Author's Note: This one contains a bit of torture.

Keywords to use, abuse, or disregard completely: pulse, taste, silence, trouble, glass, past, spooky, unintentional

Summary: Archie and Killian are captured by a stranger.

Characters: Archie, Killian, David, and Emma

His pulse sped up the second the door to the basement was opened, light flooding the room he and Killian were trapped in. Archie could now see the anger in his companion's eyes, probably matched by the fear in his own. Try as he might, Archie couldn't force himself to be brave in the face of this danger.

Their captor walked down the steps, and made a beeline for Archie. Unable to move as his hands were chained to the wall; all he could do was squeeze his eyes shut and hope this stranger wasn't about to beat him senseless. Luckily, all the man did was rip off the gag, and Archie sputtered, trying to get the taste of the dirty cloth out of his mouth.

"Now, why don't you calm down?" the man suggested as Archie failed to regain control over his breathing. Truthfully, he was panicking, and it was only half from this situation. His past of being imprisoned aboard Killian's ship didn't reassure him that this situation was going to end well. "I'm not going to hurt you; so long as you cooperate." Archie heard a muffled protest from Killian as the pirate tried to defend him from the threat, but their captor ignored him. "I'm simply trying to find someone, and I think you and your friend might be able to help me do that."

Ah, and he'd decided to take the gag off Archie because he could tell which one of the men was the weak link. "Who are you looking for, and why?" the psychiatrist asked, trying and failing to keep his voice from trembling.

"I'm looking for a young woman who can turn into a werewolf. As for why, well, that's really none of your business, is it?" A chill shot down his spine as he realized this was pretty much exactly what had happened to him aboard Killian's ship; except this time he feared he'd get more than a few bruises. After the guilt he felt for betraying Belle, he'd promised himself he'd never betray anyone again. He couldn't give in this time, not when someone's life was on the line again. Archie tried not to think about how his crush on Ruby might help him hold out for longer; since that only made him feel guiltier for betraying Belle.

"I can't let you hurt her," he objected, voice still trembling as he tried not to imagine all the terrible things that were about to happen to him.

"Who said anything about hurting her?" the man asked; but Archie wasn't a fool. If he was willing to torture two strangers to get what he wanted, then surely he was planning on hurting Ruby. "Besides, you really should be more worried about the pain you'll go through if you don't talk soon." He pulled out a knife, fiddling with it before putting pressing the blade against Archie's neck, gently enough where he wouldn't cause bleeding but firm enough to indicate that he would enjoy torturing his prisoner. It reminded Archie of how Killian played with his hook, and he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the similarities of this situation compared to his time aboard the Jolly Rodger. "Now come on, where do I find her?"

Archie opted for silence, knowing any response he tried to make would have him stammering in fear. At least this way, he could defy his captor without looking any weaker than he already did.

Soon, the knife was removed from his neck, and instead he felt a sharp pain in his chest as a line was carved into his flesh. He cried out, jerking away and hitting his head against the rough wall of the basement. "Care to try again?" the man questioned, voice indicating he didn't care how much he was making Archie suffer.

"Please, I can't," Archie protested, struggling and failing to keep his breathing even as the now-bloody knife headed back toward his chest. "Please," he begged.

"All you have to do is tell me, and the pain will end." Archie shook his head, and screamed as yet again the knife sliced away at his chest, leaving a second trail of blood next to the first. "It really is that simple. Just tell me what I want to know, and I'll …"

Suddenly, there was a loud thud, and Archie's eyes flew open. His torturer lay unconscious on the ground, with an irate Killian standing over him. "You alright, mate?" the pirate asked, already moving to undo the chains that firmly attached Archie to the wall. He used a paper clip to do so, and Archie couldn't help but wonder why Killian had it on him at the time of their capture. He didn't think many people used paperclips while sailing.

"Fine," Archie said, sticking to the one syllable response as he could keep his residual fear out of his voice better that way. Killian finished freeing Archie's left hand, and moved on to his right as the psychiatrist let his arm drop back to his side.

"Well, I will say this mate, you do have a knack for getting yourself into trouble, especially when it comes to kidnapping." Archie knew Killian was just trying to lighten the mood, but his words still sent an involuntary shutter up his spine. "I'm really sorry about this. I wanted the voyage to be fun. Getting kidnapped was completely unintentional, I assure you." Killian finished freeing his right hand, and then took a step back, aware that Archie was slightly claustrophobic. After his ordeal in the mines and as a prisoner aboard the Jolly Roger, Archie couldn't stand being trapped; since he now associated that feeling with near-death experiences.

"It's not your fault," Archie reassured him. It was ironic, though, that Killian's attempt to apologize for kidnapping him had ended with both of them captured.

Suddenly, the man started to stir, and Archie jumped back. Killian nonchalantly hit the man over the head again, sending him back into the world of unconsciousness. "Mate, you want to go upstairs and find our phones? We should call Emma or David. I'll take care of him." Killian's eyes spoke the words he wasn't; the pirate was attempting to get Archie as far away from their captor as possible, because he could see how on edge the psychiatrist was.

"Sure, I'll go call them." Archie practically flew up the stairs, eager to escape his claustrophobia and fear. He reached the upper floor of Gold's cabin; the place their captor had taken them to interrogate them, and sighed with relief. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, and the walls no longer seemed like they were closing in on him.

Archie shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts, and then winced from the pain that caused to the part he'd slammed into the wall. Then, he started to search for his and Killian's belongings. They had to be somewhere nearby, and Archie was confident that he could find them without …

Suddenly, the door handle started to rattle, and he froze, fear slamming back into him with full force as he realized that their captor might be working with others. He started to back away as a figure moved into full view of one of the windows. Having been unable to open the door, the person broke the glass, sending shards flying. They landed on the rug, and then were crushed into tinier pieces as the intruder stepped on them. "Archie, you alright?" Emma asked, concern filling her voice. "You look white as a sheet."

"You just spooked me a little," he lied as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Emma, Gold's going to kill us," David spoke up as he climbed through the window, obviously having missed his daughter address Archie. "We don't even know if they're … Archie! What happened?"

"We were captured. Killian's in the basement with our assailant." David dashed off to check on Killian, but Emma stayed behind. "What did he do to you?" she asked, anger in her voice as she noticed the blood-stained tears in his shirt.

"Our sailing trip didn't go quite as we planned it," he said, trying to joke to ease his own fears and Emma's anger. "Really though, I'll be fine." Before Emma could question him further, Killian and David came up from the basement, lugging the stranger in between them.

"Killian says he was trying to find Ruby," David informed Emma as they made their way to the police car. "We think he's a werewolf hunter."

"Really?" Emma asked her signature question. "A werewolf hunter. For once can't people disappear for normal reasons? Like maybe a bad storm, or misplacing a map. Is anything so mundane even capable of happening here?"

Archie zoned out, ignoring David's answer and instead trying to shake off the terror that still had a grip on him. Something touched his shoulder, causing his head to jerk up, and realize that Killian had laid his hand on Archie's shoulder, concern evident in his expression. "You were really brave, mate."

Archie nodded, and then Killian left to help David restrain their prisoner. He supposed he had been brave, but that didn't really matter. He'd been forced to relive some of the worst moments and worst decisions of his life, and he wouldn't be able to recover from that in the blink of an eye.

Although, he realized as he slid into the back of the squad car next to Killian, perhaps he could recover eventually. After all, he'd forgiven Killian for torturing him. Maybe, one day, he could forgive himself for betraying Belle.