《Artemis || OUAT》73. Broken Heart

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Astrid walked beside Peter as they followed Merlin, Snow, David, Regina, and Lancelot over to where the Dark One's vault was located at.

"There's nothing we can do." Merlin spoke up as he moved a hand over the symbols lightly, "It's too late. The Vault has already forged Hook as its new Dark One.

Astrid noticed the tracks on the ground and spoke up, "He went this way. This way!" She quickly followed the tracks but soon stopped. "And then the tracks disappear."

"We should split up, search the woods." David suggested, placing a concerned fatherly hand on his daughter's arm.

"He's a Dark One." Regina spoke up, "He can transport himself anywhere. So can Emma."

"We've got to start looking somewhere." Peter also spoke up, glancing over at his wife as he knew she was saddened by what had happened.

"There's no time." Merlin commented, "Of all the paths I foresaw for your daughter- Emma- I'm afraid that this was the darkest. We should return to Granny's. Even without my magic, I still have enough ingredients to make preparations."

"I don't care how bad things got-- My sister wouldn't hurt us." Astrid spoke up in defense to her twin.

"Maybe." Merlin replied, "But this new Dark One, we need as many allies as we can get."

"Lancelot, your mother's the lady of the lake." Snow began towards their old friend, "Could she help us?"

"Perhaps," Lancelot started.

"Perhaps?" David repeated with a small sigh as Merlin agreed with Snow, "Lancelot, you should go. She does have great power. The lake is but a two-way journey from here. It's worth a try."

"And if I don't make it in time?" Lancelot inquired.

"Well, then you get to spend your last moments with your mother," Peter answered him.

Lancelot, Regina, Merlin, and Peter walked ahead while Snow, Astrid, and David remained behind.

"We were so close," David began, "Emma was seconds away from destroying the darkness and ending this."

"And Hook would have been dead." Astrid commented, keeping her gaze on the ground beneath her boots.

"She chose love, David," Snow added with a concerned glance thrown towards her daughter's way, "And we would have done the same thing. We'd share one heart because we took the same kind of risk that Emma took-- And Astrid almost took-- We save each other. That is what our family does. So have some faith in her."

"I do." David assured before adding, "I just hope her faith in Hook is justified."

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Astrid looked over at her father and then over at her mother, her jaw flexing somewhat. She just wanted her sister and father figure back and themselves.

Astrid stood in the woods, now shooting her arrows at targets on several trees.

All of their memories of Camelot had been taken from where Emma had hid them when she was a Dark One, and now, no one knew where they were or who took the dreamcatchers.

Dark Astrid leaned against a tree behind her, her arms folded across her chest, as she then spoke up in amusement, "Wouldn't you like to know what happened in Camelot-- or even who took them?"

Astrid swiftly moved her bow and aimed it at her dark double and shot her with the arrow notched in the bowstring.

But before the arrow could hit her, Dark Astrid caught it a mere inch from her chest. "Did you really think that would work?"

Astrid smirked, saying, "Nope, that's why that one is coated with squid ink."

Dark Astrid frowned and looked down at the arrow and was then immobilized by its power. "Impossible. I'm only in your bloody head for now. This shouldn't work on me."

Astrid kept her smirk and moved over to her before she commented, "I told you before. I'm stronger and smarter now. You can't beat me. I'm the Creator."

The eighteen year old then walked away from her dark double screaming after her as she kept a proud smirk on her face.

Astrid stood in between David and Peter who stood beside Regina while Snow was seated on the log outside of Granny's at nighttime.

"There you are!" Regina spoke up as Emma and Hook both walked up to them in all black, "We've looked everywhere for you."

"Emma. What happened to you?" Snow warily began.

"Are you okay, Em, Dad?" Astrid also spoke up in concern as she stepped a little closer to the two Dark Ones.

"For now. It looks worse than it is." Emma admitted, glancing down at her attire.

"Are you sure?" Regina also asked in concern.

"Aye. We're ready to get the sickness out of us. Where's Merlin?" Hook spoke up for his love.

"He's inside." David answered.

"Well, let's get on with it, then." Hook replied, "I'll go get him. Wait here." He then moved inside of the diner.

Astrid felt sick all of a sudden as she glanced over at the diner's doors again. "Stay here, guys. I, uh, need to bloody ask Merlin something alone. Creator stuff, you know?"

Her parents, Regina, and Emma nodded slowly while Peter narrowed his eyes slightly at her, knowing she was lying.

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Astrid smiled a little and jogged inside of Granny's and closed the door behind her as she saw Hook holding Merlin's heart in his hand and saw Nimue in the corner.

"I knew something was bloody wrong." Astrid began, "You weren't acting like my dad..."

Hook simply remarked, "Aye, because I'm not. I never was. I mean, I bloody left you on Neverland, Astrid, to get from you and have my revenge. You were never my daughter."

Astrid's eyes watered as he said that but she still commented, "This isn't you. You'll never ever hear me bloody say that you, the you, is anything but ... No matter what you say, you my family. And I love you, so please. Don't do this."

Hook simply smirked and clenched the heart in his hand as Merlin groaned in pain but he stopped once more as Astrid added desperately, "I was the first person to believe in you. I won't leave you. I won't let you go."

The pirate looked over at Astrid once more as a brief sadness crossed into his eyes as he let out, "I'm sorry." He then crushed Merlin's heart, the said sorcerer falling to the ground.

Tears fell down the eighteen year old's face as she rushed over to Merlin's body and moved him into her arms, her hands starting to glow brightly.

While she did this, Hook smirked somewhat and moved over to the cauldron and dropped the remains of the heart into the cauldron just as the purple cloud of smoke begun to rise from it.

Astrid murmured to a dead Merlin, "I'm sorry. Rest in peace. You were a good man." She waved her hand across the body which then disappeared.

"It's over, Astrid." Hook spoke back up as he moved over to the girl once she stood back up.

"I told you I would never abandon you, Dad." Astrid commented, tears still in her blue eyes, "I'm not going to bloody start now."

"Well, I'm sorry, AJ." Hook simply replied, "Once a curse has been enacted, you can't stop it."

"Yes. We might not be able to stop it... but I can make you forget why you cast it." Emma suddenly spoke up from behind the two. She waved her hand, knocking out both of them.

"And that you were ever the Dark One in the first place." Emma added, making a dreamcatcher appear in her hand and then used it to take away her love's memory. "When you wake up, you'll be the man you were. The man I love. The man who loves me." She kissed his lips lightly.

"Uh, you'll have to do more than that if you want him to forget he was ever a Dark One." Rumplestiltskin inside of her mind spoke up.

Emma stood back up and moved her hand out, making a cloud of smoke briefly appear which then revealed everyone lying on the floor around her. "I know."

She then activated the dreamcatcher again as it glowed and began to take away all of their memories but hers.

"I need to erase the memories of everyone who knew..." Emma continued, "That I turned Hook... into a Dark One."

"Right. Because no one could possibly understand." Rumplestiltskin remarked, "Why trust your family to help when you can do it all yourself?"

"This was my fault." Emma commented and then slightly glared down at an unconscious Astrid, "And my sister's. She could have prevented all of this. But the one who's going to fix this."

Emma then moved over to the cauldron as Rumplestiltskin said, "By using dark magic to add a memory wipe to the curse." She placed the dreamcatcher inside of the cauldron as it glowed gold inside of the purple smoke. "But you won't like where it leads or worse... You will."

The cloud of purple smoke with flickers of gold washed over them and everything in the land, sending them back to Storybrooke then.

Astrid had her arms folded across her chest as she stood around her family plus Merida. "I found the missing dreamcatchers."

"Who took them?" Hook asked first.

"I did... Well, my dark double bloody did. I'm seeing her again since I took on both of your darknesses..." Astrid admitted before inhaling a bit sharply, "But she's under control in here now." She tapped the side of her temple. "Now let's remember what happened in Camelot, shall we?"

The dreamcatchers then glowed and everyone's memories were now returned.

Astrid looked over at Hook who had a hurt yet guilty look on his face from killing Merlin but more on what he said to his adopted daughter.

Astrid knew this and rushed over to the one handed man and hugged him tightly. "It's okay. I forgive you. Forgive yourself, Dad."

Hook reluctantly hugged her back and then kissed the top of her head, saying, "Thank you for always believing in me, Kid... even when I- I said those things..."

"It's okay," Astrid murmured in the embrace, "I knew it wasn't you. It was the darkness. I'm very extremely fond of you, too."

Hook tightened his arms around the girl and softly laughed some, lucky to have a daughter like herself.

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