Hook… I Will Always Find You
Chapter Thirty-Eight
A few minutes earlier, within the Underworld…
"Robin!" Regina then cried upon seeing the man she loved, as well as their friends bound before her, then she immediately turned to face Hades again and began to shout angrily at the God. "What is this?! Your minions here going to burn them alive unless I agree to help you to open up that portal?"
"Now you know what happens if you refuse," the God answered her cruelly. "I wasn't counting on the opportunity to capture them too, but then… opportunity knocked. And here we are. So what will it be, Your Majesty? Your sister, who I swear on my own life that she will not be harmed, or your lover's and friends' deaths? There is no third option."
The archer struggled against his bindings while he shouted, "Regina… you can't! The baby!"
The Queen looked into Robin's eyes in worry as she struggled with the conflict within her, then Regina defeatedly reached out her hand for the wand she knew Hades was prepared to hand over to her and dismally responded to him saying, "I don't have a choice… I can't sacrifice your life, or our friends' lives either. I'm so sorry, Robin."
"Very good," Hades uttered smugly when he summoned the Sorcerer's wand into his hand and then gave it to her as she expected him to do. "I knew you would do the right thing. It's what heroes do."
"In case you didn't know already, the only way I can open a portal that will open directly to Zelena in our world, is by having something personal of hers… or something of meaning to her," Regina retorted coldly, while she turned her head to face the deity once again and then began to summon her own power within her to prepare to do as was needed of her. "A replica of something like her emerald necklace, or any other kind of twisted version of something down here won't work."
It was then that the Blind Witch stepped inside the farmhouse's entryway for a moment until she reappeared on the porch as she walked out again with a bicycle at her side, and Hades replied, "Luckily for me, I do have something that actually meant something to her from our time together. This bicycle once belonged to a young woman from Oz, whom your sister didn't get along with very well. But then… I enchanted it so that it would lead us to where this girl and her soon to be brainless friend had been trying to hide from her. We rode this bike together and Zelena and I had a marvelous time. I brought this bike down here from Oz because I knew she would appreciate it. All of Underbrooke, as you've so rightfully dubbed this town… it's all for her. Why else would I make this world look like your Storybrooke? So she and I will be able to rule over it all, and each of you, together. Just as she hoped to rule over your dreary small town until you knocked her down."
Once the Blind Witch wheeled the bicycle over to her and stepped back, Regina wrapped her hand around one of the bike's handlebars as she curtly stated, "You're delusional if you think my sister will chose to live down here in the land of the dead with you. Even if it is to rule. Let's get this over with."
At last, Regina raised the powerful wand above her head and twirled it through the air while she held firmly to the bicycle as well, then began to summon her magic through them as Hades joined his own power with hers to open up the portal that would hopefully bring the Wicked Witch down into the Underworld. Seconds passed by as the portal remained open while it continued to grow stronger, until a minute then turned to two. When Regina was about to accept she had failed the God and became afraid for her friends' lives once again, a woman's scream sounded from within the portal, then manifested as Zelena suddenly fell from above them until she landed safely in Hades' arms.
"Hello again, Zelena," he whispered gently while she stared at him in shock upon having been caught, until the witch swiftly struggled to break away from him and the deity carefully let go of her once he was sure she would remain upright. "You're still as beautiful as you ever were."
"Just what the hell have you done?!" she asked angrily as she glared at the man who caught her. "How did you bring me here? Where am I? And who are you?"
Regina scoffed as she mocked the God quietly, "That must have been some romance the two of you had."
Zelena turned her head to look behind her upon hearing her sister's voice and with surprise she questioned, "Regina? Was this you're doing? What's going on? You could have killed me and my baby!"
"You have Hades to blame all that on," the younger of the sisters answered brusquely. "I wasn't given much of a choice. If you would take a few seconds to breathe through your rage and take a look around you, a few of us are a bit tied up."
"Hades…" the Wicked Witch then uttered upon turning back around to face the deity again, then finally glanced between Robin, Smee, Grumpy, and August all still bound to the posts, while Pan and James continued to stand nearby with the torches in their hands. "Of course I remember you. Forgive me for feeling a little shaken by the sudden means of transport. You mean to tell me that I'm down… down in the Underworld? I thought I made it perfectly clear I never wanted to see you again!"
Hades was about to respond until Regina cut in as she spoke again saying, "Forgive me for not caring about whatever twisted thing there was between the two of you, but would you mind sending me and my friends back to where you dragged us away from so we don't have to listen to this? Or was that never a part of your plan?"
James laughed and then replied, "I say you should just get rid of them. Let us kill them so that they can't be a problem any longer like my no good brother of mine."
"Burning them at the stake is a bit morbid," the God answered darkly while those bound to the posts began to fight to break free again. "But then, this is the Underworld. While it's not Hell we're in, fire and brimstone does seem like a perfectly appropriate way for four heroes to die. Do it."
"No!" Regina screamed and immediately used her power to force David's twin wildly back through the air behind him to knock him off his feet before he could set fire to the man she loved, then rushed forward to try to help them until Hades suddenly raised a circle of fire around the Queen in order to keep her standing in place while she would be forced to watch as her friends died. "Robin!"
Pan lowered his torch at August's feet, but just as he was about to cry out upon feeling the flames, they immediately became extinguished when water suddenly splashed down on him from above, then he looked up in surprise upon seeing Tinker Bell appear as she flew over him and swiftly fired a pouch of pixie dust at the demon child's feet which swiftly knocked him out cold in a deep sleep. She then extinguished the flames surrounding Regina as well. David also appeared with his sword raised to fight, followed closely by Graham who had his own sword raised as he was prepared to help free his friends.
David quickly called out to the Queen as he shouted, "Regina… help Robin and the others!"
She immediately complied and swiftly began to free those bound using her magic to do so, while the Prince at last came face to face with his brother who had died before he had ever met him. Meanwhile, Graham turned on the Blind Witch until he was suddenly blasted back by her magic, causing him to crash into a tree behind him.
Regina saw this, then once she finished breaking away the ropes and freeing those she cared about, the Queen summoned another fireball in the palm of her hand and immediately fired it at the Blind Witch just like she had done back in the Enchanted Forest when her flame killed the vile woman. The fireball couldn't kill her or do much to harm her, but it was enough to make the crone growl angrily before she finally just vanished.
James raised his own sword when his twin approached him as he prepared himself for the long awaited confrontation, then he called out to David as he said smugly, "I've been waiting a long time for this moment, brother. I just didn't expect it to be like this."
"James…" Charming uttered apprehensively while he stared at the man standing in front of him. "I hoped we would have a chance to meet. But I don't want to fight you. Please, just lower your sword. We can talk. I want to get to know you."
"Well then you're going to be disappointed because I've been waiting a long time to make you pay for taking my life from me and becoming my father's son," his evil brother darkly responded.
David shouted at him angrily, "I never became your father's son! George is a villain and I left his clutches before he had the chance to manipulate me the way he manipulated you. Our real parents loved you and missed you every day. Especially our mother. Do you even care about that?"
James glared back at David while he replied, "How can I care about a woman's love when I was never around to feel it? Fight me!"
Before David could attempt to try to talk him down again, the other Prince charged at him as he screamed and their swords clashed. Both men were equal in their fighting skills, but thankfully August soon joined his friend with a staff and fought the villain with David's face alongside the hero. It didn't take long for them to knock James off his feet and the sword from his hand, then James finally gave up and ran off as soon as he could.
Tink flew down to Graham and helped him to stand again, then together they and Regina all turned to Hades and Zelena, who had been watching the fight between heroes and villains once again with amusement until each of those on the deity's side were all defeated, which made him more angry than amused.
"Your allies have failed you, Hades," Robin called out to the deity while he moved forward to stand beside the woman he loved. "Let Zelena go."
"Oh please…" the Wicked Witch grumbled as she rolled her eyes and continued to look out among the heroes who were now all standing together. "Try hard not to sound all noble on my account, Robbie. We all know that you care only about the child growing inside of me. If were it not for him or her, you certainly wouldn't hesitate to leave me behind. But I'm not ready to leave just yet. Especially not with any of you."
Regina stepped forward while she answered, "Zelena… Hades is an angry, cruel God who will only use you for whatever heart that's inside your chest and then once he's finished with you, he'll either make you some mistress who might be left alive if you're lucky, or he'll just kill you. And make you one anyways, or do worse like what he's done to Hook. Come with us. If not for yourself, for the sake of your baby."
Hades summoned a ball of his magic within his hand and then swiftly fired it at the heroes. However, the Huntsman immediately raised his enchanted sword again in front of himself and his friends and blocked the power to protect them. The God turned back to Zelena again and asked her if she would come with him to talk.
Regina spoke again as she pleaded, "Please… just listen to me!"
"Sorry, Regina," her sister responded haughtily while she reached out to take the hand Hades then offered to her. "But the choice is mine. And I think I'd prefer the company of a God over yours. Besides, I can't say I'm not curious about what he has to offer me. I suggest you get out of here."
"Tell Captain Hook that I'll be collecting him again before too long," the deity smugly replied to them, then used his power to vanish with Zelena, leaving the heroes be to return to the rest of their friends waiting for them.