❃
|The Charmings' Apartment|
❃

Mary Margaret slammed the door shut and locked it before stepping back to Emma could put a protection spell around the apartment. Before Regina could even turn to look at Robin, he pulled her into a hug. "I missed you."

Regina smiled, "And I you."

A voice sounded from outside the door and Robin instinctively stepped in front of Regina. "Hello? I know you put a spell up to keep us out, but I didn't come back with Hades to hurt you." Nimue. "Merlin and I agreed that I would pretend to side with Hades when I was really helping you."

"Let her in," Regina ordered.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Regina nodded. "Trust me. She's on our side."

Emma lowered the spell and opened the door to reveal Nimue standing outside, wearing a black cloak with a hood that covered her face. She lowered the hood and stepped inside. As soon as she was in the apartment, Emma shut the door and the protection spell shot up again.

"Sorceress." Nimue turned to Regina. "You walk a very dangerous path," she glanced at the former Queen's stomach, "but I'm not here to judge. Hades wants us to immobilize the four of you and return you to him. The only way to stop that is to overwrite the deal Rumplestiltskin made when he traded you away."

"Gold is trying to figure something out," Emma said. "But unless you know of something, our only option at the moment is to figure out the army's weaknesses and defeat them."

"Their only weakness is that they trust me," Nimue replied. "They think I'm lying to you, but I promise I am not. I need to know where Rumplestiltskin is. I might be able to help."

"He's in his shop," Emma told her. "He and Belle are both in his shop."

"I'm going with," Neal announced. "Evelyn needs to get back to her parents and I'll make sure Nimue is telling the truth."

Nimue nodded. "Okay."

After Neal, Evelyn, and Nimue were gone, Regina pulled Robin to the side so they were far enough away from the others that they could whisper without being overheard. "Did you get my messages?"

Robin nodded. "I couldn't call you back because Hades knocked out our cell phone service. Some calls are coming through, but no one has been able to actually use their phone to get a hold of people since yesterday."

"That would explain why your call came twenty hours late," Regina muttered. "Anyways, I'm pretty sure Hades is here for more than just me and the others. I think he still wants revenge on Zelena."

"Throwing Meg into the time portal wasn't enough?" Robin asked.

Regina shook her head. "Not for what she did to him. And Meg and Zelena were able to mend their relationship. Hades wants to destroy her. Just like I wanted to with Snow."

"But what did she do to him worth that much revenge?"

"The same thing Snow did to me. She broke his heart and ripped his love away from him."

"Maleficent?"

Regina raised an eyebrow. "No...No, they just had an alliance that went too far. Hades doesn't truly love her. The one he truly loves is Zelena. Which means both Arthur and Zelena are going to pay."

❃
|Oz, Many Years Ago|
❃

A frosted vanilla cupcake with a single candle in it rested on the table where Zelena was sitting. She sighed and blew to extinguish the flames on top of the candle. She was about to take the candle out when the doors burst open. Zelena turned to see who was bursting in on her. The man wasn't someone she had ever seen before.

"Who are you?!" Zelema demanded, summoning a ball of green fire.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you."

Zelena put out the fire in her hands, but didn't relax. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Because I'm here to help you. I know you seek ingredients for a time portal and I'm here to help you gather them."

"I don't need help," Zelena turned away from the man, clearly done with the conversation. She plucked the candle from the cupcake and licked the frosting off of the bottom of it.

"Maybe not from a mortal, but how about help from a god?"

Zelena laughed and turned to face the man again. "A god offering to help me? Yeah, right. There's no one more hated than the Wicked Witch of the West."

"I could give you a run for your money."

Zelena set the candle down next to her cupcake and stepped towards the man, suddenly intrigued. "Who are you?"

"Hades," the god bowed, "lord of the Underworld."

❃
|Storybrooke, Present Day|
❃

The door to Mr. Gold's shop opened and Nimue and Neal entered, Neal holding Evelyn. Belle rushed over to her daughter and carefully took Evelyn into her arms. Gold stepped towards Nimue. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you save your children," Nimue replied calmly. "Hades wants all of them and the only solution is a deal cancelling out the one you made to trade off Regina. I've been in your mind, Rumplestiltskin. Together, we can find a deal that overwrites yours."

Gold nodded slowly. "I suppose so..." He walked back over to Belle and lowered his voice. "I need you to stay with the Charmings for a little while, okay?"

Belle looked up at her husband. "Wha-- Why?"

"Because they'll be able to protect both you and Evelyn. And Nimue and I need to figure out a way to fix this."

"I can help!" Belle protested.

Gold shook his head. "I'm sorry, Belle. You need to stay with Evelyn and keep her safe."

"O-okay," Belle gave in. She pulled Gold closer to her and pressed her lips to his. "I love you."

"I love you too."

❃
|Oz, Many Years Ago|
❃

Zelena had to admit that Hades was a much better ally than she had expected him to be. Together, they had retrieved the brain of a scarecrow. Now Zelena only needed three more ingredients and she could take back the life that was rightfully hers.

"Why do you want to travel in time?" Hades questioned. The two were back in the Emerald Palace celebrating their victory with a drink.

"My sister got everything I should have gotten," Zelena explained. "I want to get back the life I deserve!"

"Hatred towards a sibling," Hades muttered. "I know how you feel."

"Oh really?"

Hades nodded. "My brothers stuck me down in the Underworld when they divided up rule over the world. Zeus got the heavens, Poseidon got the sea, and I got stuck with a bunch of dead souls. The only way for me to be truly free is for someone to restart my heart by a true love's kiss."

"True love's kiss," Zelena let out a bitter laugh. "I've only ever heard stories. Are we sure such a thing really exists?"

"It's the only hope I have to get out of the Underworld for good."

Suddenly, Zelena pushed her chair back and stood up. "No."

"No what?"

"You...you think I'm your true love!"

Hades stood up as well. "That's not quite--"

"I've read the Greek myths! You've gone and kidnapped a woman before!"

"Zelena--"

"Get out of here!" Zelena shouted. Defeated, Hades vanished. Zelena shakily sat back down and put her head in her hands.

❃

Hades appeared in the Throne Room, enraged. He could practically hear the Fates laughing at him; "We told you not to go after her!" Hades shot a blast of magic at the wall, causing chunks of rock to tumble down.

❃
|The Underworld, Nearly a Year Ago|
❃

"I remember you, Hades," Zelena spat. "Guess I'm stuck down here with you forever now."

"Zelena, you never gave me the chance to explain myself. Come with me, please."

Zelena hesitated. She didn't really want to spend time with Hades, but if she could get on his good side and convince him to let her go back to Storybrooke where her daughter was... "Okay," she gave in. Hades linked their arms and led her down the street.

❃

When they arrived in the Throne Room, Hades separated his arm from Zelena's. "I'm sorry for what happened all those years ago back in Oz," Hades apologized. "But I swear I'm not going to force you into anything. I want you to be happy."

"Why?"

"Because I love you, Zelena. Haven't you wondered why the Underworld looks like Storybrooke?"

Zelena shook her head.

"I wanted to give you everything Regina got. I know it's not exactly the same, because things don't really grow down here," Hades sighed, "they just decay. But it can be our decay."

Zelena felt her eyes tearing up. She wanted to accept Hades' offer, but something was stopping her. So much had happened since the first time she met Hades, and he was a little too late. But his offer just sounded so tempting.

"Why did you come after me when I died?"

"I need your help. And once this is complete, we can leave the Underworld together."

"Deal," Zelena gave in.

❃
|One Week Later|
❃

The week of the sleeping curse was almost over when it happened. The week had been spent planning revenge on the heroes who had come to the Underworld. However, on the last day of the week, Hades kissed Zelena.

And his heart was still very dead.

Zelena wasn't surprised that it hadn't worked, but Hades was enraged. He stripped Zelena's magic away and sent her to the room in the center of the Labyrinth. Zelena refused to tell the truth about what had happened between her and Hades, so she lied and said he quoted Romeo and Juliet at her and she had gotten fed up with it.

❃
|Storybrooke, Present Day|
❃

"What?" Robin asked.

"While you were in the Underworld, Zelena told me the truth about what happened between her and Hades. He wanted her to be his true love and save him from the Underworld. But it didn't work out."

"So you think he wants revenge for what...something Zelena couldn't decide?"

Regina shook her head. "I know he wants revenge. He'll try to prove Arthur isn't Zelena's true love."

"Well then we need--"

There was a knock on the door, which interrupted Robin. Emma turned, ready to blast magic at whichever villain wanted to drag Regina and Meg to the Underworld.

"Is Regina in there?" Zelena's voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," Regina called back.

Emma lowered the protection spell once again, allowing Zelena inside. The witch immediately turned to her sister. "Hades has Arthur and I don't know where he went."