If You're Going Through Hell

by jdmusiclover

Emma has a plan to save Killian from the Underworld, but when she, her parents, Robin, Regina, Henry and Rumple get to the land of the dead, they find far more at stake than a mere rescue mission. Can they rescue Killian? Can they stop Hades before he enacts his plan to take over all of the known universe? 5b spec. fic.

11. Chapter 11

Enchanted Forest, a few years before the first Dark Curse

"Now don't forget, boy," the large, bad tempered man growled under his breath, "this is the most important night of our lives. If we get hired on as musicians at the castle, we'll be set for life."

"I know Papa," twenty-year-old Hercules said, only narrowly avoiding rolling his eyes.

The older man stopped and eyed Hercules for long moments, scowl firmly planted on his face. "I hope you do, son," he said ominously. "Because if you screw this up for me…"

"I know," Hercules reiterated, more than a touch of annoyance in his voice. "If I screw this up for you, you'll do all kinds of terrible things to me. But, Papa, I'm not going to screw this up!"

"Is this like the time you weren't going to screw up the gig in the town square?" Papa asked, in a voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "or is it more like the time you weren't going to screw up our stint with the band of wandering gypsies."

Hercules sighed heavily. "How long do we have to keep bringing up the gypsy incident? I was ten-years-old."

"Ten-years-old you may have been, but it didn't stop you from utterly destroying the gypsies' carriage by pushing it over the side of a cliff."

"That was an accident!" Hercules growled. "I was trying to help. The horses broke free and the heavy cart was about to run down a little girl. I just wanted to save her! I didn't mean to push the whole thing over the cliff!"

Papa rolled his eyes again. "With you it's always an accident. You never mean to do any of the things you do, but I'm still left to bear the brunt of the consequences."

"Well it won't happen this time," Hercules vowed. "I'll be sure not to disturb anything until we are awarded the job of official castle minstrels."

"I'll hold you to that."

The pair trudged on, Papa walking confidently in front and Hercules trailing behind, assorted lutes, fiddles, flutes and other instruments slung on his back. In the distance, Hercules spied the magnificent curtain wall surrounding the castle belonging to…well, he couldn't remember exactly which noble it was they were approaching today. They'd tried so many over the years.

Hercules frowned to himself. The fact was, he couldn't absolutely guarantee he wouldn't have another mishap at the approaching castle. Things just seemed to happen around him, quite without his intent. Even if things did go…awry, he hoped they'd get a good solid meal (and possibly a place to sleep) out of the bargain. It was beginning to turn cold, and Hercules didn't fancy another night spent outside with no shelter from the elements.

From as far back as he could remember Hercules was just…different. He never quite fit in with the other village boys. Part of it, of course, was the fact that his papa was an absolute charlatan. He'd worm his way into a castle or a village square or some other venue with large crowds, and he'd bleed the people dry. He'd lure them in with lovely songs, and then he'd somehow convince them to part with all their gold.

It wasn't the type of thing that made them many friends.

But Hercules' feeling of isolation went deeper than that. He'd always had this feeling that he just didn't belong. Sometimes he'd have fanciful dreams of a beautiful place filled with clouds and love and happiness. A man and a woman…who were somehow more than a mere man and a mere woman…beamed down at him while he slept, talking about how happy they were he was there. His dreams normally involved all manner of fanciful things—a Pegasus, a man with wings on his heels who could fly, magic, happiness.

Despite the odd, whimsical nature of the dream, Hercules was always unaccountably sad when he woke. Somehow it felt like he belonged in his dream world more than he did in the real one.

It didn't help that he was cursed with super-human strength. From the time he was a tiny lad, he'd possessed more strength than your average fully grown man. Mama used to tell him it was a gift; that it made him special.

But Mama had died many years ago, and with her the last bit of acceptance and encouragement he had. No one else saw his strength as a gift—more like a curse. When villagers discovered it, they treated him as a freak and tended to keep a more-than-healthy distance.

Not that he could really blame them. Hercules quite literally didn't seem to know his own strength. It had led to all manner of mishaps and destruction.

Well, it wasn't going to happen today. He knew what a boon it would be to be employed at a castle—to have a home and regular meals and a stipend besides. He wasn't going to ruin it with a bout of his normal clumsiness. He just wasn't.

He would keep his hands resolutely to himself, using them only to hand his papa each instrument as he needed it.

This was going to be their big break!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Big break" may not have been a bad way to describe it, as it happened. Only…well, it was the Duke's magnificent great hall that ended up broken, not Hercules and his papa's streak of bad luck.

It had been an absolute disaster!

As in an epic, colossal, disaster the likes of which hadn't been seen in the Fairy Tale realm in years.

Things had started out splendidly. His papa had sung a full set of songs carefully written for this particular audience, and from the hearty applause the songs generated, Hercules would say Papa's efforts were quite well received.

Then the accident had happened.

Trying as hard as he could to stay out of the way—and as far as possible from the near occasion of destruction, Hercules had taken a further step back into what he hoped were the shadows—only he'd miscalculated. Instead of leaning against the cool, stone wall, he stepped directly into the huge, roaring fire in the hearth.

Hercules yelped when the flames licked at his person, and then jumped quickly away…but the burning sensation didn't subside. Turning his head, Hercules noticed the seat of his pants smoking merrily. Naturally, he dropped to the ground, rolling from side to side, hoping to smother the flame.

But of course trying to smother a flame with flammable material—such as the perfumed rushes that covered the great hall floor—often has its own problems. Hercules succeeded in getting rid of the fire on his own person…but in the process it transferred to the floor, which, of course, threatened to make the entire castle go up in flames.

Papa was just coming to the climax of his most impressive song when those in the crowded great hall began to be aware that the smoke they were smelling was not merely coming from the hearths along all four walls.

It started as a whispered buzz, and then built up into a crescendo of panic as nobles and servants alike began getting to their feet and surging for the great hall door.

Hercules, for his own part didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he had to keep the flames from spreading. Noticing the abundance of wooden dining tables throughout the hall, he pushed them aside—an act that sent them sprawling into the crowd of panicked people—and into the opposite walls.

The result being…broken dishes, brilliant tapestries torn off walls, a beam in the middle of the great hall cracking and falling askew. In short, total chaos and destruction.

After long moments of absolute confusion, a couple of quick-thinking servants had doused the flames with buckets of water and gradually the crisis came to an end.

To say the lord of the castle had been displeased was an understatement. The fact that Hercules and his papa had made it out of the castle with their lives intact was a minor miracle.

Now, half an hour—and a good mile and a half later, the two hapless minstrels finally slowed their headlong run and stopped for breath.

Hercules bent at the waist, hands resting on his knees and just gulped in air for long moments. When he'd finally quieted his lungs' screaming demands for oxygen, he slowly straightened, turning worried eyes in his Papa's direction.

He grimaced when he saw the expression on the older man's face. Papa had turned beat red, a vein in his forehead pulsing viciously. His jaw was clenched, and fire shot from his eyes. Hercules knew nothing good was coming for him.

"You…you…" Papa stuttered. "You absolute blithering pile of complete uselessness! What did I say? What did I warn you about how important this venture was? Huh? Are you daft as well as useless?"

He went on for long moments; Hercules merely putting his head down and weathering the storm.

"Well?" Papa finally barked, breathing hard after his tirade. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Hercules turned his head to the side and shrugged. "I…I'm sorry, Papa. It wasn't my intention…"

"Wasn't your intention!" Papa thundered. "It's never your intention is it? And yet now here I am! Thrown out on my ass yet again."

Papa took a deep breath, and then nodded decisively. "Fine," he said in a far calmer tone than he'd employed this far. "Fine, I give up. I'm done. You can just be about your way. I don't need your particular brand of help any more. Just…just be gone!"

Hercules' eyes widened and he stared at his papa in disbelief. "You're…you're kicking me out? But Papa! I'm your son!"

Papa's eyes narrowed and then he chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, here's the thing," he said. "I promised the wife I'd keep the secret for her. She had this weird obsession with 'treating you like our own flesh and blood'; with making you feel welcome in our family. But now, well, even your saint of a mother wouldn't begrudge me letting the truth slip."

A cold chill went down Hercules' spine at his papa's oblique words. "Just what secret have you been keeping, Papa?"

"That I'm not your papa, boy," the older man said nastily.

Hercules gasped. "You mean mom…"

"No!" the man who was not his papa growled. "I mean, you don't belong to either of us. Happened upon you on the side of the road one day in our travels. I wanted to leave you—dirty, squalling baby that you were, but your mom had a ridiculous soft side. Found her backbone and insisted that if I wasn't willing to take you with us, she'd stay behind right there along the road to care for you. Well, after that, what was I supposed to do? I loved the blasted woman. Couldn't just leave her behind. So bottom line? I have no idea who your parents are, but they certainly ain't my wife and me."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The news had come like a bolt out of the blue. For long moments Hercules stood stock still, merely gaping at the man he'd always believed to be his sire. How was someone supposed to process the sudden information that the entirety of his twenty years of life was a lie?

Eventually, he'd set his jaw, turned on his heel and walked away without a word or backwards glance.

His papa wasn't really his papa? Fine! He didn't want Hercules travelling with him anymore? Fine! Hercules wasn't a baby; he was a grown man. He could make it very well on his own; no need to remain where he clearly wasn't wanted.

And as the days passed, and Hercules got by doing odd jobs here and there in the various villages he passed through, the shock and anger slowly wore off, and a renewed sense of purpose set in. Suddenly it all made sense—the odd dreams, the feeling of never really fitting in here. He didn't fit in because this wasn't where he belonged. This wasn't who he was meant to be.

So his task was clear: He needed to find out who he really was, who his parents really were, where he really belonged in this crazy world of theirs.

But as he continued moving from place to place, it became increasingly clear that the endeavor was easier said than done. How does one even go about starting the ball rolling toward discovering his heritage when he had absolutely no information about his parents, where he was born, even when he was born? It was like trying to find a needle in a whole mountain of haystacks!

The sun was beginning to set for the day, and Hercules was contemplating finding an inn and procuring himself dinner, when he became aware of angry yelling in the distance. Hercules raised his head and watched as a young woman ran through the forest followed closely by an entire battalion of black guards.

It took no more than a heartbeat for Hercules to spring into action. The woman seemed ridiculously outnumbered, and Hercules had heard enough tales of the horrors that could befall a person after falling into the hands of the Evil Queen's blackguards to know he needed to, at the very least, even her odds a bit.

Hercules took off after the procession, reaching them just as the woman tripped on a tree branch and sprawled along the forest path. She tried to get back to her feet, but her foot, still caught on the branch, twisted with a sickening pop. She groaned, and then reached for the bow and arrow slung along her back.

The first black guard reached her just as she discovered her quiver had evidently fallen sometime in her headlong flight. The man pulled a sword and put the tip to the woman's throat.

"Hey!" Hercules yelled, stepping up to the group. "Leave her alone! What kind of a man are you, attacking an unarmed person?"

The guard turned in his direction, an ugly sneer in place. "Keep out of matters you don't understand, boy!" he snarled.

Hercules felt the righteous anger coming over him. Stepping forward, he delivered a swift punch to the guard, who subsequently fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. The next five minutes passed in a blur. The fallen guard's comrades rushed Hercules in mass, and he fought them off one by one.

But they just kept coming like ants swarming an abandoned picnic. Who was this young woman that the Evil Queen sent basically her entire army to capture?

Finally, with a growl of frustration, Hercules reached over, uprooted a tree, and swept the whole lot away as though sweeping vermin with a broom. They fell to the ground, and Hercules stood tensed, ready for them to jump up again and continue the assault, but evidently the tree had done its job. Several beats of silence passed, and none of the black guards so much as stirred.

Taking a deep breath, Hercules turned back toward the woman. Her wavy dark hair was pulled back in a sloppy braid, and her green eyes looked up at him in awe—perhaps touched with a hint of fear.

"Thanks," she said finally. "It was looking pretty bad for me there before you showed up."

Hercules waved off her thanks, stooping down to help her extract her foot from its tree-branch trap. She groaned slightly as the foot finally came free. "It was my pleasure, my lady," he said. "What kind of man of honor would attack an unarmed woman?"

She grinned. "A man who's terrified of what Regina will do to him if he turns up empty handed."

He helped her to her feet and held on to her arm as she tentatively tested her injured ankle. The move made her grimace, but the twisted appendage evidently held her weight. "Must be just a sprain rather than a break," she said. "Good thing, too. Now that I have to move my camp, I definitely don't have the luxury of being laid up for weeks with a broken ankle."

She took a few limping steps, nodded in satisfaction, and then plopped heavily on a fallen tree trunk. "Thanks, again," she said, looking up at him.

"You're welcome," Hercules said, taking a seat beside her. "My name's Hercules, by the way. Who is it that I had the pleasure of assisting?"

She cast him a suspicious glance. After a moment, she seemed to relax. "My name's Snow White."

"Snow White?" he asked, his eyes widening. "The Snow White? The rightful queen of the Enchanted Forest? The one the Evil Queen has been after for months?"

Snow sketched a quick bow. "In the flesh."

"It's been an absolute honor assisting you, Your Majesty," he said, getting hastily to his feet. "There's not a man or woman alive in these parts who wouldn't do anything in their power to assist you."

"I appreciate that," Snow said, getting painfully to her feet. "Well, I'd best get going. I need to find my weapons and move my camp, and even as hard as you hit them, I doubt these guards will stay knocked out forever."

"Let me help you with that!" Hercules said. "You should rest your ankle. Let me gather your arrows, and then I'll help you break camp."

"I don't want to be an inconvenience…" Snow said, hesitating. "I'm sure you have things to do."

Hercules shook his head with a grin. "I was getting absolutely nowhere in my quest. Maybe a short stop to help rightful royalty will help."

"Well, if you insist," Snow said, sitting back on the tree trunk. "And if there's anything I can do to help you on your own quest, just say the word."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Underworld, present day

It wasn't until Emma took the last few stairs up to the Underbrooke apartment that it occurred to her that Rumple hadn't followed Henry and her back to the "save Killian" headquarters.

"Henry," she said as her son knocked on the apartment door, "did Gold say anything to you about going somewhere?"

Henry looked around as though just noticing his grandfather wasn't with them anymore. "No," he said. "I…I didn't even realize he wasn't with us. That's…weird. And what do you think that was that he gave to Grandma Milah?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know kid, but I have a bad feeling about him."

"You think he's lying to us?"

Emma thought for a moment. "I'm almost sure of it," she said. "And there's something weird about that little piece of china he has. It was like…like he used it to wipe away all of my suspicions. Soon as I saw it I didn't even want to question his motives anymore."

"That sounds almost like that weird dust King Arthur used on Gram and Gramps back in Camelot," Henry said.

Their conversation was cut short as the apartment door slowly opened to reveal an entire room full of their heavily armed travelling companions.

Emma raised her hands in the air. "It's okay guys, it's only us."

She watched as her parents relaxed and then ushered her and Henry in.

David stepped out into the hallway after them and swiveled his head from one side to the other. "Where's Gold?"

Emma sighed. "That is the question of the hour. He somehow slinked away and neither Henry nor I noticed."

"How does that happen?" Regina asked "How hard is it to keep track of one malevolent imp?"

Emma grimaced. "Pretty hard, it turns out. Henry and I were just talking. We think he's trying to…control us or something with that little piece of…something he pulled out of his pocket."

"Why would he do that?" Mary Margaret asked, eyes widening.

"Hell if I know," Emma said with a shrug. "All I know is that I have a really bad feeling about him. At the very least, I think we should all be really careful not to look too closely at anything he shoves in our faces."

"So, it would seem we may need to add another name to our list of villains in the Underworld to steer clear of?" Robin said.

"Yeah, looks that way," Emma said. "At any rate, I think we're better off without Gold around. Better make the most of it before he tries to weasel his way back into our rescue efforts again."

The group settled into chairs around the table, and then Mary Margaret put voice to the question on everyone's mind.

"So…how did it go?" she asked. "Did you learn anything new from Milah?"

Emma shook her head. "No, not really," she said. "I thought she recognized Killian's picture there for a minute, but even if she had, she has no idea where he is."

"And…" Robin asked hesitantly. "You're sure she's telling the truth? You're sure she wasn't merely…prevaricating because of their…history?"

"Absolutely positive," Emma said decisively. "I know my superpower can go a little wonky when my emotions are involved, but I have no doubt that she was telling us the truth."

"Me too," Henry said. "I mean, I know I don't have a superpower or anything, but she really seemed like she wanted to help us."

Mary Margaret reached out and took Emma's hand. "I'm sorry, honey. I can't imagine how hard this is for you."

Emma glanced aside feeling the quick sting of tears behind her eyes. She blinked quickly, willing them back. She didn't have time to indulge in emotion now. When she felt confident that she could speak without breaking down, she turned back to the group and gave her mother as confident a smile as she could manage, squeezing her hand before pulling back.

"Yeah, it's rough," she admitted, "but we're going to find him. And, well, Milah didn't have any info for us at the moment, but she did promise to tell us if she ever ran across Killian. That's something, I guess."

They'd sat around and talked for another hour or two, wracking their collective brains trying to come up with the next plan of attack, but they came up empty. In the end, they decided to retire for the night and hope a little sleep might give them a new perspective in the morning.

Emma dropped off to sleep nearly as soon as her head hit the pillow on the sofa. They'd been down here for a little more than a week, and she'd barely gotten a full night's sleep during all those nights combined. The result, of course, was that she was absolutely exhausted.

She dreamt of him, this strange, Underworld version of him. He wore a pair of dark-wash jeans and a blue vee-necked sweater that really brought out the color of his eyes. Of course, it was significantly harder to see those eyes behind the glasses he currently wore.

He sat down at the computer and began typing steadily. Emma looked around curiously, hoping to glean some clue about his whereabouts, but the room was shrouded in mist. She could see nothing but Killian and his perch at the computer.

She was there, in the room with him, and she tried to move forward, tried to call his name, tried to embrace him, but she was rooted to the spot. The fact that he didn't even look up when she called for him led her to believe he couldn't see or sense her presence.

And then the scene changed. Emma watched as Gold gave "Rachel" a large, ornately decorated book, but not before pouring some sort of solution or potion over it. It made Emma uncomfortable. Something was off about the potion—not to mention Gold's pleased reaction when Rachel took the book and agreed to take it to someone named Colin.

The scene changed again, and Emma was once more with Killian at his house. She watched as he cocked his head as his doorbell chimed. He opened the door to admit…Rachel! Emma watched, fascinated as Rachel presented him with the book, as the two of them chatted like old friends over a cup of tea, as Rachel left and went on her way.

She strained her eyes as the front door opened, hoping to see anything that might give her a clue where Milah and Killian were. She grinned in triumph as she moved forward and caught a glimpse of a wide front porch and was about to see further…

A crash and an irritated curse woke her abruptly. Emma shot to a seated position in time to see her father right the kitchen chair he'd apparently knocked over. He set it back in its place, and then noticed Emma watching him.

"Sorry to wake you," he said with chagrin. "Your mother and I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible; we know you haven't been sleeping well."

Emma ran a hand through her hair, got to her feet and then stretched. "'S okay dad," she said on a yawn. "Probably time I get up and start figuring out our next move anyway."

Emma moved to the window, noting the pinks and purples and oranges of a brilliant sunrise. She didn't know why, but it felt like a sign to her, proof that they were on the right track, that they were getting closer. She turned around and shot her father (and her mother who'd come up behind him) a brilliant smile.

"You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Snow said slowly.

"Yeah," Emma admitted. "I think I have an idea."

"Really?" Henry asked, bounding down the stairs and giving her an exuberant hug, which she fervently returned. "What is it?"

"Well," Emma said, seating herself back on the couch, "I had another dream."

"We're using dreams to plan our strategies now?" Regina asked as she and Robin took a seat across from Emma.

"This wasn't just a dream," Emma said excitedly. "It was…it was like the dream I had the other day. It was real; I know it was!"

"The True Love connection again?" her father asked.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Well, what'd you see?" Henry asked eagerly.

"I saw Killian again," Emma began. She went on to detail the entire dream—from Killian typing at the computer, to Gold giving Milah a book soaked in some kind of potion, to Gold asking Milah to take the book to someone named 'Colin', to Milah meeting with Killian.

When she got to the end of the tale, there was silence in the flat.

"Don't you see?" Emma asked excitedly. "All we have to do is go back and talk to Milah again! She knows now! She knows where Killian is!"

Emma watched as her parents, as Regina and Robin gave each other significant glances.

"What?" she asked, crossing her arms and sinking back into the sofa.

"It's just…" Regina said, "Miss Swan, we already talked to Milah. You said she knows nothing. We go talk to her again, we run the risk of drawing attention to ourselves, and that will definitely not work to our advantage."

Emma looked toward her parents. "But isn't it worth the risk if we find Killian?"

"Emma…" Mary Margaret said gently, "are you sure about this? Really, truly sure? I know you think it was a true love dream, but…well, maybe it was just this place playing tricks on you. We need to be absolutely sure before we try something reckless."

Emma shot to her feet. They didn't believe her? Great! Just great! They finally get a breakthrough and her family won't even back her up on it.

Henry got to his feet and stood by her. "Well, I believe in mom," he said. "If she says Milah's our best bet, than that's the way we should go. Let's go talk to Grandma Milah."

Emma shot her son a grateful look and then turned back toward the other adults. "Look, guys, we've already been here over a week, and we have nothing to show for it. None of us had any new ideas last night. Isn't it better to at least try this rather than sitting at home staring at each other and hoping a lightbulb goes off in someone's head?"

The others were silent for another moment, and then David stepped up. "You've got a point. For what it's worth, your mother and I are with you too."

Regina sighed. "Fine. I don't like this. If my mother catches us I just want everyone to remember I was against this. But…Robin and I are with you as well."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

By the time they'd made their plans for the day, it was long past the time school started for the day. There was no way to know where "Rachel" might spend her time before it was time for her afternoon shift.

"Well, I'm not just sitting around the loft all day," Emma said determinedly. "Maybe we have to wait to talk to Milah, but I'm damn well not just sitting around twiddling my thumbs all day."

"I have a bad feeling about hanging around in town for too long at one time," David said. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

"We could take up camp in the woods near town," Mary Margaret suggested. "It's close enough we can keep an eye on what's going on Underbrooke without being seen ourselves."

And so they'd made their way to the woods. Emma paced, chaffing at the bit to be going again. It was agonizing, knowing where they could get the information they needed, but being completely unable to go there for several hours. What if they didn't all go off after Milah? What if she slipped off on her own? There'd be a lot less risk of exposure with just one woman alone. She was about to suggest it, when there was the sound of footsteps behind them.

Emma froze, her hand going to her gun. Slowly she turned to see a tall, muscular young man with light brown hair, blue eyes and bulging muscles. Just as she was about to ask him who the hell he was and what the hell he wanted, her mother shot past and enveloped the man in a tight, motherly hug.

"Hercules?" she asked. "Is that really you?"

The man looked taken aback for a moment, and then looked intently at her. "Snow? You're here too? Please don't tell me the Evil Queen finally destroyed you!"

"I most certainly have not!" Regina muttered. "I don't know who you are, but I suggest you keep up with the current state of affairs. I can assure you I am no longer the villain you need to concern yourself with."

Hercules looked from one woman to the other, his face a mask of confusion. Mary Margaret laughed, pulling him by the hand and introducing him to the group.

"So…" Hercules asked. "Was there…some sort of accident or something? What are you all doing together here in the underworld…and if you're all heroes, how are you aware of what's happening."

"Well," Emma said, "that's a long story, but short version? We're not dead. We're on a rescue mission. Need to find my true love and get the hell out of here."

Hercules chuckled. "Well, it seems we have more in common than I thought."

"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked.

"It just so happens I'm on a rescue mission as well," Hercules said, looking aside. "Hades has the woman I love, and…it's my fault she's here. I have to find her; I have to save her."

"Maybe we could team up," David suggested. "You help us find my daughter's true love; we'll help you find yours."

Hercules shot him a grateful smile. "I would much appreciate it!"

"My wife told me how you saved her all those years ago," David continued. "If there's anything I can do to help you, just say the word."

"My biggest issue right now, other than fear for the well-being of my love, of course," Hercules began, "is time."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. "Are you on some sort of deadline?"

"You could say that," Hercules answered. "You see, there is a prophecy, a prophecy that states I'll defeat Hades. I have the opportunity to make right the wrongs he's been perpetuating for centuries. According to the prophecy, my only hope is to confront the god of the dead on the night the stars all align. That gives me little more than two weeks!"

"Any idea how you're supposed to go about defeating Hades?" Emma asked.

Hercules shook his head. "I don't know specifics. All I know is that I have to prove myself as a true hero. I also need the help of a man who's defeated death and of a couple who share a love so true, even death itself can't defeat it."

"Mom!" Henry said excitedly, "that sounds like you and Killian! What if you're the True Love couple? Maybe we're supposed to be here for more than just to bring Killian back!"

Emma chuckled nervously. "Not sure I'm ready for a full blown war with the god of the dead, kid," she said.

"Come on mom, think about it!" Henry said. "You're the savior. Maybe you can break the curse over the Underworld and help everyone move on to their eternal destiny."

Emma shook her head, smiling. "We'll see, kid. Let's just find Killian first, though."

Hercules gave her a quick look. "Pardon, but who was it you said you were looking for?"

"His real name is Killian," Emma said. "Here…here I think he goes by Colin. He's a writer or something. No one we talk to seems to know anything about him. Do…do you have any information for me?"

Hercules smiled broadly and Emma felt her heart rate quicken, sensing they were on the verge of something big.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Hercules said.

There was utter confusion for several moments as every single member of their group simultaneously shouted questions at him. Finally Emma whistled loudly. "Guys, let the man talk!"

"Thank you," Hercules said. "The man you seek, does he have dark hair? Blue eyes? A small scar high on his cheekbone?"

Emma felt the tears rush to her eyes. "Yeah," she said, her voice wavering in her emotion. "That's him."

"I can't be sure, of course," Hercules went on, "but that sounds an awful lot like Colin Delamer. He's an author and something of a recluse. As far as I know, he hasn't left his house as long as he's been here."

"Where.." Emma began and then cleared her throat as her voice broke. "Were does he live? Where can we find his house?"

"He lives on the edge of town—next to the sea—in a large house with a wide wrap-around porch and turrets and a white picket fence out front."

Henry took her arm, looking up at her with shining eyes. "That's our house, Mom! The one Killian and I picked for you. It has to be!"

The tears started flowing freely then, a full torrent accompanied by wracking sobs as it slowly hit home to Emma that they'd found him, that their long nightmare was finally almost at an end.

Because she knew with every fiber of her being that Colin Delamer could be none other than Killian Jones.

Notes:

-A bit of a longish chapter again, but I had to get to that big reveal there at the end!

-So there you have it. We may not have gotten to a CS reunion yet, but Emma now knows who and where Killian is. Things are definitely moving forward!

-Up next: In the Enchanted Forest, several years ago, a grateful Snow White helps Hercules figure out a way to find out his true identity. In the present, Hercules tells the gang a few more details about what they'll need to do to defeat Hades, and they split up. Emma and Henry, of course, head to Colin Delamer's house. :-)