A/N: Here's my new story! Hope you like it!

Note: This story takes place after Season 4A (Heroes and Villains), so Rumple has been banished from Storybrooke, and Robin and family are also living in the real world.

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned OUaT...but I don't :(


Chapter 1


The curse took them by surprise.

They didn't even notice until the third disappearance. They had been enjoying a quiet lunch in the diner—a rare moment of peace in the eventful town of Storybrooke. Emma leaned on her pirate's shoulder, breathing in his smell and closing her eyes. She was content. For the first time in months, the Saviour was happy.

When Ruby brought them their meal, Emma thanked the young waitress before moving to eat. She hadn't touched her food before a gut-wrenching scream and a loud crash ripped through the small establishment. Emma shot up from her seat to see her spirited friend staring at her hands in horror, a forgotten plate lying broken at her feet.

Ruby's eyes were wide with fear, and only as she got closer did Emma notice the cause. The waitress' hands were fading. By now, the diner was in a state of panic. They crowded around Ruby, trying to help but only failing. Granny rushed out of the back room, frantically attempting to grab at her one grandchild, only to have her withered hands pass right through the young girl.

Emma could only watch as Ruby disappeared, leaving nothing but her worn and tattered hat on the cold floor. They didn't know what, or who, had caused it. They could only hope they would find her soon.


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Ruby's departure had left the town in an uproar. As Emma sat at her desk next to Regina, skimming through old files and records, her father came rushing in. "Two others faded yesterday," said the king grimly, placing a manila folder on the tabletop. "Ruby wasn't the first."

David left the two women to their thoughts as he hurried out of the Sherriff's station to find information. She looked down at the file he had left her. She and Regina found no significance in the names he had told them—they were regular Storybrooke citizens. There was no connection in the slightest between them and Ruby.

The former Evil Queen rubbed her head, sighing in frustration and exhaustion. "I should go, Miss Swan," she said tiredly. "Robin and Roland are waiting." The other woman scanned Emma. "You should try and get some rest as well."

She nodded absentmindedly, not looking up from the information in front of her. A few moments passed before Emma realised Regina hadn't left yet. She looked up, opening her mouth to speak, only to feel her jaw go slack as she saw the wide-eyed woman in front of her.

Regina was fading.

Emma scrambled to her feet, nearly knocking over her chair in the process. She attempted to use her magic to somehow solidify the other woman, but to no avail. It was only a matter of moments before the Queen had disappeared completely.

Emma collapsed in her seat, head bowed and hands clenched.


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Time passed and not a day went by without another disappearance. Emma thanked god (albeit, a little guiltily) it wasn't anyone close to her every time she heard of another one fading away.

Emma didn't show it—she couldn't afford to with everyone looking up to her for answers—but she was scared out of her mind. She didn't know who would vanish next. She didn't know where they were—if they were even alive. She didn't know if they would ever get them back.

Henry was still distraught over the disappearance of his adoptive mother, and Emma refused to let the boy out of her sight, in fear of what would happen if she did. Killian kept her company these days, helping her search for whatever was happening to the townspeople and keeping Henry occupied.

Both the pirate and her son were with her when Snow arrived, her face a mask of tears. Emma instantly assumed the worst, and she was right. Her father had been whisked away only a few short moments ago. Henry held onto her tight and she blinked back her tears. She needed to be strong.

Snow recovered quickly too, determination taking over her features. Emma felt a burst of pride for the woman she had come to know as her mother, as she watched the petite brunette skim untiringly through pages and pages of writing (caring for her baby at the same time). They hadn't found anything yet, but Emma would keep looking, no matter how long it took. She would get her father, Regina, and the rest of Storybrooke back. She swore it.


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When Emma's mother faded away, Killian was there to hold her. He was always there. He soothed her with quiet words of comfort as she cried into his shoulder, the hopelessness of it all finally catching up to her. Snow, her mother, her beacon of hope, was gone. Who knew if they would ever get any of them back?

Emma was left to take care of her little brother, but he was gone only hours after his mother had disappeared. She was left to wonder if he would be okay wherever he had been sent. The truth was, she didn't know. She didn't know if any of them would be okay.

The town was nearly desolate by now. Many had attempted to leave Storybrooke for good, only to be halted by a new barrier at the border. Emma had tried, she had tried so hard, but the magic wouldn't budge. They were stuck here, forced to watch others go and fear for when their turn would come.

Henry came into her room that night, quietly curling up beside her. His ragged breaths soon faded into a soft, steady rhythm and she clutched his hand in hers, afraid to let go. Only minutes passed before Emma heard another sound of shuffling feet and heard the bed creaking beside her. She didn't need to open her eyes to know who it was. His familiar scent of leather and the sea calmed her and she allowed a slight smile to grace her face.

The three of them slept that night, possibly better than they had since this whole thing had began. Emma's dreams, usually plagued with horrors and fears, were filled with a sense of hope and happiness. She envisioned all of them—her friends, her family—finally together.

She knew somewhere deep inside of her it wasn't real, but that didn't stop her from doing her damned best to make it.


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Seven. That was how many people were left in Storybrooke. Seven. Emma, Henry, Killian, and four others she couldn't be bothered to learn the names of. She was too busy trying to figure this whole thing out before the curse took her too.

But would she?

Emma shook off her doubts as Killian entered the room, tossing her a banana and giving Henry one too. "You have to eat, love," he said softly. "Starving yourself won't get us anywhere."

She shook her head resolutely as she thumbed through the endless pages of information in the library. Belle had disappeared a couple of days, leaving the library and pawn shop unoccupied and without an owner. None of the businesses were running anymore—the remaining townsfolk were forced to take from the local grocery and help themselves to whatever was available.

Henry approached her, a thick book in his hands and a pleading expression upon his face. "Come on, Mom," he said softly. "Eat it."

Emma sighed and gave in, peeling the banana and biting into it while skimming the spell book in her right hand. She couldn't find anything. The Saviour threw the book at the wall in frustration and put her head in her hands.

"What if we don't figure out a way?" she said softly, voicing her doubts for the first time.

"Don't worry, Swan," replied Killian's reassuring timber. "We—"

His words were cut off by a choked gasp, and Emma's head shot up to see that the pirate's right arm was nearly translucent. Henry was frantically trying to grab onto Killian, only to go right through him. "No," murmured Emma in panic. "No!"

She couldn't lose him too.

She tried desperately to help him, but it was too late.

He was gone the next moment.


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Emma and her son were the only two people left. The last one before them had disappeared hours back and a sense of dread had settled upon them. Who would be next? Emma knew one thing—she couldn't lose her son.

They were still there—in the library—leafing through pages. There were bags under her eyes. She must have looked horrible, but she didn't care in the slightest. Henry was more or less in the same state as she was. They both looked and felt like hell.

"Henry," she whispered quietly.

The tired boy looked up from his position next to her, sensing her need and coming closer. They hugged and she gripped him in both fear and love. What would she do if he disappeared? What would he do if she vanished? Right now, the both of them needed each other.

"I'm scared," said her son softly.

Her heart broke a little and she held him tighter. "Me too, Henry," she murmured. "Me too."

She closed her eyes for a moment but they shot open again in terror as she realized she couldn't feel Henry in her arms anymore. He was fading. She frantically scrabbled for him, but her hands went straight through his now-transparent body.

"No!"

Emma sank to her knees, the tears coming freely.


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One week passed and she was still there. Emma was starting to panic. What if she never vanished like all the rest? Was she damned to spend the rest of her days alone in Storybrooke?

She missed them—Henry, Killian, Snow, David...hell, even Regina. She still hadn't found any hint of what could have happened to them, and why it wasn't happening to her. Frustration and anger at the simple unfairness of it all got the best of her eventually.

Emma growled and let loose a torrent of magic, effectively destroying a nearby building. It crumbled to the ground. She knew she had probably just destroyed an innocent person's home, but right now she didn't care.

She got in her car, the yellow contrasting sharply with the empty gray town. Emma drove. She didn't know where she was going—she just had to get away from it all. She knew she couldn't leave Storybrooke—not with the indomitable barrier blocking her way. So she went to the next best place: the docks.

Emma sat down, her feet gently skimming the water. The sun was setting, casting its rays upon her tired face, and the sudden thought hit her like a truck.

Her friends, her family—they were gone. She hadn't a clue where they were. She hadn't a clue how to get them back.

They were all gone and she was completely alone.


Please review! Really...reviews and follows and favourites fuel the flames of my creativity!