AN: See chapter 1 for story notes and summaries.

Ships: Snowing, Rumbelle, Swan Believer, eventual Swanfire, and a delightful Golden Mad Charming BroT3. :)

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Please consider leaving a review if you're reading. It is very much appreciated!

I was asked to give a rough estimate of exactly what month/year it is, like I do with Finding You Always. So since it's estimated that the curse was broken in late February 2012 and it's been a few weeks since, it is now early April 2012

Special note:

Here are the main face claims I have chosen for the Gods/original characters. See previous chapters for more face claims with the Gods:

Gal Gadot as Persephone

Robert Downey Jr as Hades

George Clooney as Zeus

Ernie Hudson as Poseidon

Vincent Irizarry as Deimos

Maggie Smith as Hecate

Ben Affleck as Prince Eli

Thanks for awesome the reviews. Again, please consider leaving feedback. It is very much appreciated and reviews have dropped a bit lately. I love writing this story, but a lot of hard work in my free time goes into getting weekly chapters up, so reviews are really gratifying. :)

Here are individual responses:

Saberius Prime: Yes, definitely oh dear. Glad you're liking Hades' redemption. I think you'll enjoy his scenes in this chapter. In regards to Zelena...I'm more meh on her. She might eventually be redeemed, but she's setting up to be a major villain right now. That will become apparent in either the next chapter of the one after that. She's definitely the anti-hero.

Baratta Jennifer: Yep...big trouble is here. Or should I say more big trouble. Yep...things get dicey again. Glad you're enjoying.

Theinferno1536: If you are asking if Robert and James have ulterior motives? I think I can answer that as a no. They are both going to struggle to be better. That is going to be shown eventually. James will struggle with his blood lust and Robert will be tempted with alcohol. But they are both on the road to redemption. How bad the bomb is will become apparent. It's small, but I can tell you that the Swans knew exactly where to place it to compromise the entire building. That will make more sense when you read the scene. There are probably cameras, but no need, the Swans aren't hiding what they're doing. You'll see. :)

Naomi Blue: Yep, the Swans need to meet an ugly demise. Hopefully I can make that happen soon. Yep, Leopold is fooling no one anymore.

Grace5231973: You're exactly right. This is a diversion and now Rumple won't be able to get to Circe while she's locked up. I don't think I realized it at first, but Eli does echo Hook a bit. He makes a defining move in this chapter too that might sink him, that's all I'll say. And Leopold will always be creepy, I agree. I loved how the Swanfire scene turned out too. That was a tricky conversation to write with Henry and it turned out good. I also love the "bros" hanging out. I have to get those scenes in, because they are fun and Jefferson can be hilarious. And Rumple pretends to be annoyed that they're in his shop, but I think he secretly likes it, lol. I agree, I always saw Snowing and Rumbelle as the two greatest loves. I hated that they were always being pitted against each other. It would have been so much more entertaining if they became two power couples that were friends and solved all the problems. Rumple has the magic, Belle has the knowledge, and Snow and David kick ass with the physical fighting. It would have been more fun than pitting them against each other. So I guess that's what I'm doing here with them. :)

Izzypirelli: Yes, Leo is now my 2nd favorite too, next to Persephone. Yeah, I like how Jefferson is getting little breaks with Grace amongst the craziness. I'm like Snow. I don't get the bad boy thing. A one woman man who adores his wife and treats her like a Queen. I don't understand how anyone can't love David. I do like having double the Josh too. I love the little nicknames David has. Charmz, chisel chin, lol. I know, I was swooning too when he was off to see Snow again. Yep, this family tree is bat crap crazy to say the least, lol. Glad you liked Eli and Persephone's casual date. It turned out awkward, but there's a lot to figure out here. I do feel bad for Eli. He has a long road ahead. I don't think he has a problem with David either, not the way creepy Leopold did. Snow is happy and that does matter a lot to him. I know, that was a lot of Snowing cuteness and then it got spoiled. The Swans are evil and you asked if they could get even more evil. Buckle up...cause they do. So glad you're enjoying. :)

Dreaming Out Loud

Chapter 83: Burn Me With Fire

Dr. Whale finished writing in the patient chart and filed it at the nurse's station, before eyeing the desk nurse with a gleam in his eye.

"So...I think before I got called away, you and I were thinking about getting a cup of coffee. What do you say?" he asked flirtatiously. The desk nurse smiled and was about to answer when the entire building shook violently and there was an incredibly loud boom.

"What the hell was that?" he wondered, as there was more shaking and screaming ensued. The ceiling above them fell in and he hurried the nurse out of the way, as a chunk of plaster fell directly onto the nurse's station, crushing the desk like it was nothing. And with that, mass chaos ensued, as employees attempted to begin evacuating the patients.

"Somebody call the Sheriff!" Whale exclaimed, as he tried to supervise the chaotic evacuation.

Jessica shared a smirk with Kevin, as their device went off and it compromised the structural integrity of the hospital. She had placed the device on the fourth floor, which would cause the threat of that floor caving in on the lower floors. She had also placed it in a precise spot that would compromise the entire structure. The town would be busy trying to evacuate those on the higher floors that were now trapped. People were already pouring out of the lower floors and security was far too busy to notice them, as they slipped inside the hospital. They found their way to the locked stairwell that they knew imprisoned their leader and her followers.

Many of Circe's followers were glassy eyed sheep that eagerly believed anything she told them. They knew Circe was running a dangerous cult and eagerly participated in the corruption of young, lost souls that would do anything that was asked for them if they were led to believe it furthered their cause. Kevin and Jessica wanted their targets to truly suffer and they planned to use their mindless followers to terrorize the little family that had ruined their lives. At last, they would have retribution and revenge, while Circe got what she wanted, which was power. This cult was a means to an end for them and a means to power for their leader.

With a special tool in his hand, Kevin destroyed the lock mechanism on the door and they descended into the bowels of the hospital. When they came upon the desk nurse, they found her clamoring out from under the debris on her desk. She coughed and had no time to react, before Jessica ended her life with a bullet to the head. Kevin found his ways to the controls for the cells and unlocked them all.

Circe emerged from hers with a pleased smirk for her charges and motioned to the rest of them.

"Brother Kevin and Sister Jessica have freed us! We will follow them to freedom and then we will know salvation when we seek retribution on the evil that imprisoned us!" she announced to them and they willingly followed her like the mindless pawns they had become. And among those free now were Greg Mendell and King George.

Emma arrived at the hospital about the same time as Snow and David did. Snow put a hand to her mouth, as they watched the building sway tremble. Glass windows were bursting and dust filled air.

"We got here as soon as we could," Persephone said, as she and Eli appeared behind them.

"It's going to collapse," Snow said worriedly.

"Not if Emma and I stabilize it with magic," Persephone stated. Emma nodded.

"I'll try," she said.

"I'll help...while you and your father help get people out of there," Regina interjected, as she arrived. Snow looked at her and saw that her face was void of malice. It was a welcome change and she wondered if she dared to hope that Regina was finally letting go of her hate. Emma nodded gratefully, as she was glad to see Regina there to help too. She knew their son would be very happy about that too.

"Please be careful...both of you," Snow pleaded, as David kissed her tenderly.

"We will," he assured, as the two of them rushed into the building.

They raced up the stairs after seeing that those that were uninjured made it down, before they found the fourth floor. And when they reached it, they saw that this was clearly the detonation point. While the bomb was small and it could have been worse, those in the radius of the blast point were dead. As they searched for survivors, David counted the bodies that were clearly dead and so far had eleven. Emma checked the pulses of two more and she shook her head.

"Thirteen," she said sadly.

"Help…" he heard a faint call and rushed to the source, only to find a nurse trapped beneath a filing cabinet. David lifted it off and then picked her up, as Emma led the way for him down the stairs. Once they were in the lobby on the first floor, David put the woman on a stretcher and urged the orderly to get her out. Debris fell around them, as they tried to get to more people pouring down from the stairwells. They found a group clustered in the gift shop and began leading them out too.

David heard a banging coming from the elevator. He managed to pry it open and found the elevator stuck between floors with three people. He reached down to pull the first person up, followed by the other two and just in time, before the elevator cable snapped, sending it crashing to the ground floor with a loud bang. He led them out of the hospital and heard Emma and Snow call to him. Then he realized why, as a large piece of the crumbling structure was falling directly from above him.

"Dad!" Emma cried.

"DAVID!" Snow screamed, as he instinctively pushed the people out of the way. He dodged away from the falling debris, but wasn't sure he was going to make it out of the way. Suddenly, the piece of debris stopped in mid air and was thrust away. Snow and Emma sighed in relief, as Hades stood there with his arms stretched out, having stopped the debris from crushing him.

"Thanks…" he said. The former God of the Underworld nodded, as the building creaked and shuddered.

"It's going to come down, regardless of how much magic we use to keep it up!" Regina warned.

"She's right...we need those people on the upper floors out of there now," Persephone said, as she prepared to do something.

"Hades...can you help them steady the building as much as possible? I'm going up there," she said. He looked at her and then the building.

"No...I am," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"If something goes wrong...it's just me and your family needs you," he replied, as he disappeared in a puff of light blue smoke. She let out a strangled cry as he did and her stomach knotted, as they waited with bated breath. Slowly, people began appearing in puffs of sky blue smoke on the ground near them, as her husband rescued the occupants still on the floors above the collapsed third floor. More and more people appeared, as he emptied the upper hospital floors. The building shuddered and flails of energy and magic pulsed from the building, as they tried in vain to keep it from collapsing long enough to rescue people.

She glared at the Swans, as she saw that they had led all the prisoners from the basement and she was certain they were behind this. They were not trying to hide it after all, judging by the smug smirks on their faces.

"Circe...she's free," Snow said, as she watched the woman stroll toward them and Emma cut her off from her path toward her parents.

"Don't move…" she warned, as her hands lit up with white energy. Circe only smirked though and took the electromagnetically charged weapon that Kevin handed to her and fired it at the blonde. Emma countered with her magic, but was caught completely off guard, as the piece of technologically advanced weaponry overpowered her magic. She was hit with the blast and thrown back, as she hit the pavement with a painful thud.

"EMMA!" Snow and David cried, as they rushed to their daughter and David gently lifted her into a sitting position, while Snow looked her over.

"Owe...I'm okay…" she assured them, as she seemed have only suffered scrapes and bruises, thankfully. David glared at her and watched, as she turned the weapon toward the building.

"No...don't!" he pleaded, as she fired an EMP pulse and it slammed into the building. The ground trembled and a shock wave was released, bowling them all back. David managed to get behind Snow and put his arms around her, taking the brunt of the fall, as they hit the ground. It nullified Regina and Persephone's magic and they could only watch in horror, as the building collapsed to nothing more than a pile of rubble. As it was collapsing many more people showed up in bursts of light blue smoke. Persephone sat up and looked around, her eyes frantically searching for Hades. But he was no where to be found.

"No…" she uttered, as she started to go toward the rubble. Eli tried to hold her back from the danger, but she shrugged him off.

"Hades?!" she called, but he didn't appear. Snow looked sorrowfully at her mother, as David helped her to her feet, while checking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere.

"Mom…" she said, as David prodded her toward Persephone and she hugged her mother. There were many times over the years where she had entertained the possibility of Hades being out of her life and gone. She thought such would make her happy and not so long ago, it probably would have. But now...she wasn't expecting to feel what she was feeling at the realization that he could have perished. He was immortal as much as she was, but that didn't mean they couldn't be killed. And if that blast had nullified his magic like it had hers, then he didn't have that to protect him.

She heard a strangled gasp, as he materialized before them in a puff of light blue smoke and stumbled a bit, before getting his balance. He was scratched up and bruised, but he was okay and he shook head head to get the dust off him and coughed as he did.

"Well...I guess I can say I know what it feels like to have a building dropped on me now," he quipped. Persephone sighed in relief and rolled her eyes at the same time, as she found herself going to him and hugging him. The surprise on his face was palpable and he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Eli, whose face showed clear displeasure at their embrace. She pulled back from the hug and though he probably should have expected it, he was caught off guard when she punched his arm.

"Ouch…" he complained.

"Don't scare me like that, you ass," she growled and tried to wipe the smirk off his face at that, but couldn't manage it.

"Didn't know you cared," he mentioned. She rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Shut up," she snapped, as she crossed her arms over her chest. He chuckled at the sour look on her beautiful face.

"A building fell on me and you still need to hit me?" he muttered playfully.

"Don't whine," she chided and he smirked, before they turned their attention to Circe.

"In case you haven't figured it out already...this is war. One that Zeus started when he banished me to this world and took my magic," she stated.

"Then why not wage it on him? He's here and it's time he deals with what he did to you. But the rest of us...my family especially, had nothing to do with any of this," Persephone refuted.

"Not you...but your mother did nothing to stop Zeus. None of you ever did...though I did have hope for you, Persephone. Your voice carries much weight with the Gods, but alas, even you've chosen not to challenge Zeus so now it's up to me," she stated.

"And if you think my rule will be lax like his...then you have another thing coming," she warned.

"We'll stop you," Emma promised. Circe smirked and looked at her lead charges.

"This is the family we've told you so much about followers," Kevin announced.

"The spawn of the Underworld," Jessica added, as they watched their followers gasp and look at them with scrutiny.

"Oh I have a bad feeling about this," Neal mentioned to her, as he kept firm hands on Henry's shoulders, as they arrived.

"Don't worry...some silly cult isn't going to bother this family," she refuted.

"Evil!" one of them called.

"Demon!" another called. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Oh for the love of...are they really that stupid?" she questioned.

"They're brainwashed…" Persephone reminded.

"And the Princess of the Underworld carries yet another demon spawn, followers," Kevin said, further instigating the situation, as their attention honed in on Snow.

"Oh hell no…" David growled, as he put his arms around her. Circe smirked and began leading her followers away.

"The war has begun," one of brainwashed people said.

"The righteous will prevail," another parroted monotonously.

"We shall rid this world of evil!" a third hissed, as they pointed at Snow

"You're insane...our baby isn't evil. Stop this now!" she pleaded with the Swans, but those pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Come followers...it's not safe for us here. But our leader will protect us," Jessica called them and they followed. It was then that they noticed a man taking photos of them with a camera; a man they did not recognize.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma demanded to know, as he snapped photos of her parents.

"Just the reporter that covered the story about your abandonment nearly thirty-years ago, Miss Swan," he responded. Her eyes widened.

"It's Miss Nolan...Sheriff Nolan actually…" she snapped in return.

"And I wasn't abandoned," she corrected, as he looked at her parents.

"Yes...but what will the world believe? That they dumped you in the woods to supposedly protect you or just dumped you?" he questioned, as there as a spark and his camera fell to pieces. But he only chuckled.

"Nice trick, but all my photos that were taken with this camera are saved automatically to a digital drive. Guess that's another win for technology and another fail for magic," he said.

"What exactly is it that you're trying to accomplish here?" Hades questioned. He smirked.

"Just the biggest story of the century. Magic, deadbeat parents, dangerous cults, and proof that things the world thinks are just fiction are real. When I prove this story...I'll be able to name my price for it," he replied.

"My parents are not deadbeats," Emma growled.

"I can't control public opinion and if there is one thing I know about this world, people love to believe the worst about others, rather than the best. They'll see what they want to see and it won't be what you want them to see," he countered.

"So...big time reporter here to make a name for himself...or rather climb back after a fall from grace?" Hades questioned the man looked at him curiously. He chuckled.

"Trust me...I recognize a man that's fallen hard and will do anything to climb his way back. I also recognize walking excrement when I see it. I ruled the Underworld for centuries, after all," Hades stated.

"Funny...you're not exactly what I pictured for the Lord of the Underworld," the reporter commented.

"Then picture this…" Hades hissed, as a thousand images of suffering and terror assaulted the man's subconscious. He let out a terrible scream, as he was reduced to a trembling puddle of a man on the ground. Once the momentary assault ended, he was still shaking, as he tried to pull himself to his feet.

"Release that story...and that's your future when I send you to the Underworld. I may not rule it any longer, but you won't fare well at all there...I still have those loyal to me there. I'll make sure you end up in one of the rivers," he threatened, as the man scrambled away. Persephone sighed.

"Do you think it was enough to stop him?" she asked.

"A greedy leach like that? No...but it bought us time," he replied.

"Why did you waste time with a bunch of theatrics?! You should have just gotten rid of him, you evil bastard!" Eli growled, as he got in Hades face.

"Getting rid of him doesn't do us any good as long as he has videos and photos, idiot!" Hades snapped.

"He's right...we need to find his hard drive or hack his online storage account to delete everything first," Emma confirmed, as Eli slowly shrank away.

"Which is way above my expertise. I'm not even sure I know how to turn a computer on," Hades quipped, which made Persephone chuckle. He looked at her.

"I'm just picturing you trying to use a computer," she said, amused by the mental images.

"So glad I could be a source of amusement for you," he said playfully.

"Yeah, that's almost as funny as watching Dad try to use a computer," Emma teased.

"Hey…" David said in mock offense, which made Snow giggle.

"I'm not that bad," he protested.

"Right?" he asked his wife.

"Oh baby...you're good at lots of things. Just not that," Snow replied and he pouted. She giggled and kissed his cheek.

"So...what now? Do we just do the whole waiting around for these crazies to come at us?" James asked in annoyance.

"No...we be proactive. We know we need to hack that reporter's files," Persephone said.

"Well...he's not as good as my friend in the city, but August is actually a pretty decent hacker and he owes us big. I'm sure he'd help. We just need to get into the guy's room," Neal said.

"You and I are pretty good at picking locks, but I think it's better if we go the legal way on this. Mom...do you think Mitchell Herman will give us a warrant for the guy's room since he's our district attorney now?" Emma asked.

"I don't see why he wouldn't, especially now that he has his memories back. This reporter is a danger to everyone, not just us," Snow reasoned.

"We'll go pay him a visit," David said.

"Okay...that's one issue handled. Now for our cult problem," she said.

"Short of doing away with all of them...we need memory potions. But Circe is a whole other problem," Hades warned.

"My Dad is on the right track with the potion I think...but he could use some insight, as much as he hates to admit it," Neal offered. Persephone nodded.

"Then I'll go work with him," she agreed.

"I'll go with you," Eli offered.

"To do what exactly?" Hades questioned.

"None of your business," he hissed.

"Eli…" Persephone said gently, as she touched his arm.

"I know this is hard, but I need Hades' help with this. He and my mother may be essential in creating what we need," she replied.

"How can you work with him?" Eli hissed.

"Because this isn't about him or me!" she snapped.

"This is about protecting our daughter and our family from Circe and her band of brainwashed zombies! Cults like this...they are violent and dangerous. And if I can't be with Snow to protect her, then it falls to you," she said sternly.

"Mom...I'm sure David and I will be fine," Snow interjected. Emma snorted.

"No offense Mom...but you and dad need someone watching your six. Think you can handle it?" Emma asked, just as sternly. Eli nodded.

"Of course...no harm will come to them as long as they're with me," he promised.

"Or us," Robert chimed in, referring to himself and James.

"I don't think we need that. Snow and I can take care of ourselves," David insisted.

"Be that as it may, I'll worry less if you both have a protection detail," Persephone replied.

"Me too," Emma agreed.

"Fine...we better go," Snow said. Eli gave Persephone and Hades one last weary glance, as he followed.

"So...is this legal thing really the way to go?" James questioned. David smirked.

"It is if Emma says it is," he replied.

"Fine...but you know these cult wackos aren't going to be easy, right? They don't understand reason so they sure as hell won't understand following some laws," James reminded.

"He's right…" Robert stated.

"I just can't believe they think our baby is evil," Snow mentioned dejectedly.

"Hey...our baby is a blessing. All babies are. And I will protect this family with everything I have," he said, as he sighed.

"I just hope it's enough," he lamented. She squeezed his hand.

"It will be. You're our hero, you know," she mentioned, as she kissed his cheek. He smiled, as they arrived at the courthouse. Eli gazed at his daughter and longed to see recognition or even adoration in her eyes. But she continued to look upon him with polite indifference. He hated that she was more familiar with Hades. He had not missed the relieved and grateful looks she had given him after he saved David earlier and he wanted her to look at him like that. He was her father; not Hades and he wanted that recognition. He knew if he could find a way to fix this situation for her, then she might see him like she was seeing Hades. And this idea of dealing with this reporter man legally wasn't going to work in his opinion. Hades claimed he had a reason not to just eliminate him, but Eli knew better. He was just playing one of his sick games again to lure his family into believing he was really this changed man. But Eli knew better and he was going to prove them wrong.

"I'll keep watch out here, in case any of those miscreants decide to show up," he offered. Snow looked at him and then nodded gratefully.

"Thank you," she said. Robert eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but then slowly followed his sons and daughter-in-law inside the building. Once they were out of sight, Eli, with determination on his face, headed off to confront the reporter.

The potion in the beaker boiled in a full roar above the fire of the Bunsen burner, as Hades examined the liquid. They were borrowing one of the high school science labs for their work and it had been a long time since they worked together like this. He crinkled his nose.

"I've forgotten how foul to the olfactory senses that potion making can be," he commented.

"Especially when you add too much ragweed," she countered. He gave her a withering look.

"It's not too much ragweed," he argued.

"If you say so…" she replied, in a sing-song voice, as he added a drop of the final ingredient. There was a puff of black smoke and then a small explosion. They coughed and he picked the beaker up, seeing that his potion had turned black.

"Don't say it…" he warned.

"Too late...I told you so," she said smugly. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine...you were right, as usual," he muttered. She strained her ear.

"I'm sorry...what was that?" she questioned.

"Don't push it," she retorted. She sighed.

"What are we missing in this?" she asked.

"Well, to be fair...Lethe is really the only sure fire way to expunge memories permanently," he reminded.

"But we'd have to go back to the Underworld for that, which is not an option," she said, as her eyes widened.

"That's it…" she realized.

"What? You know we can't go back there now. I'm no longer ruler of the Underworld and Charon will refuse us," he reminded.

"Yes...but we know someone here that suffered the wrath of the river Lethe," she countered. Realization dawned in his eyes.

"Hecate…you think she holds the answer?" he asked.

"A hair...a drop of blood is all we need to extract the residual water. It's tedious, but a drop would be all we need. It's the ingredient we're missing...it has to be," she replied. And once again, he was awestruck by her.

"I have almost forgotten how brilliant you are," he complimented.

"Not really. I'm just a mother trying to save her daughter, her son-in-law, and her grandchildren," she responded. He nodded.

"And this time, I'm going to help you do that," he promised. She smiled.

"Let's go find my mother. She can help us convince Hecate to help us," she said, as they hurried off on a new mission.

Emma and Neal got out of the bug, as she parked outside Marco's shop.

"Hey Emma...Neal," August greeted, as he wiped the grease from his hands and tossed it away.

"Hey...we need your help," Emma said.

"Of course," August replied.

"So...you know there's no barrier right now and now we have this reporter guy poking around," she explained.

"A reporter...from outside?" August asked with interest. Neal nodded.

"He also wasn't shy about revealing that he's actually the reporter that wrote the article about Emma being found in the woods all those years ago either," Neal added.

"That's a hell of a coincidence," August commented.

"No coincidence...the Swans invited him and he's got all kinds of pictures. My parents are at the courthouse right now getting a warrant for his room and that's where you come in," Emma replied.

"What can I do?" he asked.

"Hades broke his camera, but the reporter smugly informed us that all his photos and information have been uploaded to a digital drive. We need you to hack it once we get into his room," Neal replied.

"Yeah...I'd be happy to help. I just hope my mediocre skills are enough," he said, as he turned to his papa, who waved him off.

"Your skills are much more than mediocre. Go...help them," he insisted.

"Thanks Papa...I'll be home later," he promised, as he left with them. Their town was under siege and he was eager to help in any way he could.