Chapter 68

Hey everyone! Here's another chapter for ya! Let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy :)

Once they arrived, everyone got off of the boat and made their way through the mist. As the mist cleared, they quickly realized this place looked just like home. The Underworld was a more sinister and broken version of Storybrooke. Hanna saw the library, but the clock tower looked as if it was blasted off and crash landed into the middle of the street. Hanna saw a burnt up version of Emma's yellow bug sitting next to the auto shop and Granny's was here too.

"I don't think we're in Maine anymore," Regina said.

"How is this possible?" Emma asked. "How does the Underworld look like Storybrooke?"

"Your questions are pointless," Gold said. "All that matters is that the people in this Underworld are dead and trapped because they have unfinished business.

They heard an engine revving and watched as a car drove by up ahead. Hanna recognized that car.

"Cruella," Emma said, recognizing it too.

"That's right. And she's here because of you. And I imagine there are many here because of all of us. Let's not lallygag," Gold said as he continued to lead them down Main Street.

"Let's split up," Emma suggested. "Cover more ground."

"Agreed. The sooner we get out of here, the better." Regina said.

Hanna went with her mom and searched the park and town hall. They didn't see any sign of Hook and headed to Granny's where they would wait for everyone else to meet them. Hanna followed her mom into the diner, and they both paused for a moment to take in their surroundings. This place was different from the Granny's Hanna was use to, but also very much the same. There was a witch behind the counter and a sickly looking man working in the kitchen. The whole place was pretty grimy. Hanna hoped they could find somewhere a little nicer to eat while they were here, but after only being in the Underworld for a short time, she was pretty sure there was nothing even remotely nice about this place.

As they approached the counter, the witch began inhaling deeply. Hanna looked up at her mom. "What is she doing?" Hanna whispered.

"I don't know," Snow whispered back.

They both looked a little closer and realized the witch was blind.

"Is that…I know you," she said. "Are you Snow White?"

Hanna made eye contact with her mom. How did she know? Snow shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the witch.

"Can you imagine! Uh, well, what can I get you? Do you like gingerbread? Or children?" The witch suddenly stopped and inhaled deeply again. "Oh I see you have one of those with you." She looked directly at Hanna.

Snow reached out for her daughter's hand. She knew of this witch and what she did with the children she lured into her sickly sweet house.

"Kidding," the witch said quickly. "But the gingerbread's actually not bad."

"I'm looking for a friend," Snow said, ignoring the witch. "He would have gotten here recently. He has dark hair and a hook for a hand."

The witch gasped. "Captain Hook?"

"You know him?" Hanna asked excitedly. Maybe Killian would be easier to find than she thought.

"No, no. But you're description's pretty complete."

Hanna sighed. Maybe not so easy. She turned when she heard the door open. "Dad, good. You're here."

"David, you changed? What happened? Is everything okay?" Snow asked.

"Everything's fine."

"Good. Because I'm not. This place is creeping me out," Snow told him.

"Me too. I…" Hanna started to say when her dad pushed her aside. "Dad what…" Hanna watched as he grabbed ahold of her mom's coat and pulled her to him, kissing her passionately. "Eww." What was he doing? He held her mom's face in his hands as they continued to kiss. Her mom started to laugh a little. Hanna was annoyed. What were they doing? Now was not the time for a make-out session. Her dad finally pulled away and looked at her mom with a smile.

"I see why my brother likes you."

Hanna's mouth fell open.

Snow quickly pulled away from him. "James."

"Indeed. So, Snow White's in town, I'm guessing my brother is too. When you see ol'Dave tell him there's a new sheriff in town." James grabbed a coffee from the counter and gave Hanna a wink before heading towards the back door.

Snow watched him leave and turned back to her daughter.

Hanna's eyes went wide. "Mom…"

Snow raised her eyebrows at Hanna. "We are not telling your father about this."

Hanna nodded.

The front door of Granny's opened again, and this time the real David walked inside.

"Was that my brother?" he asked. He thought he saw someone who looked just like him walking away.

"Yeah." Snow told him. She quickly glanced down at Hanna.

Hanna just bit her lip and didn't say a word.

"Mom. Dad. Did you find anything?" Emma asked as she walked in, followed by Gold.

"Uh, there was no sign of him at the park or the town hall," Snow told her.

"This is hopeless. We don't even know if Hook's here," Emma said. "What if he has no unfinished business?"

"He died the Dark One, Miss Swan," Gold said. "Trust me he's here. Look, I'm finished being a team player. If you want things done let me do them my way. I may have something down here that can help us." Gold said before leaving the diner.

Henry came in a few minutes later and now sat with Hanna in a booth while they waited for Regina and Robin to meet them and for Gold to come back with whatever he had that could help them. Hanna knew Henry was upset. He went to the room at Granny's where his dad stayed while he was in Storybrooke. He was hoping to find him and let him know that he was okay. He wasn't there though. Emma told him that he was in a better place. What Emma said made him feel a little better, but part of him was still sad that he wasn't going to get a chance to say goodbye. Hanna thought of something that might at least make him laugh a little. She looked around to make sure her mom and dad were far enough away that they wouldn't hear anything.

"Henry you're never going to guess what happened before you got here."

"What?" Henry raised his eyebrows at her.

Hanna grinned. "You have to promise not to tell."

"I won't. I promise."

Hanna looked around one more time just to make sure no one else would hear. "A few minutes after my mom and I got here, my dad walked in. He walked right up to my mom and just started making out with her."

"Hanna gross," Henry made a face. "I don't want to hear about that."

"No, just listen…it wasn't actually my dad it was…"

"James?" Henry's eyes went wide.

Hanna nodded her head and put her hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"What did Grandma do?" Henry grinned, also trying not to laugh.

"Nothing. She was just shocked. I don't think she even realized it was him until he said something."

"What did Grandpa do?"

Hanna shrugged. "He doesn't know. My mom said I'm not allowed to tell him."

"I wouldn't want to be James when he does find out."

Hanna shook her head. "Me either."

"What are you two talking about over here?" David said as he walked up to the kids and sat down next to Henry.

"Uhh…"

Snow slid into the booth next to Hanna. "Are you two hungry?"

"Yeah…that's what we were just talking about, right Henry?" Hanna looked over at him, making sure he'd play along.

"Yeah we're starving. Do you think the Underworld Granny's makes grilled cheese?" he asked.

"I can go find out," David said as he stood from the booth and went to the counter.

Turns out, the Underworld Granny's does have grilled cheese. The sandwich tasted a little different than they were use to, but it was good enough.

By the time they finished, Regina and Robin returned along with Gold who had a potion that would allow them to find Hook. They needed to pour it onto Hook's grave. According to Gold, everyone here had a grave, and they could find it where it was normally located in Storybrooke. Regina also informed them that her mother summoned a boat for her. She wanted her daughter out of this place. If Regina didn't take the boat, Cora would do something terrible to her father. There were only two ways to leave this Underworld…to a better place or a worse one. If Regina didn't get onto that boat, Cora would send her father to a place where he would suffer for all eternity. The boat would be leaving in an hour, so that's how long they had to find Hook and get him out of here.

"Are you okay?" Snow asked Emma as they all stood in front of the gravestone that read Killian Jones.

"I just hope he is," Emma said as she poured out the potion.

For a few seconds nothing happened, then a bloody image of Killian flashed before them.

Hanna gasped and covered her mouth.

"Don't look," David quickly pulled Hanna close and put his hand over her face.

Hanna clung tightly to her dad and buried her face into his shirt. Killian looked like he was being tortured.

"Killian." Hanna heard her sister say. "Killian we're here to help you, we just can't find you. Where are you?"

There was no answer.

"Emma, the spell's not steady," Regina said. "He can't hear you."

Emma continued to try and get an answer out of him. "Just tell us where you are."

"Something's happening," Robin said.

Regina shook her head. "It's not holding."

"Talk to us. Talk to me," Emma pleaded. "Killian!"

Hanna looked up and saw the image of Killian disappear.

Emma dropped to the ground where Killian vanished. "He doesn't know that we came for him. He doesn't know that we're here. He doesn't know that I care."

Snow walked up to her daughter. "Yes he does. And Emma we will find him."

"Will we? Did you not just see that? He's in pain. He's suffering." Emma stood back up. "Look at this place. We have half an hour. You have half an hour. Cora has a boat coming. You have to take it or we might all be stuck here."

"If she can arrange a way out so can we. After we find Hook." David told her. "We are not giving up on you."

Emma knew her parents wouldn't listen to her, so she tried to convince Regina. She told Regina she needed to go….to save her father. If she didn't he might face the same fate Killian is right now, and Emma wouldn't wish that one anybody. She told Regina she needed to take Henry and Robin and go back home. Regina didn't know what she was going to do. She decided that she needed to find her father's grave. She had some more of Gold's potion and hoped she would be able to talk to him. Everyone left to give her the space she needed.

Regina came out of the graveyard a few minutes later and told everyone that her dad wanted her to stay. He wanted her to do what was right and help her friends. He was proud that she finally put vengeance aside to become a hero. She had to go stop her mother. She had to stop her from sending her father to a place that was worse than here. Henry went with her, and they both hoped they weren't too late.

After Regina and Henry left, Hanna watched her sister sit down on a bench and pull her knees to her chest. Hanna could tell by the look on her face that her mind was racing. She walked over and sat next to her. Hanna didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something to make her feel better, but how could she? Hanna only caught a quick glimpse of Killian before her dad blocked her view, but it was enough, and she knew somewhere down here Killian was being tortured. There was nothing Hanna could say to ease Emma's worries about that, so she just sat with her. Hanna looked up when she heard her parents approaching.

Emma heard them too. "You should have taken that boat when you had the chance." You shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have let you I…"

Snow she sat down on the other side of her daughter and placed a hand on her back. "You couldn't have stopped us from coming with you no matter how hard you tried."

Emma raised her eyebrows at her mom. She could have definitely stopped them.

Snow took her daughter's hand in her own. "We want to be here with you, Emma."

"We are going to help you save that pirate," David said with a grin as he sat down on the bench next to Hanna.

"Yeah Em, as much as we may not want to admit it, Hook has grown on us." Hanna told her.

Emma smiled. "I am really glad you guys are here." Emma was worried for her family. She didn't want anyone getting hurt because of her desire to save the man she loves, but she was also very thankful to have the support system she had. She knew she couldn't do this without them.

Snow wrapped her arms around Emma and pulled her close. Hanna leaned back against her dad, who wrapped his strong arms around her, and they all waited for Regina and Henry to return.

"Tell me your father's okay?" Snow asked once Regina and Henry came back.

"He's better than okay," Regina told them.

Henry smiled. "He's in a better place now."

"That means everyone here…" Snow started to say.

"Can be saved," David said.

"Every soul in this town has unfinished business and chances are for a lot of them, we're that business," Emma said. "You've all deluded yourselves if you think these people are worth your time. They're not the dearly departed," Gold said as he walked towards them. "They are dead, wretched souls. And I want no part of it."

Emma turned to face him. "What you want doesn't matter. I wasn't bluffing, I'm happy to tell Belle about your return to Dark One-ness." "Our agreement," Gold reminded her. "Was to find your pirate and get the hell out of here. If you want to distract yourself with this other asinine pursuit, be my guest. I'm out."

"So who's ready for Operation Firebird?" Henry asked the rest of the group as Gold walked away.

Regina laughed, "Is what we're calling this one?"

"You referring to the mythological bird or the muscle car?" Emma asked.

Henry walked towards Emma and shrugged.

"Shall we go see if anyone is living in our home?" Snow suggested.

"It's as good a place as any to get some rest." David said.

The group agreed, and they all headed off towards David and Snow's loft.

Hanna started to follow her parents when she noticed something. The clock tower, which read 8:15 started to move. Hanna smiled. Things were starting to change down here. Maybe while they were here, they could help some of these people fulfill their unfinished business and move on to a better place.

"Are we sure no one is living here?" Regina asked when they entered the loft.

Hanna looked around and saw that all of the furniture was covered in white sheets. She doubted anyone was staying here. Then she noticed something on the table in front of her. "I don't think we have to worry about that." She picked up a framed photo of her parents. "Look."

Regina took the photo from Hanna. "So, this place is just waiting for your parents to die so they can move in?"

"Well that's a bit…unsettling." Snow took the photo from her stepmother to see for herself. She set the photo back down and started pulling the sheets off of the furniture. "Let's all try to get some rest."

Emma sighed. "I don't need rest. I need to find Killian." Emma did agree to come here when her parents suggested it, but now she wasn't so sure. How could she sleep while the man she loved was out there somewhere being tortured?

David walked over to his daughter and put his hands on her shoulders. "I know you're worried about him, Emma. But there's nothing we can do right now while it's dark out. We'll be able to see more in the morning."

Hanna came up to her sister and gave her a smile. "We'll find him tomorrow, Em."

"Fine." Emma knew they were right. "I'll take the couch. Regina and Robin can have my room."

Everyone went to off to try and get some sleep. They all thought it would be best if they stayed together for the night.

Hanna laid in her bed, but couldn't fall asleep. She could hear Henry's light snores from across the room. He passed out as soon as his head it the pillow. Hanna envied his ability to fall asleep so quickly. Hanna looked around the room. It was exactly the same as her bedroom in Storybrooke. The pillow here wasn't as soft as the one she had back home though. It was really lumpy and had a weird smell. She was also missing her blanket. She still had trouble sleeping without that thing. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help it. Even if she had her blanket, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway. Hanna was pretty sure she'd been laying here for over an hour. This was pointless. She got up and decided to go downstairs to see if her parents or Emma were having trouble sleeping like she was.

Hanna quietly walked to the bottom of the stairs and peered around to see if her parents were awake. Their room was dark, and they seemed to be asleep. Hanna looked the other way and found her sister sitting up on the couch, grinning at her. Hanna walked towards her.

"Couldn't sleep?" Emma asked.

Hanna shook her head and sat down beside her. "This place creeps me out."

"Me too."

Hanna leaned back on the couch and looked up at her sister. "Did you even lay down and try to go to sleep?"

"Yes."

Hanna raised her eyebrows at her.

"What? I did…until I knew Mom and Dad were asleep."

"You know we'll probably do a better job of finding Hook if we just sleep."

"Yeah you're probably right." Emma leaned back on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.

Hanna grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and covered her and Emma with it. She laid her head on Emma's shoulder. "I'll stay here with you…just to make sure you actually sleep."

"Okay, we'll pretend that's why you're staying here…not because this place is creepy and you're scared or anything."

Hanna rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared."

"If you say so," Emma pulled the blanket up around her and laid her head onto Hanna's. "I am glad you decided to come down here though," she whispered right before closing her eyes.

Hanna smiled. She closed her eyes too and both girls were finally able to fall asleep.

The next day everyone spilt up in hopes of finding Killian. Hanna went with Emma and Henry. They trudged through the woods for hours, but they found no sign of him.

"Mom we already covered this trail," Henry said.

Hanna agreed. "Yeah Em, it was cold."

"Then we cover it again, and we keep going until we find a trail that's hot."

"You'd think there'd be more of those in the Underworld," Regina said as she and Robin approached the group. "There's no sign of Hook in the North Woods."

Emma sighed. "We…we have to keep going. Maybe out by the Troll Bridge?" Emma continued forward.

Regina held out her hand. "Wait."

Emma stopped. "What?"

"There may be a way to make our search quicker."

"How?"

"In Storybrooke, I have schematics, maps, of the whole town. Every last inch of it."

"So you think the equivalent maps of the town are here?"

"Everything else in bizzaro Storybrooke has an analogue so far."

"Henry and I can do it!" Hanna offered. This would be more fun than trudging though the woods for the next few hours.

"It might be dangerous," Emma said.

Regina shook her head. "My mother's gone now. The office should be empty. And no one knows it better than Henry."

"Please, Em?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Emma, they'll be fine," Regina assured her.

"Alright," Emma nodded. "Just be careful, okay? And meet us back at the loft when you're done."

"We will," the kids promised as they took off running back towards town.

After a few minutes, Hanna stopped. She had an idea. "Henry, wait."

"What is it? We've gotta go."

"I want to try something," Hanna reached out her hand for his.

Henry shook his head. "What are you…"

"Henry, give me your hand." Hanna quickly grabbed his hand and waved her other one, hoping her magic was strong enough to do what she wanted to do. Hanna smiled when she opened her eyes and found that she brought Henry and herself right outside the mayor's office. "Woah, I actually did it." She looked over at Henry. His eyes were wide. "Are you okay?"

He didn't think she knew how to transport herself and other people at the same time. "Uh…was that the first time you ever tried that?"

"Mhmm," Hanna nodded with a smile.

"And you decided to test it on me first?"

Hanna shrugged. "I saved us a lot of time, didn't I?"

"Yeah you did," Henry admitted. "Next time, warn me first?"

Hanna laughed. "Okay."

"Let's go get what we need." Henry reached out for the doorknob.

"Wait!" Hanna held onto his arm to stop him. She has been shocked by one too many doorknobs. She waved her hand over the door and could feel the magic. "It has a protection spell."

"Looks like Grandma Cora left this place locked up."

"I could try to poof us through it?" Hanna wasn't so sure if she could though. Poofing through protection spells was a lot more difficult.

"Or we could just crawl through that vent over there?"

Hanna nodded. "That works too."

Henry removed the cover and turned to Hanna. "We need someone to keep watch. You have magic. Stay here. I know my mom's office like the back of my hand. I'll be quick."

"Alright," Hanna agreed. She watched Henry climb through the vent. Hanna sighed and laid down on the couch while she waited for him to return.

Hanna waited and waited. She had no idea what was taking him so long in there. She got up and crouched down in front of the vent. "Henry? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he answered as he crawled out of the opening.

"What took you do long? Did you find anything?"

"Uh…nope. Nothing. Dead end."

Hanna raised her eyebrows at him. He was totally lying. "Henry…"

"What? My grandma must have moved the maps. She…"

"Henry cut the crap. What happened?" Hanna demanded.

"Fine…" Henry sighed. "Cruella was in there waiting for me."

"What?" Hanna shook her head. "Is she still in there? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. She just….wanted to talk."

"About?"

"Nothing really," Henry shrugged.

"Oh yeah, Henry, I'm sure she popped in there just to ask you how your enjoying your time in the Underworld and see how you've been lately." Hanna crossed her arms and stared him down. "What did she want?"

"Hanna can't you just drop it?"

"No I can't."

"Well I'm not telling you, so let's just go." Henry walked past her to leave.

Hanna watched him walk away. "Henry stop!" When he didn't, she raised her hands and blasted some magic right in front of him, forcing him to stop.

"Ouch," Henry reached for his head. The magic felt like he ran into a wall.

Hanna stormed over to him and grabbed onto his arm. "Henry, you either tell me what Cruella wanted, or I'm poofing us to Emma right now and telling her and Regina that you talked to her." Hanna stared him down so he would know that she meant it.

Henry sighed. "She's dangerous, Hanna, I don't want you to get involved. I don't want her to hurt you."

"She's not going to hurt me, Henry. I'm more worried about you. I can take care of myself. Just tell me, so I can help you."

"Okay." Henry pulled his arm from her grasp and told her everything.

Cruella told him that he didn't know as much about the Author's quill as he thought. The quill was magical energy. It was a living, breathing entity and when he broke it, it was sent here…leaving its purpose unfulfilled. She wanted him to find the quill and use it to bring her back to life.

"So if I do it, then that means…"

"Emma wouldn't be a murderer." Hanna said, putting everything together.

"Exactly."

"Henry, what are you going to do?" Hanna didn't think it was a good idea to go along with anything Cruella wanted, but bringing her back to life would undo what Emma did.

Henry shook his head. "I don't know. Let's just get back."

"Want me to poof us again?" Hanna asked with a grin.

"Uhh…no. The loft isn't that far," Henry told her.

Hanna rolled her eyes. "Come on Henry, please? It's dark. Everyone is going to start worrying about us. It'll be quicker." She held out her hand.

Henry sighed. "Fine." Henry grabbed onto her hand.

Hanna smiled and sent them back to the loft. She hoped the others would have good news to share. Maybe they found Killian, and they could all get out of here.