It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge
Chapter Twelve
Back in Killian's past…
After he swabbed the deck the entire length of the ship and finally finished cooking the night's meal and served Captain Silver and the rest of the crew, Liam quickly dished two small portions into wooden bowls, grabbed a plate with two pieces of stale bread on them, then quietly made his way down into the brig. Killian was lying uncomfortably inside one of the cells on his side, not bothering to sit up when his brother entered the room or even when Liam passed the food through the bars when he took a seat on the ground outside of the cage.
"You should really eat you know?" Liam said quietly as he looked down at the young man before him, then took a bite of the stew within the bowl on his plate. "You're lucky to get anything at all right now with all your misbehaving, yet I know that you haven't eaten anything in two days."
"Perhaps if you would stop treating me like I was still five years old, I might," Killian answered curtly without looking at him. "I'm sixteen, Liam. I'm not some fragile kid who's going to break whenever I get another beating from the men. I'm used to it."
The older man nodded as he pulled out a flask from a pocket inside his coat and took a sip from it, then responded, "You're right. You're not a child any longer, but I am worried about you, Killian. And it's still my job to look out for you. What happened earlier? Was Silver mocking you about our father again?"
Without another word, he teenager simply closed his eyes and turned his back to his brother, allowing Liam to see the newest lash marks despite the torn, filthy and bloody shirt he was still wearing and found that he was given several more than the pirates usually punished him with. Liam grit his teeth and angrily punched the floor, then stood up to leave.
He walked back down a few minutes later with the keys to the cell in his hand, as well as a decanter, then immediately unlocked the brig's door and sat down beside Killian as he spoke up again saying, "Take it easy, I'm only going to try to clean you up the best I can. You really need to get a handle on your temper. When are you ever going to learn?"
"I never asked you to take care of me!" the younger Jones shouted angrily when he sat up and suddenly threw the decanter Liam and set on the floor beside him against the cell's bars. "I don't need you to take care of me anymore. You should just find a way off this bloody ship like we both have been dreaming about and forget about me if I'm such a burden."
"I didn't mean it like that," Liam replied sadly as he looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "You're not a burden to me, Killian. You never have been. And I won't ever leave you behind with these bastards. You're hurting. I just want to help you, please."
Killian finally raised his head to look at his brother as he answered in frustration, "I'm sorry. I know you mean well."
Liam smiled, then helped the younger man to sit again and asked, "So, Silver begin to talk about our father again?"
"Aye," he responded as he reached out and finally began to eat the stew Liam brought in for him, while his brother went back up on deck to fetch more water and continued to help him when he returned. "I punched Silver until the other men grabbed hold of me. Each of the crew had the privilege of taking their own turn beating the hell out of me while you were in town with the first mate getting their new supply of rum. Did you see her again?"
"The most beautiful woman has walked out of my life forever," he replied somberly. "I wish I never told her I was really a servant to the Captain. Rosalie left me for Boris. Apparently being first mate of a fearsome pirate captain is far more appealing to a woman like her."
Killian smiled until he squeezed his eyes closed as a wave of pain fell over him while Liam worked, then he answered, "You never should have told her the truth. I warned you that the truth would only bring you pain."
Liam smiled as he responded, "I cared about her, Killian. I wanted her to know the truth about who I was, as much as I wanted her to meet you."
"I'm sorry, brother," the teenager replied sincerely.
"What did Silver say about Father this time?" the older man asked sadly, knowing how hard it was for his brother to talk about him.
He set the bowl down as he finished eating and then stated, "It doesn't matter. I shouldn't have allowed him to get to me."
Liam turned him around to look at him as he asked with concern, "What did he say?"
"That even though father is a fugitive from the law, surely he's now much better off without having a worthless shit like me for a son," Killian answered sadly. "There was more than that, but that was the idea."
"It's not true," the twenty year old responded firmly. "You're a fine man, little brother. I hope one day you'll realize it too."
The younger man glared at Liam as he replied, "I'm younger than you, but that doesn't make me little."
Present…
Just after he killed David while in the Underworld, Killian looked over at the blonde woman as he said, "You should have known this would happen one day the moment you met me. But instead you chose to see the good in me that isn't there."
"Mom!" Emma shouted again as Killian struck Snow White down as he had done to her father, then immediately did the same to Henry and Regina as the Queen attempted to shoot a fireball to stop him before he could kill anyone else, only to fail as she too was killed before she could. "Henry! Regina! No, this wasn't supposed to happen. Hook… You really are a monster."
"I tried to warn you, love," Hook answered cruelly as he looked into Emma's eyes at last as a single tear slipped down his cheek. "I tried to warn you, love. But for what it's worth, I am truly sorry. Goodbye, Swan."
Without any more hesitation, Hook raised the Gods' crystal once again and fired a final bolt of lightning directly into the heart of the Savior causing Emma to cry out in agony as she fell to the ground just as her parents, her son, and Regina had. And when the heroes were dead, he turned to walk away from their bodies and took a seat upon Hades' throne.
All of a sudden, the nightmare changed again as Brennan found himself bound to the post inside the brig he had become imprisoned in shortly after being captured by the cruel man he had sold his sons in order to escape from while still alive. The Lord walked over to stand before his captive and laughed, then struck him hard across his face and turned to the three men behind him.
Brennan struggled to break free until he was suddenly struck again across his legs as the two men began to beat him over and over with clubs and when the sheriff finally stopped them, he stepped forward again, then spoke up saying, "I have to tell you, I was surprised when my soldiers told me you wound up down here. When I had my wife put you under the curse for killing my brother, I figured you would be spending eternity asleep, but I am glad you managed to break free. This is a much better punishment."
The prisoner fought through his pain and then responded, "I told you, I didn't mean to kill your brother. He killed my wife, the mother of my two boys because I couldn't afford to pay him the money I owed him. Then he burned our house to the ground. I only went to him to beg him for mercy so that he wouldn't return to hurt me or my boys too, but when he began to laugh at me for being a coward, my rage overpowered me. He tried to kill me too. I was defending myself."
"And now, you're paying for it," the man in charge of his torment replied as one of the others with him stepped forward again, though this time with hot fire poker in his hand and began to use it to burn him until it became cold. "A sleeping curse was too good for you. And now I can do whatever I want to you for eternity. Or until I decide when I'm ready to see you thrown into the fires of Tartarus. Have fun boys. Make him scream."
It was then that Brennan suddenly bolted awake and sat up from the bedroll he had laid out on the ground after he left the villains once their gathering ended to try to get some sleep, as his head was killing him from the Evil Queen's magic. The pain started as a dull ache, but continued to worsen the more his son continued to struggle against him.
"I should have known that my torment wouldn't end with being resurrected from the dead," the oldest Jones thought to himself when he stood and left the camp to go out for a walk despite the darkness that was slowly disappearing as the sun began to rise.
He became startled when Killian answered weakly, "Nightmares are the least that we villains deserve for all the pain we've caused those we've hurt and killed."
Realizing that he was hearing his son's voice clearly from the back of his mind like he had earlier until his son had long since given up, Brennan spoke to him as though Killian was standing before him as he responded, "I nearly forgot you were still here. You've been quiet for some time."
"There was no longer a point in talking," Hook replied curtly. "You got pretty good at ignoring me and the more I spoke and fought against you, the worse my agony became. But just because I'm choosing to be silent, don't think that I've given up. I'm simply conserving my strength and biding time for Emma to find me."
"Even if she does, she won't be able to pull me out now," Brennan answered as he slowly walked through the woods, not caring that he was no longer under the protection of Hyde's cloaking spell. "I'm a part of you, Killian. Whether you like it or not and in time, you'll be too weak to keep fighting against me."
Killian whispered, "I won't ever stop fighting you, not so long as I have hope. That's what the Savior's taught me, Father."
He laughed and then responded, "I guess I'm going to have to change that. Tell me about your dream. It isn't a memory as mine was."
"I shouldn't have to explain," the pirate replied sadly. "You're inside my mind. You can read my thoughts, my memories… You know all about me now."
"You're right, but I don't understand why you dream about killing all those you love when everyone returned from the Underworld and Hades was the only one defeated," Brennan answered until realization hit him again upon the image of one of the heroes' casket being lowered into the ground.
Hook responded sadly, "Not all of us did survive and Emma and her family very easily could have been killed down there in that hell. They are heroes and they are the bravest, the strongest people I know and love, but as Robin's strength died out, theirs very well could have as well. And it would have been my fault. Robin died because of me."
The older Jones shook his head as several more of his son's memories flooded into their mind and then replied, "It's Emma's fault for turning you into the Dark One and then killing you in order to save herself and the rest of her family and friends. Not to mention that she was the one who followed you down into the Underworld and dragged her loved ones down there to save you. She's to blame for the thief's death, for allowing Hades to escape. You see yourself as the villain because you believe that all that's happening, are the consequences of your death and resurrection."
"I wasn't wrong," Killian stated worryingly. "Because of me, you've been allowed to return and you're working for the Evil Queen to help destroy those I love. Because of me, you know all of their strengths, their weaknesses, and therefore you know how to hurt them. If you ever loved me at all… I beg you, please leave the Queen's new band of villains and leave Storybrooke. You and I are now bound together and though it pains me to be trapped within the back of my own mind and unable to be in control of my own body, I will stop fighting you. I will help you get to the Enchanted Forest to see if we can find out whether or not your youngest son, Liam is still alive, and I will then guide you to Neverland where you can live for centuries just as I have. But I am begging you not to do this. If you would allow me…"
"No, I won't allow you to speak to Emma, even if you say it's to convince her to let you go," Brennan interrupted angrily. "You've only just begun your life with her after centuries of pain and misery. You want to warn her of the danger that's coming for them. I can read your thoughts, remember Killian? You can't trick me! Soon, you will be no more than a nagging conscience in the back of my mind and all those you love will die. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I begged you not to kill me. You should have been the better man back then."