He waited, cocking an eyebrow at Mr. Gold. He couldn't decide if the man was holding him in suspense to irritate him or if he genuinely didn't want to tell him.

The man sighed. "Do you remember the woman you met in the Enchanted Forest? The one Emma was about to kill?"

Killian nodded, furrowing his brow.

"Her name is Merida. When Emma kidnapped me, she took her heart and ordered her to train me. Make me a hero. She did as she was told for a few days, then decided to let me go. I promised to help her escape as well."

"Did you?" The pirate asked.

"No. I tried, but…There was no way. Emma kept the heart hidden and I couldn't find it. She won't cross Will, so I know Belle is safe. But, every day, I expect something to happen."

"So, this Merida, that's who Emma sacrificed?"

"Yes." Mr. Gold replied, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Killian shook his head angrily. "And you're sure that's what she did?"

"There's no other way. No other person."

"I refuse to believe that. I need to hear it for myself."

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Killian shouldered the door open and signaled to David to leave. The man frowned at him but did as requested, leaving them alone in the cabin.

"You're going to give me some answers, Swan." He whispered before leaning down and kissing her fiercely, deeply. When he pulled back, he almost fainted from shock when he saw her eyes flutter open.

"K-Killian?" She asked.

"Yes, Swan. I'm here." He momentarily forgot his anger and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to his chest. "Emma, why did you have to go and do that? I was so terrified that you wouldn't wake up."

She looked up at him, face scrunched against his leather jacket. "I'm a survivor."

He pulled her up a bit, kissing her again. He relished in her taste. The familiar taste of pre-dark Emma. She moaned and crawled into his lap, letting him hold her.

He broke the kiss and gently moved her, placing her back onto the bed. "Swan, we need to talk."

"What? Why?" She sat up, rubbing her arms briskly, as if trying to warm herself up, which he ignored.

"I spoke to Gold. He said the only way to get rid of the darkness without the dagger was to take the darkness out of yourself and send it to someone else. Like your parents did with Lillith."

She glanced down at her lap. "I thought you'd be happy."

"Happy to have you back, yes. Happy that you ruined another person's life? Not so much, Emma." His voice was cross, like a grumpy toddler. He wanted to enjoy having Emma back, but because she'd jumped the gun and hadn't asked for help, he had to go fix the mistake she'd made.

He shoved himself up from the bed. "Do us all a favor and stay here so you don't do anything else that we have to clean up." As he headed for the door, he wanted nothing more than to text Gold and tell him to fix it himself. He wanted to turn back to Emma and take her into his arms again. He knew that he was being cruel, but she needed to hear it.

All she'd had to do was ask for help. Why didn't she know that?

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Gold was still in his car at the docks when Killian left his ship. He stormed over to the sleek Lincoln and climbed inside, slamming the door behind him.

"Where is this Merida?"

"She spends her time in the north woods outside of Storybrooke. Or at least she did before she absorbed Emma's darkness." He turned the key and the car roared to life. After throwing it into gear, he sped down the highway toward the forest.

"Anything I need to know about her?"

"Don't antagonize her. If she's angry, she never misses."

"Oh, go talk to the new Dark One without irritating her? Easy." Killian sulked, sliding down in his seat.

They rode in silence until they reached the woods. When Gold parked, Killian glanced over. "You're coming. She knows you."

Gold's eyes widened. "She'll kill me."

"Be a man, Crocodile." The pirate sneered. "Maybe she'll respect you for showing your face." He grabbed the man by the lapel of his suit jacket and dragged him into the woods.

After about half an hour of wandering, Killian felt a gust of wind against his face and heard wood splintering on the tree next to him. When he turned, an arrow sat inches from his face, embedded in the tree.

"My aim is true. Don't test me." He heard.

Turning again, he faced Merida. Instead of white hair and scaly skin, she looked remarkably normal. Still dressed in blue, her red ringlets wild around her face, she looked no different.

He raised his hand and hook, quickly dropping the dagger from his belt. "I'm not here to start anything, Merida."

"Then why are you here?" She poised another arrow in her bow, pulling the string taut.

"I'm here because the Dark One did an idiotic thing." He sighed, glancing over at her.

"Yes, yes. She transferred all her evil into me. Got it. Doesn't explain why you're here. And why you brought that COWARD into my woods." She swung her bow to face Gold. "Got a lot of nerve, don't ya?"

Gold began to stammer some apology and Merida waved it away.

"Look, I'm here because I'm responsible for her doing it. I pushed her to try and let it go. She felt that she had to do it on her own and immediately."

"Oh!" She chuckled viciously and dropped her bow to her hip, still holding the arrow in place. "You're here because you're in love with the Dark One."

"Something like that. Now, we need to discuss how to get the darkness out of you."

"So it can keep bouncing around from person to person? It gets worse each time. I've heard the legends. No thank you. I can handle it."

"You can handle what?" He asked, suddenly confused.

"I can handle being the Dark One without being a basket case." She said, putting her arrow back in it's quiver. "Unless you want to fight and take it out of me."

A/N: So, what do you think? Story is coming to a close soon. At least two more chapters though. Reviews get a quick update!