It's a Tale of Woe and Revenge

Chapter One

Storybrooke has been quiet since the return of magic and even though Mr. Hyde made an appearance before Regina and Henry claiming that the town now belonged to him after he had made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, who has mysteriously been absent since his disappearance through the portal in New York, everyone who lived there were happy. The heroes still mourned for the loss of one of their own and some of their friends left to return to their lives in Sherwood Forest, but another of their friends was alive once again after his heroic sacrifice to save them from Nimue and the rest of the Dark Ones, Dopey was no longer a tree standing outside of the town line, and there has been no trouble since Gold tried to steal the power for himself. The heroes had won the battles that counted and the new potential dangers Hyde had spoken of from his world had yet to rise up.

Unfortunately, a new danger was coming that would disrupt the peace and very soon. It wouldn't be a surprise for the town's residents, as trouble came for them often, but what no one knew, was that it was coming in form of an old enemy who hasn't made an appearance since the Ice Queen's spell of shattered sight had brought her to the surface. When Regina had crushed her counterpart's blackened heart after drinking Dr. Jekyll's formula to split herself from her dark side, the Evil Queen didn't die like they believed she did after all. And they didn't know that she was now standing just outside of the town line along with an unwilling ally. The Queen had stolen the Dragon's heart in Chinatown in order to get more power on her own side for when the next battle would rise against her enemies.

"Are you certain there is nothing I can say, that will convince you not to do this?" the Dragon asked calmly, though he feared what would happen should the Evil Queen succeed in her plans to defeat all magic's greatest protectors. "They are of no threat to you. The heroes know not that you live. But if you enter…"

"Enough," the Queen responded coldly, without looking back at him as he stood behind her while she examined the protection spell that surrounded Storybrooke to keep all evil and unwanted visitors out. "If you want to live, you will not question my objectives again and you will do as I ask of you because I have your heart."

The Dragon bowed his head despondently and then answered, "I would prefer to die, than to help you to destroy the world."

She turned around and glared at the magical being as she replied, "I don't wish to destroy the world. I plan to rule it. And not just this one, but our own world, as well as all others. I will rule over them all and you will help me, as will others once I've done here in Storybrooke, exactly what it is I have come here to do."

"The Savior and your other half, will stop you," he responded with confidence. "Regina is stronger than you are, even if she still struggles to believe in herself. And Emma Swan…"

"Emma Swan will be far too busy to save Regina from my plans for her, once I distract the Savior and the rest of the heroes," the Queen interrupted again and turned back to the barrier before her, then rose her hands as her magic flowed from them to create an opening large enough for them to slip through without alerting anyone within the town. "I would love to kill the Savior for all the times she defeated me and humiliated me in front of my enemies, but unfortunately she is far too powerful. At least I learned my lesson from the many times I tried to defeat her when she first arrived here. My sister, the Wicked Witch, was smart to steal her magic from her, but even she failed. However, Zelena did get one thing right."

The Dragon raised his hands as well and joined the Evil Queen against the barrier with his own power as he spoke up asking, "And what is that? You will never be able to steal Emma's magic from her as your sister had done. The Savior is far stronger now than she was then. I sensed it when she walked into my shop."

The evil woman smiled as she continued to fight against the magic and answered, "You're right, but I can hurt those she loves to get what I want. She will do anything to protect them, even stand down in her fight against me if there's only one way to save them."

"You cannot hurt her son," the powerful guardian stated sternly. "Regina may be who loves the boy, but though you are her dark side, there is still a part of you who loves Henry too. You and Regina are still connected, even if you are one half of a whole."

"Maybe you're right about that too, Dragon," the Queen replied in frustration. "However, I can hurt her parents. And I can most definitely hurt the man she loves. I've seen how far she will go to save that pirate back in Camelot as he lay dying and again here in Storybrooke when he died in a poor attempt to destroy the darkness. She was willing to put everyone else she loved in danger twice, all for Captain Hook. I know Emma Swan's weakness, just as I know one of his. And that is where we will begin."

Finally, they were able to break through and entered the town in silence. The Evil Queen raised her hand once more and immediately transported herself and her ally to another part of Storybrooke where a dark, murky pool of water rested nearby where they stood upon its shore. The Dragon could feel the evil coming off from beneath. However, he didn't say another word as the Queen slowly walked along the ground before her in silence while she tried to sense something out, then stopped where he could see nothing, but grass and dirt and watched in confusion and worry as she used her magic to dig up a small portion the earth. It rose in front of her and carefully began to separate each of the minerals contained within it until all that was left in the air as it swirled around her was a dark red substance.

The Dragon stared at the thick liquid as he asked curtly, "Exactly what do you plan to do with that? Though I appreciate you chose to gather blood without bloodshed, is there a reason you need the blood that has seeped into the earth in this spot? Whose blood is this?"

She smiled as she willed the fluid over the pond and finally released it as it sank into the water while a ripple of magic burst out, then she stood back and waited, and without waiting for her to respond he asked again fearfully, "Do you realize what it is you have done?"

"Yes, I know exactly what I've done," the evil woman answered smugly. "I have reopened the portal to the Underworld, using the pirate's own blood that he lost when he was stabbed through his chest with Excalibur, right here in this exact spot where I'm standing now. It turns out that all you need to retrieve someone from the Underworld is the blood of someone who has been there and back."

"You are retrieving someone?" the Dragon questioned. "Who?"

The Queen continued to stare out over the water as the fog rolled in and said, "Someone who will serve as the perfect distraction I need. And while the Savior and her family are all too busy trying to protect Hook, I will find the weak, cowardly woman who tried to destroy me, then make her pay. I have waited too long for the moment when I would finally be free to return to my former glory. And now, that time has finally come."

The Dragon turned his head when the boatman appeared through the fog as it parted, and while he strained to see the soul of whoever she had summoned Charon to bring forth from the hell below, she continued, "This man will not be too pleased to see me."

"Did you kill him?" he asked.

"No," the Evil Queen replied callously. "Not directly I didn't. I manipulate others to get what I want, just as I manipulated the very man who did kill him. The thirst for revenge is powerful and now I can help this man get it too."