Standing in the middle of the road, in full view of their audience, Zelena's temper bubbles hotly and boils over. "I was only trying to catch the thing. How dare you yell at me!"

Unmoved, Hades roars "I'm yelling because you went off without all the facts. You had no idea what you were walking into. You could have been killed!"

Feeling much the same way, but unable to get a word in edgewise for all the noise his in-laws are making, Robin continues to glare at his own wife.

Regina watches him for a long moment, silently aware of his unexpressed indignation, before she turns to her sister and brother-in-law. "Guys, we're all a little on edge. Now's not really the time."

"Butt out, Regina! Hades snaps as his wife tosses her a look of pure disdain. "Oh, shove off, Sis!"

"Bollocks!" Robin declares loudly. "Look!" He points at his wife aggressively. "I'm not happy with her right now either! But she's right! There are two more of those things somewhere out here. We can either stand here and rip each other to shreds, or we can decide what to do about it. We can't do both - not at the same time. So, you two, either stow it; or go home!"

Green swirling vapor instantly materializes at Zelena's feet, but before she can disappear, her husband reaches out and grabs her arm, anchoring her in place. "He's right."

Zelena scoffs.

"Look I want to set a trap for the remaining two. I need some answers, and I won't get them if we simply force the other two to just up and leave. It's not enough just to know that they're after you. I need to know why." He turns his attention to Regina. "I saw what you did. Thank you. Thank you… and, I owe you an apology. I've been wrong. You haven't lost a single step; not one. Very impressive Regina."

Regina shakes her head in disgust. "Do me a favor, Hades. Stop appreciating my abilities. I think I like you better when you are doubting, belittling, and calling them into question."

Thoroughly confused, the dark god squints.

"I ended a life; two of them actually. I killed today. That isn't something that should be congratulated or celebrated."

"You think what you did was wrong? He whispers with incredulity. "You saved your sister's life!"

With her hands on her hips, Regina steps closer, glaring at him. "First, I didn't do it alone. Everyone here helped. Second, unlike you, I have rarely doubted and never forgotten the dark things I am capable of. I think what I did was necessary. And, if need be, I will not hesitate to do it again. But just because something is necessary, Hades, does not always mean it's right. Those two words are not interchangeable. They have entirely different definitions.

"Semantics, Regina."

"Maybe so, Hades, but just a few short years ago someone could've used the exact same semantics as justification for ending my life. So, excuse me if that gives me a moment's pause."

Zelena shrugs. "I don't need to know why they are after me. I say, let's just kill them and be done with it. This is the second time they've tried. I've had enough!"

"It's that kind of thinking that nearly ended your life five minutes ago, Zelena."

"What? I'm not supposed to defend myself, my child?"

"Of course, you are. But, we barely escaped yesterday with three against one. You knew that, and still,

you went after two more alone and unarmed today."

"I was not unarmed. I took one of the boxes while Hades was screaming at Fiona. It just so happened that those things came up out of the water. I was only expecting one to come from above. I jumped back, lost my footing, and the box went over the side into the water. If Emma hadn't come along when she did…"

"Which is exactly why your husband is mad with you. Your magic is useless against those things. They are attracted to your magic and you go after one of them all alone, without being fully informed, pregnant, with nothing more to protect you than a box? Learn to let people help you, Zelena. You'll live longer!"

Regina's older sister nods and gestures to Robin. "And, he's mad at you because?"

"Pretty much for the same damn reason!"

"Okay then!" Zelena returns fire sarcastically.

Sign heavily, Regina turns to Emma and gestures to the rest of the group. "My house? In 20 minutes? We'll go over what we know; make a game plan. Bring your parents?"

Emma nods without comment.

"Harry, Ron; Robin and I need just a few minutes to swing by the vault and pick up our kids. Emma will show you the way. Emma Swan, meet Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Stay close to them in case you bump into the other two. We'll meet you all at the barn."

Less than ten minutes later, when Robin and Regina magically arrive home with their family, Robin stands on the back porch and quietly complains as he attempts to place his daughter in Regina's father's arms. "If at all possible, I'd like not to have to do that again today."

Norah stubbornly shakes her head. "No, I wanna stay with Daddy."

Robin offers her his smile and musses her hair affectionately. "I'll be inside in just a few minutes. You go inside now with Papa and your brothers. I'd like a moment alone to talk with Mama."

Norah passes a suspicious look between her parents; one that gets her grandfather's curiosity up as well. "Why? Is Mama in trouble?"

Robin chuckles as he lowers her to the floor and sets her gently on her feet. "If you don't go in the house, little lady, you're going to be the one in trouble."

Lending persuasion, Henry smiles. "Come on Norah, let's go. You can beat me at a game of chess."

"My rules or yours, Papa" The little girl wants to know.

"How about one with mine and one with yours?"

"Okay, my way first!" Norah calls out happily, as she jets into the house on her way to her grandfather's study and the chessboard she knows is waiting there.

Robin laughs quietly. "One of these days, he's going to have to stop letting her make up her own rules for the game."

Regina faces him from a few feet away and leans casually against one of the support beams for the porch roof. "He will. Soon enough. She's young. He's just trying to keep her interested in the game. He's trying to teach her something about strategy, cause and effect, diplomacy, and human behavior. He started doing the same thing with me when I was about her age."

"All important fields of study if you're going to run a kingdom someday?"

"Yes, but those same lessons are also helpful if you're just trying to make it through everyday life."

"And who's going to teach her everything else she needs to know, if you are not here. I cannot raise that little girl by myself, Regina."

For a long quiet moment, she tilts her head to one side and simply studies him. When, at last, she does speak, she does so barely above a whisper. First, I'm confident that if you had to, you could. You just don't want to. Second…"

"Am I supposed to want to?"

"Of course not, Robin."

"Why does it always have to be you?"

"It doesn't. It's not always me. And you know it. I'm not the only person in this town would ever goes up against something dark. What did you want me to do? Turn my back? Walk away? Robin…"

"No. You can't do that. I know. I'd be disappointed if you did."

"So then, what are we talking about, here?" She offers him a pained apologetic look. "What do you want? An absolute? A guarantee that nothing bad as ever going to happen? I can't give you those, and you know that too."

"I just… I just need to know that you're okay."

She nods. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday. I've learned how to shield myself from those horrid things. I'd still like to learn how they do it, but…"

"That's not what I mean, Regina."

At a loss, she raises an eyebrow and shakes her head in uncertainty. "What do you mean?"

"That night in the underworld, five years ago. You were angry at Hades and your sister for causing me pain. You almost cast your first shadow. You slept for days after. You stronger now. You've had time to get acquainted with it and, even so, right now, you still look like you're about to collapse. I talked to your father that night. He said that most people who - who do what you do – they are unstable at best. The constant unrelenting pull of the light against the dark. He said that people who don't outright ignore their magical ability usually become overburdened and reckless. And because of that, they don't usually live long."

Regina inhales deeply, lifting her chin as understanding seeps in. "Robin… I promise you, I am not suicidal. I am not so tired that I literally have a death wish. Harry asked me to buy him a few seconds time. But, there wasn't a lot of time to be bought out there, today. So, I did what I could. I lightened his load. That's all."

"I heard you talking to that thing. Like you were ready, like you couldn't wait to be alone with it."

Regina chuckles softly. "Is that what's got you so turned around – so worked up?" She pushes away from the porch railing and slowly closes the distance between them; wrapping her arms around him. "I thought you knew. I thought you understood. That's just a mask. It's just bravado. The truth is I was scared witless, but if I don't hide that – especially from those damned dementors – I'll choke to death on it, Robin. Never let them see you sweat."

"Usually I do know." He smiles sadly. "But today." He shakes his head. "After seeing that place. After seeing you there."

"Azkaban? Yeah, not my favorite experience either."

"I guess I started thinking, what happens if we lose you. The boys would be devastated. And me, But Norah… She'd lose more than she's even capable of understanding. She's so strong, so powerful. She doesn't even know what to do with all the power that's running around inside her. But it's part of who she is. If she loses you, who's going to teach her how to embrace all that, and how to utilize it in the best way possible."

"I'm with you always, Robin. I know you know that. How many times have we said that to each other?"

"I know, but I would just prefer not to have death be one of the obstacles we have to work our way around."

"Me too. But, if that does happen one day, Norah is going to be fine. She has you. If I'm not here to do it, you'll teach her."

"I'd love to know how you think I'm going to do that. I'm not equipped."

"Yes, you are. Why do you think you're not? Because you don't have magic. Robin that doesn't matter. You don't need it. Magic is something that is inside her. Sorting it all out might be a little easier with me here, but ultimately what to do with it, and how to use it; Robin, those are things she has to decide for herself. All she needs you to do is teach her the difference between wrong and right, and love her. Everything else will come in its own time. I promise." She offers him a light kiss. "Well, that and you might want to buy a fire extinguisher. At some point, you're probably going to need one."

Robin chuckles. "I've already got ½ dozen of them, at least."

Regina squints. "You have half a dozen fire extinguishers?"

"I live with you! And her! Fire is one thing I am ready for."

Zelena slams the bedroom door and engages the lock magically. She paces for all of 3 seconds before she turns and sees she's not alone. "Get out!" She shouts; realizing that Hades has let himself in courtesy of his own godly powers.

"No!" He stands his ground; blue flames leaping from the top of his head, his arms crossed over his chest, with his feet spread slightly apart as though he is both, issuing a challenge, and bracing himself for impact. "I will not get out! I'm going to stand right here until you decide to be rational and talk to me about this!"

Zelena hurls a massive fireball, setting the draperies on fire and narrowly missing her husband's head by less than a ¼ inch.

Hades doesn't even flinch. He simply waves a hand, magically extinguishing the flames.

Zelena growls in disgust. "That's not fair!" She gestures wildly at the draperies that have been fully restored.

Her husband shrugs, not at all concerned with fairness of the moment. "I am not going to let you burn the room down around us just because you're angry."

"I am not angry! I am furious!" She glares with unfettered hostility.

"Be furious then. I just don't understand why you couldn't wait. I went down there to get information."

You weren't getting information. She wasn't telling you anything. You were just getting a thrill out of torturing her."

"She would have talked if you had just waited."

"Oh, sure! Hades, she would've said anything just to get you to stop. What makes you think you can trust one word that bitch says. I'm tired of waiting. I want something done now! If Regina's right – if they are after me, I don't have a clue why. I've never been to their realm. I've never encountered those things before. I've never done anything to piss them off.

"I've never said that I trust her, Zelena. That's why I want to trap them – make them talk. So we can find out what's going on."

"It's taking too long! What if they're not after me at all." She stops shouting and splays her hands protectively over her swollen belly "Hades, what if it's the baby they want?"

She lifts her chin, and for the first time, he catches a glimpse of the fear that is carefully hidden behind the rage in her eyes.

"Look. I'm sorry okay. You're right. I shouldn't have acted so impulsively, but I'm tired and uncomfortable, and the baby is cranky and - those things – what they do. It's horrific."

"So, don't go charging after them. Especially not without all the facts. I'm going to handle this Zelena. I am going to handle it my way. I promise you and our children, I will keep you safe, but that's going to be a lot harder to accomplish if you're running around like some sort of emotionally overcharged, hell-bent, one-woman execution squad."

Her blue eyes suddenly sparkle with wicked delight. She raises an eyebrow and purses her lips in thought. "You're going to make them pay?"

Hades crosses the room and pulls her slowly into his heated embrace. "They're going to pay dearly." He whispers the moment before his lips find hers.

Precisely twenty-six minutes after leaving them at the town line, Robin answers the knock at his front door carrying a glass water and a bottle of aspirin to find Emma, Harry, and Ron, waiting there on the front porch with Snow, David, and Hook also present.

"Thanks for coming." He steps back from the door, inviting them in.

"Of course, we came." Snow answers with assurance before raising a concerned eyebrow. "Headache?"

Robin glances at the items he holds in his left hand as if he has momentarily forgotten about them and shakes his head. "This isn't for me."

Snow gently pats her young son on the back; rocking slightly side to side as she says. "If the game plan for how to deal with these dementors is going to involve a trip anywhere, we're going to have to drop Neal off with the fairies first."

As they leave the foyer, stepping into the great room Henry, Sr. calls out as he descends from the third-floor landing of the grand staircase. "That's no trouble, Snow. Neal is more than welcome to go with me when I take our bunch to visit the abbey."

Ron's eyes widen with delight. "Pardon me, but did His Majesty just call you Snow?"

The king nods. "But of course. That is her name. And, I would prefer you call me Henry in place of His Majesty. Emma," He shifts his gaze. "Didn't you introduce your parents?"

"Well, yes she did." Ron chuckles. "But, she was rather in a hurry. She only referred to them as Mom and Dad."

Emma grins sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Here in Storybrooke, they're known as David and Mary Margaret Nolan. In the Enchanted Forest, they're more commonly known as Snow White and Prince Charming."

Ron stares in amazement while Harry chuckles quietly in surprise and makes an attempt to be more discreet.

"Rose and Lily are never going to believe this." Ron shakes his head.

"Oh yes, they will!" Harry laughs, "They'll believe it, and be sore at us for not bringing them along."

David surmises. "Let me guess – Rose and Lily must be your daughters, and for them, my wife is probably just a fairy tale princess."

"I'm afraid so." Harry begins. "We'll happily correct that as soon as we can."

As Robin nears the chair his wife is resting in, Ron speaks up again. "Hang on. If you're Snow White – then that makes her…" He pauses to point. "Your stepmother?"

Emma's mother nods. "At one point, yes. But back then we were family by marriage only – and neither of us was very happy about that fact. Now we're friends."

Emma eyes Regina's extremely relaxed posture and turns her incredulous gaze to Robin once more. "Is she asleep?"

Robin simply nods without comment, and although he does not bother to shake her, he places a still hand gently on his wife's shoulder and patiently waits for her to respond. It takes five long seconds for her eyes to open, but when they do, Regina smiles at her husband as he hands her the glass of water and removes the lid from the bottle of aspirin, shaking two into his palm and silently offering them to her.

Regina downs the aspirin quickly, and then sets the glass aside on the small ornately carved end table beside her high-backed Queen Anne style armchair upholstered in a soft pale shade of gold that somehow seems to contrast and yet simultaneously soften the room's harder surfaces; like the stone fireplace, the expanse of unadorned floor to ceiling plate glass windows, and the exposed redwood beams high overhead in the converted octagonal shaped building's rafters.

Rising to her feet, she asks, "Kitchen? Anyone else want a cup of tea?"

Snow offers, "You make the tea; I'll make the sandwiches. We'll have a quick and simple lunch while we talk. Are Zelena and Hades here yet?"

Regina turns to Robin, and Robin shakes his head.

"They'll be here, but it'll probably be another 20 minutes or so."

Snow studies her face and realizes she doesn't seem at all concerned. "Emma filled us in at our place. You're not worried one or both of those dementors is giving them trouble?"

Regina shrugs as she shakes her head. "Possible, but not probable. Turns out, when you have a sister, even one you don't always get along with, or even particularly like; you share things."

Stepping through the wide archway, of a large spacious kitchen that boasts an 18th century stone fireplace alongside all the conveniences of modern appliances, everyone else gathers around the heavy carved oak dining table; helping themselves to chairs while Snow passes her son to his father before she and Regina set to work at the granite island countertop with their appointed tasks.

Harry observes patiently. Keeping his thoughts to himself. Snow wasn't kidding or exaggerating when she called them friends. Without needing to ask where anything is located, she makes her way around Robin and Regina's kitchen as if it is as familiar to her as her own indicating that she does, indeed, spend a great deal of time here.

"You share things…" Snow reminds her as Regina busies herself with the tea kettle.

Their hostess nods. "She and Hades were both angry when they left us at the town line. Let's just say they're both rather passionate people. They have a tendency to argue heatedly and loudly. They also get easily – Oh, let's call it - sidetracked. It's going to take them a few minutes to square things, but they will show up."

Robin takes point, leading the conversation with, "Hades said he wants to trap the remaining two and try to get some information from them. Any suggestions on how we should go about doing that safely? Is it even possible to do that?" He asks the group as a whole but gives the lion's share of his attention momentarily to Harry and Ron.

Emma quietly interrupts with a quick question. "Excuse me, but… Regina are you okay to do this now?"

Regina nods and raises an eyebrow. "Why do you ask? What's on your mind, Swan?"

"Sixty seconds ago you were asleep. Do we need to put this off until tomorrow?"

Regina shakes her head adamantly. First, I don't think that would be wise. Second, what's the matter, you've never heard of a ten-minute power nap?"

"I've heard of them. I just didn't know you took them." Emma declares as if she's suddenly questioning Regina's stamina.

"You take up shadow casting. You'll develop a whole new appreciation."

"It's physically taxing then?" Harry wants to know.

"Physically, yes. Also, mentally and emotionally. When I first realized I had the power to do it, it was wholly unexpected I was entirely unprepared. I slept for two days after my initial experience. That was almost five years ago. I'm better equipped now. But it is still draining. I've learned to rest whenever I can."

"Here. Try some of this." He approaches the counter after removing a small metal tin from his knapsack.

When he opens the lid, Regina peers in curiously. "Chocolate? I'm not usually much for sweets."

"It will help and a little bit goes a long way. In our realm, we magically imbue all chocolate recipes with healing properties."

Regina eyes him curiously, before accepting and sampling a small piece. She expects to have to wait awhile and is mildly surprised when she notices a slight lightening of fatigue and tension almost immediately. After a few seconds, she admits, I've heard people refer to chocolate as a band-aid before, but this is the first time I've ever taken the comment seriously. That's not bad." She helps herself to a second, slightly larger, piece and breaks it into quarters as she closes the tin. "Thank you. Aside from learning to do the Patronus charm, I may need a recipe for this."

"That good?" Robin questions.

Regina nods. "So far, and it's rather fast-acting."

Harry smiles. "I'll teach you if you still want me to, but judging from what I've seen, I'm not sure you need it."

"Although I'm not used to using a wand routinely, it looks to me like the Patronus can be just as effective, and it might be less of a strain on me. Shadow casting is something that has to be done with a prodigious amount of discretion. In the first place, it's painful. Secondly, is exceedingly easy to do it wrong, and doing it wrong can have cataclysmic results. So, if you're willing to teach me an equally effective alternative for shielding myself from those terrible things, I'm all for it."

We do have witches and wizards in Rowlingshire who can access many of their magical abilities without the benefit of a wand. However, most do use them. In my experience, the ones who use wands the least are usually the more experienced, more seasoned, witches and wizards."

"I have one. But, in truth, I am more comfortable working without it. I personally would prefer not to have to concentrate all my power through the end of a wand. Plus, I had a rather nasty experience with one as a child. Given that fact, I've never really been comfortable with my own. So, I'm afraid I'm somewhat average when it comes to wand welding, and I've always been concerned that it might be just a bit too easy to disarm a less than proficient user."

Harry nods. "Alright, I'll set aside some time to give you a few pointers, and a bit of practice with the Patronus. Who here with us is magical besides yourself and Emma?" He watches the others shake their heads.

Zelena does have magic, and her dark magic is even more potent than mine, but it's not going to be of any use to her against a dementor. So far, she's been attacked twice, and her baby seems to do his part to protect himself and her. He is a demigod, but he's still a baby. An unborn baby at that. I'm not sure how many more times we can expect Zelena to survive the use of such power. She's mortal. Every time the baby taps in, it puts a strain on her which endangers not only her life but his as well. I don't know. She's about halfway through the pregnancy. He may be viable, but if he is, he's just barely there."

Ron nods. "That's a primary concern. If someone is after your sister's baby, they may be waiting for him to become viable. So far, they've had two goes at her. Those may have been nothing more than test runs to see what they're up against."

Harry squints and looks pointedly at Regina. "I'm getting the sense that you deliberately avoided mentioning that Zelena and your sister are one and the same until after we were already here."

Regina shrugs unabashedly. "Yes, I did. Tell me you wouldn't have been less willing to offer assistance had I not deliberately avoided mentioning it. Tell me it would not have been harder to get you here if you'd known beforehand that the person who needed your help the most is the Wicked Witch."

"Touchè. I would've been duty bound to come, but I admit, decidedly less willing."

"Hades says he wants to trap one of them," Regina repeats her husband's earlier statement, pulling the conversation back around to the beginning. "Well, we already have one trapped. We need to trap the other two before we leave town, just to keep people safe, but it seems to me the best place to interrogate the thing might be the underworld since, theoretically, they aren't supposed to leave there. Given the fact that five of them have been allowed to do just that, I'd say it's rather obvious that our problem, whoever is behind it, originated there."

Harry nods, and Ron follows suit as he says, "We are with you so far. And I'd like to either, confirm or disprove a suspicion I have."

"Oh?"

"Yes, earlier, your father mentioned that Fiona who, if I understand correctly, is currently overseeing things in the underworld has apparently aligned herself with an unbalanced woman by the name of Bella. I'm concerned that Bella could possibly be Bellatrix Lestrange."

Regina raises an eyebrow, noticing that Ron suddenly looks as if he's on the verge of vomiting.

"Oh brother!" He complains. Having to deal with her in life wasn't enough? We have to deal with her in death too?"

"Maybe not, Ron." Harry cautions. She can't be the only person in all the realms commonly referred to as Bella."

"Maybe not, Harry, but the mentally unbalanced part would sure fit."

"True, but let's confirm as opposed to jumping to conclusions."

"Who was this Bellatrix Lestrange?" Snow asks as she sets the serving platter piled high with sandwiches divided into two stacks in the center of the table.

"Nasty piece of business from our realm," Ron says. "She joined the dark wizard, Voldemort, when he rose to power. She was a Death Eater and, some say she was intimately close to him. Although that has yet to be confirmed. There's a rumor that she may have given birth to his spawn shortly before her death."

Emma's green eyes go wide as she picks up a turkey and swiss sandwich made with mustard. "She was a Death Eater? Did I hear that right? Oh man, that does not sound good!"

Harry shakes his head. "it's not. She personally tortured the parents of a good friend of ours. She killed my godfather. She aligned herself with the man who killed both my parents and tried to kill me before I was old enough to even remember it. Ron's mother killed her in the Battle of Hogwarts in defense of Ron's sister; my wife. I can almost guarantee you, that if we aren't jumping to conclusions, if this is her, I know what she wants. She wants one thing and one thing only; resurrection. That's not going to be good for anybody in any realm."

Emma's shrugs. "If what she wants is resurrection, then I don't know that it's her we're dealing with. If it is her, I'm not sure we have a problem. I mean, resurrection is not possible… Right?"

Regina stares at her dumbfounded.

"What?"

Regina gestures to the kitchen archway as her father enters the room. She sets the tea service down in the center of the table next to the platter of sandwiches. "Would you care to look my father in the eye and say those words again?"

"Hey." Emma shrugs nonchalantly and offers, "Sorry Henry." To Regina, she says, "Sue me, I forgot."

Regina gives her a sharp look. "You forgot?"

Henry chuckles and pats his daughter's hand affectionately as he helps himself to a chair and joins the group. "It's alright, dear. I rather like the fact that she forgot. He used to be dead is not the first thing you want people thinking every time they cross paths with you."

"Daddy, Henry!" Regina and Snow finish in unison. "That is not the first thing people think about when they see you!"

The old king places a hand on his chest as a broad smile stretches across his face.

"What?" Both women ask; still in tandem with one another.

"Oh, nothing. I just still get a kick out of seeing you two in agreement with the one another.

They look at each other, shrug, and declare, "More old news."

Harry puts the conversation back on track again. "Yes, resurrection is possible, but only under tremendously limited circumstances. There are a finite number of ways to accomplish it, and it always comes at a great cost. Rumor has it that Voldemort's personal spell book may have contained an incomplete recipe for a resurrection elixir."

Hook grimaces as if there's a foul smell in the air. "Even if the soul can be resurrected, a dead body with no heartbeat, no breath in it decays. What does a returning soul return to? Because, trust me, no matter how much rum a bloke's had, he does not want to cuddle up with an undead corpse."

Harry eyes Henry speculatively. "Clearly there are preservation spells. In rare instances, it is possible for another body to play host to a possessive soul. You'd need a body that was once a vessel for an exceedingly powerful soul."

Regina lifts her chin and raises an eyebrow; repeating his words back to him in the form of a question. "A body that was once a vessel for an exceedingly powerful soul? Like maybe the body of a newborn demigod?"

Harry looks from her to Ron and when Ron gulps reflexively, sickened by the thought, Harry says solemnly, "Yes, I think that would be an ideal place to start."