Paved With Good Intentions (part 4) A CS CYOA by lynyrdwrites and you make the right choices to bring Emma back to the light, or will the path to angst be paved with good intentions?
Part 3 left us with Emma breaking down the vault, out for Regina's blood and the question… does Snow use the dagger to force Emma to not harm Regina. This vote was literally decided by one option having a single vote more than the other, that's how close it was! But in the end, you decided…
Snow held the dagger in front of her, a tremor in her hand making the blade shake.
"So, is that how it will be?" Emma asked softly. "Going to control me, mother? That's always the answer, isn't it?"
Mother and daughter and stood feet apart, identical green eyes clashing with each other - Emma's holding challenge, Snow's grief. The shaking in the dagger increased, until Killian was surprised she didn't drop it. The tension rose then Snow finally let her arm fall to her side, her shoulders slumping and her eyes closing.
"I can't," she said shaking her head. "I won't. Hook was right in Camelot. We may not remember everything, Emma, but I remember that. You need to choose the right path."
"Hmm," Emma hummed. "How very heroic. Terrible, that it's too little, too late."
She waved her hand and sent Snow flying back into a tree with a loud thud. She fell to the ground, the dagger falling from her hand.
"Mary Margaret," David said, rushing to her side and cradling her head. Snow gave a pained sound and winced. Regina shot a look at Emma, and then at the dagger. She motioned with her hand, but wasn't quite quick enough. It had already disappeared, reappearing in Emma's hand.
"That was almost too easy," Emma mused, running her fingers along the blade and smirking over it at Regina. "Abandoned again, Evil Queen? Don't worry, I won't forget about you."
"Emma, think about this," Killian pleaded, taking a step between the two women. "If you do this, the darkness wins. Just…come back to me, Emma, please."
"Why can't you see?" Emma demanded, taking a slow step toward him. "I don't want to come back, Killian. I'm perfectly happy, just the way I am. And I'll be even happier once Regina finally gets what's been coming to her for three decades."
With a careless flick of her fingers she sent Killian flying out of her way; he landed with a hard thud, his head crashing back into the ground so hard his vision went dark for a moment then exploded back with flashes and bright spots of color. He brought his good hand up to his head, taking a steadying breath before setting himself to the suddenly insurmountable task of sitting up. He shook his head, trying to clear it, the stars moving way too fast above him before suddenly realizing the flashes of light and color were not entirely in his head. And then he heard the scream.
Regina.
No, not like this-
He shot up to his feet, his vision going dark again for a moment as he stumbled blindly forward. When his vision cleared he saw Emma had frozen, hands half raised and Regina kneeling on the ground cradling Henry in her arms.
Still.
Too still.
Nausea churned thick in Killian's stomach…Henry. Henry, who always wanted to be the hero…had saved his mother.
He wanted to scream, to fall to his knees and sob, his heart clenched with anger and pity and horror all directed at the woman in black who was still frozen, staring at her hands in abject horror.
"He wasn't there-" Emma stuttered, "he wasn't supposed to-" her voice faded and he could hear Regina's sobs now and her soft words.
"I'm not worth it," she whispered over and over. "I'm not. Please, come back, please-"
Snow and Charming rushed to Henry's side, confusion on their faces. This wasn't the world they knew. In their world the heroes always win, they always find each other… always.
Killian pulled his eyes away from Henry and back towards Emma. His mind was a chaotic uproar, telling him to rage, to fight, to fix it, somehow, but there was nothing to fix now, no villain to fight. Just her-
Regina pressed her lips to Henry's forehead over and over but there was no true love's kiss to make everything right again, no matter how desperately she tried. There was no curse to be wiped away with the stroke of a pen or the touch of lips. No crushed heart that could be replaced if you just believe.
This was holding Liam in his cabin and calling for help that would do no good, this was watching Milah fall and knowing there was nothing, nothing he could do to save her. And this was watching Emma Swan, with pale skin and shaking hands and knowing that the woman he loved could never return. Not now, not anymore.
Emma still hadn't moved, but her face finally betrayed her inner turmoil with tears that streamed down her face, apparently without her notice. She took one single step towards Henry and Regina's head snapped up.
"Don't you dare, dark one" she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "You don't get to touch him, not anymore."
She froze and Killian could have sworn he saw something shift in her eyes. Her tears stopped, her jaw tightened and all softness that was there moments ago was wiped away. Killian's heart clenched as he watched all that was left of Emma Swan vanish, swallowed into the Dark One. Finally and completely crushed.
"You," she whispered, her gaze focusing on Regina. "This is your fault."
Killian saw the rage in her eyes - had seen it in his own for centuries - and even knowing it was hopeless, he reached his hand out to her, "Emma, please-"
"Don't call me that," she snapped, "never call me that again."
Killian fell to his knees, feeling as though the weight of the entire world crushed him to the ground, and Emma moved past him. Snow and Charming were frozen behind Regina, held in place by the same invisible force that kept Killian on his knees.
"It's always you, isn't it Regina? Regina wants her happy ending! Regina deserves her happy ending. So we all get cursed, or written into an alternate story, or turned into the Dark One. You take and take and act like it's your due-"
"You don't get to blame this on me!" Regina snarled, carefully setting Henry down and getting to her feet. Tears stained her cheeks, made her eyes swollen, but none of that took away from the rage that all but burned from her skin. "You're the one-"
She cut off, clawing at her throat, her eyes bulging in shock. Emma reached her hand into the other woman's chest and pulled it out viciously, holding up a heart that was far less dark than anyone would have suspected.
"Would you look at that?" Emma mused. "Maybe you were trying after all… too bad it wasn't enough. You should have protected yourself better, Regina."
And then holding the heart in front of Regina's eyes, she squeezed. For a moment, pain flared brilliant and fierce in the Queen's eyes.
And then she fell to the ground, her body slumped over her son's. The weight on Killian's shoulder suddenly released, allowing him rise shakily to his feet. Snow and Charming both stumbled forward, released from the spell as well. Snow let out a sob, covering her mouth in horror, and Charming stared at Emma as though he were seeing a stranger.
"Emma," he said, his voice a strangled whisper, but Emma looked up from the dead bodies in front of her, the blank expression replaced by a smirk that spoke of madness and darkness and nothing good left.
"Emma doesn't live here anymore," she replied, taking a step forward, so she could press the dagger to her father's throat. She held it there for a moment, all of them frozen in fear, waiting to see if the body count would increase. Instead, Emma stepped back and flourished her hands, in a move all too reminiscent of the Crocodile. "Long live the Dark One."
She disappeared, leaving behind the body of her son and Regina, and no hope left to be seen.
Congratulations, You killed Henry and Regina, and crushed just about everyone else! Perhaps … just this once, we better avoid this confrontation with the dagger, yes? So what do you think, are you guys happy with your path?
~Yes, it was everything I hoped for. Great ending, thanks, guys.
~NO %#^%^%&#$ # $# REBOOT REBOOOT! Snow uses the dagger to keep Emma from attacking Regina.