Never Really Alone

Chapter 18 - Questions Of The Heart

The flash of light had woken Zelena from her magically induced sleep. "What is going on here? Where am I?"

Robin and Regina broke apart and the queen turned to address her sister. "My vault, and as for what's going on here, Zelena we have successfully removed your magic from both Tinkerbell, and then from myself. It is once again safely in here." She dangled the pendant from her fingers.

"From you? Why did you have it?" Zelena's face curled into a snarl. "It wasn't yours to take!"

"Believe me my dear, I didn't take it on purpose that was Rumple's doing."

"What?" She looked around at all of them, "What is going on here? Where is Rumple?"

"He's not here darling," Cruella took a step closer to Zelena.

Maleficent laughed, "And even if he were, he can't help you anymore." When the witch's eyes grew wide she continued, "His lovely little wife managed to tame the beast at last. The Dark One no longer exists. His magic is gone."

"You're lying!"

"Are we?"

"Enough." Emma stepped between them and faced the two villainesses. "If you are not going to be helpful, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave. So can it if you think you get to stay for this."

"For what exactly?"

"Umm," she turned to look at the brunette across the room, "Regina?"

"Why is it my decision?"

"You're the queen my dear, that makes it your choice. Not to mention that she's your sister..."

"She's not my sister." Regina practically growled.

"Well, I thought we had cleared all that up?"

"Sisters do not do the things that you have done to me Zelena. They do not try and steal soulmates, they do not threaten to kill their children. They act like family and that is the one thing that you have never had. You are a danger to my family, and because of that you do not deserve this." She held up the pendant that was once again green with magic.

"But it's mine!"

"I realize that!" She snapped, causing the older witch to cringe slightly. "That is the only reason I am hesitant to destroy it. You are the last true villain left Zelena,"

"Excuse me?" She answered the blonde without turning from her sister.

"Mal, you've been helping us all day, I don't think willingly siding with the heroes pushes you too far on the villain scale." Maleficent looked hurt, but Regina could tell she was secretly pleased to have been accepted back into her good graces. "Anyway, Zelena you have a choice to make. And it is one that I have given you before. You can either choose to side with good, and make positive choices, as you did once before, or you can return to your evil ways, but do it powerless, and with all of us standing against you. The choice is yours, but I think we all know there is really only one option."

"I have been this way for so long, how could I find it in myself to change now? Even if I wanted to?"

"You could if you wanted to Zelena. That was a part of Tink's spell. You have a chance to find goodness again. She took the darkness, the magic, from your heart. Without it you have a chance to be good, to be the person I know is in there somewhere."

"And if I don't want to lose my magic? What then?"

"Your magic is a part of you, we understand that," Emma looked at Regina for permission to take over. When she nodded, Emma continued. "We aren't saying it's going to be easy, we are saying it is the right thing to do. By choosing to get rid of your magic, you are choosing to be good, choosing to be a hero, and a hero's path is always the harder road."