Dead Reckoning

Chapter Twenty-Six

Years ago in Neverland…

"I know about your deal with Pan," David said coldly as he suddenly pulled his sword and put the pointed end to Hook's throat, threateningly forcing the pirate Captain up against the deadly dreamshade behind him without actually pushing him against the poisonous thorns.

"You heard that then?" Hook uttered, a little bit surprised.

Despite feeling weak, the Prince kept his stand against the man he saw as an enemy as he reacted, "Yeah. I heard that."

Killian kept his eyes on the Savior's father as he answered, "Then you know I didn't agree."

"Yeah, you also didn't disagree," David quickly replied and pushed Hook back a bit further.

"Don't you see?" Hook questioned in response as he struggled to keep himself away from the plants despite the force against him. "This is what he wanted, to turn us against each other."

He grunted as David made a move to jab him with the blade still at his throat, then stopped before he struck and answered crossly, "Well, it worked"

Killian glance back at the thorns as he pleaded with David to stop by saying, "You're making the poison spread quicker, mate."

"I don't care," the younger man firmly replied. "I just have to last long enough to get the sextant back to my family. Now take me to it!"

"My brother didn't lose his satchel up here," the pirate responded in all honesty. "I made that up."

David exhaled sharply, struggling to breathe while the poison continued to spread making him weaker and weaker, then with confusion he asked, "What about the insignia?"

The Prince finally let up as he pulled his sword away from the other man's throat, then Hook rubbed his neck and inhaled deeply while he answered, "I dropped it on the path so you'd find it."

"Why?" David questioned again.

"Because I knew you'd never make the journey here if I told you the truth," Killian replied in frustration.

With disbelief, Emma's father stated, "The truth? The truth… you brought me here to die?"

The Captain shouted back, "I brought you here to save your life!"

"You're a liar!" the Prince retorted angrily and grunted when he attempted to punch his enemy in his face, which Hook was easily able to dodge as he then struck David himself in order to knock him unconscious so he could do what he needed to do before the man got himself killed.

Killian looked down at David in frustration, yet sadly, then he knelt down over him as he took the sheriff's flask off of him and pulled its strap over his head in order to secure it at his side. The pirate cursed as he then pulled a cloth up over his mouth and nose, pulled his cutlass from its scabbard, and struggled to cut through the deadly plants and thorns while he grunted at the strain, being very careful to avoid being scratched or cut. Once he was finally through and at the spring that had saved his brother's life for a time, Hook filled the flask with the magical waters, then made his way back to the dying man, panting and sighing deeply as he struggled to get his own breathing back under control after all his efforts.

"Mate, wake up," Hook uttered as he slapped David lightly against his cheek to try to bring him back around.

He coughed once he awoke and upon seeing the pirate over him once more, David shouted, "Hey, get off me!"

Killian tried to get the struggling man trying to sit up and backing away from him back under control as he called out himself saying firmly, "Hey, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa. Look. In this canteen is the water that will stop the dreamshade, that will save your life."

"That's why you brought me up here," David responded as he then slowly began to understand what Hook had done, though not his true motives for doing so.

"Yes," the older man answered in frustration.

"You knew I wouldn't come on my own, that I wouldn't leave my family," Charming continued as he stared at Hook in disbelief.

Killian curtly replied, "That you were stubborn? Yes, I gathered that rather quickly." The Prince coughed again and inhaled deeply, then he forcefully responded, "Well, give it to me."

"There's something you need to know first," Hook quickly answered as he pulled the flask away from the man reaching out for it, then continued with more veracity in his voice in order to make his point stronger. "Because its power comes from the island, once you drink this water, you can never leave Neverland."

"It's a small price to pay for what I get in return…" David replied quietly with a nod of his head. "The chance to save my grandson… and to help my family get home."

Killian released his hold on the flask as David took it from him, then raised it to the man before finally drinking from it. Almost immediately, the Prince began to feel the effects of the magical waters as the poison began to disappear and the pain within him vanished, then at last he began to laugh with joy, while the pirate Captain did so more calmly, happy to have been able to help Emma's father, rather than kill him like Pan wanted him to do, like a small part of himself wanted to do.

Hook finally reached out his hand to help David stand when he was cured, then the Prince looked at the villain with surprise as he asked, "One question… Why risk your life for me when there wasn't anything for you in return?"

"I didn't do it for you, mate," the pirate responded cheekily with a wink, and David knew he was right to assume that he had really risked his life to help him for Emma's sake.

Once their course was set and the Jewel of the Realm passed through the portal from the ocean outside of Storybrooke into the oceans surrounding Neverland, Liam stepped away from the steering wheel and quietly made his way over to where David stood as the younger man was looking out over the ship's side keeping watch for the island he never expected to see again.

Both Leroy and Sir Morgan kept themselves busy continuing on with the heavy work that the Captain's crew usually did such as manning the riggings and setting the sails in their proper positions per Liam's orders. David had already done a lot of the work, until Grumpy told him to take it easy for awhile, knowing just how much their Prince dreaded coming on this journey and that he was already weary, as well as worried about their friend.

"This world is darker as I remember," Liam said quietly, interrupting David's thoughts as he appeared at his side, then kept their eyes trained on the invisible horizon before them. "When Killian and I first came here all those years ago, there was still sunlight. While this realm frightened me, I thought then it still had its beauty. What happened here?"

Charming finally looked over at the older Jones as he stated darkly, "Pan is what happened here. Pan and the Lost Boys. You might not have known the demon child… that's what your brother always called Pan… You might not have known him long or even knew just how evil he really was, but Hook did. And so did we. When we returned home once we saved Henry, we brought Pan and some of the Lost Boys back with us, most of whom we set free after we knew Pan's influence over them was gone. But many more of the boys remained here, the darkest of them. It appears they've continued the ways Pan taught them."

Liam nodded and then turned his head to look over at the Savior's father as he spoke again saying, "Killian expressed to me his gratitude he feels towards not only Emma, but towards you and the rest of your family and friends. I wish to express mine to you now. Thank you for being there for my brother when I couldn't be. Although I suppose it all worked out for the best… If I hadn't have died and Killian didn't take the course he did, then he never would have lived this long and he never would have found the love and happiness I always wanted for him. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your relationship with him? I know you're friends and that you care for him, but…"

"We didn't get along at first," David answered, as he couldn't stop himself from letting out a small laugh upon saying so. "Not even at all really. We were both far too stubborn. Your brother was a pirate and a villain, neither of which I could see past in order to see him as anything else. Especially when he started making advances towards my daughter even though he never treated Emma, like how I suppose most other pirates might treat their women. Plus there's the fact that when Emma and Snow first met him, he tried to kill them. So… there's that. He hated me for awhile as I hated him, especially because he saw me as someone standing in his way of winning Emma's heart, which he did despite me. And I'm glad he did because honestly, I didn't judge him fairly either."

"My wife always saw the good in people and believed they could change no matter what they've done in their pasts," the Prince continued more solemnly, while he struggled to think of his son-in-law as his usual, smug self and not lying within a hospital bed dying as he grew older and frailer within a matter of hours rather than years. "I was never as good at seeing the good within others after they've wronged us or anyone else. Then, Hook saved my life when he brought us here to save Henry from Pan and I too was poisoned by dreamshade. He claims he only did so for Emma, so she might begin to see him as something other than just a pirate. But I realize now that he cared more than he ever let on, about how people really saw him I mean. For a long time, most of us only ever saw him as what he showed on the outside because he was too afraid to show anything else. We saw a scoundrel and a villain. If we could have accepted him sooner, it would have helped him become the man he is now a whole lot sooner. Despite her own heartache, Emma saw the good in your brother. She convinced him he could be a part of something good and worth fighting for. Hook's done a lot for us all since then and while he sometimes puts on an act, pretending to be all smug while being the hero he is, I know that most of the time he doesn't really believe he deserves the gratitude we've shown him. Two hundred years of villainy is a long time to just forget about all of the horrible things he's done. I can only imagine how difficult it is for him to put all of his past behind him, yet he's done amazingly well. It's why I was happy and grateful Zeus returned him to us after Hook died, to Emma. And why I see him now as my son, apart from the major age difference between us of course. Your brother is a good man and I'm proud of him. I was happy to have been able to give him my daughter's hand in marriage when he asked me for it."

Liam stared at David with surprise at first upon listening to him go into so much detail of his and his brother's relationship, then he smiled and finally replied, "Thank you for sharing all that with me, David. I…"

All of a sudden, from the opposite side of the ship Grumpy called out, "Land! We're here!"

"I take it your ship is cloaked like before when you first arrived in Storybrooke?" the Prince asked as he and Liam both stared ahead at the island, while the other two men with them joined them.

"It is," the older Jones responded with concern. "We'll have the element of surprise. I just hope we can maintain the surprise and find the spring first before we run into trouble."