Emma didn't know how long they walked or how many different paths they took, but she knew one thing: her magic was getting stronger and stronger and stronger.

Even before she'd come underground to find Killian, the Underworld already taxed both Emma and Regina's magic. But now, Emma almost felt like she did before they went underground. She was getting stronger.

In terms of magic, anyway.

The hours (god, has it been days?) of walking were taking a toll on both of them. Even as her magic grew stronger, Emma's physical stamina was going steadily downhill. She was exhausted. Her shoulders were on fire from how hard Killian was gripping her and she could no longer ignore the fact that she was thirsty, nor the beginnings of hunger pangs that were starting to hurt for food. Emma had lived on the streets enough to be no stranger to thirst and hunger, so she unfortunately knew with a certainty that right now, it wasn't at critical levels.

That didn't mean it wouldn't become critical if they didn't get out of here soon.

Emma sighed, trying not to think about it, forcing herself to focus on her own footsteps and the pull of her magic. They were close to a way out, she could feel it. She could hold on until they got there.

Killian, on the other hand…

She risked a look at him.

He was doing worse. They'd stopped more frequently the past few hours, and every time they did, it took him longer to get back up. He was beyond tired, and he needed badly to sleep. His eyes remained shut as they walked, and he no longer tried to hide his grunts and groans with every step, his voice yanking painfully at Emma's heart with each one. He was shaking so hard with pain and fatigue that Emma almost lost her grip on him more than once. Killian was leaning more than half of his weight on her now, and looked like he was doing everything he could to simply stay conscious. He'd stumbled badly at one point, having been incredibly close to passing out. Ever since then, he's tried keeping his eyes open.

Watching him struggle, hearing his pain, seeing him like this…

Emma felt tears again sting her eyes.

She held him tighter, finding that desperate hope inside her and clamping on hard.

Now that her magic was stronger, she'd asked Killian if he wanted something healed, but every time he vehemently refused, telling her to save her strength. Emma had thought about healing something regardless of his disagreement, but if they were this close to a possible way out…

She hated that he was right.

She needed to be as strong as she could be.

So, on they went.

It was some time later, Killian still limping horribly beside her, and Emma fighting to keep her own eyes from closing with fatigue, when she saw it.

Something at the end of this tunnel was different. The light was different. It was almost like—

Daylight.

There, at the end of the tunnel, was light.

Could it really…?

Emma blinked against the heavy tiredness of her physical exertion. It was faint, but it looked like a stream of daylight. After all the time trapped in here, with only firelight and that unsettling glow from the River, she knew this light was different.

Not wanting to give either of them false hope, Emma kept her eyes on it as they kept on, hoping, praying, begging it was real.

And the closer they walked, the more and more she realized it was daylight.

At the end of the tunnel, where they were normally forced to choose left or right, was an end. It was a solid wall with what looked like a window, streaming light into the darkness. The torchlights stopped a little ways before they reached the end of the tunnel, shadowing the walls without the aid of the flames, but only making the fact that it was daylight shining through the wall that much clearer. It lit the middle of the path easily.

"Killian," whispered Emma breathlessly when she could see it clearer. Her legs felt nearly numb with exhaustion, but new adrenaline gave her some feeling back, thrumming absolute hope through her veins. "Killian, look!"

He tore his eyes from the ground, panting hard, squinting ahead. He blinked a few times. "Seeing… a bit… double, here, Swan…" he whispered, eyes screwing shut again, making Emma's heart beat faster with fear.

"It's daylight, Killian," she said quickly, hope rising in her chest. "It's daylight!"

But that made Killian's eyes snap back open. He looked ahead, squinting harder where the end of the tunnel was, not twenty yards ahead of them. When he seemed to notice it, he swallowed. He tugged weakly at her, making her stop and look at him. Sudden, sharp fear was in his eyes. "Emma," he said heavily. "We need… to be careful," he said through shallow breaths. "I've fallen… for something like that before. The first time I tried to… escape," he said breathlessly, making Emma's heart clench at the fact that he'd tried and failed to escape more than once. "Hades made an illusion of… daylight," finished Killian quietly.

Emma's brows kneaded. She looked from Killian to the end of the tunnel. The daylight looked so real. "My magic hasn't been stronger than it is right now..." She looked back toward it, biting her lip. They'd stopped not fifty yards away, already shrouded in shadows thanks to the lack of firelight, with only the stream of daylight lighting the way. If it was a giant illusion, that should be enough dark magic that Emma was sure she'd feel it. This didn't feel like an illusion.

"We have to try," whispered Emma finally, hope and doubt battling inside her.

Killian eyed the daylight distrustfully, but nodded, seeming to realize it was their only—and last—option.

Emma tried not to think about what would happen if it was a trick after all.

She swallowed hard, and slowly, cautiously, they approached it.

Heeding Killian's concern, Emma stopped them a few yards away. Shadows clung to the walls, but the daylight was bright and strong through the hole in the wall, which was a foot or so in circumference. Now, Emma could see that it wasn't any sort of door or window in the wall allowing the light to shine through; it was carved out. And through it, Emma caught a glimpse of trees.

Outside.

"You found it too?"

Emma felt her heart launch into her throat at the sudden unfamiliar voice coming from their right.

She grabbed Killian tighter on instinct, raising a hand to attack, feeling Killian go rigid in her hold.

From the shadows that clung to the walls, someone emerged, walking into the light.

It was a teenage boy.

He looked barely older than sixteen, with an innocence in his face that reminded Emma of Henry. He was donned in what looked like a toga, with a crown of olive branches settled into his thick curls. He raised his hands quickly in surrender. "Didn't mean to frighten you," he said, sounding like he meant it. His voice sounded tired, like he hadn't spoken in ages.

He seemed genuine enough, seemed like an innocent child enough, but after meeting Peter Pan, Emma didn't trust children at first glance anymore. And trapped in Hades' hell, she wasn't about to take chances with anyone.

Emma's voice was lost somewhere in her lungs, her heart still hammering in her head in shock, but Killian spoke for her, stumbling back a step, pulling Emma toward him. "Who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded, but the way his voice shook made Emma quickly shift herself protectively in front of Killian as much as she could while still supporting him.

"You didn't think you were the only lost souls trapped here, did you?" said the boy, not unkindly. "My name is Icarus." He gave a little bow. "I haven't happened upon other lost souls in this area before; no one else has managed to find their way."

Icarus.

Finally finding her voice, Emma blinked. "Icarus?" she echoed. "Don't fly too close to the sun?"

He winced a little. "You sound like my dad."

Killian looked at her. "You-You know this boy?"

"Of him," said Emma distantly, at this point wondering if Harry Potter was real, too. "That's all I know of him, really."

In an instant, Killian wiped away as much of his pain from his face in front of a prospective enemy. If he wasn't shaking like a leaf in her grip, one breeze away from collapsing, Emma might have believed it. "Are you working for the bloody devil?" demanded Killian.

Icarus shook his head. "No, I'd never help someone like Hades. He's as evil as they come. He's the reason I'm trapped here, too."

Emma blinked.

Her superpower remained silent.

"Why'd he trap you here?" asked Emma, raising her eyebrow, still trying to gage whether or not to trust him.

Icarus' eyes found the floor. "I died centuries ago, trying to escape the island of Crete with my dad. He and I have this kind of magic that lets us grow wings, but he had to wait until mine matured enough to fly." His shoulders slumped. "Crete was being overrun and we needed to escape and once I got my wings, I was so excited to fly, that I…" He looked at Emma. "You seem to know what happened then." His eyes found the ground again. "I died and wound up here. I tried to escape the Underworld to get back and help my dad and the rest of our village escape but Hades caught me." Emma watched him carefully, but her lie detector was still silent. Icarus went on, "I still tried to escape even then, and that's when Hades locked me in here, because I wouldn't lose hope."

"I think he's telling the... truth," whispered Killian, voice shallow. "Hades… he has an obsession with ridding people of hope."

Emma regarded Icarus again. "Earlier… you asked us how we found this place too. What is this? Is it a way out?" asked Emma, gesturing to the daylight, but already doubting it because Icarus was still here.

Icarus sighed. "It's as close as we can get to one." He gestured to the hole in the wall. "I found it because I used to have light magic, and I followed it here; the dark magic is at its weakest." Emma smiled inwardly, knowing she figured out the same tactic.

Icarus went on, "I haven't had magic since my wings burned, but I can still sense magical things. Without following it, I'd be like all the other souls trapped in here; lost, wandering the labyrinth forever. For three centuries I've looked for a way out in these tunnels, and this is the closest I've come. I spent most of my years trying to get through this wall." He sighed, gesturing to the haphazard carve job. "But there's a layer of dark magic behind the wall, separating us from the outside." Emma squinted, and she could see what he meant. It was like there was a subtle gray filter over the view of the trees and sky outside. "Since I don't have magic to get past it," Icarus went on, "no matter what I do, I'm just forced to spend eternity looking at freedom... but not being able to have it." He looked toward the daylight. "I'll never stop trying, though. I'll dig at it for all eternity if that's what it takes. I won't lose hope."

Emma's head snapped up. "I have magic," she breathed. She looked from Killian to Icarus. "Light magic. I think…" She swallowed, hope rising sharply. She set her shoulders with determination. "I think I can get past it."

Icarus' brows kneaded. "But even light magic is weakened after death—"

"I'm not dead," said Emma quickly. "I came down here to… save him," she said, giving Killian a smile, who weakly returned it.

Icarus' eyes widened. "You really think you can get us out?" he asked in a small voice.

Emma took a breath, nodding, pushing away her exhaustion. I hope so. She looked at Killian, who nodded, and Emma could see the sheer hope, the trust in his eyes.

"You can do it, love," he whispered.

Letting out a breath, releasing her other arm around him, but still letting him lean on her, Emma held out her palms to the wall, shutting her eyes.

If this didn't work…

Her heart pounded.

It will work.

It will.

It has to.

Emma let every ounce of magic, every facet of her strength, her motivation, her desperation for this to work, build up between her hands. Magic glowed with a heat between her palms.

Giving it everything she had, Emma released the energy in a blast so loud it rung her ears.

Rock and dust exploded, and light crashed into the once-dark space.

But though the rock of the wall had been blasted away, she could feel what Icarus meant; the dark magic, acting like a barrier. Her magic hesitated, rivaled by it, but Emma clenched her jaw.

Magic is emotion.

Emma released every bit of her desperation, her fear for Killian, her agony seeing him in pain, her love for him, her need to get them both home, to fix what she broke, to live, to save him, to bring him home build up within her, coursing from her heart and soul to her palms, the energy increasing and burning with everything she had.

And just when she felt herself pass her limits, using more magical energy than she ever has in her life, tears stinging her eyes with the blinding fear that she simply wasn't strong enough—

It happened.

Like shattering glass, her magic burst through the dark magic veil.

It broke into a million black shards, turning to dust as they fell, swirling into a cloud that disappeared into nothing.

Fresh air swept in at once, like pure relief.

"Emma," came Killian's voice, bright with relief and pure joy. "Love, you're brilliant!"

Emma opened her eyes. She blinked slow, an enormous wave of heavy exhaustion washing over her, her strength and energy feeling hollow, like a dried-up well. Her legs suddenly went numb, and she listed, too dazed to catch herself.

"Emma!"

Killian tried to catch her, but he couldn't move fast enough. He grabbed her arm, but someone else's arms wrapped around her waist.

Icarus caught her—as well as kept Killian from falling, who staggered, barely managing to stay on his feet with his grip on Emma. It took Emma a moment to find her footing as she blinked the black spots from her vision, and Icarus helped her back upright, only letting go when Killian had a grip around her shoulders again.

Emma hardly noticed.

She couldn't stop staring at it.

At freedom.

Relief flooded her, staring into the red-hued sky, in the middle of what looked like the woodland. She looked at Killian, a smile as bright as the light outside slipping onto her face.

She swayed again, and Killian tightened his grip on her, both supporting each other.

Icarus' eyes were lit up with a sparkle brighter than the sun. Tentatively, he stepped forward, one step past where the tunnel wall had once been.

His sandal-clad foot crushed a leaf on the ground.

He was outside.

Free.

He laughed, the sound like the personification of relief.

Emma and Killian both followed the younger boy, and supporting each other, they walked outside.

A twig snapped under Emma's boot.

Light caressed her skin.

Wind tousled Killian's hair.

They were free.

Icarus suddenly bowed to her, hands pressed together in what looked like a traditional gesture from what must have been Greek culture. "I had held onto hope that I would find a way to free myself, but it seems my hope was to find you. Thank you. I will forever be grateful." He smiled, and Emma smiled back. He bowed once more, and then stared at the freedom for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. Then, he turned and started to walk back into the tunnel.

"Kid—Icarus," said Emma quickly. "Where are you going?!"

Icarus smiled. "There are many lost souls wandering this labyrinth. Without sensing magic they'll never find the way out. I'm going to lead them to their freedom." He smiled. "I may not have been able to lead my village to freedom from Crete, but I can lead these souls to a better place. I now realize it must have always been my Unfinished Business. Thank you for making it possible." Icarus said meaningfully, and gave one final bow. "I wish you both luck returning to the Land of the Living." Emma smiled a little, for she could use every bit of luck she could find, and Icarus disappeared back into the tunnel.

Emma and Killian both held each other tightly. Emma knew with an unsettling amount of certainty that after her last bout of magic, neither of them would be standing on their own without support.

Emma looked tiredly at Killian.

He was already looking at her, like she was a sight more beautiful than freedom.

Emma smiled at him, tears stinging her eyes as she whispered, "Let's go home."

a/n: No, this isn't the end. :) Plenty of h/c to come when Emma and Killian get back to their underworld version of home.

I hope Icarus fit in okay! When I researched Greek mythology, Icarus seemed like a perfect fit for what I was going for in the story. What's cool too is that in the lore, Icarus' father actually invented the very first Labyrinth ever, which I think is so crazy, because I didn't even research Icarus until after I trapped Emma and Killian in a maze. Most of Icarus' story is true from what I read of the lore, with some changes to fit this story and Once's version of magic, etc. We won't see Icarus again, but rest assured that he and all the other lost souls will escape without Hades stopping them. I couldn't help having Emma save yet even more people, and couldn't leave those poor other lost souls to be trapped forever. :)

So I hope this chapter read well and we've got quite the reunion coming up in the next chapter..!

~cosette141