Chapter Text
Regina began shaking with effort. She could feel sweat dripping down her back and between her breasts, but she paid it no mind. Every part of her was focused on one goal, on one person: Emma. They held eye contact until Emma’s eyes slipped closed.
The culmination of the journey to Camelot and to Emma’s freedom from the Dark One’s grip was finally upon them. Surrounded by Snow, Charming, Henry, Hook, and Robin, Regina continued to pour her magic into the Holy Grail as Emma drank spring water from the chalice. This was what Merlin had led them to. The unlikely teaming of Charming, Hook, and Robin had actually yielded the discovery and recovery of the fabled cup. Snow, Regina, and Henry’s quest had been to collect water from the Pool of Nectar. The combination of the water in the cup would have the power to tear the Dark One from Emma’s being and contain the evil into the cup. However, Merlin’s plan came with an unacceptable possibility: the chance that Emma’s soul was already too corrupted by the darkness and would also be ripped from her body.
Now, Regina was using her magic, the fusion of both dark and light magic that she was still mastering, to separate Emma from the darkness. She could feel their magics mingling, merging their consciousnesses. Emma’s hand was squeezing the Grail, her lips still to the edge though the liquid had already been completely drained. As the Dark One tried to pull her lips from the cup, the power of the chalice and Elixir of Life kept the connection. The group could physically see the darkness draining from Emma. Her face gaining a human flush over the unnatural sallow complexion, the green of her eyes pushing out the eerie golden specks, her hair brightening to its normal honey blonde. Red and white magic swirled around the two women, pulling them closer together.
Snow, Charming, and Henry huddled together; their faces a mixture of hope and worry for both of Henry’s mothers. Robin and Hook watched from slightly farther back. As tremors began to overtake Regina, Robin stepped forward.
“Regina!”
Before Robin could take another step, arms outstretched to the brunette, Hook grabbed his arm. Robin attempted to jerk away.
“What are you getting at, mate?” yelled the pirate. “You’re going to ruin everything! Look! It’s working! She’s drawing it out!”
“But it’s killing Regina! I won’t let her continue!”
“And I won’t let you stop her from freeing Emma!”
Robin tried pushing out of Hook’s grasp again, leading to a struggle between the two men.
“Stop! Both of you!”
Henry’s voice, so much lower and more powerful than it had ever been, boomed over the noise of it all. Charming kept his hand on his grandson’s shoulder but did nothing to hold the young man back.
“She can do this,” he continued. “They can do this together! My moms’ magic together is stronger than anyone’s, even Merlin! You’re just going to distract them.”
Snow’s voice trembled with emotion. “Henry’s right. Regina knew this would be hard, but they’re both strong. They… they trust each other.”
Hook smirked, confidence bolstered by Emma’s family’s support. “Besides, mate, if it weren’t for Regina, Emma wouldn’t be in this cursed mess. Perhaps a little sacrifice on her side is in order. As long as the lad gets Emma back, we all get Emma back, we’ll be in good form.”
Henry’s face hardened. “I need both of my moms, Killian.” His voice lowered to mumble to himself, “When this is over, when my moms are done saving each other, maybe we’ll find a way to cut out any other distractions.” Snow and Charming exchanged tight smiles.
The two men continued small shoves as they turned their attention back to the women fighting to siphon the darkness. Their gazes were still locked and steady on each other. Pale blue light began to arc between the two Saviors with red and white magic still storming from Regina.
Emma began to gasp and shake. Regina’s tremors started resembling a seizure. Emma’s eyes closed, her body sagging to the ground. A moment later Regina fell, the magic between the two abruptly ending.
“Mom! Mom!”
The cup rolled from Emma’s hand.
xxxxx
Regina realized her eyes were clenched shut. Her breathing was harsh, but she didn’t feel as sweaty or exhausted as she had just been. Her mind was trying to figure out what the last moment she remembered was, but she could only remember what she felt. Emma. She was in her mind. She felt like she was in her body. She could the Dark One being scraped from their souls by their magic. She couldn’t hear the rest of the rescue party. Finally, Regina took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
“Perfect,” she murmured. She was surrounded by nothingness, a void. She sat up, looking in front of and above herself, trying to see any sort of detail in the unknown environment.
“Seriously? What the hell, Regina?”
The brunette started. She jumped to her feet and spun to face the voice. Her eyes widened. Emma Swan was stalking towards her in a way reminiscent of their first few months knowing each other. Regina raked her eyes over the blonde’s body. Golden hair, green eyes, confident gait. The darkness was gone. A smile sprung to Regina’s lips.
“Emma, I-“
“Where are we? What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve been killed. I felt your- you- fading during that light show. What the hell was that?”
Emma finally stopped when she got within arms length of Regina. Both women stood face to face for several moments. Regina’s mouth opened a few times to say something, but the words didn’t come out. She felt like she should counter the blonde’s reproach of her rescue effort, but instead she reached out. Her hand hesitated for half a second, and then continued to its intended target. Emma’s bicep was muscular but soft beneath the long sleeved robe she had donned as the Dark One. Regina’s hand tightened slightly and when Emma didn’t pull away, she found herself subtly stroking the younger woman’s arm.
Regina shook her head slightly, trying to shake the disbelief, fight through the waves of relief, hold back the onslaught of joy from simply seeing Emma Swan standing in her presence. Finally, she managed to find her voice, breathing out one short word.
“Hi.” The brunette continued to smile.
Emma’s face scrunched in question, her head cocking to the side. “Yes, hi, Regina. What is wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? Emma, I haven’t seen you in months! Do you have any idea what I- what we’ve all been through to get you back?”
“Get me back? I’m not back. We’re stuck in some… I don’t know what this is! I just want to be home.” Emma stepped back, out of Regina’s reach and shifted her gaze to their lack of surroundings. “I want to hug Henry, see my parents and Neal. I need to start fixing everything I ruined.” She sighed and rubbed her face in her hands.
Regina rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the pirate will forgive all and won’t hesitate a moment to get you back in his… hand.”
“What? I’m not- he’s not what I meant. Shit, Regina, how are you even this relieved to see me. I ripped your heart out of your chest. I wanted to kill you.” She kept her eyes from meeting Regina’s as she began to shift her weight on her feet.
“Emma, what’s done is done. We have several issues to address, I’m sure.” She paused to quickly clear her throat, her tongue darting out to wet her lips as she tried to catch Emma’s eyes.
Emma nervously inhaled and dropped her head to let her hair shield her face for a moment. “Regina-“
“That can all wait until we’re back in Storybrooke,” the brunette interjected. “Until we’re both conscious, as well.”
Emma’s head snapped up. “We’re not awake? What, this is one of our dreams?”
“I’m fairly certain that the amount of magical energy that ridding your body of the Dark One required has left us both temporarily… incapacitated. Wherever we are, we’ll wake up soon,” said Regina, while wringing her hands.
“So, I’m dreaming of you aga-… Um. Or are you dreaming of me?”
Regina smirked and shook her head. “I think we should just focus on waking up.” She reached out for Emma’s hands and nodded at her to follow her lead. Regina took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Emma followed suit, holding hands with Regina and taking long, slow breaths. After several moments, she peeked out of one eye and found Regina’s hands glowing with white light. “You think a little light magic is going to jump start us into waking up?”
Regina kept her eyes closed in concentration. “Perhaps, if you would focus and put forth a little effort.”
Emma’s breath stuttered, her voice shakily saying, “I-I don’t think that’s a good idea, Regina. I could-“
Regina opened her eyes and squeezed Emma’s hands slightly. She took a step in closer to her. “Emma. Find that lightness in you. That good, pure magic that has gone untapped for far too long. Magic is emotion. Focus on love, and the light magic will happen again. Think about Henry, your family, your friends, your home. You can do this.”
Emma closed her eyes. Images of Henry slipped through her mind, memories of her parents, thoughts of holding her little brother. She felt the magic stirring in her fingertips, the ones still securely in Regina’s hands.
Regina.
Emma took another deep breath, smelling Regina’s perfume, and a small familiar smile tugged at the corners of the blonde’s lips. She thought about Regina hugging Henry, Regina standing with her parents, Regina holding her baby brother. She thought about Regina fighting for her, refusing to give up on her. Emma opened her eyes to find Regina’s brown eyes staring determinedly at Emma.
The light from Emma’s hands engulfed them.
xxxxx