Hearing the bell ring above his shop door Gold sighed as he walked out to the front. "We're closed" he shouted and groaned seeing Emma, Regina, and Aurelia. "Please, go away."

"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 said.

"We deserve it. And it doesn't matter. There is no alternative" Gold said.

"There might be. But I'll need Excalibur" Aurelia said.

"The only possible way Excalibur would be of any use would be if-"

"If Lia takes all the darkness into herself and uses the sword to destroy it," Emma said.

"And herself," Gold said, shocked that she'd be willing to make such a sacrifice. The room was silent as Gold walked to pack and retrieved the sword.

"Excalibur was always destined for the hands of a true hero," he said, handing it over. "You're a brave woman, Aurelia."

"Thanks" she mumbled, the sentiment not meaning too much to her once she had the sword in her hand.

"But it might not work," Gold said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, the blade, it chooses whom it finds worthy and it chooses its miracles," Gold said.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm doing this."

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Aurelia decided to head back to her house while Emma went to join the rest of their family at Granny's and Regina went with Robin and Roland.

When she walked in she was startled by Killian, sitting in the shadows, waiting for her.

"Jesus you scared me," she said.

"Sorry, love, but I can't let you use that sword," he said.

"Killian, you know that I can't let everyone I care about die," she told him.

"And if you do, you'll die. Come now, hand it over. I don't want to hurt you" he said.

"I didn't think you cared anymore about what happened to me," she said.

"Like it or not, I owe you," he said.

"For what?"

"Well, if it weren't for what you made me, I would never have become the man I always wanted to be," he told her.

"This is not who you wanted to be. You're better than this. Revenge didn't matter to you" she said.

"Oh, it did. You just briefly distracted me. But now I can finally make the crocodile pay" he said.

"But look at what you're doing. You're becoming the person you hate. The person you spent centuries trying to destroy! This isn't you" she said.

"If you didn't want me to change, you should have let me die," he told her.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you. But I won't apologize for trying to save you. I couldn't just sit there and watch you die in my arms. I couldn't watch someone I love die" she said.

"And now, because of that, you get to watch everyone you love die," he said, taking the sword from her before he disappeared.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

For a moment Aurelia stood there in the hallway of her house, the one Killian picked for her, and was frozen. Everything was quiet and the stillness of the empty house seemed overwhelming. Everything seemed over. Like she had truly lost.

Her family was going to be taken from her and she couldn't help but feel like it was all her fault. The guilt was eating at her and the feeling of hopelessness was overwhelming. She made her way to Granny's, wanting to see everyone one last time. But when she got there, it was empty.

"No" she mumbled, thinking she was too late. Pushing her legs as fast as they could go she raced to the lake in the park. It was where the Fury tried to drag Henry and the gate to the Underworld. When she got there, everyone who had been marked was there. Along with Killian and the rest of the Dark Ones.

"David!" she shouted as she ran over to her brother. "I'm sorry. I tried. This was never supposed to happen."

"I know. It's okay" he said, his arms tightening around her, thinking it was the last time he'd ever hug his sister.

"It's time to drop the act," Regina said as she walked up to Killian. "You can't just sit back and watch another family be destroyed to get your revenge."

"What makes you think I can't?" Killian asked.

"Because of what we swore to never speak of again. I know the real reason you don't want to talk about what you did to your father" Regina said.

"I believe we've already had this conversation" Killian sneered.

"But this time you're going to listen. Because if you don't, you're gonna regret it for the rest of your life, which, in your case, means forever. So you have to ask yourself the same question you did that night, what kind of man do you want to be?" she asked.

Pulling away from her brother's embrace, Auerlia walked over to Killian. "You know that I can't let you do this," she said.

Before she could take another step, Nimue held out her hand as a powerful force gripped Aurelia's body, squeezing all the air from her lungs. She stood there frozen, gripping at her throat as she struggled to breathe.

"I might not be able to kill you, but I can stop you from interfering," Nimue said.

Tears sprang in her eyes as her throat burned for air. Her vision grew spotty and she was starting to feel lightheaded.

"That's enough," Killian said, turning to Nimue.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Being the man I want to be" he said.

"You can't stop us," Nimue said.

"Yes, I can," Killian said, holding up Excalibur. Aurelia felt the air rush back into her lungs as Killian began using the sword to absorb the darkness from the Dark Ones, all of them vanishing one by one until they were gone.

Killian held the sword that glowed red with all the newfound darkness, struggling to keep it in his grip. The tears that were once just pooled in Aurelia's eyes now streamed down her face as she knew what he was doing.

"Killian, please. You can't do this" she said.

"We both know there's not other way, love. We have to hurry. The darkness won't stay trapped in Excalibur much longer. Take it" he said, holding the sword out to her.

"No!" she exclaimed, shaking her head.

"You have to help me, Lia. Take it" he said.

"No, no, it should be me. I did this to you" she said.

"Your family needs you," he said.

"But I need you!" she exclaimed.

"If anyone deserves to go to the Underworld, it's me. You were right, I was weak. So let me make up for it now by being strong" he said.

"But I don't want to lose you" she cried.

"And I don't want to lose you. But you have to let me go. Let me die a hero. That's the man I want you to remember, please" he said, holding out the sword.

Aurelia sobbed as she reached for it, unable to deny him that final request. She couldn't do that to him, not again. The sword felt heavy in her hand as she took it from him.

"I love you," she said, wrapping her arms around him, and kissing him one last time.

"I love you too," he said, trying to hold back his own tears as she pulled away. She looked down at the sword in her hand, cursing any god that was listening.

"It's okay," he told her, trying to stay strong.

Aurelia held up the sword, shutting her eyes as she couldn't bare to look at him while she did it. With a deep breath, she pushed the sword forward, letting out a sob at the sound it made piercing through his skin.

"I'm sorry" she cried, as Killian collapsed in her arms. "I'm sorry."

A bright light washed over them followed by a loud gust of wind. Looking around, Aurelia realized she was in the outfit she was wearing the night she became the Dark One and her hair was back to normal. The heaviness she felt in her heart was gone.

Instead, it was filled with intense pain as she pulled the sword out of his chest. It was covered in blood as it began turning into ash in her hand, a sign that they had defeated the darkness.

No longer able to stand, Killian fell forward, Aurelia barely able to catch him as she laid him on the ground.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as she rested her head on his chest, no longer able to hear his heartbeat.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Aurelia felt numb. Like everything was foggy. She didn't know how long it had been since David had to practically pull her away from Killian's body but the sun was now up. She thought maybe she'd finally get some sleep but every time she closed her eyes she saw his blue ones looking back at her.

So instead, she lied on the sofa in the house that they were supposed to share together and stared at the ceiling wondering what to do next.

She had been in this position before. Been saved from a terrible fate and had to decide what she was going to do next with her newfound freedom.

Only last time she was sailing through the stairs with a pirate she didn't know would end up being her happily ever after. Who was supposed to be her happily ever after.

And last time, she didn't hear whispering. Furrowing her eyebrows, she sat up and looked around. She was alone in the entire house and couldn't tell where it was coming from. But as she listened she realized the whispers sounded familiar.

"No" she mumbled, standing up. Grabbing her coat, she clutched onto Killian's ring that was still around her neck as she stormed out of her house and headed to Gold's shop. When she got there, the whispering was even louder.

Seeing her walk in, Gold sighed, wondering what was wrong now.

"Now, you see, this isn't the library or Granny's or some bus station. This is my shop. And unless the sign says open, you're not invited" he said.

"I can hear the whispering. It's the dagger. It's...it's calling to me" she said.

"You're upset. Imagining things" he told her.

"No, I'm not. I mean, yes I'm upset. More than but upset but I am not imagining anything. You have it, don't you?" she asked.

Gold looked at her and sighed before he reached behind the case and pulled out a sheath that the dagger was sitting in.

"Yes, I do," he said, setting it on the counter. His name was once again carved into the dagger.

"No. What did you do? You're the Dark One again?" she asked, an unimaginable amount of emotions rolling over her.

"Yes. How I'd hoped to keep that secret, wasn't expecting you to hear it, but then, most ex-Dark Ones are dead" he said.

"How is this even possible?" she asked.

"When you came to me asking for the sword, I'd seen an opportunity. A chance I'd never imagined would present itself again. As fate would have it, a small vial of magic was close at hand. One sprinkle and I knew I could get it all back. I turned the sword into a conduit. So that while Hook thought he was destorying the darkness, he was acutally moving it, channeling it someplace safe" Gold said.

"Into you?"

"He had no idea. And now, things are as they should be" Gold said.

"Killian sacrificed himself, and you took that from him. How could you? You betrayed us all, again!" she exclaimed.

"It's what I do. It's the man I am" he shrugged.

"Well. Since you have your power back, you're going to do something for me" she said, standing up straight.

"And why would I do anything for you?" he asked.

"Because I'm asking nicely. Because I'm the one who saved you when you're heart went black. And...because if you don't I'll tell Belle everything" she said.

"You wouldn't do that. You're you again, Aurelia. And you're too nice" he said.

"Maybe I am. But Belle is also my friend. And I think I'd be doing a favor if I told her. Besides, you and I both know I'm really bad at keeping secrets. But if you help me I might be more inclined to try harder to keep yours" she said.

Gold sighed as he put the dagger away and looked at her.

"What do you want?"

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"You're going to hell?" Mary Margaret asked.

"No, I'm going to the Underworld," Aurelia said.

"That's quite a distinction," David said.

"A very important distinction," Auerlia said and sighed at the look he gave her. "Look, Killian wanted to die a hero and he did. But what he died for was a lie. Gold lied to him. It's not fair."

"Lia, you know how this works, it's a one-for-one trade. To get him back someone else will have to die" David said.

"You just got back from being the Dark One. You can't give in to darkness again" Emma said.

"And I won't! I already came up with a plan. David you told me that Mary Margaret was able to give you have of her heart to save you, I can do that for Killian. Regina could rip out my heart, well maybe not rip more like a gentle pull, and give half of it to Killian" Aurelia said.

"It could work" Regina shrugged.

"See! It's a good plan" Aurelia said.

"Uh, forgive me if I'm missing the obvious, but, um, how does one get to the Underworld?" Robin asked.

Aurelia smiled as she looked at him. "I told you. I have a plan."

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was dark out, as they all stood near the lake in the park where the gate to the Underworld lied.

"Do it" Aurelia said, looking at Gold.

Pulling out the dagger, Gold sliced open his palm, holding it over the water. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"Do it" she repeated and watched as he let a drop of his blood fall to the water. A moment later, a fog began to settle over the lake as a small boat appeared with a hooded figure standing at its head.

Aurelia looked back at her family and nodded and they knew there was no stopping her now. Carefully, they stepped out, able to walk on the water of the lake to reach the boat, ready to take them to the underworld.

i am so excited for the underworld plot i think it's so fun!

also aurelia is back! i missed writing her all happy and cheerful lol