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Chapter 5 — Second Day, Explanation of the Curse
When Emma fell asleep in the middle of argument, that's when Regina knows something is horribly wrong with the blonde. The fighting spirit inside Emma could never be tamed unless she chose to do so. She vaguely remembered her sister trying to take Emma's heart twice without succeed. That must be it. Zelena.
She tried to shake Emma awake, to no avail. She even tried some spell but it didn't work either. So she magically dragged Emma to the couch on Mary Margaret's hospital bedroom. When she did, all three pairs of eyes widened at the state of unconscious Emma hovering by to the couch by herself.
"We have to continue the conversation later," Regina demanded gently to the True Love Pair.
"What happened?" Mary Margaret and David asked simultaneously.
"I'm not sure. She was ranting and suddenly she fell asleep."
"What? That's not like Emma." Mary Margaret stated.
"She's in shock. She is just asleep and when we defeat Zelena, we'll ask her for the cure." Regina explained to the parents of the now sleeping beauty on the couch.
"What do you mean? Zelena has got something to do with this?" David gestured to the sleeping Emma on the couch.
"I believe so. But right now I'm going to make dinner for my son. Come Henry, I'll make you your favourite." Regina extended one of her arm and her son approached her and hugged her side.
"Bye Gramps. Get well soon, Grams. Take care of my mum?" Henry asked David.
"Sure kiddo, you betcha." David winked to him.
"I believe she will be okay, you two needs your beauty rest as well. Have a good night, Henry and I will see you tomorrow," Regina bid her goodbye.
Emma woke up to the darkness. For a moment she even considered herself suddenly blind. But a small light appeared and it stretched out, and she could see where she is. She's in the Main Street, but she's alone. The only sound she could hear was from the wind blowing softly and the scratches of tree branches.
What is this? Purgatory? Where's everybody?
Emma tried to open her mouth and speak. "Hello?" All she heard was the echo of her own voice, it sounded hollow and empty. The last thing she remembered was ranting on and about to Regina. Well, about life as usual.
She looked down to herself. The usual red leather jacket, her favourite white tee, and skinny jeans. Looked about right. So she is still herself. But where is everyone else? What happened?
Suddenly she heard a familiar footsteps approaching. She turned back and saw…
Herself.
Whoa. This is definitely not Storybrooke.
Her other self was tilting her head, as if considering whether to talk to her or not. Her other self bit her bottom lips. In the end, her impulses won.
"Hoy, Emma. Man, it's strange calling yourself." Other Emma shouted.
Emma just looked at her wide annoyed eyes. Even her quip is lame. "Where am I?"
"You know where we are. You just need to think clearly."
"Okay. The last thing I remember is speaking to Regina, in the bathroom, while my parents were on the other side of the wall." Emma mumbled.
"Very good. Keep going." Suddenly Other Emma was morphing into Regina's form, with all the pantsuit and blazer that always accompanied the Mayor.
Emma stumbled back. "What the hell?"
"Focus, Emma." Regina said.
"This is impossible."
"Focus."
"With you breathing down my neck? As if!" Emma shouted.
"You have to admit that you will always be distracted by me," Regina uttered.
"Not helping," Emma shut her eyes. She was trying to think back to what happened since she woke up this morning.
"I'm your subconscious. Even when you told me it's not helping, it is actually subconsciously helping you." Regina voiced.
"So not helping. Shut up, I'm thinking." Emma sternly said.
"Oh, are you, Miss Swan?" Regina's voice purred.
Emma opened her eyes abruptly. "Please be somebody else." She muttered to the doppelganger.
"Not until you admit that you're attracted to me."
"That means I have to admit that I'm attracted to myself, you imbecile. God, what did you do? You turned me into Regina." She rubbed her face.
The Regina doppelganger just smirked and folded her hand. "What are you going to do with that, Miss Swan?"
"Argh. Okay I'll admit that I may care about her. She gave up everything just so she could save an entire town that she cursed in the first place. She gave me a happy ending. One that I wanted more than staying in this freaking town, with Wicked Witch hanging around trying to steal someone's heart. So yeah! I care about her. But I don't know what I'm going to do even though I admit it out loud to my subconscious."
"Just… be yourself, Emma," the figure morphed into Mary Margaret's form. Not pregnant, mind you.
"Seriously?!" Emma shrieked. "I think I'm in hell." Sighing, she said, "could you please shut up for a minute? I need to think."
When there's no reply, Emma took this as a cue for her to start her line of thinking. Regina's coffee. Zelena broke into my parents' loft, banged my mum's head, almost took Henry's and Regina's heart, oh, she plunged her hand twice in my chest. Shit. The pain when she pricked something inside me. It's different. Am I cursed?
"Yes, you are." Other Emma is back.
"How do I un-curse myself?"
"Talk to the one who curse you in the first place, you silly." It was morphing into Henry's form now.
"Oh yeah, right." Emma deadpanned.
Henry just laughed at her. "Wake up, Ma."
"What?"
"Wake up. It's easy. Just try." Henry said smiling widely at her.
"What do you know?" Emma narrowed her eyes.
Henry laughed out loud. "Ma, need I remind you again that I'm your subconscious? Basically, I am you."
"Urgh." Emma grumbled, but she tried to wake up. It's just a strange dream.
Emma woke up a few hours before sunrise. It was still an eerie dawn outside. She took notice of her surrounding. She was… in a hospital? On the couch. Oh, my mum needed to be here, for the baby, just in case.
She pulled the blanket (no doubt David did that) and saw her dad on the scrawny hospital chair, asleep holding his wife's hand. Huh, figure.
She carried the blanket and draped it around David's shoulder. She shook her head, trying to shake off the last bit of sleepiness inside. She needs to talk to Zelena, and fast. There's definitely something wrong with her if she could suddenly fall asleep out of nowhere.
She got out from the room silently, and walked to the hospital cafeteria. She needs caffeine injection to deal with Zelena. She vaguely remember the strange dream she had, and the nagging feeling that she has to do something about Zelena. The breezy wind that flew through the cafeteria sobered her up. Well, that, and the trademark bad coffee of Storybrooke Hospital helped too.
As she lost in her train of thought, the sun started to creep and the morning lights came. Emma sat up from the stiff chair she occupied for a good one hour, and stretched her body. Time to face Zelena.
She decided to walk, it's easier to clear her head by walking and she could plan what she wanted to ask and needed to know and hopefully a negotiation would be enough to know Zelena's endgame and or defeating her. And hopefully, hopefully, she won't get kill in the process. Fingers crossed.
The walk was brief because it was freezing outside. So Emma fished the bug's key and tried to think and locate where the hell she put the bug last night. Uh, parking lot, I think. Once she put the key in the ignition, the bug roared heavily and coughed a few times. She drove it to the loft to take a brief shower (and to make sure she really is awake). Then she went to the forest edge where Zelena's farmhouse is located and took the rest of the journey by foot.
She rubbed her freezing arms with the palms of her hands and hope to God that this journey wouldn't be for nothing. But if she knows one thing about storybook character, is that they couldn't pretend to not loving all the drama around them. So by extension, they won't avoid the drama, especially if it comes to them voluntarily.
Once she got inside Zelena's hearing distance, she shouted her name a few times. And… her prediction was correct. Zelena came with both of her hands blazing in magic, eyes glinting with hunger, and crackles in the air.
"Hmm. A visit from the Saviour. Who would have thought…" Zelena taunted.
"What did you do to me, Zelena?" Emma shouted.
"What do you mean, dearie?" Zelena said in her best imitation of Rumplestiltskin, although she could just make Rumple did exactly what she wants him to do.
"Don't play dumb. Although you could pass as a blonde," Emma raised one of her eyebrow goading her. "You did something to my heart."
"Oh. That," Zelena said dejectedly. "Just a small spell, you'll see. It will be activated in… hmm… seven days since inoculation. That means you'll have another six days to say your goodbye," she explained as she waved her hands glamorously.
"What will happen once it's active?" Emma growled through her clenched teeth.
"See, it's simple, really. You shall fall asleep." The redhead gave Emma a very genuine smile, as if Emma falling asleep is the dream of her lifetime.
Shit. "Is there any cure to the spell?"
Zelena cackled. "Are you really the Saviour?"
Emma glared her best Evil Queen impersonation.
"Oh, no need to give me that look. I will answer you. Patience, Emma Swan." She flicked her hands as to wave away Emma's concern. "You will only be awakened by True Love's Kiss. Like your parents. Fitting, isn't it?"
Emma tried to push aside her fear. It was ridiculous, really. She doesn't love anybody, except Henry. Henry. "You failed miserably then. I have Henry." Emma replied.
Zelena laughed out loud. "Henry. I see. But it won't work, I guarantee it."
"How do you know? True Love is the most powerful magic there is." Emma growled defensively as she quoted her parents.
"I'll give you any clue. Whatever I put in your heart, has to be removed simultaneously with the kiss." Zelena explained.
"Regina will be able to do that while Henry kissed me," Emma shrugged condescendingly.
"Tsk tsk… Saviour. Don't you learn anything by now? I knew how you broke the Dark Curse. That is why the spell is specifically engineered to supersede your previous deal with Henry."
"What the hell does that mean?" Emma stepped forward. They were almost face to face.
"It means," Zelena stepped forward and they could feel each other's breath standing way too close for comfort, "that Henry won't be able to wake you up. My little beloved nephew's heart will be crushed."
Emma's fear is now resurfacing. This is it then. She's doomed. In eternal sleep. The only other person she loves is her parents (which were each other's True Love and that would make it impossible for them to wake her up), and… no one else. Hook may or may not love her but she doesn't even remotely tolerate him, if she's honest with herself. And there's Regina. The thing is, she's pretty sure that Regina didn't love her. Sure, they flirted a lot along the way, but she just loves to taunt and goad Emma. And the consequences that will arisen if they turn out to be each other's True Love is… interminable. See? Doomed.
"I won't let it." Emma snarled.
"Too late. You already did," Zelena pushed one finger directly on Emma's heart, a simple gesture of reminder that she owned her destiny.
That's it, bitch. I've had your bullshit. "Game on, bitch!" Emma exclaimed as she pulled her gun from her waist and pointed it at Zelena's chin upward.
Just as the gun touched Zelena, she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and reappeared right behind Emma. With her reflexes, Emma turned around as soon as Zelena materialised and tried to aim with her gun but it was pointless.
Zelena poofed her gun away.
"Hey, no fair!" Emma yelled.
"Who says I play fair dear?"
"You really are Cora's spawn, aren't you!" Emma shouted as she lunged to Zelena but the redhead is just playing with her. She keeps poofing around.
Emma had had enough of Zelena's game. She stayed still and tried to call out her magic with all the pent up anger she felt for the crazy envious redhead.
"Just. Stay. Still!" Emma shouted angrily.
Suddenly, Zelena found herself unable to move. When Emma realised she did what she wanted to do, she smirked. She sized Zelena up and her eyes narrowed when they fell into Zelena's necklace. The one shining with such an ugly shade of green.
Emma extended her hand slowly and reached for the necklace. It was full of magic, dark magic. She shuddered, the base of her spine is telling her to run the hell out of here. Understandable, after all the necklace homed a very powerful old dark magic. It's actually more of a gut feeling. Not that Zelena's magic isn't dark. It's just Emma is not educated enough to know precisely what kind of magic is in the necklace.
Anyway, she shook her head and pulled the necklace roughly from Zelena's neck and the witch screamed right on Emma's face. Emma cringed. The shriek might have damaged her ears for all she knew.
"Oh God, Zelena. Shut up for once." Emma pocketed the necklace (the energy from the necklace is considerably tolerable now, not too dark) and waved her hands. Unbeknownst to her, Zelena suddenly couldn't speak or even cough. Emma's blown up magic was still being used without her noticing. "Come on. You're going to spend a lot of times in jail until Regina knows what to do with you," Emma took the handcuffs and put them in Zelena's wrists and pushed her to walk.
Now I have to find a solution before I sleep forever. Well, not a really bad way to die, anyway. Emma thought.