Part 6

"Do your rings carry any meaning?" asks Emma; Killian's latest memory she perused before her solitude was interrupted being his gifting her his ring.

She continues to hear his "Calm down Swan, I'm not proposing" even once the crystal is clear again. The memory washes over her but this time, with the help of the crystal, she realises that she was slightly disappointed that he wasn't proposing. She knew she was in no way ready for such a step but she can't help but think it would have been nice. And it's those thoughts that cause her to break the silence filling the insulated cabin; all other sounds from the rest of the ship blocked and repelled by magic coating the wooden walls of the room, according to Thé.

Her question halts the Captain's perusal of his maps laid out across the expanse of his heavy wooden desk. The table is so similar to Killian's on the Jolly Roger that a single glance at the dark wood has her automatically tightening her grip on the crystal that has yet to leave her hold since Thé gave it to her. Emma diverts her eyes from the object in question in order to keep a reign on the tears that suddenly prick her green-blue eyes and threaten to fall. If even a single one dropped she doesn't think she'd be able to stop crying, and so she distracts herself with the middling-aged, dark-haired Captain.

"A couple do, aye. One for my first love," he replies with a twinkle as he holds out his forefinger on his left hand where a heavy gold Celtic-style ring rests set with several garnets upon the Celtic knots. "This one is for my family," he gestures to the silver ring mounted with a single black onyx; the metal engraved with a flower in the shape of butterfly wings. "And this one because it goes with my eyes," he winks wiggling the simple rustic gold ring, with a Capri blue quartz set into the metal, on his pinkie.

Emma smiles in reply, saying nothing else and earning her a grateful grin in return for not mentioning the ring he completely skipped over; a wide plain silver band upon his wedding finger that has a large round blue gold stone inlaid into it. Emma watches as Davy makes another marking on his various charts, her curiosity rises but not enough for her to move from her stool by the raised stretcher upon which Killian's body still lies.

"What is it you're doing anyway?"

"Plotting the route we'll take and which doorway to The Locker we'll use," Davy Jones replies genially.

"The Locker? But we're going to the Underworld, aren't we?" asks Emma confusedly.

Davy smiles gently at the young woman and her inquisitiveness; a trait he knows likely aided in attracting Killian to her. "It's a difficult concept to get your head around but I'll try to explain with an analogy from your realm," he tells her as he puts aside his maps and pencils. "All the realms are sort of spread out like how your realm's solar system is; just imagine each 'planet' as a realm - though there are many more realms than there are planets in your system. Now between the 'planets' and the 'sun' is The Locker. It is all the darkness of your sky but it can only be accessed through specific doors in each realm. By passing through the darkness you get to the 'sun' - the realm where the Gods and Goddesses abide; both Mount Olympus and the Underworld. Does that help explain things?"

"A bit, thanks. You and Thé are extremely knowledgeable about the real world, or rather my realm," she says these last two words hesitantly.

"Athena has spent decades there, possibly even centuries of your time. I, and my crew, have been tasked on travelling to your realm several times for victims destined for The Locker instead of Elysium, or Tartarus. In your realm, and your time, I suppose The Locker could be seen as Purgatory whilst Elysium and Tartarus are equivalent to heaven and hell respectively."

The Captain's voice had taken on an almost mystical quality as he spoke and so Emma startles when the door to the cabin suddenly flies open and Thé enters followed by Snow and Charming. Emma's parents ignore the Captain in the room and immediately move to check in with their daughter, and Killian. Thé meanwhile remains near the door, her arms folded and her face in a scowl as she glares over at Davy who merely smirks back at her before gathering up all his instruments and papers and exiting his cabin. Thé jumps aside when he purposefully brushes against her when he leaves.

"This is going to be a really long trip," she moans before plopping down on the bed she made up earlier on the opposite side of the room to the actual bed (Emma had been surprised when the berth didn't catch fire the first time they'd entered the room and Thé had stared at the large comfortable bed with a fiery glare).

Snow, Charming and Emma all glance over at the ex-goddess who immediately falls asleep, unperturbed by the motions of the ship or the people watching her.

"She's a strange one," murmurs David to his daughter. "Zelena and Rumplestiltskin weren't overly pleased by their accommodations but she shut down their complaints with a simple threat of having them thrown in the brig for the entirety of this quest."

"Was it just those two being snobs, or do you all get stuck with the less than stellar beds?" asks Emma. "Because if you and Mom want to sleep in here with us, I'm fine with pitching a bed on the floor like Thé."

"Oh sweetheart, you don't need to do that. We all have quite nice cabins, surprisingly large considering we're on a ship. Your father and I were given Mr Branigan's quarters, at his repeated assistance once he found out who we were," smiles Snow sweetly. "Regina and Robin are also enjoying their privacy in one of the guest cabins apparently available. Thé walked in and then straight back out. All she would tell us was that they were 'busy' before winking and heading off to check on the other three."

"Belle's room is small but she swore it would be more than suitable. That's when we heard the ruckus from Zelena," David rolls his eyes at his daughter. "She wasn't content to have to share with the female sailors and turned her delicate nose up at the hammock Mr Branigan directed her to as her bed. Rumplestiltskin took his own similar situation in a less childish manner. He sneered at having to share a room with a load of 'unwashed and uncouth sailors', or at least that was the gist of his complaint to Thé. He quieted down after her threat of having them put into a cell."

"I'd like to know what Athena whispered to him that made him go so pale," adds Mary Margaret.

"All I could make out was that it was something about Killian."

"Killian?" frowns Emma, her gaze darting to the man in questions body.

"It was about or regarding him, yes. But that's all I know, Emma."

"Thanks for letting me know anyway," she tries to smile in reply to her father but it comes out as more of a grimace. "Do you know where we are?"

"We haven't gone back on deck yet. We thought we'd check in with you first."

"I'm okay Mom. Davy Jones explained how the realms are situated and that we have to go through The Locker in order to get to the Underworld."

"What's he like?" Mary Margaret whispers conspiratorially. "There's so many stories about him. That he's gruff and very pirate-like. I've heard you really don't want to anger him either or he'll call the wrath of the gods down upon you."

"Well I hate to burst your dramatic bubble but he seemed pleasant enough."

"You speak with Davy Jones and all you can give me is 'he seemed pleasant enough'" outrages Mary Margaret.

"Forgive your mother, she's just being a gossip. You should try to get some rest. You still have yet to sleep since..." drifts off David, his sorrowful glance falling to the unmoving chest of the leather clad pirate who had become a friend, a mate, and who he sort of trusted with his daughter (she was his daughter, whether grown or not, and he was still a pirate) because he helped and understood her far better than either he or Snow may ever be able to.

"I'll try," she weakly promises them before giving them each a small embrace as they left her alone in the cabin with her dead boyfriend's body and an ex-goddess who was once connected to said dead boyfriend in some mysterious way that Thé was keeping mum about. "Yeah, sleep's unlikely to come here," she mutters to herself as she returns to focusing her attention on the memories that rise to the surface of the crystal with only a mere thought from her.

The following day the group were all sprawled about on deck. The motion of the large ship was quite smooth but the crew took notice that not all of them got their sea legs as quick as others. Zelena was one of the group who had difficulties properly keeping her balance except when on deck and able to see the waves crashing against the hull as they speedily drove through the aquamarine ocean. The crew would give a hoot every time she tried to walk and ended up swaying and stumbling like a drunk. But all was currently quiet as the sailors did their various chores (swabbing parts of the ship, mending sails, fixing lines, etcetera) and the Storybrooke lot sat wherever they could - against the masts, on the rigging, atop some of the heavy barrels carefully strapped down. Everyone was simply taking the moment to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the serenity that seemed to have settled around them, or at least that's what Snow had been smiling cheerfully about.

Emma sighs as she stares out at the pale blue horizon, having been forced by her parents and Regina to come up on to the main deck for fresh air, rather than remaining cooped up below in the Captain's cabin. It's not that she isn't grateful to them for looking out for her, but her grief is still raw and painful. She wants to be alone, not surrounded by beautiful and peaceful scenery that is really just making her miss Killian all the more. And so she's glad of the distraction when Davy Jones crosses his deck, at the ready to take over at the helm. Her parents, Regina, Robin, Belle, and even Zelena and Gold all fall into a murky silence as he passes them by with barely more than a glance. Emma's unsure if anyone else notices how Gold tries to make himself smaller as the tall, well-built Captain strolls confidently past; or if they notice how the Captain's pale blue eyes seem to momentarily freeze over when they land on the more diminutive man.

Davy's eyes thaw once his sight is no longer blocked by the main mast. Heat burns through his gaze as it roves over the lightly tanned body of the woman lying sprawled across the railing in front of the wheel. Now that he's had time to get used to seeing the ex-goddess again, and the shock has mostly worn off, Davy decides he wants to have a little fun with the much more spunky Athena. And perhaps a little more than that, he thinks as she shifts position causing her bare midriff to tauten and ripple; the charm dangling from her piercing glistening in the sun and tinkling with the movement. His eyes cannot settle on any one part of Thé as he quietly climbs up to the quarterdeck. They flicker from her arms reaching up over her head, wrists crossed, and down to her breasts encased in a stringy electric blue bikini top. Davy's gaze continues to follow the slope of her body to the extremely small and well-fitting dark denim ripped shorts. But it is the sight of her long bare legs bent and sprawled open, her small bare feet pressed flat against the wood beneath her body, that truly draws him. He comes quickly to his senses, swallows back the saliva pooling in his mouth and stalks onwards, a merciless and indecent smirk on his lips.

"Lass, as much as I like you lying on your back at my helm and in such miniature clothing, I'd much rather if we were alone and naked."

Thé's eyes snap open immediately and, upon seeing the look on the Captain's face she spins and jumps down on to the deck. "In your dreams," she snarls.

"Always. And I'm in your's too. No need to deny it or be ashamed. But you know it doesn't all have to be make-believe and fantasy. I'm sure we could find a private corner for a few hours worth of pleasure," he winks lasciviously.

Growling in disbelief and anger at the nerve of him Thé slaps him hard across the face. Then she moves in closer to him and deftly manoeuvres to knee the cocky Captain directly in the balls. Hard. Davy Jones gasps out in pain as he drops to his own deck, clutching his crown jewels. But a glance at the satisfied smile on Thé's pink lips has him determined he'll be the one to have the last say.

"Now that wasn't very nice. Want to go back to my cabin and kiss him better?"

Thé's only reply is a swift strong punch to his stomach, knocking the air out of him and making him unable to make a sound let alone another disgusting comeback at her. With a silent huff the ex-goddess turns on her bare feet and regally walks away, heading to her current chambers aboard the ship and ignoring the Storybrooke crowd who, whilst seeing all the action hadn't heard what had been said.

As the purple-haired woman passes Regina raises an eyebrow and mutters to the group, "Well there's definitely history between them."

"And a lot of tension. Sexual tension," adds Zelena with a maniacal grin.

"Davy Jones!"

"You bellowed?" snarks the Captain once he finally deems to climb up from where he was sleeping below to find out what's got the purple haired harpy in a twist now; for days he'd been teasing her and making all sorts of suggestive remarks resulting in her becoming even more riled than that first time, but since then she has yet to turn to violence again.

"Have you seen the blasted heading your damned half-wits of a crew are sailing towards whilst you lounge below decks and be a lazy sod?" Thé retorts, her eyes flickering from hazel to silver and back again uncontrollably.

"We're on the right course," he glares after checking his sextant prior to flirtatiously telling her, "If you just wanted to call on me you didn't have to make up such a ridiculous excuse."

Thé grits her teeth, trying not to rise to the bait because where they are currently sailing through bodes ill for them all. "I get that this is likely your usual passageway to The Locker but do try to remember I'm aboard this vessel," she manages to spit out through her fury.

"I'm not likely to bloody forget," mutters Davy under his breath, his gaze roaming over the excruciatingly short black denim skirt she's wearing with a backless blue halterneck. He sighs in annoyance when he sees her eyes still switching back and forth and the rage pent up inside of her. "How does your being aboard her factor into our direction?"

At that moment an animalistic screech echoes across the ocean creating ripples through the waves and suddenly jerking The Flying Dutchman off her current course, causing all those on deck to reach out and grab hold of a line so that the motion doesn't send them overboard. Thé's eyes widen and she looks in the direction the mournful and furious cry came from. But before anything can be done every member of the crew on deck glance fearfully down at the wood beneath their feet. A sudden reverberation bounces through the keel of the ship; the vibration strong enough that those on the main deck can easily feel it. Thé groans and rolls her eyes at their luck.

"I warned you," she complains to the Captain - whose pale blue eyes have finally widened in recognition for why this wasn't the best course to set.

"On deck, all hands!" he bellows out, his powerful voice reaching even the lower decks of his ship. "To arms! Prepare for attack. Make ready and man the guns. See to the powder. Keep it dry. Defend the masts."

"What's happening?" frets Mary Margaret as the Storybrooke group appear, all readying themselves for a fight just like the sailors now rushing around The Flying Dutchman in organised chaos.

"The Captain here made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision and he elected to ignore what I was trying to tell him we're now about to be bombarded. Thanks to his stellar navigational skills we're in Echidna's quarter and she's unleashed one of her pets, or children. Whatever you want to call them."

"To be fair, it's your fault," argues Davy. "You had to go and make that comment about her newest child, likening it to a walrus, and now you have only yourself to blame for the nemesis you've made for life."

"The kraken will hit first and then she'll appear to take care of the survivors," Thé tells them, ignoring Davy Jones. "Try to keep out of the reach of her body and tail; her favourite method of killing is asphyxiation. But she will try to bite you too like any snake. Also don't look directly into her eyes as she can freeze you where you stand and then take her time killing you. She's kind of like a basilisk that way only she can't petrify you through her reflection and she doesn't speak Parseltongue."

"You've read Harry Potter," stares Emma dumbfounded, her mind grasping on to the only thing making sense to her in that moment.

"Not exactly what you should be focusing on right now, but yes," Thé replies with a smile that is more grimace because of what they're about to face.

"My girl is a fast ship," grits out Davy Jones.

"That she is, but not fast enough. But we will need a quick getaway if we can wound Echidna."

Davy nods in agreement and starts pointing to several hands: "You lot, to your stations. Make fast the bunt gasket. Man the capstan. Haul those sheets! Full canvas. Make ready to flee to port as soon as we're clear of these blasted beasts. We may only have minutes to reach the exit," he commands but once his sailors have gone to do as they're told he mutters to himself, "Now if this wind would just keep up."

"Call on him," whispers Thé significantly, her eyes soften for an instant before the moment breaks and she turns to direct the Storybrooke lot on where they can help best.

A/N: So I wrote some of this over my birthday weekend, the rest whilst I was in hospital this afternoon getting tests, and finished it off once I got home. Apologies for any mistakes, I am still currently feeling the effects of the sedation I was under. I think this will be the last update I get done and uploaded before Christmas and Boxing Day so I wish all of my readers that celebrate it A Very Merry Christmas!

Also managed to throw in three references/quotes to three separate film series in that last part. Can any of you guess all three? I'll give you a clue: one is very easy and obvious. Anyone who gets all three can get a little sneak peek of a scene I have wrote for the next chapter, if they like.

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Due to my illness I do sometimes have issues being able to write on a regular basis. I don't know when I'll get this next updated but I just ask for your patience. Many thanks!

~Anna-Margaret

xx