"You know where you're going?" The old salt asked him. "If you don't sail in at exactly the right point of the tide and under the full moon, you won't see the opening to the cave."

"I've got it." Hook placed a handful of coins in the man's outstretched hand.

The man reached across, gripping his hand. "And you understand the price?"

Hook eyed him somberly. "Aye. I do."

"She'd better be worth it, mate."

"How do you know it's a woman?"

"It's always a woman," The old salt spit on the dock. "Only a piece of skirt could drive a man to this kind of lunacy."

"Indeed."

###

He hadn't expected a warm welcome, but this was ridiculous. How many tridents could one man have pointed at his neck, anyway?

He was pulled by a heavily twined seaweed rope about his neck and he stumbled over rocks and shells down a narrow passage that seemed to get deeper but never submerged. Finally, the passageway opened up into a large chamber, glittering and covered in crystals and gems. One chip off the wall would buy a man anything his heart desired.

That is, if his heart desired riches. Hook had a different focus, and if he wasn't very, very careful here, he'd most certainly die with that desire unfulfilled.

"Bring him foreward," An authoritative voice rang out. Hook tried to pin the voice to one of the hundreds gathered in the chamber, but it was impossible to differentiate them much. There were mer-people and even sirens wall-to-wall, and they looked uniformly unfriendly.

He was dragged through the masses, then shoved unceremoniously to his knees in front of a giant, shell and gem encrusted throne.

"Speak. Who are you and why are you here?"

Hook raised his head, looking up at the man on the throne. So this was King Triton. He didn't look nearly as imposing as he'd expected. The silver hair and glowing trident were a little foppish for Hook's tastes, but the man was a king, after all. He was expected to be a bit flamboyant.

"My name is Hook," He answered. "And I've come to ask a favor."

The entire court broke out in raucous laughter, made even louder as it ricocheted off the walls and echoed down the halls of the cavern. Triton held up his trident, signalling for quiet.

"Well now," He said, with a good deal of obvious boredom. "Isn't this amusing?" He stepped down off his throne, coming to stand before Hook.

"Rise, mortal."

Hook gained his feet, then proffered a short bow. "Your majesty. I have come to ask - "

He stopped short at the feel of the trident in the side of his neck.

"Ask?" Triton said, with a good deal of venom. "You ask nothing. I do not grant favors. A boon is unheard of in this realm. Whoever sent you here has put you on a fool's errand."

Hook lowered his eyes. "I meant no disrespect. I only wish to inform you of a situation that may be of interest to you."

Triton went back to his throne, leaning his trident carelessly against his leg. "I have dominion over all the realm of the sea. There is nothing you can tell me that I haven't got the knowledge of already."

"This is about events that are occurring on land - but it's only a matter of time before you feel the effects as well."

Triton raised a silver brow. "You're referring to the witch."

"Yes. If she comes to power, it will affect the entire realm. I need to get through to another realm and bring someone back who could be instrumental in helping us."

Triton shrugged. "What happens on land is of little consequence to me."

"I can pay you." Hook entreated.

Triton laughed. "Do I look like I need payment?" He gestured to the walls all around them.

"Perhaps I can pay you in service." Hook tried, but failed to keep the desperation out of his voice. "Please. I'll do anything."

"He's very pretty," One of the mermaids said.

"And so very eager to please," Said another.

"Pathetic," Said a merman, crossing his hands over his chest.

"I say we kill him," Said someone else further toward the back. The entire room began to discuss, bringing about a dull roar that echoed all over the cave.

"Enough." Triton said, holding up a hand. "While this has certainly been amusing, I see no need for any intervention. More mortals dying means less of them crowding up the sea. So you'll have to excuse us Mr...?"

"Jones. 'Hook' is a nickname."

Triton got slowly to his feet again, giving Hook a glittering, smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Jones, did you say?"

"Killian Jones." Hook eyed him uneasily.

"And how do you propose to survive the passage of a water portal?"

"My ship is the Jolly Roger," Hook explained. "She's made of enchanted wood that can withstand any portal you can send us through."

Triton returned once again to his throne, stroking his trident with careful fingers as he mulled the situation over.

"Hmmm. An interesting series of events." He smiled to himself. "Most interesting." He steepled his fingers together, looking at Hook over the top of them. "Very well," He finally said. "We do love our amusements. Perhaps we can make a wager."

Hook smiled, with all the charm he could muster - despite the cold feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was turning bad. Very, very bad. "I love a good wager," He managed.

"A man of changing fortunes, like any good pirate. This should add some excitement to your limited mortal existence. I'll have the mermaids direct you to a water portal. I'll even widen it for you - temporarily, of course - and then we'll see if you can sail your ship through and back successfully."

"And if I do?"

"You win your life."

Hook raised his eyebrows. That went a bit better than he'd hoped. "Fair enough. When do we set out?"

"You can leave anytime," Triton said, with an entirely too benevolent smile. "Oh, but there's just one thing."

Hook gritted his teeth. "Yes?"

"You win your life as long as you remain on the land."

"And if I go on the sea?"

"Then the curse of the mermaids will take you," Triton said, waving his hand carelessly. "No matter where you are. You'll never see water again, outside of a cup or a cooking pot."

Hook swallowed hard. "It's a lifelong curse?"

"Be glad it ends with your miserable life," Triton said, smiling. "But I'm on your side, human. Perhaps with no sea to lure you to adventure, you'll find more interesting pursuits on the ground."

Hook's jaw tightened and he closed his eyes against the pain. Give up the sea? How could he give up the sea? It was in his blood. It was as much a part of him as the air he breathed. He felt a moment of pure panic, and thought wildly that perhaps if he broke into a run, he could take them by surprise. He didn't want to do this.

He took a deep breath. There was no sense in running. He was going to do this, he knew it from the moment the deal was offered. He'd have made a deal with the devil himself to get to Emma. Whatever it took. He didn't know what kind of a life he could have with her on land, even if he could get her to remember who he was to begin with.

The alternative was a life without Emma, and that was no life at all. This last year had proved it over and over, leaving him with an ache in his gut that no amount of rum could remove.

He turned his eyes back to Triton. "We have an accord."

Laughter played across the walls and echoed about the room again as the mer-folk laughed at the silly human. Triton had a chuckle himself, studying Hook with eyes full of ill-concealed mirth.

"One of my people will guide you to the portal and widen it for you," He said. "And remember, mortal...I'm counting on you to live a long and full life."

Hook gave him an uneasy nod before he found himself ushered out and back into the waters of the cove. He climbed back up the ladder to his ship, pulling himself onto the deck.

"Remember," The mermaid said, floating below him, "You'll have five days before the portal closes. We'll allow you to return to shore, but once you've made port, you must give up the water forever."

"Understood." He made his way to the wheel deck, releasing the strap that tied it off, and then hoisted his anchor and let the wind fill the sails.

He kept the mermaid's tail in sight as it flipped and spun in the water, but his thoughts were far away, in another realm.

He was going to find her. And the pirate in him couldn't help but wonder if he should just grab her and keep sailing. Just the two of them and Henry, flying across the seas, never tying themselves to land again. Going where the wind sent them and saying to hell with obligations and roots and responsibilities.

Even as he though it, he knew he could never do it. Not now. Not now that Emma had come into his life. Somehow, she had done the impossible. She'd made him into the man he'd always wanted to be, despite his darker inclinations.

His brother Liam had always expected he'd flesh out this way, and had told him so on more than one occasion. He'd always told himself that all the best there was of his family name had died with Liam, and here he was, determined to save the world.

Hook smiled. He supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised by his own behavior. He looked on in awe as the mermaid flipped her tail and the portal began to swirl, pulsing and widening as the sea churned around it. He took a deep breath, then rounded the ship right into the center.

Time to save the world, Killian, he thought to himself. Now that you've found a woman worth saving it for.