Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters. I make no profit from this story. The only thing I own is the idea for this story, and I can say that in confidence because I have yet to see anyone else write a fanfiction with a story like this one.

.-.-.-.

Killian stalks across the living room toward the Dark One.

Well – other Dark One seems more suitable now.

Emma stands, paralyzed by the squid ink. She knows this isn't her Killian right now. This is a twisted version of Captain Hook mixed with an inhuman amount of Darkness. She shouldn't really be surprised, after all, she deserves to be hurt. Especially after she hurt him.

He gets closer and her eyes dart down to the dreamcatcher in his hand, the one that had earlier held his memories. Now it's empty, just a seemingly pointless household decoration. Killian – Hook – slightly hesitates in his tracks, his fingers tightening around the dreamcatcher as an evil plan forms behind his eyes. Emma's internal warning alarm starts blaring, screaming at her to get out of there as quickly as she can.

She wants to listen, wants to run out the door and never look back, but the invisible restraints of the squid ink keep her glued to the spot. She glances at Zelena, who just stands there in silence, watching the scene unfold with a smirk on her face and glee in her tired eyes.

Hook tightens his grasp on the dreamcatcher, his eyes shooting up to her face as he begins walking closer to her, determined to carry out the plan he just thought of.

Emma knows what he wants. He wants to destroy the Light forever. Despite the Light in her telling her how disastrous and dangerous it is, the Darkness in her desperately wants it too. He must know that. If she wants this, what is he doing right now? Why does he still need that dreamcatcher? Is he trying to get her out of the way? Emma can feel the squid ink's hold on her begin to slightly weaken. But it doesn't matter, he's already too close, and the power-hungry look in his eyes warns her that she is far from safe right now.

"Killian, what are you doing?" Emma asks in a vain attempt to distract him from whatever he is planning to do to her.

His eyebrows furrow and his glare deepens further, if possible. "You took my memories, Swan." Hook's eyes show betrayal and anger as he speaks to her, forcing her guilt to expand, taking up more of her mind. "You kept me from knowing the truth." His jaw tightens and his eyes harden, turning cold and bitter. "Now I'm going to return the favor."

Emma's eyes widen and shoot down to look at the dreamcatcher, realization barely hitting her before he brings the dreamcatcher up to her forehead to take her memories.

"Hold on a second there, Captain," Zelena says from beside Emma. The glow slowly fades from the object Hook holds, his head turning toward the witch. "You aren't exactly… skilled in the art of Dark Magic. Perhaps I should be the one to do that. After all, I am much better at—"

Zelena's words are cut off the second Hook flicks his wrist, a cloud of red smoke swallowing her before dispersing into thin air. He mumbles something about knowing how to use magic properly and holds the dreamcatcher once again in front of Emma's forehead. Both begin to glow a bright yellow color, Emma's eyes closed and her memories floating to the center of the round magical object.

The former savior desperately tries to cling on to her memories, but they disappear too quickly.

Killian is a Dark One. Don't forget, Emma. He's planning to bring back all the other Dark Ones so he can… can…

Can what? What is he doing with the Dark Ones? Okay, never mind that. I am a Dark One. I turned Killian into a Dark One. Woah wait a second… I'm a what? Isn't Gold the Dark One? He is, isn't he?

Emma feels her mind race faster than it ever has, but her thoughts are being ripped out of her head before she has the chance to think more about them.

Think, Emma, think! Why am I forgetting things? Why can't I move? What's going on? Okay, okay. Think of something meaningful, something important.

Henry.

Where is Henry anyway? Is he at school or Regina's house? I hate that snooty mayor. She won't even let me see my own son.

Why do I want to see him? I never looked at him when I gave birth to him. I can't have him. He deserves better than me. I'll make sure it's a closed adoption. I can't be a mother. I can't be the mother of the baby Neal left me with. This child deserves so much more than me. As soon as I'm out of prison, I'll make sure I never have to deal with someone like Neal again.

Neal? Who's that? Is he another foster father? Is he mean? Does he hate me? I bet he treats me like everyone else always has.

I wish I could just run away. I wish I had parents. Why did they give me up? Do they hate me too?

.-.-.-.

Killian watches Emma as her eyelids flutter slightly, the Dark Magic too strong for her to escape. Again.

He gulps as a small surge of guilt shoots through him, but he quickly stomps it out. He will not make himself feel responsible for her choices. She is the one who chose to surrender to the Darkness. She gave up on trusting him and tried to keep Excalibur to herself. She turned him into what he is now. Not him. He had told her to let him die, not to turn him into the very thing he despised for centuries, the very thing he despises now. The thing he tried to kill.

But now she is also what he had tried to kill. She is Darkness. As angry as he is with her, he feels sick at the thought that she now carries the powers, thoughts, burdens, and murderous hunger of all the previous Dark Ones. He loosens his grip on the dreamcatcher, but it still glows. His eyes follow the trail of memories that leave Emma's mind.

How long has he been doing this to her? A few minutes maybe? Which of her memories is he taking? He only planned to take one specific memory, so how many has he taken so far?

Emma's brow furrows and Killian pauses, wondering if she could possibly be fighting her way out of the magical hold of the dreamcatcher. The memories coming from her head suddenly make him feel sick and he pulls the dreamcatcher away from her as fast as he can, breaking the golden trail of magic.

Hoping that he had only taken the memories he wanted to take, Killian quickly fishes Zelena's wrist cuff out of his pocket, securing it tightly on Emma's arm.

He steps back and waits for her to regain her wits. But she doesn't. He cocks his head to the side in confusion. How long is this supposed to take? Maybe he needs to count to ten or snap his fingers or something? He tries the few methods he can think of, but begins to worry when she still makes no hint to consciousness.

"Swan," Killian asks as he steps closer, reaching a hand out to her. His fingers barely brush her cheek and her eyes shoot open, her mouth opening wide to gasp loudly.

Killian reels back, as if he just touched an open flame. Emma's face changes from surprised and confused to completely terrified when she realizes she's alone in a room with a man with a hook for a hand and she can't move. Her eyes scan the room and land on him again, widening when they trail down to look at Excalibur in its sheath at his side. She shuts her eyes tightly and takes deep breaths, grunting in frustration after a few seconds.

Ah, so she is trying to escape her squid ink prison.

"It's squid ink, love," Killian chuckles darkly and she looks back up at him. That doesn't stop her struggle.

"What are you talking about?" Emma's panicked voice breaks the temporary silence. "What's going on? Why can't I move? Who are you?!"

He stops suddenly, all thoughts of taunting her leave his mind as he registers her words.

She doesn't know who he is? No, that's not possible. She knows very well who he is, so she must be trying to trick him and he won't tolerate that.

"You think you can fool me?" He growls, a smirk settling on his face. "Nice try, Swan, but that's not going work."

"W-what are you t-talking about?" Emma stutters, clearly shaken. "Who are y-you? Where am I?!"

The pirate frowns, not expecting this response. He assumed she would just start yelling at him and try to break free from the squid ink's hold on her, dropping the façade of a scared victim with no memories. But for some reason she isn't doing that. He'll see how dedicated she is to this act before making any serious decisions on what to do with her. Although, she does look like she's about to cry. Maybe she'll give up soon.

"So you don't know my name, hm?" He asks nonchalantly, as if her answer doesn't really interest him.

"No," Emma shouts desperately, tears rolling down her cheeks now, "I really don't! Please tell me what's going on!"

"Do you know your name?" He gives her a sneer, knowing he'd definitely be able to tell if she was lying this time.

She pauses for a few moments, contemplating his question. She squeezes her eyes shut, more hot tears pouring down her pale face. "It's um… I don't… It…" Emma's eyes snap open suddenly and she looks up at him curiously. "You called me 'Swan'. I-is that it?"

Hook steps back a few feet and sharply intakes a breath. He can't have possibly taken away all of her memories. He is a little new to magic, but removing every memory from someone's head seems a little too outlandish. He quickly holds up the dreamcatcher and looks into it, making it show him the memories he took from Emma. He sees her becoming the Dark One, killing Cruella, destroying Ingrid…

His eyes turn foggy when their first date flashes through the dreamcatcher, followed by their trip to the past. He can't believe he took away all of these memories. As he continues to watch her lost memories, his guilt grows. They go further that their meeting and her coming to Storybrooke, further than Henry's birth and her relationship with Neal.

The moment he sees Emma as a young child being abused by an adult in an old house that looks as though it's falling apart, he tosses the dreamcatcher on the floor. He looks up at Emma, wanting to comfort her and apologize for what he's done to her, but she's wiggling in place and appears to have freed some of her body from the squid ink. He knew her invisible prison wouldn't last very long, but he can't have her escaping. Not when she doesn't know who she is or where to go once she leaves this house. Killian bows his head in shame at what he's about to do.

"Sorry, darling, but I can't have you putting yourself into any danger," he says so quietly she almost doesn't here him. She looks up at him, confusion written on her face.

"Danger?" Emma asks, tilting her head to the side. Her eyes slightly widen as she realizes she can now move all of her limbs, but she composes herself so he doesn't notice. Her eyes dart around the room quickly before she suddenly spins around and runs toward the door, throwing it open and stepping onto the front porch to run down the staircase.

.-.-.-.

"Emma!" A woman yells from across the yard, catching her attention. She glances over at the woman briefly but decides that it's safer to get as far away from that scary man as possible. Throwing open the gate, she runs onto the sidewalk and away from the house. That doesn't stop other people from the front lawn to yell more things she can only assume are directed at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Miss Swan get back here!"

She doesn't recognize any of the voices so how can she possibly trust them? Deciding that the strangers must be there to harm her, her feet carry her as far as they can. It's dark out and hard to navigate in an unfamiliar town that she's never seen before. Or at least, she doesn't think she's seen this place before now.

Exhaustion eventually catches up to her and she nearly collapses on a nearby bench, breathing heavily to catch her breath. Now she has a chance to really think about everything that just happened a few minutes ago.

How can I not know who I am? All I have to work with is 'Swan'. Unless that woman said my name… Is it Emma? Should I go back and ask?

She shakes her head vigorously at the thought. No, she won't go back there. There has to be another way to know if her name is 'Emma'. She runs her hands over her coat and pants, but finds no pockets anywhere that may hold any sort of identification.

"What kind of jacket doesn't have pockets?" She murmurs to herself, frowning at her impractical black attire. She wonders if this is really how she chooses to dress herself all the time. It's all made of leather and much too dark for her liking. Why does she even own these clothes?

Her thoughts are interrupted when the man with the metal hand appears before her suddenly in a cloud of dark red smoke. She nearly falls off of the bench trying to scamper away from him.

"How did you—"

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," the man says. "My name is Killian. I only want to help you remember who you are." He slowly approaches her and crouches on the sidewalk so he is eye-level with her. "Come back with me, I promise you'll be safe."

She cautiously looks him up and down, but some part of her calms down when she gazes into his bright blue eyes. She knows she shouldn't trust him, yet she can't help but believe that he's telling the truth. He isn't lying, she tells herself, not sure how she came to this conclusion. Something about his words bring her a feeling of safety, so she nods her head slowly and stands with him.

"O-okay…" Emma whispers nervously. "But I have some questions for you."

"I'm sure you do," Killian chuckles. "They'll all be answered soon. Follow me, love."

She doesn't exactly know why, but she does as he says and walks closely behind him back to the house she just ran away from. They travel in silence until they reach the white picket fence and the front yard where the strangers are still standing, seemingly stuck in the same position that they were in earlier. Why haven't they moved?

"Who are they?" Emma asks quietly, watching the immobile people, wondering why they won't move. "Why are they just standing there?"

Once they pass by the unmoving strangers, she hears them call out to her again.

"Emma, unfreeze us," one woman with shoulder-length, coffee colored hair says impatiently.

"Please, sweetie, we just want to help you," another woman says, concern lacing her words.

"Hook, what are you doing here?" A man shouts, addressing Killian.

Emma turns toward them from the porch and cocks her head at her small audience. "Who are all of you?"

The woman with the shorter hair gasps and opens her mouth to speak, but Killian swiftly yanks open the door and pulls Emma inside the house before the woman can get a word out. "Pay them no mind, love. We don't need them confusing you while you can't remember them. I'll return your memories in a moment." He steps into the room they were in earlier and looks around on the floor for the dreamcatcher he dropped before she fled the house. He frowns in confusion at the hardwood floor, not understanding why it isn't where he saw it last.

Emma walks around the room, seemingly awed by everything she sees in the house. "Is this your house?" She turns to him, but when he doesn't reply she asks more questions. "Do you mind if I look around? Can I go upstairs? What's through that door? Why is there a big lock on it?" She points to the locked door underneath the staircase, the one that leads to the basement with the stone that once held Excalibur.

Killian searches the dining room and living room in case he had put the dreamcatcher in either of those places before finding Emma, though he still can't find it. Panic sets in deep in his chest as he quickens his searching pace and looks everywhere he can think of, but to no avail.

The dreamcatcher is gone.

Emma's memories are gone.

"No, no, no," the pirate mumbles, fear taking root in his heart. He wonders where the dreamcatcher could have gone. I left it on the floor and I followed Emma, but now it's missing. It's not as if it sprouted legs and walked away, so where did it go? Emma is relying on me to help her regain her memories.

He looks up at his girlfriend and sees she's just exploring the living room like a child in a toy store, everything an entirely new experience for her. Normally he would think that she looks cute like this, innocent and curious. But he has to remind himself that this isn't normal, that Emma isn't herself. She doesn't even know who she is, or who she's supposed to be.

He sighs and closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. The dreamcatcher is gone and there's no doubt in his mind that the witch came back and took it. Probably just to spite him too. Now what will he do about Emma's missing memories? Her mind is like a blank slate now and it's all because of him, because of his stupid thirst for revenge. He doesn't know what to do now. He doesn't know how to help her. How can you save someone who doesn't even know they need to be saved? He opens his eyes and looks at Emma again, watching her amusement at tracing the patterns on the throw pillows that she's taken off of the couch. She's completely unaware of the turmoil he's going through right now, and he wants to keep it that way.

He sits down on a nearby chair and watches her entertain herself like a young child would as he sighs deeply. What will he tell Henry and her parents? Nothing. They don't need to know. I can fix it before they find out. His lips twitch up into a small smile at the idea. Yes, he can find Zelena and take the dreamcatcher back from her before Snow and David know what he did to Emma! He can restore Emma's memories to her before anyone discovers that they were even gone!

But how will he leave to search for the witch without leaving Emma here all alone? He needs to think of another way to keep Emma safe at all times while he gets the dreamcatcher back. His mind wanders, stumbling over different ideas and thoughts for what to do, his eyes unfocused and distant.

"They're moving again," Emma says, breaking Killian out of his internal struggle for a plan. He quickly turns around to see Emma looking out the window at her family, holding the curtain away from the glass to get a better look. She waves gently as a small smile settles on her face before turning back to the other Dark One. "Are they your friends?"

Killian nearly jumps up from the chair and points at the door, magically forcing it to lock the others outside. "Close the curtain," he utters out in a panic. "Don't let them see you!"

Emma hastily yanks the cloth over the window and steps several feet away from the wall into the center of the room. "Sorry, I thought they were—"

The pirate holds up his hand to shush his girlfriend, a silent command she immediately understands. She shuts her mouth and looks toward the door as the knob twitches and the people outside pound their fists against the wood.

"Emma!" A voice from outside yells, startling the woman in question.

"Open the door, sweetie, we just want to talk," the woman from earlier shouts, her voice noticeably softer.

The pounding gets louder and Emma backs away toward the staircase, distress clear on her face. "A-are they here to h-hurt me?" Killian lightly rests his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head 'no' so she can understand what he's trying to say without speaking. "You're sure?" The blonde whispers, sitting on the first few stairs.

"As long as I'm here, you'll be safe," Killian replies, pulling the slightly shaken woman into a half-hug. "I promise."

.-.-.-.

A/N: Thank you for reading this and please leave a review to tell me how you feel about this story so far. I understand that the characters will be OOC from time to time, and I will welcome any suggestions on how to fix that issue to make this a better fanfiction. Thank you!
-Ivory Faye