Parts of the following are loosely based on a true story.

Too pissed to go over the reasons why i am, especially after 4x21-22. but this is how I choose to remember OUAT and their wonderful characters. As people who not only can be redeemed, but can help the world..maybe save it.

No one died, or are locked up forever. Emma may or may not be The Dark One™, Regina is Evil, but good, Zelena is wicked, but a hero.

In other words, if I was the Author the story would go like this.

The usual disclaimers.

Comments, please.

PREVIOUSLY ON OUAT: HEROES AND VILLAINS:

The Author (who in this resembles William Shatner more than the guy who plays him on TV), tells both Storybrooke's heroes and villains that the path to their redemption lies in their working together for a common good.

Several personalities who had either died or left the scene have suddenly appeared live and breathing...including Robin, Marian, and their son Roland, Ice Queen Ingrid and Ice Princess Elsa, Regina's sister Zelena, her Mother Cora, and Rumplestiltskin's son Baefire, aka Neal Cassidy.

Meanwhile, over three thousand miles away in California, a young mother named Eva Cameron awaits the sentencing of her boyfriend. She does not know it yet, but Eva is about to become part of a great adventure...

Storybrooke City Hall

Sheriff's Office 8:01am

Sheriff Emma Swan's green eyes fluttered open. The blonde's mouth opened wide with a yawn. She noticed that she was home with her parents, or awaking either in the arms of a certain mayor or a certain pirate.

But there she was, awakening at her desk, a blanket adorning her body, a steaming cup of coffee and a small bottle of energy shot. And looking down on her were three smiling faces: a two blue-eyed blondes and brown-eyed brunette.

"And what are you two looking at...?" Emma regarded the leering pair while trying to get her early morning bearings.

Deputy Tinker Bell had to answer: "Well, Em, you look sooo cute sitting there, sleeping...with early morning drool on your face..." Regina struggled to keep herself from chuckling, her efforts failing mightily.

Emma just rolled her eyes and sipped the hot cup of joe, which was surprisingly drinkable. "This shit's great," Emma exclaimed, "who made it?" She was hoping it was Regina, however the Mayor point to the woman on her right. "The fair here actually makes a decent cup..." The fairy in question just shot the mayor a look, but it was mostly for a humorous show. The trio were up all night redistributing participants in what could have been the brawl of the century had Ingrid, gods bless her, not put a time-freeze spell on the place. Regina then unfroze Emma with a kiss so long and languid that Ingrid, with hands on hips and tapping her left foot in full mommy-just-busted-us mode coughed to take the pair out of their horny reverie. Then it was a simple matter of unfreezing the needed people who were at the inn (Granny, Ruby, Cru and Ursula, as well as Elsa, and an uncharacteristically sober Leroy) to help unstick the huddled masses yearning to try to choke each other to death.

After much prying and pulling, Emma called Mallie, her girlfriend Holly (who before all this, did a part time gig actually doing Uber in Boston) and daughter Lily to be the Storybrooke version of Uber. After Ingrid set the freeze spell to expire five minutes after they would arrive at the victims' respective abodes, the trio dropped off Snow and Charming, then all three of the Golds back to their homes. That left Regina, Emma, and Ingrid to haul Cora back to her room, with the daughter of the former Queen of Hearts muttering something about karma with a love-to-see-moms-face-when-I-tell-her-who-I've-been-banging smirk on her face.

That left one last participant in the pier-sixer. And while the Mayor, the Sheriff, and her deputy were busy half flirting over coffee, a tangled mess of flaming red hair was stirring from her cot in the specially magic-proofed jail cell she slept in. She got up, still shell-shocked from coming back from the dead just a day ago. All because she wanted to destroy her sister's happiness. As Zelena's eyes adjusted to normal, the witch looked at the three women in her vision. They seemed happy. The kind of happiness that her mother, her life, herself denied. Maybe it took death to force Zelena to realize she had done this all wrong.

The three women laughing and teasing like that. She was asking could I be part of that? There was one way to find out.

Zelena was a mess. She was usually well groomed, but after last night's brief battle with her mother, she didn't care. she was going to take that first step...

"INNKEEPERRRRRRR...!"

The British-esque accent filled the office and got the other women's attention. If they had to answer, no one really hated the Wicked Witch...she was more mischievous than evil...just some of the things she did. And Regina...who was now approaching the jail in response...did offer the witch that second chance.

"And why are you bellowing this early in the morning...?" Actually Regina was concerned, and Zelena was appreciative. But pride does get in the way of admitting certain things.

"Well, sis, I was wondering what does a person have to do to get breakfast...or at least coffee...in this place?" Regina must have been in real good mood...her sister gave her an opening and she didn't take it.

"Don't worry, sis. Sausage, eggs, toast and hash browns are on the way..." then Regina turned around and shot a look to the Sheriff, then yelled, "ISN'T THAT RIGHT...MISS..SWAN?"

The Sheriff kinda-sorta stuck her tongue at her boss/employer/girlfriend. At least the attitude in the room towards the Wicked Witch was not as hostile as she thought it could be, especially after the Sheriff added with a chuckle: "By the way, Zelena, that was a sweet right hook you threw before you before we froze everything...you almost Ronda Rousey'd your mom...!"

A smirk crept up on Zelena's face in response to the pugilistic compliment. Regina's face, on the other hand, was a look of confusion. "Ronda...Who..."

"Rousey, dear..." explained Zelena. "She a MMA champion and can probably knock all four of us into the next realm...I swear, sis, you do need to get out more..."

"SHE'S WORKING ON IT...!" yelled Tink to the two women in the back, earning a half-hearted slap on the arm from a stack of papers from Emma. Regina looked back, and held back a chuckle. Then she turned around and saw something she had seldom seen on her half-sister.

A smile.

Not a smirk or a cackle. It was hesitant, but it was also an organic reaction the the lightheartedness in that office. An actual, sincere smile.

And for that one moment, Zelena looked...sweet.

"Sis...?" ...not to mention sound sweet. "Before I...left...you offered me a...a second chance. Well..." Zelena bowed her head, swallowed, then lifted it up. "Yes."

And then the two sisters smiled broadly. Regina tentatively reached her hand in the cell. And Zelena took it. And they both cried.

Then Emma and Tink came over, reached both of their hands in.

"Sheriff Swan...?"

"Yes, Your Majesty..?"

"My sister is in this cell and we can't really have a group hug with her in it..."

"Got it." Emma did not need the key, she just flung her fingers. The door opened.

For a moment the three ladies stood frozen, not knowing what the redhead would do. Zelena was thinking the same thing. After all she had done, who would blame the other three on some sort of pre-emptive attack. The sisters stood there brown eyes staring at blue.

Then the lips of the sisters quivered. And then they fell into each other, crying uncontrollably.

Then Emma embraced the sisters and tink embraced all three. And they stood there crying for about 20 minutes, yet to the four, it seemed forever. This war, at least this one, was over.

The phone rang just as the embrace...almost as if cue. And considering the person the other end of the phone call that Emma finally answered as she wiped tears from her face, it might have been.

"Your Highness...?"

"Blue, I told you not to call me that...I'm not a princess, I'm a Sheriff...actually, I'm just Emma. Anyway...what's up?"

"There was something on last evening, Sheriff, that you were supposed to see. Did you happen to watch?

Emma forgot that little task that the Mother Superior asked her and Regina to do, but they were a little busy with sorting out the town's version of the Royal Rumble. Emma told Blue that she hadn't. Blue replied that she didn't think so and that she had recorded the program. She had arranged a showing for those concerned a few people would be at the school auditorium, She also mentioned that the screening would be this morning at 10.

"And what it this all about?" Asked Emma

"All will be explained this morning. The Author will be there." Then the Blue nun added, "Oh and be sure Zelena and Regina are there as well. I hope you released her. Goodbye."

Emma heard the click and she hung the phone up, and then she turned around to see the happy trio still having that moment. And all Emma thought were two things...

One: How did Blue know?

Two: This was going to be a long day...

TBC