A/N: Fixed a couple of minor mistakes and added a couple of lines here and there to clarify a few things.
They let Anastasia join their party. There wasn't much choice, really, if she could lead them to Killian. Emma didn't quite know what
to make of her, but if Anastasia could reunite her with Killian, she'd owe her a debt of gratitude that, quite frankly, she might never really be able to repay. On the other hand, they also knew next to nothing about her, save that she was somehow involved with Will. Emma wasn't entirely certain she could be trusted (but then, she still didn't entirely trust Will Scarlet, either). Ana seemed to know the Underworld a little too well, by her detailed descriptions of where Killian was being held and what sort of obstacles they could expect to face during their rescue attempt. Even Liam, who had been in the Underworld for literal centuries, reacted with surprise and skepticism at some of the information to which Ana seemed privy.
Emma met Liam's blue-grey gaze across the cavern. A moment of brief, but mutual understanding passed between them, reminding her painfully of the even closer connection she shared with Killian. She couldn't afford not to take a chance and trust Ana. But that didn't mean that she had to be stupid about it.
But it was Regina who, having taken Ana's measure, questioned her first. "So what do you get out of this?" she demanded bluntly.
"Excuse me?" the blonde queen said indignantly.
"Oh, come on, dear," Regina said with a predatory smile, "you and I both know you're after something. That little magical display back there all but announced that you're a former pupil of my mother, Cora. And we both know there were only two types of people that ever captured my mother's notice: those she could manipulate and use and then throw away, and those who had magical potential that she could shape and mold to her own twisted ends. And if you learned the magic from her, you learned the manipulation, too."
Ana's expression shifted from insulted to quietly furious. "I'm nothing like your mother!" she spat, taking a step toward Regina.
David caught her by the arm, restraining her. "Ladies, save the magic duel at dawn for after we get back to Storybook."
"Regina does raise some interesting questions," Mary-Margaret observed, stepping forward to study Ana. "What's Killian's life to you? Why are you being so helpful?"
"Why does everybody always think I have some ulterior motive?" Ana protested. "I may have screwed up my life once, but I've changed! Can't I just help someone out of the goodness of my own heart?"
"Answer the questions," Emma commanded flatly.
Ana sighed, her expression becoming stony and detached. "His life is nothing to me, really. I didn't know who any of you even were until Emma introduced herself, but if you want to free what's-his-name-"
"Killian," Emma supplied.
"-I'll do everything in my power to help, because it would really piss off Hades, and that would make my day." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Afterlife?" she muttered. "Eternity?"
"And that's it?" Regina said skeptically.
"Well...I'd appreciate if you could take back a message to my Will, of course," Ana admitted with a pained but hopeful smile, "but it's not a condition of my service to you. I'll do it purely to antagonize Hades."
"What exactly is the nature of your quarrel with him?" Liam interjected. "If you don't mind my asking. Most people in the Underworld tend to keep their heads down and try not to attract his notice. It's, ah, rather unusual to meet someone going out of her way to upset him."
"Yes, well, I'm not most people, darling," she replied blandly. "This is my third trip to the Underworld, and if Hades is to have his way," she said with a disgusted curl of her lip, "it's to be permanent this time."
"Third?" Mary-Margaret blinked in surprise. "How...?" She trailed off, apparently too stunned to even formulate the proper questions.
"Oh, it's a complicated story, darling, involving the sorcerer Jafar, genies, breaking the laws of magic, and the Well of Wonders, but I won't bore you with the details. I'm here this time because Hades brought me back directly."
"What would motivate him to do that?" Robin wondered.
"Because he wants a queen," Ana explained with a look of revulsion, "and that mad idiot is under the delusion that it's going to be me!"
-/-
"What do you think?" Liam asked quietly, while the others argued about what to do with the information Ana had just dropped into their laps. "Is she on the level?"
"Yes."
"You sound very certain."
She inhaled, wondering how much to tell him. "I am," she answered, opting for the simple truth. "I have this ability to tell when people are lying. Your brother tried lying to me when we first met, and I called him on it. Ana isn't lying. She might still be hiding things from us, but she isn't lying."
He ran a hand through his curly hair, seeming to come to a decision. "All right."
"You believe me?" she blinked.
"Of course. My brother trusts you. That's good enough for me. I made the mistake of doubting his judgment once, and I'm not likely to do it again."
Tears filled her eyes. "You shouldn't," she whispered harshly, finding it difficult to speak around the lump in her throat.
"Shouldn't what?" he asked in consternation. "Trust you?"
She nodded, unable to speak.
He eyed her with compassion. "Emma," he said gently, "you are not responsible for my brother's death or his return to the darkness. But you are the reason he turned back to the light just before he died." She stared at him in surprise, and he smiled softly. "Your mother told me."
"And you knew all this time?" she sniffed. "I feel like an idiot. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I hoped you'd open up to me about it of your own accord." He shrugged. "I meant what I said, Emma. I'd like to have a good relationship with my intended sister-in-law in the little time that I can."
She smiled crookedly. "I think I'd like that, too."
But in the privacy of her own thoughts, Emma promised herself that it would not be for only a little time. She would find a way to bring him back, too. And now she knew just the person to ask.
-/-
"You want to what?" Ana gaped at her. "Darling, you know that won't be easy, right?"
"You've done it before, haven't you?" Emma pressed when they stopped to rest. "Twice."
"Well, yes, but that was with help from the other side. And I had a body to return to."
"But it is possible? You know of a way?"
"Yes," she said reluctantly, "but you won't like the fine print."
"Is this the part where you giggle and tell me all magic comes with a price?"
"No," she said, issuing Emma a strange look, "but you might not get the result you're looking for. You'd best be certain this is what you want."
"I am."
"Then far be it from me to deter you," she said with something akin to respect kindling in her eyes, "but we'll need to distract Hades. So when we rescue your Killian, this is what we'll do..."
-/-
Emma stared at the heavy doors that led to the dungeons where Hades kept his highest security prisoners. Cerberus lurked somewhere beyond them, ready to tear apart anyone who dared defy his master by freeing hostages. She glanced at Liam, to her left, who looked lost within thought, his expression a mixture of regret, determination, and hope. "Are you sure we can't just play some music and lull him to sleep?" she asked, swinging her gaze to Ana, who stood on her right.
"What?" the blonde queen stared at her. "Wherever did you get a ridiculous idea like that?"
"Never mind," she sighed, as Mary-Margaret and David sniggered behind her. Of course they got the reference. They'd been the ones borrowing her books and peppering her with questions over breakfast or while she brushed her teeth at night, back when they'd shared the apartment together. An apartment that Emma hoped she would soon move her books and other belongings out of, once they brought Killian back to Storybrooke.
"Does everyone remember the plan?" Ana asked, sweeping her gaze over their little group. Several decisive murmurs of agreement greeted her question. "Good."
Emma felt a strong, masculine hand reach for hers, giving it a brief squeeze just before Ana unsealed the magic on the doors. She tossed Liam a wan smile in reply, noting his white-knuckled grip on the sword she'd loaned him. The doors opened with a drawn out groan, revealing a swath of pitch-black darkness. She stared at it in confusion, unsettled by the utter stillness that lay beyond the doorway, but determined to find Killian without further delay. She shifted her weight, taking a step forward, but Ana stayed her with one hand.
"Not just yet, darling," she murmured softly. She stared into the darkness ahead of them with a hard, intent gaze, as if she were waiting for something. "Give it a moment..."
An enormous black beast leaped out at them, sailing over their heads with a whoosh of air. It landed behind their group, narrowly missing Robin, its jaws snapping eagerly at Henry. Emma screamed for her son, her magic reacting instinctively as it formed a shield around him. Somewhere to her left, Emma heard Regina attack with a loud sneer, "Nobody attacks my son!"
The burst of magic blinded her momentarily, and Emma felt Liam steady her as she tried to regain her bearings. The battle progressed around her, magic sizzling and arrows flying, as she recovered, Liam's quiet, sturdy presence offering a focus for her amidst the chaos. "I'm okay," she assured him after a moment, as she gathered her magic into her and focused her will. "Come on, they need our help."
The rest of the battle passed in a blur of blood, sweat, and confusion. Cerberus' three heads gave the beast a distinct advantage in that it was damned near impossible to approach at close range, or to form any sneak attack, but Ana's advice to divide into smaller groups (forgotten as it might have been at the onset of Cerberus' attack) soon enabled them to disarm the beast. After a few well-aimed arrows to its eyes from Mary-Margaret and Robin, Emma struck with her own magic while Liam and David moved in to hamstring Cerberus. She stroked the dog's mind with her magic, wrapping notions of warmth and comfort around it around like a pillow, smothering its aggression and doubt as she lulled it into a deep, deep slumber.
It collapsed with a loud thud, forming an enormous, steadily breathing mountain of black fur between the party members.
"Is it...sleeping?" Ana asked after a moment of stunned silence.
"Yeah. I mean, I figured just because music wouldn't work to put it to sleep doesn't mean my magic wouldn't."
"Fascinating," Mary-Margaret said, craning her neck to examine Cerberus as he slumbered. David inched her away with a wince, unwilling to chance waking the dog.
"Well, I have to hand it to you darling, that was magnificent," the blonde queen approved.
"Yes, very creative," Regina drawled, rounding Cerberus' slumbering form with Robin and Henry in tow, "now let's go find the pirate and get out of here before this thing wakes up again."
-/-
"You'd think with all his pretensions Hades could afford a few lights in here," Regina snarked as they walked down the darkened passageways of the dungeon. Light flared behind Emma, illumining the darkness. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Regina had created an orb to brighten their path ahead of them. "There," Regina smiled. "Much better."
Ana eyed the sphere with disdain and swept her arms upward in a gesture that managed to be both dramatic and careless at the same time. Torches flared to life, lining the walls of a large hallway. "No point in wasting the extra energy if you don't need to," she said by way of explanation as Regina glared at her. "Well," she said, dropping her hands, as if nothing had happened, "let's go."
"Subtle," Regina sneered.
"Yes, well, that is the point, isn't it?" she reminded the brunette queen.
Emma ignored their bickering, inhaling with a nervous shudder as she took her first step down the twisted and curving hallway. This was it; this at last was the path that would lead her back to her love and reunite them. Jittery with anticipation, her steps bounced a little more as she rounded the bend and came to the first block of prisoner cells, eager to find Killian. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening at the sight before her. "What the hell?" she breathed in disbelief.
Hades leaned against the wall with a wide smirk on his face, watching with a clear and twisted delight as Emma took in the beaten and bloody forms of Killian Jones that lay motionless, watching her, in each of the cells. "Oh come now," he chided, "what's the value of True Love without a small test?"
"Is this your idea of a sick joke?" Mary-Margaret snapped, stepping forward to enfold Emma in a comforting hug.
"Hmm," Hades said with a thoughtful look. "I was thinking more like entertainment, but who says they have to be mutually exclusive, right?"
"What kind of test?" Emma found herself saying in a rough, cracking voice that she barely recognized as her own.
"Find him," he directed. "Find the real Killian Jones without any help from your friends, here." Emma tilted her head, waiting for the catch. "Oh, and you can't communicate to them with any words, gestures, or touches. That means no questions, no declarations of love, no hand signals, no kissing or caresses...You get the idea."
There it was.
"All right," she said, "say I agree to your little test. Then what? What happens if I find him?"
"I let him go."
"From his cell or from the Underworld?"
"Clever girl," Hades approved with an ugly smirk. "From his cell. Consider it a willingness to negotiate further on my part, if you manage it."
Considering his preliminary offer for several moments, Emma nodded. She couldn't do anything about getting Killian out of the Underworld if she couldn't release him from his cell. And Ana had warned her that freeing Killian wouldn't be as simple and straightforward as breaking a lock on the cell and ushering him out. If Hades wanted to play games, Emma would indulge him-to a point.
"Okay," she agreed. "I'll do it."
Hades stepped away from the wall, gesturing toward the block of cells. "Then let the test begin," he invited.
Pursing her lips together, Emma squatted in front of the cell closest to her and examined the Killian in front of her. He lay with his cheek against the floor, blood dried to his cheeks and matted in his dark hair. One eye was swollen shut, the other gazing back at her without a word as Emma's eyes roved over him. She matched his gaze, letting herself absorb the quiet understanding that she found in them. Standing, she moved to the next cell, her strength renewed.
The Killian in the next cell shared identical injuries, but seemed more troubled and less resigned to his fate than the previous one. "Go," he hissed, with a hard look on his face. "Leave this place." Emma tilted her head, noting the way that he curled in on himself, avoiding her gaze as he spoke. "Go, Swan. Save yourself."
Exhaling, Emma moved to the next cell and peered inside. This Killian huddled in a far corner of the cell, leaning his head back against the wall. Hearing her pause outside his cell, he lowered his head and looked at her. The weariness and sheer absence of hope that she found in his eyes tore at her heart. Swallowing around a lump in her throat, Emma fought against the tears that formed as she witnessed the brokenness in him. Swiping at one eye to brush away a tear, she gasped in surprise when she saw the corners of his mouth lift in a soft, reassuring smile. It disappeared between one blink and the next, like quicksilver, but she soaked in its brief warmth like a thirsty sponge. Her spirits buoyed, she moved across the hall toward the other three cells.
This Killian startled the wits out of her; he was plastered up against the bars, watching Hades with thinly disguised anger. "Leave her alone," he ordered. "Let us acquit ourselves like gentleman," he challenged, "and settle this quarrel ourselves, one-on-one. No trickery."
Hades snorted in amusement, but ignored otherwise ignored this challenge.
Emma moved to the middle cell. This Killian leaned against one wall, his arms crossed against his chest. He straightened to his full height as she approached, and moved closer to speak with her. "Emma," he breathed, "I knew you would come." His blue eyes shone with an abundance of love and hope that seemed all the brighter in contrast to his injuries. "I never gave up on you, not once."
Smiling in acknowledgment, Emma forced herself to move to the final cell. This Killian seemed wary, and approached with caution, his eyes roving side to side. "Listen," he whispered almost inaudibly, "I know a way to indispose Hades and enable you to get out of here with your son, but you have to be quick about it..." He rattled off a set of instructions that she absorbed with patience before moving to the back of his cell again.
"Well," Hades said with all the flair of a game show host as Emma moved away from the final cell, "it's time for the million dollar question: which one is the real Killian Jones? Take your time to finalize your answer, but remember-no help from the audience!"
She turned slowly, peering at the different Killians in turn as she considered them. Remembering how they had each reacted or made her feel, she turned to Hades and took a deep breath before answering. "All of them," she said in a clear voice that echoed in the cell block. "All of them are the real Killian Jones. Understanding, self-sacrifice, warmth, courage, loyalty, intelligence-they are all part of the man I love."
"And we have a winner!" Hades crowed with a clap of his hands. The cell doors opened, and all six of the Killians stepped out, merging back into one man before Emma could even blink.
"Killian!" She stepped toward him hesitantly, unable to believe that he was finally within arm's reach.
He lurched forward, half-embracing, half-falling into her arms. His words were garbled, tumbling out of him with urgency as he buried his nose into the crook of her neck. She didn't understand any of it, not really. But could feel what he meant in the way that he touched her, crushing her in his arms with gratitude and relief, and caressing her with wonder in the touch of his fingertips across her back. "It's me," she reassured him, her voice halfway between a sob and a laugh. "It's really me. I'm here, Killian. I'm here."
His arms tightened around her in response, and Emma stroked his hair. "There's someone else who wants to see you, too," she whispered.
"David?" he croaked.
She laughed. She couldn't help it. "Yeah, he's here, too. I meant your brother." She released him and stepped aside, watching as Killian and Liam set eyes on each other for the first time in over three centuries.
Killian stared at his brother, taking one hesitant step forward before he stopped in his tracks again. "Liam?"
"Aye." Liam closed the distance between them in two long strides, pulling Killian into a hug. "It's been too long, little brother," he murmured, as he gently clapped Killian on the back.
"As cloyingly sweet as this reunion is," Hades interrupted, drawing their attention back to his presence, "I believe we have a deal to make, Miss Swan."
"Leave her alone," Killian growled. "She'll make no deals with you."
"No, Killian," Emma said, placing her hand on the crook of his arm, "he's right. I freed you. Now it's time to negotiate." She gave him a significant look, trying to communicate to him that she had a plan. That everything was under control.
She walked over to the Lord of the Underworld, trying to school her expression into one of confidence, even boredom—as if she had negotiated for the life of someone before. "So let's negotiate," she agreed. "I want Killian to return with me and the rest of my group back to life in Storybrooke."
"Out of the question," he refused. "You have more members in your party than you arrived with, and that simply cannot be. Seven of you arrived, and seven of you can leave. No more, and no less."
"But that would mean that we have to leave one of our party members behind. That's not going to happen."
"Well, it seems to me that one of your original members is, ah, shall we say…conspicuously absent? I tell you what, Miss Swan. I will let you take your pirate back home, but you must leave Rumplestiltskin and Her Majesty Tremaine here. Your pirate takes the place of Rumple on the boat back; seven came in and seven still leave."
"Leave the Dark One with all the powers of every Dark One before him under your control?" she snorted. "Not happening. I may despise him; I may think he's the most cowardly, duplicitous little weasel I've ever known—" Killian stirred beside her, his jaw clenched in silent agreement, "—but I'm not leaving you a convenient means to consolidate and expand your power, making it easy to renege on whatever agreement we make at a later date."
She glanced at Ana, who stood off to one side, watching with her arms crossed. Her expression was stony, even stubborn, as she stared with ill-disguised contempt at Hades. "As for Ana, that's also out of the question. I don't know why you want to so badly to make her your Queen and keep her here, but my instinct is to tell you to go to hell." She shrugged one shoulder. "But since we're already here, I suppose I'll just have to settle for a firm 'no.'"
"Well then I do believe we're at a stalemate." He turned his attention to Ana, studying her sour expression for a moment before speaking. "And you, my dearest, are you ready to see things my way and renegotiate?"
"Perhaps," she answered. She stepped closer to Hades, her expression changing to something that was very calculating and almost flirtatious at the same time. "But of course, that would depend on the deal you strike with Emma, here."
Hades' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You are forgetting, Ana, that we know each other far too well by now. Using yourself as leverage to save your friends will not work."
"Won't it?"
"No."
"Then what a pity. It seems that we also are at an impasse."
"So the rest of us are going to be stuck down here because you two can't play Let's Make a Deal?" Regina complained with a roll of her eyes. "Step aside," she ordered, "and let the grownups do the work."
"I don't think so, darling," Ana disagreed. "You're the last person I trust to bargain on my behalf." She turned to Hades. "I have a better offer: I stay here in the Underworld for six months of the year and function as your queen. The souls of all the Wonderland people are directed to your domain, and you pass judgment on them as you see fit in my absence. But if I am present, I get equal say their fate."
"And the other six months of the year?"
"You let me spend it with Will, ruling our kingdom in Wonderland."
"As tempting as that offer is, it still won't do," Hades shook his head. "Seven souls arrived and seven souls must leave. Those are the rules."
"You are lord and ruler here," Ana pointed out. "Make an exception."
"I can't do that. Then everyone will think they deserve an exception. It isn't worth spending the next millennia stamping out rebellions just to give you folks a special exemption."
"Wait, back it up, Emma interjected, "what happens to the souls of Wonderland-ers now? Where are they supposed to be going?"
"Originally, they were supposed to go to Helheim," Ana said with a pointed look at Hades, "but that hasn't been the case for a very long time, now has it, Hades?"
"Take it up with Cora, if you desire," he shrugged. "She's around here somewhere."
"Wait, so Cora made some kind of deal and sold their souls out? How is that even possible?"
"Many things are possible in Wonderland," Ana stated. "Rulers have quite a bit more power at their disposal."
"Even over the eternal fate of their people? I'd say so," Regina comment with a sarcastic arch of her brow. "Funny how mother never told me that."
"And Cora didn't trade it away," Ana continued, tossing a glare at Regina for her interruption, "she destroyed it."
"What do you mean she destroyed it?" Emma cut in again.
"I mean that we rulers of Wonderland no longer have that power at our disposal because Cora killed the caretaker of Helheim and her domain with it. It doesn't exist anymore. There's no place for the people of Wonderland to go. She consigned them all to eternal wandering with no hope of rest or resolution."
"So that's why you want Ana for your queen," Emma accused Hades. "You want to claim Wonderland's lost souls. And marriage to Ana, a former ruler of Wonderland, would give you legitimacy for your claim."
"Well, don't tell me you thought it was a love match!" Hades protested with an offended look.
"We can't stand one another," Ana confirmed. "But all of this is, shall we say, quite pointless?" She looked pointedly at Hades. "Unless of course you're willing to rethink that exemption."
"Not a chance."
"What if…" Emma began slowly, "what if I offered you another deal?"
"That would depend on the deal," Hades answered. "I'm listening."
"Rumple goes back. That's still non-negotiable. And the others go back, too, except for me."
"Emma!" her mother gasped.
"Ana can take my place on the boat. She gets to go back to Will and Wonderland and rule there with him full time. You draw up a contract with her arranging the transfer of Wonderland's souls to the Underworld, and she gets to live in peace until she dies a natural death."
"And what about after?" Ana demanded, glaring at Hades. "I don't trust him."
"After you die a natural, normal death," Emma emphasized again, "you come to the Underworld and function as queen and co-ruler of the Underworld. No marriage. It's strictly a business partnership. But you get an equal say in everyone's fate after you die, not just the Wonderland people. Both of you gain something by this arrangement."
"And what of my Will?" she asked with a conflicted expression. "What happens to him after he dies?"
"Will gets to choose for himself," Hades said. "Both of us recuse ourselves from his particular judgment, because neither of us can be objective. He can either move on or stay with you indefinitely. So long as he stays out of our business affairs, that is. If he opts to stay and he interferes, I send him on. No second chances."
"Agreed," Ana replied. "We draw up a contract before I leave, and put it in Regina's care. She hates both of us. If either of us reneges on the terms, the contract becomes null and void and everything reverts back to its original owner or status at Regina's enforcement. Do we have a deal?"
"Not so fast," Emma interrupted. "All of this is contingent on me giving up my place in the boat for Ana. And I haven't set my own terms for this arrangement." She smiled slyly and said in her best imitation of Hades, "What? You didn't think you were going to get something for nothing, did you?"
"What is it you want?" Hades asked with narrowed eyes.
"An alternate route out of the Underworld for me and one companion."
"You've talked to Eurydice I see. I haven't made such an arrangement in hundreds of years," he mused to himself. "All right, Miss Swan, since I'm feeling generous due to your proposal of alliance between Ana and myself, I will give you and one companion of your choice the chance to climb your way out of the Underworld. But if you mess it up as Orpheus did, don't come looking to me to renegotiate. This is a one-time deal. I won't offer it again, so don't get any ideas about coming back for anyone else like the brother, there. If you look back even once, your pirate is gone to you forever."
"Understood. But I want your assurances that you won't come after any of us later. Not my parents, not my son, not anyone standing before you right now. If you do, the arrangement I've proposed between you and Ana is dissolved. That goes in the contract too."
Hades studied her for several long minutes, as if trying to find a loophole somewhere. "Done," he finally agreed. "You do drive a hard bargain, Miss Swan. I won't forget that when it's your turn to face judgment."
"No," she agreed, "or the fact that I made any of this possible."
-/-
"Are you sure you still want to do this?" Ana murmured as they stood near the boat that would lead the other members of the party out of the Underworld without Emma.
"Yes. I'm certain."
"Then I wish you the best of luck, darling. I've given them all the instructions they need. Wait to merge them until Hades is preoccupied with one of his judgments, then start making your way out of the Underworld. But be prepared for him to throw every distraction he's got at you. He doesn't like to lose."
"I'm prepared," she whispered, hoping that it was true.
"I wish you the best of luck, darling," Ana said, sweeping her into a quick hug. "And I'll see you again up above, one way or another."
"You and Regina keep Rumple in line on the way back," Emma warned her. "Don't let him try anything."
"We've got it well in hand," Ana assured her, flicking a glance toward the Dark One. "Especially now that I've learned from Hades that his wife is expecting. He'll not chance a single thing going wrong on the way back if it means ensuring that he returns to both of them."
"I hope you're right," Emma said. "Good luck. And Ana?" The blonde turned toward her questioningly. "Thank you."
"No need, darling. Just be glad he fell for it."
-/-
The merging of Liam's soul into Killian's went so well that Emma worried the rest of her plan was doomed to go down in miserable failure. But Hades seemed to sense nothing amiss, and he paid no attention to Emma as she worked her way back up through the Underworld. But then, he didn't really need to. Traveling back through the Underworld with only one companion whom she couldn't even look at was quite a different experience than traveling with a group. It put her at a major disadvantage in terms of any obstacle they might encounter, and Emma found herself having to rely heavily on stealth and trickery to get them past the dangerous creatures roaming through the Underworld.
But at last emerged on the surface of the Underworld, which so resembled Emma's home of Storybrooke, Maine, and she knew the real test was about to begin. Hades had been quiet for far too long—presumably expecting her to screw up long before, during an encounter with one of his pets below. He wasn't about to let her leave so easily. Not when she was so close to victory.
It began when they passed the pawn shop. A horrible gasping, the sound of someone struggling to breathe, had Emma starting to turn her head around before she even realized it. It was only the sight of a dark-haired figure that reminded her of Eurydice that snapped her out of it in time. He doesn't even need to breathe, she reminded herself, clenching her jaw together as she stared ahead with renewed determination. Not yet. But how like Hades to attempt to trick her like that, with something so simple and instinctual.
She started talking, trying to distract herself from the horrible rasping sounds behind her. Emma recounted her adventure in the Enchanted Forest to them, her first meeting with Killian and the climbing of the beanstalk that started them out on this path together. She spoke of his heroism and bravery in Neverland and how Killian had crossed realms to reunite Emma with her family. And how, even after being steeped in more darkness than any other Dark One before him, Killian Jones still found it in himself to turn away from it and sacrifice himself for Emma and everyone else he loved.
And when his steps began to falter behind her, and Killian began to cry out in agony, like someone was squeezing his heart in half, Emma told them the story of how she had met Liam. How she had been so certain that it was Killian in the mess of thorns. Her surprise at finding the elder Jones inside, and how she had been reluctant to let him inside of what little remained of her walls. Liam's persistence in establishing a relationship between them for whatever short time they had together. And how, in that short time, she had come to love him as one of her own family.
It was when she heard Killian stumble and fall behind her that Emma almost ruined it for all of them again. It cut her soul not to look. With tears streaming down her face, she pressed onward, reminding herself that there were two people at stake; two people to lose if she faltered. Two, not one. And she would never forgive herself if she lost Killian and Liam forever.
Emma's own steps became heavier, slower, as she neared the gateway that would lead her back into life in Storybrooke. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, ignoring Killian's growls and grunts of frustration, his pants of effort as she heard his fingernails scrabbling in the dirt behind her. It was frightening, knowing that with every step she took, and every inch he crawled and dragged himself forward, the gap between them was growing wider and wider—and with it, the temptation oh so stronger to turn around and check that he wasn't falling behind. That she wouldn't lose him forever.
And then she was at the glowing portal, and she couldn't delay it; there was no choice but to go through. Shaking with the effort to keep her eyes pointed straight in front of her, sweat and tears streaming down her face in equal measure, Emma set one trembling foot through the gateway and stepped through.
She tumbled back into Storybrooke and staggered blindly for a few steps before she fell to the ground, crushing her eyes closed. She wept, the sobs wracking her entire body as she released all the fear and tension and worry of what she had just done. She'd made it back to Storybrooke without looking back, but just barely. What if it hadn't been enough? What if she'd stepped too far ahead and Killian and his brother were lost to her forever? Why hadn't she thought to ask Hades about that?
Strong arms encircled her, and the familiar scent of leather and rum and salt wafted into her nostrils. "It's over, love," Killian's voice rasped. "We're in one piece."
Emma's eyes flew open and she gazed upon the face of her beloved in the flesh once again. With a cry that was halfway between a sob and a laugh, she hugged him fiercely, and then they became a tangle of lips and hands and pressed bodies as Emma tried to reassure herself that it wasn't some illusion.
"Easy, love," Killian laughed, pulling away after the long and heated moment. "Liam's still in here with me, and he's very much aware of what's happening."
"Oh shit," Emma realized. "Then we can't—"
"Afraid not, love," he said, scratching at one ear awkwardly, "at least not yet."
"We'll figure something out," she promised. "We've made it this far, haven't we?"
"Aye," he agreed. "I have every faith in you, love. I always have."
-/-
Things didn't quite work out as well as either Killian or Emma had envisioned, however. It wasn't as if there were spare bodies just lying around Storybrooke these days. And of course now that they could use the distraction of a villain to get them through this hitch in their quest to restore Liam to his own body, things were calmer than ever in Storybrooke…which made it harder and harder for Emma and Killian to deny themselves each other's company. Regina did her best, using every spare moment of her time to help them research for possible solutions to their dilemma. Emma even managed to con Rumple into lending his aide, once she casually let it drop in Belle's presence what they were attempting to do.
But weeks went by to no avail, and then the weeks became months, and the three of them got a little more used to their strange arrangement with each passing day. The quick touches and little stolen kisses that had been so awkward at first became longer and more natural, and Liam was less apt to protest about them to Killian. Emma grew used to addressing both of them, carrying on different conversations with the brothers with Killian acting as the voice bridging the relationship between all three of them. And when Killian finally moved in with her, and they settled on the sofa to watch Netflix in the evenings, things were more comfortable between the three of them than she ever could have imagined when Killian slung his arm over her shoulder and drew her close.
And then somewhere along the way, when a year of their strange threesome had come and gone, Emma realized one day that it almost didn't matter to her if Liam ever got his body back. Because she had grown to love them both, the Jones brothers. But she couldn't keep them both. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name. Killian couldn't live like this forever, and she could never ask him to. She would have to choose.
So she met Ariel at the docks one spring morning and quietly asked her to search the seas around Neverland to see if there was a body to recover that might have been preserved by its magic. It was a long shot, but she had to take it. Their futures hinged on it.
And then Emma bided her time, keeping the search to herself, patient in the knowledge that if there was anything to be found, Ariel would bring it back. And if there wasn't, they would simply have to take other measures.
When spring bled into summer and the days became hotter, she finally got word from Eric about Ariel's return. Ariel had recovered Liam's body, and it was little worse for wear than it had been when he'd died centuries ago. They transported the body to Regina quietly, not wanting to alert the Jones brothers until they could freshen it up and ensure that Liam wouldn't die all over again once they placed his soul back in it. That took weeks in itself, and it was all Emma could do not to spill the secret to the brothers. She took to working extra shifts at the station just to avoid them and their probing questions, sensing as they always did, that something was going on with her.
So it was on a cool, autumn evening that there was a knock on her door, and Emma found Regina on her front steps. "Bring them," was all she said.
Emma brought them back to Regina's house. It was strange, seeing Liam's lifeless corpse laid out on the couch, looking as if he might wake at any moment. Stranger still was the thought that she would finally see Liam in the flesh, as a separate person. But this was best for all of them, and Emma would never let either of them down by forcing them to continue living on as they had been.
"Liam," she whispered, taking a step forward, after he sat up with a gasp, touching his hair, chest, and elbows to ascertain that his body was indeed real. "Welcome back…to yourself."
The walk back from Regina's was awkward. The three of them had grown so used to being an inseparable unit that it seemed wrong to her, somehow, for them to be apart. And yet the cold hard reality of it was that they were individuals. They always had been. They'd only just let themselves forget that for a little while.
"You two go on home," Liam said gruffly, when they passed the docks. "I'll be on in a little while."
"Are you sure?" Killian asked his brother with a worried look on his face. "Don't you think we should talk about any of this?"
"Go home," Liam repeated with a hard growl in his voice. Then, seeming to feel bad about snapping at his brother, he said more gently, "I'll be fine. I just…I need some time alone, that's all. "
"Come on," Emma whispered, leading Killian toward the house. "He needs time to adjust. We all do."
"There's something I need to know," Killian said, after they walked for a while, "Do you love him?" he asked, avoiding her gaze as he scratched the back of his neck in that nervous gesture that she found so endearing.
"Of course I do. He's basically family."
"That's not what I meant."
Emma hesitated for a moment, scared of what might happen if she answered the question. Scared that it might change everything. Scared that she would lose all that she had gained over the last few years. Scared that she would lose Killian, her True Love—the man she had gone to hell and back for.
"Yes," she whispered, unable to utter a lie to him, "but he isn't you, Killian." She turned toward him, pleading silently for him to believe, to understand. "He never has been," she insisted, pressing her lips, feather-light, against his own, "and he never will be. I chose you. I will always choose you. You're the one I can't live without. "
"And you'll never have to," he promised, kissing her with a bashfulness, an uncertainty that she never would have suspected him capable of, until suddenly it turned very earnest and eager and heated, "not ever again," he breathed, sweeping her into his arms as they broke apart. "I love you, Emma Swan."
"And I love you," she whispered, meaning it with every fiber of her being when he laid her on their bed. "I love you forever and always, Killian Jones."
A/N: Okay, so that was a really long conclusion to this fic, but as I'm sure you'll agree, a lot happened and it sort of had to be. But I've had this bittersweet, perhaps mildly controversial ending in mind since the inception of this fic, and I wanted to keep to that plan. That said, if bittersweet isn't your thing, there will be one more part, an epilogue for those who wish to read it, to tie things up a little more for everyone, especially poor Liam. I just can't leave him like he was at the end of this chapter! It just isn't in me to leave my baby suffering like that. So be on the lookout for a happier, fluffy epilogue for those of you who, like me are a sucker for a super-happy ending. I hope you enjoyed this!
