A/N: Hi Everyone! I hope you're all doing well. It's finally here! And it's all CaptainSwan. I am so excited. I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and responded to this story since the last update. I really appreciate your support. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Afterwards, I would love to hear your thoughts, critiques, or comments about the chapter and story. I really want to make this the best story it can be for you guys. Alright, enough about me. Here we go—Chapter Eighteen!
Disclaimer: If I owned anything from OUAT, Regina's castle would be my vacation home this summer. :)
This chapter is dedicated to the lovely Genevieve Kelly! Once again, thank you for all of your support and encouragement. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy the chapter! :)
Chapter 18
The fog of the shadows grows still and the world becomes silent. Emma shivers at the sound of rustling in the tree line as she dismounts her borrowed horse. When Killian's floating jacket, enchanted with the locator spell, drops several feet in front of her, she finds no sign of Killian.
Drawing her gun, she hurries to the spot to find the jacket covers only a round plaque.
"Killian!" she calls out with her gun ready to fire. Her head flies in every direction, paranoid that someone watches her every move. Curls of blond sway in the freezing wind.
There is no sign of the pirate anywhere, no cave, no cottage, nothing. Miles from civilization, the Savior's heart rate climbs with every passing moment. The grey clouds that loom over the decrypt and ancient oaks indicate that the darkness dwells here. But if that is true, then where is he?
"Come on," she muffles under her breath. "Where are you?"
Peering down at the jacket, Emma twists her head and examines the plaque in closer detail. Bending down, she brushes off the leaves and discovers seven symbols. She finds her answer to the pirate's location when she fruitlessly tries to dig under the plaque.
"It's a vault," she realizes. The pieces come together as the Savior understands that the symbols are the key to unlock her gateway to the Dark One.
The endless possible combinations of symbols leave the sheriff frustrated. A sun, a star, an eye, and various patterned triangles block two lovers from reuniting. Emma presses each symbol multiple times, but nothing happens. Frustrated, she slams her fists against the blowing leaves. This cannot be happening. She refuses to come all of this way and let this puzzle keep her from her pirate.
Minutes tick by as the Savior stares at her newest foe. Her brain contrives a hundred different combinations, but she finds that none of them are the answer when she tries them. Anger swells in her chest.
Her head spins as she imagines what tortures her pirate. Is he hurt? Does he remember her? What happens if she cannot get to him? Has his new master stolen the man she loves forever?
With despair coiling its grip around her, Emma grabs Killian's jacket and puts it back on. She recalls how much comfort wearing it brings her in moments of uncertainty. As she shakes from the early morning chill, her thoughts drift back to when she nearly froze to death in Elsa's ice cave.
"Emma!"
"I'm getting her out."
"We're not giving up."
As her bones turned to ice, the Savior remembers listening and holding onto Killian's words. They gave her hope in the coldest and darkest place imaginable. Now fate reverses their positions. Emma has no idea how to free Killian, but if her captain refused to give up on her, she will do the same.
The Savior rests her hands on her temples, contemplating how to solve the combination. Suddenly, Emma remembers something she found in Merlin's journal while she locked herself in there yesterday. A prophesy about King Arthur that read, In a time of Camelot's greatest darkness, a knight inspired the people when he said, 'There is always hope. One day, when the light comes, the eyes of mankind will awake to see the sun rise to join the stars.'
Emma feels the clock ticking, but thinks she might finally have her answer. Her hand presses the eye symbol, then the sun symbol, and finally the star emblem. It is her only hope of unlocking the vault.
When she pulls back her hand, the ground shakes. The earth groans as Emma races back toward her horse to avoid falling into the sinking eearth. With the ground vanishing beneath her feet, she leaps for the tree line. The Savior stays above ground and sails through the air, colliding with the earth behind a log and hitting her head.
When the rumbling and earthquake cease to shake the forest, Emma gathers her bearings. She combs her fingers through her hair and finds no blood, but her old bruise aches. When Emma peers toward where the vault used to be, she discovers a large pit of earth with thick smoke rising from it. On its edge, stairs lead down into the crevices of darkness. Brushing off the leaves, she carefully saunters over to the stairway.
Within seconds, dark somber clouds roll in. Thunder rumbles in the distance as a stormy gale swirls above the pit. When she touches the railing, Emma hears a thousand screams roar through her eardrums. She draws her gun, jerking her eyes in every direction, but finds nothing. Adrenaline pumps through her veins as she carefully looks at her pathway to darkness, investigating the source of the screams. The Savior finds her answer when she taps a finger on the stairwell and catches the voices again.
With one hand on her weapon, Emma creeps down the stairwell, leaving the world of light above. Every fiber in her body begs her to run back to the surface, but she can't. She must find Killian. The moans of the earth echo in her ears as the scent of death grows stronger. When she reaches the bottom, darkness is the only color her orbs register.
"Killian?!" she shouts. "It's me, Emma."
There is no answer, but the Savior spies the tiniest light at the end of what seems to be a long corridor. Her heart threatening to beat itself out of her chest, she runs for it. She has to. She hopes to find her pirate on the other side of that illuminating flame of hope.
To her dismay, the light is only a torch that directs her attention to another corridor. As ash fills her lungs and she gasps for air, she realizes that unlike the first hallway, however, there are carvings lining the walls, some more damaged than others. Beneath each of the frames are names. When Emma takes the lone torch from its holster and the flames illuminate the first person's name, voices reverberate throughout the vault.
"This man took my home and my family. I had nothing to care for but a handful of seeds!"
"I need you to be the woman that I know. I cannot bear to watch you become this. I know you feel you've lost everything, but, Nimue, if you do this—then we've lost everything."
"No!"
"Who's there?" Emma hollers.
There is no reply.
As she takes another step forward, more voices flood her ears.
"She's going to destroy everything!"
"Castleton, please! Leave her alone!"
"Just imagine! All that power, I can have it. I can save everyone from her."
"Not like this! Let her go. Please—wait—no!"
Emma studies the portrait. Through the splotches of black and scratches, she barely detects the outline of a person. When she guesses that the portraits are of those whose names she hears in the anguished cries, she rotates the torch back on the first portrait. To her surprise, there is no picture of "Nimue" or anyone. When the Savior charges forward to hear more voices saying the names that she finds at the bottom of each portrait, she finally understands.
"They're all Dark Ones," Emma whispers.
Her pace quickens as she rushes to find her pirate. Every portrait she passes becomes clearer, indicating that with every new Dark One, the others slowly fade from existence. The voices scream louder to the point where Emma's ears nearly bleed. She covers them and sprints as fast as she can down the hallway. In fractals, the pleas of the Dark One's loved ones still ring in her eardrums.
"Stop—"
"Don't kill him—"
"You're throwing away everything we have for this!"
"Come back to me—"
"I love you—"
"Please don't do this—"
"We can be enough, just you and me—"
"There has to be another way—"
"Don't do this to us, to me—"
"I promise you, we can work this out—"
"I don't want that power for us, I want you—"
"You'll regret it, I promise you will—"
"We can figure this out together, just—"
"Please—"
"Wait—"
"No—"
"No—"
"No!"
Their pain resounds and delivers emotional punches to the Savior's soul. When she nearly reaches the end of the hall, Emma halts as she registers a familiar voice.
"What a poor bargain that would be to lay down your soul to have your son. So, I ask you, what would you have me to do?"
"Die!"
"Looks like you made a deal you didn't understand. I don't think you're going to do that again."
"You told me to kill you."
"My life was such a burden. You'll see. Magic always comes with a price. And now, it's yours to pay."
"Why me?! Why me?"
"I know how to recognize a desperate soul."
In the coil of darkness, the Savior's hand traces the portrait of a person she knows all too well.
"Gold."
For a moment, Emma's heart breaks as she finally understands, the Dark Ones weren't always evil. From listening to the people they loved attempting to call them back to the light, she knows they were once mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and lovers, who all wanted to protect the people they loved. They wanted justice and a chance to make things right. They all thought that with the power of darkness, they could rectify their pasts and correct their mistakes. Beneath all of the evil, the hatred, and quest for revenge, the Dark Ones were all, at one time or another—a desperate soul.
When Emma blinks to keep a tear at bay, her emeralds notice the last portrait in the hallway. To her, the voices that begin to reverberate throughout the vault are the most heartbreaking of them all.
"Emma! Emma, please! No, I won't let you do this."
"Killian, there's no time and no other way!"
"Yes, there is."
"Killian, what are you doing?"
"Killian!"
The lump in the Savior's throat grows as she listens to the last words she shared with her pirate before all of this started. She brushes her tendrils against the rough stone of his carved face. What she would give to hold him for real. Her resolve to be brave falters as she reads the name under the carving over and over again.
Killian Jones
Killian Jones
Killian Jones
He's here. She knows it. When her eyes have the strength to leave the name that doesn't belong in this hallway, she spies a hole just below it.
Unlike the other carvings, Killian's portrait contains an irregular shaped hole that puzzles Emma. Upon further examination, she realizes it is a lock—and she has a key. Pulling it out from Killian's jacket, Emma examines the proportions of the hole and the dagger and discovers that they match. Carefully, she situates the dagger to fit its holder. She may not have the real one, but prays its fake partner will work.
Seconds after fixing the dagger into the hole, the pirate's portrait, shrouded in darkness, disappears. The cavern quakes as the walls slide back, revealing a hidden entrance. With the torch in one hand and her pistol in the other, Emma slips through, keeping an eye out for her pirate or his master.
Her heart beats faster than a drum as the flames on her torch dance around its holder. Her hand shakes to the point of where she nearly drops her gun.
"Killian?"
The aroma of death fills her nostrils. Shards of bone crunch into millions of pieces under her boots. Emma feels beads of sweat dripping down her face as her skin burns.
Just as exhaustion begins to cloud her senses, she rounds a corner and sees the first trace of light from above. The clearing that it shines upon remains covered in hundreds of sailor knots scattered across the floor. When Emma shines her torch on them, she discerns smears of blood intertwined with the dirt and rope of the naval creations. The knots create a trail that lead to a mountain of dark robes. Amongst them lies a man, hunched over and silent.
"Killian!" she yells, overjoyed and relieved.
She drops the torch and the gun and speeds toward her pirate. Just as she is about to reach him, she hears him roar, "Stop!"
Emma stumbles and nearly loses her footing. Her mind struggles to process what her lover says.
"I'm sorry. I just—"
"I said, stop! Don't come any closer," he commands, concealing his face.
"Killian, it's me, Emma," the Savior says, confused by his greeting.
"No it's not."
"I'm here and I'm—wait—what did you say?" she questions, tilting her head.
"You're not Emma."
Emma fails to keep her mouth from dropping. "What do you mean? Of course, it's me, Emma, daughter of fairy tales' favorite couple, Snow White and Prince Charming. I'm your Swan."
"No! You don't get to use her name like that!" he barks. "I've had enough of your tricks!"
"I don't understand."
"You've been torturing me all night long, and I've had enough of it! Just—please, leave me alone."
"Who's been torturing you?" Emma questions, looking for clues.
"Oh for pity's sake! You keep trying to convince me that you're real, but I know your not."
"Killian, please–"
"Stop!" the Dark One screams. "She's dead! I know it! She's dead and she's never coming back!"
Emma's heart shatters and her eyelids begin to crack at his words. All this time, since the moment they were separated, he thought that she was dead. The darkness plagues and tortures him with the fact that they will never be together and that a happy ending is a fool's dream.
Though she can't see him with his back turned to her, the Savior detects the agony in his voice. There is no doubt in her mind that on the other side, his sapphires hold back an ocean of tears, a theory only strengthened when he refuses to look at her.
"I didn't die. I'm here. Lily saved me."
"That's what they all said. You all say that you're her, that you lived. And for the first hundred times, I believed you."
Emma says nothing, but feels the darkness slicing her in half. There is so much pain buried in his voice. Yet, she remains quiet and listens, praying he will tell her more.
"I used to believe in hope," he continues. "When you came in the first time, my heart leapt at the sound of your voice. You told me you survived and that you were here to free me. For a moment, I thought—I believed, that somehow we would make it. We would find a way to stop the darkness. For a split second, I hoped—I prayed that you were really her."
In front of her is a shadow of the pirate who always gets on her last nerve, dropping romantic innuendos, always flirting with her, and drowning himself in his rum whenever she isn't looking. He may not be reaching to break her neck, but the Killian that the demonic versions of her created terrifies her.
"But every time I believed and opened my heart, you slapped me in the face and revealed your true witchlike self. Over and over again, I believed you. And when I started doubting, you got smarter. You wanted to break my belief, well then, job well done! You're nothing but a pesky and antagonizing demon."
"Killian, that wasn't—"
"Just go!" he cries. "I belong here, alone, where I can't hurt anyone."
"You belong with me."
"I belong with Emma Swan!"
Silence echoes the pirate's words. Pain strikes the Savior's soul. How could the darkness succeed in destroying her pirate's belief so fast?
"She was my everything," he says, barely a whisper. "But when she needed me most, I let her down. I didn't save her, and now—I don't know how to live the rest of my days without her."
Guilt crushes the Savior's chest. She doesn't blame him for anything. If only he would see.
"I love you," she declares after a long pause, praying that her love reaches into the pirate's deep chasms and will rescue the man she loves like it did once before.
"You've said that a thousand times."
"I mean it."
"That also," the Dark One grunts.
How could this be happening? She escaped Arthur and the castle, solved the codes of the Dark One's vault and finally found him, just to find him like this? The man she loves more than anything doesn't recognize or believe her.
When a tear escapes down her features, Emma's thoughts drift to their time in the Enchanted Forest and the way Killian dried her tears with his fingers after she realized her mother was alive. She clings to the memories of his soft smile and his comforting touch, something she no longer finds in the man before her.
Desperate to reclaim her lover, she pleads with the Dark One, "How can I convince you it's me?"
"I'm not telling you! Any of you! If you have me trapped here, let me at least mourn her life in peace!"
His words punch Emma in her torso. Shaking her head and crossing her arms, she closes her eyes and mumbles, "What has the darkness done to you?"
"This!" he seethes, turning around and facing her.
Reflexively, the Savior gasps at what she sees. Her stomach churns as she surveys every golden scale that gleams in the light and consumes the pirate's features. The rough scales replace the softness of his skin. His hand is raw and caked with dirt and dried blood. Sweat pours down his features, grease fills his locks, and pain ages his cheeks. But worst of all, the pirate's shining sapphires vanish in a shrouded and lifeless ocean of gray.
"Killian, this is not who you are," Emma tries to reassure him and herself after she swallows her shock.
"This is what you made me!" he barks. "You've taken everything from me! You wanted Killian Jones to die, well—you have your wish."
The pain his words inflict paints her emeralds. She remembers the driving lessons, their morning coffee dates, the sunsets at the docks, and the mansion, all memories she treasures, but that the darkness aims to destroy. Part of her wonders if the evil force steals that life and that Killian from her forever.
To the Dark One's surprise, there is no smile of satisfaction on her face. Instead, Emma saunters over and bends down. Soft fingers wrap around his coarse golden scales.
"I love you," she proclaims, desperately trying to keep her emotions together. "I—I don't know how, but we will get through this. And if I have to spend the rest of my life figuring out how to get the darkness out of you, I will. Just—please, come with me."
Her thoughts flow back to the last time she pleaded the same words. Terrified, he trusted her and took her hand. To her disappointment, lightning does not strike twice.
"Never," he spats, hate and rage flooding his senses.
With the floor ripped out from under her, the Savior's soul aches. "You don't have to be like this. I—I just want to help."
"You've done enough," the Dark One retorts.
With her emotions brewing with anger, Emma lets go of his hand and tries to contain herself. Turning back to him and with tears escaping her eyelids, her emotions reprimand her Captain. "The only one who is keeping you here is you! If you would just let me—"
"I am done playing your games," the Dark One proclaims, "Get out. Get out!"
The pirate screams so loud, the force knocks Emma onto the ground. Trembling, she hoists herself up as the dirt mixes with her tears. Shocked by the inhumane noise and grief, the pirate's gaze turns away from her.
The Dark One wallows in his anger that quickly melts into despair and deep sorrow. Staring at his skin, he studies what the darkness within him creates. He is a monster. Flamed by anger and seething with hate, he ended the lives of so many innocent people just to taste his revenge.
She was his light. She gave him hope and belief in himself when no one would. All he ever wanted was to love her, protect her, and let her find her own happy ending. Without her, without his Swan, he locks his dreams away, letting the darkness steal all of his hope. No one loves him. No one cares. And no one believes he will ever find the light. He is too weak. He dooms himself to the darkness.
This is his punishment to pay for his sins. When his floodgates open, the pirate reaches his breaking point and silently sobs. The Dark One's black heart shatters as he knows that the darkness and the demons inside his head are right. He is no hero. He is a villain. He will always be a villain, and there is no one left to save him.
"I thought I heard the Old Man say
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Tomorrow you will get your pay
And it's time for us to leave her."
The song that echoes through the cavern does not escape his lips, nor does he hear it coming from the demons swirling in his mind. Rotating his gaze, he discovers the soft and gentle tune comes from his visitor.
With her back turned to him and a dose of faith, Emma shakingly continues to sing his lullaby, tears streaming helplessly down her cheeks.
"Oh, the wind was foul and the sea ran high
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
She shipped it green and none went by
And it's time for us to leave her."
The emotion behind her words grows from a soft whisper to a declaration. When he doesn't scream, she knows he listens. It is her last plea, her last hope to rescue her pirate. From finding him under that board, to their adventures in Neverland and New York, to ice walls and alternate realities, Emma knows that she doesn't want to live her life without Killian by her side.
"Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her."
The song is familiar to Killian. Memories of his father singing the pirate tune on the high seas flood his thoughts. Years after his father abandoned him, he never spoke of the song, not even to Milah. He quickly realizes that there is only one person he ever taught it to.
"Where did you hear that?" he asks with his back facing away from her.
"From you," Emma answers, as he hears her boots roll in the dirt. "You sang it to me the night you rescued me from Elsa's ice wall. You told me your father used to sing it to you when you were a child, but he always changed one word."
"And what word was that?"
"Johnny."
At last, Killian turns and stares long and hard at her. Though her features resolidify, desperation and tears stain their surface. "He changed it to Killy instead of Johnny," she explains. "You said he changed it because—because he loved seeing the smile on your face when he sang it."
The pirate's heart drops to the pit of his stomach. Could it be? Is she really here? Too many times he let his spirits rise. Too many times he chose to believe only to reap heartache. Her song, however, gives him the courage to let down his walls.
"Swan?"
Sincerity breaks through his tone. For just a moment, the voices stop screaming and the light reflects the underlying pain etched in her emeralds. She calls to him, coaxing him back from the edge of eternal darkness and doom, if only he will listen.
"Is it you?"
Emma hears the plea that hides in his voice. Kneeling down until they are face to face, her soft finger caresses his cheek of gold. Despite his hideous appearance, she brushes a strand of his hair behind his ear and soberly grins.
"It's me."
Killian's lips quiver as his body shakes. He waits for the pain. He waits for the woman before him to betray his vulnerable state and reveal the demon behind the mask. But the reckoning never comes.
Silence fills the air. Neither of them speak as Emma studies the Dark One. Though he may look different, she has no doubt that Killian is the man before her. Behind his facade, behind his hate, anger, and grief, the desperate soul inside of him sobs.
He doesn't deserve this, any of it. She knows she will never be able to repay him for his sacrifice. Ready to free him from his prison, Emma begins to wave her hand over the chains, only to be stopped by her captain.
"Don't."
"Killian—"
"I don't have control over it, the darkness," he tells her. "The moment you remove the chains—I could hurt you. I can't hurt you, not again."
The Savior pauses, his reaction surprising her. Cupping her hands around his cheeks, she stares him dead in the eye.
"I don't care."
Leaning closer, Emma ignores the rugged scales, the drips of sweat and blood, and plants a kiss on Killian's lips. She senses the agony in his aching soul, and desperately aims to reassure him. She is here. Nothing else matters: no darkness, no pain, no curse, just the two of them.
To her comfort, the pirate kisses her back. Killian dwells in the feeling of her lips upon his cracked ones. She is real. His Swan is not dead, but very much alive. To his demons' dismay, her presence releases a hope that mends his broken spirit. It is then that the golden scales crumble down his features.
When they draw apart after a few seconds, Emma waves her hand over the chains without hesitation. At the sounds of the chains breaking, the Dark One leaps into his lover's arms. He clings to her for dear life and refuses to let go, fearing that the darkness will take her away. Though it comes to the point of her barely being able to breathe, the Savior doesn't say a word.
Wrapped in Killian's arms, there is no place Emma would rather be.
A/N: Woohoo! CaptainSwan is back! I've had this chapter written for months and couldn't wait to post. Thank you for reading. Again, credit for Killian's song goes to "Leave Her Johnny" by Sean Dagher. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, critiques, or comments about this chapter. if you ever have any questions about this story (what did something mean, what you can expect in future chapters, etc) please feel free to let me know. I'm always happy to answer or explain. I'm looking forward to writing the future chapters. I've got some exciting things planned (including CaptainSwan moments) that you're not going to want to miss! Don't forget to favorite and/or follow this story if you haven't already! Thank you for all of your support!
Until next time!
C.M. Singer :)