In the middle of the dense woods in the realm of the Enchanted Forest, the vault of the Dark One opened for the first time in centuries, since the age of the Ogre Wars when Rumplestiltskin had claimed the darkness. And this could only mean one thing and one thing only: a new Dark One was being born, a new darkness was arising.

　　Its bronze pieces shifted, turned and clicked into position as a thick, tar-like substance poured out of the sides like a river. More darkness spewed out, defying gravity and rising to form the shape of a body. It slithered and glistened, transforming from tar-like matter to a head of platinum hair and fair skin. And then, all at once, the new Dark One was born as Teresa Holmes.

　　The fifteen-year-old glanced around the wooded area with wide eyes, a hood covering the top of her head. She could hear a small stream of water nearby, and all she could see were trees, rocks, and moss. Teresa knew she was in the woods, yet the last thing she can remember was sacrificing herself to the darkness in the middle of the street in Storybrooke, Maine.

　　"Where the hell am I?" She wasn't talking to anyone in particular, more so just voicing her thoughts out loud and hoping that someone was nearby and overheard her, that they would come and help her. But that was just wishful thinking. The girl knew she was alone, and that nobody was going to come prancing through the trees to help.

　　She took a step forward and almost tripped. Glancing down at her clothes, she found the outfit she had been wearing in Storybrooke gone and replaced by a pair of raggedy brown trousers and a tunic with a long robe that matched, which is what she had stumbled on. Teresa pushed down the hood and pulled the fabric away from her chest, face scrunching up in disgust and confusion. "And what the hell am I wearing?"

　　There was a sharp whistle then, startling the teenager and causing her to whip around in a frenzy to find who made the sound. "Who's there?" Teresa called out desperately as her cerulean eyes darted across every inch of the woods.

　　She heard the whistle again, this time from behind, and when she turned around, her eyes widened. There he sat, perched on a large rock with a smirk plastered across his scaly face that glistened like stars against the sun. He didn't look like he did when she last saw him. No, he looked just like he did when they first met when she was eleven.

　　Teresa's mouth fell open, her words spilling out in shock, "You're . . . you're supposed to be in Storybrooke. I saw you in your shop. In a coma."

　　Rumplestiltskin laughed. "Ah, yes I am. Or rather he is."

　　He? Teresa was confused. If he wasn't Rumplestiltskin, then who or what was he?

　　"What are you?"

　　"I'm many things. I'm the voice . . . in your head. The Dark One's powers inside you, inside all the Dark Ones," he explained. "Rumplestiltskin is but one of the many. Perhaps I can be another . . . how 'bout Gorgon the Invincible?" He raised his arms and in the blink of an eye and a cloud of maroon fog, the illusion of Rumplestiltskin was gone, replaced by a giant boar that breathed fire in her direction.

　　Teresa gasped and fell to the ground as the fire came barreling towards her. She stared up at the beast with wide eyes. "Stop!"

　　In a flash, Rumplestiltskin was standing in front of her again. "Yes, probably easier this way," he agreed. Teresa stood and moved past him, taking in her surroundings. "Now, are you ready to begin?"

　　"Begin what?"

　　"Well, willing to be the Dark One, of course!" he said cheerfully, as if the answer was so obvious. "Think of me as your guide but only until you've learned to embrace your powers."

　　Teresa glared daggers at him. "I will never embrace the darkness."

　　Rumplestiltskin grinned, amused by the girl's determination to remain on the path of light, of goodness. No one has ever been able to power through the temptation. He knew Teresa Holmes wouldn't be able to resist either, not when she had blood on her hands. The darkness already within her heart was only going to make it easier to steer her down the same path every Dark One has been down.

　　"Oh, but they all say that, dearie!" Rumplestiltskin told her with the same grin and amused gleam in his snake-like eyes. "Everyone who sips from this well enjoys the taste too much." He pointed toward the Dark One vault and Teresa allowed her eyes to follow for only a moment before she looked at him again. "The only way to stop is to be stopped. This is the fate of all Dark Ones."

　　Teresa rolled her eyes. "You can talk all you want, dearie, but nothing you say matters to me." With that being said, she turned around and walked away.

　　Rumplestiltskin appeared in front of her, blocking her path and causing the teenage girl to roll her eyes in irritation. "You can't just walk away from it."

　　"I'm in the Enchanted Forest now, which means Merlin can't be far. The Apprentice told me he can destroy the darkness, so I'm going to find him!" Teresa snapped, moving around him.

　　"Merlin? Oh, you're better off with me."

　　Teresa whipped around, coming face to face with the illusion, which only made his grin widen. "No!" she roared, her entire body tingling as an unimaginable rage burned within her, hotter and brighter than the eternal fire itself. There was a sudden urge to reach inside his chest and rip out his heart, but then the girl realized she would only give the darkness what it wanted. So she took a step back and tried to collect herself.

　　Don't do this, Teresa. Not after everything you've done to better yourself. If you give in now, there's no coming back. Robin and Roland won't be able to save you this time, she thought, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

　　"But did they really help you, Teresa?" Rumplestiltskin asked, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. He was close now, body pressed up against her own, lips touching her earlobe. He was just an illusion, but his touch felt so real. "Robin Hood never really helped you, and you know that. Don't you remember how it felt? That feeling when your arrow ended that young girl's life. You murdered her and it felt good, didn't it?"

　　She squeezed her eyelids shut and shook her head, trying to force the images out of her brain. But there was no use. She remembered that day all too well. The way she drew back the bowstring and how her arrow soared through the air, hitting that girl in the back. How the girl screamed as she laid there on the ground, dying slowly and painfully. The way the girl's blood felt against her skin when she plucked the arrow from her flesh and walked away, taking the squirrels she had hunted back to camp like nothing even happened. How she felt no remorse for what she had done.

　　Teresa opened her eyes a few moments later, and she could see that young girl lying at her feet, eyes glazed over, body limp, a pool of blood staining the earth. "No," she whispered as a few tears fell down her milky white cheeks.

　　"Remember the way it felt," Rumplestiltskin whispered, still so close to her ear.

　　Teresa closed her eyes, willing the image to go away, and when re-opened her eyes again, the illusion had disappeared. She turned around and stared at Rumplestiltskin, a promise falling from her lips. "If you think that playing with my head is going to work, then you're mistaken. I'll never be like all of you. I'll never hurt the people that I love, the people who love me. I won't give in to temptation."

　　The Darkness chuckled as it watched her walk away, amused by the outburst and tears. Teresa could hear the smile in Rumplestiltskin's voice when he said, "Oh, but you will, dearie! In due time, you will!"

　
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　　Everyone agreed that the pouch of magic beans Teresa had brought with her during her journey from the Enchanted Forest to Storybrooke was their best chance of finding the teenage girl and bringing her home. They quickly made their way toward Teresa's room at Granny's Bed & Breakfast the moment Henry Mills had suggested using them.

　　Using the key that Granny gave them, Henry hurriedly unlocked the door and made his way toward the neatly made bed, moving it out of the way. He lifted the loose floorboard that Teresa had shown him one day and reached inside to grab the pouch of magic beans, but his heart fell when he found nothing but her coin purse there.

　　"No . . ."

　　"What?" Emma asked.

　　Henry got up from the ground, turning to face them with a frown. "They're not here."

　　"What do you mean they're not bloody there?" Killian Jones was suddenly at his side and reaching inside the loose floorboard, but even he couldn't find the pouch of magic beans that they needed.

　　"Maybe she hid them somewhere else," Robin suggested, making his way toward the dresser. "Let's keep looking."

　　Henry shook his head and motioned toward the loose floorboard. "No, this is where she told me they were. She even showed me them one day and then put them back in here. Someone must've stolen them."

　　Emma Swan, hands on her hips, eyed the room and all of its possible hiding spots. "Are you sure that is where she kept them, Henry?"

　　The teenage boy nodded. "Yes. I'm telling you, something must've found out she had them here and stolen them from her."

　　"But who would do that?" Robin asked.

　　"You'd be surprised by how many people want to go back to the Enchanted Forest," David said.

　　"Well, whoever it was, they better be long gone or else they'll have to deal with me. Because now Zelena really is our only option," Regina grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

　
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　　Ever since she was eleven and first met Rumplestiltskin, Teresa Holmes has despised the Dark One. And now that she was the Dark One, it made her sick to her stomach knowing what she could do. But she wasn't angry or regretful. The girl knew if she hadn't done what she did, then Storybrooke would have lost the Savior, and she couldn't let that happen. The town needed Emma Swan like they needed air to breathe.

　　She wondered what everyone was thinking and doing right now. Regina Mills was most likely hiding her guilt with anger while Snow White cried in her husband's arms and Robin Hood blamed himself for not being able to stop her. Killian was probably snapping at everyone, forcing Emma to calm him down so they could focus on finding her. She couldn't even imagine what Henry must be feeling. He had told her once that she was his only friend, and now she was─ CLINK!

　　Teresa's eyes widened when she heard footsteps and the clinking of metal. Her heart leaped at the possibility of someone being close by, of someone being able to help her. She took off running, and when she made it around a corner, a breath of relief fell from her lips at the sight of a lone peddler struggling to push a heavy cart.

　　"Hello! Excuse me, sir! I need help!" The peddler stopped and turned around to look at her as Teresa Holmes stopped a few feet away from him. "I need directions to Camelot. Do you know the way?"

　　"Of course," the man smiled. "It'll only cost you two pieces of silver."

　　Teresa blinked. "I ─ uh ─ don't have any silver."

　　"Three pieces now."

　　"Please, I'm in a hurry."

　　"Four," the man continued, a smug expression plastered across his face.

　　"Listen, pal, if you knew─"

　　"Five," the man cut her off, folding his hands and letting them drape over his tunic, eyes bleeding with impatience. Her cerulean eyes narrowed when she realized he would not tell her anything without getting money first.

　　And that made her blood boil.

　　"Just tell me!" Teresa bellowed, and a moment later, his smug expression morphed into one of pain as he reached up to hold his throat. Choking sounds burst from his lips and his body lifted off the ground.

　　"What are you doing?" he croaked.

　　Teresa stared at him with wide eyes. "I-I"m not doing anything, I swear."

　　"But of course you are!" Teresa gasped and whirled around to face Rumplestiltskin. He had his hand raised and held in the peddler's direction, who she could still hear gasping for breath over her shoulder.

　　"Let him go!" she growled.

　　"It's not me doing this, dearie. It's you." Teresa stared at Rumplestiltskin in confusion, but before she could say anything, he disappeared. She looked down at her raised hand, and her cerulean eyes widened. It was true, the man's pain was all her doing.

　　The teenage girl stumbled backwards out of shock and clutched her shaking hand to her chest. The peddler hit the ground, looking at her in fear before rushing away, abandoning his cart. She watched him leave, the oceans of her eyes filling with guilt. "I'm sorry!"

　　"So did you enjoy it?" Rumplestiltskin's voice spoke near her ear once more, but she didn't turn to look at him this time. She was frozen, entire body trembling as she stared down at her hands with wide eyes. "Your first taste of darkness."

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a/n: So that happened. And before you ask, yes, it is canon that Teresa killed somebody. It's not just something for the purpose of this story, it's actually a very important storyline in the second book of the Soulmate Series, Loose.