The Orphans

Leaving the Underworld

The blond protectively held a man behind her. The man had short black hair, a stubbly mustache and beard, and two hands. Since Killian Jones was born with two hands, he went to the Underworld with two.

The blond women wore a look of anger on her face as another man with blue flaming hair held out his hand towards Emma.

"Stay away from us," she snapped. "We will never help you to get what you want, Hades."

Hades chuckled and shook his head. "I'm not here to make a deal with you. Quite on the contrary, my love."

Killian brushed past Emma and attempted to punch Hades at that. However, the former Savior held him back, knowing the consequences that Killian could be put through if Hades provoked him. It was a battle neither of them could win. Hades was far too powerful.

Emma stood rigid as a rock, her eyes never wavering. "Then what do you want?"

"It's not what I want, Emma. It's what they want."

She was confused. "Who are they?"

A grin spread across Hades' face. "Why your friends and family in Storybrooke, of course!"

Emma's jaw dropped and she glanced at Killian, who was staring to the floor, confused. He spoke this time, his irish accent calming Emma, just as it always did. "You don't mean they're..." he trailed off.

"No no no no, no." He was clearly enjoying the power he held over them at this very moment. "It seems they're determined to get you back, Miss Swan," he stated, his eyes carefully watching for any sort of reaction. Much to his disappointment, all he received in response was another question.

"And what is that supposed to mean," Emma said, her voice hardened from her time spent in the Underworld.

"It means that someone is sacrificing himself for you, so you may return to the living." He paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "Charon is waiting for my permission to retrieve the person and-"

He broke off as Emma interrupted sharply. "And what about Killian? You said someone is sacrificing himself for me. It takes a life to save another. There must be two people."

Triumph surged through Hades when he saw Killian's eyes glisten. "My love," he said. "You're going back. Just you. I'm staying here."

Emma's emerald gaze widened as her true love spoke. It were as though Hades wasn't even in the room with them anymore. They seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes, which angered Hades. He wanted to hear their thoughts. So he spoke up, interrupting their conversation with a cough.

"Emma Swan. Charon is growing impatient. Now get on the bloody boat."

He was met by an angry glare from her before she turned back towards Captain Hook, her eyes growing soft again. "I can't lose you again," she whispered to him quietly.

The Captain's eyes glistened. "But you must. There may come a time where you can find another person willing to bring me back. But until then, just remember that I love you, Emma Swan."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't give her the chance to. "You can be happy again. I know you can. That's why you must do this." His voice lowered to a whisper and a single tear rolled down his cheek. He laced his fingers with Emma's, and crouched down just enough so that they were leveled eye-to-eye.

"Whenever you feel sad because I won't be there, just think of all the adventures we've been on. Especially down here," he concluded, his shoulders slightly bouncing from holding back a soft laugh.

The Savior closed her eyes before she looked at Hades. "No," she said.

Hades was taken aback. "No? So you're just going to let that man die for nothing? Because if you don't agree, he will still be taken from Storybrooke."

"No, as in I'm not leaving without Killian," she retorted, before her eyes looked at Hades pleadingly. "Let me make a deal with you."

Hades was instantly interested. It was very rare for Emma to make deals with Hades, but when she did, it was always worth his time. "And what could you possibly have to offer me, Emma?"

She raised her chin. "I know what you've been trying to do, Hades. I've seen you trying to get the spell to work. Just as I've seen it fail numerous times."

He was already intrigued with what she was getting at.

"My deal is that if you let me take Killian with me, I will help you get the ingredient and then I will stay out of your way. I won't try to stop you."

Hades grinned from ear to ear. "I agree, but on one condition." The smile the had started to appear on Killian's face quickly disappeared. "You must let me wipe your memories, to be replaced with almost completely new ones. Emma, your memories will be the complete same leading up until you reached seventeen years of age."

Hades turned to face Killian, who looked uneasy. "You will have traces of the man you once were in you memories. For example, you will still have had a brother named Liam. However, he was poisoned one day and died in your arms."

He backed away so he could address both of them. "You will both have met after Emma was released from the system. You two fall in love and you will be looking for a home to buy in Storybrooke." He paused and took a breath. "Do we have a deal?"

"Killian, we must agree," she whispered, holding on to the collar of his shirt. "I won't leave without you, and we can't just let the man die. And there's always a loophole on how to get our real memories back. They'll figure out a way. Just as they always do."

The Captain nodded his head before turning towards Hades. "Deal."

Hades smirked and sent them back to the overworld. Alone in his house once more, he looked around, his eyes landing on the locked basement door. He had to admit to himself that Killian had chose a fine home for him and Emma two years ago. Hades couldn't help but claim the Underworld's replica as his own house.

Walking over to the door, he opened it and started walking down the stairs. His yellow eyes flashed in the gloom. The sound of his feet landing on each step echoed around the cave-like room. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the room suddenly erupted with lights, lit by torches hanging on the walls.

He walked past the stone that Excalibur once lay in and leaned up against the cell door, staring at the man he had chained up. Two metal chains came from the upper corners of the cell and were attached to his wrists. He had his head towards the ground.

Hades sighed loudly. "Sorry to have you chained up. We do this to everyone that comes to the Underworld." The man looked up, his eyes defiant.

"I know what this as, just as I know who you are. You're going to torture me. Just get on with it already." Hades was impressed by his bravery.

He forced a reassuring smile. "I'm not going to torture you. Here," he said, twitching a finger to remove the cuffs. The man fell to the ground before looking at Hades in confusion.

"I just need to ask you a few questions before I can let you out. Even my powers here have their limits."

"Alright... what do you need to know?" The man was bewildered.

"For now, I just need to know one thing. What's your name?" Hades leaned back and crouched down, showing him the key to the door.

"Geppetto. My name is Geppetto."