A/N I LOVE your reactions and reviews! I hope the wait wasn't torturous. Here is one of the longest chapters so far, also the most intense and hopefully fast-paced. I also love that you guys haven't guessed what happens so I'm hoping this is plot twist of the century! For anyone who used to watch Buffy (because I have the whole friggen series on DVD) this chapter was inspired by the final episodes of Season 6 especially the last episode "Grave," in the last part. Enjoy!

Chapter 28: The Storm

He looked desperately at her, pleading that she would come back to him. His thoughts went into overdrive at the concept that he mightn't be able to save her. He might not be able to stop her.

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Two Hours Earlier

Do you know that feeling where all your thoughts collide and the world implodes? Where you stand stock still, unsure of what to do, where to go, how to react? The feeling that everything slows down and one thing becomes irretrievably clear and it splits your soul into unrecognisable fragments?

Henry's missing.

Her surroundings faded as she took in that information, processing it and trying to figure out what to do. Her only son, the boy who'd risked his life to save her, the boy who'd changed her life irrevocably, was in danger. He had disappeared and his adoptive mother, who was skilled in locating things with her magic, couldn't find him. Henry wasn't in Storybrooke… either he was dead or past the boundary. Neither option was comforting.

Emma looked up at Killian whose expression of worry mirrored her own, the only difference being that her facial expression held traces of hysteria. She turned around, walking to the middle of the deck, mentally flitting through her options. Gold stepped back into the main area of the vessel and watched her. The pirate was about to interrupt the small man when he seemed to step back, as if making a decision that Henry took precedent over his grudge with the crocodile.

"What do you mean, Henry's missing? Did Regina try using her magic?" Gold asked incredulously. Frantically, the woman shook her head.

"She tried but he's not in Storybrooke, she couldn't find him." Emma replied irately.

"Well then he must be outside of the boundary," Gold replied simply, ignorant of the saviour's disposition. She reeled on him, sceptical as she spoke.

"Why wouldn't she have looked there?"

"Because her magic can't reach that far, she's not powerful enough," he said tartly, "but you are." The revelation hung in the air for a moment and Killian and Emma both stared at him.

"As much as I loathe admitting it… you're more powerful than Regina and evidently me. In my time as the Dark One, no one has ever been able to restrain me with their own power. The only time I have ever been left immobile was when your darling parents used enchanted squid ink," he stared at her, letting her scrutinise him heavily. He wasn't lying.

"But I… I don't know how to find him," Emma said, lifting her hands and dropping them.

"I bet you didn't know how to restrain a sorcerer but you threw me up against the mast effortlessly. Try it. Think about it."

Killian walked up to stand beside her, his presence slightly reassuring as she closed her eyes. Thoughts drained like water going down a sink as she tapped into the reservoir of magic she felt. It was like a door slamming open because there was an abrupt sensation of what was similar to, yet more powerful than, adrenaline. As she adjusted to the weightlessness, it was as if she glowed with power, the sheer magnitude astounding her. That, paired with her unkempt emotions, made her capabilities endless and she smiled inwardly at the sensation.

Henry. She focused on him, feeling as the power she harboured extended outwards, further and further until she felt a tickling sensation to her right. In her mind's eye she could see the border of Storybrooke and she could sense two presences. One was white; young and pure – obviously Henry. The other made bile rise in the back of Emma's throat and she knew, somehow, who it was.

Her eyes flung open and without another word, she started walking off the ship. Her steps were fluid and lithe, rage burning up in her like an inferno. Talice had Henry.

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Killian watched as she strode from the Jolly Roger, unspeaking but fury obvious in her movements. He looked down at the crocodile and for the first time in his life saw what could only be categorised as apprehension. Rumplestiltskin returned the stare, without hate, and said commandingly, "Follow her. I need to find Regina."

He refused to move for a moment, the imprudent rebellion of a child. But as he looked down the wharf to where Emma was going, he felt the need to do as the crocodile had already said. He needed to keep her safe.

Unwittingly obeying the orders, Killian sprinted after Emma. She passed her car and was speed-walking down the street. She seemed to be taking a short-cut to somewhere because she wove in and out of alleys heading south. He kept up with her but she was almost gliding across the ground, her speed slowing when they started heading down the road out of Storybrooke.

The clear sky above started to darken, grey ominous clouds appearing and settling over the town. The sun's rays were blocked and a light drizzle started to shower the residents of Storybrooke.

She was heading for the boundary and Killian could see two people there; or rather one and half. As they neared the orange line that marked the edge of Storybrooke, he growled in recognition. Talice was standing in the middle of the street, a cruel smirk plastered on his face as he held Emma's son. Henry was conscious and looked terrified with the knife pressed to his throat.

Emma didn't stop at the boundary, walking until she was three metres from her son and his captor. Killian halted at the boundary, he didn't know if he would be affected by the spell or not and he wasn't eager to test it.

"Good Afternoon, I see you got my note?" Talice sneered at the blonde.

"What note?" She asked, her voice held an eerie sing-song quality to it.

"I left a note at your… how did you find out I had your bastard child if you didn't get the note I left for you?" he asked, slightly put-off by her lack of fear for her son.

"I have some tricks up my sleeve." Without warning, Emma moved her fingers and the knife at Henry's throat dissipated. Before Talice could grab him she outstretched her arms, using magic to snatch him away and towards Killian. Henry catapulted into the pirate and they both fell down. Expecting Emma to turn and apologise, they both looked up but were surprised when she appeared unfazed.

The two of them stood and Henry moved behind Killian, gripping his legs tightly for support. The poor lad was petrified. His eyes were trained on his mother as she looked at Talice menacingly.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to take other people's things?" she said and the man before her suddenly rose up a metre off the ground.

"What are you doing?" he asked, frantically moving around as his body was lifted into the air.

"It's not nice," Emma spat and Talice suddenly dropped – harsher than someone who had been a metre off the ground should have. His face contorted in pain as his limbs slammed down on the asphalt. Killian looked at her, unsure of what she was doing. Henry's breathing was quickening as he watched his mother.

"Mom, what are you doing?" he asked abruptly, his voice shaky.

She was unaffected by her son's question, eyes still on Talice's form. With a sickening grind, his body was dragged towards her across the rocky asphalt. His cries pierced the air and even though Killian wanted to see the bastard suffer, he knew this wasn't like Emma.

"Mom! Mom, stop!" Henry said, a bit louder this time. He'd stopped gripping the pirate's legs and was standing on his own.

The grinding continued until he was two feet from the saviour. Killian watched as she stepped forward to stand over him, leering as he tried to catch his breath. He glared at her and spat. The saliva shot up and was about to hit the blonde's face but it suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Emma eyed it thoughtfully and then moved her hand, hovering over it and moved it back down towards Talice. His eyes showed nothing but fear as the liquid was pushed back into his mouth and he began to choke and splutter on his own spit.

"Mom! This isn't you! Stop it! You're becoming evil!" Henry screamed. This time Emma turned around and looked back at her son and the pirate. In that moment when her face was turned, Killian saw a look in her eyes that didn't belong to his swan. It was the look he'd seen in the crocodile's eyes. It was power hungry. It was emotionless. It was cruel. He quickly grasped the boy, turning him to face him.

"Go back to town, get Rumplestiltskin and Regina and bring them here. Now!"

Henry was about to protest but for some inexplicable reason he felt the need to do what the man said. Taking one last glance at his mother, the young boy started sprinting down the road. His footsteps eventually became inaudible and Killian turned his attention back to Emma who had continued her assault on Talice.

"Emma, stop this. I want to see him suffer too but this isn't you," he said, shuffling along the orange line. He needed to get her to look at him. Talice had stopped writhing and he was staring up into the blue eyes of the woman leering over him. Killian didn't think he'd ever seen someone more petrified.

Emma stepped back and moved her arm in an upward motion, and Talice rose. His clothes were ragged and his body torn up, his limbs limp with exhaustion.

"This isn't you, Emma!" Killian roared and for the first time she answered him.

"Of course it is. You've just never seen me when I'm not helpless."

The usually warm voice was icy with triviality. Even when she'd been stoic with him, she'd always had a familiarity to her voice but that was completely gone. Killian stared in horror as she pulled her arm back over his chest in a motion he knew much too well.

"No! Emma!" He didn't hesitate before he ran over the boundary, trying desperately to reach her. It wasn't that he wanted to spare Talice because if he was honest he had no problem with the punishment he was being dealt. But he couldn't let her be the one to do it. She was his swan, the bright beacon of hope to this town, the saviour. If she killed a man, if she took his heart the power would overrun her. It wouldn't be his Emma anymore.

It was too late though, because in an instant she'd snatched out the thumping muscle. Talice dropped from her hold and lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Emma could hear the pirate getting closer and flicked her other hand, sending an unrepentant wave of magic to blast him into a tree on the side of the road. Killian hit the trunk hard, his back slamming against it painfully, and he looked up to the woman. Her eyes never left Talice as she began to squeeze.

"No!" Killian roared, urgently trying to pull himself up.

The heart reduced to dust in her hand and Talice stopped writhing. He was too late. She'd killed Talice. As the seconds stretched, he watched in horror as her beautiful blonde curls started darkening from the roots down until she had ebony black hair. For a moment the world was still and then there were footsteps coming closer. Killian turned to the road where Regina and Gold were running up. It was the first time he'd ever seen them look genuinely afraid, and they did as they approached Emma.

She turned around, her eyes skimming over Killian without feeling.

Gold and Regina looked at each other, exchanging a worried glance, before simultaneously sending bright blue balls of magic at the saviour. The magic sped forward and vanished before they could hit her.

"Emma, stop this. Henry's back there, he's afraid. Don't let him down," Regina said, trying to reason with the powerful embodiment before her. The woman's ebony black curls swayed as she shook her head at the mayor.

"Don't you dare tell me how my son feels about me!" Emma said, quiet but deadly.

"I can tell you he wouldn't like that you just took someone's heart!" Henry's adoptive mother retorted loudly. The saviour's eyes darkened.

"That's didn't stop you from crushing Graham's heart!" she spat, extending her arms to push over Regina with a mammoth blast of magic. She turned to Gold who was staring at her in dismay.

"Emma you're being overridden by the magic, don't let it control you. Focus!" He yelled, and she cocked her head, smirking darkly.

"That's rich, coming from the Dark One."

Another blast of pure power sent him reeling in the same direction of Regina.

She looked at them both before she started striding back down toward Storybrooke, passing the two unconscious bodies without flinching. It was as though she was floating and Killian quickly ran after her, he needed to find a way to stop her without killing her – if that was even possible.

Instead of taking the shortcuts and alleyways, Emma walked straight down the middle of the street, evoking stares from the people still out. The saviour had a cold, emotionless expression and black hair – black power emanated from her every step.

Finally she seemed to slow as they reached Granny's Bed and Breakfast.

What the hell are we doing here? Killian thought, following her into the building. Granny stood up as the dark-haired woman walked in, confusion and worry plastered across her weathered features

"Emma?" she asked as the saviour passed her and started walking up the stairs, irrespective of the eyes on her back. Granny moved to follow her but Killian halted her.

"Go get Snow and David. Regina and Rumplestiltskin are at the border unconscious. Go now!" The gravity in his voice seemed to deliver the seriousness of the situation. The old woman hesitated, watching as Emma climbed the stairs with ease, before spinning around and bustling out the door.

Killian quickly turned around, taking the steps two at a time to catch up to her. She was walking down the first hall and stopped in front of one of the doors. The pirate watched as she moved her hands up and a great burst of light shoved the door down off its hinges with a resounding bang.

A yell could be heard behind the door and Killian ran after her as she entered the room.

Leaning up against the opposite wall were two men, Bailey and Neal. They watched Emma enter, fresh fear on their faces. The man who Killian recognised from outside of Granny's took a tentative step forward.

"Emma? Emma is that you?" Neal asked as she walked up to him. His back was suddenly flush with the wall, held in place by some magic of hers. He struggled a moment before looking down at his ex-girlfriend with renewed terror. Bailey was beside the two of them, observing her as she walked up so she was inches from him.

"Bailey, get out of here. Get out now!" Killian yelled, he couldn't let Milah's son get in the middle of this. The crocodile's son took no time in sprinting out of there, shoving past the pirate in the doorframe and sprinting down the stairs. He turned his attention back to Neal and Emma.

He stepped further into the room and could hear as she whispered to Neal.

"Do you know how much it hurt when the police found me thanks to you? Do you know how hard it was being pregnant in prison? Do you know how many times I considered just killing myself?" Her words were filled with pain and pent up anger. Neal shook his head in denial.

"I never wanted to hurt you! I told you already, August told me about –" his voice stopped when she raised her hand. She didn't use magic; the weasel just stopped talking, so desperately afraid of the woman he once loved.

"Emma? Emma, let him go." Killian stepped closer again, trying to get through to her. She completely ignored him.

"Henry was put in danger this afternoon because of you. You should never have come here."

"I didn't do anything," he man managed to say despite the trembling in his lip. Emma smiled sadistically.

"If you didn't come here and demand to see him I wouldn't have had to tell him and he wouldn't have run off! It's precisely your fault!" she said, prodding his chest with her finger accusingly.

Killian moved closer, manoeuvring himself so she could see him as well as Neal whose breathing was starting to quicken from the fear.

"I didn't mean to, I'll leave if you want me to –"

"I trusted you with my heart! You knew everything! My abandonment as a kid, my childhood! And you didn't even fight for me!" she said, Emma's real voice seeping in through the cracks. Before it could overtake her though, the cold indifference returned and she pulled back her arm in the morbidly familiar way that they were accustomed to. Killian was ready though and he wouldn't let this happen again. Using all his weight and added force, he pushed Emma back before she could strike forward. She stuttered back and Killian rolled along the floor. She turned on him, eyes dark and angry.

"You told me that a man, who doesn't fight for what he wants, gets what he deserves so why do you keep trying to stop me?" She yelled, lifting him up roughly with her magic.

"Because I won't let you become what you hate!" he replied, standing up of his own volition now.

"I'm strong now! I don't need your help!" she replied. Her face was no longer cruel and emotionless, the anger and sentiments slowly ebbing back.

"You do though. I can't let you destroy yourself!" Killian said and her anger boiled over into a strike. His face whipped to the side as he felt a gash open on his cheek.

"Stop talking!" She shrieked. He regained his stance and started inching closer to her, ignorant of her words or the blood that was dripping down his cheek. Her breathing was becoming more and more ragged.

"I know he hurt you, I know that his actions scarred you," he said and stumbled again as she struck out with her magic – this time hitting his chest. The shirt he was wearing ripped and he looked down at it briefly before catching her eyes with his once more and continuing his slow advance.

"I know that you're doing this because the pain is too much. You feel so much, so deeply that it overwhelms you. It smothers you until you can't breathe. So you push it all back and act like nothing affects you but it does." He recited the words she'd said to him perfectly, conviction in every uttered syllable.

"Shut up!" Emma screamed, her breathing heavy as she shoved a pulsing purple ball of magic at him. He faltered slightly as it stung his skin but didn't stop moving forward. The distance between them became less and less and as their proximity became miniscule, she tried to punch him in the chest. The blow was weak and he circled her wrist with his hook, moving her arm to the side as he approached her. His arms circled her as she tried half-heartedly to hit him again with her other arm.

"Please, Emma. Stop this," he whispered.

"Leave me alone!" she said through gritted teeth, trying to fight her way out of his embrace. He could see the magic starting to take form again and, without hesitance, leaned his head down. As their lips met, she stopped in shock. He took comfort in the bittersweet moment as she came back to herself.

Pulling back from the kiss, he watched as the wrathful features morphed into shock and realisation. And then into grief; the deep shaking breaths became sobs and her arms dropped. The two of them sank to their knees, the pirate holding her close as she cried tearlessly into him. Relief began to flood Killian as the black hair faded to the molten gold blonde again and Neal dropped from the wall.

He immediately sprinted out of the room, leaving Emma desperately clinging to Killian.

"What have I done?" she stuttered in between great heaving gasps, pulling on his jacket urgently, "What h-have I become?"

He didn't answer her, instead pulling her closer as she drowned in her emotions. He was her life-jacket and she clung to him as the waves of power subsided so that all that remained was her fragmented self. They stayed like that, encompassed in each other's' arms for what felt like hours but was surely only minutes.

Eventually, Mary Margaret and David bustled into the room but stopped when they witnessed the two of them, their daughter clinging to Killian for support as she cried. They hesitated slightly but, after a brief glance was exchanged, her parents quickly exited the room, leaving the pirate to console the broken swan.

Do you guys hate me/love me? Review so I don't die of heart palpitations waiting for your response – I'm anxious to see what you all thought and freaking out thinking you guys will hate it.