Summary: This story is canon-compliant until season five, episode sixteen, "Our Decay" of Once Upon a Time. Starting at the beginning of "Our Decay", when Mr. Gold makes the portal for Hades, the portal works as it should but the baby of Zelena and Robin is the only passenger through the portal. Belle and Zelena remain in Storybrooke while the baby travels to Underbrooke. Zelena faces many trials and tribulations as she must overcome her struggles to finally obtain what she has always desired: true happiness. Slowly but surely, Hades is able to earn his redemption, as most of the villains on the show have been given their own forgiveness. As Zelena and Hades are finding themselves in their new story, they discover what it means for to each of them to be a "Hero."
Chapter One
Disclaimer: ABC () and A&E own everything. I used dialogue between Mr. Gold and Belle from "Our Decay" in this chapter as well, but I own nothing but the plot of this story.
Authors Note: Before you get too far into this story, I just want to note that the stars or *'s are being used to indicate that that is where dialogue/plot from the show is being used.
*Hades strolls into the decrepit room, gazing at the work his newest minion had accomplished during his absence.
"You'd think a desperate man would work a little faster," Hades remarks snidely, gazing at the invisible dirt under his manicured fingernails. He glances up at Mr. Gold, a sneer ever present on his face as he circled the Dark One.
Mr. Gold's face is lacking emotion as his response to Hades' response slips past his thin lips, "Magic cannot be rushed. Creating a portal is no simple task."
Hades tightens his glare and turns to look at the rivers flowing from the platform in his chambers as he sinks into the leather chair waiting for him.
"Yes. Yes, I know. But we don't have a dark curse or a magic bean or silver slippers," A faint smile turns the corners of the God's lips up at the mention of the enchanted object. "We have something better…your Dark One-tainted blood. It got you down here. It can reopen the portal."
Mr. Gold decides to stick his nose in the business of Hades, hoping to stretch the time and patience he has been allotted for the moment, as he says, "Why do you even need a portal? You can come and go as you please."
Hades' expression turns dark as he turns his eyes to the floor.
"But I can't bring anyone back…alive. By combining our powers…that can change. And I don't care how painful it is for you. So, if you want me to tear up this contract so your child-to-be is your child-to-be…you won't care about the pain, either."
Mr. Gold holds his tongue and wisely decides to turn back to the potion at hand, changing course once more in his attempts to sway Hades from the thoughts of the Dark One and Belle's child growing inside the woman's womb.
"You must tell me where you want this portal directed," snarks Mr. Gold, holding back the growl that builds at the threat of his unborn child.
"Oh. Why, Storybrooke, of course."*
Mr. Gold raises his eyebrows at the location revealed, continuing to add the necessary ingredients to the complicated potion. His legs are growing weak, but a bit of magic – through thought of course; it would be a suicide attempt to use magic in a physical form in the presence of the God of Death – fixes the ache that has settled into the man's joints from standing for so long.
"What is in Storybrooke that you could possibly want?" The question leaves his lips before resistance is formed to keep them held in his throat. Mr. Gold fixes his eyes upon the potion, hoping to avoid the wrath of the other being in the room.
"Zelena's baby." Mr. Gold's eyes widen at the two words that are spoken so softly, they turn into a whisper the moment they leave the lips of the son of Kronos.
*"Zelena's baby? What do you want with her child?" The immortal man dares to ask to the deity, adding another ingredient thoughtlessly into the potion. The God in question straightens his back against the leather chair, staring at the man that is standing in the sight of his gaze.
"Well, you of all people should know the value of keeping your reasons your own. I don't have to tell you anything," Hades chips out in a defensive tone, glaring at the Dark One who continues to feed what appears to be a stick into the potion.
Laughing quietly, Mr. Gold responds in an amused tone as he teases the edges of Hades' patience, "And yet you keep doing so. Some might call that the mark of an insecure man."
Any hint of pleasant emotion is gone from the deity's voice when he speaks again, seconds after the other man has finished his jab. "We're done here. Get me Zelena's baby. I'll rip up the contract, and you can tell Belle she's pregnant without also having to tell her she owes her baby to me." Mr. Gold's eyes flash with anger as Hades continues his statement, a smile on his face as he does so. "I hear new expectant mothers hate that. Almost as much as they hate hearing their husbands are still the Dark One. Now do it."*
Mr. Gold grits his teeth as the words he desires to say are swallowed in his throat. He adds the last ingredient to the potion, gives it a stir, and cuts his hand with his powers, not even flinching as he squeezes his hand into a fist to add the blood pouring from his aged fingers into the tiresome potion.
Hades' face is illuminated in what can only be a fleeting moment of joy as a swirling circle of ebony appears above their heads in the chamber. The God of Death manages to reel in the emotions displayed upon his visage and maintains a look of blankness.
A sharp wail rings through the open chamber as a bundle, swaddled in a pink blanket, drops through the portal. Hades rushes underneath the portal as the bundle of blankets lands in his arms. The portal closes a moment later and disappears into nothing. The squirming mass of blankets gives another wail as the face of a baby is revealed to both men in the room.
"I trust you can find your way out of here," Hades remarks, raising an eyebrow as he finally looks away from the baby of Zelena and Robin Hood to stare down Mr. Gold.
"What about the contract?" The Dark One hisses, anger simpering in his veins by the simple dismissal. A small grin appears on the face of Hades as he looks down at the child and is gone a moment later as his eyes return to the other man.
"Never mind about that for the moment," Hades revels in the negative emotions pulsing off Mr. Gold. "I will see to your contract…later. For now, I have things to take care of." Mr. Gold is covered in a swirl of smoke as Hades twists his unoccupied arm to rid his chambers of the other man. The God looks down upon the baby with fondness, adjusting the child into a better position.
"Now it's time for me to lay you down for a nap, hm," he remarks at the crying mass in his arms, rocking her so that her cries subside. "Then, a call to your mummy is in order." Hades' free hand points downwards as he is surrounded in blue mist, transporting him to his bedroom chambers.
Zelena awakes from a restless sleep, her eyes puffy and swollen from crying before and during slumber. Losing a child or rather, having a child stolen from you, causes grave impacts amongst parents, and Zelena is no exception. She dresses with memorized and hurried movements. A dark thought crosses the witch's mind it's no shocker that my baby was taken from me considering Robin is a thief.
"What a fool I was," Zelena mutters under her breath crossly, waving a practiced hand and summoning a kettle to place upon the stove. The Wicked Witch of the West storms into her living room, her eyes flickering over the books left open from the previous night. Textbooks and spell books lie scattered on the futon and armchair, the pages open to disguising spells.
"Mummy's going to get back all by herself. Don't you worry, sweet pea," Zelena remarks in a determined tone, waving her fingers again to levitate the whistling tea kettle to the counter and pour the boiling water over the tea leaves waiting in an onyx mug. Zelena folds herself on the ground, her fingers tracing over the words written in careful, looping script. The spells discovered thus far were all to disguise items and other people, none of them containing an enchantment to transform oneself.
If only I had my pendant back, Zelena thinks, pondering the various ways of creating her own spells. None of her previous attempts to create her own spell or potion have been successful, all failing for some reason or the other, including one time-travel spell.
A flash of memories enter the redhead's mind before walls can be erected to halt them, and the witch nearly doubles over in pain due to the emotions that are emerging within her.
"Get out of my fucking head!" Zelena snarls, clutching her temples with both of her hands as she forces herself to focus on the books in front of her, the color of the walls, her daughter, anything but the content of the memories playing out in her mind. She pictures her daughter's face in her imagination, sweet, cherubic like cheeks and piercing blue eyes that remind her of another set of blue eyes only this pair saw into her very soul, leaving her raw and helpless as the words of hope and maybe even love left his lips.
Zelena screams and summons a fireball, throwing it at the wall in front of her. A scorch mark remains, but no other evidence is shown, the wall remaining mostly unharmed due to the protection spells inlaid in its structure. A string of curses leaves the witch's lips as more and more memories flash through her mind before they finally stop, disappearing as the mental walls inside of her brain finally protect her from the destructive images. Zelena heaves a sigh of relief and summons her mug of tea from the kitchen, releasing a hefty breath as the therapeutic liquid soothes her aching throat.
A milky orb startles Zelena out of her unsteady thoughts, her blank gaze turning from the pages in front of her to the bubble bobbing inches from her face. She reaches out a finger, testing the consistency of the thing only to discover that it's almost solid in matter, giving slight resistance to her touch.
"Zelena," a husky voice drawls, sending shivers up and down the witch's spine. Zelena straightens until her back resembles a ruler, her eyes narrowing at the orb before rolling towards the sky. Of course, the one person she was trying so very hard to block out of her mind would enter it in yet a different form. Zelena harshly sighs; she really does have the worst of luck.
"Do forgive me for my…stalkerish tendencies as one might call them," the bubble continues, its voice all too familiar, it comes from him after all, "But I just wanted to make sure you were alright as of late. I was startled when you had your recent incident with the Dark One, and I beg your pardon, but I only wanted to make sure you wouldn't be joining me unwillingly anytime soon.
"You have a daughter now, but she isn't with you. I've changed that. I couldn't resist saving her from those…Heroes - as they call themselves - when they abandoned her for their conquest into my land to save their precious pirate. Your baby is safe, and if you wish to come and get her, as I suspect you would, I will have a portal open for you in one hour exactly. It will appear in your driveway and will only remain open for one minute."
There is a pause in his voice as it seems to consider what to say next. During this brief moment, Zelena is able to digest the information quickly, scouring her brain with a solution to the situation at hand. A minuscule part of her feels touched at his concern for her and her daughter, but a larger part of her – one that she has allowed to have free rein in recent years to accomplish her revenge and well, wickedness – is enraged that he would even think about taking her child, to a place of death and destruction no less, let alone actually do it.
"I do hope that you will stay for a while once you have retrieved your daughter. I have…missed you, and even if you don't quite trust me yet – which I understand if you don't – I implore you to give me, to give us, a chance. I'll be seeing you soon," the orb stops talking after his farewell, vanishing with a 'pop!' a moment later. Zelena stares in shock in front of her where the bubble was just a minute ago. Multiple things trace through her mind: her daughter's visage, a bicycle and candlelit dinner, and finally, an image of fluffy, blonde hair and blue eyes so pure they can read every emotion flickering through one's soul.
Zelena stands and waves her hand, shutting all the books with a practiced motion and returning them to their rightful spots on her bookshelf. Another flick of her fingers gathers a small tote bag, summoning canisters of baby formula, baby bottles, diapers, and infant clothing and placing them neatly into the bag. Zelena looks around the room and runs a hand across the top of her hair, musing her already messy bun. The dirty dishes in the sink can wait, as can the laundry sitting in a pile upstairs in her bedroom.
"My hat," the Witch of Oz murmurs, walking upstairs and grabbing the black object. She sits down on her unmade bed for a moment, processing the actions she is about to take.
All her carefully constructed concrete walls are going to tumble down the moment she enters his domain. The second her eyes make contact with his, she knows that the game will start once more, and this time, she is sure that she will be lured into playing instead of dancing away with a harsh remark. How many times has she forced her mind to take a different path than the one that encompassed thoughts of him?
For a small second, Zelena closes her eyes and imagines a calming image, her daughter, safe, secure, content, and smiling up at her mother. Then, the photograph in her imagination swirls and reveals another figure, this one an adult male, all blue eyes, and smooth, fluffy blonde hair. He cradles her baby in his arms, beaming down at the child as he bounces her, safe and swaddled, cradled in the crook of his arm.
The domestic scene is too much for the witch to witness, and she tears her eyes open, forcing the idea away. As beautiful as it was, the damning picture caused hope and a warm feeling to bloom in her chest, a feeling that Zelena has only experienced in those two moments with him and in every moment she has ever had with her daughter.
Zelena forces all of these experiences away from her, and she gathers herself and rises from the bed, walking down the stairs and into the living room. She gulps down the remains of her tea before putting the mug in the sink, careful to prevent the cup from smashing into bits of ceramic. The Wicked Witch of Oz inhales a shaky breath as she takes her bag in hand, placing her hat on her head as she walks to the front door. As she crosses the threshold onto the porch, the breath she contained is released, and she looks back into her house, closing the door and locking it before she turns and makes her way down the steps and onto the driveway.
Zelena only has to wait ten minutes, during which she checks and rechecks her bag to make sure she has everything she will need for her sweet pea before the portal appears. It looks just like every other portal she has ever seen, inky and circular in shape. She takes one final breath, looks at her house and the surrounding area, and jumps into the swirling mass, holding onto her hat and bag as she goes.
Seconds later, Zelena finds herself in the middle of what appears to be Storybrooke, but no it can't be, because the clock tower is in the middle of the road instead of on top of the library and the sky is red instead of blue and is that the Savior's canary yellow beetle over there, torn to bits and missing its tires?
Swearing under her breath as she massages her poor ankles; they are still a bit swollen due to her recent pregnancy and landing on them with such a great impact has done them nothing good. Zelena takes in all the changes between this place – the Underworld, she reminds herself – and Storybrooke.
"Now, if I were a God of the Underworld, where would I be?" The redhead asks herself as she looks upon the destruction and well, chaos, in the small-town square. I think I'll try the mayor's office first. It's the only major building in town besides the library, she thinks to herself, setting off in the direction of Regina's old office.
Well, that was a bust, Zelena ponders as she heads towards what appears to be the town library. The mayor's office was identical to the one in Storybrooke but there was no one in sight, and though she has seen many people walking on the street, nobody has seemed familiar to her.
Zelena passes by the destroyed town clock and looks at the face. The hands are frozen on the clock's face. She shrugs her shoulders and heads into the library, seeing an identical copy to the one in Storybrooke, only it looks a bit destroyed as if a recent battle has occurred in the building. She looks in the direction of the elevator and notices that it starts to shimmer the more she looks at it. Entranced, Zelena begins to walk towards the ancient contraption, reaching out a hand to touch the door of the elevator. A warm feeling covers the witch in gooseflesh, similar to when stepping through a magical barrier. She gasps as both the external and internal elevator doors open. Throwing all caution to the wind, Zelena steps inside the elevator, pulling down the door inside and watching in fascination as the outside door closes itself. The elevator begins to descend without any further programming, and the redhead attempts to find her footing as the elevator quickly descends.
All too quickly for Zelena's liking, the elevator halts and opens both doors, allowing her to escape. A bit shaky on her feet, Zelena exits the elevator and attempts to conjure a fireball as the tunnel she has found herself in is very dark and damp. A spark fizzes in her hand and forms a large inferno before dying out. Zelena frowns and tries again, gaining a steady fireball this time. She grabs a piece of wood from the floor and lights the top to form a touch before the flame extinguishes itself.
"Oh, wonderful," Zelena says in a sarcastic tone, "It seems my magic is unstable in this God-awful place!"
Ignoring the slight rage that settles in her spine, the witch begins to walk through the tunnels, keeping straight for about ten minutes before a light begins to shine through the tunnel. Putting the torch out on the dirt in the ground, Zelena pauses before exiting the tunnel and entering an expansive, cavern-like room.
Five rivers in the colors blue, yellow, green, red, and black lead to a circular platform in the middle of the room. Two tables are set up on either side of the platform, one filled with chemicals that could be found in an alchemist's wet dream, the other filled with what appears to be various types of alcohol and spirits. A luxurious leather chair is placed some space away from the table filled with drinks, and a figure stands with its back facing the entrance to the cavern, a glass held in the figure's hand.
Zelena continues to walk forwards along the path directly leading to the platform. She is careful to avoid both rivers surrounding the path, curious but also wary about what they might contain and do. Zelena's eyes wander to the figure again, the light finally highlighting the fair color of the person's hair and the fine material of the suit coating its tall but slightly muscular body.
Hades' ears twitch as the sounds of what can only be her approaching. He closes his eyes, fingers closing more tightly around his glass of scotch, as emotions swirl in his heart. Anger and pain bloom in his chest as the memories of that night come back to him. No, he reasons with himself, she only rejected you because she was still hurting. She wasn't ready, and it was wrong of you to push her for your own gain. You hurt her just as much as she hurt you.
Hades begs – no, wills, Gods don't beg – himself to stay in control, and he turns, his eyes opening and turning from the floor to get a first glimpse of the woman who has avoided him for years. Gods, did she get even more beautiful? How was that even possible? Zelena's scarlet curls are held back in a messy bun underneath a wide-brimmed hat black as death. Her cerulean eyes bare into his own, his breath caught in his throat at the sight, as he skims over her body, head to toe, checking for any damages that might have occurred over the years he has been absent from her life. He notices a slight limp in both of her feet and ponders why she hasn't bothered to heal herself. No matter, he'll help her later if she wants him to. Gods, he hopes she wants him to.
Zelena's eyes remain on the fair-haired man in front of her, and the memories all flood back to her, images of emerald skin meeting porcelain, a bike ride filled with joyous laughter followed by what was almost a celebratory dinner that ended in words filled with fear and desperation. The witch's heart flutters fast in her chest as she remembers the warmth of his touch and the blush that rose to her cheeks as he murmured the word "beautiful". She blinks and the memories fade, her eyes scanning over him, drinking in the luxurious suit and polished, leather shoes as her gaze scans over him, head to toe, beginning with his feet and ending with his blue irises that gleam as he looks into her own eyes.
"Hades," Zelena whispers, her feet halting once she steps onto the platform. She now notices that his suit jacket is not impeccable and has a line of spit up on it, accompanied by a burp cloth. The affection coursing through her veins increases tenfold but is now twisted together with a line of anger at the thought that he dared to take her daughter without her permission.
Hades gazes at the amazing woman in front of him, noticing the slight shaking of her fists in anger. A shiver is sent down his back and pangs through his chest as his name leaves her lips. An inaudible groan passes his mouth, and he closes his eyes for a moment.
Hades sucks in a breath, reaching for his fleeting control.
"Zelena."