"Why is everyone's mother crazy?!" Maleficent growled into the phone. "I fucking swear-"
"Mal, who is it?" Rose called from the bed.
"Mal, it's important that you get Rose get out of there." Regina said on the phone. "Fiona is on her way. If she is as dangerous and as powerful as Gold claims, she could find you without all the technology bullshit. Buy a ticket and get back to the states. Please."
Mal sighed. "Fine. I'm trusting you, so you better be right about this." She hung up and walked back into the bedroom where her lover was laying naked beneath the soft sheets. She couldn't help but smile seeing the woman so relaxed and content. She crossed the room and kissed her lips. "As much I would love to break in this bed, we have a problem."
"What problem?"
"Your mother."
"What?" Rose sat up, keeping the sheets around her chest. "What are you talking about?"
"Apparently, your mother is a very powerful maleficar from my world. That would half explain how you knew our real stories, but that doesn't explain how she knew. Anyways, Regina and Emma are freaking out. They want us to go back to the states as soon as possible." Rose sighed and got out of bed to get dressed.
"You owe me for this."
"Absolutely." Mal smirked. "At least we got to see an awesome bar fight this morning." Rose snorted as she put on some lingerie and Mal frowned. "That new?"
"Yes. I was going to give you the honor of taking it off, but we have to leave…" She smirked as she slid into a pair of black jeans and boots.
"What exactly do you remember about your mother?" Mal inquired, getting dressed as well. She chose jeans and a long sleeved black sleeved shirt.
"Not much. Everything is like...bits and pieces…" Rose answered.
"How old were you when things started to clear?"
"About 10, after I ran away."
"Why?" Mal put on some boots and sat down on the bed.
Grace shrugged. "Had a fight. She wanted me to stay in our little hovel forever, that my leaving was somehow abandoning her." She sat down next to Mal and sighed. "Now you tell me that she's coming after me?"
"I don't know much about the situation, but I would rather cancel our trip than have something happen to you." She reached out to caress Rose's cheek and her lover leaned into her touch. "I'll take care of this threat and then we can go back to living our lives." Rose leaned forward and kissed her lips. "I promise."
"I know." There was a soft knock at the door and Rose got to her feet. "Who is it?"
"Room service." came the reply.
"We didn't order any room service." Rose frowned. She moved to the door but Mal quickly stopped her, listening. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She went over to the bed and flipped it onto its side, breaking off a piece of wood to use as a weapon. "Love, what are you doing?"
"There are at least 3 men behind that door. 2 are holding their breaths." She said, laying the bed back down and moving beside the door, out of sight of anyone on the other side. She nodded to Rose, who opened it. Almost immediately a gun was pointed at her face. Mal slammed the plank of wood on top of it, knocking it out of the man's hands. She swung it again and bashed him over the head. The man behind him tried to raise his gun but she was too fast for him and impaled him in the chest. Rose tackled the last man and pressed two fingers hard against a pressure point on his neck.
"Who sent you?" She demanded, pressing harder on his throat. "You have about 10 seconds to answer or you die."
"We were sent by Fiona to get her daughter. She said to pack heavy, that you had a dangerous bodyguard. Under no circumstances is Maleficent allowed to live. You won't make it out of here. We have the entire building under our control. When we don't come back, the flood's going to come up. There's nothing you can do." He said, spitting out each word with a harsh gasp.
"You evacuated the building?"
"Yes." Rose knocked him out and picked up his gun and ammo. She and Mal exchanged nods and raced back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Rose pulled out a military sling backpack and stuffed it with necessities like their passports, their credit cards, their phones and so on. Most of the valuables were sent home almost immediately so they weren't leaving anything behind besides some clothes and a few toiletries. Neither wanted to be over encumbered trying to get out of here. Maleficent tore more planks from the bed and broke them in half. They weren't exactly spears and she had no way to effectively sharpen them, but if they were thrown or swung with enough force, it didn't matter.
"How do we get out?" Mal asked.
"Elevator is suicide if they're waiting down there. We take the stairwell to the lobby. It opens up near the kitchen. Kitchen always has a back door."
"If we can get inside, I can get my hands on some knives."
"We need to get you out of here." Rose reminded her. "You're the one they want to kill."
"They are not the first to try to kill me and they will not be the last. Believe me, I am not afraid. You shouldn't be either." Mal kissed the top of her head to reassure her. "Besides, this is kinda fun."
"Only you." Rose snorted. "Only you would think that."
"That's why I'm one of a kind and also why you love me. So, let's go kill some idiots." She kissed Rose's cheek and stood up. Rose followed, picking up the extra guns in the hallway as they made their way down the hall to the stairwell. Almost immediately Mal spotted a group of men coming up the stairs. She drew three of her makeshift spears and threw one after another as quickly as possible, hitting all three right in the chest.
"Show off." Rose said.
"Hey!" They looked up at the men coming from upstairs. Mal threw another spear, catching one guy in the shoulder before leaping on the bannister, climbing upwards, grabbing him by his vest and throwing him over the railing. She climbed onto the upper stairs to face the next group, baring her teeth in excitement. It had been so long since she had fun like this. She ducked and grabbed the leg of the next man, flipping him over the railing as well and punching the next guy hard enough to shatter his jaw.
"Mal, get down!" Rose called. She ducked as the former detective decisively shot down the men attacking her, each bullet fired with extreme precision and each man falling to the ground. Mal grabbed their weapons and tossed them to Rose. She found some army knives among them and equipped as many as she could. They also took their bulletproof vests. "Let's keep it moving." They met no more enemies on the stairwell and managed to make it down to the lobby, but it was crawling with more of the bastards. They crept into the kitchen and found a back door, but they weren't using it just yet. At Rose's direction, she started turning on the stoves and ovens, opening them up. She was almost done when she heard someone yell. Gunfire exploded around her and pain shot through her back before she hit the ground.
"Mal!" Rose was by her side instantly she almost dragged the dragon behind cover. "Shit, you're hit."
"I'm fine." Mal assured her. "Finish the job, they won't shoot you."
Rose nodded and reached behind her, rolling over some kind of metal tank. She threw it over the barricade they'd made and Mal heard it being punctured by bullets. She struggled to her feet and grabbed hold of Rose, taking her with her. They ducked and ran for the back door, slamming it behind them as the kitchen erupted in flames. Mal pushed the nearest dumpster in front of it and leaned on Rose as they made their escape. She panted, struggling to take deep breaths. Within a few minutes, she could hardly move her legs. Rose managed to hail a taxi and moved her in.
"Where to, ma'am?" The cabbie asked.
"Just drive please." She heard Rose say. Her vision was failing. What was in those bullets? She could hear Rose talking but at this point it just sounded like garbled mess. She felt a hand on her arm, rubbing it, before she felt a hard palm smack the side of her face. "I need you to stay awake, Mal. We have a way out of here, but you can't go to sleep…" Her voice faded away.
She felt something hot against her skin. Something was burning her. Mal's eyes snapped open and she grabbed the hand of whoever was touching her.
"Ow, wait, calm down."
"Evie?" Mal frowned. She looked around, taking in the sight of what looked like a private plane. She was laying on her back, with Evie sitting beside her. A small table was nearby, smelling heavily of her blood and alcohol. "Where am I? Where's Rose?"
"Emma sent me to come get you guys as soon as she got word that someone was after you. This is the SWAN Unit's private jet that we...borrowed. Grandma's in the bathroom. Now, don't move, you had at least a dozen bullets in your torso and all of them were poisoned with an agent that causes paralysis." Evie turned back to picking the bullets out of her abdomen, dropping them into a metal bowl on the table. "This would be much easier with my equipment, but Regina assured me that diseases and contamination isn't something you worry about."
"No, dragon blood takes care of that." She said, licking her lips.
"Easy." Evie warned her. "I'm only halfway done." Mal sighed and waited while the younger woman expertly extracted the bullets. She held one up to show that it was probably one of the largest caliber bullets one could fit into a rifle. "Whoever these guys are, they knew what they had to bring to take down a dragon."
"Good thing they're all dead." Rose said, stepping out of the bathroom. She appeared cleaner and much more refreshed after their ordeal in Ireland. She walked over and knelt next to Mal, placing a tender kiss to her forehead. "You scared the shit out of me."
Mal scoffed. "I've felt worse."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
Mal beckoned her closer and kissed her lips. "Nothing is going to tear me from your arms, Rose Swan. You have no choice but to have me."
"More's gonna come, aren't they?"
"They didn't complete their mission." She replied, wincing as Evie hit a sore spot.
"Sorry. Lucky for you, all the bullets are intact." She picked up a large, handheld machine that Mal thought was called a tablet and showed her some x rays. "Why would they try to kill you though?"
"Because they want Rose and they know I won't let them take her without the fight of my life." The dragon answered. "Are you done?"
"Hmm?" Evie said, still looking at her x rays. "You are freakin' fascinating. You know, by the time we got you on the jet, you had nearly healed the bullets inside your body and the poison was already wearing off. Guess that's why they shot you so many times. Your healing capabilities are even better than Ruby's. Mind if I take a blood sample?"
Mal rolled her eyes. "Yes, nerd."
Evie grinned and proceeded to do so. Afterwards, she held up a small bottle of red liquid. "Regina told me to give this to you. Said you would know what it's for."
Mal nodded. "Will you dab a little on my wounds? Just leave a little left." Evie nodded and took a cotton ball to carefully press the healing elixir to each of the bullet holes. It burned, but it was expected. When that was done, she drank the rest of it. The healing potion would speed up the healing process, but she would be weak until she could replenish the lost energy. She looked up at Rose. "Well, this was fun. Where to next?" Rose glared at her, completely unamused.
"Like Mother, like daughter." Evie muttered.
"You should get cleaned up and get some rest while you can. We'll be landing soon. Rose bent to help her sit up and helped her get to her feet. She was kind enough to help Mal bathe in the surprisingly luxurious bathroom and get dressed in clean clothes. When they returned to their seats, the dragon was asleep almost immediately.
/
They met at the FBI headquarters, just in case the house was being watched and no one in their right mind would dare to attack there. As soon as Regina saw Mal, she almost jumped into her arms, a sigh of relief escaping her against her will. Mal purred softly and kissed the top of her head. "When Evie texted us how you were in such bad shape, I just-"
"Nonsense. Why do you and Rose think some petty humans can kill me?" She asked.
Regina rolled her eyes. It was very Mal to think herself greater than any danger and even though she knew the dragon had survived many assassination attempts over the years, this was undoubtedly the worst of them all.
"Godmother!" Myra cried, running over to Mal, who dropped to her knees to hug the little girl.
"My little princess, how are you?"
"Just fine. And you? Are you okay?"
"I am, my dear. Perfect, now that you're here." Mal grinned, lifting the girl in her arms.
Regina looked over at Emma, furiously hugging her grandmother. They were simply waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. As soon as Grace heard what had happened, she had called everyone as soon as possible and the entire Swan family would be here in at least an hour.
There was a knock on the boardroom door and Grace stepped in. "Everyone is on their way."
"That was completely unnecessary." Mal said. "Pulling people out of their daily lives-"
"Someone sent a group of highly trained soldiers to kill you and kidnap my mother." Grace interrupted her. "They made it personal when they went after my family, which you are now a part of."
"Apparently, this Fiona woman is a part of your family too. She's Rose's mother." Regina reminded her.
"I don't give a fuck who she is. She's dead." Grace hissed.
"Grace." Rose put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"I'm sorry, I'm just...I could've lost you." She sighed.
"Never." Rose assured her. She looked up at Regina. "If this is my mother, why is she trying to kidnap me and hurt Mal?"
"Most likely, she's not trying to hurt Mal, she's trying to kill her." Regina answered. "She probably knows who Mal is. That's why she sent such a large force to do the deed and she doesn't want her around you. Gold said she was a villain, a very old and powerful one. The fact that you can't remember detailed events of your childhood would lead me to believe that you were cursed."
"Cursed?"
"Or," She amended. "At the very least, Fiona took your memories. Either one is possible, although the former is more likely. If she simply took your memories, you would probably still be with her."
"From what we know about villains," Emma added. "Something had to happen to cause a big change. Maybe she got a prophecy, maybe you did something she didn't like, it really could be anything, to be honest. It could be Fiona was afraid of something or was just angry."
"What she means is," Maleficent interjected. "Villains want to accomplish a goal. No matter what that goal may be or how strange or terrible you might think it is, we will do anything to win. If it is a curse, there's no telling how to break it without know why or how it was cast." The dragon pulled out a chair for her to sit and they both sat down.
"I don't care about her. Just you." Rose said softly. "You're a dragon, right?"
Mal arched an eyebrow. "Yes…"
"If you get the chance...be a dragon. Rip her apart."
The lights flashed and a column of smoke appeared next to the door. "That's a bit rude, don't you think?" The woman asked as she emerged from the cloud of magic. Regina quickly pulled Myra to her and Emma and Grace quickly put themselves between Fiona and the little one. Mal and Rose remained in their seats. The dragon even rolled her eyes.
"Fiona, I'm assuming?" Rose asked.
"Yes." Fiona smiled. "Rosie, dear, you are so beautiful-"
"You tried to kill the woman I love." Rose hissed, getting to her feet. "I don't know what you expected, but you won't get it here. Now, if you leave and never come back, you can live. If not, you will die."
"You would kill your mother?" Fiona frowned.
"No, but a very angry dragon would feel no qualms about doing it. And I would let her."
Regina glanced around, trying to come up with a way out of this. They couldn't fight here, not with magic, not with weapons. Too many cameras, too many agents. Myra would be in danger. There was another knock on the door and Fiona stepped aside as Zelena and Jackson stepped in.
"Fiona Black?" The redhead said. "I've heard so much about you." She smiled. "Rumple told us about you and he said that you would be beautiful, but he was nowhere close to the real thing." She offered her hand to shake and Fiona reached out to shake it. Jackson pulled a taser out of his pocket and Zelena yanked her hand back as he tazed the woman. She dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Zelena pulled out a black cuff and slid it onto Fiona's wrist, halting the flow of her magic. "Now, where is my favorite niece?"
"Right here!" Myra yelled, racing into Zelena's arms. Zelena laughed and picked her up.
"Zelena, when did you-"
"Not important, I found out some stuff on the drive over here." The witch turned to Rose. "You remember Rumpelstiltskin, right?"
"Unfortunately." Rose replied.
"Oh, you don't like him?"
"No, he's a manipulative son of a bitch who needs to learn to mind his own business."
"Excellent." Zelena grinned. "Because he's your brother."
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