Disclaimer: Only the plot belongs to me!
Present Day
"Are you okay?" Emma asked Killian as he watched Ursula and Cruella drive away in Cruella's car after she'd come to alert him to her presence with a menacing threat of, 'I've looked for you for years. Only one of us will leave here alive, and it will be me'. "That look on your face when you saw Ursula…do you know her?"
"Yes," Killian replied after a long moment. "It's been awhile, Swan, and what happened between me and her is not something I like thinking about. It wasn't one of the prouder incidents of my life."
"All right," Emma nodded. "If it's something you'd rather keep to yourself, that's your business. I trust you enough not to push."
"Thank you, Swan," Killian replied and gave her a kiss before turning to leave the sheriff's station. "It really does."
But under his confidence, he wasn't so sure. He'd wronged the sea witch, and he'd wronged her terribly. He'd done something that he'd probably never be able to make up for.
She hadn't always been evil. In fact, once she'd been very good. It had been he who'd been bad, and his own selfishness had ruined a once-innocent and sweet little mermaid.
The Sea Queen (later the Jolly Roger), the 1710s
Lieutenant Killian Jones watched in confusion as the crew, their faces frightened, ran to hole up below deck.
"Brother?" He asked Liam, who was coming toward him. "Where have they all gone? What's happening?"
"Nothing to worry about, brother," Liam assured him. "They've been talking nonsense about there being mermaids in this part of the sea and that they'll do us harm, but those are just silly stories sailors tell. We'll get through these waters just fine."
"Good," Killian said and went to take the helm. "I put my trust in you, brother." But he cast a long look into the sea as he walked, the darkness and depth of it giving him shivers. For all he knew, the sailors could be right. There could be anything in those depths, and not all of it was good for sailors.
Later that day, a hurricane blew up. As Liam called for all hands on deck to work on keeping the ship afloat, Killian took the helm and tried to keep it on course while water soaked everything. Remembering the stories the sailors had told about the deities that ruled the seas, he shut his eyes and began muttering something akin to a prayer and hoping that someone would hear him and spare the sailors' lives.
It seemed to work, and as night fell, the seas calmed and the relieved sailors began emptying the water from the ship. Then, everyone finally went to get some sleep.
But eventually, a rough bump roused Killian from sleep, and, hearing shouting from above deck, he dressed as well as he coud, left his quarters and found several sailors trying to restrain a beautiful young woman while another grabbed a knife and seemed to be preparing to slit her throat.
"What is going on here, men?" Killian asked. "And who is this…this girl you've taken captive?"
"She's not a girl, sir," one of the sailors, the one with the knife, said, indicating the girl's fins. "She's a mermaid. We found her by the ship, spying on us. She's the one who sent the storm to drown us all. I'm sure of it!"
Killian ordered the men to move aside so he could have a look at the mermaid for himself. She was a lovely dark-skinned creature with long dark hair and big dark eyes. "Hello," he said. "Did you bring forth the storms that nearly sunk my ship?"
"No, sir," she shook her head and struggled some more against the ropes that bound her. "I-I was looking at what you were doing when they took me. It all seemed so fascinating. I've never hurt anyone. All I've ever wanted to do is make people happy."
"What's your name?" Killian asked as he stared at her frightened face.
"Ur-Ursula", the girl got out. "Please let me go. I haven't done anything, I swear!"
"Let her go," Killian told the sailors sharply. "It's bad form to take someone captive when you have no definitive proof they've done wrong." He snatched the knife out of the sailor's hand as the others looked on in surprise. "And the idea that mermaids cause storms is just superstitious nonsense!"
"Thank you!" Ursula cried as he helped her to the side of the ship so she could dive into the water. "I'll never forget this. I'll tell my father Poseidon to bless your future journeys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Once she hit the water with a splash, Killian turned to his men. "Do you see why you must always practice good form?" He asked. "If you'd have killed that mermaid, you would have doomed us all. But by rescuing her, I ensured our continued good fortune. Now, get back to work, or sleep, or whatever it was you were doing before you took that mermaid hostage, and I will not stand to see another mermaid captured. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," the sailors nodded and ran back to their posts before Killian, with a yawn, headed back to bed.
As Ursula had promised, good fortunate followed the ship, even after Liam's death and Killian's transformation into the ruthless pirate Captain Hook. He was able to capture several ships and become the terror of the seven seas and all lands he entered. He had, however, a single enemy: the ruthless pirate Blackbeard, who, rumor had it, had made a deal with the mermaids to sabotage every ship that entered their domains so that he would have no competition. As a result, despite his years of being friendly with the mermaids, Killian had made an order to kill any mermaid that came in view of the ship. Things had been good so far, but he wasn't taking any chances.
Then, one night, two mermaids made their way toward the ship. One was Ursula, and the other was her mother. "Do we really have to do this, Mother?" Ursula asked nervously. "I recognize the ship, and Father and I have a deal with the captain because he saved me before."
"You know we have to do this, Ursula," her mother said firmly. "It's either sabotage the ships or Blackbeard will enslave you and I and use our voices for his own gain."
"All right," Ursula sighed. "If we must, we must."
"Stay under the water," He mother ordered. "If they're going to catch one of us, I would prefer it be me."
"All right, Mother," Ursula replied. She stayed behind, everything under the water, but the top of her head and her eyes, which allowed her to see as her mother approached the ship and called up a storm, then used her long nails to make holes in the side of the ship. But she hadn't been doing it for very long when she, with a cry, was pulled up onto the ship in a net.
"Mother!" Ursula cried, her eyes wide with terror as she swam the short distance to the ship and was soon scooped up on deck herself, just like her mother.
"Ursula, I told you to stay hidden!" Her mother cried desperately. "Why didn't you listen to me?"
"I can't just let you die!" Ursula cried. Then she turned to Smee, who was watching her nervously. "Go get the captain," she ordered. "I want to have a word with him!"
Smee, who was used to obeying orders from anyone who would give them to him, bustled down to the captain's cabin to tell Killian what was going on on deck.
"We've captured two mermaids, Captain. One was trying to sabotage the ship, and another wishes to speak to you."
"I have no desire to speak to any mermaids, Mr. Smee," Killian replied. "As you know, every last one of them is working for Blackbeard, and nothing they say can be trusted. She's probably going to try to get me to reveal secrets which she will then share with him. I told you and the rest of the crew to kill any mermaids you caught, and I meant it. What sort of lily-livered man are you if you can't kill a mermaid?"
Smee hesitated again and Killian scoffed, going up on deck himself and parting the sailors to stare at what they've caught.
"Hello, Captain," Ursula greeted him. "Please tell your men to set my mother and I free."
"I would love to, Ursula," he said after a long moment. "But I can't. You are doubtless one of the many mermaids working for Blackbeard, are you not?"
"Well, yes, but not by choice!" She cried. "Captain, he threatened our lives!"
"And your very existence threatens mine in your current situation," Killian pointed out. "I don't like people destroying my ship, and anyone who does, pays. However, given our past association and all the good it's gotten me, I suppose it's only right I set you free."
Ursula heard this and brightened, but only for a moment before he finished his thought. "But first, you will watch your mother die as a reminder of the cost of siding with a villainous blackguard like Blackbeard in the first place. Men, restrain her."
Several men restrained Ursula as she watched Killain stick his sword straight through her mother's heart and then just throw her lifeless body in the ocean.
"Now go," he told her, as her eyes narrowed. "And if you ever think of destroying another ship, it better not be mine, or you'll end up sharkbait, just like your mother."
Ursula glared at him for a long time. "This will not go unpunished," she said. "You will pay for my mother's death, and even if it takes my entire lifetime, before I breathe my last, I will avenge my mother."
"Yes, yes, whatever," Killian replied with a bored yawn as she jumped overboard.
"Was it really wise to threaten that mermaid, Captain?" Smee asked. "This could spell disaster for us!"
"Are you questioning me, Smee?" Killian wanted to know.
"No, Captain," Smee said quickly and backed away. "You did what was right. That mermaid will never come back."
"Damn right she won't," Killian replied and went back to the helm to steer the boat to a different part of the ocean.
The Present
"You're in a mood, darling," Cruella observed. "Care to explain?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Ursula sighed and sat down hard. "I just saw the man I've wanted to kill for years. I would have done it a lot sooner, but my father blamed me for my mother's death and banished me from our home. It wasn't as much of a loss for me as he believed it was. It gave me time to think…and make a few changes." As she said this last bit one of her tentacles slid out and brushed along the arm of a mint green easy chair. "Now I think I've waited long enough, though."
"So how will you do it?" Cruella asked.
"And what can we do to help?" Maleficent added.
"You're nice to offer, but…I think I want to handle this myself," Ursula said, getting up and listening to Cruella's "Goodbye, darling," before shutting the cabin door and heading to the docks.
"Thought I'd find you here," she remarked when she saw Killian. "Thank you for making me not have to waste a lot of time hunting you down."
"We need to talk," Killian told her as he turned. "Please."
"You want me to show you mercy?" Ursula yelled as she picked him up with her tentacles, one making him choke as she wrapped it around his throat. "Like that mercy you showed my mother so many years ago when you stabbed my mother through the heart and threw her into the sea like…like garbage? I'm not feeling particularly merciful, Captain. I've killed many a pirate over the years as I waited to catch up with you. And I'm not gonna lose the chance now."
Killian coughed. "I spared…I spared your life. I'm sorry about your mother, but you understand why I had to kill her. I spared your life!"
"Only so I'd have to live with the memory of watching my mother be murdered!" Ursula yelled. "It would have been better for you to kill us both!"
As he coughed, and could see everything begin to go gray, he turned his head to see Emma coming down to the dock. "Swan!" He tried to yell. "Swan!"
"Hey!" Emma cried. Ursula saw her coming and rammed Killian's own hook into him before dropping him and disappearing.
"Oh, my god!" Emma cried, getting down on her knees beside him. "We have to get you help!" She called David and they rushed Killian to the hospital. They were able to get him into surgery, and David sat with Emma in the waiting room, holding her hand tight.
"He's gonna be all right, you know," David assured his daughter.
"How do you know that?" Emma asked.
"Because I do," David replied. "Because you love him, and he loves you, it'll work out."
"I hope you're right," Emma replied and sniffled as David reached across the armrest and took her in his arms. "Thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome," David replied.
Eventually, Doctor Whale came to announce that Killian had made it through surgery all right.
"Good!" Emma cried, feeling immensely relieved. "Can I…can I see him?"
"Of course," Doctor Whale nodded. "But don't stay for too long. He's weak."
Emma and David then went into Killian's room and Emma came to stand by his bedside. "You wanna tell me what that was about?" She asked him through tears.
"Yes," Killian nodded. "I suppose you have a right to know. Several years ago, when I was not at my best, Ursula was a mermaid. She and her mother were working for Blackbeard, and although a good deed I'd done once put my on good terms with the mermaids, fear of sabotage when I was a pirate made me go after them without prejudice. One of the mermaids I killed was Ursula's mother. I let Ursula live, and apparently, watching her mother die at my hands was something that she's never forgiven. I don't blame her, really. With my own past, how could I? What you saw was her trying to get her revenge."
"But that was the past, right?" Emma asked. "You're not going to be killing anyone now?"
"Only in self-defense, love," Killian promised.
"Good," Emma nodded and kissed his forehead. "Doctor Whale said I shouldn't stay very long cause you need your rest. So I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."
"What a pity I have to wait that long," Killian replied and gave her a wave.
"How did your revenge go, darling?" Cruella asked as Ursula returned to the cabin. "Is the captain dead?"
"I was very close," Ursula replied. "Then his girlfriend showed up. I'm not going to have another chance to get near him." She sighed. "But I did get to hurt him. See the fear in his eyes when he thought he was going to die. In its own way, that's satisfying. If it's that's all I'm going to get, it's pretty good. At least for now. I can always try again later."
"And when you do, let us come with you," Cruella urged. "Three heads are always better than one."
"You're right," Ursula nodded. "Three heads are in fact better than one. That's why my uncle Hades has that three-headed dog." She chuckled. "He named him 'Spot' of all things. Well, that's what the name means in Greek."
"Interesting," Cruella perked up. "You think I could make him into a coat?"
"Not if you want to stay alive," Ursula replied. She looked at her two co-conspirators. "What's next for us?"
"Well, until the Dark One gives us what he promised, we'll have to watch him every second," Maleficent replied. "As for how we want to spend our time…who knows? We can do anything we want."
"That's right," Cruella nodded. "Cause the three of us together are trouble, and I don't want anyone in this town to forget it."
"I don't either," Maleficent agreed.
"Nor I," Ursula finished. "And hopefully with what I've done to the Captain, no one else will give us any trouble."