496Alright! After 4 years, the conclusion to this story!
I promise it's not an April's Fool Day's joke. I had originally intended to post it for Valentine's Day, but then I kinda super lost my writing inspiration and took an indefinite break. But now I'm back!...hopefully.
Below, you'll find the thrilling conclusion, as well as a preview for a sequel!
So without further ado, here we go!
When Emma came to, the searing pain at the back of her head made it difficult to move. She didn't even try to open her eyes.
"She's up!" a hushed voice exclaimed.
"We should help her up," another voice suggested.
Emma felt hands on her arms, and her immediate reaction was to swat them away. It really didn't help her headache, but foreign hands on her body while she was still recovering from who-knows-what were a big no for her.
"Sheriff Swan, relax. We're not going to hurt you." There was a third voice, this one much more soothing, and familiar. She dared to crack open an eye and found herself looking at a blurry Marco.
She wanted to ask what was going on, but all that came out was a sound that vaguely resembled a moose in distress. Maybe it was better she didn't ask. Finding herself in a dingy room was not the greatest situation to be in.
"Here," it was Michael, holding out a tin cup. "Maybe some water will help."
Emma raised her head a bit and took the cup slowly, bringing it to her lips and drinking a few hearty gulps.
"What she needs is medical attention!" That was Mr. Nelson, Emma saw.
The missing woodworkers! Now it all came flooding back to her.
She rasped out, "Where am I?"
She looked at the dingy room. There were no beds, and the only source of light came from the grated door. It smelled, and she couldn't think of a single place in Storybrooke that she could be in.
"In the convent, as best we know," Marco explained. "They brought us here, to this unused part of the building - probably the basement, and have been holding us hostage making boxes for them."
"Boxes?" Emma's mind was swirling with the new information. She recalled going in to question Blue. She patted her stomach. The wire was long gone, and by how sore her stomach felt, they probably ripped it off none too gently.
Michael nodded. "It's a bit disturbing really. They're meant to hold hearts."
Emma's mind flashed back to the heart she had found with the wood chipper going through it. She swallowed. "And the mastermind...Jeff. What's his damage?"
"Wish we knew." Marco sighed. "He makes Rumpelstiltskin look like a choir boy."
"Who was he? In the Enchanted Forest I mean?" Emma asked, growing worried.
"I don't think he was from our land. He comes from a far more desolate place: The Black Forest," Mr. Nelson said. "In my time in captivity, I have pieced together what I know of him. He was a most unstable and terrifying man, and he has a penchant for collecting hearts."
Emma was growing nauseous. "Collecting hearts? Why?"
"Because I enjoy it." Through the grated doorway, a figure was standing there, hands behind him, his teeth almost glistening in the darkness. "I want to own everyone's hearts. It's my goal in life, and I am steps away from completing it."
"You won't get away with this Jeff!" Emma growled, scrambling to stand up despite the growing protests from her throbbing headache. The three woodworkers worked to help her up, but she paused at Jeff's maniacal cackle.
"Won't I? Last I checked, you were the one locked up without your magic, and I am on the cusp of unleashing my grand plan."
Emma's eyes narrowed. "Regina will stop you."
"Regina?" Jeff mocked. "The Evil Queen doesn't care for anyone but herself."
"You don't know her like I do," Emma groused.
"No. I know her far better. And you know what, I'll prove it to you." Jeff walked away and came back with a laptop in his hand. He turned the laptop on and spent a minute pulling up a file. He then turned the laptop around to face his prisoners, and pressed the space bar. "This was taken just a few minutes ago."
It was video of the Mayor's office. A camera on someone's lapel clearly showed Regina was sitting at her desk. She was wearing the same clothes from earlier that day, so then not a lot of time must've past while she was out.
The wearer of the camera cleared his throat, and when Regina looked up, she sneered. "What do you want, Spencer?"
"I am here to present an offer on behalf of someone." Spencer's voice was booming. He was wearing the camera.
"'Someone'? And who might that someone be?" Regina asked, sounding bored.
"The Anti-Serenader."
That got Regina to frown, and she grit her teeth. "What the hell does he want from me?"
"Your collection of hearts, the ones you collected in the Enchanted Forest. He knows you keep them somewhere guarded."
Regina looked amused. "Even if I did have a collection of hearts stored away, what makes you think I'll give it to you?"
There was some shuffling, and Spencer held out a cellphone. "You'll tell us if you want to save your dear Emma."
From the video, Emma heard her own slurred tinny voice scream. This must have been earlier when they pulled out the wire, before she woke up in the cell.
There was no registration of worry, not a change in emotion for Regina. "You have mistaken me for someone else Spencer. I don't give a rat's ass for the Saviour, and certainly wouldn't sacrifice my collection of hearts for her."
There was a sharp hiss and an "Oh my," from one of the men holding her up, but Emma didn't pay attention. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and to Regina's painful words.
"So you admit you have a collection of hearts. But surely you would sacrifice them for her? We know you know she's the Serenader, don't play coy. You care for her, and we are very serious in our threat. The hearts for Emma Swan."
Regina rolled her eyes. "I thought you were at least somewhat intelligent Spencer, because I am dead serious as well. I don't care for Emma Swan. Do what you want with her. I am not fazed by her whole Serenader act."
"But she told us you spent the night together. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care."
"Yes, because I've never done things with an ulterior motive," Regina deadpanned. "You don't think, for a second, that perhaps my entire plan is to make the Charmings suffer? Their precious daughter is head over heels with me, and would do anything for me. Why would I actually care for the daughter of my enemy. You'd actually be doing me a favour, it's less time I have to be acting like I actually care for that insipid Charming spawn."
Jeff pressed the spacebar again. "I can keep going, if you'd like."
Emma's eyes stung, and there was a bitter taste in her mouth. She pulled away from the woodworkers' arms, and stumbled her way to the door, using the grates to hold herself upright. "Listen to me, you can try every trick in the goddamn book, but I won't believe a single word until I have Regina right here in front of me telling me all of that."
Jeff's lips quivered in amusement. "You are stubborn. But very well. You want to be naive, then be naive. Don't say I didn't warn you."
He promptly left them in the darkness, and Emma hoped that the video was a trick. Because if not, she was the biggest idiot in the universe.
"That idiot!" Regina looked at her phone and stormed out of her office.
Kathryn looked up from her work at Regina as she furiously made her way out of the office. She rushed to follow her friend. "What happened?"
"Ruby said something's wrong. It's been hours and she hasn't heard anything from Emma. I knew she shouldn't have gone there alone."
As they made their way down the stairs, Kathryn tried to get Regina's mind from worrying about Emma to ask, "By the way, what did Albert Spencer want?"
"Nothing," Regina succinctly responded. If they weren't in a hurry, Kathryn would've prodded more.
Once they were both at the base of the stairs, Regina said, "Come on, I don't have time to drive there."
She grabbed Kathryn's wrist and magicked them to the station, where Ruby was sitting in front of some equipment, headphones around her neck.
"What happened?" Regina was quick to ask.
"Nothing happened, that's the problem. Emma was supposed to be back hours ago."
"And why didn't you tell us that hours ago?" Regina demanded.
"Because she had been texting me back, but I think this is someone pretending to be her." Ruby showed them her phone, and the text conversation in question.
'Hey, I can't hear anything on the mike. Did you mute it?' Ruby had asked.
'No. But I just went into the convent...do you think something's blocking it?' Emma had responded.
'Could be. Get your phone to record, and then send it to me when you get out.'
"That's the last message I think Emma sent."
There was a brief period of no messages, and then Ruby began messaging again.
'You still there?'
'Yeah. Blue laughed at my idea and is giving me a full tour of the convent to show me that she's not involved in anything, and I'm inclined to believe her. Maybe Leroy was wrong? Trying to throw us off the real villain's scent?'
"You get the point," Ruby said, pulling her phone back. "The thing is, I think it's suspicious that the wire wasn't working but Blue is all of a sudden innocent? And I tried to call her, but she never answers, even though she's perfectly fine texting me back."
Regina huffed. "I am going to tear that fairy's wings apart." With a puff of smoke, she was gone, and Kathryn and Ruby glanced at each other for a second before scrambling outside to follow Regina.
"Get me your fairy leader right now or so help me!" Regina growled as she appeared and threw the doors of the convent open, throwing a fireball at a window, making it shatter.
That got the fairies in the vicinity to rush to find Blue.
Regina was getting ready to burn a pew when Blue appeared, looking harried and distraught. "Mayor Mills! What has gotten into you?!"
"Bring me Emma Swan right now," Regina demanded, not relinquishing her fireball.
Blue grew puzzled. "The Sheriff left a while ago after having a tour with me. Perhaps you should try contacting her?"
"You don't fool me, you wasp. Where, is, she?" Regina's voice grew more dangerous by the time she finished her question, that even Blue was growing scared, glancing between Regina and her fireball.
"I have no idea! Now leave before I call the cops on you!"
But Regina didn't move. "Funny, considering that I think the Sheriff is being held against her will in your convent!"
Blue was indignant. "The nerve! Honestly, I will report you."
"Go ahead. But first, I want to scour every single nook and cranny of this building." Regina stood firm, extinguishing her fireball to cross her arms in front of her.
"I will allow no such thing!" Blue retorted.
Regina feigned surprise. "I was under the impression you allowed our good Sheriff a tour to prove your innocence."
"That's because she is part of the police force! You, on the other hand, are not!"
"How about me?" Ruby panted, having just rushed there, trying to catch her breath while also flashing her badge.
At that, Blue faltered. "Very well, I suppose."
And she did lead them on a tour of the convent, but she said nothing, just hurried along the hallways while Ruby and Regina opened every single door they passed by. Ruby was using her nose, trying to catch even the slightest scent of Emma. But nothing.
Once they were finished and they had stopped on the front steps of the convent, Blue looked overly satisfied as she turned to them and asked, "Anything else you'd like to accuse me of next? Sacrificing babies perhaps?"
Regina was gearing up to punch Blue, but Ruby held her back.
Blue smirked, and then left.
Kathryn, who had followed on car and had not been fast enough to reach them in time to join them on the tour, approached Ruby and Regina and asked, "Anything? Because the town is buzzing with the news that the Evil Queen was trying to burn down fairy nuns."
Regina rolled her eyes. "Of course. But no, not a thing. Did you sniff anything?"
Ruby frowned. "No."
"So what?" Kathryn asked. "Emma was telling the truth? Blue is innocent?"
"Not that. I didn't sense Emma at all," Ruby commented. When the other two women looked confused, Ruby added, "If Blue had given Emma a tour, I'd have noticed Emma's scent. But the utter lack of it means that Blue was lying. There was no tour."
"But where could she be?" Kathryn asked.
"We're going to find out," Regina said, walking back towards the cruiser.
"You want to use us as bait? No way!" Maps exclaimed.
"Listen to me," Regina stated, hands splayed on the table. "I don't much care for you lot, but Emma does, and right now, she's missing. I think your puppet-master is holding her, and you are going to help us bring her back."
"And if we refuse?" Colin piped up.
"Then you get one hell of a fine, and worse, depending on our mood," Ruby said. She wasn't a big fan of having all of them play bad cop, but she agreed with Regina that the Wayward Gang wouldn't agree to help otherwise.
Logan hummed. "We might help, under one condition."
"Which is?" Ruby asked.
"To be decided at a later date," Logan said.
"No way pipsqueak," Kathryn shook her head. "You tell us now."
Maps, Colin and Logan exchanged a glance, and the former said, "We want out."
"Of this?" Ruby pointed to the interrogation room they were in. "Yeah, as soon as this danger is squared away."
"No," Colin said. "We want out of Storybrooke."
Maps nodded to where Trevor and Nick were playing with Timmy. "No matter what happens, we'll still be outcasts. We want a better life for Timmy, and we don't think Storybrooke is the place for it."
Ruby and Kathryn looked to Regina, who was pensive.
"Fine. I will assure everyone gets a safe passage - provided you help us free Emma Swan." Regina didn't exactly know what she was signing up for, but she knew that she had to free Emma. The sooner the better.
"Mother Superior? You have visitors."
Blue sighed. She'd had had enough visitors today to leave her with a headache.
It was the ragtag gang of ruffians that Albert had blackmailed into doing his dirty work for him. She plastered on a smile and asked, "How can I help you, gentlemen?"
Maps, who had done his best to slick his hair back into something resembling presentable, said, "We want to begin anew, Mother Superior, repent for our sins and all."
Meanwhile, Regina and Ruby were trying to sneak into the basement. The Wayward Gang had told them everything they had told Emma, and the basement was the only place they hadn't visited. But how to get in...
"What are you doing here?" a voice called out, making Regina and Ruby jump. It was Nova.
"We- uhm, we're-" They were trying to use the cover of night to break into the cellar door that led to the supposedly unused basement. But that didn't really sound like something they could disclose to someone who could be part of the whole conspiracy.
"Trying to break in?" Nova said, eyebrows raised.
Ruby huffed self-importantly, and flashed her badge. "We believe something shady is happening in the convent's basement. Can you open this?"
Nova blinked. "I don't think-"
Regina rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for this-"
Ruby held up her hands to get Regina to stop her roll for a moment, before turning back to Nova. "Look Nova, Mother Superior is potentially aiding a group of very dangerous people. If you don't help us, you could be arrested for abetting whatever this is. So please, help us."
Nova bit her lip, but finally acquiesced, taking out a big ring of keys from within her habit. She grabbed the large padlock and unlocked it. "There you go."
As she was about to leave, Regina said, "Oh no way, you are going in first."
"What?" Nova asked, whipping back around.
"Regina!" Ruby hissed.
"What?" Regina responded, raising her eyebrows. "This could be a trap, and whoever is down there will most likely not punish a wayward nun. So she goes first."
Nova rolled her eyes. This was too much for her. But she still went down first, taking Ruby's offered flashlight and clicking it on.
What they found was a room filled with boxes. It was dank and dark, and made them all feel a growing sense of nausea.
"Hello?" Ruby called out, only to get an eye roll from Regina.
"Announce us, why don't you?"
But it paid off, for a shaky voice called back, "Hello? Who's there?"
They followed the voice down to a cell, and Regina's breath hitched; there, along the three missing woodworkers, was Emma, and she looked unconscious. "Is she hurt?"
At first, none of the men responded, and then Ruby repeated, "Is Emma hurt?"
Marco made a so-so gesture. "She has a head-wound that has not been treated properly. She keeps going in and out, and is having a tough time remembering things. Every time she wakes up she asks where she is."
Nova swallowed and asked, "Who is keeping you guys here?"
Michael said, "Your Mother Superior, for starters."
Nova gasped, and Ruby shot up. "That's it, I'm arresting her ass."
"Who else?" Nova asked hurriedly.
"Albert Spencer, and Jeff Milton," Michael listed.
Ruby huffed. "Alright, I'm going off to arrest Blue, you two can handle this?"
The two women nodded, and Ruby rushed out to arrest the evil-doers.
Regina turned to Nova. "Any chance you have a key for this?"
Nova looked unsure. "I've never even been here. And I have catalogued every key. None of them would fit."
"Step aside then." Regina flicked her wrist and with a slight bang, the door creaked open.
Marco and Michael helped to bring Emma out, and Nova helped Mr. Nelson, who was quite weak after being in that cell for so long.
"Oh no you don't." They all looked up at the approaching figure. It was Jeff.
Regina smirked. "It's one against all of us. Give up before you hurt yourself."
Jeff cackled. "Oh my dear. You must think me an idiot. You don't actually think I wouldn't create a contingency plan? I have their hearts you see."
He pointed behind Regina, where she saw Michael and Marco put Emma to the side and crack their knuckles. Nova looked at Mr. Nelson, but he seemed too far gone to be part of this, so she gently put him down in order to help Regina.
"Now, three against two. I like those odds much better," Jeff cackled.
Regina lit up fireballs in each of her hands, and geared up to fire them at the pair of woodworkers.
"No! You can't do that!" Nova said, grabbing a hold of Regina's wrist. "They might be controlled, but you can't hurt them."
"I'm not going to hurt them," Regina said, throwing one of the fireballs at their feet. The two woodworkers jumped back, and Regina whipped around, lobbying the other fireball straight at Jeff's face, who managed to conjure up a shield to protect him from the fireball.
Regina huffed, and then turned to Nova. "You have magic, right?"
"Yes..." Nova tentatively answered, wondering why Regina was asking.
She jerked her head to the woodworkers. "Keep them busy, I'll handle this clown."
Nova nodded, and began to fire bursts of light at the woodworkers, keeping them from advancing.
Meanwhile Regina faced Jeff. "I never caught your real name..."
"I never gave it, but if you must know, I am Michael. Dutch Michael." He threw a ball of dark energy towards Regina, who quickly deflected it onto a side wall.
Regina frowned. "Sound sufficiently ridiculous. But I've never heard of you."
"Don't imagine you would. I wasn't from the Enchanted Forest," Jeff commented. "I hailed from a land called the Black Forest."
"Sounds bleak," Regina commented, materializing chains to try and contain him.
Jeff easily sliced through them, and countered with a dozen snakes flying at her. "It was. But it was my domain. Until an idiot by the name of Peter and his stupid glass elf took it all from me!"
Regina didn't look the slightest bit interested, flicking her wrist to turn the snakes into confetti. But she kept on goading him, figuring it might help trip him up. "Sounds to me like you're a sore loser."
"Says the Evil Queen. And besides, you'd be vengeful too if someone took your ability to tear out hearts, would you not?" Jeff countered.
"Fair enough. So Peter and his little...whatever took your ability to remove hearts. So what? You had decided to wreak havoc in the Enchanted Forest?" Regina asked.
"Close. But enough on my story. You see, you are going to let me go," Jeff claimed.
That made Regina pause. "And why would I do that?"
"Because otherwise I will release a video that will destroy your reputation." Jeff grinned. "So what will it be? Me, or a damning video."
Regina didn't even think about it for a moment before conjuring up as many chains as she could, and wrapping them around Jeff. "I call your bluff."
"Your funeral, Mayor Mills," Jeff smirked, before he disappeared in a puff of dark smoke.
Soon enough, the Charmings arrived, along with an army of ambulances.
Regina and Nova searched for the woodworkers' hearts, and eventually found them within the multitude of boxes. Jeff had apparently replaced their hearts with stones, and Regina set about swapping the rocks with their hearts once again, much to their relief.
Emma was taken urgently on a gurney to be treated for her head wound, as was Mr. Nelson, who was in dire need of some nutrients after being malnourished for so long.
Regina wanted to breathe easy, but Jeff's final words sounded very dangerous.
One week later, and life in Storybrooke had gone back to normal. Spencer and Blue were both arrested and awaiting trial, while Jeff was still at large, for his crimes as the Anti-Serenader, and head of Group Vitriol. Many believed he had skipped town, but Regina didn't believe it. His threat lingered in the back of her mind, and she was worried for what it would mean.
For now though, the town had mostly accepted her innocence, having helped to save the lives of the woodworkers and the Sheriff. Because of that, everyone had pitched in to help finish restoring her house, and they were even thinking of giving Regina a day of appreciation.
As for Emma, she had made a speedy recovery. She didn't remember anything from her time in captivity, and the woodworkers were mum on giving her any information, so she just let it be, figuring it was the best solution.
Meanwhile, the original Serenader's identity remained a mystery. Everyone remained curious about who it was, but Regina didn't say anything, and wouldn't disclose any information as to whether anything had blossomed between them.
With that in mind, Regina and Emma figured that it was best to leave their budding relationship a secret for now, not wanting the pressure of the entire town watching them as they figured out how they worked as a couple.
Now though, Regina was packing up her stuff.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay?" Emma asked, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Regina's suitcase.
Regina smiled at Emma. "My house has been fixed, I can no longer claim I have anything left to do here."
"You could say you're taking care of me?" Emma offered with a slight pout.
"I am not your live-in nurse, Ms. Swan," Regina playfully reprimanded.
Emma clutched her heart. "Oh, back to Ms. Swan huh? Fine Madam Mayor, you're the one who'd be missing out on all the epic movie nights."
"It's not that I don't want to...but I feel like it would be best for our relationship if we first date and then move in together?" Regina explained, before going to give Emma a kiss on the cheek.
"I will remind you we already share a son. That kinda throws everything out the window already."
That was true enough. "You wouldn't mind my staying here?"
Emma scoffed. "Not at all! We have the space, and it's much more homely than your mansion. You could sell it now that it's fully finished, and just live here for real."
Regina hummed, going to straddle Emma's legs. "You make a very tempting offer."
"So tempting you'll accept it? I mean, I did serenade you for weeks, that has to count for something." Emma put her hands on Regina's hips and leant forward to capture her lips in a kiss.
Once they broke apart, Regina appeared to think about it for a moment. "I want to accept it...but we'll see. First, we have to go and escort the Wayward Gang out of town."
Emma groaned. "Don't remind me."
"I thought you'd be glad to have them out of your hair," Regina said, standing up.
"I do, but at the same time they were a big help. Plus I'll kinda miss their less dangerous shenanigans," Emma shrugged, leaning back.
"Well you can let them know once we pick them up."
"You know what I'd much rather do?" Emma said, pulling Regina closer to her.
Regina bit her lip and responded, "What?"
"Stay home with you and cuddle up to watch a movie while my parents take Henry for the rest of the day."
"Well we can always do that after we finish," Regina said.
"Perfect. It's a date," Emma grinned.
And Regina couldn't help but smile back. It was like everything was coming together.
And that was that!
Finally the end. Plus a sequel is coming soon.
For now, I have other fics to update and write, so I'll see about getting those going.
For those curious, Jeff/ Dutch Michael was from a story called the Heart of Stone, an old German fairytale. He seemed like quite a nasty character, and felt that he would be good for this fic.
I want to thank each and every single person who commented, liked, followed, gave kudos, and enjoyed this fic. You made my entire experience writing this so much better, and I really couldn't have done this without everyone's support!
Let me know what you thought!