Sorry for the distinct lack of updates but as I have said my life is crazy busy atm. I hope this makes up for it, it is quite a long chapter.
Watch out Shadow Man... the Dark One is out to get you
As always please review
Enjoy
:)
"This is crazy" David hissed out looking across at the still sleeping Pirate before turning back to Emma "You really think that Gold's telling the truth?"
"I'm gonna say yeah... Dad, he saved Junior's life earlier. The kid ran right in front of a car, I swear I thought he was done for but right there in the middle of the street for everyone to see Gold got to him... I think we owe it to him to at least listen."
"I don't like it Emma" David sighed out "After everything that's happened I just don't trust him"
"Well don't... trust me"
David gave another heavy sigh and looked over at Hook "I don't really want to wake him, he's not been sleeping long and he's exhausted Emma"
"Well that's alright, we could talk to Jensen first?" Emma reasoned but something in David's gut was telling him that they needed to speak to the Pirate first.
"No, I think we need to talk to Hook. He said something about the Shadow being in his dream... what if it wasn't just a dream, I'd rather see if he needs our help first and besides, I don't really want to leave him by himself anyway"
"That's fine Dad, we'll do it your way, I trust you" Emma soothed "We've still got a bit of time before Gold gets back. You wanna talk to Mom? She's right here."
"Thanks Kid" David replied with a smile "That would be great"
Seconds later Snow appeared in front of his face holding Neal up and David could have cried, the emotions that hit him were intense and a bit unexpected. He beamed widely and cooed at his boy as Snow waved his little hand.
"Hey Daddy, how are you doing?"
"Daddy is just fine Kid, how's Mommy?"
"Tired but holding up" the pretence was dropped when Snow looked back at the mirror "David, I miss you so much BUT we are fine, we know that you are coming home and that's all that matters. We are all staying on the Jolly so that Junior feels safe and it's been good, he's starting school tomorrow."
"I heard" David smirked "That Kid is gonna be impossible to put to bed tonight"
Snow sighed then laughed "I know but it's good that he's excited and being honest I'm interested to see what he can do"
David's eye floated back over to Hook "I know what you mean, I do wonder what goes on inside that Pirate's head sometimes... he knows way more than he lets on you know"
"It's rude to talk about people when they are in the room" Hook suddenly mumbled throwing back his blanket.
"Whoa, hey" David gasped out jumping to his feet. He was at Hook's bedside in seconds trying to get him to lie still "Stay there for a minute"
To his utter surprise Hook chuckled "Unless you want sheet cleaning duties I wouldn't advise it Mate"
David was torn, he wanted to talk with Mary-Margaret but he didn't trust the Pirate on his wobbly legs by himself so in the end he just tucked the mirror in his bandaging again and helped Hook to his feet.
"Keep talking Mary-Margaret I can still hear you" David said loudly
"I can hear you too, there's no need to shout" she giggled then carried on by talking to Hook "Hey Killian, how are you feeling?"
"Better" he grit out through clenched teeth as David was pulling him upright but the minute he was standing he gave a tired smile "Those potatoes really pack a wallop, I feel much better already"
David cut in "I'll get you some more in a minute but let's get you sorted first"
They were back by the fire in no time and David found Hook talking with Snow while he fixed some more tea and the promised potatoes for his Brother. Once both were ready David sat down and took the mirror back but held it where Hook could still see it knowing that now was the hard part... he had yet to tell the Pirate that his Crocodile wanted to have a chat!
He pulled in a deep breath not knowing how that was going to play out "Uhm... Gold is on his way to the Jolly by the way... he needs to talk to you"
Hook's head snapped up from his bowl and instantly his scowl was back "What the bloody hell does he want? It is bad enough that he came to me in the dream world putting my boy at risk by doing so... why in the bloody blue blazes would I want to talk to him here"
David shrugged "He says that it's important"
"Where is Junior in all this? I don't want him near the Crocodile while I am not there" Hook frowned deeply
Snow's voice was the one of reason as she suddenly spoke "Killian I think that you should know that Mr Gold saved Junior's life earlier. Junior ran out in front of a car and if Gold hadn't been there... well... I don't even want to think about it. He is TRYING to be better so I think we should all maybe just listen to Junior and give him a chance."
"Is Junior alright?" Hook asked dismissing all the other information
"He's absolutely fine, he's playing with the water guns on deck" Emma replied reassuringly
David watched as Hook took in the news, he looked so torn but eventually he just sighed "Why the bloody hell do I keep doing this to myself? Fine... but only for the boy"
Belle's disembodied voice carried through the mirror "You won't regret this Killian, I promise. I won't let him mess this opportunity up... Thank you"
"I just hope that you are right Belle... for your sake as much as anyone else's" Hook replied with a tight smile.
"OK, now that's sorted will you eat your potato?" David threw in before the conversation carried on "You still look like crap"
Hook looked at David and rolled his eyes "State the obvious Mate"
David chuckled as Hook shovelled another mouthful in his face and chewed slowly but the potato was forgotten minutes later when Gold finally arrived and Hook straightened himself up obviously not wanting to appear weak in front of his oldest enemy.
The mirror moved across the room and David glanced to the side to see Hook scowling again.
"Relax, he's trying to help remember" David whispered trying to reassure his Brother
"That still remains to be seen" Hook practically growled and when Gold's face appeared the Pirate just ground his teeth with a look of loathing for everyone to see.
"Hook" Gold said with a smirk on his face instantly putting the Pirate further on edge.
"Just get to the point Crocodile, what do you want from me?" Hook snarled
Gold just raised an eyebrow along with the corner of his mouth before holding up his hand, he held what looked like a tribal necklace with what seemed to be two crocodile teeth on it. He said nothing as he sat there and David could hear Hook's breathing getting angrier as he silently raged by his side, until he obviously couldn't hold his tongue anymore.
"You are pushing my patience Dark One" Hook growled "And as much as I appreciate the "Crocodile" teeth I do not really think that it's my style"
"It's not in him" Gold said instantly handing the mirror back to Emma who seemed to forget that they couldn't see if she didn't hold the mirror in the right place as they were suddenly seeing everything sideways as the mirror hung in her hand when she stood up.
"You can tell just from that? You never even asked him anything?"
"I don't need to Miss Swan, if the Shadow Man were in him his eyes would have glowed red... it's not him"
Hook suddenly gave a gasp and threw his arm out slapping his hand on David's chest. He turned his head and looked at David with his mouth hanging open as the conversation carried on at the other side of the mirror.
"What?" David asked tuning out Emma
"Gold... he thought that the Shadow was inside me?"
"Yeah, sorry, I couldn't tell you, you know in case it was"
"It's not" Hooked replied excitedly turning the rest of his body to face David "He's in the boy... I saw him... in my dream for a split second I could have sworn that Jensen's eyes were glowing red... it is him David, I just know it"
"Yeah well, looks like Gold was right then... he said that it was either you or the Kid. Hold on, we need to let the others know what you just said" David took the mirror, cleared his throat and yelled "EMMA, we need to talk to you guys, will you lift up the mirror"
"Sorry Dad, what's up?"
"Hook..." David motioned for him to talk
"The Shadow Man is in the boy... I am almost certain of it"
It was Gold that answered suddenly reappearing in the mirror "And just how do you know that?"
"I saw it" Hook snarled back with a growl "In my dream the boy's eyes flashed red"
"And in this dream was the Shadow Man also there?" Gold asked with a knowing smile
"Aye"
"And there we have it" Gold said looking back to Emma "Your Pirate was suffering from the further after effects of a shadow attack because the shadow was in his dream"
"That's not all Swan" Hook called to her to get her attention "I think that the boy was trying to tell me about the shadow, he was asking for my help... I think."
"Well lets' do this then" Emma replied then looked to David "Dad, you ready?"
"Yep" David said pulling himself to his feet, he only made it three steps before he realized that Hook was trying to follow "What are you doing you idiot? Stay where you are."
"I bloody well will not" Hook grit out as he finally got upright "I will not let you go near that Shadow alone, someone has to have your back"
"Oh how touching" Gold mumbled rolling his eyes
"Don't push it Gold" Emma snapped "That is my family and just because you have the emotional capacity of a rock doesn't mean that everyone else does too."
David grinned like an idiot... that was his daughter right there.
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Rumple held out the necklace to Emma holding back the snarky remark that was on the tip of his tongue, instead choosing to look at the bigger picture. He needed to keep everyone on side after all.
"Do you wish to do the honors?" Rumple asked turning to Emma
"What? Why?" she asked automatically taking it anyway
"You are the savior Miss Swan, not me" he replied with a chuckle but in truth it was to make the next part easier, he put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to sit back down so that he could stand directly behind her and see over the back of the couch to get a clear view of the mirror.
"What do I do?" she asked nervously looking at the necklace and playing with one of the teeth.
"All you need to do is hold it up for the boy to see, I shall do the rest. The mirror will act as a kind of portal and I will be able to draw the Shadow Man back into the necklace"
Emma suddenly looked shocked "You're bringing him here?"
"Of sorts" Rumple replied "He will be trapped in the necklace and then I will destroy it, do not worry Miss Swan, it is all quite safe I assure you"
She gave him a look that clearly showed she was anything other than reassured but nodded anyway.
"Sheriff" Rumple called to David
"Yeah?" the Shepherd's face appeared in the mirror as they clearly made their way across a clearing, he was obviously supporting the Pirate as they went from the awkward angle.
"You get one chance at this. If the Shadow Man thinks we are on to him he will flee and that may be detrimental to the boy... be careful"
"I will" David replied but suddenly the mirror swung round and Hook's face was there.
"Just hang on a damned second" he suddenly said with a deep frown "How are you doing this? If I remember clearly you were forbidden from doing anything to help me so how does that work?"
"Because Pirate, I am not doing this to help you" Rumple spat out honestly "I too have had my fair share of tangles with the Shadow Man... he has taken far too much from me in my lifetime and I am not about to let him escape that island to wander free in Storybrooke"
Hook only muttered "Aye" in agreement before turning back to David and nodding to carry on. Before too long the charade was in progress once more as the pair made their way across the teepee to the "boy" sitting by the fire.
"Hey Kid" David called out cheerfully
"Hi" the boy replied but his eyes were clearly on the Pirate and Rumple suddenly wished he'd insisted that Hook stay behind as the mirror swung up and he could see the look of fury on his face... he better not give the game away, otherwise Rumple would find a way to make him pay.
"Jensen" Hook added with a single nod as David helped lower him down. The Pirate seemed to be struggling quite badly as his breathing picked up a notch and suddenly Rumple realized that the furious look was to hide what was actually going on... the Pirate was petrified... well that was an interesting turn of affairs!
"It's alright" David whispered turning his back on the boy and getting between him and the Pirate so that Hook could no longer see him "You've got this..."
Again the Pirate just gave a single nod but this time he seemed to compose himself quite quickly and even surprised Rumple by addressing the boy.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better" Jensen replied looking up sheepishly
"That's good" Hook said not looking like he meant it but then David took over the conversation and Rumple relaxed a little.
"Kid" Jensen's head swung to look at the Shepherd "You remember my Daughter, right?"
The boy nodded "Yeah, Henry's Mother"
The Pirate's jaw was ticking furiously at the mention of Henry and for the briefest of moments Rumple felt an affinity with the Pirate as his own mood swung at the thought of what those Lost Ones had done to Bae's boy but then it was gone as David carried on.
"Well she wants to talk to you for a sec, is that alright? She just wants to ask about Devin... you know to see if you can help us find a quicker way home"
The boy nodded vigorously and Rumple thought that he had just caught his first glimpse of the Shadow Man inside as his eagerness to get free shone through. Rumple put his hand in his pocket and clutched the two pieces of the ouanga knowing that if the Shadow Man showed himself he only had one shot at this otherwise it could go badly wrong.
The mirror jostled about again and just as Jensen's face appeared Rumple stood up so that it was not so obvious to the boy that he was there. The Savior was playing her part well as she just smiled at the boy and kept the necklace hidden from view.
"Jensen" she started seriously, there was no lightness in her tone, she obviously still had issue with him but she carried on anyway "When you were here did Devin have anything, anything at all that could help us get home?"
"Not that I know of" the boy answered with a shrug "the only way we got here in the first place was because of the bean that the Dark One had"
"Right" Emma mused for a second before carrying on "It's just that when we were going through the stuff that was left in the cave by the river we found this..."
She suddenly pulled up the necklace and everything happened at once. The boy gave a guttural moan as his eyes first moved to look at the object then glowed red before they were clamped shut and his hand flew to his face to cover them. It was enough for Rumple, the Shadow Man was in there and he was about to pull him free. He instantly rejoined the last two parts of the ouanga in his pocket and started the retrieval spell in his head.
"Noooooooooooooooooooo" the boy screamed as his head flew back and his back arched.
Rumple could now see the Shadow Man as he was pulled from the boy in a long elongated dark shape that seemed to come through the boy's eyes and mouth. Within seconds he could feel the Shadow's essence seeping into the ouanga in his pocket as the figure slowly started to disappear before their eyes getting fainter and fainter by the second. The whole thing took less than a minute and it was clear when the task was done as the boy slumped bonelessly to the floor in a heap.
"Quick, pass me the necklace" Rumple played along, he needed them to believe that the Shadow Man was about to be destroyed.
Emma practically threw it at him as she turned on the couch and seconds later they all stood gawping as he ignited it and it gave off a high pitched scream which Rumple had added for dramatic emphasis... it always pays to make things look the part.
"There" he declared wiping the ashy remains from his hands "The Shadow Man is no longer an issue that anyone needs to deal with"
"Thanks" Emma said with a quick smile before turning back to the mirror.
Rumple slid his hand into his pocket and clung onto the ouanga tightly. Now that he had the Shadow Man right where he wanted him all he wanted to do was leave but he had to stay and play his part, if he looked too eager to leave people would get suspicious.
He was snapped back out of his reverie by the commotion that seemed to be going on on the other side of the mirror and when Belle came up to his side he gave her a frown and asked.
"What's happening? Sorry... the magic I had to use was quite powerful and I think I may have zoned out for a minute"
Belle gave him a concerned look but answered anyway "Jensen is having trouble breathing, obviously his body is struggling with losing the Shadow after it being in there for so long"
Suddenly David's voice carried across the room "His heart is racing... what the hell am I supposed to do?"
"The only thing that will help him is potassium Dad, just get the potato in him any way you can"
"Yeah well that's easier said than done Emma... he's practically unconscious here" David shouted
"Hey, don't yell at me... I'm just trying to help" Emma yelled back
It was Rufio's turn to step forward as he suddenly shouted above the noise "APPLE JUICE"
Emma swung around again with a frown on her face so the former Lost One repeated himself "Apple Juice... it's what we used to drink if the Shadow Man got too close, it made us feel better"
"On it" David called back
Rumple just stood for a few minutes before deciding that he had waited long enough, he needed to go.
"Well, I think my work here is done... I can be of no further assistance here so I shall bid you all a good day"
He looked to Belle at his side, she beamed at him before looking to the others "I'm going to go too, give you guys some time to catch up, we only came to see how Junior was doing... oh my goodness Rumple, you almost forgot your gift"
In all his excitement of having the Shadow Man locked up in his pocket Rumple really had nearly forgotten his gift.
"What gift?" Emma suddenly asked and when Rumple looked up at the others it was to find that the mirror had been placed on the table, obviously there was too much going on in Neverland to carry on their conversation.
"I found something that I thought the boy would appreciate" Rumple replied with a slight chuckle
Emma just looked at him but said nothing, it was Regina that did that.
"You?" she asked in disbelief "Brought a gift for Junior?"
"I did" was all he replied looking her straight in the eye
Regina narrowed her eyes "And what is in it for you?"
"The joy on the boy's face" he replied lightly thinking how it would annoy his Pirate that Killian Jones Junior's favored whistle had been given to him by the Dark One himself.
"JUNIOR... HENRY, RAPHA" Emma suddenly yelled out of the hold doors and within seconds Rumple could hear their footsteps as they made their way inside.
The boys were rather red in the face and quite wet when they came back into the room and the youngest one went straight to Emma while still eyeing Rumple with caution.
"You called Momma?" he asked pulling himself up onto the couch next to her
"Mr Gold has something for you" she replied with a smile wiping some dripping water from his face
"For me?" the boy asked turning around to look up at Rumple
It was uncanny how like his adult self the boy looked and Rumple had to fight hard to keep his smile so he just crouched down quickly to hide his struggle and pulled the whistle out from his inner jacket pocket to hand it over.
"Thank you Mr. Gold but I already have a whistle" The boy said in a tiny voice obviously not wanting to upset him.
"Yes" Rumple replied looking briefly to Belle who gave him a nod of encouragement "I know but you will want this one. Look at it and tell me what you see"
Junior turned the whistle over in his hands before gasping in a huge breath and looking at Emma "This is Liam's whistle Momma, look, it has his name on it"
"Awwww, Kid, that's awesome" she replied then looked to Rumple "That's really kind, thank you"
Rumple stood up and smiled widely "It was my pleasure"
He was just about to excuse himself again when the boy suddenly looked up at him with tears shining in his eyes.
"Thank you Mr. Gold" he uttered as his bottom lip gave a wobble but then he pulled in a breath and did something that Rumple did not see coming. He pulled himself to his feet, walked over to Henry and held out the whistle. Henry took it smiling widely until the boy spoke again and he realized why he was being given it. "I want you to have this Henry. Since I arrived here you have been the best Brother I could have wished for. You are my Liam so this belongs to you. Now I have one and you have one so I will be able to teach you how to play"
"Whoa Junior" Henry cried out holding the whistle up "I can't accept this, it's way too much. Why don't I take the other one?"
But Junior shook his head and put his hand out pushing the whistle back to Henry "This one belongs to my Brother and that is you. My whistle was a gift from my Papa and as such it is special."
Rumple should have been furious, his plan to get one up on his Pirate had just failed but something in the way the boy had handled the whole situation brought a strange sensation to his heart.
Rumplestiltskin was proud of Killian Jones Junior but what was worse than that was that he was suddenly seeing his Pirate in a different light... did the older Jones still hold this capacity to think of others before himself? He was suddenly thinking of the Pirate's unwillingness to let the Shepherd face the Shadow alone and he had his answer.
Rumple shook his head in disbelief... what was he doing?
Hook was the enemy... he had stolen Milah form him and one day that Pirate would finally pay for stealing his boy's Mother from him.
But the voice in the back of his head... the voice of the former dark ones was whispering things he knew to be true... Hook had not stolen Milah... she had left willingly because Rumplestiltskin had been a coward.
But in the end it made no difference... Hook would pay and Rumple would feel better, the darkness would see to that, it liked when he played.
So with a smile on his face he finally walked free from the Jolly Roger with his wife by his side holding the one thing in the world that would help him in his torment of his oldest enemy.
The Pirate would learn first hand to art of Voodoo and while Rumple would know the truth the rest of the town would merely think that Captain Hook had finally lost his mind.
Oh, he was going to have so much fun with his new toy and the Pirate would regret the day he ever crossed the Dark One.