Ch.9
Dark Swan's world: Storybrooke 20 years in the future.
Nothing looked the same here. The buildings were in the same places but they were burned and destroyed, only smoldering ashes and a few walls remained. It appears that twenty years of waring in a small town takes a toll. They had landed outside of the clock tower… or what was left of the clock tower. The same location Dark Emma had arrived in their world. Emma stood and helped Regina steady herself. She was still woozy from hitting her head in the cavern.
Emma looked around at the wreckage around them. "Welcome to the future, Regina."
"Looks like they made Storybrooke great again." Regina said in a snarky tone.
"Great Scott!" Emma jokingly exclaimed. "Look at this place."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Did you just quote 'Back to the Future'?"
"Yes, and I'm glad I made you watch that movie." Emma said smugly.
"Well that's the only movie quote you get." Regina said.
"Aw man, if I knew that then I would of picked a better one!" Emma pouted.
"Tough." Regina said crossing her arms. "Okay, now tell me Emma, what happened? What did Dark Emma tell you?"
Emma hesitated a moment.
"Regina, Christian isn't Dark Emma's child…He's ours." Emma explained.
"What?" Regina asked, she almost fell over from shock and head trauma.
Emma grabbed Regina and steadied her. She explained everything Dark Emma had told her. How she had travelled through time on multiple occasions, and during one of her stops crossed worlds and took their son as a one-way-ticket back home.
"Well, she's determined, I'll give her that." Regina said once she had heard the full story.
"Yeah. So what do we do now? How do we get home?" Emma asked.
"No clue. We are in an unfamiliar world, twenty years in the future, with no magic. We should try to find Snow and David in this realm, explain the situation, and see what they know. Any guess as to where they would be?" Regina asked.
"Only one guess. They could be at the Sherriff's station, if it's still standing." Emma suggested.
"Good idea. It's just down the road."
"Where we're going, we don't need roads." Emma said with a smirk.
"Miss Swan, what did I say?" Regina said as she crossed her arms in disapproval.
"Sorry, but you have to admit that's a better line." Emma grinned.
Regina rolled her eyes. "Let's get going."
When they reached the Sherriff's station they were relieved to see it was still standing, though it was covered in ashes, just as the streets around it were. Emma handed the baby to Regina so she could pick the front lock. Once inside they looked around quietly. Emma found a flashlight on a desk and peered around the corner to the main office.
"No one's here, but it could be our best bet for a shelter. Should we sleep here? It's getting late." Emma suggested.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I wish we had some baby stuff. We don't even have anything to feed Christian tonight." Regina said as she held the baby close.
"Yes we do, the station has some. It's required to keep formula and bottles and such on hand in case a child is abandoned. We have diapers too." Emma said as she dashed off. A moment later she returned with a box filled with items. "Yup, same as our world! I also found some stuff for us. A first aid kit for your head and some bottles of water." Emma said as she set the box down on the desk that would be hers.
"Good job, Emma." Regina complemented.
Regina gave Christian a bottle settled him down for the night. They pulled the two cots inside the cells out and pushed them together to create one large bed, and put a sheet over both so Christian could safely sleep in the center. Emma sat on her side of the bed cross-legged, while Regina laid on her side cuddling the baby.
"So, we haven't really had a chance to talk about all of this." Emma said as she motioned to the sleeping child.
"You mean how we will be having a child in two years? Yeah, it's a lot to take in. I mean it was one thing to think he was from a different world. I could convince myself it was only under those specific circumstances that we would end up together. Now, knowing it is destined to happen makes it all seem so strange." Regina said as she kissed Christian on the head.
"Yeah, it is strange, but in a good way. Like, now I know I am going to sleep with you for sure, so when the time comes I know you're not gonna say 'No'." Emma said in her best pretend, macho smugness.
Regina mocked outrage, and reached over and pinched Emma on the leg.
"Ouch!" Emma yelped.
"Well you deserved it. I will have you know I am not going to sleep with you because it is destiny. In fact now you should be worried that I won't sleep with you because now I know what the outcome will be." Regina said as she arched her eyebrow at Emma.
"So you're saying you don't want that little guy who is all cuddled up in your arms?" Emma asked, not believing Regina's teases for a second.
"Well, I guess you have me there." Regina said as she pulled Christian closer to her and kissed his heads again. "On a serious note, I am scared to do it all again. Having Henry was tough."
"I'm scared too. But just so you know, I will be there. You did it all alone last time, which is amazing. But now you will have help. Me, and my parents and our whole town. You were a single mother who was running a town and a curse. When you did it this time, it would be easier. I'm not saying it will be perfect, but we will have each other." Emma said as she tucked herself into bed.
"Thank you. For saying that." Regina said quietly.
"I mean it." Emma said smiling at her.
They laid there for a few minutes looking at each other, Christian in-between them. Emma drifted to sleep first, not even realizing her eyes were closing.
The next thing Emma knew she was being woken up by Regina calling out her name and shaking her arm. When she opened her eyes, she saw a group of people standing around them. Eight people stared at them, all of whom were pointing a weapon in their faces. Emma recognized each of them. The seven dwarves and Ruby. The dwarves were armed with their pick axes while Ruby aimed a crossbow at their heads. They all looked older than Emma remembered them, the dwarves looked haggard with age, and Ruby had a streaks of grey throughout her long hair.
Emma looked over to Regina. She was holding Christian protectively, her free hand outstretched, still clinging to Emma's arm. Emma had never seen Regina look so terrified.
"Well look what we have here. The Dark One and The Evil Queen." Leroy sneered gleefully.
"You have a lot of nerve coming into our territory!" Ruby said, keeping her crossbow aimed on Emma.
"How is she alive? I saw the witch die at the end of Snow White's sword just yesterday!" Leroy shouted pointing at Regina with his pickaxe.
"You have the wrong people! We are not from this world, or this time. I don't have the darkness in me, and Regina is good. So please take that pickaxe out of her face." Emma said pointedly. "That is why she's alive. The Regina that existed here is dead, and your Emma came to our world to bring her back to life. Things went wrong and we ended up here. We need to get back to our own time." Emma looked to Regina for help confirming their story, however, Regina only kept her head down and held onto Emma's arm.
"Look, we have magic cuff's on. Your Emma did this to us. We have no magic, and we need help." Emma begged as she held up her cuffed wrist to show them.
The group around them all looked at each other unsure what to do.
"Well, that's the biggest load of horse shit I have ever heard." Leroy said roughly. "Let's take em' to Snow White. She'll be happy we finally caught The Dark One. And Ruby, find out whose baby they kidnapped."
Ruby reached down and took Christian from Regina.
Instead of fighting Ruby off, Regina let him go. Emma watched as Ruby began to walk away with their son.
"Stop, he is our son!" Emma yelled.
Everyone turned to look at Emma, shocked. Ruby looked down in fear at the bundle in her arms.
"No, he's not. We stole him while his parents slept." Regina said quickly.
Emma looked at her shocked, and Regina glared back. Silently telling Emma to shut up.
"Enough of the lies Dark One!" Leroy shouted.
The dwarves then grabbed Emma and Regina and bound their arms with rope. They pushed them roughly out of the station and into the streets.
They walked and walked until they reached the edge of the woods. The dwarves shoved them to the ground to sit and tied them together to a large tree on the edge of the woods.
"Watch them while I go tell Queen Snow we have prisoners." Leroy said, and suddenly as he walked between two trees he disappeared. As if swallowed by something invisible.
"How did you guys get a cloaking shield?" Emma asked.
"Blue." Answered one of the dwarves. Emma could never remember the dwarves' names. Though she always remembered the happy one. He annoyed her the most for some reason. She guessed the one that had answered her was sneezy, as he had a bunch of tissues hanging out of his pockets and a red nose.
While the dwarves stood around talking to each other, Emma took the opportunity and leaned over to Regina.
"Hey, are you okay?" Emma asked. "Why did you say we stole Christian?"
"Because Miss Swan. We are in a different world, where they know us as The Dark One and The Evil Queen. If we told them we have a child what do you think would happen to that child?" Regina said through gritted teeth, and her head still down.
"But you didn't even fight back; you just let them take him!"
"We don't have magic. Besides, they won't hurt him if they think he is just a normal baby. He is safe with Ruby. We would send Henry with her all the time." Regina said.
"Regina, we need to keep him close to us so we can all get back to the right time periods!"
"We can once we talk to Snow, David, and Henry. Once we explain ourselves to them, and show we are not threat, they can help us."
"Great plan, except now they think we stole a baby. So they already have reason to believe we are our evil selves." Emma huffed. One of the dwarfs heard her.
"Hey, keep quiet, Dark One!" The happy dwarf said.
Emma gave him a dirty look and spat at his feet. Regina had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
A moment later Leroy magically reappeared between the same two trees he disappeared between.
"They are ready to see them now." Leroy said pointing his thumb behind him through the trees.
The rest of the dwarfs untied Emma and Regina from the tree and marched them though the magical entrance. When they reached the other side Emma's mouth fell open. What she saw didn't make sense. There, right in front of them stood a giant bridge that stretched over a vast canyon leading to the center of the canyon. There high on a floating island stood a giant castle. There is no way this all fits inside of Storybrooke.
"Wow." Emma said in astonishment as they began to walk across the bridge.
"Nice spell." Regina said sounding impressed.
When they finally reached the castle, two guards opened the large wooden doors. The inside was beautifully decorated with marble floors, and high ceilings. They followed a lavish carpet down a long corridor that lead to another pair of double doors. Two more guards stood outside these and opened them for the group. Inside Snow and David sat on thrones at the back of the room. The thrones were set upon a platform that rose high above, allowing them to overlook the room.
"Bring them here." David's voice boomed throughout the room.
The dwarfs pulled Emma and Regina closer to the king and queen. When they drew nearer Emma could see her parents in this world and time were very different from hers back home. Both were old, with grey and white hair, and wrinkles on their faces. David wore an eye patch over his left eye, while Snow adorned a large scar that went from her right ear to the corner of her mouth.
Emma and Regina were forced down to their knees, kneeling in front of the king and queen. Regina kept her head bowed, while Emma looked up imploringly to her parents. But, they were not her parents. Not really.
"Finally, after two decades of war. It is all over. What do you have to say for yourself?" Snow asked calmly.
"We are not the Emma and Regina from this world, or time. Your Emma came to our world, looking for an amulet to bring Regina back to life and make her immortal. She tricked us, saying she needed help but it was all a lie. The child we had with us was going to be used in her spell to return here. But we saved him, and got sucked into the portal instead of her. We need to get him and ourselves back to our world and time. Please!" Emma begged.
"What kind of trick is this? You think we will help you? After you have killed so many of our people?" David asked.
"Look, we have magical binding cuffs, why would we put these on ourselves?" Emma asked.
"To make yourselves look more trusting. We have learned our lesson in trusting you two. We can see your tricks!" Snow said crossly.
Suddenly the double doors opened again behind Emma and Regina. They turned their heads to see who was entering.
Striding inside were two men. Both were tall and muscular, and wearing golden armor with a sword swinging at their sides. The taller of the two looked older, had dark hair, and his expression was serious. The younger man was blonde, and his features were not as run down with anger.
"Is it true, it's them? It's not another trick?" The older man said to the king and queen.
"It's true Henry, it's really them." Snow answered.
"Henry?" both Emma and Regina said together looking up at the man.
"Don't you dare speak to me." Henry said as he passed them without looking in their direction.
"When will they be executed?" The younger man asked.
"Soon, Neal. We will gather everyone and do it publicly tomorrow morning." David answered.
"Wait! No! Please! I am good, we both are! I can prove it! Just take off our cuffs and we will show you our magic is light!" Emma begged.
"Ha! You put those on to gain entrance into our protected fortress, well sorry to ruin your plan, but those cuffs are staying on!" David sneered. "And tomorrow you will pay for your crimes."
"Then give us a trial. We deserve a trial." Regina said, looking up at them all on the platform.
Snow seemed to be thinking.
"No, absolutely not." David said.
"Hold on, she has a point." Snow said holding up her hand to her husband.
"You can't be serious?" David asked.
"Grandma, after all they have done. Death is the only way to make sure they can't hurt anyone else." Henry said, as anger rose inside him causing his face to redden.
"Mother I agree, they deserve to die." Neal said gritting his teeth.
"I understand, we all want vengeance. However, I don't want these two to be the reason we give up on our moral system. We have it in place so whomever is in power can not simply kill anyone they choose. They will be given a trial to be heard by everyone in Storybrooke. If found guilty they will be executed. That is my decision." Snow said with finality. "Take them to the dungeon." Snow instructed to Henry and Neal.
"With pleasure." Henry said with a wicked smile on his face as he strode over to Emma and roughly grabbed her by the arm forcing her to stand up. Neal did the same to Regina, who was as limp as a rag doll. Emma was shocked by how this world's Henry. He was nothing like the sweet boy she knew.
"Henry, what happened to you?" Emma asked with tears in her eyes. "You have the heart of the truest believer, so please believe me. We are not evil!"
"Shut it. Or you will spend your last night on earth chained to the walls." Henry spat.
Emma didn't say another word as they marched them down a tight and narrow staircase that grew darker and darker. When they reached the dungeons, Emma could smell the rot and decay from every corner of the cells. She wondered who had been locked down here during these twenty years of war.
Henry opened a cell at the far end of the dungeon and threw Emma inside. Neal followed suit with Regina, who ended up falling on top of Emma.
Henry laughed at her when she cried out in pain.
"Hey, she is still your mother!" Emma shouted up at Henry.
Henry bent down and got right into Emma's face. "Neither of you are my mothers anymore." Henry sneered. He stood back up and left the cell, locking it behind him. Neal shook the bars to insure they were sturdy.
Emma waited for their footsteps to die away before she spoke to Regina.
"What the hell was that? How could Henry and my parents sentence me to death?" Emma said still shocked.
"Well, it seems that they do not believe us. Our evil selves must have done some truly awful things here. Your parents are the most trusting people I have ever met, so if they don't believe us, it must have been bad." Regina reasoned. "Henry's hatred for us says it all."
"How the hell are we going to get out of this one? We have no magic, and no one even knows we are here from our world!" Emma as she got up and started to pace the room.
"Here, come here so I can untie your ropes." Regina offered. Emma went over to her and held out her hands. Once Regina untied her, Emma returned the favor and untied Regina.
"Okay, what's next?" Emma asked, ready for a plan of action.
"Emma… I think we are going to die." Regina answered honestly as she stared into Emma's green eyes. Oh how she loved those eyes, with their flecks of gold. She could stare at them for hours.
A tear fell down Emma's cheek. "Regina, I'm scared." Emma said, as she grabbed Regina's jacket and pulled her close, kissing her hard on the lips. They broke apart after a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, I just had to kiss you one last time." Emma said.
"Well, if this is going to be our last night we better make it a good one." Regina said as she leaned forward and kissed Emma back.
Without breaking their lips apart, Emma sat back against the cell wall and pulled Regina on to her lap so she was straddling her. Regina unzipped Emma's leather jacket and tossed it across the floor. Emma removed Regina's jacket and shirt, followed by her bra. She then picked Regina up and laid her down on the stone floor. Emma kneeled in between her legs and hovered over her.
Emma reached down and unzipped her own jeans as she stared into Regina's eyes. Eyes that were dark brown with flecks of gold. Those eyes could make her heart stop beating with just a glance her way.
Emma took Regina's hand and shoved it down her pants, making the other woman feel her wetness. Regina smiled and looked up at the blonde. Emma removed Regina's hand, brought it to her lips, and licked her own wetness off her fingers.
Emma then reached down and started to unbutton Regina's pants. She kissed her hipbone as she began to pull them down. Emma looked up and saw Regina had tears in her eyes.
"Regina, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Emma asked.
"No, it's nothing. Keep going. I'm fine." Regina said as tears began to stream down her face.
"No you are not fine. Tell me." Emma said as she pulled Regina's pants back up.
"I don't know. I think I just realized how scared I am too." Regina said.
"Here, put your clothes back on." Emma said as she handed Regina her bra and shirt. "How about for our last night alive we just hold each other?" Emma asked.
"I would like that very much Miss Swan."
"Me too Madam Mayor."
Emma held onto Regina all night, they didn't talk, or kiss. They only held onto one another. Laying on the cold, hard floor of their cell. Regina's arms and legs entangled in Emma's limbs. Staring into each other's eyes until dawn when the guards came to take them to their judgement.