Chapter Text
Henry Mills was no stranger to fear.
He was scared of his Evil Queen mother before the curse broke.
He was scared when Pan held him hostage.
He was scared whenever his family dissapeared for an unspecified amount of time.
And he was scared now.
He'd broken off from the crowd that tried to keep him in their midst at Grannies, after feeling the telltale buzz of dark magic in the air, sprinting down alleys and streets until he'd come up on one of the worst scenes he'd ever seen in his life.
Rounding the corner, he saw his mother encased in darkness.
The darkness she'd tried so hard to get rid of.
Robin was screaming her name, but he saw that his mother was too petrified to answer, all wide eyes and stiff limbs stuck in that gooey black twister. And he didn't blame her. She had spent all that time trying to wash the blood from her hands, to make amends for all the hurt she'd caused, and she had finally found a happy ending in someone she truly loved. All of that was about to be undone with a vengeance like no other. He saw Emma dart forward, dagger in hand, making a break for the swirling mass, and heard as Snow screamed her name. The woman stopped and turned back, and even from the distance he saw the shine of tears in her eyes.
"There has to be another way!" Regina grunted, voice hoarse with exhaustion from resisting the darkness. If she gave in, let the darkness consume her, let the Evil Queen return once more...people would die.
"There isn't", Emma replied, almost dazed with adrenaline. She seemed to come back alive suddenly, stance coiled and ready, dagger clutched tightly in her palm. "You've worked too hard for you to have your happiness taken away!" She yelled, mirroring Henry's inner ramblings, and she made a move to stab the mass, stopping again as her dad yelled her name desperately. Snow and David were hanging off eachother, and Henry almost wished he was sandwiched between them. The only thing that was stopping his legs from working was the fear of the all consuming darkness. Even from here the amount of evil and greed it produced made him feel dizzy and weak.
"You figured out a way to take the darkness out of me once, I need you to do it again!" Emma panted, tears nearly spilling, and Hook rushed forward to stop her, talking to her in desperation.
But Henry wasn't listening.
He was watching his mother grow weaker by the second.
And suddenly he was running, legs unsticking from the floor, fear utterly forgotten, a speed in which was fueled by nothing but rage and worry from the unfairness of it all. Because Regina deserved happiness. Emma shouldn't have to sacrifice her goodness for storybrooke. For him.
Not again.
Being a hero wasn't even a thought in his mind. All he could think about was making sure his mom got her happy ending.
He bypassed his grandparents, and Robin, who made a wild grab for his arm, the man yelling out in warning. He missed.
He skid past Hook and his mom, engaged in a fierce battle of goodbye and promises.
He snatched the dagger right from her hand.
He barely registered her shriek of his name, or the sharp burn of the dagger from where he gripped it by the blade.
All he saw was his mother's round eyes as he plunged the dagger into the darkness.
Almost immediately the darkness started consuming his arm, icy cold tendrils snaking their way and under the sleeves of his jumper, the feeling like thorns made of ice digging into his skin. He heard multiple shouts of his name, senses becoming overwhelmed, and risked a glance back. Hook had Emma around the middle as she kicked and screamed, reaching out a desperate hand towards him, begging him to take it, to let go of the dagger. David and Robin had run forward almost as soon as his hand came into contact with the dagger, and now were trying to gain ground towards him, but having to dodge and retreat to escape stray whips of dark magic. Snow was sobbing on the sideline, her whole family in turmoil.
Regina was yelling, telling him to look at her. And he did.
"Henry, you need to let go! Please let go!"
"I can't!" He screamed back. "You'll be too powerful as the dark one, mom too! I'm nothing!"
"Henry!" She screamed, a sob tearing out of her throat as the black curse dropped her to the floor, only to watch as it slammed full force into her son.
Henry gasped at the intense pressure, at the feeling of darkness creeping up into his chest, veins filling with ice, and then strangley, a faint sense of power. Despite the pain, he resisted a little longer, forcing himself to take steps backwards to get his family out of the way of danger.
"You'll have a chance!" He grit, and he saw the exact moment his mom realised his plan. "If either of you turn into the dark one, you'll have too much power! Nobody can take you down already! I have no magic, I'm not strong, you'll have a chance!" He finished, a cut-off scream escaping him as the dark magic finally reached his heart. The mass was chaos around him, and he could barely see his family, falling like a blanket around him. He felt the moment his heart became tainted, seizing in his chest, fingers locking around the dagger. Fuck it hurt.
"You're strong baby, you're strong! Fight it!" Regina cried, breaking down in tears at the sight of her boy. And as much as Henry wanted to, he battled against his nature. If he didn't do it, then his mom would. And it would be a long, long time until he got her back. So he gave in. He let the void swallow him, consume him, stopped fighting against the tide and allowed the static to fill his brain.
"No, you are!" Through the gaps of darkness, he gave them his bravest face. "You deserve your happy ending. You are not darkness! You'll figure it out!"
He grunted as the walls closed in on him, throwing them one last, watery look.
"I love you."
And then he was gone.
The silver dagger clattered to the floor, face up for all to see the new name embedded into its surface.
Henry Mills.
Regina collapsed further into herself, letting out a scream of pure anguish, and Emma sagged in Hooks arms, burying her face into the fabric of his jacket. David crouched down low, head in his hands, and Snow only sobbed more violently. Robin darted forward, face holding clear distraught as he bundled his lover into his arms.
Regina had kept her happy ending.
But at what cost?
An entire realm away, a boy clothed in rags lay unconscious on the forest floor.