Rumpelstiltskin fumbled at the door to his shop. Hades would be aware of his disappearance soon, but that was ok. By then, he would be long gone. He wouldn't let anything stand in his way. He was Rumpelstiltskin, and he always got what he wanted. He just had to hurry.
Finally, the keys fit in the lock and turned. He stumbled inside and instantly seized the pan pipes from where he had left them on the counter. Maybe he couldn't beat Hades alone, but surely with the help of his dear old dad, they could make quick work of him together. Emma, Regina, and Snow White already had headstones and could not be used as replacements, but David and Robin could easily take place for Pan. Then they could even take Henry back with them. Rumple's mind was already working through the story he would tell Belle and the rest of the town when he got home. Henry had found the Author's pen. All Rumple had to do was take it and write away Henry's memories, and then he could tell about how he had heroically tried to save all of them, but it was all he could do to save his grandson, and how Emma had pleaded with him to get Henry to safety. He would tell them how even all this was only possible by begrudgingly accepting Pan's help. He would be a hero, and he would be with Belle and his child.
Yes, it would work. He always made everything work out for himself in the end.
He pressed the pipes to his lips and blew. The sound that emerged was tremulous and soft, more eerie than it had ever sounded in life. Each note quavered on the air, lingering like a man's dying breath. Oppressive and sinister.
Green smoke began to filter through the bottom of the door, and swirled into a cloud, the speed of the vortex steadily increasing. He always had a flair for the dramatic, Rumple thought irritably as he waited for the smoke to subside. However, when he looked into the green depths, it was not Pan's face looked back at him.
Inside the thick veil were the skeletal forms of lost souls. Skin stretched tight over faces frozen in visages of despair. The cloud grew, the air getting thicker and thicker with the weight of their anguish. Then the screaming began.
The figures rushed at Rumple, clawing at him with hands that seemed so fragile but whose frigid grasp was as unyielding as iron shackles. He seemed to reach around him, through him. Then a face moved in front of his and stayed there. The eyes were wide with hate, the once beautiful face distorted in grief and rage, her flowing dark hair flowing around her like snakes waiting to strike. A hand plunged into Rumple's chest and he felt all of their agony, their misery filling him, drowning him, becoming him. He was one of them now. He could not even hear himself when his screams joined the ghastly chorus.
-/-
Emma and Killian led the charge down Main Street. The familiar fire was burning in Killian's chest. The crocodile had betrayed them again. Of course he had. I should have known sooner, now his eyes were burning too and he clenched his jaw, I should have known the second I found out that Milah had been there. She was left alone with him and….. He quickened his pace.
He felt Emma slide his hand into his own and squeeze it firmly. "We'll find him." She whispered to him. "He has nowhere to turn to now that he's turned on both us and Hades." Her voice trembled. "He will not get away with this. Not this time."
They heard the uproar coming from the shop before they had even passed the library. They all paused, uncertain, and Emma and Regina looked at each other and nodded. Regina joined Emma at the front as they approached the front door. With one hand on the knob, Emma mouthed "one, two, three" and then opened the door as they simultaneously put up a magic shield to guard them from the onslaught that emerged.
The cloud was now so thick that it was impossible to see anything in the shop beyond their protective bubble. They moved slowly, being sure to remain in the circle between Emma and Regina.
"What the hell?" Regina breathed, horrified.
Emma was so engrossed in looking at the figures flying past her that she nearly tripped. She looked down and saw none other than Rumplestiltskin, no longer screaming, but curled into a ball whimpering. One hand clawed at his hair and pounded into his head, trying to drive out the unrelenting wails of the damned, the other was clutched tightly to the pipes.
"Hey you guys!" She called out over the din, and nodded down to the floor. Emma and Regina moved so that Rumple was at the center of the circle and the others gathered around him, trying to make sense of what had happened.
Killian knelt beside him, his anger temporarily blunted by a contemptuous sense of pity. At that moment, the greatest Dark One to ever live seemed so small. Then he noticed the pipes in his hand, and felt his blood run cold. Peter Pan. Killian remembered centuries of long nights listening to the sound of those pipes reaching out across the waves to his boat from the small island where the Lost Boys held their nightly revelries. On the ship, he alone among his crew could hear them and the sound had haunted him, trying to call him to a home he didn't have.
That's what the pipes did. They called out to lost souls, trying to bring them to a home when they had no other to turn to. Of course, Neverland was never a real home to anyone either, but it did not change the longing and the alluring draw the pipes brought to all those who could hear its melancholic tune.
"What happened? What's going on?" Emma called, looking back at them over her shoulder as she tried to maintain control of the spell that was keeping back the screaming horde.
Killian forcefully pried the pipes from Rumple's grasp and walked to Emma so she could see. "He was holding these."
"Pan's pipe flute?"
"Aye. And I think…" He hesitated, uncertain. "I think these are the lost souls from the river… and I think this is what brought them here." He shivered as his thoughts turned inevitably to Milah, and he caught himself searching the vortex for her face with dread.
Emma looked closer at the pipes, accidentally diverting her attention from the spell until Regina cried out in protest. ("Hey, I can't keep this up on my own!") Emma snapped her attention back to where it was needed, but she had seen enough.
"I think you're right." She gasped. "Those pipes are giving off, I don't know, a kind of magic imprint or something. I recognize it from the River. I wonder if Pan dipped his pipes in the River or used a spell to connect them somehow?" Her brow furrowed. "Why would he call them here if he couldn't control them?"
"I've knew Peter Pan for a long time." Killian grimaced. "I imagine it was a trick to get back at the crocodile for putting him here."
"He would do this to his own son?"
Killian shrugged. "I'm not sure. But I wouldn't put it past him."
They stared out, silent in awe of the harrowing vortex that only seemed to grow larger, beyond comprehension.
"There has to be something we can do to help them." Emma whispered sadly, and turned her head to face him again. "There has to be a way to use the pipes to release them. Help them move on."
There were tears glistening in the corner of her eyes and Killian's heart swelled with love and admiration for this impossible woman who always, always tried to help others, who feels their pain because she had known so much of her own. "Emma," he said gently. "You were a Lost Girl. You've heard the call of the pipes. You know. You know what they can do."
Emma gazed into his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. I do." She sighed and look down at the pipes again. The magic was meant to call people home, but Pan always corrupted it. Used it to trick and control the lost. If she could just find a way to use the pipes as they were meant to be used, to truly bring them home, not to some cheap imitation of home… to give them peace. She just had to find the right song.
She felt her resolve strengthen. She was the savior, and she could save them too. "Regina!" She called out. "Can you keep the spell up for just a minute on your own?"
"Why? What are you planning?" Regina answered from across the circle.
"Just trust me! Please!"
There was a pause. "Fine. It had better work!"
Emma dropped her hands and gripped the pipe. She thought of her family, her friends, Killian… the family she had never imagined she could have. She imagined the feeling she felt when they were all together, eating dinner at Granny's, or relaxing at her parent's loft after a long day. The warm, peaceful sensation she felt when she hugged her son, or when Killian was in her arms and she was in his. She felt the feeling spread through her, the magic flowing intense and bright. She didn't think. She raised the pipes to her lips.
The melody that arose was slow and tranquil, but as radiant as sunshine on a spring morning. To Killian, it was like the song of angels. Gradually, the figures in the cloud seemed to slow down. They were no longer a writhing mass, but rather a lingering crowd, listening. The pallor around them faded from the sickly green to a gleaming white. The howling voices faded to silence. Then slowly, ever so slowly, joined in their voices joined in to the harmony.
The figures separated from each other, became individual forms, shining, their faces becoming clear and recognizable as what they once were. The music filled the small shop, surrounding them. Regina lowered her hands and the figures stayed where they were, smiles shining on their beaming faces as one by one, they glittered and faded into a haze of light. Only one figure remained, and stepped forward cautiously out of the glow.
Her face was serene, framed by her hair which no longer coiled like snakes, tears glistened in the corners of her green eyes and her lips curved in a gentle smile. "Thank you." She whispered.
"Milah," Killian gasped, like all the air had been sucked out of him.
Her smile widened and she embraced Killian in a hug, breathing into his neck. "Oh Killian. I'm so glad you are alright."
Killian hugged her back tightly, joyous relief spreading across his face. "Aye, I feel quite the same."
She stepped back, brushing her hand along his cheek. Then she looked at Emma and back to him again. "That is an amazing woman you have there." She turned to Emma and took her hand in her own. "Thank you so much."
Emma smiled. "There is someone you should meet." She turned so that Milah could see everyone gathered behind her and motioned for Henry to come forward. "This is your grandson."
Henry looked between his mother and Milah for a moment. "You're dad's mother?"
Milah nodded, choking on tears. "I am."
He grinned. "Hi Grandma."
"Hello," she gasped back. He was so beautiful. The tears were flowing freely now.
"Are you able to move on?" Emma asked gently.
Milah nodded, wiping away the tears. "Yes. I just couldn't leave without saying thank you. All of you." She paused. She could hear something distant, and she laughed, not quite daring to believe. "He's calling for me. Bae… I can hear him."
She embraced them again, Killian and Emma both at the same time. "Thank you." She whispered again, one last time. She placed a tender kiss on Killian's cheek, and then placed another one on Emma's. "Take care of each other. Take care of that boy."
Even as they stood there, huddled together, she faded away in a halo of light. Leaving Killian and Emma holding on to each other in the midst of the destroyed shop and their friends and family.
-/-
Epilogue
"So, what do we do with him?" Killian asked, nudging Rumple with his foot.
Rumpelstiltskin was no longer sobbing, but he still sat curled into a ball with a lost, terrified look in his eyes.
"I imagine with the souls at peace now, whatever they did to him won't last forever." David knelt beside Rumple and fumbled around in his suit until he found what he was looking for and withdrew the dagger. "Just to be safe."
"He's too dangerous to bring back with us." Regina stated matter-of-factly. "I know that I'm not really one to speak, but if we bring him back he'll just do this to us again."
"Aye," Killian agreed. He was looking down at Rumple, loathing glittering in his eyes. He knew what he wanted to do, but restrained himself. "But we can't kill him." He looked up at Regina. "That's not who we are anymore."
Regina's eyes met Killian's and she nodded solemnly.
"We can't kill him, but he's too powerful for us to risk taking back with us…" Emma said slowly, contemplating. "What if we destroy his power, once and for all? Then we can take him back and have justice. Put him back in a cage like you guys did back in the Enchanted Forest! Only without his power, a regular jail cell will do. We can finally destroy the Darkness for good, just like you died trying to do." She squeezed Killian's hand.
"Well, okay, that sounds great," Snow responded after they had a moment to let this sink in. "But how exactly do we destroy the Darkness without killing him?"
Emma beamed. "The River. It's empty now, but it should still exist and do what it has always done. The Darkness is an entity of its own, the ultimate 'devil in your ear', and we can leave it in hell where it belongs. It uses the dagger as a conduit, so if we drop the dagger in the river…"
"The Darkness will become trapped and lost." Killian finished for her.
"That could work." Regina admitted. "But are we sure it won't kill him along with it?"
"No, not for certain." Emma conceded. "But I don't think so. The dagger is the only thing keeping him and the Darkness connected. If we destroy the dagger it should only destroy the Darkness, not its host. Besides it's the best option we've got."
"Aye, and if the situations were reversed, our dear old crocodile wouldn't hesitate. I'd say it's well worth the risk."
By the time they reached the river below the Underworld version of Emma and Killian's house, Rumple was just beginning to gather his wits enough to protest weakly, but with Emma holding the dagger there was nothing he could do. They all gathered near the water's edge. The river was still pale green and impossibly calm, but there were no ghoulish sentinels left to patrol its immense depths.
Emma held the dagger out over the water and looked back at the others. They all nodded in solidarity, and she let the cursed blade fall. It hit the water without so much as a whisper of a sound or the faintest hint of a ripple.
"NOOOO!" Rumple cried out, free from the dagger's control. He rushed forward in a rage, but David and Killian each grabbed him by an arm and tackled him to the ground. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" He screamed, struggling against their firm hold. "You will pay."
Emma approached him, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, I doubt that. I am never giving you the chance to hurt my family again." She pulled out a set of handcuffs from her jacket. "Turn him over."
Rumple cursed, but the fight in him weakened as she slapped the metal rings around his wrist. "These should keep you under control until we get back to Storybrooke. And don't worry, you'll get to see Belle again. She can visit you all she likes in prison… that is if she still want to after she finds out about everything." That finally made him go quiet.
Killian looked at her in amusement. "You brought your handcuffs to the Underworld."
"Never leave home without them." She winked playfully.
"And don't I know it." Killian laughed and offered his hand to help her back up to her feet.
"I think it's about time we all went home. Don't you think?" Emma wrapped one arm through Killian's and the other around Henry's shoulders.
The mention of home brought a smile to everyone's face (well, everyone except for Rumple), and they all started the long walk back up the passageway to the house, the pond, and to the ferry that would take them back to their world.