RIP Ingrid :(

Here's another new chapter!

Please enjoy!

-FantasyWriterFoSho

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Summary of the Previous Chapter: Elsa, Emma and Killian hash it out with the Snow Queen.

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Chapter Twenty-Five: Preparations

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As Emma hugged a devastated Elsa to her, Killian continued to hold them for a little bit longer before letting them go, his eyes still focused on the spot where Ingrid had disappeared. Moving to stand directly behind Emma, he then gently touched her back and began rubbing it in comforting circles, his demeanor somber.

"Emma, Elsa," he said when suddenly everything around them darkened, leaving the three in the gloom of the night sky via the iridescent balls of light, Ingrid had created, finally vanishing. "Uh, well, that happened..."

Each sniffling, the two women pulled apart but not too far away for obvious reasons.

"Dammit," Emma began as she stretched her left hand out to grab at Killian. "I don't have my phone either..."

"My talking box hasn't been working since I last checked it at the mansion," he announced, wrapping his arm around her waist. Having an idea, he then cocked his brow in the dark. "Did Regina ever teach you to use magical fire?"

"Once," Emma replied, turning towards his voice. "But it didn't last long..."

"There's no time better to practice than now, love," he encouraged as he glimpsed around, seeing nothing but the perpetual darkness.

Clearing her throat, Emma carefully took a step forward, not wanting to injury anyone if she did it incorrectly. Taking a deep breath, she first closed her eyes then lifted her hands up to concentrate on them, even though she was unable to make out her limb's outline. Focusing on an image of slow and steady flames, a spark flickered in one of her palms. Nursing it with more fiery images and her new positive outlook, Emma could feel tendrils licking at her skin and heating up the air in front of her.

"You did it, Swan!" Killian cried happily when he moved to stand beside her again.

"Good job, Emma!" Elsa praised, following Killian's lead by moving closer.

Opening her eyes, to see for herself, Emma immediately saw the hot ball of fire in her hand and smiled. I did it, she pleasantly thought to herself. "It's getting late. If one of you knows the way back to the lakehouse, we should start heading that way. If not, we could try making our way back into town..."

"I'm sure that the stars will guide us to where we need to go," Killian answered with a smile.

Looking into his direction, she playfully shook her head. "That's totally something a pirate would say..."

"Aye," he agreed with a wink.

Regrouping herself, Emma suddenly remembered something important. Carefully moving over to where she had hurled the urn, her fireball lighting the grassy area, she knelt down and immediately gasped.

The urn was uncapped.

Her gut twisted.

"Oh, no," she whispered as she quickly stood up. Turning around, she used her light and her rapidly moving eyes to locate the dagger, but when she was unable to find it in the last place she saw it, a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"Emma?" Killian asked, concerned. "What are you looking for, love?"

"The dagger is gone and the urn is open," Emma responded, her eyes wide. "Gold must've gotten out..."

"I could've sworn I closed the lid," Elsa said, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't blame yourself," Emma responded, shaking her head. "Anything's possible with him."

"Sneaky devil," Killian muttered as he looked around. "He emerged without even alerting us..."

Walking back towards the urn, Emma shuffled her flame then grabbed it, her pulse thrumming hard. "Okay," she began. "We definitely have to get back to the lakehouse now that he's free. We need to go and check in on them."

"Aye, Swan," he said, glancing back up at the dark sky. "Give me a few seconds. I'll figure out our location then cross reference it with what I saw earlier..."

"Impressive," Elsa complimented, moving close to Emma so she could stay within the distributed lighting. "You must have a good memory."

"I've spent a lot of years at sea, lass," he acknowledged while simultaneously trying to pinpoint their whereabouts. "I've learned to observe them for instances such as this one. It sure has come in handy, especially when it pays off." He then looked down at the pair and gave them a smile. "I know where to go."

"Way to go, Captain," Emma said, returning his smile.

As they followed Killian's directions and used Emma's light source, they hurried through the woods but minded the littered floor that was full of loose leaves, branches, twigs and bushes. When they emerged into a more opened area, they broke out into a steady jog and were soon rewarded when they found themselves standing a few feet from the abandoned lakehouse.

Wiping their brows after they stressfully trekked for thirty minutes, they eagerly barreled through the front door, though their eyes and bodies remained alert for any kind of trouble. Instead, they only found the four individuals who were affected by the Shattered Glass.

They appeared to be standing around in a circle and staring at their surroundings, each one of them confused as to what had happened to them.

Settling for the dim lighting inside, Emma put out her fire then ran over to hug her parents, who jumped at her touch before returning it. Observing from the doorway, Elsa and Killian looked into the room, content expressions on their faces.

"You're alright!" David said as he cradled Emma's head.

"We're so glad that you're okay!" Mary Margaret exclaimed when they all pulled apart. "I was just about to call you since Regina is too drained to teleport anywhere."

"You wouldn't have been able to reach me since my phone is dead and," she said before pointing over to her jacket, which was still in the room and lying on top of the medical kit. "It's in here."

"Good to know," her mom responded with a head nod.

"Where's the ice witch?" Regina cut in, her eyes searching Emma's then Killian's and Elsa's.

Emma gave her a sad look. "We have a lot to tell you guys."

Quickly, she informed the others about what had happened on their end, from the moment they were taken to Ingrid's selfless sacrifice, before Mary Margaret jumped in and told them their portion.

"We mainly argued," she said, glancing from her husband to Belle to Regina. "But each back and forth got progressively worse. We were seconds away from physically fighting, well...me and Regina anyway. David and Belle were mainly yelling about her choice in men, but anyways," she continued, clearing her throat. "Her death explains why we suddenly snapped out of it..."

The room then quieted, for a couple of seconds, in reverent silence.

"It's late," Killian then softly reminded. "We should leave."

"Yeah, but," Emma began, turning to look at him then at those in the room; her mind slightly changing. "Shouldn't we come up with some ideas where Gold's concerned? He's out there somewhere and we still don't know much about his plan..."

"We do know that he wants Killian's heart," Belle chipped in, her face passive despite the pounding of her heart. She still wasn't over her husband's betrayal and probably wouldn't be anytime soon.

Emma's eyes widened. Is that why they were fighting? she thought as she racked her brain. Everything was a blur. All she really remembered was that Gold had arrived and demanded something, prompting Killian to try and put her back onto the floor. After that, she had made peace with her death then kissed him...

But him wanting his heart makes sense, she continued silently, her eyes dropping down to the floor. His name was brought up by Ingrid, when she followed us here, and nobody answered me when I questioned it...

"'If I didn't tell you about Hook'," Emma recalled quietly. "'You'd be done for'..."

"Emma?" David asked, his brow furrowing.

"I just remembered something," she answered, meeting her dad's gaze. "According to the Snow Queen, or Ingrid, he owed her something because she gave him valuable information, which involved Killian..."

"Interesting," Regina commented. "What did he owe her though?"

"I'm assuming she wanted him to leave me alone because before that...she told him to stay away from me..."

"That makes sense," Regina reasoned. "She wanted you and Elsa safe so you could become her sisters. We may be onto something here," she added, softly clapping her hands together before folding them across her chest. "Any more ideas to bounce around?"

As others chimed in and offered up suggestions, Killian just watched and listened, though there was something nagging at a part of his brain. Looking away to focus on it, he searched his mind, trying to understand what it was trying to tell him before he suddenly recalled a conversation he had with Gold at his shop. He was there for the tracking potion but they were also hashing it out about each other's characters when he said:

'...You see, very soon I will have enough power to do whatever I want and that's worth some considerations and sacrifices…'

'...Soon, very soon, everything I've ever wanted will be mine and I won't have to worry about paying a price anymore…'

His eyes widened when he realized that Gold had told him something vital; maybe even a hint at his plans.

"It may have to do with his abilities," he then said aloud, earning everybody's attention. "I just recalled a couple of things he told me when I was picking up the tracking potion for Emma. Whether he said them on purpose or involuntarily, I can't determine, but...when you piece everything together, it seems to point towards his magic." He then took a step into the room. "Is there a way for him to gain more power?"

Regina's eyes immediately lit up. "The Transference Potion," she breathed, looking at Killian, who then shared in her realization. "That explains it!" When everybody else gave them a confusing look, including Emma, Regina quickly told them about the substance she had found on the dagger when the latter was stabbed.

"I had just discovered some information about it when you called me, David," she continued, meeting the man's eyes. "Which reminds me...how did you two get here in the first place?

"Through a tracking app Emma installed on Killian's phone," Mary Margaret answered with a pleased smile.

Killian's brow raised before he looked over at Emma. "You put what on my talking box?"

She shrugged then gave him a smile. "Think of it as a safety precaution."

Killian responded by playfully narrowing his eyes at her.

"I tried calling him and you first," Mary Margaret then added, gesturing at Regina. "But the signal wouldn't go through, so, that was my best bet. I also thought about doing it the old fashion way but I figured that me tracking footprints would take longer, besides I didn't do so well with the Snow Queen's, or Ingrid's, earlier..."

"To be fair," Regina began. "We had already established that she concealed her prints with magic, so...it wasn't your fault, but...back to what we were talking about. Basically, the Transference Potion can take away anything the caster desires and can't be cured with magic. So, based on that knowledge, if you use that potion on an already powerful object, like the dagger, it would guarantee you success..."

"So," Emma began, her mind turning. "He purposefully put it on his dagger in order to stab somebody to...what? Take their magic?"

"Exactly," Regina answered with a nod. "He's using it to get stronger..."

"Then, that would make you his original target, Regina," Emma said, slowly. "He was aiming for you before I pushed you out of the way..."

Regina just nodded her head, her eyes heavy.

"What else did you find about the potion?" Belle then asked.

"Not much," Regina replied. "It's tricky and deadly. The only reason why Emma survived it was probably because of True Love's Kiss..."

Mary Margaret and David looked over at Killian, their eyes full of unspeakable gratitude while Belle looked away in thought.

"His dagger was glowing too," she added, remembering how Gold had summoned it back into his possession moments after they arrived at the mansion. "That also explains his hasty exit from his shop when we were confronting him, Regina. He probably sensed something was wrong."

"The spell wasn't complete," Regina answered with a nod. "I figured that part out when it spewed, then gave, Emma back her magic. So, it may have a certain deadline. That...or Emma's more powerful than we gave her credit for..."

Emma swallowed hard at that statement.

"So, what are we going to do?" Elsa asked, finally moving away from the door.

"We can use me and Killian as bait," Belle suggested.

"What?" Mary Margaret and Emma both asked with wide eyes.

Belle shrugged her shoulders. "I'm his wife and he wants Killian's heart, so, either way, he's going to come for us sooner rather than later. The only way we can make it better would be if we had an upper hand over the situation, which could be something he won't expect."

"That's dangerous," Killian began before giving her a half smile. "But a really good idea."

"But—" Emma began as she shook her head.

"Don't worry," he said, walking over to her and pulling her against him. "I'm a survivor, Swan. Remember?"

Shakily nodding her head, Emma reluctantly agreed, but it did little to still her worry. Placing a hand atop of his chest, she turned around to look at everybody else. "We can discuss the details later. Let's go home for now and get some rest."

Everybody nodded their heads then slowly walked over to the door—Killian quickly grabbed the medical kit and Emma's jacket before joining them.

Hanging to the rear, Regina stopped mid-way in the room, her arms still folded. As far as she was concerned, her duty had been fulfilled. She helped them find Emma, more than once, and now, in her mind, she was free to go. "Emma," she called out, pulling the other woman's focus away from Killian's safety and from her parents.

As the rest continued to filter themselves out of the house, Emma moved in the opposite direction to stand in front of Regina. Clearing her throat and readjusting the urn in her arms, Emma met her gaze and waited, already knowing what she wanted to talk about.

"Don't worry. This isn't a heart-to-heart chat," Regina said after a while, her face now unreadable. "I just wanted to say...thank you."

Not expecting that, Emma furrowed her brow. "For what?"

"For saving my life," she continued. "If you hadn't pushed me out of the way, there's a good chance that I'd be dead and Gold would be further along in his plans..."

"You don't have to thank me," Emma replied honestly. "Though, I'm surprised that you're actually talking to me..."

"I may not exactly like you at the moment but that doesn't mean that I wanted anything bad to happen to you," Regina said with a raised brow. "But on that note...with you bringing Marian back and all..."

Emma tried to regulate her breathing but managed to hold the other woman's gaze.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a wash. We're even," Regina continued, dropping her arms down to her sides. "Besides, I don't really have it in me anymore to continue with grudges..."

"So," Emma started, still shocked. "Does that mean you're going to help us again?"

"I didn't say that..."

"That's true," Emma acknowledged before trying to convince her to do this one last thing for them. "But it's Gold. You know how he is. He won't stop until he gets what he wants and for all we know, he could come after us again, including you."

Thinking about how he tried to take her magic away via his dagger, Regina stared at Emma for a minute before sighing loudly. "I won't promise anything for the future," she said, somewhat conceding. "But I will help finish this."

Smiling, Emma nodded at her before gesturing at the door. "I don't know about you but this place gives me the chills."

"You're not alone," Regina replied as she walked out first, giving her a small smile over her shoulder.

As they both exited the mansion, they quickly found the others standing close by, their forms nearly enveloped by the darkness. Feeling better than before, Regina teleported them back to the loft, where they all discovered a still awake Henry watching some TV—Neal was sound asleep in his crib. After being relieved of his duties, he kissed his moms goodnight before heading upstairs, leaving the grownups to briefly discuss their game plan.

Summoning a wooden box to her, Regina opened it, revealing rows of silver bands. When asked what their purpose was, she told them that they were magical trackers. After gifting them all with one, assigning colors and showing them how to use it, she took the urn from Emma's possession and left for her house, anxious to see how all of their planning would actually play out.

While Belle and Elsa were invited to spend the night with David and Mary Margaret, Emma went with Killian to guard over him and as they silently walked out of the building, to where he was staying, they both hoped that they would be able to stop Gold before things escalated even further.

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Limping around the clock tower, Gold decided on his next move, his dagger tight in his grasp. Knowing that they wouldn't look for him here, at least not at the moment, he had made himself comfortable ever since he had forced his way out of the urn.

I need my wife, grandson, magical beings for the hat and Killian's heart.

And I need them as soon as possible.

Knowing that he had to stay low for the next couple of days, Gold planned on spending that time searching and collecting said individuals. The sooner I get this done, he thought with a cruel smile. The sooner I can leave Storybrooke...

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