Chapter 14

Liam Jones

Cruella had taken Henry out to look for the authors pen. As the author he should be able to sense it no matter where it was. Henry saw a glimmer of something in the woods as she drove by. As they went towards where he saw the glimmer coming from Cruella had trouble climbing up so Henry went on alone came came across the apprentice. "Quick we don't have much time" it was clear he didn't want Cruella to find out they were talking.

Henry was confused " why are you down here? You did what Merlin asked you to, what unfinished business could you have"?

"You" said the apprentice. "I must ask you not to resurrect Cruella Deville".

"So the pen can bring someone back from the dead, you lied".

"Not entirely. Up there it's an impossibility but down here the rules are different. I saw no reason to tell you as usually there's only one way down here, and for most people it's one way trip. Please, you must not resurrect Cruella Deville".

"I'm not getting the pen for Cruella, I'm getting it for me. Since I broke it I've seen terrible things and been unable to do a thing, I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines and with that pen I can help everyone".

"Isaac got into trouble because he started creating stories rather than recording them. Do not make the same mistake".

"I don't care about the stories anymore. I want to help everyone, and helping my mom means helping Cruella".

"If you're serious then let me tell you the sorcerers mansion is full of his light magic including the pen and ink. Unfortunately it's locked up and the sheriff has the key. But I must ask you to reconsider helping Cruella. The only way I can move on is if you make the right choice. I put my fate in your hands".

Hook sat in a bar located at the docks where his brother was the barkeeper. Hook said "if there's one good thing about my extended stay here, this is it".

"Don't say that Killian, when we joined the navy I saw you change from a drunk deckhand to a sober honourable first mate to me. You're not dead yet, you can go back".

"I can't while my friends are here".

Liam smiled and said "my brother, always valuing good form".

"Hook" Hook turned around and saw Tally. "What are you doing here? Who is he"?

Hook replied "that should be my question, and this is my brother, Liam".

Tally said "if he's your brother maybe he can help us. You should introduce him to mom and dad".

Hook looked at his brother "how about it, want to meet my friends".

"How could I not".

Back at Emma's house she told Neal to stay still while she healed his wounds with her magic. Neal said "that took shorter than when you fixed me up at the motel".

Emma replied "having magic has its advantages". Neal looked sorrowful "what's wrong"?

Neal replied "I've always rejected my father's darkness. When you were the dark one you were able to resist full darkness for six weeks and even then you wanted to rid yourself of the darkness. I was able to resist the darkness for an hour or two and I was willing to send our children a one way ticket down here".

Emma said "not in the end, you showed great strength, willing to die to save everyone".

Neal said "and I gave into the darkness as a fourteen year old boy".

"That's who you were, and not who you are".

"What if I fall into the darkness again"?

"I will save you, I love you"

There was a knock at the door and when Emma opened it she saw Hook and a man she'd never seen before while Tally had gone to meet Henry at the diner. "Hook, who is this"?
Hook replied "I found him the first day we were here. His name is Liam, he's my brother".

They sat around a table Hook said "Hades has the game rigged, he had to have. My brother is here and yet he pinnacle of virtue".

Liam replied "oh I wasn't that great, but like you I always believed in good form brother"

Neal said "so there is no good reason for you to be here, and not in a better place"?

Liam replied "nothing comes to mind".

Emma asked "but what can we do"?

Hook said "the only way everyone will be free is if we defeat Hades once and for all. Liam you've been down here a long time, do you know of any way to defeat Hades".

Liam replied "I know this is a dangerous game you're playing. There have been others who have tried to overthrow Hades and none have succeeded. I did hear it was because they didn't have a book which held the key to Hades defeat. But I don't know where this book is or what kind of book it is".

Something clicked in Emma's head "maybe it's a storybook".

Neal said "like Henry's book".

Liam said "I'd wager it would take more than stories".

Hook said "No, in the land of the living there's book with stories that actually happened".

Emma said "if there's a version of the book down here and there's a story about Hades we can learn his weakness and exploit it".

Liam asked "so where do we start looking"?

They went to Snow and David's apartment and told them they were looking for the book calling Robin and Regina on the way. Snow got out the box and couldn't find it inside. Regina asked "are we really surprised, that book is the embodiment of hope, and there's not a lot of that in the underworld".

Neal said "or maybe looking in that box is too obvious. Hades must know we would eventually look for the book so he hid somewhere else".

The scoured the apartment until Henry and Tally came in "what are you doing"?

Snow said "trying to find your book".

Henry said "maybe it's not here. I saw the apprentice at the diner and he told me the mansion is down here".

Tally said "I never saw..."

Henry replied "he left before you got there. But the mansion is full of potential storybooks, it's probably there".

Neal said "because where better to hide something then a place where there are thousands of empty copies".

Regina said "why didn't we think of that"?

Henry said "but there's one problem, the sheriff has the key".

Robin asked "but who's the sheriff down here"?

Snow replied "Prince James. I saw him the first day here and he told me".

David said "well I guess it's time for me and my brother to an overdue chat".

Liam suggested "meanwhile I suggest the rest of us act casual".

As everyone exited the room Tally looked at Henry and asked "did you really see the apprentice because I can't imagine he'd be stuck here".

Henry answered "yes, but not at the diner, in the woods looking for the pen. He said the only way he can move on is if I made the right choice and don't help Cruella. He also did tell me where the pen is and that apparently Great Uncle James has the key.

Tally smiled "so you're not going to help Cruella".

Henry said "I don't know yet, but what I do know is I need that pen".

Tally mentioned "not helping Cruella is what will allow the apprentice to move on so do the right thing" she left and Henry followed

Snow called everyone and told them she has the keys. David can't join them because just before they could leave they heard Cruella coming. They realised she could hear someone so David told Snow to leave while he stayed and pretended to be James. They all met up at the mansion. As they entered they saw the place was full of cobwebs and there were sheets over everything. Emma said "okay, just because the room with all the potential storybooks is the most likely place it might be Hades might have suspected it and put it in a different room so we should split up. Henry and Tally stay here".

Henry argued "but this is my idea, and you want me to do nothing".

"You're not doing nothing, you're the lookout".

"You need two sets of eyes to be a lookout".

Regina said "don't argue with your mother"

"But..."

"Or your mother".

"Oh dad".

Neal replied "sorry, I know it seems boring but it's safer, and that's just as important as finding that book".

As soon as everyone was gone Henry said "well the book isn't in the hall, what do say to looking elsewhere".

Tally replied "but mom and dad told us to stay here as lookouts".

Henry said "lookouts, come on, they want us to stay here because they think we're useless, let's show them we're not. If you want to wait here be my guest but I'm looking". As Henry walked away Tally wondered if she should follow him, after a while she decided she should.

Liam told the others he'd found the book. Emma flipped through the pages but suddenly it cut off and noticed a few pages had been ripped out. Regina mentioned "I ripped my story out of Henry's book so he wouldn't know I was the evil queen".

Hook said "if Hades has done the same we don't stand much chance of finding it".

Neal said "we could still find out, Regina said she ripped out her story so Henry wouldn't know she was the evil queen but he still figured it out".

Emma asked "Liam you found the book, was there any sign it had been tampered with"?

"Not that I saw" he replied. "But like Neal said we could still find out. Those pages might still be here somewhere".

As they were going out Emma took Hooks wrist and took him to the side. "When we first met I knew you were lying because my super power".

Hook replied "yes, you've said before".

Emma mentioned "it just went off again, with your brother. I don't think he wants us to find those pages".

Hook replied "well it's wrong, Emma I've known him all my life and he has always put others needs before his own".

Emma was sure she was right so when she saw Liam go outside she followed him as he walked up to a well. "I don't think the pages are down there" Emma said alerting him to her presence.

Liam replied "I'm sorry but I had to get out, a ship's captain can only stay cooped up for so long".

"Do you mind if I ask you a question"?

"Not at all, ask away"

"You know your brother idolizes you, thinks you can do no wrong, so I can't understand why you lied to him".

Liam looked taken aback and quickly denied it but Emma grabbed his hand and found the ink on his fingers.

Hook came out and asked what was going on. Liam answered "she's making outrageous accusations, said I lied to you".

Emma said "because you did".

Hook said "Emma no, my brother has always put others first".

Emma shook her head "Hook your brother lied to us but as I can see my words aren't any good so I'll let you make up your own mind who to believe".

Emma went back inside and as Hook turned away he saw Liam's fingers "ink, from the book, you did lie".

"Killian, I can explain".

Other shipmates who'd died because of Liam came out and surrounded them. One said "you can explain, good, because we deserve one".

A little over an hour later Hook came back inside. Everyone came up to him, Snow said "no sign of the pages".

Hook replied "not surprising Liam threw them down the well".

Neal asked "why would he do that"?

Hook said "he made a deal with Hades, the pages for a boat back to Storybrooke for me".

Regina asked "what kind of idiot listens to Hades"?

Hook snapped "Liam is not an idiot, and he listened to Hades because he'd done it before. When Captain Silver sailed us into a storm to retrieve a sapphire Liam convinced our fellow shipmates the sapphire wasn't worth dying over. While me and the other shipmates tied up Captain Silver and those who followed him Liam went to plot a course out of the storm. If we'd followed Captain Silvers plan Hades would have been given a bunch of fresh souls so Hades came to see him and convinced him to let the ship sink with he and I being the only survivors plus the sapphire. No one knew about the deal until today, when Hades made the deal with Liam today one of our old shipmates overheard them. He'd told everyone on that ship and they dragged Liam and I to the bridge. That's when Liam apologized and begged them to spare me, they didn't listen. Hades came and offered to save Liam in exchange for me. When Liam refused and Hades sent that fiery spiral to drag me down to a worst place Liam saved me. Telling the truth and saving me finished Liam's unfinished business. He and our old shipmates, except the one Hades had pushed into the pit. boarded a boat to the afterlife, a better place".

Emma said "I'm sorry you had to lose him again, but now you know for sure he's in a better place and pure picture of your brother can stay pure".

Henry and Tally went into the library, Henry suddenly said "this is it, it's here, I can feel it".

Tally replied "Henry, I don't mind you leading us here, I don't mind you looking for the pen, I draw the line at planning to use it bring Cruella back to life".

Henry said "think back, since I've broken that pen bad stuff has happened and I haven't been able to do anything about it".

Tally replied "even if you had the pen you couldn't have changed anything. Changing reality instead of recording it is how the last author got in trouble".

"Cruella or not, I need my pen". Henry looked around room and went over to a lamp and when he put his hand in and pulled out the pen and ink.

Tally said "tread carefully, and think about what you do and the repercussions of your actions".

"You're seven, not a wise old woman".

"Doesn't mean I'm wrong".

When they were back at the apartment Henry brooded upstairs while Tally remained tight-lipped. Neal went to the stairs and started walking up. Regina said "don't bother, Emma and I already tried, he doesn't want to talk to anyone".

Neal said "he's a teenager, and I'm his father, he'll talk to me".

When he got up and saw Henry sitting on the edge of the bed he said "so what's up buddy"?

"Nothing" said Henry. "I'm just thinking".

Neal asked "mind some company"?

Henry mentioned "if I say I do mind you're just going to come, sit on the bed next to me and try to get me to talk anyway".

"Good guess" Neal came and sat next to Henry. "So what are you thinking about"?

"I don't want to talk about it".

"So why don't I go first. I'm not sure if I'm worth bringing back".

"Why not"

"I tried to kill everyone, that's usually unforgivable".

"You later sacrificed your life to save everyone".

"True, but the fact I even thought of doing it at all. The Dark One darkness might be out but it doesn't mean I'm incapable of being dark and next time how far can I go before realising I need to stop myself".

Henry said "you have a family to help you, isn't that what family is for".

Neal replied "yeah, it is, maybe there's somebody else here who needs to realise that".

Henry knew he meant him and after a pause he said "maybe I should tell everyone what's going on with me".

Neal said "that sounds like a good plan".

They went down and Henry revealed his pen Hook said "I thought you said you broke it".

Henry said "I did but it's an entity, breaking it just brought it here. The apprentice told me where to find it so I thought if I had it I could be of some use".

Regina asked "why did you think the pen was the only way to help".

Henry replied "my mom became the Dark One, my dad died, everyone did something, even Tally, but I couldn't do anything".

David asked "but isn't using the pen to alter reality how the last author got in trouble".

"I keep being told that but I wanted to do something".

Tally said "he was also going to bring Cruella back to life".

Emma gasped "Henry, why would do that"?

Henry replied "to help you, she said you have all this guilt over killing her".

Emma said "I understand you want to help but that's not the way to do it".

"I know but I think there's another way I can use this pen to help".

Neal asked "how"?

"By doing my job and writing the stories as they are, and I'll start with Hades. Liam might have destroyed the pages but I can still recreate them".

Snow said "Hades went to a lot of trouble to stop us from knowing his story".

Neal said "and the reason he would do that would be because the way to defeat him is in there". Everyone smiled, they were one step closer to defeating Hades.