Wooo guess who is back with more!

So, where we last left off, Henry now knows, the curse has been broken, and two mysterious ladies [good guesses by everyone!] have accosted Graham at the station.

Whatever could happen next?

Let's see!

Emma really didn't want to go into the diner. "Do we have to go?"

Regina sighed and turned back to face her girlfriend, seeing her pout. "We don't. But I'd rather not have people think I'm conspiring to do them all off."

"And how does going to the diner for breakfast help quell those rumours?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Because they'll see us together and civilized, out and about the town, meaning we're not hiding in some dark corner of our home plotting something nefarious," Regina explained with an air of satisfaction.

Grimacing, Emma had to disagree. "Trust me, that's the number one excuse people use. We'll probably look more guilty pretending everything's fine and dandy."

Regina huffed and kept walking, knowing Emma would begrudgingly follow along. She went into the diner without a word, and kept the silence until they were both sitting in a booth by the back. "You just want to avoid coming here."

"Is that a crime?" Emma countered. "Besides, every single time I'm out people start asking me who I was in 'the old lands'."

With another huff, Regina rolled her eyes. Emma had added the finger quotes and said the last words in a mocking tone, so it was really hard to take her serious. "Just make something up."

Emma's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Can't lie, remember?" she hissed, just as Ruby approached them.

"Hey you two, regular orders or d'you want to change it up a bit?" Ruby greeted, flashing big smiles at them.

They both agreed on their regulars, and when Ruby left, Regina continued, "You can bend the truth though. It was how you got Henry to believe you did out-of-town transitioning for those recently unemployed."

"That was mostly you though, I just smiled and nodded," Emma mumbled. "Plus I don't like lying in general."

Ruby came by to quickly deposit their coffees, and Regina took a sip of hers before she asked, "Why not tell them the truth?"

Emma averted her eyes. "You know what happens when I do that."

Although Regina could understand where Emma was coming from, she wanted her to feel comfortable in Storybrooke. "Emma, that was another time, with another group of people. Look at all the people you're surrounded with now. Your coffee is being served by the little Red Riding Hood-"

"Who's not so little," Emma snickered despite herself.

"-And simultaneously the big bad wolf. I'm just telling you that maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't let your fear of rejection get to you...you might find that people here are more accepting you for who you are."

Emma shook her head decisively. "Nope. Tried that and I'm not going to try more."

Just then, Ruby returned with their breakfast freshly prepared, but rather than leaving, she turned to Emma and said, "You know, I'm sure you're probably getting this all the time, but who were you? In the Enchanted Forest you know. I'm sorry if it seems too personal but I think everyone her is pretty curious so it's hard to not ask."

Giving Regina a brief pointed look to prove her point, Emma said, "It's a long story Ruby-"

"Oh nonsense," Regina scoffed. "It's simple, she was the Captain of my guard."

Emma did a double take, but thankfully Ruby was too busy processing that to see Emma.

"I thought that was Graham?" Ruby slowly said after a few moments pondering.

"He's the Huntsman," Regina corrected without missing a beat, adding a saccharine smile to cement the effect.

Just as Emma was about to nod and subtly change the topic, she felt a very familiar pull. She quickly scrambled up and started to fish for her wallet so she could pay. "I-I have to go."

Ruby frowned. "You haven't eaten anything though."

Emma quickly glanced between Ruby and Regina, the latter looking very puzzled at Emma's sudden change in behaviour.

"Yeah it's work...something came up," Emma mumbled, trying to find the bills she needed to cover breakfast. "I'm really sorry."

"I'll come with you," Regina added, unsure of what was going on but still feeling like she should accompany the blonde.

Ruby meanwhile was left blinking holding up a wad of bills and looking positively puzzled. Something was going on, and she'd be damned if she wouldn't investigate. She would follow...quietly.

Meanwhile, Regina walked hurriedly alongside Emma, glancing every now and then to see if her girlfriend would explain why she suddenly rushed out, and why she was being so secretive. When no answer came forth by the time they were nearly at the station, Regina finally demanded, "What's going on Emma?"

Emma stopped and whipped around to face Regina, as if she had only realized that the other woman was there. Regina could see Emma's eyes were unfocused and darting around way too much.

"Emma?" Regina repeated, worried a bit.

Starting to walk again, Emma shook her head and said, "I'll explain when we get to the station."

So Regina reluctantly dropped her question until the door had closed behind them. Then, she reached out for Emma's arm, making her pause. "We're in the station Emma. Please, talk to me, you're worrying me. What's wrong?"

"I...I think- no, I know, Graham is dead."

It didn't register at first. "What?"

"Graham-" Emma didn't get to finish because Regina just walked past her and went towards the bullpen. There, collapsed in a heap in the middle of the floor, was Graham. Considering who her girlfriend was, Regina didn't even need to check for a pulse to know what happened.

"How...why?" Regina breathed, blinking. After all these years, it had been a while since she had seen someone dead in front of her, and she had to admit, she was a bit disconcerted at seeing Graham lifeless on the floor.

Emma walked up and crouched in front of Graham, looking at him closely. "I was going to find out how now..." She turned to Regina and straightened, walking up to stand in front of her. "Look, if you'd rather not be here-"

"Nonsense," Regina said resolutely, shaking her head. "I want to know what happened."

With a nod, Emma turned back to Graham, and began to wave her hand over his body, concentrating.

Ruby had been keeping her distance as she followed Regina and Emma. Since her sensitive nose would pick up the couple's scent from far away, there was no need to tail them closely, and the distance would therefore make it less likely for her to get caught.

"Ruby? What are you doing?" So much for not getting caught.

Whipping around, Ruby saw Mary Margaret standing there looking at her strangely. Then again, she was crouching behind a car, so it was a well-founded question. "Nothing much, just things."

Mary Margaret's frown deepened. "Apart from not believing you, that's my car you're crouching behind...want to try again?"

So Ruby explained what had happened at the diner. "By the way, do you remember who was Regina's Captain of the guard?"

"Wasn't it Graham?" Mary Margaret asked with a deep frown.

"She says he's just her Huntsman. Emma was supposedly the Captain."

"Weird. The day the curse broke, Emma said she wasn't from the Enchanted Forest. And besides, I'm sure I'd have seen Emma if she had been in the Enchanted Forest. Not to mention, why would Blue vouch for her if she had been Regina's Captain?"

Nothing added up, and Ruby needed answers. "That's why I'm tailing them. Want to join?"

"I was heading to work, but I suppose I still have a while before second period starts and I have to be at the school, so let's go."

"Emma? Regina?" Graham's form materialized, looking confused. "What's going on? I feel-"

"Weird, yes," Emma interrupted, trying her best to not panic her coworker. "I know this is strange, but please bear with me okay?"

Graham was about to nod when he looked down and saw his own body beneath him. "What in the world?!" he exclaimed, jumping back.

"Please don't panic!" Emma said, hands out placatingly as she stepped closer.

"I generally find saying that never helps," Regina interjected.

Emma gave Regina a quick accusatory glare before she turned back to Graham, who seemed to slowly be coming to the realization of what had happened.

"I'm dead aren't I? I thought...I figured that maybe it was a dream, a really bad dream but-" Graham's voice died out as he accepted his fate.

"I'm sorry Graham, I wish it wasn't the case, but you are no longer part of the living world," Emma confirmed with a nod. "The thing is that I need your help figuring out who did this; did you see your killers?"

Rather than answer, Graham frowned. "Wait. How did you guys get here so fast then? And how am I still talking here? I thought ghosts weren't real-"

Once again he was interrupted as Emma said, "We don't have a lot of time, you're supposed to be heading into transition. To make long story short, I'm Death."

Graham merely nodded at the news. Regina supposed that being dead took a lot of the surprise and shock from the news. "I guess it was good I stayed on your good side then."

"I don't control that really," Emma said, pointing to his body. "Otherwise believe me, you wouldn't be in this position. Now, your killers, who were they?"

"Don't you know that?" Regina asked Emma.

Emma shook her head. "I know that he was murdered, but not by whom or how. Trust me, if I did, I would've signed up as a cop along time ago, and helped put a lot of murderers away."

Graham nodded, going to answer Emma's earlier question. "Yeah, there were these two women. One of them was an older lady of about 60, brown hair and a really commanding presence, she really scared the living shit out of me. The other woman was a redhead, she was much younger, in her 30s maybe; she's mute, but her eyes just scream murder."

Emma frowned. "Doesn't sound like anyone in town that I know of."

"No, they weren't here during the curse, I would've remembered them," Graham countered.

Regina piped up, her voice a bit shaky. "Graham, what happened? How did you die?"

With a frown, Graham crossed his arms and started to think. "It's a bit fuzzy..."

"That happens after you die," Emma said. "Just try to remember what happened yesterday evening, that was the last time I saw you."

"Right. The two ladies showed up during the night, and they wanted to know everything about the town. I wasn't sure what they wanted to know so I just started rambling things off. Apparently my answer wasn't satisfactory, because the lady just removed my heart and then asked me specific questions, forcing me to answer them. She asked about you a lot Regina." At the answer, Regina gave a slow nod, as if she had been expecting that answer. Emma had the feeling her girlfriend knew who these women were, but before she could ask more, Graham continued, "And about Mary Margaret too - well Snow, she didn't know her cursed name. When she had all the information she wanted, she killed me. Just crushed my heart."

Emma nodded; she heard Regina take a sharp breath beside her, but she had to wrap things up here first. "Unfortunately, I can't keep you here longer. I promise someone will help you once you transition, okay? I might come by and visit soon. I'm really sorry that this happened, we will catch whoever did this."

Graham nodded. "Thank you."

Once he was gone, Emma sighed and teleported Graham's body from the station floor.

"Where-" Regina began to ask.

"The convent. Blue will know what to do," Emma said. She took a step forward to gently rub Regina's arms. "Now, who were those women?"

Regina bit her lip. "I know one of them for sure. The older woman. I think that was my mother."

They heard a gasp, coming from beyond the bullpen.

"Is someone else here?" Regina called out tersely, approaching the hallway with Emma behind her.

They found Ruby and Mary Margaret crouching around the corner, both wearing expressions of shock.

"What are you guys doing here?" Emma figured she should act like nothing was wrong, maybe they hadn't seen much, or they'd just come in.

No such luck. It was a babble of questions and explanations.

"Thing was, we were following you..."

"Well Ruby was, I just joined in after she hid out behind my car."

"Technicalities aside, what the hell happened here? Graham is dead?!"

"We saw his body Ruby, not a lot of mystery there. But what I want to know is what do you meant by saying you're Death?"

"Yeah I want to know that too! Was that why his- his ghost or whatever was over there?"

"But wait, Regina, is Cora back? If so we need to-"

"ENOUGH!" Emma roared, quieting everyone and even startling Regina a bit. "I get it, you guys saw everything and you have a lot of questions. So let's just sit down and I promise I'll explain everything."

With everyone in agreement, Emma grabbed three chairs and crowded them around the desk closest to the hallway. "Everyone sit."

They did - Regina pushed her chair a bit further away from the curious duo - and Emma clambered on top of the desk, crossing her legs. And so she explained her actual identity, how she came to meet Regina, leaving out a few more private details of course, and how they all got here. When it came to Graham's death, there were more questions, but Emma answered them all diligently. She couldn't lie, not to mention it wouldn't be fair on her friends of almost ten years. She just hoped they wouldn't run away once she was done.

"So Regina, did you see Cora in town lately?" Mary Margaret asked at one point. She had long forsaken heading to work. They would just find a substitute.

Regina shook her head and spoke for the first time since she had seen Ruby and Mary Margaret, "No. But Graham's description sounds spot-on. The only thing I don't understand is her having magic. There's no magic in this world."

"Emma has magic though," Ruby pointed out, recalling the removal of Graham's body from the floor.

"I'm an exception," Emma explained, shrugging. "Part of the whole mystical being and all that jazz. Cora probably has a reserve of magic that she's tapping into."

Regina looked worried. "That's bound to end soon; she won't ration, she's power hungry like no one else, and if that happens, she'll try to bring back magic to which case, we're screwed."

"So how do we stop her?" Ruby asked.

"Well, she doesn't know that we know she's here. Nor is she aware of Emma's identity," Regina explained. "So we have an edge. We just have to find her before she brings magic back, and take her down."

"What about the redhead?" was Mary Margaret's question.

"I have no idea, but if she's with my mother and looks as deranged as Graham described, she's probably not an ally of ours."

Emma agreed. "Okay, so we need a plan. First, we have to keep the circle small. If people find out about Cora, they might either alert her, or panic, neither of which would be what we want."

They agreed they would only tell Blue, who would help track Cora down, and help hinder any chances of magic being brought back.

"Oh, and David, I can't keep anything from him," Mary Margaret added with a sheepish smile.

Begrudgingly, they agreed.

"What about Gold?" Regina asked. "I think my mother is more likely to reach out to him for help."

Emma made a face. "Then we better not give him any ideas by telling him."

Regina tilted her head in confusion. "I thought you two were close?"

"Ehh, about as much trust as you can give a guy like him. Basically, I know he can't do anything to me, but that doesn't mean he's no less power-hungry with his own agenda and willing to screw anyone over if it'll benefit him."

"So no to Gold."

"Definitely not." They decided to wrap things up there, keeping an eye out for the evil pair, while also not raising panic by keeping this quiet.

"I'm hoping you can manage that this time, Ms. Blanchard?" Regina asked, voice heavy with sarcasm as they all stood up.

Mary Margaret just looked bashful, and tried to push Ruby closer to the exit.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could speak to you two for a bit," Emma requested, pointing to Ruby and Mary Margaret.

They agreed and together, the trio walked to the hallway, where Emma wrung her hands for a bit, deciding how to word her question. "I guess there's no easy way to say this but...what do you guys think of me being Death?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Well, generally, when people are faced with Death, they freak out, beg for mercy, and other things. I'm really not used to this indifference and nonchalant reaction."

Mary Margaret hummed. "Well, when you consider we're a bunch of fairy tale characters, this tends to not be such a big deal. I suppose if you looked more like the Grim Reaper, a creepy looking skeleton with burning embers as eyes, clad in a black cloak and appearing in the middle of the night floating around, carrying a scythe with one of those scary inhumane voices, then that would be more scary. But this? You're harmless."

"That's oddly specific Mary Margaret," Emma said, voice thick. "Where- where did you get such a mental image?"

"When my mom was dying, I dabbled in a lot of magic, trying to help her, but nothing worked. When she died, maybe I was high on so much magic that I could've sworn I saw that there, but that's impossible, you clearly don't look anything like that."

"Right," Emma responded tersely. Then she jokingly added, "A scythe would be way too heavy to lug around."

Suddenly, the doors to the station slammed open, and a very irate Blue came bounding inside, pointing an accusing finger at Emma. "You! I have a bone to pick with you!"

Regina had appeared at hearing the commotion. "What's going on?"

"This is a matter between me and Emma," Blue sniffed, eyeing the brunettes as if expecting them to get the message.

Emma crossed her arms. "Everyone here knows about me, so just talk."

Blue seemed surprised that Ruby and Mary Margaret were privy to Emma's true identity. "Very well. What the hell kind of game was that? Dropping off Graham's body in my office?!"

If anyone was surprised at Blue's more colourful language, they didn't say it. Emma shrugged. "It was the only place I could think of. I can't exactly drop it off at the altar or something, people might see."

"But that's just the problem! They did see it!" Blue fumed, and then took a deep breath, continuing in a much more calmer tone. "I was working in my office, as you do, and certainly not expecting the Sheriff to appear out of nowhere and plop right in the middle of my office, so I naturally screamed. Suffice to say the entire convent barged in at my scream and saw Graham's lifeless body had just materialized. So now all the nuns are terrified that the devil is real and they're preparing to go out around town and help everyone to find salvation and protect themselves."

Emma stood slack-jawed, completely speechless.

Ruby snickered. "Wow. Talk about over-reacting much."

Everyone glared at Ruby, who quickly sobered and uttered an apology.

Mary Margaret asked, "But Blue, the nuns know of magic, they know how it works, why are they so afraid?"

"There's no magic in this town, remember?" Regina chimed in.

Blue nodded. "Precisely. After 28 years in the convent, they are a bit confused, and they are used to their new ways. Everyone is reacting to this as something morbid and unnatural, I have no way to stop it."

"And it gets worse," Emma added, proceeding to explain what had happened.

If Blue looked sick to her stomach when she came in, it was no comparison to now. "Well the panic will be hard to escape. I suppose we need to act like this was an isolated incident and try to calm everyone down. We can pin the blame on Cora for Graham's body materializing in my office - though we'll refer to her as persons unknown in order to maintain the element of surprise - and send out a bulletin of sorts to hammer it down as the official story."

"And plan a funeral for Graham," Mary Margaret piped up.

They got to work, and that evening, Regina recorded a message for the town of Storybrooke in order to convey her message.

"Good evening, people of Storybrooke. I know that this past week, everyone has been trying to familiarize themselves with our new situation, but today, something happened which shattered the peace we had managed to achieve." Regina sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "Our beloved and long-standing Sheriff, Graham Humbert, was murdered earlier today, and that someone was careless and heartless enough to dump his body in Mother Superior's office. Everyone here at Town Hall is deeply saddened by his loss, and we will do everything we can to catch whoever did this. That is why Deputy Emma Swan has been promoted to Sheriff, and I am hopeful she will manage to catch those responsible.

"In other news, we will be preparing a funeral to honour and celebrate Graham's life. As I know his presence touched all of Storybrooke's citizens, everyone is invited to Saturday's event. Thank you."

It was Saturday afternoon, and everyone was gathered inside Granny's diner, the official gathering venue after the funeral. Drinks were flowing and conversation was easy despite the funeral clothing everyone was wearing.

Emma was keeping to herself, and Mary Margaret approached her. "You okay?"

"Not really my element," Emma mumbled, crossing her arms a bit closer to herself, not making eye-contact with her friend.

Mary Margaret seemed confused and frowned.

Lowering her voice, Emma clarified, "I'm not really used to attending the funerals for those who've passed. Plus I knew Graham, I worked with him, and now the station's so empty these past few days."

"Speaking of," Mary Margaret started, twiddling her drink in her hands as she went to stand beside Emma leaning against the wall. "Would you like an extra pair of hands?"

Emma turned to look at Mary Margaret with surprise. "You want to be a Deputy?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "Yep. teaching just...doesn't seem satisfying anymore, and I gained a lot of skills while Regina had me on the run, so I figure I could help you."

"I could use the help," Emma said, mulling over the idea.

Ruby then appeared, smile on her face as she asked, "What are you two up to?"

"I believe I was just about to hire Mary Margaret as my newest deputy," Emma responded with a smile.

Before anyone could say anything else, the doors slammed open, and two women stepped inside.

Emma recognized Cora Mills, but the other one was a mystery; her eyes looked scarily accurate to Graham's description, she was clearly not to be messed with.

"A party! And no one thought to invite us, how sad," Cora started with a flourish, looking around the room with a big fake smile.

Henry, who had been with David at the time, was subtly and quickly sent to the back of the room, near where Emma was standing. Teeth gritted together, Regina advanced towards the newcomers. "Mother! I wasn't aware you'd be here, and even if I did, I wouldn't ever invite you."

Cora let out a tittering laugh. "Oh my, and why wouldn't I be invited? I was under the impression this was a land of second chances, is it not? Isn't your own mother included?"

Stepping up to be beside her girlfriend, Emma uttered, "Not when you murder our Sheriff."

Gasps were heard from all around the room. Cora quirked her lips and turned to Emma, "And you must be the enigmatic Emma Swan; the woman currently dating my daughter yes? I suppose my lesson of love being a weakness didn't stick with you quite that well last time Regina."

Clearly Graham had given Cora a gamut of information, and she was clearly hoping to use this to her advantage. Regina was silent, her mother's words easily bringing Daniel's death back, and Emma stepped up.

"That's true, but I get the feeling you're not here to meet-and-greet. What do you want?" Emma said, enunciating every word.

Cora clasped her hands in front of her and responded, "Well I'm here to take over this town. Your poor ex-Sheriff gave me a summary of this town and I must say my daughter has done a deplorable job."

"Excuse me?" Regina scoffed, gathering her wits back again. "Deplorable? No, you do not get to barge in here and pretend like you've got any idea of what's going on. This is my town, I am its leader, and you are not going to take this away from me, not even my girlfriend."

Cora just blinked, not deterred at all. "I believe the only people who have power to take this from you is the people. And I intend to do just that, including your girlfriend."

"Can't do that if you're in jail for murder and for threatening the Sheriff," Emma called out, smiling smugly. "Murderers aren't mayors."

"And what do you call my daughter dear?" Cora readily fired back.

Emma didn't miss a beat as she said, "Someone who is getting a second chance. She hasn't murdered while living in Storybrooke, but you have. Ergo, you're disqualified. Now, if you'd like to put your hands behind your back, we'd like to question you on Graham's murder, as well as your accomplice here for accessory."

When Emma pulled out a pair of cuffs, Cora let out a shrill laugh. "Oh you were actually being serious? Then my answer is no."

Before anyone could react, she had sent Emma flying back, landing right on the jukebox.

"Emma!" various voices called out. She groaned and waved her hand lazily. She was disoriented but nothing she hadn't handled before.

"How dare you!" Regina was yelling.

"How dare I? In a land without magic, having it is power. That makes me the most powerful person in this town. Be thankful I didn't rip out that girl's heart right here and teach you a lesson now."

While Cora continued, she had Mary Margaret help her up. Henry hovered, unsure how to assist, but still wanted to be around Emma. They walked to the hallway connecting the diner and the inn, where Emma dropped the fake limp she had adopted in order to sell her injury.

"Okay, time to change costumes," Emma said, pointing to the door to go out.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma bit her lip and then took a deep breath before saying, "I have an idea on how to get Cora to back down, but I sorta need to change in order to do that. Just stick around and I'll be back when I'm done." Turning to Henry, she kneeled a bit and looked him right in the eyes as she said, "And you kid, are to stay here, right on that bench. Please don't move, and don't try to sneak back into the diner okay? It's dangerous."

Henry nodded. "No problem ma, I'll be fine."

With a final smile and a quick hug, Emma walked outside.

The street was deserted, and she quickly called up her magic to dress her up in her familiar long black cloak and leather gloves.

"There you are!"

Emma whipped around to find Gold and Neal turning the corner, both looking quite confused.

"What's going on?" Neal asked.

And so she explained about Cora being in the diner.

"And she has magic you say?" Gold asked, and Emma could just see the wheels turning on his head.

"Don't you dare, Gold," she threatened.

Gold shrugged his shoulders. "I will dare. I need to ensure my place in this town should your plan fail, and that involves bringing magic back."

"Typical, always meddling in things," Emma scoffed, and Neal agreed.

"Unlike you, Emma, I have certain priorities in life. And while you've been living a cozy life with your necessities guaranteed, I will not allow myself to become a pawn in Cora's game. So I will do what is necessary, is that clear?"

With a sigh, she conceded. Once Gold had left, Emma turned to Neal. "I need a favour. Henry is inside, and I don't want him to even catch a glimpse of what I'm about to do in the diner; can you keep an eye on him and stay with him until I get back?"

"No problem, you can count on me," he said with a smile and started walking towards the inn. Pulling her hood up, Emma made her way to the diner. On a whim, she summoned a scythe, just for show.

Regina was on the verge of a getting a migraine just listening to her mother, when the door burst open yet again, and a staff pounded on the linoleum floor. It was Emma, dressed as Death, and she breathed a little easier.

Cora didn't understand who it was at first, and just let out a chuckle. "Is this the best you can do Regina? This is the salvation of the town? Someone dressed all menacingly?"

In a blood-curdling voice that Regina had heard once before, Emma responded, "I'm much more than just a costume. And I'm certainly no one's salvation."

That seemed to stop Cora cold. Her voice was more clipped as she demanded, "Who are you?!"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I am Death." Whispers broke out around the diner around this revelation, but Emma paid them no attention. She pointed the scythe at Cora. "And you'd do well to stop these antics of yours. It doesn't suit you to pretend to be more than what you are."

Now Cora let out a delirious laugh at that, and Regina could just tell her mother wasn't now as confident as she was letting on. "That's rich of you to say. You're just a parlour trick meant to intimidate me. You have no powers."

"Oh really?" Emma conjured a fireball in her free hand, letting the flames dance. "I dare say I'm much more than just a parlour trick."

When Cora said nothing, Emma began to walk around the place. "Oh yes, I'm the real deal. Perhaps, if you really want me to show you irrefutable proof, I can call up on the departed souls you are responsible for having killed, I'm sure they'd love to talk."

She made her way around the mute woman, who refused to make eye contact, and finally she stood near Regina, giving her a subtle and hopefully reassuring look.

The quick relieved smile and crinkling of Regina's eyes was all she needed to continue, "Have I already made you speechless?"

Letting out a furious growl, Cora paced, walking past Emma and closer to the center of the room. "Hardly dear. I'm just wondering what my daughter did to get Death as her lackey."

"I'm no one's lackey. I wasn't summoned, but I'm sure you know what happens when I appear," Emma said, stomping the scythe onto the floor with such a force that it startled everyone. It also planted the staff firmly on the ground, allowing her to continue advancing towards Cora without having to lug it around. "Now look me in the eye."

And Cora looked into the pair of ember red eyes seen beneath the hood, and Emma channeled as much hate as she could muster against the woman who had made her girlfriend's life so miserable. She saw Cora's eyes grow wide as her body went stiff, hands shaking as she tried to keep herself composed.

With a panicked scream and a gasp, Cora toppled over, scrambling backwards. "Get away from me!"

Before Emma could move further, the mute woman threw a gust of wind at Emma, only succeeding in lowering her hood. As everyone now saw Emma's skeletal appearance, they all collectively gasped, and Emma fought to not let it get to her.

She was doing an act really, and let out a mirthless laugh. "Looks like your associate has more galls than you."

Cora shakily stood up, lip quivering as she tried to make eye contact with Emma, falling short and settling for her forehead. "You don't intimidate me."

"I beg to differ," Emma said, stepping forward slowly. "I think you are scared shitless and-"

"Enough," Regina's shaky voice broke Emma out of her reverie, and she turned around to see her girlfriend with her hands out placatingly. "I believe my mother is going to surrender herself, right?"

"I would never! I-" Emma whipped back around to look at Cora and the latter gasped before she said, "Yes! Yes I'll surrender myself."

Emma turned back to Regina, and saw Regina's lips quirk into a minuscule thankful smile before she nodded and stoically said, "Thank you for your help."

Pulling her hood back up, Emma grabbed the scythe and muttered a curt "You're welcome," before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

She reappeared in the inn's foyer, back in her clothes and looking much more human. Neal was keeping Henry occupied with a game of chess, and Emma was about to go back to the diner when Mary Margaret reappeared, looking haggard.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

Emma didn't answer at first, deciding to walk past her and down the hallways connecting the two places. She adopted a limp when she was near the corner, and she turned back and held her arm out. "We can talk about this later, right now, help me out."

Mary Margaret looked like she was going to decline, but relented and supported Emma as they made their way back.

Looking at the patrons of the diner, Emma realized she might have oversold her act. Everyone looked much like Mary Margaret did, pale and scared. A few had left in a panic clearly, leaving the main door broken.

Cora and her companion both stood where Emma had left them, catatonic, not paying any attention to their surroundings.

Regina immediately spotted her and she breathed Emma's name before she bounded up towards them and hugged Emma tightly. Mary Margaret used that moment to extricate herself from Emma's side so David could hug his wife, allowing Emma to hold Regina with both arms.

"I'm okay," she whispered, rubbing a hand down Regina's back soothingly.

"I know," Regina responded just as quietly. "I was so worried she'd do something or that she'd figure it out."

They broke the hug to share a quick kiss before Regina added, "Don't let anyone's reactions get to you, okay? This was necessary."

Emma nodded, and looked back to the stunned pair. "What do we do with them? I'm not above kicking them over the town line."

"Aren't we going to arrest them?" Mary Margaret piped up, David's arm protectively around his wife's shoulders.

"Well I think Cora's gone a bit postal, so jail might not work." Emma said. "The other one..."

"Cora can stay in the asylum beneath the hospital. And mother called her associate Zelena, it's a peculiar name," Regina frowned.

"Well her, Zelena, might be good for jail time, depending how much this affected her psychically."

Giving her a meaningful look, Mary Margaret countered with a hiss, "If we're going by that, then we all need to be locked up!"

David nodded. "That was pretty intense."

Emma sighed. "I'll pitch in to pay for everyone to get a session with Archie; now I should probably go and arrest them. Want to help Mary Margaret?"

After a quick look to David, Mary Margaret agreed, grabbing Emma's proffered set of handcuffs. Emma was going to handle Cora while Mary Margaret handled Zelena, but when Emma limped towards the older woman, her eyes widened and she collapsed into the ground, curling up into a ball and whimpering.

"Great," Emma muttered. She turned to her new deputy. "Want to switch?"

Mary Margaret shrugged and they switched. Emma cuffed Zelena easily, while David and Regina helped Cora right herself so she could be cuffed.

Footsteps were heard by the door and everyone looked up to see Gold standing there, one hand poised on his cane, the other one holding a pair of short leather vambraces. "I believe you'll need these," he said without greeting, throwing one at both Emma and Mary Margaret respectively.

He turned around and left again, leaving Emma with a sense of dread. Nonetheless, she fitted the leather vambrace on one of Zelena's wrist. As she approached the trio with Cora, she turned to Regina, who looked puzzled. "What was that about?"

Before Emma could respond, a dark purple cloud billowed in. Through the opaque clouds, Emma felt around and took a hold of Regina's hand.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone was looking around to see what had changed. Nothing at first glance.

Regina made a familiar gesture, lighting up a fireball in her hand. More gasps were heard as Regina breathed, "Magic is back."

"Moms!" Henry came bounding back with Neal at his heels. The young boy crashed between both women and hugged them closely.

Both women silently conversed with just a look, and in agreement, Emma ruffled Henry's hair and said, "Hey kid, I'm going to take care of this and then I'll meet you and mom at home okay?"

Henry hummed and nodded, so Regina quickly did an actual parlour trick to seemingly fix Emma's ankle. Once that was done, Emma beckoned Mary Margaret to follow her. She did, with David trailing behind them.

"I have the cruiser parked here, so we can just stuff them in the back and we can go process them," Emma said, opening the door with one hand, helping Zelena into the back. Cora also went along willingly, clearly too shocked to fight back.

Once she shut the door, Emma added, "Maybe we can also get you started on the forms to make you officially my deputy ?"

Mary Margaret bit her lip and looked to the ground as she said, "Actually, I don't think that's such a good idea anymore."

Emma had the sinking feeling it wasn't because of Cora. But she still asked, "Why?"

"Because Emma. It just dawned on me who you really are," Mary Margaret said, looking at her resolutely. "You're exactly like the figure that haunted me in my nightmares as a child."

"In my defense, I just got the scythe because you mentioned it. I have never carried it, and I especially wasn't carrying it when I went to collect your mother."

Mary Margaret gasped. "Wait...you really are the one that came and collected my mother?"

With a deep breath, Emma confessed, "Yes I was the one that came for your mother. I'm not sure how much of those magic fumes you inhaled to see me, but I promise I'm not that scary, I was just putting on a show for Cora. Anything less wouldn't scare her. Plus she deserves much worse for what she did to Regina."

"Just because you can do this Emma doesn't mean you should," Mary Margaret let out a huff. "Look, this is a lot to process. I'll...I'll get back to you okay?"

Emma nodded and sighed, deciding at the last minute to add, "Look Mary Margaret, I won't hurt anyone, I promise. That's not who I am."

Mary Margaret nodded and gave Emma a small smile, but said nothing as she left.

Letting her shoulders fall, Emma went to the driver's side and let out a breath. At least she could look forward to a nice evening with her family.

It was nighttime, Regina had just put Henry to sleep and she headed to her room. Walking out onto the balcony, she saw Emma perched on the railing.

"You know, it's not exactly safe to sit there," Regina started.

Emma smiled. "I think I'd survive."

Switching to a more serious topic, Regina said, "Don't obsess over this Emma, you did what you had to. Granted you might've gone a bit too dramatic, but my mother had to be stopped."

"Yeah. But what happens if Mary Margaret tells?"

"Well I can't guarantee she'll keep her mouth shut, there's historic evidence of that," Regina said with a smile, managing to make Emma quirk her lips too. "But I think she'll come around. Just give her a bit of time. As for the rest of the town, they're a bunch of superstitious idiots, and they don't know it was you. Besides, you have Henry and I, and we love you no matter what."

"You're right," Emma nodded, getting down from her perch and she led them inside to the settee so they could lay back and let the fresh air flow around the room. "I just don't want to lose any of this."

"And you won't," Regina said, looking Emma right in the eyes. "And you want to know why?"

"Why?" Emma asked.

In response, Regina held up a little black box, and pressed the little button to open the clasp. A ring.

"R-Regina," Emma said shakily. "What's going on?"

"You know what this is Emma," Regina answered, eyes pleading. "I love you. And this is how much you mean to me. You needn't answer right away if you don't want to. But just know that nothing would make me change my mind about you."

Emma thought to all the plans Regina had. She wanted more kids, she wanted a happy ending. This was it. Yes or no. Could she actually provide that? She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

And that's this chapter!

Lots of things going on and boy, Emma really lost it with Cora huh? It was a little bit inspired by the show Lucifer, a pretty decent show for those interested.

But anyway important things are happening! Regina popped the question! What do you think Emma will say? Anyway, we're past the halfway point with this fic! Next up features a much fluffier chapter!

But before that chapter becomes a reality, I have to update all the other fics first, starting with A Thief in the Night and then Equals!

Let me know what you thought!