Hey everybody,

the last chapter just for you! Hope you like it (and please don't kill me!)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Once upon a Time, just the crazy ideas in my head that I incorporated into this story!

Chapter 59

Peter's POV:

At first there was darkness, the magical green smoke mixing with the night's sky, swallowing everything in it's reach.

And then there was light. It seemed as though the sunbeams were pushing the green mist to the floor so the rest of the world would be free of the curse. Except there was no going back; the price had been paid. Entranced by the golden gleams, my mind wandered to other golden things; the small specks of gold in Aura's viridian green eyes and her long golden hair. My thoughts jumped to a vision of Emma opening Pandora's Box and thus letting my body with Henry's mind free.

It was inevitable; sooner or later I would've gotten the box myself and changed bodies. If I would spend the rest of eternity with my True Love, I wanted to do so in my original body. I liked my grin; not Henry's. There wouldn't be much time left before the change would happen, so I transported myself to city; somewhere near where they were keeping Aura.

That's when I felt immense pain in my head, similar to when my Shadow, the dark, mean thoughts in my head, created itself by separating from my body. The agony was unbearable, my vision clouded by black spots. With a hand against my forehead, I rushed into the nearest empty building, sliding against the door as I closed it.

The room was filled with books. Stacks of books, rows of books, shelves overflowing with books. I only thought about how Aura would've loved to be here, so in midst of my excruciating headache, I made a mental note to bring her to this library. Abruptly, the pain had subsided, and I felt...a goodness filling my self. I felt as if I could fly without needing pixie dust, only by thinking happy thoughts.

Then I felt a tugging in my being, something pulling me out of my body and I was sure my spirit was leaving Henry's body.

In a moment, I would see the world through my own eyes again, breathe through my nose. As soon as I could stand on my own feet, I would go find Aura.

'Hello, brother.' Recognizing the voice of Rumplestiltskin, I awoke back in my body and sat up.

'Thought you would have killed me in my sleep, laddie. I guess you changed your...I see. You've taken away my magic. So it's so easy for you to strut around and pose, isn't it?' Surprised to see the black cuff on my wrist, I looked up at my brother, him standing in front of me with his chin held high.

'I wanted to talk to you. I wanted you to see me and think about what you have done.'

'Of course, to look at my brother; here at the end. And really see him and think about what might have been. Is that what you want? Because I do. I remember hearing you say your first word; my name. I remember watching you as your little chubby legs carried you outside. I remember cleaning the scrapes at your knee, your big eyes full of tears. I loved you, Rumple; but it all just became too difficult for me. You were pulling away any hope I had of making my life better; you were pulling away my happy ending. Can't I be free of you?'

Didn't he understand that I was giving him his best chance, a new life in the Enchanted Forest with his son and Belle? He would be happy, just without me. In his happy ending, he wouldn't even remember me. Maybe it was meant to be this way. Maybe we were always meant to be separated.

'Oh, you will be...in death,' he sneered, unconvinced by my speech.

It pained me - broke me inside - to do this to my brother, my only real family, but it had to be done. I had to leave and get to Aura before the curse, and nothing would stand in my way.

'Then one last lesson, brother. Never make a cage you can't get out of. I made this cuff, it doesn't work on me. But on you...' Magically shoving him against a shelf behind him, I cringed as I heard the impact, his body landing with a thud and glass shattering everywhere.

'I've come too far for this, for them,' he muttered breathlessly as I put the cuff on his wrist.

'For your son? No, it's too late. Soon, that fine green smoke will fill their lungs and fog their brains. Please, Rumple, you have to understand that I am doing the right thing. Wouldn't you do anything for the people you love? For Baelfire; or Belle? This curse is my gift to you, I am giving you a second chance, a happy ending. If you had let your son decide if he wanted to become a Lost One or go with you, maybe all of this wouldn't have happened. But it did, and I am giving you the life that could've been. A loving family. Farewell, brother.'

And with that I left him in his shop and ventured outside, skimming the surroundings; the buildings and posts and weird-looking machines with wheels until my eyes set on Emma and her group, embracing Henry.

I could hear their elated sighs and the Evil Queen tell her son. 'The important thing is you will be okay.'

'No, you won't.' It would only be fair to warn them and let them have their last few moments with their memories still in tact with their loved ones before the curse would bring them to their old homes.

Magically, I manifested the scroll out of Henry's hand and into mine and surrounded the group with a captivating spell. They only needed to listen for a couple of seconds without attacking me and I would never ever mess with them.

'See, this curse is going to happen; there is no going back. You all will be transported to the Enchanted Forest, but you won't have your memories of this life. What I am giving you is a second chance, it will be as if the first curse never happened. Now...' My eyes kept moving to each pair, from blue to brown to green back to blue and so on...

Until I saw a girl with long golden hair running towards me, the only moving person in the abandoned street.

'Peter!' She was only a few meters away, I could see her eyes light up at sight of me, a smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

'Aura?' I was about to take a step forward, closer towards my True Love, when I saw her previous happy features morph into horror.

'Peter!' she screamed, her hand reaching out for mine.

Aura's POV:

As I was laying in bed, I felt a pain in my chest like never before. I began convulsing, kicking around, begging to make the pain stop. It was as if my half of my heart had been crushed. Tears rolling down my cheeks, I clenched my hands into fists and bit into the pillow, counting the seconds until my sudden suffering would end.

Closing my eyes, I drifted into a state of numbness.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, a quick glance outside the window told me it was daytime. Only then did I realize I wasn't in Neverland anymore, but somewhere completely different. Somewhere where there was a sunrise.

Piecing together the memories, I remembered seeing Peter slump to the floor after the Evil Queen had taken the heart out of his chest. I had run towards him. After that I could only recall a boy holding my head in his lap, gently brushing my damp hair from my sweat covered forehead.

Since I was bound to Neverland with it's youthful magic keeping me alive despite Dreamshade poisoning, being in a different realm should result in my death. Tugging at the end of my blouse, I checked for the thin blacks veins leading from the scar at my hip to my heart. But there weren't any.

Had Peter somehow given me an elixir? I couldn't remember anything, so it was possible. Was Peter even here in this land?

I felt very tired and weak, I could barely lift my arm or turn my head to the other side, but all of the sudden, I felt some kind of pull leading me towards the door and out of the building.

It was like I was in a trance, I wasn't in control of my body anymore. My mind was still registering what was happening around me, but it couldn't tell my hands to stop my legs to stop walking along the hard ground.

There were many strange buildings around me, so many things I didn't recognize or understand as my feet led me to some unknown destination. Turning, I could see a group of people standing in the middle of the street. From the back, I could only identify Hook and Emma, but that was enough for me. At least there were some familiar faces to tell me what was going on.

I was in total control of my body then, my legs running with a new found energy, running towards the group until I caught sight of the person they were all staring at.

'Peter!' A smile tugged at my lips and I could see his eyes light up in sight of him, making me run even faster. I was so close to him.

'Aura?' He was going to take a step forward, his hand reaching out for mine when I saw a man with a wild look in his eyes holding a dagger right behind Peter's back.

'Peter!' I screamed, trying to alert him to turn around, but it was too late.

With the dagger plunged into his back, Peter slumped to the ground, the only sound was his dull thud to the ground and the man's erratic breathing. Why wasn't Emma helping him? Why were they all standing as if they were frozen?

'You started all this, brother; and I am going to finish it. I'm sorry.' The man, who now I recognized as Rumplestilskin without the green scaly skin, regained control, the crazy look in his eyes vanishing at sight of a dying Peter and disappeared into thin air.

Suddenly, I felt the sharp pain in my chest, my heart, the burning sensation running its course through my veins. The heat spread through me like wildfire, igniting every cell in my body, burning me till I would be nothing but ashes. Screaming out in pain, I fell to the ground, my eyes full of tears locking with Peter's.

I was stabbed, and while I was dying, you were there, dying as well. You were in agony, screaming and hurting. I couldn't save you.

Something deep down told me when the pain would end, I wouldn't…be anymore. My story, from beginning to end, would finally be finished.

'Peter,' I whispered as I cupped his cheek, unsure if he was still with me. I felt small water droplets forming in the corner of my eyes. He couldn't…

'Aura, look.' Pulling out his heart with a small grunt of pain, he showed me his weakly beating organ.

'No blackness in my heart,' he breathed. 'I am free of evil. Your love...' He marveled at his red glowing heart, surprise evident in his eyes.

I vaguely remembered a phrase in mother's journal explaining the powers of my heart. My love - my heart - had healed him; overcoming his evil. After Peter had pushed the heart back into his chest, he pulled me closer to him, the warmth and our proximity calming my pain even as his body's strength fled him.

'I am yours. I love you, Aura.' As his lips brushed mine tenderly, I poured in every emotion just as he did, in a last kiss, tasting his lips and the salty tears that rolled down our cheeks.

'As I am yours. I love you, Peter.' My heart began to glow, but as fast as the gleams of golden light came, did they vanish.

His eyes slowly closed. As I rested my head against his chest, trying to feel a heartbeat that was no more, I lost count of the minutes. But after a while, just laying there, my True Love's cold arms around me, I thought about his blue eyes with the faint grey specks until my eyes too closed and I embraced the fact that I was never going to come up from the land of unconsciousness.

At first there was darkness.

And then there was light.

There will be an epilogue...and a long Author's note...

Peter and Aura will always be united!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Love you all,

aureaborealis