They say your life flashes before your eyes before you're going to die. For Teresa Holmes, this is true. As she laid back on her elbows against the wooden planks of the Storybrooke docks, starring up at Edmond with wide eyes and a pulsing headache, blood oozing from numerous wounds and heart rate accelerating, she saw it all. Every precious moment of her life, from the first memory with her mother to the last. She saw Robin Hood and Marion, and when Roland took his first steps toward her as a toddler. Her life before Storybrooke with Snow White, Ruby and Granny, and the moment that arrow struck her shoulder and brought her to meet Emma Swan and Killian Jones. Then came the memories after; the ones in Storybrooke. Meeting little Neal, forgiving Regina, seeing her mother again, meeting her cousins, going to Arendelle. The rush of memories all stopped when her mind settled on one person; Henry Mills. She saw his smile, heard his laughter, could feel his hand in her own, his warm lips on her cold ones.

I love you, Henry.

Teresa slapped her eyelids shut as waited for the inevitable strike of Edmond's blade ─ but it never happened. Instead, there was a sound of metal meeting metal just above her head.

Her eyes snapped open, cerulean-blue staring wide at the clashing of two swords. One of which belonged to Edmond while the other, much to her surprise, belonged to Regina Mills herself. The first thought to run through the teenager's mind was how did Regina got here so fast, but she didn't have the time to voice it aloud when Regina suddenly shoved Edmond back and glanced toward her.

"Henry, get Teresa and run!" Regina shouted before lunging toward Edmond.

It was then, as quick footsteps approached her, Teresa realized that Henry was also here.

She looked up just he reached her and their eyes connected for the longest second and then his brown eyes dropped at the sight of her blood. He was quick to snap into action and rush behind her, grasping beneath her arms and hauling her to her feet. Too overwhelmed with her near death experience to move, Teresa collapsed into his chest. Henry wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her walk, setting her down atop a crate and leaning her back against a boating house. She watched as he examined her body for injuries. He took her arm, and after finding the cut not as deep as she thought upon first glance, Henry glanced back up at her face, frowning while cupping her chin in between his fingers and using the sleeve of his jacket to brush away the blood.

"Teresa, can you hear me?" His voice flooded through her shocked state. She blinked and gave an answer.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. But my magic..."

"What about your magic?" Henry asked.

Teresa's eyes met his.

Before she could respond, a grunt from Regina captured their attention. They both turned their heads, watching as the former Evil Queen stumbled backwards in her sword duel, worry seeping into their veins. Teresa's never seen her use a sword before, the woman always preferring magic over sparring. And both of them seemed to think just that ─ why wasn't she using her magic? But then Teresa remembered how her own magic stopped working during the fight, which nearly led to her death. Did this mean that Edmond could somehow repel their magic? Or had some strange phenomenon taken the magic she was born with? Would it ever return? She had so many unanswered questions, and yet, no one to answer them.

Regina gritted her teeth and shoved against Edmond's sword with her own. They both stumbled, struggling to knock the other off balance. "Listen, I know the Evil Queen has your heart, but you can fight this."

Mustering enough strength, Edmond grasped her wrist and shoved her sword away from his. He took a step back, observing her every move, waiting for her to strike first.

"Okay," Regina sighed as they circled each other. "That's a start."

"I've tried to fight!" Edmond shouted, lowering his sword a little. "I can't!"

Their blades clashed once more, Edmond's face turning red as he struggled to resist the Evil Queen's influence but to no avail. Her hold over him was strong. Without his heart, he had no choice but to obey. To kill.

Henry glanced away, taking a moment to check on his unconscious grandparents and then he turned to Teresa. "Are they okay? Are you? What happened? Why didn't you use your magic to defend yourself?" His questions came out so quick she couldn't even understand what he was saying, only getting the jist of it.

Teresa slapped her palm over his mouth, her eyes boring into his. "I'm fine, and so are they. We all are. And I used my magic but..." She hesitated. If she told him that her magics gone what would he think? Would he become even more worried for her? "But he bested me."

Bested? Henry thought. She's never lost against any villain we've run into. Was she not telling me something?

Henry wanted to ask more, but he knew it wasn't the time.

The sound of metal against metal captured their attention once more. Both teenagers watched as Regina and Edmond's blades caught one another's above their heads, their strength meeting in the middle as they pushed against each other, trying to gain the higher ground.

"Your story doesn't have to end like this," Regina grunted.

Edmond's face inched closer with a sneer. "My story ended the moment Hyde plucked us from the Land of Untold Stories!"

Teresa's eyebrows furrowed. Us. Did that mean he wasn't alone? Did that have anything to do with her magic's abrupt disappearance?

Regina took his closeness for her advantage and jabbed her blade into his face, resulting in a firm blow. He reeled back, blood oozing from a cut as he cried out in pain. "You mean Charlotte?" she asked, seeming to think the same as Teresa. "I'm sorry. I was too late."

A look of devastation twisted onto his features upon hearing his beloved had succumbed to death. "So the poison finally took her." Edmond gave a rough shove, causing Regina to stumble away.

"I may not have been able to save her, but I am going to save you," Regina declared. Just as she finished, Edmond lunged. She defended herself the best she could but nothing could stop his harsh blow that sent her falling against the wooden planks below her. As he strode towards her, sword raised for a final strike, she sat up and thrust her hand forward with a cry. Bursts of fire flickered to life in her palm, but the flames evaporated almost instantly.

Teresa's eyes widened.

Her magic wasn't working either, which meant it wasn't just her. Something ─ or someone ─ was causing this, and if she had to guess, it was the Evil Queen's doing.

"Teresa, I could really use your help right about now!" Regina shouted as she stood, her hand ─ which still struggled to summon a proper fireball ─ aimed toward Edmond.

"I can't! My magic isn't working... and I don't have my bow!" Teresa shouted back.

Regina spared her a look of astonishment. "What?"

"What do you mean your magic isn't working?" Henry inquired, sounding and looking just as shocked as his mother.

"I mean it isn't working," Teresa snapped. "One second it was there, the next ─ gone!"

"Then call Emma, Henry!" Regina ordered. "I could use some of her magic right about now!" She grunted as Edmond lunged.

Henry scrambled into his pocket for his cell phone. He went to touch the screen, but his phone wasn't registering anything. Something was blocking him from using it. "I can't!" He called to his mother. "It's the Queen! She did something."

Teresa's eyes widened. The Queen? So it was true then... The Evil Queen is back?

By now, Edmond's blows became stronger, quicker. Teresa knew Regina wouldn't be able to last much longer. Not without her magic. Swiftly, her blade was knocked from her grip and it clattered against the wood, rolling far from her reach. Edmond chuckled, knowing his victory was moments away. That, in so little time, he could be free of the Evil Queen's influence and regain his heart from her sinister grip.

As Edmond turned around and began striding towards the unconscious Snow White and David, Regina was quick to reclaim her weapon. She panted as she trailed after him. "Stop! Please."

Edmond turned to face her, and in his eyes they could see the conflict. He didn't want to kill them, but he had no choice. "This is the only way," he told them, voice sounding pained.

"No!" Regina cried. She glanced toward Henry and found him holding Teresa back from running forward to protect Snow White and knew in her heart she couldn't let them die. Snow White may have started off as her enemy, but she was now her family. Her son's family. She brought back her sword back and propelled it forward out of her hands with a loud cry, mirroring David's stance so long ago during his wedding with Snow White. Her sword soared through the air until piercing his chest. Edmond's mouth opened in agony but no cry spilled out. Only blood. Slowly, he fell to his knees, coughing up blood as he collapsed against the wooden planks at Snow and David's feet.

A cry fell from Regina's mouth as she ran forward and dropped down beside Edmond's still body. A puddle of blood had already formed around him, staining the planks.

"No!" Henry released his hold on Teresa and ran toward her. He wrapped his arm around his sobbing mother, his voice cracking. He's never seen someone die before. "Mom, Mom. Are... are you okay?"

Despite having severed herself from the Evil Queen, blood still seemed to find its way onto her hands. The guilt of taking Edmond's life was evident on her face as tears cascaded down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," Regina cried, hands trembling as they hovered over his lifeless body.

Henry laid his hands against her shoulders, drawing his mother away from Edmond and into his arms. "Mom, you did what you had to."

Amidst her sobs, Regina turned around to accept the comfort provided by her son, allowing him to wrap his arms around her. She settled her head against his chest and he kissed her temple, repeatedly assuring her she had to do what she had to do. Because it was true. Henry knew his mother didn't want to kill Edmond, but the Evil Queen had given her no choice... nor had Edmond, who failed in trying to gain control over his own actions. It was him or them.

Teresa let out a breath of relief as Snow White and David began to regain consciousness. She moved to stand but collapsed to her knees instead. She winced but ignored the flare of pain in her abdomen and crawled towards Snow, wrapping her arms around her best friend while closing her eyes in relief.

David sucked in a sharp breath from beside them. "Edmond."

Snow White peeled away from Teresa and followed her husband's stare. Her lips separated and her eyes saddened at the sight of Edmond's lifeless body and the pool of blood surrounding him. "No..."

Regina glanced up, peering over Edmond's body toward Snow White, and the raven-haired woman frowned at the sight of her tears. "I had no choice," she explained, lip quivering as her son still held her in his arms.

"No, that's not true."

Everyone froze at the sound of her voice.

One by one, their heads turned ─ and there she stood. Dressed in all black with that familiar dark allure was The Evil Queen herself; alive and in the flesh. But how? Emma, Snow, and Regina had bore witness to the crushing of her heart in New York. They were all quick to stand, David stepping in front of his wife and Teresa as Regina moved Henry behind her.

"She is back," Snow gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing. Two Regina's stood not a hundred feet apart; one good, one evil. One her family, one with a desire to crush her heart.

"I couldn't just stand by and watch the Count kill my friends." Even though she talked loud and true while looking toward her evil half, Regina's voice still wavered.

"Oh, I thought heroes always found a third way... unless, of course, this means you're not a hero," The Evil Queen smirked and laughed as Regina sneered and lunged for her.

"I will rip your heart out!" Regina growled, clutching her dark self by the front of her black dress and shaking her. She could feel the anger bubbling within, blending with the guilt.

The Evil Queen appearedn't unfazed by her threat. "Yes! That's the Regina I remember. We do like it rough, don't we?"

Regina shoved her away. "You didn't want the Count to kill Snow and David. You wanted me to kill him," she realized.

"Well, it was the only way to show you that no matter what you do... the darkness will always be inside. And that tiiiiiny bit of darkness..." the Evil Queen wiggled her finger toward Regina's heart. "... I awakened today is only going to grow."

Snow marched forward, coming to Regina's side. "Don't listen to her, Regina."

The Evil Queen's entire demeanor changed as Snow White advanced. Her nose twitched in sheer rage and her eyes burned. Teresa swore she saw a burst of flames flicker at her fingertips. It made her step towards them, but Henry pulled her back, eyes pleading with her to stay here.

"Snow White," she sneered.

David was quick to reach out and grasp his wife's arm, stopping her from moving any closer. "Snow."

"No, I'm not afraid of her." Snow stared into the Evil Queen's dark eyes, her bravery never wavering. "We defeated you before. We'll do it again."

"Oh, I'm not the one who's going to destroy your... happy endings." The two words seemed to leave an awful taste in her mouth as an expression of disgust contorted the Evil Queen's features. "Not this time."

"Then who is?" Regina demanded.

The Evil Queen leaned in close to Regina and smirked. "You. You're going to destroy everyone's happy endings." She peered over Regina's shoulder to where Henry stood close to Teresa and her smirk widened into a mischievous grin. "Including there's. The Soulmates will cease to exist, their power destroyed forever and then finally, I can raise my son to be who he was always meant to be... Evil."

Teresa's eyes grew. She glanced toward Henry and in return, he looked at her. Seeming to read her thoughts, Henry grabbed her hand and drew her close, a silent promise that the Evil Queen could never destroy what they have.

Regina got in her face. "You won't touch my son, Teresa, Snow ─ any of them. And neither will I."

The Evil Queen cackled. "We'll see about that."

Snow shook her head, the faintest of smiles on her face. "You won't divide this family."

"Oh, I won't have to. The people from the Land of Untold Stories aren't the only ones with tales they don't want told. And when your stories finally play out..." The Evil Queen chuckled. "I'll just sit back and watch you tear yourselves apart," she sang, mirroring the voice of Rumplestiltskin. It made their skin crawl. The Evil Queen chuckled once more before teleporting herself elsewhere, leaving them to process what transpired.

　
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After facing Edmond and the Evil Queen and cleaning up what remained of the battle on the docks of Storybrooke, the heroes found themselves processing the days events at Granny's Diner. While Regina sat with Emma and Snow at a booth, discussing the apparent destruction she would bring down on them, Teresa sat beside Henry at the counter. Her boyfriend was using the first-aid kit Granny leaves beneath the counter since she refused to see Dr. Whale, patting the blood away from beneath her nostrils while also tending to the cut along her bicep, which wasn't as deep as Teresa thought it would be. Henry was gentle in doing so, not wanting to cause her any more pain than she's already suffered. She found it sweet.

After he had all the blood cleaned up from her face, Henry took her chin between his fingers and tilted her face from side to side, cocoa-brown eyes searching for any other marks and bruises. "Alright, I think I'm done. Now just keep icepack on it so it doesn't swell."

Teresa smiled, though obeyed and brought the icepack up to her face. "Yes, Doctor Mills."

Henry grinned as he started putting everything back into the first-aid kit. "So about your magic," he started. "Why do you think it vanished?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted while shrugging. "But I think it's safe to assume that is was the Evil Queen's doing. It's too coincidental that Regina's magic started spazzing out just moments before she showed up."

Henry pursued his lips. "She did use a spell on my mom to subdue her magic in the woods ─ and my phone had some sort of enchantment. It's possible that without your knowledge she did the same to you."

The platinum-blonde extended her palm out in front of her, thankful for the snowflake that she was able to conjure. "Regardless, I'm just grateful it returned. It's all I have left of my mother. I don't want to lose it... even if it scares me sometimes."

Henry offered her a small smile. "Your mom might be gone, but she'll always be with you... magic or none. Just like my dad is with me."

Teresa said nothing, though she acknowledge his words with a smile, appreciative. The silence that fell over them was comforting for both of them. It remained like that for a few minutes before Henry faced his storybook and began flipping to a specific set of pages.

"What's this?" She asked, leaning in.

"The Count's story," he replied. "I was reading it in the woods when I was helping my mom try to find him."

Teresa bit her lip. "Henry, what's a dead man's story going to do for us now? What's done is done. We shouldn't dwell on this... especially in front of Regina." She peered over her shoulder to where Regina was washing down her second glass of bourbon. "She's still pretty shaken."

Henry sighed just as David and Killian walked over to them. "I know. But this isn't how the Count's story should have ended. I should have known that Operation Cobra: Part Two wouldn't have been as simple as I thought."

"Why is that?" asked David.

"Because it's a sequel," Henry stated, "and they're always more involved than the original."

Killian blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry, mate. I don't understand."

"Empire Strikes Back? Godfather: Part II?"

Killian laughed breathlessly despite his confusion, looking toward Teresa and David for some assistance. "What?"

"Temple of Doom?"

Teresa chuckled at Henry's unending list of movie sequels. No matter how many he listed off, Killian still seemed just as puzzled as when he first started. "Henry, I don't think he and Emma watch a lot of movies."

"The Two Towers? The Dark Knight? Aliens?" Henry went on. "You know ─ the best sequels ever." He shook his head and sighed. "It's definitely time for a movie night. When my mom helped everyone during the first curse, it was simple. Those people had been ripped away from the stories they wanted to play out."

David nodded. "And these people ran from their stories for a reason."

"And before we can help them, we need to find out why they ran," Henry concluded.

David nodded once more, this time reaching across Teresa to pat his grandson's arm, impressed with his plan. "Alright. Keep reading."

"Right," Killian agreed, "then let's get to work." He sat down on the other side of Henry and peered down over his shoulder as Henry began flipping through some pages, skipping Edmond's story not that his had come to an unfortunate end.

Teresa glanced toward David and her eyebrows furrowed when she discovered him staring down at something in his hands. She couldn't tell what it was he was looking at, but it seemed to be important enough to hide it from them as he stood with his back facing their direction. She nudged him with her foot, causing him to look her way and she raised a questioning brow. "You good?"

"Yeah," he replied, offering a smile, one which Teresa knew was fake given the look in his eye. "Just gonna get some air."

The three of them watched David leave out the door, and though Killian and Henry thought nothing of it, Teresa grew suspicious. David was hiding something... but what?

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a/n: Firstly, can we please address the issue that is Emma Swan? HOW COULD SHE NOT HAVE INTRODUCED KILLIAN TO ALL THESE MOVIES??? That was literally one of the first things Henry did for Teresa. I mean... I distinctly remember Emma telling Killian in one episode that they needed to watch watch some Netflix and Killian asking "What's a Netflix?" Are you telling me they didn't pull an all-nighter ─ NOT THAT KIND GET YOUR MIND OF OF THE GUTTER ─ watching the greatest movies ever?

Alright now that my rant is out of the way... How did you enjoy the chapter, dearies? I admit it wasn't the greatest but seeing Henry all concerned in this chapter was sweet. He just loves her so much. How do we feel about the Evil Queen's threat on the Soulmates and making Henry her evil apprentice? Bet you weren't expecting that, huh? Any predictions you care to make regarding the rest of this act? Oh and ─ uh ─ you might want to buckle up for the next chapter because you guys are going to hate me for what I'm about to do to my baby girl. On a lighter note... Teresa is so her dad if you haven't noticed! She totally went all Detective Holmes on David there at the end 🧐