"Emma Swan?" a young girl tapped her on the shoulder, causing Emma to whip around to face her, hands readied in fists at her sides. One could never be too careful, especially in hell. Especially with Killian's life at stake. Oh, Killian.
"Do I know you?" Emma asked her. She had light brown hair, and beautiful brown doe eyes that had seen too much.
"No, but I...uh… was… uh… asked to tell you to… uh… find a Captain Killian...uh… Rhodes? He said his name was something like Claw or…"
"Hook? Captain Hook?" Emma's eyes widened at the mention of her recently deceased pirate. The girl nodded. Clutching the girl's shoulder roughly, she asked, "What did he tell you, exactly? Where is he? Is he okay? Who are you?"
"Whoa, Miss. My name is Megara, or Meg for short. Your uh… Hook and I were trapped underneath this town by Hades and his three headed demon dog, Cerberus. Look, I've told you everything I know. About an hour ago, he woke up severely injured and proceeded to try and make a run for it, taking me with him. The dog approached, growling and angry. Hook told me to tell you to find him while he held off the dog. And then he told me to run, and I ran, trying to find you. Some people at the diner told me I could find you here."
Emma pressed Meg even further. "How do we get to him?"
"You don't want to do that, Miss." Meg replied.
"Well, I'll be the judge of that. Just tell me how to find him."
"There's a cavern deep underneath the library. If you follow the blue path and avoid all the hell-demons and beasts and the worst of them all, Hades, you just might make it to him. I don't know if Cerberus has disemboweled him yet. Trust me in that you don't want to deal with that demon dog. I've only seen two people succeed in besting it in my entire existence both alive and dead. Both those people are dead. Only one still remains in this realm. Even then, both of them had weapons , a strategy, and their health. Your Hook had none of those."
Emma's confidence wavered. "How did these people get past these beasts? Who is the person who got past it who still remains in this realm?"
"One of them was names Odysseus, and he was able to lull it to sleep using his lute and golden voice. And the other… well… he bested it with brute strength. And he hasn't been seen in years." Meg said, looking suddenly sad.
"Who was he?"
"His name… was Hercules."
Ten minutes later, they were gathered at Hercules' gravestone. Megara knew the way, almost too well. It made Emma suspicious, but she said nothing, knowing finding her pirate was the issue of most importance, and she needed all the help she could get. Regina stepped forward with the magic ale of DunBroch, which would allow them to contact Hercules. The entire group was in awe. They were about to meet the Hercules of legend and get him to help them defeat Cerberus.
"Just...uh… be warned. He's different than you think he is." Meg warned just before Regina poured the ale onto the grave.
A figure materialized out of thin air. Meg was right. He wasn't buff, or incredibly handsome. Nothing really stuck out about him as heroic. He was a leanly muscular young boy, with messy red-brown hair and gentle but hard brown eyes. Instead of a toga and sandals, like Emma had expected, he was clad simply in brown corduroy pants, a simple white sweater, and a puffy vest. A small blade hung from his belt.
Emma opened her mouth to speak.
"Herc-"
"Megara," interrupted the boy, a sad smile forming on his kind face as he looked Megara up and down longingly.
"Hello, Hercules," replied Megara, blushing slightly.
"I haven't seen you in centuries. How are you? Are you still in the Land of the Unresolved like me?" asked Hercules.
"Yeah, Hades trapped me again, this time with Cerberus." Meg replied, nerves evident through her shaky voice.
"Oh that old dog? He was an easy kill." said Hercules cockily.
"Yeah, well not all of can be as strong as you, Herc-"
"Yeah about that. I'm here to get my true love out of this place. He was trapped with Meg and stayed behind so that she could deliver his message to me." Emma interrupted. The rest of the group's faces became sadder when she referred to Killian as her true love.
"Poor guy. Probably dead already, and gone to a worse place. Sorry. When I said the dog was an easy kill, I meant for me. I was a fantastic beast slayer." Megara rolled her eyes at Hercules' reply. Emma looked heartbroken.
"Well just in case he is still down there, can you go with us and help kill it?" Emma replied, trying not to let the hopelessness affect her tone.
Hercules' expression hardened. "I'm not that man anymore."
"You have to be. You have to help me save him!" Emma replied, her voice breaking with a sob.
"I'm sorry. I'm not a hero anymore. I stopped being that man a long time ago," he replied, glancing at Megara shyly.
Mary Margaret spoke up. "Hercules, you are an absolute legend. If anyone can come back and defeat that hell-beast, it's you."
"I already told you, I can't. And even if I were to try, I surely wouldn't be able to do it alone. Only heroes with pure of heart and intention, nerves of steel, and strength of character can even have a chance at defeating it. The only likely candidate among your ranks looks to be you, your highness." Hercules informed them, pointing at Mary Margaret.
"Me? Why me and not David or Emma or Robin or Regina or even Henry? They've all got the characteristics. And how do you know who we are?" Mary Margaret replied, completely confused.
"I'm dead, highness. Not living under a rock. I know who you all are. And you're wrong. Emma is nervous beyond all belief of losing her dearly beloved, your husband has been dead before, Robin and Regina simply don't care enough for Hook, and I doubt Emma or Regina would let Henry go battle a three-headed dog . You, however, care for Hook as a son, have a pure heart, nerves of steel, and undeniable courage and character." No one except Mary Margaret dared to argue with Hercules.
"I don't even have a whole heart. And the half of the heart I do have is hardly pure, after killing Cora." Mary Margaret countered.
"Mine isn't completely pure either. But between us, your highness, we have the purest hearts of all of us, even if they are not completely pure." Hercules replied gently.
"Mary Margaret, you can't do this. I won't lose you. Not with our son waiting for us at home." David cut in, his usually mellow expression growing worried and sad.
Mary Margaret turned to face him, interlacing her fingers with his. "I have to do this. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do something to help our daughter get her happy ending. If anything happens to me, I trust you can take care of our son, David." She kissed him gently.
Hercules' apparition began to glitch. Mary Margaret turned back to him. "Okay, we'll defeat this beast together to get Hook back. Where do we meet you?"
"I will f-find you at the st-start of the b-blue path your highness. Meg, I love y-" Hercules' ghostly form glitched and promptly disintegrated into nothing, leaving a shocked, tearful Megara staring at the ground he's just been standing on.
Not bothering to say anything or question Meg's history with Hercules, Emma turned and began to walk away from the group. Meg, wiping a tear from her cheek, caught up with her and led them back to the library.
The elevator doors opened, gears clicking into place as the door undid its lock. Four people stood inside. Emma, Mary Margaret, and David stared in awe at the massive, decorated cavern while Meg walked straight into the middle. She froze dead in her tracks, causing the rest to focus on her. She stared blankly at a man who had suddenly appeared in their path. He was sharply dressed in a light blue bespoke suit that matched his flaming blue hair. His hands were behind his back in a very proper posture. Emma could tell, by the smug smirk on his face, that they weren't getting past him easily.
"M'lord Hades," Meg bowed lightly to the man.
"Megara." Hades regarded her coldly. "What are these… people doing here in my realm?"
Emma cut in before Meg had the chance to reply. "I think you know why we're here."
"Indeed I do Miss Swan, but I'm afraid I can't let you rescue your dead boyfriend. You see, every soul I gain, the more power I gain. Every soul I lose to Heaven or Hell, the more power I lose. I don't intend to lose any power tonight. If you wish to rescue your Hook, be my guest. Good luck getting past all of the protections." Hades stepped aside, gesturing to move ahead.
"Thanks." Emma began to lead the way down the corridor to the main part of the cavern.
"Oh Miss Swan, you wouldn't want to forget this, would you?" Hades brought a bloody hook out from behind is back. Emma turned, ready to come up with a snarky remark. He had the hook poised tantalizingly between his hands, holding the tip and the base. Emma's eyes widened.
"Is that-"
"Killian's? Yes. I daresay my dog pried it from his cold, dead, hands. Or should I say hand?"
"You're lying."
"Wouldn't you like to think that, Miss Swan?" Hades chuckled lightly to himself and disappeared in a column of black smoke, leaving the hook to fall onto the floor. Emma ran to pick it up and just held the blood-stained metal.
Emma's tears began to fall onto the rocky ground. Her parents pulled her into a hug, her mother's head on her shoulder, and her head on her father's as he cradled her head gently and kissed her forehead.
"Don't give up hope, Emma. Hades could've just been bluffing. We can't give up on him yet," Charming gently whispered to his daughter, who was silently crying into his jacket. Emma couldn't form an answer.
"Emma, Hercules is here," Meg interrupted. Emma turned to see Hercules' familiar figure standing across the dais upon which Hades' throne of skulls sat.
Five pathways extended from all sides of Hades' dais, a red river, a yellow brick road, a green grass pathway, a murky black stone pathway, and a bright blue glass pathway that was the most beautiful of them all. Hercules stood at the end of the blue pathway.
Emma left her parents' embrace and began to walk toward Hercules, wiping her eyes every so often. She still held the hook. When they reached him, they found him a bit more prepared for the situation he was heading into. The same sword hung at his side, but this time a metal breastplate that emphasized his leanly muscular figure accompanied it, as well as a gold, lion-shaped helmet that he carried under his arm.
"Here, let me." he took Emma's left hand between both of his and closed his eyes. Emma felt some of her pain, her worry about Hook slip away. She pulled away from him, her eyes widening in awe.
"What did you just do? I just, I don't feel-"she started.
"I took away a little of your pain, Emma. Your worry, your anger, your nerves. I absorbed them into my body. " Hercules gently informed her.
"Thank you." She felt immensely better, but Hercules hadn't taken all of the pain. He'd taken the worst of fears, that Killian was dead, but Emma still worried about his health and whether he would be okay when they found them. If they found him at all.
"I have a high pain threshold, Emma. Your bit of pain is nothing compared to what I've experienced in the past," he said, a sad smile forming on his face as his eyes settled on Meg.
"Are you ready?" Mary Margaret stepped forward, interrupting the delicate moment.
"Yes, your highness. Say your goodbyes. You don't know what may happen in Hell's Dungeons." Hercules stepped toward Megara, taking her hands in his. "My darling. I'm so sorry it had to go as it did."
"All is forgiven, Hercules. I always have, and I always will care for you. I… I love you, Hercules"
Hercules looked down toward her lips and Meg looked up toward his. She reached out and held the back of his head, slowly bringing their heads together until they kissed. It was brief. Meg's tears traveled down her face, making both of their faces wet. They broke off, and Hercules rested kissed her forehead. They stayed in that position for a while, his nose on her forehead and her eyes closed. She then placed her head on his shoulder ever so gently. They held each other for a while.
Meanwhile, David held Mary Margaret, hugging her, asking her to please come back to him. She broke away and held his face. "Nothing will happen to me, David. But just in case anything happens, take care of Neal. Give him a kiss from his mother. Take care of both of our children. " Her voice broke and she buried her face in his chest as he held her closer.