Double Trouble 70
Chapter 70 'The third day'
I don't know how you are so familiar to me—or why it feels less like I am getting to know you more and more as though I am remembering who you are. How every smile, every whisper brings me closer to the impossible conclusion that I have known you before, I have loved you before—in another time, a different place, some other existence."
- Lang Leav, 'Soul Mates'
It could have been the opening scene of an animated Disney movie it was that perfect.
The woods were beautifully verdant and alive with stirring wildlife. Birds chattered and the sun streamed through the treecover in delightful rays. Apart from the rustle of mid-morning forest life it was quiet. The sounds of human civilisation were completely nonexistent: not even the distant sound of traffic could be heard. It was completely peaceful.
Until someone lying prone in the dirt of the forest floor groaned. "Ohhh fucking fuck."
It was Emma Swan, daughter of Royalty, Saviour of realms, Sheriff of justice, and mother of one precocious eleven-year-old boy whose other mother she just happened to be in love with.
This was like the worst hangover she'd ever had. No, it was worse. Her entire body ached and protested even the slightest movement. Her head was pounding like it was in a vice. She opened her eyes to barely a slit and immediately regretted it as the brightness stabbed at her retinas. She was pretty sure there was dirt in her mouth too. Urgh.
What happened? Oh goddd, I don't care. I can't think. Can I just lay here and die for a while...
Emma lost consciousness again and upon waking later was unsure as to whether it had been ten minutes or several hours. This time she managed to push herself up onto her hands and knees and then sit upright. She spat to the side to rid the taste of dirt from her mouth and wiped her tongue on the wrist of her shirt sleeve.
The pain of exposing her eyes to bright light had lessened from excruciating to tolerable. By the look of her surroundings she assumed she was still in Storybrooke… maybe. Outside of town in the woods? Nature walks weren't really her thing but she had been called out there a few times as the Sheriff, most notably when Henry had run off to look for her amnesiac father, David. But why was she here now?
Then the memories of what happened flooded back.
The last thing she remembered was getting in the way and being picked up and thrown from a great height.
But before that… Mary Margaret had forgotten her. Storybrooke had disappeared into nothing. Henry had faded from existence. Gold had stolen the potion that she and Regina needed to save everyone with True Love's Kiss-
Regina!
Emma's eyes snapped back open. "Regina?" she called out to the empty forest. "Regina! Henry! Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone here?"
Shouting over and over again got nothing in return.
She half expected one of the fluffy forest creatures to hop forward and say, "Nobody here but us bunnies!" If she'd been a real princess she would not have woken up cursing with her hair full of twigs. There would have been twittering blue birds and baby deer offering to solve her problems or whatever. Did Maine even have wild rabbits?
Oh god, brain, shut up.
"Okay," Emma breathed and sat back on her heels. "I'm in the woods, I feel like shit, and I might just be the last person on Earth. Great."
There was a buzz in her pocket.
Utterly gobsmacked that it had survived at all, the Sheriff retrieved her iPhone from the back pocket of her jeans and stared at it. Every piece of plastic, steel and concrete that formerly made up the town of Storybrooke had disappeared and yet she still had her phone. Not that there was anyone around to call. (Her brain jokingly suggested "ghostbusters" for some reason.)
The display on her phone had a new notification that read: 'Updating TripAdvisor...'
"Well, at least the internet still works," Emma muttered, amused with her own sense of irony. It wouldn't be much help to her in her current situation though. Later if anyone asked she would not admit to typing 'how to save the world' into google.
Much to her surprise her assumption that the app would be of no use was dead wrong. It took a few seconds for the GPS to kick in but when it displayed she realised she knew exactly where she was. The maps software obviously 'thought' that Storybrooke still existed and the satellite merely returned the coordinates of her current position. According to technology she was a big red ball in the middle of town. It was a place she'd been a few times before, though it had never looked so bereft of books and as forest-like as it did now.
Emma made a noise of disbelief. "What the hell. I'm in the Storybrooke Library?!"
The clocktower above the library had been the first thing to disappear months ago. Was it a coincidence that she'd ended up there after the entire town had finally shrunk to nothing?
That was not long after the best day of her young life: she'd arrived in Storybrooke and met Ri in the woods and it had that looked just like this. She could remember the petite brunette teen's shy smile as she introduced herself. Ri, in her braid and riding outfit, always standing with the weight on her toes like she was ready to spring into a run or swing into a saddle... she was a kind young girl with the world at her feet. Emma had never seen anything quite so beautiful. No wonder she'd had fallen in love at first sight...
I know a lost girl when I see one...
How about I help you get home, princess...
You like horses huh?
What do you mean you don't know what a donut is?!
"Oh my god," Emma said aloud, despite being alone. "I remember everything! I'm Em. I actually was her and I was here in Storybrooke as a teenager. I met Regina when she was Ri. We're them and they're us."
The newly returned memories available in her mind were not vivid or clear as though they'd just happened - they were similar to her other teenage memories. Some were faded like old photographs, a blur of events and emotions and impressions. Others were stronger and easier to remember such as kissing Ri for the first time or when they'd had a big fight about Henry. Now it was as if that stretch of time had never been forgotten. Her memories of being Em had slotted back into place in the timeline of her life like jigsaw pieces in a puzzle.
I have Em's memories now. She must have gone back to the past, just like Ri did earlier in the day. Does that mean... would Regina have Ri's memories now too?
But Ri had disappeared first, Emma realised, and she and Regina been together for hours afterwards. If Regina suddenly remembered their time-travelling past why hadn't she said anything?
Maybe... maybe she doesn't remember then. Oh god, what if I'm the only one. How could we go on if only one of us made it to the other side? How can I be Em if she's not Ri? What does it mean for us?
I have to find Regina… if she's still here. It doesn't feel like she's gone, and surely I would know? I can always find anyone I'm looking for. I can feel that she's nearby…
Emma decided to get up and start searching on foot. "Regina!" she called out into the woods. "Regina-!"
"WHAT?" came the response from the irritated queen behind her.
The Saviour yelped in surprise.
"I'm right here," chided Regina, hands on hips. "There's no need to holler my name in that impatient manner. We're the only two left in town, or where the town used to be that is."
"You're here! You exist!" Emma immediately leaped towards the frowning Mayor and threw her arms around her in relief. Even though her bruises and sore muscles protested she tightened her hold. She knew from the way the woman in her arms relaxed and responded to the hug that Regina's terse irritation was all for show. She was glad to see her. It felt amazing having the one she loved safe in her arms again. This wasn't just Emma hugging Regina, it was Em hugging Ri.
"Yes, dear," Regina murmured and leaned her face into blonde hair. "I'm here."
"I missed you."
"It hasn't been very long. But I started to think you weren't… Are you alright?"
Emma drew back and gave her a wincey smile. "I think I got thrown pretty far and hit the ground like a stone. Everywhere hurts like a bitch but I'll live."
Regina's lips twisted. "Probably."
"What happened?" said Emma, taking one of Regina's hands in hers to fiddle with her fingers. "Is Storybrooke really gone. No-one else exists but us?"
A whole night had passed so Regina wasted no time in recounting what she'd observed since the chaos had begun. She'd witnessed her home disappear and then everything had gone dark. Apparently she'd woken up this morning on the ground where her mansion had formerly stood and then set off on foot to try to determine whether there was anyone else around. It took all morning until she'd heard Emma's voice from some distance away.
As they filled each other in and talked about their current predicament they both avoided mentioning the most terrifying part of last night: their son's disappearance. It was as though they'd both decided without discussion to not bring up Henry's lack of existence. The fate of Storybrooke - and their son - weighed heavily upon them.
There was another question Emma was dying to ask. She wanted - no, needed - to know whether Regina remembered being Ri. She couldn't bring herself to ask it outright though. What if the answer was no? To know that Emma had her younger self's memories and she didn't … that would surely be devastating to Regina. The former Evil Queen needed those memories as they probably encompassed some of the happiest times of her youth. Ri deserved to exist in someone's mind somewhere; she deserved to have grown up and made it to a place where she could be free to live her own life and find happiness; she deserved to know what she'd been through wasn't all for naught. Emma couldn't bear to see the look on Regina's face from being told that she had missed out on making it through to the other side.
Emma decided, I have to test her… without her realising what I'm doing.
"How did you survive?" Regina was asking about last night and how Emma had been swept away by a magical tree limb. "The border - my mother's spell - it came after me to destroy its creator and it took you instead."
"I can cancel out your magic remember?" said Emma. "I figured your magic's just like you, it doesn't need to be forced or attacked or destroyed. It just needs someone to remind it about love. I'm that someone."
"But how did you escape? The branch was going to strangle you."
"I guess..." Emma looked her right in the eye with some of her teenage cockiness. "I'm like Houdini."
It was Em's catchphrase and the bratty teen had used it several times to refer to her latent magical ability to get out of tight fixes. But there was no reaction. Not even a flicker of recollection.
Regina went on. "I must confess that when I woke this morning and realised I was alone I thought it would have been a superb punishment for my Evil past, leaving me here to wander the woods in solitary guilt for the rest of my days. I always did hate exile."
"Well, luckily you're not completely alone this time. I'm here."
"On second thoughts perhaps I don't want to spend my eternity with only you." Regina raised an eyebrow, indicating that she was merely teasing.
Emma smiled and tilted her head. "Don't you think this feels familiar somehow?"
"What does?"
"This," Emma swept her arm around and then waggled it between them. "Y'know, us meeting in the woods..."
Regina's brow furrowed. "I don't know what you mean."
She'd lobbed a leading question and when it fell flat Emma's heart dropped with it. The reference to meeting in the woods would have been obvious if Regina remembered being Ri. They'd met for the first time in the woods; it had been love at first sight; they'd had a meet-cute. There was no way she would've missed the meaning of it. It was surprising that the Mayor didn't seem to get the reference at all, since she'd heard secondhand about the girls' first meeting.
But if Regina DID remember then she wasn't being very forthcoming. Why wouldn't she say so?! I can't risk telling her unless I have good reason to think she remembers too. Her mind growled in frustration at the reticent woman.
"Nevermind," muttered Emma, scuffing her boot in the dirt.
"We should probably-"
"Hey, wait a minute -" Emma interrupted as a new thought occurred to her. "Your house was way across town from where we are now and all these woods look the same. How did you find me? How did you get here? "
"Excuse me?" Regina's eyebrows shot up and she actually looked offended. "I walked. I spent the first half of my life in a forest where there was no mass transportation, no GPS, and no phones. You on the other hand grew up on a diet of Pop Tarts and MTV. If either of us can manage to survive in the woods it'll be me."
Emma nearly burst out laughing at the idea. "Yeah, ok." She decided it would be unwise to point out that stiletto boots were unsuitable footwear for rough terrain.
"Actually," Regina admitted, turning serious. "I have been walking around searching for signs of you or anyone else. There's no magic here anymore. I've tried various spells without success."
"Your magic's gone?"
"Yes. Without Storybrooke's magic I have no power in this world, just like the 28 years I spent here before you turned up to ruin everything."
Emma felt the dread sinking inside her. It would have been useful to be able to make fire or apparate around. Magic would have been their biggest asset in figuring out what to do to bring Storybrooke back to life. Without it, it seems unlikely that they could achieve anything.
"So what do we do now?" said Emma.
"We save the day. Henry-" Regina's voice cracked. Her face changed expression then to a mix of pain and sorrow. "Henry always has the answers and right now is no exception."
The queen's hand disappeared into her coat pocket for a second and then retrieved a small glass object that'd been stored safely there since last night. Regina explained how she'd come to have it:
Despite the chaos of Storybrooke and its' citizens disappearing there was one young boy who had managed to do some good during the town's final moments.
Henry smiled at his mother. "You and Emma belong together. The potion will work when you need it to. You're good now and Good will win."
He pulled something out from his pocket and tucked it safely into her hand. "Here. I learned it from Em."
As Henry faded away in Regina's arms he'd transferred something to her, his eyes wide and smiling, trusting that she would know what to do with it. Gold had turned up to steal the potion that his former student had worked for days to prepare and he had muzzled Henry's hands with the enchanted crocodile-skin gloves in order to prevent the boy from using any magic to stop him. But the imp had not reckoned on the Swan-Mills child to have picked up a few tricks from his delinquent teenage mother. Henry picked his pocket the old-fashioned way - just as Em had taught him - as Gold was apparating away.
Henry had stolen the potion back from its thief and the last thing he did before disappearing from existence was to give it to his mother so that she could be the hero.
Regina held out her palm where there sat a small glass flask of glittering purple potion. "Henry gave it to me just before he disappeared. He stole it back from Gold. He learned how to pickpocket from Em - from you."
Emma's jaw dropped. "Is that-"
The queen finished with a flourish reminiscent of her former master. "Yes, dear, it is our True Love Potion."
The plan was back on: activate the potion, drop it in the wishing well, and save everyone. Then everything would go back to normal, Storybrooke and its people would reappear when the timeline was fixed and, more importantly, Henry would exist again.
The Mayor and the Sheriff - the Queen and the Princess - set off on foot towards the outskirts of where the town used to be to find the wishing well. Emma used her phone's GPS to track their position as she'd been to the wishing well before with August when he'd tried to convince her to believe in fairytales. They weren't sure whether the man-made stones of the well still existed but its water source was most likely extant. Regina explained that her Curse had created places here that were symbolic of key magical points in her former realm, including Lake Nostos which "returned things that were lost". If the water was there they could administer the potion and it would work… hopefully.
That was the easy part of the plan - the hard part was they still didn't know how they were going to get True Love's Kiss to work.
The two women trudged through the overgrown woods, pushing through snapping twigs and foliage that hooked into their clothes like claws. There were no cleared paths anymore so it was far from an easy stroll. Regina stumbled and nearly rolled her ankle twice, and each time Emma reached out to steady her and prevent her from falling and injuring herself. The Saviour took the lead to do the brushbeating to make it easier for Regina but the extra effort took it's toll on her.
It felt like hours before they stopped in a clearing to catch their breath and talk for a few minutes.
"Why do you think it's not working for us?" said Emma, chest heaving. "True Love's Kiss?"
"I don't know," Regina sounded out of breath too. Emma's built-in lie detector pinged that she wasn't telling the truth, which was plain to see in her overall demeanor. The regal woman had her hands on her hips, studying their surroundings in lieu of making eye contact while this subject was being discussed. "Anything other than Dark Magic is out of my purview."
"I know you have suspicions or something you're not telling me. If you have an idea there's no point holding back."
"Fine." Regina said in a tight voice. "I think it's not working because you don't believe I'm your True Love."
That was what she'd been afraid of, pissing her off by bringing it up like this and putting the other woman on the defensive.
Emma sighed heavily. "Do you believe it. You think we're really each other's True Love?"
"Yes. I do."
"Why?"
"Henry believes it."
"But what if it's not working because we're not. Isn't that possible?"
Regina looked away. "Maybe."
Emma finally put a voice to what they'd both been fearing. If that were the case they were truly lost with regards to saving Storybrooke since their only plan would be useless.
"I'm not sure I like the idea of it that," she said, venting her frustration with this whole question. "If we're only ever meant to be with one person we're opening ourselves up to a world of hurt. If something happens to either of us the other will feel lost. You know how hard it is to lose someone you love that much. I do too. After what happened with Neal I never wanted to love anyone ever again. If we lost each other it'd be even worse. We can't let that happen. If one of us dies the other needs to be strong enough to cope - for Henry's sake."
"I know what you mean," said Regina. "After Daniel I thought I could never find love again. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to. Especially once my heart went dark. Who could love the Evil Queen? Perhaps I've been kidding myself that things could work out for me this time."
The last part of her quiet speech was so self-deprecating it physically pained Emma to hear it. "See! You've lost so much already. Look what happened last time- You tried to destroy a realm over it. I could die anytime, today or tomorrow or whenever. A thousand random things could kill me. I don't want you to go through that kind of pain and have to fight like hell to stop yourself from going Dark. Could you go through that again?"
Regina gave her a look tinged with annoyance. "Why don't you let me decide if I'm willing to take that risk. I'd rather have you now for as long as possible than not at all. We'll be fine as long as you make every effort not to die."
"You too," Emma retorted in kind. "Don't try to be a hero and sacrifice yourself to fix all this. I know you have it in you but please don't. We'll find another way."
"You're the one with the hero-complex, Saviour. You are not to get yourself killed by some idiotic stunt of bravery. Or I will bring you back and kill you again myself."
"Well, you're not allowed to die either." Emma smiled and slid an arm around the other woman's waist to pull their bodies together. "You're so amazing you've ruined me for all other human beings."
Regina rolled her eyes but there was a touch of humour in her expression. They were standing close now having flirted their way to within kissing distance. Close enough to feel the tickle of breath on soft cheek.
The queen let her voice drop enticingly low. "So we're agreed. Neither of us is dying."
"Good," said Emma. "Because I have big plans for this weekend and most of them involve you. Naked."
Emma licked her lips, enjoying watching Regina's eyes following that action. The attraction she felt for her reached its peak and she couldn't bear another second without having her in her arms. They leaned in to kiss. Right before their lips made contact the ground collapsed beneath their feet.
Emma hit the cave floor hard on her side and rolled, letting the momentum take her without resistance. The second such fall in a day had every cell in her body screaming at her to stop doing stupid things. Debris and dust continued to rain down and she coughed repeatedly, unable to avoid inhaling the irritating particles. Above her light streamed down from the 'ceiling' which was only about twelve feet high. They'd fallen far enough to be hurt but not seriously injured. The opening illuminated the small area in which she'd landed but the rest of her surroundings was dark.
They'd landed in the underground catacombs that twisted and turned beneath the town of Storybrooke like a giant dormant snake. It was the same set of caves that connected the dwarves' mines and the huge cavern under the library in which Maleficent had dwelled for 28 years as a dragon before giving up her swallowed prize. Once again the Saviour was in a cave searching for a True Love potion.
Emma tried to sit up but couldn't yet. Every muscle in her back and torso felt like one big angry bruise. She could hear Regina coughing and scrabbling about nearby. "Em- ! Emma, are you - (cough) - hurt?"
"No, I'm ok... I think... You?"
"Yes."
Emma wiped the dust from her face. Her eyes were tearing up (it was definitely the dust and not tears of frustration). Through blurry vision she saw Regina hovering over her, looking very concerned. Her face may have had dirt on it but it never marred her beauty. The next thing Emma felt was a pair of gentle hands stroking her face and smoothing her hair back. She was torn between wanting to resist the coddling and craving its continuation.
"Are you sure you're alright, dear?" said Regina.
"I'm not hurt," Emma grumbled. "But I'm sick and tired of everything going wrong for us! Now we're in big dark hole with no way out. What could possibly be go wrong next. I can't wait to find out."
"Maleficent could come and eat us," Regina suggested drolly.
"Ha, now I know we're screwed. You're being nice to me and making jokes."
"I promise I'll be very nice to to you if we make it to the weekend."
Emma granted her a reluctant chuckle, wishing for the ordeal to be over already so they could get on with living their lives.
"Do you think you can get up?" asked Regina, face full of concern.
"I'll try. Need a minute though."
On this attempt she managed to ignore the pain and sit upright. Heedless of ruining her clothes even further, Regina scooted closer so that they were sitting side by side. They could've been in the same attitude on a picnic rug in the park taking in a romantic sunset. Instead they were in a dark dirty cave with no means of escape.
"Aren't you frustrated too?" said Emma, resting her forearms across her steepled knees. "This whole thing has been a set-up from the start. Everything. Our lives were mapped out for us by Gold or fate or whatever. It's not even real. We're just pawns."
"Fate may have been responsible for us meeting but our love is real. Don't you feel it?"
"Of course I do," Emma softened her tone. "You know that I love you… but I don't think that it's because of fate. I love you only because I love you. We were lucky to meet but that's all it was. Blind luck. It only feels like it must've been fate because it's so incredible that we found each other. But it's depressing to think that everything is fixed and planned out by someone else. If that's true then what's the point of anything? If there are no consequences to our choices because everything happens the way it was supposed to then nothing matters. I don't want that. I'm in control of my own life. Neal tried to sell me that fate crap as well. I don't believe in it."
"Then believe in me. Believe in Henry. Our family."
"I do. That's all I believe in. It's the only thing that matters to me. I don't care if it's fate and we're supposed to be True Loves or soulmates or whatever. Even if we're not it doesn't change how I feel about you."
Regina worried at her lower lip. "May I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Do you think Neal could be your True Love?"
Emma shook her head. "No, it doesn't feel right. I don't know if I believe True Love exists in the first place. I think that it's possible to develop such a strong connection to someone that it feels as though it was by grand design. I used to feel that way about him. But it isn't enough. I did love Neal in the past but even if he was my True Love I'd never allow myself to be with him again. He hurt me too badly for that. Sometimes broken things can never be fixed.
"I love you, Regina. My home is with you and our son. Fate doesn't get to tell me who I get to spend my life with. If you weren't my soulmate I'd still choose you. You're it for me."
Regina smiled in the dim light. "Aren't you going to ask me if I think Daniel could have been my True Love?"
"No. There's space in your heart for Daniel and there's space in my heart for Neal - a small space, mind you. I'm tired of the past. All I want is for you to be my future."
They sat in silence for a few moments, allowing the thoughts to process. They'd talked over so much in the time they'd been together but there were still some things they'd skirted around since the beginning.
Regina came out of her reverie to ask. "I need to know why you're so reluctant to believe. You say you don't believe in it but you think Daniel was my True Love. Why do you think you're not my soulmate? Why Daniel but not you?"
Emma shrugged. "Because everyone knows much you loved him. He's your story. You would've ended up together if he hadn't died, that was how it was supposed to go. He must've been a good person. I know you love me - but you killed for him."
Judging from her shocked expression Regina wasn't expecting that. "I didn't kill for him! He would've hated to see what I'd become. I became the Evil Queen because of what losing him did to me, there's a difference."
"Well yeah, but... you don't love me like that. It's ok. No-one could."
Emma said the last part softly, half hoping that Regina wouldn't hear it at all. She couldn't explain how it felt, how growing up an orphan had convinced her she was unlovable and would never matter to anyone. As an adult she told herself over and over that it wasn't true but it never seemed to fully sink in. The hurt and rejection she'd felt as a young child, desperately wishing to be part of a family while watching other children get chosen in front of her at the orphanage, was so deeply entrenched in her she was often afraid the damage was permanent.
"You think I couldn't kill for you?" Regina laughed, devoid of mirth. "Emma, trust me, I could. I'm still capable of going back to my old ways. At first the only way to reign myself in was the reminder that if I gave into murderous revenge again I would lose you and Henry. I needed that as a crutch. But now I know that I will never be able to be truly happy by ruining others' lives. I worked hard to be the person who you and Henry deserve because I want us to have a life together.
"With Daniel I was so young. I was trapped living with my family's expectations for me. We had to sneak around stealing kisses, we were only able to be together for an hour here or there... All I had was hope and the fantasy in my head of what our future could look like. But with you it's real. It's everything to me. This is our happy ending, we're living it already. Fate didn't choose you for me, I did.
"Believe me, Emma Swan, even if you believe nothing else I say, you are my True Love."
Emma's lie-detector powers were on full alert but were dead silent for once. Every syllable of Regina's speech was the honest truth. She fully believed that they were going to have some kind of fairytale happy ending, despite the direness of their current circumstances. In her old incarnation as the Evil Queen she would've razed realms to the ground if there'd been a chance at winning the heart of a someone she loved. But now...
For the first time in Emma's life someone had chosen her and was willing to put her first, in front of history and old grudges and expectations. Regina was hers. She'd simply asked for love and offered it in return. She'd turned her life around because she thought Emma was worth it. All she had to do was let herself believe it.
"I-" Emma's throat closed around the words and she swallowed, trying not to tear up again.
Neither knew who made the first move.
As soon as their lips met in a kiss a light began to glow around them. In seconds it grew into a white intensity that engulfed them both before exploding outwards in a pulse of rainbow light.
The cave ceiling shook, releasing a shower of glittering dust.
Both Regina and Emma had seen it once before and when they opened their eyes they knew what had happened - it was True Love's Kiss this time. It hadn't worked until they both believed in each other and knew each other fully. The curse was finally broken once and for all.
"I must be-" Regina started to say, before shaking her head in amazement. "I am your True Love."
"Yeah." Emma gave her a coy grin. "And I'm yours."
"You believe it now?"
"Yep, apparently I do. Someone gave me a good reason or two."
The potion in Regina's dusty coat pocket was now glowing bright purple, having been activated by the first kiss of two who believed in True Love. When the sorceress took out the small glass flask the light was enough to shed light on the terrain of the underground cave. They were at the mouth of a tunnel whose walls were glittering like diamonds. It was one of the old mines where the dwarves used to harvest diamonds for use in Fairy magic. The light from the potion was pointing that way.
"Look," said Regina. "The potion's glowing."
"We did it!" said Emma, clenching her hand into a fist pump. "That is what it means right? The potion's activated?"
"Yes, and it's leading us that way," said Regina, nodding. "We can take the tunnel up to the surface. Maybe it will take us close to the source of the Wishing Well."
"Let's go!"
Emma leapt to her feet with renewed energy and bent over to help Regina up. The second the other woman was raised to her feet and began to weight-bear she cried out in pain as her ankle rolled. Apparently they'd both been injured in the fall through to the cave. Luckily Emma was quick enough to grab her before she fell.
"Regina!" cried Emma. "Are you ok?"
"It's my ankle." Regina hissed in annoyance and hopped closer so that Emma could hold on to her better. "I think it's sprained."
"It's not broken is it. Why don't you sit down-"
"No!" Regina protested. "We have to keep moving forward."
"But you can't walk-"
"Then you'll have to help me. Make yourself useful, dear, and volunteer some of that delightful upper body strength of yours."
Emma hoisted her up by the waist to take most the weight herself and Regina snaked her arm around Emma's shoulders. This strange three-legged race was familiar, bringing to mind their escape from a fire in the Town Hall building not long after they'd first met. It wasn't very efficient, with one person half-dragging the other along in the near-dark but it was better than nothing.
The Queen and the Princess limped off to follow the caves back up to the surface. The potion lead the way by giving off a steady source of light, which flickered and bounced off the walls of the caves. The dwarven mines were an excellent source of the diamonds that were ground into the sparkling grit used by Fairies in their wishes. The magic in the walls seemed to sense the presence of the True Love Potion and bowed to it, transmitting the light onwards to its destination.
"How does the potion know where to go I wonder?" asked Emma.
"The walls," said Regina, trying to keep the wince out of her voice. "The diamonds are reacting to the magic, leading the way."
"You sure?" Emma teased her in an attempt to distract her from the pain. "I think you just want to take me down your tunnel of love."
Regina gave a ladylike snort. "Keep calling it that and you'll never get near it again."
Before long they could see that the drift of the mine met the surface at the end of an incline ahead. Daylight was visible long before they reached it, tantalising from afar with the promise of safety. Emma was strong from her frequent workouts in the converted gym Regina gave her at home but even she was beginning to tire from the forced march uphill and having to carry another person.
Emma panted. "No offense to the dwarves but I'm going to be really glad to be above ground."
"We're nearly there," said Regina.
The drift eventually came to a gradual end and released them above ground, back into the Storybrooke woods. They must've been underground longer than they'd thought - everywhere was bathed in the fading orange light of the setting sun. It felt like only an hour or two since but now time was racing towards the end of the day. The final rays were glaring from the horizon ahead, behind them the woods were shadowy.
Emma gauged their surroundings first and set Regina down so that the injured woman could sit on one of the smaller boulders concealing the entrance to the mine. She was intending to fish her phone out to check the map for their location but it turned out not to be necessary.
"I think..." started Emma, looking around again to be certain. "I know exactly where we are."
"How?" said Regina. "It looks like every other part of the woods."
"I've been here before. With August." Emma pointed towards the rising ground. "The road is on the other side of that ridge. That's where he parked the motorcycle when we came here looking for the Wishing Well. He thought he could make me believe in magic by bringing me here."
"You came here on a motorcycle date with Pinocchio?"
"Hey, now is not the time for jealousy."
Shade fell over them suddenly as the sun began its descent below the kissing point of the horizon.
Regina's face suddenly turned to the subtle horror of what she was seeing and what it meant. "Are you seeing this? The sun has nearly set already. It's too fast!"
"Yeah, I know. Feels like the day just disappeared doesn't it."
"Yes!" Regina reached up to grab the Sheriff's sleeve, trying to instill the urgency into her. "Remember what Gold said? He said we had to activate the potion and toss it into the Wishing Well before the sun set on the third day. Emma, that's now!"
"Shit!" Emma pulled out her phone and checked the time app. "There's only 15 seconds until sunset. Get up! We might make it. But we'll need to run."
"I can't."
When the Saviour tried to yank her to her feet Regina cried out in pain as soon as she put attempted to weight on her injured ankle. The colour immediately drained out of her face like she was about to faint. She let go and bumped back against the rock she'd been leaning on.
"You have to get up." Emma gripped her hand tightly. "C'mon, we're so close to ending all of this."
The former Evil Queen exhaled several times, cursing under her breath at the pain. "Take the potion and go yourself."
"But I can't leave you when you're hurt."
"You have to. You can make it if you run."
"No, I-"
"Go, Emma! It's the only way."
"But… it won't work. Henry said we had to stick together at all costs..."
Time had been disappearing on them all day, speeding up as it approached the end. The sun was seconds away from disappearing over the horizon. Green shoots were visibly growing from the ground and leaves unfurled upon tree branches at a speed that was noticeable to the naked eye.
Regina was still pleading with her to make a run for it. But Emma knew she'd never make it now, even in her fittest uninjured state she'd never be able to make that distance in so short a time.
Emma checked her watch. There were seconds to go...
"Give me the potion," she ordered, holding out her palm.
The Queen was confused but complied anyway, depositing the small flask into the Saviour's palm. "What are you going to do?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Emma-"
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes, but-"
"I'm going to throw it."
Regina's eyes went wide with alarm. "WHAT? Are you crazy? You'll never be able to!-"
But her protests went unheeded. Emma pulled her arm back and then launched the tiny bottle into the air.
One of Emma's earliest promises was a declaration made at the foot of an apple tree: You have no idea what I'm capable of. It was true in many respects. Despite refusing to believe in magic for months Emma had proved herself to be capable of great feats of magic. Her powers had always been with her, even as a young girl. Hers was a strange, unpredictable magic that manifested itself in her environment. Sometimes she could control it to unlock places or procure objects she desired. Another time she'd managed to fight a dragon. She was the Saviour and now that she fully believed in it anything was possible.
The little glass flask containing the realm's most powerful True Love potion sailed through the air arcing towards its target in a perfect parabola. It was an inhumane throw, an insane impossible risk that Emma had taken but her aim was true and every particle of the environment bent to her will. Neither of the two women could see far enough into the distance to know whether it would make it.
Just as the sun slipped below the horizon there was an audible plink of glass smashing on the stones at the bottom of the Wishing Well and then Storybrooke was plunged into the darkness of night.