The ring is the first thing he notices about the woman.
She's beautiful, with long blonde hair, a red leather jacket, and an expression that promises death to those standing in her way.
There's one really strange thing.
She's not dead.
Another really strange thing.
She's wearing the ring he gave his son. It's on a chain around her neck, and the way it is shining shows that she's been rubbing her fingers along it, cherishing it. Good heavens, Brennan thinks. Killian's fallen in love.
Brennan Jones looks down at her. "What are you doing in the Underworld?" he asks drily, the normal question to ask someone who's not dead.
"Finding the man I love," she replies, equally dry but with a tinge of tears. He senses she's been crying for the past few days.
Brennan sighs. "Name of man?" It's his job; if someone alive wants to retrieve someone dead, he has to report both of them to Hades so that the council can decide if the motivation of the living is enough to take back the dead. Of course, it's probably going to be Hades deciding, but that isn't as bad as many might think.
The woman opens her mouth to reply, and he glances back down at the ring that her hand has found its way to once more. Suddenly he knows who she's looking for. "Killian Jones. Some know him by Captain Hook."
Brennan staggers backward, just a little. His son is dead and his son gave this woman his ring and this woman loves his son so much that she came down to the Underworld to get him back. "Killian Jones?" he repeats, trying to keep his voice steady. "I haven't seen him."
The woman sniffs once, the boy at her side clutching her hand harder. He hadn't noticed the boy. Finally he notices the whole crowd of people behind the woman: two women and three men, all with varying shades of concern and annoyance painted across their faces. Then she peers into his face. "Do you know him?" she asks slowly. "You look familiar."
Brennan turns and motions for the crowd to follow him. He doesn't reply as he leads them away from the entrance to the Underworld and into the pitch black.
Brennan takes them to the court of Hades. The councilors stand in their dark robes, the black of the robes not merely black, but shimmering and threatening. The woman doesn't flinch at them, merely demands that Killian Jones be brought to her.
Hades, sighing and rolling his eyes like usual but with excitement tinging his words, sends Brennan to find Killian Jones. He finds him in Elysium, the land of the fallen heroes. Unlike the rest of the valiant men and women who are fighting with their own swords, singing about their own conquests, and feasting upon the rich foods of the field, one man paces back and forth at the gate, occasionally pausing to stare through the elegant bars.
"Killian Jones!" Brennan calls. The pacing man stops and whirls around.
"What?" he calls back, his voice hoarse from more than just begging to be set free. When he turns, Brennan sees his face clearly. It is his son.
Brennan takes a deep breath. "Someone has come down to the Underworld to fetch you. I am here to take you to Hades' court to decide whether you shall be returned to the land of the living."
Killian runs to him, the hook shining in the dim yet glaring light of the Elysian Fields. "Emma?" he breathes, staring at Brennan but also through him, not recognizing him in the least. "Is it Emma Swan?"
"Yes," he replies. He lets his eyes feast on his boy's face for a moment, just a moment, before taking his arm and whisking them back to the court.
Killian stands in the center of the court for a single second before turning and seeing Emma and the crowd behind her. Almost at once, like in one of the romance movies Brennan has heard some of the spirits talk about, they run toward each other.
Killian whirls Emma around in a crushing hug, his hook barely touching her, his face buried in her hair and Emma's pressed into his neck, breathing each other in. He sets her down and they whisper to each other for a moment, their foreheads pressed together and small shy smiles appearing on their faces.
Brennan can tell they're just about to kiss, but Hades speaks. They both tense and they turn to him, their fingers linked. The crowd of people that came with Emma turn to the council, the woman with longer dark hair flexing her fingers as if preparing to throw a fireball.
Hades glances down at the reunited pair. He glances at his council. A few of the councilmembers shrug, one nods, and two shake their heads. Brennan glares. Those two always vote, no matter how passionate and determined the dead and the living, to keep the dead man in the Underworld. So annoying.
Brennan Jones may have lost the love of his life hundreds of years ago, and that may have turned him into the man he is now, but he still believes in love.
Couples like the two in front of him—his son and Emma Swan—are what keep that hope in love alive.
Hades stands from his seat in the middle of the half-circle of councilors. His robes are of purest black, a black that men can drown in. His face is stern and promises death.
Hades chuckles and Brennan sees Emma and Killian's fingers tighten, as well as the tallest of the other men take a step forward.
"Killian Jones and Emma Swan. I have been following your history together for several years." He waves his hand in front of him and an image appears in the smoke he creates.
The images fly by without Brennan seeing them clearly, but he knows what they are as Emma pulls Killian closer and the crowd behind them whispers. Hades has seen the story of Killian and Emma from their points of view, watching them and judging them.
It ends with Killian holding a sword with his and Emma's names on it. He fights a black, rope-like substance. It's the darkness, Brennan knows. Finally, Killian slices through the darkness. A crowd of black-robed people behind the blackness scream in agony, falling and landing in different contorted positions before disappearing.
Emma runs to him in a black leather outfit. They kiss quickly before a Fury snatches Killian into the air and takes him to Charon's boat. Emma screams after Killian, trying to reach him, but she's too late.
The smoke clears. Hades grins down at the couple, Emma clutching the ring again and Killian standing as if he's ready for battle, their fingers still looped together but loosely. "You precious idiots. I haven't had two people more in love and willing to do anything for each other since probably Orpheus and Eurydice." Hades sighs with the recollection. "So cute. Anyway, Killian Jones, you're free to go. You both have proved your love and I appreciate that."
Killian bows slightly, a smirk on his somewhat startled face. "Thank you very much, my lord Hades," he says. Then Emma pulls him to her and kisses him with all her strength. He wraps his arms around her again and that's when it happens.
A rainbow light emanates from them, pulsing outwards. The people behind them gasp, grins on every face, save the shortest of the men, who sighs with annoyance. The Underworld brightens, Brennan takes his first breath of fresh air in eons, and Hades sighs happily. "True love's kiss. Should've known. You precious, precious little idiots. I just can't with you anymore."
Eventually, they pull away and gaze at each other, tiny smiles on their faces. Brennan smiles at them. They turn and walk toward the entrance to the Underworld.
Brennan almost calls out to his son. He wants to. He wants to call for his son, embrace his boy, wants to try to apologize. But he doesn't.
Because Killian doesn't need him anymore. He has Emma, he has Emma's boy, he has this crowd of people who mostly love him, enough to travel to the Underworld on the off chance that they could retrieve him. Revealing himself as the man who destroyed his childhood would break this moment, this moment that his boy should cherish forever.
The rest of the council fades, some with withering glares, to oversee their parts of the Underworld, leaving only Brennan and Hades watching. Hades sighs with glee again. "I've been watching Miss Swan and your son for a very long time," he confides. "I've been waiting for that kiss for so long; you don't understand."
Brennan nods, watching as the group disappears into the flash of light. They've gone back up to the land of the living. Then Brennan Jones turns once more, to return to his work in the Underworld.
(Up in the land of the living, in Storybrooke, Killian Jones is taking the ring that once belonged to Brennan Jones off of the chain and placing it on Emma Swan's finger.)