Once Upon A Pirate's Quest 5-7/?
Jul. 18th, 2015 05:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptWorking Title: Once Upon A Pirate's Quest
Author: Kat Lee and Captain Black Jack Andrew Lee
Fandoms: Once Upon A Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Smallville, and X-Men with more to come
Characters/Pairings: Captain Hook, Rumplestiltskin, Ruby/Red, Grumpy, Ariel, Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Faith, Cole Turner, Prue Halliwell, Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Kurt Wagner, and Logan/Wolverine with more to come
Rating: R/M
Warning(s): Alternate Universe, character deaths, graphic sex and violence scenes, and non-con
Word Count: 4,786 for these chapters; 9,492 posted so far
Summary: When Captain Hook and friends are set on the run, he sends for an old friend from his past.
Disclaimer: All characters unless otherwise stated, poetry verses, and song lyrics used within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Brendan Richards belongs to Kat Lee and may not be used without the author's express permission.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4
Jack had not known Killian was anywhere near him. He had been lost to the battle, killing all Demons that came in his path and not realizing he was about to be attacked from behind, when suddenly he had felt two strong arms encircle him and carry him upwards. As he had been carried upward, he had not fought whoever it was; he was almost exhausted and desperately needed air.
As their heads break the water and Jack is released, he turns slowly to face the being, and a grin as brilliant as the sun splits his face. "Killian! As I live and breathe!! Leave it to you to need rescuing and yet rescue me again!" He pulls his friend into a tight embrace, thrilling in his touch again!
"Jack, you old sea dog!" Killian exclaims, smiling, and clasping Jack's arms. He is surprised when the younger man pulls him into a hug but goes willingly. It's been too long since he's had such open trust shown to him.
Red rolls her eyes. All the men in this land are nuts, but then that's nothing she's not already used to! She hears another howl and starts swimming toward the other wolf without bothering to respond to the Demon's gesture of peace.
Grumpy had been poised to question Hook when Red suddenly started swimming away from him. He grabs her arm. "Girl, are you crazy?!"
"Whoever that wolf's after is going to need help," she tells him, her eyes blazing with emotion, "and the wolf'll probably need help too!" Without hesitation, she jerks her arm free and dives into the water. Grumpy follows, quickly swinging his axe and cutting a Demon in two before it can touch her. He told Snow he would protect her best friend, and he will until his death.
=^.^=
Prue wants to scream out her fears not of the beast her rescuer is becoming, but of the water! She still wants to cling to him desperately, but as the wolf's menacing jaws snatch at the open air and his hands become covered with thick, brown fur with giant claws protruding from them, she's afraid to do so. Still, she's more scared of the water than him, and with a wave of her right hand's fingers, she stills his mouth and hands. He tries to move, but every time his claws or mouth gets too close, she stops him again. For now, it will have to do for it is the best she can use her power.
She knows she can not hold him for long, but she still wants to cling to him desperately. She fears that she will drown but slowly makes a paddle movement with her hands and is rewarded by staying afloat. As she feels him tugging on her restraints, she paddles away from him, but not far.
She is extremely surprised that the man of her dreams has, of all things, turned out to be a Werewolf! Her Granny had told her tales of the people that were cursed to be wolves when the moon was full! Just like any other people, some were good, some evil. She believes in him and that he is good. She knows he is frightened of this beast he becomes but doesn't know how to comfort him for she, too, is afraid for him and even a little of him.
She can no longer keep a firm, telekinetic grip on the wolf, but every time he starts toward her, snarling, she uses her power to push him back away from her. She could throw him harder, or even throw something at him, like one of the many cannonballs still flying above their heads, but she doesn't want to hurt him. Hoping to calm him, she begins to talk to him, her voice soft and tender.
"You had not been found yet when your brother saved me! It was a time of nightmares that never end! My Granny was a healer, but one she had tended who had been brought to her too late to save died. His family accused her of Witchcraft! My beautiful, wonderful Granny, who never harmed any one in her life, was subjected to tests no one could pass. She died in the water!!"
The wolf seemed to grow quieter as Prue talked to him. His big eyes never left her face, and Prue, keeping her magic ready to use if need be, felt that he was listening to her. She continued talking, determined to get it all out for once. She had never told any one all of it. The Captain had never asked, and she owed the truth only to him. She could tell Brendan the whole of it, and he would not remember when he became a man again.
She had been so frightened. Her Granny was not the Witch the people feared her to be, or Prue knew she would have saved herself when she hadn't. Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled that night of horrors. She was not aware that tears ran freely down her face.
"I tried to stop them, but they held me fast. I couldn't get free! Suddenly, she was gone, and they turned to me. 'Devil's spawn', they called me, spit on me and beat me, never stopped until they tied me up and threw me in the water!! As the water covered my head, I saw my Granny, and there were others with her, singing......." Prue stopped talking as she remembered this part.
=^.^=
Ruby had surfaced while Prue had been talking but had done so with the effortless silence of the wolf within so as to not alert the other wolf to her presence. Since then, she has been watching in amazement as the Witch seems almost to talk the Werewolf down. Her heart hurts for her, but her words sting even more as she remembers the night's events with tears rising in her eyes.
Grumpy reaches out to touch her, and for a moment, she lets him console her. Then the night sky seems to become alive again as fire blazes and the Dark One howls in anguish. She looks up, through tears and anger, as he sends a fresh array of fireballs falling back, but not without being knocked down a rung or two.
She can hear some one on the ship, another woman, go from hollering in jubilant success for the blow their side dealt the evil Imp to cussing a blue streak. Another part of the ship explodes. Grumpy hopes the woman got off of it in time, but Ruby barely even notices for she has began to see red. She swims forward before Grumpy can stop her, screaming at the top of her lungs and cussing Rumpelstiltskin with every foul word she's ever heard.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" she roars above all the wreckage. "YOU THINK BELLE COULD EVER LOVE YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOING ALL THIS?! SHE'S GOING TO HATE YOU!" Fur is steadily growing over Red's skin, and her words blast into a howl.
The damage, however, has been done. The Dark One gazes down at her, sorrow in his eyes and shocked disbelief on his face. Clark's next blow takes him completely off of his guard, and he spirals through the sky. Grumpy and the others watch as the Dark One blinks out of sight. Then the Dwarf starts to swim toward the woman who's shaking, crying, and howling with rage.
"Red? Red," he calls as Hook curses, "it's me." He touches her shoulder. She slashes him, and he falls back, a deep gash in his arm. Then the Werewolf's face softens, and her fur begins to melt away. "Grumpy?" she asks, still crying. "Grumpy, he killed her." A sob breaks free from her. "He probably killed them all!"
"I know, sister," the Dwarf tries to console her as she lets his arms go around her. "I know." His own chin is wobbling as he fights to contain his tears. He wouldn't cry for very many people, but for his brothers and for Snow, most of all, he will.
Still cursing, Killian leaves Jack's side, forgetting about the Demons for now, and begins to strip out of his jacket.
Brendan's howl makes everybody look up. The Werewolf surges forward in the bloody water just in time to grab a Demon that was about to attack Prue. The two monsters swiftly become a frenzied blur of flying fur, fists, and claws as Brendan takes the Demon down into the ocean.
Tears are running down Jack's face as he takes in the damage to his beloved Pearl! She is all but gone
from him, and he despairs in saving her. He sees his brother in his cursed form fighting a Demon and Prue alone in the water. He knows she is terrified and for good reason. He starts to swim toward her only to be pushed upwards as his father chooses that moment to surface.
He grasps his arm and gestures to his beloved Pearl. With the ship dying, he wonders if the rest of his crew has managed to survive. Wolverine starts swimming to the Pearl as fast as only he can; even so, Jack almost beats him except that he turns to go to Prue. He helps her to the Pearl, knowing his ship is doomed but knowing, too, he has nowhere else to turn. Prue clings to Jack, knowing he would never let her drown.
Kurt and Cole have returned to the Pearl. They turn toward the ladder as Wolverine's head comes over the ship's railing. Wolverine takes in the carnage and the dying Pearl. Knowing what it will do to Jack, he yells out, "HELL AND DAMNATION!" Seeing Cole and Kurt, he tells them to help Jack get Prue and the others on board and heads over to where Faith is hung over one of her cannons.
He kneels beside her, knowing that she had done her best. He touches her gently, checking for life, and is rewarded when she opens her eyes. Wolverine quickly withdraws his hand before she can gut him as she so often threatens to do to him and the others whenever they try to help her or treat her like a woman. Getting shakily to his feet, he offers Faith a hand.
Faith squints up at the burly Pirate through blurry eyes. Something wet's running into her vision. She knows immediately what it is but doesn't stop to worry about the blood she's losing. The ship's stopped rocking, which means she's no longer being hit. Either they've won or there's somehow been a temporary truce called. Normally, she wouldn't settle for a truce, no matter what, but right now, she has other things on her mind. "Tequila?" she asks Wolverine, holding up a hand not to take his but rather to get her fix.
=^.^=
Jack pushes Prue to the ladder, and once she has a firm hand on a rung, he lets go and turns to help the
others. When Prue is almost at the top, Cole and Kurt grip her arms and lift her the rest of the way onto
the Pearl. Then they return to help their Captain get the others aboard. They know the Pearl is doomed, but so is the land. Nowhere is safe for any of them! For now, the Pearl is the best bet.
Prue looks around and sees the damage on the ship. She sees Faith barely alive. Where are the others? she wonders fearfully.
=^.^=
Clark had not seen Faith kick Luthor and Turner into the water, but he now finds both of them half drowned. Luthor is unconscious, and Turner's barely managing to keep them both afloat. Both have powder burns, and their clothes are torn.
Clark had been thrilled when the monster had disappeared, giving them a moment's peace. He now reaches out, taking Luthor from Turner and giving Turner a half smile. "We're going to make it, my friend!"
He flies Luthor to the deck, concern on his face because Luthor had not stirred once. He's worried greatly as he can see no sign of life in his friend. Clark knows the ship's doctor can not help them now; he, too, needed help. Lying Luthor tenderly on the deck and being very careful that no one is looking, Clark very gently touches his lips to his friend's lips, carefully blowing air into his lungs and giving him the kiss of life.
Luthor's eyelids begin to flutter. A hazy cloud seems to surround him, but then he remembers screams and explosions. His eyes open, but he's not looking onto a battlefield. Instead, he finds himself gazing up into the sweetest, most beautiful face he's ever known. The boy looking worriedly down at him is so gentle and amazingly kind that Luthor has never understood how he's come to be with them, a motley lot of Pirates at best, but here he is and his lips still tingle from his closeness.
It is not Clark's mere presence that is making him tingle from head to foot, however, Luthor soon realizes. The boy is kissing him! His mind whirls; his heart pounds. But then he recognizes what is really happening. He's not kissing him; Clark would never kiss him! He's trying to breathe life back into him. That knowledge sends the hand that was beginning to raise with intentions of stroking Clark's smooth skin laying back down onto the deck. Even though he now understands that Clark is not truly kissing him, a part of him still wishes, with the whole that is left of his heart, that this moment could last forever.
=^.^=
Will was thankful when Clark had appeared. Although still a little unnerved at seeing a boy flying around, the former blacksmith was thankful to have some one to whom to give Luthor. The man was a dear friend, but it had been hard enough fighting the Demons that seemed to fill the waters already turned black with blood without his excess weight. He had barely made it through the fight, but it seemed to be over now.
Having just laid in the water for several minutes after Clark left him, Will now releases a weary sigh. They haven't had a fight like this in a long time, not since Barbossa and his crew of Zombie Pirates. His already tired muscles protest as he begins to swim back toward the ship, but he stops and turns in a new direction when he hears a terrified scream.
Kicking his feet swiftly, he arrives just in time to find yet another Demon, this one with a woman pushed up against the creaking side of the Pearl. Will doesn't hesitate but immediately dives his sword straight into the Demon's back. It screams in agony and turns on him. He avoids its flying claws, takes his sword out of his back, and chops its head off. It is only then that he looks at the young woman. "Are you all right?" he asks, not yet sheathing his sword but offering her his free hand.
It is as his brown eyes are checking her upper body for injuries that Will notices the woman is not wearing a blouse but is also not naked. Her breasts are, instead, hidden by seashells. He frowns, perplexed, but quickly averts his gaze back up to her face. " . . . Miss . . . ?"
=^.^=
Jack looks around to see who needs his help the most. Killian seems to have his group together and under control. Jack calls to his friend, "Welcome to what's left of the Pearl. For the time being, she will float." It hurts him to know how badly she is damaged and that he can not help her.
It is then that Jack spots Cole and Kurt. He calls to them to be careful and to help Brendan. He heads over to where he has just seen Clark emerge, carrying Luthor. Fear grips his heart. What will he find there? His brother dead? Or, even worse, the man with whom he wants to be more than just friends drowned and floating in the water?
=^.^=
Ruby has fallen silent as the men surround her. Heat blazes in her cheeks at her outburst, but still she can not seem to help the tears that flood her eyes. She's stopped letting them fall, but only barely. This night has been a night of pure horrors. She lost her best friend, the woman she loves, their other friends, and even her grandmother. She should never have left her, but both Granny and Snow had demanded that she go and help Hook and Grumpy lead Rumplestiltskin away from their true target. She shakes her head miserably now and looks to the Dwarf. "What have we done?"
"What she asked us to, sister."
"Red, listen to me," Killian speaks with firm command but also a gentle, lilting tone. "This isn't your fault. None of it. Even I had thought the old bastard had gone straight, but a crocodile doesn't change his scales."
"Oh, he's going to change 'em, all right," Grumpy almost growls, his eyes blazing darkly. "We're going to skin 'em off of the bastard."
The trio look up when Jack calls to them. "I should make introductions," Killian mutters.
"Trying to be the proper Captain, aye?" Ruby tosses at him, but still, a part of her is thankful. She looks over to where the water is swirling and the other wolf is still fighting Demons. "There're more to kill." Her eyes glow in the dark night.
Hook nods. "You need it."
She grins up at him. "Yeah." She shrugs out of his coat which he'd wrapped around her soaking wet and almost naked body. The coat was drenched, as well, but it had been the pitiful effort of a gentleman trapped in a situation in which he really didn't know what to do to make things better for those around him, for those for whom, just perhaps, he actually cared. Of course, she had finally come to think Belle might be right about Rumplestiltskin, and just look at where that had gotten all of them!
Nonetheless, as Killian's ringed hands touch hers, she looks up at him and meets his questing gaze. "Go ahead," she tells him. "Do whatever Pirates do when the world is falling apart with Demons. I'll be fine."
"I know you will be," he counters, slipping back into his jacket as she drops the tattered remains of her top cloak. It's nothing but a brown, heavy cloak that she had used to hide her true identity. She and the others had led Rumplestiltskin away from their family and friends by making him think that they were Emma, Henry, and Hook trying to make a run for it. None of them had wanted to go, but they had also not been able to tell the others "no". Ruby had heard the Dark One break through Regina's barriers and crash through Granny's door. She had known, too, that her grandmother had met him with crossbows blazing, but she had heard her howl and knew, in her heart, what had happened.
She looks back toward the bloody, swirling water as she removes the red cloak her cherished grandmother had made for her. Grumpy takes it without hesitation. It's soaked through and through, but he knows its magic will hold. He tucks it into his shirt as she dives. He doesn't even look at Hook but pulls out his dagger again and dives right behind her.
Hook looks back over to where Jack had been talking to him, but his old friend clearly has other matters on his mind. He shrugs -- "What the Hell?" -- and dives.
Wolverine gets to his feet and goes to the galley. Looking into a cabinet he pulls out two bottles. One holds tequila, the poison Faith has demanded. The other is the one that belongs to him, rotgut whiskey. Removing the lid, he downs the entire whiskey bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He trudges back to where he left Faith, then suddenly lets go with a huge belch. Grinning, he hands her the bottle.
Faith rolls her dark eyes, ignoring the blood that's on her face and in her gaze. "I'd ask what took ya so long, but there's only one thing that stinks like that." She opens her own bottle, and just as he had done scant seconds before, downs its entirety just as quickly. She drops the emptied bottle onto the deck, finally manages to pull herself together, and blunders forward. One thought makes her pause. "Luthor?" she asks, looking back to Wolverine.
Wolverine grins at Faith before telling her, "Clark has 'em. Maybe he'll do something with him!"
Faith lets out a bark of laughter and then grins broadly. It's moments like these that is why she stays with these crazy Pirates. They go through Hell together, but then somehow, they manage to make her laugh. They're the only ones who ever have. "Let's go see."
=^.^=
Clark is suddenly shy. He moves back to sit on his heels, still gazing into Lex's face. He longs to kiss him again, but since Lex is now breathing all right, he doesn't dare. But oh, how he wants to! He is not aware of the look on his face, that of a starving man who sees his salvation if only he dares.
Although he feels like he is floating on a cloud of ecstasy, Lex knows he must be hurt. He can think of no other reason for the look he thinks he is seeing on Clark's face. Whereas the boy may be naive, he's never been dumb and certainly not one prone to sitting, grinning and looking goofily. "How did the others fare?" he asks weakly, trying to pull himself together and ignore another, fresh pain.
He knows well from whence that pain is coming; he's felt it before, every time he's seen Clark with a woman. The boy doesn't like him. He barely speaks to him. He could never feel the way Lex tries so hard on a daily basis not to feel for him. He is the Devil, and what this Earthbound Angel is doing amongst their motley crew, he'll never quite understand. He tries to move, but something in his bones seems to tremble, warning him to remain still a little while longer.
=^.^=
Jack is torn on whether he should follow Hook to where his brother was having "fun" killing more Demons. He can hear his teeth snapping on another neck from where he is. No, he reminds himself. He had to find Turner whether he was alive or dead.
He goes around the other side of the Pearl just as another Demon appears ahead of him, long arms and forked tongue reaching for some one in the water. He fears that some one is Will. He yells at its back, "HEY, YE, UGLY!", and is rewarded by the Demon turning to face him. Knife held upright, he plows into the Demon, hoping to find the nasty thing's heart.
Jack's sudden shout was exactly what Will needed to pry himself out of his sudden embarrassment. He turns toward the fight for a moment and, convinced his friend has the upper hand, looks back to the redhead. He's careful to keep his gaze above her neck as he extends a hand he doesn't realize is bloody. "My name's Will Turner, miss. That," he nods back to Jack, "is our Captain, Jack Sparrow." He tries to smile at her. "But then, you probably already know that. You must be one of his friends?"
Ariel smiles at the embarrassed man. "No, but we do have a mutual friend, Killian Hook. I only met your Captain this morning. My friend sent me to get his help, and then all this happened. My name is Ariel!"
She could not tear her eyes away from the thing that Captain Jack had killed. It was spilling slimy green blood into her beloved ocean! She had never seen one of them before and hoped that there would not be any more. She breathed a sigh of relief as the Demon slipped under the surface, not to be seen again.
Jack continues on until he is beside Turner and Ariel, not aware that there is green slime on his face. "Thank God ye are both well!!" he exclaims, relief resounding in his voice. His heart dances with joy as he realizes that Turner is unscathed. He wants to hug him but can't reveal his true feelings, so he grasps his arm in a gentle but firm grip.
Will returns Jack's one-armed embrace, wishing they could have more but knowing that the Captain will never look at him as any more than one of his dearest friends and, if he is lucky, his most trusted, proverbial right arm. "The things we get into, aye, Jack? First Zombies, now Demons, and what the Hell was that thing in the sky?" He shivers as he remembers the beast and suddenly isn't so sure he really wants to know.
=^.^=
Clark chases the strange feelings he cannot help feeling away, hoping that Lex doesn't know and turn away from him in disgust which he can't bear. With relief, he grows very serious. "The Doctor is still in the water. So is Turner, but the Captain has gone for them. Prue is fine."
His eyes leave Lex's face and look towards Faith where he can see both her and Wolverine. "Faith is covered in blood, but alive and drinking her tequila! You seem to be the worst off," he adds softly in concern. He wishes he could fix Lex's problems and is worried as to how bad he is hurt. He gazes down into his face again.
"If the Doc was not a wolf, I'd go for him. Just try and lay still. I won't leave you! Can I make you
more comfortable?" He didn't tell Lex that their home was dying for he feared that he wouldn't take it well.
Lex catches Clark's wrist as he moves to try to help him find a more comfortable spot. There's nothing he'd like more than to be able to ask him to lay with him and to hold him, to curl up into the sweet haven he knows his arms would provide him if ever he could love him, but he knows, too, there isn't time. He voices his last thought, "We don't have time. We have to leave here."
Faith hears Lex as she and Wolverine round the corner of a bunch of barrels that have been shielding the boys from the rest of the crew. "He's right, but you're no shape to move. Stay with him, Kent." She then turns to Wolverine, ignoring her own blood and pain.
"Faith," Luthor is the only one to dare to call her on her own shape, "your arm . . . " He lets his words hang in there for it's clear to all that her elbow is sticking out at a strange angle. The bone has to be broke.
"Fuck it, Luthor," Faith tosses back carelessly, keeping her gaze locked on Wolverine. "Jack's going to lose it when he realizes the Pearl's fucked. But we can't stay with her. We do, we'll be sitting ducks when that thing comes back."
Lex grits his teeth and closes his blue eyes for a moment against his pain. "She's right," he adds. "He's going to come back." He shakes his head and immediately wishes he hadn't. "We can't be here when he does."
Wolverine had noticed Faith's arm and knows that it is broken, probably in several places. He also knows he can't force her into anything. The best thing he can do for her is to fix a sling so her arm doesn't get more injured, but will she allow him to put it on her? Then he needs to go and find Brendan; God knows what is holding the boy, keeping him from returning.
Before he can find something to rip, he feels Prue slipping in besides them. She carries a piece of cloth timidly forward. "Will you allow me to bind your arm? My Granny was a healer. I've never set a limb before, but I could ease your arm so it won't get more hurt."
Wolverine looks away, hoping Faith will not hurt the already frightened girl.
Clark watches in alarm, also hoping Faith is not about to gut Prue. Can he move fast enough to stop her?
To Be Continued . . .
Author: Kat Lee and Captain Black Jack Andrew Lee
Fandoms: Once Upon A Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Smallville, and X-Men with more to come
Characters/Pairings: Captain Hook, Rumplestiltskin, Ruby/Red, Grumpy, Ariel, Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Faith, Cole Turner, Prue Halliwell, Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Kurt Wagner, and Logan/Wolverine with more to come
Rating: R/M
Warning(s): Alternate Universe, character deaths, graphic sex and violence scenes, and non-con
Word Count: 4,786 for these chapters; 9,492 posted so far
Summary: When Captain Hook and friends are set on the run, he sends for an old friend from his past.
Disclaimer: All characters unless otherwise stated, poetry verses, and song lyrics used within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Brendan Richards belongs to Kat Lee and may not be used without the author's express permission.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4
Jack had not known Killian was anywhere near him. He had been lost to the battle, killing all Demons that came in his path and not realizing he was about to be attacked from behind, when suddenly he had felt two strong arms encircle him and carry him upwards. As he had been carried upward, he had not fought whoever it was; he was almost exhausted and desperately needed air.
As their heads break the water and Jack is released, he turns slowly to face the being, and a grin as brilliant as the sun splits his face. "Killian! As I live and breathe!! Leave it to you to need rescuing and yet rescue me again!" He pulls his friend into a tight embrace, thrilling in his touch again!
"Jack, you old sea dog!" Killian exclaims, smiling, and clasping Jack's arms. He is surprised when the younger man pulls him into a hug but goes willingly. It's been too long since he's had such open trust shown to him.
Red rolls her eyes. All the men in this land are nuts, but then that's nothing she's not already used to! She hears another howl and starts swimming toward the other wolf without bothering to respond to the Demon's gesture of peace.
Grumpy had been poised to question Hook when Red suddenly started swimming away from him. He grabs her arm. "Girl, are you crazy?!"
"Whoever that wolf's after is going to need help," she tells him, her eyes blazing with emotion, "and the wolf'll probably need help too!" Without hesitation, she jerks her arm free and dives into the water. Grumpy follows, quickly swinging his axe and cutting a Demon in two before it can touch her. He told Snow he would protect her best friend, and he will until his death.
=^.^=
Prue wants to scream out her fears not of the beast her rescuer is becoming, but of the water! She still wants to cling to him desperately, but as the wolf's menacing jaws snatch at the open air and his hands become covered with thick, brown fur with giant claws protruding from them, she's afraid to do so. Still, she's more scared of the water than him, and with a wave of her right hand's fingers, she stills his mouth and hands. He tries to move, but every time his claws or mouth gets too close, she stops him again. For now, it will have to do for it is the best she can use her power.
She knows she can not hold him for long, but she still wants to cling to him desperately. She fears that she will drown but slowly makes a paddle movement with her hands and is rewarded by staying afloat. As she feels him tugging on her restraints, she paddles away from him, but not far.
She is extremely surprised that the man of her dreams has, of all things, turned out to be a Werewolf! Her Granny had told her tales of the people that were cursed to be wolves when the moon was full! Just like any other people, some were good, some evil. She believes in him and that he is good. She knows he is frightened of this beast he becomes but doesn't know how to comfort him for she, too, is afraid for him and even a little of him.
She can no longer keep a firm, telekinetic grip on the wolf, but every time he starts toward her, snarling, she uses her power to push him back away from her. She could throw him harder, or even throw something at him, like one of the many cannonballs still flying above their heads, but she doesn't want to hurt him. Hoping to calm him, she begins to talk to him, her voice soft and tender.
"You had not been found yet when your brother saved me! It was a time of nightmares that never end! My Granny was a healer, but one she had tended who had been brought to her too late to save died. His family accused her of Witchcraft! My beautiful, wonderful Granny, who never harmed any one in her life, was subjected to tests no one could pass. She died in the water!!"
The wolf seemed to grow quieter as Prue talked to him. His big eyes never left her face, and Prue, keeping her magic ready to use if need be, felt that he was listening to her. She continued talking, determined to get it all out for once. She had never told any one all of it. The Captain had never asked, and she owed the truth only to him. She could tell Brendan the whole of it, and he would not remember when he became a man again.
She had been so frightened. Her Granny was not the Witch the people feared her to be, or Prue knew she would have saved herself when she hadn't. Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled that night of horrors. She was not aware that tears ran freely down her face.
"I tried to stop them, but they held me fast. I couldn't get free! Suddenly, she was gone, and they turned to me. 'Devil's spawn', they called me, spit on me and beat me, never stopped until they tied me up and threw me in the water!! As the water covered my head, I saw my Granny, and there were others with her, singing......." Prue stopped talking as she remembered this part.
=^.^=
Ruby had surfaced while Prue had been talking but had done so with the effortless silence of the wolf within so as to not alert the other wolf to her presence. Since then, she has been watching in amazement as the Witch seems almost to talk the Werewolf down. Her heart hurts for her, but her words sting even more as she remembers the night's events with tears rising in her eyes.
Grumpy reaches out to touch her, and for a moment, she lets him console her. Then the night sky seems to become alive again as fire blazes and the Dark One howls in anguish. She looks up, through tears and anger, as he sends a fresh array of fireballs falling back, but not without being knocked down a rung or two.
She can hear some one on the ship, another woman, go from hollering in jubilant success for the blow their side dealt the evil Imp to cussing a blue streak. Another part of the ship explodes. Grumpy hopes the woman got off of it in time, but Ruby barely even notices for she has began to see red. She swims forward before Grumpy can stop her, screaming at the top of her lungs and cussing Rumpelstiltskin with every foul word she's ever heard.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" she roars above all the wreckage. "YOU THINK BELLE COULD EVER LOVE YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOING ALL THIS?! SHE'S GOING TO HATE YOU!" Fur is steadily growing over Red's skin, and her words blast into a howl.
The damage, however, has been done. The Dark One gazes down at her, sorrow in his eyes and shocked disbelief on his face. Clark's next blow takes him completely off of his guard, and he spirals through the sky. Grumpy and the others watch as the Dark One blinks out of sight. Then the Dwarf starts to swim toward the woman who's shaking, crying, and howling with rage.
"Red? Red," he calls as Hook curses, "it's me." He touches her shoulder. She slashes him, and he falls back, a deep gash in his arm. Then the Werewolf's face softens, and her fur begins to melt away. "Grumpy?" she asks, still crying. "Grumpy, he killed her." A sob breaks free from her. "He probably killed them all!"
"I know, sister," the Dwarf tries to console her as she lets his arms go around her. "I know." His own chin is wobbling as he fights to contain his tears. He wouldn't cry for very many people, but for his brothers and for Snow, most of all, he will.
Still cursing, Killian leaves Jack's side, forgetting about the Demons for now, and begins to strip out of his jacket.
Brendan's howl makes everybody look up. The Werewolf surges forward in the bloody water just in time to grab a Demon that was about to attack Prue. The two monsters swiftly become a frenzied blur of flying fur, fists, and claws as Brendan takes the Demon down into the ocean.
Tears are running down Jack's face as he takes in the damage to his beloved Pearl! She is all but gone
from him, and he despairs in saving her. He sees his brother in his cursed form fighting a Demon and Prue alone in the water. He knows she is terrified and for good reason. He starts to swim toward her only to be pushed upwards as his father chooses that moment to surface.
He grasps his arm and gestures to his beloved Pearl. With the ship dying, he wonders if the rest of his crew has managed to survive. Wolverine starts swimming to the Pearl as fast as only he can; even so, Jack almost beats him except that he turns to go to Prue. He helps her to the Pearl, knowing his ship is doomed but knowing, too, he has nowhere else to turn. Prue clings to Jack, knowing he would never let her drown.
Kurt and Cole have returned to the Pearl. They turn toward the ladder as Wolverine's head comes over the ship's railing. Wolverine takes in the carnage and the dying Pearl. Knowing what it will do to Jack, he yells out, "HELL AND DAMNATION!" Seeing Cole and Kurt, he tells them to help Jack get Prue and the others on board and heads over to where Faith is hung over one of her cannons.
He kneels beside her, knowing that she had done her best. He touches her gently, checking for life, and is rewarded when she opens her eyes. Wolverine quickly withdraws his hand before she can gut him as she so often threatens to do to him and the others whenever they try to help her or treat her like a woman. Getting shakily to his feet, he offers Faith a hand.
Faith squints up at the burly Pirate through blurry eyes. Something wet's running into her vision. She knows immediately what it is but doesn't stop to worry about the blood she's losing. The ship's stopped rocking, which means she's no longer being hit. Either they've won or there's somehow been a temporary truce called. Normally, she wouldn't settle for a truce, no matter what, but right now, she has other things on her mind. "Tequila?" she asks Wolverine, holding up a hand not to take his but rather to get her fix.
=^.^=
Jack pushes Prue to the ladder, and once she has a firm hand on a rung, he lets go and turns to help the
others. When Prue is almost at the top, Cole and Kurt grip her arms and lift her the rest of the way onto
the Pearl. Then they return to help their Captain get the others aboard. They know the Pearl is doomed, but so is the land. Nowhere is safe for any of them! For now, the Pearl is the best bet.
Prue looks around and sees the damage on the ship. She sees Faith barely alive. Where are the others? she wonders fearfully.
=^.^=
Clark had not seen Faith kick Luthor and Turner into the water, but he now finds both of them half drowned. Luthor is unconscious, and Turner's barely managing to keep them both afloat. Both have powder burns, and their clothes are torn.
Clark had been thrilled when the monster had disappeared, giving them a moment's peace. He now reaches out, taking Luthor from Turner and giving Turner a half smile. "We're going to make it, my friend!"
He flies Luthor to the deck, concern on his face because Luthor had not stirred once. He's worried greatly as he can see no sign of life in his friend. Clark knows the ship's doctor can not help them now; he, too, needed help. Lying Luthor tenderly on the deck and being very careful that no one is looking, Clark very gently touches his lips to his friend's lips, carefully blowing air into his lungs and giving him the kiss of life.
Luthor's eyelids begin to flutter. A hazy cloud seems to surround him, but then he remembers screams and explosions. His eyes open, but he's not looking onto a battlefield. Instead, he finds himself gazing up into the sweetest, most beautiful face he's ever known. The boy looking worriedly down at him is so gentle and amazingly kind that Luthor has never understood how he's come to be with them, a motley lot of Pirates at best, but here he is and his lips still tingle from his closeness.
It is not Clark's mere presence that is making him tingle from head to foot, however, Luthor soon realizes. The boy is kissing him! His mind whirls; his heart pounds. But then he recognizes what is really happening. He's not kissing him; Clark would never kiss him! He's trying to breathe life back into him. That knowledge sends the hand that was beginning to raise with intentions of stroking Clark's smooth skin laying back down onto the deck. Even though he now understands that Clark is not truly kissing him, a part of him still wishes, with the whole that is left of his heart, that this moment could last forever.
=^.^=
Will was thankful when Clark had appeared. Although still a little unnerved at seeing a boy flying around, the former blacksmith was thankful to have some one to whom to give Luthor. The man was a dear friend, but it had been hard enough fighting the Demons that seemed to fill the waters already turned black with blood without his excess weight. He had barely made it through the fight, but it seemed to be over now.
Having just laid in the water for several minutes after Clark left him, Will now releases a weary sigh. They haven't had a fight like this in a long time, not since Barbossa and his crew of Zombie Pirates. His already tired muscles protest as he begins to swim back toward the ship, but he stops and turns in a new direction when he hears a terrified scream.
Kicking his feet swiftly, he arrives just in time to find yet another Demon, this one with a woman pushed up against the creaking side of the Pearl. Will doesn't hesitate but immediately dives his sword straight into the Demon's back. It screams in agony and turns on him. He avoids its flying claws, takes his sword out of his back, and chops its head off. It is only then that he looks at the young woman. "Are you all right?" he asks, not yet sheathing his sword but offering her his free hand.
It is as his brown eyes are checking her upper body for injuries that Will notices the woman is not wearing a blouse but is also not naked. Her breasts are, instead, hidden by seashells. He frowns, perplexed, but quickly averts his gaze back up to her face. " . . . Miss . . . ?"
=^.^=
Jack looks around to see who needs his help the most. Killian seems to have his group together and under control. Jack calls to his friend, "Welcome to what's left of the Pearl. For the time being, she will float." It hurts him to know how badly she is damaged and that he can not help her.
It is then that Jack spots Cole and Kurt. He calls to them to be careful and to help Brendan. He heads over to where he has just seen Clark emerge, carrying Luthor. Fear grips his heart. What will he find there? His brother dead? Or, even worse, the man with whom he wants to be more than just friends drowned and floating in the water?
=^.^=
Ruby has fallen silent as the men surround her. Heat blazes in her cheeks at her outburst, but still she can not seem to help the tears that flood her eyes. She's stopped letting them fall, but only barely. This night has been a night of pure horrors. She lost her best friend, the woman she loves, their other friends, and even her grandmother. She should never have left her, but both Granny and Snow had demanded that she go and help Hook and Grumpy lead Rumplestiltskin away from their true target. She shakes her head miserably now and looks to the Dwarf. "What have we done?"
"What she asked us to, sister."
"Red, listen to me," Killian speaks with firm command but also a gentle, lilting tone. "This isn't your fault. None of it. Even I had thought the old bastard had gone straight, but a crocodile doesn't change his scales."
"Oh, he's going to change 'em, all right," Grumpy almost growls, his eyes blazing darkly. "We're going to skin 'em off of the bastard."
The trio look up when Jack calls to them. "I should make introductions," Killian mutters.
"Trying to be the proper Captain, aye?" Ruby tosses at him, but still, a part of her is thankful. She looks over to where the water is swirling and the other wolf is still fighting Demons. "There're more to kill." Her eyes glow in the dark night.
Hook nods. "You need it."
She grins up at him. "Yeah." She shrugs out of his coat which he'd wrapped around her soaking wet and almost naked body. The coat was drenched, as well, but it had been the pitiful effort of a gentleman trapped in a situation in which he really didn't know what to do to make things better for those around him, for those for whom, just perhaps, he actually cared. Of course, she had finally come to think Belle might be right about Rumplestiltskin, and just look at where that had gotten all of them!
Nonetheless, as Killian's ringed hands touch hers, she looks up at him and meets his questing gaze. "Go ahead," she tells him. "Do whatever Pirates do when the world is falling apart with Demons. I'll be fine."
"I know you will be," he counters, slipping back into his jacket as she drops the tattered remains of her top cloak. It's nothing but a brown, heavy cloak that she had used to hide her true identity. She and the others had led Rumplestiltskin away from their family and friends by making him think that they were Emma, Henry, and Hook trying to make a run for it. None of them had wanted to go, but they had also not been able to tell the others "no". Ruby had heard the Dark One break through Regina's barriers and crash through Granny's door. She had known, too, that her grandmother had met him with crossbows blazing, but she had heard her howl and knew, in her heart, what had happened.
She looks back toward the bloody, swirling water as she removes the red cloak her cherished grandmother had made for her. Grumpy takes it without hesitation. It's soaked through and through, but he knows its magic will hold. He tucks it into his shirt as she dives. He doesn't even look at Hook but pulls out his dagger again and dives right behind her.
Hook looks back over to where Jack had been talking to him, but his old friend clearly has other matters on his mind. He shrugs -- "What the Hell?" -- and dives.
Wolverine gets to his feet and goes to the galley. Looking into a cabinet he pulls out two bottles. One holds tequila, the poison Faith has demanded. The other is the one that belongs to him, rotgut whiskey. Removing the lid, he downs the entire whiskey bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He trudges back to where he left Faith, then suddenly lets go with a huge belch. Grinning, he hands her the bottle.
Faith rolls her dark eyes, ignoring the blood that's on her face and in her gaze. "I'd ask what took ya so long, but there's only one thing that stinks like that." She opens her own bottle, and just as he had done scant seconds before, downs its entirety just as quickly. She drops the emptied bottle onto the deck, finally manages to pull herself together, and blunders forward. One thought makes her pause. "Luthor?" she asks, looking back to Wolverine.
Wolverine grins at Faith before telling her, "Clark has 'em. Maybe he'll do something with him!"
Faith lets out a bark of laughter and then grins broadly. It's moments like these that is why she stays with these crazy Pirates. They go through Hell together, but then somehow, they manage to make her laugh. They're the only ones who ever have. "Let's go see."
=^.^=
Clark is suddenly shy. He moves back to sit on his heels, still gazing into Lex's face. He longs to kiss him again, but since Lex is now breathing all right, he doesn't dare. But oh, how he wants to! He is not aware of the look on his face, that of a starving man who sees his salvation if only he dares.
Although he feels like he is floating on a cloud of ecstasy, Lex knows he must be hurt. He can think of no other reason for the look he thinks he is seeing on Clark's face. Whereas the boy may be naive, he's never been dumb and certainly not one prone to sitting, grinning and looking goofily. "How did the others fare?" he asks weakly, trying to pull himself together and ignore another, fresh pain.
He knows well from whence that pain is coming; he's felt it before, every time he's seen Clark with a woman. The boy doesn't like him. He barely speaks to him. He could never feel the way Lex tries so hard on a daily basis not to feel for him. He is the Devil, and what this Earthbound Angel is doing amongst their motley crew, he'll never quite understand. He tries to move, but something in his bones seems to tremble, warning him to remain still a little while longer.
=^.^=
Jack is torn on whether he should follow Hook to where his brother was having "fun" killing more Demons. He can hear his teeth snapping on another neck from where he is. No, he reminds himself. He had to find Turner whether he was alive or dead.
He goes around the other side of the Pearl just as another Demon appears ahead of him, long arms and forked tongue reaching for some one in the water. He fears that some one is Will. He yells at its back, "HEY, YE, UGLY!", and is rewarded by the Demon turning to face him. Knife held upright, he plows into the Demon, hoping to find the nasty thing's heart.
Jack's sudden shout was exactly what Will needed to pry himself out of his sudden embarrassment. He turns toward the fight for a moment and, convinced his friend has the upper hand, looks back to the redhead. He's careful to keep his gaze above her neck as he extends a hand he doesn't realize is bloody. "My name's Will Turner, miss. That," he nods back to Jack, "is our Captain, Jack Sparrow." He tries to smile at her. "But then, you probably already know that. You must be one of his friends?"
Ariel smiles at the embarrassed man. "No, but we do have a mutual friend, Killian Hook. I only met your Captain this morning. My friend sent me to get his help, and then all this happened. My name is Ariel!"
She could not tear her eyes away from the thing that Captain Jack had killed. It was spilling slimy green blood into her beloved ocean! She had never seen one of them before and hoped that there would not be any more. She breathed a sigh of relief as the Demon slipped under the surface, not to be seen again.
Jack continues on until he is beside Turner and Ariel, not aware that there is green slime on his face. "Thank God ye are both well!!" he exclaims, relief resounding in his voice. His heart dances with joy as he realizes that Turner is unscathed. He wants to hug him but can't reveal his true feelings, so he grasps his arm in a gentle but firm grip.
Will returns Jack's one-armed embrace, wishing they could have more but knowing that the Captain will never look at him as any more than one of his dearest friends and, if he is lucky, his most trusted, proverbial right arm. "The things we get into, aye, Jack? First Zombies, now Demons, and what the Hell was that thing in the sky?" He shivers as he remembers the beast and suddenly isn't so sure he really wants to know.
=^.^=
Clark chases the strange feelings he cannot help feeling away, hoping that Lex doesn't know and turn away from him in disgust which he can't bear. With relief, he grows very serious. "The Doctor is still in the water. So is Turner, but the Captain has gone for them. Prue is fine."
His eyes leave Lex's face and look towards Faith where he can see both her and Wolverine. "Faith is covered in blood, but alive and drinking her tequila! You seem to be the worst off," he adds softly in concern. He wishes he could fix Lex's problems and is worried as to how bad he is hurt. He gazes down into his face again.
"If the Doc was not a wolf, I'd go for him. Just try and lay still. I won't leave you! Can I make you
more comfortable?" He didn't tell Lex that their home was dying for he feared that he wouldn't take it well.
Lex catches Clark's wrist as he moves to try to help him find a more comfortable spot. There's nothing he'd like more than to be able to ask him to lay with him and to hold him, to curl up into the sweet haven he knows his arms would provide him if ever he could love him, but he knows, too, there isn't time. He voices his last thought, "We don't have time. We have to leave here."
Faith hears Lex as she and Wolverine round the corner of a bunch of barrels that have been shielding the boys from the rest of the crew. "He's right, but you're no shape to move. Stay with him, Kent." She then turns to Wolverine, ignoring her own blood and pain.
"Faith," Luthor is the only one to dare to call her on her own shape, "your arm . . . " He lets his words hang in there for it's clear to all that her elbow is sticking out at a strange angle. The bone has to be broke.
"Fuck it, Luthor," Faith tosses back carelessly, keeping her gaze locked on Wolverine. "Jack's going to lose it when he realizes the Pearl's fucked. But we can't stay with her. We do, we'll be sitting ducks when that thing comes back."
Lex grits his teeth and closes his blue eyes for a moment against his pain. "She's right," he adds. "He's going to come back." He shakes his head and immediately wishes he hadn't. "We can't be here when he does."
Wolverine had noticed Faith's arm and knows that it is broken, probably in several places. He also knows he can't force her into anything. The best thing he can do for her is to fix a sling so her arm doesn't get more injured, but will she allow him to put it on her? Then he needs to go and find Brendan; God knows what is holding the boy, keeping him from returning.
Before he can find something to rip, he feels Prue slipping in besides them. She carries a piece of cloth timidly forward. "Will you allow me to bind your arm? My Granny was a healer. I've never set a limb before, but I could ease your arm so it won't get more hurt."
Wolverine looks away, hoping Faith will not hurt the already frightened girl.
Clark watches in alarm, also hoping Faith is not about to gut Prue. Can he move fast enough to stop her?
To Be Continued . . .
