Hook… I Will Always Find You
Chapter Sixteen
Back in the Rabbit Hole…
"Were you a part of this?" David suddenly asked Liam angrily when he then turned to face the older Jones after the patrons vanished with his daughter. "Did you agree to help Hades kidnap my daughter?"
"Your daughter?" Liam replied curtly. "No! No, I had no idea you were coming here and even if I did, do you really believe I would be a part of kidnapping someone who's fighting to save my own brother? I didn't even know Killian was here somewhere in the Underworld."
Leroy glared at the brother as he retorted, "Maybe not, but you were the one who told us we needed to stay here so we could talk to you. Because you just started your shift, you said."
The older man looked down at him while he responded, "It's the truth… all right?"
"Did you know who they were, or why they'd agree to do Hades' grunt work?" David asked him again, as he rubbed his hand over his face in frustration.
"Does that really matter right now?" Liam questioned in confusion.
Tinker Bell glared at him while she uttered crossly, "Just answer his question."
Liam sighed and then he answered, "I do know who those men were. They come here to the Rabbit Hole for drinks often. Or mostly to aggravate me. The man who took Emma by knifepoint… that was Captain Silver, and the others his crew. Silver must be the one Hades enlisted to keep an eye on Killian for him. So they can torture him."
"Is there a reason why they would want to do that?" August asked again. "Were they members of one of your crews from when you and Hook were in the Royal Navy?"
"Silver was the pirate captain whom our father sold us to when Killian was only ten years old," the older Jones answered darkly, looking between August and David until he finally just lowered his head shamefully. "Him doing so was hard enough on me, but it was far worse for Killian. You have no idea what it did to him. If he is with them now… on top of having lost his will to live like Hades claimed, then…"
When Liam cut himself off, David spoke apologetically saying, "I'm sorry, Liam. We are going to find him. But right now, we need to find Emma. If anyone's going to be able to save your brother, it's her. Just like she's done before. Do you know where Hades would have taken her?"
The brother looked at him as he replied, "He would have likely taken her to his lair somewhere deep down in this hellhole. But I've never been there. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking."
"Then we need to find Regina," Tink responded. "She'll be able to cast a locator's spell to help us find Emma. Maybe."
"It's the best option we have," David said quietly, then turned back to Liam again. "We'll be back once we find her. In the meantime, try to think about where Silver might have taken Hook."
Liam nodded as he answered, "I will. Good luck."
Meanwhile…
Once Hades, the pirates, and their prisoner reappeared, Emma struggled within the grasp of the man who grabbed her, until Hades raised his hand to indicate for him to release her, then the deity stated, "Just relax, Miss. Swan. You're not a prisoner like your boyfriend. I only wanted to have a moment alone with you so we can talk without any interference from your group of do gooders up there. You're in no danger at the moment. You have my word."
"You'll forgive me for not trusting your word, whether or not my superpower is telling me you're lying," the Savior coolly replied. "It's let me down before. And so long as we're all down here, we are in danger."
"Fair enough," Hades responded. "But that's on you. You never should have been foolish enough to think you could come down here without accepting my deal to save Hook without there being consequences. You put yourself and your loved ones in danger. Not me. But enough about that for now. Welcome to my lair. Emma Swan… I'd like you to meet Captain Silver. The others are a few members of his crew."
The Captain backed away and stepped around to stand before her with a smug smile on his face while the God continued, "The rest of his crew are currently looking after your pirate for me. You ought to know… Silver here was once Hook's master back when he was nothing more than a worthless slave. And now, he's nothing more than a slave again. As he should have been until the day he died, which also should have been two hundred years ago. He survived a little longer thanks to a deal struck between me and his brother… But that's not your business. I don't take kindly to those who cheat death and Hook did so for centuries. It's one of the reasons why I've paid special attention to him all his life and since he's arrived."
Emma looked coldly between Hades and Silver, until she suddenly raised her hand and struck the Captain hard across his face leaving behind a deep gash along his cheekbone, then the pirate swiftly reached out to grab her hand and turned it over to find she had been concealing a silver ring with a red stone embedded in its center.
He smiled at her while he spoke up saying, "I recognize this ring. I was only a few feet away when the older Jones gave it to his whelp of a brother. The very night Liam Jones made a deal with Hades for fame and glory, in exchange for mine and my men's souls."
"Killian is a far better man than you could ever hope to be," the Savior retorted angrily when two of Silver's men grabbed her and held her back again when the Captain took the ring away from her. "Give it back!"
"Don't worry, it holds no value to me," Silver answered while he stared down at the jewelry in his hand. "But I do know someone here it might hold some value to."
Emma waved her hand the best she should despite the men's grips and swiftly magicked the ring from Silver's hands back into her own again, then she transported it once more to someplace else where it would be safe while she replied, "The only value it holds is to me and Killian. It's not for sale. How could you agree to buy two boys from a desperate man seeking to escape punishment from the law, and then force them to become slaves for you?!"
The Captain smiled at her again coldly as he responded, "It was easy. Jones was more trouble than he was ever worth, but he provided amusement for me and men over the years. And a way to take our anger and frustrations out on."
"As much fun as this confrontation has been, it's time we get down to the reason why I brought you down here to talk, Emma," Hades finally cut in before Emma could say anymore in retaliation, then magicked a crystal ball into his hands and held it out for the Savior so she could see the images he conjured up. "I told you I figured you needed a little more motivation. Look closely, Miss. Swan."
"Killian…" she uttered fearfully upon seeing the man she loved within the crystal, as another group of pirates were dragging the man she loved between them until they came upon a large platform risen high above a green river, then suddenly begin to beat him once again with their fists and feet after they allowed him to fall against the platform. "Tell them to stop. Haven't you hurt him enough?!"
The God sneered cruelly, "His pain's only just begun, Emma. You see that river below the platform your pirate's lying on? It's known as the River of Lost Souls. One single drop, or a single touch… and he will become lost as it reduces him to a mindless, tormented husk."
Finally, the men relented in their beatings, then Emma watched in horror as they wrapped a heavy rusted old chain around her love's arms and chest and hoisted Killian up high above the river while Hades said, "You only have a few short hours before that chain your precious pirate is bound in now, lowers him into that that river. Unless you agree to give me your heart of your own free will, Miss. Swan... his fate will be that much worse than it's already become."
"I told you, I won't do it," the Savior answered firmly when she turned away from the ball and glared darkly at the deity. "I love Killian too much to hurt him in a way that would be worse than anything you've done to him. Believe me, I've made that mistake once and I almost lost my power for good because I was willing to give it up to save him. While he was grateful, he was angry at me too for sacrificing a part of myself just for him. I won't make that mistake again."
Hades glared darkly at the Savior when his patience had grown thin. All of a sudden, he thrust his hand into her chest and attempted to rip out Emma's heart just as Cora had tried to do once before. Emma gasped as the deity struggled against her, until he finally released her and pulled his hand back out upon failing to do so.
"You're not the first villain who's tried stealing my heart so they can crush it," she stated coldly. "Cora failed too. That's the power of true love, which I received from my parents… the very power that's only grown even stronger because of the love I hold for Killian and that he holds for me."
"You're right," the God replied in frustration. "But I can torture your boyfriend for all eternity. Can you really bear that for the rest of your life? Knowing he'll be suffering every moment of every day because of you? Do you really think that simply splitting your heart in half to give to him like your mother did for your father will work? You may have figured out that you couldn't do it while up in your realm because his soul was no longer attached to his body, but down here, you still won't succeed in reviving him either. I've placed a spell over his soul which prevents any of you from using your magic to revive him down here too. The only way to do that… is if you can manage to escape the Underworld with him. I promise you, I won't allow that to happen."
Emma looked into his eyes while she responded, "You never would have allowed me to save Killian. You just need my heart for… well for something. Maybe it's to escape from your own hell, or for some other twisted reason. I don't really care. That's why you offered me a deal to come down here believing that I would be foolish enough to agree without much hesitation because I'm so desperate to save Killian. You didn't count on me actually coming down here to save him without your help. But I'm here now and I will save him. If we're through here…"
Hades flicked his wrist as he summoned what appeared to be the part of a newspaper and handed it over to Emma, then pointed to the advertisement showing a house for sale now circled in red with Killian's handwriting over it as he spoke again saying, "I found this on his person when Hook first arrived down here. It appears he hoped to ask you to move in with him before he died. Before his entire life went up in smoke. It's a real pity he never got the chance. I thought you might like to know. It looks like a beautiful house. You can keep that if you'd like. You can even take a look at it while you're down here. It's newly furnished and waiting for you when you die, just like your parent's charming little loft is waiting for them, Granny's is waiting for Granny and Little Red Riding Hood, that big white mansion right up on Mifflin Street is waiting for the former Evil Queen and her archer, etc.… I'll send you back now."
Silver then suddenly attempted to stab Killian's girlfriend when he pulled a knife from inside his coat, but the Savior immediately used her power to blast him and the other pirates with him back across the lair, then propelled one of the broken statues nearby at the Captain's head to knock hurt him. Before she could strike out against the pirates again, or at him, Hades finally waved his hand and made her vanish to return her back to the rest of the heroes she came down with.
"What was that all about?" Hades questioned the pirate crossly. "I gave you the opportunity to torture your slave, yet it wasn't enough for you?"
"I've had enough of just torturing Jones," the pirate leader answered angrily. "I'm growing tired of waiting to see him and the older one truly suffer for sending us down here. I want them to pay!"
The God nodded as though he understood the Captain's frustration, but then swiftly snapped his fingers and suddenly Silver found himself in rags and shackles as Killian was, while Hades motioned to a couple of his minions who were also summoned to him as he said, "I can understand your frustrations, Silver. I really can. However, the Savior can't be beaten like that. I have to break her first. And Killian Jones is still the best way to do that. Then she'll die. But by my hands. Not yours. Until you earn back my trust, you're going to be my slave just as the brothers Jones were to you. My men will take you to one of my many dungeons here. Feel free to try to Captain the other prisoners being held there instead of your own men for awhile. They work for me now."
Captain Silver was grabbed by his arms and started to get dragged away by the God's minions while he shouted out, "You can't do this! You owe me my revenge! Hades? Hades!"