Hook… I Will Always Find You

Chapter Thirty-One

Hades sat upon his throne inside his lair waiting for any word from his minions on the heroes' whereabouts, while he fumed over having lost his only real leverage he had against those, whose presence threatened everything he'd spent his entire reign over the Underworld to build. What was worse, was that the deity realized his biggest flaw in attempting to steal the Savior's heart, was in giving into what he believed back then to be her arrogance in claiming she could actually save the man she loved from him, without having to make a deal with him.

Emma had succeeded in saving Killian Jones from the River of Lost Souls and now she had the chance to restore the hope which Hades had worked hard in order to snuff out of the pirate captain. It'd be a daunting task for her, he knew that. However, he also knew Emma to be relentless in fighting for those she loved as well. So, the fact that they were now out there somewhere and hidden from his sight because he knew the Savior had figured out light magic was his one weakness, angered him.

Finally, he was interrupted from his thoughts when another of the souls whom he believed to be loyal to him entered his lair upon receiving his summons for her, then while she approached him, Cora quietly stated, "Forgive me for being late, Lord Hades. I heard you wished to see me. What would you have me do for you?"

The deity looked up at her as he remained seated, then replied, "There are two reasons I wanted to speak with you. First, I hoped you had more news for me on the task I've given you in regard to the rebellion. Several of its members, including one or two of its leaders invaded my throne room this evening, tore it apart before I restored it, stole my own personal boat thanks to some witch… and two of them, including one of the leaders, managed to escape from me. The rest have been dealt with, but I want the others too."

"I'm afraid I cannot help you with finding them anymore than I've been able to do for you so far, Lord Hades," Cora answered him while she stood before the God. "But I can tell you however, that the leader of this band of rebels… his name is Graham Humbert. And he's a huntsman. He was a friend of the Savior's and the rest of those who've come from Storybrooke to rescue Hook."

"I should have known the rebels' attack on my lair was only meant to be a distraction so their friends could save the pirate," Hades responded angrily, then swiftly threw the gold badge he found within the cavern where Hook had been rescued from onto the ground at the sorceress' feet. "Yet I didn't until I found that in my prisoner's place. I'm guessing that Emma lost her sheriff's badge by accident. But it doesn't really matter because now they've all escaped and they're using light magic to keep me from discovering where they're hiding. I'm disappointed that you didn't come to me earlier with this information, Cora. I shouldn't have had to summon you here to get it."

The powerful woman before him bowed her head as she replied, "Forgive me. I was doing all I could… I believe this huntsman of theirs is working with a witch, who goes by the name, Lila. She's powerful in her own right. She must have been the one to steal your boat for him. But the others…"

Hades cut her off as he uttered curtly, "The others aren't important. As I told you, they have been dealt with. My second reason for calling on you, is because I've very recently discovered that you haven't just been working for me to try to find these rebels. You have been talking with your daughter, who has come down with the rest of the heroes. I know that one of my souls has moved on to the worse place thanks to you. I don't care about that. However, I do care that another of my souls… your former husband and the Evil Queen's beloved father, has also moved on, but to a peaceful afterlife because you had to attempt to use him against your daughter. The minute hand of the clock in the clock tower has moved after hundreds of years of it remaining frozen in time, just how I liked it. These heroes are changing things. And your daughter has saved her father first, but the blame for this is yours. Because you had to try to save her. Believe me, I want her gone as much as you do, but now she must pay like the rest of them."

"Please… leave her be," Cora pleaded when she knelt down on her knees and bowed before the cruel God. "I beg you… I can get her to leave. And I can punish the others for you as well. Once I find them…"

"I have others to do that for me," Hades retorted angrily, then finally rose back to his feet and stood above the woman on the ground before him. "And it would seem you've served your purpose. You've failed me for the last time, Cora."

He turned away from her when Pan flew in and landed beside the deity's throne, but Hades continued speaking to her while he added, "I'm surprised you care so much about Regina… especially after what you did to your other daughter."

The Queen's mother looked at him in confusion and with fear while she asked, "How do you know about Zelena?"

"Oh… I know about everything," the God answered haughtily when he turned around to face her once more, then reached down to pull the woman back up on her feet so she was standing in front of him, ignoring the boy from Neverland as Pan stood by and listened with a grin on his face. "Including why you gave her up. All so you could claw your way out of a miserable peasant life. Which… suggests the perfect punishment."

"Look at that," Hades said cruelly after he picked up the wine glass he had been drinking from while Cora had entered the lair, then chimed his glass to turn Cora back into the peasant woman she had been many, many years ago. "A miller's daughter once again. Hurry now, Cora. You… you have flour to deliver. That's what they do at mills, isn't it? I never paid much attention. It seems like such dull work."

She gasped in shock and anger upon observing her new appearance upon receiving her punishment for failing him, then cried, "No. No, you… promised you'd save us. Just…"

The God interrupted darkly, "And you promised not to fail. Something to think about for eternity. Bye."

Cora began to sob when she slowly turned around before beginning to push the heavy wheel barrow full of flour which Hades had summoned to go along with her new appearance and then watched her walk away to fulfill her new duties with an amused look upon his face. Once she was gone, he finally turned around to face Pan.

"So… did you figure out where the heroes are hiding?" the deity questioned sternly, then took a sip of his wine before taking a seat again on his throne. "You haven't been out searching for as long as I expected you would be."

"Let's just say, I have my reasons for having kept my eyes on Hook's brother since my arrival here," Peter responded, seeming to be quite impressed with himself. "And I know where they are."