Chapter 20
How To Defeat Hades
When they came out of the portal David, Emma, Henry and Tally went to the loft. Snow was holding baby Neal, she said "don't worry, the rest of our family will be back soon".
"Is this soon enough" Snow turned around and saw her family.
Snow asked "did everyone make it back"?
Henry said "yeah, Grandpa Gold made it back with Belle, at least we think he did".
Tally said "it was a race back and didn't exactly check on Grandpa Gold".
Snow noticed Neal wasn't with them and asked "and Neal"?
Emma shook her head and replied "it was too late for the heart split, and Hades destroyed the only other way out".
David said "apparently the heart split had a time limit. With us it was only a few minutes but after twenty it's impossible".
Snow went up to Emma and hugged her "I'm so sorry, after everything you went through".
David said "Hades and Zelena also got back, they have Robin's baby".
Tally said "Regina believes Zelena didn't know Hades tried to trap us in the underworld, and so do I".
Regina and Robin were looking for Zelena, and Hades, and the baby. Regina said "don't worry Robin we'll find your daughter".
Suddenly Zelena ran up to them "Regina, there you are, you made it back".
Robin asked "where is she"?
Zelena was worried by his hostility so Regina explained "he wants to know where his daughter is"?
Zelena answered "Hades is watching her. He's hanging back until I can tell everyone he's changed".
Regina said "I know we thought so but he hasn't changed".
Zelena mentioned "but he took your names off your tombstones".
Regina replied "I know which is why he gave a spell to the blind witch to lock us in the library after he left with you and the baby".
"I was with him" Zelena said. "We waited for you".
Regina replied "then that was a show for you".
Zelena argued "no Hades is different now his heart is beating"
Regina said "just tell us where he is"?
Zelena asked "and what are you planning to do to him when you find him"?
Regina answered "that depends on him. But I will do what I have to do to protect this town and everyone in it".
Zelena said "so you'll imprison him".
Regina replied "if that's what it comes to then yes. I'm sorry Regina but he is not the man you"…
Zelena snapped "he is not a man at all, he is a god. And if you try to hurt him you do so at your own peril". Zelena poofed herself away.
Arthur landed in the Underworld after being killed by Hades unaware of what had happened. He came into the Underworld's version of Granny's. He tried talking to a young boy to find out where he was, but the blind witch told him the boy had stopped talking years ago. Then she asked if he wanted coffee. Arthur said "no, what I want to know where I am".
"Maybe I can help with that" he heard from behind him.
When he looked he saw Neal "I remember you, the Dark One's husband".
Neal corrected "Emma's not the dark one anymore, I've gone back to being the son of the Dark One".
Arthur said "either way, anyone connected to the Dark One is not to be trusted".
Neal said "well you're not exactly trustworthy either".
Arthur said "last I heard you were dead, but you're still here".
It dawned on Neal Arthur hadn't figured it out yet. "I did die, look around, do you recognize anyone here. I am dead, and now it would appear now so are you".
Arthur started looking around and said "wait, no, this is just a dream. I just fell and hit my head in the woods". Neal walked up to him and pinched him "ow, why'd you do that"?
Neal replied "nothing can hurt you in a dream, so this isn't a dream".
Arthur yelled "NO, I CANNOT BE DEAD, FATE WOULD NOT BE THAT CRUEL".
Neal asked " can you tell me how it happened"?
Arthur said "wait, who's in charge down here? Perhaps I can make a deal and go back".
Neal said "if it was possible I would have gone back. Unless someone living comes down here and you take their beating heart there's no way back".
Arthur started crying and sobbed "but I had so much left to do".
Neal stated "first four stages in under a minute, want to move onto the fifth and final stage of grief, acceptance. Just tell me how you died"?
Feeling defeated Arthur said "he said his name was Hades".
Neal asked "what about Emma, and the others, do they know how to defeat him".
Arthur said "I broke out of jail, made a run for it, met Hades then turned up down here. That's all I know".
Blind Witch said "besides it would make no difference, if Hades has a weakness he hid it well".
Neal said "yes, but now he's not here, meaning we can find it and I will find a way to get the message through to Emma". He turned to Arthur "your majesty how would you like to go on one last quest".
Arthur scoffed "with you"?
Neal said "this is the underworld, not heaven, not hell. Being here means you have unfinished business. When people leave here they're either going to a better place or a worse. You were a terrible king, you even attacked a child for saying something you didn't want to hear. If you want to move on to a better place you're going to need a lot of good deeds to compensate for the bad ones. Want to start by helping me help my family defeat the man who killed you".
Zelena took Hades to her sisters office and put up a protection spell to keep everyone else. Regina said "there's a tunnel that can go under the spell and we can come back up inside the town hall".
Robin said "well it did work last time we had to get pass Zelena's protection spell".
Emma asked "last time"?
Regina answered "the year we were in the enchanted forest and you were in New York. Once inside we can hopefully evade Hades, get the baby back and try to talk some sense into Zelena".
Emma replied "alright, let's go".
Regina said "actually, it's best if just Robin and I go, you need time to mourn".
David said "she right Emma, you're in pain and you'll feel better if you grieve first".
Regina said "until we find out how to defeat Hades our main focus is getting the baby back. It will be easier to be undetected with fewer people". When Regina and Robin went down Regina kept on trying to make excuses for Zelena but Robin didn't want to hear them, all he wanted was his daughter back.
Emma and Tally had the same idea of who was the one person who might know how to defeat Hades. They found him at the flower shop threatening Moe. It looked like Gold was ready to beat Moe with his cane again until Emma stepped in and told Moe to leave. Gold said "Emma, Tally, good to see you made it back from the underworld"?
Emma replied "we aren't the only ones, Hades made it here too".
"Oh did he" Gold said.
Tally said "Oh, the god of death is in Storybrooke and you say oh".
Gold replied "there's little that can be done about that now".
Emma said "that's why we came to you, we were hoping you might know how to defeat him".
Gold said "there are few objects that can kill an immortal being such as myself, like my dagger. But Hades is a god, if he wants you dead you have only one hope".
Emma asked "which is"?
Gold said "run and hide".
Back in the Underworld Arthur and Neal searched Hades throne room/dungeon for the pages Liam had ripped out and sent to him. Neal asked Arthur where he hid things he didn't want anyone to find. Inpecting Hades throne Arthur explained the most important and precious things he hid where no one would dare touch, his throne. A compartment in Hades throne suddenly popped open with the pages. Skimming through the pages Neal found the answers he'd been looking for. He and Arthur returned to the diner to ask Cruella where the phone booth was. Cruella told them she destroyed them to stop anyone from resolving their unfinished business. Neal thought for a moment and asked "what about the book, Henry's book, the underworld version, where is it"?
Cruella said "I put it out of reach in a place across the river of souls".
Neal mentioned "if we can get to the book there may be a way to get the pages to Emma.
Gold may have said their only hope against Hades was to run and hide but that was the last thing on Emma and Tally's mind. They went to the library where the rest of their family was. When they saw how many books they had to go through Tally grabbed one as started reading. Snow said "Emma we could really use your help too".
Emma declared "no, I'm going to go after Hades head on".
Tally said "Grandpa Gold said our only hope against Hades is to run and hide. And since no one is going to do that we need to find something to at least protect us before we face him".
Henry said "And I might have Regina but if you die Tally will be orphaned".
Emma said "the last thing I told Neal was to move on but I don't think he can until Hades is defeated".
David reminded her "Hades is a god, facing him head on would be foolish. The only thing that you'd achieve is finding out if Neal really can't move on until Hades is defeated first hand by seeing if he's still there".
Snow said "if you want to help Neal the best course of action is to grab a book and find a way to defeat him". Emma still wanted to go after Hades straight away but she knew they were right, going after to Hades without knowing the way to defeat him would be suicide. So she did what they suggested and started reading a book.
Down in the Underworld Neal and Arthur were travelling back to where Hades had taken Neal to try and turn him into a lost soul. As they travelled down the river Arthur asked "what is this"?
Neal replied "the river of lost souls". Neal saw Arthur attempting to touch the water and said "don't touch it. One drop and you're done for".
Arthur asked "and down here that means"?
Neal said "touch water from the river of lost souls and you become a lost soul".
They came to the end of the river and saw the book being held by the stone gargoyle over the arch saying 'abandon hope all ye enter here'.
Arthur said "so that two toned witch was telling the truth".
Neal said "wait a minute stairs leading right to where I need to go".
Arthur asked "is there a problem"?
Neal replied "it's just too easy".
Arthur said "sometimes things are".
Neal replied "not when things are this important".
Arthur asked "so what are you going to do".
Neal answered "the book is important, I need to try and get it, you stay here and watch the boat".
Neal went to get the book while Arthur watched. At first nothing happened as Neal got closer to the book. Suddenly Arthur started getting dragged to the river by a spectre. Neal ran back down the stairs and used a torch to ward off the spectre. While Arthur was still recovering the spectre rose up again and took the book intending to take it into the river of souls. Arthur used the torch to destroy the spectre and before the book could fall into the river Neal grabbed it. Arthur asked "why didn't you tell me those things could attack us"?
Neal put the pages into the book and said "this was the first I saw of it". Closing the book he added "the message is delivered, I have to have faith Emma will receive it".
Emma was looking through books with Henry's book at the side. She couldn't help taking it and staring at the illustration of her and Neal dancing at the ball. Tears spilt from her eyes but she quickly wiped her eyes and put the book away. Suddenly the book opened on it's own and the pages flipped to the part about the Olympian crystal. Seeing the illustration Emma went over to Tally and said "Tally, the glowing crystal from your vision, was this it"?
She showed Tally the picture and Tally replied "that's it, what is it "?
Emma said "the answer we've been searching for".
Emma went to town hall to try and confront Hades now she knew how he could be defeated and Tally followed her. When Emma broke the protection spell over town hall but then Zelena came out. She said "did you think you could break my protection spell without me noticing".
Emma said "Zelena, you can't trust him".
Zelena argued "yes I can".
Emma said "he tried to trap us in the underworld. Can you imagine how I felt having hope I could bring my husband home. I get to the ambrosia only to find the tree had been chopped down, centuries ago, the fruit turned to dust in my hand. The only person who could've chopped down the tree was Hades so he knew it was hopeless to begin with".
Seeing her mom and Zelena distracted Tally sneaked in. When she got to Regina's office she saw Regina and Robin having been caught by Hades. He was already pointing the Olympian crystal at them. Regina said "if you kill me you will lose Zelena forever".
Hades replied "only if she knows about it ".
Tally came in and said "the Olympian crystal doesn't just rip your soul from your body, it destroys it"!
Hades said "clever girl, yes this crystal can kill your soul. That means no better place, no moving on, not even the underworld."
Robin said "listen, breaking in was my idea, use that on me but leave Regina out of this",
Hades said "sorry ladies first".
As he shot at Regina Robin stepped in front of her, as his body fell his spirit stayed standing and smiled at Regina before disintegrating. Regina knelt down by Robin body crying. Tally came closer and said "I'm sorry, I didn't want to believe it".
Regina was confused and asked "believe what"?
Tally said "my vision about the dead bird. When I saw Robin in the library and gave his daughter to Zelena and Hades I realized the dead bird was a Robin".
Hades said "did you see a dead queen too".
Hades pointed the Olympian crystal at Regina and then Zelena came in.
"What happened"?
Tally said "Hades killed Robin while trying to kill Regina".
Hades said "don't listen to her, he said he was going to kill you, I had to protect you",
Regina growled "that's a lie".
Zelena asked "is it? Then how come Emma had these". She held out the pages Emma had come with.
Tally answered "if Hades can explain why the ambrosia tree was cut down, or how a witch with half baked spells had one strong enough to lock us in the library then maybe we can find a way that doesn't cost anyone else their soul".
Zelena asked "did you really try to trap them down there"?
Hades confessed "I did that for you, so we wouldn't have to hurt anyone. But now they're here and the only way to be safe is use this power to create a new kingdom, our kingdom".
Zelena asked "can't we just be happy together, why do we need a kingdom"?
Hades said "to get back at the family who never believed in us, the siblings who took everything from us. There is no better revenge than…."
Having heard it before Zelena finished "having it all".
Regina tackled Hades causing him to drop the crystal but before Regina could get it Zelena picked it up meaning it was up to her to decide who to believe. Hades said "use it, end her".
Regina said "Zelena, I do believe in you, I defended you when no one else did. I wanted so badly for you to find love, but sometime love blinds us. Hades already tried to kill me once and Robin died saving me, that's what love is, a sacrifice, it's about sacrificing everything for the one you love. But Hades won't sacrifice a thing for you, you heard him, he wants it all."
Hades argued "don't listen to her, she doesn't think you deserve to be happy. Look at this place, this office, this town, this all belonged to her while you had nothing. When she's out of the way you can finally have everything you ever wanted".
Zelena held the Olympian crystal like a spear, while looking at Regina she said to Hades "everything I ever wanted was love, you told me that wasn't enough for you and now I realise"… The Olympian crystal started glowing and Zelena cried "NOTHING EVER WILL BE". She turned stabbing Hades and he turned into dust.
She looked over at Regina crying over Robin's body and went over to comfort her sister.
Everyone was solemn as one by one they lay an arrow with a rose on Robins grave, even Zelena. As everyone left to go to the wake Regina said "he never even got to name his daughter".
Zelena said "I've chosen one. The only name that seems fitting, Robin".
Before going to the wake Emma went to her husbands grave. While weeping she said "thanks for the pages, came in real handy. Hades is gone forever so I hope that helped you move on. Only now it's done I have to cope with the realisation you're really gone. I miss you, Henry and Tally miss you. I really wish I didn't have to say goodbye to you".
She heard a voice behind her say "then how about hello".
Emma spun round and saw her husband alive, she ran into his arms and they kissed. She finally asked "how are you here"?
Neal answered "Zeus, the king of the gods. He must have sent me back as a reward for helping defeat his brother. I can't wait to let everyone know I'm back".
Emma then looked anxious and replied "maybe we shouldn't let everyone know. Before we defeated him he used the Olympian crystal on Robin. Knowing you're back while it's impossible for Robin is going to be really upsetting for Regina".
Meanwhile in Regina's office Mr Gold walked in and went over to the dust that used to be Hades. He wiped the dust aside and pulled up a piece of the Olympian crystal. He stated "you don't sneak magic into Storybrooke without me knowing about it. Especially magic as powerful as this, and now it's mine".