AN: Hello everyone! I'm sorry I took so long to post, this chapter gave me some trouble. But here it is, hope you enjoy!

Anonymous Reader for ever: Thank you! To be honest, I did have Percy Jackson on the brain when I wrote this. XD Thanks for the suggestion, that is a very good idea!

Baratta: Will do. :)

Guest: Thank you! And I plan to, eventually. ;)

Killian stood on the deck of his ship, staring at the place where his father had just been standing. "Emma?" He called out hoarsely. He heard her come back up the stairs, but he didn't turn to face her. She walked up behind him, and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I don't know." He whispered, his voice cracking.

She let go of him, and circled around him so that she was standing in front of him. He had tears in his eyes, but he was obviously trying to hold them back. "Oh Killian." She murmured. "It's okay to cry in front of me you know. I won't judge."

He made a strangled sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob, as a single tear ran down his face. Emma embraced him once again, but this time his head was against her shoulder. She gently ran her fingers through his hair. She didn't say anything, instead she tried to simply comfort him with her presence. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath, and pulled back from her so that he could look her in the eyes. He gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"You want to talk about it?" Emma asked. "What did he say to you that upset you so much?"

"Nothing, really." Killian began. "It's just, I had no idea what he sacrificed. I spent so long thinking that he abandoned me. I hated him. To find out what really happened was what I needed to hear, but it's still painful. And then he just vanished. For a brief while, I had my father, and now I've lost him again." He lowered his head, sadness dominating his features.

"Hey." Emma began softly. "You haven't lost him. You have more of the ale. You can see him again if you ever need him."

"Thank you Emma." Killian replied. "You make everything better just by being here. I honestly think my whole life was darkness before you came into it. You saved me."

"And you did the same for me." Emma said, with a small smile. "When the darkness had me, it was my love for you that kept me from completely losing myself."

"No, you defeated the darkness in yourself, love. You set yourself free." Killian stated.

"But I couldn't have done that without love. I had so many people who loved me, and my heart was so full of love for all of those people, that the darkness was never able to get a full grip. It tried, the voices twisted me against everyone, but deep down, I was still me. You helped me come back to the surface, to purge the darkness. Thank you."

Killian grinned mischievously. "Is that all your life is worth to you? A thank you?"

Emma also smiled, remembering how very similar words had prompted their first kiss. As with that time, she initiated the kiss, but much more gently. She placed a hand on either side of his face, pulling his face slowly towards hers. But when their lips connected, there was that same passion, almost an urgency in it as there had been in Neverland. After several moments, they pulled apart, gasping.

After he'd caught his breath, Killian smiled at Emma. "You, my love, are a truly amazing woman." Then his expression grew more serious. "Emma, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, anything." Emma replied with a smile.

"Emma, I wanted to ask… Will you…" He trailed off. Emma was looking at him expectantly. A slight smile graced her lips, as she waited for him to finish the question. He sighed and lowered his head. "Will you tell me how you found my father?" He finally asked in a dull tone.

"Oh, okay." Emma replied. Was it just in his head, or did she sound slightly disappointed? "He was Hades' ferryman. We struck up a conversation while he was taking me to Hades' palace."

"Well, that was convenient, wasn't it?" Killian said, trying to lighten things.

"Very." Emma agreed. "Come on, we should be getting back. I told dad I wouldn't be long."

"All right." Killian said. He smiled, but inside he was cursing himself. How many more times do I have to lose her before I can just bloody ask her to be my wife? He thought.

He took her hand, and together they headed back to Storybrooke.

Meanwhile, back in the clearing…

The clearing was empty, all of Storybrooke's residents had returned to the town. But one of the town's newcomers was approaching the clearing with hope.

Arthur strode to the clearing, eyes scanning the ground. There it was. Excalibur was lying on the ground, right where Emma had dropped it. "The fools." He murmured. He bent down, and grasped the sword's hilt. He lifted it in the air, his eyes gleaming. "At last, Excalibur is whole. And it is mine! With the sword in my possession, I will be the king of Storybrooke!" He laughed insanely, as he walked towards the town.

AN: Hope you enjoyed it! You will get a bit more of an explanation about the Greek mythology twist next chapter. Until then! :)