Chapter 8
What Emma Was Hiding
David came into Arthur and Guinevere's tent abruptly while Hook, Robin, and Neal waited outside. David asked Arthur "why not tell me why you tried to burn the Crimson Crown"?
Arthur said "how"?
David said "magical toadstools don't burn".
Arthur said "David towards the end Merlin was going a little mad. Spouting out gibberish and I didn't want you to get misguided",
"Henry was also chosen by Merlin, and what we heard seemed pretty straight forward, Seems there's only person who can face Emma, tell me about Nimue".
After a moment Arthur flipped the table over and used a sword to escape out the back of the tent. Neal spotted him and ran after him through the woods. Eventually Arthur tripped over a log allowing Neal to catch up. Arthur pulled his leg causing Neal to fall over and drop his sword. Arthur got up and pointed his sword at Neal "one of the first rules you learn as a knight, keep a better grip on your sword".
As he was about to kill Neal his sword was blocked by Emma using Excalibur. Arthur looked at sword "Excalibur, it's whole".
Emma said "indeed but one thing you fail to see is it's in my hand, not yours". Neither of them spoke for a moment until Emma added "so what are you still doing here"?
Arthur ran off as Neal got up "I guess a thank you is in order".
Emma said "Neal, I'm the Dark One not dead. And I vowed to love, honour and protect you till death do us part".
Neal said "well at least there's a part however small of the woman I loved and married". Neal decided to try his luck "say do you happen to know who Nimue was"?
Emma replied "of course, but why would you want to know"?
Neal said "we got a message from Merlin he told us Nimue can defeat the darkness".
He saw Emma stifle a laugh and said "well that's a lie, she was consumed by the darkness long ago at the forging of Excalibur".
"Who told you that"?
"Merlin, but all you need to know is by tomorrow everything will be fixed".
"What will be fixed and why do you need Excalibur"?
"My mistake will be fixed without removing the reason I did so".
"You're being even more cryptic than my father".
"I'm sure he had his reasons, I know I do that why I told him I know what he did. Now just be careful". With that being said she disappeared.
Emma arrived back at Granny's with the Ember. Henry asked "do you have the flame of Prometheus"?
Emma replied "yes, well an ember but I can light it. The main thing is I passed Merlin's test and resisted the darkness".
Granny said "finally some good news".
Tally said "I knew you could do it mommy".
Emma asked "and where's daddy and the sword"?
The smile on Tally's face disappeared "don't you know he went to the castle to get the sword".
Emma said "and no one's come back with it, They should have been back ages ago" Worried she asked "have you seen Merlin"?
Henry replied "I thought he was with you"?
Emma said "he was but then he vanished, I thought he came back here. Something's wrong, I don't think we're safe here anymore".
Tally said "I need to go to the toilet".
Emma replied "then go, Granny I think we need to close up",
"Right ahead of you" said Granny with a crossbow. "I got the back Henry you lock the front". She threw the key to him but then everything stopped.
"They'll be fine" Emma turned around and saw Merlin. "I'm sorry for all the theatrics, not my usually my style but I had to follow orders".
"Who orders" Emma asked.
"Arthur's. He used the tethering spell I used to tether the Dark One to the dagger to tether me to Excalibur. He wants me to reforge Excalibur into one sword which means I will need your dagger and the Prometheus flame".
"And if I refuse"?
"Then he will order me to kill your family and Emma I really don't want to".
"Then don't" they heard from behind Merlin and saw Tally.
As Tally walked over to Emma Merlin said "unfortunately little one I have no choice, your family's fate is up to your mother".
Emma looked at Tally and told her "Arthur has them".
"With my help I regret to say." Merlin added "he wants to make a trade in the heart of the Caledonian forest in one hour, their lives for the dagger and the flame".
Emma said "I need more time this ember isn't a flame yet".
"I've seen your ability when you're ready it will burn. Then Arthur will have what he wants, the sword will be whole again".
"And I'm just suppose to give up without a fight".
"Don't look at it as giving up, look at it as acceptance being a form of strength. The darkness is inside you Emma, but I must urge you don't seek vengeance, don't make the same mistake as Nimue".
They had Arthur in a cell at the Sheriff's station. "Who is Nimue?" asked Neal "What aren't you telling us"?
Arthur said "I wish I knew, that blonde demon stole my memories same as yours".
"You also said you want to destroy the darkness. If you were really interested in that why would you destroy Merlin's message"?
"My sword and the dark one dagger were forged as one. Imagine my surprise when I drew the sword from the stone to find half of it missing. That would have been useful to know beforehand".
David asked "you're mad because Merlin didn't describe every single detail in a prophesy"?
Hook said "of course he is. He's the great King Arthur, everything is supposed to be easy for him. Then when something didn't go as planned he considered it a grave injustice".
Arthur said "finally someone gets it".
Hook looked at him confused, seems Arthur can't recognize sarcasm. David said "he doesn't know anything. He's a king without a kingdom, as much as he hates it, he's not important anymore".
Neal said "but I still want to know what's going on with Emma. I need answers but everything she says just leaves me with more questions. At least I know someone who can give me the answer to one of those questions. She said she told my father she knows what he did".
Regina said "she probably knew by telling you this you'd go to him to keep you from finding out the truth. Manipulating others is a dark one specialty".
Neal shook his head "I know my wife, and this was her, this was my Emma".
Mary-Margaret replied "there might not be an Emma anymore".
Regina agreed "this Dark One has Excalibur and she is going to destroy all light magic".
Neal said "how does saving me help her destroy all light magic"
"Well obviously is was unrelated"
"So she took a little detour in the middle of casting a spell".
"Maybe she's looking for a missing ingredient, if we find out what it is we can stop her getting it and then we get our Emma back".
Neal glared at everyone "Four to five years, that's how long you've known Emma for. You know the darkness from my fathers deals. I lived with him when he first became the Dark One so I know about the darkness and I have shared eight years of matrimony with Emma so I think I know her better than you all do. She took away our memories for a reason and to help her we need to know what exactly happened in Camelot".
While everyone else voted to look through spell books Neal went to see his father. "Papa, we need to talk"
Mr Gold turned around and saw Neal "Bae" he turned to the left and said "Belle you can lower the crossbow".
Neal looked behind him to see Belle lowering a crossbow "sorry I thought you were Emma".
"A crossbow would be of little use against her unless you laced it with squid ink".
As Belle shook her head Gold said "the thought had crossed my mind and I did have set aside for the off chance I was facing an enemy more powerful than me". He showed Neal his empty safe "unfortunately she got to it first".
Neal said "then tell me what she meant when she said she told you she knows what you did. What was she blackmailing you with"?
Gold cast his eyes down for a moment then looked back at Neal "all I can tell you is one thing I did was on someone else's orders and what I did with full intent I do not regret. She wasn't blackmailing me, she simply reminded me why I made the decision I did to explain her own actions and as to why she was being so forceful. What I did back then and what she's doing now is practically the same thing, atoning for a lapse of judgement on someone we thought we knew so well".
That didn't give Neal many answers but just as before gave him more questions. "If she had a lapse of judgement on someone she knew well it's their fault not hers".
"It's not that simple".
"What's going on inside her head"?
"The only one who can tell you that is her".
"I've tried but I can't get a straight answer out of her".
"Let her know how much you want answers".
Emma sat on a log trying to light Prometheus's flame. Rumplestiltskin came back and told her she couldn't light it because she wasn't ready to let go of the darkness. "Mom" Emma turned around and saw Henry and Tally.
Emma said "sorry you had see one of my episodes".
Henry asked "what were you trying to do"?
"I was trying to light this ember".
"You can do it mommy, you can figure out how to save everybody and defeat the villain" said Tally
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I keep trying and I'm not getting anywhere".
Henry said "maybe you just need motivation" and he handed her the newspaper which had house listings. One of the houses was circled with the words 'our home' written above it in Neal's handwriting.
Henry added "Dad, Tally and I have been looking for a house since we got here".
Tally said "actually we started looking the day Uncle Neal was born, but we finally chose one".
"It's called operation finding Tallahassee, dad said the house is a promise that we will always be a family".
Suddenly Emma had an idea and said "the Dark Ones in my head tell me I can't light it because I'm not ready to let go of the darkness. I need it one last time". She looked at her children "do you two remember when we were investigation Greg and Tamara"?
"Of course" replied Henry
Tally said "they were terrible people".
Emma told them "well I have a plan requiring me to be in two places at once. Even dark magic can't do that so I'll need your help".
Robin and Regina were called into the psychiatric ward. Nurse Rachett had said it was serious but said the only way to explain it was to show them. When she opened the door to Zelena's cell they saw Zelena sitting on the ground in pain and her pregnant belly was now nine months big and she was going into labour. Zelena yelled "well don't just stand there, do something"?
Robin asked "how is this possible? You're only two months pregnant".
Zelena yelled "how do you think? Magic"
As they wheeled Zelena into the delivery room Regina asked "why would Emma do this"?
Zelena cried "I don't know"?
"Are you sure it was her"?
"Two days ago she teleported me out of cell to try and make a deal. She brought the lunch I was craving I was so hungry because of the rubbish you ordered so I ate it. Be thankful I turned down her deal".
Neal went to the top of the cloak tower and called out Emma's name. When she didn't show up he ran and jumped of the roof. He suddenly he was in main street. Emma said "suicide, you must be desperate".
Neal asked "what happened in Camelot"?
"I did something awful, Robin wasn't the only person I saved on the brink of death. There was someone else, but this person's injury was incurable. If I saved him from death it would just delay the inevitable so I was desperate".
"Emma, I can understand that, I know there is still goodness in your heart and you can comeback from the darkness. I love you".
"Do you really want to know the truth"?
"Yes I do".
With a wave of her hand Emma and Neal appeared in her house. Neal asked "why are we here"?
Emma walked over to the newspaper on her table and said "take a look".
Neal recognized the house circled and the handwriting. "I chose this house".
"Henry told me the house was a promise that we would always be a family. I am trying to make sure that promise is kept".
"Then why not just tell me"?
"Because I knew you would never let me do what was necessary to get the job done" With that she put him under a sleeping spell".
They got Zelena into the delivery room, Dr Whale asked "someone called for a doctor"?
Zelena screamed "get this baby out of me"?
"You know last time I delivered a baby you tried to steal it, but why steal one when making one is so much more fun"?
"My insides are tearing apart, does it look like I'm having fun"?
"I was trying to ease the tension, so let's get that baby out of you".
Regina said "we really need another doctor in this town".
Mary-Margaret and Belle ran in, Mary-Margaret said "quick, we need to protect the baby from Emma"?
Regina asked "she here"?
"She will be soon".
Belle was holding a book and said "we found the spell to destroy light magic. You need Excalibur and the cries of a newborn"?
Robin stated "she's not getting this baby, not while I'm here".
Zelena asked "Regina, take this cuff off so I can protect myself and my child".
Regina answered "you are far from trustworthy, but don't worry I'll protect the baby. Whatever may happen to you well we'll see".
Zelena cried "just do something"
Emma walked to the rendezvous place and saw everyone chained to trees while Arthur stood in front of them with Zelena and Merlin . Good thing she formed a plan before coming. "The ember and dagger as requested, but seeing as I'm not the one threatening innocent people makes me the more trustworthy one out of the two of us. You release my family first then I give you the ember and the dagger".
Arthur replied "no, you're the Dark One, how am I to be sure you won't go back on the deal"?
"Has a Dark One ever reneged on a deal"?
Neal said "well actually"?
Emma yelled "do you want our kids orphaned? If I hand these over without no assurance he'll let you go that's what will happen".
"Good point, I'm shutting up".
Arthur said "hand them over, or I unleash Merlin".
Emma mentioned "if you kill my family I have no reason to give you these and no reason not to give into the darkness and therefore not above killing you".
"I will do anything to protect my kingdom. If anyone threatens it I will stop them even if that means killing them".
Emma eyed him "you're bluffing"?
Arthur asked "am I? Let's see who first, Merlin kill her mother".
Turning to face Mary-Margaret Merlin said "Emma please, I really don't want to do this"? Vines came down from the tree Mary-Margaret was chained to, went around her neck and began choking her.
Emma saw Mary-Margaret turning blue when she finally broke and said "alright take it".
Merlin released the vines from Mary-Margaret's throat as Zelena retrieved the box from Emma. Arthur said "make sure that's the real ember"? When Zelena opened the box dark straps came out and strapped her to a tree Arthur asked "what was that"?
Emma replied "an insurance policy". Emma saw her back up plan coming, before coming she asked Henry and Tally to sneak in and release their family. She suspected they might be chained so reminded Henry and Tally the short lock-picking lesson she once gave them. Emma said "I might be the Dark One but you Arthur are truly evil".
"No I'm not" Arthur said.
"Yes you are, only evil would kill to get what it wants".
Henry and Tally started picking the locks as Arthur said "when I kill you with Excalibur destroying the darkness once and for all I will be hailed as a hero".
"Don't be so sure about that" said David who was just freed and the rest of the family joined Emma.
Emma said "we will be destroying the darkness without your twisted idea of heroics so hand over the sword.
Tally came up and said "that's got to be humiliating, more people are with the Dark One than you".
Arthur raised his sword as Tally watched and as he swiped his sword Neal threw Tally out of the way and got scratched on the neck. Hook tackled Arthur to the ground knocking the sword out of his hand and took it. Arthur ran over to Zelena and released her so they could leave. Emma ran over to Neal and Tally "oh Tally sweetie are you okay"?
"I think so".
Emma turned to Neal and saw his neck was cut "oh Neal your neck".
"It doesn't hurt that bad" Neal replied.
"Let me fix it" and she waved her hand across his neck healing it.
Zelena gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Robin held his little girl and said "I have a daughter".
Regina looked at her and said "she's beautiful, so you thought of a name".
Zelena said "I was thinking maybe, Jade, Olive, Fern, haven't quite decided yet".
Regina said "I was thinking Robin should name her as he will be the one raising her".
As Robin gazed at his daughter he said "I'm not sure yet but whatever her name is I hope she grows up happy, noble and always knows her daddy loves her to the moon and back".
Zelena asked "can I hold my daughter now"?
Regina said "I'm not sure that's a good idea".
Emma appeared and said "I'm absolutely sure you shouldn't".
Robin grabbed his sword and said "you're not laying a finger on my daughter".
Regina put an arm out in front of the baby and added "not without a fight".
Emma said "as much fun as it would be to let Zelena know what it's like to lose a baby right after giving birth. I can only imagine the agony my mother was going through when Zelena came through the door to rip my baby brother out of her arms".
Zelena reminded her "wrong culprit, that was your stupid husband".
"To protect him with the intent to return him to his parents when everything was over. You tried to take him to use him for a time travel spell. However if I wanted the baby you all would immobilized and I'd be gone with baby by now, I came for something else". She and Zelena disappeared from the room.
Regina asked "am I right in thinking this makes no sense? From the look on Robins face she could tell he thought so too.
At Emma's house Neal came to and found his leg chained to the ground, he saw another chain connected to Zelena's leg. "What are you doing here"?
Zelena told him "why do you think? Your insane wife sped up my pregnancy, kidnapped me straight after giving birth and separated me from my little girl. And they call me wicked".
They saw a table with a spell brewing Neal asked "what's going on"?
"From the look of things, she's casting a spell to steal my magic".
"Why does she need more dark magic"?
"I'm not" said Emma who just appeared. "In fact it's the exact opposite".
"What"? Neal and Zelena asked a little confused.
Emma said "to put is simply I'm giving Zelena my dark magic. I never wanted to destroy light magic, I want to destroy dark".
Neal asked "then why keep it a secret from everyone"?
Emma replied "in Camelot complications made it so the darkness could only be destroyed one way. And I knew you would never let me do what was necessary to get the job done".
Zelena realised why Emma sped up her pregnancy and kidnapped her "and that's where I come in"?
Emma said "yes, the darkness needs to contained within a vessel, you".
Neal asked "what are you planning to do"?
Zelena answered for her "kill me, she's planning to kill me, that's why you needed my baby out".
"I don't want anyone to get hurt that doesn't have to, there are limits".
Neal argued "despite the limits you're still talking about cold blooded murder".
Emma said "I ran through a number of possible suspects in my head, I didn't want someone who didn't deserve to die. So the question then became who do I know who is unredeemable and has no one who loves them. When I give her my powers and cut her down with Excalibur's enchanted blade then the darkness will be gone forever".
Neal said "surely there's an alternative way".
Emma's eyes went down and said "there was, but stuff happened and the option was taken off the table".
"How, what happened in Camelot" he asked.
"So much, everything will become clear very soon".
Emma sensed someone was coming so she went upstairs. Neal said "we need to get these shackles off before Emma gets back".
Zelena said "well I have one idea" and she held up her wrist.
"Last time I did that you betrayed me, and Regina called me and Hook idiots and morons, she was right. If I was to take off that cuff how would I know you wouldn't betray me again".
Zelena said "unless you have your lock picks on you I am your only choice".
Neal knew she was right and took off the cuff. Zelena's shackle came off and she gave herself a wardrobe change and magically undid Neal's shackle.
Mary-Margaret, David and Regina came to Emma's house. Mary-Margaret said "why did she take Zelena? she needs a new born to destroy light magic".
Regina replied "no idea, one thing I do know is no one hurts my sister but me".
Mary-Margaret asked "what are you planning to do with Emma once you find her"?
"Show her what real dark magic looks like"
David said "she's still our daughter".
Mary-Margret added "we can't go to war with her".
Regina asked "well what were you thinking telling her off and sending her to bed without desert".
Mary-Margaret determinedly stated "we're not going to hurt her".
Regina replied "this is why she gave me the dagger, because I am the only one who would do what needs to be done".
Mary-Margaret said "no we can stop her and save her".
Emma appeared on her porch and said "I don't need saving".
Regina said "let Zelena go".
Emma replied "we both know everyone's lives will be better without Zelena. That's why I chose her, she's someone no one will miss".
"You are not hurting my sister, I'll stop you" Emma tapped Excalibur on the ground and immobilized Regina and her parents.
As Neal and Zelena snuck out of the basement Neal decided he wasn't going to leave until he got answers. He remembered his father telling him she had stolen some squid ink from him. Zelena just wanted to get back to her baby. He started searching for the squid ink, he noticed a picture that seemed out of place not a style he or Emma would like. He took it down expecting to find a safe, the combination would probably be Henry or Tally's birthday, their anniversary, maybe the day the curse broke. There was no safe and that's when Emma found him. "You want answers I get that, be patient and all will be revealed".
Neal took a step back and saw the squid ink taped to the back of the picture frame, He popped the top and through it over her "now you're not going anywhere and you will tell me what happened in Camelot".
"The darkness will spread if I tell you and I can't let that happen".
"How will telling me anything make the darkness spread"?
"I know" said Zelena coming back in. "You said you couldn't leave without answers and I can't leave without making the dark one pay. I saw something and everything finally fell into place. Why she's been keeping things from everyone, why she wants to vanquish the darkness, why she kidnapped her husband. Well, that last one was to stop something like this". She used a pair of garden shears to stab Neal in the chest then pulled them out . "From happening" Zelena continued, "now look at these shear, I just stabbed you and there's no trace of blood, you must be thinking shouldn't being stabbed hurt more, why am I not dead. I don't think Emma will tell you so you could find out for yourself".
Zelena held up a dreamcatcher and Neal said "show me". Zelena used her magic and lots of images appeared then rested on one in particular.
Emma started using her magic to unite Excalibur until Neal collapsed with a bleeding neck. Mary-Margaret cried "he's bleeding when did that happen"?
Emma said "It was Excalibur, but it was just a scratch, I healed it".
Merlin replied "I'm afraid not, it was an illusion of being healed. Excalibur was forged to cut immortal ties no wound made from it can be healed.
Mary-Margaret said "there has to be something we can do, that she can do".
Merlin replied "even Emma's magic isn't strong enough to stop this, nor my own".
Emma sobbed "no, I can't lose you".
Neal said "unite the blade so I can see the darkness gone forever before I".
"No, you have to stay with me, with us, I need you and the kids need you".
"They need you more, and they need you light, I'm willing to sacrifice my life to ensure my family's future".
"I'm not going to let you die, not when there's a way to save you".
Regina said "Merlin said it, there's no way"
Emma replied "I know what he said, but that's not true". She turned to Merlin "you told me how powerful I am, let's use it". She looked at Excalibur "I can release you from Excalibur and tether Neal's life to it instead.
Merlin said "Emma, you know what that could do"?
Regina said "create another Dark One".
"It will multiply the darkness so it won't be able to be destroyed not without paying the steepest price"?
"I'm going to have to pay a steep price if I don't".
Regina said "you've been withstanding the darkness so well, but this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back".
"You begged me to save Robin, why can't I save my husband".
David said "Emma, we'll all in agreement, unfortunate as it is you have to forgo saving Neal and cut away the darkness".
Tally was shaking and said "I'm not" everyone stared at her. "It was my fault daddy got hurt. Save him, save daddy, you can do it". She looked at everyone "mommy can handle it, daddy can handle it, everything will be fine".
Henry said "Tally, I don't want to lose dad either but..."
"But... nothing" snapped Tally
Emma said "she's right". Emma teleported herself and Neal to the field of Middlemist flowers.
In the dreamcatcher Neal watched as he tried to convince Emma not to fill him with darkness, her not listening and changing into her new form, and himself emerging from the Dark One's vault. "How could you do this to me"?
Emma replied "I didn't want to lose you".
"That's why you saved my life twice, I was never in any real danger, you just wanted to keep me from the truth".
"I wanted to fix my mistake".
Zelena said "by killing me, how sweet"?
Emma ignored her and continued "everything I've done since we got back has been to remove the darkness in both of us without losing you".
Zelena asked "are you ready to learn what else happened in Camelot"?
Neal said "yes, but we need to make sure she won't interfere again".