Emma woke with a start. She was lying on the dank, library floor with Neal and Henry by her side. Neal scampered over to her when she raised her head and Henry let out a shriek of joy. "Mom!" Henry cried and wrapped his arms around her neck. She awkwardly patted his back, flustered.
"What happened?" Neal asked softly once Henry had backed away. Emma kept her hand intertwined with Henry's as she sat up to face Neal. Her head was throbbing, but otherwise she was all right.
"I honestly don't know. I heard Regina's threat, and then blackness. That's it." Neal nodded, his face grim. "How long was I out?" She looked around and noticed Charming and August handing out various weapons to a line of people. The library was dark, lit only by a few candles. Granny and Snow were assigning sleeping areas to those who already had their weapons. Emma frowned as she noticed how few their numbers were.
"Long enough for Granny to amass an armory," Neal said with a chuckle. He stood up quickly and helped pull Emma to her feet. She brushed herself off and helped Henry up. Suddenly there was a blood-curdling shriek from the back of the library. Emma instinctively threw her arms in front of Henry while Neal did the same to Emma.
Granny equipped herself with her crossbow, and Snow with her bow, and the two ran to the shriek. Emma ran after them, realizing too late she had no weapons. Charming also charged after them, while Ruby and August began lining up the rest of the troops to fight. Emma and her group reached the back room of the library, where the door that led to the street was wide open.
On the floor was Belle, her face streaked with tears and her left hand clutching her right shoulder. She was grimacing in pain, and even in the dark of the room, Emma could see blood soaking her hand. Snow rushed to her, throwing her bow to the floor. Granny stepped over Snow and firmly shut the door. "We need to get the Fairy down here to enchant this again," she muttered.
"Its-" Belle croaked, panting. It clearly pained her to speak. Snow was wiping Belle's eyes with one hand and pressing her other to the wound. "Its Hook!" She gasped. Emma turned towards the way she came and swiped her hand along the wall to find the light switch. She found it after a few seconds and flipped it on without hesitation. The light illuminated the room, and Hook immediately hopped out from behind a bookshelf and lunged at Snow.
Charming deflected the attack with his sword, hook and sword clashing. Emma jumped at Hook, but missed her target when Charming tossed him to the wall. Granny let loose an arrow and it landed directly in Hook's abdomen. Hook winced, but charged at Granny, who calmly readied another arrow. Hook's jagged hook collided with Granny's crossbow-wielding arm, and her weapon flew to the floor. As she reached to grab it, Hook stabbed the hook directly into Granny's chest. She screamed as Charming slashed his sword down on Hook's back. A tear appeared in his coat, and he turned to face Charming, unsheathing his dagger as he did so.
Smee appeared then, dagger in hand, and burst at Emma. She grabbed a book off the floor and raised it as a shield. The dagger lodged itself into the book, and Emma shoved the book back at Smee, who had lost his footing. Smee landed with a thud on his back, and Emma swiftly kicked him in the face, causing his nose to crack and bleed. After his arms fell limp to his sides Emma pulled the dagger out of the book and she moved to attack Hook.
Before she could reach him, Hook pushed Charming and Emma out of the way and ran out the door further into the library. Snow grabbed her bow and rapidly let loose several arrows, one hitting the wall and the other crashed into his right shoulder. Hook stumbled briefly but continued to charge out into the main foyer. Emma and Charming raced after him, while Snow stayed behind to nurse Granny and Belle.
As Hook ran down the aisles of bookshelves, he grabbed and pulled piles of books, even entire shelves down to falter Emma and Charming, who were closing in. After a few more moments of scrambling between bookshelves, the captain reached the main foyer, where the remaining troops stood holding their weapons high. Hook spun in circles, looking as frenzied as a puppy locked in a crate, but saw only armed troops ready to attack every way he looked. Finally he stopped turning and stopped in front of Charming and Emma with a smile.
"You got me." He said slyly with a wink. He put his hands up in surrender, when suddenly a terrifying scream rocked the library. Emma and Charming looked towards the back room where the scream had come from and Red ran off to see what caused the scream.
Emma walked Slowly to Hook, who had put his arms down. Emma put the tip of the dagger against his scruffy throat and threatened: "I swear, if she's dead…" Hook's grin widened and his eyebrow arched quizzically. Charming walked up with a rope that August had supplied and Emma lowered the dagger. Charming put the rope around Hook and tied his arms to his body roughly, then threw him to the floor.
Once the other people started to calm down, Red stormed out from the back room. Her eyes were red and her mascara was smeared. Her hands, mouth, and chest were covered in crimson blood. "She's dead!" Red shrieked. Charming leaped in between her and Hook, who had begun to chuckle. "That monster killed Granny!" Red cried, pointing her bloodied finger at Hook. The surrounding people gasped, a few began to cry. Emma glared at Hook and lurched him to his feet. Red tried to push past Charming, but he wouldn't move. "Please," Red whispered, pleading. Charming nodded and moved aside. Emma moved away from Hook as Red walked up to stand immediately in front of him. For the first time in weeks, Hook genuinely looked scared.
"This is Smee's blood." Red whispered forcefully, staring at Hook with ferocity that Emma had never seen before. "You're next," Hook winced, and Red snapped her mouth viciously. Her nails suddenly transformed into claws, and she ran her jagged index finger across his cheek, leaving a faint scar. She snapped her hand away, and her claws reverted back to their human form. With a wink, and the threat of Hook's death in the air, Red left the foyer, silently crying over the loss of Granny.
