Huge revelations lie within this chapter so get reading lol
As always please review... let me know if you like my idea (I think it sets up another adventure in the future nicely... which means more Junior Yay)
Enjoy
:)
David had settled Hook down in his bed a while ago leaving him to get more sleep after reassuring him that if he started to have another bad dream he would wake him straight away but when David glanced over he could see the Pirate frowning deeply and taking in some deep breaths. He knew the signs, he'd seen them often enough to know that Hook was battling his stomach... again. David gave a deep sigh and headed over to his Brother with a frown of his own. Hook had been doing so much better but now he was back to nightmares and pain... what the hell was going on?
"You OK?" he asked in a whisper
Hook didn't even open his eyes he just mumbled "Aye, bloody brilliant"
"How's the head?"
"Pounding" Hook replied with a sigh finally peeking open an eye to look up at him "Being honest David, I feel awful and my arms and legs feel like they weigh a bloody tonne"
It hit David like a sledge hammer as he realized what was going on and he berated himself out loud "IDIOT"
"What have I done now?" Hook mumbled bringing his arm up and draping it over his eyes with a groan as his hand settled on his stomach
"Not you" David threw back "Me."
"Makes a nice change" Hook replied even managing to smirk but in the next instant he was gulping in huge breaths and swallowing thickly.
"Don't fight it" David whispered putting his hand on Hook's shoulder trying to tip him onto his side to make the whole thing easier but Hook cried out in pain leaving David cringing in sympathy however he didn't have time to dwell on his mistake as Hook finally lost his battle and promptly puked over the side of the bed.
The bout ended quite quickly probably because Hook hadn't eaten anything from the look of the mess on the floor but the Pirate was losing steam fast. David made sure that he was settled back on the bed before hurrying over to the entrance of the teepee.
He stuck his head out and yelled at the first person he saw to fetch Lark and a bowl of potato before just going back inside and heading to the bed. Hook's eyes were closed but David could tell that he was still awake by his heavy breathing.
"Don't go to sleep" David grit out while grabbing hold of a spare blanket and throwing it over the still slightly soggy ground making note to pick it up later.
"Hmmmm?" Hook hummed and when David looked at him he was trying and failing to open his eyes
David hauled Hook up and scooted in behind him eliciting another cry of pain from the Pirate but David knew this would be easier in the long run and when Lark rushed in seconds later holding a bowl of the mashed potato David knew he had been right as he managed to shovel the first mouthful into Hook's mouth without issue.
Hook frowned deeply as he realized that he needed to chew but to his credit he didn't spit the food out he just swallowed thickly and mumbled "What are you doing?"
"Potassium" David threw back "I should have realized earlier. I should have seen it, I mean the Shadow Man attacked you too and OK, he never got a proper hold of your shadow but he had a damned good go so just shut up and eat, it will help you feel better... I promise"
He shoved another mouthful of potato in before looking up at Lark, he didn't care what Hook had said, the Pirate needed undisturbed sleep right now.
"Do you have another dream catcher?" David asked before giving an apologetic look "I accidentally broke the last one"
Lark gave a surprised look as an eyebrow shot up "When did this happen?"
"Yesterday... but something happened and we didn't think he would need it anymore but obviously we were wrong, his nightmares are back."
"You should have told me earlier" Lark sighed "The broken remnants should be removed otherwise they can have an opposite effect on the sleeper"
"Well that kinda makes sense" David replied while internally cursing himself, he'd really taken his eye off the ball when it came to his Brother and Hook was the one that was paying the price.
"Where are the broken pieces?"
David nodded to the end of the bed "On the ground down there I think"
"I shall remove them and enact the ritual of broken dreams but first let me bring a new one in, I can see he needs sleep right now"
"Thanks Lark" David replied with a smile as the medicine man grabbed the broken dream catcher and headed out the flap again.
David moved his attention back to Hook who had stopped chewing and seemed to be on the verge of sleep, he jostled him slightly making the Pirate frown again but the minute he opened his mouth to complain David just shoved more potato in and Hook seemed to chew it automatically before swallowing it down. The Pirate took another three mouthfuls before he actually managed to lift his hand and push the spoon away.
"No more" he breathed out
"OK I'll let you off for now but you eat more the minute you wake up"
Hook gave a slight nod and let his hand fall back onto the bed with a sigh but he didn't say anything, he just lay with the same slight frown on his face. David held him where he was hoping that the upright position would help the food stay in his stomach until it got a chance to work a bit.
Lark returned a few minutes later with a bigger dream catcher and hung it up above the bed "This one should counteract the confusion caused by the broken one"
"Thanks and sorry again"
"It's alright Shilah, no harm done. I shall go and carry out the ritual on the broken one right now, hopefully Apenimon can sleep peacefully from here on in"
Lark just headed straight back out the flap and by the time David looked back down at Hook it was to find his face finally relaxed and the Pirate sleeping soundly. Great, he hadn't even had a chance to lay him back down again! He ever so carefully scooted out from behind Hook managing to put the bowl down on the ground before gently lowering his Brother down... the Pirate never even stirred.
With a sigh of relief David stood up, he was just about to lift the bowl when he heard Emma's voice calling his name. His head swung around, trying to find the mirror to realized that it was in the furs by the fire that Hook had been lying on earlier. He practically threw himself down rummaging about to find the mirror quickly so Hook didn't wake up.
He found it in seconds and held it up to see Emma in the galley onboard the Jolly but instead of getting drawn into a conversation he just whispered "Hang on Emma"
He pulled himself up to his feet and headed out of the teepee giving Hook one last glance to see him still out for the count. He walked a few feet away before speaking.
"What's up?"
"What do you mean what's up? You know what's up... we arranged this already" Emma cried out "I've got a hold full of guests and you were supposed to have the Chief with you"
"Damn it" he cursed looking back at the teepee nervously, he didn't want to leave Hook by himself "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot with everything that's been going on!"
"Why? What's been going on?" Emma asked suddenly looking nervous
David sighed "Jensen woke up which is good but he's still pretty out of it although he did confirm that the Shadow Man is gone, he set it on fire"
"OK but that's not what's worrying you is it? Dad I can see it in your face, what's going on?"
"He's fine so don't freak out" David replied knowing that was exactly what she was probably about to do so he spoke quickly "It looks like Hook's had a reaction to the tangle he had with the Shadow Man. I think he probably would have been fine but he hasn't been eating properly and I guess his potassium levels were effected. Don't worry I've made him eat some mashed potato and judging by how well that worked for Jensen I'm pretty sure he'll feel better before we know it but... I don't really want to leave him alone so you're gonna have to do this call by yourself, I'm sorry"
"Hey that's cool. I would rather you stay with him being honest but can you get him to call me when he wakes up, I want to talk to him, make sure that he's OK for myself"
"Sure" David replied bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose with a sigh
"How are you doing Dad?" Emma asked suddenly sounding concerned
"I'm fine, don't worry about me. You just concentrate on your boys. How are they doing" he deflected
"Nuh-uh" Emma threw back "You wouldn't let Hook off with that so I'm not letting you off with it, come on Dad, talk to me"
He let out another long sigh "I am fine honest I'm just... I'm annoyed that I didn't see it"
"See what?" Emma frowned
"Hook" David cried out throwing his hand up in frustration "I should have seen that he was struggling, hell Emma I did see it but I thought he was just tired. Damn it, I am such an idiot"
"Hey" Emma shouted suddenly sounding angry "Will you just stop. He has a tongue in his head, he could have told you... no, he SHOULD have told you how he was feeling. This is not your fault Dad, do not blame yourself."
"It's just hard" he sighed out "I thought he was over the worst so I relaxed and suddenly he's puking his guts up again"
"And you fixed it" Emma shot back before calming herself down and letting out a laugh "How he's managed to reach three hundred I just don't know. Come on Dad, you know what he's like, he'll be fine and back to annoying you before you know it"
"Yeah" David sighed heavily "You're probably right"
"No, I am right and you know it" Emma reassured him "He's good at surviving remember"
David suddenly chuckled "Yeah, I think he must be part cat or something"
"God I hope not" Emma laughed "That would play havoc with my allergies"
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Rumple had excused himself from the hold not long after Emma had left saying that he had just remembered that he needed to make a phone call. He had reassured the ever increasing ball of annoyance otherwise known as "Junior" that he would indeed return as soon as he was done and he'd even managing to do it with a smile on his face but instead of heading straight out onto the deck like he had indicated he was going to do he stopped in the stairwell and amplified his hearing so that he could listen to the Savior talking to her father.
He stood stalk still as the two conversed before silently creeping the rest of the way outside when Miss Swan suddenly headed back to the hold clutching the mirror in her hand while talking to whom Rumple assumed was the Chief of the Piccaninny tribe.
Rumple leant heavily against the railing to ponder his predicament... it would seem that the Shadow Man's influence was still being felt. He gave a deep frown as he thought about things. Why had the Pirate been fine THEN gone down hill? The only way his condition could have deteriorated was if he had encountered another shadow...
Or maybe he had encountered the "Shadow Man" maybe he wasn't as gone as they all hoped he was!
Or perhaps it had happened in the dream world!
The dust that Rumple had used on the Pirate had left him susceptible to things that went bump in the night for a short period of time but it had been a necessary part of his plan to free Hook from Devin... something that Rumple hoped would set him in good steed to get his dagger back when it was finally time for the two to return to Storybrooke.
This thought drew a smile to Rumple's lips, maybe, just maybe, if he was right he could play the hero and get another prized possession to add to his collection but first he needed to make sure that his suspicions were correct... He needed to talk with the Pirate and the boy because if he was right the Shadow Man was hiding within one of the two of them and he needed to know which one. Once he knew that piece of information he had JUST the right things back at the shop to "destroy" the Shadow Man and free the person he was hiding within.
"I hope you are ready to return from the other side Shadow Man because I think that it is about time that you came to MY world where you will be the one that will bow down to my power. You took my Father from me through some twisted need to create your island but it is I who will have the last laugh and no amount of voodoo will save you this time."
Rumple headed back down into the belly of the ship but just as he was heading back to the hold the door opened and all but the family that were conversing with Neverland walked out. Belle smiled widely at him while wiping tears from her face.
"Oh Rumple, it was beautiful." she sniffed taking hold of his arm and leaning into him "Another family reunited, it was just perfect"
He just smiled at her happy face before turning to Emma "May I speak with you Miss Swan, I think we have something that we need to discuss"
She frowned but nodded before turning to Henry "Why don't you take Junior up on deck for a while, maybe you can show him the super soaker stash"
"Awesome" Henry cried out before taking the younger boy's hand and tugging him towards the stairs "Come on Junior, this is gonna be epic"
With that they were gone, Emma led the others into the galley where everyone sat down around the long table, all except Rumple, he remained in his position of power by standing.
"What's up?" Emma asked looking up at him
He gave a nervous look "I am sorry Miss Swan but I couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation earlier as I was heading up towards the deck."
"OK" Emma said with a frown "It's not like we were discussing anything top secret or anything"
"Quite" Rumple replied bringing a thoughtful look to his face as he frowned deeper "But I did hear you discussing the fact that your Pirate has become somewhat unwell again..."
"He'll be fine, Dad's on it" Emma threw back
"Perhaps but maybe there is more to this than meets the eye" he replied raising a knowing eyebrow
"OK, you've got our attention, we're listening" Regina suddenly said leaning forward
Rumple gave a dramatic sigh "I may be wrong but what if the Shadow Man is not as gone as we hoped? What if in his bid to break free from the island he has hidden himself..."
"I don't understand" Emma said standing up and coming up to his side.
"Miss Swan, there are currently two people on that island suffering from the after effects of a shadow attack... One is your Pirate and the other is the Lost One. But what if it is not just after effects? What if it is because the Shadow Man is hiding in plain sight? The last thing we want is for that beast to get free from the island."
"So what, you think that one of them is possessed?"
"Of sorts. Look, there is one simple way for me to find out but I need to prepare a few things then I need to talk to them both... separately. If I am right we cannot have the Shadow Man getting suspicious otherwise he will flee the body and that may have catastrophic effects on the person in which he resides"
A serious look appeared on Emma's face "Right, you go do what you need to do... I need to talk to my Dad, it looks like Tiger Lily's family reunion will just have to wait for a while. How long will you need before you're ready?"
"About an hour" Rumple replied knowing that it wouldn't take anywhere near that amount of time but he did love a bit of dramatic tension and right now the Savior looked ready to leap into battle.
"Well... what are you still doing here?" Regina suddenly cried out standing up
It would seem that Miss Swan was not the only one worrying about the outcome. He gave a surprised look but just gave a single nod and disappeared into his red cloud.
He reappeared in the front shop immediately going to his safe and digging about right at the back pulling out a small trinket box. He set it down on the counter while wearing a wide smile on his face, he tipped the broken pieces of the ouanga out onto the glass surface. Rumple waved his hand over them reconnecting the majority of the bits leaving only two parts of the little face like mask still to be joined back together. He moved to one of the display cabinets and retrieved a necklace that lay within throwing it a look of contempt, why the Shadow Man had used crocodile teeth was was beyond him.
He set the necklace down next to the ouanga and smirked "If I am right, which I am sure that I am... I will control the most powerful bokor there ever has been... even if there is no one still left alive that remembers him. How long were you trapped there Facilier? How many centuries have you been searching for a way to escape? Time is a funny thing isn't it? For one it is the blink of an eye while for others it is an eternity."
He paused to think over the story that he had read a while ago about another realm that he had never visited where voodoo was very much apart of everyday life. He had looked into the Shadow after returning from Neverland with Henry, suspecting then who he really was from rumors he had heard of the other realm's very own Shadow Man but in the end with only one bean in his possession he had thought that there was no way to get to Neverland and back to seek his revenge so had stopped hoping.
That hope had however returned, now that the Pirate and the Shepherd were there, things had changed. They held a mirror and he suddenly found himself presented with a link between the two worlds meaning he could "reach" through with his magic. Rumple himself had tried to dabble in the art of voodoo although when he had realized that it was not just magic but involved channelling spirits he dismissed it... now he could have the master at his beckon call.
It opened a world of possibilities to him and again he smirked at the irony the Shadow Man was about to face. In taking his Father from him it had led Rumple down the path that had ultimately brought him to this moment, the Shadow Man was about to be defeated by his own creation.
Rumple picked up the necklace and the two pieces of the ouanga to put them in his pocket. He would carry out his little charade for the others but when he found the Shadow Man he was not going to destroy him like they would all think... no the Shadow Man was his... his to control and do with as he saw fit.
Dr Facilier was about to be very sorry for all that he had done to Rumplestiltskin and this time his voodoo powers would be able to do nothing to save him.
OK, so we have reached the point where you find out that the "Shadow Man" is actually "The Shadow Man" from the Princess and the Frog. This was always my plan, it was too much of a coincidence that there were two Shadow figures out there so I made them one.
It would seem that in my tale Dr Facilier was taken to the "Other Side" by the spirits when his ouanga was broken but the other side was actually Neverland. While there he created his own personal playground but couldn't escape only entice others to join him... until now.
Yeah, I know, my brain is weird but you love it.