AN: Warning: Mentions of Hook in this chapter. He's mentioned a little bit here and there throughout the fic and sometimes might be more crude and/or triggering than his small appearances in other chapters.
The club scene from the previous night is gone and all the stages are unlit. There are few people around and only one bartender on duty instead of three, like there had been when the music was loud and the party was at its height. She's not entirely surprised, but she does feel even more alone than she had when she watched everyone else enjoy themselves on the dance floor. The place is as dead as the people that stay there, but at least they know how to make the most of their new lives after death. She feels hollow and more like a ghost than a guest, someone with unfinished business. It wasn't as if she hadn't had a choice, though. She'd done what was needed. For her family.
She deserves this. She's escaped her fate and death for far too long and this is how it should be, this is where she belongs. It's the last thought she has before she's approached by the bartender and as she's served her drink of choice, she doesn't have time to dwell on the past or beat herself up for things she can't and wouldn't change. Another woman joins her at the bar, hardly notices her as the petite blonde slides onto a stool and lights up.
Regina turns her head and sees the first familiar face in Hell. Black and white hair, dark red lips, and a filtered cigarette between her index and middle finger in her right hand. And apparently she got to keep the fur coat she died in.
"Cruella," she dryly says the other woman's name and garners the intended attention.
Cruella turns to her before she blows out a stream of smoke then picks under her thumb nail with the nail of her middle finger on the hand holding the cigarette. "I'll be damned. The reformed Evil Queen is finally stuck in Hell with the rest of us. How long's it been, Regina? A few weeks, some months? Guess you aren't as special as you thought you were, or at least you're not much better than me if this is where you ended up."
"I've done plenty of things to get here, I know, but I'm not that person anymore. I haven't been for a few years now. It doesn't tip the scales, but I've changed. Can you say the same? Because the fact that I know you can't just proves that in some way, I am better than you."
Cruella rolls her eyes. "Tell yourself whatever you need to if it helps you sleep, dahling, but we're both here no matter how much we have or haven't changed. So it doesn't really matter if you're better because you've changed. Look where it's gotten you."
Regina glares at her before she finally takes the first sip of her drink. The taste is strong and bitter and the alcohol burns her throat. She welcomes the pain and only winces slightly as a result.
"You've never really liked me," Cruella states. "Why is that? You didn't seem to have a problem with Ursula. Or Mal for that matter."
The other woman enunciates Maleficent's name with a raised eyebrow and knowing look in her eyes while her lips curl into a smirk.
"Ursula never threatened my son's life," Regina replies with a bit of a snarl.
"Oh, dahling, you didn't like me long before that and we both know it. Besides, you know now that I threatened your boy, but I couldn't actually harm him. Yet your precious Savior had no trouble throwing me off a cliff. You think she'll ever join us down here?"
"No," she says without doubt or hesitation. She believes it with every ounce of her being that Emma will never end up in Hell. She's not bad, and though the blonde has made a few mistakes in her life, that doesn't guarantee her a trip to the Underworld. It shouldn't. And Regina will rage against anyone that insists otherwise, either by bringing her to Hell or saying it's where she's headed. There's not much she can do about it now, but she gave up Henry and life itself to give Emma everything she should have always had: family, freedom, happiness.
"How can you be so sure," Cruella asks with a hint of haughtiness.
"She has people that will do everything they can to keep that from happening, and she's stronger than you might give her credit for."
"Giving in to whatever drove her to use magic on me says she's not as strong as you think she is, dahling."
"What did you expect her to do," Regina suddenly snaps. "You held a gun to our son's head on the edge of a cliff and dared her to do it. I would have done the same if I'd been in her place."
"But that's the thing, isn't it," Cruella says. "She's not you. She's not supposed to be like you. Like us. She might be tempted to do bad things, but she's not supposed to actually do them. But she did."
"She's not perfect. She's not innocent," she argues. "But she's not like us. No matter what she's done or might do next, she's not anything like you or me."
Cruella grins like she just uncovered a secret, one that she thinks no one else knows she's figured out. It makes Regina want to choke the woman. "Why are you here, Regina?"
"I died. Or nearly died. I'm not actually sure which yet," she confesses with a furrowed brow.
"No, I mean here. I assume Hades has given you the grand tour and explained everything about this place works. He gave me the same speech. So I know there's a reason you're here and not in some other part of this realm."
"I...I made a decision," she vaguely responds.
"Clearly," Cruella comments with a suggestive and husky tone as her eyes wander up and down the brunette's body. "I actually feel a little satisfied to know that I was right. You are in love with her."
Regina's eyes widened and she shook her head like those words were a curse. "No. I don't- That's just not true."
"Oh, come on. You have to admit it. You're here because you love your good girl Savior. And you've cheated death before, haven't you? So my guess is the decision you made was to make some bold and heroic sacrifice for her. Am I right, dahling?"
She doesn't have a reply. She could deny what they both apparently know to be the truth: she'd made a bold and heroic sacrifice for Emma. What that means is something Regina's on the cusp of admitting to herself, but it's not as simple as what Cruella seems to think.
Cruella smirks and takes a drag from her cigarette. She blows the smoke out of the side of her mouth toward the area behind the bar, which the bartender isn't occupying, when she exhales.
"I had a feeling you wanted her. Long hair you could play with, incredible body, and she's the daughter of your enemy. That sounds absolutely evil. But that's not what it's about, is it," Cruella say it like a statement, not a question. "Not if you love her."
"What are you doing here," Regina angrily asks. "If you got the same speech I did when you showed up here then I think you're the one that's hiding something."
"Oh, I'm not hiding anything," Cruella replies. "You want to know how I came to this section of Hell? Simple. I like women as much as I like men. Except there is one special woman I like more than anyone else. But she left, so I'm sure she doesn't feel the same. I doubt she even knows or cares what happened to me, thanks to your little blonde."
Herr eyes light up with recognition and she says, "Ursula."
Cruella nods. "I told you, I have nothing to hide."
"When did you ever have time to-" she stops herself and doesn't finish asking the question, but Cruella gives her an answer anyway.
"We had a few opportunities to rekindle the old flame. And after being paired up by Rumple the first time, we grew close. Once we got sucked into the portal that dragged us to that awful land without magic, we started to have a difference in opinion and drifted apart."
"So you were together? Before all this, I mean."
Cruella chuckles and replies, "Many times. My only regret is that I didn't spend more time with her. I suppose that might have happened if I'd been honest with her. I never took the time to tell her how I feel…but you know all about that, too."
"I… That's none of your business," she replies, because it's not. She doesn't owe Cruella anything. The woman died a villain and always would be, as far as Regina's concerned. She had a chance in Storybrooke to prove the Charmings wrong about her being in town for the wrong reasons and she'd thrown it away. She'd threatened Henry's life and lost her own for it. But…Cruella's the only one in Hell she's managed to talk to since her arrival, which wasn't too long ago. Still, she's been lonely and, by the looks of it, Cruella hasn't made any friends here either. Maybe talking to her wasn't so bad, but she definitely doesn't have to divulge every secret, every emotion, every thought she's had—and still has—of Emma Swan.
"It's alright, dahling. You don't have to tell me a thing. I already know," Cruella says with a smirk before she finishes off her drink and sets the glass on the counter. "Well, I'm off. I'm close to getting into one of the other parts of this realm. You're free to join me."
Regina thinks about it. She opens her mouth and inhales as she gears up to respond, but she can't agree to wander off with Cruella. She's still not ready to leave the not quite comfort of her room and the bar that has a constant flow of drinks she just can't pass up.
She doesn't have to say a single word. Cruella seems to understand that immediately.
"I get it. You're still wallowing. I've been here a while, so I'm used to this place. I can't stand still anymore when there's a whole world to discover. I've got no one here to occupy my time and no one's coming to my rescue, if that's even possible. But you…you still have plenty to live for and yet, you're stuck here. So, keep drinking. Don't let me stop you. I'll be back so we'll see each other again. Count on it."
Cruella grins as she leaves as though she's just made a threat and a promise with that one statement, and maybe it is both a threat and a promise. She's not sure she wants to see Cruella again, but it's not as though the woman has done anything to hurt her, yet. They only talked. And Regina's already dead, or close to dead anyway. It's not like there's anything Cruella can do to harm her.
She sighs and tries not to think about her situation or her conversation with Cruella. Instead, she flags the bartender down and orders another drink.
She stands with Ursula in front of a pond on a rainy morning, just as the sun is about to crest over the horizon. It's peaceful where they are, and picturesque. If she wasn't scared about what she's about to do or seriously concerned about Regina, she would have enjoyed the sight. But she is nervous and she's terrified about a lot of things, like being too late to save the other woman and failing so immensely that she loses her own life in the process.
That thought brings her back to the present and she's reminded that her parents are behind her. They're standing a safe distance away, but they're there to watch her walk straight into Hell. It's not lost on anyone there, probably not even Ursula, that they could very well be watching her die. From what little Ursula has been able to tell her about getting into Hell, she knows they won't see her cough up blood or struggle and writhe around or cry out in pain, but if she doesn't make it back, then that moment is the last time they'll ever see her.
So the sunrise is more bitter than it is sweet. It could be the last one she ever sees and if she really wants to be a help to Regina, she needs to accept that possibility and move on.
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for just a moment. She tilts her head back and lets the breeze pass over her as she pays attention to the subtle way the leaves of the nearby trees sway in the wind and the birds chirp while they slowly start to wake up, like the rest of the town probably is. When she opens her eye, she immediately notices her vision is blurry just before tears slip down her cheeks.
She looks at Ursula who turns to her within seconds and looks empathetic, like she understands exactly how she feels. And maybe she does because the last Emma had head of her, she'd taken a trip back to the Sea Kingdom with her father to live happily ever after. So either something has happened to her father, or she's potentially leaving him behind for the chance at regaining part of her happy ending that she's been missing since she fled Storybrooke.
Emma sharply exhales and turns around to face her parents. They both look incredibly sad and it makes her heart ache. She doesn't want this to be goodbye, but she knows, knows, that if she doesn't try to get Regina back, she'll never be happy. She has her parents and her son, but it's not her whole family and without everyone there, it's hard to feel content and complete in life. She keeps telling herself she has to do this. It's too important not to risk absolutely everything.
She takes another breath and steps toward her parents. She looks from Snow to David, and then they just break down and swoop forward. She barely has time to blink and breathe before they encase her in a suffocating group hug. She would normally complain, but she knows they feel the same way about this as she does about leaving Henry, who's currently with Granny and baby Neal at the apartment, and thankfully doesn't have to watch her do this, and that's what makes her return the hug full force. She doesn't think about how hard they have her pressed to them or about how she holds one of her feet in mid-air just to avoid stepping on one of theirs. She doesn't think anything negative and just relaxes in their arms for several long seconds before they pull apart.
She's about to rejoin Ursula at the edge of the pond, but it seems she's spent far too much time saying farewell because suddenly she hears a man she'd rather not think about or deal with, especially not right now. She sighs and turns to Robin as he jogs out from between some trees and heads toward them.
"I just heard," he says when he reaches them. "About Regina. Is she…is she really dead?"
"No, she's not dead," Emma snaps at him.
Robin deflates with notable relief and even flashes a quick smile like that's all he needs to hear. "Not dead" is good enough for him despite the fact that he doesn't know any details about what happened.
"But she will be if I don't do something," Emma adds. "Now."
"What?" The relief is gone in an instant and he looks, well, pathetic. But that's just Emma's opinion and she's not at all objective. "What do you mean? What happened?"
"She saved Emma," Snow says. "She saved all of us."
"Wh- How? When?"
"I don't have time to explain," Emma growls. "I have to get her back."
"Get her back? You can- Is there a way to save her," Robin asks with desperation.
"There won't be if you keep me here any longer," she answers.
"Well, however I can be of assistance, I will. I want to help. Please. What can I do?"
"You can get out of my way," Emma says as she turns away from him and goes to stand beside Ursula again. Unfortunately, he follows her.
"She's my soulmate and we're together. I should do something. If there's a way to save her, I should be a part of it."
She huffs and whips around to face him before she explains, "No offense, but Regina needs someone who puts her first except for Henry, and Roland in your case."
"I do!"
"Really? Because that's not how I see it. You only went back to her when it was convenient for you. And…where is Roland anyway? I haven't seen him in a while. I think you need to get your priorities straight."
He doesn't look happy with what she's said, even though she's right and he probably knows that, too. He just doesn't want to admit it.
"And what makes you qualified to go after her," he asks. "You're a Dark One."
"I'm her family." She turns away from him again and moves closer to Ursula. "Let's go."
Ursula pulls a dagger out from inside her jacket and then rolls up her sleeve. She looks at Emma and silently asks if the blonde's ready to continue and Emma nods in response. Almost as soon as she nods, Ursula proceeds to slice into her forearm and holds her cut arm over the water. She lets the blood on the dagger drip into the pond as well before she hands the dagger to Emma.
It's not the Dark One dagger, which would have been a better weapon for Emma to use on herself for the purpose of the ritual, but she doesn't have her own dagger and instead has to use what she's got and hope for the best.
This time she doesn't hesitate. She wipes the remaining blood off the dagger on her jeans before she rolls up her sleeve. She takes a deep breath and then runs the dagger along her arm. She watches it open her skin and follows the blood as it flows down her pale skin and into newly murky water. The water then clouds over with gray and it reminds Emma of how coffee looks when adding milk to it before stirring.
She kneels down in the damp grass while raindrops fall on and around her, making small ripples in the water as it drizzles outside as the spell starts to take form.
She plunges the dagger into the ground and closes her eyes as she imagines a swirling vortex like all the portals she's ever traveled through have looked like. When she has the image in mind, she twists the dagger in the ground and the water starts to bubble up as a fog creeps across it from both sides of the pond.
A hooded figure on a gnarled gondola appears as the vessel glides across the water and then turns in their direction. The figure passes a tree that's grown on the patch of land that long ago cropped up near the center of the pond and as the rear of the gondola moves ahead of the tree and closer to them, the figure dips what appears to be a walking stick into the water. The figure holds the end of it in the water for a good stretch of the pond as though the stick is an ore, but the stick remains still and upright as the stick and gondola move through the pond.
Then Emma realizes that the stick is leaving a trail of disrupted water behind that parts and then meets again before it sinks and creates a small whirlpool effect. By the time the hooded figure pulls the stick out of the water, the pond is the swirling vortex Emma imagined. It's similar to the way they'd gone to Neverland, except this time she's a little lightheaded due to her arm, which continues to bleed even as the gondola reaches the water's edge and the figure holds out a hand for them to take.
Emma looks from the outstretched hand to the hooded figure whose face is shrouded in darkness. She then looks back at her parents, pretends Robin isn't still standing there, and gives them the last bit of advice she hopes will protect them while she's gone.
"Get Maleficent and Lily to help you if Hook ever shows himself again. Stay close. Be prepared and stand together like an army." Her parents nod before she adds, "If you see him, don't think. Just end this. Kill him."
She faces Ursula again just in time to see the woman take the hooded figure's hand and climb onboard the gondola. Once she's inside, the figure offers her a hand again and she takes it this time. With both herself and Ursula on the gondola, the figure uses the stick to push away from the edge and back out in the pond. They slowly move toward the vortex in the water and she stares at her parents for as long as she can, which is until she feels the back of the gondola dip into the vortex. When she feels herself start to fall backward into the portal, her eyes widen and she looks to Ursula. She notices she isn't the only one afraid of what will greet them at the other side of the portal, and together they tumble down in the dark water until all they can hear is the swishing sound it makes as it swallows them and closes.