Chapter Two

"Uhm... he disappeared, love." Killian said slowly, and let go of her, scooting backwards. He tilted his head a bit.

"Disappeared?" Emma's eyebrows knit together and she looked at him hard, something was wrong but... she herself felt weird and kind of dizzy. "Why are you covered in blood..." she murmured.

"It's not mine." Killian said truthfully, "I sort of cut the Crocodile's arm." it was amazing how easily the lie slipped from his lips.

She squinted, sensing that wasn't the full truth, "That sure is a lot of blood for just a cut...?"

"It was deep." he stated, "Anyways, Swan... how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I feel fine..." she murmured, "A bit dizzy I guess." she glanced at him curiously, and looked around and noticed the dagger on the ground, "Isn't that Rumplestiltskin's dagger?" she asked, and went to reach for it.

Killian's eyes went wide and he grabbed it, "Swan if you feel dizzy I don't want you handling such a dangerous object." he stated. That, and he was worried she'd notice the name on it.

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed herself to her feet, "I'm fine, Killian." she murmured, and held out her hand, "With the dagger we can- wait." she looked closer at the dagger, "Thats a lot of blood... you cut him with his own dagger?" her eyes widened, "Way to go!" she congratulated him, and offered him a grin.

Killian slowly, slowly grinned back and held the dagger behind his back as he worked some magic on it, glamouring it to once more say Rumplestiltskin's name. He was surprised he knew how to do that... surprised he knew how to do any magic at all, but it seemed that becoming the Dark One had not only given him power beyond belief, but unmatched wisdom of magic. No wonder Rumple had always known just what spell to use... the knowledge had been stuffed into his brain just as quickly as the magic had become a part of him.

He watched Emma's eyes as they flicked towards his arm, "Why did you put the dagger behind your back?" she questioned.

"Oh. Just good form and posture, Swan." his other arm had gone behind his back as well.

"Right..." she murmured, and then held out her hand again, "Hand me the dagger and let me call Rumplestiltskin back. We have the dagger we can use it against him and end this once and for all." she told him.

Killian felt pain flood through him and shook his head roughly, "We're in no state to deal with the Crocodile. Lets just go get dinner yeah?"

Emma frowned at him. "We're not going into Granny's with you looking like that."

"Like... what...?" Killian questioned slowly, seemingly confused. "You're not exactly in a good state either love." he frowned, he wished he could seal up the blood soaked hole in her shirt without her noticing.

"Huh?" Emma sounded, and looked down, "Oh... my." her eyes widened, "When did this happen?" she questioned.

"The Crocodile stabbed you. I forced him to heal you before stabbing him." Killian explained. Well, it wasn't a full lie. The Crocodile hadn't healed her but he had stabbed her and well, he had stabbed him.

"Oh." Emma said, her tone sounding concerned, "Is that why I passed out..?" she asked.

"Indeed, love." Killian nodded, "Lets go home, change clothes and though get dinner. I'm sure you're still hungry, I know I am." he said, 'That will also give me time to put this dagger somewhere safe that I can retrieve it later.' he thought to himself, and gave her a grin.

She smiled back and took his arm in a nice way, before stealing the dagger from his hand. "Aha! Got it!" she cheered with a playful grin.

Killian flinched and stared at her, "Swan..." he said his tone nervous.

She laughed lightly, "You act like you're scared of it or something. Don't be so uptight!" she handed it back to him, "Here you go. Take it back. We should head to the apartment and change clothes. Freshen up a bit before heading to dinner. You can use some of the clothes I let you keep in my closet."

Killian took it graciously. "We need to find a safe place for it, though." she said to him, "And since your clothes are already smeared with blood could you please clean the dagger off?"

He sighed lightly and cleaned the dagger with his sleeve. 'My sentiments exactly about finding a safe place for the dagger...' he thought to himself.

He was soon following her through the streets, heading back to the apartment to change clothing and such.

"Killian hold on." Emma said and halted, and looked back at him.

He stopped as well, "What is it Swan?" he questioned her.

She got close to him and looked into his eyes, "I thought maybe it was just the weird lighting in the alley or something but I wanted to check and sure enough it's still there."

He looked at her confused, a frown crossing his mouth, "What is still there?" he asked her.

"Around your pupils... there's a thick ring of gold." she informed him.

He blinked, "What?"

"And your eyeliner seems thicker too, but maybe you just smeared it." she frowned, "But that gold's weird and unnatural."

Killian's eyes flickered nervously, "Let's get home so I can see for myself."

They went up into the apartment, and were happy to see that Emma's parents were not home at the time, and neither was Henry.

They went upstairs into Emma's room and she immediately opened the closet doors.

"Grab some clothes, Killian, then go into the bathroom to change." she instructed, and sat back against the bed waiting for him to leave so she could change her shirt.

He walked to her closet and flipped through some of her clothes to get to the few shirts, vests, jackets, and pants he had hidden there. Right now all he needed was a change of shirt and vest (thank goodness no blood damage had come to one of his beloved leather jackets) so he grabbed a white shirt and a dark gray vest, along with the belt he knew had his sword holster, something he hadn't used in awhile but still had one here and back in his own apartment.

He gave her a grin and a nod and walked out of the room, slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind himself. He set the dagger on the counter next to the sink and pressed his hands against it, peering into the mirror.

It would seem Swan had been right, but the gold rim around his eyes was not the only thing that has changed about them.

They were unnaturally vibrant blue, almost glowing. The gold was pulsating, swirling around his pupils in such a... magical way. In all honesty these changes gave him a fright, but with one glance down at the dagger he knew.

He gulped lightly, he had known it had happened, he had known what he had become but seeing his now unnatural eyes was just the proof he needed to truly spark something within him. He was the Dark One. He had unmatched power... and yet he was terribly frightened.

No, he hadn't wanted this. He didn't want to become the exact thing he had despised so deeply and yet here he was. "At least I'm still devilishly handsome..." he murmured under his breath, and then took off his jacket and vest and then bloodied shirt, and changed clothing. He pulled the jacket back on and undid his belt, replacing it with the one that had the sword holster.

Using magic he transformed the holster into one that was shorter and could carry the dagger. He picked it up, the Dark One's dagger, still glamoured to say the name of the Crocodile rather than himself, and slid it into place.

With a loud sigh he bundled up his vest and shirt and belt and carried them out, before knocking on Emma's bedroom door.

She opened it, revealing that she was now wearing a gray long sleeved v-neck tee. "Ready then? You can just leave the clothes here I'll wash them for you."

Killian gave her a smile and put them on the bed, "Thanks, love." he said to her.

"Anytime." she replied, and then motioned for him to follow and lead them out the door of her room and back downstairs. He opened the apartment door and held it open for her, a grin flashing over his face.

"So where'd you put the dagger for now?" she asked, looking a bit confused.

"I put it in the holster on my belt, Swan." he replied.

Her eyebrows knit together, "I thought that was a sword holster... ah well I guess I was wrong." she chuckled lightly and shook her head, "So anyways I found a scar from the stab wound." she told him.

"Oh?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm surprised I survived it looked bad." she frowned a bit, "I'm glad I did though..."

"Me too love, me too." he told her.