First off, an apology for the delay; I am in the middle of a VERY stressful exam period so I do apologize for taking so long in finishing this delivery. It's angsty! warning: Pain ahead.

The people of Storybrooke had no idea what to make of the events unfolding before them. Two gangs of pirates invading the previously sleepy and uneventful streets of their tiny little town were indeed testimony of the fact that the spell had been broken and that that didn't necessarily mean everything was perfect now.

Captain Hook and his crew had been deemed one of the fiercest pirate gangs of the realms, albeit definitely not the only one. It was, however, the oldest and most experienced, if one can consider Piracy an art to be perfected. Killian Jones hadn't always been a pirate; he had before been a well reputed Naval Lieutenant, second in command to Captain Liam Jones, his beloved brother. Both had been the pick of the crop of the kingdom and more than one heart was broken by the handsome brothers' chivalry, courteousness and charm. Liam had a smile that could melt the ice caps while Killian's eyes conquered many a young soul; but both had been gentlemen of the utmost sort, a fine pair of eligible bachelors that made every unwed woman of the realm daydream and swoon.

When Liam died due to Dreamshade poisoning, Killian just about lost it. He mourned his older brother for months, not before declaring mutiny against the King and his armies. The vessel called The Jewel of the Realm was aptly named The Jolly Roger, and while he had definitely become unhinged by grief, his crew loved him enough to follow him in to the ends of every realm the name of his late brother. So pirates they became.

There was a hefty price on Killian's head after the deed, but his expertise as the best Lieutenant and now Captain, as well as the numerous tools he employed made him a formidable adversary; Not to mention that in spite of his newly acquired villainous status, he maintained his charm and chivalry, not to mention an inexorable conduct code which he and his men strictly followed. There was no pier or harbor who didn't know and love the handsome, rugged pirate and his merry crew of rascals. He was a fun man to be with, a fierce, loyal friend and, many besotted women claimed, an outstanding lover. He never failed to fairly compensate those who favored his path and always remembered the names of all he met. All the same, he ran a tight ship. His crew, despite the status of piracy they had gained, were never the mangy, dirty sort, and he took great care to have a decently recognizable image that people would know, regardless of what realm they were in.

Even so, all those who loved Hook and all his crew also knew that it was never wise to double cross the handsome, charming young scoundrel; the plank of the Jolly Roger had more mileage than the ship itself. Hundreds had been known to elevate their final prayers from the tip of the wooden slab and had served as fish food.

But aside from the dreaded plank, not too much had been different from his rock star life; he was loathed by some and loved by most, was desired by many a young girl and envied by the boys, he maintained his rocker lifestyle of debauchery... until Emma had come to break the spell.

Now he was someone he didn't even remember he had once been... Killian Jones. Standing in the middle of Main Street, hook in one hand and sword in the other, Killian was slowly realizing that in spite of his 300 plus years of piracy shenanigans, he no longer felt like the fearsome Captain Hook of the seven seas. He kept his lips pressed together tight, trying to build up his adrenaline and remember the thrill of the fight, concealing from Emma and anyone else that he was actually shaking, not out of fear for himself, but fear for Emma. It had been twenty-eight years since he had last enjoyed a decent swashbuckling swordfight and he knew that regardless of the time, he could very well still hold his own, but the new love of his life, albeit resilient and strong-willed, had never really fenced.

One cannot return to the old idealisms of the past when time has offered solace in maturity and love.

He clenched his ringed right hand tight around the handle of his sword as Long John climbed off his bike and paced to him. What had been the notorious scar across his face was now a thunder-shaped tattoo. Killian took three steps towards him.

"Well, well..." He smiled cheekily. "Time has been unkind to you, Silver... Alas, not all of us can remain dashing forever, so I offer you my sympathies..." He shrugged. " Not that you ever were much of a looker..."

Long John paced his limping pace with an angered grin. "Sympathy... it is no thanks to you I bear this scar, Hook..."

Hook grinned and tilted his head to the side. "... and the wooden leg, but that was a freebie... Jonathan Legwood."

The Crew of the Jolly Roger laughed and Emma scowled. The towering pirate took a long look at her and chuckled wickedly. "Bringing your wench along to fight your battles is bad form there, Jones..."

"This 'wench' can hold her own, buddy." Emma replied, holding out her sword to his face. "... and she happens to be the Sheriff too, so I'd watch it."

Silver's crew laughed. "Aye, she's got bigger balls than her boyfriend, mates!" He turned back to her and limped in her direction, holding on to his belt buckle with one hand. "It would be a pity to poke a hole into her... with a sword that is; otherwise, it would be a pleasure..."

Emma raised an unimpressed eyebrow and grinned sideways. "Yeah? I'd like to see you try."

Silver winced. "Oh, your lover might feel a bit sore about that, m'lovely..."

Killian walked to him and placed the tip of his sword under Long John's chin. "The only sore one here will be you when I jab my sword into your groin, should you even dare think of touching her... although..." He shrugged with a condescending scuff, "...knowing her gumption and your complete lack of wit, I'm sure she can wield that sword better than you. "

Long John nodded and readied his sword. "Well, we will have to see about that, now Hook..." He took his stance. "Lest I beat you, take your ship, your life... and your harlot for my own enjoyment."

"You will try..." Hook smiled back and readied himself.

Emma stood back as the two ring leaders engaged in the first blow. Long John, for a wooden-legged man was incredibly powerful and heavy handed while Hook, albeit noticeably weaker in his delivery, was swift, agile and terribly cunning. The clanking of the two metal blades had the two gangs of pirates cheering for each of their captains and had Emma sweating cold.

Hook jumped atop the hood of a car and managed to leap as Long John delivered a fast and powerful swing that would have cost him both feet. As the younger rocker landed back on the floor, he tried to deliver a backhand with his hook before pushing Long John and shifting his weight to the other side. The crowd began to grow. This was not just a pirate scuffle any longer; In spite of now remembering who Devlin Kragen really was, he was still the same guy who had given many young people in Storybrooke tremendous rock n' roll and was admired by many. It was safe to say the whole town, or at least most of it, was rooting for their one handed Devlin.

"You haven't lost your form, I see, Hook..." Silver held his arms open. "Dare I say you even got a little bit better..."

"And I am still full of surprises, mate!" Hook laughed back and delivered the next clashing fall of the sword.

Emma stood by, holding her sword in her hand, waiting for the two leaders to signal for the epic battle to begin; but for the time being she could not take her eyes off Devlin's feet. He was incredibly fast and many blows he was able to avoid thanks to the dexterity of his limbs. But when Long John's blade tip nearly took his head, she almost lost her own footing. Devlin managed to cock his head back in time to only get slightly nicked by the right side of his nose. He stopped the fight and took his hand to his face, gingerly touching the wound with his fingertips and looking at the blood on them before raising his eyes at his foe with a grin. "Well, look at that!" He once again assumed his stance. "Looks like you might have a chance at getting me... Slight one, petty, but... a chance nonetheless."

Long John circled around Hook. "Well, let's make use of it!"

"With pleasure!"

And they once again engaged in fight.

The crowd had really gathered by now and although Emma was beginning to sense she might not need to fight, she did know she would have to take care of the people and lead them to safety should Hook fail... NOT an option, she thought to herself with a quick shake of her head, and she made her way around the multitudes. "Ok, people, move along, we don't need this as well!"

Long John had Hook pressed against a car and had his blade to his throat while Devlin tried to pry him off with his hook. Both men shook with the raw power of adrenalin and Long John noticed his enemy was trying to find his love through the corner of his eye. He cackled and bit his lower lip.

"So, it's true... you ARE, as they say, very much smitten, aren't you, Jones?" He laughed aloud. "Well well, who would have thought a heartless, selfish arsehole such as yourself would have any space left in that stone heart of yours for the love of a wench."

"Which is more than what I can say for you, Mate." Hook spat back.

"Well... Once I lay your filthy remains deep in Davy Jones' locker..." He hissed into Hook's ear. "Do you know what I will do with your sweet lady Emma, Killian?" The young, handsome pirate's eyes shot directly into his. "At nights, I will tie her hands... " He whispered, licking his lips. "I will taste her skin with my tongue and her flesh with the rest of my body until she gets a nosebleed; in the mornings she will clean the deck of your ship for me... with YOUR shirts, on her knees..." Hook clenched his jaw tight and stared him in the eye. "... and when I'm done, when I'm sated with the harlot, I will gut her, feed her innards to the sharks and make new sails out of her skin and hair, so that even in death, you will always look up from the depths and see that your beloved Swann will forever be in my power..."

"Nice plan..." Hook hissed between clenched teeth. "Except that you have to actually kill me first... "He winked with a smile. "...and that's not going to happen."

"Really? How so?"

"Because of THIS!"Hook shouted and, after swiftly taking Silver's dagger from his belt with his free hand, he dug it swiftly into the upper part of Silver's thigh, just over the spot where the flesh ended and the wood began. Long John howled and Devlin broke free, taking his sword back from the floor with a swift kick and then around his enemy's neck. "Now, as for you..." He whispered into Long John's ear. "You must remember we are no longer in the enchanted Forest... Here, you will go to the State Penn... where loads of randy jailbird pirates will be delighted in carrying out the devious, twisted schemes you thought for Emma... on YOUR arse!" He turned his face over to Emma and summoned her with his head.

Emma ran to the spot and produced her handcuffs. "You know your rights?" She mumbled.

"And my wrongs too, darling bird..." He chuckled.

"Good." She gave him a pull. "Then I'm sure you won't mind spending time with an overly friendly roommate. Come on..."

The man limped over and smiled at Emma, raising his handcuffed hands to muse her hair. "I'll give you one chance at this, girl. Let go off me."

"Erhm... no?" She huffed with a scorn as she led the massive man away.

Devlin walked a few meters' distance behind her, holding his sword out and looking at everyone as he spoke. "The Jolly Roger is MY ship! Anyone who disagrees is kindly welcome to face me and give it a go, walk the plank or follow your former captain to the brigs!" He took another turn. "Those who wish to remain with me, are not only welcome as crew, but are all cordially invited at the Rabbit Hole tomorrow night to hear us play and help me pay out the debt we have at the Rabbit Hole. Now... who will swear allegiance and who will walk the plank?"

A hesitant but subdued 'Silver' crew raised their arms and shouted "Captain Hook!" in unison.

Silver sneered in their general direction before turning his face back front.

As Emma was about to put Silver's head under to get into the patrol, the feeling of searing pain took over as he suddenly kicked her shin with his wooden leg with unbelievable strength. Emma bent over with a grunt and Silver swiftly managed to place his handcuffed hands in front of his own body; He ripped the keys from Emma and after liberating himself from the modern-day shackles, he leaned down to the ached girl on the floor. "Thought you could be a pirate, eh lass? " He smiled and touched her face. "Well... not today." He delivered a single punch to her left cheek, rendered her unconscious and after picking her up, he threw her in the back of the car.

By the time Devlin turned to look, he only managed to see Silver getting into the driver's seat. With a terribly distraught furrow, he rolled his alarmed eyes from one end of the street to the other, looking for his Swan... but Emma was gone.

Alarmed, he sprinted towards the car, desperately shouting her name; He only managed to reach enough to barely scrape the trunk with his hook as the car sped away through the street. He stood, panting and feeling the world fall on his shoulders. His mind was mercilessly showering him with images of the dreadful scenario Long John had described to him regarding Emma only minutes ago and the sudden idea of her in a helpless stance as he viciously ravaged her made him cringe hard. Emma was the toughest girl he'd ever met and he knew she'd probably put up a hell of a good fight, but she was certainly neither invulnerable nor impervious to pain; the mere thought of his Emma with an injury, with his hands on her skin, or his breath on her ear and... well, everything else, made him feel as if someone had set a bonfire to his heart and poured gasoline into his stomach to further fuel the fire.

He turned, his face darkened by hatred and fueled by his determination to find his love before his enemy got away with his plan at any cost, he yelled. "Many here know where Silver has his lair! I know of it! Now, you have sworn a pledge to your new Captain! Who here will dare hide the location of his whereabouts from me? Because, I will have you know, there will be no mercy shown to whomever dares conceal this information from me, should anything happen to Emma! Now, who will kindly come forward?"

There was a mild hesitation before a boy, no older than twelve, took three steps towards Hook. "I know of it, sir..." He bit his lip.

"Good lad." Devlin walked to him. "Where is he?"

"I must have your word you won't harm him before I utter the exact location, Cap'n..." The boy spoke.

Devlin chuckled and nodded. "You are courageous, boy, I will say that. But believe me when I say I have no compunction in getting it out of you by force." He placed his face an inch away from the boy's nose. " And I don't particularly enjoy lacerating little boys' faces, so once again, I will ask nicely. Where.. is... he?"

The child's knees rattled. "Pl... please, sir... you must promise..."

Hook grabbed the boy by his lapel and shook him, raising his hook in the air, and staring fiercely into the terrified eyes of the child, he shouted an ached and devastating holler. "WHERE IS HE? SPEAK OR LOSE YOUR EYES!"

The people stared in shock horror as the boy's legs nearly gave way. "So have my eyes then, Cap'n... He's my father and I do not will him dead! That, or utter your word that you shall not slay my father!"

The look in Devlin's eyes softened as he lowered his hook slowly; The boy was probably just a year older than Henry, probably as old as Baelfire when he had been in his charge. He ran his good hand through his hair and pressed his lips together, shaking his head in shame before looking back into the boy's eyes. "You, my lad, have greater courage than I have seen in any man. You have taught me a valuable lesson and now I am twice the man I was where a boy can teach an old soul such as I. I apologize for my rudeness to you..." He crouched down enough to be at eye level with the child. "What's your name m'boy?"

"Tim, sir."

"Tim..." Hook side grinned. "Well, Tim, much the same way you love you father, I love the woman he has in his watch. If I do not get to him in time, he will hurt her... very, very badly. Please, m'boy, I beg of you... Tell me where he is and should I arrive before he injures my lady, you have my word that I shall not kill your father. But you must understand, if he has hurt my love, he will have to be held accountable for his actions..."

The boy swallowed. "Fair enough, Sir." He nodded. "He is in the south forest, just off the highway. There is a cave, a large cave. We have dwelled there since the curse began. That's where "Billy Bones" rehearsed and lived. He has likely taken your woman there... Please, do stop him. I love my father, but I have seen what he is capable of doing; I do not wish for Sheriff Swan to be hurt!"

Hook grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "Thank you, lad." He turned to the rest of the now massive crew. "I need me five able bodied men to join their Captain! This is indeed a rescue mission, lads, so, who shall it be?"

The first to volunteer was Smee, followed by his other two bandmates, Daggerball and Deadweight McKeen. The fourth came in the shape of a man named Edward Flint, who happened to be the son of the captain Silver had slain to obtain control of the crew of The Mathew, the clipper they had sailed for years before the Royal Navy (then led by precisely the Jones Brothers before Killian turned to the crimson flag) sank her into the depths of the ocean. Finally, the boy, Tim, was his final volunteer. Much as Hook hated the thought of taking a child into battle, but he figured that perhaps the sight of his boy might help in catching Silver without the need for violence.

He wanted to tear out his other limb... but he was a man of his word.

"Cap'n, your bike is just around the corner." Smee spoke as he walked alongside his vocalist. "We will ride on a couple of the bikes of Silver's crew. We'll meet you at Troll's... I mean, Toll's Bridge at oh-one hundred. "

"Good form, Smee." He spoke as he turned around the corner, followed by the five. He then turned to the boy. "You'll ride with me, lad, and lead the way."

"Aye aye, sir..." The boy nodded back.

...

"Shit..." She mumbled. Or she thought she mumbled. It took her a few seconds to realize she had only mumbled in her mind; her mouth had been duct-taped. As her senses started to kick in one by one, she felt the burning sensation of her hands stinging from poor blood flow. It took only a mild tug for her to notice that her wrists had also been duct taped together, as had her feet.

She frowned, realization slowly dawning on her. Much of her life had been dedicated to finding people on the run, so she didn't take long to realize that she was in the trunk of a car, more accurately, the patrol she had been... kidnapped in? What? She had been kidnapped? When she was a Bail Bondsperson she had been exposed to all sorts of shit; she had been followed, grabbed, threatened... but kidnapped? How was it possible that chasing down and tricking crooks into believing they would get lucky to bust their asses had never even gotten her close to such a complicated pickle? She was now in the trunk of a car, tied up with duct tape and waiting to be , tortured, killed or maybe worse by a seventeenth century pirate who, by the way, had until that day been nothing more than a literary creation by Lewis Carroll.

"Really?" She thought as she tried to pry one hand free, pulling, tugging and wriggling. It was hard but she was getting there.

The sound of footsteps heading her way alarmed her to the point of making her wrist bleed from struggling to free herself. She squinted as the trunk opened and allowed the light into the car... had night been through already? It took Emma a few seconds that, behind the dark and overpowering image of Long John Silver stood a tall standing street lamp. The sound of the forest night bugs was unmistakable; it was still the middle of the night.

Silver grinned at her and touched her cheek. "So pretty..." He grunted. "Let's see what made the Captain's world rock, now, shall we?"

She tried screaming through the duct tape as he shoved one arm into the trunk and swung her over his shoulder with unbelievable ease. With his other hand, he pushed the car into a ditch and made his way through thick woodland. Emma's hair hung over his shoulders and in spite of her inner strength and fire, the feeling of his hand on her backside as he carried her served as an alarming prequel for things to come. Growing up in the foster system had more than once exposed her to abusive adults and she had always had the upper hand. But she knew what was coming... and was tied up.

In spite of her real as life Princess status, she hated the idea of being the damsel in distress. That was Mary Margaret... wait, her mom. And even she had a fair amount of gumption. The feeling of vulnerability as the man slumped her down on an old, smelly mattress didn't help her infuriating feeling of helplessness any. She could see little; it smelled like moss and grass and the trademark sound of water dripping made her pretty sure it was a cave; it had to be the south caves.

She tried to wiggle her way off the mattress, but Long John pilled her down with his foot. "Going somewhere, love? The party's about to start..." He took off his jacket and shirt and she was able to see his entire body was covered in tattoos. "I wouldn't like to leave any woman unattended, now would I?"

He went down on his knees over her duct-taped legs and from the back pocket of his jeans, he produced a knife. He was heavily seated on her thighs as he reached back with one hand and cut the duct tape from her ankles. Instantly, she started to kick about but even the span of her long limbs wasn't enough to hit anything. From his vantage position, Long John smiled and grasped her left breast with his right hand. Emma squirmed out of the way, but he responded with another slap, hard enough to make her dizzy for ten seconds.

"Now, this can happen in one of two ways, my girl..." he growled, looking into her now tearing eyes. "You can either let it be, or I'll have to beat you to a pulp before I fuck each and every orifice in your body, which I'm about to do either way. It's entirely up to you." He ran his knife gently down her face. "It would be a shame if I had to harm you further... such a pretty face..." he then pressed it to her neck. "Such a pretty woman..."

There was no longer any point to deny it nor had she any strength left in her to do so: She was scared out of her mind. She shook her head, tears welling and sliding down her face as he grinned at her, leaning in to sink his tattooed face into her neck. "That's a good girl..."