Part 9

"Two little sailor boys sailing out to sea,

One hauntingly eerie isle shall claim the life of thee.

One little sailor boy crying to the gods:

"Justice shall be done. To hell with these royal sods!"

No more little sailor boys left aboard the tall ship.

A pirate is he, his sole company a flask of rum to sip.

Garments of black, a swish of silver; revenge in his heart thrumming like the wings of a dove.

T'will come to naught for the Saviour will thwart him, and so begins their trek of true love.

One little sailor boy, taken before his time, shall finally be at rest

When his little brother's heart beats and feels love beneath his breast," murmurs Thé softly as they slowly drift along the wide gully they had plunged into after passing through the centre of the maelstrom.

"What is that?" frowns Emma from at the purple and green haired woman's side.

"A tale the Fates weaved long long ago. I hadn't the heart to tell Killian of it before. Being here surrounded by the ethereal light of the Underworld reminded me of it," she sighs in reply before shaking off the maudlin that had suddenly overcome her. "Why aren't you taking the left hand pass, Davy?" frowns Thé upon seeing the ship continue their course and not leading off to join the River Styx.

"That's 'Captain'," grits Davy. "It's much harder to traverse the waters of the River Styx. You know Charon enchanted them so."

"Yes but you know what happens when you come this scenic way with mortals!" she complains.

"Bugger and damnation," the dark-haired Captain swears in realisation before grumbling about it being far too long since he last had to make such considerations.

"What was that?" questions Thé, a slight smirk twisting her lips.

The Captain bites back the retort he'd like to give her and settles for dismissing the issue altogether, "It's too late to turn back now. You would do well to warn your new friends. We'll be coming alongside the Pit shortly."

"Warn us about what?" asks Regina, a shiver of foreboding tensing the Storybrooke group who are all gathered upon the main deck of The Dutchman so as to get a good look at the Underworld.

"Regina, sweetheart," croons a female voice.

Regina backs away in fear, clutching tight to Robin's hand, as where the disembodied voice had been heard a flickering pale shape manifests. All of the group immediately take a step back as Cora's ghostly form appears before them.

"What is this new terror?" Robin calls across the ship to Thé who remains unmoved from her position.

Thé answers, her tone of voice pained as she explains the phenomenon occurring, "Mortal souls link to the living that they had a connection to, and so as we traipse past the Pit their souls are pulled from it and given this ghostly guise. They cannot harm you. And you cannot touch them or be touched in return," she warns as a gruff male voice suddenly speaks, thoroughly shocking all of the Storybrooke residents.

"Papa," greets Neal. "Emma. It's good to see you both," the young man tries to smile.

"Bae, what? How can you...why are you in the Pit?" stutters Rumple, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"My selfish action of bringing you back to life so that I could find a way to get back to Emma and Henry resulted in me ending up here in Tartarus."

"No! There has to be some other way. We're here to get Killian. We can bring you back too," announces Emma.

"It doesn't work quite like that, Emma. Killian's final act was a selfless one, and it is for that reason the Fates will allow him life once more. Even Hades' powers are bound by rules," Thé tries to explain to the Saviour gently.

"So was Neal's. He died so that we could have Gold to help us against Zelena."

"But had Neal never resurrected his father in the first place, there'd have been no need for him to do so to begin with. His death was set in stone, Fated, from the moment he turned the key to the Dark One's lair."

"It's fine, Emma. Honestly. It's like I'm doing a prison sentence for the one I got you arrested for."

"But this is for eternity," snaps Rumple.

"Not so, Rumple," calls out a melodic voice that freezes Rumplestiltskin where he stands; his dark eyes ice over as the brunette sways across the deck to stand by their son.

"Milah," his lips twist as he spits out her name.

"Hades has promised us both that with good behaviour we could go on to Elysium some day."

"Mere platitudes that you seem happy to simper over. As I recall you were never the type to care for such things, or was it only mine you did not care for?"

"You were a weak man. A coward. The gossip mongers in our village whispered and jeered everywhere we went. I couldn't handle it any longer," states Milah dourly.

"And there I thought it was simply you lusted after the pirate like a cat in heat."

"Rumple!" "Papa!" echo Belle and Neal respectively in a chiding tone.

"She left us, Bae. For him!"

"I know that, Papa. But in my time here I've learnt to forgive her."

"So you're the one that took my crown," sneers a voice as another man appears before the Charmings.

"Oh now that is just too strange," murmurs Snow, her gaze darting from her husband to his twin glaring at them, sizing David up and obviously finding him wanting.

"How you and I could ever be thought to be related I do not know."

"Funny I've thought the same over the years, especially during the times I was expected to carry on the persona of you James."

"You look down your nose at me, shepherd?" laughs James mockingly.

"Well you're the one stuck in Tartarus. Meanwhile I have a beautiful wife, two lovely children, a grandson, and your crown."

Anger twists James' face before he stomps away from the shepherd and his 'princess'. The Charmings also dismiss him and turn to give their daughter support as she talks with Neal. Belle stands by Gold's side, providing him with some comfort and support at such a trying time. She had believed she had needed to protect her heart from him, but actually seeing the physical embodiment of their love had put things into perspective. Whilst she wouldn't let herself be blinded by his faults and actions again, Belle was considering what it would be to let her heart once again make the decision. Rumple gave Emma and Neal some time alone to speak and chose that time to finally have a proper conversation with his first wife, without an audience. Belle could see that they only brought out the worst in each other, but turned away to give them some privacy and to take her chance seeking Neal's opinion on the matter of his father.

"It's easy to fall into that dark path, Belle. So much the easier for my father because of all he's done in the past. You're no longer blinded by your love for him, and that's enough. Be the strong woman I know you to be and call him out on things he does that you don't agree with. But love him Belle. He needs you," Neal gives her a gentle smile before turning to chat with Rumple again.

"Hello Mother, I'm Zelena," simpers the Wicked Witch, attempting to gain Cora's attention away from her silent disapproving observation of Regina.

"Zelena who?" stares Cora blankly.

"Your daughter. Your first-born," answers the redhead, softly smiling at the older woman.

"I have other matters to deal with, child. Do not bother me with petty things. Now Regina I think we need to have a discussion again regarding giving your heart away so willy nilly."

"'Petty things'?" interrupts Zelena, a glint of green shimmering across her face before the magic of the Underworld dissipates it. "You abandoned me. I should have been the one to become Queen. I'm the more proficient one at magic," she sneers.

"Don't be prideful, dear. It's not a very pretty emotion. And you really should sneer so, you'll get wrinkles. But you can't be my daughter. I left my first-born in a forest."

"Yes and a cyclone picked me up and blew me to Oz."

"Well that certainly wasn't my intention. You were never meant to have been. You should have died in that forest," comments Cora dismissively. "Now Regina, really? He's hardly much better than the stable boy, and you do remember how that ended."

Regina's eyes flash in remembered pain, but Robin's reassuring embrace gives her strength to stand up to her mother. "I should thank you for that. Without you killing Daniel I'd have simply languished in the Enchanted Forest until I died. Because of you I found where I belong. I found true love, and the love of a child."

"True love, pah," Cora delicately snorts. "Those are not the things you should aim for, Regina. I tried to teach you. Power is what matters most."

"And because of love I can now use light magic; something that your bitter and shrivelled heart will never know or understand. I told you you were the lucky one not to have her as your mother. Believe me now?" she turns to Zelena, dismissing her mother.

"You do not turn your back on me!" yells Cora.

"Enough Cora. You have no power here," rebukes Gold; the witch's shout having interrupted his, Belle's and Emma's reunion with Baelfire.

"And I'm not the only one. All the souls are talking about how the Dark Ones got free and now are no more. They were trapped, caged away in the darkest part of Tartarus," at this she jerks her head to the huge heavy doors that seem almost engraved into the stone wall and the stiff guards standing on either side. "Every day they'd be mercilessly tortured by the guardians of Tartarus. Inside the Pit you can hear their screams. That's what you're sending your precious son back to," she smiles with a glint in her eye.

"Run her light and douse canvas," calls out Davy Jones, interrupting the tense hush that has descended upon the ship.

"It's not so bad, Papa. Truly."

"No, I won't lose you. Not again."

A swirl of bright blue smoke with a flash of lightning in it's centre appears on the harbour the ship now sits docked at. From within the lithe form of the brunette god appears, his eerie eyes narrowing as he glares at all the puny mortals stood upon The Dutchman. Power fills the air, so heavy and heady it almost obstructs their ability to breathe. Flames ignite and surround his form, the blue flickerings dancing irately at the intrusion. The heat that blasts them all makes them wince. Thé rolls her eyes at the performance, the one her uncle likes to call his magnificently terrifying entrance.

"Mr Diva extinguish the flames already. They're all appropriately wowed by your splendour," she calls out to him sarcastically.

"Oh it's you. Seph said to expect you, but never thought you'd actually come. Also wasn't aware you were dragging this lot with you. Plus it's never a bad thing to effectively scare a few mortals. I do rarely get to have such fun whilst they're still breathing," sighs Hades woefully.

"Hades, Lord of the Underworld, greetings!" calls out Prince David, giving the god a courtly bow. "We have come seeking Killian's soul."

"Such courage," murmurs Hades, throwing a smirk his niece's way.

"Hades isn't one for such pomp and ceremony," Thé tells them dryly.

"Where is Killian? We have his body and we want you to return his soul to it," pipes up Emma as she whirls her hands intending to bring his stretcher above deck.

"That won't work. Only the magic of the gods works here in my domain. As to your 'quest', I figured that was the reason for this rude intrusion into my home when I saw my darling niece in the flesh for the first time in 150 years," Hades replies with a glare thrown at Athena.

"I watched you all in the Seeing Pools in Athens every five years or so for the last hundred years of that realm's time."

"That still leaves fifty years of your life...our lives unaccounted for where you went gallivanting off in the Enchanted Forest," shouts Hades before gritting his teeth. "I'm trying to be understanding of what you went through. Our family is crazy. And a mess. Pure and simple. You always knew that. You were meant to get over your fascination with the mortals and return to us. But you didn't and this is how life turned out."

"So I'm to blame for Aethyia?" cries Thé, her voice breaking on her sister's name.

Hades groans. "That isn't what I meant. I meant...it's good to see you. I, uh, I missed you," he manages to spit out before awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "Well you might as well all come through. Crumpets should be done in a jiffy. Except you lot," he gestures to the souls and with a flick of his hand their forms begin to shimmer and dissipate.

The swarthy skinned man gestures for them to make their way across the gangway. The crew, and Davy Jones, remain upon The Dutchman. Emma looks back in the direction of the Captain's cabin but before she can ask about the stretcher Hades crooks his finger and the stretcher bearing Killian's body suddenly appears at his side on the stony harbour. David flinches back when his eyes catch the swirl of silver spinning around the god's white irises but finds his courage to accompany his wife and follow after Thé. The small group cautiously make their way along the rocky path; the eerie white blue fog that curls around the ceiling on the entire space the only source of light, and a poor one at that for mortals' eyes.

"How is it that we stumble but you two seemingly glide?" complains Zelena. "And why am I being dragged along for this. Surely you could have left me on the ship."

"To answer your first question: our eyes are not like yours. This light is made so that mortals like yourselves find it difficult to traverse my realm," Hades pauses to shoot a grimacing smile at the magic-bound witch.

"As to your other: I don't trust you. Even with the bridle bound to your wrist and binding your magic."

"By the by, what on Gaia are you wearing, dearest niece?" blurts Hades, having finally taken note of her 'garments' - a tight electric blue dress with slits in the sides and a sweetheart neckline that reaches mid-thigh, matching suede six-inch pumps, a cropped black leather jacket with three-quarter length sleeves, and a pair of hold-up style tights with skull designs on them.

"It's all the range on that world. Don't you like it?" Thé flutters her eyelashes and twirls.

"I can see that considering the bookworm is wearing a similar dress and heels, and Emma is wearing a similar jacket. But why not at least a looser fitting dress like the dark-haired one or the mothering look that one is going for. I barely recognise you like this," the curly brown haired god frowns down at his niece.

"You really should learn people's names Hades."

"I remembered the important one," he retorts making Thé laugh.

"Just to keep you happy," she pouts slightly before raising her arms up and shutting her eyes.

Unlike when mortals use magic to change their clothing, Thé does not become enveloped in coloured smoke. Instead a brilliant glow radiates from inside of her until the golden light becomes too bright for even the strongest of the gods to bear looking upon it. When the light dies down Thé is revealed wearing an amaranthine chiton with exquisite golden embroidery and Gladiator sandals upon her feet.

"Better?" she asks, her sarcastic reply having little bite to it.

"Much," nods her uncle before continuing on as if they hadn't stopped, the others following along and glancing around as the water running alongside them turns to lava.

"We're following the leader, the leader, the leader, following the leader wherever he may go," croons Thé softly as they traipse over the stone bridge linking the island Hades' home is situated with the rest of the Underworld.

Hades' lips twitch at his niece's humour. "Meli's made him watch Peter Pan, you know?"

"Dammit, now he'll know what I'm talking about! Melinoe needs to learn how fun it is making fun of people at their own expense," Thé tells her uncle seriously making him chuckle.

"I wanted to see how he'd react to the perm and waxed moustache," adds Emma, her hand clutching Killian's as Hades' magic floats the stretcher alongside her, making most of the group laugh at how they can imagine Killian would react to how 'Hook' was thought of.

The group start to slow as they take in the large round dome upon the island but quickly follow after Hades and Thé as the two enter through the heavy oak door. All their eyes widen as they take in the homey feel of the open plan main area. Snow and Charming are shocked by the comfortable seats dotted around the living area, the carved stone bench and counters in the kitchen, and the solid oak dining table and chairs all set up. Rumplestiltskin looks intrigued by the chasm of lava circling the edge of the wall enclosing the living area. Regina's nose leads her into the kitchen to find the unusual and unorthodox cooking method Hades is applying in his home: a cast iron skillet on a winch lowered over a deep pool of magma.

"Crafting things is my hobby," Hades proudly explains to the Charmings. "That stream of lava heats the entire house to an optimum temperature. It can get a bit chilly out in Tartarus and it's nice to have a blazing heat to come home to."

"I thought Tartarus was an equivalent of the Christian hell. Isn't it supposed to be hot and full of flames?" comments Belle.

"Ah but it is. Just freezing cold flames. Much more unpleasant. Trust me," the god grimaces. "As to my kitchen -" he begins to explain to Regina but Thé interrupts him with a shriek of protest.

"You didn't?!" gasps Thé in shock as she looks at the painting hanging on the cave wall of the dining area. "You stole the painting of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies!" she exclaims.

"What of it?" dismisses Hades, even as his cheeks flush. "It's an old favourite," he justifies, turning on his heel to fetch down his floral apron and returning to the scones he has baking over his lava pit. "Here, you have to try these. Um...what's her name?" Hades suddenly turns to Thé and asks in a stage whisper.

"Regina," replies Thé, managing (barely) to keep her face straight at the look of outrage plastered across the queen's face.

"Right, Regina. I knew that. That cupboard is a type of ice box. Fetch out the clotted cream and strawberry jam. You won't regret this," he tells them all with an anticipatory grin.

'Fetch' mouths Regina, yet she does as requested (not wanting to be on that particular god's bad side, even with his apparent favourite niece on their side). She, Robin, Snow, Belle and Rumple all try one of his scones slathered in jam and cream. After finishing the first sumptuous bite Regina immediately begins to quiz the supposedly terrifying god on his recipe...because they really are that good.

"It's all in the slight roasting process when you cook it. You'd be amazed at the flavour you get from a lava pit. Best thing to cook over it though is soup in a big old cauldron. My favourite is lamb...I should have that recipe somewhere around abouts...ah, here you go! Lamb, barley, winter vegetables and sage. Delicious!" he excitedly tells the queen, smacking his lips in remembrance of the taste.

"I don't mean to butt in, but we're here for a reason Regina. Where's Killian?" asks Emma in a direct tone, her gaze fixed stoically on Hades' swirling eyes.

"I'm right here love," Killian calls out and they all turn to see him exiting one of the enclosed rooms, a curly blonde haired toddler perched on his side.

"Killian," gasps out Emma in a low voice as tears prick her eyes and she rushes to reach out to him but her hand goes straight through his shoulder and lands on the little girl who's staring up at her with hypnotising silvery eyes.

"Like with the souls earlier, mortals can't touch him or be touched," explains Thé in a quiet voice.

"Ath!" squeals the little girl delightedly, recognising the young woman who she'd seen when Thé last scryed for her Mummy and Daddy.

"Hello Melinoe. Looks like you got a new member for your crew, Captain Jones," grins Thé.

"Young Meli would be a credit to me if she were," winks the handsome Captain before turning more serious, a slight sheen in his pale blue eyes seen even though he is but an apparition. "It's good to see you again, Emma."


A/N: A thousand and one apologies for how long this took to write and get up. Sadly haven't been having too many good days physically or mentally. I hope though that you enjoyed it; it's the longest chapter yet! Thanks for anyone that's still sticking with me. Hopefully the wait for the next chapter won't be just as long.

The rhyme at the beginning is one of my own creation that randomly popped into my brain this morning. I think it's because I was thinking of the 'Ten Little Soldier Boys' rhyme from And Then There Were None. Brilliant three-part drama on BBC.

The painting I mention is a reference to one of my favourite oldie shows 'Allo! 'Allo! It's fantastic. And I just have this image of Hades torturing Hitler and Himmler, etcetera (who are chained within the deepest darkest part of Tartarus) with episodes of it and giggling away to himself at the ridiculousness of some of the things that happen and the many jokes.

Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Due to my illness I do sometimes have issues being able to write on a regular basis. I don't know when I'll get this next updated but I just ask for your patience. Many thanks!

~Anna-Margaret

xx