X Marks the Spot
Chapter Sixteen
Emma stormed into the sheriff's station and moved to stand in front of the cell that contained the villain responsible for trying to kill the man she loved. Her father, Ariel, and Leroy all came in behind her as Black Beard stood from his cot once more and stared at the blonde haired woman who looked ready to tear him apart with surprise and intrigue.
"What the hell have you done to Hook?" Emma asked angrily as soon as he was standing in front of her, and noticed that he appeared to be sweating, but simply ignored it because of her rage. "You're only too happy you've succeeded in hurting your enemy somehow and to take all the credit for what's happened to him, but we all know you didn't do it alone. I want to know who's helping you and how to break whatever curse was cast on him. Don't tell me, and you'll wish you would have been more cooperative."
"Ooo… So you're the spitfire wench who ruined my fiercest of rivals and made Captain Hook trade the one possession of his that was ever worth a salt," Black Beard responded cruelly as he sneered at the Savior and then licked his lips as if to point out that he saw Killian's attraction to her. "I can see now why he's so smitten. Just not how you've managed to turn him into such a weakling. He's gone soft. Hook would never survive being thrown back into piracy again, or even survive the world he used to sail across should you ever come to your own senses and get rid of the man who's clearly beneath you. That's why he's as good as dead now."
The Savior suddenly thrust the pirate back against the wall behind him and held him there with her powers for almost a minute as he grunted in pain from her force before she finally released him, then she wrathfully replied, "I won't tolerate you threatening him, or mocking him and I don't care about what you believe about Hook to make yourself believe that you're better than him. I only care about him. That's why I'm here dealing with the likes of you, so talk!"
He laughed as he slowly rose back to his feet and then he answered, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Savior. I wouldn't want to make it too easy for you to try to save him. And you may not be afraid to get your hands a little dirty to get what you want from me, but you won't kill me. So you're hardly a threat. However, if you set me free and allow me to enjoy Hook's suffering a little firsthand, then I might reconsider and give you something to work with."
"You can forget it," David responded firmly as he stepped in before his daughter could say or do anything more that she might regret later. "You're not going anywhere except to a more permanent prison cell when all of this is over. And we're not going to give you the pleasure of seeing Hook suffer. I wouldn't put it past you to give us information that would undoubtingly lead us nowhere."
"What about bringing me my old clothes so that I can finally go back to being Captain Black Beard, and not some boring peasant while trying to blend in to the rest of you lot here," he added in frustration. "There's no reason to hide any longer. This look just isn't me."
Ariel quickly spoke up saying, "That old look didn't do you any favors either. In fact, at least right now you look more dangerous than you did before. Much more… devious and more of a murderer we know you are."
Emma read the man's eyes while they and Ariel spoke, and upon sensing that he was lying about something she continued, "A change of clothes isn't what you really want in exchange for helpful information. You only want to see Kill… Hook suffer until he dies from what you've done. And it isn't just because you want to see him in pain either. But because you don't actually know what you've done to him and it's driving you crazy. Or rather what your accomplice has done. You're in no control if what's happening to him, are you?"
"Your other sheriff here mentioned the same thing when he came to interrogate me before with the Evil Queen," the second pirate Captain to arrive within Storybrooke replied smugly. "I only know what little they've told me. That our minds are somehow linked. How is that exactly?"
"Forget this," Grumpy stated in frustration as everyone turned to look at him. "He's of no help to us if he won't tell us who he's working for and he obviously doesn't know anything else."
Black Beard furiously shouted, "I deserve to know what my patience and own suffering has gotten me! I want to see… to see Hook de… dead!"
All of a sudden, the villain stumbled forward, then collapsed to the floor and Emma and David immediately worked to unlock to cell's door to rush inside. When they knelt down over him and turned him over onto his back, they found that Black Beard was unconscious and burning up just as Killian was.
Emma looked up at her father as she whispered fearfully, "He's sick. Call for an ambulance and get him to the hospital as quick as you can. Oh my God… I need to get back to… Killian."
Inside Emma's and Hook's home…
Killian struggled to sit up again not long after Emma and the others left to try to help him, as Belle walked back into the living room when she heard him cry out in discomfort which he was trying to hide from everyone. Even though she knew he should remain lying down, she also knew how stubborn he was and so she took a seat on the edge of the couch and helped him like he wanted by propping more pillows behind his back, then moved further down to sit beside his legs where there was more room for her to do so.
"Thank you," he said quietly while he looked into her eyes. "I promise you, I can manage on my own."
"I know you can, but you're hurting and even though you're trying not to show it, I can't just watch from across the room and ignore what I see," the beauty answered sincerely. "Also, I told Emma that I would try to get you to eat something while they're out since you haven't eaten for awhile."
August entered the room carrying a tray with a bowl of soup and glass containing a small amount of rum as he responded, "This is Granny's famous corn chowder. I thought it might be the best thing for you to eat right now. Also, the rum is to help you relax a little easier."
Killian smiled as he turned his head to their other friend and took the glass as the younger man handed it to him, then he replied, "I appreciate it, mate. I appreciate both of you being here for me. I just don't wish to be a burden."
"You're not a burden at all," Belle answered. "I appreciate that I have something I can do to help someone, rather than to just remain either onboard the Jolly Roger or at my father's wallowing in self-pity. Not that I wish for someone I care about to be in pain to help ease my own."
"Of course not," he responded while he strangely stared down at the alcohol in his hand before simply handing it back to August, who then attempted to hand the bowl of chowder down to him as well until Killian shook his head slowly to reject it and turned away from them both to stare ahead at nothing, but the couch in front of him until he finally closed his eyes again.
Belle looked up at August with worry, then turned back to Hook as she spoke again saying, "Killian, Emma and the others are going to figure out what Black Beard has done to you and then they're going to fix whatever's wrong."
Though he opened his eyes again, Killian didn't turn his head while he despondently replied, "Aye. That I don't doubt. But then there will be a next time. And we'll all have to fight against some villain to protect whoever's in danger. Again and again. I tried to assure Henry this morning on my ship that it's because we have hope and love that we can defeat any evil who threatens us, but I realize now I was only telling him what he needed to hear."
"I don't understand," the woman beside him stated in confusion as August went back into the kitchen a moment to set down the tray he was holding before returning again to his friend's side. "Are you saying you've begun to lose that hope? You've always given it to both Henry and especially to Emma when they needed to be reminded to have hope. And you have even restored hope in me at times when I really needed it. Don't you remember that time you helped me put away the books we used to help the fairies after I banished Rumple and you reminded me?"
"You were the one trying to make me feel better," he answered as he finally looked again into her eyes. "After I allowed the Dark One to manipulate me."
Belle reached out to put her hand on his arm as she responded, "You reminded me that Rumple loved me. And while he has a strange… and terrible way of showing it, I remembered then that you were right. And in many of the times we've been through difficult situations before and since then, you've always been one to encourage us all to have hope. Why have you come to lose it now?"
Killian raised his hand to grip the bridge of his nose and replied sadly, "Because now Emma has a death sentence hanging over her head and this villain from her visions could appear at any time and murder her. What if this figure under the hood manages to do so because she's trying to protect one or all of us? What if… what if she's distracted trying to protect me or one of you and is run through by that damn sword we found in Gold's shop anyways… no matter what we try… to keep her visions from coming…?"
"Are you alright?" August asked in concern when his friend suddenly gasped in pain once more as his eyes fell closed, then doubled over again while he and Belle immediately grabbed hold of him to try to help him. "Is it another memory? Try to tell us what you're seeing."
"Killian?" Emma cried fearfully when she appeared in a cloud of smoke after transporting herself home from the station unexpectedly and rushed over to the man she loved straightaway upon seeing him struggling against the newest memory threatening to consume him, then turned her head to look between August and Belle. "How long has he been like this?"
Belle shook her head as she answered, "Um… no more than a few seconds before you arrived. He had just begun to feel overwhelmed by the pain in his head while we were talking and then he doubled over."
Emma let out a breath as she laid her hands over Killian's forehead and his chest where his shirt collar had fallen open, then began to summon her healing powers to try to rid his body of the raging fever she could feel had only heightened since she had left him earlier. Just as she feared, her magic couldn't help him.
Whatever it was he was seeing, Emma knew it had to be brutal as he began to thrash against what only he could see and it was lasting longer than the other memories that had plagued him before now. With help from August, they pulled him onto the floor from the couch and laid their hands over him as she and her childhood friend struggled to keep him as steady as they could.
Finally his writhing settled as the memory from Black Beard's mind appeared to end. But when Emma laid her hand over the side of his face in effort to rouse him, his head slowly lolled to his side and his hand fell lifeless to the floor as Killian lost consciousness. Emma cried his name twice before August swiftly reached up to his friend's neck to feel for a pulse and though he could feel it was strong, it was also too fast and he knew that Killian needed the kind of help none of them, including the Savior, could give him.
He looked at the Savior with worry in his eyes, but before he could say it, he knew she understood that Killian needed more help than she could give him and Emma pulled him tightly into her arms as she said angrily, "I need to get Killian to the hospital. These memories, or whatever's happening to him is completely out of Black Beard's control. He's sick too. Belle, if there's anything you can find…"
"I'll go talk with Rumple," she quickly stated in worry. "Maybe there's something he can do to help him."
"Thank you," Emma whispered sincerely, then immediately vanished with Killian and August to get him to Dr. Whale.