AN: Hello and Merry Christmas, my friends! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and that you enjoy my Christmas gift to you! Brand new shiny chapter with a whole lot going on! I do wanna put this here, though: WARNING!: This Chapter contains violence, blood, and decapitation. Please read with caution!

Music: "Crossing the Line" from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

NOTES!: "She wears strength and darkness equally well. The girl has always been half goddess, half hell."

Chapter 17: Crossing the Line

The night was cold. Angor Rot stood at the edge of the treeline, snarling at the castle above. If the Trollhunter and his friends thought they could hide from him there, they were mistaken. From what he'd gathered surveying the castle grounds and peering into windows, the only Guardians at the castle currently was Toothiana the Fairy Queen and the young Sorceress. He wouldn't dare underestimate either of them, but he grinned at the knowledge that he could use numbers to his advantage.

He pulled his sack from his belt and took out a few of the totems he'd made in preparation. Dropping them into the snow. As the piles of ice and snow began to shift and grow, Angor Rot moved swiftly down towards the tunnels. The guards there would be of no trouble to him, and there were crystals in the tunnels that would create excellent golumns for his attack.

It was the screaming and the clanging of metal in the distance that told her the nurses were lying. Everything was not fine. Hogwarts was under attack, and if she attempted to leave, she might very well be forcibly sedated.

Glancing around, Emma made sure none of the nurses were paying attention as she tucked both hands under her blanket and slipped the Inferna Copula onto her finger -!

Her breath caught in her throat as her vision rushed to another scene. Whatever she was seeing through was very small and on the ground. She could see Jim in his full armor and Toby wielding his war hammer as they fought golumns near the main stairs.

"We have to find Angor Rot!" Jim said, blocking an attack from a golumn and then cutting out it's totem in a fluid movement.

"He could be anywhere!" Toby replied, defending Jim's six until he was able to turn and throw his blade through the second golumn, piercing the totem.

"He wants me. We just need to lure him out!" Jim insisted, retrieving his sword, and then the pair ran off beyond her vision...

Her vision rushed again, and this time she was met with the face of a troll. He was slim and looked like death, though she probably wasn't one to judge. He was somewhere dark and damp, a long path stretching out into nothing behind him. He looked directly at her and growled...

She blinked several times as she was flashed back to the infirmary, removing the ring to stop the rush of sights and sensations flooding into her mind. She was positive the troll she'd seen was Angor Rot, and she was confident that she knew where he was. But what was she supposed to do now? The Jabberwocky was still on the loose and was likely feeding off of the chaos of this attack. So maybe the first step was to have a chat with a dangerous assassin troll.

Looking up and around, she saw the nurses were still preoccupied with keeping the other patients calm. Guards would likely be posted outside the Infirmary to defend the wounded. Emma knew there was a servants entry in the back rooms that sort of doubled as an emergency exit. It would lead her to the basement near where the kitchens were located, which would likely work to her advantage. She doubted there was much fighting down there, and on top of that, she'd be closer to where she needed to go.

Two of the nurses were on the far side of the room and probably wouldn't notice her missing until it was far too late, but a third nurse was tending to a soldier with a broken leg only two beds down. She'd occasionally switch sides of the bed so she was facing Emma, though not often. Still, if Emma were to suddenly disappear it would definitely catch her attention... Which she could work with.

Emma waited for a moment to be certain no one was watching, and then rolled off of her bed. She caught herself on hands and knees and shoved herself under the bed, hidden by the draping skirt. She counted in her head and when she reached five was when the first cry went out. The nurse closest to her was shouting about her disappearing and the others asked how that was possible. After a few initial moments of panic, the senior nurse ordered them to look in the examination rooms across the hall while she alerted the guards and asked if they saw anything. The sound of the door opening and closing brought a smile to her face, and Emma rolled out from under her bed. Peering over the top to be sure all three of them were gone, Emma ducked down as she ran for the back room.

Finding the servant's passage and taking it down to the kitchens was a piece of cake. From there to the entrance of the tunnels down in the dungeon could almost qualify as a calm stroll, if it weren't for the occasional moments of ducking behind something to avoid a stray golumn as it lumbered towards the stairs. When she reached the entrance to the tunnels, she tiptoed into the darkness without much hesitation, but a part of her mind reminded her that there was both a monstrous beast out to kill her and a murderous troll lurking in the shadows.

Her fist tightened around the ring down at her side, walking quietly through the dark as drips echoed from some unknown place in the tunnels. Her mind wandered a bit, thinking about how it was possible for a place to be so dark and yet she could also see three different shadows of herself. The shifting in the darkness was unnerving. A hissing scrape made her freeze. She stood in a fork in the path where one tunnel became three. She carefully examined the one in front of her, and then the one to her left.

"Who are you?" The raspy growl made her jump and whirl around to the tunnel that was on her right. Glowing, yellow eyes appeared out of the dark, and Angor Rot's snarl twisted upwards in a grin. "A lost child, perhaps?"

"You're Angor Rot?" She wanted to confirm her suspicions first. He slipped along the edge of the shadows, circling her.

"Do not trifle with me, girl." Angor Rot snarled as he slowly spiraled closer towards her, lifting a dagger to point at her throat. "Bring me the Trollhunter, and I will spare your life."

"What if I said I could offer you something better?" Emma asked, but Angor Rot lifted one eyebrow, unimpressed. She held her hand out and opened it to reveal the ring.

"Where did you get that?" Angor Rot hissed as his eyes went wide, fixated on the ring rested in the palm of her hand.

"Jim Lake gave it to me." Emma said simply. "I will give you back your soul, but you must promise to stop your attack on Hogwarts. No one else gets hurt."

"The Trollhunter has sent you in his place?" His upper lip curled back on one side.

"Jim doesn't know anything about this." Emma quipped back quickly. "He entrusted the ring to me because he didn't want anyone to abuse it's power."

"Is that so?" He grumbled doubtfully. "And what could you possibly have to gain from this?"

"Like I said; I don't want anyone else to get hurt. All I'm asking is for you to leave peacefully." Emma told him.

"That's all? How do you know I won't turn on you the moment you give me what I want?" He loomed over her, glaring down at her.

"Because I know what it's like." Emma replied. "I don't think you actually want to hurt anyone. You're just trying to get yourself back... We're just going to have to trust each other, I guess."

Emma extended her arm fully and opened her hand. The ring sat there on her open palm, free for the taking. Angor Rot jerked back slightly in surprise and hesitated, eying her again, but then he slowly eased forward and plucked the ring from her hand. He looked at it, inspecting it, and then carefully slid it onto his finger. Gold light and smoke flashed from the ring and spread throughout his body, shining brilliantly from his eyes and mouth as he arched backwards almost violently. He gasped in a breath as though it was the first one he'd drawn in a thousand years. As the light faded, Angor Rot slowly lowered his head to look forward again as his arms came down to rest at his sides. His whole body moved with each breath he took and his eyes were wide in wonder as he lifted his hands to stare at them.

Emma waited. She wanted him to have the time he needed.

After a few moments, he got his breathing under control and he closed his eyes as he clenched his fists, lowering them back down again. When he opened his eyes, he looked directly at her. Emma stood frozen under their locked gazes, but finally Angor bowed his head in a small bow.

"I will honor your request, my Lady." He said softly.

He looked at her again, and Emma nodded uncertainly back at him. Angor Rot eyed her once more before turning away and disappearing into the darkness of the tunnels. Emma watched him go, unsure of what just happened, but hoping that it meant the fighting above them would come to an end.

Taking a few steps backwards, Emma then turned and started walking back the way she had come. She'd have to make sure Angor Rot actually kept their agreement. As she was walking along the tunnel, though, a sudden pain shot through her mind. She stumbled, catching herself against the damp wall as her eyes squeezed shut, filling her sight with images.

Fighting and chaos, blood shed and fear. Knashing teeth and scraping claws. An unsatiable hunger... A harsh shiver wracked her spine, and Emma gasped when she finally managed to pull her eyes open again. She looked down at her hands and found them shaking. She could feel the Jabberwocky's glee at all the horror. He was growing stronger and stronger while she was getting weaker and weaker.

Firming up her resolve, Emma took a deep breath and then gently pushed off of the wall she'd leaned on for support. Her first two steps were a little unsteady, but she managed and kept herself upright. Closing her eyes, she focused her mind inwards and reached for her core. She could hear the sounds of the battle being waged inside her own mind, she could smell the decay, she could feel the skin and fur Cat had flayed from himself to give her protection.

Reaching with her mind, she pulled the armor away piece by piece to reveal that small light inside of her.

She screamed as the protective barrier fell away. She fell to her knees as her back wrenched into a painful arch, constricting against exploding nerves. Her veins swelled and pulsed, turning black as the pollution returned to her worse than before. Hot trails spilled down her cheeks and her throat struggled to open. Emma dropped forward onto her elbows, wheezing hard, but she clenched her fists and continued reaching for her core.

"Emma."

Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice. The Cheshire Cat sat in front of her, his tail wrapped about his paws and his grin missing. His fur was growing in matted patches, not fully returned to him yet. He looked down at her, his eyes softened.

"Cat." Emma managed to spit out after swallowing hard.

"Why are you removing my protection spell?" Cat wanted to know. Though his voice was even and calm, his flaring eyes were anything but. "If you continue, the corruption will kill you."

"I have to do this..." She panted, digging her fingers into the dirt as she first pushed up to her hands. "The Jabberwocky will keep killing unless I face him and defeat him... I'm the only one..."

"This is too great a risk. I will not allow you to die." Cat informed her.

"You chose me!" She bit out, getting one foot planted on the ground under her. "I have followed you. I have served you... Trust that I can do this." She raised her eyes from the dirt to his, desperate for him to believe in her. They were both silent for a moment, and then Cat spoke.

"What will you do once it is done? How will you save yourself?"

"I can't." Emma admitted. "But a piece of your power rests in this castle..."

"You intend to use it to push back the corruption." Cat caught on immediately, flicking one ear.

"Would it work?" Emma asked.

"You and I share many qualities and our magics are intertwined." Cat rumbled thoughtfully, giving a careful nod. "It will not harm you as it does others... And it may just be your salvation."

"Then this is a risk I have to take." Emma said, gritting her teeth and fighting to stand on her own two feet before him.

"Bravery and I are not on intimate terms. My curiosity is tempered with caution. Thus I've survived this long." Cat shared with her, his tail uncurling and waving behind him. "But now, ignoring my instinct to flee or fear, I speak the truth without regard to consequence. Your courage deserves no less. You've suffered great pain, and you've caused some. You've endured deep grief and feelings of guilt, but you will be tested by a more wrenching anguish, Emma. There is worse to come."

"And I'll face it on my own terms." Emma held out her hands, palms up. She closed her eyes and drew more of her own magic around her, calling on all that she had left. Cool metal and a familiar weight graced her hands, and her veins burned with her own magic as she fought back against the rapidly growing corruption.

Emma opened her eyes.

"You're sufficiently fortified to kick some ass." Cat hissed as the grin curled across his face once again.

Emma smiled back at him and gave the Vorpal Blade a few experimental swings. Still a bloody kitchen knife, but better than a useless wand. She knew it well, and it knew her. Together they would slay the Jabberwocky a second time. Emma gripped the blade tight in one hand and fixed her eyes ahead, striding forward with clear-minded madness. Her pace steadily quickened until she was running down the tunnel. Cat leaped past her shoulder, matching her pace.

"Time to raise some havoc. The doors of war are loose!"

Emma approached the training hall slowly. Her skin crawled with the sense of the foul beast, and her stomach roiled with protest at the terrible stench made all the worse by the lingering bitterness of death. The Jabberwocky was facing the door, waiting. He was as ugly as she remembered with a face caught somewhere between a bird and a mole-rat, long and gangly limbs tipped with twisted claws, and massive bony wings protruding awkwardly out his back and adding to his slouched posture. His long tail dragged on the ground behind him, and his antennae twitched atop his head. Large, glowing, and yellow voids made up his eyes, which stared at her as she entered the room.

"You've kept me waiting, Emma. Have you never heard that punctuality is a virtue?" The deep rumble of the Jabberwocky's voice broke through the quiet of the empty training hall.

"You and my doctor's assistant have much in common." Emma remarked, thinking of the short and plump scheduling nurse with what everyone assumed was a permanent scowl.

"You're habitually late, aren't you? Between your dim-witted daydreaming and your preening vanity the hours just fly by. There's barely time for anything else" The Jabberwocky began to pace back and forth, his voice dipping into a growl of disdain. His eyes remained fixed on her the entire time.

"That the best you can do? Hurl second-rate insults? They don't hurt..." Emma snapped.

"Your friends and family were expecting you weren't they? Perhaps they thought you might warn them of the danger approaching this castle, being close to the source as you were. But they've waited in vain, haven't they? Three already dead, and once I am through with you, I will feed on them all." He was taunting her, she knew. He had been inside her mind, they were linked, and he was using it to try and get to her.

"No! It wasn't meant to happen! It was the Prime Minister..." Emma spat back, affirming the truth in her mind despite the rising doubt.

"You selfish, misbegotten, and unnatural child! You knew of the dangers lurking here, but you were in dreamland taking tea with your friends. You couldn't be bothered. You bumbled about like a fool and then expected your master to protect you while everyone around you fell in a war of incredible horror." The Jabberwocky snarled at her before she'd even finished speaking.

"Stop it!" Emma screamed.

At the same time, Cat yowled and leaped down from the rafters, landing on top of the Jabberwock's head. He roared and threw his head about as Cat clawed at his eyes. When the Jabberwock threw his head forward, Cat used the momentum to leap off. He landed on his feet and slid to a stop in front of Emma, facing the Jabberwocky with his hackles raised.

"Confront what frightens or offends you! Reckless or insulting talk should never go unchallenged!" Cat growled to her without taking his eyes off of the beast. As the Jabberwocky swiped at his eyes, blinking to clear his vision, Cat chanced a glance back at her. "Annihilate what threatens to destroy you."

"Right." Emma nodded, choosing to focus on the weight of the Vorpal Blade in her hand.

Cat vanished as Emma ran straight through him and the Jabberwocky lunged.

The Jabberwock snapped at her with it's massive teeth, but she ducked to the left, taking a swipe at his whisker. He pulled back before she could take it off, and swung his left arm out at her. Emma pulled on her magic sharply and used it to jump, flipping over the arm. She landed in a crouch, panting, and looked up as the Jabberwocky came charging at her again.

Emma ran forward, ducking low under his snapping jaw and sliding underneath him. She slashed his ankle as she passed his left leg and then rolled to her feet just by his tail. Meanwhile the Jabberwock roared in pain and then whipped his head around to snarl at her. He hit her across her side with his tail, flinging her across the room, and Emma slammed into a set of shelves filled with training supplies. Several crates stacked next to the shelf toppled over as everything was rattled and, or broken by her impact.

Emma's vision blurred and the corruption gave another surge at her throat. She shook her head to clear it and gave another yank on her core to push back the darkness invading the edges of her sight.

When everything stopped spinning, she realized she'd dropped down to the floor. The Jabberwock roared again, running at her and aiming his attack low at the floor. Emma scrambled to get her feet under her and leap up. The Jabberwock slammed face-first into the wall-floor corner and the debris from the destroyed shelf, but Emma planted one foot on his snout and ran up the back of his neck. She raised the Vorpal Blade, her heart pounding as she started to swing, but then the Jabberwock reared back, throwing her. She toppled over twice and then slide down the length of his back and off his tail, hitting the floor hard and rolling as her knife clattered to the floor next to her.

Emma grit her teeth, breathing harshly through her teeth as her stomach lurched against the pain. Opening her eyes, Emma reached out and grabbed the Vorpal Blade with a growl of her own before shoving herself to her feet.

The Jabberwocky had righted himself too, and now they faced each other once more, sweating and seething. The Jabberwock leaped up to the wall to propel himself down at Emma with a new angle, and she turned to face him, but instead of raising her blade high, Emma ducked and rolled just under the monster's chin.

Then she swung up.

Jim's whole body ached. Every part of him. And as he watched Toby and Blinky mourn beside AAARRRGH!'s stone statue, his chest ached even more.

The fight had been intense. A poisoned injury that AAARRRGH! had kept hidden from them all, finally overcame him when he took a direct hit from a golumn to save Toby. Soon after that, all of the golumns collapsed out of nowhere. The fighting just suddenly stopped.

But only for a moment.

They found the victims when they started gathering the wounded and dead. Whatever beast had attacked Gabby Numeral and the other victims had claimed four others during the fight. Three were students and the fourth was a muggle trader by the docks. The difference this time, however, was the dark sludge left behind. Each puddle of bubbling oily darkness had grown into several misshapen creatures that could regenerate even more than the golumns before. Jim had never seen anything like them, but the scary part was that neither had Blinky. They managed to kill most of the creatures, but similarly to the golumns, the last one melted back into a useless pile at Jim's feet out of nowhere.

Fifteen minutes later, Jim found himself in the Great Hall, watching his friends all grieve. Rapunzel stepped up beside him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder in comfort. Jim could only give her a weak nod in thanks.

"Toothiana and the Royals are securing the castle defenses and looking for whatever beast keeps attacking our people. Dr. Sweet and I will take care of the wounded. You should be with your friends right now and then get some rest as soon as you can." Rapunzel told him. The look she gave him clearly said this was an order, not a request. No arguments.

"This is my fault." Jim said quietly instead. "It's the duty of the Trollhunter to protect them from things like this, and I failed..."

"No, Jim. You did everything you could." Rapunzel said, squeezing his shoulder. A loud, pained groan followed by a cry for help brought their attention to the other side of the Hall where one of the soldiers was being treated before her could be moved. Rapunzel sighed. "Like I said; you need rest. We'll discuss this more later."

With one last worried look, Rapunzel moved off to go help. Jim stayed where he was. He didn't think he could be the strong and steady Trollhunter his friends currently needed, and he was certain that despite how tired he was, he wouldn't be able to sleep at all. But he also knew that if he stayed where he was, more people may try to speak with him, and he didn't want that right now.

Jim looked around the Hall, taking in the scene. Most of the devastation was in the corridors and by the main entrance. Debris of shattered stone and piles of crystals littered the floor all throughout the castle. The overwhelming scent of blood burned in his nostrils. But the Great Hall was mostly intact. It was the place where the women and youngest were held during the fight, guarded by a defensive line of soldiers and older witches and wizards. The fifth and fourth years he'd been working with on quests and battles were all gathered to help keep the younger children calm in the aftermath of chaos. Jim also noticed the Prime Minister was standing on the dais, watching events unfold before him with a hard expression. Merlin and his apprentices were helping to clear rubble and assist with minor injuries. Anyone who wasn't injured during the battle was either helping to put things back together or mourning a loss.

He wasn't sure what he was doing. Everything just seemed so... quiet.

The quiet ended with the sound of echoing footsteps. He looked up and his heart dropped out of his chest. There was shuffling and then gasps and murmurings and then someone outright screamed, but Jim's eyes were fixed solely on Emma.

Her skin was paler than death, but her veins were a harsh black. Her hair was grey and brittle, matted. Her eyes were wide and colored a dull grey, her pupils shrunk as oily, black tears streamed down her cheeks. A blue dress with a white apron hung limp from her too-skinny frame, the colors dulled as well and stained with blackness and blood. In her left hand she gripped tightly to the handle of a very large kitchen knife that glinted in the light. In her right hand, her fingers were dug into the straggly fur on the head of a beast like nothing Jim had ever seen. Crossed somewhere between a bird and a mole-rat face with antennae and fleshy whisker-feelers. It's eyes and mouth hung open, revealing dark voids and large yellowed teeth. What was left of it's neck still dripped with blood.

Emma's hands were covered in blood.

She walked straight towards the dais, a twisted grin stretched across her tearful face. People rushed to get away from her, and Jim watched with disbelief as she came to a halt at the foot of the steps, looking straight up at the Prime Minister with that twisted grin. Her arm moved, and she threw the head up onto the dais. It bounced twice and then rolled to a stop at the Prime Minister's feet, leaving a bloody trail.

"Your Jabberwocky, sir!" Emma gave a mock bow, stumbling slightly. Her shoulders twitched and shook as she snorted, but her chortles quickly dissolved into full laughter as more tears of red and black spilled from her eyes.

Her laughing was cut off with a choking cough that wracked her whole body. She stumbled back, clawing and scratching at her own throat as she tried to breath. She dropped, falling to her knees and then hands, she gagged and that same oily sludge that had created the monsters before poured out from Emma. It pooled up her hands as she threw up. She gave a choked gasp, seemingly spent, and then collapsed onto her side on the floor.

The Prime Minister screamed for the guards, but Jim was already running. Rapunzel beat him there, lifting Emma's head into her lap as she checked her pulse. Emma was still gasping for breath. Rapunzel reached up, hovering her hand over Emma's chest as the markings along her arms began to glow.

Just as Rapunzel reached out with her healing magic, Emma's eyes snapped open. For a moment Jim was frozen, but then everything happened at once. Emma reached up and grabbed the Moonstone, yanking it off of Rapunzel's neck hard enough to break the latch holding the chain. Emma lunged away from them and flipped backwards, landing on her feet. That twisted grin had returned as she gripped the Moonstone tight in one fist.

"Emma!" Rapunzel screamed, reaching out to stop her, but she'd already put the distance between them. Rapunzel jumped to her feet, holding her hands out to Emma. "Emma, stop!"

"Stay back!" Emma spat at them. The Moonstone began to glow, the light seeping out between Emma's fingers, and energy began to crackle around her fist like electricity.

"Stop her!" Merlin shouted, running towards Emma from behind with Morgana, but Emma grabbed onto the stone with both hands and a powerful wave of energy shot out all around her, knocking them to the floor. Emma looked forward, locking eyes with Rapunzel. "This power doesn't belong to you."

The Moonstone gave another surge, the crackling energy growing and consuming Emma's entire body. Her eyes were filled with the pale-blue glow of the stone and she rose a few inches off of the ground as the power spread throughout her entire body. The blackness receded in her veins as she cried out. There was a blinding flash, and both Rapunzel and Jim had to look away.

When the light faded and they could lower their arms, Jim could hardly believe what he saw. Emma's appearance had entirely changed. Her dress was a dark blue; a turtle neck that was sleeveless on one arm and long-sleeved on the other. Black leggings that somehow turned into boots covered her legs and feet. Her bare arm revealed where the Moonstone had embedded itself into her open palm, surrounded by black scales. The scales made a path that spiraled up her arm and somehow ended on the opposite eye. The eye surrounded by those scales was a bright, glowing green, and the other was burning amber. Her hair was straight and black as the night, falling all around her like a dark veil. Her veins were no longer black, but the paleness remained.

"Emma, what have you done?" Rapunzel murmured, shaking her head just slightly in disbelief. Taking a breath and steeling herself, Rapunzel straightened up. "This has to stop now, Emma! Whatever it is that you're going through, we can fix it together!"

"No!" Emma shot back. "You don't understand, there is no other way. I have to do this!"

Jim stepped forward, tapping Rapunzel's elbow as request to let him try. She gave a small nod and stepped aside for him.

"Emma, listen to me!" Jim started.

"I'm listening." She replied dryly.

"I know it isn't really you." He tried again.

"Isn't it? How can you be so sure?" She demanded.

"Because you've never done anything to hurt me. I'm not afraid, Emma, I trust you." Jim shot back. Emma's head perked up, her eyes going a little wide, at that response, so he kept pushing. "I swear it's not too late, so before another line gets crossed and we lose everything just... wait."

"Wait?" Emma's brow lowered back to a glare as she took a few steps back, and Jim immediately regretted his choice of word. "No, I won't wait." She told him.

She threw out one arm and stones shot up out of the floor. Rapunzel was forced to leap back, but found herself trapped in a seven foot cage of stones tenting over her. "Emma!" She cried, yanking her hand back as one of the stone's sparked in response to her Sun magic.

"Guards! Arrest her!" The Prime Minister shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Emma who looked up at him, giving him a long look even as she turned her body towards the guards at the door. When she finally shifted her gaze to them, she threw both forward and more rocks burst from the stone floor, sharp as pikes. The guards were shoved aside or ran out of the way themselves.

Emma started for the door, but her yearmates were running to intercept her as the younger children cried and screamed. Steve was the first to reach her, pulling his fist back to throw a punch, but she grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. She looked right and left, seeing people coming at her from both sides, and threw her arms out. More rocks scattered outward, sharp and deadly and echoing with music. The others moved back out of the way, blocked from attacking, and suddenly Jim found himself the only one left to try and stop her. Emma looked over her shoulder at him with a hard glare, and then she started walking towards the doors of the Great Hall, climbing over the rocks.

"There's a line between the winners and the losers." Her voice rang out alongside the music of the stones as she spun around one and then continued forward. "There's a line between the chosen and the rest."

"And I've done the best I could, But I've always known just where we stood," Emma sang as she walked forward to a stone that was pointing straight up. She touched it gently with one hand, and then her head dropped down in defeat. When she looked back up, she saw her own reflection, and then Jim's smaller one off to the side. "Me here with the luckless, You there with the blessed."

"And that line between the beggars and the choosers," She looked off to the side, watching as several of the boys tried to help the girls get out with the younger children. Jamie was at the top, trying to help Pippa climb out from behind some of the stones. She looked to the other side and found some of the others like Hiro and Gustav tried to get free from the maze of stones so they could stop her. Venellope and Cupcake stood on top of one of the tables at the back of the room, looking on with disbelief and desperation. "Is a line you've never let me quite ignore!"

"How I've tried to jump that great divide!" Emma cried out, as she leaped from the tip of a stone pointing near horizontally to a much taller one. From her new position on the high ground, she looked back directly at Jim as he ran forward, stopping to look up at her from the base of the stones. "But I've never got the chances you were given!"

"You don't know how much I've been denied!" She reached up and gripped her hair as she turned away, throwing her arms behind her. She slid down the smooth side of the rock she was on and walked forward, standing before the slightly ajar doors of the Great Hall. "Well, I'm not being patient anymore!"

"I'm crossing the line!" She grinned as she lifted her hands that were glowing slightly, and then threw them out to the sides. The giant double doors flew open with a thunderous bang on either side, even smashing some of the stones. Emma marched on, throwing her arms out again and stones branched out behind her. "And I'm done holding back! So look out, clear the track! It's my turn!"

"I'm taking what's mine!" Jim rushed to follow after her, watching as she ran right out the main entrance because no one there would've expected to have to stop her. She waltzed right passed as they all stared on in confusion and slight-awe. She reached the bottom of the steps out in the main courtyard just as Jim made it the the doorway. "Every drop, every smidge!"

"If I'm burning a bridge, Let it burn!" Emma declared as she threw out one arm. Stones shot forward right into one of the cages that contained the Dragon Hunter's dragons. The guards standing by it dove to the sides, but the lock was smashed, and the blue-colored beast flung the door to it's cage open with ease. "But I'm crossing the line!"

Toothiana, Stoick, and several of the other Royals who were helping to fortify their defenses jumped into action, rushing forward to try and help.

"And for us, if we're over, That's fine...!" Emma shouted, turning back towards Jim and pulling that mysterious knife from her hip. She lunged at him. Jim was forced to throw up Daylight in order to block her attack, bringing them to a close-in stalemate.

"Emma, wait!" He begged her, but she only leaned in closer so they were face-to-face.

"I'm crossing the line."

There was a roar and then an explosion. The Dragon Hunters were all shouting and running about, but Jim's focus was on Emma as she shoved him backward and then jammed her foot into his stomach. Jim doubled over and stumbled back, panting. He gripped Daylight more tightly on instinct, but he stared at her helplessly. Emma continued to glare back and was about to lunge forward with another yell when she was knocked off her feet by a spell from above.

Toothiana landed between them. Emma rolled over her shoulder, bracing one hand on the ground as she righted herself and snarled at Tooth, but before she could attack, Queen Elsa froze her hand to the ground with a layer of ice. Emma screamed in frustration as the two women closed in on her cautiously.

"Jim!" Rapunzel arrived at the main entrance with Toby and Draal. Rapunzel's eyes went wide at the sight before her.

"Someone get a dragon root arrow!" One of the hunters shouted just before another explosion hit a wall just off to the left of them. Jim looked up at the blue dragon as it lingered overhead, trying to dive closer while also trying to avoid the hunters chains.

"Go!" Emma suddenly screamed, waving her free arm up at the beast. "Get out of here! Now!"

Jim looked between her and the dragon as it seemed to hesitate, landing for a moment on one of the upper walls. It made a whining noise, but then a chain whacked against the wall just below it's foot. The dragon gave one last look at Emma, and then took off, flying off into the sky. Emma was still trapped, her shoulders rising and falling with her heavy breaths.

Draal came over and placed a hand on Jim's shoulder as Toby looked between him and Emma. Toothiana and Elsa kept up the guards, but looked over at Rapunzel for an explanation as the Sorceress approached.

"Emma..." Rapunzel said, seemingly lost for words as she looked at the younger girl.

Emma's head dropped forward, her dark hair covering her face. Her shoulders started shaking, and Jim wondered for a moment if she was crying, but then he heard the laughter.

"Hahaha, you'll have to kill me if you want to Moonstone back." Emma spat at Rapunzel, lifting her eyes as they glowed through the dark shadows of the night. "You haven't got any other way to reverse the bonding effect!" She taunted.

Rapunzel took a deep breath and then raised a glowing hand. Emma growled and jerked back, but Rapunzel touched her forehead and she slumped over, completely asleep. Rapunzel took another breath, this one noticeably shaky, but she turned to Toothiana.

"Is it true? Is there no other way to get the stone?" Elsa asked before her cousin could say anything.

"I don't know." Rapunzel murmured back, then she straightened and called for the medics to get a stretcher. Jim and Toby rushed forward with them to reach Emma, but Rapunzel caught his shoulder and pulled him back to her side. She gave him a firm look and then turned back to Tooth and Elsa with the same expression. "I'll need to examine her and speak with Dr. Sweet."

"Well, regardless of the outcome, the answer does seem quite clear." The three women turned at the Prime Minister's voice to find him walking up to the group. "Whether or not you can remove the stone, that girl has obviously become to much of a danger to herself and to others. I am afraid I must insist on having her committed."

"What?" Toby gasped, looking up from where he peered at the medics tending to Emma.

"Those measures are extremely drastic and should be left up to medical professionals!" Rapunzel retorted, her hands curling into fists at her sides.

"In another case, perhaps, but this is a matter of Ministry Security during a full-scale war, your highness." The Prime Minister told her calmly. "The needs of the many, must outweigh the needs of the few."

With that, the Prime Minister turned and left, his cloaks billowing out behind him. Jim looked up at Rapunzel, hoping to find some kind of reassurance, but she didn't look at him. She only glared after the Prime Minister as he left. Elsa noticed, too, and stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"Do the examination and speak with Dr. Sweet." Elsa told her. "I'll do what I can to defend her case to the Royal Council."

"Thank you." Rapunzel nodded to her gratefully, and they shared tight smiles that faded quickly. Elsa took a leave then, and Jim watched on, waiting and hoping there was something he could do, but as Rapunzel left to tend to Emma and Toothiana returned to securing the castle, Jim was left standing there.

Draal and Toby tugged and nudged him away from the scene, and eventually he found himself in the small study hall that Blinky had pretty much taken over. His friends were all there; exhausted and hurting. Jim watched on, knowing that they'd already lost AAARRRGH! and it seemed like they were about to lose Emma, too.

Jim wondered if Kanjigar and the other Trollhunter spirits were right. If he had focused on being a proper Trollhunter, facing these duties on his own the way he was supposed to, maybe then AAARRRGH! wouldn't have gotten hurt. Maybe Emma never would've gotten hurt, either, and then she wouldn't be caught between death or an asylum imprisonment. If he had been stronger, or faster, or just a better Trollhunter...

Jim backed out of the room quietly, not wanting to disturb his grieving friends. He walked towards the basement where the Guardians had approved a portal to Troll Market to make their travels to and from easier. With each step an idea began to take form and solidify into potential action. He knew he had the means, and he refused to let anyone else take that step. The amulet chose Him.

"In darkest tide, when Daylight darest wane... the Myrddin Wylt obscured a shadow's bane. Three forces elemental thou must seek. In marshland, caverns deep, and moutain's peak. Where worthy perish, ye'll prevail in night. And eclipse all who quarry with thy might."

"For the Doom of Gunmar, Eclipse is mine to Command!"