Chapter 5: Weapon of Destruction

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful," the darkness chuckles.

Crystal opens her eyes again, there is no longer the sensation of being choked or pulled back towards the Dark One's Vault. She struggles to get up and get away from the full manifestation of her father and the darkness within her.

Her heart catches in her throat when she looks all around her at the forested area… which was virtually non-existent. All the trees around her, within a mile radius, are gone, completely disintegrated into nothing but piles of black ash. It's now a wide-open space, revealing the landscape around her as well as other trees that were at a considerable distance from where she had been.

Crystal feels undoubtedly horrified.

"What did you do?"

"Me, what did you do?" the Rumpelstiltskin says, grinning from ear to ear. "We did not cause this explosion and destruction, although we wholeheartedly approve of it."

"Oh my god, my shockwaves…" Crystal gasps. She feels tears coming to her eyes.

"The perfect ingredient for pure devastation. Think of what you could do with this magnitude of power."

"This is wrong…" she whimpers. "I need to fix this."

"I'm afraid this kind of damage cannot be undone if dark magic has been used."

"I want to assume that you're lying," Crystal growls.

"We just might be," the apparition of her father chuckles.

"But it appears you have a new problem…"

Crystal turns when she hears footsteps and the crunching of branches behind her. She turns to see an archer with bright red hair pointing an arrow at her. She looks like a very fierce person, and not too happy about encountering this girl. Did she know that she was the Dark One? Or did this person see her as a threat because of the destruction she just caused? Either way, the archer had to go in order not to be hurt. When Crystal lets her vision take over, she sees a fiery red aura, matching the person's hair. Her heart beats anxiously, and the new Dark One could see that she was very nervous but trying to hide it. It didn't matter who she was, she had to send the archer away. Crystal takes a step back.

"Don't move!" the archer shouts. "My aim is true. Don't test me, lassie!"

"Please leave!" Crystal says desperately.

"I can't, not until I eliminate this threat that just destroyed my chance at saving my brothers…"

"Look, whatever I destroyed I'm sorry, but I didn't do it on purpose. Now go before you get hurt."

"I would never run from a fight."

"You have to… you won't win this one!"

"Fat chance," the redheaded archer says. She takes a step closer.

"LEAVE!" Crystal shouts and she holds her hands up. But she unintentionally releases magical force, knocking the girl off her feet. The daughter of the Dark One gasps in horror, taking more steps back away from the person who threatened her.

"Oh, so very excellent…"

"I didn't mean to do that…" Crystal sobs.

"It doesn't matter. She threatened you, so you have the right to make the next move. I'd say stab her with her own arrows."

"No…I won't do that…"

Reluctant as she was, she knows what can happen if she attacks someone and with her power kicked up a few notches in darkness, she may have seriously hurt this person. She slowly begins to approach the girl. She then hesitantly offers her hand to the redhead.

The archer skitters back, crawling away from her like she was a venomous snake, struggling to try and find her bow and arrow.

"Stay back Witch!" the girl cries.

"I want to help you."

"S-Stay away."

"I'm sorry about what happened, but I told you to stay away."

"So that was just a wee magical love tap to send me on my way? Oh, I've met my share of witches, and I know 'em when I see 'em. Witch!"

I like her spunk. Break her neck!

"I'm not a witch…" Crystal says. "I've just been cursed with dark magic.

"And the difference is?"

The Darkness now stands beside her and chuckles.

Crystal sighs. "Not much I guess. I'm so sorry, but you have to stay away from me, I'm dangerous."

"I kind of noticed that…"

"I didn't mean to hurt you… I'm Crystal by the way."

Why are you introducing yourself to your victim? the voice asks, but Crystal ignores it

"Merida."

Get rid of her, she's a threat to you…

Shut up!

"Merida, I'm sorry I destroyed what you needed, but it was an accident."

That's right, make her death seem like an accident.

Shut up! Crystal barks in her head. She knew better than to say these words out loud considering she's had voices in her head all her life.

"What was it that you needed?"

"A will o wisp, they're born in a magical place. The Hill of Stones. They answer your question when you bring them back home, but instead, this blast of energy made it disintegrate into nothing. Then I walk over here and find you in the center of the destruction. How could this much destruction not be an accident."

"It's complicated," Crystal says.

"Is it now?" Merida asks skeptically.

You're wasting time! Finish her off…

"Yes, can you find another will o wisp?"

"It'll be much harder now that you've destroyed it."

Which was an amazing display of power by the way…

Shut Up!

Crystal looks down at her feet. As a peace offering, she picks up Merida's arrows that had fallen from her quiver when she fell.

Why are you helping her?! Finish her, she's an annoyance to everyone…

"I really am sorry about that. You said something about finding someone?"

"My brothers. They were kidnapped by the united clans of my country. Just three wee innocent boys. Savages. Because of me. My father is-was-the king. When he passed, the clans no longer approved of me being queen. In my land, people, well, men, don't think a woman can lead."

"That sucks… you should come to my world, there's a queen over there… though she doesn't do a lot anymore."

"Why would I want to come to your demon realm?"

"I'm not from a demon realm… I'm from The Land Without Magic."

"Never heard of it," Merida says.

Clueless and stupid, break her neck!

"Most people probably haven't," Crystal says. "But I am from there."

"You're awfully far from home then, being in Camelot and all."

Crush her heart!

Shut up!

"Camelot?"

"Aye."

"I thought that was just a myth."

Kill her…

"It's very real if you're standin' in it."

KILL HER!

"Is there a King Arthur? And Merlin?"

"There is… why is this so hard for ye to believe?"

"Well in my world, Camelot and King Arthur are merely myths, stories told around a campfire, but I guess I should've assumed that it's real if Oz is."

"Oz?"

"Another place that only usually exists in stories."

"So why are ye here in Camelot instead of back in yer world?"

Do some damage on the inside… STOP ALL THIS NONSENSE!

"It doesn't matter, anyway I'm sorry for what I did Merida…"

"I guess I can forgive yah…" the redhead pauses to see the fear in the young girl's eyes. "You're in dire straights, aren't ya Crystal?"

"More than you know. Would you believe that I'm fighting a battle within me right now?"

"After what ye just did, I wouldn't doubt it…" the archer says, taking a step back.

She fears you… make her beg for mercy… Don't make it a painless death!

SHUT UP! Crystal screams into her head. It's becoming increasingly unbearable to have these voices in her head. She can feel the power inside of her, flowing and wanting to cause problems. She fights back tears.

Trying to be the honourable queen she was meant to be, Merida decides to offer assistance. "Well, it wouldn't be fair to leave ya. I can help."

Yes, yes, reel her in for the kill…

Crystal shakes her head. "I don't think so… I don't think anyone can help me."

"Would ya like to help me find another will o wisp? After I'm done with it, you could ask it for help."

Tears just fall from her eyes and the daughter of the Dark One takes a step back. She knows it won't happen that way, nothing can help her. She took Emma's place, saved the town from the darkness, now everyone can go on with their lives. They should just forget about her like they probably already have… She tries to convince herself to go on, find her happy ending, but villains don't get happy endings. She was literally the embodiment of all evil in all the realms. How much more of a villain can she be? It's best if she's away from her family… The darkness could influence their actions too and she could hurt them like she almost hurt Merida. Her one regret is that she didn't get to say goodbye to everyone, including her father. He was probably a hero by now, settling into his happy married life with Belle. Internally, she gives a sad smile. With the whispers within her head becoming more and more aggravating, she knew she wouldn't be able to control it. This darkness could do things on its own, which seemed impossible until it tried to choke her and pull her back towards it. It could've been a coincidence, but she couldn't take any chances… not anymore. It's best if she gets this over with, using someone who will have little regret doing the job.

"It doesn't work like that… nothing can save me at this point. I actually think it's better that I've met you, Merida. There is one thing you can do to help me…"

"And what might that be?"

"I want you to kill me."