A.N I'm back. Sorry, it's been so long since I last updated but I've had technical difficulties plus an additional project taking up a lot of my time.
Chapter 19
The Strength Of Love
Everyone had met up in main street, Emma asked "so what happened? Is the burning love extinguished"?
Regina answered "the good news is Zelena and I agreed on the best course of action".
Neal said "that's great, but I'm sensing there's bad news"
"Well" she said. "We agreed the best course of action was for her to be with Hades". Everyone cried words of disagreement.
Suddenly Tally clutched her head, Henry asked "are you okay? Are you having a vision"?
She let go of her head "yes, a fruit of some sort turning into dust, a glowing crystal I'm assuming is dangerous, an arrow with a rose on it. The last one is a bit unclear, a dead bird and a baby bird".
Hook said "it could be trying to symbolise something else, the sudden death of a parent maybe".
Henry mentioned "hope it's not one of mine".
David said "first things first Zelena and Hades".
Regina replied "I know we all agreed it was not the best choice but the reason it sounded unhero like was because it is. Hero or not Zelena is my sister and I want her to be happy".
Tally said "everyone deserves love, even Zelena, and as evil as he is even Hades".
"Wise little girl" they turned to the voice and saw Hades. Neal grabbed Tally and pushed her behind him and Emma did the same with Henry "Oh, I didn't come to hurt anyone. I've come to ask... this is hard for me to say. I came to ask for your help"
Neal scoffed "and we would help you why"?
Hades said "because I have the power to erase the names I put on gravestones".
Neal said "keep talking".
Hades continued "I went to meet Zelena for our date and she never showed up. I was beginning to think she stood me up when I found this". He held up a piece of paper and gave it to Emma. "Pan and Rumplestiltskin have kidnapped Zelena".
Emma said "it says here he'll only release her if you rip up the contract promising you his unborn child".
Neal said "so rip it up".
Regina added "I just got my sister back".
"Rumplestiltskin and Pan are two of the most devious souls I've ever encountered, and that's coming from me. I doubt that when I rip up the contract they'll keep their word. What I need is something they won't expect, while I do as they say someone needs to be nearby to ensure they do as they say".
"Fine, I'll do it" Regina said.
Hades replied "not you, I'd prefer someone more motivated"
"She's my sister, who's going to be more motivated"?
"Emma" Hades turned to Emma and said "you would do anything to get your family home. I can make that happen if you help me, if I get Zelena back I promise I will erase all the names I put on headstones".
Later on Hades was waiting in the diner which had been cleared of everyone. At sunrise Pan and Rumplstiltskin arrived with Zelena who was wearing the magic dampening cuff. Pan said "good, you followed orders and came alone".
Rumpl3 said "now for the other half, rip up the contract then you get the witch".
Hades glared at them and produced the contract and tore it in half. "Now let her go".
Rumple said "well, that was the deal. We just have one last thing we need to do with her, then you get her back".
Pan added "you see I want to go back up there and the only way is to have a beating heart. And I've chosen hers".
Zelena replied "sorry to burst your bubble but my heart has a protection spell on it".
Pan asked "I know that and I know how to bypass a protection spell".
As he was about to reach in he got blasted back by Emma who came in from behind them. She came in front of them and stood with Hades. Gold asked "since when does the saviour work with the lord of the underworld"?
Emma answered "since he offered to take mine and everyone else's names off the headstones".
Gold said "you need to be careful who you trust Mrs SwanCassidy".
"I know it's a mistake trusting you" she replied with her hands out ready to strike. "But why are you still here? He did what you wanted".
Mr Gold replied "I guess you're right" and he disappeared.
Pan looked worried and Zelena said "looks like Rumple was here for Rumple".
Pan let go of her and cried "this is not over" and disappeared himself.
Emma commented "I'd be surprised if it was".
Hades embraced Zelena in a hug and removed the cuff. "Oh Zelena" he said.
She said "you tore up that contract for me, I never thought you would".
Hades replied "I would give up anything for you". And with a kiss of true love and pulse of magic came out restarted Hades heart and with what felt like an earthquake Hades banishment to the underground was over.
Emma said "so you got what you wanted, and my family".
Hades replied "gather them up and bring them to the graveyard and I'll erase the names I put on tombstones".
When they all gathered in the graveyard and saw the town clock and the hands were spinning and Hades told them soon it would open a portal to the land of the living. Hades stood in front of the tombstones and with a wave of his hand they vanished. Most of them felt a warmth inside them and knew that meant they were alive again. But then Neal noticed one of the tombstones wasn't gone. "Hey my tombstone is still here".
Hades said "yeah about that…"
Emma said "you're not following through with your end of the deal".
Hades replied "not true, I erased the names I put onto tombstones but believe it or not I am incapable of erasing names of people who actually died".
Regina said "well let's all try the heart split thing and then we can all go home".
Hades asked "what's this heart split thing".
Hook said "Emma's going to split her heart in two and give Neal the other half".
Hades shook his head "it won't work".
David replied "it worked for me when I died".
When Emma tried she suddenly felt like she couldn't breathe so Regina put both halves back inside Emma. Hades said "I suspected this, tell me charming how long were you dead.
David said "a minute maybe two or three".
Hades replied "a few minutes without oxygen and you have a chance. After 20 minutes however is going beyond the point of no return".
Hook replied "you didn't think of mentioning this sooner".
Hades asked "would you have believed me"?
Everyone had to admit if Hades had told them it was impossible to bring Neal back they would have assumed he was only trying to trick them. Emma said "so the moment we got here it was already too late? This whole time coming here was totally pointless"?
Hades replied "sorry, afraid so".
Emma asked "hasn't anyone ever come to the underworld and brought someone back? Then he saw a look in Hades eyes that told her someone had.
Tally asked "what about Orpheus and Eurydice".
Henry said "but in that myth Orpheus failed"?
Hades said "there's a reason they're called myths, they're not true. Orpheus did save Eurydice, by feeding her ambrosia, the food of the gods".
Regina asked "so where do we get some, because I don't recall seeing it at the menu at the blind witches".
Hades said "you think it would be that easily procured"?
They went to the library and Hades opened the elevator, "this is the only way to get to the ambrosia".
Emma replied "I have magic I can just poof all of us straight to the ambrosia".
Hades said "if it was that easy a number of deceased magic practitioners would be back in the land of the living. Magic doesn't work down there, to get to it you need offer up your heart for judgement".
Emma asked "and then what we appear in an ambrosia field".
Hades replied "believe it or not I don't know how it works, I've never been there myself. I just know what I've been told".
Emma asked "without magic how am I going to take my own heart out".
Hades reached into her chest and took out her heart and put it into a bag. "Here, call it a gift" he said giving her the bag. "Now once the two of you are down there you'll have to do it on your own".
Emma said "aren't you coming"?
Hades replied "I'm not sure it would work either way in my presence".
Emma asked "would I be right in thinking failing this test has fatal consequences".
Hades answered "well most people down here are already dead so I can only guess worse. As I've said, I've never been down there".
Neal said "maybe this is a bad idea, maybe you should just let me go. This is an awfully big risk".
Emma replied "and maybe I don't care how big the risk is. My primary goal is to get all my family home, and that includes you". She turned to Regina and added "Regina if time starts to run out before I get back".
Regina said "I'll get everyone else back home, but you will be back in time".
Emma turned to her children "Henry I love you" she said.
"I love you too mom" he replied.
Neal said "never forget how much I love you and your sister buddy".
Henry replied "I will I promise".
Emma said "Tally be a good girl, I love you so much".
Neal added "I love you too Sugar Plum and I always will".
Tally said "I love you too mom and dad".
They turned towards the elevator and were about to go in when Emma turned around and said "Tally, could you do me a big favour"?
Tally replied "of course mom". She was very excited that her mom was asking her for a favour instead of Henry or any of the adults.
Emma said "please stay where you're supposed to be for once, I want you to be safe".
Disappointedly Tally said "yes, I will".
Emma smiled and said "that's my good girl. She and Neal went into the elevator and went down.
While the rest of the group waited Henry had thought. "We haven't finished Operation Firebird yet, we can't leave without helping the people still trapped down here".
Tally said "as soon as that portal opens and Hades goes through those people will no longer be trapped".
Regina said "exactly they were trapped because of Hades".
Hades added "without me the underworld will function as it was supposed to. A place for people to deal with their unfinished business and move on".
Henry mentioned "that's great for everyone who knows what that unfinished business is but not all of the people down here know what their unfinished is. But maybe as the author I can tell them".
Tally said "it's worth a go".
At that moment Robin came in with his daughter and was surprised to see Hades and Zelena there. After some convincing from Regina he gave his baby girl to Zelena. Robin noticed Tally looking as if she was thinking hard about something while staring at him. Robin asked "are you okay Tally"?
Tally said "it's just that… it's nothing".
Hades and Zelena left to go to the cemetery to make sure the baby got through the portal as soon as it opened. Zelena even offered to have Henry and Tally to come with them but they refused to leave without their parents. And Henry intended to continue with operation firebird while they waited.
They set up a table and chair outside so people could line up and Henry could tell them what their unfinished business was. Right now Stealthy was at the front of the line and Henry gave him his page. "I never knew how much resentment I held against Bashful. When you go back can you tell my brothers I miss them" Stealthy said.
Tally replied "Of course".
As Stealthy left Cruella pushed to the front of the line Regina said "sorry but there's a line and I don't think your unfinished business in going to send you to any place you'd like".
Cruella told them "oh I didn't come for my story, I want to stay here. With Hades leaving the underworld is going to need a new ruler. But to rule and going to need people to rule over".
Tally said "you can't stop us from trying these people until we leave".
Cruella replied "oh I don't just want them to stay here, I intend to keep all of you here".
David asked "is this because of what happened to James"?
Cruella said "yes! And the fact that your daughter who killed me in the first place".
Regina said "how exactly are you planning to keep us from leaving, your magic is limited to controlling animals. It's not powerful enough to keep us down here".
The blind witch came out from behind her and said "but mine is".
She pushed all of them back in the library and locked them in and Cruella said "no one's getting out until sunset when the portal closes, and then no one's getting out".
Meanwhile Emma and Neal had come to a pair of scales in front of a door. There was something inscribed around the scales that Emma couldn't read. "Couldn't the instructions be in English".
Neal mentioned "they were hardly going to make it easy to get to".
Emma said "so what are we supposed to do"?
Neal said "Hades said you need to offer up your heart for judgement, maybe this is what he meant".
Emma said "so I just put my heart on the scales, seems to easy".
Neal said "and then if we fail the test, we suffer a fate worse than death".
Emma replied "not we, me, but I'm willing to take that chance. I know I love you and I know you love me and I have to hope that's enough to past this test.
Emma took out her heart and placed it on the scales, at first nothing happened. All of a sudden Emma felt a pain in her chest. "Neal" she wheezed "get my heart".
As Neal was about to but suddenly engulfed in flames, he cried "Emma, get your heart, quick, you need to escape".
Emma was tempted to but seeing Neal in pain she instantly pushed in out of the flames. The fire left along with the pain in Emma's chest. They heard the sound of doors opening.
Neal said "true love, that was the test, to see if when given the choice who you choose to save".
Emma said "I couldn't let you get hurt".
They went through the doors and found the ambrosia tree, but it had been chopped down and everything around it was dead. Emma picked up a piece of ambrosia and it turned to dust. "A fruit turning to dust like Tally foresaw".
Neal said "it looks like this place had been this way for a while".
They both went towards the tree trunk Emma said "someone cut the tree down, why would anyone do that"?
Neal said "Hades did this, he lied, not only could he get down here he knew there was no ambrosia left to find. He probably chopped it down shortly after Orpheus and Eurydice escaped so no one else could escape.
Emma asked "then what was the point of sending us down here. There must be seeds or clippings" Emma knelt down on the ground looking for anything that might help Neal come back.
Neal said "Emma there's nothing, when Hades chopped down the tree he would have made sure nothing would remain. Trying to find anything would just be a waste of time". At that moment it dawned on him "a waste of time. That's why he sent us down here, to keep us busy and away from the portal. We have to go now, and get through the portal before it closes".
He pulls Emma up but she cries "but without the ambrosia, you"…
He answers "we will find a way, we always do".
They rushed back to the elevator and Neal pulled down the frame once Emma got on without getting on himself. Emma said "Neal, what are you doing"?
Neal said "let's be realistic Emma, there's nothing up there that can get me out in time. I only acted like there was to get you into the elevator.
Emma's eyes began watering as she said "I came to the underworld to save you".
Neal replied "you can't win them all. We've been married for eight glorious years and have two beautiful children. Most people don't even have nearly that much. And lets face it I've been lucky, I should have died long before that sword swiped my neck".
Emma wept "I can't leave you".
Neal said "you must, Tally and Henry need you, they need their mother. When you were pregnant with Tally we made a promise to each other that our child would never have to grow up like we did, without at least one parent. Now you're going to go up that elevator, you are going to go through that portal with our children, and Emma, be happy, move on from me and be happy".
Emma said "only if you move on yourself. Don't let me be your unfinished business, don't wait for me to show up".
Neal replied "it will be hard I will try". They fell into a deep kiss and when they broke the elevator started going up. They held each other's hand for as long as they could and once they were too far apart Emma wiped away her tears, she had to try to be strong for her children.
Once she got to the top and got out Tally asked "where's dad"?
Emma said "he's not coming back with us".
Regina said "we're not leaving either, we can't, the blind witch cast a spell trapping us in here until the portal closes".
Emma said "let me guess Hades and Zelena and the baby are at the portal and the Blind Witch got the spell from Hades".
David said "yes and yes".
Emma said "this has all been a trap, he chopped the ambrosia trees years ago". She looked at Tally "it like what you saw, an ambrosia fruit turned to dust when I tried picking it up".
Henry said "so dad is still trapped down here".
Robin added "it would appear so are we".
Emma said "I'm willing to bet that spell isn't strong enough to withhold mine and Regina's magic".
Emma and Regina threw their magic at the doors and they flew open. Everyone left and Henry left the book there so other people would find them.
They ran to the portal but they could tell it wouldn't be open for much longer Everyone ran through before David and Emma went through Emma looked back as if she expected to see Neal through the mist. David said "I'm sorry about Neal, but you did all you could".
Emma asked "did I? I thought mine and Neal's true love was strong enough to survive anything".
David said "he wouldn't want you look back, only forward. And be with the other ones you love". David and Emma went through just in time before the portal turned back into a clock.