"Were those mermaids?" Jack Baker exclaimed, seeming more excited than afraid. "Are they real? Where did they come from? How did they-?"
"I can answer all those questions for you," Hook cut in, "But now is not the time."
Mr. Baker became silent, but his eyes were still glistening. Hook liked the young man, but he was concerned about sending him back to the Grey World. Right now Jack was under the impression that Hook was going to go quietly back to prison once they found the treasure and returned it to the bank. He wondered how long the lad's gullibility would last, but at the moment he had more pressing concerns before him. Like this big, empty room.
"Where is the treasure, Hook?" Dugglesworth asked in his shrill voice. "You said it was still mostly intact."
Hook looked around the chamber and then glanced back at the others. They were all soaking wet and staring at him expectantly. The treasure had to be there, otherwise, why would the mermaids have attacked?
Suddenly, a small compartment above them opened and a laser scanned the room. The beam lingered on Hook, and then another compartment opened and several wires and braces shot out and attached to his arm and fingers. To his horror, he heard Matilda's voice.
"State your name."
"James Hook." Above him, a green light flashed.
"Hello, James," oozed the disembodied voice. "Are you afraid?"
"N-no." He stammered. A shock pulsed through his body and he groaned in pain. A lie detector test, he thought. How very fitting.
"Are you afraid?" Matilda's voice repeated.
"Yes." The green light flashed.
"Why have you come here without me, James?"
"Because you're dead."
There was a pause and a bit of whirring as the system processed his response.
"I see. Do you miss me?"
"Not at all."
The green light was accompanied by another laser scan of the chamber. This time it stopped at Angela.
"Perhaps you've found someone to replace me?"
Hook frowned. Was that a question? Was he supposed to answer? Before he could speak, the voice sounded again.
"Who is this woman?" The laser was still shining on Angela.
"Angela Darling."
"Do you love her, James?"
Hook blanched with fear. For one, this was not the ideal situation to be confessing his love, but he also wasn't entirely sure the machine was looking for honesty. He wondered if it might be a sick trap to satisfy Matilda's jealousy, one that could result in his or Angela's death. He looked over at Angela. Her eyes were wide, but he couldn't quite read her expression. He dithered for a few more moments, then decided, at least for the sake of his honor, to tell the truth.
"Yes, I do."
Angela gasped, but otherwise, no one made a sound. After an excruciating amount of time had passed, the green light flashed and the wires and braces released him. The chamber began to creak. Hook closed his eyes, expecting the worst, but opened them again when he heard Detective Dugglesworth squeal in delight. Three walls had retracted into the ceiling, and they were surrounded by glorious, glittering treasure.
"It's more magnificent than I ever would have imagined!" The detective exclaimed, running towards a pile of jewelry. The rest of the group stepped tentatively forward, apparently overwhelmed by the grandeur of it all. Hook's eyes roved over the coins, the gems, and the precious metals. A smile tugged at his mouth as he remembered stealing all of these items years ago, and how brilliant the robbery had been. He was so caught up in his nostalgia that he almost didn't notice Angela standing next to him.
"James, I..."
But her words were cut off by a loud, clanking sound. James felt something cold on his ankles. He looked down and saw that chains had erupted from a panel in the middle of the floor and had wrapped around everyone's feet, holding them fast. A second later, the door behind them cracked open and water began to slowly fill the chamber. James cursed. He could almost hear Matilda's laughter in his head. To be so close, only to fail. It was just the kind of game that she relished.
"What's going on?" Detective Dugglesworth screamed, struggling against his chains. "What is this?"
"Well, it's a trap. Clearly," Nibs replied, looking completely unconcerned as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I'm going to die," the detective whispered. "I can't die! I've never even tasted caviar!"
"It's alright," Jack Baker said shakily. "We still have the masks."
Nibs shook his head. "In a confined space, these masks will filter through all the oxygen in about 30 minutes."
"Isn't there a way to alert the others in the ship?"
"Not from down here."
Captain Hook wanted to punch Nibs for being so calm. "Nibs, don't you have anything in your pack that would help?"
Nibs rifled through his bag. "I've got some dynamite pellets. Those would probably be a terrible idea. My miracle knife could cut through these chains, but with the thickness and quantity of them, it would take about an hour to just free myself. Other than that I've got some rope, flares and flashlights."
Hook exhaled. This really could be the end. He turned to Angela. "Angela, thanks to that demonic device, you know now how I feel, so you should know that I would never intentionally hurt you. I am desperately sorry about how things turned out."
"James," Angela cut in, "I practically begged you to let me come find this treasure."
"Yes, but I never should have brought you to Neverland in the first place."
A sad smile crossed Angela's face. "It has turned out to be a marvelous adventure. I'm ready to accept what comes next."
Hook's eyes filled with tears. To think that he would be responsible for the death of this incredible woman nearly made his heart explode with regret. "If only things had turned out differently," he said softly. "If only I hadn't ruined the network-" He stopped. A spark of hope flared in his mind. It was a risky move, but they really didn't have any other options.
"You said you had flashlights, Nibs?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Get them ready." Hook opened his controller watch and activated the largest mechanical animal within range. The cheetah whale. For several seconds, nothing happened, and Hook wondered if the massive creature was close enough to take the signal. But then the lights flickered and went out. Hook felt the chains around his feet go slack. There was a flurry of motion as Nibs turned on his flashlights and everyone stepped out of their chains. Nibs then set to tying the chains together with his rope. Thirty seconds later the lights came back on. The chains shook but since they were bound together they were unable to do any damage.
Hook sighed in relief. One obstacle was out of the way, but the water was already up to his knees. He turned back to the entrance of the chamber.
"Now we've just got to figure out how to open that door."