A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! Quick update for you all. I'm trying to post as much as I can before I leave for my vacation on Sunday. I hope to have another chapter up by then as well, because I'll be gone for a while and I don't want to leave all of you hanging! Cross your fingers that my muse will stay with me. =)

Once again, thank you all for the feedback and support. I would love to name all of you, but then that would take half of this chapter! =) But your reviews and guesses were fantastic. Who got "Captain Cockblock" right from the previous chapter? hahaha! Let's see who got the answer for the "new companion" in this chapter correct. ;)

Also, I've posted a new OUAT one-shot called "On A Beanstalk With A Pirate". Check it out!

Anyway, I'm so excited for the rest of this story. I can't wait to share what I have planned with all of you! Hope you enjoy this next installment! xx IFHD

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Chapter 3: Grey Matter

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Inspired by:

"Breath of Life"

By: Florence + The Machine

I was looking for a breath of life;

A little touch of heavenly light

But all the choirs in my head sang "no"

To get a dream of life again

A little of vision of the start and the end

But all the choirs in my head sang "no".

But I only needed one more touch

Another taste of heavenly rush

And I believe; I believe it so...

And I only needed one more touch

Another taste of devouring rush

And I believe, I believe it so...

Whose side am I on; whose side am I?

Whose side am I on; whose side am I?

And the fever began to spread

From my heart down to my legs

But the room was so quiet oh...

And although I wasn't losing my mind

It was a chorus so sublime

But the room is too quiet

(Oh, the fever)

I was looking for a breath of life;

A little touch of heavenly light

But all the choirs in my head sang "no"

(I believe it)

To get a dream of life again

A little vision of the start and the end

But all the choirs in my head sang "no".

It's a harder way

And it's come to claim her

And I always say

We should be together

I can see below

'Cause there's something in here

And if you are gone

I will not belong here

And I started to hear it again

But this time it wasn't the end

And the room was so quiet, oh

And my heart is a hollow plain

For the devil to dance again

And the room was too quiet, oh

I was looking for a breath of life;

A little touch of heavenly light

But all the choirs in my head sang "no"

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Mr. Gold coolly stepped out from behind an oak trunk, with Belle in tow.

Emma released her held breath at their sight, particularly relieved that Belle had been alright this entire time. As she regained her composure, she shone the flashlight at their approaching forms and curiously surveyed their surroundings. "Where's Regina?"

"We were separated in the frenzy earlier." Gold answered in a light tone as he stepped over a moss-covered log. Belle followed closely behind him, keeping her hand clasped in his. As they now stood a few meters from Emma and Hook, Gold propped his cane in front of him. "Well, I've managed to find answers to some of our lingering questions. It seems as though Cora is able to conjure up some...friends...here in Storybrooke."

"Her powers work here." Emma breathed out, more as a statement than a question.

Gold still nodded his head in support, sharing in the morose mood. "To some extent, it seems so. The good news is that I've found that her creatures aren't immortal." The leather-skinned man pursed his lips into a thin line as the memories of what had transpired just a few minutes earlier appeared in his memory. That he and Belle escaped relatively unscathed was a miracle, he thought. His tone became darker as he warned, "There are enchanted creatures the forest, Miss Swan. I suggest that you tell your friends this. Beware of what stalks within."

As they spoke, Hook left Emma's side and stalked forward in a predatorial manner. His facial expression entirely transformed, and his entire body grew tense. The pirate's countenance morphed from neutral, to questioning, and then, finally, it filled with recognition. In the midst of Emma and Gold's conversation, he let out an interjecting snarl - one that would make even Red proud. With narrowed eyes, he unsheathed his sword and wielded it menacingly before him. "I think we have a score to settle, crocodile."

The response that he then received was slightly surprising. Instead of the crocodile himself retaliating, Belle confidently stepped in front of her lover and growled in return, "Go back to where you came from, pirate! Your trouble isn't welcome here."

Despite the growing tension, Emma couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at Belle's indignant reaction. She could guess that it was partly because Belle was just being protective of Gold, but the look on her face and her body language screamed to her that there was something more; something personal. Emma was definitely missing something. At this point in her 'relationship' with the pirate, Emma wouldn't be the least bit surprised that Hook had done something to Belle as well.

Emma didn't have time to conjure up scenarios in her head regarding Hook and Belle's shared past, because before she could even blink again, Hook snapped. In an instant, the pirate lost all of his composure, transforming into such a vengeful, ruthless creature that Emma had never seen before. Sure, Hook defended himself when he needed to and was more than capable of doing so; and yes, he had attacked her during their little duel in Fairytale Land - but this was something entirely different. From what she could discern, he was now driven by something so deep, so primal, that the need seemed to be embedded in his soul. Not knowing how to react, the young woman found herself entirely frozen and bewildered as he surged forward at full attack, heading directly for Gold.

Though Belle let out a panicked gasp at the antagonism, Gold retained his cool demeanour and easily countered Hook's mighty, right swing with a diagonal parry of his cane. The older man didn't even seem phased by the pirate's continuous attack, warding off every blow with his own. Hook's blows carried such power that Gold retreated little by little; nevertheless, the older man kept his defenses and weren't dealt any direct blows to his body. To the women's surprise, the metal cane withstood the sharpened edges of Hook's sword; though pieces of it were being hacked away little by little and it couldn't deliver cutting damage in return, it was the closest defensive weapon that Gold had at the moment.

Even after a minute or two, Hook's inflamed attacks didn't abate. He continued the onslaught with heightened energy, enacting every sword trick that he knew and going for the killing blow every time; however, as the fight progressed, Gold continued to match his every hit and evade a few close calls.

Throughout the moonlight-guided combat, Gold managed to advise Belle to stay back and get to safety. The brown-haired woman ran directly to Emma's side, who continued to stand, stalk-still, as she watched the course of events unfurl before her through widened eyes. As confusion continued to engulf her, she felt Belle's hand tugging at her arm. "Emma, we have to stop this!"

Emma's shocked stare landed upon Belle's, then at the two combatants now a few meters from them. The Sheriff's manual didn't outline any precise procedures to stop swordfights, so she bravely stepped forward and tried the generic, "That's enough! Put down your weapons!"

Her cry fell upon deaf ears.

Extreme agitation coursed through her veins now. Emma gulped. She didn't particularly want to resort to the one thing that she could do.

The tips of her fingers lithely traced the gun in her holster.

Before she could draw, however, she heard Hook cry out in pain. As Emma's eyes darted to his form, his hand relieved its grasp of his sword and his feet began to dangle from the ground. With an outstretched arm, Gold began to telekinetically hoist the pirate from the earth, the surge of magic slightly visible from his curled fingers. When the helpless captain was a good two meters in the air, Gold dismissively waved his hand, as though flicking off a fly; the pirate's body followed the gesture's direction, and it was sent flying into the trunk of a large alder tree. Upon impact, Hook's eyes shut; his body fell listlessly to the ground with a loud thud.

Emma looked on in horror.

Content that he finally bested the enemy, Gold languidly walked towards Hook's fallen sword. He bent over, picked up the weapon, and gripped the hilt tightly. He twisted his head towards the motionless body of the pirate and murmured, "I passed up killing you with your own sword once, pirate. I don't think I'll be doing that again."

Gold retracted his arm and prepared for the final blow.

"Wait!" Emma cried, stumbling towards the pirate's sprawled form. She held out a pleading hand towards the leering man in front of her. No matter what score these two had to settle, she thought, she was still the Sheriff of this town, and witnessing a cold-blooded murder first-hand and doing nothing about it wasn't exactly part of her job description. "Gold, don't."

"Miss Swan," the sorcerer replied coolly, "I suggest you move out of the way, unless you want to be run through as well."

She didn't budge despite the threat. With more conviction in her voice this time, she tried once more. "Gold, please. You can't just murder someone!"

"Now why would I not kill someone bent on killing me? Isn't it self-defense?" He queried lightly as he scrutinized her, genuinely curious, for a response. He only needed to take one look into her eyes to find his answer. His lips pursed into a thin, thoughtful line. After a few, tense moments, Gold slightly relaxed and replied with, "Ah. I understand."

Emma eyed him nervously. She still held up her defenses, just in case he decided to continue his planned action. "What do you mean?"

Gold clasped his cane with his left hand as he squatted slightly to meet Emma's questioning eyes. "You may not see it yourself, Miss Swan, but I do."

She tried to brush off his cryptic words. Frankly, she felt a tad bit uncomfortable discussing her issues with Gold. The conversation needed to change. Now. "If he travelled all the way to Storybrooke to kill you, Gold, he must have a good reason." She began, remembering what Hook had told her at the top of the beanstalk. Emma just wanted to hear it from the 'crocodile's' mouth. "I know you did something to him."

"I merely took something from him that was once mine, dearie."

Emma's face scrunched at the twisted logic. "What?"

Gold shook his head and waved off the topic. "Let's leave the past in the past, shall we? Well, except, of course, my desire to allow the pirate to suffer just a bit longer." A pleasant smirk appeared on his face then, as though erasing everything that had just happened from his memory. When Belle reached his side once more, he clasped her trembling hand in his; he eyed his lover for a brief moment, subdued by the fact that he didn't actually take someone's life in front of her - even if it were Hook's. "Now, if you do not mind, we are going to resume our hunt."

Gold dismissively tossed Hook's sword by his body. Belle twisted her head to face Emma, her bright eyes screaming with apology. She gave the blonde woman a meek wave. "Take care, Emma. I'll see you soon."

Emma gave Belle a wave of goodbye in return, still unbelieving that a crisis was averted. As the two retreated, Emma began to think about what Gold was referring to.

And then it hit her.

Milah was both Gold and Hook's lover.

The first question that popped into Emma's head was how the hell the two men managed to enact that circumstance. However, her second question was more worrying, and its answer would help her dive into the person that was Killian Jones: when was his love so bastardized into pure hate? Her mind searched for answers to the latter question as she tried to further understand the man who lay, motionless, in front of her.

"Oh, and Miss Swan?" Gold called out in the distance, disrupting her reverie.

"Yeah?"
"A bit of advice for you. Be careful with the pirate."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Gold finished cryptically with: "He may be your salvation, but he may also be your doom."

When Emma and Hook were alone once more, she pulled the pirate's limp body into a somewhat comfortable sleeping position. He didn't respond to the movement. Then, sitting on a nearby log, Emma pulled out her phone from her jean pocket and inputted Mary Margaret's number. She received an answer after a ring.

"Emma? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." With everything considered, Emma thought. She let out a sigh. "We lagged behind and..."

Mary Margaret couldn't help but interject: "Since you're talking right now, I'm glad that you aren't busy kissing him at the moment."

Given the fact that seeing her make out with Hook was, admittedly, traumatic for Mary Margaret, perhaps it was only fair that her dear mother would not let her live that incident down; at least, not anytime in the near future. Verily, she wasn't looking forward to 'the talk' that her mother had sternly promised her. Mary Margaret had already warned Emma that Hook was trouble. Maybe it was time for her to listen.

Emma bent down slightly and used a twig to poke at the pirate. Still no sign of movement. "Nah, he's too busy doing other things right now..."

Mary Margaret let out a gasp in shock. "Emma!"

Emma's eyes widened. "No!" The young woman replied hastily, finding herself wholly disturbed that her own mother would quickly think of such possibilities. Her explanation was prompt. "We met up with Gold and Belle by accident. Hook recognized Gold and tried to kill him. Let's just say he didn't succeed."

"Where is Hook now?"

"With me here, unconscious." Emma ensured to emphasize 'unconscious'. "Not sure when he's going to wake up."

"Alright," Emma could hear some rustling from Mary Margaret's end. "David, Granny, and I will retrace our steps back to you. There is still no sign of Cora; no one else has seen her yet."

"Okay. We're near the toll bridge, by the river."

"Good. That's not too far from where we are. We're on our way."

"Be careful," Emma sighed. "Gold said that he had encountered some enchanted creatures in the forest. Let's just say they weren't too friendly."

"Oh God." Dread seeped through Mary Margaret's tone. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

As Emma hung up and began her wait, she resolved to start a fire in the meantime. The hour grew even later, and with it came bitter cold. Just as she started collecting some kindling, she heard a low groan coming from the pirate behind her.

Hook's eyes opened with difficulty and slowly adjusted to the dim lighting once more. It took him a few moments to remember what had transpired. When he did recollect what had happened, he became agitated and began to search frantically for his weapon. Emma wearily rolled her eyes at his distress and dumped her collection of kindling between them. "Save your strength, Hook. Gold's gone."

"What?"

Emma couldn't believe the expletives that were now flowing from the pirate's dirty mouth. When he angrily hit the trunk of the alder at his side with the blunt edge of his sword, Emma cried, brows raised, "He was going to kill you! You should be happy that you're still breathing right now!"

Hook couldn't really argue with her latter point. In fact, that he was still breathing confused him. He his tone receded in volume ever so slightly when he queried, "And what precisely stopped him?"

Emma pursed her lips into a thin line. She swallowed. Suddenly feeling a bit awkward, her gaze dropped down to the ground between them. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

Hook furrowed his brows at her reaction and eyed her pensively.

Through the ensuing silence between them, Emma merely proceeded to start the fire. The pirate kept his distance as he stood, observing her without a word. When she squatted down by her makeshift fire pit, coming footsteps sounded behind them. Emma sighed in relief then, thankful that she no longer had to be alone with the pirate - who still wouldn't take his darkened eyes off of her. Consciously ignoring his stare, she turned towards the sound, ready to greet David, Mary Margaret, and Granny.

The form that appeared out of the shadows, however, entirely negated her expectations.

Cora stepped forward with a crooked smirk etched upon her face. "I must say, well done, Hook! I couldn't have planned this better myself."

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A/N: OMG! What the HELL is going on? =O What do you think is going to happen next? ;) xx IFHD