When we last saw King Arthur in Once Upon A Time, he said he wanted to stay in the Underworld, believing it to be the broken kingdom he was prophesied to repair. Alas, we did not have much screentime devoted to that plotline, and for all we currently know it may never be brought up again.

This is my attempt to make up for that. I hope you enjoy this beginning. As I said in the summary, this story is open to prompts, so feel free to send them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time. It is propriety of Edward Kistis, Adam Horowitz, and ABC Television Network. I am simply having fun in their playground, with no intention to derive profit from it, and hoping those who read this will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Assistance, Warnings, and Answers

His story began in Camelot, as an orphan who mucked out stalls.

Like most stuck in such an existence, he felt he was bound to that fate forever, with no hope of being more. Unlike others, yough Arthur was given a reason to dream louder, when one day, the Sorcerer Merlin prophesied that he would repair a broken kingdom after pulling a sword from a stone.

Over the years, he did more than dream when it came to achieving that goal. He gathered knights, made alliances, and looked for the sword in the prophecy, Excalibur.

Alas, a surprise awaited him for when he found it.

The sword, like the kingdom he was destined to repair, was broken. In Arthur's mind, that could not be. He could not rule Camelot while Excalibut wasn't whole.

So as one quest ended, another began.

Years passed, failures followed failures, and Arthur slid ever deeper into madness, his whole being devoted to re-uniting Excalibur. The path pushed him to extremes he would never have imagined him before, like throwing the Sands Of Avalon at his wife to force her to stay with him, or wage war on a nearby kingdom for a helmet who could command others into following him.

Before he knew, he had become a villain.

Like most villains, he met his match, when Emma Swan, the Dark One then tethered to Excalibur's missing tip, stopped him, aided by her suitor, Captain Hook. After being thwarted twice, first in Camelot, and later in a town by the name of Storybrooke, Arthur spent weeks in jail before escaping.

In what turned out to be a cycle of failures, his escape lead only to his death at the hands of Hades, former ruler of the Underworld.

But his story did not end there. Death, and the man he had almost killed, gave him a second chance. A chance to atone for his mistakes, to be a better man, to finish his first righteous quest in decades.

And over the course of said quest, Arthur, having realized his shortcomings and wanting to be better, decided to embark on another one. One that would lead him to do good rather than evil, and finally fulfill the prophecy he had heard so many years before.

So, after Captain Hook left him alone by the boat they had traveled on, he faced the green waters of the River Of Lost Souls, planning out his repair of the Underworld, and weighing the options that lay ahead of him before he took action.

By the River Of Lost Souls, some time after King Arthur watched Killian Jones departing the Underworld...

The sound of footsteps brought him out of his musings.

Arthur turned away from the bluish waters full of poisonous-green souls, facing the archway Captain Hook had walked through. A man he had never seen walked out of it, his white outfit contrasting against the tunnel's black depths, and his blue eyes trained on the dead king.

Arthur's mind told him to be cautious. At his and the Captain's arrival, the words 'Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here' had been written above that tunnel in giant letters. The inscription had faded after the book made its way to Emma Swan, but whatever was at the end of the tunnel could still exist.

But no fear or alarm rose within him. There was just something about this man that conveyed a sense of peace. He looked imposing for sure, as he was taller than Arthur and solidly built, but every line in the man's expression was calm and solemn.

"Greetings, stranger" Arthur told the man. "Welcome to the Underworld."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Arthur wished he could take them back. If this man was here, he must have just died. His words had been too crass to be spoken to a recently departed (or arrived) person.

"Hello, Arthur," the man greeted in a pleasant voice as he approached.

Surprise flickered within him.

"How do you know my name?" The answer came to him when he realized who the stranger might have met. "Did the Captain tell you?"

"He did not. I simply know many things."

Something about the way the man had spoken reminded Arthur of Merlin. He must be some kind of wizard.

Or something even grander. Arthur realized as the man got within arm's reach. A detail on his appearance caught Arthur's attention. The brace around this man's wrist was equal to the one worn by the one wielding the Olympian Crystal in the picture at the storybook page Arthur had seen. Whoever he was, this being, or deity, or whatever he was, was connected to Hades.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"You can call me Zeus," the being, whatever he was, replied. "And I am here, among other reasons, to thank you. Your helping hand played a role in ending my misguided brother's path of destruction."

Something told Arthur he should be much more awed, but now that his questions were answered, he could only feel remnants of puzzlement. He had never heard of any Zeus, just like he had never of Hades before meeting him. His humble beginnings hadn't provided many opportunities for learning, and his obsession with repairing Excalibur had consumed him too much for recreational reading. Still, he realized that Zeus held great standing and rank.

"Your thanks are appreciated," Arthur replied, hoping those words would be enough, that Zeus wouldn't find them disrespectfully insuficient.

He did not appear to, which made Arthur's dead muscles loosen in relief. It would have been a bad beginning for his repair of the Underworld if he was impeded before he even began.

Which I might still be. Arthur realized as he recalled Zeus' exact words.

"If I may ask, what are you here for other than thanking me?" He managed to keep his tone calm, but he knew his widened eyes had betrayed him.

Zeus raised a hand in appeasement.

"I am also here because I learned of your intentions to repair this place, and came to provide you some assistance in that task. Or, if you have changed your mind since then, to escort you onward."

Relief flooded him again. Arthur might have no idea on what repairing the Underworld entailed, but he wanted to do it no matter the obstacles that lay in his path, and would rather not have one of those be a god even more powerful than Hades.

"Thank you for your second offer, but I would rather stay. After everything I did in life, it's only fair I try to help those down here."

He would be thankful for whatever assistance he got, but he kept that to himself. He wasn't worthy of it after everything he had done.

Zeus rested his hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Good luck then."

The moment Zeus finished speaking, a strange warmth spread through Arthur's body, like the legends said happened to those who drank from the Holy Grail. He looked down at his hand, now enveloped in a strange glow, and then his mind awoke as an equivalent warmth spread across it, like a melted block of ice under an open flame.

Arthur gasped as the glow in his hand faded. All of a sudden, it was as if he had been filled to the brim with power. Power of the likes maybe not even Merlin had ever felt. It rushed through his whole being, ready to come out at Arthur's command, and capable of doing things he would never have imagined. He felt like he could clear a roadway with a thought, put out a forest fire with a breath, or hold back a torrent with a finger. And he knew how to do it; besides the power, he had been given the knowledge on how to use it. Not limitless varied knowledge, but enough that he knew how to summon forth his magic, and could learn to manipulate it given enough time.

But rather than joy or euphoria, fear swelled up within him as the god let go of his shoulder.

"What did you do to me?" Arthur demanded.

Zeus again raised his hand. "Do not fear, Arthur. I only gave you the assistance I was talking about."

His fear soared higher. That was what Zeus meant by assistance? Depositing such vast power in the hands of someone like him?

"No. No, please," He seized the front of Zeus' robes. "Take them back. I was already a terrible king when I was a mere human who only got access to magical sand. I dread to think what pain I may inflict with godly powers."

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to inflict any pain on anyone?"

"Of course not! But what if I cannot help myself?"

"As long as you want to, which I know you do, you will be able to help yourself."

Arthur's hands loosened and fell to his sides, the spots where he'd sized Zeus' robe as crease-free as if the garment had just been starched. The god spoke with utter confidence, but Arthur had let people down before, Guinevere, Lancelot and his subjects being the first examples to come to him. He might have helped to look for some pages and to put them back in their book, but did that prevent him from falling even harder than he had when he saw Excalibur broken?

"Should it come to that, I will stop you," Zeus said. "But I have faith it will not."

That's a relief. Arthur thought. Not that the god had faith it would not come to such extremes, but that he would intervene if it happened. While Arthur did hope it would not, and was determined to do his best to ensure that, he was only human, and thus flawed.

But at this point, it was up to him. And he wanted to be better in death than in life.

"Do not be deceived," Zeus warned. "What I gave you evens the odds, but it will not end all your obstacles. And I must warn you, you will find plenty of those. Many will not like you in charge, and a few of them have powerful magic of their own. The witch you saw at the diner would have been able to send you into the River Of Lost Souls had you gone to meet her as you were. The woman with bi-colored hair does not have much magical power of her own, but she can rally animals against you. And if Rumplestiltskin ever is killed, he is bound to come down here once another Dark One displaces him from the Vault. He will be tougher to deal with than anyone currently residing in the Underworld, even with your new magic."

Most of the fear Arthur had felt of his powers vanished, replaced by his fear of dealing with such powerful and cunning foes. He might not be particularly smart, but he knew that even now he would have problems if he had to face Rumplestiltskin, especially given that he had the power of every Dark One who came before him in addition to his own.

But that was an issue to be handled when the time arrived. Until then, he would focus on present issues.

"This is all," Zeus finished. "I know you may have more questions, but I believe it will be better if you learn their answers on your own."

Arthur would have liked a few more hints on what he needed to do, but he could see where Zeus was coming from. Still, he would risk at least one more question.

"If it's not too much, could you perchance tell me what happened to Guinevere?" Realizing clarification might be needed, he added, "She is…" the words 'my wife' came up but Arthur corrected himself to, "my widow. I hurt her terribly when we were married. Could you tell me how she has been doing over the last weeks?"

Arthur did not presume his request would be met, but, to his surprise, Zeus raised his hand up to his chest, its palm pointing upwards. A crystal ball full of white smoke shimmered into existence on his cupped hand. Then, the smoke vanished to reveal an image that appeared to be relayed by one of those televisions that existed in Storybrooke.

It showed Guinevere and Lancelot on some location in Storybrooke, walking side by side under a dripping black umbrella. Their faces were set in a solemn look Arthur felt had little or nothing to do with his death, and both were in the Camelot clothes he had last seen them wearing, only with black cloaks above. They must be going to or returning from someone's funeral.

After a few seconds, the image vanished. As Zeus lowered the crystal ball, he explained, "After you were incarcerated, Sir Lancelot showed himself to Snow White and Prince Charming in Storybrooke. When he explained what had happened, the Blue Fairy released Queen Guinevere from the influence of the Sands of Avalon. She and Sir Lancelot have been leading the Camelot residents who were taken to Storybrooke ever since. I imagine they will be returning to Camelot soon."

Arthur smiled.

"I am relieved to know that."

Lancelot and Guinevere were much better to one another than he had been to either of them, especially since he had pulled Excalibur from the stone. They were also aware of the people's needs. They would care for Camelot far better than he ever had. Perhaps they would even actually restore it, instead of using magical sand to make it appear repaired.

Again, Zeus looked ready to leave, but Arthur had one more question.

"Whose funeral was that?"

"Robin Hood's," Zeus replied.

And for the first time, his solemn countenance was broken. Immense sadness flooded his eyes, as if the thief's death somehow resonated within him. Not at the level one felt sad when learning someone specific but still unknown had died, but more deeply, as if Zeus could related to Robin Hood's death on a personal level, perhaps it was because he had been a casualty of his brother's path of destruction.

Even Arthur felt his heart clenching in sadness. He hadn't been close to the outlaw, and his more prominent memories of Robin Hood were those of him being stabbed by Sir Percival and of him being dragged away by the Fury. But even in the midst of his obsession, he had realized Robin had been a good man who would be missed by many.

"Will I be seeing him down here?"

Zeus let out a deep sigh. "Your guess is as good as mine."

There was nothing to say nothing to that. Arthur would help Robin Hood if the thief appeared in the Underworld, but he would rather the outlaw went directly to the 'better place' - as returning him to the living was impossible.

That thought pushed forth one last question.

"What happened to the Captain? Did he make it to the 'better place'?"

Still with remnants of solemnity, but looking relieved at the change of subject, Zeus replied, "He is where he belongs."

That should be a more elaborate way of saying 'yes'.

"Good luck, Arthur," Zeus finished. "Farewell."

Arthur nodded. "Farewell. And thank you for your help."

After one final nod, Zeus vanished in a cloud of pure white smoke. When it faded, Arthur was alone again, facing the dark tunnel. The inscription above it was still missing, but the river kept flowing in its direction.

The former king turned back to the water. Countless souls still swam around in it. Each of them a person with unfinished business, someone Arthur wanted to help move on.

When taking into account those he couldn't see, and the ones out of the river but still with unfinished business, Arthur knew he had a huge task before him, one he still wasn't sure he was ready for.

But even after all he had heard, he wanted to undertake it. And for the warnings he had been given and all his own apprehension, deep down, he still believed that, like he had told Captain Hook before they parted, he would be alright.

So, this was it.

I know not much has happened, but I promise, there is a reason for it.

As I said both in the summary and in the beginning of this oneshot, this series is open to prompts; in fact it is, to a degree, meant to be prompt-dependent. So please send me any prompts for things you would like to see. You can send them through reviews here, through PMs here, through my AO3 account (where my username also is 'ograndebatata') and through my Tumblr, which also is ograndebatata.

I hope you enjoyed this first oneshot, and that you will enjoy any that end up following.