"You'd think a desperate man would work a little faster," Hades grumbled, watching as Rumplestilskin sat at his spinning wheel.

The deal they had struck had been made in desperation — on both sides. Hades, his love for Zelena a re-fed flame, was hurrying to create a portal that would allow him to cross into Storybrooke to take back his beloved and live happily ever after, ruling over the Underworld together.

Rumple, for his part, was simply acting in the hopes that Hades would not harm his wife — or the unborn child he had only recently discovered she carried.

"Magic cannot be rushed," Rumple answered steadily, his eyes not moving away from his work. "Creating a portal is no simple task."

"Yes, yes. I know," Hades relented with annoyance. "But we don't have a dark curse or a magic bean or silver slippers — we have something better. Your Dark One tainted blood. It got you down here. It can reopen the portal."

"Why do you even need a portal," Rumple asked suspiciously. "You can come and go as you please."

"But I can't bring anyone back — alive," he explained. "By combining our powers, that can change," he offered, turning to slump down in his throne. "And I don't care how painful it is for you."

With the flick of his wrist, he let loose the contract Gold had signed, and smiled.

"So, if you want me to tear up this contract, so your child-to-be is your child-to-be, you won't care about the pain, either," Hades deduced with a grin.

And Rumple relented. "You must tell me where you want this portal directed.."

"Oh. Why, Storybrooke, of course," he chuckled.

Gold's shop had been quiet for weeks — ever since the core of the town had left for the Underworld. While it was lonely, and somewhat eerily quiet without the constant threat of villains and monsters out to take revenge on the residents, Belle was taking the opportunity to organize the likely dangerous trinkets. Dusting off old dishes and goblets, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles on old dolls' clothes, she was lost in her thoughts — until a sudden gust of air had her spinning on her heel, gasping at the presence of the redheaded witch.

"Zelena," she breathed out, backing away from her carefully. "Regina sent you to Oz — how..how.." she began, but Zelena cut her off with a wicked laugh.

"All you need to know is that my sister can't keep me down. So, if you wish to remain alive…step aside," she gritted, pushing Belle away so she could retrieve a small trinket that had once belonged to her — something that would allow her to begin casting a spell to retrieve her child from her sister.

"Zelena's baby…" Rumple said quizzically, his eyes narrowed as he continued spinning. "What do you want with her child?"

"Well, you of all people should know the value of keeping your reasons your own. I don't have to tell you anything," he cackled.

"And yet you keep doing so," Rumple chided, having been made to hear the Hell-god's tale of woe for the last hour while he worked. "Some might call that the mark of an insecure man."

"We're done here," Hades growled. "Get me Zelena's baby," he demanded, and he rose from his seat, crossing the cavernous room to put himself at Gold's side.

"I'll rip up the contract, and you can tell Belle she's pregnant without also having to tell her she owes her baby to me. I hear new expectant mothers hate that…" he laughed. "Almost as much as they hate hearing their husbands are still the Dark One."

"Now. Do it," Hades growled, forcing Gold's hand to open the portal, to bring Zelena in — so together, they could take back the child that was rightfully hers.

"Zelena, no," Belle begged. "You don't want to hurt your baby," she reminded her nervously.

"No," she agreed, snarling with her reply. "But I don't mind hurting you."

"If you take it now, you could hurt them both. You could kill the baby and Regina," Belle begged. "It can't live down there," she urged.

Then, the floor was shaking violently, glass shattering around them, all of Gold's trinkets crashing to the floor.

"STOP IT! STOP, YOU'RE ENDANGERING EVERYONE!" Belle screamed, grabbing hold of the counter as the tremors grew more and more violent, the entire town shaking around them.

"It's not me that's doing it!" Zelena shouted back — and there was fear in her eyes, too.

In an instant, the floor was opening, red hot magic burning up through the floor, the vortex swirling with power, pulling everything around it in. Zelena's feet faltered, teetering back and falling into the center — but not before pulling Belle in with her.

The portal in the center of Hades' throne room closed — but no one came through. The two men stared blankly, trying to understand what had happened, what had gone wrong.

"Okay….where is she," he asked, only half angrily — because it should have worked, and he was left more confused than ever.

"What happened," Belle asked groggily, standing up and dusting herself off. "How'd we get out here," she asked, looking around to get her bearings. It looked like Storybrooke — but darker, angrier.

"UGH my MAGIC," Zelena gritted, her hands empty where she was trying to conjure the trinket she'd hoped made it through the portal.

"Zelena, what did you do to us?"

"I didn't do anything! This wasn't me!" she spat angrily.

And Belle believed her. She could see it in her eyes.

"Okay, then if it wasn't you then who was it — and where are we?" Belle asked, this time looking up. "And why is the sky red…"

"We're in the Underworld…" Zelena realized.

What elation she might have felt at being close to her sister now, the opportunity to take back her child at her fingertips, was tempered by the fact that she had no working magic — and that delivering the child otherwise would result in its immediate death.

"Okay…then…then Rumple must need my help, that's why we're here," Belle concluded with a nod, turning to go off in search of him.

But Zelena didn't move.

"Hades," she sighed softly. "We're here because of me… My baby…" Zelena lamented.

"What?" Belle asked, not understanding. "Hades wants your baby, too?" she continued, her brow furrowing.

"Nothing good ever comes from you," the young girl spat angrily, stomping in the opposite direction, leaving Zelena to fend for herself.

Zelena stood, surrounded by the remnants of the pieces that had fallen through the portal with them, her eyes scouring each item, desperate to find what she had been looking for — but she gave up with a shaky sob, realizing that none of it mattered now. She had no magic. And Hades was after her child. And she was certain, after how their story had ended, that he intended her harm.

Sitting at the counter at Granny's, Snow and David were just settling in, taking off their coats, and grabbing for a menu when the Blind Witch set down two plates in front of them.

"We…haven't ordered yet," Snow protested, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"One dry wheat toast, one oatmeal. I know the orders of all my regulars," the witch replied happily. "I'll get your cocoa."

There was a pause, then, as the witch turned and stepped toward the back, hastily preparing the rest of their order — and Snow felt sick to her stomach, the look on her face giving her away completely.

"What," David asked, already munching on a slice of toast.

"David, we're regulars," Snow whispered, as if the revelation were just now coming upon her.

"We were only supposed to be here for a day, and now we're regulars at the diner in hell."

David let out a sigh and turned to his wife sadly. "You're thinking about Neal," he offered — and in truth, he had been thinking a lot about him, too.

"I wish we could just talk to him… just let him hear our voices, so he knows we haven't forgotten about him…" she lamented.

But at least he was safe.

"And Regina," she added, slumping forward slightly, because that was the true source of her guilt. "We should never have let her come."

The Blind Witch returned with the cocoa in time to hear enough of their conversation to offer some comfort.

"Oh. You can do that," she said with a smile. "It's a simple Level One Haunting. Lots of people do it here until they lose interest in life…and people…and joy," she explained with a somewhat dejected smile replacing her once chipper one.

"I know where a booth is," she hummed.

And that was enough to solve one of their problems.

In the Charming's apartment, the scene which had only just taken place of Snow and David finding a way to talk to their son had just appeared in Henry's storybook, his Author power delivering the play by play. And while Emma and Regina tried to be encouraging, Henry knew this wasn't helpful, and stormed back up to the loft in the hopes that another story — something helpful this time — would appear on the page.

"We officially have a teenager on our hands," Emma sighed.

There was a knock at the door.

"And…a visitor…at our Underworld apartment…" Regina added, her brow furrowed, hand ready to conjure a fireball should it be anyone who wished them harm.

Emma crossed the room and went to the door, turning the knob and pulling —

"Zelena," Regina breathed out heavily, stumbling back against Robin who held her steady and then stepped in front of her, placing himself between the two women.

Regina swallowed and kept half of herself hidden behind Robin — she wasn't usually one to cower, but she had a child to protect.

"So," the former Queen whispered, steadying her voice. "Someone finally did you in."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm very much alive," Zelena grumbled angrily.

"How did you get here," Robin asked, his tone cold and steely, his hand held out to the side, against Regina's belly, holding a protective stance.

"Through a portal," she explained. "And I didn't come alone."

The room was tense, but it was becoming quite clear that she wasn't here to fight. Something more had happened.

"Who else is here," Regina asked nervously.

"Belle. She ran off to find Rumple. Regina — I think Hades is after my baby," she confessed — and those words sucked the very air out of the room. "You're in danger."

After gathering their thoughts, Robin was hurriedly slinging his quiver over his chest, his bow in hand, suiting up for whatever horrors awaited them this time.

"Where are you going," Zelena asked, her eyes narrowed.

"To stop them," Robin answered, as if this was quite obvious.

"What about a tracking spell," Zelena offered, her eyes moving to her sister.

"We don't have anything of Hades'," Regina reminded her, one hand settling on the base of her belly.

"I don't need magic. I can find them," Robin insisted. "I lived for years in the forest, I can track anyone."

Regina said nothing — but internally she knew this was a failing mission. This was Hades' domain, and while she found his gusto to be valiant and heartwarming, she was not prepared to say goodbye to another love.

"Robin," Regina begged, tugging at his arm. "This isn't the way," she cooed.

"What happens if you find Hades — he will destroy you. He would obliterate you in a second. And then what. Then all of this is for nothing. I won't lose you like this," she demanded.

"So what do you suggest. Because I won't just sit here and wait for him to come after you," Robin answered more angrily than he had intended — but his anger was not directed at Regina. It was at Hades. And Gold. And Zelena. And this tangled mess that left him feeling like things were actually simpler in the Enchanted Forest.

"I have my magic back. We hide," she said softly.

Robin, Regina and Zelena walked at a relatively slow pace through the woods, in search of the Queen's Underworld Vault. They kept their steps at a pace which Regina set, and Robin pretended not to notice that she grew slower with each passing day.

"You know, I used to be just like you, Zelena," Regina hummed, letting out a sigh to mask the deep breaths she felt she needed to take with the exertion necessary to get from point A to point B.

"Oh, please, don't flatter yourself," Zelena balked in disgust.

"When I was the Evil Queen I spent every day not giving a damn about anyone. And in return, no one cared about me. I thought all I needed was my vengeance to keep me warm at night," she hummed, her steps slowing until she stopped to face her sister.

"But then something happened. My enemies…became my family. And that's when I finally felt happy. That is why I'm here. They need my help and when family needs help, you step up."

"In case you've forgotten, there is someone I love who needs my help — my daughter," Zelena growled angrily, Regina's speech giving her none of the intended peace. "So if we could get on with this, get you hidden until we can get Hades off our tails and back home, that would be just brilliant."

Robin descended first, at his own insistence. Because as dangerous as the contents of Regina's Vault could be at home, he had no idea what they would be walking into here. Holding up a torch, he took each step with caution, bracing himself for hell beasts — or Hades himself.

"It's clear," he promised, calling over his shoulder as he set the torch in its respective hook on the wall. Turning on his heel, he rushed midway up the steps to take Regina's hand, helping her down slowly. When she was safely on her feet, he turned to offer his hand to Zelena — which she rejected with an annoyed hiss, her eyes rolling upwards.

Regina looked around for somewhere to sit, but quickly realized her vault was never a place to sit around and chat. There were plenty of trunks and spell books and gowns covered in hellish cobwebs, though — in case she had need for that.

"I need to sit," she admitted quietly, her eyes meeting with Robin's as he quickly responded by clearing off a flat-topped trunk and pushing it up against a wall. Looking around, he lifted up a pair of heavy velvet drapes off of the floor in front of a shattered version of her mirror, dusted them off quickly and folded them, laying them over the top of the trunk before offering his hand as she lowered herself down.

"You alright?" he asked softly, gifted with a gentle smile and short nod of her head.

Zelena may not have been invited into their quiet conversation, but the vault echoed, and she was rolling her eyes and balking at the two lovers openly.

"It will take you ages to get rid of all that baby weight," Zelena quipped, crossing her arms and cocking her head to the side as she took inventory of her younger sister. "God, those hips. Of course, I suppose…I was blessed with the slimmer of our mother's gene pool," she hummed with a smile, pressing her hands in against her slender frame.

"You're welcome, for providing a healthy home for your baby," Regina grumbled back with annoyance.

"So what is the plan, here, anyway?" Zelena asked with annoyance written over her face, already bored with the lack of thought put into it. "Just going to sit here — what, until Hades finds you or until you pop?" she pressed, finding their idleness offensive.

"Emma and the Charmings are working on a plan," Regina promised. "We just have to sit tight until we're out of eminent danger," she added with a sigh, leaning back on her arm and moving her hips slightly — a recent habit of hers, and one that was steadily becoming more necessary the more the baby grew.

Looking down at her fingertips, suddenly distracted by the distinct feeling of static electricity coursing through her digits, Zelena smiled to herself. It wasn't enough magic to take her baby back now, but it was enough to get her out of there, and back on Hades' trail. At least then she would have a chance at changing his mind, stopping his quest to use her child in his twisted spell.

"Enough of this," she whispered, her smile brimming. "I'll take care of it myself. And get my baby back," she said a bit louder, determination in her wild eyes. And with the flip of her hand, her magic took her out of the vault and away from the couple — leaving them bewildered, and more worried than they had been perhaps ever before.

Word reached them later in the form of Emma, slipping down the last step into the vault with a clumsy crash, startling Regina and Robin beyond comprehension.

"Zelena found us," she admitted, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of Regina, sitting on the edge of a trunk, a make shift cushion beneath her. She was slumped forward slightly, draped over a taller chest, her head resting in the crook of her elbow. Robin stood behind her, his hand balled into a fist, kneading against her lower back.

"Woah. Regina. You alright?" she asked nervously, put instantly on edge.

"Yeah," Regina promised with a grunt, sucking in a breath of air as she slowly pushed herself to sit upright, her hands moving to sweep over and cradle the heavy globe of her womb. "My back is killing me," she admitted. "Unfortunately, several hours perched on top of an iron chest will do that to you."

Emma breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, swallowing against her suddenly dry throat. "Okay," she accepted with a nod, trying to push away thoughts of early labor — it was still early, wasn't it? Emma wondered to herself, trying to count back and think how long they'd actually been down here in the Underworld.

"Regina, how far al—" she began, but Regina didn't let her finish.

"Thirty six weeks yesterday. And no, I'm not going into labor, and no, I have no intention of doing so until we're back in Storybrooke," Regina answered with a dry throat, uninterested in having this conversation — because if she let herself think that there was reason to be concerned, it would undoubtedly send her over the edge.

"Okay," Emma said defensively, holding her hands up in surrender. "I won't ask again. But how about we trade an iron chest for a nice comfy bed…" she offered. "It's clear to come back to the apartment," she explained with a smile. "Zelena seems to be working on our side. She's keeping Hades distracted."

"What if Zelena changes her mind," Robin asked, pacing nervously in front of the table. Seated there were Belle, Hook and the Charmings. Emma was upstairs in the loft, helping Regina get comfortable — as much as she could.

"I hate to be the one to offer optimism, but — it sounded like she was sincere," Hook promised gently, having been present when she suggested her plan to their group.

"She was," Belle promised. "But that doesn't mean what she knows can't come back to bite us.."

"Which is why I think I should take her back to the Vault," Robin pressed, his eyes glancing upward to where Regina lay. "I just think it's safer there…"

"I don't know about anyone else, but I am really ready to get back home — to get everyone back home," Snow sighed. "No more waiting for Zelena. We can save ourselves. We're going to take down Hades, and we're going to do it now."

In the center of the town, Hades walked alone, his figure appearing through the thick fog that settled each night. He could see a figure moving towards him, and he narrowed his eyes to bring it into better focus.

"Hello, Hades," Zelena's voice crooned, sauntering towards the god without fear. And what was there to fear, really, because he had loved her deeply once. And this spell he was hoping to cast using her child was all in an effort to win her back. With this in mind, Zelena knew that the best chance they had in keeping her daughter safe was to fall in love with him once again — and she was sure he would believe her.

"Zelena," he breathed out, stepping forward when the fog cleared enough to see her beautiful face. "You know I was looking for you…"

"You were looking for my baby," she corrected him, unable to keep the anger from bubbling at the surface. "I was just a happy accident."

"Yes. Yes, you were," he chuckled, his lips pulling into a genuine smile. "When I heard you fell through my little portal — I really was looking for you," he promised.

"I know. I thought I'd make it easy. I know that you want my child for your time-travel spell. If you touch her — I will demolish you," she gritted, unleashing her threats with practiced ease.

"There's no need for that," Hades promised, looking into Zelena's eyes with sadness. "I wouldn't hurt you. I never would have hurt you. That's the thing about true love…"

Zelena's guard was lowering now, her hand falling at her side, her features softening — because she could see in his eyes that what he said was true.

"It endures, it can't be broken."

"What? So…sending Rumplestilskin on his quest to…to get my daughter… had nothing to do with revenge? With…trying to go back and win me this time?"

"Zelena," he breathed out sadly. "I was trying to rescue her from those miserable heroes. I was trying to get her back for you…"

"Despite everything I've done, you've loved me all this time?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Look around you," he laughed. "I mean…aren't you curious why this — this place looks exactly like Storybrooke? I did it for you! I saw how much you wanted to cast the Dark Curse, to get everything your sister had."

"You made me my very own Storybrooke," Zelena realized, and the sentiment, however twisted, was not lost on her.

"I gave you what you wanted. What she had. It's not…perfect. The Underworld is a place of…well, destruction," he confessed. "Despite my best intentions, things don't grow here. They…decay. But it's our decay," he whispered tenderly.

"Zelena. Wouldn't it be nice to not be alone anymore? After all these years, I still choose you… What better revenge is there than having it all?" he asked.

"But I had it all right there," she whispered. "But then I left them because I thought that you wanted to hurt my child…I had to stop you…"

"Well, then, we'll just have to go back and get her. Won't we?"

Zelena felt herself falter for just a moment, but then she was backing away from him once again, her head shaking.

"No. No. I want to trust you, I do…"

"But you still can't. I understand," he promised.

"I'm sorry. It's too much. I will get my daughter back… But I'll do it on my own," she whispered, her tears brimming in her eyes as she turned to leave him.

And he let her take several steps before stopping her.

"April fifteenth."

"What?" Zelena asked, her eyes narrowed as she turned to face him once more.

"Your birthday. Just thought you might want to know."

Memories of a conversation they'd had years ago, of Zelena confessing she had never known her real birthday because her mother had abandoned her without any information passed along. For years, she celebrated the day she was found by the parents who'd raised her — and the sad irony had never been lost to her. Abandonment day, she'd used to call it. And she lamented this simple thing that everyone knew about themselves — everyone but her.

"How do you know that," she asked, stepping forward.

"Tortured it out of a miller's daughter," he said with a smile — and it was meant to be endearing and playful.

"Don't worry," he promised happily. "I took care of her, too. For you. I know you don't need me. You don't need anyone. But if you change your mind, and decide you want me — I'll be waiting for you. At home. Just like I always have."

And with that, Hades disappeared from the street, leaving Zelena alone — again.