A/N: I cannot apologise enough for how long it has taken me to update this. Things haven't been great for me recently and I had a bout of writer's block. Thank you so much for your patience, and for sticking with me.
Managed to get this chapter wrote in between some baking for this weekend. If any of my readers are also attending Storybrooke be sure to come say hi (I'll be in my wheelchair and have bright red hair)! [I'M MEETING COLIN O'DONOGHUE AND LANA PARILLA IN TWO DAYS!] And now that that's out of my system...without further ado the penultimate chapter! Enjoy.
~Anna-Margaret
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Part 12
"Don't you hurt Spot!" yells Athena, glaring at all of the group raising weapons towards the beast.
"Spot?" asks Mary Margaret disbelievingly, carefully glancing over to Thé whilst keeping her eyes on the three-headed dog that looked like he wanted to have them all for breakfast.
"Well Hades tries to be all sophisticated by calling him Cerberus, but if you know your Ancient Greek you know that it basically means 'Spot' in your tongue."
"So Hades' three-headed dog that guards the Underworld is called Spot. What a difference that knowledge will make!" deadpans Regina as they grow closer to the animal.
"Makes a lot of difference. He's a god's version of a house pet," retorts Thé.
At this point one of 'Spot's' heads reach out and he bites down on the hull of the ship, bringing them to a sudden halt. The wood cracks and crunches beneath his incredibly large white canines. The crew closest rapidly begin to back away from the threat. Everyone else raises their weapons back up into a defensive position.
"Did we go to ground?" queries Killian, as Emma and the pirate finally pop their heads above deck. "Oh. Nice doggy," the one-handed pirate says in a genial voice at the same time as stumbling back from the giant head bent down beside the other, one amber eye staring at him unblinkingly, that he suddenly takes note of.
"Oooh you poor baby," croons Thé when she sees the scar over where the second head's other eye used to be.
"You have strange friends," comments Emma.
"Thé is most definitely the strangest," retorts Killian as he grabs Emma's hand and helps her evade the third head making appearance with snapping at the crew members.
"Let's get down below," suggests Rumple to Belle just as a humongous paw crashes down into the water spraying them all.
The crew sputter against the deluge whilst some braver souls lean overboard to see the results of the loud rendering of wood. Long deep lacerations are now etched on the starboard side of the ship. The rocking of the previously calm river also makes the ship jerk, causing Belle to lose her balance and trip over someone's legs. The brunette looks around her as Rumple carefully pulls her to her feet.
"Thé? What are you doing?" she calls out to the ex-goddess on her knees in the middle of the deck.
A roar bellows out of one of the dog's heads, drawing everyone's attention to the group of heroes valiantly firing arrows and swinging their swords at the beast's heads. A fireball thrown by Regina begins to singe Cerberus' fur at the neck of his middle head when a blast of golden magic douses the orange flame.
"To reiterate the librarian's question, what the hell do you think you are doing?" shouts Regina when she whirls around to find Thé with an outstretched hand to the beast before them.
"Lass, whatever you have planned now would be a good time to enact it," grits Killian as he backs away from nearly being bitten in two by one of the pesky heads.
"How is a mandala going to help us?" asks Gold in confusion as he looks over Thé's shoulder to the circle she's painting on the wooden deck one-handedly with what looks like her own blood.
"What's a mandala?" frowns Emma as everyone backs away from the beast's three sets of snapping jaws and gather around Thé.
"Hardly think now's the time for a lesson, love."
"Well if you weren't all brutes attacking him, the circle would already be complete," Thé briefly looks up to glare at them all. "To answer your question Emma, a mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol used in Indian religions. They represent the cosmos either metaphysically or symbolically. As a result they have an affect on things extremely old."
"Such as three-headed beasts by chance? Because we could use a little help right now," comments David as they all duck a particularly vicious swing of one of the dog's paws.
"Almost done."
"So this will help us?" remarks Snow dubiously as she glances down at the circle border that has a thicker circle surrounding it, another circle is within that with strange shapes that almost look like mayflies on an inkblot with a diamond-shape in the centre and four thicker lines branching off from the sides of the diamond to the thick line of the inner circle.
"And done!" smiles Thé as she does a final stroke of her finger upon the wood.
"What was that?" asks Davy as his keen sailor ears pick up an ethereal hum vibrating through the water beneath them.
A silvery light envelops the entire ship, reaching up from the water in the river below it and cradling it like a pair of wings. The light shines brighter than the ethereal light of the underworld, but not quite as bright as starlight. The shine lights up the amber of Cerberus' eyes and all those aboard The Dutchman was on in awe as the dog calmly backs up a few paces and just stares at them all with a cock of each of the three heads.
"The forgiveness mandala. Not one I'd have chosen myself," comments Gold as he leans heavily on his cane, keen eyes darting over the artistry of the bloody symbol protecting them.
"It's governed by the element of water of which there is plenty here, and it carries the spirit of the dog. I'm forgiving Spot for trying to hurt us, and asking him to forgive us in return. Maybe someone should get on with steering this ship now that we're moving again before we crash," deadpans Thé. "Just don't scuff the blood and you'll be good," she adds before standing, flitting over to the side of the ship and plunging herself overboard.
"Athena!" roars Davy, his voice tinged with panic, fear and worry, as he races to where she disappeared. "Blasted shrew," he grimaces when he finds her happily swimming over to the gigantic beast to scratch at his legs.
"Who's a good doggy," Thé baby-talks to the monstrous animal that begins to wag his tail and pant happily.
"She is definitely the strangest person I've ever met," comments Killian with a grin as the group watch on as she nonchalantly wrestles with the dog and scours for a stick to play fetch with him.
"Whilst the damn thing is distracted, Mr Branigan set us back on course, and get us the bloody hell out of here."
"Aye aye Cap'n!"
"Shouldn't we wait for Athena?" asks Robin, concerned for the ex-goddess being left behind.
"I'm sure she'll be fine Robin," reassures Regina. "I mean you just saw what happened. That three-headed beast turned into a playful puppy in her presence."
"But won't she be stuck here?"
"She'll catch up," replies Davy gruffly just as Thé appears beside him and filches a drink.
"Did you miss me?" flirts the ex-goddess as steam rises around her, and her wet loose dress quickly dries but not before the elder Jones' eyes had roved over her barely concealed body.
"Every day," he replies, his voice thick with emotion.
The reply halts the purple and green haired woman in her tracks. Her veneer she has tried to keep up around the Captain the entire trip begins to crack much deeper. Her hazel eyes soften as she gazes into Davy's piercing blue ones. The moment is broken by Killian indelicately coughing, resulting in his father shooting him a scathing glare for which he receives a similar one in return. By the time they break their silent battle, Thé is once again composed and drifts away from Davy. As she passes Killian she gives silent thanks to him in the form of a gentle squeeze to his arm.
"May I be of assistance?" offers Hercules as he approaches Megara.
"Sure," she smiles happy to get out of one of the duties she dislikes - tying off and securing the guns on the port side. "My you are strong!" she compliments him, surprised by how easily Hercules maneuvers the heavy cannons into position and deftly ties it fast. "Wait, you're that Hercules. So now that you're out of the Underworld what's a god like you got planned? Jet back to Olympus?"
"Hardly," Hercules smiles genially after finishing with the last gun. "I've never been to Olympus, and I'm only a demi-god. To tell you the truth I don't really have much of a plan. I thought I might stick around though, now that I've found something to stay for. That is if you don't mind?" he adds nervously.
Megara's eyes widen in surprise as she's never met a man with such brute strength that wasn't overbearing and brutish in personality too. "Not at all. Though perhaps we could get to know each other a little better off this ship?"
"The Captain would be amenable to dropping us ashore some place?" asks Hercules, a bright smile beginning to flood his face.
They seem to be getting along well," comments Killian as he joins Thé who's leaning against the mast of the ship surreptitiously watching the budding couple.
Killian jerks when he notices Thé's eyes sparkling like stars but remains silent. Instead the dashing pirate turns his own gaze to the occupants of the ship scurrying across the deck or, in the case of the Charmings, enjoying a private interlude upon the calm sea. Killian lets loose a sigh of contentment as he presses his back against the sturdy wood of the main mast and views the vast stretch of green-blue ocean surrounding them. The sky is a perfect pale blue with some decent cloud cover, protecting the sailors from a case of sunburn. The wind is also just perfect; not too strong to rock them or leave them with a bad case of windburn, but not too calm that they're stranded in the middle of the large vat of water.
"Don't reckon I've traversed this way before," he murmurs, breaking the moment of serenity that had encased the two old friends.
"'The Gulf of Hope," quotes Thé, glancing up at the dashing Captain, her eyes normal once more, "where the dead may live once more'. Hades gave it its name. Any of the souls that are released from his domain can be reborn by journeying this way. It's also the easiest and calmest path to travel when leaving the Underworld with...cargo. Provided you can get past Spot of course," she grins.
"You've voyaged this way before?"
"Once. After we Olympians watched the events in Neverland unfold," she tells him quietly, her hazel eyes turning downcast. "My uncle gave me the ale of Sinead then, and in order to bring it through into the World of the Living - due to its magical nature - I had to come via this route. Just as we must for you and Hercules. Payment to Hades only releases you from his domain. It's this place that truly grants you the breath of life once more," Thé turns round to face Killian and wags her finger at him in warning. "But don't go spouting that to anyone and everyone that'll buy you a gill measure of rum! Though it would piss off my relatives in Olympus, and I'm not one for making their lives easier, some of them have a very loose rein on their tempers and it'll be the mortals that pay for it."
"Mum's the word," he agrees with a grin, before becoming sober. "I never got the chance to truly thank you for that ale."
"Did you get the closure you were looking for?"
Hook stands staring morosely out at the swaying waves, not feeling the rocking of the wood beneath his feet as his mind remains focused on the task ahead. Too many years have passed since The Jolly was docked in this port. Last time was a homecoming that turned tragic so suddenly. And she'd been The Jewel of the Realm back then...
"You sure you won't join us for a sup, Cap'n?" offers Smee, twiddling his red cotton cap between his hands as his furtive gaze darts between his sombre Captain and the flask he holds carefully cradled in his remaining hand.
"Aye. Now leave me be!" thunders the dark-haired man, his blue eyes flashing dangerously as he pulls his attention from the sea to his First Mate.
Hook watches as Smee hurriedly scampers off to join the rest of the crew gathered ashore. Well the remaining crew. The Jolly's crew had been badly depleted after almost three centuries spent in Neverland and with that damned demon Pan. When alone once more he turns his sight to the flask that was a most generous gift from a friend who knew what it meant to him; a thing Hook didn't think he still had considering how much time had passed here in this realm.
"No use being a coward now Jones," he chides himself quietly.
The sound of his voice mixing with the sound of the ocean in the still night gives him strength. Using his hook to clasp the handle and hold the body of the brown flask against his chest before carefully unscrewing the stopper. With a steady hand he trickles the contents overboard. After a few seconds he re-corks the bottle and carefully sets it aside, never tearing his gaze from the water at the starboard side of The Jolly.
A frown begins to furrow across his brow as nothing happens. Surely Thé wouldn't give him such hope only to give him a forgery. Hook's mind flashes to how she looked when she first saw him. No, he thinks, she's known pain in her life and she wouldn't want to inflict more. Especially not on me...and not with using Liam. At that thought he remembers meeting the swarthy-skinned goddess after rescuing her from her prison. It'd given him the willies that the great warrior goddess Athena had known who he was. In the end he'd pulled his sword on her when she mentioned Neverland and Liam. But she'd been genuinely sorry for his death, and for the pain his loss had caused Killian. No, it has to be the Ale of Sinead, Hook thinks decisively.
"Hello, little brother," greets a voice he has not heard in far too long, dragging the pirate from his thoughts to find Liam hovering by the edge of the railing. "You look like you've seen a ghost," the elder Jones jokes before backtracking at the dark look upon his younger brother's face. "Too soon?"
"Liam?" Hook manages to croak out, automatically backing away from the ethereal form that has appeared before him.
"Aye, Killian. It's me," the curly-haired man smiles before floating forward to hover on the deck before his brother. "My ship looks to be in good nick. Glad to see you've kept up those standards, even if you lapsed on others."
"You died," retorts Hook menacingly.
"I wish I hadn't so that I might have been here to help you be the man I know you can be. Not this, Killian. Such a life I never wanted for you."
"What, a pirate?" spits the dark-haired brother.
"Hardly. The piracy I could deal with and easily accept. But this path of vengeance won't bring you happiness. It'll just bring more death."
"So be it," Hook bites out.
Liam's eyes shut in pain. "I can see nothing I say will change your mind. Before I go though know this, you will find love again. There will be pain, and sadness, and rough times ahead...but with love you'll persevere. You are a survivor, little brother. Please remember all I taught you."
Hook's eyes shine in the moonlight with unshed tears as the image of his brother shimmers and disappears back into the ether.
"After that I found an old woman peddler in DunBroch who paid handsomely for the remaining Ale of Sinead. On my journey I thought on what my brother's ghost had said, but then I caught whiff of a rumour: a prisoner of the Evil Queen's that had been the Dark One's captive once."
"And so you went after the information, rather than following your brother's advice," states Thé.
"Aye, and when I learned she'd be of no use to me I intended to kill her. Regina stopped me before I killed Belle."
"You were going to kill that lovely young woman simply because she was of no use to you?!" cries Thé in outrage.
Her gaze falls to where Belle stands, happily leaning over the railing of the ship to watch the nymphs and sprites splash through the wake. Her laughter at their antics fills the air and brightens the dark look that creeps back into Rumplestiltskin's dark brown eyes every so often. He stands by her side, a reassuring arm outstretched to keep her from toppling over the railing. The glow of love between them is warm and bright like a log fire. Tendrils of darkness intersperse the flame, unlike with the Charmings standing cuddled beside them - whose own glow of love reminds Thé of a winter she spent in the fjords of Norway with a cosy log cabin and a roaring fire to banish the cold.
"The years in Neverland were not good ones for me. The Darkness...well it worsened more than the last time we saw each other," explains Killian, pulling Thé's attention from the haze of love seeping into the port side of the ship.
"Not even a swirl of it now," she remarks, staring at his chest with her starry eyes. "Be sure to keep it that way or I'll hunt you down and beat you so bad you'll regret it," she warns.
"Yes, mother," he jokes, a burst of laughter breaking free at the dark glare she shoots him. His chuckling dies down as in his peripheral he notices a flash of blonde waves and so turns to find Emma standing by the starboard side with Regina. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," murmurs Killian, his gaze never leaving his love. "Milady," he bows before departing from the ex-goddess to be by his love's side, barely giving Thé a last look.
"Worth it," whispers Athena as she watches the brilliant white line glowing brightly between Emma Swan and Killian Jones that is on par with that of Snow White and Prince Charming's own love line.
Meanwhile at the edge of Tartarus, Seph appears having been searching for her husband. She finds Hades sitting on the rough hewn stone floor, staring sadly at a piece of parchment on his lap. He knows she's there but makes no move to speak or acknowledge her. Frowning, she moves to read the item causing this sudden melancholic mood that has settled on the lord of the Underworld. Her eyes flicker over the contract and gasps in shock at the information upon it.
Hades glances up at his beautiful blonde wife over his shoulder. He would never have turned down what the contract gives him, but that doesn't mean he isn't pained by the repercussions such an action will bring his beloved niece.
"Zeus is sure to rain his thunderbolts down upon her for this," frets Persephone sadly.
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. 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
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