"So…what do we do now?" Orpheus asked, looking over at him from across the room, roses at his feet that he could swear were already beginning to decay now that the music had stopped.

Now…

Now he did what he absolutely hated to do unless under the rarest of circumstances. Service before the time of payment. Usually, he didn't loan his help out in advance unless there was some sort of benefit in it for him. It was payment in advance or due at the time the deal was struck, but rarely afterward like this for obvious reasons. But this…this would be a special case. In order to do what needed to be done, the order that would best suit the situation was one that best suited Orpheus and, hopefully, Jefferson. Besides, eager as the boy was, determined as he seemed to be to rescue his dear Eurydice, he didn't doubt that he would deliver on the promises that he made. And this plan, as long as he could remain unselfish, could work.

"Now you strike a deal with Hades."

"But I already did that. I failed."

"A new one," he corrected. "A better one than you did before. Better for him at least."

"Do you really think that Hades will go for that again?"

"Oh, most certainly. People are creatures of habit; Hades will know this. If you failed once, it'll be likely that you'll fail again. Besides, I've seen the creature that he sends after the girl when he's hunting her. You won't get far from here unless Hades gives you his blessing and allows you to go."

"You've seen the…you've seen Eurydice!" the boy suddenly realized, leaning forward as if in anticipation of his confirmation.

"Who do you think summoned me to this world weeks ago?"

"Summoned you? You're…you're not dead either…" the boy realized. "That's why you wanted to know about getting back! That's why you asked me about-"

"Well, apparently, you were not the only one talking to the Seer about how to be free of here. Eurydice summoned me here. When you both get back to the land of the living, after you've given my message to my friend, you can summon me home again, and once I've seen your end was upheld, I'll release you both from my debt."

"Both of us?"

"Your payment is a special delivery. Hers is undoing what she's done and summoning me home, safely."

There it was. His way out. The thing that he was banking on. He didn't care that magic and deals didn't work that way. He didn't care that he needed Eurydice to agree to this deal in order for magic to bind her to it, or that there were vaults all over the place and he hadn't specified where they should summon him too. It didn't matter whichever world they summoned him to just so long as he was out of this world, he could make damn near anything work! He just had to get out of this place. And get the hat to Jefferson. And get Neal back to Henry and propose to Belle and get the kids to their happily ever after…

He had a lot to do. And all of it hinged on this boy. A boy who was currently sitting across from him questioning his encounter with his dead girlfriend, unaware that he had moved on. If convincing him that Eurydice bore a debt to him was how he had to do this, then so be it.

"What did she look like? Was she okay? Was she hurt? Did she say anything?"

"Our time was short," he excused quickly. "Hades was on her heels. This was weeks ago, he'll have found her by now. Which means your only chance at getting her out is making that deal."

"But…I just don't understand how he'd go for it. That deal was to keep Eurydice if I failed. I failed, and he's kept her. Why would he make a deal for something he already has?"

"Because you are going to 'up the ante," as they say."

Orpheus gave a small nod and sat forward with interest. "Tell me what to do."

Those were some of his favorite words. Though he suspected, when he was done, Orpheus might just hate them.

"You will make this deal most profitable for him while making it hardest on yourself. Hades enjoys having all the cards in his hands, so you'll give him every ace you've got. You'll go to him again; you'll ask to repeat the test, but this time Hades can keep his map. You'll do it from memory. You do remember the way out, don't you?"

"Mostly. Yes. Yes, I think I can do it."

"Confidence, boy. This is a test of confidence. Start to have some in yourself, and you'll succeed."

"I always thought it was a test of trust," Orpheus interpreted as if they were sitting in a philosophy class. "Did I trust Eurydice to follow me home?"

"And so it was…last time. How did that experiment end? Did your beloved follow you home?"

"Yes, until I doomed her."

"And do you have any reason now to believe that she wouldn't do the same again?"

"No. We love each other. She followed me once, she'll do it again."

"Good. So then all you need is the confidence to know you are going the right way and doing the right thing for everyone involved."

"So…I tell him I'm willing to do this without the map. You think that'll be enough?"

"Oh, certainly not. We're upping the ante and doubling down. This time, if you fail, it won't be just Eurydice who will be on the line; it'll be your soul too."

"My soul?!"

"Of course, after how your mother aided in Persephone's escape, I imagine he'll be thrilled with the chance to add you to his collection."

"So if I fail-"

"You will spend an eternity in this place. Likely not alongside dear Eurydice, Hades won't be that kind. But at least you'll get your wish. What was it you said? 'Any realm Eurydice is in is the realm you need to be in.'"

Orpheus give a swift but heavy nod, one that told him he didn't disagree with what he'd said earlier but also didn't take it lightly anymore. It was time to put his money where his mouth was. Either he was willing to do this entirely, or not at all. And the Orpheus that he knew from the stories had always been willing to give all…which was why this next piece was so essential.

"There's one more thing that you'll offer," he informed him, drawing the boy's attention back to him. Oh, it hurt even his heart to think of it, given what he'd seen him do, but that was why he knew that Hades would go for it above all. "You're going to make a down payment."

"A down payment…to Hades?! But Sir, I have nothing. Nothing but the clothes on my back, the air in my lungs, the song in my head, and-"

The abrupt stop told him that he'd realized exactly what he was about to be asked to do.

The lyre he'd so recently slung back over his shoulder, he reached behind to touch it.

"But Sir…my father gave it to me. It's all I have left of my parents. It's…it's my song."

A memory returned to him as he watched the boy idly stroke the lyre, a memory of a portal threatening to swallow him and his son whole and the impression of his dagger safely anchoring him to his fate. His mistake. His greatest regret. Up until this moment, he had not considered himself similar to Orpheus in the least. Now he suspected they had more in common than he thought.

"Yes," he admitted. "It is all that and more. But is it worth more than the world, as you claim Eurydice is? What is it worth to you next to Eurydice?"

"Nothing," the boy responded sadly. "Nothing at all next to Eurydice, but…without it-"

"Without it, you will still have her. Without it, life as you know it will change. You'll become a baker or a teacher, you'll make a new way in a new world with Eurydice in a place where Hades can't find you. I recommend the Realm of Untold Stories or wherever Persephone found refuge. You'll have other trials, other tribulations…but you'll have each other. And the knowledge that you fulfilled your purpose, that you were once the man who brought spring back to the world. And you'll rest in that greatness and never live to regret it."

Orpheus eyed him suspiciously from where he sat. "You speak from experience."

"On the contrary. I speak from a lack of experience," he corrected. "I speak to you now as someone who once chose the lyre over Eurydice. That path isn't worth it. This one might be."

Orpheus let out a heavy sigh and nodded. His fingers curled over the desk he sat on so that his knuckles turned white. It was only then that he realized there was a drumming he could hear, one he hadn't heard since being in this realm, at least not as vibrantly as he did now. It was the steady thrum of the boy's heartbeat. Steady…no nerves. No anxiety. Just peace.

"It's just a lyre," the boy finally stated. "It's just a thing. I can get a new one. But Eurydice, she'll never be duplicated, and I can't ever replace her. We'll do what you ask."

And so the plan is finally laid out in the open.

Thank you so much for reviewing Jennifer Baratta, Rsbeall12, and Grace5231973 for reviewing each of these chapters. I'm interested to see how you'll find this one and what you think of Rumple's plan now that it's sort of out in the open. It's simple in a way, but it gets the job done while still managing to make itself a tragedy. In the next chapter, we'll see how dear Orpheus fairs. Peace and Happy Reading!