Here's a little update for you. I hope you enjoy it. After this one there is one more chapter and then an epilogue.
They all walked out of the apartment building and looked around them. Buildings were collapsing, some were on fire and some had already collapsed onto the streets. People were running and screaming in fear. It was like a war zone. They all looked to their left and it was then that they saw Hades and Regina. They started to walk towards them. Neither of them had any plan on how to defeat Hades or Regina. They had not had time to plan it out.
Henry gasped as soon as they got closer to his mother. Her appearance had changed, she looked more like the Evil Queen she once had been yet this time her skin sparkled in the light of the buildings that were on fire. Her eyes were darker and he knew by looking into them that right there and then she was not his mother anymore. She was the dark one. She was completely different.
"Regina you need to stop this!" Emma shouted as she stepped in front of them all. She was improvising. Working a plan out in her head. She knew she would be the best one to try and protect them. She only hoped she would be able to access her magic. She hoped being in Regina's presence would somehow help her, even if Regina was the dark one at that moment in time. "You need to remember who you really are Regina! This isn't you!"
"And who are you to tell me who I really am?" Regina snarled as she stepped forward making everyone else step backwards. She smirked at their fear. "You have no right to tell me who I am."
"Regina please. Don't listen to Hades. Don't listen to the darkness in you. It is provoking you. The darkness is the one telling you what to do. It is ordering you to do things. I am not." Emma said. She was hoping to try and stall Regina a little. Stall her enough to work up her magic. She needed to work up her energy to access her magic. She planned to run off adrenaline as most other times that seemed to work.
"Don't listen to her Regina. She is trying to ruin you. She has always tried to ruin you. She is the reason Henry is not by your side right now and you know she is." Hades said into Regina's ear. He knew Regina would be easy enough to convince. She had pure darkness inside of her. She had hatred building up. Her lightness was being beaten down.
"Regina please…don't listen to him…" Emma said.
"No! I have heard enough!" Regina shouted and she flicked her wrist sending Emma flying across the road, falling on top of a car, smashing the windscreen and feeling pain surrounding her whole body.
"Emma!" Mary-Margaret cried out and she and David both hurried over to check on Emma.
"I'm fine. Just a little sore." Emma groaned as she pushed herself up a little and let David help her down from the car.
Robin then stepped forward. He wanted to get through to her. To make her see what was happening to her right at this moment. He wanted his Regina. He needed her. "Regina…This isn't you…Please come back to me…"
"She won't be coming back to you thief." Hades smirked as he stepped closer to Regina. He took her left hand in his and lifted it to show Robin. Robin looked down and on Regina's ring finger was a black iron ring with a grey stone on it. It had be forged out of the silk scarf that had been wrapped around their hands effectively binding Regina to him. "She is mine now."
Robin gritted his teeth in anger. He knew Regina wouldn't have given herself to Hades unless she felt she had no other choice but it didn't stop his heart from breaking. He had told himself that he would not lose her again. He needed to believe that there was still a way to get her back to him. "He doesn't love you Regina. He never will love you. He won't give you the love you crave."
"Love does not matter." Regina replied with an emptiness and Robin knew that it wasn't his Regina talking. It was the Dark One. "Love is weakness and I do not need that in my life."
"I know that you don't really believe that Regina. I know that is not really you talking." Robin said desperately.
Emma quickly walked over to Robin and placed her hand on his arm. "Robin there is no point fighting with her. She is too far gone."
"Get your hands off him!" Regina demanded and with her magic pushed Emma back making her fall to the ground.
Robin looked to Regina and he could tell he had hit her nerve with her. He had gotten through to his Regina. She was trying to fight through this darkness and get to him. Was that a sign? Was it her way of telling him she was still there?
"God she really has it in for me when she is dark." Emma muttered as she pushed herself up again.
"Maybe you should stay back for now? Let us deal with her." David said, his worry for his daughter showing through.
"You and I both know that that is not a good idea. I have magic and have the best bet to fight her off. Pushing her might be just what we need to do. I will be fine." Emma said. She then turned and walked back towards Regina. She could do this. She could access her magic and fight against this dark one. She just needed to think of Regina as the dark one. She couldn't think of her as Regina.
"Have I not killed you yet?" Regina drawled out.
Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm not quite sure you are strong enough for that Regina. You and I both know you have never been able to defeat me and you probably never will be able to." Emma threw back. She was provoking her. A dangerous thing to do considering.
"Oh you really are quite cocky sometimes Miss Swan. You also underestimate me entirely." Regina replied "I am quite powerful."
"You are yes but then so am I. You're looking at the saviour here, remember Regina? Product of true love and very powerful. Give me all you got." Emma stabbed an held her arms open. "Or are you to weak? Or to scared perhaps? You know you can't do it. You're not as powerful as you think you are and you never will be." Emma said. She tried to think back to something Regina had told her about her mother. She didn't want to use it against her but she knew it would rile Regina up enough to really anger her and make her use her magic. "Your mother was right Regina. You will never accomplish anything. You will always disappoint her."
"Don't listen to her Regina." Hades said into her ear.
"And you will always just be the little puppet. Someone that people will pull the strings of, use you for what they want and then just dump you. Do you really think Hades will treat you like a queen? You will be locked away again as soon as your done doing what he wants. You will be back in a prison. Living your life out as someone's possession. You are weak Regina and you cannot fight back. You are a disappointment to your mother and you know it. You are nothing like she wanted!" Emma shouted.
David, Mary-Margaret and Robin stood back watching Emma and Regina. They could see that Emma was finding it hard to say all those things. She didn't want to say them but it was pushing Regina to where she wanted her.
"How dare you!" Regina shouted and she lifted her hands up shooting her magic out towards Emma. This time Emma was quick enough for her. She could feel her magic building up as she had said all of those things to Regina. Her adrenaline was pumping and she was ready. So her hands flew up and magic shot out of them and collided with Regina's in the middle. White and red powerful magic colliding with a boom that echoed around Storybrooke.
Both women held their strengths and tried to push the other hard to fight through the others magic but both were equally powerful. Henry watched his mother's fighting against one another with their magic. He wanted to help. He wanted to bring his mom back. He pulled out the sword David had given him when he insisted on coming with them and he walked up to Hades, holding the sword up high. He was scared but he was trying not to show it.
"I want you to let my mother go and take the darkness out of her!" Henry shouted holding the sword up high.
"Oh do you now?" Hades asked with a raised eyebrow. "And what makes you think I will do what you want boy?"
"Because if you don't then I will kill you." Henry said firmly.
Hades laughed, or more cackled once Henry had said that. "You're brave boy I will give you that but you are also foolish and stupid. You really think you can kill me with that sword? Do you not know who I am boy? That sword will do nothing to me." Hades said and then with a wave of his hand the blade of the sword melted and dripped to the ground.
Henry gasped and let go of the handle of the sword letting it fall to the ground into the puddle of the melted blade with a clatter. He then looked back up at Hades, his head held as high as he could. "I am not scared of you." Henry said keeping his voice strong. "I will never be scared of you and I will save my mom from you!"
"It is nice you are hopeful I guess but you are most definitely wrong. Your mother is mine. She is not coming back to you. The only way to be with your mother is to come with us. Turn yourself into the darkness and you will be by your mother's side. It is the only way to see her." Hades said. "You will not save her from the darkness this time. She is gone to you."
"No! I don't believe you. She can be saved. She can fight the darkness. I know she can. She just has to realise it!" Henry replied.
"You are a foolish boy." Hades smirked. "Turn to the darkness Henry. Forget the others."
"No!" Henry shouted.
"Well then you will die like the rest of them." Hades said with a shrug an started to summon his magic.
Regina tore her gaze away from Emma for a second and looked t the side to see Henry with Hades. She could see Hades summoning his magic. She knew what he was going to do. She felt a lightness rise in her. She couldn't let him hurt her son. She wouldn't let him hurt her son. She pushed with all her might against Emma's magic, managing to overpower her and push her backwards. Emma stumbled back and Regina darted towards Henry just as Hades released his magic. "Henry!" Regina shouted, reaching Henry just in time to push him out of the way, Hades magic hitting her instead of Henry.
She gasped as she felt something rising within her and then all of a sudden the darkness flew out of her and took her breath away. The darkness hung in the air for a moment before swirling back down to Regina, surrounding her and trying to fight its way back into her.
"The box. Pandora's box! Open it!" Emma shouted as she pushed herself up and ran over to them. Robin pulled the box out of the bag he had been carrying and he opened the box. A bright white light shone out of the box hitting against the darkness that was swirling around Regina. The box started shaking in Robin's hands as it took over the dark magic and started to drag it in. Wind flew around them and they shielded their eyes as the bright light got lighter, overpowering the darkness and dragged the last of it into the box. The box slammed shut and everyone heard the click of the lock and unshielded their eyes to see the darkness gone.
"Mom!" Henry called as he ran over to Regina who was lying on the ground, the sparkle tint that had taken over her skin gone. She gasped and opened her eyes, her eyes having lost the dark tint and looking normal once more landed on Henry. "Mom…"
"Henry…Are you okay?" Regina asked as she lifted her hand to place on Henry's cheek.
"I'm fine mom." Henry replied with a smile. So happy to see her again. To see the real her. He helped Regina up and she brushed herself off.
"What happened?" Emma asked looking around them.
Regina was about to answer but Hades interrupted hr reminding them that he was still there. "What happened is not important. You are still mine Regina whether you have that darkness in you or not." Hades hollered.
"I am not and will never be yours!" Regina shouted and she pulled the black iron ring from her finger and threw it to the ground.
"You cannot break our deal Regina." Hades replied. "You cannot destroy me. Nobody can destroy me!"
"Watch me!" Regina said and she held up her hands and white magic shot out hitting the black iron ring that was on the ground breaking it to pieces. She then moved her hands and shot her magic towards Hades. The light magic engulfed him and pain enveloped him. The magic got brighter and brighter and Regina used the last of the energy she had and one last push was enough to break Hade's, breaking him like she had the ring into pieces. He let out a blood curdling scream as he was blown into hundreds of pieces. Destroying him like many had tried but failed to over the years.
Everyone watched in shock at what Regina had just done. Regina's energy was wiped and she felt her legs buckling beneath her. She felt herself falling but Robin was quick to catch her and fall to the ground with her, holding her in his arms. He kissed into her hair, so happy to have her in his arms again.
"I ask again…what the hell happened?" Emma said still a little shocked at everything that had gone on.
"True love…" Regina breathed out, her voice was hoarse.
"Mom committed an act of true love. When she pushed me out of the way of Hades magic it was an act of true love. She sacrificed herself for me." Henry explained, already having figured out what had happened.
"So that act of true love was enough to push the darkness out of you?" Emma asked and Regina nodded her head into Robin's chest.
"The act of true love pushed the darkness out of me and gave me the light magic I needed to defeat Hades." Regina replied.
"How did you know you could defeat Hades? How did you know you had that power?" Mary-Margaret asked.
"I didn't…" Regina replied.
"She sacrificed herself again…for us…" Emma replied and looked to Regina who nodded her head into Robin's chest again. He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. Henry then knelt down beside them and he too wrapped his arms around Regina. Regina moved a little and hugged Henry tightly. She was so happy to be back with them and she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Finally she was free from the darkness that had been hiding within her.