Emma froze.
Hades stood in the cave entrance, a sly smile on his face, like one would wear the moment they learned they had a winning hand.
Killian went absolutely rigid against her.
No.
They were so close.
They had been so close.
As much as Emma wanted to believe her words to Killian, Hades did scare her.
And he absolutely petrified Killian.
She'd never seen Killian so terrified, so… so broken-
No.
She felt a determined resolve settle beneath the rising fear.
She was bringing Killian home, damn it.
She tried to hold onto that hope as tightly as she did Killian's trembling frame.
But whatever was wrong with her magic had taken a toll on her. She felt exhausted from it, and keeping Killian upright was harder now. She blinked, trying to regain strength.
"The Savior at it again, hm?" drawled Hades, taking a step toward them.
If possible, Killian's body tensed more.
Emma thought he would snap.
"You're something of a conflict of interest," said Hades, cocking his head, eyes narrowing. "See, Miss. Swan, I get that the whole 'saving people' thing", he said, using air quotes on the words, "is your thing. But, you see, damning people is my thing." He mock-pouted. "You're in my territory and you're making my job incredibly hard."
"Your job should be helping people with unfinished business move on," snarled Emma, "not torture them." Her voice gained an edge, her anger rising sharply, feeling the wet blood on her hands-Killian's blood-feeling him tremble like he was hypothermic, hearing him breathe like something was wrong inside him-
"Emma," said Killian in a gasp, like a warning.
"I'll do my job the way I see fit," snapped Hades, and Emma nearly stumbled back at the change in tone. Emma blinked again, trying to clear the onslaught of tiredness.
That twisted smile returned to Hades' face as he watched her. "Tired?"
Fear shot through her.
Hades' smile grew. "It's the dark magic," he drawled. "The Underworld is the darkest realm of them all, and this," he gestured, "is the darkest spot in the Underworld." A malicious glint in his eye, he said, "This is where dark magic thrives. Light magic is weak here—it's one of the only places light magic is weak—as you seem to be discovering right about now."
Emma felt ice trail through her.
Earlier, in the caves, the closer she had run toward Killian, the more she felt this strange pressure in the air.
She'd thought it was her own fear.
"If it makes you feel better," Hades went on, "the use of your magic just now didn't alert me you were here. It's cute that you thought I didn't already know." he said slyly, making Emma's anger build. "That little scene over there…" His eyes flicked to the platform and back. "Touching." Malice back in his eyes, he said, "I worked so hard to beat the hope out of your captain—" Emma flinched at the words- "And yet, you come in here undo all of my hard work."
He took a step closer to them, a predator advancing on prey.
Emma released one arm from around Killian, quickly extending her palm toward the God and concentrated every ounce of her magic, trying to form a blast that normally took little effort. It felt like trying to move concrete. Concentrating harder, sparks jumped from her palm, but fizzled out far before they reached the God. More exhaustion trailed through her the harder she tried, making her stumble. She opened her eyes, ceasing the attempt at magic before she accidentally dropped Killian.
Hades laughed.
Fear seized Emma's heart.
She looked at Killian, fear in her eyes. "I can't use magic," she whispered breathlessly.
The look in his uninjured eye matched the panic in her heart.
"Let me sum it up for you: you're not getting out of here." said Hades. "And even if you did," he said, "I've already sent the Dark One on his way and returned the boat you procured from me. You no longer have passage out of here."
Emma felt the last of her hope leave her.
Hades took another step toward them. He tilted his head, eyes raking over Killian, who was still trembling in Emma's hold. She tightened her grip on him reflexively, protectively.
"You're not looking too good, Captain," said Hades, looking him up and down in a way that made Emma's blood boil. "Let me make you feel worse." he said with a mock-innocent smile. "Since it doesn't seem to matter how much I hurt you," he said, "I decided to take out your sins on the people who aid you. Starting with, what was her name again?" He rubbed his chin in sarcastic thought. "Oh, right. Milah."
Killian jolted.
Emma shut her eyes, knowing exactly what Hades must have done.
"Milah?" breathed Killian, voice small and hurt.
"She—" Emma's voice caught. "She helped me find you," whispered Emma, looking at him.
The look in his good eye was absolute pain.
"And she's paying for it." said Hades, that coldness back in his eyes. "Though, she doesn't know she's paying for it. Mindless husk, and all."
A sound escaped Killian, something between fury and horror.
Emma shut her eyes, anger building.
The God was making Killian suffer a million times over, and she wanted to kill him.
"Oh, but I'm not done," said Hades, approaching them, making Emma's heart race. "Before I throw you to the River, Captain," said Hades darkly, "you get to watch your beloved savior go in first."
Emma's breath left her in an instant.
Killian went still.
"No," breathed Killian. Emma felt Killian's shaky grip on her shoulder tighten, holding on as hard as he could. "Please," he whispered, voice desperate and utterly broken. "Not her."
"Oh, yes her," hissed Hades, drawing closer, making Emma stagger backward, but not before Hades grabbed her around the throat.
"NO!" cried Killian.
But the moment Hades' fingers touched her skin, Emma felt a vibrant warmth rise deep in her chest, and in an explosion of white light, Hades was blasted backward, landing a dozen feet away on his back.
Emma blinked, startled.
Diving in front of Mary Margaret, Cora's hand sinking into Emma's chest, wrapping around her heart.
Warmth like none she's ever felt before built, exploding outward—
Emma felt the ghost of a smile tug at her lips.
"What?!" hissed Hades, rising from the ground, absolute fury in his eyes, dissolving his hair into blue flames.
Emma grinned, relief and newfound hope fueling her even past the exhaustion. "I'm the product of True Love, asshole," she said triumphantly, her heart still pounding.
That seemed to be news to Hades, and something he despised. He raised his own palm toward her, blue flames leaping out toward Emma. She braced herself, but the flames didn't even touch her. They veered away from her, dispersing instantly like she was surrounded by protection.
True Love.
The most powerful magic of all.
Her light magic might be weakened, she might not be able to hurt Hades, but he couldn't hurt her.
Hades growled aloud. He glared at her, looking for the first time unsure of his next move.
But then…
Emma watched something in his eyes change, and his sadistic grin was back. "I might not be able to touch you, Savior," he said dangerously, "but I can touch him."
Emma's grin slipped from her face in an instant, panic consuming her even when Hades thrust his hand forward, closing harshly around air. Killian jerked violently, ripped from Emma's arms, Killian's head canting back as Hades' hold held him mid-air by his throat.
He was choking him.
Hades was choking him.
Suspended by the invisible grip around his throat, Killian's hand and hookless arm scrabbled at the pressure around his throat. His eyes screwed shut and horrible, strangled gasps escaped his clenched teeth.
"Killian!" screamed Emma, looking wildly from him to Hades, who seemed to be enjoying his struggle.
Hades' grin deepened. "Enjoy the swim, Captain," he hissed, and Hades moved to throw him into the River.
"E—m—" croaked Killian, tears leaking from his eyes.
Emma's own burned down her cheeks, horrified.
"Actually…"
In an instant, Hades dropped his hand, releasing his hold on Killian's throat, causally moving his hand to tap his fingers to his chin in thought.
Killian hit the ground.
The moment he hit the floor, his back arched, and he gasped in air, only to scream.
The sheer sound of it jolted Emma, freezing her tears on her face. His voice didn't even sound human. The scream broke off into a keening sound that made Emma's heart stop.
Her knees hit the ground, hands hovering over him as he writhed. His eyes were screwed shut and he jerked as he rode raw agony. His voice broke again, leaving him heaving for breath, shaking uncontrollably.
"Killian!" breathed Emma.
Hades approached him, staring down at Killian with narrowed eyes.
Pure anger burned Emma's blood. "Stay away from him!" she hissed, her voice cracking.
Hades ignored her. Just stared at Killian, whose teeth were clenched, broken sounds still escaping him. "I think," said Hades, "being a mindless lost soul is too good for you, Captain." He pressed the toe of his boot into Killian's wounded shoulder, making him cry out a sound even worse than before. Emma lost her breath.
"There's more than one kind of damnation, Hook," snarled Hades, "and I want you to be fully aware of your suffering. So, I'm going to instead leave you here," he said with a dark smile, "trapped in the underground caves with no way out. And you get to watch your savior die in them." He bent down, whispering to Killian, "That's two women you've damned. I think it's about time to realize that you deserve to suffer."
A broken sound escaped Killian.
"Enjoy hell," hissed Hades, flicking his grin to Emma before snapping his fingers, dissolving the entrance to the cave she'd come from into a solid wall. And not a second later, blue flames consumed the God himself. Hades was gone.
And they were completely, hopelessly trapped.
a/n: thanks so much for reading! :) I am taking a few liberties with the way magic works in Once canon, but I'm only bending the magic rules to make sure that Killian gets just as much comfort as the hurt, and to milk the hurt/comfort for everything it's freaking worth lol. I still think Killian was sorely robbed of proper comfort in this arc of the show. Hopefully I found a way to make the magic rules/lore sound plausible; it's pretty much the way I wish it would have been. Not big changes, just small ones. :) We'll have more Emma POVs as we continue the story, but we'll have plenty more Killian POVs as well, rest assured!
Next chapter is already written and will be up very soon! Thanks again to everyone reading and thank you to those leaving reviews, it means so much, thank you!
~cosette141