So. This was it. This is how it all ended. After everything they'd just been through, everything they'd survived, this is where fate had brought them. It seemed as though no matter how hard Emma and Regina fought to claw their way out of the worlds of darkness they'd both been in, life always caught up to them. Their good deeds and heroic acts weren't enough to shield them from this moment. Try as they might, the two most powerful women in the entire land were defenseless. They were out of options. And more importantly, they were out of time.

Regina stood in the middle of the street, engulfed by blackness. It wanted her. It targeted the person with the darkest past, the easiest to pull back into the realm of evil. With such a strong grasp, it was nearly impenetrable. Regina could feel all of the light being absorbed from her system, all of the good she'd spent years trying to achieve. It was cold and suffocating. It was endless and blinding. The only person she could see was Emma, who was the only one brave enough to approach her. With the infamous dagger in her left hand, the blonde took one step after the other, her hair blowing in her face as she got closer. Regina needed help; she needed saving.

"Emma, no!" Regina felt herself growl.

"There's no other way! This isn't your happy ending! I'm not going to let you ruin everything you've worked for!" Emma roared back, screaming above the whirring of the dark forces.

Her arms bound at her sides and her legs locked in position, Regina had very few choices in this situation. She'd lived a dark existence for decades; she knew what that felt like, what it does to a person. Emma didn't. Emma was the Savior; she wasn't meant to be evil. She wouldn't be able to handle it— not like Regina could. If she refused, Regina knew Emma was right: her happy ending wouldn't be the same. If she refused and let the darkness consume her once more, Regina's future was just as bleak as once had been.

However, if she gave in— if she gave in and the darkness took ahold of Emma, then Regina would finally have what she'd always wanted: a life free from evil. She'd finally get her happy ending and all would be right with the world. But that wasn't true. Not really. Yes, she'd live happily every after with the man who was supposedly her soul mate, but it wouldn't be right. Something— someone would always be missing. And it would've been Regina's fault.

In the midst of her thinking, Regina felt the darkness tighten its grip on her and her airway began to close. The Forces spun faster and made it more difficult to see Emma. Regina saw a shiny metal object rise into the air and she knew it was too late. "Emma, wait—"

"You take care of Henry!" Emma shouted over the thunderous crackling. "Take care of my family!" Soon, the Forces loosened around Regina as they sensed another host to overthrow. One by one, they released the brunette and reached across the short distance, surrounding Emma with black tentacles. As it unwound from the Queen, it trapped the Savior inside of its small vortex. In a matter of seconds, the roles had been reversed: Regina was now free from the clutches of evil, yet again, and Emma was fighting to survive. Before the Forces completely overpowered Emma, there was a moment of silence between the women. Their eyes met through the tangled mess Rumplestiltskin had started and in that instant, they knew. Regina saw that look in Emma's green eyes, that same one the blonde gave Henry and her parents. She knew what it meant and now, she was on the other end.

"I will fix this!" Regina promised, tears gathering and the vein in her forehead throbbing. "I'll find a way!"

"I know you will," Emma assured from inside of the whirlpool. Her eyes were getting heavy the harder she fought the darkness. Piece be piece, it infiltrated her body and attacked all of the light that was left inside of her. But, before it could devour the last bit, Emma stared straight at Regina and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I love you." And with that, when the darkness had gotten what it wanted, the Forces lifted Emma into the air and enveloped her in a cloud of blackness. Bright light shot out from cracks in the shroud, Emma's magic attempting to fight back. But it was useless. There was no point.

Desperate cries from Snow and Charming, and Henry and Hook filled the empty streets. Robin Hood was unable to do anything but stand back and watch, his face contorted in a confused expression. Meanwhile, Regina watched in horror as the only true friend she'd ever had and the only person she could really trust was destroyed by the darkness.

After a few seconds, the swirling blackness began to fade. The strike of Emma's light magic ceased and the cloud dissipated. A rattling clang echoed around the group as the dagger fell to the concrete. Emma was nowhere to be seen. All that was left was the blade. And it had her name on it.

Regina Mills lead the charge. Followed (in order) by Henry, the Charmings, Hook (he was processing), and a still-puzzled Robin Hood, she barged into Gold's Pawn Shop with a murderous look in her eyes. She carried the dagger behind her back, unsure yet of the safest place to stash it. Right now, all she cared about was getting Emma back.

"Regina, wait—"

With a simple flick of her wrist, Regina sent Belle soaring across the room, unsatisfied until she heard the sound of crashing antiques in the back office. Undoing the preservation spell Henry had informed her the Apprentice enacted, the Queen knelt down beside Rumplestiltskin and slapped his face several times; she nudged him with her knee and waited for him to wake up. When he didn't budge, she turned to another method. "David, your gun," she requested. Not a single remark of protest came from either David or Snow. They wanted their daughter back, no matter what the price was. "Henry, don't look," Regina instructed.

Pointing the barrel at one of Gold's legs, Regina never hesitated to pull the trigger. The shot rang through the small store and was soon followed by the agonizing and very awake howling from the former Dark One. A dark pool of blood started to form beneath his left kneecap, his hands instinctively applying pressure to the wound.

"Regina?!" the aging wizard whimpered. "What've you done?!" he begged, his chin quivering in pain.

"You don't speak unless spoken to, do you understand?" Regina snarled ferociously, her finger still resting on the trigger. "Right now, I'm the only one who can heal you, so unless you want another cane, you're going to tell us what we want to know!"

A hoarse voice addressed the heroes, one attached to a human form that was barely alive. "He doesn't have the answers you seek," the Apprentice said. Turning on the bearded man faster than she could rip out Rumplestiltskin's heart, Regina stomped up to the Apprentice, armed and ready. "It has taken her, has it not?" he asked. "The Dark One?"

"Where did she go?" Regina growled.

Blinking slowly, still weak from his own encounter with the forces, the Apprentice licked his lips and spoke very deliberately. "Even the Savior can't win every battle— especially the Savior."

Her nostrils flaring and her ears expelling smoke, Regina resisted the urge to aim the gun at the already-frail wizard. "Just tell us where she went! Where did it take her?"

His eyes glassy and his skin pale, the Apprentice gazed up at Regina and said, "Somewhere only Emma knows. The place where it all began."

"The Enchanted Forest?"

"Her apartment in New York?"

"Tallahassee?"

Everyone started throwing out their best guesses. They thought about everything Emma had told them, everything they knew about her. Something in the stories she'd shared or in the life she'd lead before Storybrooke had to be the key. It had to be there.

Regina's mind was racing a mile a second. All she could think about was Emma's face before she disappeared… and what she'd said to Regina. And Regina was furious with the blonde for leaving like that. How could she just drop a bomb and then evaporate into thin air? It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! Regina was going to find Emma, get the darkness out of her, and then kill her for doing this to her.

"You," Regina seethed as she gave David his gun back. "Get up." With David and Hook pulling his arms, Gold hobbled onto his good leg— or rather, the one that didn't have a bullet lodged in it. Regina bent down slightly and held her hand over the injury. Using the light magic she knew she had, she extracted the bullet before healing him, just to hear him scream. With a graceful maneuver, Regina easily fixed what she'd broken. She needed Gold, and she needed him in one piece. "You owe us," she said menacingly. "Whatever we need, you're going to give it to us, no strings attached."

Having returned to the man he once was, Rumplestiltskin was in no position to bargain or threaten anyone anymore. "As you wish, Your Majesty," he said bitterly.

Stepping forward from the back of the room, Robin Hood cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "Regina, think about you're doing. You can't just jump into this. You don't know what could happen. This could be far more dangerous than anything you've ever done."

"I'll take my chances," the brunette dismissed, already raiding the store for anything that could be helpful.

"I'm serious," Robin said through gritted teeth. "This isn't some sort of game you can win. You saw what that thing did." With everyone else concentrating on Emma's return, he was the only one who's head was elsewhere. "You'd risk your life for her?"

Setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes, Regina glared at Robin with enough heat to burn down all of Storybrooke. She advanced on him like a lion stalking its prey, no longer like a woman who was madly in-love. For the first time, she was seeing him for what he truly was: a coward. He sounded just like Zelena had after the wedding, right after Regina had been wounded: jealous and pathetic. "Emma sacrificed her soul for mine. There's no way in hell I'm going to turn my back on her now."

"No. Just on me, then?" When Regina didn't attempt to deny it, Robin Hood pinched his brow together and let the news sink in. His forehead went from wrinkled to smooth and his disappointment turned into acceptance. "Fine," he said. "You do what you need to do. Be a hero."

As the thief she once wished to spend every waking moment of every day walked away and out of her life, Regina felt nothing. Perhaps it was her adrenaline. Perhaps it was the shock of it all. Or, perhaps it was the fact that at this point in time, all she could think about was getting Emma back. "Anyone else wish to bow out?" Regina asked the group. "Because if so, you'd better do it now rather than later. I might not be as forgiving then."

Against his better judgement, the heart-broken pirate made a snap decision. It was over for him. He had no reason to fight. Now that he understood why Emma never said it back, he no longer had any loyalties. "You seem to have it all covered," Hook mumbled, wanting nothing more than to drown in a bottle of whiskey. "I'm a pirate, not a soldier."

As yet another man hobbled out of Gold's shop, Regina scanned the three people who were left— the three people she knew would never leave no matter what. There was a determination in all of them. And although it was quickly dwindling, there was a sense of hope. That was all they needed, really.

Putting a hand on Henry's shoulder, Regina turned to David and Snow and gave them a terse nod. "Let's find Emma."

A/N - DAMMIT OUAT. Every time I tell myself I'm going to stop watching, they go and do something like tonight's finale and I'm stuck where I am. This is probably a little dangerous since I still have two other stories in progress; however, I don't envision this being a very long fic. A couple chapters, really. I just need to get this out of my head because otherwise, I'll regret not writing it. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!