The Mermaid-Cursed Pirate

Chapter 41

Recap:

Killian's jaw drops in surprise. "Your son? The Dark One is your son?"

"Yes, unfortunately,"

"Wow, okay. Well, since he's your son, you must have some ideas of what he would want?"

An evil smirk appears on Pan's face, "Yeah, come with me." He holds out his hand to the pirate and the two disappear into a cloud of green smoke.

Recap 2:

"I'm sorry, Belle. Is there nothing you can give him in exchange for your freedom? He's greedy. There has to be something he wants more than having a servant," Sirena suggests.

Belle whips her head up to meet the mermaid's eyes. "There is. There's one thing the Dark One wants more than anything in any realm. His dagger."

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They materialize on top of Skull Rock.

"What are we doing up here, Pan?" Killian spits, watching the boy's movements with a cautious eye.

"Call your little mermaid friend so we can all go to your ship," he answers with a smirk. There is a tense moment of silence as the captain glares at him. Then he rolls his eyes and shouts for Viviane.

She surfaces nearby and casts Killian a confused look at why he wasn't following their plan. He scoffs when that works, realizing she wouldn't be able to hear him if she had listened to him. He explains that they can't take the hourglass and that Pan is going to help him find something else to give to the Dark One. Viviane is doubtful about Pan's intentions but agrees to take him to the ship.

Understandably, the men were quick to try to attack the Lost Boys' leader when they arrived. But after some explaining from their captain, they reluctantly left him alone.

"So where do we find this dagger?" Killian asks Pan as they walk to his chambers to plan.

"No one knows. The Dark One used it to cut his shadow off and hide it where even he couldn't find it. He was afraid someone would use it against him because you can use it to control the Dark One."

"Then how are we supposed to find it? We don't have time to wander around looking for it! This is Sirena's life on the line! I can't let the Dark One kill her, so you either help me or you're in my way," he threatens, desperation and rage in his eyes. When the boy laughs at him, he grabs his shirt and pulls him so their eyes meet. "Listen to me. This is not one of your little island games. You said you would help me get her back, so what's it going to be, boy?"

"If you would kindly let me go, I'll explain how we're going to find it." His confident smirk annoys the pirate, but he listens, shoving him away. "Now, as I was about to say, The Dark One doesn't have control of his shadow, so I've sent mine to go find it. When my shadow comes back with his, I'll extract the location of the dagger from its memories and we'll go get it. Easy as that."

"How is your shadow going to bring his back? It's not going to come on its own," Hook comments sarcastically.

"Of course not. But I gave my shadow something to help him. Don't worry, pirate. He'll be back in no time. And then you'll get your girl back," he mumbles, sadness in his eyes.

If the captain notices his expression, he doesn't respond to it. He knows the past Sirena and Pan had and despite his hatred for the boy, he didn't want to hurt him by bringing it up. "Maybe we aren't total enemies now," he thinks to himself.

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"Okay, so we just have to convince the Dark One that we'll find his dagger in exchange for our freedom. He loves making deals." a grin forms on Sirena's face.

"You really think he would let us do that?" Belle asks, a pleading look in her eyes.

"He'll probably cast some sort of spell on us that will hurt us if we decide to turn on him, but I don't think he'll be able to resist it. Just tell him I demand to see him. I'll do the rest," she assures, her face hardening with determination.

Some time passes after Belle leaves before a cloud of smoke appears in front of the cell.

"I was told you wanted to talk to me," the Dark One giggles.

"I'd like to make a deal with you."

"Ooo, I do love a good trade. So what do you have for me?"

"Your dagger."

He slams his hands on the bars. "Don't lie to me, dearie. I know you don't have that."

"I don't." He relaxes. "But I'm willing to go find it and bring it back to you. You can put whatever spell you want on me to make sure I come back."

"Intriguing. And what do you want in return for this service?"

"My freedom." He nods in agreement. "And Belle's freedom, too,"

He giggles like a madman again. "I can give you your freedom, but I can't let her go for nothing."

"It wouldn't be for nothing. She'd be coming with me. I'm sure wherever your shadow hid it isn't safe for just one person."

"How do you know about that?"

"Your old man told me. Although, I guess you look older than him."

The Dark One paces in front of the cell, muttering to himself in anger. He turns back to the mermaid. "Fine, you two can go get my dagger and when you return, I'll let you go. But if you try to break our deal, you and the maid will die."

"You have my word. But one more thing, I'm going to need my magic back to find it," she points out, lifting the cuffed arm to him.

"Hmm, that's asking for a bit too much, isn't it, dearie?"

"Getting my magic back is part of my freedom. I'm just asking for that in advance. And I told you, Belle and I are willing to let you place whatever spell you want on us to make sure we're keeping our deal. But I would really like to not die trying to get you the dagger. So?" she trails off, holding out her arm again.

He purses his lips, considering his options. Then he holds out his hand to shake hers. "You've got yourself a deal."

Both of them grin at the prospect of being free again. Sirena would be free from this cell and the magic cuff. The Dark One would be free from being controlled by the dagger should anyone find it.