Chapter 35: Family Feud
"I figured if they were going to fight, let them do it in the proper place," Crystal explains.
Emma smacks her friend on the shoulder in anger and Regina does not look particularly happy either.
"My husband's issues with his alternate son is not for your own personal entertainment."
"Oh, come on Emma, you have to admit, this is exciting."
"I swear, you're becoming more and more like your father every day," the blonde snarls. "Enjoying watching other people fight and hurt each other."
Crystal grinds her teeth at the remark. She loved Emma and Killian, a lot, they were her family; Emma was her surrogate sister and Killian was one of her most trusted friends, but every once and a while, she would get angry with them as they got angry with her. They always tended to exploit the one thing she hated about herself the most; that she was the daughter of the most hated and demonic man in all the realms. And she knew why they did this…
Everyone in Storybrooke knew that she loathed the fact that her father's darkness ran through her veins; in fact, she'd snap at anyone who mistakenly called her Crystal Gold instead of Crystal Miller. She hated that she was associated with such an evil man and how this relation him made her the person that she was; it was what defined the first sixteen years of her life and cost Lillian Miller, her life in the process. Her actions against her mother were the biggest regrets Crystal had and everyone knew that she fought every single day to control and suppress the evil inside her. It was never a pleasant experience when Crystal's soul leaned back into the darkness. It was a delicate balancing act for her; the power of her father's darkness and the intensity of her mother's love and light. It was also extremely painful, often causing physical strain on her body and when she couldn't hold it back any longer, it often expelled outwards in a destructive shockwave that was extremely powerful, but also very dangerous. She had no control over this ability and it often endangered the people she cared about most.
The daughter of Rumpelstiltskin understood why her friends and loved ones brought this up, it was meant to remind her of who she should be and that she needs to come back to the side of good again. She will admit that she had inherited her father's mischievous tendencies and sometimes impish nature, but most of the time, it was harmless fun. Except maybe this time.
"So, what should I do then?" Crystal asks. "Take the swords away or freeze them in their places?"
…
When Killian had leapt up and drawn his sword to protect Mal, he'd expected that he may end up duelling this boy, which was not something he wanted to do to his own son. Back when he was his old villainous self, sword-fighting would have been his solution to everything. He'd even challenged Rumpelstiltskin to duel back when the imp had been human and he begged for Killian to release his wife, whom he thought had been captured by pirates. The pirate thought that it was honourable for a man to fight for what he wanted. Anyone who refused, like the peasant Rumple had, would be labelled a coward, but he knew better now. With Emma's help, he'd learned that there were other ways to solve problems than just fighting, especially after she'd bested him when they fought for the compass by a dried-up lake. Not everything had to end in violence and now he only ever fought someone when he or she or it became a deadly threat to those he loved.
As he and Harry began to fight in the hospital, the pirate captain knew that they had to find a better place to do this, knowing about the people who were now in harm's way. Dr. Whale nearly had his head taken off when Harry swung his cutlass at a wide angle. Fortunately, either Regina or Crystal had understood the concern for those around the duelling pair because purple smoke soon engulfed the both of them and they reappeared on The Jolly Roger, his precious ship. Harry had been more disoriented than his father had been, considering Killian was used to teleportation by now. The pirate captain had stopped, hoping that the relative moment of quiet would cause the teenager to rethink his actions. However, once Harry noticed that his opponent was still there, he leapt forward to attack again. With a heavy sigh, Killian engaged once again.
The two take various stances on the deck, their swords clashing in every direction. Killian had to admit, but he was impressed in his alternate son's swordsmanship. Clearly, he had learned well from his real father and must practice very often with this Uma person. However, the Storybrooke Captain Hook had one thing that Harry did not, experience. Over 200 years of fighting other pirates and his time in the navy had taught Killian every trick in the book and while he obviously was not going harm or even kill the boy, he had to find a way to end this battle soon.
"Yer pretty good old man," Harry sneers. "Ah didn't think I'd ever catch up wi' someone who is as gud as me."
"Such an ego will be your undoing lad," Killian warns. "Overconfidence in one's self will expose a great weakness."
But the teenager snorts with derision at this warning. "What weakness?"
He then lunges forward and makes a very wide swing at the captain's unguarded left side, but the adult is too quick and forces it away. The son of Captain Hook then goes for the right, but his "father" blocks, the swords clanging heavily, causing some nearby seagulls across the harbour to take flight in fear. Killian keeps his stance strong, knowing that the lad will not quit easily or quietly. The teenager had to be taken down a few pegs to get his chaotic behaviour under control.
The pirate notices out of the corner of his eyes that his wife, Regina, Crystal, Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and the other prisoners that he never got the names of are on the edge of the dock overlooking the harbour. He can see that they are hurrying towards the ship and he knew Emma was going to insist that one of the observers use magic to intervene. Knowing this has to end now, Killian Jones remembers the faulty wooden board right next to the stairs. One that always creaked and caused anyone unlucky enough to step on it to lose their balance or even fall.
He changes his position, taking larger swings at the boy's left side in order to force him back towards the staircase. He becomes more aggressive in his slashes at the boy's cutlass and the captain can see the shock in Harry's eyes. The entire time they were duelling, the young teenager was in control and the one attacking, but now Killian was the one attacking, lunging forward which is throwing the lad off-balance and exposing his weakness to his "alternate" father. The two get closer to the board and Captain Hook begins speaking in a calm tone to Harry Hook.
"Your knowledge of fair swords play is…" he pauses every time their swords meet. "Impressive for a… Lad your age, but… you rely…too much on your own strength…It's not always about… the weapons you use… or… the strength of your attack… sometimes…"
Then Harry steps on the board, it creaks loudly and sinks into the deck, the teenager briefly looks down, which is all Killian needs to finish this. He stomps on the other end of the board, throwing the teenager off balance, he then reveals his hook to the boy, grabs the lad's cutlass, lifts it out of his hands and over the side into the water below. The son of Captain Hook falls backwards against the stairs and grunts in pain. The real Captain Hook then holds the tip of his sword against the boy's leather belt around his shoulder as to not to harm the boy but keep him in place.
"Sometimes, it's all about paying attention to your surroundings," Killian finishes.
Both of them are panting heavily after finishing this strenuous duel. Harry looks utterly stunned and slightly mortified that he was just bested in combat, but he's more shocked by what's on his opponent's left hand. His blue eyes go wide when he finally realizes who he'd been fighting the whole time. No wonder his swordsmanship was so polished and skilled… he was fighting his father!
Regina, Emma, Crystal, Mal, Carlos, Jay, and Evie finally reach the deck and enter from the gangplank. Emma immediately goes up to her husband to check him over, but he was perfectly fine as she'd expected. She then looks down at the poorly behaved teenager with sympathy, but also with disappointment.
"Guess you didn't need our help after all," the blonde says.
"Aye," Killian says, finally sheathing his cutlass. He then offers the boy his right hand to help him up.
Harry looks utterly stunned and confused. Normally, whenever he lost to his father, the cruel man would scream at him and tell him that fish fought better than him. In fact, if any of his children lost to their father at swords play, they'd be forced to clean out the worm and gutting station at the back of his shop. This humiliation was one of the many reasons that the son of Captain Hook had run off to become part of Uma's crew in the first place.
"Good show Lad," Killian says gently. "But perhaps you should think about who you are going to be duelling with before you start a fight."
A/N: Please review, it's the greatest form of love and support I can get as an author.