The Savior, the Charmings, the Pirate, the Queen, and the Thief stood in the middle of the street as the darkness crept closer, advancing from all sides.

"Where the hell is it?" Regina so eloquently shouted.

"It hasn't gone anywhere. The darkness… it's surrounding us." Emma was slowly taking in what the Apprentice had revealed. The only way the Sorcerer could stop this darkness from destroying realms was by tethering it to a human soul.

"Let me see that," Regina outstretched her hand to Emma so she could hold the dagger. What she saw upon inspection proved her fear to be true. The dagger of the Dark One no longer carried a name.

As Regina traced the pattern engraved on the dagger in place of a name, she felt a sudden rush of apprehension. Sure enough, by the time she looked up a dark mass spiraled towards her and engulfed her like a tornado. She felt every raw emotion of fear and anger build up inside her as the black storm spun around and around, suffocating her.

She could vaguely see Robin charging the entity and getting flung back by its vicious power. Snow and David watched with tears in their eyes and mouths wide open, fearing they were losing their new found friend forever.

"Regina!" Emma yelled, and without words she told Regina what she needed to do. With the look of desperation on her face a simple nod toward the dagger, Emma watched as Regina prepared to take on the role of the Dark One.

Regina thought of Rumpelstiltskin and how this darkness consumed him. Was she strong enough to fight it? She had already given into it before it was a physical leach on her soul. It would probably creep in and grow with each day until she couldn't fight it anymore.

She didn't want to be the Dark One, but she didn't want to die either. She could barely see the others now. She could hear her heart beating frantically, without rhythm and with deafening sound. The only way to win this fight was to become one with her enemy.

She held on tight to the dagger and stabbed the black layer that was attacking her. The darkness began to latch onto the dagger and then her arm like a bunch of tiny fingers groping and swallowing her.

A sob escaped Emma's mouth as she watched the woman she fought so hard for seemingly lose her happy ending. Robin's face was screwed up, and he was breathing so heavy as if he were feeling her pain. Snow's eyes slowly shut as she accepted this new obstacle. It was as if the universe wanted Regina to suffer. After every time they made progress in their relationship, something would jeopardize Regina's redemption. A tear rolled down Snow's cheek as she saw the look of pure exhaustion etched on Regina's face.

Every breath became harder for Regina to take. She was tired of fighting and tired of losing. Finally, when the darkness was finished penetrating her soul, she disappeared. The five others were frozen in their places until they spotted something shiny on the ground.

Robin was the first to move toward it, and he sighed heavily as he picked it up. The same devastating sigh left the others when they saw it.

Engraved in black cursive on the silver dagger was "Regina Mills".

Giving this a try so I can get it out of my head.