STRONGER THAN YOU

A Once Upon A Time story

By Casper Raven

Chapter 1 – Go on

They were surrounded by Peter Pan and the lost boys in Neverland, after successfully rescuing Henry. Pan was angry as his eyes were fixated at the holder of the heart of the truest believer, Henry. Just as Gold tried to portal to Storybrooke, Pan's shadow took a hold of him.

It took a hold of everyone including Hook, Emma, Killian, David and Snow. It was truly a gruesome sight to behold as Pan's shadow had seemingly become more powerful having the ability of an octopus. The only people not in its grasp were Henry and Regina.

Regina arrived moments after and was immediately in fight mode, hands glowing with a purple hue. She raised one hand at Peter Pan and the lost boys and the other at Pan's shadow, holding them back to give them time to use the magic bean to portal back to Storybrooke.

However, she was beginning to weaken due to excessive use of magic and the realization hit her that she had to stay back to hold them off until the portal closed so that Pan could not follow Henry and the others back to Storybrooke. As Gold opened the portal, Regina took one last look at Henry, her entire world, Although, she was shook to the core she still held the shield up, they locked eyes for a moment and she smiled with teary eyes and mouthed "Go on"

They had made it back from Neverland, but not without a heavy price. She had not returned. She gave herself up so Henry could escape. She had prevented Henry from being taken back by Peter Pan and his shadow. She'd managed to keep him and the lost lads at bay long enough for the others to go. She had given everything she had. Rumple was taken aback. It seems that his star student was more powerful than he had thought, even though she never made the decision to reveal it to him.

Henry had held hope that by some miracle she would return to him but after a year it was plain to everyone that he was about burst due to depression and longing, his hope in his mother's return was faltering. In the beginning he would visit the docks everyday hoping she would be there awaiting him with open arms. Instead, he would return disappointed every day.

After sometime he had stopped going and visited only once every month. He started to believe that this was the Universe's way of punishing him for the way that he had treated his adoptive mother, the same mother who has raised him to the best she could after his birth mother had given him up. Reliving every moment where he had treated her with utmost disrespect and hatred. But she never stop loving him. And now she was gone.

One morning he spiralled completely out of control having a mental breakdown resulting in a panic attack so severe he had to be hospitalized. After waking up in the ER with Emma next to him he said "Why hasn't she come back, Emma. Why did she do what she did, we would have gotten out even if she didn't do what she did" he yelled. "Why did she have to leave me!" It was an emotional outburst, one that was long overdue. All Emma could do was hold her son tight while he yelled and cried on her shoulder until he fell into a deep sleep.

After a few days of staying at the hospital he was discharged but he did have regular counselling sessions with Archie once a week. Henry resumed school and slowly his family started seeing the old Henry again, he was picking up the pieces of his life and gluing them back into place. He decided that even though his mom wasn't here anymore he owed it to her to live the way she would have wanted him to. Snow, David and Emma saw his upbringing shining through. Regina had taught him well. It was Henry's way of honouring his mom, even if she wasn't there anymore. Life went on…without her.

Henry had a school trip coming up and he was bursting with excitement, Emma noted this change and was relieved to have his son slowly returning to his old vibrant self again. Emma had packed his camping stuff the day prior and now they waited for the bus to arrive. "Be safe and have fun kid, alright" said Emma ruffling his hair "Kay, Ma see you in a week". "Be sure to call or text every day, Henry ". But her words fell on deaf ears because his friends had arrived and he was way too excited to pay attention to her. She just smirked and waved her kid goodbye.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful with no new threats in the small town which was quite abnormal. There was never a quiet moment in this town, it was kind of odd to Emma which is why she had been on edge ever since they returned from Neverland. She had to be prepared for any unforeseen events, partly due to Regina not being here and thus the responsibility of the town was now in her hands.

Emma made her way to Granny's diner to have a nice hefty beef burger with a side of cheesy French fries, the only exciting thing on what was turning out to be a boring evening shift at the Sheriff's station. She hadn't even began to enjoy her meal when a loud explosion was heard followed by purple lightning after which a strange glow was seen in the woods of Storybrooke.

'What the hell…' Emma knew that was something she was supposed to investigate and to be honest for the first time since the return from Neverland she was excited and she had an adrenaline rush, so she kissed her dinner goodbye. David had seen it as well, he had called Emma shortly after informing her that he would pick her up so that they could investigate the woods.

They arrived to the area about half an hour after the dark woods had lit up like a Christmas tree. The area looked normal again but Emma felt how magic crackled in the air. It was practically buzzing in her ear and it was not just any kind of magic, it was the most powerful she had ever felt in her life. It was so strong, the air seemingly sparked with magic. She looked at David who didn't seem to feel or notice a thing.

'Dad, there is magic everywhere, stay close to me…we don't know what we are dealing with just yet, but from the feel of it, it's very powerful". David knew that Emma was now comfortable enough with her magic to trust her instincts and he took her warning seriously. They stayed close together and they began a search of the area.

"Don't get any closer or I'll attack!"

Emma heard a voice she thought she would never hear again.

TBC…

Authors Note

This story is inspired by 'Out of Control' by Nemisses. I thought that I could continue it with my own personal touch. The first few chapters will be similiar with a few changes. However, if you have read 'Out of Control', Nemisses hasn't updated after ten chapters, so I will continue with my ideas and perspectives from then on. Nemisses had such an amazing idea that I just had to continue it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story they belong to the creators of Once Upon A Time.

Thank you for reading.