," Ruby tells her, rubbing her arm.
"They're brutal killers, Ruby. I won't have the strength to protect you."
"Emma, I'm here to protect you. I love you. Even though you're a…vampire, you're still my best friend."
Emma chuckles softly and hugs her friend. "This seems like a really bad idea."
Merida turns to Emma. "You. If you turn on us or vamp out in any way, I'll stake you without even thinking twice about it."
Ruby rolls her eyes. "Take it easy, girls. She's on our side."
They both nod and make their way toward the opening.
Once inside, Ruby whistles quietly. "Holy shit," she says, looking around the enormous long-ago-lobby. Mulan removes a wooden stake and a mallet from her duffel bag.
"I found one," Merida calls out, pulling back a sheer curtain. "Mulan, you ready?"
"NO!" Emma screams. "Don't touch her!" She runs over to Regina, nudges her awake. "Come on, we have to get out of here." Regina jolts awake and nods, getting up slowly. Emma covers her head with a jacket to block out some of the harsh sunlight.
Merida and Mulan look to Ruby for confirmation. She nods, Regina isn't their target. They keep searching for the rest of the vampires, turning up nothing. Ruby calls them over to a dark hole covered by strategically placed wooden planks. "There's a draft here," she says, holding her hand out toward it.
"This is probably it then," Mulan agrees, moving aside the boards. "Let's do this." The slowly make their way over stone, cobwebs, and long-dead branches through a dark and narrow pathway. They end at wall of dirt, their flashlights barely illuminating the trail.
"Where are they?" Ruby whispers, her heart pounding in her ears.
Mulan shines her flashlight toward the ceiling, where Ruby screams. Merida quickly claps a hand over her mouth. The four vampires dangle from the ceiling, their hair hanging in curtains behind them. "Shouldn't they be in coffins or something?" Ruby asks quietly, her voice breaking.
"This whole place is one giant coffin," Mulan tells her.
Merida makes her way up the stone wall, wooden stake sticking out of her backpack. "This is when they're at their most vulnerable. It's our best chance." None of the vampires have moved, they are still sleeping soundly.
Cruella is closest to her. Ruby starts to yell to her to stop, but she's too late. Merida positions her stake against Cruella's chest.
"Goodnight, bloodsucker," she chides. Merida plunges the stake deep into her chest. Cruella's eyes fly open, she's screaming and grasping at the object protruding from her chest. Blood pours from her wound, covering Merida. The others open their eyes as well, fangs sharp and ready. They fall from their perches ready to attack, but still groggy and disoriented. Ruby, Merida and Mulan scramble for the exit, clawing their way through branches toward the dim sunlight of the underground haven. Merida and Mulan climb out first, with Ruby close behind. As she's climbing out, she feels a hand grasp her ankle. She screams, and the other two try desperately to pull her out. Mal looks directly into Ruby's eyes before abruptly letting go, whispering "You're dead."
They run as fast as their legs will carry them, finally making it to safety outside. "Emma! Start the car! Start the car!" she screams. Emma jerks awake, Regina asleep on her chest. She gently pushes her off against the passenger side window and revs the engine.
"What the fuck happened?" she yells, as the three pile into the car at lightning speed.
"We got one of them," Merida tells her, wiping blood off of herself with a napkin.
"Which one?"
"The one with the black and white hair. The blonde one is really, really pissed."
Emma shakes her head in disbelief. "No shit! Was that the plan?"
"Of course that wasn't the plan!" Mulan yells back. "We blew it! We've never done this with all of them in one place like that before. I didn't know they'd all wake up!"
Emma runs a hand through her hair. "Do we have a plan B?"
"We need to come up with one right now," Merida says. "We have three hours to figure it out."
"Why, what's in three hours?" asks Ruby.
"Sunset."
