The distinct roar of a beast made Killian snap his head up.

He was still in the alleyway, eyes shut in thought as he mulled over his next strategy—each as hopeless as the last—when the shriek of a monster shook the air.

It wasn't far.

And that did not sound like one of this realm's type of beasts.

Emma.

Somehow knowing she was near, Killian was on his feet and running before he knew what he was doing.

Rounding the corner of the building, Killian froze.

Not too far down the empty street was a winged beast, slobber dripping from its teeth, and there—

Emma.

She was standing frozen, staring as the beast advanced on her.

"Bloody hell," breathed Killian.

Why the hell didn't he bring his sword?

The thing roared again, leaping for Emma. She ran, but the beast snagged her by the arms, lifting her sharply off the ground.

"Emma!"

Killian ran, head canted back as he watched the thing take her, looking around for something—anything—to use as a weapon to kill the thing.

There.

There was something on the ground; it looked like some sort of broken metal; he barely recognized it as a piece of one of those driving vessels.

He grabbed it and spun back around, taking aim and throwing it as hard as he could.

He'd always had good aim, and it was a perfect shot; it struck the beast in the face. It screeched in surprise and pain, releasing Emma instinctively and—

Killian felt his heart stop.

She was falling.

No.

She wasn't more than ten feet off the ground but falling would hurt her, no doubt. Killian ran, but he was much too far. She hit the ground a few dozen feet ahead of him, and Killian felt a sharp ache rise in his chest. "Emma!"

He reached her in seconds. "Swan?" Her eyes were shut; she was unconscious. But she was breathing; he released his own breath, even while his chest was so tight it hurt.

Another roar filled the air, and Killian jerked to his feet, seeing the beast coming back for Emma, feral face twisted in fury. He quickly stepped in front of her, glaring at whatever the thing was. It was far bigger than him, and Killian felt rare fear slip through him. This thing was trying to hurt or kill Emma, and if he failed, gods knew what would happen to her.

The beast aimed straight for him and he let it, until it was nearly upon him.

Then, he ducked.

The beast soared just over his head. Killian quickly grabbed its tail with his hand, using all of his strength to careen it into the wall of a building. The beast's own momentum was its downfall, sending it crashing to the ground.

It was stunned where it landed across the street, but Killian knew it wasn't dead. Without a weapon—for he trusted his hook, but not against those teeth—Killian knew when fleeing a fight was smarter. He'd learned that lesson from many Neverland beasts that had very nearly killed him.

And with a sharp glance back to Emma, he was not fighting only for himself anymore.

He needed to get her to safety.

Quickly, he bent back down to scoop Emma up in his arms, and with her tight to his chest, he ran back down the alleyway he'd been in just minutes ago.

A look down at his—very precious—cargo told him she was still unconscious. He couldn't tell if she'd been hurt; he'd have to wait until he found somewhere safer to make sure she wasn't more injured.

It wasn't lost on him that if he hadn't been there, if he hadn't found her in time, that thing would have had the full ability to have hurt her or worse.

Killian tried to shove down the fear in that realization.

He had her now.

She was safe.

Killian ran, trying to lose himself in the labyrinth of the city. He heard a screech from somewhere in the distance behind him, and he quickly found a vacant place to take cover. It was an old, broken-looking apartment structure that looked abandoned in a rare quiet spot of the noisy town.

It took Killian a few tries to kick in the door, but once done, he carried her through, casting a look behind him for any flash of the winged monster.

The coast clear, he found his way to a darkened room in the building, but no matter how many times he tried flicking and hitting the contraption beside the door that Emma had always used to control their automatic lanterns, no light came on. Unsure why, Killian just cursed under his breath and kicked the door shut.

The moon provided a fair amount of light through the dusty window. Carefully, Killian set her down on the floor—there was no furniture in sight—letting her lean into the corner of the wall. She didn't move. Only seeing her chest rise and fall with her breaths kept him on just this side of losing his mind.

He stood back up, looking from the darkened room to the unconscious savior on the floor, wondering how in the bloody hell he managed to screw this up so badly.

Though, in fairness, he hadn't expected a bloody monster to be after her.

Her parents need her.

Her parents need her.

One more look at her had his inner mantra shifting to I need her.

Running his hand through his hair, he checked the window once to ensure the coast was still clear and then knelt down at Emma's side.

His hand on her shoulder, he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Swan?"

Nothing.

A gentle shake. "Swan?" he asked softly. A little worried now, he shook a little harder. "Emma?"

Her eyes cracked open, her head lifting from her shoulder. Killian found himself smiling into those green eyes, even as they widened in fear.

Uh oh.

She let out half a yell, shoving him backward away from her, pressing herself back into the wall. Her eyes frantically darted from him to the unfamiliar dark room, and back to him.

"Emma!" he said, mostly out of surprise, picking himself back up.

"You," she breathed. Without a second thought, she was on her feet and sprinting toward the door.

Fear seized Killian's chest, knowing that blasted monster was still looking for her, and he quickly grabbed her around the waist, pulling her away from the door.

"Let me go!" she yelled, thrashing in his grip.

"Swan, stop! It isn't safe!"

"Let go of me!" She struggled harder, attempting to elbow him in the face, but he quickly pinned her arms to her sides.

"Emma, please stop fighting," he said in a pained voice, hating holding her this way. Hating the fear in her voice. Fear of him. "I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Says the psycho who kidnapped me!" she bit out, still fighting, making Killian's jaw clench as he fought to keep her from wriggling free.

"I did not abduct you," he said firmly, though, looking at the situation, he winced. "I'm trying to save you, Emma!"

"Well I need saving from you!" She suddenly threw her head back, and Killian thanked his lucky stars that he'd had his head tilted backward already, for that was bound to have broken his nose. Instead, her head collided with his chin, still hurting like hell.

He grunted, staggering backward, but dammit she's not besting him this time. Remembering all too well that blow from her punch with the compass, he grabbed her even tighter.

She seemed to realize she wasn't going to break free from his hold, and she suddenly stopped struggling, but he could feel her heart hammering in her chest. "Who the hell are you, why did you bring me here, and what the hell happened to my boyfriend?"

"Your—boyfriend?" asked Killian blankly.

He could feel Emma's heart pounding through their touch. "He—he turned into a fricken monster," she breathed, barely-concealed panic in her voice.

Killian blinked. That had been the boyfriend?

More than anything he was glad there was a new curse and he'd gotten that message. She's been here with a monster this whole time.

Bloody hell.

Killian didn't release his hold on her, but he sighed a little knowing she was done fighting for a few seconds. "I told you who I am," he said breathlessly, answering her questions in order. "I brought you here to protect you, and I have no bloody clue."

"Th-that was a… what the hell was that thing?" she whispered, fear in her voice.

"I don't know," he said. "Some flying monstrosity from a different realm. It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that it's trying to hurt you, and I didn't manage to kill it. It's out there searching for you, so if you'd be so kind as to not make its job easier," he said with forced calmness.

"How the hell do I know you're not one of them?" she demanded, panic raising her voice.

Now I have to prove I won't turn into a flying beast?

Killian wanted to groan.

"Wouldn't I have killed you by now?" he offered.

"Wal—that… that thing," said Emma unevenly, "dated me for eight months! Obviously it's patient!"

Well, that was bloody terrifying news.

"Did it say anything to you before it attacked?" he asked, trying to piece it together himself.

"I—I don't know," she whispered, "I—he—it asked me why I was distracted and I mentioned, well, you, some crazy-ass psycho who thinks he's a storybook character—" Killian tried not to wince. "—and then he got angry and… and…"

"I'm sorry, love," said Killian, understanding at least part of the story now. "I think that beast is from my world. It probably thought my presence was a threat to its plan. Whatever it was."

She tensed. "What do you mean, his plan?"

"I came here, to your world, to save you," he said, the words exhausted. "Perhaps that beast is what I am saving you from." He was all too aware of how that came out, while he was standing here, holding her against her will in his arms. He could only imagine her parents' reactions. Namely her father. He winced again.

"You want me to trust you?" she asked suddenly.

Killian's brows lifted with hope. "More than anything," he breathed.

"Then let me go."

Killian swallowed, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "Are you going to run?" he asked quietly.

"You want me to trust you?" she repeated, her voice a frustrated grumble. "Let me go right now."

Hoping against hope, Killian did as she wished. He released her, so very reluctantly. His arms loosened, and he took a half a step back.

She took a few steps away from him, like she was testing his trust, and it took everything in him to stay still.

She eyed him cautiously.

He knew she didn't trust him yet; this was Emma. Hell, after helping rescue her lad, saving her father's life, the endless list of things he's done to ensure her safety in Neverland, he still hadn't earned her trust. Though, in an attempt to make himself feel better, he also knew that her parents hadn't even a shred of her trust either. Emma simply didn't give away her trust, nor did she make it easy to earn. And after learning what Baelfire did to break her trust, he completely and fully understood why.

So maybe he should have expected it when she fled.