A Captain Swan Adventure

The Journey Continues

The forests reminded Emma of Neverland. She had flashbacks of the Lost Boys trying to kill her, the dream shade, and the Echo Caves. All bad memories. She pushed branches out of her way, while Hook used his hook to clear a path. They traveled for a couple of hours, only talking if it was necessary, or about game plan. They hadn't reached any source of civilization yet, and the sun was slowly going down. Emma guessed it was probably five o clock, but time didn't really matter here. The only thing that mattered was finding the quickest way back to Henry.

Hook walked behind her, silently pondering their meeting with Triton. He doubted that Triton would spare them after they returned his property back to him, so he tried thinking of an escape plan. They could ransom the triton for their freedom, but he was too clever for that. He'd just send another wave out to drown them. Hook knew he needed something more valuable...something Triton would give his life for. Something that would make Triton bring back the Jolly Roger, set them free, and kiss Hook's boots before they sailed off.

Hook didn't talk to Emma about his plan. He knew that that was a bad idea because the last time he did that, Emma stopped trusting him. But he trusted her, and he knew that she was thinking the same thing.

Emma was indeed, thinking of how to outsmart Triton once they returned, but only drew blanks. She couldn't use her bail bondmen tricks on the King of the Sea. He was too smart for that. Ransom? She thought. No, too risky. She had to minimize the damage so that they wouldn't leave too much of an imprint on the past. But what could she say to do that?

She heard silence behind her, and turned to find that Hook was no longer there. Suddenly, he grabbed her and pulled her behind a tree.

"Sorry, love. I tried calling your name, but you didn't hear me." He whispered to her. "Look." In an open space ahead, a band of men were walking by. Each had a sword and a bag of loot-pirates, was Emma's first thought. There were about eight men, so they were clearly outnumbered. She looked at Hook and asked, "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to get you a weapon." Hook responded, walking out towards the men. Emma reluctantly joined him. "Ahoy, mates!" Hook yelled, getting their attention. "We are here to collect your weapons and your treasure. So if you want to make this easy on yourself and surrender, we could all be on our merry way."

The biggest man, obviously the leader, scoffed. "It seems we have a challenger, men." The other men laughed along with the leader. The leader had a long black beard and a bald head. He wore sea faring clothes and had big, disgusting hands. But his face was the worst part. It was crooked, like his features were on a permanent slant, but his head was completely straight. When he grinned, his yellow teeth were exposed. "What makes you think two wanderers can take on a band of pirates?"

"Any pirate without ship can hardly be called a pirate." Hook retorted. "You must have been pretty awful pirates to lose an entire ship like that."

The leader's nose twitched and his eyes glared at Hook. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he asked.

Hook drew out his sword and pointed it at him. "Try me." The other pulled out his sword and the two men squared off. Hook threw the first jab, which was blocked by his opponent. The other seven men started pulling out their swords to prepare for battle, but the leader shook them off. "This one's mine. Get the girl." He ordered. The men obeyed, and went after Emma.

Emma instinctively grabbed the closest thing to her, a rock, and launched it at the men. It hit one right in the head, causing him to collapse. She ran back into the forest to find another weapon. They chased after her.

Hook blocked an attack from his enemy, and then countered. He managed to cut open his bag of loot, causing all the coins to spill out. Momentarily distracted, Hook was able to slice the man's shirt, leaving a red mark across his chest. His enemy screamed in agony, then ran towards Hook.