Killian took a step closer, feeling his pulse faintly pumping behind his ears. The dark hollow smelled like fire and brimstone, yet there weren't enough torches to allow him a good enough sight to see into the strangers eyes.
"Killian Jones," His name echoed through the room, repeating the man's deep voice and ancient pronunciation. Killian nodded slightly.
"Aye."
"Son of Kieran and Zelda and brother to Liam. Captain of the Jolly Roger and feared pirate of the high seas."
He felt a slight stroke in his chest, when the names of his family members were called… all gone… He nodded again.
"Beloved of the Dark One," the man added and the streak started to radiate its poisonous ache all over Killian's body now. The pale tips of his fingers started to prickle and his mind misted with dizziness.
"Why have you come to find me?"
The brunette smiled bitterly, one eyebrow raised.
"Now, isn't that a welcoming phrase?"
The unknown man took two steps to his right, passing another torch, so that Killian was able to see his face for a fleeting second. He was mildly surprised by the stranger's youth, before he finally remembered his own age, which caused a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth.
"You know how I found you, then, I take it? Or does that exceed your competence?" Killian mocked the man. He heard him exhale a smile, taking a long second to answer.
"Do you think you would have made it in here alive, if I didn't want you to? It was me who gave you that bean and lend you the horse. It was me who gave you shelter and fought off the ogres."
Killian raised his brows.
"That was a mountain eagle."
The man smiled again, leaving Killian with the insight that he was wrong.
"Why?" the one-handed pirate asked, breaking the short yet tense pause.
"You have to be more precise, I am afraid." The man couldn't hear Killian's little growl of frustration, but he knew he was growing impatient, which caused him a fair amount of amusement.
"Why did I help you? Why did I lead you? Why did I let you in?"
"All of it," Killian's brows were furrowed in deep trouble now, the words leaving his mouth distinctly and hard.
"Well, for one, I wanted to test your intentions. Two, I needed to get proof of your dedication and will power. And three, well, let's just say it was your lucky day."
"You need me, don't you?"
The man smirked a little.
"What leads you to that assumption?"
"Because I don't believe that the great Merlin would simply allow a stranger into his secret hollow." The man stepped into the light now and Killian could see his silver, short hair reflecting the flickering of the fire that was surrounding him. He wore a long, blue robe and a silver ring with a pale moonstone placed in it on his right index finger.
"I think," Killian put a finger on his chin, taking another step forward, "You want the Darkness that is tethered to the Dark One gone, as much as I do."
Merlin looked down on him, not a single word leaving his mouth, yet Killian knew that he was right.
"And for that, you need me; the beloved of the Dark One," he said, exaggerating his accentuation towards the end.
"You are a perceptive young man," Merlin raised a brow, his hands entwined in his back. "But you're wrong." Killian's smile froze. How…?
"I don't need you. I chose you because you are courageous and true of heart for those you love. I knew you would come to seek me before you even first thought about it. And it tempted me to see if you would proof yourself worthy of my help."
Killian's eyes watched him curiously, yet filled with uncertainty and anger. Maybe Merlin didn't need him, but he surely needed Merlin. And if he wasn't going to offer his aid, then only the Gods knew what he would be capable of doing next.
"Have I?" he growled through his teeth.
"Indeed, you have," the man in the robe smiled at him, reluctantly.
"The Darkness, you see, was born the day the light arose from the everlasting depths of the universe. They are twins, and none can exist with the other one gone. Where there is light, there'll always be the dark."
"You can't destroy it, then?" Panic reflected from Killian's azure irises.
"No," the man answered. The pirate felt a heavy cloud of despair travelling through his thin veins, his heart feeling crumbling, as if an invisible hand was trying to crush it.
"Not unless you'd destroy all the light and everything that lives and breathes, with it. But," the man sat down now, Killian's eyebrow rising in curiosity.
"As you know, you can tether it to another soul."
The pirate shook his head.
"Not unless you kill the Dark One." Merlin rubbed his ring with his right thumb, his eyes watching the brunette closely.
"It was me who first cursed a human soul with the burden of becoming the Dark One. I have chosen the tool of the dagger and the absorbing powers of the hats. I have offered them eternal life and magic that always comes with a price. I could have chosen… differently," the sorcerer said, his eyes still piercing Killian's.
"Why haven't you, then?" He hissed at Merlin.
"My reasons are my own. Yet, there is hope." The sorcerer lifted his hand, the ring shining brightly in the torchlight.
"Centuries ago I have found a way to splinter my own soul into thirteen parts. Every one of them is located in a different realm or time. And only two are still here in this room." Killian's eyes wandered to his finger.
"The ring," he heard himself whisper.
"Precisely. The stone captures a splinter of my soul, therefor it lives." Killian's eyes widened for a second, his mouth gapping slightly.
"Does this mean…"
Merlin nodded.
"Yes. You can tether the darkness to this ring. In theory, that is." If it wasn't for his pride, Killian would have fallen to his knees by hearing this information that was promising him everything that he was hoping for.
"It is not an easy task, however. It requires courage and strength but above all, you must have faith."
Killian nodded. He didn't care about what he had to do. He would do anything for Emma, even if it would cause his own death.
"What do I have to do?" he asked, his voice as hard as steel.
*.*.*.*.*
Killian had instantly run over to the Jolly Roger as soon as Merlin had opened a magical door that lead back to Storybrooke. He knew what he had to do and it wasn't going to be easy, but if this meant that Emma would be able to release the darkness from her, then he would do anything to make it happen. He took the steps downstairs that lead him into his chamber, approaching the little vault that was harboring everything dearly precious to him. As he detached his hook to use it as a key to open the vault, he felt another haze of discomposure in his stomach. He opened the little steel door and revealed the dagger, its reflections striking his cold skin.
*.*.*.*.*
"Henry." Killian had waited in front of the school, his eyes searching for Emma's son for hours now. When Henry saw Killian leaning against the fence of his school, he immediately ran over to him, expecting news about his mother.
"You're back! What happened? Is there anything new? Did you talk to grandm-"
"Henry," Killian put his hand on the youngster's shoulder, his hook gently placed on his other arm. Henry looked up to him, his big eyes widened in anxiety.
"I have found Merlin." The young boy's eyes grew even bigger now, his mouth opening to interrupt Killian, but he didn't let him.
"I know how to save your mother, now. But I can't do it on my own; I need your help." Henry nodded. Of course he would help, there was no question.
"But it's dangerous and I need you to trust me. With your mother being away, you're part of my responsibility now and you know I would never risk anything happening to you." The youngster swallowed before he answered.
"I know that, Killian." The pirate looked him into his eyes, deeply and earnestly, his hand's grip getting a little more firm now.
"Do you trust me?" he asked. Henry nodded again.
"Yes, I do." Killian smiled a crooked smile, his eyes caring and soft.
"Then let's go."
*.*.*.*.*
He was standing in the middle of a gigantic meadow, at the edge of the woods, his slightly shaking hand holding the dagger. The sky was cloudy and the cool wind struck his cheek, causing the tiny hairs on his neck to rise. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long breath, before he opened them again, his brows furrowed in resentment. Then he finally raised his arm, holding the dagger with a firm grip.
"Dark One, I summon thee."
It only took a split second before Emma appeared in a black cloud of magical fog, her lips smiling a cheeky smile.
"I was wondering how long it would take, this time," she said, coquettishly looking at him from under her long lashes. She slowly came closer to her boyfriend, who, as well, smirked at her now.
"Sorry, love, you know I would've come earlier, if I had the chance." Emma put her finger on his left cheek, slowly letting it slide over his scar while turning away from him.
"What was more important than meeting your girlfriend?" Killian smiled nervously.
"Well, if you missed me this much, you could've just come over and…" he made his few steps over to her, his arms wrapping around her waist. His lips touched her pale skin at the curve or her neck and Emma found herself closing her eyes in pleasure, her left hand rising to touch his neck, as well.
"Who said I missed you?" she said, biting her lip. Killian turned her around now, pressing his body against hers. His face came closer as his piercing eyes never left her velvet green irises.
"Oh, so you didn't?" he whispered. Emma raised a brow, licking her lips.
"A little, perhaps."
Killian smiled, kissing her passionately and wholeheartedly, as if this was the last kiss he would ever get. When their lips parted, he noticed his delicate red skin hurting from the pressure. His eyes closed for a moment, his heart feeling heavy in his chest. When he opened them, he faked a bright smile, hoping that it was convincing enough.
"You know, Swan, I had this thought, the other day…"
"What is it?" she asked, curiosity in her voice.
"What if we went on a sailing trip. Just the two of us?" Emma giggled, her voice sounding different than before.
"That's it? That's what you thought of? Not very original?" she winked at him while turning her back to him, again. Killian let the dagger fall into the grass without his girlfriend noticing it, following her.
"Well… I still have to pick a bone with Blackbeard for treating my marvel with such disrespect."
"Your marvel?" she laughed now.
"Why, Swan, you know she's more than a ship to me."
"And, you what? Want to avenge her now?" Killian nodded faintly, his smirk leaving Emma's lips gapped slightly. Suddenly he moved his mouth closer to her ear.
"Wouldn't it be fun?" he whispered. Emma pushed him with such strength that he fell backwards into the grass. While he was sitting now, still shaking his head a little from the fall, he could see her standing above him, his thighs between her parted legs. Then she slowly crouched down to him, her hands cupping his face. Killian could feel her pelvis pressing against his as she licked her upper lip.
"It would," she whispered back, slowly pressing his torso backwards into the meadow. Just when Emma's hot lips came closer to find Killian's, they heard light steps in the grass. As they both looked up, they saw Henry, holding the dagger in his small hand.
"Henry?" The words left Emma's mouth without further emotion. "What are you doing here? We were right in the middle of something," she said, smirking at her love, her thighs pressing against his. Killian tried to smile back, attempting to hide his tension.
"Yes, Henry, what are you doing here?" he tried to sound casual.
Henry's hand shook slightly as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I followed you here, because you were avoiding me since the day… since the day you became the Dark One. And I wanted to talk." Emma pursed her lips, shrugging lightly. They heard thunder now, the clouds getting darker.
"Well, then talk. We have something important to get back to," she winked at Killian again.
"I command you to come with me!" Henry spoke, his voice still shaking. Emma rolled her eyes, getting off of her boyfriend.
"Really?" She walked over to her son, her face reflecting indifference.
"This better be important, kid, I'm not in the mood for any teen-crap." Henry tried to blink away the tears; he knew this wasn't her… he knew there was still his mother in there, somewhere…
"Aw, am I making you cry? Oh boohoo kiddo…" Emma clearly enjoyed this, yet Killian felt awful for both of them. It hurt him to make Henry go through this but it was the only way to save Emma…
Henry snuffled a little, hating that he couldn't hide his emotions any better, before he finally looked into his mother's eyes, his shoulders straight and his head high.
"I command you…" he went on, "to stay here." Emma crossed her arms now, raising her brows in amusement while Henry walked a few steps away from her.
"What are you up to, kid?" she looked at him from the corner of her eyes as a lighting struck a tree somewhere in the woods and light drizzle began to fall.
"I'm not just gonna watch you be this… thing… you're not yourself anymore."
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Well, of course, Henry, I'm the Dark One now, remember. Doesn't change the fact that I'm still your mom and you can bet that you're gonna be grounded for at least a month for letting me stand in the middle of nowhere just because you feel like it."
"STOP IT," he yelled now.
"You're not my mom. This isn't her," his eyes started to fill with tears again.
"But I'll bring her back," he rubbed his nose with the back of his left hand.
"Well, you can't, dummy. Unless you kill me, but that wouldn't bring your mommy back, so," she shrugged again.
"Well, I'm not gonna watch you do the same awful things that grandpa did, so…" Emma raised her brow again, seeing the coldness in her son's eyes.
"So, what, Henry?" She perceived him revealing a crossbow from his backpack, it wasn't a regular one, though. It looked bigger, somehow.
"Henry, what are you doing?" Emma's voice got a little higher now, her mind confused with her son's actions, while the rain started to increase slowly. She couldn't tell anymore if Henry was crying or if the raindrops were cupping his cheeks.
The teenager placed the dagger into the crossbow, his eyes facing his mother again. Emma laughed nervously, not able to process what was happening.
"You can't be serious. I know you, Henry, you could never do that." Henry lifted the crossbow a little.
"Where did you get that thing, anyways?"
"Robin Hood," he said, his voice steady. Emma snorted.
"Of course. Regina's little pet. They'd do anything to get me out of the way."
Her eyes met Henry's again.
"But we both know that you're not a killer, Henry."
"You weren't. But you killed Cruella." Emma swallowed. Was he really going to do it?
"I did that to protect you."
"And I'm doing this to protect my family." Another lighting struck.
And then Emma heard Killian's yelling.
"HENRY, NOW!" She turned her head in confusion, seeing Killian run around her to stand in the same direction as her son did. Just in that second Henry fired the dagger, the blade flying in slow motion. Emma's hands lifted up, instantly, stopping and holding the dagger in the air with her magic. When it dropped down, her eyes turned black and the wind swirled her hair, blonde strands flying around her face. Once again her arms raised and dark light grew bigger and bigger in the palms of her hands.
*.*.*.*.*
"What do I have to do?" Killian had asked Merlin for a second time, but he still hadn't given him any answers. Just when he opened his mouth to ask it again, anger bottling up in his throat, the sorcerer appeared next to him, startling the 300 year-old man in front of him.
"To tether the darkness to this ring," he took it off now, holding it up, "you have to unleash it first. In order for this to happen, you have to make the Dark One perform her darkest magic possible."
"How do I do that?"
Merlin smiled. "You are a smart man, you will figure it out."
Killian blinked before he kept on talking.
"And then, what?"
"Emma's dark magic has to strike the ring and its moonstone will absorb all the darkness that was left in her."
"That's it?" Killian raised a brow, overwhelmed with the fact of knowing the solution, at last.
"That's it," Merlin echoed him, offering him the ring.
"What do you get out of this?" He couldn't stop himself from wondering, why would Merlin help him? The sorcerer smiled again, turning his back to the pirate to walk back to his seat.
"What do you think would a sorcerer do with magic?"
*.*.*.*.*
Henry looked into his mother's eyes as she formed a great ball of darkness in her hands. For a split second he thought that this was going to be his ending. But he wasn't afraid; because he knew, no matter what happened, Killian would help his mother; he would fulfill the operation. Henry knew she would be alright and that was enough. But just when she finally released the ball of light, he couldn't help but close his eyes, missing the moment when Killian threw himself into the direction of the dark light, his hand holding the ring, stretching out his arm as much as he could. But as the darkness hit the moonstone, instantly getting absorbed by it, a fraction of the blackness missed the ring, hitting the pirate right in the middle of his chest.
Henry heard thunder and when he opened his eyes again, he saw his mother collapsing to the ground, Killian lying right in front of his love. He ran over to her instantly, shaking his mother desperately.
"MOM! MOMM! PLEASE! WAKE UP!" he cried. And then she opened her eyes, slowly, but steadily, hugging her son the second she recognized him. Both cried in each other's arms for what felt like eternity but then, finally, Emma remembered what had happened. Her eyes widened in horror, looking over to her boyfriend who was still lying in the cold, wet grass. She almost crawled over to him, cupping his jaw, despair painting her face.
"KILLIAN? KILLIAN!" she yelled, but he didn't wake up. Henry rushed next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Emma started crying, her hot tears burning her cheeks and falling down on him. She had gone through this before, she couldn't handle it a second time. Her heart ached in her chest as she was hugging him, sobbing into his hair. For a second she released him from her hug, her fingers holding his cheeks delicately. And as she moved closer, she whispered "I love you" before her lips touched his for a final kiss.
But just in that fraction of a second a white spark emerged from where their mouths had met, radiating away from them in all the colors of the light. When Emma parted her lips from her loved one, she could see his eyes open bit by bit, at last. Overwhelmed by the joy she was feeling, she hugged him again, almost crushing him, the tears still running down her face. Now Henry joined their hug and Killian cried for air, giggling with astonishment.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he explained, trying to release himself from the group hug. Henry got up to his feet, a huge smile on his face.
"I have to tell grandma and grandpa!" he almost yelled, running towards the town already. Emma and Killian both laughed, hugging again only seconds after it. Finally when they got up, Emma met his blue eyes, her hands resting on his chest. After seconds of silence she finally got herself to open her lips.
"Thank you," she said, sincerity and love in her voice. Killian answered her with a bashful smile.
"It was the right thing to do," he pursed his lips.
"I was so scared I had lost you, again…" Emma's eyes filled with crystals once more. Killian took her hand, shaking yet warm.
"You should know, by now, Swan. I'm a survivor." Emma's smile grew bigger.
"And my savior," she added. The corners of his lips almost reached his ears by the sound of the phrase.
"Aye," he nodded, lifting her up, both of their hearts beating as one, and just before their mouths touched, they knew, this was forever.