Emma continued to whack against the cell wall, and the lever, desperately trying to escape.
"It's no use," Emma, Mary Margaret said, "this cell was enchanted to hold Rumpelstiltskin himself. We don't have a chance."
"This is my fault," Aurora muttered.
"No," Mulan said. "It's mine. Cora stole your heart because I failed to protect you."
"That's very sweet," Emma said. "But I believe it's my fault. I'm the savior, and I'm not doing mush saving, am I?"
"We're going to win this fight, you know?" Mary Margaret stated. "Good always defeats evil."
"You sound like Henry," Emma replied to her.
"Guess optimism runs in the family."
"I think it skipped a generation," Emma told Mary Margaret.
"You should know better than anybody. You broke the curse," Mary Margaret told her, reaching out.
"What have I done since then?" Emma asked. "I got us stranded over here, burned down the wardrobe, let Cora get the ash, and now, the compass. The only reason I ever broke the curse, was because it was exactly what Gold wanted me to do. I had nothing to do with it."
"What are you talking about?" Mary Margaret asked her.
Emma sighed. "He told you I was the saviour. It was his plan. Once I fulfilled that role, maybe that's all I was ever meant to do. Everything I've ever done... He had it all mapped out before I was even born. I'm not powerful. I'm... I'm not... A saviour. I'm a name on a piece of paper. I'm a pawn, and that's exactly why we are in here. And Cora's on her way to Storybrooke." She finished the last part slowly, not wanting to actually say it."
What seemed like centuries later, we were still in the cell. I knew it had only been about ten minutes, but it felt like such a long time. Had I really made the right decision not going with Hook and Cora? At least I would have been able to protect some of the people in Storybrooke. What could I do in this cell?
I picked up the scroll with Emma's name written on it over and over.
"I thought Rumpelstiltskin was supposed to be some kind of helpful person in Storybrooke," I said. "Why would he lie about the squid ink being in here?"
"He probably didn't know that someone took it," Mary Margaret replied. "I doubt he'd lie about this. Not when he is trying to start anew with Belle. Trying to make her trust him."
"We've got to get out of here!" Mulan said, whacking her sword against the bars of the cell.
"Thank you," Emma said. "I thought we wanted to stay in here forever. Sitting here reading this damn parchment isn't going to help us do anything! We need to get out! We have to keep Henry safe from Cora."
There was silence.
"Yes, it will," I said.
"What?" Emma asked.
"You said the parchment won't help, but it will."
"How?" Aurora asked.
"The squid ink," I said. "It's in the cell. More, it's on the paper. He wrote with it!" I blew over the paper and words rolled right off the page, going over the cell. The bars disappeared.
"I told you!" Mary Margaret said happily, turning to Emma. "Good always wins."
Emma smiled, nodded.
"Wait," Aurora said once we were out of the cell. "I can't go. You have to tie me up."
"No," Mulan said. "I'm not leaving you here."
"I can't be trusted. Not as long as Cora has my heart."
"Then I will get it back for you," Mulan told her."
"Mulan..."
"I will," Mulan told her.
"Mulan," Emma said, "we gotta go."
"Do it," Aurora said, wrapping her hands around the back of one of the cell bars so Mulan could tie them together. Mulan tied them together to what remained of the cell bars.
"Good luck," Aurora said sincerely to us.
"Thank you," Emma said. "Good luck to you too."
We barely found Cora and Hook in time. Mary Margaret had guessed where they would go. Lake Nostos, a magical lake that would restore something to the way that it once was. Mary Margaret said it had dried up, but when we got there, it was pretty obvious the water has someone got back.
Hook and Cora had their hands on the compass. Mary Margaret barely had time to shoot an arrow which caught the string of the compass and made it fly over the open portal, to the other side of the small lake.
Cora and Hook snapped their heads around.
"You're not going anywhere. This portal's taking us home," Mary Margaret told them before turning to Emma. "The compass - get it."
"Find it first," Cora told Hook. "I'll take care of them."
Cora reached out her palm and made a ball of fire fly towards us. Mulan deflected it with her sword. Cora continued to shoot fireballs at Mulan, while Mary Margaret attempted to assist by shooting arrows from a distance. Cora dodges Mulan by magically disappearing, but the bag containing Aurora's heart is left behind. It's flung towards the whirlpool, but is caught just in time by Hook before falling in. He tossed the bag to Mulan.
"I may be a pirate, but I bristle at the thought of a woman losing her heart," he said. "Unless it's over me."
Mulan looked conflicted at what to do, so Mary Margaret shouted at her,
"Go!"
"But you need the compass!" Mulan said.
"And Aurora needs her heart," Mary Margaret replied.
Mulan gave Mary Margaret her sword.
"Take it," she said. "It deflects Cora's magic."
Emma and Hook were engaged in battle this whole time.
"I had no idea you had such a soft side," Emma taunted him.
"I don't," he replied. "I just like a good fight."
They continued to fight.
"You have good form," Hook said, "but not good enough."
Hook grabbed Emma's leg and managed to flip her onto her back. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret and Cora square off. Hook slowly slides his Hook down Emma's sword and pins her to the ground.
"Normally, I prefer to do other more enjoyable activities with a woman on her back," Hook said to her. "With my life on the line, you've left me no choice. A bit of advice? When I jab you with my sword, you'll feel it."
Emma moved her hand around behind her, searching for the compass.
"Why would I do that when I'm winning?" She asked.
Emma flipped Hook over and knocked him unconscious with the back of her sword.
"Emma, run!" Mary Margaret yelled at her as Cora disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She would reappear anywhere, out best chance was to get through the portal. There was a dead body on the edge of the portal, apparently what Hook and Cora had planned to take through with them since three of us had fallen through the portal in the beginning.
The three of us make a break for the whirlpool, but Cora reappears in front of us, blocking our path. She magically throws us backwards onto the ground. Cora then stalks in Mary Margaret's direction. Emma attempted to get up, but is thrown back to the ground by Cora.
"Why do you want to go to Storybrooke?" Mary Margaret asked Cora.
"Because my daughter needs me. And now, I'm going to see her. To pick up her pieces."
Emma ran towards them, knocking Mary Margaret to the ground as Cora tried to reach out and rip out her heart. Instead, Cora began attacking Emma, knocking her repeatedly to the ground. Cora reached down and took Emma's sword out from beside her.
"Go ahead," Emma said. "Kill me."
Cora laughed. "Oh, dear. Why would I kill you? No, I think making you stay here is much better fitting for all of the trouble you have put me through. You and your friends can stay here while I go back. You can all wonder what is happening in your precious Storybrooke, but you won't know. It will break you, drive you insane."
Cora picked up the sword and turned it around, ready to hit Emma in the head with it. This is the moment I decided to become the hero for some reason. So I dove in front of the sword, taking the hit for Emma, and blacked out.
Babes, I was wrong when I said this chapter would be the confrontation between Hook and Ashton. It will be next chapter, I can guarantee that. Love your ideas so far for what you want to happen, keep sending them in!
What are you looking forward to most in this story?
Love you all!
Liz xx