Beane Odette - Reawakened - A Once Upon A Time Tale

Overhead, the dragon was circling, and she ran to the other side of the cavern, where site saw a good outcropping of rock. She dove under it just in time, feeling the heat of the flame against the skin of her cheeks. This time, the dragon didn’t swoop away.

It landed.

Emma turned, eyes wide, and looked at the growling creature, which was not ten feet from her. She feebly held the sword up, but it was heavy and ungainly. She sensed that the dragon was amused.

— Screw this, — she said.

She dropped the sword, pulled her gun, and started to shoot.

After firing into the heart of the thing, there was no sign that the bullets had even caused a tickle. It lunged at her, and she ran to the other side of the cavern, the dragon snapping its huge jaws just behind her head. At the far wall, she steadied herself.

She changed her aim and fired at the head in a tight pattern near the nose. She could see small geysers of blood erupting when each bullet hit, but again, they seemed to have little impact.

— Really? — Emma said aloud.

As she did, she saw that the dragon’s chest now seemed to be glowing orange. She figured she was going to have to dig that potion out of it.

The sword was on the other side of the cavern, back where she’d dropped it. She tossed the gun aside, visualizing the move she’d have to make to get the sword. The dragon turned to face her. She smiled at it. Then went straight for it.

The dragon seemed confused by Emma’s charge, and was late shooting a long plume of fire at her; so late that she made it past, and made it under the legs of the huge beast. She dove for the sword and felt it in her hand. The dragon, confused, slowly turned around, screeching in frustration.

It rose up then, ready to turn her into a pyre.

Emma waited as long as she could.

And then she threw the sword.

The blade struck the beast directly at the glowing spot on its chest, and the dragon screamed an ungodly scream, its wings flapping in agony. The scream, however, did not last long. All at once, the tremendous creature exploded into a ball of flame and ash.

Emma hit the deck and waited for the hot wind to pass over her. When all was again quiet, she approached what was left of the body — really just a pile of black crud. She sifted around for a moment, but the potion wasn’t hard to find. A white jeweled egg, the perfect carrying case for a love potion. Emma collected it, found her sword, and headed back to the elevator shaft.

Breathing heavily, still not really admitting to herself that she’d just fought a dragon, Emma yanked the cord and yelled up the shaft:

— Regina, pull me up!

After a moment, the elevator jerked to life.

Emma studied the egg as best she could as she lurched upward. She’d lost her flashlight somewhere, but the light from above let her see the clasp. She opened the egg up and saw the vial inside, glowing a strange violet hue. So that’s what love looks like, she thought.

About ten feet from the top of the shaft, the elevator stopped moving. Emma looked up.

— Regina?

A head peeked over the side.

Not Regina.

— Gold? — said Emma. — What are you doing here? Where’s Regina?

— She had me take over, — he said. — You’ve got the egg, I see!

She was good at telling when people were lying, but even the worst judge of truth would have been suspicious of Gold, the way he eagerly leaned toward her, awaiting a reply.

— Yeah, I got it, — she said. — Pull me the rest of the way up.

— I can’t, — he said. — The elevator is broken. You’re going to have to climb the rest of the way.

Emma looked down at her pants and her pockets, trying to think of some way to secure the egg for the climb.

— It’s too fragile, you can’t climb with it, — he said. — Toss it up to me, then climb.

— No way, Gold, — she said. — Just hold your horses.

— Henry doesn’t have the time, Ms. Swan.

Emma looked up, and sighed. She had to trust him. She didn’t like it, but she had to.

She tossed the egg.

Gold caught it, looked at it for a moment, nodded at her, and disappeared.

— Gold? — she said. — Gold?

Nothing.

He was gone.

It took her ten minutes to get up out of the elevator, and another five to get to the hospital. She didn’t even consider going after Gold. She went to Henry. What August had said — you don't need magic — had circled through her mind the entire time she climbed, like a dragon in her head. Yes, maybe all of it was real, and yes, maybe there was some crazy logic to the curse, but she knew one thing: She loved that kid. She loved him more than she loved herself. She’d never cared about herself enough to know that she was capable of giving love to someone else, but she knew now. And so she went to him. To Henry. To family.

The mood was grim when Emma entered the ER, and her heart shuddered when she saw Mary Margaret’s face. To her right, Regina. (Now she knew why she’d left the library and left her at the bottom of the shaft. She’d come to watch over her son.) Behind them, Dr. Whale and the nurses. All of them looked somber, broken. Mary Margaret was crying. When Emma realized Regina had a tear in her eye, she knew the worst was true.

— What is it? — Emma managed. She and Regina kept staring into one another’s eyes. Emma knew that right now, it was like looking into a mirror. They’d fought for so long, but now… they were two mothers.

— We did everything we could, — say Dr. Whale.

— I’m sorry, — said Mother Superior, who was flanking him. — You’re too late.

Shock. Pure, unadulterated shock. Emma’s eyes glazed over as she walked past them and into Henry’s room. She barely heard Regina saying, — No, no, no, — over and over again. She heard a faint ringing in the back of her head. All she saw was him. His beautiful face. His eyes closed.

— Henry, — she muttered, dropping to her knees at his bedside. She put a hand on his chest. — Henry, — she whispered. She didn’t care if he was alive or dead. — I love you.

She leaned forward, closed her eyes, and kissed him on the forehead.

She felt it right away: A shock of energy pulsed out of her and into him, building itself up from a core of energy deep within her chest. The force of it made her eyes come open — it was pain, but it was the pain of love, of all the longing she’d felt for the last decades, all of it focused here, on him. Another wave rolled over her then, and this one knocked her backward, to the floor. People — everyone — were thrown back. It was like a hurricane had entered the room.

It took a moment for the winds to die down, and for Emma to get to her feet. When she did, she stared at Henry in disbelief.

His eyes were open.

He was looking at her.

— I love you, too, — he said. And smiled.

Mary Margaret wandered away from the hospital and toward downtown Storybrooke, thinking, of all things, about her name.

Mary.

Mary Margaret.

The words sounded so strange on their own; together, even stranger. She stopped on the sidewalk in front of the diner, squinting in great concentration as a series of very old, very hidden feelings paraded through her heart.

She had used that name before; it did come from somewhere. She remembered a snowy landscape, and then saw the snow red with blood. Bodies. A wolf. And — and her friend. Her friend Red.

Her head snapped up. She looked down the street and saw him coming toward her, a smile on his face. His arms out.

— My prince, — she whispered, seeing David — no, Charming — coming toward her. — My prince!

He started to run, and she ran to him. They met in the middle of the street and Snow felt it all come back, then, held securely in his arms. All of it. The bridge. Her father. Regina. Red. Storming the castle. The fairies. The dwarfs.