Nothing But a Pirate

Chapter Twelve

"So, exactly what's happening to him?" Pan whispered to Tiger Lily as he leaned toward her, while everyone within the circle of flames kept their eyes trained on the Pirate Captain writhing upon the altar, screaming in agony for minutes until his body finally stilled other than from the tremors that continued to course through him, then Hook's eyes fell open slowly and those closest to him could see that they had become clouded over, his pupils having turned pure white.

"The black smoke has entered into his body through his nose and mouth in order to enter into his lungs," the Princess replied quietly while she slowly stepped up to the stone altar and reached out to lay her hand over Killian's forehead and chest as if to assure herself that their prisoner was still alive. "As I have the ability to see into one's past and future with help from the island's many plants and water source, blended with few of our prayers and chants, the carvings and symbols etched within my people's altar have the power to expand the ability into another lying upon the stone by way of punishment before my ancestors in our past would offer them up as sacrifices. As you can see, this practice hasn't been performed by our tribe for many years. We are not a cruel people. It has only been forced upon those who are evil or who have wronged us in the worst of ways imaginable, as he has when he murdered my father and our Chief."

Felix scoffed and then turned away from Hook to look at the Indians' leader as he asked with confusion, "How is forcing Hook to see into the future a punishment, other than it's obviously quite painful? What is he being shown?"

Tiger Lily looked over at him as she answered, "That which he most fears. Captain Hook is a brave man, not easily afraid. Yet every man is afraid of something. He is no exception. We believe our futures derive from that which we fear as we strive constantly to become better than what we fear to become. We strive to correct the mistakes of our pasts."

"And then what?" Peter continued to inquire out of curiosity. "Will you be killing him by stabbing him through his heart or perhaps even his hook to finish him once he suffers until your people's magic wears off?"

"Only if his heart doesn't give out first," she responded as she looked at Pan, then turned back to stare at their prisoner as she joined into her people's chanting.

The leader of the Lost Boys smiled cruelly and turned to his second as he replied, "Excellent."

Within Hook's mind…

A memory was suddenly forced into Killian's mind amongst the overwhelming pain he still felt even though he could no longer scream, as one of his deepest fears and regrets appeared from when he and his brother first had come to Neverland, as they arrived upon the top of a mountain where Peter Pan had guided them to so they could collect the dreamshade for their King as Liam pulled out the drawing of the plant while Killian spoke up saying, "Well, it certainly doesn't look like medicine."

"You choose to believe that boy over our king?" Liam asked sternly as he moved in closer to observe the large plant.

"That boy... showed us the path to dreamshade," the younger Jones answered nervously, keeping his eyes on Liam. "Why would he lie about its nature?"

Liam stated, "To keep it all for himself. You actually think our king would send us to retrieve something so dangerous?"

Killian responded with worry, "I would hope not. This is not what I signed up for."

"You signed up to listen to your king," the Captain of the Royal Navy replied more sternly, reaching out to touch the plant, then quickly stepped away.

"Because I thought he was a... a man of honor," his brother answered in frustration while he remained back, becoming more irritated as Liam continued to push aside his concerns.

The older man looked at his younger brother as he cried out, "He is."

Killian continued to stand his ground as he responded angrily, "If this is a poison, it won't just end war. It will obliterate an entire race."

"What do you know of any of this?" Liam asked coldly as he finally turned his full attention to Killian and walked toward him. "I'm your brother and your Captain. You will listen to me."

"No," the Leftenant replied steadfastly. "I'll fight my enemies, but I'll fight fair."

Liam scoffed as he rolled his eyes and pulled out his sword, then moved back toward the plant again while he answered, "Then allow me to disabuse you of that notion."

When the older Jones cut away a smaller branch of the dreamshade and started to slice it across his arm, Killian quickly tried to stop him as he objected, "No, brother, don't!"

"You see?" his Captain said again after he grunted from the pain of cutting into his skin, then held his arm out so Killian could see the laceration better until he turned back to the large plant in attempt to continue to cut it away. "Perfectly fine. I told you, our King would never lie to us. Now let's collect our specimens and get off this..."

"Liam?" Killian stated fearfully after his brother suddenly inhaled sharply before grunting in pain and gasped while he slowly turned around to face his brother while black striations slowly began to form over his arm as poison began to spread.

The older Jones brother weakly gasped, "Killian."

Killian rushed to his brother's side and pulled him close as he cried out, "Your arm!"

"I'm sorry, brother," Liam whispered weakly as he struggled to breathe while the pain continued to worsen until he lost consciousness and his head fell against Killian's hand that held him.

"No," the younger Jones brother cried fearfully. "No! No!"

Killian struggled to pull Liam more off the ground while his voice broke as he pleaded, "Come on. Liam! Hey. Hey. Let's get you back to the ship. Come on. Come on."

All of a sudden, the boy who had tried to warn them as they first stepped foot upon the island appeared before the brothers again as he spoke up saying, "I tried to warn you. He'll die as soon as the poison reaches his heart."

"Please," Killian begged as he looked at Pan with fear while he kept his hold on the older man on the ground. "He's my brother. He's all… all I have left."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have goaded him into it," Peter responded cruelly while keeping his eyes on the brothers.

The Leftenant with the Royal Navy replied in despair, "He's so stubborn. I didn't mean to. Can you help me?"

The child sighed deeply and then he answered, "Well, I might not feel like it, but today's your lucky day. There is a way to stop him from dying."

"Tell me," Killian immediately responded as he stood up again before Pan.

"This spring…" Pan began to reply while he walked in front of the dreamshade plant, then waved his hand over it as it parted to reveal water flowing from the mountain before them, then he continued to explain. "These waters are rich with the power of Neverland. It's what keeps this land and all on it so... young. If one was to drink directly from it, its power could cure any ill."

The younger Jones looked at the magical child as he whispered with sincerity, "Thank you."

When he walked around him to get to the spring, Peter reached out to place a hand on his shoulder and stated, "But... I must warn you. All magic comes with a price, and that spring is no exception. Don't leave the island unless you're willing to pay it."

"Of course," Killian quickly answered. "Whatever you want, it's yours."

The images finally faded into blackness while his thoughts reeled from the memory and fear of losing his brother until the blackness disappeared when Killian saw himself standing upon the Jewel of the Realm, watching his brother's body being dumped into the ocean, then he turned to the crewmen he was now the Captain over. He watched closely while he warned the men of the dangers of the island they had left before Liam had died and renamed his ship the Jolly Roger, then proclaimed himself no longer their ruthless King's Captain, but a pirate as he vowed to avenge his brother. Liam's death made him a pirate and was the beginning of his downfall into becoming the vile man he had become.

"Milah!" Hook heard himself shouting as his memory changed once again when Rumpelstiltskin magically thrust his hand through Milah's chest while he attempted to save her, but the villain used his magic to bind him to the mast, the ropes wrapping across his chest to keep him in place so that he couldn't help the woman he loved.

Rumpelstiltskin suddenly ripped her heart from her chest, causing her to pant in pain while Hook could do nothing, but watch as he cried out with fear, "No!"

After a few moments, Hook finally managed to break himself free from the ropes, causing one of the hooks attached to the mast to fall to the ground, then ran over to Milah as she gently reached her hand to touch his cheek while she looked into his eyes and whispered weakly, "I love you."

"You may be more powerful now, demon," the Pirate Captain said coldly after he was forced to watch while Rumpelstiltskin crushed the dark haired woman's heart into dust within his hand as he held her in his arms until she died. "But you're no lesser a coward."

"I'll have what I came for now," the Dark One responded smugly, sneering at the pirate as Hook slowly rose to his feet while he glared at the villain before him.

Slowly making his way toward the monster, the Captain of the Jolly Roger replied angrily, "You'll have to kill me first."

Rumpelstiltskin took a few steps back as he retorted, "I'm afraid that's not in the cards for you, sonny boy."

"I want you alive," he continued as he swiftly drew his sword and cut off Hook's hand he believed was still holding onto the magic bean that he had initially come for, causing Killian to scream in agony, then breathed heavily through the pain as the monster held his blade against Hook's neck. "Because I want you to suffer like I did."

"Killing me's going to take a lot more than that, dearie," the Dark One spoke again after he had turned to go until Hook grabbed the hook that had fallen onto the deck and then stabbed Rumpelstiltskin with it, thrusting into his chest in attempt to kill him as he had killed Milah, though thanks to his power, no harm was done.

Captain Hook glared at him as he cried out angrily, "Even demons can be killed. I will find a way."

Just before he vanished within a dark red cloud of smoke, Rumpelstiltskin sneered at Hook as he answered, "Well, good luck living long enough."

His memories changed and Hook found himself once again onboard his ship, while his crew tossed Milah's wrapped body overboard just as they had done for his brother years ago. As he watched her body drift away until the sea swallowed her, Killian held his left arm tightly against his chest, suffering through the anguish from losing his hand, pain that was no less than the pain he felt from the loss of his brother and the woman he loved. While Liam's death had made him a pirate, it was Milah's death that turned him into Captain Hook. Though to everyone who knew him, Hook appeared to revere who he had become, Killian truly despised and feared the villain unleashed as the many tragedies of his life destroyed what little good was left inside of him.

"Hey!" Smee, the little man Hook had taken hostage earlier to get the magic bean from in the first place, swiftly shouted through his gag from behind the Captain. "Hey!"

"Allow him to speak," Killian stated as one of the pirates removed the gag and untied him.

The man rushed over to stand before the Pirate Captain as he continued sternly, "I want my bean."

Hook looked outward, then back at his prisoner as he responded, "Let me tell you how it works on my ship. I make the demands, you follow them. Bean's now mine."

"You have to give me something for it," Smee replied with frustration.

"Oh, I will," the man in charge answered coldly. "Your life. A chance to join my crew."

The smaller man responded brusquely, "So, instead of the promise of eternal life, I get to scrub blood off your decks? How is that right?"

Killian looked around him again and then back at Smee as he asked, "Well, what if I was to tell you I was about to set sail to a land where none of us will ever grow old?"

"Where I can discover how to get my revenge on Rumpelstiltskin," he added as his eyes darkened upon mentioned his darkest enemy's name.

"Guess I could live with that," Mr. Smee replied smugly, looking up at the Pirate Captain eagerly.

Hook smiled again as he said, "Good. What's your name, sailor?"

The little man spoke again saying, "William. William Smee. Can I have my hat?"

"Well, Mr. Smee…" the Captain of the ship started to answer as he gestured to the pirate currently wearing Smee's hat, who then tossed it over. "Welcome aboard."

"Harden up and get ready to set sail, mates," Killian called out to his crewmen after throwing the magic bean he still possessed into the ocean ahead of them, having had tricked the monster who had stolen his hand when he disappeared, then a giant whirlpool opened up as Hook made his way to stand at the wheel while the rest of the pirates worked to ready their ship like their Captain ordered. "There's bumpy seas ahead!"

Now wearing the red knit hat once more, Smee looked out at the newly formed portal, then he rushed toward Hook as he questioned curiously, "What's the name of the place we're headed, Captain?"

Captain Hook stared darkly at the brace he was now wearing over the stub left behind in his assault, attaching the very hook he had tried to kill his Crocodile with into it with a click to replace his missing hand, then the pirate spun the wheel to direct the Jolly Roger into the magic portal to a new world as he responded smugly, "Neverland."