Hook… I Will Always Find You
Chapter Ten
It didn't take long before those from Storybrooke arrived at the cemetery. When they first stepped foot on the grounds within it, everyone looked around in awe and uneasiness at the vast tombstones standing or lying tipped over before them. No one knew where to even begin to look for the stone with Killian's name engraved upon it and they realized then that it was going to take much longer to find than they hoped. What was worse, was that the red sun giving off light around them had begun to go down and it wouldn't be very long before the sky fell dark.
"All right… let do this," Emma uttered to everyone nervously, while she pulled out Killian's ring once again and held it in her hand to find her courage needed to bear seeing the man she loved in God only knew just how much pain he would be in. "This is going to take awhile and from the look of that eerie sun lighting this world, we don't have too long before it gets dark. At least I think so. As long as we stay somewhat close, we should spread out in pairs so we can search the gravestones a little faster. Holler if you find his."
David stayed with Emma, while Regina stayed with Robin, Smee stayed with Tinker Bell, and August stayed with Grumpy while they all began to look among the stones for Killian's name. A few of them recognized some of the names among the others belonging to either old friends or even enemies from their pasts as well. However, none of them had yet to belong to the pirate captain. It took another twenty minutes or so before August finally found it and Leroy immediately shouted out to Emma and the others to gather them all back together at Hook's grave.
The Savior suddenly became frozen where she stood in front of his tombstone while she stared at Killian's name for over a minute in silence, once again holding his ring tightly within the clutches of her hands. Finally, she pulled out the flask containing the Ale of Seonaidh when her father stepped up behind her as he laid his hand over the small of her back and kissed the top of her head, then asked her if she was alright. She looked over at him and nodded as a single tear slipped down her cheek until she quickly wiped it away before Killian could see her crying.
"I just hope he is," Emma whispered fearfully, then unstopped the flask and carefully spilled a few drops of the ale over his grave before taking a few steps back to wait for the man she loved to appear.
After moments of her own agony while she waited, at last Killian suddenly appeared in front of them, though the magic allowing for him to do so was tremendously weak, as he flashed in and out because the spell was barely able to contain its hold. Emma couldn't stop herself from letting out a frightened gasp in the shock upon seeing the horrifying state he was in. He was now wearing nothing more than rags, his body was severely battered, bruised, bloody, and even burnt, and both his arms and ankles were bound in chain linked shackles.
Emma swiftly stepped towards him again, aching to reach out to comfort him as she gently cried, "Killian. Killian, we're here to help you. We just can't find you. Where are you?"
Everyone else looked on in their own fear for their friend and when the Captain couldn't answer the woman who loved him, Regina spoke worryingly saying, "Emma… the spell's not steady. He can't hear you."
"Just tell us where you are," the Savior continued, refusing to look away as she struggled to help him see into her eyes without being able to reach out to touch him so that he could be assured she was really there to save him.
"Something's happening," Robin stated worryingly when the magic began to lose what little strength it held.
Regina immediately added, "It's not holding."
Emma ignored them, keeping her eyes on Killian while she whispered even more desperately, "Talk to us. Talk to me."
"Killian!" she then shouted out to him in horror and fell to her knees in an attempt to follow after him when Hook suddenly disappeared into the ground, the magic of the ale being unable to keep him there with them any longer.
"He doesn't know we came for him," the Savior finally said out of despair after staring fearfully at the ground where he had fallen for several minutes in silence. "We… He doesn't know we're here. He doesn't know that I care."
David walked up behind his daughter again, then pulled her into his arms while he replied, "Yes, he does. And, Emma… we will find him."
Emma struggled to look at her father as she questioned, "Will we? Did you not just see that? He's in pain. He's suffering."
"You're right… he is," Hades responded cruelly when he appeared a few feet away with a smug grin on his face as he looked towards Emma, who quickly spun around at his sudden arrival. "Welcome to the Underworld, Emma. All of you… I suppose, though I don't recall inviting the rest of you to come along."
"We're here because our friend's in trouble and saving people is what we do," David curtly answered the God, as they recomposed themselves to be ready for a fight. "We certainly weren't going to let Emma come here to fight for Hook on her own."
Hades glared at the Prince in frustration until he smiled again when he replied, "You wouldn't really be heroes if you did. I should have expected nothing less. Although, I have to say, I am a bit surprised you all actually came. I was about seventy percent sure you wouldn't show. I really did underestimate your love for your pirate, Emma."
The Savior immediately backed away from David to face the deity again with her hands raised in defense while she angrily questioned, "What the hell have you done to him? Where is he?!"
"I know you don't actually expect me to answer you about where my new slave is being held… or at least not truthfully," he haughtily responded her. "And I know you would know if I'm lying, so I won't try to do that either. I have too much respect for you, Miss. Swan. But like I told you before on his ship, Captain Hook is suffering greatly. You saw so for yourselves just now. But you do have the power to save him right now, if you really care about him as much as you claim to. Have you thought anymore on the deal I've offered you?"
"I can't help but think about it," Emma answered sternly. "But I won't do it. I don't trust you to keep your word. However, more than that… Killian wouldn't ever be able to forgive me if I sacrificed my life for him after all he's done to ensure that I lived. It's like I told you… if you want my heart, my soul, my life… whatever… you have to take it and it's not going to be as easy as you might think. I will find him. I will save him from you. He won't ever be your slave, or anyone else's again."
Hades smiled arrogantly as he flicked his wrist to summon Killian's bloodied hook and brace into his other hand, then held it up for her to see it closely while he replied, "I look forward to seeing you try, Emma. I really do. And by the way, you should know that I intercepted your weak attempt to let your pirate know you've come down for him. That's why your magical ale didn't work very well. And what few words you might have managed to say to him… he won't remember, because I erased any memory of them and your appearance from his mind. I can't allow him to have any hope that he'll be saved."
The God suddenly tossed the hook along with its brace over to Tinker Bell while he added, "Here you are, Greenie. It's of no use to me anymore. I have other plans in mind for Hook. Good luck, heroes. I suspect I'll be seeing you again soon."
It was then that Hades suddenly vanished from among them again just as he had appeared, before Emma or anyone else could say anything more or try to strike against him. The Green Fairy stared at the valuable metal within her hands until Emma turned to her and Tink handed it over to her.
The Savior stared down at it with despair in her eyes, then when David wrapped his arms around her again when he could see that his daughter didn't feel as confident they would succeed in finding the man she loved as she appeared to be in front of the villain, without looking away from the hook she whispered miserably, "We're never gonna get to him."
"Emma… that's not true," he responded to her. "We're gonna do whatever it takes to get him back."
"What will he be like when we find him?" she asked fearfully, as Emma turned her head to be able to look up into her father's eyes so she could read his face in search of any hint of a lie or doubt despite what he told her. "What's happening to him? What's Hades doing?"
Regina took Robin's hand in her own as she glanced over at him sadly, until she turned to Emma again while she answered gently, "We'll deal with that when the time comes."
The Queen thought a moment before saying her next words, then she continued, "We will find him. And no matter what condition he's in, we'll help him through it. You can heal his wounds and then help him get through his emotional pain too. You've done it before. And Hook's strong. Always has been. Trust me… I know. I once made him do something terrible in order to prove to me he was ruthless enough to kill my mother when I asked him to. I won't say what because I made a promise to him to never speak of it again. My point is… Hook did it as much as I knew it hurt him and he only grew stronger. Not in the best way maybe, but stronger nonetheless."
"A person can only survive so much pain and Killian's heart has already broken so badly that he could no longer live with himself," Emma despondently replied when she looked over at her and her father. "Even if I do save him… how can I help him find his will to live again?"
"I don't know," David responded honestly. "I don't know, but he'll have as much support as he needs from all of us. He'll make it, Emma."
When no one spoke again, Leroy asked, "So… where do we go next in trying to find Hook?"
August spoke up as he answered, "We should head back to the diner. That Blind Witch was helpful so far. And there are plenty more people here who aren't villains we've all crossed and sent down here. We have friends down here too. Someone will be willing to help us without asking for a price in return. We just need to find them."