Author's note: "A drop in the Ocean- By Ron Pope" This song inspired me when I wrote this chapter. Something that reminds me of Hook and his devotion to Emma even after she broke his heart. The lyrics will be placed in this chapter during certain parts.

Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I will be taking a break for a bit because I have exams coming up December 1st but I promise I will be back at it.

Chapter 9:
Killian POV:

I watch as the tow truck slowly pulls the little yellow car out of the pond. I thought the day Emma left us would be the hardest day of my life but knowing she was out there, somewhere, made moving on just a little more bearable.

Now standing here, in Storybrooke, pulling her car out of the pond my worst fears are brought to head.

I look over my shoulder at David. He seems to be holding it together. He's far stronger than I. We closed the park off with caution tape but people are still standing around watching as we pull the car out.

When we got the 911 call two days ago we never expected this. We came here in the nick of time to save that little boy and when David was pulling the boy to safety he saw a glimpse of yellow underneath the ice. To think this car has been here for three months and no one noticed, surprised me.

"No!" I hear Mary Margaret scream as she arrives at the scene. The car is now completely excavated out of the water. She runs towards the car but David grabs her before she can get close to it. She starts to cry as he holds her to him.

"Don't look." David pleads with his wife. He kisses her head. "Our daughter wouldn't want us to remember her like this." Tears start to fall down David's face now. They stand there not moving.

I walk up to the car and open the passenger door. Water falls out onto the ground along with a large bag. I pick it up and open it and find her familiar clothes. The leather jacket she would always wear. I hold it up remembering she called it her armor. It was meant to protect her but she wasn't wearing it.

I stand there and dump the rest of the contents on the ground. I hear Mary Margaret scream in hysterics. I look over at David, still holding his wife but they are now collapsed on the ground. "Get her out of here, mate." I yell "I can handle this."

David, tears still falling, nods and stands. Pulling his wife up from the ground, he walks away into the crowd.

Now that they are gone I take a closer look in the car. I see her keys still in the ignition. I pop open the glove compartment and find her wallet and cellphone. The wallet has all her IDs and ATM cards. Everything is here that one would take if they were leaving town.

Among the contents on the ground, I notice a sock that doesn't match the others. I go to pick it up and notice Its full of cash. There are hundreds of dollars here. Enough money to start a new life.

I look back in the car. I don't see Emma's body. I open the back door thinking maybe shes there. More water spills out but she is no where to be found. "How in the bloody hell?" I say out loud to myself.

Then I see it. The window was rolled down on the drivers side. She must have crawled out through the window. She's alive? The relief of knowing she escaped only lasts a moment when I realize she is still missing. So she didn't drown in her car, but she doesn't have any of her possessions.

"Where are you Swan?" I ask, as I pull out the strip of photos we took the day before she disappeared. I look at them and tears well up in my eyes.

"A drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together.
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most,
'Cause you are my heaven."

They are in rough shape after ripping them in anger all those months ago. I managed to tape them back together. I now carry these photos with me everywhere I go as a reminder that I was once happy.

I start to bag up the evidence I tossed all over the ground. All of her things. I put everything in the trunk of the squad car.

I walk back over to the yellow car and I close the doors. "Take this to the police station." I yell to the tow truck driver.

Watching as the yellow car disappears down the dirt road, I turn towards the pond. I don't know where you are or if you're alright but I plan to find out.

I get into the car and drive away. Leaving the caution tape up but knowing people are going to cross it. I don't care anymore. Maybe they will see something I missed. Anything that will help find her.

I arrive back at the sheriff's station. I notice David isn't here. I throw my jacket on the chair and pull back my hair. Now that I know Emma didn't leave town it's time to relive those last moments we saw her.

Traffic cams? Maybe there are recordings that will tell us where she is.

I log into the police surveillance database and type in the date she went missing. I sit back and let it play through starting around 3:00 pm that day. There are 12 cameras placed in different areas in the town which doesn't sound like much but it covers most of the major parts.

At 6:25 pm I see Emma driving outbound towards the town line from her parents house but watching the town line camera she doesn't drive past it. She must have turned onto the dirt road to the park where she drove her car into the pond.

At 8:00 pm I see her walking back towards town on the old Highway. I see her again at 10:00 pm in front of the library. She's with someone but I can't make out the dark figure. She runs away from the figure into Gold's shop. Maybe she spoke with Bell that night? I thought.

The time on the video shows its 10:13 pm and she's walking out of Gold's shop back to the dark figure on the street. I see her place something on the ground and she's holding something else in her hand but I can't make it out. Then I see it. The darkness that came out of the crocodile, coming out of the object she placed on the street. That's the scourers hat!

The darkness circles around the dark figure on the street and then within seconds I see Emma reach into the twister of darkness and it goes up beyond the camera.

She's gone and I see the lone figure standing on the street. I pause the video at the right moment and zoom in. I know exactly who that is. Seething I say her name "Regina! You have a lot to answer to."

She bends down and picks up the object Emma had been holding moments before she disappeared and she walks away. Was that the dark one's dagger?

Did Emma release the darkness? Where is she?

After watching the video multiple times he slammed his hands on the keyboard in frustration. I wish it had bloody auto.

He looks at the clock. Its now past midnight. I want to call David and tell him what I found but its such a late hour. I'll tell him tomorrow. Hopefully he gets more sleep than I. I lock up the station.

"Still I can't let you be,
Most nights I hardly sleep.
Don't take what you don't need, from me."

I pull into the driveway to my house. The place I rest my head but to call it home? Its not my home. Home left me months ago when she disappeared.

I walk up stairs to my bedroom. I take off my shirt and my arm brace. I remove the rest of my clothes and slip into the shower. After everything today, a cold abrasive shower seems like a good idea.

I dry myself off after the shower. I slip on some fresh boxers and crawl under the covers.

Since we rescued that boy from the pond I hadn't slept. It wasn't for lack of trying but the thought of Emma meeting her end, alone, was unbearable. Now knowing she was likely consumed by darkness, I have hope. Hope that she's still alive somewhere. If she is in a place where magic exists then she would be immortal.

I close my eyes and try to sleep but I end up tossing and turning all night thinking about her.

When I arrive at the station the next day, I see David is already there. He's watching the video I left on the screen.

David says "I should have stopped her!" He looks down at his hands, "I am her father. I'm supposed to protect her!" He punches the table in anger.

"You didn't know!" I explain, "None of us did."

"She's been gone for months. The darkness is in her and she's all alone." David says

"Well we know now, so let's use this new knowledge to try and bring her back to us." I try to sound confident. "The last person to see Emma was Regina, and it looks like she has the dagger." I point to the video.

"Let's go!" David grabs the car keys off the table and starts for the door.

We drive to the mayor's office. We walk into her office and she greets us without looking up, "Good morning David, Captain Jones. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

David jumps straight to the point, "Where is Emma?!"

She looks up from her paperwork now, "I don't know. She's been gone for months. Last I heard you found her car in the pond at the Enchanted park. It's not hard to imagine what happened to her." She replies with some sadness in her tone.

"We have proof that you were the last one to see her that night. Tell me the truth. Where is the dagger?!" He asks, starting to let anger take over.

"What dagger?" Regina asks, looking confused. "The dark one's dagger? What's going on?" She turns to me.

"We checked the traffic cameras from that night. You and Emma were outside the library. From what we can tell, She got consumed by the darkness and disappeared." I reply

Regina actually looks completely surprised. How could she not know? She was standing right next to her when it happened in the video.

"I have no recollection of that ever happening. Believe me, if I saw Emma become the dark one I would remember." She looks down and then back up at us, "We've been through this before." She explains as she recalls "It's not out of the realm of possibility that someone made me forget what happened that night."

"Is there a way we can make you remember? Perhaps a potion of sorts?" I ask, remembering having such a potion for Emma back when she had forgotten about everything.

"There may be something I can do." She goes to grab her bag. "Meet me at my vault in an hour."

"What do you plan to do?" I ask

"I may not be able to remember but maybe we can find a way to contact her." And she walks out.

Contact Emma? Will she be the same person after being consumed by the darkness? Is she even trying to return home?

David calls Mary Margaret to update her on the plans and the new information that has come to light and asking her to meet us at Regina's vault.

When we get there, she's already hard at work doing what she does best. Magic.

"I'm almost done. I just need something that belonged to her." She looks around her vault.

"Here!" Mary Margaret pulls something off her wrist. "It's the shoe lase that she used to wear. I've been wearing since she left."

She hands it to Regina. "Thank you." She puts it into the pot in front of her.

Suddenly a puff of smoke comes out of the pot and she appears before us. She's wearing a white top with a white cloak and hood. She looks like she's running from something as she seems out of breath. She leans against something but we can't make it out.

"Emma!" David yells! "Can she hear us?" He asks Regina.

Regina didn't even get to answer before Emma reacts to David's voice. She squeezes her eyebrows together. "Are you pretending to be my father now, Rumple?" She asks

What is she talking about? Who is she talking to? "Can she see us?" I ask.

"Killian?!" She asks in a whisper, but clear surprise in her voice.

"No she can only hear us. Emma where are you?" Regina asks. "This spell won't last long. We want to help you come home but we need to find out where in the world you are."

She looks right at us now, some how knowing. "I don't want to be found." She looks over her shoulder again then back at us.

"Surely you don't mean that." Mary Margaret starts to say, "We are your family, we love you more than anything! We've spent countless nights awake wondering where you were. Please, Emma."

I see it for just a brief second but a look of sadness crosses her face but she's quick to recover from it. I don't think anyone else noticed.

She replies, "Emma is dead! Don't waste your lives on a girl that is long gone." Suddenly we see an arrow fly towards her. She catches it with ease and tosses it aside.

"She's in danger!" David yells. "Emma!"

Arrow after arrow she catches them, we can see her walking towards something, or someone. Shes not alone. Someone else is talking to her, as she keeps looking over her shoulder. Suddenly we see her reach forward and she pulls back her hand, now holding a heart. She crushes it in her hand.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret cries!

"Like I said before, Emma is dead. I'm the dark one now!" And then the smoke fades and she's gone.