Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters. I make no profit from this.

.-.-.-.

"Killian, who's this?" Emma looks at the man next to her and back to the orange-haired woman in front of them.

"No one told you about me?" The unfamiliar woman asks in mock disappointment. "Well, I've got to admit, that hurts a bit. Right here." She places her hand over her heart and pouts, but the unhappiness is obviously fake.

Emma raises an eyebrow skeptically. There is something not right about this woman, something that gives her a bad feeling. She reaches for Killian's hand and is thankful when he accepts her hand and curls his fingers around hers.

"I'm Emma," The Dark One reaches out her free hand to shake the woman's, hoping to direct the encounter to a better place. "What's your name?"

The woman ignores the offer of a handshake and turns toward the kitchen table. "Zelena." She grabs a book from the table and runs her finger along the pattern on the cover. "I'd love to chat, really, but I brought you two here for a reason. Sailor boy, do you have the dreamcatcher?"

Killian clenches his jaw angrily, glaring at Zelena. "If I did, I'd never give it to you." He narrows his eyes and squeezes Emma's hand tightly. "I know your intentions aren't good."

Zelena snorts and sets the book down. "Is it that obvious?" She sarcastically remarks, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. Her lips form into a smirk and she looks at Emma. "Have you seen a pretty dreamcatcher anywhere?" She makes a small circle in the air with her hand. "It's about this big. It's got a few feathers hanging from the bottom. I think you'd like it."

Emma shakes her head and backs away a bit. Killian seems to hate this woman, so why should she trust her? "No, I don't like dreamcatchers. But thanks anyway."

"Oh, but this one is important, you see," Zelena clasps her hands together and steps toward the couple by the door, a smile spreading across her face. "It contains your memories."

Emma's eyes widen and she looks up at Killian, waiting for him to prove this lady wrong, but he only stands silently beside her. She knows Zelena isn't lying, she can tell. But she still needs confirmation that she is being truthful, that she isn't trying to deceive them. "Killian, is she telling the truth?" Emma questions as the man turns toward her, his blue eyes locking onto her green ones.

"Aye, love," he confirms. "But I don't have it. It's stored away for safekeeping."

Emma can't believe what she's hearing. Killian is lying to her. They were looking for that dreamcatcher in Regina's vault last week and they failed to find it. He didn't hide it to protect anyone, he lost it to Regina.

He's been lying to you this whole time. Listen to Zelena, she'll help you find the dreamcatcher.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with my memories!?" Emma yells furiously, trying to silence the voices in her head while also attempting to knock some sense into the two people in the room with her. "This is getting ridiculous! Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe I don't want my memories back? By the sounds of it, I was a terrible person when I knew who I was, so maybe this is for the best!" She yanks her arm out of Killian's grasp and throws the door open, running out onto the porch and into the fresh air, leaving Killian and Zelena behind her.

.-.-.-.

Outside the house, there is a large field with a forest nearby. That's where Emma decides to run to first. If she escapes their line of sight quickly then she may be able to find shelter somewhere in the forest. She hears Killian yell her name from behind her, but she is already halfway across the field, running as fast as she can. Her eyes burn with tears, but she doesn't know exactly what causes them to appear.

"Damnit, I worked hard to get the right spell!" Zelena's voice rings out from the house, fury evident in her words.

Emma hears footsteps behind her, much too close for her liking. She shuts her eyes and thinks of a place, any place, but nothing appears.

Go here.

A picture flashes in her mind and she holds it closely, allowing her thoughts to revolve around the place. It doesn't look familiar, but she isn't surprised by the foreignness of it. Instead, she imagines herself there and wills her magic to transport her to the picture in her mind.

When she opens her eyes, she is no longer running. Instead, she's sitting on a bench, looking out at a large pond in front of her. She blinks a few times, taking note of the ducks swimming in the blue water, her legs crossed with her hands resting on top of her knees.

"Well would you look at that," a feminine voice slithers into the silence. "You used your dark powers again. Aren't you glad you started listening to me?"

The woman from before comes to stand in front of Emma, her green skin glittering in the sunlight unnaturally. The white haired woman retreats in on herself before thinking of a different approach than what she used last time on this woman.

"I don't want to talk," Emma says, curling in on herself, bringing her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. "Can't you just leave me alone?"

The woman scoffs and glides to sit next to her. "I could, but you need me. And besides, I helped you escape those nasty heroes and your boyfriend when they turned on you."

Emma nods and relaxes back onto the bench a little. "Thanks for that, it really got me out of those situations."

"Of course it did," A smirk settles on Nimue's face as she stands up from the bench and holds her hand out to Emma. "Don't you want my help all the time, Dark One?"

The woman in question removes herself from the wooden seat and turns away from the cloaked lady with green skin, intent on leaving her alone at this scenic park area. She doesn't make it five feet away when she hears the woman speak up one last time.

"You'll need me soon, just you wait."

By the time Emma turns around, the woman is gone without a trace, leaving her to wonder if she's lost her sanity.

.-.-.-.

Killian watches helplessly as Emma disappears in a puff of black smoke, his fist closing around nothing but air the moment she vanishes. Fury bubbles up inside of him and he turns around quickly, coming face-to-face with the witch that screwed everything up.

"You scared her away!" The pirate yells, pointing an accusatory finger at Zelena.

"I only wanted to have a little chat, I wasn't going to hurt anyone!" The new mother angrily shouts back. "I'm sure she's not too far anyway. It's not like she can leave town, now, can she?" She walks toward the tree line, into the forest. "Well, are you coming?"

Killian lets out a loud, sarcastic laugh. "You think I'd let you help me look for her?"

Zelena snorts. "I don't care what you think. If you're not coming then won't you please make yourself scarce?"

The pirate seethes and wills himself away with his magic, vanishing from the field in an instant.

.-.-.-.

It takes longer than she wanted, but Emma finally manages to find her way into town. She wanders aimlessly down Main Street, looking around for nothing in particular. As she passes people, she notices a strange pattern in their behavior.

It seems as though everyone who sees her is quick to enter the nearest building as soon as they can. It's almost as if everyone is purposefully avoiding her, and she decides she doesn't like it one bit.

A neon sign catches her attention. It is hanging from the side of a cute little diner with an area for outdoor seating, green fencing lining the metal tables and chairs. She smiles without thinking and walks straight toward the front door, pushing open the door to go inside.

A bell jingles when she steps onto the tiled floor, and suddenly there are dozens of eyes on the Dark One. The diner isn't very full, but there are enough people in it that their stares make her uncomfortable. She makes her way to the counter and sits at one of the stools, silently watching the people in the kitchen preparing food and whispering gossip to each other. She folds her arms on the table and rests her head on them, glad to finally be away from all of the crazy stuff that has happened so far today.

After a couple of minutes, a kind-looking old woman approaches her and leans forward so she can speak quietly.

"Look, I don't want any trouble in here right now," she states in a stern voice. "So if you have anything nefarious planned, please take it somewhere else."

Emma blinks at her, confused by her choice of words. She smiles and holds out her hand in a friendly manner, hoping to show to the old woman that she means no harm.

"Hi, I'm Emma," she says, catching the woman off-guard, judging by the startled look on her face. The younger woman keeps the smile on her face, trying to convey her innocence. "I don't know if anyone has told you, but I don't have any memories of myself or anyone else. See, someone took my memories and I've been staying at Killian's house since then." She pauses and smiles sheepishly. "What's your name?"

The woman laughs out loud and tilts her head back, attracting the attention of several patrons in the diner, and effectively making Emma feel self-conscious. "You lost your memories?" She shakes her head and continues, her voice laced in sarcasm. "Right, and I'm a fairy!"

Emma looks down at her hands, a deep blush spreading on her cheeks. When she came here, she wasn't expecting to be gawked at while an old woman laughed in her face. She speaks quietly so only the woman in front of her can hear her words.

"Would you, by any chance, know a man named David? He's my dad."

The older woman stops laughing and gives her a skeptical look, narrowing her eyes. "Alright, I'll humor you," she says. "Yes, I know David."

Emma visibly relaxes, a sigh escaping her mouth. "Can you please call him for me? I got lost and—"

Just then, the door to the diner swings open and Emma's mother comes rushing inside. She spots Emma immediately and runs toward her to crush her in a bear hug.

"Oh, Emma, you scared us so much!" Snow says, brushing her fingers through her daughter's hair. "You just disappeared and we had no idea where you went!"

The frigid woman in her arms bursts into tears, all of the stress of the day leaking from her eyes. Snow pulls her closer and gives an appreciative nod to the elderly woman behind the counter. She leads her daughter to a table in the corner of the diner, away from the prying gazes of the other people in the building.

"What happened earlier?" Snow asks. "One minute, everything was fine, then suddenly you tried to take Excalibur and then left. Are you okay?"

Emma sniffles, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She shakes her head and looks at her mother in the eyes. "I hear voices. They—" She cuts off and takes a deep breath. "They tell me what to do, and I listen. I don't like doing what they say, but they won't leave me alone. Th-they told me to take Excalibur from Regina, and to run away after Dad took that thing off of my wrist." She tries to calm her shaky breathing as she continues to speak. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone."

Snow sighs and reaches across the table to hold onto Emma's hands tightly. "Sweetie, it's okay. We'll work through this, I promise. I'll call your father and he'll come here to bring us back home."

The Dark One nods her head and sniffles, staring down at her lap. Her mom pulls out her cellphone and dials David's number, waiting a few seconds before speaking into the small box.

"David, I found Emma," Snow says. "We're at Granny's. Could you come pick us up and take us back to the loft?" She smiles at Emma and runs her thumb over her daughter's knuckles to comfort her. "Great, see you then. Love you." The black haired woman hangs up her phone and puts it back into her pocket. She turns back to her daughter and waves over a young lady with long hair.

The brunette woman comes over and raises a brow at Emma, crossing her arms in suspicion. "Hey, Snow," she says, lowering her voice and leaning forward to speak into her friend's ear. "What's up with Emma?"

Emma looks down at her lap in shame, not knowing what she must have done to this woman before she forgot everything about her life. She folds her arms on the table and rests her head on them, sighing out a puff of air at the woman's obvious whispering. It's not hard to hear their 'secret' conversation. In fact, it's painfully easy to understand each word they say to each other.

"Emma lost her memories," Snow whispers back. "She doesn't know about… well, you know."

The Dark One's eyes dart up to the duo in front of her. Did her mother just say that there's more she doesn't know, more she hasn't been told?

It's no surprise to her that she is still unaware of many things that happened in her life, but the fact that something was worth mentioning without being blatantly talked about seems notable to her. She closes her eyes and pretends she doesn't hear, hoping to give them some semblance of privacy while they continue conversing. She's actually happy for once, not understanding what they're talking about. It bothered her before, but if she's a bad person then maybe she's better off not getting her memories back. It's definitely something she'll talk to Regina about.

.-.-.-.

"You didn't tell her what she did to Sneezy?"

"Ruby, shush!" Snow looks across the table at her daughter, shoulders relaxing a fair amount when she sees that Emma appears to be ignoring their conversation and resting her eyes for the time being. "There's a lot of stuff going on right now, and I don't want to get into all of it. And besides, Emma doesn't need to know every dark deed she's ever done. At least not yet."

Ruby sighs and pulls a chair up to the table, sitting in it so she can continue talking to her close friend. "Can't you guys just return her memories?"

The woman in question tenses, the two friends noticing as she does. Apparently she has been listening.

Snow nods at Ruby, indicating that yes, they can, before answering verbally. "No, unfortunately not. Regina wants to make sure there's no spell on the dreamcatcher so Emma doesn't get hurt when we use it."

Ruby bobs her head in understanding. "Oh, I see, alright then." She reaches over to Emma and places her hand on the other woman's arm. "Hey, Em, you want a grilled cheese? On the house."

Emma opens her eyes and looks up at Ruby, crinkling her brow in confusion. She looks over at her mother with a lost look in her eyes, searching for help with answering the question. Surely she's not expected to make a decision involving something that makes no sense to her.

"Go ahead, sweetie," Snow encourages her. "Do you want one?"

Emma looks between her mother and the waitress, mouth agape.

"I think she does," The brunette says, giving a soft smile to her. "Don't worry, you'll love it." And with that, she parades back to the kitchen, leaving them alone at the table again.

.-.-.-.

"Emma!" Killian pushes open the door to her house, stepping in and looking around the living room. No one appears to be here, but there are empty plates on the table and a few dishes in the sink, so he knows someone was here recently. Probably her family.

He quietly curses himself for allowing this situation to get so completely out of hand. It's his fault she lost her memories and has been as lost as a blind man in the middle of the ocean. He is the only one to blame for Emma's recent disappearance and her reasonable hesitance to want her memories back. By what she's been told and learned so far, she probably thinks she's the most despicable thing to ever walk the earth. In all honesty, he wouldn't want his memories back either if he was in her position.

Killian trudges upstairs and checks the other rooms to be sure no one else is present in Emma's home. On his way back to the living room, he hears an all too familiar voice hiss in his ear like a serpent.

"Well, well, if it isn't my favorite Dark One."

He turns and glares at the disgusting apparition next to him. "Nimue." The pirate makes sure to take a step back, keeping some distance between him and the magic-made hallucination. "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point, I see," the vile woman with green skin answers in a cold voice that sends shivers down his spine. "Emma has been very awful lately. I want you to punish her for her wrongdoings."

Killian's frown deepens and his arm shoots up to squeeze the life out of Nimue, but she doesn't even flinch.

"Now, Dark One, you can't do that. I'm not real. Remember? Besides, you want Emma to behave herself, don't you?"

She's taunting him, he knows. She knows where Swan is.

"What have you done with her?"

Nimue smiles deviously. "All I've done is plant a small seed of temptation in her, whether she realizes it or not. She's unbelievably malleable like this. Remind me later to thank you for stealing her memories." The first Dark One continues to torment Killian with her words, taking sick pleasure in seeing his shame grow. "Excalibur is calling for her. She may not know it yet, but everything that she does now takes her closer and closer to victory for all Dark Ones."

Killian seethes. "Liar! She's too good to do anything to help you monsters!"

The apparition sidesteps him and closes her eyes in nonchalance. "If you say so. But when she willingly dooms her own family to bring us back, you may want to reconsider which side you're on."

With those last words, she leaves him alone in the empty living room to contemplate the new information.

.-.-.-.

A/N: I know I said I wouldn't take 2 months again. No, I took much longer this time. Sorry! I keep getting reviews and PMs asking me to continue, and I'm really sorry it's taken me long. For those of you also following my other fic, I'll get to that soon. I started it and then wrote some more and never posted the next chapter. Gosh, I need to get my life in order. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Thank you all for the favs/follows/reviews, they fuel my creativity and eagerness to write! I won't take as long to update next time, I promise.
Ivory Faye