Hi everyone :) this is my first long fic in the Once fandom. I loved the Underworld arc, and I only wished that Emma had a bit harder of a time rescuing Hook from Hades when she found him. So, storyline-wise, this story is going to start with Killian's sacrifice and follow canon until Emma finds him. Then it'll veer a bit from canon. I think there was a lot of potential for more h/c, what with Killian being as bad off as he was. We're going to be staying almost completely in Killian's POV for this story. :)
~cosette141
Killian felt the blade slice agony through him, stealing his breath.
After taking hundreds and hundreds of lives this way, he was finally experiencing it.
He couldn't breathe.
Suddenly, the blade was ripped from him, tearing a cry from his lips.
Hot, liquid, molten pain was coursing through him.
Arms suddenly held him gently, but he could barely feel the touch past the pain ripping through him like a wildfire.
Still, he knew those arms.
That embrace.
Emma.
Futily, Killian fought the growing weakness, as pain alighted each nerve ending, killing them one by one.
Somehow he could still see her face in front of him.
Her beautiful face.
There was color in her skin now.
Color he hasn't seen in six weeks.
Life he hasn't seen in six weeks.
She was back.
His Emma.
She was Emma again.
He lifted his hand, wanting to touch her. One last time.
He couldn't feel his fingers.
But still, he reached for her face.
Tears.
She was crying.
He wanted to wipe away the tears, the pain.
She's been through too much pain.
The agony spread faster, a wave of heavy weakness taking him whole, stopping his hand before he could reach her face.
His legs gave out.
He felt her arms catch him.
He couldn't feel anything.
He tried to find her eyes.
His felt so heavy.
He fought for the strength to keep them open.
For once in his bloody life he needed to be strong.
He found them; her eyes.
He hadn't seen those eyes in six weeks.
They were so different from the eyes he saw when he'd first met her, when he'd first really looked at her, there on that beanstalk.
They'd been so clouded. So guarded.
So afraid.
These eyes were open and free; windows to the fiercest storm of emotion.
The weakness pulled at him.
The heaviness settled coldly through his veins.
She was saved.
She was Emma, even if she could no longer be his.
He gazed into those eyes, even as his lost their fight to stay open.
He tried to hold on.
Just to-
-keep looking-
-into those-
-eyes-
"Welcome."
Killian jerked, startled, eyes flying open.
He blinked at a stone wall.
The darkness, the forest was gone. Emma's arms around him were gone. The stormy sea of her eyes… gone.
The pain was gone.
Physically.
Killian blinked, feeling the ghost of a rapid heartbeat in his empty chest. No longer numb, he lifted a shaking hand to his torso, expecting to feel the wetness of his own blood, but his fingers just encountered the material of his vest.
The clearing of a throat made Killian flinch again. He whipped around to see a man standing just outside this stone room he was in. A stone room with heavy metal bars, cemented into the ceiling and floor. With a cold certainty, Killian knew what this was.
It was a cell.
He may not have expected white clouds and angels singing, not with the sins in his life. But…
He didn't expect this.
Killian stood, focused his gaze back on the man before him. "Where the bloody hell am I?"
The man smiled, a smile that was very out of place with his surroundings. A smile that looked friendly enough, but sent icy shivers down Killian's spine. "I like your choice of words, there. Your answer's in the question, Mr. Jones."
Simply the way the man spoke unsettled him.
"You know me, but I don't know you," said Killian cautiously. "Who are you?"
"I do, Killian." the man said, his smile gaining just a touch of cynicism. "Or, shall I say, Captain Hook." Killian swallowed. "My name is Hades. Perhaps you've heard of me."
Killian tensed. "So I am dead, then," he muttered, though he hadn't exactly thought otherwise.
Killian's words made Hades smile brighter. "Oh, yes. Very. I enjoyed the show; such a shame to be killed by the one you love."
Killian's body tensed so tightly something was bound to break. "I told her to," he snapped.
"And she did it," said Hades, nodding, making something cold settle in Killian's gut. "Murder. Now that's love." Hades cocked his head as a vein threatened to burst in Killian's neck. "How fitting, really. Your first love dies in your arms," Killian's jaw clenched so tight it was sure to shatter, "and you die in the arms of your second. It's almost poetic."
Killian glared at him. "Are you just here to torment me or can I find a pit of fire to spend eternity in instead?"
Hades' brows shifted slightly in satisfaction, like he was happy to have struck a nerve. "There is plenty of fire, we are never in short supply. But as a matter of fact, I am here to torment you!" There was that bright smile again, the one that made Killian's skin crawl. "See," said Hades, taking a step forward, seamlessly phasing his body through the cell bars, and making Killian want to take a step back. Killian held his ground, however, staring into the eyes of the God of the Underworld, as his narrowed at Killian. "I have a very delicate job here, Hook. Very delicate." He mock-pouted. "And when people," he took another step, and Killian forced himself not to flinch, "try to ruin it," another step, their faces inches away, "that makes my job harder." He stopped in front of Killian, the smile completely erased. "You've made my job harder, Hook, and I don't like to work more than I already have to. You very nearly disrupted everything I've kept running smoothly for centuries, and that upsets me."
Killian stood frozen, unable to move.
Afraid to move.
"You," said Hades, "are here in the Underworld—my world—because you have Unfinished Business. You have plenty of blood on your hands, Captain." He mock-winced, nodding to Killian's hook. "Or, hand, I should say." Killian felt a muscle twitch in his jaw. "And yet," Hades went on, "your spilt blood is not why you're here." That smile of his grew back, like black ink spreading through water. "Your Unfinished Business is with me, Hook. And I intend to make you pay."
"All out of doubloons, mate," said Killian dryly, shoving down the chills that had raced up his spine. But a thought hit Killian, and it made him smile. Smugly, since he really has nothing left to lose, he cocked his head, saying, "Alas, if it's my life you want, a little late for that."
Hades' smile was once again gone, replaced with a blank expression that was more terrifying than any glare. "You might be dead, Captain," he said quietly, "but that works in my favor."
Killian's own smile faltered.
"That means I can do whatever I like to you," said Hades, "and I don't have to worry about your death putting a limit on your punishment." That smile of his was back, as if it slid off Killian's face and right onto his. "When people say there's a special place in Hell waiting for you," Hades went on, "this...is yours."
The fist that caught him around the jaw came so fast and so hard, Killian didn't even have time to blink.
He was sent crashing into the wall behind him, pain exploding, ripping a surprised cry from his throat. The sheer strength was inhuman. Though, maybe he should have expected that.
Just as he began to recover, another fist caught him in the ribs, and Killian felt something snap. He cried out again, doubling over.
Angry now, Killian's eyes narrowed to slits and he growled, attempting to fight back with his hook, but a hand caught him around the throat, throwing him back up against the wall.
His airway cut off, Killian desperately struggled, attempting to dig his hook into Hades' hand, but it seemed to have absolutely no effect on the God. Instead, as Killian gasped, vision blackening, Hades leaned in and whispered close to his ear. "This is going to be fun."
He let go just like that, letting Killian collapse to the ground, heaving in air, his hand rushing to what had to be a broken neck.
Killian's eyes darted to Hades, bracing himself for another attack, but Hades was suddenly once again outside of the cell bars. Killian breathed hard, riding waves of pain.
"Welcome to Hell, Captain Hook," said Hades with that twisted smile before disappearing in flames, Killian's consciousness disappearing along with them.