A BAT IN STORYBROOKE:
Chapter 16
Killian was aboard the JOLLY ROGER when Emma came along with a turban man with sunglasses and a bunch of jackals.
Before they even climbed aboard his ship, he recognized the Egyptian collars on the canines' necks and realized that the god Anubis was approaching, which made him nervous.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of welcoming you aboard my ship, Your Caninety?" Killian asked, giving a small bow to the god.
"Wait, you know each other?" Emma asked, puzzled.
"No, but he did pillage treasures in one of my temples back in the Enchanted Forest during his pirate years," Anubis said. "But I don't really give a damn about offerings…certainly not when my daughter's missing!" He snapped his fingers, summoning his hounds and ordering them to search the JOLLY ROGER. The Jackals of Anubis ran all over the deck and searched through the cabins, brig, and safes. Unfortunately, they came back with their paws empty.
"Will someone tell me why there are jackals searching my ship?"
"Weren't you supposed to be watching Henry?" Emma asked her boyfriend dryly. "And why didn't you tell me about the Batrishan?"
Killian froze at the mention of the word 'Batrishan'. An electric shock went through his body and panic overwhelmed his mind. Oh, no, he thought. Please don't tell me that Henry ran into Fitzgerald…
"Emma, I can explain…" Killian began to say.
"You'd better!" Emma cried angrily. "You were supposed to watch Henry this afternoon while I was at work and not only is he not here, but Granny said that she saw him coming to the diner alone to get things for a girl who somehow disappeared!"
"Emma Swan, will you let him speak?" Anubis snapped angrily at the Savior, which made the latter jump. The god took a deep breath before addressing Killian. "Captain Killian Jones, do tell us what you know concerning today. And don't you dare lie. My eldest jackal son, Ared, doesn't like liars." He motioned one of the jackals, the biggest in the pack, which growled at the pirate and showed its bare teeth.
"OK," Killian began. "When the dwarves Leroy and Sleepy came to the sheriff's station and said that they saw a 'bat-headed menace', I feared that it meant the presence of my old acquaintance, Fitzgerald Denada Cortés, also known as Fidget the Bat…"
"Seriously?" Emma frowned. "You didn't want to tell me that some weird character from THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE movie might be in Storybrooke?"
"EMMA!" Hook snapped with a deadly serious tone. "Fitzgerald isn't a joke! He's not some silly character like the one from that idiotic Disney movie! He's human sized! He's led armies since he was young and he was known for killing ten men with one slash of his sword! He and I had misunderstandings years ago, which not only cost his right leg and right wing, but also our friendship. Ever since then, he's been trying to get revenge on me. Anger and hatred consumed him for centuries. He's done things much more horrible than you can imagine, Emma. He was there, hanging on top of the JOLLY ROGER, gloating and cackling evilly when the crocodile ripped Milah's heart and crushed it in front of me. He trampled Baelfire's leg in Neverland!"
Emma's cheeks were boiling with anger at the mention of Neal's real name. A sudden hatred for the Batrishan developed in her veins.
"What about the children?" Anubis cut in.
"At 3pm, I went to pick up Henry after school and for some reason he hugged me, which he never did to me, not even once. Then, he gladly accepted to go for a sail in my ship, but barely after a few seconds after we arrived, he suddenly said that he had to go check up on a child he was tutoring, Rosetta, who wasn't feeling well and he went to get her something from Granny's. He walked rather stiffly, when he left."
"So Henry left, claiming that he was going to see Rosetta, just like that?" Emma said.
Killian nodded.
Anubis looked around the dock. "Tell me, where was Henry Mills standing before he left this ship?"
"He was right here," Killian said, pointing at a spot next to the mast. "That's when he said he had to go."
Anubis frowned. He knelt near the spot that Killian was pointing at and, to the surprise of the mortals, he inhaled deeply. Grayish-golden smoke appeared above the spot and slithered inside the god's nostrils. When he finally exhaled, his eyes widened.
"Your son is heartless, Emma Swan," he said, lifting his head in order to look at the Savior.
Emma and Killian looked at each other, confused.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand…" Emma said.
"Henry being heartless?" Killian asked skeptically. "Impossible! He's the kindest, peace-loving boy I've ever met in my entire life!" His girlfriend smiled at the compliments he was giving to his son.
But Anubis didn't budge.
"Not that kind of heartless!" he rolled his eyes. "I mean the heartless where he doesn't have a heart! Like literally!"
It took a while for the others to realize what he meant.
"But that's impossible!" Emma cried. "Regina put an irremovable barrier spell to keep my son's heart to be pulled out again after the incident with Pan in Neverland!"
"Than somebody with stronger magic than the Evil Queen must have managed to break through it, obviously!" the god snapped. "The Queen's reformed. The Dark One is gone, with little essence remaining in Storybrooke. You, Emma Swan, would have to be crazy enough to want to rip your son's heart out. As for me, I've retired from my godly duties and shared my immortality with my wife in order to lead a normal life! My daughter's captor is quite obvious!"
Just as he said that, pain suddenly spread throughout Emma's body. Blood was spreading from her side. The Savior fell on the ship's deck, screaming in pain as she clung to her bleeding side.
"EMMA!" Killian exclaimed. He knelt down to hold his beloved in his arms. "No! Please, no!"
While the pirate was busy crying for his beloved, Anubis looked to see where the attack came from. He finally saw someone on the port's catwalk, standing like a mummy and catching a dagger as if it were a boomerang. The dark silver blade was stained with Emma's blood. But that wasn't what horrified Anubis.
No, it was the fact that the aggressor was none other than Henry with a traumatized face who then ran away without turning back that horrified the Ancient Egyptian god.