"What was that? What just happened?!" Hook demanded the moment he arrived back in his shop with Hook in tow. Hook, a broom he hadn't made from just a few bristles, and one hat that was already showing a promising power boost. Fuck, he could practically feel the thing pulsing from it.

"That was what you signed on for, Captain. Just the cost of doing business with a Dark One," he commented easily, setting the Apprentice's broom, his real broom, down by the glass case and swiftly walking into the back of the shop. Hook followed despite not being invited. He didn't stop him or argue. Hell, he didn't even miss a beat as he summoned the tape from the Apprentice's security camera onto his table before he reached onto the shelves and pulled down the same jar that Hook's hand had come from yesterday. He hoped the fact that he hadn't even bothered to decant it occurred to the pirate.

"Okay, we're done. I've fulfilled our deal. Now take it off," Hook insisted.

Oh, he would…but then…well, if Hook thought that he could get away with blackmailing him that simply, he was going to be sorely mistaken.

He allowed the pirate to have what he wanted, he used his magic to reverse what he'd done and the seal the hand back inside the jar so that it swam suspended, just as it had before. The fact that he replaced flesh with the metal that had been there before was an added kindness.

Hook sighed in relief at it without realizing that he wasn't quite done. Now, it was time for the pirate to see how proper leverage worked. "Our deal actually isn't complete."

"I say it is. You can no longer control me, mate. I just saw you use the real dagger, so I know you're lying to Belle. You've got nothing on me," he dared with eyes squinted.

Oh, he did love a good "checkmate."

Finally, he reached across the table and picked up the security tape he'd summoned. He held it between them, making sure there was no chance Hook didn't see it as he wanted. Proof of blackmail was so much more satisfying than simple blackmail. So much more effective.

"Security tape…from the house we just left. How do you think Miss Swan is gonna react when she finds out what you did to that kindly old man?"

Hook shrugged, unphased. "I know how that device works. And if I'm on there, so are you."

True, however…

He leaned forward, and with his magic, he searched out every image of himself on that film and removed it. With another wave, he filled in the gaps to make it look as he wanted it to. Now, if anyone dared to play that tape they wouldn't find the Dark One and Captain Hook walking through the door, they'd only see Hook walking up to the door, knocking, and pushing his way in when the old man answered. What a lovely trick Zelena had given him the opportunity to learn.

"And now I'm not!" he chuckled to himself. "But you are."

He could feel Hook's emotions rising and changing before him, shifting from anger and irritation to fear and nervousness. He truly hadn't expected this, a fact which only made the whole thing that much sweeter.

"I only did what you asked so I could rid myself of that cursed hand so I could become a better man. Emma will understand that."

"Even when she finds out the truth?" he questioned, already prepared for this line of defense.

"What truth?"

"This hand isn't cursed."

"No, you said…"

"You were right," he admitted with a smile. "'Dark One lies. Dark One tricks.' This hand is nothing but a lump of flesh. The only thing it did was give you permission-permission to be the man you really are…not some puppy dog chasing after the object of his affection, but a ruthless pirate! Who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. I did you a favor. I helped you remember the darkness that lies beneath."

"Then you know that that darkness will have no problem crushing Belle's heart."

Another scenario he was well prepared for. Honestly, the pirate had been alive just as long as he had; when would he learn that the trick to a good blackmail was to be sure all the cards were in your hand?

"If you go after my love…you will surely lose yours. You threatened my marriage, tried to destroy the only light in my life, and for that, you will owe me as long as you live."

"What if I'm willing to take you down with me?"

He couldn't help but laugh at that suggestion. Hook? Willing to take the Dark One down with him? That was a laughable idea. He wasn't willing to take him down with him because he wouldn't be willing to ever go down without fighting in the first place. Because, at the heart of it, Hook was a villain, same as him. Both of them were just trying to get their happy endings and willing to do anything they could to get them and the warmth of a woman's body at night…they'd both pay richly for that privilege. Even if the idea of Hook with the object of his son's affection, his grandson's mother, did stir his blood, he wasn't going to deny the power it had over him, no more than he would deny the power that Belle had over him.

"I think…I know you better than you know yourself, dearie. So here we are, Captain, still in business together. I think…you and I are gonna have some fun," he whispered as he walked away, unconcerned with the Pirate in his private offices. He went back out to the front room, smiling as the pirate took a few minutes to let the consequences of his actions truly sink in. Moments later, he heard something heavy scrape across wood, followed by the breaking of glass. A familiar smell came from the back room just as Hook whipped the curtain out of his way, strode toward the door without looking at it, and slammed it behind him in his wake. Clearly, he wasn't handling his new reality half as well as he thought he would.

But as he returned to his room and saw the jar in a broken heap on the floor, the hand now rotting as the liquid spread, he smiled. This was the strategy. In order to make all this work, to make sure Belle was none the wiser to his current plans, he had to keep his enemy close by. He didn't care if he was happy about it or willing, frankly Hook was less a threat to him unhappy and unwilling. Emotions like that stirred up guilty, sleepless nights, it would make him think about telling Emma and then make him doubt all over again. He'd never tell Emma. And he certainly wouldn't take a step near Belle for now. He couldn't. He was going to be far too busy for that.

Sorry, there is nothing terribly exciting about this chapter. It's everything we saw before.

Thank you, Rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your comments on the previous chapter and for expressing such faith in me for writing not just this fiction but this entire series. I'm so honored to have your faith and know that you are joining me in this. I know we're getting into muddy waters, but I'm going to do my best! We are not yet done with 4x04. We have a couple more chapters to get through, but for now we are done with Hook being blackmailed. Stay tuned, Peace and Happy Reading!