Author's note: Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Chapter 7

"And the winner is…"

"The Devil Wears Prada!" Regina blurted.

"No, it's The Notebook." Belle insisted.

Regina shot her a tight lipped grin. "I think not."

"Yeah same here." David interjected. "I don't watch either of those."

"Well listen here-" Regina started, but Henry cut in.

He had an amused look on his face. "Are you guys going to keep arguing or are you going to let me tell you what it is?"

"Fine, fine." Regina waved a hand dismissively. "Go ahead. But it's my choice, right?"

"Um-"

"Please don't say it's that." Killian groused. "I'll take you sailing if you chose Pirates of the Caribbean."

"Really pirate?" Regina snapped. "Bribing my son? That's low, even for you."

"It's the Mummy!" Henry blurted before Killian could retort. "Congrats, Mom." He said, turning to Emma. "Sorry." He shrugged at everybody else. "Maybe next time?"

Emma had a smug grin on her face as she stood up to pop the DVD into the player. "Oh well. Great suggestion, Mom. The whole drawing names out of a hat? Genius."

"Well of course you're saying that, dearie." Gold spoke up. "You won."

"What's it you?" Regina snapped. "You didn't even have a choice."

He had an annoying little smirk on his face. "Don't go ragging on me. It's not my fault Ms. Swan's movie choice won."

Regina simply scoffed and turned away. "Let's just get this over with. Can we pick again after, Mary Margaret?"

"Of course." Came the reply.

"Good."

The movie slowly filtered onto the screen. While Regina sipped her coffee rather impatiently, Gold just looked bored; Mary Margaret and Belle had complacent expressions, obviously trying to make the best out of a movie that wasn't their type. But on the other hand, Emma, David, Killian, and Henry were completely enraptured as soon as the movie started.

"I don't get what your problem with this movie, is Regina." Killian commented as the Emperor slashed, fought, and murdered his way into dozens and dozens of kingdoms.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that I was watching you on screen." He replied. "You know, mass murder and all?"

Regina's expression grew furious, comically matching that of the Emperor's. "You have no idea what you're talking about. For one thing, I would never resort to beheadings. That's just so crass. Not to mention messy."

"Right, right." Killian nodded. "Because pulling out hearts was any better."

"You know, I kind of agree with Regina." Emma spoke up. "Instead of using swords, why don't they just throw a couple sticks of dynamite and let them rip? That'd be much more cost efficient, not to mention all the time they'd save. I've watched this movie dozens of times and I've thought of that at least that many times."

"Because dynamite wasn't invented back then." Mary Margaret explained in her patient schoolteacher voice.

"And besides, Mom, it wouldn't have been as cool." Henry argued.

"If you want to kill lots of people, though, that's the way to go."

"Excuse me, Ms. Swan." Regina broke in icily. "But I do not appreciate you discussing the mechanics of violence with our son. And I have to disagree with you about dynamite. Magic is, as you say, the way to go."

"I agree." Gold said. "But it appears that they do not possess magic, hence they would have to resort to such garish measures."

"Looks like you're right." David said as the Emperor on screen started to learn how to control the Five Elements. "He's getting magic."

Mary Margaret frowned at the TV as the Emperor commanded his general to find the sorceress t who would unlock the secrets to immortality."Why, though?"

"Why what?"

"Why do all villains want to live forever?"

"So they continue to wreak havoc for a long, long time?" Emma suggested. "Why don't you ask Regina or Gold? I'm sure they'd be able to respond."

"Or how about your precious boyfriend?" Gold hissed. "As far as I remember he was as much a villain as myself or Regina."

"Hey!" Killian spoke up. "I take offense at that."

Mary Margaret ignored them. "But why, though?" She pressed on. "I mean, personally I wouldn't want to live forever even if it means being all powerful. It would get terribly lonely."

David burst out laughing as the Emperor ordered his General to be executed. "Somehow I don't think he minds being lonely. Wasn't that guy like his best friend?"

"Not anymore. You don't kill your best friends. Well, at least normal, sane people don't." Emma quipped.

"E-nough." Regina clapped her hands twice, in a perfect imitation of Mary Margaret. "I don't like what you're insinuating, Ms. Swan, and you will stop this instant." She said, her voice quiet and clipped. To answer your question, Mary Margaret," She turned to Snow. "yes it does get lonely, and that is why I adopted Henry." She flashed Henry a smile, and Henry grinned back.

They watched the movie in a rare silence for a little while, nobody noticing that during their discussion over the loneliness of villains, Gold had unconsciously snuggled closer to Belle.

"Cool!" Henry burst out as the Emperor came back to life. "I didn't know this movie had zombies."

"Technically he's not a zombie." David corrected. "More like...an undead form of himself."

"So a zombie then."

"Don't bother." Emma said. "He's at that stage where he's obsessed with anything and everything zombie related."

As if to reaffirm her words, Henry nodded, his eyes wide and trained on the movie, as the Emperor's carriage weaved its way through the streets of China, narrowly avoiding capture by the O'Connell's.

"Now that's more like it." Emma said as she watched the O'Connell's prepare for battle with their machine guns. "Much more time efficient."

But across the room, Regina scoffed. "Have you not been paying attention? Oh, wait who am I kidding? It's you. Magic trumps guns, or rather everything all the time."

"Nope! Love does!" Mary Margaret spoke up eagerly.

Regina rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point." And she was proven correct, as the Emperor waved his hands and created a row of ice spikes. "See?!"

"Looks like someone's getting into the movie." Gold commented.

"Oh, shut it." Regina said harshly. "At least I'm not an uptight stick in the mud."

"Really, dearie? Do you want to go there?"

And then the temple was blown up by the dynamite that had been set up, causing an avalanche. The yeti raced over and positioned themselves over the O'Connell's seconds before the snow came racing down.

"You know, the yeti are kind of cute." Belle spoke up.

Everyone threw her strange looks. "Really? Cute?"

"Well, yeah." She defended herself, her cheeks coloring.

"You do know that they're snow monsters, right?"

"Yes." She huffed.

"That's so you." Regina replied. "Thinking that the world consists of fluffy bunnies and rainbows. Well news flash, princess, not everything is as lovely as you imagine it to be." As if to reaffirm her point, she threw Emma a scathing glare.

"If I were you I'd shut my mouth right now, Regina." Gold warned, his hand tightening on his cane. "At least Belle is happy, which is a lot more than I can say for you."

Regina stood up, probably intending on either strangling Gold or stomping out of the room, but just then, on screen a dagger was thrown by the Emperor, nearly embedding itself into Alex's back, and she froze in place, distracted.

"Damn, um I meant wow, that was a really great throw." Emma said.

"It's not that hard." David replied. "All it takes is some practice."

"I suppose. But I still prefer my gun."

"Which is why you were a fish out of water." Mary Margaret pointed out rather unhelpfully. She turned to the rest of the room. "I remember when she accidentally lured an ogre with her gun."

"Hey, I was trying to save you." Emma retorted.

"From Aurora. Who's probably the least harmless of them all."

"Sounds like Ms. Swan." Regina butted in. "Careless as always."

"Well you know what? Next time you can just save yourself." Emma huffed, turning away from her mother.

"I did, actually. And you too." Mary Margaret said, causing a round of snickers to go around the room.

"Maybe you shouldn't have saved her life, Mary Margaret." Regina's voice oozed sarcasm as she butted in once again. "She doesn't seem very grateful."

"Regina, nobody asked you." Emma shot back.

"But everybody asks me." Regina replied, her eyes wide with fake innocence. She placed her hand on her heart and gasped dramatically as if she'd been terribly offended.

Emma responded with a very Regina-esque eye roll.

"But really though." Regina continued, blatantly ignoring the glares thrown her way as she interrupted the movie. "Always getting herself into trouble. Remember Neverland? Jumping into the water? My god, she's more irresponsible than Henry."

"Why don't you shut up and watch the movie, Regina?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Right, because it wasn't your choice." Gold interjected. "How terribly whiny of you."

"Hey, you have no right to talk to me in that manner. At least I chose a movie."

"Yes, practically the dumbest one of all."

"At least it's better than this one!"

"It's the one that Henry drew out of the hat, so all of you will stop this and watch the movie with a smile on your face or you won't watch it all." Mary Margaret spoke up, using her teacher voice.

Regina stood up immediately. "Fine then."

Gold followed suit, pulling Belle up with him. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Killian waved cheerily. "Hope you have a safe drive home. Or don't. Makes no difference to me."

"That's not what I meant!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "I meant that everyone needs to stop arguing over silly things."

Gold leveled her with a stare that he normally used for the worst of enemies. "Or else what?"

"Yeah, or else what?" David echoed.

"Or else…" Mary Margaret sputtered. "Or else…"

"See, she has no leverage."

"Or else no cookies!"

"Oh no!" Regina gasped sarcastically. "How will we ever survive?"

Author's note: Spoiler-the next movie will be the Pirates of the Caribbean