Underbrooke – Hades's Lair
"You'll never win, Hades," growled Regina as she tugged against her rope-tied hands. "If there's one thing I've learned from all of my years of being evil is that good always wins out in the end."
Squatting down beside the woman on the cold stone flooring, the Lord of the Underworld replied with a grin, "We'll see about that."
Underbrooke – Snowing's Apartment
"It's alright, love. We'll find her. Together."
Letting out a deep sigh, Emma halted her pacing and snapped at her boyfriend, "What if we don't? You said yourself how brutal Hades could get. What if he hurts her?"
Tears collected in the savior's eyes and the man sauntered over, wrapping his strong arms around her form. "We'll find her, Swan. I'll make sure of it."
Underbrooke – Hades's Lair
Regina hissed out in pain as she felt the stabbing sensation in her right side increase.
"Had enough yet, your majesty," Hades smirked victoriously as he took in the sight of the queen's defeated form before him.
Struggling to regain her breath, the brunette spat out blood and then narrowed her eyes at the man. "Do whatever you want to me. I've suffered far worse than anything you could possibly do."
"Is that a challenge?" Right as the words left his mouth, another sharp pain overwhelmed the former queen, causing her to scream out in agony. She felt as if a fire was raging through her chest, and once again all the air rushed out of her lungs, making her unable to breathe.
Underbrooke – Hades's Lair
As Regina came to she heard the tell tale sound of footsteps approaching.
"So you've decided to return to us. How wonderful."
The former mayor glared up at the man, causing him to bring a hand to his chest in mock hurt and respond, "And here I thought we were starting to become friends."
Hades began circling around the post, in which Regina was bound to, causing all of the woman's senses to be on high alert. "What do you intend on doing with me?" she questioned, trying to maintain an even voice despite her fear.
"That's for me to know and you to find out," he responded cryptically. A second later he added, "But I suppose I could let you in on today's festivities."
Regina furrowed her brow prompting the man to continue, "I have a few…shall we say friends…who would love to pay you a visit." Instantly the woman's heart rate increased. Whatever he had in mind, Regina knew it was no good.
Underbrooke – Granny's Diner
"This is pointless," the blonde exclaimed shoving the storybook to the floor. A loud thud erupted in the diner causing everyone's gaze to fall on Emma.
Flashing the woman a sympathetic look, David attempted to calm, "We'll find her, Emma, because that's what we do in this family."
Unfortunately, his words had no bearing on the blonde's mood, his daughter already having retreated back into herself.
Underbrooke – Hades's Lair
The image of the blonde faded into cobblestone and Regina's gaze caught onto the one thing keeping her from escaping her prison–Pan's bracelet.
She had seen Emma's face full of rage when she shoved the book to the ground, and it both scared and excited Regina to know she was the cause of the blonde's reaction. Maybe Emma did feel the same as she did. No, she was the Evil Queen. She's likely just upset that Henry's hurt by this.
Henry.
"I see your friend is quite upset about your absence," Hades observed with a knowing look.
Regina's nostrils flared out in anger as she screamed out, "You hurt her and I will end you, magic or no magic!"
"Whoa, whoa. Who said anything about hurting her?" Smirking once again, he added, "We all know the best way to take down a hero is by exploiting their weakness."
Regina let his words sink in.
Feeling he had achieved his goal, Hades turned away from his prisoner and began his leave, tossing over his shoulder, "After all, you used Prince Charming to get Snow to eat that poisoned apple."
Right as the doors closed to Hades's private chambers, Regina gasped in realization, "I'm Emma's weakness."
Underbrooke – Granny's Diner
Bursting through the door of the diner, Ruby made her way quickly to Emma's booth. "Emma! I found Regina!"
Everyone's ears perked up at the news, especially the blonde's. Without wasting a moment, Emma ordered Ruby to tell her everything she knew.
Not even a minute later, the band of heroes were located right outside the elevator shaft, readying Emma to go save the queen.
Underbrooke – Hades's Lair
Passed out from the harsh beating Hades had put her through, Regina sat with her hands tied and her head hung in defeat.
She had not heard the sound of the elevator shaft opening and did not see the head of blonde hair rapidly approaching her.
"Regina! Oh god!" Emma sprinted to her side, making quick work of untying the woman's restraints. When Regina had finally come to, their eyes met and both pairs instantly flooded with tears.
"It's all over now," Emma promised. "I'm taking you home."
Regina let out a sob of relief and allowed Emma to lead her back to the lift. She felt she could breath properly again now that Pan's cuff was removed. Though, she's sure, having the blonde by her side helped, as well.
In the end, they manage to make it back to the Charming's Underbrooke apartment safely. A week later Regina is fully recovered from her physical wounds by the help of magic, and surprises everyone when she thanks the blonde publically with a kiss to the lips.
Not only does it drop many jaws in the Underbrooke-themed diner, the kiss was revealed to be of True Love and the heroes are returned home to Storybrooke.
Although there are no true Happily Ever Afters, Emma and Regina feel they've gotten pretty damn close whenever they are lost within each other's arms.
