❃
|The Underworld|
❃

Hades sighed, "I guess I'm going to have to stop being easy on you guys. I truly am sorry, but the residents of the Underworld are now free to roam around and do whatever they please to you. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor." Hades disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Did he just quote The Hunger Games at us?" Emma asked.

Henry nodded. "That was definitely The Hunger Games."

"Now that Hades has unleashed everyone, Regina, Gold, and I need to be careful," Cora warned. "No one here likes Gold or I much and they'll like Regina about just as little."

"Emma, you and your parents should go."

"You're right," Emma agreed. "Goodbye." She hugged Henry. "I'll see you again, okay?"

Henry nodded. "Okay."

❃
|The Enchanted Forest|
❃

The Evil Queen didn't tolerate thievery. Anyone who stole from her ended up either dead, without a heart, or occasionally both.

However, there was one occasion where a thief got away. Only one, excluding Snow White.

The thief hadn't stolen anything important, only a necklace King Leopold had given the Queen before his death. The thief had nearly escaped before black knights captured him and took him to the Queen.

He was masked, and the Evil Queen didn't bother unmasking him.

"Why would you attempt to steal from me?" She asked him. "You know what the punishment is."

"I need the money," the thief said, in a voice that made it seem as if he were trying to hide an accent. "My son is sick and I had no choice but to steal from you."

"Well you obviously have failed your son," the Queen let out a laugh. "So stand up."

The thief did as he was told. The Queen was about to order his execution when she saw something on his forearm. At first she thought it was hallucination, or possibly a nightmare. But it wasn't. He was really standing here right in front of her after he had attempted to steal from her. Curse that fairy, she had probably set this all up. Probably as some ploy to save Snow White's skin. And this man was merely an unwilling player in Tinker Bell's game.

"Show me your arm." The Queen had to be sure she was correct in her suspicion.

Though the thief was confused, he held out his arm with the tattoo facing up so she could see it. It was nothing special, and was only there because he had lost a bet with one of his friends years ago and was forced to get a tattoo as a result.

The Queen grabbed his wrist and studied the tattoo. It was the same one that fairy had lead her to all those years ago. She let go of his wrist and marched away in anguish. Before she left the room, she barked an order at the black knights. "Take him to Sherwood Forest and if he ever crosses me again, I'll take his head off myself."

❃
|The Underworld|
❃

Regina, Gold, Henry, and Cora made their way to the Underworld version of Gold's shop without any issues. According to Cora, no one ever entered the shop because it was thought to be cursed, but she assured them that it wasn't actually cursed.

Gold began rummaging through some stuff before he pulled out a vial of glowing blue liquid. "A locator spell. We can use it to find Robin Hood, if you have something of his?" he raised an eyebrow at Regina.

"Will that work here in the Underworld?" Regina asked. "My magic wasn't working."

Gold nodded. "This shop is full of Underworld magic. It was where I stayed when I died before Hades found me. Your magic isn't working here because you're still alive. Magic of the living will only work in the Overworld, and magic of the dead only works in the Underworld."

"Unless you get it taken away," Cora muttered.

"Indeed," Gold agreed. "So do you have something of his or not?"

Regina shook her head. "I don't think I do."

"Come on, dearie, you've got to have something of his with you. Perhaps your heart would work?"

"Well sorry I don't carry around his stuff like you carry around Belle's purse for her--"

"Mom! Grandpa!" Henry interrupted. "I have something we can use."

Both Gold and Regina looked at Henry who pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket. "I wasn't supposed to let anyone know I had because Robin know no one would approve, but he said it'd be safest if I had some way to defend myself in the Underworld."

"He gave you a knife?!" Regina exclaimed. "I am going to have to talk to him about giving people weapons."

Gold ignored Regina and took the pocket knife from Henry. he poured a few drops of the potion onto it and it began to glow. It floated out of Gold's hand and towards the door.

"Back out to the streets," Cora muttered. "What a great plan that was."

❃
|The Enchanted Forest|
❃

Roland was wrapped in a blanket and shivering when his dad returned. Little John had been looking after him while Robin was away.

"Papa!" Roland exclaimed when he saw him. He shrugged the blanket off and rushed over to Robin. "You're back!"

Robin laughed. "Indeed I am. How are you feeling?"

"Cold," Roland answered.

Robin nodded. "I figured as much. Well I wasn't able to steal the necklace, but I did manage to escape the Evil Queen and I got some medicine." Robin showed his son a vial of dark green liquid that looked like crushed up leaved mixed with water.

Roland smiled. "Will it make me warm again, Papa?"

Robin nodded. "Yes it will." He opened it and held it up to Roland's mouth. "Can you drink it?"

Roland swallowed the liquid even though it tasted terrible. After it was gone, he curled up into Robin's lap and dozed off to sleep. Little John carried Roland's blanket over and laid it on top of him.

"How did you manage to get the medicine if you didn't steal the necklace?"

"I found it in the Queen's castle. I pocketed it and no one realized I had the medicine. All they cared about was the necklace."

❃
|Storybrooke|
❃

After Belle had enlisted Merida to find the merry men, she made her way back to Gold's shop. She trusted Merida could do her job without Belle's help, and Belle had been feeling a bit nauseous ever since she had woken up this morning. She found the book she had been in the middle of reading before they left for Camelot where she had left it behind the desk in Gold's shop. Her bookmark was still in its place.

She opened the book and sat down behind the desk before beginning to read. It was doubtful anyone would want anything from Gold's shop, as it was exactly the same before and after the six weeks they were in Camelot when no one had been there to keep the shop safe.

However, twenty minutes later, the bell on the door dinged and Belle looked up to see who it was.

"I take it you sent Merida for us?"

Will Scarlet. Belle hadn't even thought about him while in Camelot. Then again, she was more worried about Rumple the whole time.

"Yeah...why?"

"She really knows her stuff. Thanks. We were getting kind of lost without a leader, and Robin's probably not coming back anytime soon now that he's got Regina and her friends."

Belle nodded, "My thoughts exactly."

Will could have left then, but he hadn't spoken to Belle since she had broken up with him. There hadn't been any time because they had been swept up into Isaac's universe and then Belle had left for Camelot. But Will needed some sort of closure. He didn't necessarily want her back, but he did want to be sure that she was happy.

"So how have you been doing?"

"Fine. I mean, Rumple left for the Underworld and now he's gone, possibly to never return. But other than that, I'm fine."

Will walked over and sat down next to Belle. "He'll come back for you, Belle. He always has."

Belle smiled a little bit. "You really think so?"

"Oh, I know he's coming back. They'll all be back soon enough. Everyone comes back sooner or later. Robin came back after Regin had lost hope. Gold will come back for you too, even if you have to go to the Underworld and drag him back yourself."

"Thank you."

Will nodded. "Any time." Will stood up and left Belle to her book and her thoughts. He could only hope Belle would continue to believe Gold was coming back because honestly, Will wasn't so sure.