Disclaimer: Property of A&E and ABC. Not Mine.

"Lord Hades?"

An unfamiliar voice is echoing through his subconscious, just loud enough to drag him from the peaceful oblivion he knows was long in coming. How many times has he told his people never to disturb him in his bedchamber? Obviously not nearly enough. After breakfast, Hades is going to rein them all in for a re-review of Underworld Policies and Procedures. Threaten them with a dip in the River of Lost Souls. Maybe he'll toss a few in - just for laughs. His imagination paints a beautiful picture of screaming souls, and his mind smiles as he falls back into slumber.

There's a shake against his shoulder that yanks him from his happy dream and into a bleary state of consciousness. Again, he hears his name. Whomever is doing this is going to pay.

"…whaddahell d'ya want? Why must you damned mortals force me to maim you so early in the morning?" He blinks himself awake and finds he's not in the Underworld, he's not the Lord of anything, and the dark jade eyes of an extremely hostile Henry are glaring down at his pathetic mortal body sprawled across the La-Z-Boy.

The previous day's events fast-forward in Hades' mind. Oh hell. He's screwed.

"Henry… I can explain."

There is venom and pain in the teen's voice. "I knew it was you. I don't know how you did it, but it had to be you. It all makes sense."

Hades rights himself and the recliner with a hard shove. "I see. And you broke in here to do…what exactly? Prove your theory?"

Henry is indignant. "It worked, didn't it?" The boy has his pen, ink and storybook sitting open and ready on the tiny dinette table. Hades looks to it, and then back at him.

"And now what? You write me out of my own story?"

"That's the plan, yeah. I'm going to write your story… all of it. And then I'm going to finish it."

Hades temper flares, but then just as quickly, it fades. He sighs against the chair. He won't hurt the boy. He can't.

"Get on with it, then."

There is raw fury in the teen's eyes as he sneers down at him. "I'm doing it. Don't try and stop me." Henry thumps over to the table in the opposite corner, landing hard on the padded dinette chair, and jabs the pen into his ink. He waves it over the pages, again and again, just as he's done for the past few weeks for all the lost souls. Hades can do nothing but watch and wait as the boy finally learns the truth. About everything.

There's a snuffle from the teen when he lays the pen down on the table. He is just sitting there, head bowed. Full minutes pass and Henry does nothing but sit, snuffle and breathe.

"I hate you," he says suddenly, breaking the silence. What follows is so splintered and strained it's almost unrecognizable. Almost. "It's all your fault."

"Yeah, I know."

"You ruined my mom. Her soul is all messed up because of you."

"I know."

"You left a baby without a father. Do you know what it's like to lose your father? To grow up without anyone to help you? To guide you?"

Hades cringes. He killed his father. "No kid, I don't."

"You were my friend. I looked up to you. I trusted you! You… I almost let myself think you could be like… like what I lost. But I was wrong. You are nothing like them. All you are is a monster."

Hades is having a tough time breathing. There's a lump in his throat that won't go away - regardless of how often he swallows. Pain from Henry's words ignites his reply. "So what are you waiting for? Finish it."

The boy springs from the chair abruptly, knocking it over in the process. His eyes are red and watery from the tears streaming down his young face. "I can't. I can't end your story because I … I can't." He is standing inches from him, his anguish reverberating through the small apartment as he releases his rage. "And it is all your fault!"

Hades stands. "I'll leave. Tell your family I'll leave. I'll cross the town line, and whatever happens… happens." Maybe it won't be so bad to be a tree. "Just… don't tell Zelena, okay?"

Henry roars and charges, shoving Hades off-balance. "Don't act like you care about her," he snarls. "You don't care about anyone."

Hades steadies himself. "That's not true."

The teen strikes at him again, forcing him towards the window. Hades backpedals against the assault, unwilling to fight back. "Yes it is!" Henry cries. "I just wrote it! This whole time, it's been about you and your revenge, just like before!"

All the despair, the hopelessness that Hades kept tightly bottled for months finally bursts free. "What the hell do you expect from me, kid? I was a god! Gods don't live the way you pathetic mortals do. You think it's so easy? Try not knowing what your life is supposed to be when for centuries you knew exactly who and what you were. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. That's what gods do."

Hades plucks at his wrinkled shirt. "Now I'm powerless and alone in a body that isn't mine. Unlike you, I don't have a family tree a mile long of people willing to help and support me. I never have, and I never will." He points at the table. "Your stupid storybook told you all that, right?"

Henry doesn't answer, and Hades' voice starts to crackle as he barks, "Did it tell you about all the damned guilt and regret that haunts everything I do? It should, because that's a part of my story too." There is unfiltered emotion creeping into his every word. "You want to know what triggered all this? I was playing around with the sword your oh-so-noble grandfather gave me, thinking how I wouldn't have gotten my ass smeared against the wall by Hyde if I had it. How I could have protected you better. And you know what that makes me? A goddamned hero."

Henry is staring at him strangely, but Hades is too far into his tirade to stop. "Does the Lord of Death sound like hero material to you, kid? Do you know how many people I've killed? How many I've tortured? I was an expert at it, I prided myself on making people suffer in the worst possible ways." He gestures to the apartment surrounding them. "And now look at me, trapped in another man's life. A hero's life. You want to know why I was zonked out in that chair this morning? Because I spent all last night thinking about all the rotten, crappy things I've done and what it all means for me now. Thanks to you and your godforsaken family, I have no idea who the hell I am or what the hell I want."

Hades leans against the wall, defeated. "I can assure you - I didn't want this. I didn't want any of it."

Henry just stares at him, tears drying against his cheeks. After a moment, the teen swipes at one with the back of his hand. It's such a childlike gesture, so innocent and so contradictory to the maturity of the boy's behavior and intellect. Hades' heart snaps in two at the thought of leaving him, missing him grow into the extraordinary man he's destined to become.

His vision blurs. "I do care. Maybe not like you think I should, but I do care about you."

The next thing he knows, Henry's arms are wrapped around him, squeezing entirely too tightly. "I care about you too." It's startling and comforting when Hades hugs the boy back, his mind still reeling.

Henry breaks away and looks at him with that omniscient gaze of his. He crinkles his nose with a self-righteous grin. "I knew you were different."

"Yeah, you were right."

"It's something with your eyes."

The kid is entirely too perceptive. "They're mine. From before. My old body. Don't ask me how that happened; I was telling the truth when I said I didn't have any children."

"Maybe they're tied to your soul."

Hades shrugs. "Dunno. So… what do we do now?"

Henry sighs, heavily. "You… well, you're…" The teen's head tilts. "No one is going to believe this, you know."

"No one but you. And here's your proof." Hades holds out his hand. "Hello son, I'm Hades, ex-Lord of the Underworld."

Henry shakes it, firmly. "Henry Mills, Author. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Tell me, Henry Mills, what are your plans, now that you've learned one of the most hated villains ever known is actually alive and parading around your town?"

"I think… I'm going to help him."

Hades blinks. "You are?"

"I am."

"I'm sure you read it, but… I want to be me again. The real me. The Fates said there was a way."

"I know."

Hades heart leaps at the thought of Henry writing him back into his own body, but the new, heroic part of him says that's not an option. That's the easy way out. He asks anyway. "Are you going to write me back into my body?"

Henry smiles entirely too brightly at this. "No, and I'll bet you know why."

Hades grins back. "Yeah, I do. But I had to ask."

"Yeah, I know." Henry is still beaming, his expression a window to the wheels spinning in the teen's avid mind. "I am going to help you. I am pretty sure I know what you have to do next."

He's going to say Zelena. Hades would bet money on it.

"You have to go talk to my aunt."

Yup. There it is. There's that annoying twinkle in his eye, too.

"Don't look at me like that," he scolds.

"Like what?"

"Like you swallowed a gallon of vinegar. You owe her an apology, and an explanation."

"Kid, she's not going to be happy to see me." Yikes, neither is his mom. "What about your family? They won't be pleased to know I've returned – particularly your mayoral mother." A new emotion hits him - panic. Somehow he's going to have to face Regina, and when he does, she'll kill him – split in two or not. Hell, they might both come after him. "Especially her."

Henry's face falls. "They'll be mad. Really mad. All of them. I don't know what they'll do to you."

"Nothing pleasant, I'm sure. Lock me up maybe." Hades sighs. "You sure my story doesn't end with me crossing the town line and turning into a nice tree?" He wiggles his fingers. "I'd make a pretty decent oak tree."

Henry scowls. "No, you are not destined to be tree. For now, I don't intend to let my family know who you really are. The book and your story stay here. Hidden. I think… when the time is right - you're going to tell them. Right now, you need Zelena. At a minimum, she can protect you from them."

"Kid, she doesn't want to see me. Remember all the gory details of my death from yesterday? People who love each other don't kill each other."

Self-righteousness is abundant in the teen's next words. "Yes, they do."

"Um… no, they don't. Trust me. God of Death. Pretty confident on the logistics."

"No, you trust me. Do you know how Killian wound up in the Underworld?"

"Duh kid, he died."

"Do you know how he died?"

Hades does a quick memory scan. "Excalibur. Wound to the neck."

"And before that?"

Before that Hook was a Dark One, and he used Rumplestiltskin's blood to let all the other lovely Dark Ones escape his realm. They never returned, and Hook paid for destroying his collection, dearly. The memory clicks into place, and Hades grudgingly acknowledges Henry's argument. "Emma killed him."

"I was there. I saw it all. She had to do it. There was no other option."

Hades studies the floor. "It's not the same."

"Isn't it? Just go talk to her. If it doesn't work out, we'll figure something else out. But I think you'll be surprised. Remember all the advice you gave me with Violet?"

Hades scoffs. "That was different. Yours is puppy love. It's simple."

"Yours is True Love. It doesn't get much simpler than that."

oooooooooooooooooo

Two days later, Hades is standing in front of the white pedestal sink in the tiny bathroom, running his fingers through his newly shorn hair. The ruggedly handsome man peering back is just as displeased as he is.

"This is ridiculous," he mutters to his reflection.

"No it's not!" Henry calls from the main living area of the studio apartment. Hades hears the boy flop down from the kitchen counter onto the narrow section of ceramic flooring. "You'll be fine."

"Kid, I'm not sure I can do this."

Henry's hopeful grin appears in the mirror. "Of course you can. Want to know why?"

"Okay, why?"

"Because you did it before."

"That was different." His doppelgänger sighs heavily. "I was different."

Heavy footsteps echo up the small stairway. "Rhye?" Charming hollers. "You up there?"

Hades' stomach twists. This was a bad idea.

"Be right down!" Henry replies. "C'mon," Henry murmurs quietly, "you know you can't walk to her house. It's miles away."

Hades swallows the growl in his throat. Making the darling Sheriff aware of his interest in Zelena is a risky move. But he's the only male in the soiree of heroes with a vehicle.

David grins when Hades appears at the top of the stairwell. "Looking good, my friend." He jangles his keys in his fingers. "Don't stay out too late," he says with a wink.

Yes indeed. Bad idea. How in the Underworld did he let Henry talk him into this?

Hades' voice is clipped. "I trust you will honor the gentleman's code and keep this matter between us, correct?"

Charming's grin widens. "Oh so we're formal now, are we? I see. Very knightly." His gaze shifts to the boy, who is shutting the apartment door behind them. The two share a knowing glance, and Hades debates just dropping the whole thing and hiding in his apartment for the next two millenia.

"Don't take him too seriously, Grandpa," Henry blurts. "He's just nervous."

Hades covers his eyes with his hand, massaging his temples. Dear Gods, is this his life now?

"Relax," David says, placing a gentle hand on Hades' shoulder. "I'm just giving you a hard time. I'm not one to spread rumors. Besides, it's… good that you're doing this." He shakes his blonde head. "Insanely dangerous… but good."

Hades takes the truck keys. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just have it back before breakfast tomorrow morning." Charming winks again, and Hades' neck feels hot.

"That's… not what this is about."

The damned man cannot stop grinning at him. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a search and rescue party but hey, either works for me."

Hades parades past the chuckling sheriff and heads out the side door. The scuffed brown Ford F250 long-bed wouldn't have been his first choice of transportation, but it will do. He starts the aged pickup with a roar, giving it a bit too much gas. That's the problem with Fords – so damned twitchy. This is why he drove Chevrolets.

He drops the truck into gear and pulls forward slowly. A glance in the rearview mirror shows a waving Henry with the benevolent sheriff at his side. If only he felt as optimistic. Hades drives the truck slowly through town until he spots the resident florist, cutely titled 'Game of Thorns'. If he's going to do this, he might as well do it right.

Fifteen minutes later he's barreling down the dirt road to Zelena's farmhouse with three ribbons in his pocket and two dozen pure white daisies rustling beside him on the faded vinyl seat. He parks the truck along the tree line at the edge of her property, obscuring it from view. He pulls six flowers out from the bouquet and wraps them in a small yellow ribbon, tying it neatly into a bow.

With flowers in hand, he exits the truck and walks the long driveway up to her front porch. The wind is cool against his skin as it ruffles the short leaves of the daisies. With a quick swipe through his hair, he steps up onto her porch. Well, here goes nothing.

He knocks. A rustling can be heard from inside and seconds later the wooden door is pulled inward, revealing a domesticated Zelena. Her hair is pulled back in a messy bun and she's wearing a faded green tank top and dark green skirt that ends in a flare right above her ankles. Comfy-looking black sandals reveal the deep emerald green decorating each delicate toenail.

She takes one look at him and the calm sea of her eyes turns dark and stormy.

"Hello, Zelena." Hades says calmly.

The breeze from the door ruffles his small bouquet as she slams it in his face. Without a word, he strolls back down her driveway and returns to David's truck. He draws out six more daisies and some greenery from the original two dozen and ties the new bundle with a satiny green and white ribbon. He then sits in the truck and counts down from one hundred and twenty, marking the seconds as they pass.

He takes a deep breath and exhales quickly. Take Two.

Again, he saunters up her driveway, up the eight stairs and knocks firmly on the faded wooden door. There are now incoherent mutterings from inside the farmhouse before the door swings open.

"I'd like to speak with you," he says quickly, ensuring he gets the words out before she can slam the door in his face again.

There's a pause before she snarls, "I do not wish to speak with you. Now please leave."

When he doesn't move, she growls in aggravation and slams the door in his face. Hades smiles as he returns to the truck. He takes his time as he arranges the full bouquet, wrapping the stems tightly in the gold ribbon trimmed in emerald. Why the florist had a roll of ribbon that exactly matched Zelena's Oz décor was a mystery, but Hades isn't complaining.

He twirls the bouquet, studying it and adjusting flowers and greens as needed before hopping once more out of the truck. Third time's the charm.

He checks his appearance in the side mirror. His eyes betray his confidence – they echo the uncertainty that's eating at his gut. But this is Zelena, right? Henry believes she is key to restoring him, and he's got the heart of the Truest Believer. He can't be wrong, can he?

He shakes off his insecurities. Mortal or not, he is still Hades. She is still Zelena. They're True Love. He doesn't have to believe anything – it's a given.

Inspired, he parades confidently once more to her front door and knocks firmly. Three times.

Snarls emanate from within. Seconds later he hears the door bang against the inside wall as she yanks it open.

"What the bloody hell is your problem? Will you just go away?"

Hades can't see her, as the large bouquet is in front of his face, blocking his view. He holds it out. "These are for you." He lowers them until his line of sight reveals a raised brow and cautious blue eyes. Their chemistry is electric, and this time, Hades revels in it – using it to his advantage. She's silent, so he continues, "I realize you may not want to speak with me, but surely you can do me the honor of at least accepting my peace offering." He smiles at her from behind the greenery, shaking it a little.

He sees the resolve wavering in her eyes, and his grin widens. He doesn't drop his gaze until the whimpering cry of her daughter breaks their connection. Her head spins towards the sound and then back to face Hades again.

"Wait here," she tells him as she turns away.

"Might I come in? These daisies … they need some water. They're parched from the drive out here." He pauses before stating softly, "As am I."

Her eyes roll dramatically. "Fine. Kitchen is over there." She hurries down the narrow hallway and disappears into a side room to tend to the fussing child. Hades treads carefully over the threshold, well aware that he's officially entering the inner sanctum of one of the most powerful witches in all the known realms. He swallows nervously. He'd better be on top of his game, or else Charming will be wheeling him out of here in a body bag.