Zelena " Get on with it, Captain. That squid ink's going to wear off soon. "
I pleaded "Killian, please. What are you doing? "
Hook " You took my memories, Echo. You tried to stop me from knowing the truth. And now I'm going to return the favor."
Then he held a dreamcatcher in front of me.
I glared at him.
Zelena laughed " By the look on your face, it would appear someone needs restraining. "
then she put the magic blocking cuff on me "There. No more magic for you. Now, I assume, given my helpfulness, you'll allow me to go about my business undeterred. "
Hook" As long as you don't get in my way, I won't get in yours. "
Zelena"Ah. I like this new you. Tell me, how does it feel to be a Dark One? "
Hook smirked " It feels like I've been reborn."
----
I heard the others walked into the house.
I drove a hand through my hair.
Snow rushed over to me "Echo, Hey. Hey. What happened? "
---
Regina" You turned Hook into a Dark One? "
Me " It was the only way to save him. "
Regina " And you didn't think of the consequences to everyone else? "
I shook my head, frustrated "what was i supposed to do? let him die? I thought you, out of everyone, would understand me the most"
Regina sighed, nodding "Well, yes, but... Now we have a bigger problem."
I nodded " I know. I didn't think any of this would happen. I was trying to get rid of the darkness for good. You can't tell me, after all Zelena's done to you, your life wouldn't be easier if she were gone. I was doing you a favor. "
Snow "Come on. This is premeditated murder, Echo. There had to be another way. You should have come to us. "
Me " And risk losing someone else? I thought the best way to control the darkness was to isolate myself. But when I did that, there was no one around to give me hope or tell me when I was being stupid! "
Regina "Fine. You're being stupid. So stop it. Right now, we have to clean up this mess."
Snow shook her head "No. We don't. Give us back our memories. Your dreamcatchers... Regina can access them, can't she? We can piece together Hook's plan and stop him. "
David walked to us " I'm afraid not. Dreamcatchers you said were in the shed... They're gone. "
Regina asked pissed off " What the hell is Captain Dark One up to?"
At Regina's house.
Regina"Once a pirate, always a pirate. "
Mr. Gold" As a man, Hook spent centuries trying to kill me. It makes sense that revenge would be on his mind. "
I asked confused "Why wipe my memory if he was going to announce his plan anyway? There must be more to it. "
Belle "Yeah, well, even if there is, we only have until noon to stop him. And to save you. "
David" What about Merlin's message? He said this "Nimue" is the key to stopping the Dark One. "
Me " Nimue was Merlin's true love. "
Mr. Gold nodded "And she was also the first Dark One. "
I nodded " I know. How do we find out more about her? "
Mr. Gold"Start your search with the Dark One chronicles. There are many texts that can help us. "
Me " As much as I appreciate devotion to scholarship, there is an easier way. I am still a Dark One. I can protect you, Gold. You just have to take off the cuff. "
Mr. Gold chuckled.
I rolled my eyes annoyed " You don't trust me."
Then i looked at my family and at their faces "neither of you does"
Gold "Well, if the situations were reversed, would you trust me? "
Henry walked to us "So it's true. You're here. "
Me "Henry. I need you to tell them it's okay to take off this cuff. It's the only way to figure it all out. "
Henry shook his head " No. "
I froze "What? "
Henry"You lied to us... about Hook, about everything. Why should we trust you now? "
Me "Henry, I raised you, i'm like a mother to you. "
Henry " Are you? Because the mom I knew wouldn't keep things from me. "
Me " I thought you were the one person who would understand. "
Henry" I thought you were the one person I could trust. "
I asked hurt and mad "So you can forgive Regina and Gold for everything they've done, but not me?"
Henry" They've changed. They showed me they changed. "
Me "So did I. "
Henry " the minute things got tough, you didn't come to anybody. You decided that you would figure it out on your own. We were a team."
Me " Operation Cobra. I remember. "
Henry"But now you just want your dark magic back so you can do it alone. And I've seen what you do with dark magic. "
Then he ran upstairs.
Regina" He needs time, Echo."
Belle" We should really get to the library. We've got a lot to do. "
Regina" I have a stop to make first. I'll meet you there."
Me "Let me guess... I'm not invited."
Snow sighed "Echo. We love you."
Me "You don't trust me. "
Charming shook his head " We don't trust the darkness. Stay here and let us save you. It's for the best."
I scoffed, amused "Well, if that's the case, then i am doomed"
Camelot. Three weeks ago. Woods. Night.
I saw Killian standing there dressed like a dark one.
Thank god he's alive.
I rushed to him and hugged him " Killian! It worked! You're alive! "
Hook nodded but didn't hug me back "Aye. It did.§
Then he turned pissed off" After spending centuries quelling my bloodlust, you threw me right back into that darkness! Job well-done, Echo! "
Me " Binding you to Excalibur was the only way to save you. "
Hook "Right, Excalibur. And where is my shiny new tether? "
I shook my head " I don't know. It disappeared right after you did. "
Suddenly Gold showed up "Ah. Isn't that convenient?"
I froze " How long has he been with you? "
Hook "You can still see him?"
Gold " Sadly, yes. I mean, she's still a Dark One. No matter how ineffectual she may be."
I shook my head and put my hands on his cheeks "Don't listen to him. He's not real. But I am. I'm right here. Look at me. That future you told me not to be afraid of... We can have it. The house in Storybrooke. I'm not afraid anymore. I want it. With you. It's ours. You just have to want it, too. "
Hook nodded " Aye, love, I do. More than anything. "
Me "Killian... look. "
Hook gasped and looked around " The demon's gone. "
I nodded "We can do this. We can get the darkness out of both of us for good. "
Hook " How?"
Me "By doing what I just did with you. By going to those we love."
Now. Storybrooke. At my house.
Merida was aiming an arrow at me " You know, when Regina asked me to guard you, the last thing I wanted to do was be in the same room as you. Now that we're here, this isn't so bad. "
I looked at her annoyed " Put it down, Merida. We both know you're not going to shoot me. "
Merida " Oh, won't I? After everything you've done to me. Fine. I'd say an arrow to the knee would do you right good. Maybe me too."
Suddenly Hook showed up "Don't worry, love."
she shot an arrow at him but he caught it.
I looked at him.
He threw the arrow away and knocked Merida out with magic.
Hook " A broken knee is nothing on a broken heart. Isn't that right, Echo? What is this? I expected to find you and the heroes huddled over a mountain of books, trying to figure out my terrible plan. "
I raised an eyebrow " That's not why you're here. You're here because you still have feelings for me. "
Hook"Oh, Echo. Of course I still have feelings for you... Anger. Hatred. Disappointment. "
I shook my head " You don't mean that."
Hook" When you tethered me to Excalibur, you opened my eyes. And I now see you for what you really are... an anchor. Ha! And I see clearly now that you were nothing more than a pretty brunette distraction. But guess what, Echo? I am a free man now. And you will never hold me back from getting what I want again. "
Me " Hook... Killian... Whatever deal you made to get your revenge on Gold, it's not worth it. The darkness is using you. It doesn't care what you want. It only cares what it wants. "
Hook" Well, you're only a pawn if you don't know you're being used. As long as I get what I want, I don't give a damn about the rest. And you of all people should understand that. "
Me " Everything I did, I did for you. "
Hook " Well, you see, that's your problem, Echo. You're so afraid of losing the people that you love that you push them away. And that's why you'll always be an orphan. You don't need some villain swooping in to destroy your happiness. You do that quite well all on your own. "
I asked confused " Why are you doing this? "
Hook" Because... I want to hurt you... like you hurt me. "
Camelot. Three weeks ago. Woods.
I broke the kiss from Hook giggling " All right, enough distractions. I am going to go scout our path."
Hook "I'll go replenish our water supply. "
Then he walked away.
Then i heard Hook talking to someone.
No.
I rushed over there and pointed at Gold " You! Get out of here!"
Gold " Oh, we were just talking about you. Why don't you ask her yourself? "
I asked confused "Ask me what? Hook, what the hell's going on? "
Hook "Echo, do you know where Excalibur is?"
I shook my head, confused " Killian... Rumple is manipulating you. That's what he does."
Hook growled " Are you lying to me? I can hear it calling to the dagger, Echo. Do you have Excalibur?"
I nodded and made it appear in my hand" Yes. "
Hook " Did you use it on me? "
I looked at him irritated "What? No, of course not. I was never... "
Hook "Then why not tell me the truth? Are you afraid I was gonna ask you for it? You never planned on giving it to me, did you? "
Me " I did it to protect you. You told me yourself you were not strong enough to resist the darkness. "
Hook yelled " Which is why I begged you not to turn me into the bloody Dark One in the first place! But you went and did it anyway. "
My voice broke " You were dying"
Hook " You know the worst part, Echo? When your own sister wanted to use the dagger to stop you from crushing Merida's heart, I'm the one that convinced her that you needed to make that decision yourself. There's never been a moment where I didn't believe in you, where I didn't trust you. But you clearly don't believe in me anymore, so how am I supposed to fight this? "
I shook my head, in tears " Killi, pl-"
Hook shook his head "Don't. "
Then he vanished.
Now. Storybrooke. Present time. Gold's shop.
I walked inside.
Gold " Hello, Dark One. Sorry the, uh, shop's in a bit of a mess since you sent Merida here to kill Belle. Forgive me if I don't offer you tea. What can I do for you today? Because I assume this isn't just a social visit."
Me " I need help. To stop Hook, I need to get everyone's memories back, including my own. "
Mr. Gold " And how do you plan on doing that? "
I handed him a vial with ink "Zelena and Hook used squid ink to immobilize me. There's still some left."
Mr. Gold " And you want me to use this on him during our duel."
Me " All I ask is that you last long enough to occupy him while I steal back the dreamcatchers. "
Mr. Gold "Ah, yes. But for that... I don't need this. This... is where that magic belongs. "
I asked confused " What are you doing? You can't beat Hook without it. "
Mr. Gold "Well, my feud with the captain goes way back. And if I am gonna beat him, I'm gonna do it with honor. And I will. "
Me "You're on a suicide mission."
Gold scoffed " Oh, we'll see. But my stakes... are me. Yours are far greater. Do you really think you can win on your own? "
I nodded "I know I can. "
He chuckled " Here's the thing about confidence, your majesty... It's great at starting a fight, not so great at finishing one. Good luck."
Then he walked out.