The sight that greeted them did nothing to calm the rush of adrenaline they'd both felt at the first shout. Zelena was standing in Robin's living room, a gun in her hand pointed at Robin's head, her red hair as wild as her eyes. Broken china lay at her feet. The sound had woken Roland who had been asleep in his bed and his cries echoed throughout the room. Robin stood still but his clenched, shaking fists and red face showed his rage.
Regina and Emma skidded to a halt. Emma glanced at Regina and saw the same shock she was feeling. For a brief moment nobody spoke. Zelena's eyes flittered between each of them before finally settling on Regina and her gun hand, which was beginning to shake, changed target. Regina didn't even flinch as she looked down the barrel and then back at the sister she'd believed dead.
"What are you doing here?" Regina seethed, her voice low and dangerous. Emma felt a shiver at her words.
"I wasn't done with you, dear sister." Zelena smiled widely, showing all of her teeth, it was an unnerving expression. "You have all seriously underestimated me."
"Where is Marian?" Robin asked, his voice unsteady. "What have you done with my wife?!" The second sentence was a scream, his feet shifting as though he were barely resisting the urge to jump at Zelena, despite the weapon in her hand.
Zelena turned away from Regina to sneer at Robin, "Don't pretend you care, Hood, you didn't even notice that I'd taken her place."
"Where is she?" Robin spluttered, spittle flying from his mouth.
Zelena dramatically wiped spit from her face with a disgusted look and said, "Dead. Long gone. Not that anyone's been missing her."
Robin took a step forward but Zelena swung the gun towards him, stopping in his tracks, "Stay where you are."
"Why have you done this?" Regina asked, her mind whirling.
"Why do you think?" Zelena laughed, manically.
"To hurt me."
"You had everything. Not only the upbringing that belonged to me, but a soul mate, too! I thought that taking him from you would be enough. But instead, I've spent weeks watching him pine over pictures of you when he thought I wasn't looking, listening to the bedtime stories he told Roland about an Evil Queen turned hero." She cackled. " As if his personality wasn't insufferable enough… And then you show up, looking like you're doing just fine. I was going to stay here, win his heart and then leave the both of you broken, but he's too pathetic. He'll sob over you until his dying breath. In fact, that's exactly what I'm going to hear when this is all over."
"You think killing will make you feel better?" Emma asked, "It won't change a thing, Zelena. Revenge won't change a thing about your life."
"That's where you're wrong. Revenge will change everything." Zelena said. "If I'm going to live out the rest of my days happily, it's going to be in a world without any of you in it."
Emma swallowed. Zelena was planning to kill them all. She knew exactly what that would mean. Only light magic was capable of defeating Zelena back in Storybrooke, she'd already proven herself capable of beating the Dark One. Without either Emma or Regina, there was nobody to prevent Zelena from returning and wrecking havoc, nobody to stop her from taking over.
"Well, then what's stopping you?" Regina sneered, eyes wide and daring.
Emma stepped a little closer to her, flinching at her words. Why did Regina have to aggravate the woman with the gun? She was too used to being powerful, to having nothing to fear. But outside of Storybrooke, without a weapon, she was powerless against her sister. Emma felt sick at the thought that she'd just emptied the last of the magic in the amulet. If they still had that, they might have had a chance. Without it, they had nothing. Emma protectively put her arm on Regina's shoulder and stepped in front of her.
"Stand back, Saviour. Unless you want to be first." Zelena threatened, waving the gun at her.
Emma raised her hands in surrender but didn't move away.
"Now!" Zelena screamed, cocking the gun.
Emma did as she was told and stepped out of the way, very aware that Zelena meant it and knowing that she wouldn't be able to do much good if she was shot.
"Back away." Zelena ordered both Emma and Robin as she moved towards Regina, gun still raised.
Emma took a few steps back, as did Robin. She looked towards Regina who still didn't look at all nervous. She held Zelena's gaze steadily and glared straight back at her. Emma thought she might be sick, she'd already had to watch Regina being hurt, she didn't want to witness any more.
As Zelena approached, she placed the gun firmly against Regina's forehead and forced her back against the wall behind her. Emma held her breath, thankful that Regina was cooperating at least a little.
"I can't wait to watch the blood leave your body, to watch your eyes glaze over." Zelena drawled, then chuckled. "It's funny. Rumplestiltskin saved you last time, now I think he'd be an eager helper."
"Actually sis, last time I beat you myself."
Zelena growled and pushed the gun harder against Regina's head, eliciting a small grunt from her. "Too bad you don't have your light magic this time."
"Zelena,' Robin said, "Think about this for a moment-"
"What is there to think about?!" Zelena shouted, spinning to face Robin instead.
Robin backed away a little, "If you want to hurt Regina, why start with her? It'll be more painful for her to watch me die."
"Ever the honourable man, I see." Zelena smiled. "Good idea."
As Zelena stepped back from Regina, Emma released a breath. This way, Zelena's back was facing her. Thinking fast, the moment Zelena began to turn the gun away from Regina and towards Robin, the moment it was pointed simply at the wall between the two of them, Emma pounced.
She tackled Zelena heavily from behind, arms thrown around her neck, as she reached out, groping for the gun. The gun fired, once, twice, blasting holes in the wall and floor, terrified screams came from Roland's room following the two deafening sounds. Zelena swung wildly, but Emma held on for dear life, her hand around the gun, fighting against Zelena's attempts to raise it.
Robin and Regina bounded forward, each grabbing a firm hold of one of Zelena's arms, restraining her. She struggled fiercely, slamming her head back into Emma's in an effort to throw her off. When she let go, though she was dazed, with Zelena held still, the gun still pointed downwards, Emma was easily able to wrestle the weapon off of her. She wasted no time in pointing the gun at Zelena's face. The witch frowned, her shoulders slumped, but Emma wasn't fooled.
There was an odd sparkle in Zelena's eyes, a mischievous gleam. Emma could spot a lie even without hearing any words and Zelena didn't really believe the game was up. Emma knew it was going to happen in the split second before it did. Zelena raised her elbow with a jerk, hitting Robin Hood square in the face. As he stumbled back, she twisted, lifting a knee into his groin and the man went down with a loud groan. With her free hand, Zelena reached under her top and pulled a knife from the waistband of her pants.
She spun towards Regina, knife at her throat in an instant. Her eyes were murderous, there was no other emotion there. Just pure hatred and malice. This was a woman so desperate for revenge that nothing was going to stop her now. Emma knew that. She knew what she had to do.
As the knife cut into the soft skin at Regina's pulse point, creating a razor thin line of red, Emma aimed and pressed the trigger.