Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT! Any and all mistakes are mine.

The Road to Happy Endings – Part III

By Random Gnome

Prologue

Killian Jones, formerly known as the pirate, Captain Hook, had known from the moment he laid eyes on his daughter as an infant, that he would do absolutely anything for her. He had given up his life as pirate and lived a mostly secluded life in a high tower overlooking the Forest. It didn't matter that he sometimes missed the briny scent of the sea and the roll of the wooden deck under his boots. Whenever Alice smiled at him, he knew that it was all worth it.

So was this quest.

It had been a long two-week trek to make it from the Tower to the port where he figured his old ship, the Jolly Roger, would be this time of year. All he wanted was to find someone with enough knowledge of magic that they might be persuaded (paid) to tell him if there was something - a spell, an artefact, anything - that would break the spell his wife, Gothel, had placed on the Tower. It was this spell that kept Alice trapped within its walls, unable to venture out into the world.

They were his entire world - his wife and child. The old Killian - the ruthless pirate - would have sworn vengeance against Gothel for what she'd done. However, he'd learned that vengeance was not an easy thing to accomplish and, in the end, there were more important things in life to think about. That was why, when Alice was three years old, he'd gotten down on one knee and proposed to her mother.

He'd learned, over the course of the first year of Alice's life, on Gothel's ever more frequent visits to the Tower, the history she had. He knew just what she had done in her past - all of the bad - and how she was struggling to change, to be a better person for their child. When she had broached the subject of coming to live with the two of them in the Tower, he had agreed, hoping that spending more time with them would help her on her course to redemption. After all, if he could be changed, then so could she. Although, she was much, much older than he was, and felt she had more to make up for.

Killian felt that Gothel coming back to a place that she hated, in order to help him raise their Alice, was a big step in the right direction. The fact that she also only used her considerable magic when it was necessary or in order to help others was another. Sometimes, one of the things he liked to do most was sit back and listen to his wife explain all things magical to Alice, even though the girl didn't appear to have been granted any form of power, despite how powerful Gothel was. While that didn't bother either Killian or his wife, the girl had more than once mentioned her desire to be a witch, like her mother.

To be fair, Alice was familiar with the use of dark magic. After all, it was dark magic that had been used to make her a prisoner in the Tower. However, that aside, the girl had never seen her mother do anything but good with her power, and she wanted to emulate that. Who could blame her? Hell, even he had been on the receiving end of Gothel's good graces when it came to magic.

He flexed the fingers of his left 'hand' into fist and then relaxed it. The leather glove he wore on the 'hand' creaked as he did. He couldn't feel it, of course - it wasn't real. Gothel had created the simulacrum of a hand once, after his hook had accidently scratched Alice while they played. She'd cried so piteously at the offending injury - no matter that it really was just a scratch - and he'd felt awful at causing her harm, albeit unintentionally. The witch had healed their daughter and wiped away her tears, and then she had taken him aside and asked him if he wanted her help. He'd said yes, of course. And so, the hand.

It did whatever he wanted it to do. It functioned just like his right hand did - without conscious thought on his part. It was wonderful! It was, however, sort of like a dream. While he could make use of it, he couldn't feel anything with it. He'd covered it with a glove - a reminder that it wasn't real, no matter what it looked like.

All magic came with a price.

That was also why he'd chosen to walk to the port where he hoped to find his old ship and crew, instead of allowing Gothel to use her magic to send him there. She admitted that in darkening herself in the past, sometimes her power still had darkness in it. The less she used it for trivial things, the better. He had two good legs and some very well-made boots - he could make the journey on foot. He loved her for the thought, though.

Now, as he crested a high hill and looked down onto the city below and farther out to the ocean, he knew he'd made the right decision. He inhaled and the smell of salt and water and open air filled his lungs, making him feel optimistic about his chances of helping his daughter for the first time in many, many years. In fact, he thought he might even be able to see the masts of the Jolly Roger from where he stood.

Excellent.

Killian knew that he'd reach the city just as night fell. He'd find an inn and first thing in the morning, he'd go find Smee and the others. With a lightness to his step that he hadn't felt in years, the former pirate started walking again, whistling an off-key tune as he went.

He didn't feel the eyes that burned as they followed his progress from far above.

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Killian Jones awoke to the unfamiliar sounds of a city starting its day. He yawned, stretched, and swung his legs over the side of the lumpy inn bed, onto the wooden floor. It hadn't been the most restful night of his life, but that didn't matter. Today, he would find his old mates and convince them to help him search for a way to break Alice out of her Tower prison. He was almost certain that they would help him, not least of all because he still knew all of their secrets and where a considerable sum of money was hidden.

He took the time to wash himself and to make sure that he looked his best. He may or may not have put on weight over the years, but that didn't matter. What mattered is that he not give any impression that years of fatherhood and married life had made him weak. Two weeks of trekking through the Forest had helped, with that look. Once he was ready, he made his way down to the common room of the inn and ate a hearty breakfast.

Food gone and his bill with the innkeeper taken care of, Killian shouldered his pack and started the long walk to the docks. He made sure to keep the swagger in his step and a hand on his sword hilt. The docks weren't necessarily full of thieves, but it was better safe than sorry, in his opinion.

He had been walking for quite some time when he realised that he was lost. No, not lost. He knew the way to the wharf, he knew that if he kept going in the direction he was headed, he should at least meet the water, soon. Except that, the more he walked, the farther away it seemed to get.

That wasn't right.

On a whim, he changed direction - going West, instead of East.

It wasn't until he passed the same baker's shop twice that he started to think that something was being done to him.

Magic. Someone or something was using magic on him. If he weren't so magic blind, he'd have seen it earlier. Now, the questions remained - who and for what reason.

"Show yourself!" He called out. What was strange was that nobody who passed by him seemed to hear or see him. "I know you're using magic! Why don't you come out and we can talk about what you want of me?"

An actual shadow peeled itself away from the baker's building and strode confidently out into the light. It wasn't a tall shadow - coming only to his chin. It stood with hands on hips and two 'eyes' like glowing polished rubies stared at him and though it didn't have a mouth, the expression was most definitely not friendly.

Captain Hook knew it for what it was immediately.

"You!" He exclaimed, backing away. "How are you here? I thought you were cursed to that bloody island of yours."

The shadow threw back it's head as though it were guffawing in laughter before focussing back on the former pirate. Its red eyes burned with hatred and it pointed to the 'hand' encased in the black leather glove.

"Like that, do you?" Hook asked, holding it up and moving his fingers one at a time. "I got back what you stole from me, demon."

The shadow shook its head vehemently, in denial.

"Oh, aye, it's not my actual hand. That was lost to the depths the day we fought and you cut it from my arm. It's a good likeness, though, wouldn't you say?"

Again, the shadow shook its head, looking, if it were possible, even more angry than before.

"So, tell me, demon, what do you want of me?" Hook demanded. He brandished his sword at the shadow. "You've already taken my hand." He wasn't at all sure that he could hurt it with the cutlery, but he wasn't going to stand there, unarmed. He wasn't stupid.

For a long moment, the shadow stood there, staring at him in naked contempt. Then, it moved. It was faster than he'd ever seen it move before. One moment it was in front of him, the next it was above him. It grabbed hold of his shoulders before he had moved and he was lifted into the air.

Hook tried to swing his sword at it before it could get too high, but it was no good. He nearly lost the weapon, so decided it was better to sheath it and wait for a better time. They had gone so far up that he could now see the entire city below - including the dock, which he'd apparently been on the edge of the entire time.

Killian knew better than to try to escape. The higher the thing flew with him, the less likely he was to survive if he somehow slipped from its grasp. Even if he fell into the water they were now flying over, he was well aware that the impact with the water might break something. If that were not the case, these waters were well known to contain more than one man-eating beasty in them. Instead of escaping, then, he let his body go limp and settled in for the duration, already knowing where the thing was taking him.

Author's Note: Welcome back to the adventure! Well, here we go. Part III. I hope this keeps you going. Welcome to humble-mumble and the Mandalorian terminator – thanks for the favourites! Reviews fuel my muse. Cheers!