"We've had this conversation before," Emma sighed, as she pushed away from the counter and folded her arms over her chest. "Normal people call, not lurk in the shadows waiting for people's lives to go to hell."

Whatever was going on was clearly important, as Killian didn't bother to acknowledge her quips. Instead, he slowly made his way out of the darkness, stepping into the light offered by the lower floor of the library.

Zelena might have gasped a little in shock when her eyes first landed on him.

But August and Gold's features seemed to harden at the presence of the intruder, as they both widened their stances and folded their own arms over their chests. Emma sighed a little at their needless display of machoism, as she turned her attention back to Killian.

"What's a Hellmouth?"

"You're standing on it," he replied simply. "This whole town was built over one."

"Okay… and is that as bad as it sounds?"

Killian turned a withering look towards her watcher. One that clearly screamed why have you not taught her this already? Before he moved his attention back to the slayer in the room.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. An entrance to the mouth of hell. And it's preparing to open and swallow us all."

"How do you know this?" Gold asked, taking a step forward to get a better look at the mysterious man that seemed to have taken such an interest in his slayer. The name still felt familiar to him, but he couldn't place the face attached to it.

"I read," Killian replied, tossing an old book onto the table below him. "There's a legend passed amongst the undead. Nobody really believed it to be true, but after tonight… the whispers have already started."

"Whispers? What whispers?" Emma took another small step forward, drawn to Killian as she always had been. She watched from the corner of her eye as Gold leaned in to snatch up the book that the newcomer had brought over with him, but she kept most of her focus on the other Brit in the room.

"They say there's a vampire trapped down there. One of the oldest of their kind. He's been imprisoned for so long that he doesn't even resemble a human anymore. The legend says he came the closest to opening the Hellmouth. But that a freak earthquake trapped him inside of a church down there. And that it's been draining his powers ever since. If his followers are here, and if the legend is true… then we're all doomed."

"Wow. You are just full of sunshine and roses," Emma muttered, as she scrubbed a harsh hand over her eyes.

She'd just gotten settled into her new town, and she'd only just started accepting her fate. Now it seemed like she would need to deal with some kind of super vampire looking to kill them all, while still trying to fit in at school; attempt to get good grades so she could get into a decent college; not make her father suspicious with her new job title; and attempt to maintain a somewhat normal life.

Things really couldn't get much worse.

"What do you suggest we do?" she asked, turning her eyes back up to the spot Killian had been stood in moments before. Because it was obvious he knew more about this situation than Gold did.

But he'd already disappeared.

"Fantastic. You know… regular people say bye too," she yelled into the darkness, hoping that he'd still be close enough to hear her. The way he just sort of appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared into thin air, was becoming less mysterious and more annoying.

Nobody said anything for the longest moment. The only sound in the room came from Gold, as he flicked through the pages of the book while everyone else took their time absorbing the information that they'd just received.

August was the first to break the silence, as he asked, "So… that was Killian? Is he always so chatty?"

Emma shook her head to clear her amusement, before she turned her full attention to Gold. At some point, he had dropped down into a chair at the large conference table. He was currently cradling his head in his hand, as he flicked through the pages that Killian had helpfully marked for them.

"What does it say?" Emma asked softly. When he said nothing in return she raised her voice a little. "Hey! Slayer to watcher. What does the book say?"

"I um… I need to place some calls," Gold muttered in response, as he stood from the table and turned back to his office. All without removing his eyes from the book.

"That can't be good, right?"

Emma's friends shook their heads to agree with her theory as she threw herself down into her own seat at the table, next to where Zelena was sat. It didn't take long for August to turn his attention back to the weapons cage, and another shipment that needed unpacking. But Zelena looked a little too distracted to continue with her reading.

Emma waited patiently for her friend to speak, and she wasn't disappointed by the words that eventually left the redhead's mouth.

"So… Killian's kinda hot."

While Gold took his time, shut away in his office placing phone calls, Emma and her friends fired off quick messages to their parents. They knew that after the earthquake, everyone would be worried about their safety. And the last thing they wanted to do was scare the people that loved them most.

Once the messages were sent, the three teenagers spent some time chatting together about anything that was not slayer related. After the heavy news Killian had delivered, they all seemed to recognize that the others needed some kind of normalcy in their lives. And gossiping about Regina and her friends was the best way to achieve that.

After an hour without word from Gold, Zelena eventually drifted back to her watcher's journals, while August made his way over to the weapon's cage, pulling out what appeared to be a set of nunchakus to practice throwing around. Emma excused herself from the group, needing a moment just to freshen herself up. She left the library with a promise to return soon with snack, and made her way down the familiar halls of the school to the nearest restroom.

"Jesus Christ," she yelled, as she pushed her way back out moments later, to find a dark figure leaning against the wall opposite the door. "Lurk much?"

"My apologies. I was sure you'd have sensed me here."

"Yeah, well… I didn't," she threw back at him. "Wait. Have you been here all along?"

"No," Killian replied simply. "It's chaos out there tonight. Someone has to make sure that nobody is getting hurt. Fortunately, the presence of your father and his deputies seems to have sent most of the undead underground. But I can't guarantee it won't stay that way."

"My dad? Is he safe?" Emma worried.

She knew that David could more than take care of himself in most situations. But her father didn't even know that vampires existed. So he would have no idea what he was walking into if one of them decided to attack. And he'd have no idea how to fight them off either.

"He's fine. Do you honestly think I'd leave him out there alone if I thought he were in any kind of real danger?"

Emma didn't know much about Killian, but she knew that he was telling the truth in that moment. Whatever it was that had drawn him to her, compelling him to offer his help, was also offering to help keep the people she loved safe. And Emma would forever be grateful to him for that.

"I can't stay long, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That would have been a lot for the most experienced slayer to take in. I can't imagine how scary it must be for someone new to this world," he explained, looking down to the toes of his boots. He seemed almost shy in that moment, a complete contrast to the cocky guy Emma had first met in town.

"I'm okay. I mean sure, this ultimate vampire guy sounds terrifying, and I don't even wanna think about what lurks in a Hellmouth. But I um… Gold is placing some calls. I guess to see just how true this legend is. He agreed to start my training this morning, so I'm gonna try and make sure we get some in tonight. You shouldn't be out on the streets alone right now."

Killian nodded his head in agreement, but Emma wasn't sure if he was agreeing that it was a good idea to begin her training, or that he shouldn't be fighting alone.

"A slayer would definitely help right now. Most of the vamps in this town don't realize that there's one here. It would certainly help to keep the younger ones in order."

"Well… you could always spread the word," she teased.

"Swan," he chuckled, shaking his head fondly as that cocky smirk began creeping in once more. "I don't leave survivors to spread word. You should know that by now."

That smirk was far more attractive than it had any right to be, and Emma felt herself swaying into his space subconsciously.

"I um… I should get back to the others," she suddenly declared, realizing just how close they were. She could feel the cool exhales of his breath against her neck. "I promised them snacks, so they're probably getting antsy right about now."

"Of course."

Killian pushed himself off the wall as Emma took a few large steps back to put some space between them. When she turned down the corridor, headed towards one of the vending machines located close to the library, he finally followed after her. But he paused for a moment when she stopped to insert some cash into the machine, before carefully making her selections.

"Be careful out there tonight, Killian." Emma didn't turn from the machine as she spoke. She knew that there was something about the guy that intrigued her. Something that drew her to his presence, even if she didn't fully understand why. There was some instinct buried inside of her that would compel her to follow him out of the building, and to wherever it was he was going, if she allowed it to take over.

"I always am." He offered her a cheeky wink which she caught out of the side of her eye, before he finally turned on his heels to leave once more.

It was only when he was close to the main entrance that he stopped. Emma had been gathering her haul from the bottom of the machine, but she turned to face him when she realized that he had, curious about what was keeping him from disappearing on her once more.

"If you still want someone to train with, meet me at the mansion by the lake tomorrow after sunset."

He left before Emma could respond to his offer.

But they both knew he didn't need to hang around to hear her answer.

She'd be at that mansion tomorrow evening just before sundown, waiting for his arrival.

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