Deep within the Storybrooke forest Pan, still in Henry's body walked side by side with his right-hand man and loyal Lost Boy Felix with the scroll containing the Dark Curse itself and the ingredient he needed to cast it.
"You never cease to amaze me, Peter" Felix tells his leader in awe "Outwitting the Evil Queen and the Black Widow in less than a day. It's impressive" Pan wanted to correct the teen and tell him Amelia saw right through his disguise but that didn't matter in that moment, they were going to win, no matter what the hero's did to stop him.
"She loves the boy" Pan tells him "They both do. That makes them weak" They stop at the well's opening "This is it. This is where we'll cast it. The ingredients?"
Felix hands Pan a bag "When it's done, will they all be dead?"
"Worse" he tells his lost boy taking out the bottle of ingredients he easily found in the Queen's vault setting them out on the edge of the well "They will be slaves to this new land we're making with no idea who they once were. Death is final, Felix. Their suffering will be eternal"
"And your granddaughter?" Felix asks him
"I have a special plan for her , if she lives through the night that is" Pan tells him dropping a bottle into the waters of the well, as it hit's the bottom, the water changes to a greenish hue
Back in the cemetery everyone had gathered outside the vault after brief reunions they quickly informed Hook, Tink, Neal and Tom of Pan's possession of the Dark Curse that brought them to Storybrooke in the first place. She stood arms folded with the Black Widow's hood and cloak over her arm with her cousin, Belle and her ward Tom as they listened to Gold who stood in front of them.
"Another curse?" Mary Margaret kick started the conversation "It's happening again?"
"Gold" Emma addressed the man "This curse, is it going to work like the last one?"
"The last one was created to service the Queen's wishes" he informed them "This will be done per Pan's desire. I would count on something hellish"
"Don't' beat around the bush there Uncle" Amelia drawled to the man "Tell it to us straight"
"The curse was built to be unstoppable" Regina informed the group "There's nothing that can be done"
"Well, it is possible to stop it" Rumple mused to himself
"What?" Regina questioned the man as Amelia raised a curious brow at the man
"By using the scroll, it itself" he told them "It can only be undone by the person who used the scroll. That's you, Regina"
At the wishing well. Pan eyes one of the ingredient bottles "What she did is child's play compared to what I have in mind" Pan tells his loyal soldier dropping the bottle into well as the water glows green once more
"I knew you'd win. Peter Pan never fails" an flashes him a smile as he drops another bottle of ingredients carelessly into the well knowing what needed to be done to complete the curse
"What do I have to do?" Regina asks her old tutor
"You must destroy the scroll" the older man tells her "Both yours and his curses shall be ended, but know this—there will be a price; a steep one"
"W-what do you suggest?" Amelia heard the Queen stutter slightly
"Instead of going to him, bring him to us with a spell" Regina gives him a confused look as does Amelia willing her Uncle to clarify his answer "One that will return Pan and Henry to their own bodies"
Felix looked down at the bubbling curse at the bottom of the well waiting for the next ingredient to be dropped in he looked up to Pan for his friend's next action
"Are we missing something?" Felix asks his leader
"Yes" Pan simply tells him
"What is it?" he pressed
"The heart of the thing I love most"
"You mean your son's heart? Rumplestiltskin?"
"No, uh, I-I never loved Rumple" he told his loyal lost boy
Felix looks at Pan perplexed "Well, then, whose heart do we need? Who do you love?"
"I only loved my Julie, she was everything" he mused thinking back to his little girl that had a talent for thieving coin and trinkets from unsuspecting passer-by's, and she loved him equally. He was her everything, until Lord Capulet took her from him that is "Love can be many things, Felix. It doesn't just come from romance or family. It can also come from loyalty; friendship" At his words Felix's expression shifts to fear "Only one person has always believed in Pan"
"That's me" Felix gulped in fear
"Don't be afraid. Be flattered" Pan tells his friend thrusting his hand into the lost boy's chest
"No, no, no!" Felix yelled in protest as Pan reaches inside his chest as Felix gives a pained grunt. Pan tears out the glowing red heart and begins to squeeze it over the well as Felix drops to the ground in anguish until he crushes the heart into dust
"If I'm back in my own body, that means I'll have the scroll" Henry tells his family "I-I-I can bring it to you guys" he told them
"Exactly right, Henry" Rumple tells his grandson
"Even you aren't powerful enough to cast such a spell" Regina argued with the man
"Well, given the proper tool, I could be" he retorted
"The Black Fairy's wand" Tink suddenly announced to them "One of the most powerful fairies that ever existed. Well-versed in dark magic. The Blue Fairy exiled her, but before she did, she took her wand"
"Of course, there's a bad fairy" Amelia sighed to herself quietly to herself taking in the new information
"I assume our dearly departed Mother Superior has it hidden in her residence" Gold told them where to find the wand
"Well, what are we waiting for?" David said "Let's hit the convent"
"Can I come?" Tink asks the Prince "I should pay my respects to Blue, after all" David nods in agreement
"Then it's settled" Gold concluded "The rest of us should get back to my shop and prepare Henry for the spell"
Everyone begins dispersing from the group. The Shadow looms above; having overheard everything. A moment later, it flies off.
As David, Tink and Neal left to get the Dark Fairy's wand Hook wanted to go with them only to hang back to find Amelia
"Are you okay luv?" the pirate asked her out of the blue once Tom had ventured away from the former Black Widow
"Oh you know impending doom, got stabbed and nearly bled to death by a sociopathic teenager. Just another Thursday" she shrugged at the pirate before a curious brow lifted on the red head's face "Why?"
"Nothing, I'm just glad you're still alive for the boy" he looked towards Tom, but she wasn't buying it
Hook went to leave only for Amelia's hand on his arm to stop him and turn back to the Assassin "Look, whatever this new found interest in me is, now is not the time to get sentimental or whatever, I know what you're doing, hell I did it, but you can pine for Swan tomorrow when there isn't a Dark Curse on the horizon" she tells the pirate
A light chuckle escaped the pirate taking the redhead by surprise and confuse her further "Is that what you think I'm doing?"
"Why else the sudden interest in me then?" she retorted lowly "You really think the next thing I do after I lose my father for the second time is jump into bed with you of all people, I have standards pirate and you certainly do not live up to them"
A half smile quirked on the pirate's face at the Widow's insult "As flattered as I am that you thought of me that way luv. I was asking how you were"
Confusion still filled Amelia's head as Hook left her to contemplate his words toward her
"What was that about?" Regina asked the red head from behind her watching Hook leave with David to retrieve the wand
"I have no idea"
"What's the plan again?" Amelia asked Henry is Pan's body once safely back in Gold's pawn shop, the Assassin was running through the plan after they successfully switch Pan and Henry's to their rightful bodies. Amelia stood with her arms folded in front of the boy as she stared him down.
"Once we switch bodies, I come straight here. Tom will find me halfway and run interference"
"And what do you do if Pan shadow come's after you?"
"Run like hell!" he screamed in her face
"Yes!" Amelia exclaimed in excitement as the pair high fived each other with wide smiles on their faces with Belle and Regina watching onwards, getting 'pumped' for the fight ahead
"Did you really teach my son that word?" Regina grumbled from her spot watching the pair go through the plan
Amelia looked back at the former Queen "It was better than the others" she tells the woman innocently before turning back to the boy "After this, I'm teaching you how to properly use a sword"
"Really?" Henry's eyes lit up at the prospect
"No!" both Belle and Regina scolded the Assassin
"Fine" Amelia huffed at the women behind her "But in all seriousness, you can do this, we'll be there even when you don't see anyone"
"I know thanks" he tells his friend as his face fell
"What is it?" the redhead asked the boy in concern seeing his sad face
"Mom told me about Romeo, I'm sorry you lost him"
The redhead cupped his face making him look at her "Hey, he wouldn't want you to be sad, he had a long life, he was ready to go"
"But you just got him back" he told her struggling to keep his tears back at the pain his friend was in
Henry saw her eye's gather with tears as she wiped the tear that had escaped his eye "You're right it does hurt. But in my culture death is not the end. Romeo will be waiting for me to find him again, just not here. I have comfort to know that he is happy somewhere with my Mother" she told him wiping the tear that left the boy's eye "So, you need to stop crying or I'll cry" a laugh escaped Henry's throat
"Okay" he whispered wrapping his arms around her as she brought him into a tight embrace.
"Come on" Belle interrupted the pair making them pull out of the hug. With a parting smile Amelia stepped back allowing the librarian to guide the boy into the back room with Emma, Gold and Mary Margaret waiting for them.
But something made Amelia freeze on the floor she was stood upon. On the counter Henry was blocking out the sight of her Black Widow robe, the same she wore for all those year's that brought terror to those who saw it, that made their blood run cold knowing that that was the sight they would know before their lives were cut short. Next to them sat her brown leather gauntlets that split the most blood out of all her weapons and 'the twins" the identical set of daggers that were never separated from the other since they were forged for Master Iago by their expert blacksmith in Monteriggioni, the same blacksmith that made her hidden blades.
It was calling out for her, begging to be put back on. It made her sick to her stomach with the only remedy was to put it back on to feel the material of the robe against her skin, snug around her body. It moved with every swing, every thrust, and every kill until it got it's fill. She had been starving herself from it for so long, she just needed to put it back on.
And the only way to satisfy its hunger once and for all was with Pan's blood.
"Melia?" Regina's voice finally brought Amelia out of her trance "What is it?"
"Rumple told me he needed the Black Widow when the time came, to do what I'm good at" Regina looked at the set of robes that made their partnership so memorable to those against them
"No" Regina told the woman "You can't" she pleaded with
"I have to, it's the only way" she tells the former Queen "Pan left me for dead in the vault, the only reason I was able to get to you was because my father pushed me to get up and fight"
"So, you're going to listen to some ghost over everything we've been through to get here-"
"At least it got me here" Amelia interrupted the Queen "While I darkened my heart to serve you he was trapped on Neverland through all of it, from running from the only home I knew, to meeting John to losing him to finding you again" Amelia reached into her jacket and grabbed the letter that told Claudius about Romeo's treason against the Brotherhood that had him banished him to Neverland and slammed it on the counter next to her Widow's robe
It was the letter. She had it.
"Tell me you don't know what is written in that letter and I won't put it on" the Queen couldn't even look at her as her downcast eyes met the floor of the shop "This is what I have to do to save what little family I do have, then so be it" at that the Queen left her to go into the back room.
Now she needed to become the Black Widow
Upon returned from the convent, after retrieving the Dark Fairy's wand from the newly revived Blue. David, Hook and Neal let themselves into the shop in rush only to stop themselves at the scene that greeted them. Instead of Amelia Montague they found the Black Widow back in the black and red robe and hood flicking the hidden blade in and out of the familiar leather gauntlets, lock stock and barrel only with shorter hair
"Bloody Hell" Hook drawled out in a mixture of fear and surprise seeing the return of the Black Widow. A smile grew on the pirate's face as he slowly walking past the woman his eye's not leaving her figure "Welcome back Lady Widow" he says before walking into the back.
Clearing his throat, Charming pushed forward to the back-ignoring Hook's greeting towards the woman as he walked past her without a second glance
"You really think the costume change is needed" her cousin grumbled to her
"It was your father's idea actually" she tells her cousin before following him to the back room.
"She's back. The Blue Fairy" David announced to the others as he walked though with Hook behind him "She gave us the wand"
The room went deadly silent as Amelia stepped into the room behind Neal with the black and red robes fastened to her torso and her hidden blade strapped onto her forearms.
"How does it fit dearie?" Rumple asked the Widow seeing his niece back in her dark robe and hood.
"Like a glove" she told her uncle as Emma and Henry saw the Black Widow that they had only seen within the pages of the storybook, while Regina looked anywhere else but at Amelia
Emma turned back to Gold with her question "Do we need anything else?" she asked the older man
"Only one more item" he tells them as he turns to a cabinet behind him, opening it to take out a bracelet before turning back to his family
"What is that?" Mary Margaret asks him.
"This is one of the only useful things that I managed to pilfer from Greg and Tamara before they left for Neverland" he tells them before stepping closer to Henry in Pan's body "It renders anyone with magic utterly powerless.
"I haven't forgotten about all that, by the way" Regina tells Hook disdainfully
"Neither of us have" the Widow's low voice made the pirate wince as he had not heard her move to stand just behind him feeling her green eyes glare holes into the side of his head
"Let me see your wrist, Henry" the old man tells his grandson kneeling in front of him, placing the leather cuff on Pan's arm "I want to make sure when my dear old Dad awakes that he is weakened. This will lock his powers" Rumple explained to the boy
"So what happens now?" Henry asks his grandpa
"I enact the spell, you fall into a deep sleep and when you awake, you're back in your own body"
"Then you hang into that scroll and come find us as fast as you can" Regina tells him
"Tom is already waiting for you" Amelia tells the boy with a softened face making him look up at her "He'll get you back to us" Henry nodded to the redhead
Henry lets out a sighs at the lengths his family are going to fix the mistake he made by trusting Pan back in Neverland "I gave my heart to Pan. I thought I was being a hero. I'm sorry"
"You're not the one who needs to be sorry. Pan does" David tells him
"It's time" Gold announced as Regina and Emma stand from the cot to allow Henry to lie down "Keep your eye on the wand" he instructs the boy as he waves the Black Fairy's wand over his grandson's head until Henry closes his eyes.
Amelia and his family watch as a flash of light comes from the wand as Pan's body begins convulsing from the spell cast on him
"What's happening?" Emma asks the old man
"Henry's spirit is leaving Pan's body" Gold answers as The shaking continues and gradually subsides, until he's still
"It worked" the former Queen sighed in relief
"Let's go find our son" Emma stated as the group started to file out of the pawn shop. With only Belle, Neal and Amelia trailing behind as the three stop when they notices Mr. Gold is not budging from his spot
"You're not coming?" Belle asked her Uncle as he continues to stare down at his sleeping father
"No, no. I think not. My father and I have, uh... some unfinished family business" he tell her. Hesitantly Belle leaves him to it while Neal lingers for a beat longer and stares silently at Mr. Gold before leaving the back room leaving Amelia and her Uncle alone
"I hope your ready dearie?" he asked her without looking at her
"You won't see me coming"
"Good girl" at that Amelia left the old man with his father ready to finish what Pan had started.
The chase was on to find Henry. The group of hero's and villain ran down main street minus the Assassin but with the addition of Granny using her enhanced sense of smell to lead them to the boy
"I've got a scent He's nearby" Granny tells them as they continued to run
"The tower?" with a 'yeah' from the old woman the group approach the clock tower building as Henry, now back in his original body, runs out from the library with Tom the lost boy behind him
"It's me, it's me! It worked!" Henry ran toward his family in happiness of being back. He rushes to hug both Emma and Regina "Mom, mom... I just saw you guys. You guys just saw me" he told his mothers in excitement.
"Good boy" she whispered to herself as the redhead smiles at the sight of the reunion between the boy and his mothers from the top of the clock tower unseen by the others
"He's got it" Emma tells the former Queen as she is handed the scroll from Henry. When she gives it to Regina, a burst of purple light comes from the scroll and the mayor passes out onto the ground
"Regina!" the savior continues to call out to the unconscious Queen. Regina suddenly awakens whispering the savior name as she is helped up from the ground "What happened? You okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine" Regina tells them in a pensive, distracted tone
"What is it? What happened when you touched it?" Mary Margaret asked hearing the former Queen's unsure voice
"I saw what needed to be done" she tells them cryptically
"Mom, are you going to be okay?" Henry asks his mother
Regina places a hand under Henry's chin "The important thing is you will be" Henry grabs her hand in reassurance. Suddenly, the scroll disappears from Regina's palm.
"No, he won't" the group look up at the new voice to see Pan himself gasping in fear as they step away from the teen. Hook grabs he back of Tom's shirt to put himself between the boy and his former leader, as Regina and Emma pull Henry back
"He has the—"Hook goes to say only to be cut off as Pan binds everyone in place with a freezing spell.
"Curse? That I do" he confirms with a smirk "Look at you all. A captive audience. I could play with you like a pack of dolls, couldn't I? I think I'll start with these two" Pan began to move over to Belle and Neal "Hmm. You both look so adorable. Hard to tell who to kill first" Shifts his gaze between both before settling on Neal "No, it isn't. You. You first"
From behind, Mr. Gold clamps a hand on Pan's left shoulder and tugs him away from Belle and Neal "Stay away from them"
Pan turns to face his now powerless son "How about this? The worm has teeth. You're here to protect their wuved ones""
"I'm not gonna let you touch either one of them" he tells if father
"Oh, I'd like to see that" Pan retorts
"Oh, you will. Because I have a job to finish, and I have to do whatever it takes. No loopholes. And what needs to be done has a price. A price I'm finally willing to pay" he tells him before looking to Neal "-I used the curse to find you, Bae, to tell you I made a mistake. To make sure you had a chance at happiness" Pan openly laughs at his words "And that happiness is possible. Just not with me. I accept that"
"Pretty, pretty words" Pan mocks his son only for Gold to continue his goodbye
"I love you, Bae" Gold then looks to Belle "And I love you, Belle, you made me stronger"
"Stronger, yes. But still no magic" Pan retorted
"Oh, but I don't need it. You see, you may have lost your shadow, but there's one thing you're forgetting"
"And what's that?"
"So have I. I sent it away with something to hide"
He raises his hand into the air, summoning his shadow back with the dagger. Pan watches as Rumples shadow drops the dagger from the sky waiting for Rumple to catch it, only to watch it fall into the palm of a slender hand as the shadow goes back into its owner.
"Forgetting about little old me grandpa?" Amelia suddenly appeared from behind Pan making him whirl in surprise "how rude"
"Widow" the boy growled seeing the Black Widow in all her glory before him clutching the Dark One's dagger. Distracted by his nieces appearance Gold wrap's arms around his shoudlers holding him in a vice grip making the Pan struggle to get free
"What are you doing?!" Pan exclaims seeing himself trapped by Rumpelstiltskin and the Black Widow posed ready to strike
"You see, the only way for you to die, is if we both die. And my niece here had been itching to kill me for year's" he gritted into his father's ear "And now... now, I am ready"
Without hesitation and gritted teeth she thrusts the Dark One dagger into Pan's back into his heart, before pushing the blade further into his body to impale her Uncle with the tip of the blade. Meeting her Uncle's pained filled eyes over Pan's scream. He saw the regret and pain that entered the Amelia's eye as he reached around and put his hand on the handle of the dagger over her's holding her in place as he saw she wanted to back out of the plan.
After all this time she knew why she cared for the man for so long, he was the only family she had.
A cloud of black smoke covers Pan, who disappears. As the smoke dissipates, Malcolm appears in his place.
"Hello, Papa" Rumple greeted his father from when he abandoned him on Neverland
"Amelia, please" Malcolm begged the redhead that resembled his Juliet, as he shook in his son arms "You can stop this. Remove the dagger, please"
A scowl grew on the Assassins face at the begging man "You were right, I do regret not looking for my son, because I was too scared. He would hate the woman I became. But now I'm finally doing what I should've done year's ago. I'm fighting for my family"
"We can start over" he continued pleaded to his son next "We can have a happy ending"
"Oh, but I'm a villain" Gold growled into his father's ear "And villains don't get happy endings" He and Amelia twist the dagger embedding it deeper into both their wounds.
Malcolm gasps in agony as a golden light peek out from the blade and begins to shine even brighter. As Malcolm stops resisting the inevitable, Mr. Gold places a kiss on his cheek. The golden light engulfs the three as Amelia felt everything around her slow down, closing her eyes she waits to be pulled into inevitable..
The Land of Endless White
The endless and sky of white and its mirrored ground, somehow it didn't seem so frightening now as she found herself back here. The place used to plague her dreams each time she killed her first family. Looking down at the white floor was Malcom or Pan himself. He was on his side still shaking like a leaf. He seemed even more pathetic now back to his true age before Neverland's magic brought back his youth.
"Nice speech you made back there, old man" she said without looking at the man who had joined her to look at what remained of his father
"You were always a fan of hope speeches before they failed" he replied "How do feel after fulfilling your prophecy?"
"My prophecy is your demise; how do you think I should feel" she told him
"Your prophecy was to bring peace to both sides of the same coin that fought for years" Romeo told them both as he walked towards him his footsteps echoing with each step he made until he stopped on the other side of Pan "It was to wipe the slate clean of the corruption that had rotted the Brotherhood for decades, to re-build" he continued as he crouched down by Malcolm taking about a pure white feather from his robes before swiping it across Malcom's throat, making the man still as blood soaked the edge of the feather. Returning returned the feather to his person he stood back up to face her.
"You really think I can still rebuild the Brotherhood after everything I've done?" she asked her father
"Yes, you can" he told her "That's what Angelo and Claudius most feared most about you. You have the ability to stand back up even against the strongest of adversaries the prophecy is just a small part of what you are truly capable of Amelia"
"Think of this as a simple step to the person we both know you are" Rumple took over from Romeo making her look at him "When I said that when the time came I would need the Black Widow to do what you are good at-"
"You mean killing?" Amelia scoffed to herself
"Fighting for something bigger than your own revenge" Romeo corrected his daughter "A much harder fight than your fight with the Brotherhood ever was. Rumple the coward he be, may have not told you of your relation to him, but he brought back the one thing that's been missing from your life bit by bit"
A family
In a blink of an eye she found herself back in the middle of main street sat on the ground with her and breathless as the scroll containing the scroll fell onto the ground in front of her just as Pan's spell on her family faded, unfreezing them. The assassin blankly stared into space as she heard Belle's sob as she lost the man she loved collapsing onto the ground in a fit of grief as Amelia could do nothing
He was gone.
Shock and grief etched the faces of the people in the middle of main street as Amelia remained on the ground with her head bowed after guilt and sadness washed over the former Assassin for sending the dagger into his heart via Pan or Malcom. She wanted to scream and rant until she lost her voice. But nothing came out, not a whimper, not a sound.
"No... Rumple! He's-he's gone!"" Belle wept for her true love as Regina stepped forward toward the scroll picking it up in her hand
"Regina? Are you okay?" Mary Margaret asks the troubled former Queen
"I'm fine" she answers the former Princess standing back up from the ground
Emma walks over to Neal to comfort the man after losing his father "I'm so sorry"
"My father did what he had to do. He saved us" Neal tells the savior before he look at the Queen "Regina, don't let him die for nothing" he told her only to get no response from the sorceress "Regina?"
"What?" the Queen asked in confusion
"We've here for a reason, love" Hook reminded the group "Pan?"
"Is dead" the others heard Amelia's voice crack answering Hook's question as they found her back on her feet "There's no coming back from where I just sent him and Rumple" she gulped with downcast eyes. Hook accepted the answer from the Assassin.
"His curse remains" the pirate argued to the Queen "Can you stop it, or shall we all preparing our souls 'cause mine is gonna take some time"
Hook was interrupted as Leroy came running down the street to them "It's here! The curse, it's here! It's coming from all sides! There's no escape" he told the hero's and villains as Amelia could hear the rumblings of the curse for the first time in thirty years in the distance
"It's not too late" David tells the dwarf "We can still stop it, right? Regina?"
"Yes. Yes" Regina tells them
"W-what's the price?" Emma asks the brunette "Gold said there is a price. What is our price?"
The Queen turns around to face the group "It's not our price. It's mine" she corrects the savior
"What are you talking about?"
"It's what I felt when I... first held it. I have to say goodbye to the thing I love most" she says as she looks to Henry. Emma motions her son forward to take him into her arms
"Henry?"
Regina nods "I can never see him again. I have no choice. I have to undo what I started"
"The curse that brought us to Storybrooke" Mary Margaret says in realization
"That created Storybrooke" Regina corrects the teacher "It doesn't belong here, and neither do any of us"
"Breaking the curse destroys the town" David summarized
"It will wink out of existence as though it were never here. And everyone will go back to where they are from. Prevented from ever returning"
"You'll go back to the Enchanted Forest?" Emma speculated
"All of us" Regina corrects her "Except Henry. He will stay here because... he was born here"
"Alone?"
"No, you will take him. Because you're the savior. And you were created to break the curse. And once again, you can escape it"
"I-I don't want to. We'll both go back with everyone"
"That's not an option. I can't be with him. If I don't pay the price, none of this will work" she tells the blonde as the curse's thunder sounds near in the distance.
"Emma, you have to go" Mary Margaret tells her daughter
"I just found you" the blonde protested
"And now it's time for you to leave us again. For your best chance. For his"
"No. N-no. I'm-I'm not... done. I'm the savior, right? I'm supposed to bring back all the happy endings. That's what Henry always said."
Mary Margaret gives her daughter a watery smile "Happy endings aren't always what we think they will be. Look around you. You've touched the lives of everyone here"
"But we're a family" Emma tells her mother
"Yes, and we always will be. You gave us that"
"You and Henry can be a family" David tells her "You can get your wish. You can be like everyone else. You can be happy"
"It's time to believe in yourself, Emma. There's time for you to find hope"
Regina steps forward to speak to Emma "I've known you for some time and all I wanted was for you to get the hell out of my life so I can be with my son. But really... What I want is for Henry to be happy. We have no choice. You have to go"
"Okay" Emma whispers reluctantly
The curse was coming, and there was no stopping it, but they could at least save two people from what was coming next. The town had gathered at the town line to say their goodbyes to Emma and Henry as the woman's yellow bug waited for it owner to take them over the line and into the land of no magic. In the distance the green smoke of Pan's curse thundered it way towards them.
Amelia stood by Hook's side with crossed arms across her chest as they watched Emma say her goodbyes to the residents of Storybrooke that wanted to see her on her way.
"Out of morbid curiosity" Amelia started while she watched Emma say goodbye to her parents and Henry spoke to his adopted mother "why the sudden interest in my well being?"
"Your father" he answered her "He asked me to keep an eye on you after he passed"
"Good job. I was stabbed"
A chuckle escaped the pirates throat as he kept an eye on Emma speaking to Neal across the road "Aye but you weren't going to die, it'll take something much stronger to take out the Widow"
"That still means that will never happen" she told him as Henry walked over to her.
She stepped forward to meet him in the middle, dropping onto the ground and engulfing the boy into her arms as he held the redhead as tight as his arms could as he did the same. Hearing a sniffle from the boy Amelia pulled back taking his face into her hands
"Hey, no tears, you promised" she told the boy wiping away a stray tear from his cheek as an involuntary sniffle came from herself
"Okay" he nodded at the woman "I'm going to miss you"
"Not as much as I'll miss you, but you'll be okay, you're stronger than you think young man" she sniffed as her own promise was being broken "You are named after a man I came to care for as a father, he never saw the darkness in my heart, he saw the person that always existed in me that I hadn't seen in years. Just like you have. You've given me a second chance I thought I would never have. I'll look after your Dad okay, make sure he doesn't do anything silly" the Assassin gave the boy a cheeky wink as a teary laugh left Henry as he threw himself into her arms once again
"Lia…" Emma's timid voice interrupted the hug making Amelia let Henry go and stand up straight to face the teary-eyed savior. Amelia encouraged the boy to his father and grandparents.
"There's worse way's to go Swan" she told the blonde with a deep sigh "Where else are we gonna get a view like this?" nodding her head towards the crowd that had gathered at the town line to say goodbye to the savior and her son.
"I don't know how to repay you for everything you've done" she told the Assassin
"By living the life I helped your parents to keep. You don't owe me anything. Ever" at that Emma took the Assassin by surprise into a crushing hug that the red head readily mirrored
"Thank you" Emma whispered into Amelia's ear before the pair separated.
The redhead headed to stand with her cousin their eye's meeting for the first time since putting the dagger into his heart, her eye's full of regret of what she had to do to rid themselves of Pan forever, seeing this Neal gave his younger cousin a nod of reassurance that they were okay. That she wouldn't lose the little family she did have as a small hand grabbed her hand; a teary smile grew on the redhead as she looked down at the boy that had taken a spot in her heart for the rest of her life.
Maybe in another life she and Regina adopted him together they would've had the life they had talked about during the weeks leading up to the curse. But in the end maybe it worked out the best this way.
Mary Margaret and David took a step to the right to let the assassin join them with Henry's hand still in her hand as Neal slung an arm around his son's shoulder as they watched Regina step up to the blonde as Hook walked back to David's other side
"Emma. There's something I haven't told you" the former Queen addressed the blonde.
"What now?" Emma sighed.
"When the curse washes over us, it will send us all back. Nothing will be left behind. Including your memories. It's just what the curse does. Storybrooke will no longer exist. It won't ever have existed. So these last years will be gone from both your memories. Now we'll go back to being just stories again" she informed the blonde
"What will happen to us?"
"I don't know"
"Doesn't sound like much of a happy ending" Emma told the woman
Regina chuckled at the blonde's words "It's not. But I can give you one"
"You can preserve our memories?"
"No, I can... do what I did to everyone else in this town. And give you new ones"
"You cursed them and they were miserable"
"They didn't have to be" Regina tells her grasping Emma's hands "My gift to you is good memories, good life for you and-" She turns to look at Henry. Amelia let's go of the boy's hand to let him go to Emma's side as the thunder claps loudly behind them before he comes to her side " —Henry. You'll have never given him up. You'll have always been together"
"You would do that?"
"When I stop Pan's curse and you cross that town line, you will have the life you always wanted"
"But it won't be real" Emma argues.
"Well, your past won't. But your future will. Now go. There isn't much time left till the curse will be here any minute" she encourages the pair as Henry gives her one last hug. She kisses him on the forehead as they part.
Amelia watched as Regina stepped aside to let Mary Margaret approach her tear eyed daughter taking her face into her hands before planting a loving kiss on her forehead before stepping back to stand with Regina
With curse is rapidly surging towards the group as Emma and Henry walk towards the car and get in. Regina tears off a piece of the Dark Curse scroll as it glows purple. She crumbles it into a ball and generates it into magic on both her hands to strike the massive cloud of green smoke as a counter effect
As the purple smoke engulfed the residents of Storybrooke Regina looked back to see the yellow bug crossing the town line as she felt something grab her hand, making her look to her right to see Amelia staring right back at her. The Queen gave the Assassin a sad smile before the smoke became thicker taking them away from the land of no magic.
Enchanted Forest
Opening her eye's, she was no longer looking down the long cement road that brought Emma into Storybrooke in her yellow bug. She was breathing in the fresh air of the Enchanted Forest with the green grass under her leather boot's that encased her feet as she heard the sound of the gentle breeze shift the leaves in the trees. They were back.
They were home.
To her right Regina was right by her side with her hand still in her's staring blankly as her heart broke from letting her son go.
"Snow?" a voice said in surprise. Amelia looked at Princess Aurora blankly as the last few minutes caught up with her "What happened?"
"We're back"
AN: And we made it!
Thanks to everyone who has read up to this point. Can't wait to start posting Chapters for the second half of Season 3. Possibly on of the best story arcs I've written and the most difficult.
You guys might have to wait for updates this week because I'm busy, but I'll try my best!
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