Hook… I Will Always Find You
Chapter Eight
Just before midnight, the next night…
Emma stood at the pond's edge where the water met the land beneath her feet as she waited nervously for everyone else to arrive so they could at last begin their perilous journey down into the Underworld, in hope of saving Killian from the ruthless God who ruled the realm of the dead far worse than King Arthur ruled Camelot. Both of Emma's parents walked down with her, while Mary Margaret was struggling to prepare herself to say goodbye to both her daughter and her husband for awhile, as fear that they might not return plagued her thoughts like it had plagued her in her dreams the night before too.
Tinker Bell and Smee were the next to arrive, followed shortly by Regina, Robin, and Henry, along with August and Marco, Blue, Grumpy with his brothers, and Archie, most of them having come to say goodbye to their loved ones who were making the journey and to wish them luck in saving Hook despite their own fears and concerns. Gold and Belle were the last of them to arrive. But once they had, the former Dark One kissed his wife, then walked over to stand on the water's edge beside the Savior.
"Are you truly certain you wish to do this, Miss. Swan?" Gold asked in genuine concern over her decision to risk everyone's lives just to try to save one man from Hell itself. "I know how much you love Hook and how much he sacrificed for…"
"You don't understand half of what Killian's has sacrificed for all of us," Emma retorted angrily even though she knew how unfair she was being towards him just because of the hate he held for Killian, particularly when he was there now willing to help her save him. "You weren't there with us in Camelot. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so angry with you, Gold. It's just… Killian didn't deserve to die, especially not like that. He sacrificed everything to protect all of us. His humanity, his sanity, his soul… All for us. He shouldn't have had to die too. He gave everything he had. That's why I have to save him now. You all have a chance to stay here where you'll remain safe. I can do this on my own. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of what I'm about to do anyways."
David looked down into his wife's eyes and smiled at her, then turned back to their daughter as he answered, "We're still coming with you. Or at least I'm coming with you. I owe Hook too. He deserves to know how grateful I am for making the sacrifices he made. Especially for you, Emma."
Emma looked around at everyone who had volunteered to come earlier at Granny's as they all nodded in agreement with David's proclamation, then the Savior smiled at them while she responded, "Thank you very much."
"Then… it appears everyone's ready," Gold stated reluctantly as he raised his hand out over the water, then pulled a small blade from his coat and finally sliced a long gash across the palm of his hand to spill several drops of his blood into the pond's waters. "Prepare yourselves and be wary. I'm warning you, do whatever you must to find Hook as quickly as you can and then return to where Charon will drop you off, should you even make it back to the dock. He will be your only way back home. In no way will it be easy."
"Thank you, Gold," the Savior whispered, then turned her head when suddenly a fog ascended towards them across the pond as the boatman Gold told them about appeared within it to take them down into the realm of the dead where Hades resided.
When an invisible walkway which somehow only Emma could sense appeared before them to lead them from land to the boat, she was the first to step down onto it and started walking towards the boatman, followed closely by David, Tink, Regina, Robin, Grumpy, Smee, and August once they all finished saying their goodbyes to their friends and loved ones as they followed after their Savior, trusting her implicitly.
Emma reached into her blouse she was wearing to pull out the ring Killian had given her once again and held it tightly within her hands while she made her way towards the most perilous journey she had yet to make since discovering the truth about her being the Savior, then she whispered to herself, "Hook… I will find you. I will always find you."
Upon their descent and arrival into the Underworld…
In an unknown amount of time later, Emma gasped awake as though she had fallen asleep and fearfully looked around her in confusion, especially when she found herself sitting within the driver's seat of her yellow bug that was parked in a place that was oddly familiar to her, yet strangely mysterious as well.
Before she could cry out to anyone who might hear her to ask where she was or what was happening, Neal suddenly sat up in the back of her car like he had done on their very first meeting as he spoke gently to her saying, "Hey, Emma."
"Neal?" she stuttered nervously upon becoming startled by his sudden appearance behind her, being unable to hold in the gasp which escaped her lips.
"Yeah," he replied as he simply smiled at her after seeing the woman he loved again long after he had ascended into the world beyond the hell awaiting the Savior and those she loved, some time ago. "It's really great to see you."
Out of concern, Emma kept her eyes on him while she swiftly questioned, "Where are we? Am I dreaming?"
Neal looked at her briefly until he moved the seat forward in order to get out from the back seat, then sat down again in the passenger's seat beside her as he answered, "No. If this were a dream, there'd be, like, talking doughnuts or something weird like that. Think of this as a long distance call from an old friend."
"It's really you," she whispered again joyfully once he was sitting beside her and she could see into his eyes.
"How's our son?" the boy's father then asked.
The Savior looked happy, yet sad as well while she responded, "Great. He… misses his dad. He's growing up."
Neal laughed and smiled at her again as he replied, "I bet."
"Is this the Underworld?" Emma finally asked him fearfully, knowing she couldn't stay there, wherever she was with the man she once loved before she had truly fallen in love with Killian. "I was on my way to the Underworld."
"Yeah, I know that's where you're headed," he answered her in his own concern for her and those with her. "That's kind of why I'm here. Don't go, Emma. Once you get there, it is not an easy place to get out of. I know you're trying to save Hook. But trust me on this… This won't end the way you think it will."
She looked down sadly as tears came to her eyes like so many times before since Killian sacrificed himself to the darkness for her, and Neal reached out to take her hands to offer her what little comfort he could, then she responded, "I have to. I love him, Neal. If only you knew how much he's changed and how much he has sacrificed for me. For all of us. And Henry too."
Rumplestiltskin's son nodded in understanding and replied, "I know he has. I know of all he's done. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come all the way down here into the pits of Hell so you can save him. I knew there was more good in him than I could allow myself to see when I was still alive. Can you do me a favor? Tell Hook when you find him… Tell him I'm sorry for refusing to see it. Tell him I'm sorry for the things which happened between us all those years ago. And that I forgive him as well. I know how much I hurt him back then too."
The Savior nodded and smiled at him once again, then she added, "I would have come after you, too. I didn't know I could do this."
"You couldn't have," Neal answered quietly. "I'm not there. I'm not in limbo."
"Does that mean… that Hook is there?" she questioned him worryingly, suddenly afraid that this journey she was dragging her loved ones on might all be for nothing. "I can get him?"
He nodded while he responded, "Yeah, he's there."
Emma then pleaded, "Then help me. I can split my heart and give it to him. It could work."
"The Underworld's for people with unfinished business, and that isn't me," he replied to her again with remorse for being unable to be of help to her like she hoped he could be. "That's why I'm not there."
"Where are you?" she questioned him.
Neal smiled at her again as he answered, "Someplace. Someplace where I'm happy."
However, his face grew somber once more, then in warning he added, "I only came here because I care about you, Emma. Stop what you're doing before it's too late."
"I can't," the Savior responded to him with determination.
"I figured," he said again with yet another smile, then leaned in close to kiss her forehead before saying his final goodbye to her. "But I had to try."
Emma breathed sharply and then reached up to take his face in her hands while she whispered, "Neal."
Neal looked deep into her eyes and continued, "I love you, Emma. I always have, and I always will."
"Neal?" she then called out to him after he turned and left her alone in her car, until Emma suddenly gasped awake once again, only this time within the boat being rowed down into the depths of the land of the dead by Charon, as David immediately pulled his daughter into his arms in relief when she finally awakened from the unconsciousness that had fallen over her the moment they began their descent while she continued to breathe heavily out of fear.
"Emma, are you alright?" her father asked worryingly while everyone else with them also looked down on them. "You passed out. Almost immediately after we left Storybrooke."
The Savior looked up at David as she nodded and smiled at him in hope of assuring him she really was okay, then she stated, "You won't believe it, but I saw Neal. He was here… or at least he came to me in a vision of sorts, I suppose. He's happy. He asked about Henry and I told him Henry was good. And growing up. Then he gave me a warning."
Regina looked down at her friend until she too knelt beside her as she questioned, "What kind of warning?"
"To be careful," Emma lied to them nervously, not really wanting to tell anyone the full truth out of fear they might try to convince her to turn back again, especially now that they were so close to finding Killian. "He knew what we're about to do. He wants us to watch out for the dangers that are down here. And he also really wanted to see me again so he could assure me he was alright too. This was the only way he could."
"I'm glad he's alright," Tinker Bell responded sincerely while she looked down on her friend. "Especially after how he died."
Regina turned away, then she rose back to her feet again as she looked out before them when she saw a boardwalk leading from the river to the land approaching quickly, and she spoke again with concern in her voice saying, "I suggest you all prepare yourselves. We've arrived and there will be people here who aren't going to be happy to see us. Especially not me."
The Savior stood again with her father's and Tink's help, then she turned to the former Evil Queen and replied assuredly, "I won't let anyone harm you, Regina. Not any of you. We'll protect each other. Just like we always do. You've trusted me this far. I won't let you down."