AN: I feel like a terrible author for making you all wait so long for the next chapter, but to say that school life has been crazy this semester is an understatement. Being a senior in college makes it hard to find free time to write, but finally here's the next chapter.
Liam POV
He walked to the rail of the Flying Dutchman and looked through his telescope, seeing a lone ship out on the sea. He heard footsteps behind him and recognized them as his fathers.
"What do you see, my boy?" he asked him.
"It's like we thought, it's the Jewel of the Realm. If rumors from our sources are to be correct, she has the Pegasus sail."
"The horse that could fly?"
"Yes, it is believed that through the Pegasus sail, the ship can fly to other realms. Just as we have always dreamed father. Well, almost..." He said leaving the rest unsaid, both of them knowing what he was referring to.
"Is that so? Well why don't we go have a look? I'm sure they know who we are, let's go inquire about them, shall we?" he said excitedly as he turned and faced the crew that had gathered on deck, "Men, you know what to do." The captain didn't need to speak the orders for them to jump into action. Although the feeling had become familiar to Liam, he still didn't love 'going under' as they all called it. He stood at the helm next to his father and waited for the familiar pressure of the ocean sliding over them as they went under the surface towards the Jewel.
Killian POV
He had remained silent since he found out the truth. His brother was alive, as well as his father. His father is the Davy Jones. He didn't seem to be the only one still trying to put the pieces together in his head.
"Your father… is alive.. and is the dreaded sea captain Davy Jones? Snow asked the brothers.
"I assure you, my lady, I'm not as bad as my reputation may proceed." Said his father, Davy Jones. He had an easy manner about him, and as uncomfortable as the situation had become, he seemed very at ease.
"Just what do you mean?" she asked him.
"My sons can tell you, anyone on the seas who doesn't have a name that strikes fear into the hearts of all men is as good as dead. Although the curse of Davy Jones is true, I have not failed my duties. I ferry the souls of those lost at sea to the other side. That means that I was not cursed to have the face of an octopus," he said waving his fingers under his chin to resemble tentacles, "and I do not recruit the living onto my vessel. My men are the same men who were cursed along with me.
"Why do you need people to fear you, more so than they already do?" charming asked.
"People will do crazy things for immortality. I pay well to ensure rumors of my evil ways are spread to protect myself and my crew. There are ways to break this curse, only my men and my son know of what that is. I need people to fear me enough to not want to cross me."
"Why don't you want to break the curse?" snow asked.
"Who doesn't want to live forever?"
"If you ferry the souls of the dead, why did you think I was dead? My soul was not one of them."
"I didn't know what to think. I thought I'd lost you, but you're right. I knew you were still alive because I hadn't ferried your soul, unless you had died on land. I searched every ship I could find looking for you, for years. I can only go on land once every 10 years so I searched the seas and never found you. My time is up in one year, I was planning on searching. Killian, I swear I have never stopped looking for you."
"But you abandoned me! And Liam! And our mother! She was your wife, how could you do that to her!? We had a family!" he yelled.
"I loved her! I swear I did, but my first love has always been the sea. I can see the love for her in your eyes just as it was in mine. I prayed to the sea goddess, Calypso and she answered my prayers. Winds always favored my ship, storms never ravaged us. She protected us, and when I heard of other sailors saying what they'd lost in the storms, I knew it was her. I loved her and the sea more than anything, and one night she appeared on my ship. She was like nothing I'd ever seen before, and her beauty made me forget everything else important in my life. Her eyes were the color of the sea, and I felt I could drown in them. She told me that she loved me, and that she had a job for me to do that would keep us together forever. I knew I had a wife and two young boys at home that needed me, but in that one weak moment, she was all that occupied my mind. So I agreed. She told me my duty would give me immortality, just like her so we could always be together on the open seas. It wasn't until she told me I couldn't go on land but once every 10 years that I realized what a mistake I'd made. So I betrayed her, and bound her in human form. This curse is what kept me from my family. My wife died from grief, alone. My sons thought I'd deserted them. I came to land once after that. I searched our home and found it empty, I asked around and found that my wife was dead and my sons gone. Liam in the naval academy and Killian was following his coattails. I knew I'd see you two again. I didn't think our reunion would be as it was." He admitted.
"You left your family." Killian threw back at him, "for no reason other than your own needs. Your right, your wife died alone thinking you were dead at sea and you left her for another. Liam and I thought you abandoned us. I don't feel sorry for you. Our lives were hell from the moment you walked out that door to never return. Liam practically raised me and when I though he was gone I had never felt more alone. I have a family in the enchanted forest. A father who loves me. He would never abandon me the way you did." He said storming off way from the group.
"Give him time." Liam told his father.
"I'm afraid we don't have time. We are going to Neverland to save our daughter from Peter Pan." Charming spoke up.
"Peter pan has your daughter?" Liam and his father said together.
"Yes, our only daughter was taken, and we are on our way to save her."
"How do you even know about Neverland much less how to get there?" Liam asked.
"Because I've been there before." Killian spoke, "She was taken because I killed a loyal follower of Pan's."
"You got to Neverland, Killian? How?" his father and Liam asked him.
"I navigated this bloody ship there, how else?"
"You navigated to Neverland?" Jones asked in disbelief. "How?"
"The constellations. I learned to navigate by them as any other sailor did."
"Killian, how did you navigate constellations from another realm?"
"Aye, it was a tad tricky but I managed."
"He's the most skilled navigator I've ever come across." Graham said.
"I knew you belonged on the sea." His father told him.
"I hate to break this up, but we really must be off. We have to find Emma." Snow said.
"Of course, of course. Killian, I expect you're staying?" his father asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"that's what I thought. Well, if your majesties don't object, I would like to volunteer my services to helping you find your daughter." Davy Jones said.
"You would do that?" snow asked shocked.
"I would. My son is determined to help you and although he may not accept me now, I will not abandon him again. I have both of my sons in my sights and I do not plan to let them leave unless they tell me to."
"Killian, we could use the extra help saving her." Charming pulled him aside and told him. Killian just stared at his father and his brother, both of whom he thought were dead this morning.
"Aye, I won't turn away any help to find her, but I don't trust him." He said walking to the helm.
"Father, what of the Dutchman?" Liam asked.
"Yes, the Jewel can travel to other realms due to the Pegasus sail. How can the Dutchman get there?"
"She won't, she'll stay right here."
"You plan to leave your ship in the middle of the ocean with no protection?" Killian asked.
"No, my ship can submerge itself for long periods of time and those part of my crew kept safe. I shall give the command and they shall stay right where they are."
"How does it stay under so long?" Graham asked.
"It's part of the curse. As it submerges, a sort of bubble protects those aboard."
"Aren't you afraid of one of them taking her?" Charming asked.
"No. my men are loyal. They won't betray their captain." He said proudly. "I'll go give the order and we'll be off." He said walking towards the other ship still floating next to them.
Killian stood at the helm and watched him board his ship. He heard someone come up behind him and turned around to see Liam standing there.
"I never thought I'd see you again, my brother." Liam told him.
"Neither did I. I've spent most of my life trying to live the life you would have wanted me to, and I find out you are serving Davy Jones on the Flying Dutchman?"
"He saved my life Killian. I swear we looked for you in the wreckage of that ship and we couldn't find you. He always thought you were alive, and for the longest time I wanted to believe him, But I admit I was beginning to lose faith that we'd ever find you. I thought I'd failed my only brother, that I didn't protect him. We never stopped looking for you Killian." He looked at the Dutchman before continuing, "He's only allowed to dock once every 10 years, not only can he not set foot on land, he can never leave the open ocean. As soon as the day got here, we planned to go searching for you. We were planning on starting in Misthaven because it's the closest port to where the ship wrecked."
"Maybe you would have succeeded. Not sure how much better I would have reacted had you come bursting through the door of the shop my father and I operate."
They laughed at that, "You'd probably think you'd gone mad."
"I'm still not sure I haven't." he said honestly.
The king chose that moment to walk over to the pair of them, "You must be Liam, my name is David. I am the king of the Enchanted Forest. Killian has told us much about you. He is very close with my family." He said offering his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty."
"It was their daughter that found me among the wreckage. The same daughter we are going to rescue from the clutches of Pan."
"I owe her the life of my brother, my father and I will do everything in our power to ensure that she is returned to you and your family."
"We are very grateful. According to Killian, Peter Pan is a powerful enemy."
"That he is." Davy Jones said returning to the ship. "We have not had the best history. See, we met because I'd heard a myth that the power of Neverland could break the curse of the Dutchman. To say that we had a misunderstanding is a bit of an understatement."
"I thought the Dutchman couldn't travel to other realms." Killian said pointedly.
"Not without a magic bean."
"Has anyone ever gotten along with that boy?" Charming asked.
"Never." They heard a voice behind them and Killian rolled his eyes. He was quite tired of surprises for this time being. They needed to quit stalling and get to Neverland to save Emma.
Liam and Jones looked at the one the voice came from, even though himself, Graham and the king and queen knew who he was.
"The Dark One." Jones said.
"Well, hello captain." The imp said with the giggle that made his skin crawl.
"Are you lot mad? Having this creature with you is a death sentence!" Liam said pointing to the Rumpelstiltskin.
"We have a deal. He has a reason to get to Neverland same as we do." The king said.
"How do you know he won't betray you and kill you all?"
"We have dealt with him a few times now, we know his tricks. We made sure that there is no way for him to betray us in our contract."
"Well, aren't you lot intelligent." Jones said with a surprised smile.
"Listen, I know we are all having a great chat and all, but can anyone tell me when we are going to get moving to save Emma?!" Graham said speaking up for the first time.
"Yes. We have to go, we have already lost too much time. We are close to the location where we will need to release the Pegasus sail to get to the correct location. Liam, if you and… Jones are coming, now would be the time to hide the ship so we can set sail."
"Give me a moment." Jones said walking back towards the Dutchman, walking up the gangplank, and speaking to the sailors aboard. When he came back to the Jewel they watched in amazement as The Flying Dutchman disappeared below the depths.
"Well that's my trick! Shall we be off?" Jones said with a bow. Killian rolled his eyes and walked towards the helm to once again resume their journey. Things were at an awkward silence for the first few moments, no one really knowing who they were supposed to talk to. Considering the passengers were the King and Queen, the fiancé of the woman he loved, the dark one, Davy Jones, and his presumed dead brother it wasn't really surprising.
It was Liam who broke the silence, "So, tell us about your life Killian."
He looked at him and he saw a sincere curiosity. He still couldn't believe he was looking at his brother. "After the princess found me, they took me aboard a ship that was on its way back into the King and Queens kingdom. I was sick, and the princess took care of me and made sure I was taken into the palace to meet them that night. They were without a doubt, the kindest people I'd ever met. They welcomed me into their homes with open arms, even though I was a stranger. The next morning, they'd found me a home. My father, or the man I have considered such ever since, is a woodworker named Gepetto and he has a younger son named Pinocchio. They are my family. I trained with Graham," he said pointing to the man, "to go into the naval academy. He's the reason I was able to get in at 17. I had just returned from the mission to Neverland when the princess was taken."
"You were taken into the academy at 17?" Jones inquired.
"Aye. They thought I had enough of a skill set to put me ahead of my age. I graduated in a year and immediately after graduation I was taken onto the Jewel of the Realm as their navigator."
"That's impressive, son." Jones said smiling at him. It was silent again for a few more moments.
"We're here. Your highness, Graham, Liam. Lend me a hand." He said walking away from the helm towards the mast. Between the four of them, they were able to release the sail. Even though he'd used it before, it was still awe-inspiring, the sail itself was bigger than any of them and made of the purest white of feathers with Pegasus outlined into the sail in black. As soon as the wind caught it, they were lifting out of the ocean. He quickly ran back towards the mast and began steering them towards Neverland. He looked at the people aboard, they were all looking over the edge, watching the world under them disappear. Most of his attention was on his father as he looked over the rails with a smile on his face. He looked just as he remembered. Like he had not aged a day. He could still remember when he walked out their door for the last time. He had playfully mussed his hair, hugged him goodbye and walked out the door. He was supposed to come back that night and he never did.
"How long before we get there?" Snow asked coming to stand next to him with the King on her arm.
"Few hours. The way there is only visible at night. We fly towards a star, the second star to the right. We keep going until morning and as the sun rises we appear in Neverland. Similar to a portal but it's not."
"So, what are we to expect when we get there?" he asked.
"A jungle is all it appears to be. Don't touch anything unless I tell you to. Plants shoot poisonous thorns, some are big enough to swallow grown men whole. Then of course you know of the one that induces a deep sleep if you smell it. Everything there is designed to kill you. The lost boys, do not let their arrows or spears cut you. They're coated in a deadly poison known as Dream Shade. One cut and you're as good as dead."
"And our daughter is in the middle of it."
"I'm sure she hasn't been harmed. He'd want me to see it. I'm the reason she's been taken." He said hanging his head.
"Killian, I asked you a question earlier. I never got an answer." Snow said taking his arm.
"I know. We got a little distracted by my father and brother actually being alive." He said with a light chuckle.
"Yes, a bit of a shock." The king said.
"You have no idea. I thought they were both dead, I'd come to terms with it and accepted it. My father was gone for most of my life, but Liam. His death could have taken me down a very dark road. I would have, had you lot not intervened. That is one of the reasons I have to save her. She saved me and she doesn't even know it."
"We're going to find her. And we're going to save her." Snow said.
"If there is one thing this family has always believed in, it is to always have hope." Charming said.
"He knows we're coming, we could be flying right into a trap." Graham said joining the three of them at the helm.
"I don't care. We're saving her no matter what it takes." snow told them all.
We are coming Emma, all of us. Be strong love, we're coming.
He watched over the side of the Jewel as the sun began to rise. Staring into it and holding course, the scenery around them changed in the blink of an eye. Sunlight and clouds turned into black night, different stars, and a solitary island on a sea of black. Sharp mountain peaks high enough to be surrounded by clouds and waterfalls so high they were but streams by the time their descent ended. As he saw the island again, he had chills down his spine. We're back. He thought to himself.
He looked at the king and queen with a grim face and said, "Welcome to Neverland."
So for anyone who patiently waited for this chapter, I thank you. I still love this story, just life got in the way. So I'll admit, I have a hard time writing for Killian sometimes. In this story, yes he lost Liam, but he had a second family and Emma, Snow, and Charming there to help him pick up the pieces. In the show Liam was all he had, so that makes it tricky. Review and let me know how you all like things. I've deliberately kept from writing from Emma's POV until later. Next chapter they see her and how she's doing. They may be surprised. Reviews make me post faster;)!
