Earlier that morning
Not surprisingly, Killian was up before her. He was always up with the sun – sometimes before – even on days when she'd much rather he slept in but she wasn't even certain if he was capable of it. Stretching as she finally forced herself to sit up, she raked her fingers through her mop of unruly blonde locks and tugged at the hem of her pajama top that had gotten twisted during the night. She could hear her husband in the bathroom connected to their master bedroom humming some little ditty that wasn't familiar to her ears. She tried not to look at the numbers on her alarm clock until her feet hit the floor, but once she did, her brain was instantly questioning the time displayed because it didn't seem like it could be correct.
"Killian?" she called to him. "What time is it?" She hoped he'd know the correct time so she didn't have to get up and go look at her phone right away.
"Not sure, Love," he replied back. Big help he was…
"Crap…," she muttered as she practically dragged herself from the bed to her dresser across the room where she'd left her phone plugged in to the wall charger. "8:15?!" she exclaimed, suddenly fully awake. "Damnit Killian! Why didn't you wake me sooner?" Barreling her way into the bathroom, she practically shoved him out of the way as she headed straight for the shower that he'd apparently just vacated since his exposed skin was still covered in shiny droplets and his damp hair was still partially matted to his scalp.
"Sorry. I must have lost track of time myself," he apologized, although the grin on his face wasn't entirely convincing. He stood at the sink with his straight razor in his hand and a royal blue towel wrapped loosely about his waist – a towel she would have been tempted to yank off of him if they weren't already running late. "Do you have an important meeting or something this morning?" He caught himself casting a glance over at her as she shed her pajamas and stepped under the spray of steaming hot water thankful that he hadn't yet begun trimming the ragged scruff along his jawline just yet.
"We're supposed to be meeting my parents for breakfast in fifteen minutes!" she responded in a huff. Obviously, he'd forgotten…
"Apologies, my love. I thought that was tomorrow." He was sincere this time as he returned to the task of trimming his whiskers while his wife hurriedly showered, bitter with himself that he'd forgotten which day they'd planned this meeting with her parents. His memory was normally far better than this. Perhaps he'd taken one too many patrol shifts this week?
"Forget about it. We can still make it. We'll just have to get dressed quickly," she replied as though she'd read his thoughts. She turned off the water and reached for her matching towel, drying herself off briefly before wrapping it around her torso - before she drew back the curtain to minimize her husband's temptation. Ducking past him yet again, she pulled the first things she could grab from her dresser drawers – jeans, a hip length pale peach blouse, white tank top and bright red socks – not that anyone was going to see those tucked inside her boots. Moments later, she returned to the bathroom fully clothed and found herself reaching around her husband's body to get her toothbrush out of their medicine cabinet. As much as she loved their master bath's vintage white porcelain pedestal sink, at times like this, she really wished they had a larger vanity – maybe with his and hers sinks? "You know, this would be a lot easier if my husband would move his ass out of the way…"
"Am I to infer from that statement that there is something wrong with my arse here?" he taunted, intentionally bumping into her hip as he returned his straight razor to the cabinet. "I seem to recall that last night you…"
"Go get dressed!" she blurted out, immediately cutting off his statement, her cheeks reddening at the memory of their antics from the previous night. "I swear I married a walking distraction…," she laughed as he pressed a kiss into her flushed cheek, responding only with a devilish grin. She shook her head in frustration, turning on the cold water to dampen her toothbrush as she let her gaze drift back to the bed to catch the full view of her husband's afore mentioned backside as he dropped his towel while opening his dresser drawer. "Yep – walking distraction…," she sighed in defeat, trying to think of anything possible that wouldn't make them very, very late for breakfast.
Thankfully, they'd made it to Granny's only a couple of minutes tardy so they were able to avoid any potentially awkward questions – not that any of them would have truly embarrassed Killian. He would have been all too happy to drop innuendo after innuendo just for the pleasure of watching the varying expressions on David's face. This morning though, their conversation had remained decidedly tame even with Henry at school and Neal spending the morning with Ashley and it was nice to just have a pleasant, uninterrupted visit.
Which of course meant that things were going a little too perfectly…
It started with Emma's phone ringing then Killian's seconds later, but neither had a chance to answer before Granny's front door flew open and Leroy suddenly stood before them shouting:
"There's some crazy purple haired lady out here trying to open a portal in the middle of Main Street!"
"What?" Emma asked, ignoring her phone with the assumption that it was likely someone else calling to deliver the same message. "What's going on?"
"That's what I'd like to know, Sister, but you're the Sheriff. I'll let you find that out," the dwarf spat out, not really giving her any more information to go on. Killian in the meantime had answered the call he'd received, clearly getting a similar message.
"Emma – that was Regina. She just said the same thing – a woman is heading this way, assaulting anyone and anything that's in her way. I told her we were here at Granny's so we'd try to intercept this woman."
"Purple haired woman?" Emma questioned as she clambered out of their booth and pushed her way past Leroy to the courtyard, not yet seeing the woman spoken of, but seeing flashes of bright light – probably magic. "Who is she? Anyone you know?"
"Never saw her before," Leroy replied, stepping away from the doorway before the crazy lady came into view.
"I've never seen her either," Emma heard Regina say as a cloud of crimson smoke cleared and the Queen came into view. "But she's throwing around magic fireballs like a pro."
"Why does this small town always seem to have so many people we don't know?" Emma muttered under her breath as Killian joined her in the courtyard. "Well, let's go see what she's up to…"
Emma strode confidently into the street with her family right at her heels as they caught the first glimpse of this unknown sorceress or witch - whoever or whatever she was. She didn't really look all that intimidating – small, painfully gaunt with skin that was almost corpse-like – its coloring more grey than Emma had ever seen on a living being. Her hair was an unusual shade of purple – somewhere between lavender and periwinkle perhaps – and it was pulled into a severe bun atop her head. Her black dress and dark violet cape hung shapelessly from her thin frame, but despite her frail appearance, she exuded a disturbing level of smugness and determination. Who the hell was this?
The woman barely slowed her pace even after spotting Emma and her family blocking her path.
"You want to tell me who you are and why you're tearing up our town?" Emma shouted to their unwelcome visitor.
"Out of my way, Sheriff," the woman hissed back, clearly aware of Emma's identity even if they didn't know who she was. "I've waited years to be able to open this portal and you're not going to stop me!"
"No one is opening any portals in the middle of my town without clearing it with me first," Regina spoke up.
"I don't need your permission either, Mayor Mills," the woman replied with a fair amount of disdain, clearly not intimidated by either of Storybrooke's leaders as she conjured a fireball that missed Regina's designer stilettos by inches.
"Okay, this means war…" Regina glared, conjuring up a fireball of her own, ready to launch it from her palm but the visitor was unfazed, continuing toward the center of town clutching what the queen now recognized as a golden scepter in her left hand. She couldn't make out the detail but it appeared to be about eighteen inches long with an round, unfaceted garnet or ruby crowning it. "Well, well… What do you have there?"
Regina flung her fireball toward the woman, only to see it deflected by the sword brandished by a burly man who suddenly stepped between them and the sorceress. Now, who was this? The woman showed no reaction to the man's precipitous appearance almost as if she'd just summoned him same as she'd conjured the fireball. He was a complete contrast to her – tall, stocky and muscular – his moves coordinated and precise unlike her reckless abandon.
"Emma – we'll keep him busy," David offered as his daughter waved her hand and instantly, her father's sword materialized in his hands. Snow's bow and arrow quiver and then Killian's cutlass appeared out of thin air as well. "You and Regina can tackle the one with the fireballs." The prince and the pirate each took a flank – David to the right and Killian to the left to draw the sorceress' apparent henchman away from her while Snow positioned an arrow on her bow to provide cover fire for her husband and son in law. Emma and Regina took similar positions on either side of the witch, blocking her from venturing any further down the street. Even Granny herself had prepared for battle – standing in the diner's doorway with crossbow at the ready if anyone crossed into her sights.
"Okay, buddy," the Prince growled at their strapping opponent. "This is as far as you're getting." The stranger only grinned in response as David aimed the point of his sword at him, raising his own blade in preparation for battle.
The henchman then swung his blade wildly, cutting a wide swath through the air before it collided with the forged steel of David's weapon. This wasn't going to be an easy fight, David thought as the force of the impact caused him to lose his footing, tumbling to the street. His opponent may lack finesse, but he was incredibly strong. Killian immediately thrust his cutlass into the fray before their mystery sparring partner was able to bring his sword down into the prince's back. The pirate managed to hold his ground despite the stranger's physical strength, deflecting the enemy sword long enough for his father in law to roll out of harm's way and regain his battle posture. Spinning around, Killian launched his own offensive attack, cutlass meeting sword once again as he felt and heard the whoosh of an arrow passing his ear.
Snow's first shot unfortunately missed its target as the stranger quickly overpowered Killian, shoving the pirate to the side with his own forward advance. Her second arrow struck its mark though as it grazed the unknown man's hand, inflicting enough damage that he lost his grip on his sword. David scrambled to retrieve it as the weapon flattered to the asphalt, their opponent now howling in pain and frustration. The loss of his sword only seemed to further enrage the brawny man and he surprised the prince by charging unarmed toward him until Killian lunged into his path, halting the stranger mid-stride as the curved, razor sharp edge of the pirate's cutlass was pressed into the flesh of an exposed neck.
"I suggest you stop right there, mate," Killian hissed, eyes locked onto his opponent until a deadly reminder that there was another battle waging across the street had him hopping out of the path of an errant fireball as it left behind a huge crack in the pavement inches from where he'd been standing. Nearly being scorched forced him to divert his focus away from the stranger for a fraction of a second - but it was in that brief moment that his seemingly unarmed opponent found a window of opportunity.
David watched the man reach around his back in that split second that the pirate's eyes were averted but everything happened so fast that he barely had time to shout a warning to his son in law that something shiny and likely dangerous was glistening in the stranger's hand.
"Hook! Look out!" David cried out at the top of his lungs but it was already too late. As the prince looked on in dismay, their unwelcome visitor drew a dagger from his belt and drove it to the hilt into the soft flesh beneath Killian's rib cage. Instinctively, the pirate's hand came up to cover the wound, cutlass dropping from his grip. He stumbled backward a step when the narrow blade was yanked from his body, already feeling the sticky blood flowing over his fingers, but the pain hadn't yet registered – his mind stuck in shock, still processing his momentary loss of concentration.
Her father's exclamation had also drawn Emma's attention as she dodged a fireball, diving out of the way as she caught sight of her husband staggering backward clutching his midsection.
"Killian!" she shouted, no longer caring what the lilac headed woman might be doing. Regina could deal with the sorceress as Emma now had more important concerns – and to her horror, things were about to get far worse…
Because only a few feet behind her injured husband, an approximately eight to ten foot wide swirling portal to god knows where suddenly appeared, covering a broad section of Main Street and portions of the sidewalk where Killian stood teetering dangerously close to its edge.
"Killian! Don't move!" she shouted, springing to her feet and sprinting across the street as fast as her legs would allow. David's first instinct was to drag his wounded son in law away from that portal but instead found himself tasked with keeping the henchman at bay, sword at the ready once again as he heard the ear-piercing screech of the purple haired witch.
"It worked!" the sorceress exclaimed gleefully. "My portal worked!"
"Yeah, well you're not going anywhere, sister," Regina spat, hurling a final fireball that knocked the distracted witch off her feet. Regina then quickly immobilized her adversary with a wave of her hand – long enough for her to conjure the anti-magic cuff and slap it onto the woman's bony wrist. "There – that should hold you while I try to clean up the mess you and your friend have made…" She yanked the golden scepter from the witch's hand before the freezing spell wore off and extended it out in front of her, hoping she could somehow close the growing enchanted gateway, but she'd no idea how to make it work.
Disoriented by his injury, Killian had no awareness that he was standing at the precipice of an expanding portal, struggling simply to maintain his balance. He'd heard his wife's voice shouting his name, but everything was garbled by the time it reached his ears. She was running toward him, presumably to render aid for his wound so he made a weak effort to extend his hooked arm toward her, but as her fingertips brushed the steel, the vortex reached the heel of his boot. With nothing solid beneath his feet, he fell backward and vanished into the abyss. Emma didn't even hesitate as she jumped into the portal after her husband. She might not have any idea where this thing was intended to take them, but she wasn't about to allow Killian to face that unknown alone and wounded.
"Emma!" Snow shrieked, her voice cracking as both her son in law and daughter disappeared through the portal.
"No! No! No!" the sorceress screamed angrily as she watched the sheriff and pirate disappear through the supernatural gateway she'd opened. "That's mine!" Still partially frozen by Regina's spell, she glared at her henchman. "Go after them, you idiot!" she ordered. The stranger gave a glance toward David who stood sword in hand before him, then down at the dagger clutched in his hand. He gave a long, curious look at the blood-stained dagger before tossing it away, muscling his way past the prince to dive head first into the vortex as it began to close.
And then with a clap of thunder, it was gone.
Everyone stood in disbelief for a short time as Main Street was returned to its prior state, save for a few scorch marks and the newly formed crack next to Killian's fallen cutlass. David lingered in silence, admonishing himself for not doing more to prevent this. His daughter, whom he'd fought so long and hard to reunite with and her husband, who he'd come to respect as a friend and even as a son had vanished – lost instantaneously to some far-off realm. He dropped to a knee to retrieve the pirate's sword, but instead picked up the blood-smeared dagger, surprised by its weight and appearance. It didn't seem to be a modern weapon, its handle covered in intricate carvings worn over time and its blade nicked and even rusted in a few spots. It was capped with a jewel that seemed to match the one embedded in the sorceress' scepter but the detail that caught the prince's eye most was the broken point of the blade. At least half an inch was missing from the tip, likely severed when thrown to the street, but David didn't have the patience to look for a severed piece of steel right now.
"Where the hell did you send them?" he demanded, storming across the street to confront the now magicless woman who'd created this fiasco. "Where did that portal take them?"
"To my gold," the witch spat back in disgust. "It should have been mine – all mine!" she rambled.
"What gold? Hell, I don't even give a damn about your gold. Where did my daughter and son in law go?" David wasn't in the mood for anything but a straight answer so when the violet coiffed woman simply cackled in his face, he turned away, fearing he might do something he'd later regret.
"I'll get her to talk," Regina spoke up with a borderline evil grin spreading across her face. "Give me a while with her and I'll have her singing like a canary…" Normally, David might have said no, but this time, he gave Regina his blessing as he stared blankly at his distraught wife.
What the hell had just happened and where the hell did his family disappear to?