Summary: This story is canon-compliant until season five, episode sixteen, "Our Decay" of Once Upon a Time. Starting at the beginning of "Our Decay", when Mr. Gold makes the portal for Hades, the portal works as it should but the baby of Zelena and Robin is the only passenger through the portal. Belle and Zelena remain in Storybrooke while the baby travels to Underbrooke. Zelena faces many trials and tribulations as must overcome her struggles to finally obtain what she has always desired: true happiness. Slowly but surely, Hades is able to earn his redemption, as most of the villains on the show have been given their own forgiveness. As Zelena and Hades are finding themselves in their new story, they discover what it means for to each of them to be a "Hero."
Chapter Two
Disclaimer: ABC () and A&E own everything. I used dialogue between Mr. Gold and Belle from "Our Decay" in this chapter as well, but I own nothing but the plot of this story.
Zelena stalks towards the man in front of her, the anger bubbling over with each stomp of her feet. The rage she feels, his audacity to think that he could take her daughter wipes out any trace of remorse or kindness that she could have felt.
"Where's my fucking daughter?" She demands, the tips of her fingers igniting in green sparks of fire. The conflagration inside her yearns to be set free, to sweep over the room and set everything aflame, leaving nothing in its wake. Zelena relaxes her fists and flexes her fingers, unconsciously releasing huge fireballs that fly out towards to the walls surrounding the platform. Hades' gaze leaves her face and examines the scorch marks that the flames left on the brick walls.
"Zelena is something wrong with your magic?" The question leaves the God of the Underworld's lips before he can stop himself, the concern he feels for the powerful witch overpowering any anger that was inside his chest.
"I will ask you one more time. Where is my baby?" Zelena bellows, her voice raising along with her anger. Hades' eyebrows furrow into a frown, and he sighs, holding a hand out for her to take.
"She's in one of my bedrooms," he admits, his eyes flickering over the distance between himself and the Wicked Witch. Zelena's eyes flash with rage and turn a bright emerald color.
"How dare you even think that you could take away my child," She spits at the god of death, her fingers aching to cast a fireball in his direction.
"Those heroes, as they call themselves, weren't even watching her," Hades reasons with Zelena, attempting to soothe her anger. "I only took her because I knew that she would be safer with me until you could be with her. They left her all alone up there with the other babies. They wouldn't even let her own mother see her; how could that possibly be any better than here with me and now you?"
"Safer with you?" She scoffs, folding her arms over her chest. "How could my child be safer with you, a man who can't l-love anything and wouldn't be troubled in the slightest if she was h-hurt?"
"I've changed, Zelena," Hades all but whispers, but Zelena's rage does not dim in the slightest."I wish you could see that. Besides, I've had a visual and aural monitor in her room at all times, so that I would know if anything happened to her." His gaze slips down to her fingertips where her magic is still winking in and out, and the mask over his emotions drops temporarily.
"I-is your magic alright?" Hades asks, his brows furrowing at the thought that his place of reign could impact his former lover in such a way. His fingers twitch as he raises his hand, every nerve in his body aching to just touch her. "Take my hand, Zelena, and I'll take you to her. Your magic is...unstable at the moment, and I'm afraid it could harm you. Just take my hand."
The Wicked Witch's wary gaze sweeps over Hades's visage and outstretched hand, weighing all of her options in her mind. A few moments pass by where just silence echoes throughout the chambers.
Zelena's fingers barely grace Hades's. The god's hand clasps onto hers, and Zelena watched as his other hand was cast downwards, a gust of blue fire engulfing them before they disappeared from Hades's lair.
A few seconds later, the duo arrives in a long, dark hallway. They stand in front of a large, arched door, and Zelena inhales a deep breath before turning the doorknob and walking into the room, the tension and anger melting away from her bones as her eyes settle on the face of her baby.
Hades glances around the room as Zelena bolts for her child. The walls are a pastel blue, giving the room a sense of security and softness. A bookshelf with spell books and grimoires is up against the wall to the left of the doorway; an armoire is on the wall to the right of the door. Next to the armoire are two doors, one leading to a modern master bathroom, complete with a bear clawed tub, and the other giving way to a large closet, big enough to hold clothes for four to five people. In front of the doorway is a king-sized bed, encrusted with a beautiful mahogany headboard, a dark emerald duvet, and midnight black sheets. A wooden crib, instead of a nightstand table, stands right next to the bed painted a dark black to match the sheets on the bed.
"Sweetpea," Zelena murmurs as she crosses the room. She winces slightly as her feet drag and limp across the floor, the adrenaline leaving her body and exhaustion flooding her system. Hades's eyes travel down her legs and land on her feet, concern and slight anger flooding his emotions. He wonders to himself why Zelena hasn't healed herself yet. Yes, her daughter is a major issue and something to be worried about, but she should have taken care of herself first.
"Shh, shh, Mummy's here, Mummy's here," Zelena's whispers interrupting Hades' thoughts, his gaze falling onto the maternal image of Zelena and her baby. Tenderness replaces the anger inside of his heart, and he furrows his brows as he reflects on these foreign emotions.
"You're going to be with Mummy now, sweetpea," Zelena reassures the now quiet baby. Baby Zelena raises her fists and waves them at her mother. A warmth fills Zelena's heart, and she clutches her baby to her chest, rocking her slowly from side to side.
"What happened?" Hades asks the Wicked Witch, speaking in a low voice as to not upset the baby.
Silence.
"Please, Zelena," Hades says, looking up at her, "Tell me the truth. I don't want you to e-endanger yourself even more."
Zelena glares at the god, willing him to just leave her be with her child; she just wants to have a moment with her child without Hades intruding. Even though he is technically right - her ankles are injured from falling through the portal and it seems like something is tampering with her magic - she refuses to allow him that satisfaction. Why should she give him anything after he put her daughter in danger and took her away from her own mother?
"No, Hades," Zelena spits his name like a curse, placing her child back in the crib. "I'll figure it on my own."
"Alright, alright," Hades says, attempting to soothe her. Zelena grows angrier as he tries to create a peaceful environment.
"No, it's not alright," Zelena growls, stepping away from the crib as flames spark on her fingertips, growing brighter until they extinguish themselves as if someone had thrown water onto her hands.
"Z-Zelena, please!" He pleaded, waving his hands in front of his body. A blue shield now encompasses his body, carefully guarding him against her magic.
"No! Just leave my daughter and me alone!" She shouts one more time before storming back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Leaning against the worn mahogany, she lets out an angry sigh, her eyelids closing tightly. Zelena forces all of the negative emotions deep down inside of her; she doesn't want her magic to react to her emotions and cause any injury to her daughter. A soft cry echoes against the walls for a few seconds before Zelena rushes over to the crib on the other side of the room, scooping up her daughter and pressing her close to her chest.
"Shh, I've got you, little one," she reassures the baby, bouncing her gently in her arms. It takes a few minutes for her to stop crying. She's aggravated that Hades had to meddle in her life again. Sure, her life isn't ideal, what with her sister and the rest of the "heroes" hating her and practically exiling her out of town, and she finally has her baby back after being separated from each other for so long, but she was trying, goddamnit, she was trying without asking for anyone's help and how could anyone fault her for that?
Zelena sighs to herself again and sits on the edge of the bed with her baby cradled in her arms. She looks down upon the baby's head and gives her a weak smile.
"You know Mummy's been thinking of names for you, Little One," She tells the baby girl, watching as the child's fist clutches onto one of Zelena's fingers. "Who knows what your father would have wanted to name you, probably something horribly plain like Emily.
"Lily is nice," She murmurs to the baby, watching as the child innocently waves around both of her fists, clutching onto her mother's hand even tighter.
"Caroline is also too plain," She continues, thinking of the list of names she has in her house in Storybrooke, "Do you like Mia? Or maybe Luena?"
Zelena's baby yawns and smacks her lips together, her eyes blinking a few times. Zelena smiles down at the girl and settles her on the bed.
"Yes, I think Luena Mia works quite well, don't you, Little One?" She asks the baby, more talking to herself rather than the child. A fleeting thought crosses her mind to check whether her baby is hungry or needs a diaper change, and Zelena focuses all of her energy and magic into a quick summoning charm. She is pleased when the diaper bag she packed before jumping through the portal flies carefully across the room and lands at her feet. Keeping one hand on the newly dubbed Luena, Zelena bends down and retrieves the bag, putting it next to the baby on the bed. First, a diaper change, and then to see if the baby is hungry.
After checking the baby's diaper, Zelena is pleased to find that her baby is swaddled and dry and warm in a new diaper as if someone had just changed her recently. Maybe Hades did finally do something right, she thinks to herself, a small smile appearing on her face before she catches herself, willing the tiny grin away. Zelena turns her thoughts away from Hades and digs her fingers through the bag again, pulling out a box of formula, a bottle of water, and a baby bottle. She measures out the correct amount of powdered formula and puts it in the bottle of water before putting in some of the water from the water bottle. Zelena then shakes the bottle while keeping a finger on the nipple of the bottle, preventing the bottle from spilling.
"Are you hungry, Little One?" She asks Luena while she shakes the bottle. The baby smacks her lips again and turns her attention to the bag on the bed, waving her hands a few times. Zelena turns back to the baby bottle and holds it in one hand while hovering the other over it. Concentrating carefully, she heats up the bottle with her magic, putting some of the formula on her wrist to examine on whether it is too hot or not. Pleased with managing to make the mixture the right temperature, Zelena gathers her baby in her arms, propping her up so that she can lift the baby bottle to her lips.
"Let's see if you're hungry, sweetheart," She murmurs, keeping her arms steady, as she holds the bottle to Luena's mouth. The baby lets the bottle sit there for a moment before latching her lips around the nipple of the bottle, beginning to drink the baby formula.
"Good girl, Mummy's very proud of you," The mother smiles down at her baby, holding her close and relishing every second she is experiencing with her child.
Hades paces back and forth in his lair, his hand pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. His steps falter for a moment, and he decides to sink into the chair on the platform. He crosses one leg over the other at the knee and sighs heavily, picking up his glass of brandy from the table next to him. He takes a sip, letting the burn savor in his throat for a brief moment.
"I was just trying to help you, Zelena," he whispers to himself, closing his eyes. His mind drifts from the witch to another magical entity: Rumplestiltskin. Hades opens his eyes and swipes his hand through the air in a circle, conjuring a crystal ball so that it floats before him. Snatching the ball out of the air, Hades holds it in the palm of his left hand, waving his right hand over it. An image of Rumplestiltskin, or Mr. Gold as he's going by nowadays, talking fervently with Mrs. Gold, or as she's most known, Belle.
*"No. No. I-I can't condone you being like this. Not again," Belle says to Mr. Gold, taking a firm stance in what appears to be Underbrooke's version of the town library.
"Yes, you can. You just have to choose to. And if you do... we can have what's important... Family, happiness," Mr. Gold responded, grasping onto the woman's hands, "It's your choice."
"No, I'm, uh…" Belle paused, breathing in deeply as a sniffled sounded from her nose, "I'm not making any choices... not now. Not until you get me back to our friends... and you've fixed... all of this." She gestures in a circle, emphasizing her point and her frustration.
"Then that's what I shall do," He agrees, giving Belle a nod. His face tightens into a grimace as if working with their so-called friends pains him a great deal.
"But you'll see I'm right. You'll see."*
He ponders on the last few hours and thinks about the actions he's taken and words he has said towards Zelena since she has entered the Underworld.
"Gods, I sound too much like him," Hades complains, vanishing the crystal ball and throwing a hand over his eyes. He mutters to himself for a few moments about how he's turning into one of his current enemies before falling silent. He glances over to the side table where he previously placed his glass of brandy and notices the rolled up parchment that is next to his glass. Picking it up, Hades lets it fall open, rolling down towards the ground as he skims over the document. He lets out a sigh before conjuring up a bubble in front of him, another orb that is identical to the one he sent Zelena to call her to Underbrooke. He waves his hand over the circumference of the bubble, waiting for it to turn an iridescent blue.
"Gold," He begins to speak into the orb, rolling his eyes as he pictures the look Gold will have on his face when he hears the message. "I am ready to tear up your parchment; I will meet you at the diner in two hours, exactly. Don't be late."
Hades waves his hand over the orb again and it vanishes, heading towards its target. He settles back into his chair and reaches for his brandy again, downing the rest of it quickly and grimacing at the burn that chases after the alcohol flooding his system. God's can't get drunk, but that doesn't mean they can't try.
"Message received," a voice sounds throughout the room accompanied by a sudden warmth in front of Hades's face. Hades opens his eyes to see a floating ball of flame in front of him. Colored a brilliant gold, the fire flickers for a few seconds before extinguishing itself, leaving nothing behind.
"You must think you're so funny, Gold," Hades says to himself, sighing at the theatrics of the other man. He stands up and raises his arms above his head, giving a great stretch and groaning as one of his bones pops. He is so distracted in the aggravation he feels towards Mr. Gold that he barely recognizes the presence of somewhat familiar magic occurring in the room, a spell that would bring a person from one place to another. The click of heeled boots echoes throughout the chamber, and Hades turns his head to find Zelena walking across the platform. His face brightens as he takes in her appearance before falling once more as he remembers how things ended when they were in the hallway.
"Z-Zelena," Hades stutters, trying to regain his composure, "I didn't think you would come to find me again so soon after our fight."
"Is that what you're calling it?" she smirks at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her ankles still look swollen, but Hades ignores the sight, not wanting to anger her more than he already has.
"Well, that's what it was, wasn't it?" He asks her, his voice now steady and cool as he puts on a collected façade.
"I wouldn't call it a fight," she states, looking around the room, taking in the finer details of the chamber. "A spat is a more accurate term, I think."
"Whatever you want to call it," Hades starts, moving his hands into the pockets of his trousers, "It's on the back burner for right now. I assume you need something unless you were simply coming to resume our…"spat"."
Zelena's eyes darken as anger refuels her spirit. Swallowing a snarky remark, she pushes down her anger, not wanting her unstable magic to be set free again. Who knows if it could go through these walls to where her child lay sleeping in that nearby bedroom.
"Tell me how to leave this place," She demands, taking a firmer stance in front of him. Hades swallows the unwarranted hurt that fills his still heart, choosing to take a step towards Zelena instead.
"And why exactly should I tell you that?" He asks her, watching as the fire in her eyes ignites once more. "If I'm such a horrid person that doesn't care about you or your baby's happiness, the person that you believe I am, then I should be preventing you from leaving, not instructing you on how to leave."
She stews over his statement for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip in frustration. While his logic is right, that is what she should expect out of Hades, to begin with, but she believes he wouldn't be so cruel as to keep her in an eternal Hell, would he?
"Although I did change the Underworld for you," he continues, ignoring the range of emotions on her face that she desperately tries to hide. "You once desired a kingdom, a place where you could be accepted, where you could be loved, without judgment from anyone. You wanted everything your sister had, a loving mother, caring friends, even to cast the spell that brought Storybrooke into existence, to begin with.
"So, I made you your own Storybrooke," he carries on, now pacing back and forth across the platform. "I wanted you to see that you didn't need any of them; you didn't need your sister or those so-called heroes she calls her friends."
"I don't want that anymore," she interrupts him, frowning at the man as he presumes to know exactly how she's feeling.
"No, Zelena, you don't," he admits, drawing her name through his lips as if it's a blessing. "All you need is your daughter, and you have her now."
"So, let me leave," she demands, drawing herself up to her full height, injured ankles be damned. "Let Luena and I leave and go back to Storybrooke at least, where I can then take her somewhere else." Maybe even into the human world, as plain and horrible as it sounds, Lu can have a perfectly normal life with no interferences from anyone or anything, she thinks to herself.
"I would, Zelena if I could," Hades says, a look of pure apology on his face, "I would give up everything, this world I've created, the souls I rule over, everything to let you leave and be happy.
"But I can't," his head falls in shame, and she sees his hand rise from the pocket of his trousers to pinch the bridge of his nose. "No one can leave, only enter, because of my own foolish mistakes."
"What do you mean?" Zelena asks in a steady voice, crossing the floor and plopping down in Hades's chair as if it were her own.
"There was this boy named Orpheus," Hades begins, leaning against the table that once held various bottles but is now empty, "and his wife was Eurydice. Long story short, she died and ended up here. Orpheus came into the Underworld and pleaded for me to let her go. I agreed for there was only one way to escape my realm at that point in time, the test of true love, and I arrogantly thought that no mere mortal couple could ever pass through it.
"The test of true-love requires the living soul of the two to tear their heart out of their chest and place it upon a set of scales. If that person shares true love with their partner, the scales will fall in their favor and allow both parties to move onto a secret chamber filled with the ambrosia of the Gods, the only thing that will allow anyone but me to leave the Underworld.
"Orpheus and Eurydice passed the test," Hades concludes, rubbing a hand over his face as he reveals his own selfish nature to Zelena, "They ate the ambrosia and left the Underworld, happy to be alive and together in the mortal realm. I was furious that they had left; I was young and stupid and thought that I was the most powerful being in the universe, that no one could best me. So I destroyed the rest of the ambrosia, damning everyone else to live an eternity in the Underworld, never to escape."
Zelena sucks a breath in through her teeth, her head spinning with the intake of knowledge Hades has given her.
"Why would you bring my daughter here?!" She bellows, standing up from the chair so fast that her head spins. "Why would you endanger her life and mine?!"
"There's another solution to the problem I've created," Hades admits, leaning even further against the table and ignoring Zelena's thundering anger as it sounds throughout the room. "I admit, when I brought your daughter here, I wasn't acting with reason and rather emotionally if I do say so myself."
"What is the other solution?" She demands, her hands cast downwards towards the marble floor as green fire flames from her fingertips.
"I have to break my curse," Hades deadpans, looking up at Zelena's face, willing himself not to shrink back from the rage and displeasure he sees there. At his words, Zelena's anger grows even larger, and she must take several deep breaths to try and calm herself even a smidge.
"Is that why you brought my daughter and me here? To try and break that supposed curse again?" Her guttural screams bounce off the walls, emphasized by the streams of fire she aims into two of the rivers flowing throughout of Hades's throne room; her fury releases itself in wavering, beautiful streams of magic flying into the harmful waters below them. A fleeting thought crosses through his mind that he has never seen her more beautiful or powerful.
"It's not "supposed" anything, Zelena," He tells her, not even trying to placate her after what happened the last time he attempted that route."The curse does exist, my heart does not beat, and for anyone to leave, the curse must be broken, allowing myself and any living person here to leave permanently and rejoin the land of the living."