A/N - I am excited about knowing that Camelot being part of the OUAT universe - so we're doing our own spin of that mythology. This is completely away from what little we know about the behind the scenes information of Camelot during filming now. As per our description, there is OQ and CS in the beginning since we decided that everything is canon up until this point. I promise you that this leads to Swan Queen, as me and my fellow writer are Swan Queen fans =) I hope that you enjoy the first installment of Nightfall, and are patient enough to stick with it to see what we all have planned. Thank you for your time!

Also, we don't own OUAT or the characters. We're just borrowing them for fun!

The dagger dropped to the pavement with a distinctive clink. For a moment, no one moved a muscle. All were thinking the same thought: what happened to Emma? Where was she now? Slowly, and almost in perfect synch, the Savior's friends and family crept toward the dagger.

"No…." Mary Margaret whispered, her breath leaving her in a rush. "Oh, no…"

David clutched her hand, their deepest fear for their daughter now having come true. Crowding around the Charmings, everyone saw the terrible truth: Emma Swan was now the name etched into the Dark One's blade.

It was too much for Killian. Emma finally admitted that she loved him and then sacrificed herself to ensure that Regina would live - tethering herself to the dagger and all of the powers that the Dark One possessed. She was supposed to be his happy ending. They were each other's happy ending and now that dream was as elusive as the whereabouts of the Savior.

He looked at Snow and Charming, feeling their devastation so keenly before moving his gaze towards Regina. Old tendencies died hard and he wanted to throttle the woman! It was her fault that the woman he loved was taken away from him by the powers of the Dark One! He lost love again! It honestly could have been anyone in Regina's place, the emotional devastation would have been the same, but this was particularly personal. Emma was always putting her majesty first and Killian's feelings were always brushed aside as secondary concerns. But no more. That ended now.

"I need to get her back!" he said, brushing past Snow to reach for the dagger.

The pirate's brash action jolted both Snow and Regina to life. The former grabbed his arm while the mayor stepped in front of him, blocking his path. She sized him up with a defiant glare.

"No. We need to be strategic about this, Hook," she spat.

Regina could have lectured him about not knowing what condition Emma would be in, as the new Dark One, but he wasn't worth the breath it would take. She also was not ready to contemplate what the Savior becoming the Dark One meant. Regina crouched down and picked up the dagger herself, daring him or the Charmings to say a word. Out the corner of her eye, she realized Robin was just staring at her, bewildered.

"So ... what? You presume claim over the dagger besides her own family? Or even me, just because your guilt over what has become of Emma bothers you? You've got your happy ending, Regina!" he spat back, shaking free of Snow's grip and motioned to Hood with his hooked hand. "You won. It doesn't give you the right to control her!"

"Hey! Don't blame her, mate," Robin exclaimed, suddenly reacting to the very clear insults Killian fired at Regina. An edge of warning crept into his voice, defending her. "Emma made her sacrifice, whatever her reasons. That was her choice and don't belittle that. Or Regina."

Why did she do that? Regina thought, as dumbstruck by this as Robin had looked moments before.

"Fighting about this won't solve anything either," Snow interjected. "She has magic, Hook. Let Regina hold onto the dagger for now while we form a plan."

"Of course that makes bloody sense, if she didn't have to worry about her sister. The last thing we need is Zelena's trickery backfiring on her again," he groused, glaring at Robin before addressing the Charmings. "Nullifying her magic won't stop her from hurting you further. If she finds out you're in control of the dagger, don't think she'll find a way to use it. The woman's a cagey bitch. Even behind bars."

At that, Robin shifted uncomfortably and folded his arms across his chest. He was the perfect example of how thoroughly one could be duped by the Wicked Witch and everyone knew it.

"Mind your place, pirate," Regina scoffed with all the regal bearing she could muster. "I'll continue to handle my sister. And, the larger issue at the moment is helping the Savior-"

"Which is why we need to summon her so we know what state she's in!" he snarled back. "Or even worse, majesty, she could be a prisoner of that bloody darkness and we'd be none the wiser!"

Regina rolled her eyes, annoyed with the pirate even more now that he had this hero complex about him. She supposed it was a contact condition from hanging about with the Charmings, given her own shift in demeanor. But in Hook, it was nauseating, she thought. With a smirk, Regina held the dagger out toward him.

"By all means then, Hook. Since you're so wise. Try and summon the Dark One."

David stepped forward to interject but Killian was too fast. He snatched the dagger out of Regina's hand and held it out before him, not sparing a moment before Emma's parents could stop him. "Hear my command, Dark One! I summon thee to appear before me!"

Nothing happened. Not so much as a crackle of magical energy or a puff of wind, and certainly no arrival of Emma. Regina arched an eyebrow at him, saying nothing, as Hook stared flabbergasted at the dagger.

"I … I don't understand. That should've worked. She should be here."

"You're right. It should have. But it didn't," said Charming after swallowing back his anticipation, hoping that it might have worked. "We know Emma's magic has been challenging for her. Maybe there's a chance it interacted with the dagger's magic in a way even it couldn't predict?"

Snow looked at Regina with hope clear in her eyes. The mayor barely resisted rolling hers at that enduring faith and optimism.

"That is possibly the case, yes," she said, acknowledging David's idea. Then, unable to resist the jab, Regina added, "Or… perhaps she simply isn't interesting in coming because Hook commanded her."

"Regina," Robin said patiently while motioning to Hook. "The man had just suffered a lost. You can at least be sympathetic to his plight. Even if it was foolhardy to just try and summon her. Which is why I'm willing to forgive his carelessly spoken words against you …"

"Oh come off it!" snarled the pirate, flailing his hooked hand at Regina. "You get her! So bloody well stay out of this chat, mate. It doesn't concern you at all."

Robin looked like he was really would punch Killian despite his understanding of the loss Hook was feeling, but David took the moment to distract them both by snatching the dagger from his hand. Everyone stilled and silenced as Emma's father gaze at her name etched into the metalwork contemplatively.

"What if she doesn't want to be summoned?" he wondered aloud, his wife clearly hearing the pain in his voice. "Many of us here have caused her a lot of pain."

Hook was quick to defend himself. "I've done nothing of the sort, so clearly something else is at work."

Whatever he had done in the past, or left unsaid, it was all to preserve his relationship with Emma and ensure that she didn't suffer because of his countless mistakes. He changed for her and in the end, she ended up becoming the Dark One for Regina. He glared maliciously at Robin, wondering why the foolish outlaw didn't tether his soul to the dagger to protect his supposed true love. It didn't matter who it had to be, so why not him? Someone needed to tie themselves to the darkness by way of the dagger. Rumpelstiltskin had no magic prior to becoming the Dark One, which meant that Robin Hood could have had his noble moment and, instead, choked.

Snow prodded her husband. "David, are you going to try?"

"I don't know," said David meekly. "Would it be right to do so?"

"Our daughter is the Dark One!" she exclaimed. "Of course it would be right to try and bring her back, to find out what she needs us to do to help her!"

"Snow, I know she forgave us, but …she could still be harboring anger towards us. We've done so much to control her life, and here we are attempting to do it again!" he explained. "Is this really right?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Charming! Stop stalling and just do it! If not you, your wife! We're wasting enough bloody time arguing over this!" barked Hook.

Regina impulsively snatched the dagger from David's hand and slipped the blade into the inner pocket of her jacket. She stepped back rapidly and gave the Charmings and Hook a warning look. Robin, she ignored for the time being because he had little stake in this.

"I will keep the dagger safe. I know firsthand the price of dark magic. I can at least empathize with the struggle Emma faces and the weight of the sacrifice she made."

For me.

"When she emerges, then I will present the dagger to its rightful owner just as Gold kept the dagger himself until Zelena," she stated, leaving no room for argument. "And then, we will let Emma dictate to us how to best help free her from the darkness."

David had already lowered his hand, not once making a move to grab the dagger back. He found himself easily agreeing with this plan, something that would have been impossible just a couple of years ago. Siding with Regina, working side by side to save his daughter? It was startling.

"I agree," he said quickly, ignoring the glare from Hook and his wife. "Emma did this for Regina, and she wouldn't have done that if she didn't believe in her." He looked gravely at the former evil queen and nodded. "You just keep that dagger safe."

Regina gaze at the prince and nodded back. "I shall. I take Emma's sacrifice seriously and will protect her."

"Very well, your Majesty," replied Hook with an upward curl of his lip. "I'll play along for now. But if anything happens in regards to Emma's whereabouts, you contact me immediately."

"Of course," the mayor replied neutrally.

Regina looked to Snow and David, compassion eking into her gaze. The three of them had come a long way over the past few years and she was rather awed at the level of trust that they extended to her in protecting their daughter. She also felt a smidge more respect for David for being cautious in handling Emma's unique situation. Finally, she looked to Robin and found she didn't know what to say to him.

Picking up on that, he gave her a sensible look before touching her shoulder. "I'm truly sorry this happened, and I cannot imagine what you're feeling. But what I do know is that you'll find a way to help Emma."

"Thank you," she replied.

"Do you wish for me to stay with you when you speak with Henry about what happened?" Robin asked. "I know it will be a difficult conversation, and I want to help in any way that I can."

Henry. Regina closed her eyes, expression shuttered. In the chaos and worry for Emma, she'd forgotten about having to tell her son about this. Regina bit her lower lip.

"I'll speak with him alone. Thank you, Robin," she said as graciously as she could. Regina touched his hand. But, her gaze shifted back to the Charmings - and purposely ignoring Hook - Regina said, "I'll take Henry home to speak with him privately and protect the dagger. Contact me if anything changes."

"We will, Regina. Thank you," said David, giving her a tight smile. He kept close to Mary Margaret, rubbing his wife's back as they somberly walked towards his truck.

Hook barely gave the queen a look, his focus solely on the dagger and wondering why Emma hadn't appeared to him. It was infuriating, and he felt impotent - especially how everyone had taken Regina's side in how to handle Emma's situation. Everyone here, minus the useless thief, had a stake in Emma's well being - even Hook had to admit that. Being made to look the fool because he was grieving was the queen's mistake, and he would make sure she realized that in the near future.

With that, Regina walked, alone, back to Granny's.

Mary Margaret sighed heavily, leaning into David's side. "Do we just go home now? How do we just go home?"

"I don't know, Mary Margaret. But we have to endure. Not lose sight of everything we fought and done for our daughter. That she's good. And she will be strong enough to fight this until we can find another way to help her," he said with conviction, because he had to believe.

She nodded, trying to take strength from her husband, but her words conveyed how hollowed out she felt. "We failed her though. All of our efforts to keep her good. And she chose darkness. For Regina."

"No!" David argued with conviction. "She did not choose the darkness. She chose to save a life. There's a big difference there."

"Regina's…" she whispered.

"Why in the bloody hell would she do that?" Hook demanded, finally finding his voice. "I understand that they mother the lad together. But, why sacrifice herself for her?"

David shrugged. "Their relationship is ...complex."

He really couldn't think of a good word to describe it but that. Regina and Emma were more than complex. They had a enigmatic friendship that took years to get to where it was now through many trials of misunderstandings and threats. Yet through all of that, they held a kinship that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but David couldn't question how well they knew how each other ticked. "But what I do know is that Emma made a promise to Regina. To help her get her happy ending. She kept it … She ... "

Charming couldn't continue to talk, losing his voice as the uncertain future of Emma's made his fears intensify as Mary Margaret hugged him tightly with the same anxiety. Hook swore under his breath and stormed off. He would find a way to save Emma. Somehow!

Eiledon Forest - Camelot

Within the magically concealed thatched hut that was tucked miles away from any nearby civilization, a lone figure sat against the ground in silent meditation. He was a man that had walked this land for centuries but appeared no more than forty seasons, head cleanly shaven that prominently displayed the intricately tattooed knots and circles that weaved within each other, snaking through interlocking circles and squares, where they eventually linked together at the back of his head. There they were braided into one large knot that disappeared into his rust colored robes. A dark goatee circled his mouth and extended just beyond his chin.

The hut was thick with aromatic incense, aiding his meditative state. Baubles and magical items from lands near and far adorned the walls and dangled from the thatched roof on thin string. They scintillated in the firelight. One such bauble was a glass orb that was almost forgotten amongst the clutter of the rickety old wooden table; it hovered above it by its own power. .

The orb that levitated over Merlin's table was small, easily fit into the palms of the man's hands. For hundreds of years, it rested inert, unlit and unmoving. Now, as the magician meditated, the orb began to glow with a pale cerulean light. The hue brightened the room even as the orb simultaneously grew darker in shade. The sudden shift of illumination roused the sorcerer from his ruminations, evident as his relaxed body stiffened into alertness. Emerald eyes snapped opened and examined the rippling hues warring with one another. There he sighed with resolution, knowing that the day he had been waiting for had finally come.

With a bothered grunt, he got to his feet, grumbling at the orb. "A few hours you could've waited, you know! Even a wizard needs a decent meal before preparing for the end of days!"

The orb, of course, had no reply for his grousing. It continued to pulse with its intrinsic energy, alerting him to what was happening, lands away ...