Untitled Pt 1

Beneath the Mask

Emma shivered as her body was barraged with rain. The downfall had begun mere minutes after Carmen and the others had left Henry's house. Emma stood on her porch, awaiting their arrival. She looked up and saw four dark shapes moving on the other side of the street. They flicked across the road and cleared her fence as though it didn't exist.
"Emma! What are you doing out here? You'll catch your death of cold!" Carmen roared over the rain.
"I was waiting for you!" Emma replied. She turned and wrenched open the door, gesturing for the Wolf Gang members to go inside. The five rushed in, soaked to the skin. Killian was there, with an armful of towels at the ready.
"Welcome to our humble abode." He said.
"Thank you. I'm surprised you agreed to it."
"Well, Emma seems to trust you, and I trust her, so..."
"Fair enough."
"So, you want to tell us what all this is about?"
"We're not one hundred percent sure, but we think Conan is here to try and turn Regina into the next Dark One." Carmen explained, rubbing the towel over her head. "Her magic could become more powerful than she ever believed. Strong enough to defeat Conan. She just needs to unlock it. But until then, we need to keep her away from the weasel. The more interactions they have, the more chances he has to influence her thinking. She'll be embracing the darkness before we even have a chance to stop her."
"Okay. Keep you hidden and keep Regina away from Conan." Emma summed up.
"Yes."
"But how do we convince Regina that Conan is evil?" Killian questioned.
"Don't worry. I have an idea about that." Carmen smiled. Suddenly, Emma's phone began vibrating on the table. Her face went as white as a ghost when she answered it.
"What is it?"
"We gotta get to the Station. Now."

∞

Emma and Killian arrived at the Sheriff's Station as quickly as they could. Despite her desire to get out, Carmen had resisted the urge to join them. They had all agreed that it would be best that the Wolf Gang stay out of sight for the time being. Emma and Killian walked in to see Grumpy sitting at one of the desks, with a towel wrapped around his shoulders, and his eyes bulging out of his skull. David, Snow, Regina, Henry, and the other dwarves surrounded him, offering him soup and water.
"Emma. Thank goodness you're here." David sighed as he looked up. "We need your bail bondsperson skills."
"Why? What for?" Emma asked.
"Apparently, Grumpy and the other dwarves were out looking for the ones who were missing, when Grumpy was grabbed by someone in a long, black coat with big black wings. They carried him high and almost took him away, but he managed to wriggle out their grasp and fell into the branches of a tree." He replied.
"We think it was Carmen." Snow announced.
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, for starters, the fact that the handcuffs Conan gave us were lying on the floor of the exact cell that she was left in."
"Emma. You were the last one here. Did you see anything?" Regina enquired.
Emma hesitated. Should she lie to her family and help the newcomers, or should she sell them out and help her family.
"Emma?"
"No, I didn't see anything." She lied.
"Are you sure?"
"You guys left, I made sure everything was locked up, and then left."
"Did she say anything?"
"She tried telling me that Conan was evil, and that he was here for the Dark One dagger, and that he was going to use it to turn Regina into the next Dark One."
"that's impossible. The darkness in the dagger disappeared when Rumpelstiltskin died. Now it's nothing but a relic."
"That's what I said."
"Regardless, she's still a threat to us. We need to find her and make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone again." David declared.
"Right. We need to make sure everyone is safe." Regina agreed.
"And that includes you." Snow said.
"So with all due respect Regina, I'm going to take this one. Killian, Emma. I want you two by Regina's side at all times. She is never to be alone."
"I'll do that, grandpa." Henry piped up.
"Sorry kid, but you're going to have to sit this one out." Emma replied.
"No, I won't. Don't forget, I'm not Storybrooke Henry. I'm Wish Realm Henry. And Wish Realm is a knight, which mean I can still fight. I'll look after mom. You focus on finding the bitch who started this mess."
"Well, when he puts it like that..." Killian started with a smile.
"It makes it hard to argue." Emma finished.
"Then it's settled. Henry will look after Regina, while the rest of us start searching."