"You unrepentant bastard!" Cora shouts. Her last syllable is truncated by a pain-filled yelp as Hades's vicious grip halts her incoming assault. Jerking her twisted wrist free of his grasp and staring at it in blatant shock that she knows she should not feel, she accuses, "You burned me!"

Hades smirks, the crown of his head fully engulfed in vibrant cobalt flames. "And you stole from me. You're lucky I've not done far worse."

"Oh please! I left the Agraban staff right where I found it. What do you care? Neither you nor Jafar were using his heart. Don't think that every person down here in the underworld wouldn't do the same thing given half the opportunity. We don't choose to stay down here with you because of you're winning pers…" The rest of her tirade falls away unfinished as Cora looks around, suddenly confused. "Hades, what is this place? Where have you taken me?"

"What are you talking about? I haven't taken…"

Hades's gaze jerks left and then right as he takes in his surroundings. He knows where they are, but he can't recall making a conscious choice to be here, much less, bring Cora along for the trip. "What the… I didn't bring you here, Cora."

"Of course, you did."

"I did not. I wouldn't. Zelena wouldn't like this."

His comment, and the life-size portrait of her daughter over the marble fireplace, lead Cora to make an educated guess about where they must be. She adjusts her posture. Straightening her spine and raising her chin slightly, she takes on her usual role as disapproving royal. "Please tell me this is not where my grandchildren live. There's not a spot on the floor untouched by shattered window glass."

Too alarmed to bother being offended by her indignation, Hades steps away from her, glass crunching underfoot as he goes. His gaze searches the perimeter of the drawing room in the palatial villa Zelena had built for him. Stepping toward the grand staircase, he calls out, "Zelena, Eliana… Theo?"

When he receives no answer, he turns his focus inward and is instantly alarmed by the massive jumble of panicked messages he receives courtesy of his omnipotence.

Still convinced he's up to something, Cora sighs, "What is the meaning of…"

"Be quiet!"

"I beg your…"

Hades rushes toward her. Closing the distance between them in three ominous strides before seizing her by the throat where blisters similar to those already on her wrist instantly erupt. Seething with equal parts fear and loathing for the self-important woman shuddering before him, he hisses darkly. "Your daughter and grandchildren are missing. I am trying to figure out where they are. It would appear that, certainly, every window in this room, and possibly every window in this house, has been obliterated. From what I can discern, it sounds as if the entire town of Storybrooke is in fight or flight mode. In case you haven't looked outside, it's storming; and the only time it ever storms like this is when my eldest brother is enraged about something. I need to focus. So, until I figure out what the hell is going on, woman, you will shut up! Defy me, and you will never speak again."

While eyeing the man in the white coat with suspicion, Theo stands on the exam table and snuggles deeper into the security of his mother's embrace. He rubs his itchy watery eyes as he shakes his head vehemently. "No touch Teo!"

Weil smiles at his patient. "I just want to listen to your chest. It won't hurt. I promise."

Just as stubbornly as before, the toddler shakes his head. "You not touch Teo!"

Far from giving up, Weil says, "Hey, I know…" He removes the stethoscope from around his neck. "What if you listen to my chest first? Then you will see, it's not scary. It's even kind of cool." He holds the instrument out to the boy and Theo watches him with circumspect, curious, but still wary.

Weil lowers his voice to that coaxing tone he reserves for patients under four feet tall. "Here watch. You put this top part in your ears." Weil leans toward the boy and very slowly places the upper ends of the stethoscope into his small ears. "Then, you take this other end and hold it against the patient's chest… "The doctor tucks the opposite end of the stethoscope under his lab coat and directly over his heart. And if you're very quiet, and you listen very closely…"

It takes a full three seconds before Theo's eyes widen in wonder. Then, he looks confused. He reaches for the end of the stethoscope that Weil still holds, and when it's offered, he scowls at it, and shakes it about in the air before handing it back to Weil; who places it once again against his own chest.

Theo smiles and reaches out for the chest peace again. Next, he places it against his mother's chest.

Smiling encouragement, Zelena moves the head of the stethoscope over to the proper side of her chest and waits.

Theo grins and makes mouth noises, trying to emulate what he hears.

Zelena moves the chest piece and places it directly over her son's heart.

His eyes widen again, and he moves the stethoscope out of his way long enough to peer down the neck of his shirt at his own small chest as if he expects to see something he's never seen before.

Weil chuckles. "It's on the inside. You can't see it just by looking. But your heart beats faster than mine or Mom's, doesn't it?"

Theo places the stethoscope against his belly and makes a new face.

Weil laughs at the boy. "Yeah, that's a different noise, isn't it?" He returns it to Theo's chest, tucking it inside the collar of his shirt. "Here, you hold it, right there. Don't move." Moving with exaggerated care, the doctor reclaims the upper end of the stethoscope and returns it to his own ears. He listens briefly and then moves the chest piece, placing it gently against the boy's back, first on the left side and then the right, listening to his lungs. When he's done, Theo reaches for the ear tips again and Weil accommodates him; reaching out to place them back in the toddler's ears,

Without warning, Theo sneezes violently and shoots fire from his mouth and nose, catching the medical man wholly unprepared.

Weil yelps loud enough to frighten Theo, who instantly reaches for his mother.

Zelena cradles the boy on her hip. "It's okay, big boy."

Weil hopes his eyebrows weren't just singed off as he quickly sheds his white coat with its instantly charred sleeves, tosses it to the floor, and stomps on it to extinguish the flames. He tries to unbutton the cuffs of his shirtsleeves, and the simple act comes with enough pain to make him wish for oblivion. He groans inwardly. He's going to have to get Rachid to attend to his arms. Grinding his teeth together, to keep from swearing in front of his young patient, he declares, "Well, that's a new one. You didn't tell me he was part dragon."

Zelena bristles indignantly. "He is no such thing! How dare you! This is the son of Hades!"

Weil listens to himself in complete astonishment as he tries to appease her. "My apologies. I meant no disrespect. Only that, a little warning would've been nice."

Zelena narrows her eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent. Even if he were part dragon, which he most certainly is not, dragons do not breathe fire in human form, doctor."

Weil nods helplessly. "I will call in a couple of prescriptions over at The Dark Star; an antihistamine, and a decongestant for him. Follow the instructions the pharmacist gives you." He hands her a child's lollipop from the container on the counter near the room's wash basin.

"Please excuse me. I'm going to need help to deal with these burns on my arms." He flees the room feeling like he's moving in slow motion and praying he doesn't pass out before the wicked witch and her fire-breathing son have vacated the premises.

Theo gives his mother a worried look.

"Don't you worry, darling. It's not your fault." Holding up the green lollipop, Zelena distracts her son. "We'll go get your medicine. You'll feel better soon. Are you ready to go home?"

Theo reaches out with both of his chubby little hands and grasps the treat with enthusiasm. Without waiting for his mother to remove the plastic wrapper, he shoves the lollipop into his mouth and then scowls comically.

Zelena gently tugs the lollipop free of her son's mouth and disposes of the plastic covering before she returns it to him. "There, is that better?"

Theo nods, babbling around his sweet reward the moment before he unexpectedly disappears in a teal-colored burst of flame.

His mother gasps in surprise as a nurse steps into the room.

"What? Theo?" Zelena quickly steps around the end of the examining table to the other side, searching for her son. When she doesn't find him crouched there, playing an impromptu game of hide and seek, she checks the storage cabinet beneath the sink.

No Theo there.

The room's privacy curtain hangs from a narrow tract in the ceiling and it's fully open; pushed to one corner of the room. Although it's not currently in use, Zelena quickly investigates, making certain that her wayward child isn't hiding between the curtain and the scant section of wall it touches.

Still no Theo.

The nurse frowns and questions dryly, "Does he normally vanish without warning?"

Vexed by the incompetent woman's lack of understanding, Zelena snaps. "No. He doesn't vanish without warning! Sometimes at home he starts playing hide and seek without telling us first. But I don't think he vanishes. He just wanders off when nobody's looking. I've never seen him do this. I don't know what this i… Hang on! Yes, I do! The wicked witch smiles radiantly. "His first transport! I… Yes, I asked him if he wanted to go home…" She picks up her handbag. "I've got to dash. I've got to catch up with him. Hades is going to be thrilled!"

She vanishes from the room in a swirl of excitement and green vapor leaving the startled nurse standing in an empty exam room.

Zelena enters the villa magically. Already halfway up the grand staircase, she trots toward the nursery. Calling out with enthusiasm, "Theo! Where's mummy's big boy?" She steps into his bedroom. instantly disturbed; as much by his absence as she is by the sight of broken glass, she returns to the hall at a run. Looking this way and that, she repeats, "Theo?"

Surprised, but pleased with her arrival, Hades calls out to her, "Zelena?"

She quickly returns to the stairs and glances down into the drawing room. "Hades, where's Theo? Have you seen him? Why is there broken glass everywhere?"

He raises an eyebrow in concern. "He isn't with you?"

"Hades, he's done it. He's had his first transpo…" She approaches him. Intending to embrace, she comes up short with a scowl. "Mother? What are you…"

Cora preempts her daughter's less than eloquently stated question. "Hello, darling. It's lovely to see you, too. I thought I'd drop by for a little vi…"

Not in the mood for stiff propriety, Zelena cuts off her mother's reply. "Hades, what is Mother doing here with you?"

"Never mind that. I will explain later, after I figure it out for myself. Theo isn't with you?"

"No, he isn't. That's what I was trying to tell you. He's had his first transport - or, at least, I think he has. Where is he? Can you sense his location? He should be here somewhere in the house. I took him into the doctor's office to get him some medicine for his allergies. He sneezed and burned the hell out of Weil. He left to go get his nurse to patch him up, but, before he did, he gave me a prescription and I asked Theo if he was ready to go home." She offers her husband a dazzling smile. "He vanished in a burst of teal colored flames." She snaps her fingers. "Just like that."

"When? How long has he been away from you?"

"Just a few seconds. Long enough for me to get here, that's all."

"That's about as long as we've been here. And, we didn't arrive by choice."

"Theo?" Zelena calls out hoping for a response. "What is that supposed to mean? You didn't arrive by choice? If not by choice, then how?" She rushes on, her mind elsewhere, not giving him time to answer. "Maybe he's in the kitchen. Maybe he wants a snack." She quick steps toward the rear of the house with her husband and her mother close behind.

Leaving the drawing room, she bypasses two parlors, the concert hall, the grand ballroom, the sunroom, the room Hades has dubbed her private emporium, and the dining room.

Having never had the privilege of being here before, Cora manages to glance curiously beyond the threshold of two rooms in passing before Hades catches her at it, and magically slams all the doors along their current path shut.

"Don't be so nosy, Cora. You won't be here long enough to make yourself at home."

Cora presses her mouth into a thin line and resolves to wait for a better opportunity, sensing that now is not the time to press her luck.

Zelena glances over her shoulder, briefly making eye contact with her mother. "That's the part I don't understand. How are you even here?"

Hades answers. "I haven't figured that part out yet, my love. Cora and I were having a disagreement. The next thing I knew, we were both here. Somehow, I have been moved from one realm to another. I suspect Cora is only here because she was touching me at the precise moment I left the underworld."

"What do you mean, you've been moved?"

"As I said, it wasn't by my own choice."

"Hades, the only beings powerful enough to move you across realms without your consent are deities – and only the most renowned ones at that. It's not something that can be accomplished by accident… And, I do hope you're planning to explain why Mother was touching you."

Hades shrugs hoping to convey that it really isn't anything that she need be concerned over. "She got caught doing something she shouldn't have been doing. She was unhappy. She, rather unwisely, attempted to strike me."

Zelena raises an eyebrow, her gaze pivoting as she takes in the sight of the badly burned and blistered flesh at her mother's wrist and throat for the first time. She presses her lips together in a halfhearted effort to contain the sudden snort of laughter that gets trapped in the back of her throat. "Really, Mother?" She has no interest in a reply as she steps over the threshold into the kitchen. When Theo is not immediately within sight, she crosses the room and ducks into the large pantry momentarily and then returns shaking her head. "I've already checked his room, Hades."

He nods and his wife watches his face go blank. Familiar with this empty expression, she waits silently; shaking her head for the second time, scowling in annoyance when it becomes clear to her that Cora is on the verge of speaking.

In less than two seconds, the blank expression on Hades' face shifts to one that clearly conveys alarm.

This time, Zelena doesn't wait. "What? What's wrong? Where is he?"

Hades scowls in confusion. "He's in the underworld."

Zelena demands, "Where is he exactly? Is he scared?"

Hades grins with unmistakable paternal pride as he shakes his head. "He's playing in the throne room."

"Of course, he is." Zelena laughs. "Oh Hades, he hasn't even transported within this world yet. To transport between realms his first time out - he must have really wanted to see you."

Hades shakes his head, suddenly very uncomfortable with his own thoughts. "I'm afraid that's not likely, my dear. Children, even children of deities, start by traveling short distances. Across rooms, from one side to the other. And then later, room to room. Yes, they generally start using their abilities sooner than the children of mortal mages, but travel between the worlds and dimensions, comes later. It's an advanced skill. As of yet, Theo rarely even calls for items across the room."

"So what? Maybe he's just getting a late start."

Hades shakes his head. "Understand darling, I am not disparaging him in the least. He's going to live considerably longer than any of his cousins. He has decades, possibly even centuries longer, to hone his abilities; whatever they may be. He's not getting a late start with teleportation, though. Zelena, even if he doesn't start using his power to travel for another decade, he will still be getting an early start. It can take years, possibly even a mortal's lifetime to manipulate and master the power of the gods. Consider your own progress. You've known about your father's ancestry for five years already, and still, I promise, you've only just begun to scratch the surface of what you will be able to do."

Frustrated with her own lack of progress, Zelena queries, "If a decade from now would still be an early start for him, then how is Eliana already able to transport at will? She isn't that much older than him."

Hades nods. "Eliana transports because she relies, not on her godly power to do so, but on her power as a witch. It's much easier to master. She's also a girl, and generally speaking, females do seem to learn to manipulate their abilities more quickly than males."

"But…"

Hades cuts her off apologetically. "Darling, Theo is alone in the underworld. I need to go and get him before one of the power-hungry denizens there learns of his arrival and decides to use it to their advantage. We can sort all this out later, after we are certain he is safe."

Zelena nods and falls silent as she waits for him to vanish from sight only to re-appear a moment later with their son held safely in his arms. When that doesn't happen, she raises an eyebrow. "You are going now?"

Hades scowls in confusion. "I don't seem to be able to."

A short burst of humorless laughter escapes Zelena. "Well, of course you can. Just do… whatever it is you normally do."

"I am, or at least I'm trying to. It's not working. I can't go. Somehow, I've been barred."

"What the hell do you mean you've been barred?"

"I can't do it."

"What's wrong with your power?"

"Nothing. My ability to go is fine. I just can't step through. I don't seem to be able to leave!"

"Well, why the hell not?"

"I don't know!" Hades shouts as fear roars to life in his gut. He tries to relocate himself to a spot across the room and has no trouble doing it.

Zelena understands. "You can travel around here in Storybrooke, but you can't get into the underworld?

He nods gravely.

"Try to leave town or move through time."

He leaves them, shimmering out of sight.

While they wait for his return, Cora seizes the opportunity to ask a question. "What was he talking about a moment ago?"

"You heard him the same as I did. He can't travel to the underworld."

"Zelena, dear, that's not what I'm referring to. What was that about your father? Why should Hades mention his ancestry?"

Zelena sighs in exasperation. "Mother, now is not the time. We have much more important things to worry about just now. In case you …" she stops short when Hades returns and offers a worried shrug.

Zelena fires off questions in rapid succession. "Any problems? Where did you go? Did you try another realm?"

Hades begins to pace restlessly, like a caged beast. "No problems - and yes, I tried a couple of different realms." He reaches out for her, rapidly approaching panic. "Here, you go."

Zelena partially de-materializes but becomes translucent and then stalls briefly before fully returning to her former position. She shakes her head as her blue eyes fill with alarm. "Hades?"

"Somebody's up to something."

Zelena immediately rounds on the most likely suspect, or at least the one in closest proximity. She growls ominously, "Mother! Whatever you are up to, whatever you've done, reverse it now!"

Cora looks genuinely shocked. "Me!"

"Yes you!" Hades hisses violently as his head erupts in blue flames.

Cora shakes her head indefatigably. "Whatever's happening here, I am not responsible."

"Cora! If anything happens to our son…" Hades' customary cobalt blue flames suddenly go obsidian black. "I will gladly spend the next ten eternities torturing you."

The queen of hearts steps quickly away from him, holding her hands palm up in a defensive gesture. "I live in the underworld too, remember? I look after the place while you're up here playing dad."

Hades approaches her darkly. "Not anymore, you don't."

"If you will just think rationally for a moment Hades… I know who is down there. I know what is down there. And, you know me. Do you honestly think for one second that I would send my only grandson down there alone? That I would restrict your access to him and leave him unprotected. Furthermore, I do not have the power to restrict your travel, and you know it."

Zelena eyes her mother for a weighted moment. Then, grudgingly, she steps in between the two of them. Arms out, she touches both their shoulders and pushes them apart, putting a greater physical distance between the two of them. "Nobody hates to admit this more than I, but she's telling the truth. Listen to her Hades. You know she's right. You know what power means to her, and he's her connection to greater power than she's ever known. She wouldn't endanger him – not like this. Not even if she could."

Zelena waits for reason to once again take hold of her husband. When she is certain that he won't strangle her mother for the sheer pleasure of it, she steps back. "Only another deity could restrict our access to the underworld, Hades." She shakes her head, mentally grasping for any explanation. "Have you had a disagreement with your brother, that you've neglected to mention?"

Hades scowls repugnantly.

"Never mind. I'm sorry, darling. Don't answer that. Even if you had, Zeus would be even less likely than Mother to do this. He puts too high a premium on family for this. Maybe…"

Hades cuts her off. "There's no use trying to figure out who I've pissed off. I've had centuries to make enemies. There are too many to count. Right now, what we need to focus on is finding a way to get to Theo."

Zelena paces, lost in thought, her heels tapping out their staccato rhythm. After several seconds, she asks, "Can you call him to you?"

Hades shakes his head. "Not across realms. He'd have to be full deity to survive that, darling. As he's not, doing so might literally tear him apart."

Zelena cringes as if the words themselves cause her intolerable pain. "Strike that idea."

Cora clears her throat, signaling her intent to interrupt.

Husband and wife snap simultaneously, "Not now!"

Ignoring this, she says simply, "Send me."

Theo's parents pace relentlessly, their heads bowed in concentration.

"Can you communicate with any of them?"

"None of them I'm willing to entrust with the well-being of our son."

Cora tries again. "Send me."

Zelena nods doggedly. "Okay, what about the family? Can you communicate with any of them?"

Hades turns his focus inward, his face going blank again. He's back in a flicker of time. "I can't reach anyone."

Zelena's eyes widen with barely controlled panic. "No one?"

Hades shakes his head. "Not a single omnipotent being. Hang on love."

She watches his consciousness flicker out, and back in again.

"The entire town is in a state of panic…"

"Hades, I don't give a damn about this bloody town. I want my son!"

His face suddenly pales to the color of chalk. "Regina is calling. She says Eliana is in trouble. She needs us! She needs us now!"

Zelena presses her fingertips against her temples as if she's fighting off a migraine. "OK, fine! We'll go now! What do we do about Theo?"

Cora growls, demanding to be heard. "Send me!"

Zelena's gaze swivels back to Cora in surprise, as if she'd forgotten her mother was there to begin with." She blinks twice and then snaps, "Don't be ridiculous! If he can't call for Theo without endangering him, what do you think sending you without an escort will do to you? It will kill you, Mother!"

Hades nods. "Have you forgotten the cover charge. The price of entry is death Cora."

Cora shrugs as if they have just declared that she will arrive at her destination with nothing more severe than a skinned knee "That's okay. I've been dead before. And the underworld is one of the very few places where you can be dead and still be cognizant."

Hades steps toward her again. "I may not be able to get there right now, but I do know what's going on down there. I can see every move my son makes. I will be watching you. If you're scheming… If you leave him alone for just one second… If he so much as whimpers…"

Cora interrupts. "Your daughter needs you. Get on with it already."

Hades reaches out.

Cora barely registers his hand touching her shoulder. In the next instant, she finds her untethered soul, once again, standing in the throne room in one of the underworld's most opulent chambers, while above ground in Storybrooke her corporeal body collapses to the floor.

"Quick, snatch the heart!" Hades orders. "before her body is magically returned to Regina's vault."

Zelena kneels and just manages to grasp the organ. Even as she pulls it free, Cora's body is already fading from view.

Hades watches as her fingers tighten around the darkened organ.

Stopping herself the last possible moment, she gives him a sudden inquiring look. "Wait… Is she there? Is she with Theo?"

Hades nods. "They are getting acquainted."

Zelena grins with wicked abandon and squeezes until there's nothing left but fine gray ash slipping through her fingers.

When she sighs indulgently, Hades is too smart to point out that the heart she crushed was not actually her mother's, or the fact that Regina beat her to that coveted goal. Instead, he simply asks, "Feel good."

She laughs. "Absolutely wicked. I have always wanted to do that."