Dark Hearts | Once Upon A Time

L. Darkness in Control

Neverland. Present-day.

THE WORLD WAS jarring for Erica as the news trickled to the three women that were waiting at the bottom of the stairs Jaclyn had come to tell the women that Henry was dead, with her heart hammering in her chest Erica ran up the stairs and spotted Henry laying on the floor, unconscious with Henry Regina and Neal towering over them and Killian holding a struggling blonde girl until Jaclyn and the others came back up the stairs

As Erica made her way over to her twin to try and do something -- anything -- to comfort her or be a punching bag like she had before and she heard Regina mutter in a panicked whisper "Is he breathing?"

"Hang in there buddy" Neal murmured

Erica knelt down next to her sister and encased her in a loving side hug and Emma rested her head on the older blonde's shoulder as Erica rubbed circles into her back to soothe her twin's emotion knowing that they're most likely a raging storm right now and all she could do was offer her support "He's going to be okay Em"

Then they heard Peter Pan fly down next to then and almost immediately Emma lashes out turning to Pan and lashing out and although Erica felt like she was going to flip out "What did you do to him?"

"Oh I didn't do anything Emma, it was Henry. He offered me his heart of his own free will" Pan told the blonde, lazily gesturing towards the unconscious Henry and Erica felt her nails dig deep into Emma's skin, but she didn't mind she was too busy glaring at Pan. The darkness within flowed through her and she clung to her twin -- her saviour -- as she tried to keep her darkness in control and stop herself from fighting Pan

"Well, I'm going to take it from you!" Emma exclaimed with a glance towards her sister to check that she was alright, Emma sprung to her feet and took out Neal's sword, the blade zinging against the sheathe

Pan raised an eyebrow as a challenge to Emma and with that, she charged but before she could even reach him, he had disappeared into thin air leaving Emma to thrust the blade into nothing, only for him to appear behind her a second later with a smug look on his face as he plucked Pandora's box from a rock "I don't think you have it in you -- her maybe -- but not you"

At his words, Erica felt something dark and equal parts terrifying and inviting creeping over, and perhaps that was what was most terrifying that the darkness was calling out to her and she was succumbing to it and she clenched her fists, her fingers digging into her palms as she took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down, she didn't think that anyone would notice as they were all focused on Pan but she felt a hand on the small of her back "You okay?"

Erica gritted her teeth and nodded her head but she really wasn't and perhaps Jaclyn could see that but she didn't push and Erica was grateful for that, she knew that this situation didn't need any more stress to be added to the situation and she tried to focus on the conversations at hand

"o this? I trusted you and helped you escape, and this is how you repay me back by hurting my friend?"

"You may have helped me escape Wonderland and Cora but then you abandoned me with the promise you would come to visit me but you never did! And I was on my own until Rapunzel dragged me half dead out of a ditch as I was nearly dragged back to that dreaded Wonderland"

"You knew Rac--Rapunzel," Erica asked confused, she hadn't heard from Rachel that she knew the actual Alice that had multiple adventures in Wonderland though she knew Rachel Woods, not Princess Rapunzel and hadn't really spoken to the younger woman since she got the phone call about the warehouse and was being tortured

"Yes," Alice snapped hotly "We were friends, we went on adventures together before shit went down and a curse or something was cast over the land and before I knew what was happening Rapunzel was swept away and I was saved by a black shadow. Peter saved me, don't you see? And now you're trying to kill him"