I do not own Once Upon a Time nor any of its fabulous characters. I am merely a scribe that likes to write of their adventures.

I do so love my reviewers, followers, favoriters! Thank you all for the support!

On with the show…

-Y&M-

It was strange to be crossing the town line of what Emma knew to be Storybrooke, Maine, and have the town itself be missing. There wasn't anything left that would have revealed that a town ever existed in this space near the coast of Maine. Emma had even pulled over to the side of the road and awakened a sleepy Killian to have him check his map to make sure she'd remembered correctly.

"Aye, this is the spot," he'd stated in a low voice, groggy from sleep, as he looked around at the sky through the car window, as if to check his bearings just to make sure. "This is the town's limits."

Their journey here had been a quiet one, as Emma did not want to waste time in getting here so she could get to the bottom of what was threatening her parents and friends back in the Enchanted Forest. She'd wanted to grill Killian about it, but thought otherwise with how tired he looked from the night before, the guilt of her being the cause of his sleeplessness not allowing her to have the heart to keep him from taking a nap on the way. He had not slept soundly though. Several times Emma saw him jump in his sleep, as if fighting something, a bit of information she would ask him later about so she could know what plagued his dreams, in case it was from events happening in the Enchanted Forest.

"So where to from here?" she asked as she got ready to take the car out of park when she felt his hand upon hers, stopping her.

"We take the rest of our journey on foot, I'm afraid, darling," he said with regret as the snow had really begun to come down on them at this point and it would not be warm outside the confines of the car.

"Ugh, you're kidding? We're not going to the docks to the Jol—" she began as he altogether too quickly cut her off.

"No, its here," he said as he once again opened the map across the dashboard of her car and pointed with his false hand to the 'x' that was marked upon it.

"It?" she asked, making another mental note to question him on the Jolly Roger when she had the chance.

"The wardrobe."

"Ah," she said as she rolled her eyes.

The wardrobe. Of course. And we're going to find it by following a treasure map into to a forest…in the damn snow. Because that's normal for the child of Prince Charming and Snow White.

"The wardrobe's in the forest?" Henry asked, leaning forward into the front seat between them.

"Aye, lad, it tis, alone with a few other items that I'd brought for you and your mother," Killian began as Henry handed him his long coat and he opened the car to get out and put it on.

"Damn that wind is cold. Henry, make sure you put your heavy coat and scarf on before you go out there. Its freezing and I can't tell from Killian's map how long its going to take us to get to this wardrobe."

"I know, I know," she heard Henry from the back seat as he rummaged through the things he'd brought with him.

Emma got up and out of the car, coming around to the passenger side where Killian stood awaiting them. He was fidgeting with something from within the pockets of his coat and then pulled out and item Emma was all too familiar with…his hook. She watched as he deftly took off his false hand and replaced it with the hook in a few swift moves, the final 'click' of the hook going into place being the final bit.

"There," he said as he tapped the end of her nose affectionately with the hook. "That's better isn't it?"

Emma gave him a look as she rolled her eyes at him, a smile threatening, "Just not feel like yourself without that thing, huh, Captain?"

"You missed it, didn't you, Swan?" he purred as he, once again she thought, invaded her personal space.

A grin broke wide on Killian's face when he'd noticed something that had escaped him earlier in his weary when they'd initially boarded her vessel. He had missed something about the attire Emma had chosen for herself. Emma Swan was wearing his scarf.

"I don't know if you can miss a hook, Killian," she began as she watched him thread the scarf around his hook and he pulled it round her neck closer. "But I suppose, since its part of you, I may have missed it a little."

Killian stopped his playing with the scarf and gave her a quick knowing look before he noticed Henry had got out of the car and was coming round to join them.

"It's freezing out here!" he said as he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and chattered his teeth.

"I know, kid. Killian, let get this show on the road if we're ever going to get warm again soon," she said as he motioned for them to follow him across the road and into the woods.

Killian searched a few of the trees on the outskirts of the area before finding on that had a large gash across it, which looked to have been suspiciously made by his hook, Emma surmised. Emma and Henry both then found themselves biting back a laugh as Killian actually started counting out paces, his strides ridiculously long, reminding Emma a bit of the Monty Python skit of the School of Weird Walks.

"…ten, eleven.." he was counting as he read the map, leading them deeper into the forest, the tree cover blocking most of the snow from coming down quiet as hard on them.

Henry let out a snort of laughter, unable to bear watching the pirate walk in this manner anymore. Killian Jones, Captain Hook, came to a halt and turned slightly to see the boy grinning at him.

"Have I done something to amuse you, lad?" he asked, slightly offended, and it was Emma's turn to snort, attempting to stifle a giggle at him.

"Is that really necessary?" she asked as she came up beside him, placing her hand on his arm with a light squeeze.

"Is what really necessary?" he asked, still slightly befuddled what she and her lad were getting at.

"This," Emma began as she exaggerated her footsteps to prove a point, mimicking his walking paces as Henry burst into a fit of laughter behind them both.

"Swan," the nefarious Captain Hook began, his voice almost a whine if Emma wouldn't have known any better. "I'll have you know, darling, that this is the right and proper way to count out paces and if you ever want to reach—"

Their laughter and the pirate's speech was shorted by a loud and terrifying animal screech that echoed through the forest around them. Killian spun around scanning the area with Emma as they both brought Henry closer to them protectively. The pirate captain stuffed the map back into his coat interior and quickly pulled a dagger from within each of his boots, handing one to Emma whom took it gratefully.

"What was that?" Henry asked in hushed tones as the eerie quiet of the snowfall surrounded them as they waited.

"I don't know. That didn't sound like any forest animal I've ever heard," Emma said quietly, fearful that speaking any louder might give their position away to that…that thing, whatever it was.

"I've heard it before," Killian began as he moved with his arms wide as if to protect Emma and Henry both as he scanned the forest edge and circled them. "Tis not a sound I'd thought I'd hear in this realm. Nor one that I'd ever cared to hear again."

"Killian—"

"Shh!" he insisted to her as they all held their breath awaiting the inevitable.

Suddenly, causing all three of them to jump, came a voice to their right, "Hello, Emma."

They tuned to see Walsh standing there in the snow before them. He was simply wearing one of his suits, which Emma thought odd in this bitter cold and had not made a noise when he crept up on them.

"Walsh? Walsh what the hell are you…" her voice trailed off as she'd then noticed there were no footprints leading up to him in the snow. "How did you get here?"

Walsh took a step forward casually and Killian swung himself between Emma and Henry and Walsh.

"You will take no step further towards them, mate," Captain Hook threatened Walsh dangerously. "Swan, this man is NOT whom he's made himself out to be."

Walsh slowly raised his hands in the air as if a peace offering, "Emma, please. I came to take you home…to get you away from this…this mad man, Come on, honey. Just take my hand—"

"NO!" Killian bellowed at him, slicing the dagger at Walsh's arm and cutting it as the man screamed and crouched holding his arm.

Walsh's scream was not that of a human man's.

"Walsh?" came Henry's frightened voice. "Are you…are you okay?"

A wheezing noise came from the man crouched on the ground before them as they watched in horror as his arms and legs elongated and sprouted talons and feathers. His back pulsated briefly before wings tore out from his suit jacket and spread over his form. The last part of the transformation, Emma would never forget, as she watched him turn his face to her and grin a wide, toothy grin as his face transformed into a horrific grey demonic monkey form.

A flying monkey!

WALSH IS A FLYING MONKEY!

The flying monkey once known as Walsh, threw his head back and let out another blood curding screech, causing Henry and Emma to cover their ears at its intensity. The monkey then took to flight, shooting up several feet into the air before it turned and dove at the group below.

"Get down!" Killian shouted to Emma and Henry as he shoved them out of harms way and prepared to engage the animal as it came at him, talons and pointed teeth bared.

"Killian!" Henry screamed in fear for the man, breaking Killian's concentration just long enough to have Walsh lance his shoulder with his talons, knocking the pirate sideways.

"Stay over there!" Killian shouted back to Henry and Emma, locking eyes with her in warning to keep the lad out of harms way as he prepared for the second attack from Walsh.

Another ear shattering screech filled the air as Walsh came hurtling towards Killian, whom was ready for him this time.

"Its time we ended this, you flying git!" he spat as he deftly moved to the side, out of Walsh's attack, piercing and grabbing the monkey's wing with his hook as he brought the dagger in his other hand round and up into the monkey's chest, pinning the creature into the snow covered ground below.

Emma turned Henry around, pulling his face into her shoulder to avoid his seeing the garish scene before them. Walsh screeched again and writhed beneath the dagger's hilt on the ground below, blood spurting from deep within his throat as he clawed at the 300-year old pirate captain, whom merely leaned down next to the monster, a leer on his face as his next words escaped his lips with venom at the beast that tried to hurt his Swan and her boy.

"You were right, mate," he said near Walsh's ear as the red eyes of the beast locked angrily on the pirate. "It tis better with my hook."

Captain Hook proceeded then to rip out the creature's throat in one swift movement with his hook.

Emma stood stunned as the blood poured out of the monkey staining the snow below. Killian rose from where he'd been and walked over to Emma, seemingly unphased from the violence that had just occurred before them. He'd killed Walsh with fighting moves almost graceful to watch, Emma thought to herself, as she was reminded that this man before her was Captain Hook whom had lived for over 300 years and seen his share of violence.

"Are you both unharmed?" he asked breathlessly, still scanning the area around them to make sure this was to be their only attacker.

Emma just stared at him for a few moments. Her silence causing him to stop checking the area and lock eyes with her concerned.

"Emma, are you both unharmed?"

"Are we alright?" she began as Henry turned around in her arms to look at Killian. "Killian, your shoulder—"

"I'm fine, Swan," he started as she glared at him and grabbed his arm.

"No. No, you're not," she said as she pulled back the lapel of his coat to look underneath at the damage that the talons had done.

He inhaled in pain swiftly and took his coat from her hands and pulled it back in place, "Emma, please. I will be fine. We need to get to the wardrobe. I have some things buried near there that can help protect us in case of another attack."

"Promise me you'll let me look at that once we're there and settled," she glared at him, daring him to tell her no.

"I promise, Emma. Now please, we need to get you and your lad out of the cold," he said as he looked to Henry only to find him staring at the corpse of the flying monkey across the way from them. "Henry…"

"He was going to kill us," the boy said in hushed tones as his voice shook.

"He can't hurt us anymore, lad," Killian said as he knelt in front of the boy, blocking his view of the gruesome scene in front of him.

"Its all real, isn't it?" he began, his memories still not fully returned to him, but the lad was now altogether acutely aware of the gravity of the situation they were in.

"Aye, Henry."

"You're going to be okay, though, right?" he asked as a warm smile fleeted across Killian's features.

"Aye, lad, I will. Let's get you and your mother back to your family."

Killian led Emma and Henry a while through the forest in silence while he and Emma both kept a wary eye on their surroundings, not wanting another attack to catch them off guard. After walking for several minutes, they came upon a slight clearing in the thick wood where a tall object near a great tree stood, covered with what looked to be a large, snow-covered tapestry.

"Is that it?" Henry asked excitedly, as he was happy to finally have found it as the cold had been getting to them all.

The boy pulled upon the tapestry to reveal a colorful wardrobe, vast in size, that stood out harshly against the snow and woods that surrounded them. Henry gave an awestruck look to it all as Emma watched Killian dig around the left side of the object, revealing a large sack full of items. She looked back to the wardrobe that seemed to be made up of mismatched pieces of wood, oddly painted in yellow, red, and blues.

"Nice paint-job," she mumbled to herself as Killian came over with the bag to reveal its contents to him.

"For you, my lady," he said as he handed her the sword of Neal's that he'd given her in Neverland to wield.

"Now this I'd missed," she said as she sling the sword over her shoulder with a grin to him that he'd returned. "Hey, what got into Geppetto and the paint job on the wardrobe this time?"

"Come again, Swan?" he said as he handed a smaller sword to Henry whom grinned from ear to ear. "From your grandfather, Henry."

"Cool!" the boy said as he pulled the sword from its sheath and swung it about excitedly.

"The wood, its painted all haphazardly as if—" she began as her words caught in her throat.

Emma recognized the colors on the wardrobe. She'd seen them before.

"Killian," she said breathlessly, fear in her voice.

"What is it?" he asked as he came up to her, holding his shoulder as the pain was beginning to get to him.

"Where did you find enchanted wood?"

Killian's face fell as he looked to the ground, unable to meet her eyes.

"Killian—you didn't…" she said as she lifted his chin, forcing him to look at her. "The Jolly—"

"It was the only way, Emma," he began almost apologetically. "I'd tear the world itself apart to get back to you, my Swan."

"You had them tear apart The Jolly Roger…your home…to make the wardrobe."