It was pure chaos as Henry's last defense was enacted. He had enough guns to outfit a small number of men and they moved out from cover, opening fire on the enemy army. Henry spurred his horse behind their lines and looked back, seeing the Immortals charging forward with a reckless disregard for their own lives. They stumbled and fell when the spray of bullets managed to reach them, but unless they suffered a fatal shot, they got back to their feet and continued their mad dash. All around him the refugees were running for their lives, their screams almost as loud as the gunshots. He dismounted and gave his horse to a pair of older women. Mira came to help them mount up and Henry turned back to the battle.

Across the river, Roland and a group of men carrying massive shields moved down to the water, forming a protective wall over Regina and Ruby as they pulled their daughter to safety.

"Henry, get down!" Something slammed into him, knocking him to the ground as arrows hit the earth where he stood only moments before. "You're useless." Mira growled, looking down at him. "And you owe me."

"Done." He said, both of them scrambling back to their feet.

"We have to run. We're running out of bullets."

Henry turned and saw that many of their gunners were indeed running. The wolves and Zelena's gorillas were crossing the rock bridge now. Merlin stepped forward to stop them, using a bright purple sonic blast that blew them and the rock bridge away. The eruption was thunderous and Henry didn't need another second to hesitate. The gunshots had stopped by now, replaced by snarling and yelling from the army that just would not stop charging. Regina had men to throw away and she didn't seem to mind doing it. He didn't understand why they would still follow her when she was just sending them to their deaths. It was only when the snarling stopped did he pause and check to make sure everyone had made it. Merlin appeared next to him.

"Keep moving. I created a sinkhole along the river and they're checking on Freya. We have time to get away but we have to hurry."

"Do you think Regina will stick to her deal?" Mira asked.

"Hopefully. Unless she abandons it because someone tried to shoot her daughter." The wizard glared at Henry.

"You said to show her my strength." He snapped. "She thinks she's untouchable and that she's so smart. Besides, Freya's a psychopath."

"Yoo hoo." All three turned at the sound of the call. A flying pair of knives hit Mira in the shoulder. She couldn't even scream before she was dropkicked to the ground. Henry drew his sword just before Freya managed to tackle him, slamming him against the nearest tree and sending the air rushing out of his lungs. She ducked every swing of his sword, following every attack with a slice from her dagger. He'd completely forgotten she was also part werewolf. Merlin attempted to help him, but Freya turned and grabbed his arm, stabbing him with some kind of needle. The wizard went still, hitting the ground a moment later.

"Have a nice swim?" Henry asked. He glanced at Mira and nodded to Merlin. She gave him a nod of understanding and started crawling towards the fallen wizard. Henry turned back to a scowling Freya. "Did I touch a nerve?" He taunted. "A sadistic bitch like you...afraid of water? I've heard it all."

"You won't hear anything again when I cut off your ears and ram a dagger through your brain!" Freya attacked again and this time, he rolled through it, landing on top of her. He struck down with his sword, narrowly missing cutting her ear off. She hissed at him, a sound more animal than human and pulled her legs up. With a hard kick, she knocked him off of her, sending him flying. She got back to her feet and ran back over to Merlin, just as Mira managed to reach him and landed a harsh kick to the side of her head, stunning her completely. Freya snickered as she conjured a piece of rope and tied up Merlin.

"No!" Henry roared. He ran to stop her but she threw out her hand, the branches of the trees around them bending to her will. One wrapped around his neck and dragged him back while she shifted into the form of a beautiful white wolf. She looped the other end of the rope around her neck and threw Henry a manic grin before taking off, dragging Merlin behind her. The vines released him, but there was no way he would catch Freya without a horse. "Mira!" He called, rushing to her side. The woman was out of it. A dark bruise was already starting to form from the kick she sustained to the head. He tore off the sleeve of his shirt and pulled the daggers out of Mira's shoulder to bandage them. She didn't even stir as he did it. He had to find Myranda and Nasir and get Mira to safety. Merlin needed help.

/

"What the absolute fuck, Freya?!" Merlin demanded, following her into the throne room. Roland's eyebrows rose when the pair walked into the room, bickering like children rather than mortal enemies. Regina was on her throne, eyes squished closed and whispering to herself. She didn't even open her eyes to speak.

"The plan is being changed. I need time and I need to see if this Emma thing is actually a concern." She peeked out of one eye at him. "Merlin is dead. Ruby smashed in his face a while ago. That's not him."

Merlin covered his face with both of his hands and when he removed them, a mask was in his palms. The faint sheen of a spell passed over him and Jonathan grinned. "Ta da."

"No way." Roland whispered. "You've been pretending to be Merlin this whole time?"

"Indeed. Ever since Ruby killed him."

"Now, we will know everything Henry knows and we will know exactly what he's being taught." Regina added, smirking at her own genius.

"You don't think he'll get suspicious when Merlin escapes again?" Roland asked.

"Probably, but he's not really in a position to turn away help and no one truly knows the power of Merlin. We were only lucky we managed to cuff him when we did." Regina stood up off her throne and stretched her arms. "Besides, we have another secret weapon." She motioned behind him and he turned around as the doors to the throne room flew open and Ruby and Rama walked in. Behind them...was Emma Swan. Red leather jacket and all. She grinned at Roland and tickled him under the chin.

"Miss me?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I barely know you. Still, what the hell is going on?" He asked.

Emma reached into her shirt and pulled out a green necklace. She clicked it and transformed into none other than the Wicked Witch. Zelena continued grinning. "The look on your face when I walked in…"

"Zelena, I cannot stress how important it is that you-"

Zelena waved away Regina's concerns. "Little Sister, I've got this. We've been preparing for this for the last year. I'm pretty sure I can pretend to be that insipid blonde for a little while to give the little prince hope and then poison his mind."

"If not, you could blow this entire thing apart." Regina hissed. "You are crucial to this."

"I understand, but we need to go over another thing." Zelena kissed her cheek and clicked her necklace again. "Both of you have to watch the pups while I'm gone." She looked between Regina and Ruby. "Watch Zenon carefully, you know he's a troublemaker. Zyra needs her claws clipped immediately. She leaves claw marks everywhere. Make sure Zena and Zorro brush their teeth. They always try to get out of it. Oh, and you'll have to brush Zuby's hair yourself when she goes to bed. Regina, you know how to do the braid she loves."

"You forgot one." Rama commented.

"Zahra is the one you won't have to worry about. She's asleep half the time and I don't blame her. Just feed her and she's good to go."

Roland couldn't help laughing to himself at the faces Ruby and Regina made as they committed the witch's instructions to memory, as well as the fact that Zelena had given almost all of her children names that started with Z. One name stood out though. "You have a kid named Zuby?"

Zelena and Ruby both grinned proudly. "Yep." The werewolf said. "She's the baby. See if you can guess who named the first borns and who named the rest." She put an arm around Freya.

"Aren't you coming back tonight?" Freya asked her aunt.

"Of course, but they can get off their asses and help raise the future of our mad little family. You all too. Whenever you're done chasing Mal's children, hoping to extend said family." Freya and Rama both turned red at Zelena's teasing and quickly teleported away before she could witch masquerading as Emma soon did the same to fulfill her mission.

"So you have Zelena pretending to be Emma and Jon pretending to be Merlin, all the while turning Henry into an insomniac so he can't ever sleep and sees visions of you?" Roland said.

"Maddening, isn't it?" Regina smirked devilishly. "Because that's exactly what Henry will be. Mad. Not the fun kind either. He won't know what's real, what's fake, whose intentions are real or fake. He won't be able to distinguish between dreams and reality, past or present. He's going to lose his fucking mind."

Roland flicked an eyebrow at her words. Surely both Regina and Henry knew there would be no end for this feud. Regina's obsession with destroying the Charming bloodline existed long before she became crazy. If she killed Henry, if that was even her goal anymore, she would have accomplished that. He wondered what she would do then. Would she still be mad? Would she find peace? Maybe she was like the Joker, she needed someone to fight. Killing her former son wouldn't make her as happy as she thought it would. When it came to Henry, surely he had to know that even if he did succeed in killing Regina and avenging his mother and grandparents, it wouldn't really be a win because one of Regina's children would just kill him. And if they didn't kill him, the effects of all that Regina had done to him would still remain. There was no winning for either one of them, but it would seem they were doomed to try and destroy each other anyway. Nothing existed from before, when Regina loved her former son so much she would've moved the earth if he so much as asked and Henry adored his mother in turn. There had to have been a deep love there for it to turn into such a powerful hatred that consumed the both of them like a hunger they couldn't sate. He wished they would learn to let it all go, but it would seem one would have to die for the other to move on. He didn't want either one to die, but he knew that just because he had Regina's favor, didn't mean he had the power to sway her decisions.

"Roland?" He was swept out of his thoughts by a soft voice and looked around, finding that everyone else had gone off, leaving him alone with Regina. She walked to him and put a hand on his chest. "You okay?"

"Yes." He said, putting a hand over hers. "Just doing a lot of thinking."

"Regretting your decision?"

Roland frowned and looked her in the eye as he spoke. "Never." He said with conviction. "I'm yours, Regina."

Regina smiled. "Stay with me tonight?"

"Absolutely." She took his hand and lead him through the portal behind the throne to the Ozian palace. He grinned to himself, walking hand in hand with the queen of his life. Regina's bedroom was massive and draped in finery and extravagance. A huge four poster bed with red sheets was the centerpiece. The walls were covered in her strange carvings. Random designs scored into the stone.

"Relax, take a bath, get comfortable." Regina said, releasing his hand. "I'll have some food and clothes brought to you while I go tend to my nieces and nephews."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll be back as soon as I can, my king." She gave him a peck on the cheek before strutting out of the room and he smirked, watching her leave.

Roland moved into the bathroom and took a long soak in the tub. He finished just in time for a servant to bring him some clothes to sleep in. He put on the pants but ignored the need for a shirt and pulled his hair up as he walked back into the bedroom. After a slice of lasagna was brought by another servant, he settled down on the balcony with it and a photo album he found on Regina's bookshelf. There were pictures of the family at various worlds, causing untold amounts of destruction, and raising children. He constantly forgot about the magic in their blood because a part of him had always wondered how Edward, Freya and Rama were as old as he was, if not older, when he was born years before. The pictures showed them in human and wolf form. Freya had beautiful white fur and Rama had Ruby's dark black pelt. He could see Freya and Rama growing up with their cousins and Ruby in nearly every picture looking like a proud mama while Regina's smile never wavered. She looked at her children like she couldn't believe they were real. Only towards the end were the six newest additions to the family shone, with Zelena proudly showing each one off to the camera. Besides the fact that Roland knew who they were and what they could, they looked like a regular family. What stood out to him more than anything was the fact that madness didn't change Regina's love of motherhood. Evil Queen or hero, she was always a good mother who deeply loved her children.

"Sorry I couldn't join you." He glanced up when Regina stepped onto the balcony, wrapped in a fluffy robe with her hair in a wet braid across her shoulder.

"It's fine." He smiled. "If I knew you would be coming back so soon I would've waited to take a bath."

She narrowed her eyes at him and sat down next to him. She wordlessly closed the album in his hands. "You said you loved me, but you weren't sure what kind of love."

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

Regina raised a finger for silence and he held his tongue, watching her think. "Roland… I don't think we should go down that road."

"Because you still see me as a kid?"

She smirked and looked at him. "Do you look like a kid, Ro?"

"No, but it's the truth." He replied.

"And what are you hoping for?" She asked.

"I don't know." He answered. "But why do we have to put a name to it? Let's just enjoy it. I love you and you love me. Let's leave it at that."

Regina nodded slowly and beckoned him closer with her finger. He leaned forward and she did the same, letting their foreheads touch. "I only ever feel at peace when I'm with my family. For a few brief moments, everything is clear. I feel light and happy. I feel that with you too." He couldn't help smiling at her heartfelt words, his heart doing a quick jump at hearing just how much he meant to her. After a moment, Regina leaned away and stood up. "Come on, we both have a busy day tomorrow."

"We do?" He said, taking the album with him as she lead the way back into the bedroom. He put away the book on the shelf while Regina unbraided her hair and used magic to dry her long mane before pulling it back into a ponytail. "Ruby said that you're going to have to break me. Is that what's going to happen?"

Regina paused in pulling back the sheets. "Everything changed when you came here, Roland. She's right, but I'm not going to do that. Not to you."

"I don't want special treatment because I'm the new guy." He said. She sat down on the bed and he sat next to her, frowning in concern.

"You being you is why I love you, Ro. If I have to break you, then you wouldn't be you. I don't think it's possible anyway. So, no. Tomorrow, you will be given a test with one task. You pass, then we will talk. You fail, then you have to do it again until you do. Sound simple?"

Roland nodded. "Simple enough. What's my reward? A kiss?" He smirked when Regina rolled her eyes.

"Sure." She decided, rising to remove her robe, revealing a silk nightdress underneath. "And I'll even let you pick where I plant it."

"O-okay, wait, give me three chances." This was an opportunity he couldn't afford to lose. She laughed at his eagerness. "Please."

"Fine. But you won't see me for that day every time you get it wrong."

"That's evil, Regina."

Both of them shared a grin, but he was a little nervous about what tomorrow entailed. He didn't think she would ask him to do something like kill Henry or something drastic like that. Then again, the woman was too unpredictable to say what she would or wouldn't do. "Stop thinking." Regina commanded as they climbed into bed. "It's not going to do anything but keep you up at night."

"Can I get a hint?"

"Nope."

Roland laid down on his back, sinking into the soft bed with a sigh. Regina fell into his arms, laying her head on his chest. He was asleep pretty soon, but Regina remained awake for most of the night, plotting her next move. There was a lot she needed to deal with. Emma couldn't come back. It was impossible. However, she learned a long time ago that magic didn't care what you thought was possible. She could be worrying for nothing and Merlin's words were just the cries of man who knew his death was imminent. He could just be trying to buy time for Henry even from his grave. It wouldn't matter though. If she had to kill Emma again to achieve her victory, so be it.

"Stop thinking." Roland's groggy command drew her out of her thoughts. She raised her head and smirked at his sleepy smile.

"As you wish, my king."

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