"OUR BADASS TEAM needs a theme song, don't you think? I was thinking Supermassive Black Hole, you know, for that badass vibe", Wilma voiced her thoughts, though with a quiet voice, as she walked behind Killian and David at the docks, both of the men giving each other glances, but electing to not comment on the woman's idea. "Fine, then at least tell me what's the plan here", she rolled her eyes, disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm her glorious idea received, but at the realization that perhaps a theme song wasn't what they needed right now, she decided to drop the matter.

  Killian chuckled, grinning as he turned around to give the woman a look. "Step one is finding Greg and Tamara. Step two is killing Greg and Tamara", he suggested, but in response, both Wilma and David gave him doubtful looks to question his state of mind, causing the pirate to sigh. "To get everyone to the Enchanted Forest, we need the small bean to create a portal", Hook continued, looking around again in case Greg or Tamara happened to jump out and surprise them. But so far, they hadn't seen or heard anyone or anything.

  Wilma gulped as chills ran through her body at the mention of a portal, considering the last time she witnessed one, it wasn't such a happy moment. If anything, it was the opposite — a bad memory, a nightmarish experience that left a gap in Wilma's good heart, making it just a tad harder to not crumble merely at the mention of magic beans and portals to another worlds. But instead of letting that weakness, that vulnerability, break through again, Wilma forced herself to chuckle.

  "A small bean?", she lifted an eyebrow, "don't know what you're talking about, we already have David", a comment which confused Killian wonderfully, but made Charming smile. And that was good enough of a combination to make Wilma do the same.

  The light chattering was interrupted by a loud clank on the other side of the building, which meant that they weren't alone — and instantly, David drew out his gun. As the man led them farther, holding up his weapon, Wilma quietly hummed a classic rock song to set the mood, but she quickly stopped once they came face to face with Greg, and David demanded the beans for himself. Gulping, Wilma tried to stay behind, and Killian made it easy for her by shielding her with his arm and making sure she wasn't going to get caught in the crossfire, a gesture that she appreciated greatly.

  Greg pulled out a small glass jar containing the magic beans, but before David could take them from him, a gun went off behind them and indeed, it was Tamara. Only the sight of her made Wilma angry, and although she had tried to be smart and act reasonably, she wasted no time — Wilhelmina ran towards her and punched her straight in the face, which actually hurt a bit, but she ignored the throbbing pain and let the adrenaline and fury fuel her as she gave a deadly stare to Tamara.

  "You know, I'm usually a calm, nice girl, but you really bring out the worst in me", Wilma spat venomously, lifting her fist to throw another punch, but before she could, Tamara directed her gun at the woman and pulled the trigger. Luckily, she couldn't pump Wilma full of lead when David had already saved the situation, pushing Tamara down and separating her from Wilhelmina just as the bullet launched from the barrel and went through the ceiling. Gasping, Wilma realized that she had been this close to suffering the same fate as Neal, and it made her shoot David a grateful look, but he had no time to notice when Tamara had already ran off and the man followed right behind.

  Wilma was tempted to go after Tamara, and help David in the process, but once she spotted Killian and Greg wrestling for the beans, she decided to help the pirate instead. Just as Greg disconnected Killian's hook and threw it across the floor, Wilhelmina stepped on it to stop it from sliding away, and with a sudden rush of confidence, the woman grabbed the sharp object. Unsure where she found the bravery to drive her so far, Wilma approached Greg, and with one swift movement she had smacked him with the hook, causing him to fall off of Killian. And gosh — it was such an oddly satisfying feeling, to fight the bad guys, to do the right thing, even if it meant hurting the villain in the process.

  Nonetheless, she had been brave, and it made Killian laugh as he panted, breathless from all the struggling, with a proud smirk dancing on his tempting lips.

  "Ah, good girl. I always knew there was a warrior in you", he pointed out with a grin, and smiling, Wilma gave him the hook back, which he put back in with ease. Offering an actual hand for the pirate, Wilma helped him up from the floor, only to then realize that Greg had managed to flee, which, frankly, disappointed Wilhelmina — although it didn't remove all of the pride she was starting to feel towards herself. Maybe she was kind of badass, after all.

  Killian and Wilma followed David, who was just about to go after Tamara and Greg, but before he could bolt, Wilhelmina took his hand to stop him from leaving. David tried to yank himself away, insisting that they needed to be caught, but luckily, despite all the fighting, it hadn't been a complete disaster.

  "I snagged one of the beans", Killian interjected, placing a hand on David's chest to stop the man from running after Greg and Tamara, insisting that he should give up, live to fight another day. After all, all they needed was one bean. It was enough.

  "Job well done, Team Badass", Wilma sighed then, smiling slightly, just because they did succeed, and even if David hated to admit it — they were a total dream team.

———

  A NEW PLAN was forged at Granny's, since it turned out that slowing down the diamond was going to be the end of Regina, but everyone agreed that building a future on her blood wasn't the right thing to do. Instead, Regina had to be saved, she needed to be helped, and those were the frames and the foundation of their new idea, which seemed risky, but after persuading Emma and insisting that it could work, they decided to go with it. The plan was to use the bean to create a portal, but instead of putting all the residents of Storybrooke through it, they were going to get rid of the trigger and draw the annihilation elsewhere. Frankly, there were lots of disadvantages, but right now, it was their best shot at everyone's survival and that was enough.

  Wilma wanted to help too, even if she didn't necessarily have to, but she wanted to nonetheless — though that was something Emma pointed out as they were about to leave Granny's to make their way to the mines where Regina was trying to slow down the destruction of their hometown.

  "You know, Wilma, you could just hop into your Corvette and drive to safety. Why don't you?", Emma asked then, causing Wilma to stop walking, and with her eyebrows knitted together, she turned around to face Emma, whose face was twisted into a confused, curious expression.

  Taking a step aside to let the others leave the diner, Wilma chuckled. "Would you? Besides, she might be named Iron Maiden but Run to the Hills isn't her specialty", she smiled, and then sank her teeth into her bottom lip for a second or two to collect her thoughts. "Look, I get it, you're not my biggest fan, but the truth is, this town is my home and these people are my friends now. And Neal... he was the closest thing I had to family. So, even if you try to intimidate me, I'm not going to speed out of town the moment things get a little dangerous", Wilma explained, smiling carefully, and concluding from the look on Emma's face, her words had an effect on the blonde. Emma forced herself to nod, and chuckling quietly, she glanced down before looking back up at Wilma, who couldn't help but feel proud for such a successful answer. She wanted to be Emma's friend, but at the same time, she wasn't going to let the woman undermine her. She was going to fight, because like she said, Storybrooke was her home now. Whether Emma wanted it or not.

  "And... is Hook your friend too?", Emma chuckled, nodding towards the pirate who was still lingering around, possibly waiting for Wilma, and that, along with Emma's comment, made the brunette smile. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what it was exactly between her and Killian, but she liked it. She liked holding his only hand, she liked playing music for him, she liked the way he smiled at her or looked at her with such fondness. Maybe they were friends, maybe they were something more — she wasn't sure, but whatever they had going on, it was good.

  "Why?", Wilma asked, drawing her gaze away from Killian long enough to shoot Emma one last glance before stepping towards the exit, "you jealous?"

  Emma answered nothing, just like Wilma had expected, but she didn't stay there for any longer, either. Concluding from the smirk on Killian's lips, he had heard the conversation, but neither he or Wilma commented anything as they left Granny's together, stepping into the fresh air outside and standing side to side. However, instead of heading for the mines, Killian quickly grabbed Wilma's hand and led her behind the corner to hide them from plain sight, with a mischievous smile on his soft lips.

  "Pretty sure the mines are that way", Wilma smiled, as she looked up at Killian, her amused eyes locking with his hopeful blue ones, but it seemed that the man had come up with a plan of his own — something entirely different than what had been agreed on inside the diner.

  "Flee with me, love", he suggested, and in that moment, Wilma's eyes widened, her smile faded away and her heart jumped up to her throat, making it impossible for her to whimper out a single word. "This won't end well, but we... we could sail away together. I'll take you wherever you wish to go", he continued, with a smile still tugging on his lips, but instead of mirroring the happy expression, Wilma stared at him in confusion and shock. It sounded like a dream come true — sailing away towards a happy ending with Captain Hook, but at the same time, Wilma's heart didn't leap with joy at the thought of it. Was he insane? Did he really think so highly of Wilma, enough to suggest running away together, starting a life elsewhere? Was it merely platonic, a desire to safe her from an inevitable doom?

  But then again, what about their friends, what about Regina, what about the plan that had seemed so good just moments ago?

  A part of Wilhelmina wanted to say yes, agree wholeheartedly and runaway with Killian, but there was a more rational part about her that reminded that much was yet to be done. They couldn't just leave their friends in all that trouble and live happily ever after, knowing what they had done, what they had turned their backs on. And ultimately, despite the love and attraction Wilma had long ago developed for Killian, that was what made her shake her head and shatter the hope that the pirate had been holding onto. She felt guilt, for rejecting the offer, and pain, as she could see the joy in Killian's eyes slowly fade. But the truth was, she couldn't do it.

  "No", Wilma breathed out, "what are you talking about? No— we need to help our friends. We can't just... leave", her scared eyes trying to find something reasonable from Killian's, but the smile on his lips had already vanished and he chuckled dryly, considering himself a fool for even thinking Wilma could do so.

  "Your friends. I'm just a villain, remember?", he whispered, taking the first step to leave, but bravery forced Wilma to place her hand on his chest and feel the warm skin under her slender fingers, and through the desire that suddenly rose to the surface, she found courage and shook her head to disagree with his intentions. Yet at the same time, she felt sympathy, the need to wrap Killian in a blanket and hug him throughout the night — just seeing the disappointment in his eyes felt like being stabbed in the heart.

  "Don't go", she tried, shooting the man a pleading look, but instead of obeying, Killian took Wilma's hand — only to drop it away from him, and with a faint smile directed at her, he started to walk away.

  "Be careful, beautiful", was the last thing he said to her, before limping away, and leaving behind a rather confused, upset Wilma. Frankly, she couldn't believe he would do such a thing — not a selfish gesture, but rather a sweet one. Admittedly, there was a sense of self-interest in the idea of running away and saving only himself, but the fact that he asked Wilma to come along left her breathless and shaky. And she couldn't help but wonder if she had made a mistake when she told him no, but nonetheless, she started to make her way towards the mines to help her friends.

  And as she did, she inevitably wondered if that was the last time she saw Killian Jones.

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i'm so emotional oh my god beanS

this was the last chapter,, get ready for the epilogue!!