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Chapter Text

The strings of white lights still hung over the patio at Granny's, though most of the bulbs were shattered and the few that remained hung limp and dull on their strings. Emma tried not to look around as she walked up to the front door. She tried not to think of that kiss. The kiss under those lights.

The shop bell jingled as always when she entered. She looked around quickly, eyes scanning the scene for clues, as she had done many times before when she was a bail bondsperson. Emma was looking for a hint of anything that would lead her back to Killian. Emma even checked the back storerooms and the hallways.

"I told you, Swan. I'm a survivor."

The memory hit her with such force that she had to grab onto the wall for support. That day, the day she returned what was rightfully his. Killian's heart sat in the palms of her hands when it was still beating. She had been standing there. Just there. When he pressed her gently against the wall and kissed her.

"I'm a survivor."

Emma turned and bolted out of the shop. The little bell jingled again.

"Swan, don't make a man drink alone."

Emma's breath caught in her throat. For one heart stopping moment she felt sure that her pirate was sitting at the table in front of her there under the broken bulbs, waiting for her as he had that day.

The moment passed. The memory faded. She walked on.

"Well love, you don't have to worry about me."

"No." Emma stopped and closed her eyes. She tried to keep the memory away but it was relentless. Killian's voice came to her as though he were standing right beside her.

"I'm a survivor."

That was what he had said. Tears stung her eyes as she stood on the exact spot where Killian had spoken those words so many months ago. She had believed him then.

Tears fell as Emma wrapped her hand around the ring hanging from her neck and whispered. "You were supposed to live. I was supposed to save you. If you were a survivor, you wouldn't have left me. If I was the Savior, you wouldn't have died."

Emma fought to keep herself together as she turned and continued walking down the street. Every few feet she was hit with another memory; each one raw and real and visceral. How was it that nearly every aspect of this town reminded her of Killian? And why was each memory hitting her with such intensity? As Emma walked around the Underworld version of her home, the ghost of the life she had shared with Killian played out again before her.

There was the corner where he had stood waiting for her so many times before; always with a cup of coffee or a scone in hand. There was the street they had walked down together; arms intertwined. Happy. She passed the alleyway where they had fought Elsa’s snow monster and the Underworld version of the sheriff’s station. Each memory assaulted her with its accuracy and yet it was all strange and surreal. Each memory was real and not real. Killian was here and not here. This Underworld looked so similar to the world she now called home and yet it was too different. Too strange. It was as though she were on the wrong side of a mirror; forced to watch the life she had once lived.

The memories of her love overwhelmed her with every step she took and before she knew where she was, white wooden slats appeared in her peripheral vision. That house. The old blue victorian he had picked out. She hadn't known where she was heading and yet where else would she go? Emma reached out and put a hand on the little gate but she did not open the it. She couldn't.

This was their home. That future he had wanted for her. The future she was finally ready to have. She almost had a home. A life with Killian. Maybe one day there would have been children. Or a cat. They were going to grow old together in this house.

Her hands began to shake but she took a deep breath and opened the gate. With slow steps she crossed the yard, climbed the few stairs and laid a hand on the doorknob. What if he was in there? She felt a rush of excitement that was quelled almost instantly.

What if he was not?

She opened the door. It was her house and it wasn't. The colors were muted. Everything in the Storybrooke house had been new. Vibrant. The furniture was whole and undamaged. In this Underworld version the couch had stuffing peeking out of several holes. There were fewer books on the shelves and those that remained were missing covers or were discolored. The glass vases and figures she had chosen so carefully were broken or chipped in places. Everything was there but it wasn't.

Standing inside the doorway, she was hit with a barrage of memories that sent her reeling.

"I'm surprised you let me in."

"That's why you'll always be an orphan."

"There's no sight like a full moon on the waves."

"I want to hurt you like you hurt me."

Here in the Underworld her love haunted her. She couldn't stop the memories from coming. Again and again she heard his voice; clear and cruel and beautiful.

Emma covered her ears and ran up the stairs and suddenly the memories stopped.

It was quiet here.

Killian had never seen this part of the house.

She searched through the ghost rooms of the house that wasn't hers and found nothing but emptiness and broken furniture. The last door she opened was the bedroom. It wasn't hers. It was never theirs. This bed had a layer of dust. The desk in the corner was missing a leg. The mirror over the dresser was foggy and distorted. Emma did not recognize herself in the reflection. She leaned against the wall beside the door and sank down to the ground. She sat, half hidden by the dresser, and broke.

Time passed. She did not know how much.

There came the distant sound of the front door opening.

"Mom?"

Emma's head snapped up. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Up here." She half croaked and cleared her throat again. There came the thumping sound of Henry's feet on the stairs. The sound made Emma smile, in spite of herself. Henry had dealt with so much in such a short amount of time, yet through it all he was still Henry; the unfailing optimist that kept them all going. The teenager who thundered up the stairs.

Emma opened the door the rest of the way and there he was. She hugged her son tightly to her and was again amazed at how tall he had grown in the few short years she had known him.

"Any luck?" Emma's voice was more fragile than she wanted it to be.

"No, we haven't found him anywhere." Henry said.

Emma nodded, trying hard not to cry.

"But there's one place we haven't looked." said Henry, looking at his mother with his old, mischievous grin.

"Where?" Emma asked.

"The Jolly Roger."

Emma nearly sprinted down to the docks, Henry following closely behind her. The Jolly Roger. Of course! Why didn't she think of that? Killian would be there. He just had to be. It was his home. His first home, and she'd already looked everywhere else. If he wasn't there-

But he had to be.

At last. She recognized the mast, the rigging; the Jolly Roger. She ran toward the ship, desperate to see her pirate again.

There was a man standing on the deck. For a moment she thought it was him. “Killian,” she whispered. But then the man turned toward the sound of her running footsteps.

"Hey!" Emma shouted, storming angrily up the ramp onto the ship. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Mom! Wait!" Henry called after her. But Emma paid him no attention.

The man on deck simply looked at her. He did not seem to be at all rattled by the angry blonde woman running toward him.

"This isn't your ship! The Jolly Roger doesn't belong to you!" Beneath her rage, Emma noticed that there was something familiar about this man. His eyes. They looked so much like Killian's that she felt her breath catch. Memories were painful enough but this? Some stranger standing on HIS ship? A stranger with HIS eyes?

Emma grabbed the man roughly by his collar and pushed him back against the mast. Far from being scared, the man smiled at her. It was an infuriating smile. Arrogant. Smug.

"The Jolly Roger?" The man smirked, " You must be confused, lass. You're standing aboard The Jewel of the Realm."

Emma froze. She stared at him for a full five seconds. Then she let go of his collar and stepped back. She had heard that name before. It was the name of the ship Killian had sailed with his brother. The ship that later became The Jolly Roger. That could only mean one thing.

"You're … you're Liam." Emma said weakly. Her breath quickened and she grabbed on to the rigging for support. The man shook out his coat and smiled again.

Liam chuckled. "You must be Emma."

Emma could only nod.

"How did you get down here?" Liam asked.

"It's a long story."

"My schedule's pretty clear." It felt like she had been punched in the gut. Killian's eyes. His ship. And now his words. It all became too much for her. She sank slowly down and sat on the deck with her head in her hands. Neither Liam nor Henry said anything else. They simply waited. Once Emma came back to herself, she stood slowly upright again.

"It doesn't matter how we got here. I... I came to find your brother."

The smile finally faded from Liam's face. "Killian? He died?"

"Yes." the word felt like ice in her throat.

Liam sat down on a barrel and lowered his head. "I wondered. When I saw the Jewel again, if that's what it meant."

"Do you know where he is?" Emma asked, a note of desperation in her voice.

"No. I haven't seen him anywhere." Liam said sadly, looking out across the bay.

"But then, how did you know who I am?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Even in the underworld, your reputation precedes you." Seeing Emma's look of continued confusion, Liam went on. "There have been rumors going ‘round about a living woman who brought an entire search party into the Underworld to rescue her True Love."

Emma nodded, still trying to get her mind around everything that had just happened.

"Of course, I had no idea that the True Love was my little brother." Liam said, smirking at her.

“Yeah, today is just full of surprises.” Emma muttered.

Liam grew serious. "I will help you find my brother, Emma.”

“You will?”

“Yes.” Liam looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Emma, has he… did he tell you about how… how I died?”

Emma looked straight into those too-familiar eyes. “Yes, he did.”

Liam sighed. “I’ve thought about nothing else for the last two hundred years. I should have listened to him that day in Neverland. I believed so strongly in the King we swore to serve that I was too stubborn to listen to Killian and in the end it cost me my life. I’ve been waiting all this time to see my brother again. To tell him that I’m sorry.”

Emma was momentarily at a loss for what to say. Then Henry stepped forward and placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder. “We’ll find him,” he said confidently. “That’s what my family does. We find people, and we’re pretty good at it. You’ll see your brother again.” Emma stared wonderingly at Henry, amazed at the remarkable person her son had become.

Liam nodded at Henry, “The lad’s right. We will find him. I’ve waited two hundred years to see my brother again but maybe with your help I can finally see him again. Maybe I can finally find peace and maybe, just maybe, we can return your happy ending." Liam turned toward Emma.

Emma stared at him. "How-"

"As I said, word travels fast."

“There’s just one problem,” Emma said, “We don't even know where to look."

"Well, we won't find him here. Let's head back through the town." Liam said.

Henry, Liam and Emma disembarked and made their way back up the docks.

"It's my job, well, I hope it's my job to protect your heart."

"No." Emma couldn’t do this anymore. She just couldn’t keep hearing his voice. Emma wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to stop shaking.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Liam looked over at her, concern on every line of his face. The face with the eyes that were so like Killian's.

"I can't." Emma whispered.

"Can't? Can't what?" The lines of concern deepened on his face.

"It's Killian's voice." Henry supplied.

"What?" Liam asked sharply.

Henry explained, "My mom's been hearing Killian's voice ever since we got to the underworld. So have I. Whenever I pass a place where I talked with him, I hear his voice again. It's almost like the memory is replaying."

A look of dawning comprehension flashed across Liam's face.

"What?" Emma asked, as Killian's voice at last subsided.

"You're hearing Killian speak to you, as if he were standing right next to you?" Liam asked.

"Yes." Emma said.

"And the voice is repeating everything Killian had said to you when he was alive?"

"Yes!" Emma said more urgently.

Liam smiled grimly. "Then I know just where to find your pirate."

Chapter Text

“You know where he is?” Emma asked again.

“Yes.” Liam turned and walked quickly toward the center of town.

“Well, where the hell is he?” Emma called after Liam.

“Exactly.”

“Is that some kind of joke? Hey!” Emma shouted. Liam stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up to him. “You’re not making any sense.”

“The reason you’ve been hearing Killian’s memories all over town is that he no longer has them.”Liam explained. “Killian still exists, but not as you knew him. That man is gone.”

A chill ran through Emma. “There has to be some way to bring him back.”

“If indeed he has been taken, then he’ll be down there.” Liam pointed to a building a few blocks ahead of them- the library. Or at least, what had been the library in Storybrooke.

“I believe this town you are from, this “Storybrooke” had underground mines, correct?”

“Yes.”

“There is no need for mines here. That building- what was the library is now the entrance to Purgatory. Killian will be down there.”

Without another word, Emma turned and started walking quickly toward the library, Liam and Henry right behind her. The front door was jammed, as though it hadn’t been opened for centuries. Emma and Liam kicked and shoved the door before it finally gave way.

The library looked as shabby and rundown as the rest of the Underworld. The bookshelves were covered in such a thick layer of dust that it was almost impossible to tell one book from the next. The shelves themselves were crooked and the large circulation desk in the corner had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

They crossed quickly to the elevator. It looked as shabby and rundown as everything else. For a moment, Emma doubted that it was sturdy enough to carry them down. However, they didn’t have much of a choice. If she wanted to save Killian, this was the only way. She led the other two into the elevator. Henry closed the door and they descended. All three of them were quiet as the elevator sank lower into the depths of hell.

The elevator slowed and jerked to a stop. Emma stood in front of Liam and Henry and opened the gate. There towering before them was a massive, three-headed dog. The beast was larger than any Emma had ever seen and certainly larger than the dragon Maleficent that Emma had once fought back in the mines of Storybrooke. As the grill doors opened, All three of his heads turned to stare at the would-be heroes who had just entered his territory. With a low, deep growl that made the earth around them tremble, the beast drew himself up to his full height. Emma’s knees grew weak. No. This was no dragon.

“Run!” Emma shouted as the dog lunged for them. She pushed Henry behind a nearby rock and followed closely after him. The beast bent low enough toward them that Emma could see her own reflection in its eyes yet the dog could not reach them. Emma looked past the dog’s heads and saw Liam still standing by the elevator, gazing steadily up at the dog. There was no fear in his eyes. He was deliberating. Calculating something. She had seen a similar look in Killian’s face before. Usually before he did something reckless.

“Liam! What are you doing! Hide!” Emma shouted

Then Liam stooped and picked up a rock the size of a football. “Oi! Take this, you brute!” Liam shouted and chucked the rock at the dog. The rock bounced off of the dog’s right head, the closest one to Liam. Cerberus barely flinched. He turned his head and growled quickly at Liam, almost as a reprimand, before turning and bearing down once more on Emma and Henry.

“Emma, I don’t think he will attack me.” Liam yelled over to her. “I’m dead. I don’t think he cares about you if you’re dead.”

“Go then!” Emma shouted back, “Find Killian! I’ll hold him off.”

Liam tried to dash down the hallway on the other side of the cavernous room. At last the dog seemed to take notice of him. He raised an enormous paw and swatted Liam, who flew backward and slammed into the elevator.

“LIAM!” Emma shouted, horrified. But then Liam stood up and shook his head. Emma sighed with relief. Her relief didn’t last long. The giant three-headed dog was still fighting like mad to get to Emma and Henry.

“Mom.” Henry said suddenly “use your magic.”

She thought of Henry and of Killian as she summoned all the power she still possessed and shot a ball of brilliant white light right at the monster’s center head. For a moment, she thought it had worked. The beast was immobilized. But a few seconds later he blinked and shook his heads. The massive dog barked and the humongous cavern trembled. Again and lowered his heads and snapped his jaws.

“Great. Now what?” Emma looked around frantically for something that might help.

Henry grabbed his mother’s arm. “I need rope,” he said.

Emma nodded and with another wave of her hand, conjured thick ropes out of the air. These Henry threw toward Liam, who caught them deftly in his arms. Liam looked over at the two of them, confused.

“The Midshipman’s Hitch!” Henry shouted.

Emma didn’t have a clue what that meant, but Liam face lit up. His hands were a flurry of movement. The ropes looped each other and Liam pulled them tight. He was left with a large loop, like a lasso. Liam snuck up beside the dog and tried to loop the rope around all three necks.

Emma threw another burst of magic at the dog’s heads. Like before, he was immobilized, but only momentarily. Emma wasted no time. Every few seconds, as the effects were wearing off, Emma shot more magic at the dog’s head. This allowed Liam just enough time to throw the looped rope around all three necks and pull it tight. Then Liam swiftly tied the other end securely around a thick, jagged section of the rock wall.

Once the dog was secured Emma reemerged from the rock, Henry right behind her. Emma’s knees were shaking as she grabbed her son and pulled him into a tight hug. Then she threw her arms around Liam and hugged him too. “That was amazing! How did you think of that?”

“It was Henry’s idea.” Liam said modestly.

“What’s that Middle ship hatch?” Emma asked him.

Henry smiled. “It’s The Midshipman’s Hitch. It’s a sailor’s knot.”

Emma paused.

“Did Killian teach you that?” she asked quietly.

Henry nodded. “After my dad died. He took me out sailing one day and started teaching me the different knots. He said that his dad taught him when he was little.”

Liam nodded. He beamed with pride at Henry, clearly impressed, but there was sorrow behind his smile. “Killian and I learned a great deal sailing with our father and with our… masters after him.”

Henry looked to be on the verge of saying something else, but Liam spoke over him, “It’s no matter now. We must press forward. Killian should be right down there.” He pointed to an entrance off to the side of the cavern.

Emma, Henry and Liam walked quickly down the hall. Though the great black dog was secure for the moment, none of them knew just how long the bonds would hold and they didn’t want to find out.

About fifty yards down, the hall opened into an endless dark room with high rock ceiling and what looked like water slowly dripped down the walls. The only light came from the dozens and dozens of enormous fire pits that dotted the room every fifty yards or so. Nearly a hundred people stood around each one, all shovelling coal endlessly into the fiery depths. Each face was bent toward the flames, each body shuffled in the same slow way. It was almost impossible to tell one from another. All their years of torment had torn away anything that made them who they had been while they were living.

Emma began to search. In the lack of light it was hard to even distinguish male from female faces. Many of the people clustered around the fires were muttering to themselves. Emma stared at the faces of all she passed but didn’t see Killian anywhere. She tried to look into their eyes but every head was bent over their work.

“Coal in the fire. Coal in the fire.” A man standing about ten yards to her left was muttering, just as many others were but she knew this voice. It was the same voice that had once whispered “I love you” in her ear. The same voice that had haunted her since she arrived in the underworld.

Emma turned and gasped. Killian was wearing the same grey clothing as everyone else, the same beat down expression. He looked so different without his usual clothes, his jewelry, all the outer trappings that made him the dashing rapscallion she knew and loved. But he was here.

“Killian.” Emma whispered, smiling for the first time in weeks. She had found him at last. Emma reached out and put a hand on his cheek. He did not respond to her touch.

“Killian.” Emma’s voice grew stronger, “Killian, it’s me. It’s Emma.”

“Coal in the fire. Coal in the fire.” Killian muttered the mantra as he dumped another shovelful of coal into the immense flames.

Emma put both hands on his face. “Killian. Please. Look at me. Just look at me.”

The blue eyes she loved so much looked into her own and what she saw there terrified her more than anything else in the Underworld.

She saw nothing. No warmth. No love. Killian was looking right at her and yet he didn’t see her.

Killian turned back to his work and his face slipped out of her grasp. Emma let her hands fall to her sides as he continued to chant; “Coal in the fire. Coal in the fire.” He shovelled coal as though nothing had happened. As though his True Love was not standing right in front of him, begging him to notice her.

“Killian,” she whispered again, but her love repeated his mantra and did not look at her again. Emma turned and walked slowly away from him. She left the room in a daze, barely noticing that Liam and Henry were following her. The two young men said nothing as they followed her back past the guard dog and into the elevator. Just as they were about to leave, Emma waved her hands and the ropes binding the three headed dog disappeared. He stretched his heads and barked after them but the elevator had already started its climb back to the surface of the Underworld.

Once they made it out into the harsh sunlight, Henry tugged on her arm. “Mom?” concern for his mother had caused his voice to go up in pitch. Emma looked at her son and attempted a smile. It almost worked.

“I am not leaving him down there” Emma said, determination in every line of her tired face. She turned to Liam. “What do we do now?”

Liam’s smile was genuine. “There is one more thing we could try, but it’s difficult. No one has managed to do it for centuries.”

“What is it?” Emma asked at once.

Liam hesitated. “Hades,” he said. “To get Killian back, you’ll need to go see the King of the Underworld himself.

____

Emma knew this place. She had been to the Storybrooke version only once before. A large, looming mansion seated at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. In Storybrooke, It had been the site where she had almost given up her magic. Now, it seemed, it housed the God of the Underworld.

Unlike the rest of the Underworld, this house was in pristine condition. The sweeping lawns were as green as any in Storybrooke. The paint on the house shone brilliantly in the sun and all of the windows were whole and undamaged. The statues in the fountains were void of any moss and the stone pathway looked even tidier than the pathway in the mansion’s Storybrooke counterpart.

Emma marched forward, determined to get her pirate back when Liam grabbed her arm.

“What?” Emma asked impatiently.

“Hades. There’s something you should know” Emma looked at him exasperatedly. Liam continued, “he can be quite… persuasive.”

“How do you know that?” Emma looked at Liam critically, a certain amount of distrust in her gaze.

“Emma, I’ve been dead for hundreds of years. Being in the Underworld for so long, you learn things. Many of the dead have sought him out. They all begged him for something, usually to return to the land of the living, but none have succeeded.”

“So you’re trying to say that this is hopeless?” Anger in her voice barely masked her fear.

“Of course not,” Liam said. “No situation is without hope but what I’m saying, Emma is that this will be very difficult. Possibly the most difficult thing you have ever faced.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Emma said defiantly. “Whatever it takes, I will get Killian back.”

Liam nodded and said nothing more. Emma turned to Henry. She gave him a quick, strong hug. “Wait here with Liam.” For once, Henry did not argue. Emma knew he wanted to come with her, to help her, but they all seemed to understand that this was a step Emma must take alone.

Chapter Text

Emma marched up to the front door and rang the doorbell. From the other side, she could hear the scurrying of feet. There came a crash, as though whoever was running to the door had knocked into something and fallen to the ground. Then came more scurrying footsteps and finally the door opened.

Emma’s first thought was of a grasshopper. He was a tall, skeletally thin man. His spider-like fingers scratched the top of his bald head and he adjusted his large round glasses. “Yes? What do you want?” he barked, staring at the space beside Emma, as though not immediately registering that she was standing in front of him.

“I’m here to see Hades.” Emma said.

The grasshopper man looked over at Emma and nearly jumped out of his very frail looking skin. He adjusted his glasses yet again as his mouth fell open. “You… You’re not… dead.” He said shakily.

“No, I’m not.” Emma said flatly. “My name is Emma Swan.”

“Ah.” said the man, nodding slowly and waving a finger toward her. “Yes, yes I know who you are. All of the Underworld knows who you are. I know why you have come but it is pointless. You cannot win. You should leave now, Emma Swan.”

Emma took a step toward him. She had encountered plenty of guys like him in her time as a bail bondsperson. “I want to see Hades.” she said firmly. The grasshopper man took a step back.

“Right,” he cleared his throat, clearly trying to regain his composure, “Well… I guess that… okay.” and he stepped aside to let her through. Emma glanced back at Liam and Henry who were both watching her from the gated entrance and then followed the man into the house.
___

Henry was staring intently at his mother as she stepped over the threshold. He did not like this. He did not want his mother to walk into Hades’ house alone. Emma could do anything, Henry was convinced of that, but he still didn’t like the idea of her facing the God of the Underworld alone. Henry could sense Liam watching him. He turned and looked at the elder Jones brother.

“You’re mother’s a remarkable woman, Henry.” Liam said.

“Yeah, she is.” Henry said, his voice full of pride.

Liam smiled. He remembered Killian looking at him with that same glowing pride when he had finally been made a Captain of the Royal Navy. That memory made him miss Killian more than ever. The entire time he’d been in the Underworld, in this odd between space, Liam wondered what had happened to Killian after Liam’s death. All these many years he wanted nothing more than to know that his little brother had led a full and meaningful life. It meant a great deal to him to meet someone who had gotten to know and love the man Killian had become.

“How did Emma meet my brother?” Liam finally asked.

Henry had read that story in his book many times. “In the Enchanted Forest.” he said, and he launched into the story of how his mother had met Captain Hook when he was still a villainous pirate, climbed a beanstalk with him and left him chained him up with a giant. At this, Liam actually laughed.

“I can’t imagine anyone fooling my brother.” He said, “Even when we were kids, Killian had an uncanny knack for knowing the truth about a person.”

“So does my mom,” Henry said with a smile, “She can tell whenever someone is lying to her. She calls it her superpower.”

“Does she now?” Liam smiled confidently and looked up at the mansion, “I have no doubt about that, lad. Your mother is quite remarkable.”

___

Everything inside Hades’s mansion was pristine. The furniture, the walls, everything seemed to almost glisten. It was more beautiful, yet somehow more sinister than the Sorcerer’s mansion in Storybrooke. The walls were too bright. The furniture was too clean. There was something in the air that made Emma feel uneasy.

The grasshopper man led her up the stairs and down a long, twisting hallway that opened up to a large, sunny room. One wall of the room was covered in tall, paned windows. Through them Emma could see a magnificent view of the ocean. The sight made her ache for Killian. He would have loved that view.

“Wait here. Hades will be with you shortly.”

Emma watched him retreat from the room before getting lost once more in the view of the ocean. Her thoughts were only of Killian. Her longing for him threatened to overwhelm her but she knew she couldn’t let that happen. She was in enemy territory. Whatever Hades was like, Emma knew that she had to keep herself in check. It was now more important than ever that she keep her guard up. Emma turned away from the window and looked around the room. It appeared to be something of a conference room. Bookshelves lined the walls and there was a large, rectangular table in the middle of the room with six chairs placed at even intervals around it.

In one corner of the room stood a large glass cabinet, filled with a wide array of strange and sinister looking objects. There were glass bottles full of different colored liquids, strangely beautiful glass figurines, and some of the oldest looking books she had ever seen. Something about that cabinet seemed to draw Emma closer. As she began walking toward it the large wood doors opened again and a man walked through, shortly followed by a woman Emma knew was his wife. She didn’t know how she knew this, but she did. Hades’ wife was a very beautiful woman dressed in a long, flowing gown. She had flowers woven into the thick braid that fell over her shoulder. She walked to the corner of the room and stood silently. Her eyes met Emma’s and she give her a small, warm smile that didn’t hide the sadness in her eyes.

The man had short blond hair and a rather pointed chin. He was dressed in a clean, crisp suit and radiated an aura of control. There was something very disconcerting about his smile. Especially once Emma realized that for some reason she was smiling back.

“Emma.” he said, opening his arms wide. His voice was full of false warmth. With an effort, Emma pulled herself out of her apparent trance.

“I’ve come for Killian Jones.” Emma said without preamble, standing straighter and staring Hades in the face.

“Yes, yes of course.” Hades waved an airy hand, as though completely dismissing her comment. Emma felt a rush of fury at this gesture. “We’ll get to that later. But first,” Hades waved his hand. A silver tray appeared. “What kind of host would I be if I didn’t at least offer you some refreshments?”

Emma’s mouth watered at the mere sight of the food. Grilled Cheese. Onion Rings. Hot Cocoa with Cinnamon. Hades knew all of her favorites. To be fair, everyone in her life knew her particular weakness for Granny’s grilled cheese, but if the last few years in Storybrooke had taught her anything, it was not to trust a plate of food given by an enemy. She had been on both sides of that deal before.

“No, thank you.” Emma responded coolly.

“Are you sure?” His voice was as smooth as silk. Emma wavered for a moment. The smell was incredible. And it had been a very long time since she had eaten.

“No… ” Emma’s traitorous stomach chose that moment to let out a long, low rumble.

Hades’s smile was infuriatingly patronizing. “Emma, really, there’s no need for all these theatrics. We both know you’re hungry. And it’s no wonder! You’ve been so busy worrying about everyone else, you haven’t even stopped to take care of yourself.”

“My family… needs me.” Emma said quietly as Hades held the plate up higher.

“And while you’re out taking care of everyone else, who’s taking care of you?”

“Well, I suppose…” Emma’s voice trailed away. Maybe Hades had a point. Emma had always taken care of herself. Even after she was reunited with her parents, they didn’t necessarily take care of her. They loved her, yes, but in many ways it had been too late. She had already grown up. These days they had baby Neal to take care of and the town to worry about. Who did Emma have to care for her?

And then she remembered Killian holding her as she watched her mother being burned at the stake, Killian trading his ship to get back to her. Killian fighting evil Snow and Charming in Isaac’s book to save her. Killian encouraging her to ride the horse in Camelot. Emma turned away from the plate and stared out again at the ocean. Killian needed her. She would not abandon him now.

“I’m here for Killian Jones.” Emma felt rather than saw Hades move. She looked to her right and saw that the God was standing very close to her, the plate of food gone. Emma stepped away from him. Hades was staring at her. Emma looked in his eyes and in that moment she found it was impossible to look away.

“Who?” Hades asked quietly. When he spoke, she found herself relaxing. Her tension, her worries about Killian, every heartache she had ever felt in her life disappeared.

“I...” Emma said quietly, but she couldn’t remember what she was going to say.

Hades smiled. Emma smiled vaguely back at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was wrong. Somewhere she knew she had to ask him a question.

“I… I came here to ask something.” Emma said vaguely.

Hades smile. “Oh? And what was that?”

“I came to ask…. to ask… I...” Emma was still staring at Hades. His voice was was like silk. It wrapped around her and held her tightly. Emma felt calm and secure. She felt truly at peace for the first time in years.

“Yes, child?” Hades asked, taking her hand. “Did you have a question for me? If you have a request, now is the time to make it. I am a fair man, Emma Swan and I want to help you but I cannot do anything for you unless you ask. This is your only chance.”

“I… nothing. There is nothing I wanted to ask you.” Emma said quietly, her brow furrowed in confusion. That didn’t feel right. She had a horrible feeling that this was wrong. She did have a request. There was someone she had to help but for the life of her she couldn’t remember who that was and Hades was still staring at her in that way that was oddly comforting. She took a deep breath and sighed.

“Well, if you’re sure.” Hades said pleasantly.

“I’m sure.” Emma said contentedly. Hades walked to the door and held it open for her. Emma was only vaguely aware that she was exiting the room. She dimly recognized the grasshopper man and she thanked him as he opened the front door for her.

The door shut behind her with a sharp snap and the spell broke. With horror, Emma remembered everything that had happened. She was supposed to ask Hades to release Killian. This was her last chance. Emma was supposed to save him and she failed. What was worse, she had completely forgotten that he existed at all. And now it was too late. Her true love would be trapped in the underworld forever.

“What have I done?” Emma sank shakily to the ground, leaned her back against the door and sobbed into her hands.

Chapter Text

Liam and Henry watched Emma collapse on the front porch and ran toward her.

“Mom! Mom, what happened?” Emma could hear the panic in his voice and she tried to pull herself together. She stood up and wiped the tears from her face but they just kept coming.

“I failed.” Emma said in a quiet voice. Without another word, Henry hugged her tightly. Emma’s tears fell onto her son’s shoulders. Liam placed a consoling hand on her arm.

Emma let go of Henry and cleared her throat. Liam’s arm dropped once more to his side. “I… I just need some time.” she said. Henry nodded, concern for his mother darkening his face. Emma placed a hand on his cheek and attempted a smile.

The mansion was situated at the top of a large hill next to the edge of an expansive forest. Emma walked numbly down the hill and into the forest. She didn’t know where she was going and at that moment she didn’t care. The only thing that matter was that she had failed Killian. Her love. The man who always stood by her side. Who had saved her time and again, who supported her and refused to ever give up on her.

Guilt and sorrow overwhelmed her again and she sank to the ground beside a fallen tree.

“Emma?”

Emma started and turned her tear-stained face toward the sound of the voice. Here away from the God of the Underworld, his wife seemed much different, or perhaps Emma was just able to see her without the suffocating presence of her husband. Her voice sounded like wind chimes. Sunlight danced in her sad eyes and the flower crown she wore waved lazily, as though it too were caught in that same breeze.

“May I sit down?” Emma nodded and wiped her eyes. The woman sat beside Emma.

Persephone flicked her wrist and a bud appeared. She handed the bud to Emma, who looked on in wonder as it bloomed in the palm of her hand. Emma held the pink middlemist flower tightly and gazed at the woman.

“I am Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld.” She smiled kindly at Emma.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Emma said, at a loss for what else to say.

They were quiet for a minute.

“I can’t believe it.” Emma said, “I can’t believe I actually forgot-”

Persephone put a hand on her shoulder and waited for her cries to subside. “You are one of the few living mortals who has ever entered the Underworld. It goes against the natural order of things and Hades has been known to resort to trickery in the interest of maintaining that order.”

“I didn’t want to change anything. I just wanted Killian back.” Emma’s voice cracked.

“I know. That’s why I’m here.” Emma looked questioningly at her. Persephone continued, “I was not always the Queen of the Underworld. I was once a mortal woman, just as you are. I was young and full of hope and I dreamed of one day finding True Love. But then Hades found me. He fell in love with me. He brought me here.”

Persephone rested her hands upon her knees and stared off into the distance ahead of her. “Hades has always been very kind and very honest with me. He gave me magic and made me immortal. As such, he cannot charm me as he charms others. I have grown to care for him deeply but I do not love him. He knows this.”

She turned her head and looked at Emma. Emma saw sunshine and sadness radiating from their depths of Persephone’s eyes. “What you and Killian have Emma, that is True Love. Some of us never experience a love like that. If you are lucky enough to have that love, you must fight for it. And you have. You both have fought so hard for each other and for the love you share.”

“But I lost him.” Emma said quietly, fighting tears.

“Maybe not.”

Emma looked up at the Queen. “What? Can you bring Killian back?”

Persephone’s face fell. “Sadly, my child, I cannot. Hades’ rule is law in the Underworld.”

“But then what-”

“I cannot go against his word. But I can help you. I can appeal to my husband and get you a second meeting. He has never granted a mortal a second chance at a request, but he loves me and I believe he will do this for me.”

Emma tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. “If I see him again, he’ll just use that same jedi mind trick he used on me the first time.”

“That’s where I can help you. Yes, Hades can be quite persuasive when he wants to be, but he is not infallible, though of course that’s what he wants you to think.” Persephone smirked slightly at this thought.

“I don’t understand.” Emma said.

“There is a phrase that, when uttered, can cut through Hades’s spell and render him powerless.”

Emma’s eyes grew wide. “Really? What is it?”

Persephone smiled at the eagerness in Emma’s voice. “αληθινή αγάπη”

The smile slid from Emma’s face. “What?”

Persephone repeated the phrase.

Emma stared at her. “I don’t speak... whatever language that is.”

“It’s Greek.” Persephone said. For some reason, she was smiling. “Do not think about the language. Think about the sounds and copy them. Here. Again. αληθινή αγάπη”

Emma repeated it as best as she could. Persephone shook her head and repeated the phrase. Emma copied her. Again the Queen of the Underworld shook her head. Persephone said the phrase. Emma repeated it. They went back and forth until Emma could correctly pronounce it.

“Good.” Persephone said, “I will get you a second meeting with Hades. Once you say that phrase, he will be powerless. Then you can make your request.”

The Queen of the Underworld stood up, “I will go to Hades now. Wait for his messenger. Keep repeating that phrase.” Seeing the rising panic in Emma’s eyes, Persephone took her hand. Emma looked up. “You will be fine, Emma. You have love on your side.”

Persephone’s voice was like warm spring wind and it filled Emma with hope. She took a deep breath and smiled in her new found confidence.

Henry and Liam were still standing by the front gate of Hades’ mansion. Henry was looking angrier than she had ever seen him. Unless Emma was mistaken, he looked to be arguing with Liam about whether or not to go confront Hades himself. Emma began to walk more quickly. Before she could think of anything to say, Henry had thrown his arms around her again. “We’ll find a way to get him back, Mom. I promise. Don’t give up yet.” Emma tightened her hold around her son and then released him, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her red jacket.

“You’re right, Henry. We will get him back” Henry looked quizzically at the hesitant smile on her face and she relayed her meeting with the Goddess. Henry’s jaw dropped. “Mom that’s… that’s amazing.”

Emma, Henry and Liam were deep in discussion, formulating a contingency plan in case the second meeting fell through when the grasshopper man appeared before them with a small “pop”. Adjusting his glasses, he addressed Emma, “Hades requests your presence.”

Emma took a deep breath and nodded, repeating Persephone’s phrase in her head. Just as she was about to start walking back toward the mansion, the grasshopper man reached out and took a hold of her arm. Emma opened her mouth to protest but the next second they were in the middle of Hades’ conference room. The grasshopper man dropped her arm, bowed at the God standing in the corner and left.

There was no plate of food this time. No cocoa with cinnamon. When the God of the Underworld stepped out of the shadowy corner and addressed her, Emma could tell that this was going to be an even less pleasant visit than her previous one.

“Hello again, Ms. Swan.” There was no warmth in his voice now. Hades walked to a cabinet in the corner and opened the door. Inside was a collection of crystal decanters filled with amber and clear liquors. Hades poured a generous measure into a glass and took a swig. Then he turned once more to Emma. “ I’d offer you some, but this is distilled from the finest grains in the fields of Asphodel. One sip could kill you.” Hades cruel laugh echoed around the room. Emma suppressed a shudder.

“I’ve come for-” Again, Hades waved her comment away.

“Yes, yes I know why you’re here. I know everything.” He gave an almost sarcastic wave of his hand. The motion caused the contents of his glass to slosh around.

Hades took a sip and continued to stare at Emma. “I love my wife, Ms. Swan. She is far more… ah, tender hearted than I. She was moved by your plight. It was only because of my affection for her that I agreed to have this second meeting with you. This is highly unusual, Emma. But then again, I suppose you are highly unusual.”

He stepped toward her. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and full of malice. Every word was intended to wound her. “An orphan princess. Abandoned by her parents. Shunted from one family to another. Unwanted. Alone. Not very auspicious beginnings for a princess, wouldn’t you say?”

Though she stared hard out the window and thought of Killian, she felt an invisible force turning her head in Hades’ direction as he walked toward her. Against her will, Emma looked into his eyes and began to believe every word he said. After all, Hades was right. She was nothing special. She wasn’t a Savior here. Just an orphan. A girl no one ever wanted. Who was she, next to this all-powerful God?

And then through the open window fluttered a floral scented breeze. On it came hope and a voice. “I’ll never stop fighting for us.”

Emma gasped. “Killian,” she whispered with a smile. It was the first time she had heard his voice since they had found him trapped beside the fire pits. His voice filled her with love and courage. She turned to Hades. She remembered where she was. She remembered what she had to do.

“Filufila Raffi.” Emma said as confidently as she could.

Hades froze. For one wonderful moment Emma thought it had worked. She smiled and was about to speak when Hades laughed. It was a cruel, cold sound and it sent another shiver running through her. Emma’s heart sank. Despite all her rigorous practice, she was pronouncing it wrong. The words had no effect over him.

Hades wagged a finger at her, his smile more of a leer. “It seems I underestimated you, Ms. Swan. You’ve clearly made strong allies here. But your attempts will not work. You cannot defeat me. You will never see your pirate again.” Hades drained the last of his drink and set the glass down on a shelf in the cabinet.

Emma squared her shoulders and said even louder “Fialu Finia Raffi.”

Hades was no longer smiling. “This will not work, child. End this now.” He was no longer indulging her. He was no longer smiling. This could mean one thing; she was getting close. She tried again.

“Fialu Fimina Raffi.” Emma said.

The air around her froze in an instant. The sky outside the large, high-paned windows grew tumultuously purple and grey. In the distance she could hear screaming. The sound grew louder and louder, carried toward her on the wind. She heard her mother, her father, Henry, Killian, every person she knew and loved screaming. Their voices came to her through the open window and the sound sent a thrill of horror running through her. She turned once more and looked at Hades. He was towering over her, at least ten feet tall, radiating power and glowing red. Emma couldn’t hear her own scream over the cries of her family. The God’s eyes bore into her and in them she saw her adoptive family giving her away when she was three, she saw the other children terrorizing her at the group homes while the adults in her life didn’t or wouldn’t intervene. She saw Ingrid, Lily, Neal, that first night in jail, the day she gave up Henry. Killian dying again and again. Every single devastating moment of her life flashed by in a cruel montage that left her too weak to stand. Emma’s knees buckled and she fell to the floor.

“Leave now.” His voice was as dark as the sky outside. His low tones sounded strangely distorted, inhuman. Hurricane winds knocked into Emma from all sides and carried with them the shrieking cries of her family. She felt her body being dragged out of the room.

No.

She had made it this far. Emma was not giving up now. She was not leaving without her pirate. Emma closed her eyes and concentrated on the words Persephone had patiently taught her only hours before, fighting to ignore the winds, gripping the doorframe for support. Emma heard Persephone’s voice in her head as clearly as though she were standing right there next to her. “Again.” Persephone said.

“αληθινή αγάπη!” Emma shouted. Hades stopped, frozen. In an instant the hurricane winds died down, the screaming ceased and the sky outside the window returned to its bright, sun soaked state. Slowly, the God of the Underworld retained his human size. Emma watched, shaking, too terrified to speak as Hades dusted off his jacket, cleared his throat and clasped his hands almost pleasantly in front of him.

“Now then, child, what is your request.” There was hatred in every word he spoke however, he had lost his aura of power. In that moment he was no more threatening than any other man she had encountered, and far less so even than the perps she had caught as a bail bondsperson.

Emma’s heart thumped in her chest and her whole body still shook. She was waiting, waiting for something else to happen. Something more to keep her from her love. “I want you to release Killian Jones. I want to take him back with me. Back to our world. Alive. I want all of us, my entire family, to return to Storybrooke unharmed. That is my request.”

Rage was evident beneath Hades’ forcibly cool exterior. “Go in peace, child.” he snarled at her.

Emma walked to the door without another word, her knees still shaking like mad. Her hand was on the doorknob when Hades’ voice stopped her. “Know this, Emma Swan: Every human life passes through the underworld. You might be the first to make it through and back while your heart still beats, but this is not the end. I will see you again.”

Despite this ominous pronouncement, Emma stood up straighter and walked quickly out of the room. Hades’ words rang in her head “I will see you again,” but they made no difference to her at that moment. What mattered now was that she was finally getting Killian back. She was going to bring him home.

Emma raced out of the mansion and began the long walk back to the center of town. Her thoughts were only of Killian. It was all she could do to keep from running the entire way. She walked quickly along the winding road past countless trees and possibly a lake. She did not notice. It made no difference to her.

Then at last there was the library ahead of her. Two figures stood by the front doors. Liam and Henry were waiting exactly where they had agreed to meet. From a few blocks away, Emma saw the large library doors open. A black haired, dashing pirate still dressed in grey emerged from the entrance. Even from this distance Emma could see that he looked skittish and anxious, as though not quite sure of who or where he was.

And then the younger Jones brother saw Liam and the two embraced. Killian touched his brother’s face, a look of complete wonder on his own features. Then the pirate turned and pulled Henry into a tight hug, saying words that Emma couldn’t hear.

Emma hardly noticed the blocks flying past her. The only thing she saw was Killian and she was racing toward him as she had never run in her life. Joy filled her heart and she laughed aloud for the first time in months.

And then he turned. He saw her. From a block away she saw his eyes light up and his mouth move as he said her name, “Emma,” before he began to run toward her. The met at last in front of Granny’s, at the very same spot where she had once told him she couldn’t lose him and there, in that spot she found her pirate again. His arms were around her and she buried her face in his neck. He was here. He was hers. Emma sobbed and kissed his lips, his cheeks, every part of his face. Killian kissed her back with such ferocity that she forgot where she was. She touched his hair, his neck, his arms, hardly daring to believe that he was alive. Emma was laughing and Killian brushed her tears aside and held her even tighter, as though afraid to let her go. Minutes passed, unnoticed by either of them as they were lost once more in each other.

Emma kissed him again and again. There, feeling Killian’s arms around her and looking deep into his eyes, Emma felt sure she could kiss that pirate every day for the rest of her life. And that was exactly what she intended to do.

Chapter Text

After

They fell softly into a quiet life. Evenings spent watching Netflix. Saturday afternoons out on the Jolly Roger with Henry. Dinners at Granny’s. Trips the to park with Mary Margaret and Neal. Emma went back to work. Killian mended the sails on his ship.

It took time.

Many nights Emma would wake to hear him groaning in his sleep. Whispers of “coal in the fire” uttered in a dream from his side of the bed and she would reach for him and hold tight, reminding them both that he was here. He was home.

They laughed as they debated what color to paint the house and they chose yellow for the kitchen and sea green for their bedroom. Long walks around Storybrooke. Hot cocoa for the rainy days. He kissed her cheek and she trailed a hand across his back as she passed him in the hall.

They bickered when Emma had to work late and the house was dark without her. She would snap and he would grunt and then he told her the truth. That the darkness reminded him of before and when she was gone he was a captain without an anchor and she held his face as he wrapped his shaking arms around her.

Other times it was she who would cry out in her sleep, jolted from dreams of red eyes and screaming and “I will see you again.” Her hands searched frantically for him. He would fold her into his arms and she would breathe in the scent of him. He would tell her stories of his days at sea and stroke her hair until she fell asleep.

They slept late on Sundays and made breakfast together, his arms wrapped around her waist as she flipped pancakes onto a plate. More than once a burnt pancake was the price they paid as they were lost in each other again. In the importance of here. He’d bring out the syrup and she would pour the orange juice. His foot found hers under the table while they ate and she returned his sly smile.

They kept the candles lit to chase away the nightmares and made love and it was different than before. Every touch was something new, something to be treasured. They knew what this meant, to be together. To be alive.