"Killian!"
Emma screams again and again, desperate to find a way to reach him before he sinks into the River of Lost Souls, but there is nothing to walk on to reach him. The chain lowers him once more, and now his feet are mere inches from the point of no return.
"No, please! Hold on!"
Emma knows she cannot reach him if she jumps, knows her magic is useless here, knows he cannot do anything in his bruised condition. Emma knows it is hopeless. She lets out a piercing screech and collapses to the rock floor, sobbing helplessly as she watches the chain lower Hook to his doom.
"I love you," she whispers, her voice too full of emotion to yell anymore as she watches the space between her lover and the River disappear.
And then time stills and the chain stops moving.
"Is it true love?"
The question echoes around the cave, having seemingly come from nowhere, and Emma's head swivels as she desperately searches for the source of the question. She locks eyes with two circles in the River and sees them disappear for a moment, almost as if it were a person blinking.
"Is it true love?"
The soul in the river repeats the question, its gaze piercing Emma's wide eyes for a brief moment before she turns to glance at Killian, the man she is risking everything to save. He attempts to look back at her, his whole body shaking at the exertion. Emma's eyes soften.
"Yes."
The eyes in the River close and all is still.
"In that case..."
The cave begins to shake and the River becomes tumultuous, roiling as a figure rises up. An old pirate hat emerges, along with a thin figure dwarfed by a pirate cape much like Hook's. A sword appears in the soul's hand, and it slices the chain holding him up. Before Emma has a chance to scream, Hook's limp body is gently carried by the figure until the two reach Emma.
"True love," the soul rasps while its shaky grip hands over the pirate to the Savior, "is rare."
Its eyes, now a distinguishable shade of Soul-River green, soften as it watches the tender reunion. Paying no mind to the mysterious figure hovering beside her, Emma cups Hook's head in her hands and whispers to him.
"Killian?"
He groans in response.
She sobs his name like a prayer, chanting it over and over again because he is here and not gone and she can still save him. The figure cocks its still-forming head at Emma and questions, "What brings a pirate and his fair maiden to such a place as this?"
When Emma spits out Hades' name and briefly explains the situation, the sickly green eyes narrow and the River bubbles.
"My captor for centuries has finally met his match." The figure grins, its teeth an awful yellow surrounded by white-blue lips in a menacing curl. "Allow me to assist in your rescue operation as the beginning of my campaign for vengeance against the devil god."
The green water lurches off the figure completely, until a bony body in ripped pirate attire and a glowing blade is left. Emma's hazel eyes meet green.
Emma says, "You're-"
"-ugly?"
"-a woman?"
The woman mirthlessly chuckles. "I suppose I was, centuries ago."
Emma stares at the multiple weapons attached to the woman and observes her dangerous aura.
"Who are you?"
The eyes narrow and one eyebrow raises.
"I remember only the pain Hades has caused me, naught my name nor how I came to this portion of hell."
"You..." Hook coughs, "You're Davy Jones."
The woman stares at the barely conscious pirate. "And how would you know that?"
"Prophecy. Legend foretold your victory over death..."
"Your victory over the River of Lost Souls would count," Emma finishes.
"If I am prophesied to conquer death, then I have one more thing to accomplish," Davy Jones says.
"And that is?"
"Kill Hades."
A somber atmosphere sets in as Emma clutches Hook. Before long, a shout rings from outside. "Emma!"
Hook gasps at the voice he hears. "Milah?"
Emma explains the predicament as she and Davy Jones lift Hook until he can stand and relieve him of his chains.
They all rush outside when they hear Rumple yell, "Milah!" He is hunched over the River of Lost Souls, clutching his hand.
"Hades, I couldn't stop him…" Rumple gestures helplessly toward where the boat was. "Milah is gone-" Rumple pauses, staring at the new figure beside the lovers.
"Davy Jones, or so I'm told," her rough voice sounds as she reaches out to shake Rumple's hand.
Rumple stares even harder at her. His hand reaches toward her, shaking, and he grasps her hand as though it is glass.
"Lillian?" he whispers, his other hand going to caress her face. She grabs it before it can reach her face, and she snarls, "Who's Lillian?"
"You. You're Lillian." His voice is barely loud enough to hear.
Her eyes narrow. "You knew me?"
"Yes," he breathes, his hand still aching to touch the scar marring her face.
A beat passes in tense silence before she speaks again, her voice hardened.
"Whoever I was, she's dead now."
Rumple flinches and his wide eyes stare into hers.
"All I care about," she continues, "Is killing Hades."
Rumple pauses, grief clouding his face.
He sighs in resignation. "Then, we are in agreement."
When the other Underworld visitors enter the Swan House, they are struck still by the two figures of their dead friend and the mysterious pirate with a sickly green aura the color of her eyes. Henry gasps and immediately rushes toward her.
"You're Davy Jones!"
She assesses him, eventually quirking her eyebrow at him.
"Oh, like it wasn't obvious?" Henry explains, shaking with excitement. "The green aura, green eyes, and green sword all signifying your connection to the River of Lost Souls. Plus, the peg leg and awesome pirate hat give away that at any rate, you're a beacon of badassery."
"Henry!" Regina chastises.
Davy Jones chuckles briefly.
"Who exactly are you?" Regina questions, staring warily at Davy Jones.
A mirthless rasp that barely resembles a laugh escapes her throat. "I wish I knew. I have no memory of anything before that room… before Hades." She spits his name out of her mouth, a snarl formed on her pale skin and lips.
"What did Hades do to you?" Regina quietly asks.
Her eyes snap to Regina's, the green a haunting shade. "I know nothing other than the pain he inflicted on me. My heart's desire is to see him stabbed with his belovéd Olympian Crystal. For someone who touts about his prowess, he seems eager to reveal what will be the method of destruction."
Regina looks down, guilt on her features, causing Davy Jones' eyes to narrow.
"Do any of you not wish to see that monster disappear from reality?" she questions, her voice dangerously low and her hand inching toward her sword.
Rumple stares solemnly at her, a surprising amount of vulnerability in the eyes under his scrunched eyebrows.
"My sister, Zelena, she loves him," Regina admits.
"Someone loves that monster?" Davy Jones pauses in shock and recoils in disgust. "He is not capable of reciprocating so much as a friendly cordiality, much less love."
"Zelena seems to believe otherwise."
"She is wrong."
"She's powerful, though," Henry interjects, "and it won't end well if she decides to fight us for Hades."
Davy Jones' eyes flicker between the mother and son before landing on Regina. "I will do what I must to eradicate Hades, whatever it may require of me."
Regina straights up and snarls, "Are you threatening my sister?"
"No." Davy Jones' eyes narrow and her shoulders hunch as she leans in to whisper, "If your sister loves Hades, killing her would be a merciful act."
Regina's hands begin to shimmer, and Davy Jones looks at them, her head cocked. "A sorceress?" A large smile breaks out on her face, showing off yellowed and decaying teeth. "You can do nothing against a spectre, witch."
At that, her arms outstretch, and she looks each person in the eyes. "In the end, I am neither dead nor alive. I live in between the worlds. You cannot stop me. You cannot kill me." She lowers her arms and stares at Regina. "So don't stand in my way."
The air is thick with tension until Snow turns to Hook.
"Hook, are you alright?" Snow quietly asks, attempting to break the trance the two powerful women were in.
Hook huffs. "I assure you, I will be alright."
"How did you escape?" David asks.
"I saved him," Davy Jones responds, her eyes softening. "True love should never be separated: not by death, and certainly not by that river."
The silence that follows is solemn as everyone looks at the two lovers.
"Gold had a ship for all of us to get out of here on, as well as being with Milah, but Hades destroyed the boat… and Milah," Emma gently says, her hands holding onto Hook as both an offering of support and a request for it.
"Just another example of why that god deserves a fate far worse than death." Davy Jones glares at Regina. "I am being merciful to all by killing him swiftly, and soon."
Silence reigns until Hook turns to Gold, his finger pointed accusingly at the Dark One and fury etched on his features. "You made my sacrifice worth nothing. I wanted to protect the ones I love from the Dark One's powers and you made what I did worth nothing. I should kill you."
"Acknowledged."
Hook sighs. "But you did save me, so perhaps we are even, for now."
"I just wanted to get home. But yes, you're welcome, Captain."
"We're all sorry for your loss," Robin pipes up, looking at Gold.
Gold gives a bittersweet half-smile and shrugs his shoulders. "She made me who I am."
Davy Jones looks at the three men and stares at Hook in particular, her head cocked slightly to one side.
"Well, we don't have a way out of the Underworld," Regina begins, "But we didn't have one to begin with. On the bright side, my magic is working again, so let's do the heart split so we can figure out how to get out of here."
"Heart split?"
"It's a good plan. It will work. You just need to trust me," Emma pleads with Hook. She approaches Regina. "Do it."
Regina nods and reaches into Emma's chest, but finds she cannot. She retracts her hand apologetically.
"What was that?" Robin asks.
"It's certainly interesting," Gold notes, intrigued.
"What is this? Why didn't it work?"
Regina just stares confusedly at Emma, her brows pinched together. Davy Jones stands behind them all, watching the scene with cautious fascination.
Suddenly, the group is in the Underworld's cemetery, and three tombstones in particular catch everyone's eyes. The three propped up tombstones glare at the group, the names etched in them making everyone confused.
"Hades told me to pick three names and chisel them onto the headstones." Hook begrudgingly spoke, his voice laced with pain and confusion. "He told me that whoever I picked would remain in the Underworld. I refused."
"Apparently, the God of Death did the picking himself," Regina says, gesturing to the offending tombstones with the names REGINA MILLS, SNOW WHITE, and EMMA SWAN printed on them.
"What does this mean?" Emma whispers, a tear streaking down her cheek.
"It means that we're stuck here and that your heart cannot save Hook," Regina counters.
"Well," Gold speaks, mirthlessly chuckling with his lips curled into a slight sneer, "I got the Pirate out in a day, but you lots managed to find a whole new way to fail. I'll be in my shop."
Gold gives one last glance to Davy Jones, a softened pain flashing across his face, before he walks away.