Killian had had his heart ripped out of his chest and nearly crushed before his eyes and that had hurt less than what he was feeling right now. His eyes burned with the tears he'd been trying to suppress. But now wasn't the time to cry. This was the time to find a way to get to Emma.
"Where the bloody hell is the Apprentice?" Killian shouted as he burst through the door of the diner, his entire body rigid with anger as he searched the frightened faces of the patrons who had been seated inside through the entire lightening show outside.
"He's not here." Granny remarked from behind the counter, arms crossed across her chest defensively, before the irritated look on her face dropped. "What happened?"
Killian's jaw muscles flexed, his teeth clenched together as he stared at the old woman. He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream and shout and make sure that the entire town knew that Emma had sacrificed herself to save their lives. He'd turn them all over if somehow it would bring her back. But that wasn't what Emma would want.
It was David who spoke. He hadn't even realized that the prince had followed him into the diner. "She's gone." His voice broke with emotion and Killian turned back to look at David, blinking rapidly as tried to keep from crying.
"We're trying to get her back." Killian said defensively, his gaze flickering back to Granny. "Where did he go?"
"He disappeared during… the storm." Granny explained, as though she were searching for the right word to describe whatever had transpired outside the restaurant.
Killian's fist clenched into a ball at his side. He'd needed a drink and he needed to break something. But neither of those things would help get Emma back. She wouldn't want him to lash out. She didn't want him to lash out. He couldn't let her slip into the past. He couldn't refer to her hopes and desires as were and was.
He turned on his heels and headed for the door, but David grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"
"To find a way to get Emma back, mate." He said harshly, wrenching his arm out of the prince's hold. "Because I refuse to sit idle when she could be in agonizing pain as we speak. That much magic. That intense."
"We don't even know where she is."
Killian glared daggers at the man. "I intend to find out where she is." He puffed out his chest, holding David's gaze. "Don't let this be like the year without her. You and your wife moved on with your lives without her. I can't live without her. There's not alternative to her. I can't just settle down and get myself someone new to fill this void. Not the way you and Snow moved back into your little castle and started over." He would forever hold that against them. They'd been so accepting of the fact that they'd never see Emma again and he refused to let that happen again.
Emma deserved better than that. She deserved her family to fight to get her back. If she was selfless enough to sacrifice herself for everyone, then everyone could sacrifice their every waking minute to get her back.
Killian didn't give David a chance to respond to his biting critique, before he was out the door and heading straight for the library. Belle would know something. She had been married to the damned Dark One, she had all the resources in the world at her fingertips in that library. She should be able to work it out.
He didn't care if this pursuit turned her parents against him. He didn't care what they thought of him, because honestly, he didn't think highly of them. They were her parents, he respected that, and he valued them because she loved them. But after what they'd done, the revelation that they'd done something so wrong and lied to their daughter's face. His favor had slipped considerably. He'd tried in earnest to forgive them for the year without her, how idle they'd been, uncaring that she was out there in the world living a false life. How quick they'd been to distrust him once they'd returned to Storybrooke.
He pushed open the library doors, his footsteps heavy against the flooring as he strode into the quite space.
"It didn't work, did it?" Belle questioned gently, knowing the answer already. Killian was certain his loss was etched into the lines of his face. He'd lost so much already. But this loss exceeded the others. This was the loss of love. True love.
Killian shook his head. "No, I'd be celebrating if it had. There has to be some way to get her back."
"Back?" Belle's head cocked to the side curiously. "You mean she's not… dead?"
His brows knit together. "No. She's not." There was no body. There was no reason to assume that she was dead. He would know if she was dead. He would feel it. This – this felt like how he'd felt torn in half when she'd been forced to leave before. She was somewhere else. She was out there. "She vanished."
"And… the dagger?" Belle questioned, moving around behind the circulation counter, eyeing the books that were spread out across the top.
"Regina has it." Killian answered, stepping towards the counter, his gaze dropping to the books. There were drawings of the dagger. Passages and diagrams in an archaic language scrawled out on the pages. "Can you read this?"
Belle shook her head solemnly. "No. I couldn't translate it in time."
Killian flinched. If they'd just had more time. He couldn't blame Belle though. They were under duress. It was the fates' fault – not hers. "How long do you need?"
"I don't know. They might be impossible to translate. They appear to be some sort of coded rune mixed with an archaic form of Greek." She smoothed her hands over the pages, staring down at the drawings. "All that I've been able to work out is that the dagger was intended to purge the world of hope and good. That's why Emma had to…"
Killian held up his hand to keep her from finishing. "Have you seen the Apprentice? He's the one who told her this was what she had to do."
"I haven't seen him." Belle shook her head, reaching over the counter to touch his arm. "We'll find her Killian. We'll find a way to get her back."
Killian's brows knit together. Her voice belayed her doubt. "Thank you." He flashed a tense smile before retreating away from the counter, steering himself towards the door.
"Wait!"
Killian stopped, looking towards rows of books. "What?"
Will rubbed at the back of his neck as he stepped forward from where he'd clearly been hiding from him. "The writing. In the book. I've seen it before."
"Where?" Belle questioned.
"In the Dark One's Castle. During the year we went back there." He glanced downwards. "I was trying to find Ana. Thought perhaps the Dark One would know a thing or two about that. Seeing as he was dead then, I scoured the castle."
Killian glanced towards Belle who had stiffened, her arms crossed across her chest. "What did you find out?" He questioned as he looked back towards the thief.
"If my translation was correct, your girlfriend's in the Underworld."
