Mr. Gold watched Emma Swan, the savior of Storybrooke, materialize out of thin air on the dock. He noted the location of the invisible gangplank, and considered using a reveal charm to simplify things. He lingered in the shadows, giving Emma the chance to get a good distance away before the fireworks started.
Gold was rather disgusted with Emma, and how she could not resist cavorting with Hook, despite his single-mindedly evil intentions. Up until now, Gold had enjoyed giving himself credit for Emma's magical accomplishments, for it was he who had recognized she would be the product of true love, and assigned her the position of savior. Ever since she broke the curse, and magic was brought to Storybrooke, Emma's abilities had grown. He knew she had access to powers that even he couldn't teach, and it was a great relief to him that she was constantly too swept up in the drama of being "good" to realize her potential. That is, until Hook came along.
As Emma neared the sidewalk, a second dark figure emerged from nothingness. It was him. Hook walked briskly to catch up with Emma, joining her without a word. Gold watched Emma take Hook's arm. That one small action sent a spasm of hatred down his spine. He had supposed that Emma was beginning her walk of shame, and that Hook would be available for some adjusting on his ship. But this little gesture of romance, the two of them walking together, threw a wrench in his plans.
Gold needed to put an end to this. He needed to be able to rely on Emma to be his secret weapon now that Cora had returned. He needed to be rid of Hook, whose presence only brought back visions of Milah, her crushed heart floating out of his hand into the sea air. Though he had committed many murderous acts, Milah's had been the death that truly turned him into a beast.
He emerged from the shadows, and began walking after the couple, not entirely sure of his plan.
Emma and Killian had been walking in silence, absorbed in their thoughts. Suddenly, Emma thought she heard the steady click of a cane on the sidewalk. She shook her head, and listened harder. Sure enough, she could hear it, slightly louder now. A tick-tock rhythm was slowly approaching them from behind.
She squeezed Killian's arm, hard, just as he cocked his head as if he heard something. He looked down at her, surprised. Her eyes were watery again. She kept walking forward, and leaned in to whisper to him.
"Killian. Stay right here."
Killian processed this order just as the click of a cane became undeniably audible. Emma pulled his arm to get his attention back.
"Killian I'm serious. Don't move. You have to trust me."
With that, Emma released his arm, wheeled around, and started approaching Gold, very quickly. Her plan, if you could call it that, was to get close enough to Gold to bait him into grabbing for her heart. It was possibly a suicide mission, but she threw all her faith into her savior status and moved forward. She was done letting other people make decisions that affected her so personally. If Gold wanted to take Killian away from her, it'd be over her dead body. The same went for Killian's death wish - it was no long something she was willing to respect.
"Careful, Ms. Swan-" the Dark One growled. There was something purple and mystical in his hand. He cocked his arm back, as if he were ready to hurl it over Emma, straight into Killian. But she had been moving quickly. She closed the gap between them with three more steps, outstretching her hand in front of her as if it would block or deflect whatever gold was about to throw at them.
"NO!"
As Emma screamed, Gold released the magic in his hand, with a flick. A ball of purple hit her hand, and fizzled into her chest, where it was instantly magnified - sending out a purple shockwave in all directions. Emma felt as if a million fireflies had erupted out of her heart, but it did not slow her down, as she expected it to. Her feet kept moving, and a second later her outstretched hand sunk deep into Mr. Gold's chest.
Emma's fingers closed around a cool, gritty object as if they were attracted to it magnetically. Her face betrayed her surprise but Gold was the one who was truly in shock. Emma could feel his cold, little heart pumping away under her fingertips. She squeezed it slightly, and watched Gold's face become etched with pain. She was holding Gold's heart in her hand.
Emma drummed her fingers lightly on the organ. Gold's chest heaved, and his arms flailed helplessly by his side. His cane clattered to the ground and his eyes bulged. He couldn't speak. He just continued to watch Emma with terror in his eyes.
"You listen to me." Emma was seized with power. "I'm done listening to stories. I'm done being a pawn in your schemes for power, or someone's ace-in-the-hole. You work for me now. You protect me now, and along with me you protect Henry, Snow, Charming and Hook. This is not a negotiation. I am not asking you for a favor."
Emma loosened her grip on his heart, slightly. Gold gasped for air.
"Take it, dearie. Take the heart. It's the only way to have full control."
"The only person I need full control of is myself. You couldn't turn me into one of your bitch, witch proteges in a thousand years."
Gold tittered, maniacally. She shut him up with a quick squeeze. She pulled him towards her, but only his heart moved, startling her with the lack of resistance offered by her tug. She could just take it. He wouldn't even die. She could control Gold. She could give it to Killian, as a gift. She could hide it from Cora, so that if Rumplestiltskin's dagger ever found his chest, his heart would be absent, and his dark powers intact.
Emma closed her eyes, trying to picture her future. All she could see behind her eyelids was Henry. He was holding his book, the book that started it all, and he smiled at her. She immediately let go of Gold's heart, and recoiled her hand from his rib cage. Before he hit the ground, Emma had already turned to see Killian, lying motionless behind her. Presumably he had been hit with the shockwave that had emanated out of her chest.
"No! Killian!" Emma ran to Killian, ignoring his ashen face and checking for a pulse. She thought she could feel a weak one. She fumbled with her cell phone and called 911. Luckily, the dispatchers were becoming more adept at handling magical medical emergencies. They immediately alerted Snow and David for her, who came running from the apartment within a minute.
Time had stopped for Emma, as she stared at Killian, willing him to move or twitch or show some sign of life. She thought she saw his chest lift slightly, from the corner of her eye. But his head was drooped to the side. Emma stripped off her jacket and balled it up, gingerly lifting his head to slide the makeshift cushion underneath.
"Emma!" She heard Snow's voice, closing in behind her. "Emma, are you alright?"
Emma stood and turned around just in time for her mother to grab her in a protective hug. But Snow stood back quickly, once she was able to register that Emma was in one piece. Ambulance sirens began to bear down of them.
To everyone approaching the scene in the excitement, it appeared that Emma had stumbled upon a duel between Hook and Gold, that had gone awry. Gold was beginning to stir, and groan, which technically made him the winner. However, everyone was astonished that he had even been knocked to the ground at all.
"How did Hook take down Gold?" David asked Emma, breathlessly.
"He didn't. I did. I did this to both of them."
Emma hung her head when she said this. The ambulance pulled around the corner, and bathed everyone in flashing red and blue lights. Emma's eyes began to tear up, but there was no direction she could face for privacy. She instead turned and looked very directly and David and Snow.
"Gold will be fine. You have to save Killian. Make sure he's okay." Emma began to walk towards the apartment.
"Where are you going?" Snow asked in confusion.
"I need to see Henry." Emma called back, tears streaming down her face now.
"He's with Regina, Emma."
Emma shifted her direction and headed towards Regina's house. This was an emergency, and she was going to see her son. She needed to see him in person, as more than a vision meant to save her from doing the wrong thing.
Snow and David watched walk away from the pandemonium, not sure what to think. A moment later, a paramedic approached David, looking for some direction as to how to handle transporting both Hook and Gold to the hospital.
"Leave Gold. Take Hook."
Snow looked into David's eyes, earnestly as he gave the order. She nodded to him, slightly, and then walked over to the ambulance, climbing in behind Hook's stretcher. David then walked over to Gold. He had rolled to his back, and his eyes were open. He was staring into the sky, a bit bewildered, and seemingly in a good deal of pain. A few paramedics had waited behind for a second ambulance to be dispatched for Gold. They stood around, nervously, not sure if they should even touch him.
"I've seen injuries like this before." David knelt down next to Gold, nonchalantly. "This is what happens when someone underestimates the power of true love."
A/N: Close to the end! Hope you like it. Going to try to add a little more levity in the last chapter, because people seem to respond really well to it.
