Ch 14.
Nova's POV:
"We're here," Annora announces, removing her weapon from her sheath in caution. Breathing in deeply, I peer past her through the opening of the trees. Dawn falls on an abandoned castle that stands before us, suffocated by brown and sickly green, twisted vines. A cold chill emits from it, running straight through me. I shiver. I glance down at the lightweight sword in my hand.
When Annora had first mentioned how the curse could break, I had done what she said without another thought. Now, when I recall what I have to do, I feel my stomach churn. Would I have it in me to stab Destiny? She may no longer see you as a friend, Rumple's words remind me. Sweat trickles down the back of my neck. No. I have to do this. To save Destiny... I have to do it, I convince myself.
The others move ahead of me but Annora doesn't follow. She places a comforting hand on my tense shoulder, making me look at her.
"I know it feels daunting what you have to do. But we will have your back. You don't have to be afraid," she says. Swallowing my fear, I nod. We turn our gazes back at the castle to find people swarming out of it. I narrow my eyes. Familiar faces come to light. Ruby, Leroy, Jefferson... I smile in relief at them. But that quickly turns into a frown as they line up in several rows, their faces expressionless. Cautiously, I walk up to Jefferson.
"Jefferson?" As I get closer, I can see that his eyes are completely black. I recoil in horror.
"What the hell?" I turn and look at Emma who is looking at Ruby's eyes.
"Step away!" Regina yells. I glance away from Jefferson.
"Why?" Before the question is fully out of my mouth, firm hands grab my shoulders, yanking me back.
Black veins start to surface on Jefferson's and the other people's faces. Jefferson pulls a freaky smile at me.
"No..." I breathe out. My heart starts to pound frantically.
A screechy laugh echoes around us. I turn my attention to the open doors of the castle. But I can't see anyone. The laugh stops and is followed by the sound of high heels. I feel the blood drain from my face at the person who emerges from the castle.
Destiny strolls out. Her body is wrapped with a red and black laced dress. The same dress she was wearing in my dream. Her face wears a sadistic smile. Her eyes stare out at me as if she can smell my fear. I gulp. I hear the others approach behind me.
"Well, who do we have here? I was wondering when we would meet." Destiny stops in the middle of the townspeople, eyeing us all. Her eyes rest on Annora. Her smile grows wider.
"Annora. I should have known you'd be here. You haven't changed a bit, have you? Always sticking your nose into everyone's business," she adds coldly. Annora stares at Destiny, relief washing over her face.
"I am glad to see you too. You gave our tribe quite a scare when you and your mother disappeared. Speaking of your mother, I am sorry to hear of her departure. She was a dear friend to me."
"Don't you dare speak about my mother! It was because of you that we had to leave," Destiny spits at her.
"It was because of Cora that your mother left. And you know it," Annora replies with a gentle voice. Destiny grins mockingly at her. Her eyes dart at Rumple.
"Hello Rumple. By the way, how is Belle?" Destiny searches around, "Where is she? Still recovering at that camp?" Rumple's jaw slightly clenches. Destiny laughs at his reaction.
"Stop it, Destiny." My voice comes out more fragile than I wanted it to. Destiny casts her eyes on me and smirks.
"Poor little Nova. Doesn't know what to do." Destiny taunts. Swallowing my fear, I give Destiny the coldest glare I can pull. But I know it's no use. She can already see right through me.
Destiny slowly starts retracing her steps.
"Although I find it amusing catching up with you all, I have other business to attend to. These people however," she gestures at the people surrounding her,
"Will do the rest of the entertaining for me."
"What did you do to them!' David yells. Destiny tries to suppress her grin.
"Let's just say, I infected them with my own curse. Now that I think of it, I should have planned this instead. The only way you can get through me is by stopping them. Good luck," she adds defiantly. She advances back to her castle.
On cue, the townspeople start to approach us, their weapons magically appearing in their hands.
"Whatever you do, do not kill them. We can only try to withstrain them. Regina, Nova, go after Destiny. We have your back!" Annora orders.
While the others fight against the people, Regina and I sprint towards the castle. "Where do you think she went?" I ask, trying not to be in awe of the castle.
"Probably her room." Regina takes lead, maneuvering expertly through the castle.
"How do you know the castle so well?" I ask, almost afraid to know the answer.
Regina pauses and looks over her shoulder at me, "I grew up here."
I could tell I had hit a sore spot so I drop it and follow her lead. She pauses in front of a large oak door and puts a finger to her lips. I nod after realizing this must be Destiny's room. Regina prepares a fireball and I heft up my sword as she eases the door open. She peeks in and before she could turn back, an invisible force yanks both of us into the room.
"Welcome!" Destiny rises from a chair by the window. "Isn't it wonderful?" She exclaims, motioning outside. From my point of view, I could see the fight. I look away quickly before I could name any of the faces.
Destiny pins us against the wall and tuts, "Now Regina, I understand you coming after me but with Nova? Rumple or even Emma would've been a better bet but Nova? The only thing she could do is bore me to death with her reminiscing speeches about how good life was before the curse."
She gasps and raises a finger as if just remembering something, "Oh! Nova! Did you see lover boy down there? Yes, props to you, Princess. He's a catch. Well," She pauses and laughs, "Would've been a catch. Probably not the best boyfriend material now though." She giggles at her joke as she heads over to her bookshelf.
"Let us go!" Regina shouts. "I didn't come up here to watch you read! If you want a fight, then let's fight!"
Without turning around, Destiny snaps her fingers. We both fall to the floor. "A fight, eh?" She turns slowly around, a sinister grin on her face. "Let the games begin!"
Destiny strikes a blue ball at us. Regina and I duck before returning to our feet. I step towards Destiny but Regina sticks her arm in the way. I glance at her in surprise.
"Not yet." She eyes Destiny.
"She's mine." Regina pushes me back carelessly, making me stumble. Destiny smirks.
"As flattering as that sounds, I'm afraid I'm unavailable." Regina smiles with the corner of her mouth.
"Are you going to fight me or kill me with your so humorous words?" She taunts, her words drenched in sarcasm. Destiny thrusts another blue ball at her. Regina dodges it, countering it with her own fireball. Destiny disappears into the atmosphere. Regina searches her surroundings for any sign of movement. I do the same.
My eyes rest beside me where I noticed something moving. I widen my eyes.
"Regina! Beside you!" I yell. Just in time, Regina steps back, avoiding Destiny's weirdly sharp nails trying to scratch her. Regina thrusts her hand at Destiny. Destiny grips onto her neck and gasps. Regina slightly inches her fingers together, savouring the moment.
Destiny chokes under the force of Regina's power. And then she stops, her face plastered with a creepy smile.
"Is that all you got?" She mocks, her voice scarily calm and casual.
Regina smiles, "Not even close."
The two continue to battle, a fusion of colours almost blinding me. I decide to use the distraction to my advantage. Turning to her bed, I dump the contents of my purse. Annora had put the paste into a special vile just big enough for the tip of my sword. I unsheathed my sword and lay it gently on the bed. I turn back around and watch Regina and Destiny fight.
After a couple of minutes, Regina stops, her body slightly slouching with exhaustion. But not for long as Destiny continued attacking with inhumane stamina. "Now would be good!"
I snap out of a daze and gasp when I see Regina being thrown around the room like a rag doll. I turn around and fumble with the lid of the vile. With a huff, it opens. I grab my sword, slowly inserting it into the vile.
The violet coloured liquid snakes up the sword, up until the hilt. It dissolves into the sword. Unexpectedly, the blade shines extremely bright, causing me to shield my eyes. Carefully, I peek at the sword. The blade shines with an almost angelic white light, taking my breath away.
I grip hard onto the sword. I turn towards Regina and Destiny. Destiny had Regina down on her knees, her hand ready to rip Regina's heart out. Regina struggles weakly. I take a deep breath and ready my sword. Deep inside me, a weird, yet comforting feeling of anger overwhelms me. The anger of her possessing Jefferson. The anger of her giving into the curse. I glare at Destiny.
"Let go of Regina!" I roar, amazed at my own voice. Destiny snaps her head at me. Casually, she thrusts Regina away from her. Regina collides into the wall, collapsing to the ground. Destiny positions her hands on her hips, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Really? Do you honestly believe you can hurt me with your flashy sword? You never fail to humour me, Nova,"
"Shut up! I am sick and tired of your taunts. I don't recognise you anymore, Destiny. Before, you were someone important to me. Now." My eyes move from her head to her feet and back.
"You're just a sad case, who uses her power to make herself be feared by others. But I don't feel fear. I feel pity for you." Destiny's mocking look chips away slightly. I grin at her. Destiny slowly shakes her head.
"You know. I was actually going to spare your life. But not because I care. But because you're already worthless. But now, it looks like you've just dug your own grave." She zooms towards me. I raise my sword in front of me and brace myself for what's to come.
Killian's POV:
"How many are there? They're attacking like bloody animals!" I scowl as my weapon clashes with another person's. Gritting my teeth, I push their weapon away and smack their face with my hook. The battle cries and the sound of swords clashing rings in my hits another person with the hilt of his sword. He glances towards me and grins mockingly.
"What's the matter, Hook? Is the attention too overwhelming?" I glare at David, elbowing a person coming behind me.
"It's not the attention that's getting too overwhelming. It's the people who are giving me the attention that's worrying," I reply, giving David a smirk of my own before getting dragged back into battle.
A fireball crashes a window in the top floor of the castle, causing everyone to pause and look up. "What the..." David looks at me. I shrug.
"Who's going to go check it out?" I ask.
David shrugs in return, "Rock, Paper, Scissors?"
I snort, "Now is not the time for childish games. You protect the others, I'll go." Shaking my head, I make my way to the castle.
I march through the main room of the castle and notice all the papers scattered around. Before I could look at one of the papers, the castle begins to shake. I grab hold of a chair to keep me steady. After it passes, I run towards a staircase, hoping it's the right one.
I walk along the corridor, about to reach a room when I suddenly collide into something. I fall clumsily to the ground, rubbing my sore forehead. I stare in front of me to find nothing. Cautiously, I pick up my sword and get up on my feet. I walk slowly until I stop where I was. I move my hook in front of me. I jump with surprise as it hits something solid but clearly invisible. Destiny must have placed a shield here. Using my shoulder, I try to break it, but it's no use.
I step back, catching my breath. How the hell am I going to get to her? From where I stand, I could hear yells and struggles from the room. I pause as I hear slow footsteps behind me. I spin around to find more of the townspeople, their eyes changing from their normal colours to black. I grin defiantly.
"Looks like I have more admirers." I wave my sword in front of them, taunting them. As one of them strikes, I block their attack and kick them in the stomach. I attack the others with both my hook and sword. Unexpectedly, one of them knocks the sword out of my the remaining people raise their swords to strike me, they suddenly fly back and collide with the ground.
"Didn't expect I'd have to save you," the voice cackles. I grit my teeth.
"I was perfectly fine!" I mutter, brushing my arms off.
Rumpelstiltskin walks towards me, a smirk tugging on his lips. He passes me and places his hand on the invisible barrier. The touch of his hand causes a slight vibration on it's surface.
"Will you be able to break it?" I ask, not bothering to find out how he knew of the barrier. Rumpelstiltskin shifts his gaze at me.
"It may take some time. But it's not something I can't overcome." The sound of rushed footsteps could be heard coming towards our direction. Rumple eyes me.
"I never thought I'd leave my life in your hands. But just this once, I'll resist the urge of killing you myself." I focus my attention towards the end of the corridor.
"Looks like we agree on something," I reply. I swing my sword skillfully as I wait for the townspeople to enter my sight. We're coming, Destiny. We're coming, I repeat in my mind, hoping for a moment that she could hear my thoughts.
Nova's POV
Before Destiny could strike me, she suddenly freezes, her hand a few inches away from my neck.
"I. Am. Not. Done with you!" Regina comes into sight, her hand outstretched towards Destiny. She pulls Destiny towards her like a puppet. Destiny breaks out of Regina's spell. Before I know it, they both start fighting each other. Holding my sword ready, I try to find an advantage at getting to Destiny.
"Any time now!" Regina yells as she throws a fireball at Destiny.
"I can't! She's too fast for me." I stare down at the sword. The weird glowing light starts to grow fainter than before.
"Well distract her then! Throw a book at her or something!"
"I'm right here you know!" Destiny grumbles, throwing a chair towards me. I manage to duck out of the way in time.
"Hey!" I yell. I reach behind me and my fingers find a large book. I throw it with a grunt. It hits Destiny right in the face. I pull a satisfied grin. Before Destiny could do any more damage towards me, Regina starts distracting her again.
All of a sudden, a loud bang could be heard from the staircase, followed by the shatter of glass. Feeling my heart shake, I glance towards the door. I turn my attention to Regina and Destiny but the two are too busy fighting to hear the commotion. I run to the door and peek down the stairs. Not seeing anything instantly, I open the door more and slip onto the stairs.
After walking down about ten steps, I spot two figures lying on the floor, soot all over their faces. "Rumple? Hook?"
Hook answered with a groan, "What the bloody hell was that, Crocodile! I want in alive! I don't want to die on the bloody steps!"
"Oh shut your mouth! You're not dead!" Rumple growls as he picks himself up. He casts his eyes on me.
"Nova! Where's Regina and Destiny?" He asks, making his way to me.
"Regina's fighting Destiny. But I don't think she'll be able to hold her off any longer." As if I had said enough, Rumple advances up the stairs. He stops abruptly. He clutches his chest.
"Belle!" He whispers.
"What's wrong?" I ask, concerned at the shocked look on his face. He turns to me.
"Belle is in danger. Destiny must have sent some of the townspeople to the camp. I have to save her!" Without another word, he vanishes into the air. Hook and I exchange glances.
"Lead the way," he finally says, feeling the awkwardness between us. Nodding, we rush up to Destiny's room.
We burst through the door to find Regina, unconscious on the ground. Destiny is hovering over her, a deranged look on her face.
Sensing us, she darts her eyes at us, her blood seeping from the wound on her right temple.
"Hello, sweetheart! Sorry about the mess." Destiny exclaims, letting out an excited, screechy laugh. Hook slowly takes a few steps into the room, lowering his weapon slightly.
"Well, don't you look ravishing! Almost as good as I look," he grins, looking at her dress.
"You think? I know you wouldn't hurt me, would you? Killian..." Her voice grows eerily soft, sounding almost like her old self. As reassuring as it sounds, it still feels fake. Killian stops, deciding whether to trust that voice or not.
"Not if it works both ways. Come on, Destiny. Stop this. This isn't you." He gestures at her. Destiny looks thoughtful for a brief moment. She sighs in disappointment.
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong."
Black vines start to escape from her, curling around her arms. Instantly, they attach to Hook, tightening around his arms and legs.
"I'm fine, just the way I am,"
I hear Hook grunt in pain and for a moment, I'm frozen. It isn't until I hear Regina moan that I snap out. I tighten my grip on my sword. Without hesitation, I charge at Destiny.
Destiny sticks her hand out and I'm thrown back, hitting the wall. I curse myself as the sword slides a few feet away from me. "You think you can defeat me with a puny sword?" She walks over to the discarded sword and picks it up. She tests it's weight in her hand. "What did you plan on doing, Nova? Putting me down? We all know you wouldn't be able to."
I growl, "I'm not as weak as you think I am!" I grab a broken piece of glass from the floor and throw it at her. I hear a satisfying gasp as the shard sinks into her left arm.
"Not bad." She nods in approval. "Not enough though. My turn!"
An invisible force grabs me and throws me against the left wall, then into the right. I'm thrown up and land hard on the floor. I scream out and clutch my newly dislocated shoulder. I could feel my energy draining by the second. My bones start to ache. I search desperately around the room. Regina is still knocked out in the far corner, I'm handicapped and Hook is tied up. Hook!
From my point of view, I could see his hook rubbing back and forth against the vines. As I clutch my arm, a feeling of hope courses through me. Maybe Annora was right. Maybe it doesn't have to be me.
Destiny walks over to Regina. Hook puts this distraction to use and starts frantically sawing against the vines. With a faint pop! the vines fall off him. He rushes towards Destiny and grabs her from her waist. Destiny struggles, trying to push Hook away.
"Destiny, please. No one needs to get hurt anymore!" He pleads. Grunting, Destiny elbows Hook in the face. She spins around and slices across his shoulder with the sword. A sizzling sound could be heard. Hook falls to the ground, holding onto his bloody wound. She raises her sword to finish him.
"What will you gain out of this, Destiny?" I call out as I lean back awkwardly against the wall. Destiny pauses. She fixes her gaze on me.
"What could possibly make you want to hurt the very people who care about you?" A smile curves on Destiny's lips.
"Why, power of course. And if I recall correctly, the people who claim to care about me were planning to kill me. Besides, what benefit have I got from caring about you people? All it has caused me is pain and suffering!" I make a slight attempt at shaking my head.
"Caring doesn't make you weak. It makes you stronger. It gives you a reason to live and to fight! Do you know what's ironic, Destiny. You're becoming the very woman you despise. Cora," I stress. Destiny's eyebrows scrunch together.
"Enough! Now I won't hesitate in sticking this in your throat!" She screams. Her heels stab the ground with every step she takes towards me. I shut my eyes. This is it. I'm going to die by my best friend's hand. And I couldn't do anything to save her. Hot tears fall from my eyes. I inhale. And exhale. I wait for the impact.
Suddenly, I hear the sound of a sword tearing through flesh. I gasp. I shoot open my eyes. My fingers search my throat, but I couldn't feel any metal. I stare in front of me. My face goes pale. Destiny had stabbed someone. But it isn't me. It's Hook. He must've jumped in front of her to save me. His back faces me, his blood dripping from the blade through his heart. Automatically, Destiny pulls the sword out, resulting in Hook collapsing to the ground.
I cry out, crawling over to him. Destiny starts backing away, a satisfied smirk resting on her face. I look down at Hook's bloody side. I reach over to apply pressure to his wound. The second my finger touches his skin, a force throws me back. Destiny suddenly starts screaming.
Groaning, I sit up and watch in amazement as light purple mist starts seeping out of Destiny. They gather up and create a shadowy duplicate of Destiny. For a second, they stand facing each other. The only sound that can be heard are swords clashing outside.
Then in a blink, the shadowy figure collides into Destiny, dissolving inside her. She starts to shake violently, like the two souls are fighting for dominance. Her ear wrenching scream resounds in the room. A small black mist spills out of her mouth and disappears.
"Destiny?" I stand up cautiously, using the wall as support. She looks down at Hook and passes out.
3rd POV
The heros keep fighting on, though it was becoming more obvious that they were tiring. And it was becoming increasingly difficult to tame the wild people. "I don't think we can keep on much longer!" Mary Margaret shouts over to her husband.
"I know but we have to try!" David replies, knocking a zombied friend away.
"Do you think Regina and Nova are okay?" Emma asks, joining the two.
"Have you seen Hook?" Henry asks as he throws a rock into the swarm of people.
David glances at the castle. It stands there silently, not revealing the secrets within.
"Come to think of it, it's been awhile since Hook entered the castle. I don't know what's going on in there." At that moment, a terrifying scream echoes from the castle. Everyone pauses in battle, their eyes following where the sound had come from. The group exchange concerned glances.
Unexpectedly, black mist starts to pour out the townspeople. Their bodies shake vigorously like fishes without water. The black mist dissipates into the air in seconds. The townspeople fall to the ground with exhaustion. David quickly holds onto Ruby who is gripping her head weakly. He examines her face. The black veins could no longer be seen.
David takes another look at the castle. What had just happened...