Destiny's POV:
"Are you sure it's her?" Mary Margaret asks, rubbing her baby bump gently.
I had gathered everyone in Regina's office for a meeting. They needed to know who was behind all this.
I nod.
"I'm positive. It is Zelena."
Everyone gasps, taking in the truth. David pulls Mary Margaret close, his eyes wide with worry.
I tell them about the fake Belle and the flashback I got. Belle pulls a guilty look. Once I finish, silence is all we can hear in the room.
Mary Margaret speaks up.
"All this time, I had the Wicked Witch as a midwife?" She says with disbelief. Emma stares at her.
"Wait. She's real?" Emma blurts out. Regina raises an eyebrow.
"Are you really asking that, Swan?" Ignoring them, I turn to Mary Margaret.
"You're not the only one she fooled. If I had known earlier, I would have..." I stop and take a deep breath, swallowing my anger. A thoughtful look crosses David's face.
"If Mary Margaret crushed my heart to cast the curse, how am I still alive?" He asks. I turn to him.
"Mary Margaret split her heart in half and gave you one half to keep you alive," I explain. Both Mary Margaret and David stare at each other warmly. Regina moves off her desk.
"Putting their love story aside, we have a bigger problem. Zelena is out there and we have no idea where," Regina says, crossing her arms.
"What about Rumple?" Belle asks, hope glimmering in her eyes.
I look at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"
She looks around the room, "Well, Zelena tricked us with the rest of it. What if his death was faked too?" She suggests.
I shrug, "It's possible, but I don't want you to get too hopeful. If Rumple is alive, we'll find him, don't worry," I reassure her.
I turn to Regina. "We need to have a town meeting. Warn the townspeople that Zelena is on the loose."
She nods, "When and where?"
"Tomorrow morning at the diner," I reply, my eyes drifting across the room. Everyone nods. I move away from the door.
"We'll talk more about this tomorrow. Thanks for coming," I finish.
I open the door, letting everyone out. I walk out with Nova and Regina. A guilty look crosses Nova's face.
"I genuinely thought she was nice. How gullible am I?" Nova asks with concern. I curve my arm around her shoulder.
"You just trust people and believe everyone is good and that's not a bad thing." I comfort her. Nova shrugs.
"I guess you're right."
"I'm always right. You just don't listen to me," I complain. Nova's smile returns to her face. Her cheery laugh echoes in the night.
As Nova and I enter the diner the next morning, it is already bustling with the townspeople. We struggle through the crowd, their whispers of doubt filling my ears. I reach the counter where Regina and Emma are.
"You took your time," Regina states, taking a sip of her drink.
"I didn't expect the diner to fill up this quick." I lean my back against the counter and take in the crowd.
"Neither did we. I guess mentioning the Wicked Witch really did do the trick," Emma replies as she glances at the restless crowd. She turns to me.
"You ready?" I nod at her.
Emma steps forward and whistles. Everyone goes quiet and stares at us. Nervousness fills my stomach. The attentive looks of the crowd suddenly makes me feel self conscious. I clear my throat.
"Thank you all for coming on short notice. The reason we have organised this meeting is because we have an issue at hand. Yesterday, I had found out who the culprit is. And that culprit is none other than-"
"The Wicked Witch of the West!" A female voice interrupts. I glance above the crowd, trying to track the voice. Helpfully, the crowd parts away. A woman walks through and stops in the middle of the diner. At the sight of her face, I clench my fists.
Smiling smugly at me is Zelena, hiding behind her disguise.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, that is no way of treating a member of the community," Zelena coos, planting her hands on her hips.
I snort.
"You never were one, Zelena. Why don't you do all of us a favour and reveal your true identity," I reply.
Zelena lets out a laugh. She stares at me for a moment. Calmly, she reaches for her necklace and twists the pendant on it. Instantly, her innocent- looking disguise fades away, leaving behind a pale skinned wicked witch.
Despite her skin colour, everyone immediately recognises her and cowers away from her. Leroy glares at her. He grabs hold of his axe.
Before we could stop him, he tries to attack her. Zelena glances slightly at him. Without much effort, she flicks her fingers and sends Leroy crashing back into one of the tables. The other dwarves rush to help him up.
David takes a step towards Zelena, "Stop!" I scream. Everyone freezes and looks at me. "Why are you here Zelena?"
"I thought this was a community meeting?" She asks innocently.
"Zelena." I glare at her, hate burning obviously in my eyes.
She rolls her eyes. "I'm here for my dear sister."
A wave of murmurs washes across the diner. I look over at Emma and Regina in confusion. "You have a sister?" Emma asks.
"Oh yes. And she's standing right next to you." She smirks.
I look to Emma's side where Regina stood. "That's not possible." Regina glares.
"Isn't this fun?" Zelena claps her hands, "My dear, long lost sister." Zelena flicks her wrist and Regina flies into a booth.
"Zelena!" I yell, but she ignores me and advances to Regina.
"Mother left me for dead while perfect Regina got to live in a bloody castle!" Zelena screams, throwing Regina into Leroy. Zelena is about to flick her wrist again when her hand freezes mid air.
"I think you've done enough already," I reply, my hand stretched out towards her. Zelena grits her teeth as she tries to break her hand free from my magic. I smirk.
"Try all you want. But I think we both know who's stronger," I add. Zelena closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She opens her eyes and attempts a carefree smile.
"Where are my manners?" She turns to Regina.
"Forgive me, Regina. Just seeing you brought out all the emotions I had kept bottled up," Zelena covers up. She glances at me.
"You can remove your magic. I promise I won't hurt her again," she pleads, with a sickly sweet tone.
"No chance. Not until you tell me what your plan is," I demand. Zelena smirks.
"Sorry. Can't tell. It's a surprise," Zelena replies.
"Fine." I move my hand towards the door. Zelena's hand follows my direction, dragging her along. She stops clumsily near the door. I remove my spell from her hand.
"Leave the diner. You're not welcome here. And if you cross me again, you'll regret it," I threaten.
Zelena massages her wrist, her piercing eyes aimed at me. She smiles slyly.
"I'll be taking my leave. But we will meet again. Preferably in the evening. You come too, Regina. I'm not done with you yet." Zelena eyes everyone before bursting out of the door.
"Destiny. For the final time, I am fine. Let me go. I will end that Zelena if it's the last thing I do!" Regina yells, as I force the ice pack onto her head. She winces. Leaning near the door, Killian smirks. I stare at him sternly, then at Regina.
"Don't make me freeze you to this chair. And no, I won't let you go," I reply.
From the counter, Nova brings over a tray of cupcakes and places them on the middle of the table. Emma, who is sitting beside me, reaches for one of the cupcakes. Nova sits down next to Regina.
"Destiny's right. Zelena could have killed you then," Nova adds. Regina snorts.
"It's going to take more than throwing me at a table to kill me," Regina remarks. Emma grins with amusement.
Our encounter with Zelena replays in my head. She had seemed too calm, even when we found out it was her. I rise from my chair.
"Something doesn't seem right. If Zelena is plotting something, why did she easily confront us?" I ask.
"Maybe this is her angle?" Emma suggests.
I look at her confused. "Her angle?"
"Yeah. Like the way she approaches a situation. Maybe she wants us to sweat and overthink it." She explains.
I look at Nova, then Regina who shrugs. "It's possible," Nova says, "But we won't know until tonight so I think we should just stay calm until then."
I shake my head.
"No. I know Zelena. We can't give her time to complete her plan. We need to find her before evening," I decide. Regina rises from her chair and throws the ice pack onto the table. She smiles widely.
"Now that's what I want to hear. Where should we start looking?" She asks eagerly. I think for a moment. The only place that comes to mind is the woods. My mind is set.
"The woods." Nodding with agreement, Regina follows me to the door. Killian steps away from the wall.
"I'm coming with you," he states. I shake my head.
"No." Killian frowns at my reply. I stroke his cheek.
"Zelena is unpredictable. I don't want her to harm you," I explain. Before Killian could protest, I slip out.
Regina's POV
"How many times are we going to walk past that tree before we admit we're lost?" I ask, rolling my shoulders. It felt like we've been walking for hours.
"We haven't been walking past the same-" Destiny pauses and looks at the large split tree. "Tree." She groans and rubs her face. "We're lost."
We both collapse beside the tree. I stretch my legs out, trying to get rid of the strain. I stare around helplessly. My anger towards Zelena grows more and more by the minute. I grit my teeth with frustration.
"This is testing my patience. If only I could use my magic to find her, this would be a whole lot easier," I complain.
"It is Zelena we're talking about. She's hardly going to have her house in plain sight and have 'the wicked witch lives here' sign on it," Destiny jokes.
Growing restless, I get back to my feet. Then, in the distance, I see a trail of smoke floating into the air.
"Looks like it might not be that hard after all," I say, a gleeful smile on my face. Destiny scrambles to her feet and stands beside me. Seeing the smoke, we decide to head in that direction.
Finally, we enter an opening. A few inches away, a campfire is lit beside a flimsy tent. No one is in sight. We walk slowly towards it, our eyes waiting to catch any movement. But it doesn't happen.
Convinced that we aren't in any danger, I walk more confidently. I search around.
"I never considered Zelena the camping type," I comment. Destiny peeks into the tent.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, lady." I glance in the direction of the voice.
A man in casual clothing treads cautiously, his bow and arrow aimed at us. Destiny steps away from the tent, her hands out in defense. "We mean you no harm," She says gently.
"Of course one would say that if the thief meant harm," He counters, advancing. "What did you steal?"
"We didn't steal anything!" I speak up, causing him to point his arrow at me.
"Then what were you doing in my tent?" He asks.
"We are looking for someone. We thought this could be their place but we know now it isn't. Can you put that down now? Someone could get hurt," Destiny says, not indicating herself. The man pulls his arrow further back.
I smirk.
"I would put that down if I were you. I'm sure you know who I am and what I am capable of," I warn.
The man's eyes narrow at me. He smirks.
"Indeed. How can I forget the notorious Evil Queen?" He says with venom. I roll my eyes at him.
"Recently retired," I sneer at him before turning to Destiny. "When are people going to stop calling me that?" I complain. Destiny moves beside me, her eyes on him.
"Look. We haven't got time for this. We need to find Zelena. If you don't-"
"Zelena? You mean the Wicked Witch," the man interrupts. Destiny nods. He pauses before lowering his bow and arrow.
"Looks like we have a common enemy," he says. He stares at me briefly before turning to Destiny.
"And who may you be?"
"I'm Destiny. And you are...?"
"Robin Hood."
"Nice to know. Now do you know where my sister is?" I ask impatiently.
"You say sister? Are you related?" He inquires.
"Sadly but it's a long story. Do you know where we can find her?"
Robin shakes his head, "My men have spoken rumors but I haven't seen her."
"Your men?" Destiny looks around at the seemingly empty field.
"They are back at camp. I traveled off in search of food and possibly more people."
"Do you think we can ask some of your men?" Destiny asks.
He gives me a cautious look before agreeing. I put my hands up, "I promise to behave."
With a hesitant nod, he slings his quiver over his shoulder and gets rid of his fire. Gathering more of his stuff, he leads us to his camp.
Relief washes over me. Finally, we're getting somewhere. As we walk side by side, I silently think of all the things I would do once I found Zelena. It brings a sly smile to my face.
"What seems to be amusing you, evil queen?" Robin Hood asks. I cringe at the sound of 'evil queen'. I glare at him.
"When will you stop calling me that? Try 'Regina' for a change. And it's none of your business," I argue. Robin Hood laughs.
"Very well."
"Besides, why have you been searching for Zelena?" Destiny adds curiously. He turns to her.
"Why, she's the wicked witch of course. Anyone who is a threat to the people needs to be stopped," he replies. I snort.
"How very noble," I tease. Suddenly, a screeching sound echoes around us. We freeze on the spot.
"What is that?" I say, covering my ears at the sound. Destiny's eyes widen.
"Look!" She points to the sky behind us. A group of flying monkeys are heading straight at us. I form a fireball in my hand. As they draw closer, I throw it at them. Following my lead, Destiny uses her magic and Robin Hood starts to strike his arrows at them.
One by one, they draw close before springing back up into the air, avoiding our attacks. They fly back like boomerangs, attacking us all around.
"Where did these come from?!" Robin Hood yells. He aims an arrow at one of the monkeys and manages to knock it down.
"I'm not sure. But I wouldn't be surprised if these are Zelena's pets!" I yell back, throwing two fireballs at two monkeys.
One of the monkeys fly down and try to grab Destiny. She quickly ducks and burns it to dust.
I'm about to strike another when I hear Robin Hood yell, "Watch out!" Suddenly, I'm plunged to the ground, seeing one monkey whooz over my head. I lay on my back and find Robin Hood on top of me. I freeze for a moment. The warmth emitting from him feels weirdly comforting.
His eyes lock with mine. Something feels familiar from this moment, like this had happened screeching sound of the monkeys snap me away from my thoughts. Seeing one approaching, I shove Robin Hood aside and fire the monkey with my magic.
The remaining monkeys fly away, not wanting to turn out like the others. Ignoring Robin Hood's surprised look at me, I struggle up to my feet. Destiny wipes her forehead.
"Whatever those were, I hope I never come across them again," Destiny says with relief.
Robin Hood walks up to me. Before he could speak, I quickly interrupt him.
"Let's get a move on. I don't want to waste any more time," I decide. I walk off. Destiny rushes beside me, a mischievous grin on her face. I glare at her.
"What?" She shakes her head silently, the grin still plastered to her face.
Rolling my eyes, I focus my mind on finding Zelena.
Nova's POV
I sat across from Belle in the Diner. I had just finished my burger and Belle was still picking at her salad. "Are you okay?" I ask, grabbing one of her hands.
She smiles faintly at our hands, "Yeah. I just can't stop thinking about Rumple. A part of me feels like he's still alive but the more rational side of me is saying it's wishful thinking."
I shake my head, "It's not wishful thinking. It's true love and you know what they say about true love." I pause and wink at her. "It never dies."
Belle giggles and takes a sip of her water. "Thank you, Nova. You've been a great friend to me."
Just then, Leroy bursts into the diner, all dirty and sweaty. "Leroy!" I exclaimed, rushing over to him.
"What's wrong?" Belle offers him her water which he gratefully accepts. After finishing off the glass, he takes a deep breath before telling his story.
"The boys and I had just finished working in the mill. We walked the main road back into town because it's beautiful out today when an invisible force knocked us all over!"
"Invisible force? Zelena?" I question, worry immediately flooding through me.
"It wasn't Zelena. I know for sure! Once we had all stood up and were looking around, out of the alley, emerged a shadowy figure. He pointed straight at me and said, 'Bring her to me.' Confused, I of course denied but then he revealed himself…" He trails off.
"Who was it?" Belle demands fiercely. Startled, I look at her and notice hope burning bright in her eyes.
Leroy shakes his head, his lip curved up into a slight smile. "You'll have to go outside and see for yourself."
Without hesitation, Belle sprints out of the Diner with me right behind her. With adrenaline on her side, Belle is surprisingly faster than me. I soon lose sight of her. I skid to a stop, obviously lost. Then I hear Belle scream not far from me. "Belle!" I yell, running as fast as I could. I turn the corner to find Belle covering her mouth, staring at a shadowy figure. "Leave her alone!" I pick up a rock and throw it at the figure.
"Nova stop." I could barely hear Belle's whisper. She takes a couple steps toward the mysterious figure. Belle reaches out her hand and stops an inch away from its arm. I could see the tears rolling down her face as she pushes one finger forward, touching the arm.
Then like a spell was broken, the mysterious figure disappears in the blink of an eye. A dark cloud of dust remains in the figure's place. Belle lets out a sob. I couldn't see anything due to the dust.
Waving the dust away, I touch her shoulder.
"Who was that, Belle?" I ask.
"Isn't it obvious?" A voice echoes. I stare ahead to find Zelena strolling towards us. My face grows pale. She grins slyly, breathing in my fear. She stops at arm's length.
"Maybe I should bring him out one more time." With a wave of her hand, the mysterious figure re-appears. My eyes widen. Rumple stands before us, his eyes downcast. He looks up, his eyes full of… fear.
"Rumple…" Belle whispers. Rumple smiles sadly at her. Zelena bursts out laughing, the sound bringing a chill through my spine. She produces a dagger from her cape with glee. Rumple's dagger.
"I wouldn't be too happy if I were you. Now, let's wait for Destiny and Regina to come back. They must be tired trying to find me." She smirks. Belle and I exchanged worried glances.
Destiny's POV:
"Zelena has to have some kind of hideout. She can't be this careful," I say. As the day had progressed, I felt a mixture of emotions all at once. Worry. Impatience. Helplessness. How are we going to stop Zelena if we can't figure out what her plan is? Trudging out of the dark woods with defeat, we reach the town. Regina sighs beside me.
"On top of that, Robin Hood and his men were no help either. All that journey for nothing!" The mention of Robin Hood brings a thought to mind. I turn to Regina.
"You have to admit though. He did save your life," I remind her. Regina's face grows thoughtful for a moment.
"Yes. I guess he did," she says softly. I try to suppress my smile but Regina catches me out.
"What's with the silly smile?" Regina demands.
"You like him, don't you?" I burst out. Regina's face grows red with embarrassment. She shakes her head in denial.
"Don't be ridiculous! He is nothing more than a thief claiming to be noble. What could have possibly given you that idea?" she argues.
"You did take your time getting back on your feet." An irritated look lingers on her face. Grinning, I pat her shoulder.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I was just trying to cheer you up." Regina glances at me.
"What would really cheer me up right now is to wipe that smug look off Zelena's face."
As we walk closer to the Diner, distant voices reach my ears. Frowning, I turn to my right to find Zelena, waiting in the distance. Nova and Belle are talking to her, their voices sounding frightened. My eyes widen as I see Rumple standing beside Zelena. Well and alive.
"You might just have your chance now," I say to Regina as I point towards Zelena. "Zelena!" I yell, advancing towards them. I hear Regina's quick footsteps behind me.
"Oh good. Everyone's here." Zelena claps her hands and giggles.
I peer around Zelena, "Rumple? Is that really you?"
He goes to open his mouth but Zelena brings her hand up, tutting. "Now, now. We aren't here about our dear Rumple, are we sis?" She tilts her head, silently challenging Regina. Regina glares at her.
Belle takes slow, cautious steps towards Rumple.
"I thought you had died," she says, her voice trembling with tears. Zelena sticks her dagger in between them, her stern eyes on Belle. Belle stops in her tracks.
"Stay right where you are, you want your heart crushed by your love," she threatens. I stare closely at her dagger, recognising it as Rumple's. My heart sinks. This is bad. Rumple meets Belle's eyes.
"Don't come near me, Belle. I don't want to hurt you," he whispers. The despair on his face takes me back. In all my time spent with Rumple, I had never seen him like this. I grit my teeth.
"What did you do to him?!" I yell. Zelena pulls a hurt look.
"Don't look at me, he was like this when I found him. I do prefer him like this though. He is very obedient." She waves Rumple's dagger in front of us.
"Now, how about we finish off where we started?" She stares at Regina. I glance around. The townspeople are starting to gather around. Fighting Zelena is out of the question.
"Look. We don't want any trouble, Zelena. Just tell us what you want so we can end this peacefully," I suggest, dreading the answer. Regina snorts with disbelief. An amused smile spreads across Zelena's face.
"There is one thing I want. Regina's heart!" She yells. She points the dagger at us.
"Get me Regina's heart!" She orders Rumple. Reluctantly, Rumple advances to Regina. The crowd starts to isolate us. I step in front of Regina.
"You'll have to get through me if you want Regina," I taunt.
"You handle Gold. I'll handle Zelena," Regina says behind me. Nodding, we ready ourselves. While Regina fights Zelena, I stare at Rumple. His hands start to shake.
"Can't you fight against the dagger's power?" I ask. Rumple glares at me.
"If it were that simple, Destiny, I wouldn't be here, a meaningless puppet of Zelena's," he replies sarcastically. I smile at him, seeing a flash of his old self.
Suddenly he strikes a gust of wind at me. I stagger back. "What the hell!" I yell.
"Destiny, you know I don't want to hurt you…" He drifts off, throwing a fireball at me.
I barely dodge the ball, the fire singing a hole in my sleeve. I glare at the hole. "I'll try not to hurt you either but no promises."
He nods his head in understanding as he sends me flying into the side of a building, advancing towards Regina. I jump back up and send an invisible wall to block Rumple, causing him to fly back.
While he lays on the ground, I take a second to check on Regina. She has Zelena pinned down to the ground, a fireball in her hand. She looks like she's handling Zelena pretty well. I look around for Nova and Belle and notice them by Granny's with Mary Margaret, Leroy, David, and basically the rest of the town.
An invisible force lifts me up and throws me towards the crowd. I scream but before I could hit anyone, a familiar force stops me. Emma exits the crowd, her hand trained on me. She lowers her hand, putting me on the ground. "Thanks Emma! Wanna help?" I ask, motioning to Rumple.
She laughs, "I've always wanted to get payback on Gold. But I think you can handle him on your own. " Taking the hint, I turn my attention to Rumple and Zelena. My eyes widen. Zelena's hand is outstretched towards Regina. Regina gasps as if someone is choking her. Zelena takes slow, triumphant steps to Regina.
"Regina!" I rush towards her but stop as Rumple intercepts me. Zelena smirks in my direction. She turns back to Regina.
"Finally. The day has come when I can rid you from existence. Any last words, sis?" Zelena asks, savouring the moment. Regina attempts a fearless smile.
"See you in hell." Zelena frowns.
"Not what I had in mind but I guess that'll do." Fearing what is about to happen, I strike Rumple with my magic, pushing him away from me. I aim a gust of wind at Zelena. Zelena shoves her hand into Regina's chest. Just at that moment, my magic collides into her, throwing her back.
Regina crumples to her knees. My breath catches in my chest. Am I too late? An echoing gasp ripples in the crowd.
Zelena sits up slowly from the ground. She stares down at her hand. Regina's heart isn't there. Sighing with relief, I rush to Regina. I help her up carefully. Zelena struggles up to her feet.
"How is this possible? Your heart was supposed to be in my hand!" Zelena screams with irritation. Regina grins at her.
"Did you really believe it would be that easy to crush my heart? My heart is in a safe place. Away from people like you," she snarls. Zelena's grip tightens on Rumple's dagger.
"I will destroy you, Regina. Very soon. I will wipe you from existence and take from you what was supposed to be mine. And I won't need your heart for it!" With that said, she grabs Rumple by his arm and disappears, a trail of green smoke left in their place.
"Mom!" Henry cries as he rushes to Regina. I step aside and let them hug. Zelena's words circulate in my head.
I will wipe you from existence... And I won't need your heart for it!
They leave me with an unnerving feeling inside.