AN: For reference the outfit for Amelia in Elysium is 'Pilgrim Set' from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. And Kassandra's outfit is 'The Mercenary Set' from the same game (Disclaimer: I don't own the game or the designs, that all down to the amazing Ubisoft Design Team).
And to get a please feel free to have a look of how Elysium looks like. I based it of the DLC of the Odyssey game named above. Look for videos on YouTube and search for 'Walking Tours' or 'Free Roam' of the DLC gameplay. Ubisoft really outdid themselves creating it and it's gorgeous!
""And beyond the Elysian Fields and the Garden of Eden I will look for the path that leads to your heart.".."
Fields of Elysium
Warm.
That's what she felt as she fell into the endless abyss that was the cavern in the Underworld. For the first time in weeks she felt the bright light bathing her in warmth as moved on from the place she had been stuck in what seemed like years.
That what she felt when she gently blinded herself awake the redheaded assassin found herself on her side on a wooden cot with her head resting comfortably on a pillow with a hand tucked under it.
simple surrounded in four simple walls around her with minimal furniture around her, the assassin sat herself up to sit on the edge of the cot as she took a moment to take in her new surroundings as she noticed what she was wearing.
It nothing like the assassin robes she wore back home. The sleeveless white and red accented robe came in one piece that stopped just midthigh that covered her chest and stomach, leaving her arms bare to the air finding her gauntlets strapped to her forearms. As her feet met the ground instead of feeling the cool tiled floor she felt the pair of knee high sandless covering her bare feet and calf's.
"Weird" she whispered to herself as she reached back behind her braided hair that sat comfortably on her shoulder to find simple cloth hood laid behind her head.
Standing from the cot, she looked down at the simple attire she had woken up in to find a brown leather belt that sat loosely around her hips. She needed to find out where she was.
Finding a wooden door across the room, her exit from the simple house she had woken up in was in sight.
Crossing the simple room, she opened the door wide only to be blinded by the bright sunshine overhead making her turn her head away shielding her eyes with her arm and hand until the brightness subsided and she looked out to the place she had woken up in. Clear blue sky met her sight as she felt the warmth of the sun beat down onto her skin, the same warmth that she felt when she jumped into the light in the Underworld. Not a cloud was in sight to ruin the perfect day with rain.
Looking down from the sky, small houses surrounded hers on different levels connected by stone staircases as 'villagers' walked past, either alone, in pairs or three's quietly conversing to themselves as they went on with their daily routines below her. Finding a stone staircase the assassin slowly descended into the square that held a fountain off to the side with statues of loins flanking it. Her presence went unseen until her sandal covered feet met the stone cobblestone square as the 'villager's' stopped what they were doing to look straight at her.
Men, woman and children stopped what they were doing for a second to see her before going back to whatever they were doing leaving a few hushed whispers reached her ear's.
"She's here" and "She's awake" rumbled through the villagers as a few continued to look back at her between tasks.
"Forgive them" an accented voice she didn't know told her, making her whip around to catch sight of brown-haired woman stood in front of her in a set of brown leather armour covering her chest and torso. A red shawl draped around the back of her shoulders pinned together at the front by a bronze pendent that had the image of an eagle embossed upon it. A pair of gauntlets sat on her forearms leaving the rest of her muscular arm exposed for the redheaded assassin to see the scars that littered the olive skin. The same went for her thighs that hid behind the leather skirt of her armour above the bronze strapped around her shins and calf's. Her long brown hair was tied back in a messy braid, the woman paused like she was waited for Amelia to read her. She was a warrior.
"You've caused quite the stir when they heard you were here" the stranger continued "It is not everyday someone like you comes here these days" the woman informs her.
"Someone like me?" she quired with the woman.
"A Hero" she remarked to her with a gentle smile "My name is Kassandra" she introduces herself brining a closed fist to her chest with a curt bow of her head in greeting taking the assassin by surprise.
"Amelia" she introduces herself as Kassandra stood back up straight.
"We know who you are Amelia" Kassandra tells her "But more importantly what you have done. It's what brought you here when you left the part of the Underworld that Hades used to rule over".
"This part?" she questions her in confusion.
"While the God Hades ruled over the land of lost souls in the afterlife. A Goddess rules over this part that welcomes people like you after they die. Come I will show you".
Motioning her to follow, Kassandra takes her out of her village to a large square stone courtyard that had four stone columns on each corner of the square, dead leaves littered the ground as Amelia saw the horizon as she stepped closer to the railing that enclosed the open space to see open field of flowers in every direction. An endless waterfall enclosed the world she had woken up in as tall cliffs stood in the distance was stone temples built upon them. It was breath-taking.
She had really done it. She had moved on.
"Welcome to Elysium Amelia Montague" Kassandra's voice made her take her eye's off the scenery to look at the warrior next to her "Follow me. Persephone has been waiting meet you for some time".
?
She hadn't left the floor ever since her admission about struggling to keep the Black Widow at bay. Not a word had been said between the groups of heroes and former villains as Snow took a seat on next to the redhead, giving the woman as much space as needed while giving all the support she needed at that moment as she let the news of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours or so sink in.
Teetering between good and evil was exhausting. Having to fight back every killer instinct that had been drilled into her head from the age of five until she was eighteen had been pushed down by the voice in her head that told her that she couldn't give into those instincts anymore. She had used them to ease the pain in her heart from losing her first love and her son. And now she would have to do it all over again as the noise of Hook attempting to pick their way out of the cage himself with his hook grated on her mind as Zelena watched from the other end of the cage the pirate failing time and time again.
"Did you get into your own rum?" Zelena said to the pirate from her end of the cage "You believe that's going to work when my magic can't?".
"Well, I suppose I could just do nothing, but then again, that's your job!" he retorted angrily at the woman.
"If you really want to get out of here, I can arrange a trip right back to the Underworld!" she retorted closing the distance between them before David got in between them as the assassin remained silent with her eye's closed trying to block their voices out of her head.
"Stop it!" the Prince yelled at the arguing pair "Now, we need to be patient. The Groundsman promised to fix the wand and bring it back to us".
"Unfortunately, I was only able to keep half my promise" the groundsman announced as he entered the room making the redheaded assassin open her eye's.
"What do you mean? Where's the wand?" Zelena demanded out of the man.
"I repaired it, but then the Warden took it from me" he reported to the prisoners as he quickly ascending the stairs up the cage "I didn't come empty-handed, though" he said holding up a key in one hand and a silver dagger that Amelia recognised straight away which made her stand from her spot on the floor to the front with Snow following her "Seems the Orderly, he enjoyed a little bit too much whiskey today".
"We need to get the wand back from that warden" Snow spoke up from next to Amelia "Do you know where he is?".
"Eh, no, uh, but first things first, before we find him, we must have a way to defeat him" he said turning the key in the lock "He's quite powerful. Now, I might have a way, but it is dangerous" the groundsman adds opening the door for the prisoners.
"Hasn't stopped us before" the Princess stated as she led her husband and Zelena out of the cage, before Hook and Amelia finally stepped out of their shared prison.
"I think this belongs to you" the man says handing the redhead her the silver dagger she had found buried with her.
"Thanks" she tells him gratefully taking the weapon off him "I had more. Where are they?" referring to her gauntlets that had been taken off her arms while she was unconscious.
"H-here" he said pulling out her gauntlets from his coat pockets handing them over the to assassin only for them to fall apart in her hands. A leather brace literally fell apart from where it had been cut open length ways by a pair of blunt scissors exposing the small delicate parts of the mechanism of the hidden blades that had been removed that now lied scattered in the husk of the remaining gauntlet.
The sight made her heart skip a beat as she looked at the broken and torn reminder of her father in her hands.
"M-my apologies" the groundsman's stuttered out seeing the look on the woman's face "It seems the Warden got to them first. The Brotherhood's infamous hidden blade has always been a fascination of his".
Ignoring the pang in her heart over the pair of gauntlets that got her through everything she safely slipped the broken weapons in her robe before leaving the groundsman with Hook.
The man went to follow the assassin only to be pulled back by the pirate "I just went to Hell and back. I'm not afraid of your Warden" Hook warns the groundsman.
"Then follow me".
The groundsman had taken them to a small cobble stoned township where it was packed with people and market stalls. But the thing that made the group take pause was how everyone was so differently dressed. Some were dressed like they had just stepped out of the Enchanted Forest, some with more formal suits and dresses, some wore uniforms, and, in the corner the redheaded Assassin spotted a bearded man with a white hood looking straight at her.
But the thing that made her pause was sight of his wedding finger completely missing from his left hand as only a stub of the finger remined. His gaze met her's as spark recognition of the Brotherhood they both belonged to stuck them as the man gave her a friendly smile before being a closed fist to his chest giving her a nod of acknowledgment before she followed the others through the tightly spaced marketplace.
"Bloody hell" Hook drawled at the amount people around them.
"Where are we?" David asked the groundsman as they stood taking in their surroundings.
"It's like all the realms all at once" Snow added.
"You're closer than you think" he answered their growing questions "This land is a refuge filled with outcasts from all over. Each forced to flee their problems. Each finding safe haven here".
"Forced to flee from what?" Snow asked the man.
"Well, the reasons are as varied as the populace, and everyone has their own tale" he tells them "That's why this place has come to be known as "The Land of Untold Stories.".
"It's a tad ironic of a name, no, given that this land is seemingly filled with stories" Hook said aloud.
"Perhaps, but there's only one story we need to worry about right now. That's our own" the groundsman pointed out to the group as he continued to led them away to a way out of the realm.
"Right, and that story better end with us getting back to our world" Hook tells him as they readily led the other away as Amelia hung back a second or two longer looking for the assassin that she had found only see the place he had been occupying void of his presence. She hated when they did that.
New York
"Tom! Tom, will you stop?" MJ ran after her boyfriend in the busy streets on New York. He could kick himself for allowing Gold to take back the piece of Olympian crystal so easily and without a fight. And to make things worse Emma and Regina had found them to rub salt into the wound. Leaving in the library the pair had left the boys with their 'girlfriends' to find the man themselves the old=fashioned way now that the former Queen's magic was no longer working in the Land of No Magic.
Slipping out of the library Tom and Henry stormed down the bust New York streets to fix their mistake as Violet and MJ hurrying behind them to catch up with the angry teenagers with their mind on a mission to find their Great Uncle and Grandfather themselves.
"Your Mom and Emma told us to wait back in the library" Violet called out to Henry as he followed his older cousin down the street as the girls tried their best to calm them down from doing something stupid and dangerous "They could be in trouble".
"And since when do you care what they say?" Henry glowered in reply "You already ran away with us. You lied about the Dark Grail" he reminds her.
"Tom" MJ finally stopped him by grabbing his hand, making him stop and look at their joined hands. He hated the way his hand attached to her's like a magnet sometimes. Always seeking it out whenever she was near. The feeling of her hand in his made the red cloud in his mind evaporate as the embarrassment melted away to focus solely on her. She was the most important thing in that second.
He forgot the people passing by him and MJ as his eye's met her's. He wondered if his Mom felt the same way whenever she had Regina's hand in her's.
The feeling on her hand in his, the embarrassment he felt a second ago drained away as she become the only thing important in that minute, the busy New York streets melted away as he focused solely on her. He wondered if his mother ever felt like this whenever Regina held her hand "I know your scared and if you really think this is the best thing to do, I'll help you We'll help you both".
His eye's flicked over to Violet to see her nod at him, confirming what MJ had said to him, before he looks back to his crush. Some of the weight on his shoulder's had lifted allowing him to take him a lungful of air as he
"Thank you" he breathed out, before pulling her along to continue their journey to find the Dark One with Henry and Violet behind them.
"But I hope you have a good plan, because we don't have magic and we have no idea where your uncle and Grandfather is" Violet voiced to the pair as they heard thunder rumble above them.
"Actually, I think I do" Tom said as he pointed towards one of the tall New York buildings in the distance with dark clouds with lightning bolt overhanging just that one building.
Nearer to the building in with dark storm clouds around it Regina and Emma stood on the sidewalk on the opposite street looking up at the thundering clouds overshadowing the building they knew Gold was in.
"Gold might have magic on his side. But he sure isn't subtle" Regina drawled the saviour.
"If I know Henry and Tom, they've already disobeyed us. We should call and tell them to stay put" Emma says as the former Queen taking out her phone.
"Which would work if I hadn't torched their phones" the dark brunette points out as Emma reads a frantic text message from Granny back home.
"What the hell?" the blonde trailed off reading the text message.
"What's wrong?" Regina quickly asks her.
"It's Granny" Emma tells her "Something's happened in Storybrooke. My parents, Hook, and your sister were pulled through some kind of portal".
"Again? To where?".
"Granny is an expert on lasagne, not magic. All she says is that they vanished with the Sorcerer's wand and never came back" she adds only to re-read the last part of the text that made her eye's widen and look up at the woman in front of her.
"Oh, what now?" Regina snaps at the blonde "Did the dwarves get sucked in as well?".
Worried eyes met hers as Emma tried to think of a way to tell the former Queen the last part of the message Granny had sent "She says she saw Amelia running up Main Street heading straight for Zelena, before getting pulled in with the rest of them".
She was alive. Her soulmate had made it back to her and now she was somewhere that wasn't' home.
Thunder rumbled above them as the former Queen stood in silence as she took in the news that her true love was alive while Emma waited for the woman to say anything until Regina took her by surprise as she looked up to the building Gold was holed up in with a look of determination etched her face before she marched towards the building, leaving the saviour to run after her.
"Regina. Hey!" Emma called after the woman only to end up following her to the entrance to the hotel "They might all be in danger We have to bring them home. and I don't know if what she says about Amelia is true".
"Well, the only way to do that is to get our magic back from Gold" Regina argued as Emma finally got a hand on the woman to stop her.
"What are you doing? We need a plan" the blonde tells her.
"I have one. I still have a fist. Gold still has a nose. If you don't like it, I'll do this alone" Regina tells her.
"I get it. I want to help my family, too, but we have to be smart about this. Lia would want you to be smart about this" giving the saviour a reluctant nod of her head, the former Queen looked to the blonde for their next move "Now think, what would Amelia do?".
With the plan made between them, the former Queen found herself knocking on the door of the hotel room Gold was in, knocking on the door that had a 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging from the handle, the woman didn't have to wait long for the man inside to answer it to see her on the other side.
"Didn't you see the sign?" he greeted her with pointing to the sign on the doorhandle.
"We need to talk. Alone" she retorts stepping into the room without an invitation from her old teacher "The Saviour doesn't even know I'm here" she continues seeing the table full of chalked runes written on the surface, the source of the black clouds above them.
"So, what makes you think I have any interest in talking to you?" he replies making his way towards the table that seemed to the be the source of his current mission.
"Because the storm clouds outside tell me you haven't been able to wake Belle yet. And apparently, it's not from a lack of trying. Seems to me like you can use the help of your best student" she offers to the sorcerer, making him chuckle at her choice of words.
"Yes, but we both know that's not you, dearie" he tells her "My best student was a Queen. You have her buried under layers of tasteful cotton and good intentions. Such a pity" he add turning his back to her in disinterest to look out of the floor to ceiling window.
"What if I told you I was ready to let her back out? What if I told you I am sick of losing everyone I care about?".
"Well, I'd say "What's changed?"".
"Zelena" she simply states "She's in trouble. All because the heroes convinced her to use the Sorcerer's Wand, and now they're trapped in another realm" she told him. He didn't need to know about Amelia just yet if she had any chance of their plan to work. She would be keeping that piece of information close to her heart for now, until she was completely sure that what Granny had seen was true.
"What makes you think I would ever help Zelena?" Gold asks turning back to face her.
"Because you need me" she answers him "You need the Evil Queen. I don't want to lose one more person I love. Not after what happened to Amelia" despite the knowledge that her love was still alive somewhere, her voice gave away the hurt of losing her as she felt her throat choke by simply saying her name.
"Well, perhaps you're right. Perhaps we can help one another" he changes his mind accepting his former student's offer of help as he approaches her "May I?" he asks indicating to her long black coat. Accepting his offer the former Queen turns her back to him, taking off her coat for him to take off her shoulders "Now, let's talk about finding your sister".
Elysium
Persephone's Temple
She didn't know how to describe Elysium, it was beautiful, simple as. Amelia followed Kassandra on horseback as they travelled across the realm from the village, she had woken up in to take her to the Persephone's Temple to speak to the goddess herself. She didn't know what to expect form the goddess of the underworld, springtime, flowers and blooming. But if Hades was anything to go by, she would have to keep her guard up around her.
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. From the stories her mother had left, Persephone was taken from her mother by Hades only to return home to her mother in the springtime and summer, the rest of the year she was trapped.
However, that wasn't the impression of being a prisoner as she and Kassandra made their way through the large marble temple full to the brim of people with smile on their faces eating and drinking to the goddess rule over this part of the Underworld. The temple overshadowed the pair as they climbed the stone steps up to the Temple the Goddess resided in. Stood in front of the wooden doors that separated her from the goddess inside, she couldn't help but feel a ball a apprehension grow in her chest at the prospect of meeting another god so soon after meeting the one of the worst someone could meet.
"Are you ready?" Kassandra's accent reached her ears having seen to hesitation in the redhead's feature's. Squaring her shoulder's and straightening her back she felt her confidence grow back as she gave the warrior next to her a firm nod of her head.
Pulling the heavy doors open, the pair entered the long throne room surround by foliage as two reflecting pools stretched up the aiel with side of them as lily pads and flowers floated on the surface of the still water. Tall gold and cobalt blue columns held the roof luxurious throne room as sunlight streamed into the room through the paned windows.
"Amelia Montague!" she heard a voice call out her name in front of them making her look towards the 'throne' to see a beautiful redheaded woman in calf length pure white chiton. that was held up by two broaches on either shoulder with a belt tightly holding the lightweight garment at her slender waste.
The circlet of flowers that sat on the top of her head looked more like a crown completed the goddess's appearance as she looked upon the newest hero to join her kingdom in the Underworld.
"Welcome to Elysium Amelia".
"Ah, thank you, uh Your Majesty" Amelia called the goddess. She wasn't sure how to address her, she was this realm's ruler.
"A simple 'Persephone' will do just fine in my realm" Persephone gently corrects the assassin as she slowly descended the steps down to the assassin "Formalities are for the boring-isn't that they say?".
"No offence but formalities usually kept my head on my neck" the assassin retorted making the god smile to herself.
"Ah yes but you are not in the Enchanted Forest anymore. There are no King's or Queen's here. Only the souls of most heroic and virtuous come when they die. To live out the rest of eternity in paradise".
"Still doesn't explain why I'm here" Amelia rebuts. She wasn't a hero. Far from one. The goddess gave her no indication of answering her question as she looked behind the assassin to the mercenary behind her who had stood silently behind her waiting to be acknowledged.
"Kassandra" Persephone addresses the mercenary "Thank you for bringing her to me, you may leave us".
With a curt nod the brown-haired woman turned and left the assassin to speak to the assassin in private closing the heavy doors they had just walked through firmly shut behind her.
"Come you must sit with me. I will explain everything to you as best as I can" Persephone invites the redhead to walk with her towards her throne.
"So, Elysium belongs to you?" Amelia open's the conversation between the pair.
"I suppose it does. I know every flower, every face. A 'gift' from my husband Hades to shape my own prison to my liking" she tells the assassin as they ascend the stone step up to the large throne that sat in the centre flanked by a pair of white pillars encircled by golden ivory.
"Husband?" she questioned the goodness not sure if she has heard her right. Hades was married this whole time? Did Zelena know?.
"In name only" Persephone quickly supplies to the assassin as they came to the throne "I have not seen him in centuries. And now, thanks to his true love. I will never have to the malakas face ever again" she adds sitting in the throne.
"He's dead?".
"Yes" she confirms inviting the assassin to sit on a chair that seemed to come from nowhere. Taking the seat the assassin listened to the story of Hades death in Storybrooke.
"He was killed by his True Love Zelena with an Olympian Crystal. The only thing that could kill a god like me" she informs the assassin "My dear Husband had plans on creating a new kingdom in the Land of No Magic to rule over alongside his True Love the Wicked Witch. But his downfall came when he asked her to kill her sister. She was wrong to think that her love for him could change him. He never wanted to change, not even at a chance for love. So, she killed him instead".
"Oh Zelena" she found herself saying feeling sorry for the woman, who had scarified her chance at true love for her sister. She had been adamant that she would be able to change him, to sway him towards the light so to speak, like Regina and herself had done by simply being together.
"Your saviour only found out who to kill a God thanks to her loves endeavours in the Underworld".
"Hook got the message to them?" Amelia asked the goddess, her interest peaking at the mention of the one handed pirate she had left behind.
"He did" she tells her "My father is planning to reward him for defeating his brother".
"Wait. If Hades is dead. Doesn't' that mean you're free to leave?".
"It's true. I can return to my mother Demeter, whenever I wish. But I have grown fond on this place. I have my friend Hekate to keep me company while I am down here. I have my own place in down here Amelia".
"What about me? No offence, but I don't think I'm in the right place".
She should be in Valhalla. That's what she had been taught by Romeo and the other assassin's when they died. They would meet in Odin's great hall and feast until they were called to fight when Ragnarök came. Not in Elysium.
"You are in the right place Amelia Montague. I convinced my father Zeus, the King of the Gods, to buy your soul from Odin some years ago, to make sure you came here when you died".
"You bought my soul?" she didn't know whether to feel offended or relieved that the Gods literally bought and sold people's souls. For what? Entertainment?
"It's sounds worse than it is. The one-eyed, old man would've kept you in Niflheim for the rest of eternity if we hadn't".
"But why?".
"You may have been brought up with the stories of Odin and Valhalla by your father and the other assassins in your Brotherhood. But you, have believed in us much longer than you have than you've believed in gods with magical hammers. From the stories your mother collected, the ones you've read repeatedly, you even named your horse after one of our hero's. Achilles. You could even meet the man himself if you so wished. They're all here" she added with a smile teasing to appear on her lips.
"You've believed in us your whole life Amelia. When the old gods like Odin and Freya forgot about you when you darkened your heart. We remembered the girl that believed in the Minotaur and Hero's. This is where you belong Amelia. Among the hero's you've only just read about until now".
"As a Hero".
Land of Untold Stories
The Land of Untold Stories. At least she knew where they were now. This new realm lived up to its name as she followed the Groundsman to a house sandwiched in a whole row of houses that looked almost the same as the next. Entering one, as the group followed the groundsman taking them to the top floor into a room that held numerous pieces of equipment covered in cobwebs, she had only seen Regina use when she was brewing a new potion to use against Snow and her Prince Charming that week.
"Yes, this is where I lived when I was still a doctor at the hospital" the groundsman tells then as he turns on the lights as they all filtered into the room with Hook closing them in as Zelena sauntered over to the dusty mantlepiece over the fireplace sliding her gloved finger across the surface gathering up the thick layer of dirt onto her finger.
"So, not many maids with untold stories, then" Zelena complains to the man blowing the dirt off her finger with a grimace as the assassin watched the man that had freed them from the cage pick up a glass test tube with blue liquid inside.
"What's that?" Amelia asked the man in a mix of curiosity and concern at what he could have in his hand.
"A serum I created, designed to separate the good from the evil in someone" he tell the redhead "It's what we're going to use to defeat the Warden".
"Well, how? I didn't exactly see any good in him" Hook commented at the man's explanation.
"Uh, it... it's there. And the good has been fighting to get out for a long time, but it never could. Till now" the man says taking out a flower from his pocket"
"The flower... it's from the vine you were trimming back in the garden" David remembers as a confused look grows on the assassin's face that didn't go unnoticed by Zelena.
"Oh you were still unconscious after you tried to kill me" the witch reminded her with a toothy grin before it fell from her face "Should've kept you there if it were up to me" she mumbles out still loud enough for her sister-in-law to hear.
"Yes. The final ingredient" the groundsman says as he clips the bottom of the plant off before allowing its nectar drop into the blue liquid. Corking the tube the groundsman picked it back up swirling it in his hand until the blue liquid turned pinkish red inside "If only he knew I was growing it right under his nose".
"Actually, he did" a new voice entered the room making the other's whirl around to see a man in a white jacket enter the room with a baton on his hand, waving it threateningly towards the other's in warning as Amelia stood her ground taking out the dagger, putting herself in between the groundsman and the new face she didn't know.
"Back off!" he warns the redhead only for the redhead to hear it as an invitation to put an end to his threats herself.
"Lia! Don't!" the warnings went unheard as the baton sparked to life before it was sent into the assassin's stomach sending her flying into the wall behind her, making her drop the dagger in the middle of the room allowing the man a clear pathway to the groundsman. Leaving the assassin the feel the full force of mortality as her pain roared in pain.
"I don't understand. You... you were passed out drunk" the man stuttered in disbelief.
"I let you get away so you could finish your serum. Now let's show the Warden what you've done" the man says as he easily puts the groundsman in a headlock, forcing vial of blue liquid into his mouth before letting the man go as he starts to groan in pain.
"Get away!" the groundsman warned the other's as he hunched over in pain.
"What did you do to him?" David demanded out of the new face as crossed the room to Hook to drag Amelia back to her feet as she blinked away the black spots that threatened to take over once again.
"You have to run!" the man warns the others as he screams out again before hunching over his clothes ripping apart at the seams.
"David, I think I know what story our good doctor is from" Snow told her husband as the continued to watch the scene unfold in front of them.
"Dr. Jekyll, which means he's..." David trails off for his wife to finish off as the Warden's face replaced that of the groundsman.
"Mr. Hyde" Snow breathed out.
"Mr. Who? Who's Mr. Hyde?" Hook frantically asked the couple in confusion.
"You really need to read more Killian" the assassin added from next to him as he kept a firm grip of the woman's arm as the transformation was nearly complete.
"You know what I say?" Zelena interjected conjuring a green flame in her hand "Shoot first, ask questions later!" she quickly released the fireball hitting the man directly in his chest only for it to absorb into his body and in the end completing his transformation into Mr. Hyde.
"Jekyll was right" Snow said "Run! Run" at that the group turned and ran out of the room, Hook unknowingly let go the weakened assassin as she slipped on the carpet under her feet in her haste to leave. Turning on her back to see the man that had electrocuted her earlier coming for her only for Hyde to stop his orderly.
"No!" his voice thundered the room making Poole freeze. She could feel her dagger at finger's reach that had fallen to the floor the first time as Hyde looked down her almost with intrigued, like he was looking for something.
"Run" he simply told her. She didn't need to be twice knowing she couldn't face him alone with the kind of strength he had, she grabbed the dagger and headed straight to the door without looking back.
Forcing her legs forward she found the others outside ready to storm the house again she assumed for her as she felt her her stomach twist uncomfortably.
"Lia! Are you okay" Snow exclaimed in concern as she tried to grab the redhead in bone crushing hug only for the assassin to quickly bypass her as she felt bile come up her throat, she just about made it to wall when the bile finally came out of her mouth on the stone ground.
"Ugh" she heard Zelena grimiest in disgust. Hook and David looked way as Snow did her best to comfort the hunched over assassin trying to pull the long red hair out of the way as she continued to heave and gag with nothing coming up. She couldn't remember the last time she ate when she was alive "Please tell us you're not pregnant again".
"Zelena" Snow chastised the woman giving the witch a look that told her shut up earning an eyeroll before turning back to the assassin as the dry heaving had subsided "Amelia are you okay?"
"I feel much better actually" she tells the former Princess as she stood back up after spitting the taste of bile of out her mouth onto the ground.
"Are you sure? I mean when was the last time you ate something?" the younger woman asked in concern.
"Uhhh the morning we got Arthur to speak to Merlin with the Crimson Crown" she remembered a hush came over the group as the realise how long it really had been since the woman had truly alive, how far she was truly gone when Juno had possessed the woman "It's been a while".
But she saw the looks on their faces, guilt, sadness etched their faces, well that what she thought she saw, she needed to change the subject quickly "Please tell me we have a plan to get the good doctor back".
"Aye we do" Hook told her "You ruined our plan to get you back actually".
"I'm flattered" she retorts to the pirates attempt to reassure her that they were on their way to find her "I slipped; it happens" she shrugs off casually "But you can count me in on the new one".
With Regina in place for their own plan to work, Emma easily found Gold's room and let herself in using a key card from her old bail bond days quietly letting herself into the room as Gold handed Regina a drink to toast to their new partnership.
"To helping one another once again" he toasted to the former Queen as Emma kept to the walls as she made her way further into the room away from where Gold and Regina were located.
"Speaking of, where is Belle?" Regina asked the man curiously as the blonde started her search for the crystal Tom and Henry had lost to the older man.
"She was taken. Or rather Pandora's Box was taken with her in it" Gold explained to his former student.
"How?".
"I didn't know how till you arrived. It was the Sorcerer's Wand" he continued as Emma came across a leather duffle bag on a bed "Zelena must be trapped because someone's taken it from her, which means they're both in the same realm. And you... well, you're gonna help me find it, Your Majesty" he told Regina as Emma finally had the crystal in her hand, only for it to disappear in cloud of red smoke, only to re-appear in his in the other room.
"Help yourself to a drink, Ms. Swan" he called out to the blonde foiling their plan.
"I think I'll pass" Emma said joining Gold and Regina in other half of the hotel room.
"Don't feel too disheartened. Not even my late niece could sneak past me on her best day" he lowly boasted to the blonde and to the woman in front of him.
"You knew" Regina stated.
"Of course, I knew" he retorted placing his drink down he stood from his seat to gloat in his small victory placing the crystal in the centre of the rune covered table "You've changed, Regina. The loss of one woman isn't gonna push you back over the edge" he continued as Regina stood on the defensive with Emma next to her "Not anymore. For better or worse, this is now who you are. Guilt-ridden and weak" he spat as he picked up a hair from the coat, he removed from her shoulder earlier to pick off a fallen strand of her hair "I only let you in because I needed this".
"Something connected to Zelena so you can find them" she states knowing
"Indeed. And now that I have it.." he says placing the strand of the former Queen's hair into a handkerchief "I have no need for either of you" the man summoned a fireball in his hand as he looked at the pair "When you see my niece. Tell her I miss her" he raised his hand to throw the fire at them when Tom and Henry entered with MJ and Violet in tow.
"Stop!" Henry demands from his grandfather.
"Get out of here" Regina tells the pair "There's nothing you can do"
"Yes, there is" Tom states as he takes out the Dark Grail holding it towards his great uncle's fireball letting the chalice suck the magic like a vacuum before he pointed it towards the Olympian crystal. The teen struggles to hold the cup in his hands despite the strength he had gained since starting his training, the grail sucked out the magic from the crystal that looked like lightening until it was empty sending a blue shockwave throughout the wave seeing everyone in the hotel room backwards as the clouds above the building disappeared.
Recovering from the shock the teenagers got off the ground Emma stepped towards the table where the crystal now sat without any of the magic it arrived in New York with. Tom stood tall seeing the end of what he had wanted to do since arriving.
Emma looks at the teenage assassin seeing what he had done, unknowingly ending any chance of getting his mother back to them.
"Tom. What have you done?" the saviour says to him.
"I destroyed magic".
Now alone from his unwanted visitors, Hyde now held the serum that would separate himself from Jekyll. Poole stood at the side of the room as he held the needle that would rid him of his problem in his hand poised to take it for himself.
"Now, Poole, you might want to go into the other room" reluctantly the orderly leaves the man to inject himself with the red potion, once the needle was empty the serum took hold instantly as he because to groan in pain before screaming as Jekyll was forced out of his body, tumbling onto the floor where Amelia had fallen earlier as they recovered from the brief ordeal of being separated from the other. Before Dr. Jekyll looked up from the ground to see Mr. Hyde for the first time in his life.
For the first time in their lives, they saw their alter ego's in front of them. Hyde the bigger of the two stared down at his opposite in very way.
"So nice to finally meet you, Doctor" the deeper voice told the Doctor almost sincerely.
"Hyde" Jekyll stated from the floor.
"I've heard so much about you" Hyde reached down a helping hand towards the doctor which he took only for the bigger man to literally pick him off the ground before placing him down again, gasping at him "You're even more disappointing in person" Hyde continued as he hit Jekyll's shoulders taking in the man in front of him as he circled him like prey "So weak. So pathetic. I was actually impressed that you had the courage to try to finish that serum of yours in secret".
"I had no choice" Jekyll told Hyde looking into his blood red eyes "Being with you was destroying me".
"But do you see the irony? Being separate is..." he trailed off taking Jekyll; s head into his large strong hands "what's going to destroy you" at that Hyde wrapped his hand around his other half and squeezed making the doctor choke until Hyde screamed in pain as a sharp dagger and the point of a hook impaled him from his back.
"I don't think so mate" Hook sneered in Hyde's ear as he and Amelia dragged the larger man away from the good doctor as fell to the floor.
Hearing the commotion Poole rushed in his with electric baton only to be met by one of Zelena's green fireballs as she, Snow and David rushed into the room.
"I've been waiting to do that" Zelena seethes at Poole's unconscious form as he fell on the floor out for the count. Meanwhile as the struggle continued between Hyde, Hook and Amelia. The larger man had managed to push the pair off him as Hook fell backwards and the redhead managed to stay on her feet this time to stand ready for the man to attack once again.
"Thanks for the pick me up by the way" Amelia panted out to Hyde referring to the electrified baton Poole attacked her with earlier "I really needed that jumpstart" she pants out holding the spot on her stomach the baton met her. Feeling the buzz vibrate through her body "Did you know I was dead only a few hours ago? Like six feet under dead. That thing's better than my wife's morning coffee".
"Amelia, not now" Snow chastised the assassin for holding the one-sided conversation with the man about to kill them as the redhead looks are her friend in offence.
"Assassin" Hyde almost purred out seeing the robes in full view.
"Yeah" she pants out in exertion looking back at the largest man "And you've really pissed her off" she adds spinning the dagger in her hand.
"Doctor" David greeted Jekyll as he helped the man off the floor.
"I told you to run" Jekyll tells him.
"No. You risked everything to save us. We had to do the same".
"To be clear, I was fine running" Zelena adds.
"Now I'm going to kill you all" Hyde stated before looking at Amelia "But first. You" he growled at her.
"Bring it bitch" Amelia sneered back with teeth showing as Snow re-entered with Poole's baton in hand. Amelia ducked in time for the baton to shoot off bolts of electricity hitting Hyde sending him careening back. The assassin stood back up ready to finish the job only for the doctor's voice to stop her.
"Leave it" he tells her, making her look at him as he quickly gathered some equipment in his hands "It's of no use to us now. And we don't want to be here when he wakes up" At that the group left the unconscious Hyde in a crumpled heap and followed Jekyll out of the house.
The tension the hotel room quickly heightened as Regina and Emma stood protectively in front of the teenagers that had stopped Rumpelstiltskin from waking his wife up from the self- induced sleeping curse as the man looked like he wanted to kill everyone last of them.
"Have you any idea what you've just done?" the Dark One growled at the boy who so stupidly put his wife in danger.
"Stopped you from hurting my Mom's and anybody else" Henry yelled at his grandfather.
"You stopped me from rescuing Belle, not to mention your family, and they're trapped in the same realm with her!" Gold retorted angrily.
"W-What's he talking about?" Tom stuttered at the man's words looking to Emma and his stepmother to explain what he was on about.
Slowly Regina turned to the teenagers, she needed to tell them about the latest development back home "David, Snow, Hook, and Zelena are in another realm right now.." she paused not sure how to tell the teen that he had stopped the only hope of finding out his mother was really alive "And…" she started
"And?" Tom prompted his mother seeing her struggle with the next part.
"Amelia's with them. She's alive Tom". The teen didn't know how to react to the news as his wrists relaxed prompting the hidden blades to slid back in place as he and Henry realised what they had just done. His mother was alive and, in another realm, only that they had destroyed the one thing that would bring her back to him.
"And thanks to you, we have no way of helping them get back" Gold rubbed the salt into the open wound "Including your own mother".
"We did what we had to" the older teenager snapped at the man stepping into the room "This isn't on me. It's on you!" he continued it rant at the Dark One, feeling the red-hot anger that had been wanting to flow through his veins come to the surface. "Everything has been because of you! My Mom died. She died for us and you couldn't have cared less!".
"Tom" Regina tried to stop the novice assassin from going any further seeing how upset he was as she grabs hold of his hands, breaking off his line of sight of the older man that had made him so angry.
"No" he protests to his second mother shaking his head at her as angry hot tears ran down his face "No, no, no. It's not fair that he gets to blame us for messing up, it's not fair. H-he made us do something-".
"I know" Regina tried to tell him silencing his ramblings "I know it's not fair, but you need to calm down" She tries her best to comfort him. He needed to calm down before he did something like hurt himself.
"No!" he screamed in her face pushing her off him making her stumble back and look at him at surprise at the strength he used to push her away, the movement accidently triggered a hidden blade on his forearm, the sharp cold edge catching the woman's palm leaving a deep cut in the middle, making the woman gasp in sudden pain.
Clutching her hand in pain the others watched ad blood welted from the cut as she looked at the teenager in a mix of fear and shock that he had lost control of his emotions as the teenager looked between the tip of the hidden blade that caught the woman's skin as a drop of dripped off the end, onto the carpet.
Hearing her hiss out in pain brought him out of the red haze that had clouded his mind as Emma looked on wide eyed at what has just happened. Gold only smirked to himself seeing that the boy hadn't quite missed out on his mother's trait of her quick temper.
"I-I'm sorry" he croaks out to her "I didn't-". He'd messed up again. And he couldn't blame Gold this time "I didn't- Mom" he stepped forward to help her only for the former Queen to instantly step further away from him making him freeze at the way she shrunk away from him.
The former Queen mentally chastised herself for doing so as she saw the look of heartbreak on his face fall further. She didn't mean to, it was just instinct, she tells herself. She didn't have magic to stop him or to heal herself, like she did when Amelia was upset like he was when she lost control. Last time she locked her in their home after finding out what Snow did to Maleficent and what the Princess did with the letter.
"Tom" Emma gently called out to the teenager, slowly approaching the teenager like he was like some sort of wild animal she was trying to calm down trying to defuse the tension in the room "It's okay. It was an accident. Right Kid?" she tried to get Henry to agree with her.
"Uh, yeah" he hastily nodded along with his blonde mother "An accident" he gulped echoing her words as the older teen looked to the faces in the room as they tried to keep their faces straight. More tears ran down his red face before he sharply turned to the door, storming out of the hotel room to get away from the pain he had caused in a split second he lost his composer with his Uncle.
Seeing her step-son leave the former Queen closed her eyes in anguish as she tried to push feeling of the fear she felt down and tried to get her feet to move but the throbbing, sting of the cut froze her as she clenched it into a tight fist allowing herself to feel the physical pain until she opened them to make her face the reality of what had just happened.
She knew she shouldn't have touched him, but by doing so to calm him down, she had only made things worse. Even if that was even possible at this stage.
"Tom!" Emma called after him, stepping to follow him only for MJ to jump in front of her.
"I'll make sure he doesn't go far" MJ reassures the blonde before running after her 'boyfriend'. As Henry slowly followed his bother out of the hotel room along with Violet leaving the adults alone.
"It seems he's more like his mother than we all thought" Gold commented to the pair of women in front of him.
"Don't!" the blonde firmly warned the older man to stop before he said anything else. The warning worked as he turned his back on the two woman present to lean on the rune covered table to look at the crystal that now was useless to him.
"Storybrooke" Regina stated once both teens were out of the room "Tom rid it of its magic. What happened to it?".
"Storybrooke survived for 28 years without magic. I'm sure it can manage a few more" Gold shrugged off the woman's concerned.
"You said it would be destroyed?" Emma carped at the older man as she stopped about to run after Henry and Tom.
"Yes, when I had to motivate you to find your wayward sons" Gold admitted to the pair making Emma throw her arms up in disbelief before looking at the former Queen to see what they should do next.
"What should we do? Call the police?" Emma suggested to the former Queen as the latter put her hands on her hips, ignoring the cut on her hand "See how he does without his powers in a real prison?".
"That's an excellent idea" Regina agreed with the saviour.
"Not if you want my help finding the one person who may still have magic" Gold quickly reminded the pair turning back around.
"What are you talking about? You said this was a land without magic" Emma retorted.
"It is. And it isn't" he cryptically answers them.
"Enough with the riddles!" she yells at him. Anastasia was right. It was annoying "Who has magic?".
"Well, for that answer, it looks like we're just gonna have to learn to work together now".
"All right" Regina sighed out in frustration picking up her coat "I'll go with Gold and make sure he keeps his hands off this crystal" Regina tells the blonde as she takes the crystal for herself "You find Henry and Tom".
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" the blonde questions her "I mean, don't you think you need to talk to Tom about what just happened. He'd listen to you".
"I usually left the serious talks to Melia" Regina tells her slipping her coat onto her back as she contemplated going after her stepson herself "It's better I leave him to cool down for a while. I did just drop a bombshell on him, at look what happened" she reminds the blonde showing her the cut on her hand. She needed to find something for it wherever Gold was about to take her.
"I don't think he thinks that. He's just upset-".
"Emma" Regina interrupts her "I need to get Amelia back here for him. If that mean I having to babysit a dark sorcerer. Then so be it".
Letting out a sigh of her own at the woman's reluctance to go after her son herself, the blonde saviour headed for the door leaving the former Queen with the Dark One to figure out how they would get the others back.
"You shouldn't blame yourself dearie" Gold suddenly voiced to her making her snap her head towards him "It was only a matter of time until he hurt someone, but glad it was you and not Henry".
"He would never hurt him" she tells him.
"And uh, how confident are you of that?" he questions her logic narrowing his eye's at her "That's what he's been trained for isn't it? To hurt people. Family isn't exempt from that list. Just ask you wife the next time you see her, if she truly is alive. She killed those she called family for eighteen years while she served us".
"Tom isn't Amelia".
"Your right" he agrees with her "He could be worse than what our dear Widow ever could be" he tells her sauntering out of the hotel room leaving the woman to think over his last words.
Enchanted Forest
One Year Ago
Today had been hard for the Lost Boy Tom in the Dark Palace. It had been long as well. No matter what he occupied with the last few days, whether it was archery lessons with Robin Hood or swordplay with the Prince. He just wasn't getting it as easily much as he was with Romeo on Neverland. He needed Amelia and when she returned from her attempt to find her son and she had taken over his lessons, things had been getting better. But then she suddenly disappeared during one of his training sessions.
One minute was stood next to Robin one minute as he fought Grumpy in the training ring the other's had built for them, and the next was storming back into the castle with something in her hand. No one had heard from her since. Not even Robin or any of the royals were dumbfounded to what happened to her.
Finding Tinkerbelle in the hallway later that evening heading for Amelia's room, he managed to stop her long enough to question her to why Amelia was acting so strangely since that afternoon. All he told her was that she got some bad news. A friend of her's had died. But there was someone more the fairy wasn't telling her. He wanted to press her further only for the fairy to dismiss him as she disappeared into Amelia's room.
He just wanted to help. Anyway, he could. She was the closest thing he had to a mother, and he didn't want to lose her.
Taking his muddled thoughts outside into the crisp evening air, he found himself sat in the courtyard on the stone railing around Regina's Apple Tree. He'd often seen her tending to the plant in deep thought during the day, especially when Amelia was away for fortnights at a time. She always seemed sad whenever she picked them, like she was thinking about someone. The fist time he had seen her do it reminded him when she took his heart to get a message to Henry on Neverland.
A heavy sigh left his lips as he looked up night sky above him as hundred stars look back down on him. Letting his eye's close he silently wished for Amelia to come and talk to him. Tell him what had happened and how he could help. She was the closest thing to the mother he'd been dreaming about on Neverland. He'd been dreaming of her since he was in the orphanage before Pan's shadow took him away.
Blinking his eye's open the lost boy look back down to see a small wooden bird carved out of wood sat next him. Picking the carving up, the piece fitted perfectly in the palm in his hand as his brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to think why it was out here. It wasn't' there when he arrived.
"Thomas" he heard someone loudly whisper. His head snapped up and away from the wooden bird in his hand seeing Amelia stood there, staring at him, like she had just seen a ghost.
"Amelia?" he replied in confusion.
"Why are you sitting out here?" she changes the subject quickly, her brow's furrowing at his presence outside.
"Oh uh" he stammers nervously scratching the back of his head "I uh usually come out here to uh think, it's kinda quiet once everyone's inside, good for..".
"Thinking" she finished for the teen as she smiled to herself "It is. I do it here too" she tells him.
"You do?".
"I do" she confirms stepping towards him to join the Lost Boy on the stone bench "So are you going to tell me what you were thinking so hard about" she gently presses him.
"Just uh stuff" answered her.
"Stuff?" the woman echoed to the lost boy "Stuff is good. But you know what's better?".
"Uh no?".
"Telling me what that stuff is".
"It's stuff like, archery with Robin and swordplay with the prince".
"You're not enjoying it" Amelia stated outload seeing the look on his face.
"I am!" he quickly corrects her "It's just..".
"Not enough" she guessed already knowing what he wanted. His lessons only got him so far here. He needed more freedom to run around and climb. To learn. He could do that in Monteriggioni. But they couldn't go back there now. It wasn't safe for anyone.
"Yeah" he breathes out "It's just not been the same since leaving Monteriggioni" he admits to her.
"I know how you feel" she tells him "Whenever I had to leave for a mission or some training on the Jackdaw. Or when I had to run. It felt like I'd left a part of me there. But if you give this place a chance, this place can be just as good as Monteriggioni. You just need to give it chance. Monteriggioni isn't a place, it's a people. It about the people you have around you that makes a home, not bricks and walls".
Nodding to the redhead's explanation the young teen played with the wooden bird in hand.
"What's that in your hand?" Amelia asks him.
"Oh. I don't know. I just found" he shrugs at her, handing the wooden bird to her.
Taking the toy into her hand, the intricate carving that her first love made into the wood retained to that day, stroking the small beak and head of the Jackdaw with her thumb.
"Do you know what bird this is?" Toma shakes his head at her "It's a Jackdaw" she tells him.
"How do you know that?".
"Because my late husband made it for our son before he was born". Any spare time he had she would find him either sat in their cabin or on the edge of the ship with a knife and a small block of wood that had come off the ship and spent hour widdling into the small bird her hands.
"It's yours?".
"Actually, it was my son's" she said as a smile grew on her lips "Some children have their favourite blankets and toys. Mine couldn't get to sleep without his little wooden Jackdaw".
This made Tom smile to himself hearing her talk about her son like this. She hadn't said anything since she suddenly came back a month with short blonde hair trying to find out what had happened to him since the curse struck the realm.
"You know what?" she suddenly said, handing it back to the young teen "Keep it. It yours" she tells him.
"Really?" he questioned her.
"Yeah" she shrugged "I don't have much use for it anyway".
"But it was you sons" he argued with her.
"I want you to have it" she insists.
"Thank you".
Reluctantly the teenager takes the small toy from the redhead not seeing the tears the shimmered in her eye's as he looked down at the wooden bird as she forced herself to take in a deep breath to will the tears that threatened to fall from seeing her son reunited with is Jackdaw after so long.
"Your Welcome" she breathes out blinking away the tears before he could see them.
"So, did you find him? Your son?" he asked the woman curious to know if that time away was worth it.
"I did" she answered with a watery smile.
"That's good, isn't it?" confusion etched his brows seeing the way she reacted.
"It is, it's not that simple Tom".
"Then what is it?" he presses her.
"I can't tell him, who he is to me" she tells him, hoping her words would make him understand why she had to lie to him now in the future, if he ever did find out who he was.
"Why not?".
"Because it would be too dangerous for him to know. The Wicked Witch is already out to get me, I can't risk him getting hurt or worse".
"Oh" he simply stated in disappointment. He wanted her to be happy that she'd found him but it only made the assassins mood "I'm sorry".
"Me too" she retorts "But its for the best. I doesn't mean that I don't love him. I will always love him. But he's safer if he doesn't know right now".
"I think I'm also scared of what he'll think of me, if he learned the truth. Of the person I became when he was taken away from me. The Black Widow. She is always gonna be apart of me, whether I push her to the back of my mind or let her out on the surface" he nodded in understanding.
"You're giving him his best chance" Tom stated to the assassin next to him "Like what Regina did with Henry, by letting him go with Emma".
"Yeah" she sighed with a sad smile reaching up to push a lock of hair from his forehead to see the small faint scar next to his eye. The mark Angelo left behind with his sharpened fingernail "I am".
New York
Present
How could he have been that stupid?.
He didn't know why his feet had brought him here, but the image of the calm water of the fountain in the middle of the busy New York square seemed to be the only thing to calm his mind after storming out of the hotel room. Throwing his gauntlets off his arms as soon as he stepped into the hallway, he didn't care if he would ever see them ever again after harming his step- mother. But as soon as he saw them in MJ's hand when she eventually joined him on the stone wall that encircled the water feature, a part of his mind eased knowing they were safe. They would be the last remaining item he would have of his grandfather and mother if they couldn't bring her back. Even if she was alive that is.
The thought made him grip his jean covered knees harder as he forced himself through the breathing exercises he had been taught during the year in the Enchanted Forest. The deep breaths shook through his body as involuntary tears continued to fall down his cheeks.
He'd never been that angry before in his entire life. It scared him. But he had had enough of being blamed for something that couldn't been avoided if Gold hadn't..well..been him.
Imagining himself in the peaceful Sanctuary below the Villa in Monteriggioni instead of the busy city, he willed his mind to clear itself of the memory of the way Regina and the other's looked at him. Like he was a monster. Maybe he was.
He should've kept his composure. He should've thought logically. Instead, it was him this time thinking with his emotions, he let the anger he felt of losing his mother drive him and Henry to find a way of destroying the magic that had torn his family apart in the first place, but now it was his fault that half of his family including is mother would never get back to Storybrooke.
Finding the teenager at the same fountain Henry often visited during their year away from Storybrooke and fairy tales the blonde saviour found the older teen sat on the wall with MJ nearby with his gauntlets in her lap waiting to get something from her boyfriend that wasn't complete silence. Sat a way away from the pair were Henry and Violet on the same wall waiting for Tom to calm down. Upon seeing his mother Henry stood up to meet his mother halfway to tell her that he hadn't said a word since leaving the hotel. He also told her that he had thrown his gauntlets away only for MJ to save them from being found by Hotel Staff. Something Amelia had done in the past to stop her from being tempted to use them again when she was upset.
Mustering a smile on her lips the saviour told her son to stay put where he was before heading towards Tom and MJ. Approaching the couple the girl looked up at, hoping she would be able to get through to her boyfriend.
"Give us a minute MJ" Emma asked the teenage girl.
"Sure, I'll uh go and awkwardly stand over there somewhere" MJ tells the saviour at that she walked away leaving his gauntlets behind letting the blonde take her place.
"Here" she tells the teenager offering the penny to him, making him open is eye's to see the object between her fingers.
"What's that for?" he questions her his voice scratching in his throat like he hadn't had a drink all day.
"When Henry and I lived in New York, he used to come here when he was upset. I'd give him the penny and wish his problems away What do you say? Wanna give it a try?" she offers the penny again only for the teen to refuse.
"No offence. But I don't think a penny can bring my Mom and the other's back. But because of what I did. We'll never even see half of our family again".
"That may not be true. Your Mom is with and Gold to try and find a way" the mere mention of his stepmother the boy inside the teenager crumbled as his head collapsed into his hands trying to hide his face from her.
"Tom. It was an accident" she tries to tell him "She knows you would never hurt her".
"Then why isn't she here?" he bawled out.
"You know why" she tried to tell him only for the teen to his conclusion.
"She's scared of me. Isn't' she?".
"She loves you. We all do. You're just having a bad day. We were all just a little surprised, that's all. You just need to remember to put the safety on the blades. Like Amelia taught you remember".
There'd been a few times where the teen had forgotten to turn the switch that stopped his hidden blades from jumping out his gauntlets, either from hurting himself or someone else. But Amelia or Anastasia had been there to quickly grab hold of his wayward arm, quickly saving an eye or two from being lost and a quick telling off to remind him to switch the blade off, threatening to have the gauntlet taken away from him.
"You don't get it!" he snaps at her looking straight at her with blood shot eye's meeting hers, making her recoil back "I- I wanted to hurt her" he admits to her "I just wanted to get to Gold. To make him feel something for everything's he's done. To make him care that my Mom died".
"Oh Tom" she sighs out after long pause after hearing this "I'm so sorry".
"What for?" he sniffed "You didn't do anything. It's my fault this has happened. Because I couldn't just sit by and wait for you and Regina to fix things like you usually do. Instead, I made things so mush worse. Because I wanted things to go back to how they were, whenever magic has been involved it's always hurt us
"But I did" she corrects him "I should've said something more when we came back from the Underworld. Found a better way to tell you about Mom. Instead, I let myself get distracted by Hades and everything. I forgot that you'd just lost your Mom".
"I keep forgetting you're only a couple years older than Henry" she smiled sadly at him "You act so grown up sometimes. I just…forget that you're still growing up too".
"I'm sorry" he shrugs at her not sure what else to say to her as he wipes the remints of the tears from his face.
"No" she tells him shaking her head at him "That's not your fault. Because your mom and I had to do the same thing. It was the first time I really connected with her. It was in New York. It's when she told me all about the Brotherhood and how serious it was and how she found out about Romeo. She was the same age I was when I had Henry. I remember telling her that it mattered what happened to her because she was just a kid, because I was. But she wouldn't see it that way" the memory of the stubborn redhead made the blonde smile to herself making the teen mirror her.
"Do you know one of the things I most admire about your Mom?" Emma started as the teen sniffed shaking his head at her "It's her ability to stand her ground despite everything that's been thrown against her. Especially if it involves her family. Tom you need to believe me when I say she'll be doing everything she can to get back to you".
"How do you know that?".
"Because how could she not" she replies offering him the coin once again "Should we see if we have any luck getting them back?".
She wasn't sure how long she sat there after hearing what Persephone had told her. That she belonged there. But it didn't feel right.
"My words have upset you" Persephone states outload to the assassin seeing the woman's reaction "You don't believe them, do you?". Don't tell me you had your heart set on Valhalla" she teases the assassin in front of her.
"No" she admits to the goddess, making her look down at her lap "It's just…".
"Just what? What do you wish Amelia Montague?".
"I wish to go back to my family, to see my son and my daughter grow up. To be with the woman I love. I belong with them".
"You're right" she nods at the assassin "You do not belong here Amelia Montague" the goddess tells her standing from her throne as Amelia copied her movements "They will need you for what is coming Amelia. The Oncoming Storm. It is coming. And your family will need all the help they can get. And they will not get it if you are here" she tells the assassin walking down the stone steps leaving the assassin to follow her to the pit that she had somehow missed when she first entered the temple.
"My father rewarded Killian Jones for defeating my Husband by returning him to the land of the living. The darkness the still remains in your heart stops Zeus from granting your wish outright. However, I came across a trail of my husbands making that will get you back to your home".
"What is it? I'll do it!".
"Defeat your greatest enemy Amelia Montague. And then you will return to your family. But be warned. If you lose to her, you will remain in the Underworld with the rest of my husband's lost souls. Not even the great and powerful Zeus will be able to bring you back to Elysium. It's your price so to speak".
"I don't care. I need try".
"Then I wish you all the luck in the realms Amelia Montague. It will not be an easy or fair fight".
"I don't care" she repeated herself ready for whatever fight was wating for her. She didn't how big or how strong it was, she was getting back to her family. Whatever it took.
"Before I forget" she stops the assassin from jumping "I'll find your friend's soul for you and bring him here. He'll remain here under my protection. You have my word; he'll be at peace here".
"Friend? What friend?" Amelia asks the goddess in confusion.
"Good luck Amelia" Persephone echoed her earlier sentiment as she stepped to the side.
"Lola!" the goddess suddenly called out as Amelia heard a dog bark from behind her. But before she could turn around to see it she felt a heavy weight hit her back sending her face first into the dark pit to face the enemy she had to defeat to get back to her family.
Peering over the edge the goddess watched as the assassin disappeared into darkness before look at the chocolate colour dog that had pushed the assassin into the pit, waiting patiently for the goddess to praise her for pushing the assassin into the pit.
"Good girl" she purred down to the dog getting a happy bark in response "Now go play" the goddess commanded the dog who happily retreated to find something or someone to play with until the goddess needed her again. And she would.
New York, Chinatown
Keeping her word to the Saviour, Regina followed the Dark One through the streets of New York into Chinatown. She wanted to go after her sons, but someone had to keep an eye on the bastard in case he deceived them once again. Her right hook was a force to be reckoned with ever since Amelia convinced her to learn how to fight in case, she found herself without her magic one day and his nose was just one big target at the moment. But there was something else that had been on her mind since their conversation in the hotel room.
"Why didn't you believe me when I told you I wanted to help you?" she asked the man.
A chuckle left his lips as they continued their journey "Wondering if you've lost your edge? Or hoping you finally managed to bury the Evil Queen deep enough inside that I wouldn't buy it?".
"Don't try to analyse me".
"Look. Let me give you a friendly piece of advice. Partitioning the darkness inside will not help you become the woman you want to be".
"Worked out so far" she points out as they come to stop in the middle of the street.
"Has it?" he questioned her "You know, I once thought I could contain the darkness to one tiny corner of my soul. First for Baelfire, then for Belle. And I always failed. Do you want to know why? Because I like the darkness. It's as much who I am as the light. Why can't you seem to grasp it's not either-or?".
"Because I'm not like you. I don't like the darkness" she tells him.
"You can tell yourself what you like. But deep down, the Evil Queen is who you are. And the more you keep her locked inside, the more you're gonna suffer. The same goes for the same for my dear niece, as much as she tries to push down the Widow in her, the Widow with push back and one day in the not so far future, the Widow won't hesitate to kill the other side of her in order to survive". he warns her before continuing to their destination.
Taking the former Queen into the small oriental grocery store the Dark One saw the man he sought out to find, with his back to them "What the hell is this place?" Regina asked him as an old Asian man stepped out into the aisle to meet his 'customer's'.
"Greetings. What brings you to my humble shop?" the older gentleman greets the pair with a friendly smile.
"Well, we're in the market for something a little more powerful than what you have on display" Gold asks him.
"If you mean narcotics, I'm just a simple herbalist".
"I don't think so" he retorts without looking away from the fabled Dragon "Regina, meet The Dragon" Gold introduces the pair "Good to see you're breathing again. I hear one of my father's minions paid you a visit".
"Peter Pan was powerful, but I'm resilient. I assume you're here because you want something, Rumplestiltskin. But I'm afraid I'm not in the business of helping hearts filled with such darkness" The Dragon tells them.
"Gold, this is a waste of time" Regine tells the ma as she turns to leave only for The Dragon to stop her.
"But you... you I will help" the man tells her making her turn back around to face him "I see a noble battle deep inside your soul, Regina, between light and dark. The same battle your soulmate is waging. And for that, I will do my best to aid you both. It is imperative you win... for all of us".
Joining Regina and Gold in the back of The Dragon's store. The hero's, their sons and 'girlfriends; gathered around a small pedestal that held a basin of water onto watching The Dragon place a purple lotus flower onto the water, letting it float on the surface. Giving the saviour a look of uncertainty from her place next to the bearded sorcerer as he used his magic as the water churned inside the basin making the lotus swell up and down like Jefferson's Hat did when it opened a portal to another realm. A flash of purple light cam from the lotus before it disappeared into the water leaving a clear image for those gathered closer to the basin.
"There. Look" the former Queen pointed out seeing Snow, David, Hook and her sister walking through a tightly compacted market. A flash of red and white made the former Queen's heart beat a little harder than before as she saw her wife alive and well in the set of robes, she had insisted she would be buried in "Where the hell is that?".
"Wherever it is, they're in trouble" Emma states outload.
"Trouble always seems to follow Melia wherever she goes. Nothing new there" Regina commented to herself making the saviour flash the briefest of smiles at her before focusing on the image in the water.
"We need to get through so we can help them" stated the obvious as the The Dragon raised his hand out towards the basin. The purple light that emitted from the bowl earlier grew bigger making them all take a few steps back as The Dragon continued to try his best to create a portal for them to simply walk through. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of the wife coming back to them as she looks towards her step-son to see the hopeful look on his face as he willed the man to keep going. His eye's met here's over the purple light as the incident in the hotel room seemed to be forgotten about at the thought of having his mother back.
Only for a second later for older man's magic to falter as he doubled over panting heavily from the effort he had put him to opened the portal for them.
"I'm afraid opening a portal to that realm is beyond my power" he solemnly tells them.
"You can't give up" Tom speaks up "My family, they're in trouble!".
"I've done all I can" he tells the teenager, before looking at Henry "But you... you haven't".
"Me?" th younger teenager questions him.
"All of you" he corrects himself "Just because the boy destroyed Storybrooke's magic doesn't mean there isn't any in this world".
"Oh, really?" the former Queen voices to the man "Because I think there's a reason, they call this place The Land Without Magic" she huffs at the sorcerer.
"Yes, because that's how it appears. There's magic everywhere if you're willing to see it".
"That sounds an awful lot like something a friend told me a long time ago" Emma tells him.
"August?".
"Yes" she confirms.
"I know who you are, Saviour. If you want to find magic, remember... what he taught have to believe".
"So, how do you suggest we do that?" Gold says sceptically "After all, saying you believe doesn't make it so".
"I know how" Tom suddenly said digging into his hoodie's pocket to grasp the object Emma had given to him earlier. Taking it in between his thumb and finger he show's it to his little brother hoping he would understand the silent idea he was trying to convey to him.
A second later the idea came to his mind as his eye's lite up at his older brother having seen his blonde mother offer him the coin at the fountain "Wishes".
Taking the group to the fountain where Emma had found them earlier, the teenager stopped that at the edge knowing what they needed to do to get their family back to them.
"How is that going to help us?" Regina asks the pair.
"Because there's magic in it" Henry tells her taking out a coin from his pocket "Every time someone makes a wish".
"I don't think throwing a coin in a fountain is what The Dragon was talking about" Gold voices his opinion to the teen.
"All due respect, Grandpa, but I think that was exactly what he was talking about" Henry retorts at him before looking at his birth mother "Mom, when we were living in New York, do you remember the last time you took me here?".
"Yeah" she answers him "I don't know. You were upset about something. Maybe something at school?".
"It was because of you. I could tell you were lonely, so I wished our family would be complete, and do you know what happened a few days later?".
"Hook came to New York. And he brought us back to Storybrooke and we were reunited with our family" she supplied.
"There was magic. It was right here. We just didn't know it. Don't you see? We just need to wish they were back" the teen says before walking closer to the fountain cion in hand "I wish we were reunited with our family" he wishes outload.
Flipping the cion up in the air the object splashes into the water making the Olympian crystal in Regina's hand flicker.
"Come on. It can't just be me. Everybody make a wish" he instructs them handing out coins to the his mother's, Tom, MJ and Violet before reaching his grandfather leaving it up to him to go along with his plan "This will work. I promise".
"Okay, kid" the blonde saviour agrees as Tom and MJ step up to the fountain in unison, taking the other's free hand in their own before flipping their coins into the water, making the crystal in the former Queen's hand flicker twice as the coins hit the water. Next to throw their coin into the fountain was Emma and Violet before Regina held onto her own coin a second or two longer than other's making her own wish before throwing it into the water hoping her wish would reach the person she and Tom needed back.
"Emma" Regina gets the blondes attention as the crystal continues to flicker with magic "Did you see that?"
"Sometimes that boy surprises me" Gold comments as he finally adds his to the fountain.
"We just need more" Henry says getting his brother's attention "Come on" the adults and teenage girl watch as the boys run up the stone steps of a nearby building to start the next part of their plan.
It felt like they had been running in circles as Jekyll led them around the new land. Adrenaline continued to pump through the Master Assassin's veins willing her do something a little more than just run as she continued to look over her shoulder for any sign of Mr. Hyde behind him.
"We can blend in here all we like, but so can Hyde" Amelia complained to the Doctor the tail end of the small group he led through the marketplace "He could be anywhere".
"Is there a reason your evil alter ego doesn't look anything like you?" David asked the man as they continued to run.
"And is ten times as strong?" Zelena added.
"Everyone sees their worst self differently..." he tells them as he leads them around a market stall to come to a brief pause of their journey "Some as a mirror image, others as a literal monster. However, the mind conjures it" Dr. Jekyll explained to them.
"Well, perhaps next time, try an aggressive bunny rabbit" Hook suggested to the man.
"You obviously haven't been on the receiving end of an angry rabbit" Amelia retorted dryly to the pirate.
"Oh And you have?" Zelena spat at her sister-in-law in disbelief.
"A whole warren" the memory made a chill run down the assassin's spine remember the way she had to crawl through the tight tunnels the rodents had made when she was a lot younger and smaller.
"All right enough!" the Prince interrupted the growing verbal battle between the redheads "We got to find a way out" David interrupted the discussion "Over here. Hurry. This way" at the instruction Hook took them down an alley way only to reach a complete dead end, she could easily climb it but that was beside the point.
"Seriously" Zelena sighed out.
"Come on" David encouraged them they all turned to get out of the dead end only to run into Hyde himself in a new suit blocking their only exit.
"Shit" the word left the assassin's lips before she could stop herself. As much as she wanted to. She wasn't sure she could fight her way out of this one. Not after the last fight she had.
?
It felt like she had been falling a lot longer than she thought she had until her body suddenly hit a hard floor. The impact made the assassin groan out in pain as it vibrated throughout her whole body. This hurt worse somehow than when she got hit by Greg Mendel's car. Forcing herself to turn onto her back, another groan left her lips as she unwillingly made her eyes open to be met with a bright light above her. Her vision came in and out of focus until it formed the image of grates breaking up the light that streamed down onto her, high above her.
She recognised those grates. She's seen them so many times in her life she was wondering why it was taking her so long to and two and two together. Sitting out her back screamed out in protest as she came face to face with the stone statue of Altair Ibn-La'Ahad looking straight back at her in his plain white hooded robe, no armour or cape to added to it.
Snapping her head around she was met by the other stone statues that decorated the edge of the Sanctuary hidden beneath the Villa in Monteriggioni as her finger's weren't met by the cool marble floor, but to find sandy dirt instead. The same dirt she had spent hundreds if not thousands of hours of her life, honing her skill with weapons big and small against men and woman that knew how to kill her twenty different ways' with only their hands.
Making herself stand up against her body's wishes, she saw that the whole Sanctuary floor was covered in the dirt that usually sat inside the training ring in front of the villa. Using her foot to move the dirt to the side she saw no sig of the stone floor underneath. It was just earth. Whatever this place was, it had been turning into an arena of sorts.
Felling the dry dirt on her skin, the assassin reached up to brush the dirt off her only to see that she had changed clothes once again, into the white and red set that had remain untouched in the part of the vault that symbolised her life away from the Black Widow. Looking her arms, she found that her gauntlets were nowhere to be found as she looked for any other weapon that might be on her only to come away empty handed.
Whoever she was meant to fight, she would have to do it unarmed. Recalling the brief explanation, she had with the Queen of the Underworld she remembered what her so called opponent was supposed to be.
"My greatest enemy" she breathed outload. She would have to think. Who was her greatest enemy? Claudius? The Evil Queen? Rumpelstiltskin?.
The list was endless of the people she had found over the years. It had to be someone she knew well enough to be titled her greatest enemy. It had to be someone even she would struggle to beat on a good day. Perhaps Iago? He was the strongest assassin in the Brotherhood at the time, she only killed him because of the Evil Queen's intervention. Maybe she needed to fight him for real this time.
Maybe it was one of the many enemies she had the misfortune of meeting. That made her think of Pan. He got inside her head while she was on Neverland, again she only killed him with Rumple's help.
She had to face this enemy on her own this time. No one was going to come along to hold them while she put an end to their life. Why was this so difficult to think?
"Oh, it's not really that hard" a voice she knew said from behind her made her thought come to an end as she froze on the dirt ground, a chill running up her spine at the thought of meeting this person once again "You've been fighting me your whole life!".
Slowly turning herself around, she was met with a figure dressing black and red, with a pair of brown leather gauntlets on her forearms, a sword in her and a dagger tucked into the belt with the eagle beak shaped silver pommel in full view.
"You" she shuddered out seeing the familiar figure stood at the other end of the 'arena'.
"Surprise!" the Black Widow yelled out from the other end of the arena "So, how do you wanna do this?" she finishes the question with a wink of her green eye as a dark smirk appears on her lips.
From their place at the fountain Regina, Emma, Violet, MJ and Gold watched the two teenagers run up the stone steps of the nearby museum to carefully climb up on the statue that satin front of the building in order to gain the crowds attention.
"People of New York!" Henry addressed out to the crowd of people that congregated around the fountain as they carefully climbed the stone lion as the older teenager vaulted over the back of the lion to stand on the right side of the stone animal as his brother took the left side.
"My name is Henry Mills, and this is my brother Tom Montague. We need your help!" Henry announced to the unknowing spectators "My families in danger, but we can save them with magic!" a rumble of laugher was heard from the gathering crowd.
"I know how crazy it sounds" Tom continued as MJ looked up to the shy boy she first met at school, to overcome the many obstacle that had been thrown his way, to save his family after having his faith tested again and again to watch "But magic is real. It's all around us. You just have to be willing to see it. You have to be willing to believe. And I know how hard that is" he trailed off finding the blonde saviour and his stepmother in the crowd.
"I once let my own belief waver" Tom continued "But I was wrong. We need magic. It can make the world a better place. I know it seems impossible. But think about it... at some point in your life, every one of you was once a believer, and at some point, you left that part of you behind. But you can go back to it. If you believe".
"So, what do you say?" Henry asked the crowd "Will you make a wish for us? Will you help us return magic to this world?. We just have to make a wish! Come on! Let's go!" the crowd chattered among themselves as the boys climbed off the loin statue and made their way back onto the ground while Tom decided to jump down the statue to land on his feet before running back towards the fountain with Henry beside him.
The adults watched in astonishment as the crowd followed the two teen boys to the fountain with MJ and Violet quickly joining their friend as people started to throw pennies into the fountain. Closing her eye's Regina silently wished once again, picturing it in her mind before throwing another coin as the crystal started to pulsate with magic in her other hand.
"They're actually restoring magic" Emma states as she watches the crystal continuing to pulsate with magic.
Hearing this the pair of teen turned back to face their mother "See I told you" Henry simply stated to the pair as the crowd continued to throw pennies into the fountain.
This wasn't how she wanted to die again. Stuck between a dead end and Mr. Hyde, Amelia Montague knew she would be going down fighting as she gripped the handle of her dagger, she had ready used on the man once today. But then something hit the top of her head making her look away from him
The group of hero's and villain paused look up to see small metal shiny objects falling from the sky. Holing out her hand to catch one in the palm of her hand, she saw it was a coin as more continued to rain down above them.
Reaching down to pick up the objects that continued to hit them from above the former Prince, picked one up from the ground to see what it was
"Pennies" David stated outload to the others as Amelia pocketed the one, she had caught.
With the wishes made, a vortex of water shot up into the air making the crowd look up in awe at the piece of magic they were witnessing as unbeknownst to the other's. Gold saw his opportunity to use the distraction for his own purposes.
She felt it before she saw it but as she looked behind her the master assassin saw a swirl of water open up in the ground. It was a portal.
"Not pennies, David" she corrected her husband "Wishes".
"I don't care who's making them" Zelena said as she ran for the portal "Let's get out of here!" she exclaim jumping feet first into the portal that had appeared behind them.
"Ditto on the witch" Amelia added as using the distraction to send the bottom of her heeled boot into Hyde's chest, catching off guard, he fell onto the cobbled stoned ground as the other's ran towards the portal as she caught up to them, seeing the other's jump into the portal before stopping short of her escape to turn on her heel and see Hyde just getting off the ground as she gave the man a to fingered salute with a triumphant smirk on her lips to go with it, knowing this would be the last time they would see each other. The Master Assassin raised both her arms either side of her, tipping herself backwards to fall headfirst to wherever the portal would take them.
New York
After the vortex of water that shot up into the sky disappear, Snow, David, Hook, Zelena and a strange man that none of them recognises were suddenly standing before them. Regina's heart stopped and restarted as David and Snow jumped forward to re-unite with their daughter to see none other than her soulmate in the same set of red and white Brotherhood robes, she had buried her in not even two days ago.
"Mom!" his voice reached her ears first making her look up to find herself in New York City surrounded by people only for her eye's to instantly find her son jumping into the waterless fountain as she made her feet move to close the distance between her and holding a baby boy again as she caught him wrapping her arms tight around her son as her hand instantly found the back of his head to bury her fingers into his untameable brown curls, as buried his head and face into her shoulder as he held her tight with equal strength. She hadn't realised she was crying until she felt the tears of pure elation drip down her cheek as she allowed herself to close her eye's and take in the moment holding her son in her arms.
"You're really here" she heard him bawl in her shoulder.
"I 'am" she breathed out to him "I'm here. I've missed you so much" she sobbed out to him.
Pulling away from his mother, he held her at arm's length, his hand gripping her upper arms like she would disappear the moment he let go again.
"Really?" he found himself asking her.
The question took her back as she took his blood shot eyes and reddened face making her "Your my son" she tells him "How could I not" she adds with a loving smile before he closed the distance between them to place his forehead against hers, his eye's closing as he felt her soft hand on his cheek savouring the moment he had with his mother back in the land of the living as he felt her place a kiss the centre of his forehead.
"Regina's waiting for you" he tells her pulling away from her.
Stepping away from her, he turned her in the direction of his stepmother to find the woman patiently waiting to see her wife again after parting with her in the Underworld. Green eye's found a pair of brown she had been waiting to see again since appearing in front of her own headstone in the cemetery back home
Moving her feet forward, the assassin stepped over the fountain wall to stop and stand in front of the woman she had exchanged vows with in front of half their family and friends by the same monk that had married her parents years ago in Monteriggioni. The assassin reached into the pocket to grasp the coin she had caught, holding it between her thumb and finger
"Caught your wish Queenie" she tells the woman placing the coin into her waiting hand "I hope it was a good one".
An involuntary choked laugh left the former Queen's mouth as she closes the distance between them, she took her wife's face into hers before placing her lips on hers sealing their short, awaited reunion as the crowd around the suddenly start cheering and clapping around them making the could stop and look around in confusion as their moment was ended.
"What the hell did I miss?".
During the walk to Neal's old apartment Amelia's hand never left the former Queen's as they feared that they would lose the other if they didn't have a good hold on the other. But once they reached the apartment its surroundings were already too much for the assassin. As some of the other's left including Regina to find where Gold was, the redhead found herself escaping the small apartment via the window to sit on the metal fire escape with the son sat on a step below her to rest his head on her knee and thigh taking the moment to just enjoy the present.
With her long white and red accented robe left thrown onto the back of the couch inside the assassin took in the moment to breathe in the crisp New York air feeling her heart thump steadily in her chest reminding her she really was back in the land of the living.
Tom had hardly left her side since coming to the apartment. Like he knew she needed him to be there. It was nice.
She needed to put in more effort to spend time with him. Just them. No villain's, training or family drama mixed in with it. It would be hard especially having a new-born waiting for them to get back home to, but it would be worth it getting more moments like this. She wasn't ready to let him grow up just yet. T
As the redhead listened closely as he told her his versions of events Snow and David had told her about in the cage. She couldn't' help but to smile to herself as she caught the way he spoke about the girl in the apartment waiting to be taken back to her mother. He was falling for MJ. Hard. In all the drama and twists and turns he had met a girl and made an attachment. One that came naturally. Unforced or tampered with. Like all things should be. He just didn't know it yet.
"You really like MJ, don't you?" she asked him to make him pick up his head from her knee to look up at her.
"Yeah. I do" he slowly admitted to her.
"So, you understand there are gonna be some ground rules if you want to date her?" she tells him with a raised brow on her face.
"Mom" he whined in in protest feeling embarrassed that she could so easily read him.
"Absolutely no sleepovers" she started despite his protests "She's only allowed over for homework, and it has to be in the dining room. And she must have dinner with us every two weeks" she laid her terms with him plainly "And you can bet you allowance; I'll be talking to her mother when we get home. I have pretty good feeling she'll agree with me".
"Urgh, fine" he groaned in annoyance before sobering nuzzling his head back into her thigh as his arms wrapped around himself feeling the chill seep through the layers he wore for the trip "I really missed you Mom".
"I missed you too" she said threading her fingers through his hair, the gesture seemed to relax him as his breathing evened out and he relaxed further into her leg "I'm sorry I put you though l that".
"I know" he answered, "You were just giving me, my best chance" he added shrugging his shoulders at her.
The sentiment took her back to the stone bench back home when she was trying to tell him that him not knowing who she is to him was to give him is best chance.
"Hey" she gently called out to him making him sit back up to look up at her "I love you".
"Love you too Mom" he replied with a soft smile on his lips as the redhead literally see him shake from how cold he was sitting outside on the cold metal stairs.
"Go on inside you're getting cold" she encouraged him as he stood up following her instructions heading towards the window.
"What about you?" he stopped and turned to look at her in worry.
"I'm okay out here Tom. I'll be in, in a minute" she tells him she tells him forcing the smile on her lips.
"How would you feel about putting a pause on your training for a bit. Just until everything settle's back down. I need to get you back to school at some point soon and I need to make some sort of routine with your sister once we get back".
"Sure" he readily agrees with her "See you in a minute Mom" he nods in agreement before climbing back into the apartment to hopefully find a mug of hot cocoa wating for him.
Stepping into the warmth of the apartment the teenager instantly headed to the small kitchen to retrieve a cup a hot cocoa and cinnamon from Snow as Dr. Jekyll looked over a picture of his alter ego Mr. Hyde in the storybook. Giving the teen a warm smile the pixie haired teacher gave his arm a reassuring squeeze as she looked to see if his mother had followed him, only be left disappointed as the window remined closed.
She had no idea how hard the assassin was coping at that very moment. Not only did she admit that she was struggling to keep her darker side at bay, now she had to sit in the very same apartment her friend had once occupied. Albeit brief. The pain of losing someone so close to her must be unbearable. She saw the brave face she put on for Tom and Henry's sake, but the pain remained as her eye's gave away how she was really feeling. She was struggling. It was easy to see that now.
They couldn't let Robin's sudden death be her undoing. She'd worked so hard to get where she was. Maybe if they told Regina she would know what to do for her.
"I'll never be able to thank you enough for coming back to save me" the Doctor tells his saviours from his seat at the small desk in the small living room as Tom joined his brother, MJ and Violet with the hot mug of cocoa between his hands as he blew on the hot drink "Now that I'm separated from that monster, I can make a fresh start of my life in your Storybrooke".
As the good doctor finished the door opened as Hook, David and Zelena walked through after searching high and low for the Dark One who had gone missing in all the commotion.
"Still missing a crocodile" Hook announced to the group as he joined his love on the couch.
"Gold wasn't in the park?" Emma looked to her father for the answer.
"In all the commotion, he must have slipped through the portal to find Belle" David theorised to the group as the Wicked Witch looked for her sister seeing no sign of her sister's new wife, much to her relief.
"Where's Regina?" Zelena asks the group inside the apartment after a quick search for her half-sister.
"Wasn't she out there looking with you?" Snow asked her in confusion.
"No" she answers the former princess "She said she wanted to be alone, but she wouldn't say why" she adds heading to the other side of the apartment "Perhaps she and that little assassin had run off somewhere to secretly elope again" she sighed out.
"Amelia's right outside" Emma informs the Wicked Witch her as Tom nods along to the saviours explanation.
"Emma, this couldn't still be about the squabble you two had in Storybrooke, could it?" Snow asked her daughter.
"No, we solved that" Emma tells them "I know what this is. It's something bigger".
As she looked out into the New York skyline, she could just about make out the stars in the night sky above her. They reminded her of the stars she would see above Monteriggioni, they had a strange way of giving her peace of mind after a hard days training, the stars here however did no such thing.
There were still many things unresolved whirling around her head. Most of them focused on Persephone's stark warning wouldn't leave the forefront of her mind.
The Oncoming Storm: she called it. She had no idea when it would come or in what form, but she had to be prepared. She had a second chance, and she was not going to waste it. Not this time.
"Lia" Emma's voice disturbed her thoughts as the saviour in the red leather jacket joined her on the fire escape "Mom made some hot cocoa" she informs the woman "Do you want to come in and have some" she tried to entice her further "I could ask her not to put any cinnamon on it".
"The Charming family specialty" Amelia stated to herself as she continued to star int the distance "It must be a celebration".
"Well, there's whisky as well" the blonde added hoping it would be the thing to get her inside so they could all talk to her.
"No thanks" she politely declines the saviours offer "..I'm good".
"Why aren't you in there with us?" she asks the redhead.
"I think even a bail's bond person like yourself can understand why I can't be in that apartment".
"Robin" his name slipped from the saviours lips quicker than she could stop herself as the sound made the redhead's teeth clench together just to keep the tears from falling again for her friend. He was the friend Persephone was talking about before she was pushed into the pit, the soul she had to find in and take to Elysium to find peace.
Just hearing his name made the redhead clench her teeth together just to keep the tears from threatening to fall. When she saw his headstone, she thought she was dreaming, or at least she hoped she was. Because he couldn't be gone, not just like that. Not without her there to stop it. But no she did the noble thing and made sure to stay behind to make sure they made it to the portal back home.
Emma saw saying his name had been a mistake as she tucked herself into the corner of the railing to face the heartbroken assassin.
"Where's Regina?" Amelia quickly changed the subject. She hadn't seen her since she left to find Gold, and from the voices she heard from inside they had returned without finding him.
"She's, um..up on the roof" she replied her eyes suddenly solemn and sad as her feet fidgeted on the metal "Said she wanted to be alone. She's just…been going through a lot" Amelia's brows pulled together as she looked at the blonde to continue "Here's the thing" she started.
The redheads heart dropped to her stomach as Emma explained to her everything Regina had been forced to leave her wife in the Underworld, and since Robin's death. She'd been struggling with her inner turmoil, just as she had in the Land of Untold Stories, with the Evil Queen lurking around at the edges of her mind. She knew full well what it was like to fight against the darkness within.
"I think you should go talk to her, Lia" Emma tells her "If anyone understands, it would be you, especially with everything Juno put you through".
Taking in a shaky breath of cool air the assassin paused as she mentally chastised herself for not seeing it sooner. Just something else to add to the endless list of things she couldn't make herself see before it was too late.
"I know exactly what's she's going through" she tells the blonde.
"I know. With Juno. I remember" the blonde savour came to conclusion.
"No" she quickly corrects her "Not just with Juno".
"Oh" was all the Emma could say at the redhead's silent admission. She'd been struggling too. Once she finished telling her parents and the other's how much the former Queen had been struggling with her other half. The pair along with Hook told her that the assassin made a similar admission to them while under lock and key.
"How long?" she gulped not sure she needed the question answered, but she needed it answered anyway.
"Since the moment I first stepped into a training ring" she tells the saviour "The Widow is just a manifestation of a monster that had been drilled inside my head, she's always been there for as long as I can remember. The first time she truly reared her ugly head was on the Godspeed. When Angelo pushed me to let her out".
"I killed people for a living Emma" she reminds the woman looking up at the woman in the red leather jacket from the step she was sat on "Even if I thought it was for a good cause, even if I thought it was for all the right reasons. I have killed so many people I don't think I remember half their names or the reason I killed them for anymore. They're nothing but faces to me".
The blonde could see the anguish going through the redhead's mind, she'd been playing this game for decades without letting those closest to her in and now the one person she cared about the most probably even thought she was breezing through with no worry in the world "Let me talk to her".
At that Emma let the redhead re-enter the apartment via the window flowing close behind her as seeing the redhead take two mugs of cocoa with her before leaving the apartment to find Regina on the roof. Once out of the apartment, her family and friends looked to her to tell them what she had said to her.
"Swan?" Hook asked his love, seeing the sadness on her face as he stood from the coach to approach the blonde "What did she say?".
Looking at her parents, the royal couples saw a tear leak from the corner of her daughter eye, making her quickly wipe it away "You were right" confirming her parents claim before seeking comfort from her boyfriend as she wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head into his chest as he held her close.
All they could now is wait for the assassin to speak to her Queen.
Cursed with her new sense of mortality, she felt her lungs and muscles burn from her climb up the never-ending staircase with two cooling mugs making her remember how long it had been since she had eaten something in the land of the living and her body was letting her know that she'd been neglecting since taking in her first breath.
Pushing the door open took more effort than it should do as she was greeted with the sight of her soulmate mere feet away from her looking into the distance. With her back to her she couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. The skyscrapers and bright lights around them didn't have anything on the Queen that stood before her.
The sound of the rooftop door shutting behind her caused Regina to turn around and see the woman she married in the Underworld with two mugs in her hands.
"Hello" she said smiling too when she spotted her love.
"Hi there" the redhead replied as she crossed the roof over to the former Queen handing her the mug of hot cocoa "Got something to warm you up".
"Let me cocoa with cinnamon?" she guessed taking the mug from her assassin.
"I was a bit dubious myself, but then Emma swept in with her red leather cape with this" the redhead replied producing a silver hip flask from her back pocket pouring a generous amount into her mug.
Raising a curious brow at her love, the brunette took a careful sip of the hot drink only for the a different taste to hit her tongue making her cough as the extra ingredient softly burned down her throat "Is that whiskey?" she asks the redhead.
"I may have added just a smidge before coming up here to make it that bit more bearable for the occasion" a quiet chuckle left the former Queen's throat as they gently knocked their mugs together. The moment reminded the pair of the first time they were re-united, after the assassin had killed Iago with his own whip before making a deal that would send them a road that would eventually take them to each other.
The feeling of déjà vu quickly passed as she thought of how far they had come since the deal they had made all those years ago. Amelia had only just scratched the surface of what would later be known as the Black Widow. The dot was darkness in her heart was enough for the Queen to work with to grow, as she encouraged the woman to explore her darker side often.
"Regina?" Amelia called out to her wife as she had suddenly gone silent for a second too long.
"Sorry" she said jerking herself out of the memories as she reminding herself that
I…just, still can't believe you're really here" she admitted.
Forgetting her own drink she placed it down on the table before gently taking Regina's and placing it next to her's. Taking hold of her wife's hand, the assassin slowly closed the distance between their faces holding her gaze the whole time as she felt the redhead's nose graze her own before feeling her forehead onto hers.
The gesture made her eye's close as she relaxed into the woman's warm presence feeling her breath fan over her cheek and the gentle grip of her love's finger interlocking with hers.
A pleasant chill went up the former Queen's back as she felt Amelia take her hand into both of her's turning it around so that her palm faced up feeling the redheads' fingers softly trace the soft skin on her wrist disappearing under the sleeve of her coat to expose the skin to the cool night air.
The pads of Amelia's fingers traced from the top of the visible blue veins that pumped her blood through her body, feeling how quickly her heart rate quickly picking up from her mere touch and presence. She loved how she affected her Queen as she heard breath keep up the sudden raised heartbeat that fanned her face as she continued to slowly drag her fingers down her arm and into the palm of her hand before quickly taking her fingers away with a flick as a shaky breath left the Queen's lips before her eyes snapped open to see a pair of comforting green looking back at her.
"Still believe I'm not here?" her voice came to her ears making her come out of the trance like state.
"No" she almost whimpered.
"Then what's really wrong here?" Amelia asked her wife. Regina only answered her by pulling herself away from the redhead's touch, turning her back on the woman she loved to look out onto the New York skyline instead. She needed to start this conversation if her Queen wasn't going to tell her what was truly wrong.
"Emma told me about everything you've been going through" Amelia carefully told her love. This conversation as going to be hard for the both of them "I'm sorry you've been struggling so much" the words made the former Queen shut her eye's as tight as she could as she heard the strain in her voice. Was she disappointed in her "I'm also sorry I didn't realise sooner that you'd been feeling this way. If I'd just looked up and seem…".
"Then you'd what?" Regina scoffed out whirling around to face the redhead "Try to help me?".
"I would've told you how much I'd been struggling with my other half. That you weren't alone in all this" she told the woman in front of her.
Regina didn't reply straight away as she took in the assassin's own words, her lips pursed as the redhead waited patiently for her wife to say something, anything at all. Finally, she breathed out a heavy sigh as her eyes found Amelia's again as stepped closer to her soulmate to take the assassin's hand in her own.
"I am so happy you found you way back to me, Amelia" she started "Happier than I possibly deserve to be" she quietly replied, "But, at the same time, I'm still so sad. And worse. Just so scared".
"Scared of what?" asked Amelia, brows furrowed in confusion.
"The future. Our Future" she told her sighing once more "When I look on my past. Our past. All I see is suffering. I've lost you so many times and most recently nearly forever. I was helpless, powerless. Thankfully you had the power to make it back. Unlike Robin".
Hearing his name hurt just as much as her her's closed shut and her jaw clenched before she consoled herself enough to open her eyes again and look straight at her "I know what happened. He wasn't your fault Regina".
"Wasn't it?" she retorted, tears beginning to well in her eyes "He died saving me, because of what I meant to you. He deserved a long, healthy life with his children. That's all gone now. Now, I have his blood on my hands, along with so many others".
Amelia stood in helpless silence as Regina wiped away the tears that were now leaking onto her cheek allowing her love to continue "No matter what I do, The Evil Queen's baggage, or karma, or whatever it might be…will always be with me" she paused to let out another shaky sigh "To keep her at bay, I might have to open myself up to a lifetime of pain and suffering. And..If I don't keep her at bay…" she paused again, her voice breaking with emotion.
Amelia took in a deep cold New York breath as if she was going to say something that might comfort her. However, she quickly closed it again as she let her wife talk.
"Do you know the first thing that popped into my head the moment I saw Hook had returned from the Underworld without you?" Regina asked her. But she didn't need to be asked she knew exactly what she thought when she saw Robin's headstone. She shook her head anyway as Regina breathed out a bitter laugh "I wanted to rip his goddamn throat out" she almost growled out "It wasn't fair that he got to live, and you didn't. That Robin didn't. I wanted to burn the whole damn town to the ground with him and everyone else in it".
She sighed again, wiping away more tears "But..I didn't" she muttered out "And the only reason that I didn't, was because I fought against the rage and the pain. I fought so, so hard. And the wasn't even the first time. It's almost like, nearly every day, with every decision I make, I..just..i have to-".
"Fight against your own instincts" Amelia finished for her. Regina nodded as Amelia sighed to herself gripping the woman's hand in her's to try and convey the pain she was in "I uh.. definitely know what that like. The difference between us is that I nearly let that instinct completely takeover".
"What do you mean?" she blinked at the redhead.
"That feeling, when you saw Hook, was exactly how I felt when I saw Robin's headstone. All that rage, that pain, that hurt, all zeroed in on the one woman, that gave me her word she would look out for him. The same person I trusted with his daughter. Only for her true love to screw all of us over".
"Zelena" Regina sadly deduced.
"The only reason I didn't finish the job is because of that stupid portal, but even after when we were prisoners I just kept thinking of ways I can make her suffer even if I had to kill everyone else in that cage to get to her" angry tears feel from her face as she thought of the woman that only downstairs "Being the hero is so much harder than being a villain" she muttered lightly stroking her thumb over Regina's hand that kept her anchored to the rooftop "There's been plenty of times when I've known that all our problems could be easily solved with some bloodshed. But I fought it too. I'm still fighting it".
"Despite the word I saw on my headstone. I don't think I'll ever really be a hero. Not completely anyway. But I still have to try. I know if I don't keep my own darkness at bay, well. I'll lose everything I have that worth fighting for. I almost did" she said gripping her Queen's hand.
"Maybe your right" Amelia deduced "Maybe we really do have to suffer to keep our evil selves in check, But there's no one else in this world or in all the realms I'd rather suffer with. The road we've chosen is hard one and I'll walk it right beside you, and suffer right along with you. For better or for worse" she repeated their wedding vow her making Regina laugh as she leaned forward, placing her forehead against her's, brown eye's staring into green ones.
Gently closing her eyes Regine let out a breath as if the weight of the world left her shoulders "Thank you. for listening. For understanding" the former Queen whispered softly to her soulmate "I knew you would, I just.. should have said something sooner. I'm sorry".
"I'm sorry too" Amelia told her.
"Now you're here, all I want is.. a fresh start, with you, with Henry, with Tom and Helen, with our friends and family. But I'm worried that I..I can't. Because of her".
"The Evil Queen" Amelia sighed once again.
Regina nodded wiping away a few stray tears that managed to leak onto her cheeks. Amelia didn't know what to as her heart ached for the woman she loved, she could only hold her tight hoping the warmth and love would give her some sort of comfort.
"It seems like, every time I try, every time we try…something goes horribly wrong" Regina went on "It seems like no matter how much good I do as Regina, it'll never make up for all the evil I did as the Evil Queen".
The redhead felt the same, every time she felt like she had squeezed out more blood from her ledger, only more seeped through the pages. A never-ending cycle.
"God, I just..I just wish I could be free of her" Regina's statement made the Assassin sober up enough as she thought back to her small adventure in the Land of Untold Stories. If they had that serum or at least be able to make it than maybe just maybe they could have the fresh start they both wanted without their alter ego's getting in the way.
"Melia?" she hadn't realized how long she had been silent for until her wife called out her nickname.
"What if I could actually make that wish come true?".
"How?".
After a small trip back downstairs, she had managed to speak the good doctor himself about the idea she had had. Thankfully, he was in a sympathetic and grateful mood after they had saved him Mr. Hyde. Emma had told him about Regina's inner turmoil, which Jekyll felt the upmost sympathy for the woman.
He offered the last of his serum to the Heroes of Storybrooke, as repayment for saving his life. He saw the love that Amelia had for the woman. Regina could finally separate herself from the Evil Queen, and destroy her, once and for all, like he was with Hyde.
"He grabbed this before we fled the lab" Snow informs her former stepmother holding the needle in her hand, she and Emma joined the couple on the roof with the serum the that doctor had managed to bring with him during his daring rescue.
"It's the serum that split him from Mr. Hyde" she continued "He said there's enough left for another two doses" Snow tells the pair taking out a second needle from her coat pocket handing it to the redhead.
"Two?" the assassin questioned the woman as she stared at the needle before her.
Snow nodded in confirmation "Amelia, if anyone deserves a fresh start around here. It's you. What you told David and I. "You're right we have no idea what it's like to constantly be fighting yourself, this is your chance to finally win" hesitantly the redhead takes the needle from the princess gently rolling the glass tube in her fingers as the red glowing liquid moved inside.
The chance to win against the Black Widow, she had a taste of it already. It felt good.
"And you think this will work on us?" the former Queen sent the question to the saviour.
"I believe that this could be the end of the Evil Queen and the Black Widow, as long as you're both sure that's what you both want" Emma tells them.
"I want her gone" Regina growled as Amelia nodded along with her wife.
"Then let's get rid of them both" Snow states to the pair "Let's be the family we were always meant to be. All of us".
The couple looked towards the other as they silently held the decision between them, if one of them was going to do it the other was going to do it as well. With a firm nod they both stood back from their friends as they prepared themselves for what was to come.
"Go downstairs" Amelia instructed the mother/daughter pair.
"Jekyll said there will be a moment of disorientation when the Evil Queen won't have her magic" Snow went on "And the Widow won't be able to fight back. That's your chance. You cannot hesitate".
"Understood. Now, please, leave us" Regina repeated the redhead's previous instruction.
"I'm staying" Emma stood firm against the couple.
"I'm staying, too" Snow added looking at Regina "I was there when the Evil Queen was born. I kind of helped bring her into the world. I want to see you end her" Snow took the needle back from her stepmother ready to give her the serum as the former Queen pulled up the sleeve to her arm.
Amelia looked towards the blonde offering her the needle in her hand to her "What about you saviour? Care to do the honours?" nodding the blonde took a long stride towards her before taking the needle from her hand.
"Get ready to stand back" Regina warned them "because... I have a feeling we're about to meet a very angry queen, and she didn't like you on a good day" she warned the former Princess.
"I would be ready as well Swan" Amelia tells the blonde "The Widow isn't a big fan of yours. She's still pissed about the whole Excalibur thing" she warns her pulling the long sleeve of the blouse up her arm, the same one that the lion tattoo sat upon
"I'm ready" Emma confirmed her readiness to stop the Widow and Evil Queen for anything untoward.
In unison the mother daughter duo pushed the needle into the arms of the former Queen and Assassin before pushing down the plunger to inject the serum into their friends. As soon as the liquid entered the women Emma felt the redhead's arms shake uncontrollably as the woman struggled to keep the pain from reaching her face.
The pair quickly stepped back with grunting in pain. It felt like fire was running through her veins, not the adrenaline type but the pure unrelenting heat as the redhead struggled to stay on her feet as she stumbled along the rooftop. She could hear Regina's cries of pain, but she couldn't do anything as she her own cries drowned out the loud drumming in her ears as a gloved hand suddenly shot out her chest that made her back arch forward.
Emma and Snow watched in horror as a figures resembling Regina and Amelia pushed themselves out of their hosts. One in a large black silver and black dress with a matching head piece and the other covered in a red and black Brother hood robes with long dark red curled hair.
In her pain Amelia's green eyes met the matching eyes of the Black Widow as she tried her best to stay inside her host only for her host to grab hand push her the rest of the way out of her as the same happened to the Evil Queen.
The heroes of Storybrooke stood in stunned silence at the two additions turned around on the rooftop staring right back at their mirror image. Regina stood next to Amelia while the Evil Queen stood by her unhooded Black Widow side by side. The Widow gave no indication of how she felt about her previous host as she stood stone faced the Queen grimaced at her other half.
"Look at what we've become" The Queen leered at the pair in front of her throwing out her hand towards her other half but before any bit of magic could leave her hand a chain and cuff appeared around their hands. The Queen tried to fight only for Emma to restrain her further by forcing her hands down while the Widow hadn't moved a muscle.
"Regina, Lia. Now's your chance" Emma called out to them "Destroy her" she urged them.
A deep chuckle left the Queen's lips as she looked upon herself "You destroy me? You don't have what it takes".
"You tried that before remember Amelia?" the Widow taunted her with a half-smile "You remember how that worked out for you" the redhead opposite her physically winced at the memory or the arena she had fallen into with the Widow waiting for her "Daddy and Uncle Corman aren't here to save you this time" She taunted her as flashes of the fight came to her mind.
The Widow as too strong. No matter what she did she couldn't beat her. She got lucky when Romeo and Shay Cormac suddenly appeared from nowhere to hold her back while she ran for the portal that would take her to Storybrooke. She took the cowards way out. Again.
"Regina. Amelia" Emma called out the pair again seeing the fear on both their faces, stepping forward her mother had to stop her from going any further to interfere with what was happening.
"You're both weak" the Queen taunted them further as Regina and Amelia pushed their fear down far enough to slowly approach their other halves.
"No matter what you do, you can't destroy our darkness" the Widow spoke up addressing the pair before looking back at Amelia "Deep down inside, you know the truth, Amelia. Our mother knew that and Romeo knew that before he died" she jeered at her other half as she stood less than a foor away from her.
"You're wrong" Amelia told her other half keeping her head held up high as she got closer to the Widow.
"Am I? or it that your fear talking" the Widow stated to her other half.
"You need us" The Evil Queen added.
"No. We don't" in a blink of an eye Regina thrusted her hand into the Queen's chest as Amelia had brought out a dagger from almost nowhere and plunged it into the heart of the Black Widow, the pair gasped in surprise at the turn of events, shocked that their hosts had gone through with their plans.
Gathering the Widow in her arms, she held the dagger in place as Regina held The Queen's dark heart in her hand.
"I'm sorry" she whispered into the Widow's ear "Requiescat in pace, Widow" twisting the dagger the Widow let out chocked grunt as her body started to turn into dust in Amelia's arms the sets of chains fell onto the ground where the Evil Queen once stood leaving Amelia and Regina behind having finally defeating their darker selves.
It was over.
It was finally over.
Entering Storybrooke never felt better as Amelia followed Emma's yellow bug into town. With Tom and MJ in the back of the rental the day seemed brighter to the assassin as she pulled up to the curb outside behind the bug while the blonde gave a ride to her stepson Henry and his 'girlfriend' Violet with Regina in the passenger seat.
Pulling up to the curb behind the yellow bug and stepping out of the car the redheaded assassin chime out "Home Sweet Home" she said "And in one piece" to the other's looking back to see the redheaded assassin, Tom and MJ exit the car.
"Can't say the same thing for my gauntlets" the redhead grumbled to herself as she joined her wife and their friend in front of the bug as the boys stepped onto the sidewalk with their respective 'girlfriends', as redhead listened to the conversation between her son that the girl he couldn't stop talking about in New York.
"I should to go" MJ started "My Mom's been calling since we left".
The teen nodded in understanding stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble".
"It's okay, I mean it can't be as bad as what you're in for with your Mom's right?" she teased him knowing that they wouldn't let him or Henry forget about how dangerous it was to go against Gold alone.
A laugh left his lips as his mood uplifted at MJ's sentence "No I guess It can't" he comments as the girl saw her opportunity to tell the boy she liked why she really wanted to go to New York with him.
"Listen there's uh something I've been meaning to tell you" she starts again.
"Yeah?".
"The only reason why I went with you Henry to New York wasn't just to help you. I wanted to spend more time with you" she admits to him hoping he caught the hint at what she was thinking about.
"What do you mean?" he asked her his brows furrowing "We spend lots of time together, at school, in the library" he listed to the girl "Even in Camelot after you tried to kill my Mom" he recalled his brows slightly furrowing at the memory.
Her son was either oblivious or just plain stupid not to see how much the girl wanted him to ask her out. Regina must've heard him as well as she quickly took her hand stopping her from interfering and plainly explaining to him what MJ was trying to hint at.
MJ had to do something drastic, it was the only language he understood. Quickly closing the distance between them the girl planted her lips on his catching off guard, before melting into the kiss as his hands found her's as he used them to anchor himself in the moment as he kissed her back.
The image of witnessing her son's first kiss made the assassin's eye's onto the ground, her feet uncomfortably shifting on the ground as Emma and Regina felt the awkwardness of the scene themselves as they looked to each other.
Pulling apart, the teenage boy's eye blinked back open like someone had just woken him back up from a sleeping curse to see the girl he had crushing on ever since starting school. She liked him too.
"Oh" was all he said as he blinked as he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach. It was either that or the pizza Henry made him have making his stomach churn. Whatever it was, it felt good.
"Do you understand what I'm trying to say now dork?" she asks with teasing smile seeing the twinkle in her eye each time she called him a dork.
Nodding, his lips turned upwards on their own accord as he went to kiss her again, to feel the butterflies in his stock in his stomach again only to clearly hear his mother loudly clearing her throat, making him remember where he was before he embarrassed himself further.
The interruption made MJ giggle as she stepped away from the boy turning on her heel to walk down the street as Violet quickly caught up to her as the boys watched on as a flurry of snickers could be heard from the retreating pair as they walked arm and arm back to their homes and parents.
Joining the love struck teen's on the sidewalk their mother didn't say a words as the pair looked behind them as the women tried to repress the smirks on their faces from what they had seen.
"Really?" the younger teen asked his three mothers.
"So, I'm guessing Operation Mixtape was a success?" Regina teased the pair.
"Mixtape?" Amelia joined in with Regina's teasing "I like that name; it is a good one".
"Mom" the teen's whined in unison at the three before Henry changed the subject.
"Come on" he tells them ,taking the chunk of Olympian crystal from his pocket "We still need to un-tether the magic from this thing" Henry reminds them as Regina turned to leave with Henry only to look back to her wife to see she wasn't following.
"Aren't you coming?" the former Queen asks her.
"Actually, I was hoping to find Helen first" the mention of their shared daughter made the former Queen's lips quirk up into a smile that was mirrored by her soulmate "I'll meet you at the convent?".
"I'll find you there" she promises her soulmate, kissing her cheek in a quick goodbye the mother and son pair left the assassin and her son as the redhead noticed her Uncle's car approaching, carrying the rest of the family that ended up in New York with the addition of Dr. Jekyll.
"You ready to go find your sister" Amelia asks her son next to her.
"Lead the way" Tom said as they turned to leave heading in the opposite direction of her wife and stepson. With her back turned she heard car door's open and close behind her. Feeling someone's eyes on the back of her head she turned to see Zelena at the entrance of Granny's looking straight at her having stopped in the middle of the sidewalk as their eye's met from their places.
Now free of the Widow the hate and anger towards the woman had lessened, but the disappointment was still there. And it wasn't going to disappear anytime soon if she didn't give her new sister-in-law a chance to possibly speak to her. But she couldn't focus on her at the moment she was needed elsewhere.
"So how do you feel, now that the Widow's gone?" her son asked as they walked together towards the place their daughter and sister would be waiting for them.
She paused as she thought of a way to describe to her son the way she felt, but only one word came to mind.
"Free" she answered wrapping her arm around her sons as a happy laugh escaped her mouth making sure he couldn't escape from her "Now, how about we have a very serious conversation about the terms of your grounding for the next two weeks".
"Two weeks?! But we helped get you all back" he argued.
"Which is only two weeks. I wanted a month, but luckily for you, I'm in a forgiving mood for running away to New York with your girlfriends hell bent on destroying magic" she tells him as she remembered the second reason for her lenient punishment for his part in everything "That and Regina reminded me of what I got up to when I was your age".
"What did you do?" he asks her in intrigue "Wait, was it when you and Aunt Anya used to hustle mercenaries in the tavern?" he guessed.
"Try again" she replies.
"Was it when-".
"Did Anya tell you and Henry everything behind my back?!" she exclaimed.
"Pretty much" he shrugged at her before continuing to guess all the way to the convent. She was going to enjoy this as long as she could as tried to push the feeling of something just around the corner just waiting to ruin this moment for her. Or maybe it was someone.
Unknown to her that the next villain was just down the street making his play to make Storybrooke's his. While two others were declaring their way against their better halves.
AN: WE MADE IT!
Season 6 here we come!.
Please forgive me for the late update. Everything's been a bit chaotic and twirly and as you've read it was a bit chapter to write/edit. But I can't wait to get into the next season with you all. You've all been amazing! THANK YOU!
I hope to get the next chapter up sooner than this one has been done. Thanks for baring with me!.
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