Killian's Inferno

Chapter Ten

Emma walked back down to the ground level of her family's loft with a small, thin case in hand and inserted a disc into the player above their television, then walked across the room to sit down on the couch beside Killian, who immediately pulled her close as she pushed play on the remote control and cuddled into the arms of the man she loved.

Before the movie began, he quickly asked, "Aren't we supposed to wait for your boy and parents to get here? This was after all Henry's suggestion."

As she laid her head above his chest, admiring the smell of the cologne he was wearing, Emma answered, "Don't worry, they'll be here before the previews are finished playing. They're on their way back from getting snacks and drinks for our movie night. Regina and Robin should be here too. This is a special occasion you know."

"Really, and what may I ask makes it so special, other than the fact that this is the first movie I've ever watched in all my years?" he asked again as he looked down at her and took her hand in his.

"This is proof that we made it out of the Underworld alive, all of us, including you," she responded when she raised her head to look into his eyes as well. "This is something Henry suggested we do because it's a small way of bringing our family closer together, the way we should be. We're together again, Killian, and though we have our battles to fight against evil, tonight we're free to be happy and safe at home."

He leaned in to kiss her and then replied, "Aye, indeed we are."

Just then, Henry burst into the apartment, followed by David and Mary Margaret, as well as Regina and Robin Hood too, as the youngest member of their family set down the bags of groceries he was carrying on the counter and turned to his birth mother as he asked, "So Mom, did you get it?"

"Get what?" Regina inquired as she pulled off her coat and hung it up on the coat stand next to Robin's after he did the same, while the Charmings all laid their coats on the bed set across from the living room.

"The movie we're going to watch tonight," the young man answered as he looked among his family and stopped his eyes on Killian, whom he just grinned at. "I told Mom we should watch Hook. I thought it appropriate. Plus, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees how the rest of the world sees him."

Hook glared at Emma as he responded, "What, do you mean a man with a wax mustache and perm?"

David took a seat on the room's smaller sofa, his wife beside him, and passed around a large bowl of chips while the others got seated as well, then replied smugly, "Is that what you told him, Emma? I think I am really going to enjoy this."

"Don't worry, Hook," the Savior stated as she settled back down against his chest once the movie began. "The world hasn't had the chance to meet the real you yet. I'm sure that if they had, you would have been chosen to play yourself over Dustin Hoffman in a heartbeat."

"That's right, because the world wouldn't have fallen for Captain Guyliner's misguided charm and blue eyes," Regina retorted mockingly as everyone laughed, except for the man they were teasing, who scowled.

Then, Killian leaned over to Henry sitting in a chair he pulled up beside his friend and whispered, "Who is this, Dustin Hoffman?"

He answered, "You'll see."

A few minutes into the movie…

"Do you guys hear that?" Emma asked worryingly when she started hearing a muffled sound that wasn't coming from the movie, a sound that didn't belong to any of the electrics or appliances around them, nor was it coming from outside. "It sounds like someone calling out…"

"Swan," the voice called again, this time becoming clearer than before as she sat up straight and tried to listen more closely. "Please… help me."

Hook looked over at her with confusion as he asked, "Are you alright, love?"

It was then that the chilling plea rang loudly within her ears as a man cried, "Emma!"

"Killian!" she screamed out as she suddenly shot up in fear, having woken from a nightmare, from where she slept on the warm, hard ground of the small cavity she and the rest of her family and friends had found refuge in to try to get rest before exhaustion could claim them, after Regina cast a protection spell in place to keep out anyone or anything that might attack them once their guards were down.

"Emma, what is it?" Mary Margaret asked fearfully as she rushed over to her daughter and tried to pull her close to comfort her. "Are you alright? It was just a dream."

The young woman pulled away and stood up as she responded angrily, "Yeah, a really good dream until it wasn't any longer. I told you it was a bad idea to try to sleep. I know what's at stake here, but whether I'm exhausted or not, I can't just close my eyes while he's down here somewhere, suffering from anguish because of me!"

When Emma stormed over to the entrance of the cavern and turned her back to those concerned for her while she took up watch for trouble, Snow looked over at Charming, who had come to her side and pulled her into a hug for her own comfort, then said worryingly, "David, she's getting worse. If we don't find him soon… I'm afraid we're losing her all over again. I still believe that saving Hook is the right thing to do, but what if Gold's plan to blacken her heart succeeds after all?"

"You have to have faith that it won't," Charming replied and then kissed Snow's forehead. "I have faith in her. After everything that she's been though and survived since she arrived in Storybrooke to find us five years ago, there's nothing that she can't do because she's stronger than she remembers most of the time."

"Besides, she has us," Henry added as he came over to sit beside his grandparents, who both pulled him into their hug. "And we'll find Killian. I just know it. Maybe that nightmare she was just having was more than a nightmare."

Emma overheard most of the conversation going on behind her and when Henry made his suggestion, she turned back around and looked down at them as she asked, "Do you really think that's possible, Henry? I mean… Do you think he's trying to call out to me?"

The young man shook his head as he answered, "I don't know, Mom. I would like to hope that's what your dreams really are, but then again, we're here in Hell. It could also be this place playing tricks on your mind again, possibly feeding off of your fear."

"But if it is really him, then it means he hasn't given up yet and that means there's still hope," Regina responded from a distance where she and her own true love were sitting together nearby after being woken from Emma's scream. "Damn it, Snow. All of your hope speeches have begun to wear off on me and now I can't seem to stop giving them myself."

"I rather like listening to them, especially when they're coming from you," Robin replied with a smile. "Believe me, hope suits you."

All of a sudden, a phantom appeared in the dark between the heroes and swiftly used magic to light the torches along the walls as it spoke cruelly, "Oh, isn't that just so sweet. But all of this hope and love going on in here is doing nothing to help any of you find that handsome pirate. I could help you with that if you'd like?"

Regina stood quickly as she called out in surprise, "Mother? Of all the people I expected to see here… How did you break past my protection spell?"

"Don't worry, darling," Cora answered without sincerity. "I haven't come to harm any of you. And I was able to get in here, because I was a more powerful witch than you ever were. Do you not think that I know how to bypass one of you most simple of spells?"

"The keyword in that sentence is 'was,' mother," Regina responded in frustration. "You were more powerful, but now you're dead, and in the Underworld where you belong."

Emma glared at Cora as she raised her hands to be ready for a fight and then asked, "Why should we listen to anything you have to say? It could be another trick!"

The woman smiled at the Savior and replied smugly, "Are you really willing to risk Hook's life on that, Miss. Swan?"