Take us to that island…
Aladdin kept telling them that all wishes came with a price. Who would have thought, that once they'd been able to retrieve and repair the Nautilus, the price would be a portal back to Hangman's Island...in the past.
The portal they'd traveled through had been different than any they had ever encountered before, and the enchanted chronometer on board confirmed their suspicions upon surfacing. They had traveled to the past...but to when, exactly?
Liam accompanied his Captain to shore, the two men forming a scouting party, to see if the island could provide any clues as to when in time the wish had landed them. It was already dark, but the moon was bright and full as they made their way along the familiar beach where Liam had said goodbye to his older brother (or rather, would say goodbye?).
The landscape was vastly different this time, however. Instead of a fresh layer of snow that had been (would be) present, the beach was blanketed by debris. Wooden planks, barrels, rope and rigging, crates, and bits of sail cloth all pointed to one cause. A ship wreck.
Liam heard Nemo call out as he pointed to a spot up the beach where two figures could be seen trying to make their way out of the surf. They ran to the two men, but stopped short when they realized what, or rather who, they were seeing.
Killian?
Liam took a step closer to be sure, but there he was. His older brother was being assisted to his feet by a taller and slightly older man. Killian's dark hair was longer, tied back at the nape of his neck, and his clothes were shabbier. Even if they hadn't been soaked and rumpled from the turbulence of the sea, they would have reflected a man of low station. Liam knew that Killian and their eldest brother had spent much of their lives in servitude after their father had left them. Was that the time period in his brother's life that he and Nemo had found themselves?
If so, than the other man might be…
"Ahoy, there," Nemo called out, shaking Liam from contemplations. "By the gods, what's happened to you two sailors?"
Nemo did not give any indication of familiarity to the men, even though Liam knew that Nemo recognized Killian. Liam caught the look his Captain was giving him as they continued to approached the shipwrecked men. A look that told Liam to play along.
"We're survivors of the tempest that plagues these waters," Killian answered in a half choked voice. Still coughing the sea out of his lungs, while the other man looked upon them with caution.
"Fortune seems to have smiled upon you," Nemo continued, "to have survived such a storm. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Nemo, and this is my first mate...Liam."
All Liam could do was just stand there, with his hands firmly behind his back, as he watched his brother's face. Not a hint of recognition appeared in Killian's eyes, but Liam did see mirth dance within them as his brother spoke.
"Well, that's quite the coincidence" Killian replied, with a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. "That's my brother's name."
The affectionate gesture Killian gave the other man confirmed Liam's suspicions, this was indeed his eldest brother, his namesake. Liam's heart skipped within his chest, this was an encounter he'd never thought possible, but had dreamed of numerous times in his life.
Liam gave him a small nod of acknowledgment as the older Liam finally spoke. "Captain, you said?" He inquired. His attention set squarely on Nemo.
"Aye," Nemo answered.
"Then you must have a vessel." Liam said, more a statement than a question.
"Indeed, I do," Nemo confirmed.
"We seek passage back to our kingdom." Liam explained. "We have no way to pay you, but would gladly-."
Nemo interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "No payment will be necessary," he declared. "You've obviously been through quite an ordeal. It would be my pleasure to return you to your land so that destiny can lead you to that which it spared you for."
"You've our thanks," Killian offered, a bit awestruck at the kindness Captain Nemo was bestowing upon them.
Liam couldn't help but gawk at his Captain. Take them back to their kingdom? Why would we do that? Standing before them were his only remaining flesh and blood. If they returned them to their kingdom, then they were sure to seek out commissions in their King's Navy, a fate from which he was sure Nemo would want to spare them. Why not have them stay on Nautilus? Stay with him. Be a family.
The thought brought a smile to Liam's face as his heart swelled at the idea of living out the rest of his days with his older brothers by his side.
"Come, gentlemen," Nemo invited. "The Nautilus awaits."
Nemo extended his arm, gesturing towards the vessel partially submerged in the waters just offshore. The two men turned to see where the Captain was pointing, and took in the vessel.
"What the bloody hell is that thing?!" The older Liam exclaimed.
"That," Nemo bristled, "is my ship."
"She's very...pretty," Killian offered awkwardly.
"Captain, I don't understand," Liam said, as he followed Nemo down the narrow hallways. "Why are we taking them back to their kingdom?"
They had made it back on board the Nautilus and Liam had set the brothers (his brothers) up in the guest quarters. He was now accompanying his Captain back towards the bridge, to set a course for the kingdom his brother's hailed from.
"Because, Liam. That is where they belong," Nemo answered emphatically.
"By why not have them just stay here with us?" Liam questioned. He really wished Nemo would slow down, or stop, or something, but the man just pressed on with purpose towards the bridge.
"Because those men have a destiny to fulfill, and we must see that they fulfill it," Nemo answered.
Liam stopped dead in his tracks. "You can't be serious!" Liam shouted.
At this, Nemo finally did stop. He turned to glance upon his first mate, eyes filled with understanding, but Liam didn't think he truly did understand.
"Yes, Liam," Nemo said gently, "I am."
"And what kind of destiny is that?" Liam snapped back. "In a few short years Liam will be dead because of the mission his treacherous king will send him on. The king we are delivery them to! Liam died in Killian's arms, but we could change that!" Liam pleaded with earnest.
"Aye, we could change that," Nemo nodded in agreement, "but what else will it change?"
"Everything!" Liam exclaimed. Why wasn't Nemo getting it?
"Specifically, Liam. What specifically would preventing your oldest brother's death change?" Nemo asked.
Liam thought through the history that Killian had shared with him over those brief moments they had shared in Storybrooke. History that had yet to occur. "If we don't take them back, and they don't join the Royal Navy, then Liam won't die and Killian won't become a pirate." Liam stated.
"Yes, but then Killian will never meet Milah. A woman he loved deeply." Nemo countered.
"A woman he had to watch be murdered by the Dark One! An act which caused him to seek vengeance for centuries. Vengeance that made him do unspeakable things. Things that have ruined lives! Things that he now bitterly regrets and has had to atone for over and over again." Liam was confounded as to why Nemo would want to allow these men, his brother's, to continue on this path when it had only brought them pain and death.
Nemo took a step closer to Liam and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Which unspeakable act are you specifically referring to, Liam?" Nemo asked knowingly.
Liam swallowed hard at the question. He knew exactly what Nemo was asking him. The true reason he did not want to set his brothers back on their path.
"Our father," Liam whispered. "My father. If Killian doesn't lose Liam, and doesn't become a pirate, and doesn't meet and then lose Milah to the Dark One, then he won't kill my father in his pursuit for vengeance." Tears were prickling at the corner of his eyes.
If they didn't take them back, then he wouldn't lose his father. Would never have to discover his cold body lying outside their cottage with a dagger buried in his gut. Wouldn't have to fend for himself by the docks, with a heart full of hate, as he sought out the one responsible for his father's death. Would never…
Would never meet Nemo. Would never meet Killian on board the Nautilus when Nemo seeks him out with the harpoon tip. Would never be on the Nautilus to go back to this moment so that he could meet his other brother. It would change everything.
It would rob Killian of his True Love, for he'd die centuries before Emma was even born. Liam couldn't do that to him. He just couldn't.
Nemo could see Liam working through the effects that such a change in the brothers Jones' timeline would have. Tears slipped from Liam's eyes as he came to grips with what they must do.
"What now?" Liam choked out past his tears. "We've already changed things. Won't Killian remember us when you go after him during the Dark Curse? When we retrieve the key to the Mysterious Island?"
Nemo motioned for him to follow as he led Liam towards the Captain's quarters. Once inside, Nemo retrieved a small vial from the back of a locked cabinet.
"Not if we use this," Nemo answered, holding out the vial to Liam.
"What is it?" Liam questioned, as he turned the sealed vial over in his hands.
"A memory potion," Nemo answered as he took the vial back. "Once administered, it will erase everything from the previous three days of a person's memory. It will take us about that long to reach their kingdom. Once we arrive we give them the potion, leave them on shore where they'll be found by members of the Royal Navy, and they'll think they've only just wrecked."
Liam nodded his head in understanding and agreement.
Three days.
We never get much time do we?
Those were the last words he had said to Killian before they'd parted ways on the beach. The last words he'd said to Killian, but not the last words he'd said on the beach. He remembers now, that as he and Nemo had gone to round up the crew, he had muttered a wish. I wish we could have more time together.
Was that how this had happened? Had his wish somehow been granted in the presence of a genie even though he hadn't possessed the lamp? He didn't understand how wishes worked, but on the surface it would have seemed his wish was answered. By bringing him to this time, the wish had made him think that he could have more time with both his brothers. Live out the rest of their lives together on the Nautilus.
Only it was hoax.
Now he realizes that if they did indeed commit to changing his brothers' paths, he and Nemo would vanish from this time, for they never would have met and never would have been in the situation to be wished back in time in the first place.
If they changed things now, Liam would never meet either of his brothers.
For the next three days, Liam spent every waking moment with his brothers. He laughed at their stories, envied their bond, and reveled at the quick friendship they gave him. His heart simultaneously swelled and ached at their jubilance at finally being free men and their plans to earn commissions in the King's Navy.
It amused him to hear Liam call Killian 'little brother', only to have Killian impatiently correct him with 'younger brother'. Killian had only ever called the younger Liam 'brother', he wondered what the older Liam would call him?
The older Liam was every bit as sanctimonious and stubborn as Killian had described, but it was also apparent that there wasn't anything Liam wouldn't do for his little brother. He'd spent so many years trying to protect Killian from the cruelty of servitude, and for the first time, Liam truly understood what their father's abandonment had cost them. That last little piece of resentment Liam had held towards Killian melted away.
It was almost nightfall when they arrived at the kingdom's shores. Nemo gathered Liam and the brothers into his quarters for a farewell toast. Little did the brothers know that their cups had been dosed with memory potion and a small sleeping draught.
Liam surveyed the beach around him, it certainly looked like a ship had wrecked. They had gathered debris to litter the sands, mirroring the scene in which they had first come upon the older Liam and Killian. The two brother's were stretched out next to each other just above the surf line. The sleeping draught would wear off soon, and Liam should be heading back to the Nautilus, but he couldn't leave without saying goodbye.
He knelt down next to his eldest brother and took his hand. "It was an honor to meet you brother," Liam whispered. "I hope that we might find one another again in the next life."
Liam stood and then knelt down next to Killian. He brushed his brother's hair out of his face and took his hand as well. "Goodbye, brother," he murmured, "until we meet again."