The Orphans

Heroes vs. Villains

Killian raced out the door a minute after Emma. He wasn't going to lose her again. However, by the time he was in the middle of the street, she was disappearing in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He bolted after her, calling out her name. She appeared to be oblivious to him, stumbling into the forest.

He started to chase after her but was held back by David.

"You can't just run in there without knowing what to expect," he snapped.

He struggled to free himself. "I'm not losing her again!" Breaking free from David's grasp, he ran down the street and entered the forest.The last time he'd entered, which had been two years ago, Hades magic had protected them from whatever Liam had fear.

But not this time. Voices whispered in his ears as he desperately searched for Emma. The deeper he walked in the woods, the louder and more persuasive the voices became.

"Stay with us, Captain." "Kill the father. He's keeping you from your happiness." "Stay with Emma down here." "Hades will never let you take her back." "Just give up. You can't stop Hades."

He froze when he heard Emma's voice.

"Killian..." He turned around and practically engulfed her in a hug, careful not to harm her. She hugged him back, but something about it seemed off. He paid no attention to it, thinking it was his imagination. She leaned away slightly and rested her forehead against his.

"There's the man I love," she whispered. He was about to respond when she suddenly pulled away and her once emerald gaze turned into a gray, cold look.

"Emma?" he asked uncertainly.

"You failed me," she uttered. Her face was that of utter despair. "You all have."

"Swan, what's going on?"

She traced her hand over his heart. "You failed me," she repeated. "And now you're ready to die to try to make up for it."

He was snapped out of his vision by Robin shaking his shoulders. "Wake up! Come on, snap out of it!"

Killian blinked several times and realized he'd been talking to no one. Emma wasn't there.

"Her tracks end here!" Snow's confused tone made him fully aware of his surroundings.

"Where is she? Where's she gone?" Robin asked.

-

An hour passed of hearing constant whispers. Emma wanted to listen to them so badly. They just sounded convincing. However, the cries of the children kept her walking through the forest. The crying grew louder and louder until something hit the back of Emma's head, hard. She fell to the ground, pain shooting through her head, and her vision grew blurry. She couldn't make out the appearances of two people as they picked her up by her arms and began dragging her away.

Her vision slowly began to focus again, and she could see the distinction of a very large fire with several people surrounding it. Emma tried to struggle, but that only resulted in her harshly being thrown to the ground about three feet away from the licking flames.

Slowly pulling herself to her feet, she saw all the villains she'd ever encountered staring hungrily at her. They wanted to hurt her, and in her weakened state, they'd easily succeed. Rumple was the first to kick her back to the ground. Cruella and Peter Pan quickly cuffed her hands behind her back and held her in a sitting position, preventing her from trying to fight back.

-

Screams of agony cut through the silent air. The heroes had been trying to find Emma's tracks again, but now they knew what direction to go in. They didn't even share a single glance before they all tore off at once, knowing that it was Emma who was screaming. It took about five minutes of sprinting for them to reach the edge of the woods.