AN: I really, really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoy reading it, as I had writing it! :) R&R please and thank you. :D Have a great day!

The first day she was with Merlin, he took her to his home that was hidden by magic, in a tree. She thought it was strange when he first walked right up to the massive oak and pushed his body into it. The tree had shimmered and let them pass, and what lay on the other side of it, was a small castle.

Merlin had treated her well, for the most part. She felt at times that he was a few screws short in the head, for he was a brilliant man; however he was lonely, and not used to company. He acted at times as if he was a four year old who couldn't sit still, and his entertainment was hunting bugs to torture. Then there were times he would speak with such clarity and wisdom that she would feel at peace with herself and the situation she was in.

That man, though, he drives her crazy with his endless changing moods. He's nice and warm one day, and then he may wake up from a nap that same day and just want to destroy everything in his path. Throughout all of his rage episodes though, he never hit Emma. In a way, he was the closest thing to a father figure that she's ever had, and she's a squirrel now.

Eventually she got used to the many moods, and faces of Merlin, and took them in stride. She managed to fly though the emotions and masks he put up with the changing of the tide. "Yes, I would make a damn good pirate." She muttered to herself one morning after her 'Master' left on some business that needed attending to.

Emma often wondered how her old friend Killian was doing. If he was still being a jerk, or if he learned to treat people better. If he was enjoying his adventures and she wondered if he had forgotten her. She wanted to get in touch with him somehow, but didn't know how she could. A pirate was really hard to find, until one decided to take over your ship.

Three years have passed, and on this day Merlin couldn't be found anywhere. If he was going to go out, he would normally let her know. She ended up finding her way into Merlin's main study when he decided to make his presence known; with a troubling frown upon his face. "I need to tell you something." He explained as soon as he walked in.

"As you know from living here for a few years with me, life for me may be a bit lonely, and so from time to time I travel, or even cause some chaos. It's to lighten the mood." He smiles as he sits in a chair. "I even go by Loki in some legends." He chuckles at that, the thought amuses him.

"I know many things, I know of everything about anyone, as long as I can see into their eyes. When I look into a person's eyes I can see their past, and their future. You my dear have had an interesting life so far. It shall only continue to get stranger. You can either accept it or not. Knowledge is power dear, but keep an open mind with the path you choose to live, for other people may cross your path and may affect your path in strange and chaotic ways. Like my involvement for instance." He points to himself and chuckles.

She tilts her head in confusion to that. 'How?' she wonders to herself.

He continues where his previous thoughts cut off. "Remember I just said others can cross your path and change the course of it?" Emma nods her small head at that question. "Nothing is set in stone, there are choices for everything, and things that you aren't in control of, say someone else's actions in your life, can have an effect on your own."

Merlin stands up and walks to a shelf on the other side of the room and sighs. He picks up a book, a worn book that had seen better days. Its edges are frayed and torn. A few moments pass between the two when he starts to speak again, "I have caused many, many changes over the years with people." At this he turns around and looks at Emma, a sad emotion flickered in his eyes for a brief moment then vanishes and a bit of a sadistic glee replaced it as quickly as the last emotion passed. "I am a gray magic user as you already know. I am not good, or bad. I've done many great deeds, and even more countless, horrible deeds in my lifetime."

Silently he moves back to the chair and sits down, putting the old book on his lap. "I do have to apologize to you Emma, for one of my misdeeds ended up making a big impact on you, and not just for you. This ripple that I have caused shall be massive indeed." His eyes clear up of any emotion and his face is unreadable after that comment.

At that Emma scurried on over towards Merlin, and climbed up his legs into his lap. "What did you do?"

A massive sigh escapes the aged warlock under her, and he spoke, with softness in his voice. Emma had to strain to hear his words. "I sold a potion I made to a woman who wanted to change her life, her fate. She was in love with another man and I thought I would cause a little mischief, I was bored."

His voice gained strength as he spoke and he looked at her in the eyes when he continued, watching for her reaction at this next bit of his story. "I knew she was going to do some wicked things, I saw it in her eyes. Of course you were in her thoughts. There are catches, I can't read another person's path through another's eyes, and so I did not know that you already had a destiny entwined with our world. I saw in her mind that she was going to kidnap and beat you, while leaving you to drown when the tide came in."

Emma's eyes widen. He was talking about when Milah did all those nasty things to her. "You! You did all that because you were bored!?" She climbed up to his chest and pushed her finger into the man's nose, and continued to rant her frustrations and anger at him. "You're a sick, twisted manipulative bastard!" She wanted to say more, but in her anger she couldn't even think of anything to shout at the old man in her vision.

Merlin stood up quickly, which ended up making Emma lose her balance and she dropped to the floor. "I understand your anger and frustrations child." He bends down to his knees and looks at her through his stormy gray eyes.

Emma's head is hanging down, she's pissed, and sad, and tangled up with many emotions. Tears are falling out of her eyes down her furry cheeks, farther down her face and fall to the floor. A hiccup escapes her, and coming out of a squirrel's mouth, Merlin almost chuckled. He held back a laugh behind a hand, controlled himself and broke the tense silence between them. "I have some news for you dear; for this one misdeed I have cast upon you, I want to make it up."

At that her head snaps up and she looks at Merlin through jaded eyes. 'How can I trust you now, knowing you had a hand in causing me so much pain and that uses people's lives for entertainment?'

"I'm the only chance you have, that's why." He answers her 'unvoiced' question. He continues to talk, standing up he looks down at Emma's small form. "I can see that you are a natural born magic user. Not meant for this time, or place, but you've already set your own ripples from being here."

Emma climbed up the chair that was in the room and sat down on the back of it, so she didn't have to strain to look up at the tall man above her. "What do you mean?"

"I cannot say too much, well I can, but I've caused many changes already that I'm not going to tell you a lot of things." He then points in the book that he had gotten from the shelf earlier. "Your friend, Killian; there is a way for you to still be able to talk to each other."

"Really?" Her thoughts soar in happiness, "I can have my friend back?"

Before she could continue her train of thoughts Merlin interrupts her with a crushing blow, "Yes, but it'll be in a different way. You see, while he is awake, he will believe he is with whoever his eyes landed on after consuming the potion. It gets rid of other feelings he may have had for another and with those feelings gone, he can focus his feelings onto the next person he sees. But..." At that Emma's crushing heart leapt back into her chest and it's pounding loudly in her ears. "You may visit the whole, uncursed Killian in the Dreamlands."

He pauses to let those words sink into Emma. He then continues, "The Dreamlands are where everyone goes. Even in a cursed state, everyone goes into the Dreamlands. For some, the effects are a fiery room, but then those go away eventually, and when that goes away they're free to be themselves and be where they want to be. People may meet up with each other. That's where the saying, 'See you in my dreams comes from, because you can see each other in your dreams."

At that Emma smiles, and is really happy knowing that she can visit her friend somehow. She knows that they had a connection. Even if it was brief, and although she didn't want to rush into anything, she could've seen herself eventually trusting Killian enough to hold her heart. 'But it has been so long since I've seen him.' Her thoughts tinged with worry. 'If he's a jerk, I don't want anything to do with him.'

With the next words Merlin spoke to her, her mood just crashed to the ground further. "There's a catch though. I will teach you how to navigate the Dreamscape and you will be able to meet up with one person, however; if the being you visit is cursed in some way and you visit them and warn them of the ailment, you will end up being cursed as well. It's a failsafe to the potions I make. You won't remember anything after that first conversation between the pair of you."

He continues his speech towards his daughter figure. "This means after the first visit, you won't remember your dreams. You will be living two separate lives. You and Killian won't remember what goes on in Dreamland while awake; and when you're awake you'll continue to live your lives, not knowing what's going on in Dreamland."

Emma didn't even think about her next thoughts before they projected themselves onto Merlin. "It's worth it. Please teach me!" As those thoughts crash into him, he nods.

Emma felt like she was walking through peanut butter surrounded by mist. Every movement she made was sluggish and forced. In her dream she appeared as herself, squirrel free, she was human. She concentrated on her memory of Killian. Tried to project her thoughts, to will him to her. She stopped her movements, and breathed in, and let it out slow. She relaxed, just like Merlin told her, and then willed herself to Killian instead.

In a blink of an eye she wasn't trapped and her surrounding cleared up. She stood on a ship and there in front of her, back to her was Killian, looking out to the ocean. She took a small step forward and instead of the entrance she practiced upon she slipped on water that was on the deck. With a shriek she fell backwards on her butt.

At the commotion behind him Killian turned around, his surprised face turned into a happy one and he rushed to her and quickly helped Emma stand up. "Ah love, fancy meeting you here." He drew Emma in for a hug. She briefly hugs her friend back, but then backs up and then promptly punches him in the face, and a loud crack was heard.

"Ow! What the hell was that for lass?" Hold his nose in pain he looked at his fingers which were already stained with his blood.

"That's for being a jackass! Why did you treat that man on the boat like crap?" She fumed, pissed off at him.

Looking at the fiery woman in front of him he said, "A man who doesn't fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets. If he had even attempted a try at winning his wife back, and failed, I would have kicked Milah off my boat, because at least he fought for her." Grabbing a a black scrap of cloth from his pocket he holds it under his nose. "He didn't fight for her, so he didn't deserve her."

"Do you really care for her that much?" She whispered.

"Milah? No. I only like her as a friend. I've told her that plenty of times while we were in town. I honestly was interested in getting to know you more."

Sighing Emma looked at her friend Killian over and knowing she was here for a reason decided to speak up. "I have many, many things to tell you. Can we go somewhere comfortable, it's going to be a long talk." She went straight to the point, she couldn't afford to waste time.

Killian's eyebrow rose and he nodded. He held out his arm for Emma to take hold of, and deciding to take a chance, looped her arm through it. They quickly made way to his captains quarters and opened the door. He reluctantly let go of her arm when they entered and showed her to a chair she so could make herself comfortable in. He decided to sit on his bed and stayed silent. He broke the silence first. "I invited you along with us all, you seemed excited to join the crew. If you saw that incident on my ship why were you not on it? What happened love?"

"What do you remember of that day Killian?"

"I remember I invited you and Milah to my ship. Milah decided to leave her husband instead of stringing him along." Pointing towards his nose he continued, "As you know, and smacked me for. I still think you'd make a wonderful pirate, especially with a hit like that." A grin split his face while he remembered. "You never showed up, I thought you decided to stay there instead." His Irish accent thickened. "I thought we were getting along pretty well love, and then you stood me up."

"That's not quite what happened." Emma stood up and walked to Killian then sat down next to him. "That night Milah did something to you. She slipped you a potion in one of your drinks that night. Then she attacked me, threatened and taunted me. She insulted us being friends, and the kicker, she stabbed me, and she left me for dead under the docks!"

Killian stood up suddenly with anger in his sea blue eyes. "What! That damn harpy! As soon as I wake up I'm throwing her overboard! You're the closest friend that I had in many years. We clicked, instantly, even though you denied it, I felt it. I loved the way that you talked back, you listened, and the thing I respect the most about you is that you didn't let me jump down your pants the first few times I attempted to seduce you." Killian smirked that sexy smile of his at that last comment, but then notices the sad smile on Emma's face and his previous anger that he felt melted away. He then pulled Emma in his arms for a hug and whispered to her. "I'm sorry you've gone through that love."

Emma sniffed then looked up at her friend, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "It's okay. It's not your fault. I really did want to go with you. After all, your charm was starting to rub off on me." She smirked at him then punched him lightly in the arm. "But I don't like that you acted like a bastard though."

"I knew you'd convert to my charms." He replied with a smirk and wink. "I will try and be a better man, but that's going to take time. I have to be ruthless, I can't have my ship being taken over. I don't have to be so cruel to people, but it's going to be a hard habit to break."

"Killian. There's more you need to know." The smile that was on her face moments ago disappeared and a sad frown replaced it. "You won't remember any of this when you wake up, neither will I." The pirate in front of her was silent so she continued to speak. "This is the only time we'll remember what happened to us while awake. After this we will only remember what's happening here in the Dreamworld. When you wake up, and with myself as well, we will continue our lives as if we didn't know what happened here."

Shock. That's all that was shown on the handsome man's face. Emma could tell he wasn't reacting well to the news. Yes it was bad, but at least bad news was better than no news, right? The shock left Killian's face and he reached out to his friend and held her to him. "If I am to live a Hell awake, then I am glad to sleep, and dream of Heaven with a beautiful angel by my side." She would've scoffed at the remark but she held it back. That was the sweetest thing he's said to her. No innuendos, no smart ass comments, just sweet words.

She smiled a true smile and it showed through her eyes. For hours they just sat next to each other leaning on one another on his bed talking to each other. They talked about their dreams, their tastes in food and just learning more about each other. She told him of her crazy father figure and how she wished it wasn't so hard to see him.

There were no lustful movements between each other. Just two friends who were lost, getting to know each other. There were still smart-ass remarks thrown at each other from time to time, and Killian did make some comments that made her blush, but that was all in good fun.

Emma felt lightweight, and she knew that was a sign that she was waking up, and with a reluctant sigh she stood up and let her pirate know she'd be leaving soon. Killian walked her to the deck and the two friends hugged each other, before Emma went completely transparent she drew Killian to her and kissed him on the cheek. Jones touched the spot where her lips touched him and he smiled.

Four years have passed since that life changing conversation with Merlin. Emma didn't talk to him for weeks. She felt betrayed that he had kept all that for so long without telling her of his involvement with Milah and herself. She knew she went into the Dreamworld to talk to her friend, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what transpired there. Merlin had felt terrible at keeping all that he knew about his part in Emma not going on the path she had wanted to go on. She grew on him, and it hurt when she didn't give him the time of day. When he offered to train her in healing magic though, she had come around pretty quickly.

That's what broke the ice between them, and he talked about many more of his travels. He talked about his time with King Arthur and about his magic. The only thing he didn't discuss with her was, well, her. She was as curious as a cat at wanting to know what her future held, if he knew her past, her parents. He never answered her, or gave her false answers. It didn't stop her thoughts from wandering and attempting to try and get to know about it all herself.

Even though Merlin was a psycho bastard at times, there were occasions that he was a decent human being. He would often let Emma send a missive to her friend Rumple, with a simple letter that always said something along the lines of, "I'm alive. I'm sorry my travels are keeping me away. You and Bae, please keep well." Short sweet and to the point. She was never brave enough to tell her friend that she had become a squirrel familiar for the most powerful magic user in all the realms. Like he would believe her... It seems so far fetched.

Emma loved learning about magic, she found it very interesting. The only thing Merlin ever helped her understand about herself was if it involved magic. He would say that she was important for the future. That she was pure magic, like him, born with it. Magic though is neither light nor dark, as he taught her. "It's all in how you use it." That was ingrained into her mind.

She was able to do magic in her squirrel form. She learned to control it. He would say that knowing the good and bad, and wielding it all correctly can have some amazing benefits. All the magic she was able to do was now second nature to her.

Many times she tried to change herself back into a human; she missed being herself, her human self. She was never able to change back. She asked Merlin time, and time again, "Please change me back into a human woman again, I'll do anything!" but he would just stay quiet.

One day Emma came to Merlin, rewording her request, "Is there ever a way for me to be human again? Will I be able to magic myself back?"

The old man in front of her was quiet, as usual after a question like that, but then he finally spoke to her, and started to give her, her long awaited answer. "The man I was with when you got cursed, he is known as, 'The Dark One.'" He stopped, got a drink of water and came back to finish his thought. "His curse was the one that hit you and changed you into a squirrel. I'm pained to say it to you like this, but I know you will never cease these questions until you get the answer; but, Zoso is the only one who can turn you back into a human." He explained with care in his voice. "Yes, I am called the 'Father of Magic', but it doesn't mean I can undo the magic done by Dark Ones."

She stared at Merlin with intensity in her eyes, she was letting all what he said sink into her. "Dark Ones are the closest to me power wise, they are almost an equal." He continued to explain during this rare lesson he gave today. "No one who is alive now knows this, other than you now, but I was a twin." At that her jaw opened in shock, her tiny white teeth showing. Merlin ignored her reaction and kept talking. "When I came into contact with my Magic for the first time, I was fourteen. My magic ended up lashing out and it actually gave my twin the choice to have magic as well.

My twin wanted the powerful magic offered and so, agreed to have the magic infused with them." At that Merlin paused for a moment, collected his thoughts and continued speaking. "But because they were not born with magic, like I had, it changed my twin into the first Dark One." With that sentence hitting Emma in the heart, she scampered up to Merlin and nuzzled his chin with her cheek in comfort.

With a shaky breath, she hadn't heard from him before, he finished his lesson for the day, "It came with a price though. The weapon he previously forged for himself, our father was a weapon smith, if it fell into another's hands, they could control my twin. In order to be free from the magic and curse, another being had to kill my twin with his own weapon; and that's how it got passed down, curse to curse."

After that lesson from her mentor she stopped asking about becoming human again. She accepted her new form and embraced it, although she was far from happy. She was always the saddest waking up, like something was there and was missing from her life. A few hours after waking that the feeling would pass, until she awoke the next morning with that same sad feeling all over again.

What Emma didn't know was that while she was sleeping, she was learning the ways of pirating, not the thieving part of it though. She was taught how to sail the ship, and other important jobs. Killian had also taught her how to sword fight and they'd go on mini adventures with each other, content in each other's company. Each time they met in their dream, the attraction between them blossomed and grew.

After a nasty battle between them and an Ogre, Killian had pushed Emma against the nearest tree and they shared their first kiss. Their love just continued to grow.

Tonight Emma met her love on the deck of the Jolly Roger, just like the first night she came across him. This night, however they shared their first night under the stars as lovers. They were finally joined together physically, in the Dreamland anyway, and their spirits rejoiced in their union. It would be bittersweet though, because like the other nights before them they had to wake up. As Emma started to disappear again, this time, instead of kissing her knuckles as he did every night since their first proper kiss, Killian kissed her lips deeply, his hands cupping her face and he then whispered, "See you tomorrow Love."

Emma groggily crawled out of her tiny home that was in the study. She stretched and her tail behind her twitched and fluffed itself. She searched high and low and didn't see Merlin anywhere that she went. She decided to try and leave the house and right before she left out the door the man she was trying to find strolled on into the home.

"Ah, Emma, it's good to see you awake. Did you sleep well?"

'Of course I slept well. As well as a squirrel can anyway. Thanks for asking. I'm hungry though.' As soon as she thought that her tiny furry belly let out a growl that could rival a Giant's roar. If she could, she would have blushed at the noise that came from within her.

"I've got some exciting news for you. So before I let you know lets go outside shall we?" He didn't give her a chance to reply he just turned abruptly on his heel and walked out the door.

Merlin was standing there in front of her when she arrived outside and then he tossed her a handful of mixed nuts, "Eat up my dear." Emma didn't need to be told twice, she tore through them with a vengeance. She sighed after her tiny belly was full and climbed up to a branch that was near Merlin's face and waited for him to speak. She wouldn't push it, he would talk when he wanted to on his own terms.

"I think it's time for you to start out on your own adventure, forge your own path. I've taught you all you need to know, magic wise. Remember to wield it wisely." Finally after a few moments pass he breaks the quiet of the forest and continues. Emma was too shocked to say anything.

"This adventure you will go on, do not worry. If things look dark, just know that deep down I know that you'll find your way back to the path that's meant for you." With that he picked up his squirrel daughter and hugged her.

"Thank you. Even though I usually find you crazy and I think that you're possibly insane." She kissed the man on the cheek, the best she could as a squirrel and continued to speak her mind. "Thank you for helping me out, and telling me about what you were involved with. You could've just left me there by the campfire those many years ago." She looked at him and smiled. With her mind made up, she was tired of this particular adventure, and she wanted to go home. She wanted to go see her friend Rumple and Bae. So she started to climb further up the tree then jumped from tree to tree until she lost sight of the crazed old man, which she loved like a dad.

Emma after traveling for three days as a squirrel, and finally she found her way back to the village she first started to call home. When she arrived, dusk was already starting to fall and she noticed her friend Stiltz limping away from their home. She was curious so she decided to follow him. She followed her friend who ended up approaching a castle near their village a few miles from their home. She watched in morbid fascination him start a fire and left the burning building. 'What is he doing?' She thought to herself.

She chased her friend to a cluster of trees and observed Rumple meeting up with a cloaked figure. A few moments pass and the two of them are in a deep conversation when suddenly she watched in horror as the unknown man pulled down his hood. In front of Rumple stood Zoso, that nasty Dark One that Merlin had told her about!

She quickly dashed to her friend as fast as her little legs could, 'I need to warn him!' Before she reached close enough to try and do anything distracting, she watched with pain filled eyes Zoso taunt her friend to Rumple's breaking point. The young squirrel witnessed her friend lose himself in his anger and he had stabbed Zoso. She stopped running, cold in her tracks, her eyes wide in fear as she saw her friend, her first family in this world start physically changing. 'I should've paralyzed Rumple with magic! I panicked; I could have done something. I should've done something!' She cried with anguish, angry at herself.

She looked at the dying previous Dark One, and with Zoso's last breath he looked straight at Emma in the eyes and his nasty grin was the last thing she saw before a flash of light hit her...

Emma groaned. Her head was killing her. She heard the rumbling tail end of a thunderstorm leaving and she picked up her heavy head that was propped on something, and peaked out from between her fingers, 'Wait, fingers?' She blinked back the blurry sleepy eyesight.

"What!?" She shouted and she blinked again and her vision was fully returned. A massive sob escaped her mouth when she was noticed that she was staring out the front window of her yellow VW bug… and seeing waves of the ocean crashing a couple hundred yards in front of her.

AN: Don't kill me please! There are still some things planned, so stay tuned! :)