Good Form - Chapter 6
—
"Gold," Emma said as they entered the apartment, "Come on, please. We really shouldn't be here."
"I don't think he's listening," Henry told his mom.
The three of them went looking through the apartment as Majo stood at the door and watched them.
"You find something, dearie?" Gold asked as Emma was inspecting a dreamcatcher.
"Nothing. Uh, it just looks like a dream catcher."
"Yeah, well, if it's nothing, why are you still holding it?"
Emma turned away and Gold pointed at her, "You're lying to me."
"Just get back to looking, okay?"
"No, no, no. You saw something. Tell me."
Emma turned to the crocodile. "You don't know what you're talk-"
"Tell me!"
The saviour turned to her son. "Henry, go wait in the bathroom."
"But I can help-"
"Henry, go!" Emma yelled and Henry went off.
Majo looked between Emma and Gold and then walked after Henry, "I'll go talk to him."
The two of them stood in the bathroom and Henry sat on the rim of the bathtub.
The warlock leaned against the door and looked at the kid, "You know she only wants the best for you, right?"
The kid nodded and then looked up at the warlock. "I thought you don't like my mom."
Majo waved off, "Yeah, I don't really like her but I've seen what Rumplestiltskin has done to people when angry and I really don't want that to happen to you."
"Why? You don't even know me."
"That's true, but you're still just a kid. I don't like seeing children get hurt."
They fell into silence after that.
—
The two of them heard yelling and Henry's eyebrows shot up.
"No, no, no. Don't even think about it," Majo, who had been at the far end of the bathroom said but Henry was already out of the room and by the arguing adults.
"Mom?" He asked, "Wh-What's going on?"
"Hey," Emma tried to calm him down.
Majo now stood at the wall, yet to be noticed by the others.
"Who's this?" Bealfire asked.
Emma looked at him and then back to Henry. "My son."
"What?"
"Is that Bealfire?" Henry asked.
"I need you to stay in the other room for a little while longer, okay? Come on," Emma told him.
Henry went to walk back out of the room but was interrupted by Bealfire.
"Wait. H-How old are you?"
Emma walked with her son, pushing him back towards the bathroom, "Don't answer him."
"How old are you, kid?!"
Henry turned around, "Eleven! Now, why is everyone yelling?"
"He's eleven?" Baelfire asked Emma.
"Mom?" Henry's head turned to his mother.
Baelfire bit his lip. "Is this my son?"
"No," Henry said, "My dad was a fireman. He-he died." He looked at his mother with tears in his eyes, "That's what you t-told me. You said..." He looked at Baelfire.
"Is this...my son?" the man asked again.
Emma brushed the air out of Henry's face and cupped his cheeks, whispering, "Yes."
Henry stepped back from her and shook his head, then turned and climbed out of the window and onto the fire escape stairs.
Emma looked down sadly and then followed her son, "Henry!"
The Croc turned to his son, "Baelfire..." he touched his arm but his son flinched back, "Please. Please, all I want is a chance to be heard."
Baelfire turned away and spotted Majo in the corner of the room. "What- What are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"I-look, Bae I'm sorry for what happened, I-"
"Get out!"
"Look, I just wanted to tell-"
"I don't want to hear it, get out!"
Majo sighed and walked out of the apartment.
—
Majo was walking behind The Dark One and the Saviour as they walked through New York. She was listening to music again to not have to talk with anyone. They just wanted to go back home at this point but they had to keep an eye on her foe.
Baelfire, or Neal as he called himself here, went into a shop with Henry to get themselves Pizza. Majo had once tried it but never really liked it.
As the two of them came out again, Majo turned off her music and looked at what Henry was holding.
"What is that?"
"It's Pizza," Henry told her.
"No, no, no." She made a hologram of a thin piece of dough with tomatoes, olive oil and oregano appear, "This is Pizza."
Henry was about to answer but Neal snapped, "Stop that, people will notice."
Majo let the picture disappear, "Mundanes don't notice anything," they mumbled and put in their earphones again.
—
They all walked back to Neal's apartment to get Henry's camera so they could go to a museum. What would be so great at that, Majo didn't know. They had only once been to a museum and bored themselves half to death.
Sure, it was great learning about the past but not if you had lived through half of the stuff they told you.
Majo followed Neal and Henry to their apartment and waited for them to get the camera, although Majo didn't know how they were planning to take it with them into a museum.
Suddenly, Neal ran past them and Majo quickly packed away her earplugs. She followed him and saw Gold leaning against the gate to the apartments, clearly wounded in some way.
"What the hell is going on?" Neal demanded of the group.
Emma looked at something to their side, "One of your dad's enemies found us."
Majo made their way towards them to see who it was.
"Killian!" She rushed to him and found that he had, once again, been knocked out. They quickly scanned him with their magic and saw that he seemed fine, his ribs were still healing but he wasn't dying.
Neal and Emma brought the Crocodile into Neal's apartment while Majo stayed with her Captain.
—
As the saviour rushed past her with her family, Majo looked up. Neal had stopped next to her and Emma looked at him. "What are you waiting for?"
"We need her permission to get onto the ship."
"What? Is that some kind of pirate's codex?"
"No," Neal sighed, "But they never leave their ship unprotected. They have this spell that Majo usually puts on it. You can only board the ship with the allowance of the Captain or the lieutenant."
Emma groaned, "Please Majo, we really need the ship."
Neal nodded, "And you kinda owe me."
Emma and Majo both looked at him and the warlock slowly nodded. "Fine, but only if we get on it too."
"What?" Neal asked, "So you can murder my father while he's weakened?"
"As appealing as it sounds, no. But Killian and I are not leaving the ship. It's our home. I promise that we won't harm your family while they're on board."
He hesitated for a moment but finally agreed, "Fine."
Majo teleported herself onboard the Jolly Rodger and then used their magic to float Killian into the Captain's cabin.
She got back on the upper deck and waited for the others to arrive.
As they finally did, Majo directed them to put Gold into the crew's quarters, as far away as possible from them and their Captain. She then sat on a stool next to the Captain's bed and began to read a book.
—
As they arrived in Storybrooke the saviour's family left just before Killian awoke. He groaned and then looked at Majo who was staring him down.
"Before you say anything, I had planned to do it with you but I couldn't find you and as I saw him, I just couldn't stop."
Majo sighed, "It's fine."
"It is?"
"He's not dying. Not right now anyway."
"What?" He sat up, "Why not."
"I-I saw Bae again and as it turns out, he's Henry's father and well, we kinda owed him for, you know, so I let them use the Jolly Rodger-"
"Are you insane?"
"Maybe," Majo sighed. "I just told them we'd leave them in peace while they're on-board but now they're not any more so..."
"We can try again," he sighed.
He brought them up-to-date on his brief alliance with Cora and Regina, including their betrayal and how they most likely already had the Dark One's dagger by now.
—
The next morning, Majo went to a diner called Granny's and bought some pancakes. She brought them back to the ship and sat one in front of Killian.
"What's that?" Killian asked.
"It's called a pancake."
Killian looked from the pancake to Majo and smirked, "So this is what you were attempting to make when you almost burned down the ship?"
Majo sent him a glare and the Captain chuckled but then winced.
"Could you?"
Majo rolled their eyes and quickly healed all of his wounds.
His posture straightened. "Ah, much better. Now I'll try how non-ashed pancakes taste."
—
In the evening, they heard someone try and fail to board the ship. As they walked on deck, they saw how an unknown man was standing up with the help of an equally unknown woman.
As the two saw the pirates, the man said: "We wanna offer you a job. We'll help you take out the Dark One in return."
Killian chuckled, "How can you help us?"
The woman replied, "We know how to kill magical creatures."
Majo stiffened a bit.
Killian looked at her and then back to the couple. "And the price?"
"I need you to help me find someone," the man told them. "My father–he was taken in this town a long time ago."
"Why the bloody hell do you think I'd be able to help you find your father?"
"Not you, her," the man said and pointed at Majo. "We know what she is and even if that fails, you both know the woman that took him. Regina. Do we have a deal?"
"Do you have something of him?" Majo asked.
The man, Greg, nodded and gave her a brown keychain.
Majo took it and their hands began to glow blue as they closed theri eyes and concentrated. As she opened her eyes again, Greg looked at her expectingly.
"And?"
The warlock shook her head. "Nothing. Are you sure he's still alive?"
"Yes! Yes, I am!" Greg yelled.
Killian stepped forward, "Calm down, mate. Maybe it has to do with the keychain."
"But it was my father's, he gave it to me before..."
Majo looked at him pointedly, "If he gave it to you, it's yours, not his. We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."
—
"Captain," Regina said as Killian entered her office. Majo followed after him and glared at Regina from next to the door. "I'm surprised you'd show your face in this town, once you noticed your murder didn't take."
Killian stepped in front of the ex-queen, "We've got bigger problems. That man, Greg Mendell–the one who hit me the night I shot Belle–well, he's in league with some woman. They came to my ship last evening and they want us to make an alliance with you and then betray you. And we say, let's make an actual alliance and well, we'll skip the unpleasant betrayal business."
"Why should I trust you?"
"I took up with your mother for a reason."
"Yes, she was the only one able to save your little warlock friend."
"Not only that," Killian shook his head although that was the only reason, "perhaps the four of us could reestablish our alliance."
"My mother is dead."
"Well, that..." Killian faked a sad face, "Is sad news indeed. I'm sorry." He and Majo both knew that he wasn't sorry. "She will be missed." No, she won't. "I will tell you this, Regina: I knew her well enough to know that what she wanted most in the world was to see you win. Now, we failed in our revenge. The best tribute we could give her is to help you with yours."
"Well, can I..." Regina sighed, "Let me show you something." She walked past him to some plants growing in her room.
"Escape plan?" Majo asked, recognizing the magic beans.
"Oh, she'd have loved that," Killian added. "She wanted those beans here so she could go back and start over with you."
"And now I'm going to do that with Henry...If you'll help me. This is how we're going to escape the total destruction of Storybrooke...if I can trust you."
"Now when you say 'Total Destruction,' you're including the crocodile, yes?" Killian asked.
The ex-queen chuckled, "Oh, yes. Rumplestiltskin will die if you help me."
—
Regina and Killian left the office while Majo stayed behind, looking around. The walls of the office were covered in black and white wallpaper depicting trees. In general, the whole office was made up of black and white, with the only accent being a bowl of bright red apples on a coffee table.
As she caught up with them, they were in the library, in front of the elevator. Majo quickly walked towards them and followed the two into the metal contraption.
Regina waved her hand and let the elevator close itself and go down.
As it arrived at the bottom with some whirs and clanks, Majo quickly stepped out of it, followed by Killian and Regina.
"You ever wonder if this constant pursuit for revenge is the reason why no one cares for us?" Killian asked. "I mean, when all this is over, and we know the crocodile is dead, for good and all, we'll have nothing to look forward to. Our lives will be empty. Revenge may sate your being, but don't misunderstand me, my dear. It's an end, not a beginning."
Regina looked at the Captain, "For you, maybe. Not me. I have Henry. And destroying Storybrooke? Well...that seems like a small price to pay to allow us to live in peace."
—
Many Years Before
"Captain, you have to give them the boy. They've killed for less," Smee told Killian, "The sooner we give them what they want, the sooner they let us alone."
"No, I can't part with him now, not when I know he's the Dark One's son." He nodded at Majo who then walked underdeck.
She walked into the room Baelfire was in. "Hey, Baelfire. The Lost Boys are looking for you. They want to bring you to him-"
"No, No, I can't go there. Please don't let them take me."
"I know," Majo told the boy, "and I know you don't like magic but you have to trust me now." They quickly waved their hand and made him invisible and silent to everyone but her. She then summoned the book they were currently reading to her hand and began reading.
Soon, the door was thrown open and Majo pretended to be shocked as a blond guy came barging in.
Baelfire quickly climbed into the ceiling to avoid being walked into. The blond guy with the hood searched the room and Killian entered after him.
"Told you, no one but me crew."
The blond looked at him. "You're new to this land, which means I should warn you. Do you know what he does to people who lie to him?"
"No," Killian shook his head and looked to the side where Majo was and then back to the Lost Boy, "But I gather it hurts."
"It does. He rips your shadow right from your body. R-r-r-r-rip!"
Killian just smirked at him.
"If you find him," the blond said, "you know who he belongs to. Good-bye, Captain."
As the boy and his companion were gone, Majo waved her hand once more and made Baelfire visible again.
Baelfire looked at Majo and Hook. "I thought pirates only cared about themselves."
"Well, you have a lot to learn, boy," Killian told him.
Baelfire then looked to Majo, "So, you can do magic?"
Majo nodded and lifted the glamour of herself, "I'm a warlock."
The boy looked at them, "You know my father once looked normal too but the magic also changed him. That's what magic does, it changes people."
The warlock shook their head. "No, I was born like this. My eyes, what we call a warlock mark, just became visible like this when I was about six months old but it was always in me. This is a kind of magic that you are just born with, not one that you can gain."
—
Baelfire had asked Majo what her favourite book was so she had gotten into a detailed description of her favourite character. "You know what? I'm goin' to get you the book."
The two of them walked into Killian's cabin and Majo got her book. She had given it to Killian in hopes he'd read it but they doubted he ever did.
Bae was standing in the doorway when his eyes landed on a drawing on Killian's desk. It was the drawing of Milah.
"What is this?" he asked and picked it up.
"Bae, it's not what it seems."
"Who is it?" he asked but it was clear that he already knew the answer.
Majo sighed, "Your mother."
Bae stormed onto the main deck. "Face me, Villain!" he yelled at Killian. And swung the blade Majo had given him when he joined the crew at the Captain who quickly ducked.
"Whoa! Whoa. What's this about, Bae?"
The boy held up the drawing. "I found this...on your desk. It's...It's my mother. How'd you get it!?"
"Bae-"
"How?!" He swung his sword again and Killian ducked. "You're the pirate that killed her!" he brought the sword down on Killian who blocked it with his hook and threw it to the side.
"I didn't kill your mother. We fell in love. And we ran off together. Your father lied to you. He was too much of a coward to tell you the truth. He tore her heart out and crushed it in front of me. And I've spent every moment since then wanting revenge."
Baelfire looked at Killian, "She abandoned me?"
"Not a single day went past when your mother didn't regret leaving you, Baelfire. We talked about going back for you when you were old enough. Perhaps fate brought us together so that I can make good on those plans. We can live the life that Milah wanted for us, as a family."
"No! Stay back. You used me! You wanted to kill my father!"
"Yes, I did."
Baelfire's voice was breaking, "You tore apart my family, as sure as if you'd ripped her heart out yourself," at this point, he had tears streaming down his face.
"Bae, don't."
"Take me back to my real family, the Darlings."
—
Majo noticed the ship turning and went up to the main deck. "What are you doing?" They asked Killian. "Has he changed his mind?"
Killian stayed quiet.
"Killian?"
Still no answer.
"Killian! What the hell did you do?!" Majo yelled.
"I gave Bae to him!" he yelled back.
"What?" her voice was barely above a whisper.
Killian walked past them without meeting their eyes.
Majo was left standing on the maindeck, looking into the dark night in shock.
—
A/N: I like to think that the characters can survive getting knocked out repeatedly without sustaining any brain damage solely because they're all (mostly) fairy tale characters. Also, Majo is unaware that she and Killian should have received brain damage by now because they left the real world in the 1850's and have no idea of anything pertaining modern medicine, lol.
