He had no choice. This was the right thing to do, for Storybrooke, for Henry, for Belle. Hell, even for Emma in some way. He liked the girl, truly he did; he admired her spunk and audacity, liked the fact that she wasn't afraid of him like nearly everyone else in town, ironically something that might have saved her life right about now. But at the moment, Emma was at the center of a plot that threatened to take down everyone he loved in a place he was growing rather fond of. This was the responsible thing to do. Now that her purpose with the town was served, now that the curse was broken and her parents had another child, perhaps this was best. For her, too. Saviors didn't live long...he didn't know which Dark One had reminded him of that fact earlier, but he knew they were right. Saviors had a tendency to die young and experience horrible deaths in the end. Wasn't this a much better way to go? A smarter use for good magic?

Besides, cutting himself free of the dagger so he would never again be used as the tyrant, the weapon Zelena had used him for, that made the world a better place in ways the world wouldn't know until this was done. He just had to make sure it got done.

Outside, he looked over Emma's car and considered his options. He had to stage this, so it appeared that Emma left town of her own accord. Her behavior the last few days being what it was, he didn't think that was going to be too difficult for people to believe. Everyone was already looking for her and she was evading. And given her history, after a few days, if one day while they were out searching for her and her belongings simply vanished…well, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Emma Swan to run away from her problems, from her magic, and into the real world to escape. In order to stage this properly, he was going to have to have the car moved, perhaps into the bottom of Storybrooke Bay, where it wouldn't be found again. And maybe with a bit of magical messaging…

He snagged Emma's phone. It was pure luck that she'd left it behind in the front seat. Perhaps in a day or so, he'd use it to send a text message to her parents and one to Henry, telling them that she was sorry, that she couldn't do this anymore, that she had to go and not to-

When he turned it on, a notification for a message drew his attention immediately. Hook. Ordinarly he might have let it go, but the time associated with the message...he couldn't be sure, but he was almost certain that was when he'd felt him come into his shop earlier. Out of curiosity, he pressed the button to play it. "Swan!" Hook's voice shouted from the speaker. "It's Killian again. You have to listen to me. I know that you've been to see Gold. I saw what you did and if he's promised to get rid of your powers, don't listen to him. He doesn't want to help you. He wants…he wants to collect your powers in a bloody magic hat. And when he does-"

He hit the stop button before the message could end and swore under his breath. Fucking nosy Sea Captain. It was only luck that Emma Swan hadn't received the message. That she'd left her phone in her car. And luck made him very uneasy. He didn't deal in luck. The Captain was a problem that he hadn't expected to deal with, but one that he could handle so long as he got to him immediately and made sure he hadn't told anyone but-

"Swan!"

Speak of the devil himself…

The shout drew his attention to the road. Captain Hook. Here. How he'd managed to figure out this was where they were, he wasn't entirely sure. Clearly, he should have kept a closer eye on him. But, fortunately for him, the Captain running down the road, screaming at the top of his lungs, did provide a wonderful bit of joy to this somber occasion.

He hadn't wanted the Captain around while he was convincing Emma to follow through with his plan because it was too much. He hadn't wished to punish her the same way he wished to constantly punish Killian Jones, and he hadn't possessed his heart to make him stay quiet or control what he said and when. Now, however, it seemed almost too wonderful a situation to pass up. Obviously, his appearance wasn't ideal in the midst of this plan, but it did allow him to take advantage of one particularly important part of his master plan. He did love killing two birds with one stone.

He stepped away from the mansion and hid himself in shadow and magic as the Captain came blazing onto the property. "Swan!" he cried.

"Watch your step, Captain. The terrain's a little rough around here," he commented as he revealed himself to a very angry Captain Hook.

"Get out of my way, Crocodile," he snarled. "I'll die fighting before I let you use that bloody hat on Emma."

"Very well." With a wave of his hand, he sent the pirate sailing back into the fence behind him. And while he was at it, he used a spare bit of hose to bind Jones to it, completely restraining him. Just the way he liked him. "Death can wait. How about before you depart, I'll treat you to a front-row seat, and we can watch her use that hat on herself?"

"No."

"Oh, and uh…in case you were counting on Emma getting your message…don't."

He held up the phone to show the pirate.

"No."

"I'm not one for loose ends," he explained, pressing the button to delete the message. He wasn't one for luck, either. He needed to be more careful, to plan better. And that started here and now. "Don't worry. You'll get over her…just like you got over Milah. How many centuries did that take? Oh, it matters not. This might even add a little fuel to your fire. Don't tell me you haven't missed the taste of vengeance."

"She's mother to your grandson, Gold! Don't do this!"

"I wish I didn't have to." An honest sentiment. "But I need Miss Swan. Surely you understand that."

But even as he said the words, the air around him shifted. He looked over his shoulder and back to the mansion. It wasn't much, but it was there. Elemental Magic. It was in the air, the scent of it growing rapidly and fast. By the time he extended his magic and located the stray heartbeat, a heartbeat he hadn't thought twice about, it was already too late. The heartbeat was inside. Dangerously close to Emma Swan, too close for Emma not to notice the individual. And if he had to name names…the elemental magic smelled like Ingrid, but with the experience he now had constantly mistaking aunt for niece in the library and the fact that Ingrid should still be held prisoner to the dust, he'd put his money not on Ingrid, but Elsa. The one Elemental he hadn't made plans to keep busy.

Quickly, his mind began to race to think of a way he could potentially intervene because he doubted very much that Arendelle's daughter was there to convince Emma to walk through that door into a magic-free life.

But then time ran out.

It was seconds, no more than a minute after he felt the first beat of the second heart, before he could easily act, that he felt a pulse of magic sail across the property. The unmistakable and all too familiar sensation of a curse breaking.

And as he stepped closer, his mind willing his legs to go inside and see for himself, the lights in the house mellowed, emitting only a steady, soft glow from inside.

The feel of wild magic Emma had been carrying around with her since the police station…it fizzled out. Quickly. Suddenly.

But it wasn't gone. The wild, chaotic energy it had was gone, but Emma's magic still remained, its presence suddenly tame.

If Emma had been absorbed into the hat the sensation of her magic would have died completely, like it had with Merlin's Apprentice. Instead, it was still there, in the house, along with elemental magic and two heartbeats.

"No…" he sighed in disappointment. Not for the situation. Not for the fact that Emma Swan wasn't in the hat; he hadn't felt passionate enough about putting her in the hat to be disappointed that she wasn't in the hat. No, he was disappointed in himself.

He was so good at crossing Ts and dotting Is; how could he have forgotten the other Snow Queen?! How could he have come this close just to fail?

"Well, I'm guessing she didn't go through with it. So sorry."

The Captain taunted him, but as he turned back and looked him over, a smile suddenly stretching over his once pained expression, he realized…

"Oh, but I do love the look of loss on your face."

…perhaps this night wasn't a total loss after all.

"I may not have the Savior, pirate, but I assure you, today won't be a complete loss. I need to fill that hat with power, yes, but that was only part of the equation." A part he could fulfill any time, really. Tonight was only one opportunity, but there would be others. Emma would live. The only way she was still standing in this world was if she'd never opened the door and so she'd never know his secret. And Ingrid certainly wouldn't be betraying him any time soon. But the pirate…that was a loose end he didn't have to worry about tying up. Primarily because he already was…

How convenient.

"Because I need something else, a secret ingredient, one I didn't know about…until an associate clued me in. A heart."

"Well, if you need my help procuring it, know the only help I give you is with your demise." The pirate snarled and tugged on his restraints, eager to get out and hit him. He didn't realize yet just how easy his vulnerability would make this.

"Oh, you're gonna help me, all right."

Hook laughed.

"You see, this spell is gonna finally separate me from the dagger, so it no longer holds power over me. But to cast it…I need the heart of someone special, someone who knew me before the dagger, before I was the Dark One. Unfortunately, everyone who fits that description is already dead, but one still lives!"

"No. No!" he growled as he finally put two and two together and struggled to free his hand from his bindings. It wouldn't work. Strength against magic would leave him wanting in the end. Always.

"Yes. As luck would have it, dearie, you're my oldest friend," he joked before plunging his hand into his chest. Hook screamed, but in one swift motion, he'd removed his heart, far too red for him to ever trust that old rhyme about black hearts ever again.

"Get on with it, then. Just do it," Hook begged as it beat in his hand.

But that wasn't his plan, at least not until he had what he wanted.

"Oh no. I promised you we'd have some fun first. You're gonna do everything I say because you're my puppet now. You're gonna find another way to fill that hat with the power it needs. And then? Then I'll kill you," he promised.


Ugh, this chapter, this entire section, just didn't translate from screen to page well. First of all, while what's going on outside with Hook and Gold is interesting, I feel like what's happening inside with Emma and Elsa is important, and so this feels like the story is building to somewhere that we never really arrive to. Second of all, I think it's just one of those situations where they didn't something cool for TV (having Gold sneak up on Hook out of nowhere), but when you are writing something like this, it's just a nightmare to deal with it, even when I get to use magic as an excuse. Things happening that aren't totally realistic with magic I can handle, but things happening without magic tend to really bug me. I'll never not read this chapter and question how Hook, who is learning to drive but doesn't own a car, got all the way up there. Did he run? I guess that's for the person who's writing the Hook version of Once Upon a Time. I can wash my hands of that little detail.

Thank you, Rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter. Let me know what you think of this one and if it's awful, I'm so sorry, I promise the next ones do get better. I can only work with what the writers gave me. (And, yes, I know those rules are made up by me, but it after all these years it seems pretty silly to get this far and go rogue now, right?) Peace and Happy Reading.