A/N: Next chapter is up, and as you see I've begun uploading a bit faster. I can't tell you how happy it is to see how well received this fic has been. Before posting this chapter today it was 998 hits (on AO3), so that makes it around 100 hits per chapter. Can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter, I do hope that I've managed to make this elven realm/setting work alongside what we know of OUAT lore.

Again thanks to my beta reader Ultraluckycatnd, she's been a valuable help with this.

Enjoy

Chapter 10

Killian rubbed his sore jaw; it didn't hurt as much as the flying monkey wound he'd gotten five days ago, but perhaps it stung a little deeper as it had been his brother's fist that did the damage to his face. He glared at the bastard walking in front of him, alongside the silver blond elven, Elsa. The darkness within him seethed as he recalled the fight between the brothers. Their group was heading out to find a more suitable location to summon the Dark One, and as everyone packed up Killian saw Liam tug the dagger into his bag. A desire to carry the dagger himself rose with such force that it all happened so fast. Seconds later, he'd been in a fierce struggle with his brother over who should carry the dagger.

Had it not been for August and Graham, the fight would have ended with more damage. The two elves had pulled the brothers apart and pushed them far away from one another. Killian remembered how Emma had emerged from the cottage, her eyes flickering between himself and Liam. The frown of worry on her face was still haunting his musings as they walked along the river, further away from the Witch's palace.

Once Graham had found the cause of the debacle, he'd pulled the dagger out of Liam's bag and tugged it into his belt, giving the brothers no other option but to leave it like this.

Killian rolled his shoulders, the pinch of the now almost healed wound on his neck sending a shiver down his back. It was still a fuzzy memory of how Emma had arrived two days ago, managing to pull out the lingering poison from his body. They hadn't found a moment to speak of what had happened that night. He vaguely recalled her whispering words of love in his ear, but his mind was still clouded with the war raging between the darkness inside him and the monkey's poison. All he remembered was waking up the next morning and everyone had begun planning the next line of action. He joined this head first the second he was able to stand on his feet; he wanted to find the Dark One and take back what had been taken from him.

Sensing someone walking up next to him, he glanced to the side, and with a flutter in his chest, he saw Emma join him.

"How are you feeling?" Emma asked and gave him a small smile. Her eyes looked weary for some reason and she quickly averted her eyes when he kept looking at her. This caused his heart to twinge in a panic; perhaps he'd done something stupid while still being feverish.

"I'm good, the wound is almost healed up." He nodded towards her. "Thanks to you." He noticed a blush creep up her neck at his words.

"That's good." Emma shifted her bag that was slung over her shoulder, they had tried to pack light since they didn't have any horses with them anymore.

Killian touched the ring hanging around his neck. "I can't believe this actually worked." He rolled the pendants between his fingers. "I know magic exists, I've seen it on many occasions on my travels. But what you did, helping me, I'll be forever grateful."

"I didn't want you to get hurt," Emma said in a small voice, her eyes flickering to his again.

"A lot is going to happen now, and I want you to know that what you did to help me, first when you found me wounded on that beach, second for helping me accept my new life with only one hand," he lifted the hooked arm up in front of him with a wry grimace, "and now you've saved my life twice." All he wanted to do was to stop and make things right between them, but he knew that they were running out of time. He just hoped that they would find the time to talk once this was over.

"I want to help you. I don't know why, but knowing that you and your brother have lived with this darkness inside you all these years, it must be…"

"A bloody nightmare, I tell you that." He rubbed his sore jaw again. "And quite painful too." He grimaced when she gave him a knowing look, and when her eyes shifted to look at his brother he felt something deep inside him roar to life. Jealousy?

Emma had to have noticed the strain in his voice as she kept silent as they kept heading to the location Dorothy had pointed out to them. Drawing a map out for them, she'd wished them luck and stayed behind with her band of three oddly mismatched friends. Killian looked behind him and nodded a silent understanding to Will who'd chosen to join the quest they were on. It did surprise Killian as he'd thought the young man might want to stay behind with his new friend Dorothy, but who was he to say what any man chose to do with his life? Shaking his head he moved forward, trying to keep his emotions at bay, focusing on the quest to summon the Dark One.

It was past midday when they finally reached an open meadow further down the river. They found a location where they could set up camp and prepare to summon the Dark One. Everyone was on edge and it had been a struggle to keep calm when all Killian wanted to do was to get that dagger so they could finish this. Graham had kept an eye out for both brothers and it did come to one short fight between Liam and August when Liam had tried to slip the dagger from Graham. Killian had readily joined in on the accusations thrown around as the struggle had occurred, the darkness longing for strife to happen.

Elsa had managed to soothe Liam, and Killian watched as the couple now moved further away deep in conversation. For some reason, Emma kept him at arm's length while she tried to occupy herself with sorting out their provisions. It was a raging war inside Killian; he wanted to speak with her, but he sensed the hostile vibes from her so the darkness just rolled slowly around inside him, reveling in the tension it had built up in the group.

Finally, Liam returned and placed himself in front of Killian. "Are you ready little brother?"

"It's younger brother you wanker," Killian growled, ignoring the looks the rest of the group gave them. He pushed past Liam and strode over to Graham. "It's time, let's finish this. Give me the dagger."

"I'll take the dagger." Liam pushed up next to Killian.

Graham looked at the two men, half-elves, in front of him, his eyes boring into them. He clearly knew that whomever he gave the dagger to, the other brother would cause a scene, yet again.

Killian shifted impatiently on his feet, his fingers curling into a tight fist. This was ridiculous, all they needed to do was to summon the bloody Dark One and be done with this debacle.

"I'll have you draw straws to decide this, and once the results are up, you will not go against the other." Graham looked between the brothers, his eyes narrowed as he waited for them to respond. "The one picking the longest straw will hold the dagger."

Finally, both brothers nodded in agreement and Graham crouched down and picked two stems of grass, one cut in half, then he turned his back on them. Once he faced them again, he had the bottom of the grass stems hidden in his hand.

Killian looked at his brother with wary eyes, then they both picked a piece of grass. It was a chaos of emotions when Killian realized that it was his brother who'd won the right to carry the dagger. His shoulders were tense and his fingers curled into a fist, clutching the bloody short strand of grass in his hand.

Without another word, Killian strode away from the area and headed to the location they'd chosen to make this happen.

The group of elves and Will made cover behind a collection of large boulders nearby, they wanted to be able to surprise the Dark One in case things didn't work out for Liam and Killian.

Liam and Killian walked further away and finally, Liam muttered, "The Dark One, I summon thee."

Killian watched as his brother clutched the dagger in front of him, as they all waited with bated breath for the Dark One to arrive.

It seemed as if the world became silent the second Liam had spoken the words, all sounds from the insects and birds above them became quiet. Not even a rustle of leaves could be heard. Moments later a dark red plume of smoke could be seen nearby. As it cleared, Killian watched his old enemy emerge. The Dark One shook his long wavy hair away from his face, his hand twisted upward as he spoke. "Ah dearies, you've been the ones who stole my dagger." He mumbled to himself, "I should have known that green witch would never be able to keep it safe." He strode forward, his long fingers reaching forward. "Now give it back."

"Dark One, I command you to stop!" Liam roared, his hand shaking slightly as it seemed as if the Dark One didn't respond to the command.

Everyone gasped when the Dark One managed to reach Liam and Killian acted on instinct and stepped up next to his brother as he pulled out his cutlass.

When the Dark One saw Killian with his weapon wielded and ready to fight him, he cackled. "I thought I killed you when I took your hand!" He tilted his head as if thinking. "Well, all the more fun I can have when I kill both Jones brothers at the same time." He lifted his hand and aimed it at Killian who suddenly found himself lifted off the ground, a force squeezing around his neck.

"Dark One stop!" Liam bellowed, and with wide eyes, he realized that the Dark One didn't let go of his brother.

Killian felt the grasp around his neck loosen but he was still suspended in mid-air, what the hell was going on here? He knew of the stories of the Dark One's dagger that whoever held it would be able to command the Dark One to do one's wishes. But the Dark One still held Killian captive, yet it seemed as if he couldn't kill him. That was a relief, but how the hell were they going to get the Olympian Crystal from him if the dagger didn't work? And why didn't it, what had happened? Had the Dark One become stronger somehow? Perhaps already made use of the crystal?

It seemed to be equally a surprise for the Dark One that he could in fact keep Killian captive, yet it was clear that he was beyond pissed that he couldn't kill his old nemesis. The sneer forming over his features was showing his crooked dark teeth, his beady eyes blinking in wonder.

"Dark One let go of my brother," Liam commanded again, his voice wavering.

The Dark One smirked and chortled, "I think not."

Killian flailed his arms as he was pulled away from Liam, still suspended in mid-air. "What the bloody hell is going on here? Why can't we control you?" He glared down at the monster currently holding him captive.

"I ask myself that very same question, but it does seem as if I can't kill the lot of you." This was a small relief, but Killian was still trapped and he couldn't struggle out of the invisible grasp holding him.

The Dark One stepped closer to Liam, his magic still holding Killian captive. "Now give me the dagger, or I'll run off with your darling brother here. I'm sure I can make use of him somewhere, even if I can't kill him."

Liam was still holding the dagger as he looked up at his brother and they shared a look that spoke more than words. Killian knew that his brother would do anything to help him, even if they'd had their strife in the past, all caused by the darkness inside them.

"Dark One you will never kill anyone," Liam commanded, and the flicker crossing over the Dark One's face told them that the command did trigger something inside him. Then a sneer came over his face again.

"Perhaps I can…" he mumbled and lifted his other hand. Seconds later, Liam was seen floating in the air next to Killian. Both brothers hung suspended in mid-air and before they realized what the monster had planned, Killian felt his body move disturbingly fast towards his brother. He was still holding his cutlass and seconds before their bodies clashed he dropped it to the ground. They both grunted as they clashed together, both trying to shield themself from the blow. Liam still held on to the dagger as he'd lifted his hands to protect his face but when Killian yet again slammed into him, the dagger slipped from his fingers and cut a long slash over Liam's left cheek. Blood dripped to the ground where the dagger now lay unprotected.

"Bloody hell." Killian's eyes scanned his brother. Aside from the wound on his cheek, he seemed okay. He wasn't sure what consequences it would be to be cut by the dagger. He hoped that it wouldn't be as bad as being wounded by those flying monkeys.

"I'm okay brother, we'll survive…" Liam's eyes went wide when they both felt the squeeze around their necks, the Dark One was in control again. As they both struggled to keep breathing, Killian glanced to the boulders where he knew Emma and her group would be. But from his high vantage point, he saw no one. Where the hell had they gone to? Had the elves abandoned the brothers when all seemed lost?

It was getting more and more difficult to breathe and Killian could see his brother struggling the same way.

The Dark One crackled below them. "Ah, finally I'll get rid of the pests that have been foiling my plan to use the Olympian Crystal."

Killian could hardly hear him over the rush of blood pounding in his ears, black spots began to swim before his eyes. This couldn't be the end?

The past few minutes had been hell for Emma. Once they realized that the Dark One didn't fall under the command of the dagger, they struggled to figure out a way to get the dagger from Liam. She had a feeling that the darkness residing inside both brothers might be the reason why the Dark One didn't fully respond to the commands given by Liam.

Graham had urged Will to find cover behind a large boulder as the elves used their magic to conceal themselves. They knew the Dark One hadn't seen the elves or he would have made a comment on this.

The moment the dagger slipped to the ground, Emma ran at full speed towards it, her fingers curling around the handle just as she heard Killian and Liam's bodies slam together again.

Lifting the concealment of her body she yelled, "Dark One I command you to stop this very second. Let them go."

The shocked and angry look on the Dark One's face showed that she'd managed to surprise the monster. A surge of pride rose within her, but seconds later she heard the dull thumps of two bodies falling to the ground.

The Dark One's laugh echoed in her ears as she rushed to them, they both groaned so they were still breathing. "Are you okay?" She touched Killian's shoulder, and when he nodded with a grimace she sighed in relief. They would need some healing but first, she'd deal with the Dark One.

Rising to her feet she realized that the coward had begun to slip away from the scene. "Dark One stop!" With a grumble, the Dark One turned to face her, and she was sure that she spotted a weary sort of fear flickering in his beady eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice a high pitch, his head tilted to the side, his long fingers tapping at his chin.

"Highborn elven princess of Misthaven, healer, and wielder of high light magic," Emma proclaimed and a smug smile spread over her face when actual fear flashed over the scaly face of the monster.

"Light magic you say?"

"Hmm and I command you to give me the Olympian Crystal." When he struggled to comply she added, "I know you have it, and my friends will want it back. Now!"

Even with the power of the dagger it still took him a few moments to finally reach into his coat and retrieve the crystal. It pulsed in soft blue light, in stark contrast to the green scaly skin covering the Dark One.

Emma stepped closer to him, still holding up the dagger. "You will not harm me, Dark One." She smirked when the creature grimaced, baring his rotten teeth at her.

"Emma, be careful!" Killian shouted from behind her. She held her gaze on the Dark One, not wanting him to pull any unforeseen tricks out of his sleeve.

"Ah, the love between a bastard elven and a highborn princess," the Dark One mused, tapping his chin.

"Shut up," Emma ordered. She reached out for the crystal. "Give it to me."

"Now what will you do?" The crystal was placed in Emma's hand and she could feel the magic from it surging inside her and mixed with her light magic, this was truly a powerful artifact. Perhaps it would even be enough to kill and end the Dark One once and for all.

"I will end you," Emma proclaimed and let her magic communicate with the crystal in her possession. She could feel how it fed her with millenniums worth of magical knowledge, even from the time before the Dark One was born. She had no idea why this ancient artifact was responding like this with her magic, but she felt her magic rise in strength, and with her core shivering by the magnitude of what was about to happen she surged forward. The crystal moved her hand around so the tip of the crystal was pointing straight at the Dark One's chest. With extraordinary force she plunged the crystal into the Dark One, her own light magic being the catalyst in helping the magic from the crystal penetrate the Dark One's magic.

Seconds later the Dark One's body dissolved in a cloud of light gray smoke, and a small pile of dust was the only remains of the monster that had ruled the realms for centuries.

Emma slumped down on the ground, gasping for breath, vaguely registering her friend Ruby rushing to her side, wrapping her arms around her.

"Are you okay?"

Emma barely managed to nod before the world spun upside down and she slumped against her friend. The world became dark.