Hey everyone, after seeing the 5x02 sneak peeks and a few scenes in the premier and this came out. I do not own Once Upon a Time or it's characters.
Fair warning hints of Regina, Snow, and Charming bashing. This is not out of hate for the characters but from how they have shown dark Dark One Emma. This is also un betaed. Enjoy.
"Emma, please wait. You don't want to do this." Snow called to her daughter as she along with Charming, Henry, Killian, Regina, and Robin rushed into Granny's to see Emma with a heart in one hand, the dagger in the other, and the Sorcerer's hat open in front of her.
"You don't know what I want mother," Emma started is a silky smooth voice poised like a snake getting ready to strike, "You know why? Because you haven't been there for me. You haven't gotten to know who I am beyond my titles: daughter, sheriff, mother, savior," Emma continued her voice getting quieter and sharper with every word. "I have been groomed since before I was born to save everyone. I have worked so hard to do so. I opened up and accepted you all in. Accepted love in. I've been used by this whole town to save them all and make sure EVERYONE of them got their happy endings. And the one time I needed someone to help save me after all of this You. All. Failed."
"Emma, we know and we're sorry. If we knew what we did to fail you so badly we would do everything we could to make up for it. But this won't help any," David piped in as he moved forward to stand next to his wife.
"But that is where you are wrong dear father. This will help greatly. I am tired of being a pawn in everyone else's battle and as long as I'm tied to this dagger that is all I will ever be."
"Where are you even going to get the power to fill the hat Emma? There aren't that many magic users with enough power to do so and most of them have already been in the hat so they can't go back. All you will be doing is killing a random stranger," Regina cut in.
"No I won't, you see Merlin is the one that started all of this. He is the one that made me a pawn for the greater good. Didn't even try to help me beyond one piece of confusing advice to an 8 year old. For that he can power this spell and is already in the hat. As for the random person, well they haven't been able to live a full life anyways. This heart is one of many in your vault. I just grabbed one and told them to go stand outside of the Rabbit Hole to make sure I met them before. No pain no fear. If you were so concerned about these people you should have dealt with that a long time ago. If you really want to try and be savior of this town you have a ways to go." Emma continued looking board with the interruptions.
"Mom, please don't do this," Henry pleaded as he pushed past Snow and Charming. Snow reached out to bring him closer but Henry shook off her hand and ignored the quiet hiss for him to come back to them and continuing, "This isn't the way. Give us time and we'll find a way to free you completely. Please, I'm sorry."
"Henry, you have nothing to be sorry for," Emma started for the first time showing softer more caring expression over her guarded calculated expression. "You did nothing wrong and you could never do anything wrong to me. I do love you, but I will never be free. Fate will tie me down as the savior or the Dark One but if I'm free from the dagger I will be as close as I'll ever get. I won't be tied to the will of whomever steals the dagger or tied to the responsibility of being the savior due to one that prophesied it and the ones that couldn't even trust me before I was born."
"We do trust you," Snow interrupted but as she took a breath to continue Emma's face lost all of the softness talking to Henry gave it as she whipped it around and with steel and confidence said,
"You have never trusted me. Before I was born you were told I had the possibility to be evil and you went and kidnapped a child to take that chance away instead of trusting me to be good. Anytime I use magic outside of saving everyone or training to save everyone you get this look of doubt and fear in your eyes. You shielded Neal from me out of fear of me, you were angry instead of worried when I was confused, instead of encouraging me that I was fine as I was you didn't even try to talk me out of getting rid of my powers, at the first sign of danger you tried to use the dagger on me instead of guiding me. Even now you tried to keep Henry back even knowing I would never hurt him. You might think you love me but you do NOT trust me."
"But Swan we do love you," Killian whispered as he slowly walked up to Emma and continued, "I can tell you honestly that I've loved you for a long time now and have trusted you for even longer. I don't know what happened in the missing 6 weeks that has caused us to have failed you so badly. But for that I am truly sorry. We all are. But I know this isn't just you. This is the darkness and fear talking too and I know you are still fighting it in there. And you will win."
"How can you be so sure pirate," Emma jeered at Killian darkening her expression a bit, but there were minuscule flashes of conflicted that entered her eyes.
"Because Swan," Killian started as he was right in Emma's personal space with a smile on his face of remembered past adventures that lightened his tone "I've yet to see you fail. And I know this won't be the thing to end that streak. And if you were just the Dark One you would not have cared when Henry felt. But if you are certain that this is the only way you can be happy then I have one request love."
With that Killian raised his hook and stabbed it in his chest with cries of Killian and Hook shouted from the others in panic. But blood did not come out when he removed the hook, a heart did. While Emma was still stunned he took the heart in her hand and put it on the counter and replaced it with his own heart.
"Use my heart. It has been yours to do with for a long time now and seeing how we are at this point due to a failure that is at least partly my own fault it is only fair."
"And why should I care whose heart it is I use?" Emma tested giving the heart a small squeeze.
"I don't see why you should unless you do care," Killian easily answered back with a wince.
"I don't," Emma replied before a look of conflict entered her face again and she continued. "But answering your questions has wasted my chance. The stars are no longer aligned right with the hat and won't be again in any reasonable time with the people in the hat now. So neither of these are of any use to me." Emma then sheathed her dagger and picked up the other heart.
"Come to Granny's and talk to the stubborn pirate that hangs with royalty," She put the heart down, roughly pushed back Killian's heart and disappeared in a cloud of dark grey smoke.
After a couple of minutes of stunned silence David came up and patted Killian on the back. "Thanks for that though it was lucky the stars were no longer in alignment."
"Nah mate, that was all your daughter." Killian chuckled.
"How can you be sure Killian?" Henry asked with a bright smile overtaking his face at the thought of his mother continuing to fight.
"Because if there is anything I know besides your mother, lad, it's the stars and they are still lined up."
Okay. There it is. Right now I think Killian is either going to take his own heart out or someone will steal his hook to steal a heart.
Please review with constructive criticism so I can right less ooc characters (yes I realize that is character characters). Have a great day.