Title: Saving Storybrooke
Author: Meg Brown, aka GunBunnyCentral (previously Andromeda Valentine)
Feedback address: andromeda.valentine@gmail.com
Date in Calendar: 22 June 2013
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Pairing: Myka Bering/Helena Wells
Rating: PG-13 at most
Word Count: 1224
Summary: There was no way out now - no portal to send Storybrooke's residents to safety, and no portal to send the self-destruct device away.
Advertisement: Part of the FSAC:DD11

Disclaimer:

Author's Notes: Warehouse 13/Once Upon A Time fusion with Myka as the Savior and Helena as the Evil Queen. (And also, Claudia as the resident werewolf...) Specifically, my take on the scene from the Season Two finale where Emma and Regina save Storybrooke - I was kinda surprised how Berings And Wells it actually ended up being when I started converting it over...

"There's no bean. He played us." Silence fell as Myka held up the empty leather pouch and the bitter truth set in. There was no way out now - no portal to send Storybrooke's residents to safety, and no portal to send the self-destruct device away.

Only Helena - who'd already been hard at work for the last hour trying to diffuse the magical nuke she herself had created so long ago - failed to visibly react.

Pete just stared at Myka, acceptance and regret in his eyes - he'd only even come to Storybrooke to check on Myka, but there was no anger or blame. Christina, old enough to understand exactly what was happening, clung to Claudia for whatever reassurance the redheaded werewolf could offer her - that werewolf, for her part, stood silently, trying to be strong for the little girl wrapped around her.

Myka couldn't bring herself to speak as she watched Pete reach out to comfort her little girl. She'd always said that he'd be an amazing father when he and Amanda were ready, and now...

Tears in her eyes, she mouthed the only words she could find. "I'm sorry..."

Helena's voice, as tense and frightened as any of them had ever heard, broke the silence. "Myka? I can't contain this for much longer."

Christina's head came up at the sound of her mother's voice, and she ran over to stand beside her. For the first time since Myka's arrival, the little girl was watching Helena with eyes full of nothing but love and faith and hope. "You can do this, Mother! I know you can."

Tears started rolling down Helena's cheeks, though it was impossible to say if it was from the effort of containing so much magic or the effort of deciding to be absolutely truthful with her daughter. "I'm so very sorry, my darling girl. The one time you truly need me, and I'm just not strong enough..."

Christina gave a little sob and threw her arms around Helena. Helena closed her eyes, smiling even through her tears at the unexpected show of affection, and Myka blinked in surprise as the glowing ball of energy trapped between Helena's hands momentarily changed in both color and intensity.

Acting on the same finely-honed instincts that had made her such a good agent, she stepped forward toward the former queen. "Helena? Why did you make this device? What were you feeling?"

When Helena didn't answer, Myka asked again, even more insistently. "What were you feeling, Helena?"

Helena drew in a shaky breath. "I was angry, bitter. I hated everything and everyone. What does that matter now?"

Myka, still not explaining, pressed on. "And what do you feel, now?"

Helena looked toward her daughter, as if weighing how much the little girl should hear. "Sorrow. Regret. Love."

The glow changed again - ever so briefly - and Helena eyes widened as she suddenly caught Myka's train of thought. "I can't, Myka. I'm still too angry, even after all this time..."

Myka paused just long enough to glance at Pete - who gave her the tiny nod that meant his vibes agreed with her decision - then closed the few remaining steps between herself and Helena. "I was that angry once, too, Helena - Storybrooke helped me start healing. It gave me the fresh start *you* wanted when you cast the curse."

She reached out her hands, gasping as her hands closed on cold metal. The device was finally visible from within the black glow surrounding it, and was beautiful - all gilded angles and curves, like some sort of steampunk astrolabe.

It was a device meant only to destroy, but Myka couldn't help standing in awe of its creator. "You... made this?"

Before Helena could answer, though, the magic broke through Myka's defenses and slammed into her. Her knees almost buckled under a sudden wave of rage and helplessness and pain stronger than she'd ever felt before.

This... this was what it was like to be Helena...

Helena's voice in her head almost made her let go of the astrolabe, but she managed to hold on. "Yes, Myka. This is me, laid bare, sorry creature that I am..."

"This isn't all you are," Myka insisted, not even fighting the notion that magic could somehow link their minds. "You wouldn't fight so hard for Christina's love if it were."

The mention of Christina sent a flare of hope and happiness through Helena, and Myka seized on it as best she could. She'd never believed anyone who loved their child that fiercely could be completely evil, and she'd known enough pain in her life to know when someone was lashing out because of it.

Love for their daughter - their Christina - was the one thing they shared without question or argument or hesitation, and Myka let that love flood through the mental bond with Helena. It breathed new life into that tiny, damaged seed of hope inside Helena's soul - there was no way even that one shining moment could heal Helena completely, but it gave her strength to push the darkness back and let love shine through instead.

The astrolabe gave a sudden whine and a click, then went still. Myka and Helena had just enough time to exchange surprised but happy glances before a wave of purple energy shot out of the device and darkness took them both.

They were lying tangled in a heap on the ground when consciousness returned a moment later. For whatever reason, it felt right to cling to each other just then, even as Pete and Claudia rushed over to check on them.

"Mykes? Is this thing turned off now?" Pete stood over them with the astrolabe in his hands, shaking it as if to see whether it would start moving again.

Myka laughed out loud as she saw Helena twitch at Pete's careless actions, instinctively pulling the other woman closer. "We did it!"

Helena, startled at first, also threw her head back and laughed - the first genuine laugh Myka had heard out of her in two years. "So we did, darling - so we did."

Claudia grinned at them both. "That was some pretty sharp thinking there, Sheriff. I guess we know how Christina ended up too smart for her own good."

Myka, dizzy on magic and adrenaline, couldn't help laughing again. "You hear that, kiddo? You get it from me."

Joy suddenly turned to cold sharp fear when Christina didn't answer. In a matter of heartbeats, all four adults were on their feet and racing down the mine tunnel, hoping that Christina had just been frightened and run back towards the entrance.

They all stopped short as they came upon Christina's book bag lying on the ground, one strap broken as if in a struggle. It was all too clear what had happened while they were unconscious.

That didn't stop Myka from stating the obvious. "They took her. Sally and Marcus, they took Christina!"

"Sheriff Bering?" Helena's voice as she replied was all ice and steel. "Shall we go get our daughter back?"

Helena and Myka shared a look, then, before marching in perfect unison back toward the entrance of the mine. Pete couldn't help feeling just a little bit sorry for the idiots who'd been stupid enough to kidnap Christina Wells...