Oh Gods, I'm trying to write Hook again. Pray to whomever you pray to that this isn't horrific.
He was lying on the deck, the boards beneath him as familiar as any home he's ever known. The sea air blowing through the sails above him, the waves breaking against the hull below were the constant lullaby that sung him to sleep. But sleep never came. He was alone, abandoned, captain of a ship with no crew left to command; adrift on an ocean he had no chart to navigate. It would be over soon, this particular nightmare, it would dissolve into another and another. She would be there at times, moments when he would feel her pressed against him, hear her scream as she was ripped away, as she killed him, as he killed her. Over and over, never ending.
Killian had lost count of how long he'd been here. Not that it really mattered that much. He was dead, and apparently this was what had always been waiting for him on the other side. Sins of the past and all that; and the pirate had certainly done his share of dastardly deeds in his day. Emma was safe though, her family, her boy. He would endure this eternal torture by holding to that knowledge. He felt the shift in the dream before he saw it. The gentle rocking of the sea ceased, the smooth decking at his back replaced by jagged rocks; he didn't bother shifting his body to find a more comfortable position. The ground would only twist and turn to betray him once again. He moved an arm over his eyes when the blue sky turned a blinding white, then burst into flames.
Hook rolled then, letting the thick leather of his coat protect his flesh from the fire that rained down. His mind knew that in all reality no more damage could come to his body. Being run through by the sword of the Dark One had been the final blow, but instinct was still there to protect, to stay alive even if one was already dead.
Someone was pulling at the arm he had covering the back of his head, but Hook had already decided to sit this particular enactment out. He knew what was coming. Emma. Emma would be there, would roll him to his back, kiss him fiercely. Her magic would squelch the flames and she would use the Apprentice's wand to open a portal to their escape. Except he would end up going through without her, or the flames would return and he would watch her fight against them until she was consumed, or he would rise too soon, turn to fast and his hook would sink into her flesh and she would die with her blood warm on his hands. So, no, he wasn't playing this time around no matter how hard she pulled on his arm, kicked at his ribs, screamed "damn you Guy Liner" and "I'll turn you into the handless wonder" in to his ear—
"Regina?" he rolled, grabbing her ankle before it once again collided with his rib cage, pulling her down and rolling over her in one smooth move.
"Get off of me!" she struggled beneath him.
"Do you want to burn, love? Hold still!" he pinned her more fully, snaking a hand under her head to hold her just above the rock.
"Where am I? Where's my son!" Regina was clawing at him, squirming in his hold. Killian's heart ached for her; she obviously had no idea why she was here.
"I haven't seen your boy, Regina and I've no idea what brought you here. But here, is hell. You've died, love." And then he added with genuine sincerity, "I'm sorry."
"I'm not dead, you idiot." Regina got her leg around his calf and rolled them both, straddling him as she sent her magic into the fiery sky. She didn't address him again until the sky turned dark and ash fell like rain. "I am well aware I'm in hell, we came here to rescue your sorry ass. What I don't know is why I'm here and my son, and Emma and David are not. So are you going to lie there or are you going to help me so we can both get out of here!"
"I'd love to, Your Majesty," he smiled at her, allowing the hope she brought to sink in, praying to whatever was left that it wasn't in vain. "But you'll need to get off of me first," Hook oofed as Regina pushed against his chest, rolling her eyes as she got to her feet. The pirate reached up for a hand that she never extended to him, before rolling to his feet unassisted. She was pacing, but there was nowhere to go, no way out that he had yet to find. "How did you get here?"
"Portal," she answered shooting fireballs in every direction and watching them fade from view. "I went through last."
"You're the only one that came here," Killian told her.
"I can see that!" she snapped, inadvertently launching the flame in his direction. It fizzled out before colliding with his chest. "I didn't stop that," Regina whispered, every sense on alert as her eyes again swept the horizon.
"No, Your Majesty, that would be me." The voice came from all around them. A blue light erupted from the ground, wrapping around her and squeezing hard. Killian slashed at the tendrils, grasped at the pulsing veins of it that were wrapping around her throat, but his hook and his hand passed right through. The last thing Regina heard was Killian's cried out apologies before her world went black.
Emma and Regina made their way slowly through the winding tunnel that led out of the Charming's loft. It was dark, nothing but a black abyss lit only by the fire burning in Regina's palm. They were miles below the surface, trekking through tunnels carved out of black stone. They followed the narrow tunnel, Emma's hand on Regina's shoulder so they wouldn't lose each other in the dark. They veered left, then right, left again until Emma was certain they were going in circles, but at least they were going uphill and somehow that was more comforting than working their way deeper beneath the earth. The steady incline had their calves burning before long, the gravely trail crunching beneath their boots was a constant steady rhythm as they walked and walked.
Regina kept her hand that wasn't lighting their way secured to the wall. The rock was smooth under her finger tips, the familiar feeling of the tunnels that ran under her castle was pulling her mind to places she couldn't afford to think about right now. This place was getting to her: the endless darkness, the twisted mind games, and that feeling in her gut that wouldn't go away. Something was wrong, pulling at her, at her magic, but she couldn't give it a name. She was about to ask Emma if she could feel it too when her next step down met nothing but air. She toppled forward, knees hitting and sliding, but the angle was too steep and she couldn't stop her body from pitching forward or Emma from falling after her. Both women slid down, grasping futilely at the crumbling floor, at each other's flailing limbs. Emma had somehow managed to grab onto Regina's wrist in the dark and they held tight for a few seconds before the queen crashed into unyielding rock and Emma's hand was wretched away.
Everything hurt. The pain was the first thing that Emma registered after she had finally stopped falling. It felt like minutes of endless descent had passed since she was pulled away from Regina. She got to her knees slowly, her body protesting every move, but she couldn't stay here. She had to find Hook. She had to find "Regina!," she yelled into the emptiness around her as she scanned every direction for any sign of the queen. It was only then that Emma realized she could see her surroundings; she'd somehow fallen out of the darkness and into an eerie twilight. The ground had also changed, gravel giving way to smooth polished stone. There was an open chamber in front of her, she could see people moving about—most likely more spirits, she thought—behind her were 7 archways each surrounded by darkness. She assumed she had toppled out of one of them, but Emma had no idea which one.
She felt the heat, seconds before she saw the flame, ducking just as the fireball scorched past her. "Subtle, Regina," she said to herself as she slowly made her way back into the tunnel. The darkness enveloped her instantly and although she knew the cavern was only steps behind her she could see no trace of it. She took a step, digging her feet as firmly into the loose ground as possible, then another and one more before she was sliding back down. "You're going to have to come down here," she said aloud, knowing Regina couldn't hear her, but it was too quiet and she needed to hear something even if it was her own voice. "Shit!" she yelled this time as the next fireball barely missed her. Had that one come from behind? She dove left as another one appeared at her right. She was disoriented, turning and reaching, yet finding nothing but black. Emma raised her hands and sent her light flying. It traveled practically straight up, illuminating the sharp path of her descent until it faded from view.
"Emma!" Regina's shout bounced around the cavern. She had crashed hard into a bolder that split the path, but Emma had kept sliding into the darkness. There was no sound but her frantically beating heart. "Emma!" she called again, inching around the bolder to try to see anything in the darkness below. Regina brought fire back to her palm (ignored the fact that it took her three times to produce the flame as well as the scraped and bloodied hand its light revealed) and tossed it down the path she believed Emma had slid. Nothing. She sent another and another until her head was pounding and dizziness forced her to her knees, both hands tightly gripping the rock for balance.
She needed to get out of here, but she didn't trust her magic to transport her back to David and Henry. Not that she could return without Emma anyway, neither man would ever forgive her. Hell, she wouldn't forgive herself. "Emma Swan!" she yelled again, hating the way her voice sounded panicked and pained as it ricocheted around her, but that was exactly how she felt. She was inching her way back to her feet when the chamber was suddenly filled with blinding light. Regina buried her eyes in her sleeve, blinking slowly as the light dimmed and her eyes adjusted. When she could focus again there was a soft white orb hovering beside her and she had never been more grateful for the Savior's beautiful, reckless magic.
The moment she touched it Regina felt herself being transported. It was an odd sensation when you weren't the one controlling the destination, but she had no choice but to trust Emma to lead her out of this maze. Seconds later she was face to face with the blonde in an open, airy chamber, both simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief. "You okay?" Emma asked although she could see that Regina had faired about as well as she had, scrapes and cuts covering every exposed surface.
"Mostly in one piece," Regina answered, trying to look like she wasn't nursing cracked or broken ribs and a most definitely dislocated shoulder from when Emma had fallen away. "You?" she asked. Emma only nodded, her magic healing her own skin with only the slight bend of her fingers. Not for the first time, Regina was envious of the younger woman's power. Healing had never been her forte, especially not for herself. She turned to survey their new surroundings as Emma finished healing her own injuries. "Where did we come out?" she asked.
"Second one from the right, next time you might want to send something other than fireballs though," Emma answered casually, checking herself over to make sure everything was sufficiently repaired.
Regina merely raised an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders, gritting her teeth against the pain the motion caused. "It got the job done," she joked, but Emma could tell she was truly grateful for the rescue.
"Are you going to let me fix your ribs or do you just plan on holding them in place for the rest of the trip?" Emma was already moving toward her, light magic ready to go, but she waited for Regina's consent. A very subtle nod was enough for Emma to go on as she placed her hands loosely on Regina's waist and let her power do its thing.
They both winced at the audible pop, as Regina's shoulder was set back into place, but the relief instantly showed on the brunette's face. "Thank you," she whispered, stretching out her arms and waist as Emma reigned her magic back in.
"So, straight on 'til morning?" Emma pointed them toward the roaming spirits ahead, continuing on as if she hadn't just done something incredibly difficult. Regina realized then, that Emma probably didn't see healing as any more difficult than lighting a candle. One of the many differences between Emma's light and her own dark. Where Regina could snap someone's neck with a flick of her wrist, Emma could save their life.
"Seems like a much better prospect than back," Regina agreed as they made their way into what seemed to be another winding path, but at least this one was well lit and wide enough for them to walk side by side. Even if it was more inhabited than their previous location, the spirits weren't attacking them. In fact, only a few showed even a casual interest in their presence, eyeing them curiously, or reaching out a phantom hand to try and touch.
"Why the loft? Why our home?" Emma asked absently as she side-stepped yet another trapped soul. Regina didn't answer, she didn't care. She just wanted to get out of here, out of this maze of souls—too many of which she had sent here. Emma hadn't stopped talking since they'd left the dark tunnels; a constant stream of meaningless conversation that Regina couldn't have participated in if she had tried. Emma had barely taken a breath. The blonde had thanked her for tricking Henry into stay back, for coming with her, for teaching her magic, and convincing her to buy more fashionable shoes before switching to theories about this realm, the constant smell in the air, the shade of the sky, the varying solidity of the spirits…
Regina stopped abruptly, pulling Emma off the path, crossing her arms and facing her. "Spill it, Swan."
Emma was silent for seconds, looking questioningly at Regina. "Spill what?" she feigned an ignorance she knew Regina saw right through, but she couldn't stop talking. "It's just this place, you know? It's unsettling. Can you feel it?"
She could. Of course she could. Her magic was restless, cresting and abating through her; it made her restless, overly cautious. Dark magic was getting closer and closer; she could feel it wrapping around her, squeezing tighter with every step they took. But that wasn't what was bothering her friend. "Emma." There was more weight in that word than the Savior could hold so she let Regina carry some of her burden.
"I'm scared, Regina. What if my heart isn't strong enough to save him? I know I love him, but what if that's not enough?" It was coming out like a flood, every insecurity she hadn't let herself feel (let alone voice) until now. "What if I get to him and this doesn't work and I've put all of you through this HELL for nothing! What if he still can't come back and—"
"Emma, shut up!" Emma's mouth clamped instantly, but Regina continued. "The man died for you; he let you run him through with a sword that held all the darkness in the universe. He's waited for you, chased after you. He loves you, you love him. It will be enough."
"Okay," the blonde answered. "When you put it like that," she smiled to Regina, the nerves were still there, but the brunette was right: their love would be enough. It had to be. They continued their exploration in comfortable silence, each taking turns in steering the other away from the edge, urging faster or slower to avoid a spirit that was getting uncomfortable close. There was no sign of Killian, no sign of anything that would indicate they were even traveling in the right direction. Unless of course you counted the fact that Regina felt consistently worse with each step further into the caves.
It was another 10 minutes before Emma finally broke the silence. "What's wrong with you?"
"I don't know." Regina held her head with one hand, Emma's shoulder with the other to keep her balance. "It's been getting worse ever since we came out of the dark tunnels. Something isn't right."
Stick around, I promise everything will make sense eventually. Thank you for coming on the journey with me.