Dead Reckoning

Chapter Six

When Emma, Morgan, and their teenagers arrived at the docks, Henry and Violet ran ahead as the seventeen year old called out to Hook saying, "Ahoy! Permission to come aboard the Jolly Roger!"

Everyone raised their heads in surprise as they looked up to the top of the ship's main mast upon hearing Killian call down to them while he replied, "Permission granted! Henry… you know what to do! I'll be right down."

"How does he even climb up there?" Violet asked about the pirate Captain when Henry rushed onboard ahead of them and got to work with the duties Killian taught him how to do some time back, while Killian finished undoing the ropes binding the sail to let it open from above them.

"Years and years of practice," Emma answered as she watched her husband work and then swing down to the lower deck holding onto one of the ropes from the riggings. "He makes it look easy, but I know it's not. It's like riding a bike for him though."

Violet looked over at the Savior with confusion on her face as she responded, "Henry has taught me how to ride a bicycle, but I don't understand how your husband climbing and swinging from a ship's mast is anything like riding a bike."

Morgan turned his head to glance over at Emma and smiled as she did, then he replied, "What Emma said is just an expression people use here in this world. It means something is easy to them and it's a skill that's never forgotten. If you ride a bike long enough, then you don't tend to forget how to."

"Hello again, love," Killian whispered into his wife's ear as he came over to stand beside her, then wrapped his left arm around her lower back. "I'm sorry about earlier. Would it be all right if we wait until this evening to talk about it?"

"Of course," she answered and then kissed him, as Violet and Sir Morgan walked over to join the newlyweds.

Violet's father then stated, "It's a beautiful day for sailing. I want to thank you, Captain Hook. For being willing to take my daughter out on your ship today. She's been looking forward to it since Henry asked her to join him."

Killian reached out to shake the knight's hand when he extended it to him and sincerely responded, "The pleasure is mine. I promise you, I will take good care of her, as I try to care for Henry."

"I know you will," Sir Morgan replied.

"Be safe out there," Emma said to Killian while she reached up to caress his cheek once Morgan walked away after waving to his daughter by way of saying goodbye. "But have fun. I wish I could join you too, but I need to try to figure out how to deal with Lily. How to help her and if I go out with you, I'll only be distracted. I love you."

He leaned in to kiss her again and then answered, "And I you, Swan. I'll see you tonight."

A few hours later, Killian, Henry, and Violet all had their swords drawn as the ship's Captain parried with Henry so that his stepson could impress the girl of his affections with his sword fighting skills thanks to both Hook and David. And while it worked, Killian didn't shy away from trying to embarrass Henry a little either out of fun by swiping his blade from the boy's hands, or even knocking him down on his butt against the deck when Violet began to clap and cheer for him. Henry glared up at his stepfather after he had done so, but then laughed with Killian when the pirate reached out his hook to help him back up.

Killian spoke up once Henry was back on his feet saying, "I'm sorry about that, lad. But you had it coming. You let your guard down when you became distracted by a woman's applause. Should this have been a real fight, you can't allow yourself to become distracted by anything, or you will lose."

"Believe me, I know," the teenager responded glumly. "You never tire of showing that point."

"We may jest about it, Henry… but I hope you understand the importance of the lesson," his stepfather replied more sternly than before. "You never know what might lie in store for us all. All of what your grandfather and I have taught you is important. Especially now that you're well on your way to being a man."

The seventeen year old was about to say something more until Violet called out to them as she nervously asked, "Killian… what is that?"

They both ran over to the side of the ship where Violet stood while she pointed towards what appeared to be a ship far in the distance behind the Jolly Roger as it headed for them, then Henry quickly added, "Are you expecting some old friends from your pirating days?"

"Henry, call your mother," Killian answered crossly after he looked towards the oncoming ship through his spyglass, then ran up to the upper deck and spun the wheel in order to turn his ship around towards the direction of Storybrooke, which they could no longer see after they had sailed well out into the middle of the ocean. "Either one will do! We're going to need their help!"

"I can't call them!" he shouted back in frustration as he pulled out his cell phone to look at its screen. "We're too far away from land. There's no reception all the way out here!"

Killian cursed under his breath because of the technology that usually gave him more trouble than help until all of a sudden, the ship behind them opened fire as a cannon ball soon struck the waters on their starboard side, then the Captain swiftly turned the wheel once again and curtly responded, "Fine. Then you and Violet are going to have to take a rowboat back to shore. You can make it. I'll stay onboard and draw their fire."

Violet looked between both of them with worry as Henry then rushed towards the upper deck as well and climbed the stairs as he replied angrily, "You can't do that?! You'll be killed before I can even get back, let alone run to get help!"

"We don't have a choice here, Henry," Killian answered more gently while he turned his head to look down at his boy who hadn't climbed the last step to walk towards him yet, until another blast fired and struck the ocean on the opposite side than before because Killian was now turning the Jolly Roger in a zig zag like motion to make them a more difficult target to hit. "I have to keep them focused on their target, keep them busy long enough so that you both can make your way to safety. And you need to tell Emma, as well as the others, that trouble is coming. I don't know who these pirates are, or if they're even pirates at all. Nor do I know why they've come, but everyone we love have to be warned should that ship's Captain want to attack Storybrooke next. You and Violet have to stay safe! I would never forgive myself if either of you were killed because of me."

"You said it yourself… you don't know who they are or why they're here," the teenager retorted sternly as he finally made his way over to his stepfather's side until Killian grabbed Henry's arm more tightly than he intended to do, then quickly pulled him down to the lower deck towards where the lifeboats were tied to the ship's side, using his hook to guide Violet along with them as well.

Violet climbed in willingly while Henry continued to fight against his friend until he finally gave in out of defeat and then Killian stated quietly, "The odds that they just so happened to find their way here to a land protected by magic and unknown to both the outside world and all magical realms alike… They're firing on us without cause, Henry. They're most likely pirates whom I've crossed in my dark past and whom I might have wronged. At the very least, your mothers and Violet's father would never forgive me if you were both killed while in my care. I promised them I would look after you. Which is exactly what I'm doing."

At last, Killian pulled his cutlass and swiftly cut through the ropes keeping the boat in place, dropping it into the waters below as another cannonball fell near them even closer than before, then he looked into the boy's eyes as he continued, "Don't worry about me, lad. I'll be fine. I'm a hell of a Captain. Now go! Now!"

Without hesitation, Killian ran back up to the wheel and spun it again to turn the ship to its side so that it would block the other ship's view of the two teenagers now rowing towards their town in the distance. Another cannonball fired again and this time it struck one of the Jolly Roger's masts as it came crashing down, then tumbled to its side into the ocean. Unfortunately, the mast struck one of the others and caused the second mast to crack. It was only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds before it too would crack further and collapse. And from its angle, Killian knew it wouldn't fall outward like the other, but onto and through the deck.

Meanwhile…

The dwarfs and Anton were sitting out on the beach while they ate lunch together on what had begun as a beautiful day, while still unaware of the danger out on the ocean before them. They all had been working hard earlier that day as they had begun to plant new crops which would eventually become a field of magic beans as they had done once before years earlier until Regina destroyed them all when she still gave into the evil side of herself. But now the Black Fairy has been defeated and the final battle was over, making the heroes victorious over the villains as their stories all should be.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Grumpy then asked his brothers while he slowly rose to his feet and looked out over the ocean before them upon hearing a booming sound far in the distance where he couldn't see, interrupting the conversation still going on behind him.

"It sounds like gunfire, but much louder and heavier than what gunfire usually sounds like," the town's only giant responded as he also got up and moved to stand beside his friend, followed closely by the rest of the dwarfs. "Not that I've really been around gunfire all that often, if ever actually."

Leroy quickly turned to look over at one of the others as he said curtly, "Sleepy, quickly go get Emma and anyone else with her. Hopefully David and Snow will be there too. Tell them that there's some kind of trouble out on the ocean. Happy… you'd better go with him so that he doesn't fall asleep on the way back into town. Hurry!"

The two dwarfs quickly ran off while those who remained behind turned back towards the sound of danger before them. As they listened and continued to search for any signs of what was happening, it wasn't long before they heard other noises of people shouting at them from far off shore until finally they saw a small boat rowing towards them carrying both Henry and Violet, who was waving at their friends wildly to try to get their attentions while Henry continued to row the boat as fast as he was able.

When the two children, who weren't really children any longer, were close enough, Henry turned his upper body around as he called out to their friends saying, "Go get Mom! We need help! Hook needs help!"

"We already sent Happy and Sleepy," Doc replied as they neared enough to the shore to allow him and the others to run into the water as far as they could go to meet them and help to pull them back in.

"What's going on?" Grumpy asked worryingly while Henry jumped out to help them pull Violet and the boat in. "Was that gunfire?"

Before Henry could speak again, Dopey suddenly pointed wildly out in the distance, then grabbed Leroy's arm to get him and everyone to look, then Bashful answered, "No… it's cannon fire."

Everyone finally saw the Jolly Roger, as well as another ship looming up from behind fast, and they could all barely make out the sight of the damage that had already been done. Another cannon suddenly fired towards the Jolly Roger, which luckily missed once more, but they knew that Hook was in real danger. Henry quickly pulled out his cell phone to call his mom now that there was reception again, then told her to come down to the beach as quickly as possible.

Inside the sheriff's station…

After they said goodbye to their loved ones for the day, Emma and Sir Morgan walked back into town again where they split up as Emma headed into work. When lunch time came around, Snow and David arrived at the station with Neal, as well as bags of food that Snow had prepared for all of them, rather than ordering again from Granny's. The Savior was grateful for the distraction, since all she was busy working on for well over an hour now was paperwork.

Emma had begun to explain she had finally gotten a hold of Lily and spoke with her earlier that morning about the anti-Savior's behavior and avoidance, when she received an unexpected call from her son. The call only lasted a few seconds before Emma stood up in a frenzy as David asked her what was wrong. She told her parents that she didn't have time to explain, then immediately reached out to grab them by their arms and poofed them out of the station.

When they found themselves on the beach, neither one of her parents had to ask their daughter again what was wrong, while they all saw the Jolly Roger out on the ocean taking on cannon fire when yet another ball struck the front end of the ship after sailing through the largest sail attached to the main mast as it suddenly caught fire. Henry raced up to his mother where she stood when she spotted him standing with Violet and pulled him in her arms in relief that he was alright.

She looked around for Killian until her son quickly explained, "Killian's still onboard his ship. He told me and Violet to leave him as we took one of the boats so he could draw the other ship's fire, to protect us."

"He really did that?" Sir Morgan asked with surprise as he, Regina, and the two dwarfs suddenly appeared as well and raced down to join the others, then the knight pulled his daughter close as she ran into his arms.

"Who the hell is attacking him?" Regina asked sternly.

Emma pulled away from Henry and started towards the waters as she responded, "I don't care who. I have to help him."

Snow cried out, "Emma… wait!"

David reached out to grab Emma's arm and pulled her back out of instinct to want to protect his daughter when two more cannonballs were fired from both ships against the other, as they both hit their targets. Everyone watched in horror as the Jolly Roger burst into flames and suddenly blew. Emma screamed as David and Snow grabbed her again tightly and held her against them to keep her from collapsing to the ground. Everyone stared ahead at the wreckage and at the other ship as a fire erupted upon its deck as well, then they turned their heads to look at the Charmings with despair and a deep remorse for the loss that effected all of them. None of them could see what happened next and neither could those who were responsible.