To Have and To Hold

Chapter One: The New Dark One

"So let me get this straight," the former Evil Queen interrupted for the fifth time. "Your daggar just crumbled?"

Rumpelstiltskin was normally a very patient man, when he needed to be. However, with the recent events, namely the death of the very son he had created the entire curse for and being held captive by a crazy green witch from Oz, his patients was about as thick as a thread of spider's thread. If Belle hadn't been sitting next to him, Emma was sure the (former?) Dark One would have fried his former student.

"It's that what I have said for the last ten minutes?" Gold questioned in a sharp, biting tone.

Regina glared and would have retorted if her step daughter hadn't stopped her first. "Why don't you start from the very beginning? Preferably without interruption," Snow White said; the last part of her statement being directed at Regina.

Gold nodded. "I was in the holding cell that Zelena kept me in when, like usual, the green witch decided she wanted to gloat about her plans." Gold paused, his jaw working feverously, his anger as clear as a blue sky on a cloudless day. "This time she decided to taunt me about Bae and his. . . death. After she gloated for a good forty-five minutes, she decided she was bored and ordered me to go and kill. . ."

Belle reached over and laid her hand across Gold's. She gave him a smile before motioning for him to continue.

Gold sighed heavily. "She ordered me to kill Belle, saying that since my son had died, Belle was the only one holding me back from joining her."

Emma snorted in a very unlady-like manner. "Is she stupid or something?"

Gold's lips curved into a thin line, his smile not reaching his eyes. "When she gave me the order, I felt the weight of it for a very brief, agonizing moment before Zelena began to shout. The weight of the order vanished and that was when I realized so had the powers of the Dark One. When I finally turned my attention to my capture, the Kris Dagger had completely turned to dust. After she realized that she couldn't hold me anymore, the coward ran as fast as her high-heeled feet would let her."

Snow's expression mirrored her husband's; a look of complete confusion. "Then how did you manage to use magic?"

Gold snickered. "Magic doesn't disappear. Even if my powers started out as those of the Dark One, three centuries of learning is bound to produce some sort of result. I have a power of my own but it isn't as strong as the Dark One's magic, or as easily accessible."

Emma thought for a moment. "Then is the Dark One gone forever?"

Gold sighed again, his years seeming to catch up with him in a matter of seconds. "That I am not sure of , dearie. A magic like that doesn't simple vanish. In theory, the dagger and the powers should have remained with me until the moment someone stabbed me with the dagger. For the dagger to just disappear along with the powers, even I cannot answer that."

"We need to get to the bottom of this. We don't need my dear sister" Regina spat, "to figure something out before us."

"For once, I agree with Regina" Snow said before turning to look at the older woman. "No offense."

Regina shrugged. "None taken."

Emma shook her head. "I need some fresh air," she breathed as she stood up from her desk chair. She looked over at her son. "Don't wander off, alright kid?"

Henry nodded, having enough decency to look guilty.

"Don't forget to take your gun," Charming commented as she walked out the front of the sheriff's station.

The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming simple help up her handheld for them to see before continuing on her way. The cool, crisp autumn air contrasted sharply to the humid, tense air of the room she had previously occupied. It was a welcomed change, especially after the craziness of the Wicked Witch of the West and her poop-throwing pet flying monkeys. Luckily for the group, Henry had accidently found his old storybook while helping Snow (whom he thought was Mary Margret at the time) with clearing out her closet. Being almost nine months pregnant made it really difficult to clean anything. Henry's memories returned, something that overjoyed and saddened Emma at the same time. Overjoyed, because her son could finally go back to the way he had been before, as well as the rest of the town, now that they didn't have to hide their connection with the teen. Saddened because Henry could now remember the man they had all buried just a week ago.

Now you'll never get you happy ending, her thoughts taunted.

Emma shook her head, tossing away the traitorous thoughts. Whatever she had had before had died with Neal. It didn't do her any good to dwell on the past. The past only contained painful memories; both of recent events and older ones. Emma was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the person staring at her until she was within ten feet of them. Within a second, her gun was in her hand a pointed at the person standing in the shadows. The light of the street lamp was centered on her like a spot light might be centered on a lead actress.

"What the hell?" Emma blurted out as she realized what she was staring at.

The person in the shadows was definitely male but that was the only thing the savior of Storybrook could say about him. He was dressed in what appeared to be black clothing that was a mix of a fashion from the Enchanted Forest and the Land Without Magic. The most visibly thing about him was the bone white mask he was wearing that covered the top half of his face, leaving only his dark eyes showing. Something silver flashed into Emma's line of vision before her eyes darted to the object in his hand. She had only seen the Kris Dagger a handful of times but the curving, sharp blade was easy to recognize. Unfortunately, the blank side of the dagger was facing her, keeping her from figuring out his name.

"Put your hands where I can see them," she ordered, her hair blowing in the cold autumn breeze.

Instead of heeding her order, the new Dark One simply took a step forward, his profile entering the dim light of the street lamp. His clothing wasn't black like she had originally thought. Dark greens and browns made up most of the outfit but his mask was the exact same shade that she imagined it to be. The white contrasted with the darkness of his clothing and eyes, reminding Emma exactly who she was dealing with.

"If you don't stop, I am going to shoot!" Emma stated, trying to keep her hands steady. Gold, she could deal with but a new, unknown enemy who suddenly possessed the seemingly unlimited powers of the Dark One was not someone Emma wanted to mess with.

The person stopped, slowly tilting their head to the side in an extremely creepy manner. All the crazy scary movies she had seen in her life pale in comparison to the man standing before her. A smirk slowly spread across his face and in that moment, Emma knew; she knew that this was someone she had meet before, someone she knew but she couldn't put her finger on who. It was like trying to catch water with a cup that was filled with holes; his identity completely escaped her. And that scared her.

The man continued forward in an extremely slow manner. Emma started to back up but froze when an arm wound its way around her waist. The hand that held her gun fell uselessly to her side. Whoever this man was, he was able to so easily draw her in and he definitely wasn't letting go. Emma inhaled a shaky breathe was the smirk stretched into a grin before the mystery man leaned forward. The gun slipped from her hand and her eyes fell shut as his lips softly brushed hers, almost like a pair of butterfly wings batting against her skin.

"Emma," he breathed and she slowly felt herself drifting. . . only to be brought back to reality by a loud and harsh gunshot.

Emma jerked away from the man with enough force to land on her butt. She mentally took inventory, scanning her brain for any sort of pain or wound that the gun shot had left behind. It was only when Charming ran into the lamp's light, his gun leveled at the retreating form of the Dark One that she realized she hadn't been the target. Emma was shaking severely as her father helped her to her feet. She wasn't even aware that she was crying until Charming began to wipe away the tears gently.

"What the hell was that? Who was that guy?" Prince Charming asked in a quiet tone that didn't reach his eyes for once.

"I-I don't know. I was walking, trying to clear my head when he suddenly appeared. I. . . he. . ."

Charming wrapped his daughter in his arms, slowly leading her back to the station.

"How did you find me?" Emma whispered.

Charming's gaze turned to rest on her for a second before returning to the front. "We heard you shouting for someone to freeze. Henry wanted to run out to see what was going on but, as usual, no one would let him. I grabbed my gun and took out the door before anyone could stop me. I expected to see you facing off against Zelena, which I realize now that it probably would have been a better idea for either Regina or Gold to have come out first. What I didn't expect, however, was to see you standing there, lips locked with a complete stranger."

"Then why did you shoot?" Emma asked, her voice growing steadier as she regained her composure.

"When I realized that you were just kind of standing there, not really doing anything. If it was someone you knew, you would have at least done more that just that. I realized he, whomever it was, was a threat to you and acted accordingly," Charming explained, his eyes resting once again on his daughter.

"What happened?"

Emma looked up to see her very pregnant mother running her way, which was more of a waddle than an actual run. Snow immediately wrapped her first born in her arms, gently smoothing her hair in a motherly fashion. Emma's face immediately when beat red as she realized everyone was still in the station. They could no doubt see the tears running down her face and the dirt that clung to her jeans where she hit the ground after wrenching herself out of the Dark One's arms.

"I-I'm fine," Emma assured but clearly it wasn't good enough since Henry launched himself into his birth mother's arms, wrapping his around her waist.

"What happened, Ms. Swan?" Gold asked as he hobbled over, leaning heavily on Belle and his cane.

"She probably should sit down first," Regina commented, surprising the occupants of the room. "She looks as if she is about to collapse."

Emma sent her former rival a thankful look before sinking into her comfortable chair that Hook had brought over.

"What happened, love?" Hook asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.

All eyes were on Emma at this point. Her face was entirely red at this point, the full realization of what transpired hitting her like a ton of bricks. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I was out walking, clearing my head like I said I was going to." She sighed softly, trying to turn the events that just transpired into words. "I didn't even see hit until he was standing about ten feet from me."

"Who?" Belle asked leaning across her True Love to get a better look at Emma.

Emma swallowed the lump that had appeared suddenly in her throat. "The new Dark One."

"What?" Regina shouted as Gold exclaimed "Who is he?" Both shot the other a look that could have killed anyone else, if they hadn't been the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin. Emma's lip twitched, surprisingly glad that some things didn't change.

"I don't know who he is but he seems familiar. Maybe a former enemy or someone from my past? What I do know is he had the same dagger that crumbled on Zelena just this morning."

"Did you see his name?" Regina asked quickly, looking for something to grasp onto despite the strange events.

Emma shook her head. "He had the side of the blade with his name on it facing away from me. What I do know is that he wears a white mask from here" she pointed to the spot just above her lips "to here," she motioned to the top of her head. "He wears dark clothing in different shades of browns and greens, which is a mix of Land Without Magic and Enchanted Forest fashion. He. . . seemed extremely familiar. He was able to somehow make me drop my guard enough to get close."

"How close?" Hook asked, the tone of his voice indicating that he was clearly not pleased.

"I- he. . . well," Emma began, not really sure what to say. She fidgeted in her seat, not at all comfortable with where the conversation was heading. Luckily, her father took that moment to step in.

"When I came upon them, the Dark One had his arms around Emma and. . ." he paused for a moment, to thank of what to say. "He was almost kissing her, he was that close."

Hook stood up abruptly, causing everyone in the room to jump. "Just who does he think he is? Putting his hands on my girl-"

"I think you need to slow down there," Emma said as she slowly stood up. "I am not your girl."

"Swan-"

"No," Emma cut him off. "I do not belong to anyone. I choose who I want to be with, not you or anyone else. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Hook agreed.

"As much fun as I am having by watching you torment the pirate, we need to address the matter at hand," Gold said, drawing attention back to him. "There is one thing all of you should know. When a person first comes into contact with the powers of the Dark One, they are mentally unstable. I have first-hand experience of this. A person's judgment becomes clouded by the things they desire. My own goal was to keep my son safe." Gold looked extremely guilty in that moment. "I ended up pushing him away because I left the darkness get the better of me."

"What are you saying, Crocodile?" Hook asked.

Gold met the eyes of everyone in the room before turning his gaze to Emma, his dark eyes staring into hers. "If this new Dark One has formed an obsession with Ms. Swan like I believe he has, we may not be enough to stop him."

"Then what do we do?" Snow asked quietly after an awkward moment of silence.

Gold sighed again, his expression telling all about his dislike for the next words that left his lips. "I think it's time we need to pay a certain fairy a visit."

I hope you guys enjoy this new story! I have recently discovered the wander that is Once Upon a Time and have been hooked (pun intended). While I like Hook as a character (Colin O'Donoghue is amazing!), I don't really like the way the creators seemed to have pushed Emma and Hook together all of a sudden.

Anyways, just let me know what you guys think of this new story. Please note that I have not abandoned any of my other stories. My notes seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, curtsey of my cat named Elsa. She is a trouble-maker, but instead of ice, she leaves the room a mess.

As always, please read and review. I hope to see you guys soon.

-KleopatraAlexandria