Henry's POV

"Wait here. I'll be right back," Emma told me, Mia, and Matt. She then ran inside Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop, but not before throwing one more glance in our direction.

"So we really went through all of that?" Mia asked, referring to everything that had happened in Camelot. I looked over at her and sighed, "Yep." "Did you like her?" Mia asked. "No," I answered quickly.

"I love you and only you," I assured her. She smiled and placed her head on my shoulder. "Good, I thought I was going to have to beat up someone," Mia laughed.

Matt whimpered and Mia immediately looked down at him. "Matt, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Matt took a step closer to Mia and hid his head in her jacket. Mia gave him a perplexed look. "Matt, what's wrong?" Mia asked again more sternly.

Matt looked up at her with frightened eyes and pointed towards a certain direction. Mia and I looked up to see three hooded people walking towards us. Their black hood hid their faces, so only their glowing eyes showed.

"What are those things?" Mia asked. I stood in front of her and Matt protectively. "I don't know, but I don't think this is going to end well," I told her. The hooded figures stopped only feet away from us. "Um...hi," I said. The hooded figures stood in their spots. "I guess they aren't social," Mia whispered. The hooded figures then started sprinting towards us.

"Mom, help us!" I exclaimed. Emma came running outside and her eyes widened when she saw the figures. "Henry, Mia, Matt, don't move," Emma warned us. The tallest person let out a low chuckle that sent a shiver down my spine.

The person then revealed two hands that pulled down the hood. "Too late for that," the person laughed. "Nimue, don't do this!" Emma exclaimed, but the three hooded people walked towards us. One walked straight through me like a ghost, while the other two did the same thing to Mia and Matt.

Then all three people disappeared. "What were those things?" Mia asked. "Former Dark Ones," Emma told us. "Those are the former Dark Ones?" I asked shocked. Emma nodded.

"Are you three okay?" Emma asked worriedly. "I-I think so," Mia answered. She looked down at Matt who still had his face hidden from view. "Matt Attack, they're gone," Mia assured him. "What if they show up again?" Matt asked. "Then I'll be there to protect you," Mia said. Matt hesitated for a moment before revealing his frightened five year old eyes.

Mary-Margaret, David, Regina, Robin, and the dwarfs all walked up to us. "What just happened to us?!" Mom asked angrily. Someone let out a low chuckle and we all turned to see Mr. Gold.

"I think I may have an answer to that. Check your wrists," Mr. Gold instructed. I pulled back my sleeve and saw a strange mark. "What is that?" Emma asked. I looked up and saw that everyone else had a mark as well.

"That...is the mark of Charon," Mr. Gold said. "Charon? He was a ferryman in the old myths. He navigated a boat...to the Underworld," Mia's eyes widened as the words fell out of her mouth. She glanced nervously over at Matt who was staring at the strange symbol.

"Smart lass. You see, the Dark Ones only have a...a temporary pass into this world, like a tourist visa. The only way for them to stay...is to trade places with living souls," Mr. Gold explained. "Meaning us?" David asked. "Exactly," Mr. Gold sighed.

"But Matt's only a child! He can't go to the Underworld!" Mia exclaimed. "You mean the Underworld with that cool dude from Hercules whose hair turns into blue fire?" Matt asked excitedly. Everyone ignored him.

Mr. Gold pointed towards the moon, "When the moon reaches its peak, the ferry from the underworld will arrive... and drag us down there."

"That doesn't sound good," David said. "Speaking as one who's died and been there, it's not," Mr. Gold told us. "So, how do we stop it?" Mom asked.

"We can't. The Underworld is worse than you can possibly imagine. It's gonna make you wish the old stories of fire and brimstone were true. It's gonna make you wish for death. And then the realization will hit...that death has already come, and this fresh torture is all that's left," Mr. Gold said.

Matt's eyes widened and Mia immediately pulled him to her side. "Gold, you're scaring Matt," Mia scolded. "Good, cause we should all be scared. This is Death itself. This is a fight we cannot win," Mr. Gold said.

"No. I'm not marked. I'm not going to give up. There has to be something we can do," Emma said. "You're right. There is something. Use this time wisely," Mr. Gold informed us.

Mia and I glanced at each other as Mr. Gold muttered, "Use it to say goodbye."

Mia's POV

"Gold has to be missing something, right?" I asked as me, Henry, Matt, Emma, Charming, and Snow looked throughout Regina's vault. When Gold had left us, Regina had suggested looking around at the books that she had in her vault. She thought there could be a solution to our problem.

"There has to be a way to escape this mark," Henry stated. "Maybe Gold's right. Maybe this is a fight we can't win," Snow sighed. I looked at Snow shocked. "Is Snow White giving up?" I asked. Snow gave me a look, but Emma pressed on.

"Mom, you're Snow White. You don't know how to give up. Hope is in your blood," Emma told her. "And I do hope, Emma, but I don't want to spend what could be my last moments with my nose is a book. I want to make the most of my moments with my family," Snow sighed.

She was right. I looked down at Matt who was currently content with watching a spider crawl across a web. "Dinner at Granny's. That's what we should do," I said softly.

"Yeah," Charming agreed. He shut the book he was looking through and looked up at me. "Dinner at Granny's. That's a great idea," Charming said.

Emma sighed and looked down at her baby brother, Neal, who was asleep in Snow's arms. "What about Neal? He'll be left here all alone," Emma whispered sadly. "He won't be alone, Emma. He'll have you," Snow told her.

Emma looked up at her mother and said, "I will not give up on my own family." Snow handed Charming the baby and turned to look at her daughter. "Emma, we're almost out of time. And time is what's most important...time with those we love," Snow said.

She then placed a kiss on Emma's forehead. "I know you won't stop trying. And I hope you succeed, but...promise me that you'll...come meet us at Granny's, come say goodbye," Snow said with tears in her eyes.

Emma started to cry as her and Snow hugged. "I promise," Emma cried. "I love you, Emma," Snow whispered. "I love you, too," Emma whispered back.

Snow pulled away from Emma and gave her a sad smile. She then turned to leave with Charming, so me, Matt, and Henry followed.

We all went to Granny's and had a great time. As minutes turned into an hour, I noticed Snow glancing at the door. I sighed and looked over, but it wasn't the door that caught my eye. Instead, I saw movement by the window. No one else seemed to notice it, so I said, "I've got to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Henry and Matt gave me a nod before going back to talking about who knows what. I quickly walked to the bathroom door and looked around to make sure no one saw me. When the coast was clear, I went out the back door of Granny's. I walked down the alley and looked to see Emma and Regina walking towards Gold's shop.

I walked quietly behind them so that they wouldn't see me. They walked inside and I walked to the window that was on the side of the building. To my surprise, the window was cracked open. A smile formed on my face as I bent down to listen to their conversation.

"We're closed. Please, go away," Gold told them. "No. We're not going down without a fight. I bet there are a lot of people in the underworld who would be thrilled to see you and me," Regina sighed.

"We deserve it. And it doesn't matter. There is no alternative," Gold stated. "There might be, but I will need Excalibur," Emma said. Wait, she found a way to save us?

"The only possible way Excalibur would be of any use would be if..." Gold trailed off. "If what?" I whispered a little too loudly. Regina glanced towards the window and her eyes widened. I shook my head and she looked at me one last time before turning back to the conversation.

"If Emma takes all the darkness into herself...and uses the sword to destroy it," Regina suggested. "And herself," Gold added. He got up, but as he walked to the other room I saw a smirk appear on his face. I went to the window next to me and saw him in the other room.

Gold reached for the sword, but did something surprising. He grabbed a potion and poured it on top of the sword. "There, now I can be the Dark One again," Gold whispered. My eyes widened. He quickly put the bottle down and walked back into the other room.

"Excalibur was always destined...for the hands of a true hero," Gold said as he handed the sword to Emma. "No," I whispered. "That's it? You don't want to make a deal or something?" Emma asked surprised. "His real motive is a secret. Don't trust him," I whispered even though I knew they couldn't hear me.

"No. You're a brave woman, Miss Swan," Gold said. Emma gave him a perplexed look before turning to walk out of the store. "But it might not work," Gold called after her. Emma froze and turned to look at Gold. "What? Why?" Emma asked.

"Well, that blade...it chooses who it finds worthy. And it chooses its miracles," Gold explained. "It doesn't matter. Right now all that matters is I need to be with my family while I can be," Emma responded. She turned to Regina and said, "Come to Granny's with me."

"No, I can't. Robin and I need to protect Roland and the baby from Zelena. I'll catch up with you later," Regina told her. Then Emma and Regina walked in different directions. As soon as Emma was gone, Regina came towards me.

"Mia, what are you doing?" Regina asked. "I was curious," I answered. Regina sighed. I then remembered what Gold did. "But Regina, Gold did something-" I started to say but Regina cut me off.

"Something nice for once? I know, but I've really got to go, Mia. I'll see you later," Regina said before walking off. "But, Regina!" I called after her. She just ignored me and continued to walk.

I then sighed in defeat and walked back to Granny's where I came in through the back door. I walked back over to Henry and Matt who were still engrossed in a conversation. I stopped at the table and Henry smiled. "There you are," Henry said. "Here I am," I muttered. I sat down next to him and Henry looked at me worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked. I couldn't think of a way to tell Henry that Gold had tricked his mothers, let only try and tell him that Emma was going to sacrifice herself.

But as I tried to come up with something to say, all that went through my mind were ways to stop Emma before she destroyed herself. I was willing to save her, even if something happened to me in the process.

I put on a fake smile. "I'm fine," I lied.

"Perfectly fine."

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hello my Oncers!! 💗

sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'm going to try and update my other book some time soon but I've been busy with 8th grade finals, homework, last minute projects, and with graduation that is coming up. I've also had basketball, so I've been really busy.

anyways, here is a pretty long chapter for ya :)) I'm actually really excited to see how you guys react to the next couple of chapters. what do you all think is going to happen?

Question of the Day- When does school end for you?

Answer- May 18th (so only a couple of days from now!!)

hope you all are having a wonderful day! I'll try and update soon!

Love☺️💗☺️💗☺️💗
-K

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