Chapter 13
Getting Neal
Hades was mad two more souls had left his domain for a better place. "The prisoner you helped escape had moved on and taken my nephew with her".
Neal said "glad to hear it". Hades materialized a chisel "is that supposed to scare me, you've already tortured me enough if you're going to do more just get on with it".
"I think you've misunderstood" he threw the chisel over to Neal. "I wanted your friends to leave but they're not budging. Now I have a new plan, three souls have gone on to better place since they arrived so one of them will take their place". Three tombstones grew out of the ground.
"Who"?
"That's why I gave to the chisel to you. It's for you to decide, you could kill your father, kill that pirate who is just waiting for a chance to move in on your wife, or the woman who you and Emma have to share Henry with. See three suggestions already, but like I said, it's for you to decide".
Neal glared at Hades and flung the chisel away "I'm picking anyone" he declared.
He picked Neal up by his hair and led him over to a river with a boat on it. "This is the river of lost souls, one touch and you're lost, reduced to a mindless tormented shell of your former self so please keep your arms and legs inside the boat at all times".
Meanwhile Mr Gold was doing his own investigation in his shop Pan have given to him while he was here. He was in the process of making something in a cauldron when Tally came in. "In case you're interested we found him, just haven't got him yet".
Gold said "thank you Tally but I'd rather see him now". He lifted a glass ball out of the cauldron. Tally looked into the ball as Gold said "show me who I seek".
A vision of Belle back in Storybrooke appeared in the ball "Belle, you miss her"? Tally deducted.
"No, well yes, but she wasn't the one who was supposed to appear, the ball is supposed to show me my child, unless..."
Gold dropped the glass ball and it shattered as he darted to the door Tally asked "unless what"?
He asked "Tally, the facts of life shouldn't be coming from your grandfather". He left leaving Tally to wonder what he meant by facts of life.
Gold entered the apartment with Tally which was still in shambles from Cerberus's attack. Emma explained their plan and Gold replied "how naive are you? Hades knows you're here, he will have put up barriers to keep the living out of all the places he doesn't want us going into. Try to and you will find yourselves permanent residents here".
Emma asked "then how do we get in"?
"All of us, no, I suggest the majority of you busy yourself with other things". Taking in the mess he suggested "perhaps tidying. A helpful dead person can extend their aura to allow Emma and myself in to get Baelfire back".
Emma asked "why are you suddenly so eager to help"?
Gold replied "well he is my son, and if I don't help we don't go back and I want very much to see my wife".
"And how we get a dead person to help us"?
"I have someone in mind, just in case I need help convincing her perhaps the pirate could help".
Hook asked "why me"?
Gold replied "the dead person I have in mind, it's Milah. You know the woman who chose you over her only child".
Gold and Hook went to main street where Milah was helping children cross the road. She was taken aback to see them, especially together".
"Hello dearie" Gold greeted as she helped the children cross the street.
"How did you both get down here"?
Hook replied "oh no, we're not dead, we have worked past our differences, we at least tolerate each other".
Gold asked "do you remember why I killed you"?
Milah answered "I told you I never loved you".
"No, not that, the other thing"?
"You mean Balefire, but I already told you; not a day goes by I don't feel sorry for having left him".
"Well, now's your chance to make up for it, he's receiving some special attention by Hades. If you would generously loan your aura to me and Bae's wife then at least in some way you've fulfilled your mothering duty".
"He's married".
"It's been a long time Milah, he grew up and got married".
Hook added "and let not forget the two children".
Milah replied "he has children"
Gold said "Henry and Tally, great kids, I'm proud to be their grandfather. So are you going to help them get their father back or not"
Milah said "I'm supposed to watch the kids".
Gold replied "they're already dead and you left your own child at home on his own to go gallivanting down at the pub, are you going to abandon him again".
Emma met up with them later with Henry and Tally. Gold said "Milah meet Emma, she knows Bae as Neal as was married to him for how long"?
Emma said "eight years".
"Emma meet Milah, my ex-wife,
Hook added "and my ex,"
Gold concluded "and she's also Balefire's mother".
Milah asked "so you were married to my son"?
Emma replied nervously "yes..."remembering the children "and these are our children Henry and Tally. They wanted to meet their grandmother".
Henry said "it's nice to meet you".
Tally said "I want to come save dad too".
Emma replied "it could be dangerous so you and Henry are staying here where it's safer".
Gold said "I suggest we get going now".
Milah led them to what was Emma's house back in Storybrooke. Emma asked "so the gate to the hell is in my house"?
As they went in Gold replied "And I would guess in the basement".
Emma went over to the basement door and when she tried extending her hand over the doorway something stopped her. "So how does this work"? she asked.
Gold said "just hold hands and the aura will flow to each person". Hook held Milah's hand and Emma held his and Gold held hers. The door shut closed behind them.
As soon as they were far in enough Gold declared "the spell is gone here, we'll be able to pass though on our own now. You can go back to protecting the dead children now".
Milah replied "no, I'm going with you".
"Why"?
"I have my reasons".
"If this is about Bae, he lost his mother when she as you said let your misery cloud your judgement".
"He is still my son".
Emma replied "I'm a mother too, I say she comes".
Hook added "Milah should get to see her son again".
The look on Gold's face said he wasn't going to fight them on this. Emma said "I hear water".
Hook said "I hear it too".
Milah told them "it's the river of lost souls. We can take it to where Hades will have Balefire".
They'd found a boat and when they docked Gold said "I'll stay here, we can't risk losing the boat it's our only way home once we have Bae back".
Hook said "I'll help you save Neal Emma".
Gold said "And don't use magic, Hades would realize we're here".
Milah said "I'll stay here too, I don't trust my ex-husband. Rumple was a weak coward, not willing to do what needed to be done to a man who was charging too much for medicine to save the life of a little boy. The Dark One killed a woman because she said she never loved him".
Gold added "and left said little boy on his own at home before abandoning him forever the next day".
Milah said "I'm staying, if he tries stealing the boat I'll give a holler".
Hook and Emma came out of a cave and saw Neal hanging by a chain over the river of lost souls. The chain was getting lower but there was a platform with a hole in the middle where he could be reached before he became lost. The only way over to him was by a beam. Emma said "I'm going over, you stay here in case Hades shows up".
Emma walked across the beam stumbling a few times but eventually she got across before Neal went through the hole in the platform . She brought him onto the platform and untied him. He looked up at her and said "Emma, I told you to let me go".
She replied "I couldn't, you know I never listen".
"You're impossible".
"Isn't that what you love about me".
Neal smiled and said "always and forever".
Meanwhile Milah and Gold were catching up. Milah asked "so did you ever fall in love again after me"?
He replied "yes, she's the most beautiful, intelligent and kind soul I've ever known. And she fell in love with me, enough to join me in matrimony".
"You remarried, does so she know if she has children she can't keep her first"?
"No, and I already fixed that. I eventually decided I wanted another child when I fell for one of my students. But after I dispatched Fendrake she decided she wanted power more than she wanted love and had a child with another man. So do you know why you're still here"?
"Balefire, it took me time to realize you were right, I never should have left him. That's why I came, to save him so when I see him I can beg for forgiveness he'll have a reason to".
"He will, I betrayed him too. He was hesitant to forgive me at first but after I risked my life to save his son he forgave me".
Gold got out of the boat and commented "they should be back my now".
Milah followed him and then suddenly Hades appeared. Hades froze Milah and Gold drew his dagger. Hades said "put away you're knife I'm not looking for a fight".
Still holding his dagger Gold asked "then why are you here"?
"To talk about a deal, I know how much you love your dealS so let's go somewhere just the two of us".
Hades took them to his lair and offered him a drink "Is it poison"?
Hade chuckled and asked "now why would I do that to you, you're my biggest supplier. I mean Regina was good but she's gone soft now. Which I want you back up there doing your thing and want everybody else down here not doing their thing. So I want you to get rid of that boat you found".
"But how do I get back up there if it's gone"?
"I can wave my hand and you'll be back with your lovely wife".
"But my ex-wife saw you, she'll tell everyone".
"As she told you once, that's a puzzle you'll have to solve and do you remember how she wanted you to do that"?
"You want me to push her into the river"?
"Well you're the one who killed her, shouldn't be hard for you to send her to a worst place. If you're unsure let me ask you would you sacrifice the wife who left you to get back to the wife who always comes back to you"?
Gold went back to where Milah was and unfroze her. She looked around and said "Hades, he was just here".
Gold said "he offered me a deal".
"What kind of deal"?
"One I couldn't refuse"? He set the boat on fire "congrats. I'm not that weak, pathetic coward you hated so much anymore".
Milah stared at him for a moment the yelled "Emma".
He pushed her into the river and cried "Milah".
He went to the water's edge before Emma, Neal and Hook arrived. He feigned distress and said "Hades he destroyed the boat, I tried to stop him but he threw me against the wall and as she called for you he threw Milah into the river".
Neal asked "Milah, my mom was here".
Emma said "yes, she helped us get you, she said she had her own reasons for coming and I think that was to see you again".
Hook put a hand on his shoulder and said "Hades has much to answer for".
Emma said "how do we get back now"?
Gold said "looks like our stay just got extended".
Everyone else came to meet them in the house and Neal was happy to be reunited with his children. The everyone noticed the sullen look on their faces. Snow asked "what's wrong"?
Emma answered "we had a boat to get home but Hades destroyed it"
Hook added "and he threw a friend into the river of lost souls".
Neal said "my mother, she's gone forever now". He looked at Gold and said "you poofed us back here, that could only mean I died for nothing".
Gold replied "in my defence when I gave Emma the sword her intention was to use it on herself".
Neal sarcastically said "oh yeah, that makes it all better. At least you got me out of there which almost makes up for it".
Suddenly Emma, Snow and Regina shuddered. Robin asked "what's wrong"?
Regina asked "didn't you feel that chill pass through you"?
"No, I don't feel cold at all".
David said "me neither".
Emma said "I felt that chill".
Snow said "I did too".
Hook suggested "it's probably nothing, maybe you're just more sensitive to the cold".
Regina said "well let's do this heart spilt so when we find a way out we can leave".
Neal asked "what do you mean a heart spilt"?
Emma explained "it was my idea, my parents share a heart so if I spilt my heart and give you half you can come back to life".
Regina pulled out her heart and it didn't take long for them to notice something was wrong "don't hearts usually glow"?
Regina put Emma's heart back pulled out her own "mine isn't glowing either".
Emma asked "how did this happen"?
Regina answered "I have a theory". She went over to Snow and David and pulled out their heart, Snow's half wasn't glowing but David's half was. As she put them back she guessed "that chill we felt did something to our hearts".
"Chill " said Neal. Then he gasped "I think I know what happened, when I died I felt a chill pass through me. Earlier Hades asked me to choose three people to take the place of the three souls you've freed. But I refused, that's why he was trying to lower me into the river of lost souls. When he realized I escaped I guess he chose for me".
They went to the graveyard and as Neal thought three new tombstones had appeared with the names SNOW WHITE, EMMA SWAN-CASSIDY, REGINA MILLS.
Hook said "without a beating heart the heart spilt wouldn't work"
Gold said "if anyone needs me I'll be in my shop looking for a way home".
Gold went to Hades and said "I'm ready, I need to be with my wife".
Hades replied "well we did have a deal, except, you know your son thinks there's only one deal you didn't follow through on, but there's another. Tell me why did Milah hate you so much"?
"I took away something she could have had"?
"And that crystal ball you made, you told your granddaughter it wasn't supposed to show you Belle, you wanted to see your child. I think you figured it out , it did show you your child growing inside her Belly, your second child. And contracts with dead people are still binding here"?
Fendrake appeared "we had a deal dark one, one that can finally be paid".
Hades said "oh Fendrake" his contract suddenly appeared in Hades hand.
Fendrake asked "what are you doing".
Hades answered "it's a little thing called leverage", and with that he threw Fendrake into the river of lost souls. He turned to Gold and said "now I don't need to cash in this debt but you know everything has a price and price is you now work for me".