Chapter 10 - Plan C

"Killian, you're supposed to be back home by now, with Emma," Milah said, voice gentle. "What are you still doing here?"

"Why, getting very very drunk, of course-" he slurred, shaking his head. Liam moved to his side, helping him to his feet and sitting him down, swaying precariously on a stool. "If this is some fresh torment, Hades, you've done better work. How about you sod off and let me drink in peace?" Killian reached for a half-empty bottle on the bar and took a pull while Liam and Milah watched in shock. "Damn- that burns. Oy- where does it come from, the cinnamon? Some poor sot whose only job down here is to make cinnamon whisky he can't drink? Have you tried cinnamon whisky, quite delightful really."

"Since when do you drink cinnamon whisky?" Milah asked, eyebrows raised.

"I tried, you know. I went to the docks and waited for the boat and I told myself she's safe now, she's not your unfinished business. Doesn't feel like she's safe. I just need to know- Maybe I can fix the phone… What was the question?" Milah glanced at the bottle in his hand in reminder and he chuckled. "Oh, right, so I came here and all I could find was bloody coconut rum. Why would you ruin perfectly good rum with coconuts? But this … it smelled like cinnamon. Very good spice cinnamon. Emma used to- well I suppose she still does- I've no clue how to fix a phone-"

"What the devil happened while we were away, little brother?" Liam interrupted Killian's rambling.

"You know bloody well what happened you great blue git."

Liam reached past him, grabbing the bottle and setting it back on the bartop as Killian tried to move it to his lips again.

"If you think I'm Hades instead of your brother, you really have had quite enough, Killian. I know what it is like to be alone down here, but you aren't." Liam insisted, trying to catch Killian's eyes. "We're real, and we're here."

"We've played this game before, Hades. String me up and make me bleed if you must, I can't stop you. But I do not intend to let you use them against me now that they are free of you."

"So ask us something he wouldn't know. Ask me about anything that will convince you that you aren't alone. Ask Milah about the sea monsters she is always drawing in the margins of your charts and on the napkins at the bar. Ask me about the ring Emma wears around her neck-"

"The ring- How did you-"

"Because it was mine first. It's really us, Killian."

Killian tried to get to his feet, swaying a bit, "Oh bloody hell- I thought you said this stuff was weaker here? Don't think I've actually lost my sea-legs in a century or two."

"It is weaker, Killian," Milah said in a mildly exasperated tone. "But it still gets the job done eventually! Come on, up you get. Let's find you somewhere to lie down while Liam starts the coffee."

"Best do as she says, Killian. I haven't see you this drunk since…" Liam trailed off. "What happened?"

"We passed the test," Killian said, shuffling uncertainly to his feet, "but the ambrosia was long dead. Another trick to keep her from being able to get home. I- I sent her home. I promised her I would move on. I tried. But I don't know how to keep my promise. So I did the one thing I'm good at-"

"Hush with that, now," Milah warned, "or it will be more than water you get to your face." It was a futile threat, of course, and more gentle than it should have been. She guided him the best she could toward the closest table. "We'll figure out a way, Killian."

"How?" Killian moved easily enough without much resistance, muscle memory nearly forgotten over centuries still recalling how futile it was to resist her.

"We just...will." Milah got him sitting in a booth and had to use her elbows to push him further. His hand was on one of her bandaged hands before she could get it away and she hissed at him. "Let go before I bite your festering fiesta face off."

Killian was quick to let go. "What happened?"

Milah let out a slow, pained breath as she left him on the table. When she came back she had a bottle of the much hated coconut rum balanced precariously between her arms. She put it in front of him. "You may have noticed I have a bad habit of lashing out at mentally unstable immortals when my 'happily ever after' is threatened. Open." He made a face but did as instructed. "We have one hand between us right now and you get to hold the bottle." Milah had him hold it up and tilt it a bit. When she smiled at him it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll be fine. I just need something for the pain."

It was a bit awkward, him holding the bottle and her drinking from it. Were he completely sober or if they had double the hands to work with it probably would have gone better. Still, most of it made it in, and that's all that was important.

Mostly.

"It smells disgusting," Killian informed her, nose wrinkling.

Milah arched an eyebrow. "Well if someone had left something palatable other than this and tequila-"

"Tequila isn't...that bad."

"The last time I drank it I woke up engaged to a duke," she reminded him. "Or was it a duchess? A bit more." Killian dutifully held the bottle until she held up a bandaged hand and he pulled it away, setting it on the table as far from himself as he could reach.

"You're lucky I hold tequila better than you do, love, or you'd have woken up married." She tilted her head at him and a smile tugged at his lips, "Bloody rude to ask your lover to perform the ceremony."

Milah chuckled, "Is that what happened? I woke up so annoyed with you and I hadn't a clue why. Took me days to shake the feeling."

Liam brought coffee, setting a mug in front of Killian who nodded gratefully and took a sip. "You were supposed to be gone," Killian finally said, "both of you."

"We… well, we tried to move on," Liam replied, "but Hades interfered. Had I known you would be trapped here still, I never would have tried."

"And Hades?"

Milah shrugged, "He kept me from leaving but didn't seem interested in sticking around. He's still here, somewhere."

"If he'd kept them from leaving, if he hurt them... he'd probably be taunting me with it by now," Killian commented, looking up at Liam with an expression that begged for confirmation.

"Aye, Hades is not subtle," Liam offered reassuringly.

"Perhaps he really did just want them out of his domain," Killian mused.

"And now that he's succeeded who's to say he won't attempt to pick up where he left off," Liam said, glancing at Killian. "I think it's safe to say we've already made an enemy of our malevolent overlord. Perhaps we should ensure we thoroughly deserve his ire."

Killian looked up and Liam stood, returning to the bar. He bent below and there was the sound of wood creaking as he removed something from a hiding place behind the bar. When he returned to the table he placed several folded and worn pages onto the table for them to see. Killian finished reading first and looked up at Liam in surprise.

"When did you find this?"

"My first years here were…" Liam glanced down, "productive. Mapping the passageways below were not my only accomplishment. I found these papers during… The details are unimportant. The originals remain with Hades, this is a copy by my own hand. I thought it best Hades not know the original had been discovered."

"If this weapon truly exists," Killian whispered, "it means-"

Liam nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Milah snapped, annoyed. "We could have searched for it."

"I stopped looking for it," Liam said quietly, "the day you first walked into my bar."

Milah shook her head in confusion, "Why?"

"I realized I had something left to lose, someone to protect." Liam looked down, studying the table top. "You were his love. I would have protected you with my very soul, even that first day."

Milah's mouth opened but she couldn't seem to find the words. Killian leaned forward, grasping Liam's arm tightly for a moment.

"And you did, brother. It's one more debt that I'll never be able to repay."

"Awfully sentimental for a pirate," Liam commented in an attempt to lighten the mood. The words slipped past his lips without really thinking and he knew instantly by the stiffening of Killian's shoulders that they had been a mistake. It was a phrase he'd not directed at his brother except one other time, in a place Liam very much wished he could forget.

Killian's gaze turned probing. For a moment he said nothing and Liam thought the slip might go unchallenged, but Killian looked down again, then back up at him.

"That… that reminds me of the tale you used to tell me as a boy," he said quietly. "Leviathan Shoals. Do you remember?"

Do I remember? Liam tried to keep his face indifferent. How could I possibly forget?

"Heard it from some of the lads on the ship," he replied instead. "about a place where monsters lurked beneath becalmed seas and the mists drive men to madness and desperation."

"Aye, green mist and madness in its depths. A legend- Do you believe that, brother? That the shoals are just a legend?" Milah stiffened and glanced at Killian. When she'd been alive Killian had told her the tale of his visit to the Leviathan Shoals as a warning of the deceptions that could tempt you at sea. It wasn't until years after her arrival that she'd learned that Killian's phantom of Liam had truly been his brother. She looked down at her lap again, nervous that Killian would see the truth in her eyes if he cared to look at her. He didn't, his eyes remained fixed on his brother.

"Of course it's just a legend, Killian," Liam replied with as much certainty as he could muster. It had been centuries, why torture Killian with the truth now? He only hoped Killian had not noticed Milah pointedly staring at her lap as she pretended to be fascinated with the edge of her bandage. "There are a great many strange things in the realms, but I have no reason to believe in that one."

"I've seen them, brother," Killian said, "the shoals." If Liam had any doubt about withholding the truth from Killian it evaporated when he saw the relief on his brother's face. "Those green mists were a beacon for us when the ship was listing and ballasts failing. The storm was worse than any I've ever seen save one, and we two were the only survivors that day. But the storm drove us right to the shoals, as though we were meant to find safe harbor there. Of course it wasn't a safe harbor at all, but it kept us off the ocean floor."

"We sailed to another realm in a flying ship," Liam commented with a shrug, "so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at an old legend holding some truth."

I saw…" Killian hesitated and Liam tried not to flinch, tried not to remember what Killian had seen. "I thought I saw… things that could not be. And I wanted so desperately to believe them…"

"Well, I'm certainly glad you saw through the Shoal's deceptions and escaped safely," Liam said stiffly.

"More coffee?" Milah asked cheerfully, the slump of Liam's shoulders making it impossible for her to not at least attempt to give him reprieve.

"It was a near thing," Killian admitted, as though he hadn't heard her. "I've seen sirens change form and heard the mermaid's songs, I knew it was a place of deception and I didn't think there was anything it could show me that would sway me from my course but-" Killian looked up and Liam must have allowed the mask to slip because Killian looked suddenly startled. "Liam- what is it?"

"You think I don't know what it showed you, little brother? You think I can't guess that there are few faces that could sway you from any course you set? I too know of sirens, Killian, and I hate the idea of one using my face to lure you into a trap."

"Lewis tried to warn me. You were dead, I knew it to be true. You went cold in my arms," Killian's voice trembled slightly but he went on. "I stitched you up with my own hands. I watched you sink into the depths. Yet I so desperately wanted to believe that by some magic or miracle-" Killian trailed off again and Liam resisted the urge to take his brother in a hug, certain he'd never be able to keep up the facade if he did so. When Killian spoke again his voice was quiet. "He begged me to come back, you know. Refused any manner of rescue that did not involve the Jolly returning from the brink of escape to those treacherous waters. She's a fine ship but she'd never have managed the crossing again. She was riding low, not settling right. The ballast pumps were barely functional. I knew it wasn't really you… but-" Killian swallowed hard. "Liam, I'll never forget the sound of you begging me not to go-"

"A good captain knows the limits of his ship. I'm glad you didn't follow a dead man into the depths. I'm proud of you for not falling for the desperate words of a… phantasm."

"Proud of me?" Killian retorted, " Bloody hell Liam, I've rarely been less proud of myself in all my damn life. I sailed away with no way of knowing for certain that I was not abandoning you. If it had been you- if the monster truly had perished and it was a simple matter of making repairs and trying again another day-?" Killian swallowed hard. "How deeply I despised myself that day and so many after, for the merest chance that I chose wrong."

"Of course I'm proud of you, Killian. You put your ship and your crew ahead of a ghost. That's what a captain has to do. And you are a great captain. If… if it hadn't been a trick, I never would have called you back, not with the Jewel… the Jolly riding low. You forget, she was my ship before she was yours. I would have known never to call a listing ship back into monster infested waters. And repairs? You make for safe harbor for repairs. You don't make repairs in a battleground, not if you have any other choice. If it hadn't been a trick, Killian, if I had truly been there, you were still not wrong."

"Are you mad?" Killian retorted, "Of course it would have been wrong. I've never once forgotten that she was your ship first, but I am a hell of a captain and she's a hell of a vessel. You think we've never made emergency repairs in a battleground before? For far less valuable a prize, I assure you. What do you suppose your life is truly worth, brother? That you would think it right to let yourself burn so that I don't risk a few repairs in dangerous waters? Would you throw yourself from the ship to save me a skinned knee too?" Liam was quite certain he went pale, the old burning of scars on his back reminding him exactly what would drive him to such a choice. "Bloody hell Liam, your life is more than a currency to be paid," Killian continued.

"Fear not. I would never throw myself from the ship for anything near so petty." He sighed, "How much risk am I to consider acceptable, little brother? How much risk would you consider acceptable from a lad you would do anything for? How much risk is acceptable for Henry to shoulder for you? You don't have to hold your own life cheap to believe there are things, and people, worth dying for. I know a pirate who just died for his family who would understand that."

"Henry is hardly more than a child, Liam, you know that's not fair. And If I hadn't died Emma's family would have in my stead. It's hardly comparable to a bit of a risky nautical maneuver. I love you, brother. I love your courage, your loyalty, your devotion to protecting those you love. Even the damn foolish self-sacrificial tendencies. But I'm a competent captain, I've a good hand with the blade, cleverer than a fair few if I do say so myself…"

"Aye, Killian. I know it's not the same. I know that in my head. It's not as easy as you make it sound though, going against my instincts to protect you as I did when you were a child. I don't think it would be possible for me to be more proud of the man you have become. But some part of me will always see you as a ten year old boy who needed someone to keep the lamp burning or he couldn't sleep. And I know you don't need that anymore, and I do trust you. But it's not so easy to shed the habit of centuries."

"So trust me now," Killian looked up, meeting Liam's eyes. "Liam, tell me the truth, please. Was it truly a phantom that I abandoned that day." Milah had entirely given up her pretense of not listening, she was watching him with wide eyes but at this particular moment neither brother would have noticed her if she'd sprouted wings and flown away.

A lump formed in Liam's throat and he swallowed hard. Still, no words came so Liam simply shook his head, watching as the horror, guilt and pain settled onto Killian's face in turn.

"Devil take me-" Killian murmured under his breath and Liam leaned forward to take his hand.

"He would have. Killian, Hades would have taken you. If I'd known it was really you I would never have asked you to return. But the mists… Killian, I thought you were a mirage as well. I was desperate not to lose you and- Killian, I'm so sorry. I'd have doomed you. I'd have doomed you all."

"I abandoned you-" Killian leaned back in the booth, eyes distant. "You were right there in front of me and I abandoned you."

"I wasn't," Liam sighed, "not really. It was a trick. I was a trick, and you saw through it. Killian, I am so prou-"

"Don't-" Killian said quietly, "Not for that."

Liam sat back and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he leaned forward again. "No. Killian, you wanted the truth? Here it is. You sailed away and it broke my heart, I admit it. And that's when Hades came to me. He put me in a stone cell and taunted me for calling you back. And then-" Liam paused and he felt Milah lean closer, a silent support that he hadn't realized he'd needed until it was there. It was something he'd never even told her, what happened next, never told anyone. "And then he took me back to the shoals, and he showed me what could have been. You turned around and I tried to warn you. But it was only his magic that allowed us to even speak in the first place. I couldn't speak to you, I couldn't warn you."

"It wasn't me," Killian said bitterly. "I never turned around."

"I didn't know. Not when you searched a burning ship for me, not when the beast attacked again. Not as you fought to save the ship and not- and not when it dragged you into the sea." Liam swallowed hard, "he left me in that cell with your- with your body-"

"Liam-" Killian started.

"Let me finish now, brother or I never will," Liam stood, moving to Killian's side of the booth. His hand went to Killian's hair, still damp from the water Milah had dumped on him to wake him. He brushed a wet strand from Killian's forehead, "Still wet from the sea and so cold-" Liam mused softly, for a moment as though not entirely certain he was still speaking aloud. Finally his hand fell and he shook his head. "All I ever wanted was to protect you. For you to have a chance, a life. And in one cruel moment, the one good thing I had ever done- I was trapped here a decade not knowing for sure if one of Hades' cruel visions were reality. If I'd had to exist an eternity knowing that your death was my fault?" Liam shook his head and Killian's jaw clenched.

"Hades has much to answer for," Killian seethed. "If I could have saved you from that-"

"I was already dead, brother. Without a beating heart I couldn't have passed through to rejoin you in life even if you had survived Hades' trap."

"A beating heart-" Milah said abruptly and Liam glanced up at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Killian," she cried, excitement growing in her voice, "Liam said that you intended to share a heart with Emma?"

Killian looked down, "I've been dead for too long-"

"But Liam had been dead for even longer when Hades' magic allowed him to speak with you there. If Emma shares her heart with you there, you simply sail home. It won't matter how long you've been here or what's become of your body above."

"There?" Liam asked, a trace of nervousness in his voice. "You don't mean- Milah, even getting there would be courting oblivion. Sailing is dangerous enough when the waters do not seek your soul. And Hades would certainly follow."

"Emma has magic and a beating heart," Milah continued, "she could fix this crystal if we could find it, get it to her!"

"Get it to her?" Killian asked, "you mean to have Emma sail to Leviathan Shoals?"

"That's the easy part, the phone may not allow her to speak to you Killian, but you can speak to her, you can give her a heading, tell her where the charts she needs are, how to gather what remains of your crew. Surely there are still sailors worth trusting in that town of yours?"

"Aye, but-"

"The hard part will be finding the crystal-" she continued.

"I've seen the harbor love," Killian protested, "not a seaworthy vessel in the lot. For a voyage where a sprung leak could cost your soul?"

"That's not… entirely true, Killian," Liam said.

Milah's grin broadened, "Everything has an dilapidated echo down here, Killian. Buildings, cars, vessels."

"The Jolly is here?" Killian asked astonished.

"We've been calling her the Jolly Jewel," Milah said proudly.

"I'm not surprised you did not recognize her," Liam said, "to avoid undue attention Milah and I repaired very little within view of the harbor, but beneath the grime she's seaworthy. Barely, but seaworthy."

Killian thought for a moment, thinking back to his brief time at the docks, the only vessel of the same general structure as the Jolly was… "Bloody hell, that's … she's listing at near 30 degr-" Killian started then he stopped a small smile creeping onto his face. "The ballasts."

"Aye," Liam affirmed, "An illusion that will linger no longer than the time it takes to empty the ballast."

"And the crystal?" Killian asked, "you said you stopped looking, have you narrowed down the possibilities?"

"Quite a bit." Liam looked down for a moment, "I spent years in search of that object, and I've searched nearly every step of Hades underground passageways. I stopped looking, but... I have searched everywhere else."

Milah gaped, "you know where it is?"

"I suspect."

"Well?" she prodded.

"There is a cell. A stone room in his dungeons. It's where… It's the only room that I could not bring myself to re-enter." Liam's voice trailed off. "I suspect Hades knew I was poking around, knew I would avoid that room if possible."

"We'll need to act fast, if Hades puts together what we're doing we'll all end up in the river," Killian said.

"We should split up," Liam said, "do all tasks simultaneously so he'll have no chance of putting together the plan until it's too late. Milah, you can't make final preparations of the ship anymore with your hands so injured, so you head to the mayor's office. Figure out how to fix the phone either by bribe or by threat and contact Emma."

Milah nodded.

"Killian, write down exactly what Emma needs to know to lead your crew to the shoals. You'll be finishing final repairs on the Jewel."

"Are you certain, Liam-" Killian asked, realizing what task Liam had left for himself.

"I know the passageways down to that damned stone cell better than either of you," Liam said confidently. "If the item we need is there, I will find it."

"I'll need time," Milah admitted, "to find what we need, assuming it's even in the mayor's office, my part will likely take the longest. And without the use of my hands…"

"So we play Hades games for just a little longer," Liam sighed. "The bar doesn't open until late in the day, I'll spend the mornings and afternoons assisting Milah in her… 'mayoral duties' until we know exactly what we need to do. Killian, he'll doubtless come up with some unappealing task to fill your time. Just do it without complaint. We need to convince him we're no further risk to him."

"We should speak of this as little as possible… if he overhears-" Milah quieted at the familiar prickling on the back of her neck.

"Overhears what?"

"Lord Hades-" Liam managed.

"Lord Hades," Hades grinned, "someone finally learned some respect!"

Killian giggled, outright giggled and to Liam's surprise when he looked over at Killian he appeared drunker than ever, eyes unfocused and swaying back and forth in the booth.

"I think he already knows I'm a drunk, Liam," Killian whispered loudly.

"We'll get him sobered up," Milah said, quickly backing up Killian's story. "He'll do his job down here just like the rest of us. We don't want any more trouble."

"What shall we have our resident drunk do," Hades asked tauntingly. "I think I remember Silver saying he's very fond of scrubbing decks."

"No," Liam's eyes went wide, "those waters aren't safe. He might-" Liam looked over at Killian, still swaying precariously in the booth.

"The littler captain best watch his step then. It would be truly tragic if he were to topple into the river." Hades made a little gesture with his hands and grinned. "Splash."

Liam launched himself from the booth at Hades, but before he reached him Hades vanished in blue flame. When Liam pulled himself off the floor and turned back towards the booth he had a grin on his face.

"Well played, brother," Killian said, his eyes focused again. "But what would you have done if he hadn't vanished?"

"Something very stupid, doubtless," Liam admitted, "but I couldn't ruin the good luck we've had by making Hades suspicious now. And me not reacting to him threatening your very soul would make him suspicious."

Killian glanced at Liam and Milah, his smile creeping across his lips again "this could work."

Liam grimaced, "or it could go horribly wrong and doom us all."

Milah rolled her eyes dramatically, "optimistic as always, Liam."

"Well, the last time I was excessively optimistic I died so... forgive my hesitation."

"We've no choice but to try," Killian said with a small shrug. "If we remain under Hades power he will destroy us eventually."

Milah nodded her agreement, glancing to Liam for the final vote. He hesitated longer than either Killian or Milah. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many things beyond his control. But Killian was right. The alternative was no safer.

"Agreed," he said grudgingly, reaching for the bottle that Milah had left on the table and pouring it generously into his coffee. He shuddered at the taste and glanced at Milah. "Killian's right. This stuff is awful."

It didn't stop him from finishing his coffee in a few large swallows.

A/N: Apparently the fact that this only needed 15 minutes of editing didn't keep me on my schedule of once a week! Sorry about the delay. Thanks for the reviews and messages, They're very motivating!

Just when you thought there weren't any more wounds to pick at... :P

Here goes plan C. Or D. Or maybe E at this point...