Chapter 17

Match Made In Oz

It had turned out the creature Emma had seen attack Snow was a wolf and something else had come through the portal so Snow knew who this wolf was. It was Ruby, they immediately took her to the apartment. Emma went to check on the kids only to find they weren't there. But almost straight away Gold and Belle came to drop the kids home. Neal asked "when did they leave"?

David replied from the other room "I saw them go into their room but I didn't see them leave"?

Emma said "they're escape artists and I'm sensing they left the moment they got back".

Henry mentioned "we weren't going to find the way to defeat Hades in here".

Emma asked "and did you find the way to defeat Hades"?

Mr Gold, Henry and Tally said nothing but Belle said "I'm not sure about the defeating him but I think I know how to weaken him".

Regina asked "how? Because as far as Zelena knows she's his only weakness".

"Hades just had my ex-fiancé try to kill Rumple, and I think I know why? He knew as much as I didn't like him I wouldn't want Rumple to hurt him. Hades told me if one of them threw the other into the river of lost souls he'd take away the claim he had on my baby. I didn't agree because I thought there was another way. I was able to stop Rumple from throwing Gaston into the river but when he was about to shoot Rumple I pushed him into the river. We thought it meant our child was safe now but Hades told us since I pushed him it was no deal. He'd done it to wither a flower and said it had his favourite scent, hopelessness. Maybe that's why he got weakened when Hook's brother moved on. A multitude of souls being able to move on must have brought some hope to the underworld. The more souls that gain hope and the weaker Hades will be".

Mr Gold said "I think we need to tell them what else happened"?

Neal asked "why? What else happened"?

Tally quickly replied "I got mad and I thought it would help, honest".

Emma asked "okay, now we really need to know what happened"?

Henry said "Tally tried to push Hades into the river of lost souls. He moved aside as Tally was about to push him. Grandpa was able to save her from falling in the river herself but Hades wasn't happy. He said little girls need to learn as he disappeared seeming to do nothing Tally felt a chill. We just checked the graveyard, there's a new tombstone with Tally's name on it".

Emma dropped to her knees to hug Tally "oh sweetheart".

Neal joined in their hug worried , now his precious little girl was trapped down here and no doubt Emma was blaming herself.

Ruby started regaining consciousness and they all went over to her. When she saw everyone she asked "why am I back in Storybrooke"?

Snow answered "you're not"

Emma told her "Neal died so we came to the Underworld to save him".

"The underworld" asked Ruby. "But I was supposed to go wherever Zelena went. She made up this fabrication of having a daughter she wanted to get back to".

Regina replied "oh that was no fabrication, she does have a daughter and she does want her. So what did she do"?

Ruby said "it's my friend Dorothy, that was how Zelena was hoping to get back to her daughter. She went to confront Zelena and no one has seen her since. Mulan and I searched but I eventually decided to get an answer out of someone who should know, Zelena".

Emma said "I guess we should go".

As they headed to the door Regina mentioned "just when I thought we were getting somewhere with her".

David said "you know I'm gonna talk to our son, he hasn't heard our voice for a while".

Snow asked "could you tell him why I couldn't make it this time"

"Sure".

Henry said "I'm gonna go too, I want to chat to Violet".

So while all the men went to the haunting booth the women went to confront Zelena. When they got to the farmhouse they found her attempting to use the ruby slippers to escape. Hades had warned her Ruby was there and she was sure once Regina knew what she did she'd never let her see her daughter again. Regina stopped her from the third click. Zelena yelled "how do you expect me to learn to be a good mother if you don't leave me alone"?

Regina said "we were going to until someone you screwed over literally fell out of the sky".

Tally added "Ruby wants to know where her friend is"?

Zelena looked at Ruby and said "this is a long way to come looking for an answer".

Ruby replied "and I'm not leaving until I get one".

Zelena said "Dorothy was being a nuisance so I used one of Regina's spells to stop her".

Regina asked "which one"?

"A sleeping curse, she pricked her finger and fell asleep".

Ruby said "then wake her up".

"I may have cursed her but that doesn't mean I can uncurse her, there's only one way to break a sleeping curse".

Regina said "true loves kiss".

"The things about true love, it has to be requited and as loved as Dorothy is by the people her affection for them doesn't quite reach that far. And anyone she may have loved from Kansas is unfortunately still in Kansas unaware Oz even exists".

Ruby said "she told me her family was horrible to her".

"Case still stands, there is no one to give Dorothy what she needs, just as I had intended".

After another redemption speech Zelena gave Regina the slippers so Ruby could go back to Dorothy claiming nothing was going to change. Ruby said "what good are slippers if there is no one who can give Dorothy what she needs".

Tally suggested "maybe if someone she loves kisses them that could wake her once they're back on her feet".

Emma said "sweetheart, that's a creative idea but I don't think it works that way".

Snow replied "but it gives me an idea, the blind witch told me and David about the haunting booth in exchange for a breath of the living. If she could bottle breath maybe we could bottle a kiss. Ruby did Dorothy ever mention someone she loved who may have died".

Ruby thought and said "when she got back from her first trip to Oz she told her family what happened and they tried to have her committed. The only reason she wasn't was because her Aunt Em believed her".

They looked in the graveyard and Emily Brown's gravestone was there. That's when the men came running up to them to tell them Hades had ordered all the haunting booth's ripped out. Emma told them they should go home. Regina mentioned Snow couldn't go back because of that piece of granite with her name on it. In the end they decided David would go with Ruby to Oz then use the slippers to go back to Storybrooke and his son.

Meanwhile Belle had gone to see Zelena to ask for help with keeping her baby, mother to mother. She tried to convince her to ask Hades to rip up to contract until she had a bout of morning sickness. She mentioned how Zelena must remember what that was like but Zelena reminded her she fast forwarded past that part and had her baby within the hour. That's when Belle realized she'd thought she had time but if Hades wanted he could speed up her pregnancy and take her baby at any time.

Back at the apartment the men were talking David said "it should be Snow going back".

Henry mentioned "Tally too".

David said "he needs his mother more than he needs me. She missed this time with Emma and now it's happening again".

Neal said "none of you should be down here, I know I haven't said it yet but I'm grateful".

Hook replied "well we weren't about to let Emma do this alone".

David said "we chose to come here".

Neal said "and now you can leave before you get stuck down here too, baby Neal needs at least one of his parents. When Ruby leaves you can go and get back to him".

David said "I know I have to, but it should be Snow".

"One parent is better than none" they turned to the door and saw Tally.

"What are you doing here Sugar Plum"? asked Neal. "I thought you were going with your mom to see Auntie Em".

Tally said "I forgot my backpack".

David said "still I wish there was a way I could trade places with Snow and then she could go back in my place".

Tally said "Oh, you can".

Henry asked "what"?

"But I'm not entirely sure how to do it, forget I even mentioned it".

Neal asked "if you don't know how it works then how did it work in your dream".

"Oh it wasn't a dream. On the first day here me and Grandpa Gold went to his shop. Turns out until Grandpa is down here for good his shop belongs to Pan. He said he wants to come with us when we go back. Of course the problem is he's dead but he mentioned something about one of us not making the trip back but he does, I can only guess it's by taking their place. Don't worry me and Grandpa Gold agreed not to help Pan".

After talking to the blind witch they found out Auntie Em ran a rival diner called Aunties. The moment they walked through the door of Auntie Em's diner Auntie Em herself welcome them and told them about her pot pie, but they do a good roast chicken and the soup was to die for. As she had some of the soup Emma said "we're here because of Dorothy".

Auntie Em worriedly asked "my Dorothy, what's wrong? She's not down here is she"?

"No she's alive but under a sleeping curse. The only thing that can save her is true loves kiss. She said you looked out for her when the rest of the family wanted to commit her. So you must love her and she loves you so your kiss could work.

Emma gave Auntie Em a bottle and said "you can blow a kiss into here and then Ruby can get it to Dorothy".

Auntie Em needed no prodding and was about to blow a kiss into the bottle when she turned into water. When they were wondering what happened Hades appeared from a booth. He said "poor Auntie Em, I don't think the soup agreed with her. Must have been the water from the river of lost souls I added to it".

Tally said "you killed her".

Hades said "she was already dead. But you were trying to help her".

"And Dorothy" said Regina then asked "did my sister put you up to this"?

Hades replied "she has no idea I'm even here, but maybe I'll mention it to her later, thanks for the idea. I'm here because I need to teach you a lesson". He lay down a cloth to absorb Auntie Em.

Tally said "no, you did this for the reason you offered Belle her baby then took it back.

Hades said "hopelessness is an added bonus, this is for operation firebird." He got the cloth and squeezed it into a jar and held it up. "People of the underworld this is what helping these so-called heroes looks like. So anyone up for their help" Everyone turned away not trying to make eye contact. "Must be hard to be a saviour when nobody wants you to save them.

They went back to the bed and breakfast and Ruby had lost hope. "What are we going to do, Em was the only one".

Snow said "we'll find another way to fix things we always do".

"But no one can give Dorothy what she needs"?

"I don't think that's entirely true".

"Who? Who else can give her true loves kiss"?

Tally came in and said "true love doesn't have to come with flowers or music or little fat babies shooting arrows. It can take many forms from any source, usually from a family member, in the stories from a lover but it can also come from a friend. Love is a willingness to put someone before yourself. Like how mom came here for dad, like how... Belle stood up to Zelena when she had Grandpa's Gold's dagger, and like someone came here and stood up to someone more powerful than themselves to try and save her friend.

Ruby looked confused but Snow knew exactly what she was saying, "she meant you".

Ruby said "I do care greatly about Dorothy, it may fall into the love category but like Zelena said it has to be requited to be true love and I don't think she feels the same way about me. I think she's afraid of me, she saw me in wolf form and I told her what I did to Peter".

Snow replied "Red, I saw you in wolf form, and I saw what you did to Peter, and we're the best of friends".

"But she kind of ran off on me and Mulan".

"Like Tally said true love can take many forms, when I met David I hit him in the face with a rock".

"I'm just so afraid it won't work".

Tally sarcastically asked "and it's a better alternative to let her stay asleep forever just because you're scared".

Snow said "she makes an excellent point".

They all went to the graveyard and saw Emily Brown's headstone was cracked. Regina gave Ruby the shoes and said her hand and you'll be transported with her".

David and Snow turned to each other, Sn"it's pretty simple, click your heels together three times and think of where you want to go. David take ow said "so I guess we it's time to say goodbye".

David replied "yeah, but it won't be forever".

"Tell Neal his mommy loves him and will be back soon".

David smiled and said "actually I was hoping you could tell him that from me".

Snow shook her head "I can't leave, not until we defeat Hades and have our names erased.

David replied "Tally let us in on a way to leave the underworld". He led her over to the headstones with their names "By trading with someone who's still living". And then they saw Hook had scratched Snow's name out and put David's in her place.

Hook quickly said "it was his idea".

David said "because our son needs his mother, and I think he needs him".

They kissed and everyone said goodbye to Snow. Then she took Ruby's hand and in three heel clicks they disappeared.