Chapter 4: Danger
"Apprentice!" Killian calls out as they enter Mr. Gold's shop. Blue is caring for the man, dabbing his forehead. He takes a few agonizing breaths, each one more painful than the last. He knows he doesn't have much time left. "That monstrosity took Crystal."
"Who is Crystal?" the dying man asks.
"That monster's daughter," Killian says, pointing to an unconscious Gold.
"She sacrificed herself to protect me and Regina," Emma explains.
The old man attempts to sit up in the bed, in order to be caught up on the situation, but his strength is leaving him very quickly.
"Please, sir," Blue insists. "Lay down it's what's best for you."
"There isn't what is best for me… my time is coming…" he whispers.
"Please…" Emma begs, leaning down next to him. "Hold on so we can help her. She's part of our family."
He looks slightly uncomfortable as if there was something he might be hiding.
"Now the question is, where did they go?" Mary Margret asks.
The old man shakily rubs his hands over his eyes to process everything.
"Before we go on to where... answer me this, when was this child, Crystal, conceived?"
"What does that have to do with it?" Regina snaps.
"Wait, wait, hold on Regina," Emma says, pausing seeing the man's sort of quiet state. "Why is it important?"
"It means everything…" he grimaces.
"Why?"
"Because if… she was conceived while Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One, the darkness is already flowing through her veins. So, answer me this, was she conceived when he was the Dark One?"
Emma's heart races and she swallows hard, remembering all the times Crystal brought up the fact that her father wanted to consume her heart in order to regain his powers, that he had weakened himself by passing his magic through her veins.
"Y-Yes, she was."
"Oh, dear…"
"What does that bloody mean?!" Killian snaps angrily.
Emma puts her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. She feels equally distressed, but she knows to keep it within herself.
"It means you must find Merlin as soon as possible. If you wish to survive."
"WHAT?!" Mary Margret squeaks. "What… why? How…?"
"Calm yourself Miss…White, calmness will most certainly be required in this… situation."
"What situation?! Stop talking in riddles!" Regina barks.
"Regina!" Emma says. "Either you shut up and let him finish, or I will talk to him by myself."
The former Evil Queen bites her lip to remain quiet and takes a step back.
Emma makes eye contact with his tired blue eyes.
"What does that mean for us? Is Crystal a threat to us?"
"Unfortunately, she is… you see if… the Dark One passed the darkness on to her, it… means that what was released was not all the darkness in existence… it was incomplete."
"Bloody hell!" Killian gasps, his mind connecting the dots.
"And Crystal sacrificing herself made it complete?" Emma asks.
The old man nods slowly, grimacing hard.
"Please, stay with us… what will happen if Crystal comes back…"
The Apprentice does not answer, his chest hurts with every breath. Emma attempts to heal him, but he grabs her hand.
"Save… your strength… Saviour… my time is... coming"
"Where is she now?" Mary Margret asks.
Apprentice grimaces again. "She is now where all… darkness is born. In your realm"
"Then take us there, if you say that she's a danger to all of us…"
"I am too weak now… but this will help…"
With a shaky hand, he conjures a green wand with a knobby brown nut on the end.
"What is that?" Regina asks.
"It… is a gift from the sorcerer, from Merlin, on the day I became his apprentice. In it is all the light magic… like you Saviour," He gently reaches up and grabs the blonde's hand. Emma, while impatient does her best to comfort this dying man. It brings up some terrible flashbacks, of Neal… of other people dying right in front of her. She holds her breath, fighting back tears.
"And it can take us to Crystal?" Mary Margret asks.
"Not… on its own. In order to… cross realms, it must be wielded as it was forged, with both sides of the coin. Light and the dark…"
With his final breaths, he drops the wand, leaving it next to Emma. The blonde wipes away her tears and stands up with the wand. She looks at in confusion and curiosity. Killian puts his arm around her in comfort.
"Well that's just great," Regina sighs heavily. "He leaves without telling us what will happen if we don't find Merlin."
"He didn't have a lot of time left Regina," Mary Margret says angrily. "He needed to tell us what was important to know."
"Finding out what could happen to us if we bring Crystal back is kind of important… I mean, if the Darkness really is complete, then…"
"She could be the biggest threat we've ever face," Emma finishes.
"Exactly…"
Everyone goes into an awkward silence, Emma still holding onto the wand with a shaking hand. Their minds race with the consequences of bringing Rumpel's daughter back. Would she destroy Storybrooke? Would she kill all of them out of revenge for making her take the darkness? What kind of damage could this darkness inflict now that it was complete?
Regina is the first to speak. "Well, it's clear what we need to do," she says. She takes the wand from Emma and begins walking towards the door.
"Regina, what are you doing?" Killian asks.
"Putting this in my vault, where no one can touch it."
"WHAT!?" Mary Margret gasps.
"You heard the old man, Gold's spawn is a danger to us and therefore, we need to prevent her from ever coming back."
"REGINA!" Emma gasps.
"Come on, we're all thinking it. If we bring Crystal back, she could destroy the whole town and if I'm not mistaken, us too. I'm doing what is best for our son."
"By abandoning his best friend in The Enchanted Forest?" Mary Margret says flabbergasted.
"Crystal and Henry are not best friends."
"They may as well be! Crewmates never abandon each other."
"You know guyliner, that metaphor could work if we were at sea, but this is real life and I'm doing what's best for the town."
"Or what's best for yourself," Emma says angrily.
"Regina, Crystal is part of our family. She may not be perfect, but she's shown us that she's good on the inside."
"So, you're saying that if we brought her back, you'd let her near your infant son. Her, as the Dark One."
Snow swallows hard, her eyes welling up with tears.
"That's what I thought, so unless any of you can find a better excuse for me even considering bringing back Crystal, I'll be in my vault."
Without another word, Regina poofs away in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving the rest of the heroes speechless and without answers.