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"Quiet boy, I'll deal with you next."

Every fiber of Killian's being was screaming to have at the witch. She was hurting Emma, had already hurt her, and if he didn't stop her then before he knew it Emma would be dead, another person he loved dead in his arms.

If only he could reach the witch without her noticing him, but there was no way. The light reflecting throughout the cave would illuminate him no matter what he tried. And from her position, the witch was directly across from him and could see his every move. Then he thought perhaps there was something Emma could do to save herself. However, she didn't seem very much in control of herself let alone her magic right then.

Before Killian had a chance to test any of these theories, he was saved but a loud boom that reverberated through the cave and the appearance of a large cloud of smoke.

Killian was happily surprised to see Henry, David, and Regina along with Merlin standing before him.

"Mim!"

"Oh, oh Merlin! You're just in time!" Madam Mim seemed the least bit startled by the heroes' arrival. In fact, she seemed almost pleased to see Merlin.

"Mom!" Henry rushed over to where Killian was on the ground, still holding on to Emma, Regina close behind her son.

Merlin noticed them as well but more importantly, he noticed the dagger still clutched in Madam Mim's hands. He quickly strode past Killian to the old enchantress, pointing at the dagger as he said, "Just what do you think you're doing here, madam?"

Mim only clutched the dagger tighter, "I'm taking back what's mine and just what do you think you're going to do about it?"

Killian wasn't sure what the wizard could do about it at this point. It seemed Madam Mim was already too far along in her spell to be stopped.

"What's wrong with her?" David asked, running a hand over his daughter's forehead. His question pulled Killian's focus back to the scene in front of him.

"The enchantress is using the dagger to steal her magic."

"But that means—"

"She's dying."


Madam Mim wasn't just taking the powers of the Dark One from Emma, if she wanted to do that then all she would need to do is stab Henry' mother and become the dark one herself. However, Mim wanted the magic contained by the dagger without the limitations Merlin had placed on it and the only way to get that was to rip the magic from its binding, an act that would destroy the Dark One in order to free the magic.

Henry couldn't believe what he was hearing. She's dying? That wasn't possible. That couldn't be what was happening, he wouldn't accept it.

They were here. They finally had everything they needed to save his mom.

"What if I gave her true love's kiss?" He heard himself saying, Regina and David immediately looking to him.

"What?" Killian's gaze shifted between them.

"Merlin told us," David started, "the only way to save Emma from the darkness was true love's kiss."

"And I've done it before." Henry looked down at his biological mother, her face twitched in pain.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do about it!" Merlin's shouting could be heard behind them. The wizard reached out a hand, seemingly to grab the dagger from Madam Mim's grasp, however, before he could touch it darkness shout out from the dagger with enough force to throw him back.

Henry covered his eyes with his arm and the black, darkness shot out around the cave, the tendrils disrupting the reflection of light.

"You see? There's nothing you can do now. I'm going to win!" Madam Mim's voice cut through the darkness.

Henry heard Emma's breath hitch.

This was his moment. He could save the day, save his mom, be the hero.

Henry leaned down to kiss his mother's forehead, thinking about how much she meant to him, every moment from when he first found her in Boston to eating the poisoned apple tart—knowing he was saving her and everyone then too—to their year in New York together, Henry focused on how much he loved his mom.

Regina stopped him before his lips touched her forehead. "Wait." She murmured.

"For what?"

"Right now, we don't know what will happen if you do that. Emma's magic could go straight to Mim, and then what?"

She had a point. Henry pulled back but took Emma's hand in his own, squeezing gently. I'm not giving up on you.

"Hey you old bat!" Henry hadn't seen David move from Emma, but when he looked up his grandfather had his arms raised and was approaching the enchantress. "Leave my daughter alone."

"The prince wants to play too, is that it?" Madam Mim laughed as she shifted the dagger in her hands and at once the dark magic pooling around it shot out at David.

"Grandpa!" Henry yelled as he saw him knocked against the cave wall. Once he hit the ground, his grandfather remained motionless except for the rising and falling of his chest breathing.

What Madam Mim hadn't noticed, what none of them had, while watching David's display was that Merlin had made it back up onto his feet and with a whip of his arm shot a burst of light magic square into Madam Mim's back.

The force of the blast knocked the witch forward into the hilt of the Dark One's dagger in her hands. The same dark tendrils which she had used to knock Merlin, and David, off their feet now turned against her. The dagger sprung from her hands and landed on the ground halfway between where she stood and where Emma was lying in Killian's arms.

The dark magic released by Madam Mim's spell swirled around it like a small tornado collapsing upon itself until finally it sunk back into the dagger. Emma Swan once again, clearly visible along the blade.

Regina sprang forward from behind Henry to grab the dagger before the witch had a chance to get back onto her feet.

Looking down, Henry sees Emma's eyes pop open, wild, and searching all around her. She immediately pulls out of Killian's grasp, separating herself from their small group. Henry can't focus on her though when they hear Madam Mim groan from across the cavern.

"Should we worry about her?" Henry asked, looking at Merlin who is peering over the witch.

"Ah, she'll be fine. Nothing a little rest can't cure," then looking around the cave he added, "and perhaps a little bit of sunshine."

Madam Mim groaned loader at his words.

With that settled, Regina moved from the center of the cavern over to help David sit up, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm good." Henry's grandfather groaned, then noticing the dagger in Regina's hand adds, "Is Emma okay?"

They all look back at where Emma had pressed herself against the opposite wall not moments before however, all they find is empty space.

"Where is Miss Swan?"


Killian finds Emma sitting on a boulder outside, not far from the cave's entrance.

"And here I thought you'd have run halfway across the realm." He said as he approached her.

Emma didn't look at him, her gaze remained fixed on the horizon. "How do you know I'm not planning on it?"

"If you were, then you would've been long gone by now, Swan."

"I won't leave Henry."

"After everything that happened in there, is Henry still your only reason to stay?"

"After everything? She finally glanced up at him, when he could see her face he realized that the dark patches on her skin—which sickly reminded him of Rumpelstiltskin in the Enchanted Forest had spread even more since he had first noticed them. "Nothing's changed. The heroes just saved the world, not me."

How could she think that? "They're only here for you."

She turned her face back to the sunset. "Emma," he started again, "I know what you said in the cave, I know how alone you must've felt here for all those weeks, and how it made you think nobody cared for you."

"You can't—possibly—imagine—" She finally said, before she did take off from the boulder, heading away from the mouth of the cave.

"Emma, I love you." He didn't mean for it to come out then. What Killian had wanted to say was something reassuring about how much they all cared about her, how long they had spent looking for her, and how they wouldn't give up on her. However, he had wanted to say those words to Emma even before she had ever mentioned them to him.

Before, he was scared that they would scare her off and she would shut him out again. Then, she was gone and the dreams he had of saying how he felt to her kept him up at night. So much so, that he couldn't stop himself when he finally after all this time had her alone again, and not trying to kill him.

Emma stopped walking when the words left his mouth. She turned back to him, "Killian I—"

"When I met you I was living my life in the darkness. The only things that mattered were my ship and my revenge. But you made me want to be a better man, a hero again. You helped me see the light." If he was ever going to get through to her, he had the feeling this was his last chance. With every word, he was moving toward her, their eye locked. "And I can help you."

Before she could react, he leaned forward pressing his lips to hers as his good hand came up to cup her cheek.

At first he felt her try to jerk back, reminding him of the last time he had tried to kiss Emma like this, at her door in New York City. She wasn't ready to admit her feeling then and he never would have tried it except that he was just so relieved to see her again after thinking he never would.

But now, she had admitted how she felt about him and he knew no matter what the darkness was doing inside her head, that those feelings couldn't just go away.

For all the awful things she had said, the times she had tried to hurt or even kill him, even when he himself wondered how close she was to being completely surrendered to the darkness, she hadn't yet. Somewhere inside of her, Emma was still fighting to be good, the proof of it was on her very skin.

He couldn't describe what he felt when his lips touched hers again for the first time in weeks. It was like he was taking his first breath of fresh air since she had disappeared into the darkness. Emma consumed his very being and after her initial reluctance, he could feel her relax into him.

His left arm tightened around her waist, pulling her more firmly against him. He was aware of her hands coming up to rest on his arms.

As Killian finally, slowly, pulled away he watched Emma closely. Her hand went up to her lip, tracing it lightly with her finger.

"Emma, look I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have done that," he began expecting her immediate reaction like the last time he had attempted to kiss her like that.

"No, no I'm sorry," she surprised him by saying, "I feel—"

She cut herself off, closing her eyes tightly and letting out a breath.

"Are you okay, love?" He asked, she hasn't moved away from him like he expected but her eyes are wide when she opens them glancing all around her and finally landing on his face.

"Yeah, I think—I think I'm better than okay." Emma finally replied, looking up at him.

Killian can feel his heart start to race at her response. "Are you—was that—?"

Before she can answer him, they were cut off by the pickup of the wind and the whipping sound of dark magic surrounding them.

Emma grabbed his hand and together they darted back toward the direction of the cave and Merlin.

The darkness followed them, the tendrils of it whipping out, reaching for Emma. Killian's grip tightened on her hand, as one tendril gets particularly close.

Luckily for them, Merlin with Henry and the others behind him, is already racing out of the cave when they reach its entrance.

"This time I'll finish you off once and for all!" Merlin called to the darkness as it swirled up above them.

The wizard held his arms up once more as he had in the cave and muttered words under his breath that Killian could neither hear nor understand. However, a great spurt of light erupted from his hands engulfing corning the darkness from all sides. The two forces swirled around each other pushing back and forth until finally, Merlin clenched his hands and the light magic tunneled around the darkness, compressing it until it burst into tiny particles within the air.

"Mom, are you alright?" Henry called once the darkness had dissipated, racing over to Emma.

Killian saw Emma turn when she heard him before she left Killian's side to pull Henry into a tight hug, all the while murmuring, "Oh my god, Henry. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for everything."

Henry squeezed her back, the relief he was feeling evident on his face as his gripped his biological mother. "I'm just glad you're okay."

David came up behind the two, placing his hand on Emma's shoulder.

Regina also from behind them held up the dagger, now nameless and useless, in her hands. "Is it gone?"

Merlin, dusting himself off and nodding, answered, "The Dark One is no more."

Killian felt a range of emotions upon hearing this, relief for one. This was not how he ever thought he would rid the world of the Dark One when he initially set out to avenge Milah's death however, there is weight lifted from his heart knowing that the evil being which killed his first love and possessed his second is gone from this world.

He was also desperate to talk to Emma. He wanted to pull her aside to discuss what had happened between them, what it meant.

Emma glanced up at him as she pulled away from Henry.

"Now that that's done, how about I get you all back to your own realm?" Merlin was still chattering on, he began rolling up his sleeves again as he strode back into the caves.

The others followed Merlin back inside but Killian saw Emma hang back and waited with her.

"Thank you." She said, turning to him when they were finally alone.

"For what?" He shrugged one shoulder, of course he figured he knew what she meant but he wanted to hear her say it first.

Emma smiled before she leaned up to kiss him once gently. "I love you."

Hearing her say it now, under no pretense of impending doom, just the two of them, was better than anything he could have wanted.

Well maybe almost anything.

"I love you too." He told her before he took her into his arms again.


A/N: I'm so sorry, I meant for this chapter to go up earlier but this has been one of the most insanely busy weeks I've had in a while. Regardless, I am planning to post one last chapter (a sort epilogue/tying of loose ends) before season five premieres on Sunday!

(I might also edit this chapter a little bit later since I didn't have much time to review it in order to get it out quickly for you!)

Thank you all so much for the reviews/favorites/follows, and especially just for reading! You all have no idea how much I appreciate every single one of you!