Cora strode into the house, stepping over and around the splintered door and frame, "I can assume by your face that you've integrated more or less and have memories of this time?" She passed the two women on the stairway and moved into her study, she wasn't really concerned with the doorway, Emma nearly always broke into the mansion and the damage would be repaired at midnight when the day reset much as it had for the last 30 years.
Regina stood shakily from her slumped position, leaning heavily on her wife as a wave of nausea overcame her, "Emma," she whimpered pained as she clutched at her flat stomach.
Emma bit back her own emotion and covered her wife's hands with one of her own, "We'll fix this, 'Gina. Period, end of story, she isn't going to win," she wrapped an arm around slight shoulders and held her lover tightly.
"I expect you'll be joining me once you're done crying?" Cora's voice drifted out of the study. From the reactions and what she'd been able to overhear this had been another expectant Regina, to her keen observation no version with that insipid Robin had ever been pregnant, however in contrast, the more than a few of those arriving with the Savior had been, before. Cora still didn't know what had originally altered the timelines to thrust into the focus of destiny, what had brought Rumple crawling back to her in Wonderland with the dark curse, promising her power and riches without the need of a conduit, but directly hers. Without hesitation she'd accepted the offer and taken her daughter's heart the next day, the woman she'd birthed may have been the thing she loved the greatest, but it hadn't really been a choice when offered her life's goal, obtainable with a simple action she'd completed numerous times.
With shaky legs Regina stood from the latest flash of memories, she met Emma's eyes, "Two years passed after I was supposed to have cast the curse, after visting our future I couldn't bring myself to kill daddy. It was so hard tp do even, before I saw myself allowed a happines I hadn't dreamed possible after Daniel," Regina shook her head to clear it of the fuzziness form trying to piece together two sets of memories and feelings, she imagined it was what the town experienced when the curse broke back in their timeline. "I don't know how she got a hold of the dark curse, but one night she appeared from the shadows and lulled me into a sense of peace with her charm and charisma, making me think she'd truly become remorseful for the hurt she'd caused," they entered the study then and Cora sat behind the desk on the far side of the room.
The study was far darker in decor than Regina had ever kept it, now that she cognitively observing her surroundings the whole house was darker than she'd maintained. Cora stood and gave the couple the smile that her daughter remembered well, in her teenage and adult years it had never failed to make the younger brunette's stomach flip with a sense of dread. "And then I drew into a loving hug as I plunged into your chest removing your heart," she finished the tale that Regina had been telling as they entered. "Tell me dear how far along were you?" The older woman gestured towards her stomach as the wives remained in the doorway.
"Five months," Regina all but growled at her mother. That the woman was still able to read her easily bothered her. It bothered her more that a part of her swelled inside at the very idea that her mother loved her enough to cast the dark curse, even if it meant that that the love had brought about her death. Regina frowned as a raging headache settled between her eyes as she tried to make sense out of all the conflicting thoughts and emotions, she could very vividly remember dying and at the same time not.
Cora made a face, that was the furthest along any version had been yet, everyone else had come before the child's quickening, "Not to fear darling daughter, you won't miss the child long. No version of you has survived beyond the first two days, the integration with a dead existence is just too much," Cora delivered the news with a smirk, she shouldn't enjoy the look shared between lovers quite so much. But there was just something about the knowledge that anything her daughter could do would be for nought.
Emma stepped forward, fists clenched at her sides a tug at her shirt and Regina stepped around her, "I will find a way. I am not giving up my life or my child. If that means destiny has to return to its original design, so be it," she meant it too, if she had to find a way for herself to cast the curse as originally intended, so be it.
The older brunette stepped into her daughter's space, this particular version seemed far more aware of her power than any other that had been yet, "Idle threats, they won't get you anywhere, dear."
Emma couldn't help the shiver that raced down her spine at hearing the title fall from the older woman's lips. She'd tried to push the similarities between the two women away over the years, but seeing them in the same room again made it difficult, "Idle hands, lady," she threatened.
Cora scoffed at the words, "There's no magic here and no one aware of the truth except me and you," she moved towards the window and the wet bar situated beneath it.
"I already broke one dark curse, lady," Emma folded her arms across her chest, creating an imposing visage, "I'll do it again, you have no idea what I'm capable of," she watched as the older woman poured herself two fingers of an amber liquor and swirled the glass.
Regina watched her mother sip at the whiskey she'd poured, "There has to be a way and we will find it, you cannot stop us!" She turned on a heel and stormed away, Emma close behind her, they both wondered if they'd be stopped but they made it out the destroyed door and down the sidewalk with no interference
Emma followed behind her quickly moving wife, "What's the plan?" They were heading for mainstreet at a fast clip and the blonde herself struggling to keep up. Much the same way Regina's body had reset to that timeline's figure, her's had lost all the muscle mass and stamina she'd cultivated over the last few years .
Regina continued her march as she spoke, "Breaking the curse may or may not be a help I, there's one thing we know that Mother doesn't," she could feel Emma's questioning look as they turned onto main and headed for the one place that could hold answers, "Rumple was never under the full curse, he was always aware, I've no doubt that the same will be with this curse. The curse was his way of finding Neal, it's why he made sure it was still cast even after I refused," they had reached the pawnshop and Emma opened the door for her, Regina gave her wife a soft smile at the action.
The bell gave a ding and Regina would admit that she enjoyed the look on the older man's face. He looked much the same as he had before his ultimate end with Peter Pan, the only difference was his hair, cropped close to his head and giving him more dashing look then his longer hair. "By your reaction you know me?" She strode right up to the counter he was behind and placed both hands on the glass.
Rumpelstiltskin gave an appraising look, "I'm afraid I've only just met you," he held out his hand to her, a glint in his eye, "Robert Gold, owner of this fine establishment," he pulled his hand back when she refused to accept it, "Can I help you find anything?"
Regina pulled on the solidarity of her wife's strong presence at her back, "Actually we're here to help you, Rumple," he twitched, "I would like for you to meet Emma," she waved a hand back at her blonde wife.
Dark eyes widened as he processed the words, "Lovely to meet you, Emma," he kept his tone neutral as his eyes appraised the blonde, could it be after all this time?
A wicked glint in her eye, Emma grinned, "Charmed," she added a head tilt and smirked at the man she'd never really liked.
After waiting a beat Regina spoke again, "If you wish to find Baelfire and break this curse you'll help us," she met his eyes and watched him calculate a dozen different possibilities and outcomes.
Finally he broke the eye contact and hung his head for a brief second, sighed and looked up, "What do you need, Your Majesty?" If it meant finding Bae, he would do whatever it took, he'd never expected it to take this long.
Regina let her gaze wander around the shop, she'd forgotten how cluttered it was under his reign, Belle kept it in a much more organised state, "We need a way to go back, before Mother cast your curse," finally she spotted what she had been surreptitiously looking for and made her way over to a shelf against the wall.
Rumple watched his former pupil warily as she seemed to drift across the shop, "Why would you want to do that?" His hands tightened on the glass countertop he'd gripped when she'd stepped away.
Emma watched her wife trail a fingertip along the edge of a shelf and final she spotted what her lover already had. Regina blew away some of the dust that coated the shelf and reached into the shadow of the shelf above it, "That is our business and in exchange we'll break the curse for you," she withdrew her hand and she had a small tea cup pinched between index finger and thumb, there was a small chip out of the cup along the rim and Regina knew precisely the importance of the cup, "There are many things that you desire, finding Baelfire is not the only important thing to you," she pretended to let the cup slip and didn't even try to contain her smirk when he startled at the action.
"If I provide you with the means to travel back, you'll break the curse giving me the ability to find both Bae and Belle?" He licked his lips nervously and didn't take his eyes off the cup still dangling.
Regina smiled at the man she'd once trusted to teach her her worth in life, "You help us and we'll help you," she gently set the teacup back down. Regina returned to the counter and placed her palms on the cool glass, leaning forward until she nearly in his face, "Please," the quietly spoken word was barely audible but it had it's intended purpose.
The manipulative man sighed, "I think I can provide the help you need, it won't be easy and you'll have to find a way to access magic," he left the imagined safety of the counter and plucked the teacup from it's place, holding it close to his chest as he disappeared into the back room. "Your Mother has a secret place," he started once they'd joined him behind the curtain, "She has her collection of hearts there as well as a few other trinkets she acquired over the years before the curse was cast," Regina nodded as he spoke, she was learning quickly just how she had in common with her mother and it was a little unsettling. She laid a hand against her flat stomach as she made a vow to continue being the mother she was now and never fall into the same machinations as Cora.
He pricked his finger and touched it to a wooden chest that had been buried beneath a blanket, the trunk popped open and he rummaged around inside, grateful not for the first time that things like blood magic were still usable as long as the item had been crafted back in the enchanted forest. He inside the box, "I've been saving this for when I find Bae," he held out a single magic bean, "However after 30 years, almost 31, if giving this up mean I get to be with him, so be it," he deposited the bean into Emma's outstretched hand.
Regina watched her wife study the bean, they hadn't any reason to deal with one since Neverland and the blonde hadn't the chance to really study one then and she seemed fascinated by the way the light refracted through the cloudy bean. "I'm no expert on magic beans but they only take you to your desired place within the current timeline?" Regina was no fool and would not be taken advantage of with a quick trick.
For the first time Rumple smirked, "Ahh but that's where this comes in," he reached inside the box and retrieved a rather large tome from it's depths that Emma would've sworn couldn't have fit in the box had she not watched him pull it out. "I suspect you're powerful enough, given the proper motivation. Find your Mother's hiding place and I suspect you'll find what you need to alter the bean and then it's a simple matter of normal use," he handed over the heavy book, "However there is the little matter of restoring magic first, you'll have to break the curse before you can do anything."
Emma watched her wife flip through the book, watched her stop on one page and then another, she skimmed through half the book that way while Emma and Rumple stood awkwardly watching her, the occasional shifting of fabric as they adjusted their stances the only sound alongside the rasp of a page turning. Finally Regina looked up and fixed the man she'd once considered both her greatest enemy and greatest mentor, on days he wasn't doing all sorts of evil horrendous stuff to her. "Deal," was the only word spoken before she turned to her blonde wife and snatched the bean from her hands. Regina tucked the bean into one of Emma's hip pockets and tugged smaller arms than she was used to around her waist, slid her fingers into shaggy blonde hair and met shining hazel eyes, "Like our lives depended on it," she whispered as she leaned back and fell into a dip as their lips met, trusting Emma to catch and support her, even pre-muscular Emma was strong enough to support her slight weight.
WIthout a thought Emma followed her wife into the dip easily supporting her and falling into the kiss as their lips moved together. A teasing tongue brushed against pink lips and as Emma opened to accept it a wave burst from them, rushing out of the store and quickly overcoming the whole town. The kissed for another few seconds before slowing and pulling out of the kiss, Regina still suspended securely in her wife's arms, "Well done, my Love," she tenderly stroked a flushed cheek and looked deeply into darkened eyes.
Rumple cleared his throat and scuffed his foot across the floor, "Impressive display ladies, however there is more to do," he pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket, "Now that the curse is down, there is one final thing to do so that magic can return."
Emma groaned as they straightened, "I don't want to have to slay another dragon," she mumbled as she tugged her polo shirt back into place.
An arched eyebrow from Rumple, "No dragons to be slain Savior," he opened the worn parchment, "However, how do you feel about a gryphon?" He next pulled a familiar case from behind the counter that both women knew contained David's sword from the enchanted forest. "You'll find the beast beneath the old library," he opened the case with a flourish and if they hadn't both known how this was meant to go perhaps it would've seemed more impactful.
As it was Emma just plucked the sword from it's case and slid it into its scabbard, "And gee, what is it we are to retrieve from beneath the library and the belly of the beast?" She ignored the hard jab into her side from her wife and smiled innocently at the impish man behind the counter.
Rumplestiltskin eyes them both a little suspiciously, "Inside the beast you'll find a potion of true love, created from the hair of your parents, Savior," he handed over the paper and Regina eyed it, everything looked normal and it answered a long held question of hers, whether the library and it's lower chamber had been her influence on the curse or his. He continued on with his exposition, "Just on the outskirts of town, you'll find a well, drop the potion inside and magic should be restored," he'd intentionally built the failsafe into the curse, so he would be able to access magic soon as the curse broke. Regina nodded as though this was all brand new information and together she and Emma left the shop.
They were halfway to the library when they encountered Snow running down the street screaming for Charming, she was towing along a 3 year old little blonde girl and Emma stopped mid-march to look upon this version of herself. 3 year old Emma had long blonde hair and her eyes seemed a brighter green than they were now. The flowing flower print dress made adult Emma shudder and she startled at the slight touch to her arm, "We should keep going before she sees me," Regina husked sympathetically to her wife, knowing it must be hard to see this version where she'd never been separated from her parents. Emma nodded and laced their hands together, drawing on her wife's strength to support her in the moment.
Finally they reached the library a few minutes later without further interruption and Emma put her shoulder into the act of breaking the door open, bastard could've given them a key, she knew he had to have one. They made their way to the back wall and Regina easily found the trigger to slide the false panel aside, "Are you ready for this?" She asked watching as her wife shed the black polo and remained in her white tank top, she'd be lying to say she didn't miss the heavily muscled physique Emma had honed the last few years, "You've not encountered a gryphon before have you?"
Emma shook her head and slid the sword from it's scabbard, "This will be the first, any tips?" She shook her shoulders out, testing the weight of the sword in her hand, adjusting to the weight without the muscle become accustomed to.
Regina shook her head, "Just use more than the tip and you should be fine," she smiled at her wife, trying to keep up a strong facade.
The blonde grinned, seeing right through it as only she could, "I'll be fine, babe. Just gotta go do a thing and then we'll be back where we belong," she dropped to a knee and placed a tender kiss against Regina's clothed stomach, "All of us."
Tanned hands buried affectionately in blonde hair and she smiled softly at the woman who had stolen her heart in all the good ways, "All of us," she whispered back as Emma placed another kiss to her stomach, "I love you," Regina scratched lightly at her scalp.
Emma stood then and placed a tender kiss to plump lips before stepping backwards into the elevator, "Now and always, babe," she winked and Regina held in a watery laugh as she worked the mechanism to lower the elevator down the shaft. "Try not to be tied up when I get back this time!" Her wife's voice carried up to her and Regina smiled at the jest, even as she glanced nervously over her shoulder at the door.
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Emma emerged from the elevator and stepped into the dark cavern beneath the library, she'd not been a fan of this the first time around and now wasn't any different, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty," she sing songed as she crept along the edge of a boulder, did one even classify a gryphon as a cat? She shrugged and repeated the call, figuring noise was noise really. A rock clattered a distance away and Emma paused, listening, trying to pinpoint the location in the echoey chamber. She head a wet splatter from somewhere and well that was ominous. Another splatter, closer… maybe.
Something warm and heavy touched her head, Emma shuddered as she slowly looked up into the eyes of the gryphon, another rather large drop of spittle was falling from its open mouth and she slipped sideways to avoid it. The gryphon gave a screech and lept off the boulder, swinging into mid-air with open wings. Emma dodged around the boulder keeping the solid protection of it between her and the beast. With a great whumping of heavy wings the gryphon glided over the boulder and screeched again as it dove towards her, she turned to jog away and tripped over a small stone, landing flat on her back, sword still thankfully clutched in her hand. She rolled away as the gryphon landed and jabbed at her with a sharp talon. She rolled the opposite direction when it adjusted it's attack and came at her again.
Emma cursed as for the first time, she actually missed Maleficent. She managed to roll onto her feet this time and swung around in time take a swing at the beast, she caught it in the shoulder and a decent gash into its shoulder. The gryphon gave a screech and came at her harder than before, "Oh great, now your pissed," she muttered as she dove beneath a rocky arch in the rocks, having to roll immediately away as the heavy weight of the gryphon collapsed the rocks when it landed atop the archway.
"Goddamnit, mythical beasts. I'm not fucking Harry Potter," Emma muttered as she brushed away dust and grimaced at the two inch gash in her shoulder blade that was oozing uncomfortably down her back now. A swooping attack had her twisting sideways and stabbing in the direction of her foe, she was starting to fatigue as she relied on muscles she didn't have anymore, this needed to end and soon. Emma found herself flat on her back again and with a boulder to her left side and a diving gryphon on her other she closed her eyes thrust the sword up at what she hoped was the right time. A wailing screech sounded and she could feel hot breath on her face, but it didn't get any closer. Emma cracked an eye open and the gryphon was inches away from her, impaled through the chest on the sword, it's eyes still flashed with life and she gave a loud cry as she pushed the sword further inside with both hands wrapped around the hilt. She used the momentum to stand and drive the sword further into it's chest.
Emma twisted the sword sharply left and then right, grimacing when a sickening crack echoed in the cavern, finally the light faded from it's eyes and she stood above the beast panting and bleeding and sweating. She bent at the waist, hands on her knees and vowed that when she was back in the body she was used that she was upping her cardio. Emma wiped the sweat from her face and straightened as she finally caught her breath. She stared at the unmoving gryphon, making a noise of puzzlement as she nudged it with her toe. Maleficent had just exploded in a shower of ash and there had been the egg containing the potion. She gave a shrug and tugged the sword free, took a deep breath and stabbed into the beast's belly.
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Regina startled and moved quickly to the wall panel when the chime sounded that someone was waiting to be pulled up from below. The elevator creaked and groaned as it started it's journey to the surface and Regina nervously tapped her foot, waiting for her wife to appear. Finally the top of elevator came into view and the brunette gasped at her wife's state. Emma was dusty and she had blood and gore all the way to her biceps, her once white tank top was now more red than white and she was half bent at the waist as she grimaced in pain and clutched the familiar true love egg under one arm. "Emma!" Regina exclaimed as she rushed forward and caught her collapsing wife as the blonde fell from the opening door of the elevator.
"Fine, I'm fine," Emma wheezed as she hit her knees and shoved the egg into her wife's hands. "Little winded and bleeding, covered in dirt and blood not my own also, but I'll be fine," taking a deep breath she pushed herself to her feet. "Let's get this done and go home," Emma sighed as she reached back into the elevator and retrieved her father's sword.
Regina watched her warily, her wife was unsteady on her feet and the brunette could see the long rending gash still oozing blood on her back, "Alright, but first thing when we arrive in the Queen's castle we are getting you cleaned up," Emma just nodded and slung an arm over slight shoulders as she let her wife lead her from the library.
It was slow going but they made it the outskirts of town after almost an hour of trying to avoid being seen by scrambling towns people all coming aware and trying to figure out what was happening. They heard a lot hyperbole about it being Regina as at the time the curse was cast, Cora wasn't exactly a well known figure. Once they reached the woods they were able to move faster, Emma had caught a second wind, possibly helped by her wound finally clotting and not having to remain hunched over with her shorter wife as they slid from alleyway to alleyway in town.
It took another 15 minutes to reach the well and it was without preamble that Regina opened the egg and popped the cork on the tube of swirling true love potion she shared a look with her wife and dropped the vial down the shaft. They watched it fall, watching the potion flow out as the tube tipped in air, a distant splash and light purple magic smoke filled the well shaft and spilled over the edge. Both women stepped back and Regina stepped into her wife's arms and they wrapped around her shoulder and held her tight. For an unfathomable reason they both flinched and held their breath as the smoke incorporated them.
The smoke cleared quickly as it moved towards and through town, Regina gave a gasp and her body filled with magical energy as her magic was returned to her. It was different than the last time the curse had broke, she supposed because she'd been the one to bring it to Storybrooke this time around, or because she'd already experienced magic in this land, either way she was able to conjure a fireball and maintain it easily. "Break the curse, check. Bring back magic, check. The bean if you will my love?" She set the book she'd kept under her arm on their journey on the well's edge and flipped through pages until she found the incantation she wanted, it was in elvish and not Regina's strongest language, but she knew enough to get by most days.
She took the bean from Emma's open hand and stared into it, watching the cloudy magic swirl inside. "Here we go," she mumbled and began speaking to the bean in elvish as her eyes tracked over the open page, following the paragraph of words. As Emma watched her wife, violet swirled in amber depths and suddenly frowned, holding out a hand to her and Emma grasped, gasping herself when Regina immediately drew on her magic, channeling it into herself and using it as a boost. They hadn't done this kind of energy transfer often and every less so had they done it intentionally. Violet swirled faster in dark eyes as tendrils of light blue magic wrapped around their now clasped forearms and faded into purple as it thread into Regina's arm. The brunette was speaking faster now, repeating the incantation and Emma had hard time keeping she barely had any grasp of the language to begin with.
Suddenly the bean sparked and was suddenly swirling with purple the shame shade as Regina's magic. They both beamed and shared a quick kiss, right before Emma groaned and fell to her knees, holding her head. "Emma?" Regina followed her down, bean tightly clasped in her hand, "I knew shouldn't have drawn on you so much," she cursed herself for not going with her instincts.
Emma waved her off as the headache receded to a dull throb, she was tired and dirty. Hungry and achey, plus her back was on fire where she likely had a raging infection from her wound, "Just throw the bean, babe," she was breathless with the effort, but determined to see this through.
Regina frowned, "I'm at least going to heal your wound," Emma opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it, her wife was right and it needed to be done. Regina sighed and dug deep into her reserves to run a healing hand over the gash in her lover's back, doing the best she could close it off and heal the torn skin. She couldn't do anything for the mild blood loss but at the very least, Emma wouldn't have the raging infection and her blood could slowly start to regenerate.
"Thanks," it came out raspy and Emma cleared throat before trying again. "Now let's do this," she shook the cobwebs from her head and they stood together as Regina held the bean tightly and thought of the where and when she wanted to travel. With a deep breath she tossed the bean and it hit swirled and expanded into a sizeable portal that spiraled with greens and purples and blues.
They clasped hands and shared a tender look full of promises, "I love you, my darling!" Regina shouted over the noise.
Emma smiled at her wife and held up their clasped hands, "Now and always, beautiful!" And they jumped.