Happy Wednesday! I've got Chapter Three of The Inbetween ready to share with you today, but as before, I am going to preface this chapter with a warning that it does contain a non-consensual spirit possession so for anyone bothered by such, skip to the second part of this chapter.
Emma wasn't quite sure what to think when she felt Killian's body shudder against hers, the spasm startling her only a split second before his eyelids flew open. She felt his muscles tense as he tried unsuccessfully to sit upright so she placed her hand atop his chest and with a little gentle pressure, urged him to remain lying down.
"Easy there," she urged. "I wouldn't recommend trying to sit up just yet. You've got a nasty bump on your head and you're bleeding so, until I can heal you, you might want to take it slow."
"Slow?" Killian asked as he came around and Emma initially dismissed his tone as one of confusion, but that little nag in her gut was making itself known again, a sensation that only intensified with her husband's next statement. "I suppose I've forgotten the fragility of a physical body…"
"Are you feeling okay?" Emma asked quizzically, one eyebrow quirked in suspicion. "You must have struck your head harder than I thought…"
"The name is Jeremiah," came a voice from Killian's throat that definitely did not belong to the pirate - the accent and the pitch both dramatically different. Emma yanked her hand back from his chest, her body unconsciously reeling away in shock from this man who looked like her husband but no longer sounded like him. Unencumbered by her hand, the man calling himself Jeremiah bolted upright, apparently unaware or merely oblivious to the injuries Killian had suffered tumbling down the stairs.
"Killian - what the hell is going on?" Emma demanded, apprehension creeping into her voice as her eyes shot over to David. She gestured for her father and the three teens to stay back until she figured out what was happening. Why was her husband claiming to be someone else and why did he no longer seem bothered by the head injury that had him knocked out cold just minutes earlier? She wouldn't dare admit that she was a little bit frightened, but she absolutely needed answers.
Unbeknownst to her, across the room, Aiden had covertly pressed the Record button on his cell phone, praying that his battery would hold out long enough to capture some amazing paranormal evidence. He wasn't certain exactly what they were witnessing, but this was precisely what they'd come here to see and he knew it had to be documented.
"The Captain isn't in control of his faculties at the moment," the stranger who looked like Killian explained. "As I said, my name is Jeremiah and I've assumed control of his physical being so that I can speak to you, the living, once again so that I may plead for your assistance."
"You want my help?" Emma scoffed. "You take possession of my husband's body and expect me to help you? You really think that's the best way to go about this?" She may not have fully grasped what was transpiring, but she knew this wasn't Killian speaking and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to defend him. But who or what was she actually talking to?
"I'm afraid there was no other choice. My kind have waited a very long time to locate someone who could facilitate this conversation for us. The Captain's unique return to life after death made him the perfect vessel. Few had even been able to hear us before now."
"There are more of you?" Emma gulped, wondering which of them might become possessed next.
"Yes, there are several amongst our numbers," Jeremiah replied. "All of us forced to linger in this inbetween, unable to enter our afterlife because our hearts are being preserved by dark magic."
"Inbetween? Like some kind of purgatory?" Emma questioned, unfamiliar with the term Jeremiah had used.
"Purgatory would actually be a welcome blessing as it would mean we've at least passed into the realm of the dead. Our state is far worse - incomplete souls trapped in a horrid plane between life and death, gathered here in this mansion where we can draw on its magic and energy to sustain us."
The ghostly statement got Emma thinking. "You and the other spirits - you've been creating the weird lights and sounds that townspeople have been calling me about?" Emma asked, now beginning to understand the correlation.
"Yes. As All Hallows' Eve draws near, we are able to utilize the expanding magic this season brings to manipulate objects and materialize for brief moments. It has been our only means of communication with the living world since the Apprentice left us."
"The Apprentice - the old man - he knew you were here?" Emma asked for clarification.
"He did indeed. He didn't venture into the main house very often, but he was aware of our presence. He would sometimes speak to us, but he didn't possess the ability to assist us." Emma sat there as Jeremiah continued, slightly dumbfounded as to how this disgruntled spirit would believe that she could help them when the man who had known all of the secrets of this house - hell, the man who had known most of the secrets of the town - couldn't help.
"What makes you think that I'll be able to do anything for you?" Emma queried.
"As you are among the first to hear of our plight, we can at last divulge the truth. With the Apprentice, he could only gather bits and pieces of our stories, not enough to matter. He understood that he was in the presence of disembodied souls, but not why we are cursed to the inbetween…" Jeremiah tried to explain, but Emma interrupted to get to his point quicker.
"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly.
"We are all here because we passed on here in this realm, but without our still-living hearts," Jeremiah stated, not the answer that Emma had expected. Even David was so taken aback by the spirit's response that he chimed in to the conversation with his own half-statement, half-question.
"The Evil Queen took your hearts…," David said, trying to keep his tone even and nonjudgmental toward the Regina they now knew, but not without recollection of the atrocities she'd committed in the past. "Before the curse?"
Jeremiah nodded, gradually becoming aware of the strain he was placing on his host's body as he began to sense the faint trembling of Killian's extremities. "I was one of the Queen's guards before the curse. She made it common practice to remove all of her Black Guards' hearts so we would experience no pity nor remorse. She expected us to do our duties without emotion so collecting our hearts ensured it. When the curse brought us to this land, none of us was aware that we didn't possess our hearts until you, Emma Swan, broke that curse. When those memories came flooding back, we found ourselves victims of a new curse. For the twenty-eight years in which time was frozen, we were protected, but the moment that the Savior broke the Queen's curse, we were mortal once again and one by one, those of us now trapped here in the inbetween died. Without our hearts, all still preserved by the Queen's magic, we remain caught in this void - unable to cross over."
Emma sighed, recognizing the difficulty that they were going to face trying to complete this task. "After all of these years, do you think that Regina even remembers who all of those enchanted hearts belong to?"
"I believe she did return some of the hearts that she could identify a while back - when she was trying to show everyone that she could change and do good," David replied with a slight shrug. "But she and Cora collected so many, we might never know…"
"That's what I was afraid of," Emma frowned. "Where would we even begin?"
"We need to enchantment to be removed or the hearts to be crushed to release the missing piece of our souls. It's the only way we can free our spirits of this place," Jeremiah stated very matter-of-factly, but Emma immediately reminded him of an important bit of information he was either overlooking or nonchalant about.
"We can't just go around crushing all of the hearts in Regina's vault," Emma said firmly. "We don't know if those hearts belong to the living or the dead and I'm not going to put innocent lives at risk to free a few poltergeists. There has to be a different way…"
"We're going to have to talk to Regina,but we can't do that if we're all locked in here," David reminded the spirit. "We need you to remove whatever spell is keeping us here if you want our help."
Emma stared into the face of her husband, but made her plea to Jeremiah and the other ghosts. "If we agree to help you, we're going to need some cooperation from you. First, like my dad said, you need to drop whatever spell is keeping us from exiting so we can get help from friends outside of these walls. Second, I need you to stop draining my magic so that I can heal Killian. We need a little good faith from you, so, what do you say? Do we have an agreement?"
"We agree to lower the protective barrier, but we cannot allow you to heal the Captain just yet. It is only through his injured state that we can communicate with you," Jeremiah told her, but Emma wasn't going to relent on that request.
"I think you're failing to understand that if Killian dies, you're back to square one. I can see his body shaking with pain - you have to be able to feel that. He'll be useless to you if you push too hard and his heart gives out," Emma's voice was practically begging at this point, unsure how much strain Jeremiah's unwanted possession of Killian's body had already placed on him. "You said that Killian could hear you before. He'll still be able to hear you after I heal the worst of his injuries. If you want my help, this is non-negotiable."
The spirit inhabiting Killian's form contemplated her words for a few agonizing seconds, then at last, lowered his head in a nod. "Agreed." It was the only word he spoke as Killian's body fell limp. He collapsed into Emma's arms as she lunged forward to catch him before he struck the marble flooring again just as the dark shadow-like form of the spirit vanished, passing through a nearby wall.
Emma gently lowered Killian's head and shoulders until they were resting on the floor and brought her hands up over his torso as before, smiling broadly as the familiar glow of her magic illuminated the vestibule. She hovered her palm above his chest then swooped it up over his forehead in one rapid, circular motion, pleased to watch the swollen bruise at his temple disappear with her healing powers. She had no real expectation that Killian would wake instantly from his ordeal, certain that a paranormal takeover of his body had likely taken a demanding physical toll on him.
"Now what?" David asked as the glow dissipated, plunging them back into the murkiness of the flickering candlelight. "And what do we do about them?" He pointed to the three adolescents who had thankfully remained silent and out of the way in the midst of a spirit possession. They'd come here searching for ghosts and probably ended up getting a lot more than they'd bargained for.
"You go - take them home. Their parents have worried enough tonight," Emma instructed. "Then go wake up Regina. This is a mess she created so she can help sort it out."
"Agreed," David laughed, although there was a bit of a nervous vibe to the chuckle. He'd probably find himself staring down a fireball waking Regina at this hour.
"But we don't want to go home yet," Tyler whined. "This is exactly what we came here to see. You can't make us leave just when things are getting good…"
"We can and we are," Emma snapped back at the teen. "You are all going home and if I catch any of you back here tonight, I will have all of you arrested for trespassing and you can spend the weekend in my jail, followed by a month of community service…"
"Wouldn't that be up to a judge?" Aiden countered as he turned off the camera on his phone, hoping neither Emma nor David noticed, but Emma wasn't in any mood to argue and she'd already caught on to his attempted stealth.
"It would be, and I happen to know that Judge Broome usually sides with the mayor. Since your actions tonight are indirectly causing Mayor Mills to be awakened at nearly 3AM, a month of community service might end up being too light of a punishment…" The teens were going home, there was no fighting that, but she wasn't finished with them just yet. "I'm also confiscating your phones and that camera until I have a chance to review anything you recorded tonight. This isn't going on the internet."
"Hand 'em over," David said as the teens reluctantly did as instructed. He pocketed all of the devices, intending to take them to the station later that night, or maybe the next morning. "Okay, now come on, you three. Let's get you home now and we'll discuss any charges you might be facing in daylight. Emma, I'll be back as quickly as I can and with reinforcements."
"Thanks," she responded, worried that this night was going to grow even longer. What if they couldn't find a way to help these spirits? Would she and Killian end up trapped within these walls for eternity with them? That was a fate she didn't even want to consider as she pulled her husband closer to her, his head now resting on her knees until he awakened.
Per Mrs. Sprat's request, David deposited all three teenagers on her doorstep before making a quick call to a still wide-awake Snow with updates. Then, steeling his composure, he made the call to Regina, fully expecting her wrath. It took three attempts at calling her landline phone and another two to her cell phone before she finally answered, none-too-joyful to receive a call from Prince Charming at 3AM - but honestly, David wasn't feeling overly guilty at waking her. This did boil down to a disastrous mess of her creation anyway.
By the time he had pulled into the mayor's driveway ten minutes later, the sky was pouring down a bitter cold rain. He made a dash for the front stoop and rang the doorbell, shaking away some of the raindrops clinging to his skin and clothing as Regina swung open the door, frowning at both the sight of the rain and the dripping wet David on her doorstep.
"Get in here before you get any more drenched than you already are," she grumbled, taking a step to her right so he could pass.
"Thanks," David smiled at her as he entered, courteously wiping his feet on the mat so he didn't track in too much water. "Sorry to have to drag you out of bed in the middle of the night, but we've got an unusual situation going on that's going to require your help."
"Of course...because we never have any unusual situations here in Storybrooke at 3 in the morning...," she quipped, sweeping her arm in a gesture towards her parlor. "I suppose I should ask exactly what this unusual situation might be since all you mentioned in your call was that Emma and Hook were trapped in the Sorcerer's mansion."
"Well, at the moment, they aren't exactly trapped, but they're still caught in a rather awkward position," David clarified, but he knew his explanation was going to become less believable as he went on. "Let me start by saying that the mansion is definitely haunted."
"Haunted, really?" she scoffed. "You believe in ghosts now?"
"Until about an hour ago, I didn't," David replied while leaning against the arm of a black leather loveseat. "But after what I witnessed, there's no doubt in my mind that it's haunted…"
"Go on…" Regina remained skeptical, but there was something in Charming's body language that indicated he wasn't making this up.
"Okay, I'll start at the beginning, but I'll try to be as brief as possible. Emma got a call from Mrs. Sprat whose son and a couple of his friends went off ghost hunting and didn't come home on time. Anyway, Emma asked for some help searching that huge house, so she dragged Hook and I out of bed, and while we did find the kids, we also found something rather creepy. The mansion is apparently inhabited by a bunch of disembodied spirits who are trapped in what they called the inbetween because they died without their hearts. So, as you see, this is definitely your area of expertise."
"It's no secret that I've crushed a lot of hearts in my villainous past, but I tried my best to return those I could. I just don't know who all of them belong to anymore, but I also don't understand why it would have caused anyone to become a ghost. There were plenty of people we encountered in the Underworld whose hearts I had crushed…"
"Well, tonight, I watched my injured son-in-law become possessed by one of those spirits who had quite a tale to tell. One of the teenagers tried to sneak a video of the interaction on his phone, which we confiscated. Look at this - it's Killian speaking, but at the same time, it isn't…" David dug Aiden's phone from his jacket pocket and pulled up the four minute long video. The image wasn't really clear due to the minimal light, but Regina could still make out the form of Killian Jones, seated on the floor, Emma an arm's distance away. The sound had significant static, but the voices were distinct enough to make out and David was right, the words coming from Killian's mouth weren't his own. "The ghost told us that their hearts weren't crushed, just taken. What's keeping them here is their hearts remain magically preserved in your vault while the owners' bodies passed away."
"Oh…," Regina stammered, her eyes drifting from the phone screen to the hardwood floor beneath her feet as David sensed a flush of guilt overtaking her. After a pensive pause, she continued. "Never thought about that possibility, but how can we be sure that's really the case?"
"Regina, I have no reason to doubt the story," David stated. "Those teenagers and I watched as some black, shadowy figure pushed Hook down a flight of stairs, then took possession of his unconscious body so it could speak to us. The ghost even identified himself - Jeremiah, a former member of your Black Guard. Name sound familiar?"
"Possibly…," was her reply, but her actions said otherwise. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"
"Those hearts in your vault - is it your magic that keeps them glowing?"
"Of course, it is. It's a spell that my mother initiated decades ago and I followed along. I suppose that without the enchantment, hearts that belonged to dead persons would go dim."
"Is there a way to remove the enchantment? To undo the spell?"
"Maybe, but why should I?" she asked indignantly. "They're just spirits…"
"Because if these spirits can draw enough power from that mansion to enact their own protective barrier which trapped us inside, they could pose a threat to the entire town. They're obviously pissed off - I mean they did shove Hook down a flight of stairs, so we know they can affect things in the living world. Jeremiah said that as it gets closer to Halloween, they become more powerful, so - what if they leave the mansion? What if they possess someone else? Regina, the right thing to do is to help them find a way to cross over."
"Fine," she relented, David's argument convincing her. "I'll see what I can do to reverse the spell in the morning. I can probably find a way to lift the enchantment from the dead hearts…"
"Good. And since it's already morning, I'll go let Emma know that you're working on it."
"I meant morning - as in daylight, Charming…"
"I know, but I don't think we have that kind of time. Emma and Hook are still stuck inside that house with those angry spirits. She cut a bargain with the ghosts so they'd stop siphoning her magic long enough for her to heal most of Hook's injuries, but he was still out cold when the ghosts allowed the teens and I to leave. I don't think magical healing is particularly effective on concussions either. You and I both know that there is a lot of strange, powerful magic inside that mansion and these spirits know how to utilize it. I don't want to see anyone else I love getting hurt because you didn't get enough beauty sleep!" David halted his words there, realizing after they'd left his tongue that they might have been a tad too harsh. For a split-second, he was tempted to apologize, but instead, he held his ground.
Regina scowled silently at him for a moment while she decided how to respond. "You know that I've turned men into toads for speaking that way to me…" David swallowed hard at the possibility he'd crossed a line, but then Regina's icy stare softened. "But I get it. This town faces enough supernatural challenges on a daily basis so adding cranky ghosts to the mix is a particularly bad idea. I'll head down to the vault and start working on a reversal spell as soon as I get some coffee brewing. Hopefully, Emma can hold the ghosts at bay until I figure it out."