The Ever After of Captain Swan

Chapter 16

Emma awoke early the next morning, long before the sunrise. She showered and got dressed quietly. She kissed Killian on the forehead once, then did the same to Henry. She was afraid she would wake Sayloire if she went in her room, but she risked it anyway. Emma kissed her own hand and then reached down and placed her hand on her baby's cheek. She started to tear up and knew it was time to leave, before she talked herself out of this.

She met up with Regina at Granny's for a very early breakfast, but she wasn't hungry. She ordered hot chocolate with cinnamon and drank that as Regina ate a breakfast of toast, eggs, and bacon. "How can you eat that right now?" Emma asked. "How can you not?" Regina responded. The two had become good friends in the past year, and Emma was glad this was who she was spending her time with this morning. She would have preferred being with her family, of course, but Regina was the second best thing.

"You're going to take care of everyone for me, right?" Emma asked. Regina put her fork down mid-bite, wiped her mouth, and looked directly into Emma's eyes. "No, Emma. I'm not going to have to take care of anyone, because you are going to win. We've worked really hard for the past 48 hours, and I have faith that you will beat Gold," she told her sternly, but in a kind way. "I want to believe that too, but if I don't, I need to know you'll be there for my family," Emma said, "Because if I die, and Killian dies, I want you to take care of Sayloire." Regina's eyes filled with tears. "You're not going to die, but if you do, I would be honored to take care of her," she assured Emma with a smile. "Thank you," Emma said.

The two finished their respective meals and then went to Regina's vault so she could prepare the potion. "Gold will meet us here in an hour," Regina told Emma, "So be ready." Emma took a seat and began going over everything she and Regina had practiced in her head. She braced herself mentally for the upcoming fight, knowing that even if she won, there would be a price to pay: she would have all of his magic, and her magic, and the dark and the light would be battling inside her constantly.

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An hour later, Gold's presence could be felt approaching the vault before he descended the staircase. "Good morning Regina, Miss Swan," he said politely, nodding at both of them. "It's Mrs. Jones now, you know that," Emma said, not taking any of his fake crap today. "My apologies," he said.

After this awkward exchange of pleasantries, Emma asked Regina how this was going to work. "Well, after I'm done mixing this potion, I have to put the magic cuff on both of you, to make sure you don't change it before you drink it, and then you drink it. After that, the battle will begin," Regina explained with a dry smile.

Gold was the first to be cuffed, followed shortly by Emma, and then Regina handed each of them a cup. "This potion, once it has been consumed, will tether your powers into the cuff, but prevent the cuff from blocking your powers. As the two of you fight with your powers, the winning party will gradually become more powerful as the losing party becomes weaker, losing their magic piece by piece. You both have to be aware that this is a winner take all affair, and there is no undoing it," Regina explained, "Do we all wish to continue?" The two nodded, then Gold looked at Emma and raised his glass. "Cheers, to our magic," he said. Emma raised her glass to his and then they both drank the potion.

Regina puffed them all to the park by the lake, which was the largest open space in Storybrooke. "I know it's an emotionally charged place for you, Emma, but it's the best we have," she said. Emma nodded, trying to push the images of her killing Killian in this very place from her mind. Rumple felt more powerful in this place, but kept that to himself.

Regina explained the rules one more time, then stood between them. "Once I step back, you begin. The loser will be left with no magic, and no way to ever possess magic again, so good luck," she said, stepping back. Emma and Gold both shot magic from their palms and the magic collided together in midair.

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Killian woke up when he felt warm sunlight on his face. He smiled at the pleasant feeling then flipped over to find that Emma had already left. His heart sank as he realized the gravity of what she was doing. Not long after, he heard footsteps downstairs and rushed to see if it was Emma. As he reached the first floor he found that it was just Henry. His heart ached for Emma and what she could be going through at this very moment. Then he heard Sayloire's cries and went to get her.

He knew that she would be hungry, but didn't know what he could do about that; he wasn't exactly equipped for breastfeeding, and Emma never taught him how to make baby formula. He rocked her and tried to soothe her to no avail, until Henry joined them in her room, bottle in hand. "Where did you get that?" Killian asked in relief, taking it and beginning to feed Sayloire. "Emma left some in the fridge for you," Henry replied.

Killian held Sayloire while she finished her bottle, and he and Henry gravitated towards the living room. As soon as she was done with the bottle, Killian put Sayloire in her playpen where she cooed happily. "What am I going to do if Emma doesn't come back?" Killian wondered, not meaning to say it aloud. "She'll come back, don't worry," Henry said. Killian nodded, hoping the boy was right. As they sat watching movies and worrying about Emma, Killian suddenly felt a jolt of pain and screamed in agony.