Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Beyond Here Lies Darkness	By : LotornoMiko Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time Views: 3724 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Once Upon A Time fandom. Nor do I make any money off of it or this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 6
- 7
- 8
Drowning in darkness, Killian Jones can only reach out, grabbing for a life line that simply isn't there. The darkness is worse than any sea, it's blackened waters colder than any ocean. Oozing and thick, it makes movement difficult, Killian downright sluggish as he tries to run forward only to remain forever at a standstill. Sinking deeper and deeper, the darkness is like quicksand, pulling him down faster for his struggles.

Killian Jones is already tired. Exhausted from a battle that is endless, Killian is almost ready to give up and let the darkness WIN. He's not at all sure what the outcome of his surrender would lead to, and Killian's almost too defeated to care. But he hangs on, a single sliver of memory, of worry, keeping him going, Killian fearing for Emma, for the woman who was the last sight HE had had, before the darkness had locked him down tight.

Far too privy to the wants and desires, the blatant interest the darkness has had for Emma Swan, Killian is worried. Might even be terrified for the woman. The darkness was no gentle thing, had nearly killed Emma once already. The memory of Emma's body going limp from the choking grip the darkness had used, was burned into Killian's mind, and made all the worse because he knew just how greedy the darkness was. How it hungered for the light, for the woman whose soul shined brighter than anything it had ever seen.

The darkness wanted to possess Emma, wanted to take everything from her. Quick to seize that which it wants, the darkness wouldn't hesitate to use Emma up then toss her aside. It's all too easy to imagine Emma broken at it's hands, the darkness not so much without moral compass, as simply not caring what was right or what was wrong.

Killian, never a strict stickler for good over bad, knew evil when he saw it. The darkness, a being made up of everything that was wrong with man, was sick in thought as well as in intention. Like a disease, it's corrupt touch would poison and destroy, bring out the worst out of the very best of men. What chance did a pirate stand, a man like Hook, who had killed and tortured, had used and purposefully hurt so many?

Yet for all he had done, Killian still balked at the evil that was the darkness. Still told himself there was a line he would not cross. Knowing it wasn't by much, Killian still insisted he was better than the darkness. Still actively fought against what it was trying to do. To himself, and to the world outside his prison, Killian battling to get free of the darkness, and powered by his concern alone.

Killian wasn't caring much about what the darkness might do to him, so much as what it might be doing to Emma Swan. Even if he hadn't had the Dark One's thoughts briefly in his head, Killian would have feared for her. Because he KNEW what it was capable of, how far it would go with something that displeased it. Nothing, no one was safe, the darkness a jealous, possessive, Neanderthal, murderous on it's best days.

On it's worst, it ruined lives, Killian shaking at the memory of watching Mila's heart be crushed. Rumplestiltskin eyes had been pure black, the man grinning as he watched the woman collapse into a crumpled heap on the deck of the Jolly Roger. Killian hadn't understood then, but now he knew. KNEW that it hadn't entirely been Rumplestiltskin, but a man possessed by the ultimate in monsters.

Trapped as Killian now was, Rumplestiltskin hadn't been able to truly control the darkness. Might have even given in to it's temptations time and time again, especially when he was displeased. But he was one step above Killian, for at least Rumplestiltskin had managed to coexist with the darkness for a time. Killian didn't even have that, locked down tight in a prison of the darkness' own making. Suffering for his sins and Rumplestiltskin's misdeeds against the darkness, the Dark One wasn't about to let Killian learn how to contain it the way it's previous host had.

And so it tried to smother him in that cold, shadow filled place. Tried to break Killian down, tried to strangle the fight out of him. Ready to leave him simply too tired to even try to fight back, the darkness worked to contain the true owner of the body it and the pirate now shared.

For now it was succeeding, Killian blind, deaf, and mute to the world outside his prison. The darkness had sealed off his senses, but it couldn't control the pirate's thoughts, the clear cut worry that was constant. His thoughts always, always returned to Emma, and to the fears he had for her. To the wishes he had, those the reason he fought so hard to gain back control. Killian wanted to reach out to Emma, to stop the darkness if he could. To spare her, to actually save her, his concern a selfless thing.

His concern wasn't exactly the kind of thing the darkness could understand. What use was caring about another person, about their safety and well being, their feelings? The darkness doesn't understand and so it underestimates concern's power. Thinking it as weak as it has judged Killian's soul to be, the darkness is far too confidant. Downright cocksure and in no way on guard.

The lack of attention it gives to Killian's ever growing concern, plays a huge factor in what happens next. In the sound that reaches Killian, even as he drowns in the heart of the darkness' shadows. Killian is not sure what that faint sound is, but it draws his head up. The sound doesn't immediately repeat, leaving the man to think he had imagined it. But then, there in the distance not above but to the right of him, the faintest light that pulses with the sound is seen.

Not at all sure what is going on, Killian still reaches for the light. Still struggles to break free of the smothering darkness. It is the hardest thing he's ever yet had to do, Killian fighting for every step forward as he races towards the light. It flickers brighter every time that faint noise is heard, then dims almost dark in the following silence. It doesn't matter, he's seen what he hopes is a way out, Killian taking great lurching steps until he reaches the fading light, and falls into it.

Killian sits up with a shout, actually feels as though he had slammed chest first into rock. Killian breathes heavily, his hoarse pants not half as sweet a sound as whatever had reached through to him in the dark. He doesn't hear it now, not over his loud rasping breaths. Killian just sits there, a bed sheet tangled around his bare legs, his skin damp and sticky, and not all of it is sweat.

Not bothering to look at his body, Killian is staring straight ahead. Staring at a torn map he's studied often in the past, Killian realizing he's still on his ship, is actually in his own private bedroom cabin. It is not as he had last seen it, the room actually wrecked. Furniture is knocked over, in one case broken, and things have been tossed aside as though battered by winds. A map is actually on the floor, books scattered, and treasure spilled.

Messy though the room is, Killian is still glad to see it. Still ready to laugh in relief, thinking the worst is over. He's not knowing what his break was, what had allowed him to escape the darkness, Killian is not even wondering if the Dark One is gone for good. He's simply too busy thanking his lucky stars, grateful to be free of that shadowy prison, to be able to breathe, and see, to even laugh.

And then he hears it. That sound again, louder than it had been inside the Dark One's prison. Killian's joy stills, his body freezing in place, as he realizes he is not alone, that there is someone in the bed with him. He doesn't want to turn, doesn't want to see, because the sound that he's been hearing? It is the sound of muffled tears. A woman is crying, and not just any woman. Killian recognizes her voice, though he is not at all familiar with her tears.

Holding in bitter tears, Emma Swan is doing her best not to break down completely. She goes whole minutes without so much as a sniffle, but even her best attempts can only muffle her anger and exhaustion for so long. Killian hears the chief emotions in the grief she does voice, and knows that not only was he never meant to hear them, Emma Swan was never meant to be made to feel this way.

Broken.

Bracing himself for the worst, Killian still flinches when he turns to look at Emma. Even with her back to him, Killian can see the damage. The bruises from where the darkness had touched her, the way her skin is paler than it should be. Worse yet, Killian sees blood, and he has no idea WHO it belongs to, and is too scared to ask.

Killian looks at Emma, and not only feels concern, but GUILT. Knowing he put at least part of this in motion, that it was his fault that the darkness had been unleashed, and wondering if his own desires had somehow twisted the Dark One's own actions, Killian realizes that his revenge just hadn't been worth it.

Not when it's cost this much, has hurt so many, has hurt THIS woman in particular. Killian stares at Emma's back, and for once he's not fighting, not fearing what she could someday become to him. The healing that she represents, the chance for him to get over his loss, to actually move on from Mila's death is no longer anything that can frighten Killian. Not when he's dealt with the darkness firsthand. He looks at Emma and sees his hope, and then she makes that sound again.

That angry sound of a woman hurt, a woman grieving, makes Killian flinch. Actually cringe with the thought that his realizations may have come too late, that his hope may be broken before he can truly reach for it. He wants to scream with anger at what he has helped cost them, what his repeated attempts to push Emma away from him have done, he's almost too far gone to respond to HER needs.

But then Emma makes another muffled attempt to hide the fact she is trying not to cry. That reaches past his own self centered upset, Killian reacting, reaching to not only lay a hand on Emma's shoulder, but to turn her towards him. Several things happen at once, the woman tensing. Killian realizes his mistake, that he shouldn't have tried to touch her with the hand of the body that had been violating her. He goes to draw back, but Emma turns and comes out swinging.

The next moments are intense, Emma repeatedly striking Killian with her fists. He reacts to stop her, grabbing at her, hauling her upright into his arms, Killian trying to restrain and calm her, and getting slapped and clawed for his attempts. He endures each blow, actually feels his blood spill, but the skin Emma splits heals almost immediately. It gives him an idea of how things might have gone down, Emma fighting but ultimately succeeding in doing nothing but tiring herself out.

Just as she's doing now, trying to hurt that which she can't, Emma not even truly seeing who she is attacking. She certainly doesn't recognize it's Killian and not the Dark One, certainly doesn't register the patience the pirate is showing, or that he's not hitting her back. And above all, she doesn't take time to look in his eyes, to notice that there is no black showing, Kilian's gaze clear of the darkness and bright with worry.

Emma fights, and Killian lets her, is still holding her when she finally sags in exhaustion. Her face is red and tear streaked, Emma letting out a great hiccup of sound. She's not looking at him, actually collapses against him with her head resting against his shoulder. He can hear how hard she breaths, the great heaving pants of sound she lets out. It just makes his guilt all the worse, Killian sitting there, holding Emma and trying to think what to say. But what can he say, what can he possible do, when there seems nothing can fix what has already happened. I'm sorry just doesn't seem good enough, even though he means it, feels it and regret with every inch of his being.

"Emma..." He chokes on her name, has to swallow and pause a second, before he tries again. "Emma...what...what happened?"

Doing nothing in response, Emma just sits there quiet. Killian is sure she hasn't heard him, actually wonders if she has passed out against him. He doesn't try to touch her again, not wanting to trigger another violent outburst or worst yet her tears.

"What happened?" He repeats, louder this time. His voice is bewildered, showing how he is confused by what he thinks he knows. "I mean, last time I saw you, you were....that is...we were...we were about to have sex." And then the darkness had taken control, had trapped Killian in the shadows, and had done something that made Emma fear it.

"Emma..."

The blonde shifts, actually lifts her head up so that her gaze is on him. He is pinned by that look, by the anger that is now blazing in her eyes. The anger is still a better look than her grief or her fear, Killian far better equipped to deal with an Emma that is mad than an Emma that is crying.

"Hook." She says, and the words come hissing out of her. "You're back."

Killian nods. "How long has it been? How long since..." Her fist catches him across the cheek, stopping his questions as Killian bites down on his own tongue. Emma is screaming, and it's an angry sound, but also a hurt one.

"You left me!" She snarls, her eyes bright and blazing. "You left me with that...that thing!" She is trying to hit him again, and screams even louder when he grabs hold of her wrist. It sets off an even more intense struggle, the two fighting and ultimately falling over, Killian pinning Emma to the mattress with his body.

"I had no choice!" He screams down at her, watching the panic try to take over her gaze. "That THING took control, actually took my body away from me! You think I WANTED to leave you with it, knowing what it wanted to do...with the danger it posed to you and your family?!"

Emma was shaking her head, her eyes tightly closed as her body trembled. Killian let out a deep breath, trying to calm himself and lower his voice. "Cora wants you dead. Wants the darkness to kill you and your family...."

"Not anymore." Emma abruptly says, her eyes opening to revealed a troubled gaze. Killian frowns, not understanding. "You've been gone a long time Hook." She says, and relaxes her body, no longer tense or trying to fight him.

"Not that long for Cora to ever change." Killian tries to speak with conviction, but he is fearing Emma speaks the truth, that he has lost more time than he had first thought, and that things are about to be made more awful than he could possibly have anticipated.

Emma lets out a bitter sound, a half chuckle half sob as she lean back tiredly into the mattress. "She's gotten worse, if you can believe it." Emma grimaces. "But then I suppose ultimate power does that."

"Ultimate power?"

"She controls the darkness." Emma explains. "And she is not at all shy about using it. Or me..." The last is said almost too softly for Killian to hear, the man giving Emma a sharp look.

"What does that mean?" He demands.

"I'm it's reward." Emma says in a bland, neutral tone. "The treat that Cora uses to try and tame the darkness."

Killian is flabbergasted, gaping with an open mouth at Emma. "That bitch." He finally says, and Emma lets out a shocked bit of laughter.

"I've called her worse." She admits. "We all have."

"We?"

"Take your pick. Just about anyone in Storybrooke has cursed Cora's name, though not many will do it to her face. Not if they want to survive." Emma explained. "Storybrooke is not as you remember it." Emma says with a sigh. "Perhaps nothing is..."

"I can't have been gone long enough for everything to change that drastically!" Killian protests. The look Emma gives him plants the first seed of doubt, one Killian tries to ignore. "I can't have..."

Emma just stares at him, neither angry nor sad, just accepting of reality as it now is. Killian realizes he can believe her, that it's been more than a few hours since he had first kissed and groped Emma. It has to be, for her to be this way, this broken and tired. And yet he doesn't want to accept it, scared to ask, but doing so anyway.

"How long have I been gone?" He starts to shake her, when Emma doesn't immediately answer. "How much time have I lost?!"

"A week!" She snaps at him. "You've been gone for almost a week!"

To say she has shocked him would be an understatement, Killian actually gasping. He then drops his hold on Emma's arm, letting her slump back against the mattress. She reaches up to cover her face, actually shakes with emotion a second before Killian realizes she has finally given in to her tears.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Be Continued...

Sorry, another short chapter. I had a real hard time of this one. I actually had a different first attempt, then realized the way I was writing Hook breaking free of the darkness to resurface was being written in a way for stuff that is gonna go on in a much later chapter. I did like how I was able to rewrite it, but I had such a hard time once it came time to Hook and Emma talking.

It was supposed to be more comfort than actually happened. X_X And I worry people will complain that Emma cried in any way. But I had two friends reassuring me that any one would cry in this kind of situation even a strong person like Emma.

Also...I feel I should warn you....not sure when the next chapter will be. I'm at what is what I think is a very hard part to write. The comfort part of hurt comfort genre, the development of Hook and Emma and how they will feel and act towards each other. And the darkness isn't gone by any means. I actually want to try and start the sequel of that other fic I owe to those who read Light Grasping Darkness. But I also would like to take a break from all this heavy dark stuff to try and write something fun and light and happy. Unfortunately it seems all my Once fics are heavy on angst even without the levels of dark that this Beyond Darkness fic has. The one fic that doesn't have a huge angst factor (yet!) is a Hook Belle one called Taken, and I've really been eyeing it to write an update for as well. Heck I owe updates for a lot of my Once fics at this point...X_X But I'm kinda feeling burnt out on heavy themes and elements. *pulls hair out in frustration*

I also had really bad sleep so this delayed this chapter as well! I'm also feeling doubtful again....which is not good or productive for writing. I really hope I don't let it bother me to the point I change how long Hook has been gone fic wise.

---Michelle
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Beyond Here Lies Darkness