By Love Undone—Chapter 2

A/N: Fear not. This chapter is much, much, much less painful than chapter 1! (I mean, it's not totally pain-free, but what do you expect from me? ;p)

Killian had once told her that the darkness creeps up on you; that it's seductive; that it's so easy to give in to it.

He had been right.

But he, like her parents, like Henry, had also been wrong. For so long she'd been wrong. Why did everyone think the darkness was a bad thing? Why had she fought so hard against it in the beginning?

There was something utterly, incandescently beautiful about living in the darkness. It wasn't, in fact, dark at all. It was the brightest of lights. Being the Dark One gave Emma powers she'd never known existed. With the flick of a finger, she could change the entire course of history. It was heady and exciting, more potent than any drug.

It wasn't just about the rush the power gave her, though. No, there was so much more. Just think of how much good she could do with the Dark One power? Combine Dark One magic with Savior magic, and there was literally nothing she couldn't do to protect the ones she loved. No crime she couldn't penalize. No abused or abandoned child she couldn't protect. No abusive or neglectful foster parent she couldn't punish.

Why couldn't they all see how much better off Storybrooke—the whole world—was with her wielding the dark powers?

They treated her differently now. All of them did. Oh her parents, Henry, especially Killian tried not to, tried to be there for her in all things, but it wasn't the same. There was a…distance…between her and Killian now. He was with her as much as he'd ever been, and yet he wasn't with her. Their carefree, easy intimacy was gone.

Emma missed it more than she could say. Some days she felt like she'd almost be willing to give up her dark powers if it meant she could go back, if it meant things would go back to the way they used to be. Almost, but not quite.

Maybe that's why she'd tried to seduce him a few minutes ago. She wanted, no needed to feel something with him. A scenario where Captain Innuendo himself would reject her blatant offer of herself had never occurred to her, and it stung. Deeply.

What nonsense had he spouted? Something about protecting her, not taking advantage of her? She'd wanted it! Wanted him! He's always been there for her, given her what she needed before. What was different now?

You told him you loved him, a nasty voice at the back of her mind said. You knew it would change things. Cora knew more than you gave her credit for. Love is weakness. When you told him you loved him, you exposed your weakness to him and now he's using it against you.

She was a fool. What had she been thinking? Their love wouldn't last anyway. Love never did.

The mocking voice inside sneered in derision. Of course your love will last. You know full well you'll never stop loving him. No matter what. It's just his love that will fade away.

She'd been angry with him for refusing her. Maybe that's why things had gone down the way they had at the cliff. First he refused her advances, then he refused to help her get even with those who had harmed her and her loved ones, then he'd gone so far as to try to stop her from going through with her plans.

Her temper was always close to the surface now, and that had been the last straw. She'd simply reacted, not thought it through, just reacted. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, merely to get him out of her way. But if he ended up hurt it was his own damn fault. The idiot had been going up against the Dark One for three hundred years now. Hadn't he learned anything? Maybe one of these days he'd get a freaking clue! This was a battle he'd never win; if he had a brain in his head he'd stop trying altogether!

She heard him calling after her as she walked away, her mind consumed with anger and vengeance. His tone went from desperation to resignation to utter conviction.

"I love you, Emma. With all of my heart, I love you. No matter what happens I love you. Never forget that."

Her heart stuttered. Something inside her cried out to him, begged her to go back to him, to save him, but the darker part of her, the real her now, shoved the voice aside, determined to see her plans through to the end.

Without warning she felt her vision blur, felt the quick, sharp headache just behind her eyes, felt her magic bubble up. She knew this feeling, had felt it many times before since she'd become the Dark One.

Rumple's gift of clairvoyance had evidently been passed on to her. She saw the future in fits and starts, never a full picture, just a hint here, a hint there. Tiny puzzle pieces that were, more often than not, more confusing than enlightening. And every time the gift had come to her, it had been preceded by one of these headaches.

Emma stood still, waited for the pain to pass, and then closed her eyes. It was as though a fog clouded her mind, a fog that slowly cleared, to show her…the rocky base of the cliff. Killian lay still and motionless, broken, bleeding.

No!

The small voice inside, the one that still demanded she resist the darkness, flared to life, pushing the darkness away with super-human strength.

Oh God, please no! Please say this isn't real! Please say she hadn't killed the man she loved! If he was dead, if she was the cause of it, she couldn't go on.

Emma turned and sprinted back the way she'd come. Poofing herself to the cliff's edge in a cloud of smoke would have been faster, but she couldn't use her dark powers; couldn't risk it being the opening the Dark One needed to take over once again.

She reached the edge of the cliff just as she heard the sound of a branch giving, the sound of Killian shouting as he fell. Leaping into action, she called on every ounce of her Savior magic as she leaned over the cliff.

Try as she might, she couldn't prevent his fall, but she was able to slow it, was able to make his landing gentler.

Even so, he hit the ground with a sickening thud, and lay prone, not moving.

NO! No, no, no, no, no!

Emma climbed down the jagged face of the cliff, abandoning her impractical heels, continuing to climb even as her palms began to bleed, cut by the jagged rocks along the cliff's face. She had to get to him! Nothing was more important than getting to him! When she'd reached the bottom, she ran across the rocky beach at a full sprint, ignoring her protesting feet, only stopping when she'd reached Killian's prone form.

Tears streaming from her face, she dropped to the ground, and cradled him in her arms.

"Please, be okay! O God, please don't be hurt! Killian come back to me!"

He groaned then, stirring in her arms, and she laughed in relief, leaning down to kiss his forehead, his eyes, his lips, any part of his face she could reach.

"You're alive!" she choked out through her sobs. "You're alive!"

Killian cautiously opened one eye, groaning, and bringing his hand to the back of his head. "Swan?" he asked. "Emma, is it you? Is it really you?"

She laughed again, leaning down to kiss him. "Yeah, it's me. Somehow I managed to push past the darkness, at least for the time being. Oh, God, Killian, you scared me to death!"

He smiled gently up at her, moving his hand from the back of his head to cup her cheek. It was a gesture more intimate, more affectionate than she'd felt from him in weeks and it warmed her to her toes.

"Emma, one of these days I'm going to get it through that thick skull of yours that I'm a survivor."

She laughed again, kissing him once more before he sat up and then got gingerly to his feet. After a few stretches, a few cautious steps, he seemed satisfied that his fall had done no lasting damage.

With the crisis averted, fear of a completely different kind took over Emma. "Killian!" she said, beginning to pace. "I don't know why this is happening! I don't know how I pushed aside the darkness, but I can already feel it creeping up again. You have to lock me up; put me somewhere I can't escape! You can't let me hurt anyone else!"

Killian came to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Easy, love. Calm yourself."

"How can I calm myself?" she shrieked. "I don't know how I came back to you and I don't know how much longer I have before I turn back into that monster. Oh God, I almost killed you! I can't even imagine the kind of evil I'm capable if I can almost kill the man I love! Do something! Restrain me, lock me somewhere I can't escape, send me through a portal, something! Killian, I couldn't live with myself if I did something terrible to someone I care about!"

Killian's held her tightly, rubbing her back with his hand, whispering gentle sounds in her ear. Slowly, Emma felt the fear draining from her, felt only the love flowing from Killian, felt her own love for him bubbling up, and somehow, here in his arms, the darkness felt farther away than ever.

When she'd finally calmed enough to stop the shaking, she stepped from his arms, dried her tears, and looked up into his eyes.

"What are we going to do, Killian?"

"It's like I tried to tell you before, Swan," he said, a gentle smile draping his face, his thumb coming up to wipe at a stray tear she'd missed. "We've found it! We've found the crystal. What we shall do is take the darkness from you; destroy it forever. Your long nightmare is nearly at an end, my love."

"But if the Dark One takes control again before we succeed?" Emma asked, the fear creeping up again. "If I…harm you again before we succeed?"

Killian leaned down and kissed her again, slowly, gently, tenderly. "I'll take my chances, Swan. Hold fast to me. I'll keep the darkness at bay. Never again will I let the Dark One destroy the woman I love."

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Leroy was the one who had found the magic crystal. He and the rest of the dwarfs had gone back to mining fairy dust after the return from Camelot, reasoning that it would be useful in any endeavor the heroes attempted. He'd taken a mighty swing with his pick-axe, coming in contact with a diamond-shaped stone so hard his axe didn't make so much as a dent. Having been put on the lookout for the crystal, Leroy had taken the stone directly to the Charmings. When Henry took hold of it, it glowed as blue as the midsummer sky. It was all the proof they needed.

Once the Charmings determined what they had, they'd brought in Regina to put a protection spell on the loft, and then they'd dispatched Killian to retrieve Emma.

"So," Emma said, holding tightly to Killian's hand, "the crystal's at my parents'?"

"Aye. Perhaps you'd best poof us there; clear up this darkness as soon as possible."

Emma hesitated. "I don't know, Killian. I'm barely holding the darkness at bay as it is. If I tap into the dark magic…"

Killian cupped her face in his hand, looking deeply in her eyes. "Emma Swan, I love you to the depths of my soul and I know you love me as well. Trust in our love. I swear to you, it'll hold the darkness at bay."

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Killian looked on nervously as Emma took the magic crystal into her hand. It glowed a dull green; perhaps reflecting the light and the dark fighting for dominance in his love's soul.

There was quite a group there at the loft: the Charmings, Henry, Regina and Robin. This group of people who loved Emma; this group of people who had slowly but surely become his family. All kept a healthy distance from Emma, wary of what would happen if she banished the darkness; even more wary of what would happen if she didn't.

Ever present in the back of Killian's mind was Merlin's warning. Destroying the darkness would not leave the Dark One's host unscarred. What would this do to Emma? All magic came with a price, even magic used to destroy darkness. What would he do, how would he bear it if the price was too steep? If his precious love was destroyed along with the darkness?

Emma turned fearful eyes toward him, and he read her unspoken thoughts as easily as he'd always been able to read her. What if I fail? What if I'm not strong enough? What if I only make things worse?

Killian stepped forward, placing his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. His task was clear. He must push his own fears aside and be the strength and confidence his true love needed. "You can do this love! I once told you I'd yet to see you fail, and it's as true today as the day I said it. You will succeed!"

Emma reached up, squeezed the hand on her shoulder, nodded grimly, and then shot Regina a determined look. "So what do I do? How do I even go about 'transferring the darkness'?"

Regina shrugged. "Destroying the Dark One isn't exactly in my purview, Miss Swan. Best guess? Focus on the crystal. Concentrate on what you want to happen. Think about why you want to defeat the darkness; who you want to protect. Then let your instincts take over."

Emma took a deep breath and then looked around at each person throughout the room, stopping last on Killian. "I love you," she whispered, ghosting a kiss against his lips.

"And I you," he reassured.

Nodding once more, Emma squeezed her eyes closed, holding the crystal so tightly it would likely bruise her hand. For long moments nothing happened. Killian felt Emma's frustration in the tension of her shoulder. He squeezed lightly, adding his concentration to hers, willing the Dark One he'd hated for centuries to be expelled from the woman he loved so dearly.

Henry's alarmed cry alerted Killian to the fact that something was happening. He looked up to see Emma's eyes open, glowing a dense, dark black before the black coils that had consumed her a month before began to pour from her mouth, her nose, her ears.

"Henry, get back!" Regina shouted, stepping in front of her son.

But the warning was unnecessary. Emma's efforts were evidently working; the darkness moved obediently into the crystal until the last tendril had left her, until the small piece of stone became as black as pitch.

Shudders wracked Emma as the darkness took its leave, violent tremors that shook her so violently that she would have fallen, writhing on the floor had Killian not held her tightly to himself.

After mere moments but what felt like hours to Killian, it all abruptly stopped. Emma went limp in his arms, the now-dark crystal crumbled and then disappeared with a loud pop, leaving no trace.

"Swan?" Killian asked, unnerved by her stillness. "SWAN!"

She wasn't moving, wasn't waking, wasn't even breathing.

No!

Pandemonium reined throughout the small flat as one by one Emma's loved ones became aware of her inert state.

"What's wrong with her?" Charming shouted, turning panicked eyes toward Regina. "What did the darkness do? Is she…?"

"I don't know!" Regina exclaimed, beginning to pace. "This is…beyond anything I've ever seen. I don't know!"

Killian felt the tears burning the back of his eyes. He couldn't lose her like this. He couldn't! Not after everything she'd been through; not after all her heroic sacrifices. Bending at the knees, Killian lifted Emma into his arms, carried her to her parents' bedroom and set her gently on the bed.

"Wait!" Henry said, finally, sprinting toward his inert mother. "I know what to do! Don't you remember what Merlin said? He said 'by love the dark one undone'. That's it! Love can cure her. Love will save her! True Love's Kiss can break any cures; it's perfect!"

"Henry," Killian said softly, gently, not daring to hope, "I…I don't know. This isn't a curse, lad. This is something different entirely. There's no telling if True Love's Kiss would have any effect."

Snow moved forward, turning Killian toward her, looking earnestly into his eyes. "You have to try, Killian! I've seen how deep and strong and true is the love between you and my daughter. Please! Hold on to hope, we have to at least try!"

Killian looked into eyes so like those of his love, and he could deny the lady Snow nothing. Nodding slowly, he sat beside Emma on the bed, gently pushed tendrils of hair from her face, and leaned down.

"I love you," he whispered a moment before his lips connected to hers. He waited a heartbeat, a second, hoping, praying his efforts weren't in vain.

Suddenly a pulse of electricity shot through the room as wave after wave of rainbow light radiated from their joined lips. Before he even opened his eyes, he knew the kiss had worked.

"Killian!" Emma breathed sitting up and throwing her arms around his neck. "It's over! I'm free!"

He laughed, hugging her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck, letting the tears well in his eyes, letting one or two spill over onto his cheeks. "That you are, Swan; that you are. You're a bloody marvel; destroying the greatest evil the world has ever known!"

Emma pulled back, enough to look in his eyes. "We're a bloody marvel, Killian! I couldn't have done it without you. Your love; your true love gave me the strength I needed to push the Dark One aside, to destroy it for good."

Killian surged forward, taking her lips with enough force and passion that they both fell prone on the bed, hands combing through hair, heads tilting side to side.

"Um..guys" Henry said, disgust evident in his voice. "Kid in the room. I'm pretty sure I don't need to be seeing this."

"I'm far past childhood," Regina said irritably from her perch in the living room, "but I'm positive I don't need to be seeing this either."

"Whether I need to be seeing this or not," Charming added, "this is, without a doubt, one of those things I don't want to know about; particularly when it's happening in my bed!"

Killian pulled back, grinning.

"Killian," she said, laughter in her voice. "I definitely need my own place."

Notes:

-See, I told you that would be less painful! :)

-I have no idea how the Dark Swan story arc is really going to go. The only thing I know for sure is that Emma will be able to get rid of the darkness eventually (oh, and also: Hook's not going to die. I don't know why, but it seems every half season we get rumblings of fear and panic and worry that there is going to be a fatality, and that Hook is going to be that fatality. He isn't. He is perfectly, 100% safe).

-As for how I'd like Emma to be freed from the darkness…pretty much just what I've written. I want 2 things: Emma to save herself (after all, the only one who saves her is her. Beyond that…the savior defeating the Dark One once and for all with the strength of her goodness is a really powerful story!), and I want a CS TLK. That's all I ask. If the writers insist on putting us through torment and angst leading up to the big climax, they can at least give us one teeny tiny little TLK, can't they?

-Okay, now that the angst is out of my system, I can go back to the fluff.