Hook could see it coming. He saw her hold the broken wand up and bring it down, driving it into his heart. It happened in a less than a moment but seemed to go on forever. And he didn't even have breath in his body to cry out. In fact, his lungs were burning. But that was soon replaced by the sharp bite of foreign metal, followed by a warmth he could only guess was blood. The ache in his shoulder was gone though. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything. He didn't even notice the witch had released her hold on him until he fell to the ground. That's when he lost sight of Emma.

The monkeys had descended like a plague and the spaces they failed to physically occupy in the courtyard were filled with their screeches. One had even tried to land on David, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling hard enough for him to yell in rage. He slashed blindly at the primate, only managing to drive it away, a tuft of his hair in its hand. What he wouldn't give for another archer to pick off the offending creatures. But his wife was back on the ship. They had both agreed that in her condition it wouldn't be safe to take part in the battle. But he knew she was afraid and frustrated. She would be out of danger while her family would be risking their lives. When they'd said their goodbyes, leaving Grumpy in charge of defending the ship, he hadn't said anything when he'd spied Mary-Margaret and Robin in deep discussion, their heads bent together, their voices low. There was no doubt in his mind they were discussing the upcoming battle. But it was for the best. He would have been too preoccupied with her safety to be of any use to Emma or Regina. And being a man down, they were going to need all the help they could get.

At first Emma hadn't noticed he wasn't beside her. She'd seen him fighting off a guard but had lost sight when a pair of monkeys had dive-bombed her. It was only when she looked for the witch that she spotted him. He was up against a wall, Zelena's hand around his throat. Emma felt her gut clench, a sharp burst of adrenaline making her shiver. Where was his sword? Why wasn't he fighting back? And she could only stare as the witch stabbed him, his face contorted in pain. He hadn't cried out and Emma felt like she couldn't breathe. She watched as the witch released him, his body collapsing to the ground. Slowly his arm moved across his body to press over the wound in an attempt to stem the blood.

In that moment Emma felt her heart pounding, felt her grip on her sword tighten, her breath catch in her throat. Just hold on. She slashed at the nearest guard, moving inside the reach of his pike to stab at the vulnerable spot under his arm. He grunted, the point of her blade slicked in a green ichor. First blood to me then. But despite taking a wound the guard was unphased. His blank expression never changing, his movements nothing if not robotically rehearsed.

Emma wasn't the only one having trouble with the witch's minions though. Regina was continuing her assault on the flying rats, launching fireball after fireball. But she could feel her pace slowing. Sweat was starting to trickle down from her temples and her arm was getting tired. And then after a volley against one of the beasts that had been making faces at her, she missed. It was bound to happen eventually but this monkey was closer than most and when it saw her busy conjuring, it made a point of directing its razor sharp teeth and claws in her direction. Before it could strike though it was knocked from the sky, an arrow protruding from its neck as it hit the ground, tongue lolling from its mouth. Knowing if she turned to acknowledge him that she'd have to thank him, Regina pretended not to notice Robin's kill and instead focused on the next pest in front of her.

The smoke in the courtyard was finally starting to clear, allowing all the players to see the chaos that surrounded them. Dead monkeys littered the ground. Others with broken wings had resorted to lashing out with their claws, keeping David plenty busy protecting Regina's flank while she blasted them from the sky. And Emma wasn't having any luck breaking through the guard line, despite having drawn blood from several of them. In fact she was sure she'd sliced a few tendons in the knee of one who had shifted all his weight to his other leg. She made a furtive glance in the witch's direction to make sure she hadn't moved. When she noticed Hook's hand had dropped back to his side she tried not to react.

Zelena did though. She gave a nonchalant kick to his body with her heeled boot. Satisfied by the lack of response she leaned down and ripped the broken wand out of his chest, throwing the jagged metal spike down the stairs. A slow pool of blood was creeping out from under his coat, following the crevices in the stone tiles.

Filled with rage Emma could feel the air shimmer around her. And she poured on all her frustration and exhaustion and anger and fear until unbidden and uncontrolled, her magic burst out of her like a bomb. Guards and monkeys alike were blown off their feet. David was tripped up, landing on top of a pair of wings. Regina was knocked into a wall, her head smacking against stone. She felt blood on her ear, dripping down her neck as she collapsed.

Seeing her chance Emma burst through the scattered line of guards, grim determination lining her face. But before she could charge, Zelena looked up at her, a cold smile playing over her face. The witch blew Emma a kiss before sweeping her cape over Hook's body, the two of them disappearing in a spiral of black smoke. Emma guessed at what she would find but couldn't help charging into the foul smog anyway. Coughing and choking she wildly swung her sword, hoping to hit something, anything. When she didn't she dropped to the ground, tossing aside her weapon and blindly felt around with her hands.

"Hook!"

She called out, hoping against hope that she would reach out and touch that stupid leather duster of his. Please. Please let him be here. She stopped when her fingers dragged into liquid. Pulling back she knew without looking what it was and wiped her hand on her pants, not willing to accept anything until she could see. Until she was sure. Until…

"Emma!"

She could hear a distant voice calling her name but she ignored it. She could feel the quick press of hot tears just waiting to spill out. She could feel choking sobs in the back of her throat. Instead she laid her hand on the cold stone of the courtyard. A dusting of ash and a pool of blood were all that remained. Zelena hadn't even left them a body. The air smelled of smoke and was starting to burn her eyes. Blinking rapidly she could hear David in the distance yelling something.

"Emma!"

She looked over to him, trying her best to regain her composure. She wasn't able to manage a smile but he said nothing. Instead he fought his way over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"We have to go Emma."

She frowned, still staring at the ground. She couldn't move. She didn't want to. That would make all of this real. She reached out for her sword, needing something solid to hang onto, something she could squeeze until all the blood had left her hand. Until her knuckles were white and her fingers were as numb as her heart.

"Robin saw another squadron coming through the drawbridge.

"They'll be here any minute."

There was an undertone of fear in his voice that he made no effort to cover up. They had won the day but with Hook gone and Regina out of commission they had no hope of standing up to another wave, let alone storming the castle. Their only recourse was to retreat back to the ship and regroup.

Emma glanced over to Regina who had her arm wrapped over Robin's shoulder and she didn't look well. The queen was pale and the usual snarky expression that graced her face had been replaced with a pained one. The archer was trying to appear positive but every few moments he was looking over at her, still wary that she'd accepted his help without a word. The fact that she could barely keep on her feet probably had something to do with it but she was doing her best to appear in charge.

Slowly they filed out of the courtyard, picking their way through the bodies and avoiding the ones who were simply wounded. One monkey even took a swipe at them, cradling a broken arm against its body. Emma made to follow, retreating along with the rest of the group, David practically pulling her along. But when she turned to look back at the last place she had seen him, she paused. Still running off of adrenaline and the rush of a fight, she could still feel that clench in her gut. Without a word she sprinted back towards the stairs and bent down to pick up the broken wand where it had been thrown. She was careful to avoid touching the blood and ran out after her father, doing her best to swallow the bile that was rising in her throat.

Slowly but surely they moved away from the castle, Regina doing her best to keep up but as the group approached the ridge above the bay they saw a column of smoke spiralling up into the clouds. Emma didn't wait for anyone and instead ran towards the ship, her heart pounding in her ears. She didn't dare think what she would find, only desperately hoping there was another explanation.

"No." She breathed out, the others close behind her.

Down below them the ship was on fire, a raging banner of flames burning at the stern. A group of monkeys and guards had boarded the vessel and were now pressing towards the small contingent who had been forced onto the quarterdeck. The dwarves had surrounded Mary-Margaret who had her bow raised to the closest guard. She only had a half dozen arrows left in her quiver and was determined to make every shot count. Despite the fact that guards were dropping like flies, the small contingent from Storybrooke were being steadiliy being pressed back towards the flames.