Author's Note: Hi everyone! Welcome to Inside the Fire, my first full-length OUAT fic. I was absolutely stunned by how much beautiful support I received from posting my two quick OUAT drabbles, and I was encouraged to try writing something on a larger scale.

I wanted to write a different take on Emma's journey to rescue Killian from the Underworld, and this is the end result. I'm not quite calling it a crossover, but since Disney, ABC, and Marvel are all part of the same family, I am borrowing a few villains from the Ghost Rider comic book series! You absolutely don't need a knowledge of Ghost Rider to read (and hopefully enjoy) this fic, however.

Thank you everyone so much in advance, thank you for accompanying Emma on this amazing journey! I hope you all will enjoy the ride as much as I am already!

She smoothed her fingers over the ring he'd given her, taking in every crook, every groove in the metal. He'd called it lucky, when he pressed it into her hands—something to keep her safe, to remind her of something good even when the curse's weight was too much to carry on her own. Emma swore she could still feel the warmth of his skin there, filling up the empty silver circle. She could still feel his breath on her lips, his voice in her ear, his touch on her fingertips, his perfect weight on hers when he proved his love to her in the flower fields of Camelot. She could feel him everywhere, giving her hope, pushing her forward, bringing her back to him.

When hope dared to fail her, she remembered the warmth of his love, the way he flooded her world with light she could never have imagined. She remembered him, alive and smiling at her, not the cold fingers she grasped when he was taken from her too soon. She remembered how it felt to be safe in his arms, not her parents' when she collapsed into them, a sobbing mess.

The memories made her stronger, fortified her resolve with something no one could steal away: her love for Killian. She lifted the ring to her lips and kissed it in promise. Her breath flared out before her in tiny, pale puffs.

It was her love for him that led her here, to the water's edge, to the place where the world she knew would end and the one beneath would begin.

When Emma next raised her eyes, she found a shadow moving slowly across the water. She recognized the skulking figure as the ferryman and his boat, come to carry them between the realms of the living and dead. She watched for a moment: the ripples made across the dark water, distorting her reflection, the shape of the boat's scythe-like fixture as it bowed close to the murky surface. The ferryman himself was cloaked in a dark garb, hood hanging over his face—or whatever semblance of one he had.

The ring dropped from Emma's hand, swaying on the chain she kept it on. She looked back at her family, her friends, gathered behind her. It was a journey she would have gladly made alone, but she was relieved she wouldn't have to.

She nodded her head, ready, then turned to face her grim fate. Emma moved into the water and the coldness took her breath away, shooting up her body with icy pinpricks. It soaked through her jeans, sloshing against her skin in wicked waves of ice. It was cold enough to hurt, cold enough to make her feel—feel something for the first time since Killian's last breath left him and Emma's world went numb.

She waded further, until her legs were covered and the water was to her waist, chilling her to the bone. The movement of the water behind her told her that her loved ones were with her, a quiet solace she held dear as the fog folded in on her.

"Hook, I will find you," Emma promised as she stepped onto the ferry. It rocked with her weight, but she remained steady—unlike her heart, which thudded rapidfire against her chest. She closed her eyes and embraced her fate, feeling the world she knew begin to fall far away from where she was standing. She reached for the ring one last time, grasping it near her heart. Of course, it wouldn't be hers for very much longer—it would be theirs, every beat in tandem, every flutter shared.

She just had to find him, to save him.

And she didn't care that she would have to go through hell to do it.

"I will always find you."