They travelled through the portal, as they all clutched to the ship they all dreaded what was to come. Eventually they came out of the portal and were sailing in Neverland waters. The ride then got a little bit smoother as they were no longer travelling against it. But Killian was still just as tense. That was when they saw it, everyone else couldn't take their eyes off it but Adelaide looked to Killian.
"Is that it?"
"Aye, Neverland." Killian said as Adelaide went to stand with her husband, knowing this wasn't going to be easy for him. Neither of them said anything as they watched Neverland approach.
"Why are we slowing down? In case you didn't know my son's life is in danger!"
"Oh I know, my hot-headed Queen. The plan is to bring us to the far side of the island, link up with the widest part of the river and then we sail right through take him by surprise. Oh the irony..."
"What irony?" Regina asked as Adelaide walked away from the conversation, she couldn't concentrate. Neither of them noticed.
"Oh, I spent more time than I care to remember trying to leave this place to kill Rumpelstiltskin to avenge my wife. And here I am, sailing right back into its heart with him as my guest of honour. I may have my wife back but this is not quite the happy ending I was hoping for."
"Greg Mendell said something funny to me: he said I'm a villain and that villains don't get happy endings. You believe that?"
"Oh God I hope not," Killian said not being able to help himself, "Or we've wasted our lives and Adelaide would never forgive me."
"Speaking of her, where is she?"
"I don't know," Killian said turning, noticing that his wife wasn't with him.
He then saw the door to her chambers open, he left the wheel and went in there. He saw her looking around at the room. She could remember him telling her that he had changed nothing and it was true. Her hair brush still lay exactly where she'd left it, she picked it up and traced the details on the back – remembering a life that she was forced to leave behind. A life that had been so amazing. She had wanted for nothing.
"It's all right love,"
"It's all the same, as though it never happened. As thought this is a bad dream and in a minute I'm going to wake up in a world where none of this ever happened."
"Would that make you happy?"
"I don't even know anymore," Adelaide said putting the hair brush down, she wanted that life. Of course she did, but her life now was full of such joy – full of family. "What happened to you, in Neverland. You've been dark and tense since we arrived."
"This is where I was my worst here. I was... a different person entirely."
"Well I'm not going to let you be him again, understood,"
"Yes ma'am," Killian said kissing her lightly, hating that they were both back here – he'd never wanted her to stand on Neverland's shore.
*
Captain Silver's men were out all night. They had docked and the crew had gone out, which had made Killian very happy. It meant that just for one night he didn't have to worry about Adelaide. Ever since they'd been thirteen he'd noticed the way the men looked at Adelaide, it hadn't bothered him until he'd over heard some of the crew talking. Since that day he and Liam had looked out for her – both of them protective of her, both for very different reasons. Late at night Adelaide would sneak into Killian's chambers. They would sit and play cards (they'd borrowed the cards from one of the crew, the only member of the crew who looked out for them) until the crew got back.
"Do you wish..." Adelaide started causing Killian to look back up at him. "Do you wish that were weren't ever here? That we never got stuck here."
"All the time,"
"I heard people talking, in the last town we docked. They said there was a place where children never have to grow up. Where there are no adults to keep us on a boat, to threaten us every day."
"It sounds wonderful,"
"Would you come with me, to this Neverland if we could go,"
"If we'd take Liam, of course." Killian said as he put down his next card.
"We could, there's been this shadow and it told me it could take us to Neverland, on the condition that we would never be able to return. We could leave. We could run."
"We could, but we won't." Killian said looking her dead in the eye, knowing that he wanted to promise what he was about to say knowing that it was highly unlikely but wanted her to have faith in him. "One day, Liam and I, we're going to get enough money to buy our way off this ship and we will take you with us. Then we can travel everywhere and anywhere we want."
"It should wonderful,"
*
Adelaide and Killian watched from afar as Emma fought with her parents. It was hard for them to not involve themselves after all it was Adelaide's family. Emma was right. But so was Snow and David. Adelaide could see it from both sides, she'd been in both places.
"Is it bad that I think Emma's right."
"No, Emma's realistic." Killian answered knowing that Adelaide felt bad. "Henry is gone, and that isn't going to change whether we see the good or not. Emma... grew up like us, where fairy tale's were only in books."
"It's just so wrong..."
"Love we will find him." Killian said as Snow told Emma the same thing.
"No you won't." Gold's voice came as he suddenly appeared back on deck. He'd changed back into his old Rumpelstiltskin attire.
"Oh, that's a great use of our time." Killian said criticising Gold, unable to stop himself from mocking the old rival. "A wardrobe change!"
"I'm going to get Henry,"
"We agreed to do this,"
"We made no such agreement," Gold said which was fair, they didn't but it was implied.
"Why are you doing this?" Adelaide asked almost not believing him when he stood there. "We all care for Henry, we should do this together so why?"
"Because I want to succeed,"
"What makes you think I'm going to fail?" Emma asked, standing up for her son.
"Well how could you not? You don't believe in your parents, or in magic or even yourself."
"I slayed a dragon," Emma stated matter-of-factly, "I think I believe."
"Only what was shown to you, when have you ever taken a real leap of faith? You know the kind where there's absolutely no proof? I've known you some time Miss Swan and sadly, despite everything you've been through. You're still just that... bail bonds-person looking for evidence. Well dearie, that's not going to work in Neverland."
"I'll do whatever it takes,"
"Well you just need someone to tell you what that is," Gold said, and though no one else said it they knew that Gold was right. Emma didn't believe, and she needed to believe now. "Sorry dearie, our foe is too fearsome for hand holding. Neverland is a place where imagination runs wild and sadly yours doesn't," He then spun his cane which fell to the deck and the second it hit the deck Gold was gone.
*
Killian watched as the seas steadied up, Adelaide stood talking to Regina when he noticed that Emma was gone. He knew she'd lost a lot in the last day, he knew how that felt. He knew how that tormented a person. So he went to speak to her.
"Oh," He said as he went under deck to see that Emma was training, she was doing pull-ups where his men used to sleep. "Don't stop on my account."
"Wouldn't think of it,"
"What are you doing?" Killian asked after watching Emma roll her eyes before she continued to do pull ups.
"Getting ready for a fight,"
"Well I've never known you to need to get ready for a fight, I thought it was a natural state. Don't let Rumpelstiltskin get you down love,"
"What do you want?"
"To give you something. I know what it's like to lose everything, I lost Adelaide the same day she became my wife... I know what it's like. Did you know Baelfire and I once spent a lot of time together,"
"He was always Neal to me,"
"Yeah, right," Killian said remembering that she had a completely different relationship to the boy than he did. He went over to a chest, that hadn't been opened since Baelfire had last been on board. "This was his, I thought you might like it."
"I didn't realise you were sentimental."
"I'm not, unless it comes to Adelaide." Killian said realising that he actually was quite sentimental. "I just thought you could use it where we're going, you know... to fight."
"Thanks," Emma said as Killian handed her a drink before he filled it from his flash.
"To Neal."
"To Neal,"
"How long was he with you?" Emma asked interested to know.
"Long enough for me to know that I miss him too,"
"What was that?"
"Adelaide?" Killian shouted as they both headed back up deck after a loud hit shook the ship, he knew what was coming but he didn't know if they were ready for it. As they got on the deck he saw her doing her best to keep the wheel straight, but the wind was almost too strong for her. Snow and David then rushed over trying to help.
"What the hell are you trying to do?"
"Trying to keep it steady!"
"Hold on!"
"Prepare for attack!" Killian shouted wanting them all to be prepared despite the fact that they were far off being prepared. He then took over the wheel from Adelaide but she stayed there as he fought against the wind
"Be more specific,"
"If you've got a weapon then grab it!" Is all that Killian managed to stay as he fought against the ship to have control of the vessel. That was when they heard the screeching in the distance and Adelaide finally understood what was coming and pulled out her dagger from her pocket, knowing they needed all they'd got to stay safe.
"What's out there? A shark, a whale?"
"A kraken?"
"Worse," Hook confirmed her scared thoughts as Snow, David and Emma looked over the side almost not believing what they were seeing. "Mermaids."
"Mermaids?"
"Yes and they're quite unpleasant,"
"You think?"
"I'll try and outrun them," Killian said as he almost re-gained control of the ship as the screeching continued.
"How many of them are there?"
"I will not be capsized by a fish!" David shouted before he rushed over at the other side of the ship to start to load the cannon to aim at the mermaids. That was when Snow spotted a net on the other side of the ship.
"Emma!"
"What are you doing?"
"Fishing." Snow said, and with the help from her daughter they lifted a heavy net overboard. As the cannon set fire one of the mermaids then swam directly into the net, "We caught one!"
"No, you can't bring it on board!" Adelaide shouted to her sister but she wasn't sure she heard as another cannon shot went off as Emma and Snow pulled the net on deck.
"One? There are dozens of them... enough of this," Regina shouted mad, that was when she threw fireballs into the water directly at the mermaids. Which eventually caused them to swim away... at least for now. "There, they're gone."
"Not all of them! What about that one?" Snow shouted as Regina used her magic to bring it on deck.
*
Adelaide felt the boat rock and she knew they were under attack by mermaids... again. Captain Silvers crew wasn't very good at avoiding them. She never liked to stay alone when they were stuck doing a mermaid attack. So she snuck out of her small hiding spot that she had gotten used to sleeping in and headed to where the Jones brothers were always sleeping. She normally was never caught, but then again most of the time they were all upper deck helping out the attack. So she headed to where the boys would be when she heard a shout.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Nowhere."
"Is that so," The man said coming over to her and she could feel herself shaking, she was scared. The man put his hand up to her face and felt it, and he enjoyed the way she flinched at his touch. He then moved his hands down to her shoulders to where her cardigan sat and went to pull it down, she then tried to fight back. "Stop fighting me wrench!"
"Please don't do this,"
"Silence!" He shouted, striking her round the face so roughly that it caused her to fall onto the ship floor. She knew what was going to come next, or at least she knew what to expect. But it never came, so when she finally dared to she instead saw that Liam was holding Killian back with the other crew member walked off with his face swollen and bleeding.
"Calm down brother," Liam hissed into his ear, knowing better than to let Killian's anger getting the worse of him.
"Killian..." Adelaide asked, confused as to how this hand happened. Killian was still mad, but all it took was one look at her for everything in him to subside. He wasn't calm now, just he knew that he needed to help her. Without saying another word, he shook off Liam and picked up Adelaide into his arms, he then carried her back to their corner. He sat with her in his arms clutching her close, to make sure she was okay, as she sat crying into his shoulder. Liam watched as his brother kept his emotions under control, he couldn't wait for the day that they both realised they'd been in love with each other the day they'd met.
*
"Get that thing off my ship!" Killian shouted knowing better than to keep in on board.
"No, now we have a hostage,"
"I hate to say it but I'm with Hook," David said, which didn't surprise anyone. "Those things just tried to kill us."
"And perhaps we should find out why,"
"How Regina?" Adelaide asked but then she saw the look on Regina's face and knew exactly what that look meant, after all she saw it plenty of times on Rumpelstiltskin, "By torturing her?"
"Well if need be sure?"
"What the hell is that?" Emma asked as the mermaid grabbed her conch shell and blew into it, the sound that came out was like a horn. The mermaid looked too pleased if you asked Adelaide.
"A warning," The mermaid said with a smirk evident on her face as another lightning bolt appeared, "Let me go... or die,"
"What is this? What did you do?"
"Let me go,"
"Not until you tell us," Regina said, moving David out of the way for fear that he might do it. After all mermaids had that sort of effect on men, however David wasn't faced. Not with his wife stood next to him. "Or we make you tell us?"
"Threatening her isn't the way to motivate her,"
"Well, I'm all out of fish food."
"Doesn't matter if you get her to talk, you can't trust her." Killian said speaking to the group, after all he and Adelaide were the only ones with real mermaid experience. He wanted her off his ship as soon as possible, "Mermaids are liars,"
"Of course they are,"
"Maybe they're just scared of Pan, if we let her go maybe they'll be on our side."
"Or maybe she and her friends will come right back to kill us,"
"Oh, I don't need my friends to kill you," The mermaid said faking innocence. Adelaide felt like there was something more going on. "You'll kill yourselves, now let me go."
"What the hell?" David shouted as a lightning storm started above them, it was getting stronger by the minute. The mermaid smirked as the storm worsened.
"It's a storm, she called it. Don't let her go!" Killian shouted knowing that everything was going to get worse, he'd only ever heard bad stories about a mermaid's storm. "She'll swim off and leave us all to die, at least with her we've got leverage."
"Stop the storm, then we let you go."
"That's more like it, Charming," Regina said laughing as David held his sword to the mermaids' neck, the mermaid whimpered and David realised what he was doing when he looked up to see his family's face – with one look he could tell they disapproved and were disappointed. "Filet the fish,"
"No, we're not barbarians."
"What we're going to be is dead,"
"Not necessarily!" Adelaide shouted making everyone including Killian turn to her surprised as she continued, "We can turn her around, we've outrun many a storm together we can out run this one."
"Make it stop or die,"
"We are not killers!" Snow shouted as Killian tried to turn the vessel with help from Adelaide as Regina continued to threaten the mermaid.
"Yes you are, and you've brought this death upon yourselves."
"This is why we should free her!" Adelaide then noticed that as the shouting and arguing increased so did the storm.
"That feel good nonsense, Snow might play in the Enchanted Forest but this... this is Neverland."
"Keep your grip pirate!"
"It wasn't me mate!" Killian shouted and Adelaide recognised the way the ship felt, they were taking on water for sure. "It was the ship – we're taking on water!"
"Now may I resume killing her!"
"No!" Adelaide, David and Snow all shouted at the same time.
"You kill her and her kind will have a personal vendetta against us."
"Look the queen is right," Killian said, not willing to risk this anymore. If he couldn't get the Jolly Roger under control then everyone there was in danger. Including Adelaide. "They've already tried killing us."
"Stop! That's enough, we need to think this through."
"I already have," Regina said, before not hesitating to turn the mermaid into a wooden statue with a wave of her hand before they could do anything to stop her. "There. That should stop the storm."
"Regina! What have you done?"
"No," Regina said, looking where Adelaide was looking. A massive tidal wave loomed miserably over the Jolly Roger.
"What have you done!" As they all got a grip as the Jolly Roger attempted to climb the tidal wave that was created by the mermaid.
*
Killian was watching as Adelaide enjoyed herself at the king's ball. Every time the Jewel of the Realm came into dock the King held a ball in the crew's honour – and so they came every time. Killian hated these ball but Adelaide loved them. So every time they would come. Killian wasn't sure how to dance but he wasn't going to change it. After all he knew what that was half of what made Adelaide smile. Killian knew that Adelaide's smile would be gone as soon as he told her the news. The Jewel of the Realm was leaving again the next morning to help fight against a pack of mermaids that were daring to get closer and closer to the kingdom. They needed to stop them. He knew that Adelaide wouldn't want him to go.
"Killian come dance with me," Adelaide said pulling him onto the dance floor, Killian didn't even resist as she took his hands to dance.
"Love," Killian said as the dance commenced, not wanting to tell her but knowing he had no choice other than to do tell her. "There's something I need to tell you."
"Whatever it is, surely it can wait,"
"I'm afraid not love. We'll be sailing out again tomorrow morning,"
"But you only just got back," Adelaide said, and Killian could hear the disappointment in her voice. It felt as though they never got chance to see each other anymore.
"I know love, and I'm sorry. But we have no choice, this is a command from the king himself."
"Well if you have to go..." Adelaide said her voice seemed so down, Killian put his hand on her face in order to make her feel better as they continued to 'dance'. Adelaide leaned into his hand, taking the comfort that he wanted to give him. Though if anyone else looked at them they'd insist that they weren't dancing. "Then I'll go with you?"
"What?"
"I'm going to come with you tomorrow, after all that is what my chamber on her is for."
"No," Killian attempted to insist, pulling them off the dance floor. "It will be too dangerous."
"If it's too dangerous for me to go, then surely it is too dangerous for you to go."
"I'm not letting you anywhere near mermaids if I can help it,"
"Mermaids?" Adelaide asked and Killian knew he was in trouble; he hadn't meant to tell her that he was going up against mermaids.
*
Adelaide rushed over to help Killian keep control of the wheel, after all the storm was getting stronger and stronger every minute. They couldn't afford her getting out of control. They were all soaked from the tidal wave, it was so bad that Adelaide couldn't tell if she was shaking out of fear or whether it was just the water that had soaked her to the bone. They were still attempting to outrun the storm, which was harder than expected. That's when Emma turned to them, and yelled.
"I thought you said you could outrun a storm!"
"This isn't a storm, it's bloody damnation!" Killian shouted, they knew this was no ordinary storm.
"Why would you do this?"
"You're going to blame me?" Regina shouted as she and Snow fought.
"You turned the mermaid into wood!"
"I did something about it," Regina shouted, the storm got worse as she did. "Which is more than what you can say!"
"Undo your spell! Bring back the mermaid!"
"And what?" Regina asked as another thunderclap sounded and another lightning bolt hit the ship as they fought. "You'll win her over with your rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers?"
"Considering that your plan failed at least we could try!"
"You're such a naïve princess!"
"And you are such a..." When words failed Snow, she slapped Regina just as another thunderclap came. But Adelaide knew that Snow just woke up a sleeping beast.
"Huh, is that your best?"
"Not even close! I am so tired of you ruining my life!"
"I ruined your life!"
"Hey!" David shouted going over just as Regina in turn slapped Snow. Killian however tried to stop him, leaving only Adelaide in charge of the wheel.
"Hey, let the girls go. I need you at the mast!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" David shouted before he started to fight leaving Adelaide to fight against the ship by herself. David managed to pin Killian to the edge of the ship and angled his hook towards Killian.
"Stop it! It's not the mermaid!"
"It's us," Emma finished coming to the same conclusion as Adelaide did. Another lightning bolt hit the ship as the people around them continued to fight. "No, if you don't stop fighting we're all going to die! Don't you see we're causing the storm! Hey stop! You need to listen to me!"
"Emma stop!" Adelaide shouted but Emma didn't listen and jumped overboard, but it did what it was intended to. Everyone snapped out of their fight to look where Emma had gone, Adelaide felt the ship get more controllable.
"Emma!"
"Emma! Emma!"
"Look out!" Adelaide shouted seeing a metal pulley snap from where the lightning had hit the boat. It speeds towards the water, striking exactly where Emma was.
"Idiot!"
"Regina, get her up here!"
"I... I can't! Not in this storm, I... I can't even see her. I'll just bring up water and half her leg,"
"Wait!" Killian shouted to David, who'd climbed up to the rail to dive in after Emma.
"She'll drown,"
"And so will you, let me help. Here, tie him." Killian said as he handed Snow and Regina a rope, before attaching it to David. David then dove in and everyone held their breath hoping that David could find Emma. That was when he finally resurfaced with Emma in tow. "He has her! Pull!"
"Aah!"
"I've got it," Killian said as he pulled the rope into a pulley to pull David and Emma on deck as everyone crowds around Emma. Eventually Emma coughed up sea water which caused everyone relief, she was still alive. Adelaide watched as the sky cleared and the storm settled. She let out a breath of relief.
"I told you,"
Killian took over steering for Adelaide, as they steered the Jolly Roger towards the surface of Neverland. They all abandoned ship, after all the ship needed some love. The mermaid attack had taken its toll on the ship. As they stood on the beach Adelaide took Killian's hand knowing this was hard for him to be back in Neverland.
"We don't have to do it this way, I can fix the Jolly Roger. My magic is powerful enough, we can execute the pirate's plan,"
"Sneak attack? Let's not be naïve, save your magic. We'll need it later because Pan already knows where here. It's time to stop running. Gold was right, this land is run on belief. All of us have been too busy being at each other's throats to be believers, I was as wrong as everyone else. It's time to for us to believe... not in magic, but in each other,"
"You want to be friends? After everything that's happened between all of us,"
"I don't think that's what Emma meant, nor expects – after all there is so much history here, as well as a lot of hate." Adelaide said looking at everyone else, knowing how true that was.
"Well to be honest, I quite fancy her from time to time when she's not yelling at me."
"We don't need to be friends," Emma said as Adelaide elbowed Killian, despite the large smile on her face from his comment – no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop herself. "What we need to now is the only way to get Henry back is co-operation."
"With her? With him?" David said, meaning Regina and Killian. Adelaide squeezed his hand in hopes to make him feel better, she knew that he didn't like that Adelaide's family didn't like him. "No, Emma we have to do this the right way."
"No, we don't. We just need to succeed and the way we do that is by just being who we are... a hero, a villain, a pirate. It doesn't matter which, because we're going to need all those skills – whether we can stomach them or not."
"And what's your skill 'saviour'."
"I'm a mother, and now I'm also your leader. So either help me get my son back or get out of the way." Emma then drew her sword and walked into the forest. Snow and David followed suit. Adelaide pulled Killian along with her, but as she did he turned to Regina and shrugged. Knowing that both of them didn't necessarily belong in the group, but they were still family.
A/N:
Sorry I was unable to update yesterday, my holiday lasted longer than I had expected. But I'm back now and I hope you guys are still enjoying my story as much as I am. Please continue to vote and comment, you guys truly are amazing. Thanks