Longer chapter tonight as I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to do the next one.
As always please review
Enjoy
:)
"This is so cool" David whispered as they made their way along Main Street totally unnoticed by everyone. When he saw Ruby outside the diner he couldn't resist a bit of fun "Hey watch this"
He shoved the quartz into Emma's hands and took off across the street glancing back to see Emma shaking her head at him as they followed. He grinned to himself as he snuck up behind Ruby but before he had a chance to do anything she turned to face him wearing a wide grin which faltered for a second before she laughed.
"David I know you're there even if I can't see you" she threw her hand out trying to find him and he only just dodged a blow to his nether regions
"Hey watch it" he cried back "Only Mary-Margaret gets to lay hands on me there"
She blushed furiously and mumbled "Sorry but you really shouldn't try to sneak up on me then."
"Point taken" he agreed with a chuckle
She suddenly sniffed the air and grinned again "Emma, Regina... what are you guys up to?" but she then sniffed again and hissed "If you're looking for Gold he's near by I can smell that awful after shave that he thinks Belle likes"
David nearly burst out laughing but Emma kicked him in the shin as Gold spoke "Watch it wolf... Or you may become a rug on the next lunar cycle"
"Oh my God... you guys are working together. Emma are you insane?"
"It's a long story Rubes... I'll explain later" Emma said quickly before turning and shoving David to show that they needed to leave "I'll call you, I promise"
"You better" Ruby called after them as they walked away but then they were stopping again as Emma gasped and lifted the quartz showing that it was giving off a soft glow.
"He's somewhere close by" she hissed and immediately they all spread out searching for the Lost One hoping that he would be out in the open like the last time thinking that no one could see him but after ten minutes of looking they still hadn't found him.
"We're missing something" Regina said taking hold of the quartz "whatever direction we move in it starts to fade so he MUST be somewhere close, but where?"
David suddenly looked up when a thought hit him... maybe they were looking in the wrong direction.
"Unbelievable" he grit out "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, he does have a history of it"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Gold suddenly said stepping forward and looking up trying to figure out what he was looking at.
"Of course" Emma gasped by his side "That cheeky little..."
"Would somebody tell us what is going on?" Regina cried out in frustration
Emma pointed up to the loft window "He's hiding in the loft. The last time him and the other Lost Ones were on the run they hid on the Jolly so I guess we should have guessed he'd hide here."
"Well let's go make sure he's not getting too comfortable in our home" David grit out then took off towards the stairwell.
A few minutes later they were standing outside the front door and David lent in close listening intently. He could hear the TV playing loudly and when Emma raised a now very brightly glowing quartz up they knew that they had definitely found him.
"OK, on the count of three" David hissed bringing his key up to the lock and counting silently with his fingers.
They burst through the door expecting to find Devin lounging on the couch or somewhere near by but as they spilled into the room there was a noise from upstairs then footsteps running across the floorboards.
"He's going down the fire escape" David yelled running up the steps to follow "Emma, Gold... go back down to the street and see where he goes. Regina see if you can find that gem, he might have left it somewhere in here"
Just as he was squeezing himself out onto the fire escape he looked back to see Gold and Emma disappear in a red cloud of smoke and Regina heading over to the couch where Devin seemed to have made a bed for himself but he didn't have time to waste so he just kept going practically rattling his way down the metal staircase and into the alley. He ran around the corner expecting to find Emma giving chase but instead he found his Daughter being helped to her feet as blood flowed from her nose.
"What happened?" he cried out raising his hands in frustration
"This idiot re-materialized us too close to the door... Devin sent us both on our asses when he threw it open but guess who got hit in the face?"
"Do not blame me Miss Swan. You were the one who was too eager to reappear... you should know better than to try and hurry the re-materialization process" Gold snarled as he brushed his hands over his now quite dirty looking suit.
"OK OK... but now what? Did you see where he went?"
Emma shook her head still clutching at her nose "But he's not getting away, we still have the quartz"
She dug it out of her pocket and held it up expecting it to glow but nothing happened. David stepped forward and plucked it from her grasp and gave it a shake hoping that that might work.
"It's not a snow globe Dad" Emma snarked taking it back form him and studying it more closely "Oh no... it's broken"
She held it up and turned it around to show the crack that ran up one side.
"Simply magnificent" Gold sneered rolling his eyes "Is this how you work? How you manage to catch any "bad guys" is beyond me. I may have something in the shop that can assist us. I will return as soon as I can..." David was about to protest and Gold seemed to sense it adding "or do you not trust me to do that one simple task?"
David shook his head looking towards Granny's then turned back to the Dark One "I may have a better idea. Ruby should be able to follow Devin's scent if we move now and no offence but you're going anywhere other than with us" he then shrugged at Gold's death stare "Well you don't want me to lie to you do you? I don't trust you Gold. Never have, never will."
"Obviously" Gold snarled as he barged past and headed across the street.
Emma gave a chuckle and Regina raised an eyebrow "Watch it David... remember HE still has his powers, I wouldn't push him too far when he's in a mood like that"
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"You brought your dog to visit" Junior yelled out rushing forward but he stopped before he reached Pongo and gave Snow an unsure look.
"Pongo is our friend Junior, he won't do you any harm" she reassure him dropping down into a crouch and beckoning the Dalmatian over with a pat to her leg.
Pongo trotted over and gave a goofy smile as Snow started to pet him and when Henry came out of the laundry room the dog took off again as her Grandson called out to him dropping down onto his knees to greet his spotty friend.
"Hey Pongo, how are you doing boy?" Henry cried out
"He is very well thank you Henry" Archie said with a smile "And how are you?"
"I'm awesome Archie" Henry grinned before turning to Junior "Come on, he's nice. I promise"
Junior made his way over to where Henry knelt and came down next to him still looking a little unsure but when Pongo tilted his head and raised a paw to him he grinned and took it giving it a little shake.
"How do you do Pongo? My name is Junior and I am very pleased to meet you"
Snow gave a little chuckle as Pongo barked in reply.
"He is please to meet you too Junior" Archie said walking over
"Can he talk to you?" Junior asked with a frown
"Not exactly but we understand each other" Archie replied with a smile "Do you want to give him a treat?"
"Aye Sir" Junior cried nodding his head vigorously and before Snow knew it Archie was down on the floor next to the boys.
She watched as they chatted back and forth for a while and she could see that Junior was totally relaxed with the cricket, he certainly had a way with people. Snow made her way to the kitchen and busied herself clearing away the now dry dishes from breakfast. She half listened to the conversations but she wasn't worried, she trusted Archie to help Junior and didn't need to know what he was saying.
She looked up when Junior giggled and cried out "He kissed me... just like Ruby did"
She smiled at his little happy face and wondered what Hook was feeling right now. Could he feel it being further away?
Their conversation turned to Junior's Birthday and at one point he rushed away to the laundry room to return with his penny whistle which he took great pleasure in playing for Archie before sitting back down next to Pongo and cuddling into him. Archie was smart, he had steered the conversation to the party so that he could talk about what had happened with Mr Gold but just as they were getting into it Neal started crying in the bedroom and Snow had to rush off to fetch him from his morning nap. By the time she had changed her Son and made her way back through they seemed to be finishing up and Archie pulled himself to his feet giving a low groan.
"These old bones of mine are no longer meant to sit on the floor" he laughed stretching out his back and lifting his umbrella from the table before heading over to Snow.
"How is he?" she asked in a low voice as Junior now tickled Pongo's tummy
"He is doing better that many would in his situation but he is still quite confused. For a moment there he was speaking as if his Brother was here too but he seemed to remember himself quite quickly. This must be hard for him to deal with, losing his only family and being torn from everything he has ever known but he is very lucky to have all of you here for him. He really did enjoy his Birthday Party... that was a nice thing for you all to do"
"That was Henry's idea. He seems really taken with him" Snow said nodding her head over to the two boys
"He does doesn't he... he's very protective towards him. He will make a fine Brother for the boy. You should be proud"
"We are" Snow grinned as Henry looked up obviously sensing that they were talking about him and she had a sudden urge to treat them "Who wants ice cream?"
"Me" they both yelled out jumping up and rushing over followed by Pongo who was wagging his tail madly.
Archie gave a chuckle "Right we'll say goodbye Pongo, we have to get going"
It was Snow's turn to chuckle as the dog sat down and raised his paw giving a "wave" then stood up and carried on wagging his tail.
"Goodbye Pongo. Please come again very soon" Junior said in a serious voice like Pongo knew exactly what he was saying and when Pongo gave a bark Snow suddenly wasn't sure he didn't.
"Right you two, go wash your hands" Snow said as she opened the freezer to take out the ice cream and they were off like a shot both laughing loudly.
"I'd like to come back next week" Archie said once the boys were out of earshot "I think another double session with Hook might help. The boy is frightened that he will let the Pirate down somehow. He is worried about his "Papa" to the point that it may not be healthy but I suppose their situation is anything other than normal which means I am just going on guess work here."
"I'll speak to Hook" Snow replied with a sigh "He's worried about him too so I'm sure he will be only too happy to talk if it helps Junior deal with all this"
"Great" Archie said with a thankful smile "I best be off, thank you for your hospitality Miss Blanchard"
"Mary-Margaret please" she corrected him and he just smiled tipping his head at her before heading to the door "Come on Pongo"
Pongo just gave a bark and sat where he was
"Don't argue Pongo, I don't have time for this today"
Pongo gave another bark
"Alright" Archie sighed out heading out the door "You can have your dinner early as long as we can go, I have another session to get to"
The Dalmatian trotted after Archie while giving Snow a smug look... wait... what? The dog had just looked at her, he hadn't looked smug. Had he? She shook her head and went back to the ice cream with a chuckle... Talking dogs! What next? Singing cats?
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Killian gave an unexpected chuckle and his hand came up to grasp at his chest as he felt the boy's happiness building.
"What?" Belle asked with a smile and a frown
"It would seem that Junior is having fun whatever he is doing" He replied with a sigh then smirked and tipped his head concentrating hard "I think... he is... actually I have no idea what he is doing... he was a little unsure to begin with but now he is relaxed and happy"
Suddenly a dog bark sounded in Killian's head causing him to jump slightly, his heart was instantly thundering in his chest and his fist clenched into his shirt. Was everything in town out to get him today?
"You OK?" Belle asked in concern obviously seeing the change on his face as she reached forward and laid a hand on his arm
"The Cricket has brought his dog" he sighed out then chuckled "That is what Junior is doing... he is playing with Pongo but the damned dog likes to bark too much for my liking"
He gave Belle a grin and she laughed then sighed "I thought something was wrong for a minute, you turned totally white"
"Sorry Love" he chuckled back taking in a few breaths "I seem to have that effect on people recently but I am fine."
"Do you want a drink? You still look a bit pale. Maybe some tea?"
He nodded "That would be appreciated, thank you Belle"
"OK, I'll be back in a minute"
He gave a slight cough then mumbled in embarrassment "I will just use the facilities while you are gone"
She just smiled at him over her shoulder as she disappeared through to the back room but he was now wondering how he was going to do this. He hadn't brought his crutch with him which would make things interesting to say the least.
"Just get on with it man" he grit out pushing the chair back from the table.
Killian managed to scoot himself across the floor using his one good leg until he hit the far wall then hauled himself up to his feet steadying himself on the back of the chair. He pulled in a deep breath and held it as he took his first step, it was a little awkward as his left side was nearest the wall leaving him with nothing to cling onto with his hand so he lent heavily against the wall instead, sliding along it as he took one uneasy step at a time and eventually he made it.
By the time he was done his leg was starting to tremble but at least on his way back he could use his hand to steady himself. He looked up at Belle as he made his way back into the main room and she gave him a smile.
"I found some biscuits" she said lifting the tin with a grin
He just smiled back as he moved over to his chair with his jaw clamped shut against the growing pain.
He really was just ready to drop back down when movement in his peripheral vision had him looking towards the front door. He narrowed his eyes and stared hard but there was nothing there, perhaps he had imagined it... and yet!
Deciding to trust his gut he managed to lower himself down with a groan but instead of scooting back over to the table he dug down the side of the chair and felt for the bottle of potion. Taking it quickly he pulled out the cork with his teeth and tipped the bottle slightly letting a few drops fall onto his left arm just above his brace before managing to shove the cork back in.
He turned to his right but couldn't see anything, maybe he had imagined it.
"Killian?" Belle said in a panicked tone
"I am fine Love" he said back quickly then added "I thought it may be wise if one of us could see everything we need to"
"Good idea but next time give me some warning, this is kinda weird"
He chuckled but in the next second he was gritting his teeth again as he was tying to manoeuvre his chair back across the room. It was harder work going forward than it had been going backwards so in the end he stopped and decided to turn around. He grabbed the wheel by his right side and started to spin the chair but he only got half way round when he stopped and his heart was rattling in his chest again when his eyes fell on Devin who was standing behind the the door peering out into the street through the blinds with a worried look on his face.
Killian was torn, what should he do? Then an idea hit him...
"Back in a minute" he called so that Devin would think that he had simply gone back into the wash room if he looked around.
"You OK?" Belle yelled back and Killian cringed as Devin pulled his gaze away from the window and gave her a strange look but he seemed more interested in what was going on outside and quickly looked back through the blinds again. Killian remembered that to Devin he would be invisible and to him it would just look like Belle standing alone by the table yelling through to the wash room.
Killian quickly dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell only to find that he had no reception but he didn't let that stop him. He opened up the "notes" and quickly typed out a message for Belle before pushing himself back to the table. He just placed his cell down directly in front of Belle and the instant he let it go she gasped and picked it up reading his message that basically told her to pretend to need something from the back room and go radio for help.
He watched as she casually picked up the radio and called out like Killian was still out of the room.
"Give me a shout if you need help" she yelled casually walking towards the back room "I'm just going to grab that book form the back for Junior that you asked about earlier"
Devin gave another little frown as he glanced back into the room but then he surprised Killian when he suddenly headed to the table and grabbing the biscuit tin.
"I'll have these I think" he laughed out in a whisper looking very pleased with himself
Killian's heart was practically beating it's way out of his chest as he sat literally within the grasp of the Lost One who had plagued him for months but when Devin suddenly looked to the back room where Belle had gone minutes before and narrowed his eyes like he was eyeing up pray Killian knew he couldn't just sit there hoping that the others would arrive before the Lost One did something stupid.
He managed to pull himself to his feet but he hadn't taken into account the fact that the chair would suddenly reappear once he was no longer in it and only realized his mistake when Devin suddenly gasped and took a step backwards.
"Who's there?" he snarled looking straight through Killian
Killian didn't answer and he knew that he would regret his next move later but he couldn't let Devin get away... he needed this to be over so he huffed out a steadying breath and pulled his best Captain Hook persona out of the bag.
"Not so confident without your boys are you Devin?" Killian snarled.
The fear on Devin's face was evident as he kept backing away but then he schooled his features and halted his retreat giving a smirk.
"Hook" he sneered "I should have guessed, who else could it be using that thing?." Devin suddenly took a step forward and threw his hand out wildly "I know that you're in no fit state to fight me Pirate, why don't you just give up now?"
Killian snarled, Devin was NOT going to beat him this time and without thought of the consequences he suddenly launched himself forward twisting the boy and snaking his left arm around Devin's neck. The Lost One was instantly struggling to get away but Killian had him in a tight grasp even if it was painful beyond words he was not letting go... not when he was so close to beating him once and for all.
"Let me go" Devin grit out
"Not going to happen" Killian growled back
Belle suddenly came back in obviously realizing that something was happening "Killian, Emma is on her way. Are you alright?"
He didn't get a chance to answer as Devin suddenly threw his head back hitting Killian in the face splitting his upper lip, he stumbled back into the table and grunted but didn't let go. The Lost One however was not done and suddenly he was like a trapped animal struggling to get free. Killian knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer so he tried to get a better grip bringing his hand down across Devin's front finding something quite unexpected as he did so. He grinned to himself as another idea hit him and he managed to wrap his hook through the charm around Devin's neck and tugged. The leather snapped and Devin gave a yell of despair obviously realizing that he had just lost his ability to remain unseen.
Devin growled and it would seem that he wasn't quite ready to give in just yet as the Lost one suddenly threw out an elbow catching Killian fully in his still healing ribs. His world disappeared as Killian crumpled to the floor thumping into the table as he went. He no longer knew what was happening as he suddenly found himself lying on his side trying to curl up against the searing agony in his chest.
Killian thought he could hear voices but his pain was overruling everything else and when there were suddenly hands on him he didn't know if they were friend or foe's making him jump in surprise and only adding to his confused state... his heart was racing and he was starting to gasp for breath when the first hitch of his chest struck.
He tried to shake his head, he couldn't have another attack not when Devin could be getting away. The hands were back, he tried to bat them away still not sure who they belonged to and he couldn't let Devin get his hands on what he had managed to steal form him seconds before.
"HOOK" David's voice suddenly boomed by his side "It's only me. Calm your breathing down, here breath into this"
There was suddenly a bag being held over his mouth and he pulled in a couple of deep breaths knowing that this would help. After a few minutes he managed to open his eyes to find David and Swan by his side.
"B-Belle... is sh-she a-alright?" he grit out trying to move but David just pushed him back onto the floor
"She's just over there, just stay where you are for a minute" he said nodding his head towards the door before smirking "There may or may not have been a bit of an accident with some squid ink and the Dark One."
Killian frowned as he looked to the side to see Belle standing by a frozen Crocodile feeling around obviously not able to see him in his potion infused state. What had happened? Where was the Lost One?
"D-Devin?" he asked looking back to Swan quickly and again trying to sit himself up and this time she let him but she pulled him into her front where he lent back with a sigh.
"He got away" she sighed out "but we're going to get Ruby to help us follow him. That's what we were planning when Belle radioed us to tell us that he was here"
Killian suddenly remembered that he had pulled Devin's charm free and looked around the floor to see where it was but it wasn't there, he couldn't see it. Had the Lost One taken it back? A sudden thought hit him and when he managed to lift his left arm up he grinned as he saw the charm hanging from the smooth metal by the snapped leather cord.
"He m-may have g-gotten away L-Love but h- he can n-no longer hide in p-plain sight" he beamed and Swan tugged him in closer dropping a kiss onto his forehead.
"You are insane, you know that, right?" she chuckled "You could have been really hurt"
"Maybe... b-but it was worth it to g-get this, the ch-charm was just a bonus" he grinned looking from Emma to David while raising his other arm to show what he still had clutched in his fist.
"I don't know if you are an idiot or a genius" David laughed as he plucked the red gem from Killian's hand and held it up
"Me neither" Killian chuckled then groaned letting his hand fall back to his ribs "Can we go home now Love? I don't think Devin will be showing his face around town for a while, I say let him just try now that he can no longer hide."
Swan nodded and then David was helping her to pull Killian slowly up to sit back in his chair. It was a struggle and his ribs and hip were beyond painful by the time he was settled but he just gave a smile when Emma looked at him in concern, he didn't want her to worry.
"OK, let's go and get you cleaned up. I'll call Regina and let Belle know that we're going" She said as they started to move "I'll ask Regina if she wants to join us at the pool house, she may as well it's not like she can go shopping or anything, no one can see her!"
"Don't think you're getting out of helping with dinner by the way" David suddenly said behind Killian then lowered his tone as they walked towards the still very frozen Mr Gold who looked absolutely livid as Belle tried her best to reassure him that the ink would wear off soon "I could accidentally loose control about now if you want to hit him in the shins although I'm not so sure what would happen. Do you think he would just keel over still stuck in that position or would his legs just snap?"
"I don't k-know Mate but I'm w-willing to find out if you are..." Killian replied with a grin