Two Minutes to Midnight

Chapter Six

After she got off of the phone with Regina, Emma looked between the Green Fairy and Mulan who quietly left the room upon seeing that their friend wanted a few minutes alone with the man she loved before the others could arrive, then she walked over to where Killian was still sitting on their couch while he appeared to be staring down at his hand and hook within his lap despondently and she slowly knelt down before him as she laid her hands over his own and squeezed it gently.

"We're going to get your heart back," the Savior whispered as she then reached up to his face to caress his right cheek when he didn't look at her right away. "I won't let anything happen to you again. I…"

"Don't promise me what you don't really know," he interrupted curtly and then immediately pulled her in closer as he laid his hand over the back of her head so that he could kiss her forehead. "I apologize for my boorishness, Emma. Of course, I'm not upset with you. I only fear what that dark fairy could make me do. The last time a villain possessed my heart, I trapped Blue and the rest of the fairies inside the Dark One's bloody hat. I almost kidnapped Henry for him so that Gold could take your son and Belle far away from here while the Snow Queen's curse destroyed the rest of you. Had it not been for the boy's brilliance with the marbles…"

Emma cut him off as she answered quickly, "We've been over this. That wasn't you, Killian. I told you on the day of that party we had to celebrate the Snow Queen's and Gold's defeat then, that you had a mark in the hero column. I meant what I said then and you're even that much more of a hero now, Killian. You said it yourself just tonight. Maybe not in those words, but you were finally able to say that you're happy with the man you've become. That you've forgiven yourself. Don't allow this to change all that so suddenly. Not now that we're finally getting married."

Killian raised his head to look into her eyes and then responded, "Of course. You're right, love. I just can't believe this is happening again."

"If anyone's to blame other than the Black Fairy herself, it's me," she replied sadly. "I should have placed a protection spell over your heart when I first returned it to you after Belle stepped in to save you. I'm so sorry it didn't cross my mind, but I won't make that mistake again. And we will stop that fairy witch."

"How could I have ever doubted you?" Killian answered quietly, then leaned forward to kiss her again when their front door opened and both of Emma's parents walked inside, then rushed over to their daughter and her fiancé in concern.

While Mulan and Tinker Bell both walked back in with them, Snow was the first to speak upon their arrival saying worryingly, "Your father and I got here as soon as we could. Are you both alright? You only told us that the Black Fairy attacked you. What happened?"

Emma rose up again to her feet after she patted Killian's knee, then she turned to them and responded, "Take it easy, Mom. We're oaky. Kind of. Not really. But we'll explain everything once Regina gets here too. I'd rather not have to repeat it all again."

"Then it's a good thing I'm here," the town's Mayor replied when she suddenly poofed in among them, swiping away the purple smoke that surrounded her as she did so, then walked over to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of the couch while Emma sat down closely beside Killian and took his hand in her own again. "I'm sorry it took me longer to get here than your magicless parents. I was trying to convince Henry to get off of his Xbox and go to bed. So, the Black Fairy finally made a real attack against you now that she's arrived here in Storybrooke?"

"It wasn't me she attacked," Emma answered curtly. "It was Killian. She's taken his heart."

As Snow also sat down next to her daughter while David remained standing before them along with Mulan and Tinker Bell, he asked, "You mean, like Gold stole his heart when the Snow Queen was in town? But how? I would have thought you'd have placed a protection spell…"

Killian quickly interrupted, "Gideon appeared behind me and ripped it from my chest before anyone could stop him, because she kept us distracted by her long winded taunting. As for the protection spell, we've already been through this. We never thought this would happen again. A protection spell wasn't necessary at the time."

"Hook's right," Regina responded disconcertingly. "The odds that this would happen twice to one person… But then again the Black Fairy and Gold are mother and son, both born from the same twisted cloth so to speak. Not to mention the fact that Hook is the Savior's true love. Of course she was going to use him to hurt you, Emma."

"Well… the Black Fairy clearly doesn't plan to crush his heart yet," Snow replied in frustration while she tiredly rubbed her fingers over one of her eyes. "That's a good sign. But did she say why she stole it or what she wants?"

Emma looked over at Killian again as she tightened her grip on his hand, then turned back to the others surrounding them and answered, "She wants the piece of wand Killian's shadow brought to us. What else?"

Regina shrugged and then responded, "She must be getting worried now that we've got an advantage over her now."

"She doesn't actually plan to crush his heart at all because she has something worse in mind," the Savior continued angrily. "She's discovered a spell that can sever our true love by draining him of all emotion and feeling if she succeeds in casting her spell over his heart. Have you ever heard of such a spell, Regina?"

"Believe me, if I had, don't you think that I would have used it on your parents?" the former Evil Queen retorted, then she digressed again to keep their conversation on track. "Sorry. Old habits. But no, I'm afraid that I haven't. I always knew that death wasn't the only way to sever true love. However, I never found a different way and if the Black Fairy's telling the truth, it's bad. We all know how powerful true love is and any spell with the power to break it must be equally as strong, if not more so. Should she succeed…"

Emma stopped her as she cut in stating curtly, "She won't."

She looked into Killian's eyes as she added more unwaveringly, "We can't let her. I want to marry Killian and for us to be able to spend the rest of our lives together for as long as it's possible. Sixty or seventy years."

"And that's exactly what you both will have," Snow replied when she pulled her daughter and Killian both into a hug. "There's got to be something we can do that the Black Fairy will never suspect."

"How long did the Black Fairy say we had to deliver her the weapon?" David questioned.

Tinker Bell quickly spoke for them as she answered, "Until midnight tomorrow… tonight I guess. Ruby's returned to Oz to try to find someone she thinks might be of some help to Killian. If we can find a way to take away the Black Fairy's control over him, then at least she won't be able to use him to hurt anyone between now and then."

Mulan continued, "She hasn't been gone all that long, but hopefully she knows exactly where to find him and that she'll be able to convince him to come."

"Is this person a friend of yours?" Regina asked skeptically as she stood up, having grown restless from sitting.

"I've never met him," the Green Fairy responded.

The warrior from the Orient quickly replied, "But I have. Honestly, I don't trust him and neither does Ruby really. Except that he does have magic and we've seen him do a few miraculous deeds. He saved the life of a scarecrow who lost his brain, removed a curse from a man who was turned into tin, and gave courage back to a cowardly lion."

David looked at Mulan with confusion as he answered, "This man sounds pretty wonderful. If he's really done all that, then why don't you trust him?"

"Because we suspect that he's a fake," she retorted sternly. "Dorothy says that he really shouldn't be trusted, but she won't tell either of us why. Something about a promise she made to him."

"Well, let's hope he's willing and able to help us," Snow responded as she and Emma finally moved to stand beside Regina, then pulled Killian up to his feet as well, when the Charmings and the Queen prepared to leave again not knowing if Ruby would be returning soon or not.

All of a sudden, Killian screamed and doubled over in pain upon feeling the Black Fairy's rage from where she stood squeezing his heart within the dwarf tunnels, then collapsed to the floor before anyone could catch him. Emma cried out his name in fear as she pulled him into her arms and fell to the floor beside him to try to help him. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the pain lessened until it disappeared as sudden as it came. When Emma and her parents were helping him to stand again, another smoke cloud appeared and revealed Ruby and the mysterious wizard she had left to find.

Emma stared at the stranger in shock until she finally whispered, "Walsh?"

In as much surprise upon seeing her too, he uttered, "Emma."