Before Cora has time to blink, she finds herself standing in the center of Hades' lavish throne room.
Dead again. Back to the drawing board. There's no point wasting time feeling sorry for herself. That's of absolutely no use.
For a brief moment, she watches her grandson seemingly unobserved. Clad in hand-tailored overalls with a small dragon depicted on the finely embroidered bib pocket, the dark-haired boy toddles around the room aimlessly for a few moments before deciding to climb into the seat of his father's throne. It takes him more than one try to get both knees up onto the gold silk cushion, but he manages quickly enough. No sooner than he does, he releases the Velcro straps on his tiny green sneakers, struggles briefly to pull off his socks, and promptly sticks the toes of his left foot into his mouth. He slurps on them for a good 45 seconds before he realizes he's being watched. At which point, he stops slurping, slowly lowers his foot, and stares at Cora as if she is some never-before-seen oddity.
"That's better, isn't it? Big boys do not put their toes in their mouths." When she smiles at him, he frowns. When she steps toward him, he starts to shimmer out.
As his body suddenly becomes transparent, Cora quietly commands, "Wait Theo. Don't leave. Daddy sent me to play with you. I'm your grandmother."
"Da?" Theo looks around the room as if searching.
"That's right." She steps closer. "He's not here right now, but he'll be back in a little while. He and Mother had to go help Eliana. Did you bring any toys with you?"
The nearer she gets, the harder Theo stares, until the moment when she actually reaches for him, at which point, he slaps at her hands and presses himself backward into the seat cushions as far as he can go.
"No touch Teo!"
Cora forces what she thinks is a bemused smile onto her face. "There's no need to be scared. I wouldn't harm you for all the magic in all the worlds. Come and see me."
She tries again.
Again, Theo slaps at her hands. "No touch Teo!" and this time, bright teal-colored flames leap from the top of his head.
Cora plants her hands on her hips and sighs dryly. "That's very amusing. Did your father teach you that?"
Theo doesn't like her smile, and now that she's stopped smiling, he likes her even less. "Mummy?" He looks around searching for Zelena.
Cora smirks. Ah, not mother… mummy. Well, okay, fine.
"Mummy will be back in a little while. Until she does come back, I'm here." She tries again, and this time Theo does vanish.
Wonderful! For a single moment, she's almost worried until she remembers that she's here because Hades couldn't get in. Therefore, his son probably can't get out… She sets off to find her wayward grandson.
Regina is scarcely less horrified or thunderstruck than her daughter. So, as she kneels on the floor of the porch, arms wrapped around her wailing child, her mind reels searching for, and seizing at any explanation no matter how far flung.
"Shush Norah. You have to be quiet. I need you to tell me…"
Her father interrupts. "Where did Robin go?"
Her mind buzzing with questions she cannot answer, she barely hears him.
"Regina?"
She does not answer.
Henry reaches for the crystal, only half of it exposed outside the bib pocket of his granddaughter's overalls.
Regina sees without really seeing, until the last possible second when she rudely slaps her father's hand and shrieks, "Have you lost your mind! You just saw what happened to him! Don't touch it! I'm going to have to go get Robin, from wherever it is that he's gone to. Don't ask me where that is. I don't have a clue. I would prefer not to have to go after both of y…"
She only stops shouting because her father is pointing at Norah, who is staring at her mother with wide startled tear-filled eyes that are twice their normal size.
"You're gonna go get Daddy?"
Regina snaps, "Well of course, I'm gonna go get your daddy! Don't be ridiculous!"
"Regina, dear, stop shouting. We can both hear you."
Although her next words are quieter, she continues talking, almost as if she hadn't heard him. "… Just as soon as I figure out where the hell he's gone."
"Mama, you yelled at Papa!" Norah declares, still wide eyed.
"I yell at people all the time."
Norah shakes her head emphatically. "Not Papa!"
Regina scowls. "Where have you been?"
"She speaks the truth. You haven't yelled at me for nearly four decades. Not since before… Well…"
Regina shakes her head, trying to think. "I've gotta go find my husband."
"Well, of course."
Regina points to the crystal sticking out of Norah's pocket. "I know you're scared, honey. I'll fix it. I'll go find your daddy. You have to tell me what that thing is, and where you got it."
Norah plucks the crystal from her pocket as Regina screeches again, "No don't… Wait? You can touch it? Are you okay?"
Norah nods her head.
"Does it hurt."
"No. It's not hot anymore. "I don't know why I can touch it. Maybe because I have magic. Maybe because me and Eliana made it."
Regina squints. "You made this?"
Norah nods, but shrugs at the same time. "Well, we didn't really make it. We just put it back together again. It used to be broken."
Regina raises an eyebrow. "How did you put it back together?"
Norah squeezes her eyes shut and doesn't answer.
Regina sighs in exasperation. "Norah, it doesn't matter what you two girls have been up to. At least, not right now. We'll deal with that later. If you want your daddy back, I've got to know what you've been doing, and I've got to know right now! So, out with it!"
Norah wrinkles her nose. "We used m…magic - Eliana said it was a binding spell – plus duct tape, and one of Daddy's metal clampy things that holds stuff together until the glue dries."
Norah cringes waiting for her mother to explode.
Regina breathes forcefully for several seconds before she whispers, "How many times have I told… Wait? Zelena has been teaching her binding spells? At her age?"
Norah nods hesitantly. "Only so she can fix her hair the way she likes."
"Yes Norah. But Eliana is capable of independent thought! She's using the spell for other things, and she's way too young for that. You've set a forest fire! It's storming. Half the town is disappearing. The other half is in shambles, and your daddy…"
Henry touches his daughter's shoulder and shakes his head as fresh tears spill from Norah's eyes.
Regina stops. The rest of her words stuck in her throat as Norah wails pitifully.
"I didn't mean it to happen. Eliana lied to me."
"What do you mean, baby."
"She didn't tell the truth."
Regina chuckles softly. "I know what the word means Norah. What did she lie about?"
"She said that we was gonna bring the underworld to Storybrooke so her mom and dad could be here more often. She says they are almost never home, and when they are, all they do is play with Theo. I was only trying to help her, but she lied. She tried to put Theo in the underworld and make her mom and dad stay here. I didn't mean for bad stuff to happen. I didn't mean for Daddy to go away!"
Regina holds her sobbing daughter close and rocks her gently as she comes to her feet. "Okay. It's gonna be okay, honey. I'll fix it. I need you to go with Papa, and I need you to be a good girl. I've got some work to do. First, I've got to find your cousin. Then, get your brother. After that, I'll go find your daddy."
Taking his granddaughter into his arms, Henry asks the $64,000,000 question. "How are you going to do that, dear?"
When Norah's face is buried in the curve of her grandfather's neck, Regina mouths exuberantly, "I don't have one damn clue!" for Norah's benefit, she sighs, "I'll think of something."
Henry chuckles softly. "I'm sure you will. You always do."
"Take her to Granny's. Everyone is supposed to be meeting there."
Henry looks out at the rain beyond the shelter of the porch's roof.
"How am I supposed to do that without her getting pneumonia. It's pouring down rain, and I don't drive one of those fancy metal carriages."
Regina quickly conjures a full set of rain gear for the two of them and they instantly find themselves dressed for the weather. Then, she magically calls for her father's horse and riding tack.
He passes Norah back to her for a moment, steps off the porch, takes his mount and then reaches down to receive his granddaughter once again.
"Wait for me at Granny's. There are fresh towels and dry clothes for both of you in the saddle bag, along with one of Norah's jackets and your cell phone. Call Henry in Boston. Let him know what's going on. If he doesn't answer right away, he's either in class or studying. He will call you back. Leave him a message if you have to. I'll be there as soon as I can. " Regina trots back to the porch and returns with Robin's knapsack, his bow and his quiver. After securing the rest she hands over his quiver. "He's going to wish he had these. If I'm going after him, I may as well take them to him."
Henry nods in silent understanding.
"Norah, you be a good girl, and don't you let anybody else touch that thing until I get there. What's it supposed to be, anyway? Do you know what it used to be before it got broken?"
"Eliana said it was a crystal… Some kind of Olympic crystal."
Regina steps back as though she's suddenly been punched in the gut. "The Olympian crystal?"
Norah nods. "Yeah, Uh huh, that's it."
Henry watches all the color drain from his daughter's face. Even as it does, he can almost hear the wheels start turning in her mind. It takes a long moment, but her color returns with a vengeance and her eyes go hard with determination.
"You've got a plan." The old king declares with certainty.
His daughter shrugs. "Not exactly, no. But if all else fails, I'm going to murder Zeus... or, come to think of it, I might start there!"