Hell Hath No Fury Like the Devil Scorned

Chapter Four

It was dark in the Underworld by the time Killian and David returned to the Charmings' loft. Thankfully, they hadn't run into any trouble while they were gone, but both Emma and Snow White feared for the men they loved and were relieved when they walked in, as the Savior immediately rushed over to Killian while she embraced him. Snow did the same as she rushed into her husband's arms. Both Regina and Robin simply smiled at their friends' safe return, then the archer handed both men a bowl of stew they had made and took a seat beside the Queen and Henry on the couch. David and Snow sat down within the chairs, while Hook rejected the food offered to him. Not to be discourteous, but because he wasn't hungry, nor did he need to eat like everyone else did on account of him being the only dead man among them.

Emma had started to eat before they came back, but upon seeing Killian turn the food down, she laid her own bowl down on the island within the kitchen and took him by his hand, then guided him to follow her upstairs where they could talk quietly amongst themselves in private. Before she spoke, she pulled the man she loved around her and urged him to sit down on the bed, then sat beside him as she leaned in to kiss him again while she caressed his face like she had done earlier that evening as if to comfort him in what little way she could. It didn't escape her that Killian was deeply troubled by whatever it was on his mind and like David, she had a good idea that it had a lot to do with losing Liam all over again even if he had at last moved on from the Underworld.

"I assure you I'm alright, Swan," Killian whispered softly when Emma finally pulled back so she could look him in his eyes, continuing to hold him close as though to reassure herself that he was still there with her. "Forgive me for walking out earlier without letting you or anyone else know I was leaving. I knew Liam was at peace, but I… A part of me needed the reassurance, so I went to visit his gravestone."

"I understand," she answered gently, as she leaned her forehead against his while tightening her hold on his hand and his hook. "And did you find your own peace of mind?"

He nodded and replied, "Yes. However, something of importance has… After seeing Liam again, and since I was reminded of one of my greatest sins when I died, there's one more person that I need to try to help move on if I can while here. We'll save as many people as we can of course, it's just…"

When Killian continued to struggle with getting out the right words that were deep on his mind, Emma finally spoke to him again with sincerity saying, "Whoever it is, Killian, we'll help you to save them too. Is it your father?"

"Aye," he responded sadly, turning away from the woman he loved out of shame as he was unable to look at her in her eyes any longer, but she tenderly raised his head again by laying her hand across his cheek in order to get him to look at her again, then began to run her fingers through his hair while they continued to talk. "I hated him for abandoning Liam and me, and for forcing us into servitude for the next sixteen years of our lives, all for the sake of trying to save himself from the penalty for thieving. Yet I was prepared to let my hate for him go when I saw him again that night centuries later. He had been put under a sleeping curse and awakened by his nurse. They had fallen in love while he was asleep. Our father had started over with a new family and for a moment, made me believe he was sorry for what he had done to me, to us. I hadn't forgiven him, but I could have accepted what was done was done. Or so I thought. When he called his third son, who was no older than I, Liam after my own brother… then I heard him tell his other son the very last words he had spoken to me the night he abandoned us… My hate for my father was reignited and I couldn't let him live. At the time, I believed killing him as the Queen asked of me was the way I could finally gain my revenge against Rumplestiltskin and I couldn't risk losing her trust."

"It was a long time ago and if I were you, I'm pretty sure that I would have felt the same way, or have done the same thing," she replied honestly. "Believe me, Killian… I understand more than you think I do. I was so angry with my parents for abandoning me too, remember? Our circumstances were hardly the same, but it took me most of my life to finally forgive them. Still another three after I met them and understood why they did what they did. And remember how long it took me to forgive them after what they did to Maleficent and Lily? You helped me to forgive them both times. I can help do the same for you. And I'm sure that your father's forgiven you. He is your father after all."

Hook nodded and then he responded, "Emma, I don't ask for his forgiveness. After all I've done… I can't. But I owe it to him to bring him someone who can help him find peace if I can. To help him move on and you can. He's down here somewhere, and provided that he's not a prisoner of Hades as I was, I may know of a way to find him if we can find this realm's equivalent of the Jolly Roger tomorrow when the sun arises. You can save him."

The Savior saw the hopelessness in his eyes, then she leaned in to kiss him until she pulled back again and answered softly, "You're far too hard on yourself. We can save him, together."

"I want more than anything to believe you," Killian whispered. "I hope so. I love you, Emma. No matter what happens, I always will."

Silence fell between them as she then helped the man she loved so deeply in return to pull off his jacket and discarded her own, as well as the knit hat she wore throughout the day, before they finally laid down on top of the blankets holding one another close, having forgotten that their family and friends were only downstairs. But no one came up to disturb them, as the rest of the heroes understood their Savior and the Captain needed time alone after all they've been through with being Dark Ones and then having to make the ultimate sacrifices in order to rid them of the darkness. Emma soon fell asleep within the comfort of his arms wrapped around her, her hand resting tenderly over his temple. And while he didn't sleep, Killian was able to close his eyes in rest because he finally felt at peace for the first time since the moment she knocked him down against the bed within her parents' loft back in Storybrooke ecstatically upon seeing him alive again after the Author's magic within the storybook had been undone by Henry.

Unfortunately, the peace they felt didn't last, when unexpected residual magic from Emma's six weeks of being both a Dark One and the Savior suddenly arose within her again, as memories that weren't her own appeared within her mind. She strangely found herself inside a tavern somewhere within the Enchanted Forest that was now closed and Hook was the only remaining patron as he sat alone at one of the tables, tapping his hook impatiently until he took another sip of his ale. Brennan Jones, the man she immediately recognized to be Killian's father because their facial features and hair were very much the same, was standing behind the bar when he finally noticed his son, whom he didn't know in that moment was his son.

"Look, I don't want any trouble, but we're closed, mate," Hook's father said strictly as he stepped out from behind the bar while keeping his distance from the man he knew right away was a pirate from how the stranger was dressed.

Hook lowered the pint as he looked over at the man and replied, "Why might I cause trouble? Because I'm a dirty pirate? Or because I'm a boy whose father abandoned him on the high seas?"

Brennan froze as he stared at the man and upon recognizing him, he then spoke up again with surprise saying, "Killian."

"Aye," he responded coldly as he slammed his tankard down and stood up, then moved out into the light so that his father could see him. "But it's Captain Hook now. You once told me I had to decide what kind of man I wanted to be. Well, Father... this is who I became!"

"How is this possible?" the other man asked in shock. "I left centuries ago."

Hook answered, "We both found a way to cheat death."

Brennan nodded as he kept his eyes on his son and replied, "That we did. Your brother?"

"Liam... was not so fortunate," Killian responded brusquely at the mention of his brother.

"But you... look at you," the other man spoke again with relief, upon learning that one of his sons was still alive after all these years in which Killian should have been long dead. "You grew up. Where have you been?"

While he slowly walked closer to his father, Killian answered even more angrily than before, "Neverland. I was biding my time until I found a way to kill myself a crocodile. It's a tale of woe and revenge but one that you don't need to be concerned with. It's your tale that matters. So, tell me, father, where does a scoundrel like you run after he's sold his sons into servitude?"

Brennan shook his ahead as he replied remorsefully, "Oh, I'm sorry, Killian. Truly, I am. I ran. I didn't get far. Not long after I left you and Liam, I got caught and put under a sleeping curse."

"A sleeping curse?" the younger man said in disbelief. "How the bloody hell are you awake now?"

"How does anyone break a curse?" he continued quickly. "True love's kiss."

Hook glared at him as he asked cruelly, "Who could ever find a way to love you?"

Brennan slowly moved closer as he responded resolutely, "My nurse. I could hear her speaking, as I slumbered. Her voice was so kind, so gentle. She made me see the error of my ways. I fell in love with her. And she with me. She changed me. I just... I just... wish... that I'd known her when we were together. You could've had the father you wanted. The father you deserved. I'm so sorry."

"Where is this woman?" the pirate Captain asked, suddenly feeling slightly ashamed for being angry with his father for so long.

"A few years... after we married... she fell ill," he answered sadly as he took a seat at one of the tables beside him, then looked away. "The plague. She never recovered."

Killian glared down at him for a few moments and then spoke up again saying coldly, "I came here to kill you, Father. Your life was the price I had to pay to finally get my revenge. But we've both lost too much."

The tavern owner looked back up at his son as he asked with surprise, "You're going to spare me?"

"In a manner of speaking," Hook replied. "The world must believe you're dead. The Queen, everyone must think I killed you. I can secure you a letter of transit to take you far from this place. Maybe you can start again."

"You'll come with me?" Brennan asked immediately as he stood up before his son.

Tears began to fall from the corner of her eyes as Emma watched the man she loved face his father again after all the time he had lived with his pain, then continued to watch as Killian responded sadly, "No, you see, I had a love, too. And she was taken from me. You can't destroy the plague that took yours, but I can destroy the plague that took mine. I must continue on."

The man reached up to gently place his hand on his son's shoulder as he answered, "I hope you find peace... Son."

"We must hurry," Hook replied sternly as he immediately shrugged his father's hand away and then started to walk away. "Any delay will arouse suspicion. I'll bring the letter of transit tonight."

"Actually... would it be possible... to bring two?" his father asked nervously, stopping the pirate before he could leave.

He turned around as he stated in confusion, "Two?"

Brennan responded, "My wife and I... we had a son."

Emma struggled to break free from her magic's hold over both her and Killian, afraid of her sudden invasion within his mind. However, she then saw Hook again as he was standing at the front of a cottage while he held a piece of paper in his hands, which she realized were the two letters of transit Killian needed to bring his father and the boy to safety. She watched as he walked closer to the small house and pushed open the door enough to see inside, finding Brennan tucking in a young boy that Emma also somehow knew was the younger Liam Jones Killian spoke of earlier.

"I'm scared, Father," he whispered as he looked up at Brennan fearfully. "I don't want to leave here in the morning."

"I know," Brennan answered bravely for his youngest lying in the bed before him. "But we'll be okay. You and I will find another home. What matters most is that we're together. We can face anything that way. Now, it's late. Close your eyes. And remember... whenever you're scared, all you have to do is look... inside. We're all braver than we think if we just look deep enough. Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning, Liam."

He leaned down and kissed Liam's forehead, while Killian's eyes hardened as he turned and walked away, then waited for his father to come out again. But when Brennan did so and walked towards his middle son, who didn't turn to face him as he approached, the older man could see that his son was clearly upset by something.

Brennan reached out his hand to shake Killian's as he spoke up saying sincerely, "Thank you, Killian."

Without turning to him until he was nearly finished talking, Hook asked miserably, "You named your boy Liam. After my brother, after the son... you abandoned. Was he really that easy to replace?"

"I wasn't trying to replace him," the man replied with sadness in his eyes. "I was trying to honor him, to honor you both. So I'd remember never to make the same mistake."

"No, people don't change," Killian responded angrily while he pointed at Brennan in a threatening manner. "I saw what you said to him in there! It's the same thing you said to me! It was a lie then, and it's a lie now!"

Brennan answered again more firmly. "Killian, please… It's not true. I have changed. I would never leave him."

Hook pointed at him again as he replied coldly, "But you would leave me."

"Killian, please!" his father pleaded as Hook walked over to the lit torch and tossed the piece of parchment that held Brennan's ticket to freedom in the fire. "What are you doing?"

"Deciding what kind of man I want to be," Killian responded cruelly as he looked over at his father again and slowly began to walk closer to him while he continued. "You see, if the Queen discovers that I've deceived her, I might not get what I need, and I can't have that. You're just not worth it."

Emma immediately closed her eyes in despair as the man she loved then pulled out a dagger from inside his coat and stabbed Brennan in his chest, holding him as the man grunted in pain, before he fell to the ground. He tried to grab onto his son to keep from falling, but Hook immediately shoved him away and stepped back.

Before Brennan died, he managed to speak a few last words like Killian told Emma he had the very night Brennan arrived in Storybrooke, as they heard him mutter, "It's never too late. You can change. Be a different man."

"Emma… what the bloody hell are you doing?" Killian suddenly asked curtly, though with more fear in his voice as they both gasped awake upon finally breaking free from the power that had overcome them.

"I don't… I don't know," she answered in honesty while she stared at him with shock in her eyes. "Your memories we spoke of before I fell asleep entered my mind and I couldn't stop them. I promise you, I tried. I'm so sorry, Killian. I don't know how, but my power has been stronger somehow since the darkness left the both of us. But they're also out of sorts. I can transport myself places like Regina and Gold can, but I can also still hear the whispers from the Dark One's dagger like we could before. Or at least, I did the morning after… after we thought the darkness was destroyed. I haven't heard the whispers since. I swear, I honestly didn't mean to invade your mind. Not again."

Killian relaxed and allowed Emma to lay her hand over his, then he quietly replied, "It's all right. It isn't like you saw what I didn't already tell you. I suppose it's just that I... I could feel that you felt all I felt that night I murdered my father. My rage, my hate, my despair… I never wanted you to feel those ways because of me and it's all you've felt since we met."

Emma released his hand and then laid both of her hands over the sides of his face in order to get him to look at her again as she responded assuredly, "If that were true, do you really think I would love you so much? Do you believe that I would have come all the way down here to save you if I only felt as you have most of your life? Please don't put yourself down and think the worst. We both have flaws and we have both made mistakes throughout our lives. You still love me despite all mine. And just because you've lived far longer and made more, it doesn't mean I love you any less. We will save you and your father. And then we're going home. Don't give up believing in me. Don't allow Hades to get what he wants."